#and whatever the ruby/belle relationship is called | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

shireness-says · 7 years ago

Text

Scrooges and Setups

Summary: Emma doesn't want to work Storybrooke's yearly winter carnival. She especially doesn't want to work the kissing booth. And she really really doesn't want Mary Margaret to turn this into a setup. ~5.5K. Also on AO3.

A/N: Another pre-tumblr one, transferred over for the Fandom Crescendo! This is another really fun one. I particularly enjoyed writing Wildly Inappropriate Ruby - hopefully I can revisit that soon... Still unbeta’d. Rated T because my basic vocabulary includes a lot of swear words. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Emma’s neighbor, Mary Margaret, is a witch. Or a demon. A witch or a demon very focused on the holiday spirit and community service. She must be. It’s the only explanation for how Emma Swan – full time bartender, part-time hermit, and slight Scrooge – has been roped into volunteering at the Storybrooke Winter Carnival.

(Well, that and the fact that M’s said all the proceeds went to help out the local children’s home – a cause that could melt even Emma’s cold heart.

But still. Probably witchcraft too.)

Emma has volunteered – been volunteered? The technicalities are still a bit of a blur to her – but that doesn’t mean she has to be happy about it. She’ll be there, just not with rings on her fingers or bells on her toes, or whatever the kids say. She certainly won’t be wearing a Santa hat or a Christmas sweater or any of that nonsense. Mary Margaret will just have to deal.

It’s not that Emma hates Christmas, per se. She really has nothing against the holiday, it’s just not something she celebrates. Growing up in the system, she was lucky to get a new pair of shoes for Christmas. Maybe a dollar store craft set or some school supplies. As an adult, she’s never really had anyone to celebrate with. But she moved to Storybrooke back in March – just needed a change in pace, had sporadically kept in touch with Jeff after they both aged out of the system, and finally caved to his begging for her to move closer – and discovered very quickly that holidays here were a Very Big Deal. Especially when you lived next door to Mary Margaret Blanchard, local princess and holiday enthusiast.

Technically, she has the whole day off. When she asked Jeff for a few hours off from the Rabbit Hole, he had gotten very excited – “Of course Emma! It’s so great to see you getting involved! Grace and I will see you there!” – and given her much more time than she had requested. She could get to the town square early, like a respectful professional. But she doesn’t. Emma doesn’t want to go at all, so she shows up as late as she thinks she can get away with without being yelled at by the petite, pixie-d brunette.

Even Emma has to admit, the square looks great. Mary Margaret has clearly gone all out, stringing lights everywhere, all the booths decked out in candy stripes, garlands and snowflakes everything. Unfortunately, Emma barely has a moment to admire the scene before the woman herself comes rushing over. In an elf costume. Of course.

“You barely made it on time, Emma!” she scolds. Emma’s not entirely sure why – she was on time, right? As Emma contemplates this, Mary Margaret has clearly moved past her pseudo-disappointment, ushering Emma across the grass towards God-knows-where. “That’s alright, the person you’re working with is late too, it will be fine. You’ll be working right over here.”

And then M’s stops right in front of the kissing booth.

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

No, no, it’s not enough just to think that thought. “Mary Margaret, are you kidding me? What the hell?”

At least Mary Margaret has the grace to look chastened. “Well, you see, almost everyone else has a significant other… I just thought, you’re so pretty, you could pull a lot of traffic and make a lot of money for – “ and oh God, Emma does not want to hear about the kind of traffic she’ll pull.

“I need you to stop right there, Mary Margaret, before this sounds even more like you’re prostituting me out than it already feels.”

At least she has the decency to look slightly ashamed.

Looking around the room, Emma sees a crowd of people with better jobs than her. David is at the arcade games, taking tickets; Regina is manning the silent auction table; Robin is making a valiant effort at the cotton candy stand. Ruby and Belle even get to work together, selling pie – both the ones made by Granny and the more questionable products of Belle’s recent cookbook explorations. Meanwhile, she’s stuck here. At the kissing booth. Where she has to kiss people.

“It won’t be that bad,” Mary Margaret tries to reason. “You won’t even have to kiss everyone! We set it up on a wheel, and only half the options it lands on are for a kiss! The rest are for, like, Granny’s coupons and free arcade tickets. And there’s another person too! So, you know, that’s not so bad, right?”

Emma wants to scream, wants to cuss Mary Margaret out, but the fact of the matter is that she can’t say no to the sweet teacher’s cherub face. So she’s left weakly nodding, as Mary Margaret beams.

“Wonderful! Thank you so much for doing this, Emma, you won’t regret it! Now, you can take two 15 minute breaks as long as your booth partner is still here, it’s a dollar per spin, and doors open in fifteen minutes. Great? Great!”

Mary Margaret is officially a whirlwind of enthusiasm and Emma has no idea how she’s gotten pulled in. Again, probably witchcraft. She thinks the worst is over, she hears M’s pipe up one more time.

“Oh! Here’s your booth partner now! Killian, over here!”

And when Emma thought things couldn’t get worse, she was wrong, because M’s looks far too innocent and yet, at the same time, smug, to not be up to something.

A man – Killian, must be – veers in their direction, and Emma realizes in a horrible moment of clarity that today isn’t just forced merriment and community service, isn’t just being roped into working a kissing booth. No. This is a damned setup.

Emma could kill her neighbor. She really could.

“Killian, it’s so good to see you! This is Emma, she’ll tell you all about how this works. I think David needs something, I’ll see you both later!”

And then she bolts. The witch.

To his credit, this Killian does look a little confused. Emma almost feels bad for him. “I take it she didn’t tell you where you’d be working, either?”

He scratches behind his ear – somewhat adorably, at that.

(No, not adorably. She resents Mary Margaret’s efforts to meddle. She will not be charmed by this man who’s been shoved in her direction.)

“Er… not as much, no. I actually figured I’d be working with my brother.”

She’s not particularly interested, but this whole situation is bad enough as it is. There’s no need to add an awkward silence to make things worse. So instead, she asks the obvious question. “Your brother?”

He practically beams, and Emma hopes she hasn’t encouraged him too much. “Yeah, my brother, Liam. He and his fiancé are over working the snow cone station.”

Sure enough, glancing over, she sees a tall, curly-headed man with Killian’s eyes handling the cash box as a slender blonde works the ice shaver with gusto. As she turns a skeptical eye back to Killian, he shrugs.

“I know, it looks awfully unchivalrous, but would you believe me if I said she insisted? Says it’s a good place to work out her stress. Elsa’s actually got arms of steel under that fleece.”

Emma can only hum in return. She’s fine, now to let things fall into silence, but her new booth partner jumps back in. “I’m Killian Jones, by the way. Work down at the docks. And you are…?”

“Emma. Swan. Bartender.” She quickly remembers the instructions M’s tasked her with. “I guess it’s a buck to spin the wheel, and we get two fifteen minute breaks, whenever you want, as long as I’m here to be in charge.”

He nods. “Simple enough.” But suddenly – maybe it’s because she put him at ease, letting talk about his brother – she can just see him put on an attitude. “What do you say, love? Want to practice kissing before the crowds get here?”

And ugh, she remembers why she doesn’t do set ups.

This is going to suck.

------

It becomes quickly obvious that Emma and Jones have very different strategies for the day.

Emma’s plan was to sit slouched in one of the provided chairs, generally looking unenthusiastic and discouraging any traffic. Killian, on the other hand, has taken up the role of a carnival barker, bringing in a steady stream of traffic.

“Having fun yet, Swan?” he offers after the first half hour. Emma can only glare.

------

She was right. This fucking sucks.

Ok, not all of it is bad. A troop of Mary Margaret’s second graders came through, and it was very cute how the little boys blushed when she planted one on their cheeks. And it was hilarious seeing one particularly bold little girl pull Killian down to plant one on him, instead of the other way around.

However, with the good, comes the bad. The very, very bad, in the form of Leroy.

Emma doesn’t normally have issues with Leroy – he’s a bit cantankerous, sure, but so is Emma, and he tips decently whenever he’s at the Rabbit Hole. Which is often.

But today, he seems bound and determined to test Emma’s patience. In the two and a half hours the carnival’s been running, he’s come by the booth three times, and is now approaching for a fourth. And, of course, he’s landed the wheel on a kiss every time. Bastard. If he lands on kiss a fourth time, he’s not getting a smooch – he’s getting a knee to the balls.

The universe truly must have it out for her today, because he does land on a kiss again. Of fucking course. She watches, practically in slow motion, as Leroy leans in, and with a feeling of dread, Emma just knows that he’s going for the lips this time. She braces herself, ready to punch him or knee him or something else violent… when Killian swoops in and pecks him on the cheek.

“There you go, Leroy, a nice smooch. You enjoy the rest of your afternoon!”

Leroy sputters, but stalks off as Emma just looks at Killian with confusion – and wonder.

“Uh… thanks. I think. I could have taken care of that, but thanks.”

He chuckles. “Oh, I’m perfectly aware of that, darling, I just thought I’d spare you the trouble and scraped knuckles. Let’s just hope that nuisance doesn’t come back.”

(And when Leroy does start making his way over, another fifteen minutes later, Emma happily takes Killian up on his suggestion that she take advantage of one of her breaks.)

------

Emma takes the opportunity during her break to go talk to Ruby and Belle. Not only can Ruby catch her up on any gossip there might be about Jones (because mark her words, that man is a mystery), but she can probably weasel some pie out of them to boot. She needs food, after all.

As she approaches the ladies, it’s a struggle not to laugh at Belle’s forlorn look – seemingly over her poor culinary attempts.

“Of course they taste fine, babe!” she overhears Ruby placate as she approaches. “They just… well, they’re not the prettiest. But so tasty, and isn’t that what matters?”

Emma has to admit, Belle’s pies do look a little bit of a mess next to Granny’s masterpieces, what with their deflating meringues and messy, torn up crusts and lattices. Emma takes pity on the poor woman and orders a hefty piece of the Boston crème pie. (It is actually pretty good, looks aside.)

Newly distracted by Emma’s presence, Ruby turns to her with a wolfish grin and a waggle of the eyebrows. “So, I see Mary Margaret walked you right into a set up again. At least he’s good looking.”

Belle has a more concerned look on her face. Really, some days it’s a wonder how her and Ruby’s relationship works so well. “You be nice to him, Emma. He’s a lovely man, more sensitive than he lets on.”

That perks Emma’s attention. “You know him, then? What can you tell me?”

Ruby smirks. “Oh, we know him alright. Comes into the diner for coffee every weekday morning, volunteers at the library Saturday afternoons. He’s the harbormaster, I think, whatever the hell that means.”

It’s nice to hear the information that Ruby has, but these kinds of details are a little useless to Emma. She could follow him around for week if she wanted his schedule. “C’mon, Ruby, what’s the gossip? What’s he like? I can’t get a proper read on this guy. “

Ruby pauses to think for a moment before delivering her information with almost business-like efficiency. “He’s… careful, I guess. Does everything with purpose, like he’s thought it through. Likes to fancy himself a gentleman, even when he’s playing up that cocky flirty thing, and for the most part it’s true. Positively devoted to his brother, nearly to the point of hero worship. Rumor is he was engaged a few years back, before he and his brother showed up in Storybrooke, but it’s anyone’s guess what happened there.”

Belle takes the opportunity to cut in. “I mean it, Emma, be careful with him. He’s a really good guy, and even if he doesn’t want to admit it, he deserves a lot more than your usual one and done.”

It’s a lot to process. But her break is almost over, her pie is long since gone, and Emma has to work her way back to her own personal hell – the damned kissing booth.

------

Jones looks disturbingly smug as she walks back over, making Emma more nervous than she’d like to admit. “What are you smirking at?” she grumbles, sliding back into her seat.

If anything, that only makes the smirk grow. “Oh, nothing. Just observing you ladies talking about me.”

It’s infuriating, really, how he’s able to read her like that. All the same, she has a near compulsive need to not let on how right he is. “How do you know that’s what we were talking about? For all you know, we were talking about pie. Some of Belle’s efforts are real shockers.”

He scoffs. “Please, I saw all the glances cast my way. It’s quite alright, darling, I don’t mind. Though it would have been much simpler just to ask me your questions. So, what did they tell you?”

She should just keep her mouth shut, but Emma is fully entrenched in her defensive stance. “Who says I learned anything?”

“Please, Swan, don’t insult my intelligence. Anyways, don’t I have the right to know?”

She sighs. Jeez, the man can wear her down. “You know, just the basic. You volunteer at the library, love your brother, have some fancy job at the docks. That kind of thing. Don’t get your knickers in a twist.”

“Ah, the basics,” he replies in a mock-serious tone with a lift of his eyebrows. “And did you get all the answers you wanted?”

Emma shrugs, for lack of a better answer. Unfortunately, Jones seems to take that as encouragement.

“Well, as I’m sure you’ve learned, I hold the very official-sounding job of harbormaster, which usually means I’d be in charge of monitoring incoming shipments, but since this is Storybrooke, it mostly means I collect the monthly docking fees and try to pay attention to whether everyone makes it back safely at night. I do have a brother, who is an absolutely insufferable git but who I love anyways, and who I have a minor hero complex towards. I’m working on it. I am also working on various insecurity and self-confidence issues, as well as a former over-dependence on alcohol to ignore my problems. In my spare time, I read far too many murder mysteries, dream about purchasing my own ship, and am desperately trying to keep a houseplant alive long enough to be comfortable adopting a dog. Does that about cover things?”

She nods mutely. Really, it’s the most thorough introduction she could have hoped for.

“Excellent.”

They work in silence for a few more minutes, collecting a few more dollars and distributing a few more kisses, before Emma interrupts their pattern.

“Ruby said you used to be engaged?”

It’s like a sudden, icy wall crashes down over his expression. “Yes. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think it’s time I took one of my breaks.”

And he stalks off in the direction of the snow cone stand, leaving Emma wondering just what the hell she’s done.

------

It’s a little fascinating, watching the brothers Jones interact. There’s so clearly an older sibling/younger sibling dynamic between the two, the way Liam puts on a look of patient exasperation while Killian rants, and then Killian looks chastened while Liam calmly replies. Eventually, the younger just slumps and collapses in on himself as the elder rubs his back comfortingly. Emma doesn’t have a sibling – the closest thing she has is Jeff, thanks to three years of being in the same group home and then the same school, where he looked after her in his own eccentric way. It’s truly interesting to her, watching the way these two interact, seeing what a sibling relationship can be like and should be like. It’s almost enough to ignore the frequent glances thrown in her direction.

Inevitably, she gets distracted by the carnival-goers, and by the time she can turn her attention elsewhere again, Jones is wandering back to the booth, visibly less tense. Whatever Liam had to say must have been damn effective. As he approaches, his hand raises to scratch behind his ear, like some kind of nervous habit.

“I trust that Leroy didn’t bother you in my absence?”

Emma shrugs in return. “Nah, he stayed away. Think he discovered Sister Astrid at the hand-dipped candle booth, poor thing.”

“Good, good.” He shifts on his feet, looking uncomfortable, like he’s trying to find some difficult words. “Look, I’m sorry I reacted the way I did, and then ran off and left you to the wolves. Bad form, that. It’s just… I don’t talk about Milah particularly often. It’s difficult, and I’m not particularly keen on it.”

Immediately, Emma understands where she went wrong, and feels distinctly uncomfortable. God, she really stuck her foot in her mouth this time, didn’t she? “You don’t have to if you don’t want to – forget I asked.”

“No, no, as Liam reminded me, you didn’t mean badly. And since you’ve rather been forced into this set up – “

“I swear, M’s must have pulled this from a damned Hallmark movie – “

“ – forced into this setup, it’s only right that you know who you’ve been shoved into company with.” He takes a deep breath, like he’s steeling himself for what he’s about to say, and God, Emma feels like the shittiest human alive. “I was engaged. To the most wonderful woman. But then she died, right in my arms – an undiagnosed heart condition, they said. And I haven’t really put myself out there since. Something Liam likes to remind me, actually. Milah was just… she was my entire life. My world centered on making her happy. It’s hard to bounce back from that. That was one of the reason I moved here, actually –I needed to escape all the memories in Boston, and Liam already lived here. It was a natural choice. But I don’t talk about my Milah very often, because it makes me upset, and I desperately need to move on with my life. So I’m sorry that I stormed off on you earlier, Swan. It truly wasn’t something personal. I’m just… out of practice, talking about this.”

There’s probably a lot of things she should say, try to comfort him and whatnot. Any number of things would have been appropriate. But Emma’s not good with feelings – her own or others’. So instead, she blurts out a “How do you know Mary Margaret?” It’s a non sequitur, sure, but it’s the best she can do. Show that she doesn’t care or that his outburst doesn’t change anything or that she’s not judging him or… whatever.

He blinks a few times, clearly thrown, before grinning. Lucky for her, he apparently understands Emma’s sloppy attempts at connecting. “It’s a little bit of a stretch actually. Liam is a deputy at the police station with David, Mary Margaret’s husband. And I’m sure you know how she tries to take care of everyone. You’re the neighbor, right?”

“For better or worse. Today, it’s worse, I think.”

Jones – Killian laughs. He’s got a nice laugh, really. “I take it, based on the grumbling, this is one of the ‘worse’ days?”

“You bet your ass it is,” she mutters as another townsperson walks over. Thankfully, they just win a Granny’s coupon – no kiss – and actually seem to be pretty happy about that. “Mary Margaret has been great to me, but she’s just… so much. I’m not really big on Christmas, and definitely not big on setups.”

Interestingly, he focuses on her first point rather than her second. Emma is choosing to believe that means he agrees with her on the matchmaking front. “You’re not big on Christmas, Swan? Don’t tell me you’re some kind of Grinch.”

Emma rolls her eyes. “I don’t actively hate it, like a Grinch, I just… never really had a reason to go all out celebrating.” She pauses. After his deep, heartfelt story of lost love, she feels like he might deserve a little glimpse of herself. Quid pro quo or whatnot. “Growing up in the system, very few families actually made a big deal about the holiday for the kids in their care. Those few who did, I always kinda felt like an outsider, like the holiday wasn’t for me, somehow. Then ever since I aged out, it’s just been me, by myself. Hard to make a big deal of the holiday for yourself.”

Killian looks vaguely scandalized. Appalled, even. “Well, that simply won’t stand! You have to come to Liam and I’s yearly bash next week.”

“I don’t know…” she tries to start, but he’s butting back in.

“Ruby and Belle will be there, and so will Mary Margaret and David – not to mention, my handsome self – so you can’t say you won’t know anyone. Plus…” He goes for the ear scratch again. God, that really is a nervous habit with him, isn’t it? “Plus, our first annual party was right after I moved to town, so I could meet everyone. Seems only right to pass it on.”

Emma has to admit, it is oddly poetic. She finds herself nodding an affirmative, almost without conscious thought. It’s worth it though, to see the way his face lights up when he realizes she’s accepted his invite.

“Excellent! I promise, Swan, you’ll have a hell of a time. Now, if I can recommend getting really back to work and attracting more people? I know our cash pull has been impressive, but I think we can rustle up even more. I must say, we make quite the team.”

She groans, dreading more kissing wheel contestants, but he does have a point – when it comes to this awful holiday tradition, at least, they make quite the team.

------

The rest of the afternoon goes a lot more smoothly. After all their talk of the personal, conversation comes a lot easier between the two, and she actually finds herself enjoying his company. Beneath that cocky exterior really is a sweet man, she’s shocked and relieved to learn.

Most of their time is spent betting on who each approaching townsperson is looking to buy a kiss from. He’s pretty good at it, actually – guessing who is motivated by a crush, who is motivated by getting a laugh, and who just wants to pick whoever seems less scary (those always go his way – somehow, they prefer his charming smile to her scowl). The one exception to this is when Jefferson and Gracie swing by. Killian had seen the excitable seven-year-old and had automatically assumed his good looks would be more of a draw to a young girl. It’s gratifying, in some sort of hilarious way, to see the confusion on his face when Emma gives the little girl an enthusiastic smooch, and receives one in return. As the two stand together, cackling at Killian’s confused face, it finally dawns on him that he’s been had.

“Oh, that’s cheating, Swan, not telling me you knew the lass. Bad form, that.”

He is, however, able to overlook that small deception when he takes his second break (and is it really a deception, if he just made assumptions without full information that she didn’t bother to correct?) and brings her back a hot dog and onion rings from Granny’s booth when he returns, on the logic that “the lines are bloody awful, love, I’m just saving you the hassle.”

It’s weird. She didn’t want to like Killian, when Mary Margaret so clumsily threw him into her path, but she does. He’s got a good sense of humor and a competitive streak that rivals her own and fancies himself a gentleman, like he’s straight out of some ridiculous Regency romance or something.

Emma could overanalyze that, if she wanted to. Probably will when she gets home. But for now, she gratefully accepts the snack and moves to enjoy her own break.

------

“So, when you gonna jump that hot piece of ass?”

Ruby, ever the picture of subtlety.

Belle, at least, has the decency to look shocked by her girlfriend’s actions. “Ruby!”

Unfortunately, Ruby will not be contained. “I’m, just saying, they’re getting pretty cozy now that they’re over whatever that spat was earlier. She could do a lot worse, you know.”

They both focus their attention on Emma at that moment, almost like they’ve been cued. “Well?” Ruby asks impatiently.

“He’s… not what I expected.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” God, somebody really needs to sign Ruby up for etiquette lessons.

Emma narrowly avoids rolling her eyes. “I don’t know, he’s just… he likes to act like he’s so cocky, you know? And he really isn’t. I totally thought he was going to be a dick, but…”

“But now you might get the dick?”

“Ruby!” Belle hisses, clearly mortified, even if her partner isn’t. Turning to Emma in a clear attempt to move on from Ruby’s antics, she asks “So do you think you’ll go out with him sometime? Oh, Emma, I think you two could have such a lovely time together.” She quickly holds up a stern finger at the sight of Ruby’s smirk. “Do not say ‘in bed’ or so help me God.”

Emma just shrugs. “I don’t know. I might go to his Christmas party, see what happens from there.”

And true, she still has a few more minutes and doesn’t strictly have to leave right that second, but Emma still chooses to make her excuses and head back to her own booth. There’s only so many quips she can take from Ruby before she snaps.

------

Before she knows it, the day is over, and she and Killian are gathering their things to leave. She’s almost sad – Emma may have been dreading this day for weeks, but Killian really made it almost bearable.

For some inconceivable reason, he almost looks nervous, scratching behind his ear yet again. “So… I know I mentioned our little holiday party earlier, but do you think you would like to come? I mean, you don’t have to but it’s a good time and there will be drinks if nothing else and –“

Emma quickly nods before his sentence can ramble any further.

His face lights up for a moment, before he devolves back into stuttering. “Ok! Yes. Good. Ok. Ok, well, I guess I’ll have Liam give an invite to David to give to you?”

“Yeah, that’ll work.”

There’s an awkward silence, their first in long while. Emma feels like they should be marking the end of this day somehow special, but she’s coming up with nothing. “So…” she finally breaks in. “I’ll see you around, then?”

He looks a little disappointed, but nods all the same. “Of course, Swan.” And then, the bastard, he lifts her hand to press a kiss to its back. “It’s been a pleasure, Emma.”

She barely manages to nod dumbly and mumble out a “You too” before she turns and leaves. Well, flees more like. But for once, it’s not out of some great fear of commitment or being left behind and disappointed. This time, it’s purely so she doesn’t say anything else that would make her look like a damn fool.

Her reaction probably isn’t ideal, but she’s standing behind it.

------

She tries to focus all week. She really does. But the bar is shockingly slow for this time of year (hey, if she had a family, she’d probably be trying to escape them at the bar too) and TV is all reruns and Emma just can’t stop thinking about blue eyes and a kiss to the hand and the way that she really, really wants to see him again.

She’ll never admit it out loud, of course. When Ruby or Mary Margaret mention the party, she grumbles like always (not looking forward to the party is accurate, at least – she’d rather be with him in her own empty apartment for more private celebrations, seasonal or otherwise, than at some ridiculous themed party). But she really wants to see him again. Which is weird, because Emma hates setups on principle. And the idea of Mary Margaret being all smug about the whole thing… ugh. So when she finally gives into the inevitability of thinking about Killian, she uses the time to prepare herself emotionally for the God awful sappy, smug, or downright inappropriate reactions she’s sure she’ll receive from everyone in her life.

------

Saturday comes sooner than expected, despite the fact that the rest of the week seems to drag, and Emma finds herself prepping for a party. If Ruby was here, Emma is sure she would have been squeezed into some kind of skin-tight dress and stilettos, but Emma’s been left to her own sartorial devices, so a white sweater with boots it is. Hey, she’s going to wear her red leather jacket, that’s Christmasy enough.

For all of her confidence during the week, her determination to actually make a damn move, she can feel her boldness draining away the closer her Bug gets to Liam and Elsa’s little seaside cottage. By the time she reaches their door, holding a bottle of whiskey like some kind of armor (and let’s face it, she’ll probably need drinks to get through this night), Emma is about ready to turn tail and run. Before she can talk herself out of it, she rings the doorbell, hoping someone hears her over the din she can already hear through the door.

And of course, all her fears are put to rest the moment the door opens, because Killian looks positively thrilled to see her.

“Swan! You made it!”

“Yep, I’m here. Grinch spirit and all.” Before she can well and truly lose her nerve, she jerks a thumb back into the darkness. “Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?”

Killian looks a little confused, but apparently is willing anyways. “Sure, I suppose I can step away for a moment.”

They find a spot around the side of the house where it’s finally quiet enough for her to talk freely.

“Is anything the matter, love? I know you’re not big on Christmas but I promise there’s no more than two stupid games in there and there’s a few people you know and I really think –“

“Did you have fun the other day? At the booth? With me?” And oh, that’s certainly smooth, well done Emma.

“Well, yes, surprisingly, I had a lovely time with you. Ridiculous games aside.”

“Do you want to have fun again?”

“Do I want to have fun again?”

“Yes. Fun. With me. In a setting that doesn’t involve a kissing wheel.”

His grin starts slow, but grows to stretch from ear to ear. “Emma, are you trying to ask me on a date?”

Part of Emma wants to protest, because she typically Does Not Do Dating. But she sucks it up, raises her chin, and answers a definitive “Yes. If you want.”

He scoffs. “If I want? Emma, I would have suggested our own version of the kissing wheel at the carnival if I didn’t think it would end poorly. I’d love to go on a date with you.”

Finally, the universe is working in her favor, because after a moment smiling goofily at one another, they move together simultaneously to share a kiss. A good kiss. A really, really great kiss that she’d be up for repeating every day of the week and extra on Sundays.

As they finally break apart to walk back inside the house hand and hand, Emma suddenly has perhaps the weirdest, craziest thought yet.

Maybe she could get into this Christmas thing after all.

#my writing #scrooges and setups #ouat fandom crescendo #cs ff #cs modern au #christmas in may #featuring grouchy emma #wildly inappropriate ruby #and whatever the ruby/belle relationship is called #oh and a kissing booth

14 notes · View notes

linseymiller · 3 years ago

Note

It’s recently occurred to me that the characters in your books are your OCs, and I LOVE to talk about my OCs, so is there anything about Lord Ruby (or the rest of the Left Hand) that wasn’t shared in the books, but you Know and want to share? 👀 (still obsessed with Mask of Shadows)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So much of my little thoughts are lost to time (by which I mean in notebooks on my shelf), but thank you for asking this, @sarcastic-fandomtastic-dragon!

Here are some general facts. Some I’ve talked about before and some I maybe haven’t:

Emerald had a pet squirrel in Ruin of Stars. She nursed it back to health after Five nearly killed it, and trained it to sit on her shoulder and fetch small things for her.

If the series had been a trilogy (it should not have been, but regardless), then Ruby and Sal would have spent book two developing a very close mentor-mentee bond.

Isidora is pregnant in Ruin and her son is named Rodolfo.

Rodolfo/Ruby was Nicolas’s apprentice when he was still at school.

Maud’s the sole provider for her and her siblings, and one absolutely adores Sal.

Amethyst is not from Erlend or Alona. She auditioned for her role after traveling through Erlend after the war (which she fought in) and witnessing an assassination attempt on Isidora while visiting Nic’shome. Amethyst was the only one who noticed Emerald killing the assassin.

Emerald was 100% aware that Amethyst was there and saw, and it was not an accident that Amethyst was told about the auditions by her employer once the old Amethyst retired.

The world of Mask of Shadows is the same world as the book I wrote before Mask. That story took place in Berengard and involved a magical smallpox, eight murdered gods and one god who was too busy reading to get murdered, and the origin of the shadows (called whispers in Berengard).

Some of those who went on to create Erlend were kicked out of Berengard because they tried to conquer it after accidentally destroying their own country.

In this world, immortality is usually a punishment. The time is meant to be spent atoning for past crimes.

In Belle, Laurence and Estrel foresaw their deaths and planned for them. They did not plan for Emilie and Annette.

Laurence’s mother was at the executions.

Emilie and Annette should really open that box.

In What We Devour, Crown of Strangling Vines reveals that he’s the Vile that cursed the original holder of Carlow’s curse, and he’s being honest when he tells her that it shouldn’t have gone on for so long. He was friends with a wrought and her wife back before the Door and Moon were created when Noble and Vile still existed in the world, but they were killed during a disagreement about the nature of wrought. He believed all of their children had been killed and cursed the person who had killed them. That’s the origin of Carlow’s curse.

He was locked behind the Door before he realized how long and how horrible the curse would be.

Alistair's boyfriend was one of several people Alistair tried to get close to, but he doesn't understand that his social and political power is a threat even when he is not being actively threatening, so his relationships never lasted long.

Delmond Creek was far older than he let on, cursed by the Noble Crown of A Time For All Seasons, and he did legitimately hate Carlow.

Vines was one of the first Vile to make a deal with mortals to prevent them from devouring him and to stop mortals from being wiped out. He didn’t want mortals to die because he thought they were fun. Now, though, he understands why they try to live forever and just dreads the day his latest crop of mortal acquaintances dies.

Franziska Carlow is never going to die unless she wants to. Lorena's on thin ice (if the ice is immortality). Vines likes Basil but knows they would hate immortality.

Noble sought perfect order to the point of physically altering whatever wasn’t perfect according to them, and that included mortals in mind, body, and soul. There’s a lot of body horror in that lore.

The lore of the Noble and Vile overlaps with another series I want to write, and if I do get to write it, there will be nods to Vines and Carlow in there.

If ice cream existed in Devour, Basil’s favorite would be mint chip.

And ignore the poor writing but enjoy the terrible rhyming.

#mask of shadows #ruin of stars #belle revolte #what we devour #spoilers #worldbuilding

21 notes · View notes

fishyfod · 4 years ago

Text

(Slightly) more organized thoughts on the V8 finale.

tl;dr I think the finale had some issues.

I’ll start this off by emphasizing again that this is my opinion, so read something else if you can’t handle negative criticism of RWBY. I say this because too often people in this FNDM can’t handle a difference in opinion without insulting or patronizing others, and I want none of that.

Now, RWBY’s general structural issue is a lack of time to fulfill all their ambitions, and they usually tend to neglect one aspect a bit more than others. In volumes 7 and 8 this proved to be quite a problem, because they wanted to tell quite a complicated story while introducing a fairly large amount of new and returning characters. I very much like the story they told in these volumes, but it must be said that the development and focus on the regular cast, and team RWBY in particular, has suffered for it. It’s not a deal breaker for me personally, but I do think it’s an issue.

So when I saw the finale episode only had about 20 minutes, I figured the best course of choice for RWBY would be to focus on the Atlas-only plots, and leave RWBY & co’s stories for the next volume, which by all accounts seems to be focused only on their character. And credit where credit is due, this is what RWBY decided to do with this finale. This doesn’t really solve the underlying issue that the main cast has yet again been relegated to such a minor role in their own show, but I can live with it.

I still do have a problem with how RWBY’s role in this finale was handled, and forgive me because this might be the least well-explained part of this review. The best way to describe it would be that, though I know I’m watching team RWBY, they don’t feel present in the finale? I struggle to put my finger on it, if it’s more an issue of direction or execution, but something about RWBY’s fight felt off for me.

By comparison, when I think of the episode before, I don’t have this issue. While the way Yang fell isn’t RWBY’s best execution, the reactions of RWBY to that fall worked quite well. There was individual focus on Yang falling, Blake screaming and raging at it, Weiss’s heart breaking into two, Ruby falling into more despair - the tragedy works because of it. I don’t feel the same about the finale, RWB fall almost as if they’re passerby rather than the main characters.

Again, maybe this is just me, maybe I’ll change my mind later. Whatever.

I think Cinder is the one I’m most satisfied with. She seems in character, she acts a lot like she did in her confident state during Beacon, and I did get the impression Salem knows Cinder is lying to her. I admit that I did not expect this direction for Cinder, it seemed like the right spot to have her break free from Salem, but it’s too early for me to call where her arc is going to.

The only nitpick I have with Cinder is how she offed Arthur. I felt like it could have a little more focus? I get that his death is supposed to feel completely inconsequential, but I wish there was just a little bit more there. Again, only a nitpick.

Vine - I think my opinion on Vine’s death is quite unpopular. It felt too last minute, without enough setup. See, while killing Harriet here would have its own set of issues, she was well developed enough where you could actively feel for her, while also expecting a possible death. I can’t say the same about Vine; Vine is only a teensy bit more developed than Elm, which isn’t a lot. He’s making a huge sacrifice, but the lack of character makes him seem expendable by design. It feels like the writers put all their efforts into threatening Harriet’s life, realized last minute that actually they could a lot more with her character (good call), so they shoved in Vine in her place because they still needed a bomb sacrifice.

On the flip side, three of the Ace Ops surviving and proving once and for all they broke away from Ironwood too, with Harriet and Marrow still alive - that is good. I’m not sure what more they’re planning to do with their characters, but it’s preferable to far worse alternatives I can imagine. We’ll see.

Then there’s Penny. sigh

I’m not sure what I can add that P5, bell or cosmokyrin, and probably a few others haven’t already said, but I don’t think it was well written. The whole body-thing in “Creation”, sure, I can accept that was a difference of interpretation. This? This whole, let’s resurrect Penny, develop her immensely as a character, reaffirm her autonomy multiple times over, avoid multiple deaths, only to die like this?

I know the common comparison people make here is with V3, and I can see where people are coming from. After all, Pyrrha and Penny’s deaths were impactful and tragic there, and most people agree that was well written. What’s the difference here? Some differences in circumstance are worth visiting here.

Penny of the Beacon era, lovable character that she was already, was not the most developed character. At the end of the day, most of what we knew of Penny then was in relation to Ruby - we knew Ruby cared for her a lot, we knew why they bonded, so we had setup as to why her death would impact the Fall so much. It works, because it gave enough focus on her for us to care about, but not overly so where the shocking factor of the Fall wouldn’t work.

With Pyrrha, I think we all knew the signs were there at the end of the day. I’d argue that Pyrrha’s very conception as a character lead to her death, she was just slightly too perfect for us not to expect a tragedy to occur. Importantly, her major arc in V3 sets us up to her death - through her conversation with Ozpin’s gang and Jaune, the introduction of Ember and the soul transfer device, killing Penny - by the time Pyrrha dies you’re prepared for it, and it still hurts. Even if the tragic scenario presented (losing Pyrrha because of the soul transfer) wasn’t the one used, dying because she tried defending the use of those powers from Cinder made sense. It was enough of a switch you weren’t bored because you expected everything to go to plan, but it wasn’t too drastic where you felt completely unprepared for what would happen.

The trouble with how Penny’s death was handled here, is in part because they just kept pushing us to the edge, making us worry about one tragic scenario, another way for Penny to die, only to alleviate our fears - only to kill her off anyway in a completely separate way. It happened so often in these two volumes, when we were already fresh off recognizing Penny wasn’t dead in V3, that rather than feeling like an expected death that is tragic, is feels like they toyed with out perception constantly only because they could. When you raise and lower death flags over and over in such a small amount of time, the tragedy you aimed to convey is lost. Perhaps unintentionally, the point no longer seems to be telling a tragic story, it’s only playing this cruel game of perception with the audience. What’s the joke about Jean Grey in x-men, that she keeps being killed off and resurrected so often it’s hard to care about it all? Is this how I’m supposed to look at Penny, RWBY’s Jean Grey?

Granted, I’m not sure that if they committed to one consistent death threat with Penny and followed through, that necessarily would’ve been better. I’m not sure how I’d think of RWBY if she died from the virus, for example. At least, however, I’d be more confident in saying that was a difference of direction, rather than a difficult writing choice to comprehend.

It’s only fitting I’d talk about Winter now, huh? I think you all know my stance about her as a character, I’d argue that she, Ironwood and Cinder were the best handled characters in these two volumes by a fair margin, but the finale leaves me very conflicted about her.

On the one hand, it’s everything I want. Winter’s confrontation with Ironwood is like a mix of Blake facing off against Adam and Yang confronting Raven, and while not as impactful in terms of storytelling, they do deliver on the same fronts. Winter calls out Ironwood for his lies, establishing once and for all it was by her volition she broke off, her conscience that was always better, and there is something poetic about her gaining the Winter Maiden powers to fulfill her goal of protecting others.

...but I can’t separate this from Penny’s fate. And it frustrates me to no end, because I love her connection to Penny, I made comparisons of how it reminds of Bumbleby’s relationship, it drives their characters forward so much, heck, I like that Penny took a part in taking down Ironwood with Winter, in a sense. But because Penny’s death feels so contrived, its connection to Winter almost cheapens the importance of their relationship with each other. And it doesn’t seem quite needed either, since they individually as characters already broke free from Ironwood.

I can sort of see that I am supposed to interpret it as a tragedy, and I do indeed think Winter getting the Maiden powers is tragic for her character (not unlike Spring Maiden!Yang theories), and I am excited to see where this is going. I thought this was the end for Winter’s major impact on the story, but there’s a whole other arc waiting, and Penny’s a major part of it too.

To say I’m conflicted about Winter would be an understatement.

The actual silver lining, for me, is the post credit scene. Volume 9 is an opportunity for RWBY to try and change some of the problem I presented initially. My hope is that by focusing almost exclusively on team RWBY, with Jaune and Neo, and putting less emphasis on developing the settings of giant-tree-land and not over-complicating the plot. Hopefully, this would allow them to focus on developing the main cast again, in in particular addressing some of the main issues presented; notably, the Bees confessing, Ruby maybe reaching her breaking point, Yang’s issues being addressed, and hopefully something more individual for Blake and Weiss as well. Neo is an interesting curveball to throw into this equation, and I have a decent amount of hope with Jaune (although then I remember it’s probably going to be about Penny, and, ugh...).

Yeah, that’s all I have at the moment. If you want to talk about it, my inbox and DM’s are always open. If you disagree with me that’s fair, just give me the minimal amount of respect rather than being an ass about it.

#RWBY/#RWBY Spoilers/#RWBY Crit #RWDE #my posts

34 notes · View notes

mego42 · 5 years ago

Text

Shamelessly stealing @foxmagpie’s monthly rec thing without the ability to get my life together to do these on a monthly basis so, seasonal recs! So excited to see if I manage to do this again with anything remotely resembling consistency but i’ve been keeping the notes for approximately 43 years (or since ~september, whatever that means) so by god i’m gonna use them.

found my thrill - s_t_c_s / @sothischickshe

Turner POV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

guys turner is SO OBSESSED with Beth and Rio

both canonically and in this fic

it’s gr9

also features a weirdly soothing and relatable cord untangling moment as a metaphor

truly disturbingly relatable turner pov tbh

relentless boomer disdain, always a plus

led to the creation of this monstrosity, not sure what kind of a monster would do that

War In My Mind - mintletters16

Backread!!!!

post-213, gorgeous character study

guaranteed to make you feEl stUfF

I really love the like, cyclical, fractured pattern of Beth’s internal monologue, it gives the whole thing a really affecting at times dreamy, at times haunted vibe

the end twist is *chef’s kiss*

mourning bells - Ejunkiet / @ejunkiet

Backread!!!!

Later s2 era, Rio’s at a funeral, gets drunk and calls Beth

V short, kind of…..mmm, not sweet, but almost? Idk

It’s got a wistful sort of almost/i can be quiet with you vibe that i go extremely bonkers for

delinquents - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie

Lol are any of you actually not reading this yet?

g o d ch 8 where do i start

First off how ABSOLUTELY VERY DARE for the tragic angst that is delinquents!beth boland. This poor baby, this precious bean. MUST PROTEC

SHE’S TRYING HER BEST AND I LOVE HER

zero percent deserves dean’s clammy hands, no i have not forgotten, tattooed on my brain, will never forgive

I also love love love love LOVE the ruby/stan subplot happening

(and ruby’s mom!!!!!) (seriously though you write the best moms)

oh god and baby beth starting to have confusing feelings about rio?????? *chef’s kiss*

p sure i was just like, straight screaming the entire end of the chapter

the dugout is like, pure serotonin

I can’t even talk about the closet

tHe teNsiOn

thank you i will take eleventy billion

don't give it a hand, offer it a soul - medievalraven / @medievalraven

am a desperate heaux for any fic that features rio and mick friendship

you are all incredibly shocked i know

still would not be mad if this swerved into rio x mick fake dating but beth x rio is cool too i guess

Speaking of things i am a desperate heaux for: DIANE!!!!!!!!

and DATING ANNIE???????????? Blessed

honestly this fic is worth it purely for the assertion that mick watches queer eye

Why don't we go to Venus? - watermelonriddles / @bensonstablers

another grief study!

apparently i was working through some stuff in september, idk, that was like 4 years ago

considering it’s the premise of the fic, i don’t think it’s a spoiler to say this fic is canon divergent and working with the premise that rio killed beth in 302

he is uh, not coping well

extremely haunted you might say

lots of marcus and rhea which is a delight!

rhea is to good for him tbh

i said what i said

truly top notch dream (nightmare?) sequences

the conversation at the end is extremely uncalled for

drop the game - Ejunkiet / @ejunkiet

Backread!!!!

Am going to die mad Beth and Rio didn’t hook up in 211 but luckily this fic scratched the itch

(temporarily, it’s a fairly permanent itch)

Bonus rec: missing scene series i wanna do bad things to you featuring 2x02 and 2x04

Viva Voce - zetuslapetus / @querenaxx

Whoops we woke up married Vegas shenanigans!!

So cute!!!!! So sexy!!!!!

What more do you want?

am desperately obsessed with how beth can’t help stalking rio

feels right, feels organic

this makes me feel a lot of stuff about how they could be without their canon garbage between them

🎶 we could’ve had it aaaaaaaaaaall 🎶

you showed me colors (i can't see them with anyone else) - gild_fire / @gild-and-fire

really into the use of color to illustrate beth’s emotional state, i feel like there’s a word for that but idk what it is

UNIMPORTANT

really nice job capturing beth’s inner vulnerability balanced by her outer stubbornness

am DESPERATELY into Mick playing matchmaker

more please???????

Both Sides of the Law - JoeyLee / @joeyjoeylee

LAW SCHOOL AU! I suuuuuuper love Beth and Rio here (alt pov!! a gift!!!!) I love how initially prickly they are, I love how it’s evolving into a grudging respect, I love how INCREDIBLY AND HILARIOUSLY OBSESSED WITH EACH OTHER THEY ARE and neither one of them seems to see it

listen I know we’re all already foaming at the mouth over this one but as it’s gonna go down as one of my all time favorites it bears repeating/rereccing

cannot stress enough how masterful the use of POV is here, both voices feel completely true and distinct and I love how the alternating chapters revisit, reveal and emphasize pieces of each other

i can’t talk about this fic without hyperventilating

I LOVE IT SO MUCH YOU GUYS

the slow burn is going to ACTUALLY KILL ME

rip, no regrats

Earned It - wakeupflawless / @wakeupflawless

spanking

that’s it that’s the pitch

H O T

living for beth’s exit in the first chapter, rio and i are both incredibly into it

second chapter also features violently possessive Rio who cannot deal with anyone messing with his girl so if that’s your thing boy howdy get on it

shake, baby, shake - openhearts

backread!!!!!

according to my bookmarks this was a reread but ???????

must’ve read it in the fugue state that followed reading for a moment we were strangers which is gr9 and I believe I have recced it before. If not, horrible oversight, reccing it now

beth and Rio POV lead up to the bathroom break, beautifully done, low-key feel bad reccing it bc the end point of both chapters makes me want to throw things but it’s super worth it for the tEnsiOn. ENJOY

What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have - flashindie / @pynkhues

I’m assuming all of y’all are already reading this

If not OH MY GOD FIX YOUR LIVES

P I R A T E A U

I’m sorry maybe you didn’t hear me piRaTE aU

meticulously researched, brain-meltingly vibrant, already painfully sexy slow-burning PIRATE AU

god where to start okay so first off, the world-building here straight up breaks my brain, sophie’s put in the work and it SHOWS

second, the atmosphere. i’m generally a pretty like, vague mental picture sort of reader but the sensory detail here grabs you by the throat and like, forcibly hauls you in whether your brain’s wired that way or no

and hey speaking of throats if you, like me, go a little funny about the knees at the idea of beth holding a knife to rio’s throat (he’s fine, calm down), there’s a v excellent beth-in-a-barrel moment for you

oh christ and the sexy tension

it’s gonna be a race to see which slow burn takes me out first, this or law school

Stunner - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie

Another high school AU, this time with baby Rio absolutely head over heels for his older sister’s bff

stunner!Rio has an emotional earnestness about him that I feel like delinquents!Rio has already outgrown and it’s so SWEET I can’t get enough

Desperately cute!!!!!!

alL he waNts iS foR beTh tO bE hiS girL

also unreasonably angsty???????

ANN ARBOR IS NOT THAT FAR MEGAN

A Heart's A Heavy Burden - tooshyforthis / @bathroombreaks

Howl’s Moving Castle AU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love Howl’s!!!!!!!!!!!

perfect opp to roast Rio for being a Dramatique Heaux

and it’s gonna be 9 chapters?????? H Y P E

author’s note boldly presumes I did not know I needed this AU when the reality is I did in fact know I needed this AU, I just wasn’t expecting anyone to deliver

so blessed

author also claims to not be team nose stud and yet it features prominently in all its magnificent glory

what is the truth dot gif

A Bit of a Stretch - septiembre / @septiembur

SO????? CUTE?????????

would be on this list for Rio calling Beth E alone tbh

really really really really really love this Rio POV of being settled into a relationship with Beth

It manages to be sweetly domestic af while still holding the edge that makes brio brio which is a neat trick

@septiembur may be a witch

beth’s approach to getting rio to do yoga with her is hilarious and exactly right, canon-typical amounts of subtlety

1000000/10

Post Break-Up Sex - femalegothic / @bethsuglywigs

stg this was called Hit Shuffle

no matter

h O T

with a side of damn i’ve made some questionable choices in my life haven’t i introspection

(no regrats tho)

(esp not with this fic)

not the point of the fic by a long shot but i’m also extremely obsessed with Weed Eddie, so real

She drains my soul... she drains it not - niham87 / @niham87

ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED WITH THIS CONCEPT

am a complete sucker for paranormal world building that satirizes bureaucracy

Is that a trope? If so that’s my favorite

I did it. I’m picking a single favorite. You know what that is growth dot gif

ANYWAY i love the concept, i love the humor, i love beth instantly clicking with annie

I love her and mick’s sort of grudging professional courtesy

Love beth as a champion of environmental responsibility and all of the underworld being like …...okay??

cannot wait to see where this goes

Nine-Tenths - riosnecktattoo / @riosnecktattoo

*INCOHERENT PTERODACTYL SCREECHING*

sometimes i think about rio putting beth’s hair in a ponytail and have to go lie down

science please explain why this rUinS mE

wait hold on i skipped ahead

HEY KIDS DO YOU LIKE UNBEARABLY CUTE DOMESTIC TENDERNESS

opens with rio sleepily holding beth’s hand to his heart so that’s the kind of thing you’ll be dealing with

uGH theY’RE sO CUTe

idk why precisely but rio adding hair ties to his bracelet collection is my undoing every time

Missed Call - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie

Rio doesn’t come home from a job when he’s supposed to. Beth (and I!!!!!!!) slowly loses her mind

Truly a masterpiece of rising tension

Will literally never forgive her for calling this light angst

I was SO STRESSED OUT

The first person to point out there was an author’s note at the beginning I obvs didn’t read is getting blocked

crush - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie

Listen even though this is centered around two OCs, they are OCs FROM a (n iconic) brio fic AND Beth, Ruby and Rio all make cameos (I mean, Rio’s pretty present since he lives in Mar’s mind rent free bc they are THE SWEETEST MOST ADORABLE BEST OF FRIENDS so idk if i’d call it a cameo but whatever)

and even if it didn’t feature any official GG characters I’d still rec is bc that’s mY SON AND this fic is TOO CUTE

I have so many feelings over mar and rio growing up and not knowing how to cope with girls becoming a Thing in their life and how it affects their friendship and mar feeling left behind but (SPOILERS) at the end of the story rio starts feeling that too and it’s so poignant knowing how that’s going to continue in delinquents

while mar may be my son, i also claim elena’s #1 stan status

before you’re like meg you’re only reccing it bc it’s a bday present ask yourselves do i really strike you as the kind of person that wouldn’t be equally obnoxious about this either way?

truly cannot fathom how hard i have fallen for these OCs i don’t normally do that

@foxmagpie is definitely a witch

The Ottoman - Niham87 / @niham87

look i will be the first to admit that i don’t go near as bonkers over the ottoman line in 308 as y’all do

(don’t get me wrong, i love it!!! I love that he laughs and i love that she’s pleased it just doesn’t hit my lose my whole mind button like idk, the dubby or the 306 convo, idk why)

BUT i v v v much love the context this delightful Rio POV pwp gives it

am also absolutely feral for 209 missing scene fic

and anything that captures the complexity of Rio’s s3 feelings for Beth and how twisted they’ve become

so this scratches a bunch of itches, is what i’m trying to say

Bet On It - zetuslapetus / @querenaxx

*INCOHERENT PTERODACTYL SCREECHING*

That’s what my brain does when I think about Beth and Rio meeting in ch 1

am DESPERATELY OBSESSED WITH the tension between the two of them in this fic

I love how it plays with the ways they have to rely on but don’t trust each other

plus FAKE DATING and BED SHARING (fair warning hasn’t happened yet but the set up is there)

originally supposed to be 2 chapters, already up to 4, prayer circle it goes on forever

do you like drugs (tonight) - s_t_c_s / @sothischickshe

v important focus on hydration, other fic should take note

extremely about the use of cut to and then flashback to enhance the ‘we were on drugs’ vibe

speaking of, beth and rio absolutely would take ecstasy to prove they are fun bc they are the exact kind of idiots that would peer pressure themselves

so glad beth kept her purse, got a bit stressed there for a second, clutches in that kind of circumstance are A Risk

not that i would know

FLAWLESS USE OF VOICEMAIL TBH

really love the ongoing denial that they are remotely into each other while proceeding to demonstrate how they are in fact, extremely into each other, great vibe

rio dances

I know my brain broke too

mmmm bacon

Navigate A Broken Path - flashindie / @pynkhues

*INCOHERENT PTERODACTYL SCREECHING*

I have a long standing tradition of getting unreasonably obsessed with side characters so i’m not like, entirely surprised by how obsessed i am with both Mick and Mary Pat but i never in a million years considered them as a ship

AND Y E T

they fit????? so perfectly?????? It’s amazing how she developes them individually enough that i look at them together and think ah yes this makes perfect sense for both characters

and they’re such an amazing foil to Beth and Rio?

can ships have foils? do i know what a foil is?

unimportant

GUYS you dON’T uNDERStAN d

hell i don’t understand

how absolutely very dare you make me care about YET ANOTHER set of gg ‘verse children

do not read this fic if you have no interest in feelings you zero percent asked for

wHA t hAPPeNED iN aLASkA?????????

A Moment’s Silence - femalegothic / @bethsuglywigs

*makes sign of the cross*

y’all are gonna make me rediscover religion

extremely appreciate the author’s note approach to backstory top notch prioritization

listen it’s basically 3k of beth deep throating rio idk what more you need me to say about it

it is…..good stuff

bless the kinkmeme or fest whatever we’re calling it

praise - civillove / @blainesebastian

I mean you had me at “three times rio calls beth a good girl and one time he really means it”

ephemeral rio

I left that note for myself in here in the middle of the night and haven’t the foggiest what i was thinking but i stand by it none the less

okay okay i think i know what i meant, this fic (as do all of my fav civillove brio fics) has this sort of like, liminal, in the quiet moments feel to them that makes the moments and feelings somehow feel like i’m catching a glimpse of something secret and precious???

idk i just really like it okay

Heart and Soul - riosnecktattoo / @riosnecktattoo

oh look more unbearably sweet domestic tenderness, this time to music

thank you ma’am for my life

rio remembers beth used to play piano and gets her one and revoltingly cute shenanigans result

also hilarity

and sexiness

this fic has it all, truly

shout out to mick who sees no reason to keep rio’s feelings to himself

good girls tumblr fic - prettylittlementirosa / @hypermania

cheating and reccing a whole series

It’s my list and i can do what i wanna

stop crying about it, it’s four fics and they’re all AMAZING absolutely impossible to pick a fav

truly flawless characterization, next level ability to capture evocative mood, cannot get enough

three’s a crowd: who knew ballroom dancing while dean watches and grinds his teeth could be so sexy

(trick question everything about that premise sounds A++++ and boy howdy does it live up)

feel it on the way home: rio tries to break up with beth, it goes about as well as you’d expect

(thE angSty tenSioN)

i want to play the game: [from the floor] i’m still not ready to talk about it

(rio/turner, missing scene, 10000000% a taste of what went down in that hotel room)

june after dark: pitch perfect annie pov, really really love the take that Annie is the baby whisperer, can’t fully explain why but it feels incredibly right

(ANNIE X NANCY COULD WORK SO WELL YOU GUYS)

#fingers crossed these links are right i did not double check #i like to live on the edge #truly mind boggling amount of fluff on this list i surprised myself on that one #no i will not at any point get my shit together enough to write out thoughtful commentary this is a shit posting blog first last and always #fic recs #gg fic #nbc good girls #i'll come up with a tag for these if i ever do them again #check back 37 years from now #or ~~~~~~march #whatever that means

78 notes · View notes

clearsky · 4 years ago

Text

My Top Comfort Characters/Kins and My Main HCs For Them

(Note, not all my kins/comfort characters are on here, just the ones I have more than 5 hcs for)

CW: Korekiyo Shinguji (DRV3), Himiko Yumeno (DRV3), Shinsou Hitoshi (BNHA), Kyoko Kirigiri (THH), Tsuyu Asui (BNHA), Entrapta (Spop), Ibuki Mioda (SDR2), Celestia Ludenberg (THH), Funtime Foxy (FNAF), Peril (WOF)

Korekiyo Shinguji (DRV3)

Nonbinary

He/They pronouns

Autistic

Chains and loose accessories are for stimming

Likes the feeling of silk and cotton

Can't stand the feeling of anything rough or bumpy

He likes collecting small trinkets and the bones of small mammals

Can't stand anything salty. He'll eat it but he certainly won't enjoy it

Dating Rantaro

Can flirt, but only if he doesn't try

Petnames are a hell yea

Gets sunburnt really easily

Group dates with Celesnaegiri and Ikuzono

Can't cook for s h i t

Had a scene kid phase in middle school

Went to the same middle school as Celeste and Maki

Knew them when Celeste went through her "I'm not like other girls" phase and Maki was a Band Kid™

Himiko Yumeno (DRV3)

Female

She/Her pronouns

Lesbian

Can force herself to fall asleep within seconds regardless of where she is

100% forces herself to fall asleep when she doesn't wanna listen/talk to someone

Himiko/Angie/Tenko relationship. I'm calling them the Traffic Light Trio

She likes taking naps in the forest

She prefers enclosed/tight spaces more than open ones

Has several hundred stress balls and squishies laying around

She overheats easy

Shinsou Hitoshi (BNHA)

Questioning his gender, but goes by any pronouns

Knows he's Asexual, at least

Has no clue what his romantic orientation is though

The kind of person to carry treats in his pocket just in case he runs into a cat

Will stop to pet literally every cat he comes across

Great at reading people

Doesn't talk unless it's 100% needed

Hangs with Tokoyami, Jirou, and Denki most often

Aizawa has 100% unofficially adopted him

Fosters kittens

Not a big fan of physical touch

He is 100% in the bakusquad. Anyone who says he's in the Dekusquad is a c o w a r d

He and Tsuyu vibe

Knows a bunch of random facts

Dark humour? Dark humour

*skates backwards into his therapist's room slowly sipping from an absurdly huge cup of coffee* Candice you're not gonna BELIEVE the shit I just went through

In case I forgot to mention it, he skates

Kyoko Kirigiri (THH)

Mtf

She/Her

Bi with female preference

Burns go up to her shoulders/collarbone/chest

Prefers to just listen as opposed to saying anything

Knows a ton of random trivia about everyone else in her class

She keeps a notebook she fills with all the trivia

Doesn't celebrate her birthday. She just doesn't see the point of it

Doesn't hate sugar/sweets, but if given the choice she would choose literally everything else

Cuts her own hair

A cat person

Permanent dark circles

T-Tall 😳

Like,,, 6'1 at LEAST

Only person taller than her is Yasuhiro (6'3)

Canon no longer exist

Ahahaha healthy life habits? What are those?

Can't handle horror games

She's the kind of person you'd go to if you needed to rant but didn't want any advice

Polyamourous yo

Celeste/Kyoko/Makoto

She's a dom yall are just scared to admit it

Tsuyu Asui (BNHA)

They go by They/Them

Lesbian

They and Ochaco are dating

They like to hang with Shinsou

Which mainly just means the two sitting in one of their dorms in near total silence doing whatever

Can speak English and French as well as Japanese

Learned English from cartoons

Picked up French bc they thought it'd be fun

Prefers to stay neutral in the whole Bakusquad / Dekusquad thing

They're invited to all outings/events by/for both squads

They like puns

They're a dumbass but willingly, and for fun

Like "someone says they like dark humour and they'll turn off the lights before telling a joke" kind dumbass for fun

Great at poker

Likes Disney Movies

Very touchy once you get close enough

Not in a sexual way, just likes physical contact

Especially fond of piggyback rides and cuddles

Extreme fear of needles

Entrapta (She-Ra)

She/Her or It/Its

Doesn't bother trying to figure out whether she's cis, trans, nonbinary, or what

Was AMAB though

Short as fuck (4'7)

Strong as fuck though

Cuddle game strong

Physical touch is a fuck yes

Cuddles

Piggyback rides

Hugs

Anything where she's touching someone is wonderful in her book

As long as she's the one that initiates it

Anyone else touching her without her permission makes her freak

Prefers being high up

Makes it harder for anyone to sneak up on her

An ace at video games

When it comes to sexuality she just says she's Questioning

Ibuki Mioda (SDR2)

Any pronouns + Pup/Pupself + It/Its

No idea what their gender is otherwise

Biromantic Asexual

Just likes sexual jokes

Gets distracted easily

Has severe hearing problems

She's plays her instruments as loud as possible, with the amp right next to her, without ANY ear protection

It's caused some damage

She talks so loud bc she has no idea how loud is considered acceptable

Wears hearings aids most of the time

Several piercings and tattoos

Likes hearing things jingle

She has a bracelet with a few bells hanging from it

She'll shake it whenever she's bored

LOVES hair accessories

Ribbons are a particular favourite

Occasionally she'll hang little charms from her hair "horns"

The kind of person who never takes any pills/medicine bc she keeps forgetting she has to

Frequently uses emojis

Skates everywhere but she isn't very good at it

She keeps crashing into everything

Has broken every bone in her body at least 3 times

Most of which was bc she keeps trying to kick in doors and skating down the stairs

Celestia Ludenberg (THH)

Nonbinary

Any pronouns, mainly goes by She/They

Bi, 70:30

Collects mini hand sanitizers and can tabs

Has single handedly gotten Mario Kart, Mario Party, Monopoly, Uno, and Clue banned a grand total of 17 times (and counting)

The kind of person to purposefully target someone regardless of what game was being played

Favourite victim is Byakuya (bc he gets so upset about it and she finds that hilarious)

Mains Waluigi

Celeste/Kyoko/Makoto

Has several banned Twitter accounts bc whenever she's bored she'll start discourse on purpose

Hangs with Korekiyo, Ibuki, Byakuya, Yasuhiro, and Leon most often

It's a weird friend group but everyone's sorta gotten used to it

She and Byakuya gamble together occasionally

She tries to avoid it bc he'll willingly blow his entire fortune in an attempt to beat her

Autustic

Can't stand the feeling of water

Mainly bc she can't swim for shit

Horror movies? Hates them

Gets flustered super easily

Taka is her twin brother

Kotoko, Kokichi, and Gundham are their half siblings (Same father)

Peko and Toko are their cousins

She sucks ass at go fish

Fuck canon she's 4'11 now

C h u b b y

Freckles

Once she gets comfortable enough with herself she dyes her hair in the peekaboo style

Either black and red or black and blonde

Haven't decided yet

I'll be doing Celesnaegiri hcs as a seperate post but I just feel it's important for you to know that she expresses her affection verbally and is a very touchy person

Went to middle school with Maki and Korekiyo

Has horrible eyesight

She wears contacts most of the time but she always puts off buying more

After the 5th or so time she ended up blindly stumbling around a week after her contacts ran out Kyoko convinced her to buy glasses as well

Religious accessories yo

Like chokers and dangly earrings with crosses and pentagrams and shit

Likes wearing wacky earrings

Can run and do all sorts of tricks in heels

She and Mukuro are exes yo

Keeps her hair short so it's easier to manage

Hair never gets longer than her shoulders if she can help it

She seems like the kind of person who'd keep her bangs grown past her eyes regardless of how frustrating or inconvenient it is

She's a sub yall just don't wanna admit it

Funtime Foxy (FNAF)

I'm going on the record to say this

Funtime Foxy is genderfluid and that is that

Goes by Funtime

Any pronouns, They/Them most commonly

Plays music (keyboard and guitar mainly)

They and Funtime Freddy (Freds) mainly play with the kids

Freds mainly tells stories with Bonbon while Funtime more so plays one-on-one

Has nicknames for everyone

Circus Baby - Ringleader

Ballora - Bells

Funtime Freddy - Partner

Bon Bon - Bun

Peril (WOF)

I like both Nonbinary She/They Peril and Mtf She/Her Peril

They're both such good concepts

She's a lesbian, Harold

She only had a crush on Clay bc he was pretty much everything she was supposed to like in a guy

Gimme a moment while I force all my mental disorders onto this poor child

Autistic, Anxiety (Social anxiety, mainly, but she has most types), Adhd, PTSD

I'd like to reiterate yet again that She's a lesbian

Sunny and Glory were her gay awakening

Peril in Book 1: Damn, Sunny and Glory sure are pretty. Anyone would be lucky to date them. Clay would probably go for them over me. He would be stupid if he didn't. I myself would willingly date them over someone like me. They're just so pretty :(

Peril waking up in a cold sweat in the middle of arc 2: WAIT-

Rarepair alert but Peril/Sora

Peril meeting Sora: "Hmmm She's attractive. I would love to date her. Too bad I'm straight and in love with her brother lmao :P"

Peril, a mere month later, waiting for Ruby to leave Jade Mountain, pacing in her cave, running face first into a wall: WAIT-

I remember reading this one amazing story where Sora taught Peril to read/write and Peril found out she set off the bomb and comforted her/convinced her her run so that's canon now

Btw if anyone can remember what that story was called/what platform it was on and could tell me I'd appreciate it very much

I'd even be willing to draw a character of your's or make you an icon or something

I usually don't accept requests bc I get burnt out easy but this is a special case

She runs into Sora again sometime between the beginning of TOP and the end

I like to imagine she just goes wandering around

Anyway she confesses like a mere few minutes after running into her again bc Peril is just subtle like that

The actual confession takes 15 minutes and the entire time Sora is just sitting here like "👁👄👁 sure"

Bam Peril/Sora

Peril plans to keep it a secret for a little while longer but she spends 3 seconds around Clay and pretty much blurts it out

Clay, who wasn't even aware that Peril was a lesbian, is just "👁👄👁"

I wanna say Clay doesn't know what a lesbian is but in my canon Sunny is a lesbian so Starflight has already told him

Anyway he's super supportive

From that point Peril is sorta open about her sexuality?

Like, she gives Clay permission to tell the rest of the D.O.D bc she isn't about to risk being in front of them when they hear the news

(When Sunny starts actively seeking her out as a hang out buddy and Tsunami, Glory, and Starflight appear to tolerate her presence just a bit more afterwards she pretends she isn't confused by the change)

She's pink, white, and blue bc I said so

If you look at a certain angle in the right lighting her eyes, mouth, fire, and under her scales all look purple

But her fire is normally white and blue bc I said so

Also she pale as fuck bc in my canon their fire just sorta burns their colour away

You know how you leave something outside for too long and it gets sunbleached? Where it gets all washed out?

Like that but more extreme

By the age of 10-12 firescale dragons are just white with pale eyes

That's right not even the eyes are safe

Ram horns :P

I'm also fond of Peril/Sunny

Or maybe Peril/Sora/Sunny

But Peril/Sora is the main thing

On the topic of that bringing in my hc that if one sib in a sib group is fire resistant all of them are

She,,, She can change her scale colour

But only slightly and only if her emotions are strong enough

Bc I don't give a fuck about Darkstalker's scroll we were robbed of hybrid Peril

Unfortunately all of Peril's emotions are strong

Rainwing ruff along her head and neck

It's like a hood

It's mainly smoothed to her sides but when she's startled it flares out

RAINWING PUPILS

Y'all will know what those look like as soon as I get off my ass :P

She,,, She can mimic bird cries

Hates the summer

She has more than enough body heat already and the outside is just hot enough to add on and make her feel sick

She can somewhat control her heat but most of the time it's based on her emotions

It can go from standing-in-the-middle-of-a-burning-building-cant-see-your-nose-smoke-is-so-thick heat (Strong emotion) to Hey-thats-a-nice-cozy-campfire heat (Calm/"weak" emotion/Sleeping)

I'm just gonna make a different post with all my Peril hcs cuz there isnt enough room for all of them here

27 notes · View notes

angelbabyszn · 5 years ago

Note

Oh it's okay. Would you consider writing a Cesar x Reader story where Reader is Oso's little sister? Like Cesar and Monse has a fight and shows up at Oso's house in the middle of the night and Oso calls out for Reader? Then fluff between Cesar and Reader?

Honestly (Cesar X Reader)

Requested!

Masterlist

N/N - Nickname

"Y/N, make sure you are home straight after school. I want to say bye before doing this big mission with the gang." said Oso, your big brother as he turned down another street in his car with you in the passenger's seat taking you to school.

"Please don't tell me y'all are robbing again. That's what got Spooky locked up the first time. I swear, I don't know you no more." you said as you looked out your window, not looking at your brother upset.

"I'm still the same brother. Just maturity hit me." said Oso. You rolled your eyes knowing he's nowhere near before he joined the gang.

"Not in a good way." you said underneath your breath but Oso heard it.

"Don't say that! I'm offended that you think I'm not the same person! I am!" shouted Oso while glancing at you. He pulls up at Freeridge High.

"Yeah, whatever. Home after school. Got it. Bye!" you said while quickly getting out of the car and shutting your door.

"Wait!" shouted Oso through the closed window that you heard but you ignore him. You started to walk down to enter the school's property.

A few moments later, you saw Oso's car slowly moving along beside you on the street in the corner of your eye but you ignore it and continue walking like he's not there trying to get your attention.

A moment later, you heard Oso beeping his horn at the wheel repeatedly while moving slowly down the street. Some students notice and look at you puzzled.

You growled furiously and in embarrassment. You know Oso won't stop until you go talk to him again.

You quickly go over to his car and open the passenger's door to see him with a huge goofy grin. He was glad that he got your attention again by slightly embarrassing you.

"How about we go to the beach on Saturday and have fun like we used to as kids? To prove that I'm still the same brother you knew three years ago." asked Oso, looking at you happily.

You look at him furiously because he had to embarrass you today before the school day even started.

"Really?" you said with a small smile, changing expressions quickly.

You can't remember the last time you hung out with your brother. You miss when both of you stayed up all night, beating each other in video games, and playing on the beach, your favorite place to hang out together.

"Really. I miss hanging out with my little sis. I'm going to take a break to spend time with you this weekend. I know I've been distant from you but the only reason I joined was to keep you protected in the first place." said Oso looking at you, seriously.

You are grateful that the gang protects you but you miss your time with your brother. You don't know how much time you have with him before something happens. It scares you he's the only family you have left.

"Well, okay. Great. Now, can you please not embarrass me at school?" you asked looking at him with puppy eyes. This usually works on him.

"Y/N. I'm a Santo. That s*it doesn't work no more on me." Oso said and you pouted with your arms crossed against your chest. causing him to laugh.

"Bye Santo." you said and you shut the passenger door and start to walk towards the school again. Oso rolls down his driver window and pokes his head out the window.

"Bye, N/N! Love you!" shouted Oso with a smile. You look back at him to see him.

"Love you!" you shouted back and you entered the school.

You did a relieved sigh until you were pulled to the side by two familiar people.

"Jamal. Ruby. Oh my god." you said after jumping from both of them pulling you to the rest area of the school.

"Sorry Y/N. We got big problems." said Jamal looking at you all tense.

You look at him concerned and turn your head to Ruby quickly nodding in response.

"What's the problem?" you asked and Jamal and Ruby look at each other with the same idea in their head.

You look at them in confusion and are afraid because you have absolutely NO idea what they are thinking of.

"Oh my gosh, are you guys forcing me to do something I don't want to do?" you asked annoyed.

"Um...kinda?" said Ruby uncertain, making you even more confused as you looked at your two guy friends in front of you.

"I've just missed her so much." said Cesar crying on one of the tables in an empty classroom on the second floor.

Jamal, Ruby, and you just look at Cesar with weird faces as he cries in front of you.

"So...what do you want me to do?" you asked looking at the guys beside you with a puzzled face.

"Comfort him." said Jamal with an obvious face, making your eyes widened.

"Guys, no! I told y'all I'm not being the mom of this group again!" you said looking at them annoyed

"Why not? You're so good at it!" said Ruby looking at you with bright eyes.

"This whole friend group doesn't take my advice and does the exact opposite of what I said!" you said and cross your arms against your chest.

"Come on, Y/N. He needs you. Monse broke his heart again." said Ruby.

"Why should I even bother? He's gonna get back with her tonight. We ALL know that!" you said rolling your eyes.

For some reason, you felt your heart burn, making you feel hurt through your body but you ignore it.

"Y/N, please." said Jamal softly and you turned from him to Cesar looking at you upset.

You groaned and handed your backpack to Ruby quickly which caused him to lose balance a bit by the weight. You walk over to Cesar and sit next to him.

"There, there." you said looking at Cesar while carefully patting his back. He looks at you crazy, making you chuckle.

Cesar seeing you laugh a bit makes him gain a small smile and he chuckles back.

"Y'all are weird." said Ruby and the final bell rang for first class.

Jamal and Ruby quickly left without saying goodbye knowing the gym teacher would be furious if you're late.

Cesar fixes himself as you grab your backpack off of the ground Ruby dropped rushing out.

You walk out of the classroom and start heading to English until you hear your name. You turn back to see Cesar jogging up until he starts walking the same pace as you.

"Thanks for comforting me." said Cesar, looking at you while holding his backpack with the left strap on his back.

"You're welcome? I don't think I did anything for real." you said chucking, making Cesar have a small smile on his face.

"You actually did. You beside me, having your hand on your back," He grabs your left hand softly after he stops walking. You stop walking and look down at your hand he was holding.

You look back at him to see a small smile on his face as he looks down at you.

"And looking into my eyes, makes me all better. I appreciate you, Y/N. A lot. Don't ever think you're not using your talent for nothing. I will always appreciate it." said Cesar. Your eyes widened as you felt your heart skip a beat a couple of times by what he said.

"Oh wow. Thanks, C-Cesar. I've never thought you would say anything like that." you said, stuttering a bit as you looked at his eyes, still amazed.

"I got it from N/N. You know her?" asked Cesar looking at you with a grin, making you giggle.

"I'll pass it to them." you said playing his little game and both of you chuckled.

You start walking to your class again leaving the touch of Cesar's hand with yours. You were about to open the door to English until Cesar quickly opened it for you.

"Thanks."

"No problem, N/N. See you soon." said Cesar with a smile on his face making you return it.

"See you, Lil Spooky." you said and you enter your first class.

Cesar closes the door after you enter and he feels his heart melting in happiness. He was finally able to have a conversation with you alone.

He turned around in another direction to go to Biology. What he or you didn't realize was Monse was right behind you listening to the whole conversation going on.

"What did I miss?" asked an exhausted Jasmine as she stood next to Monse. Monse looked at her weird trying to figure out why Jasmine was out of breath.

"Youtube...Security...number two...drop phone...need puff." said Jasmine trying to speak while catching her breath answering Monse's question that she thought of.

Jasmine stands completely up again, pulls out her inhaler out of her boobs, and takes a few puffs.

"Cesar and Y/N. I think he's falling for her and completely forgetting about me." said Monse. She was starting to feel a way about both of you possibly together by what she just saw.

"Really? I can talk to her. Tell her to stay away from your man! She can't take him! She's not his girlfriend! You are! Got all of that goodness from puberty along with some good-"

"Please stop." said Monse, looking at Jasmine weirdly. Jasmine quickly stops and starts to stand awkwardly.

"I'm getting back with him." said Monse and she walks away to her class, leaving Jasmine confused in the hallway.

"Monse! You wanna talk about it?!" shouted Jasmine down the hallway at Monse but she ignored her.

Jasmine groans in annoyance and she turns around and starts walking sluggish. She has to get her phone back from security that probably grabs it from the floor now.

She was in the middle of filming her first video of her new series on her YouTube channel, "Dear Jasmine." and that dude security just had to stop her.

"Go away." you groaned in your sleep in your bedroom as you heard the doorbell ring for the third time.

You fell asleep after watching movies all night while eating your favorite snacks and texting Jasmine trying to get with Ruby.

It seems like you and Jamal were the only ones only to have sense in this group when it comes to relationships and it's sad to say that. They just don't listen to you.

"N/N. There's somebody here to see you." said Oso on the other side of your closed door.

"I said go away!" you shouted angrily waking up from your sleep angrily.

Your hair was all over the place on your head and your clothes you have on were at uncomfortable spots on your body while standing on your bed.

You slowly turn your head to your door with an angry face to see Cesar and your brother, Oso at your door looking at you shocked.

"Hi Y/N." said Cesar with a shy smile looking at you nervously.

You really don't care anymore what you were looking at right now. You know you were looking rough and if he can't talk to you like this, you'll kick him out of this house.

"The beast is awake! Ain't she a beauty? What a sight!" said Oso in a fake excited seller voice to Cesar with a goofy grin trying to hold his laughter.

Oso eventually laughed out loud with tears coming out of his eyes from laughing too hard. Cesar chuckled a bit. making you offended at both of them.

You quickly grab one of your pillows from your bed and scream angrily as you throw your pillow across your room to hit Oso. It caught him off guard and it caused him to lose his balance a bit.

"Bye, beast! Leaving with the Santos! Don't have too much fun." said Oso, looking at both of you with a serious face at the last part. He threw the pillow back on your bed and left the house.

"I'ma kill him once he comes back." you said underneath your breath and you turn your head to see Cesar staring at you kinda nervously.

"Um... sit in the living room. I'm going to get myself..."you looked at your full mirror in the corner of your room to see your appearance. "Together."

"Okay." said Cesar and he quickly left out of your room while closing the door behind him.

You got out of your bed and quickly fixed your appearance. You got your clothes comfortable again and fixed your hair back to it earlier today.

You grab your phone to walk into the living room with a very nervous Cesar. You sat next to him and looked at him concerned.

"So...what brought you here?"

"You and Oso are siblings?" asked Cesar and you nodded with an obvious look on your face.

"I guess that counts as another thing we have in common, huh?" said Cesar and you look at him confused.

"What I mean is-you know-we both live with our siblings with no parents." said Cesar stuttering on his words while trying to glance at you. He couldn't hold it for long.

"What's going on?" you asked and Cesar glanced at you again, trying to figure out what to say.

"Me and Monse fought again." said Cesar and you slap your knee in annoyance.

"Cesar, do you even like her?! Do you think all of these fights are a huge red flag that both of you are not compatible?!" you shouted at him and he looked at you with no expression of how to respond to that.

"What's really going on? Tell me right now." you said and Cesar sighs and turns away.

"You better turn back at me, look into my eyes, and tell me the truth. Now." you said, taking his chin and bringing his head back around to look into his eyes again. You have enough with his intention with Monse and you want to end this tonight.

He looks into your eyes and starts to move his mouth but no words are coming out. His eyes move to your lips for a moment and back to your eyes.

"Well?" you asked and a moment later, Cesar closed the distance and kissed you. Your eyes widened by his contact, not knowing what to do.

You were feeling surprised, happy, regretful, you couldn't believe what was happening but you know you have to end this now.

You push him away and look at him with shocked eyes trying to figure out what just happened.

"Why did you do that?!" you shouted looking at him confused and surprised standing up from the couch.

"I can't pretend I like somebody else no more. You're the one I want." said Cesar while grabbing your hands but you quickly pull them away.

"No! Cesar, did you not realize what you just did?! You just ruined your relationship with Monse! Oh my god, she's going to be furious at me! She doesn't want to be my friend anymore if she finds out about this! Our friend group going to fall apart again all because of yo-"

Cesar grabs you and kisses you again to stop you from talking. You slowly start to kiss him again until you quickly push him off again.

"Will you stop doing that?!" you shouted and Cesar puts his hands up like he didn't do anything.

"Oh my god." you said unknowing what to do and sat back down on the couch.

"Y/N, please listen to me." said Cesar and he looks at you nervously.

"The only reason I started dating her because of you. I thought you won't go with a guy with me so I moved on and she just caught feelings once we started hanging out more than friends. The only reason, we keep on having these fights because of you. She knew I have feelings for you but never mentioned it until tonight. I don't have to hide my true feelings anymore." explained Cesar.

Your heart skipped a beat by what he just confessed making you scared what was going to happen next.

"So...what happens with your relationship with Monse?" you asked worrying about Monse.

"I don't know. But I know, I want to be with you." said Cesar as he grabs both of your hands. He leans them to his mouth and kisses both on top of your hands.

"Cesar..."

"Please. I'll fix all of this. I need you. I want you. I've tried so hard to not come up to you and give you kisses every single day. I'm falling for you. You gotta tell me you're feeling the same thing. Don't tell me that we don't have a connection because we definitely do. Please..."said Cesar looking into your eyes trying to please his case.

You don't know what to do now. Oh course, you want him. So much. He just confessed in front of you. All of this information. You never knew that he kept in his mind for who knows how long.

"Cesar, I know we have a connection. I've always been avoiding it because of Monse. What would she think? What should the school think? Jamal? Ruby? Spooky? Oso? Jas-”

"Who cares what people think. I want you to be mine. I can't leave without you as my girlfriend." said Cesar and you look down and away from Cesar.

Cesar lifts your chin back up to look towards him again.

"Do you want to be with me?" asked Cesar softly and you opened your mouth open but no words came out.

Cesar's eyes dropped as he felt disappointment. You kissed him out of nowhere, causing a warm feeling though his body.

He kisses you back immediately and it turns into an amazing kiss. A kiss that has been waiting for so long to be made that was full of yours and Cesar's feelings for each other.

Both of you ended the kiss and looked deep into each other's eyes, breathing heavily from the kiss.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow. Promise." said Cesar.

"Promise is a bit of a strong word, don't you think?" you asked and Cesar chuckles.

"Come here." said Cesar with a grin as he pulled you closer to him and onto his lap making you giggle.

"You better not do anything to ruin this relationship, okay?" you said and kiss him on the forehead.

"No, I want a real kiss." said Cesar upset.

"Not until you fix things up tomorrow. Deal with it." you said and Cesar rolls his eyes in annoyance.

Cesar fixes everything up with Monse the next morning and she accepts his apology. She apologizes for her actions in the relationship that cause it to break.

Monse and you spend time together and you were better friends with her than before.

It makes you so happy that she was cool that you were dating Cesar now. You were now more comfortable being with the guy you have feelings for forever.

#onmyblock #onmyblockimagines #on my block imagine #on my block x reader #omb season 3 #cesardiaz #cesar diaz imagine #cesar diaz x reader #rubymartinez #jamalturner #monsefinnie #jasmine flores #cesar diaz omb #cesar diaz #jasmine omb #jasmine flores omb #oso #oso omb #OMB

340 notes · View notes

stripper-patrick · 5 years ago

Text

Place and time 🏜 Cesar Diaz

Warnings: smut, filth, angst, language, unprotected, terrible English to Spanish translation, degradation, oral (m),

Prompt highlighted

Tags: @rebellious-desires @mrsbanreswillseeyou

Requested

Relationship: Cesar Diaz x black plus sized/ requested reader

I walk out the house in my short dress and slides to see Cesar completely engulfed in my body. “Damn”

“Whatever. I thought Spooky usually gives you a ride”

“He does but I told him I wanted to pick you up” just then the cherry red Cadillac pull up beside us. Spooky rolls down the window and nudges his head for us to get in.

“After you” Cesar pulls the seat forward and I bend over climbing in purposely rubbing my butt on him. I get in the back and sit my backpack down.

“Thanks” I smile

“Don’t worry about it. After that shit Latrelle pulled I ain’t letting none of y’all walk home” Cesar gets in the front and Spooky drives off.

We get to school and Cesar gets out before helping me out. We watch spooky drive off and Cesar turns around. I smack his butt making him jolt.

“I should be doing that to you as good as you look hermosa” he kisses my cheek grabbing a handful of my ass. I grab his chin softly kissing him. “Mmm that little thing you pulled when we got into the car wasn’t funny. Now I have to wait for my boner to go down”

“I could help ya know” I wink

“As tempting as that sounds we’re gonna be late for class”

“Fine by me” I wink. He intertwine his fingers with mine and we walk hand in hand into school.

....

Me and Cesar have third period together which is the longest period of the day. Not to mention math. We have a substitute because our teacher is on maternity leave. An old white woman who’s 10 minutes from her grave. Everyone’s either sleep or they left the classroom to walk the halls.

I’m looking at the math paper that was assigned to us trying to figure out what the hell it is when Cesar kisses me randomly.

“What was that for?”

“Because I love you”

“Can I tell you something?” I say

“What” I caress his cheek and run my hand down his chest and stopping right on his dick. I squeeze it watching him bite his lip holding back a moan “I could really use some of this right now”

“No we’re at school. We have one more period left then we can go and do whatever you want” he smiles. I sigh shrugging. I look back at the paper and I notice Cesar’s tent forming in his pants. He sighs shaking his leg to distract himself from thinking about it.

His hand ends up on my thigh just rubbing it. Something he does often. I push his hand up further lifting my dress exposing more thigh. I push his hand down between my thighs letting his fingers touch my thin underwear. I hear him sigh again. I look at him with an innocent smile stroking his pants again. I lean over whispering in his ear “do I make you horny baby?”

“Lets go” he grabs my hand pulling me out the chair. We dip off in plain sight and into the hallway. We pass a group of boys who gawk at me. Cesar allows me to walk in front of him eyeing them down before smacking and grabbing my ass

“Find something else to look at she’s mine” he growls. I smile opening the supply closet pulling him in. Immediately he roughly kisses me. “I’m so fucking hard”

Cesar drops his pants and I pull up my dress. I turn around holding onto the shelf as he moves my panties to the side finally penetrates me.

He thrusts into me hard holding up his shirt. I drop my head moaning. I spread my legs wider and bounce back on him meeting his thrusts. Cesar slaps my butt and I moan.

“Keep going” I beg. He pulls out making me groan frustrated. Cesar picks me up rubbing the tip on my clit before pushing it back in again. My body jolts against the shelves and I wrap my arm around his shoulder moaning.

“You feel so good” I moan with my eyes shut. He kisses me slipping tongue inside battling for dominance.

“Fuck Y/N”

“Mmm I love when you call my name baby” I moan breathing harder.

“Yea? I wanna make you scream mine” he moans kissing my jawline and neck. My body starts quaking indicating how close I am to cumming on him. My moans get louder and Cesar’s hand covers my mouth and he bites his lips suppressing a loud moan.

I bunch his shirt whining in his hand moaning. “Good girl. You’re such a good girl cumming on my dick”

I close my eyes letting my body shake and my breathing get heavier. Cesar lets out a shaky low moan and I can feel his dick throbbing in me. I push his hand away getting down on my knees and sucking on the tip jerking the rest of his dick. The familiar taste of cum coats my tongue and he moans bracing the shelf.

“You’re such a pretty little slut” he moans. I push my head forward letting myself deepthroat him.

“Oh fuck” I keep sucking until I feel he’s had enough then come off him with a pop. He squeezes my chin with a smile and I laugh.

“Come on the bells about to ring” we walk out and see Ruby, Monse and Jamal walking by

“What are you doing in there?” Ruby asks. I emerge behind Cesar “oh your doing Y/N”

“Class was boring and she kept teasing me so I had to do something about it” He laughs

#smut #fluff #diego tinoco #diego tinoco smut #cesar diaz imagine #cesar diaz smut #cesar diaz #on my block #on my block smut #requested #request

579 notes · View notes

cutieodonoghue · 5 years ago

Photo

dark gray (epilogue)

summary: Killian Jones operates a lighthouse in the middle of nowhere, preferring a life of isolation, until one day a woman and a baby wash up on his little island and change his life forever.

read it on: ao3, ff.net

and also catch up on Tumblr!

a/n: it seems everyone wants an epilogue! Pretty much all fluff, so if that’s not your thing, I’m not sure how you got here… haha

Thanks for all of your support again. I really, really appreciate all of your kind words and gestures of kindness. Hope you like this epilogue!

///

“We’ll buy a house in Storybrooke and adopt a dog. We’ll give Henry a few brothers and sisters. Your parents will adore me. And we’ll spend far too much time forgetting that any of this ever happened. But, I do reckon we’ll argue about paint chips while we’re working on remodeling the house. Unfortunately.”

///

Epilogue

SPRING

In early spring, Killian and Emma buy a house a few blocks away from her parents, not wanting to be too far from town, but still needing their own space.

It’s a beautiful home on the corner, with a huge backyard and a generous floor plan. There are three bedrooms that they can fill with children, or so Killian imagines.

He learns that Emma really likes big windows to let light in, and he tells her that it makes sense, because since they met, she’d brought a lot of light into his life. She rolls her eyes at him, but he knows she appreciates it.

There isn’t a lot to unpack on the first day, with the sum total of their furniture coming from Emma’s abandoned apartment. They don’t need much. Not yet.

He finds Emma sitting in their bedroom once Henry’s been put to sleep in his own bedroom just up the hall. She seems tired, maybe a little emotionally worn out from everything that happened.

“Hey,” Killian says, sitting beside her. He rubs her lower back, pressing a kiss to her temple. “You alright, love?”

Emma meets his eyes, giving him a small smile. “Yeah. I’m just tired. It was a long day.”

He hums knowingly. They stare at one another for a few moments, silent. Killian finds that he can’t stop grinning. This has been a day he’s looked forward to for a while. The opportunity to live in a beautiful home with his family is beyond exciting.

“We should get married.”

“Married?”

He nods, hoping she knows he’s serious. Killian stands up so he can kneel in front of her. “I love you so much, Emma. I want you to know I’ll always, always be by your side. Will you marry me?”

She tilts her head to the side just slightly. Her eyes become watery and she reaches for his hand to squeeze it. “I can’t argue with that.”

“Is that a yes?”

Emma laughs a little. “Yes. It is.”

They decide to have their wedding as quickly as they can, not wanting to waste any time.

The idea both confuses and delights her parents. Mary Margaret immediately wants to help, something Emma is grateful for, and David questions him for about an hour in the privacy of his study about his true intentions.

Over the course of a few far too short weeks, Killian works on fixing a few odds and ends around the house while Emma plans an intimate wedding for them.

He learns her natural routines and schedules. Tries to fit as much time in with her as he can in between work and trying to prepare for both a wedding and a baby.

She introduces him to her friends. Belle the town librarian, Robin and Regina the happily married barkeepers, and Ruby the fashion designer.

He meets friends of his own at work at the harbor, too. Will, who keeps him on his toes, and Graham who would rather work in the forest. They go for beers on nights when Emma’s friends are over helping with wedding prep.

He can’t help but laugh when they clash heads over paint chips.

She’s right. Of course she’s right. She always is.

They form traditions out of game nights and group dinners. Their friends watch Henry on occasion, and in turn, Killian offers them free outings on the water on a ship that he helps run as part of his job.

They get married at the end of the spring, under a canopy of flowers and hanging twinkle lights, in Emma’s parent’s backyard.

Henry wears a little suit to match Killian’s, while Emma makes the most stunning bride in a white dress that flows to the ground. She’s glowing, absolutely radiant, though she worries that her baby bump is too obvious to keep hiding it from everyone.

So, once they say “I do”, and find themselves slow dancing at the party afterward, Killian asks in a low whisper pressed to her ear, “Are you ready to tell Mom and Dad?”

Emma laughs a little, leaning her head back so she can meet his eyes. “You’re going to call them that all the time now, aren’t you?”

“If it will irritate your father, absolutely.”

His wife- his wife!- tilts her head at him, giving him a soft sigh of disapproval. “We should tell them. Mom’s going to flip.”

Mary Margaret does, in fact, flip.

SUMMER

The summer brings them a new friend called Wilby, who enjoys bones, licking Henry’s toes, and long walks along the beach.

Summer brings a nasty sticky heat and messy ice cream cones. Henry’s favorite flavor is chocolate. Emma’s is mint chocolate chip, which she eats by the pint balanced on her pronounced baby bump.

In the summer, there are fireworks on the Fourth of July, town celebrations, visits to Granny’s Diner for lunch during Emma’s time off work, outings on boats, trips to the beach, and nights spent sitting outside with friends that seem to always be over to visit.

Emma’s sitting in the grass with Henry and Mary Margaret, laughing genuinely at her mother while she squeezes their son’s hands.

Ruby’s running around with Wilby, complaining about how massive the yard is, while Belle and Will sit at the picnic table with Robin, Regina, and a pack of cards.

“So.” Neal says, a gentle unassuming smile on his face, approaching Killian at his spot on the back porch steps. “It’s been a few months. What’s it like, being married?”

Neal offers him a cold beer. He takes it, shaking his head while he laughs. “Why? Are you thinking of getting married soon?”

Neal sits beside him, sighing as he drapes his arms around his knees at chest level. “Maybe.” He sips his drink. “So what’s it like?”

If he had to define it, he doesn’t think he could. It’s not been without its highs and lows, but for the most part, they’ve enjoyed peace. He thinks they deserve it, after everything that they’ve been through.

Again, Killian shakes his head. He stares at Emma, at the way she throws her head back to laugh at something Ruby says to her. At the soft stray curls of her ponytail. At the gentle swell of her body in the seventh month of pregnancy.

He can tell even from several feet away that she’s glowing.

“It’s home.”

Neal considers him briefly. He hums into his bottle and has another sip.

It’s a bit awkward, because he and Neal haven’t shared as much time together as they should. In fact, if he thinks about it, he and Neal hardly know one another.

All he knows is that Emma and Neal were once in a troubled relationship, and now they were friends. If they could even call it that.

“Thank you.” Neal says with a tiny smile. “For giving her everything she needs. God knows I was never enough for her.”

Killian isn’t sure what to say, so he smiles back before looking ahead again. “How did you meet Emma?”

Neal seems to think about it, maybe searching for a good place to start. He takes a steadying breath to prepare for whatever he’s about to say.

“I lost my parents growing up. Mom… ran off with another guy and Dad went criminally insane.” He stares down at his beer. “Left me to fend for myself. I met Emma at a gas station in Washington state. She was on the run like me.”

Killian found himself surprised. Knowing what he did about Neal, he hadn’t thought too deeply about his background. It surprised him even more to think that he could understand him. After all, he himself was running from the whole world. For years.

“What were you running from?”

Neal shakes his head. He laughs in spite of himself, a soft chuckle from his nose. “I still don’t know, man.”

He clears his throat and sets the bottle down on the step beside him.

“I was the same way. Running. Hiding.” Killian admits. He shakes his head. “That hole in your chest doesn’t go away, does it? Nothing helps.”

Neal clenches his jaw as he averts his gaze. “No.”

On a soft breath, Killian stands and finds a football in the grass nearby. He kicks it toward Neal to get his attention.

The last time he’d played football was with Liam, years ago, but it was clear to him that Neal needed something powerful to pull him out of himself. He needed a brother.

“My brother and I used to kick the ball back and forth until the sun went down.” Killian reminisced. He tipped his head back toward the yard. “What do you say?”

Neal offers him a shrug. “I might be rusty… but sure.”

On their way into the yard, Killian stops to help Emma to her feet. She sways into him, caught off balance, and he chuckles, asking, “You okay, love?”

She hums, sighing softly. “Just a little lopsided.” Emma glances past him at Neal, who now has the ball scooped up onto the top of his shoe. “You guys are going to kick the soccer ball around?”

“For just a little while.” Killian says. “Time to finally get some use out of the yard.” He notices her attention rests on the man from her past. “Okay?”

“It’s fine,” she assures him. “I’m glad you’re making friends.”

Later that night, while he and Emma prepare for bed in the bathroom, he lifts his eyebrow at her in the mirror. “Are you sure you’re alright with me befriending Neal?”

Emma stops brushing her teeth to spit into the sink. When she finishes rinsing her mouth, she shrugs. “It’s just a little weird, but it’s fine.”

“Like… how, weird?” Killian wonders. He turns around so he can lean against the bathroom counter with his hand over his opposite wrist.

His wife sighs. She presses her hands to her lower back. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m nervous that now that things are finally kind of normal between us, something will change.”

“So Neal feels weird to you.”

Emma cringes at that. “No. Not really.”

Killian hums. “Did you know that he’s taking online classes? He’s trying to get a degree to teach.”

Her eyes widen in surprise. “No. I didn’t.”

“I think he’s changed. For the better.”

Emma turns to look for something on the counter. “Well, then all the best to you and your new bromance. You have my blessing.”

He rolls his eyes, smiling, and steps away from the sinks so he can kiss her temple. “You don’t have to be okay with it if you’re not.”

“He needs a friend. You’re the best one I can think of around here.”

With a clever little smirk, Killian lifts a brow. “Are you saying I’m your best friend?”

Emma, clearly exhausted, rolls her eyes. Hard. “Killian, I’m carrying your child.”

“And you’re doing it so well, my dear.” Killian offers her a kiss. “I love you. You’re my best friend. In case you were wondering.”

A little blush finds her cheeks and her lashes flutter against her cheeks. “You’re my best friend too.”

FALL

Storybrooke in the autumn is gorgeous, and it’s Emma’s very favorite thing. She tells him she loves the way the colors turn the streets burnt orange and red, and even though he’s seen fall before, he swears it’s so much better through her eyes.

She asks him to take them for a drive through the forest on Sunday afternoons so they can show Henry the colors of the trees while Wilby hangs out the window, tongue wagging in the wind.

On mildly cold nights, she comes to bed wearing her bright red flannel pajamas and socks, explaining that she’s freezing, but an hour later she’ll change because she’s too hot.

Henry likes the leaves that pile up in their backyard. He really likes the pumpkin bread that Mary Margaret brings over for them to share, and the way David’s pickup truck sounds when it starts.

The autumn is when Emma goes into labor. She grits her teeth and tells him as much while she’s trying to fold laundry one late afternoon. It’s a blur of lights and colors and sounds. A blur of long hours standing and sitting at her side. A blur of emotions when it’s finally time to push.

Brushing back her sweaty hair from her face, allowing her to squeeze the circulation out of his one and only hand, encouraging her as much as she’ll let him.

And when it happens, when the first cries break the surface tension, everything else fades away.

Ten tiny fingers. Ten tiny toes.

Pointy little ears and soft dark hair.

Shrieks that turn into gentle whimpers.

Emma, Emma, Emma.

He kisses her soundly and whispers, “You did it. I’m so proud of you, love.”

She laughs a little, her eyes filled with tears. She’s unable to look away from the newborn on her chest.

“She’s so beautiful.”

“You’re welcome.”

Emma looks up at him with a glare.

He chuckles. “I’m only teasing. She clearly gets it all from you.”

His heart has never been as full as it is that early autumn morning, standing in a hospital room with his newborn daughter in his arms and his life forever changed.

The town throws an autumn festival, full of games and food along Main Street. There’s a hayride that one of his closest friends, Robin, takes them on free of charge.

There are fewer things he thinks are sweeter than seeing his son in a Halloween costume a few weeks later, dressed up like Peter Pan, except maybe seeing his newborn daughter as Tinkerbell.

For many years on the island, Killian ignored holidays. There was no need to celebrate when it was just him, and even fewer reasons while he wallowed in sorrow and grief.

There were a lot of reasons to be thankful this Thanksgiving.

Friends. Family.

It had been so long since he’d had either, but it felt like he’d known them forever.

Finally gathered around the dining table, Killian takes a long look around at the faces of his friends and family.

Emma sits with their daughter in a wrap pressed to her chest, her soft swaths of dark hair peeking out on top, so gentle and sweet. Henry sits between them, happily digging into his meal without any thought.

“I’d like to make a toast.” Killian says, standing. He clears his throat. “Thank you for being here. It means a lot to Emma and I that you would choose to come to our home and spend today with us. That’s sort of what I’d like to toast, actually, uh… not all of you know this, but for a good portion of my life, I chose to isolate myself. I literally lived on an island. I had nothing to celebrate, and I didn’t want to, either.”

Pausing, he meets Emma’s eyes and returns her smile.

“But this year, I have so much to celebrate. And I want to thank all of you for that. You welcomed me into your community without a second thought. I’m thankful this year for my family.” He looks to his children, then to David and Mary Margaret. He turns to the rest of the table. “And for your friendship. Without it, I would be as lost as I once was.

“So, a toast, to the community we have. And to living a life worth celebrating.”

“Here here!”

WINTER

Winter brings him full circle.

On the first snowfall of the year, Killian wakes to Emma’s excited gasps and her hands on his arm, shaking him awake.

“It’s snowing! Killian, it’s snowing!”

She’s out of bed faster than he can open his eyes all the way, already rushing up the hall to get their son out of his crib. With a small smile, he waits for her to return, both of their children in her arms.

She’s breathless, her hair still a mess from sleep, yet she’s smiling so happily. “Come on, Daddy, we gotta go out and get some of the snow!”

Henry giggles. “Daddy go!”

They work as a team to prepare the children for their first snow of the year, and the moment they step outside, Emma turns to him, absolutely beaming.

It’s been a year. A year since the ocean brought her to him.

He can still remember the day she asked him to take her out into the first snow of the season, her eyes shining just as much as they do now.

She doesn’t have to say anything for him to know that this is a meaningful day for her. For them.

In one sense, the first snow is a reminder of the beginning of their relationship. The day they’d started to see one another as they truly were.

If there’s anything this year has taught him, there’s a lot to love about learning Emma and Henry in a world far from the chilly, wintery sea.

Henry loves the snow. He catches snowflakes on his mittens and keeps calling out for them to show them. And then there’s footprints in the snow, and tasting snow, and falling in the snow. Crying because the snow is too cold, but laughing the moment he’s safe in Killian’s arms.

And when they go back inside, all Henry wants to do is rush straight back out into it again.

Storybrooke at Christmastime is a feast of colors, foods, and celebration.

They spend a lot of time with family and friends, gathered together at Granny’s for her special holiday menu. Killian and Emma build a snowman that Henry helps them decorate. Mary Margaret and David help them find the perfect, massive tree that goes in their foyer.

On Christmas morning, well before the children have stirred, his wife finds him sitting in front of the fireplace, lined with stockings, reading a book that he swore he’d read months ago. When he was on the island, he could read several books in one sitting. Now, not so much.

“I have a present for you.” Emma says, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind.

Killian lifts an eyebrow. “It’s not Christmas until the children are up.”

She laughs into his ear and then joins him on the sofa, a wrapped gift in her hands. “I know… just trust me.”

His mind races, unsure of what this secret gift could possibly be that it would require him to just trust her.

Taking a deep breath, she extends the present toward him. “I’ve been working on this all year.”

He hesitates, his thumb finding the crease in the wrapping paper corner. “Oh, so no pressure, then.” He winks at her, smirking. “I’m sure I’ll love it.”

Quickly, he pulls the paper away from what lies beneath. At first, he isn’t sure what he’s looking at. It’s a hardcover book with the word “Journal” in sprawling cursive on the front.

He flips the book open, curious.

On the first page, there’s a date, a small entry, and a photograph. The date is Christmas Eve, only a year ago, and the entry reads:

Today, you told me that you were home here. This journal is going to be a document of that.

The photo is of he, Emma, and Henry sitting in their favorite booth at Granny’s. He remembers Mary Margaret insisting that they take a picture on his very first day in town. Now, he’s glad he has it.

While he looked absolutely miserable physically, he can still remember not feeling any pain until he had to lie down to sleep that night.

He flips the page. Another entry. The following day.

“I don’t think I’m fond of peppermint, Emma.” But you still smelled like peppermint all day today.

Killian laughs under his breath, smirking at the photo she’d clearly taken of him incognito, biting a candy cane.

He continues to flip through the journal, addicted to seeing Emma’s insights of their experiences.

We argued over paint chips for exactly 3 minutes before you doubled over laughing and let me choose all the right shades of white. Thank you.

A photo of the paint chips in question follows.

Killian continues turning the pages until he finds one day in particular that finally pulls him out of the gift.

Their wedding day.

You smelled like the ocean today.

A photo of he and Henry standing on the beach much later in the night follows. They’re both barefoot, standing in the sea foam. He hadn’t realized she was taking pictures.

Looking up at Emma, he finds her nervously biting on her lower lip.

“You did this everyday?”

She nods. “Yeah.” He flips the page. “Just like your mom’s journal. Except this one, I hope, gives you different feelings when you look at it.”

Killian hums. “It does.”

He can’t help but smile, studying a photo of his son kissing Emma’s growing bump just a few months ago.

“Look at today.”

He does as she asks, flipping all the way to the end of the journal. The final entry is a little bit longer than the others he’s had the time to read.

This year, you: bought a house, got married, got a new job, made a lot of friends, had a baby, adopted a dog, watched a lot of cable TV, celebrated every holiday, loved your kids with everything you had, and spent every day in between making a difference. Thank you for choosing us, Killian.

A photo of him and the children sitting at the breakfast table follows. His baby daughter in one arm, Killian’s singing one of those silly nursery rhymes along with Henry, who sits at the table beside him, beaming brightly with crinkles by his eyes.

He remembers the giggles, the fit of laughter that came from Henry’s belly, and the way his sticky fingers felt against his cheeks and lips when he leaned in close enough.

The photo is pure joy. A true encapsulation of the year they’ve shared.

Like before, he isn’t sure how Emma went unnoticed taking this picture, but he’s glad she did.

“This year was special for a lot of reasons, but the biggest reason is that it was your first year away from the island.” Emma says. “And I wanted to give you something that proved that it was worth it. That proved you were here and it mattered.”

He looks up at her, tears welling in his eyes. He manages to smile softly at her. “Thank you.”

Emma puts her right hand on his face, rubbing her thumb against the apple of his cheek. “I know I’ve said it before, but thank you for being there that day. For me and Henry. This book is proof that we’re here, too.”

Killian turns his head to kiss her palm. He sets the book aside and determinedly lays Emma back on the sofa with his lips pressed to hers. She runs her fingers through his hair as they languidly share a stolen moment, free of distraction and interruption.

Before he can get too carried away, Killian breaks the kiss, pressing his forehead against Emma’s.

She bites on her lip after her tongue darts out to soothe it, a twinkle in her eye. “What was that for?”

“For giving this year to me.” He looks into her eyes, cocking an eyebrow. “Quite literally.”

She hums sweetly, tugging at his hair. “Here’s to seventy more, my love.”

#cs ff #cs fic #cs au #captain swan #my writing #dark gray

44 notes · View notes

teamhook · 5 years ago

Photo

I want to thank the @cssns , my lovely beta @ultraluckycatnd and my very talented artist @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713

AO3

FFN

Emma had been stalking Killian’s place. She never thought she would have to stake out his home. She sighs as she tries to do a web search on her phone for the Norn. That old hag lied to them. Sure, Ruby didn’t pick up his scent, but there was something about that lady that was shifty as hell. Which leads her to another mystery—the woman looking for Killian. There was something off about her, too.

A knock on the window of her dad’s truck startles her. “Hey, Emma, I got a call about a suspicious vehicle. What are you doing here?”

“Really? You’re saying someone called in about my dad’s truck?” She rolls her eyes. “Everyone knows my dad’s truck.”

He smiled. “They do, but I think they’re worried about you. You haven’t moved from here in days. Emma, he will be home soon, and then you will get all the answers you need.”

Emma looks down, her eyes drifting to the passenger seat. The poptart wrappers and empty food containers everywhere make her wince. Since that day at the station, with the off feeling she felt in her gut when meeting that woman Autumn, she had gone to Killian’s place. In her mind, she was keeping Killian safe somehow.

Graham laughed. “Go home, you smell! I don’t need to be a wolf to notice that.”

Emma scoffs. “Whatever! I don’t smell that bad.”

Graham’s brows knit as he looks at his phone. “That was the station. The motion sensors we set up to alert us if someone needs us went on and we need to go back.”

Emma’s eyes widened. “I can go check. You haven��t had lunch. You were on patrol and Killian is on vacation.”

“You are my favorite honorary deputy. I can get you something too.” Graham smiles.

“I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. Get me my usual. Tell Ruby I said hi.” Emma smirks and turns on the truck to head to the station.

As Emma arrives at the station, her heart speeds up. She was sure it was Leroy or one of the dwarves complaining about some nonsense, but the car parked in the deputy’s spot is unmistakable. The beloved grey and black 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle is back. This could only mean one thing. Killian Jones is back. Her steps get quicker as she races to the door. She opens the door and her heart stops as her gaze lands on the man she loves. His hair is a bit longer. The scruff is thicker and those eyes are storm-dark blue. She runs the rest of the way and throws her arms around his neck. Her lips land on his and for a brief minute she forgets how angry she is and all the questions she has. He stands still with his hands on her hips. Normally his hands instinctively land on the back of her head. Emma slowly steps away and smiles. “I missed you.” She raises her index finger. “You have some explaining to do buddy, but it’s really nice to see you.” She steps away as she looks for some change to manifest.

He feels frustrated, Belle had mentioned he needed to be honest about the situation and that Emma needed to know about what was affecting their relationship.

“Emma, we need to talk,” Killian says as he guides her to the break room for some privacy.

“Yeah, that’s for sure. Look, Killian, I know you went to see the Norn. I want to say, you didn’t have to do that. At least not for me,” Emma says as she stops moving.

Killian lets out a laugh. “I’m sorry, did you just say I shouldn’t have gone to the Norn to save you?” He pauses. “You are the woman I love. I cannot picture a life without you and you think it was a mistake?” He enters the break room and she follows slowly.

“I just don’t want you to hate me. I know that you felt guilty about Liam and—” Emma rushes.

“Aye, I felt guilty but that doesn’t mean you are not worth it.” Somehow he was now standing right in front of her.

“I just hate you had to make a deal with that wretched hag. She just made my skin crawl.” Emma shudders.

“Emma, what did you do? Did you go see her?” Killian tries to stay calm.

“Well, I wanted to know what had happened to you. I was so worried. Killian, where have you been?” Her eyes glisten with unshed tears. “You just left. No note, not even a text.”

His instinct took over and he pulled her into an embrace. “I’m sorry, darling, but now I’m back and we will find a way.”

She sniffles. “Find a way?”

“Ah yes. Emma, I think you need to sit down. We really need to talk,” Killian says.

“I find it when a man says that, I’m rarely in for a pleasant conversation,” she grimaces as she sits down.

He paced the room a few times before he met her gaze. “I’m sorry love, I don’t know where to start.”

Emma’s forehead puckered as his words registered. Since when did Killian not know what to say. “Killian, you’re scaring me-” she laughs nervously. “You always know what to say.”

The smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I suppose I should try from the start.” He pauses. “I was afraid I would lose you to this battle. I didn’t think twice and I went to go see the Norn. I made my offer and what I wanted.” He sighs. “I should have known better, she is known for her trickery. I just wanted you to be safe and I didn’t care about the price.”

“Your wolf, Killian I’m—”

Killian interrupted her as he sat in front of her.

“Emma, it was my choice to do this. Unfortunately, she decided to alter our agreement. She took something else.”

Emma feels her stomach drop and her eyes widen. “What did she take?” her voice barely audible.

His hand subconsciously covers hers. “Something far more precious, my love passion.”

Her heart is beating so fast. “Love passion, how can someone take that?”

“Ah, that would be with ancient dark magic, I’m afraid,” Killian says.

“Wait... what does that mean? I don’t understand,” Emma asks, baffled.

Killian bites back his anger at the situation and himself. He did this. “Emma, by taking my love passion, the Norn took my love for you. Although I care deeply for you, I’m afraid my heart isn’t yours. I should clarify, I can no longer feel passion for any woman.” Killian winces at the look on Emma’s face.

Her face went blank. “I don’t understand, we’re True Love. Why would you let her?” she screamed as she stood up. The room shook as her body started to glow brightly.

Killian stands, dumbfounded. As she gets brighter, he has to cover his eyes to approach her. “Emma, love, I didn’t let her take it! She tricked me and I promise you I will find a way to fix this. All you have to do is trust me. Please, calm down.”

Her body starts to dim as his words register. He was always her anchor. Her breathing evens out. “Haven’t you learned anything? We make a hell of a team. We do this together. No more doing stupid stuff on our own.” She laughs. They’re both guilty of that. To be honest, she was the one that was reckless and he normally would like to strategize; that must be because of his military background.

He smiles. “I went to ask for help. Belle will be arriving soon.”

“That’s where you went. You couldn’t call me to let me know you needed time away but you called Belle?” Emma scoffs.

“Emma, she’s the closest thing I have to family left.” He is astonished by her reaction.

“Is she? Because I thought I was your family. My parents love you like a son!” she fumes.

“Don’t you understand? I couldn’t face you after I ruined everything,” he says defeatedly.

At the sight of his defeated demeanor, Emma feels the anger dissolve. “Killian, we will fix this, together. We will take care of that sneaky hag.”

He simply smiles and feels like a fool for ever thinking she wouldn’t understand.

Emma returns his smile. “What’s the plan, Captain? How do we take this bitch down?”

“For now we wait; Belle and Scarlett will arrive soon. Then the fun begins.”

“Can’t we just go to my parents and have them make her give it back or something?” Emma asks.

“The Norn is one of the oldest Faes alive. No Stygia or Rioga would dare to reprimand her. It is said that she was once good and because of the threat of the Darkness she wanted to gain enough power to survive. She started making deals with Dark Fae and she became corrupt. Now she makes deals and sometimes alters them for her enjoyment. Our only choice is to play her game,” Killian states.

The Norn didn’t like waiting around. She’s annoyed that her quarry has proven to be elusive. It didn’t matter, though; in the end, he will be hers. The glamour potion was ready for her next attempt. She is so distracted by the plans she is making for the wolf she covets that she misses the glow between the hair and the wolf’s love passion, indicating they are currently together. The wolf’s heart essence recognized its one true mate.

Emma and Killian had gone to her parents to inform them of Belle’s arrival.

Mary Margaret and David want some sort of explanation, but one look from Emma told them to stand down. They listen as Killian tells them of Belle’s upcoming grand entrance. They agree in an instant to host the Rioga.

In a moment of privacy, Mary Margaret asks Emma if things between her and the wolf are alright.

“Mom, we are okay, I know you and Dad want to know what happened and I just want you two to give us space to solve our issues alone. We are grownups and need to take care of our own problems,” Emma says.

“Alright, Emma. I, that is we, are worried. You were so worried about him and now it seems that’s in the past.”

“Mom, what he did for me, no one would ever even consider to do before. I can’t hate him. I understand why he left. I wish he didn’t, but he’s back and that’s all that matters,” Emma assures her mother.

“Can you tell me why Rioga Belle is visiting?”

“She is coming because Killian needs her.” Emma shrugs.

Mary Margaret nods. “Alright, I know you two have your reasons.”

In a different room, David stares at Killian as he says, “I know you two are working things out, but I have to warn you that if you ever leave town again without a word to my daughter, I will hunt you down and kill you.” David warns. “Killian, she was so worried and we didn’t know how to help her. You have always been the one to tame her anxieties but this time, you were the one causing her pain. Whatever the problem is, True Love is worth fighting for.”

The following day, the Norn twirls the vials with her fingers. She was running out of the Savior’s hair. She had to use more because the last attempt failed. She eyes the potion gleefully; it looks perfect. She uncorks it and drinks it. Her body becomes enveloped by ash gray smoke and is transformed; her hair is platinum-blonde and the eyes are green. It’s closer to her goal, but not exact, but it would do for now. She just needed a kiss to bind him to her. She dresses in a modest green dress and heads to town.

She rarely goes to town, so she looks around. Humans are so vile. They destroy all nature around them. The beautiful trees are gone so they can have luxuries. She scoffs in disgust.

The station is just in sight. She smiles wickedly, it’s time to catch a wolf.

The station is busy with calls. Graham is out on patrol, while Emma is responding to a call at the docks. Killian was alone in the station answering the phones today. He’s running his hand through his hair because he is frustrated and annoyed. They really need to hire someone to answer the phones and deal with these idiots.

The Norn enters and the bell rings to announce her presence. She stands in front of the desk, tapping her fingers on the wooden desk.

Killian sat at his desk twirling a pen with his fingers. He looked down at his notepad. They had to come up with a way to defeat the Norn. Yes, they would still get back his love passion, but he had a feeling that witch would not let it end there. The bell at the front desk caught his attention. Well, he was alone so he better go check out what the problem was. He really hoped it wasn't Leroy.

He approaches the front desk only to find a woman with her back to him. It's an odd feeling. He feels as if he knows her but then his stomach flips and not in a good way. There's something about her. He makes his presence known hesitantly.

"Excuse me, lass. How may I help you?" Killian says with a hesitant smile on his face.

The woman with platinum blonde hair and green eyes turns to him with a smile of her own. "Hello, I was hoping it was you."

Killian shakes his head in confusion because he knows he has never laid eyes on this woman and yet there's a nagging feeling. His wolf reacts as if he is under attack. "How may I help you today?" Killian says through gritted teeth.

"Oh, hello. My name is Hazel Forest. I'm here to make a report. I live on the outskirts of town and there have been some unlawful activities."

Killian quirks a brow as he writes down the information. "I can have Sheriff Graham go take a look. He is in that area."

"Oh no, I'd prefer it if it was you that checked it out. It's not a human problem."

She was saying it was a supernatural problem. He normally would offer his help right away, but there was something putting his wolf on high alert and he had long learned to trust his instincts. There was something wrong and it wasn't what the woman claimed.

"Alright. I will have Emma meet me out there. If there's a problem as you described, it will be better if she assists." He pulls his phone out of his pocket. "You said this was on the outskirts of town. Is this by the toll bridge?"

Her smile fades. "I think you can handle it on your own. I've never heard of a powerful wolf like yourself needing the help of some human."

Killian shakes his head in disbelief. Everyone loved Emma. She was the Savior and daughter of their Rioga, not to mention their bloody princess, but this woman seemed to think she was a simple human.

"Lass, the Savior is not some simple human. She has powerful white magic and I've yet to see her fail. She is the best option for any magical problem," Killian says with a smirk.

The woman tilts her head and scoffs as she walks out of the station.

Killian runs out after her but she is gone. She disappeared into thin air. There's a familiar scent in the air that makes him gag.

The scent lingers in the air for a while. He looks around the empty street because he feels as if he is being watched.

Emma arrives sometime later. He tells her about the encounter. She asks about the woman's description and once he provides it, she scrunches her face.

"How is it possible that there's this sudden influx of unknown women wanting your attention on their case? I know you are great at your job, but it feels off," Emma says.

"Are you saying these women are only out to gain my attention?" he says with a small smile. He has always loved her jealous streak.

"You know what I mean. Yes, I know you're hot and I'm used to women checking you out, but this feels like it’s much more than that."

"Alright, love. How about we go on patrol to see if there was something to it. We don't need a new villain making a play right now. We have yet to take the Norn down and get my passion back."

Emma smiles; she loved going on patrol with him. She knows things are different right now but in her heart she still has hope. The more time they spend together the better. She remembers how it was when they fell in love. It was a somewhat similar situation but with the roles reversed.

They spend the day out on the outskirts by the toll bridge. She glances at him when he is looking around; she knows he is smelling around to see if anything catches his wolf's attention.

Killian glances in Emma's direction when she is too busy looking around for clues. He is still in awe of her. She is bloody amazing.

"Hey, did you find anything?"

"Sorry, no I didn't love. Everything looks fine. I have no idea what the woman was talking about."

"I still think it's fishy. She wanted you to come out here with no back up. I feel something is off in my gut."

"I've learned to trust your instincts. My wolf senses something as well and normally I can pinpoint the problem, but this time it eludes me."

"So, Belle arrives tomorrow. We should be thinking of a plan."

"And we will."

"I guess we should get back to the station. We can continue this talk at your place." She gives him a flirty smile.

Killian scratches his ear. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

Emma tries to hide her disappointment with her reply. "Oh, are you afraid you will find me even more irresistible? Come on lighten up, we are friends above all."

"Aye, that we are." He smiled fondly. "After you."

Tag List:

@rumdrum91 @itsfabianadocarmo @xsajx @hookedonapirate @kmomof4 @searchingwardrobes @seriouslyhooked @profdanglaisstuff @let-it-raines @revanmeetra87 @snowbellewells @hollyethecurious @kymbersmith-90 @branlovestowrite @thejollyroger-writer @shireness-says @ilovemesomekillianjones @thisonesatellite @thesschesthair @winterbythesea @stahlop @resident-of-storybrooke @superchocovian @lfh1226-linda @artistic-writer @thislassishooked @shardminds @winterbaby89 @xhookswenchx @ultraluckycatnd @gingerchangeling @laschatzi @wellhellotragic @xemmaloveskillianx @courtorderedcake @pirateherokillian @optomisticgirl @darkcolinodonorgasm @sherlockianwhovian @andiirivera @djlbg @jennjenn615 @scientificapricot @officerrogers @imlaxdris71 @therealstartraveller776 @kday426 @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713 @donteattheappleshook @spacekrulesbians @lassluna @carpedzem @captainodonoghue @killian-will-do @jarienn972 @tehgreeneyes @demisexualemmaswan @queen-serena88 @swanslieutenant @tiganasummertree @whimsicallyenchantedrose @bethacaciakay @ohmakemeahercules @jrob64 @klynn-stormz @mariakov81 @sals86 @elizabeethan @brooke-to-broch @hookedonhiddles @onceratheart18

#cssns20 #Captain Swan #cs ff

32 notes · View notes

shireness-says · 5 years ago

Text

The Set-Up Scam

Summary: They’ve always been friends first and foremost - Emma and Killian, Killian and Emma - until suddenly, they’re something a little more too. But with a $600 betting pool on the line about when they’ll actually get together - well, maybe there’s incentive to keep the good news a secret. ~5.5k. Rated T for language. Also on Ao3.

~~~~~

A/N: Merry Christmas, @nevertothethird! I was delighted to be your pair for @cssecretsanta2020. It’s been wonderful chatting with you, and I look forward to a full stalking. ;)

You said you liked secret dating, friends to lovers, and characters being forced to work together - so I, like a fool, tried to include all three. I hope you like the result!

Special thanks, as always, to my beta, @snidgetsafan - the greatest treasure under any tree.

Tagging: @ohmightydevviepuu, @welllpthisishappening, @thisonesatellite, @let-it-raines, @kmomof4, @scientificapricot, @thejollyroger-writer, @superchocovian, @teamhook, @optomisticgirl, @winterbaby89, @searchingwardrobes, @katie-dub, @snowbellewells, @spartanguard, @phiralovesloki, @profdanglaisstuff

Enjoy - and let me know what you think!

~~~~~

They’re friends, first and foremost. Best friends, really - Killian and Emma, Emma and Killian. Partners in crime and two peas in a pod and every other cliché there is (and Killian would definitely know all of them). It’s been that way since the very beginning, when Killian let her peek at his attendance quiz answers in that awful intro to astronomy class in college. Their relationship had grown from there: late nights in the library and each others’ dorm rooms, studying or watching movies or chatting, all the way through graduation and eventually grad school. They get each other in a way that usually doesn’t happen for Emma, both coming from rough backgrounds and determined to make the world a better place because of it. Hell, they even work together now at Misthaven County Middle School - Killian as an English teacher, and Emma as a guidance counselor.

And all that time, it’s been strictly platonic.

It’s not like Emma hasn’t looked. He’s an objectively good looking man, and smart and sweet and funny. But he’d been in some “it’s complicated” situation with a grad student when they’d met, and then Emma was in that weird period where she and Graham gave it a shot, and by the time they were both available… well, by that time, they’d been Emma and Killian. Killian and Emma. A collective, a pair, absolutely entwined every way but romantically. He’d become her person, and it wasn’t worth risking that. There was no guarantee a romantic relationship would work out, anyways - or that Killian felt the attraction too.

The thing, though, is that they’re Emma and Killian. Killian and Emma. Always together, always in each other’s stories, two birds of a feather. People constantly think that they’re together - or should be.

Emma doesn’t really mind, most of the time. She and Killian usually think it’s pretty funny, trading stories back and forth on his or her couch. Where it gets annoying is when each and every one of their friends are determined they should be dating. It’s been years of meaningful looks and hints about “so why aren’t you seeing anyone, Emma?” - but the last straw is the stupid, stupid bet.

“I just don’ unnerstand why you and Killian aren’t a couple!” slurs Mary Margaret, assistant principal and friend, at her yearly end-of-summer bash. “You’re ovviously in loooooooooove.”

“Sure we are, Mary Margaret,” Emma placates.

“But why haven’t you yet?” she demands. “You made me lose the pool!”

That draws Emma up short. “I’m sorry, what?”

The little pixie-haired brunette frowns. “Don’t you know? We’ve had a betting pool going for ages about when you’d get together this year. I thought for sure it’d be the Fourth of July.”

It’s a good guess, actually - Ruby throws a famously boozy bash every year at her grandmother’s diner, conveniently situated right below the inn. It’d make sense for them to get drunk and take things upstairs - except for the fact that none of this is rooted in sense in any way, shape, or form.

“That obviously didn’t happen,” Mary Margaret frowns sorrowfully, staring down into her plastic cup full of god-knows-what. It doesn’t last long, though, as she perks right back up. “But they let me make a new guess! I’ve got my money on the Friday after your birthday.”

“How much money are we talking here?” Emma can’t help but ask. It’s like a compulsion, one she doesn’t like or understand.

“Five hundred and fifty dollars.” At least that’s what she thinks Mary Margaret says; the slurring gets particularly bad on the f-sounds. It’s an astounding sum. Truly stupid.

Kind of tempting.

“And everyone bet that it would happen this year?” she makes sure to clarify.

“Yup!” Mary Margaret pops the p-sound and then giggles to herself about the noise.

“Then I’m putting fifty dollars on it not happening this year. That Killian and I won’t get together.”

———

She means it at the time, too. Because yeah, there’s sometimes that niggling little what if?, but they’ve known each other for eight years. Emma and Killian. Killian and Emma. It’s not going to happen - honestly she’s not even sure she would want it to.

Until.

It’s not the Friday after her birthday, when they’re all going to hit the bar, but it’s the night before her birthday - a Tuesday. Killian comes over to grade vocab quizzes and eat greasy pizza, and stays to drink beer and watch stupid baking shows with her on the couch. Honestly, in so many ways, it’s a night like any other: two friends, just enjoying each other’s company.

Until.

Maybe it’s the beers. Maybe something’s been building for longer than she ever thought. Maybe it’s just that they’re both feeling good and, well, it is her birthday. But Killian kisses her - or she kisses Killian - they kiss each other and it’s like something slots into place. Like of course this was going to happen - they were just waiting for the perfect moment. It makes sense, in a way that Emma hasn’t let herself think about; he’s the person she trusts most, the best man she knows, probably the most important person in her life. Her best friend - and, probably, something more.

“That was…” he gasps, some indeterminable amount of time later. Somehow, he’s wound up on top of her on the couch - not that she’s complaining.

“Only the beginning,” Emma completes, smirking in a way she definitely picked up from him.

Now that this has started, she has no intention of stopping.

———

“Ok, don’t kill me - or, like, run away immediately - but I need a favor. A huge one,” Emma says much later, both of them naked and sated beneath her sheets.

Killian laughs beside her, peering up from the pillows with a smile. “After that, darling, I’m predisposed to give you just about anything you want.”

“And I’ll give it to you again,” she quips back, mostly to make him keep laughing. It works. “But seriously. Did you know that everyone’s got a bet going on us?”

That pops his head up. “I’m sorry, a bet? I… What? Who?”

“Seems like pretty much everyone. Ruby, Mary Margaret, David, Robin, Belle… I could go on and on. A six hundred dollar pool on when we get together.”

“Typical,” Killian mutters - though Emma catches a fond note in his tone. “Who’s the lucky winner, then?”

“Ok, this is where the favor comes in.” Hopefully this isn’t a breaking point for him; Emma would hate to have this taste of them, only to have it ripped away from her. “See, Mary Margaret told me about this when she got trashed at the back to school party, and I’d had a few too and was all hopped up on righteous fury or whatever, and I kind of… put fifty dollars in the pot that we wouldn’t get together this year at all.”

Killian stares at her for a moment, and Emma’s frankly scared that he’s going to get out of bed and go - but instead, he bursts into a near-hysterical cackle. “So you want to keep this a secret until the new year, so you can win the pot?”

Emma grins, knowing she must look like the cat that ate the canary (or however that weird-ass saying goes - again, English is Killian’s thing). “Exactly. We could spend it on a weekend getaway or something.”

“I’m in, then. Under the radar.”

“It’s just two months and change,” Emma says. “It’ll speed by. How hard can it be?”

��——

Turns out - their friends are determined to make it as hard as possible. Even if they don’t know it.

Things are fine, at first. In fact, nothing really changes: Emma and Killian still show up at each others’ doors most nights, and Killian comes to hang out and grade papers in her office during his free periods most days. It’s just that their evenings are now filled with kisses and touches, and those afternoons in her office with all kinds of promises of things to come. It’s thrilling, in a way, to put on the front of normality for everyone else while only they know the truth. It’s nice, too, to be able to get their feet underneath them in this relationship without so many prying eyes watching them figure it all out.

Just because they don’t know, though, doesn’t mean their friends stop trying. There’s a bet on the line, after all, and their friends have never exactly been ones to step back and let things naturally run their course. Not for those busybodies; not with six hundred dollars and Emma and Killian’s supposed happiness on the line.

(The fact that they’re right - that the two of them really are happiest together - is irrelevant.)

David, of all people, is the first to start meddling.

“Do you guys want to get dinner?” he asks out of the blue one day - calls Emma up on her phone and everything. “You and Killian and me and Mary Margaret, I mean.”

Emma’s antenna raises immediately. “What, like a double date? C’mon, David —”

“No! No,” he says hastily - a little too hastily, Emma thinks. “No, a cousin of mine - Kris, you’ve met him - he’s opening up his own restaurant. Some place with Scandinavian food, I guess?”

“That’s actually a thing?”

“I guess. I don’t know, he studied abroad in Norway in college. Anyways, he could use a little business, support or whatever, so Mary Margaret and I figured we’d bring some extra people along. You know, help him out. And maybe Scandinavian food is good after all.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

The line sits silent for a moment, before David breaks. “So… you in?”

And as much as Emma suspects this is all some elaborate set-up - well, it’s supposed to be to help someone else. David’s cousin, who she has in fact met and is really a good guy. And so she reluctantly agrees. “Yeah, I’m in. One of us will have to check with Killian if he’s available —”

“What, he’s not right there with you?”

(He is, his lips kiss-swollen and pulled into a delicious smirk, but that’s not the point and none of David’s business.)

“ — but yeah, I’m down.”

In the week between the call and the dinner, Emma actually finds herself starting to look forward to it. Yeah, it won’t be a real date - not with David and Mary Margaret there - but it’s still a chance to wear a pretty dress that’ll make Killian’s eyes bug a little. She’ll have to pick something he’ll have fun taking off of her later, once they’ve pretended to go back to their own homes.

Emma’s just pulling into the parking lot, however, when her phone rings, David’s name popping up on the screen.

“We’re not going to make it tonight,” he says without preamble, followed by the most fake-ass cough Emma’s ever heard in her life. “We’re sick.”

“Yeah, sick off your own lies,” Emma mutters. “Alright, well, I guess we’ll go another time —”

“Oh no, I insist you guys still have dinner. You and Killian deserve to have a night off!”

“David, c’mon, don’t play dumb —”

He ignores her. “Besides, you’ll be doing me - and Kris - a huge favor. I already told him to charge whatever you guys get to me. Splurge a little, have dessert and a bottle of wine. It’s all on me.”

Killian climbs out of his own car as David pleads his case, cocking his head in confusion at the no doubt frustrated look on Emma’s face. He looks like he wants to kiss it better; Emma wishes he could actually do so.

“Fine,” she caves. “If you’re sure. But I’m running up the bill.”

“You say that like it’s a surprise.”

Emma takes particular glee in ending the call. She should have seen this coming. “Looks like David has come down with a possibly fatal cough, so he and Mary Margaret aren’t coming tonight,” she tells Killian, rolling her eyes. No need to resist that particular urge.

He snorts. “Ah, liar-itis. I thought he might be coming down with a case.”

“Complicated by meddler’s cough. Don’t forget that.”

“Of course not.” He dips down to capture her lips in a gentle, lingering kiss - another urge they don’t have to resist with none of their friends around to see it. “You look lovely tonight, Swan.”

She smirks back. “I know.”

“Of course you do,” he laughs. “I’m sure you wore that just to torment me through dinner. Now, shall we?”

“We shall.” Emma slips her hand through his offered arm. “Dinner’s on David, by the way.”

“I’d expect nothing less.”

———

“So, how was dinner?” David asks the next day, his cough mysteriously cleared up.

“Good,” Emma replies, knowing exactly what he’s digging for. “Your cousin’s got a good lingonberry cheesecake. Don’t worry, Killian and I totally ran up the bill. Kris has been well supported. You’re welcome.”

“And?” he demands.

Emma makes sure to play up her confusion. “And… what? It was a great dinner, might even go back if I ever have a date, and then I went home. Honestly, what did you expect to happen, David?”

Even through the phone, she can almost hear him audibly deflate. Something like a sigh, or perhaps the sound of his entire plan collapsing in on itself. Personally, Emma thinks it’s hilarious.

(It’s especially funny when she vividly remembers the way Killian had stripped her out of that dress, can still feel the scratch of his beard on her inner thighs.)

(But again - those are things that David doesn’t need to know.)

———

The set-ups multiply like rabbits, and Emma starts to notice her and Killian being forced into more and more situations together, just the two of them. Fuck only knows why they think these clumsy attempts will work; after all, Emma and Killian held out for 8 years of each other’s company before finally getting together (without anyone’s help, she might add). Still,

Trivia night is a weekly tradition for them all, down at the Rabbit Hole. Some weeks, the turnout is good; sometimes, not so much. They usually meet up at someone’s house and carpool from there because there’s not a ton of parking spots outside the bar, and it’s always worked well - two, maybe three cars instead of a half dozen or more. It’s a good time, and Emma always finds herself looking forward to Thursdays.

Tonight, they’ve met at Robin’s, Killian’s former roommate. It’s a good crowd tonight, too - Robin and his fiance Marian, Mary Margaret with David, Belle the librarian, Ruby and Mulan, even Graham and Lance and Tink. The gang’s all here, probably trying to let loose a bit before holiday obligations set in, and they’re raring to go - all twelve of them.

Emma hopes that it’s not planned - that there just happen to be two cars and then some worth of people here - but it’s more likely planned. Robin probably twisted their arms to come, just for this.

“Emma, would you mind checking the door one more time?” he calls as they congregate in the driveway. “I’m sure I locked it, but I’ve just got that niggling little feeling…”

“Sure, no problem.” And it isn’t - it’s checking the damn door. Except it’s actually winding down his stupidly picturesque front garden path to the front door, and then having to maneuver around the always-unlocked outer glass door to make sure that the real door is locked, and then maneuvering and winding and everything back… and by the time Emma makes it back, everyone’s already piled into Mary Margaret’s station wagon and Robin’s little SUV, even the middle seats everyone usually hates, leaving just the conniving man himself and Killian standing on the asphalt.

“Sorry, looks like the two of you will be riding together,” Robin says, not seeming remotely sorry. “This is convenient anyways! I know how much time you two spend together, if you decide that it’s easier to crash together afterwards… it wouldn’t be a problem for the extra car to stay here overnight.”

“Oh, I’m sure it wouldn’t be,” Emma grumbles. “I don’t suppose you have any underlying motive here, do you Robin? Say, to the tune of six hundred dollars?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” he responds cheerily. “I just really, really want you to know that you can keep your options open. And, you know, other euphemistic things if the urge moves you.”

Asshole.

(Emma does not leave her car at Robin’s overnight - but that doesn’t stop Killian from meeting her at her place afterwards.

“This euphemistic enough for you, love?” he teases as Emma pulls at his shirt, trying to tug the cotton tee over his head.

“How’s this for a euphemism: fuck me.”

“That’s not exactly how that word works, Swan.”

“I could not possibly give fewer shits about semantics than I do right now, Killian, unless it somehow relates to you getting your pants off.”

Somehow, even in the midst of their frantic stripping, he manages to laugh. “As you wish.”

She’s always preferred straight talking anyways.)

———

“Thank god I found you both!” Mary Margaret declares, bursting into Emma’s office a little too dramatically for her tastes. Until now, she and Killian had been having a wonderful lunch together, but that’s obviously a thing of the past now.

“That seems a little extreme for a Friday,” Killian comments mildly as he sets his cafeteria burger back down on the styrofoam tray. Personally, Emma thinks the cafeteria food is disgusting, but Killian’s got a real fondness for the cheeseburgers, and especially the french fries. No one’s perfect, she guesses. “What terrible impending tragedy can Emma or I save you from, Mary Margaret?”

“Kathryn’s father is in the hospital, so she and Fred can’t work their assigned booth at the Winter Carnival tomorrow.” Storybrooke County School District’s charity carnival is a tradition every winter - one Mary Margaret takes very seriously. Something that’s clearly about to come back and bite them all in the ass. “Would you two be able to cover tomorrow? You’d be doing me such a huge favor…”

Killian raises a single eyebrow as he turns to meet Emma’s eye - that eyebrow that always seems like a dare. “My schedule’s clear this weekend. Count me in. What do you say, Swan, think you can find room in your schedule to save Mary Margaret from the tragedy of all tragedies?”

Emma rolls her eyes at the way he’s putting it on thick, but truth be told, her only plans had been spending the day with Killian. Might as well. “Sure, what the hell,” she says, reaching for another bite of her microwave pizza. “I don’t have anything else going on.”

In retrospect, Emma realizes that Mary Margaret could have done something terrible with this - assigned them to the kissing booth or something. God, she hopes that there’s not a kissing booth at a middle school carnival, but it feels like just the kind of thing she’d pull. Thankfully, they’re set up at the ring toss game. It’s not strenuous in the least; they don’t even have to take money, just paper tickets. Really, the only questionable thing is that they’re crammed right together in the box formed between the booth walls and the counter and the table of bottles behind them. Maybe that’s something that would have bothered her a few weeks ago, back when they were Emma and Killian but not Emma and Killian. Now, it’s just an excuse to get right up in his space and enjoy all those little touches, right under everyone’s nose.

(Maybe, every time they have to duck under the counter to retrieve poorly-thrown rings, Killian takes the opportunity to steal a quick kiss while no one else can see. And maybe - just maybe - Emma uses those same opportunities to steal her own kisses right back.)

“Soooooo, how’s it going?” Mary Margaret chirps when she pops up out of nowhere mid-afternoon. It’s like she thinks she’ll find them making out in the middle of the carnival or something. Which… fair. The urge is there. But they’re professionals - and Emma wants that money, dammit. She’s not caving here.

“Just fine, Mare,” Emma replies. “Nothing worth reporting.”

“There’s not? You two are looking awfully cozy in there… nothing to report?”

“Well, you’re the one who set up the booths, so…”

“Aye, just making the best of it,” Killian helpfully adds.

Emma almost feels guilty about the way that Mary Margaret visibly deflates.

“You know this was another ridiculous set-up, right, love?” Killian asks once their friend has walked away. “She probably never even needed our help. It was all a ploy.”

“I see it now,” Emma sighs. “I had just weirdly hoped she’d be above all that bullshit.”

Killian quirks that eyebrow yet again. “Mary Margaret? Infamous meddler? Of course not. It’s cute that you thought that though, darling.”

“Oh, shut up.”

(“Mary Margaret told me to take the weekend off, that they’d over-scheduled,” Kathryn tells Emma later when she tries to ask how the other woman’s father is doing. “Was that not the case?”)

(Fucking figures.)

———

Ruby, frankly, is not a surprise. In fact, if there was one person Emma would figure would be pulling this bullshit, it’s Ruby. The girl’s too competitive for her own damn good - not to mention that mile-wide chaotic streak running through her soul.

“Pucker up!” she crows, thrusting what Emma assumes is a sprig of mistletoe over her and Killian’s heads. They’re at Ruby and Mulan’s place for… some party; it’s probably, maybe holiday themed, but Ruby’s never needed an excuse to throw a party. Anything to get them all drunk and laughing and forgetting about the stresses of the week.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Emma demands. “Ruby, don’t be stupid. This isn’t college anymore.”

“Oh, like we ever did this in college,” Ruby scoffs with that devious twinkle in her eye. “Besides, college shenanigans are a state of mind. And I’m not giving that up. Now c’mon, no weaseling out of this.”

“It is the rules,” Mulan points out, appearing to slip her arm around Ruby’s waist and drop an affectionate - if slightly tipsy - kiss on her shoulder.

“Yeah, you hear that? Smart half says it’s the rules. So go ahead and pucker up and kiss him. And then go make out for a while and maybe bone each other so I can win the pool.”

Killian blushes a little bit at the phrasing - something that’s surprisingly cute on him, knowing how often he usually tosses around the innuendoes and exactly how dirty a mouth he has when they’re alone. Before Emma knows what he’s doing, he leans in to press a gentle kiss to her cheek, and then another, smacking one for good measure. “Who are we to deny the great, determined Ruby Lucas?” he proclaims grandly. “One kiss: delivered.”

Ruby’s face gets a bit mutinous; it’s the only word for that particular storm cloud, really. “No it isn’t! That’s cheating!”

“Eh. Technically, it was a kiss.” God bless Mulan for being the only one willing to go against Ruby when she’s got a plan; perks of being the girlfriend, Emma supposes.

“And more importantly, Rubes, that’s all you’re going to get from us.” And that’s Emma’s last word on the subject.

(“Happy Christmas, darling,” Killian whispers into her neck later once they’re back at her place, dangling his own sprig of mistletoe over their heads. “How about it? C’mon, give us a kiss.”

Emma is more than happy to comply.)

———

Emma wouldn’t say it’s common for her to get calls from the school librarian, Belle, but it’s not unusual either. So when Belle calls her up in mid-December, shortly before Christmas break, Emma doesn’t think twice about it.

“The new Scholastic catalogs are here,” Belle informs her. “I haven’t started sending them to classrooms yet, but if you want to take a look now…”

“I’ll be right there.” Yes, the catalogs are full of books for middle school students, but Emma still loves those things. They’re chock-full of nostalgia.

“I haven’t even taken them out of the box yet,” Belle explains when Emma meets her at the check-out desk. “They’re all still in the back room. Here, I’ll let you in.”

That should have been Emma’s clue here. Why would a box of new catalogs, just arrived in the mail, already be shoved into the storage closet? But Emma’s too excited about the prospect of those newsprint magazines to think about it. By the time Emma realizes there’s nothing in this little closet but printer paper and old yearbooks… Belle’s already closed and locked the door, trapping Emma inside.

So it’s yet another set up, most likely. It’s a good thing she’s not claustrophobic, at least.

Sure enough, not five minutes later, Emma can hear Killian’s voice outside the door.

“How many boxes did you say it was, Belle? I’m happy to help haul, but I’m just wondering if we should get a hand cart to assist.”

“Oh no, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Belle’s voice responds. “Just a few trips for each of us. Right in here…”

And suddenly, Killian’s in the cramped little closet too, and the door is shut and latched behind them. Gee, what a surprise.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Emma comments dryly. Somehow, probably on some kind of ridiculous romantic instinct, Killian’s hands have already found their way to her hips. It’s nice, really, ignoring the circumstances.

His face is adorably confused, looking around the room and back to the door and then to Emma’s own face and all over again. “Did she just lock us in here?”

“Yeah, keep up, Jones,” Emma teases. “I assume another stupid set-up effort.”

That makes the confusion disperse alright, a smirk full of promise creeping across his face instead. “If that’s the case… we’ll just have to make the most of it.”

“Oh no you don’t,” she warns. “There’s a camera in here.”

“So? It’s not like she’s watching the monitors.”

“So, Belle recently started dating Will Scarlet in IT. You want to take the chance she locked us in here, and forgot to have her boyfriend monitor us?”

“Fuck,” Killian swears, dropping his head back in dramatic emphasis. “They’re really going overboard, aren’t they?”

“I’ll make it up to you later. I promise.”

Thirty minutes later, when Emma and Killian have done nothing but talk and try to find some little extra space in the crowded closet, Belle finally lets them out, just in time for the end of Killian’s free period.

“I’m sure you have no idea how that happened,” he comments, sarcasm dripping from every word.

“It’s just the weirdest thing,” Belle agrees.

Well, that’s one way of putting it.

(Emma makes it up to him, several times over, at her place that night, with a take-out pizza to boot.)

———

After what feels like an eternity, it’s finally here: New Year’s Eve. As long as they make it to midnight and the new year proper without anyone finding out, this whole ridiculous farce is over, and they can be the couple they’ve technically already been since October. Emma and Killian, Killian and Emma - but more than they had been before.

They’d spent Christmas together - not that that was anything unusual. With everyone else going to visit family, the two of them often spend the day together, eating take-out Chinese and watching holiday movies. Killian’s got a brother back in England that he makes sure to call, and some years Liam will fly over, but Killian usually saves his visits for summer vacation, when he can stay in whatever little English hamlet his brother calls home for weeks at a time. There’s always something nice about spending the holidays together, just the two of them, but it was extra special this year. Who knew Emma was the kind of girl who wanted to trade kisses under the Christmas tree between swapping gifts?

(Killian, apparently - but then again, he’s always claimed to know her better than she knows herself.)

“Just a few more hours,” he murmurs against her neck, twining his arms about her waist from behind as Emma carefully brushes on mascara. “Few more hours, and then it’s all in the open.”

“Thank god for that, too. After all the PDA we’ve gotten from certain people all these years, I’m looking forward to rubbing it in their faces a bit.”

They carpool to Mary Margaret and David’s, just like they do every year. It’s routine, really; Emma always crashes at Killian’s after the annual New Year’s Eve party so that someone is there to help her with the hangover in the morning. Killian makes better hashbrowns than anyone she knows - even Granny - and they always manage to pull her out of the worst of her misery. He’s good about taking care of her, too, with water and Advil and making sure to shut all the shades as tightly as possible. They even share a bed a lot of years; it’s just that tonight, Emma knows there will be a lot fewer clothes involved.

They drink. They eat. They mingle. Sometimes, they’re together, carefully not touching, and sometimes they drift apart. That’s how this party usually works, after all - and Emma is nothing if not committed to seeing this entire thing through, pretending nothing is different this year, that she and Killian definitely aren’t together. Nothing to see here, folks.

God, she’s so fucking lucky he didn’t cut and run once it became obvious just how much of a competitive lunatic Emma is.

Finally, though, it’s the moment - less than a minute left. Killian is already waiting for her by the patio doors, just like he promised. Emma is only too happy to wind her way over there, grinning when she finally finds herself in front of her boyfriend - about to be secret no longer. Behind them, the assembled drunken crowd loudly counts down the last seconds of the year. They keep their hands determinedly to themselves - just as agreed, so no one can try and claim anything happened before the strike of the new year - but Killian still looks at her with that twinkle in his eyes and wiggling eyebrows. It’s anticipation, and excitement, and a good bit of joy - knowing that soon, this will all be out in the open. No more keeping their hands to themselves.

“You ready for this, love?” he says just loud enough for her to hear as the clock hits ten seconds.

“Hell yeah,” she grins back - because she is. She so is. This has been a long time coming - years in the making, really - and you know what? The whole secrecy may have helped her wrap her head around the whole thing, as well as win her the pot, but she’s ready to take it public. Maybe rub it in everyone’s faces just how happy she is and how she did this on her own schedule. Why the hell not?

Cheers erupt all around them, and Emma’s grin stretches to something that almost hurts her face. Killian looks much the same. “Happy New Year, love,” he says, finally pulling her towards him by the hips. “I think it’ll be our best one yet.”

Fireworks are going on outside, lighting up the snow on the ground, but Emma can’t be bothered to pay attention - not when Killian attacks her lips with purpose, grinning happily into the kiss before she insistently deepens it, slipping her tongue into his mouth to play. It’s just another in a series of kisses, they know - but it’s more than that. It’s a display, in the best way, declaring them them.

Emma and Killian. Killian and Emma. A pair, a unit, a couple.

“HA!” shrieks someone across the room as their make-out finally gains attention. Emma thinks it might be Ruby - though, at this point, it might be Mary Margaret. Maybe both. It’s definitely Ruby who materializes just as Emma and Killian finally break apart with a laugh. “It’s about fucking time!”

“Yeah,” Emma agrees - something that seems to short-circuit Ruby’s brain for a moment, if that look on her face is anything to go by. “It really was. And you know what else?”

Ruby shakes her head mutely, that twist of her eyebrows demonstrating that she’s still trying to get her bearings about what the fuck is happening here.

“It’s the new year. That pot is mine.”

“That’s my girl,” Killian whispers in her ear.

Best. New Year’s. Ever.

———

On January 1st of the new year, Emma and Killian - Killian and Emma - they, them, a pair, a unit, a couple take their six hundred dollars in winnings and treat themselves to a goddamn massive lunch at Granny’s. Together. In public. Because they deserve it.

Grilled cheese has never tasted so good to Emma - especially the crumbs off the corners of Killian’s lips.

#csss20 #cssecretsanta2020 #cs ff #captain swan #cs fanfiction #my writing #the set-up scam #secret dating #friends to lovers #oh my god and they were ACCOMPLICES #happy holidays everyone!

124 notes · View notes

shaynawrites23 · 5 years ago

Text

Fight

Word count: 1385

Pairing: Killian Jones x reader

You bit your lip, eyes wandering to the scenes unfolding in front of you through the window. You spotted Mary Margaret walking hand in hand with David, laughing at something Emma had said. Neal sat with Henry underneath the willow tree in the park reading his book of fairy tales. Even your father and Belle were out and about, her arm slipped through his as they ambled down the street.

A wave of jealousy flooded over you. Why couldn't you have what they had? Why did your father get such a large say in your life, even though you were an adult and capable of making your own decisions? Why?

You had been so caught up in your thoughts, you didn't realize how hard you were gripping your glass of water until you looked back down at it. You exhaled, focusing on relaxing every muscle in your body.

Glancing around the cafe, you took note of how few customers there were. You sat there alone every day, waiting for your best friend Ruby's shift to end. She knew about your secret, seeing how close you were, but you made her promise not to tell anyone.

What secret was it, what was so important to hide from everyone? Well, that would be your relationship with Killian Jones, your father's worst enemy.

You knew it was wrong, you knew you were lying to him. And your mind was constantly battling your heart when it came to your boyfriend. But you couldn't bring yourself to throw away the chance you had at love, true love perhaps, just because your father disliked him.

That night, you snuck out of the house again, for your scheduled rendezvous with Killian. You needed to take the utmost care not to be caught, and so far, it was working. You felt a twinge of guilt when you passed your father's room, but it wasn't enough to stop you.

'Hey there, love.' Killian' s smooth voice made you jump as his arms wrapped around your waist, his hot breath fanning your ear when he laughed at your surprise.

'I told you to stop doing that!' You whisper-yelled at him, turning in his arms to face him.

He simply grinned. You could never resist him, not even now as you lost the battle to stop a smile from spreading across your face.

'Hey, Captain.' You whispered, leaning up to meet his lips halfway. Your arms wrapped around his neck and-

'Hey! Pirate! Step away from her!'

The two of you jumped apart in the blink of an eye. Well, more like you jumped out of his arms. You seemed to be more afraid than he was. And rightfully so, for the day you had dreaded for so long had finally arrived.

Your father stood before you, his expression like thunder, and he looked like he might actually be considering murder.

'Dad, no, please don't hurt him.' You pleaded. But to no avail. Before you could process it, your father had curled his hand into a fist and your boyfriend was on the ground holding his throat, gasping for air.

'No, no, no, dad, please, punish me if you need to, but please don't hurt him!' You grabbed your father's arm, dropping to your knees in front of him.

'(Y/N), this is for your own good.' He snarled, his invisible chokehold on Killian growing stronger and stronger.

You looked between the two, internally weighing your options. Should you fight your father, the former Dark One, for Killian's life, or should you plead with him, agree to do anything he wished? If you chose the latter, he would likely force you to come with him and have you forget Killian, or at the very least, he would make sure you never saw each other again.

'(Y- Y/N),' Killian choked out, reaching for you, and you made your choice.

'Dad, I love you. But I love him as well, with all my heart. And should I have to choose between you, I'd pick him. So I'm really sorry, but if you want to kill him, kill me as well.' You stood tall, preparing for whatever was to come.

But to your surprise, you heard shouting and a red blur tackled your father. His grip on Killian released, and your pirate gasped, his chest heaving as the air entered his lungs. You ran to his side, helping him up to standing position, though you still had to support him.

Looking back at your father, you saw what, or rather who, saved you. Ruby. Your father had hobbled off back home by now, and the girl in the red cloak stood before you.

'Figured you might need help someday.' She smiled.

You stayed on board the Jolly Roger with Killian for days before Belle sought you out.

'You need to talk to your father. He hasn't been the same since the fight.'

'Not the same? What do you mean by that?' You crossed your arms. You were definitely not planning to go apologize to him if that was what Belle was implying.

'He won't leave his shop, he refuses to see anyone. He's been extra cranky, and we often hear shouting or crashing when passing by. He's different, (Y/N). I spoke to him over the phone and he regrets everything he did.'

'Well then, he can stop by and apologize to Killian.'

'But-'

'I'm sorry Belle, but either he does that or we're not talking.'

She nodded and left, seeing as you weren't going to budge on the matter.

It took another week before anything happened. You just continued avoiding your father and living on Killian's ship, and your father continued avoiding you and not leaving his house.

However, one day, Smee called for you. Both of you. You ran up to the deck only to be confronted with the sight of your father standing there.

'I'm- I'm here to talk to the captain.'

You and Killian shared a look. 'Alright, crocodile.' He made a beckoning motion, leading the older man to his cabin below deck. You followed, not trusting the situation.

'Killian, what? No, I don't trust this. He could kill you without a second thought.'

'I'll be fine, love. Don't worry, if I need you I'll give you a signal.'

'I'll wait nearby. Don't try anything.' You emphasized the last three words, glaring at your father before leaving, although you decided to wait right outside the door in case anything happened.

'Look, I shouldn't have reacted the way I did.' Mr. Gold, or Rumplestiltskin, began. 'The truth is, I despise you, but I'm sure you knew that.'

'Aye, it's not hard to pick up on.' Killian grunted.

'(Y/N) is all I have left. Milah is dead and Bae left me when he discovered the dagger. But that is no excuse for me to control her life. I... have learned that by doing so, I will simply be pushing her away.'

'What's your point?'

'(Y/N) loves you. When I found out, I was enraged. It felt like Milah all over again, and I assumed the worst. That she wanted to leave. But for her sake, I will tolerate you. And I sincerely apologize for my actions.' He bowed his head humbly. He had had to swallow a huge chunk of his pride in order to apologize, but he realized it was worth it.

'(Y/N)!' Killian yelled and you, having heard most of their conversation, entered quickly and calmly.

'Yes?'

'Love, don't pretend you didn't hear us.' Your face heated up when he said that, but you shifted your attention to the other man in the room.

'So, lass, what are your thoughts on this?' Killian probed gently.

'What he did was terrible, and I will try, but I don't know if I will ever be able to forgive him for that. However, I know how hard it is to apologize, and if it were up to me, I'd accept it. It's your decision, Captain.'

'Alright. Look, crocodile, I'm willing to put that behind us for (Y/N)'s sake. So I suggest we make a deal. I won't hurt you if you do the same for me.'

Killian held out his hand, and after a tense moment, Mr. Gold shook it.

'Deal.'

#killian jones #killian jones x reader #captain hook #captain hook x reader #ouat fanfiction #once upon a time #xreader #reader insert #ouat imagine #killian jones oneshot #killian jones imagine #captain hook oneshot #captain hook imagine

275 notes · View notes

elizabeethan · 5 years ago

Note

14!

Hanging Up Mistletoe

This took a turn... so enjoy some smutty crack on this lovely Monday afternoon

Takes place in the My Hands, Your Hands universe!

Send me a Holiday Prompt!

Killian won’t stop humming It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas.

It’s been eight weeks since their first date, just one night after their first kiss, and everything has been perfect. She’s never been so happy, day in and day out, and Killian has been a wonderful and respectful partner to her. The only problem is that they still haven’t told their friends, and he won’t stop humming.

“Did you know Michael Buble covered this song, Swan?” He asked her as he messed with a piece of tape, and she rolled her eyes.

It’s not as if they’re trying to keep it a secret. Both of them have been in relationships that have ended badly, and they agreed that it might be nice to keep things to themselves for the first little while, but they weren’t purposely not telling anyone. It’s just that no one has asked.

They all celebrated Thanksgiving together in the loft a few weeks ago and still no one noticed. It isn’t like Killian’s being shy with the way he flirts with her, and she certainly isn’t shy about returning it, but no one seems to give them a second glance. Perhaps that’s why they’ve gotten so comfortable with publicly and excessively flirting with each other and then sneaking off to bump uglies in his bedroom.

Perhaps that’s why hanging the mistletoe in the living room has led to Emma waiting for him in his room wearing nothing but her festive apron.

She sneaks across the hall into his room almost every night. Some nights it’s not for sex, but most nights it is. It’s just that he’s really good at it. She tries to brush from her mind the amount of practice he may or may not have had throughout his life, because she honestly doesn't care. Whatever it took for him to get like that is good enough for her.

She sees that her text has been read, then hears a slight commotion outside the door before it swings open much too quickly and she’s met with her grinning, already-slightly-hard boyfriend. She giggles. “That didn’t take long,” she says playfully.

“Well, when I get a distress call from a fair maiden, I’m on the spot.”

“I’m not distressed.”

“No? I thought you needed help with untying these…” he says, suggestively trailing his fingers along the bow tied at the front of the apron, just under her breasts. “Isn’t that what the photo you sent me was supposed to convey?”

She hums out a giggle again, tugging on the collar of his shirt and dragging him onto the bed on top of her. “I needed help hanging some more mistletoe,” she mumbles between kisses, “in here.”

“Over this?” He asks, pressing a kiss to the side of her breast exposed to the chilly air. “Or perhaps we should hang it a bit… lower…”

He trails his fingers down the front of the apron, tugging the bow undone and letting the ties fall to her side. “How low?” She asks breathlessly as he drags his mouth down, down, down.

He hums a throaty laugh into her skin and it makes her shiver. She lets her eyes slip closed as he drags his hand up her thigh, stopping to squeeze her ass firmly then moving swiftly to bury his head under the fabric of the apron and nip at her exposed flesh. She doesn’t hesitate to lift her knees, opening herself up to him easily and planting her heels on his back as he dives in with little preamble.

Did she mention that he’s good at this?

So good, in fact, that she has to grab his pillow and shove it over her own face to keep from shouting and alerting the others of their activities as he dives two fingers into her and curls them just right.

The only thing keeping the apron from falling off of her is the straps tied around her neck, and she’s about to tug them open so that she can remove it and see his dark hair between her legs, moving her hand from the pillow to behind her neck, when the door flies open.

“Killian, have you seen Em— ooooh, shit.” He stills under the apron. Emma stills under the pillow. She pushes it harder to her face in hopes that it suffocates her so that she doesn't have to face Ruby. “I see. I won’t tell her I saw you and… whoever this is,” she says pointedly, aggressively, and slams the door.

He hums in thought against her sensitive clit and she squeezes her thighs around his head. “Dammit, Killian,” she says exasperatedly. She expects him to stop and to pop his cocky face up from between her thighs, but he doesn't. She tosses the pillow aside so that she can look down at him, though he’s still hiding below the apron as he continues his ministrations against her. “You should,” she starts, but she can’t finish. Well, actually she can, and she likely will if he doesn't stop, but he really should stop, shouldn’t he?

He doesn't stop. He continues to curl his thick fingers against her just so, sucking and nipping at her clit until she’s putty in his hands. She presses her heels harder into his back to hold him in place, begging him not to move from exactly the spot that he’s in, then shoves the apron away so that she can grip his hair. “Fuck,” she breathes out. “Don’t sto—” He doesn’t stop until she’s seeing stars. Or maybe they’re silver bells. Whatever.

He laughs lightly as he crawls up her body, sucking on his fingers and licking his lips because he absolutely wants to drive her completely insane. When he reaches her head, he presses a soft kiss to her lips and runs his weakened left hand along the side of her face as best he can. “How the hell did she not know it was you?”

“Because I had my face shoved into a pillow to keep quiet.”

He laughs again, kissing her temple as he settles next to her and drapes his arm over the waist. “Well, it didn’t work very well in the end there.”

“I didn’t notice.”

“I’m sure the others did, love.”

She shrugs, snuggling into his side and biting against his collarbone. “Maybe we should go out there. Although I did lose my clothes, and I’m pretty sure Ruby’s probably waiting in my room.”

“You lost them, did you? Is that what’s happened here, you minx?” She giggles softly against his chest, the breath coming from her nose moving the hair just slightly. “Are you alright with them knowing?”

“Yeah. Are you?”

“Yeah.”

~~~~

Ruby isn’t waiting in her room, so she’s able to safely get dressed and join the small party after applying a bit of concealer to the side of her neck. Killian isn’t there, but she assumes that he’ll be on his way.

“There you are, sweetie,” Mary Margaret says as she re-enters and is tugged into the kitchen. “Ruby and I need to talk to you.”

“Emma!” Ruby calls once she’s in the kitchen, and she rushes over to her friend and takes her hands. “You okay?”

“Fine, why?”

Ruby sighs and Mary Margaret runs a hand comfortingly up Emma’s arm. Emma smirks slightly but holds it together as Ruby says, “I don’t want you to freak out, but I just walked in on Killian and the girl he’s been boning. I’m so sorry.”

“Ruby—”

“We really didn’t want you to find out like this, Emma. We know you’ve had feelings for him and you’ve seemed so happy lately, but he’s been sleeping around with some woman. David and Will say they hear them almost every night.”

They both look so concerned for their friend, and Emma finds it sweet aside from the fact that they’re completely off base. “It’s alright,” she says with a soft smile.

“No it isn’t, it’s completely insensitive. That’s why we sent David in to talk to him.”

Emma laughs and shakes her head as she makes her way to the fridge for some eggnog. “I’m sure that’s not necessary.”

“We just want what’s best for you, Emma. Ruby told me about a few weeks ago when you almost kissed, and if the two of you didn’t work out, that’s fine, but he shouldn’t be rubbing it in your face.”

“I think I’m the one rubbing it in his face,” she deadpans, and Ruby scrunches her thick, perfect brows together in confusion.

“What, the fact that you’re single?”

She laughs, then hears David’s booming voice coming from down the hall as he makes his way towards the living area and she knows that he’s pissed.

“Would it kill you to take this seriously, Jones? This is my sister we’re talking about here.”

“Aye, mate, I’m well aware. I believe I’m taking things very seriously.”

“Then at least have the decency to be discreet!” He shouts.

“David,” Emma tries.

“No, Emma, I’m tired of Killian being a huge asshole to you and having no regard for how you might be feeling. It’s not a secret how you felt that night the last time we played that stupid game.”

“I know it isn’t.”

“So don’t you want him to quit flaunting his new fling when he knows you live across the hall?”

“David, I’m his new fling.”

His face falls. He goes from angry to irate in a matter of seconds as he absorbs Emma’s meaning, turning slowly towards her with his eyes the size of saucers then back around to Killian. “My sister?!”

“Mate—”

“Don’t you mate me! You think you can get away with defiling my sister? My best friend and my sister?!”

“David, honey, just calm down,” Mary Margaret says, making her way around the counter.

“My best friend and my sister!”

“David, he isn’t defiling me! We’ve been dating for two months!”

He freezes. He turns back towards her and she can see the red flush fading as he seems to relax. “Dating?”

“Yes, dating. Like, we’re in a relationship.”

He turns towards Killian again, who looks to Emma and grins. “Relationship?”

“Aye, mate.”

“My best friend and my sister…” he says, as if trying it on for size now, rather than using it as an excuse for second degree murder.

“Right. Dating.”

“You two are dating?” Ruby asks from behind her, and she spins around and smirks.

“Yep.”

“So earlier… when I busted into Killian’s room…”

“Yeah, thanks for that.”

“Oh my god…”

“You guys need to learn to keep it down, then, bloody hell,” Will says from the couch.

Christmas goes off without another hitch.

They try really, really hard to keep it down later on when they pick up where they left off, honest.

Some things just don’t always go to plan.

~~~~

#ask #anon #writing prompts #holidays prompts #smut #cs smut #sorta #captain swan #my writing #my hands your hands #mhyh #my hands your hands ff

29 notes · View notes

treatian · 4 years ago

Text

The Chronicles of the Dark One: Magical Loopholes

Chapter 68: Invitation Only

The second he set foot out of the library, he allowed his mind to shift. He left Belle and their time together in bed with her and began to think about the day ahead, of what the town was doing, and what he needed to do as well. The first order of business, always, was Baelfire. In his shop, he had two small vials left of the potion he'd worked on for the town line. Two small vials, one extraordinary fact…it was too much. He didn't need both of those vials, no matter how nervous it made him to have so little. At the end of the day, he needed only one for himself and one for a preliminary test. He wanted to send someone over the town line to see if all his theories held together, just to see if his work was effective. If the person returned, with their memories, then he'd know it was safe enough to test on himself.

And he knew exactly who he wanted to test it on.

He retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Dove, who answered him sleepily. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Business hours for you, Mr. Dove, are any time I call."

"What do you want, Gold?" he answered unhappily.

"I'd like for you to locate William Smee and keep an eye on him for the day. You tracked him down last time, so I'm assuming if you leave early enough, you can catch him this time."

"What do you want him for?"

"That's my business," he stated clearly. "Your business is to find him and wait for my instructions."

"As you command, O Ye Mighty Dark One."

It wasn't exactly "Boss," and he could use a little less snark…but he'd take it.

"Any news on Regina?"

"No. The funeral for the doctor is tomorrow, and there's some kind of gathering for him tonight, but both seem to be 'invite-only.'"

Good. He was counting on that. He hung up with a word to Dove about keeping in touch and then turned to his work for the day, which was really just a distraction to keep himself from going back over to the library, finding Belle, and…

Focus. The time for that was over and done. Now was the time for Baelfire, for his son.

The magic he'd developed was ready for tonight, ready for the test he had in mind. It was a big step, but he had faith in his magic. If he'd done his job right, then his magic should allow him to get through the border. And after that? He had a theory.

Before he'd gone missing, August had told him that this was not a land completely devoid of magic but that it did exist here when people believed in it. If that was the case, then beyond the border, he should be fine. He believed in his magic. If he believed, then whatever magic he imbued into the shawl should work.

He had no evidence that theory would hold up, but he also had no reason to think he'd have to test it. As far as he was concerned, the second he was beyond the border, the shawl was going to stay firmly around his neck. And then there would be nothing standing between him and Baelfire. Nothing.

He was just getting ready to call Dove and get a status update on Smee when he heard the bell on the shop ring. There was no overwhelming sense of magic to tell him who had come in, but he quickly pocketed the dose of magic that he had just in case it was-

Belle.

"Hi," she smiled, pulling back the curtain and letting herself into the back room.

"Hey!" He instantly felt a smile spread across his own face at the gesture. He hadn't been expecting her, not knowing she was supposed to meet Ruby at the dinner. But it was a wonderful surprise. And watching her walk into the back, stride around his table, and kiss him like she owned the place every bit as much as him…it had a strange effect on him he couldn't quite put words to. But he liked it.

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you."

He felt his stomach drop and heard the sound of blood rushing through his ears. He reached out to hold her, to pull her closer on instinct. Regina…had she come after her? Threatened her? Had anyone come looking for her?

"No!" she exclaimed suddenly as if she'd read his thoughts and understood her mistake. She shook her head and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him down to her, bringing his forehead to rest upon her own. "No, no, no, everything is fine."

Fine. She was fine. She was happy and healthy and fine. She was holding him secure in her arms, and he was holding her back, and all was well. But, fuck, had he always been his protective? Had his mind always jumped immediately to conclusions like this?

Belle suddenly took a deep breath and pulled away so that she could look at him. "I was on my way to Granny's, and I realized I never asked if you wanted to come with me tonight?"

She'd made a statement, but the inflection and the look in her eyes suggested it was a question, an invitation. Did he want to come with her tonight? Wasn't that a difficult question to answer...

He always wanted to be with her, especially after these last few days. But where and how he wanted her was not always suitable for a public audience. Besides, tonight he already had plans, and while he would have taken her for them, he wasn't so sure she'd approve of what he was about to do. In addition, the words "invite-only" kept repeating over and over in his head. That was not something he'd secured. When Ruby had talked to Belle about coming tonight, she'd made it very clear it was only her that was invited. Not him.

"I don't think I have many friends there, Belle," he muttered, pulling free from her grasp and leading her out into the main room away from whatever he'd been mindlessly working on before she arrived. He was glad she was here, happy to spend this time with her and only her and for that reason, and to give his hands something to do, when he made it to the front door, he turned the sign to "closed" and shut the shades. Privacy, that was what he longed for with her above all.

She smiled at him when he turned back to see him. But while her smile was soft and sympathetic, there was something hard in her eyes that made him realize she hadn't liked something he'd said. He'd closed the store for privacy; perhaps he should have closed it in anticipation of a fight.

"They can't get to know you if you don't give them a chance," she stated softly.

"That statement assumes that they want to get to know me."

"How do you know they don't?"

He knew.

He sighed and shuffled over to, of all places, the dolls of Marco's parents before the Blue Fairy had freed them. They were nothing now but a reminder.

Belle had meant her words in a joking sort of way…but he knew. The people going to Granny's to celebrate Archie's life tonight were not people who wanted to spend time with him. He'd helped them over the years. He was certain that he could make an argument for everyone in that room, including Archie himself, for how he'd helped them in their life. But many of them didn't see his "helping" in that way. And at the heart of it, he knew that he'd never really helped any of them because he'd seen it as the right thing to do. He'd done it all for Baelfire, to make the future go faster, to get to where he wanted to be and not where they wanted to be. Whether they knew it or not, people could sense things like that. They wouldn't want him there for that reason. That was why he hadn't received an invitation. She just didn't understand that.

"I've done…terrible things in my life, Belle…unforgivable things…all magic comes with a price…"

And this was his. Belle wanted a social life. She wanted friends and relationships beyond their relationship. She wanted to take him places with her…but it just wasn't meant to be that way. Not for him.

The click of heels on the wooden floor alerted him to Belle coming closer without having to look up at her. With a touch to his arm, she pulled him easily away from his sins and forced him to focus on her. He wished it was always that easy.

"That's all in your past," she explained. "This curse is a new life, a new chance. We've nothing else to do while we wait for the curse to be broken."

He smirked at her. She wasn't wrong, not entirely. But she wasn't right either. Because his sins were not in his past, not while he was planning on committing another one tonight and counting on her forgiveness if she ever found out. And he was not just going to wait for this curse to be broken. He was going to get out of here and find his son.

"Nothing to do but try and break it," he whispered back to her.

Belle gave a small, defeated sigh, as if she finally accepted what he was telling her, and then moved to put her arms around him again. "I understand."

He pulled her closer, putting his nose into her neck and realizing that after the last few days, she smelled like him again. If he focused, he was nearly certain he probably smelled like her again too. It relieved him in some way.

All at once, noise broke out in his shop, noise that he was used to but made her jump. Every clock he owned was suddenly going off, reminding them of the time. That sort of thing happened all the time in his shop, every fifteen minutes, but she broke free of him and spun around to search for the source, spotted the clock, and he could feel her demeanor change by the time she looked back at him.

"I want to hear about how far you're getting on the curse-"

"But you have to go," he finished for her, holding up a hand to silence her. "We both have places to be tonight, and there will be time to talk later.

"Lunch? Tomorrow? After the funeral?" she suggested.

He nodded, happy she'd made the suggestion and that they were seeing each other every day again.

"We can talk then," she concluded before rising up on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. She embraced him once more, and he would admit to squeezing her tighter than usual before he kissed her neck and told her goodbye.

The second she was out the door, he raised the shade and watched her walk down the street to Granny's. Once he saw her safely to the door, he pulled the vial of magic out of his pocket, found his phone, and called Dove.

"Where are you?"

#Rumbelle #Rumple #Rumpelstiltskin #Dark One #Mr. Gold #ouat #ouat fanfiction #fanfic

2 notes · View notes

milky-mochi · 5 years ago

Text

run away with me | yeonbin

genre: fluff, royal! au, prince! yeonjun, servant boy! soobin

pairing: choi yeonjun x choi soobin

word count: 2.8k

summary: the prince and the servant boy know better than anyone that they belong together. they live in their little secrets, until something arrives to shake their world.

the royal family would never have let the prince and the servant boy play together.

yet here soobin was in yeonjun’s room, playing with little wooden blocks. soobin’s apron lay crinkled in his lap and his chubby cheeks were still a little dirty from helping his mother in the gardens a while ago. his clothes were stained too, dirtying yeonjun’s pristine carpet. but yeonjun didn’t mind. he couldn’t care less if his mother would yell at him once she took a look at his room, or if his white shirt was stained from hugging soobin. all he could care about was his eight-year-old friend in front of him, playing with his blocks and trying to build another castle.

from the other side of the creation, yeonjun handed soobin a rectangular block for the gates, to which he mumbled a small thank you. his mother had told him that he should no longer be playing with blocks at nine years old, but yeonjun didn’t care much. he’d rather be playing blocks with soobin than reading whatever book his mother had set aside for him. yeonjun watched soobin’s eyes glitter with concentration as he tried to find a block to act as the watchtower but to no avail. rising from where he was sitting, yeonjun picked up a conical block and sat next to soobin, holding it right in front of his face. soobin’s face lit up in pure excitement, causing yeonjun’s features to mirror his smile.

“thank you hyung!” soobin exclaimed, placing the cone on top of a cylindrical one, finishing off his wooden castle. soobin leaned back into yeonjun and placed his head in the crook of his shoulder and sighed, admiring the culmination of the past two hours. yeonjun gently brushed his long bangs out of his face. he made a mental note to remind soobin’s mother to cut his hair. she was always too busy to do it, with the queen always adding to her to-do list.

yeonjun felt the pressure on his shoulder increase as soobin yawned. “are you tired? wanna sleep?”

soobin’s hair brushed against yeonjun’s chin as he shook his head. “can’t. ma needs me to help with the laundry in a bit.”

“you have to go?” yeonjun asked, turning to soobin with a deep frown. “can’t you stay a bit longer? i’ll help you with the laundry!”

soobin’s bunny smile revealed itself as he giggled. there were some things yeonjun didn’t understand as royalty that made up soobin’s reality. “you know you can’t, hyung. you’re a prince.”

“why can’t i do my own laundry?” yeonjun asked genuinely, eyebrows knitting together.

“your mother would kill my ma if she saw you doing laundry,” soobin laughed as he got up.

yeonjun sighed, giving up on pursuing his questions, and soobin was glad. there were some things that were better left unknown by yeonjun. if yeonjun had started acting different from how the queen had raised him, they would have suspected their friendship. and that would mean never being able to meet yeonjun, or stay in the castle, and then what would ma do? soobin was content with how things were now, where he knew his place and shooed yeonjun off to his own when he forgot.

as soon as soobin was on his feet, the ringing of a bell resounded throughout the castle. fixing his tiny apron, soobin sighed. “there it is, four o’ clock, i need to go.”

“you’ll be back later, right? once you’re done?” yeonjun pleaded, rising to his feet and placing a hand on soobin’s shoulder.

“of course i will! once ma says i can go!”

“promise?”

“promise.”

---

several years had passed them by, yet soobin and yeonjun had paid no attention to them.

“the roses are blooming so beautifully now,” soobin whispers, running his hands over the ruby petals.

yeonjun tucked a strand of soobin's hair behind his ears and whispered, “you’re even more beautiful."

soobin's cheeks were dusted a light shade of pink. his eyes darted downwards to hide his bashfulness, but to no avail. yeonjun had already seen his shy face, and giggled at how cute his love was. yeonjun took soobin’s hand in his as the boys waded through the garden under the cover of moonlight, their fingers interlaced.

muffled cheers and music wafted from the lit castle into the silent garden. there was a great feast to celebrate the visit of a royal family of a neighbouring kingdom. they were here to to establish a strong inter-kingdom relationship, and those plans probably involved yeonjun one way or another. but he hadn’t cared enough to listen. not when soobin was the only thing on his mind, and not when those bloody plans were the only thing keeping them apart.

seeing soobin’s angelic face illuminated by the moonlight made yeonjun’s heart flutter, the same way it had fluttered for the past 10 years (though yeonjun never got tired of the feeling). yeonjun pulled soobin closer and placed a kiss square on his plush lips. there they stood, lips and souls connected, letting both the wind and time pass them by.

that was until the bells beckoned for him.

yeonjun cursed them in his mind. he hated the bells. the queen had adapted to yeonjun’s habit of disappearing from the castle, using them to call yeonjun back whenever she needed him. those bells were always reminding yeonjun of the crown on his head and the burdens that came with it. most importantly, they always pulled yeonjun away from soobin, even more than the rules of castle did.

“hyung,” soobin muttered against yeonjun’s lips, “they’re calling you.”

yeonjun cupped the back of soobin’s neck in the palm of his hands and pulled him closer. “screw the bells.”

soobin let himself melt into the kiss, filled with guilt. he wished that they could do exactly that, but they hadn't been able to for their entire lives. and soobin knew better than to challenge the queen.

“you can’t do this." soobin nudged yeonjun's shoulder. "they’ll come out looking for you, and find us here like this. you wouldn’t want that, would you?”

yeonjun pouted as he took soobin’s hands. he didn't want soobin to be right, but he was. as always. distressed and disappointed, yeonjun ran his hands through his hair. “sometimes i just wish they would. then kick me out of the castle or something.”

soobin cast yeonjun a look that could kill, warning him of the true meaning of his words. yeonjun sighed as he got the horse ready. he helped soobin up before mounting it himself, sitting right behind him. with a steady flick of the reins, yeonjun sent the white stead bounding back to the castle. he placed his head on soobin’s shoulder, despite the bumpiness of the ride. soobin leaned back into his touch, as much as he could for someone being jostled on a horse. they stayed like that as the castle gates drew nearer and nearer, and ultimately appeared in its full glory before them. as the horse slowed down to a stop, yeonjun dismounted it before offering his hand to soobin.

“there’ll be a day,” yeonjun started, with fragility and love in his eyes, “when we’ll just be together, right? when we don’t have to do this?”

soobin wanted to burst into laughter and tears. he desperately wanted to say yes, take yeonjun's hand and promise him their dreams of a love as any other in the castle. instead, he took yeonjun’s hand, climbed down the horse, and placed a kiss on yeonjun’s cheek. "i hope so, hyung. i really do.”

even as soobin uttered those words, voice barely above a whisper, he knew he couldn't promise yeonjun anything. there had never been two kings in a kingdom, nor had there ever been a love between a crowned prince and his servant boy. soobin knew, with a pained heart, that as long as they both resided in the castle, yeonjun could not be his.

yeonjun’s polished boots clacked against the earth, collecting mud. he reached for the reins of the horse, but before he could take them, soobin stopped him, shaking his head. “i’ll take care of this. you go back in.”

yeonjun pouted, but released his grip on the reins. it had always bugged him how, no matter what, soobin always acted how he was supposed to, even when it was just the both of them. but of course, yeonjun knew why. he just wished they didn’t have to be this way. just as soobin turned on his heels towards the stables, yeonjun grabbed his free hand and looked deeply into his eyes.

“i love you.”

soobin’s face curled up in an assuring smile. “i love you too.”

---

"yeonjun, dearie, where have you been?” the queen says, fake worry lacing her eyebrows. “whatever, once you get fixed up, come into the great hall. there’s someone i want you to meet.”

the queen spun around and exited the room, waving her hand as a signal for the servants to help yeonjun. they started dusting the dirt off yeonjun, changed his boots into the pointy shoes he hated. his riding jacket was swapped for a ceremonial blazer and his breeches for trousers. yeonjun’s messy hair was styled to the side, taming it momentarily.

he really looked like a prince now, and he hated it.

as he stepped into the main hall, the eyes of all guests fell on him. he was the man everyone was waiting for. hushed whispers echoed throughout the hall as yeonjun made his way to where his mother was, with the other royal family standing next to her.

“ah yes, king gojong, this is my son, prince yeonjun,” the queen gushed, introducing yeonjun to the king of the neighbouring kingdom. king gojong, yeonjun thought, that kingdom, huh.

“and this is my daughter, princess deokhye,” king gojong said.

behind the king was a girl roughly yeonjun’s age, maybe a few years younger. out of respect, she curtseyed for yeonjun and the queen, and yeonjun bowed to return the favour.

"now that the both of them are here," the king chuckled, "i suppose we could tell them the good news."

yeonjun and deokhye shared the same look of confusion. why would they need to be here? all inter-kingdom related agreements were always discussed between the kings or queens. yeonjun hated it because he didn't care for expansion of the kingdom or the collecting of riches. deokhye hated it because listening to them made her want to say something, but they'd never allowed her the chance to. the two of them had been reduced to side pieces throughout their entire life, but this one statement hinted at an unknown change.

"to emphasise our loyalty to the kingdom of king gojong, as well as our commitment to harmony," the queen started off, smiling brightly while looking at the the two bewildered faces, "prince yeonjun and princess deokhye will be married next summer."

marriage?

yeonjun felt his chest cave in and his breathing felt heavy and restricted. marriage? with someone other than soobin? it couldn't be real? he would have known about it somehow? especially when it concerned pledging himself to a person for the rest of his life, even without love? he wasn’t even attracted to women? for goodness sake, he had just met her, and all he knew about her was her name. that’s barely enough for even a friendship. and soobin. he needed soobin.

the entire hall was celebrating, yet yeonjun's world was collapsing.

he looked up at the princess and saw her equally appalled face. swallowing the lump in his throat, yeonjun muttered an 'excuse me' before running out of the hall, ignoring the panicked calls of the queen behind him.

yeonjun ran, and just kept running, out through the doors of the castle and across the green field in front of it. tears were trickling down his face and his face felt numb. he ran until he reached the stables and busted the doors open. he stood in the doorway, panting, with his hair disheveled, boots muddy, and face wet.

soobin looked over innocently from feeding yeonjun’s horse, confused. but when he saw yeonjun's eyes glistening with pain, his own were laced with concern.

"what happened, love?" soobin said gently, setting the hay down and walking over to yeonjun.

yeonjun wasted no time in pulling soobin into a kiss by his white tunic. yeonjun's kisses were usually soft and filled with love, like sun-filled clouds and moon-lit gardens.

but this kiss had an edge. salty from yeonjun's tears, but now filled with passion. soobin thought it felt like breathing in a raging sea, with a siren singing his name. it felt like gravity had fallen in love with him and was giving him lover’s embrace. it was an intense call from his love, a delivery of all the pent up longing the two of them shared over a span of ten years, releasing itself until they pulled apart.

"they're marrying me off to princess deokhye."

soobin let out a choked gasp, a small cry of pain that only yeonjun understood. he glanced down at his feet, then into yeonjun’s pained eyes. he had no idea what to do. all soobin could do was take yeonjun's smaller hand in his and stroke his thumb over yeonjun's. silence in each other's company was all they needed to process the situation. and so in silence they stood, trying to wrap their heads around the situation, and if the prospect of a solution hung on the horizon.

soobin had always been the one to make sure yeonjun followed his duties as the prince, and the last thing he wanted to do was rob the kingdom of a great leader. and maybe it was foolish of them to every think an arranged marriage was never on the cards. for yeonjun was a prince, and these are the things the children of monarchies are subjected to.

even so, soobin couldn’t let yeonjun slip through his fingers, into a castle in a kingdom thousands of miles away. there was no escaping this situation if yeonjun walked back through those doors. the wedding would be arranged, and all their dreams would crumble in the name of inter-kingdom peace. but yeonjun and soobin knew that they deserved better than that. they deserved the happy ending that all king and queens before them received, so they had to create their own fairy tale. the one of two boys who finally, finally, get to love each other with all of their pure hearts.

"let's just run away."

yeonjun gasped and looked at soobin, mouth slightly agape and eyes widened. he searched soobin's eyes for any sense of a joke (though he hoped he wouldn't find it). instead, he found himself swimming in soobin's sincerity. it had shocked him that soobin proposed it, but he knew soobin wanted it as much as he did. he knew soobin had finally lost his patience, years after yeonjun had.

yeonjun glanced downwards at their clasped hands, then at soobin's face set with determination. his tongue darted out to swipe over his lips, before he nodded, sure of himself.

with a reassuring squeeze of yeonjun's hand, soobin whipped around to prepare the horse, leading it outside. he strapped the saddle back on and fixed the reins. yeonjun grabbed his emergency riding bag that he kept in the corner of the stable, full of supplies, before running out to join soobin.

soobin helped yeonjun helped up onto his horse, then swung his own legs over the saddle, sitting behind him. flicking the reins in his hand, soobin sent the horse bounding into the night. they rode past across the great field, through the barrier of trees surrounding the royal grounds.

feeling the evening breeze on his face, riding away from the castle, yeonjun leaned back and laid his head on soobin’s shoulder, imagining the laughter and confusion of the great hall fade away behind him. in the comforting silence, the both of them were registering the weight of what they were doing. they had no idea where they were going, or what they would do. all that they were aware of was that they needed to get away from what the kingdom had dictated for them. to love each other without hiding, and to spend the rest of their lives together. they were running away from the life they had always known into the arms of uncertainty, but at least they were running into the arms of each other. for now, and forever, they belonged together; yeonjun and soobin, as it had always been to them.

in the distance, yeonjun heard the bells started ringing, but he had already decided that the only thing that could call him back was the sound of his beloved’s voice.

---

a/n: heyhey!! this is my first full length fic on tumblr, i hoped ya’ll liked it :D please please send in an ask if you have any requests bc i’d be stoked to get some!! have a great day ya’ll filled with yeonbin muah <3

335 notes · View notes