#Aiden misses that so much since his family broke apart

[writerfae]

Hi! I wanted to ask two things!

1 Do you ever plan on writing the shovel talk Talon gets from Henry? (It's, of course, ok if you're not!)

2 When Henry and Aden were little, did it ever happen that Aden couldn't reach something and Henry either got it for him or lifted him up (while teasing him just a littleXD as a treat)? Did Henry give Aiden piggyback rides? ( I guess that's technically three questions)

I'm in a big brother Henry mood today (everyday)

Hello! Today, just like every day, is a perfect day for being in a big brother Henry mood!

It would definitely be funny to write Henry giving Talon the shovel talk, so I might do it one day! Because let's be honest, we all know Henry would give him that talk.

Which would be very stressful for Talon cause not only is this his boyfriend's older brother, he's also his boss, technically.

Not to forget that he's king, so the gods know what he might do (not that Talon would ever want to hurt Aiden, but still, what if it happens somehow?)

But also, consider: Talon getting a whole row of shovel talks from different people. Aiden's dad, Henry, Callan, Halea. Even Maya, even though he complains that she's HIS best friend, so shouldn't she give Aiden the shovel talk instead?

And to your other question(s):

Aiden was a relatively small kid (until he hit his first growth spurt), there were quite some things he couldn't reach, so yes, Henry did lift him up or got things for him out of the upper cabinets occasionally ^^ When he got older, though, Aiden often was too proud to ask for this kind of help

Henry also absolutely gave Aiden piggyback rides and small Aiden loved it. When they played in the woods all day and Aiden was exhausted, Henry would often carry him home on his back (which I think is really cute)

Thanks for your ask <3

[peanut-butter-parkerxx]

Never thought I'd love you..

Chapter 2: WHAT?

SERIES MASTERLIST II Previous Chapter II Next Chapter

warning: one or two curse words?

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He. Promised.

She could still remember the hug he gave her two weeks ago, not as a goodbye, he'd say, but as a see you later. She could remember the scent of his freshly sprayed cologne, his little empathetic smile, his gleaming chocolate brown eyes, only becoming a dashing color of hazel when light reflected on it.

He. Promised.

"Do you promise?" He nodded his head in confirmation, eyes darting to the phone once in a while getting text messages from his friends for being later

"I promise"

He promised.

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April 27th 2018

April 27th 2018

April 27th 2018

the day that took away half of the universe by a cruel eggplant of a monster. Ever since 11 year old y/n watched the horrible news on her TV her little heart broke into pieces. he promised, is all she could think about. he promised he'd come back..

- 4 and a half years later -

y/n bit her nails nervously, her foot tapping the chocolate brown wooden floor. her parents told her to wait for them in the living room for some 'important' news. To say she was feeling a little uneasy was clearly an understatement.

Ever since her father worked in Stark Industries due to the lack of staff from the Blip, they've been ridiculously formal and well...classy, because of the high income. They moved into a huge mansion  and left their crumbly apartment that was filled with beautiful memories to dust. even though the apartment was old, it was the homiest place y/n's ever lived in. Yet, her parents seemed to not care about that. Simply, heartless. Peter was slowly started to vanish from her memories, the girl had no hope in finding him, she slowly adapted to the fact that he may be...dead.

half a year later, People started miraculously coming back from The Blip. families, friends, hell, even animals were reunited. but it was too late. y/n's family moved a away to California for a bigger job opportunity provided by the one and only Tony Stark, it was actually Happy Hogan but Stark confirmed it. At that time, y/n promised herself to not think of the boy again, even if he may potentially be alive, she felt utterly ridiculous for still having this witless crush.

so the 17 year old started her own life. found new friends, a new school, a new hobby, and a possible boyfriend??

Aiden, that was his name, Aiden Sullivan Brown. the boy with crimson red cheeks, bright ocean blue eyes and luscious brown hair that had tiny golden streaks in them. he was perfection. the whole school was either drooling or envying the boy. He was the heart and soul of California High.

at first, y/n cursed at herself for feeling the undesired flutter in her heart everytime he strode through the halls. His cologne intoxicating everyone that surround within 5 Feet radius of him. But clearly, no one was complaining.

What even infuriated her even more was that he was the heart and soul of California High for a reason. He was beyond nice and welcoming to her, cared about what people thought of him, as a role model, an idol, or even a friend. Not the smartest out there but his love for socializing and communicating was outstanding. Yes, he wasn't smart with the equation and expressions shit, but he is definitely smart with communicating and persuading people. Anytime there was a debate for English, people would rush by his side. Not because he was popular, but because he was good.

as the months flew by y/n made the promise to not think about the Queens boy so much and start accepting the fact that maybe she really does like Aiden. But most importantly, her studies. Anytime y/n's friends would invite her to a party or a little get together at the diner, y/n would make the lame excuse of the need to study for an upcoming test, or that she has a family dinner to attend to.

Now don't get me wrong y/n loves her friends and wouldn't miss up an opportunity to meet with them, but because Lily, the first person that reached out to y/n since she moved in, was her next door neighbour and somehow her group of friends were close to the jocks of the school, which means the golden boy will be there. Oh did I forget to mention that Aiden was in the football team? oh silly me, of course I did!

but that would change once and for all. y/n realised (by the help of Lily) that if she wants to really get over the boy she was helplessly crushing on since she was 11, she needed to distract herself, and not restrict herself to having fun just because she's scared!

since Lily was her neighbour, they formed a close bond pretty quickly. so a couple months into school y/n was comfortable with talking about her past with her new best friend. she told her about Peter and what it's like living in New York, while Lily shared stories of her own. of how her parents own a company, and how her Dad disappeared from the blip so her mother needed to work more office hours for them to be more financially stable.

which meant Lily would be alone most of the time. y/n also learned that Lily wasn't really great with being all by herself. she'd get anxious, her hearing would be 1000 times more accurate. one day, she knocked on y/n's door telling her about it, and she was obviously welcomed by open arms. Even y/n's parents weren't always around so ever since then, sleepovers were a must at least 3 times a week.

"Y/N/NNNNN" Lily's surprisingly vey loud pitch voice rung through the hallways- at 7:45 might i add- y/n rolled her eyes jokingly and turned a bit to see her overly excited best friend skipping to her. "HAVE YOU HEARD WHAT PRINCIPLE AVERY SAID?"

"jeez good morning to you too" y/n ignored her overly-enthusiastic best friend and continued walking.

"ugh there's no time for that! Principle Avery approved of  the Senior Trip!"  and at that, y/n chocked on her own spit, coughing incredulously, causing a few heads to turn her way. she didn't think anything of it, that was before she realised a shadow was hovering above her bent body. she slowly looked up to be met by the dashing emerald green eyes again

"you, okay?" the boy chuckled, only making her knees drop down to the floor from embarrassment.

"yeah! yeah im fine! its just way too early for my body to function right now haha" y/n laughed sheepishly, giving Lily the best 'help me' eyes she could think of.

thankfully, Lily caught on and rushed to y/n's side, giving Aiden the best smile she could muster

"oops! look at the time! we really better get to class, right y/n? haha gotta go, see you Aiden!" then Lily dragged her away from the slowly rising crowd of jocks coming to attack Aiden, ugh boys.

once they were out of ear shot, Lily smacked y/n in the back of the head

"OW! BITCH WHAT WAS THAT FOR??"

"it was because you gave me those 'help me or imma die eyes' WHEN YOU WERE PERFECTLY FINE!" Lily exasperated, flinging her arms in the air, she was seriously way too dramatic

"no i wasnt FiNe, i didn't wanna talk to him!"

"yeah its because you've got a crush on him" she retorted

"ugh no i dont!" y/n scrunched her nose and covered her face with her hands in irritation. Even though Lily and some of her other friends say that she really does have a crush on the guy, y/n can't bring herself to admit it! she doesn't have growing feelings for him, yes she thinks he's hot but thats it! nothing else!

"yeah, yeah. whatever you say" her friend rolled her eyes

"what were you gonna say before i embarrassed my ass off infront of like, 20 people?" y/n changed the subject.

"oh yeah! Principle Avery said we might go to New York for our Senior Trip!" and here comes round two again "honestly i dont know if i wanna be friends with you if you continue choking on air" Lily spoke, patting her Best friends back. one y/n finally recovered again, she straightened her back, processing what she's heard.

"WHAT?

[mordoriscalling]

48 Weeks (4/4)

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

Throughout the 48 weeks that Geralt and Jaskier spend apart, their relationship develops.

Aka, part 3 of the Singer and the Sailor AU no one asked for but I wrote anyway. The events of this story happen after Stay or Sail Away but before Homecoming.

Weeks 37-48

Week 37

“I think I’m gonna write a book,” Jaskier announces.

“What about?”

“I’m not sure.”

Geralt snorts.

“I definitely have a story in me to tell,” Jaskier says defensively, “I can feel it. My music is about stories too, but I’m not ready to write a book yet.”

“When you think you’ll be ready?”

Jaskier smiles in a way that doesn’t bode well. “Maybe after my dear White Wolf tells me of all his sea adventures.”

Geralt does not like the implications of this. “No.”

“Geralt!” Jaskier whines, “You wound me! First you bewitch me body and soul, and now–”

“Don’t quote Pride and Prejudice at me, it’s not working.”

Jaskier pouts. “At least one little story? Pretty please?”

Geralt sighs. He still hasn’t learned to deny Jaskier anything.

Week 38

“I know this is a weird question but... is Eskel straight?”

Geralt feels a chill down to his very bones. “What?”

“I just... need this information. I don’t want to jinx it so I won’t say anything more for now.”

Geralt clenches his jaw. Eskel’s only two months older than him and in some ways, the two of them are all too similar. “He isn’t”, Geralt answers, “he’s mostly into women but there’re some men who catch his eye.”

Jaskier smiles like a cat that got all the cream. “That’s fantastic.”

Geralt grips the phone so hard his knuckle go white. “Indeed,” he grinds out.

Jakier’s face falls. “Geralt, what’s–”

“Have to go.”

He hangs up without another word and tries not to let this hurt him. He did see this coming. Yet, all the moments he and Jaskier shared, all the songs Jaskier sent him, everything of this is right there, painful like hell.

He misses home more than ever.

Week 39

“Geralt, what’s wrong? Talk to me.”

Geralt doesn’t want to. He didn’t reply to any of Jaskier’s frantic texts since the last video call. He only sent a message about when he would be able to talk this week and sure enough, Jaskier called at that time. Geralt wishes he didn’t. He wishes Jaskier just left already.

“Not bored of me yet?” he asks bitingly, all the bitterness of the past week coming up to the surface again.

Jaskier blinks. “I don’t understand.”

That angers Geralt even more. It’s not that hard to understand that he’s fucking hurt. “Stop fucking playing with me,” he growls, “Just say you want Eskel and leave me the fuck alone.”

“What.”

“You seemed happy to hear that he’s into guys,” Geralt answers, “so fuck off and go to him.”

Jaskier’s eyes widen. “Oh gods,” he says, then starts laughing.

“This isn’t fucking funny,” Geralt spats, furious now. Rejection is bad enough but ridicule is so much worse than that.

Jaskier stops giggling abruptly. “Oh no. I hurt you.”

Geralt grits his teeth and doesn’t reply.

“I’m so, so sorry.” The look in Jaskier’s eyes seems sincere. “I asked about Eskel’s sexuality because I have a plan to set him up with my friend Essi. I was happy to hear that he’s mostly into women because Essi is most definitely a woman, and a wonderful one at that. I’m trying to talk them into a blind date because I’m just sure they’d hit it off.”

Geralt suddenly feels like an idiot.

“I didn’t want to give you that impression,” Jaskier goes on, “I apologize, dearest. Eskel’s great but I love you.”

Geralt finds he can’t say it back today; Jaskier is too good for him. Instead, he musters an apology. Jaskier accepts and slowly, the tension between them eases, but the hurt lingers for some time.

Week 40

“Lambert is such a prick.”

Geralt huffs a laugh. “I see the first meeting went well.”

Lambert returned from his deployment a few days ago. Jaskier met him and Aiden yesterday.

“Well enough, I suppose,” Jaskier replies, “We called each other names but that was the fun part.”

Geralt chuckles. Jaskier rambles on about what’s going on back at home: Ciri's doing good at her piano lessons, Yennefer still tolerates Jaskier, Eskel and Essi have agreed to go out together. As Geralt listens to the cheerful chatter, his chest tightens.

Christmas is in two days. Spending the holiday on the ship isn’t bad – their celebration is almost like home – but Geralt hasn’t seen his loved ones in nine months. Usually, he would be on his way home around this time. Nine months is how long his deployments typically last. When they’re longer than that, being away from home starts getting unbearable again.

The sea can’t soothe him today.

Week 41

It’s their last video call of the year and Geralt wants to come clean.

“My hair used to be dark brown, even darker than yours.”

“Geralt, you really don’t have to–”

“But then in went white in a matter of a few weeks.”

Jaskier says nothing for a while. He looks unsure but Geralt waits for him to ask. Finally, he does. “What? How?”

“Blaviken.”

“Blaviken?”

Geralt swallows hard. His hands start sweating but he makes himself go on. “That was the name of the ship. I was twenty-seven, only a lieutenant. There was a sub-lieutenant there, Renfri. She and I... we had an affair, but we broke it off before we got deployed. During the deployment, she... she wanted to take revenge on one of the officers in command who harassed her in the past. She had a few of the guys on the ship on her side. They... took one crew member hostage, demanding the officer’s immediate resignation.”

“Holy fuck,” Jaskier breathes out.

Geralt’s heart is hammering in his chest. He forces himself to continue. “I was ordered to reason with Renfri but I didn’t succeed. She told her guys to attack me. I defended myself and knocked them out. Then Renfri attacked me herself because I ruined her revenge, and I...” He takes a deep breath and takes in Jaskier’s face for what he knows is possibly the last time. After drinking his fill, he looks away and confesses, “I hurt her too. Really badly. She never fully recovered and left the Navy the moment she could. I faced trial, it was a miracle I didn’t get expelled. People started calling me a Butcher and I was so fucking...” He trails off because his eyes are starting to prickle. The cruel disillusionment of that time – when he realised he would never be a hero after what he’d done – hits him all over again. It haunts him, even now, just like the way Renfri’s body went limp in his arms.

When he can speak again, he only adds, “After everything, my hair went white.”

He can’t even glance at Jaskier. A mixture of self-hatred, shame and remorse rises up his throat like bile. He listens to the ringing silence, waiting for Jaskier to finally say that it’s over.

Jaskier’s words are quiet and sorrowful, “I’m so sorry you went through that.”

It’s such a shock that Geralt can only stare. Jaskier’s eyes are brimming with compassion, which he never got from anyone but his family. No one else cared what truly happened on Blaviken. He was reduced to the Butcher, hated and feared. His infamy followed him like a shadow and Geralt wanted to out-run it more than he ever wanted anything in his life. And so, he worked himself to the ground to prove himself, then to keep his job because Ciri came into his life.

Eventually, he got promoted to lieutenant commander, then to commander three years ago. From the Butcher he became the White Wolf, known not for how he had hurt people but for how he cared about crew safety, demanding complete adherence to the rules. He’s now feared for his strictness, and it’s said that he could even become a Royal Navy captain.

Yet, Geralt noticed that he'd started drifting away from his family, especially Ciri, he slowly understood that enough was enough. The sea is what Geralt knows and finds solace in, but he wouldn’t be where he is now without the support of his loved ones. He’s been choosing the sea over them for long enough. 

And now, somehow, Jaskier has become one of them. It’s irrational and too quick but Jaskier tells him he loves him even when he knows about Blaviken. Geralt decides he wants to keep him in his life indefinitely.

Week 42

“Happy New Year, my love.”

“Happy New Year,” Geralt replies, a smile tugging at his lips. He’s sure the year will be happy, with Jaskier there.

“I have a song for you,” Jaskier says, “to kick this year off with something good. It’s just... what I wish for us.”

“Something good” doesn’t begin to cover it. The song is slow and sensual, and it speaks of being in love. Of Jaskier being in love with him, loving and admiring him despite and because of knowing him well. Geralt listens to the song on repeat until he dreams of it, wishing that it was true.

He suspects that Jaskier has a wrong idea of him – an ideal which he won’t be able to live up to once he comes back. There’s a good chance that he’ll let Jaskier down and what they have won’t last.

And yet, he’s selfish and wants it to be real.

Week 43

Jaskier turns thirty-six today and Geralt has only one thing to say.

“I wish this too, Jaskier.”

Jaskier’s smile is watery and beautiful. “Happy birthday to me, indeed.”

Week 44

“Ciri keeps talking about that boy –”

“What boy?”

“You know, the new one in her class? Dara?” Jaskier looks at him expectantly. After a moment, the name rings a bell. He nods and Jaskier goes on, “I think she likes him.”

Geralt freezes. “Likes him?”

“Well, not likes him likes him but... they’re attached at the hip already. It’s great to see her make a friend like that, you know.”

Geralt hums in understanding. Ciri is friendly but other children are a bit hard on her. Many teachers are fond of her and the kids are jealous, thinking that it’s because Ciri’s parents are of high status. Ciri did earn her position as the favourite but it is true that no teacher would want to get into the black boots of a high-ranking government official and a Royal Navy commander. Now, Jaskier entering Ciri’s life only added fuel to fire in this aspect.

Sometimes Geralt thinks he shouldn’t have fought Yennefer tooth and nail when she wanted to send Ciri to the poshest school they could afford at the time. Geralt didn’t want his daughter to grow up in that environment but Yennefer wanted her to receive a top-quality education. In the end, Ciri went to a state school with high educational standards, but when the problem with other kids’ treatment of her appeared a few years later, Geralt regretted his stubbornness.

At least Ciri has always taken it in stride. She’s even more stubborn than he was, refusing to let it get to her, and Geralt adores her for it. It’s a relief, though, that she’s finally made a close friend.

“Thank you for looking out for her,” he tells Jaskier.

“Honestly, Geralt, I’m honoured that you allow me to do it. Yennefer would never let me.”

Geralt chuckles. “She wouldn’t.”

“And yet, despite her clear disdain of me, I’m starting to like that witch-bitch.” Jaskier sighs dramatically. “Alas, it appears she’s actually admirable and has a good taste in everything. Especially men.”

Geralt rolls his eyes.

Week 45

“Essi and Eskel are now a couple!” Jaskier exclaims excitedly in lieu of greeting.

“That was... fast.”

“That’s because they’re a perfect match!” Jaskier boasts with a grin, “I knew exactly what I was doing, I’m one of the best matchmakers out there.”

“What does it make Lambert?” Geralt asks.

“What do you mean?”

“He did matchmake you. With me.”

Geralt can clearly see the moment the realisation hits Jaskier.

“God-fucking-dammit, I’ve been bested!” he laments, "By fucking Lambert!”

Geralt quickly regrets pointing that out. Jaskier refuses to shut up about it.

Week 46

It’s Geralt’s forty-first birthday. The crew sang him happy birthday to his utter disgust, at which the fuckers were delighted, and now it seems that yet another person wants to celebrate his existence.

“I have a gift for you, love,” Jaskier says with a smile.

He props the phone against what Geralt assumes to be the music rack. When Jaskier sits down, Geralt gets a great view of his face as he starts playing.

The slow piano melody entrances Geralt at once. After some time, Jaskier starts singing, his voice low and soothing. The song is full of gentle, loving, grand promises. Geralt’s breath is taken away as he watches Jaskier sway to the music with his eyes closed, basked in the afternoon sunlight, looking like a creature from another world.

All the songs Jaskier’s written for him speak of such a strong feeling that Geralt is afraid to reach for it when he returns. If it were to crash and burn, the disaster would be spectacular. All his previous relationships ended badly; he knows he should be cautious.

And yet, Jaskier lures him in. He’s bright and full of life, ridiculous and annoying, warm but sharp. Jaskier feels like safety, he has from the start. And so, Geralt lets himself have this.

“Siren,” he murmurs after the last notes of the song die down, “thank you. It’s a beautiful gift. You are a gift.”

“Godness, Geralt,” Jaskier breathes out, “don’t say such things.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t be responsible for my actions when I hear you say something like that.”

“Maybe I don’t want you to hold back,” Geralt replies, “You are a gift.”

Jaskier’s gaze darkens. “Just you wait, Geralt Rivia,” he says huskily, “the things I’m going to do to you–”

Week 47

“All right, young lady, time to show off!”

Jaskier angles his phone so that the camera shows both him and Ciri as they sit by the piano in his house. Ciri smiles at Geralt and waves in greeting. Geralt smiles back, giving her an encouraging nod, and she places her fingers on the keys.

“Ladies and gentlemen, and everyone in-between and outside of that spectrum,” Jaskier says in an announcer voice, “I present to you Cirilla Vengeberg-Rivia, who will play Chopsticks for this esteemed audience!”

Ciri snickers and then begins. She plays slowly, yet to Geralt’s untrained ear, she keeps the rhythm and doesn’t miss any notes. The song lasts only a minute or two but Geralt is still very proud of her.

“Good job, Cub,” he tells her, making her smile.

“Indeed!” Jaskier seconds, “You’re a talent, sweetheart.”

“Maybe I got it from dad,” Ciri jokes.

The joke warms him to his very core but he snorts because the very notion is beyond ridiculous. “I wouldn’t be able to play well if my life depended on it.”

“Have you tried, though?” Jaskier asks with a smirk that bodes trouble.

Ciri grins like a brat she is. “We could learn together, dad.”

“A splendid idea, Ciri!” Jaskier exclaims. “Now, how can we talk your dad into it?”

Geralt faces two pairs of bright eyes and matching mischievous smiles, and he knows he can’t say no.

Week 48

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t believe it.” Jaskier lets out a small laugh. “Am I dreaming? Just... it’s been so long.”

“Hmm.”

They don’t talk much, only smile at each other. Geralt can almost sense Jaskier’s excitement through the screen, and he shares the feeling.

Tomorrow, he returns to his family. Very soon, finally, he comes back home.

To Jaskier.

*** 

A/N: Thank you for reading! If you’d like to revisit this fic as a whole, you can do so on AO3. 

The list of "Jaskier's" songs in this fic: Vor í Vaglaskógi by KALEO Movement by Hozier Wish That You Were Here by Florence + The Machine Pass Them By by Agnes Obel Muddy Waters by LP Venus by Sleeping At Last Coming Home, Pt. II by Skylar Grey Angels by the xx I Hold You by CLANN

It would be... a hell of an album.

[fvckyouimaprophet]

Contrast

Summary: Part 9 of the color verse. You see in black and white until the day after you sleep with your soulmate. (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8) Author’s Note: It’s been over 3 years since I updated. Even though it’s been ages since I’ve watched the show, this has always been one of my dearest fics. So, without further ado, here’s the update. (@like-shipsinthenight I know you’re out of the fandom, but maybe you’d be interested.)

“Hey, sorry about that. I had to go through some case files at the last minute, and it ended up taking way longer than expected.” When no one responds, Connor steps toward the bedroom. “Oliver?”

He’s about to call his name again, but when he opens the door, he sees Oliver splayed out across the bed, fully dressed but fast asleep.

Connor can’t blame him. He was supposed to be home hours ago. He sighs, making quick work of brushing his teeth and getting undressed. When he sits down next to Oliver, and the bed dips a little, Oliver lets out a small whine but doesn’t wake up.

For a moment, Connor takes him in, his heart twinging a little. He’s still dressed in his work clothes — a button-up and slacks. His hair is messy, half on his face, and Connor reaches out, gently pushing it back. “Oliver...”

It takes Oliver a moment to come to, but after a moment, his eyes open. “You’re late,” he croaks out.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Again.”

Connor leans down to press a kiss to his forehead, but Oliver groans and shifts away fractionally.

“I’m really sorry.”

“What time is it?”

Connor looks at his watch. “1:27 A.M.” Oliver doesn’t say anything, and after a moment, Connor can feel him drifting off again. It takes him a minute, but he gets Oliver’s shirt and pants off of him and frowns when he sees the little dip on his stomach where the belt buckle has left a mark. He presses a kiss to it, and Oliver shifts again.

“I don’t wanna have sex,” he grumbles.

“Good thing, ‘cause neither do I.” It isn’t easy to get the blanket pulled out from under Oliver, but he does it anyway and curls up next to him. Typically, Oliver moves back to be flush against him, but this time he doesn’t, and Connor suspects it has little to do with how tired he is. “I love you.”

He’s just met with heavy breathing.

- - -

It’s after ten when Connor wakes up, and it takes him a moment to realize that Oliver isn’t in bed. He stumbles out, still half-awake, to find him on the living room couch on his laptop.

“You left me hanging in there.”

Oliver doesn’t look up. “I figured I’d let you sleep since you came home late.” Nothing about his tone reads as cold, but Connor knows there’s something there.

“You’re mad.” He makes his way over and falls back on the couch next to Oliver. “Talk to me.”

“I’m not mad.” A but lingers unsaid.

“Then you’re upset.” When Oliver says nothing, he adds, “Or frustrated.” Connor’s stomach knots.

“A little yeah.” Oliver takes off his glasses and sets them on his knee before pinching the bridge of his nose. “I think I should sleep at my place tonight.”

“Don’t do this.”

“Do what?”

“I thought I was the one who was supposed to be bad at communication. We can’t both be bad at it.” That finally manages to crack a small smile from Oliver, and he turns to face him.

“You said you were going to be back at ten. Then you texted and said eleven.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I’m just new to the firm, so they’re throwing everything at me.”

“It’s been like that for four months now. I know you can’t help it, but I want to spend time with you. It’s been—” Oliver stops himself from finishing the sentence, and suddenly, despite the fact that they’re sitting right next to each other, the gap between them feels impossibly large.

“It’s been like that with Michaela too since she started at Caplan and Gold. It’s why she’s been spending all her nights with Aiden. Honestly, I think they’re going to move in together any day now. If you moved in with me, maybe that would help.”

Oliver shakes his head, and his gaze drops down to his lap. “Let’s get through this, and then we’ll talk about it.” The knot in Connor’s stomach feels tighter.

“I don’t like the sound of that."

“Why not?” Oliver asks.

“Because it makes it sound like you think there’s a chance we won’t get through this.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Oliver picks up his glasses and slides them back on. “I think we will. We just need time.” He moves his hand on top of Connor’s and gives it a light squeeze. “And besides, what’s wrong with my apartment?”

The small joke is enough to break the tension — for now, at least. Connor knows better than to keep picking at it, and the knot in his stomach loosens a bit.

- - -

“It’s not going supposed to be easy. It’s still a relationship.” Michaela adjusts the pillows on the couch and frowns. “Give and take is still part of the package.”

“But I thought that was the whole point of soulmates! What makes it any different than any other relationship, then?” Connor steps out of the way as Michaela moves past him to the end table and starts flipping through the envelopes.

“Throw these away.” She hands him the whole stack after a moment but continues to talk as Connor makes his way to the kitchen to toss it. “What makes it different is that you’re inherently compatible. That if you both put work into it and nurture it that you’re guaranteed to succeed. And that your souls are connected, which you shouldn’t discount – especially considering how that worked out for you last time.”

Connor comes back and collapses on the couch with a groan. “Can’t something be easy, just for once?”

“Get up!” Michaela turns around and frowns. “I just fixed those.”

“I can get the cushions, Michaela.” He sighs and stands back up, fluffing the cushions before setting them back in place. “Besides, won’t people be sitting when they get here?”

“I thought you came here to help me clean.”

“It was all a ruse to talk about Oliver.”

“Isn’t it always?” She disappears into the hallway for a moment and comes back with a Swiffer. “Please just make yourself useful if you have it in you.”

Connor frowns and starts making work of cleaning her floors. “I don’t know what to do. It’s been seven months, and they still have me working almost twelve hours a day.”

“Tegan says—”

“Oh, here we go with the ‘Tegan says…’” When he turns around and sees Michaela’s withering look, he gives an apologetic half-smile. “Okay, fine, what does Tegan say?”

“Never mind what she says.”

“Oh, don’t do that.”

“Connor, I’m just saying that you need to make some choices and find ways to make that balance happen. No one but you can do that for you.”

“You sound like my astrology app. ‘As Mercury goes into retrograde, beware not to complicate your relationship. Don't get caught up in—'” A pillow whacks him in the face, cutting him off. “Hey! What will your guests think if your couch cushion is on the floor? What kind of a housewarming party would that be?” Although he smirks, he sees Michaela grab another cushion and ducks before that one can hit him too.

- - -

“What do you have against the new place?” Oliver asks. “I think it’s cozy.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t say cozy. That’s code-word for small.”

“That’s not how I meant it.”

Connor looks around the boxes and frowns. There’s so much to do, and after several hours of moving, he just wants to lay on the ground. Instead, he turns to Oliver and says, “Thanks for helping.”

“I never thought I’d see the day when Connor Walsh got his hands dirty.”

“Don’t count on seeing it again anytime soon.” Connor knows better than to say anything, but before he can stop himself, his mouth opens. “If we had moved in together, we could have kept the two-bedroom. One of those could have been an office space and guest room.”

Oliver presses his lips together in a tight smile. “It’s just not time yet.”

“You moved in with Matt pretty quickly.”

“Yeah and look how that turned out for us.” He steps forward and kisses Connor’s cheek. “I love you. I do. You just have to have faith.”

Connor knows that he’s not so good at that, as much as he hates to admit it. Faith has never been his strong suit. It’s a large chunk of the reason why he’s been agnostic, despite being raised Catholic – and agnostic not atheist, since he can’t even find the faith in him to not believe in a God fully. But the look in Oliver’s eyes tells him not to push it. He has enough lately, and considering that Oliver didn’t budge before, Connor knows he won’t now.

“Okay, fine. I’m just saying that you don’t need to be cautious with me. I’m not going to disappoint you.”

Something in Oliver’s face stiffens. His eyes become a little glassy, and his cheeks tense. It’s subtle, but Connor doesn’t miss it, and it feels like a punch to the gut.

- - -

“He doesn’t trust me,” Connor whines, throwing back another shot. “It’s been almost a year since we got together, and he doesn’t trust me.”

“Yeah, well, you’re kind of an ass, and you were really an ass to him, so I can’t really blame him.”

Connor isn’t entirely sure why he agreed to meet Laurel at the bar for drinks. Pep talks have never been her strong suit, and Connor isn’t sure if he’d even categorize her as a friend. They only ever spend time together around Michaela.

“What?” Laurel asks.

“I get that I fucked up, but c’mon. I’ve been trying. You can’t say that I haven’t been trying.”

“You’ve ben trying. I just think that’s not always enough.”

“How are things with Kan?” he asks, trying to change topic.

“We broke up.” She grabs her gin and tonic and takes a large sip. “About two weeks ago, actually.”

“Shit, I’m so sorry. What happened?” He flags the bartender and turns to look back at her.

“Nothing. Just didn’t work out the way we wanted it to. I’ve been pretty busy, and I’ve had some family shit lately anyway.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

Laurel takes another swig of her drink and waves her hand dismissively, but Connor can tell there’s more than she wants to share. Before he can ask another question, the bartender comes over.

“What can I get for you two?”

“An Old Fashioned, and—” He looks at Laurel, who finishes her gin and tonic with one more gulp.

“Whiskey Sour,” she says.

“Coming right up.” The bartender looks Connor up and down and smirks before disappearing.

“Well, if things don’t work out with Oliver, it seems like you might have some options.” She elbows Connor, and Connor rolls his eyes.

- - -

Connor (7:09) Sorry I’m running late. I should be there in five.

Oliver (7:11) Ok.

Connor (7:11) Don’t okay me. Are your parents with you?

Oliver (7:13) We got here fifteen minutes ago.

Connor (7:14) Ah shit. Sorry. I’m right around the corner. Please don’t be mad.

Connor tucks his phone into his jacket pocket and smooths down his hair before walking in. He spots Oliver and his parents before the maître d’ approaches him and tells her before walking over and trying to steady his breathing. A quick glance at his watch tells him it’s 7:17.

Oliver stands up as soon as he sees them and smiles anxiously. “Here he is.”

Connor’s heart beats in his throat as he stretches out his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Hampton.”

“Oh, you can call me Lisa,” she says, beaming at him as she shakes his hand.

“And you can call me Mr. Hampton,” Oliver’s father says, laughing at his own joke. “Kidding, of course. You can call me William.”

“Dad…”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you both,” Connor says, offering one last smile before sitting down next to Oliver. Underneath the table, Oliver reaches out and squeezes his hand.

“It’s been a while since we’ve met one of Oliver’s boyfriends. But we’re told you’re special,” Lisa says, meeting her husband’s eye before looking back at them. Oliver lets go of Connor’s hand, and Connor doesn’t have to look to know that he’s blushing.

“When he told me you were coming to visit, I didn’t give him much of an option,” Connor teases. “I just made sure to book a reservation.”

“You know, we tried to get a reservation here last time we came, and we saw how fast it fills up,” Williams says.

They make it through dinner without any hiccups, and by the time they order dessert, Connor feels mostly at ease. That ease, however, evaporates with one question from Lisa.

“So, have you considered any next steps?” The implication is clear, even though she doesn’t say it. Connor sees the color drain from Oliver’s face, and he’s sure his looks the same.

“You don’t need to answer that,” Oliver says before shooting a frantic look at both of them. Lisa smiles, but her expression is hard to read.

“I just want to know that my son is being taken care of.”

“I am!” Oliver insists, and when he starts tapping against the table, Connor lays his hand on top of Oliver’s.

“I think we’re trying to take things one step at a time after everything.” He knows that Oliver’s parents know about what happened. He had made sure to ask Oliver ahead of time. He can feel the anxiety bubbling up in the pit of his stomach at the mention nonetheless.

When Lisa doesn’t say anything for a moment, Oliver breaks the silence. “It’s not because of him. I’m trying to take it slow.”

Connor wishes it were possible to sink into the ground. He imagines the chair getting lower until the floor swallows him whole and tries to avoid thinking about how unbelievably hot his face feels.

“We shouldn’t have asked,” Lisa says after a moment, her voice softer than it was moments before. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Connor clears his throat and puts on a smile that he hopes looks more real than it feels. “I’m sure you’d be the first people that Oliver would tell.”

“You know, when Oliver was little, he would ask us to tell him the color of everything in the house. He’d memorize it all, and when we’d have people over, he’d try to tell people that he had met his soulmate. When they’d laugh, he’d tell them they could ask him the color of anything in the house.” She smiles apologetically.

The waitress comes up before anyone can say anything, and Connor feels grateful for the interruption.

The rest of dinner passes smoothly, and despite minor protests, Connor manages to pay for the check. Oliver kisses his parents good night, and this time, Connor gets a hug from them both before they say goodnight.

“Well, that went mostly well,” Connor says. “You know, outside of wanting to die for a brief second there.”

“You were also late.” Oliver shakes his head and presses a kiss to Connor’s cheek. “I had to stall for you.”

“Your mom tried to ask us when we were going to get married, and you’re mad that I was fifteen minutes late?” Connor wraps his arm around Oliver. “You’re lucky that I love you.” As he sighs, he feels the tension start to leave his body. “So, Lisa said I was the first guy she’d met in a while. Matt didn’t make the cut?”

Oliver pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “It was complicated.”

“How so?”

“Well, you see, there was this guy I was also interested in and was hoping things might work out, but he was a bit of a jackass.” He gives Connor a lopsided grin before pulling out of reach.

“And did they?” He feels a strange flutter in his stomach.

“I’m still figuring that out, but I’ll get back to you soon.”

- - -

“She asked you when you were going to get married? And I thought meeting Aiden’s parents was terrifying,” Michaela says. She turns to look at Aiden. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize,” Aiden calls from the kitchen. He comes out after a moment carrying a Dutch oven. “Coq au vin’s ready. When will the others be here?”

“Soon,” Michaela says. “Connor, help me set the table.”

“Hey, I brought a pie. I did my share.”

“You’re insufferable. Help me set the table.” She gets up and heads toward the kitchen, and Connor catches Aiden’s smirk.

He follows her and grabs the silverware and napkins that she hands him. “So why isn’t Oliver joining us today?” she asks. “Laurel’s bringing her new boyfriend, and I think even Wes might be bringing Rebecca and Lila.” Her nose scrunches as she says it. She’s always erred on the traditional side.

“It’s a friend’s birthday, but he might drop by after he leaves the bar. He said he was going to text me. He was pretty upset about it when he smelled the pie, and I told him that he couldn’t have any.” Connor laughs and moves back to the living room to start setting the table.

Michaela follows shortly with plates.

“He knows he’s always welcome.”

“Sometimes I think you like him better than me.”

“You better be careful what you say, Con,” Aiden says, placing the bread that Connor brought on the table beside the Brussels sprouts. “I think she might.”

They all make their way back to the kitchen to grab glasses. “So what did you say when she asked if you were going to get married?” Michaela asks.

“Oliver said that it’s because of him. That he wants to take it slowly. And I wanted to die because his mom knows what happened between us, so I’m sure that’s probably why she asked.” He sees Michaela open her mouth and cuts her off preemptively. “And before you give me your spiel about how I deserve it and blah, blah, blah – I know. It was still horrible.”

“As long as you know,” Michaela says, handing him three glasses.

- - -

“I’m surprised you didn’t have anything elaborate planned for your birthday,” Oliver says, stretching as he pauses in front of the bed. Connor props himself up and wraps his arms around Oliver, tugging him back down.

“It’s on a Saturday this year, so I just wanted to stay in. Enjoy my day off. What fun is going out when you and I could spend the whole day—” His hand runs down to the front of Oliver’s boxer briefs, and Oliver swats it away.

“Hey! A gentleman always asks.”

Connor rolls his eyes. “May I fuck you, Daddy?” He throws the last bit in as a joke and gets a well-earned look of disgust from Oliver.

“Don’t be gross. But maybe. You’ll have to work for it, though.” With that, he jumps up and runs out of the room. They chase each other around until Connor pulls him down onto the couch and falls on top of him.

They pant for a moment, their noses touching before Oliver bridges the gap and kisses him. Perhaps Oliver tastes of morning breath even though he can’t taste it. He’s sure he does, but since both of them do, he feels like it cancels out.

He runs his thumb up Oliver’s jaw to just behind his ear, and Oliver rolls Connor’s lower lip between his teeth. It’s messy, but Connor can feel Oliver’s cock pressing against his thigh, half-hard, and he can’t find it in himself to care.

His hand drops down again, and he tugs at the elastic as Oliver lifts his hips. They make short work of it, and he tosses Oliver’s underwear to the side before kissing his way down. Oliver whines as he makes it to his hips and pushes upwards, and when Connor laughs, he can’t help but notice the way that Oliver squirms, restless.

“Are you going to blow me, or are you just going to tease?” Oliver asks. His cock strains against his stomach, leaking and red.

“Who’s birthday is it?” Connor asks.

A small whimper leaves Oliver’s hips as he pushes down against the couch. “Yours.”

“And yet you’re making demands like it’s yours.” He presses a kiss to the head, and his breath catches in his throat as he watches Oliver’s face flush.

They wind up back in the bed after Oliver comes, and somehow Connor ends up on all fours, clutching the headboard and rocking as Oliver’s tongue presses in, and his hands runs up and down his cock. It doesn’t take long for him to come as well, and he barely can find the energy to clean himself and the sheets up before collapsing.

Oliver follows suit, and drift in and out, legs tangled together. When Connor wakes up, Oliver is at the desk typing. He watches for as long as he can, taking in all the small things that Oliver does when he doesn’t feel he’s being watched – the way he mouths his words when he rereads his sentences and the hand he places at the back of his neck, rubbing small circles as he thinks.

“You really aren’t attentive, are you?” Connor asks, and Oliver jumps, taken out of his trance.

“Sorry, catching up on some work. I’m surprised you don’t have to today. If you keep it up, this may be the first time I’ve seen you go a full twenty-four hours without it since we started dating.” He turns his chair to face Connor.

“It is my birthday, after all.”

“You worked on Christmas.”

Connor waves the comment away dismissively before sitting himself up and yawning. “I’m pretty hungry. Do you want to order something?”

“I ordered food already. I was planning on waking you when it came.”

“Well, if you don’t already know it, you should know that you’re amazing.”

“I do, but I don’t mind hearing it again.” His eyes run down Connor as Connor stands up and walks over.

“You’re amazing,” Connor repeats. His eyes close as he wraps his arms around Oliver, and he lets out a content hum. His apartment feels quiet, and he’s not sure when he’s last felt this calm, this warm.

“I have presents for you. Do you want them now or after lunch?”

“How about now?” Connor asks.

“Let me go get them. They’re in my coat.” Oliver motions to the living room, and Connor makes his way to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. By the time he’s done, Oliver is patiently waiting on the bed, an envelope and a small box placed neatly in front of him.

“You better not be proposing to me with that thing.”

“Oh, shut it.” Oliver rolls his eyes and pushes them forward. “Open the bigger envelope first and then the box.” Connor sits on the edge of the bed and carefully opens the envelope, trying his best not to make a torn mess. It’s halfway open when Connor can see that they’re tickets.

He fishes them out and lets out a whoop. “Future Islands?”

“You know I had to.”

“Well, thank you.” Connor leans forward and kisses him. “I’m intrigued and terrified what’s in the box. I’m assuming you’re not saving the worse present for last.” He grins and tears the wrapping paper off of the box. The small white box looks unassuming, as if it should have jewelry in it, and Connor gives it a light shake. “Am I going to break it?”

“Probably not?”

“So mysterious,” Connor says, tutting and shaking his head before taking the lid off.

The silver key to Oliver’s front door rests on top of an index card. His head spins as he takes the note out and reads the message.

Connor Walsh, will you move in with me?

[the-silentium]

Wait for me to come home Pt.6

Masterlist  Part 5

Pairing: Eddie Brock x Reader, Venom x Reader

Warning: Angst, fluff, swearing

Words: 5560 Words

Your heart squeezes seeing Venom makes his way out of your apartment. Your heart wants him back, but you can't. You need to take care of your brother first and see what to do with your boyfriends afterward. 

You move in front of your brother and tilt his head to assess his injuries. His throat is starting to bruise and you hear him wheeze every time he takes a breath. You can't stop the guilt from consuming you. You know it's not your fault, but you could have done so much so avoid the situation. 

You help Aiden to get on his feet and guide him to your couch. His eyes are glued to the door, watching for Venom's return. But he never did. Instead, you get to the door and close it. You know it is futile, but you put the locks on. You walk to the kitchen, wet a hand towel and apply it on Aiden's throat. He tries to talk, but his voice broke. 

"Stop. Don't try to talk, you'll worsen it." The pain in his face makes you call a friend. Sebastian is a paramedic who lives on the next block. You know him since little school and you always went to him whenever you hurt yourself. "Seb will be here in 5." You tell your twin. You turn the cloth and place it carefully on the purple flesh. He winces at the contact but relax after a couple of seconds. 

The waiting is killing you. You feel useless and your brother knows it. He grabs your hand and squeezes it reassuringly. He smiles at you, his eyes mocking. You know he would have thrown a sarcastic remark at you if he could. Before you can reprimand him for being an idiot, the timer you set for the cake goes off. 

The sound startles you both. The surprise sends Aiden into another coughing fit. "That's what you get for mocking me when I take care of you." You laugh at him. 

You quickly get up to close the oven and save the cake from burning. You take it out and forget it on the counter. Just when you walk back to the couch, someone knocks on your door. You hastily remove the locks and open the door to Sebastian. He has his paramedic bag in hand and follows you in your apartment. 

"Thank you, Sebastian." You tell him, relieved. 

He nods at you and kneels in front of your brother. "No problem Y/N." He helps Aiden to sit and remove the cloth to analyze the injury. He frowns and touches different spots. "Can you explain to me what happened?" He looks at you for a second before returning his attention to his patient. 

Your eyes fall on where Aiden had you pinned to the ground with his Nerf gun in hand. You realize now that your scream must have scarred them and triggered Venom's reaction. It really was your fault. You can't suppress a tear and it leaves a wet trail on your right cheek. When you don't answer, Sebastian lifts his head toward you and mistaken your sad state for one of shock. 

"Hey, take it easy. Take a seat and take all the time you need." He says with a calm voice. His gaze is on you when you make your way on the opposite side of the couch and sit. You focus on your hands, trying to find your words. 

"W-we were playing with the nerf guns. It's a stupid tradition Aiden and I have. When we get to each other house after a long time without seeing each other, we play the game." Your gaze found some bullets scattered on the floor near your bedroom door. "Aiden surprised me from behind and tackled me to the ground. There was a big crash and Aiden was being lifted by his throat by-" You almost said Venom. But the population knows him as the Demon of San Francisco. You hated that denomination, he wasn't a Demon. He did good things. Sure, his methods weren't the best morally speaking, but they were effective. The crime rate in some parts of the city dropped significantly because of him. "the Demon of San Francisco." You finish with a small voice. 

Sebastian's eyes widened and his gaze passes from you to Aiden to you again. 

"And you both survived?!" He states more than asked. "Are you sure it was him?" 

You frown at him. Seriously? "Yeah, I know it was him. There are assessments all over the city of what he looks like and they are all the same: tall, black, white eyes with clawed hands and sharp teeth." Your tone made him lift his hands in the air. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you. It's just… He never really came in this neighborhood before." He returns to whatever he was doing to your brother's throat. "Now I will think about it twice when I want to get out at night for some snacks." 

You nod just for appearances. You know Venom would not hurt you. At that thought, you remember Venom's clawed hand rushing toward you to grab you like he did to your brother. How he stopped the second he saw you standing there. His shock. No, he would never hurt you. Not on purpose. 

"Aiden, you are very lucky." You see Sebastian puts his stethoscope back in his bag. "A little more pressure and your windpipe would have been crushed." Your blood freeze in your vein. He almost dies. He really almost die. "I'm not a doctor, so I recommend you to go see one. But I can tell you that the less you talk for the next days, the better you'll get." 

You chuckle at that. "Awn. That's going to be tough." Your voice broke at the end. You wanted to cheer yourself up. To distract yourself from the fact that if Venom had squeezed a little tighter, you would be mourning your best friend.

Aiden glares at you in response and punches your shoulder lightly. You can see concern in his eyes but you get up before he can try to comfort you. Sebastian follows your lead with his bag in hand. "Thank you again, Seb. I owe you." You smile at him. 

"You owe me nothing. Just take care of him and you should really consider taking him to a doctor if the wheezing amplifies." You nod and he hugs you goodbye. "Bye Aiden. Take care of yourself." 

Your brother waves at him and Sebastian makes his way to the door. You open it for him and close it behind him. You return to your sibling and found him with his eyes closed, a pillow behind his head to keep it upright. You sit next to him and lean your head on his shoulder. You close your eyes and try to calm your nerves. 

You both stay in silent for a couple of minutes. "I'm sorry." You whisper. You feel him move next to you. A sudden pain shot through your head when Aiden flicks your forehead. Your eyes shot open and your hands grab your head. "Ow! That hurts!" His unimpressed look makes you glare at him. 

That's when you see it. He looks utterly tired. The adrenaline must have drained him. 

"What about I order some food and we watch some movies?" You ask him. 

He smiles and nods. You both agree on some pizza and Aiden falls asleep 20 minutes after the beginning of the first movie. You put the cake in the fridge and get you both to bed.

————————————————————

The next morning, you wake up at your alarm going off. You swipe it off and rub your eyes. Aiden is asleep next to you. You didn't want him to sleep on the couch and aggravate his throat so you both slept next to each other like when you were kids.  

You get out of bed, grab your phone and head to the kitchen. There, you call Sam to take a day off for family emergencies and start yourself a coffee. You prepared a tea bag in a cup for your brother with the honey container near it for when he wakes up. You turn the radio on like every morning. You like a little beat to give you a little push, but your favorite station has a surprise for you today.

Loving can heal, loving can mend your soul

And it's the only thing that I know, know

I swear it will get easier

Remember that with every piece of you

Hm, and it's the only thing we take with us when we die

Obviously, they have to play a song that reminds you of your boyfriends. You remember the night you met Eddie. You sang this song. You thought he was handsome and totally out of your league. Of course, you knew his name even before he presented himself. You two worked in the same field of activity and if you had a dollar for every time you heard his name, you would now have a house. 

Hm, we keep this love in this photograph

We made these memories for ourselves

Where our eyes are never closing

Hearts were never broken

And time's forever frozen still

Your eyes landed on the picture on your fridge. It was your first kiss. The one with a tiny tendril flowing out of Eddie's shirt. You can't help but miss them. You miss this night were everything fell together perfectly. 

So you can keep me

Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans

Holding me closer 'til our eyes meet

You won't ever be alone

Usually, at this hour you would have received a good morning text from your boyfriends. This morning though, there is none and it hurts you. 

And if you hurt me

That's okay baby, only words bleed

Inside these pages you just hold me

And I won't ever let you go

Wait for me to come home

Wait for me to come home

Wait for me to come home

Wait for me to come home

You hesitate to text them. You don't know if they are pissed at you for hurting Venom. Or screaming at them. Or kicking them out of your apartment. Your finger hesitates over Eddie's number. After a minute, you shake your head and put your cell on the counter. 

Oh, you can fit me

Inside the necklace you got when you were sixteen

Next to your heartbeat where I should be

Keep it deep within your soul

You remember the picture they send you yesterday at lunch. They were so happy. And so were you. But you've ruined it. 

And if you hurt me

Well, that's okay baby, only words bleed

Inside these pages you just hold me

And I won't ever let you go

The sound of your phone vibrating on the counter catches your attention. You lazily grab it and turn the screen toward you. Fate really has a grudge against you. A pharmaceutical company replaces its certified medicine by placebos without telling their customers and cause 3 deaths. 

Eddie's article pops on your screen and you have a perfect view of him interviewing a visibly pissed businessman. 

When I'm away, I will remember how you kissed me

Under the lamppost back on Sixth street

Hearing you whisper through the phone

"Wait for me to come home"

When the tears threaten to flood your eyes, you turn off the radio and push your phone on the island. The force of your move is clearly miscalculated and proven by the loud crash of your phone meeting the floor. You take some time to calm yourself and start cooking breakfast. Your phone can stay on the floor where it doesn't disturb you. When you hear movement from the bedroom, you put the kettle on the stove. 

Finally, Aiden makes his way in the kitchen but stops at your poor phone on the floor. He picks it up and frowns at the article on the screen. He takes a seat at the island and puts your phone on it. 

"Good morning." You smile at him. He waves at you in reply and you get to the conclusion that his throat still hurts. "How's the throat?" You ask him anyway. 

He tilts his head from side to side in a "so so" manner. You can see that the deep blue-purple has now some yellowish spots. 

"You know, I can put some makeup to try to hide all that." You tell him smiling. 

His unimpressed look really gives you the urge to try it, but the kettle whistling forces you to drop the project. Instead, you make him a good cup of tea with honey. He thanks you with a smile and you finish cooking the eggs. 

When you two are done with your plates, Aiden steals your computer and open the Notes application. 

So who's the guy? He writes. 

"What guy?" You decided to play dumb for a little while, knowing full well who he is referring to. 

The guy kissing you in a field of fireflies who is also the one who got your phone on the floor. 

Damn, he writes fast. Being a writer really improved his speed at typing. It makes you smile that while reading, you can hear your brother's tone of voice in your head. You know him too well. "Oh. Eddie. We have been together for one month now." But you don't know if you screwed everything up. 

And I learn about it just now?! He glares at you like you just stab him in the back. 

"Hey, I can do what I want. Who are you, my mom?" You really feel like when you were a kid. 

I'm pretty sure mom doesn't even know about it. Your sheepish smile gives him all the answer. I'm going to tell her. 

"And how? You can't talk!" You cross your arms defiantly. He can't tell her. If she doesn't hear it from you, your gonna hear about it forever. 

Aiden types something and throws the laptop on the couch. He runs toward your kitchen but you have no clue why. Maybe he needs some ice. 

I can still text her. The bastard! You jump from the couch and follow his tracks. You are too late. You hear a notification on your phone and you know that this is your doom. On the family group chat appears the picture of you and Eddie. Soon after, your mother sees it. 

"Fuck you!" You scream at your brother. 

He walks back to you and shapes his hand in a heart and points at you. You decide to take care of your mom later. Aiden sits back next to you and you two take the time to think. You hear the keyboard and feel the computer on your lap. 

The Demon called you little one. 

Your brain stopped working. What do you answer? Truth? Lie? Can you trust your brother with Eddie's secret? You trust him, but after what he experienced, would he try to keep him away from you? You take too long to answer and Aiden become suspicious. 

You know him. 

You nod slowly. You decide to tell him the truth.  But not all of it. "He helped me." It was Eddie who helped you at the bar, but hey. They are one. 

Helped you? What happened? His face shows concern and all his attention is on you. 

"I was at Cassie's bar. A random guy tried to hit on me, I told him no and he grabbed me. He got the guy off me." You hope he won't ask Cassandra for the story as well. She will tell him that a normal looking guy intervened. Not the Demon. 

Aiden hugged you lightly. Then, You know that I know when you lie, right?

Your heart squeeze. Damn twin bond. You two always know went the other lie or hide something. You hoped he would not feel it, but your hopes got crushed. 

You know him more than you say. He said your apartment was his nest. 

Tears start to form in your eyes. You can't lie to him anymore, but the truth hurts you. You don't want him to call your boyfriend a monster. You love Eddie so much, but you could always count on Aiden to help you with everything. He is so dear to you. You lift your legs to put your feet in front of you. You hide your face in your knees and wrap your arms around your legs. 

"I'm sorry." You manage to say without your voice breaking. 

An arm gets around your back and pull you to your brother's chest. Do you know him? You nod. Do you like him? You nod. Don't tell me you love him. 

"I love his host." You say matter of factly. "But I really like Venom." Your arms tighten their grip on your legs to keep yourself from shaking. 

Wait. Host? As in host of a parasite or someone who keep them hidden in their house? 

"He is the host of an alien. It's very different from a parasite." You whisper. 

A strangled sound make your head shot up. Aiden is grabbing his throat and cough a little. 

"Alien?!" His voice is rough and the effort shot him through another coughing fit. 

"Stop talking idiot!" You reprimand him. You run to the kitchen and grab a glass that you fill with water. You take it back to him and he empties it in a second. "Use the laptop." You glare at him. 

Are you crazy?! An alien! He eats people! He could eat you!

"No, he won't. He only eats bad people. Burglar, rapist, killer… He hurts you because he thought you were trying to hurt me." You can see him getting all the information in. 

So it's in Eddie, right? You nod. Well. I know you. You are stupid, but not enough to love a guy who would hurt you. Plus, the alien

"Venom." You cut him while he is typing. 

He erases his last words and continues. Plus, Venom seemed very protective of you. 

"Yeah, he is." You chuckle. Your sweat big guy. Should you call them? You really want to but something stops you from doing it. "I don't-" You sigh. "I don't know if I should call them… What would you do?" You look at him with the hope that he will help you. 

He analyzes you for a long moment and returns to the laptop, writing his answer. 

You have many talents, but between the two of us, I got the baker gene. You are the cook. And you made a cake! A cake! Without burning it! He must be really really special. So call him. But please, tell him to let my throat alone. He massages it slowly. 

You smile, happy that your brother is not rejecting Eddie. You take your phone in hand, unlock it and still hesitate to call. Again. 

You feel your determination deflate with every second and soon, you are ready to throw your phone away. Again. You start to tighten your grip on your phone to alleviate your stress by making it disappear when Aiden get a hold of your wrist and press the call button for you. 

Your eyes widen and your first reaction is to punch him on the shoulder. Unfortunately, he dodges your hit and makes his way to the kitchen to make himself another tea. On his way, he shows you the middle finger with a wink. 

May as well go with it. At the third ring, you think Eddie won't answer. You almost press the end call button when your boyfriend's voice stops you. 

"Y/N?" You can hear the relief in his voice. It hurts you. You should have called sooner. 

"Hi, Eddie." A silence fell on the line. You don't know where to start and you know Aiden is listening to you. That's what brothers do. 

"Y/N, we are so sorry. Really. We were so scared for you that we saw red and… We.. lose control." He stops to take a breath and continues before you get to place a word. "How's your brother?" 

"He's okay. He can't talk, but he is still joking, so he's good." Your tone is lighter now that you know they are not pissed at you. 

"Fuck. We are sor-" 

"Sorry. I know. And I know that you guys wanted to protect me. You both arrived at the worst moment possible." Aiden lets himself falls next to you with his teacup in hand. He hands you one with a wink. Once you take your cup, he starts writing. You smile at his words. "Aiden still wants to meet you both." 

You hear Eddie stutter at the other end of the call. "H-he knows? H-how?" 

"I told him. He wants to meet you two properly and  promises to keep your secret for himself." 

Silence. "Do you want us to come?" He sounds so unsure of himself. 

"Yes. You made a mistake but neither of us are angry at you." You glance at the computer. "He only asks to let his throat alone though." 

"We can do that. We.. em.. We'll be there in 10 minutes." 

"See you both in 10 then." 

"We love you." You bite your bottom lips. Joy fills you. 

You can feel your brother's gaze on you when you answer, "I love you too." You end the call and you turn to his shit-eating grin. "What?"

Nothing. You just look like a schoolgirl. 

You grab your blanket on the backrest of the couch and throw it at him. He manages to save his cup of tea by extending his arm out of the way. You laugh and start to pick up all the nerf bullets off the floor. 

"Wanna play another game?" You ask sarcastically. 

I don't think I'll play that game ever again. 

You feign indignation and continue your task. You put the bullets in their box and put them away along with the plastic guns. The remaining minutes before Eddie knock on your door passes quickly by briefing your brother about your relationship with the journalist. How you two really met, how he got you on an amazing first date and how you finally met Venom. Just when you start to talk about Venom's addiction to chocolate, a knock on your door interrupts you. 

Aiden tries so hard to hide his nervousness. For the outside world, it works perfectly. For you though, it's clear. You are so used to read him that you can almost feel his emotions. Trying to reassure him, you put a hand on his shoulder and offer him a genuine smile. "It's going to be fine."

He nods, knowing that you can read him like a book. He takes a sip from his cup while you reach the door to let Eddie in. 

"Hi." You take a step on the side to invite him inside, but he stays where he stands. His hairs are disheveled and his clothes look like they were put on in a hurry. He looks like he didn't really sleep at all last night and it makes your heart squeeze. 

"Hi." His gaze lightens when he finds yours. He still looks unsure though. You can see the temptation in his eyes to hug you but he restrains himself. His gaze then wanders behind you and search something with anticipation. 

Sighing, you grab his right arm and pull him in. You expected that as soon as your hand touched Eddie, tendrils would have wrapped your hand in a comforting grip. Their absence makes you let go of him pretty quickly. Maybe you were reading the situation wrong and they were still pissed at you. Closing the door, you put your hand behind your back to keep them occupied. 

Aiden straightens himself and comes to meet your boyfriend. Eddie looks awkward whereas your brother looks calm. You know he is not and you are pretty sure Venom can feel his nervousness too. 

"Aiden, this is Eddie, my boyfriend." You see Eddie gaining a little more confidence. His back straightens a little and he seems to come back to life a little. So he is not pissed against you. "Eddie, this is my brother Aiden." 

Your sibling is the first to present his hand. Eddie grabs and shakes it in return, still looking a little stiff. They both let go of each other but you are not finished. 

"Venom, I would like you to meet my brother. Can you come out?" Your voice is soft like you would approach a shy kid. A couple of seconds pass before Eddie answer. 

"He doesn't want to come out. It's radio silence since yesterday." It worries you. Never before did he refuse to talk to you. But you deserve it. You hurt him. 

Nodding, you turn to Eddie. "Did you have breakfast yet?" When he shakes his head, you invite him to take a seat to the island while you prepare him some eggs. You put the kettle back on the stove and when you turn back, your brother had taken the computer to the island next to Eddie. 

"We are really sorry for what we did. We-" Aiden cut him by brushing it off with his hand. His face clearly tells don't worry about that. He writes something and turns the screen toward the brunette. 

"Did you get it examined?" He is genuinely concerned. Probably because he knows how much damage Venom can inflict and the bruise really looks painful. 

Typing. Typing. Typing. 

You know your brother won't tell Eddie that he almost gets his windpipe crushed. It's not his type. His demeanor became calmer the more Eddie talked to him, so there is no way he will put the weight on your boyfriend’s mind.

Eddie sighs and passes a hand in his hair. "Okay. Sorry though. We should have seen that it was a game." 

You put a plate full of eggs in front of him. "It's fine. Now eat and stop apologizing." You retrieve the kettle from the stove and make a new tea for your brother and yourself. You place a coffee in front of Eddie and take out the chocolate cake from the fridge. You cut two pieces and place the rest in front of your boyfriends. 

"Ve, this cake is for you and I want to apologize for hurting you. Can you please come out?" You really don't know if he will come out this time. You just hope that the cake will work in your favor. 

After a minute, you really think that he is still ignoring you. You sigh and push a piece in front of Aiden. You start to dig into yours when a black tendril slowly makes its way to the dessert. It snatches a little piece before disappearing under Eddie's shirt. A low purr resonating through Eddie's chest brings a smile on your lips. Slowly, Venom's head starts to take form from his host shoulder blade. 

"Good." He purrs. 

You laugh. "You are lucky, usually I burn every cake I make." You watch as he eats the cake in three big bites. In the corner of your eyes, you can see your brother shifting uncomfortably on his stool. Even if Venom is definitely less intimidating in this form, his teeth still are imposing. 

When there is no cake left, you extend your hand to gently pet the top of his head. His pearly eyes now focus on you and he approaches himself. Now at eye level, you stop petting him and avert your gaze. 

"I'm sorry Ve for using fire against you." A tendril under your chin brings back your eyes on him. He smiles while other tendrils take hold of your right hand and squeeze it lightly. 

"There is no need to apologize. We are glad our little one did it." He puts his forehead on yours and licks your cheek, letting a wet trail behind. You pull away and kiss the corner of his mouth. You are conscious of your brother watching the whole scene in front of him and you feel like he would have a heart attack if you fully kissed the symbiote. He needs time to adjust as you did. 

The black alien starts to purr even more loudly. It was better than your usual kisses on his forehead and cheeks. 

"He looks like a cat." The raspy voice of your brother startles you. This time he doesn't cough, but the effort looks painful.

"We are not a cat!" Venom growls. He immediately stopped purring and turns his attention on your sibling. You see his brave demeanor crumbles a bit and Eddie comes to his rescue. 

"Venom, don't be mean. He just said that you sound like a cat, not that you are a cat." 

Venom stare at your brother for a moment before extending a tendril toward him. Your brother's jaw clench and you see him freeze. Venom must have seen it because he stops. 

"We are Venom. We are what you humans call a symbiote." He pauses, waiting for your brother to answer. When none is given, he continues. "We want to apologize for hurting you." 

Your twin eyes the tendril cautiously. He slowly extents his hand to meet the black oily string. He jumps a little when the black substance grabs his hand and shakes it. 

"Hi, Venom. I'm sorry for calling you a cat. And it's fine. Continue to protect my sister like that and we will be even." His voice is clearly forced and tears start to form in his eyes because of the pain. 

You hit his shoulder, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to surprise him. "How many times will I have to say it? Don't talk, you idiot! I'll go grab you some Ibuprofen and you will rest your throat." You glare at him and quickly go to the bathroom to grab two tablets. You hand him the medicine and wait until he swallows it. "Now couch and shut up." 

He makes the military salute and grabs the laptop before heading for the couch. You sit at his now empty stool and Eddie turns to face you. He looks definitely better than how he was at your doorstep. The smile on his face is contagious and soon you can't resist the urge. Almost jumping from your stool, you hug your boyfriends. You hide your face in the crook of Eddie's neck, his arms wrapping around your waist. Venom takes hold of your upper body and his disembodied head stroke the top of your head. 

You pull off from your spot and meet Eddie’s lips with yours. The faint sound of the television is now tuned out. The kiss is slow and caring. His thumb strokes your cheek slowly. The kiss stays simple but it still gets you out of breath. When you pull away, Venom's pleased grin catches your attention. You smile at him and gently pull him for a kiss on the forehead. 

You all pass the day watching a new Netflix original serie and eating junk food. Your brother and boyfriends learned more about each other and while you were paying the delivery guy, Aiden had time to write an embarrassing story about you. You send him the middle finger when your boys started teasing you about it. When it was time to go to bed, you met a problem. Aiden wanted to take the couch, but you kicked his ass and forced him to take your bed. You would return with Eddie at his home and come back tomorrow morning. 

You all exchanged good nights while you put your jacket on. Eddie really seems more relaxed around your sibling and it reassures you.

The ride to his apartment was quick. During the whole drive, Venom kept himself wrapped around your waist and didn't even let go when you arrived. Eddie carried you up the stairs bridal style and here you are, in bed with your loves. In the intimacy of Eddie's bedroom, Venom takes control of his host and lie you down on his chest. His low purr makes you smile and soon, you reach up to his head. You tenderly stroke his cheek which causes his tongue to wrap around your wrist. 

You push yourself up a little and bring your legs upward. You are now straddling his chest, but you perfectly know that he is not bothered. He retrieves his tongue when you lean forward slowly. Your hands now at each side of his face, you smile when his eyes close to only form a thin line watching you carefully. Your lips met his and his chest starts undulating in delight. You were truly scared that you would never be able to do it after everything, so you couldn’t suppress the temptation of tasting his lips for the first time.

A big hand position itself at the bottom of your back while the other gets at the back of your neck. He takes care to hide his teeth behind his lips when he moves with you. At first, he follows your rhythm but soon, his emotion overwhelm him and the kiss become more hungry. He moves faster and applies more pressure. His hunger only sends pleasure to your core and his tongue release a moan from you. 

The sound makes him pull off. He grins the widest grin you ever saw him do. "We love hearing you sing for us." 

You feel the heat invading your cheek so you do the only thing you can think of. You kiss him again and lead the way for a night that Venom will cherish forever. 

At least, he would have cherished it, if all of the events were real. Instead, you wake up next to your brother, feeling as exhausted as when you went to bed last night after the disaster between your boyfriends and your brother. You doubted that the day would go as well as in your dreams, so you decided to stay in bed and enjoy the last remnants of your dream.

Tag list: @slither-in-a-half @a-frozen-bag-of-corn  @noshi-chan

[aidenoconnorx]

-- Hey is that [CHRIS WOOD]? No, that’s just [AIDEN O'CONNOR]. They’re [THIRTY-ONE], and have spent [TWO YEARS] in Dayton. I hear that they’re kind of [PASSIONATE], but also [SECRETIVE]. Did you hear their vices are [ADRENALINE & ADVENTURE]? Can’t wait to see [HE] at the next party! 

warning: mentions of abuse, cigarette burns, neglect, bullying

full name: aiden cian o’connor

nickname: 

age: thirty-one

date of birth: august 15

place of birth: nowhere, ky

zodiac: leo

gender: cis-male

nationality: american

sexual orientation: pansexual

romantic orientation: panromantic

relationship status: single *

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES.

height:  6”0’

weight: 172 lbs

hair color: brunette

eye color: blue

need glasses/contacts? yes

tattoos: Northstar tattoo on his left shoulder blade and a few smaller ones to cover up cigarette burns. Plans on getting another to conceal the one at the nape of his neck

distinguishing marks: cigarette burns on the nape of his neck, usually hidden by scraggly hair

BACKGROUND INFORMATION.

hometown: nowhere, ky

current residence: dayton, ca

past residences: none but has temporarily stayed in several

living arrangement: apartment 

spoken languages: english

financial status: just came into some money through his career

education level: some high school, dropped out but got his ged

occupation: author || blogger

FAMILIAL INFORMATION.

father: wade meadows. 58. doesn’t know where he is/how he’s doing and doesn’t care.

mother: farrah meadows. 56. that’s more complicated.

siblings: sister ( 23 ) and a younger brother & sister ( twins, 21 )

children: none

pets? a hedgehog named elton

other: liam o’connor. psuedo father, deceased.

PERSONALITY.

positive traits: energetic. outgoing. adventurous. helpful.

negative traits: secretive. rowdy. dramatic. reckless. 

likes: dogs. sunny weather. playing music. comics. trash tv (jerry springer, toddlers & tiaras, etc). drag queens (ru paul’s drag race). jogging in the rain. trying new things. talking to people. reading. volunteering. writing. wandering. kids. whiskey

dislikes: being alone too long. feeling ‘stiff’. awkward silence. being pigeon holed. bigots. blue pens. shaving. the cold. political movies. rooms without windows. shrimp. sweet potatoes. spiders. scratchy fabrics. douche bags. sharing his writing. too much tech ( has a flip phone and a cruddy laptop)

quirks: drums on everything. laughs at his own jokes. easily cold. talks to himself when trying to figure something out. always has change in his or her pocket to give to beggars or homeless. takes stupid bets/dares for small amounts of money. cosplays once or twice a year for charity/children’s ward. takes sleeping pills. good at card tricks.

moral alignment: chaotic good

Aiden’ a very outgoing guy. He’s always looking to meet new people and forge new connections. He was on his own a lot in the beginning of his life and he’s never really liked the feeling, despite what he says, so he makes it a mission to interact with the people around him. He’s easy going, easy to talk to and having been in Dayton about two years or so he’s bound to have plenty of acquaintances. He has several close friends too, but not many that know his whole story. Over the years he’s crafted that ‘I-feel-like-I-have-known-you-forever’ charm without really having to go too deep. One or two really close friends would be great though. 

Aiden's typically positive, even when he’s not, he doesn’t have much of a personal bubble concept, and he isn’t the most tactful. He’s bound to piss some people off. He’s usually pretty oblivious to it, so you have to spell it out for him. And that’s fine.He’ll apologize, if he knows he was wrong, and really, he doesn’t try to offend or bother anyone. Most of the time. He’s old enough to know you can’t get along with everyone. He won’t try to change your mind, but won’t go out of his way to avoid you, either. it’s a waste of time. He does get along with most though. He’s protective, having raised his siblings he’s got that older brother vibe always. He ain’t afraid to get gritty, and he’s pretty equipped when it comes to life skills. Need your plumbing looked at? He’s got you. Need a meal? Got you there too. Car fixed? Bring it.  Hair braided? Hell yeah. He’s a jack of all trades, but his main one is writing. It’s something he keeps close to his vest, but his mentor/father figure got it on an agent’s desk about four years ago and well-- he actually got published. It was a game changer. But he’s still super private about it.

As for love, Aiden has never really been in love. He’s had crushes, yes. Relationships, yes. But he’s never told anyone he’s been ‘in love’ with them. It’s a serious thing to him, it carries immense weight, so he doesn’t plan on saying it unless he’s sure he means it. He’s up for anything else though. One nighters, dates, flings, fwb, whatever with whoever. If you can get past his constant flirting and somewhat obnoxiousness, he can be a really sweet guy. He takes care of who he’s with and he isn’t afraid of exclusivity. He been in more than a few relationships (some good, some bad) back in Kentucky and a maybe one or two since coming to Dayton. It’s a good feeling, but it doesn’t define him.

THE RUN DOWN.

CHILDHOOD; there’s no reason to specify where aiden grew up in Kentucky. you won’t find it on a map and he likes it that way. his childhood isn’t important either. it’s not something he prefers to talk about and if asked he’s very vague about it. he might even lie about it, but the truth is, it wasn’t happy one and the cigarette burns on the nape of his neck and shoulder (these are covered) are proof enough. 

ADOLESCENCE; at eleven, his parents defected to god knows where. it left him, his three siblings, ages three and barely two. he missed three days of school trying to take care of them on what they had. his mother waltz in on the fourth as if nothing happened. it was a teacher of he confided in, one he stayed close to for years after. but defax didn’t exactly care. it was the first of many disappearances. sometimes it was a day, sometimes more. It was something he grew used to and by the time he was in middle school, he had surrendered to the fact he was the parent in this scenario. he had a hard time keeping up in high school. he was missing school to work under the table jobs and when he was at school, fights broke out and after about the fourth one, his teacher was done. they had a big blow out...making aiden realize his pride wasn’t worth it. he buckled down and leaned in to what his teacher was saying. without going into too many details, aiden began to flourish. his sullen and quiet demeanor shifted into the laughter and curiosity he once had. his grades improved and yeah, he was still picked at but the fighting stopped. it was like a page out of a fairy tale for him and he embraced it, wholeheartedly, no questions asked.

TWENTIES; unfortunately he didn’t make it through high school. he had to work, but he had o’connor’s support. he helped him study for his GED on the side and helped him as much as he could with his siblings. Things weren’t amazing, but they were manageable.  They survived and unlike him, his siblings stayed in school. He’d kill’em if they didn’t. He worked his ass off to get them through and in the little time he wasn’t? He wrote. He poured anything and everything he heard, felt, and experienced into journal upon journal. It cathartic mostly, but just as his little sister graduated high school, O’Connor managed to get one on the desk of an agent. How? He refused to say, the next week the agent was on Aiden’s door step, ready to change his life. Four years ago, he was published under a pen name and since then life has been smoother. the cash flow helped his siblings and by the time they were all comfortable in college, Aiden began to travel and live the life he’d always dreamed of.

THIRTIES; He hopped from place to place, living on the bare minimums to get a full experience. Writing it all down as he jumped outta planes, tried different local food-- just trying new things. By the time he reached Dayton, his agent was begging for something new too. His blogging and the mysteriousness around him as an anonymous author was fading. He needed something new so he settled. He didn’t intend to stay but-- in a thriving place like Dayton, a place without restriction and full of endless sins and passion? How could he not? It’s done wonders for his muse while still feeding his adrenaline fix. What’s not to like?

[kellyxo1]

Baby’s first night home - Rami Malek Imagine

Requested: No

Warnings: Fluff!!!

Word Count: 1419

~~~~~

The fresh air and warm sun hit your face and the light breeze gently causes your hair to move. The smell of freshly cut grass a complete contrast to the disinfectant smell you had become so used to after your 3 night stay in the hospital.

Rami took the baby carrier from your hands and carefully strapped the newest edition to your family into the back of his car.

“There you go little man, safe and sound. Just wait until we get you to your new home. I can promise you it’s much better decorated than the white of the walls you’re used to” Rami smiled as he tucked a soft blanket around your sons legs to keep him warm.

Rami then closed the door carefully, making sure not to make too much noise to startle Aiden from his soft sleep. Rami  then helped you load your night bag and the several cards and gifts into the back of the car before wrapping his arms around your waist and kissing you softly on the lips.

“What was that for?” you giggled, playing with the collar of his shirt and looking at him with confusion in your eyes.

“Just a thank you… For giving the most beautiful and perfect son in the world. I’m proud of you. Not to mention how much I love you…” Rami smiled, radiating happiness.

You pecked his lips gently once more before gesturing to the car tiredly. Rami lifted you up and carried you bridal style to the passenger door of the car before putting you down and opening the door for you. You climbed in and buckled your seatbelt, then span yourself round to check on Aiden. He really was the most perfect baby boy you’d ever laid eyes on.

When you got home, Rami carried the car seat into the house and set it on the table. He then scooped Aiden up into his arms carefully and placed a loving kiss on his son’s forehead.

You stood in the doorway, kicking off your shoes and watching the sight in front of you. There had never been a moment since Aiden had been born that Rami wasn’t at your side. There had not been a moment that Rami had missed in the first 2 days of your son’s life. Each time Rami picked up Aiden, you could see a deep love irradiating from his body, stronger than you’d ever witnessed from him before.

“Why don’t you go have a nap babe? You look exhausted. I’ll take care of Aiden” Rami smiled at you, snapping you out of your thoughts.

All you could manage in response was a sleepy nod as you rubbed your eyes tiredly. Rami gently kissed you’re forehead and hugged you close with his free arm that wasn’t being occupied by your sleeping son. You climbed the stairs to your bedroom and collapsed onto the bed before drifting off into a deep sleep.

You woke several hours later to the sound of familiar voices coming from downstairs. In your half asleep daze you couldn’t work out who it was that had seemed to invade your home, all you knew is that the voices weren’t Rami's.

Suddenly one of the voices broke out into a laugh. There was no mistaking that laugh, you’d know it anywhere. Joe.

“Rami must have called the boys to say we’re home” you mumbled to yourself.

As you pulled on a hoodie over your pj’s you couldn’t help but smile remembering the first time you’d been introduced to Rami's 3 best friends.

Rami and you had been dating for just over a month when he’d invited you to visit him on set of his new movie, so you could go for lunch together. You’d always been a shy person so, naturally, the nerves of meeting the 3 people Rami spoke about most often caused you to be deadly silent and unable to speak.

The relationship you had with Joe, Gwilym and Ben the first time you had met them was completely different to what it was now. They were like your best friends too, other than Ben who was more like a brother.

You rubbed your eyes as you stepped down the stairs carefully towards the front room.

“Hey there she is! The star of the week!” Ben beamed as he saw you, immediately rushing over to hug you. “How are you feeling?” Ben asked, placing a gentle kiss on your forehead.

“Tired… Glad to be home though!” you replied, glancing around the room. “Hey where’s Rami?” you asked as you realised he wasn’t there.

“He went up to sort out Aiden because the little man was crying” Gwilym answered, cutting Ben off before he had chance to speak.

“yeah but that was like… 2 hours ago" Joe responded, causing Gwilym to shrug before stuffing his face with some tortilla chips from the centre of the table.

You looked at Ben, a clear sense of horror on your face at the realisation nobody knew where Rami or your son was.

You ran up the stairs to Aiden's bedroom, your eyes immediately darted around the room, trying to locate where he could be, who could have taken him, what had happened and why you weren’t called. Just as your eyes began to fill with tears at the thought of the worst possible scenario, you spotted a shadowy figure in the corner of the room.

Cautiously stepping closer, you flicked the switch that turned on the small lava lamp that illuminated not only the dark and gloomy corner, but the shadowy figure that occupied the rocking chair. The figure turned out to be none other than your boyfriend, Rami, who had fallen asleep whilst clutching Aiden in his arms, sending a huge wave of relief through your body.

Rami and Aiden looked so peaceful in the chair. Rami wearing an old pair of sweatpants he’d had for years, but refused to get rid of on the grounds they were comfortable, despite the fact they were falling apart, and an old t-shirt. His old t-shirt sporting a new mark on the chest from where Aden had been sick on him. Rami's soft brown hair turned a slight golden colour as the moonlight beamed brightly through the curtains and highlighted his fringe as it swept from one side of his forehead to the other. His piercing deep green eyes were gently closed, showing how long and dark his eyelashes were.

Aiden was curled up in her fathers arms, dressed in Rami's favourite outfit of his: a white baby grow with ‘I love daddy’ written in blue across the chest. He had then been wrapped in an old shawl that had previously been knitted for you by your grandmother. Aiden's thin wisps of hair matched the colour of Rami's, as did his eyelashes. His eye colour was a less sharp green than his fathers, but not as pale as yours.

Any traits Aiden had picked up from other family members or from Rami that you didn’t particularly like didn’t bother you because he was yours. As far as you were concerned, your son Aiden was a perfect little mixture between yourself and the guy you wanted to spend the rest of your life with, Rami.

You noticed the connection between the two of them in the way Aiden was tightly gripping hold of Rami's finger and you stand silently watching them, taking in the moment for what felt like hours.

Carefully picking up Aiden from his fathers arms being extra cautious as to not wake either from their slumber, you rock him gently as he wriggled slightly in your arms before falling back into a deep sleep. Kissing the top of his head, you whisper your love before gently placing him back into his cot and ensure the sides of his bed are secure before making your way back towards Rami.

Surprised that he didn’t seem to flinch as you’d removed Aiden from his arms, you watch him for a short while. Taking in how perfect he was, no matter how anyone tried telling you R. Even when his mum had told you tales from his cheeky childhood you still found it hard to believe it was him. Contemplating as to wake him up you notice his arms have come up in goose bumps from the cold chill he was now exposed to, although he still seemed completely at peace and content. After deciding against moving him, you carefully place a blanket over Rami and gently place a soft kiss on his cheek before quietly leaving the room with a smile on your face from what you’d just witnessed.

[brylcighs]

✧·ﾟ(   demeter + maia mitchell + cis female   ) 𝒎𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒂 !!  have you seen (   bryleigh fox   ) around ? (   she   ) has been in kaos for (   two months   ). the (   twenty-four year old   ) is a (   baker   ) from (   boulder, colorado   ). people say they can be (   stoic   ) but maybe that’s not too bad ‘cause they can also be (   ebullient   ). whenever i think of them, i can’t help but think of (   warm blueberry muffins, black and white movies, and sunny, cloud-free mornings   ).  ·ﾟ✧  (  penned by shiloh, 21+, est, she/her   ).

trigger warnings: mental illness, ptsd, anxiety, depression, a car accident, health problems related to fertility, scars/burns, low self-esteem, drinking. ( i think that’s it, but if you run across something else triggering, pls let me know and i’ll add it to the list. )

THE MUN.

‘lo ! i’m shiloh, but you can call me shy. i’m 28, i live in the est and my preferred pronouns are she/her. 

i’m a school-based therapist and work in an elementary school. with it being summer, i don’t really have a lot going on ! so you’ll see me around quite a bit. 

i have two small puppos, minerva and newt, who are my pride and joy. p.s.: if you couldn’t tell from their names, i’m a huge harry potter fan. i also love young adult literature, i’m a true crime buff and could eat pepperoni hot pockets every day for the rest of my life. 

if you’d like to talk, you can im me on this account, on my rph @shilohrph or ask me for my discord and we can chat there !

and without further ado, allow me to introduce lil miss bryleigh. 

BASIC INFORMATION.

name: bryleigh olivia fox.

age: twenty-four.

gender/pronouns: cis femae & she/her.

orientation: panromantic pansexual. 

olympian: demeter.

occupation: head baker at physis taverna.

faceclaim: maia mitchell.

BACKGROUND.

bryleigh olivia fox was born may 8th, 1995 at 10:12am in kaos, greece to colonel william matthew fox and emma alison stewart-fox.

she has one older brother, lucas daniel fox, who is 28 and an architectural engineer. he’s married to sofia maite valdez-fox, twenty-four. they have a one-year-old daughter,  luciana irene fox. 

bryleigh also has one younger sister, peyton emelia fox, who is 20 and a college student studying communications. she’s engaged to  micah cole butler, twenty-two. they two-year-old twins addison hayley butler and aiden bryant butter. peyton is also currently 10 weeks pregnant.

because of her father’s occupation, the family has lived in different cities all over the world. besides kaos, the fox’s lived in bangkok, thailand, comayagua, honduras, misawa, japan, burkina faso, west africa,  vicenza, italy and pampanga, philippines. i made a handy dandy timeline which you can view here to better break it down.

bryleigh attended and graduated from the auguste escoffier school of culinary arts in boulder, colorado and lived there for about four years.

while living in boulder, her roommate and best friend, sofia, started dating and subsequently married her brother, lucas.

because her aesthetic is running when things get tough/complicated, bryleigh left boulder a few months after ber brother and best friend were married and moved back to kaos, greece. 

she lived in kaos for a year, living above the tavarna where she was head baker. she loved it and kinda looks back on it as the best time of her life. but a rough patch in a relationship caused her to - again - flee, returning to boulder. 

about a month after moving back to boulder, she was in a serious car accident. her vehicle slid on black ice and flipped. she almost died, but managed to pull through.

on top a concussion, many broken bones, several severe burns, some internal bleeding and innumerable cuts, scrapes, and bruises, bryleigh’s pelvis was fractured and her fallopian tubes were crushed. she also later developed  asherman’s syndrome from the surgeries/scar tissue forming. this has basically rendered her infertile. 

after the accident, bryleigh had to move in with her brother and sister-in-law/former best friend. not only did they smother bry trying to take care of her, but sofia was pregnant at the time. this served as a constant reminder of all she’d lost. 

so, as soon as she was cleared to be on her own, she told lucas and sofia that she was going to visit kaos for her birthday.

except that she was actually moving back there and didn’t want to have to deal with their worry and concern and attempts to talk her out of it. queen of running from her problems.

bryleigh has been back in kaos for about two months, and it’s not the carefree, serene place she remembered.

actually, that’s not true. it’s still the place she remembered. she’s just not the same person she once was. no matter how much she tries to pretend she is.

you can read more about her here if you feel so inclined. 

PERSONALITY. 

bryleigh is a bit of a complicated lil nugget. she’s like an onion, ya know ? she has layers. one one hand, she’s this bubbly, happy-go-lucky, upbeat ball of sunshine. but on the other hand, she’s really struggling with ptsd from the crash, as well as a good heaping of anxiety and depression. so she has times where she’s really distant and reticent.

as the ‘mom friend’, she’s always been the person that people turn to. she’s the shoulder to lean on. she’s the one who gives amazing advice. she’s the one who seems wise beyond her years. she’s the one who tells you to stop leaning back in your chair because you’re going to fall over or sets water and tylenol beside your bed after a night of partying. she cares a whole lot. like, an insane about. which is a blessing and a curse. 

what she’s struggling with post-accident is opening up about how she’s doing and how she’s really feeling, beyond the facade that she puts on for everyone. it’s like she’s physically incapable of letting people see that she’s struggling. bry doesn’t want to put that burden on anyone, ya know ? so, she’s kind of suffering in silence and bottling everything up. which is super healthy, i know. 

sarcasm and dry humor are two of her favorite coping skills. she’s also really great at self-deprecating humor !

the accident left her with quite a lot of scars and several skin grafts from having third-degree burns treated, and she’s incredibly self-conscious about them. she covers her low self-esteem up with jokes and humor, but she really is quite sensitive about her appearance. 

as i mentioned, she tends to run from her problems rather than addressing them. and if she can’t run, she makes a joke out of them and doesn’t take them seriously. or she bottles up all the emotions from the problem and pretends it’s not a big deal. i know. her coping skills are so healthy.

the only thing that bryleigh has ever wanted is to be a mom. she’s basically had baby fever since she was old enough to understand the birds and the bees. she always imagined being a stay-at-home mom, taking care of a shew of children and her husband/wife. but since the accident, she’s not sure if that’s what she still wants of her life. she no longer has no direction, and really feels like she’s floundering.

part of her is worried about having kids ( through adoption or surrogacy or on the off-chance that she can naturally conceive ) because the hate in her heart after the accident is so dark and consuming and terrifying. she feels like maybe the car accident did more than break her bones. maybe it broke her as a person. and maybe she’s not capable of loving someone now. or if she is, she’s worried that what she loves will get taken from her. and she doesn’t know if she can stand to lose anything else. 

EXTRA.

she starts every morning with a cup of black coffee and a banana nut muffin and ends every evening with a cup of peppermint tea and two homemade jaffa cakes.

bryleigh has a chocolate labrador retriever named yolo. he’s ancient. she’s not really sure how old he is, but the shelter she adopted him from said that he’d been there for several years. so, she absolutely had to take him home with her. yolo’s very loving and sweet and a lil lazy and he loves pitless olives. she has huge birthday parties for him on his gotcha day, august 12th. 

her walls are covered with abstract art from a bunch of different countries. they remind her of her childhood and everywhere she’s traveled. 

favorite thing in the world to do is have a bunch of her friends over, make a slew of homemade pizzas and desserts, pop open several bottles of rosé wine, throw pillows and blankets all over the floor and watch movies of various genres until everyone falls asleep. 

she loves 80′s music and prefers to listen to records rather than stream music or what have you. it sounds more authentic that way. at least, in her opinion. 

her apartment looks like a forest. she has plants everywhere. e v e r y w h e r e. she’s also a really good plant mom and has named all of her children. she talks to them and knows their favorite songs. maybe she’s a tad bit psychotic. who isn’t, though ?

since the accident, she’s developed a huge fear of driving. she won’t drive. ever. she either walks, rides her bike or takes an uber. if she can get away with not having to ride in a car, though, she much prefers that option. i mean, can you blame her ?

she loves astrology and tarrot readings and ghost hunts and talking about aliens and going on hunts for cryptids. she’s always thought there has to be more to life than what we can see, so she’s open to at least considering most everything, ya know ?

her closest friends call her foxy. everyone else calls her bry. some people call her bryleigh ? but i can’t imagine why. it’s a mouthful. 

send her memes and you’ll have her heart. she has a huge folder of them saved on her phone. there might or might not be more memes on her phone than actual pictures. hint: there totally is. 

bryleigh can speak english, spanish, filipino, greek, italian, thai, japanese, swahili, hausa and a little bit of a berber dialect to varying degrees of success. she’s most comfortable with english, spanish and greek, and least comfortable with the african languages. she can also write in a variety of writing systems, though not nearly as well as she can speak the languages. she’s forgotten a lot of the rules and method that go along with many of them.

PLOT IDEAS.

you can read about all my connection ideas right here !

NOTE: i’m open to pretty much anything, so if you have an idea, run it by me ! more than likely, i’ll approve and start rambling off ideas and headcanons and half-formed thoughts until you politely tell me to shut the fuck up. sounds fun, right ?

THE END.

thanks so much for reading this monster post ! i don’t know how to be concise. i’ve tried. i tried here. obviously, i failed. but i love you all. i can’t wait to write and interact with you all and your lovely, wonderful characters ! hasta la vista, baby.

[elejah-wonderland]

Sweet Love/3

Fanfiction

Part 3

Elijah Mikaelson x reader

AU TVD/TO story

Premise: Elijah Mikaelson is an ex-race car driver, who is jobless, due to an accident and he is in dire need of a job. Y/N is a CEO of a multinational confectionary company. Due to some threats, she needs to hire a driver/bodyguard. Will loves spark?

Also featuring Klaus Mikaelson as a mechanic, and Kol Mikaelson as a writer. Caroline Forbes as Y/N best friend.

a/n: thanks so much for reading and liking. Also, if there are any mistakes, I apologize. English is my second language. xoxo

tags @rissyrapp20 @dendrite-lover @elejahforever @fafulous @goddessofthunder112

_________

That evening

Elijah got in the Whitmore diner, where Klaus and Kol waited for him already.

"Where are you? Last night you bailed on us! Today, you're not answering any calls?"- Klaus said-"wearing a suit? Did someone die?"

Elijah took his tie off and putting it in the jacket pocket answered Klaus -

"Yes, someone died, but this is not why I am wearing a suit. I got a job. Hey, it's good to see you, Kol."

"Same here, mate."- Kol said.

"A job?"- Klaus now cut in.

"Yes."- Elijah confirmed.

The waitress, who was their friend from school days came now to them and they ordered some food before he continued telling his cousins how it all came about.

"What's the job?"- Kol as asked.

"Driving. A chauffer's job"- Elijah replied.

"What?"- Klaus couldn't believe it-"you said you will never do that!"

"I know, but this is - different."- Elijah said.

"Different? How? You didn't say you are looking for anything? You could have worked at the garage."

"As what?"- Elijah said-"I am no mechanic."

"True."- Klaus said-" but - we would think of something. Anyway, who is it for? And how is this different?"

Elijah now told all that had happened the night before, how he met Y/N, and all that had occurred since.

"You are kidding me?"- Klaus couldn't believe the extraordinary story.

"Y/N- wow!"- Kol said.

At that moment, Davina got in, and as they were sitting in the first booth, she heard Kol's exclaiming.

"Y/N- what?"- Davina said sittind down next to her brother-"- her look wide-eyed awaiting an answer.

"He is driving Miss Y/N "- Klaus replied before Elijah could.

"This is a joke, right?"- Davina could not believe what she was hearing,

"I am."- Elijah now said.

How, what, when - questions ensued again. And Elijah had to explain to his sister how it all came about.

"This is wild!"- Davina was elated-"OMG! I got to call Monique!"

She got her phone out and immediately texted her friend. Her friend called her right back and Davina now went out to take the call.

Klaus and Elijah exchanged looks as to say - Davina's gone nuts.

What no one noticed was Kol,staring at a woman the moment she walked in the diner. It was Bonnie Bennett, her friend from college. He had not seen her for years. Now, his heart kicked a flatter, seeing her looking gorgeous. He now made an excuse that he had to go to the bathroom.

“What’s up with him?”- Elijah asked as he had noticed Kol’s odd behaviour.

Klaus waved it off as he didn’t know. He now went off telling Elijah about the blonde goddess he had been with last night.  

Returning from the bathroom, Kol stopped at the booth, Bonnie now sat down at greeting her.

“Kol? Hey- how are you?”- Bonnie said cheerfully.

“I’m good. How are you? What are you doing - here?”

“Ahm- my boyfriend is from here. We are visiting his parents.”- Bonnie replied.

“Your boyfriend?”

“Yeah. Kai Parker.”

“Kai is your boyfriend?”- Kol said with a tad of surprise and disappointment in his voice. He had the loathing cleverly behind his eyes. He now saw Kai walk in, and not wanting to meet up with him he now said see you around maybe to Bonnie and went to join his brother and his cousin.

Both Elijah and Klaus now asked him why his mood was suddenly so very off. He now told them about Bonnie, and her date.

“Haven’t seen him here for ages. Or any of his sisters.”- Klaus said.

“I can’t believe she is with him.”- Kol now said.

“Seriously, what’s up with you and her?”- Elijah now asked.

“Nothing. I just fancied her like hell in college, but she always managed to be with one or the other jerk”- Kol replied.

“And never gave you the time of day”- Klaus now remarked.

“Anyway, what’s up with you and Greta?”

“We broke up.”- Kol said-”she wanted to go to California, and I just was not up for leaving at the West Coast.”- Kol explained-”can we talk about something else? Tell us more about Y/N”

“There is nothing to tell”- Elijah said tucking into his food.

“Oh, come on. You can do better than that”- Klaus now said.

“As I said. There is nothing to tell.”

Hayley Marshall now walked in the diner and Klaus now remarked-

“Here is trouble.”

The brunette now seeing the brothers and her ex strolled up to them, greeting the bunch. And the way she was, she sat down next to Klaus and started chatting to them as if they welcomed her presence.

All three of them were happy to see Davina return and one bye one they excused themselves and left the diner. But before Elijah could escape, she kind of grabbed him by the hand asking him out for a drink.

“Yeah, maybe”- Elijah said and swaying his look to his sister, telling her not to stay out long he went.

A bit later in his apartment, Elijah laid down in his bed, thinking of only one woman. Y/N. Wondering how she was doing, as he left her all sad. 

💘

The next day, Elijah arrived at the Gilbert house half an hour before the agreed time.

A woman walked out of the house, now greeting the driver.

"Y/N said that you should wait for her inside. She will not be ready yet. She has an emergency conference call."

Elijah nodded a little and followed the woman into the house.

"I am Rose."- the woman said.

"Elijah Mikaelson."

"I know. Nice to meet you."

Aiden, who had arrived quite early that morning already, now got out of the study and greeted Elijah. Rose now left the two, as Isobel had already demanded Rose come to her aid.

"So, sorry about this."- Aiden said to Elijah-"but, can't let her go, before she talks to the Belgians. You, have a cup of coffee or some refreshments. Oh, and- whenever she let's you go today, please call me so we can talk her schedule for the next week. It is completely changed."

"Ok, I will."- Elijah said.

Y/N now appeared at the door of the study, wandering where Aiden got to.

"Hello"- she said to Elijah seeing him there with Joel- "Sorry, we are running late. But, I will be ready as soon as we wrap this up."

"Hello."- Elijah said back-"it's all right. I'll be - in the kitchen."

"Thank you."- Y/N said and now swaying her look at Aiden that said please hurry, went back to the study.

"Kitchen?"- Elijah asked Aiden.

"Down the corridor to the end. On the left. Mary makes the most divine  mini cinammon rolls."

Elijah was like- Mary,who? Aiden told him that he will find out. And so, Elijah ventured to the kitchen.

Mary was the family's cook. And she greeted Elijah like she knew him forever.

"Sit down. Coffee? Black with milk."

"How did you know that?"- Elijah asked.

"Never mind how I know things. Hungry?"- Mary said.

"No, not really."- Elijah replied.

"Two eggs and bacon?"- Mary continued.

"Thank you, but I was told that we will be leaving soon to wherever Ms Y/S is going."- Elijah replied.

"It will take a while till Y/N is ready."- Mary said.

"I thought that she is always on schedule."- Elijah was confused.

"Yes. That is when life doesn't throw you a kick in the gut."- Mary said.

"I don't quite understand."

Mary now served him the coffee and continued- "Ms Y/S as you called her, is juggling her mother, the news that she got engaged, which is all over the news, as well as trying to have the factory run smoothly. They are not even letting her grieve."

"She had a special connection with - Alaric? I’m sorry but I don’t know who he was”

"The family's butler. He came when Y/N was a little girl. And yes, they had a special connection. You see, her father worked all day and night to get the business going, and whenever she really needed a parent to talk to, Alaric has always been there for her."- Mary explained.

"I understand."- Elijah now said.

The way Mary now looked at Elijah, like she was sizing him up, which made Elijah say-

"Is something wrong?"

"No. Everything is just right."- Mary said-"she will be fine."

"Excuse me?"

"Nevermind me. How about a brunch?"

Elijah sighed a little and agreed to it.

💘

Elsewhere

Klaus' garage, Whitmore

Caroline, who has always been a person living the life to the max, didn't waste her time or waited for the life to come to her. She would always grab it. She now parked her grandfather's oldtimer right in front of the garage. Marcel, one of Klaus' men, now greeted her as she got in, looking for Klaus.

Klaus now got from the little office and greeted the blonde.

"How can I help you?"- Klaus said in his charming smirky way.

"I was wondering if you could service it?"- Caroline said pointed to the car-"I heard that you are the best."

"Am I?"- Klaus said.

"Well, the guys from the bar think so. If it is not so I can always take it somewhere else."

"I will look at it."

Klaus now went to the car, admiring it-

"Classic Pontiac GTO. 1968. A beauty."

"So, you can look at it? It makes a strange sound when I change gears."

"Let's test drive it and see what is wrong with it?"- Klaus said.

"Let's."- Caroline accepted with a smirky smile.

"Marcel. Hold the fort. I won't be long."- Klaus said as he got in the car, accompanied with Caroline.

💘

At the Gilbert' house

An hour or so after Elijah had arrived, Y/N finally got out of the study with Aiden. And before she could escape to the kitchen, her mother got her in the corridor now asking her about Lucien and the engagment as it was all over social media.

"I really don't want to talk about it now. Aiden will deal with that."

"Ok. Have you decided who will take over running the house?"- Isobel asked.

"No. But Rose is willing to do the job for now, until we find someone. I have to go now, mom."

"Yes. You always have somewhere to go to."- Isobel was complaining-"how will I manage everything?"

Y/N wanted to scream that she never had managed anything, but she kept quite and now apologized and went to the kitchen.

Elijah got up from the chair at the island as Y/N walked in.

"I am so sorry that you had to wait for such a long time. We can go."- Y/N said.

"Right."- Elijah said.

"Ok. We can get out here."- Y/N said and indicated they exit through the kitchen back door. She went out first, and Elijah followed her.

Mary, who was at the cooker preparing the dinner, noticed the very interesting dynamic between the two and smiled a little. Aiden, who now got into the kitchen, for the famous mini rolls, having noticed the cooks smile said-

"I think that you are thinking what I am thinking."

Mary now turned to the assistant- "I have never heard her apologize to any other driver for waiting for her."

"Exactly. Caroline told me that- but you have to keep this to yourself- they met under very unusual circumstances in Whitmore."

"No gossip, please. Y/N is not like Caroline. No matter, how much I like Caroline, she is way too much of a free spirit."- Mary said-"but what of this engagement?"

"Let's not even go there. I have a feeling that the Doctor Disaster felt that she was slipping away."- Aiden said-"I hope she falls for our Mr Gorgeous."

"Let's hope."- Mary said-"He is such a sweet young man."- the cook referred to Elijah. 

"He is a dish."- Aiden said-"All right I got to go and work."

Aiden now left as well.

💘

An hour later, Y/N and Elijah arrived at the place outside of the city. It was an old people's home. Y/N spent a little while inside, and as she got out, she said to Elijah -

"Can we go somewhere- anywhere. I just don't want to go home just yet. And I got my phone if Aiden calls."

"Yes, we can. What did you have in mind? Do you want to eat something or-?"

"Yes. I am hungry a bit."- Y/N replied.

"Ok. I know a place."- Elijah said and remembered a small fish place on the beach a couple miles away.

It was a nice Seafood Schack and Grill that his father used to take them when they were kids.

"This is great."- Y/N said as they got to the place.

"They have fresh produce and it's- family friendly. I loved coming here. Every summer he would take us here. We would spend a day on the beach. "      

The way Elijah spoke about it, said what a great time he must have had there.

"Do you mind if I take the suit jacket off?"- Elijah then said.

"Yes. Sure. Oh, this is not right. I should not be - taking your time -"- Y/N said suddenly realizing that they stepped over the line of employer and employee-"maybe we should go back."

"Why? I thought you were hungry?"- Elijah said.

"Yes, but - it's not right that you spend time with me - I mean- this is not work. This is - me- usurping -"

"Y/N- can I call you, Y/N?"- Elijah now said.

"Yes."

"The last couple of days were not exactly easy for you and- I completely understand if you want to escape for an afternoon- and I don't mind- "- he stopped there for a second trying to gather his thoughts-"You are not usurping my time. On the contrary- we- if you want- this can be like- two friends went out of the town- for an afternoon."

Y/N now smiled a little-"Ok. So- friend- what do you recommend?"

"Grilled fish. Sea bass. Salad. A glass of white wine. Simple."- Elijah said.

"Excellent."- Y/N was happy.

They got in the Grill, and they had exactly what Elijah suggested. And all during the meal they shared stories about their childhood as if they were friends that were going down the memory lane.

A bit later, as they finished with the food they went down the beach for a little walk. It was an afternoon of real escape, for both of them. They were not a rich woman from the Falls, and he was not the ordinary guy from Whitmore. Just Elijah and Y/N.

Come and take a trip on my rocket ship We'll have a lovely afternoon Kiss the world goodbye and away we'll fly Destination moon Travel fast as light 'til we're lost from sight The earth is like a toy balloon What a thrill you get riding on a jet Destination moon We'll go up, up, up, up Straight to the moon we two High in the starry blue I'll be out of this world with you And away we steal in a space mobile A supersonic honeymoon Leave your cares below, pull the switch, let's go Destination moon

It was like they were both on the moon. Y/N did pull the switch. She didn't know when it was the last she left all her cares behind.

"And this is how you became a race driver?"- Y/N said.

"Yes. Just like that. They thought that I was born to do it. I signed the contract and- there I was."- Elijah said as he finished telling  Y/N how he became an Indy car race driver."

"It's great to do what you dream of doing?"- Y/N said.

"Don't you? I thought that the factory is your passion?"

"Well, it- the new recipes and the whole process of getting a new product, but- everything else- making deals and always trying to be on top of everything. It- it sometimes- too much. But I am not complaining. It's just- Caroline is right - sometimes I just need to take time for myself. So, I want to thank you for this- for today- it was - really a great day. "

"I am glad that you had a great time- Y/N-"

And there they were- Elijah's eyes delightfully probed right into Y/N's. 

[were-cheetah-stiles]

The Recruit (Chapter 32) - Mitch Rapp

Author: @were-cheetah-stiles

Title: “Day 116″

Characters: Mitch Rapp, Stan Hurley, Irene Kennedy & Reader/OFC

Author’s Note: The first block of italicized text is Day 109. The second block of italicized text is Day 111. All regular text is Day 116. Also, I think it is important to note that the truth probably lies somewhere between Stan and Ghost’s stories about how Brandon became Ghost. 

Summary: By Day 109, Y/n and Mitch have returned back to Virginia and back to The Barn to finally collect their things before heading up to New York, when Stan decides that it is finally time that Y/n learns the truth. On Day 111, Y/n stops by Irene's office at Langley to discuss specific arrangements. But on Day 116, Y/n finally becomes a legitimate CIA agent and discusses hers and Mitch's future's with The Agency.

Chapter Thirty-One - Chapter Thirty-Two - Chapter Thirty-Three

“Y/n?" Stan knocked on the doorframe and Mitch and your heads shot up. The two of you had been milling about your bedroom, packing it into boxes, readying you to move out of The Barn for good. Mitch took a solid four minutes to pack his bedroom up, as he had not brought much with him in the first place. You, however, had made The Barn into your home over the years, and you had to put things in boxes. However, your arm was in a sling since being shot back in Istanbul, and Mitch volunteered to do most of the heavy lifting.

Mitch glanced over at you to see what you would do. You sneered at Stan, but couldn’t help your curiosity. "What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you.. alone, if possible."

You shook your head. "If you want to stay, then Mitch stays too."

Stan sighed, but took the invitation that he got. He closed the door behind him and examined the room. It was bare, which upset him, as he was going to miss having you around every day. "Can I?" Stan gestured to your wooden desk chair, and watched as you nodded. "Uh, if you would.." Stan gestured to your bed, as he sat down across the room in your chair. You remained standing next to your dresser, with Mitch behind you.

"I asked Irene not to send you on that mission." Stan began, starting off the conversation on the wrong foot.

You tisked your tongue against the backs of your teeth, and bit lightly at your top lip, all while shaking your head. Mitch sighed behind you; he knew that comment would piss you off. "So you could continue hiding my fucking brother from me? You son of a fuc-"

"No, no! Shit." Stan sighed and dropped his head. "Okay.. No, I didn't want you finding out about him like that, but I- oh god, I don't know, Y/n. So much time had passed and there would have been no good time to tell this story."

"Am I supposed to feel bad for you right now, Stan?" You asked, contorting your face in anger. "I don't need to listen to this." You stepped towards the door and placed your hand on the knob, when you felt Mitch grab your wrist to stop you.

"Y/n/n... you're going to regret not hearing his side of the story. Come on.."

You relented to Mitch, and followed him over to the edge of your bed. The two of you sat down next to each other, and Mitch remained holding your hand, partly to comfort you and partly to keep you in place. Stan began his version of the story.

"Brandon said.."

You cut Stan off. "Don't call him that." You gripped Mitch's fingers tightly in your hand, redirecting your rage. Mitch happily took it.

"Uh.. Ghost..." Stan glanced up at you, who remained silent, so he continued. "Ghost.... no, fuck, I'm sorry, Y/n, but this is about your brother, not Ghost. Brandon was getting into trouble back in 2001. He was falling in with the wrong crowd at school and your parents had a meeting with his principle, that afternoon, to discuss whether they should pull him out and send him somewhere else or whether the administration felt that they could turn things around."

"School had just started though.. how had he already...."

"It had started before the last school year had ended. He came home drunk, got into a fight with your Dad.." Stan rubbed his hand back and forth over his thin salt and pepper hair. He started his next sentence a few times, always changing how he was potentially going to approach the story. He finally decided on a path. "On September 11th, 2001, your brother was supposed to go to work with your parents and then they were all going to go down to the school for the meeting. But, I guess he had snuck out the night before because he wasn't in his bed when your parents went to wake him up."

A thought occurred to you, and you had to know. "Would.... would they have... they would've been at the meeting instead of in the North Tower when the planes hit if Brandon had been there, wouldn't they?" Stan nodded slowly, and you buried your face in Mitch's shoulder. Mitch let out an angry sigh as he stroked your hair to calm you, as you cried softly into his shirt.

"Where was Brandon that morning, Sir?" Mitch asked, finally speaking up.

"He was at a friend's apartment down in the Bowery... he was high off his ass. He had gotten into the rich kid shit, you know what I mean? Coke and booze and weed and pills... I don't know how kids these days even get their hands on that shit in the first place but he was getting in deep." You lifted your head and wiped the tears from your cheeks. You were stunned.

"I had no idea,  I mean, I thought he was just getting into trouble like all teenagers do.. I had no idea."

"You were nine, Y/n, your parents wanted to keep you young and innocent. They didn't want Brandon's issues to become your burden." Stan tried to comfort you.

Mitch contorted his face in annoyed confusion and spoke up again. "I don't understand how we get from a fifteen year old Brandon doing coke down in The Bowery with his friends to Ghost doing what he did last week."

Stan scowled at Mitch, but he knew that he would have to explain. He just didn't appreciate Mitch's presence or involvement in his family's business. You perked up. You didn't understand that either, and you still weren't sure what the truth was. You felt your rage towards Stan bubbling back up under the surface again.

Stan continued. "Have you ever thought about how long it took me to get to you on that day, Y/n?" Stan asked.

"...The bridges and tunnels were closed.. the subways and PATH were shut down.. the city was.."

Stan cut you off. "But for someone like me? Someone with my connections? You never thought about it?" You furrowed your brow. The thought somehow never occurred to you. "Brandon called me sometime around noon when one of his shitty friends went outside and saw the smoke and asked someone what had happened. He told me where he was, and I knew.. Your Dad was my best friend, and he kept me informed as to what was happening with you kids. I knew what Brandon being in the Bowery instead of at school on a Tuesday morning meant. I used my connections and I got to him within the hour. I was already on my way up to Manhattan after the news broke that morning. But he was so high... I didn't want you to see him like that, so I sent him down here with Aiden."

"Aiden?" Mitch asked. "Breen?"

Stan nodded. "He came up with me that morning, and he took Brandon back in the helo we hitched a ride in. I hoofed it the rest of the way to you." Stan looked at you, an apathetic look resting on your face.

"So, you did keep him from me?" You accused.

"I was only going to for a few days. No one was thinking logically at that point, and that's not an excuse, but it's what I've got. I wanted to get him clean, so I sent him to The Barn with Aiden for a week." Stan sighed and shook his head, staring down at his shoes against the mahogany wood floors. "We tried rehabs, but he kept falling back into trouble, and he was aggressive... he was angry."

"What was wrong with him?" Mitch asked, and you scowled up at him, then whipped your head around when Stan answered.

"So many things. I didn't realize any of them until I asked Tom Lewis to come and observe him many years later."

"Who's Tom Lewis?" Mitch asked.

"He's a clinical psychologist... a friend of Stan and Irene's.. he freelances for The Agency sometimes. You saw him. He was the guy who was sort of hovering around The Barn your second week there." You reminded Mitch of a man that he had all but forgotten about and had always assumed was either one of Stan's bosses or an instructor that stayed behind the scenes. "What'd Lewis say?" You asked Stan.

Stan rubbed his rough palm over his face, dragging his hand down the bridge of his nose and towards his chin. "A lot of technical doctor shit, but basically, Brandon suffered from auditory hallucinations. He was hearing voices that weren't there, and he was trying to drown them out with the drugs. He was angry, and he barely controlled that. He had issues with impulse control and a real obsessive personality. He was just deeply troubled, and we got him on meds but he wanted nothing to do with them. He said that the routine and the exercise of The Barn was what was best for him, and it seemed to be helping to curb his behavior so, we got him a tutor and he finished high school from The Barn."

"If... I was here in the summers in high school. Are you telling me that I saw Brandon then but didn't recognize him?" You questioned, trying to poke holes in Stan's story.

Stan shook his head and continued rubbing his hands together, nervously. "When you and Beth and the boys would come here in the summers, Brandon would go off to The Farm to learn more tradecraft. Your third summer here, Brandon was already a part of Orion and going on missions though. He was convinced that he could find UBL and take out Al-Qaeda, and fuck if that boy didn't try."

"He was going after UBL?" Mitch questioned, surprised at the high priority target.

"Yea, he went down to Gitmo a few times and interviewed KSM in an effort to get leads on UBL, but nothing panned out, then when Seal Team Six took him out in 2011, he kind of went on a bender. I tried to get him to give up his plans and finally go to see you, Y/n, I really did..... But he just kept saying, ‘I can't see her until the people who killed our parents are all dead. She deserves that peace, she deserves it.’"

You were getting angry. You stood, held back by Mitch's grip on your wrist. "I DESERVED A BROTHER!" You yanked at your arm, but Mitch wouldn't relent. "Let me fucking go. I need a break from this bullshit. I need some air." Mitch let go, and he and Stan watched you walk out of your bedroom, slamming the door behind you as you went.

Mitch sat in his spot on your bed and stared at Stan. "What was with all of the cuts and scars on his body?" Mitch asked.

Stan raised his head, and grimaced. "He embedded with some locals in the mountains in Afghanistan with a group of four other agents. The mission went south real fucking fast because Brandon couldn't keep his anger in check. He and the others got taken and we knew where they were but..." Stan paused and shook his head. "More lives would have been lost than would have been saved if we had gone in to rescue them. They tortured and fucked with them. Three died. Brandon and that Jennifer Blake zealot survived.. Maybe if I had gone for him, none of this would have happened."

Mitch shook his head. "It doesn't really matter what you should've done then, now, does it?"

"It does to her, you little fuck." Stan pointed to the door, but was gesturing for you.

"I think deep down, she knows the truth. It'll take time, but she'll come around."

"You clearly don't know how stubborn she is." Stan scoffed at Mitch's bullshit optimism.

"I'm sorry Mitch couldn't come to the ceremony." Irene apologized to you as the two of you walked away from the graduation ceremony at The Farm. You were now officially a member of the Central Intelligence Agency.  

"It's fine. He's not a part of the CIA and anyway, I suppose people aren't really supposed to know about him, or us, so.. It's fine." You half-smiled up at your new boss and longtime friend.

"Y/n, can you meet me back at my office in, oh, I don't know, about an hour?" Irene checked her watch and then adjusted it back under the sleeve of her suit jacket.

"Is everything okay?"

Irene nodded and then smiled. "We need to discuss your next assignment." She patted you on the shoulder and then stepped inside of the idling black SUV on the street. She paused before she closed the door, and looked at you. "I'm proud of you, Agent Hurley."

"Thank you, Ma'am." You nodded once, then watched Irene close the door as the car pulled away, leaving you on the curb alone, watching as Irene drove back to Langley.

"You asked to see me, Ma'am?" You glanced at Stan, sitting in one of the club chairs in front of Irene's desk. He barely looked up. Mitch had been right. You believed his version of the story, and you had begun to mend fences over Ghost, but you were still livid at him for lying to you for so long. The trust had been broken and the relationship was teetering on a state of disrepair.

"Come on in, Hurley." Irene glanced up from behind her desk and gestured for you to sit next to Stan, which you begrudgingly did. "How's the arm?"

You looked down and gently rubbed the fabric on your dark blue sling. "It's fine, Ma'am. Doc said I needed to wear the sling, but I think it's healing just fine without."

"Well, why don't we keep listening to the doctor's anyway? That thing was pretty infected by the time we got you to the hospital in Rome." Irene picked up her coffee mug and loudly sipped from it, then pressed her elbows against the wood grain of her desk, focusing in on your face. You nodded at Irene's instruction, and Irene decided to end the pleasantries. "Y/n.." Irene paused. "I don't know how to start this.. We brought Bran.. um, Ghos... uh... the body.. back to the States with us."

"Okay.." You looked over at Stan, who had sunk further into his chair and refused to make eye contact with you. "What are you planning on doing with it?"

"Well, considering you are his next of kin, that decision is yours." Irene explained.

"Is that why you brought it back here? For me?" You were getting slightly agitated.

Irene furrowed her brow and then nodded. She wasn't sure what she thought your reaction was going to be anymore. Part of her expected you to be grateful for the opportunity, but Irene realized that maybe she didn't know the young woman sitting in front of her as well as she once did. Irene thought back on the events of the past few weeks and the past few months and contemplated how they had been shaping you. They had made you a bit more detached; more of a killer.

You cleared your throat and shook your head. "I didn't ask anyone to do that."

"We.. I... well, Thomas and I, we assumed.." Irene was referring to her boss, Thomas Stansfield, and she realized she had made an error in judgement. "I'm sorry, Y/n. We wanted to allow you and Stan and your family to grieve properly.. to bury him."

You stood, your tight black pencil skirt smoothing back over your legs as you straightened up. Stan and Irene stood in reaction to you. "I buried my brother when I was nine years old. That man was so far from the boy that I remember, it would be a disservice to Brandon's memory to even..." You paused and shook her head, her face was crinkled with anger and disgust and pain. "I grieved properly. I still do. I didn't need the bodies to say goodbye."

"I'll take care of it then." Stan offered, but you shook your head once more.

"No. He wasn't my brother, but I still know what Ghost would've wanted. Cremate him and spread his ashes in the Mediterranean; that's clearly where he wanted to die." You spoke in a detached and clinical manner. You had no emotional ties to the monster that your brother grew to be.

"I'll take care of it." Irene promised.

"Do you need me for anything else, Ma'am?"

Irene shook her head. "You can go, Hurley."

"Thank you, Ma'am." You walked out of the room, but Irene and Stan remained standing, simply staring at each other wordlessly.

"Mitch, I am so pleased that you have managed to prove me right. You are quickly becoming our country's greatest asset. Everything you did last week... you have really turned out to be everything I hoped and more."

"Thank you, Ma'am." Mitch sat in front of Irene in a black sweater, pulled over a crisp white dress shirt with the collar poking out, and black dress pants. His hair was neatly combed for once and only the semblance of a five-o-clock shadow could be found on his face. He longed to leave Langley and get away from the formalities, however.

"Because you are not CIA, though, Mitch, you and I can work out the details of how you think your time with Orion versus how I think your time with Orion should go." Irene explained.

Mitch nodded. "I only have a couple of requests, Ma'am." Irene gestured for Mitch to speak freely, and then she went back to folding her arms in front of her and leaning back into her tall black leather desk chair. "I won't go on any missions until you let me take out Mansur and the Bahji."

"Fine. I already have my people working on it." Irene agreed.

"Second, Y/n wants a vacation. I think she deserves it. I know that's not usually how you start a new job but, considering you all forced her into killing her brother last week..." Mitch's sarcastic and blunt side always came back out eventually.

Irene half-snorted and nodded. "I can probably get the two of you a few weeks off."

"A month." Mitch countered with a smirk. He was trying to figure out how much of an upper hand he had in these negotiations. He was trying to figure out how badly Irene and Tom Stansfield wanted him to be Orion, and do America's bidding.

Irene paused, hesitating a little too long, then submitted to his request. "A month, but if we get a hit on Mansur, you'll have to come back sooner."

Mitch grinned. "That would be my pleasure."

"Is that it?"

"I haven't even gotten to the important stuff yet." Mitch crossed his arms over his chest, smirked and shook his head.

"We don't need you that badly, Rapp." Irene tried to reassert her dominance.

"Are you sure about that, Ma'am?" Mitch pushed back, with a large hint of arrogance dripping from his words.

Irene paused again, then rolled her eyes. "Just tell me what else you want, Mitch."

Mitch leaned back in his chair, and folded his hands casually over his torso. "Y/n and I want to be based out of New York, and we don't want to live in D.C."

"That I can't give you." Irene finally put her foot down. "You can stay in New York when you aren't on missions, but you will need to be down here some of the time, or at least, Y/n will need to be." Mitch huffed. "And you really shouldn't be putting your names down on any documents together if you want to remain as a couple, so no signing for leases under your real names."

"Get me an alias, then, Director." Mitch suggested.

"We're already working on that as well. Is that all?"

"One last thing..." Mitch smirked and leaned forward. "I get that CIA agents aren't supposed to know about Orion, at least not really, and furthermore that we are not supposed to work together.."

Irene cut Mitch off. "Oh, hell no, Rapp. This one won't happen."

Mitch leaned back. "This is the only deal breaker, Ma'am. When Y/n is on a mission for the Agency, it’s fine if I get shipped off without her, but if we are both free when I get called up for something, she comes with me. Every time. Even Stansfield couldn't deny how good of a team we made. I believe he said something along the lines of 'the most valuable assets our country has in its possession right now.'" Mitch repeated Tom Stansfield, Director of the CIA's words after you and Mitch returned to the States from Rome, back to Irene who grimaced at his point. He knew how badly they wanted him to commit to Orion fully, and he was going to get what he wanted out of the arrangement.

Irene knew that Mitch was the one that they wanted, but that meant that they got all of Mitch; both his serious and deadly side and his facetious and uncooperative side. You would never get one without the other, but to Irene, Stansfield, and the nation's security, Mitch Rapp was worth the trouble. "You wanna go on her missions with her too?" Irene asked sarcastically.

Mitch bobbed his head to the side, then shrugged. "If I could sometimes, that'd be fine too. Why bother giving her a new partner when she already has one ready to go?"

"I was joking, Rapp." Irene leaned forward on her desk and shook her head at him.

"No, I think that should be a part of the agreement as well. Irene, you all know that we’re a good team, and the only reason that you all even know about our relationship is because we chose to stop hiding it from you. We will be discreet and we will be precise. She is my deal breaker. I won't do any of this without her as my partner in the field." Mitch gave his ultimatum.

Irene leaned back in her chair and shook her head. "Fine. Can you stick around a couple more days while we hammer out a contract?"

"No contract. Just give me your word, Irene." Mitch trusted Irene because you did, and he knew that leaving less of a paper trail towards him would also be in his best interests.

"Fine. You have my word. Y/n will be your partner whenever the two of you are free at the same time. Mansur will be your first mission. We're going to have to discuss the living arrangements a little further... But for now, go enjoy your vacation, Mitch. You earned it." Irene finally smiled up at the young man, who she had all of the faith in the world in.

Mitch stood and stuck his hand across her desk. Irene accepted his gesture and shook his hand, thus beginning a new chapter in Mitch's life. "Thank you, Ma'am."

Irene turned her chair towards her window and looked at the luxury car parked down below by the main entrance to the building. "You can tell Y/n that she doesn't need to come up. We'll sort out her details when you two get back."

"Will do, Ma'am." Mitch said with a smirk. He liked his boss; very little got past her.

"Where you guys going?" Irene asked, stopping Mitch as he had the door to her office half open.

"We were thinking about Buenos Aires." Mitch said with a smile, before nodding and ducking out the door.

You sat in the backseat of your tinted Rolls Royce Phantom, with the engine idling, outside of Langley. Mitch pulled the sweater off over his head and opened the door to the backseat. You were dressed in a slinky, navy blue jersey wrap dress and nude platform pumps. Mitch shut the door behind him and the car smoothly took off.

"Well if Irene knew what you looked like right now, she wouldn't have questioned why I wanted to have you as my partner in the field."

You smirked and leaned in to kiss the man you loved. "Did she say yes?"

"Of course. I told her that I wouldn't be Orion if she didn't meet my stipulations."

"Well, I can't believe she fell for that." You snickered.

Mitch smiled but furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"Oh please, Mitch, it may not be the reason you started this line of work, but you don't fool me. I know you just want to do what's right and protect people. You're just a big softy down deep."

Mitch smirked. You had seen right through him from day one. "Well, Irene doesn't know that yet, and good thing, because she gave me everything I wanted." Mitch intertwined his fingers in yours and watched you bring his hand up to your lips. He felt the soft and smooth skin kiss the back of his hand, and then watched as you rested your chin on it. "My girl." He whispered.

You smiled, and whispered back. "Always." You dropped his hand into your lap and stroked the bit of arm hair coming out from under his sleeves.

"Ma'am, remind me of what airline again?" The driver asked from the front as he lowered the partition.

"Icelandair, and then once you drop us off, you are back up to New York to take a Steven Rapp and his clients out to Peter Lugers for dinner tonight, then Mr. Rapp will take the car off your hands at the end of the night."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Did Irene ask where we were going?" You asked.

Mitch snickered. "Yea, I told her Argentina."

"Well that'll really throw them off the trail, babe." You teased.

"You excited for Iceland?" Mitch asked, leaning his head against the headrest behind him, and staring lovingly at you.

You nodded. "Are you?"

Mitch smiled wide. "I'm excited for it all."

Thirty-One <- -> Thirty-Three

Let me know what you thought of the sweet little murderous boo and if you’d like to be tagged. 

@chivesoup @confidentrose @alexhmak @dontstopxx @iloveteenwolf24 @surpeme-bean @snek-shit @kalista-rankins @parislight @cleverassbutt @damndaphneoh @mgpizza2001 @ninja-stiles @sarcasticallystilinski @teenage-dirtbagbaby @mrs-mitch-rapp93 @alizaobrien @twsmuts @rrrennerrr @sorrynotsorrylovesome @lovelydob @iknowisoundcrazy @5secsxofamnesia @vogue-sweetie @dylrider @ivette29 @therealmrshale @twentyone-souls @sunshineystilinski @snicketyssnake @xsnak-3x @eccentricxem @inkedaztec @awkwarddly @lightbreaksthrough @maddie110201 @hattyohatt @rhyxn @amethystmerm4id @completebandgeek @red-wine-mendes @katieevans371 @girlwiththerubyslippers @susybird @theneverendingracetrack @sumcp @snipsnsnailsnwerewolftales @runs-with-sciss0rs @ssweet-empowerment @ellie-bee242 @hirafth @dailyburritos @mieczzyslaw @im-very-odd33 @anonimereader06 @itsamberh @sp00der-m00n @lolaversuslipstick @imagunative @stilinski-lover-24 @xmadwonderland @shannonwardski @nocturnalzeal @gluetwentyfourobrien @stopit-ihateyou @wittystiles @lovefilledtragedy @r0s3mm @loveforbrains @arikachang @all-alone-he-turns-to-stone @iasminthestirlingite @omgimafuckingmermaid @jolomez  @seabassobrien @afraidofyourownminddrreid @anastasiaaaaa

[chyteawrites]

Beat in Your Heart

Summary: With Sebastian being gone for TIFF, there’s an obvious hole in everyone’s hearts. 

A/N: Inspired by Lonestar’s “I’m Already There” which you can listen to here -----> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJEP5sWuDi8 . This story is incredibly emotional, so yeah. 

Giggles filled our home as we had a peaceful Sunday night in, watching our favorite Star Wars movie. The way Genevieve could quote all of Leia’s lines and Aiden could so easily resemble Luke made me giggle. But there was someone missing. My personal Luke lookalike. Sebastian was away for the TIFF. I missed him terribly, just like I knew the kids did. I knew he would get a kick out of Evie quoting lines.

“Just like you, you dork. So much like her momma.” I could hear his voice. He’d look up at me from his spot in my lap as I played with his hair, giving me that rotten as sin smile. I shook my head, trying to clear my mind and focus on our children. I watched as they played out battle scenes, smiling and giggling at them.

My phone started ringing and I leaned over, cursing whoever could have been calling right now. Shit. I huffed. ‘Papi Chulo-FaceTime’. Why are you doing this to me right now? I asked mentally, hoping to use that unspoken connection, even though we were miles apart.

“Hey. You guys stay in here. I need to take this.” I told them quietly as I stood up and answered once I got into the kitchen. I saw his face fill up my screen and my heart started flipping like it always did when I saw him.

“Oh, thank God. I was starting to think you weren’t gonna answer, Rin.” Sebastian told me, running a hand through his hair and giving me a tired smile.

“Of course, I was going to answer, darlin’.” I murmured and smiled sweetly. “How’s everything going?” I asked and his hand flew up.

“No work talk. I can’t do it tonight.” His hands fidgeted and I knew that wasn’t a good subject. “How are things there?” He asked wistfully. He wants to be here. I know that look all too well. I told myself.

“Things are good. It’s movie night since the kids don’t have school tomorrow. We’re watching Return of the Jedi for the millionth time.” I chuckled. I peeked my head around the kitchen corner and smiled at them before turning back to see Sebastian craning his neck to sneak a glimpse of our kids.

“You wanna see ‘em, baby?” I asked quietly, pressing my lips together afterward. I saw the tears forming in his eyes and he nodded, running a hand through his hair. I set the phone down and walked to the living room, walking back a few moments later with the kids behind me.

“What’s going on?” Aiden asked me sweetly.

“I got someone on the phone who wants to talk to you guys.” I answered and grabbed the phone. I held it at their level and turned it so they could see Sebastian. Evie’s eyes filled with tears while Aiden gasped and grabbed the phone, taking it to our table. Genevieve followed behind him and I leaned against the counter, holding back my own tears as I listened to our son recount the ‘adventures’ he’s had since Seb left.

“Well, that’s everything I’ve done. Have you had any adventures, Dad?” Aiden asked and even though I couldn’t see, I knew there were some loving looks being exchanged.

“Nah, not really. Just working. Making sure all these guys stay in line.” Seb chuckled. “Can I talk to your sister now, buddy?” He asked and Aiden handed the phone to Genevieve before walking back to me. He gave me a tight hug and I ruffled his hair before he ran upstairs to grab his blanket. I looked back to see and hear my daughter and husband sniffling.

“When are you coming home?” Evie hiccupped through broken cries, tears streaming down her fair features. I couldn’t see the phone, but what I knew of Sebastian, his heart was in pure agony to see his girl break down like this.

“As soon as I can, raza de soare. I promise. But I’m always there, even if you don’t realize it.” He whispered, taking a sharp breath.

“I miss you so much, tătic.” She heaved. As she tried to catch her breath, she wiped her tears on her sleeves.

“I miss you too, my sweet girl.” He crooned, his voice cracking. “Just remember this. No matter where I am, I’m seeing the same sun, moon, sky, and stars as you. Okay?” Seb asked quietly and doing his best to calm our weeping daughter.

“Okay. I love you, tătic. So much.” Evie whispered and blew him a kiss.

“I love you too, frumoasa. Much more than you’ll ever know.” My husband murmured and blew her a kiss back. She wiped her slowing tears away and brought my phone back. She gave me a gentle hug in passing, but I barely noticed. I was busy drowning in my own tears from watching them and I could barely look down at my phone.

“God, you’re a hot mess.” Sebastian chuckled from the screen, trying to lighten my mood. I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh as I wiped my cheeks and attempted to catch my breath. I looked down at him and he wiped his own tears away.

“Takes one to know one, punk.” I retorted and got him to flash me a smile.

“But I’m your punk.” He joked, still not fully recovered from the good crying session we just had all around.

“And only mine.” I whispered. “You know this was never easy, you being gone, when it was just me left behind. Now we’ve got our kiddos. The way Evie looks at you…” I started before my words caught in my throat at the way he looked at me.

“I know. God, do I know. I miss you all so damn much.” Sebastian sniffled. “I miss the way Aiden laughs at the smallest things. The way Genevieve smiles when I tell a set story for what should be the millionth time. And your hugs. I miss the comfort of your arms and the way your fingers brush the hair at the bottom of my neck when I drift to sleep on your chest.” He was rambling and he knew it, but he couldn’t stop. He broke down into heaving, hysterical sobs.

Curse you all. Damn you Marvel and all the other companies. I raged in my mind. I hated seeing him like this.

“Sebastian. Come home. You’re going to have a breakdown one of these days if you don’t recharge and see us for more than thirty minutes through a phone screen.” I was pleading. “I hate this. I can’t stand to see our kids cry because they miss you. It physically kills me to see you cry over this. Please, darling.” I whimpered, my head bowed in dismay.

“Ssshhh, iubită.” He shushed and hummed. “It’s going to be okay. I promise. And I’ll be home sooner than you can imagine. And like I told Evie, I’m there even if it doesn’t feel like it.” His voice was soft and low. So soothing. I looked at him, my body trembling and my lip quivering.

“Do me a favor, regina mea. Put your hand over your heart for me.” He told me with a sweet smile. I mirrored his movement, watching as he placed his right hand over his bare chest where his heart rested. “Feel that heartbeat? A piece of my heart is in there. Same beat. Same rhythm. Same time. Our own song. And I know a piece of your heart is in mine.” Sebastian grinned.

“You’ll always have a piece of my heart, Sebastian.” I whispered, fighting back my tears.

“And you’ll always have a piece of mine, Corinne. And whether they know it or not, Evie and Aiden have a piece of my heart too. Because that’s what a family and love is. Pieces of the others’ hearts to make ours whole.” He crooned and looked at me like in that moment I was the whole world. Like there wasn’t what felt like a million miles between us.

“You’re so wonderful, baby.” I signed one handed, my tears flowing again.

“I love you, Rin.” Seb whispered.

“I love you too.” I whimpered. “We’re going to be okay.” I whispered and looked at him through tear filled eyelashes.

“We’re going to be better than okay, doll.” Sebastian crooned, his eyes never leaving me as I wiped my tears. “You a little better now, printesă?” He asked kindly.

“I’m never one hundred percent when you’re gone, but I’m better.” I told him quietly and sat on the counter.

“I know. I’m not either. I won’t be until I hug those kids and then take you to bed.” He chuckled, his face changing from solemn to mischievous almost as quickly as the words left his lips.

“You are absolutely rotten.” I huffed and smiled before letting out a yawn.

“Rotten to the core, baby doll.” He giggled. “Getting sleepy, regina mea?” He asked and looked at me with heavy eyes of his own.

“Yeah. Between taking care of work and the minions and crying over you, it takes a lot out of this girl.” I told him with a weak smile.

“Better get some rest then. Let me tell the kids goodnight and then I’ll get off here. Got an early flight tomorrow.” Seb told me, his eyes widening slightly.

“Aiden! Genevieve! Come tell dad goodnight! He’s gotta get up early!” I shouted toward the living room. The sound of feet running toward me still made my heart do high dive flips. I handed them the phone and they both smiled at their dad.

“Goodnight, guys. Get some good sleep and you keep behaving for your momma, okay?” Sebastian gave them a sweet smile and a raised eyebrow.

“Of course, dad. We wouldn’t want to disappoint you.” Aiden chuckled and gave his dad a wide grin. Seb held up his fist and our son gave him a fist bump in return before handing the phone to his sister. Genevieve flashed Sebastian a heart stopping smile and his eyes lit up in excitement.

“I hope you have a good night, tătic. I love you so much.” She whispered, her smile still bright.

“I love you too, raza de soare. Get some rest.” He chuckled and blew her a kiss. She blew him one in return and waved goodbye before handing me the phone. She kissed my cheek before walking away, humming the Imperial March.

“And you, Mrs. Winters-Stan, definitely need to try to get some rest.” Sebastian chuckled, giving me a playful grin.

“As do you, Mr. Stan.” I giggled and winked. “I love you, my handsome papi chulo.” I told him with a mischievous smile.

“And I love you, my beautiful printesă.” He crooned, his lips forming as if he were going to kiss me. I copied him and giggled before waving goodbye.

“Night, handsome.” I cooed with a small smile.

“Night, gorgeous.” Sebastian whispered before waving goodbye and hanging up. I watched his face disappear from my screen and immediately wished he was here. Or we were there. I had to push the thoughts far from my mind as I walked upstairs to change into my pajamas. I crawled into our bed and grabbed his pillow, holding it close to me. I hummed myself to sleep, imagining that his strong arms were wrapped around me and he was singing softly.

[ghost-town-story]

There Has To Be a Reason Why

“I’m back,” Basil called as he let himself into the apartment. He hadn’t wanted to leave James alone, but they were out of anything Basil could prepare, and Basil was determined that they would not starve nor solely exist off of pizza until James got his feet back under him.

As Basil caught sight of the living room, he stopped short. It looked like nothing short of a tornado had torn through their living room, and at the center of the destruction was James himself.

Basil swallowed down his question of how did you manage this I was only gone for half an hour and instead carefully asked, “Whatcha doing?”

James looked up, and Basil’s heart twisted at the despair in his face. “There has to be a reason,” he whispered. “He—he wouldn’t have left without any sort of explanation. He has to have left one somewhere.”

Basil set the groceries down in the kitchen before carefully making his way over to James. “If he did,” he said quietly, kneeling next to James, “I don’t think he would have hidden it where you’d need to tear the apartment apart to find it.”

“I don’t know that!” James cried. “We didn’t think he’d leave and now look where we are!”

Basil pulled James close, and James clung to his coat, taking deep, shuddering breaths.

“I just need to know why,” he whispered despairingly into Basil’s shoulder.

“I know.”

They were distracted by a jingling sound, and broke apart to find Smokey batting Basil’s keys across the floor.

“Hey, come on Smokey, you know those aren’t toys,” Basil said, grabbing for his keys.

Aiden’s cat just meowed, her eyes wide and full of innocence and too much intelligence for a cat, and batted Basil’s keys further away from them.

“Come on Smokey.” James couldn’t help but laugh, holding out his hand to entice the cat closer. “I’ll give you some bacon, hmm?”

But Smokey had only ever barely listened to her master, so rather than give up her game, she grabbed Basil’s keys and streaked past them, heading for the ajar door leading to the second bedroom.

“Smokey!” Basil attempted to catch her as she passed, but missed, ending up on the floor. Smokey disappeared into the bedroom.

“Devil cat,” Basil grumbled, pushing himself back onto his hands and knees.

“At least we can corner her there and get your keys back.” James stood and helped Basil to his feet.

They found Smokey in the far corner of the bedroom, curled up like a loaf on top of a box Basil wasn’t sure he had ever seen before. Basil’s keys were on the floor in front of her, and Basil narrowed his eyes, looking between cat and keys. He decided his best bet would be to go for the cat, and swooped in and scooped up Smokey before she could react.

“Gotcha!”

“Hey Basil, do you know what’s in here?” James asked, scooping Basil’s keys off the floor before inspecting the box closer.

“Nope. Don’t think I’ve seen it around before.” Basil had his hands full of trying to contain a squirming kitty, a battle he was quickly losing. “No, don’t—Smokey!”

Smokey twisted in his arms, falling onto the bed. Without stopping she bounded across the bed, down to the floor, and out of the room again. Basil sighed, watching her go, but his attention was drawn back by James dropping the box onto the bed and opening it.

Basil snorted, reaching into the box. “Cassette tapes?” he asked, turning what was practically a relic over in his hands. The tape he held was numbered, 5 on one side and 6 on the other. “Yours or Aid’s?” He put the tape back.

“Has to be Aiden’s.” James was frowning. “I didn’t put these here.”

“I doubt you have a cassette player,” Basil said dryly.

James dug in the box and pulled one out.

“That answers that,” Basil said.

With a little more rifling, James found the tape labelled 1 and put it in the player.

“Don’t you think it needs batteries?” Basil asked as James hit play, but he was answered as the tape started to play.

“Once upon a time,” a very familiar voice said, “there was an arch in the backyard.”

Basil glanced at James, whose face had gone blank at the opening words.

“Most people didn’t know that this arch was a doorway to another world,” Aiden continued. “If you jumped through as is, nothing would happen. It needs two things to work. It needs blood, say from a scraped knee, or hitting your head as you fall. And it needs a desire to escape to a new world.”

Aiden took a deep breath. “This is the story of what happened Christmas when I was fifteen. This is what happened when I disappeared. This is the story of Astral.”

Basil reached over and hit pause, and James turned to him, eyes wide and a protest already forming. Basil held off his words. “Go get changed.”

James’s expression changed to confusion.

“Something cozy,” Basil said, indicating the box full of tapes. “And I’ll make us some cocoa and bring this all upstairs then we’ll continue listening. Okay?”

James nodded, gathering the box and the cassette player up. “I’ll bring these upstairs,” he said. “And promise I won’t listen without you.”

“Good.” Basil kissed his forehead as he passed.

The other, unspoken reason why Basil wanted James in a slightly better frame of mind when they listened was because Basil knew about Astral, knew what it had done to Aiden. And he could put together some of the dots, and he had a guess as to where this story was going.

Aiden splashed through the portal, into what looked like a dark storeroom. He cursed his poor luck, which increased as he heard footsteps approaching. With no time to find an adequate hiding spot, Aiden pocketed his pendant and drew his knife as the door slammed open, and he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

“How the hell did you get in here?” the man barked.

“Magic portal!” Holy shit Aiden was terrified.

The man snapped his fingers, and Aiden was momentarily bathed in silver light. “Again,” the man growled.

“There was a magic portal and I jumped in because I’m trying to find my way home and it dropped me here,” Aiden rambled off, not entirely sure what the man had done with his magic (and Aiden was sure it was magic).

The man sighed, lowering his gun. “Well shit,” he grumbled.

Aiden blinked, cautiously sheathing his knife. “That’s it? You trust I was telling the truth?”

“I know you were.” The man grinned wryly. “Learned that one back in the day. Lights you up like a fireworks show if you’re lying.”

Oh. Well that explained that.

“Sorry for threatening you,” the man apologized. “My nerves never really recovered after my twenties.”

“I mean, probably better to be safe than sorry with an intruder,” Aiden admitted.

“Yeah.” The man holstered his gun. “I’m Jay,” he continued, holding out his hand.

“Aiden,” Aiden replied, shaking the offered hand.

“So where you heading?” Jay asked. “Least I can do is try to point you in the right direction.

“As I said, I’m trying to find my way home,” Aiden said. “A place I knew as Astral.”

Jay sighed and shook his head. “I can tell you you’re not in Astral, but nothing more than that. I’m afraid I don’t know a lot about all the different worlds,” he admitted. “My boyfriend went world hopping back when he was in his twenties, but he still hasn’t made it back, and my wife studied them for a while, but then she died in an accident, and I’ve avoided the shit as much as I can ever since.”

“I’m sorry,” Aiden said quietly. “I won’t impose.”

There was a pause, then Jay sighed again. “Nah, I still feel like shit for holding you at gunpoint. I’ve got a spare bed at my place. You can stay the night and then head out in the morning to find your next portal. I can even give you a ride around the city if you’d like.”

“Are you sure?” Aiden asked.

“Yeah. Wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t.”

A thought occurred to Aiden. “Actually, I have a favor to ask, if you’re willing,” he said. “I left somebody behind, when I tried to find my way home, and they might be following me. Do you think you could point them in my direction if they do?”

“As long as they keep their cool and don’t try and out-bluff me in their willingness to shoot before talking,” Jay said with a wry grin.

“Oh thank you,” Aiden breathed.

“Come on,” Jay said, holding out a hand. “I don’t know about you but I’m starving about now. Let’s go find dinner, and you can give me a little heads up about whoever you think might follow you.”

Aiden took the offered hand gratefully.

It was a ritual by now. There were so many tapes, and some of the stories Aiden told were too upsetting, so Basil and James would get cozy after dinner to listen to one or two of the tapes.

Basil handed James his cocoa, then put the last tape in the player and hit play before joining him in bed. One more tape. Two more sides to finish explaining Astral to James, to maybe explain why he left.

“I met somebody the other night.” Aiden’s voice over the recording was quiet, thoughtful. “Not like that, I mean,” he quickly amended.

Basil snorted. He had a good feeling he knew who Aiden was talking about, and could easily date when this tape had been recorded from that.

“Just, somebody interesting. Somebody from another world, who got trapped here. Like I am.” Aiden let out a small laugh. “It’s—well, I promised I wouldn’t air his dirty laundry, but for the full story’s sake, alright? I can just keep this one private. For the full story’s sake. It’s your coworker, James. Basil Hendrickson.”

James choked on his cocoa. “What?” he spluttered, staring at Basil with wide eyes.

Basil nodded at the tape recorder as Aiden continued. “At that Christmas party y’all had. I’m sure you noticed us chatting, and well…”

“If he doesn’t do a good job explaining I’ll fill in the gaps,” Basil hissed as Aiden’s recording hesitated.

James blinked and nodded.

“That’s what we were talking about,” Aiden continued. “He’s from a magic world as well. One of those you can use it in. Let’s see… Quote, “Magical power runs in the family, and is fucking explosive,” end quote. Sounds like one hell of an adventure, huh.”

Aiden paused. “He could tell.” His voice was quieter. “He recognized Starfire’s scales as being dragon scales, and apparently something about me just screamed “I don’t belong in this world”. And… he’s not wrong.” 

Aiden sighed. “Ever since I’ve returned from Astral, I’ve wanted to go back,” he murmured. “Seeing Basil… seeing somebody who came here from some other place just reminds me of how much it hurts to stay here. But… I can’t break your heart like that James. Not again. If I were to leave…” Aiden took a breath. “If I were to leave, it would be because I can’t stand living without my magic any longer,” he admitted. “That’s the only reason why. I love you James. I always have, and I always will. Just remember that love.”

Aiden paused. “Well,” he continued, his voice brighter. “At the very least, it’s a nice change having him around. Now there’s somebody I can talk freely about Astral with. That is, somebody who doesn’t hate my guts,” Aiden added with a laugh.

Basil saw James wince. The tape where they found out James’s brother had been one of Aiden’s enemies had been rough on James.

“And maybe he knows some way to help me,” Aiden continued, his voice quiet.

Silence fell, and it took the two men a few minutes to realize that was the end of the tape. Short and sweet, unlike some of the others.

James turned to Basil. “Yeah, I’m from a different world,” Basil explained. “Called Nova. I left when I was 23, would rather not go into the reasons why, wandered around a bit, wandered here and couldn’t find out a way to leave, decided to stick around, put down roots if I couldn’t fucking leave, rest is history.”

“And you could tell Aiden had been to Astral.”

“I could tell he wasn’t fucking happy here,” Basil snorted. “Not until I saw him with you. And I recognized his necklace and bracelet as dragon-scale, and those are supposedly real bad luck to take from a dragon without their permission and so dragon-scale jewelry is really rare and usually cursed. And I guess I was curious if he knew the significance, and if so, how he was avoiding the probable curse.”

James hesitated, then met Basil’s eye with determination. “One day I want you to tell me all about Nova.”

“Not all about it,” Basil immediately said. “It’s a lot of dark shit, my past,” he continued as James bristled.

“Not like we didn’t hear about how Aiden ended up spearheading a revolution while also getting stabbed by my twin,” James shot back.

“Touché,” Basil muttered. “I’ll tell you what I can. Eventually.”

James responded with a kiss to Basil’s cheek.

Basil hesitated. “In the mood to finish up tonight?”

“Yes,” James immediately responded.

Basil chuckled at his quick response, reaching out and flipping the tape.

“I’m sorry.”

Oh this couldn’t be good. Aiden sounded near tears.

“I can’t—I can’t do this anymore.”

James had stilled next to Basil, and Basil pulled him close.

“I’m sorry—I—I—dammit, pull yourself together,” Aiden scolded himself. “I need to start from the beginning.”

A pause.

“I told you, how Ashe took my magic,” Aiden finally murmured. “And—and it’s so fucking shitty. We have magic here, we just can’t use it, and when it fluctuates it hurts because mine is gone. I’ve tried James. I’ve tried so damn hard to stay. I can’t break your heart. Not again. But I can’t do this anymore.” He hesitated. “I’ve known for years about a portal. A regular portal. I’ve stayed because I can’t break your heart. But…” He sighed. “By the winter solstice I’ll have decided. Whether or not I can bear it, to stay here without my magic.”

James buried his face in Basil’s side.

“I’ve stayed because I love you James,” Aiden said. “With all my damn heart, I fucking love you. And if I leave, it’s because I can’t live without my magic. And if I leave, I won’t come back. You’ve known all along, I’ve never loved this world.” He laughed humorlessly. “And if I have to leave to get my magic back, I’m never fucking coming back. But I love you James. I love you so much.”

A long pause. Basil almost thought that was where the tape ended, but as he was reaching out for the cassette player, Aiden spoke again.

“But just because I’m never coming back doesn’t mean we can’t see each other again,” he said quietly. “I’m leaving it up to you. It’s your decision, but, you could follow me. I’ve already decided, if I leave I’m gonna leave you a trail, so you can follow me. The portal I’m taking, it opens at the solstices and equinoxes. When the moon is at its highest for the winter, sunrise for spring, noon for summer, and sunset for fall. If you want to follow me, that’s the first bit you’ll need. And then I’ll leave a trail.” Aiden had apparently decided over the course of this tape. “I love you James,” he repeated. “We will see each other again, I promise. I know it.” The tape clicked.

James shook against Basil’s side, and Basil set aside their cocoa before turning to comfort him.

As they passed a ruined building, Aiden felt Starfire’s scales burn hot for a moment before fading. He wasn’t entirely sure why, but her scales always grew warm when he was near a portal. Aiden wasn’t complaining at the convenience though.

“Hey, stop here,” he called to Jay over the rushing wind.

Jay must have heard, as he complied. “You sure it’s here?” he asked, taking off his helmet.

“Yeah, pretty sure.” Aiden hopped off the motorcycle and gave his helmet to Jay.

Jay shrunk both with a push of a button and pocketed them. “Well,” he said. His face was surprisingly blank. Over the short time Aiden had known him, Jay had always been incredibly expressive, but now he was like a statue. “Lead on, portal finder.”

Aiden backtracked to the ruins, attempting to narrow in on the portal using Starfire’s scales as a guide.

After a few long moments, Aiden heard Jay curse softly, and turned to look at the older man. “What’s wrong?”

Jay hissed through his teeth. “I told you my wife studied portals,” he said. “So of course, it’s only fucking fair there’s one on the very site where she died.”

Aiden felt like he had been punched in the gut. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I—I didn’t know.”

“Of course you didn’t. I didn’t know until you led me here saying there’s a portal.” Jay paused, then kicked a still-standing piece of machinery. “Motherfucker!”

The machine sputtered, then lit up.

“Oh you’re fucking kidding me,” Jay whispered.

“I’m sorry,” Aiden repeated. “You don’t—If you don’t want to, you don’t have to lead James here.”

“No, I promised.” Jay was looking at the portal. “And I keep my promises. I’ll take your James here. Just promise me when you get him back, you’ll do everything you can to keep him safe. And keep yourself safe for him.”

“I will,” Aiden promised.

Jay sighed, looking at the portal for a moment longer, then turned away. He faced Aiden and pulled something from an inside pocket of his leather jacket. A handgun.

Aiden glanced between Jay and the gun, a frown forming.

“Look, you don’t have to use it,” Jay sighed. “I don’t even know if you know how, and if you don’t it’s better to just not. But keep it on you, visible preferably, and if you meet somebody who recognizes it, tell him…” Jay hesitated. “Tell him to come home,” he said quietly. “You can give the gun to him or not, I don’t fucking care if I get it back, but tell him to come home.”

“Okay.” Aiden accepted the gun and carefully clipped it to his belt. “Thank you for everything Jay.”

“It’s nothing,” Jay waved off the thanks. “Just do the couple things I asked and we’re even, okay?”

“Deal.”

Jay nodded. “Safe travels,” he said, then turned and left the ruins, heading for his bike.

Aiden turned to the portal and pulled out his star pendant, pressing it against his palm like he always did. Then, without further hesitation, he jumped through the portal, into a swirling mass of colors.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

prev / next

[drades-lair]

The Crimson shadow PT2

Author: Drade666

Rating: G

Pairings: Aiden x OC

Fandom: Being human US

Other:

Part 1

Drade wandered through the isles of a small liquor store located on a corner in Boston occasionally picking up bottles of alcohol however her attention appeared to wander from time to time heading straight back to the front door. After a few minutes of making rounds suddenly the chime above the door went off drawing her attention immediately to the door revealing a tall man with red hair walking inside. Drade smirked then turned her back on him, pretending to look at the shelf of whines however really she was gradually pulling a blade made of wood from the inner pocket of her black London style trench coat. Once the man was close enough Drade made her final move turning quickly while swinging the blade at him however the man managed to duck the first swipe so Drade recovered then attacked a second time only to miss again but this time the man managed to attack her, shoving the red head backwards with a strong push that nearly sent her hurdling into a display of liquor. Drade’s boots skidded across the tile floor as she came to a halt before quickly lunging again while the man’s eyes turned coal black and he hissed at her revealing a set of fangs that merely made Drade smirk as she pushed off the ground into the air with the blade pointed directly towards the mans heart where it was plunged in as Drade landed on top of him. Drade panted as the man turned to ash below her causing the woman to cuss under her breath for not being able to get any info from him but that wasn’t all the issues she had at the moment as sirens suddenly could be heard outside with the clear, familiar sight of flashing cop car lights. Drade got to her feet, grabbing her blade then hurrying out the front door only to be met by at least half a dozen cops all pointing their guns at her with angry scowls on their faces.

 “PUT THE WEAPON DOWN!” one officer shouted

 “ALRIGHT!” Drade shouted back as she raised her hands defensively then slowly placed the knife on the ground. Once the blade was on the ground a couple cops rushed Drade, grabbing her hands and pinning them behind her back before cuffing them while others grabbed the blade with confused looks that made Drade huff a laugh. Drade watched a couple cops poke their heads up as another patrol car pulled up and a figure stepped out to begin wading through the hoard of police.

 “Hey LT! Look at this whack job we caught, carrying a wooden blade,” The officer holding Drade’s blade called out. Suddenly through the crowd of cops came a familiar face to Drade that elicits a shocked look from her.

 “Oh hell no! No way!” Drade exclaimed as the blonde approached

 “Well, well, well, look who we have here,” Bishop cooed

 “Bishop,” Drade snarled

 “I’ll take it from here,” Bishop assured the officer holding Drade currently then took her by the arm to lead her towards his patrol car.

 “Oh I bet your enjoying this,” Drade sarcastically yet angrily stated

 “A little, but more or less I’m trying to clean this up,” Bishop explained as he opened the patrol car’s back door then slid Drade inside. Drade glared at Bishop as he got in the driver seat then turned around to look at her over his shoulder.

 “So…what now?” Drade asked with a smirk

 “It’s been a while but you appear to have gotten sloppy,” Bishop commented

 “Have I? Good to see you by the way Bishop,” Drade cooed with a smile only a predator would wear. Suddenly Bishop’s brow furrowed then changed to one of realization only to finally shift to one of anger.

 “You did this on purpose,” Bishop concluded but Drade simply smirked

 “You wanted me to be drawn out,” Bishop continued

 “It was either go through various vampires trying to get information on you or simply go to the source. I’d heard you were in the police force here so I figured a little disturbance should either get you out here or I’d end up at the station where you were,” Drade explained now looking highly pleased with herself.

 “You bitch, then why not just end it here?” Bishop demanded in a snarling tone

 “Well, I would…however I’m pretty sure the officers outside would take high offense to me decapitating their Lieutenant and I’m pretty sure they’d ask me to leave afterwards,” Drade chided

 “I’ll see you locked up,” Bishop assured Drade angrily

 “Good luck with that, I can guarantee I’ll be out by midnight,” Drade cockily stated causing Bishop to get clearly more agitated.

 “Then I’m going to hunt you down…nice and slow,” Drade promised with a determined icy glare as she sat forwards to emphasize her point.

 Bishop irritably turned around to start his car then started taking Drade to the station where sure enough as she’d promised the red head was released before midnight. Drade knew Bishop was not pleased at being so easily manipulated into revealing himself to her but like she cared after all he was the real reason she was in Boston.

 ~*~

 Aiden walked down the sidewalk towards the hospital for his shift, thinking all the way of how to track down Drade to speak with her, properly this time. As Aiden walked though suddenly the sound of a car horn sounded behind him causing the young vamp to look over his shoulder only to groan with an eye roll upon seeing that it was a patrol car with Bishop behind the wheel. The car pulled up beside him then parked along the sidewalk while Bishop instantly exited the vehicle and hurried up to Aiden, grabbing him by the arm then hauling him into the closest alley way. Aiden protested the action then angrily glared at Bishop after being shoved into the ally while Bishop stared right back just as angrily.

 “What the hell Bishop?” Aiden barked

 “Your little red headed slut is back!” Bishop snarled as he emphasized the word slut

 “Hey! Look I’m not obligated to inform you of anything anymore! I’m not apart of your ‘family’ anymore!” Aiden pointed out taking offense to Bishop calling Drade a slut.

 “You knew she was back? You do realize she just threatened to hunt me down don’t you? She’s after me, been after me since I turned you and you didn’t think I could use to know that?” Bishop barked back

 “NO! It’s not my job anymore! And I damn well hope she does,” Aiden snarled

 “You better watch your back Aiden cause after me she may just come after you,” Bishop warned, pointing an accusing finger at Aiden before heading back to his patrol car.

 ~*~

 Later on…

 The dim light from the streetlights shown around a rather crappy motel that looked as though it probably paid by the hour. Drade slipped from the driver side of a crimson colored hearse with a rather unimpressed look on her face, as she looked the motel over before heading to one of the rooms where she rapped on the paint-peeling door with her knuckles. After a couple minutes the door opened revealing Aiden on the other side resulting in a smirk crossing her features before he invited her inside to which she entered slowly strutting inside as Aiden shut the door behind her.

 “You know I’m slightly offended by the hooker inn here,” Drade stated sarcastically as she turned to face Aiden.

 “Are you insane?” Aiden instantly barked

 “It has been mentioned,” Drade simply answered

 “Taking Bishop head on! Seriously!” Aiden barked again

 “Torturing potentially hundreds of vamps in search of him was honestly tedious and…well, boring…so I went right to the source,” Drade stated as she shrugged off Aiden’s obvious concern.

 “Oh I know, he cornered me yesterday and told me!” Aiden informed Drade thinking it would make a difference although it clearly didn’t

 “Hmm, I missed you too by the way,” Drade calmly stated as her features softened for a moment.

 “So much so you couldn’t stop the other night to even say hello?” Aiden pointed out knowing Drade was just trying to change the subject.

 “I was busy…and it has been awhile…plus I wasn’t certain I was ready to forgive you,” Drade admitted earning a shocked/ surprised look from Aiden.

 “Forgive me? For what?” Aiden asked gesturing to himself

 “For what? For leaving me! What else? Look as much as it was Bishop’s fault for turning you, YOU had a choice! You chose Bishop over me!” Drade reminded him

 “I was confused…I didn’t know what to do or what I was…Bishop manipulated me into thinking he was the only one who could help me,” Aiden tried to explain

 “Still…you turned your back on me, you do realize that right? So excuse me for being a little bitter,” Drade informed Aiden making him clearly feel bad

 “I am sorry for that…” Aiden stated, as he got a little closer to Drade

 “I loved you…more then anything…I opened my heart to you then you just left me…how am I supposed to take that?” Drade asked with clear hurt in her voice

 “I know…and your right, I did just leave you…I made a mistake…but I wasn’t lying to you, I loved you…I still love you,” Aiden admitted as he brought a hand up to Drade’s cheek a little hesitantly but when she allowed the touch he stroked her cheek with his thumb.

 “Me too,” Drade whispered with a slight smile as the two got closer

 “You chased me all the way here…for revenge on Bishop?” Aiden inquired with a huffed laugh.

 “Yep, Bishop took something from me and I wanted it back.” Drade smirked as their faces got closer, hot breath mingling as their noses lightly touched.

 “Humph, you always were territorial,” Aiden, laughed

 “Hmm, I don’t share well,” Drade, admitted as she closed the gap between them

 Drade pressed her lips to Aiden’s in a passionate kiss that he gladly returned, bringing his other hand up to cup Drade’s opposite cheek. Slowly Aiden slid his hands up Drade’s cheeks to her temples, tangling his fingers in her crimson hair as they continued to kiss, Drade’s own hands now coming up to Aiden’s forearms, rubbing lightly along them until they finally broke apart.

 “Oh yeah…I missed that,” Drade breathed out causing Aiden to let out a breathy laugh

 “Me too,” Aiden agreed

 “It’s been far too long Aiden…far, far too long,” Drade stated as their foreheads tapped together.

 “I know…I wish I’d looked for you sooner the way you’d looked for me,” Aiden admitted

 “I think we should put the past in the past…and perhaps…make up for lost time,” Drade suggested as she lightly took her bottom lip between her teeth, looking up at Aiden through her lashes. Aiden smiled down at her then moved his hands from her temples to Drade’s hips while she slid her hands up to Aiden’s shoulders before moving in for another passionate kiss acting as a seal of agreement for the request. Aiden wasn’t about to waste this night nor was he about to waste having his lover back…the crimson shadow was here to stay.

[weonlyfear]

He had been quite young when he first committed a felony. A minor felony but a felony all the same. “You’ve been living a life of crime.” She had said, when he told her about it. She had found it funny, she had found everything funny. Maybe that’s why their first date had been a success. They had hit it off quite instantly. She was nice, funny and incredibly pretty, what else had he been looking for anyway? Falling in love with her had been easy too. It had been like a hurricane; she was a hurricane. Absorbing everything in her path. She had been lovely and he had been in love. Day by day he had started falling deeper and deeper for her, and day by day anything outside of her seemed to fade away. His family, his friends, his job… He had been restless without her, always looking for something to keep going for. He had counted the minutes until he got home, every day. When she had decided to go to school in Europe he’d decided to go with her, because what was he without her? An empty shell of a human being? He was so eager to be with her, to make her happy, but she had said, “I have to be by myself for a little while,” and his heart had never been broken this horribly before. But then she had smiled, and he could never be angry at her. “You understand right? I’ll be back, and you can come visit me.” She was so beautiful, and so pitiful. He had nodded, because what else could he have done? He said goodbye to her on a rainy day. That’s when everything started. A few months later with a few calls from her and nothing else, he was in horrible shape. Living a meaningless, careless life without her. Extremely careless. He had cut everyone off and had been arrested a few times for driving and acting out when he was drunk. While he was struggling, she was living a good life, occasionally missing him. A year later, few months before she could come home, she was visited by a familiar face. No it wasn’t him, but he had visited her once. It was his sister. She had bumped into her in her café. She was sure it was not coincidental. They had hugged and exchanged greetings before she had made her sit down for a serious talk. Lilly, his sister, was usually a cheerful person. Usually. “Look, I’m going to be impossibly blunt with you here El. He misses you. He loves you. You should get in touch more often.” “Is this what you came here for? You could have just called me.” “Why have you been distant? Is it something he did, you know I’ll kill him if he hurt you.” “No, nothing of that sort. I just had to be by myself for a little while, that’s all.” Lilly was not easily fooled and Ella was her oldest friend. She could never fool her. “You’re with someone, aren’t you?” “Nothing serious, really. Besides we broke up Lil” “Does he know that? Because he’s been moping after you since day one.” “Is he alright?” “No. He’s been in and out of the police station. He’s reckless, and incredibly invulnerable without you around. He’s not scared of losing anything besides you. He’s losing his mind.” “I can’t believe this. But he sounds so ‘okay’ on the phone.” “You don’t understand do you? He would burn the whole world down until he could dig you out of the ashes. That’s how much he loves you and that’s how much he’s dying inside without you. You have to get in touch El.” “I will and I’ll be back in two months. I’ll make everything better, I promise.” They said their goodbyes and El made her way over to her little studio apartment. She made her call later that night, but it fell straight to voicemail. “Hey Aiden, it’s El. I’ve been meaning to call you but things have been so busy with school lately that I haven’t had any time for anything. I miss you. All of you. But I miss you the most. I know we haven’t been talking a lot but I just wanted to say, I love you. Even when we’re far away, even when we’re fighting, even when we’re not in love. I love you and I always will. Never forget that okay? See you in a couple of weeks.” She ended the call with a kiss and put her phone on the table. With the small iron pot that stood on the oven she broke the phone in half and swept the remains into the trash can. She bought a ticket to Australia and left the following day. Without no way for them to find her, she was out of reach once again. He had waited though, for a long time. Lilly had tried to find her again but nobody was home in her apartment. So they gave up. He had burnt the whole world down but he hadn’t been able to dig her out of the ashes.

[elejah-wonderland]

Sweet Love/5

Fanfiction 

Part 5

Elijah Mikaelson x reader

This is a very AU TVD/TO story

Premise: Elijah Mikaelson is an ex-race car driver, who is jobless, due to an accident and he is in dire need of a job. Y/N is a CEO of a multinational confectionary company. Due to some threats, she needs to hire a driver/bodyguard. Will loves spark?

Also featuring Klaus Mikaelson as a mechanic, and Kol Mikaelson as a writer. Caroline Forbes as Y/N best friend.

a/n: thank you so much for reading and all your likes, and reblogging this story. This part is pretty long, I just got carried away. Anyway, Happy New Year. xoxo

tags @rissyrapp20 @dendrite-lover @elejahforever @fafulous @goddessofthunder112

_______________

Elijah rushed in the hospital like his life depended on it. There he was met by Aiden, who gave him the download -

"She is still in the OR."- Aiden said-"she sustained multiple injuries- so they said."

Elijah nodded, trying to keep it together, as seeing her mother there and Jeremy, and somehow out of respect to Y/N, he kept all of his emotions inside.

Caroline, who had just arrived a little after him, now got to Aiden, all teared up.

"Tell me it is not that bad!?"- Caroline said totally distressed.

"We don't know yet."- Aiden replied.

"What really happened? They said it was a crazy joyrider- I don't know that caused the crash on the highway"

"That's what the news say." - Aiden said.

Caroline, that had met Elijah a couple of times in passing, but never really in any kind of social moment, now glanced at the driver. She could see how terribly worried he was about her best friend.

"She will appreciate you being here."- Caroline now slipped to Elijah.

Elijah nodded a little at the blonde, gulping. Even though, Caroline was her best friend, Y/N didn’t share about the day her and Elijah spent together away on the beach. Or maybe she did? Elijah now wondered. Did she say something to Caroline? His heart, his soul was now burning, wanting to know more. No. What could she have said? We had an afternoon off. We were having something to eat and just walked on the beach, talking about stuff from the childhood. Truth is that, there was something. That one moment, there was this something. They almost kissed. Does she feel something, anything?  The way Caroline gave him the look, left him with zillion questions now swarming in his head. Inside he screamed wanting to know more. But how can he ask her? It was absolutely inappropriate. Crazy thinking Elijah, calm down. This was nor the time or the place. He said to himself and now went to sit down in the waiting area.

And so they all waited nervously, all Y/N's closest family members, her staff, her friends, all waited impatiently to hear how the OP went.

An hour or so, later, the surgeon came out to tell them. To Elijah's surprise it was a person he knew quite well. Well, his girlfriend from first year of medical school, Alex Reid.

"The OP went well.  Ms Y/S had sustained a head injury,  but all her vitals are good. Still, we have put her in the induce coma."- Alex explained-”but you don’t have to worry. This is just a precaution.”

Isobel was beside herself upon hearing this news. Rose, who now occupied the role of the butler of the house like Alaric once did, tried hard to calm the woman down, as Isobel now questioned Alex's expertise, demanding to see the Chief-of-staff.

Having heard the news now, Elijah felt a great relief, like someone took a great heavy stone that set on it as he heard the news of the accident.

Rose, who now managed to calm Isobel somewhat, turned to Elijah asking him to drive them home, as Y/N could not receive any visitors, being in the closed up ICU. Without a word, it being his job anyway, he took Isobel and Jeremy back to the Gilbert Mansion. 

When he returned that night to the loft, taking a beer out of the fridge, one picture after another of Y/N from their first meeting till that afternoon when he left her at the house, just kept rolling over and over again. And again back to that look of hers when they were at the beach.  Does she feel something for him? He wondered, as all the time afterward, though they kept their distance, and didn’t cross the line, he could see the twinkles in her eye whenever she spoke to him, no matter how brief it was, that she was not impartial. Or maybe he was just imagining it. He sighed taking another swag of beer looking out into the night.      

Davina, who got from her room,  broke his thoughts now asking about Y/N.

Elijah now turned to his sister and replied-

"Seems like it is going to be all right, though they had to put her into the induced coma."

"Ah, really? OMG!"

"Yes."- Elijah said taking another swag of beer. His look was extremely worried and Davina knew it very well. She had seen it often when their father was not well.

"You- ok- is there like - something going on?"

"What? Why are you asking me this?"

"Because - nothing."- Davina turned around to leave taking her jacket from a chair. She then looked at her brother once again and then said-

"It's like- you are so worried like- you are in love with her or something?!"

Elijah now looked at his sister feeling like she had opened a box she shouldn't have.

"I -"- he knew that he could not hide it as his sister knew him all too well-"You- can you keep it to yourself."

"Wow!"- Davina now exclaimed.

"Please- can -we - Y/N is engaged and I don't want things to - don't say anything to anyone"

"OMG! Are you two-"

"No, we are not. I -  you see how everything gets quick out on social media, so - "

"Yes, I get it. But still- wow- you- is this like the first time that you are - like in love with  someone and - I can't believe it. "

"Davina!"- Elijah now said as a warning that she should stop there before she got into a full teasing mode.

"Ok. I am sorry. How did that happen?!"

Elijah now looked at brunette and his eyes said - what do you mean how- how does someone fall in love and can't do anything about it.

Davina now also answered with a look saying- I totally get you.

She then went, leaving Elijah with his tormented heart. But one thing was more important than anything and it was the one wish everyone close to Y/N had - her getting well again.

💘

 But, she was not getting better, and when Alex and her team tried to get Y/N out of the induced coma, she was not waking up.

Elijah was out of his mind, and since he was granted some kind of leave, he had time to go to the hospital every day. Especially in the evenings, when her family and friends would leave for the day.

And so one evening

Elijah walked in the room, sitting down on Y/N bed taking her hand.

“Come on,  please wake up. Stop being so stubborn. Everyone is missing you. I miss you”

Elijah now leaned down to Y/N, who lay there as a sleeping beauty, and kissed her.

Aiden, who had just got to the door, saw now Elijah placing a kiss on Y/N, and inside he smiled -yes, you go Elijah! the faithful assistant cheered. Come on, prince charming wake her up! He turned around and went to the waiting room, giving them privacy, and sort of keep watch.

And though there was no reaction, Elijah now whispered -

“I love you- from the first moment I saw you. Please, wake up, Please”

But this was no fairy tale and Elijah now got up and walked out of Y/N room. 

Aid, who was sitting outside now got up and asked about Y/N.

“No change”- Elijah said-”this is so - damn!”

“I know. I can’t believe all this has happened. Did you know that he”- Aiden now referred to Lucien-”has only visited her a couple of times. Some fiancé he is. Fucking Aurora De Martel most probably.”

“Aiden, what are you talking about?”- Elijah now looked at Y/N assistant wide-eyed.

“Nothing. I - just - forget what I said. I am just so angry at the -asshole.. How are you doing? Apart from obvious”- Aiden tried to shove the comment about Aurora and Lucien under the carpet.

“Aiden. Tell me- what you just said - is it true?”- Elijah couldn’t help for wanting to know if there was something between Y/N’s fiancé and her arch enemies.

“Oh, please- forget what I said.”

“Aiden! If you know something you got to tell me.”

“I have no proof. He is like an eel, slimy and always gets away with everything. But, she was here when he had an accident. I so her walk out of his room. But, her cousin works here too. She was Lucien’s attending.”- Aiden explained.

“Right.”- Elijah said with a sigh-”ok. I got to go. See you,”

“Yes, see you”

Elijah nodded  a little and  now went down the corridor.

Aiden now looked up to heaven and made a wish for things to get a turn for the better, hoping in his heart that his suspicions he had about Lucien and Aurora’s long term affair came true.

_______

The next day

Caroline walked in the 'Mystique' bar in Whitmore, the new favourite hang out of Klaus and his friends. She came straight from the hospital after visiting Y/N, whose condition was still the same. It wore heavy on the blonde. Y/N and her were friends since pre-school. And even though they were very much the opposite, they always cared for one another deeply, and always were there no matter what. Losing Y/N would mean like someone took a sister away, as Caroline was an only child and didn't really have real friends.

"Triple vodka/ Straight"- Caroline said to the bartender.

"Coming right up."- Kaleb said.

As she served her the drink, Klaus and Kol got there, too.

"I see there is no change in Y/N's condition."- Klaus said seeing the large vodka in front of Caroline.

"No. And no one can figure out why."

"I am really sorry to hear that. Elijah is kind of out of his mind as well."- Kol now said.

Klaus now gave him a look saying - why did you just say that?

"Yes, Elijah is so sweet. Here is like visiting her every day."- and as she took a sip of vodka, she now looked at the brothers-"Do you know something I don't?"

"What should we know?"- Klaus said innocently.

"It is a bit - mad- that a driver would be there- like- all the time. Something is going on- and Y/N never told me anything. I can't believe this!"

She could see on both Klaus and Kol's face that they were hiding something, and she now wanted to know what was going on.

"Ok. But- you got to- Elijah will kill us if he knows that we spilled."

"They are having a thing? Wow, I never thought that Y/N had it in her. They kind of had this- look thing- but I thought that I was imagining it."

"They are not - sleeping together. It's - Elijah is in love her. That's all."- Klaus now said.

"What?"

"Yes. It's a one way thing."- Kol said.

"Whoa"- Caroline exclaimed a little.

💘 At Elijah’s loft

Elijah walked in it tossing his keys on the table. Having returned from a run, he immediately went to the bathroom and hit the shower.

His phone rang and he quickly got out of the shower and answered it -

"Yes, Aiden!"

"She is awake! Y/N is awake!"- Aiden nearly screamed into the phone.

"She is? Finally! And - how is she? What are they saying?"

"She is fine. It's like she had to - sleep it off."- Aiden replied.

"Are you sure? She has been out of it the whole week."- Elijah said.

"Yes. All tests have shown that everything is physically and mentally fine. You did your magic."

"What? What are you saying?"

"I saw you - kiss her"- Aiden now said in a half voice-" but don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

Elijah now went quiet, feeling like someone punched him in the face. He gulped a little uttering.

"I - just -"- if he denied it would futile and absolutely against his heart, and he now knew Aiden quite well and his absolute devotion to Y/N, and he would never jeopardize her in any way.

"It's all good. Don't worry. Seriously. I am all for you - two."- Aiden now said.

"There is no the two - of us"- Elijah made it clear -"I just kissed her - because - of everything and-"

"Elijah, look- I will speak frankly- I have not told you this, but  I will now- man- you two - are in such world of denial that it hurts - the pent up - at least you now say it like it is, but I know that deep down somewhere in the heart of hearts Y/N is total denial regarding you."

"Look, this is really not - she is engaged and she is my boss- it's not right to talk about it the way - you know what I mean"

" I do. I do. Elijah, I was not going to say anything, since I didn't know how you felt - for her, but I think that you should know that - and this is something I discovered totally by chance- when I had to retrieve some data from her personal computer- in the section of new recipes- there was - your picture- from one of the races."    

Elijah's heart now shot up. OMG! Was Aiden really telling the truth?

"Elijah?"- Aiden said.

"Yes, I am here. Ok. I guess, I will see her in the morning."

"All right."- Aiden said-"ok, I have got to go. Isobel has just arrived."

They hung up, and Elijah now smiled happily. Could she really  be feel something for him? His heart could not be still. He now got dressed quickly and went out.

💘

In the morning, he was bright and early at the hospital.     

But as he got there to her room, with all the balloons and the unicorn toy, he saw Lucien, there sitting with her. He stopped and if it wasn't for a nurse, who saw the beautiful array, he would have thrown it all away.

"Is this for Ms Y/N?"- the nurse asked.

"Yes."- Elijah said-"it's from- her employees."

"Shall I take it in? Or- do you want to give it to yourself? She is now with her fiance:"

"No, you take it."- Elijah said and added-"I will be back later."

"All right."- the nurse took it and then went it.

Elijah glanced in, and now seeing Lucien kissing Y/N, he walked away.

Inside the room, Y/N was now asking about the balloons and who had sent them-

"The delivery guy said that it is from your employees."- the nurse replied.

"Right. Oh, such a great thought."- Y/N said-"is there a card?"

The nurse now looked for a card, but she couldn't find it.

"They must have forgotten to put it or he- "

"It's ok. It must have been Aiden. He always makes sure stuff like that gets done."- Lucien said.

"Yeah."- Y/N said.

The nurse now turned to Lucien and said that the visiting hours were over and that Y/n needed her rest.

💘

Family and friend have then descended on Y/N and she only saw Elijah for a short while, as he came to visit ther that afternoon. With Lucien around now and everyone else, and since Elijah was not really needed he stayed away. All till Aiden had called him a few days after as Y/N had herself checked out. 

As Elijah arrived in the hospital to take her to the Mansion, he asked Aiden surprised that she was doing it.

"She decided that she can recouperate at home and that she needed to work and she can't do  it from here. Even though, Ms Bennett is on top of things and she needn't work at all."

"This is really strange."- Elijah said

"She is like a new Ms Y/N, since she woke up."- Aiden said.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know- she - just is. I can't explain."- Aiden now got in the room, and Elijah with him.

"Can you take this bag, Elijah, please."- Y/N now turned to him. To Elijah she was no different. She was still kind in her manner.

And in the Mansion, she wanted a moment on her own with him.

"Thank you for  being there- a nurse told me that you were there every day while I  was- comatose. Sometimes it felt like I could hear things, but maybe it was just my imagination. Anyway, thanks a lot. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this.”

“It was nothing - I - you have been more than kind to me and -”- Elijah stopped there struggling with his emotions, wanting to go over to her and embrace her, tell her how he felt. But, there was this line between them like a strange magical boundary keeping them apart.

Y/N looked at him dearly saying-

“I’ve done nothing really. And now you will be now driving, Abby Bennett, the acting CEO, till I get fully fit.”

"Yes, Aiden has informed me."- Elijah said.

"Yes. He is always on top of things. Well,  I will- see you when I - get the all clear and can go back to the factory."

"Yes- right- I will see you, then."- Elijah said and with their usual little nods exchanged he went.

💘

And so, Elijah was busy, driving Ms Abby Bennett. As the got talking one day, he soon found out that she was also from Whitmore, and that she was the granddaughter of Sheila Bennett and Bonnie Bennett’s mother.

"Talk about this world being so small."- Abby said to Elijah.

"Too small, I guess."- Elijah said back.

"Yes. Ok. So tomorrow, I am flying to the Conference in Mexico City, but you don't have to take me to the airport, my boyfriend will take me. He is coming with me. Have the weekend off."

"Thanks. I will see you on Monday."

"Can I ask you a huge favour. On Monday is Y/N's birthday, and I had this custom made present made. Can you pick it up and take it to the Mansion. It will be ready on Monday morning, but I will be back on Tuesday. I want her to have it."- Abby said.

"Of course- no problem"- Elijah said.

"Thank you."

Abby left and Elijah got into the car driving off. A few moments later, his phone rang and-

"Ok. We have a situation."- Aiden said.

"A situation?"- Elijah asked-"what's going on?"

"Y/N left about an hour ago. And- she is not answering her phone. She is not with Caroline, she is not at the factory. She is not with Lucien. Well, Mary said that she had a terrible fight with her mother."- Aiden replied-"something to do with a family matter. Y/N was not herself. She was shouting and crying. I don't know what it was about."

"Must be about Jeremy. She was making arrangements with that school to take him back."- Elijah said.

"Could be."- Aiden said-"One thing is - always was- that she always answers her phone. You know. What if she had an accident again? She had a funny spell the other day."

"Right."- Elijah said-"I - will go and look - I think I know where she might be."

"Thank you. Let us know."- Aiden said.

Elijah now took the keys of his car and shouted to Davina, who was in her room that he was going out.

And where was Y/N?

She went to a beach house, a small place, where her father would go to get away from the world, to go fishing, and just be by himself. Y/N discovered that once when she walked down the beach from their family house, a mile or so away. It was a small timy house, very simply decorated, warm and cosy.

Y/N now slipped into the past.

Flashback

"Hey, dad?"- Y/N said seeing her father sitting on the porch-"what- are you doing here? I thought you were gone to the city?"

"Y/N?"- Greyson was slightly startled.

"This - well, sometimes - I come here to work on some ideas, recipes. You know how hectic it is in the factory, always the pressure to be number one. Anyway, this place has been my hide-out when I was a little younger than you. Come on, you can taste first the new flavour for the pralines."

Y/N went in. She had never seen her father so relaxed and happy ever. He talked about life, chocolate and why he had such passion for it. It was like he was another man, not the responsible, hardworking and pretty distant business man she knew.

As the evening set, and the way sitting on the porch, Y/N said-

"I guess, I should keep this a - secret?"

"Yes, please. It's very out of the ordinary, but, you know your mother. She wouldn't understand. She would call me childish."

"I understand. Mom - is just - it's like she has no dreams."

"She is the way she is."- Greyson said-"so you think there is a reasonable amount of cardamon in it?"

"Yes. It's going to be amazing."- Y/N said.

"You have the same Y/N feel and taste for it. You are a born chocolatere."

Y/N's eyes now whateted and she shouted out- "Why didn't you tell me?"

At that moment Elijah came around the corner of the house, startling Y/N, who didn't expect to see him there.

"Elijah?"- she uttered. looking at him a bit wide-eyed. 

"Y/N- hey. Ahm- everyone is looking for you."- Elijah said stepping onto the porch.

"How did you - know that I - would be here?"

"You said that the Sunny Cove was your most favourite place in the world."- Elijah replied.

"Ah, yeah. I did."- she remembered mentioning it that day on the beach.

Elijah's phone rang and as he   wanted to answer it, Y/N stopped him.

"Don't answer- I mean - if it's Aiden or Rose."

Elijah looked a bit confused as to why she didn't want to let them know where she was.

"Its Aiden. Ok, I’ll  call him later."- Y/N said and stepped into the tiny house

Elijah followed her in now.

"I guess this is your place- a hide out?"

"My dad's actually."- Y/N replied-"he used to come here when- life just got - too much."

"Ahm- Aiden- well, Mary said that- you- had an argument with your mother."- Elijah started.

"Argument? Well, maybe you can call it that."- Y/N said pouring some wine now in the glass.

"Want some?"- she asked.

Elijah shook his head in negation.

Y/N looked at the glass and then said- "I don't feel like drinking either."

She now turned around and looked at Elijah- and she now almost flew over to him and crashed her lips with his.

Elijah, who never in his wildest dreams could have imagined this happening now felt like a storm had hit him. It was intense, sizzling, sensuous. Her lips were softer than the rose's leaf, her mouth as sweet as honey, Elijah's pulse was beating fast, his heart racing even faster. He was lost in her lips. Gone. And he would have succumbed to this wonderous moment, but - this is not how it was supposed to be.      

"Y/N, wait"- Elijah gulped a bit trying so hard to subside the blaze running all through him.

"Wait - why? I know you want it."- Y/N now started kissed his neck, her hands sliding under his T-shirt,  falling on his belt trying to get it off.

"No, Y/N, not - like this"- Elijah took hold of her hands, stopping her hands. Holding them gently now, he shook his head, trying to steady his breathing.

"No? Right"- Y/N said huffing offended-

"Please- I want this- I want you so much- God kows how much I want you, but not like this-"- Elijah swallowed hard taking hold of her hands now-"you're - hurting and - I can't take advantage. It's not right - let's just - let's talk."

Ripping her hands out of his, Y/N said -

"I don't want to talk- I - want you gone."

She moved aside turning her look away from him.

"Y/N, please- come on, let's - just go for - a walk and - "

"Can you leave, please"- Y/N said-"I want to be alone."

"Y/N"- Elijah tried to reach out to her now.  

"I said I want to be alone. You can tell everyone that I an taking days off. Don't want to see anybody."

"This is crazy. You are not - good. I can't just let you stay  - like this"

"And who are you? My psych? I don't need a baby-sitter. I am not a damsel in distress. I don't need looking after. This is not in your job description. Just go already!"

Elijah stood there quiet, looking at her; not knowing what to do, how to get through to her. Whatever had happened with her mother must have hit her hard.

"Go. Why are you still here. GO! You're fired!"

Y/N then turned around and went to another room slamming the door behind her.