#I was planning on doing some shopping in town and my fiancé was like “wait we should take the knife in for sharpening” 👀 without irony

[autumnsup]

Reveling in the perfection of having taken my kitchen knife to be sharpened today--I swear I did not time it on purpose. 😂

[cirilla-fiona-riannon]

𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝘂 (𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟭)

Translations may not always capture the exact nuances or tone of the original text. Expect grammatical errors and inaccuracies.

After finishing a day of official duties, we finally had some time alone. While sipping tea before bed, Silvio brought up something interesting.

Silvio: "You know there's going to be a limited-time market in town soon, right?"

Emma: "Yes, that's the one you're organizing, isn't it?"

Silvio: "Yep. Normally, only shop owners and merchants can open stalls, but this time, I changed the rules so anyone can join."

Silvio: "Because of that, we got a crazy number of applications. Just sorting through them all might take me until evening."

As he let out a sigh, I felt a quiet excitement stir in my chest.

Emma: "Does that mean even amateurs can open a stall?"

Silvio: "Yeah. Some people are trying to start new businesses; others are just looking to get rid of junk from their homes."

Emma: "........."

Silvio: "Why are your eyes sparkling like that?"

(Duh? Because it sounds fun!)

(Besides, I've been waiting for a chance like this!)

I set down my cup and leaned in toward him.

Emma: "I want to open a stall too!"

Silvio: "That's so sudden. Don't tell me you're just saying that on a whim."

Emma: "Of course not! I've actually been interested in this for a while."

Silvio: "Interested in what, business?"

Emma: "Yes."

Emma: "And I've been wanting to try something new."

Emma: "Watching you jump into new ventures all the time made me want to start something of my own, too."

Silvio: "I see. In that case, I'll help you—"

Emma: "No! Can I try doing it on my own this time?"

Silvio: "What, are you saying you don't want me as your business partner?"

Emma: "That's not it! If I were gonna go into business with anyone, I'd trust you the most."

Silvio: "Then what's the problem?"

Emma: "It's not that I have a problem with you."

As he gave me a sharp, piercing look, I braced myself and finally said what I'd been thinking for a while.

Emma: "I just feel like if I keep relying on you, I'll never really grow."

Emma: "Ever since I came to Benitoite, I don't think I've done anything on my own."

Emma: "But if I can get experience doing something completely from start to finish by myself, I think I'll feel more confident—as your fiancée."

(Though that's not the only reason I want to try running a business. But I'll keep that to myself for now.)

Silvio: "............"

Silvio: "*sigh* that's so like you."

Silvio: "So basically, you want to handle everything—from sourcing your goods to setting up the stall—by yourself, huh?"

Emma: "Yeah. I know it's going to be tough, and there'll probably be things I'm not good at... but still, I want to try doing it myself this time."

As I waited nervously, Silvio finally broke the silence with a chuckle.

Silvio: "Jumping into business with zero experience and doing it alone is definitely reckless."

Silvio: "But telling you that is pointless, huh?"

Silvio: "Even if I tried to stop you, you wouldn't listen anyway. So fine, do it your way."

Silvio: "Whether you succeed or fail, there's no doubt it'll be a valuable experience."

Emma: "Thank you, Prince Silvio."

Silvio: "Even though it's open to the public, this is still a proper market."

Silvio: "If your business isn't up to standard, no one's going to stop by. Make sure you remember that."

Emma: "O-Okay."

Silvio: "Don't worry. If it all goes up in flames and you feel like crying, I'll be there to cheer you up."

Emma: "That's exactly why I'll make sure I'm prepared, so it doesn't come to that."

Emma: "I'll give it everything I've got and make sure I don't have any regrets!"

The next day

I headed to the courtyard and started planning for the upcoming market.

(They said I can open whatever stall I want, but what kind should I go with?)

(Since it's my first time running a business, maybe I should stick to something I already know.)

I closed my eyes and thought hard about it, but only one idea kept coming to mind.

Emma: "Books. I think that's the one."

Silvio: "A solid choice."

Emma: "Prince Silvio!?"

He placed his hand on my head and playfully ruffled my hair.

Silvio: "If you start thinking you've got all the time in the world and take it easy, that event's gonna sneak up on you real quick."

Silvio: "Once you've decided what you're going to sell, you should start looking for suppliers as soon as possible."

Emma: "You're right."

(In that case, it might be a good idea to head into town for some research. I could get ideas for my product lineup.)

Silvio: "Oh, and I almost forgot—I'm going to town tomorrow, and you're coming with me."

Emma: "Sure! Are we going shopping?"

Silvio: "Something like that."

(Silvio's going into town just to shop? That's pretty rare. I wonder what he's buying.)

(Still, the timing couldn't be better—I can do my market research while we're there.)

(..........)

Silvio: "What are you grinning about?"

Emma: "It's nothing."

(He says it's shopping, but maybe he's actually bringing me along to help with my research?)

(The way he invited me like that—it has to be his way of helping, right?)

Silvio: "I plan on dragging you all over the place tomorrow, so you'd better be ready."

Emma: "Okay! I'm looking forward to it!"

The next day—

We were walking through town for market research.

Just realizing he brought me here under the excuse of running his own errands made my heart flutter.

(It almost feels like we're on a date, but I need to stay focused!)

(Having an experienced merchant like him is a huge privilege for a beginner like me.)

As I pressed a hand to my cheek to stop myself from smiling too much, I heard him stifle a laugh beside me.

Silvio: "You're getting way too excited over a shopping trip."

(Ah…)

Right after he teased me, he suddenly took my hand.

Emma: "Prince Silvio?"

Part 1 ╎ Part 2 ╎ Part 3

[simslegacy5083]

Today's (3/7/2025) Episode: Let's Plan A Wedding

“You’ve been such a close friend to us since we moved in; we’d love for you to be the one to join us in marriage” Skye told xir great-grandfather one morning. The couple had a long list of wedding “to-dos” to complete that day, and getting their chosen officiant on board was their first task.

“I’d be honored” Candor smiled “I promise I won’t let you down, I officiated your great-grandmother Daisy’s wedding centuries ago and did a pretty good job if I do say so myself. While we’re on the subject, I think now is as good a time as any to give you my wedding present.”

Elyse smiled shyly as Skye opened the box to find two flirty potions nestled snugly inside. “These look great – thank you!” the new mage said.

“You’re welcome. I thought you would appreciate a little something to help get you both in the mood on your wedding night.” he told them “good luck today. I can’t believe the chapel where Chance and I got married is still in business! You’ll have to tell me what you thought of the old place.”

“Its perfect, don’t you think?” Skye exclaimed as the pair sat discussing the tiny chapel in Newcrest while xir new personal drone Giggles whirred away in the background catching documentary footage of their wedding preparation journey. “So cozy, it will be such an intimate celebration. Plus, its steeped in family history! Dad said Grandma Violet got married here too.”

Elyse’s furrowed brow told Skye she disagreed about their first potential wedding venue. “I’m sorry, but this is cramped, not cozy. No separation between the wedding and reception space at all, and I don’t think it will even seat all our guests! I’m sure it was perfect for your ancestors, but I really want something a little grander for our big day.”

She gave her fiancé a stern look. “We’re only going to get married once, so let’s look a little harder for a venue that really fits the occasion.”

“Now THIS is more like it!” Elyse gushed at their next stop. “This chapel is gorgeous, and the view from the reception space out back it to DIE for!”

Skye sighed happily “I still say the last place was nice, but this is undeniable prettier. I’m going to be able to get some great shots of our ceremony here, and the view from the terrace outside will be so dramatic for portraits. I think we both agree, this is the one?”

 “No question” she nodded, letting herself be pulled into her fiancée's arms for a celebratory kiss.

“If you want to get some pictures, why don’t you start now?” Skye nodded enthusiastically, setting the timer on xir camera and posing with xir love beside the arch.

“I see why they call this the city of love” Skye sighed happily as the teleporter deposited the couple just outside the village square in Tartosa. “this place is beautiful, and we can get everything we’ll need for the ceremony and the reception right here in town.”

“I can’t wait to find my dress” Elyse agreed “the boutique is famous for its wedding fashions.”

“Thank you for compromising on something with a bit of blue in it” Skye kissed xir future spouse softly on the cheek in gratitude as they exited the shop a couple hours later. “You are going to be a beautiful bride, and this way we’ll match, which is a tradition in my family.”

“You have too many “traditions”! I can’t believe your mom put up with all of them when it was her turn!” Elyse pouted playfully. “I still say brides should wear white, but I guess a little bit of blue embellishment won’t hurt anything.”

“Remind me why I need a bouquet again?” she continued as they made their way to the flower stand.

 “For tossing into the crowd at the reception.” Skye told her. “They say the sim that catches it will be the next one to get married. After this we’ll head to the bakery. I just hope the cakes are high enough quality for me.”

“You and your “refined palate”” she chuckled “you know, some of us would just call that being needlessly picky!”

“…this one looks nice, but I’d love to see a sample in person. Also, is it made with high quality ingredients?” Skye asked the clerk, handing back the book of options they’d been presented with as they looked around the sweet shop.

“We have a sampler deal” said the other sim, “for those hoping to nail the right taste and not just the right look for their special day.”

“Nope, nope, nope” Skye shuddered a couple minutes later, fighting down a wave of nausea. “I loved their designs, but this tastes awful. I could do a better job myself, or maybe I can get Great Grandpa Candor to summon Grandpa Peachy to help. Dad mentioned that cakes were his specialty.”

Elyse thought the fancy dessert had been delicious, but she knew better than to argue with Skye when it came to food. “Whatever you say” she shrugged “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” With that the couple headed back home, excited to officially tie the knot in the very near future.

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[bravewolfvesperia]

As Flynn hurries over to Yuri’s side (with one hand tucked behind his back), he seems to be in relatively high spirits today as he happily snatches up the man’s wrist in order to grab his attention. As Flynn tugs Yuri over just a bit, behind the man’s smile is a look of concentration as he gently tucks Yuri’s hair behind his ear. “I received something today, but I think it would look a lot better on you than me…”

Flynn would then pull out a white lily and tuck it into Yuri’s hair, letting his fingers linger against the dark strands that contrasted nicely with the pure white petals of the flower. As he steps back to admire his handiwork, he decides to offer some type of explanation.

“Flowers might not totally be your thing but… I received this from an elderly lady in the city today, after helping her with something in her shop. She gave me this flower for free after seeing my engagement ring and told me that this flower would be a perfect gift for you. After learning its meaning, I can only agree.”

Flynn takes Yuri’s hand and gently presses a kiss to the man’s palm before elaborating. “Devotion. The flower can have many meanings, depending on culture and context but I think my favorite meaning is devotion. That makes sense though, doesn’t it? Considering how devoted I am to you, my love.”

@mistralxsoul

Yuri had been considering his plans for the rest of the day in accordance with his guild work schedule, when he was abruptly accosted by the waist by none other than his sneaky fiancé. As Flynn pulled him off to the side, Yuri found himself letting out a confused sound at the suddenness, but waited for Flynn to bring up the occasion. For all he knew, someone could have made some complaint about him to the Commandant. It wouldn't be the first time someone made up a lie about him, figuring it was easy pickings for someone with a "criminal" background.

Thankfully Flynn seemed a bit too happy and in high spirits for it to be something like that. Even though it was a brief thought in the back of his mind, it reminded him how far their moods had come when they would come across each other only a couple years ago. How Flynn would scold him for any poor behavior, or even nag at him about never leaving town or doing anything with himself. It was out of worry, sure, but at the time, Yuri had by no means been in the right state of mind to handle criticism for how he was living.

Once Flynn had been properly facing Yuri now, Yuri could feel his hair being tucked back as it pulled him away from his idling thoughts. Yuri's hand rose to confirm what was now in his hair, feeling the flower in question. His hand returned to his side as Flynn explained, trying to figure out the feeling that popped up in his stomach at the mention of a woman giving Flynn the gift after seeing his engagement ring.

On top of that, Flynn's mention of helping an elderly woman with her shop filled him with a pride he knew he'd felt before, but one that felt slightly different now. Flynn wasn't just some regular knight anymore, nor was he just a simple and regular citizen. He'd always been the type to do things like that, but now he held one of the highest positions in, well, frankly, the continent itself. Busy as he was, he was still taking the time out of his day to help the residents. To help them with small, sometimes even menial tasks that most would consider beneath his position or a waste his time.

"Sounds like it's not just me you're devoted to. You're still every bit the Flynn I know even swamped in work, I see." But the peaceful smile on his face was enough to say it was no sort of jab - no sort of upset that Flynn divided his attention. It was just a small thing and maybe it shouldn't mean this much to Yuri... but the means that he acquired this gift of his made Yuri genuinely proud of him. Proud that he had someone like that in his life, let alone becoming his husband. Proud that Flynn was just... Flynn.

True, flowers weren't really his thing when it came to himself... but he could handle a single flower, especially in this case. "But yeah, you've put up with me this long. I'd say you're pretty devoted. His voice softened just a touch, conveying the gentler feelings Yuri was otherwise not usually the best at getting across. "Thanks for that... by the way. I'm really glad I have someone like with you." He shook his head slightly in disagreement with that phrasing. "I mean- I'm really glad I have... you."

Yeah, flowers weren't really his thing even if he did like leaving them for Flynn... but this flower could be his thing.

[justmeinadaze]

Time Doesn't Heal All Wounds ( Eddie X Reader)

A/N: So I was in an emo mood listening to my Spotify and "Happier" by Marshmellow & Bastille started playing and it gave me this idea. I hope you like it :)

Warning: No smut here yet. Eddie and the reader snap at each other a lot but there's a lot of pain there.

Word Count: 3230

“Please baby, don’t do this!”

“What the fuck else am I supposed to do, Eddie! We keep going round and round like this. I’m tired of fighting and crying. Let just admit, it’s over.”

“But I love you…”

“Hun, are you ok?” Your fiancée gently takes your hand in his as he turns his eyes back to the road. 

You blinked away the memories as the trailer park passed out of your view from the window. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Just anxious to get there is all.”

You hadn’t stepped foot in Hawkins in almost five years. The summer after you graduated from high school you ran as far as your legs would take you, far from this town. Far from him…

You hadn’t planned on ever coming back but when your dad called saying your mom had gotten sick you and your fiancée, James, hopped the earliest flight you could make. 

James was a good man. You met him a couple of years after you moved to California during a girl’s night out with some of your friends. Some jerk wouldn’t take no for an answer and James jumped in knocking him on his ass. He bought you a drink and you two talked all night. 

“Uh oh.” The rental car he was driving started to stall slightly and a host of lights appeared on the dashboard. You couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“Welcome to Hawkins, baby.” He flashes you a nervous grin. “It’s ok. There should be a mechanic shop just up here. Just go slow.”

The car limps into the parking lot and you both step out into the cold air. On instinct you lift the hood of the car and gaze inside. You hear James shout to a mechanic in the garage. “Excuse me. Hi. Our rental just completely gave out on us. Can you take a look at it?”

“Did you rent from Andys? Never a great idea.”

Your whole body stills as the blood drains from your face. You’d recognize that voice anywhere. Your fiancée chuckles, “Wow. Yeah, we did. Baby, you’re from here. You didn’t know that?”

You slowly turn and meet Eddie’s chocolate brown eyes. “It’s been a long time. I guess I just forgot.”

Eddie’s head tilts in amusement. “Yeah, with how long you’ve been gone I bet you forgot a lot of things, hm?”

Your shock was now steadily being replaced with annoyance. “Naw, just got used to better things.” You fake a giggle as you wrap your arm around James. 

He kisses your forehead before pulling out his phone. “Let me call and see if we can get another car out here so we can get going. Do you want to call your dad and tell him we’re going to be a little late?”

Eddie comes up beside you and looks down into the car. “Yeah, I’ll text him in a bit.” He smiles at you as he runs inside away from the noise. 

“You, uh, coming to see your mom?” Eddie asks without looking at you. 

“She got sick—”

“I know.” He cuts you off before reaching in his back pocket and pulling out his black bandana to wipe his hands. “There’s a lot of damage in here but I can fix it. Shouldn’t take me longer than a week. How long are you two going to be in town?”

“I’m not sure. We both are taking some time off from work but I don’t want to leave till I know she’s ok.” He nods his head as he turns to lean against the car folding his arms over her chest. You try and swallow your pride. “How have you been?”

Eddie laughs sarcastically. “Do you really care?”

“Really? So, nothing’s changed then? We’re just going to fight like we did back then?”

“Back then, huh? It was only 5 years ago. Tell me, how long did you wait before you replaced me?”

“Don’t you dare…” Your voice starts to raise but you lower it as you step closer to him. “Don’t you dare act like what happened wasn’t hard for me either.”

“Yeah, well, it was easy enough for you stay away.” His eyes stare daggers into yours. 

“God damn it, Eddie Munson. You are so stubborn! You never listened—”

“Ok, so slight problem. There are no spare cars nearby and this small town doesn’t seem to have uber. Do you guys have a taxi service something?”, James asks completely missing the tension in the air. 

Eddie unfolds his arms and points towards the garage. “I have a spare you can take.”

“Oh my god! That would be amazing. Right, babe? Wow. People in this town are so friendly.” You cringe at his politeness. “I’m sorry. Where are my manners, dude? I’m James and this is my fiancée, Y/N.”

“Eddie.” He reaches out to shake James’s extended hand. He  smiles at you both but you can see the heartbreak in his eyes. “Well, yeah, just fill out these forms and leave them on the front desk before you leave. I’ll put the keys there. You can just take them and go.”

His eyes scan you over one last time as he turns and heads back into the shop. 

#################

“Hey mama.” You crawl into bed with her and wrap your arms around her stomach. 

“Hey sweetie. You didn’t have to come all this way for me.”

“Of course, I did. How are you feeling?”

“Exhausted but I’ll live. Is your future husband here?”

“He’s downstairs being grilled by dad.” You both chuckle as she plays with your hair. “Have you run into Eddie yet?”

You let out an exasperated sigh. “Yeah, our rental broke down so he’s fixing it. Nothing’s changed though. Still as hardheaded as ever.”

“He’s been helping us out around here since we got the news, bringing us groceries and doing yard work. Your dad’s car broke down last week and he came over to fix it. Didn’t charge us a dime!”

You smiled into her chest. Eddie may be stubborn but he had a good heart. It was one of the many reasons you fell in love with him. You shake away the past and pain, sitting up next your mother. “Would you like to meet, James?”

“Of course, I need to get out of this bed anyway.”

For the rest of the night, the four of you talked about things in Hawkins and your life back in your new home. They loved your fiancée and were excited when you told them all the plans you had already decided on for the wedding. You wanted to get a hotel as to not put further stress on them but your dad insisted you two stay at the house. 

While James was in the shower you reached for your phone and hovered your finger over Eddie’s old contact information. I wonder if his number is still the same.

My mom told me what you’ve been doing for them. Thank you…

You watched the little dots appear and then disappear. 

You’re welcome, Princess.

###################

“Oh my god! Y/N. It’s so good to see you.” Nancy wraps her arms around your neck as her pregnant belly pushes against you. “I wish it was under better circumstances. Please, please come in.”

You walk into her beautiful two-story Victorian style house. She had texted you that morning to see if you wanted to come over and meet her little one. When you told your mom she insisted you go. 

“Honey, what are you going do? Stare at me while I sleep? Go! Go see your friends. It’s been so long.”

“Well, holy shit, if it isn’t the escape artist herself.” Steve comes around the corner with a toddler attached to his hip. He pulls you to his side for a hug. “I heard you were engaged. Where is that fiancée of yours?”

You reach over and tickle the baby in his arms who giggles, swatting his tiny hand in your direction. “I let him sleep in. Wow Stevie, are you sure this just isn’t a clone? He looks exactly like you.”

He smiles as he runs his huge palm over the boy’s messy hair. “He seems to be getting Nance’s curls which is fine. Hopefully our daughter has my hair.”

You cup your hands over your mouth and make a small aw sound. “Are you guys having a girl?!” Nancy waddles over and shows you the ultrasounds, making you squeal with delight. 

You two spent the rest of the morning talking about the years that have passed. You always tried to keep in touch with her after you moved but it was hard with her being a new mom and your busy schedule. In the middle of Nancy’s story about an article she was working on, a loud knock on their front door made you jump. 

Steve jogged to the door and opened it roughly. “Dude! My son is taking a nap. Why do you always knock like that?!”

“Look, Harrington. This house is a zoo half the time. I don’t know if you’re even going to hear me or—” Eddie stopped mid-sentence when his eyes found yours. Nancy glanced at Steve; her expression filled with agitation. 

“Hey, Eddie. Had no idea you were coming by today.” She rose from her chair, her eyes never leaving her husbands. 

“Yeah, Nancy. Didn’t I tell you? Munson said he would swing by to look at the baby picture.”

“Ultrasound.” You and Eddie corrected Steve at the same time. You both turned to look at each other before immediately looking away. A small smile crept across his face. 

“Steve, can I talk to you for minute?” Without waiting for an answer, she tugs on Steve’s arm dragging him into another room. 

“Im, uh, I’m sorry. He didn’t tell me you were here. I wouldn’t have come by.” Eddie rubs the back of his neck nervously. 

“It’s ok. They’re your friends to. Plus, you see them way more than I do so technically I’m the one that’s intruding.”

“Did you want to come have a beer with me later?” His sudden question makes you turn and look at him like he’s gone crazy. “No, I mean, not in a romantic way or anything. I just thought maybe we could talk and you can tell me what you’ve been up to.”

Your face softens at his change of tone. “Okay.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. It would have to be around 9 or so. We’re having dinner and then my dad wanted to show James the gun range this afternoon which is something I just cannot miss because that man barely knows how to handle mace.” You laugh and Eddie’s grin grows. 

“God, I missed that sound.” You furrow your brows. “Your laugh.”

Your eyes shift to the floor, unable to meet his own. Nancy and Steve finally come out of their hiding place. He gestures towards Eddie to follow him up the stairs. 

“Y/N, I am so sorry. You know how Steve is.”

“No, it’s fine. I do have to get going but you’re still coming by later this week?”

“Of course! I’m excited to meet the new blood.” 

###########

You try and contain your smile as you wrap gauze around James’s hand. “How was I supposed to know that the gun would recoil that way?”

“To be fair, my dad did warn you.”

“Yeah, but he made it look so easy!”

“Baby, he’s been shooting guns since he came out of the womb!” You chuckle as he gives you an awkward look. “I remember the first time he took Eddie out there—” The words come out of your mouth before you can stop them. 

“Eddie? Isn’t that the mechanic?” You nod slowly hoping he’ll drop it and move on. “Oh. I didn’t know you knew him. You two didn’t act like you did.”

“We were friends a long time ago. We had a bit of a falling out before I left.”

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry.” He leans in and places a gentle kiss on your cheek before looking down at his watch. “Shit, it’s almost 9. You’re going to be late to meet your friends.”

You guide his lips to yours, placing your fingers under his chin. “I can be a little bit late.”

#################

Eddie’s van screeches into The Hideout parking lot five minutes after you arrive. “SORRY! I know I’m late. I was at work and I lost track of time and… wait a minute. Did you just get here to?”

“Eddie, you forget we grew up together. I know you.” You give him a once over. “You said you lost track of time at work?” Instead of the ratty clothes you remembered him wearing when he used to work on cars, he was sporting a nice pair of blue jeans with a black metal band T-shirt covered with his signature leather jacket. There were zero holes in sight anywhere on his person which means he actually tried to look nice. He still looked as handsome as the day you left. 

“But I love you…”

He opens the door for you. “Ladies first.” You stop as you walk in letting him lead the way but pause when you see where he’s heading. 

“Eddie…”

“What? This is still my booth. Well, ours again, I guess for the time being.”

This was a mistake. You shouldn’t have come. You felt all the emotions that you had pushed down slowly start to bubble forward. As you turn to head back towards the door he runs towards you, blocking your path. 

“Hey, hey now. I’m sorry. I… we can sit somewhere else. Or outside even so I can smoke.” He exhales as his eyes lock with yours. “Please don’t leave again. I just want to talk.”

Without responding to him you make your way outside and find a seat on the patio. Eddie gently slides a beer in front of you as he takes a seat and lights a cigarette. 

“So…how did fiancée do at the range?”

You softly smile. “Apparently my father didn’t explain the recoil well.”

A cloud of smoke comes out of his beautiful lips as he laughs. “I remember when your dad took me out there. I fell backwards flat on my ass!” You giggle along with him. “I’ve gotten better though.”

“Oh?”

“Oh yeah, Princess. Let’s just say,” he closes one eye and points his fingers like a gun, “if a tin can ever come at me, I’ll be ready!”

You reach forward for your beer as you feel your body starting to relax. “Besides guns and cars, what else have you been up to?”

“Not much, you know. Still the same old Eddie. Playing guitar here on Saturdays and hanging out with Steve and Henderson. What about you? Besides getting engaged.” He flinches at the word, saying it like it’s poison on his tongue. 

“Well, I graduated from school and got my degree in music. I’ve been teaching at one of the centers downtown. I know how to play a couple more instruments now.”

“You were pretty good with strings.” He grins over at you and you return the smile. 

Sitting at the bar in Hawkins, talking to Eddie again almost felt natural as if no time had passed at all. You two talked for hours about your lives and the five years in between. By the time, you looked at your watch it was nearly midnight. 

“Fuck! I didn’t realize it was so late.”

“You still got a curfew, Sweetheart?”

You narrow your eyes in his direction. “Please, like my curfew ever stopped you from keeping me out late. No, I just told James I wouldn’t be gone long.”

“Oh yeah. Definitely wouldn’t want to keep prince charming waiting.” Eddie chucks back the rest of the liquid in his beer bottle as he lights another cigarette. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He shakes his head, looking down at his hands. “Nothin’.”

You grind your teeth against the inside of your cheek as you grab your purse, throwing it over shoulder. “Still a fucking child. Thank you for the drinks.” You mutter as you walk through the bar and out the front door.

“Hey. HEY!” Eddie shouts from behind you. “You don’t get to talk to me like that anymore. You left me, remember?” He reaches out to grab your arm and you shove him back. 

“What do you want from me, Eddie?”

“An explanation maybe. I never got one of those when you abandoned me here.”

“I didn’t abandon you!”

“My bad. You abandoned EVERYONE!” He huffed through his nose as he attempted to lower his voice. “You said you couldn’t do this anymore. You didn’t even give me a fucking chance to try.”

“I gave you 3 years, Eddie. All we did was fight like THIS,” you gesture between the two of you. “I was tired of it. We BOTH deserved some peace.”

“So, you made that choice for me then?”

“No, I made that choice for me and don’t stand there and act like it was easy.”

“I guess it’s easy to forget when someone else is on top of you, hm?” 

You smacked him then. When his face met yours again his eyes were filled to the brim with fury. You weren’t afraid of him. You had known Eddie since he was a small boy. You went to school together and were high school sweethearts. You were each other’s first everything. He knew how to get under your skin just as you knew how to get under his. You could handle anything he threw your way. 

You pointed your index finger right into his chest. “I cried for years after I left. You have no idea how many times I thought about just getting on a plane and running back here to you. There were nights I wanted to call you just to hear your voice but I knew it would just make things harder. When I met James, I was completely broken down and he helped build me back up. I care about him a lot.”

“Do you love him?”

“What? Of course, I do. We’re getting married.”

“Then say it.”

“Fuck you, Eddie.” You turn to open your car but he reaches over you, spinning you back around, pinning you between himself and the door. Both arms were out on either side of you, blocking you from moving.

“I said say it.”

“Why? Why do you need to hear it so badly?”

“Because I need to know if still loving you after all these years was a waste.”

“Eddie…”

Both of his hands grab your cheeks and pull your lips to his. His mouth moved with need, needing to taste you and feel you again. Your arms reached up of their own free will, wrapping around his neck as your lips danced with his. He tasted the same but some how different. You left an 18-year-old boy but you came back to a man. Eddie’s hand released your face and slide down your back, pressing you tighter to him. 

No. No, no, no this was wrong. Very wrong. With all the strength you could muster you pushed him away from you and quickly got in your car. You didn’t even glance in his direction as you sped out of the parking lot. 

[canirove]

Bluebell | Chapter 1

Summary: After getting my heart broken the worst possible way, I thought I would never recover from it, that it was the end. But destiny had other plans for me. A few months later, I was on my way to Bluebell, to the town where my mother had also gotten her heart broken. But unlike her, I was about to start a new life, a new job, meet new friends... And despite telling myself it would not happen, I also fell in love. With two men. At the same time.

Author’s note: When I started writing I said to myself that I would not write love triangles because I didn’t enjoy watching or reading them myself. But I got inspired, and here we are 😂 Hope you enjoy this story, and as always, thank you for reading! 💜

Introduction | Next chapter

Masterlist

"You got to be kidding me."

"Wait, babe, this isn't what it looks like."

"Isn't it?" I laughed. "You just randomly fell naked on top of my best friend, and your dick got inside her?"

"Not yet" she murmured.

"Oh, shut the fuck up, you bitch."

"Hey, no need to be rude, babe."

"No need to be rude? No need to… I just caught my fiancé fucking my best friend! I am allowed to be rude, angry and whatever the hell I want!" I said, storming out of the room.

"Babe, wait. Listen, I can explain" he said, following me.

"There is nothing to be explained. We are done. Forever" I said, throwing my engagement ring at him.

"But babe..."

That was the last thing I heard from him. My boyfriend for the past five years, and fiancé for a year and a half. He had been cheating on me with my best friend, the one I had known since we were six, for months. While I was planning our wedding, they were meeting in secret. And I didn't notice. I didn't see what they were doing in front of me.

I felt betrayed, like I was the biggest idiot in the world. And my heart had been broken on so many pieces, that I thought I would never recover from it.

I needed to start again, put everything that had happened behind me, forget about it. And I got the solution for my problem just a couple of months after that horrible day.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━      

"Are you planning on laying there just watching tv? Again?"

"That's the plan, yes."

"Why don't we go outside for a walk? Maybe do some shopping? They have the new collections out, maybe you'll find something that you’ll like."

"I'm not in the mood for shopping, mum. Besides, I'm not going anywhere, I don't need new clothes."

"But I do. C'mon" she says, trying to make me move from the sofa.

"I said I don't..." But I'm not able to finish my sentence, someone ringing at the door.

"Saved by the bell" mum says, going to check who it is.

"Who was it?"

"A messenger" she says, inspecting the envelope on her hands. "This looks official."

"Then open it" I urge her.

"Ok" she says.

"And? What is it, mum?" I ask. She's been in silence for a while, reading the papers and making weird faces.

"Your father died" she finally says.

"You mean the man that got you pregnant and then ignore you."

"Yes. Him. He died a few weeks ago, cancer. And he..."

"He what?"

"He left something for you on his will" my mum says, looking at me.

"What? I barely knew the man!" In fact, I had only met him once. When I was 16 and contacted him because I wanted to know how he looked like. My mum hadn't kept photos of him or anything, it was too painful for her.

"But you still were his only daughter and heir."

"I guess, yes. What did he leave me?"

"Everything."

"Everything?"

"His house, his car, his money, his cat... And the business."

"You mean... The bed and breakfast?" He had opened it years ago on his hometown, and according to Google, it was one of the best business in the area. Even the Queen had stopped once there when she was doing some tour.

"Yes. All of it. They want you to go there to officially take care of everything and decide what you want to do with it."

"Me? Going to... What was this town called again?"

"Bluebell."

"Right, Bluebell. And I have to go? Can't I just... Do it from here? Ask a lawyer to do it?"

"I'm afraid not" my mum says, holding my hand. "But this may be it, you know? The thing that will make you get out of this spiral of feeling sorry for yourself. This could be your new beginning."

"As the owner of a cat and a bed and breakfast?" I snort.

"You've worked as a receptionist before. You are good with people, can be bossy when needed, know about numbers and all that... I think you could be great at that job. At managing that place."

"I don't know, mum..."

"Give it a try. Even if it's just by going there and seeing how it is. And if you don't like it or the town, you can always come back. We'll think about how to invest all this money he left you."

"Is it a lot?" I ask.

"See it for yourself."

"Oh, wow." I had never seen so many zeros in my entire life. "And it is all mine?"

"According to those papers, it is."

"Alright then" I say after thinking about it for a while. "I guess it's time to pay Bluebell a visit."

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━      

"Oh, c'mon. Not this" I say as the car starts to slow down until it stops, smoke coming out of the front.

According to the gps, I'm almost at Bluebell, but I can't see any house around me yet. I've only driven past farms, and I saw the last one ages ago.

"Great. Now there is no signal either" I say when I get out of the car. I start moving around, lifting my phone to see it I can find any. But nothing. Fuck my luck.

Walking is an option, I know on which direction the town is. But I can't leave my luggage here. Or carry it on my own because I'm stupid and overpacked. And Bluebell could still be too far away to walk there. And what if I find myself having to run from a huge dog like those they have at the farms? What if I cross paths with a creep?

As if hearing my last thought, a motorbike shows up behind me, the driver stoppìng next to my car and turning off the very loud engine.

"Do you need help? he asks, lifting his helmet's visor.

"My car decided to die right in the middle of nowhere."

"Have you checked what is wrong with it?"

"No. But I wouldn't know what I am looking at, so" I shrug.

"Lucky you, I know my way around cars" he says, taking off his helmet. He is young, probably a couple of years younger than me. Brown hair, brown eyes, kind of a big nose, and he has one of the best smiles I've ever seen. Dimple included. If he is a creep, at least he is a cute one. "May I"? he asks, gesturing towards the car.

"All yours."

"This doesn't look good" he says after looking at the car's engine for a while. "I'm afraid you are gonna have to call for the recovery vehicle."

"There is no phone signal."

"Yeah, it gets lost on some areas. Where are you headed?"

"Bluebell."

"Really? I'm from there" he says with a big smile. "I can give you a ride if you want, I know who can help you. He is a friend of mine, he'll behave and don't charge you too much."

"But I can't leave my luggage here."

"Unless the cows decide it's time for them to wear clothes, no one will come. Trust me."

Trust me. That's what a creep would say. Handsome or not.

"I'm not a creep, I promise" he says as if reading my mind.

"Ok, fine" I finally say. "But you only have one helmet."

"You can wear it, I don't mind."

"Are you sure? You won't get a fine or something?"

"On Bluebell? Nah" he laughs.

"Is it a lawless town?" I ask, putting the helmet on.

"Oh, no. We have rules and we follow them. But it is a quiet town" he says, getting on the motorbike and turning the engine on. "Ready?"

"Ready!" I yell, hoping he can hear me.

"You can hold to me, you'll probably be more comfortable."

"I'm fine!"

"Alright then" he says. "I'm Mason, by the way."

"I'm..." but my name gets lost, the engine of the motorbike being too loud for him to hear. That, and also because I start screaming, having to hold to him the moment he speeds up. He just laughs, his body shaking under my grip.

[maple-the-awesome]

We'll Meet Again...I Know When || Chapter 11

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x GN Reader

Words: 3,672

Overview: Given your old-fashioned personality and obsession with all things 1940s to 1980s, it’s no wonder that most people refer to you as an ‘old soul’ who would’ve rather lived back then than in the modern era. Little do they know, you already did, but with your previous life as Hollie Stark cut short, you’ve been left with some…unfinished business, to say the least. Top of your list? Finally getting to marry your thought-to-be-lost fiancé.

Series Masterlist 🤎 Marvel Masterlist 🤎 Fandom Masterlist

CHAPTER ELEVEN: LIKE THE GOOD O' DAYS

Like an animal returning from hibernation, you've become considerably more energetic as the winter begins drawing to a close. The idea of warmer weather, even if just a small improvement from what you've been seeing, has made the idea of leaving the apartment far less bothersome, therefore much to Bucky's joy, you've finally agreed to visit Old Town with him.

Going to the historical neighborhood in Bucharest has been on your roommate's mind for a while now. He had first been informed of its existence while helping your elderly neighbor, Rosetta, bring groceries up to her apartment as he normally does every Monday. She made the designation sound so interesting and given Bucky's wonder, you happily agreed to go sometime.

Of course, that was a week or two before the first snowfall. Now, you love Bucky with all your heart- enough to remember him in a completely new life even - but enough to trek through mounds of freezing snow just to see some old buildings? If you wanted to look at something old and beautiful, you'd just stare at him all day; no risk of hyperthermia needed!

Honestly, you would've toughened up and gone for the hike if it made Bucky happy, but perhaps taking pity upon you, he decided to bless you with a compromise to wait for warmer weather. Seeing that the streets are no longer buried in slippery snow or splashy slush, it's a perfect time to make good on that deal.

Armed with an oversized coat, hat, scarf, and mittens, you're fully equipped for the chill which still holds a tight grasp over the air unfortunately. Even Bucky wears several layers of clothing topped with his own coat, although it isn't that much compared to what everyone else is wearing. Then again, the man's built like a brick wall; you doubt much wind gets passed those muscles.

"So, what's on the itinerary today, Barnes? I'm assuming you've got the whole day planned for us, right?" Despite your mouth being covered by your scarf, your breath is visible in the air for each spoken word and Jack Frost is already nipping at your nose.

While this trip had been his idea, Bucky didn't expect to be in charge of plans since you've normally got that part covered yourself, so hiding his panic, he suggests quickly," let's just walk around, 'look at some of the buildings and see if anything interests us along the way."

"Fine by me!" Fortunately for him, you hold no objections, continuing to cheerfully skip along his side.

Bucky tilts his head, holding a thought on the tip of his tongue for a moment before finally daring to speak it,"...can we also check out some of those souvenir shops Rosetta suggested?"

You mock a pout, embracing his arm in yours and giving it a playful tug," oh, I don't know. She said they have a lot of old stuff in there. I would hate for anyone to try stealing you away from me now."

He rolls his eyes," I'm sure you won't have to worry about that."

"Hopefully not or else there'll be a fight! But just to be sure~!"

Bucky stops when you suddenly jump in front of him, holding out your mittened hand high into the air near his face. All the while you wear an impish grin that peeks out from behind your scarf, one that promises only mischief yet that familiar glossy shine in your eyes promises something else entirely; something much softer and genuine.

"Hold my hand."

"Hold...your hand?" For a split second, he almost obeys without another thought. His right hand reaches out as if attached to a magnet being pulled towards yours, however it hesitates midair once he gains control of his senses again.

"Your hearing hasn't gone out yet, that's good," you smirk, blowing air from your nose," yes, I want you to hold my hand."

"Why?"

'Damn, why does he always have to make such simple things so difficult?'

"Because my hand is cold, I don't want you to get lost out here, and I just want to hold your hand. It's been a while anyways," far too long.

Bucky glances at your hand which makes a childish grabby motion, hopeful he'll take the bait for once, but instead, he walks right past you, his hands remaining stuffed inside his pockets as they have been since leaving the apartment.

Frowning, you let your hand fall back to your side in disappointment, yet you would've accepted this defeat without voiced complaint if not for Bucky's hand suddenly clenching yours before beginning to tug you along behind him.

It's a delicate grip, one you can't realistically call a grip at all given how easily you could just slip your hand away, although you know him well enough to understand what it means: the poor thing's afraid of somehow harming you.

Sneaking a curious glance at his face, you notice the hint of red brushing his cheeks which he fruitlessly attempts to hide by the shadow of his tilted hat...Cute.

Walking on your own, you nestle yourself against his arm while taking no shame in your shining smile nor his shy embarrassment as he does nothing to stop you...Adorable.

Old churches, modern museums, and a much needed café break; that's been your day so far. Oh, and the hand holding. That's been wonderful, too. Since the moment Bucky took your hand in his, he's been cursed to hold it for the remainder of the day which has kept both your hand and heart pleasantly warm throughout such an otherwise cold afternoon.

"This has been fun. Excellent choice for a Friday date, Barnes," you praise, taking another sip of your beloved drink. You've had him order the same, offended that he's never tried it before. Trusting you with his life, he complied, although he hasn't commended much on whether he actually enjoys it or not.

Bucky flinches while fidgeting with his own warm porcelain mug. Date...That simple four-lettered word sticks in his head more than he'd care to admit. He almost corrects you, but decides against it in favor of just busying himself by studying the passersby from the café window you both sit next to.

Unfortunately, Bucky isn't as smooth as he thinks and you definitely notice his discomfort. Guilt eats at you, begging you to apologize and insist this is just a friendly date, however feeling that the discussion would only confirm any awkwardness, you comment on something else instead.

"Getting worn out from all this socialization?"

"No-" Bucky presses his lips into a thin line before changing his answer,"...a bit. I just..."

"It's fine. We can finish up here and get back to the apartment," you lean back into your chair with crossed arms," you know, I'm proud of you. You've managed to let loose and be yourself within a public space. That's a big step in the right direction."

His lip twitches upwards at your compliment, although he's hesitant to actually accept it, soon lowering his head with a frown,"...this feels wrong."

You barely hear his whispered words and answer back just as quietly," what does?"

"Being out here with you, having a good time when I...I don't think I-"

"-James Buchanan Barnes," you're quick to lean forward, reaching towards him without actually touching. Instead, you keep your hand near his where it can at least gain his attention," you have every right to enjoy life. It's gonna feel weird and wrong at first, and it might for a while, but that's a part of the healing process, too. You just have to do your best to set aside those negative thoughts and trust in your own happiness.

"You've been having fun today, right? We went to the museum and looked at the art, we checked out the Stavropoleos Monastery which was cool, and you even got to buy stuff at your souvenir shops...What did you get anyways, you never showed me?"

"Nothin' special," Bucky states, tapping his metal finger against the mug with a 'clink'.

"Alright then, keep your secrets," you rest your chin on your hand with a wicked grin as you admire his handsome features. If only this was a romantic date, then you'd have every excuse to decorate his cheeks and lips with dozens of butterfly kisses.

"...What?"

"Nothing," you mumbled.

Something else you've noticed about this Bucky is his easily flustered nature which is very different from the Bucky you once knew. Back in those days, he took every compliment right to his head, adding it to his already steep ego and responding quickly with his silver tongue. It was nearly impossible for you to get the man to blush, but the same couldn't be said about him with you. He always had some flirty reply prepared, well aware of the effect his charm had over you and damn, did he use it to his advantage.

Now, Bucky behaves in a way Hollie never thought possible. While he does admittedly have his smooth moments, he's rather shy and reluctant. You now have no problem drawing that blush from him and can even make him completely tongue tied if you feel evil enough. You don't mind this change, actually. It's cute seeing him so flustered...Maybe that's why 1940s Bucky always teased you so much.

While you're lost in thought, present Bucky shifts in his seat, grabbing the small paper bag hung on its back before placing it on the table. This movement snaps you out of it, your eyes dropping to the object then rising to him in wordless question. He bashfully nods towards the bag which gives you the hint.

As he hides his worry behind the mug he brings to his lips, you peek inside the paper barrier, not seeing anything too well through the shadow, thus you opt for reaching inside. Snatching something, you pull it out carefully to examine it further.

In your hand rests a beautiful Romanian bead bracelet like the very ones you had been observing in a souvenir shop earlier during this trip. Some had plain colors while others had designs with many triangles, but your favorite contained flowers. In particular, you enjoyed the contrast of a white bracelet with red and blue flowers and green stems; the very bracelet you currently hold now.

"That was the one you liked, right?" Bucky's hopeful towards this question, his eyes watching your every movement intensely as you run your fingers over the tiny beads.

"Yeah...I really liked this one, but how did you-?" From what you remember, Bucky had been across the shop searching the book section. You hadn't even been looking at the bracelets long, only a minute or two before going to wait outside of him, so when did he...?

"-I noticed you at the bracelets and even the owner mentioned how much you seemed to like that one, so I figured I'd get it- you know, as a small 'thank you' gift for helping me out so much..." he smiles slightly, glancing at the bracelet in memory. He knows you don't usually focus on yourself much, instead keeping an eye out for him, thus he wanted to do something special to show you his utmost appreciation.

Raising his attention from the bracelet to your face, Bucky frowns immediately, shame and panic filling him at the sight of your tears," w-was I not right? I can get you a different one if you want or-or should I have-?"

"-No, no," you're quick to wipe your sleeve under your eyes, giving a sniff before smiling his way brightly," I love it! Thank you so much, Bucky. It's perfect."

He isn't too convinced, voicing as much," you're sure?"

"I'm sure. It's just..." biting your lip, you move the beads with your thumb in thought. The bracelet truly is beautiful, but it means so much more coming from him," no one's gotten me a gift like this in a while. I'm touched."

Bucky stares at you for a second before carefully asking,"...not even your fiancé?"

You flinch, but shake your head and clear away another tear," well, it's not really his fault. He's been...busy, you could say...but maybe I should tell him about this, huh? Let him know he's got competition and better shape up real soon before you steal me away from him, hmm?"

At this, Bucky rolls his eyes," no, don't tell him that. I don't wanna start a fight."

"Fine, for your sake, I won't say a word," you laugh heartily, pinning the bracelet around your wrist finally and holding it out to get a good look at it in the sun,"...thank you, Bucky. I'll treasure this forever."

He smiles, creating a mental photo of the way your eyes glimmer happily in this moment," you're welcome."

"So, how was it?"

"Today was nice. We went to Old Town for the afternoon and had a lot of fun. Bucky was able to let loose, I had him teach me some Romanian words I immediately forgot, and then we ordered take out for dinner," you list off the events of your day while raising your hand towards the ceiling and staring at your bracelet with a gleeful smile. By the way you've been coddling the jewelry, one might think Bucky had proposed to you again with it.

"And then~?"

"’Then’ what?"

"The sex! How was the sex? I need details."

You feel your face flare, sitting up quickly from the bed with a growl," Natasha, what the hell makes you think we had sex?!"

"Oh, I don't know…You're currently living with a hot guy who you used to be engaged to in your past life, you're so in love with him that you retrained all your memories from said past life just to remember him-"

"-We think that's the reason anyways-"

"-Aaaand you seemed really excited to call me tonight. With all things considered, you really can not blame me for thinking you just got laid!”

"Well, I didn't," you run a hand over your face with a shake of your head. Thank goodness Bucky went to pick up the take out. While you normally have your conversations with Natasha in private so that you can stress all your secret worries to her, apparently you also need to keep him from overhearing this topic, too.

"Really? What's his problem? I figured he'd literally jump at the chance after he found out you're his Hollie?"

"Probably because he still doesn't know that part yet."

"...Oh..." Natasha's silent for a moment," you mean you still haven't told him? (Y/n), how long do you plan to wait exactly? I mean, I understand why you didn't say anything out of the gates, but the two of you have been together for a while now. Don't you think it's about time he learned the truth?"

"It's just not that easy, Nat," you sigh. Deep down, you do feel wrong for not saying anything. It kills you everyday to not be able to have Bucky see you as Hollie. Your relationship - and undying love for him - would be so much easier to manage then, but there's too many ways a reveal could go south.

"Assuming that Bucky would even believe me is a stretch to begin with and even if he does, there’s several issues that could present themselves. For one, I’m only Hollie through memory. What if (Y/n) being Hollie creeps him out so much that he wants nothing to do with either of us - me - whatever?!”

“Or he could see past that little detail and love you for who you are on the inside.”

“Okay, sure, but what about his unresolved guilt towards Hollie? I mean, we’re not talking about him just mourning her death the way anyone else would. As far as he's concerned, he's the one who killed her. No matter what I try to say to convince him otherwise, he blames himself for it and it destroys him inside. What if that guilt remains and he ends up pushing me away with some fucked up reasoning that it’s to ‘protect me’?”

“By telling him you’re Hollie, you’d be telling him as her that you forgive him,” Natasha speaks slowly to not get tripped over all the pronouns,” maybe he’d be more willing to forgive himself then.”

"Yeah…but this is Bucky we're talking about. I don't think he'd move on that easily regardless of whether it's Hollie or (Y/n) telling him to. He’s got catholic-style guilt, Nat!”

“That serious, huh?”

“Yes!”

Now it's Natasha who sighs,"...listen, I understand why you’re scared. I know how scary it can be trusting people with your past especially when they’re someone whose judgment means so much to you, however I also know that the truth will come out eventually. The risk only grows the closer you are to someone and the more you try to keep things hidden. At one point or another, the truth might be exposed and the more you wait to do it yourself, the more you risk it being at a bad time in the worst way.

“Just look at how I found out. We were already on edge with everything that happened then you began acting weird…For a second there, I was worried you were either a double agent or plain insane. In the end, I believed you, but not everyone is going to be as understanding as your super cool best friend.”

You chuckle softly, practically able to see Natasha’s smirk, too.

“Now, I don’t know a single thing about Barnes other than those times he tried killing me, so I’m probably not the greatest judge of this, but based on everything Steve and you have said, it sounds like he really loves you - uh, Hollie that is. Think about how you felt finding out he was still alive? Don’t you think he’d be just as relieved to know his fiancée’s gotten a second chance at life, too?

“Even when talking about (Y/n), Bucky clearly trusts you. Take it from me, there’s no way an assassin would go on a date and hold hands with someone they don’t trust with their life; that’s worth something, isn’t it? He’d be more willing to listen to whatever you have to say, all you gotta do is think of something only Hollie and him would know - something he still remembers about her - and use it to convince him. You managed to convince me as a total stranger to Hollie, so I’d imagine it would be easier to accomplish with someone who truly knew her. He’d be able to confirm for a fact that you’re telling the truth since he knows it himself.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat things. Everything that you mentioned before can happen. He might be really creeped out. He might push you away to protect you. Truthful, you gotta admit, it’s a little-”

“-Weird knowing someone’s practically two different people at once?” You finish with a roll of your eyes," yeah, I've realized that…and I’ve long expected that part. My main concern is just not hurting Bucky. I want him to believe me and, even if he doesn’t want to be together in this life, I want him to move on from Hollie. I want him to know it’s okay to go be happy without either of us…Ultimately, I just want him to have closure…”

You take in a shakily breath, pulling at the bracelet around your wrist. It kills you inside to see Bucky’s guilt and not truly be able to stop it. When he first broke down that day, admitting he remembered Hollie and her death by his hands, you wanted nothing more than to jump at him and kiss away his tears, telling him over and over again how much Hollie loves him, how much you love him…but you couldn’t bring yourself to do that.

“I’m tied to Hollie. Through me, she can finally tell Bucky everything’s going to be okay - that she doesn’t blame him for what happened…Maybe it won’t help him, maybe it will, but at the end of the day, he’ll at least hear it and that’s the greatest push I can offer…He deserves it so, yes, I am going to tell him eventually. Now just isn’t the right time; not while he’s still trying to find his footing. I can’t be the reason his life gets more confusing and chaotic than it already is. I just…We need a little more time.”

Natasha must’ve realized it by now. Yeah, you’re concerned over Bucky’s feelings and you’ve listed every worry you have regarding them, however deep down, this isn’t only about him. You’re scared. Despite every night that you’ve told yourself you’d be okay with him leaving you- with him hating you-, deep down, you fear such an outcome. You don’t want to lose him. You don’t want to feel his hate…So you’re delaying the inevitable until you magically find the strength to face it.

“...Can you just make me a promise?”

“To tell him? Yeah, I-”

“-No, not just to tell Barnes. I want you to eventually tell Steve and Tony, too. I think it’s safe to say Barnes isn’t the only one needing closure over Hollie. Steve went into the ice then woke up decades later with no one and Tony was a child who tragedy lost his only aunt. Don’t you think they deserve answers just as much as Barnes?

“They might not accept it, but if they do, they’ll be able to know they still have a piece of her around…You know, I can’t do much regarding lover boy, but I can always vouch for you to Rogers and Stark; punch them over the heads if they give you too much trouble.”

You chuckle softly, giving her question some thought. Steve and you were close friends in the past and Tony was practically attached to your hip whenever around. Even in this lifetime, you’re close to both of them and you’ve observed their own remaining sorrow over Hollie. They both mourn her, Steve disappearing on his own during any anniversary related to her while Tony still keeps her last present to him on his desk, avoiding any mention of her otherwise. They deserve to know how close she’s truly been to them this whole time…

“I’ll tell them, too. I promise.”

NEXT CHAPTER ➡️

⬅️PREVIOUS CHAPTER

[watchmegetobsessed]

ANOTHER TITLE

a/n: personally i’ve been waiting for this part to come since the beginning lmao, so here is the proposal finally!! it’s like so fluffy, almost disgustingly, but i just couldn’t help myself

pairing: Sebastian Stan X Reader

word count: 1.8k

This fic is part of the LITTLE ONE series, but can be read as a simple oneshot as well! Find the masterpost of the series HERE!

masterlist

(gif is not mine)

You’ve been eating like a hormonal teenage boy these past weeks and you know it needs to stop and held under control, but you just can’t help yourself. It’s like your stomach has become a black hole that needs to absorb any and every food that’s home, you’re constantly snacking beside the large portions you eat three times a day, there’s always something you’re craving, the shopping list on the fridge is changing every hour because you think of something else to eat.

Luckily, you haven’t gained that much weight besides the noticeable bump that’s your baby in your belly, seems like your little girl does need all the food and she uses it instead of letting it all get stuck on other parts of your body, so you’re fine for just now.

Sitting on the couch, watching some kind of soap opera, you’re snacking on an entire jar of Nutella this time, shamelessly stuffing your mouth with the sweet, thick stuff, pretty sure that nothing will be left of it by the end of the day. Sebastian is away again for his second filming that was scheduled even before you found out you were pregnant and he messed around with it a little, shortening it once again and you just visited him last weekend. Now that you are pushing the end of your second trimester, your bump is quite evident, not something you can hide easily, so when you showed up on set with your boyfriend, you didn’t even try to cover it up, knowing well someone would spot it sooner or later. However everyone on the team has been so respectful, keeping the news to themselves, because no headlines have been made about your pregnancy just yet, keeping the secret even longer. To be honest, you’re surprised it hasn’t been discovered sooner, you thoughr someone would catch you out and about and see right through your baggy clothes and sell the news to the tabloids, but now you are in the sixth month and no one knows a thing.

Your phone chimes next to you, a text from Seb and you hum to yourself happily, putting the jar aside to grab the phone and see what he wrote.

“How are my two favorite girls doing? Miss you a lot!”

He even attached a silly selfie of himself in hair and makeup, he looks adorable with the clips in his hair and some kind of patches under his eyes. Like a real beauty guru.

Grabbing the Nutella, you place it on top of your bump as you move the phone to a lower angle and take a selfie that makes your bump look even bigger, the jar on top and you grinning widely at the camera as you snap a picture and send it to him with your reply.

“Enjoying our third snack of the day at 11 am! Miss you too, can’t wait to see you next week!”

He reads the message right away, his reply coming just seconds later.

“Look at that bump! You look gorgeous, baby! Can’t wait to see you too, have fun with your sister today, love you lots Xx”

Since he has left you’ve been trying to keep yourself busy so you don’t miss him too much and you’re also using these weeks to spend as much time with your friends and family as possible, knowing well once the baby arrives you won’t be going out that much for a while, nestled up in your home, learning the ropes of being a mother. Today you are meeting up with your sister, she is taking you out to this alleged new, quite fancy restaurant you haven’t heard about before. She claimed that it’s really exclusive, so you don’t have to worry about being photographed or bothered, but she also told you to glam yourself up for the occasion. It’s gonna be some nice sister time, something you haven’t been able to do in a long time.

You take the assignment seriously, doing your hair and makeup the best you can and you decide to put on a flowy maxi dress with a soft, knitted cardigan, very much going for a kind of cottage core vibe. Leaving just in time you text your sister that you’re on your way, putting the address into the GPS and heading out of town, because the place is near the beach. She texts you back that she’ll meet you there and so your short little road trip begins. Sitting in the car you’re listening to one of the many playlists Sebastian has made for you and the baby, he likes to play them at home, humming the songs under his breath, hoping to start educating your little girl in the field of music as early as possible. You have to admit he has a good taste, so you don’t mind it at all.

As you follow the instructions of the GPS you find the place that’s supposed to be your destination, but it doesn’t seem like a restaurant at all, more like a mansion of some kind, a very expensive looking if you are being honest. There are no other cars, no sign of other people so as you park at the front you call your sister.

“Hey, I’m right outside, but I have a feeling I’m at the wrong place? It doesn’t look like a restaurant.”

“Oh, don’t worry! You’re at the right place! I’m a little late, but I’ll be there soon, just go inside, they are expecting us!” she assures you, but you’re still not convinced.

Ending the call you approach the entrance and for your surprise the heavy doors open before you could even knock or find the bell. A man in a tuxedo appears in front of you, smiling warmly at you.

“Miss Y/L/N?”

“Uh, yeah,” you nod, a little shy and confused.

“Please, follow me,” prompts as you walk inside and the two of you start crossing the grandiose hall of the building.

At this point you are sure it’s not a restaurant, but you have no idea why your sister wanted you to come here. You want to ask the man if you’re even at the right place, but he called you by your name so he was expecting you, this has to be the place where you’re supposed to be. More and more questions pile up in your head as you follow him out to the backyard, a gigantic, flower-filled garden that’s straight out of a fairytale, a path leading down to the beach where there’s a dreamy little pergola with even more flowers and fairy lights and as your eyes fall on the figure standing in the middle of the pergola, you immediately gasp.

Because surrounded with all the flowers and lights, there is Sebastian standing in an elegant suit, smiling widely at you as the man next to you helps you down the stairs before you start walking down the path to him.

Tears are flooding your eyes, because you already know what it is, but you can’t believe it’s really happening. He was so sneaky, he got home from filming earlier and even made your sister play along to surprise you, he is such a romantic soul, no one can change your mind about that!

“You’re not in Atlanta!” you tell him when he is finally close enough to hear you. He chuckles sweetly, taking a few steps forward to meet you sooner, his hands finding your waist as you cup his face in your hands, pulling him down to kiss you right away.

“No, I’m not, baby,” he smirks, his hands sliding to your belly, gently stroking the sides as you wipe your tears away, but there’s no use, because the next moment, he steps back a little, just enough so that he can get down on one knee and you’re crying again when you see him pull out a little velvety box from his pocket.

You were expecting it. You knew he would propose before the baby arrives, but you just didn’t know when and how, but he surely outdone himself with his little surprise.

“My Love, Y/N,” he starts after a deep breath, his hands finding yours and you can feel the shaking, but you’re not sure if it’s coming from yours or his. Probably both. “I’ve spent the best years of my life with you and I haven’t been the same man since the day I met you, but in the best way possible. You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met and I’m so lucky that you did not only choose to be with me, but you are now carrying our baby under your heart as well, out little one who is equal parts of you and me, though you’re doing ninety percent of the job here,” he adds with a chuckle, making you laugh through your tears. “I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you the moment you were so badass on your first date, kissing me when I didn’t have the balls to do the first step, but I’m glad you did. I fell in love with you right then and there and the same thing has been happening every day, over and over again since then. I know we went a little out of order with everything we had planned,” he smirks, glancing down at your bump before his blue eyes find yours again, “but that doesn’t change the fact that I want to spend the rest of my life with you, so I have a question for you.”

He pops the lid of the box open, a gorgeous, brilliant diamond ring coming to your vision, sparkling in the warm afternoon Sun so perfectly, it takes your breath away.

“Y/N Y/L/N, will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?” he asks, clearly nervous, even though there’s no doubt about your answer, you’ve told him plenty of times before that you want to marry him, but still, it’s a huge moment in both your lives.

“Yes, yes, yes!” you nod eagerly as you both start laughing in relief, his shaky fingers tagging the ring out of the box and sliding it to your finger gently, before he brings your hand to his mouth and kisses the ring.

Then he finally stands up and you basically throw yourself into his arms, kissing him like your life depends on it as he kisses you back with just as much force.

“I love you and I can’t wait to call you my wife,” he sighs pleased against your lips.

“Mm, another title in the line? Girlfriend, baby mama, fiancé and then wife,” you giggle giddily.

“You missed one,” he cocks an eyebrow at you slyly.

“Which one?”

“Love of my life.”

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed it!

[in-ky]

An Old Scent [2] - Negan x Reader (A/B/O AU)

Summary: During summer break, you decide to come back home to visit your dad, Rick. Over the course of your stay, you realize that your dad's friend is pretty hot.

Warnings: Eventual smut, A/B/O dynamics, cheating, angst, age gap, Negan, a bit of gore if you squint

A/N: ok so everything is written i'm just gonna stagger posting a little bit :') 2.7k words

The first thing I woke up to in the morning was a dull ache in my lower abdomen. Great. My heat was starting up again. Growing up, Bee always asked why I never went on suppressants. I always got a bad vibe from them. Then, a few years ago, a large brand got recalled because it was shown to cause cancer in a lot of different patients. Now suppressants were harder to come by, more regulated, and needed a doctor's prescription. A lot of omegas took the hit hard, but out of it came an influx of at-home ways to take care of your heats by yourself. Super helpful for a single girl like me. When my heats started to get really bad around my junior year of high school, Bee took me out on a shopping spree and got me a bunch of toys to try and satisfy myself. It worked for a while, but they got worse as the years passed. By my age, a lot of omegas were already claimed and had an alpha to help them through their heats. I was still relying on the toys Bee had bought me. The box was tucked neatly under my bed, waiting for me. I rolled over with a small groan and sighed. The heat wouldn't be in full swing for another few days or so, so I could still go to the courthouse with my dad. Speaking of, I heard Rick shuffling down the hall and slid out of bed, gathering my bathroom stuff and walking out of my room into the small tiled room to start the day.

~~~

"So you weren't at the garage on the night of the eight?" Negan hummed, leaning against the railing in front of the tv. His eyes were glued to the face of the man sitting on the stand. The poor guy was drenched in a nervous sweat, tight blue shirt sucking at his chubby neck. He swallowed thickly and leaned forward to the microphone.

"That's correct," he croaked.

"Oh, Jeremy," Negan chuckled, shaking his head and looking at his feet. "Don't you know perjury is a criminal offense?"

"I-I'm not lying!"

"Is that so?" The alpha held up the remote to the TV "I have some footage here that directly contradicts your story, man. One last chance." He wiggled the remote teasingly and raised his eyebrows. Jeremy held his ground. "Alrighty then, let's see what we have here." He took a step back and furrowed his brow at the remote and pressed a button. The screen in front of him came to life. I had to lean forward in order to see the video, but in reality it wasn't the security tape I was watching. It was him. I couldn't look away. He had dominated the room for the past hour and a half. His deep voice was never raised, but it still carried a commanding tone that had every person sitting on the stand shaking in their boots. My eyes trailed down his body. His suit clung to him in every perfect way. His hair was slicked back in its iconic style and the way his glasses perched on his face made my insides burn. Part of me regretted seeing him like this so close to my heat, but another part couldn't imagine if I hadn't. Rick leaned over and tapped my elbow.

"We've got him now for sure." He whispered in my ear. A smile formed on my lips as I nodded to him. There was a child-like joy on his face. He really did appreciate my presence. I turned my attention back to the video screen. The footage was fuzzy, but there was a clear figure of a woman standing still hunched over what I presumed was her phone. She was texting away, fingers flying over her screen. Suddenly a large figure, who had the same height and build as Jeremy, slunk out from the shadows. He slowly approached the woman from behind and raised a crowbar high above his head. He swung it down with brutal force. There were small gasps of horror from the jury and the crowd as the crowbar connected solidly with the woman's head. She collapsed in a heap, but Jeremy didn't stop beating her until she was a pile of mush. Negan clicked the TV off.

"Well, shit, Jeremy," He boomed "I do in fact think you are lyin' to me." He tossed the remote down on his table top and gave a grim scoff. "Everyone just saw you turn poor Miss Parker's head into your personal punching bag. You still wanna claim you were no where near there?" All of the color had drained from Jeremy's round face. He swallowed again, tugging at his restricting collar. But soon, his face turned a deep shade of pink and he slammed his beefy palms on the flat surface of the box he was sitting in.

"That bitch deserved it!" He howled, gasping for air. "She had no business-" He stopped when Negan raised his hand silently.

"I really don't care," He sighed, turning around and grinning broadly when he saw the defense team resting their heads in their hands in defeat. "I'll let the jury do the rest, your honor."

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Smith." The judge said, voice prickling with annoyance. Negan returned to his bench and pulled out his seat. But before he sat down he gave Rick a small thumbs up. And I could have sworn that he flashed me a little smile as well.

~~~

"You were incredible in there!" I cheered, giving Negan a high five. The contact made my skin tingle, but I passed it off as the consequences of the impact. "You really made that guy tremble like a kid!"

"It's what I do," Negan chuckled deeply. He looked around me and furrowed his brow. "Where's your dad?"

"He's pulling the car around," I said "I just figured I should let you know how good you did before I leave." He was so close. He smelled so good. The same combination of whiskey and campfire that could get me drunk in a few breaths. I was so focused on his intoxicating musk that I didn't notice the group of alphas that were headed our way. Negan did, though. I heard a rumbling from his chest and felt a hand clasp around my shoulder. Confusion clouded my mind and I looked up to him for some answers.

"The next case is starting soon," He said smoothly "Let's go wait for your dad outside." I agreed and he steered me out onto the steps of the courthouse. The short skirt and heels I was wearing weren't exactly comfortable for walking down stairs, so I held onto Negan's forearm as he guided me down to street level. There was a small breeze and I saw his jaw tense as a soft gust of wind swirled up from behind me and into his body. It no doubt carried my scent on it, and an alpha like Negan could probably tell what state I was in.

"So," I sighed, looking to engage him further "What's next?"

"Well," He tilted his head and ran a hand over his bear-covered chin. "Jeremy goes to jail. Your dad and the department get praise. And I get to go to the bar for a celebratory drink." He paused for a moment, looking me up and down quickly. "You want to join me?" I opened my mouth to say something. To be honest, I wasn't sure what I was going to say. I didn't really drink, but I was willing to do absolutely anything that Negan wanted. But it was then that Rick rounded the corner and gave the horn a little honk.

"I would love to," I settled on "But dad has a full day of father-daughter fun times planned, and I don't really want to keep him waiting." I gestured awkwardly to where Rick was sitting in the car, bopping his head gently to incoherent music.

"Totally understand, doll." He grinned.

"Maybe another time, though?"

"For sure."

"See you around, Negan."

"Bye, doll, have fun. And be safe"

~~~

Negan was pleasantly buzzed, as per usual. He got off his motorcycle and hung his helmet on the handlebar before lightly stumbling into the house from the dark garage. The sight he saw he did not expect. There sat his fiancé in the living room, arms crossed over her chest with a pissed expression on her face. And beside her was a woman he knew all too well.

"The hell is goin' on here?" He asked, slurring his words slightly.

"I could ask you the same thing, Negan."

"Lucille, what the fuck is she doing in our house?"

"Oh, so you know her?" Lucille growled. Negan just licked his lips and flicked his gaze between the two women sitting in front of him. "Of course you do. You have been fucking her after all." Negan groaned, rubbing his eyes.

"Baby, please-" He started, but Lucille cut him off.

"Don't you dare," She hissed, jumping to her feet and balling her hands into fists "You don't get to call me that after what you've done, Negan. You slept with another woman. Hell, maybe more than one. You ruined our relationship." Negan took a step forward but Lucille raised her hand and pointed to the kitchen table. "Don't take another step. Your stuff is in that box." Negan looked to see a cardboard box sitting alone in the dark kitchen, his belongings poking out of the top. "I never want to see you in my house again."

"Lucille, can't we just talk about this? You don't understand." He pleased, extending a hand to her. She batted it away.

"There's nothing to talk about." She spat "You cheated on me, Negan! What is there to understand? How can you expect me to forgive you for that?" A moment of silence passed between them. The other woman shifted uncomfortably on the couch. Negan glared at her before turning his eyes back to his now ex-fiancé.

"I have no where to stay." He whispered.

"That's not my problem." Lucille said boldly "Take your shit and leave. Don't come back. We're done."

~~~

I stirred the pot of spaghetti while humming a song I heard on a radio earlier. The father-daughter activities had consisted of driving around town and revisiting old spots we used to go to when I was younger. We got ice cream at the shop down the street and then watched the sun set at the park that we used to picnic at. It was nice. College did really fix our relationship. The TV in the next room hummed quietly and Rick was talking on the phone with someone. I heard him hang up and walk into the kitchen.

"Think there's enough in there for three?" He asks with a sigh, looking over my shoulder.

"Should be, why?" I return, meeting his gaze. He takes a deep breath and scratches his neck.

"Um, well, Negan's fiancé kicked him out of the house. Apparently she found out he was cheating on her. He doesn't have anywhere to stay." He mumbled "He's gonna be sleeping here for a bit." I stopped stirring. The water started to bubble too close to the top, but I blew a gust of air to push it down.

"Why here?" was all I could muster.

"He really helped me with your mom. It's the least I can do."

I just hummed in acknowledgement and returned to my cooking. So Negan was engaged. And he CHEATED on his fiancé? Maybe I didn't know Negan as well as I thought I did...

~~~

"I just can't believe she kicked me out!" Negan seethed, shoveling a spoonful of spaghetti into his mouth. He was still chewing when he continued. "She didn't even give me a chance to explain myself!"

"I hate to say it, but you did cheat on her, buddy," Rick said carefully, not wanting to poke the angry alpha in the wrong way "She's upset."

"I was in a rut." Negan growled.

"For four months?"

I was making a plate for myself, listening to the conversation from across the room. Rick's phone buzzed on the kitchen table and he picked it up.

"Sorry, I have to take this." He sighed, shaking his head and standing to his feet. He left the room and suddenly it was just me and Negan. I took my plate to the opposite head of the table, watching Negan wolf down his dinner.

"This shit is really good, sweetheart," He groaned. Normally, the noise would have sent me over the moon. But there were so many other emotions clouding my mind. "You ever consider changing your major to culinary arts?" I didn't say anything, just twirled my fork in my serving of pasta.

"Why'd you do it?" I said quietly, almost in a whisper. Negan paused instantly.

"What?"

"Why'd you cheat on her?" My eyes never left my plate but I could hear him shifting in his seat, rubbing his face while trying to answer my question.

"I don't know," He said. His voice was soft, sincere. Something I had never heard from him before. My eyes drifted up and met his. They were the same tawny color, but there was something else behind them. Something I couldn't distinguish. "I thought...Something was off in our relationship. I guess I thought that I could fix it by trying something different. I ran into Tanya at a bar a few months ago. She's a beta, just like Lucille. Wanted to be with an alpha. I gave in. Just for a quick fuck, didn't mean anything. I didn't like her. I told her that but...she...she wanted more, I guess. She fucking threatened me. Threatened to ruin my life unless I kept seeing her. I chose to do it. I don't know if that decision was the right one or not but it's the one I made. I texted her last night to tell her it was over. Never fucking thought she would come to my home." I was chewing the inside of my cheek the whole time he was speaking. I didn't know how much of his story was true, but he sounded like he was hurting.

"Why did you break it off?" I whispered.

"That's your damn question?" He scoffed, giving a short smile. He looked in my eyes. I knew the answer. Or at least I thought I did. He opened his mouth, but Rick reentered the room before he could say anything.

"Alright, sorry about that guys," He said, slipping back into his seat. "What did I miss?"

~~~

Negan was set up in the bedroom next door to mine. Our doors faced each other from across the hall. We would have to share a bathroom. Rick didn't seem to have a problem with it, but with my heat starting I wasn't too sure about the whole arrangement. I felt more cramps riddle my body. I was ready to bed, ready to curl up in a ball and go to sleep, but something called me across the hall. Curiosity got me and I turned slightly, walking up and leaning on the doorframe. There was Negan, clad in grey sweatpants and a black tank top, unpacking his things.

"Hey," I said quietly, not wanting to startle him. He turned around. He looked older like this, hair unkempt and his glasses on. When he saw me his lips curled in a smile. Any trace of vulnerability I had seen earlier was now gone.

"Hey to you."

"I just want to apologize for earlier," I said "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I'm also sorry that you have to be subjected to me and my dad for the foreseeable future." He let out a snicker and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, doll. And you're not that bad. I appreciate Rick; he's a good man." He scratched his beard and looked over at the clock next to the bed. "It's late, you should get some rest." He took a deep breath and I nodded. I turned to leave but he called my name softly. "You know I meant what I said last night, you are looking good." I smiled but didn't say anything and crossed the hall, shutting my door and hopping into bed.

[leafanight]

Of The Past

{CH 2}

 The days spent before I knew I loved you, were the days I wish I would of fallen for you sooner.

Yawning you stretched your arms trying to loosen what little tension you had. Clutching your book bag happily thinking of all the books you will be able to read once you get home.             

                                                                                                                               Excitedly you wanted to keep looking around the town, but a swift hold on your arm made you face reality. Swiftly turning around to see your fiancé looking at you annoyed. 

You were able to convince your parents to let you once again go into town. How? Well, take a guess. “Did you get everything you needed” hearing your fiancé's voice you sighed turning to face him saying. “Yes, I should have all the books that I ordered and wanted.” 

He smiled at that and responded, “Good then let's get going I have a lot of work to do.” Not having any of that, “No. I want to look around a little longer. You can wait for me in the carriage. I know you like your work and want to return but I never get these chances. Please just let me enjoy myself a little longer.” Crossing your arms you stared him dead in the eyes not budging.

Your fiancé shook his head and started to lead you in the direction of the carriage. “Sorry but I want to leave this town as soon as possible and return home. The sooner I take you home the sooner I can return to mine. I promise we'll come back again another day and will stay even longer..” you knew that lie all too well. Trying to release from his grip you looked around trying to find any means of help but instead, your devious mind came up with another idea.

Reaching into your bag you pull out a random piece of paper and tap your fiance's shoulder. “Wait, I forgot I had to get mother something in that dress shop.” He turned back and sighed rolling his eyes but then took a deep breath. “What do you mean?”  

Pretending to read off from the paper you smugly say “My mother wanted some new materials for her hat. I promise.” Almost scanning you for any deception it took him a few seconds to let go of your arm. “I'll go get the stuff for you and stay by the carriage till I return.” you beamed and nodded happily, but before he could take the list you held it away from him. 

“Oh no, even with this list I can’t trust you to get the right things for mother.” Folding it in half you placed it in his breast pocket. patting it softly. “Make sure to get everything on there and once you do I'll be here. I'd be more assured if you took the guard that came with us to help you.” 

Hoping he takes the bait, your fiance looked at you even more suspiciously. “Why must I take the guard? You're not planning to sneak off. Is this some..” but you interrupted. “Look, I'm tired of always being watched and he freaks me out. If you want to leave at least give me this. The carriage driver will still be here to watch out for me. I promise this time I won't walk around the town.” Taking another deep breath he nods his head and walks to the carriage with you. You succeeded! Yes! 

Once you're sure he left you popped your head out the window to check. Looking around you see the coast is clear.  Jumping Straight out of the carriage. You did promise not to walk around town but you didn't say you weren't going to go through the town. 

The town of course looks so different from what you are used to. People in the streets walking and minding their business. People sell things from food to paper and pens.  There was just so much to explore that made you so excited! 

You hated to be stuck at home. Always walking through the same halls. If you closed your eyes you could walk perfectly fine and get to any room you wanted. You were grateful for the blessed life you had but you still wanted more. 

Making your way to a display window full of tools and wood. As you're looking you see in the window reflection someone with black messy hair in a topknot and shaggy clothes. Quickly you turn around looking for Gyutaro. 

You spot him as he merges into the crowd, almost disappearing. You followed after him but lost sight of him so quickly. Stepping on your tippy toes to try and see over the crowd. But you still aren't tall enough to see him. You started to hop up and down every now and then barely getting a glimpse over the crowd. To your success, you finally saw Gyutaro! You made your way through the crowd shouting “GYUTARO!” 

He turned his head in your direction. But all Gyutaro saw was a woman hopping up and down trying to get through the crowd. He was stupefied at the sight and thought some crazy woman was after him so he just ignored you continuing on his way. 

Not giving up, you shove your way through.  He's fast but soon enough you caught up to him huffing out of breath.  “Gyutaro! I'm so glad to see you again. “ Gyutaro stopped walking and turned his head around. So it wasn't some crazy woman after him. It was that weird girl he met at the festival last week. Why was she looking at him like that? More than that, why is she even talking to him again and seeming overjoyed? She even remembered my name. 

You held your hands behind your back beaming up at him. Gyutaro just scratched his cheek wondering what do you want. You spoke again hoping he remembered you. “It's me (y/n). We met at the festival last week. I'm glad I can see you again.” Gyutaro was even more shocked , glad to see him. No one is ever glad to see him. This was so unusual for him that there was no way this girl is being serious.  He sighed and said to you. “Right, you're that weird girl that made me dance with her and interrupted my work.” 

Gyutaro grunted, walking ahead. You simply followed trying to keep a conversation with him. “So you work in town?” Gyutaro just kept thinking of how to get rid of you. As he took a closer look he saw that you were wearing another expensive-looking dress. You had jewelry all over your body with expensive jewels . The worst of it was that you had a  lovely face without a single blemish. she must be some rich girl, how fortunate for her. Gyuutaro gritting his teeth started to scratch at his cheek trying to think why you were really talking to him. 

As you tried again and again to get his attention you got to notice more of him. He had worn-out clothing. He wore a torn vest patched here and there with similar colored cloth. He had pants that reached his knees torn at the cuff. Now that you noticed he wasn't wearing any shoes!! You hadn't paid that much attention but now that you did you felt bad for Gyutaro. Was he ok? You suddenly went silent looking at Gyutaro. 

Gyutaro noticed and saw as you made a face full of pity towards him. That was it, you were just pitying him. Gyutaro scratched his face harder, almost bleeding. He was pissed he didn't need some worthless rich girl's sympathy or company.

Not wanting to interact with you anymore he tried to leave, but you wouldn't leave him alone! “What kinda work do you do?” Gyutaro tried to lose you through the alleyways but you persisted. Then he thought if she won't leave then he'll just scare her away.  

Gyutaro stopped abruptly making you halt in your tracks. He grins deviously, swiftly grabbing his scythe, and swinging it towards your neck.  “listen here. I'm tired of you messing with me so I'd leave before I cut that pretty neck of yours.” He chuckled as he pressed the scythe closer to your neck. You looked at him in fear but that fear led to bravery.  Touching the scythe you blurted “You don't have to be so rude I was just trying to talk to you. I'm sorry if I'm being a bother. I JUST want to get to know you..”

Gyutaro tightened his grip on his scythe becoming furious. You just keep on sprouting such nonsense. “W..what! Are you stupid? I'm not one of your charities. I'm not even a nice guy. I could kill you right here right now. why do you want to get to know me? You really must be stupid if you want me to believe such lies.” You looked at him tilting your head slightly careful not to cut yourself. “Well sure I'm scared. I'm not stupid I know I'm not safe with a stranger but at the same time, I still want to get to know more about you.  Maybe even be your friend. I'm not trying to lie or deceive you.”

Gyutaro thought Most women wouldn't dare go near him. Does she even know who he is? She's just another rich girl who doesn't even understand how lucky she is. She's just probably lying to get away. I've seen it before she's nothing but I'll get her to show her true colors. It is amusing to see people break and become so pathetic. Graveling and fearing me, showing just how insignificant they are. I love it. 

As much as Gyutaro wanted to hear you scream he still wondered. What is she up to? Gyutaro inches his scythe closer to your neck staring you down. His eyes stare right into yours,  He is so close to you but you just become flustered blushing. He studies your eyes so intently barely noticing your blushed face. Gyutaro asks sternly. “Tell me.”  You respond “yes?” 

  “Why are you talking to me? Or trying to get closer to me? Id answer truthfully or I will slice your neck.” To prove his point he held the scythe to your neck with enough force to make you bleed.

                                                                                                                              You began to think maybe this isn't a situation that you should've gotten into. But looking him in the eye you knew the very least you'd tell him the truth. “Because I see you and think you're interesting. I may not know who you are and you may even really kill me right now but I just want to get to know you. I mean it.” 

Gyutaro growled and pushed the scythe so close to your neck you almost couldn't breathe. shouting “I told you to tell the truth!” you looked at him wide-eyed trying to push the scythe a little away “but I did Gyutaro  I don't understand why you think I'm lying. I just wanted to be your friend. “ 

Gyutaro had enough, even if she had told the truth. This girl irritated him too much. He deal with her before she would do anything just to be safe. He had enough of this confusing girl. Raising his scythe high above his head he swung back down you immediately shut your eyes preparing for the worst when you heard. 

“(y/n)!” Gyutaro stopped right at your neck. Both of you turn to see your fiance further down the entrance to the ally with the guard. Gyutaro covered your mouth and pushed you further to the wall. “Don't try anything or I'll make you wish I just sliced your neck.” Gyutaro's threat sent a shiver through your body from how venomous he sounded. Gyutaro knew if he was caught it could lead to more trouble than he could handle. He held you firmly hoping the man would pass by but he only seemed to get closer.

 Shit! Gyutaro thought. Gyutaro looked at you and started to panic. What was he going to do, maybe he should run? You looked to see if you could signal your fiance but instead, you saw the worried look on Gyutaro's face. You tried to think of what to do. This man was about to kill you but at the same time, you wondered why he was doing this. You really must be crazy cause you felt a little worried for Gyutaro. Even with your mind spinning with thoughts. You at least knew you had to defuse this situation. 

You bit Gyutaro’s hand with all the force you had. He released his grip on you enough for you to escape. You ran as fast as you could with Gyutaro chasing you. You shouted out “I'm here!” making your fiance turn around. 

Just as Gyutaro was about to grab your dress he missed letting you easily run into your fiance. Gyutaro cursed under his breath hiding in the shadows. You breathed a sigh of relief. Then you realized you weren't that out of trouble yet. Your fiancé angrily shouted “why did you run off? I should've never trusted you! I swear, pull that again and I will never bring you into town again.” You nodded your head and apologies. 

Turning your head back to the alleyway you held your neck feeling the blood already drying up. Your fiancé, however, noticed. ”what happened to you, why are you hurt?” you looked at him in shock trying to think what to say. You looked to the floor staring at your shoes. Thinking back to Gyutaro's face the fear and worried expression he made. You should tell your fiancé what happened. 

but as you keep seeing Gyutaro’s face you realized you were the one to bother a random stranger and even if you danced with him once you can't just expect him to like you . You felt so many mixed emotions for Gyutaro but you just had this feeling that Gyutaro was dangerous but not monstrous. 

“I was looking in a tool shop and was goofing around. I accidentally cut myself by swishing a blade around. I know I know I'm sorry for being clumsy. “ Your fiancé sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, you are stupid you know that I'm going to get blamed so let's get someone to look at that right away.” your fiancé led you away from the alley while you took one final look. knowing Gyutaro was watching.  You couldn't help but still wonder just a little bit why Gyutaro was the way he was and how much he must have been through. With everything that just happened, you still wanted to know him just a little more. 

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Ok so here it is tadaa!! I'm sorry it took me so long. I hate when you read good fanfic and you have to wait for an artist to finish the next chapter. But I also understand that artists need their time but now I understand this even more. I won't go into detail about why it took so long. I was going through a lot and I didn't have the energy to finish. But I'm kinda glad I did. This chapter turned out so different from my original plan. I think it came out better but still needs a lot of work. 

I also drew a photo of Gyu in this au. I hope to not take too long on the next chapter. And will keep it up. Wish me luck, please. 

Also please excuse the grammar. I am visually impaired so even if I go over it 5 times I'll still miss something. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you have any notes so please let me know. 

[toomanystoriessolittletime]

Going back home {Chapter 2}

Summary: Claire never thought she would be back in the town she grew up in. But after her fiancé broke off their engagement, leaving her 5 months pregnant and alone she found herself calling Frankie Morales in the middle of the night, one of her childhood friends who insisted that she booked the next flight out. Trying to fix her life with a little help from her friends she would find out soon that going back would be the best decision she ever made.

Pairing: Frankie Morales x Claire Beck

wordcount: 2k

Warnings: pregnancy hormones, pining

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Taglist in reblog

Chapter 1 | Chapter 3

“You know your childhood home is for sale?” Claire sat on the patio next to Pope who had decided to catch up with her.

“Seriously?” she asked and he nodded.

“Yeah. It looks bad though.”

“Like every house in this area that’s currently on sale,” she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah there are not many people moving down here, though there seem to be getting more in the last few years.”

“I mean it’s beautiful here,” she let her eyes wander over the landscape. She had always loved it here. Whole summers were spent on the Morales ranch when she was younger. Could have to do with the fact that Pa’ Morales made the best BBQ ever.

“Yeah it is. Better for your girl to grow up here, than in the big city huh?” he asked. She looked at Pope. He had gotten older. The lines around his eyes deeper than before. He always loved to laugh.

“Yeah. Though I didn’t picture it like that. I…” she sighed, feeling silly for the tears in her eyes. Fucking hormones.

“Hey. It’s okay. You gonna be fine,” his hand came down on her knee, squeezing it in comfort.

“Yeah you all keep saying that but it’s not you who has to push a baby out of your vagina without the father being there. It’s not you who has the responsibility to take care of a helpless kid for the rest of your life. I just… why? Why does he get to decide to walk out of this? It’s my pill that apparently didn’t work but it was him fucking me without a condom. He should take the responsibility just as much as I have to. Fuck…” she let her head fall back.

“Fuck him,” she looked up, hearing Frankie’s voice.

“Fuck him. He’s an excuse of a man. You don’t walk away from the woman you love. From the woman who’s carrying your child. Fuck… I was going through rehab while Liz was pregnant and I didn’t walk out…” he kneeled down next to her. She sucked her bottom lip in.

“I just feel so… so…” she shook her head.

“I know. But you’re not alone. You got me,” he looked at her. He was planning on taking her out for lunch when he walked in.

“But it’s not your job to take care of me Frankie. You got your own family.”

“You are family,” Pope said, now standing behind Frankie. “And if you want us to kill him, just say the word,” he teased and she had to laugh at that before she looked at Frankie again.

“I told you. You don’t want a hormonal woman living with you,” she joked and Frankie chuckled.

“I can take living with a hormonal woman,” he reached up to brush away her tears.

“Now what do you say? Lunch?” he asked and she sighed before she nodded.

“I gotta head out. But i’ll bring the house offers I found over tonight, okay?” Pope asked and she nodded. He smiled, leaning down to kiss her cheek before he left.

“I mean it. You’re family. Don’t ever think you’re a burden or alone. We’re here for you. I am here for you, okay?” Frankie said. Claire breathed in deep and nodded.

“Gotta get used to people caring. I was pretty lonely the last few years I guess.”

“Yeah. Better get used to it quickly,” he winked before he helped her out of the seat.

“Gotta get dressed I guess,” she shrugged.

“And I gotta shower. I can smell myself.”

“Yeah. You stink,” she grinned before she walked past him, leaving Frankie head shaking on the patio.

“Lunch is on you,” he called after her and she gave him the finger, making him laugh before he followed her inside to take a shower.

“So what made you open up a gardening business of all things, Morales?” she asked, sitting in the old diner they used to spend so much time in when they were younger. It might be lunch time but she couldn’t wait to have her ordered pancakes.

Frankie shrugged.

“I like being outside, keeps my mind off things.”

“You any good?” Claire teased and Frankie huffed.

“Let’s just say if you need any gardening I won’t be able to help you before the end of the year,” he winked.

“Impressive. I’m happy for you. Even though I still wanna hear the story as to what exactly happened in the last two years…” she said quietly, hearing Frankie sigh.

“Only when you tell me your story.”

She sighed and smiled sadly.

“We have a lot to talk about huh?” she asked.

“Yeah. But in time. Now we gotta eat and then we got to head to the store. Still need some stuff for the BBQ.”

“Fuck how many people are coming to this BBQ? I only have like 5 friends left here and I already met 4 of them,” Clarie groaned, leaning over the shopping cart as Frankie loaded another six pack of beer in.

“Pope kinda invited everyone over he knows so you can get to know everyone.”

“Because I like hanging out with people so much?” she asked, letting her head hang, earning a chuckle from Frankie.

“You and me both. But they’re all okay. Promise,” he squeezed her shoulder in comfort and she smiled a little, bumping her shoulder against his as he came to stand next to her.

“So what else do we need?”

“I got everything. Anything you need?”

“Ice cream?” Claire asked after thinking about it. Frankie only nodded as he grabbed the cart from her and pushed it towards the freezers with the ice cream. Like he had done it a million times before he walked towards the freezer, picking up Claire’s favorite Mint & Chocolate Chip ice cream and threw it in the cart.

“Still your favorite?” he asked as he saw the surprise in her face. She only nodded, a small smile playing at her lips.

“But pick up the mango ice dream too. Been craving that lately,” she grinned and Frankie nodded only before he reached for the biggest container.

The car ride to Frankie’s was quiet, both of them hanging on to their thoughts. It was strange how they seemed to fall back into their old dynamic as if no time had passed. It made Claire aware of just how much time she had spent with him when she was younger.

“This house is for sale,” Frankie said quietly as he stopped in front of the house just down his road.

“Charming…” Claire made a face and Frankie laughed. With lots of imagination she could see herself living here. But not within the next 4 months. This would be harder than she thought it would be.

“Maybe I should have stayed in New York…” she groaned to herself, her head falling back against the seat. She felt a hand on her thigh, her head tilting towards Frankie, unable to see his eyes behind his dark aviators.

“It’s been one day since you got here. We gonna find a house for you,” he squeezed her thigh and she sighed before she looked out of the window again. Frankie felt a weird feeling wash over him, his eyes dropping to the swell of her belly, before he released his hand from her to bring it back to the steering wheel, driving the car the short distance to his farm. A part of him wondered if the choices he made earlier in his life could have prevented some of the stuff he had gone through. Maybe he should have at least tried to go to college. Maybe he would have had a job that wouldn’t have required him leaving for months at the time. Maybe he would have had the guts to tell Claire that he wanted to be more than friends before he left for basic training. But he had found out that she had slept with Santiago, shattering all kinds of hope he might have had, that there was something more between them. To this day he wasn’t sure if maybe there had been more all these years back. He had always been too scared to tell Claire, scared that this would ruin their friendship. A friendship he had missed in the last years. He had wasted years on sleeping with women he never called after until it was a woman, Liz, calling him to tell him that she was pregnant. And he tried to make it work, he really did. A part of him loved Liz, because she was the mother of his child. But that was nothing compared to how he felt when he looked at Claire.

“Is it okay if I take a nap? I’m dead on my feet,” Claire asked as he stopped the car. He blinked at her, so lost in his thoughts. She yawned and he found himself smiling at her.

“Of course. As long as you make your guacamole later?”

She laughed, shaking her head with an eye roll.

“Wake me in two hours?”

“You got it,” he got out of the car, opening the door for her, helping her out. He had noticed her struggling to get out of his truck before.

“Thank you Frankie,” she kissed his cheek before she turned around to walk towards the door. He looked after her until she disappeared inside the house, shaking his head to himself.

“Get it together, Morales,” he whispered to himself before he unloaded the car and got inside himself.

Claire was in the middle of explaining to Frankie how to open an Avocado without killing himself worked, when the door flew open and the Miller brother’s barged inside.

“You got problems with your pipes?” Ben grinned at Claire and she snorted.

“In your Dreams, Miller,” she seasoned the avocados. Frankie shook his head.

“Come on, I show you my pipes,” Frankie teased, making Ben gag while Claire laughed loudly.

“You okay Claire?” Will asked, sitting down at the kitchen island in front of her, after he put the steaks in the fridge. Claire sighed.

“Didn’t think it would be this hard, but Frankie’s a big help,” she smiled a little, tasting the guacamole she was making. She reached for more salt.

“Yeah, he’s awesome. But be gentle with him. The whole custody thing is still pretty fresh,” Will said quietly.

“He hasn’t talked to me about it.”

“He will, I’m sure he will. Just… I mean you probably know him better than I do…”

“I’m gonna take care of him. Promise,” she whispered with a soft smile and Will seemed relieved as he nodded at her.

“Miss Beck. Your pipe problem has been solved,” Ben announced coming back soaked through his shirt back into the kitchen. Claire tilted his head, nodding approvingly at the muscles she could see through his white shirt before she looked up into his eyes with a teasing grin.

“I’ll make sure to preach about your plumbing services, Mr. Miller,” she winked and could swear she saw him blush for a second.

“Enough with the puns, we got a BBQ to prepare. Claire your shower is working,” Frankie emerged from the hallway, pulling a fresh shirt over his head and now it was Claire’s turn to blush before she became very invested in the guacamole in front of her while trying not to think about Frankie’s sunkissed skin on his chest, the little tummy or the dark trail of hair she most certainly didn’t want to lick.

She didn’t see Will’s knowing look before he got up from the seat to follow his brother outside.

Claire was so focused on the guacamole she only saw Frankie’s hand in the last second, slapping it away as he tried to steal a taste of the guacamole.

“Mean,” he pouted.

“Good things come to those who wait,” she grinned before she picked up the bowl to put it into the fridge, bending down to open the freezer for her mango ice cream. Frankie bit his lip as his eyes wandered down her body, averting his eyes before she turned around.

Fuck he wished that good things would be coming to those who waited.

Chapter 3

[drabbles-mc]

Hands Off

Bishop Losa x Reader

Request by @jmvalhalla1998​: Hi there! I guess this would be a request but is it possible to do a Bishop x Reader where her ex comes to town with them nothing talking to each other at all he doesn’t know she is with Bish so he tries to win her back causing Bish to get protective/territorial? You can make them engaged or have the reader pregnant if it makes it more interesting.

Warnings: language

Word Count: 2.1k

A/N: This was oodles of fun to write. Who doesn’t love to see Bishop getting a little worked up and protective??

Bish Taglist: @masterlistforimagines​ @sincerelyasomebody​ @sadeyesgf​ @thesandbeneathmytoes​ @tomhardydallasstarsgirl​ @multiyfandomgirl40​ @sillygoose6969​ @queenbeered​ @louisianalady​ @gemini0410​

You were looking at all the fresh produce in front of you, trying to figure out what exactly you wanted to pick up for dinner. Once Bishop got back from his run, he was going to be home all weekend and for you, that was worth celebrating. You toyed with the ring dangling at the end of your necklace chain, telling yourself that you had to get around to going to the jewelers to get it re-sized so you would actually wear it on your left hand. You tucked it back underneath the collar of your shirt as you started plucking a few things to put into your cart.

You were off to pick up the last of your dinner items when you heard an all-too-familiar voice, “Y/N?”

You spun around, your heart dropping into your stomach as you came face-to-face with your ex. You hadn’t seen or heard from him in three years, and that worked out incredibly well for you. He wasn’t missed by you. “What’re you doing here?” your tone had no sweetness to it.

He laughed, “That’s a funny way to say ‘I miss you’.”

“I don’t.”

“Oh come on, don’t be like that,” he forged onward despite the fact that you were letting him know that you wanted nothing to do with him, “I’m gonna be back in town for a few weeks because of work. Offer still stands, if you wanna get out of this town you’re more than welcome to come with me.”

You scoffed, “Absolutely not.”

You started to push your cart away when he spoke up again, “What’re you up to these days, anyway? You seeing anyone?”

You sighed, “As a matter of fact, yes, I am.”

He scanned the store, “Oh?”

You rolled your eyes, “Some people trust their partners to go places without them.”

He gave you a once-over, eyes lingering far too long, “I wouldn’t let you outta my sight.”

“Yea, you made that abundantly clear a few years ago. If you had any long-term memory at all you’d remember that that was half the reason I let you leave without me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish my grocery shopping,” you huffed and walked away, desperate to get out of the store and as far away from him as possible.

You tried your hardest to push the interaction from your mind as you worked on putting dinner together when you got home. You had gotten a text from Bishop that he was less than an hour out and it made you get your butt in gear and start cooking. If you timed it right, it would be done just after he got home. He always told you that you didn’t need to make a fuss when he came back from runs, but you couldn’t help it. And truthfully, you knew that he enjoyed it.

You were setting out plates and silverware when you heard the door open. You looked up, a smile on your face when you saw Bishop standing in the doorway. He dropped his bag to the floor and held his arms out. You couldn’t help but to laugh as you ran over and jumped into his arms, letting him sweep you off the floor and spin you around in a hug.

You hooked your legs around his waist and kissed him, “I missed you.”

He chuckled as he hooked his hands together underneath your legs, “I missed you too.”

You let him go unpack and change into a more comfortable set of clothes while you finished bringing everything to the table. You smiled as you felt his arms wrap around your waist, pulling you so that your back was pressed up against his chest. He pressed kisses along your shoulder and neck.

“I told you, you don’t have to do all this.”

You smiled, resting your hands on top of his, “I know I don’t have to. I want to, though. It gives me a reason to actually do something with myself besides miss you while you’re gone.”

He chuckled, “You’re breaking my heart, querida.”

The two of you had dinner together, and all you could think about was how nice it was to have him home again. You knew that his life was never going to allow him to be home all the time, and you accepted that, but that acceptance never made you miss him any less. You couldn’t stop staring at him as he gave you all the highlights of the run.

After dinner, the two of you were curled up in bed watching a movie. You idly toyed with the ring on the end of your necklace chain as you soaked up all of Bishop’s body heat underneath your mountain of blankets. As your fingers slid across the smooth metal band, the events that happened at the grocery store all came racing back and you instantly felt a knot forming in your stomach all over again.

Bishop felt you tense up and he looked over at you, “Everything alright, sweetheart?”

You nodded, “Yea. I just, um, there was something I forgot to mention.”

He paused the movie, “What’s going on?”

You had no idea how to start this conversation with him. Nothing really happened, but you still felt like you should tell him, “When I was at the store today, I, uh, I ran into my ex.”

His brows furrowed. He wasn’t the type to get jealous, but he also knew that your ex hadn’t treated you well and that was his real issue. “What happened? I thought that he was gone?”

You shrugged, “He’s back in town for a while for work I guess. I don’t think that he’s a real threat or anything I just, I don’t know,” you shook your head, “I felt so skeeved out after talking to him, that’s all. I’m not telling you because I want you to do anything about it, I just figured I should let you know.”

He’d never met your ex—he was long gone by the time that you and Bishop had gotten together. But the stories that you told him were enough. The protective part of him was kicking into gear as he processed what you were telling him. Even though you said that you didn’t want him to do anything about it, that was exactly what he was planning to do.

“Hey,” you gently squeezed his arm, “Obispo, I mean it. Don’t do anything stupid—he’s not worth it.”

He kissed your forehead, “I love you.”

You chuckled, shaking your head, “I love you too, but that’s not a response to what I just said.”

He pulled you closer, your face resting against his chest, “It’s my response to everything you say.”

You didn’t push it, knowing that whatever Bishop was thinking about doing wasn’t anything that you were going to be able to talk him out of. The more you thought about it, the more you hoped that the odds would be on your side and that the two of them just wouldn’t cross paths for however long your ex was in town. They didn’t run in the same circles, so maybe, just maybe, you’d luck out.

Those thoughts got pushed from your mind, though, as Bishop started peppering kisses along your neck and jaw. You laughed and melted into him, happy to forget about whatever the future was going to hold that was out of your control.

The next morning, Bishop was up bright and early. He nudged you awake, telling you he wanted to take you out to coffee and breakfast at the café in town. As much as you wanted to stay in bed and do absolutely nothing all day, it had been a while since the two of you had a breakfast date, so you agreed.

He took you on the bike, which you loved. There was something exhilarating about not just riding through town on the back of his bike, but also just walking around with your hand entwined with his. Even when he was off the clock, he was almost always in his kutte. It made him stand out a little more but you didn’t mind it, especially because some of that confidence seeped over into you. There was something special about the president of the MC doting on you, keeping you pressed up against his side as you made your way through town.

His phone rang right before you walked into the café. He looked down at the screen and then back to you, “Want to grab us a table? I’ll be right in. Less than five, I promise.”

You smiled, shaking your head, “Anything for you,” you gave him a quick peck on the lips before walking in and asking for a table for two.

You were scanning over the menu when you heard footsteps approaching your table. You assumed it was going to be Bishop, or a waiter, but instead you looked up and into the face of the man you hoped you would go the next few weeks without seeing again.

“Fancy seeing you here.”

You sighed, muttering somewhat under your breath, “You gotta be kidding me.”

Without bothering to ask, he pulled out the chair across from you and sat down, “Some might say that this is a sign.”

“A warning sign, maybe,” you said with a shake of your head, “I’m engaged. Let it go.”

“Engaged and going out to breakfast by yourself?”

“I’m not by my—”

He held his hand up to stop you, “C’mon, just grab one drink with me tonight. One drink, and if you still want nothing to do with me, I’ll leave you alone forever.”

You looked up and you saw Bishop standing behind his chair, looking larger than life. You pressed your lips together, waiting for your fiancé to say something. He cleared his throat, “Sounds like something you should be doing anyway.”

He instinctively went to push the chair back, but Bishop was blocking him in. his hand came to rest on your ex’s shoulder, and from the look of pain on the man’s face, Bishop was exercising his grip strength a little bit.

“Y/N mentioned that you were back in town.”

“Oh? She did?”

“Yea,” Bishop’s other hand gripped his free shoulder, “she also mentioned that you have a bad habit of not minding your fucking business.”

Your ex was all but trembling in his seat, and it would’ve been a lie to say that you weren’t enjoying every second of the scene unfolding in front of you. You didn’t need Bishop to look out for you, but you enjoyed that he did anyway. And, judging by the satisfied smirk that was creeping onto his face, Bishop enjoyed it too.

“Look, I’m just saying,” you could tell that your ex was scrambling to string the words together, “she seems to be on her own an awful lot. Must get lonely.”

“And you’re just here to remedy that loneliness, is that it?” Bishop’s tone was begging him to say something stupid.

“Well, someone should.”

“Hmm,” you could see his grip tightening on your ex’s shoulders, “You’ve certainly given me a lot to think about,” he leaned down so that he could speak a little quieter, “But god help me if I ever see you anywhere near my wife ever again I will break every one of your fingers, one at a time, and then make you drive yourself home. We clear?”

He nodded, fear written all over his face, “C-clear.”

“Good,” Bishop finally released his grip, “Now get the fuck out so we can have breakfast.”

He stood up, giving you one last look to see if you had anything to say. You gave him a sickly sweet smile and waved goodbye without a word, and he scampered out the door. You turned your attention back to Bishop, who was sitting down in his seat.

You smiled at him as he sat down, reaching your hands across the table so you could hold them in your own, “How good did that feel?” there was a hint of laughter in your voice.

He smiled at you, his voice quiet, “Really fucking good.”

You gave his hands a light squeeze, “Also, getting a preview of what it’s going to be like hearing you refer to me as your wife? What a rush,” you giggled.

He lifted your hands up and pressed a kiss to your knuckles, “You’ve got a whole lifetime of that ahead of you, sweetheart.”

[sidespart]

For the fic title thing: Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I’m Falling

Make Up Your Mind (this seriously got away from me and became basically a whole string of conscious fic whoops)

Logince, Bakery/coffeeshop AU Mutual Pining/ Not-Actually-Unrequited love, + loceit friendship

So Janus owns a Bakery (struggling to think of a snake/lie based bread pun for the name but ehh). He is the head only baker and sends most of his time in the basement kitchen blasting the phantom of the opera soundtrack and kneading dough. 

Logan is his childhood friend. Janus hired him as cashier after Logan dropped out of collage but then he never left and is now basically manager/ accountant/ hbic of this whole operation.

So one night as Janus is leaving he’s casually like: ‘oh by the way, a couple are coming by tomorrow for a wedding cake consultation’

And Logan blocks the door and is like: ‘Janus. We don’t do wedding cakes. We don’t even do cake. You only make weird artisanal bread. it took me 6 months and 8 powerpoint presentations to convince you to sell banana loaf’

Jan, his eye enormous: ‘but Logan, you should have heard this guy on the phone. They only want to use LGBTQ businesses for their wedding, they want to support the community that’s supported them for so long. He spoke so passionately and eloquently about why it just had to be us I couldn't say no’

Logan, his eyes not enormous: did you tell this man we make wedding cakes just to make the phone conversation end?

Janus: I was going to miss the murder, she wrote marathon, Logan 

So Jan manages to escape, and Logan rolls his eyes but like. This is nowhere near the worst ‘cleaning up after Janus lied to get out of a situation and made everything more complicated for no goddamm reason’ incident that he has had to deal with during the course of their friendship so, whatever: he can tell the couple there was a miscommunication when they show up in the morning. 

Next day, the guys arrive. Virgil, who barley introduces himself and then stays hunched in his hoodie not speaking for the whole meeting, and Roman. 

Roman does not have a problem speaking. Roman has lots of ideas.

Roman has a binder. 

Somehow in the course of this conversation Logan goes from ‘we don’t make wedding cakes’ to ‘I’LL SHOW YOU, WE’LL MAKE THE BEST GODDAMM WEDDING CAKE THIS TOWN HAS EVER SEEN’

Maybe it was the passion of Romans argument. Maybe it was the slightly disdainful look on his face when he looked round the shop. Maybe it was the ridiculous amount of money he was prepared to pay (see: Janus insists on only making specific, weird bread as to why the shop’s always on the brink of collapse). Maybe it was the power of the binder (Logan is like 80% sure Roman hit him with the binder at one point). Maybe its just Logan hasn't had a full blown passionate argument like that since high school debate club and the rush of adrenaline made him dumb.

Whatever the reason - they’re now fully committed to making this 6 tier, purple and blue, Disney inspired, multiflavoured wedding cake

(Janus, who skipped out on the meeting because he is Like That: But Logan....we don’t make wedding cakes...this was really irresponsible of you...

 Logan: I know where you sleep. I could kill you at any time) 

Which would be doable (the weddings a while off, and Logan is ready to RESEARCH) except Roman keeps. Coming. Back. 

With new ideas. And tweaks. And suggestions. All of them seemingly designed to make the cake less structurally sound. 

Basically every time he comes in they end up having a blazing row, first about Romans inability to make up his mind about the cake and then about...literally everything. One time they spent 25 minuets arguing about whether or not Shakespeare wrote all of his plays, which somehow turns into ‘who was the best host of blues clues?’ which then turned  into ‘how would nationalised healthcare best be implemented?’ (the loudest arguments were during the blues clues section).Logan had even fewer customers then normal that day.

(Logan: I hate that guy so much! He shows up at 2pm every day and now my blood pressure has started going up at 1.55pm in anticipation of the fight! He’s causing me actual medical distress because he’s so stupid!

Janus:...you’ve memorised some guys schedule and your heart starts racing whenever you see him?

Logan: yes! because he is my enemy!

Janus:...

Janus: mmKay.)

ANYway, one day Roman turns up and is like: Can’t fight today. Need caffeine. Must Study. and sequesters himself on one of their two rinky dink tables and starts pulling enormous textbooks out of his bag. Turns out Roman is in law school, he’s back home for the whole summer to help with wedding prep and has been neglecting his summer reading. He wants to be an environmental lawyer and, ideally, singly handily prosecute every oil company and give a speech at the UN whilst wearing an immaculately fitted Italian suit. 

Logan has a panicked moment of OH NO HE’S SMART (he doesn't need an oh no he’s hot moment because Roman’s been hot the whole time). Very carefully he does not think about how upset hearing Roman mention the wedding again made him feel, and then shares a bit about his own anxiety during college which led to him dropping out.

Roman says degree or no degree its obvious Logan is one of the smartest, most capable people Romans ever met.

Cue: blushing, stammering, Logan standing up to quickly and knocking half a pot of coffee over etc etc all that good fluff. 

And after that their conversations are less confrontational (although they still debate like. everything.) and more friendly.

They have one (1) more conversation about the wedding wherein Roman apologises for being so stressed and snappy over all the preparation stuff but he just wants everything to be perfect for Virgil. (Logan, awkwardly: you must love him a lot. Roman, himbo-ly: Yeah!) aaand then Logan changes the subject to the best rhyming structure because Romans big sappy grin is making his heart do awful twisty things-

And eventually, Roman asks Logan to go out with him outside the bakery.

Logan: hahaha this is friendship, we are great friends, we are going out as friends. I am not going on a date with a man with a fiancé because that would be the actions of a crazy person.

 So they go on their date. It’s amazing. Roman leans in for a kiss at the end and Logan is delighted!

And then devastated.

He pushes Roman away, yells some creative insult (malodorous centurion?) and flees. Spends the next week basically hiding in the kitchen area, refusing to see any customers and working on the wedding cake.

(which is looking perfect by the way)

So after a week of Logan moping round the kitchen Janus finally blocks the door to stop him leaving and demand he tells him what the hell is wrong. And after a few minuets of filibustering Logan ends up telling him everything.

“In any case, the very fact that he is the kind of man who would cheat on his fiancé means he’s not the kind of man I thought he was. Therefore any alleged feelings I may have developed towards him would now be null and void” says Logan, looking like the worlds sadist accountant

Janus: So...wait. You’re saying wedding cake guy and hot lawyer guy are the same person?

(Logan: you need to come out of the basement more often Janus: YOU need to tell me what’s going on in your life more often. (they have had this conversation many times in the past))

So Janus sincerely tells Logan he’s sorry...and that he’s even more sorry that he needs him to help him deliver the cake to the venue tomorrow.

(this thing is way to big for one person to carry and there’s no way Jan would trust any of their occasional teenage cover staff to do this and ‘we’ll go round the back and you wont have to see anyone anyway comon Lo’ you basically built this monstrosity you should see it home)

So, reluctantly, Logan goes. And they go round the back as promised, and get this enormous cake settled, and then get told to wait there one sec cus one of the grooms is going to come sign for it and before Logan can throw himself out of the widow (get OFF me Janus we’re on the ground floor it’s FINE)  from behind them they hear squeeing.

There’s a curly haired dude in a pastel blue linen suit who Logan has never seen before in his life looking at the cake and cooing over ‘all the little details! its perfect! oh Virgil is going to love this! You know he was so embarrassed about asking for a Disney themed cake he had to ask Roman to go with him to -”

“Who ARE you?”

The man blinked at Logan, who realised dimly that he still had one foot up on the windowsill and slowly returned it to the floor. 

“I’m Patton” said Patton.

“And I’m Janus” said Janus, removing his arms from where they’d still been clamped around Logan’s waist and stepping smoothly towards Patton, clipboard held aloft “A pleasure to meet you, if you could just sign here...”

“BUT-” Patton paused, hand still raised to accept the clipboard, and looked over again at Logan who found himself mumbling:  “but - but the groom is supposed to sign for it?”

And Patton just smiled at him looking a bit bemused and goes ‘I am the groom? And who are you kiddo?”

Logan says he’s Logan. Patton suddenly looks a whole lot less friendly. 

“Oh.” says Patton. “You.”

And since Logan’s mind is currently refusing to take in the information in front of him Janus is the one who ends up stepping in between them and going “so just for 100% transparency - you are Patton. 

“yes?”

“and today you are marrying the love of your life: Virgil?”

“Yes!”

“And are either of you, at any point today, also planning on marrying one Roman Sanders, caffeine addict and terrible communicator?”

And Paton burst out laughing and says “ROMAN? Virgil’s big brother Roman? He’s my best man but I don’t think we’re planning to take it any further...”. And because Patton is apparently much quicker on the emotional uptake than Logan he gives him a vey soft, if slightly exasperated, look and says:

“Roman - who again, is my future brother-in-law- is helping set up in the main hall.”

And Logan likes to think he said thank you before he took off fucking RUNNING through the building but he can’t be sure.

So he gets to the hall, where a load of people are setting out chairs, putting up flowers etc,  and skids to a stop at one end of the aisle. Shouts: “ROMAN.” (Roman and Virgil, who were standing at the other end arguing over a flower arrangements, both look up) “YOU’RE NOT MARRYING YOUR BROTHER.”

“um.” Says Roman “No?”

Explanations are given. Virgil, who is a lot more talkative now that he’s not on 7th wedding appointment of the day burn out, is ready to physically fight Logan for breaking his brothers heart. And then once he understands the full story is ready to kill both of them for being such dumbasses.

Roman: But I s2g I told the guy on the phone that it was the groom and best man coming??? Logan: Yeah he might have lied and said you were a couple for a joke, or he may have just straight up not listened to you. Either way, he is just Like That.

Logan: WHY DID YOU NEVER MENTION VIRGIL WAS YOUR BORTHER?? Roman: I WAS TRYING TO GET TO KNOW YOU AND ALSO SEDUCE YOU WHY WOULD I WASTE TIME TALKING ABOUT MY LITTLE BROTHER??? Virgil: Yeah...he does like talking about himself, sorry he’s just  Like That.

Anyway it all ends fluffily, Patton and Virgil get married. Roman cries. Logan and Jan hang around for the wedding. Roman and Logan hold hands throughout the speeches and dance during the reception. Roman has to go back to law school soon but they agree to call each other every day at 2pm to catch up and argue. 

Janus gets off with the moustachioed DJ. 

And Roman and Logan get another chance at their first kiss.

[5-falsehoods-phonated]

You Don’t Own Me (You Don’t Even Know Me)

Chapter 3

Summary:  As the son of a Baron, Roman Sanders always knew that when he married, it would be due to a political arrangement rather than true love. Still, when he is sent away to marry an older, more powerful Earl, he is determined to make the best of his situation. Despite the Earl’s indifference towards him, Roman forges ahead and prepares to become the best husband he can possibly be, making new friends along the way. But when his fiancé’s demeanor turns from cold to cruel, Roman must shift all of his focus to survival, and find a way out of his marriage before it’s too late.

Ships: Logince (Logan x Roman)  Moxiety (Virgil x Patton)

Content Warnings: arranged marriage, abuse, attempted sexual assault, murder, poisoning, character death, hurt/comfort, angst

Chapter Warnings: none

Word Count: 2689

Read on AO3: here!

Cowritten with @ironwoman359 masterlist

False masterlist

A sharp knock pulled Roman from a fitful sleep, and he groaned, cracking open one eyelid.

“Who is it?” He called blearily. 

“Patton, sir!”

“Come in, then,” Roman said around a yawn, and Patton entered the room. 

“Good morning Lord- Roman!” He said, quickly correcting himself. “I trust you had a good night’s sleep?”

“I've certainly had worse,” Roman admitted, stretching. “Do you need something?” 

Patton nodded, clasping his hands behind his back. 

“His lordship requests that you meet him at the stables this morning for a ride around the grounds. New riding clothes and boots should be in your wardrobe.” 

Roman raised an eyebrow. Three days of near pretending he didn’t exist, and now Lord Howard wanted to take a romantic ride around the grounds together?

 “Very well, I will be ready shortly,” Roman said, then he frowned as Patton turned to leave. “Patton, wait…”

Patton paused, looking back at him. Roman hesitated for a moment, but the housekeeper had said anything he needed...

“Could I...that is, do you know what happened to my clothes? The ones I brought with me, I mean?” 

Patton’s face twisted in sympathy. 

“Oh, um...well, I...” he looked away, and guilt flickered through his eyes. “Mrs. Wakefield, she...she told me to burn them.” Roman’s eyes widened, but Patton quickly continued, “I didn’t, though! I snuck them into the laundry when she wasn’t looking...I was planning on taking them down to a charity shop in town when I could get an afternoon free. It...it didn’t feel right, to have perfectly good clothes like that thrown out when someone could still use them.” 

Roman sucked in a breath. “There’s one thing,” he said quietly, leaning closer. “A cloak, torn at the hem, is it...do you think I could get it back?” 

Patton glanced behind him, as if Mrs. Wakefield herself might suddenly materialize in the room. 

“I...if Lord Howard sees you wearing it, I-“

“I won’t wear it,” Roman promised. “And the rest of the clothes, you can go ahead and give away. I don’t want any trouble, I just...I don’t want to lose it for good.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Patton said, and Roman smiled.

“Thank you, Patton, I’m truly grateful. Now...I must admit, I don’t quite know my way around the estate yet. Would you be able to show me to the stables?” 

Patton perked up at that, his face splitting into a wide grin. 

“I’d be absolutely delighted to!” 

Patton stepped out for a moment to let Roman get dressed, and then he led him through the halls of the manor. Roman did his best to memorize the layout as they went; the estate technically was his home now, and he wanted to know it like the back of his hand. Patton led him outside through a set of double doors set with frosted glass and onto a meticulously kept gravel path. As they walked, they passed by an immaculate flower garden and what looked like the entrance to a hedge maze before reaching what Roman assumed were the stables. 

Lord Howard was already there waiting for them, dressed in smart white riding pants and a tailored vest. Two men stood beside him, each holding the reins of a horse.

“Ah, good morning Lord Sanders,” the Earl called, and Roman bowed his head in greeting. “Come, let me introduce you to my stablemaster.” 

The shorter of the two men beside him bowed. 

“Joseph Acton,” he said. “I am at your service, my lord. And this is Angel, and her handler, Virgil.” He gestured at the taller man, who held the reins of a snow-white mare. 

Roman nodded to both stable hands, then reached out to pat Angel’s nose. 

“She’s lovely,” he said, smiling at Virgil. 

“She’s yours,” said Lord Howard, and Roman’s eyes widened. 

“I- really?” 

“Indeed,“ said the Earl. “I trust you can ride?” 

“Yes, I can,” Roman said. “I- you are too generous my lord, thank you.”

Lord Howard gave him a short bow, clearly preening at the expression of gratitude, and Roman smiled to himself as he took Angel’s reins. This may not be quite the marriage of equals he had always hoped for, but it didn’t mean he was unprepared for his situation. 

A man like Garret Howard had wealth and power to spare, and everything he did would be in service of either acquiring more or showing off what he had. If Roman wanted to improve his standing with him, he first had to stroke the man’s ego. So as they rode through the grounds, he oo’d and ah’d at the impressive landscaping and architecture, when asked how he was finding his stay at the estate so far he gushed about the size of his rooms and the quality of service from the staff, and at every opportunity, he brought the conversation back to Lord Howard, allowing the Earl to not-so-subtly boast about the size of his estate and investments. 

When they circled back around to the stables, Lord Howard swiftly dismounted his horse, and gave Roman a nod. 

“Thank you for your time this morning, Lord Sanders. You of course have free reign of the estate. I have much business to attend to today and cannot be disturbed, but I do hope you will join me for dinner this evening?” 

“Of course, my lord,” Roman said with a smile. “It would be my pleasure.”

Lord Howard snapped his fingers and Acton hurried forward to take his horse’s reins. 

“Until this evening, then,” said the Earl, and then he turned and left without another word. 

Acton gave Roman a quick bow before leading Howard’s horse away, and Roman glanced around. He didn’t see the other stableboy anywhere nearby, so he steered Angel towards the stables himself. As he drew nearer, he finally spotted the tall, dark haired boy who had first handed him Angel’s reins leaning against a fence post and talking to Patton, of all people.

“Virgil! Get to work!” snapped Acton, and Patton jumped, guilt flashing across his features. The stablehand, Virgil, rolled his eyes, but stepped forward towards Roman, ducking his head and holding out his hands for the reins.

“Apologies, my lord,” he said lowly, and Roman flashed him a reassuring smile.

“It’s quite alright, sir,” he said as he dismounted. He glanced up to make sure Acton wasn’t listening, then added quietly, “and you may just call me Roman, if you wish.” 

Virgil’s eyebrows quirked up in surprise, and he glanced over at Patton, who smiled and nodded at him. 

“Alright then, Roman,” Virgil said. “How was Angel for you?”

“Oh, she was excellent. Weren’t you, girl?” Roman asked, patting Angel on the neck. “You deserve a whole barrel of apples for doing such a good job!” 

“I do have some sugar cubes saved back at the stable, if you’d like to give her some,” Virgil said slowly, almost warily. 

“I’d love to,” Roman said honestly, and Patton’s face lit up. 

Virgil nodded to himself, as if coming to a decision, then he turned around, tugging gently on Angel’s reins.

“Come on then, her stall is this way.” 

Roman and Patton followed Virgil into the stables, which housed around a half-dozen horses. Virgil led them through to Angel’s stall, then gave them all sugar cubes and baby carrots that they took turns feeding to the mare while he removed her bridle and brushed her down. 

Roman held out another handful of treats to Angel and glanced at Patton. Patton was stroking Angel’s nose, but the soft smile on his face was clearly directed more at her handler rather than the horse itself.

“So...you two know each other well?” Roman asked. Virgil looked hesitant, but Patton nodded, a sheepish smile on his face. 

“When I started working here, I didn’t know anybody...and, um. I’m sure you’ve noticed that the senior staff can be...”

“Assholes?” Virgil grumbled, and Patton laughed nervously. 

“That’s, um, a strong word for it.” 

“Not necessarily inaccurate though,” Roman said, and Virgil blinked, clearly surprised. 

‘Well, suffice it to say, I had a little trouble fitting in at first!” Patton interjected. “But Virgil was actually nice to me, helped me find my feet, and we’ve been friends ever since!” 

Roman raised an eyebrow; based on the way that they looked at each other, he’d have guessed they were more than just friends...still, he wasn’t about to pry.  

“Pat, it was great to see you, but I don’t want you to get in trouble,” Virgil said. “You should get back, before Wakefield gets wind of where you’ve been.” 

“He should be fine, as long as he’s with me, right?” Roman asked quickly. “Since he’s my attendant, if I ask him to accompany me somewhere, that would supersede any other duties he has.” 

“I mean, yeah, probably,” Virgil said. “Still, you don’t know how Wakefield can be...I don’t wanna risk you getting in trouble.” 

“And I don’t want to risk either of you getting in trouble, so we’ll make sure we keep our visits on the short side,” Roman said. 

“Our...visits?” Patton asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Well, as my attendant, it’s essentially your job now to accompany me around the estate, right?” Roman asked. “It just so happens that I love horses, and taking walks around the grounds, so Mrs. Wakefield can hardly blame you if you end up spending more time than you used to outside the mansion.”

“Oh!” Patton said, his eyes widening. “Oh, Roman, you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to…”

“I do, though,” Roman said honestly. “It’s no trouble. And Angel is a sweet girl who deserves all the extra sugarcubes in the world, aren’t you?” he added, patting the horse on her neck. 

“Alright, if you’re sure,” Virgil said. “But you two should still probably get inside now, I don’t need Acton on my case again.” 

“Okay,” Patton said, quickly pulling Virgil into a hug. “I’ll see you later!”

Virgil looked embarrassed, but he hugged Patton back and waved to him and Roman as they exited the stables. 

“What else would you like to do today?” Patton asked Roman as they headed back inside. “Lord Howard takes dinner at seven thirty, so you have quite a bit of free time until then.” 

“Hmm...well perhaps you could give me a tour of the mansion?” Roman asked. “I believe there are several wings I haven’t even seen yet.” 

“Absolutely!” Patton said. “Follow me!” 

Roman was happy to do just that, and the two of them spent nearly an hour wandering through the house, Patton pointing out various features as they went. Roman’s head spun at the sheer size of the place; it was nearly unbelievable that just one man could own so much. At midday, Patton left him to arrange for lunch, and Roman found himself wandering the corridors alone. He decided to try and find the library again and turned around, only to collide headfirst with someone hurrying down the hall.  

“Oh goodness, I’m so sorry!” he exclaimed as the person went sprawling, papers flying everywhere. “Here, let me help.”

Roman got to his knees to help gather the papers up, pausing when he saw just who he’d bumped into. 

“Oh...it’s Logan, right? Again, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention at all to where I was going!”

“It’s quite alright,” Logan said, getting to his feet and pushing his glasses up on his nose. “For once, I was not heading anywhere in a particular hurry, I merely intended to take my lunch in the library.” 

“Oh, I was heading that way too!” Roman said. “Or at least, I was trying to find it. Is it alright if I walk with you?” 

Logan shrugged.

“You may do what you wish, Lord Sanders.” 

He resumed his walk down the corridor, and after a moment, Roman followed, glancing around to ensure none of the other servants were nearby before he leaned over and spoke quietly. 

“Roman.” 

“I beg your pardon?”

“You may just call me Roman, as long as we aren’t around somebody who might get upset with you for it.” 

“Is there a particular reason you prefer not to be called by your proper title?” Logan asked as they reached the library, and Roman shrugged. 

“Formality has its time and place,” he said.

He paused and opened the library door, gesturing for Logan to enter. After a moment, Logan did so, heading towards a small table beneath a window, and Roman followed. 

“However,” he continued, “I’ve found it more beneficial in the past to be on more personal terms with members of my staff. Everyone is free to be at their best when they aren’t spending half their energy worrying about decorum.” 

“Members of your staff?” Logan repeated as he sat down, and Roman nodded. 

“So unless you have your own objections, I really don’t mind if you call me Roman,” 

Logan regarded him for a moment, then tilted his head forward slightly. 

“Very well then, Roman.”

Roman grinned, and sat down opposite Logan.

“So, tell me about what you do! Lord Howard called you his business secretary, what duties does that entail?”

“You...want to hear about my work?” Logan asked, sounding puzzled. 

“Of course!” Roman said. “Lord Howard has been...busy, lately, and I haven’t had much time to learn about everything that goes on here at the estate yet. I was hoping you would be able to fill me in, if that’s alright of course?” 

“I...suppose there is no harm in that,” Logan said slowly. “Though I’m afraid you won’t find what I have to say very interesting. My job mostly entails keeping track of paperwork, creating and distributing documents, managing the taxes paid to the estate as well as balancing the earl’s personal finances-” 

“All that, and he calls you a secretary?” Roman interrupted. “That’s the work of a manager, if not a full business partner!” 

“Yes, well” Logan cleared his throat, and shuffled some of his papers around. “Lord Howard would likely benefit from having a manager or business partner...however, he prefers to handle all matters that fall under his responsibility personally.”

“Or have you handle them,” Roman finished, and Logan gave him a wry smile. 

First Previous Next

“Or have me handle them,” he agreed.

“So Lord Howard trusts you, then?” 

“I would not use the word trust, ” Logan mused. “Rather, he knows I am capable of my job, and expects me to perform it to his satisfaction. Much of the day to day of running the estate falls to me, leaving him free to speak directly with other nobles and officials. I give him a report at the end of each week, and we discuss what expectations are for the next week.” 

“Would I be able to get a copy of those reports?” Roman asked. 

Logan raised an eyebrow. 

“Technically those documents are for the Earl’s eyes only. What would you even do with a copy?”

“All my life, I’ve been preparing to run an estate,” Roman said. “And now I’m getting married in six months, but I’m not sure the Earl even realizes I exist half the time. I don’t want to just sit around and twiddle my thumbs and not even know what’s going on under my own roof. I want to actually do something.” 

Logan watched him for a long stretch of time, and Roman wondered if he’d made a mistake, confiding in the man. Would he refuse Roman’s request? Would he tell Lord Howard what Roman had asked for? What would the Earl do if he found out Roman had requested confidential reports without his permission? 

“In all honesty, the Earl pays very little attention to what I do,” Logan said, pulling Roman from his spiraling thoughts. “As long as the numbers match up to what he expects. I should have no problem creating a second copy of my weekly reports, if you truly wish to see them.” 

Roman grinned. 

He had a feeling he and Logan were going to get along just fine.

Previous     Next

[gamerwoo]

[Tales from the Pack] Chan: Homewrecker (Part Two)

Characters: Chan x female reader

Genre/warnings: werewolf au, fantasy, a little fluff, angst, abusive relationship stuff

Word count: 2,728

Summary: Chan caught your attention as soon as your eyes met across the market. Something about him drew you to him, and you knew you were meant to be. However, you were already taken and arranged to be married on your next birthday, so you could never be together.

Previous | Next | Homewrecker Masterlist

Chan had been wanting to see you all week, but between Luhan and Dae coming to visit to see Eunjin, and then her and her mate going to visit Jiung and his pack for a few days, he felt it was best to stay with the pack rather than go out to the market where he could possibly get himself into even more trouble if he were caught -- he did try to change his appearance like his brothers who had been spotted by people in town, but there was still a chance of getting caught. But as soon as the couple had returned safely from their trip, he went straight to the market to go in search of you.

-

You returned every day, half because you wanted to get away from your family and their plans for your marriage, and half because you wanted to see the strange boy that had caught your eye. There was just something about him that made you feel…something. You didn’t know what it was, but you knew it was a good feeling.

To your dismay, nobody had shown up all week. You wandered the booths for hours and hours, but you never saw any sign of any of the strange boys from earlier that week. You felt like you wouldn’t actually ever see them again, but what did you expect with your awful luck?

You’d been at the market all day, and judging from the sun in the sky, it seemed to be about mid-afternoon. You had hardly eaten, so you went up to a stand to grab something to eat. Fishing in the pocket of your dress for money, you felt a presence beside you.

“I’ll take care of this,” the voice said before holding a hand out to the vendor, giving them a bill. You stopped what you were doing and turned to the stranger, coming face to face with a grinning Chan as he looked down at you, “Hello again, _____.”

You almost gasped at how happy you were to see him, and your excitement almost had you tossing your arms around his neck in a hug. Instead, you began to bounce on the balls of your feet, making him laugh.

“You’re here!” you exclaimed as he grabbed a fresh apple from the vendor. “I didn’t think you’d come back!”

You didn’t know, but Chan’s heart was soaring knowing that you were waiting for him. He couldn’t fight the happy rumble that sounded in his chest, but it was too loud and busy for you to hear it, “Were you watching for me?”

“All week,” you admitted shyly, your cheeks turning a light pink that made Chan so fond of you.

‘God, my mate is so cute,’ was all he could manage to think when he looked at you and heard you speak.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting,” he smiled, bowing slightly as he held the apple out for you.

With a giggle, you took it and held it to your chest like it was a precious gift, “It’s probably weird of me to want to see you; I hardly know you.”

“Why do you think I showed up today?”

You cocked your head to the side, “Did you really come here for me?”

He shrugged, “I’m not the one who does the shopping, so I have no other reason to.”

Chan heard your heartbeat pick up, causing another happy growl. He wanted so badly to hold your hand and pull you to him and kiss you breathless, but he had to remind himself that not only would that be too sudden, but you still belonged to someone else.

Someone you didn’t want to belong to.

Chan hadn’t mentioned it to any of the pack because he knew they wouldn’t approve, but he planned to offer to take you away from the life he knew you didn’t want. He wasn’t completely sure about your home life, but he wanted to know everything about you. He was determined to get more information before making a final decision.

But at the moment, his only plan was to get you away from your fiancé before you turned nineteen.

“So, _____, how've you been?” he wondered as the two of you began to walk side-by-side through the market.

You hummed softly as you tried to think of everything that had happened the passed week, “Well…my family has gotten suspicious of me going to market every day. They think I’m meeting with a secret lover, apparently.”

“Ah, so that’s what I am?” Chan joked with a chuckle, making your already pink face turn more red. But then he turned serious, scrutinizing your body. “They haven’t hurt you, though, have they?”

You sighed, subconsciously rubbing your left forearm, “They did something a little…extreme…”

Chan’s eyes widened, and he grabbed your hand and tugged you over to a secluded area, covered by shadows from nearby buildings. He put his hands on your shoulders and looked at you intensely, his brown eyes studying you.

“Did anybody hurt you, _____?” he asked.

You shook your head, “No! Well, I mean, the procedure didn’t feel good but--”

“What happened?” he demanded, and you swore you heard him growl.

Part of you didn’t understand why this stranger seemed to be so protective over you. He only really knew your name, yet he was acting so concerned for you. But on the other hand, you liked the feeling. Even your fiancé never really seemed to act like he cared much about your well-being. You weren’t really sure why he wanted to marry you, anyway.

“His family wanted to make sure I wasn’t sneaking off anywhere,” you explained, holding your forearm out for him to see the small, raised scar on your skin, “so they put a tracker in me. They know where I am no matter what.”

Chan didn’t like this one bit. Not only would it make it harder for him to take you away and protect you, but it was just inhumane! Who in their right mind would put a tracker inside a human just because they were paranoid? Werewolves were some of the most territorial creatures when it came to mates, and even he would never do something like that.

He had half a mind to grow his claws out and tear the tracker out then and there.

“Chan!” a familiar male voice shouted behind him.

Before he could do or say anything about your tracker, he turned to see Hansol walking over to him, and Yeji for some reason following behind him with a sunhat on her head to hide her ears.

“What are you doing here, Sol?” Chan wondered.

“Hansol, right?” you asked, recalling his name. 

Hansol smiled, but it seemed a little forced, “Hello again, _____. This is Yeji, my… My, uh…”

“Sister,” Yeji said with a chuckle at Hansol’s sudden lapse of thought. “He’s just a little flustered over Chan.”

The pup really didn’t want to be rude, but he had things to attend to, such as making his mate his instead of some asshole’s who didn’t trust her and treated her like some sort of pet. But it was clear Hansol knew something was up with the youngest of the pack by the way he had looked at him and made a point to interrupt his time with you.

“Sol, why are you here?” Chan repeated, a little more forcefully this time. “And why’d you bring Yeji with you?”

“What, I can’t leave the house?” Yeji asked with a playful smile. “Jihoon’s busy with yardwork anyway, and we all know I’m not doing that. Hansol mentioned coming to the market, so I tagged along.”

“So you just came here for fun?” the younger wolf asked.

"Technically, we have errands,” she explained before listing off, “Soomin asked for some supplies, Jeonghan wanted more of that honey bread since Junhui ate the last of it, Josh needs... What did Joshua want again?”

You were lost on everything they were saying, but you were just glad that Chan had come back for you. Something about him felt…safe. You weren’t sure why since he was just a stranger, but it was comforting anyway. He was still better than your family and fiancé, that was for sure.

As if he could somehow tell you were thinking poorly of him, the devil himself made his way through the crowd with two guards, clearly looking for you. He looked up from the device he was using to track you and locked eyes with yours. He didn’t like seeing you with strange people he didn’t know, especially two men. 

You visibly gulped, and it wasn’t only Chan that took notice. Yeji and Hansol followed your gaze while Chan tried to grip your upper arms. You quickly shook him off and stepped through the small crowd around you.

“Hello, Donghae,” you greeted him politely, keeping your eyes on the ground as you knew he was angry with you.

“Don’t be afraid of me, sweetheart,” he cooed, which only made you more afraid of him. “Why don’t you introduce me to your friends?”

As much as you didn’t want to – you wanted to keep them as far away from Donghae as possible – you knew better than to go against an order from your fiancé. You turned around as he took your hand and looped it through his arm as if you two were actually a happy couple. However, walking toward Chan and his friends with Donghae so close, you could feel the anger radiating off of him.

Cautiously, you looked up to see all three of them staring at you. Yeji looked curious, Hansol looked curious, and Chan looked downright angry. You assumed it was because he knew what your fiancé had done to you, but you also didn’t want Donghae knowing you told other people about his treatment toward you.

You tried to hold your head up higher, hearing Donghae’s voice in your head calling you a ‘pathetic, shy girl’ like he had done before, “This is my…fiancé, Kwon Donghae.”

The man beside you gave a smug smile, bowing to your friends to play up the ‘good fiancé’ bit. Politely, Hansol and Yeji bowed back to him. Chan didn’t. Thankfully, your fiancé was too busy being cocky to realize.

“Thank you for keeping my beautiful fiancée company,” Donghae told them, although you could tell clearly that his sincerity was an act.

Hansol didn’t seem to think so, smiling warmly at him, “Of course, we really--”

“However, that will not be necessary,” he continued, his smile dropping. Now, he just looked bored speaking with them, as if they weren’t worth his time – which, in his head, they weren’t. “_____ doesn’t need to be babied, and she doesn’t need friends. I already provide her with everything she needs. If I catch any of you with her again, it won’t be good.”

“Shouldn’t that be _____’s choice?” Chan spoke up sharply, his brown eyes glaring straight at Donghae.

He’d never been talked back to since he was the son of a higher-up in town, so he was visibly shocked by this, “Excuse me?”

“Clearly you aren’t keeping her company, so somebody has to,” the dark-haired boy continued. “Besides, she seems to enjoy having some actual fun.”

You didn’t have to look at Donghae to know his angry gaze was on you now. “Is this true, _____? Do you enjoy hanging out with these people over your loving fiancé?”

“Well, I--”

Your chin was grabbed roughly as he forced you to look at him, and you could’ve sworn you heard someone growl. From your peripherals, you saw Hansol and Yeji place their hands on Chan, who was now shaking from anger.

“Look at me when I’m speaking to you,” Donghae ordered through clenched teeth, his face inches from yours. “Now answer me.”

“N-no…” you lied nervously.

He continued to search your eyes for a moment before he finally let you go and stepped away from you, “If you’re not back to my house in fifteen minutes, you’ll be in big trouble. We need to have a chat.”

With that, he turned and left with his little posse of guards that he’d brought with him. The four of you watched him disappear into the crowd before Chan was grabbing your hand in his, automatically calming you.

“What the hell was that?” Yeji wondered quietly.

“_____,” Chan’s soft but intense voice was what made you look away from where Donghae stalked off to. When you looked at him, he definitely still looked angry, but his features softened when he saw how afraid you looked. “I won’t let him do anything to you.”

You shook your head, already having accepted your fate once the tracker was put in your arm, “Nobody can do anything to stop him. His father practically runs this town, and he--”

“Then I’ll take you away from the town,” Chan promised, a small smile forming on his lips. “I’ll take you somewhere they have no power, and you won’t have to worry about him anymore.”

As much as his promise made your heart flutter, you couldn’t help but wonder why this strange boy you hardly knew was telling you he’d risk his life to get you out of your bad situation, “Why do you want to help me?”

He just shook his head at your question, “That’s not important. I’ll try to come see you again, okay?”

“My house is usually empty during the week,” you told him eagerly – maybe too eagerly. “It’s on the same street as the flower shoppe, and there’s pink flowers out front.”

“Oh, I know where that is!” Yeji spoke up. “Chan, I can bring you.”

Chan smiled widely at the older girl before turning back to you. He knew he should wait a little bit as to lessen the suspicion on you. The last thing he wanted was for Donghae to hurt you some more.

“Two days?” he asked.

You nodded, “Two days.”

-

You made it back to Donghae with time to spare thanks to your running. You were sweaty and out of breath, but you wouldn’t have to face any extra consequences. However, when you went to his room, he was pacing and wasn’t paying any attention to you.

“Donghae?” you asked softly.

“Who was that girl?” he asked you, his voice a mumble as he was deep in thought.

“I…I don’t know.” you told him honestly. “I've never seen her before. Sh-she said her name was Yeji, but...”

“I know she’s not a resident of this town,” he continued, not looking over at you, “and those men you were with also strike me as suspicious. I think those are the werewolves the guards have been dealing with.”

Your eyes widened as your breath caught in your throat. You thought werewolves were just some legend; a scary story. There was no way they were actually real, right? But if Donghae was saying they were…

“…What does that mean?” you asked quietly.

“If there’s a new person being spotted in our town, then they must be imprinting,” Donghae stated, finally standing still in the middle of the room. “They must live nearby if them and their mates are coming to my town.”

He spat out the word ‘mates’, and something about it didn’t make you feel good.

“Not to disrespect you, Donghae,” you began, which made him give you a sharp look. You gulped, “but…what has led you to believe they’re a pack of werewolves? I didn’t even think they existed...”

“Stupid girl, weren’t you listening?” he groaned. “Of course they exist! And our town has been dealing with them for a while now. We had caught one and its disgusting mate, but they got away. Now, this new girl shows up with two suspicious men but they don’t actually have residence here? This Yeji is one of their mates, and the pack must be nearby.”

“What if they’re just out of town?”

“_____, I know a werewolf when I see one!” he roared. “And do you know anything about werewolves, you stupid girl? Hmm?”

You didn’t have an answer for that.

“Exactly,” he stated before calling out for guards. Two of them showed up immediately. “Send a team to the surrounding forest tonight. I’m afraid we have a werewolf infestation.”

[empire-of-wildfire]

HOLIDAY SURPRISE

A @starseternalnighttriumphant X @empire-of-wildfire CHRISTMAS MINI-FIC COLLABORATION

a/n: here’s the first part guys!! We hope you guys enjoy it! Sorry for those of you that saw this yesterday, I’m not sure why tumblr decided to post it almost 24 hours early. Send me or Hannah @starseternalnighttriumphant an ask if you’d like to be added to the tag list!

Cassian Laskaris’s personal phone buzzed in his jacket pocket, causing him to frown. Almost no one bothered him on his phone while he was at work, so he fished it out of the deep pocket and looked at the name that flashed on the screen. A sigh followed by a small smirk, he answered the call and put the phone up to his ear.

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“Funny,” Rhys answered, voice full of amusement. “I was just checking for cold feet.”

“Are you sure you meant to call me and not Feyre?” Cassian drawled.

“Hers are warm and currently playing footsie with mine.” There was a shuffle and Feyre’s tinkling laugh in the background. “I just want to make sure you’re actually coming.”

Rhys’s worry was genuine, but it still grated Cassian’s nerves. He had promised his found brother he would be there for his wedding, and Cassian was many things, but he never broke his promises to the people he loved.

“Yes, bastard brother of mine,” Cassian sighed, spinning in his office chair. “I leave in the morning. I’ll see your ugly face tomorrow.”

His door opened, a beautiful dark haired, deeply tanned skin woman walking in, her hips swinging. Emerie smirked at him, holding a folder, and he took his time dragging his eyes over her. She looked extremely good in that tight black dress and he wanted to—

“Are you still there?”

“Sorry,” Cassian muttered, leashing his dirty thoughts. Now wasn’t the time. “Yes, Rhys, I’ll be there. I have everything set up, I’ll see you around one or two p.m.”

He hung up before Rhys could say anything else, turning his womanizing smile towards Emerie. She had started at the firm less than a year ago, and Cassian knew he shouldn’t have spent most of the time fooling around with her. But she was a good distraction, and she didn’t want anything from him besides friendship with benefits. She was also the only woman that had lasted this long in the past four years since he’d left Velaris. Most women only made it a few weeks, maybe a month or two.

“Dinner tonight before I leave?” he asked as she handed him the folder containing his next high profile law case.

“My pleasure,” she purred, winking as she left.

-

Despite Rhys’s protests, Cassian had decided to rent a car and stay at one of the two hotels in Velaris. He hadn’t been home once in four years; he felt awkward even being back in his old stomping grounds without the subtle tension his presence in Rhys and Feyre’s home would bring. He didn’t fit in anymore, and though his brother would never admit it, Cassian knew it was better to keep a distance. And he knew Rhys and Feyre would be busy with wedding planning, and his intrusion in their house would probably create more stress since he was staying through Christmas until the day after New Years, their wedding on the very first day of the year. Rhys and Feyre were disgustingly romantic like that.

After checking into the hotel and letting Rhys know he was on his way, Cassian decided last minute to take the scenic route to his brother’s home. He wasn’t sure what had pushed him to do it; curiosity, maybe. He hadn’t been home in four years.

Velaris hadn’t changed much in the years since he’d been gone. Honestly it was like looking into a time capsule— everything was almost identical to how it had been when he’d blown out of town to chase his dreams. Driving through the small town, he was immediately transported back in time to his high school and college days.

Ahead on his right was the park where he’d met Feyre, Nesta, and Elain not long after the Archeron family had moved to Velaris. He still remembered that night perfectly: he’d been having a normal conversation with Azriel when Feyre walked over, her sisters in tow, and his entire world had stopped the moment his eyes fell on Nesta. She was without a doubt the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. Dressed simply in a gray t-shirt dress and sandals, her long golden brown hair was braided around her head. Cassian remembered marveling, knowing that something so intricate had to have taken quite a bit of time. Nesta hadn’t appreciated the staring, and made sure to tell him as much as soon as she walked up to him.

He abruptly shook himself out of the memory, trying to focus on driving so he didn’t get lost in his past and the girl who still haunted his dreams even four years later. But then just a bit further down the road, there was the restaurant where he’d taken her on their first date, almost a year after he’d met her. It had taken him so long to get her to go out with him, he honestly thought she’d just agreed to get him to leave her alone. But that night he’d walked her to the door and he’d said goodnight, not wanting to push her too far. He had moved to leave when she’d grabbed him by the shirt and kissed him. Nesta was the kind of girl who knew what she wanted, even back then, and that first kiss broke and remade him all at once.

The entire drive to Rhys’s house was a lot of the same. He passed their spot, a hidden trail leading back to a small lake that he’d taken Nesta to after six months of dating, which was where they had their first time. He still sometimes got embarrassed at how awkward he’d been then. He passed the Archeron’s old house, now occupied by a different family, which was where he told her he loved her for the first time. Everywhere he turned, memories of him and Nesta haunted him like a ghost. It left him unsettled, that despite years of silence and trying to forget and move on, Nesta was still so much a part of who he was.

He was glad when he finally pulled Rhys’s driveway, able to put the memories of the past to bed and focus on the present. His excitement at being home increased exponentially as he got out of the car; he’d missed his brothers, and despite how infrequently they communicated he still loved his family fiercely.

He knocked on the door twice and within seconds it was opening. He hadn’t expected it to be the tall and lithe woman his brother had been in love with nearly a decade, but his grin was genuine as Feyre laughed in delight and all but jumped into his arms, hugging him tight. He wrapped a strong arm around her, hefting her up as he pushed further into their house. He set her down and he ruffled her hair when she looked back at him.

She batted his hand away. “I was worried I wouldn’t recognize you.”

He raised a brow. “I’m hurt. It’s only been a few years.”

Feyre rolled her eyes and turned towards the staircase. “Rhys, my favorite brother is here!”

Cassian laughed as Rhys came down the stairs, shaking his head. “Gone four years and you’re already trying to steal my fiancée, brother.”

The two hugged firmly, and Cassian tried to ignore the tightness in his throat. He remembered the last time he’d seen Rhys in person. It had been a year after he left, and his brother had all but begged him to come home. But Cassian had been so entrenched in his work, climbing up the ladder at the law office he’d joined, and he’d refused. It had led to a huge argument, and though it had long since been resolved, Cassian still thought about it almost everyday.

“It’s good to see you,” Rhys told him, clapping him on the shoulder. “I hope you’re ready for some wedding planning because we have about five more seconds before Feyre darling sends you out on a task.”

Feyre’s slim hand smacked Rhys’s arm. “I was going to ease him into it.”

Cassian huffed a laugh, meeting his future sister-in-law’s eyes. “Tell me what you need.”

Feyre rattled off that she needed him to pick up all the stationary waiting at the printing shop, place cards and thank you notes and custom signs to scatter around the wedding venue. She gave him the receipt and told him where it was, even though it was unnecessary. It seemed that nothing had changed in this small town, and that included the local printing shop. He was willing to bet it was still owned by the same old woman that had printed their graduation announcements so many years ago.

The shop was near the town center, and he parked on the side of the road next to the library. He got out and looked at the towering structure, knowing that it used to be the town hall hundreds of years ago when Velaris used to only have a few hundred people. Now it was the library, and his mind drifted back to spending summers there, doing book reports on books he never actually read. He remembered finding Nesta there the next week after he’d met her and her sisters, nestled in a quiet corner with a book in her hands.

He’d been surprised; he’d only known her for a week but she had struck him as the reading type. He remembered he had come up to her to talk to her and she’d hid the book behind her back, a light blush staining her cheeks, taking his breath away which he had tried to hide with a laugh. He’d managed to grab the book from her hands and saw that it was one of the smutty romances that were in the adult section that he and his brothers had snickered at as young teens.

A slight smile turned his lips up as he remembered how embarrassed and angry she’d been, and how she’d gotten him back by “accidentally” spilling her drink all over his pants during lunch. He’d been mocked for weeks.

He blinked, pulling himself out of the memory, shaking his head slightly. Gods, he was going to go insane if he stayed in this town longer than he had to. It was bad enough he was here for over a week. He’d have to stay holed up in his hotel room as much as possible if he wanted to escape wave after wave of memories and nostalgia that seemed to crash into him without any warning.

Cassian headed down the street and grabbed all the wedding stationary from the printing shop. Sure enough, it was that same old lady. And she’d been delighted that he was back in town, patting his cheeks and telling him to come by before he left. He’d given her his charming grin, but he’d left feeling… off.

The drive back to Rhys and Feyre’s house was a blur, trying not to let his mind wander as he pulled into the driveway. Hefting the large paper bags that held everything Feyre had ordered, he walked up the steps and reached for the doorknob with his free hand.

The door opened before his fingers even brushed the cool metal, a figure he’d almost mistaken as Feyre standing in the doorway. She was dressed in dark blue scrubs, her golden brown hair braided in that all too familiar crown around her head. Her smooth, flawless face froze in an expression of pure shock, her full lips falling open as she stared at him.

He knew his own mouth was hanging open, his heart in his throat as he met the steel blue gaze of the woman he had known better than he’d known himself. A woman he’d loved fiercely for almost seven years, a face that haunted his dreams even when he tried so hard to forget her.

He hadn’t seen her, handn’t heard from her, hadn’t even heard her voice in four years but Nesta Archeron’s silky tone still managed to raise goosebumps along his skin as she blurted out, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

-

@werewolffprince

@schmlip-scribble

@justgiu12

@westofmoon

@legallyhermione

@love-is-a-contradiction

@shyvioletcat

@oversizedbats

@superspiritfestival

@ladywitchling

@highqueenofelfhame

@disgreisful

@empress-ofbloodshed

@lovemollywho

@rocky99