#cs holiday fluff

[snowbellewells]

Self Promo Sunday: "We Gather Together (Glad for the Blessings)"

This week's rerun is another little Thanksgiving one shot, meant to be taking place somewhere at the end of Season 6. I realize that Thanksgiving was over on Thursday, but I still wanted to share the little offerings I had for this sometimes overlooked holiday. I feel like it would be a very special and important holiday for both Emma and Killian - seeing as it's so much about family and togetherness with those you love, and both of them lived without that for so long.

Anyway, this is divergent from canon due to Robin's being alive and Belle not taking Rumple back, but otherwise I think it pretty much could have happened. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday yourselves, and that you enjoy this small story to celebrate the occasion!

** Also available on AO3 or ff.net (if that's your preference)***

Summary: A bit of Thanksgiving fluff - and a lovely, quiet moment for the whole Charming-Jones-Mills family count their blessings and rejoice in how far they've come

by: @snowbellewells

Barreling into the kitchen calling out "Henry?! Killian?!", Emma Swan was already well into panic mode due to the charred, burning smell that had reached her nostrils as soon as she'd mounted the steps to the front porch and the plumes of gray smoke wafting into her vision in the entryway once she opened the door. She was skidding to a stop at the kitchen table before she realized that, though the fire alarm had been bleating raucously, there were no sounds of panic or yells of dismay. Instead, both of her True Loves were now frozen, looking to her guiltily like they’d been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Killian was bent over the open stove, and Henry had his arm outstretched, fanning the air with a hot pad. They appeared to have been happy as clams until her sudden entrance..

Clearly they weren't in any immediate danger, and Emma's posture relaxed upon seeing that the house wasn't burning down and neither her son nor her pirate was blackened to a crisp. Shaking her head at them both, she genuinely tried to look stern instead of relieved and ready to burst out laughing. Crossing her arms, she mused aloud, "Do I even want to know what the two of you are doing?"

Sighing in defeat, Killian stood to his full height, letting the oven door bang closed and not quite meeting her reproving gaze as he raked a hand through his hair. He darted a quick glance at Henry, then finally answered her question. "We were trying to help you, Swan. It seemed prudent to get started with the main course before hosting your entire family tomorrow, and the lad felt sure he could offer guidance on the proceedings."

Henry flushed as Killian gestured toward him, and shrugged sheepishly, looking up at her with big brown eyes that, though in an older face, still proved as irresistible to her as when he'd showed up on her doorstep as a ten-year-old. "I may have overestimated how closely I was watching my other mom the last time she did this."

Emma couldn't help it; her metabolism did tick up a few notches and her eyes widened in shocked dismay. "Oh no, don't tell me… Do you mean to say you guys ruined that 19 pound Butterball I had all ready in the freezer?"

Killian winced a bit at her reaction. "Come now, Lass, it isn't as if we did it on purpose. You were just saying last night how you wanted everything to be perfect, you've never been able to celebrate a real family Thanksgiving with all the trimmings before, and everything should be just right. We only wished to help you along."

Emma gave an exaggerated nod as she responded, "Ah, I see," before a knowing light slipped into her eyes while studying one and then the other to see who would crack first. "Just selfless action from the good of your hearts, was it?"

Henry nodded, pulling off a ridiculously innocent look, but Killian couldn't quite meet her gaze, peeking up at her from beneath the fringe of his dark hair and eyelashes like a poor, repentant rascal. "Well, Swan, if the truth be told, we might have become a bit distracted…"

"I thought so," she affirmed with one last quick, triumphant dip of the head.

"Yes, well," Killian hemmed and hawed adorably, and Emma was almost afraid she might bite through her lip trying not to laugh out loud. The whole kitchen mishap was already long forgiven, but watching him stutter in embarrassment like he often caused her to do was too priceless to end just yet. "Love, your boy's moving picture box sucks a man in with its programs. Are you sure it doesn't possess some sort of hypnotic magic of its own? Perhaps we should not let Henry…"

"Okay, okay, hold up," Henry broke in anxiously, not about to see his stepdad - much as he might love him - relegate him back to the Stone Age with concern over modern technology.

Emma couldn't hold back her dissolution into helpless giggles any longer, and Killian stopped short with an affronted look at the noisy interruption from both of them at once. After a few moments, Emma reined in her laughter, assured Henry he wouldn't be losing all television privileges, and turned with the both of them to survey the wreck that had been her nice, clean kitchen when she'd left that morning. "Well boys, let's see what we can salvage," she said at last.

OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO

In the end, the turkey is magicked to golden brown perfection for the holiday meal. Emma had hoped to succeed at doing it the old fashioned way, but after seeing the damage Killian and Henry had wrought with their attempt – and though she only admitted it to herself, knowing either one of them was better in the kitchen than she was, when not unfortunately sidetracked – she decided there was no sense in further risking the main course she intended to serve to company.

She, Killian, and Henry did spend a warm, domestic, evening making the accompanying side dishes together. After placing a tray of butterhorn rolls in the oven to cook, Emma turned to see Henry flip a spoonful of cranberry sauce at Killian, hitting him square on the nose and making him jerk back in surprise at the splat of impact.

"Hey now," her pirate warned, glowering as he raised a spoonful of stuffing for a counterattack.

Emma thought idly that she should be warning them not to waste food, not to destroy their kitchen for a second time in one day, and basically chide them both to behave themselves, but instead she could merely watch as author and pirate mounted a giddy food fight she eventually joined, hugging herself tightly so she didn't simply burst with the joy swelling up inside her, so full of gratitude for both of them, for a home and family at last, and for this moment in which to enjoy it all. Thanksgiving, indeed.

That night when Henry had settled into his own room and the house had grown quiet, Emma stopped Killian as he left the bathroom after brushing his teeth, biting her lip at the all-too-inviting sight of him in dark blue lounge pants with little white anchors printed on them that he wore for sleep and all that dark hair on his toned and scarred chest. He looked upon her with a curious quirk to his brow, but didn't question her, only wrapped his arms around her waist and brought his forehead to rest against her own.

Enveloped in his warmth, Emma grew almost dizzy at the minty fresh breath he exhaled against her neck and nearly lost her train of thought altogether, but she pulled out the item she had intended to show him. It was the wishbone from their turkey, and she held it out for him to see. "Do you know what this is?"

"Aye," Killian answered, though she could tell by his expression he had no clue why she would draw his attention to it. "It's some part of that fowl we prepared for tomorrow's feast, but why…"

He trailed off when she twined the fingers of her free hand with his and brought his hand up to grip the opposite end of the wishbone from the one she held. "They're for wishing on," she explained briefly, playful mirth in her eyes. "People pull them apart and whoever gets the larger piece makes a wish that is then supposed to come true."

"Alright Lass, if you say so," he agreed gamely, a bit of a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth now as well.

Holding her breath, Emma thought of all the times she had wanted to do this as a kid and had never been the one who got the wishbone. Or all the times as an adult that she'd had it, but no one in her empty apartment to hold the other end, or to appreciate the wish she'd made, nor share in her joy if it did come to fruition. As the fragile bone snapped and they looked down to the pieces in their hands, Emma and Killian found it had broken almost evenly, and so she whispered, not wanting to break the calm stillness in the room, "Let's say we both wish…together."

Killian merely nodded and closed his eyes as she did. When she opened them again, it was to meet his blue, blue gaze shining back at her. She had the feeling they'd wished for the exact same thing…many more years of holidays like this.

OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO

The blessed feeling carried over to the family dinner the next day. Sitting at the head of the long table in the dining room of a home of her very own – hers, Henry's and Killian's – the first time she'd ever had such a thing, Emma felt as though the whole scene was bathed in some sort of golden light, like she was living inside a perfect Norman Rockwell painting. The table surface was packed, crammed, overloaded with food – from the golden brown, crisp-skinned, turkey and their perfectly toasted, flaky butterhorns to Regina's apple dumplings, green beans, noodles, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. The ten-year-old foster child inside her nearly drools at the bounty, never quite able to banish the breakfasts, lunches, and dinners missed, the times she had sat alone in some cafeteria, eyes fixed on the food other students carelessly tossed in the bins which she would have loved to have while she had been packed nothing to eat and had no money to buy even a carton of milk, of the times she had gone to bed in a rickety bunk, stomach growling and unable to stop fixating on those cabinets full of snacks that were off limits. Seeing Henry to her right, Emma ruffled his hair affectionately for just a second before he turned to grin at her proudly. He was clearly as pleased as she was that their time spent cooking the previous evening had given them this much to show for it. Moreover, she could only rejoice that he had never known the lonely, starving days she had, and the fact that neither she nor Killian ever would again.

She gave her father a nod of confirmation where he sat at the other end of the table, leading him to grin widely, the warm look of love and happiness on his face making her feel even more that this moment really was all she had been missing – all she had ever wanted – all those years she spent alone. As David stood to carve the turkey and Snow alternated between beaming up at her husband proudly and passing the plates now loaded up with juicy slices of turkey down the table, Emma squeezed Killian's hand with her left, and he cut a knowing glance at her, showing clearly that he understood and felt it too.

Beside Henry sat Belle, then Snow, and across from Henry were Regina, Robin, and Roland. It would seem that their family continued to grow and warmly open to welcome into its circle anyone with nowhere else to belong on this day meant to be spent with loved ones. As she had wished for that very thing each holiday season for 28 years, Emma could think of no better nor more heroic thing for her family to do.

Once everyone had been served – both turkey and all the other dishes filling the long table – Killian stood with raised glass, even as Emma tapped her spoon against her own to garner everyone's attention for him. "A toast, mates, if I may," Killian announced jovially in that rich, enticing voice. Emma shivered slightly at the way its tones thrilled through her, though trying to give no outward sign; she would gladly listen to him read the ingredients of the box for the stuffing, but she knew everyone else was hungry and ready to dig in, so her heart swelled just that much more when the others around their table dutifully paused and turned to listen to him with genuine interest and agreement.

"I daresay I shan't keep us from this delectable feast for long," her pirate intoned, "but I have more to be grateful for this year than I have ever possessed in my ridiculously long life, and my thanks must be offered…"

He paused, meeting the eyes of each of those gathered around the table briefly, and then continued with a fervent tone which came out sounding a bit choked with emotion. "When I first arrived in this realm, still lost in my bitterness, anger, and thirst for revenge, I could not have imagined a day like this, full of peace, love, and gratitude. Emma, Love, when you offered me the chance to join you and be a part of something, and we undertook that desperate quest to Neverland, the idea that we could come to belong to each other as we do now, that you would hold my heart in your very palm, or that I would find myself with a true family again, seemed inconceivable. Yet, I am so glad you gave me that last chance, like a line thrown in the drink to a drowning man. It saved my life, turned me back around to the man I once meant to be. My thankfulness to be here with all of you today cannot be adequately expressed." He swallowed hard, dipped his head, and then took his seat again. "You have all blessed us with your presence at our table."

"Cheers!" everyone else agreed, raising their glasses to clink with each other around the table, several other eyes misty and voices husky with feeling besides their captain's. Emma blinked quite a bit herself, glancing around at their motley crew.

Her fingers reached across to trail lightly over Killian's shoulder, stroking his back soothingly for a few moments and then rising to delve playfully into the dark hair at the nape of his neck. Brushing gently through the soft strands, Emma smiled affectionately as his head inclined slightly toward her, thinking humorously that if he were a cat, her sailor would be nearly purring in contentment right now. This moment deserved to be captured – preserved – in her mind forever; she couldn't feel any more stuffed with grateful satisfaction.

OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO

It was nearly midnight when the last of their guests had been seen to the door and out into the chilly dark of Storybrooke's nighttime streets. Henry had gone with Regina; they had a tradition of shopping, followed by decorating the mayor's mansion for Christmas, and then capping the evening off with homemade apple turnovers running over with icing on their day after Thanksgiving. Emma marveled at Henry's blithely forgiving ability to still eat the things with relish after nearly dying from one bit of just such a poisoned pastry also made by Regina long ago. Still, she couldn't deny she was also glad to have her pirate to herself this night – a true quiet moment for the two of them.

They were curled around each other on the couch in the living room, watching flames crackle merrily in the fireplace, feet up on the coffee table, each of them enjoying a sweet taste of leftover pumpkin pie.

"Open up, Darling," Killian urged, fork upraised to her lips with a piece of sticky filling and flaky crust adorned with the sweet white topping she loved. Emma really didn't need him to feed her, but she playfully went along with his gesture and hummed in pleasure when the flavors exploded on her tongue.

"Mhmm, really good," she mumbled, her mouth still full, but nodding her head and moving to get a piece on her own fork and return the favor for him.

Killian's deep, reverberating chuckle stopped her though, and he leaned forward just enough to wrap his lips around the tip of her nose, licking off the bit of whipped cream he'd gotten on her moments before. It was a mostly innocent gesture, but his proximity, the warmth of the near kiss, and the fact that they were truly – finally – alone, relaxed, and had nowhere else to be, had her heart hammering triple time as she sat up quickly, unfolded her legs and pulled him up with her.

"Come on, Pirate," she spoke a little breathlessly, a devilish gleam in her eyes, "we can finish this later."

It didn't take him long to catch on and follow her eagerly, still chuckling with his hand in hers, as she picked up the can of whipped cream from the coffee table where she'd placed it earlier and hurriedly pulled him upstairs.

Tagging a few who may enjoy: @kmomof4 @searchingwardrobes @jennjenn615 @whimsicallyenchantedrose @laschatzi @jrob64 @apiratewhopines @stahlop @teamhook @revanmeetra87 @xsajx @gingerchangeling @gingerpolyglot @kazoosandfannypacks @booksteaandtoomuchtv @anmylica @bdevereaux @motherkatereloyshipper @tiganasummertree @optomisticgirl @spartanguard @elizabeethan @the-darkdragonfly @donteattheappleshook @winterbaby89 @jonesfandomfanatic @lfh1226-linda @bluewildcatfanatic

[yundeob]

A NIGHT IN HOLLYWOOD ☆ | ATEEZ SERIES

— featuring ot8!ateez in iconic HOLLYWOOD romance and rom-com movies

— TICKET BOOTH IS CLOSED! 🎟️ : the movies are about to start! all fics will have MATURE CONTENT! MDNI!

sit back, relax, grab your popcorn and tissues, and enjoy the silver screen . . .

THE PARENT TRAP ☆ | KHJ

TROPE: exes to lovers! divorced!au

TAGS: nsfw, smut, fluff, angst, crack, slice of life

AS DIVORCED PARENTS to two twin daughters, you and hongjoong have your fair share of work cut out. Driving to piano lessons, cheering at hockey games, drop offs at each other’s houses, it can all be a little much. But could a relaxing summer retreat as a whole family possibly rekindle past emotions you’ve swept under the rug? . . .

— IN THEATRES

DIRTY DANCING ☆ | PSH

TROPE: bad boy!seonghwa, enemies to lovers!au , 60s!au

TAGS: nsfw, smut, angst, crack

THAT WAS THE SUMMER before JFK got shot, before the beatles came, and when you were working part time at your aunts summer resort. That was also the summer you met resident heart breaker and cocky entertainment crew member, Park Seonghwa. Remind yourself why you’re suddenly dance partners with him again? . . .

— IN THEATRES

PRETTY WOMAN ☆ | JYH

TROPE: dilf!yunho x formerstripper!reader, strangers to lovers!au, contract lovers!au,

TAGS: nsfw, smut, fluff, angst

LIVING IN BEVERLY HILLS comes with its perks. But for two different people such as yourself and multimillionaire business tycoon, Jeong Yunho, both of you can’t seem to find what you’re looking for in the so called ‘Land of Dreams’. So the proposal is simple really… let him spoil you with money, jewelry and clothes while in return, you stay by his side. . .

— not yet in theatres . . .

MR AND MRS KANG ☆ | KYS

TROPE: marriage!au, established relationship, spy!au, assasin!au

TAGS: nsfw, smut, fluff, ANGST, crack

WHO WOULD’VE THOUGHT picture perfect suburban neighbourhood couple, Mr. and Mrs. Kang would be at each others necks trying to kill each other first. You’ve both come this far in your marriage while hiding your secret identities, but it looks like only one person can remain standing. I guess you both did promise “in sickness and in health”. . .

— not yet in theatres . . .

ROMAN HOLIDAY ☆ | CS

TROPE: royalty!au, princess!reader x reporter!san, strangers to lovers!

TAGS: nsfw, smut, fluff, angst

AS CROWN PRINCESS, you’re on a tightly scheduled tour of European capital cities. But after an especially rough day in Rome, you sneak out of the embassy to explore the so called Eternal City, running into no other than celebrity news reporter, Choi San, looking out for his next big royal scandal. . .

— not yet in theatres . . .

10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU ☆ | SMG

TROPE: college!au, stoner!mingi, enemies to lovers!au, fakedating(?)au, y2k aesthetic

TAGS: nsfw, smut, fluff, angst, crack, slice of life

YOUR YOUNGER BROTHER Wooyoung is desperate in getting you, his older sister in college, to date so that he can finally date in highschool. The options for potential candidates are scarce, considering men flock away like birds the second you’re near. Good thing campus stoner and weirdo, Song Mingi is the same as well. . .

— not yet in theatres . . .

HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS ☆ | JWY

TROPE: fashioncolumnist!reader x advertiser!wooyoung, y2k aesthetic, fake dating(?)au, enemies to lovers!au, mutual pining

TAGS: nsfw, smut, fluff, angst, crack, slice of life

LISTEN, IF IT MEANS getting a promotion at your editorial company as a news journalist instead of pop culture and lifestyle columnist, you’d do anything. And that includes pretending to be the most annoying and clingiest girlfriend to some guy for 10 whole days. But just so you know, Wooyoung likes clingy. . .

— not yet in theatres . . .

ROMEO & JULIET ☆ | CJH

TROPE: unrequited love, star crossed lovers!au, mutual pining, secret romance (shakespeare be rolling in his grave rn)

TAGS: nsfw, smut, fluff, ANGST

FOR CENTURIES, a plague of hatred and hostility has been present in the relations between the House of Choi and your own. You know you can’t be together, but yet why do you keep catching that dark haired boy staring at you so longingly? And why do you want him just as bad?. . .

— not yet in theatres . . .

a/n: for updates, follow my blog! this will be a work-in-progress so I ask for your support:(🙏

taglist: @vent-stink @dazzlingstarrs @vcutparis @xpixie @potatos-on-clouds @showingmafandomlove @bibbleypoof @kpop-will-kill-me @avantalem @beabatiny @gabrielle-brugger @nsixns @amaranth1ne @stayminho @myblovedjyh @kkeshia @rebekah-reads @yoonbroom @4kwp @butterflydemons @iwaizumiismybae @soobinsputnik @stayatinykatsy @atitties @justconniez @kitten4sannie @ghostskilledmyaddiction21 @cheolsthicthighs @morethingsfandom @geminiml95 @byuntrash101 @quailbagutte @syubseokie @newworldwritings @urmom26john @sleepy-kat-here @pearltinyy @hjshyhyssnmgwyjh @cursedeastern @starryunho @piratekingateez2001 @jiminbility @paumll @drinkingrumandcocacola @roomsofangel @channies-bbg-room @meanaonthemoon @teeztopia @pommelex @kiln9z @sanhwalvr @youresolivlie @edawg77 @a-0206 @summer-gyu @bvidzsoo @yoongzsmile28 @tournesol155

taglist became too long so find the second taglist here💀 no longer taking requests

11/1/25 update: i apologize for how slow this is taking😭 yes, i still am 100% fully committed to finishing this series! I ask for your patience and understanding🫶🏼

[r3starttt]

STOCKINGS

PAIRING: Abby x Reader

SUMMARY: You made her a stocking

CW: tlou universe. sfw. fluff. lev included!! cs Abby is such a boy mom and ughh cute.

NOTE: For this fic Abby did not try to go and look for the fireflies again so the last fight with Ellie did not happen.

*Can you tell I love acts of service... can you tell I wrote this while listening to music for indigo...

TAGLIST: @twopeoplee @greysontheidiot @sapphic-ovaries @bilsvlt @tlouloser @marsworlddd @1-800-fantasy @prwttiestbunny @thesevi0lentdelights @lvlymicha @stickycherritart @abbys-muscles @lott6i @usuck @thalchmy @lovelyy-moonlight @fakevalentine

The cold floor hit your bare feet as you tiptoed your way toward a small chair near the bed, reaching for an old hoodie to shield yourself from the chill. Abby was still asleep, her steady breathing and quiet snoring letting you know she was deeply wrapped in the comfort of her cocoon. You didn’t have much time, though—she would wake the second the bed grew too cold and her arm could no longer find you, desperately pulling you closer to warm herself.

She lay on her stomach, one arm draped across the mattress, reaching into the warmth you’d left behind. The white sheet beneath her, its soft folds matching the pine-green ones above, held her gently. Loose strands of hair from her thick braid fell against the sides of her face, barely brushing her skin with each soft exhale. Her eyebrows, usually so bold, were peacefully soft, and her lips—plump and rosy—mirrored the flush of her cheeks. You couldn’t resist leaving a soft kiss near her ear, a gentle touch before you left the room.

Each step toward the door made you regret not putting on socks last night—maybe Abby’s old slippers would do. With your steps now messy and hesitant, you made your way downstairs. The worn wood creaked slightly beneath you, the house itself groaning in the quiet of the morning.

You had eventually made yourselves comfortable in this small house nestled in the heart of the woods, large enough for the three of you—Abby, Lev, and yourself. Together, you had worked tirelessly to make it a safe and secure place, not just from the infected, but from other, more dangerous people. You had made it a home.

You ensured that everyone felt welcome, particularly Lev. You took every opportunity to talk with him, to teach him what he hadn’t yet learned, and to share the things you loved—books, music, art—while helping him discover his own interests. And with Abby, your love deepened with every day she returned from her small patrols, always bringing back something for Lev—a plushie or a trinket—and for you, perhaps a new vinyl to play. She would ask you to show her the record, and later, you would listen together, the soothing classical music filling the house while you shared a quiet dinner.

As the months passed and your future materialized in the present, you found yourself gathering small gifts. It would be Lev’s first holiday, and Abby’s too, at least with you. The first time you would all celebrate Christmas together. You wanted it to be special, a way of thanking them for everything they had done for you. All the words Lev had shared when he realized you were just as broken as he was, and how, despite it all, he allowed you into his life. And Abby—your way of giving her the love she had always shown you, in the form of the most precious gift.

You knew Abby would appreciate it—celebrating the season was something she had learned from her father. She had told you once that receiving a gift was the way she could feel loved, a reminder that she was not a monster. And you wanted to show her that—wanted to remind her that she was seen, that she was loved, and that you all had each other.

Since the weather had turned colder, you’d offered to join in the patrols, even begging Abby to let you go outside. She always insisted it was too dangerous, but you knew you could take care of yourself, and somehow, you managed to sneak out on occasion. You gathered small things—some fabric, trinkets, and a few essentials. And when Abby took Lev to care for the animals you’d gathered, or when she napped after lunch, you’d use your quiet time to craft their gifts.

It wasn’t too difficult, given that they were often busy—Abby tending to the animals or decorating the little pine tree you’d dragged home from the nearby woods, with Abby’s approval, of course. You had to be careful, though, not to trust too easily that they would be distracted. But it worked.

The sight before you made your stomach flutter, like a child eager with excitement. Three stockings hung from the mantle, each chosen with care—yours in the middle. Beneath the homemade tree, a few gifts waited for everyone—unwrapped, because there wasn’t enough paper, but neatly arranged, placed with care just as the stockings were.

The next task was to light the fire, to warm the house and prepare breakfast, just as you had for months. It was small, but it had become part of your routine—after all, lunch and dinner were a family affair, something you all shared.

Once the food was ready, you made your way upstairs. The light from the cloudy sun streamed through the windows, warming the house with its yellow hues. You returned to the bed, noting that Abby was still asleep—though not for long, it seemed, as her lips were slightly parted and her breathing had shifted into quiet mumbling. You sat on the edge of the bed, taking her hand and brushing the stray hairs from her face before pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"Abby... Abs—baby?" you murmured, tracing soft circles on her back, the rhythm calming her as her mumbling slowed.

"Abby..."

Her eyes opened slowly, clearly disoriented by the nightmare and the sudden waking, but you were quick to soothe her. "Shh, I’m here... It’s alright. You were dreaming."

She grasped your hand, groaning quietly before turning to face you, her face flushed with the softness of sleep, her lips plump and cheeks full. The sight made you smile, warmth blooming in your chest.

"Merry Christmas," she murmured, trying to pull you back into bed.

You chuckled softly, brushing your hair behind your ear. "Not yet..."

She rolled her eyes, laughing softly. "Is Lev awake yet?" she asked, her voice still thick with sleep as she rubbed her eyes.

"I haven’t checked, but... probably not," you hummed in response, pausing to study her, to savor this moment of quiet contentment with the woman you loved. A slow, peaceful morning like this was a dream come true for many—and here you were, living it.

"Breakfast’s ready," you added, patting her stomach lightly.

You leaned in for a kiss, despite her typical aversion to those unshowered, still-groggy moments. But you couldn’t care less—she was the woman you loved, in all her unrefined beauty, even in these fleeting moments.

"See you downstairs, alright?" you murmured, pressing another kiss to her forehead.

She nodded, but you knew her well.

"Abigail... I’m serious."

She laughed quietly, rolling over and letting her arms fall to her sides as she stretched out. You left the door open as you moved to the curtains, letting the light in while ensuring Abby wouldn’t fall asleep again. You then made your way to Lev’s room, the blue walls of his space greeting you.

He was tangled in blankets, his back to you, but you gently brushed his shoulder, calling out in a soft whisper.

"Lev... morning."

"Morning," he murmured, his eyes still closed.

You smiled, the privilege of caring for this young boy—who still had so much ahead of him—filling your heart.

"Breakfast is ready, alright? Take your time." You caressed his shoulder before stepping out of his room, hearing Abby’s groan as she dramatically climbed from the bed.

"Did you take my shoes?" she called out loudly, too much for the quiet of the morning.

"Yep! I took your slippers," you teased, and Abby laughed quietly in response. She was falling in love with you all over again.

You went downstairs, retracing your steps from earlier, and settled on the couch, waiting for them to come down. Neither of them knew about the stockings or the gifts—it was supposed to be a small, intimate gesture, a simple way of celebrating the season. Just making food together, exchanging small self-made gifts—maybe a letter.

But as much as you were excited, there was a hint of anxiety too. What if it was too much? What if they didn’t like what you had chosen?

"What is that?" Abby’s voice broke you from your thoughts, and you turned to find her standing at the foot of the stairs, still in her pajamas, holding the railing for support.

Her eyes, illuminated in the soft morning light, met yours—she looked so precious.

"Did you seriously make us a stocking?" she whispered, so amused she barely seemed to believe it. Maybe she thought she was still dreaming.

"I did," you said, standing and moving toward her.

"You told me once that you wished someone loved you enough to make you one. I do... I love you."

The words hit her, and you watched as she fought back tears, her jaw clenching, her teeth biting at her bottom lip before she looked back at you.

"I didn’t... Come here." She opened her arms, and you stepped into them, feeling the weight of the moment settle in.

She buried her face in your neck, wrapping her arms around you as all her emotions—fear, love, anxiety—washed over her.

You were real, and so was this. She had someone who listened, who remembered her words, who cared enough to create something special—something that said, "I love you."

And as much as she feared that this day might bring painful memories of her father, the love that surrounded her now was taking up more space. This was hers—this love was real, and it was for her.

You felt Lev coming downstairs, his confused expression slowly softening as understanding spread across his face. You had told him about the stockings, explained what they meant one evening when you and Abby had talked about Christmas traditions.

Lev hesitated, cradling the fabric of the stocking in his hands. He peeked inside, then looked up at you for reassurance. With a nod from you, he carefully pulled out each gift, his eyes brightening with quiet joy.

There was nothing extravagant or meaningful in the traditional sense—but the gifts held things they liked, things they could use, things they wanted. They weren’t

about purpose, but about love. They were a reminder that you saw them, that you loved them, and that they were always safe in your arms.

[foreignjaykay]

company (a jungkook fic)

part one - "you wish i'd miss you,"

company - a jungkook fic

can we keep each other company?

their workplace was chaos, but jungkook made it fun. their camaraderie was effortless—until he decided to leave. no big deal. people quit all the time. so why does it feel like everything is about to change?

pairing: jungkook x reader

genre: r18+ (angst, fluff) minors do not interact!

chapter warnings/misc: workplace!au, coworkers!au, event planner!jk, event planner!oc, jk is not famous, angst, fluff, sad, crack, event planner!mingyu, bts in event planning company, unserious friend group, they are so silly and unserious, mean boss - yeah no she sucks, ANGST, IDIOTS both of them, yeah i guess thats it...for now hehe

notes: hello everyone!!! hehe its my first fic on tumblr and my first ever jk fic so i really hope you guys like it. im writing after so many years so please ignore mistakes eh. its kinda based on my personal experiences. things will only get interesting as this fic progresses.. lots of new characters will come in the next chapter! this fic will honestly pick up its pace from the second chapter!! anywho lets get into it!! <3

moodboard • playlist • series masterlist

The first thing you saw when you unlocked your phone this morning was a text from Jungkook. That in itself was weird—he wasn’t the type to be up this early, let alone texting people.

jaykay (work) [8:50am]: hi :)

you [8:50am]: oh my god. what did you forget?

jaykay (work)  [8:51am]: have some faith in me. i was texting for something entirely different. 😒

you[8:51am]: are you sick? held hostage? blink twice if you need help.

jaykay (work) [8:52am]: how da hell are u so dramatic in the morning

you [8:52am]: come to the point jungkook

jaykay [8:52am]: fine. 🙄 don’t bring lunch today

you [8:53am]: why?

jaykay (work) [8:53am]: lunch is on me. taking you, shane and mingyu out for ramen

you [8:53am]: 🤨🤨🤨

jaykay (work) [8:54am]: see you in office🥰

You squinted at the screen, trying to process the words through your morning haze. This man barely made it to work before noon on most days, always breezing in with an iced americano and a sheepish grin. And yet here he was, awake and making lunch plans at 9 AM? Suspicious. Very suspicious.

It’s fixed, you know? Him being late to work, getting sarcastic remarks from the bosses - Natasha, the reporting manager (god did she love micromanaging the team) and Kim Song, the director of your company.

But whatever, free ramen was free ramen and, on that note, you finally woke up and went to get ready for the weird day that was ahead of you.

By the time you got to the office, the usual chaos had already begun. Natasha, wasn’t physically present today, thank the lord for that, you thought, but her presence loomed over Zoom calls like a dark cloud. You had barely set down her bag before her laptop screen lit up with an incoming call. Does this woman ever chill?

“Good morning, team,” Natasha’s clipped voice rang out as the screen loaded. “Let’s go over the deliverables for today.” Her screen was hidden and she was on a holiday like she had very explicitly mentioned the week before she left.

You suppressed a groan as you saw Jungkook and Mingyu joining the call too. Shane, their CS intern, looked half-asleep. Jungkook, though, was oddly quiet, his usual playful banter nowhere to be seen. His leg bounced under the desk, fingers drumming against the tabletop.

You shot him a look, but he didn’t meet your eyes.

Okay that was weird, wasn’t it?

You looked towards Mingyu and Shane to see if they noticed Jungkook being a little off today but to your surprise they were engrossed on what Natasha was instructing on the upcoming event which was the luxurious Cartier dinner.

Classic Natasha, putting her work on us while she sips on pina coladas on the beach after this 10-minute meeting. You wanted to be as carefree as her sometimes, how easily she just threw her tasks on others.

Throughout the meeting, you couldn’t help but steal glances at Jungkook which thankfully he didn’t notice.

Or at least that’s what you thought.

Jungkook knew you. He knew how curious you got sometimes and he also knew currently the wheels were turning in your head wondering why he was being so awkward. He smiled internally, thinking how much you knew him and how much he was going to miss you.

If you kept looking at him like that, he was going to crack. He just hoped you wouldn’t figure it out before he told you himself.

Once the meeting was over, you quickly went towards the design studio in the office, greeting Yuna and So-hee who seemed like had just come to office with the way they were switching on their systems for the day.

“I really need the final design renders for the stage setup and the seating plan for Cartier, Yuna,” You said worried knowing that if you don’t get these renders in next half an hour then the costing would delay and then Natasha…yeah no.

Its as if Jungkook got a sign, he entered the design studio greeting Yuna, So-hee, and Dae and standing next to you as if to ease the tension you had going on.

“Babe, give me 10 minutes, the renders are ready. I’ll email it to you, Natasha and Namjoon,” Yuna said as she started working on her system. You nodded your head and gave her a worried smile.

“Mark me in the email too,” Jungkook said instantly and you gave him a pointed look. Yuna seemed to mirror your thoughts and raised her eyebrows towards him.

Seeing that you both were confused, Jungkook chuckles and says, “__, you should be happy that I am willingly asking to be marked on emails,” which makes you roll your eyes playfully and smirk.

“Also, I don’t have nothing big going on currently, project wise, so I’ll follow up for the costings and Natasha will stay away from my ass,” Jungkook continues and laughs with Yuna, So-hee and Dae.

You looked at him as he was sort of back in his carefree self but something still felt off. You just couldn’t put your finger on what this feeling was.

Lunch couldn’t come fast enough. The second Natasha’s second call for the day wrapped up the call, you shut your laptop and turned towards Jungkook who along with Mingyu and Shane was joking and was waiting for you to get done.

“Okay, spill. What’s with the mystery since today morning?” You immediately asked him and he couldn’t help but chuckle nervously.

Mingyu slung an arm around Jungkook’s shoulders, grinning. “Yeah, dude. You’re making me nervous.”

Shane, ever the observer, just raised a brow. “Is this about work? God I can’t wait to dig into some good ramen after hearing Natasha ramble since past 15 mins. 15 mins with her feel like 2 hours,” Shane continued rambling earning laughs from the three of you.

Jungkook let out a breath, running a hand through his hair. “Let’s just get to lunch first.”

That didn’t help your growing suspicion, but you let it slide—at least until the 4 of you reached the ramen place.

The aroma of rich broth and sizzling garlic filled the tiny ramen shop. Shane and Mingyu were already practically vibrating with hunger, menus discarded, ready to order. You, however, were still scanning the options, your stomach rumbling in anticipation. Just as you were about to decide, you and Jungkook spoke in unison: “Japchae.”

A surprised laugh bubbled up. “You wanna have japchae too?” you asked, a little thrill of connection sparking despite the weirdness of the morning. He nodded, a small smile playing on his lips, and ordered for both of you.

Minutes later, steaming bowls of ramen and the shared plate of japchae arrived. The savory scent made your mouth water. You took a tentative bite of the japchae, the noodles perfectly chewy, the vegetables crisp and flavorful. It was delicious. But Jungkook just sat there, chopsticks hovering over his bowl. He had a strange expression—not quite annoyed, but… something. You knew that look. It was his tell when food was exceptionally good. That’s just his weird trait.

You took the second bite yourself to see if it was and it was really good.

“I got another job.”

Silence.

Your stomach dropped.

Then, Mingyu blinked. “Wait, what?”

Jungkook shifted in his seat, avoiding their gazes. “I got an offer from an event company. They handle production for A-list musicians—concerts, world tours, all of it.” But you could see how proud he was. This was his dream.

“Oh, shit, that’s huge,” Shane said, eyes wide and dramatically keeping his chopsticks on the side.

Jungkook looked at you trying to gauge for your reaction.

You swallowed, gripping your chopsticks a little tighter. “Wow. That’s… incredible, Jungkook.” You said genuinely but why did it feel so off? Why did it feel like you were losing everything? People leave jobs all the time and this is no different, so why was it feeling all to different suddenly?

When you congratulated him, you meant it. You really did. He deserved this. But there was a weird, hollow feeling in your chest. Something tight that you couldn’t quite name.

Jungkook was watching you and asked, “You okay?”

You forced a smile but to everyone it looked genuine. “Of course. This is a big deal. I am so happy for you, Jungkook!” Mingyu and Shane mirrored your smile and congratulated him to which Jungkook threw an honest smile.

His eyes still lingered for a second longer before he nodded, turning his attention back to his food. But you could tell he didn’t fully believe you.

Mingyu and Shane immediately started asking him the questions about his new company and the new job and Jungkook excitedly answered them all and you were interested too to know all the details.

Once the 4 of you were done with the lunch, you asked him, “So when are you telling Natasha?”

“Next week, and then 2 weeks’ notice,” He said looking at you as if he was trying to find an emotion out of you.

“Damn bro, you are leaving us so soon.” Shane said and you looked at Jungkook.

“Now at least I will have some proper desk space at the office,” You tried to joke which earned you a playful eye roll from Jungkook.

“Oh my god, I have to plan a farewell party for you now,” Mingyu joked and you laughed. For the whole lunch, this is the first time Jungkook noticed you genuinely smiling and it was all thanks to Mingyu’s dramatic nature.

The rest of the workday felt strangely off-balance. Even though nothing had technically changed yet, you felt the weight of the upcoming shift pressing down on you. The knowledge that soon, Jungkook wouldn’t be here anymore—wouldn’t be there to roll his eyes at Natasha’s ridiculous demands, wouldn’t be crashing at her desk with an iced coffee and a new piece of gossip, wouldn’t be around to share those unspoken glances when things got too absurd.

You had started hating how much that realization unsettled you.

It was Jungkook who got you out of your dazed thoughts when he said, “___, I have asked Namjoon hyung for the Cartier costing and he is working on it,”

You threw a sincere smile towards him and nodded while he went back on his desk and worked on some small projects he had going on.

gyu (work) [3pm]: are you okay?

Once you read the text, you immediately looked at him but he acted to be so engrossed in his work and you couldn’t help but look back into your phone and text back

you [3:01pm]: yeah, why?

gyu (work) [3:01pm]: you sure about that? ever since jk dropped that bomb, you have been quiet and so has he.

That got your attention. Were you that obvious?

you [3:02pm]: no nothing like that. im happy that he got this. he deserves it!! also when is the blue label bottle engraving costing going to the client? natasha has been on my ass about it since morning. send it asap please <33

gyu [3:03pm]: girl i gotta give it to you, nice attempt to change the convo but we aren’t done yet. ugh why are you my senior? im sending it in 5

By the time the day ended and finally the costings for Cartier had gone out (thanks to Jungkook and Joon), you had convinced yourself you were just being dramatic. People left jobs all the time. This wasn’t a big deal. It shouldn’t be a big deal.

Mingyu and Shane had already left for the day and the design studio was also empty leaving only you and Jungkook in the client servicing department. For a Monday, people had left earlier than usual, you thought to yourself.

You looked at the clock and saw it was 7pm already.

While you packed your bags, like routine, Jungkook waited for you. He dropped you home everyday given that you both lived nearby and your apartment came on the way to his.

However, the silence between the two of you felt heavier than usual.

“You’re quiet,” he finally said as the two of you entered the elevator.

You forced a laugh and adjusted your purse, trying to look anywhere but at him. “So are you.”

The two of you exited the elevator and sat in his car, he started the engine. For the first time ever, the silence between the two of you was uncomfortable.

Jungkook sighed, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel as he took the familiar route and said, “Are you really happy for me?”

You immediately turned to look at him, meeting his gaze in the dim glow of the streetlights. “Yes, I am. Why would you think I am not?”

His smile was small, a little sad. “Alright. You and I haven’t spoken much since lunch,”

You didn’t know why, but something in your chest ached at that. But you ignored it,  and looking towards and giving him a smile and said, “Jungkook, I am so happy for you. I am. I know you wanted this and now you have it,”

For the first time in the whole day, he smiled genuinely at you.

“Will you miss me?,” He asked as he stopped the car right out of your apartment and looked at you with his doe eyes that carry the sta-

Wait what?!

You ignored whatever that thought was and quickly composed yourself and laughed at him. “You wish I would miss you,” You joked playfully and he rolled his eyes.

“On a serious note, yes I will. Who will I tolerate Natasha with?” You continued and he let out a small chuckle.

“Anyway I have to go. See you tomorrow boss,” you finally said, and then you were gone, disappearing into the building.

Jungkook sat there for a moment, staring after you.

He knew you better than you thought. He knew when you were genuinely happy, when you were just pretending, when you were holding back something you didn’t want to say. And tonight, you were definitely holding back.

Jungkook sighed, leaning his head back against the car seat. Leaving this job was supposed to be exciting, a step up, an opportunity of a lifetime. And it was.

But why did it feel like he was losing something, too?

part 2

© foreignjaykay

[winterchimez]

A New Beginning With You | Lee Juyeon

SUMMARY: it has been a couple of years since you and your childhood best friend, Juyeon, went on your separate ways. Years later, you were given the opportunity to return to Seoul to pursue a new career, only to find out that your new employer is the one you have been dreading to see. Will you toss away all of the emotions again, or will you finally come to terms and fix this broken relationship with him?

PAIRING: ceo!Juyeon x f!reader

GENRE: office au, ex-childhood friends to lovers, coming of age, angst, fluff

WARNINGS: nc-17, slow-burn, this is pretty angsty ngl 😭, betrayal, several heart wrenching moments (it takes a while for both Juyeon and reader to figure out their emotions), language (one curse word), miscommunication, alcohol consumption, reader gets drunk a couple of times, several heated arguments, petnames (princess, sweetheart), kissing

WORD COUNT: 15,466

A/N: here is my submission for deoboyznet's holiday exchange event!! boo @cloverdaisies i'm your secret santa 🎅👀 ngl i did struggle with the prompts that you gave mainly cs i don't usually read/watch coming of age works so i hope i did this fic justice 🥹🥹🥹 big big shoutout to @momhwa-agenda for choosing the banner, also helping me to beta read (along with @from-izzy @juyeonszn) sending my unending kisses and hugs to all of you 😘💕

Seven years ago 

“What do you mean you’re leaving?” 

It all just felt so sudden, and you weren’t sure if you were hallucinating as you heard those words that came out from the mouth of your best friend for the past seventeen years. You both have made a promise to one another since you both were in kindergarten that no matter how big or small the situation may be, you both will always have each other’s backs and that no secrets were to be kept from one another, even if they may feel like you have been punched right into the face during the aftermath of it all. 

Or that was what you thought. 

“Y/N…I had no control over anything…you do know how my father often has to travel across the globe for his job—”

“But that doesn’t change the fact that you decided to keep it a secret from me when you first discovered that you were potentially going to follow your father’s footsteps for his company.” 

From the beginning, you knew that Juyeon’s father worked at a relatively elite corporate company. Because of his status, he was often sent away to various countries to fulfill his job. It has been decades since his father has been in and out of Seoul, and he would often travel on his own not wanting to bother his family and wanting them to have a peaceful life here. 

Never in a million years would you have thought that he would bring his entire family along with him as he starts a new chapter in his life in the States, and also get Juyeon to follow in his father’s footsteps. 

You were on the verge of crying, your cheeks were heating up, and you had unintentionally balled up your fists, clearly failing terribly to suppress the anger and betrayal you felt. 

“I just don’t get it, Juyeon. You have always wanted to pursue basketball. Hell, you have even sought a sports scholarship to get into one of the prestigious universities in Seoul! Why are you giving up now?” You huffed. 

You could tell that he was showing some reluctance in his answer, and truthfully, he didn’t really know how to give you an answer, either. But he decided to reply in the most plausible and fitting one that was right for the current situation you both were in. 

“Family has to always come first, Y/N. If it were for my family's future, especially my stay-at-home mother and younger brother, I would do anything to ensure my father and I can provide for them.” 

You scoffed. “Bullshit.” 

You took a few steps forward until you were merely inches apart. Looking straight into Juyeon’s eyes, you could tell he felt the same way and was also trying to hold back his tears. 

“You’re not the Juyeon I know. My Juyeon, who has been right by my side ever since we were kids, would always go above and beyond to work for what he truly wants. He is never afraid to voice his opinion, and he would do anything to ensure his happiness would be fulfilled no matter the consequences.” 

Finally, the tears that you have held back for so long began dripping down your face as you began to hit him simultaneously on his chest.  

“What exactly happened to you, Juyeon?”

At the same time, tears clouded his vision as a single teardrop dripped onto his face. You could tell that something was holding him back from telling you the truth, if any, and his following answer would break you down even more.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.”

With that, a black car pulls up at the school entrance, revealing his younger brother rolling down the window to call out for his big brother. You could see multiple pieces of luggage lined up at the back trunk of the car, and they were ready to head straight to the airport. 

With a glance back to signal to his family that he would be coming shortly, he turned to you to apologise once more before gently pushing you away to leave.

“I’m really sorry, Y/N. I wish you all the best in your future as you enter university and eventually the workforce.” 

Just like that, Juyeon quickly sped down the stairs and opened the door to the car before settling in. Within seconds, his parents, sitting in the front seats, gave you a little wave before they drove away right through the exit. 

Almost instantly, all of the built-up tension was suddenly released from you all at once, and you finally broke down crying at the entrance of your high school. What you thought would be a memorable, happy graduation for you both as you parted ways with your youth years turned out to be one sad separation from your best friend. 

You both planned your summer holidays with one another before officially enrolling in university in the autumn. You were going to head to Busan for a five-day trip during the first month, going to visit your aunt who lived on the outskirts of Seoul to help her in her fieldwork (especially when she has a soft spot for Juyeon), and even going to visit all of the bazaars that were going to be held in central Seoul. 

There were so many potential activities and times you could have had with one another, and you were even planning to propose to Juyeon that you wanted to be more than just childhood friends. 

Because you have been having an insane crush on him since you were kids, and you realised it was love by the time you both entered high school.

Unfortunately, it was too late to confess your love to him, as he was now long gone, heading straight to the airport before he eventually said his final goodbye to his home for the past seventeen years, Seoul. 

Maybe it was fate that you both were just not meant to be with one another; perhaps it was why his father had no choice but to bring his whole family with him to start a new life in the States. 

For the first time, you cursed and blamed yourself for having such hope and planning a potential future with someone who was clearly out of your league, and you thought it had all been a waste of time since the beginning. 

With that, the little needle-felted cat you have been hiding and made last night was released from your grips as he fell towards the stairs and eventually towards the ground. As you noticed, more tears kept welling up in your eyes, and you brought both hands to cover your face, not wanting to care about anything right now. 

I shouldn’t have had so much hope. I was stupid enough actually to fall in love with you, Juyeon.

Present Day 

“Oh, Y/N! Looks like your article just got published in the London Mail this morning!” 

Your co-worker gave you a little pat on the back before he placed the newspapers right onto your desk, and it was clear how your article was published right on the front page with your name written very obviously at the right corner. 

“Please, it was nothing. It’s what I do all the time,” you replied bluntly. 

“What do you mean it was nothing? You just interviewed the rising actor of the month! That’s big news, and you deserve to celebrate it!" 

“Please, it really is nothing—” 

“Hey everyone, our department needs a little night out after work at the local pub! We’re toasting to Y/N’s big break in the news today!” 

Your co-worker shouted out loud, and eventually, cheers erupted in the office, everyone congratulating you and thinking about the potential drinks and songs they would go for once work is over. 

You smiled and chuckled at the sight. You have always loved your job and are grateful to have met such a fantastic group of people in this company. 

It wasn’t your dream to pursue the path of becoming a reporter in the beginning. Sure, you have always had a passion for writing, but you have always considered it your hobby. Thanks to your sister, who was studying abroad in Manchester then, who convinced you to take that leap of faith and turn that hobby into a potential job. 

So here you were, living the best of your life. You followed your sister’s footsteps and went on to live abroad in the UK, enrolling in the University of Manchester, where you successfully graduated with honours the past year. Thankfully, you secured a place in the London Mail right after graduation due to your outstanding grades. 

The move from Manchester to London was a bit tough, but you initially managed to pull through with your sister and her boyfriend's help. They were kind enough to help you settle down and stayed with you for the first couple weeks before returning to Manchester. You miss your sister’s presence, but you know that eventually, you had to venture out on your own and face reality as an adult. 

It has been a year, and you have adapted to living alone. Often, things would get tough, but it was also thanks to you having such a fantastic team of colleagues that you were able to pull through it all, even when there were times you had to work overtime to fulfill all of the datelines that were pilling up nonstop, especially during the holiday seasons. 

It wasn’t until recently that your article was accepted and published on the main cover page of the news, and that was when you finally earned your big break after a year. The company has deemed you to be one of the most talented youngsters they have had over the past decade, and they were more than happy to have had you as their employee. 

Since then, things have settled down for you as you got a pay rise and had fewer hours to give you more time to rest well, mainly when you only survived with four to five hours of sleep daily. Now, you can eat your breakfast correctly and get a good seven to eight hours of sleep before coming every day. 

Just as your co-workers were having the time of their lives trying to figure out the plans for tonight after work, your office desk telephone rang, and you picked it up hastily, thinking that you’d have another big scoop to write about

But it was from the CEO. 

“Miss Y/N, please report to my office immediately.”

You were back home after that fun night out at your local pub with your co-workers, holding a beer in hand as you FaceTime your sister over the phone. 

“Well, it’s a good opportunity for you, don’t you think, Y/N?” 

“I’m not too sure about all of this, sis. Like yeah, it would be great that I would be back home, but still—”

“Hey, I know mom would be ecstatic to have you back in Seoul with her. And it just so happened that you have been telling me how you recently began feeling a little homesick. I’d say it would be great for you to take up the offer.” She reassured. 

It was the moment your mouth fell open wide when you heard that you had been offered to be a senior reporter for one of Seoul’s top magazines at the moment, GQ Korea, where you would be interviewing potentially all of the current well-known celebrities in the country and getting a higher pay as well. 

It seems that they have come across your contributions from the London Mail, and they were keen to have you on their team. Your first thought was grateful as your works were recognised globally, but also because you miss being home. But another part of you has already settled in the UK, so you weren’t sure if leaving now would be the right choice. 

But now that your sister has given you some input, that was when you knew that it wouldn’t hurt to try it out, at the very least. 

With one final sip of your beer, you leaned forward and gave your sister a smile for the first time since calling her this evening. 

“I’m going home now, sis.”

It has been a week since you settled into Seoul, and you have loved being back in your comfort zone: the culture, the food, and the environment you grew up in. 

Your mom was overjoyed as she picked you up from the airport, insisting she would take your luggage, especially when you have flown almost twenty-four hours just to get home. By the time you got home, your mom was already ready and prepared with all the dishes she had premade before your arrival and needed to heat them quickly. 

You quickly took a shower before joining her at the dining table. You both chatted for close to midnight before she told you she would sleep ahead of you. Meanwhile, you decided to clean up your childhood bedroom to make space for everything you brought back from London. 

There was this nostalgia as you entered your room; everything was still the same, exactly how you had left it when you left for the UK years ago. The same old blue painting on the wall, all your posters hung on them, even your favourite comic books that were still arranged nicely on your bookshelf. 

You could tell there wasn’t a speck of dust in the room, indicating that your mom must have cleaned it occasionally. You couldn’t help but sigh, thinking about all the hard work she always puts herself through. 

It took you a while to go through all your belongings, mainly because you were reminiscing as you looked at the pictures, books, and figurines scattered throughout your room.

It wasn’t until you came across a box tucked away at the corners of your room that you pulled them out towards the centre as you opened them up. 

And god, you wished you hadn’t done that. 

All the pictures and items contained memories you had with your past lover, Lee Juyeon. 

You paused momentarily before reaching out to pick up the first item on top of the box: a picture. 

It was taken when you both were in kindergarten. You were holding hands, wearing backpacks and little yellow helmets on your heads. You couldn’t help but smile at the sight; it was nostalgic and cute. 

Right after that, you took out a pair of bracelets right below the picture. It was a friendship bracelet that you both made during middle school. It was summer when you recently discovered the trend of making friendship bracelets, where you went straight to Juyeon’s house across the street, practically dragged him back to your house, and got him to make one with you. You giggled at the thought of how Juyeon was so lost at the time, having to come to you almost every five seconds to tell you that he had either lost a piece or was having trouble threading the beads through the string. 

When you thought it would all be good memories, you stumbled upon the one item you wished you would not have to see again.

The needle-felted cat you made for him on the night before graduation. 

Unbeknownst to you, your hands began to tremble as you took the cat into your hands, staring at it as the memories flashed back: how you would give this to Juyeon and tell him that you were ready to be more than just close friends, up to the point of how he suddenly announced to you that he was leaving for good. 

Slowly, you felt that your tears were beginning to well up in your eyes, and you quickly dumped all of the items back into the box and tucked them back in the corner, using a few items you had in your room, such as cardboard to block it completely out of sight. 

You were not ready to go through all of the roller coasters of emotion once again. 

Especially when deep down in your heart, you still had some feelings left for him. Even if you did not wish to admit it out loud.

You stood outside the tall building as you tried your best to fix up the blazer that your mum insisted you put on for your big day. With your handbag and laptop, you gave yourself a deep breath before mentally preparing yourself that this would be your new workplace from now on. 

You looked to see the vast sign plastered outside the building: GQ Korea. You were definitely at the right place. It took you a few seconds to finally be able to take your very first steps into the building. Once you did, you were amazed at the astonishing art that filled the reception floor. It was a fashion and art magazine; after all, there was no doubt that the company's directors entailed such a choice of decorations to captivate everyone who walked into their building. 

You walked straight towards the counter, where you were greeted by two ladies who were already expecting your arrival. Immediately, they got you signed up in the system, and one guided you to one of the fifth floors, where you would be meeting your new team and department that you would be working with. 

As you were guided into the head of the department’s office, Ms Kim, who has been guiding and overlooking this particular department for the past five years, greeted you and made you feel comfortable instantly, which made all of your tensed-up muscles relax fairly quickly. She communicated well with you and, surprisingly, even shared some of the same ideals as you did. You were beyond grateful to hear when she mentioned that she has kept up with your works from the London Mail, and it was about time that the team needed someone like you. 

Once both of you had taken the time to break the ice, Ms Kim led you to your desk just outside her office, where countless cubicles filled the entire floor. At first glance, you have estimated that there were about fifty employees who worked in this department. It didn’t take them long to greet you personally before you eventually made your way to your desk in the middle of the floor. 

As you unloaded your bag of materials onto the desk and placed them in an organised manner, your hands digging through your bag finally stopped when you felt a familiar material. Instantly, you pulled it out to check what it was, and you were once again left speechless with what it was. 

A picture of you and Juyeon back during your graduation from high school.

The only plausible reason it was in your workbag was because of your mother. You have never once told her that things ended badly between you both, and you have always shrugged off the fact that you were still keeping in touch with the man himself and that you both were still having a healthy friendship. You just didn’t want her to worry much, especially when she knew how much you both have been through, and she practically treated Juyeon like her own son. 

As all loving mothers would do, she woke up hours ahead of you this morning to prepare you a filling bento box. She wrapped it with traditional cloth and placed it neatly into your work bag. At the same time, she probably put the little picture frame into the bag, hoping it would motivate you during work and decorate your new workplace. 

With just a few seconds of staring at it, you looked down to see an empty trash bin that sat right beneath your work desk, and without thinking much, you immediately placed the picture right into it. 

I’m sorry, mom. But I will not be needing it anymore.

Your first week of work flew by quickly as you easily got used to the working lifestyle. Seoul was your home, and it wasn’t hard to adapt back to the culture. In fact, you were grateful that your new group of co-workers could be on par with the ones back in London; they were all as great and supportive in helping you ease into the new environment. Your new co-workers even encouraged you to head out for a little drink at the local izakaya restaurant after work since it has been a long weekend for everyone, and you surely did enjoy the little company you had before heading home a little after midnight. 

In terms of fitting in as GQ Korea's new reporter, it has been a thrilling ride learning about all of the entertainment biz that has been going on in the country. Since your forte was with celebrities, your head of department had assigned you the same, focusing on the rising K-Pop stars in the industry. 

It has been a while since you kept up with Korean celebrities since you mainly focused on Western artists abroad for a couple of years. But as you kept up with the news and made sure to read the newspaper first thing every morning you came right in, you made sure that you have been kept up to date with all of the latest announcements and events that have been going on in the industry. 

Today was a big day for you as Ms Kim had instructed you to head up to the top floor, where you would first meet up with the CEO for the very first time since joining the company as he would like to brief you through the details in regards to the celebrities that will be coming later in the day.

You thought it was probably some hotshot celeb for the CEO to personally guide you through each step regarding what or how you should deal with them. However, you weren’t too mad since you figured they probably did things differently here in Seoul.

As you finally reached the top floor, you were then escorted by whom you assumed to be the CEO’s personal assistant, who was already expecting your arrival as they kindly let your head department know that she was free to leave. The walk down the hallway towards the CEO’s office seemed a little daunting to you for some reason; perhaps it was also because you were meeting someone who is considered to be one of the famous people in the heart of Seoul—there’s a reason why GQ Korea is always on the top-selling markets. 

As the assistant kindly knocked on the door and got a verbal cue from the other side, she took a step behind to let you move forward as you slowly turned the doorknob to enter the room. 

Immediately, you notice how the entire office is decorated extravagantly, filled with tons of high-end decorations that suit the taste of the CEO himself. The wide, clear windows dominated most of the room, offering a panoramic cityscape view. A curated selection of artwork filled the walls, which added a little personal touch to the working space. 

You didn’t realise that your mouth was wide open as you slowly took in the mesmerising view until you turned towards the desk, where the CEO was sitting on his chair with his back facing you, flipping through multiple documents in his hands. 

As you slowly made your way towards him, your little footsteps made the CEO’s ears perk up, causing the man to stand up and finally turn to face you in person for the first time. 

With that, your entire world seemed to pause for a moment. 

What exactly was going on? There was no way this young man could be the CEO, especially when you were certain that he had left Seoul years ago and sworn that his chances of returning to his homeland would be close to zero. Your laptop in hand was slowly beginning to slip off before you were brought back to reality and quickly caught it before it eventually hit the ground. 

That was when you finally muttered your first words since stepping into the CEO’s office. 

“J-Juyeon…?” 

It was pretty evident that the man himself was just as confused and shocked as you were; he practically stood there motionless, trying his best to make sense of the current situation.

“Y-Y/N? What are you doing here?” 

“I should be the one asking you that,” you replied. 

You were about to go haywire just from this interaction alone. It was hard enough for you to move on from what happened seven years ago, and it proved to be a lot harder than you thought when you came back a few weeks ago to see that all of the things that you’ve tried so hard to forget were now back in the comforts of your bedroom. 

Ever since then, you had promised yourself that you wouldn’t want anything to do with Juyeon anymore, and you have decided to shut your heart regarding anything related to the man himself. 

If only it were easier said than done. 

Juyeon finally took his first step away from his desk as he slowly approached you, extending his hand as if he was craving your touch again. You could tell that he was desperate for a little physical contact, perhaps to prove that you really stood in front of him. 

But you couldn’t, and you weren’t ready for any of that, so you backed off instead, giving him a clear signal that you weren’t on the same page as he was. 

There was this evident sadness in his eyes, and he tried his best to hold back his tears as his eyes began to water. 

“Y/N…I—”

“Miss L/N. You can address me that, Mr. Lee,” you bluntly replied before diverting your attention to the ground. 

It was when Juyeon finally got himself together and straightened his posture before clearing his throat. “Very well, Miss L/N. I’ll quickly brief you on the events happening today, with the group of celebrities arriving in a couple of hours soon. Please, have a seat.”

“I hate him, I really do!” You screamed at the top of your lungs as you took the pint of beer in your hands before slamming it down onto the table. Your sister had to restrain you from causing a scene at the bar, trying to settle you down and handing you a glass of water to chug down your system. 

Your sister had just recently came back to Seoul for a little vacation, and you immediately asked that she could keep you accompany down at the local izakaya restaurant that you often visited to let off some steam. 

“Karma is really on your side huh, Y/N,” your sister teased. 

“I-It’s not funny, sissy….” your voice began to slur, indicating that you were starting to get drunk at this point. “Why…of all people, why?! Why did it have to be him? As my boss! In my new workplace!” 

“Look, it can’t be that bad. Who knows, maybe you might get another chance again with him.” 

“That’s not the point, sissy….after what he has done to me? After all that I have done to try my best to move on from the past? This should not be happening to me at all!” Your voice broke as you began tearing up, causing your sister to pull you close into her embrace, slowly caressing your back to help soothe you a little. 

Your sister was well aware of your history with Juyeon, especially when you’ve spent weeks, which eventually that turned into months of crying out to her over the phone since she was already studying abroad then, she knew how much the whole situation wrecked you badly, to the point that it has taken you months to start going out and meeting people outside of university eventually. 

She was there when you were both younger, seeing how you developed a crush on him later and knowing you weren’t just childhood friends and had something way more than that. It was a shame that Juyeon left without telling you, and she would’ve gone to the airport to confront him about it if only she had been back in Seoul then. But deep down, she knew Juyeon as much as you did and knew that suddenly, something probably came up for him to leave the country like that. 

As a matter of fact, your sister had always wished and rooted for you both to become a couple eventually; she had always been a firm believer of childhood friends to lovers anyway, especially when that was how she ended up with her current fiancé. Now that you both have reunited in the most unexpected way, she believes her theory about you both eventually having a second chance was stronger than ever before. 

With that, she lifted her eyebrows as if she had just come up with a brilliant idea. “Say, little sis. What exactly are you up to at work tomorrow?” 

You sniffled. “Umm…I guess I have a meeting with Juyeon to discuss the upcoming fashion show that is due to be set in a couple of months. Why do you ask?” 

Your sister gave you a little smirk in return before cradling you like a baby again. “Oh, it was nothing. I’m sure you’ll have a fruitful discussion tomorrow.”

You dreaded coming to work today. The very first reason is that you woke up with a really bad hangover from last night, and you practically don’t remember much that has happened besides chugging down pints of beer from your system. It has been a while since you’ve drank this much, and most importantly, because you were upset over something. Otherwise, you were pretty much sober most of the time and always being the one to drag your co-workers home because they were far worse than you were. 

And, of course, it was also because you hated the idea that you must come face-to-face with your so-called ex-childhood best friend again—this time, in an actual meeting. Well, in some ways, you were glad that it was only a meeting for a potentially massive event that the company had been known to host for years and that Juyeon would probably be able to distinguish between personal and work-life issues. 

But still, you just weren’t ready to face him again, especially with the huge shock you’d received the day before. It was already hard enough for you to stay focused when Juyeon briefed you through your job scope and the meeting you would have for the day, trying your best not to let the tears drip down nor let the anger boil up. 

However, you had no choice since you must also stay professional at your work. You just got back to Korea, and there was no way you would chicken out and move everything back to the UK again. Well, potentially, you could, but it wouldn’t be an ethical move to make. 

So here you are, hugging your documents and laptop towards your chest, standing outside the meeting room. You had to take a few deep breaths before you could muster up the courage to turn the doorknob and enter the room. 

Once you did, you noticed how the entire room was filled up, with most of your co-workers in their designated seats, sorting through the documents they would use for the meeting. You immediately diverted your attention towards the front where Juyeon was seated, and you hated how you had actually spent a good minute admiring his features. 

He wore a simple beige coat over a white tee, paired with a pair of black slim pants with leather shoes. His black hair was styled all the way back, leaving a little strand of hair down on his forehead. He was busy flipping through his documents while setting up his laptop to project the PowerPoint slides for everyone to see. 

You just hated how extremely good-looking he was right now and that there was a high chance that you wouldn’t concentrate on your work throughout the next hour. 

And how you would actually want to run into his embrace and give him a little peck on the lips—

Wait, what? 

As Juyeon finally lifted his head from the monitor and looked at everyone else in the room, it was a sign that the meeting was about to commence, and you quickly took the still available seat, the front seat. 

Throughout the presentation, you tried your best to take in everything that Juyeon- well, your CEO, was trying to convey to his employees. It turns out that this upcoming fashion show would be one of the most crucial ones the company has ever done for years, especially now that all the big brands are willing to collaborate with GQ Korea and put out the best fashion show in the country. 

It was quite a breathtaking look to see how Juyeon was passionate about his job, talking and explaining each detail to his employees carefully while making it enjoyable for everyone to learn or be part of. With that, you have noticed how every single employee in the room was constantly taking down details as quickly as lightning, making sure not to miss out on any small detail. There were moments when some would raise their hands to ask further questions, and Juyeon was more than happy to answer them, making the whole meeting seem less stressful but instead quite engaging in return. 

There were times when you found yourself staring at him more than you should’ve, and every time he diverted his attention towards you, you would quickly duck your head down to look back at your laptop as if you were busy typing away on your notes. 

Time seemed to have passed quickly as Juyeon finally wrapped up the meeting and let everyone off. In fact, the meeting ended right at the dot, and it was just past noon, meaning it was lunchtime for all employees. Everyone was quick to dash through the door, their stomach grumbling after using up all of the energy for the meeting. For you, you decided to pack up your belongings at your own pace, knowing that you would be spending your lunch back at your cubicle with the little bento box your mother had packed for you this morning. 

As you are about to head straight for the door, the familiar voice stops you in your tracks, making you turn your head back to face the man himself. 

“Miss L/N, I would like to have a word with you.” 

Oh, god. It’s here. 

Mentally, you were cursing out all the vulgar words you knew at the back of your mind as you slowly approached your CEO, trying your best not to let out the croak in your voice. 

“Y-Yes, may I help you, Mr Lee?” 

“There is a place that I have to pay a short visit, and I would like you to keep me company.”

Whenever an employer or the CEO would address their employees to keep them company as they pay a visit to a certain location, it usually meant that it was to meet up with a client or to survey certain products or places that could significantly be crucial for the company’s success. 

But here you were, sitting in one of the fancy cafes that wasn’t far from the office, having lunch with your CEO, who was sitting in front of you. 

Juyeon said nothing along the way as he brought you to the cafe, insisting that you sit down and order from the menu with no questions asked. As awkward as it was, you were about to deny his request before he looked straight down towards the menu, not even glancing at you. 

You figured this was probably part of the job, and there was no way you would deny your CEO’s request right here and then, especially when it was working hours and everything was strictly business. 

Once both of you have made your orders to the waitress that just passed by a minute ago, you diverted your attention towards the tablecloth, not wanting to look straight at Juyeon. However, his deep voice caught your attention, and you lifted your head back up after hearing the words you had wanted to say for the past seven years. 

“I think it’s about time I told you the truth, Y/N.” 

Oh, he called you by your name. 

As you focus your attention right on him, you can see the sadness in his eyes once more, just like how it was back when you first encountered him in his office the day before. 

“Umm…with due respect Mr Lee—”

“Juyeon is fine. We’re outside of work, Y/N. I would appreciate it if you could talk to me like we used to, and I will do the same,” he responded, slowly resting his arms on the tablecloth as if he were leaning slightly closer to you. 

With that you took a significantly big gulp, knowing that the day you longed for was finally here. You were about to get the answers you desperately needed to know, but at the same time, you weren’t so sure if you wanted to know the truth right now, especially with all of the things that you have gone through trying your best to take him out of your life completely. 

“Will you please give me a chance to listen to what I have to say?” He pleaded, looking at you with a desperate look in his eyes. 

Your gut and mind were trying to tell you that you have done your best to completely eliminate him in your life for the past seven years. Would you give up easily and open your enclosed heart just like that? After all of the hard work that you have done? 

Say no, Y/N. You have gotten over the guy. It’s all over between you two—

“Yeah. Go on.” 

Goddammit, Y/N. 

Immediately, his eyes lit up upon your words, and his shoulders slumped down a little, indicating that he has relaxed a bit. 

“Oh, thank god, Y/N. I guess you were still the same old Y/N that I remembered—”

“You said we’re not employers and employees now, so I’d say cut to the chase with what you have to say while you can, Juyeon,” you bluntly replied as you crossed your arms around you. 

In return, Juyeon gave you a little weak smile and a sigh before he eventually diverted his full attention to you. 

“Remember when we got separated back in high school? During our graduation day, you—”

“You left me behind, Juyeon.” 

“I didn’t have a choice back then, Y/N. But now I’m here to tell you everything. You have no idea how our stomach dropped when my father came home and told us that his company was about to go bankrupt, and we were on the verge of losing everything.” 

So that was what happened.

“And how it was also the day my mother found out that she had cancer and her chances of recovery were lower than expected.” 

“J-Juyeon…w-why didn’t you tell me all of this?” 

“I wanted to. I really wanted to so badly, Y/N. Because you’re my best friend, and you deserve to know everything. But I just didn’t know how to, and I was afraid of what might happen, and I don’t want to put the pressure on you.” 

“W-Where are they now, then?” 

Juyeon had to take in a big breath before choosing his following words wisely, knowing it must’ve been hard to even talk about it publicly. “Mom became bedridden, and she’s still receiving treatment in one of the hospitals back in the States. Dad is currently running a small little shop near the hospital along with my little brother.” 

“Then, why did you come back here?” 

“I came back because starting a proper company there was tough. I figured there might be a slight chance things could work out here in Seoul. With the remaining funds we had, I eventually begged my dad to give his final trust in me as I found a way to make things work out. Luckily, we had some acquaintances back here, and they helped me get into one of the prestigious universities and eventually landed me a job here at GQ Korea. I started as a normal employee before I eventually became their CEO a year prior.” 

It was then you noticed a single teardrop on the verge of dripping down his face from the corners of his eyes. Naturally and unbeknownst to you, your hand reached for the tissues placed neatly on the table, and you leaned in to wipe away that single teardrop. 

Only then did you both realise what you were doing, and that was when your eyes widened, and you were about to prop down back to your seat.

That was until Juyeon grabbed your wrist, not wanting to let you go. 

“This teardrop is nothing, Y/N. I’m so sorry you have to see this side of me. It’s not very cool, I guess,” he chuckled, trying his best to lighten up the mood a bit. 

As soon as he says those words, your other free hand eventually finds itself on Juyeon’s shoulders, causing the male’s eyes to widen this time before you finally speak out the words that you have always wanted to tell straight to his face all those years ago. 

“Juyeon, you need to start learning to put yourself before others. And I really mean it.” 

“Y/N, I—”

“No buts. Even after all these years, you’re still the same as before, always prioritising others before your own. As much as you are the most kind-hearted soul I’ve ever seen, you need to start loving and giving yourself some credit,” you replied, adding a little pressure onto your grip on his shoulders. 

With that, none of you said a word for a good couple of seconds, and you both just spent the entire time staring into each other's eyes as if you were conveying your messages non-verbally. That was until Juyeon finally decided to break the tension off by smiling at you, a genuine one you had consistently grown to love back then. 

“So, am I back in your good graces now, princess?” 

You were finally brought back to your senses, and you quickly removed both hands from him and sat down swiftly back on your chair, ducking your head down while giving a slight pout. 

Juyeon missed this sight of you and was absolutely admiring the whole situation that unfolded before him. Just then, both of your meals arrived, and the same waitress from before gently placed each of your respective ones in front of you. Juyeon then gently placed the cutlery in front of you. 

“Dig in,” he mentioned before whipping out the napkin and placing it right on his lap, before going in with his cutlery to cut through his steak. 

In return, you swiftly picked up yours and roughly cut through your freshly cooked breaded cod fish. 

“No one calls a normal friend princess, Lee freaking Juyeon,” you mumbled.

Just when you thought that would be the only time you would actually spend some time alone with Juyeon, it turns out the male had perceived that you both were back just the way you were when you were kids. 

Since that day, Juyeon would actually make his way out to invite you often to join lunch with him at the same cafe, usually ordering a different dish from the wide selection of food on the menu. What Juyeon loved the most about the place was the ambience and good coffee, and he would always be seen ordering a big jumbo-sized cup of iced latte to bring back to his office to help get through the rest of the day. 

You, on the other hand, were often stuck with more or less the same few dishes that you’ve tried, and you, too, would order your usual iced americano back to the office once you both were done with the meal. 

At first, you have always tried your best to avoid having contact with him; that first lunch date was just a typical day, as you would try to convince yourself. But whenever Juyeon gets a little break out from the office, he would either send you a personal email or sometimes ask his personal assistant to come down to your department to inform you to wait for the man down at the lobby at noon. 

You obviously could do your very best to come up with excuses to let him know that you’re busy with something or you already have plans to eat with your co-workers, but it seemed that the heart does what it wants, and it does not align with the signals that your brain is trying to tell you; which is to avoid and cut off this whole friendship for good. 

So you were back to being the giddy seventeen-year-old little girl who often felt excited whenever you spent time with your childhood friend. Hence, every time you were taking the very last escalator down to the lobby, you would often use that little time to admire the way Juyeon would always lean against one of the pillars while swiping through his phone with one hand and keeping the other one inside the pocket of his coat. 

But you did not want to admit it just yet, so you would constantly remind yourself that he’s only back for a while; it wouldn’t be so easy to open up your ice-cold heart again. 

That was until today. 

Just a few days prior, Juyeon had given you a ticket to visit this huge Christmas market in the town centre. At first, you stared at the paper blankly, thinking it was all a joke and he couldn’t have gone with you. But the male made it clear that he invited you to come along, which would be the two of you together. 

Your heart was bouncing so fast that you were afraid it would eventually pop out of your chest as you slowly approached where you both were supposed to meet. You figured it best that you arrived twenty minutes earlier to compose yourself and try to understand your situation. 

As you paced back and forth for god knows how long, you finally heard your name being called out from the far distance, and you perked your head up to see that Juyeon was waving his hands and running towards you like he used to back when he was a kid. 

Once he finally stopped right in front of you, he began panting heavily to the point you were genuinely worried if this man was actually alright. 

“Woah, what the hell happened to you? You seemed like you were escaping from a monster or something,” you joked. 

“N-No…I went to get this for you…” Juyeon then hands you a brown paper bag, and you accept it while being all confused. 

“Open it, Y/N. Have a look at what’s inside,” he insisted before resting both hands on his hips. 

While giving Juyeon a weird look, you finally peeped into the bag and extended your arm into the brown bag before you finally felt something soft against your palms and eventually pulled whatever it was out. 

Your eyes widened when you saw what it was. 

“J-Juyeon…this…”

“Remember way back in high school; we promised each other that we would want to visit the Christmas markets, and how badly did you want this soft alpaca plushie that was way too expensive for neither of us to get our hands on? Yeah, I actually got it before the store closed like minutes ago.” 

He remembered. 

You have always been vocal about wanting this plushie for years, and there was no way your parents were buying it for you, claiming that it was way too expensive (which it was since it was part of a collaboration with one of the high-end fashion companies) and that you wouldn’t have a proper use for it. Back then, Juyeon couldn’t do anything but reassure you that one day, your wish would definitely come true while always giving you pinky promises. 

And now, you were finally receiving your biggest Christmas wishlist item as an adult, and you couldn’t be much happier. 

You laughed. “Juyeon, you do realise that I’m not a child anymore, right?” 

“Who says plushies are only meant for young children? Why can’t adults have their collection? I’ll tell you I have a Build-A-Bear in my bedroom.” 

“You must be joking.” 

“Mark my words, Y/N.” 

Eventually, you both started laughing out loud before you hugged the plushie close to you, activating the heating function in the toy to keep yourself warm; that was the main purpose that made you want to purchase this product long ago. 

“Thank you, Juyeon.” 

“Well, instead of thanking me, why don’t you keep me company for the night as we explore this Christmas market together?” 

You smiled. “With pleasure.”

“Oh, Juyeon~ Have I ever told you how much I’ve admired your good looks? I’d like to think that your family genes are something else.”

After an hour or two of walking through the entire Christmas market and having too much fun going to each stall and trying out the different activities and food, you eventually stumbled upon one located towards the furthest end and sold various eggnog drinks. You have never tried this particular alcoholic beverage before; you were mostly used to the beers that you often get back in the pubs in London. However, Juyeon insisted that you give it a go especially for the Christmas season, and he eventually bought both of you a mug. 

The initial taste seemed a bit off to you, but once the alcohol started kicking in, you eventually began to chug the whole liquid down as if it were nobody’s business. After some time, one mug of eggnog began turning into two, and then three, and finally, you were pretty sure that you were on your fifth mug by now. 

That was when Juyeon realised that he should’ve stopped you by your second or third mug because now you were barely walking properly without his aid, and your speech began to slur as he linked your arms over his shoulders, trying his best to support you while walking you back home. 

You both had to take the subway trains to head back to your apartment and during the entire time, you were clingy with your childhood friend, often wrapping your arms around him and giving him a tight squeeze while mumbling incoherent words. You caught the attention of all passengers and passersby, but Juyeon could only smile at how you looked right now. 

He had never seen you drunk before, and this was a whole new experience for him. But he wasn’t too mad that you reminded him so much of your younger self; it was as if he was witnessing the seven-year-old you again in the present day. 

After walking from the subway and, eventually, towards your front door to your apartment, Juyeon was about to take you up towards the elevator until you stopped him in his tracks.

“No Juyeon~ why are you leaving me so early? We still have so much more to see in the market!” 

He smiled. “Y/N, I think it’s time for you to head home to get some rest.” 

“But I don’t wanna~” 

With that, Juyeon grabbed hold of both your shoulders as he bent down to be on the same eye level as you, trying his best to talk to you in your drunken stage. 

“Y/N, I’ll see you tomorrow, hmm? We’ve had loads of fun today, and besides, your mom and sister would be worried sick about you at this late hour.” 

Immediately, you lifted your pinky at him, which caused the male to stare at you blankly. “Pinky promise that I get to see you tomorrow, Juyeon-ie?” 

Oh, how insanely adorable you were to Juyeon right now. 

He chuckled before linking his pinky with yours, shaking it left and right slightly as if to seal the agreement. “I promise, we’ll see each other in the office first thing tomorrow morning.”

With the final pinky shake, Juyeon guided you towards the elevator and pressed the button. As you both waited for the elevator to come down to the ground floor, you suddenly broke off the silence, and Juyeon had to blink twice to know he wasn’t hearing things wrong. 

“I’ve always liked you Juyeon…even after all these years…I never stopped loving you…” you sobbed. 

Your nose was now sniffling, and you closed your eyes to let the tears drip down, not caring what Juyeon would think about all this. You were done trying to hold it back for so long, and you needed to let the burden that you’ve held onto for years finally let loose, and well, you were drunk at this point, so you couldn’t really control the words that slipped out from your mouth. 

“Why did you leave me just like that…did you know how much pain it has caused…and how hard I’ve tried to forget every single thing about you? I even threw away all of the pictures and toys we’d had together because the flashbacks of memories would often play in my mind upon seeing them,” you were now crying, and you began to raise your voice a little. 

“Why, Juyeon, WHY!!” You screamed at the top of your lungs, and immediately you burst out crying, plopping straight down onto the concrete floor. You hated how the alcohol wasn’t making you think straight and that you were feeling a roller coaster of emotions right now. 

Just let it out, Y/N. You’ve suffered long enough—

Immediately, a warm pair of arms wrapped around you, and a hand gently pushed your head down to let you rest on the crook of their neck. You finally glanced up to see that it was Juyeon, holding you tight and resting his chin on the top of your head. 

As much as you want to push yourself away from him, you can’t. You couldn’t explain why, and you have even made a pact to yourself that you wouldn’t want anything associated with him anymore. 

But why did the saying the heart wants what it wants have to be so accurate? 

You hated it, hated how you have always let your emotions take full control over your mind, not making you think straight, and often going against your plans. In fact, your heart ached so badly, and it was the same feeling that you felt seven years ago, right when Juyeon left you alone as he hopped onto his vehicle. 

The only thing you could do right now was to let the stream of tears pour down and cry out to your heart’s content. You felt weak, and you could do nothing to push him away. 

Juyeon couldn’t blame you, though, because how could he? Especially when he was the one who said nothing all those years ago. Now, he was seeing with his own eyes how much pain and trouble it has cost you, turning you into a vulnerable little petite girl who was crying her heart out in his arms. 

With that, he moved his lips down to plant a little kiss on your head and eventually closed his eyes as your cries filled up his eyedrums. 

“I’ll make it work, Y/N. I promise you that I’ll make things work this time.”

“Oh, good fucking hell.” 

You were sitting on your work desk, bringing your hands to cover up your face. It was an absolute nightmare to hear from your sister about what happened the night before—how you got drunk and caused a little scene in public, which made everyone turn their attention towards you, how Juyeon was the one who brought you all the way back home, how you had a breakdown in front of him to the point you eventually fell asleep after crying your eyes out to the point he had to physically gave you a piggyback up to your front door and assisted your sister to plop you down on your bed. 

If there was a nearby cliff near your workplace, you would do anything to ditch work and actually head straight up there to jump off from the embarrassment. 

You were already not having a good time reuniting with Juyeon, let alone trying to sort your emotions out while seeing him at work every day and that he was your boss. But to confess your deepest thoughts while being vulnerable and drunk in front of him? That was not written anywhere in your books. 

As you were spending your entire lunch break groaning over what happened last night, you immediately received a call from your desk telephone, and you quickly composed yourself before picking the phone up. 

“Y-Yes, hello? This is L/N from the editorial department; how may I assist you for the day?”

“Good afternoon, Miss L/N. Please report to the CEO’s office immediately whenever you can.” 

Oh, Jesus take the wheel. 

The entire walk up to the CEO’s office was nerve-wracking; it was as if you were being sent to detention at the principal’s office because you messed up really badly. So many thoughts ran through your mind, thinking about how to apologise to Juyeon for the scene you had caused the day prior.

Once you walked into his office, you tried your best to devise the best phrase to start the conversation, but it seemed that Juyeon beat you to it, immediately handing you a red ginseng hangover drink. 

You reluctantly accepted it while mumbling a soft ‘thank you’ before he insisted that you drink it immediately before him. Once you were done, he took the bottle away and tossed it straight into the bin, directly briefing you about the upcoming fashion show, now only a month away. 

Now that it was back to business and you were no longer childhood friends, you tried your best to keep your composure as you listened to all of the details he was going through one by one with you. 

Eventually, he decided to bring you along to meet up with one of the CEOs of the high-end brands on a trip to Seoul to discuss the plan in person further. Apparently, you have met with the CEO of Fendi, and it’s one of the brands that have been associated with GQ Korea for decades now. Somehow, Juyeon has gotten pretty close with the famous man himself over the years.

All of you met up in the famous Four Seasons Hotel for a pretty luxurious high-tea session while discussing the whole fashion show. It was mostly just Juyeon conversing with the CEO himself; you were mainly there to take down all the essential notes that both parties spoke.

Usually, it would have been his personal assistant job, but he insisted that you come along this time, saying it was part of your training. To be completely honest, you weren’t sure if Juyeon was the one mixing up between work and personal life issues at this point. All you wanted to do was to pray that this meeting gets over and done with quickly so that you could head back towards the comforts of your cubicle in the office and not face Juyeon for a while.

After an hour or so, it seemed as if the meeting was wrapped, and both parties finally parted ways for now, causing you to head straight back to Juyeon’s vehicle. Many people would think most CEOs would have their chauffeur, but Juyeon insisted that he always preferred to drive alone. 

He was still the chatterbox that you have always remembered back in the day, how we would often come up with any possible topic that would keep you entertained; you both could talk for days back then only if both of your families didn’t stop you from heading back home for meal time. 

There was only one problem this time: you were still troubled by what had happened the day before, and it was hard enough to even join Juyeon for this meeting with the CEO of Fendi in the first place. Now that both of you were alone in the car, things were far more awkward than they already were. Juyeon never touched on the topic from last night, but still, you couldn’t bring yourself to look at him in the face. 

Just when you thought Juyeon was about to take the left turn to head back towards the office, he took the other lane instead and drove towards the opposite direction.

“Juyeon, the office is the other way—”

“Let’s go somewhere, Y/N. Treat this as a little gift of stepping out of office hours for a bit. You’ll still get paid, though; don’t worry. I’ll make sure to inform your head department about your absence.” 

What on earth is going through your mind, Juyeon?

It has been a few minutes since you have physically pressed yourself against the tank, slowly admiring various species swimming about minding their own business. 

Apparently, you both have arrived at the COEX Aquarium, known for homing a large variety of rare species of aquatic animals and typically the best place for school trips, holidays, and even as a date.

Wait, scratch that last one—

“Didn’t you always say how coming here has been on your bucket list for the longest time?” Juyeon questioned you as he slowly walked up towards where you were from behind, slipping both of his hands into his cloak as he, too, began admiring the beauty in front of him. 

That was when you finally diverted your attention to his face for the first time since hopping into his car this morning to head to the hotel. You were upset at yourself with how the feelings were the same as before: his pretty sculpted facial features, how good-looking he actually was, and how he could do the bare minimum, yet you would still swoon over the man himself. 

With all that has happened lately, something told you this was more than friend behaviour. Sure, Juyeon might be trying his best to patch up this whole relationship you once had, taking you to places and recreating new memories with one another, but you weren’t sure if Juyeon felt the same way as you did. 

That deep feeling within the pit of your stomach made you feel uncomfortable, and it was about time you finally confronted him about the one question that had pondered at the back of your mind for the longest time. 

If both of you wanted to continue whatever was happening between you, you needed to get the specific answer first. 

And it has to be now. 

“Juyeon, can I ask you something?” 

He hummed. “Yeah, go ahead.” 

With that, you turned your entire body facing him and took a deep breath to figure out the right words to convey your feelings for the man himself. “I meant what I said the night before.” 

That alone was enough to get his full attention, as he was now slowly turning himself fully towards you as if he was staring straight into your soul. You wanted to chicken out so badly and tell him it was nothing, and you both could just continue with the silence. But you have already come so far, and you know that this will only continue to haunt you for as long as you live if you aren’t going to address it now. 

So you mustered up every bit of courage left within you, and opened your mouth again. 

“I never stopped loving you, Juyeon. Even though we have lost contact for so many years, I never once stop thinking about you every single day. As much as I’ve tried so hard to forget about you, hell, I threw everything that reminded me of you into the dumpster or boxes and kept them deep somewhere where I wouldn’t even think about searching for it ever again, but to no avail.” 

Your body began to tremble as you tried to calm yourself down by playing with your fingers. “I couldn’t, Juyeon. Every time I thought I have succeeded in getting rid of you from my life for good, the thought of you just somehow finds its way to creep back up in my mind.” 

“I have no idea if karma sent me back here to Seoul, especially when my career was doing well in London. Imagine coming back and discovering that my new employer is someone I’ve tried so hard to forget about? The mixed emotions I felt then were insufferable.” 

As you began to speak more, tears started welling up in your eyes, causing your heartbeat to rise rapidly. But you decided to press on and choke back on your tears. 

“With all that you have done for me for the past weeks and months, I truly have no idea what on earth you are trying to prove to me, Lee Juyeon. Are you trying to fix our broken friendship? Or is it something more? What exactly are you even planning to do, Juyeon?” 

Finally, you took a few steps closer until you were inches away from him. 

“Be honest with me now, Juyeon. What exactly am I to you?” 

There was this tense moment between you two, and neither of you said a word to one another. You were looking straight at your childhood friend with red, puffy eyes, and his eyes were widened, looking at you and trying his best to take in everything you’d said. 

Something tells you that it was best not to hear about Juyeon’s opinions at all for the fear of rejection once more. If you had the power to dissect his mind to determine his thoughts and feelings about all of this, you would. Yet, you were still afraid of what might happen next. 

As you wait for his response, you slowly examine how his shoulders began to slump, and eventually he tries his best to talk some sense into you. 

“Y/N, I—”

“Ah! It’s Juyeon-ie!” 

The both of you immediately darted your head towards where the voice was coming from, and that was when you noticed a female running towards Juyeon while waving her hands, and a rather old man accompanied her. 

Who could it be? 

“Saeran? And Uncle Lee? What are you two doing here?” Juyeon questioned as the two individuals made their way towards you. It was also then they both noticed your presence and the soft-spoken young lady was the one who broke the ice. 

“You must be?” 

“O-Oh, I umm—”

“She’s Y/N; she used to be my neighbour back in the days when I was still living in Seoul.” 

Just a neighbour, huh? 

“Ah, Y/N!” The young female extended her hand for a little handshake, in which you awkwardly return the favour. “It’s a pleasure to meet you in person finally! Juyeon has spoken a lot about you.” 

Before you could even give a reply, it seemed that the older man whom you now know was his uncle, or rather, perceived that he was the one who managed to help Juyeon get a new start in life back here in Seoul, finally spoke and diverted Juyeon’s attention back to what they were here for in the first place. 

“We had made a little appointment this afternoon, don’t you remember, Juyeon?”

“Oh, yes! I’m so sorry. It must’ve completely slipped my mind since I have been pretty caught up with work lately,” Juyeon apologised while slightly bowing towards his uncle. 

“Not at all, Juyeon. I’m sure you must’ve been pretty busy with-” his uncle then diverts his attention towards you. “-a lot of things.” 

You definitely felt way too uncomfortable at the moment, and you needed to get out of the aquarium right this second if you did not wish to be suffocated by all of the tension in the air. 

Immediately, you gently removed your hands from the young female and quickly made a ninety-degree bow towards all of them.

“My humble apologies, it seems that I have disrupted an important meeting. I shall take my leave now.” 

As soon as you turned your heel towards the other direction, you suddenly felt a pair of hands grab your wrist, stopping you in your tracks. 

“Y/N! Wait, I’ll drive you back—”

“No, it’s fine,” you tried your best to smile at him. “I’ll just take the train located right outside the aquarium. Have a good day.” 

You instantly slip your hands off his grip and dash straight towards the front door, trying your best not to look back and ignore the tears dripping down your face as you walk down the steps towards the subway.

It was now week two of cutting off all contact with Juyeon. It hadn’t been easy for you both at work and personally. In fact, you haven’t been doing great at all. It was as if you had turned into a living zombie, often feeling rather emotionless and drowning yourself in paperwork and avoiding contact with another except for your head of department. 

Since Juyeon was still your employer and CEO, he has definitely tried all means of contacting you, asking to see if you were doing okay or trying to get you up to his office to talk about the fashion show, or rather, to talk things out. But every single time, you would find ways to decline his request as best as possible while respecting him as your boss first and foremost. 

After a week of declining his invitations, his messages and calls eventually stopped coming a week ago; it was as if he had completely vanished for a little while. From what you have heard, it seemed that he had some urgent matters that he had to deal with, causing him to leave the office into the hands of his assistant for now.

It was finally a little breather for you since you didn’t have to put on this facade for the time being, letting you let loose for a bit. Going through sleepless nights throughout the past couple of weeks definitely has taken a toll on your mental well-being. 

You told yourself you needed to hold it all in for another week. Once this whole fashion show is done, you will get your well-deserved vacation off work for one week. 

It’ll be alright. Things will definitely work out in one way or another, Y/N.

It was finally the day for the long-awaited fashion show hosted by GQ Korea and the collaboration among famous brands around the globe. A swarm of people marched into the rented convention hall, filling the entire space within minutes.

You and your co-workers were busy getting everything organised and ensuring everything was in place. Since you were in the editorial department, you have been going about talking to all of the big figureheads from each respective brand, mostly just breaking the ice as well as interviewing them so that you have your necessary notes to draft out the proposal for the upcoming magazine. 

Time passed quickly and it was time for the show to begin. As you sat down on one of the chairs, you made your way towards the far end corners of the hall, getting ready your notepad and trusty blue ballpoint pen. 

As the light began to dim, Juyeon eventually made his way up on stage with a microphone, giving the guests a warm welcome and a little opening speech before the models began their runway walk. Seeing the man himself again was a bittersweet moment for you. As much as you wanted nothing more associated with him, your eyes just couldn’t seem to turn away from him.

It did not help that he was dressed up in a black tuxedo, with his hair styled up with his usual one strand on his forehead. He looked strikingly handsome, and you wouldn’t be surprised if he managed to woo almost everyone in the audience tonight. The way he presented himself was truly magnificent, and you could see why he was able to rise to the ranks of being a CEO at such a young age. 

Tears began welling up in your eyes again, but you tried your very best to hold them back and mentally cursed at yourself, thinking that this was all professional work now and that there was no room for any personal matters for the night. 

Once he made his desired speech, he eventually came down from the stage and sat at one of the front row seats, and that was where you could clearly see that the very same girl from the aquarium sat right next to him, along with his uncle and personal assistant. It shouldn’t bother you since they are practically family to him. It was none of your business, so why couldn’t you take your eyes off them?

Or rather, with him and the young lady who was clearly having fun whispering into each other’s ears. 

It has nothing to do with me. 

You constantly reminded yourself that whenever you tried to spare a glance at them, all while you were taking down notes from the show. It was definitely a challenge trying to stay focused, and there were a couple of times when you needed to close your eyes for a bit and take a few deep breaths to proceed with your work. 

The show finished smoothly, and the audience responded with a standing ovation. You definitely felt a sense of accomplishment from that, too, given that all of your hard work over the past months had finally paid off. 

The event wouldn’t have been complete without an after-party, so here you were in the hall next door—with all of the guests, models, and even staff alike having loads of fun chatting about with a glass of champagne in hand. Eventually, the DJ that was hired began to blast out a wide selection of music, indicating that whoever felt comfortable hitting up the dance floor was able to do so. 

You smiled as you saw a couple of your close co-workers pull up some moves on the dance floor; it reminded you of loads of your time back in the UK—going to the local pubs and just having the time of your life drinking and partying with your friends. 

Just as you were lost in thought, you suddenly felt a little tap on your shoulder, and you turned around to see that Juyeon’s assistant insisted that someone wanted to see you in person. 

You didn’t think much of it since you already had a little bit of alcohol in your system, so when you finally realised who was the one who wanted to see you, panic began to rush through your veins, and you tried your best to make sense of the situation. 

“Mr Lee? Is something the matter?”

You did not need to see the older male again, especially when he gave you a not-so-good first impression back at the aquarium. However, you had no reason to devise an excuse to leave; he was much superior to you anyway. 

“Why, good evening, Miss L/N. I hope you are enjoying the party so far, and congratulations on the job well done. I must say Juyeon always excels in his work, no matter what obstacles he encounters along the way.” 

The only thing you could do was flash a little smile back at him, as much as it made you uncomfortable. In the back of your mind, you have dozens of questions running through your mind, thinking about in what manner his uncle has any business with you. 

Eventually, he began speaking as if he was chanting through a book, giving you a whole load of information that was a little bit too much to take in at the moment. 

“It seems that Seoul life has been too tedious for you, don’t you think? Have you ever wondered about transferring back to London? Perhaps it would be a much better place for you to reside in.” 

“Umm, with all due respect, sir, how did you know about my background—”

“Oh, I have always kept an eye on you; you were Juyeon’s childhood friend, after all.” 

Keyword. “Were” 

“With that being said, I have read a couple of your articles before from the London Mail, and I must say, they are actually quite extraordinary.” 

“W-Why, t-thank you, Mr Lee. I really do appreciate them—”

“Speaking of transferring, the CEO for Fendi has actually taken quite a liking to you and your work. Even throughout the whole fashion show back there, he has been talking on and on about you, saying how you would prove to be a fruitful addition to his company.”

Just like that, Mr Lee began to step forward to hand you a little sticky note, which clearly had a number written on it. 

“If you ever change your mind, give me a call. Besides, I’m sure you already know the answer deep within your heart. I will be waiting,” Mr Lee responded with a smug before entering back into the hall. 

You stared back down at the note and eventually began thinking about what his uncle said prior. Suddenly, you started feeling conflicted, thinking this was the right place to belong. But it could also be his way of trying to brainwash you; you’re pretty sure you felt like a menace in his eyes. 

You decided you needed some fresh air to clear your thoughts for a bit, so you headed out towards the balcony right up the stairs. You figured that an open-air rooftop seemed perfect for some alone time. 

If only you were the only one who was planning to use the same exact spot that is.

Right when you reached the door that was ajar on the rooftop, you immediately recognised the two people standing before you, the female leaning in to give your childhood friend a peck on the lips.

You stand there motionless, and immediately, your blood starts to boil, something you haven’t felt in a while. The glass of champagne then drops towards the ground, and the shattered noises make the two turn their attention towards you. 

It all felt like a sudden pause like time had stopped for a few moments. The both of you were staring deep into each other’s eyes, not knowing what to do or how to respond. But then, Juyeon eventually spoke to break the silence. 

Before you could ever hear what he had to say, you were already dashing down the stairs, not caring that you had missed a couple of steps and that there were a few instances where you felt like you were about to trip and fall straight down back where you came from. 

Not even wanting to let your co-workers know about anything, you quickly dashed through the front gates, running through the now gloomy skies that were bound to have a heavy downpour within a few minutes. 

You should’ve remembered that Juyeon was the basketball team leader back in high school for a reason; no matter how fast you ran through the streets, he eventually caught you and yanked you back towards him, causing you to press up against his chest. 

“Let me go! Let me go—”

“Y/N! Please! Let us just talk things out.” 

You used up all of your strength and pushed him away as hard as you could before you began raising your voice back at him. “Talk? Don’t be ridiculous. You have done more than enough, and I have seen enough.” 

“Y/N, no. You don’t understand—”

“What else do I have to understand!?!? You have done more than enough to shatter me over and over again, Juyeon! And to think I was dumb enough actually to think we could work things out again!” You screamed. 

“Y/N…please…just calm down and listen to what I have to say…” Juyeon was now practically begging you, begging you just to stop. 

“You clearly don’t understand the pain that I’ve gone through, Juyeon. You weren’t there to witness or experience it anyway! Why did we even become friends in the first place, huh!?!?” 

God, cat’s out of the bag. 

That last sentence was definitely not meant to be said at all; it was one of your deepest, darkest thoughts that you have sworn that nobody should ever find out about, especially when it is directed towards the person who stood before you.

“I hate you, Juyeon…I really do…for all of the pain that you have caused me…” you were now sobbing like a child, which pained Juyeon so much seeing how you were now. 

With that, a loud thunder resonated throughout the city, and a heavy downpour began pouring down from the skies. The both of you were now soaked, and you mustered up the courage to say your final words to him as the tears began mixing with the rain. 

“Please…I beg of you…just stop looking for me…or even talk to me at all…just leave me alone…that’s the last thing I will ask of you…” 

“I don’t want anything to do with you no more.” 

You slowly began backing away, and when you reached a good amount of distance, you turned your heel and began running away into the shadows, not sparing a final glance at your childhood friend who stood at the same spot under the pouring rain. 

This is my final goodbye, Juyeon.

If you thought the whole week of you being a walking zombie in the office was terrible enough, clearly, nobody was prepared for the current state that you were in. You locked yourself up in your room and refused to see anybody, even your mother and sister. 

You would constantly lay in bed, tossing and turning, even though it was hard to fall asleep. Since you avoided contact with your family members, there was nothing much they could do but place a tray filled with your meals and dishes in front of your door, waiting for you to eventually open up during times when you actually felt hungry and took them into your room to savour them all on your own. 

You didn’t need anyone or anything now; you craved alone time and peace. 

As you curl up in bed, sometimes even at the corners of your room, your eyes would often dart towards the sticky note handed to you by his uncle. So many times you have thought about it: what if life would’ve been better abroad and coming back to Seoul was truly a grave mistake that you have made? What if this whole decision was actually an awakening moment for you to realise that this is not where you should belong? 

Days went by and eventually, it became a week. There were only a few days left before you returned to the office for work. The longer you kept staring at the note, the more motivated you were to take the risk and start again. 

Every time you were reminded of what happened that very fateful night, you rationalised that maybe what Mr Lee said was true after all. Perhaps Seoul is really not your place to belong. 

As the clock ticked, your desire to leave everything behind felt stronger. 

You waited until the clock finally struck noon for you to finally stand up with your phone in hand, punching each number into the dial pad and bringing it to your ear. 

Once the ringing eventually got through and you were met with a voice on the other end of the line, you took a deep breath before muttering the words you have been reluctant about all this while. 

“I’ll take up the offer.”

“For the very last time sissy, I promise I will be fine,” you spoke through your headphones as you were on a video call with your sister, who was back home at your apartment. 

“You have never done something so impulsive before, and given that you made this whole decision during your darkest hours? I highly doubt that you’re okay, Miss Y/N.” 

“Well, I can assure you that the darkest hours are gone, and I’m now free and much happier. I can work with Fendi!” 

Your sister sighed through the phone. “Working with big brands is one thing; what about your physical and mental well-being?” 

“Rome doesn’t sound too bad to me, and besides, living in the UK for a couple of years has definitely given me the experience I’ve needed to survive back in the EU again.” 

“Fine. Just…be careful, okay? Give mom and I a call once you’ve touched down.” 

You gave a little flying kiss through the phone. “Don’t worry, I will.” 

After waving goodbye on both sides, you clicked the red end call button and leaned back onto the chair you had been sitting on for the past hour. It was definitely a shocker to you that Fendi was willing to accept you immediately without having to go through any sort of significant interviews and that they were kind enough to even provide accommodations for you. At the same time, you work for them under a contract of two years. Frankly, it was a good deal and a steal. 

You slowly stare into the digital clock on the big screen, which eventually becomes an announcement. 

“All passengers bound for Rome, Italy, please head to gate 4B and be ready for boarding!” 

Instantly, almost all of the people around you began standing and lining up as if they needed to be the first to get on board. You have always disliked and never understood why the rush and pushing against one another trying to fight for the first slot, so you often just sat back and relaxed until only a couple of folks left to board the plane. 

Time went by quickly, and thirty minutes have passed since then. Now, only a handful of passengers are left to board. That was when it was your cue to get up and sling your backpack onto your back. 

As you slowly walked towards the counter to let the flight attendants scan your passport and let you through the gates, you felt a sudden tap on your shoulders, causing you to turn behind to see who it was. 

You didn’t have much time to respond until you were pulled in for a tight embrace; that familiar cologne was enough to make the tears well up in your eyes again.

“J-Juyeon…” your voice muffled. 

“Stop. Let me just…let me do the talking this time. Please.” 

You would have definitely fought back and started pushing him away once more, but it seems that you were either too taken aback or lost all of the energy throughout the past week to do so. Instead, you just stood there motionless in his arms. 

“Y/N, I know it would be horrible for me to ask for forgiveness because I definitely do not deserve any of that after what I have put you through. Or even for another chance because you clearly gave me one, and it was my fault for not appreciating nor cherishing the moment when it happened,” he began stroking your head, his fingers running through your long, silky, soft hair. 

“But one thing is for sure: I will not let you go this time. This time, I am going to hold you so tight that there’s no room for you to escape; I’ll make sure that you will forever be safe and sound in my arms, and I will be the one who is going to bring you joy instead of pain and tears.” 

He then bends down to give you a little kiss on your forehead. “You mean a lot to me, Y/N. And I’d like to think you are more than just a friend; you’re my other half. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to move on, knowing that I will lose you again, and this time, forever, if I don’t stop you now.” 

“So please, Y/N. I’m begging you. Please don’t go.” 

With his final words, you eventually find your arms slowly snaking up his back and returning the hug to him. You weren’t too sure why you did that, especially after the tremendous pain you have gone through the past week in particular. At the end of the day, the phrase where the heart wants what it wants will forever remain faithful to you, whether you like it or not. 

You sobbed. “You’re not going to make me stay that easily.”

“Oh yeah? You think I’m not capable of doing that?”

“Prove it then.” 

Instantly, one of his hands travelled back up to your chin and lifted them, causing you to look directly towards his as he slowly bent down to interlock his lips with yours. The kiss was rather heated, as if the both of you had been waiting for this to come so badly. You couldn’t care less if you both were actually making out at the airport.

Juyeon cupped your face with both hands as he tilted his head for you to gain more entrance into his. His lips felt soft yet demanding as if you were devouring a forbidden fruit. In return, you run your fingers through his silky black hair. 

After a few minutes, you both broke apart for some fresh air, trying your best to catch your breath simultaneously. 

“Is that supposed to make me stay put in Seoul, Juyeon?” You teased. 

With that, he merely replied with a little smile followed by a smirk. “That, Miss Y/N, was actually a pact you made to me. Treat it as a contract, if you will, that you are bound to stay by my side no matter what.” 

“Ugh, that’s so foul of you!” 

“You should know that I have my ways; I’m not the CEO of GQ Korea for nothing.” 

The both of you eventually burst out into laughter while Juyeon finds both hands on your waist while you wrap your arms around his shoulders. 

“Listen, Y/N. I want to apologise on behalf of my uncle and Saeran.” 

“Oh, yeah. No big deal. By the way, is Saeran—”

“It’s not what you think it is.” 

“It’s not?”

He smiled. “She’s my little cousin, and she often showers me with tons of hugs and kisses, even though I’ve told her to stop a million times.” 

“Well, you’re lucky to have a cousin who loves you that much,” you replied. 

“Yeah, but she’s going to have to learn that she can’t do that anymore because someone else is going to replace her job for that.” 

As much as you knew who he referred to, you still wanted to drag this further. “And who exactly is that?” 

“Hmm…maybe the contract before wasn’t clear enough. Should I make another one?”

You slapped his chest immediately. “Don’t you dare, we’re in public.” 

Again, another burst of laughter was genuinely beginning to make you feel a lot better, even to the point of slowly healing all the scars you have had before. 

With that, you needed to make yourself clear to the man himself. 

“Juyeon, can I just be honest with you?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” 

“I appreciate you doing all of this for me, but I just want to give you a heads-up that it’ll take a while for me to heal from everything completely and that I’m sorry if I don’t give you the exact treatment that you expect from me, and I—”

You were then silenced with another kiss on the lips; this time, Juyeon took the time to shower you with as many kisses as possible, making sure that each was worthwhile before breaking the kiss again. 

“Y/N, I don’t care about all of that. You can take as long as you need, but just know that I will be here for each step you take, and I’ll give you support whenever you need it. I promise. I will not leave you behind ever again.” 

As you both plastered a soft smile, you leaned in to rest your forehead against each other, taking in everything that had happened minutes prior.

“Here’s to a new beginning with you.”

masterlist

taglist: @deoboyznet @kflixnet @k-films @flwoie @zzoguri @kyusqult @tinkerbell460 @cheonsafics @sulkygyu @jaerisdiction @lngwayup @daisyvisions (join my permanent taglist here!)

[hwaslayer]

wildfire (cs) | 9.5

—spotify playlist | series masterlist

—summary: assistant professor in bioengineering, incredibly attractive, lonely and divorced; that’s how most people describe san. but despite the events that have happened in his life, san has a lot going for himself. he’s a successful, sought out professor due to his brilliant contributions to science at just an early age of 32. he worked hard to get where he was now; head deep into his research, his publications, building his lab and creating a name for himself. everything was good and smooth sailing— until it wasn’t. because when he meets you, a bioengineering grad student interested in rotating in his lab, he finds himself ready to risk all the blood, sweat and tears he put in throughout the years just to keep you close— his need for you spiraling out of control like a wildfire.

—pairing: asst. professor!choi san x grad student!f. reader

—genre: (18+ - minors dni) strangers to lovers, grad school au | fluff, angst, smut

—word count: 1.2k

—chapter content/warnings: cussing, takes place sometime before the NAS conference!, it's a lil sad ngl - lowkey giving unrequited love vibes

—a/n: my loves, merry christmas eve/merry christmas <33 i wish you all a very happy holidays! i'll try my best to get the space between us three - 03 up this friday, but with xmas and all, it might be a tad bit late. 😅 ty for your support and your patience, i'm v grateful for every single one of you!! ily 💕

Jiung has always cared about you since he met you. He's always been good about it, too. Never suffocating you, while at the same time making himself available whenever you needed him. He was there when you cried over your exes and ex-flings that didn't deserve shit, he was there when you just needed to get away from the house. 

He was there when you were trying to figure out what to do with your life— helping you brainstorm and listening to all your if's, and's, what if's. He was there when you needed someone to hold your hair back when you were too damn drunk. He was there when you felt too high and contemplated life when you took a hit of a blunt at a party.

He was there when you doubted yourself, when you just needed someone to reassure you that you were doing enough.

"Sorry. I got caught up with some stuff in lab." You rush over to the table, plopping your things down with a loud sigh. Jiung had been waiting for you at dinner for close to 30 minutes, his texts and calls going unanswered after a simple 'running late - be there soon' text from earlier. It was most likely a mix of you being busy, along with the crap service in the basement. 

"All good. You okay?"

"Yeah, I am." You smile at him, a little flustered. You actually were caught up with some project-related things; it was one of those days where things weren't going your way and you were running into every issue you could possibly run into. "Today was just not my day in lab."

"What happened?"

"What didn't happen?" You sigh. "I might ask for your help later with something. I'm not sure I can figure out what's wrong, but you might know some good routes to take." Jiung nods. "But, I don't wanna think about it right now. Need food." You pout.

"Okay, let's get some food in you then." Jiung chuckles. "Why don't you get your food first while I stay with our things?" You nod.

"I'll be back." The NAS conference was coming up soon, but it felt too busy to be excited about the event. Things were ramping up in both labs, and even though a lot of your time had been spent with San, you were busy trying to push your work in the lab in order to help Sunwoo add to his poster presentation. It was a bit of a risk, and you weren't sure the both of you would be able to pull off good, updated results in time— but the universe seemed to be on your side despite all the trials and tribulations you had to endure.

While grabbing your food in the dining hall, a call comes through on your phone and it's San. You can't help but smile to yourself, quickly swiping right to answer. You press the phone against your ear while you continue browsing the various options for tonight's dinner, biting your lip when San greets you so sweetly like he always does on the other line.

You had been planning to hang out with Jiung at the apartment after dinner, being in each other's company like before. Catching up on shows. Plans will probably change now.

"Hi baby. Hope your day wasn't too bad. Are you busy tonight?" San asks.

"It was okay. Ran into some issues in lab but nothing that can't be fixed. I'm at dinner with Jiung and we're probably gonna just hang out at the apartment after."

"I'm sorry, love. As long as you're okay?"

"Mhm." You reply in a sing-song tone. 

"What were you and Jiung gonna do tonight?"

"Hang out and chill. Probably put on one of ours shows we need to catch up on."

"I see. That sounds fun, love."

"Mhm." You repeat. "Why, what about you?"

"Nothing. Just be my old man self at home." You snort.

"You said it, not me."

"Yeah, yeah." He laughs. "I just got done working out and was hoping you'd come over."

"I can."

"Sweetheart." He laughs. "You should enjoy your time with Jiung."

"I can always see him whenever and wherever. I can't necessarily do that with you." You slightly pout. Jiung searches the dining hall to see if there are other familiar faces grabbing dinner right now. His eyes land back on you, brows knitting at the way you're talking on the phone and the little mannerisms he's picking up on.

The way you're preventing your smile from getting too big.

Speaking shyly.

Pacing around the room but not really looking at the dinner options.

You're definitely occupied, and Jiung had been noticing for awhile now. He just wasn't sure what it was, and he didn't wanna ask nor did he wanna assume. He figured you'd tell him eventually, but time seems to be passing and instead of you telling him everything like you normally do—

He knows nothing and you seem to be more distant than he's used to.

You hang up the phone after nodding a few times, finally approaching the staff to place your order. You grab your container, along with those chocolate chip cookies you love so much before swiping your ID card and heading back to the table.

"Sorry, Jiung. I gotta go after dinner. Gotta fix up this mess in the lab." You plop back down onto the seat.

"I can come with you? We can take a look together."

"It's okay. I'll just text you about it if I can't figure it out."

"Do you want me to come by later instead then?" You shake your head.

"I'll be there for awhile." Jiung cocks a brow up. "I promise it's all good. I'll let you know if anything comes up." Jiung shrugs. "I'm sorry."

"Mm, it's okay. We can always catch up on our shows later on." He gives you a small, reassuring smile; one that masks how sad he feels deep down. How hurt he feels after the umpteenth time of being put on the back burner. He gets up and heads over to grab his food, internally sulking at not being able to spend time with his bestfriend yet again.

Now, he doesn't necessarily feel like he's there. Not like he used to be. And not by his own choosing, no—

It's because you seem to be distancing yourself more and more each day and he's not sure why.

He's never seen you like this.

Or maybe, he's just not good at navigating this.

Luckily though, he's a bit sidetracked when he returns to the table— eating a rice bowl that he ordered just to order. You update him about things in lab, and the both of you are able to share a good conversation about how things are going, stories about your friends. You laugh and crack jokes with him in your usual fashion. He teases and pokes fun in his usual fashion.

It feels like the old days.

And it makes it hard for him because he sees the same person he's cared for, loved, after all these years.

Yet, there's something about you that's different and he can't necessarily pinpoint it.

He can only hope you're okay, and that you're happy. Doing the right thing. Taking care of yourself properly.

When the end of dinner comes, he still doesn't know what about you is different or who is making you different. He's left standing there, watching as you speed off to the Choi Lab; dealing with the awful, lonely feeling that punches him in the gut every time you part ways without saying much lately.

You don't feel like you're there anymore, and it's unfortunate.

—taglist: @asjkdk @interweab @woojirang @svintsandghosts @cheolliehugs @persphonesorchid @mxnsxngie @jycas @cowboydk @vcutparis @chngbnwf @struggling101 @sanhwalvr @angelqueendom @barbielibra @brown88 @choisansplushie @yunhoswrldddd @hyukssunflower @vickykazuya @lucid-galaxys-world @jaytheatiny @pommelex @thechaotictheoryy @vixensss @santineez @nopension @domfikeluva @in-somnias-world @my-atiny-kookie-rkive @mountiiny @naoristerling

[ffeburaru]

❝𝓶anners maketh man - `` ( 扬扬 )

yangyang bf drabbles

warnings. pure fluff , yang² being my one & only , some chinese!!

pairings. yang² x gn!reader

wc. 263

a/n. happy thanksgiving everyone!! pls be safe & enjoy your holiday!! tysm for 100 smth likes on my last jiung fic!! I rlly like doing underratedish idols cs they need the recognition. also, my pfp looks like taylor swift when it’s supposed to be heejin…PLUS i am learning chinese, so some will be added. “亲爱的” means darling or dearest. ok enjoy the short drabble pls.

“亲爱的, c’mere,” you heard from yangyang’s ‘dungeon’. You hadn’t heard from him the whole day. He was cooped up in his little gaming room, Hendery on the other side of the phone, buttons clacking profusely and the sound of frustrated groans and laughter. He literally only got up to use the bathroom; which was three times that whole day. So when he called you, it was a shocker. But a sorta good thing.

You poked your head into his gaming room, the illuminated light from his computer screen hitting you like a brick. He was way too focused on whatever the hell he was playing to notice that you were there, even if he did call you. “Yangyang.” You said firmly. It took a couple of his names to be called for him to finally look up, his mouth slightly. A soft smile creeped up his lips as he patted his leg. You closed the door behind you, sitting on the leg that he patted.

His arm instinctively snaked around your waist, a soft kiss pressed against your hair. “I’m sorry for being in here all day,” he muttered quietly, squeezing your waist. You slowly lean into his touch, your head slightly resting on his shoulder. “It’s alright,” you whisper back. His soft smile returned, nuzzling his face into your hair, which got a little giggle out of you.

His hand was on his computer mouse still but his arm was still around you. You two were talking the entire time. About what? No clue, but all we know is that it was loving.

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

CS Winter Bingo--Square 6 (bundled up for the cold): A Match Faked for Christmas, ch. 5 of 5

Hi there and happy holiday season!  In an attempt to continue procrastinating my season 4 rewatch drabbles–and to not feel guilty about it–I decided to participate in the CS Winter Bingo event.  I received nine winter/holiday related prompts arranged in a square like a bingo card.  My mission is to make a bingo by writing at least three of my prompts before winter is over, but I’m hoping to do better than that!  I’m hoping to finish all nine!  Given the nature of the event, you can expect a lot of fluff (but then what else would you expect from me, after all?)  I’m hoping to keep them short as well, but I’m usually not nearly as successful at that.  And without further ado, let’s play CS Winter Bingo!

Rating: G

Tagging a few people who may be interested (Let me know if you want to be added or taken off the list):

@jennjenn615 @laschatzi @snowbellewells @iamanneenigma @kmomof4

@linda8084 @searchingwardrobes @hollyethecurious @winterbaby89 @facesiousbutton82

@therooksshiningknight @lfh1226-linda @tiganasummertree @jrob64 @anmylica

@booksteaandtoomuchtv @i-will-sing-no-requiem @bluewildcatfanatic @laianely

Word count: 2071

Today’s prompt: Fake Dating: Holiday Edition

Other chapters: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Emma closed her door and then sunk back against it.  She was so epically, massively screwed!

After THE KISS (she couldn’t help but think of it in all caps), she and Killian had left the party rather hastily.  Ruby’s catcalls and innuendos about what they were off to do ringing in their ears.  They’d walked in silence across the street, and it wasn’t until they were in front of her door that Killian hesitantly spoke.

“Swan, perhaps we should talk about what just–”

She cut him off with a huge, exaggerated yawn, stretching her arms over her head to complete the effect.  “I’m exhausted.  I think I’m going to head to bed.”

Nevermind that it was only 8:30 pm.  She had to get away.  Had to.  She couldn’t have this conversation now.

She saw the disappointment flash in his eyes for a moment, and then it disappeared.  He took a step away and pasted a determined smile on his face.  “Good night Swan.  Sweet dreams.”

She assumed he headed back to his own house then, but she couldn’t know for sure.  She didn’t wait around to find out, merely let herself into her own home as quickly as she could.

And now here she was.

Emma was running.  She knew she was.  That kiss had been….she didn’t even know how to describe it.  It was addictive.  It made the whole party fall away.  There was no one else in the world but her and Killian at that moment.  She’d swear she’d heard bells ringing, angels singing, felt a bright, warm light cover them in glory.  She was pretty sure she’d touched heaven.

Emma groaned.  This was not her. She was mentally spouting so many cliches, she’d have probably made Mary Margaret blush.  What was Killian doing to her?

There had only been one time in her life that she’d fallen so fast and so hard for a guy.  She’d been sixteen when a much-older Neal had convinced her that she mattered.  That she was loved. That she had found home and forever and all of that crap.

And then he’d taught her a lesson she’d never forget.  He’d not only left her, he’d literally left her holding the bag for his own crimes.  Sent her to the slammer for almost a year.

What she’d learned?  Love was a myth.  Forever was a fairytale people told themselves to make themselves feel better in the midst of their crap lives.

Her brief relationship with Walsh years later–which had ended when he had an affair with a woman who had a truly bizarre fettish for flying monkeys–had only cemented her belief.

She really knew how to pick them, didn’t she?

And so she’d vowed to protect her heart.  Look out for yourself and you’ll never get hurt.  How had she let Killian slip past her defenses so thoroughly in only a week?

If she let this continue, if she didn’t cut things off cold turkey now, when things went south with Killian, it was going to hurt like a son of a bitch.

Something told her it might already be too late for her.

The tears sprang to her eyes, and she let them fall, as she moved away from the door, heading toward her master suite.  She’d take a long, hot bath, and then go to bed, and tomorrow….tomorrow she’d avoid him like the plague–and she’d keep it up until she got him out of her system.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She was woken bright and early Christmas morning by the ringing of her doorbell.  Emma groaned, covered her head with a pillow and tried to ignore it.  Maybe whoever it was would get the hint and go away.

Riiiiiing!  Knock!

No such luck.

Breathing threats and murder, she tossed off the covers and padded to the door.  A woosh of cold air greeted her as she opened it, and he was there, covered in a thin coat of snow, wearing a delighted grin and bearing a steaming mug of something that smelled of coffee and chocolate and peppermint.

“Merry Christmas, Swan!” he said delightedly!

Unbidden, her eyes traveled to his lips and her heart stuttered.

It turned her annoyance into something approaching rage.  “Killian, we’ve talked about what happens when people wake me up at the butt crack of dawn.”

He grinned mischievously as he pushed past her into her home, blew out a breath and muttered something about the cold.  “Indeed.  I believe the consensus was that my murder could be avoided by bribing you with hot, festive beverages.”

She smiled in spite of herself.  Couldn’t help it.  How he managed to convey both childlike wonder, devilish mischief and steaming sexiness all at the same time was a mystery to her.

“I really should just kick you out on your ass, you know,” she said, her voice conveying affectionate exasperation.

He shrugged, handed her the mug and began the long process of removing hats and scarves and gloves and coat.  She barked a laugh at the sight of the ugly Christmas sweater beneath.  It depicted a pirate ship full of festively clad pirates singing “Yo, ho, ho, ho!  Merry Christmas!”

The ridiculous garment seemed to break whatever was left of the tension between them, and easily, almost effortlessly, they fell into the pattern they’d been following for the past week–talking and laughing and simply enjoying each other’s company.  Emma made him pancakes and he cleaned up after them.

She’d been afraid the next time she saw Killian, he’d insist on continuing the conversation he’d started when they parted the night before.  She’d been afraid he’d insist they talk about THE KISS and what it meant and where they went from there.  Instead, he seemed to have judiciously chosen to ignore it; pretend it had never happened.

But it was there, always there between them, an unspoken presence both delightful and terrifying.  They’d have to talk about it eventually, Emma knew that, but today was Christmas Day.  That was a conversation for another day.

“Forgive me for stating the obvious, Swan,” he said, after their breakfast was over, “but it snowed last night.”

She grinned.  “I noticed.  Looks like we got quite a bit.”

“I bet there’s at least 6 inches out there and it’s still coming down!”  A child who’d just found out he had a snow day from school couldn’t have sounded more excited.

“Why doesn’t it surprise me that you like snow?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” he said.  “It’s pretty and it’s fun…and then when you come in from the snow, you get to warm up.”

He wiggled his eyebrows in exaggerated flirtation at that, and she laughed.

“So how about it, Swan?” he said.  “What say we build a snowman?”

“A snowman?” she said with a grin.  “Killian, I haven’t built a snowman since I was like ten.”

“Well then’d I’d say you’re past due, love.”

“It’s cold!” she whined.

“We can bundle up,” he wheedled.  “Come on Swan!  If you can’t act like a child on Christmas morning, when can you?”

She felt the last of her resistance fading, and she sighed exaggeratedly.  “Fine! But if I get frostbite, I’m holding you personally responsible.”

There was that smolder again.  “Never fear, Swan.  I’m more than capable of keeping you warm and keeping frostbite at bay.”

She shivered in reaction, her gaze moving once more to his lips, currently ticked up in a saucy smile.  Good lord, the man was going to be the death of her, but what a way to die!

Five minutes later, clad in two hats, a pair of gloves topped by a pair of mittens, a fluffy red scarf and her heaviest coat, Emma headed outside with her neighbor.

After building not one but two snowpeople, (Emma insisted that the second one was a snowwoman.  It was only fair.) Emma had stepped back to admire their work.  A moment later she felt a snowball pelt her in the middle of the back.

“Oh no you did not!” she said, grinning and then stopping down to fashion her own missile.

“I’m afraid I did, love,” he grinned utterly unrepentant.  “The question is, what are you going to do about it?”

What she did about it was fire a snowball directly into his (far too handsome) face.

And with that an all out snowball war broke out, but never was a war fought with more laughter or playful taunts.  Ten minutes later, Emma picked up her newly made snowball and ran full tilt toward Killian.  Just before reaching him, she slipped, falling directly into him.  Her momentum toppled him, and the long and short of it was Emma found herself sprawled on top of Killian, both breathing hard, both looking into the other’s face with intensity.

The desire to lean down and kiss the hell out of him was so strong, it took everything inside Emma to pull away, wipe the desire from her face and offer him a hand up.

He looked disappointed for a fraction of a second before the grin returned.  “Truce?” he asked, offering her his hand.

“Only if you make me some more of that hot cocoa you brought that first day.”

“Done!” he said.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A few minutes later, Emma sat at her counter, watching as Killian puttered around her kitchen preparing the requisite cocoa.  I’m gonna miss this, she thought as she watched him stir.

A pang went through her at the thought.  How was she going to go back to her boring, ordinary life before Killian?  It was like The Wizard of Oz–how Dorothy lived in a world of black and white, and didn’t even realize it until she’d gotten to Oz and suddenly saw all the colors.

How did one come back from that?

What if….what if she didn’t?  What if she let this thing between them play out?

The thought scared her…but so did the thought of cutting him out of her life completely.  Could she trust him?  Was she willing to take the leap of faith and find out?

“Swan?” Killian asked tentatively as he set a steaming mug of cocoa before her.  “That’s quite a tragic look.  What’s troubling you?”

She took a long swig of the sweet, creamy liquid, buying herself time, but finally she decided the time to be a coward was at an end.  She met his eyes.  “It’s Christmas, so I guess that means we’ll need to ‘break up’ soon.”

Was she imagining the disappointment on his face?

“The thing is,” she said, glancing away and then determinedly looking back at him.  “The thing is, I…I’m not sure I want to.”

Surprise replaced the disappointment in his eyes.  “Swan?  What are you saying?”

“I don’t know!” she burst out.  “I’m not ready for labels or making things official or whatever, but I don’t want to lose what we’ve had the last week.  There’s something there between us…at least…at least I think there is?”

His eyes gentled, and he reached over and took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers.  “There is,” he answered simply. “And for my part…well, if I’m being honest, by the time I left your house on that first day I realized I was going to want more than fake dating.  Love, I know you’re afraid.  I don’t know why, although I hope you’ll tell me in time, and I haven’t wanted to push you, but if you want to know where I stand…I’m in it for the long haul.”

Emma dragged in a long breath waiting for the fear to come.  “Killian, if we start…something…between us and it goes bad, I don’t know if I’ll survive it.  Not again.”

He brought his free hand to cup her face, letting her hair trail through his fingers in the gesture.  “Emma, I don’t know the future.  I don’t know what lies before us, but I can tell you this.  I’ll always, always be at your side.  I’m all in.”

She looked intently into his eyes, searching for lies, searching for deception.  She found none.  “Then,” she said, meeting his eyes.  “Then I am too.”

His smile rivaled the sun that had just broken through the clouds, and then he leaned in and kissed her.

Six months later, David and Mary Margaret received a “save the date” for Emma and Killian’s wedding, coming up on the following Christmas Eve.

David figured there would be no living with her after this.

The End!

[the-sparkling-diamond-satine]

WIP Ask Game!

apparently i haven't played this since august so i thought i'd try and see if it helps kickstart my writing again!

Prompt: Make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

vampire satine x watcher christian

vampire satine x human nini

vampire satine x slayer nini

a light in the dark

i wanna breathe your air, press your chest against mine (think i know now what life should have been like)

give

take

winter holiday fic! snowed in!!

christian bijou shelter rescue

christian finds satine

maya gift fic

dream

nightmare

bdsm club modern au

satine and bijou escape

satine and bijou balcony

amnesia satine

romance novelist christian

satini andre best friend's brother

cs sex ed

ring rock box

haunted house christian overstimulated

christian and satine and andre neighbors

study abroad hook-up to LDR

massage

stage slap

neighbors au with bijou

childhood friends

off the pier

period

needles

you must've been looking for me (sending smoke signals)

injure

heal

"Please don't hurt me."

All Grown Up

ARFID Christian

i knew i loved her, then and there (i knew i loved her, touched her hair)

take this sinking boat and point it home (we’ve still got time)

reunion

pleasure

preferences

aftershocks

Nini/Satine panic attack

4 am shower

you took it from me (but i would've given it to you)

changing room

tell me you see me

Satine Hamish panic attack

Cold Satine

Bijou: the Sparkling Diamond’s Cat

sexting

if you hold me without hurting me, you'll be the first who ever did

last

first

Makeup Christian

Makeup Christian (Modern AU)

t4t (Modern AU)

Lifeguard AU

Jealous!Satine

OCD Christian

thanks, I hate it

Firework! for maya

to cover the bruises (which ending??)

Christian/Satine/Nini

Friends hear through hotel walls? (Arabia and Ivy)

Arabia/Ivy + Satine/Nini + La Choc x Baby Doll

Arcade trash rat

Missing Tour Hamish

Catsit Switch Up

Exes to lovers costars in a musical

Slower burn romance

gravity will hold us as we're holding on for life (and we're racing to get older)

nightmares

safe

too small to remember/too precious to forget

don't

"Come with me, to the stars!"

moments of tenderness

oral fixation

Hadestown time loop

pregnancy/kid!fic

in her sleep

non-binary Satine

Phone sex line

Coffee Shop AU

Fairy tale doesn't work

Theatre AU

Elevator - piano teacher and porn star

memento mori

Lush

5 moments when it wasn't safe to be himself (and 5 when it was)

Next Time Around

trans Christian childhood

t4t

chronically ill satine ???

first binder

needy

satine/nini kiss

"you're fun to touch"

experimental role reversal

airport crabs

satine as mom of newborn x neighbor christian

teen pregnancy satine

satine can't and christian tries to get her to

satini pregnancy fic

teenage kid!fic

scared to tell him

past baby loss

almost baby loss

chrisatini pregnancy

mom satine x teacher of her kid christian

acting abuse scene

satini exes to lovers

recovery satini

bijou christmas fluff

bijou shelter adoption

bijou piano singing

satine hallway run

satini club burns

satini poto movie

age anxiety satine

@satinechristian @littlelottediamond @elephantlovemedleys @ashleyslorens

@angel-with-paper-wings @mxssyrxcks

[kmomof4]

A Swan Family Christmas: A Christmas Fic in the Universe of A Family Affair

We finally made it, y'all!!! Ohhhhhhh, I've been sooooo anxious and excited to share this fic with y'all!!! I hope you enjoy reading it half as much as I enjoyed writing it!!

If you are not familiar with the series, it was inspired by The O'Hurley's by Nora Roberts, which I then adapted to Once Upon a Time. A Family Affair features the family of Marco and Beverly Swan- their first born David and triplet daughters Regina, Emma, and Ruby.

Love Between the Pages tells the story of Emma and Killian Jones. Killian is a bestselling biographer and he arrives at Emma’s horse farm in rural Virginia to interview her for his biography on her late husband Neal Cassidy, NASCAR darling who died 5yrs ago on the track. Falling in love with her was not part of the plan.

Dance With the Gypsy tells the story of Broadway star Ruby and how she falls in love with Graham Humbert, the producer of her new show, Secrets.

Clipping an Angel's Wings tells the story of Hollywood star Regina and Robin Locksley, the PI she hires to protect her from an unstable fan.

And finally, A Spy Finds a Home, David and Mary Margaret’s story. Dr. Mary Margaret Blanchard hires David to find her parents, scientists who have been kidnapped by a terrorist group. Once all the dust settles, Mary Margaret brings David back to the family he left many years ago.

It's not necessary for you to have read the other fics in the series to enjoy this, but this fic does reference people and circumstances introduced in the other fics.

And now, to give credit where credit is due. All the love and thanks in the world to Joni and Marta, my FABULOUS betas. This fic wouldn't be here without them, so please give them a hand...👏🏻 And second to Kit, the creator of the INCREDIBLE artwork up above!! Isn't it AWESOME???!!!! I could stare at it FOREVER!!!! Thank you so SO much, babe!!!

Thank you all so much for reading!!!

Summary: A year after Regina and Robin's wedding, the entire Swan, Jones, and Humbert clan descend on Emma and Killian's Virginia farm for Christmas!

Rating: G Total Christmas fluff ahead!!

Words: 7100

On ao3, if that's your preference.

Tagging the usuals. Please let me know if you'd like to be added or removed.

@jrob64 @teamhook @winterbaby89 @hollyethecurious @artistic-writer @xarandomdreamx @undercaffinatednightmare @the-darkdragonfly @stahlop @superchocovian @pirateprincessofpizza @tiganasummertree @anmylica @cosette141 @motherkatereloyshipper @zaharadessert @jonesfandomfanatic @ultraluckycatnd @jennjenn615 @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713 @kymbersmith-90 @booksteaandtoomuchtv @wistfulcynic @mie779 @snowbellewells @lfh1226-linda @aprilqueen84 @whimsicallyenchantedrose @pirateherokillian @elfiola @ilovemesomekillianjones @justanother-unluckysoul @poptart-cat-78 @myfearless-love @goforlaunchcee @searchingwardrobes @gingerpolyglot @gingerchangeling @djlbg @cocohook38 @cs-rylie @thisonesatellite @donteattheappleshook @deckerstarblanche @veryverynotgoodwrites @wefoundloveunderthelight @fleurdepetite @alexa-fangirl-forever @bluewildcatfanatic @qualitycoffeethings

Under the cut, unless Tumblr ate it.

Christmas was just a couple of days away. Emma, Killian, and Henry were feverishly getting everything ready to host the entire extended Swan and Jones families. They were expecting a total of sixteen extra guests for the holiday and excitement was running very high. 

They didn’t usually have much snow in December, but this year, they were predicting around three inches on Christmas Eve. Henry had never seen a white Christmas, and with all his aunts, uncles, and cousins, in addition to his grandparents coming, this was sure to be the best Christmas ever!

Henry peeked into his baby sister’s bedroom, not surprised to see her awake and standing in her crib. Henry grinned and came in, followed closely by Shep.

“Eny, Eny,” Hope babbled as her big brother approached.

“Do you know what today is, Hope?” Henry asked his sister. “Everyone’s coming today! Mimi and Papaw, Aunt Ruby, Uncle Graham and Poppa, and you’ll get to meet your baby cousins in person, Aunt Regina and Uncle Robin, Aunt M’s and Uncle David, Aunt Elsa and Uncle Liam, Aaron and Dale, and Grandpa Nemo!”

Henry lowered the side of the crib and lifted Hope out, setting her on her feet on the floor. She wasn’t walking independently yet, but she was close and Henry just knew that she’d do it sometime in the next few days while everyone was here. He stood behind her and held onto her hands raised in the air as she started toward the door of her bedroom.

He followed along behind her as they toddled the short distance to their parents’ room. Once they reached the door, Henry knocked.

“Mom? Dad?” he asked, opening the door slightly. Shep pushed the door open the rest of the way with his nose.

“Mamamamamamamama,” Hope babbled. “Dadadadadadadada.” 

The lights were still off, but the sun was poking through the blinds. Their dad sat up, his mouth opening on a huge yawn and swung his legs off the side of the bed, motioning for them to be quiet.

“Mom’s still asleep,” he whispered. “Let’s let her sleep just a little more. Go downstairs with Hope, Henry, and I’ll be down in just a minute to get breakfast started.”

Henry nodded and turned Hope around, back toward the door of the bedroom. As soon as they were gone, Killian leaned over to Emma, pressing a kiss to her brow and whispering in her ear.

“You can sleep for a little while longer, babe. I’ll send Henry up to get you once breakfast is ready.”

All he got was a muffled Mmmph in reply. Killian chuckled and made his way to the bathroom. A few minutes later, he came down the stairs and entered the breakfast room to find Henry entertaining his sister in her high chair. Killian smiled and pulled out eggs and the pancake batter he’d whipped up the night before. It only took a few minutes to cook the eggs and start on the pancakes.

“Go wake your mom, Henry,” he said, plating up the first batch of pancakes. Shep sat very attentively and patiently at Killian’s feet as he cooked, waiting to see if his pleading gaze would get him a breakfast treat.

“Don’t even think about it,” he told him with a frown. When Shep’s tail started to wag, Killian sighed. “If there’s any left after Mom eats, I might let you have one.” Shep wagged his tail even harder and Killian rolled his eyes.

By the time Emma and Henry came back down, there was a full plate of pancakes on the table and Killian was cutting one up for Hope, who’d already started on the eggs on her plate.

“So what do we have to do today, Mom?” Henry asked before stuffing a huge bite of eggs in his mouth. Killian gave him a disapproving look.

“You’ve been a big help the last few days, Henry, so there’s really not that much left to do,” Emma said. “All the sheets need to be washed and the airbeds blown up. Oh, and we should make sure there are plenty of clean towels for everyone.” Emma sat back, her face a little stunned. “I still can’t believe everyone’s coming,” she breathed. “This will probably never happen again.” Her eyes sparkled with excitement as her gaze met Killian’s and Henry’s. “This is gonna be the best Christmas ever!”

Killian reached over and covered her hand with his. “Yes, it is,” he said, smiling. “I’m so glad Liam, Elsa, the boys, and Nemo could all come.”

Henry all but bounced in his seat. “When will they get here?”

“Let’s see,” Emma said, opening her phone and checking all the flight times. “Regina and Robin won’t be here until tonight. Their flight doesn’t leave for a couple more hours yet, and Mimi and Papaw are with them. Ruby, Graham, the twins, and Poppa should be here around three. David and M’s, and Liam, Elsa, the boys, and Grandpa Nemo are all getting in around two. You and Dad will go to the airport to pick everyone up, and Ruby and the rest should be here by the time you get back. Regina has a limo bringing them out.”

They finished their breakfast quickly, Henry chatting animatedly about all the adventures he, Aaron, and Dale would have while they were here. He’d met Liam, Elsa, their boys, and Grandpa Nemo almost two years ago when Killian had taken them to meet his family once he got his finished manuscript sent off to his publisher. The three boys were only a year apart, with Henry in the middle, and they hit it off wonderfully. They kept in touch with Facetime and visits during the summer, but Henry was excited for them to enjoy the farm in the winter, especially with the snow expected.

Once the kitchen was cleaned up, everyone went their separate ways, marching orders in hand. Hope had been deposited in her room to play until Henry was done blowing up the air mattresses for his cousins in his bedroom, and in the downstairs study for Uncle Liam and Aunt Elsa. Emma was in the old farmhouse collecting all the sheets off the beds and getting them in the laundry while Killian and Shep headed out to the barn just to check with Leroy that the farmhands and horses had everything they needed for the next few days. With all the company expected, not to mention the holiday itself, there wasn’t going to be time for him to be doing anything out in the barn.

The last book he’d written on Henry’s father, Neal Cassidy, had been his biggest bestseller yet. He’d enjoyed a relatively lucrative career up to that point, between being an investigative journalist for the Boston Globe for several years before turning to writing official biographies for a living. But his book on Cassidy had exceeded all expectations and had brought in a windfall that had allowed him and Emma to not only really fix up the old farmhouse, and hire full time farm hands with Leroy as part time manager, but also to build themselves a new house for their growing family. So now with two large houses on the farm, they could host their very large extended family for the holidays.

After talking with Leroy and seeing that everything was under control, not that he expected anything different, Killian returned to the house to get his white chicken chili in the two slow cookers before heading upstairs to get Hope dressed. It was going to be a long and busy day.

~*~*~

When Henry and Killian arrived home from the airport with David, Mary Margaret, Liam, Elsa, Aaron, Dale, and Grandpa Nemo in tow, true chaos descended. The boys immediately retreated to their shared bedroom, but were quickly summoned back to the family room and kitchen to greet Ruby, Graham, Maurice- who the kids called Poppa- and their new baby cousins, Hunter and Diana. Everyone was thrilled to see the babies, but the six-month-old twins didn’t hold the attention of the older boys very long, so after a round of hugs and making cute faces at the babies, they were off again.

Everyone else gathered in the kitchen, catching up with each other’s goings on in the last year since they’d all been together for Robin and Regina’s wedding. Liam and Elsa’s farm was flourishing, and they were thinking about branching into cattle farming. They already harvested corn for grain and hay, in addition to the apple orchard that was their main crop, and had one cow for milk for the family in addition to a few horses, but the income cattle farming would generate wasn’t anything to shake a stick at and could set the farm up for generations to come. 

Ruby was back on stage with Secrets after having the twins, and Graham was as busy as ever scouting for and signing new talent, as well as further expanding Humbert Records’ Broadway presence. 

Grandpa Nemo and Poppa were simply enjoying their retirement and spending lots of time with their respective grandchildren.

David and Mary Margaret had gotten married the previous summer in New York before moving to Chicago. David couldn’t bring himself to lie to his family about how he’d met Mary Margaret and how he’d come into possession of a very large estate outside of the Windy City. So, he told them the truth about what he did during the decade he was away from them, in the very vaguest of terms. They knew he was an American spy, and that the estate where they now lived had been left to him by his recruiter and mentor. He wanted to hold on to the last thing in existence that tied him to Lance, so once he and Mary Margaret tied the knot, they’d relocated there permanently. 

Now David was dipping his toes into the songwriting business, mostly due to Mary Margaret’s encouragement. Graham and Poppa’s ears both perked at that little tidbit, but David told them not to get their hopes up. He wasn’t interested in singing himself, but might be interested in partnering with someone. Graham told David to get in touch with him after the holidays and he’d see about finding a partner for him.

After getting her parents back, taking some very well deserved time off to plan her wedding, and the wedding itself, Mary Margaret had decided that she wasn’t interested in being sequestered in the laboratory again. Once they settled in Chicago, she’d accepted a teaching position at Northwestern and was loving every minute of it. She enjoyed engaging and challenging young minds in the principles of physics and had trouble seeing herself ever going back to the lab.

Once everyone was caught up, they called the boys down to the kitchen for dinner. With two large pots filled with Killian’s white chicken chili recipe, there was plenty to go around, as well as for their missing family members once they arrived in a couple of hours.

Dinner was loud and happy with about half a dozen different conversations going on at the same time. Killian caught Emma’s eye and wasn’t surprised to see the tears sparkling in the corner of them. He felt a surge of love and contentment inside him to be here right now with almost all of their loved ones beside them.

Killian smiled and mouthed I love you to his beloved. She smiled and mouthed the same thing right back to him.

~*~*~

The next day was Christmas Eve, and the weatherman might find himself unemployed, after his prediction of three inches was so far off from the actual snowfall the farm received overnight. Henry, Aaron, and Dale pressed their faces to the window in Henry’s room, their mouths hanging open and eyes wide as saucers at the blanket of white outside. 

The snow was high, and the distance to the old farmhouse was an unblemished carpet that the boys couldn’t wait to get into. After standing there stunned for several minutes, they all scrambled to get into their snow suits and downstairs into the drifts outside, not even bothering with breakfast, Shep hot on their heels.

An hour later, shouts from outside woke Robin in the other house. When Emma, Killian, Henry and Hope moved into the new house, the old farmhouse had undergone a full renovation, bringing it up to 21st century standards and making it company ready. So while all the children and their parents were in the new house, the rest of the family was in the old farmhouse. Robin looked over at Regina, still snoring softly. She was utterly breathtaking in the morning light, but Robin’s brow furrowed as he wondered how she was still asleep. Even when she was in between projects, she could never sleep past eight. He glanced at his phone on the nightstand and saw it was nearly 8:30 in the morning. It had been a very long and exhausting day yesterday, between the cross country flight and the late night spent with her sisters, so he wasn’t going to begrudge her sleeping in a bit.

He rose from the bed and went to the window to see the boys and the dog playing in the drifts that covered the front lawn. Robin grinned at their antics before grabbing his robe and heading down to the kitchen to start the coffee maker.

It was almost another thirty minutes later that Regina finally came down, yawning hugely. 

“There’s my Sleeping Beauty,” Robin said, rising from his seat at the bar, placing his hand on her waist and leaning in to kiss her cheek. “Did you sleep ok?”

“I did,” she said, “just not enough of it.” She made her way to the coffee maker as Robin shot a speculative look at Beverly, who simply raised her eyebrows at Regina’s comment.

“Where is everyone?” Regina asked, sitting down next to Robin at the bar and leaning her head against his shoulder.

“Mary Margaret, I believe, is in the new house getting things together for the gingerbread cookoff,” Beverly said as she cooked some eggs for Regina. “The men are all outside playing in the snow with the boys,” Beverly chuckled. 

“I wanted to wait until you woke up before heading outside myself,” Robin said, kissing Regina on the brow.

“Mmmm,” Regina hummed, eyes shut while taking a sip of her coffee. As soon as she did, she grimaced in distaste and opened her eyes. “Eww… What's wrong with this coffee? Does the Keurig need descaling or something?”

Robin turned confused eyes on his bride as Beverly brought a plate of scrambled eggs over.

“The coffee tastes fine to me,” he commented, taking another sip from his mug. “What does it taste like to you?”

Regina shook her head before speaking. “I don’t know,” she said, the grimace still on her face. “But I don’t like it, whatever it is.” She took a bite of the eggs her mother had made and had barely swallowed the first bite, when her hand flew to her mouth and she lunged for the half bath on the other side of the kitchen.

Beverly gave her a loving yet stern look after she came back out of the bathroom, followed closely by Robin.

“I think it’s time you took a pregnancy test, Regina,” she said.

The look on Regina’s face as she looked at Robin, nearly made Beverly’s heart break. The fear mixed with hope in her daughter’s eyes was mirrored by her husband, although much more hope than fear in his case, and Beverly lifted a silent prayer for them both and the potential addition to their family.

“Here, try this,” Beverly urged, placing some toast on the bar as they came back and sat down. “Might help settle your stomach.”

“Just the thought that I might be pregnant,” Regina murmured, “makes my stomach roll even more.” Robin sat down next to her and rubbed circles into her back as she took a bite. When she was able to swallow with no ill effects, Regina smiled. “Do you really think it’s possible?”

“You’ve slept more in the last week than I think I’ve ever seen you sleep,” Beverly observed, “plus the coffee tasting off and not being able to even take a bite of scrambled eggs without throwing it back up?” She shrugged. “It’s certainly suggestive.”

“She’s right, Regina,” Robin added.

“I don’t want to wait until after Christmas to take a test,” Regina said, softly. “Do you think Emma might have one?”

“Chances are probably decent,” Beverly said, nodding. “Finish eating that first and we can go over and ask.”

Regina hurriedly finished eating the toast- it really did help her stomach- and then they all trooped through the snow, carefully avoiding the gigantic snow fort and snowman the boys and men were busy building. The kitchen in the new house was a hive of activity, with Mary Margaret, Ruby, and Elsa helping Emma get all the ingredients out for the gingerbread bake-off happening later that morning and afternoon. The participants were separated by household, so there’d be five different gingerbread recipes being baked with Mimi, Papaw, Grandpa Nemo, and Poppa judging the results.

Regina made her way over to Emma and pulled her aside.

“Do you, uhhh,” Regina began, picking at the hem of the sweater she wore and not meeting Emma’s eyes, “have a pregnancy test that I could use?”

Emma’s eyes widened, and Regina blushed furiously.

“Really? Are you serious?” Emma asked incredulously before schooling her features. “Yes, I do, actually. Come on.” She grabbed her sister by the arm and motioned to Ruby to follow them upstairs.

They got to the master bath, and Emma and Ruby waited in the bedroom while Regina took the test. Once done, Regina came back into the room, taking a deep shaky breath.

She sat on the bed in between her sisters and looked down at her clasped hands.

“Mom said I’d been sleeping more than she’s ever seen,” Regina murmured. “The coffee this morning was awful, and I was sick when she cooked me plain scrambled eggs.” She shrugged. “So she said I should take a test.”

Emma placed her arm around Regina’s shoulders. “Are you late?” she asked.

“Not technically,” she replied with a shrug. “Not yet. My cycle’s never been exact, and a day or two off in either direction is normal.” She looked at her sisters. “So I wouldn’t have bothered for at least another week.” She took a deep breath, trying to keep her tumultuous feelings in check. She took both her sisters' hands in her own as they waited.

The timer went off, and Regina could feel the blood drain from her face. Ruby and Emma squeezed her hands in reassurance.

“You can do this, Regina,” Ruby encouraged her. “We’re right behind you.”

Regina rose on shaky legs and walked into the bathroom. A moment later, Emma and Ruby heard a loud sob and ran to their sister. She stood in front of the sink, holding on to the edge for dear life with the test in front of her, Pregnant showing clearly in the window. Ruby and Emma wrapped Regina in their arms, tears flowing freely from all three.

Emma was the first to get herself under control enough to speak. 

“Congratulations, Mom,” she hiccupped through her tears. 

The appellation made Regina dissolve into fresh tears.

“I never thought…” she gasped in between sobs. “Oh, God! Everything I took to get on the plane yesterday! What if…?”

“Do not even think about that, Regina,” Ruby urged her. “Do you know how many unsuspecting moms drink alcohol, or take medications, or do things that aren’t considered safe in pregnancy? And their babies turn out just fine. Your little one will be completely perfect. You mark my words.”

Regina nodded, tears still tracking down her face. She pulled out her phone and sent a text to Robin before hugging her sisters close again.

“Thank you,” she breathed. “I love you both so much.”

“Love you, too.”

“Love you, three.”

~*~*~

Robin felt a vibration in his pocket and pulled out his phone to see a 👶🏻 in a text from Regina. He surged to his feet and ran for the stairs. When Emma and Ruby had gone upstairs with Regina, he stayed behind to give the sisters the privacy he was sure Regina appreciated. He may be the potential father, but her sisters had been the ones who’d been with her through all of it and letting them be the first to know seemed like the least he could do. Especially since they were both mothers themselves and had been through this before.

He came into the bedroom to see the three of them caught up in a three way embrace, tears tracking down their faces, and beaming smiles on them all. His own smile broke through as they let go of one another. Regina ran for him. He caught her and swung her around as Emma and Ruby left them alone.

Robin set her back down and planted a hard kiss on her lips, even as delighted giggles spilled from his love’s mouth. He held her tightly, burying his face in the side of her neck. His face and neck were wet from where her tear-stained face had rubbed up against his, and Robin could feel the tears collecting in his own eyes. He pulled back just a bit and rested his forehead against hers.

“I assume it was positive,” he quipped drily.

A bark laugh escaped Regina. “Yes,” she confirmed. “It was positive.” 

Robin tightened his arms around her and kissed her gently. “So, when are you due?”

She pulled back completely and picked up her phone. Opening her period tracker app, she calculated her due date. 

“August 29th.” She caught her bottom lip with her teeth as she looked at him. He gathered her back in his arms, hugging her tightly.

“Oh, Regina,” he sighed. “I’m so happy.” He could feel her deep inhale as he held her, but she didn’t exhale right away. He pulled back again to look into her eyes. “What is it?”

She swallowed hard, and the tearful happiness in her eyes disappeared to be replaced by a nervousness he hadn’t seen since she’d told him about her history with Samdi Facillier.

“If… if something happens…” She tripped over her words and understanding came over him.

He met her gaze unflinchingly and tightened his arms around her.

“I told you when I asked you to marry me, that you were first. Always and forever,” he assured her. “That if we never had children, you were the only thing I needed. Everything else, we would take as it came.”

Another sob escaped her, and Robin gathered her close again, kissing her on the forehead. “I love you, Regina. And nothing will ever change that.”

~*~*~

The snowball war to end all snowball wars was going on outside with the vast majority of the family taking part. The babies were down for afternoon naps, and all the gingerbread was baked, cooled, and ready for decorating. Except for the gingerbread cake Elsa planned to bake while everyone else was decorating their creations. Regina, Beverly, and Emma were the only three members of the family who weren’t outside romping in the winter wonderland.

Emma suggested they get themselves cups of hot cocoa, and go sit in the gazebo that was part of the wraparound front porch to watch the shenanigans going on outside. The ladies agreed.

They bundled up, grabbed their mugs with the steaming hot beverages and emerged onto the front porch. They didn’t know who was keeping score, but it was obviously a free-for-all and every man for himself. 

All except the young boys. 

They seemed to be a well-oiled machine, taking cover behind the walls of the snow fort they’d spent that morning building right on the edge of the tree line so they couldn’t be ambushed from behind. 

The rest of their family was spread out over the no man's land between the two houses. From where the three women sat, they could see Henry, Aaron, and Dale’s heads pop up occasionally from their fort, sending their projectiles toward wherever their target had sought to hide. 

Ruby was behind the giant snowman, a pile of snowballs at her feet. They could see Elsa about ten feet away from the fort behind one of the tall pine trees that shielded the farm from the state highway. Poppa and Marco were on either side of the gazebo where the ladies sat. The porch and gazebo were too high off the ground for the grandpas to be able to see over them and target one another. 

Liam played baseball in high school and college and had been good enough to make a career of it, if his heart hadn’t laid squarely on the farm he grew up on and in the hands of his high school sweetheart. His pitching arm was still in very good shape though, so he took up his position on the corner of the old farmhouse, far out of reach of his adversaries, but not so far that he couldn’t reach them with his own arsenal of projectiles.

Mary Margaret crept around the corner of the garage and lobbed a snowball at Marco, catching him on the shoulder. She shouted in triumph before disappearing back around the corner as Marco shouted his indignation at being blindsided.

Grandpa Nemo and Graham were also hiding behind trees near the fort and were staying busy throwing snowballs at anyone who caught their eye while trying to evade the same, with varying degrees of success.

Killian, David, and Robin were nowhere to be seen. Emma sat up, as Killian suddenly emerged from the trees behind the fort, knelt for a moment, and grabbed Henry and Dale around the waist. He rose again, with both boys firmly under his arms and ran headlong into the no man’s land where he unceremoniously dropped them and then ran for cover on the other side of the front porch of the new house. As soon as the boys were on the ground, they were pummeled with snowballs from all sides. Having the protection of the fort, they’d been hit much less than the others. They howled as they hightailed it back to the fort, shouting threats of retribution at Killian for sneaking up on them the way he had.

As soon as they took cover, Robin and David both emerged from the trees in the same place Killian had only a minute before. The two were obviously working together as they held their snowballs aloft and flushed the boys out from the protection of the fort. The men chased the boys out into the middle of the yard, signaling to everyone else to come out of hiding and hit as many targets as possible.  It was a total knock-down-drag-out, with no one getting away scot free.

Henry emerged from the melee, shouting at Emma.

“Did you see me, Mom? I got Uncle David on the back of the head!” Emma rose from her seat in the gazebo and made her way to where Henry was climbing the steps to the porch.

“I did see,” she assured her son, a wide grin on her face. “I think it’s time for everyone to come inside and warm up. We have gingerbread to decorate, judge and eat, and Christmas movies to watch.”

The other boys were the first to come toward the porch and the promise of gingerbread, followed by the women and grandfathers. The men were still trying to best one another on the snowball field. Robin had taken up a position next to the gazebo, where Regina and Beverly still sat, enjoying their hot chocolate, and laughing at the men trying to one up each other. As they finished their drinks and rose from their seats to head inside, Robin could see David coming around the other side of the house and taking aim at Regina. Time seemed to slow down as Robin ran toward David, aiming his own snowball at him. David threw his snowball, Regina turning to the side to shield herself, as Robin hurled his own, taking a flying leap toward David. 

He just missed the snowball David threw, but his aim was true, catching David in the center of the chest. David’s snowball hit Regina on the hip, and Robin tackled David into the snow.

“Gotcha, sis!” David howled, even as Robin rose above him, grabbing the front of his coat. Robin was barely aware of Regina running across the porch and down the steps toward them as red colored his vision.

“What the hell, man?” he shouted at David. “You can’t target the porch! That was safe!” David turned his attention to Robin, his laughter turning into confusion and then anger as he pushed Robin off him and stood up.

“It was just a bit of fun!” he shouted. “It got her on the hip! What’s the big deal?”

Regina got between them, facing Robin. She cupped his face in her hands and begged him to look at her.

“It’s fine,” she said. “I’m fine. It didn’t even hurt. I promise.” 

Robin forced himself to focus on his wife. Her chocolate eyes were filled with worry. For him. He put his hands on her shoulders and matched his breathing with hers. Once he was calmed down, he turned his attention back to David, who stood watching them over to the side, a puzzled and brooding expression on his face.

“She’s pregnant,” Robin snapped, still a little hacked that David had targeted Regina. “She can’t…”

“So what?” David interrupted, confusion now all over his face. “So is Mary Margaret. That didn’t stop her.” 

“What?” Regina exclaimed, turning to her brother, surprised. 

David shrugged sheepishly. “Yeah,” he admitted. “We were gonna announce it tomorrow night at dinner.” Regina released Robin and turned to David, embracing him tightly.

“Congratulations!”

“Thanks,” he murmured, accepting her hug. “And you, too.” She pulled back and glanced at Robin. At his small nod, she turned back to her brother.

“I think Robin is just worried because I’ve had a miscarriage before.”

David’s brow furrowed. “You have? When?”

“Years ago,” she told him. “Not long after I first came to Hollywood.”

“I had no idea,” David murmured. “I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago. And I’m fine.” She turned back to Robin. “I do think you overreacted, though.”

Robin looked like he’d rather eat nails than apologize, but after a deep breath and hard swallow, he held his hand out to David who took it.

“Sorry I overreacted,” he said.

“No problem. I probably would have done the same.”

Regina smiled at them. “Let’s go in,” she said, looping her arm through her husband’s. “I need your help decorating the gingerbread house.” Looking back out over the lawn, she hollered for the rest of them to come in. “Come on, guys! It’s time for gingerbread!”

At her call, the other three started making their way to the house, still eyeing each other warily. Killian was the furthest away and couldn’t resist one more throw at his brother as he approached the steps to the house. He cackled as the missile found its target, and took off running toward the back of the house as Liam made himself one last snowball and followed. Regina, Robin, David, and Graham entered the front door to see Killian doing a dance in front of the sliding glass door in the kitchen, taunting Liam.

“I will have my revenge, little brother!” Liam called, an evil grin on his face. “The next time you come out here… revenge will be MINE!” He dropped his snowball into the drifts lining the back porch and climbed the steps as Killian opened the door for him.

“Good luck with that, brother,” he smirked. The brothers turned toward the kitchen where the gingerbread was all laid out on the island and some of the creations were being moved to the table, to give everyone room for decorating the tasty treats.

Elsa’s cake was already in the oven, and the smell was permeating the whole house.

Mary Margaret and David had gone for simple gingerbread boys and girls, and they were hard at work decorating them with royal icing.

Regina was getting their gingerbread house constructed while Robin was laying out the candies they’d soon be decorating with.

Graham joined Ruby in her construction of a gingerbread Christmas tree.

Liam moved into the family room where Elsa and all the grandparents were on babysitting duty, keeping the kids occupied while the others worked on their gingerbread creations. White Christmas played on the TV, and Liam sat on the sofa next to his wife. He put his arm around her and kissed her temple. 

“The cake smells delicious,” he said in her ear. Elsa smirked and looked at her phone. 

“It has about five more minutes. We’re sure to win. Nothing beats just an old fashioned gingerbread cake.” Liam hummed his agreement.

Killian moved to the other end of the island from Robin and Regina to help Emma get their gingerbread church put together. She’d found the pattern on Etsy and was determined to make it, no matter how complicated it might be.

Once everyone was done- well, almost everyone, anyway- Marco, Beverly, Maurice, and Grandpa Nemo came in from the family room. They gathered around Emma and Killian’s gingerbread… something…

“It was supposed to be a church,” Emma said surlily. The four walls were intact, but that was about it. The roof was very crooked and the steeple was completely missing, the required pieces scattered around the island. Everyone laughed good naturedly before Beverly took a bite.

“It tastes good, anyway,” she observed. “But considering it’s not decorated, or even fully constructed for that matter, I think it’s safe to say…” she looked at her grumpy daughter with an amused smile on her face, “y’all are not going to win.”

The judges moved to Elsa and Liam’s cake. It was still warm, having had about twenty minutes to cool, and topped with powdered sugar. They all had a small piece of the cake and declared it absolutely wonderful. Elsa and Liam exchanged smug smirks.

Ruby and Graham’s gingerbread Christmas tree was incredible. Very carefully constructed with royal icing, it was a full tree with every “branch” tipped with the white icing- including the star on the top of the tree- and decorated with red and green mini m&m’s.

“I don’t even want to try it!” Poppa exclaimed. “It’s too beautiful to eat!”

But they did eventually try it, after the requisite photos were taken, and found that it was delicious, as well.

Robin and Regina’s gingerbread house was fully constructed and decorated, but was rather sloppy. Icing was dripping in places, and the candy wasn’t staying on. It tasted good enough, but Regina still scowled as the judges ranked their creation in Fourth Place.

David and Mary Margaret’s gingerbread boys and girls were delicious and impeccably decorated. After unanimously being declared the winner of the bake-off, David spoke.

“It’s my secret ingredient to the gingerbread recipe,” he declared. “Nutmeg.”

Regina scoffed. “How can you call it a secret ingredient if you just told everyone what it was?”

“I didn’t say how much I used,” he said, smugly, crossing his arms over his chest. “So, it’s still a secret.”

After the judging was complete, all the ingredients for personal pizzas were pulled out of the fridge and everyone set to making their own dinner. The big meal would be enjoyed on Christmas Day.

Once dinner was eaten and the kitchen cleaned up, Marco pulled out his banjo and started picking out favorite Christmas carols. Regina sat down at the piano while Ruby, David, and Emma went to collect their violin, flute, and guitar, respectively.

Beverly felt the tears sting her eyes as her family made music together. It had been over a decade since this had last happened and she never realized how much she missed it. With David gone to the ends of the earth, literally, plus their schedule and how rarely they were able to visit with all three of their daughters, she’d had to bury that desire and longing for her entire family to be together in the depths of her heart. And now, the complete happiness and joy threatened to overflow. 

The musicians smoothly transitioned between songs, the chord progressions and accompaniment coming back as if they’d been practicing together for weeks. Beverly had to stop singing, the lump in her throat too big to overcome, and just listen to the blend of voices. Maurice sat beside her on the sofa, Hunter cradled in his arms, and leaned over to whisper in her ear.

“I know what Marco told me all those years ago,” he began, “but I would just about give my eye teeth to get all of you in a recording studio.” He moved away from her with a knowing and speculative gleam in his eye. Beverly laughed and patted him on the knee.

“I think you’d have an easier time setting up a recording studio right here in this room, than getting all these people together again.”

He looked back out over the crowded room. “Oh, I’m not so sure about that,” he mused.

“What do you mean?”

“Look at the smiles on everyone’s faces,” he said. “I know it’s hard to coordinate schedules between this many different families, but I have a feeling this is something everyone here is going to want to continue for many years to come.”

Beverly sighed. “I’d give anything…”

Maurice smiled gently at her and patted her knee. “So would I,” he assured her, his eyebrows rising. “Think about it.”

Taking a deep breath, Beverly joined her voice to the chorus of voices around her. The soft strands of Silent Night accompanied only by David on his flute and Ruby on her violin poured over her, and she closed her eyes and let herself drift on the music. She raised a prayer of thankfulness for this time together and determined to never take it for granted as the song came to an end.

Beverly opened her eyes and surveyed the scene in front of her. The babies were sound asleep in the arms of Maurice, Graham, and Killian, and Dale’s eyes were glazed over with exhaustion while Henry was in the middle of a jaw-popping yawn.

“I believe it’s time for bed, my loves,” Marco said quietly. The boys joined together in a disappointed awwww, but everyone else was smiling or nodding their agreement. Couples rose and joined together as parents gathered the children and began herding them off to bed.

“Christmas breakfast here at 9, and then presents after,” Emma told everyone. “We’ll see everyone in the morning.”

Murmurs of good night, see you in the morning, and Merry Christmas followed everyone out until the quiet of Christmas Eve and the snow-covered landscape outside enveloped both houses as everyone found their beds and fell into the dreams of home, the dreams of love, the dreams of family.

~*~*~

Christmas Day was everything Christmas dreams were made of. Snow still blanketed the ground, Christmas breakfast was delicious and plentiful, and the enormous pile of presents under the tree was utterly demolished- with everyone very pleased with the gifts received. Liam did get his revenge on Killian for his surreptitious ambush the day before when the men and boys engaged in another round of the snowball fight. Then the boys spent the rest of the afternoon engaging in an epic Nerf gun battle since they’d been gifted a veritable arsenal. Now it was time for Christmas dinner. Everyone gathered around the enormous dining room table for the blessing before loading up their plates with the feast that had been prepared by the ladies of the family.

“Before we have the blessing,” David said, standing from his place at the table, “we have an announcement to make.”

“So do we,” Robin said with a smile before nodding at David to continue. David looked down at Mary Margaret, whose cheeks were colored with a pretty blush as she looked at her husband and nodded. 

“Mary Margaret and I are excited to announce that we’re expecting…” Loud cheers from around the table interrupted his words, and David grinned widely before sitting down again and nodding at Robin across the table from him.

Robin rose to his feet as the cheering died down and asked the question everyone wanted to know.

“When are you due?”

“August 6th,” Mary Margaret said.

“Congratulations,” he said, sincerely before looking around the table at everyone gathered. “Regina and I have our own announcement, as well. We are also expecting.” More cheers interrupted his words, as Marco stood from his seat and moved around the table to hug Regina tightly. When the cheers died away again, Robin continued. “We’re due at the end of August,” he said, looking at David. “The 29th.”

Marco stayed where he was, his arm around Regina’s shoulders and asked everyone to bow their heads.

“Father in Heaven,” Marco began, “we thank You for the many blessings You’ve given this family. Material blessings, yes, but so much more. The blessings of how You’ve brought this family back together and expanded it is more than we ever hoped or dreamed. You’ve been so good to us, and we thank You for it. We thank You for the gift of Your Son, Whose birth we celebrate today. We pray that Your hand would continue to be upon us and all those we love. We pray for both these pregnancies, that You would keep Your hand on the mothers as well as the children they carry and bring them to a successful birth this summer. We pray that You will bring us all together again next year, if not before. Now, please bless this food that we are about to receive. May it nourish our bodies and spirits. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

As everyone trooped into the kitchen to dish up their plates, Marco looked over his family and felt like his heart would burst with the blessings that had been showered on him. He didn’t know what the future held, but with the love binding the Swan, Jones, and Humbert families together, there was no doubt the future was a bright and happy one.

The End

~*~*~

Thank you all so much for reading and sharing!!! Merry Christmas!!

[bvck-barnes]

Ho Ho Ho Hello Again!

Santa got a little overbusy again, but you definitely have not been forgotten! The elves and I enjoyed looking at your playlist of Christmas tunes and will certainly be adding some of them to the rotation in the workshop!! 🎅🏼🎁 Thank you for sharing them!

Also, Little Women most certainly should count as a Christmas movie. It feels so cozy and homey, with scenes of family gathered by the fire and scenes of weathering the winter chill. What a good one! Thinking about it makes me want to watch it again this year.

As to your gift, I have a real plan in place now and am gathering details to fluff it and make it (hopefully) all the more irresistible!

A couple questions, with that in mind: Who are some of your favorite OuaT supporting characters? Who are the ones you really enjoy seeing Killian and Emma interact with the most?

Are there any particular holiday activities, practices, etc you wish we could have seen done in OuaT? We didn’t get many holidays on the show really. What would have been one thing it would have been great to see CS and the other residents of Storybrooke do to celebrate?

hi santa ♡ no worries at all, i'm glad y'all liked the playlist!

so first, my favorite supporting characters would be i think ruby, i also loved graham a lot, and mulan, tinkerbell, oh and loooved elsa and emma's friendship, have i mentioned I also really loved merlin? OH and aladdin

i think i would've liked to see them celebrate new year (and see the type of traditions each of them would do) or emma's birthday, see her enjoy the day for once!

hope you're doing okay and enjoy the holidays, dearest santa :)

[snowbellewells]

Self Promo Sunday: "And All the Trimmings"

These next couple of weeks, I'm going to highlight the Thanksgiving fics I have written over the years. I've always loved the holiday, and there aren't enough fics for it (in my humble opinion) so I've tried to create a few at various times along the way. This one is some Thanksgiving fluff written during 5B as I anxiously hoped for them to return from the Underworld with their hero party still intact and a pirate in tow. Nods to CS, Snowing, and OQ in here; Thanksgiving is a whole family holiday after all! ;p  Anyway, I think that’s it, other than it obviously being canon divergent now, since things did not pan out nearly so happily upon their return from Underbrooke.  Still, enjoy – and please let me know what you think if you’re so inclined!

**Also available on ff.net or AO3, as a part of my one shots collection "Of Swans and Swords and Hopeful Hearts**

by: @snowbellewells

“Charming?” his lovely wife’s voice rings brightly from the loft’s small kitchen right into the erstwhile Prince of the Enchanted Forest’s ears as he bustles through the door of their apartment, arms full of groceries and cheeks red from the first deep chill and frost of the year. “Is that you?”

“Yes, Snow, I’m back!” he calls, bemused smile quirking up one side of his mouth. A chuckle escapes David Nolan’s throat at how happy and excited his Princess sounds. Setting his purchases on the table until he can hang his coat back on its peg, he shakes his head with affectionate good humor and goes to meet her in the kitchen.

If he’s honest with himself, David is nearly as anxious and thrilled as Snow. After all, their entire family, with all its odd, extended members, will soon be gathered here with them for the first Thanksgiving holiday they have celebrated together. His heart swells at the very idea – even if at the same time he has to simply hope the whole thing will really manage to go off without a hitch…or any bloodshed.

“Looking for these?” he asks with happy teasing in his voice as he enters the kitchen, sets the several plastic bags from the market on the counter, and leans over the center island to plant a kiss on Snow’s upturned lips.

“Yep,” she chirps, beaming at him as they part and reaching in to begin unpacking, “I was.”

Charming moves back into the front dining area, preparing the table and making sure they have enough chairs, seeing that the candles and centerpieces Snows wants are out, and letting her get back to her cooking in the meantime. Between the homemade noodles, green beans, and the mashed potatoes and gravy his wife has simmering all at once, Charming is impressed she can keep everything going without setting anything on fire, much less have the whole apartment smelling good enough to make him drool, and he certainly doesn’t want to distract her from it. No matter how long they have been married, or what realm they find themselves in, it doesn’t take long for Snow to prove that she will never cease to surprise and amaze him.

He has just stepped back to survey his handiwork proudly when the doorbell rings. Swiftly moving forward to answer it before Snow comes running, Charming’s smile grows even wider as Henry bursts into the room, greeting him enthusiastically and launching right into a story of their hectic morning. He is followed by Roland, who is practically bouncing up and down, vibrating with rambunctious energy, his deep dimples cracking wide across his face. After their two boys come Robin and Regina, each laden with items that Charming attempts to help take off their hands.

Robin hands over the delectably scented and delicious-looking turkey, beaming proudly as he gives a nod toward the perfectly crisped and golden brown bird on the platter, which has clearly been charmed in some way by Regina to stay warm and ready to place on the table. “Caught it myself, Mate,” Robin says. “Should be a good one.”

Charming sets the turkey on the long dining table he has just finished with, then claps his friend on the shoulder and ushers him in. “I’m sure it will be. Thanks,” he answers.

Robin slings an insulated bag off his shoulder and holds it forward as well. “Regina’s apple tarts,” he explains with both a mischievous smile and a shrug of feigned innocence. The former thief knows the rest of the family’s understandable aversion to the fruit, but he also somewhat adores his beloved’s rather twisted sense of humor and refusal to shy away from her past by making a dish that highlights the difference in her now and just how far she has come. With a wink, he tacks on, “Taste tested them myself, and they’re irresistible.”

The archer moves past, on into the loft to greet Snow and to catch and corral his young son. Regina raises a sculpted brow at David as she enters after Robin, their new little girl sleeping cradled in her arms and a diaper bag slung over her shoulder. Though David knows all too well that having a newborn in the home can be harrying, the formerly evil Queen looks as completely polished and put together as always – not a hair out of place. “Charming,” she greets with a wry nod, somehow managing to inject even the simplest hello with her trademark dry sarcasm. They may be on the same side now, fumbling towards being a truly non-dysfunctional family, but he somehow feels that her half-mocking way of using the name Snow gave him will never change, and perhaps – in Regina’s own way – it is meant as an endearment.

Peeking into the layers of lavender blanket bundled around Robin and Regina’s little daughter to shield her from the biting wind outside, Charming can’t help a soft grin at the sweet, perfect infant sleeping peacefully, the softest wisps of russet curls on her little head and her soft, pale pink skin. “She’s lovely, Regina,” he murmurs in quiet awe, not wanting to rouse little Mariana, and feeling a flood of affection for this woman who once hunted he and Snow, wanting both of their heads, but who also saved Snow’s life as a child, and has clawed her way back from the bottom to right her wrongs.

Before he can close the door behind her, Emma and Killian come tramping up the hall stairs, cheeks flushed and both laughing at some unknown joke between them, but greeting him heartily as they see that he is standing there watching. Emma reaches David first, falling into her dad’s arms and returning his hug exuberantly before reaching back to pull Killian in as well when he hesitates, effectively sandwiching herself between the two of them in a three-way hug. The laugh that rings from his daughter’s throat, light and open and at last free of the guilt and pain she had been saddled with for too long, is all David needs to be as grateful this Thanksgiving as at any he can remember.

“Thanks Dad,” Emma mumbles almost bashfully when she does ease back and both she and her pirate boyfriend pull away. They follow him into the house, their food contributions in hand.

“Aye, thank you for having us, Mate,” Killian adds with a dip of his chin as they all step through the door and he shuts it behind himself. He offers his love’s father a genuine smile when their gazes meet, Emma having busied herself with hanging up their jackets and removing her boots. For a moment, David is frozen in place, forcibly reminded of how Killian had looked just a few weeks before, when they had found him in the black depths of the Underworld. As long as any of them live, David fears the sight of Killian Jones which had greeted them beyond the Veil would be hauntingly branded on their souls. Chained to a dank stone wall in the furthest recesses of Hades’ domain, the shade of a pirate that they’d found was not the dashing rapscallion they knew. Though bearing his torment in stoic silence, he had been emaciated and shivering, the dark rings under his eyes clearly showing that Killian had known no sleep nor peace since he left their world. The rest of the rescue party had stood horrified as Emma fell to her knees before him, tears pouring down her face while she reached out to cup his bearded cheeks in her hands. Worse than all that though had been the blank, almost unseeing despair in blue eyes that had always been so full of life; the vacancy in their depths no longer seemed like Killian at all and had truly made their blood run cold.

To see that spark back in Jones’ smiling gaze, and the dark bruises beneath his eyes fading, reminds David forcibly just how much they do have to celebrate before he clears his throat to respond with hoarse emotion. “Of course. We’re glad to have everyone. Snow’s really trying to outdo herself.”

Without further ado, David soon finds his family gathered around the table, talking, laughing and reveling in the warmth and happiness of the occasion. There is good natured ribbing at Emma’s continued inability to cook and a playful debate over whether or not the bottoms of several of the butter horn rolls she had made were more burnt than a nice golden brown. Mariana wakes from her nap and begins to gurgle and coo at everyone she can see gathered around her. Snow gushes over the pecan pie that Emma grudgingly admits Killian had made, complete with perfectly crimped edges of crust and an ornate little ‘KJ’ carved into the crunchy sugared top. “Figures,” Charming hears his daughter grumble with teasing chagrin, “He can cook circles around me with only one hand.”

Snow is quick to assure her daughter that she will get better with practice, but Killian only smirks at Emma, looking entirely as though he wants her to either smack or kiss the grin off his face. “Well, I had to sign such artwork, Swan,” he counters playfully. “You might have tried to take credit for it otherwise.”

The whole table laughs and carries on, but is quickly more absorbed in eating than talking, just comfortable in each other’s presence and enjoying a quiet moment. David looks to the other end of the long table and catches Snow’s eye, perfectly understanding the misty look he finds there. This was all either of them had ever wanted: a family, all together, happy and safe. It is what they had sacrificed so much for their best chance at preserving. He smiles at his True Love, marveling that two other pairs of True Loves sit in this very room with them, and tucks into his own meal at last. Now that they have all found each other, this family has every blessing it could possibly need.

Tagging a few who might enjoy: @searchingwardrobes @kmomof4 @jennjenn615 @whimsicallyenchantedrose @laschatzi @jrob64 @apiratewhopines @teamhook @revanmeetra87 @xsajx @spartanguard @therooksshiningknight @optomisticgirl @tiganasummertree @kazoosandfannypacks @booksteaandtoomuchtv @sotangledupinit @anmylica @stahlop @xarandomdreamx @bluewildcatfanatic @winterbaby89 @gingerchangeling @gingerpolyglot @scientificapricot

[mionedray]

🎄 Ahoy there! 🎄

Guess what? I’m your Secret Santa, and I’m here to whip up something awesome just for you! But hey, I’m not a mind reader, so I’ve got a few questions to help me nail it. Answer as much or as little as you want—spill the tea or just drop me some breadcrumbs!

What’s your favorite thing about Captain Swan? Are you into swashbuckling adventures, tender moments, or something else entirely?

Do you prefer your stories sprinkled with fluff, drenched in angst, or served with a side of humor? Or maybe a mix?

Any favorite tropes you adore? (Enemies-to-lovers, hurt/comfort, daring rescues... I’m all ears!)

Is there anything I should steer clear of so I don’t accidentally land us in the Underworld?

If there’s anything else that would make your gift extra perfect, don’t hesitate to share! Can’t wait to bring some holiday joy your way. 💌

Cheers! 🎁✨

Hallow Hallow!

I knew it Santa was real! See, see *points at imaginary people* Santa is gonna sue you guys for defamation. Now, now its time to put the cringe humour aside and apologize for late response (exams *sigh*). A-KNEE-WAYZ I hope you've been doing well dear Santa- your ask was such a joy to read! Now to answer!

1. This one is hard to answer. I do love the tender moments very much and swashbuckling adventures as well. Like when they went back to the past, camelot or the underworld (almost forgot the season 6 rescue). As for the tender moments I have so many favorites (mostly from season 3 and 5). If you would like me to elaborate on that I will. I don't want to overwhelm you 😭. I have a tendency to ramble.

2. So I am a happy endings girlie (loveeee fluff) and humour is just peak tehee. I don't mind angst (the emotional moments it brings are just so in the feels). Tho knock yourself out I'd love to see anything you come up with.

3. Okay so I enjoy almost all tropes i think. In CS my favorite trope is Captain Duckling (with a dash of enemies to lovers) but in modern Au's- i like friends to lovers (helping each other grow). Oh God (I'm thinking of a million of my favorite fics now 😭). I also like the soul mates trope and I love fics with a Christmas vibe too. Almost forgot the whole dark hook saga too (some of those fics were phenomenal). Basically i like everything 🤣

4. OooooO, I actually do like the idea of being in the underworld (probably not OUAT's tho lol). But yes...umm no tragedies. I also absolutely hate Neal and August and I'd appreciate it if we could avoid tropes like teacher/student or stepcest. Hope that isn't too much 😭

I also want to apologize for this response being a mess 😭 *cries in doing this during breaks*. If you want me to go in detail about anything or just have any other questions let me know. I'll try and answer as quickly as possible. Take care dear Santa- stay safe a hydrated!

[elizabeethan]

XMAS prompts #13 "You'd make a cute elf."

Killian has always been self-conscious of his 'elf' ears bc of the teasing he's endured his whole life, but when Emma Swan comments on them, saying he'd make a cute elf, he embraces his elfen feature and shows her that not only does he make a 'cute' elf, but a devilishly handsome one as well 😏

Hi Hollye do you even remember sending this almost 2 months ago? Anyway...

Here's a continuation of of Never More Than I Can Take, or Sad Baker Killian, who suffers through Emma making store-bought cookie dough.

Read on Ao3

Read my Other Stuff

Rated T

~~~~

“Babe!” 

 Her voice is as demanding as ever as she shoves excitedly through the door, and he smiles as he stands from the couch to greet her. Fiery is a word he often uses to describe her, and it can’t be more true now as she shucks off her down coat and kicks away her snowy boots, running through the small apartment they now share towards the kitchen counter with a shopping bag in hand. 

 “Hi,” he greets, and the love of his life, the woman who surprises the hell out of him by loving him back, grins his way. 

 “Hello,” she answers cheerfully. She’s distracted immediately, reaching into her bag and pulling out a thin box, turning it and reading briefly before running to the oven. 

 “Where’s the fire?” 

 “It’s an electric oven, babe, not gas.” 

 “And it’s such a pity.” 

She smiles as she pushes forcefully against the buttons above the stove, setting the oven to 350 and then scurrying around the kitchen until she locates a sheet pan and douses it excessively with cooking spray, much to his chagrin. 

 “What are you making, love?” 

 “Cookies,” she says with a beaming grin, her voice like a song as she rips open the box she came in with. He groans. 

 “Not these,” he begs as he steps towards her and picks up the plastic wrapped blobs of sugary dough. “These aren’t cookies, my love.” 

 “Yes they are! And look at the elves!” 

 “You know you’re engaged to a baker, right? This is blasphemous.” 

 “ Elves ,” she insists, pointing at the lumps from hell and glaring at him. She peels one off of the horrible sheet of cardboard and places it in the corner of the tray, almost squealing as she grins at him again. “Look how cute! It’s Christmas, babe!”  

He hums, trying to maintain his air of disgust, almost reminding her that it’s only the 23rd of December, although the joyous look on her face makes it difficult. He steps up behind her and places his hand on her hip, pulling her back slightly so that she’s pressed against him and he can trace his lips along the length of her neck. “Very festive,” he agrees. 

 With a sigh, she leans her head back against his shoulder, although she never does give up on the bloody cookies . 

 He’s never felt like this before. He’s never been able to have a conversation like this with someone before. Banter is not something he’s used to, and the playful fun they poke at one another is something he’s had to adjust to. He feared offending her at every turn, and yet she somehow always knows when he’s joking. It makes it easier for him to joke freely with her, and he loves the way their relationship has flourished. 

 “There,” she says, her voice grabbing him and dragging him from his thoughts. “Look at those little elves.” 

 “Wonderful.” 

 She dances out of his arms and hums as she places the tray on the top rack, bending irresistibly, though he does resist grabbing her ass for fear of sending her straight into the oven. “Seven minutes,” she announces and he cocks his head. 

 “That's it?” 

 “I want them chewy.” 

 “Raw, you mean?”

 She smirks, rolling her eyes and walking out of the kitchen towards the couch which she flops onto face first. Immediately, he follows her, climbing on top of her and burying his face in her hair, hips pressed to her rear, a kiss pressing to the side of her neck, and she giggles. 

 “Good day?” she asks against the couch cushion. He nuzzles his nose against her neck, the warmth radiating off of her intoxicating in their chilly apartment. He hums affirmatively and kisses her once more, pressing up onto his left elbow and flipping her over with his hand to face him. 

 “It was alright, only I missed my fiance.” 

 She hums with a soft smile and lets her eyes flutter, leaning up towards him to capture him in a kiss. Her hands glide along his back, one reaching into his hair and tugging on the growing locks and the other gripping his ass and pulling him down towards herself as she lets out a soft sigh. He’s been meaning to cut his hair for weeks, but he hasn’t gotten around to it, and he’s finding that he likes the way she uses it as a handhold while she’s kissing the life out of him. 

 Her lips and tongue glide along his perfectly, always fitting just right, soft and pliant yet demanding. He loves the way she always takes exactly what she wants from him, never shy about what she needs. He loves the way they fit together like the last two pieces of a puzzle, his heart rate picking up in satisfaction.

 His hand is sliding along the length of her waist, appreciating the soft curves beneath her sweater and the gentle swell of her breast as he squeezes and she lets out a moan, but they’re interrupted by the loud, shrill beep of the timer, and in her excitement, she bites his lip and practically throws him off of herself, scrambling towards the oven. 

 “My elves!” she exclaims as she tugs on the mits to protect her hands and pulls the tray from the oven, dancing happily as she sets it upon the stovetop and turns off the heat. “They’re perfect!”

 “They look like little demons,” he tells her as he takes in the melted, misshapen globs of barely-cooked dough. She gasps in offense, timidly poking one and then picking it up and tossing it between her two hands. 

 “How dare you! They’re adorable and perfect.” She holds the cookie up to him and he raises a brow in confusion, almost thinking she’s trying to force feed the sugary mess to him, but she holds it beside his cheek and smiles. “You’d make a very cute Christmas elf, you know.” 

 He can’t stop his face from falling for just a second, trying to pick it back up before she notices, but she always notices, even though he’s almost back to smiling again. 

 “I’m sorry,” she says immediately, dropping the cookie and stepping closer to him. She doesn't even know what she’s apologizing for, but she’s quick to do it anyway. “I didn’t mean…”

 He takes her hand, meeting her eyes and reminding himself of why they're so perfect together. They’re silly, they have fun with one another, they’re casual and carefree and he loves that about them. He loves the way he can make jokes with her and she laughs them off, and the way that she can do the same to him. He loves this about them, and loves her for it, and he isn’t sure why he lets this one small thing bother him. 

 Perhaps he had forgotten about this small insecurity, having not had it pointed out to him in so long. Perhaps he forgot about the way the other inmates laughed at his expense and he was forced to laugh along, hiding his foolish pain. Perhaps he’s forgotten about the way his father would pick at each and every one of his insecurities, drunk or not, and that this is one of the only one’s he never grew out of. 

 “I’m sorry, love,” he smiles softly, shaking his head. She waits so patiently, her worry so clear on her face as she pinches her brows and bites her lip, but she never presses him. “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, Emma. I didn’t even realize…” 

 She wriggles her hand free from his, using both to cup his cheeks and pressing onto her toes so that she can hold their foreheads together. She breathes him in, he does the same to her, their eyes shut and his mouth millimeters from hers. 

 “I love everything about you,” she finally whispers, and with each word, her lips graze gently against his own and tickle his skin. “Everything. I’m sorry if I upset you.” 

 “It’s alright,” he whispers back. “I didn’t even know I would be… It shouldn’t matter.”

 “But it does. I think you’re perfect and I love your ears, Killian. But if it’s something you’re insecure about, of course it matters.” 

 He gulps, sighs, steps away from her for a moment to collect his thoughts, leaning back against the counter and pulling her into his arms to hold her close. Sometimes, although they’ve come such a long way and he’s grown so much because of her belief in him, he still finds it easier to speak his mind when he can’t see the look on her face. Somehow, he still worries she might judge him, despite how foolish that fear may be. So he holds her close, her face against his chest so that he can feel the warmth of her breath through his shirt, and he admits, “Sometimes I forget that I don’t have to worry about these things with you, I suppose. You’re unlike anyone I’ve ever known.” 

 Her grip on his waist tightens, her face pressing more firmly against his chest and her lips pressing a kiss against his shirt. “That makes me sad,” she whispers. “You deserve to be loved for who you are.”

 “I am,” he insists, because saying it makes it easier to feel it. 

 “Forget what everyone else has said,” she implores. With a grin, she pulls away and stares at him, her hand cupping her cheek and her thumb tracing beneath his eye. “You’re perfect, cute little elf ears and all.” 

 It’s amazing, the way she can pull him so quickly from the darkened thoughts that used to plague him so often. Before he met her and fell in love with her, he thought constantly of the pain he’s endured, of the mistreatment he grew accustomed to, and since knowing her, he’s realized that he’s worth more than that. He’s learned that, even though he had a shit dad and even though his fellow inmates took every opportunity to rag on him, it doesn't matter anymore. He doesn’t have to associate the things he hates about himself with the people who hated him because the woman who loves him has changed everything. All it took was some reminding that his disliking for this small detail about himself doesn’t matter because his pointy ears don’t change that she thinks he’s a good person. 

 “I love you,” he reminds her needlessly, and she smiles. “Though, I think I'd prefer to be thought of as a devilishly handsome elf.” 

 “Okay,” she agrees, leaning up towards him so that her lips almost meet his. “I think that’s entirely accurate.” 

 “Aye?” 

 With a nod, her fingers slink along his sides until she’s gripping the hem of his shirt, tugging it over his head was a satisfied smirk and a hum, her nails scratching lightly against the hair smattered across his stomach as his shirt hits the floor. “A sexy elf, too.”

 He can’t answer; before he even knows what hits him, she’s reaching behind him and then shoving a damn cookie into his mouth. 

 He would gag, but it’s… surprisingly good. 

~~~~

~~~~

Tagging:

@courtorderedcake @kmomof4 @stahlop @klynn-stormz @laschatzi @emelizabeth88 @lfh1226-linda @kday426 @timeless-love-story @captain-emmajones @gingerpolyglot @ebcaver @ilovemesomekillianjones @teamhook @superchocovian @itsfabianadocarmo @tiganasummertree @gingerchangeling @jrob64 @onceratheart18 @xhookswenchx @winterbaby89 @swampmedusa @ultraluckycatnd @dancingnancyy @love-with-you-i-have-everything @shireness-says @snowbellewells @hollyethecurious @ouatpost @daxx04 @the-darkdragonfly @donteattheappleshook @eeteeaytay @xsajx @itsfridaysomewhere @alexa-fangirl-forever @jonesfandomfanatic @wefoundloveunderthelight @qualitycoffeethings @rapunzelsghosts @spaceconveyor @badcats-andmice @batana54 @sailtoafarawayland @deckerstarblanche @zaharadessert @xarandomdreamx @pirateprincessofpizza @captainswan21@hookedmom @lostintheskyfaraway @undercaffinatednightmare @strangestarlighttree @emmythedaydreamer @killianslefthook @sarcasticandromantic @last-tsarina

[sotangledupinit]

A Green Christmas - 12 Days of Promptmas

Day 1 Prompt/notes of the prompt: 

Santa / Elves / Costume

SUMMARY: It should be illegal for someone to look so good in an elf costume. Emma's almost certain there's a law somewhere that says so. And if there's not, she needs to find another reason to arrest Killian Jones so he can get his green tights-clad butt out of her eyeline.

RATING: Teen

WORD COUNT: 4,102 words

TAGS: Captain Swan, Christmas, Holiday fluff

AO3

AUTHOR’S NOTE: well well well, here we are. hahaha at the beginning of November I decided to do 12 Days of Promptmas and then I started all the prompts and then my muse disappeared until like three days ago. anyway I wrote notes on the prompts and forgot to write most of the actual prompts down so... oops. Prompt: Santa / Elves / Costumes

^^ or something like that, oops.

Day 1 of 12 for 12 Days of Promptmas!

*

David stands in the bullpen in front of her and Jones, grin wide on his face. A bright red Santa suit hangs on the door to his office, the accompanying hat sitting on top of his head. Facing them he holds up a bright green bag.

“Come on, I need elves.”

Emma snorts, rolling her eyes and shoving her hands into her back pockets. “Yeah, not going to happen. Mary Margaret already confirmed that I can be the photographer.”

Jones shifts his body, resting his hip against the side of his desk. He uncrosses his arms, eyebrow raised as he frowns, and points at the elf costume in David’s hand. “No way in bloody hell am I wearing that.” He swivels his head to face her. “Why do you get to be the photographer?”

“Because you assigned me to take all the mugshots,” she responds with a smirk. “I’ve got practice.”

A huff leaves his mouth as he turns back to David. Emma grins as she watches her father shake the garment bag at Jones, making a show of slowly unzipping it to reveal the elf-themed monstrosity inside. Her fellow deputy stares at the clothes with a look of utter contempt. His nose scrunches up in disgust and clenching his fists just isn’t cutting it as he resumes crossing his arms tightly against his chest. “Absolutely not, mate.”

“Come on, Killian,” David begins. The smell of coffee finally hits her nose and Emma glances down to see a freshly brewed cup on her desk. Her father must have gotten it for her while she gassed up the cars before their meeting this morning. Grin playing on her face, she grasps the cup in her hand and lifts it to her lips, hiding her smirk as she awaits David’s infamous guilt trips, and ignores the glance Jones sends her way.

“What are all those little boys and girls going to think when it’s not an elf helping out Santa but some guy in a leather jacket? They’ll start questioning if Santa’s even real which could crush their dreams. Then they’ll wonder why their parents lied to them about Santa if the one they met in town isn’t him. Temper tantrums, families fighting, a whole slew of traumatic events snowballing from the fact that since Santa didn’t have an elf to help him, they decided he wasn’t real.”

Instead of paying her father any mind, Jones turns to her instead, that damned eyebrow raised still. “Does that actually work on anyone?”

“Hasn’t for me yet.”

Her father, as brilliant as he is, is too noble for his own good and will try to rally others behind whatever cause he’s working on, to its absolute fullest extent no matter the embarrassment or discomfort. Emma swears that he’d probably follow a kid into the storm drain from It if he believed he could help them.

David sighs. “Guys.” They both return their attention to him and watch as he hangs the green garment bag beside the Santa suit. He pushes his jacket back, resting his hands on his hips, and Emma knows he means business. His hair is almost totally gray and the beard he’s been growing out – ugh, she really did not need to know just how much her mother liked it that way – is more white than blonde now. But he stands like that and Emma imagines him in his 30s and ready to discipline her for sneaking out or breaking curfew or catching her with a boy for the first time. It’s that ‘I’m not mad, I’m disappointed’ look that she’s heard about. It makes her heart lurch in her chest.

“Please, I just need you to do this,” he says. “Due to the fire hose incident last year, the mayor won’t let SFD host the charity drive anymore. All of the toys received and money raised goes to the families in need in Storybrooke.” He looks at Emma from the corner of his eye as he mentions that a portion will also be given to the orphanage run by the nuns at the edge of town and Emma’s breath catches. That’s new. “As our first time hosting it, I really want to make sure we do everything we can to make it the best year yet for these kids – even if that means ridiculous costumes.”

Silence falls over the room and Emma catches Jones sighing, dropping his arms and standing up straight. Emma spots a twitch of David’s lips that he tampers down quickly as Jones approaches him. “Alright,” he says, licking his lips. Tossing his hand briefly towards the green bag, Jones admits defeat. “Show me what exactly I’ll be wearing this weekend.”

She can’t be certain but she believes he mutters ‘Do it for the children’ under his breath along with a few choice expletives when David pulls out the green stockings. It’s then that Emma snorts into her coffee and Jones turns to glare at her.

“Laugh all you want now but it’s not too late to get another costume for you, darling,” he shoots at her. Except it is too late and there’s no way to get another costume unless they already had one.

“We both know that’s not happening,” she smirks.

“Actually…” Eyebrows furrowing at David’s remark, she watches in horror as he lifts Jones’ elf costume out of the bag to reveal a second behind it. Her cry of indignation is unheard over the loud cackling coming from her fellow deputy.

*

Growing up, she held a lot of anger at her birth parents. It settled deep in her soul at a young age, some time after her fourth foster placement fell through, and it burned everything it touched. How dare they resort her to a fate like this, where she was deemed unacceptable or unlovable by every family who tried to accept her? So she stopped trying too.

It wasn’t until a few years ago that her birth parents actually came into her life.

David Nolan and Mary Margaret Blanchard are the picturesque American family. The local school teacher and the sheriff living together in a small town in a house situated on the equivalent of a farm. Brilliantly bright smiles and kind hearts for everyone they met, volunteering at the animal shelter on weekends and tutoring children at the library during the week. There are just so pure and good.

When she checked her bail bonds email one day and saw their message, she almost wanted to delete it without reading. The preview – Hi, Emma. We know this is sudden but we believe we’re your birth parents… There is… – was enough to ignite the flames of anger in her heart but she knew she’d regret if she never read it all.

They had gotten pregnant young and had been involved in a car accident. Mary Margaret’s stepmother at the time forged her signature on the paperwork and set Emma up for adoption, a process that had been unknowingly in the works for months beforehand. Her mother was still under sedation – injuries from the crash resulting in an emergency C-section – when Emma was taken from them.

We never even got to hold you, they told her, mouths pressed against her ear as they hugged her for the first time a few weeks later. Emma thought of her own life and how that was almost her, how she almost had to give up Henry and would have if the doctor didn’t ask if she wanted to hold him.

It wasn’t easy for her to cope, having to find a place where her anger wasn’t directed at her parents and to let it go enough to forgive them because they loved her and wanted her and never stopped looking for her.

When that time came a year ago, she spoke with Henry and they decided that Boston wasn’t all it was cracked up to be and perhaps they should give a chance to living by family. They moved to Storybrooke a month later and David hired her onto his payroll within 24 hours.

However, since connecting with her birth parents, Emma has learned a few new rules of life. Most important being that her mother actually can keep a secret. Most of the time, anyway.

The first thing her father told her about her mother was to not trust her with any secrets. He called upon years of experience, with supposed ruined proposals and pregnancy announcements. Other citizens echoed the statement but it was Leroy’s ringing endorsement of the reputation that raised an eyebrow.

It is a fact that Mary Margaret Nolan gets a bad rap in Storybrooke for having loose lips. One incident when she was ten – in her defense, she was manipulated into divulging her stepsister’s secret relationship – and a few surprise monumental occasions slipping from her mouth and it stuck.

However, her mother could keep a secret, of the inconsequential sort. Like when Emma needed help planning Henry’s tenth birthday or what to get her father for Christmas last year. So clearly her mother’s reputation was wrong.

Or so she thought.

The thing is that she told her mother a few months ago over too many rum and cokes at her parents kitchen island that Deputy Killian Jones has a cute butt. And a sinful mouth. And tantalizing chest hair.

Since then, she’s been nudging Emma to invite Killian to one of their game nights or family dinners and she’s held firm with her opposition. That is not a road she will travel down with him, no matter what her mother wants. Or how much she vented about how nice his arms are.

Now she’s pretty sure Mary Margaret is using that information against her, in collaboration with David, and she doesn’t know whether she should be impressed or humiliated.

“Yeah,” Lily says while she stands beside her, Emma’s hands clutching the camera tripod facing Santa’s workshop the day of the charity drive. Their eyes catalog the way Killian tugs at his thighs, an unsuccessful attempt to pull the tights away from where they hug the curve of his butt as he speaks with Philip, the former probie from SFD and the reason the sheriff’s department took up the charity drive. Lily’s hands are tucked into her own fire department issued sweatshirt and a smirk tugs at her lips. “We didn’t have costumes last year.”

*

Two hours into the event and Emma’s not sure how much more she can handle.

It’s not that the work is hard; all she has to do is get the kid’s attention, point, and click. The event itself is so far surpassing expectations as well. The container beside her is nearly full with presents for the children of Storybrooke, their monetary donations are overflowing if her mother’s excited gestures mean anything, and the kids that come to see Santa are grinning from ear to ear with an excited bounce in their step.

No, she decides, none of that is the issue. The issue lies with the fact that she has to watch her fellow deputy be cute and adorable with small children who are also cute and adorable. It’s not even like she can look away, having to be prepared for the split second that some children look at the camera before clambering away to their parents. So she gets a front row seat to every single interaction.

God. She never knew he had dimples.

They become apparent as he bends down to one knee in front of a little girl that can’t be older than three and he tells her all about Santa while she waits her turn. His eyes light up and his grin is wide as he speaks with the girl, nodding his head as she asks for a hug. He tells her about the candy cane he’s giving her mom and then slowly stands, gesturing for her to meet Santa. Emma’s pretty sure she spotted the mom tuck her wedding ring into her first.

“Everything okay?”

Emma jumps, glancing only briefly at her son before focusing back on the scene before her through the camera’s viewfinder. “Of course everything’s okay. Why wouldn’t it be?” Henry laughs and she can only imagine the shake of his head.

“Maybe it’s the way you’re super tense or how you were glaring at Mrs. Garner through the camera.”

David waves off the little girl with a bright smile and a boisterous ‘Ho! Ho! Ho!’ and Emma allows her heartstrings to be pulled by the moment. His gaze finds the empty line and her standing beside it, quickly making his way over.

“You want any coffee?” he asks her quietly.

“Sure.”

“What do you want?”

“The same thing you got me the other day!”

His brow furrows at her comment but before she could ask him why, Jones commandeers his attention. Then she waits for David’s nod to signal a break and Jones to put up their break sign before she turns fully to her son. “Aren’t you supposed to be selling hot chocolate with Belle and the other library volunteers?”

“I may have been drinking more than I was selling…” he admits with a sheepish grin. Affection fills her as she wraps an arm around his neck, pulling him to her side.

“How much do I owe the library?”

“Let’s just say that I shouldn’t get allowance for two weeks.”

“Geez, kid. Is your stomach okay?” Henry just grins up at her and Emma thinks she could live in this moment forever. He’s growing up way too fast for her liking. She has moments, like this one, when she wants to freeze time. Henry is her baby and she doesn’t know what she’ll do when he doesn’t need her anymore. Mom has become such a part of her that she dreads the moment he won’t come to her for help first. On the other hand, she can’t wait to see the kind of man he’ll become; no doubt he’ll be kind, sweet, gentle, and hold the biggest heart around. She’s proud of him and the person he is growing into.

When he tilts his head back down towards the Santa’s Workshop backdrop they have, Emma soaks in the laugh that comes from his throat before moving her own gaze to investigate.

Killian’s walking back to their photo area with a large bag from Granny’s hanging on his wrist and a full cup holder in his hand, gaze darting around for something. Away from their Christmas backdrop, she gets to really see how ridiculous the costume looks. From afar, he looks like an overgrown Peter Pan.

“Hey Killian!” Henry calls from her side. He spots them, nods his head, and begins to head in their direction.

“How do you know Deputy Jones?” she asks.

Henry smiles too smugly for her liking and says, “Gramps introduced us when we got lunch one time. Killian’s even joined us a bunch too!”

Calculations run in her head of the many times Henry’s requested to have lunch with David over the past year and she wonders when anyone was going to tell her that her son was buddy-buddy with her fellow deputy?

Not that it’s a bad thing, per say. But it’s one thing to see a hot guy be sweet with random kids and it’s another to see it with your own. She really could not handle that right now. “I’m going to the bathroom,” she mutters. Studiously ignoring his approach, she dashes away for a reprieve.

When she returns, his gaze is heavy on her shoulders. Henry still stands at her camera, keeping a watchful eye over it, and Killian – when did she start calling him Killian?! – stands beside him, enraptured in conversation despite his straying eye.

“Swan!” he calls when she gets near. She strains to keep her lips pressed together instead of breaking into a smile and desperately wishes the stupid costume had pockets she could dig her fists into. “I got you some sustenance on my trip to Granny’s.” The bag he hands her is heavy and smells of the diner’s delicious bacon and cheese fries. Henry has his own burger hanging out of his mouth, a cup at his feet.

Shock fills her system as she takes the container from the bag and see her favorite – grilled cheese, onion rings, and a small side of cheddar bacon fries. It’s an order her father still gets wrong, to her amusement. Words fail her so all she manages is a measly thanks, eyes glittering as she accepts the coffee he offers as well. It’s perfect too.

“I have to say, Swan,” he begins once she’s halfway through her sandwich and Henry’s run off to group up with some friends. “You make green look good.” Her cheeks flush under the heat of his gaze. As much as the tights are formfitting for him, she knows it’s the same deal for herself. The elf tops they’ve been squeezed into are much of the same material and she feels like she’s wearing a giant, ugly leotard.

His own perusal of her person allows her to sneak a glimpse of him once again, a smirk coming to her lips.

“Thanks. You look…”

“Devilishly handsome?”

“Like Peter Pan.”

She watches in delight as his nose scrunches up in disgust and he shakes his head. “Not that bloody demon. Don’t be so cruel, love.”

“I could have been crueler.”

“I doubt that.”

Her hand reaches of her own accord to gently touch his ears and the slight point at the top. Fingers faltering, shaking against his skin, her voice wobbles as she speaks. “I could have said you don’t even need the costume to be Santa’s elf.”

“Ah, yes,” he says, unbothered by her touch. He tilts his head to the side as he gestures to his other ear, a grin on his face that she can’t decipher. “The pointy ears.”

“They’re cute,” she says, the filter in her mind apparently gone. Both of them freeze at that, eyes wide and caught on each other’s gazes. Her breath catches in her chest and she wants to bolt but her feet are rooted to the spot. His own breathing is ragged and sharp, the blue of his eyes intense.

The pull between them is instinct and Emma feels herself swaying into his space before her father’s loud Santa chuckles breaks through air, the two of them springing apart. She hiccups to get a breath in and awkwardly steps back, almost knocking over the tripod in the process. David clutches at his fake belly, shaking it in his hands as he calls out to all the boys and girls gathered around the workshop that he can’t wait to meet them.

“Duty calls,” she manages to get out through a weak smile, hoping to put that moment behind them. In no uncertain terms can they go there. Not only do they work together, but Emma isn’t a relationship kind of woman anymore. As if he could sense her walls being refortified, Killian mirrors her smile and steps back, nodding his head.

“Aye. Duty calls.”

The event only has another hour and a half to go yet the time drags on. Perhaps it’s because, despite her constant reminders of why nothing can happen between herself and Killian, she still finds her eyes drifting towards his figure.

His hands rest on his hips as he grins at two boys excitedly talking over one another. It’s obvious the two are siblings and Emma knows he’s seeing himself and his own late brother in the kids. A pull in her chest has her wanting to check in with him, make sure he’s only focusing on the good memories, but she holds herself back, unsure if the gesture would even be welcome.

Instead, she reminds herself to focus on the pictures, even if Killian comes into frame every other minute to help children on and off Santa’s lap and she gets the perfect view of his butt in those tights. Her plan goes well for some time, until Ivy comes.

Ivy herself isn’t a bad kid. Emma’s met her before at school events and she seems sweet, if a bit misguided. It’s her mother Victoria that’s an absolute nightmare. There are some people in the world who aren’t meant to be parents and she is one.

Ivy’s seven but the image of a big jolly man with a long beard in a bright red suit is terrifying to her, not that Victoria will listen. Instead she pulls on Ivy’s arm to bring the girl closer. Killian tries to step in and tell her it’s okay if she doesn’t want to go up but Victoria pushes her daughter past him. David’s objections to forcing the girl to do something she doesn’t want to are ignored as Victoria plops the girl down on his lap.

Big tears roll down her cheeks like rainwater and her nose is turning red. Snot begins to puddle on her upper lip and David’s soothing voice only rockets her into more hysterics.

“Just take the damn picture,” Victoria hisses at Emma from where she watches beside the backdrop.

Emma sighs, her heart going out to the little girl. She calls her name but Ivy pays her no mind, choosing to wail instead. Her soft coos and calls of comfort are ignored and the stuffed animal Emma waves seems more offensive than helpful. Killian comes beside her to help, his heat warm at her back. His presence is solidifying and she straightens up behind the camera, her voice stronger as she calls to Ivy.

Her voice only quiets when she feels Killian’s hand on her back. He gives her a raised eyebrow and a wink – really more of a blink as both his eyes close – with one finger up in front of his lips. Then he calls to Ivy before he starts to sing.

And boy, can the man sing.

His voice is low growl, coming from deep in his throat at the start of ‘Jingle Bells’. He rises a few octaves once he’s gathered Ivy’s attention and the dimples make an appearance as he smiles while he sings to her. Tears still track down the girl’s cheeks but the wailing has stopped and her attention is focused on the singing elf.

Emma’s able to snap a few photos, even if Ivy is barely smiling in them. It’s a vast improvement from the start though, which means Victoria Belfrey only leaves in a quiet huff instead of a blazing storm.

“Thanks for that,” she manages to say. Killian is still at her back and his gaze over her shoulder is calculating as he studies her face.

“For you, Swan? Anything.”

There’s another moment – one where their eyes connect and their mouths lift in smiles – and she feels a calm rush over her. She glances at her father from the corner of her eye and sees him quickly look down at the photo table her mother stands at. Mary Margaret doesn’t even bother pretending that she’s not fully invested in what Emma and Killian are talking about in such close proximity.

(She was definitely set up.)

Voice breathless, Emma plasters on a confident grin and looks at Killian. “Anything? Including joining me and my family for Christmas Eve dinner on Friday?”

The man looks like he’s seen a ghost.

His knees buckle and she only knows because he stumbles to right himself. His mouth opens and closes twice like a fish out of water. The blue of his eyes bore into her own and she grins as he takes a moment to recover.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you to dinner?”

“Is that how they do things in the North Pole?” Her hand reaches out to flick at his ear and he chuckles, catching her fingers before she can pull away.

“Aye,” he says, stepping closer. His tongue pokes out to lick his lips and Emma can’t tear her eyes away. “We also do this.”

There’s not a moment to question what he means before his lips descend on hers and she finds herself melting under his touch. His mouth sets her whole body ablaze and she feels like the Heat Miser just granted a green Christmas for Maine.

Her hand rests on his shoulder, the tight fabric twisting in her grasp, and Emma pulls away with a gasp. A teasing remark tugs at her lips but she refrains from saying it, not wanting to ruin the moment. She flattens out the fabric of his elf costume and smiles to herself.

A green Christmas indeed.

[seriouslyhooked]

Dear No One (Part 1/3)

Short CS holiday story, broken into three parts, where Emma is unlucky in love and decides that for her Christmas wish she’d like to find the right person for her. In an attempt to write what she wants into existence, Emma writes a letter to the man she wants to find someday and then shenanigans ensue. Rated T/M (basically I haven’t decided yet how smutty it’s getting) and based off of the song ‘Dear No One’ by Tori Kelly. Available on FF here and AO3 here.

A/N: Hey everybody! So this little fic started off as a super fluffy idea I had at the end of the summer. I actually posted about it on tumblr, and a few of you begged me to write it, but I warned you it might be hard. Even then I knew that this was a story I needed a little more time with, and as such, what was once a mixtape contender is now its own separate story. The chapters will be short, but I want to jump back and forth between Emma and Killian’s POVs so I felt separating it out was best. It’s also now taking place during the holidays, because I have Christmas fever and I don’t care who knows it. Anyway, this chapter begins with Emma realizing that her Christmas wish is that she wants to find love. She tries to take a first step to finding it, and it might not go exactly her way... Hope you guys enjoy the fluffy, adorable premise, and thanks, as always, for reading!

“Okay Ruby. You got us all together because you said you had something to share. Then you spend all night deflecting. What gives?”

It was the question on everyone’s mind since they walked into Ruby and Graham’s apartment earlier tonight, and Emma was glad that Elsa had been brave enough to ask it. Ruby had made it clear to each of them that tonight was special and big and important, but when they arrived she never brought up what was actually happening. Instead she’d plied them with wine and food and Christmas cookies, as they gathered together listening to holiday music in the ambiance of her friend’s festively decorated home. But while that was lovely (and much needed after Emma’s grueling work week), it was odd and more than a little suspicious.

“Well, if you insist on knowing…” Ruby allowed her words to trail off as she lifted the fingerless gloves off of her hands. For anyone else the article of clothing would seem ‘extra’ or ridiculous. It wasn’t that cold outside. Okay it was – because New England in winter was brutal – but inside it was nice and toasty. But that was part of Ruby’s style. She was all leather and red and black and wearing biker gloves to a wine night wasn’t unheard of. But when she revealed what lay underneath – a huge and absolutely beautiful diamond ring – her friends all gasped at once.

“Holy crap, what a rock!” Emma blurted out, forgetting herself for a moment as she took in the piece of jewelry that had to cost more than she’d make in six months.

“What she said,” Mary Margaret, Belle, and Elsa replied at once, and once their shock wore off all four friends were on their feet and celebrating with Ruby. They were so happy for her and for Graham, and it was truly a magical thing. For Ruby, who was a long-time bachelorette with no intention of tying herself down, this was BIG. It was epic, and it spoke to Ruby’s love for her boyfriend – nay, fiancé – that she was planning to get married and have that typical, happily ever after.

“When did it happen?” Elsa asked at the same time that Belle inquired. “How did he do it?”

“Last night at dinner. One second we’re sharing this to die for tiramisu, I mean like wow wow wow so good, and the next he’s proposing.”

“She would manage to slip a dessert review in even at a time like this,” Emma whispered to Elsa and the two of them laughed together.

“And you’re sure it wasn’t the tiramisu talking?” Belle asked, her tone a bit sheepish. “Not that you don’t love Graham, it’s just…”

“I love dessert more than life itself, I know I know,” Ruby said as she shook her head. “But no it wasn’t that. It was him. I love him, you know? I try to picture what life would be like without him and I can’t. He’s it for me. He’s my person.”

“Heck yes he is!” Mary Margaret said happily, no doubt reveling in the fact that she and her husband David had introduced these two lovebirds a little less than a year ago. “God this is wonderful. There’s so much to plan, so much to do! This is going to be amazing! And to have the proposal at Christmas time? It’s like magic. Real live magic!”

The friends all agreed that this was indeed very special, and the night’s conversation shifted from what it had been before to musings on what Graham and Ruby’s wedding and life together would look like. It would obviously be different than everyone else’s, but the through line that all of the friends had was experience with finding the one. Mary Margaret had David, Belle had her long time boyfriend Will, Elsa had her new beau (who Emma was certain would be a fiancé soon enough) Liam, and the only one who was single and without that kind of experience was Emma. She had never been in love – at least not a love that was made to last forever – and as happy as she was for all of her friends, she couldn’t help the feeling that came later that night when she’d returned to her flat and was alone once more.

It wasn’t jealousy, per se, because jealousy implied something ugly and resentful. What Emma felt was a longing. She wanted something like what all of her friends had found. What they had was love, true love. The kind of love that lasted and thrived. It was a love built on partnership and connection, and it was a beautiful, magical thing. All her life Emma had wondered what such a love would be like and she’d never found it. She’d often believed that was her fate. She was a girl who came from no family. She had started out in this world with nothing and no one, and maybe she was meant to always be that way. Perhaps it was too much to have been blessed with friends who felt like family. Maybe romantic love wasn’t in the cards for her…

‘Emma, that’s just crazy talk and you know it!’

She swore she could hear her friends’ voices all saying that to her as she felt herself falling down the rabbit hole of loneliness and she almost laughed at how deeply they were ingrained in her. They had somehow become the voices in her head, the little bits of conscience that brought her back to reality, and the hopeful part of her heart that did want to imagine that love would find her in the end. Shaking her head at her brain’s antics, Emma responded aloud though she was still by herself.

“I know, I know. I have to believe good things can happen. I got it.”

And she did get it. The problem was Emma didn’t know how to help love find her. She was probably doing this all wrong. She wasn’t exactly an approachable kind of a person, and she definitely wasn’t doing anything to attract a man right now. She was closed off and protective of herself and her boundaries, and as much as that had served her in the past, it was standing in the way of her maybe finding happiness. That was a hard pill to swallow, but it was even harder to imagine what might be a good first step towards changing.

A memory came into her mind at that moment, one from when she was still a young girl in the system. As a kid she’d seen counselor after counselor. Some of them were interested in helping her, while others were bogged down with the masses of other children that they helped. But her last one, the one who saw her as a teen and who fought for her the hardest, helping her get through school, get into college, and start on a path towards a real life, had been adamant that good things came when you wrote your dreams down. Making a plan was all well and fine, but sometimes life and the ways of the world were less defined. Mrs. Hubbard had always told Emma to write what she wanted into existence. It was a way to find the truth of what she wished for, and to get it out there, hopefully helping her move forward.

Though part of her thought this was a little ridiculous, Emma decided she had nothing to lose. She grabbed a pad of paper and a pen, curling up on the couch with a cup of cocoa in hand and she sat there, thinking about what she wanted. Should she write a list of what made the perfect man in her opinion? No, that sounded less personal than she felt was needed in this moment. Emma wasn’t looking for a picture perfect Prince Charming who met all sorts of criteria. She wanted someone to share her life with, someone to lean on, someone to feel connected to. In saying that, she didn’t know exactly what factors or traits would make someone the right fit for her. She had some ideas of course, but it was foolish to think she could have those answers in full. Love had eluded her this long for a reason, so she quickly dropped the idea of a list and moved onto something very different.

“Okay then, I’ll write a letter,” Emma said, happy with the idea until her brow furrowed at an obvious hiccup in this plan. “A letter to who? I can’t exactly write ‘Dear No One.’”

But even as she said the words, her fingers had moved on their own, writing out exactly that. Emma shrugged at it, finding she didn’t hate it as much as she thought she would then continued on, writing comlpletey from the heart.

Dear No one,

We’ve never met before, and honestly I have no idea who you are, what you do, or where you’re from. You are entirely a mystery, but even with that said I know you already. You are the man I could fall in love with, the man who could bring me to a new place, a place I’ve never been before.

Truth be told there are days I think I just don’t need you or the love that you might bring. I like being independent and answering to no one. I like making my own path each and every day. It’s what I know and what I’m used to and I fought so hard and for so long to not just survive, but to thrive. I have made my life up until now. I have built the world I live in and I am damn proud of how far I’ve come from where I started.

But sometimes – honestly more and more often these days – I find myself wishing that you were here. I want someone at my side, someone who cares about me and who wants me just as much as I want him. I want the kind of man who takes my hand wherever we may be and it feels so good that I can’t let go. I want the kind of love that greets you each morning and puts you to bed each night. I want to think of you too much. I want distraction and excitement. I want all sorts of firsts, but most importantly lasts. Because I’m not interested in fleeting or temporary. If I’m going to do love, it’s gotta be all in. I want to be yours and only yours, and I want you to feel the same.

So far this letter has been all about me. I want, I wish, I need… but I know that you have wants and wishes too. If you’re the right man for me, then hopefully I already embody those things, and if I don’t hopefully they’re changes for the better. I’m praying you make me more hopeful, more adventurous, and more willing to take the risk, because loving you – choosing you – will be the greatest risk I’ve ever taken. I’ve never let someone in enough to have that, but I could, for you.

I know that love is never perfect, because life is messy and can’t be controlled. Things won’t always be hearts and rainbows, and I promise that I won’t run. The old me probably would have. At the first sign of trouble I high tail it out. It’s the best way to protect yourself. Staying at a distance and building walls keeps you alive, that’s what life has always taught me. But I will stay for you, to fight for this and for us, no matter what comes.

When we find each other, and I hope it will be soon, I want you to know that I will be ready. But for now, I’m done looking. If we’re meant to be, it’ll happen. We’ll find each other, as all great loves do, and we’ll take it from there, one step at a time.

Take care of yourself in the meantime, and I hope you find reasons to smile and to laugh and to feel happy each and every day. It’s what you deserve.  

Wishing you were here, but waiting until it happens…

Emma

When the letter was written, Emma read it and read it again, finding that she liked everything that she’d crafted on the page. It was honest and truthful, and yes, sappy as could be, but that wasn’t her fault. Of course it was going to be sappy! Emma was hoping for true love – and that kind of love always seemed to be just a little bit cheesy. She smiled in spite of herself, putting the letter on top of a stack of papers and leaving it for now, knowing if it was going to work she had to, at some point, leave it alone.

As she went through the rest of her night, eventually falling asleep, Emma found her dreams continued to build off that letter. That night she knew she had visions of the man she wanted, but come morning it was all just a little vague. Dark hair, piercing eyes, a smile that made her knees weak. These were the things she remembered, but it wasn’t a definite person. At least not yet. Still, this mysterious man, a man who’s face she still hadn’t seen was with her through her whole day. From getting coffee at Belle’s bakery in the morning, to work at the office, and back home again, the feeling of him was still there. And after everything, Emma found herself wanting to reread her letter. She didn’t want to change anything per se, she just wanted to see if it stacked up as well in the morning light… there was just one problem. She couldn’t find it.

“Oh shit,” she said aloud, her nerves starting to fray as she looked at the table where it had been and realized there were no papers there. She ran back through her morning, half remembering her pre-coffee existence and she had a trickling sense of fear. She’d needed the papers underneath the letter for work. Oh God had she really been so stupid? She rummaged through her bag, eventually dumping the whole thing out frantically searching for the letter, but it was gone. Emma prayed that maybe she’d moved it last night, and she searched every room she’d been in, in every nook and cranny. She dug inside the couch, behind the chair, beneath every sheet and pillow on her bed, but nothing. It was gone.

Resigning herself to this cold, terrifying reality, the one that had her letter – her honest but completely embarrassing letter – out somewhere in the world, Emma sat down on the couch and hid her face in her hands, sending up a last resort prayer.

Please don’t let anyone find it! she silently begged, but luckily the universe didn’t hear that request. Instead, it was already on its way to granting Emma her Christmas wish.

Post-Note: So there we have it. Just a cute, quick fluffy chapter that isn’t super original, but packed enough holiday love story promise for my muse. I hope that you guys have enjoyed and I’m eager to see what you think. I’m hoping to get the next chapter posted in about two weeks, and then the last chapter the week after. Hopefully I can manage that since school is starting to wind down for the semester. Anyway thanks for reading and I hope you have a great rest of your weekend!