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allsassnoclass · 4 years ago

Note

how about “i know we hate each other but it’s christmas eve and your flight was cancelled please come inside” for muke? xx

Here you are my darling I hope you enjoy it!

Ficmas Day 6

Rating: teen and up

Read on AO3

Michael is woken up at ten in the morning by Mariah Carey passionately singing about what she wants for Christmas, accompanied by a voice that Michael has become unfortunately accustomed to within the past four months. He groans and flops over, pulling his pillow over his head and hoping for the thousandth time that his neighbor might suddenly lose his voice, or at least lose the ability to blast music when Michael is still trying to sleep. He’s coming off of the night shift and it’s Christmas Eve. He should be allowed to actually sleep.

The pillow doesn’t help, so he slaps his hand against the wall as loudly as he can. That doesn’t seem to help either, and Luke keeps hitting high notes that would be really impressive if Michael wasn’t currently plotting his murder.

Plotting Luke Hemming’s murder is something that Michael does frequently. He’s never immediately disliked someone so quickly, but Luke is not only a professional at waking him up during what little sleep Michael is trying to get, but he has managed to set off the fire alarm with his cooking failures three times already, he sometimes keeps a bike in the hall that Michael almost always manages to run into no matter where it is, and when he watches TV it’s always bad reality programs at top volume. His mail continuously somehow ends up in Michael’s slot, and he never says “thank you” when Michael gives it to him. He has an endless trail of people tramping in and out of his apartment at all hours, but Calum said he got passive-aggressive about buzzing him up when Michael was still in the shower, despite them having met in the lobby multiple times and Luke knowing that Calum is Michael’s emergency contact.

When Michael ran into him during his move-in and said hi, Luke’s dog had growled at him.

Dogs love Michael.

Despite his cherubic blonde curls and dreamy blue eyes, Luke Hemmings might be the devil. This was only confirmed when he started playing Christmas music and decorating his door the day after Halloween.

Michal isn’t a grinch. He likes Christmas as much as the next person who grew up celebrating it, but he likes when it’s confined to the proper month. There’s something to be said about the feel-good movies and lights twinkling against the snow at night, but he works overnights at a 24 hour grocery store, and at this point Christmas music makes him want to claw his ears off. Luke doesn’t seem to listen to anything else, and he has a wreath and line of jingle bells on his door. Michael doesn’t even want to see what the inside of his apartment looks like.

His one solace is that today Luke is catching a plane to go back to his parents’ house. Their bedrooms share a wall, and Michael has heard him making plans to load up Petunia and spend Christmas at his childhood home. Michael is not so lucky, confined to his apartment for the holiday.

He’s not sure what his plans are yet. He’s trying not to be too sad about it, but it’s difficult when everyone under the sun is getting to spend it with family and he’s going in for a night shift.

The song on the other side of the wall switches to “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” Michael tries to block out Luke’s self-dueting and viciously stamps down the jealousy bubbling in his gut.

-/-

Luke finally leaves the apartment at 2 pm. Michael hears him cooing to his dog and the jangle of keys as he locks up, and then the apartment is blessedly silent. He lays in bed for an hour scrolling through his phone, but eventually seeing everyone’s messages about the holiday and seeing their families becomes too much and he gets up, making his way to the shower. The apartment is colder than usual, and when he looks out the window he only sees a mass of white, swirling too fast to make out individual flakes. Chicago seems to be living up to its nickname. Maybe it’s a good thing that he doesn’t have to drive far to get to work tomorrow. He bundles up in his coziest sweatshirt and sweatpants and his favorite pair of fuzzy socks, anyway.

Michael is getting something to eat when he hears Luke’s voice again, still talking to his dog. It’s clearly coming from the hallway, and Michael frowns when something thumps, followed by Luke apologizing. He leaves the plate with his half eaten toast on the counter and presses his ear to the door, trying to make the words take distinct shape.

“... know, girl, but we’re almost back,” Luke says. “Then we’ll… I don’t know. We’ll figure something else out, right? Fuck, where are my fucking keys?” Something else hits the floor. Luke sniffs.

“Fuck,” he says, but it’s small and fragile. Michael hasn’t heard Luke sound defeated before now, and he doesn’t think he ever wants to hear it again. To know that someone who typically is annoyingly joyful is unable to keep up that demeanor outside the privacy of his own home makes Michael’s heart break a little.

Maybe that’s why he opens the door. Michael doesn’t know; if he was asked, he’d have to say that he was reaching for the doorknob before his mind caught up with his limbs.

Luke scrambles at the sound, wiping at his eyes. He’s crouched on the floor, mittens in his hand, a large duffle on the floor next to him and a backpack open in front. Petunia’s dog crate is blocking part of the hallway.

“Luke,” Michael says. He doesn't have anything else to say; he didn’t think this far ahead.

“I’ll be quieter,” Luke sniffs. “Sorry. Don’t want to ruin your perfect day.”

“That’s not why I’m out here,” Michael frowns. “It’s just a normal day for me. Did your flight get cancelled?”

“What do you think?” Luke snaps. “It’s a blizzard out there. All flights are grounded until at least tomorrow.”

“Sorry,” Michael says. Luke’s face twists up, and he looks down and takes a breath. He paws through something in his backpack, but it’s packed in pretty tight and he doesn’t find what he’s looking for, hands falling uselessly after a moment.

“I can’t find my keys,” he says, voice small again.

“Oh. Do you… you can come and look for them in my apartment, if you want. Just so you’re not spilling all your stuff in the hallway, you know?”

Luke frowns.

“I guess I could make hot chocolate, too?” Michael offers. “I mean, it must be pretty cold out there, with the snow and wind and everything.”

“You hate me,” Luke says flatly.

“I know. Well, I don’t--” he sighs. Even when he’s trying to do something nice for him, talking to Luke is infuriating. “Look. I know that we don’t like each other, but it’s Christmas Eve and your flight was just cancelled. Do you want hot chocolate or not?”

Luke looks at his backpack, then at the dog crate.

“Can I let Petunia out?”

“Sure, as long as she doesn't growl at me.”

Luke considers for another moment, long enough that Michael has to tamp down the urge to fidget with his sleeves.

“Okay,” he says. Then, after a delay, “Thanks.”

Michael nods once, then retreats back into his apartment and holds the door open.

Luke gathers up his backpack and drags the dog crate behind him, immediately crouching to undo the clasp once Michael closes the door.

Petunia woofs in the crate while he fumbles with the latch, launching forward and nearly tackling Luke once he finally gets it open. He hugs her to him, burying his face in her back, and Michael makes himself look away, reaching for the mugs instead and checking to ensure there's water in the kettle before putting it on the stove.

If Luke wants his cocoa made with milk, he can suck it. Michael hopes he isn't expecting whipped cream, either.

"Can Petunia be on your furniture?" Luke asks, still hugging the wriggling beast. She's a solid dog. Michael isn't sure how Luke got her crate down the stairs.

"Sure," he says. Luke gets her go and she wanders around the apartment sniffing every corner. Michael hopes he didn't leave any snacks lying around. He breaks eye contact with the kettle to peer around the corner and ensure that his bedroom door is closed, too.

"So," he says as he gets out two packets of cocoa mix, ripping them open and pouring them into the mugs. "Where... um, where does your family live?"

He glances at Luke, standing in the middle of the room and looking around with a slight frown on his face.

He could try to seem less judgmental. Michael's trying to help him out here.

"They're in California," Luke says. "The northern part."

"Oh. That'd be a long flight."

"Yeah," Luke says. He doesn't say anything else and Michael has just about run out of his small talk, so he turns back to the kettle and wills it to heat up faster. Petunia's dog collar jingles and Michael looks back long enough to see her hop up on the couch next to where Luke has finally sat down.

"You don't have any Christmas decorations up," Luke says.

"Oh," Michael replies. "No, I guess not."

"Do you not celebrate? Sorry, I don’t know your religion or anything."

"Not really," he says. "I mean, I kind of do, but I'm an atheist, and since I can't go home doing Christmas by myself felt depressing. Calum and I already exchanged gifts."

"Oh," Luke says. "Where does your family live?"

"St. Louis. I have a shift tomorrow night, so it didn't seem worth the drive."

"Sorry," Luke frowns.

"S'okay. Better than trying to go home and having the flight be cancelled."

Luke purses his lips. Michael hopes he doesn’t start crying. Thankfully the kettle chooses that moment to squeal, giving Michael something to do besides stare dumbly at Luke. For someone who spent what was probably a very frustrating and frazzling amount of time at the airport, his hair looks infuriatingly good right now.

"Do you want marshmallows?" he asks. "They're a little stale."

"Sure," Luke says. "Thanks."

Michael gets the marshmallows from his cupboard and plops a few into each of their drinks. He gives Luke the mug his parents got him with his college logo, keeping the Marvel one that Calum bought for himself. Luke takes the mug with both hands, their fingers touching, and Michael tries not to snatch his hand back. Petunia leans forward to sniff, making Michael give her a wide berth on the way to his wicker armchair.

"Are you scared of my dog?" Luke asks. "Look, I know she has some pit bull in her, but that doesn't mean she's a monster. She's really sweet."

"She growled at me when we met."

"When was that?"

Typical. Michael isn't even a big enough blip on Luke's radar for him to remember that they met when he moved in. Sure, Luke probably met a lot of people that day, but Michael lives right next door, and they've obviously seen each other a lot since then.

"When you moved in. I was leaving for a shift, you were moving boxes around, and she came out and growled at me."

"Huh." Luke looks at her. Petunia looks right back, completely unbothered. "She's really not typically like that. The stress of the move made her moody. If you let her sniff you now, she'll let you pet her. Come on."

He sets down his cocoa and gestures Michael forward.

"Dude, it's not a big deal."

"It is," Luke says. He looks sincerely distressed. Michael immediately wants to correct that, like Luke has some sort of weird superpower that makes everyone around him want to keep him happy. "I want you to like my dog. She wants to like you, too."

"Fine," Michael says, rolling his eyes. "I'll meet your stupid dog."

Luke beams. He has dimples. Somehow, this is the worst thing that has happened to Michael today. His insides feel funny, like he swallowed pop rocks.

"Be nice, Piggy," Luke says to the dog. Michael cautiously holds out his hand, letting Petunia snuffle at it. Soon enough she must decide that he isn't worth the trouble because she puts her head back down and lets Michael run a hand over her back.

"She really likes it when you scratch behind her ears."

He tries that out, watching the way her ears flick forward and back and how she keeps moving her eyes from him to Luke. She sighs and smacks her lips twice, kicking out her back leg and stretching further on the couch.

"See?" Luke says. "She likes you."

Michael smiles, sitting gingerly on the edge of the couch so he can continue to pet her.

"I miss dogs," he says. "I keep wanting to get one, but I work too much right now."

"What is it you do?" Luke asks. He drinks some of his hot chocolate, pulling a face but going back in for another sip. MIchael’s not sure if that means his cocoa sucks or is acceptable.

"I work nights at a grocery store, but I babysit for some of the families here, too."

"Really?' Luke asks.

"Don't sound so surprised," Michael snorts.

"Sorry," Luke says. "You just don't strike me as a kid person."

Michael shrugs. Luke has a point. Michael was an only child and he gets tired and grumpy easily. Still, hanging out with his kids usually isn’t that bad.

"It pays well. They're little demons, but at this point all of them like me, so it's not too bad. The hardest thing is pretending to be bad at their video games so they don't get upset because I'm beating them."

“I guess,” Luke says. “I’m a hairstylist, and our salon is pretty high-end. We don’t get a lot of kids, thank goodness. I’d be scared that they’d move and I’d cut off the wrong chunk of hair.”

Huh. That must be why his hair always looks so good.

“You think my hair looks good?” Luke asks.

Shit. Michael is too used to being alone in the apartment and allowed to speak all of his thoughts to the air.

He shrugs.

Luke makes a pleased noise and drinks more of his cocoa. His cheeks look a little red, possibly a side effect of him still wearing his coat even though he’s inside with a warm drink.

Michael goes back to his chair and picks up his own cocoa. Luke takes a few more sips, but it seems like he has used up most of his small talk, too, although he tries as he goes through his backpack, commenting on the book he tucked in there but probably wouldn’t have read and occasionally cooing at Petunia. Michael is grateful when he finishes his own drink and can take it to the sink to rinse it, spying his half-eaten toast and taking a bite along the way.

Luke finds his keys quickly, zipped into an outside pocket.

“Thanks for the cocoa, and letting me let Petunia out,” Luke says, standing in the middle of the room again, backpack on and keys in hand.

“Yeah, sure,” Michael replies. “Hope you have a good Christmas.”

“You too,” Luke says. Michael looks at everything in the room other than him. Luke grabs his things, calls to Petunia, and leaves for the apartment next door.

-/-

There’s a knock on Michael’s door a few hours later. It’s still snowing pretty heavily outside, white flakes standing out against a black sky whenever they pass by a light, so it must be someone in the building. Michael hopes it’s not someone needing a last-minute babysitter. He’s still tired and trying to savor his one night off, even if he doesn’t have any plans beyond video games and movies. He’s going to have to resist shouting at the tv into the early morning now that Luke is home again, but he was still looking forward to it.

Luke is standing outside his door.

“Hi,” Michael says slowly.

“Hey,” Luke says. “Do you want to have dinner?”

“What?” Michael asks, sure that he heard something wrong or is misunderstanding something.

“I dunno. You’re here, I’m here, neither of us are doing anything. I don’t really want to eat alone on Christmas Eve.”

Oh. Michael hopes for once his pale complexion isn’t betraying him, but he can feel his ears burn. Luke is not asking him on a date; he’s just bored and lonely. Luke also has automatically assumed that Michael doesn’t have a life and isn’t doing anything which--while true--is a little offensive.

“Okay,” he shrugs. “What do you want to eat?”

“Well…” Luke looks down at his feet, ever so slightly pigeon-toed. He has really nice legs, even when they’re covered in baggy sweatpants instead of the usual skin-tight pants Michael typically spies him in. “I wasn’t planning on being here for a bit, so I have some pasta but no sauce, or I have pancake mix. We might be able to walk to the Chinese place at the corner, but I don’t know if they’re open with the blizzard.”

“Pancakes sound good,” Michael says. “I have some eggs, if you want those.”

“Thanks,” Luke says. “I have some bread for toast and jam and butter. That’s a full meal. Want to come to mine?”

“Sure,” Michael says. “I’ll get the eggs.”

Michael lets his door swing closed. He toes on his shoes and grabs his phone, then almost forgets the eggs anyway and has to double back to the kitchen.

He doesn’t know if he’s supposed to walk right in to Luke’s apartment or knock out of politeness. After a moment of deliberation he chooses the latter, navigating around the wreath to rap his knuckles against the wood, which sends Petunia barking and therefore might have been the wrong choice. Luke doesn’t seem bothered when he opens the door, though. He just smiles and steps aside, then tells Petunia to stop. Petunia actually greets Michael at the door, too, snuffling at his feet before trotting after Luke to the kitchen area.

"Woah," he says involuntarily once he gets a clear look at the apartment. There's a fake tree in the corner, which he expected, but what takes him aback is the tinsel hanging from the ceiling in green and red, the small Santas and snowmen standing proud on available surfaces like the TV stand, side table, and counter, and the numerous other fake evergreen springs scattered around. There are Christmas pillows on the couch. There's a wooden reindeer on the wall.

Michael knew that Luke loved Christmas given the numerous carol-sessions and decorations seen from outside the apartment, but somehow he still hadn't considered that the inside would look like this.

"I got started already," Luke calls from the kitchen. Michael breaks himself out of his decoration shock and follows him into the small area, looking in the mixing bowl Luke gestures to. The batter inside doesn't appear to be mixed very well, just milk sitting around a mound of powder. "I don't know when you usually eat, since you work so late, but I hope you don't mind. If you hate it you don't have to eat it or whatever; I'm not the best cook and I know that you're just humoring me."

Luke puts his hands on the counter and sighs.

"Sorry. I'm rambling."

"It's okay," Michael says. "I prefer rambling to awkward silence."

"I'm great at awkwardness," Luke says. "I excel at being awkward. If it's possible to make a situation more awkward, I can do it."

"Yeah, I'm getting that," Michael says, eyeing him. This Luke is different than the Luke Michael so often sees in the hallway. He's softened by the grey tracksuit he's wearing, hair now pulled half-up, slight embarrassment staining his movements. This Luke is approachable and comfortable. Michael thinks he can find his footing here. The Luke that he interacted with before today is intimidating in his heeled ankle boots and silk shirts. This one seems like... well, a little like a dork.

Michael reaches for the pancake mix box while Luke takes a fork and starts stirring.

"Hey, did you put an egg in?"

Luke freezes.

"This needs eggs?"

Huh. This Luke is a dork who is hopeless in the kitchen.

"You weren't underestimating your cooking skills earlier," he says. "Have you made pancakes before?"

"It was a while ago, okay?" Luke defends. "I eat out a lot."

"Every self-respecting person should be able to make pancakes," Michael says. He takes one of the eggs and cracks it over the bowl, Luke pausing in his mixing to give him room. Thankfully, Luke seems to have a griddle plugged in and warming up. Michael thinks it probably was a housewarming present that doesn't get much use.

"What kind of eggs do you want?" Michael asks.

"Uh, scrambled."

"How many?"

"You choose."

Michael has never cooked with Luke. Michael has never seen Luke eat and therefore doesn't know his appetite. Michael has no clue what to do with that answer.

"Can I have a pan?" he asks.

"Sure," Luke says distractedly, forcefully stabbing at the egg in his mixing bowl to break the yoke. "They're right over there."

He kicks his leg out towards one of the lower cabinets, right behind where Petunia has taken up residence.

"Hey Petunia, want to move?" he asks her, crouching and slowly opening the drawer. She stares at him. He scratches behind her ears and continues to pull the drawer out as far as he can, but it's not far enough. Eventually she must find the drawer pushing into her back more inconvenient than shifting her position, because she heaves herself up and leaves to sit by her food dish in the corner instead.

"Is this mixed enough?" Luke asks. He tilts the bowl and Michael cranes his neck to see. The fact that Luke is asking him at all is weird, because Michael himself isn't exactly in the running for a Michelin star, but there's something to be said about the easy way Luke has admitted his weakness here and turned to Michael for help. Michael himself would probably just keep messing stuff up rather than admit he needed guidance.

"Um, it's a little lumpy still."

Luke sighs and begins mixing again. Michael finds a suitable pan and begins cracking eggs.

True to his promises, Luke keeps rambling all throughout the dinner-making process. He talks about his favorite foods and his friends and asks Michael if they can add chocolate chips to half the pancakes, as if Luke is the guest here instead of Michael. When he remembers to catch his breath, he asks Michael about himself, seeking the information he had already ended up word-vomiting. It's a lot more endearing than Michael thought it would be. For how annoying he finds Luke, there's something endlessly charming about hearing him nervously spout facts about himself. It's even more charming when he doesn't reprimand Michael for eating some chocolate chips straight out of the bag.

He manages to get batter on his nose halfway through the cooking process. When Michael points it out, Luke's cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink, and Michael makes himself turn to start the toast.

The pancakes land themselves on a plate and Luke gets out another two for them to use. Michael splits the eggs between them and Luke hands out the toast, then they take two of the stools at the counter to eat.

They're not exactly the best pancakes he's ever eaten, but they're not bad at all. They're made even better by the fact that Michael isn't eating them alone.

Being on a different schedule than everyone else and living alone means that the vast majority of his meals are spent by himself, typically with the tv on just to give a bit of noise. While Luke turns on the radio softly, Michael barely registers it, too busy listening to Luke's stories of the salon and countering with tales from the night shift at the grocery. It's deceptively easy to keep conversation flowing between them.

Before Michael has taken his first bite of pancake, he's already decided that hating Luke was a stupid decision.

Of course, Luke is just lonely on Christmas Eve. While he's smiling and laughing hard enough at things Michael says to sometimes duck forward, close enough to rest his head on Michael's shoulder if he wanted, there's no guarantee that something like this will ever happen with them again.

Michael chews his last few bites slowly.

“Hey,” Luke says as he’s putting the plates in the sink, where the mixing bowl and pan are already taking up residence, “do you want to stay for a bit? If you don’t have work or anything? I usually watch some movies on Christmas Eve, but if you don’t want to we can do something else, like…” He looks around his apartment, biting his lip. Michael does not stare. “I have some decks of cards? We can have more hot chocolate?”

“I’d be down for a movie,” Michael says. Luke's shoulders slump in relief. It makes Michael feel better that Luke would be relieved over him staying. He's astoundingly easy to read up close, emotions flickering over his face and seeping into his body language to create an open book. It makes it easier to believe that Luke was asking out of a genuine desire to keep his company, rather than misplaced politeness or simple loneliness.

"Great!" Luke says. "Awesome."

"What do you usually watch?" Michael asks.

"Uh, the Lord of the Rings."

That wasn't what Michael was expecting. Honestly, he was betting on Elf.

"Like, all three? Isn't that twelve hours?"

"We usually have them going right after lunch. I think my parents hoped that watching would tire us out so we wouldn't wake them up early to open presents before church."

"Did it work?" Michael asks.

"Nope," Luke grins. "Jack--one of my brothers--always ensured we were awake when the sun rose."

"If I had a brother wake me up that early, I would kill him," Michael says.

"Not me. I wanted him to," Luke says. "I loved running to the living room and seeing all of the presents and our stockings lined up. I didn't want to wait a moment more than I had to."

Michael tries to picture a younger Luke Hemmings running excitedly to look under his Christmas tree, early rays of dawn streaming in through a window and fresh snow on the ground.

He doesn't know what Luke looked like back then. It puts a damper on things, but the image is soaked in nostalgia and happiness regardless.

"If you wake me up early tomorrow it'll be the last thing you do, but we can watch Lord of the Rings," he says. Luke grins.

"Can we make a blanket fort, too?" he asks.

"What are you, six?"

Luke's face immediately crumples.

Shit.

"No, not like that! It's not a bad thing!" he backpedals. "Like, I'm just teasing. I do it with all of my friends. If Calum had asked I'd have said the same thing even though I want to."

Luke eyes him critically.

"We're friends now?"

Michael rubs at his chest. He hadn't even thought before he had said that. He shouldn't have assumed. If Luke hadn't warmed up to him in the entirety of their four months as neighbors, why should one night make any difference?

"I guess," he says. "Why not? I gave you eggs."

"Yeah, a true sign of friendship," Luke says dryly.

Fuck. He fucked this up.

"I should go," he says, starting for the door. Luke lurches into motion, catching his arm as he passes. It sends goosebumps erupting across his skin, freezing him in his tracks.

"Wait, don't," Luke says. "Sorry. We're friends. Don't go, please. I didn't--we're friends. I want us to be friends."

He releases Michael's arm, and Michael feels like he can breath again.

"We're really bad at this," he says. It makes Luke laugh, lifting at least half the heaviness in the air. "We're friends, we're going to make a fucking blanket fort, and we're going to watch Lord of the Rings. Right?"

"Right," Luke says.

"Good. Let's get started on that blanket fort."

Luke's definition of a blanket fort is more of a nest. They don't have anything tall enough to prop up a ceiling unless they take the cushions they need to use as a floor, even with Michael going back to his own apartment to bring pillows and blankets. In the end, Luke moves his small coffee table and they simply pile as much padding and blankets as they can find in front of the couch. Luke pops a bag of popcorn and offers beverages. Once he gets settled Petunia flops down next to him, leaving Michael to set up the movie with Luke giving directions, since neither of them could disturb Petunia in good conscience.

Luke ends up disturbing her anyway to take her outside for the bathroom so she doesn't interrupt the movie.

Being alone in Luke's apartment with no distraction is strange, so he takes out his phone and texts Calum.

To Calpal: im in lukes apartment we had pancakes and now we are watching lord of the rings

From Calpal: ???? hot mean neighbor luke?

To Calpal: yeah his flight was cancelled

From Calpal: ????????????? I thought you hated him

To Calpal: hes kinda a dork cant cook for shit his dog likes me now hes kinda funny too we are officially friends

From Calpal: ??????????????????????

Luke’s door opens, and Michael has to scramble for the popcorn so Petunia won’t be able to get at it while Luke takes off his boots and jacket.

To Calpal: g2g tell you later

“Hey, Petunia,” Michael says when she presses against him, stretching for the popcorn he’s holding out of reach. He runs a hand over her back, fur cold and damp. “Is it still snowing?”

“A little,” Luke calls. “I think it’ll stop soon.” He gets the main light, leaving a lamp on a side table lit, then flops down on the blankets and cushions, shoulder knocking Michael’s briefly.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

Luke presses play, and the opening instrumental and Galadriel’s narration fills the small apartment.

Luke is chatty during movies. Michael would be more annoyed by it if this wasn’t clearly a movie he had seen millions of times before with a million memories to accompany. Besides, when Michael says he’d like to be a hobbit so he could snack all the time, Luke makes another bag of popcorn for him without asking.

“Do you think--” he asks, then stops. On screen, the Fellowship arrives at Lothlorien.

“Do I think what?” Michael prompts.

“Do you think I’ll be able to go home tomorrow?”

Michael looks at him, lounging back on the cushions with one of the blankets pulled around him. He let his hair down, curls shadowing his face a bit more in the low light.

“Yeah, if the snow stops,” he says. “But if not… if you’re still lonely, you can hang out with me until I go to work.”

“Really?” Luke asks.

“Yeah, why not,” Michael says. “If you’re not sick of me, I don’t have any plans. I was just going to play video games.”

Luke smiles at him.

“I like video games.”

“Great. We’ll play video games.”

Michael turns back to the movie, but Luke’s hand snakes over a snoring Petunia and grabs his own.

“Thank you,” he says. “Really. You’ve made what would’ve been a really shit time into a surprisingly nice Christmas.”

“It’s not even Christmas yet,” Michael says, feeling his cheeks heat up. Thankfully Luke won’t be able to see it in the low light.

“You’ll make that nice, too.”

Michael squirms under his attention. It feels too nice, and that’s something he can’t afford to consider right now.

“Um, I think there’s an important scene coming up,” he says. Luke squeezes his hand again, but returns his attention back to the screen.

Michael is the one to put the second movie in, because Luke is still sniffling over the ending of the first. Michael’s not sure if he’s allowed to tease him for it, especially when his own eyes welled up. He cries over movies pretty easily, and there’s something to be said about the loyalty and love packed into the last piece of the story, something that Michael occasionally wonders if he’ll ever find.

He comes close with Calum, but Calum also has a roommate and boyfriend. Michael wouldn’t mind another person to love, too.

“I think this one is my least favorite,” Luke says drowsily when Michael presses play. “Too much Gollum. He used to give me nightmares as a kid.”

“Really?” Michael asks. Luke nods.

“That, and the scene in the first one where they’re making the Uruk-hai and they appear from the mud.”

“When I was young, I had lots of nightmares about showing up to school in my underwear and everyone laughing at me. It would happen once a week. I started ditching school because it made me too nervous.”

Luke hums.

“I wouldn’t have laughed at you.”

“It was middle school. Everyone would’ve laughed.”

“Not now,” Luke says. “I know you now. I’d wait until I knew you were okay to laugh.”

“Thanks,” Michael says. Luke nods. He keeps sinking lower and lower into the blankets, eyelids drooping more every time Michael checks on him. Michael himself would still be in the middle of his shift at the grocery store on a typical day, and he could keep going for hours. The relaxed atmosphere they’ve formed might let him clock out early, though.

They watch most of this movie in silence, Luke’s commentary diminishing more and more as the movie wears on. There are a few times where Michael thinks he’s finally fallen asleep and he should take his leave, but then Luke will shift or say something else.

“Michael?” he asks eventually, voice small and eyes closed. He’s curled on his side facing him, giving up any pretence of continuing to watch.

“Hm?”

“Will you stay here tonight?”

“Sure,” he says. Luke smiles and snuggles deeper into the blanket. His breathing evens out more, slipping seamlessly into sleep. Michael looks at the way his eyelashes brush his cheeks, savoring the unguarded expression on his face. He’s almost ethereal like this, as fair and otherworldly as the elves on the tv but twice as captivating.

Michael puts the third movie in once it’s time. He’s asleep within ten minutes.

-/-

Michael wakes disoriented, tangled in multiple blankets and propped on too many pillows. There’s noise somewhere near him, someone else shuffling and the rustle of a jacket being put on, but it doesn’t feel out of place. This person isn’t an enemy breaking in.

“Wha?” he asks, trying to turn towards the noise.

“Sorry, sorry,” Luke murmurs. “I’m going to try to see if I can get to church. Go back to sleep.”

Soft fingers brush his hair to the side, lingering. He leans into the touch before it’s gone.

He rolls over and goes back to sleep.

-/-

The smell of coffee draws him fully out of sleep a while later. Michael blinks and does his best to detangle himself, sitting up and looking around groggily until he processes Luke standing at the counter, mug in hand. It’s a sight that Michael could get used to if he was allowed. He’s in his typical jeans and fancy shirt, a juxtaposition to yesterday, and Michael isn’t sure what that means about the dorky guy who wanted to make a blanket fort rather than the one who always brushed by Michael in the hallway.

He clears his throat. Luke’s answering grin is wide and familiar.

“Hi,” he says.

“Good morning,” Luke says. “Afternoon. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” he hums. “Coffee?”

Luke pours another mug, offering Michael cream and sugar. He brings it over, and this time when their fingers brush over the mug Michael doesn’t feel the need to snatch his hand away.

“How was church?” he asks.

“It was good,” Luke says. “The plows were out overnight, so I was only a little late.” He looks down at his mug, fingertip tracing the rim. “I wish I had been able to go with my family. It’s fine though. Mum will probably have us go on Sunday.”

Michael nods.

“I, uh, got a message from the airport, too. My flight got rescheduled. I’m going to have to leave in about an hour.”

“Oh,” Michael says.

“Sorry.”

“What? No, this is a good thing. I’m glad you get to go home,” he says, hoping he doesn’t sound too disappointed. He had been looking forward to spending part of the day with Luke more than he thought, and to have that taken away from him feels like a punch to the gut.

“Guess we’re going to have to reschedule the video games,” Luke says.

“Yeah.”

“Or,” he says, “we could go on a date?”

Michael gives himself whiplash with how quickly he looks up.

“I, uh, don’t know if you even like guys,” Luke says, “but I’ve had a lot of fun with you, and I’ve always thought you were cute.”

“I thought you didn’t like me until yesterday.”

Luke shrugs.

“I can think you’re hot and be frustrated about it at the same time.”

Michael nods because yeah, that tracks. Michael has never kidded himself about how nice Luke is to look at, even when he was cursing his name for waking him up with Christmas carols.

“Yeah,” he says.

“Yeah, you agree that you’re hot and frustrating? Or--”

“Yeah, let’s go on a date. Or stay in on a date. Whatever you want.”

Luke grins. Michael hides his smile behind his cup of coffee, but Luke can probably see it anyway.

“Want some pancakes?” Luke asks. “We have the leftovers from yesterday.”

“If you can handle heating them up.”

Luke swats at him on the way past and Michael tries to trip him in retaliation. It almost works, earning him a reproachful look that he responds to with a wink. Luke ducks his head.

Michael is going to flirt with him so hard in the future. He can’t wait to see Luke’s face turn different shades of pink.

They have to clean up the blanket fort after breakfast, and by then Luke barely has time to get Petunia ready before needing to leave. Michael offers to drive him to the airport, but Luke says Petunia rides best in his car, and he’d rather park it at the airport so he doesn’t have to call for a ride home.

Luke walks him to his door, even though it’s only a few feet away.

“Hey,” he says. “Thanks again for making me pancakes and watching movies with me, and for inviting me in for hot chocolate earlier. I’m glad you did.”

“I’m glad you said yes,” Michael says. “Let me know when you get back.”

“I will.”

“Have a good time,” Michael says. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Michael.”

Luke leans forward and kisses his cheek. When he steps back, he’s smiling again. Michael mirrors it and stays standing in front of his door until Luke has disappeared into his.

His apartment feels small and empty after sharing Luke’s for the night. There’s no pillow fort spread on the floor nor dog lounging on the couch.

Of course, Luke’s apartment will be empty soon, too. He’ll be with his family, enjoying Christmas day with them, while Michael’s own parents will be without him for the first year since he was born.

He brings out his phone and dials his home number, listening to it ring a few times before someone picks up.

“Michael? How are you? Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas Mum,” he says.

“Oh, we miss you, darling,” she says. “We wish you could be here. Are you still having an alright time?”

“I actually am,” he says. “I, uh, was celebrating with someone this morning. Have I mentioned my neighbor Luke?”

“No, I don’t think you have. Why don’t you tell me about him?”

Michael gets comfortable on his couch and tells his mother all about spending Christmas with Luke Hemmings.

#my writing #muke #5sos fanfic #ficmas 2020 #MUKE! muke #conceptually I've been digging them a lot recently so this was nice to write #also I say that calum has a boyfriend and a roommate..........#in my head one is roy and one is Ashton. flip a coin for which is which there is no roy disrespect in this house

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kristenswig · 4 years ago

Text

Best Picture

Nomadland

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Minari

Mank

Judas and the Black Messiah

Promising Young Woman

One Night in Miami

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

The Father If 10- Sound of Metal In Its Flop Era- News of the World How Far Are We Taking This Bit- The Mauritanian No- Da 5 Bloods Fell Off- Soul Get Out of My House- Borat

Best Director

Chloe Zhao - Nomadland

David Fincher - Mank

Lee Isaac Chung - Minari

Emerald Fennell - Promising Young Woman

Shaka King - Judas and the Black Messiah I Simply Do Not Accept It Into My Heart - Aaron Sorkin - The Trial of the Chicago 7 Let’s Ask Oscar Nominated Directors Ben Affleck, Denzel Washington, and Bradley Cooper How This Goes - Regina King - One Night in Miami I’m Not Seeing It But I Would Like To - Florian Zeller - The Father Still No - Spike Lee - Da 5 Bloods Whoever the Hell Directed This - “Paul Greengrass” - News of the World Wouldn’t Be That Surprising - Thomas Vinterberg - Another Round

Best Actress

Viola Davis - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Frances McDormand - Nomadland

Carey Mulligan - Promising Young Woman

Vanessa Kirby - Pieces of a Woman

Andra Day - The United States vs. Billie Holiday Fad - Rosamund Pike - I Care a Lot Stop Trying to Make This Happen - Sophia Loren - The Life Ahead I Do Have to Be Impressed With Netflix’s Blatant Astroturfing of This Campaign/Movie - Zendaya - Malcolm & Marie shestrying.jpg - Amy Adams - Hillbilly Elegy

Best Actor

Chadwick Boseman - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Anthony Hopkins - The Father

Riz Ahmed - Sound of Metal

Steven Yeun - Minari

Gary Oldman - Mank Tempting- Tahar Rahim - The Mauritanian Most Acting- Delroy Lindo - Da 5 Bloods Sure!- Mads Mikkelsen - Another Round

Supporting Actress

Yuh-Jung Youn - Minari

Maria Bakalova - Borat

Olivia Colman - The Father

Amankda Seyfried - Mank

Dominique Fishback - Judas and the Black Messiah Do I Dare Predict This Snub - Glenn Close - Hillbilly Elegy Still Feels Like a Globes Thing - Jodie Foster - The Mauritanian Even I Didn’t Get Why This Was Supposed to Happen - Ellen Burstyn - Pieces of a Woman Shut It Down - Helena Zengel - News of the World

Supporting Actor

Daniel Kaluuya - Judas and the Black Messiah

Sacha Baron Cohen - Trial of the Chicago 7

Leslie Odom Jr. - One Night in Miami

Paul Raci - Sound of Metal

David Strathairn - Nomadland Nothing for This Movie - Chadwick Boseman - Da 5 Bloods Everything for This Movie? - Alan Kim - Minari Also a Fad - Jared Leto - The Little Things

Adapted Screenplay

Nomadland

The Father

One Night in Miami

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

B*rat Should’ve Just Sat There and Ate Your Tech Nominations - News of the World Ok - The Mauritanian When Did This Category Get So Many Contenders - The White Tiger BONNIE WAKE UP - I’m Thinking of Ending Things BONNIE STAY WITH ME I NEED YOU - First Cow

Original Screenplay

Trial of the Chicago 7

Mank

Promising Young Woman

Minari

Judas and the Black Messiah Probably Stupid Not to Predict This - Sound of Metal In Another Year - Soul They Probably Watched This - Palm Springs They Did Not Watch This - Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Cinematography

Nomadland

Mank

News of the World

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (???)

Judas and the Black Messiah Was Going to Predict This Until the ASC Happened - Minari Cherk? - Cherk The Worst Shot Movie of the Year - Da 5 Bloods His Movies Only End Up Here If It’s Also a Best Picture Nominee - Tenet Automatic B&W Possibilities - Malcolm & Marie, Dear Comrades, Gunda

Costume Design

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Mank

Emma

Personal History of David Copperfield

Jingle Jangle CHAOS NOMINEE They Didn’t Care for Aladdin?- Mulan Another Tempting Pick- Ammonite Feel Like It Should’ve Had a Guild Nomination- News of the World Aggressive- Promising Young Woman Recent- The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Film Editing

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Nomadland

Promising Young Woman

Sound of Metal

The Father (the gif is at the ready) I Had Mank in Too Many Categories So I Dropped It From Here - Mank Is In The BP Top 5 - Minari Already Predicting That This Movie Will Stomp So - Judas and the Black Messiah The Paul Greengrass Version of This Movie Would’ve Scored - News of the World Again Only When He’s In Best Picture - Tenet

Makeup and Hair

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Hillbilly Elegy

Birds of Prey

The Glorias

Jingle Jangle AGAIN Another Mank Prediction Drop - Mank Is It Flashy Enough?? - Emma Gaslighting is When I’m Told Another Pinocchio Movie Came Out - Pinocchio

Production Design

Mank

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

News of the World

The Midnight Sky

Tenet See Above Re: Aladdin - Mulan They Don’t Like Women’s Period Pieces Here - Emma Deserves Pt. 1 - The Father Enough - The Trial of the Chicago 7 Deserves Pt. 2 - Personal History of David Copperfield

Score

Soul

Mank

Minari

The Midnight Sky

Tenet Literally No Clue - News of the World Watch Another Movie - The Trial of the Chicago 7 Kristenswig Official FYC - The Invisible Man

how did we literally get rid of sound editing before this category

the one song about speaking

the one song about seeing

the one song about fighting

the one song about hearing

I had the word “Eurovision” blacklisted on this website and also Twitter so I didn’t even know this movie existed until like 4 months after it came out Stacey - Abrams Minari?? The Only Song I’ve Actually Heard and then Voluntarily Listened to Again - Green

Sound et al.

Sound of Metal

Mank

News of the World

Greyhound

Tenet (although I’m sensing a potential breakup between this branch and Christopher Nolan coming) There Was The....Music - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom There Was Also Music - Soul Bucket Shitting - Nomadland Space! - The Midnight Sky

Visual Effects

Tenet

The Midnight Sky

Welcome to Chechnya

Mank

The ! One ! and ! Only ! Ivan ! Not Feeling Her - Mulan the what - Love and Monsters

Animated Feature

Soul

Wolfwalkers

Over the Moon

Onward (the sample size for two Pixars potentially being nominated at the same time is like...one non-pandemic year)

Shaun the Sheep ??? - The Croods Most Influential - Trolls World Tour Literally Nothing Would Surprise Me - Bombay Rose We Already Have Netflix Covered Twice Here - The Willoughbys When tf Did This Come Out - No. 7 Cherry Lane

Doc Feature

Time (or is this the frontrunner that gets snubbed every year)

Collective

Welcome to Chechnya

Boys State

All In This Makes Sense! - MLK/FBI This Makes Sense! - Crip Camp This Makes Sense! - The Truffle Hunters This Makes Sense! - Dick Johnson Is Dead

The Artist Formerly and More Accurately Known as Best Foreign Language Film

Another Round

Quo Vadis Aida

Collective

Two of Us

The Man Who Sold His Skin There Are Like 500 Ways You Could Spin The Last 3 Spots In This Category and I Wouldn’t Be Shocked So In Descending Order of Likelihood? - Dear Comrades, La Llorona, I’m No Longer Here, Night of Kings

#my other prediction is that the nominations will be much more insane than I'm currently predicting

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bajablast666 · 6 years ago

Text

Name: Haley (given name: Jackson)

I think we should travel together: {non-committal} “Sounds good to me, where we going?” / “Just don’t drag me into any vaults, please.”

use melee: {uncomfortable} “Oh, Y-you want me to--I’m not really...[sigh]” / [muttering to himself] “Christ, I don’t know how to punch, what makes them think I can punch?"

use ranged: “Way ahead of you,” / [chuckles] “Don’t have to tell me twice.”

open inventory: “While you’re back there, pass me a cigarette?” / “Shit, am I all out of whiskey?” / {flirty} “Woah, hey, watch those hands.”

stay close: “No worries, I’m right behind you.” / {flirty} “Yeah, that’s what all the guys say.”

keep distance: “Like your personal space huh?” / [if PC is male] “This cause I told Cass I thought you were hot?”/ “Ok, just don’t wander off!”

use stealth: {whispering} “Got it.” / “No shouting, got it.”

back up: [holding up hands] “Jeez, ok.” / {concerned} “Something up?”

be passive: “You want my disarming smile or my dumb blonde smile?”

be aggressive: “No problem, chief, I’m already pissed off.”

use stimpack: {pained} “Thanks--oof.” / [pained laugh] “Ah-hah, fuck. Somebody owes me a drink after this.”

wait here: “No problem, view’s nice here”/ {singing quietly} “I’ve got spurs, that jingle, jangle, jingle--”

follow me: “Back on the road again, huh?” / “Miss me?” / “Did you remember to pick up cigarettes while you were gone?” / “You forgot the cigarettes, didn’t you...”

go to the lucky 38: {sarcastically} “Cool, yep, I just love New Vegas--love being right across the street from the Omertas.”

go home: [will be found at Mojave Outpost] “It’s been fun; maybe I’ll see you on the road.” / “Be careful out there.”

companion perk: In it for the Long Haul: Haley’s experience as a courier is passed on to you. You are able to carry 50lbs more with him as a companion and H20, SLEEP & FOOD decay at a 20% slower rate.

weapons: .45 pistol, anti-materiel rifle

karma: neutral aggression: aggressive confidence: Brave assistance: Helps Friends and Allies

I wasn’t tagged but it looked really fun! Thanks @undeadcourier

Tagging anyone who wants to do this!!

#haley #new vegas #fallout new vegas #fallout

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uniqueimagines · 6 years ago

Text

I’m Yours

Paring: FP x Reader

Requested: Yes, “the reader works as a stripper at the Wyrm to support her deadbeat boyfriend. She’s on Jingle Jangle to deal with her life. FP is her friend and he makes her stay at his place when she’s high, and convinces her to dump said deadbeat... for him” Requested anonymously.

Description: Your life seemed to be going downhill laely and when you turn to drug use to cope FP decides to step in. After making you stay the night at his place to sober up he convinces you to leave your boyfriend and it gets a little hot and steamy.

Warnings: Swearing, Smut

Word count: 2,207

______________________________________________________________

You have been dating and supporting the same scumbag guy for over a year and a half. He isn’t a Serpent, he doesn’t have a job or attempt to get one, he lives with you and he basically just sits around and drinks. The relationship was fun in the beginning, the two of you having met on your 21st, but you two haven’t even had sex in almost a year because you are always working or he was too drunk to get it up. You were working as a bartender at the Wyrm but with having to support yourself and your boyfriend you decided to start stripping to get better tips. The last year has been extremely hard for you and a month ago when Jingle Jangle surfaced and you were intrigued.

You have been doing it every night before work for a week. If you weren’t high and working you were sleeping. There was no part of life that was enjoyable at this point in time as you now even hated your job and being around your boyfriend.. Today was a worse day than most as your boyfriend decided to start the afternoon by bitching you out before you left for work. You left your trailer pissed off taking some Jingle Jangle on the walk. You work the night making enough to get you through but it wasn’t a particularly great night which only made your mood worse. After everyone but you, FP, and Toni had left you went to the bathroom changing and taking another hit. You came out of the bathroom sitting on the edge of the stage attempting to count your money but losing your ability to focus.

FP had been friends with you for a while and noticed recently you were extra friendly with the men who usually bothered you and when dancing you often seemed to be in a dream state. You would often be having a conversation with someone after work and stare off and give vague answers that didn’t always make sense but tonight was the worst he had seen you and decided it was quite enough. He knew you had been taking drugs and couldn’t just stand by and watch anymore so he turned to Toni and asked, “Can you finish cleaning up? I need to take care of something.” Toni nodded as she watched him make his way over to you.

“Y/N!” Fp’s loud voice breaks you from your euphoric state and you look up at him pushing the money you made into your jacket pocket. FP holds his hand out to you before stating, “You are staying with me until you sober up.” You swat his hand away irrationally upset by his demand and stand grabbing your bag, “The fuck I am. I’m going home to my boyfriend.” FP grabs your arm tightly and pulls you backwards into his body whispering in a demanding tone, “I am not letting you go home to that dick you call a boyfriend while your too high to count cash. I’m worried about you.” Between FP’s grip and his harsh but caring tone you feel a bit of clarity and swallow hard nodding. Your brain was in a fog as you walked to his trailer and FP makes you sleep on the couch.

FP doesn’t sleep watching you the whole night as he knows something is very wrong along with worrying about you wondering off or doing something stupid in the middle of the night. When you wake up FP was standing with no shirt and a pair of black basketball shorts in the kitchen as he made pancakes. You sat up and instantly felt like crap physically and emotionally. FP can hear you sit up in the couch and without turning to you calls, “Time to eat and explain what’s going on.” You slip off your jacket before walking into the kitchen and sitting at the table mumbling, “Not hungry.” FP places a plate with three small pancakes two sausage links and some strawberries on the table in front of you and states bluntly again, “I wasn’t asking. Eat.”

You nod and begin taking small bites of food until about half the plate is gone and you push the rest around thinking. FP is now sitting beside you watching you silently until you stop eating and asks in a lighter and kinder tone, “Will you please tell me what is going on. This isn’t like you… Even the stripping isn’t you. Why?” You look up and let it all out as you hold back tears, “He isn’t working and drinks so much I needed to make more money. I couldn’t even look myself in the mirror and I-I just couldn’t deal anymore. I didn’t know how to… I needed help but I didn’t know how to ask so I helped myself. I found a way to deal and a way to make enough to support us both…”

FP silently listens and after finally admitting it all a single tear streamed down your cheek. FP leaned over and whipped it off with his thumb and spoke in a soft caring tone, “Doll, you need to leave him. He didn’t even call or text to see where you were. He’s using you and he is scum. He is treating you and making you feel like scum. You need someone to love you like you deserve. You are beautiful and amazing and don’t need to be stripping to support some deadbeat.” You shake your head, “No if I leave him I have nobody…Nobody wants me.” You look up from your plate still holding your fork and when you make eye contact with FP he leans in pressing a long soft kiss to your lips causing you to drop the fork.

FP pulls back and whispers, “Leave him for me. I want you. Even if you don’t want me too… I want to help you. I want you to be the best you not stripping and on drugs. Please, Y/N.” You stare into his eyes mouth slightly agape for over a minute as thoughts fly though your mind. You take a deep breath and state, “Don’t move. Don’t leave. Give me 10 minutes.” FP looks down at you a bit confused as your face showed no indication to your mood whatsoever. You stand and walk out of his trailer without another word. FP does as you told, he sits there not moving and waits for just over 10 minutes. In 10 minutes you go to your trailer and tell your boyfriend that he is done and that if he isn’t out of your trailer by midnight tonight he is dead. You are insanely convincing as he immediately begins packing and you make your way back to FP’s trailer.

You walk in letting the door close behind you and stand in the walkway of the kitchen for a moment. FP looks up at you from his sitting position with a silent and hopeful look. You walk to him straddling his lap and pressing an aggressive kiss to his lips. FP kisses back for a moment before pulling back and asking, “Are you sure this is what you want?” You laugh lightly, “I am sober, currently single, and haven’t had sex in almost a year. I’m back to my old self and I’ve always had a thing for you… I just always thought I was too young and thought you didn’t like me…” FP smirks up at you as your confident speech turned into your normal self conscious and anxious self. You seemed 100% back to normal and it made him almost as happy as the fact you were in his lap. FP cups your cheek making you look up from your lap to his face as he smiles and says in a low tone, “Your age doesn’t matter to me and of course I like you. I gotta ask… is it too soon?”

Scrunching your eyebrows you ask confused, “Too soon for what?” FP smirks, “Well I want to be mine and I am in no rush for that but...” FP pauses and lets out a low growl as he slides his hands up your thighs and kisses your neck whispering, “I wanna fuck you so hard. You didn’t deserve to go so long without cumming.” You bite your lip and can’t muster words instead nodding quickly. FP lifts you by your thighs and you quickly wrap your arms around his neck as he begins kissing your neck and walks down the hall. Instead of walking into the bathroom FP kicks the bathroom door open and walks in setting you on the counter and whispers in your ear, “I may have lied. I want you to keep stripping but… only for me. Strip for me, Baby.” As he takes a step back you slide off the counter stripping your clothes until you are standing completely nude in front of him.

You can now see the outline of FP’s cock as his bulge grows in his loose shorts. You walk around him gently dragging your fingers over his chest to his shoulders and back as you make your way to the shower. You turn it on being sure to bend over as you feel FP’s eyes following you. “FP… Baby… I wanna tell you one more thing and then ask one more thing.” You turn to him looking up and batting your eyes with an innocent smile. FP pulls you by your hips to him until your body is pressed to him, “Go ahead, Baby Girl.” You trace small circles on his chest and speak in as innocent a tone as you can muster, “I wanted to tell you I’m on birth control and ask you to please fuck me so I can’t walk tomorrow.” As you finish speaking you look up desperately as you bite your lips and at this point your pussy is nearly dripping wet with desperation.

“In the shower. Against the wall. Ass out.” FP smirks down as you nod quickly stepping into the shower and pressing yourself against the shower wall pushing your ass out for him. FP quickly strips his shorts and boxers before stepping in behind you. As you saw his cock spring free from his shorts you bit your lip impressed by his size as you feel the ever growing need between your thighs. FP rubs two fingers from your clit to ass hole spreading your dripping wetness as he chuckles, “I was gonna ask if you are ready but I think I got my answer.” FP presses his cock to your entrance and leans close to your ear whispering, “You ready?” You breath out a shaky breath and moan, “Yes, please.”

With one quick thrust he fills you completely making you moan out in pain and pleasure. Holding your hips to keep you standing he pauses for a moment trying to give you time to adjust but you beg, “Please move. Please...” Smirking he pulls out and quickly thrusts in again feeling your juices drip down his cock as he slams inside your tight pussy. Pressing your hands to the wall you moan begging, “Faster please…” FP quickens his pace slamming into you and when he hits your g-spot you scream his name. When your walls begin to tense around his cock a string of obscenities and moans escape his lips. Your legs begin to shake and all you can mutter is, “S-so… close.” FP’s grip tightens on your hips and the bruising pain only pushes you closer until he moves one of the hands to your throbbing clit.

The moment he brushes his thumb over your clit you are sent to climax moaning his name as your walls tighten around his cock. FP continues to thrust until your legs stop shaking and he pulls out. FP pulls you into his chest as his still hard cock is pressed to your back and whisper in your ear, “Do you want more or do you wanna rest?” You pull yourself from FP’s grip and turn kneeling in front of him before stating, “I wanna help you finish.” His cock twitches and a low growl escapes his lips as he bites his lip and looks down at you. You wrap your lips around the head of his cock and quickly push his cock all the way into your mouth until your lips are against the base and his cock is in your throat. FP throws his head back moaning your name lowly and gripping your hair.

You bob your head for a few minutes until his grip on your hair tightens a little and he pushes your head further on and his cock begins to twitch as hot cum shoots down your throat. You suck all the cum out swallowing before pulling off and whipping the bit of drool from your chin. FP looks down on you happily and you attempt to stand but your legs don’t allow you. FP helps you stand and let’s you lean on him as he gently rubs soap across your body and whispers, “Can I confidently say your mine?” You lean your head into his chest and smile, “I’m yours.”

Masterlist

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southside-vixen · 6 years ago

Text

Fire and Ice (Sweet Pea) 9

Chapter 9: I’ll Stay

AO3

Adrianna Rivera has just made a difficult move from Arizona to the southside of Riverdale. With the history of her life in Phoenix behind her will she be able to find a new family in the Southside Serpents? Or will a certain tall, dark, and rage inducing Serpent cause issues?

Sweet Pea

It was currently 10PM and Adria had already been missing for 8 hours. A group of Serpents stood around in Ness Allen’s living room as she cycled between pacing and sitting with her head in her hands.

“I haven’t heard from her since 2.” Ness took a long drag from her cigarette, completely disregarding the year she spent after quitting “She was pulled out of school to see her social worker. She sent me a text after saying she needed some time to herself and I haven’t heard from her since.”

“You should have told us sooner!” Fangs slammed his first on the arm of the couch, making a small thud.

“Quiet, boy.” FP said from across the room, his arms folded across his chest “Let her finish.”

“I know I should have called earlier!” Ness tried to keep herself together “She’s just like me at her age, I figured she’d be back eventually. Her dad just died for fuck’s sake!”

Died.

It made it sound inevitable. Like he wasn’t brutally murdered in his cell by his enemies. Sweet Pea was never too close with Adria but it wasn’t like he hated her. She was just fun to antagonize. Well, maybe he hated her at first but that was all water under the bridge.

“Here’s what we’re going to do.” FP stepped into the center of the room “We’re going to split up and search the entirety of Riverdale. Adria might not be an official Serpent but she’s one of our own. Ness I’m gonna need you to stay here in case she comes back.”

Vanessa Allen nodded slowly.

“As for the rest of you, here are your assignments.” FP pointed on a map, divvying up the whole town into sections for each Serpent to search. “If you see anything or when you’re finished you report to me immediately. I expect this search to be thorough.”

Sweet Pea exited the trailer with Toni, Fangs, and Jughead. The silence seemed like forever before Fangs spoke up

“I can’t believe she’d do something this stupid when there’s a murderer on the loose.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked at the dirt. Sweet Pea could see that he was beating himself up for this. Even though there was no way he could have prevented any of it.

“It doesn’t matter now.” Toni said “We need to find her. She’s family. No Serpent left behind.”

“No Serpent left behind” the rest of the group murmured.

“Is there anywhere she might go that no one else thought of?” Jughead asked “You guys know her best.”

The trio racked their brains trying to think of anywhere that might make sense. She wasn’t entirely familiar with Riverdale to their knowledge. They only knew of the places where they would usually be on a weeknight. Pops, the Wyrm, the quarry, or her trailer.

“We’ll find her.” Sweet Pea placed his hand on Fangs shoulder, who only gave a small nod “The town isn’t that big and the black hood doesn’t want anything to do with outsiders.” At least to his knowledge.

Their biggest concern, even if no one would say it out loud, was the remaining Ghoulies. They had seen her with the Serpents at school and after Malachai being put in jail any Serpent alone was a target.

‘Please be safe.’ Sweet Pea thought to himself.

2 hours had passed since their meeting at the Allen trailer and no one had seen Adria anywhere. Sweet Pea combed over the quarry with a fine toothed comb. Hell, there weren’t even footprints. When he texted Toni and Fangs it seemed like they had the same amount of luck.

He called FP to check in, hoping that maybe he would have good news. But there was none. Only a heavy sigh from FP and more orders to double check a different area. As much as he tried to block it out all he could remember is the look on her face when she left the classroom earlier that day. The small wink and smile she gave him and Toni as she stood up and walked out. The two just assumed she got busted for doing something stupid. That was until she didn’t come back. There was no tiny brunette girl waiting in the parking lot in her oversized leather jacket. No second body on the back of Fangs’ back during the ride home.

Sweet Pea brought his hand up to the dog tags around his neck. He knew how it was to lose someone.

-----------------

Adria

Adria Rivera stumbled out of the tattoo parlor, clutching a handful of straws. It was as much as her meager paycheck at the Wyrm would buy, and at this point she was desperate for whatever she could get her hands on.

Her dad was all she had left after her mother died. As much as she hated to admit it she couldn’t remember her voice anymore. 10 years passed since she lost her to an aggressive form of cancer. She could only remember her as the frail woman she became, not the beautiful blonde from all the photos her dad kept.

Her day started off well enough. Tryout results for the River Vixens were posted and sure enough both she and Toni made it. Although she wasn’t sure if she made it on her own merit or Toni’s pull with Cheryl. She actually studied for her chemistry test and she was sure she did pretty well. Oh, and Fangs snuck out and brought them all back burgers from Pop’s.

Then it happened. Her world crashed into a burning heap over the course of a half hour. Every word her social worker spoke just made her angrier. Her father wasn’t supposed to be in jail and he sure as hell wasn’t supposed to die in there. Where was his protection?

She knew she was being selfish right now but she couldn’t bear the thought of seeing anyone. She laid underneath the overpass by Sweetwater River for hours. Staring up at nothing. Wishing that someone would call and say it was all a mistake. But the only thing she received were voicemails and texts from Ness telling her to come home.

That’s when the idea struck her. To go find some random Ghoulie to sell her jingle jangle. Something to help ease her pain. Now here she stood, staring down at the straws in her hand. She quickly checked her phone to see that it was already midnight. She slowly made her way to the Wyrm, emptying the contents of a couple straws into her mouth on the way there. She was sure with how her day went at least someone at the bar would buy her a drink.

But there was no one there. The whole bar was dark, which even for a weeknight was weird. Not like it mattered considering she had a key. Adria unlocked the door with shaking hands and flipped on the light. She glanced around at the room again before giving a small shrug and walking up to the bar.

She hoisted herself up onto the bar top and grabbed around behind the counter for the first bottle she could find. Cinnamon whiskey. Not her first choice but at this point she would drink anything. Adria flicked off the cap and chugged straight from the bottle, laying down across the bar. Soon she would be numb.

-------------------

Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea punched the alley wall. This whole area was another bust. Maybe she hopped a bus back to Arizona. Maybe she was dead. Fuck if he knew. This was a new level of selfish even for her. Sweet Pea made his way back to the Wyrm. Maybe some of the other Serpents met back up there after finding her. Or at least he hoped. He was pretty sure if Ness didn’t kill her that he would.

Sure enough, there was a light on. But looking through the window he could see the bar was still empty. All except a small brunette girl laying across the bar. Sweet Pea ran to the door and ripped it open, noting that she even forgot to lock it. The girl on the bar lifted her head up to make eye contact. Ads.

“Where the hell have you been?” He yelled “Ness and FP have had the whole gang out searching for you and you’re in here getting drunk!” A wave of relief rushed over him. But in a split second the relief was replaced with anger.

“To be fair.” She slurred, propping herself up into a sitting position “The drinking is a recent development.”

Sweet Pea moved closer and looked her in the eyes. Her pupils were huge. Not only was she drunk, but she was on something as well.

“What did you take?” He demanded. “What did you take and who did you get it from?”

“None.” She reached up and tapped him on his nose “of your business” She giggled to herself before bringing the bottle back up to her lips.

Sweet Pea shook his head and grabbed the bottle from her hand. He slid it across the bar where he was sure it would be out of her reach

“We need to get you home. Ness is worried. Toni and Fangs are worried. Hell, all of the Serpents are worried.”

“I’m not going home.” She didn’t look at him “I came here to forget and that’s what I’m gonna do.”

Sweet Pea remembered that feeling all too well. The need for anything to take even an ounce of the pain away. It didn’t matter that it was only a temporary fix.

“Sweet Pea?” He looked back down at her, her eyes burning into his own. The only look on her face one of desperation “Make the pain stop, please.”

She grabbed onto his jacket and pulled him down to her level before crashing her lips onto his. She tasted like cinnamon alcohol and the faintest taste of candy. Before his mind even had time to process the situation he found himself kissing her back. His arms wrapping around her and his hands entangling themselves into her hair.

The kiss was heavy and desperate. The more she took of him the more she wanted, and the more he was willing to give. He felt her hands move their way up his shirt, feeling his abs as his tongue traced her bottom lip. Everything about being with her right now was drunk and sloppy and he couldn’t bring himself to care.

But she was his friend. Sure they didn’t act like it but they both got the same enjoyment out of antagonizing each other. At the end of the day he considered her one of their own. This just isn’t the type of thing that friends do.

He felt her move down to his belt to undo the buckle, struggling to release the mechanism with her shaking hands. That’s when it hit him. This may have felt great, but it wasn’t right.

Sweet Pea untangled himself from Adria and pulled away, leaving her staring up into his eyes. She looked like she would start crying at any moment.

“Why don’t you want me? Just distract me, please.” She begged, trying to reach out to pull him back.

“I can’t.” He looked away “Fuck, Ads. I respect you and I won’t do this to you while you’re drunk and grieving.”

He pulled up a barstool and grabbed her outstretched hand, bringing it to his heart.

“I’ll stay. As long as you need me to, I’ll stay. We’ll go back to Ness when you’re ready.”

And Adria’s façade shattered before him. The tears fell from her eyes like a flood as sobs shook her body. All Sweet Pea could think to do was bring her close and hold her. She didn’t need words to know that he would be there for her.

“I’m an orphan, Pea” she managed to choke out “My family’s dead.”

He stroked her back as she continued to cry into his shoulder “You have all of us. We’re your family, Ads.”

Adria lifted her head off his shoulder and wiped the tears away from her eyes, only to have more fall after them.

“Thank you, Sweet Pea.” She smiled at him

And it was in that moment he realized. Despite the smeared mascara and puffy eyes that she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever laid eyes on.

#riverdale #sweet pea #sweet pea x reader #sweet pea x oc #fanfic #fireandice #so this chapter actually came to me a lot easier than I expected #So yay for a quick update!#this was a big chapter for me and I'm really happy it came out the way it did #which is actually quite different from my outline #fun fact

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sweetpea-skarsgard-blog · 7 years ago

Text

You’ve Just Crossed The Line pt. 3 // Sweet Pea Imagine

(Request: @southsideslutt oh yes so an imagine where y/n gets held for ransom by the ghoulies and sweet pea is freaking out bc that’s his girl and the serpents help calm him down by going on a rescue mission for her and there’s a whole lotta angst and fluff at the end :’’))

(( as promised here is the fluff! I hope that it was seceptible to give you all toothaches. Just dont send me your dentist bills. <3 Request more imagines if you’d like! i do a bunch of different fandoms, and characters ))

Warnings: none really.. mention of violence, mention of bugs.

Part 1 // Part 2

Feeling Sweet Pea’s arms wrapped around you on that warm night, as the rain pattered over the tarp keeping the two of you sheltered; Well, it was one of the most comforting feelings in the world. Sure, since the attack, your overprotective boyfriend hadn’t exactly let you go back to your house without a posse of at least five people accompanying you- but that was a precaution that you would have to deal with, given the fact that he was even letting you step back onto that side of town at all. It was clear that your kidnapping had a profound effect on the both of you, making sweet Pea only want to hold you tighter and never let go.. While you couldn't help but be fearful anytime you were left alone for too long.

It was normal wasn’t it? To experience such an anxiety after a trauma like the one you had faced. You were sure that some fancy Northside doctor would have diagnosed you with PTSD, and tried to shove pills down your throat to make the pain and fear go away.. But then again, being from the Southside- it wasn't like you could go to that length- having only a few dollars in your pockets at any given moments.. And absolutely no savings whatsoever in the event of a true emergency.

No… Sweet Pea was the only treament for your nerves that you needed at the moment, his strong arms and the calming and musky scent of his cologne filling your nostrils as he embraced you. The man was content as well, just leaning his face down to press soft kisses over your forehead and the top of your hair, making you feel loved. It seemed to be a rare moment to anyone that caught a glimpse of the aggressive Serpent in such a docile state, cuddling and loving on someone that could actually make him soft. But that was just the affect that you had on the male.

After what had happened, seeing the pure rage and anger on his face while he pummeled those Ghoulies- you knew that it all came from a place of worry. Sure the man was not opposed to cracking a few skulls every now and then, but the way he effortlessly fought off four guys at once- that was a product of love. You knew from experience that Sweet Pea was loyal to a fault, but even as he was faced with uncertainty and many more foes than he could normally handle.. He had done it all to protect you, and pushed himself past his limits.

“You’re as Sweet as they come, aren’t you, Pea?” you asked quietly, tracing your fingertips over the dogtags that were hanging from his neck. Something that you found yourself doing often in such tender moments. Sweet Pea on the other hand inwardly cringed at your little play on words, rolling his eyes, though he did let out a breath that seemed to resemble the ghost of a laugh.

“Yeah, and you’re a fucking dork, Y/N. If we are stating the obvious.. Besides.. You know that I’m pretty much only sweet on you. Ask Toni, Fangs, or Jones.. I’m pretty sure that they would all agree that I am consistently an asshole at any given time, to everyone except you.” he grunted, watching your fingertips as they moved across the somewhat tarnished silver metal. You were so mesmerised by the little things that he kept as a constant in his life, the dogtags, his rings, jacket.. And that hairdo that you swore took more pomade than you figured he or Fangs could ever afford. It was an enigma to you, but at the same time, you would never change a thing about him. One other constant in his life that he was growing to need more and more on a daily basis- was you.

“I am a fucking dork, but you love me anyways.. I mean why else would you have come to my rescue- like some knight in shining… leather jacket?” you teased, looking over to his Serpent skin that was hanging from one of the folding chairs in the corner of his tent. Luckily the canvas fabric had not sprung any leaks lately.. So the two of you were dry as bones.. Though it definitely didn't help the cold situation. It was almost always cold at night in Riverdale, even in the summers.

That was one of the reasons that Sweet Pea was thankful for your presence, he never got too cold when he had you around, able to wrap you in his arms and savor your warmth in his oversized sleeping bag, as you did the same with him. Before, in his trailer, Sweet Pea never seemed to wear more than a pair of sweatpants to bed… but now seeing him curled up in a long sleeved shirt, all cozied up- you were thankful for it, even at the loss of skin on skin contact.

Sweet Pea then moved his hands from your waist, one trailing down to your ass and kneading at the skin gently, before the other moved up towards your hair. He loved the feel of it, so silky beneath his fingertips.. However, the thought that he might have lost you forever was still lingering on the back of his mind, torturing him

Feeling his body tense up, you ripped your eyes away from the cool metal, looking up at him, and pressing a palm against his cheek as he seemed troubled by something. You’d had an idea of what this could all be about. But knowing Sweet Pea, it was going to be a little bit of a battle to get the truth to come out of him. “Baby.. what are you thinking about?” you asked, biting at your lip gently, as his dark brown eyes trailed over your features. The hand that was playing with your hair, moved down to your cheek, tracing the place where that bruise from the bitch Bonnibel seemed to have faded away over time. You closed your eyes at the contact, and nuzzled your face into his hand.

Sweet Pea’s breath hitched, as he felt that he was making his thoughts too obvious, clearing his throat and looking away for a minute. “Nothin.. I mean.. I’m just glad you’re fine.” he nodded, seeming to take a step back from the situation so as not to relive everything that had happened. Of course he was glad that it was over- but at the same time.. He was angry at himself that they hadn't made that Ghoulie bitch pay for what she had done to you. Sure, they had ruined an entire shipment of Jingle Jangle with their little rouse- but that wasn't enough to warrant this war being over- nor the pain that you had gone through. Sweet Pea’s eyes flickered over to your Serpent skin, littered with hoes from various darks and even knives having been flung at the leather while it hung on the wall of the Wyrm.

What if that had been you that they had taken their target practice on- what if you were hurt merely for being a Serpent.. A part of a family yes- but at the same time, something that he could never fully protect you from. Of course Sweet Pea knew that you were capable of holding your own- when it wasn’t and uneven match like it was that night.. But as your boyfriend, he couldn't help but feel like it was his duty to make sure you were safe.

As he had his train of thought, you sighed and caressed over his cheek, seeming to be able to read his mind as he looked at your jacket, damaged and in need of serious repairs. But Brydie was a little out of it these days, and as the Serpent’s resident seamstress, it fell to Toni and Cheryl who were also being driven crazy with keeping up the living standards for the gang. But you knew you needed to comfort Sweet Pea.. reassure him... just the way that he had been doing for you for the past week.

“Sweets I am fine.. I am going to be fine. Sure things were shady for a while- but now that I am here with you, the Serpents.. I’m gonna be okay. That bitch Bonnibel is going to get what is coming to her .. I promise. But that is for me and the girls to do- girl on girl crim is something that needs to be solved by girls.” you laughed, knowing that were Sweet Pea not the slightest bit gentlemanly, he would have socked the girl in the face. But Toni had a plan- and while it was a little devious, you were all for it.

“Tomorrow Cheryl, Toni, and I are going to sneak over to Sunnyside and leave her a little present.. Some pregnant hissing cockroaches should do.” you smirked, crossing your arms, as Sweet Pea looked down at you with an eyebrow arched.

“That’s your idea of payback? Man I can't believe that I’m so crazy for a softy.” he chuckled, though he knew that it would be your decision ultimately how you wanted to take your revenge.. “You should add a rotten fish to her air conditioner for good measure.” he smirked, pulling you over top of him so that you were now straddling his lap, and looking down at him. Your hair fell down the sides of your face, making him reach up and brush parts of it behind your ears- just so he could get a better view of that pretty face. “That should be enough to make the bitch suffer.. “ his low voice gently met your ears, sending a shiver down your spine, as you pressed your palms flat against his chest.

With a swift move, Sweet Pea pulled you back down, so that his fingertips were interlaced in your hair, as his lips moved against your own, memorizing every shape your mouth made against his own as he passionately kissed you. He had never been in love before he met you.. But feeling you now, hand against his heart, while his fingertips massaged at your scalp as you moaned at his touch- he knew.. Anyone who ever crossed that line again and tried to take you away from him- well they were gonna get a hell of a rude awakening.

“I love you so much, sweetheart.” Sweet Pea murmured, his lips moving against your own as he only pulled away enough to get the words out. You giggled a bit into the kiss before you spoke back. “I know you do.. You’re pretty damn smitten.” you smirked.

“You ass.”

#sweet pea #sweet pea imagines #sweet pea fluff #sweet pea fluff imagine #sweet pea smut #sweet pea riverdale #riverdale imagines #riverdale ships #riverdale #southside serpents #southside serpents imagines #riverdale imagine #insomniac-writes imagines #sweetpea-skarsgard imagines

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lonelypond · 6 years ago

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Jingle Bell Jazz, Chapter 9

Love Live, NicoMaki, 2.4K, 9/?

Summary: Maki should have stayed in bed...on her couch?!?!??!?!

Chapter 9

Maki stretched...she was a little uncomfortable...wait, she sat up, what time, blinking, she stared across the room, 10:30...Nico had said 10, Maki had fallen asleep on the couch outside the music room when she laid down curious if any of Nico’s sweet musky perfume scent had lingered. AND FALLEN ASLEEP. Maki was on her feet, bathroom, coat, door, car, ignore traffic laws, get to the conservatory BEFORE Nico started looking for a new pianist.

###

Nico paced the hallway, her plaid skirt flipping up as her pace quickened. Eli watched anxiously, fussing with her roll collar.. Most of Honoka’s band was assembled inside, although Honoka herself, as usual, was late.

“I’m sure Maki's on her way, Nico. There was probably traffic.” As Nico glared, Eli raised her hands as a shield and to help Nico remember Eli wasn’t the problem.

Nico stayed on practical with a touch of paranoia. “She seemed nervous last night, wanted to practice. You don’t think she’d skip out on us.”

“I’m sure she didn’t, there must be a perfectly reasonable explanation.” Eli squeezed Nico’s hand, “I’m going to go warm up. Just relax. We have the set list. The music’s set up for her. We’ve run through the songs we’re using at least three times. It’ll be fine, Nico.”

Eli bopped into the room, eager to start playing, leaving behind a muttering Nico. “It’ll be fine Nico, it’ll be fine…” Nico stomped, “Nico needs a pianist who can show up on time, not just one who looks cute over french fries…”

“Who looks cute over french fries?” Honoka boomed cheerfully as she turned the corner, followed by Tsubasa in a black and gold skirt and sweater set.

Nico's hiss petered out when she spotted Tsubasa, of course Honoka would bring a Tsubasa surprise , “No one, Honoka. Hi, Tsubasa, thanks for coming. We’re running a little late and things are still a little rough.”

Tsubasa shrugged, “I’m just glad to be listening not leading. It’ll be a vacation.”

Nico nodded and opened the door for them, letting it close before she opened her mouth in a silent scream, forcing herself not to pound or kick the wall. Where was Maki?

Running. Maki was running. Nico turned as a red faced, out of breath redhead stopped at the break in the corridor, staring wildly at Nico.

“You’re late.”

“Sorry.” Maki was bent over, catching her breath.

“No respect for Nico.”

Maki’s brows lowered and her voice snapped. “I’m here, okay. Let’s just get started.”

Nico’s arms were crossed over her chest and her mood was dark. “Nico needs to know she can rely on you.”

Maki strode Nico-ward, “Can we just play.”

“Play…” Nico snorted, ‘That’s all this is.”

Maki stopped, looming over Nico, trying to keep the surge of anger in her voice tamped down. “No it isn’t, But we don’t have time for this, Nico. I’m sorry, okay.”

Nico frowned, red and lavender eyes both unyielding, Maki’s shoulders squared for battle, but Nico could sense nerves jangling. Nico brushed past Maki, opened the door, and swept her arm brusquely to indicate Maki should precede her.

###

It went off the rails from the start...Maki stuttered her way through “Winter Wonderland” which Nico had chosen to start off with because it was something Maki had gotten to a level of comfort with. With that as the beginning, Nico had no hope for a decent run at “Favorite Things” so she pulled the set list away from Maki, tore it in half, winked at a random audience member who turned out to be Umi, who then started glowering at Nico while Kotori whispered something giggly in her ear, the fawn haired flutist petting Umi’s upper arm soothingly. Eli leapt into a solo, leaning into Nozomi on “Sleigh Ride” with Maki tangling her fingers trying to keep up the pace. Nico shook her head at Eli and they got through “Let It Snow” fairly easily, the only distraction being Rin shout singing along with the chorus. Nico just smiled brighter. Enthusiasm in the audience was always encouraged, especially when Tsubasa Kira was sitting there looking interested and amused. Nico could work with that. Disaster happened when they got to “Jingle Bells”. First verse and chorus was fine, but then Nico had worked her way behind Maki and did a visual sweep of the room, everyone was leaning closer to their favorite person, Honoka was bouncing on the edge of her seat, and Tsubasa was in relaxed and alert mode. So Nico was in a good mood, finished the chorus with a flair, put her hand on Maki’s shoulder, and swang into the second verse feeling Maki freeze up as the music skittered into something it took Nico too long to recognize, “Silver Bells.” Nico’s voice trailed off on “Miss Fanny Bright” and Eli’s eyes widened in panic as Maki meshed chords in a way neither saxophonist or vocalist could predict or match. So everyone in the room was agape at Maki, whose piano playing was becoming more and more erratic until there was a crash of chords and then a very brief concluding reversion to Jingle Bells. Honoka was on her feet applauding, Nico was NOT bashing her head into the piano, Eli was getting fidgety and hovering near Nozomi, and Maki was aggressively not making eye contact with anyone. Nico closed her eyes, trying to remember anything Maki had played well from memory....”The Christmas Song…” maybe, Nico was pretty sure she remembered the words. She could always just hum.

With an aggressively charming smile in Tsubasa’s direction, Nico stepped out from the piano with a bow, “To close out this mini concert, we’ll go back to the cozy mood with” and Nico glanced back at Maki, who looked up gloomily, “The Christmas Song.” Maki nodded in defeat and Nico continued, “Nico knows she’s looking forward to a cuddly fireside night sometime.” Nico whirled to the audience as Maki playing the calm, even notes of the harmony met her voice.

“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire Jack Frost nipping at your nose Yuletide carols being sung by a fire And folks dressed up like Eskimos…”

Maki, all sweat and nerves, the shirt she wore last night clinging to her back, sat slumped at the piano. Nozomi had been the first to her feet, wrapping Eli up in a huge hug and not letting go, as the blonde leaned into her, an almost grin on her face.

Umi, Kotori at her side, extended her hand to Nico, her tone soothing, “Thank you for letting us sit in on your rehearsal. I’m sure Maki will be adapt and your concert will be fine.”

“The three of you together on stage,” Kotori fluttered her hand near her cheek, “are too much. I can’t wait to see what you’re wearing.”

“I’ve got the sweetest silver number. You’ll love it.” Nico was glad to have a topic other than music. Umi, seemed almost on the edge of a rebuke but just steered Kotori toward Honoka as Tsubasa approached Nico and Rin and Hanayo headed to the piano.

“Kind of a train wreck.” Tsubasa’s chuckle was sympathetic.

Nico shrugged and took in a deep breath, looking back over her shoulder at Rin pounding Maki on the back. “The kid’s actually doing amazing, considering she’d barely heard jazz before.”

“That’s some kind of life, isn’t it.” Tsubasa draped an arm around Nico.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Nico turned her full attention to Tsubasa, “Not the life for Nico though.”

“Good to know.” Tsubasa grinned, “I have plans today, but let’s do lunch tomorrow and talk business.” Tsubasa’s eyes had an eager glint and Nico was happy the rehearsal's hiccups hadn’t torpedoed the bandleader’s interest.

But then Nico felt someone behind her and Maki was at her side, twirling a red curl and clearing her throat, “I’m not a kid.” a pause, then stumbling.”I wasn’t prepared...we didn’t…” Maki shook herself, more confident. “That was a mistake. I can do better.”

Nico bit her lip, not wanting to have this or any conversation about Maki’s performance in front of Tsubasa.

“You have to come hear me play. Tomorrow afternoon.” Maki’s voice trembled, “There’s a charity event. I rehearsed.” Maki’s hand dropped to Nico’s arm. “It’s different.”

“Oh, that’s the symphony fundraiser, isn’t it? My business manager bought me a ticket to that.” Tsubasa smiled, “Maybe we could meet up, sit together, and get dinner after, Nico.”

Maki nearly growled at Tsubasa’s interruption. “The seats are assigned. It’s sold out and everything’s planned to the last detail.”

Nico turned to face the redhead, suspicious. “So where will Nico be sitting?”

Maki hesitated, eyes downcast. “I’m allowed a guest.”

Eli, eavesdropping, caught Nico’s eye from across the room and raised an eyebrow. Even Tsubasa’s cheery cockiness dented in the moment of awkward silence.

“Well, write down the details.” Nico waved a hand, returning to chatting up her potential employer, “But Nico is definitely free for dinner after, Tsubasa.”

“Good.” Tsubasa took Nico’s hand, bowing over it slightly as if to kiss, “I will look forward to it.”

Maki pushed herself away from that and sat at the piano, unclenching her fists to play a few scales. She could feel her temper fraying. Surely Tsubasa would be on her way soon. Surely Nico would want to rehearse after that disaster.

###

Nope, no rehearsal. Nozomi had herded the three members of Bibi out the door and straight to the grubby alley tea shop like an overprotective border collie. So now, they were sitting, Eli between Nico and Maki, a plate of beef and cabbage pirozhki in front of them, strong coffee being poured by Nozomi as she clucked over them.

Nico grabbed her cup, “You can’t mother hen us into being better at this, Nozomi. We need to put in the hours. A whole lot more hours. Which we don’t have.” Nico pointed to the clock. “And Nico needs to get to work.”

“I can drive you.” Maki said automatically.

“Nico is fine.” Nico sounded sullen.

Eli poured cream into her coffee, careful to keep her elbows from bumping either of her boothmates. Nozomi, concerned, couldn't decide who to look at. Nosy concern, Nico thought. Maki just pushed her cup back and forth, mouth crooked in melancholy.

“Why don’t we talk about why you make Maki nervous, Nico-chi?” Nozomi calmly sipped coffee as if she hadn't just dropped a grenade.

“That’s not true.” Maki spluttered, coffee spilling.

Another sip and Nozomi pressed, “Nico touched your shoulder and Jingle Bells magically turned silver. Are you an alchemist, Maki? Or are you just...”

Maki had no idea how to respond, but before panic did more than spark, Nico doused the embers.

“Stop harassing her, Nozomi. She’s not the problem.” Nico sighed, rubbing her eyes, “Well not really. Coco not being here is the problem, Maki is trying to help...there’s just...there's not enough time.” Nico raised her chin, eyes focused on something on the other side of the window, “We’ll just stick to the sheet music, no improv.”

“Aw, Nico, that’s lame, it's not our sound…” Eli snapped her fingers in a broad gesture that shook the table.

Nico's head was in her hands, her voice muffled. “Eli, we just have to get through this one concert without totally destroying our reputation and then we’re done. Don't make it harder on Nico.”

Eli wondered if Sergey would let her have a shot from the bottle he kept under the counter at the back with the register. Nozomi had been urging her to talk to Nico, but Eli hadn't been feeling bold recently. She knocked back half the super sweet coffee, at least it could qualify as liquid, now Eli had to provide the courage. “Nico, I really think you should stay here, finish school, and keep Bibi going.”

Maki perked up, maybe Eli could convince Nico and then Maki wouldn’t have to say anything. And everything wouldn't be so rushed.

“Nico has practically told Tsubasa yes.” There was a whine in Nico’s voice, a "please be convinced" note.

Maki bit into a bun. Hunger wouldn’t make staying calm easier. And what could she say? Didn’t she tell Nico last night that she wanted to keep exploring jazz? Didn’t Nico feel the...Maki slumped, exhaling, and everyone looked at her...no, Nico wouldn’t have felt any kind of link between them this morning, only Maki being skittish.

“Maki?” Eli sounded so kind, patting Maki awkwardly on the shoulder. “I’m sorry you’re caught in the middle of this.”

Screw it, Maki thought, sitting up, Nico was never going to be definite about this. She just wanted everyone to beg her to be part of their band. Maki was tired of the hanging on the precipice. “Practically doesn’t mean you said yes, Nico. You don’t want to go. You didn’t even tell your mom. You just want someone…”

There was a hiss, like escaping steam from a tea kettle and Eli was shoved back into the wooden bench as Nico reached across her, fury animating her face as she confronted Maki, “You have no right to say that...you know nothing about Nico's life...Nico makes up her own mind.”

“So do.” Maki didn’t realize she was pushing Eli back even farther as she leaned toward Nico. “Make up your mind.”

“Tsubasa hasn’t asked Nico yet.” Nico’s voice cut, a welder’s blue flame.

“Tell the truth. Nico. You don’t want her to. Then you’d have to choose.” Maki could smell the coffee on Nico’s breath and see the seriousness behind Nico’s fluttering lashes

“Girls, stop crushing Eli.” Nozomi smacked the table. Nico whirled to face her, Maki fell back in her seat, taking a hasty sip of coffee so she had an excuse for silence while her pulse rate slowed. Nico’s eyes had been so close, so full of hidden shades, so fierce.

“Nico is done here.” Nico stood, “I have a job to get to.”

“Nico…” Eli began but Nico waved her off.

Maki was stubbornly staring at the wood grain on the wall. She’d had enough Nico for a day.

A/N: This continues to be a more volatile mix of chemistry...

#jazz #JIngle Bell Jazz #holiday #nicomaki #Christmas #music #Bibi #Nishikino Maki #Yazawa Nico #Ayase Eli #Tojo Nozomi #Kira Tsubasa #yeah

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cruciatuscurse · 7 years ago

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Dissonance

· Rating: All

· Warnings: Slight mentions of abuse. Sweet Pea is 17 and his sister is 15.

· Pairing: Jughead/OC

· Summary: Sweet Pea’s sister helps Jughead’s transition to the Southside.

“You’re a loser, you’re never going to amount to anything!” Their father screamed, the smell of alcohol lingering on her breath.

“You’re a drunk, you don’t even know what you’re saying half the time,” Sweet Pea snarled in return. “How about laying off the Jingle Jangle and getting a job? Actually take care of your children.”

“You think you’re a tough guy, is that it?” He stood up from the tattered armchair, swaying slightly, his eyes filled with rage. “You’re old enough to get the hell out. You think you can do it on your own, be my guest. But don’t ever come crawling back here, you worthless-“

The words were deflated on his lips as Sweet Pea punched their father in the gut, making him fall over. The two were rolling on the floor, with Sweet Pea on top, letting his anger out on the source of his growing aggression. Only the cries of his sister silenced him, as he looked up and met her fearful eyes from the doorway of their room. He immediately got up, slowly approaching her, ignoring the groans of the broken man on the floor.

“Hey bug,” he said quietly, taking her in his arms. “You should be asleep. You’ve got school tomorrow.”

“What’s going on, Pea?” She asked softly, the tears dripping down her cheeks.

“Don’t worry about it, kid. We’re finally getting out of this dump,” he promised, guiding her back to their bed.

She laid down hesitantly, allowing him to cover her body with the large quilt. He tucked her in silently, his dark eyes pensive, and she found herself looking up at him. He brushed her bangs out of her face, planting a kiss on her forehead.

“Are we really going to leave?” She whispered hopefully and he nodded.

“Yes. I’m moving out, and I’m taking you with me,” he promised her, standing to his feet. “I’ve got to go for the night. I’ll be back for you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay.” She still felt uneasy, with so many unanswered questions floating around her head, but she trusted him. They were all they had.

“If he comes in here, you run, okay?” He instructed and she nodded obediently. He let out a sigh, nodding to himself, before he grabbed his duffel bag from the floor. He locked the door before he closed it, leaving her in darkness. She couldn’t help the tear that escaped her eye.

“Wake up, lazy.” She awoke with a start as he hit her with a pillow. Groaning, the teenager fixated her dark eyes on her smirking older brother.

“It’s Saturday. What the hell are you doing waking me up before noon on a Saturday?” She complained, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

“Jeez. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” he joked, sitting down beside her. “I’ve got business to take care of. You need to stay safe and keep your head down. Maybe clean this place up, go grocery shopping..”

“What am I, a housewife?” She groaned and he rolled his eyes.

“More like a drama queen. You said you wanted to pull your weight around here,” he reminded her, reaching into his back pocket.

“I meant getting a job,” she replied pointedly and he shook his head.

“No way. I’m not letting my kid sister get a job at fifteen, that’s embarrassing.” His chest puffed up and she rolled her eyes. “I can take care of the both of us.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She leaned her head on his shoulder, her mind drifting, and he smiled.

“Here.” He handed her a few hundred dollar bills. At her eager look, he said pointedly, “for groceries.”

“I heard you the first time.” She accepted the bills, counting them. Her eyes glanced up at him. “How long are you gonna be gone this time?”

“Not long,” he assured her, standing up. “I’ll be back, probably early this morning. Just don’t do anything dumb while I’m gone, and try not to wreck the trailer, okay? We don’t need anymore holes in the walls.”

“That was you,” she pointed out, standing up too.

“Exactly. Learn from my mistakes.” He grinned before heading for the door. “Love ya.”

“Love you too,” she called back, glancing at herself in the mirror before she sighed. “Groceries.”

After a hot shower (a long one, since Sweet Pea wasn’t around to bug her about it), she changed into a pair of ripped up jeans and a black tank top. She tied her long, bone straight black hair up into a ponytail, exposing the many piercings in her ears, and she slipped her feet into a pair of beat up black Converse by the door. She slung her purse loosely over her shoulder, stuffing the money and a small paper into it before she pulled the door open. She squinted at the sunlight, locking the door behind her before venturing into town.

The store wasn’t too far, thankfully, and they didn’t need much. She pulled the paper out of her purse, reading the small, neat handwriting listing all she’d came for. Forty-five minutes later she walked out, gripping four full bags in her hands.

The walk back to Sunnyside was uneventful, with most of her neighbors most likely sleeping the past night off, and she walked with a lazy saunter. She unlocked her front door, ignoring the sound of another door in the lot opening, until she saw a flash of black fur escape from behind it.

“Bartholomew!” She shouted, quickly setting her bags down just beyond the door. “Get back here!”

The door billowed in the wind, slowly closing itself, as the girl ran after Bartholomew. She was headed straight for the neighboring trailer, where the furball seemed to become interested. Standing in the doorway was a boy, who wore a beanie over his dark hair and a puzzled expression. The black cat was in his arms, purring, and he glanced from it to the girl. He was cute.

“Sorry, Bartholomew gets ahead of himself sometimes,” she said sheepishly, standing on the step below him.

“No problem. He’s a sweet guy,” he offered in turn, scratching behind Bartholomew’s ears. “I’m Jughead Jones. I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”

She looked mildly surprised. So this was Jughead. She gave him her name before pointed to her trailer. “I live right over there with my brother. I didn’t know you lived here.”

“I don’t,” he admitted, gesturing to the bag slung over his shoulder. “I was just getting some stuff.”

“I see.” She had heard rumors about the Serpent King, but she was mostly kept in the dark about that sort of thing. She wondered if maybe the rumors were true. “Well, I’ll take him off your hands. I’m sure you’ve got more important places to be.”

“Sure.” Jughead chuckled, handing the resting cat over to its pretty owner.

“I’ll see you around then,” she replied, giving him a coy smile before she began walking to her trailer.

“See you around,” he called back, watching her until she went inside. With a sigh, he shut the trailer door and began walking.

The next time she saw more than a glimpse of Jughead Jones, he had a tray in his hands and a frown on his lips. His hair was longer and the bags underneath his eyes gave him a brooding look. She knew all about his less than warm welcome the other day when Toni was showing him around, but she had a good feeling about the resigned look on his face. She exchanged a look with Toni, one that the other boys at their table couldn’t read, before standing up.

“Jones,” she called, attracting the attention of the boys surrounding her. A smile spread across her face as she gestured to the space beside her.

A grateful smile tugged at his lips, perhaps at seeing a familiar face or a space among the chaos, and he was soon taking a seat with the other Serpents.

“Smartening up and sitting with the good guys, I see,” she teased, making Toni laugh.

Jughead playfully rolled his eyes. “I may have seen the logic in Toni’s reasoning.”

“Good.” She drummed her fingers against the tabletop, black nail polish contrasting with her lightly tanned skin. She noticed how Sweet Pea was eyeing her, clearly trying to read her motives, and she avoided his eyes. “You blending in with the Southside yet?”

“Well, I’m not sure if what I’m eating is a solid or a liquid,” he began, wrinkling his nose as he pushed the tray away from himself. “But you are looking at the newest member of the Red and Black. All I need now is a photographer with an amazing eye and a hunger for social justice.”

“Sounds like someone we know,” Toni said with a smile, and the three shared a laugh.

Jughead’s attention turned to her as he added, “I don’t know if you’re interested in writing at all, but..”

“Maybe,” she surmised, before she stood up. “Come on.”

He quirked an eyebrow but did as she said. She led him outside the back entrance, where they were completely alone. There, she reached into her pocket, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter. She raised the cigarette to her mouth, lighting it and slowly taking a drag. As Jughead hadn’t taken his eyes off her, she held the cigarette out to him.

He almost seemed like he was going to decline, before he took it and copied her actions. Unlike her, his drag was not so smooth and resulted in him coughing repeatedly.

Laughing to herself, she patted his back. “Not a big smoker?”

“Not exactly,” he replied, handing the cigarette back to her.

She continued to smoke, allowing the smoke to cloud above them, before she asked, “now how are you really doing?”

Jughead hesitated for a moment before he sighed. “It still feels like my life is falling apart,” he admitted. “Things with my dad…it’s bad. The Ghoulies attacked me, I don’t fully fit in with the Serpents or the Northside, and it feels like I’m drowning in my own head.”

She nodded sympathetically. Looking pensive, she questioned, “does anyone really ever fit in? I think we’re all trying to earn our stripes,” she quoted Fangs. “Even if we’re trying to earn them for different reasons. Everyone’s got a struggle, some are just better at hiding it than others. Know what you’ve got to do? You’ve got to own it. Secure your own spot.”

He was quiet for a moment, seemingly digesting her words.

Putting out her cigarette, she motioned for him to follow her again. “Come on.”

This time, he asked, “where are we going?”

“A little skipping is healthy now and then,” she replied, and at his hesitant look, she laughed. “You’re not seriously going to tell me you’d rather be here, are you?”

“It’s not that. I haven’t been a student here very long and I’m trying to blend in,” he reminded her, making her laugh.

“If you want to blend in, then you’ll skip. That’ll blend you right in with the current student body,” she joked, making him laugh.

He admired her side profile as they exited the campus. Her dark hair was down, though tucked behind her ears, and he noted the jewelry adorning them. He could tell she was wearing makeup, but it wasn’t the amateur cakey kind. It drew attention to her dark eyes and full lips.

His attention was drawn back to their surroundings when she led him to Pickens Park, making him raise an eyebrow.

“You’re not planning on killing me, are you?” He joked and she rolled her eyes.

“Please. If I was going to kill you, it wouldn’t be in a park.” She smirked at him, dropping her backpack on the park bench, and he deposited his beside it.

She ran to one of the swings, sitting on it immediately, and he snorted. “So the cool girl at Southside high likes to relive her childhood at local junkie parks? Interesting.”

“Hey, you’re never too old to swing,” she defended. “Now get over here and push me!”

Laughing, he rolled his eyes and complied. He could feel the warmth of her skin beneath her the thin fabric of her black tank top. She’d taken her old flannel off, tying it around her waist, and he could see a tattoo on her shoulder. She looked genuinely happy, kicking her legs as he pushed her on the swing, and it made him wonder. Without warning, she jumped off, landing hard on her feet.

“Whoa. You could’ve hurt yourself,” he scolded and she laughed.

“Maybe,” she agreed. “But the thrill of that moment, being free..it’s addicting.”

He felt a shiver run down his spine and the words automatically fell from his lips. “How’s Bartholomew?”

She laughed. “He’s good. Still being a bad cat, but I think that’s a trait learned from his owner. You should stop by sometime and see him, whenever you’re in the neighborhood.”

“I live in Sunnyside again,” he confirmed, and she looked pleased. “So maybe you could bring him over.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

They sat on the small jungle gym, side by side, discussing life on the Southside. He liked watching her expressions. Her eyes truly were the windows to her soul.

“You’re not a Serpent,” he observed, and she laughed.

“I’m not,” she admitted, shrugging her shoulders. “My brother would kill me if I joined a gang.”

“You seem so close with them, though,” Jughead pointed out and she looked at him.

“Joining a gang is serious business,” she explained. “It’s not just a club or after school function. It’s a commitment you have to make for life. My brother..he had his reasons for joining, but he doesn’t want me to be apart of that. I can’t say I blame him.”

“But if it was your choice?” Jughead pressed and she smiled.

“I’m already an honorary Serpent. I’m bound, whether I have a jacket or not. It might be in a different way than he is, but I’m bound nonetheless,” she revealed, looking wistfully into the distance. The sun was shining their way and he could see the flecks of amber in her eyes. “Does that answer your question?”

“Yeah.” He seemed satisfied, but she could tell something was still on his mind. Though from what she knew about him, he seemed to always have something on his mind.

“I should walk you back home,” he announced, as the end of school was upon them.

“That would be the gentlemanly thing to do,” she teased, taking his hand and letting him help her stand. They retrieved their backpacks from the park bench and started the walk back to Sunnyside. The walk was quiet, but not unpleasant.

As they reached her door, Jughead said, “thanks for all this.”

She nodded. “Any time.”

“I think I’ve made my mind up,” he called, and she smiled.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Just figured you’d like to know.”

She smiled appreciatively, glancing at him as he looked intently at her. “Bye, Jones.”

He chuckled. “Bye.”

As she shut the door he wandered over to his trailer, his head spinning.

“Good luck tonight,” she was telling Jughead, fixing his collar.

“You’re all dressed up for the occasion,” he noted, eyeing her in the little black dress and boots she wore.

“I always dress up for initiations,” she assured him with a smile, He easily returned it. “Go get em, tiger.”

With her blessing, he went to stand and wait for the gauntlet to start. Toni joined her friend, who was eagerly looking on.

“He’s something,” Toni said casually, to which she agreed. Glancing at her, Toni added, “you guys have been spending a lot of time together, haven’t you?”

“Shut up, Topaz,” she said with a roll of her eyes and Toni laughed. Toni handed her his Serpent jacket, raising her eyebrows, and she snatched it from her hands.

She wandered over to the bruised up new Serpent, who turned to look at her. A smile spread across her face. “Welcome to the family, Jones.”

He took the jacket gratefully, sliding it over his shoulders as the Serpents cheered. She admired him in the leather before rejoining Toni at the bar. The two girls talked quietly, until she heard the clearing of a throat behind her. She turned, seeing Jughead with a sheepish look on his face.

“I need to get cleaned up,” he told her. “Do you mind helping me?”

She smiled. “Not at all.”

He nodded, slowly walking away, and she turned to exchange a look with Toni, who promptly offered her a shot. After downing it, she sauntered after Jughead, ignoring her brother’s watchful eyes.

Jughead led her into the empty trailer, walking to the fridge and getting ice for his bruised face. She sat at the table beside him, studying him carefully. Breaking the silence, she asked, “do you think you did the right thing?”

Nodding, he turned to look at her. “Yeah, I do.”

“Good.” She smiled in satisfaction.

She moved closer to him, gently grabbing the ice bag from him. She sat on the table in front of him, looking at his bruises carefully as she gently applied ice to them. His eyes traveled up her body, lingering on her face. His palms gently came to rest on her warm thighs and he leaned up, pressing his lips against hers.

For a moment, she froze. Then, she let the bag fall to the floor with a hard thud as she raised her hands to his face, kissing him back. His hands gripped her thighs, tugging her close, as they kissed deeply. There was a fire in their eyes when she pulled away, and a devious smirk made its way onto her face as she hopped off the table, taking his hand and leading him to the bedroom.

The next morning, she woke up beside Jughead. He was snoring soundly, his black hair a mess, shirtless but with his jeans still on. She sat up silently, stretching, so as not to wake him. She reached for her phone, making sure she didn’t have any calls or texts, before she heard a knock on the door. Not wanting to wake him, she quickly hopped out of bed and made her way to the front door. She quickly ran her fingers through her dark tresses, making them settle. She was only wearing Jughead’s shirt, which she was painfully aware of as she pulled the door open just a bit.

On the other side of it was a wide eyed blonde. The two stared at each other for a moment before she spoke. “Can I help you?”

“I was looking for Jughead,” the blonde said with a forced smile. “But I guess he’s busy at the moment.”

“He is,” she assured her, immediately placing her as the elusive Betty Cooper, aka Jughead’s Northside ex. She crossed her arms, an amused smile on her face. “I’ll be sure to tell him you stopped by.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Betty said quickly, turning away from her.

Biting back another sassy remark, she rolled her eyes and shut the door. That was a problem for another day. She had begun to walk to the bedroom when Jughead emerged, rubbing his eyes.

“Who was that?” He asked with a yawn, and she shrugged.

“Wrong house,” she replied, approaching him and giving him a kiss. He seemed surprised, but he placed his arm around the girl. Pulling away, she said, “let’s get you cleaned up. We may have neglected that last night.”

Chuckling, he followed her to the kitchen.

#jughead jones imagine #jughead jones x reader #jughead x reader #big brother!pea makes my heart melt and my pulse race #something different

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cherylsvixen · 8 years ago

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The Five Seasons

Pairing: Reggie x reader/Twin!Andrews Word count: 1,567 Warnings: Mentions of sexual abuse, violence, drug use, drinking Description: Based off of Nick’s party in the latest episode. The reader has an on/off thing with Reggie and after a fight, he’s doing his best to try and hurt her. When Nick brings out the Jingle Jangle, Reggie makes an offhand comment about the reader so she accepts the drug to prove him wrong. Unfortunately Nick St. Clair is there and tries to take advantage of her. A/N: So I sent @beachbabywrites this request too because her writing is amazing! I tried to chop a bit of the ending off because I don’t like wrapping things up neatly but I don’t like leaving you guys hanging either haha. It’s also 3rd person because I think I write better that way, but let me know what you think!! :) And lastly, this is @floralchlxe but I’m posting Riverdale Imagines here on my sideblog so it doesn’t clutter up what is supposed to be my personal blog.

“Then we walk into the Gilded Lily, and there’s Gal again.” (Y/N) stifled a yawn, growing bored of Nick’s obnoxious name-dropping. Instead she focused on chipping away the nail polish on her fingernails, trying to ignore Reggie who was stood next to the window with Josie. Every time (Y/N) looked over, his hands were all over her and she felt sick. Tomorrow’s argument was inevitable. Reggie would say the same as always, pointing out that they technically weren’t even together. That’s why they weren’t talking now. That’s why he was all over Josie. HE was trying to hurt (Y/N). She’d only asked why they couldn’t just be exclusive, because then there wouldn’t be a problem. Apparently that wasn’t the way Reggie wanted to roll. He wanted to be free without commitment. It was the same thing every time and (Y/N) was sick of it but she still couldn’t let him go. “Archiekins, a refill, s’il vous plait?” Veronica pleaded, handing Archie her cup. He was sat on the lounge between his girlfriend and (Y/N), who had to turn away to hide her eye roll. She didn’t appreciate the way Veronica had been acting all night, particularly towards her twin. “Forget teetotaling. Lets move to something with more kick.” Nick suggested, opening his suit jacket to reveal several straws of Jingle-Jangle. “I hooked him up!” Reggie yelled, fist pumping the air. (Y/N) couldn’t help but quietly scoff, making sure Reggie saw. “Tasters? Who’s up first?” Nick asked, standing from his armchair and offering the sticks around the room. “We’re not doing-“ Archie tried to speak. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you are an epic buzzkill.” Nick grinned. Everyone glanced around the room at each other, not sure what to say or how to react. “Come on, V. Like back in the day?” Nick laughed, encouraging her. When she shook her head, he continued. “Aren’t you supposed to be showing me a good time, per Daddy’s orders?” Everyone saw Veronica reconsider and look around the room, noticing their eyes on her. (Y/N) was just glad Nick hadn’t made his way to her yet. “Down Nicky, I’m just getting going. And now that you mention it, I, in fact, wouldn’t mind a little sugar to spice up this party.” (Y/N) raised her eyebrow at how quickly Veronica could be persuaded. “V, I don’t-“ She reached out to the girl’s arm but she shrugged her off. “What? Every other night it’s burgers and milkshakes. Can’t we just cut loose and pretend we’re normal for once?” Nick plopped down on the couch between the two girls and grinned. Cheryl and Reggie shrugged, taking no time to grab their own straws from the table in the middle. Kevin and the Pussycats agreed and accepted their own straws. Then Nick turned to (Y/N). “How about you pretty girl?” He coaxed, weaving his arm around her waist. Reggie stiffened from across the room; it didn’t go unnoticed by (Y/N). Two could play at this game. (Y/N) reached for the straw of Jingle Jangle Nick was waving under her nose. “(Y/N) don’t do it,” Archie warned from across the room. “Yeah (Y/N). Listen to big brother Archie, like always.” Reggie taunted, earning a laugh from Josie who was already too drunk. “You’re wasting your time Nick, she doesn’t like having fun. She’s too far up her own ass.” “Actually Nick, I’d love some.” (Y/N) decided. She glared at Reggie as she snatched the drugs from Nick’s hand. “(Y/N),” Archie tried again but it was too late. She had already torn open the top and tipped the whole lot into her mouth. “Jesus Christ (Y/N) you shouldn’t have taken the whole thing.” Reggie groaned as Josie giggled. “You’re not as innocent as they make you out to be,” Nick smirked, pulling her closer. (Y/N) avoided Archie’s stare, knowing he wasn’t happy. He watched Nick flirting with both his sister and Veronica, unwelcomed hands on both of their bodies. He had a firm grip around (Y/N)’s waist and his hand was creeping too high on Veronica’s thigh. He downed the drink he had originally made for Veronica and sat on the stool next to his sister. “I changed my mind. I’m in.” He decided, reaching for a straw.

It wasn’t long before the teens started to feel the effects of the drug. Everyone was up dancing and (Y/N) felt sticky, the thick party air coating her skin. She was aware of Josie draped over Reggie’s lap, their hands roaming each other’s bodies. She didn’t care though. She was having too much fun dancing with Nick. He didn’t let her out of his sight, and his hands never left her body. “God I need a breath,” She giggled, tripping over her bare feet as she twirled. Nick caught her by the arm, steadying her balance. “I bet, party girl.” He smirked. “Come on, let’s get you some fresh air. I’ll show you the amazing view from my room.” He took (Y/N)’s hand and she let him guide her away from the group and to his room. She tripped and stumbled the whole way, too high to see straight. As Nick swung the door open to his room, the first thing the girl noticed was the huge window. “Wow.” She breathed, eyes wide. She traipsed over as if in a trance. Nick shut the door firmly behind them and watched the girl press her hands against the glass. They were cool against her hot skin and she was so fixated on all the swirling lights and stars. She felt giggly and light. Nick sauntered over and pressed his body against hers, his hands finding her hips. “You’re so gorgeous.” He murmured, hand moving to wander over her thigh. The contact made (Y/N) smile and she leant her head back against his shoulder. She felt his gentle breath on her neck, while his hand pressed against her stomach to pull her closer to him. “You know he doesn’t care about you,” he whispered as he pressed kisses to her neck and jaw. (Y/N) turned around in his arms to face him and he wasted no time in pressing his lips to hers. Her hands found their way to his hair, as his hands frantically grabbed at her body. He guided her back to his bed and placed her down, now trying to slip his tongue into her mouth. (Y/N) panicked at how quickly things had escalated and pushed him away. “Hey, I’m… I’m not really that kind of girl.” She breathed heavily, resting back on her elbows. He stood up against the bed, between her legs. “Are you sure? I thought you were a fun party girl,” He smirked, placing his hands on her thighs. A heavy feeling settled in the girl’s stomach and she felt sick, realising the kind of position she was in. Nick took the breath that caught in her throat the wrong way and his slid his hands further up. “No. I’m not interested.” (Y/N) said firmly as she swatted his hand away, sitting up properly. He pushed her back down onto the bed and climbed on top of her, one hand pinning hers together above her head. “Just relax and do what I say, it’ll be okay.” He nibbled gently on her ear, his free hand ghosting over her skin. Tears pricked at her eyes and she panicked. “Archie!” She cried as loud as she could muster, although doubted anyone could hear her over the blasting music. (Y/N) desperately tried to wiggle and kick her legs but Nick had her pinned uncomfortably.

Quicker than she had hoped, the door flew open to reveal Reggie and Archie, both clenching their fists. In a swift bound, Archie had moved over and pulled Nick off his sister. He slammed his head into the wall before continuing with his fists. (Y/N) pulled herself into a ball and buried her head in her knees, unable to stop the sobs that wracked her body. Reggie sat next to her on the bed and she let him pull her into his chest to shield her from Archie’s aggressiveness. “You’re okay baby,” He mumbled into her hair, stroking it to calm her down. “I-I’m sorry,” She choked out, letting her body fall against his. He only held her tighter. “No, It’s not your fault.” He assured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Veronica and the Pussycats came rushing into the room just in time to see Nick fall to the ground, unconscious. It wasn’t hard to read the situation and Veronica felt sick. “I’m sorry,” (Y/N) gasped as Archie turned to her, knuckles bleeding and discoloured. She couldn’t help the sobs that made her stiffen up again. She was sorry for a lot of things. None of which needed saying. Archie crouched in front of her and took her hands in his bloodied ones, squeezing them tightly. “We’re going home okay? Everything is going to be okay,” He promised. She nodded and looked at him sadly through her big round eyes. Archie tried to hide how his heart broke at the sight. He couldn’t believe what had almost happened. He didn’t want to think about it. So he helped her up and led her away. Reggie followed to block her view from the boy on the floor. He made sure to firmly plant his shoe in Nick’s hand on the way past.

#riverdale imagines #reggie mantle imagines #archie andrews imagines #veronica lodge #nick st. clair #josie and the pussycats #josie mccoy #twin!andrews #andrews reader #riverdale fanfic #riverdale requests

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riverdaleroundup · 8 years ago

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Riverdale Roundup: 2x07 “ Tales From The Dark Side”

Here we are! Back at it again with the poorly spelled bitch seshes.

Okay so we open up with this artsy ass SVU esque true crime docu series news bulletin and i’m just like why? Why are we doing this? This is very that one episode of Grey's anatomy after the shooting when it was like a reality tv special about the hospital.

Okay anyway BH is like “ Okay you little trolls here's the deal. If you don’t sin for 48 hours I won’t murder all of you. Sound good?” but because this is riverdale everyone goes on with their sin filled lives like normal. Like here’s an idea, why don’t you all just take a long weekend, hang out at home with the shades drawn and watch some tv? But no everyone feels the need to do a little extra sinning because why not. It’s not like their lives are on the line or anything.

Archie and Jughead:

Betty and Jughead are all cuddled up in bed together and Betty is wearing his S shirt. But what Betty doesn’t know is that freaking Toni Topaz was lounging in that same shirt like 20 minutes ago when Jughead was getting it on with her…..so like drama. Philandering and Lying to your girlfriend? SIN.

Jughead talking to Penny Peabody even tho FP told him not to: Disobeying thy parents. SIN. Like he picks up the phone and it’s her. Hang up bitch! Don’t go get pancakes. Freak. UGH. Being a dumb little bitch: SIN. Okay so Penny is like “ your dad got jumped in the showers” and I watch so much SVU that i’m immediately like “ they’re going to talk about someone being sodomized on the CW? Holy shit.” but like they just hit him so like that’s a little more on brand.

Penny is like “ we need money” and Jughead is like “ sick I have 18 dollars’ and i’m like it’s so sad how relatable that is. So Penny is going to hook him up with a casual drug running job and i’m just like SIN.

Okay so Jughead needs to borrow Archies dad’s truck so he run some casual drugs and i’m like okay you still don’t have licenses and you still can’t drive but whatever. Jughead is like “ you owe me archie because you ruined my street race.” so now Archie has to help. They get this crate from a storage container (SIN) and they’re off. Archie is like “ Okay how much longer are you going to be a serpent” and Jughead is like “ you dumb bitch tattoos don’t just fall off after three months.” Archie basically proposes to Jughead talking about how he has his fantasy of them being roommates in New York and Jughead is a writer and Archie is a musician and i’m like okay so this really is going to become like RENT? Like in his 15 year old mind he thinks that straight out of high school they are all just going to move out to NYC together and get amazing jobs sans college degrees and live happily ever after. He’s watched too many episodes of Friends. They proceed to get a flat tire because of course they do. They have no spare because they are 15 and ill prepared. Archie wants to call triple C which is the cheap version of triple A and Jughead is like nah we are hauling drugs, like the tow truck is going to search their vehicle? Jug wants to call his boo Betty but Archie doesn’t want to get her mixed up in the drug trade and i’m like she’s just bringing you a tire not strapping a pound of jingle jangle to her person and going through TSA. This creepy ass guy comes along and is like y’all need a ride and i’m like DO NOT GO WITH THIS MAN YOU STUPID IDIOTS. But of course Jughead goes with this creepy guy who tells him not to look under his tarp and i’m like okay, you dumb idiot. Don’t do this. Jughead leaves archie on the side of the road and goes willingly with a creepy stranger. Being a dumb idiot and getting in the car with a scary stranger: SIN.

So the people of god think that the Black Hood is basically Jesus 2.0 and that he’s coming to rid the world of sin. So like Yikes. Archie sees a fucked up deer and then Jughead looks under the tarp and finds a dead deer and i’m like Oh dear. So the creepy ass man tells Jughead the story of the Riverdale Reaper who murdered this whole family and i’m like okay Jughead and Betty do all this freaking research about the murders and they never once heard of this? Did Alice Cooper tear that out of all the papers too? So this guy tries to stiff Jughead with the cheque and he’s like “ bro I already gave you my 18 dollars” but this guy doesn’t give a single fuck. He’s bouncing and he’s taking the drug crate with him.

Thankfully Archiekins rolls up and is ready to make it rain but only if they accept debit. Riverdale has never been so self aware. Like finally Archie is acting like an actual fifteen year old and using his debit card which is probably connected to his dad’s account so that Fred can monitor where Archie is spending his allowance.

Okay why can we not be in greendale after midnight? Is it because Sabrina the Teenage Witch is going to be out and doing spooky magic?

They roll up to the drop off site and are greeted by these creepy Russian gangsters which is just so convenient. Turns out Jughead is going to be their new little brug mule so he better get his ish together.

Jughead goes to visit FP and see’s that Daddy is fine and has not been jumped so like what the fuck Penny? Jughead goes to confront Penny and she’s like “listen up you little troll I own you now so like get the fuck used to it. You’re daddy like broke my heart or like didn’t give me a ride to the airport when he said he would so now I H8 you.” So like yikes.

Josie

When her names flashes up on the screen i’m like really? There’s a whole section just for her? Like I thought they just brought her in when they needed an upbeat musical number. She hangs around school late into the night so she can play the piano and i’m like do you not have one of those at home? Your Dad is like some big deal musician so like shouldn’t you have a piano? Can you not use an app on your ipad and play on that.

So the Mayor has moved them into a hotel because that’s going to be safer and i’m like okay??? Josie has to be back in the room by dark but like it’s winter so isn’t it dark by like 3pm? Does she have to skip the last period of school to make it home on time?

Both Josie and Cheryl look like they waltzed out of the 1970’s in their jumpsuits and heavily embellished tops. Josie is getting recruited to be a solo act so like bye bye pussy cats. She keeps getting creepy gifts in her locker and like in what world would a note that says “ i’m watching you be romantic?” Those are clearly not cute gifts but rather creepy little gestures that say I WANT TO MURDER YOU.

Chuck rolls up and asks Josie out and at first she’s all like “ ew no” and i’m like “ ew no” because he’s like gross and creepy and an asshole but by the end of the episode i’m like “ omg i love chuck. I don’t even know.” Josie asks if he’s putting stuff in her locker and he’s like “ I can be” which is not a yes so I don’t know why she takes it as a yes like ummm excuse me???? Josie goes to take a steam at the school and i’m like what kind of school has a steam room? Valarie and the other pussy cat whose name I do not know come and confront Josie about going solo which is very much like when the Cheetah Girls were in Barcelona and Adrienne Bailon was going to ditch the group to sing with that spanish girl and everyone got really pissed about it.

Josie runs into Chuck in the hallway and she’s like “ Thank god you're not a murderer, now drive me home.” and he’s like “ okay but first let's get french fries and fall in love.” Okay so don’t get me wrong i’m suddenly very team Chuck like out of the blue but what the heck happened to Reggie? They were like kind of hyping up a Josie Reggie thing like 20 minutes ago and now this? Whatever, Archie had like 67 love interests last season.

So Chuck talks about being a changed man and Pop is like “ ahh yes Chuck goes to my church. He is a man of god.” and i’m like okay did you pay him to say that Chuck? And Josie is thinking the same thing but like Chuck says he’s not that prepared. They then proceed to dance the night away and honestly they are not bad dancers but it’s just so random. Then the Mayor burst in and is like “ girl check your phone once in awhile” and then tells Josie to never speak to chuck again. It’s gearing up to be very Romeo and Juliet. Anyone up for a forbidden romance? The Mayor tells Josie about all these letters she’s been getting from these creeps and i’m like hot damn that's aggressive.

Cheryl is not team Chuck and makes that clear. Josie gets this creepy drawing and a box with a heart in it and I CALLED THAT I FUCKING CALLED IT BEING A HEART.

“ Out of the way Bert and Ernie” is so fucking Iconic.

Okay the janitor is around way too much to not have to do with something so like…..what’s the truth Mr. Spenceon?

Okay josie has a dream about dying and I honestly thought it actually happened and I was not pissed soooooo. Then we see Cheryl drawing this creepy ass drawing of Josie and like omg Cheryl you little liar. But I mean she just wants to keep her best friend to herself so like...I get it. Don’t think I wouldn’t do this Brittney.

Betty & Veronica

Okay so Kevin is worried about his dad because there is a killer on the prowl and the Sheriff has gotta catch him. Betty and Veronica both think they know what’s going on. Betty is like “ he’s def the killer” and Veronica is like “ he’s def having an affair” and then they look at each other like they’re both dumb bitches. Betty is a little too wrapped up in this mystery and thinks that literally everyone in this town who is male and above the age of 45 is the killer. She’s like “ Mr Phillips was killed in the police station soooo…” but literally 4 episodes ago Jughead was like “ okay anyone could break into the police station it’s so easy let's rescue my dad and send him to Canada.”

Veronica invites herself over to Kevin's house for a sleepover like an entitled bitch so that she can go snooping to figure out if the Sheriff is gettin it on with someone. Betty literally rolls up to the police station and is like “ What’s good Sheriff Keller. How the hell did BH get into the police station” and the Sheriff just shows her all this evidence and i’m like in what world would the HBIC of Riverdale Police just show all his evidence to this 15 year old girl?

So Veronica and Kevin are playing like Dungeons and Dragons or Mall Madness or something in his bedroom and Veronica is trying very hard not to slit her own wrists out of boredom. Again being entitled she decides to go get herself a drink but is actually just going to snoop around Sheriff Keller's underwear drawer or something. She calls Betty for advice and Betty is offended that she didn’t get an invite to the sleepover and i’m like same.

Veronica goes down to the basement and Sheriff Keller is pumping iron and looking very DILFy today. He and Veronica just hang out by the soda fridge for a while and we find out that Kevin's mom is in the army and i’m like ohhh she isn’t just skipping town like Jugheads mom and never looking back. Veronica is vibing with the Sheriff and honestly like wants him. Looks like Hiram isn’t the only one she’ll be calling Daddy (b) . But she doesn’t get any good info about if he is literally a mass murder or if he’s like fucking some random mom from the PTA. However if Veronica turns out to be wrong about him having an affair she would be more than willing to start one up #daddyissues.

Veronica see’s him sneaking out of his house and i’m like bitch it isn’t called sneaking out if you’re a literal adult and you own the property. He’s just leaving. Maybe he had a craving for some peanuts you don’t know.

Betty is grasping at straws to make Keller the killer and Veronica is defending her man to the end. Betty knows that the sheriff is hiding hiding something but Veronica knows that the only thing he’s hiding is a hot bod (b). Betty breaks into the Keller house (SIN) and starts going through his personal property. She finds a murder board and is like “Omg proof that he’s the killer!” and I’m like “ Or maybe he’s the literally chief of police who has to solve the murders” like we’ve seen him make murder boards before. The sheriff rolls back up and is like “ Wtf Betty what are you doing in here?”

So Betty brings her good for nothing father to the police station to talk to Keller and he lays down all the evidence to show that he’s innocent. Betty and Veronica follow the sheriff and find out that he’s gettin it in with the Mayor at some sleeze motel (SIN) and i’m like how many hotel rooms does she have? Veronica is heartbroken. Clearly. Veronica and Betty decide to keep this a secret and lie to Kevin ( SIN) Cheryl is like poisoning Josie with that tea (SIN).

Pop is the new Betty and gets a call from the Black Hood. BH knows that they have all been sinning aggressively and he’s coming to mirder them. So yikes.

Honestly everyone is sinning all over the place do I don’t know what these bitches expected?? They all wear polyester and I bet somewhere someone is eating shellfish. Also Moose wasn’t in this episode so….SIN.

#riverdale #riverdale roundup #the cw riverdale #the cw #betty cooper #Bughead #jughead #jughead jones #betty x jughead #cheryl blossom #varchie

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intjsassypants · 8 years ago

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The Year Without a Santa Claus

Summary

The Year Without a Santa Claus chronicles the story of the year Santa was ill, and decided to cancel Christmas. He is also deterred by the lack of Christmas spirit. So Mrs. Claus, and the elves Jingle and Jangle set out to get Santa his mojo back. The elves and Vixen, their ride, land in Southtown, USA. Accidentally, after another one of Heat Miser and Cold Miser’s fights steers them off course.

Even though Vixen gets taken by the dog catcher, they get a ticket, the mayor and court don’t believe them, they meet some school children. One of which Santa also runs into, while trying to rescue the elves and Vixen. His name is Ignatius and he and his friends are un-phased by Christmas being cancelled. When he runs into Santa, and sees him fly off on Dasher, he has a change of heart.

He goes on to aid Mrs. Claus and the elves in their quest to make it snow in Southtown. Which is unsuccessful- until Mother Nature, Heat Miser and Cold Miser’s mom, makes them reach an agreement. It will snow in Southtown, and there will be spring in the North Pole.

Meanwhile, the children of the world agree to give Santa a holiday, let him get better- all except for a few. Whose love and belief in him revive him, bringing Christmas back. There is a parade in Southtown

Setting, Location

“The Year Without a Santa Claus takes place in a town in the Southern United Sates, between 1918-1920. One of the first clues is going the wrong way down the street that had official road markings. If cars and drivers exist, why would there be road markings, and rules of the road?

The lack of cars also supports this timeline, Model T-s started to be mass produced, on an everyday consumer scale, in 1914. Then WWI broke out and that interrupted production, and getting the resources to make one, increasing prices and availability- all decreasing scales. The army had vehicles, and priority to have vehicles. Also, where are all the young adult men?

This also explains the lack of abundant toys, real soldiers needed metal, rubber, wood, and other useful resources- not toy ones. The children are sharing one ball, and no more toys show up until Santa shows up. Cars or toy wise, it would have taken time to return back to pre-war consumerism and production.

The fashion of the characters also support this timeline. Santa and Mrs. Claus, and the other adults, still wear clothes from the late 19th century. But the men and children’s attire is inching more towards the 1920s, especially the drop waist dresses, play clothes, and sailor suit.

Older people tend to wear clothes familiar to them, plus during WWI fashion didn’t change as quickly as often as it does today, fabric was for uniforms. But if it was the 1920’s, flappers? Flappers were a fringe movement, they were the rich, celebutont hipsters. Some of their style was incorporated into everyday fashion- but no one went to work dressed for the speakeasy. But shoes got more elaborate and hemlines shorter.

The color is also important- notice that, although bright, the tones are pretty natural, not artificial. Santa and Mrs. Claus, and Jingle and Jangle are the exception- because their clothing dye supply wasn’t affected by WWI. Germany was the epicenter of clothing dye, and with it being involved in a war, and blockades and, clothes colors took a darker, more natural turn.

But that doesn’t mean Santa didn’t keep up with the times. His bowler hat is very chic, and his manly pocket watch. Before and during WWI pocket watched were for men, wrist watched were for women. Men only adopted them because of practicality- you could check the time much more quickly, and without having your hand shot off. Santa didn’t have this problem, but the good boys fighting against the Germans and Germany’s allies, not so much.

The glasses also differ in style, most apparently, no one holds them on a stick anymore. Also consider the other non-fashion clues.

There are electric, street lights, first seen in the North in the 1880s but eventually mad either way to a now slightly electrified south. Parts of the south weren’t electrified until the 1930s by the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority).

Electric Christmas lights are also common, and came out around the same time. They were fist sold in the early 20th century, and began to be widely used. And given the fact that the South was generally less industrialized, and still just recovering from Reconstruction & Civil War destruction at this time, and WWI affecting supply and demand, again, between 1918 and 1920, Southtown might have gotten Christmas lights.

But they were hip with one thing- wrapping paper. By 1918, decorative wrapping paper wasn’t just for the insides of envelopes anymore, you could wrap presents with it. There were no wrapped presents in “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”.

And what was wrapped also indicates the timeframe. Ignatius’s bike looks a lot like a children’s safety bicycle by Schwinn, which came out in the 1890s. Schwinn was founded by a German, and also considering supply shortages- it wouldn’t have been the best present, or most available present to give.

But by the end of the war, or by at least 1920, when the first Macy’s Holiday Parade, with Santa parading down the street, much like in this movie, took place, it could have been cool. And the Southern Railway, established in 1894, could have gotten that hip electricity and wrapping paper to them, and the infrastructure, and people to make all that happen. After the wartime supply shortages of course, which would have affected old and young railways alike, and the availability of qualified- war is bad.

And given this information, and the fact that if Vixen was a baby between 1918-1920, not to mention Donner (Rudolph’s Dad) who would have been in the womb or born by then, and making her about 6-7 months old sometimes after Thanksgiving but before Christmas (Foals are born between June and July), and in captivity live 10-15 years, and assuming she was still alive when Rudolph was born (she’s mentioned in the song)- Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer would have taken place between 1928 and 1933, around another war and catastrophe- WWII and the Great Depression.

Characters

Ignatius Thistlewhite, a unique, old school name, why is he named this? Ignatius means fiery one- and Ignatius has red hair, along with his mom, and several other- Rankin and Bass had a thing for Redheads. Santa and Mrs. Claus also have red hair.

Jingle and Jangle are their good intentioned, bumbling comic relief. Their shenanigans, and the need to rescue Vixen, is the first thing that gets Santa out of his funk. Vixen serves as the metaphorical Belgium, given the time period, that inspires and mobilizes Santa.

Vixen is the innocent victim, vixen is rallied behind, made better once rescued- and the only reason she got sick with what appears just to be pneumonia, is the Miser brothers- Heat and Cold, who are symbolic of conflict, eternal war, in this case, the warring sides of WWI. Heat Miser does bear a resemblance to Georges Clemenceau, the aggressive and vindictive Prime Minister of France at the time. Who made the sanctions worse against Germany, which did not help, at all.

Cold Miser could be compared to Kaiser Wilhemlm II in personality, aggressive, territorial, starter of things- in the Miser Brothers Christmas Special he is the one who sabotages Santa so he can take his place.

Appearance wise though, he more resembles an elderly George V, who was related to Kaiser Wilhelm II through Queen Victoria. Every side in WWI was somehow related to each other, through the short stout, hat wearing, ruler of most of the earth Queen Victoria. Who was pretty traditional, husbandless, but in charge, domineering over her children- much like Mother Earth.

Santa’s Illness

Santa claims just to have a cold, he feels fine, despite it persisting. Vixen also starts to show similar symptoms. Disease outbreaks and war go hand in hand, and during WWI Spanish Flu and TB were major problems.

Reindeer and humans can get TB, and aches are the only Spanish Flu symptom that Santa is suffering from. But luckily, it’s latent, non-infectious. And Santa’s castle up North, up high, and visit to a warm Southtown seems to help. Illness could also explain the empty streets, and how often that cold of his is mentioned.

Symptoms of Latent TB include involuntary weight loss- which is mentioned twice regarding Santa in “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. Suffering from TB from 1917, 1918 or 1919, through 1928-1933 would also induce stress, general ill feelings, which could result in a personality change. The Pre-TB Kris Kringle that comes to town is very different from the Hardass, demeaning Santa that tells Rudolph he’s a freak and will never work for him.

Other Historical Connections

Heat Miser and Cold Miser eventually reach a truce- a Christmas truce, quite reminiscent of the one day truce, on Dec. 25th, 1914 on the Western Front. Heat Miser’s and Cold Miser’s truce is officially, official, but sharing a date, and the element of going over to the other’s side, is uncanny.

America’s position during WWI is also touched upon. Americans were officially indifferent, but personally some wanted to help, stay out of a European war, or were completely indifferent. America was only accidentally dragged into the war in 1917, didn’t plan to be steered off course. Much like a certain young baby reindeer, not as old, experienced, wise, or mettle as the other reindeer.

Ennui and despair are also major themes- the North Pole, Southtown, that is until a willful, empowered Mrs. Claus (unlike her appearance in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer) decides to take action. She even puts on Santa, a man’s suit, shocking Jingle and Jangle, while singing, and realizing that she could be Santa Claus. During WWI, women were thrust into men’s roles, while the men were fighting. They temporarily received power, influence.

Which of course went right out the window for most, unless you were one of those rising feminists complaining that you still couldn’t vote. Mrs. Claus’s moxie and taking the reigns of Christmas are very reminiscent of these actions, the attitude of women during and post WWI. She isn’t admonished, in fact she narrates the story, tells you the narrative, a woman.

And after all, despite her staying home during the parade, she is the reason that parade even happened. And why faith and hope, and Santa Claus, even make a comeback, girl power!

And also, children power- Santa only gets a holiday because the united children of the world throw him a bone. Help him with his job, some want him back, but they all contribute to give Santa a holiday, volunteer for the cause, contribute. How very patriotic and noble of them, fighting TB’s war on Christmas.

It’s literally downright inspiring. Any country would appreciate those efforts, especially during a war. Also, any country might at least let Mrs. Claus try on Santa’s jacket.

Although on the surface “The Year Without a Santa” is just another stop-motion Christmas special, it has deep historical and political significance. Why fright, cause so much suffering, help Christmas- a time of faith, hope, and joy, get cancelled?

Why can’t we all come together, have a little faith and hope? Maye a parade, and also, a cure for TB, Latent and Active?

#santa claus #santa #history #rankin and bass #analysis #media #literature

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