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casspurrjoybell-25 · 1 year ago

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The Healer of Shakkara - Book One

*Warning Adult Content*

Chapter 7 - Strangers - Part 1

Galen stared down at the strangers on the doorstep, the beginnings of panic fluttering at the base of his ribs.

What did they want with him?

How had they found him so quickly?

One glanced up and Galen backed away from the window, his heart in his mouth.

Had they seen him?

He heard voices from below... Harrald's, rising on a question and an indistinct reply.

Fear seized him and one thought overrode all others... he had to get away.

Cracking the door of his bedroom, he paused.

The voices were clearer now and he imagined Harrald must be standing in the open door, blocking the entrance as he confronted the unexpected visitors.

He still couldn't make out words but the tone was tense.

He slipped out into the hall and down towards the opposite end, away from the stairs.

Harrald's bedroom had a window facing the back, above the overhanging roof of the kitchen.

From there, it was only a drop of ten feet to the ground.

He climbed through the window, moved down to the roof's edge and peered cautiously over the side.

It was clear.

Dangling his legs, he pushed himself off and landed in a crouch, the impact stinging the bottoms of his feet.

Then he straightened and edged along the side of the house, past Harrald's forge and towards the kitchen garden, where he grew a few herbs and vegetables.

There was a small gate in the wall on that side, connecting to a narrow path between the neighboring houses, which led out to another street.

He paused at the corner, his back against the side of the house and peered around it.

He could see a portion of the street out front but no sign of the strangers.

Perhaps Harrald had let them inside.

Taking a breath and keeping in a low crouch, he scurried quickly through the patchy garden beds to the gate, slid back the latch and winced as its rusty hinges creaked.

He opened it just enough to slip through and shut it after him carefully.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

He'd done it... now he just had to figure out what to do next.

'Behn's house', he thought.

Behn's father had a huge basement for brewing ale and he could hide there until the coast was clear.

Thus resolved, he turned and bumped into someone's chest.

With a cry of fright and surprise, he stumbled back and fell in the dusty path.

The stranger looked down at him, head tilted to the side and brows raised inquiringly.

"Going somewhere?" he asked.

The stranger kept a firm hold on Galen's arm as he led him back inside.

He didn't bother to struggle.

A few weeks of training with Triss had done him no good when the stranger drew his long, thin sword and pointed the tip at Galen's chest and the strength in the hand that gripped him was many times his own.

Harrald sat in his usual chair and one of the stranger's companions sat in it's match.

Another stood by the door, guarding it.

The stranger gave a sharp whistle and the final pair appeared... one descending from the second floor and the other climbing the steps from the cellar.

"Got him," the stranger said.

"Good work, Sev."

The woman coming down the stairs nodded approvingly.

She was pretty, Galen thought but she also had a sharp, military aspect and her voice carried cold, no-nonsense authority.

"Your instincts are sound, as usual."

"Galen," Harrald got to his feet as they entered and took a step forward.

One of the other strangers blocked his way.

The man holding him raised his free hand.

"Peace. He's unharmed."

Harrald ignored him, waiting for Galen to speak for himself.

Galen pulled free of the stranger's hold and nodded.

"I'm all right, father," he said, rubbing his arm.

Turning to the stranger, Harrald said...

"Who are you people? What do you want with Gale?"

The stranger bowed.

"Forgive the intrusion, Master. My name is Sevhalim. These are my fellow seekers... Rea, Iksthanis, Oberik and Zenír. We are tasked with discovering the P'Yrha and returning him to Jana Val."

Harrald shook his head.

"You'll have to do better than that, I'm afraid. I'm only an old man of the Guard."

The stranger, Sevhalim, clasped his hands behind his back and bowed again.

"Perhaps we will be more comfortable if we sit?"

Reluctantly, Harrald nodded and returned to his chair, gesturing for Galen to take the low stool at his side.

Sevhalim took the remaining chair and the other four grabbed the rough, handmade benches from around the table.

The woman, whom the stranger had called Rea, stood by the door, hand on the hilt of her sword.

Once they were settled, Sevhalim reached inside the breast of his uniform jacket and pulled out something that dangled from a chain.

"My pendant," Galen reached for it and to his surprise, Sevhalim leaned forward and handed it over.

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valentine-cafe · 1 year ago

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For the Valentine machup.

I'm a 20 years old, bi, (cis) woman. May or may not the ace spectrum. (I'm not opposed to the thought of having sex but don't feel like couldn't live without it either.)

I'm 180cm tall a little chubby, with long, straight brown hair, blue eyes and glasses.

I'm an English major at the university, but I learnt IT in middle school. I like natural sciences especially biology and antropology, but only as a hobby.

My other hobbies incloud art and reading. I'm really fonded to sci-fi and fantasy words because of their structure and unique flora and fauna.

I alwasy wanted to be able to do magic or have a superpower (mindreading, and/or telekinesis).

I love every animal, my favourites being any kind of reptiles and amphibians and cats.

I don't like the cold (even though I handle it well) and prefer to wear cozy clothes. Mostly cotton or whool. Jumpers and funky socks are always the part of my set if it's possible. But if I had to choose I'd live my life in pjs.

I like people with long hair and find wearing flashy eye makeup and/or high heals super attractive. I don't really care about other details (like height, weight, colors of anything) though until the other person is well kept and clean.

. ˚◞♡ 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕��𝒏𝒆'𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒑𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍◞ ₊˚

⊹ ۪ ࣪ ᥫ᭡ “ you are paired with . . . ” ꒱

you have been matched with jingyi 9948e due to your interests and general self. your hobbies of art and reading are two things that jingyi can get by. while he may be quite chaotic and all over the place, he is still quite a creative person and would love to create with you. however, do not engage with him when it comes to anything in the science field. . . he is not a stem student and he wants to keep it that way. your love for frogs and reptiles will have him taking you on explorations along the riverbed that he loves so much, in search of them for you. seeing as he is a reaper, who are naturally cold to the touch, he always makes sure that is body temperature is warming up before he comes around you. with that being said, your love for cosy and warm clothes is also something that he can delight in. he’ll give you tons of his own clothing as it fits that category. no need to worry when it comes to having a well-kept and clean partner as he is both of those things, despite being so chaotic

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🍰 ꒱ 𝒔��𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔 ⊹ ۪

˖ ࣪ ଓ jingyi loves it whenever you go walking along the riverbanks and waterways of the different meadows and landscapes that you find whenever the two of you travel around. his eyes following your movements and small halts whenever you find a frog or an axolotl floating around in the bright, clear water, where the stream is gentle with a chiming ring to it as the water flows.

˖ ࣪ ଓ please let this man do your eye makeup — it is something he loves so very much and knowing how you feel with the flashy eye makeup too, he’d love nothing more than to try out some of his own looks on you, and watch your eyes shimmer with amazement and happiness as he turns you around in the chair you’re sitting in so that you can see yourself in the mirror.

˖ ࣪ ଓ on days where the weather is dark and gloomy or when he feels that itch to paint, sketch or draw — or perhaps write some poetry, he will pull you with him to sit beneath the roofs of one of the zhao estate pavilions or beneath an overhang where the two of you can sit and be artistic, murmuring softly to you whenever his mind composes short poetry for only you to hear and the wind to carry out to the rest of the world to bring it some happiness when times are hard. he also loves to do a few shoulder peeks, to look at what you’re drawing. nevermind how far you are in your process, praise and compliments will spill off of his lips, all very genuine. he loves the art you create, all of it.

˖ ࣪ ଓ with both of you having a liking for cosy clothing, jingyi makes sure that the both of you have matching pjs. it can range from colours to patterns, whatever they may be. he finds it to be cute whenever the two of you match and it puts him straight into a cuddling mood.

˖ ࣪ ଓ with your distaste for the cold, the poor reaper — whose natural body temperature is quite cold — does everything in his power to make himself as warm as possible, layering himself in clothes so that you won’t immediately freeze when you feel his skin on yours. this can be a negative thing though as he always ends up feeling really hot. yet still whines about wanting to hold you. eventually, you both comes to a solution.

˖ ࣪ ଓ he might not look like it, but jingyi does enjoy reading. in particular, reading with you. one of his favourite things is listening to you read out loud. he always makes sure to pick out some books whenever he goes out so that you always have something on hand. especially during night where he needs to drift off. it’s a comforting pass-time for the both of you.

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🍡 ꒱ 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒆𝒅. . . ⊹ ۪

the waters of the zhao estate’s waterways soothes your ears. eyes focused on the amphibians that swim around in their home, while small reptiles run along the lively surroundings. a few butterflies having landed on your head while you sit there in the grass.

“qin’ai deeeeee” jingyi calls, as he makes a beeline over to you, scaring a few of the woodland creatures away, that had started to gather around you. you jolt slightly, looking back at him with a small look of surprise, but smile at the reaper approaching you. his long hair flowing behind him as he runs towards you.

he scoots down next to you, landing in an odd sitting position, head propped into his hand, the other arm slung over his torso as he looks up at you with the usual big idiot-in-love grin. watching the wildlife slowly return back to you as the surroundings calm once more, despite his chaotic presence.

“gege” you chuckle quietly, greeting him with a smile of affection.

“you look so pretty today baobei.”

sitting up properly and gently brushing a strand of your hair behind your ear, he pulls you in for a small kiss on the lips before pulling away and with ease taking out one of the butterflies in your hair to show it to you.

“you attract such beautiful things, it is incredible.” he chuckles, maroon eyes shimmering as they move up to look into yours once again, his free hand wrapping around your torso and bringing you close to his side, so that the two of you are snuggled up together by the riverbed.

“it’d be a beautiful day for going a walk, no? i brought some snacks too! we can also feed some of the deer’s in the garden”

⊹ ۪ ࣪ ᥫ᭡ “ others you also paired with. . . ” ꒱

˖ ࣪ ଓ yize 9948e ˖ ࣪ ଓ rishen 164

#⊹ ۪ ࣪ ᥫ᭡ the specials — valentine matchups ꒱#teratophillia #terato #asterism reader insert #monster romance #monster oc #monster x reader #monster boyfriend #oc x reader #monster boyfriend x reader #original character x reader #grim reaper x reader #grim reaper oc #jingyi 9948e x reader #zhao jingyi 9948e x reader #monster matchups #matchups

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homeimgs · 2 years ago

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Barn House in Australia: A Stunning Contemporary Barn Inspired Home

This home in Sydney, Australia, has been designed for a young family that wanted a home that would be robust and persevere the wear of everyday life.

The design of the home, which is located on a triangular shaped lot, was a collaboration between the home owner, the design team from Clayton Orszaczky, and the builder, Robert Plumb Project.

From the street, the house may appear dark because of its color but it is surprisingly bright and open on the inside. The interior is like the exact contrast of the exterior. What you can see here is a comfy looking chair with an ottoman. On the wall is a wooden shelf that has blue colors in it.

Using a palette of recycled brick, brass, internal timber lining boards, solid timber, and rough sawn tactile cladding reminiscent of shou sugi ban, the home has a contemporary and warm feeling to it.

The clients ideas originated from photos of the simple timber hipped roof structures seen in the landscape of Greenland and evolved to absorb influences from traditional Japanese timber architecture and the iconic forms of barn architecture. Read Also: Hupomone Ranch: A Beautiful Contemporary Barn House in California

Inside the home, the interiors have been designed by Romaine Alwill of Alwill Interiors. The living area, dining and kitchen all share the same space that’s open to the backyard. A built in fireplace and television make for a cozy living room, and when it gets too sunny, curtains can be drawn to provide shade.

As with many Australian homes, indoor/outdoor living is often included in the design, and in this home they have achieved this by having a sliding doors next to the dining table that open directly to the landscaped backyard, designed by William Dangar and Associates. There’s also a BBQ area for cooking outside.

There’s also an area for working, that’s large enough for two people to work side by side.

In the kitchen, the island has exposed storage and an overhang makes it possible for people to sit at while helping with food prep.

Upstairs, there’s a lounge area where you can see the barn influence, with exposed beams, a pitched roof and skylights.

The home owner also wanted barn doors on exposed tracks, brass fixtures, and textured surfaces, which you can see have been included in these next photos.

In the bathroom, white walls and ceilings make the brass accents and black cabinetry stand out. A skylight provides plenty of natural light to the space.

In the second bathroom the color palette is the same as the first bathroom, and a bath has been added to the space.

Custom built-in cabinetry makes the most of the space, and a small desk is perfect for homework.

Back outside, here’s a view of the side of the home where you can see that the windows are surrounded by timber shadow rails and screens, and the fence is a combination of wood and bricks to match the home.

On the other side of the home is the garage, surrounded by recycled brick. Who would think that a contemporary barn can actually look this beautiful? This is indeed an amazing project by Clayton Orszaczky who managed to come up with a gorgeous home with a contemporary barn style. You can see that everything in the house is well arranged and it used furniture and decors that fit to the desires of the client. You can also see that it has a nice outdoor surrounding and it would really be good to look at it while inside the house through glass windows. Aside from that, it also used various materials from wood, glass, to bricks. Such a nice home, right? Read the full article

#australia #barnhouse #ClaytonOrszaczky

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hockeylvr59 · 4 years ago

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Hi. Number 1: taking a rain walk with cale. You can choose the time. Thank you !

So with all the UMass content I've been digging up I decided to take a trip back in time with this one. So we're setting this fall 2018 when Cale was a sophomore at UMass. I'm lowkey in love with this one. Big thanks to @bqstqnbruin for the help with this plot concept. (1,610 words)

~~~~~~~~

Ellie was so going to owe you for this. Dodging beer spilling out of a cup, you pushed your way through the crowded frat house, wincing as the volume of the music somehow got even louder. Your roommate Ellie had made plans to meet a guy here tonight and she’d pleaded with you to come with her in case he didn’t show or things didn’t turn out how she expected. But, as soon as she had spotted him in the crowd upon your arrival, she had disappeared and you hadn’t seen her since. That had been nearly two hours ago. Like a good friend you’d sent her a text twenty minutes or so ago checking in and you had just gotten a reply of a thumbs up and that they had left to go to a diner off-campus.

Of course, they had. A heads-up text would have been nice.

Though you wanted to be mad at her, it was hard to be when you knew how excited she had been for this date. Still, a packed frat house on a Friday night was one of the last places you wanted to spend your time. Trying to weave your way toward the door, you tripped over something and landed smack against a solid chest. A pair of hands quickly reacted, catching you and helping you regain your balance. Quickly you mumbled an apology, though it wasn’t your fault there was a drunk person sleeping on the floor with their leg in the middle of the path.

“No worries, you okay?” A deep voice questioned, causing you to look up. When you did, your eyes met a pair of reddened cheeks that were familiar to anyone on campus who didn’t live under a rock.

Cale Makar.

The hockey team’s superstar defenseman who was back for his second season despite the chance to make the jump to the NHL.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.” You stated, snapping out of your daze. “Just need to get out of here.”

Cale’s gaze softened in concern and he quickly worked using his taller frame to clear a path for you until you reached the slightly less crowded front porch. It was still loud outside but at least you didn’t have to scream to hear yourself think. Slowing, you leaned against a railing just trying to catch your breath and rid your senses of some of the stench of cheap alcohol. You didn’t expect him to stay close so when he leaned against the railing beside you, you were slightly surprised.

“Did we have Western Thought together last fall?” He asked after a moment, the question catching you off guard. You thought back to your schedule last year and then bit your lip considering that query.

“Was that Tuesday/Thursday morning, Herter Hall?” Cale must have nodded because he spoke again a moment later, a smile evident in his voice.

“I thought you looked familiar.” He mused, offering out a hand. “Cale.” He greeted, introducing himself officially. Introducing yourself in return, you asked him what he had thought about the ridiculous question that had been on the final for that class. You may not remember much but that question had screwed over half the class and you certainly hadn’t forgotten the stress you’d felt waiting for grades to drop after that exam.

That question sparked an entire conversation and before you knew it, it was almost 1am.

“I should really head back to my dorm.” You admitted a bit reluctantly. “Thanks for the chat and making this party not a total bust for me.” You joked, looking up at the sky which was starting to look like rain.

“What dorm are you in?” Cale asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Grayson.” You replied with a shrug even as Cale’s eyes went a little wide.

“I’ll walk you.” He immediately declared.

“You don’t have to do that. I’ll be fine.” You assured him. Grayson was all the way across campus and you weren’t sure where he was living.

“I’ll walk you,” Cale repeated, signaling that he wasn’t about to take no for an answer. “It’s late and you shouldn’t walk across campus by yourself, not with all these idiots around.” The way he phrased his explanation showed that he knew you could handle yourself but that didn’t mean that you should have to.

“Fine. Thank you.” You declared, shooting him a slightly exasperated look. Cale gave you a semi-dimpled smile and motioned for you to lead the way. As you walked toward the admin building and fine arts center you continued chatting about everything and nothing all at once. Conversation came easy and even if you didn’t want to admit it, you were a bit taken at how smart Cale was.

You had reached the western edge of the pond, with the intention of cutting across the northern shore to make your way to your residential area, when a loud boom sounded across the sky out of nowhere. Before you could even react, torrential rain was pelting you both, soaking you to the bone. Quickly, Cale herded you over toward the library and inside. The building was quiet as he guided you up to one of the study floors murmuring that you should wait out some of the heavy rain. Knowing that you really should get home and to bed, you wanted to protest but then a flash of lightning cracked across the sky. Maybe you should wait out the storm a little bit.

Moving into a study room overlooking the pond, you shivered slightly from the air conditioning blowing through the building.

“Come here,” Cale murmured from the spot on the floor where he had settled. For a moment you eyed the chairs but then decided maybe you shouldn’t get them soaked too and the floor was probably a better option. Though you sat with some space between you and Cale, it wasn’t long before he was tugging you closer murmuring that he can’t keep you warm if you’re so far away. With another chill racing up your spine, you shifted to press against him, sighing softly at the warmth he radiated even through wet clothes.

The two of you sat in silence for a while before you heard Cale murmur your name softly.

“Yeah?” You questioned, trying not to yawn.

“Did you know that the architect of this building forgot to account for the weight of the books in his plans and that’s why only every other floor has them?” Cale stated.

“One that was totally random.” You teased softly. “Two, that’s 1000% a myth.”

When you peeked up at Cale, his cheeks were even pinker than before and they matched his lips as he did this little mindless tick you had picked up on already.

“Totally true.” He defends softly, making you giggle slightly.

“It’s not but that’s okay, you aren’t the first person to buy that myth.” You assured him. Though you didn’t notice, Cale’s face fell into a bit of a frown and he murmured under his breath that there goes trying to impress you.

Watching the rain again, you couldn’t help but yawn. Slowly your head drifted down to rest against Cale’s shoulder and you must have dozed off because the next thing you knew, Cale was murmuring your name again, trying to wake you.

“C’mon sleepy. The rain has let up a bit. This is probably our best chance to get you home.” He explained, urging you to sit up before he moved from underneath you and then pulled you up onto your feet.

Leaving the library, you started walking again through the rain, Cale chattering non-stop. You were sure it was his attempt to keep you awake and you appreciated it. At the same time though, his voice was so soothing, you almost wanted to curl right back up against his shoulder and fall asleep while he talked to you.

By the time you finally reached your dorm, it was nearly 2:30 in the morning. With the rain, a normal half-hour walk had taken three times as long. Standing in a sheltered overhang, you turned to thank Cale for making sure you got home safely.

“Definitely the most interesting first date I think I’ve been on,” Cale replied with a tired smile, his eyes still somehow bright. When your brain processed his words, your jaw dropped.

“Date?” You prodded causing Cale to hum and shrug, glancing down at his watch.

“I mean we’ve spent the last three and a half hours together talking and walking through campus. Pretty sure we can call that a date.” He insisted. Butterflies swarmed in your stomach and you ran your fingers through your wet hair. Cale was calling this a date. That was...wow.

“A date huh…” You finally breathed. “Guess that means I better get a good night kiss. Though technically it’s definitely early morning now.” Cale’s fingers slid around your waist to press against your lower back gently as he crowded closer into your space and after a moment of his eyes searching yours, he leaned down for a kiss, his lips pressing against yours chastely but firmly.

One kiss turned into two and then three before your yawning caused Cale to pull away. After asking for your number so he could take you on a non-rain date, he kissed your cheek and murmured for you to go take a warm shower, put on dry clothes, and then get some sleep.

Your lips still tingled slightly as you climbed into bed and you couldn’t help but think that maybe you were the one that was going to have to owe Ellie.

#cale makar blurb #cale makar #cale makar imagine #colorado avalanche imagine #colorado avalanche #hockey imagine #hockey imagines #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #cavalanche

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heartbreakgrill · 4 years ago

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Birthday Girl; Luke Alvez

description: pining after a fellow team member adds a little bit of spice to your birthday celebrations

a/n: ahhhhh this is my first time writing for criminal minds and I’m so nervous to share. I want to write more for them, especially for the entire team because they make me happy 😚 enjoy, kids!

“Tonight! Tonight! It all happens tonight!”

You spun your office chair around, facing the giddy glee that was Penelope Garcia. She had a party hat on, extra glitter upon her cheeks, and was singing incredibly off-key. Your eyes flickered to her hands as they moved towards you. Next thing you knew, you were wearing a sparkly, pink princess crown and a sash stating you were the birthday girl.

Your cheeks turned a bright red, but you stood nonetheless and enveloped Penelope in a hug. “Happy birthday, my dearest, most beautiful-est, wonderful, sweet little munchkin baby!”

You giggled into her shoulder, inhaling her sweet perfume and attitude. “Thank you, Pen.”

She squeezed you, rocking the two of you side to side. You wobbled on your heeled booties and took the liberty of pushing her off of you before she could knock you down.

“I swear to the sweet, sweet heavens above that if your birthday gets interrupted by some sick weirdo, I will be absolutely unhappy,” Penelope followed you to your desk as you sat back down. She leaned against it, eyes at the heavens and a fist raised, too.

You planted your elbows on the desk, “It’s okay, Pen. We can always celebrate when we get back, if we have a case. Which we won’t. Because you’re manifesting it.”

Penelope looked at you firmly, “You’re dang right I am. But don’t think I don’t know you’re thinking of ways to get out of it. I know you’re not a little social butterfly, but please, just let me have this one birthday.”

You had worked at the BAU for 5 years, but you were a quiet little thing. You went out for drinks and hung out with your little family often, but you didn’t like when all of the attention was on you. It was slightly unprofessional whenever you would stutter during profiles, but you tried your best.

However, this year, Penelope had managed to talk you into allowing her to throw you a birthday night you would never forget. You didn’t know the itenerary, but the get up she’d put on you was tell enough that it would be all eyes on you.

The rest of the team slowly trickled in as the day began, Penelope continuing to talk your ear off. You responded every once and awhile, sometimes barely able to get much in. Everyone had gotten there, but they came in small crowds, so they hadn’t really noticed you yet.

Spencer was the first to point out the tiara and sash. He was coming over with a cup of coffee and muffin he had bought for you at the cafe down the street. It was your birthday, after all, and he was celebrating with a kind gesture.

He set it down beside your folded hands with a smirk. “What’s this, Y/N?” He tugged at the points on the crown.

You blushed, glaring up at him. You nodded your head towards Penelope, who trailed off and met pretty boy’s eyes. “Don’t even, Reid. It is my baby’s birthday and I am finally allowed to celebrate it,” she warned him with a pointed finger.

The word birthday caught the attention of the rest of the team. Matt was especially drawn in because it was his first year with the team.

“I didn’t know it was your birthday, Y/N,” he spoke from across the aisle.

You spun in your chair, cheeks bright red and lips pursed. “Yes, it is.”

“Well, happy birthday, agent...or, I guess, princess.”

The team burst into laughter, Spencer setting a friendly hand on your shoulder. He leaned down and whispered, “Good luck.”

You turned back to your desk and began to fill out more files. Luckily, everybody found their seats and began their work for the day. The rest of the bullpen had gone up in action. A few minutes later, you looked up as a hastened Luke Alvez bounded through the doors. His desk was right next to yours, divided by the plastic overhangs. He sat down, muttering a good morning without even looking at you.

You were so thankful he didn’t notice the crown. It was enough that the entire team had pointed out the get out, and that tonight, they’d all have their entire attention on you. You didn’t need a hot, fit man teasing you about it, too.

But, eventually, when Luke stood up to get coffee, he saw. “You need a refill, Y/N...”

You knew as soon as he trailed off what was to come. You looked up at him timidly, already red in the face. “Yes, please.”

You held out your coffee cup, eyes not meeting his as he gently smiled at you. “Sure.”

He took the mug and left for the kitchen. Your brows furrowed slightly at the fact that he didn’t even say anything. When he came back, he set the mug down beside your half eaten muffin. His palm planted on your desk and he whispered in your ear, “Happy birthday, princess.”

You hung your head, hot all over the place. It was different when it came from Spence and Matt, who you saw as just friends. You had the biggest crush on Luke. And that just sent you over the edge. You bit down on your bottom lip, hard. Luke slumped into his seat with a cheeky smirk. His eyes glanced over at you occasionally. Oh, god. He knew.

You stood from your desk at lunch time before anybody else, quickly striding to Penelope’s office. You threw the door open and closed, loudly.

“Aw! I was going to bring you lunch to you desk, with this cute little unicorn cupcake I bought for you...you look like you just got flashed. Are you okay?” Penelope pulled you into her abandoned chair.

You let out a deep sigh of breath, tugging off your blazer. “I’m so, I’m so...I’m so ugh! He’s so hot, and he knows it. And I’m pretty sure he knows that I think he’s hot, and he’s just so smug, I can’t deal with it. Like, look at his stupid face, Penelope! It’s- UGH!”

Penelope giggled at your reaction. She grabbed your hands and squeezed on tight. “Listen, my love, deep breaths. Is it really so bad if he finds out you’ve been pining over him for a year?”

“Yes! Yes it would! He’s, like, a 20 outta 10. And I’m, like, at least just a 6,” You exclaimed.

Penelope stomped a foot, making you jump in your seat. “Excuse me! Don’t talk about my best friend like that. You are a 1,000. Hell, you are infinite out of 10. Plus, hes just a man. Since when were you so concerned with men and their opinions?”

“Since one made me feel like I was a 10th grade again...” you pouted up at your friend.

Penelope awed at your expression, dropping your hands and wobbling over to her purse. She brought out a purple unicorn cupcake, as promised. She cracked open the plastic covering and set it front of you.

“Eat away the feelings, love. I will be right back with some flower-cut finger sandwiches and homemade lemonade,” Penelope turned to leave, but you stood and tugged her into a hug.

“I’m sorry for being so grouchy about my birthday. I just hat-“

“The attention. I know. It’s alright,” she pulled back and tapped your nose, “I just want to celebrate my beautiful best friend. After today, I will leave you alone. Forever.”

You scoffed as she left, “Yeah, right.”

The day soon came to a close, though you felt like throwing up as each hour passed. Luke continued to make remarks, little, flirtatious ones that had you squirming in your seat. You bit back with quiet mhm’s and sarcastic one-liners. Each time you focused on your work, you felt his eyes watching you. You flipped him off at one point, only gaining a wolf whistle that made you look up and a cheeky wink with, “You make it so hard to love you.”

Penelope dragged you back to your car and into your apartment as quick as possible. She wouldn’t tell you what time things were happening, or what was happening at all. Just that the team would meet you all there. She tossed open the doors to your closet, tearing through the hangers like a wolf.

“You better be coming tomorrow morning to clean this all up,” you crossed your legs and leaned back in your bed. Your birthday had landed on a Friday, lucky enough.

“Oh, yeah, yeah. I’m just trying to find something that screams, ‘Luke Alvez, let me climb you like a tree, but also bend me over the desk because it is my birthday!’”

You gasped the loudest you had ever, pure shock overcoming you. “Penelope Garcia, that was the filthiest thing you have ever, ever said!”

Penelope was giggling inside your closet, but cut herself off with a gasp that matched your own. “I found it! I found it, I found it.”

She pulled out a black dress you had bought a while ago for JJ’s wedding. You never ended up wearing it because you felt it drew too much attention to your chest, and you were nervous for that. But Penelope threw it over your head and turned her focus to your curling iron.

“No if’s, and’s, or but’s, my love. You are wearing it. No questions! No complaints! Hurry!”

Eventually, you were ready to go, matching Penelope’s height in blush pink, open-toed heels. Penelope had taken off your everyday makeup and went completely nuts. She made you look incredibly hot in a way you couldn’t even describe. You felt attractive as you walked with Penelope to her car.

The first stop on the birthday celebration, after Penelope had argued with you to put back on the crown and sash (you had), was a really fancy restaurant. You and Penelope often admired it from afar, every time you walked this street to shop and get drinks with the girls. One time, you’d even walked in to see how much it would be and automatically turned around.

“Don’t even try to object, just get out of the car,” Penelope had ran around the car after throwing it in park, pulling open your door excitedly.

She grabbed your arm and tugged you from your seat. You stumbled onto your heels, balancing on the concrete of the sidewalk. You clutched your purse to your chest as the feelings of insecurity and nerves inhabited your body. Penelope threw her arm into your and set the pace. Inside, the hostess asked for the name and you weren’t surprised that it was under ‘Rossi.’

The entire team was sitting at a lengthy table in a private, little corner of the building. You slouched as you noticed them, stopping in your tracks. Penelope didn’t say much, just pushed back your shoulders, patted your cheek, and presented a wide grin. You felt slightly better and put on faux confidence as you made your way to the table.

“Hey! Look who finally arrived!” Dave held up his champagne glass, dressed in his same old two piece suit.

Spencer, Emily, and Matt twisted in their seats to look at you. Luke and Dave were across from them and your breath hitched when the former looked up from the menu in his hands. He smiled cheekily, eyes flickering up and down your body.

Everyone stood up, exchanged hugs as if you hadn’t just seen each other. Penelope sat across from Matt, next to Dave, leaving the only open seat at the head of the table, next to Spencer and Luke.

Luke hugged you last, large hands gently pressing against your hip and back. You shivered beneath his touch and he felt the tense slouch you gave. When he pulled back, he whispered in your ear, “You look beautiful.”

With bright red cheeks, you pulled in your chair and sat. Soon enough, Spencer was pouring you champagne, the waiter was collecting orders, and you were picking at a buttery roll. The team was exchanging conversation that you occasionally chimed in on. It was normal routine. You were surprised Penelope hadn’t thrown in the middle of a bowling alley or something along those lines. This was perfect.

The food came, finally, and the conversation slowed somewhat. Luke nudged you with his elbow and you looked up to meet his eyes.

“How’s your birthday going, princesa?” He bit off a piece of steak.

You swallowed, reaching for your champagne. “It’s really good, actually. I was worried Pen would go over the top. But this is good.”

“You’re not one for attention, I noticed,” he flicked his brows up.

You shook your head gently, “It makes me nervous.”

“Well, I apologize for toeing the line with my comments and stuff.”

“No, it’s...” your eyes flickered away from his, but came back, “it’s okay. I...like it.”

Luke grinned widely, eyes glinting, “Oh, really?”

You blushed and looked down, “Don’t push it, Alvez.”

Luke did push it, though, “Hey, it’s cute. You’re cute.”

You kicked him under the table and he went back to his food with a playful laugh.

Eventually, the food was finished. You handed your plate to the waiter before wiping off your hands and sighing. “Does anybody want dessert?”

The team glanced at you and then to Penelope. She shrugged, “No, I’m good.”

You tilted your head, “There’s somewhere else that we’re going, isn’t there?”

Penelope shrugged again, avoiding your eyes and caressing the mouth of her glass. “No, no there isn’t.”

“Okay, then you won’t mind if I just catch a cab home,” you stretched your arms above your head, yawning. “I’m awfully tired.”

Penelope shouted, “No! No, do not move. I will make Luke hold you down if I have to.”

“You always say so much, Pen, so much,” you bantered with a knowing smile.

She huffed, eyes rolling back, “And you always ruin it.”

Luke winked at you before nodding towards an approaching waiter. He held a giant cake in his hands, with lit sparklers and candles. The team broke out into song and you hid your face in your hands.

You felt warm hands on both of yours, pulling them from your space. Luke held your eyes on his, singing softly with the team. He managed to ground you, to make you feel more comfortable in this setting as the cake was put down in front of you. He tugged your hands back and forth in a little dance, drawing a grin to you face.

“Make a wish, princesa,” he pointed to the cake, holding onto one hand.

You shut your eyes, blowing hard and aiming for the candles. They went out, the sparkles fizzling to an end. Suddenly, your face went red hot and you squealed. Spencer took a big glob of frosting on his finger and smeared it all over your face.

You opened your eyes, squinting to avoid getting icing in your eyes. “Spence Reid! What the hell?!”

The team laughed, and you couldn’t help but join them. Luke’s fingers intertwined with yours, settling on your lap. He squeezed.

You took your own bit of frosting and reached across the table. Spencer tried to hide in Emily’s side, but she pushed him into your finger. He stuck his tongue out and licked a bit of frosting from his chin.

You tossed your head back, laughing the loudest you had ever. Emily called from her end of the table, “Well, now we know who our next unsub might be.”

Rossi replied, “And the victimology would be tall, skeletal, dorky men with unbrushed hair and the inability to shut up.”

“Oh, yes! Time to roast Spencer!” You closed your fist around a napkin, shaking it at the doctor. “Yes, yes, yes!”

You didn’t feel as insecure anymore- you finally felt comfortable. Luke’s hand stayed in yours as you began to wipe off your face.

JJ took her turn, “Hey, have some hope. Maybe she’ll only kidnap you.”

“How is that any better?” Spence exclaimed.

Penelope finished JJ’s thought, “Because you’ll bore her so much with your ‘actually’s’ that she’ll just drop you back off where she took you from.”

You wiped at the frosting on your house, probably just smearing it. Luke tapped your hand, holding his palm open. “Here, let me.”

You hesitantly handed him the napkin and he twisted a small section. He dipped it in a forgotten glass of water and using that part to wipe off the frosting.

“You know, I could just lick it off, like Reid, here,” Luke tapped your nose as he moved to the other side of your face.

You squeezed his hand, giggling, “In privacy.”

“Oh?” He retracted his hand, but you grabbed his wrist and pulled it back in place. “Oh, I see. I see. So I just have to get you alone.”

You swallowed, hard, a silence expanding between the two of you. His face fell slightly and he dropped his hand. You didn’t stop him.

“Are you being serious? Or is this just another banter of yours?” You muttered, hoping nobody was listening.

Luke sighed, pressing his elbow into the table and rubbing his forehead. His head hung low, but he looked up at you through his eyelashes. “You tell me.”

You squirmed under his gaze, redder than you’d ever been. Your mout hung agape and you tried to form a sentence. But, Penelope interrupted the moment. She came to your side with a butter knife and started cutting slices out of the cake for everyone.

“Here you go, my birthday queen!” Penelope set the first slice down in front of you.

You moved your hand and gaze from Luke, brandishing a fork. “Ah, I see I’ve moved up in ranks. It’s queen, now?”

“Red Queen could be your nickname, ya know, when the media flags you down for my murder,” Reid took a full plate from Penelope.

He cheekily smiled at you. “Oh, we’re still on this?”

He nodded, “We’re still on this.”

You and Spencer continued arguing about the possibility of his murder by your hand, the conversation soon turning into either of your opinions on the perfect way to actually murder someone. Sadly, the night was winding down.

But that didn’t mean Penelope didn’t have more plans. “Now, it is time for drinks and presents at Barb’s!”

The team pulled back on their coats, picking up the checks that were split and put on the table. You had just finished buttoning your jacket when you reached for your check that had been right next to your empty glass of champagne. You were surprised to see it missing. You felt around for it, but couldn’t seem to find it.

You caught up to the team, who were already paying. You grasped Penelope’s forearm and she grinned at you, “Yes, queen?”

You cracked a smile, though you were still confused. “Did you take my check?”

Penelope’s brows furrowed. “No. No I didn’t. Just see if you can get a new one.”

You sighed, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’ll work.”

You approached the register right after Penelope, the rest of the team lingering to the side to wait for you and Reid, who was behind you. “Hi, I was sitting with the rest of them and my check seems to have gone missing.”

“What did you order?” The hostess smiled kindly. You rattled off your order and she looked through the receipts.

“Oh, here it is,” she remarked, pulling it from the pile. “Uh, yes, it’s already been paid for.”

You leaned forward, attempting to see the receipt. She turned to towards you. “Who paid for it?” You asked.

She shrugged, “I can’t give out that information. Although, I could say that it’s your birthday, and you should just appreciate the kind effort.”

You thanked her and joined your friends. They were all in their own discussions, and the group began walking out when Spencer joined. You fell in stride beside Luke, accidentally.

You looked over at him and when he felt your stare, he returned your gaze. “What?” He let out a dry chuckle.

You cleared your throat, “Did you pay for my check?”

When he didn’t respond, you knew that he was answering your question.

“You didn’t have to do that,” your fingers felt from your pockets, noticing his were swinging between your hips. You let them find each other’s again.

Luke‘s stride ended, pulling you to a stop beside him. You turned your body to him as only the tips of your fingers touched. “What?”

Luke smiled at you, “You never told me.”

“Told you what?” You were far too nervous to give him the answer he craved to hear. One night of activities couldn’t calm your introverted behavior that much.

Luke groaned, tossing his head back. He pulled your hand into his all the way. “Come on, princesa. This is exhausting.”

You breathed steadily, trying to calm the hoards of butterflies flapping through your body. “I...I’m going to tell you that I want...”

You couldn’t word it properly, which was obvious, due to the wrinkled expression on your face. “I’m going to tell you that I want...god, Luke, help me out.”

Luke’s innocent little smile twisted into a cheeky smirk. His hand moved to your hip, pressing your stomach against his. He swept the hair behind your ear, caressing your cheek.

“What did you wish for, birthday girl?”

“You.”

#luke alvez #luke alvez x you #luke alvez x y/n #luke alvez x reader #criminal minds #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds x y/n #criminal minds x oc

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the-evil-authoress · 4 years ago

Text

GX Month Day 29: “Frontline Base”

Even heroes need some downtime. Show us what the schoolyard crew gets up to when they’re not saving the world or studying for finals. Sleepovers perhaps?

BROT4 GOOOO!

Seven pages of pure, nonsensical fluff.

Jesse jerks as the door bangs open and Christina leans in, breathless and giddy. “Jay, movie night at Lexi’s!”

“Sweetness!” Jaden scrambles to his feet, all but abandoning the cards spread out between them as he sweeps his deck back into its box.

Hold up. “What?” Jesse glances between his new friends in confusion.

“We watch movies in Alexis’ room,” Jaden says like this is a perfectly natural occurrence.

“Yeah, no, I got that.” Jesse frowns, trying to think back to the rules and regulations sheet he’d been handed at orientation. “I thought guys weren’t allowed at the Girls’ Dorm?”

Jaden makes finger quotes and winks. “You coming?” he asks, already halfway out the door. Christina shouts at him to hurry up from the distance.

Oh, okay. So this is a thing. “Sure.” Collecting his own cards, Jesse slots them all neatly into his deck box. He isn’t about to turn down an open invitation, arbitrary rules be damned. Christina hangs out down here enough.

The smile Jaden gives him looks like a miniature sun. Then he charges down the stairs after Christina. Jesse hurries to catch up.

The Slifer Dorm and Obelisk Girls’ Dorm are the farthest from each other, so it’s a fair bit of a walk. Jesse tries to pay attention to the route to remember it later and fails, because it’s either that or lose track of what his new friends are saying. As it is, the pair use terms that Jesse isn’t familiar with yet. Christina’s quick enough to translate or explain as best she can; Jaden’s English is a lost cause.

The building finally comes into sight. Jaden immediately veers off to the side as they approach and makes a choked noise as Christina grabs him by the collar. “It’s a different room!” she hisses and proceeds to lead them around the back of the building.

“Right…”

They enter through a tiny door that Jesse would bet money students aren’t even supposed to know exists and weave their way through the hallways up to the second floor. The layout is definitely different than the Obelisk Boys’ Dorm from what little time he’s spent there. Still stupidly posh. Jaden charges headfirst into the room as soon as Christina points to it.

“Yo, Lexi! First movie night of the year!” He flops face first into the mattress. “Man have I missed these beds.”

“Nice to see you too.” Alexis huffs with a grin, glancing up from the adjacent desk as Jesse shuts the door behind himself. She visibly startles at the sight of him, and Jesse freezes as he considers for the first time that he might have received the invite from the wrong person.

Well, shit. This just got awkward.

“Oh, right, uh-” Sitting up, Jaden glances between Alexis and Jesse before giving Alexis a big, cheesy grin that looks nothing short of terrified. “-plus one? If you don’t mind.”

Surprisingly, Alexis relaxes with no more than a breath. “It’s fine. Just send me a heads up next time.”

“Heads up!” Jaden chirps with another smile made of sunlight. No idea what that means, but Christina starts giggling and Alexis shakes her head like an exasperated parent. She doesn’t seem mad though, so Jesse figures it’s safe to join Christina by the couch instead of letting his Beasts guide him back to his own room for the night.

“You’ve got a single room this year,” Jaden says, glancing around the space. It looks a lot like the one Jesse was given - really big and really empty with far too much space for a single person.

“Yeah. I got one too, not that I’ll be using it.” Christina shrugs as Jaden hops off the bed and belines toward the window.

“You’ll probably end up crashing here when you’re not at the Slifer Dorm,” Alexis agrees, clicking out of the program she had open on her computer before standing.

Christina beams. “You know me so well.”

“You have a balcony!”

“Which is why-” Alexis holds out a key between her and Christina, seemingly ignoring the Slifer leaning out her window. “-I got an extra.”

Squealing, Christina snatches the key and hugs the other girl. “They can’t keep besties apart!”

“Hey!”

“Oh, hush.” Christina waves a hand at Jaden’s offended expression. “You’re my boy bestie. Lexi’s my girl bestie.”

For a moment, Jaden pouts and Jesse wonders if he just stumbled into some friendship drama, but then the Slifer shrugs and returns to studying something outside below the balcony. “Fair enough.”

Should Jesse really be here? He took up the offer - that wasn’t even from the person who’s room this is - on a whim. He’s barely known these people two weeks when they’ve all known each other at least two years.

“Jaden, get back in here.” Alexis twists to chide the Slifer still standing transfixed on her balcony.

Jaden doesn’t budge. “As soon as I figure out the best route!”

“Route?” Curiosity overriding the sense of displacement, Jesse joins Jaden on the balcony.

“Yeah, up and down.” Jaden leans over the balcony railing, face scrunched up in concentration. “Climbing’s easier than sneaking through the hallways every time.” He says that like he does this often. So this is definitely a thing. Jaden and Christina struck Jesse as the rebellious type; Alexis not so much. But hey. Jesse likes being wrong; means he gets to learn new things.

Poking his own head over the railing, Jesse looks down the side of the building, already spotting places to grab hold or balance a foot. “There’s a few…” he mumbles, sliding back into his mother tongue. Getting to them from the balcony is the tricky part. Glancing up at the treeline, he spots an overhanging branch just close enough to grab hold and reaches up to give it a tug. It holds firm so he shifts his weight, braces, and swings himself up with a practiced ease. Jaden gapes like a fish and Jesse smirks.

“Get down!” Alexis hisses, sharp tone chasing away most of his pride. “It’s still daylight!”

Right. And he and Jaden aren’t supposed to be here. Jesse doesn’t fancy getting himself kicked out this soon. He can understand the intention behind not allowing boys in the Girls’ Dorm but the fact there’s been no indication of a similar rule for girls at the Boys’ Dorm does imply a few things. Jaden still looks starstruck when Jesse lands next to him. “Dude, teach me?”

“Sure. Later?”

“Sweetness!” Jaden bounces back into the room with an enthusiasm that, for once, looks entirely genuine and Jesse finds himself smiling too. “So what are we doing first?” Jaden looks to the girls for input.

“Well, since you’re here-” Alexis turns a confident grin in Jesse’s direction, and Jesse has to stop himself from shying away from the sudden attention. Alexis’ eyes are as sharp as her smile “I wanted to get a better look at that deck.”

Oh, okay, this is familiar. Running thumb over his deck box, Jesse feels his Beasts vibrate with anticipation. He grins. “Sure. Duel?”

“Game on.”

They spread out the cards between them on the coffee table, sitting on those pillow things the Japanese substitute for chairs. Christina bounces between rooting for Alexis and rooting for Jesse play by play.

“Who’s side are you on?” Jaden asks, chin propped on Jesse’s shoulder where it’s been pretty much the entire match.

“Both!” Christina chirps from her seat next to Alexis.

“That’s not how it works!”

Sure it is; Jesse tries to hide his laugh behind his cards. Although he’s flattered that Jaden’s apparently willing to take his side, who really wants to pick sides between friends?

Christina hums, leaning back with a suspiciously smug expression. “Should I tell you that next time Sy and Hassleberry start fighting over your attention?”

Jesse feels Jaden cringe as he pulls away. “They don’t duel over me! That’s different.”

“They did once.”

“What?! When?!”

“You were in space chilling with a dolphin man.”

“What?” Jesse jerks, misplaying his next card as he gapes at the redhead.

Christina only breaks into giggles as Jaden angrily pouts. “You’re never gonna let me live that down, are you?”

“Nope!”

“Space??” Jesse repeats in an effort to distract himself from the horrible position he just put himself in on the board as he passes the turn to Alexis. He had to have misunderstood that.

“Neo Space,” Jaden says in English which does absolutely nothing to curb Jesse’s confusion. “Not actual space. It was like…” He trails off with a frown.

“A separate plane of reality,” Hummingbird says from where he’s been perched over the game board with vested interest. “Another dimension.”

“Yeah, that.”

“Yeah what?” Alexis asks without even looking up from her cards, and Jesse automatically braces for the backlash.

“Uh, a separate plane of reality,” Jaden repeats. “Or dimension, I guess?”

“So like the Dominion,” Christina muses.

“Makes sense.” Taking out his defense, Alexis sets a card and passes the turn to Jesse.

Oh, right. Even Jaden’s friends who can’t see them too just kinda accept that he can see spirits. Feels weird to talk about it so casually, but Alexis doesn’t look bothered at all. “So what’s this Dominion place?” he asks as he draws his next card. Ah, sweet! He needed this!

“You don’t know?” The confusion in Christina’s voice pulls Jesse’s attention away from his cards again.

“No?” But now he feels like he should.

“It’s where they come from.” Christina gestures to the cards on the table. “The Dominion of the Beasts. Well, most of them.” She glances at the Neospacian perched on the arm of the couch.

Jesse should probably be less surprised that duel spirits are from an entirely different plane of existence. “And ya couldn’t have mentioned that?” he turns to grumble at the tortoise by his side.

Emerald blinks slowly and sounds far too honest as he answers, “It wasn’t relevant?”

And Jesse thought Athena had been cryptic. Actually, why hadn’t she or the other fairies ever told him about this Dominion place?

“To be fair, I don’t hear a lot of other duel spirits talk about the Dominion.” Jaden plops his chin back on Jesse’s shoulder and squints at the cards in his hand. “Oo, that one!” his hand snakes around the other side of Jesse’s head to tap a spell in his hand. “I only know about it cuz of you and Dark Magician Girl.”

“And we’ve been there,” Alexis says, and Jesse’s head snaps up again.

“Oh, yeah, that,” Jaden agrees far too casually.

This is probably the part where Jesse should just stop asking questions.

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Christina groans flopping backwards onto the floor. “Or I’ll have to go track down Pharaoh to kick Banner’s ghost.”

“Banner’s what?” Alexis and Jaden ask at nearly the same time and Jesse is glad to finally not be the only one in the room with no idea what’s going on.

“I…” Christina hesitates, staring at the ceiling. “I don’t actually want to explain that one.”

“You can see ghosts?” Alexis stares at the other girl with no small amount of shock.

“Yup.”

“What does Pharaoh have to do with it??” Jaden almost looks afraid of the answer, and frankly, Jesse doesn’t blame him. Does this Banner guy possess the dorm cat? He’s seen that cat hang out in the rafters of Jaden’s room. And now there might be a dead guy watching them.

“You don’t want me to answer that.” Christina pulls herself back up to sit properly on her floor pillow with a sigh. Jaden squints her a while longer before turning his attention back to the nearly forgotten duel.

“Okay, but seriously, if you combo these cards-”

“No backseat duelin’!” Jesse tries to shake the other boy off as he taps the cards in Jesse’s hands again.

“I’m trying to help!” Jaden whines petulantly.

“Well yur not!” Jesse would rather fight his own battles, thank you very much, at least when it comes to a fair match like this between friends. Also Jesse can’t always follow Jaden’s scattered brained logic for card combos and still doesn’t understand how the guy won his last daily match.

"Ungrateful!" Jaden huffs, sitting back with his arms crossed and cheeks puffed out like a child. Jesse has to stop himself from reprimanding Jaden for it.

Alexis creams him. But Jesse spent half the duel distracted, so he’s not surprised. Just means they’ll have to have a rematch sometime to find out each other’s true strength. Jesse looks forward to it. By the look in Alexis’ eyes, she feels the same.

They end up smooshed together on Alexis’ bed watching movies on the obscenely large TV. Jesse stares at the screen like he’s never experienced an in-home theater and Christina has to admit the awestruck expression of complete immersion looks cute. Near the end of the movie he starts to fidget, pulling restlessly at his hoodie. Jaden didn’t even bring his jacket, so he’s just in his black t-shirt and the school issued track pants. Christina’s wearing her usual tank top and shorts, and Alexis changed into her pajamas before setting up the movie. Jesse’s the only one wearing long sleeves.

“Hey, å, do any of y’all care if I take this off?” Jesse asks as the credits roll, pulling at the white fabric.

“Was wondering why you were still wearing it,” Jaden mumbles.

“It’s...it’s my shirt,” Jesse says after a moment’s hesitation.

“Dude.” Jaden giggles against his shoulder.

He’s not wearing anything under it? Alexis sends Christina a glance and she shrugs. She sleeps at the Slifer Dorm most of the time anyway. Shirtless guys don’t bother her.

“No, that’s fine,” Alexis says.

“Cool.” Jaden sits up as Jesse pulls his hoodie up and Christina does a double take at those abs. What? She wouldn’t call it ‘chiseled’ by any means but, even in the dim light, distinctly defined muscles shift and ripple as the hoodie goes up over Jesse’s head. Hi there, pretty biceps.

“You work out?” she hears herself squeak and quickly clears her throat.

“Freerunning, mostly.”

Free what? Christina’s brain stumbles over the unfamiliar phrase. She recognizes both words but she’s never heard them mashed together like that, and just running does not give you biceps like that.

“That counts,” Alexis says. Glad one of them knows what he’s talking about. “Atticus tried it in middle school. He broke his arm and sprained his ankle.”

Jesse winces. “Yeah, it’s challenging. I’ve taken my share of tumbles.”

Okay they’re obviously not talking about just running. So what does the ‘free’ part mean? “Someone gonna explain?” Christina asks, glances between her friends. Jaden looks as confused as she does at least.

“Å…it’s like…” Jesse trails off as mumbling a few words in a language Christina doesn’t recognize. “Jumping off walls?” he tries.

The image that conjures is decidedly not the one Jesse is trying to convey. He makes a frustrated sound as Alexis reaches over Christina for her PDA. “I’ll look up a video. It’s hard to explain even without a language barrier.”

“Thanks,” Jesse mumbles, slumping into the pillows as Jaden leans on Alexis’ shoulder to peer at the screen. The video paints a much clearer picture of people running through back alleys and vaulting over walls and scaling buildings with their bare hands. It’s like the shit she and Jaden used to do in his backyard but cranked up to eleven.

“Teach me,” Jaden repeats, breathless with awe.

“Sure? It’s not something you learn overnight,” Jesse warns.

“Don’t care,” Jaden declares and flops back against the other boy’s shoulder. “You’re warm…” he sighs, immediately twisting to drape himself across Jesse.

“Å, yeah?”

Christina smirks. “Jay’s a heat leach.”

Jaden grumbles as Alexis reaches past him to place a hand on Jesse’s shoulder. “Okay, human heater goes in the middle.”

“Hva?” Jesse reacts with that word again that Christina can vaguely guess means something similar to ‘what’ in terms of expressing shock and confusion.

“Human heater goes in the middle,” she agrees and Jaden whines.

“But I wanna be middle!”

“Then you and Jesse can share the middle,” Alexis says, prompting Christina off the bed with her to make room for the shift. “Now come on, scoot.”

Whining the entire way, Jaden wiggles across the bed, dragging a still very much confused Jesse with him. A quick game of roshambo later, Alexis glares at her traitorous fist while Christina crawls in on Jesse’s other side. Ohhh, he is warm…

They debate over their next movie before finally throwing another one on. Christina doesn’t remember the end of it.

Jesse wakes with his face in a pillow, sandwiched between warm bodies and Jaden on top of his back.

He could get used to this.

#gxmonth2021 #jesse anderson #johan andersen #jaden yuki #yuki judai #alexis rhodes #tenjoin asuka #ygo gx #yugioh gx #yu gi oh gx #long post

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unluckyopossum · 4 years ago

Text

I Need A Place I Can Rest- CH 2

Viktor Vector x Fem!V

Vik wants to fix things for V more than anything. V just needs somewhere to feel safe.

This chapter romance is acquired by the two idiots who struggle to appropriately discuss feelings.

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A jarring electronic ding broke the silence in the cramped elevator lobby. Vik had been waiting, shuffling back and forth anxiously, for what felt like an eternity. Desperately hoping he was being led to V and not a pointless chase by his guide. His only company was the small hairless cat sitting patiently by his feet, occasionally looking up at him in a way that made Vik feel the cat knew more about his situation than even he did.

The lift doors finally creaked open and the ripper darted inside slamming the roof button as soon as it lit up, the doors closing slowly again behind him. As the elevator began it's achingly slow ascent he glanced down, surprised to see the cat again. He hadn't even noticed it come in, or move at all for that matter. Maybe the little guy was just as worried about V as he was, V always being one to give the alley cat a scratch and a snack. As he bent down to give his little helper a scratch on the head, he realized he hadn't even taken off his exo-glove in his rush. Taking a moment to finally pay attention to what he was wearing he felt he looked a little disheveled. Exo glove on, shirt loose from where v had grabbed it, sunglasses on in the dark; But V had seen him like that plenty of times, and there was no time to feel self conscious now. No time to worry about how V would feel about an old man confessing to her. An old washed up legend no one even remembered. The cat mowed again sounding almost stern. “Right, now or never, nothing to lose” he said aloud, clearly only for him .

Another ding sounded and the elevator groaned to a halt, shuddering slightly. The tightness in his chest and urgency with which he scaled the last flight of stairs to the open rooftop felt like his old boxing days. Entering the ring for a fight he wasn't prepared to win, but he hadn't backed down from any of those fights either. V was higher stakes than any of those matches had ever been, more important to him than his pride, that was for sure. Rounding the corner to Misty's special retreat he heard a familiar voice, but an unfamiliar sound coming from it.

A soft whimpering fluttered through the air, barely audible over the street noise below the building. Vik was halted in his tracks by the scene in front of him as he started to exit the stairwell. V sat in one of the red plastic porch chairs Misty had set up, staring at the roof edge in front of her, lips moving and occasionally gesturing to empty air. Red neon reflected off the tracks of moisture in lines down her cheeks. She hung her head, back hunching and shaking as the sounds of a few sobs escaping her lips. Before Vik was able to move forward her head lifted back up out of her hands and she looked back at the empty space at the edge of the railing.

" God I'm so fucking stupid Johnny, what if he hates me now, or thinks I'm dumb, and a waste of his time. Just some stupid gonk brained kid." her voice was shaky in a way he had never heard before. Even with all the injuries and pain she had shown up in at his clinic, her voice had always stayed steady. Even after the news of the relic… losing Jackie... he hadn't ever seen the merc cry.

" I know, I know, 'just grow a pair V, if not now when.'" she says in a deeper almost mocking tone.

" Well there's no way he is interested in me Johnny, that's why" an exasperated sigh escaped her, a frequent occurrence in her conversations with Silverhand.

" Well I at least wanted to be his friend for the little time I have left you ass, and I blew that too" between each sentence a pause hung that Vik could only assume was Silverhand’s response. Her voice seemed to be rising slowly as the conversation moved forward and the ripper didn't know if it was his place to interrupt them.

" Not everyone thinks like you Johnny, that only works in BDs and I highly doubt Vik would be into something like that"

Like what? … whatever the rocker was telling her he wasn't sure he wanted to know, but couldn't help but be curious.

" Look Johnny, you can tell me not to care what he thinks as much as you want but I can't help it, you know as well as I do how I feel about him and... fuck I just don't want him being disappointed in me "

Finally seeing a place to step in Vik stepped out from the stairwell overhang walking towards V, trying to convey confidence with his gait.

"Could never be disappointed in you sweetheart" he passed by the empty chair next to V, instead kneeling in front of the merc. Obscuring her view of Johnny if he had judged his location right, hoping to have her focus solely on himself. She sat lips just slightly parted, eyes wide in surprise ,and a startled sputter all she managed to respond with. Vik pushed his shades up on his head, wanting to see her without anything getting in the way.

" V your the strongest woman I have ever known, how do you think I could be disappointed in you" he smiled up at her, green eyes shining so bright she could almost see her reflection in them. His gloved hand came up to her knee giving her a gentle squeeze, one that could normally be taken as supportive or just for comfort if he had moved his hand after. But he didn't, he left it firmly in place, the skin under it felt surprisingly warm for the cool night city evening.

“Scared? now that I could be… not that it’s easy for me to say sweetheart. I don’t want to lose you V, and I didn’t want to put more weight on your shoulders by making you worry about my feelings.” his bare hand reached up to wipe the streaks of tears off her cheeks. It was hard to tell with only neon illuminating her but he thought they were a bit more flushed than they had been.

“Look V you clearly know I’m no good at this, and I’m real sorry about that. I’m going to do my best though and try not to fuck this up.

“ Vik what are you” She stuttered out trying to wrap her head around everything that was happening. Still stunned that the ripper had come after her at all after she had thrown what she considered to be a childish tantrum in the clinic.

“ First I need to apologize V. I know I was mad about Silverhand, maybe even jealous, but I didn’t need to take that out on you.”

Jealous… she caught onto that word, latched on even. She couldn’t quite grasp what Vik could possibly be jealous of Johnny for, the gonk was dead and stuck inside her head with a terrible personality. She didn’t even consider that it could be all the time Johnny got to spend with her, the quiet moments at night, even waking up and feeding the cat together.

“Not being able to fix this, well it kills me V. I just want to protect you, keep you safe and not being able to do that is harder than I ever could have thought. I thought not saying anything would be part of protecting you, making your life a little more simple when things were goin crazy. Looks like I was wrong though and I should have told you how I feel a while ago.”

A pained expression came over her face as it crumpled up with a loud sniffle from her. “Vik… I have wanted to say something for so long, but you shouldn’t… you should want to be with me.”

“V why, I know it’s not my strong suit but I want to listen. I know the two of us have had a hard time speakin about these things but now sure seems like the time” He had given her knee another squeeze and placed his free hand on her forearm resting in her lap. Partially because he just wanted to touch her, but also due to the look of cornered prey she had as the concept of having to share her feelings and be vulnerable for once. He hoped the touch would be some comfort and connect them in a way. That squeeze seemed to be the only thing needed to break down the floodgates as tears began to slowly run down her cheeks again as words started to tumble out of her mouth with barely a breath in between.

“ Vik we both know I’m basically living on borrowed time with my own body as a death bed, stuck in my own head as I lose myself, even though Johnny wants out. He’s the only one I can even talk to about all this because when I have tried to bring it up I can't make myself speak. I’m so scared of pushing you away Vik, so scared of telling you too much and you deciding you can’t be around me. Because who would want to be with someone who might be Johnny Silverhand at any moment. I’m so scared to love you Vik but it’s way too late for that, I want you so much, and it makes my heart hurt constantly because I try to keep away from you, which you know doesn’t last any time at all. Even in the worst times I have when all I can see is my own doom, I'm thinking about you Viktor Vector, and it's just not fair of me to put this on you. It’s fucked but I just want to spend the little time I have with you” She finished with another loud sniffle having to take time to catch her breath.

Vik took the pause as the perfect opportunity to stand and lean down to wrap his arms around the smaller woman. His impressive size may not have been as useful for his ripper work as it was for boxing, but her frame being completely enveloped in his arms made her immediately lose some of the tension she had in her. That he thought was more important than anything else.

“V you aren’t putting anything on me I don’t want, wish I had realized we felt the same way ages ago. I think I’m old enough to decide if it’s worth it to be together too, and for me it is V. It’s going to take way more than the relic to keep me from being into you V, but I’ve known that for a long time.”

He stepped back giving her a little space as he rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed to admit how long he had wanted her and not said a word.

“ We’re going to figure this out V so you better count on that ‘little time you have left’ being a lot longer than you think.” A familiar smirk spread on his lips “ but if you’ll have this old man I’d spend every second with you that I can”

That finally got a smile to lift her wet cheeks as she stood to meet him, throwing her arms over his shoulders and around his neck. He head buried in his chest momentarily before looking up into his eyes, caught by them again, a frequent occurrence for her.

“ Vik you do know you aren’t even that old right? I mean just look at Johnny and Rouge, you don’t even want to know what Johnny tried to get up to with her… oh that was supposed to be private apparently.” Vik let out a deep chuckle, his hands moving into place on her hips, fingertips idly playing with the edge of her pants.

“ So Vik, even if I’m right and I don’t have much time left… would you spend it with me?”

“You don't even have to ask sweetheart, you know I will, and I’ll be here to listen even on the worst days”

“ you do know Johnny is gonna be with us every step of the way until we get this sorted right? Well of course you know.... But is that okay?”

“ Well maybe he could give us a bit of private time” He said with another smirk as she blushed furiously” V, dealing with Silverhand is a very small price to pay for being with you”

“ He said it should be an added bonus.” she giggled and smiled at him, the blush still lingering on her cheeks '' Johnny promised he would figure out a way to fix me so you can keep patching my dumbass up forever” the widest smile graced his face since he had found her, the idea of dealing with V forever was much more appealing than she could know.

” Fine, I'm holding you both to that sweetheart. Though as your ripper i could recommend being a bit more careful in your next fight.” The deep rumble of his laugh shook through his chest with her head still resting gently on it.

A tug at the back of Vik’s neck pulled his head down slightly as V stretched up to reach him. Her lips brushed his so lightly it took him a moment to register the kiss. Once it fully clicked a soft groan escaped his lips and his fingers tightened holding her waist firm and he met her lips once more. This time he met her lips passionately, firmly pressing their lips together and pulling her hips towards him so their bodies were flush against each other.

A meow at their feet broke them apart to look, both panting and flushed. The cat looked impatiently up at V clearly wanting something from her, as she shuffled her feet feeling suddenly rather embarrassed for initiating the kiss as reciprocated as it was.

“ Shit Vik, I gotta feed Nibbles, and I’m still covered in blood. I should probably head home for the night… feed this one on the way out.”

She stepped back, having to look away from him now or she didn’t think she would be getting off that roof tonight. She was clearly about to make a move to leave when Vik caught her wrist.

“ dinner tomorrow” he said, still sounding almost out of breath.

“What?”

“Let me make you dinner tomorrow, like you know… an actual date”

A grin popped onto V’s face immediately, never thinking those were words she would get to hear the Viktor Vector say to her. Words she had wanted to hear so badly.

“Deal, my place after you close up” She leaned up once more giving him another quick kiss before practically skipping to the elevator, cat on her heels. She was practically unrecognizable as the woman he had watched sobbing not much earlier, her mood clearly turned completely around.

Vik sunk down into the plastic chair letting out an exhausted sigh, still stunned at everything that had just happened. He tried to wrap his head around V actually being into him and trying to calm down from how flustered V had made him with their kiss, glad she hadn’t seemed to pick up on it.

The fingers of both hands rubbing his, he had suggested making dinner for V but definitely had blurted it out before really coming up with a plan. Figuring out what to make was his first order of business as he got up to head home and begin his recipe research. Next would be what to wear, and that would require a consultation from Misty. He had almost forgotten about her, she would be overjoyed after pushing him to say something to V for months, probably even more so when he told her the rooftop retreat had been the spot where the tell finally happened. The elevator dinged to let him know it was time to head back down to the streets and he stepped in, happy to be going home for the first time in a long while. In fact, he realized he hadn’t been this happy in longer than he could remember, finally feeling optimistic about what was to come because him and V would be facing it together.

#Oh shit I finished another chapter #I'm still not sure this is any good #and I spent waaaayyy less time editing #oh well fuck it #cyberpunk 2077 #fem!v #female v #viktor vector #viktor vector x v

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gainerstories · 5 years ago

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Lifeguard Off Duty: Epilogue

Bradley washed his hands in the bathroom and examined his imposing frame. There was no denying it: he had gone soft from working an office job. And not just a little soft, almost 200 pounds of fat soft. Looking at himself in the mirror, he could barely remember the ultra fit lifeguard who started at city hall all those years ago.

As he absorbed the image before him, he appreciated how the fabric of his tucked in plaid button up was completely filled with his rounded out belly, but not so tight that the buttons strained. It had taken him a few months of squeezing into outgrown clothes, seams tearing, and holes forming in the crotch of his pants before he finally learned how to dress for his size. Now, he felt confidence in the way his suspenders framed his shapely and prominent gut. His size was not something to hide, but to wear with pride. He avoided the oversized and misshapen clothes that so many larger men wore, preferring pants that hugged his rounded ass cheeks and wide thighs and shirts that cupped his distended belly.

With shoulders back and hips forward to accommodate his girth, Bradley swaggered out of the bathroom and towards the cafeteria with all the confidence in the world. After four years climbing the ladder at city hall and one long election cycle, Bradley was now the Mayor of Adipol. He grabbed a cinnamon roll, the kind Peter used to sell to him, and poured a cup of coffee while reciting his speech in his head. Later that afternoon he was to cut the ribbon at the unveiling of a new beach in town.

Abundance Beach had been overrun with trash and pollutants for decades, but after a year of intensive clean up and restoration under Bradley’s leadership it was now sparkling clean. The cleanup was a boon for real estate around the beach and a small commercial sector was beginning to spring forth nearby, including a third location for Muffin Tops.

Bradley gobbled up his cinnamon roll and ordered a foot long sub sandwich, bread bowl of chili, and potato chips that he brought back to his office. He needed to fuel up before waddling out to the beach front. Tucked behind his desk in his reinforced office chair, Bradley unfolded a napkin and tucked it into the collar of his shirt. These days, this was the only way for him to pig out in public without getting his shirt covered in food stains. He also cracked a beer he kept in the mini fridge of his office. A little alcohol always helped loosen him up before public speaking engagements.

Eventually the food was gone and his tank was so full that it felt noticeably heavier resting in his lap. Leaning back, he took a photo of his bloated belly on his laptop and sent it to Peter who encouraged him to drink one more beer to top it off. Bradley chuckled when he saw the message, chugged an IPA, stood up, and waddled to his car.

He arrived at the beach early but even still a crowd had formed before the ribbon. As mayor, he was dressed professionally in long sleeves and pants despite the fact it was the dead of summer. As a result he began to sweat almost immediately upon leaving his air conditioned car. Standing before the ribbon he looked into the faces of the eager children and young parents before him. Behind him stood Peter, a variety of local business owners, and staff from city hall.

Bradley delivered his short speech and was presented with a pair of giant scissors by his treasurer. Dramatically he snipped the red ribbon and everyone cheered before heading down to the water. Back in the parking lot, drinks were served at a makeshift bar and several shop owners had set up booths peddling their wares and foods. Avoiding the sand and discovering that Peter had disappeared, Bradley headed towards the bar.

“Bradley Parker! I am just so proud whenever I see your face!” Wanda exclaimed and rushed over to wrap her arms around Bradley in a big bear hug.

Bradley chuckled, “Always a pleasure to see you Wanda.”

“It has been so great to watch your growth all these years. From a mere coordinator to Mayor in record time! I can still remember your first day. You were a nervous little waif trying so hard to do your best. And now look: large and in charge! My god I’d never guess that you were such a big eater when you started. And I see that that cushy mayor’s office has been treating you particularly well,” Wanda winked and pinched Bradley’s overhang.

“You know me too well, Wanda. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m gonna grab a beer and make the rounds.”

“Oh of course, Mr. Mayor. Sorry to take your time. It was great seeing you.”

At the bar Bradley ran into Eric and his boyfriend who were wearing nothing but their swimsuits. Bradley couldn’t tell if the two men had indeed grown fatter since he last saw them, or if he never realized they were this fat until he saw them shirtless. Eric held a tall blended cocktail that matched the color of the bright red stretch marks on his lower belly. Meanwhile, his boyfriend leaned the upper half of his belly and moobs against the bar while ordering. From behind, he was just a series of rolls squeezed into swim trunks.

“Look at you at you Mayor Bradley! Large and in charge as always I see,” Eric chimed.

“Eric! So nice to see you,” Bradley said while motioning to the bartender that he’d like a beer. “How has it been back at the office? I miss you guys.”

“Same ‘ol same ‘ol, you know how it is. Nothing too exciting. I will say we’ve made use of your bill expanding funding. We’ve been doing team outings once a quarter and have Muffin Tops catered every Monday morning.”

“That sounds fantastic! You’re making me jealous I’m not there anymore.”

“It’s been nice! Although I think the bakery has been taking a toll on the old waistline,” Eric slapped his overhang. “I’ve put on about thirty pounds this year alone.”

“Tell me about it. Once I started at city hall this thing hasn’t stopped growing. I’m leaning into it, though, and I’ll tell you what Eric- it looks good on you!” Bradley slapped Eric’s belly in the same spot, leaving a momentary handprint.

Eric blushed and replied, “Mr. Mayor,” coquettishly.

“Say, where’s Malcolm?” Bradley mentioned.

“Well, speaking of packing it on!” Eric began. “Malcolm just fucking ballooned, like I mean huge, like massive. We had to order him a specialty office chair that was wide set and could support up to 600 pounds because he broke the other one. You’d think that would be a wake up call but that did not slow him down. He’s currently at a six month fat camp up north. He had to have been like, I don’t know, pushing 500 pounds when he left. Like, unrecognizable. Real wake up call for the rest of us fatties... not that I’ve lost any weight recently.”

“Wow, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to hear that, but I am. Glad he’s doing what’s best for him,” Bradley responded as Eric’s boyfriend joined with his fruity cocktail. “Well I’ll let you boys hit the beach while I search for Peter. He should be hiding somewhere. He doesn’t enjoy the spotlight.”

“Well it was great seeing you Bradley. You’re a great leader,” Eric said and wobbled towards the beach.

With his beer in hand, Bradley wandered through the crowd looking for Peter. The dark asphalt coupled with the increasingly dense crowd was creating a heat bubble around the parking lot that had Bradley sweating bullets. He was sure that the T-shirt underneath his button up was completely soaked with sweat and feared it would begin soaking through his outer layer. He could even feel beads of sweat drip from his fat pad, around his junk, and down his leg.

“Mayor Parker!” exclaimed a gushing female voice vaguely recognizable to Bradley.

He turned around to see Diane, the new hire who hit on him constantly before he ran for Mayor. She stood with her arm linked to a man that was nearly, but not quite, as fat as Bradley. Without invitation Diane wrapped her free arm around Bradley’s back in a hug, giving his love handle a sneaky squeeze, and causing his lower back sweat to finally pervade his button up.

“Diane, how nice to see you,” Bradley responded flatly while awkwardly sustaining her unwanted advances.

“And this is Christian,” Diane said, “you remember him? He was your replacement, also a former lifeguard.”

Bradley stared at the hulking man before him. The Christian who was his replacement was lean and muscular. It didn’t seem possible that someone almost as big as Bradley himself could have gained all that weight in such a short amount of time. Bradley shook Christian’s hand and made small talk with the couple, all the while contemplating what a massive eater Christian must be to have ballooned like that. Then it hit him: Diane was clearly a feeder and Christian’s gains were no accident.

Eventually, Bradley excused himself and tried to squeeze away through the crowded parking lot. Finally, he laid eyes on Peter who was drinking a beer in the corner by himself. The couple embraced and held a long kiss. As they stepped away Bradley heard someone say his name from behind.

“Mayor Bradley Parker! Large and in charge I see!”

Bradley turned around and accidentally smashed his belly into Diego’s own rotund gut.

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Bradley said.

“Well look at you!” Diego replied. “Your belly just knocked mine. I mean sheesh, look at this thing- you’re starting to make me look petite!”

Diego and Hayden each wore shorts and a loosely draped Hawaiian print button up that subtly rested on their curves. Diego’s was unbuttoned half way down revealing his massive hairy pecs, and tucked in to display the fullness of his girth. Hayden on the other hand left his untucked, occasionally flashing a glimpse of belly.

The two couples had become somewhat close in recent months, as Diego was routinely at city hall as he expanded Muffin Tops into a chain and began filing the paperwork to start franchising. In the last few years their original location expanded to serve bread and savory pastries, Diego bought out Thick Treats and converted it into a Muffin Tops, and everything was now in place to open their third location at Abundance Beach in just a few days.

In the midst of conversation, Diego invited Bradley and Peter to the new bakery nearby. The walk there was not far, but pushed Bradley over the edge. By the time they arrived his clothes were drenched in sweat and he was wiping his brow dry.

“Why don’t you take those stuffy clothes off?” Diego suggested. “We’re all friends here, no need to be overly professional Mr. Mayor.”

Bradley removed his outer layer so he was only wearing a white tee that was now see through from the sweat and rode up to just below his belly button. He sat on a nearby table while Diego expressed surprise that Bradley was now definitely the biggest man in the room. From a distance, the sound of squeaky wheels turning approached. Bradley looked over to see Jeremy emerging from the kitchen pushing a three tiered cake.

“We wanted to congratulate you on the new beach!” Hayden exclaimed. “You’ve been so great to all of us and this town so we made your favorite chocolate cake.”

The room clapped and Jeremy began to cut the cake. Bradley had to do a double take upon seeing Jeremy close up. Not only was he much tanner, but Bradley’s former gym bud now had a serious gut hanging off of him. Bradley knew that he’d moved in with Diego and Hayden but he could of sworn he saw Jeremy in the gym looking fit as ever a few months ago. Flabbergasted, Peter broke the silence on the subject.

“Jeremy, you look different…” Peter said suggestively.

“Are you talking about this thing?” Jeremy pushed his hips forward and grabbed his belly with both hands, giving it a proud shake. “I took a two month vacation of unbridled hedonism in the Italian countryside.”

“Did wonders, I’d say!” grinned Diego.

Jeremy served each of the men massive hunks of cakes and simply placed the entirety of the top tier on Bradley’s plate. Before digging in, they popped a bottle of champagne and cheersed.

“To Bradley, our dear friend, Mayor, and loyal customer of Muffin Tops,” Diego said.

“And to you guys,” Bradley responded, “My dear friends, my lovely encouraging partner, and… to Jeremy’s new pot belly!”

The five men stepped closer to clink glasses, causing their bellies to softly squish into one another.

This is a co-authored story by gainerstories and gainingfiction.

This chapter is written by gainerstories.

#lifeguard

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readyplayerhobi · 6 years ago

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Flower | 08

; Hoseok x Reader

; Genre: Fluff, slight angst

; Word Count: 3.9k

; Synopsis: You finally decide to take a dip into the world of online dating and find the Flower dating app. One of the top matches for you proves to be a guy who looks to be your complete opposite; tattooed, pierced, a metalhead and oh…incredibly handsome. What happens when you throw caution to the wind and reach out to him?

; A/N: Yet another chapter for us all! :D I hope you’re still enjoying it and you like the new banner! This is what he looks like in this fic obviously, just with tattoos and a lip ring. Please reblog if you enjoyed and leave me comments, feedback and asks! It helps to fuel my inspiration for this to know you all love it too!

; Flower Masterpost

The bar in front of you looks ever so slightly dinghy, but you can’t tell if that’s an actual thing or if you’re just stereotyping it. This was the bar that Hoseok and his friends frequented often, a rock bar apparently.

It sounded like everything you hated but you knew he loved it given all the stories he’d told you over the last month of the mischief they all got up to. Apparently when you added alcohol into their strange friendship, it resulted in pure chaos. Part of you wanted to see it, but the overwhelming part of you was terrified.

You’d never been in a situation like this before. Previous partners had been in college, where you already knew their friends. This was new territory, terrifying territory. When you walked through that door, you were going to be meeting Hoseok and his closest friends for the first time.

It made you want to be sick. They probably had expectations on you. There was no way he hadn’t talked about you to them...or what if hadn’t? What if you were a complete surprise to them? What if he’d spouted so much crap and they were disappointed when they meet you? Thought he could do better? What if they hated you? Publicly ignored you or insulted you.

Not that you think Hoseok would let them.

You’d both been dating now just over a month and you were pretty sure that he was the kind of person who wouldn’t accept someone being mean to you. But friends were important, right? If Chungha and Soyeon both expressly disapproved of Hoseok then you doubted that you’d have stayed with him.

What if they told him that they didn’t like you? Would he leave you?

You’re so busy catastrophizing just outside of the door that you don’t notice when someone comes out of it, the music from inside loud enough to be heard when the door is open but not deafening. A hand pressing on your arm gently makes you jump, eyes widening as you look up into the face of Hoseok.

“You’ve gotta stop jumping like this. I’m worried you’ll give yourself a heart attack. Anyway, any reason you’re out here instead of coming inside? Like the smell of piss and weed or something?” Your nose wrinkles at that, acknowledging the disgusting smell that you’d been trying not to think about and he laughs.

“I was...coming. I just…” You struggle to get the words out, shrugging rather limply and he sighs softly. Hoseok had been trying to encourage to meet his friends now for a week, his texts saying that tonight was happening and he’d really, really love it if you came. It was a good sign that he wanted you to meet them, you knew that, but your very nature recoiled away from socialising with large amounts of people.

And that was to say nothing about being out on a weeknight, your body screaming to just go home and relax on the couch with Netflix. Or the fact that you were going to be the centre of attention.

Just the thought made you seize up in anxiety, body going cold while your breath came a little faster. Hoseok seems to tell that your mood has changed and he shifts around in front of you, cupping your face in his hands while his thumbs gently stroke at your cheeks.

“Hey...hey. What’s wrong? Tell me. Is it this? You don’t have to, I won’t be mad. Swear. I’ll call a taxi for you and you can go home if you want.” He’s looking at you earnestly, his eyes scanning over your face to track every micro expression and you feel his genuine care. The girls were right in that you’d found a good one here.

“No, no. I don’t...I just...it’s a lot. I don’t...I,” Wiping at your mouth, you look up at the sky and try hard not to start hyperventilating or something. “What if they don’t like me? And everyone’s going to be staring at me and judging me and I hate when I’m the centre of-”

“Hey...it’s okay. We’ll...I’ll make sure that they don’t make you feel uncomfortable okay? They’re good people. And they’ll like you. You’re hard not to like. Just...be yourself.” The smile on his face is reassuring but you can still feel the anxiety bubbling deeply within.

“Myself is someone with social anxiety who talks about useless crap and blurts out overly sarcastic comments. I’d rather be someone else.” You look away at that, brows rising for a moment while your lips turn down. The sound of Hoseok sighing fills your eyes and you feel bad for whining at him, knowing that he’d only know you a month and he was already having to put up your stream of negativity.

“I don’t. I like you. The useless crap is interesting and the sarcastic comments are hilarious. I want to introduce my friends to you...my girlfriend. Not some other girl, okay? Do you want to go in or…?” He points at the door, smiling at you and you just nod, eyes wide as a warmth blossoms from deep within.

He called you his girlfriend.

The pleased shock of what he’d called you wears off quickly as he moves along the sticky floor to the booth where his friends are all sat. It’s dim inside, the overhanging lights dull while the neon green and pink of the beer logos behind the bar contrast vibrantly. A whole multitude of spirits and other forms of alcohol sit on the space below them along with various whiskeys on the optics, just waiting for someone to order them.

Hoseok glances over at a platinum blonde haired girl behind the bar, her arms and neck covered with even more tattoos than Hoseok, before he raised a hand and pointed to you. “Can you bring a Coke please?” The girl nods and reaches for a fresh glass from above but you don’t get to pay anymore attention as Hoseok’s hand presses against your lower back once more.

It’s easy to tell where his friends are. The place isn’t too big and there isn't a huge amount of people here, only a few booths filled up. But his friends are loud, talking at incredible volumes and laughing even louder than that. You know it’s them because he’s leading you directly to them, the pressure from his hand a little stronger as you hesitate.

“It’s okay.” He whispers, quickly pressing a kiss to your temple and you heat up at the public display of affection. Yet despite the embarrassment that rolls through you, there’s an equal amount of reassurance that you feel at his presence.

The noise quietens down when you both walk up, seven interested faces glancing you up and down before looking over at Hoseok. They all look a bit squashed into the booth and Hoseok grabs two chairs from a nearby empty table, quickly ushering you into one.

“Okay so, well...errr…” He sounds a little nervous and you realise with a start that he probably is as nervous as you are. These are his friends after all, you have no doubt that he wants them to like you while also hoping that you’ll like them. He quickly introduces each person, pointing to each one and you follow along, giving shy smiles to each one as they smile in return or wave.

“And...well...this is Y/N. If anyone says anything mean then I will feed you a rotten egg. I have one in my fridge that I need to throw out, so it can happen.” Hoseok threatens lightly, his smile light but you can sense an edge behind it too. No one says anything in response to that and he shuffles a tiny bit closer, his arm moving to rest on the back of your chair.

“Err...hi.” It’s all you can get out, your body tensing from their attention. You think frantically for something else to say, desperately hoping that someone else will take up the mantle for you and thankfully, Jimin’s fiancée Eden does.

“What do you do then? Anything interesting?” The question makes you glance down at your hands, their carefully painted nails playing with the zip on your bag as you swallow.

“I’m just an admin assistant for a wholesaler. Nothing interesting.” She nods at that with a laugh, rolling her eyes and leaning back into her partner. His hair isn’t pink anymore, but instead a deep black that makes him look appallingly attractive.

Actually they all look attractive and you want to point an accusatory finger at Hoseok, wondering how on earth he managed to find six other men who looked like they modelled for high fashion brands at the weekend. Nothing to boost your self confidence than having seven guys prettier than you around you.

“God, I feel you. I’m convinced there’s no such thing as hell otherwise my life would not be as shit as it is. I’m a receptionist at a doctor’s clinic, which would be fine if it wasn’t for the fact that patients are not only dumb as fuck but also some of the rudest people out there. Like...I get you’re in pain and hurting but there’s no need to be an ass, you know?” You find yourself smiling with a nod, her open nature and friendliness calling out to you.

“You think that’s bad? Try having to deal with people who need legal representation when you know they’re the scum of the earth. God, I wish I’d chosen something boring to specialise in, like property law. Law and Order makes it look really interesting but it’s really not, it’s just stress and boring research.” Namjoon’s the one who says that, his hair blonde and shaved pretty short on the sides.

He has a kind face, you decide, as you watch him laugh over something Jungkook says, the man next to him. Deep dimples spot his cheeks when he smiles and you can easily see why he ended up being the first to not only marry but also have a child.

His wife is apparently still in the end stages of pregnancy, hence why she’s not here tonight. As nice as the extra female company would have been, you’re sure she’s probably curled up at home. Part of you wishes you were curled up at home too.

“Friends, friends...I have two words for you all...customer...service.” Taehyung, a ridiculously attractive man who you think actually should have a career as a model instead of a customer service representative, says with raised brows, hands lifting into the air as he shrugs. His eyes are barely visible beneath the tousled, curled black hair he’s sporting.

Hisses and winces of sympathy erupt from everyone, including you, before the conversation carries on further. Nothing else leaves you because you can’t think of anything to talk about so you simply listen. No one notices the quietness that you fall into as they continue to talk, their friendships allowing them to chat easily and quickly through numerous topics that you don’t particularly understand.

You’re good at disappearing into the background of people, vanishing from conversations and simply watching them happen around you. It was a lot easier than trying to figure out how to talk without sounding like an idiot, which was a regular occurrence for you.

But after ten minutes of it, apart from a thank you to the bartender who brings you your drink, Hoseok evidently takes notice. He leans close to you, lips brushing against your ear and you shiver ever so slightly as his warm breath tickles the fine hairs as he speaks in a low voice to you.

“Is everything okay? You’ve gone quiet.” You look at him with wide eyes, shrugging slightly as you curl into yourself a little more. He frowns in response, lips pursing slightly and causing his lip ring to jut out funnily as he contemplates your response.

But he doesn’t say anything vocally, instead just moves his arm to wrap around your shoulders and tug you a little closer. He’s delightfully warm against you and the now familiar smell of peppermint and sandalwood envelops you as he does so. You have no idea what cologne he uses but it smells amazing, and there’s nothing better than a nice smelling guy sometimes.

“Hoseok told us about your first date by the way, I’m not surprised he couldn’t get out of an escape room.” Jimin pipes up suddenly, a mischievous look on his face as Hoseok stiffens next to you in outrage. He’s sputtering for a reply and you can’t help but smile, ducking your head down and shrugging.

“Don’t be too mean, I also couldn’t get us out.” You admit quietly, a meek look on your face as they all laugh. Taehyung pointed at Jungkook with an incredulous look, eyes widening as he accuses the post-grad student.

“I don’t know why you’re laughing, the last time we did one of those you broke the fucking door. Got banned from the damn place after having to pay to have it fixed.” Everyone looks at Jungkook in amusement at that, an oddly fond expression woven into them as he begins to protest his innocence immediately.

“I didn’t break it! I just...tried opening it. And it did.” He gestures, shoulders slumping as he slides down the seat ever so slightly, his bottom lip sticking out in an adorable pout. From what you’ve learnt from Hoseok, Jungkook is most definitely the baby of the group. Not because he acts like a child, but because he’s the youngest and the others all treat him like a little brother.

“You. Kicked. The. Door. The fuck did you think was gonna happen?”

“Everyone said that doesn’t work in real life! I thought I’d just kick it and nothing would happen, maybe make my foot hurt or something. Felt cool though, like I was in a crime show.” Namjoon sighs deeply at that, rubbing his hand over his eyes with a weariness you get the feeling he experiences more often than not with these guys.

“Yeah, if you wanted to be in Brooklyn 99 and not Criminal Minds.” The words are filled with more than a little sarcasm from Taehyung who crosses his arms over his chest, suddenly making you realise how broad he is. It’s not helped when you find yourself assessing them all and realising that while Taehyung and Seokjin are both incredibly wide, Yoongi and Jimin appear to be almost petite with how slender they are.

“Well I may have sucked ass, and perhaps we would die if we ended up in a horror situation which required us to solve our way out of a room, but I didn’t break anything. And the rest of the date went fine, thank you very much.” Hoseok leans back in his chair, a smirk on his face as he looks smugly at them all.

And you can’t help it, you just cannot help yourself.

“Except for when you told me about that girl throwing up on your dick.”

Immediately he looks at you in betrayal, jaw dropping open and letting you see that he’s changed his tongue piercing for a black ball instead of silver. But you can’t help but smile and giggle his brows furrowed in disbelief, the noise increased in volume when he starts to tickle you playfully.

“I told you that in confidence!”

“No you didn’t, you said it in the middle of a restaurant on a first date! That’s like...the least confidential thing ever. You may as well have hired a skywriter to write it out or something.” You wriggle away from his fingers, pushing at his hands to try and avoid them.

Hoseok pauses, lips pursing together as he looks you over before he sneers. It’s not a mean face, you can see the joy in his eyes and part of you feels relief rush through you that you haven't offended him. “Maybe so.”

“A girl threw up on your dick?” Jungkook asks, his face a complete picture of disgust. On the contrary, Jimin just shrugs before waving a hand airily.

“Hey man, you do you. If that’s what gets you off then that’s what gets you off. This is a non-judgemental place.” He said serenely, causing Eden to turn and look at him with a raised brow.

“You get turned on at egg-laying dildos. In fact...you told me that you wanted to try role playing as Thanos the other night.” That stuns everyone into silence, a slight look of judgement on everyone’s face as they look at the smaller man. He maintains a perfectly blank face before shrugging.

“I will admit that maybe my sexual practices aren’t your normal ones…”

The conversation spirals after that, becoming one of intense discussions about sexual preferences, kinks and even fetishes. Some of the things said make you heat up from curiosity but most of them are because of pure embarrassment. They laugh and joke about things that you’ve never heard anyone joking about before and you find that you don’t have anything to add.

Not that you’re sure you want to have anything to add. You do find out though that Hoseok has been much more adventurous in bed than you given some of the stories both he and the others tell. Apparently a few of them had lived together in college and they’d had a truly wild time during those years.

It was certainly amusing though and you found that you quite liked just listening to them talk, absorbing their stories and disseminating the intense history between them all. The easy way they slipped into each others conversations made their long friendships obvious and you felt a pang of longing for something like this.

There was no doubt that Chungha and Soyeon were the same with you, but you’d never seen it like this on such a large scale with this many friends.

After a while though, you feel your inner tolerance for social situations rapidly depleting and a swirl of anxiety runs through you as you realise that it’s already nearing 9pm. You still have to get home, a thirty minute taxi ride away, and then shower for the next day. Your bed is calling you more than ever and you fidget for a few minutes, wondering how to politely tell Hoseok that you wanted to leave.

Leaving social events was never easy for you because you always felt like you were going to let people down or have them judge you. But you were tired, your eyes beginning to droop as your energy levels fell and the makeup on them pulled them down. The warmth of Hoseok against you wasn’t helping either, the desire to curl up into him and sleep so strong.

You don’t realise that you’ve drifted off for a few minutes, head resting against Hoseok’s shoulder as one hand lays on his thigh. Not until he gently jerks you awake, your eyes widening as you blink rapidly to try and move through the fog of sleep.

“Hey...you wanna go home? I’ll call a taxi for you.” A murmur of protest leaves you, a new anxiety at letting him down burning at you but he shakes his head with a sweet smile. Pressing his lips to your forehead, he grabs his phone and opens the Uber app. “It’s okay, honestly. I know you’re tired by now and I’d rather you go now than stay out and be even more tired.”

You can’t find it in yourself to complain any further, just laying your head back down on his shoulder and trying your hardest to stay awake. It was hard though, and you wondered what his friends thought seeing you like this. A benefit to being so drained of energy though was that you didn’t particularly care what they thought of you right now. You just wanted to go home and go to bed.

“Come on, it’s here,” Hoseok whispered, shifting you until you got up out of the uncomfortable wooden seat, stretching out with a quiet groan. “I’m just gonna take her to the taxi.”

“Bye, it was nice meeting you.” You say, your voice incredibly soft but all of them give you a smile in response as they give their goodbyes as well. Hoseok takes your hand, entangling your fingers, before gently pulling you back through the bar to the door. The waiting Uber is parked at the side of the road, waiting for you to get in and Hoseok walks over, opening the door.

Before you get in though, you wrap your arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. “Do you think it went okay?”

Your words are a little muffled but he hears them anyway, the street is pretty quiet except for the idling engine of the car. His hand rubs along your back slowly and you lean a tiny bit back, looking up at him in the crappy lighting.

“I think it went good. Don’t worry about it, honestly. Anyway...text me when you get home so I know you’re safe, okay?” You nod, feeling a little like you’re being instructed by a parent but it makes you feel warm and good at his concern. “Good. I’ll text you good night.”

With that, he gives you a sweet kiss goodnight, nothing intense or passionate. Just...nice, a goodbye kiss. And once he’s done, despite the flurry of butterflies you still feel when he kisses you, you get into the taxi and smile at him as he closes the door and watches as the car drives off.

Hoseok heads back into the bar once he can’t see the Uber anymore, excited happiness buzzing through him. He really did think it had gone well tonight; both on your side and his friends side. Even though he’d prewarned them that you were pretty shy and awkward, they’d been very respectful in a way that had surprised him.

Sitting back on his chair, he leans forward and grabs his beer, taking a deep swig before placing it back down. Everyone is sat staring at him, each with a differing expression on their face and he knows what they’re all waiting for.

Sighing deeply, he shrugs and lifts his hands up. “Well?”

“Where did you find that church mouse?” Jimin asks, his brows rising incredibly high. A few of the other chuckle, lips turning up as they nod and Hoseok feels defensiveness rising in him.

“She’s not that bad. Just...quiet. I told you she was.” He’s about to say more but Namjoon holds up a hand, calming down the atmosphere immediately.

“She was nice Hoseok. A little nicer than we’re used to with you I think. But that’s good, don’t get offended!” He says when Hoseok’s face turns outraged. “I think she’ll be good for you. You seem very relaxed with her.”

“I think you’re cute together,” Eden pipes up with a grin. “The shy girl and the loud, tattooed guy. Like one of those romance books or a fanfic.”

Hoseok frowns slightly, running his tongue over his lip ring. “Is that good?”

“Yes. She’s living the dream, that’s all I’ll say.”

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goldeneyedgirl · 5 years ago

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JaliceWeek20: Canon Gapfillers

What You Say

JaliceWeek20 Day 3: Canon Gapfillers

Notes: It seemed unsporting for my version of Jess and Alice not to make at least one appearance in Jaliceweek, especially since everyone is so enthusiastic about the WIP! This is kind of a missing scene that comes before Jess’s temper tantrum scene posted here. I’m not big on canon gapfillers, really, so this was the most fun way to write it and even then, I probably took liberties.

Only 2.5 to go! We’re getting close!

Takes place upon Alice’s return from Volterra in New Moon.

Rating: M-ish, I guess? NSFW, but not super graphic.

Word Count: 2,245

—

“I’m sorry.”

They’re the first words she says to Jessamine when she gets back from Volterra.

When they get off the plane, Bella is pale and twitchy, and everyone is fussing around her and Edward. Maybe Jess has already put them all off, pushing interest and focus off of her and onto the human girl. Or maybe they don’t see what Alice does.

The rigidness in her stance, the way she’s holding herself so tightly, so she takes up no more space than she needs to, the blank look on her face… Alice wants to run to her side, to wrap her arms around Jess and reassure her. Draw out every that is causing the pain, tension, the fear.

Except she knows exactly what - who - caused it, and more than that, Jess isn’t in that place. Not in such a public place; she won’t be able to touch her until she’s calmed, when her gift is not stretched to the very breaking point.

So she stands as close as to Jessamine as she dares, and she stares into those golden eyes that she loves so much that are so blank yet sharp, and knows that this is not yet over; Edward might have thought Aro was their reckoning, but Alice knows for her, it is Jessamine’s hurt.

—

The drive home with Carlisle and Esme is… taunt. She answers Carlisle’s questions honestly, and halfway home, Jess takes a quiet breath and that’s good. That’s a step closer to Jess purging all the toxic emotions she’s trapped inside herself, a step closer to talking and explaining and apologising a dozen times over.

The relief Alice feels when she sees the Forks house washes over her, and then she realises what she’s done, and she cannot even look back at Jess; she knows now. Knows how afraid Alice was, knows how close she was to never coming home again.

Esme smiles gently at both of them as they troop up the stairs; light and dark, tall and small, both looking like they’re off to their own executions.

She sees the confrontation in her mind; the words are changing and a little bit muffled because of it, but it happens like this - she sits cross legged on the bed with her head bowed and she apologies. Jess rages at her, properly destroys the rocking chair, two lamps, and her closet door before storming off into her study. Then Jess will come back and hold her so tight that not a single molecule can get between then, when they are just a single entity scented of roses and salt and rain and basil, and they will curl up together on the bed like that, pressed together until the fear and the grief and the guilt slowly ebbs.

That is how it happens until it does.

Her Jess does have such a bad temper. She just can’t remember the last time it was directed at her (yes she can - ’49, Toledo. That was an ugly argument and Alice is still properly ashamed of her part in it.)

So Alice goes to take her place on the bed, on the blue floral duvet that she bullied Jess into picking out that Jess decided Alice would like best even though Alice had given her two choices she already liked equally, because that’s just how they decided things. Except, she never gets to take a seat on the bed, because Jess has changed her mind and the future is scrambled, as Jess grabs her arm and spins her around.

The rage is second to only the fear in Jess’s eyes and Alice wants to cry, wants to weep out her apologies because it was always about protecting Jessamine, never about anything else. Not about trust, not about ability, not about anything more or anything less than the fact that of everything that Alice was prepared to hand to Aro, prepared to cut down and sacrifice, Jess was never on that list.

“I’m sorry,” she manages, in a small voice, unable to tear her gaze from Jess’s.

“Sorry for what?” Jess hisses back, her eyes hard. “Sorry for running away? Sorry for lying? Sorry for deciding some human girl is worth more than yourself? Sorry for giving up the one thing that kept us safe? Should I keep going?”

Alice is shaking now, shaking with the weight of Jess’s disappointment and fear and hurt.

She grasps Alice by her shoulders and half shakes her. “Why did you do it? Why, Alice? Do you love Bella Swan that much? Edward? Are they worth that much to you? Because they sure as hell aren’t worth half as much to me as you are.

“You lied to me, Alice.”

All the fight seems to seep from Jess, and she jerks away, leaving Alice feeling like she’s been stripped bare, and quite ashamed.

“I didn’t want you to worry.” The words sound childish and feeble, not at all convincing.

“Not to worry?” Jess’s foot strikes out, and the rocking chair is kindling in the corner; at least her visions were right about one thing. “Do you know what it was like, the waiting? To know what you were walking in to? To not know if you’d ever walk out? If I’d ever see you again?”

Alice wants to crawl into her arms right now, to hide there and admit that she was terrified, terrified for Edward and Bella, and then terrified for herself and Jess. But she knew that Jessamine wasn’t in that place yet, was still letting out all her pain and fear, her gift still raw from waiting with the rest of the family, absorbing all of their pain on top of her own. The time will come when they wrap their arms around each other and Alice will murmur her fears into Jess’s ear and Jess will do everything she can to soothe them

But that will be later. For now, it is about Jess’s pain, Jess’s rage.

“You swore to me you would never lie to me, and you would never leave me. Remember?” Jess snaps, pacing the room like an agitated lioness. “Remember promising me that, Alice?”

“I do, of course,” Alice said softly.

“So why? Why did you do it?” Jess is suddenly towering over her. “Make me understand, Alice.”

“Because they’re family. Because I couldn’t stand back and let Edward die for such a stupid, senseless reason when Bella was always going to be one of us - the visions never changed. But then I thought Bella… I swear, I didn’t think I’d make it, I thought I’d just be there to help Charlie through it,” Alice whispered.

She swallowed hard. Jess was silent, watching her carefully, a judge, jury, and executioner all in one - and Alice will accept her judgement willingly.

“There was no way you could have been there. If Edward had seen any one of us, he would have revealed himself faster, and Aro would have punished all of all. If you had been there, Jess, there was no future that showed us walking away. The only chance for survival was if it was just me and Bella - even Carlisle would have died, Jess.”

“There were a million alternatives, Alice - I could have stayed in the goddamn car,” Jess said in that dangerous, low voice.

“You think there was ever a chance of you sitting in a car waiting whilst I faced the Volturi? Jess, that was never even a possibility. You couldn’t be there.” Alice was pleading now, and reached out to grab Jess’s hand.

Within a second, Jess has her pressed against the wall with her legs looped around her waist, Jess’s hand cradling the back of her head.

“Never again,” Jess says sternly.

“Never again, I promise,” Alice said breathlessly.

“Promises aren’t exactly your strongest argument right now, Miss Cullen,” Jess bites back, and then they are kissing, roughly - Jess’s kiss is harsh and unforgiving, and Alice melts into her arms, letting her love take what she needs to heal the hurt.

She lets Jess push her down onto the bed, her mouth hard and demanding as her hands dive under Alice’s clothing. For an empath, Jess has always been so physical, and it’s never been a bad thing, since she knows exactly what she’s doing. Her mouth is hot as it makes its way down Alice’s neck and when Alice gets her wits about her and reaches for Jess’s shirt, her hands are quickly pinned on either side of her head, Jess breathing, “don’t you dare move,” in her ear as her shirt and bra are torn away, Jess’s knee is between both of Alice’s legs and if this is her penance, Alice is going to go down willingly. She’s already got matching bite marks on the inside of both her thighs, overlapping from dozens of similar encounters over the years.

Jess has her stripped, except for her panties, and is staring at her with a dark but satisfied look, as her gift ripples through Alice, who arches slightly on the bed, grinding against Jess’s knee. She catches a glimpse of them in the mirror overhanging the dresser, a nearly obscene tableau of Jess hovering over her fully clothed, and her splayed across the bed in only her undergarments, grinding against Jess’s denim-clad leg.

Jess leans forward, cradling her head so gently, pulling her gift back enough for Alice to remember coherent thought, but instead of kissing her, Jess’s lips graze her ear as she whispers, firm and cold, “mine.”

And Alice is willing to agree to anything because that’s the moment that Jess strikes, her hand sliding into Alice’s panties and everyone is going to hear everything tonight, because she doesn’t even need to ask to know that Jessamine feels the same - like an exposed nerve, a cornered animal. The threat has passed, but it is also coming for them, in some kind of hazy future, and if incredibly loud sex is how they’re going to deal with that new knowledge, well, there are worse coping methods.

—

Jess lets them both leave the room when they are summoned to Bella’s meeting.

“Calling family meetings now,” she mutters, and Alice elbows her. Jessamine’s grudge holding is legendary - nothing Bella does between now and graduation will be immune to her judgement. Right now, though, with her legs feeling a little shaky and her own plans for her mate for the next day or two forming in her mind, Alice thinks the trait is cute.

Emmett starts to applaud when they both walk in, and for once Jess just rolls her eyes and high-fives him, whilst Alice primly takes a seat. Bella’s looking at the spot just beyond Alice’s left ear, her eyes quite red, so she must have been here for at least an hour, when Jess just wanted to see how loud Alice could get… Edward just looks like he’s living his worse possible day, and - already having seen why Bella has called the meeting - Alice thought it might definitely be in the top ten.

Jess sits beside her, resting her foot on the back of Alice’s chair, and Alice tries not to smirk when she feels the strands of love and lust and mischief twist their ways around her.

The vote for Bella joining the family goes just as she sees it, even ending with Edward shattering the television into three large pieces. As Bella departs and the rest of the family raise to disappear into the depths of the house, Alice leans over and rests her head against Jess’s arm.

“You know I’m going to kill Edward for putting you in danger,” Jess says conversationally.

“You have the right to be angry,” Alice agreed, nuzzling against her arm like a feline. “But you know murder would upset Esme, and wouldn’t really solve anything.”

Jess scowls, and in one motion, Alice has been lifted and settled into Jess’s lap. “A maiming then.”

Alice giggles, though she know that Jess has never made a hollow threat in her life. Her temper is legendary, and apparently Edward will be facing a reckoning with Jess as well.

“I love you,” Alice said, looking up at her love. “Never, ever doubt that every single thing I do, I do it for you. For us. Because I love you and I want to protect you, and there’s nothing that I can think of that I wouldn’t do to keep you safe and happy, Jessie.”

Jessamine closes her eyes and rests her chin on Alice’s head. “I don’t need protecting when it puts you in danger; that will never be okay with me,” Jess replies.

“And I will never be okay with you risk yourself to protect me, so I am afraid we are at an impasse,” Alice retorts cheerily, reminding them both of Maria’s visit to Calgary in ’76.

Jess rolls her eyes, but nods infinitesimally so she doesn’t have to move her head. She sighs, such a heavy sound and Alice aches to make this better, to erase the hurt completely. But she knows that will take time, and she’s never been known for her patience.

“I love you,” Alice says meekly, settling against Jess’s chest.

“I never doubted that,” Jess says mildly, and the future flutters and reforms, and Alice smiles, happy to sit quietly with Jess for awhile. Everything will be okay but, most importantly, Jess will be okay, and that’s all Alice ever wanted.

#jaliceweek20 #alice cullen #jessamine hale #jasper hale #jalice #my fic: what you say #twilight #twilight fic

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chilling-seavey · 5 years ago

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Amoureux (c.s/d.s) - Chapter Two

A/N I couldn’t wait until Passchendaele is done to post this...here’s chapter two 🥰

Kensington Palace, England ~ August 1, 1820

Louisa glanced out the window of the carriage, watching the large stone palace come into view under bright blue skies. The sprawling lawns and gardens were pristine, the fountain was crystal clear and polished, and not a pebble out of line on the paths. It was Louisa’s first time out of France, having spent nearly two days travelling across Europe to officially move into her new life as the future Queen of England. It was a journey filled with anxiety and uncertainty and the fact that she would probably never see home again was eating away at her heart since France had been her whole universe for all sixteen years of her life.

The Palace of Versailles, where Louisa was born and grew up, was vastly different from Kensington Palace that she was approaching in her carriage. Versailles had been the French royal family’s pride and joy since the 1660s, each reining monarch pouring money into the construction to make it the biggest and grandest palace in all the land. It certainly was, each room dripping in gold and crystals and the finest linens and silks on the beds and in the windows, the grounds spanning many acres. One could easily get lost admits the two thousand three hundred rooms if they never grew up there with plentiful time to explore all that Versailles had to offer.

It was what life was to Louisa, the luxury and grandeur of her palace simply being reality, having never needed to set foot elsewhere even within her own country. So it was no doubt that Louisa was slightly disappointed when the horse and carriage pulled her up to the dark stone building in the center of London, so plain and dismal compared to the shining gold accents that trimmed Versailles from top to bottom.

The horses came to a stop outside the front of the palace and Louisa waited as the Royal Guards opened the door for her. One offered her his hand and she placed her gloved hand softly in his as he helped her out of the carriage.

“Princess.” The guards bowed their heads in greeting.

“Welcome to Kensington Palace, your Royal Highness.” An older man dressed in a formal military uniform bowed to her.

“Yes, thank you.” Louisa pulled her best smile towards him, her eyes drifting up the side of the building, trying to find a spec of gold anywhere.

“I am Jonah Marais, The King’s Private Secretary. I will help you get settled. You must be terribly tired after such a long journey.”

“Yes, I am afraid so.” Louisa said softly, glancing behind her to where the guards were unloading her many suitcases from the back of the carriage.

“If you follow me, Princess. The King and Queen are waiting to greet you just inside.”

Louisa nodded and followed Jonah up the few steps and into the large foyer of the palace. The staircase that she was met with seemed to span upwards forever, a straight run directly in front of the doors that spilt into two directions against the far wall and then turned right back towards the main doors as they reached the second storey on both sides. A rolling red carpet lined the marble stairs and across the floor towards the entrance, the two-storey foyer spanning up to the curved ceiling that was crested in gold elaborate trim. The upkeep of the detailed foyer alone was impressive, and Louisa already started to feel right at home.

She followed Jonah up the grand staircase, eyeing each massive painting that they passed on the way. Looping around at the top of the stairs towards the back of the palace, Jonah knocked on a large wooden door before opening it and gesturing Louisa through the wide paneled doorjamb. Three people stood up from the chairs in the center of the dark painted room and Louisa easily recognised the King from the paintings she had seen, the same full face and beard and soft blue eyes. The Queen stood slightly behind him, a kind smile on her slim face and her brown hair tucked back in a formal updo, her dress billowing slightly in the wind that came in through the open window.

“Princess Louisa of France, your Majesties.” Jonah introduced to the room, bowing once before excusing himself and closing the door again behind him.

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Louisa.” The King smiled, taking Louisa’s offered hand to kiss it softly in formal greeting.

“You as well, your Majesties.” Louisa curtsied lightly before turning to the Queen and doing the same.

“Your father must have spoken to you about our son.” The King gestured behind them to the boy standing a few feet away. His brown hair was pushed back from his face, white collar tucked high around his neck and his red suit jacket only accentuated his brilliant light blue eyes. He seemed to be entranced by Louisa as his sudden acknowledgment by his father made him startle a moment.

The Prince took a step forward and gently took Louisa’s hand to bow and kiss the back of her hand, all without taking his eyes off her face, “Princess Louisa.”

Louisa felt her cheeks flush under the adoring stare of the older and handsome boy in front of her as he took a small step back and dropped her hand. A shy smile played at her lips as she dipped into a small curtsey again, “Pleased to finally meat you, Prince Christian, your Royal Highness.”

Louisa could see the hints of dimples on the Prince’s cheeks and it made her smile to the ground, tucking her curls behind her ear, her shyness making Christian absolutely beam. The two of them almost forgot the King and Queen were even there, both young adults simply staring at each other in perfect silence, content smiles on their lips.

“Christian.” The King spoke up finally, tearing the young couple from their minds and they both looked over at him quickly, embarrassed at being caught staring.

“Yes, father.” Christian spoke shakily, his hands wringing together behind his back as he focussed on his father’s face.

“I believe you have something for your bride.”

“Oh. Yes. Indeed.” Christian cleared his throat before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a diamond ring. The sunlight glinted off it through the window as he held out his hand to her.

Louisa could barely bite back her grin as she gently pulled off her glove from her left hand and set it in his. The Prince’s hand was soft against hers and he wrapped his fingers around hers tenderly to keep her still as he slipped the engagement ring onto her hand, eyes raising to meet hers. They shared a small smile and stepped back from each other again.

“There will be plenty of time for you two get to know each other before the wedding.” The King explained. “But Princess Louisa has had a long journey so I will have Jonah show you to your chamber so you can rest before supper.”

Louisa curtseyed to them again, saying a gentle thank you before the Private Secretary came back into the room to lead her towards her bedroom. She took once last glance over her shoulder to Christian who was standing behind his parents and he smiled a dimpled grin to the carpet.

Louisa was honestly expecting an older man, girls her age often being set up with monarchs who were into their late twenties or even thirties, but Christian was no more than twenty-one, a youthful looking man who was just as shy and soft spoken as she felt. She knew she shouldn’t have doubted her sweet father’s intuition.

Louisa couldn’t hide her smile as Jonah ushered her into a bedroom just around the corner from the room which she came from. The large canopy bed was against the wall on the other side of wooden flooring between two tall windows, topped with a red floral quilt and an impressive overhanging canopy stretching up to the fourteen-foot ceiling with red and white floral linen trim. The fireplace was already lit along the interior wall and her bags were stacked neatly in front of the chaise lounge at the foot of the bed. Louisa walked over to the windows across the room and admired the view of the back gardens, being able to see most of the property, watching a few gardeners working under the willow trees and around the ponds.

“Is it satisfactory, ma’am?” a soft voice from behind her asked.

Louisa turned with surprise to see another woman arranging the last of her bags, Jonah now gone from the room.

“Oh, yes, quite.” Louisa smiled, walking over to her from the window.

“I’m Mary. Your Lady in Waiting.” The woman curtsied in front of her. “Ring for me at any hour and I will be ready to tend to anything you need. Supper will be rung for at 6pm and will be held in the dining room just past the main staircase.”

“Thank you, Mary.” Louisa smiled, taking a seat on her chaise lounge and smoothed down her dress over her lap.

The Lady smiled, curtsying again before leaving Louisa to some time to herself in her new room. Louisa admired the paintings on the wall, how each of them was framed in gold, as well as the solid gold candle holders on the mantle, the bedside tables, and desk against the far wall. She looked down to finally admire the ring on her left hand, still feeling Christian’s gentle touch against her skin as he had held her hand so tenderly. The large diamond that stared back at her was lined with smaller stones that twisted around the band, the ring itself worth a fortune and appearing no less than absolutely dazzling. Although it could never match the astonishing blue she found in Christian’s eyes, the cliché making her giggle to herself and fall back against the chaise lounge with a child-like smile.

He was an attractive young man, that was for sure, and Louisa wondered how she lucked out, already excited to spend more time with the future King of England.

#why dont we #why dont we fanfic #christian seavey #daniel seavey #jonah marais #corbyn besson #jack avery #zach herron #wdw #limelight #historical fiction #royal!wdw #daniel seavey fanfic #christian seavey fanfic #daniel and christian #wdw fanfic #wdw imagines #👑

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swanslieutenant · 5 years ago

Text

an extravagance of candy hearts (1/1)

Happy Valentine’s Day! My turn for posting for the @csrolereversal, with the art by @kmomof4. Hope you all enjoy this short fic for Valentine’s Day, set in the six weeks of peace during S4.

Read on AO3

Summary: As Killian's first Valentine's Day in Storybrooke approaches, Ruby and Henry take it upon themselves to make sure that both he and Emma have an incredible, extravagant time they won't forget.

Emma and Killian walk hand in hand down the main street of Storybrooke, headed towards Granny’s diner. It’s a quiet Saturday in early February; in fact, it’s been peaceful since Elsa and Anna returned to their land and since Gold was banished from Storybrooke. The absence of the Dark One seems to have lifted a cloud over the small town, freeing it from the darkness lurking in every corner and in the now shuttered pawn shop.

While Emma has returned to her day-to-day activities as sheriff, Killian spends most of his time trying to help Belle in figuring out a way to rescue the fairies from the Sorcerer’s Hat. It’s frustrating and fruitless work, and so when Emma had dropped in to take him to Granny’s for lunch, he was only too happy to oblige.

Just outside of Granny’s, Leroy and one of the other former dwarves (whose name escapes Killian’s mind) are in the midst of a shouting match.

Emma sighs as they approach, shaking her head in irritation. “Best go and see what that is about,” she mutters, before stepping on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “See you in a minute. Order me a grilled cheese, yeah?”

He nods, and steps away while Emma moves to confront the arguing duo. Inside, it’s the end of the lunch rush, most of the tables littered with used plates and cups instead of patrons. Instead of cleaning up the tables, however, Ruby is perched precariously on a tilted chair at one of the front windows. A string of scarlet cartoon hearts dangles from one edge of the window as she leans over to pin it up on the other side. From the centre heart hangs a strange looking blonde baby on a string, a bow and heart-tipped arrow clenched in its hammy fists.

“What the devil is that?” Killian blurts out, unable to stop himself at the sight the monstrosity.

“It’s a cupid,” Ruby replies, pressing the string firmly into place with a pin. She hops down to admire her work, and chuckles at Killian’s expression. “It’s for Valentine’s Day.”

She says it as if it’s obvious, but as with many of the parts of Storybrooke – cellphones, cars, the internet – the words are empty to him. “What’s Valentine’s Day?”

He glances around the rest of the diner, and realizes that it’s not only the front window decorated with the strange little cupids. Ruby has been busy – strings of hearts adorn the bar’s overhang, large heart decorations and cupid babies are splattered on the windows leading to the kitchen, the white napkins at each table have been swapped for scarlet, and the tables are covered with plastic tablecloths instead of their bare tops. Even the usual plain pastries have been replaced by ones with pink icing and colourful sprinkles.

“It’s a day for lovers,” Ruby explains, and at that Killian’s interest is piqued. A day for lovers, is it?

“Indeed?” he says slowly, his tone of voice making Ruby laugh and swat at him with a cleaning rag as she steps behind the counter.

“Get your mind out of the gutter. There’s more to it than that; it’s all about love and romance and sweetheart candy and mushy valentines’ cards. You give your partner something cute and romantic like chocolates or a piece of jewellery that they’d like, and then go for dinner or do something fun that you both like. It’s every February 14th.”

“Hmm,” Killian replies, thoughtfully. He glances out the window, where he can see Emma’s cascading blonde curls down her back, still dealing with the arguing dwarves. Is she going to be expecting something from him on this day?

“Is that something… everyone does in this realm?”

“Oh yes,” Ruby says earnestly, her eyes sparkling. “If you’ve got a significant other, it’s a must. It’s like New Year’s or Halloween or July 4th, something that everyone celebrates.”

Killian doesn’t know what those other things are either, but he nods. He’s trying to adapt to this world the best he can … if this is something they always do, then he’ll participate too.

“Right. Okay. What day is it again?”

“It’s the 14th,” Ruby replies, grinning before twirling away to pick up a new order of food. She returns a few minutes later after delivering it to the next customer, chatting more about Valentine’s Day and what it is, while Killian takes a seat at the bar, ordering himself and Emma lunch and coffee in the moments Ruby takes a breath.

As he waits for the food and listens to Ruby about the romantic day, half-watching Emma outside to see if she is almost done, his eyes drift back to the hanging hearts and the ugly baby Ruby had called a cupid. He’s not sure what a demented flying baby has to do with a holiday supposed to be for lovers … unless it’s a warning to be careful with the long-lasting consequences of a romantic night.

“And Ruby? What does that thing have to do with this Valentine’s Day?”

She follows his eyesight, and through a laugh, does her best to explain to him what a cupid is. As far as Killian understands it, the little babies with wings are a bastardization of ancient mythology about a god of love who shot arrows at people to make them fall in love with each other. Emma often mentions how strange and foreign she finds the Enchanted Forest, with its ogres and chimera meat, but he must say – her land is just as strange as she claims his is.

The door to Granny’s swings open then, a tinkling bell ringing out to announce someone’s entrance, but instead of Emma, it’s Henry instead, bounding in with a wide grin.

“Hi Killian,” he says, swinging into the bar seat beside Killian. “My mom said you were in here. She’s still trying to figure out what Leroy is so mad about, but said she’d be here as soon as she can.”

Killian sighs, and shakes his head. Typical dwarves.

Ruby, who had stepped away to fetch the coffee, returns and grins at Henry, winking conspiratorially at Killian.

“I was just telling Killian about Valentine’s Day, Henry.”

“Right! It’s your first Valentine’s Day with my mom, right?” Killian nods, before noting that it’s his first Valentine’s Day ever, and Henry’s grin widens. “I’ll help you get some things for my mom! I bet she hasn’t had a good Valentine’s Day in a while.”

“You’ll help?” questions Killian, abruptly. He doesn’t think Valentine’s Day is very appropriate for a child – a day for lovers, hadn’t Ruby said?

But Henry nods eagerly. “We celebrate Valentine’s Day at school,” he replies, oblivious to Killian’s train of thought. “So I know what I’m doing. And plus, I know my mom – I know exactly what type of candy and treats she likes too.”

At that, Ruby and Henry begin listing off different items that he absolutely needs to get for Emma at rapid fire pace, so quick that Killian can barely keep up. Chocolates, all different types. Candy hearts with words printed on them like sweetie and love and romance. An expensive bottle of wine. Red and pink flowers, with loose rose petals to scatter around. Candles that smell sweet and strong, a delicate gold or silver piece jewellery in the shape of a heart, small teddy bears holding hearts or their arms open for a hug. They’ll have to make sure his ship is appropriately decorated too, with heart and cupid decorations, glittery and bright.

He opens his mouth, ready to cut them off – they are not hanging a cupid up anywhere on his ship if that’s the last thing he does. But before he can speak, the doors open again, and Emma finally steps in.

Her face is flushed with annoyance, and she marches over to them, blowing out a hard breath of air. “If I have to hear Leroy’s voice for one more minute today, I will lose my mind,” she mutters. She pauses, taking in Killian’s expression (which he is sure one of pure bewilderment) and then the grins on Ruby and Henry’s face, and frowns. “What are you all talking about?”

“Nothing,” Ruby and Henry say quickly.

“Just getting your lunch ready,” Ruby adds. “Killian knows your order by heart now.”

Emma smiles at him, the tension between her brow easing and her eyes softening. “Thanks.”

“Of course, love.”

Grinning, Ruby flitters away to get their food. As she brings it back and they start to eat, Killian enjoys his lunch with Emma, as he always does. Henry and Ruby retreat to the other end of the diner, and Killian can’t help but notice their grins and the list they are starting to make between them. He may not know a thing about this Valentine’s Day, but Killian is sure about one thing – he is going to regret getting Ruby and Henry involved in it.

xxxx

The night of February 14th, Emma finishes her shift at the sheriff station and heads over to Granny’s to pick up some takeout. She and Killian have settled into a routine in the last couple of weeks of having dinner together Thursday nights on his ship. She ducks Granny’s, a takeaway bag in her fist, waving in departure to Ruby’s wink and suggestive comment to have fun with Killian tonight.

Before reaching the docks, Emma makes a short stop at the corner store to grab some snacks for after dinner. She’s made it her mission to introduce Killian to the food of this world, and that, of course, includes junk food. His palate is still mostly rooted in salted fish and hard bread, and there are some processed sweets that absolutely do not agree with him. But they have found a few things that both of them can agree on other than Granny’s takeout, which seems to satisfy the taste buds of anyone from any realm.

Emma picks up some chips and a bag of cheddar popcorn – a new favourite for Killian, they’ve discovered – and then heads to the front desk to pay. However, she pauses by the greeting card section, bright red cards for Valentine’s catching her eye.

At breakfast this morning with Henry, he had reminded her, in his blunt and not so subtle way, that it was Valentine’s Day today and had she gotten Killian anything yet? She’d laughed and ruffled his hair, telling him to mind his own business, though it had gotten her thinking.

She hasn’t got him anything, because, well, she’s never had anyone to buy a Valentine’s Day card for before. It just wasn’t on her mind as something she should do. She’s only been in one serious relationship during the month February before, and her and Neal weren’t really the couple to get each other mushy cards with funny animal puns or an elaborate poem that would take up multiple paragraphs.

Besides, she doubts Killian has any idea what Valentine’s Day is or that they even had an equivalent in the Enchanted Forest. She’s noticed him staring at the decorations around town, his brow furrowed, and she keeps forgetting to explain it to him.

(Okay, that’s not quite true; Emma has thought about explaining it, but she doesn’t know how to, not when it’s a day about romance and that could mean mentioning the word love or feelings or something along those lines and Emma does not want to go there.)

Emma turns away from the cards, but then pauses, Henry’s words echoing in her mind.

Have you got anything for Killian yet? It is Valentine’s Day, Mom! He is your boyfriend, right?

Well … she supposes he’s got a point. While Henry’s idea of Valentine’s Day is still mired in innocence, mostly of candy and mandatory valentines’ cards exchanged between classmates, the sentiment behind the holiday finally feels like something she can get behind. Getting something for some you lo-care about, a day to show how much someone means to you? Alright, fine. She can do that.

Especially seeing as he almost died a few weeks ago … nothing like a brush with death to put things into perspective.

So, with her arms full of chips and popcorn and praying no one like Regina or her parents pop in to see her and make some knowing or snide comment, Emma turns back to the greeting card section.

The Valentine’s Day cards are the most prominent given the current date; the cards are mostly glittery and pink and truly revolting if she’s being honest with herself, but she forces herself to look through them, searching for the least offensive card she can find. There are many that make her anxiety soar or cringe with second hand embarrassment – no cards with the word love, she thinks firmly, or ones that profess undying devotion (nothing with the word dying either, not after the incident with Gold and Killian’s heart a few weeks ago).

Finally, one catches her eye. It’s pale pink, devoid of glitter or the dreaded L-word. Emblazoned on the front is a boat floating through a sea of crimson hearts, the inscription inside reading You Float My Boat underneath a picture of the same ship, its sails unfurled to that the main sail is a bright red heart.

She snorts, but it’s perfect. Not too cheesy (compared to the some of the others, at least), maritime related, no mention of anything too serious, and if anything, hopefully something will make Killian laugh.

After paying for her items, and borrowing the clerk’s pen to sign her name on the card and write Killian’s name on the envelope, Emma heads out to the docks. It’s a cool evening, and as she approaches the ship, all is quiet on deck.

“Killian?” she calls as she boards. “Are you here?”

“Down below, Swan!”

She slips the card into her jacket’s large inner pocket before she moves to join him in his cabin. As she climbs down the ladder, unable to see the cabin until her head clears the deck, she says, “I got us some chips, and that cheddar popcorn you like – what the hell happened in here?”

The cabin is utterly unrecognizable. The lighting is dim, as usual, but instead of being lit by lanterns, there are countless candles around the cabin, low and flickering. The neat collection of maps and books on the centre table has been replaced by several bouquets of scarlet and pale pink roses, bowl upon bowl of candy hearts, a stack of chocolate boxes, and several bottles of wine. There are more flowers and rose petals around the entire cabin, with heart streamers wrapped around the chairs and taped to the bookcases. It looks more like a cabin you’d see in one of those cheesy love cruises than the sleeping quarters of a dreaded pirate captain.

“What – what is all this?”

Killian, who is standing at the bottom of the stairs, extends his hook to help her down the last few steps of the ladder. In the dim light it’s hard to see his expression, but when he speaks his voice is tinged with embarrassment.

“I was told this is the norm for Valentine’s Day in your land, but now I see that Henry and Ruby have certainly taken advantage of my naivety surrounding your realm’s holidays …”

At once, it all falls into place. That day at the diner, Henry and Ruby’s strange behaviour then and today, Killian’s bewilderment. She should’ve known that they were up to something, especially with Henry’s pressure this morning. It’s a little over the top, and she can definitely see Ruby and Henry’s influence in this, but the fact that Killian allowed the pair of them to bring all this stuff into his ship and make it up in this way, without knowing anything about the holiday, well … it’s seriously one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for her.

Killian is still talking, something about how Ruby and Henry are responsible for all this and he’s sorry if it’s too much, when Emma steps forward, interrupting his rambles by pressing a firm kiss to his lips. She drops the chips as she wraps her arms around him, hugging him tightly to her as he does the same.

“I love it,” she says against his mouth, and then pulls away to look at it all again. They move towards the table together, admiring the chocolates and the candy, and Killian’s expression shifts into one of mischief, his eyes dancing.

“Even the extravagance of candy hearts?” he asks teasingly, gesturing to the numerous bowls. “I must confess, I had one earlier and nearly broke a tooth.”

Emma laughs and presses a kiss to his cheek, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Even the rock-hard candy hearts.”

He grins, and then picks up one of the loose roses from the table and hands it to her, bowing his head slightly in reverence. “For you, love. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

She takes it from him, smiling at the memory of when he’d last given her a flower, at their first date, and then pulls the envelope from her jacket pocket, thankful that she listened to Henry and got him something too. It’s far less than all this, but she hopes he’ll love it anyways.

“I have something for you too. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Killian’s eyes brighten, and he quickly opens the card, delicately ripping the top of the envelope with his hook. He laughs as he sees it, delighted, and he kisses her again.

“Thank you, love. I take it ‘float my boat’ is a good thing?”

Emma grins and nods. “The best.”

They wrap their arms around each other, and Emma glances back to the cluttered table, grinning, her earlier apprehensions around Valentine’s Day and what it means and feelings and all that put to rest – maybe this holiday isn’t so bad after all.

#captain swan #cs role reversal #captain swan role reversal #cs ff #cs ff one shot #valentine's day fic

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sablesides-writing-corner · 5 years ago

Note

Imagine Character!Thomas Taking Care Of All The Baby!Sides

Thomas had been having a rough week. He was stuck working to long shifts with to much stuff to get done when he got home.

And to add onto that, he was stuck with six very high maintenance, very small, and very cute, babies.

Baby number one, Janus, sneaky, fast, and prone to getting into things he shouldn't. Janus was the oldest of the six, but that didnt make him any less troublesome.

Baby number two, Patton. Patton was easy to manage, give him a coloring book and some crayons and he wont leave the table until the whole thing's been filled out.

Baby three, Logan, arguably the smartest of the bunch, and definitely the quietest, Thomas had to keep a close eye on him or he would forget where he was. But if you got him started on a subject he'd run his mouth off until he passed out. Thomas found the best way to find him when he disappeared was to yell out a random term and follow the sound of a college exam paper in human form.

Fourth and fifth were the twins, Roman and Remus. The duo were a force of chaos and destruction when together, so Thomas kept them in separate spaces so he could ensure the safety of his apartment.

Finally there was the youngest, Virgil could only speak in babbles and crying, Janus was the only one of the other five babies that ever seemed to understand what he was saying. Thomas didnt mind, but he had to make sure Virgil wasnt alone for to long, otherwise the apartment would get very dark, and very cloudy.

"Alright! Breakfast time!" Thomas set out four plates and two high-chairs for Patton and Virgil.

He placed Virgil carefully in one of the chairs and helped Patton into his own before he watched the other four race down the stairs. He'd counted Janus and Logan, and was about to ask about the twins before he a ball of green and red rolled it's way down the stairs.

"Remus! Let go of your brother's arm!" Thomas said, Remus looked up, Roman's arm still between his teeth. He stared for a few seconds before letting go and running to his chair. He growled across the table at Virgil, who promptly broke into a fit of sobs and wails.

"Oh nononono, shhh, shhh, it's alright, it's alright," Thomas quickly scooped Virgil back up into his arms.

"Remus. Apologize." Thomas said, holding Virgil up to him. Remus merely stuck his tongue out and spit.

Babies were one thing, but children were another entirely.

Janus was still very much the trickster, but his main goals seemed to involve keeping Virgil and Remus happy and the other sides safe. Though, he was very much the ankle-biter if he didnt get what he wanted.

Patton was extremely energetic, running around the front yard in knee-length dresses or overalls or flower crowns, he didnt seem to care about Janus' safety precautions, but rather, he tried to get Janus to loosen up once and a while, dance around the backyard with him, climb a few trees.

Logan chose to spend his time reading, he sat under the shade of the trees or an overhang, looking through books on science, occasionally something would land on or nearby him and he'd whip out a sketchbook to jot it down before it fled.

The twins still fought, but now it was daring sword fights over who would win the hand of the fair Prince Virgil. Remus always played a dragon witch, and Roman would pretend to be a knight. Thomas had counted their matches, they always tied, but he and Remus had a secret agreement that Roman was supposed to win.

Virgil didnt do much, he either hid in a corner or lay on the playground floor while Roman and Remus brandished cardboard tubes at each-other.

Thomas didnt want to admit it, but he was probably going to miss this when they grew up.

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

Tag list:

@softestpatton

@noodle---doodle

@a-deceit-salad

#cori answers #ts roman #ts janus #ts logan #ts sides #ts virgil #ts remus #ts patton #ts character thomas

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heavenly-hero-mourningstar · 5 years ago

Text

Bonus Round 3: UA Adventures

Vai had never been great in social situations. They knew where it came from; knew why they flinched when their classmates traded well-meaning jibes, knew why the sight of people whispering made their skin crawl and the hairs on the back of their neck stand at attention.

That didn’t make it any easier.

And how sad it is to know that they had felt calmer standing ten feet from actual fucking villains, burns dripping down their right side and barely able to stand, than they do now, surrounded by their peers as they make popcorn and collect blankets for a sleepover of all things. Their heart races as Hotaru approaches, a small, tired-looking smile drawn across her face.

“Hey, Bondage-san,” she says. “do you want to help us with the pillow fort?”

Vai blinks.

“Uh, sure. What can I do?”

“Well, we should have enough pillows if you want to start stacking them while I grab a couple chairs.”

“Yeah, that sounds, uh- sounds good.”

Giving the taller girl a weak smile, Vai begins laying out blankets where they assume the movie is going to be played as Hotaru makes leaves to procure more chairs. Soon enough, the walls are starting to take shape as other students notice and join in. It’s nice, and Vai feels themself calming with each pillow stacked and every blanket hung. By the time Hotaru returns, the students have used up almost half their not insignificant pillow reserves. She grins.

“Wow, that’s looking good!”

“The left wall looks a little unstable, though,” Ozen says, following close behind her. Both carry a set of folding chairs, Ozen in either arm, and have since changed into their UA-issued PJs.

Popi must have been busy, if the mess of braids pulled through Ozen’s turquoise locks are any indication. Loose strands still fall around her scowling face, messy and soft in a way Ozen herself never was.

FWOOM

Feathers rain down over the fort, a twisted pillow carcass squeezed between Vai’s hands the clear culprit.

Shit.

“Um, I’ll get a um- I’ll go get… Broom. Yes.”

Vai gets to their feet, ducking their head to hide the bright red flush of their cheeks as they sprint from the dorm and the pitying eyes of their classmates.

–––

Tucked between the roots of an old tree at the edge of the campus, Vai pulls out their phone. In the dark, curled around the meager light of the small screen, they feel like something fragile.

Like shards of glass and fraying wires, a stupid child with an impossible dream.

Their finger hovers over the call button. It would be so easy to just press it, to ask for comfort and safety and–

“Hey, Kid.”

Vai startles, looking up to see a tall man in dark clothing squatting in front of the tree. Most of his face is hidden behind a long, heavy-looking scarf and matte black mask but Vai would recognize those tired eyes and gravity defying hair anywhere.

“MasterMind*,” they breathe, equal parts awe and horror. “You’re my idol…”

The hero simply raises a brow and says, “Well, that’s a new one. Have we met?”

Vai pales. “Well, n-no, I just- I did a report on the new Anti-Quirk Discrimination law in elementary school and I saw how hard you worked to help get it passed and then I noticed your scarf and I realized you probably learned from Eraserhead before he took over and I checked and he only had one student who matched your description and then I watched your fights from the Sports Festivals and you were really cool so I’ve sort of been following your career since then but I swear I’m not a stalker, I–”

The sound of MasterMind honest to god laughing startles them out of their ramblings. “Oh my god, you’re a Mini-Midoriya. Wow, never thought I’d have fans…”

“I’m sorry, I just–”

“Don’t be. It makes me kinda happy, actually,” and even though they can’t see it, Vai thinks the man might actually be smiling beneath that mask. They made MasterMind, their absolute favorite hero and role model since the fourth grade smile! “So what are you doing out here? I thought all the Taiyuu kids were doing a sleepover?”

All at once, the nervous energy burns away and Vai is left staring down at their phone, three black letters staring back. Their skin burns cold as they suddenly remember what drove them out here in the first place. It must be obvious, too, because MasterMind slowly puts his hand over the phone, guiding it down until the screen goes black. He sits, arranging himself into the roots beside Vai and gazing through the overhanging foliage to the stars above.

“You know, when I went to school here, I used to eat lunch under this tree everyday. It’s so far from the cafeteria, I never had to worry about anyone seeing me or trying to talk to me. I’d been the outcast for so long, it honestly didn’t occur to me that I didn’t have to be. Then I got transferred to the Hero Course and started making friends…

“It was terrifying. I thought the tiniest slip up and I’d be back at square one. Everyone would see that I didn’t belong there and I’d go back to being that weak, angry kid that everyone avoided.”

Vai glances up, seeing the sad, distant quality the heroes’ eyes have taken on, and tugs at the edge of their borrowed track jacket.

“How did you get through it?”

He shrugs.

“I became a hero. I realized I was feeling powerless because I wasn’t giving myself any power. So when I messed up, I tried again. When I felt scared and useless, I helped someone else. It reminded me that I could change things, even if I couldn’t control them.”

Vai nods softly, carving the words into their heart as if the whole encounter would fade away if they didn’t. The silence stretched on, but tucked between the roots of an old tree at the edge of the campus, they no longer felt quite so alone.

–––

Returning to the dorms, Vai finds most of their peers sitting in the completed pillow fort as a comedy they’ve never seen plays on the TV. Hotaru appears to have fallen asleep at some point, slumped across a 1B student’s lap with a bit of steaming drool dribbling down her chin. There are several vaguely-humanoid lumps as well, one with a bit of purple hair visible from above and another with two colorful socks sticking out the bottom**. What catches their eye, however, is the sight of a quiet bunny-eared girl staring blankly at the wall below the TV.

Vai takes a deep breath, steeling themself, and quietly crawls over to Ameko.

“Um, Ameko-chan, would you, uh, maybe want to, um, help me? In the kitchen, I mean. I thought, we could make dinner for everyone? Maybe that honey chicken dish you mentioned?”

Ameko perks up instantly and as they head into the kitchen together, Vai can’t help but grin.

This is what they’d been looking for all along.

BONUS:

*The Next Day*

Vai crawls across the roots of the old tree, uniform stained with grass and hands raw and muddy.

“Where the fuck did I leave my phone??”

BONUS BONUS BONUS:

“So, what’s your quirk?”

Vai looks around for something to demonstrate on, before just taking off their shoe and focusing. Soon enough, a small rubber cat is rubbing at MasterMind’s leg, begging for attention. He stares down at it, not moving for several seconds.

“It’s stupid- I mean, I can make bigger things, I just–“

“I love him.”

“W-what?”

MasterMind stands, taking the rubber cat with him.

“I’ve only had him for half a minute, but if anything happened to him, I would kill everyone in this city and then myself.”

He begins walking away, Vai awkwardly calling after, “B-but, my shoe!”

* MasterMind is a better name than MindJack and you can’t change my mind.

** Tamashi and Popi

(Sorry this is late- I meant to post it Saturday but then it was my birthday and we had to rush my dog to vet and by the time we got home I really wasn’t feeling up to it)

#taiyuu oct #Grigori Vai #fuji hotaru #fujinuma ozen #Tokachi Ameko #shinsō hitoshi

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