#spent a long time trying to pick out details that would complement queen... | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

venus-says · 5 years ago

Text

Futari wa Precure Episodes 01-26

Am I rewatching precure? I can't believe this!

Yes, this is not a fever dream, I'm really rewatching precure, and not just Futari wa but THE WHOLE FRANCHISE. Am I crazy? Yes, because I'm already watching too much stuff at the same time and I barely have time for that as of right now, but I love screwing myself over so here we are!

I can't really remember the exact thing that sprung this desire of rewatching precure on me, but I've been thinking about it for quite some time now, at least since I wrapped up on the Aikatsu marathon before On Parade started, in fact, one of the reasons I started doing the old Kamen Rider reviews was because of this. I just didn't start it earlier because I'm the kind of crazy that picked a calendar, looked at the dates, and made the calcs, and realized I could watch pretty much everything in one year so I decided to keep this "project" for 2020 and start the new decade with a bang.

So this is how it'll go: I'll be dividing each season into quarters and pretty much covering one season per month with posts coming out weekly every Wednesday, the only exceptions for this rule are Futari wa and Yes! since these are the only seasons with sequels so instead of dividing into quarters I'll divide them in half and watch two seasons in a month rather than just one. Also, different from Kamen Rider's case, since I'm more familiar with the franchise and I know how the movies go I'll also be watching the movies and posting about them as I go along (All stars movies will come out usually in between the first and the second week, while solo movies will be in between the third and the forth). I really hope I don't go nuts and that this can go as smoothly as possible. XD In any case, it's precure time!

I promised myself I'd keep nostalgia out of these rewatches and do them like if it was my first time watching the series so that I can be less biased on certain aspects, but when it comes to the OGs is really difficult to not have my thoughts clouded by it. I may not have been around since Precure first aired, but Futari wa was effectively my first precure season too, I joined this bandwagon when Heartcatch was airing and I was so in love that I wanted to watch the past seasons and Futari was was my first choice and it holds a very special place in my heart because of that. I tried my best to keep those feelings out of this review and in some cases I was able to it effectively while on others not so much so, I apologize for that. XD

I usually try to separate these reviews on blocks of Plot, Characters, Designs, and commentary on specific episodes and I'm gonna try to apply this structure here more or less.

Talking about the plot... there's not a lot of it. XD

Like yeah, there's the whole Dark Kingdom attacking the Garden of Light thing, and the sort of scavenger hunt for the Prism Stones (not the Pretty Rhythm ones, just to be clear) and all of that, but there's not a whole lot going on beside it, is just Nagisa and Honoka goofing around while their friendship solidifies, they sometimes bump heads but that's pretty much it. And honestly, that's not bad, as while isn't a story about Nagisa and Fujipi the more slice-of-life portions are amazing.

The cure portion that is the problem, to start the action in these 26 episodes isn't the greatest, most of the time is just the cures being thrown away until they get fed up, say "I'll never forgive you!", hold hands, and they throw either a Marble Screw or, in rare occasions, a Rainbow Therapy. Of course, special fights with generals sometimes get a little more flare, but in general, they're pretty lackluster. Also, it feels like things weren't paced properly with the beginning and the end happening very fast and the middle being overly long in comparison. And of course, there's the element of defeating a villain or a set villains while there's still half a season ahead which means change of villains for people who we never knew existed before and apparently were a big deal, and if you read my Kamen Rider review you know how I feel about huge changes affecting the antagonists...

But oh well, I have lots of things to get through so I won't hammer on this for too long. MOVING ON.

Futari wa's biggest strength, at least for this first half, is CHARACTERS. The side cast has many hits or misses, but the protagonists Nagisa and Honoka more than compensate for it. One fun thing of this whole experience was kinda re-discovering them? Because I never watched the OG precure and Max Heart again after my first time watching like 10 years ago and I also don't have the best memory so I forgot a lot of minor things, like how Nagisa is such a downer in regards to their mission, and how positive and bright Honoka is and these are traits that are kinda opposites to their personalities with Nagisa being more outgoing and energetic and Honoka being more calm and polite, and this is so perfect and so much fun, I love it to that. Speaking of surprises I forgot how much of a savage Honoka was, like, the girl put a group of thieves on the line by just yelling at them. THAT'S THE DEFINITION OF POWER.

Unfortunately, they don't come alone. Their fairy partners, Mepple and Mipple, are... annoying. Mipple not so much, she has moments where I go "Really queen?" but for the most part she doesn't bother me, in fact, I'm sympathetic towards her who has to be partnered romantically with such a piece of crap of a male that Mepple is. I don't know why but I completely forgot the jerk that Mepple actually is and let me tell you, it wasn't fun seeing him being misogynist, selfish, and just plain rude, not just to Nagisa regularly but also with Mepple, it's actually very sad. I don't remember if he gets any better in the future, but for now, I'm hating him.

The side characters aren't very special, the girls in the Lacrosse Team and the Science Club are more or less just extensions and supporters or Nagisa and Honoka but I overall like them. The major highlights in terms of side characters are Akane and Fujipi. Akane is a huge positive because she has great energy, she's very fun, and he not only provides a meeting point for the girls but also has a mentor role, though its a very little one, that is great to see. Fujimura on the other hand... I admit, the dude is okay, he never really did anything relevant so there's nothing to hate on him per se, but he's a love interest and his situation with Nagisa never develops on any sort of way is just a very flat experience which makes his relevance even smaller so I can't help but think "what is he still doing here, just disappear with him already" every time he's up on the screen.

There's no other way to put this, the villains are plane as hell. Some of them have good designs but overall, they're very band. Pissard seems like it could've been a cool dude but we spent only 5 episodes with him, that's not enough time with him to make him interesting. Gekidrago is the boring and stereotypical "dumb villain", I think I don't need to write anything else after that. Irukubo is the stoic powerful villain, but much like in Pissard's case, we barely see him in action so it's not enough to make me care for him, and the Dark King is just a horrible CGI blob of darkness. The best villains of this first half are the siblings Poisony and Kiriya, Poisony is actually the best one of the generals seeing that she's a strategist and most of her plans were all pretty good so she was always able to get the cures corned in some way, she may have flunked her cover in that episode where she disguises as Honoka for not doing her research well before assuming the role, but overall she's amazing. Kiriya is the villain that never attacked the cures directly, as far as I remember he never summoned a Zakkenna, and putting it like this may sound like a bad thing, but trust me, it's not. He's the first precure villain to get a "redemption" and as rushed as it was his presence in the story and his arc as a character was also pretty well done so he deserves to share the podium with his sister as best villains.

Since we're talking about villains let's talk about the cures now. Black and White have a very simple design and that's not a bad thing, they're simple but they're still pretty different from each other and it's not a difference that screams to the eyes like id there was something wrong, they complement each other perfectly which only helps in making them this iconic duo that they are. The transformation items, as well as the Prism Hopeish and that notepad thingy, are very 2000's but they have their charm. I think the thing that didn't age very well were the effects for the transformations and the attacks, don't get me wrong I love their original transformation, there's a frame on it that is just marvelous, but watching with 2020's eyes there are parts that feel very wonky. Following the theme, the attacks have a very simple animation but in this case, it works because they can make some very interesting stuff with it, like launching a Marble Screw through Poisony's Umbra Witch hair.

Going into more detail on the episodes, these 26 ones feel like a normal seasonal anime, despite the pacing problems if these 26 episodes were a single season it would've worked well because there was no loose end lost in the mix, maybe the Fujipi stuff would be the only thing that would end with no proper closure, but then again that's not important so it would be a satisfying end. There were four major arcs inside this mini-season so I'll comment on them separately.

The first and shortest arc is the introductory arc that goes from Episodes 1 to 5. And there's not a lot to say here, they introduce the characters, the mission, and the character relations on a good way, there was nothing stellar but it's a good introduction to the series, the only let down is the fighting portion that is very lackluster, in special the final fight against Pissard that was supposed to be a big important moment but that in the end was just very not impressive at all.

The second arc goes from Episode 6 to 11. This is probably the most boring arc of all despite some interesting happening here, we have the introduction to the Prism Stones and the Prism Hopeish, they first use the Rainbow Therapy here, and we also have the famous arc where Nagisa and Honoka fight for the first time and tighten their bonds. These are all interesting points but the set-up for these things to happen weren't the best, like for example Nagisa and Honoka's fight, I always remembered this as a very important moment, AND IT IS, the lesson learned at the end is pretty good and it results on them calling each other for their first name which is a key moment, but all of that happened because of Nagisa's feelings for Fujipi and all that misunderstanding and ughhh that's such a boring reason to make them fight, it was really a letdown. I think after everything the thing that stroke me the most was Honoka's birthday episode and how badass she was for putting some sense into the head of three adult men, which was really magnificent. Also, the first proper fight happened in this arc in the final battle against Gekidrago, it was short but it was good nonetheless.

The biggest arc is the third one that goes from Episodes 12 to 21. This is my favorite arc and a big part of it is because Poisony and Kiriya start to get active here. I don't know how to explain but their addition to the cast made things more dynamic and interesting to watch. Poisony's plans always led to interesting situations like when she hypnotized their classmates that were playing dress-up as the cures, or when she trapped them inside that mirror dimension, or even her last moments in the show where she used that old trick of impersonating someone and making the protagonist having to choose who's the real and who's the fake one, you know even if the precure portions weren't the best, they were put in the most interesting situations in this arc. Together with that, we have Kiriya that goes through a very interesting arc, until now I don't really know why he infiltrated in the school since, as I mentioned, he never acted directly as a villain against the precure (not as far as I can remember) but his interactions with the crew and especially his relationship with Honoka was quite interesting to see it develop. My high points from this arc were episode 18, the one where a girl confesses her feelings for Kiriya - there's a lot of interesting stuff happening here, and episode 20, Poisony's defeat and one of the best fights of this portion of the season. My low point would be episode 19 more because Mepple is being a jerk here than anything else, but I didn't enjoy this episode as much as I did to the other in this arc.

The final arc of this portion is another small one, it covers episodes 22 to 26, and this one is very odd. We start with a filler centered around Honoka's dog of all things that are followed by two two-parters that wrap-up this first half. I'm gonna be honest I don't like this arc, one because it introduces Pollun and two because the "final" fight is very unimpressive, yeah Shining Star debuts here and is a big moment but overall isn't the best, which is understandable after all are two girls launching a beam at a giant dark blob of CGI and there's not a whole lot there, but its fun to see a preview of what will become the Extreme Luminario in the next season. I also don't like how they didn't let the episode finish on a downer note with both of the girls missing their partners and such. But oh well, at least we had Episodes 23 and 24 here there were very interesting, they had this mystery/horror film vibe to it and I loved it.

And that's pretty much all I had to say! Thank you for reading all of this mess, I really appreciate it, I'm very excited to be doing this and I hope I can count with your support through this year. What are your thoughts on Futari wa? Let me know in the comments. I'll see you, folks, on a next time, and don't forget, if you ever see a shooting star be careful with what you wish for, a cellphone thing may fall from the sky right on your head and unless if you're an anime girl you will be in risk of having a concussion. XD In any case, see you around. o/

#Futari wa Pretty Cure #Futari wa Precure #precure

12 notes · View notes

gotboredwrote · 6 years ago

Text

Mini-Us // JFM

Pairing: Joseph Mazzello x Fem!Reader Word Count: 3.3K Style: One-Shot Warnings: Pure unadulterated fluff, swearing Summary: Y/N and Joe are ready for the “Bohemian Rhapsody” premiere in every way but one – Y/N has no idea what to wear to such an important event in Joe’s life, and Joe has no idea until the morning of. Thankfully, John and Veronica (Tetzlaff) Deacon are there to rescue the situation. Permanent Author’s Note: To clarify, I write because I get bored. Nothing is meant to be professional in any way, nor is meant to offend, cause anxiety, cause anger, cause sadness, or promote disagreement among readers in any sort of (semi)permanent way. A/N: In case this isn’t obvious, these stories are completely fiction, so please, PLEASE take it with a grain of salt that I am saying Deaky was involved with the “Bohemian Rhapsody” shoot. For the sake of this little blurb, I would like to imagine our dude and his wife-dude were involved, at least at the premiere. It should also go without saying that we as Queen/Deaky fans completely respect his choice to stay in retirement and remain a legend. Also, me posting two days in a row is not going to become normal so haha sorry enjoy anyway!

Masterlist

All the nerves buzzing around the room were infectious and electric – everyone’s adrenaline was sky-high knowing that the world would soon be able to appreciate all the hard work the boys, the producers, the crew, and Queen themselves put in to make this project a reality. The amount of detail and fist-pump-worthy music that was crammed into the two-hour film was enough to keep even a child with the world-record for the shortest attention span focused and entertained. It was a crowning-achievement for all involved, and no one could change their minds on that, including critics. Everyone had gathered in the lobby of the hotel the morning of the premiere to have the events of the day spelled out to them, that way things went as smoothly as possible. Everyone was with their plus-one’s, talking excitedly about the night’s events. Small talk being made here and there by crew and cast members who did not really know each other well, but enthusiastic nonetheless. At one point, Lucy made her way over to you and started excitedly babbling about her gown for the evening, and you smiled and complemented her choices whenever she took a breather and you had a moment to respond. Once she finished talking, she asked you to do what she just did – and all you could respond with was an averted gaze and flushed cheeks. At first, Lucy initially took that to mean that you were wearing something scandalous and that would make Joe react the same way you just did, with a little less aversion and a little bit more gawking. However, the polar opposite was true. When you spoke your truth, she entered full on crisis-mode, which made everyone spin around to listen in to your conversation.

“What do you mean, you FORGOT?” She was not screaming at you because she was mad at you, she just genuinely could not comprehend the fact that you forgot an outfit to wear to the premiere.

“H-honestly, I really don’t know. I was packing stuff for myself and Joey and I even had a list, but I guess that never made it on the list. This is so unlike me! I mean, I even picked out a special pantsuit with dinosaurs all over it for the Jurassic World premiere, and Joey wasn’t even in that! Ugh, you can’t even understand how frustrated I am with myself right now!”

It was at this point that the whole aggregation of people who were in the lobby, including those that had nothing to do with the premiere, turned to look at the two jabbering ladies. The main cast and crew noticed there was some tension in the way words were said and the way bodies were standing, so they made their way over. Joe, breaking the silence from the peanut gallery, said “Everything alright, girls?”

“Yeah, Joey, we’re just-”

“NO! Things are NOT fine, Y/N, don’t lie to him!”

At this point everyone was looking at you guys like you were speaking a foreign language because you both were exclaiming something is wrong, but would not elaborate on what said thing was. Eventually the glare Lucy kept giving you, along with purely concerned faces from Joe, Rami, Ben, Gwil, Allen, Brian, Roger, John, and their wives, forced you to break your silence and explain just what was going on. “Well, you see, in-in my haste to get here in time for the premiere with everything Joe and I needed for the weekend, it somehow slipped my mind to pack a gown, or any kind of professional outfit for that matter, for-for the premiere tonight. I did bring some stilettos, but unless leggings and a cropped tee shirt are acceptable, I’m kind of shit out of luck. Y-yeah…” To your surprise, Lucy was the only one who was not calm. The boys of the cast and the band seemed pretty neutral about the whole thing, and the plus-one’s among the bunch did not seem to take any real interest in your problem at all. The only one who actually seemed to want to help you in some way was Veronica Deacon, the wife of the man Joey portrayed. She listened carefully to your explanation, sauntered over to John, and asked him a question with some seriously convincing puppy-dog eyes. John’s reaction was simply a smile that brought out the crinkles by the corners of his eyes, which preceded a small squeal from Veronica who then made her way over to you. At this point you were sitting with Joe, Lucy leaving a few minutes prior to latch onto Rami’s arm, on one of the lobby couches going over the options you had about squeezing in a shopping trip in between the other stuff you needed to get done today. You both her the clicking of her small, dark green heels, and looked up.

“Hi, darling. I couldn’t help but overhear what you were talking, er, rather enthusiastically discussing with Lucy. Have you figured out a solution yet?”

You sigh, eliciting an upper-arm rub from Joe. “No, I haven’t, and honestly I don’t know how I’m gonna fix this. I’m not a forgetful person, if anything, I over-prepare for everything. And I am not missing this premiere.”

“And you aren’t going to miss it, dear. I just spoke with my John and I think I have a solution for you. And I promise, I will not be offended if you decline.”

“I truly have no reason to decline, Mrs. Deacon, not after everything you and John have done for Joey and myself these past months. Whatever you want to suggest, I am all ears.”

“Alright, but there is one condition – Joseph; I would need you to stay here and be okay with letting Y/N ride with me to the premiere, and I’ll send John with you.”

Joe simply looked at you adoringly, yet with a tinge of melancholy, gave you a small peck on the lips and said “She’s all yours as long as I get to walk the red carpet with my best gal.”

The beginning of the day went off without a hitch on everyone’s end. Each pair or group of people ran their errands, stopped for bites to eat, and made their way back to the hotel around 2:30pm to get ready for the premiere. Veronica was sat patiently in the lobby, chatting with John about various things, such as their children and something to do with money, and waited to see you and Joe pop back through the front doors of the hotel. Within seconds of your figures gracing through the doorway, Veronica grabbed John and explained the circumstances of what was about to happen, and then quickly ushered you back up to their room, John and Joe falling behind but eventually catching up with you. Once in front of the Deacon’s door, Veronica ran inside, grabbed everything John needed, and practically threw it out in the hallway. Joe’s face was the definition of deer-in-the-headlights, which got even worse when John simply started walking away asking Joe to take him to yours and Joe’s room. Veronica ushered you inside her room before you could ask any questions, dragged you over to the large bed her and John were sharing, pushed you to sit down and grabbed your wrists excitedly.

“So! My plan!”

“Honestly, Mrs. Deacon, you were starting to scare me a little bit. I think Joe is also pretty mortified right now,” ending your sentence with a lighthearted laugh.

“I sincerely hope you know that wasn’t or isn’t my intention, sweetheart. I just got so excited when John agreed to my idea for you that it kept bubbling up like a fizzy drink! Oh, also sweetie, please call me Ronnie. There is no need for formalities at this point.”

You continued to sit in front of Veronica, genuinely confused as to what was currently going on, but enjoying every second spent with her. You could see why John considered her his best friend.

“Since you’ve been on set quite a bit, I am sure you were aware that anything the boys had that fit the ones portraying them were loaned over for the duration of the film, so at least some of the costumes were accurate, right?” You nodded, but not following where she was going with this train of thought.

“Well, when the writers addressed that bit to them, they also turned to the wives and said that there would be a couple girls for two or three scenes that would be portraying us! Imagine that! So, they asked us if we could do the same! You know, bring some of the clothes we wore back in the late seventies, early eighties to see if they would fit those girls!”

You continued to nod, starting to get an inkling of an idea of where she was headed with her words.

“I actually still have those clothes with me! I didn’t keep a lot of them, my body changing after having six kids, as you can imagine. Which I am not complaining about! My children are my greatest accomplishment! But it’s common knowledge that the body changes with age and extreme conditions, and I would say bearing children is one of said conditions, wouldn’t you agree? Any who, I am going on a severe tangent, dear. My point is that you are a similar size to what I was back in those days, and I cannot help but wonder if something that I have would be worthy of trying on! I know that some of the patterns are a bit, how would you say, dated? But I have a couple things that are solid that just might do the trick. Would you like to see for yourself?

By the time she was finished explaining her idea, there were tears of gratitude spilling out of your eyes that you simply could not control. Now it was Veronica’s turn to be scared of you because she genuinely thought she said something that made you this upset. All you could do before words would form was grab her hands and hold them to your chest so she could feel the rapid beating of your heart. Eventually, the words you wanted to say braved the world, and you were able to choke out a thank you.

“I ser-seriously don’t think you *hic* understand h-how much this means to me, Mrs.- Mrs. Deacon. Ronnie. Wh-whatever. I was already eternally in your debt f-for everything else, but now it’s e-eternity plus one.”

The laugh of relief that escaped her throat at your words was enough to make you laugh just as hard, and at that point the plan had gone into full effect. Her room became a walk-in closet itself, and all that was left to do was find something that fit, text John to bring your heels up so Joe would not see you in advance. You glanced down at your hands, which had been trembling slightly ever since Veronica let them go, and immediately calmed down at the sight of your perfect-for-you engagement ring. This plan of Veronica’s was actually really good preparation for the wedding that would be in one year’s time.

It was 4:30, and it was time for everyone to get in their respective cars to head over to the premiere. Joe and John were forced to head out before Y/N and Veronica so they would not see you in advance of stepping onto the carpet, which worked smoothly. Eventually the cars all made their way to the venue, and everyone had made it to the premiere except for you, Veronica, Lucy, and Rami. John noticed your car pull up in front of the start of the carpet and tugged Joe’s sleeve to get his attention focused on the most important thing. The car came to a gentle stop, the driver hopped out, came around, and opened your door. Joe held his breath because he had no idea what was happening, and he was honestly slightly worried that something was wrong. But all that worry went away when he saw you stiletto-clad foot plant onto the carpet, a stark black against a bright red carpet. He was able to take in each element of your presence slowly and meticulously as you stepped out of the car, seemingly in slow motion. First, he noticed your shoes, which he had seen before, but for some reason looked different with all the anticipation. They were three-inch stilettos that had crisscrossed laces from the start of your toes, up the top of your foot, coming to a stop as a thicker band at the start of your ankle. The bottom of the shoe was no more than half an inch thick, which made him wonder just how the hell you walked in those without falling flat on your face. Then he noticed the finite amount of jewelry you were wearing. Nothing overly fancy, just the emerald-leaf promise ring on your right-ring finger, your engagement ring on your left-ring finger, and the gold-diamond tennis bracelet that hung semi-loosely on your left wrist he had bought you for your anniversary gift to go with the engagement. No other jewelry, and he could not help but think that it was just the right amount for you, considering you did not consider yourself a flashy person. Before he looked at your dress, his eyes made their way to your head, where he noticed your signature lack of makeup – again, not a flashy person, and your hairdo. A simple far-reaching side part, with the lesser volume side tucked behind your ear, and the more voluminous side bouncing gently with each step you took, your natural Y/H/C shining in the afternoon sun. Finally, he looked at the dress you were wearing, finally realizing what Veronica’s plan was all along. By today’s standards, the dress was not “in,” but boy, did you make it work. It was a full-length, thin, flowy light-blue denim dress that stopped right at the top of your feet, which he had to admit he had never seen before. There were no slits on either side, which was different from the normal gowns you wore to events. The dress hugged your curves just to the point where you could tell where Veronica was smaller than you, but not by much. Hip accentuated somewhat, but nothing provocative, the same happening at your waist, and the top laying just right on you. The dress was completely off the shoulder, top of the dress coming all the way down to the halfway point of your upper arms, hugging you just enough to stay in place but not be squeezing your arm enough to leave pesky lines. The simple denim was accentuated by a snow-white border of lace across the top all the way around, with the same pattern around the entire bottom of the skirt, as well as complimenting the ends of the flowy sleeves that went right past your elbows. It was… simply stunning. Gracefully you made you way over to Joe, who had not said anything to anyone since your car arrived, including you. You knew it should not have made you concerned, but it did. Especially considering you were now on your own, as Veronica had sauntered to John, peppering him with kisses after not having seen him all day and asking him if she did a good job. He seemed to think so, as he was staring at you both with a look that Veronica could not pin point. Once you were planted in front of Joe, nervously awaiting his response, you started to panic, thinking he thought you looked terrible. In an effort to get him to say SOMETHING, you spun around on your heels, prompting the skirt of Veronica’s dress to spin lightly in their air, revealing your bare legs underneath. After Joe had still not said a word and was still gawking at you, you finally broke your silence with a question.

“Are you not happy with how I look? I actually thought this dress was beautiful and was so excited that it fit and matched the heels. I’m really sorry you don’t like it, Joey. I didn’t want to ruin your night.”

“…are you actually being serious with what you just said?”

“I mean, you aren’t saying anything, so I thought maybe you-you hated this…”

“Y/N, I truly do not think I have ever seen you wear a dress that matched you as well as it does and looked as miraculously stunning as it does. I mean, you always look good in everything that you wear, and you know that I prefer you when you’re as comfortable as you want to be. But, like, I-I’m honestly stunned. You look absolutely ravishing, babe, I- wow. I feel like I’m drooling, am I drooling?”

Joe always knew how to make you a giggling mess, but you appreciated his comments nonetheless. You gave him a swift and passionate kiss that ended with you both grinning ear to ear on each other’s lips. You then wrapped your arms loosely around his waist, and his around yours, his head resting on yours, peppering kisses to your hair while you turned and mouthed a “thank you, Ronnie” in hers and John’s general direction. They both simply smiled and you could not help but notice that Veronica has some of the same eye crinkles that John has, and it made your heart flutter. Joe eventually pulled you away to hold your hand and escort you over to the carpet where the rest of the main cast was about to make their grand entrance, and Joe did not want you to leave his side the whole walk. The members of Queen and their wives followed suit behind them. Throughout the walk on the carpet, you kept your mind occupied with thoughts about Veronica and John’s relationship. It fascinated you. Despite everything they went through in their personal lives dealing with the grandiosity of Queen, they still managed to have a simple, loving, domestic life that was still as passionate, full of care, and days where they still seem to be wearing honeymoon-tinted glasses. Their relationship started in a slightly similar manner, wherein John was in the middle of the start of a long-fledged career that was going to bring temptations. But no matter what, he remained faithful to his best friend. You glanced down at the ring on your left hand again, then looking at Joe with doe-eyes, who, despite being preoccupied with about one hundred cameras pointed his way, still managed to glance your way. He gave you a sweet smile that basically confirmed the question that was swimming around your mind in the back of the Deacon thoughts: will Joe and I be like them? And with that simple look, you knew that the answer was a solid yes. Meanwhile, a little further behind you and the cast, Veronica and John were actually having a conversation similar to what was going on in your head.

“Ronnie, honey. I can’t help but notice something about Joe and his fiancé.”

“What’s that deary?”

“With Y/N wearing your dress, and Joe in that particular suit, I can’t help but realize that they are ironically similar to us, both in their actual personalities and their looks. Like from back in the day. I have to make it a point to ask Joe that I would be honored if their first dance as a married couple was to ‘You’re My Best Friend.’ They embody that song more than any couple I have ever met, and I mean, it just seems appropriate, y’know?”

“I couldn’t agree more, Johnny.”

86 notes · View notes

staytheb · 6 years ago

Text

The Next Part

Pairing: GOT7′s Jinyoung x OC [Woorin] Genre: slice of life, slight angst, slight fluff Word Count: 6,725 Summary: Woorin and Jinyoung’s relationship didn’t end on good terms, but they never had the chance to settle it out and life got in the way. Now three years later, Woorin and Jinyoung meet again.

Warning: none... i think. maybe swear words. i honestly forgot. lol

my first post which is a GOT7 one that I wrote for a secret santa event. anyways, happy reading and kthxbai, Admin Lia~

"Are you sure it's okay?" Woorin asked her best friend, Nayoung, as the duo arrived at the venue where The Street's Christmas party was being held.

"Yes, it is. Besides, we're already here and it's not like you haven't done this before." Nayoung replied with a laugh. "Just enjoy yourself."

"Yeah, that was when I was working at The Street, but I don't anymore and probably don't know anyone now."

"There's a few familiar faces you'll recognize."

"Yeah right. It's been like three years."

"Don't forget the ones that has been here like me."

"Yeah, yeah."

The duo entered the venue and were greeted by a well decorated and subtle Christmas theme of gold, silver, white, and blue. There was hardly any of the bold colors of green and red unless it was just a dash here and there. Other than that, it was very beautiful and light.

"Whoever decorated the venue did an amazing job." Woorin complemented as Nayoung agreed. "Yeah. Yubin and Hyelim spent hours on all of this, especially in the last minute details. Mr. Park was very particular about certain things although in the end he just let them do whatever."

"Sounds like him and still not much has changed since."

"Tell me about it. So much has happened this year and I'm glad I'm not playing hostess. I left it up to the other girls who wanted to do it and I'm so glad I did."

"True. Anyways, what do you want me to do with this?"

Woorin asked while holding onto a tray of oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies that she and Nayoung had baked earlier. Nayoung pointed towards to her right and to the front of the room.

"Oh, that. You can put it over there with the other food the others should have brought for the potluck. I'm going to be on the other side where the gifts are and you can meet me over there."

"Okay."

The duo bid one another a wave as they went their separate ways. Woorin softly, but briskly made her way over to the long table and scanned it to see where she could place the plastic tray of baked goods. After finding a spot and placing it there, Woorin turned around to find her friend when she almost ran into another body, but was quick to react and move out of their way. It was Nayoung's boyfriend, Mark.

To this day, Woorin still didn't really like Mark as she felt he was kind of sketchy and weird, but she kept her dislike under the surface and only voiced her thoughts whenever it was just her and Nayoung. If he made her friend happy and wasn't an asshole from what she could tell, then she could allow Nayoung that happiness and not ruin it for her just because she didn't like the guy.

"Hi, Woorin." Mark greeted her with a smile as Woorin did the same, but out of politeness. "Hey, Mark."

"It's good to see you. Didn't think you'll show up to one of these since you haven't attended the past ones. How are you?"

"I'm good and I wasn't, but thought I'll see how it is nowaways. You?"

"I'm doing fine. Is Nayoung around as I'm assumed she invited you?"

"Yeah, she did. She's at the gift table. Nayoung didn't want to come alone since you had something to do before you came here."

"Oh yeah, I did. I just had to pick up Jinyoung from the airport. He should be around here, somewhere."

"Ah, Jinyoung. You invited him?"

"Of course since he'll be coming back to work at The Street again, but at the Itaewon location instead of the one here in Cheongdam."

"I see. That's good. That's real good." Woorin changed the topic. "Anyways, yeah, Nayoung should be putting her gift away and I'm gotta use the restroom."

"Okay. Thanks. It was good seeing you."

"Yeah, likewise."

The two bid one another goodbye as Mark made his way in the direction of where the gifts were while Woorin made a beeline towards the exit. Woorin only came to the party in support of her friend who has worked since it opened, but it was also because she knew that Jinyoung wasn't going to be here at the party. He hasn't been able to attend the previous ones, too, and so she thought she was in the clear. Woorin used to work at The Street located in Cheongdam of where she met Jinyoung. The two were a couple before their breakup three years ago and it didn't end on good terms.

Although Woorin came here with Nayoung and may not have recognized the new faces, but she didn't feel like staying after all knowing there was one face she'll have to look at again knowing memories would resurface without her permission. Unfortunately for Woorin, her escape was intercepted by four familiar faces.

"Oh ho ho. Is that our little Woorin?" Taecyeon cooed upon recognizing her first with the largest grin on his face.

"It is." Minjun confirmed with a gummy smile. "I didn't think we'll be see you again after so long."

"Yeah, hey, hi guys." Woorin awkwardly greeted them. "I just dropped off the food for Nayoung. I was just leaving."

"Already?" Nichkhun frowned. "You just got here. We actually have more games and raffles going on this year. You should stay."

"Um, I dunno. It might be awkward."

"Nonsense. Come along." Wooyoung said as he took a hold of her forearm and pulled her along to where everyone was gathering while leaning down to whisper his next words. "Did you bring any chicken?"

"Wooyoung. We have loads of chicken coming in a few minutes." Minjun stated with a roll of his eyes. "Stop bothering the kids about it."

"I just wanted to know. Can't have enough chicken at these things."

Woorin just continued to smile politely as she got dragged along, but trying to get her arm out from Wooyoungs grip was a lot harder when Taecyeon was on her other side with his smiling face that pulled her in to just go with the flow. Woorin gave up and just hoped she didn't have to interact with Jinyoung at all.

"Limbo Queen! Limbo Queen! Limbo Queen!"

Nayoung began the chant to cheer and annoy Woorin as she and five others were still in the running to see how low they could go for limbo. Before Woorin quit, her record was at 36 inches and since then no one has been able to beat it except coming close to it. Woorin cast a glare in her friend's direction only to receive a smirk in response. The crowd began to cheer for the contenders as they limbo underneath the 48 inches, but Minho and Felix were unable to complete it as they ended up falling onto their backs. Now it was just Woorin, Momo, Sana, and Mina left.

"Since we have our reigning queen, Woorin, here with us, let's just go straight to thirty-six inches." Chansung announced happily as everyone agreed except Woorin.

"No, no, no. It's supposed to be forty-four inches next." Woorin informed as her back was starting to hurt and she was glad she opted out of wearing heels in favor of flats. "How about we just end the game and move on to the next one?"

"Should we do what Woorin said?" Chansung asked the crowd as they all disagreed and he smiled at Woorin. "Sorry. The crowd wants what they want."

He and Junho lowered the bar to 36 inches while motioning for the quartet to go on through with giddily expressions. Woorin let out a breath and knew she shouldn't have said yes to Nayoung. She forgot how the managers were persistent in games and such. Woorin mustered up a smile and tiredly bent backwards to maneuvered under the rainbow bar and slowly, but successfully completed the 36 inches. Woorin realized after doing so how much it ached once she was upright and memories from the last time she did it she was like three years younger.

The cheers were loud for Woorin and even louder as the next trio of girls went next. Momo went next and she almost completed it, but she lost her footing and shot out a hand to grab at the bar to catch her fall. This caused her to be eliminated. Sana went next as she kept going up to the bar, but eventually she just gave up as she knew that she wouldn't be able to go that low. Mina was next and for the last three years she was unable to actually complete the stage and only able to complete 38 inches instead.

This year, Mina psyched herself up along with the cheers of her fellow crew and she ended up successfully being able to limbo the 36 inches. Woorin noticed again since they started the whole limbo thing how Mina bent backwards and slowly inched her way under the colorful bar. This got Woorin thinking of an idea that she hoped would end her record to crown someone else. Plus, limbo caused too much commotion for her liking and she only ever went through with it was because she got caught up in the moment.

"Alright, alright. It's definitely best of the best now." Chansung announced as he motioned to the last two contestants with a grin. "It's down to current three year in a row champion, Mina, and three years ago and record holder champion, Woorin."

"Who is it going to be this year? Mina or Woorin?" Junho added with a eye-smile. "Let's find out as we'll drop it down to 32 inches which neither of the two have been able to get to or complete."

Woorin motioned for Mina to go on first with a smile. Mina smiled back with a nod as she went to try the new settings. It was close to either fail or succeed, but Mina eventually was able to pass on through and complete it. Although the pressure was on Woorin, she played along and let out a worry breath as she stared at the new lowered bar, but slowly attempted it. She bent her back as low as she could while trying to pass underneath the bar, but at the last second her head bumped into the bar. Everyone let out disappointed words, but Woorin just smiled as she congratulated Mina in being the new record holder as well as third time champion.

"Congrats as the overall Limbo Queen!" Woorin congratulated Mina as Mina thanked her. "Thank you and you're a worthy opponent, Woorin."

"You're welcome and likewise."

As they moved on to the next game and everyone's attention elsewhere, Woorin thankfully made her way to the food table without any disturbances although she did massaged her lower back while doing so. Except for one person as Nayoung joined her shortly afterwards.

"You lost on purpose didn't you?" Nayoung asked while nudging Woorin.

"What? No I did not. Why would you say such a thing, Nayoung? I would never do such a thing. Ever." Woorin denied sarcastically with a smile while casting Nayoung a look. "My back was starting to ache though. I'm getting old."

"We're the same age. If you're saying your old, then I'm old, too."

"You are."

"True."

"Anyways," Woorin returned her attention to back what she was doing as she scanned the items for what she wanted to eat. "Now, what should I eat?"

Nayoung nudged Woorin again while speaking. "Anyways, have you noticed who's been staring at you since we began?"

"Nope. Don't know who you're talking about."

"Don't lie."

"I'm not. I don't care."

"Yeah, right. You've been avoiding him since the party started."

"It's not avoiding. It's ignoring. There's a difference."

"Oh, c'mon. Same difference either way. It's been like three years. Not like you guys didn't know that you guys broke up."

"That's the thing, Nayoung. We said some not so nice things that just ended the relationship on the spot and we left it like that."

"Bruh, and you forgot to tell me that part?"

"Because it doesn't include you."

"True."

Just as Nayoung was about to change the topic to something else she heard her name being called and rushed over after telling Woorin to stick around some more. Woorin just rolled her eyes as she piled her plate with some goodies before grabbing a few water bottles and headed somewhere else where there was no one else to have her stick around. Woorin actually wandered out of the party venue and up a flight of stairs knowing where she wanted to go. It led her to the rooftop and she was thankful that it wasn't snowing and that the weather wasn't super cold for her to not hang outside since she didn't want to go back inside.

Woorin walked towards the edge and set her plate and bottles on the ground before leaning her arms on the ledge to stare at the city lights. There was just something about the night time setting that always put her at ease. She looked towards the sky and barely managed to spy a few of the stars twinkling down at the city, but it didn't lose it's calming effect on her. Woorin turned her gaze towards the streets below and wondered when was the last time she was able to just relax and enjoyed the scenery around her like. Too lost in her own thoughts and relaxation, Woorin didn't hear or notice another person joining her until he spoke.

"I see that some things never changed." Jinyoung commented as Woorin slowly turned to look at her ex-boyfriend who was also gazing at the city lights.

His profile remained the same as she last remembered, yet different somehow. Woorin's eyes returned forward as she didn't respond and just gazed at the people and car below. The silence between them wasn't awkward as she had expected. It felt like time had never changed with what had occurred between them three years ago.

"If I recall," Jinyoung suddenly spoke, but kept his eyes ahead of him, "We first met on the rooftop of The Street and grew closer after that day. Didn't we?"

Woorin was on her lunch break and had taken it on the work's rooftop. No one really spent time here as they preferred to go out somewhere or spend it in the office chatting with the bosses. So for her she called it her own little personal hangout whenever work got stressful or the co-workers got annoying. Today, Woorin just needed time away from the annoying customers that bugged her earlier and the reason on why Nayoung told her to go take a breather because of it. So here she was casually taking a breather and people watching below. Woorin enjoyed it the most when she didn't really have to interact with other people and dealing with their orders and compliants.

A few minutes later Woorin's quiet moment was interrupted when she heard the door slammed open and a male voice sputtering angry words into the afternoon air. She languidly turned her head to look over her shoulder at who it could be and saw that it was one of the new guys that was recently hired a week or two ago. Woorin coudn't recall his name, but if her memory served her right with Nayoung's updates about all things work related then he should be Jinyoung. If not him, then it would be the other guy named Jaebeom. Woorin wasn't sure as she hasn't gotten the chance to work with either of them yet, but then again she didn't really care for the newbies until she had to deal with them during her shift.

Woorin returned her gaze back to people watching as the guy hadn't noticed Woorin as he continued to pace angrily while muttering to himself continuously nonstop. She didn't want to eavesdrop, but it was kind of hard not to when she was still within the vicinity of hearing him rant. Letting out a long sigh after checking her phone to see how much longer she had before her break was over before turning to look at the guy again.

"Hey." Woorin called out to him which got his attention and making him even more alert than before. "If you wanna rant, then please do it elsewhere or more quietly. Some of us are trying to enjoy the peaceful quietness of this afternoon weather before returning to work and dealing with customers. Thanks."

Woorin shot him a forced smile before resuming her thing before he came along.

"I can rant however I like. This space isn't just yours to use." Jinyoung retorted.

Woorin didn't bother turning around, but she did held up her hand to wave at the air in a whatever motion.

"Sure, yeah, whatever. Go ahead, but don't blame me if something happens to you."

Jinyoung joined Woorin at the ledge and she slightly edged away not liking her personal bubble being invaded. She also didn't bother to pay him any attention and continued with her people watching until her lunch break was over.

"Is that a threat? Do I need to file a compliant with one of the bosses about that?" Jinyoung inquired. "Are you someone I should be cautious of?"

Woorin lazily looked over at him with a bored look. Before she could give him answers her phone's alarm beeped indicating that her break was over. She pushed off from the ledge while backing away with a smile directed at Jinyoung before turning around and heading back down to resume her shift.

"Hey, wait! I'm being serious here!" Jinyoung called after her, but Woorin just waved him off and exited the rooftop without a second glance in his direction.

Woorin let out a scoff with a roll of her eyes and a laugh. "No, Jinyoung. Not exactly."

"Oh, right. I remember now. You bullied me for the next few weeks after that incident." Jinyoung stated with a small smile.

"Not even. I had to clean up after you so many times that you could keep your job even though I don't get why I even did that." Woorin glared at him. "I don't know anyone who could've fucked up so many times on the Beaver Tail Choco Banana. It's so easy to make and set up."

"Why are you getting so worked up about that?" Jinyoung laughed. "That was like years ago."

"Because every time you messed up it came out of my paycheck." Woorin revealed and Jinyoung frowned. "Wait, seriously?"

Woorin didn't answer him and faced the night sky instead.

"Woorin." Jinyoung called for her attention, but she didn't give in as Jinyoung continued speaking anyways. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it didn't matter." Woorin replied.

"Yes it did. You got shorted when it was all my fault and you could have easily paid for your schooling faster."

"It's all in the past, Jinyoung. Forget about it."

"Ho-"

"I said to forget about it, Jinyoung. Okay?"

Jinyoung dropped the subject as the silence fell between them again. This time there was a slight shift in the air and after a moment or two, Jinyoung didn't want it to come between them again.

"So why did you agreed to go on a date with me when I caused you to probably hated my guts entirely?"

"Can you like not schedule me and Jinyoung on the same shift?" Woorin asked Nayoung one day as the two were at Nayoung's house watching a drama.

"What's wrong with working with Jinyoung?" Nayoung asked turning to face her friend.

Woorin looked over at her with an annoyed look. "He's still messing up despite working there for like four months now. I hate cleaning up after him."

"That's weird. He's been doing fine when I work with him. The same with Ayeon and Nakjoon, too. He works just fine when we're on the same shift with Jinyoung."

Both Nayoung and Woorin returned their attention back onto the TV.

"He's probably messing with me then since him and I didn't have a good first impression. Then again, he's an idiot and I'm just done with yelling at the new kids."

"No, Woorin. You can't be like that. You have to teach and nuture these kids." Nayoung mused from what their big boss would tell them.

Woorin shook her head while letting out a frustrated breath. "Hell no. He's fucking up so much that I'm getting my paycheck cut."

"I thought you talked to Mr. Park about all of that."

"Yeah, I did, but he just told me that he'll reimbursed me at the end of the year for all of that."

"That's dumb. You're supposed to wait until the end of the year to get your money back?"

"I know and something like that, yeah."

"But paying for school isn't a big deal, right?"

"No. Mr. Park and I had worked something out and so it's going well for now."

"Okay, good to know. Anyways, maybe you make Jinyoung nervous?"

"Nervous how? I'm the one that helps him the most even when there's others that can do that. Like you."

"Maybe he has a crush on you." Nayoung mused as Woorin rolled her eyes. "This isn't grade school, Nayoung."

"Hmm, that's not what Mark's been telling me."

"Can I even trust your boyfriend's words?"

Nayoung rolled her eyes. "I know you don't like him a whole lot, but he's not that bad."

"I dunno. He's shady as fuck."

"You just don't like him because he broke your laptop that one time."

"Yeah, because he broke my laptop. Mine. Not his. Mine." Woorin defended and clarified. "How is someone gonna break someone else's property just because he got angry that he lost in World of Warcraft?"

"He did said that he was either gonna fix it or buy you a new one to make up for it." Nayoung reminded Woorin. "But you refused his offer."

"I know. Maybe I shoudn't have because I ended up turning in my essay late that week."

"You passed the class didn't you?"

"I did, but I had to spend my hours in the library without my laptop."

"Anyways, back on the other topic," Nayoung said as she returned them both onto the topic of Jinyoung, "Don't you think it's kind of obvious that he's messing up so that he could get your attention?"

"That's a dumbass way to get a girl's attention by fucking up so many times and deducting her paycheck."

"Shit, I dunno. Why not ask him?"

"Yeah, right. I ain't gonna ask his ass about that."

"Maybe you don't have to." Nayoung grinned mischievously while holding her phone for Woorin to see the screen. "How about a double date then?"

"Is that why you and I were each other's date on their date that day?" Jinyoung asked with a laugh as the memory came to mind.

"Uh, correction. You and I were third and fourth-wheeling that night. We weren't on a date." Woorin clarified. "We just happened to enjoy the other's company without feeling hostile and annoyed."

"By hostile and annoyed, you meant yourself, right?"

"You're still annoying as ever."

Jinyoung chuckled as Woorin side-eyed him.

"I wondered what made me fall for you."

Jinyoung stopped chuckling and looked over at her with a small smile.

"Wasn't it my good charms and fashion sense?"

Woorin shook her head with a laugh.

"Not even. Those were just bonuses."

"Oh, really? Tell me more."

"Shut up. Don't get all smug about it."

Jinyoung laughed once more before speaking again. "Well, why you're still wondering what made you fall for me, should I tell you what made me fall for you?"

"You're staring again." Jaebeom said as he nudged Jinyoung to focus on the task at hand.

"Was it obvious?" Jinyoung asked while glancing around the work space.

"Not to her at least." Jaebeom chuckled before looking at the dessert plate that Jinyoung had been working on before making an unsure face. "I don't know what you're gonna do, but you're gonna have to fix that and fast before Woorin finds out you messed up again."

Jinyoung glanced down at the Beaver Tail Choco Banana plate he was working on for a customer and groaned.

"Where's BamBam when I need him. He can totally distract her and make her forget all the messed up I made today."

"Too bad he's off. Jackson does a pretty good job.

"Not today. She sent him to the store because she couldn't handle his excessive chatter today. Ugh, she's gonna kill me."

"She can't. She doesn't want to be a murderer or go to jail."

"Why would you say something like that?"

"Because I heard her muttered it one time the other day when you dropped the mac and cheese in front of the customer and then served another customer the ham and cheese sandwich when it wasn't even theirs."

Jinyoung closed his eyes in frustration while letting out a groan. He wasn't sure why he was messing up so much and more today than any other days, but for some reason Woorin was seriously a major distraction on his part.

"I'm surprised Woorin has this much patience and controlled of her anger to deal with how much you've fucked up since you started." Jaebeom stated with a laugh as Jinyoung cast him an annoyed look. "Me, too, but I'm completely fine when she's not working. I don't mess up at all."

"Maybe she makes you nervous, Jinyoung." Jaebeom reasoned, but grinned mischievously. "In a different way than normal."

"You might be right, Jaebeom." Jinyoung agreed with a defeated sigh. "There's no way another human being can have that high enough tolerance of my clumsiness without wanting to throttle me to death by now."

"I just gotta ask man, but what is it that you like about Woorin?"

"She's very patient and has high tolerance of others. Also, she's kinda cute when she's mad."

"Wow, but hey, if you think of Woorin like that, then shouldn't you be thinking of a way on how to make it up to her?"

"Oh, so you're the culprit that would leave me a caramel latte in my locker before my shift?" Woorin accused Jinyoung with a look.

"Yes. That was me and before I knew that you didn't like coffee." Jinyoung explained. "I could only assume since that's what you would order before you left home."

"I only bought that for Nayoung because she likes that."

"Do you do everything that Nayoung asks?" Jinyoung mused as Woorin scoffed. "No. Just when I need her to get off my back."

"Besides, I already had a feeling it was you who left them there." Woorin admitted with a small chuckle.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jinyoung asked in shocked. "I would have changed the drink or maybe got you a dessert instead."

"Because you were happy in doing something small for me and I didn't want to ruin that for you. It was kind of cute and sweet." Woorin admitted. "Plus, Nayoung got her free drink and in return she would give me mine."

"Which would be the winter-melon and almond bubble tea."

"Yeah."

Woorin was gonna allow another moment of silence fall between them, but Jinyoung once again wouldn't allow it.

"So why did we break up?"

"Because you wanted to travel and I wanted to stay here." Woorin answered without hesitation.

"Woorin! Woorin! I did it! I did it! It happened! It actually happened and I actually got accepted!" Jinyoung exclaimed as he entered The Street with his acceptance letter in hand while Woorin was in the middle of making a caramel latte art.

"Hold on, Jinyoung." Woorin told her boyfriend as she was in the midst of finishing the drink.

"Okay, Chan, here you go, but please be careful with it." She informed another co-worker as she set the small cup onto a small plate for Chan to run it out. "Please make sure this customer gets the toast all warmed up, too. She's very particular of her order. Thanks."

"Already took care of the toast, Woorin. Thanks." Chan stated with a bright smile before running out the order.

Woorin finally turned her attention onto Jinyoung. "So what's up?"

"Here!"

Jinyoung enthusiastically shoved the letter into his girlfriend's hands as Woorin scanned the content of the letter before flashing a smile at her boyfriend.

"Wow, congratulations, Jinyoung! I'm super happy you got accepted to Juilliard. That's super fantastic."

"I know and I can't wait for the both of us to travel to New York City this summer so that you can see where we'll be staying for fall semester and-"

"Whoa, whoa, Jinyoung. Slow down." Woorin said with furrowed eyebrows. "What do you mean by us?"

"You're gonna come with me right?" Jinyoung asked with a curious expression. "It's everything we've been talking about for months now."

"Well, yeah, Jinyoung, but that was for you. Not me."

"I don't get it."

"Jinyoung, I don't want to leave Seoul."

"I applied to Juilliard so that we could travel and see things outside of Seoul, Woorin."

"That's nice, Jinyoung, but I never told you that I wanted to travel outside of Seoul though. I thought we were going to try the whole long distance relationship thing."

"No, Woorin. We were going to stay together and do things together without being apart from one another."

"But Jinyoung, we never really talked about it. That's just you assuming what's best for the both of us."

"Well, at least I'm thinking about our future."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You've been so busy lately that you cancelled on our dates six times already. Plus I haven't even gotten the chance to hangout and cuddle with my girlfriend without work or schoolwork getting in the way of it. I some times wonder if I even have a girlfriend at all."

"Well, I'm sorry that I've been a bad girlfriend, Jinyoung, alright. Also, I'm more focused on working to make money to pay for my schooling to get a higher education, too. Not all of us have Daddy and Mommy paying for it without worrying about it."

"And I offered to help you out with that, but you're so stubborn to accept it."

"Offering to pay for my schooling is totally and absolutely hella different than paying for our dinner dates, Jinyoung."

"It's the same difference, Woorin. They're both getting paid for in the end. Right?"

"That's not how relationships work, Jinyoung." Woorin let out an exasperated sigh.

"Maybe this relationship between us isn't working out after all." Jinyoung reasoned in all seriousness.

Woorin shot him a slightly hurt look. "Is that how you feel about us?"

"Some times, yes, I do." Jinyoung admitted honestly.

Woorin scoffed. "You're unbelievable."

The tension in the air caused Woorin to finally take noticed of her surrounding when she felt a tap on her shoulder from one of her co-workers.

"Um, Woorin, I need change in register two." Jae informed her a bit hesitantly. "I'm out of five hundred won coins."

"Yeah, um here." Woorin said as she handed Jae her keys to take care of it. "It's the smaller one with green markings on it."

"Thanks."

Jae scurried away to leave her and Jinyoung to their own thing. Once he left, Woorin realized that she and Jinyoung were still out in the open of The Street and saw that the other workers and customers could hear their conversation and see that the couple were having a lover's spat. She hated when personal things happened at work like this and needed to get it under control.

"Look, Jinyoung," Woorin returned her attention onto Jinyoung, "Let's talk about this later. I still have to work." Woorin suggested with a pleading look. "OK?"

"We never got to talk later, did we?" Jinyoung asked with a regretful tone.

"No, we didn't." Woorin confirmed matching his tone.

The two didn't look at one another as they kept their attention to the view before them. Allowing the memories of the past to fill in the space around them once again. That night when they were supposed to talk about the whole New York City thing, Woorin had to stayed late and closed because Nayoung got food poisoning and couldn't work. As for Jinyoung he had to pack and get ready for his trip overseas and had to take care of the necessary paperwork.

Eventually in the end life got the better for the both of them and they were unable to find the time to work it out and have that talk. By the time the two did have time, Jinyoung was already miles away in another country and Woorin had just finished her final exams. It was too late for a talk and so it was too late to mend the bond between them. Their relationship ended then and there at The Street and neither wanted to give in and contact the other to talk it out.

"You wanna know something?" Jinyoung suddenly asked as Woorin answered promptly. "Not really."

Jinyoung rolled his eyes as Woorin chuckled. "What is it? You're gonna tell me anyways."

"I wanted to call you these past three years, but I figured that I would be fine and that the feelings would fade over time. It never did."

Woorin didn't respond and Jinyoung continued taking her silence as a positive thing.

"I wanted to see if you were doing fine, Woorin. I really wanted to know if you were happy and living life without me in it or if you were just as miserable as I was knowing that the person you loved wasn't right by you." Jinyoung admitted as he confessed his thoughts and feelings over the past three years.

"Well, you've seen me and I'm just peachy." Woorin shot him a smile, but Jinyoung noticed that it didn't reach her eyes.

"Are you though?"

"It's life, Jinyoung. I lived and got through it. I'm still here, aren't I? It wasn't easy, but I was able to live my life and I don't regret it. Maybe, except for one thing."

"Would that one thing be about us?" Jinyoung asked hopefully. "Because honestly, I kept thinking about the last conversation we had and realized they were said out of frustration and that we were still young in love, but I regretted how we ended that day three years ago."

"I get it, Jinyoung. I really do and maybe it was or maybe it wasn't. Still, we had our own paths to take and live. Life got in the way when we made our decisions to do so. That's the only way we'll flourish without someone or something holding us back from recognizing that."

"I thought relationships were always about compromises and that's why you and I were unable to agree with what was right for the both of us at the time."

"No, Jinyoung, that wasn't it."

"Then what was it, Woorin?"

"Our relationship fell through because we didn't collaborate right."

"Huh?"

Jinyoung was confused by what Woorin meant and at that moment the both of them turned to look at the other.

"It's all about the collaboration between two people working on it together without losing themselves, Jinyoung. If we compromised all the time, then we would always lose a bit of ourselves over time in doing so."

"Is that what happened to us?" Jinyoung genuinely asked. "Did we compromised too much that we ended up losing one another?"

Woorin shook her head with a sad smile before answering him. "No, Jinyoung. We didn't do either. We just went with the flow without any direction of how our future together would be like and assume in our own way of what would be best for us."

"Well, that was then, Woorin." Jinyoung cast her a smile. "How about now?"

"You seriously want us to start dating again?" Woorin asked not sure if she should amused him or not.

"Yeah. Why not? We didn't leave on good terms the last time we saw each other and it's been like three years since then. I think we can start a whole new chapter or maybe even another book to the series." Jinyoung reasoned before casting her a charming smile. "Besides, you haven't told me why you fell for me in the first place."

"Okay, another chapter or a book. Wow." Woorin laughed at the idea before biting her bottom lip as a giggle escaped. "I honestly don't know, but I do know that I just liked you, Jinyoung. I probably still do and maybe why I even tolerated your presence again."

"Well, I'm going to take that as a good thing because I still like you, too, Woorin."

The pair genuinely smiled at one another having righted their little mishap three years ago. Jinyoung took one of Woorin's hand in his and just as he was about to do something, the rooftop's door banged opened revealing two of their ex-co-workers, Youngjae and Jimin.

"Hey, it's so pretty up here. Wow, it's amazing." Youngjae said in awe with Jimin beside him. "Yeah, I told you that you could see the night sky and the city lights below. Yerin mentioned it last time when she was up here."

The new duo were about to walk towards the ledge and explore the rooftop before catching the other pair and sheepishly apologized.

"Oh, we're sorry. Didn't think anyone else was up here." Jimin apologized while tugging on Youngjae's hand. "Let's go, Youngjae, and leave them alone."

"Yeah, sorry. We didn't mean to interrupt anything important going on between the two of you." Youngjae apologized as he let Jimin tug him away.

Before Woorin could correct the duo's misunderstanding, Jinyoung beat her to it, but continuing the misunderstanding.

"C'mon, Youngjae and Jimin. Woorin and I just made up and were about to kiss."

"Okay, okay, okay! We're leaving and we won't tell anyone to disturb you guys." Youngjae informed them with a laugh as Jimin waved at them with a bright smile. "Congratulations on getting back together you two."

"Thank you!" Jinyoung thanked the duo as the door slammed closed once they left.

"You're such a liar!" Woorin lightly punched him in the arm with her free hand. "That's not what we were doing at all."

"Which part? The getting back together, the making up, or the kissing one?"

"Neither." Woorin deadpanned trying to release her grip from Jinyoung's as he chuckled, but firmly held onto her hand with a mischievous expression.

"I'm pretty sure it was two of them and then the third one I was gonna do just now before those two came and interrupted us."

"You're such a jerk, Jinyoung. I can't believe you were gonna steal a kiss so soon after making up and what not." Woorin eyed him suspiciously while trying to move away from him. "I'm re-thinking this whole us thing again. I think I wanna end it with the last chapter and discontinued the book series."

"No, no, no. What happened to the whole collaborating thing?"

"I dunno, but we can talk tomorrow. Just let me eat my food even though it's like cold by now." Woorin said as she removed her hand out from Jinyoung's and went to pick up the plate she had brought earlier with her. "Yeah? Seems like a good idea, no?"

"That depends, Woorin. Are you gonna be the one that goes overseas and I stay in Seoul this time around?"

"I'm pretty sure Seoul is gonna continue being home for a long while, Jinyoung. I'm not going anywhere."

"Good, because returning home now seems more welcoming than ever before."

"I'm sure it is." Woorin commented with a knowing smile before picking up a chocolate covered strawberry and offering it to Jinyoung.

Jinyoung opened his mouth indicating for Woorin to feed him. She rolled her eyes, but stuffed the treat into his mouth with a laugh. Jinyoung covered his mouth with one hand as he ate the thing whole, but smiled nevertheless knowing that he and Woorin were good again. Good again to start another chapter of their lives, but this time with each other in it.

#staytheb #got7 scenarios #park jinyoung

7 notes · View notes

jovialyouthmusic · 6 years ago

Text

Charlotte’s Choice

A Royal Romance AU

11 The Hunt

Drake has a small victory, and checks in with the Englishman

@ao719 @agent-bossypants @andy-loves-corgis @sleepwalkingelite @boneandfur @blackcatkita @brightpinkpeppercorn @choicescommunity @darley1101 @drakewalkerrosenberg @flowerpowell @fluffy-marshmallow-heart @gardeningourmet @katurrade @livingthroughchoices @likethetailofacomet @mrs-nazario @mind-reader1 @ooo-barff-ooo @silviasutton1989 @speedyoperarascalparty @zaffrenotes @missevabean @mrsdrakewalkerblog @cora-nova @dancetothestoriesinyoursoul @missameliep @tanelle83 @endlessly-searching-for-you @jlouise88 @drakenazario @annekebbphotography @jlouise88 @missevabean @cora-nova @tabithacarlisle @furiousherringoperatortoad @ritachacha @notoriouscs @classylady1234 @wickedgypsymoon

Chapters will slow down now unless I get a flash of inspiration - I have the ending but the middle is a bit thin... enjoy xx

11 The Hunt

Gritting his teeth, Drake urged his horse on, neck and neck with Anton, the finishing line coming up fast. He didn’t care that it would be bad form for a born commoner to win over someone with such ancient lineage, no matter that he had been awarded the status of Duke after his father’s sacrifice. He just wanted to wipe the smug look off Anton’s face, and more than that, win the right to be the Princess’s escort for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Just the one victory, just one time to be at her side in public, he told himself, and he would concede the rest.

He kneed his steed and murmured encouragement, his grip on the reins tightening, but still gentle with the horse.

‘Come on Sultan, you can do it. Don’t let that stuck up Duke beat us, not this time. I promise I’ll come to the stables tomorrow and spend some time with you, old fellow. Do it for Charlie.’ Sultan flared his nostrils and surged forward, leaving Anton behind. They crossed the finishing line a good two lengths ahead, and Drake wheeled Sultan round so he could see Anton’s expression as he crossed the line. His face was fixed into a grimace, and he caught the ghost of a scowl before he composed his features into a gracious smile of congratulation. He whipped past Drake before turning and reining in his steed to come parallel with him, extending his hand.

‘Well done Walker’ he proclaimed, loud enough for the King and Princess to hear ‘That was an excellent effort.’ Drake inclined his head, noting that he didn’t address him as ‘Sir’, the insult rolling off him like water off a duck’s back. Anton’s grip was firm, and he felt him pull forward slightly in an attempt to unseat him. Drake matched his grip and anchored himself into the saddle, causing Anton to pitch forward slightly instead, but he recovered and let go swiftly. Drake didn’t care that he’d most probably made an enemy, he wasn’t in this game to make friends, he was there to make sure Charlotte was happy for as long as he was able. Anton had already showed his colours as far as he was concerned, and he would be telling Charlotte to be cautious with him.

Brad crossed the finishing line and wrestled his steed round to come alongside Drake just as Anton dismounted. Drake had met the Englishman at the stables early and picked out Apple Blossom as a good match for him and given him a few tips when he saw he had a little skill at riding.

‘A creditable third’ said Drake ‘Didn’t I tell you that horse was fast?’ Brad grimaced as he slid off the saddle with just enough poise to look competent.

‘You weren’t joking, that’s for sure’ replied Brad ‘It was all I could do to stay in the saddle, Apple Blossom here did all the work’ As the King and the Princess came forward with the winner’s wreath, Drake remembered his conversation with Brad that morning as he got the two horses ready for the day’s events.

‘So you got some alone time with Char - Lottie last night.’ he said questioningly, covering for the fact that he had been about to share his pet name for the Princess with him. ‘How was her mood?’ Brad scratched the back of his neck and looked sideways at Drake

‘Can I be honest with you?’

‘That would be appreciated if you can’ he replied

‘She took me to some ex Queen’s bedroom and jumped me – she was pretty frantic’ Drake stopped grooming Sultan, his nostrils flaring. He waited for Brad to carry on ‘you didn’t tell me she’s technically a virgin’

‘I left that for her to divulge’ Drake said, trying to sound casual but feeling the bite of jealousy, restarting the long slow strokes of the brush.

‘Well I won’t go into details, but she still is’ Brad replied

‘Ha, well I suppose I should thank you for that, but it was her choice to make’ he said, going back to grooming Sultan vigorously. The horse whinnied in complaint, and he softened his stroke, patting his flank consolingly.

‘She always talks about you, I can tell she really cares about you.’ Brad assured him

‘That’s good to know, I guess’ Drake said. Brad rubbed the back of his neck again

‘I think she’s starting to realise what she has, but she’s concerned that she makes a good choice for Cordonia. She thinks that rules out marrying for love’ Drake paused, saying nothing and then handed Brad a brush.

‘Here. You should probably give Apple Blossom here a grooming, get to know her before you saddle up’ He inhaled the scents of the stable, the hay and the leather and dung, the polish, and the faint smell of sweat. He always had found it soothing and grounding, which was just as well, otherwise he would probably have swung for the Englishman already.

‘She’s pretty stressed out about this business.’ said Brad as he copied the long slow strokes Drake made over Sultan’s smooth flanks on Apple Blossom. ‘She knows she needs to make the right choice, and I think you and I are doing okay helping her. I actually think we complement each other’ Brad went on.

‘How so?’ asked Drake

‘Well, not to put too fine a point on it, you’re rather abrasive but you stay in the background and are pretty good at watching what’s going on’ Drake snorted in derision

‘No shit, Sherlock’ he scoffed, and Brad sighed in exasperation

‘Whereas in my time as a barkeeper, I’ve learned to be diplomatic, get folk to open up, size ‘em up while I’m doing it, lay on the English charm but stay alert for trouble. I can find out how the other suitors are holding up, what their plans for the Princess are if there’s any gaps in your intel’. Drake sighed. The Englishman was persistent, he’d give him that.

‘If I agree, will you stop talking?’ He said in exasperation. Bad mimed zipping his lip, nodding yes. He was almost as bad as Maxwell – he was Maxwell without the energy. And the stupidity.

‘Okay, lets do that then, and report at the end of the day, see what each of us has discovered.’ He said begrudgingly. ‘I’ll bring my hip flask’ He was going to need whiskey in order to interact with keep it together, he told himself – and all for Charlie’s benefit.

Now the King was congratulating him on winning the race at the end of the day’s symbolic hunt and the Princess hung a wreath around his neck, smiling with happiness. They had all ridden out into the Cordonian countryside to make camp at an ancient village that had seen a significant battle, to race for the favour of the Princess and camp the night. It was more like glamping than camping, as there were log cabins to sleep in and marquees had been set up for feasting and drinking. Drake was elated that he had won the right to stay by her side for the rest of the afternoon and evening as her champion.

He looked around at the other suitors. Anton appeared to be taking his defeat with good grace, but Drake knew better after catching that fleeting glimpse of his true feelings at the finishing line. Maxwell hadn’t been bothered about the race at all and was bouncing around like a puppy as usual. Rashad was easy to read, a dedicated businessman who knew when to seal a deal and when to kick back and enjoy the fruits of his labour, though Drake wasn’t sure how he was with women. Neville wore his usual expression that said everyone around him was unworthy of his attention, Tariq was either posing or picking invisible lint off his riding clothes, and Milo was displaying his usual emotionless demeanour. Drake had filled Brad in on those last two suitors in the hope that he could uncover something useful. Indeed, he saw Brad drawing Tariq aside and chatting with him disarmingly.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at The Princess’s side, eating (mostly meat, as it was a hunt, even if it was only symbolic) drinking (he drank little, saving himself for the bottle of single malt in his saddlebag) and making polite conversation – or rather, listening as Charlie made polite conversation with him by her side, letting it all wash over him. He couldn’t help imagining what it would be like if she chose him, though he still didn’t believe that Olivia’s plan could work, or that he was worthy of the role of Prince Consort. There was little opportunity for speaking privately, and even less of being alone with her for any length of time. Her Father stuck to her side determinedly.

All too soon she announced she was tired and would be going to her private chalet to sleep. He couldn’t go any further than her threshold, so he said his goodnight there, taking her hand and kissing it, promising her to meet alone the next day. It would be their last full day at the Palace, ass the whole court would be travelling to spend a week at Lythikos on Olivia’s territory. He had no idea if she had planned anything out of the ordinary but was sure he would find out soon enough.

Drake made his way to the ruins a few minutes’ walk away from the edge of the camp, where he had agreed to meet Brad and compare notes on the day, making sure there was no-one else around. He was the first to arrive, so he took out his trusty hip flask and took a good swig of whiskey. He hadn’t been there very long when two figures appeared.

‘Well well, the victor arrives’ said Olivia ‘I thought perhaps I could join in your little game of espionage’

‘Olivia’ said Drake sharply ‘It’s hardly espionage, more intel if you insist on using jargon. I wanted to include you too, so it’s good you’re here’

‘Whatever you call it, I’d like to contribute if I may’ Drake nodded, took a swig from the hip flask and passed it to Brad. The Englishman tipped his head back to take a drink and made an approving face as Drake felt the burn of the alcohol spreading. He cleared his throat and spoke.

‘Okay, so if you were in any doubt, Anton is not to be trusted, he’s two faced – polite to my face, but I caught a few expressions that show his real feelings, and he doesn’t like to lose – he made a good try to pull me out of the saddle when he shook hands. Plus he was pretty smarmy toward Charlotte after the Archery competition, tried to sell her a sob story about his father. I’m not sure what his game is, but he’s definitely a bit off at least. Brad, did you find out anything about Tariq or Milo?’ Brad handed him back his flask and he took another mouthful.

‘I gather you know Tariq pretty well, and I got him talking over a glass or two of some very decent bubbly. I don’t think there’s much to him beyond the expensive clothes and snobbery. He doesn’t talk about women very respectfully, and I suspect he’d not treat Charlotte with any kindness, just use her as a blank chequebook to finance his expensive taste in clothes and booze.’

‘That’s much as I thought, but it’s good to hear you delved a little deeper’ said Drake ‘How about Milo?’ Brad made a face

‘He’s very difficult to read, very uptight and close lipped. I couldn’t get him to talk at all.’ Brad said glumly, but Olivia laughed.

‘Oh he’s a pussycat if you know how to play him’ she said ‘He has a penchant for young blonde women and loves driving sports cars. Find out what he’s driving and sing its praises, he’ll open up like a cracked safe’ Brad raised his eyebrows

‘Well that’s useful. Welcome to team Charlotte, Lady Olivia’ he said with admiration

‘I was on the team before you even met her’ she said dismissively and took the hip flask from Drake. She took a sip and made a face ‘Really, you need some good Lythikos Ale, not this dishwater’

‘So, going on – do we need to delve into Neville’s dirty dishwater?’ Drake asked. Olivia made a face, and a memory surfaced in in her mind.

‘Why is that dirty commoner here?’ Neville’s voice drifted over to Olivia as she watched Charlotte gazing out of the window to her mother’s garden and the maze, Drake sitting next to her and talking quietly.

It was the Princess’s birthday – the first without her mother. Constantine had gone ahead and thrown a party despite her insistence that she didn’t want one. She had told Olivia that all she wanted to do was go into the centre of the maze, the hedges only just her head height – if she stood on tiptoe she could easily see where to go. She wanted to go into the middle and sit quietly and alone and try to cement the memories of her mother before they faded. Under a loose floorboard in her bedroom she kept a box with some mementoes – a scarf, a bottle of her perfume, a letter the Queen had written to her when she’d been on a Royal Tour of Shanghai and Charlotte had been too ill to go with her. She wanted to take the letter to the centre of the maze, but instead she had to welcome her guests and play games and eat party food. Olivia knew she had the scarf in her pocket anyway and wore a little of the perfume.

Olivia whipped round to look at Neville,

‘What did you say?’ she demanded

‘That filthy commoner – what’s his name? Walker? His father failed to protect the Queen, didn’t he? He should be the last person to be invited. I don’t know why he’s still here, him and his sister should go and join their mother, goodness knows why they’re still at the Palace’

Olivia was not overly fond of young Drake, but she was fiercely close to Charlotte, having made firm friends after her own parents had died, before her Aunt had come to claim her and take her back to Lythikos. She spent her summers and Christmases at the Palace and had seen how close Charlotte and Drake had become after the assassination of the Queen. She was a little jealous of sharing her best friend’s attention but nevertheless shared a common bond with the Princess and with Drake and Savannah. Charlotte had begged her father not to send the two children away when Mrs Walker suddenly left, abandoning them, and they had been made wards of the Crown.

‘Call him a filthy commoner again and you’ll regret it’ she snarled. The friend of her best friend was her friend too, and she had never liked Neville, ever since he had found a toad and dropped it in her lap on a picnic. It wasn’t that she didn’t like toads, in fact she had kept one as a pet, but it had been so sudden that she’d jumped up screaming and everyone had laughed at her. Not for long though – she had picked it up and soothed it and pretended to put the poor creature down Neville’s back, instead dropping a handful of jello down. He had jumped around and squealed enough to eclipse her own reaction and from then on, he had been called the Toad.

‘Whatever, he’ll always be a commoner’ he said dismissively. Olivia balled up her fists with anger, then acted. She grabbed hold of him and dragged him over to the dining table, groaning with food -sandwiches, savoury pastries, cakes and sweets – and a large trifle decorated with cream. She got hold of his hair and pressed his head face first into the bowl of trifle. He came up gasping and bawling before she repeated it, dunking him again and again, cream and jello spattering everywhere. There was an uproar, and Bastien was the one to take hold of her and pry Neville’s hair out of her fist. He took one look at her serene expression and supressed a smile. Neville was taken away to clean up and didn’t return to the party, but Olivia was never disciplined, the whole debacle declared an accident. It was not long after that Jackson Walker had been posthumously declared a Duke, and Drake was allowed to take up the title in his own right.

‘Neville isn’t a problem’ she said, ‘That toad’s too spineless to make a proper attempt, and Lottie dislikes him.’

‘So what so we do with all this info once we have it?’ asked Brad ‘The Princess wasn’t going to choose any of them anyway – was she?’

‘No, but she’s under a lot of pressure from the King’ said Drake ‘Who has also asked me to dig a little into all of them. I have to say he favours Anton most, because of his heritage. She may have to give good reasons for turning each one down’ Olivia yawned.

‘Well we have some time yet – if I can’t get Milo to open up, maybe Olivia can?’ Brad said, looking at her pointedly. ‘Which leaves Rashad and Maxwell’

‘Maxwell’s a boy’ asserted Olivia ‘She thinks of him as a little brother, and he’s easy to read. We can rule him out completely as far as I’m concerned’

‘Okay, then we do some dirt digging on Rashad, and keep our eyes and ears open for anything Anton might let slip’ said Drake. ‘Then Charlotte will have a good idea where she stands.’

‘Well, Brad and I have to make an early start for Lythikos tomorrow, so we’d better get to bed. you’ll have a day on your own to do that digging or spend some time with Lottie.’ Olivia announced, yawning ‘Sleep well, boys’ and with a broad wink she took Brad’s arm and they made their way back to the chalets.

Charlotte cautiously opened the window to the rear of the chalet, looking around before climbing up on the windowsill to drop silently to the soft earth floor beneath. She began out toward the ruins but had barely gone a few feet before a figure stepped out of the shadows. She stopped dead in fright, hand on her chest, and Bastien frowned at her before drawing her back into the shadows.

‘Have you somewhere to go, Princess?’ he said in a low voice ‘Your father would not be pleased to know you are out alone’ The princess sighed

‘Bastien, it’s fine, I arranged to meet someone…’

‘I must ask you who, your highness’ Charlotte let her breath out in a long sigh

‘Does it matter Bastien?’

‘Under the circumstances, most definitely yes’ he insisted

‘If I tell you, will you let me go alone?’ She couldn’t see his expression in the darkness, but his tone was sorrowful.

‘I’m sorry your highness, I have to know, and whether I allow it or not depends very much on who it might be’

‘And would you report it to my father?’

‘If you remain in my sight, I may be able to keep your confidence – again that depends on who…’

‘Oh Bastien, it’s only Drake’

‘I have to point out, your highness, that Duke Walker is one of the suitors, and being alone with him is not in the interests of fairness or balance’ his tone softened ‘But as he is also a close friend, I will allow you to meet him if you remain within my sight’ Charlotte felt the urge to hug Bastien, but instead put her hand on his forearm.

‘Thankyou Bastien, that means a lot to me’ Bastien shifted uncomfortably

‘Carry on Princess, I’ll be behind you’ Charlotte squeezed his arm and carried on toward the ruins. Had she not known Bastien was following her, she would not have realised, and she wondered how many times she had been watched in the past, although Drake was far better at spotting that sort of thing, having trained with the Guard himself.

Sure enough, when she reached the ruins, Drake pulled her aside into the shadows

‘You’re being followed – he’s good’ he hissed

‘It’s fine, it’s Bastien. He has to be able to see me’ she explained. Drake let out his breath in a sigh and embraced her before moving back into the open. He held her at arm’s length, trying to see her face in the dim light.

‘How are you holding up?’ he asked, ‘It was good to be close to you today’ Charlotte smiled back

‘It was good to have you there – I felt so much more relaxed’ she replied. ‘and it’s good to see you now, I feel - more normal’ She leant into him, relishing the solid feel of his chest, the steady beat of his heart soothing her. He held her gingerly

‘I’m not sure we should be doing this in front of Bastien’ he whispered, and she drew away to look up at him.

‘He knows we’re friends’ she replied, ‘What could be more natural?’ Drake made an odd noise

‘Heh – yes, friends’ he said, ‘though we’d better not get up to the sort of things we do when we go riding’ Charlotte giggled.

‘True’ she replied and rested her head on his chest. ‘We’ll be riding home in the morning, then I’ll be packing for Lythikos. Livvy said she’d find a room for you in the Chateau, and Anton will be out in one of the chalets.’ She looked up at him ‘I’m looking forward to skating and skiing – will you be joining in this year?’ Drake smiled down at her

‘Try and stop me’ he grinned ‘Usual race down the piste?’

‘Of course, and I’ll beat you again’ she laughed ‘just you wait and see’

#drake walker #drake x mc #the royal romance #choices trr #choices the royal romance #trr #trr drake #trr fanfic #trr choices #charlotte's choice

8 notes · View notes

captaincanarygotmelike · 7 years ago

Text

Fic: Voices Carry ch. 20

So apparently it's been a whopping three months since my last update. Whoops. Here's a super long chapter to (hopefully) make up for it.

Read on AO3

Read on Fanfiction.net

After the incident at the playground, Sara saw Nate one more time before he left for Star City.

He stopped by the apartment at Sara’s request to talk about how to move forward.

“Where’s Avery?” Nate asked.

“Len took her to the park for the afternoon,” she told him, “I wanted to talk with you one-on-one. Sit.”

Nate took a seat in the upholstered armchair while Sara sat on the couch.

There was a beat of silence before Sara spoke.

“You know you crossed the line, right?” she asked him, “I had one request: that you didn’t tell Avery you’re her dad, and you couldn’t even manage that.”

“Look, I’m really sorry,” he said, leaning forwards, his hands clasped as he balanced his elbows on his knees, “I swear it was a mistake, I didn’t know Avery would get so upset and I’m sorry.”

Sara exhaled heavily.

“Thank you,” she nodded, “I appreciate you saying that.”

“You know, I was a little surprised you even asked me to come back,” he said.

“Believe me, it’s not because I wanted to,” Sara replied. Nate’s face fell slightly, “But it would be wrong of me to keep you out of Avery’s life, especially now she knows who you are.”

“Thank you,” Nate nodded vigorously.

“I guess now I need to know what you want to happen next,” she continued, “I know it’s hard because we live in different cities, and she’s starting school again soon, but would you maybe want to try taking her overnight or something?”

“Yeah, totally,” he answered, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

“Okay, well, my best friend’s wedding is in a couple weeks so we’ll be spending a few days in Star City. We could do it then?”

“Definitely,” he nodded, “That’d be awesome.”

He didn’t stay for too much longer before he left to catch his train. Sara was glad for the reason to see him go.

She always felt drained when she spent time with Nate. It made her wonder how she’d actually dated him for so long — almost a year, believe it or not. He’d just been so charming and seemed genuinely interested in her, although knowing that the person she’d been with before him was Oliver Queen made her think that perhaps her definition of those two qualities had been skewed at the time.

She meant it when she said that she wanted Nate to have a chance to be in Avery’s life, but it certainly wasn’t easy on her.

It made her think about Leonard. He’d been handling everything so well — dropping Avery off with Nate when Sara couldn’t (or didn’t want to), offering his genuine unbiased opinions when she needed to make decisions, not punching Nate in the face when he was being a jackass (which was often) — and it made her forget that this couldn’t be easy on him either.

She knew his experience with his own father had somewhat dissuaded him from being one himself, but the relationship he’d formed with Avery had proven him wrong. Sara could tell that he loved being Avery’s dad, and she was sure it was uncomfortable at the very least to have some of that taken away.

Not that he’d ever tell her any of this. Sara had long since learned that Leonard tended to avoid sharing his feelings if he didn’t have to. If she sensed something was wrong, she had to dig it out of him. She knew that some people wouldn’t see that as an appealing quality, but Sara usually didn’t mind. She just didn’t like to think he was suffering alone.

Except he wasn’t alone. Sara had told him time and time again that she would go to the ends of the Earth for him, and no matter how many times he rolled her eyes when she said it, she knew he believed her.

A few weeks after Sara’s conversation with Nate, they all headed to Star City for Felicity and Oliver’s wedding.

“I feel like we should just move here,” Leonard commented as they sped past the ‘Entering Star City’ sign.

“Don’t even joke about that,” Sara replied, shaking her head warningly.

Not too long later, they had checked into their hotel room, though they didn’t stick around too long before they headed out once again.

They successfully made it through the rehearsal dinner (Leonard generously left early to put Avery to bed and Sara successfully avoided an interaction with her sister) and they woke early the next morning to prepare for the wedding.

Sara was Felicity’s maid of honor, so after a quick breakfast with Avery and Len, she headed off to the wedding venue to help Felicity get ready.

Getting everyone’s hair and makeup done took an astounding four hours, including the times Sara left to see how Oliver and the groomsmen were doing (they were fine, watching a Star City Rockets game that might have also detained Sara for a half hour).

Finally, two hours before the ceremony began, it was time for Felicity to put on her dress.

“You look so beautiful, baby!” Donna Smoak gasped when Felicity emerged from behind a curtain in her wedding dress.

“Thanks mom,” she said, a hint of exasperation in her voice as her mother hugged her.

Felicity did look beautiful. She had chosen a ball gown style dress, a contrast from the tight-fitting clothes she usually opted for. It was strapless, with a lace bodice and crochet details on the tulle skirt and train. Rhinestone detailing along the waist complemented the gems pinning up her hair.

Her bridesmaids, Sara, Thea, Iris, and Elena, were in long dresses of a deep forest green color. There was a wide satin band around the waist and a tall slit up on side of the skirt. The halter neckline was cut low, the strap narrowing to reveal an open back.

“You look great, Lis,” Sara nodded.

“Are you sure?” Felicity asked nervously, looking at her reflection in the full length mirror.

“Yes,” they all reassured her.

“When are pictures?” she asked, smoothing out the tulle skirt of her dress.

“Five minutes,” Sara told her, “The guys are ready. We can head over now if you want.”

Felicity nodded.

An hour later, when pictures were done, Sara stopped by the hotel to see how Leonard and Avery were doing.

She entered the room to see Leonard standing by the window, straightening his tie. He looked over when the door opened.

“You ready?” Sara asked as she walked towards him.

“Aren’t you supposed to be with Felicity?” he asked.

“Everyone’s getting their makeup and hair touched-up before the ceremony starts,” she replied walking further into the room, “Thought I might stop by and see how things are going here.”

Sara tugged lightly on the lapels of his jacket. She’d never seen him in a suit before. He was always in his dark jeans and heavy leather jacket (she’d noticed that the blue parka hadn’t made an appearance in a while, but if because of the mid-August heat or because he was ready to put that part of his life behind him, she wasn’t sure).

Today, he was in a suit of a deep navy blue color. Underneath the jacket was a grey vest and a white dress shirt.

“You clean up nice,” she said, watching him tuck the red tie beneath his vest.

“So do you,” he replied, his eyes sweeping up and down her green dress.

“Thanks,” Sara smirked, “Felicity has good taste.”

“That she does.”

A moment later, Avery bounded out of the bathroom in the outfit Sara had picked out for her: a halter sundress that tied into a bow around the nape of her neck. It was a longer length than Sara would normally opt for to hide the scrapes and bruises Avery had acquired during long summer days spent on the playground, and printed on the pale blue fabric were large flowers of navy blue, lilac, red, and gold hues.

“Mommy, you look so pretty!” Avery exclaimed.

“Thank you, Avie,” Sara smiled, “Do you like your dress?”

“Yeah!” she said, spinning in a circle to make the long crepe-y skirt flair out, “Look Mama, I match Daddy!”

She pointed to a navy blue flower on her dress before frantically poking at Leonard’s leg.

“I can see that,” she nodded, smiling. She glanced at her phone, “I should get back to Felicity soon. And you guys should start heading over too.”

Leonard nodded.

“Do you want me to bring Ave’s bag for tonight?” he asked.

Sara thought for a moment, “I’ll take it. I can leave it in the back room of the wedding place until the reception.”

“Is the wedding soon,” Avery asked as Sara found her backpack wedged between one of the beds and a side table.

“Uh-huh,” Sara nodded, “Ave, you know I’m not gonna be sitting with you during it, right?” Avery nodded, “You’re gonna sit with Daddy and behave and not make a lot of noise?”

“Yup,” she chirped.

“Good,” she said, “Okay, so I’m gonna go now. Be good for Daddy, okay?”

“Okay.”

Sara kissed Leonard, and planted another in Avery’s curls and then headed back out the door.

About thirty minutes later, Leonard and Avery were sitting in ornately carved wooden chairs, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Oliver and Felicity had chosen to have their wedding in the glass-walled conservatory of a manor on the outskirts of Star City. Even Leonard could appreciate how beautiful it was, with the afternoon sunlight shining into the room and greenery growing up the walls.

“Hey.”

Leonard turned in his seat to see Laurel standing in the aisle next to him. Avery turned with him, her face brightening when she saw who had spoken.

“Auntie Laurel!” she exclaimed, climbing over Leonard’s legs to reach the aisle.

“Hi Avery!” Laurel said, lifting her up into a hug, “Are you excited to see the wedding?”

“Yeah!”

Laurel put Avery back on the ground.

“How’re you, Leonard?” she asked.

“I’m good,” he nodded, “and you?”

“Uh, well,” she began, “I’m at the wedding of my ex-boyfriend — alone — because my husband is the best man, so…confused would probably be a good word for it.”

“Well, it’ll be over soon,” he amended.

“Sara’s in the wedding?” she asked him. Leonard nodded, “She still hasn’t talked to me since…y’know.”

“I think she needs time,” he replied. She nodded.

Laurel glanced over her shoulder to see Quentin waving for her.

“I should go,” she said, “I think the ceremony’s gonna start. Maybe I’ll see you at the reception?”

“Maybe.”

Laurel smiled, waved to Avery, and turned away from them.

“Daddy?” Avery asked. Leonard looked over to her, “Is Mommy and Auntie Laurel fighting?”

“Yes.”

“How come?”

“That’s what sisters do sometimes.”

“Does Lisa fight with you?”

“Sometimes. More a few years ago than now.”

“How come d’you fight?”

“Lisa isn’t always the best at making decisions.”

“All rise,” the officiant said a moment later, his voice carrying across the room.

Leonard stood up along with everyone around him.

“Daddy, I can’t see,” Avery said, tugging on his sleeves. Leonard lifted her under her arms and stood her on a chair.

“Good?”

“Uh-huh,” she nodded, “Where’s Mommy?”

“She’s coming soon,” he replied.

A door at the back of the banquet hall opened and Felicity’s mother, Donna, started down the aisle.

Donna was wearing a summery floral-patterned dress with a neckline he knew Felicity wouldn’t appreciate.

Leonard had gotten the chance to meet Donna Smoak at the rehearsal dinner the night before. She seem to be quite a foil to her daughter, brazen and high-strung, yet still likable. She was, unsurprisingly, infatuated with Avery and was very disappointed to hear she wouldn’t be in the wedding (Felicity had initially wanted Avery to be her flower girl, but when she found out that Leonard and Sara were getting married, she insisted Avery wait to be flower girl for her parents’ wedding).

Donna made it to the end of the aisle and took her seat right in front of the alter.

A moment later, Oliver appeared beside the officiant, dressed in a sleek black tuxedo. He shook the officiant’s hand, straightened his jacket, and turned to face the wooden door at the back of the room.

The door opened again and one by one each of Felicity’s bridesmaids made their way down the aisle, arm-in-arm with a groomsman.

Oliver’s sister Thea walked with her boyfriend Roy, followed by Iris and Barry. Last was John Diggle and a young, short woman named Elena.

Leonard was impressed with himself for knowing who all of these people were without a formal introduction to any of them, but Sara talked to Felicity a lot, and he would be lying if he said he hadn’t picked up on some of the family drama, and there was certainly a lot of it.

The “drama” that went down in his own household had been of a much different variety than hers, and he found it intriguing to see a normal family experience their own trials (although as more time went by, the more he was convinced this was not a normal family).

“Look!” Avery exclaimed, her voice at a volume clearly meant to be a whisper, “Mama!”

Leonard looked where she was pointing and saw Sara starting her walk down the aisle. Tommy Merlyn, Oliver’s best man, was by her side. Sara was smiling good-naturedly, quietly laughing at something Tommy had said.

“Mommy!” Avery said, her voice not quite a yell, but certainly audible.

Sara looked over as she reached their row of seats.

“Hi Avie,” she whispered, her eyes twinkling as she waved.

Sara continued down the aisle and soon Felicity came into view.

“Look,” Leonard murmured, lifting Avery up so she could see over the heads of the other wedding attendants. When Avery saw Felicity in her wedding dress, walking arm-in-arm with her father, she let out a gasp.

“Daddy, look, she looks like a princess!” she said, gripping his shoulders and craning her neck to see better. Avery waved to Felicity. She glanced over, smiling in their direction when she saw them.

A minute later, she reached the alter and everyone took their seats.

“Daddy?” Avery whispered, tugging on Leonard’s sleeve, “Is Mommy gonna look as beautiful as Auntie Lissy when she marries you?”

“Your mom is beautiful all the time,” he told her, his voice quiet.

“But she doesn’t wear wedding dresses all the time,” she responded.

“That’s right She doesn’t do that,” he amended.

“And wedding dresses make you a gazillion times even more beautiful.”

“I think that’s your answer, then.”

The wedding went by relatively quickly, and mostly consisted of Leonard explaining the ceremony to Avery.

“Why’s Ollie talkin’?”

“He’s giving his vows.”

“What are vows?”

“He’s promising to Felicity that he’ll love her forever.”

“Is he gonna?”

“I hope.”

“Why’s Lissy talking now?”

“She’s giving her vows.”

“Why?”

“Same reason Oliver did.”

“She’s gonna love him forever?”

“Theoretically.”

“What’s theoretically?”

The ceremony didn’t drag on like Leonard suspected, and soon Oliver and Felicity were making their way back down the aisle together.

Ten minutes later, they had all reconvened in the manor’s formal banquet hall decorated in shades of cream and gold.

“It looks like a princess castle!” Avery had exclaimed when they first entered the room.

Leonard had been to few weddings throughout the course of his life, and this one was certainly the most extravagant. He rarely interacted with polite society (besides stealing from them, but that part of his life was over). It was interesting to him to see this lifestyle, this lavishness, when it was considered by many in the room as normal. He had never been in the same room as Oliver Queen before, and although he didn’t seem quite as clueless as Tommy Merlyn, he gave off a similar air of ignorance, a life of affluence preventing him from being able to fully recognize all he had.

He didn’t participate in much of the wedding festivities, choosing instead to sit and observe. He watched Oliver and Felicity’s first dance, set to Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” (which was number eight on a list of common first dance songs, something Leonard had looked up just to spite Sara, who thought it was sweet). As they were finishing up dinner, the toasts began.

Donna went first, her too long and overly revealing speech ending with her in tears and Felicity with her head in her hands.

Tommy went next, talking about the childhood he’d spent with Oliver, and how they had been together through all the important stages of their lives (it was a touching toast, Leonard had to admit, although he figured Laurel was behind at least most of it).

Sara was last. She hadn’t prepared a toast, at least not a fully written-out one like the other two — it wasn’t her style, but she ended up delivering a lovely speech about her friendship with Felicity, supporting each other when no one else would.

“How was that for impromptu,” she whispered gleefully as she returned to her seat. She gave Avery a high five.

When everyone finished eating, the dance floor was opened up to the rest of the wedding attendants.

“Let’s go dance, Len,” Sara said, nudging his arm with her shoulder as she nodded to the dance floor.

“Are you watching the time?” Leonard asked Sara, ignoring her request.

“No,” she replied, her expression blank.

“Nate’s gonna be here in three minutes.”

“Shit,” she said, recognition dawning across her face, “Where’s Avery?”

Leonard tipped his head to the side. Sara looked over to see Avery playing with the flower girl, a cupcake in each hand and frosting all over her face.

“Oh God,” Sara said closing her eyes momentarily before calling for her daughter, “Avery, c’mere!”

Avery looked up and then ran over to her mother.

“You’re double-fisting cupcakes, my love,” Sara told her, ruffling her curls.

“They’re good!” she chirped, taking an impossibly large bite out of a cupcake and smearing even more lilac-colored frosting on her cheeks.

“I don’t doubt it,” Sara said, attempting to wipe the frosting off with a napkin, “but we gotta go. Your dad’s waiting for you.”

Avery’s face fell.

“But I don’t wanna go. I wanna stay at the party.”

“I know, but you promised you’d stay with him tonight, and you’re gonna do fun things there too.”

“Can he come to the party?”

“Uh…no. C’mon, say bye to Daddy and then we have to go.”

While Avery hugged Leonard, Sara found Avery’s backpack hanging off of her chair. She held it out for Avery and watched as she pulled her arms through the straps.

“Ready?” she asked. Avery nodded. Sara took her hand and led her into the foyer of the manor.

Nate was waiting for them, sitting on an upholstered couch. He stood up when he saw Sara and Avery approaching.

“Hey,” he said, meeting Sara’s eyes, “You look nice.”

“Thanks,” she replied, “You ready?”

“Yeah, totally,” he nodded.

“Well, here she is,” Sara said. She looked at Avery, “You ready to go?”

Avery nodded. Sara looked back up at Nate.

“Okay, so basically everything she needs is in her backpack. She’s eaten — sort of. It was mostly cupcakes so she still needs dinner. She’s not a very picky eater, so she’ll probably be fine with whatever works for you. Her bedtime is at eight, but if you wanted, you could keep her up a little later.”

Nate nodded.

“Okay,” he said, “Sounds good.”

“And if you need anything, just text me or call.”

“Got it,” he nodded, “You ready to go, Avery?”

Avery nodded, not letting go of her mother’s hand. Sara crouched down and pulled her into a hug. She felt Avery’s arms wind around her neck, her fingers gripping her hair.

“You’re gonna have fun, okay?” Sara whispered into Avery’s curls, “I promise.”

She felt Avery nod.

Sara stood up and gave her a little nudge forward.

“Have fun,” she said as they started heading for the front door that was being propped open with a barrel filled with purple flowers. Avery turned and waved as they passed through the doorway. Soon they were down the porch steps and out of sight.

Sara took a deep breath and then headed back for the banquet hall.

“Well that was shitty,” she said when she returned to the table and saw Leonard in the same place she’d left him.

“She didn’t want to go?” he asked as Sara sat in the chair next to him.

“Not really,” she replied, “She seemed kind of…I dunno, uncomfortable?” She met his eyes, “Was this a mistake?”

“I really don’t know,” he answered. Sara let out a sigh, leaning over to rest the side of her head on his shoulder.

A moment later, Felicity came up behind them.

“Did Nate pick Avery up?” she asked. Sara nodded as she sat up.

“Just now.”

“Aw, that sucks,” Felicity said, leaning over to hug her from behind, her arms wrapping around Sara’s shoulders, “I mean, I’m sure she’ll have fun with him, but…y’know, it can’t be easy.”

Felicity stood and walked around their chairs.

“But look on the bright side,” she said, gesturing around them, “You’re at a fancy party. The booze is free, for you at least, and you don’t have a kid to take care of.”

“She has a point,” Leonard agreed.

“When have you ever looked on the bright side of anything,” Sara grumbled.

“Cute,” he smirked.

“You’re seriously both encouraging me to, what, get hammered on my night off?” Sara said skeptically, “Really?”

“Yes,” they said simultaneously.

“You deserve it,” Felicity added seriously.

Sara raised her eyebrows thoughtfully.

“Fine,” she said, “I’m gonna go get a drink — or two — and then you,” she poked Leonard’s chest, “are gonna dance with me even if I have to drag you out onto the floor.”

She stood, feeling his eyes on her as she headed for the bar.

She ordered two shots of an alcohol she hadn’t had since right after Avery was born (and then never again — waking up hungover sucked, but waking up hungover at dawn to a screaming newborn was damn near prison torture) and a whiskey for Leonard. She downed one of the shots before even leaving the bar. Just as she picked up the other two glasses to head back to the table, she saw her sister making her way towards her. She drank the other shot, wondering briefly if she should order another before Laurel was standing in front of her.

“Hey Sara,” she said.

“Laurel,” Sara said, forcing a friendly smile onto her face, “You look nice.”

“So do you,” she replied, “As always. Your wedding invitation came in the mail yesterday. I was a little surprised to see it.”

“Yeah, well, Lisa told me not to just send emails,” she joked.

“I’m serious,” Laurel said, “I was sort of surprised to see you actually invited me.”

“Well, you are my sister,” Sara shrugged, “Of course I’d invite you to my wedding.”

“So you aren’t still mad at me about Nate?” she asked.

“I think you’re smart enough to know it’s gonna take more than a month and half for me to get over that,” she said, lifting the glass of whiskey meant for Leonard to her lips.

Sara couldn’t tell if it was disappointment or resignation she saw in Laurel’s eyes.

“Okay, well, I’m sorry, I guess,” she said, “I hope he’s not causing you guys a ton of trouble.”

“No, none at all,” Sara said sweetly. She ordered two more shots for herself and another whiskey for Len and then walked away from her sister.

“That looked less than amicable,” Leonard commented when Sara returned to the table, accepting the glass of whiskey.

“Let’s just say Felicity is lucky I love her so much because I would love to beat some sense into my sister.”

Felicity and Leonard were ultimately unsuccessful at getting Sara completely hammered, but when they returned to the hotel room at nearly eleven o’clock, her wide smile and uncharacteristic giggle were reminding Leonard of when Sara had to take pain meds for her bullet wound to the stomach several months ago.

It didn’t last long.

“I hope Ave’s doing okay,” she said morosely, pulling off her silver heels and letting them drop onto the carpeted floor.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Leonard reassured her, loosening his tie, “She usually has fun with him.”

“I know,” she nodded, “but she’s never spent the night with anyone before.”

“That’s not true,” Leonard replied, “She sleeps at your mom’s house all time.” Sara opened her mouth to argue but he continued, “and when you had to stay at S.T.A.R. Labs for a few weeks after the warehouse incident, Lisa stayed with her.”

“She trusts them though,” Sara argued, turning away from him and pulling her hair over her shoulder. She was still as he unzipped the back of her green dress, “She hasn’t known Nate for very long, maybe not long enough to spend a whole night with him.”

Sara went into the bathroom, leaving the door open to hear Leonard’s response. as she changed into a t-shirt and shorts.

“You left me alone with her when you only knew me for a month,” he said, “and I’m not actually her dad.”

“Yeah, but that’s because she was, like, obsessed with you,” she replied, “She trusted you before I did.”

“She has good taste,” he replied, and Sara could practically hear his smirk. She rolled her eyes.

She picked up a hairbrush off the counter and went back into the hotel room where Leonard was now in a t-shirt and sweatpants, sitting on one of the queen-size beds with a book.

“I just feel like I’m rushing into it,” she said, shrugging as she sat cross-legged next to him.

Sara’s phone, resting on the bedside table, starting to ring.

“Who is it?” Sara asked, starting to run the hairbrush through her hair.

Leonard, closer to the phone than her, leaned over to read the name on the illuminated screen.

“Speak of the devil,” he said, handing the phone to her, “It’s Nate.”

“What does he want?” Sara asked, then held the phone up to her ear, “Nate, what do you want?”

“Avery’s saying she doesn’t feel good,” Nate replied.

“Okay,” Sara replied, slowing down so she could process what Nate was telling her, “What’s she saying is wrong?”

“She says she has a sore throat.”

“Did you give her Tylenol or cough medicine or something?”

“No. I don’t have any kid’s medicine.”

Sara closed her eyes, “You agreed to take Avery for the night and you don’t have children’s medicine? Where do you have her sleeping, the floor?”

“Sara,” Leonard said warningly, but when she looked to him, there was a hint of a smirk on his lips.

“Look, take a regular Tylenol pill and cut it in half,” she told Nate, “That’ll work. Oh, and she can’t swallow pills because she’s four, so you have to crush it and put it in ice cream or something and have her eat that.”

“Okay,” Nate said.

“And if it starts to be too much, call me and I’ll come get her. I won’t hold it against you,” then she added, “Probably.”

“Okay,” he repeated. He hung up. Sara tossed the phone onto the couch and exhaled heavily.

“Ave doesn’t feel good?” Leonard asked.

“No, of course not,” she said sardonically, “because why would anything in my life be easy.”

Leonard didn’t say anything.

“I’m sorry,” Sara said, her voice softer as she uncrossed her legs and curled up against his side.

“You keep telling me that and I’m not really sure why,” he replied, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“Because everything was hard for so long and we kept almost dying and then after the Markov device things were actually normal for a while, and then hurricane-Nate showed up and now everything’s crazy and you’re all caught up in it when you shouldn’t have to be.” Sara stopped to take a breath, “You should want…better, or…easier.”

“I want you,” he replied, “and anyway, I gave up on normal after the particle accelerator exploded and the Flash showed up. Besides, I…doubt…this Nate thing will last.”

“What do you mean?” Sara asked, propping herself up on her elbow to better meet his eyes.

Leonard hesitated, searching for the right words.

“My dad would always come home from prison wanting to be a better man, and he tried. For the first few weeks, he was a good dad and a good husband, but he never could make it last. A job would go badly or my mother wouldn’t have dinner on the table at the right time or I got on his bad side, and he would lose it. My father was a man who couldn’t do a job if it wasn’t easy,” he paused, “He didn’t know how to keep trying.”

“You think Nate’s gonna be the same way?” Sara asked.

“Well, considering he didn’t try to stay with you when you told him you were pregnant, he’s not off to a great start,” he replied, “He hasn’t had any…challenges…with her yet. We’ll have to see how he does when they do happen.”

“That’s why I didn’t want Ave to know he’s her dad,” Sara said, “I wanted to give him the time to back out if he wanted to, so she wouldn’t be disappointed and he wouldn’t be known to her as ‘the dad who left and didn’t come back’ for the rest of his life. I know he thinks I was doing it to spite him, but I really wasn’t. I don’t hold anything against him anymore.”

Leonard raised his eyebrows.

“Not that much,” she corrected.

He let out a sigh.

“I just don’t want to see her disappointed by her dad’s inability to do his job, because I know what that’s like,” he said.

“Well she’ll always have you,” she said, nudging his side. He said nothing, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw a hint of a smile on his lips, “I’m serious. She loves you so much that it’s actually kind of crazy. I can tell she hates calling Nate her dad because the bond the two of you have is like nothing else. She doesn’t feel it with him like she does with you. No matter what he does, and no matter how long he stays, you’re her dad, not him.”

The next morning, Sara met Nate in the lobby of the hotel to pick Avery up.

She was only waiting a minute or two before they arrived. Nate was holding Avery’s hand in one of his own and her backpack in the other.

Avery didn’t look to be in great shape, although that made sense considering she clearly had come down with something. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were drooping. The usual bounce in her step was noticeably lackluster.

Nate looked downright exhausted.

“How’d it go?” she asked as Avery let go of Nate’s hand and ran into her arms.

“Uh, it was good,” Nate nodded, handing Sara the purple backpack.

“Good,” Sara nodded, “Hey, sorry she wasn’t feeling good.”

“No, don’t worry about it,” he shook his head, “It happens.”

“Well, I know we have to head back to Central, but we can schedule another visit. We could do the same overnight thing if you wanted, or she could even stay longer if you were up for it.”

“Yeah totally,” Nate nodded, “but my work schedule is so crazy right now. Why don’t I check when I’m free and I’ll let you know what works?”

“Sure,” she replied. Nate nodded.

“Uh, so have a safe trip home,” he said.

“Thanks.”

“Bye Avery.”

“Bye,” Avery replied, pulling away from her mother to wave at him.

Nate turned and walked towards the tall glass doors and then he was gone.

Sara started towards the elevators with Avery in tow.

“I’m sorry you don’t feel good,” she said, “Did you have fun with your dad anyway?”

“Uh-huh.”

“What’d you do?”

“We made pizza outta bagels and then we watched Tangled.”

“That’s fun, you love Tangled,” Sara replied, “Do you want to press the button?”

“Yeah!”

Sara pointed to the button with an up arrow and watched Avery enthusiastically jab at it. A moment later, the metal doors parted and they stepped inside the elevator.

“What else did you do with him?” Sara asked.

“Can I do this button too?”

“Seven,” she replied, “What else did you do with your dad?”

“We played go-fish. He won a lot.”

“Oh, well that’s okay. You can’t win every game. Is that all you did?”

Avery shrugged before lapsing into a coughing fit.

“Where’s Daddy?” she finally got out.

“We’re almost there,” she said as the elevator doors parted. She led Avery down the carpeted hallway to their hotel room, letting them inside.

Leonard was sitting on one of the beds, legs crossed at the ankles, reading a book. He looked up when they walked in.

“Hey,” he said, closing the book and setting it on the quilt beside him, “How’d it go?”

Avery tiredly crossed the room and climbed into the bed beside him.

“I don’t feel good, Daddy,” she said, curling against his side.

Leonard pulled Avery closer to him, running his knuckles up and down her arm.

“That’s not fun” he said. Avery shook her head, nuzzling her cheek against his shoulder. He looked up and met Sara’s eyes, “So how’d it go?”

She shrugged, “Avery says she had fun, didn’t you, Ave?”

Leonard felt Avery nod, her messy curls brushing against the base of his neck.

“I wanna go home,” she said.

“I know,” Sara said, “We will. Soon. We just need to say bye to Ollie and Auntie Lissy before they go on their honeymoon.”

Avery didn’t answer.

Leonard held the back of his hand against her forehead.

“She has a fever,” he told Sara.

“Ave, did your dad give you any medicine this morning?”

“No,” she replied. Sara let out frustrated sigh.

“I’m gonna run out and get her some Tylenol,” she said, grabbing her phone and wallet, “I’ll be right back.”

As Sara left the hotel room, Leonard lifted Avery onto his chest, an arm across her back bracing her from slipping off of him.

She curled up against him, her cheek against his chest.

“Can you read to me, Daddy?”

“Did Nate read you the books you packed?” he asked as he reached for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

“One of ‘em,” she replied, her arms locking around his neck.

“Where’d we leave off,” he asked.

“They’re in the Beavers’ house and Edmund left to find the snow lady,” Avery answered.

“Right,” he nodded, holding the book above Avery and opening it to the dog-eared page from a couple days ago.

They read two chapters before Sara returned and gave Avery her medicine.

“Felicity and Oliver are gonna meet us downstairs in twenty,” she told Leonard, tossing a pile of clothes into her suitcase.

He nodded, standing to help her pack.

After a few minutes, Sara noticed that Avery’s eyes had dropped closed, her fist loosening its hold on her bunny blanket.

“No, you can’t go to sleep, Ave,” Sara said. Avery whined as Sara lifted her up, sitting her on the end of the bed so her legs dangled towards the floor, “I know you don’t feel good and you can sleep in the car, but you’ve gotta stay awake to say bye to Auntie Lis, okay?”

Avery slumped somewhat pathetically over to one side.

“Here,” Sara said, holding out Avery’s backpack, “Take this and just wait a couple minutes and then we’ll go.”

Avery pulled the backpack onto her shoulders and stood by the foot of the bed until Sara said it was time to go.

“Ready?” she asked, taking her daughter’s hand. Avery nodded and followed Sara and Leonard out of the hotel room.

“Do you wanna push the button?” Sara asked her when they reached the elevator.

Avery shook her head, reaching towards Leonard. He lifted her into his arms as the elevator door opened.

Felicity was waiting for them when they arrived in the lobby of the hotel.

“Hey guys!” she exclaimed, smiling brightly.

“Hey Lis,” Sara said, hugging her friend, “Where’s Ollie?”

“I guess there’s an issue with our plane tickets?” she shrugged, “He’s off taking care of it.”

“Are you excited for Italy?”

“Hell yeah,” she replied, “It’s gonna be great. You guys are heading back to Central?”

“Yeah,” Sara nodded, “Ave’s not feeling great so we’re gonna get her back home.”

“Oh no,” she said, taking Avery from Leonard to give her a hug, “That’s not fun, Avie.”

Avery shook her head in agreement.

“I’m gonna miss you guys,” Felicity said, handing Avery back to Leonard.

“Me too,” Sara said, pulling Felicity into another hug, “I’m so happy for you.”

“Thank you,” she said, hugging her back.

“Have fun in Italy,” Sara said, “Eat some gelato for me.”

“I will,” she nodded, “and when I get back it’s all about you.”

“Why me?”

“When I get back it’ll be only a month until your wedding.”

“Oh yeah. I guess you’re right.”

They heard the sound of vibrating. Felicity glanced down at her phone.

“It’s Ollie,” she said, “I should go.”

She gave Sara one last hug, waved to Leonard and Avery, and then was on her way.

During the following weeks, Nate took Avery overnight two more times. Sara had to admit she was starting to get tired of driving to Star City, but she knew it was the right thing to do, and besides, Avery seemed to be having fun with him.

Finally, the weekend before Avery started school again, Nate agreed to be the one to make the trip between their cities. He wasn’t taking her overnight this time, but, at Sara’s suggestion, was bringing her to a children’s amusement park a little outside Central City.

“Are you excited, Avie?” Sara asked that morning, pulling a patterned t-shirt and denim shorts out of Avery’s dresser.

“Yeah,” Avery replied from where she was sitting on her bed, “Wait it’s the one that we went to at my summer camp right?”

“Uh-huh,” Sara answered.

“Yeah!” she exclaimed, bouncing up and down on her knees, “It’s so much fun ‘cos there’s so many rides, remember?”

“I wasn’t there, but I’ll take your word for it.”

“Are you comin’ with us?” she asked, her voice muffled as she pulled her shirt over her head.

“Nope. Daddy and I have to go work on the wedding with Lisa and Iris and everybody.”

“Can I come?”

“You’re going to the amusement park with your dad, Ave.”

“Oh yeah.”

Sara watched as Avery pulled on her shorts.

“You ready?” she asked, “He’s gonna be here soon.”

“Uh-huh,” she nodded, jumping off her bed and into the hallway, “Wait, can we do daily bubble?”

“Do you want to wait and do it with your dad?” Sara asked her.

Avery paused, thinking.

“No,” she decided, “I wanna do it now.”

“Okay,” Sara shrugged, following Avery out onto the balcony

“Daddy!” Avery called over her shoulder, “Come do the daily bubble!”

“He’s at the grocery store, babe,” she told her.

“Is he gonna be back before I go?” Avery asked as she pulled the plastic top off the tupperware container holding the bubble soap.

“Maybe,” Sara replied, picking up the bubble wand, “He told me to tell you to have fun for him in case he isn’t, though. Ready?”

Avery nodded. Sara slowly dragged the pink plastic wand through the air until the bubble formed, bouncing through the air, wobbling as the wind pushed it in different directions.

“One,” Avery was counting, “Two…three…four…five.”

Sara joined for, “Six…seven…eight.”

And then it popped when a particularly strong gust of wind blew it into a nearby telephone pole.

“Aw,” Avery pouted.

“Hey, that one wasn’t that bad,” Sara told her, putting the lid back on the tupperware container, “C’mon, come put your shoes on and wait for your dad.”

A half hour later, she was still waiting for Nate.

Leonard had returned to the apartment about ten minutes earlier.

“Sorry, traffic — hey, why’s Avery still here.”

After another thirty minutes, Sara tried calling him, but he didn’t pick up.

“Mommy, where is he,” Avery asked, hanging off the back of the couch.

“I dunno, honey, he’s probably just running late.”

A full two hours after Nate was supposed to show up, the phone finally rang. Leonard picked it up.

“Hello?” he said, although he suspected he already knew who was on the other end.

“Hey, it’s Nate.”

“Avery’s here waiting for you,” Leonard told him, not bothering with small-talk.

“Yeah, so there’s a problem,” Nate said, “I’m not gonna make it.”

“What?” he asked, anger creeping into his voice before he could stop it.

“I got put on the schedule at work by accident and we’ve been super busy lately so I didn’t think I should just cancel. Sorry this is last minute.”

“You were supposed to pick her up at seven-thirty, and now it’s almost ten,” Leonard said, “That’s not last minute, that’s late.”

“I know,” he said apologetically, “Look, I have to go. Tell Sara I’m sorry.”

Before he could say anything, Nate hung up. Leonard closed his eyes, letting out a deep exhale.

A moment later, the apartment door opened and Sara and Avery walked in, the latter pushing her bike by the handlebars. Sara stopped when she saw the phone in Leonard’s hand.

“Ave,” she said, “go put your bike in your room and play for a little bit, okay?”

When Avery was in her room, Sara said, “He’s not coming.”

Leonard shook his head.

“He said something came up,” he told her, “He told me to tell you he’s sorry.”

“I’m sure he is,” Sara shook her head. There was a sadness in her eyes as she walked closer to him. She sighed, “It can’t just be easy.”

He pulled her into a hug.

“It can’t just be easy,” he repeated.

#lot #captain canary #lot ff #cc ff #legends of tomorrow #voices carry #mine

8 notes · View notes