Pedro:I am a huge fan of Zhang Yi-mou since I was very young. He’s, um… His films in the 90s, in my life, were very popular and in my family’s life [were very popular]. So I saw all of them. I was kinda of a movie nerd as a young person – too today.
Summary:You come across a badly injured man in the woods and decide to help him.
Living alone in a small wooden house, you were in a constant battle against all elements.
You were proud of what you achieved. A house, a nice farm with animals, crops and you took care of everything on your own.
But if you were honest with yourself, you were lonely.
Even if there was a village a couple of hours from your home, your house remained lonely.
You always thought you would have a husband and children by now. That’s what your parents wanted for you, that’s what you wanted. But then you moved out and you were so focused on your farm, you forgot the years passing by.
And before you realized it, you were all alone.
Even if you were happy with the life that you had you knew that it could be better but you didn’t want to get greedy, you are thankful for what you had because you worked hard for it.
One morning you woke up early, collected all of your eggs, put everything on your carriage and left to go to the village to sell your goods and hopefully buy a couple more plants that you could grow and also you hoped to get some fabrics so you could make a new dress for yourself.
At least that was the plan, however, you never made it to the village.
On your way over there you saw a black horse with a saddle on it, but there was no rider, the horse was wandering around all alone, you hopped off of your carriage and headed to the horse, you slowly approached it making sure that it wouldn’t hurt you or get scared as you grabbed the leash. You tried your best to calm the horse down, and once you have succeeded you tried to look around to see if there was someone there.
“Hello?” You called out but there was no answer, you know there had to be someone out there because a horse like this would not be roaming the woods alone. So, you tied the leash to your carriage before moving into the forest a little bit more trying to find the owner of the horse. Constantly calling out to see if someone would answer but there was no answer and no one there.
You turned back around, decided to just get back to your carriage and get on with your day when you heard a deep groan.
You followed the muffled voice and found a man, obviously injured, as he was leaning against a tree on the ground.
Carefully you approached the man looking around to see if that was just a trap but then you found no one there, you decided to help him. First, you made sure that he was still breathing and when you found him still alive, you knew you needed to do something.
You couldn’t just leave a half-dead man and steal his horse.
He had some kind of armour on him, that’s how you knew that he was a swordsman, he was obviously injured from a battle or maybe from a fight you weren’t sure but you wanted to help him. He had long hair and a thick beard. It was obvious that he was the owner of the horse since the sword by his side looked exactly the same as the one you found on the horse.
So, you did what every helpful person would do, got him back to your carriage and back to your home.
He was a very heavy man, it was hard for you to move him around, but somehow you managed to get him to your bed. You laid him back and found his wound. It was on his abdomen.
You didn’t want to invade his privacy but you knew that you needed to clean up the wound, or he would bleed to death. You gathered all of your courage and slowly took off his top along with his armor.
You had to admit that he was a very well built man, possibly due to his profession. You needed to stop yourself, you know better than to drool over a man that you just found in the woods covered in his own blood, he could be violent for all you knew. But somehow you still had a feeling he wouldn’t hurt you.
—
You had been taking care of the injured soldier for two days now, he never once woke up. You cleaned and closed his wound, bandaged him up but now you were worried. He needed to wake up so he could eat and drink, maybe even bathe since he smelled terrible.
You went into the room later that afternoon, only to find the man awake.
“Finally.” you said that you were very relieved that he was finally awake.
“Who are you? What have you done to me?” he asked with a panicked voice, something you had definitely prepared for, since you know this will happen. from his accent, you could tell that he was not from around here.
“I helped you, found you covered in your own blood with your horse running around, I took you to my home and took care of you, you’re welcome.”
He looked confused, but then when he tried to sit up he let out a groan reminding himself of his wound. When he looked at it he saw that it was all cleaned and bandaged, he realized that you were not lying.
“Gracias.” And there it was again, but then he said that word his accent was not present, you wondered what language that was. You looked at him, offering him a small smile before you placed the tray of food in front of him so he can finally eat.
“Eat and drink, I’ll warm up some water so you can take a bath.” you said before you left the room, deciding that he needed some time for himself.
Pero was confused. He was sure he was a dead man. His injury was way too deep for him to survive. He ran after he was ambushed. He needed to get out, he knew a village was nearby so he headed there, but he didn’t make it. He fell off his horse and managed to drag himself to a tree before he completely zoned out.
And now, he woke up to, what he thought, was an angel, his angel welcoming him in Heaven.
And yet he found himself very much alive and hungry.
He ate and drank everything that was on the tray like an animal that hasn’t eaten in a very long time. He even took a bath, cut his own hair and beard. He looked at himself in the water before he pulled his bandages back to see the wound on his abdomen. It was deep, but it was also healing. It wasn’t infected which meant you took care of him better than anyone else.
“Don’t do that. It needs to be covered for a couple of days before we can take off the bandage.” Pero’s head moved in your direction. “I came to change it.” You showed him the fresh one in your hands.
He only nodded as he let you work on him.
“You looked like an old man. You are actually quite handsome.” you weren’t sure why you were so bold. You were usually more reserved and shy.
There was something about him that made you confident.
“Senorita, I caused you enough trouble already. I should get going.”
“Don’t be silly. If you leave you might get an infection and die. You are welcome to stay until you are fully healed. I could use the company.”
“What will your husband say? Having a stranger in your home. Not something a man would want to see.”
You laughed. "I’m not married.“ you watched as his frown turned into shock.
"How is that possible?” you shrugged your shoulders. “But if you want to help, I am making some potatoes for dinner, you could help me peel some.” you offered him a smile before you finished up with the fresh bandages before you left the dirty ones to soak in some soap and water.
You could easily tell Pero was not used to staying in one place for a long time. You often caught him staring around the house, not understanding what some things were. You could only imagine how he missed fights and war.
But then, a couple days later you heard him say something. Something that made you realize just how wrong you were.
“I always wanted to just sit on a porch and enjoy the day.” is what he said. You looked at him but he was just looking at the farm with warm and kind eyes. You understood he didn’t miss war, war was all he knew. And now that you showed him another side of the world, he didn’t want to let go.
You could only smile. Partially, you were thankful he didn’t turn out to be a savage man.
Pero was very gentle and kind. Calling you all those names you can’t even pronounce. Yet, they all sounded so sweet and sexy coming from him.
You slowly began to realize that you have managed to develop romantic feelings towards the swordsman.
And he had only been at your home for about two weeks.
His wound nearly healed, you feared he might leave soon, but Pero was in no hurry.
Little did you know that your feelings for him were not one sided.
Pero felt just the same.
Seeing you every day, smiling at him, eating with him, asking him to help you with small things around the farm, you looked like the most perfect human being in his eyes.
You were determined, independent and oh so kind.
So kind, it made his heart skip a beat whenever he saw you feed the animals around your home and not only your farm animals, you also took care of the forest animals. The way you watched the deer from your window as they are the carrots you left outside for them, warmed his heart.
He didn’t want to leave. He was done with fighting. He wanted to stay with you, be with you and for you to be his.
Pero was not a man of words, he rather showed his feelings than talk about them, but you made him nervous. He felt like he was just a young man, looking at the most beautiful woman.
If it wasn’t for that fortunate unfortunate night. He was sure he wouldn’t have the life he has now.
It was raining outside. A storm was coming, thunder and strong wind. You made sure all your animals were safe before you headed back to the warmth of your home.
“It’s extremely cold outside.” you said as you took off your jacket. You put the coat back to its place before you joined Pero on the couch, there were many candles lit and the fire place kept the house warm, but the strong wind managed to get through the cracks of the windows and it made you shiver.
At least your animals were safe.
The two of you have already eaten, so you pulled out your book and started to read. Usually, around this time Pero just relaxed or decided to go to bed early.
But from the corner of your eye, you saw him looking at you.
You found him doing this many times before. Him, just staring at you. You wondered if he just forgot that he was looking and he was just deep in thought, or why was he like that?
And lately, you found him doing it more and more.
“You are staring again.” You said as you looked at him and he quickly looked away. “Is there something on my face?” you asked as you touched your skin.
“No, Mi Amour.” there it was. That word you had no idea what it meant.
“What does that mean? You keep saying those words, I might think they are insults but you always say them with a light voice.”
If you didn’t know any better you’d say that Pero was blushing, but you knew better, so you blamed the candlelight.
“They are no insults.”
“I know that now. But I wonder, what do they mean? The only thing I figured out so far is the ‘Princess’ because you said it in a similar way. But… what was it? Mi Amour?”
“Your pronunciation is really good.” was all he commented. Maybe it was an insult that’s why he didn’t want to tell you, so you just turned back to your book.
Then, he took a deep breath as if he was preparing for some big speech.
“I’m grateful. You saved my life, gave me shelter. I’m only a swordsman, I kill people, but still, you were able to look past that and let me into your home. And for that, I’m forever in your debt.”
“You want leave, don’t you? You are saying things like this is goodbye.”
“I don’t want it to be, Mi Amour, but…” he trailed off, you weren’t sure if he even knew what he was going to say, he was a man of few words. “Mi Amour means, My Love. And I love you, took me a while to realize but I do. You make me happy, and I would love to have you as my wife, if you agree.”
The love confession was one thing, but now the proposal as well. It might have been too much if you didn’t feel the same towards him.
At first, he annoyed you. He spoke in his own language, not caring if you understood or not, but slowly and surely, he found his way into your heart.
You put your book down and moved closer to him, you placed your hand on his chest as you looked into his eyes.
“Are you sure? Wouldn’t you miss the action? The fights? Are you sure you’ll be fine with this simple life?”
“Of course. I won’t miss it, not when it left me with so many scars. You have no idea how long I thought about it.” he grabbed the hand that was on his chest, kissing your palm.
If only it wasn’t for the sudden loud thunder to ruin the mood. The loud noise made you jump and curse. It only made him laugh a little.
But finally, he pulled you in for a kiss. A sweet kiss that immediately felt like you were on cloud nine.
He held you like no one before. He kissed you and made love to you like you were the most precious gem. And to him, you were.
And this was only the beginning of your life with him.
A/N: I might add later on more chapters to this. I do have a couple of ideas planned. (Like the wedding, kids, angst!) Let me know if anyone is interested, I’m open for ideas!
Stranger At My Gate - Chapter 3 (Pero Tovar x modern!OFC)
A time-traveling Pero. A modern woman trying her best. A kitchen full of possibility. A helping of Midwest kindness. A dash of magic. And a lot of Christmas spirit.
pairing: Pero Tovar x modern!OFC
rating & warnings:Tfor now [mentions of food insecurity and hunger; Aunt Moira is her own warning]
word count:5.2k
a/n:holy cow, y’all. I cannot believe how many of you have responded to this story. Thank you so much to everyone who read, liked, commented, reblogged - every single interaction someone had with the first two chapters made my day. With this chapter, we’re gonna backtrack slightly and see much of Pero’s first day with Tessa through his eyes. Pero speaking in his native tongue here is denoted by italicized English for the reader’s benefit.
This is hardly the first time Pero’s been fairly certain he’s going to die.
Cold, wet, and injured is not how he’d have chosen to go, but gently slipping away after falling unconscious is admittedly leagues better than being gutted on a battlefield, or torn to shreds by some unearthly monster.
I love the way you’ve written Pero and Tessa and the build up of their friendship and relationship there’s so much chemistry between them!!! This is so much fun to read.
Prompt:character is taken hostage by the antagonist, their lover goes absolutely ballistic, doing everything in their power to protect their lover, the antagonist has to restrain them, but it doesn’t stop the character from trying to reach their lover, doesn’t matter what happens to them, doesn’t matter if they get beaten as long as their lover is safe & “ it’s you and me, forever. no matter what.“ (requested by @lv7867 for my 3k follower celebration, thank you so much!)
Warnings: kidnapping, injury, hurt/comfort, mention of sex, protective!Tovar, character death, slight violence and blood
Notes: Blanket statement that my blog is 18+ only even if this one isn’t explicit. I love how multiple people requested this prompt cause y’all know I live for this!!! I obviously got very carried away with this one too so I hope y’all enjoy!! I have an update blog too to stay up to date on when I post @flightlessangelwings-updates
~
The tavern bustled with life as you ran between tables with large jugs of ale in both hands. The sun had set long ago, but business did not rest as the townspeople filled the space to rest and relax from their long day. Your job, however, had just begun and you moved as fast as you could to get everyone their drinks. Friendly, familiar faces filled the room as all the patrons thanked you by name.
But there was one face you really looked forward to seeing. It was a face you hadn’t seen in some time and one you so desperately missed.
As if on cue, the handsome mercenary that filled your thoughts walked into the room. A hood covered his head and his dark armor kept him shadowed, but you knew his figure well. His dark eyes peered from under his hood as he looked up and caught your gaze. A brief smile graced his face as his eyes met yours before he silently moved to a darkened corner of the tavern and sat down.
You quickly filled a jug for him and made your way over to his table. A grin lit up your face as you got closer to the man who held your heart, though he wasn’t aware of just how much you cared for him.
“On the house, Pero,” you spoke in a sultry tone as you slid the drink over to him, “I’m glad to see you back. I’ve missed you.”
Tovar simply nodded as he took the drink from you, “Gracias, querida.” His tone felt cold and he barely looked up at you. It was as if he ignored your very presence and didn’t care that you were there.
Something felt off. Ignoring the crowd behind you, you sat down in order to speak to him, “Is everything ok?” You reached for him and rested your hand over his.
“Fine,” he snapped back as he pulled his hand away from yours.
This was odd, Tovar never used that cold tone with you before. With everyone else, he was harsh and gruff, but never with you. He practically worshiped you, and though he was rough with you in bed, it was what you wanted and he always took such good care of you after. You always felt safe and protected with Tovar, and until this moment you thought you had cracked through his tough exterior.
“Fine!” you spat as you swiftly rose to your feet. Anger pulsed through your veins as you felt your heart break, “Are you even happy to see me after all this time?”
Tovar finally looked at you, and his face stayed neutral as he spoke a single word, “No.”
You choked back a sob as you gave in to your anger, “Ok,” your voice wavered as you spoke, “I see. I’ll leave you alone then.”
With that, you walked away and went to the back of the tavern to be alone. You tried to think of why he would act like this with you, and you wondered what you did wrong. Everything seemed fine when he felt for his mission, but suddenly it wasn’t. Your mind raced with scenarios as you pushed the back door open and stepped out for some fresh air.
It wasn’t until you were finally alone that you let your tears flow. You cursed to yourself for being so foolish for allowing yourself to fall in love, “Stupid,” you whispered to the darkness, “So stupid.”
But, your outburst was interrupted when you heard a rustle in the distance. With a gasp, you quickly gathered yourself and wiped your tears away before you strained to look down the dim alley, “Who’s there?” you called out.
Slowly, outlines of three men emerged from the shadows, and even in the low light you did not like the mischievous looks on their faces. “Hello there, beautiful,” the one who appeared to be their leader said.
You had a bad feeling about them, and you turned and tried to bolt for the door before they could say anything more. Unfortunately, you weren’t fast enough, and the leader caught your arm before you made it back inside. You tried to scream, but he quickly covered your mouth and pinned you against his body. The other two helped him and kept you from wiggling free, no matter how much you thrashed and tried to break away.
“You’re coming with us,” the leader murmured in your ear in a tone that sent chills up your spine.
“Pero…” you squeaked out before you felt a searing pain on the back of your head and your world went black.
Inside, Tovar kept his gaze pointed as he scanned the room. It was as if he was looking for something, or someone, and he kept his guard up even as everyone else around him relaxed. He wasn’t sure how much time went by since you stormed off, but it had been too long since he last saw you.
Tovar hated to treat you like that, but it was the only way he could think of to protect you, even if it meant breaking your heart… and his own.
After he decided it had been too long since he’d seen you, Tovar got up and followed your path towards the back of the tavern. He ignored the other barmaids who tried to stop him and went right for the back alleyway. He was familiar with that outdoor space; he’d fucked you there many nights in the past, but now was not that type of rendezvous. Tovar had a bad feeling in his chest, and as he opened the door to the outside and didn’t find you, his heart completely dropped.
Tovar called your name as he looked for you, but the silence that echoed was deafening. He growled as he gripped his sword, ready to fight whoever could have hurt you. He called for you again, but again was met with silence.
“Mierda,” he curbed to himself as his gaze dropped to the ground.
That was when he noticed a piece of parchment with the word “mercenary” on it. Tovar scowled as he bent over and picked up the note and his blood went cold as he read the threats on the page. The drops of blood on the edges only replaced the fear with rage as he realized the group of thieves he had been after for weeks found you and took you as ransom.
“I’m coming for you, querida,” he ripped the note and drew his sword. He would make them pay for taking you, and it wouldn’t be pretty.
*
You woke with a groan to an unfamiliar setting and the sound of men chattering. When you tried to push yourself up, you found your arms were bound behind your back. You let out a frustrated groan and rolled over onto your back, but the movement caught the men’s attention.
“Hello beautiful,” the same man from before hovered over you, “Nice to see you back with us.”
Before you could let out a protest, he grabbed you and forced you up. He didn’t seem to care about hurting you as he yanked you to your feet and he looked even more like a creep when you got a better look at him close up. Over his shoulder, the other two men from before snickered with dark smiles on their faces.
“Once we’re finished with your mercenary lover, we’re going to have lots of fun with you, my sweet.”
His words made you shiver, and you hated how helpless you felt in his grip. After a glance down, you decided to fight back anyway and you kicked him right between his legs. He let out a pained yelp as he threw you back down to the ground and gave you a kick in return. You screamed in pain as you tried to wriggle away.
“Bitch!” he cried out as he straddled you and reared up to hit you again.
“Enough!” a roar from the distance made him freeze and all eyes turned toward the figure in the shadows.
“Pero…” you breathed as you recognized the figure right away.
He shot you a quick apologetic look before he unsheathed his sword, “You are going to regret doing this, señores,” Tovar hissed.
Before the men could come up with a clever comeback, Tovar lashed out at them with a rage unlike anything you had ever seen before. The leader who had just hovered over you dropped you to the ground and went after the mercenary. With their weapons drawn, they tried to gang up on him, but Tovar’s anger fueled him as he attacked.
You watched, bound and helpless, as he took down the men ruthlessly. He growled and yelled as he cut into each of them and their blood spattered everywhere. They were just as defenseless as you were against him, even with weapons in their hands.
Once Tovar slashed his sword through the first two men, he turned his gaze towards the leader, “You will pay for what you have done,” he growled, “For hurting her.”
With a loud yell, Tovar drove his sword clean through the leader before he could even land a single strike. The leader let out a pained grunt as he dropped his weapon, but Tovar still did not stop. He pulled his sword out and stabbed him again. And again, And again.
Even as his lifeless body fell to the ground, Tovar didn’t stop. Blinded by rage, he didn’t even care that the man’s blood splashed onto his face as he continued his assault.
You watched with wide eyes, unable to look away, until you couldn’t take it anymore, “Pero!” you screamed.
It was your voice that finally broke Tovar out of his trance and he looked over at you. His arm was still frozen in place and blood stained his face. The fire in his eyes still burned until he set his gaze on you, and that was when he finally softened. With a sigh of your name, Tovar dropped his weapons and rushed over to you.
“Are you alright, querida?” His tone was soft as he helped you off the ground and quickly untied you, “They did not hurt you, did they?”
“I’m ok,” you whispered back as you fell into his arms, not caring that he was covered in blood, “Pero I…”
“Hush, querida,” he held you tightly as if he was afraid he would lose you again if he let go.
The two of you stayed like that for some time, both savoring the other’s embrace. You trembled in his arms as he held you close. All your emotions bubbled over and you burst into tears as you suddenly pushed him away, “What the hell was this all about, Pero?!” you shouted at him with tears in your eyes, “First you push me away, then I get kidnapped, now…”
Tovar cupped your face and pulled you in for a heated kiss, “I am so sorry, querida,” he mumbled against your lips when he broke away for a breath, “I only tried to protect you but…” he drifted off for a moment before he spoke again, “Querida, it’s you and me, forever. no matter what.”
You couldn’t help but smile through your tears at his words, “You mean it?”
“Of course, mi amor. I will always keep you safe,” Tovar kissed you again, only this time more slowly and deeply.
There were so many words on your mind. You wanted to tell him how you always felt safe with him, how you truly loved him. But the way you kissed him back and held onto him tightly held all the unspoken words. As long as you both had each other, that was all that mattered.
