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writingmyselfout · 3 years

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Because I Could Not Stop for Death - Chapter Ten

Language: English

Rating: Teen+

Pairing: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter

Tags: AU - Canon Divergence, Reptilia28′s Don’t Fear the Reaper Challenge, Manipulative Dumbledore, Black Hermione Granger, Slight Ron Weasley Bashing

Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Chapter 10: Gimme Some Truth

Summary: The will.

MINERVA McGonagall was not generally known for impatience. In fact, quite the opposite: she was quite possibly one of the most patient women in the world, Muggle or otherwise. So it is with an uncharacteristic sense of impatience that she wakes early Saturday morning to get ready for her day back in London. When she realizes just how early, she forces herself to take her time with eating breakfast before taking the time to leave a reminder to her prefects and the Head Girl, a Gryffindor 7th year girl, that she would be away from the castle most of the day and they were to reach out to either Professor Flitwick or Professor Snape should the need arise.

In truth, she doesn’t anticipate anything of great importance occurring on the first weekend of the school year, but she’d also been teaching for long enough to know that when it came to hundreds of adolescent witches and wizards, it was best to prepare for the worst just in case.

She considers, briefly, letting the headmaster know of her plans but opts not to. His own weekends were usually busy, often resulting in him rarely leaving his office or leaving the school altogether for business elsewhere. Even if this were one weekend in which he was free enough to note her absence, she’s not inclined to give him advance notice of her plans. Perhaps it was paranoia, but considering his attempt to maintain guardianship over Harry, she thinks it possible that he might try to dissuade her from looking into the will, which she was determined to do.

Finally, she heads out. The school’s security measures means she’s unable to leave directly from Hogwarts to Diagon Alley. Instead, she goes into Hogsmeade, greets a yawning Rosmerta in the Three Broomsticks, and borrows her fireplace to Floo to the Leaky Cauldron in London. Most of the shops that made up Diagon Alley kept regular opening and closing hours, including those on Horizont Alley, Knockturn Alley, and Carkitt Market--side shopping areas--with only a few exceptions. Among those exceptions were the Owl Post Office and the Gringotts Money Exchange in the Carkitt Market, and the Healer Shop, Leaky Cauldron and Gringotts Bank directly on Diagon Alley, which were open all day, every day, for the convenience of their patrons. Some of the locations on Knockturn Alley likewise kept such hours, but McGonagall was not one to frequent that district, so which is knowledge she does not, nor cares to, possess.

What matters is that at eight o’clock in the morning, there are few out and about on Diagon Alley, but Gringotts Bank stands at attention at the end of the street, ready for its customers at all hours. And at this particular hour, there are few enough people even within the bank to ensure that she can be attended with little to no delay.

If there is one thing about Gringotts to be appreciated above all else, it is their efficiency. The goblins are not interested in wasting time, and are remarkably good at ensuring that all spells corresponding with Hogwarts and Ministry of Magic records are always working so their own documents are always up to date. They therefore are already well aware that guardianship has moved from the Headmaster to Harry Potter’s Head of House, one Minerva McGonagall.

Upon stating her business, a goblin by the name of Nagnok is called to lead McGonagall to a room off of the main lobby. It’s a small office, with two chairs facing a desk behind which there is a chair, then a set of drawers set against the wall next to a back door. She’s instructed to take a seat as they would return shortly with the documents in question, then they leave through the back door. They are gone for less than five minutes when they return with a large envelope which, in place of a wax seal, has a string and button seal. Nagnok takes a seat at the desk, modified so that he is eye-level with the witch, and passes the envelope across the desk.

McGonagall looks at the envelope for a moment, then undoes the tie to open it. Inside, tied neatly together, is a small stack of papers with two envelopes slightly smaller than the one they’d been in sitting on top. She undoes that tie as well, places the original envelope and tie to one side, then separates the items before her. She sets down first one envelope, then the next, and finally the pages in a stack together.

The first letter has Harry’s name written across it. When she flips it over, there is a gold wax seal with the image of a crest pressed into it. McGonagall realizes she has never seen the Potter family crest; had in fact never thought, as with most wizarding families, that there was none. The practice dated back to the twelfth century, and with the exception of families that had dealings with Muggle royals and received recognition from them, wizards and witches typically earned them for great contributions to the wizarding world after which the crest was magically included in Muggle records so as to avoid its use among Muggle nobles. McGonagall doesn’t quite remember when its usage fell out of favor and stopped being bestowed, simply that it was mostly only seen for institutions. Each wizarding school, for instance, and Gringotts as well as the Daily Prophet possessed their own heraldry. Not that she could recall what it looked like, but she was certain some of the older, wealthier families such as the Blacks and Malfoys similarly possessed their own unique family crest and coat of arms.

She runs her fingers over the wax, feeling the small indentations of the different charges on the small shield imprinted there, and Nagnok advises, “That is spelled to only allow Mr. Potter to open the letter.”

“I’ve no interest in reading a private letter addressed to my student,” McGonagall informs him, setting the letter aside. The second has no name written on the outside, and the wax seal on the back on this one is red and broken, indicating it had been opened before. She assumes by Albus, and she opens it and pulls out a folded parchment, surprised to find it completely blank. “Is there nothing written in this one?”

“As you can see, it is blank, but we were instructed to include it unaltered with the other letter and will. Albus Dumbledore also did not know what to do with it.” Nagnok grinned, amused, and McGonagall had a feeling that he took enjoyment at their befuddlement. There was likely a spell of some sort that only the guardian, or guardians, James and Lily had wanted for their son would know how to surpass.

She put the blank parchment away, setting it aside with Harry’s letter, and turning at last to the will itself. The topmost page was clearly the bank’s, providing information on when the will was last altered, when it went into effect, the date it was first accessed, and a blank spot at the bottom denoting when will was fully carried out. As she set the page aside, magically adding today’s date as the last time the will was accessed.

The details too small to see on the wax seal without much closer inspection were now enlarged and clearly visible. The next page had the full coat of arms and crest in all its magicked glory at the top of the page, before the official writing announcing the document to be the last will and testament of James Potter and Lily Jade Potter nee Evans. The shield of the coat of arms is black, with one large green chevron and three gold chevronelles. At the bottom is an open, azure book with black script that appears briefly, only to disappear again. The coat is charged with three red stags in the right corner, and two grapevines with a wheatsheaf, all three tawny in color, in the left corner. Above the shield, a stag with a caduceus makes up the crest, standing on a wreath of black, green, and gold, with a banner over it with the family motto in Latin. Briefly, she thinks she sees a hint of silver on the edges but the outline of the shield is black, and the lions on either side are gold with a red sash. She’s confident that the lions, considering their colors, are meant to represent Gryffindor, and she smiles. James had once mentioned, while Lily was pregnant, that he was sure to give McGonagall another Gryffindor to look after as all his family had been Gryffindors. She wishes she could tell him he’d been right.

She moves on, not wanting to dwell on things she could not change, and begins to skim through the documents. The will isn’t particularly long, so much as it is filled with legal jargon that makes it tedious to read. Ultimately, it outlines what items constitute the Potter estate, with related legal documents where necessary included with the will. Among such items was a London property that dated back to the 1600s, the cottage in Godric’s Hollow which was an ancestral home older than the London property, and the Gringotts vault, and the two deeds and Gringotts contract for each. There was also a small list of family heirlooms, with equal parts valuable and sentimental items, with a note as to whether it should be found at one of the properties or within the vault.

All of this McGonagall skims over, until she finally reaches the section she’s been looking for, which states that should James and Lily pass before Harry was of age, guardianship is to be passed on to his godfather, Sirius Black III. In the event that he is unable to carry out his duties, Harry is to be given into the care of Frank C.J. Longbottom and Alice Longbottom, or Remus John Lupin. There is not a single mention of Lily’s sister anywhere to be found.

Then there is a section regarding the funds in the vault. Once Harry’s old enough to go to Hogwarts, he’s allowed access to the vault directly, but until such time his key and the funds were to be overseen by his guardian. In that, Dumbledore had been adhering to the will, since he’d had the key, and it probably had been best to not give it to the Dursleys. McGonagall cannot imagine the Muggle pair coming to Diagon Alley to stand face-to-face with goblins, but stranger things had been known to happen in the pursuit of wealth. Granted, as she continues reading and notes that in order to protect Harry’s interests, funds removed from the Potter vault by anyone other than Harry would require an annual accounting to verify its use was in regards to needs directly associated with raising Harry, with a generous allowance to accommodate additional expenditures not directly related to Harry, but likely intended in the case of Harry going to one of his parents’ bachelor friends who might not be able to work as much if they were single-handedly raising a child.

“I have some questions,” McGonagall finally says to the goblin, who has been looking over papers and now looks up at her. “At the time of their deaths, all of the people noted here as possible guardians for Harry Potter would have been perfectly capable of carrying out those duties and being notified. Why, then, was Mr. Potter’s physical guardianship passed on to relatives not provided in the will, and magical guardianship given to Albus?”

“That would be the doing of your Ministry of Magic,” Nagnok informs her, the tone and sneer on his face making it clear how he feels about their interference. “Emergency provisions were put into place to allow for government intervention in the carrying out of wills and guardianship where they felt it best served the safety of the wizarding community, the Statute of Security, and-or the individual or individuals involved.” He’s clearly reciting the mandate from memory. “This was to be effective for two years starting October of the year one thousand nine hundred and eighty-one. It was extended an additional six years, and finally expired just prior to the current Minister of Magic taking office. Instead, it was decided that the provision would only continue to apply to Mr. Potter due to the extraneous circumstances, and there was no interest in challenging it.”

Of course there hadn’t been; the boy’s Muggle relatives were oblivious to the fact that he’d inherited a fortune, or that there had been a will at all left behind. McGonagall had a feeling that, had they known guardianship had been meant for others, they might have jumped at the chance to pass Harry off. It annoyed her to think that Albus had used his influence as such, and prevented Harry from going where he might have been wanted.

He could argue, for instance, that by doing so he had saved Harry from falling into the hands of his godfather, Sirius. However, Frank and Alice Longbottom had been perfectly capable at the time of taking in Harry. And with a child of their own the same age, Harry would have had at least a few happy years before the Longbottoms were captured and tortured by rogue Death Eaters fleeing the law, still trying to locate their defeated leader.Harry then would have likely stayed under the care of the formidable Augusta Longbottom, who was no doubt a strict woman, but one who would have done a much better job at raising Harry than his Muggle relations had done.

Remus Lupin is the only one listed who might still take guardianship, but that as far as she knows lest Dumbledore failed to mention, the man has never reached out regarding Harry either. She could guess why, and thought it likely that even if he had known about being a possible guardian for Harry, he would have relinquished said guardianship to Dumbledore easily. But he is the boy’s only connection to his parents left, and she wonders if she can convince him to take up the mantle his friends had intended for him.

Moving back to the list of heirlooms, she taps a finger at the symbols indicating their locations. “The items listed as being in the Potter vault, of course, I’m sure are present and accounted for; this is Gringotts, after all.” It isn’t mere flattery; McGonagall is certain that if anything had been removed from the vault at any point after the will’s creation, they’d have noted as much. Their records were always meticulously kept. “Would it be possible to get verification that the items that should be here or at Godric’s Hollow are where they should be?”

“For a fee, we could provide services to do just that,” Nagnok advises. “However, bear in mind that Godric’s Hollow was for a time cordoned off by the Ministry as they dealt with the...aftermath of the Dark Lord’s attack.”

She recalls. “Then they let reporters and tourists visit, like it was an attraction instead of the site of a tragedy.” She sighs, still annoyed by it. “Are you saying it’s possible the Ministry, or some other party, removed items from the cottage?”

“Thieves and looters are not uncommon, even today, but especially in times of war.”

Quickly and efficiently, she begins to gather everything altogether. “I presume I will be able to take this with me, in order to review its contents with Mr. Potter?”

“Fine.” Grumbling, Nagnok reaches out to take the Gringotts page, grabs a quill to sign it, and then passes both the page and the quill to the witch to do the same, as there is now a new record indicating that the will is being removed from the Gringotts property by Harry Potter’s acting guardian. “Please note we have a copy of the main will, and should there be any attempt to destroy or alter these pages, our records will be adjusted accordingly. We highly recommend, once Mr. Potter has seen the contents, that the will be returned here for safekeeping until he is of age.”

McGonagall nods in understanding, says she will be in contact in regards to contracting their services to verify the heirlooms not currently at Gringotts, and soon after is walking back outside. It’s perhaps been an hour since she arrived, maybe a little more, but foot traffic on Diagon Alley has already begun to pick up significantly. Nevertheless, she simply stands there for a moment, gathering her thoughts, trying to decide what to do next.

She can go back to Hogwarts, will in hand, and give everything to Harry. She would have to explain what the will says, certain that the will itself will be difficult for an eleven-year old boy to read and comprehend himself, but he would have it. He would know. There have already been so many secrets kept from him, she’s loath to continue the tradition, but she also does not want to do anything that might hurt the boy. What if Remus does, in fact, prefer to relinquish his rights as guardian? What if the London property is no longer habitable? What if he asks to go see the cottage in Godric’s Hollow? What if there’s something in that letter, written just for him, that prompts questions she can’t answer? Or an heirloom that they can’t locate?

“Enough of that,” she scolds herself. She is worried about scenarios that may not happen, and as a former Gryffindor and the current Head, even if the worse were to happen, she would face those challenges as she always did: directly and without hesitation.

The most important task to tackle was attempting to locate Remus Lupin, wherever he might be. She could ask the headmaster, who she suspects has kept a running tally on the whereabouts of all the living former members of the Order not currently working at Hogwarts, but she thinks she’ll leave that as a last resort. She has her own connections in London; friends, former students, or the parents of ones, with whom she might be able to find something out. Particularly those who had been familiar with James Potter and his group of friends during their time at Hogwarts. McGonagall thinks it would be ideal to speak with him face-to-face, but if she’s unable to do so, then the next option would be to try to write to him and hope that he can be found by owl. If that fails, and only if that fails, she will turn to Albus for assistance.

~~~

WHEN she has returned to Hogwarts, it is shortly before dinner. She is tired, frustrated that she’d managed to find three students who’d gone to school with James and Lily, two of whom had been Gryffindors, and yet none knew anything about Remus Lupin. The man, for all his friendliness and general good nature, had kept few friends during his time at school, and of those, none had made it out of the war alive except the one responsible for the others’ deaths. She would have to write to him, which meant deciding how much to put in a letter versus waiting until she could speak to him. McGonagall doesn’t want to admonish him for his lack of interest in Harry to this point, no doubt believing as she had that he’d been well in hand under Dumbledore’s care. However, she does want to impart on him the gravity of the boy’s upbringing, and that he was likely the boy’s best hope of getting away from the Dursleys. He was the last person named in the will, so without him, next of kin took precedence.

If only James hadn’t been an only child.

Then there had been the added frustration of realizing, upon a second look, that there was no address in the will or the deed itself for the London property. She would have to submit an inquiry to the Ministry of Magic, but considering the state of things before their deaths, she wonders if perhaps the London home was also put under the Fidelis Charm. Without that secret keeper, forget finding the place herself, how would they be able to send someone to confirm the heirlooms that should be there?

“Hello, Professor.”

“Good evening.” She looks over at the student moving past her in the hall, notes it’s one of her Gryffindors, and says, “Ms. Spinnet, if you can locate Mr. Potter, please have him come to my office.”

The girl answers in the affirmative before she runs off to do as requested, and McGonagall heads to her office. She’s decided; she will tell him that she has the will, but wishes to look into a few things before sharing it with him. Hopefully his trust in her will extend into believing her when she says she thinks it’s for the best.

She’s a few lines into her letter when there is a knock on her door. McGonagall is only mildly surprised when the one who comes in is not the student she’s waiting on, but the Potions Master. “Severus--” She’s only just started to greet him as he’s closing the door, when there’s more knocking a small, messy-haired head peers in around the still open door.

“You wanted to see me, Professor?”

“Yes. Do come in, Harry. Have a seat.” She motions at the chair across from her, and Snape opens the door further to let him in. The Potion Master then looks back, raising an eyebrow at his colleague who nods for him to stay. She watches him close the door but remaining close to it, as if to ensure no intruder will come in.

“Is this about my parents’ will?” Harry asks.

“Yes. I was able to obtain their will from Gringotts, however there are some things I’d like to look into, now that I’m privy to its contents. I’d like you to wait until then for me to share it with you, all right?” She has set the quill down to one side, letter momentarily forgotten as she clasps her hands together on top of her desk.

Harry is quiet, considering. “How long will that take?” he asks after a few moments.

“Hopefully not long,” she tells him, but admits, “But I don’t know exactly. It may be a few days, or a few months.” She meets his gaze steadily. “I do promise that, one way or another, you will know before the school year ends.”

Silence again for a beat, then another, before he nods his head in agreement. “Okay.”

“Thank you. Now go on, dinner should be starting soon.”

She sends him off with a smile, after which Severus comes over to take the seat he has vacated. “These things you would like to look into; anything I might assist you with?”

“You wouldn’t happen to know where Remus Lupin is nowadays, would you?” She knows the answer, even before Snape’s lip curls in disdain and he scoffs, answering in the negative. It had been highly unlikely, she’d known that, but it was worth a shot anyway. “Well, he is the only one left in the will named as a possible guardian who could possibly take the role.” Severus’s raised eyebrow and incredulous look perfectly convey how he feels about that, but she continues anyway, “If he declines, then it would go to next of kin and Harry remains with the Dursleys.

Snape sighs. “I assume you are going to try to write him?” She nods, and he continues, “I suppose I could reach out to some acquaintances of mine that may be able to locate him, just in case.”

She nods her head, grateful. “Thank you.”

“Is that the only matter?”

“Unfortunately, no. Before they went into hiding, the Potters were living in London. I’ll be sending an inquiry to the Ministry to see if there are records as to where, but as the address is missing from the deed itself, I suspect it may not be so easy.” She reaches into her desk, where she has stowed the will for the moment, and pulls out the blank envelope. “I suspect this might have additional answers, but as its magicked, I’ve no way of reading it.”

“May I?” McGonagall passes it over and Snape looks it over before pulling out the blank parchment.

“According to the goblin at Gringotts, Albus was equally befuddled by this blank letter, so it’s probably safe to assume that it’s not a simple matter of invisible ink or the like.”

Snape nods his head in agreement, passing it back once he has replaced the parchment in the envelope. “I’ll look into what spell may have been used, and whether there’s a potion that might negate it.”

“That would be helpful,” McGonagall agrees, putting the envelope back in her desk. “Otherwise, we can only hope that Remus may have the answer. Other than him, the only one who might help is--”

“Black,” Snape finishes.

“Precisely. And I don’t fancy a visit to Azkaban, though I doubt he’d be keen to be of assistance.”

“Assuming, of course, that his sanity is still intact.”

“Excellent point.” Ten years surrounded by dementors. McGonagall shudders at the thought, and despite his crimes, she pities the man who’d once been her student and James Potter’s best friend.

Story Notes:

Chapter title is a John Lennon song. Hopefully, this chapter doesn't disappoint.

And look, I have no idea what the “J” in Lily’s name actually stands for, so I went with Jade for the obvious connection to her eyes. I didn’t want to put too much thought into it, lol.

For my own edification, and because I couldn’t actually find an answer to this, does anyone know at what point it was no longer required for the heir who inherited the family crest/coat of arms to change it in England? If anyone knows, or has better research skills and can actually find the answer to that, please let me know ‘cause I’m curious. I frankly spent way, WAY too much time looking up information on heraldry, especially considering what a small part the Potter crest I created plays in this and the artistic liberties I took with it anyway, hahaha.

In canon, Harry’s family has no known family motto or crest, which is not impossible but Linfred (the oldest family member we know of) made enough of a reputation for himself that he was able to leave a “significant gold pile” to each of his SEVEN children, laying the foundation for the Potter fortune; and his work was influential enough that some of his remedies/potions were the precursors for stuff in modern use (Skele-Gro and Pepperup are specifically named). Plus, his eldest went on to marry THE granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell, one of the brothers who inspired the Tale of the Three Brothers. Their names were lost to history, sure, but considering there’s a story about them, it means they would have been influential/famous enough in their own time to have warranted that kind of attention. His granddaughter would not be so far removed from his time to not warrant respect due her station, and a marriage to match, considering the attitudes of the time (assuming witches/wizard society was classist, which I think they would’ve been considering current attitudes in canon).

Anyway, I’ll stop rambling now.

#Because I Could Not Stop for Death fic #BICNSFD #Harmony fic #HP fanfic #Harry Potter

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futureteacherinthemaking · 3 years

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The Grape Riots and the Agricultural Reform Movement of California

1. Introduction:

It is the 1930's in California and many families are starting their workday just before the sunrise to leave for the lettuce and grape fields that span the great valleys that cover state. They would have to endure a long workday for outrageously low wages to barely survive. The majority of these families were immigrants and migrants of all backgrounds, spanning from the Mexicans to the Filipinos. Families would have their children drop out of school at ealry ages to help secure funds for the family. When their work in the area was done, they would pack up their belongings and travel to the next rural town looking for more work. This was sadly the reality for many across the state untill three dacades later when revolutionist like Cesar Chavez and Larry Itliong started to fight for reform of the state's agricultural labor. They started with the boycott of products like grapes and lettuce at general goods stores across California in the 1960's and an assortment of flyers and posters educating the public on the issue with the state of agricultural production and the mistreatment of the many laborers. It took another decade untill the Agricultural Relations Act was passed in 1975. This act unfortantly was ineffective at protecting the Unions and the workers who formed them since nothing was inforced or regulated. In this Journey Box we will explore the trails and tribulations of the Agricultural Reform movement, the forgotten filipinos who fought for it, and why it was deemed unsuccesful for a while.

2. Index:

1. Introduction

2. Index

3. Filipino Farm Workers (Photograph #1)

4. Delano Grape Strikers (Photograph #2)

5. NPR’s “Memories Of A Former Migrant Worker” (Participant Account #1)

6. NPR’s “Grapes of Wrath: The Forgotten Filipinos Who Led A Farmworker Revolution” (Participant Account #2)

7. Grape Boycott Flyer (Artifact #1)

8. Boycott For Democracy Poster (Artifact #2)

9. Summary

10. Sources

3. Photograph #1

A photograph of Filipino Farm workers picking lettuce, Nagano Farm, Morro Bay, California, ca. 1930.

Questions:

- Why do you think the majority of farm workers were immigrants or migrants?

- What are some of the day to day conditions the farm workers could be experiencing out on the fields?

- Why was this kind of work popular in the valleys of California?

4. Photograph #2

A photograph of Delano Grape Strike picketers in Delano, California, February 1966.

Questions:

- What do you notice about the makeup of the Delano Grape Strike picketers?

- Why is it called the Delano Grape Strike, what could they be striking against? Consider the importance of the location of the strike as well.

- This is one of many strikes against farm owners and ranchers at the time. What do you think was the general public opinion on the matter at the time?

5. Participant Account #1

The following are a collection of excerpts from NPR’s “Memories of a Former Migrant Worker” This technically is not a participant account but since filipinos were so disregarded within the history of the movement this Filipino Historian was the best I could find

Felix Contreras: You were raised in a migrant farm worker environment. Can you describe what that was like?

Luis Contreras: First of all, we didn't have a permanent residence. We traveled in a truck and we lived mostly in a tent on the road between California and Kansas.

Because we were migrants, our schooling was incomplete. We would arrive in a town after school started and leave before the school year was over. We didn't always have the basic necessities of life, like being able to take a bath regularly.

Because we often had to set up our tent in the country, we ate a lot of what we found growing in the wild — fruits, some vegetables. If we were in one place long enough we could plant a garden and eat what we grew. Later, after we stopped moving and settled down in Sacramento (California) my mother would sometimes complain that our diet was better in the country with access to fresh food.

We also worked very long hours, often from sun up until sun down. The entire family, children included. As a child you think it's just normal life, nothing out of the ordinary. We didn't think we were working especially hard. It was just a normal life for us.

Felix Contreras: So things like child labor laws didn't exist back then?

Luis Contreras: There were child labor laws, but here's how migrant families worked it: When we were out in the fields you could see a child labor officer driving up along those dirt roads from at least a mile away. Plus they were usually driving a government car, so it was easy to spot them. The kids would leave the fields, gather around the family truck, then go back to work after the child labor office left the area.

Looking back, I think it was in the interests of the ag. industry to not have the child labor laws enforced because we did a lot of work as children. It was a different time. It was a different way of thinking among people who did agriculture work — meaning, there wasn't much of an interest in the welfare of the field worker.

Questions:

- Why do you think this harsh lifestyle was so normalized for migrant families at the time?

- Why do you think the agriculture industry did not care about enforcing labor laws and what do you think made them decide to enforce them now?

- Think about the present and consider how modern migrant and immigrant families live today. In what ways has life improved for most families and what are the modern problems they face?

6. Participant Account #2

The following is from NPR’s “Grapes of Wrath: The Forgotten Filipinos Who Led A Farmworker Revolution”

Perez is outraged that this history is not known, because the actions those Filipinos took improved her family's lives. "I mean, I'm extremely proud that Cesar Chavez was the right face at the right time, but a lot of the dirty work was already done."

For decades the migrant, bachelor, Filipino farmworkers – called Manongs, or elders — had fought for better working conditions. So in the summer of 1965, with pay cuts threatened around the state, these workers were prepared to act, says historian Dawn Mabalon.

"They're led by this really charismatic, veteran, seasoned, militant labor leader Larry Itliong," she says.

He urged local families in Delano to join Manongs in asking farmers for a raise. The growers balked. Workers gathered at Filipino Hall for a strike vote.

"The next morning they went out to the vineyard, and then they left the crop on the ground, and then they walked out," Mabalon says.

Cesar Chavez and others had been organizing Mexican workers around Delano for a few years, but a strike wasn't in their immediate plans. But Larry Itliong appealed to Chavez, and two weeks later, Mexican workers joined the strike.

Soon, the two unions came together to form what would become United Farm Workers, with Larry Itliong as the assistant director under Chavez.

Mabalon says, "These two groups coming together to do this? That is the power in the Delano Grape Strike."

It took five years of striking, plus an international boycott of table grapes, before growers signed contracts with the United Farm Workers.

Those years weren't easy: on strikers, families, or Delano.

Questions:

- Why do you think the Filipinos are usually disregarded when talking about the "Farmworker Revolution”?

- Why do you think the Mexican workers didn't plan to strike immediately, what could they have done instead?

- Does the Farmworker Revolution remind you of any modern movements where people from all background have united to fight for a just cause?

7. Artifact #1

A NAACP flyer calling for support for the grape boycott, 1965.

Questions:

- Who do you think the target audience was for this flyer?

- How impactful do you think boycotting California Grapes was for Cesar Chavez’s farm work reform movement?

- Do you think grocers would try and avoid certain grapes or choose to ignore the boycott?

8. Artifact #2

A poster calling for a “boycott for democracy” of grapes, 1975. (transcript here)

Questions:

- Why do you think Agricultural Labor Relations Act failed in protecting the farm workers?

- Why do you think the ranchers and farm owners are refusing to work with the UFW?

- Knowing that the years of protesting and boycotting did little to reform the state of Californias Agricultural laborers. Why do you think they continue to use boycott as an outlet for achieving their goals?

9. Summary:

I chose to cover the Agricultural Reform Movement of California since it is something that hits close to home for me. My family originated from the valleys of California and my Grandpa was one of those immigrant workers who came to the United States for a better life and was met with harsh work conditions and lack of childhood. He would always tell me about how he dropped out of 3rd grade to go work in the fields and ended up losing one of his fingertips at the age of twelve while working. I think this topic would be relevant to many students since they themselves may have family members who were immigrants or be one themselves. They have heard the same stories countless times while growing up. As far as how this can be integrated into other subjects, students could write a personal narrative in the eyes of a migrant child growing up in the 1960s during the movement for English Language Arts. This journey box perfectly addresses the ideas of "A" history not "The" history since we discuss the often not talked about Filipino involvement and the Latin root word of education since we are inviting students to draw out their own thoughts and ideas on the movement.

10. Sources:

Photographs and Artifacts: https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-united-farm-workers-and-the-delano-grape-strike

Personal Account #1: https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2010/10/08/130425856/cesar-chavez

Personal Account #2: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/09/16/440861458/grapes-of-wrath-the-forgotten-filipinos-who-led-a-farmworker-revolution

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creatively--challenged · 5 years

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Dark Dealings - i // demon!Tom Holland x Reader au

Pairing: Demon!Tom Holland x Reader

Warnings: Implied smut, alcohol, feelings of being watched, slight noncon?

Word Count: 2.5k

Summary: Y/N and her friends decide it would be a great idea to mess around with a spell book they find in the library. What happens when she accidentally binds herself to a dangerous demon who takes a huge interest in her?

A/N: Hey guys, here’s the first part to my Demon!Tom au. I aim to make this a 3 part fic though with how much I run away with myself it could end up being longer. Anyway, enjoy! If you would like to be added / removed from my taglist please let me know.

It began as a joke. A book she had found in the library with her friends while they were studying for their final exams. Her best friend, Alex, had checked the book out to bring back to their apartment after the exam, something to incite excitement as they dimmed the lights, lit candles, drew the curtains and finally opened the heavy, leather bound, tome of what looked to be spells, hexes, and diagrams of summoning circles. Glasses of wine in hands, the girls lit some incense and candles, gathered around the giant rug in the middle of their living room with fluffy blankets around their shoulders, and pored over the ‘ridiculous’ book.

“Can you believe they had this in a university library?” Alex sniggered, eyes sweeping over a supposed ‘love charm’, albeit with vague interest. Y/N laughed lightly, raising the wine glass to her lips and letting out a contented sigh after she took a generous swig, thankful for the deep red liquid after the long week of exams.

“If you think it’s so ridiculous why did you take it home and insist we all gather around in the dark to read it?” She questioned, quirking her eyebrows at Alex as she continued to scan through the book.

“For fun. Same reason kids tell ghost stories at sleepovers even if they don’t believe in them.” She rolled her eyes, “Plus, if there’s a luck spell in here I might just give it a go anyway in the hopes it’ll help me pass those exams.” All of the girls raised their glasses to that.

“I’m with you on that, although I might just try that love charm too, just in case, you know?” Maia, their other roommate, chimed in.

Y/N leaned her head back against the sofa she was sitting against, eyes closed, finally relaxing after a long week as her two closest friends giggled about different pages in the book, listing a plethora of ‘spells’ such as one to find a lost item, a summoning spell for a desire demon, a hex for someone who had crossed you, and a charm for protection, which elicited a few giggles from the two girls. Y/N definitely heard the words “free birth control” through the laughter.

“Hey, Y’N! This one’s for you, ‘A guiding spell to help you find someone worthy of your love’, it’s perfect! Maybe if you give this one a go you’ll stop bringing home god-awful dates.” Maia winked at you and Alex burst into laughter. Y/N rolled her eyes. Yes, she has had some terrible dates. Okay, she’s had a lot of terrible dates, and one or two terrible boyfriends too, but she never worried herself over it. That’s what college was for, right?

“Excuse you! I didn’t mention anything about that blonde you came home with last Friday that barely lasted 5 minutes before I heard the front door open and close again.” Y/N shot back, Alex gasping and erupting into more chuckles as she watched her roommates tease each other.

“You know what?” Alex said when she’d sobered up, “I say we all do it. We’re all worthy of love and God knows we’ve all been with awful people, be they one-night stands or relationships.” She admitted while reading through the steps to the spell.

“Yes! Let’s do it, maybe we’ll magically meet some boys –“

“And girls!”

“-And girls that will make up for the past 5 years of dating.” Maia finished, shooting Alex an apologetic look. Y/N hummed and thought to go along with the girls’ plan. She’d like to think it was purely to keep them happy though the idea of the spell did seem tantalizing and if, by some miracle, it worked? She’d never snigger at corny TV shows where girls use love spells to find romance ever again.

“Okay, I’m in. What do we need to do?” Alex started to explain the ingredients they needed, all common things that they probably had lying around the house. Flower petals from the weekly bouquet of flowers Maia bought, an apple each, more candles, and a lock of hair from each of them. As the girls gathered the ingredients and bowls to perform the spell and refilled their wine glasses, Y/N flicked through the book herself. Some pages were in English, though some appeared to be in Latin and she could not even make out the titles or purposes of those ones. It was almost as if there were two books stitched together, as the Latin pages looked far older than the ones written in English. Just as she came across a particularly serious looking spell with a lot of Latin inscriptions and diagrams that looked quite daunting she was jolted into an upright position by Alex calling her loudly from the kitchen. Y/N jumped and dropped the book back onto the luscious rug on the floor, earning a deep papercut on her finger in the process. She scowled as she turned towards the arch leading into the kitchen and held her finger up to her mouth to stop the blood from trickling down her hand.

“Jesus, what? What’s so important you had to scare me half to death for?” She felt a little embarrassed about being scared so easily.

“Do we have more wine?” Alex asked, ignoring Y/N’s glares.

“Ughhh yeah, on top of the fridge, I think?” She asked, finger still in her mouth.

Y/N sat back against the couch, re-wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and waited on the girls to sit back down. She glanced around the room, feeling at ease in the dimly lit room as the shadows bounced in accordance with the dancing flames of the candles, until something felt suddenly… different. She wasn’t sure what it was, if anything at all, but she felt as if she was being watched. She subtly checked the windows but the thick, velvet, plum coloured curtains were heavily drawn shut without even a crack of the outside visible. The front door to the flat was also locked, she had made sure herself before she’d opened her wine. She glanced back to the book and found that when she had dropped it, it had fallen open on the page of the love spell they were about to perform, coincidentally.

Maia and Alex eventually gathered themselves back around the ruby rug brandishing a new bottle of wine to share and placing the ingredients they needed around the tome.

“Okay. So, we each have to hold our apples and imagine what kind of person we think we deserve the most, imbuing our apple with our wishes for love and filling it with the idea of our worthy partner. Then, we place the apples in our bowl, sprinkle our petals over the apples while holding onto the thought of that person, place our locks of hair into our bowls over the apple to attach the idea to our bodies, and then drop in the flower petals. Finally, light your candle and drip wax from it into the bowl while saying the incantation aloud.” Alex finished while passing a small scissors around for them to cut off a small lock of hair.

Maia eyed the scissors skeptically. “You sure are serious about this, aren’t you? Do we have to cut our hair?” Alex rolled her eyes.

“It’s only a little bit, you won’t even notice.”

They all completed the steps to the spell in order, and finally all three read the incantation aloud, before reaching around to hold hands and wait. Except, nothing happened. The three eyed their bowls and each other in expectance.

“Is something supposed to happen? What does the book say?” Maia asked, reaching for the book.

“It doesn’t say! The page stops after the incantation… I suppose it’s not even real anyway. And if it is, we won’t really know, will we?” Y/N admits, finishing the rest of her wine before filling her glass up again generously while Alex suggests they do another one, one of the slightly more sinister looking ones.

“No, absolutely not. I’m not cutting any more hair for a joke that none of us even believe anyway. Let’s just relax and talk about anything other than college or witchcraft, thank you.” Maia laid her head back against the couch, exhaling deeply, while Y/N agreed and Alex eventually gave in and started filling her friends in on her last escapade with a gorgeous girl from her Pysch lectures.

Y/N checks her phone after a while, noting it was almost 3am. Maia had fallen asleep on the couch and now Alex wrestled with her to get her into bed, whispering a good night as she half carried Maia in the direction of their rooms. Y/N elected to tidy up the living room before bed, feeling more than just a little tired after the events of the day. As she turned the kitchen lights off and moved to the living room to pick up some stray cushions and throw blankets she felt that same strange uneasiness again. She eyed the book sideways, then shook her head, moving to blow out the candles that scattered the room. As she moved towards the centre of the room, she bent down to the book still lying on the floor and placed it on the coffee table. With a slight chuckle, she shook her head again at her apprehensive demeanour towards the bundle of pages.

She moved to walk out of the room and bent to blow out the last candle when she felt it again, but stronger this time. It overwhelmed her, and it wasn’t just an uneasiness this time, but fear. The kind that glued her to where she stood, even when she could clearly hear something move behind her. Eventually she found the courage to whip around, fists brandished as if she could fight off whatever intruder she came in contact with. Except… there was nobody there. Not that she could see much in the dim lighting, anyway, but the uneasiness disappeared. As quickly as it came, it went, though it was reinstated by fear again quickly, this time as a result of the sight of the spell book lying wide open on the floor from where Y/N had moved it.

She willed herself to move forward, closer to the book, eyes scanning the room for movement, and upon closer inspection she noticed the book hadn’t opened on the love spell this time. No, it was open on the page of a daunting looking Latin inscription, with carnal looking symbols and what looked like warnings scattered around the page. As she investigated the page closer, she noticed a smudge of what looked like blood down the side of the page. She felt an abrupt chill down her spine before she felt a hand cover her mouth from behind, while another wrapped around her waist and pulled her back into a feverishly warm body.

“Why hello, darling. What have we here?” She felt lips against the shell of her ear and a devilishly low and raspy voice sounded in her ear. Y/N tried to struggle, to turn around and face her attacker, though she was trapped in his vice-like grip and found she could barely move an inch. “Now, now, let’s not be too hasty. Here’s what’s going to happen; I’m going to let you go and you’re going to turn around nice and slowly and stay quiet lest you want something terrible to happen to your little friends, not that they’re sober enough to do much, anyway. Understood?” She felt his hot breath against her ear and his lips brushed her jaw as he spoke, his voice deathly low and almost intoxicating. Y/N whimpered and nodded her head as much as his iron grip on her allowed.

She felt his arms loosen slightly, enough for her to turn herself around in them and face him slowly. She felt strangely compelled to do exactly as he said as the thought of crying out for help or making a dash for it didn’t even seem to cross her mind, something she guessed he knew as she caught her first glimpse of him, a confident, cocky almost, smirk adorned his perfect lips. It took her a second to take in the sight of him; he was perhaps the most attractive man she had ever seen, not much taller than she, though his demeanour made him seem 10ft tall. She found herself caught in his eyes, so dark she thought they were black, and noted him studying her as much as she studied him. He emanated a seductive aura, though there was definitely something off about this man, for he also gave off a distinct sense of danger.

“How did you get into my house?” She tried to keep her voice steady, she dared not let him see how scared she was. He chuckled eerily at her and the area around him seemed to darken as his grip on her got tighter.

“Why, darling, you invited me.” He leaned in close to her, his smell intoxicating, but strangely pleasant, addictive almost. Her face screwed up in confusion and just as she was going to protest, his dark eyes fluttered to the book lying open on the table, displaying the ancient looking scripture and the blood soaking the page. She wasn’t entirely sure what was going on but before she got a chance to ask him he’d spun her around and shoved her against the nearest wall, pressing his all too warm body against hers and holding her in place. When she struggled to get out of his grip he took hold of her chin, bringing her face up to his, his grip was solid, though not exactly painful. She was forced to look into his eyes, and a whimper fell from her lips as she noticed the whites of them were completely gone, his fully black orbs boring into hers as he smiled devilishly at her, almost sizing her up as if she was meat at the butcher’s counter.

“What do you want?”

“You. Just you.” His hand travelling down her body forced a gasp from her lips and he took this opportunity to dive forward and attach his mouth to hers, kissing her viciously, tongue delving in and out at his own pace, nipping her lips with his strangely sharp teeth. He pulled back as she caught her breath, utterly terrified, and his black eyes bored deep into hers while his mouth held a devious smirk.

“Don’t you know not to play with magic you don’t understand? Why, you could be inviting any and all demons into your home.” He smirked as horror took over her face. Suddenly he lurched forward and clamped a hand over her mouth as he sank his teeth into the skin where her neck met her shoulder. She felt the world go black around her, an evil lingering in her skin, and felt his arms around her as he continued to mark her as his own. He broke away from her skin and the last thing she felt was his lips brushing her ear as he whispered softly to her;

“Doesn’t matter anymore; you’re all mine now.”

Taglist : @cyrusandhiscollaredahirts

@rachaeldonnaspiteri1 @averyfosterthoughts

#tom holland #tom holland fanfic #tom holland smut #tomholland #demontom #tom x reader #demonau #tom #holland

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papermoonloveslucy · 3 years

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GETTING OLD

May 20, 1949

“Getting Old” (aka “Liz Is Feeling Her Age”) is episode #44 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on May 20, 1949 on the CBS radio network.

Synopsis ~ Scanning her old high school yearbook, Liz decides she's old, and everything George does to try to snap her out of it just makes things worse. George tries to convince Liz that she's as glamourous as ever. His tactics misfire so George is forced to hire a psychiatrist.

Note: This episode partly inspired the “I Love Lucy” episode “The Inferiority Complex” (ILL S2;E18) aired on February 2, 1953, which also starred Gerard Mohr as a psychiatrist. In this case, however, the complex is replaced by fear of aging. There is another “My Favorite Husband” episode titled “Liz’s Inferiority Complex” (aka “Liz Develops an Inferiority Complex”) broadcast on February 3, 1951 which uses the notion of inferiority rather than aging. In that episode, the psychiatrist is played by Alan Reed.

“My Favorite Husband” was based on the novels Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, the Record of a Happy Marriage (1940) and Outside Eden (1945) by Isabel Scott Rorick, which had previously been adapted into the film Are Husbands Necessary? (1942). “My Favorite Husband” was first broadcast as a one-time special on July 5, 1948. Lucille Ball and Lee Bowman played the characters of Liz and George Cugat, and a positive response to this broadcast convinced CBS to launch “My Favorite Husband” as a series. Bowman was not available Richard Denning was cast as George. On January 7, 1949, confusion with bandleader Xavier Cugat prompted a name change to Cooper. On this same episode Jell-O became its sponsor. A total of 124 episodes of the program aired from July 23, 1948 through March 31, 1951. After about ten episodes had been written, writers Fox and Davenport departed and three new writers took over – Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Pugh, and head writer/producer Jess Oppenheimer. In March 1949 Gale Gordon took over the existing role of George’s boss, Rudolph Atterbury, and Bea Benaderet was added as his wife, Iris. CBS brought “My Favorite Husband” to television in 1953, starring Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson as Liz and George Cooper. The television version ran two-and-a-half seasons, from September 1953 through December 1955, running concurrently with “I Love Lucy.” It was produced live at CBS Television City for most of its run, until switching to film for a truncated third season filmed (ironically) at Desilu and recasting Liz Cooper with Vanessa Brown.

MAIN CAST

Lucille Ball (Liz Cooper) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. With Richard Denning, she starred in a radio program titled “My Favorite Husband” which eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960 (in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With Lucy,” also with Gordon.

Richard Denning (George Cooper) was born Louis Albert Heindrich Denninger Jr., in Poughkeepsie, New York. When he was 18 months old, his family moved to Los Angeles. Plans called for him to take over his father’s garment manufacturing business, but he developed an interest in acting. Denning enlisted in the US Navy during World War II. He is best known for his roles in various science fiction and horror films of the 1950s. Although he teamed with Lucille Ball on radio in “My Favorite Husband,” the two never acted together on screen. While “I Love Lucy” was on the air, he was seen on another CBS TV series, “Mr. & Mrs. North.” From 1968 to 1980 he played the Governor on “Hawaii 5-0″, his final role. He died in 1998 at age 84.

Gale Gordon (Rudolph Atterbury) does not appear in this episode.

Ruth Perrott (Katie, the Maid) was also later seen on “I Love Lucy.” She first played Mrs. Pomerantz (above right), a member of the surprise investigating committee for the Society Matrons League in “Pioneer Women” (ILL S1;E25), as one of the member of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League in “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (ILL S3;E3), and also played a nurse when “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” (ILL S2;E16). She died in 1996 at the age of 96.

Bob LeMond (Announcer) also served as the announcer for the pilot episode of “I Love Lucy”. When the long-lost pilot was finally discovered in 1990, a few moments of the opening narration were damaged and lost, so LeMond – fifty years later – recreated the narration for the CBS special and subsequent DVD release.

GUEST CAST

Gerald Mohr Psychiatrist aka Charley ‘Chuck’ Stewart) also played psychiatrist Henry Molin, who masquerades as Ricky’s old friend Chuck Stewart in “The Inferiority Complex” (ILL S2;E18 ~ February 2, 1953), his only appearance on “I Love Lucy”. In return, Lucy and Desi appeared on his show “Sunday Showcase” that same year. He also made an appearance on “The Lucy Show” in “Lucy and Phil Harris” (TLS S6;E20 ~ February 5, 1968).

One of the few times an actor recreates his role in a television version of a radio script using the same name.

Bea Benadaret (Mrs. Annie Green) was considered the front-runner to be cast as Ethel Mertz but when “I Love Lucy” was ready to start production she was already playing a similar role on TV’s “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show” so Vivian Vance was cast instead. On “I Love Lucy” she was cast as Lucy Ricardo’s spinster neighbor, Miss Lewis, in “Lucy Plays Cupid” (ILL S1;E15) in early 1952. Later, she was a success in her own show, “Petticoat Junction” as Shady Rest Hotel proprietress Kate Bradley. She starred in the series until her death in 1968.

This turn as an old lady may have given Lucille Ball the idea to cast her as elderly Miss Lewis on “I Love Lucy”.

EPISODE

ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on the Coopers, Liz is over by the bookcase, with books spread out all around her.”

Liz tells George her club is having an old book sale. George warns her not to sell any of his book, especially ones he hasn’t finished yet. She finds one with a bookmark and he tells her to put it back on the shelf: some books are too heavy to finish in one sitting.

GEORGE: “What’s the name of it?” LIZ: “’The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore’”

“The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore” was originally published in 1907, the third in a series of children’s books. There were 72 books in all, the first appearing in 1904 and the last in 1979. In 1953’s “The Camping Trip” (ILL S2;E29) Ethel referred to Lucy and Ricky as the Bobbsey Twins. In “No More Double Dates” (TLS S1;E21) they are mentioned again. They were authored by Laura Lee Hope, which was a pseudonym for a series of writers employed by the publisher.

Liz finds a book about how to play mahjong that George forgot to return to the library.

GEORGE: “When was it due?” LIZ: “May 13th. 1936!”

George wants to donate it to the sale, but Liz refuses to handle ‘hot’ merchandise. George sarcastically calls her Pear-Shape.

George is not referring to Liz’s figure, but to the character in the Dick Tracy comic strip named Pear-Shape Tone, who was part of the storyline from April to July 1949. He was a racketeer who would steal jewelry from his wealthier clients, then fence it to make a profit. One of his famous heists was referred to on “My Favorite Husband” in “Anniversary Presents” aired on May 13, 1949.

LIZ: “George, look! On the second shelf! ‘Little Men’ is leaning against ‘Little Women’! Oh, look, George! They’ve had a little pamphlet!”

“Little Women” (1868) and its sequel “Little Men” (1871) are books by Louisa May Alcott. A sequel was titled “Good Wives” (1869) but in America was combined with “Little Women” for publication. A third book (not a pamphlet) arrived in 1886 titled “Jo’s Boys.”

Liz finds the Arbutus, George’s old high school year book from 1929. George was a senior, Liz was a freshman. He reads some of the inscriptions from his friends. The book has a photo of Liz as a Freshman Princess - dimples in her knees.

LIZ: “I used to spend every evening kneeling on two collar buttons!”

Liz suddenly feels very old. She has turned from ‘a flower in the bloom of youth’ to ‘an old stink weed’. She starts to cry and decides to go to bed because old people need their rest.

In the morning Katie the Maid finds Liz gazing at herself in the mirror.

LIZ: “I haven’t felt so old since the day Shirley Temple got married.”

Former child star Shirley Temple married actor (and then Army Air Force Sergeant) John Agar on September 19, 1945, when she was just 17 years-old. At one time, Temple was one of Hollywood’s biggest box office stars. The marriage became troubled, and Temple divorced Agar on December 5, 1949. On December 16, 1950, Temple re-married to Charles Alden Black, a Navy intelligence officer and assistant to the President of the Hawaiian Pineapple Company.

George is concerned about Liz, so he visits a psychiatrist (Gerard Mohr). He tells her to flatter her and make her feel young again.

PSYCHIATRIST: “A few days of attention and you won’t be able to leave her alone without a sitter!”

George comes home and finds Liz in a rocking chair. He has brought her roses and candy. She begins to cry and is immediately suspicious of his motivations for bringing her gifts. She decides to go to her room - alone. George immediately starts to dial Dr. Stewart, humming while he does:

GEORGE: “Little Old Lady young and fair, you’re in everyone’s hair...”

The song “Little Old Lady” was a 1937 hit written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stanley Adams. It was also heard on stage and screen.

Dr. Stewart tells George that it is natural for a wife not to believe her husband. He suggests an outsider flattering her would be more convincing and he has just the person - himself! George reluctantly agrees and decides to say that Dr. Stewart is an old college friend. He will drop by at eight o’clock that evening.

When the doorbell rings, George announces him as Charley Stewart, who immediately takes Liz for George’s daughter. After some flattery, they decide to listen to the radio. Liz says her favorite she is “Life Begins at 80″.

“Life Begins at 80″ was a panel quiz show that aired on radio from 1948 to 1949, before making the shift to television in 1950. In it, octogenarians answered questions sent in by listeners. Jack Barry hosted.

Chuck insists that they play music and invites Liz to dance the Samba. After three hours, Chuck compliments her dancing, but George is getting impatient.

LIZ: “Treatment, George. Treatment!” GEORGE: “It looks more like a treat than a treatment.”

Chuck starts whispering amorous compliments into Liz’s ear just out of ear shot of George. He demands to know what’s going on.

LIZ: “Treatment, George! Treatment!” GEORGE: “What do you know about treatment?” LIZ: “Nothing. But whenever he says it you leave us alone.”

George finally can’t take anymore and tells Liz the truth about Chuck being a psychiatrist, telling him to leave at once. After Chuck leaves, George finds Liz back in her rocking chair lamenting her old age.

Next day the phone rings and Katie answers it. It is George, checking up on Liz, who Katie reports is making out her will.

KATIE: “She’s leaving you to me!”

George has a plan. He’s going to bring home a real old lady - seventy year-old Mrs. Green - to show Liz how young she really is. Katie finds Liz happily singing.

KATIE: “What’s happened to ya? Last night you were Grandma Moses and now you’re Junior Miss!”

Grandma Moses (1860-1961) was an American folk artist who began painting at the age of 78 and is often cited as an example of a person who successfully began a career at an advanced age. In “Nursery School” (ILL S5;E9) Lucy Ricardo is so proud of Little Ricky’s first drawing, she dubs him the next “Grandpa Moses.” The Ricardos had two framed prints by Grandma Moses next to their front door: “So Long” and “The Old Snow Roller.”

Junior Miss is a collection of semi-autobiographical stories by Sally Benson first published in The New Yorker. Between 1929 and the end of 1941, the prolific Benson published 99 stories. She had a bestseller when Doubleday published her Junior Miss collection in 1941. The stories inspired a Broadway play (1941), film (1945), radio series starring the aforementioned Shirley Temple (1942), and television show (1957).

Liz tells Katie that she got a call from the Psychiatrist asking her out on a date. Katie says that since she’s now in a more upbeat mood, she’d better call George and tell him not to go through with his plan. But Liz has other ideas. Since he tricked her by brining home a psychiatrist, Liz will trick him by pretending to be an old lady when she brings Mrs. Green home!

Liz dons a shawl, eyeglasses, a gray wig, and talks with a creaky voice. Mrs. Annie Green (Bea Benadaret) and ‘Lizzie’ sit down for a chat. Whatever question Mrs. Green asks, Liz answers “Penicillin”! Lizzie tells Annie that she can’t dance because she’s got the gout.

LIZZIE: “I can’t dance any unless I get oiled. In my joints, I mean.” ANNIE: “I’ve been oiled in few joints myself!” LIZZIE: “Oh, Annie! You’re a caution! Just cuz ya got snow on the roof don’t mean there’s no fire in the furnace.”

Annie tells Lizzie about a hot Bingo game in back of the Blue Bird Tea Shop (which just a front).

ANNIE: “Get your green eye shade and let’s go!” LIZZIE: “I’ll get my wheelchair! We can ride down.” ANNIE: “What model you got?” LIZZIE: “A real hopped-up job; I hooked it to a Mixmaster. I had some speed trials yesterday.” ANNIE: “What did ya make?” LIZZIE: “Fourteen miles an hour and a bunt cake!”

In 1930, the Sunbeam Company introduced the Mixmaster mixer, the first mechanical mixer with two detachable beaters whose blades interlocked. Several attachments were available for the Mixmaster, including a juice extractor, drink mixer, meat grinder–food chopper, and slicer–shredder. The Mixmaster became the company's flagship product for the next forty years.

George has had enough and tells Liz to stop, so she gives up the old lady act. She tells him she’s feeling better, but George lets it slip that he told Chuck to call and ask her out on a date. She’s distraught again and Annie and Lizzie toddle off to Bingo!

#My Favorite Husband #Lucille Ball #Richard Denning #Gerard Mohr #Bea Benadaret #Ruth Perrott #Mixmaster #Grandma Moses #Junior Miss #The Bobbsey Twins #Life Begins at 80 #Shirley Temple #Little Old Lady #John Agar #Gerald Mohr #Bob LeMond #Dick Tracy

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iwannaholdyoutight- · 4 years

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SUNLIGHT

Summary: Welcome to Mattina ed Estasi, an art gallery dedicated to show the art of seduction. This story is dedicated to the discover of true sex.

A/n: each day has a painting, please click on the link, likes and reblogged are love and if you come talk to me about it: I’ll love you forever. Please read end notes, it’s important

Find my masterlist HERE

Find the Pinterest page for this fic HERE

Somewhere in Italy, 1978…..

Day 1: Mattina ed Estasi https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Extasy/300907/4211239/view

Lavignia was going to have a syncope. She was sure of it. It was hot, hotter than any other summer she has ever lived in her 25 years of life upon this earth. Her pink loose dress was sticking like glue because of the heat and she was late for her first day at the new job.

Fucking amazing, right?

The bus was late and then she got lost because she should have turned right but she took a left and her Italian isn’t amazing enough to understand what the old lady was trying to explain her, she was speaking too fast and Lav was far too nervous to concentrate.

But finally she saw the brick walls built in an elegant way. She saw the big stained glass with the mermaid. She had finally found Mattina ed Estasi, or “morning and ecstasy” in English. This is going to be her new job - new home- for at least the next 18 months (that was what the contract said, at least).

Having graduated just a year ago from the University of Coimbrã with a major in arts and communication, Lavignia found herself without a job and without the possibility of asking for her folks to help since they didn’t want her to go to college at all (she had one job and that was to marry well…. and that’s clearly not what she did).

But a friend of a friend told her one night about this gallery in Italy that needed someone to work there. This person had to speak English, to communicate with all of the tourist and had to know a lot about art.

Thank god she knew both.

Packing her bags, she dished her job at the bar and went to Italy on the morning train all the way from France. With all of her articles about art and the hope of a brand new start.

Taking a deep breath she walked through the doors, coming face to face with a tall red head: “you must be Vanessa! Mrs. Lovelace told me you would be here.

She was nervous, feeling short when standing side by side with this gorgeous woman. Her hair all messy from the wind and heat. But Vanessa, with a freckled face and very blue eyes, opened a smile and refused her hand shake, going for a hug.

“Hello, Lavignia. Yes, Mrs. Lovelace has told me all about you, she seemed excited, she loved your article about the art movements as protest against the military coups in Latin-America.”

“I’m glad. And please, call me Lav”

“Of course. Ready to begin our training?”

They started to walk around the gallery. An intimate space with golden artificial lights, a crew of men was working with all of the artwork for the new exposition: “Love and Sex”.

“What do you know about our new work? I just need to know everything you were told so I can help you with the rest”

“Well, I received a lot of books to study the theme on the last few days. Love and Sex is all about the the raw emotions of the human body, showing how much they are alike but also not so different. One complements the other but at the same time you can have sex without feeling in love, and you can fall in love and not have sex.” She could feel the embarrassment from talking so much about this subject with someone she barely knows but since it was about art becomes more acceptable.

“Yes. You are very correct. We are getting pieces from the renaissance era till the new paining by erotic artist Joan Semmel, our biggest conquest of this is actually her painting “Sunlight”, but Harry still has to bring that one”

“Nice. But who is Harry?”

“Oh, didn’t Mrs. Lovelace told you about the owners of the shop?”

Lavignia shook her head in a negative but said “only that she was one of them.”

“We have three owners. The first one is Jeannie Lovelace” the one who interviewed Lavignia just 5 days before. She was around her late sixties, beautiful long silver hair and blue eyes. Very elegant lady always using nice bell pants and white shirts. “Well, first, never call her Mrs. Lovelace to her face, she doesn’t like being treated like she is elite, even if she is. Some people say that on her younger days she had an affair with Duke Elligton, can you imagine?”

They laughed together, this beautiful old lady must have so much to tell if given the opportunity .

“Anyway, she was the founding mother of this beautiful gallery. She never got married so her true love is art. She founded this gallery back in 1961 with the money she inherited from her father company back in the U.S”.

“Nice. There is two others right?” She said while pointing to a board with the story of the gallery “This Harry you just told me about and Jesse right?”

“Yes. Let me start with the worse: Jesse Fire. Firstly, I’m pretty sure that’s not his real name. He’s this elite lawyer and a jackass with everyone he doesn’t find worthy of his time. He only puts money on this gallery because it’s a good investment and makes him have a “intelectual image” for the tabloids. Don’t worry too much about him but if he ever appears just try to not talk to him, and you’ll be fine. He is on holiday and won’t return for another three months. And he lives in Rome, so even when he’s in the country he comes here only for big openings and our parties. We are all safe.”

She opened a huge smile

“Now, let’s talk about the last one: Harry. Do you happen to know H.E Styles?”

“You mean the erotic poet and composer? The one people are always talking about his sexual escapades and charming ways”

“That one. Well… that’s Harry. I mean, we all know Harry made his money with art and he likes to spend his money with more art. Shocking, right? He has the biggest collection of sensual masterpieces. From paintings to sculptures and even vintage sex toys: he has it all. Actually this exhibition was his idea. The main pieces will have a poem by him attached to it.”

“And how many pieces are we hoping for?”

“Around 10. He’s going to write new poems for the main events, inspired by a few of the art pieces and will release a book at the end of everything. And that’s the reason why we still don’t have the painting by Semmel. He is struggling with that one and took home last Friday and promised to bring here today.

“And it’s not here today” said a raspy slow voice from the back door. He was using a blue chiffon shirt almost completely unbuttoned with a pair of high waisted white jeans and a glittery boot, with heels that gave him at least 3 inches more. “I am so glad to see my favorite red hair today. It was a tuff weekend”

He got closer and she could finally see his face: green eyes, beautiful wavy brown hair and a nice crooked smile with dimples just to make it more adorable. And he had a mustache. Lav absolutely hates mustaches, but if it’s this handsome fellow that has one…. she wouldn’t complain.

“What happened? Couldn’t find inspiration again?” Vanessa said while touching his arm. Of course a guy that hot would go for a girl like Nessa. They looked like a power couple together.

“First I thought I could get inspiration if I could just stare at the painting. But it didn’t work so I called Daniel and Melissa, maybe with a fun three way party I could feel inspired, wrong. Then yesterday, I thought “maybe I need to see the world with different eyes” so I popped a few acid tablets… didn’t work. So now I’m here, on a Monday morning, asking you PLEASE let me have the painting for a few more days”

It was too much information for Lav to take, in three days he had done more than she has done her whole life. That made her feel quite uneasy.

“That depends, Styles… will you borrow your beach house for the summer so I can have my honeymoon with Cathy there?”

Oh, she has a fiancée, thought Lavignia, how silly could she be, thinking they were a couple.

“I was already going to offer you this and you know it. But of course, my Calihouse is yours for the time you want it for your honeymoon” he finally locked eyes with the brunette who was feeling like an outsider listening to private conversation: “and who is this Dove? Is she the new curator you and Lovelace were talking about?”

“Yes, Lavignia this is Harry. Harry this is Lavignia”

She gave him an awkward smile.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Styles”

She raised her hand to shook his that was already reaching out for her. But, instead of a shake, he took her hand and before giving a kiss he whispered to her hand “please, call me Harry.” He kissed her hand and let her hand go, using the tips of his fingers to caress her arm on the way down from its previous position.

“She is actually going to create the sequence for the pieces and the artistic and historical explanation of the pieces from the the exhibition”.

“I thought I was going to write this”

“Yeah but she has the technical knowledge. So you are going to look at the art, find a meaning behind and she is going to write the explanation for the techniques and whatsoever and to the presentationwould be interesting if you guys worked together”

That’s when it hit Lavignia: they had 6 days till the opening and absolutely zero idea of what they were going to produce.

“Wait….. we have six days to plan this whole thing?”

Harry laughed.

“Yes, we have done a lot but still, we have a lot do. Right now the focus is to create a storyline to exhibit everything and it has to go well with the main theme. Welcome to our gallery” he said with a smile. “But I’m sure it’s going to be an easy job. Because love and sex are so inherent to the human being”

That wasn’t going to be an easy job. She didn’t know much about love or sex.

After their conversation, the day was just a blurry memory: checking the pieces, looking for articles and references about each one. Harry would once in a while come and check on Lav, ask her if she wanted anything and sometimes he would just look at her, like he was trying to memorize her face.

It was already 7 pm and Lav and Nessa were getting their stuff to leave when Harry came up to talk to them:

“Girls, Lovelace just called the office and asked if we want to have dinner at her place. I’m going, care to join?”

“I can’t, have to meet Cathy. We have a dinner date to try and finally find a date that is good to get married” said Nessa “but I think it would be good for Lav so she can get a feel about how we work”

“I can give you a ride if you want” Harry offered with a sweet smile, putting both of his hands on the reception table and getting closer to her face.

“Uh, sure. Let me just get the rest of my stuff”

“Sure, I’m waiting outside”

Vanessa was looking down at her with cheeky eyes and knowing smile: “you are going to have the best fuck of your life” Lav eyes grew wide “oh me and my fiancée once had a threesome with Harry. A one time thing but didn’t he gave us the ride of our lives”

“There will be no fu… mingling with the boss for me. Thank you very much” Lavignia said while getting the rest of her stuff and walking away with heavy steps and wide angry eyes. She was already out of the door but she could still listen to Vanessa’s laughter.

She started looking for a nice and extravagant car but what she found was Harry leaning on a very red Harley Davidson. Picking at his nails, tearing off the nail polish in the process.

“Hey. Ready?” She was shaking she had never walked on a motorcycle.

“Kinda. Never been on a motorcycle before”

“What a pleasure to be the your first ride then” Harry said giving her a blinking eye and a mischievous smile. “First let’s put this thing on you” he got closer to her with a blue helmet with silver stars in hand.

First he caressed her messy curls and then slided the helmet on her head, never taking his green eyes off of her: “you look perfect with this on, like you belonged on a fast ride, just like this ride I’m going to give you”

She didn’t know how to answer that, she could just blush.

“Let’s go?” Nodding with her hand and getting onto the bike with Harry, Lavignia had this nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach: it burned. Every single time he turned a left she would end up brushing her front against his back that was covered by the thin blue shirt. She never felt this spark before, almost like something in her body was screaming for the feel of him. Maybe was the fact they spent the day in the middle of sensual pieces of arts, maybe was the fact that the smell of vanilla on his neck made her think of sex.

And she never thought of sex, never understanding what was the appeal to showcase something it was supposed to be so intimate, and he didn’t have any filter when it comes to it. Maybe the almost 4 years without someone between her legs have finally got her and she was going crazy.

After it felt like an eternity in a war with her own thoughts, they came to a stop on a small circle park with 5 houses surrounding the area . All of them were big and out of a art decor movie. They came to a stop in front of one of the houses: this one was yellow with high walls and a lot of plants all over the entrance.

“This is Jeannie Lovelace house. My house is the other one on the other side of the park” Harry finally said, without taking his helmet off, pointing towards a house with a bright orange tone to it with rounded windows and a balcony that was exposed for the street, full red roses. “She is already expecting us, you can go inside, I’m just gonna drop my bike at my house. Do you live close?”

“No, I live close to the beach, close to that souvenir shop, you know? It’s about 30 bus stops from the gallery.”

“You can stay at my place, if you want” he said in a normal tone but a sparkle was found inside his eyes, maybe she wasn’t the only one that was left shook from their little trip standing so close together.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea” she could admire him, but she couldn't touch. She only knew him for a few hours but she knew it was trouble. And maybe her tone was quite condescending because Harry changed his posture and stopped smiling and just pronounced a small and guilty “okay” before driving towards his house, acting almost like he was feeling shameful. Before Knocking on the door there was only one thing in her mind: this was going to be an extressfull dinner.

Day 2: Woman with the black stockings

(Painting they talk about: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Schiele_-_Frau_mit_schwarzen_Strümpfen_-_1913.jpg )

“Darling, wake up” she could feel Jeannie elegant voice talking quietly “it’s almost 9, if you want to be on time to your meeting with Harry, you have to wake up now”

Meeting? When did she and Harry settled a meeting hour? Lav’s last memory was from getting another glass of the green drink because she was quite overwhelmed with the conversation topics. She didn’t even knew there was so much it could be talked about sex.

“Sorry” she said getting up “my head is killing me. Thank you for letting me crash here, I don’t even remember how I made it to this bed” she looked around, being in a big room with with walls and drawing of flowers all over it, Lovelace was standing right next to her holding a plate full of food.

“Oh, darling there is nothing to be sorry for. You should thank Harry, he was the one who carried you over here” she said while settling the plate on her lap “but a little piece of advice? When it comes to absint you don’t drink more than 3 shots, now eat. Do you remember what we talked about last night?”

Oh God, she didn’t want to hear all of that AGAIN but she had to be honest: “after my third glass my mind is just a blackout. I’m so embarrassed”she said while getting the beautiful croissant and taking a bite of it and it was so good “You only know me for two days, you are my BOSS and I made a complete fool of myself”

“Again: nothing to be sorry for, everybody in the gallery is like family to me. Not counting Jesse, he is just someone that gives us money…. think of him like the awful uncle that everybody has to deal with” laughing at her own joke “We just talked about the opening then me and Harry stared to exchange stories… that was when you started to drink a little too much.”

“I just… I hope this doesn’t get me fired but, you all just treat sex like it isn’t an act it should be kept in your bed and I got nervous yesterday with the topics of the conversation once we stopped talking business and especially Harry I mean…. I met him when he was talking about a menage he had in search for inspiration to write about an art piece” She said with open eyes and exasperated sigh

“Lavignia, sweetie, you know that this gallery is about sex right? We showcase pieces with a sensual and sexual background. Also we hold parties, books reading, music. Look at the name we gave it: MORNING AND EXTASE”

“Oh god, I’m so sorry Mrs. Lovelace, when we talked you only told me about this exposee we are doing and I thought that was it. I know that sensuality and art are two themes that often come together but ….”

“There is no problem, Lavignia” she said in a more serious tone, yeah, Lav was out of a job only on her second day, she was sure of it. “Look, I was so ecstatic to have someone with your resume that I only talked about what we are working on right now. Can I ask you something? Give us a chance, please? Especially Harry, he is a sweet guy who lives and feels everything, he gives himself whole in everything: art, friendship, love, sex. I wish I could have met someone like him when I was younger, I would be married, maybe.” She said with a sweet smile “When we are over with the planning of this, if you wish, you can let us go. But try and immerse yourself with us, there is more to the world than ‘waking up, growing old and dying’. If at the end of this you don’t wanna stay, I will find you a job at the most traditional art gallery. But, give us a chance, there is something behind your eyes that longs for something, I can see it, let us show you there is no shame in living.”

Looking at her hands, Laviginia thought about how she was never satisfied, leaving her parents home when they wanted her to get married to their neighbor, going to college in another country, then going to Paris to find a job and failing and now having this big opportunity in her hands: she couldn’t say no; so she nodded and got a big hug from the elegant old lady.

“Now, I asked Harry to get you a few clothes ‘cause I figured you wouldn’t want to be another entire day with the same ones. He is already here with the clothes I’m going to get it for you. Take a shower. We’ll be waiting for you in the living room” Jeannie said getting up from her sitting down position in bed but before she could reached the door she turned to Lav and said “and another thing: don’t ever call me Mrs again, either Jeannie or Lovelace. Okay?” and with that she left the room and Lav went to shower, knowing she had a chance in her hands and the only person who could mess this chance up.

After taking her shower Lavignia came back to the room to find not only clothes but shoes and underwear and even a perfume, on top there was a note:

Lovelace would not forgive me if I got you clothes and didn’t bought you a perfume. According to her a woman is naked without a scent. I hope I got the sizing right.

PS: I would love to see you wearing the lingerie, this one was all Jeannie.

Of course he would said something like that. The clothes consisted of a black mini dress with red little hearts and a high turtleneck, together with black boots and a thigh high black stockings. The lingerie was pretty, a set with a bright cherry color made of lace and satin. She loved looking at the mirror using such a beautiful piece, there was something about her she didn’t knew it could be achievable: she looked quite sensual. She felt like she was Twiggy herself (even if she didn’t look at all like Twiggy).

Last but not least: the perfume. It was Paris by YSL and it smelled like richness and sex. Of course he wouldn’t give any less than something like this. But she couldn’t lie, she was grateful for him, Lav knew she was quite harsh to him just the night before with her judgmental looks and words, but even then he got out of this way to help someone he only knew for 24 hours.

Getting down the stairs she could ear the light tone of their conversation, something about “opening yourself for love”, it seems like Lav was not the only one that was getting a preach from the one and only Jeannie Lovelace.

With the sound of her footsteps getting closer, Harry turned around and smiled: “glad I got the sizing right. You look nice.” He was getting up and so was Jeannie

“I’m going to give you guys a ride and then I’m picking Nessa up, we are going to the train station”

“I thought we all were working together today” Harry said while walking side by side with both women toward the backdoor that lead to the garage. Jeannie gave them both a big smile:

“Early this morning I got the news: We got the Corregio” in that moment Harry lifted Jeannie up and started to kiss her cheeks while saying “I knew you could do it”.

Antonio da Corregio was an painter from the italian renaissance, being able to get one of his pieces to put on display outside from its home museum in Viena was almost impossible . Lav was looking at the interaction and saw it for the first time: Lovelace saw Harry like a son. They were a little happy family. What she didn’t expect was Harry to put Jeannie down and take her into his arms, giving a big hug and involving her in his smell all over again.

“Now, let’s go kids. You two have to analyse the Schiele piece and me and Vanessa have a date with Corregio”. And so they left in a very lilac mercedes.

Laviginia couldn’t stop sweating, she was standing side by side with Harry in front of a big painting of a woman sitting down, pushing her skirt up so she could show all of her private parts. With very red lips and nipples and black stockings, very similar to the ones Harry got her, and from his face, she was sure it was not a mere coincidence.

“What do you think we should do with this one?” Harry asked

“I think every piece of art tells a story and we have to discuss about this piece, what story does it tells us” Lav said getting away from the painting and closer to the books she had spread all over the table, looking for her bookmarks about Egon Shiele and any piece of information about his painting The woman with black stockings. She looked over at Harry and he looked relaxed with his with long sleeve shirt full of drawings on the sleeves and blue jeans. He was calm while waiting for her to tell him about whatever piece of information she found on the books. Her mind was going crazy, she was sweating through all of her pores, there was the same unfamiliar warmth in the pit of her stomach and there was Harry, changing his attention between her and the naked woman like they were talking about the weather. Finally she found the information she was looking for in one of the many bookmarks she made “This dates back to 1913, he got arrested countless time because of his art…”

“It’s ridiculous being arrested for making his art, especially one so intimate but I understand the time but so be it, I hate it when people make sex such a taboo. But please, continue with what you were telling me”

Cleaning her throat, she continued “according to this the reason behinds his arrests were his nude and semi-nude portrayals of his lovers. It also says those portrayls are so beguiling is quite simple: they have a filth quality to it. He likes to portrait his adoration towards woman and sex”

“Wow, that’s probably the most of dirty talk you have ever made in your life, I’m proud you got to reading all of this only blushing a bit” he looked at her with kind eyes and a smirk gracing his beautiful rosé lips “Okay, he wants to show devotion and rawness to it, right? There is this gorgeous woman spread open for him, longing for him as I hope he was longing to get between her legs and get so deep they don’t know when one ends and the other begins. I think that the theme of this is want, is the disinhibition, not being ashamed of wanting something that is so good” Lav felt like he was talking about her and not the painting “He has a dirty mind freakness, doesn’t only show people what he is seeing, he shows us his desire and let us get into his intimate for one reason: he painted his lovers, people he knew from inside out, people who must have some meaning to him. The fact that he can put together adoration and the most primal act of the human race, takes his art from merely beautiful to widely erotic”

“What does it feel like?” she asked him “being able to see and feel and talk about this without feeling like it’s wrong? Being able to let yourself go”

Harry looked at her and she had no idea what his face was telling her. He was sitting on the floor and pated the place in front of him in a silence request for her to join him. She sat in front of him, folding her legs and looking him in the eye

“I always felt like there was more to life than the one I was leading on, you know? My family came from money, but everything just felt the same, so one day, as soon as I turned 18, I went to Los Angeles, that was 10 years ago, ending of the 60s and beginning of the 70s, David Bowie was still becoming what he is now, Beatles had just broken up Fleetwood Mac didn’t have Stevie Nicks. There I met people who showed me more and more of living and then I started writing, becoming myself. It was with my art that made my own money and got kind of famous but I never actually showed my face to magazines till I came to Italy when I heard that the gallery wasn’t doing very well, offered to help and I gained a second mother in Lovelace, she was there for me all the time and she was the first one to tell me that I didn’t have to be ashamed of who I was, if I like a bit of everything or if I dress quite flamboyant or anything.” Harry smiled “ That’s what she wants for everybody: have a fulfilling life like hers, without any fears. It’s all a learning you know, one day at the time, you get there.” Harry took her hand and gave it a kiss “tomorrow we’ll all be together to look at the Corregio, you can talk about whatever you are feeling, I promise you: no one is going to judge you.”

“You know it would be nice to just be able to talk about this without feeling like I’m going to hell and I don’t even believe there is a hell.”

“If hell is full of people who don’t care about labels and know how to have fun… I don’t wanna go to heaven “ Harry smiled “but you know, I’m a GREAT teacher, I would love to teach you how to be less awkward when it comes to the theme, after all you are working for a gallery about sex”

“I’m not having sex with you”

“God, Lav, don’t be such a pervert, I was talking about being less shy when it comes to talking about it. Come on repeat with me ‘fuck me’ without blushing”

“Fuck me”

“No, fuck me”

“Fuck me”

“No”

“Fuck me”

“Finally! That’s my girl.” Harry said giving a peck to her nose. “Now, how about we go eat a nice gelato, my treat. Then we can come back to talk about the painting”

Day 3: Jupiter and Aphrodite

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Correggio_028c.jpg

“I crave your mouth, you voice, your hair/ Silent and starving, I prowl through the streets/ Bread does not nourish me, dawn disrupts me, all day/ I hunt for the the liquid measure of your steps” the words from the poem left Harry’s mouth like honey. When they both arrived early to the gallery, Harry sat on the floor with a poetry book and asked if she wanted him to read for him. “I hunger for you sleek laugh/ your hands the color of savage harvest/ hunger for the pale stones of your fingernails/ I want to eat your skin like a whole almond”

When Harry said that sentence he stopped briefly and looked at Lavignia, wanting to see her reaction. He didn’t choose that poem with no intend, he wanted her to see how sexuality and love could be show on poem, with such a easy passion, no shame. She was looking right at the pearls he was wearing around his neck, thinking he didn’t noticed the way she was staring at his chest and necklace, he licked his lips and continued: “I want to eat the sunbeam flaring in your lovely body/ the sovereign of your arrogant face/ I want to eat the fleeting shade of your lashes.

The more Harry read, the more Lavignia was imagining he was doing all the the things quoted, adoring her body with such hunger, she was thanking God that he was close to finish his reading: “And I pace around hungry, sniffing the twilight/ Haunting for you, for your hot heart/ Like a puma in the barrens of Quitratue” He closed the book and looked at her:” so, that was the Love Sonnet XI by Pablo Neruda, what do you think of it?”

“It’s beautiful”

“Only beautiful? What do you feel when you listen to those words. Erotism can also come in form of beautiful words, to show those feelings and to have them returned are a bliss, if is a one night or a lifetime.”

She wanted to be like him, like everybody she met during those 3 days, so she trying to raise her voice and finally say something:

“I feel hunger. Hunger for life. I don’t want to feel like it’s wrong to desire someone”

Harry got closer to her, almost touching their knees together. The moment he walked through the door last monday he was captivated by the girl wearing the cherry tree print dress. He couldn't stop watching her every movement, how she would stare at each art piece with a passion observation yet timid eyes, how she would like at him like he was from mars, she had so much inside of her screaming to break out of the coffins of her mind and heart, and Lovelace made him promise he would help her, she saw so much of her in Lavignia.

“Would you like to try and live the life you always longed for?” he asked her.”You will never be judged here, that is a promise I make you, in the name of everybody”

She was hypnotized by his eyes and the thought of finally exploring whatever she felt since she was younger and everybody always told her how wrong it was: this hunger. Ever since she read the Betty Friedan book “The feminine mystique” and was shocked to find out that women also could find pleasure in sex just like men. Never having the courage but each day inside the gallery she could feel the same insistent pit in her stomach always asking for more” So she just nodded and Harry got even closer, so close she could see the blue and golden inside his eyes and could hear his breathing and smell the mint in his breath.

This guy that just this weekend was having threesomes was going to kiss her shamelessly inside their workplace. And she was going to let him.

“Good Morning darlings” said the elegant voice of Jeannie coming from the front door “I’m a little bit late but I got fresh macarons from the french bakery close to Nessa’s place. She is just parking the … oh” Finally looking at the young couple on the floor so close that it was unmistakable that they were about to kiss when the owner of the gallery busted through the door “well…. young passion, always a good feeling when you just can’t wait till you can get home and enjoy each other but please do whatever you were going to do away from the art pieces, we wouldn’t want another incident like the party we threw back in 75”

Harry gave Jeannie a cheeky smile while the only thing Lavignia could feel was shame, absolut and complete shame. Opening her mouth to defend the situation she found herself in:

“But we weren’t going to…”

“Lavignia you know I’m the biggest and most precious work of art from our little gallery” Harry said at the same time she was trying to come up with any excuse, looking at her while getting up and offering his hand.

“Oh Harry if I was 30 years younger you wouldn’t scape me” Jeannie answered. Today she was using a elegant bright red dress and a scarf around her head and by the smile on her face, Lav understood what they were trying to do: they wanted her to feel comfortable so they were joking to show her there was no problem in whatever they were doing.

“Now, enough talking we have two pieces to figure it out today and Harry where the fuck is the Semmel?” Lovelace said taking her heels off and started to walk around, checking everything they had already done. There was still 3 pieces for them to figure out how they would showcase.

They were all sitting on the bench Harry dragged to the middle of the room, with watchful eyes resting on Lavignia that was right in the middle of two art pieces. They all were waiting for her to begin her explanation:

“So, if you look at my right, we have the famous Correggio painting: Jupiter and Io, dated back 1530. So, we all know the Romans saw Jupiter as the equivalent of the Greek god Zeus. According to the tale, he was attracted to everything that was beautiful, especially Io, she was one of Hera’s priestess. Jupiter was always tempted by others beauty and would disguise himself to be closer to them. In the case of the Correggio” she said posting towards the bluish god that was encasing the woman in a sensual way “he took the form of a velvet fog to reach for Io” pointing through naked woman encased by the fog, she took a break, waiting to see if they wanted to add something but Jeannie just gave her a small smile, telling her to continue: “it’s from the Italian renaissance, as we all know and the technique is oil on canvas, it’s height is around 5’4 and is has been in the Austria museum since the XVI century”

Harry raised his hand not wanting to disrupt her talking, he was quite fond of the way she lost all of her shyness and insecurities when it comes to art. When she was done she looked at Harry when he raised from his sitting position to get closer to the painting:

“If we look next to her face, we can see a face form itself on the fog, that’s Jupiter, right? He is there taking her pleasure as his own and giving his pleasure to her as her own. It’s a mutual feeling, she isn’t dreaming about the fog, he is there. This is such an erotic turn, showing us this woman being involved with this fog, her face looks like she was being pleasured. It’s about the feeling of letting go, she was letting herself being encased by this fog, encased by desire” turning his face to the redhead sitting close to Lovelace he asked “what do you think, Nessa?”

Crossing her long legs that were covered by a letter flared jumpsuit she stayed quiet, taking the pairing calmly.

“I think I wanna hear about the Aphrodite before making a decision”

Harry pinched Lavignia cheeks lightly as if saying: come on, we are waiting.

Lavignia was looking at the piece. The three naked woman with no shame, laying together on top of the blue satin sheets: one was laying down with her hands above her head, the other was on her fours atop of the laying girl and the third was encasing the the same girl that has her eyes closed in delight. It was clear that she was the one they were intending to adore, she was Aphrodite.

“Aphrodite is one of the famous goodness, she is the goodness of love and beauty, she was responsible for the perpetuation of life, pleasure and joy…” Lav lost her train of thoughts the moment she looked at Harry.

He looked calm, standing so next to her, listening so attentive, as if every word that came from her mouth was precious to the subject. His eyes were extremely green thanks to the green and blue crochet vest he was wearing together with a high waisted jeans but everytime he raised his arms she could see a bit of his soft belly and what it seemed to be a butterfly tattoo.

“Earth to Lavignia?” said the fant voice of Jeannie. Shaking her head a muttering a small ‘sorry’, she continued:

“Anyway, this illustration on paper was made for the Pierre Louys’s book, the artist is Maurice Ray, we don’t know the date but it’s from the 19th century, so it’s nearly not as old as the Correggio, so if we want to sort by date: we can’t. They are too far apart. We have to find the common ground beside both being created after myth. But we don’t have much on the creator of the illustration to help us built the story. It could be helpful”

“You know” Harry started “it’s good when people don’t know the life of an artist. I mean, I don’t want people to read my poetry and think what inspired me. Like my “cherry” poem, and think “it’s about his last girlfriend who left his heart broken’, I want people to look at my art and take it as their own. The moment I give it to the world, it’s not mine anymore. Each person has their own claim for the piece, their own meaning, their own story. I look at those pieces and I don’t wanna know if the woman in Correggio was the one that got away, I wanna look and see what this makes me feel, how this tells me a story”

Harry had a girlfriend who broke his heart? Does he always write from his own perspective? Where can she find one of his poems? She wants to know more about the boy who seemed to never look anything but a full rainbow with his colours and happiness.

“So, we only have now to work with Sunlight to finish the preparations for the grant opening. Nessa is everything okay with the catering?”

“Yes, I spoke to the cantina owner, you know, Angelo. He invited us to have dinner there today, so we can try everything he wants to bring” then opening her purse and getting a red notebook “I think we have everything covered: food, drinks, journalist to come, photographers, invitations has been send. I think the only thing lacking is the Sunlight… Harry, where the fuck is the Sunlight?”

His eyes opened and he looked a little bit frightened at Vanessa: “shit, Nessa, don’t pull those eyes on me, I always get scared. I promise: it will be here, okay?” nervously he looked at both Jeannie and Vanessa, and then at Lavignia, in a suplic for a little help.

“What time should we be at the cantina?” she changed the subject

“In a few hours, it’s only 2 pm now, maybe at 6, the music is going to start at 6 but we know nothing actually works on time here”

“Okay, so maybe let’s just revise everything? And maybe finally find the order we want to exhibit everything? Lav, do you have any idea?”

“I can only think the cliche: year and technique”

“We have been here for the last four hours searching, reading, talking about those paintings. Can we do it tomorrow” Asked Nessa, raising her arms to stretch.

“Sure, how about you two go and write all that has been discussed today while me and Harry talk business in the office upstairs?” Lovelace said, taking Harry by the hand and leading him to the stairs that stood almost in a hidden part of the gallery.

When they were long gone, Vanessa questioned if she knew that they weren’t going talk business and when she didn’t respond, she continued:

“Harry ex-girlfriend cheated on him and then left with some french preppy guy saying he wasn’t the one because she could never deal with his ways. This was almost a year ago, he was pretty depressed, to be honest, cried a lot, never wanted to sleep alone”

“Does he ever want to sleep alone?”

“You know, you are fast to judge people, when I think you are opening up to us... “ she stopped to get one of the posters for the gallery and pointed towards the front exit, needing help to put the poster in its place.

When Lavignia thought she wasn’t going to hear anymore of that, she finally continued the talk: “he hates being alone. He practically moved to Lovelace’s house for the first month, was always listening to Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide, crying. Actually, I think during those first three months he only took one person to bed and he cried during it. He started to get better when he wrote his book, travelled all around Asia, he vanished for maybe 45 days. When he got back, he was him again. Maybe a better version of himself”

“Why are you telling me all of this, you don’t even know if I’m going to stay at the gallery or I’m gonna take the other job”

“You know… I can see in your eyes, the sparkle when you talk about those pieces, when you let yourself go. But then, it's like something turns it on in your brain, almost like it’s short circuiting, and then… you stop, you blush and you give us judgmental stares”

“You know, I can’t help it”

“I know” Nessa said with a faint smile “but we can help you”

They were all laughing over bottles of chardonnay and pasta, Lovelace was in the middle of telling one of her many stories about the roaring 30 and all that she done back in New York. They got there half an hour ago, the music crew were beginning to put all the instruments over the small stage. The cantina was only two blocs from the gallery. They were sitting outside, in a round table with red and white tablecloth, with fairy lights to illuminate the place, trees that gave the place a certain fairy look.

When they arrived, there was a petite black woman with a sundress and braids on her hair, she recognized to be Nessa’s fiance, but she couldn’t bring herself to remember her name, no matter how much she tried.

When they sat, she was in the middle of Jeannie and Harry. She could feel his arms brushing her back every time he talked.

“Guarda se non sei la donna più bella di tutto il nord italia” said a tall man, he must be around his sixties. Very blue eyes, gray hair and charming smile. He had honeyd voice, and man, she really needs to improve her Italian if she wants to stay.

“Quindi mi ci abituo, Angelo. E come sempre: il cibo è delizioso.”

They continued to talk for a bit, Lavignia ended up losing the conversation, looking at the small stage, that now had a singer, maybe she was finally going to be introduced to some good italian song besides Volare.

“Perdona la mia mancanza di istruzione” he looked at Lav “sei nueva qui, guisto? La tua nuova ragazza, Harry? Che bella”

“Nei miel più grandi sogni, forse” God, Harry’s voice sounded even more charming in italian “Lavignia è il nuovo impiegato della galleria. Ma penso she dovremmo parlare in inglese”

“I am so sorry, my dearest” he said with a very strong accent “ I didn’t knew you didn’t speak Italian. It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Angelino and welcome to my humble restaurant”

“Thank you so much. I know a bit of Italian, but it’s the language I speak the least and with all the noise and people talking at the same time, it gets hard to understand”

In that moment, the song beguin to play “Our music guess is starting now, if you excuse me… Jeannie, mi concede questo ballo?” taking her hand he lead her to the dancefloor, followed by Nessa and Cathy, who she finally remembered the name.

“And then they were two” Harry whispered turning to her

She took another bite of the pasta containing a moan while Harry finished his glass, getting another bottle and pouring for both of them”

“It was my bad Italian or Jeannie and Mr. Charming over there were flirting?” Harry smirked with her statement:

“You are absolutely, right. They flirt all the fucking time. It’s cute but sometimes I just want to push them towards a bedroom with a very big bed and say they can only leave after they fucked their brains out”

The more they talked, the more Harry got closer. He asked about her life before Italy and she asked about his book. She told about how she was trapped with her parents even after she graduated, so she left. He told her about his traveling through Asia, the people he met, how he went to a David Bowie show in Japan, that each city he visited brought him back to himself.

“You know, maybe...can I buy one of your books?” she asked, with a timid glint all over her eyes “I just want to know what type of art you write”

“Oh, my poetry is all about having sex and feeling sad”

“Well, I still want to. I might blush a lot and maybe won’t be able to look you in the eyes on the first few days, but then I’ll get over it”

“How about this, you dance with me and tomorrow I give you my book to read. Deal”

“Deal” shaking hands then getting up towards the dancefloor.

Putting both of his hands on her hips, Harry got closer. They could listen to the calming voice of the singer. Softly singin the chorus of the song, with his mouth close to her ear.

Lavignia could smell his cologne and feel the heat from his body, almost like he was encasing her in a protection spell from the wind.

“You seem to know the words to the song. Who is this guy?”

“Oh, he is Pino Daniele, right now he only performs at small bars, weddings. But all of his songs are so good, give him a few years and I’m sure he’ll be big, at least here in Italy. That’s for sure”

After that they were quiet for a moment, she was trying to catch the words to the song. Feeling distracted by the environment they had: fairy lights, the jazz with a popish sound to it, people dancing without a care, everything so colorful. The heat of the summer night was disguised because of the slightly cold wind that came from being close to the beach. Harry cleaned his throat to get her attention:

“I need your help. The Joan Semmel painting is so hard for me to decipher and I think I know why, she painted from such a tender female point of view. And I know I could ask anyone to help me, but I love how in love with art you are. How you lose yourself describing and talking about the pieces”

“Okay, I can help. But are you sure Jeannie and Nessa won’t be mad?”

“I already talked to Jeannie and Nessa a little bit before we had to leave the gallery, actually” the slower song came to an end but they couldn’t let each other go. There was comfort in this embrace and light conversation. Almost like they had done this a thousand times before.

“You could come by my place tomorrow. We can fix this, maybe I can read some of my poems, since you’re so curious”

“Sure, what time?”

“Around lunch? There is no hurry since it’s close to eight and I don’t think we’ll be going home anytime soon”

She had a night full of dancing and wine ahead of her. She could only wonder what would happen tomorrow when the sun came out.

Day 4: Office Love https://www.phillips.com/detail/A/NY040210/233

The sky was cloudy when Lavignia knocked on the mahogany door. The house from the outside was already beautiful, with vines all over the place, the orange color of the wall and big door.

“Hey” Harry said while opening the door, dressed in just a satin robe “I was drawing, I lost track of time. Would you like to come in?”

The door lead her to his living room, there was a big hello round couch, with red walls and a Indian tapestry. The red walls were full of art pieces - all of them pretty much leaning on the sensual side - the three ceiling to floor windows gave a beautiful view of the street and grey sky.

“Feel like you’re at your own home, okay? Please put your shoes over there” he said pointing towards a small cabinet “I’m just going to put on some clothes and I’m be back”

With Harry upstairs, she was left alone to wander through the living room. There were magazines and vinyls all over the place as well as books about a few of the artists they were going to exhibit. He was doing his homework, apparently.

But then something got hold of her attention: it was a black and white photograph. It seemed like it was an office, a typical American one. With two big windows and a rectangular desk but there, laying at the same desk, there was a barely dressed woman with her breast out and a man -completely dressed- devouring the woman’s chest.

“Do you like the work of Helmut Newton?” She heard Harry’s voice just behind her, when she turned around there he was with a graphic white t shirt full of little watermelons drawings and jeans shorts.

“You scared me, you walked down the stairs really quiet”

“I wasn’t quiet, you were just really paying attention to the photograph. So do you like Helmuts job?”

“I never heard of him ‘till today”

“Well… he is a German photographer and is known for his studies of the female body. He worked a lot with Yves Saint Laurent and that was actually how I met him, I loved his fashions editorials of the brand. Then when I was at the fine arts museum in Boston last year, I saw this photograph. He was touring with his new exhibition when I bought this one. But it only arrived last month, when the tour was done”

He was side by side with her, looking at the piece for a few seconds before continuing his explanation: “the name of this photograph is Office Love. When I had the chance to talk to him he said he wanted his photographs to arouse. And they do, because he so boldly explores his longings. But, in my personal opinion, what makes his art so sexy is his obvious belief that sex in the most important thing in the world” he looked at Lavignia “so, what do you think?”

She looked at him with wide eyes and open mouth.

“You don’t have to say anything to me, okay? But think about this painting when you’re alone. I lost the count of how many times I sat on this same couch looking at her and imaging it was me on the picture. Especially this week” did he said what she thinks he said? “Anyway, would you like to eat something before we start? I brought my book with me, thought we could eat a peanut butter sandwich and I’ll read something”. When she nodded, Harry took her hand and lead her towards the kitchen.

His kitchen was all black and white: black and white tiled floor, black electrical appliance with white walls. Black table with white chairs.

He made the sandwiches and got them a glass full of water. When they were halfway done, he got one his book and asked what type of poem she would like to hear.

“Anything. Just want to get to know your art”

“I’ll just open randomly then…” and when he did, his smile flared a little bit, maybe this poem represents a sad moment in his life. When she was close to telling him that there was no need for him to read if it hurted him, he cleared his throat and said: “this is The cherry sonet”

Along with the cherry trees came hopeless sorrow

The cherry color reminds me that I’ll still hurt tomorrow

Dreams of you erupted in my waking

My broken heart is still yours for the taking

When you met him, did he called you ‘cherriè’?

When you kissed him, did you remembered me?

And when you left me

Did you feel like you were finally free?

But don’t you call him baby

Don’t you dare

To call him what you used to call me

But don’t you call him baby

Don’t you dare

To call him what you used to call him

She felt tears in her eyes, that was the first time he was avoiding looking at her. Closing the book he gave her and whispered “it’s yours. Take care of it”

“Harry, I’m so sorry. No one deserves to feel this heartbreak”

“It was a long time ago. I don’t miss her, I don’t even love her anymore. But every time I remember what she done to me and how much pain I went through my hearts remembers the heartbreak.”

“I understand if you don’t wanna talk about it, but, who was she?”

“Her name doesn’t matter. She lived here for a while, I fell in love so deeply, I don’t think I was ever in love before her. It was like the world gained color and I didn’t have to be so lonely, anymore. I was still trying to figure it out where I stood in the world, and for that to work out, I tried to be the perfect match for her. I think i lost a bit of me when I lost her. But that was never truly me, you know” he paused to drink some water “ She didn’t like how I treated matters of privacy. She didn’t like the theme of the gallery and she didn’t like Lovelace either. Said she was a bad influence. So to prove her I could work with other themes, I made this work with a French gallery owner. She cheated on me with him.”

“Harry… I don’t know what to say to you. I never fell in love and don’t even remember liking someone that liked me back, you know? I don’t know much about you, but I can see that you’re good and you don’t deserve any of that”

He got her hand that was over the table and took in his. Not saying anything but it was like their conversation was happening without needing any words.

“I think we need to work on the Semmel. Do you want me to bring here or would you mind if we go to my music room. I left it there”

The music room consists of a place full of music instruments, more vinyls and more books. With pillows and tapestry all over the floor, there was no couch or chair. If you wanted to sit, you had to sit on the floor. On the far left of the room there was a painting with a purple bed sheet covering everything.

“Ready?” He pulled the sheet and she was left marvelous.

Joan Semmel is a New Yorker painter and writer. Most of her works are about the female point of view. But, even with the knowledge about the artist’s life, nothing could prepare Lav for the pairing ahead of her: it was a woman sitting down on her bed, relaxed and completely naked. She was touching her body and her body was golden from the sunlight. You couldn’t see her face, she was painting from her point of view.

“You know I can write about any perspective but I’m having trouble with this one because it shows such a intimate view of the woman’s body. I called Lovelace to help me as soon as we got the thing but she said “darling I’m too old to remember the feeling of looking down at a younger version of my body”

Lavignia couldn’t mutter a word, she was too much hypnotized by the work. And also jealous: she doesn’t know what it is to be naked on her own bed just taking in her own body. She didn’t knew that could be so much freedom when you’re “normal”. Because one thing is too see Bowie and Jagger preaching sexual freedom. She thought it was made for the ones that had an unusual life. But here she was meeting people that had no problem with showing themselves to her.

“So, what do you think?” Harry asked her.

“She has a classic technique of color mixing and…”

“Darling I know all of that part. I need your take about the painting, what’s the feeling behind that and what it compares to true life, and then, together, we can figure it out how to fit inside the theme, how to display it and finally decide the story we are going to tell with Love and Sex because, I’m sorry, my dove, but we have such an unique gallery and exhibit that I don’t want to waste it with cliche display options, I know we only have two days but if we think something NOW, we have tomorrow and the entire morning of saturday to fix it.”

It was too much. It was too much. It was too much.

This isn’t right. This isn’t right. This isn’t right.

So Lavignia almost screamed without having second thoughts:

“That’s not right, I can’t go on and talk about that! She had her thoughts while doing this piece, but there must exist this lack of control when people make such works. Life HAS to have control, Harry. YES it’s a wonderful piece but I don’t feel anything while looking at it”

“You’re lying. I can tell when you’re looking at me like that” Harry said with a sad yet angry look upon his eyes “your problem is that you never let yourself lose control. You don’t think I notice... but I do. You give everyone the same staring eyes, judgmental eyes when you remember about your ‘lack of control’. When Jeannie asked us to give you a chance, I went with an open heart. I just undressed my soul to you while reading that poem, I thought you were different from her, she judged me and left me. And here you are judging me. How many days till you walk away from the gallery? When we are on the day of the opening and you leave us with all of the work it should be also yours? We are a family down at the gallery and you have no right to fuck that up with your precious control” his voice started to raise “but let me tell you one thing: one day you are going to have a cock so deep in you that you’ll feel it on your tummy, fingers messing with your button and a tongue down your throat and you’re going to find down there is more to life than your precious control”

He turned his back and finally said: “Get out of my house, I’ll call Lovelace and ask her to fix the Semmel for me. I don’t think I will go to the gallery until the opening, I can’t look at you when you’re looking at me like I’m sick. If you want to stay, we all are going to welcome you with open arms. If you still want to learn how to let go of your prejudice like you said it to me yourself: I’m here. But as long as you are judging us and messing with people's hard work: I can’t look at you.” He gave her one final look and opened his mouth one last time: “do me a favor and only go Saturday if you are willing to try. If that’s not what you want it’s not fair to you to continue to suffer what our daily works entails. And it’s not fair to us to be kept on the fence if you’ll stay or not. And it’s not fair to me to be lead on and think I have a chance of you being mine”

And with that he left the room. Letting Lavinia alone with her own thoughts. She had to get of his house. She need to talk with someone.

She needed Jeannie Lovelace.

She knocked one time.

Nothing.

Another.

Nothing.

One more time and Lavignia would go home and pack.

The door was opened.

“Darling, are you alright?” Said Jeannie Lovelace. She was with a beautiful black silk skirt, barefoot and a simple white shirt: “I thought you and Harry were going to spend the day together. Come in, come in”

She went inside still paralyzed. Jeannie lead her towards the nearest couch (the heart shaped one) and said: “Laviginia, do you want a hug?”

She hugged the old lady that smelled like lavender. She felt at home. She cried.

“What happened? Do I need to go and kill Harry?”

“I think I’m the one that needs the killing” and so she begging the story. From the time they met, to all the flirst, how Harry tried to help her to feel at home and more comfortable with her own skin and nature. Told about the flirting and the night before. And then… told her about what happened just a few minutes ago. When she was done, Jeannie looked at her and finally started to talk:

“Lav, I don’t think he was right to say those things, but I don’t think you were right to judge so harshly. You know, we are what life made us” she paused “I can’t talk about you, I just met you. I hired you not only because of your knowledge and because we needed someone with your background, I could easily get somenome from Rome for that. But it was because I trust my instincts and it felt like there was a little fairy whispering to me ‘she’s the one you need’. I don’t know how much do you want to open up, but I’m here”

Lavignia opened her mouth without even thinking “do you know why I was in Paris? Because after I graduated my father told me that now that I could say I was educated and fulfilled my ‘feminist dream’ I should go back to real life and marry. He wanted me to marry the neighbor, by the way. When I said no, he just told me to leave. I still had a bit of money and one of my classmates was French, so that’s where I went.”

“You know, for someone that is so afraid of life, you are quite brave”

“So I’ve been told” she paused “but… how will this fix the shit Ihave done to him?”

“My darling, he is no stranger to heartbreak. He is a free spirit, yes, but he longs to have someone to be free with him. There was something about you that made him feel enchanted, the same way he was some time ago with that girl… but she wasn’t the one for him”

“But I have done the same thing: I was quick to me judgmental with him”

“There is a huge quote by the one and only Anaïs Nin that goes like this: ‘You live like this, sheltered, in a delicate world, and you believe you are living. Then you read a book… or you take a trip… and you discover that you are not living, that you are hibernating. The symptoms of hibernating are easily detectable: first, restlessness. The second symptom (when hibernating becomes dangerous and might degenerate into death): absence of pleasure. That is all. It appears like an innocuous illness. Monotony, boredom, death. Millions live like this (or die like this) without knowing it. They work in offices. They drive a car. They picnic with their families. They raise children. And then some shock treatment takes place, a person, a book, a song, and it awakens them and saves them from death. Some never awaken’. Do you understand that, darling?”

“I do. How do you remember so much of this big quote?”

“Because it was thanks to this book that I woke up. You see, my family had same expectations for me. But imagine that 40 years ago… women barely could go to university. It was - still is, sadly - a man’s world. But, day by day, we can get our space. And that’s in everything, including sex. Don’t be ashamed to own your power. Own your body. Give your life everything what it deserves. Think of you first. And… when you find out who you are and if that person wants people like us as your friends, will be here. If you want Harry to be with you, he will be. And he will take you on your craziest adventures because come on… he’s an aquarius”

“I’m a Libra”

“It’s a good match” Lovelace laughed “would you like some wine? I was about to drink some rosé?”

One hour later they had bruschetta and one bottle of wine almost finished. She was listening to Lovelace talk about her adventures and, unlike last Monday, she was lovin’ it. That woman had such good stories.

Maybe was the wine but Lavignia finally had the courage to ask: “Do you think Harry will forgive me?”

“Darling, the moment you said yes to the wine, I know he will forgive you”

“Why?”

“Because you stayed”

Day 5: sunlight

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Semmel#/media/File%3AThe_Jewish_Museum's_Wikipedia_Edit-a-Thon_20.jpg

Lavignia woke up with the rays of the sun hitting her face. She looked at the window and it was completely opened. Didn’t she close it last night?

After all the drinking and talking with Jeannie, she called her a taxi so she didn’t have to ride the bus alone and slightly intoxicated.

Looking at the clock she had beside the mattress on the floor - she really didn’t have time to make her complete move just yet so her small loft was quite simple: off white walls, a dresser, a kitchen, her mattress and a little door to the bathroom with a a bathtub. There were boxes all over the floor, the Sunday after the opening she would fix everything, maybe paint the walls and get a few posters: one of Stevie Nicks, one of Frida Khalo and one of Bridget Bardot: her most divine life examples.

Looking at her door, she saw her blue knee high boots and her purse and inside her purse she could see just a little bit of the light pink and blue book cover.

Maybe … she could?

She really didn’t want to get up so she crawled towards her purse and got the book. She could imagine his reaction to her crawling for something of his.

Back to her bed, Lavignia was lost looking at the book cover, trying to catch all of the details. One side was blue and the other pink. The front cover he had the name “Fine Line” and there was a drawing of him laying down, naked. But you couldn’t see nothing, just the contour lines. Nothing else. At the back of the book there was a simple quote:

This is a story about my journey.

The one where I found and lost love.

But I found myself.

Do you know who you are?

As soon as the book was opened, Lavignia found the dedication, it was for his mother and Jeannie - who he calls his American mother. Then, there was a list of 15 poems and prose with the number of pages next to it: the cherry tree sonet, I saw an angel; from the hallway I write you this poem; don’t call me baby, again; the fruits of your body; the lights; golden as the sun; adoration; sex is medicine; summertime and butterflies; from Tokyo, with love; the little gallery.

What was better? Reading the book from the beginning or do just like Harry did not even 24 hour ago and choose randomly. Lavignia went with the later. This time it was a little prose:

Adoration

I like the love language our eyes share. When we are so together laying in bed with the sounds of the city having a conversation behind the windows. We are so close that I can feel our lashes touch. Do you know I adore you?

There are words you can’t say yet. And I understand, darling. You don’t have to say you love me. But I have to tell you: I adore you.

Please, let me adore you

I adore you

I love you

Reading this made her understand more about him. Lovelace wasn’t lying when she said Harry feels everything to its maximum. He was so pure when it comes to the matter of the heart. She felt so guilty for how she treated him. But she knows that at the time she was a different person than she is now, just a day later. All thanks to Jeannie and her Anaïs Nin quote. Wanting to read another, she opened the book in a random page, this time it was a poem:

The fruits of your body

From the tangerine smell of your body

To the dreams I have of your lipstick

It’s strawberry lick, isn’t?

From the way you hold my body

To the way you make me love it

It’s sultriness, isn’t?

From taste of watermelon

That slips all the way down your legs

I suck it all up. Don’t I?

From the way you make me grow

To the way you make me shiver

I’m at your feet

Yours.

Yours while you’ll have me.

Yours.

As long as the fruit season lasts.

I hope it lasts forever

The more she read, hotter she felt. It was never like this. She ripped her dress off. She ripped her underwear off. She wanted to get off. For the first time.

But how?

And then she remembered something a certain curly haired man with a mustache told her: “think about it when you’re alone”.

That painting. That damn painting. All of the art pieces she looked this week. The smell of him. The way his body moved. The way he looked at her. She was on fire. The sunlight coming from the window ignited the fire on her body. She was finally on fire.

Looking down at her body, knowing she was treasure map, ready to be discovered. So her journey begins:

A light touch to her neck, with the tip of her finger. The heat grows inside. Her breast so full of desire: she grabbed them. Massages them. Pinching each one of her nipples. Changed the pressure. Moaned and arched her body. She needed more but she didn’t want to stop her exploring, so she raised to her knees, getting one of her pillows.

Right between her legs. With her hands getting acquainted with herself she rolled her hip and thought of green eyes watching her. Would he have a smile on his face? She hopes so. Because she is so fucking proud of herself. She was a queen in search of the pleasure she never had the right before.

Her body. Her pleasure. Her orgasm.

When she got tired from riding the pillow she laid down again. Her hands went to her heat. And she touched and touched and touched.

And then… sunlight. She was covered in light. She was the sunlight. Her body reactions is like a morning light: beautiful and so unique.

When she had finally calmed herself she looked around. And something just clicked.

Getting up and taking a shower was the first thing she needed to do. Then… Lavignia would run as fast as she could to the gallery: she knew what to do about the opening.

Day 6: perfume https://fineartamerica.com/featured/perfume-1910-luigi-russolo.html

Lavignia was going to have a syncope. She was sure of it. The sun was finally setting but it was still hot. Hotter than ever. And if she didn’t hurry she was going to be late for the opening.

The silk white dress Lovelace gave her was from her own wardrobe. “From my peach days” she called. The dress had thin straps and it reached mid thigh with a fringe assuming the rest of the outfit till it reached her ankle. It was a true fastidious dress from the 30s. And she felt in character.

Just the day before Laviginia stayed back at the gallery till almost 3am together with Jeannie and Vanessa (and Cathy, she got there with dinner for them and stayed to help).

It was hard but the moment she told her idea, Jeannie and Vanessa fell in love with it. It was original and so in touch with everything the gallery stood for.

Sitting on the bus she looked at the the street. It was almost night time and people were starting to begin their Saturdays festivities. Lavignia felt her stomach turn and turn, the closer she got to the bus stop the more her nerves were making her crazy.

She was going to do the presentation. Yes, that was Jeannie and/or Harry’s job. But well… it would be a miracle if he showed up today and Lovelace said it was all Lavignia, so she is the one that making all the talking.

Getting out of the bus was easy. Finding her around the streets that lead to Mattina ed Estasi was easy. There was music and people talking loudly. From the window of an old building she could see the shadow of a couple making love.

But the moment she saw the red Harley, nothing was easy. Her heart was beating fast. Harry was already there. He probably saw the way they fixed everything. Just the paintings with a small description to it. The order didn’t offer any technical logic. Maybe he was mad. Maybe he was curious. Maybe he was just as anxious as she.

But Lavignia knew she wouldn’t get her answer if she just stood there. She had to walk through those doors and face everything.

She was ready.

The moment she was inside the gallery she felt so proud of herself. Looking at all the pieces circling the space. Forming a cycle. A love and sex cycle. And four of those pieces where on the center stage: first is Sunlight, followed by Correggio and the Aphrodite, the gods and goodness deserved to be together. And, finally, the one she was so afraid on her second day of work but became one of Lav’s favorite art pieces to ever exist: the women with the black stockings.

When she dressed today, she was inspired by the painting. But, instead of black, it was white. White lace and see through lingerie her friend from France gave her but she never had the courage to wear - till today - with white stocking. A little innocent gif, if Harry was willing to open when the night is over.

And by the way… where is Harry? The opening was only for another hour and she knows she was the last one here.

“Oh, you’re finally here. Good” she heard Nessa’s low voice. Dressed in a black glittery jumpsuit with wide legs and a heart shaped cut in the chest area. Looking like the disco goodness she was “Lovelace was getting worried. You look beautiful, by the way” giving her a small kiss on the cheek she continued “I have to go and see if all of the catering is ready but Lovelace and Harry are upstarts. Any second now… okay?”

And she was alone again. But not for long.

She could smell him before she could actually see him. The same vanilla and tobacco. But if Lavignia thought she was feeling a little bit woozy with his smell. Nothing could prepare her for the outfit he choose: white trousers and tank top with a white blazer. Something John Travolta would wear. He had a bit of scruff but his mustache was still the first thing she noticed in his face, together with the pink sunglasses.

Harry was looking at her, frozen at the top of the copper stairs.

“We match” she said about the all white assembly they both were wearing.

“You came”

And he gave her a small smile. Maybe not everything was lost.

Even with their little exchange, Harry hasn’t talked to her. The opening was keeping everybody busy. There was photographers and journalist to entertain. A lot of people from the villa, too.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Jeannie in her bright pink spaghetti dress talking to Angelino. He was wearing a blue velvet suit. They fitted together.

The clock read 8:47 pm, more 13 minutes and she would go to the little stage and do the presentation. She was nervous. Lavignia was in need of a drink.

As if he heard her thoughts, Harry got closer to her for the first time in the evening with a champagne glass:

“You look nervous. Everything is perfect, you can relax” he said, with a faint smile. Up close she could see the birds tattooed in his chest “and don’t you look quite dazzling tonight”

“Thanks. You look quite handsome yourself” accepting the glass and taking a big gulp, her shoulders finally relaxing a bit “I’m nervous about the presentation”

“Don’t be. Lovelace always dazzles everyone. And I’m quite curious to find out why she chose this order to present the works”

He didn’t know.

“She didn’t. I did. And I’m doing the presentation. I’m so nervous” Harry looked at her with shocked eyes. Then he looked around. Then back at her, finally taking his glasses off and looking right inside her eyes:

“Then can you help me make sense of everything?”

“I think I’ll let you find out with the rest of the people here”

“Why are you teasing me so much? I wouldn’t do that”

“No, you would do worse” she looked at him with a glint inside the honey color of her eyes “actually, I think you will do worse to me, one way or another”

“Depends, if you’re a good girl then it won’t exist any teasing. So come on… enlighten me. Tell me why everything is organized like this”

“It’s a story. And that’s everything I’m gonna tell you right now” even with their light conversation, Lavignia felt like there was an elephant in the room, so she finally decided to talk about it “can we talk? You know… about what happened?”

“After this, maybe?”

“Why aren’t you upset with me? I thought I would have to get on my knees and beg for you to talk to me today”

“You stayed. The moment you decided to stay, I decided to give you a little bit of my heart. But after the presentation, we can steal a bottle of champagne and go to the office upstairs” he took the bit of her hair that was loose and fixed behind her ear “about getting on your knees: you still can, darling” smiling he gave her his own glass “and there is my favorite embarrassed little girl. Now drink, Jeannie is going to the stage right now, your presentation will start soon.

The anticipation she felt about the promise of an “later” with Harry was only bigger than the wheels that were turning inside her stomach. Lovelace was getting up on the stage, god she was going to die.

“Ladies, gentlemen and everything that is in between, good night and welcome to our new exhibition: Love and Sex” people were clapping and shouting “Before telling the story behind those pieces, I wanna thank Angelino, from Villaggio dell’amore, for making such a delicious dinner for us. Also I would like to thank Vanessa, she works for the gallery since 1975 and since she got here, we only got better the same goes to Harry “she said posting her glass towards Nessa then Harry “you not only came here and invested in our little gallery but you gave us so much more, most of the pieces from today wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. You had this idea and with our little help, we created this magic. So thank you” he raised his glass and say something in Italian that she couldn’t quite pinpoint with all the clapping.

“Now, not long ago our family got a new member. She came here with her doubts but the moment she allowed the pleasure behind the art envolve her completely, she changed this exhibit for the better and today she’s going to be the one to talk to you. Graduated in Arts in Communication and my new adoptive daughter: Lavignia”

Harry gave her a small pat on the but like saying “you’re up”.

When Lavignia climbed the three steps to the little stage, she could feel like she was shaking. When she hugged Lovelace, she was shaking. The moment she saw all of those people faces, she was shaking. But when she saw his smile, she wasn’t shaking. He gave her peace of mind.

“Thank you, Jeannie, for the lovely introduction” he gave her a not “Welcome to Love and Sex, today, we are going to tell you a little story”

“From the start of the day, we have this huge Sunlight, a piece from Joan Semmel. Sunlight here isn’t only the signal of a new day that begins. When we talk about Love and Sex, we also talk about the discover of yourself. Know your pleasure, own your pleasure. Make love to your own body. You will never get the meaning of true love or sex, unless you become acquainted with yourself. Inside out. That’s what Sunlight is about: is the vision of the artist upon her own body. When she loves what she see and knows each part of her; what makes her quiver and long. When she makes her own body shake with love and sex is when she is ready to discover the world. Because the moment you understand yourself, you can understand others without any prejudice or pride. The moment you allow yourself is when you can finally deliver yourself to the fogs of pleasure, so well represented by Correggio’s Jupiter. Because here Jupiter is desire, is temptation, it’s the deliver. It’s when you embrace the feeling of bliss. That’s actually why we put gods and goodness together, because when you look at Aphrodite, you want to be inside the piece, you want to be this woman that not only represents beauty but also love. It’s when the pleasure you search it’s at its peak. Orgasm. High. Whatever word you might want to call it”

Harry was looking at her with attentive eyes. A proud smile. A promise of an later. Everything about the way he looked at her made her feel anything but ashamed for the things she was saying. She had a speech prepared. But she remembers nothing of it because the moment she was on stage nothing else mattered beside her feelings towards the pieces, at the end everything is about feelings.

“And then, we finally have The woman with the black stockings; because sometimes you have the chance to find people whose intensity matches yours and you just want that person. You dream and you desire, because now, sex is not only sex but is also love. You fuck at 10 am but have slow sex in the evening. Whatever this person wants, is theirs. You are opening yourself. Not only literally but metaphorically, as well. And you can only hope this person doesn’t get scared only because you’re so open”

The whole moment she was talking, people were walking around the artworks. But now, they were all looking at her. Now was the time to close her explanation and kiss her man, the same man that was so attentively looking at her and helping her since the first day.

“If love is a prose, sex is poetry. From all the artworks I just told you all about it, they all share the same theme but are shown in a different way. From the fog that encapsulates the young woman in Jupiter to the woman with her open legs showing to her lover that everything that is hers is also his. Giving him the privilege to see her in such a tender yet sensual way. Because love and sex are privileges. You can have one without the other, but together they are powerful. Is a privilege because you can’t find that in others so easily. The ones that can see what pleasure is all about, that there is no shame in longing, in wanting, in quivering for someone but also recognize than when you do it all of this with love: Is irreplaceable”

Looking around she saw people with tears in their eyes. Lavignia was so proud of herself.

“Is a privilege because not everybody can find that. A few people spend all of their lives without knowing the true pleasures of the flesh and others spend their lives wanting to be loved, waiting for someone to fit inside of them just like a puzzle. But, sometimes, all you need is you. The world is quite boring but some people know how to make it colorful, just like those artist that shows us the most inherent sentiment of the human race with the most primal desire of the human race.

This, is love and sex. Enjoy your night. Thank you.”

Lavignia could hear the applause. Lovelace went to give her a kiss on the cheek, Nessa and Cathy were hugging her, welcoming her to the family. Journalist wanted to talk to to her. She could see cameras flashing and unknown faces congratulating her. But her focus was in looking for him, and she found him: at the top of the stairs, with a bottle on his hand, he gave her a nod, pointing toward the office door. Lovelace, that was standing right beside her told her to go.

The office had baby blue and white walls. That was the first thing she noticed. There was a bathroom and a big window showing the hot Italian summer night. In the middle of the room was a desk and sitting on that same desk, there was a man picking at his nails with a champagne bottle next to him. When he heard the door, he gave her a smile and stood up.

“I thought you were going to ditch me”

“No. Just had a lot of people wanting to talk. Sorry”

“Nothing to be sorry for” he took a step closer to her “can I just start by saying how I’m so fucking proud of you? You gave such a nice speech and you made the theme so much better than what we initially thought. Cheers to that” he gave her a small smile and the bottle. Taking from his hands and drinking a big gulp, the sweet taste of the champagne that had notes of cherry filled her tastes buds. She gave him the bottle back so he could drink and asked him:

“What was the message you took from everything?”

“That love and sex is to let yourself go. As you said, it’s a privilege… and what a nice privilege” they were standing in the middle of the room, the sound of the party downstairs was nothing compared to the silent conversation that was happening behind every word they exchanged.

Harry thought Lavignia looked beautiful with the lights from the night sky illuminating her beautiful face. It was only then and the moon. Their only witness was the moon. He wanted to get a paper and write everything he was thinking. Maybe he would named Her and the moon and would say something among the lines: even the moon takes chances in betting that our love begins tonight. Strong or weak. Happy or sad.

But they still had so much to talk. So Harry decided to begin: “why were you so harsh to judge? Not only me but everybody here, actually”

“I think I was intimidated by you. You came telling about your weekend and I could only think ‘he has done more in three days that I have done my entire life. And I don’t know I think when you mix that with the unknown, I ended up misjudging you. More than once. Even when you were always so open to me” she got the champagne, drinking some more “I’m so ashamed for how I treated everybody here. You and Nessa and even Lovelace that first night, drinking everything and passing out.”

“You don’t have to be ashamed, we are family here. And family forgives, right?” he pinched her nose “And yeah, I understand what you mean, we tend to fear the unknown. Were you really discussed by me? And the fact I like a little bit of everything?”

“I think I was jealous,actually. And I hated myself for the feeling you gave me since last Monday when I saw you walk through the door. But I don’t think I was actually discussed, you know? Not at you, at least. Maybe at myself. It was hard to understand all the feelings I was having and also understand that feeling all of this is okay”

“I thought you were beautiful, you know? I was captivated by you since the first day. And we were always on and off during the week. There were days I thought you were finally understanding us and days I was sad because you looked at us as if we were monsters... exept when you start talking about art. That’s beautiful. You lose yourself in it.”

She was so closer to him now, playing with his rings. Harry noticed little lines on her forehead, like she was thinking about something.

“You seem like you want to ask me something”

“Do you still want to get to know me? Or have I missed my chance?” He laughed at that.

“Of course I wanna get to know you.”

In that moment, both of them let go a relieved breath. It was crazy to think about how much could change in one week. Lavignia always thought you could only feel like she was feeling was you know someone for years, but sometimes you have the privilege.

It was a brand new start, the Sunlight was a reborn for her. And now they were on the same page. They were both open. They both wanted a real chance.

“Will you be patient with me?” She asked him

“Always.”

“When are you going to kiss me?”

“When I’m finally inside of you”

“And when is that?”

“In a few hours from now, when the party has died down a little bit”

“I was thinking you were going to kiss me now.”

“Well... we can do other stuff, you know?”

“Like the painting at your house? It’s quite sensual”

“Look at you. How do you managed to be able to talk like this in just two days”

“You can’t see it because of the lack of light but I’m blushing right now but... you are right. I had to discover myself. Actually one of your poems helped me, and all of those paintings, they created a good picture in my head.”

“Are you saying you got off to one of my poems?”

She nodded her head. Affirmative.

“Which one?”

“The one about the fruits”

“Fuck... you are making real hard for me not to kiss you right now”

“Why don’t you?”

“I’m going to. Just not now. If I’m going to kiss you I’m going to do it right. Laying on my bed, with me inside of you. But it doesn’t mean I can’t do something to help you. I can see you’re squishing your thighs.” getting closer to her, he looked right inside her eyes, making her feel dizzy.

“Tell me, darling. Ever heard about voyeurism?” Harry asked with his deep voice just above a whisper.

She was feeling dizzy. His perfume was increasing all of her nerves. The smell of vanilla marking her melt while the notes of tobacco was igniting a fire within herself she never felt before”

He got closer again and grabbed her hips “I’m not going to ask again... ever hear of voyeurism?”

She nodded her head. A negative.

“Well...it’s when you have satisfaction of watching people engage in sexual situations” he said in a low whisper close to her ear, she was shaking. Harry was walking her backwards till her back was against the desk “I would love to see you hump this pretty table till you get lost in the feeling of a delicious high. And then I’ll take your wet panties from you and put it on my front pocket, close to the part that is aching the most to get to know you” he raised her to sit on the desk, opening her legs in a position her clit was resting on the cold and hard surface “then we are going to mingle. People are going to come to you and talk about how good your speech was. Cathy and Nessa are going to want to take photographs. Poor them, little they know my little girl is without any underwear, wet and waiting for us to get home” he started to help her move her hips on the desk. The first few waves of pleasure passing through her body like little flicks of energy “and then I’ll take you home and fuck you properly for the first time in your life, would you like that, darling?” She nodded her head and he gave her a peck in one of her eyelids “good. But, for all of that to happen I need you to do me a favor and come”

“Won’t people hear me?”

“And what’s the matter of that. We are not working anymore. We are enjoying a very sensual party, just like everyone else. And I can promise what we are doing here... everybody down there had done at least two times worse” she was hypnotized by him and his damn perfume “fuck it, right?”

Fuck it

Lavignia felt her hips moving more and more. Her toes were turning inside her boots. Harry was whispering dirty nothings close to her ear, leaving light kisses across all of her neck and chest. Holding her tights open, helping her move, sometimes moving his hips closer to her just so she could feel the promise of later.

Harry let go her trembling body so he could watch her. Taking two steps back he admired her, her body was moving like an erotic dance, one of the straps of her dress was falling of her shoulder, showing him a little bit of the left breast that was covered by the thin fabric of the bra. And then… that was when he saw it: the white stockings.

“Aren’t you a work of art.. I wish I could paint you right now, make Shiele quiver with jealousy that he didn’t get to capture you”

She could feel her orgasm approaching, the little flicks of pleasure growing stronger the harder she rolled her hips on the hardwood table.

“When we get home, I’m going to spread you open, I’m going to kiss and lick every single part of you. I might have to sell my soul just to not come to soon because my body it’s so hot for you. So so hot. Come on, little darling. Come for me”

And she came.

Like an avalanche starting from between her legs and making her whole body treble, forming incoherent words and losing its strength. But before she could fall off the desk, his body was back, holding her close and telling her to breath. Taking care of her.

When she came down completely of her high he took her panties off. She was wide eyes when he smelled and said to himself something among the lines of “delicious”.

This was only the start of tonight.

The wind was hitting Lavignia in the face, getting closer to his neck. His Harley was running around the Italian streets. She no longer felt ashamed for the thoughts going round her head in comparison to their first ride together.

After their little encounter at the office they went downstairs holding hands. Getting funny looks and a thumbs up from Nessa and Cathy and a smile from Lovelace.

They danced with people, looked at all of the artwork together for the billionth time, Harry introduced her to a designer that was at the opening and a few other people. When they noticed it was close to 2 am and people were leaving.

They stayed to help to dismount the stage and be sure nothing happened to the pieces but Lovelace told them to go home.

So now it was 3 am and Lavignia was taking advantages of her position behind Harry to stuck her nose in his hair and take in his smell. Maybe she needed to see a doctor. She was addicted to his perfume.

When they finally reached his place, Harry gave her his key to open a little gate so he could park the motorcycle. She noticed that he had a very yellow BMW.

“Not that I don’t like the Harley but how come you never drive this beauty?”

“The gallery is so close from my place that I don’t see a reason why. But, I’ll take you for a ride anyday. How ‘bout that?”

She nodded her head while still looking at the car but the moment Harry touched her back, indicating to go in through the backdoor, she stopped everything to follow him.

They were back to the black and white kitchen. Harry took of his white blazer, now only with the white tank top and the trousers. She could finally see his tattoos now. The naked mermaid, the ship. Lavignia was so hypnotized by him that she didn’t move from the door.

“See something that you like, darling?” He asked putting the pink glasses on the table together with his blazer. Lavignia didn’t answer anything, closing the door, she walked towards him. Taking off her shoes and putting her purse on the table as well.

“Can I get you anything?” He asked “some wine” she hugged his middle and nodded her head in a negative “or maybe water? Something to eat?” She noticed his smirk, he was living to tease her, but it was a week long teasing “little darling, if you don’t say anything I’m just going to keep asking. Put those pretty red lips up to good use and tell me what you want”

“You made me a promise early tonight…”

“Hey, come on… to be shy on me now” he was so close, the heat of his body could be felt in her back, he was closer and closer till… oh, he was already hard?

“You said you were going to kiss me…”

“I was going to kiss when…”

“You…” she could do it, she could say it “when you are finally inside of me”

“That’s my girl, come up”

He lead her towards the stairs. Lavignia wanted to see every artwork he had around the house but she was too focused on him (and his damn perfume). Soon enough they were in front of a dark wood door.

His room had light pink walls, tall floor to ceiling windows and in the middle of the room a huge bed with a canopy. He told her to feel comfortable and she went to sit on the bed with her feet barely touching the ground.

“Don’t you look pristine sitting all straight and proper. You can get more comfortable darling, I swear the bed isn’t going to bite you”

He was kneeling in front of her, with both arms at each side of her body.

“Why are you on your knees?”

“Because I’m going to pray”

“I didn’t know people prayed before having sex” she joked

“Darling you can’t be serious” she laughed and he was stuck admiring her but then she stopped at looked at the painting he had on the wall

“Is that the 1910 painting by Luigi Russollo?”

“Yeah, I like the way he uses his synesthesia to make the most sensual paintings” he kissed her cheekbones and started making his way down her neck, using his hands to fiddle with her dress. But he wasn’t done yet, we wanted to make her blush a little more “so… can I begging my prayer?”

When she nodded her head he attacked her left breast over the dress, she was lightly moaning and he was getting dizzy. She was the best type of drug, every little thing seemed to me a new feeling for her and he wanted to watch her while she discovered more and more of the pleasures of the flash.

“It’s too hot” she said is a whisper

“Can I take of your dress?” Giving him a small yes, she helped him take of her dress, now, only in her bras and white stocking. She looked like a goodness, deserving its place with next with the Aphrodite back in the gallery.

Harry used his hands to make her lay and opened her legs. He they started to kiss her legs, going up to the inside of her thigh, when she could feel his breath, he went to her other leg and made the same path.

When he felt like both of her legs were full of loving, he kissed just above her little point of pleasure, just to see how she would react. She whispered a little “stay” and he couldn’t wait anymore, he has to pray, he couldn’t delay it anymore so he just gave a full lick from her opening to her mound. Playing with her labia but never touching her clit, he wanted her swollen for him. Anxious for his lips, longing for his cock.

Using the tip of his fingers, he was playing with her opening, but never actually penetrating her. When he thought she was getting loud enough, he started to suck at her clit the same moment his middle finger entered her. Using a come here motion, he found the button inside of her.

Lavignia felt like she was in heaven, she was being adored by this man’s mouth and hands. She wanted more, she needed more. Trying to move her hips towards his mouth to get an even better feeling.

Normally, Harry would hold the person down, but Lavignia looked like an angel and she had such a sweet taste. He just couldn’t so he gave her everything he could and let her take anything she wanted from his mouth and fingers.

It didn’t take long till she was a trembling mess. Her release was sweet like honey and the most enjoyable thing to watch.

While she was calming down from her high, Harry got up and took of his shirt, he was sweating too much. Then he help her up the bed and started to kiss her eyelids and comp his finger through her hair.

“Hi” she said

“Hey” he gave her a peck on the tip of her nose “do you want anything? Maybe water?”

“No” she used her leg to press the tent that was appearing in his crotch area “I want what you promised me”

“Are you sure? We can do it tomorrow, I don’t mind if you’re tired. You came pretty hard”

“Please, I want to feel you”

“Okay”

He was hers. Anything she wanted, he would give to her. So, her wish was his command. He stood on his knees and opened his pants never taking his eyes off of her.

Lavignia was feeling her body burn so much. She was close to the point of hyperventilating, the moment she saw his member spread free.

“No underwear?”

“It gets in the way”

When they were both fully naked (with the exception of her white stocking, “this one stays” he told her) and he was on top of her, he took one of her hands and asked if she has done that before.

“A few times, almost five years ago”

“I’ll go slow. Please, hold my hand and tell me if it hurts too badly”

When she nodded, Harry got hold of himself and started to massage her with it, her clit, her labia, trying to get himself wet with her moisture. That’s when he remembered “on that nightstand I have a lube, it’s water based and smells like orange. Would you mind if I used a bit on both of us? It might help to ease myself into you”

“Sure” she said with har breath starting to pick up again. So Harry for the bottle and warned her it might be a bit cold.

Using the gel with both of his fingers, he got in easy, making the same come here movements and sliding his finger out with a “pop” sound.

When he went to pass on his own dick, she stopped him and with a shy voice asked if she could do it for him. And he said yes.

So she used both of her hands to be able to get his entire shaft and massaged him, up and down, squeezing when she got to the base and using the top of her finger when it was the head, all following his instructions.

“Stop” he told her “if you continue I’ll come before we even start and I don’t think I can’t handle anymore”

So, they were back to the same position as before, he on top of her, both of her legs were intertwined with his, his left hand on her right hand and they mouths finally close to each other.

When he started to enter her, she felt a small burn. It wasnt bad, but she isn’t didn’t knew if it was good. He was slowly easing himself and after a while she decided that it was a good type of burn.

When Harry was all the way in he finally said: “I’m gonna kiss you now, okay?”

It was a weird first kiss, but it was perfect. He was inside of her in more ways than he could explain. People say that when you have sex, even if it’s a one night stand, your essence connects with person, and they were connecting in a way that it was rare in any galaxy.

Then he started to move, painfully slow, they didn’t have anywhere to go, that was no reason to rush.

“You know, it’s not going to be good for my ego if I come too soon” he told her

“After a week of reading I was hope for you to blow my mind not to blow your shot too soon”

“Heeeet, that’s mean”

He was loving it, he was having sex with the most amazing girl and they were still able to have that banter he loved so much. God, he was going to fall in love with her. He could feel it.

After that, they let their bodies to the talking. She was moaning and so was he. It was sweet. It was hot. It was everything love and sex is all about.

When they were done, Harry got them water from the kitchen and a banana. Then she wanted to do it again, so they did it, this time against the bedpost. When they were done, they talked for hours, finally getting to know each other. They feel asleep the sun was already high in the sky and there wasn’t any worry or shame for her neither any pain for him. They were cured and were ready to begin another journey, this time with one another, another day, another sunlight.

Day 7: a balcony in Italy https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Paintings-Bedroom-Balcony-In-Italy/1131921/4490457/view

She woke up alone inside the bed, completely naked with the exception of the satin sheets. There was a single sunflower resting on top of the tiny desk next to the bed with a simple paper that read:

Good morning, bunny

Get out of the room and take a left. You will find a round wooden stairs that will lead you to the balcony. I’m waiting you for breakfast.

Getting a purple robe that smelled just like Harry she went upstairs, finding a suspended garden with all types of flowers she could think. There was an old table that looked from 1930, on top of the same table there was fruits and pancakes. The sunlight was shining from the big balcony, letting the Italian summer fill their lungs and eyes.

She found Harry sitting on one of the chairs, wearing a green and white striped shirt with washed blue jeans. She could see he had shaven because there was no scruff but his mustache was still there. Just from looking at it she feels a chill running down from her back till it reaches her most private parts at the memory of the same mustache passing across all of her body in his always there teasing manner.

Harry didn’t see Lav at first, but he did listened to her footsteps. Writing something in his journal, not touching his food. Waiting for her.

“You know... how long are you planning on staring at me? Should I get naked to make it better for you?” He said with a smile on his face, finally looking at her with a shine inside his eyes. One that hasn’t left since they made up yesterday.

“Sorry I didn’t...”

“Bunny you can stare at me all you want. But I bet you’re hungry, so why don’t you come here and eat with me?”

Lavignia started to walk towards Harry but he stopped her:

“Naked” that made her pause all of her movements. “Take of your robe love, and come and sit on my lap. Let’s eat together, shall we? I wanna be close to you” Messing with her tangled curls she looked around and at the balcony: what if someone sees me?

But it only took one look at Harry to know that there is no problem because even if someone sees them: fuck it, right? Isn’t that what she learned from this crazy week?

So she took off her robe, trying to look Harry in the eyes, no matter how much she wanted to look at the ground. Walking towards him, she won a beautiful smile as a present for her courage.

Now, on his lap, with her back against his front, she relaxed. Maybe was his smell - the fant reminder of the perfume and sex - or the way he kissed the back of her neck and passed his hands through her hair.

“So what do you want? We have coffee,orange juice. Bread and eggs. Pancakes and fruits.”

“Isn’t a bit late to be eating breakfast? It’s almost 3 pm”

“I mean... we did go to bed almost 8 am. And I see there is nothing bad with having breakfast for lunch”

With that Harry served her first (she wanted strawberries and pancakes) and then choose a slide of watermelon to start his meal - god knows how much they needed to eat after the night rolling around the bed.

“How did you have the time to make such a big breakfast?”

“Oh, I only made the pancakes” he said using his free hand to caress her right thigh “was planning on getting you breakfast in bed, and all of that. You know how smitten I am with you, bunny” he gave her a pitch on the cheek but continued talking: “But Lovelace sent this big breakfast as a thank you for the success that was the opening night yesterday. So I thought: change of plans. Organized everything here and left the note for you. But it didn’t take long because I don’t think I waited more than 20 minutes till you showed up using the robe even if I was very clear that you should come naked” he said giving her a funny look, pretending to be disappointed.

“Well... I don’t see you being naked”

“That can be arranged in 30 seconds, if you want”

She laughed and they continued to eat, the only sounds they could listen was the birds and the faint radio from someone outside, playing a romantic yet cheesy Italian song none of them ever heard.

Harry was using his free hand to tease her. Pressing his leg upon her mound. She was getting wet, feeling the heat of June so much hotter than actually way, like she was inside a stove.

“So, is here that you and your...” Lavignia was curious about his miscellany in bed, but she didn’t want him to feel mad or think she was jealous, she was just curious “guests “yeah, she choose the right word “here to refresh?”

Harry laughed: “my guests never actually even been here or my bedroom”

“Oh, so I’m different from all of them?”

Harry turned her around on his lap, with both of her legs each side of his waist. He took her head in both hands with a serious look:

“From the moment I saw you I was captivated. When I noticed how different you were I was so afraid you wouldn’t give me a chance because I have had my fair share of broken heart: from being cheated on to people who just said I can’t imagine the father of my children dressing the way you do all of that hurts, you know? I always give everything of me to the world but I never see the return of something that could be meaningful. And I think you mean something. I know you for only a week but there is a piece of me that wants to get to know you, fuck, even if you didn’t wanted to try and open up for life I would still find a way to be in your life either way. There is something inside those honey colored eyes that made me get so lost inside of them that I started to talk so much nonsense the day we met” he shook his head in a sign of denial “ I know I am a bit out of the usual guy but the first thing you heard from me was about a three way I had just the weekend before, that is no way to met someone you would wanna take out on a date, right”

“No. I was intimidated. I still am. There is so much I don’t know about the world and I only found out when I walked through that gallery door.”

“I think we balance each other and I can’t wait to figure it out more of us. If you want”

“I would like that”

“So, can I take you out on a date?”

“Isn’t this a date?”

“No, I wanna proper wine and dine you. Maybe take you to the movies. Fleetwood Mac is coming to Rome next month, we can have a little weekend getaway together”

“Okay. You can take me on a date”

He kissed her with fire in his soul after this. He was so used to being used just for his body or people with the dream of being one of his muses. And now he finally had a chance to start something amazing with this shy girl who is thrust so much in him.

“Good. Now that is settled, I wanna try something.”

He raised her up to her feet, opening his pants just enough to free his semi erect cock: “come and sit on me”

She looked at him with questioning in his eyes: “what about breakfast?”

“We are going to eat breakfast, come on” and with that she carefully sat on him. Both of them growling.

He took her plate and gave her a bite of the pancake. Everything seemed surreal for her: he was growing bigger inside of her and she was getting wetter. Every time she tried to move to get a bit of friction he would stop her. So there was only one thing for her to do: accept the food in her mouth and watch when he took bites of his watermelon looking at her. There was just something so erotic about everything.

“You know” Lavignia said when they were done and Harry rested their plate on the table “you are stuffing me full both ways right now” with that joke they started to laugh together

“One week ago you wouldn’t say this” Harry noted “I’m proud of you bunny. So proud that I’m going to give you a reward.

She looked at him, questioning. But he just took his hand and tapped her lips saying:

“Open up” she opened her mouth “tongue out”

And he did what she wasn’t expecting but it wasn’t a surprise at all: he sucked her to the inside of his mouth. Using his right hand to pull her hair while the other was getting down her body.

“Tastes just like strawberries, so fitting for this summer evening” He said before going in for more.

They started to kiss and his fingers were playing lightly with her clit. Never giving the pleasure necessary but always there... remembering her of the feeling of him inside and outside of her.

The more they kissed faster he would move his hand in her intimate parts while the other was manhandling her, with a strong grip on her hair, she couldn’t move. She was completely at his mercy.

When they both couldn’t take it anymore, Harry got hold of her hips, lifting her up and slamming her down his body, sending sparks through both of their bodies.

In that moment, she was stuck with the feeling of him he was the only thing that mattered. If someone could see them from the balcony: so be it. Even being on top, he was the one making her move. She couldn’t wait till the day she’d have the courage to be the one in charge.

“I’m not gonna last long” said Harry “sorry”

“It’s okay...” she said moaning. She was close to coming but from the sounds and the beating of Harry’s heart against her own: he was closer. Following her instinct she started to roll her hips every time he slammed her down, biting his neck and moaning in his ear: just for him.

It didn’t take long till Harry’s movements got a bit out rhythm so she said: “fill me up, come on. I need to feel you, to see you”

Harry was a goner. Closing his eyes and opening his mouth. He looked like an angel, if angels could be naughty as him.

When he opened his eyes, there was this adoration inside the way he looked at her. It was so loving that Lavignia said a little “oh” when he simply got up with her on his lap,used his hand to get whatever was on his way and her threw her on the desk, in the middle of the food, books, flowers.

He got down on his knees, looked at her through hooded eyes, mouth close to where she needed him the most and said: “second breakfast”

And third.

And forth.

The end

Oh, God, this was almost one moth of work and I’m so glad it all turned out just like I wanted, but first, i need to thank someone.

This fic exists thanks to the book “Woman, myth and godness”, it’s a book about the represetation of the woman inside arts, literature. It was how I found out about Sunlight, and fell in love with the concept.

And last but not least: I decided to use an OC because she had such a strong personality I needed to give her a name. If anyone is curious the faceclaim is a south american singer from the 70s called Gal Costa, so yaaay for poc charecter.

Anyway, I hope you guys like it!

#majorharry20k #harrry styles #harry styles fic #harry stykes fanfiction #harry styles blurb[harry styles blurbs #harry styles smut #harry smut #harry x reader #harry styles x reader #imagine 1d #harry styles blurb #harry styles blurbs

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chaedillo · 3 years

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1.Executive Summary

Burger King Corporation was founded by James McLamore and David Edgerton in Miami, Florida (USA) in 1954. Just like any other businesses, it only started with a few chains until it expanded and continued to cater its consumers up until today. As time goes by, it has expanded their menu but still managed to maintain their low costs but the quality menu. For as low as PHP 64.00 you can already get to taste Buger King’s flame-Grilled burger and with PhP 59.00, you can already enjoy having their rice meal. Up until this day, Burger King is one of the most popular, top-grossing, and flavorful fast-food chains not just locally but also internationally.

We all know that the fast-food chain industry is one of the reasons why the hospitality industry continues to arise and operational due to its high demand. People love it because it offers convenience, affordability and time-saving. Fast-food chains such as KFC, McDonald's, Jack in the Box, Wendy's and Popeyes are the top 5 competitors of Burger King. Its wide variety, effective strategy, strong franchising model, delicious taste, and etc. is what makes it keep up in competing its rivalries. Whopper, Chicken Sandwiches, Cheeseburgers are some of its product offerings and that is why Burger King is dubbed as "Home of the Whopper". In year 2018, Burger King has a total revenue of 388.74 crore in which it was the least revenue they got between the year 2018-2021. In 2019, they got 644.13 crore while in 2020, they have accumulated the highest revenue they have so far that has a total of 846.83 crore amidst the global pandemic that is happening. Today, year 2021, during the first quarter of the year, they have earned a total of 151.65 crore revenue.

This paper discussed Burger King's internal assessment wherein it states the company's corporate profile, mission and vision, product line, and its internal factor evaluation matrix. Next, external assessment has porter's model analysis, external factor evaluation matrix, competitive profile matrix and the key external factor. Moreover, it also discussed the strategy formulation wherein it has BCG matrix, SPACE matrix, GS matrix, IE matrix, and the SWOT analysis. Additionally, the researchers also provided the strategy recommendation, action plan, as well as its financial projection.

It analyzed how Burger King Corporation operates on how it managed to make it to the top and how it maintained the quality of their products. Each part of this paper is a helpful tool and contributes to the success of this paper itself. Also, it is where we will recognise how significant each role is to discuss the outcome of the paper. With that, this paper aims to elaborate, explain, and discuss the story behind the fast-food chain named Burger King.

2. Internal Assessment

2.1. Corporate Profile

5505 Blue Lagoon Drive

Miami, Florida 33126

U.S.A

According to Trefis Team (2019), Burger King is the second largest fast-food chain in the United States and Routley (2019) also states that Burger King was ranked fourth as one of the biggest fast-food chains in America. It has over 10,400 business franchised restaurant. 50 states and 56 countries, Burger King has 1000 chains of stores that totaled for more than 11,455. The company has served almost 16 million customers a day and 2.4 billion Burger King’s hamburgers are sold annually across the world.

In 1954, Burger King Corporation was founded by the two entrepreneurs James McLamore and David Edgerton. It is originally owned by Keith Kramers and his wife’s uncle Mathew Burns. Burger King was inspired by McDonald’s and formerly named as Insta-Burger King during 1953. Even with the rapid success of the Insta-Burger it experienced financial trouble that led James McLamore and David Edgerton to buy the entire company from Keith Krammers and Mathew Burns. McLamore and Edgerton decided to widen their menu in 1957 with Whopper, a burger for big appetites, but still a lower price and they took the power of the popular medium which is television. The first T.V commercial of Burger King was aired in 1958 on Miami’s V.H.F Station and after 5 years by 1959, Burger King was able to expand their outlets outside Florida by establishing its franchise system. The system worked allowing Burger King to increase quickly. Burger King Company was also pursuing to reach out children and establish Kids Club but then by 2015 Burger King had no longer focused on this area.

Despite having trouble times, Burger King still became a well-known fast-food hamburger chain. Through the years, Burger King grew as they use different strategies and form a different and unique characteristics from their competitors.

2.2. Company Vision and Mission

Vision

Burger King’s vision statement is “to be the most profitable QSR business, through a strong franchise system and great people, serving the best burgers in the world.”

Mission

Burger King’s mission statement is to “offer reasonably priced quality food, served quickly, in attractive, clean surroundings.”

2.3. Corporate Officers

Daniel S. Schwartz

Chief Executive Officer

JOSHUA KOBZA

Chief Financial Officer

AZEL SCHWAN

Global Chief Marketing Officer

HEITOR GONCALVES

Chief Information Performance & People Officer

ALEXANDRE MACEDO

President of Burger King North America

JOSE E CIL

President of Burger King Europe

JOSE DIAS

President of Burger King Latin America & Global Development VP

ELIAS DIAZ SESE

President of Burger King Asia Pacific

RODRIGO MUSIELLO

Global Operations

JILL GRANAT

Secretary & General Counsel

JACQUELINE FRIESNER

Chief Accounting Officer & Controller

2.4. Product Line

Burger King operates as a quick service restaurant business focusing on burgers as its main product.

•Burgers

•Salad & veggies

•Chicken & fish

•Sides

•Sweet/desserts

•Beverages

BURGERS

Burger King is a family of different kinds of hamburgers consisting of patties, bacon, king sauce and their american cheese. Their burgers have lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and it is the main product of their store because of its taste, quality, as well as affordability.

SALAD AND VEGGIES

Burger King salad is totally vegetarian and comes with tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, and croutons. They have different types of salad so that the customers can pick which one is their preferred salad for their side dish. The vegetable used in Burger King salads are always served fresh.

SIDES

Burger king offers frings which is the combination of onion rings and their french fries.

CHICKEN & FISH

Burger King’s chicken & fish sandwiches are pure white alaskan pollock and it also comes with lettuce.

SWEETS/ DESSERTS

BEVERAGES

Burger King’s fruit smoothies are freshly made with low fat yogurt, real fruits and juices were blended to create tropical mango, raspberry, and strawberry banana. The coffee frappes are also made with real arabica bean coffee and blended until it’s smooth and creamy.

2.5. Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix

As you can see from the table, the strong point of Burger King is the strong brand image that they have which is equivalent to 15% in weight, 4 in rating and has a total of .60 in the weighted score; while their weak point is the market concentration which is at 5% in weight and 1 in rating that got a total of .5 in weighted score. In conclusion, Burger King’s weighted score is at 3.02 shows that Burger King internally performs well.

3.External Assessment

3.1. Porter’s Model Analysis

In the rivalry among competing firms, you can see that Burger King competes with major firms like McDonald’s, Wendys, and Taco Bell. In the potential development of substitute products, Burger King’s customers can transfer to another dining because they will have the choice to go to fine dining or prefer to just cook at home. Next, the factors such as the high number of supplies, high overall supply and low forward integration are what makes the bargaining power of supplies. Additionally, the potential of new competitors and new entrants are what Burger King should look after because that’s where they should perform low costs since they should be competing in the market. Lastly, in the bargaining power of customers, it is where high substitute availability, moderate presence of consumer organization, and etc. takes place.

3.2 External Factor Evaluation Matrix

External Analysis

As we can see in the opportunities, market share has the highest weight compare to the others and the lowest for the weighted is New supplier and Increased demand for products. The rating of Internal Expansion, Developing Health-conscious & Market share got the highest rating, “while Increased demand for products got the lowest rating." The average of opportunities only indicate the total weighted score of opportunities.

In the table of threats, we can see that New Competitors have the highest threat in Burger King while the lowest threats are Expiring of contract. As for the rating of the threats, Predicted natural disaster and Legislation for unhealthy fast food got the lowest rate while the highest are New Competitors, New Law & Expiring contract. Total threats only indicate the average of weighted score of threats.

According to the EFE Matrix of Burger King, the total weighted score of the opportunities and threats is 2.92, which indicates the organization is responding in an above-average way to existing opportunities and threats in the industry.

3.3 Competitive Profile Matrix

Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM)

Competitor’s Analysis

As seen in the CPM analysis, McDonald's is the most competitive in the industry with a total score of 3.07, leading in the critical factors market share, market penetration, innovation, financial profit, brand name, and advertising. Burger King, having a total of 2.75, has a relative strength in store location, Research & Development (R&D), product quality, and price competitiveness, tied with Wendy's. With the equal score of 0.12, all food chains in the matrix need to value their employees more as their employee's dedication is low in rating. Burger King should maximize their strengths and improve in market share, market penetration, innovation, and advertising because these are the factors where Burger King has the lowest rating. Financial profit has the greatest value of weight as it can really drive the business to followed by product quality and customer service, both are crucial in the fast-food chain industry.

3.4. Key External Factor

According to the chart above, External Factors are divided into six (6) forces that influence and affect Burger King externally. Both opportunities and threats are equally dividing, which shows that Burger King has balanced forces externally which means they could still be able to control and identify what forces are in need of improvements, solutions or changes in a way that would not have a bad effect to the company or negative forces that they might face in the future but still be able to strategize a plan. This PESTEL ANALYSIS would help Burger King to have a good global performance that would have long-term effectiveness to the business for future decision making.

4. Strategy Formulation

4.1. Boston Consulting Group Matrix

Boston Consulting Group Matrix of Burger king

Figure 2. BCG Matrix of Burger King

● Star: Whopper Products, franchise owned outlet business

● Cash Cows: Supplier Management Service, International food strategic business unit

● Question Mark: Local Foods, confectionery market

● Dog: Ineffective market, Plastic bags, Synthetic fiber products, artificially flavored products strategic business units

In this figure, a strategic management tool will be used by Burger King to analyze the position of their strategic business unit and its market potential to offer their target markets. This BCG matrix would be helpful in a way that it will have a significant presence on deciding whether what kind of strategies can be implemented for Burger King to grow more, invest to their strengths and most especially is to consider the things that hinder their growth and success in the market.

● Star (High Growth, High Market Share)

In this aspect, it has a relatively high growth rate and high market share. The Burger King products, especially their Original Whopper Burgers have rapid growth and dominant market share. It also has 13,000 franchise-owned outlet businesses around the world and its presence in every country makes it a strong brand that is why it earned a lot of significant revenue from that strategy. However, to support their high growth and high market share, careful consideration should be given especially to their product development strategy to develop innovation in this intensive competition of the fast-food restaurants and tap the untapped areas to increase the sales or else, it will become a cash cow.

● Cash Cows: (Low Growth, High Market Share)

In this aspect, it has a relatively high market share but low growth. It is said to be high in market share, but the growth rate is declining and their competitive advantage because they manage their supplier with their own rather than outsourcing it. For them not to go beyond the decline stage, it must be taken into careful consideration of the innovation of their products, investing in research and development to be able to turn this cash cow into a star again. It will surely benefit the sales of the Burger King. In addition to this, the international food strategic business unit is a cash cow of Burger King. Within its category, it has a high market share of 30%. However, the target markets are now shifting their taste and now inclined less to the foods internationally that is why it affected the growth rate of Burger King. They must invest thoroughly to stabilize it, and if it no longer works, this strategy will now be divesting.

● Question Mark: (High Growth, Low Market Share)

In this aspect, it is relatively high growth but low in market share. Some products of Burger King are immensely consumed. However with the strong competition in the market, some customers are like the other restaurants that sells burgers as well. In this way, it is difficult to know if some of the Burger King will prosper and become a star of the brand. And most likely, it requires a significant amount of investment, especially in marketing and maintaining its market share. In line with this, the local foods strategic business unit of Burger King is considered a question mark because consumers are now inclined toward local foods. And burger king is having a low market share in this aspect. In this case, Burger King is most likely to consider and invest in this strategy in order to bring a high market share. Another thing is that Burger King is poor in reaching some areas, the confectionery market is growing for some years now. With that, Burger King needs to penetrate the market because not everybody is being targeted by their current strategy. If they include the confectionery market, surely, it will increase their sales and make it into a cash cow.

● Dog: (Low Growth, Low Market Share)

In this aspect, it has relatively low growth rate and market share. Many of their products have gone through their declining stage due to their marketing strategies and its rivals. Over the years, Burger King incurred losses and one of the reasons is the use of plastic bags. In this era where environmental concerns are being considered. They should divest this and move into an eco-friendly way. Another thing that made them in the dog category is their synthetic fiber products. It resulted from low market share and with that, it must be divested to not incur more losses. And last but not the least, is their use of artificial flavors in their products. Having to innovate products with artificial flavorings does not grow as expected because people nowadays are more health-conscious and as a result, their growth rate and market share dropped. With this, it must call back this product and free it from artificial flavorings.

4.2. Strategic Position and Action Evaluation Matrix

4.3. Grand Strategy Matrix

Burger King is internationally known and because of that, it is acknowledged as the 2nd largest Food chain in the industry, and that is how Burger Kind gained their competitive position. Burger King's strategy shows us how they gain their competitive advantage and the growth of its organization by producing and developing their products and resources. It indicates that Burger King is placed in quadrant I and reveals the Strong Competitive Position in the industry and their Rapid Market Growth. Burger King will grow and aim to continue growing their market environment and developing their products and markets to the industry and applying the integration strategies to have a great opportunity and to make the organization more successful in the industry.

4.4. Internal - External Matrix

The score of Burger King’s Internal Factor Evaluation has a total weighted score of 3.02 and placed in a cell I which reveals that Burger King’s internal environment has a strong IFE outcome of strength and weakness that represents the internal firm. While External Factor Evaluation has a total weighted score of 2.92 that place in cell IV which reveals that the external environment of Burger King identified as a medium outcome score in EFE when it comes to the external opportunities and threats.

The results of IFE and EFE weighted scores are placed under cell I and cell IV, which is the Grow and Build strategies. This segment has a division of Market penetration, Product Development, and Related Diversifications and from the other point of view, backward integration, forward integration, and horizontal integration are also strategies that can be considered and reasonable on this division.

4.5. Strength - Weaknesses- Opportunities - Threats Analysis

Strengths

1. Strong brand image

Burger King takes advantage of its well-known brand. Since 1969, the logo has hardly changed. The famous terms "Burger King," squashed between two drawn hamburger buns, can still be recognized.

2. Moderate market penetration

Market penetration is Burger King's primary expansion strategy. The objective of this comprehensive approach is to increase sales from current customers or markets in which the company already operates.

3. Moderate differentiation of products

Burger King was among the most well-known brands in the business. The company would be able to open new restaurants and introduce new products more easily. Because of the large number of Burger King restaurants around the world, higher market penetration is a strength. Burger King's mild differentiation is also an asset, allowing the company to ensure that some of its products are unique.

4. Greater franchise mix

With over 18 thousand franchised restaurants, the business has almost exclusively become a franchised chain in recent years. Just 52 units are still owned by the company. Even though Burger King has decreased the number of company-owned franchises, the total number of locations has increased every year over the last decade.

5. Strong market position

Market positioning is the method of presenting a brand to potential customers in such a way that they can easily see how it compares to competing products. Burger King targeted the young adult market, especially young males, and positioned itself as a provider of high-quality, great-tasting, and affordable food.

6. Robust financial performance

Burger King's income statement has been strong in recent years, increasing year after year, making them very competitive in their industry as compared to other fast-food restaurants.

Weakness

1. Easily imitable business

Some fast-food restaurants that also has Burger on their menu can easily imitate the Burger King’s best-seller which is the “grilled burger”. They can produce similar products and lower their price because they are the one of the most saleable products in the market when it comes to burgers.

2. Limited product mix

Burger King maintains a limited approach which is shown in its limited product portfolio. Nonetheless, by economies of scale from large-scale sales of a limited range of product lines, this product mix helps Burger King's generic strategy.

3. Low control on franchise model

Acquiring a franchise entails entering a legally binding arrangement with the franchisor. Since franchise agreements determine how you run your company, you will have a little control over the franchise model, leaving little space for innovation. There are usually limitations on where you can operate, what items you can sell, and who you can work with. You would also have a lack of privacy in addition to these issues.

4. Market concentration

This can be a flaw because high concentration means that the top companies have a lot of influence over the market's products and services. It will result in higher prices and lower consumer security because just like Burger King, which is owned by Jollibee. The top firm Jollibee can set price rules and set certain services that can affect small firms.

5. Negative earnings

Full-service restaurants dominate the Philippines fast food industry, with a 31.8 percent market share in 2017. The 100 percent home service delivery sub-segment is the fastest-growing segment, followed by street stalls/kiosks, during the forecast period.

6. Scattered marketing campaign

The scattered marketing used by Burger King can affect current and potential customers. This could result in a low return on marketing campaign investment

and the loss of existing consumers, who would turn to brands with clear and insightful messaging.

Opportunities

1. Internal expansion developing

Burger King's intensive approach has a strategic goal of targeting new consumers in new markets by offering low prices. This intensive strategy entails entering new markets or targeting new consumer segments to support business growth.

2. Health conscious

Consumers are increasingly turning away from unhealthy foods high in fat and calories, therefore introducing healthy options is a smart strategic move. Burger King Worldwide believes that by combining culinary creativity with improved operations, guest satisfaction will be enhanced, as well as the company's profitability.

3. Market shares

Full-service restaurants dominate the Philippines fast food industry, with a 31.8 percent market share in 2017. The 100 percent home service delivery sub-

segment is the fastest-growing segment, followed by street stalls/kiosks, during the forecast period.

4. New supplier

Because of expansion they will seek new supplier with lesser delivery price and product cause

5. Increased demand for products

When the price of meat and vegetables decreases, the price of the meal tends to fall as well, which increases the demand for burgers. A satisfied customer is higher, which is a major factor in the rise in demand.

6. Service quality improvement

Burger King's service quality, the use of quality dimensions such as tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy is used to effectively and assess the quality service of the restaurant.

Threats

1. Expiring contract

If there was a contract it is short term only for the employees, it not a lifetime work because it is a contractual basis.

2. Predicted natural disaster

Climate and its effects around the globe can impact negatively on companies' bottom lines in several ways. Extreme weather, both in the Philippines abroad, can damage factories, supply chain operations, and other infrastructure, as well as disrupt transportation.

3. New Competitors

A company's competitive advantage is compromised when new companies enter an industry offering the same services or goods. As a result, the threat of new entrants applies to a company's ability to enter a market.

4. New Law

Implementation of tax increase because Tax cuts can boost business demand by increasing firms' after-tax cash flow, which can be used to pay dividends and expand activity, and by making hiring and investing more attractive.

5. Legislation for unhealthy fast food

If there is regulation restricting the production of unhealthy foods, the cost of food will increase so there will be an increase in nutritional value, leading to increased cost to the company.

6. Imitation

Product imitation has a significant impact on the financial results, lagged asset return, and having a good marketing campaign will significantly influence market share for the sins that people can prioritize imitation with nearly the same quality as the original product with glass market value does the aim for the great return of us it slow.

Two strategies were formulated from the TOWS Matrix: Market penetration and Production Development. Burger King needs to advertise or promote their business to stay competitive with other companies, they must improve their production and adapt to new trends in the industry.

4.6 Quantitative Strategy Planning (QSP) Matrix

The findings revealed that production development is preferable over market penetration. The two methods have similar ratings, indicating that they can both be applied by the company.

5. Strategy Recommendation

New strategy recommendations are vital for a company, especially when they are aiming for more success. These are the strategies that Burger King can use, and this includes Market Penetration, Market Development, and Product Development.

Strategy 1- Market Penetration

It is said that Burger King’s weaknesses are Market Concentration and Scattered Marketing Campaign, so the strategy of market penetration will be able to help with these weaknesses. Market Penetration will help when it comes to Burger King’s presence, and it will also help in improving their influence. Market Penetration focuses on the brand’s image like partnering with other brands, companies or even with people who have a very great image. It will help in having better marketing or branding strategies and it can also result in the company’s opportunities in the future. Market Penetration will also improve the company’s sales and it will be more recognized by more potential customers since they also need to improve their advertisement skills. Market penetration also helps when it comes to improving the company’s pricing.

Strategy 2- Market Development

Market Development is a strategy that is helpful when it comes to introducing a company’s products to new locations. Market Development will help in developing the business or market through expansions. This is a great strategy since we can see that Burger King is already very successful in their field so opening in more locations will not be that complicated for their company. Market Development is a strategy that can help Burger King in gaining more competitive advantage and it makes the business to be locally, and internationally known. The market development will help burger king to be known in every area in our country and all around the world. This can also help when it comes to improving Burger King’s Marketing Skills and Location development. If the company also focuses on opening more branches in different locations, they will have more control and it can lessen the issue that is related to their franchise models. Having more locations can also lead to the company’s increased earnings and it is a great way to compete with their major competitors which are also opening more branches in every location that is possible.

Strategy 3- Product Development

Product Development is a strategy that involves the development of the existing products, and it may also be used to develop new products that Burger King can release. This can give a new life to the company’s existing products, and this can also help with their new marketing skills that their customers will be curious about. Product development is a strategy that can provide satisfaction to the customers, improve the company’s reputation, improve competitiveness, and improve their quality and performance. Product Development is also one of the best strategies when it comes to improving burger king’s weakness which is having a limited product mix.

6. Action Plan

The action plan includes the steps or suggestions that the company can do to be successful. The action plan will help when it comes to the steps that the company needs to consider so that it can lead to the business’ improvements.

Action Plan 1- Market Penetration

This plan will involve better Marketing and Pricing Skills that Burger King should implement. It is said that Burger King’s market concentration can be seen as a flaw to the business so the best thing to do is to adjust their price range. They also have a scattered marketing campaign which can lead to losing existing and potential customers. Burger King can make their products more known or recognized, and they can compete with other companies by lowering the prices of their products and at the same time it still has a great quality. They can also partner or collaborate with famous influencers so that their sales would increase, their marketing and advertising skills will improve, and their business will be more known so it can result in higher consumer security. Burger King can also improve their location to be more known by the customers and in the market field.

Action Plan 2- Market Development

Market Development will help in maximizing Burger King’s full potential in the business industry. They already have a lot of locations that are operating but they still have a lot of potentials when it comes to opening more branches in different locations so that it will be more known, and it can also lead to their control over their products and service. Burger King can search for more great locations for their business since this will be a great advantage to be able to compete with their major competitors which has a lot of branches in different locations. Unlike their other competitors in the country, Burger King does not have a lot of branches when it comes to provincial areas so having more expanding their business in more locations will be beneficial. When they already have more locations, then they will also have more target markets who are their new potential customers. Market Development can also help when it comes to improving their weakness that is related with negative earnings since when a business is already well known and successful, then there is a high possibility that this will lead to an improvement with the company’s sales and earnings.

Action Plan 3- Product Development

Product Development will be helpful since we can also see in this paper that one of Burger King’s weaknesses is that they have a limited product mix. They have a limited range of product lines like burgers or rice meals. The action that Burger King should consider is to provide new packaging for their products and this also works for other brands. They can provide limited edition products with great packaging and when this becomes successful, they can keep this new product on their portfolio or menu. They can also release more rice meals, drinks, desserts, and new flavors of their famous burgers which they are famous for. Adding healthier options can also be a great improvement for their business because this will be perfect for the customers who are into the healthy lifestyle trends. Through product development, they can also improve the demands, and quality of their products which can result in more customers who will be loyal with their brand.

7. Conclusion

To summarize everything that has been stated so far, we therefore, conclude that Burger King Corporation is performing above the average. Meaning, this food chain is very well operating and competing with its competitors. As the years go by, it is constantly keeping up to cater its market, to meet the needs of its customers, and to be one of the top food chains in the industry.

As you have seen, the Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) Matrix shows that the Burger King Corporation has a total of 3.02 weighted score which means that it is internally strong. Also, the External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix proves that the total weighted score of opportunities and threats are equal to 2.92 which indicates that Burger King Corporation is an above-average level. Moving on, Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM) stated that Burger King is only on the second spot in competing with McDonald's which has a total score of 3.17 while Burger King Corporation has only 2.75, and lastly, the Wendy's at the third spot having a 2.30 total score.

Moreover, in the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, you have seen that what makes that Burger King have high growth and high market at the same time is their whopper products and franchise-owned outlet business. Also, the reason why Burger King Corporation falls to this quadrant is that they have rapid growth, dominant market shares as well as 13, 000 franchises around the world. Furthermore, the Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE) Matrix of this food chain shows that Burger King falls in the "aggressive" quadrant since it has a total of 0.50 in Financial Position (FP) and Stability Position (SP) while a total of 1.00 in Industry Position (IP) and Competitive Position (CP). Additionally, the Grand Strategy (GS) Matrix proved that Burger King Corporation has a strong competitive position in which strategies such as product development as well as integration strategies will best suit this food industry. To add up, the Internal-External (IE) Matrix shows that the Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) falls in cell I which has 3.02 and the External Factor Evaluation (IFE) falls under cell II because it has a total weighted score of 2.92.

Besides these matrices, we therefore, conclude that the Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) also come up to consider the strategies Market Penetration and Product Development to remain competitive as well as to adopt new concepts that will surely fit the trends in the industry. That is why in the (QSPM) Matrix, the methods or strategies Market Penetration and Product Development can be applied to Burger King Corporation for the food chain company to keep in the right track. To successfully achieve these goals the strategy recommendation comes up with an action plan on how these strategies will work and will help the company to be competitive as well as to perform better than usual. And so, this is the findings that this paper found.

8. Financial Projection

As shown in the chart Burger King’s revenue has a huge step up from the year 2018 which only shows that it is the best year of Burger King because their income has drastically risen and it continues to grow up until 2020 despite the current pandemic crisis situation, it somehow shows that Burger King wasn’t that much affected by the Crisis.

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companionjones · 5 years

Text

Spawn Of... (5/5)

Pairing: ConjuringUniverse!Family!Ed and Lorraine Warren x 12yo!Catholic!Reader

Fandom: The Conjuring Universe

Summary: You now have to face the demon from your past. Ed and Lorraine do what they can to help you. Will it be enough?

Warnings: **SCARY GIF**, strong Catholic plot points, a lot of puke, puking weirdly, demons, demon fight, suffocation, depiction of you being possessed, church burned down

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

*******

It was night again before you knew it. The plan that Ed and Lorraine had would begin soon. You sat in one of the pews and prayed.

Your foster family brought you to church every Sunday, but you never took it too seriously. But you thought you’d be stupid if you didn’t believe in all of that stuff by then.

Apparently, you were praying very excitedly. As in, you were praying like your life depended on it (which it probably did).

Lorraine came to sit next to you. “You don’t pray often, do you?” she guessed. She didn’t need any clairvoyance to know the answer.

You shook your head.

She smiled, “Well technically, you can pray however you want, but you don’t have to pray with that much distress in order for it to work. How about we calm down a bit?” Mrs. Warren folded her hands in preparation for prayer.

To mirror her, you straightened up in your seat.

Lorraine tried her best to hide the grin that came to her from the sight of you copying her. “What would you like to say?”

“I don’t know,” you honestly responded, “I was sort of just saying whatever came to mind.”

She chuckled, “How about we start with a prayer that already has words to it?”

You nodded.

Together, you and Lorraine Warren recited ‘Our Father.’

After the two of you finished, Lorraine continued, “God, we thank you for looking after us and those which we love. During this next few trying hours, we ask you to watch over us, and to help us along the way...And as always, I ask you to watch over Judy while Ed and I are away. Amen.”

“Who’s Judy?” you asked as you named the Holy Trinity in your head.

Lorraine happily answered, “She’s our daughter. Our girl’s 10 years old. Almost as old as you.”

“Where is she now?” you questioned.

Mrs. Warren looked as if she was in her memories, remembering the last time she and her husband were with their daughter. “She’s back home in Connecticut with her babysitter.”

“That’s good,” you commented, “I’m glad she has someone with her.”

She wistfully agreed, “I’m glad, too.”

Then, Ed entered the nave to inform, “Lorraine, we’re ready to get started. Are you ready, Y/n?”

Looking to Lorraine for that encouraging smile she seemed to always have, you nodded.

Slowly, you made your way to the front door of the church. Another deep breath, and you took a step outside.

“Okay, I’m ready,” you called out, “I want to join you.”

There was no response.

“Show yourself!” you shouted to the air.

Wind started picking up. Your hair blew back with it. Quickly, the wind began moving so much you had to shut your eyes.

Then, it stopped. The wind stopped so abruptly that you almost fell down the cement stairs outside of the church.

Opening your eyes, you saw a figure crouching in the shadows. It obviously wasn’t human. You could tell by certain features and the position it was in.

“What’s your name?” Your voice shook as you spoke.

Instead of speaking with its voice, the figure used its telepathic connection with you to communicate. “Look at you. You’ve grown into a very powerful being. I knew I did well by bringing you into existence.”

“What’s your name?” you repeated.

Still, it didn’t give you an answer. “My name isn’t important. It’s you who we’re talking about, Y/n.”

Hearing it sound your name caused a chill to run down your spine.

It continued, “I know you don’t really want to join me, Y/n.” It started to crawl closer to you. “Now, tell me. What was the real reason you called me out to a church at midnight. Would it possibly have something to do with these new Warren friends of yours?”

Just then, Ed stepped out from behind some bushes with Lorraine at his back. Ed started reciting a chant in Latin that was supposed to keep the demon from getting away.

Surprisingly, the demon leaped 20 yards to you. It tackled you to the ground, and tried throwing up in your mouth. Ed and Lorraine had told you that that was how demons possessed people. Somehow, you managed to close your mouth before any of the gunk could enter you.

The demon, now on top of you, was terrifying. It wouldn’t stop screaming, and it kept moving around in a completely inhuman manner. You fought the thing for a few moments, and eventually pulled yourself into the church using your telekinetic abilities. The demon rode on top of you until you crossed the threshold. Then, it was slammed into what looked like an invisible wall. You immediately got to your feet and watched as the demon threw its almost-fists against the wall in an attempt to get to you.

After a few seconds, it just growled at you. Then, it threw its head in the direction of Ed and Lorraine. It jumped out of your view and went after them. You heard Lorraine scream.

Of course, your first instinct was to run after them. Just as you got to the threshold, however, you were pulled back. It was Father Perez.

He cautioned, “Don’t. It’s angry now. If you go out there, it probably won’t let you back in.”

Barely thinking about it, you moved the priest’s hand from your shoulder and ran outside.

Around the back of the building, you found the Warrens and the demon. Lorraine seemed to have been knocked out since she was laying, unconscious, some distance away. Ed, on the other hand, was trapped under the demon. You could see the demon opening its mouth, and you could tell that it was to throw up.

You reached out with your hand and used your powers to stop the throw-up midair. You threw the gunk out of the way, pushed the demon off of Ed and onto the ground, and you held it there.

This demon was a lot stronger than the first one you fought. This one fought back. You were knocked about fifteen feet back and you hit your head on the ground. Luckily, it was just grass, so it didn’t hurt too much.

Daddy Dearest (more like Daddy Demon) started chasing after you. You got back around to the front of the church, but when you turned the corner, the demon surprised you. Suddenly, your vision started blacking out, and your throat was closing up.

After some time of that, you felt like you were finished. All of your fighting wasn’t doing anything, so you thought about giving up. What would death be like ? Would you go to heaven, or hell?

No, you thought. You had one more trick up your sleeve.

“Are you there, God? It’s me, Y/n,” you silently prayed. “I don’t know if you’re on my side because of my demon dad, but by any chance, could you help me out? I don’t know...maybe give me a sign or something? If it wasn’t already obvious, I don’t really consider this thing to be my father. Actually, if anything, the Warrens have been more a family to me than anyone ever has before. Honestly, I don’t know what I would’ve done if I did meet the Warrens. Wait...is there any chance that they are the sign? I know it seems far fetched, but that’s usually how you work, right?...Okay, okay. I can do this. Um...wish me luck?”

With new determination, you took deep breaths (well, as deep as you could manage with your throat being squeezed shut), and started to center your power to your core. You thought about Ed and Lorraine, and how they had looked after you in the previous couple days. You thought about God, and how he might just have your back.

Then, you started fighting again. It felt like you were fighting against a heavy fog that was trying to suffocate you. The longer you fought it, the more tangible it became. That scared you, but you never stopped fighting.

Eventually, it felt like you slipped out from under it. Your next memory was puking upwards and back into the demon’s mouth. Because of the demon’s surprise at your sudden action, you were able to push it off of you. You ran toward the doors of the church.

You felt the demon coming after you, so you abruptly turned and pushed it back with your abilities. Call it adrenaline but by then it was a lot easier to use your powers against the demon. However, the demon would not give up that easily.

Every time it took a step closer to you, you took a step back. Suddenly the demon got a surge of energy, causing it to lunge several more steps towards you. You took as many backward steps as you could in that short period of time.

Unlucky for the demon, those few final steps brought you over the church’s threshold. The demon accidentally followed you into the holy building. When the demon willingly stepped over the threshold, it caught fire, and started to burn up. Within a few seconds, it was completely gone. You had defeated the thing that had created you.

From behind you, Father Perez gasped, “Heavenly Father...you did it. You did it!” he then exclaimed out of sheer happiness.

The Warrens then appeared and stepped over the threshold of the church. They went to hug you.

When you saw Lorraine, you immediately asked her, “Are you okay? Did you hurt your head?”

She shook her head appreciatively. “No, I’m fine. It just overwhelmed my senses. I’m alright.”

Ed chuckled, “And it’s us who should be worried about you. Are you hurt? Did that thing hurt you?”

“Well...yeah,” you shrugged, “I was fighting a demon.”

The married couple shared a look.

Mrs. Warren regretfully informed you, “Y/n, we saw you get possessed.”

“That’s what that was?” Your eyes widened, but more out of surprise than terror.

Ed Warren wondered, “No one has ever been able to stop themselves from being possessed. How did you fight it? How did you win?”

“I guess God was on my side,” you smiled at Lorraine.

She smiled back.

***

After that, Father Perez, the Warrens, and yourself were confused about what to do with you. You were half demon, after all.

Father Perez offered to take you in, but so did the Warrens. Eventually you all decided that you would go live with Ed, Lorraine, and their daughter. This was because the Warrens felt they would be able to take care of you and keep your abilities a secret while also providing you with a sense of a normal family. Lorraine was also the best suited for teaching you about how to explore your abilities. Father Perez cheerfully agreed, as he saw and understood the bond you shared with the Warrens.

A few days after the incident, Father Perez got word of Father Christopher’s church. It had in fact burned down, and there were no survivors. Apparently, since the church was no longer holy ground, your demon father must’ve gotten in. It must’ve been pissed, so it burned down the church in retaliation.

If nothing else, this would mean your powers would be kept a secret.

To make the living situation with the Warrens actually happen, a lot of other things needed to happen first. You had to go back to your foster home, as well as pass you absence off as you running away, for two examples. You also had to wait for the commotion from social services to die down (because that was bound to happen with a report coming in of a child running away). Once all that was over, the Warrens would come for you.

They adopted you six months later.

Suddenly, you had a mom, a dad, and a younger sister. Somehow, that was scarier to you than fighting that demon. You didn’t know how to act around them for a long time.

Things got easier with time. You learned how to control your powers, and you got closer with all three of the Warrens. Finally, you felt like you were part of something--a family.

*******

Author’s Note: Thank you so much for reading! Fill up that heart and reblog if you liked it. I also would love a comment if you have the time. If you would like to read more, I have more fics over on my page. You should go check it out. Also, REQUESTS ARE OPEN. I take requests for one-shots, drabbles, multi-chapters, headcannons and preferences. No smut, please. I write for a variety of fandoms. If you’re wondering if I write for a specific fandom, please ask me. Have a nice day, night, or whatever time it is for you.<3

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noladyme · 4 years

Text

Skip To My Lou, My Darling - Chapter 3, Too Perfect I

The road so far…

Deadly nightmares. Immortal countesses. Lulu thought she’d seen it all since she’d first met the Winchester brothers. Extreme circumstances pushed her into the arms of the eldest brother, Dean – and she hasn’t been able to stop thinking of him since. Now back to her every day life of bartending and the occasional visit from a certain angel, what will happen when she finally sees Dean again? Is there still a connection – or was it all in their heads?

Our story continues in season 5

Rated M

Tag list (Let me know if you want to be added) @edonaspanca @wonderlandfandomkingdom

8 years ago.

Night shift again. Luckily, it’s a slow one tonight. Only a few guests strewn across the place. “Lulu!”, Ricky calls from the kitchen. “Order’s up for 13”. “13 is Janice’s table”, I answer. “She called in sick again”, he shrugs. Dammit. I know it’s because it’s her boyfriend’s home from college. I walk over to the serving hatch; grabbing a large order of bacon, and a slice of cherry pie. Weird order for dinner, but who am I to judge. I’ll gladly throw back some jalapeño poppers at any time of day.

I walk over to table 13 with the order; placing the two plates in front of a dark-haired man, who’s in a deep conversation on his phone. “… no, Dean. Silver. Iron won’t do anything, I told you… yeah…”. I begin to walk away. “Miss?”. I turn around. The man at the table is looking at me. He’s cute, in an older guy kind of way. Much too old for me, but a girl can dream. “Can you top off my coffee?”, he asks, covering the mic on the phone. I smile, and nod; going to get the freshly brewed pot from the machine behind the counter.

I look down at my uniform, cursing myself that I didn’t chose the one that was just a tiny bit shorter, to show off my legs. As I walk back towards the table, I hear the man continuing his conversation. “Well read up!... Yes. Latin… No, I didn’t call him. If he wants to talk, he has my number… Ok. Call me when it’s finished”. He hangs up, as I pour some fresh coffee into his mug. “Kids, right?”, he mutters with a smile, before looking up and meeting my eyes. “Though, you’re probably a bit young to have any of those yourself”. I blush slightly. “Yeah… not really there yet”.

The man gives me a once over. His gaze isn’t leering, but it is appreciative – and I stifle a smile. “You must have someone out there willing to give you a few little ones”, he says. He takes a sip from his coffee. “You in college?”. “Saving up for it”, I smile. “Leave me a nice tip, and I’ll get there even sooner”. He chuckles. His voice is warm, and his caramel eyes glinting with amusement. “Tell you what. Get me another dollop of cream for the pie, and I’ll make that happen”, he says. I wink at him and walk away.

“Are you flirting with Daddy over there?”, Ricky jeers, as I come over to grab some cream. “Serving my way to the top”, I chuckle. “He seems nice. Nothing else”. “Sure thing, Lulu”, Ricky smiles.

I go back to table 13; and put a large dollop of cream on the man’s pie. “There you go, sir. Enjoy”. “Thanks, Lulu”, he smiles. I wrinkle my brows. “Your name tag”, he grins. “Oh!”, I giggle. “Yeah”.

He has a leather-bound journal in front of him. The page is opened to a picture of a pretty blonde woman. “Your wife?”, I ask. He looks up at me with a slight grimace. “Sorry… Not any of my business”. “No, it’s fine… Yeah. My wife”, he mutters. “She’s pretty”, I say. “Must have made those kids of yours some kind of beautiful”. “They’re not half bad”, he chuckles. “Good boys. Don’t see them too often. Work”. “Oh… too bad. They with your wife?”. He shakes his head. “No… she passed some years ago”. I frown. “Sorry to hear that”, I say quietly. “Me too… thanks for the cream”, he says.

That’s my cue to leave. I flash him a bright smile, and saunter off. “Oh, Lulu?”, the man calls after me. “Yes, sir?”, I ask. “Have you heard about those cattle mutilations, out at that farm?”. I frown. “No more than what was in the news… why?”. He shakes his head. “Never mind… Just… if you do hear anything, could you give me a call?”. I blush again. “I don’t have your number, sir”.

He pulls out a note from his pocket, and scribbles something down on it – then hands it to me. It’s a twenty-dollar bill, with a phone number now written at the bottom. “This is way too much, sir!”, I gasp. “Keep it. As a thanks for friendly conversation. And it’s John”, he smiles.

His phone rings, and he picks it up. “Bobby?... Yeah… I’ll be there”. He hangs it up. “Can you pack this to go?”, he says to me in a rushed tone. I run to grab a to-go box; and quickly pack up his food, handing it to him, as he gathers the papers he’s strewn upon the table. “Here you go, John. Have a nice evening”, I smile.

His tense body language relaxes a bit. “I will. Thanks, Lou”. He hands me another twenty. “Keep the change”. I let out a short laugh. “This is still too much”, I say. He tilts his head. “My youngest is in college. I know it’s expensive… Keep it. And take care”.

He puts on his coat, and leaves the diner.

---

Now…

Hurricanes. Successful nuclear tests in North Korea. Terrorists attacks on convents. Swine flu. The world seemed to be coming to an end – and I was wiping down a bar-counter in Denver. “I’m off”, our newest bartender – Pete – called out to me. “That offer of coffee still stands, Lulu”. I smiled. “Thanks, Pete; but I have plans”, I said. “Grab the trash, would you?”. He nodded, and grabbed two large bags; heading towards the back door. He winked at me; and closed the door behind him. Avoiding the dark spot on the floor we hadn’t been able to remove, after my encounter with Erzsebet; I walked over to the door Pete had gone through, and locked it. I didn’t really have plans; but going on a date with a coworker wasn’t high on my list of wants.

I checked my phone. The only message was a picture of Raul and Chad on their honeymoon. The two men had worked fast after Raul had avoided murder charges 6 months earlier. Once Chad had healed from the surgery to get rid of his little extra asset; he’d dropped down on one knee on a busy night at Buddy’s – and with tearstained cheeks, Raul had accepted his proposal. I’d been the maid of honor to both men – dateless, I might add; as the only man I wanted at my side at a romantic ceremony joining two paramours, was somewhere driving across the states, trying to hunt down monsters and ghosts – or stopping Armageddon; I wasn’t sure at this point.

Dean hadn’t been in touch for months. Not in person, anyway. I understood he was busy, but it hurt not to know where he was – and if he was ok.

Arriving at my small studio apartment that night, I brushed my fingers over the carving on my door – sending a warm thought at the two men who’d saved my life twice. Once inside, I got in my comfiest leggings, socks, tank top and cardigan; and went to read my current book – one about witchcraft and hoodoo. It was the middle of the night; but my sleep schedule as a bartender didn’t exactly make me a day person. I began reading from the part I’d gotten to, and sipping at a mug of cocoa.

There was a knock at the door. I glanced at the wall clock. 3 am. Looking through the peephole, I sighed, and slowly opened the door.

“Hello, Lulu”. “Hi, Castiel”, I said quietly. “Thanks for knocking this time”. The angel smiled gently. “Well, last time you were… undressed”. I moved out of the way, so Castiel could step into my apartment. “Yeah. Literally in the shower as well. I would have offered you a towel, but…”. “You were busy punching my face, and putting a knee to my groin”, the angel said. I chuckled.

Closing the door behind the angel, I went to sit on my couch again. Castiel had been coming around every few weeks – just for a few minutes – apparently to check on me. “So, as you can see, I’m alive”, I muttered. “Are they?”. Cass nodded. “They are working on… something”. “Vague as ever”, I smiled sarcastically. “He has my number. He could just call me”.

Castiel frowned. “I’ve come to take you with me…”, he said. I stood up, and held out my hands to stop him. “Whoa! No… Every time you do your… angel teleportation thing on me, I end up in some random place, without my shoes. And it gives me motion sickness”. “I’ve only done it twice; and one of the times, it saved your life”. I sighed. “Yeah, fine… but still. No thank you”. He stepped towards me. “I’m afraid I must insist”, he said. “Why?”, I frowned.

There was another knock at my door. I stepped over to check the peephole; but Cass held out to stop me. The knocking turned in to a pounding. “That’s why”, he said. “They found you”. My eyes widened. “Who?”, I breathed. “Who found me?”.

Castiel put his hand on my shoulder; and we were standing in front of a lit fireplace. My stomach was churning. “Lulu?”, a voice said. With wide eyes, I turned around, and saw Bobby Singer – seated in a wheelchair – looking at me in wonder. “I got her before they took her. You can take it from here”, Castiel said; and was gone. I looked down. “You forgot my shoes again!”, I snarled.

Bobby smiled at me. “How are you, kid?”, he asked. “Very confused”, I admitted. “Yeah, he does that”, Bobby said. “So, do I get a hug?”.

I grinned, and ran over to embrace the man; who – the last time I’d seen him – was standing. “What happened?”, I asked. Bobby shook his head. “Demon…”, he grunted. I laughed. “Demon…”, I said. Bobby raised a brow at me. “Seriously?”. Bobby gave me a crooked smile. “It’s a whole new world, darlin’”. He patted my arm; not able to reach my cheek from the chair. “I’ll have the guys fill you in when they get back”. I swallowed hard. “They’re here?”, I croaked. “About 30 minutes out. Coffee?”. “Please…”, I said, and followed him to the kitchen, grabbing two mugs from a shelf.

Bobby poured us both a mug of coffee, and I went to sit on a couch in the living room/study/something that looked like a place a fortune teller might set up shop. Bobby rolled over to face me. “How have you been?”, he asked. “I heard about what happened in Denver…”. I pulled up the sleeves of my cardigan, and ran my fingers over the slight scars there. “Turns out my boss was really sorry he hadn’t paid for security, and let a deranged serial killer get at his favorite employee; as he called me”, I grinned. “I think he was just worried I’d sue him. But he paid my doctors bill, and for a plastic surgeon to make the scars less visible”. Bobby winced. “Looks like you went through it”, he said. “I’m happy you’re better”. “Yeah”, I smiled. “No permanent damage, save for the occasional person thinking I cut myself on purpose”.

“Bobby!”, a voice called out – a voice I recognized immediately, and made my heart skip a beat. “In here”, Bobby answered. “We got scotch. Liquor store was out of bourbon”, Sam said, as he stepped into the living room. His eyes widened when he saw me; and he ran over to embrace me – lifting me off my feet in a warm hug. I heard the front door close. “Dude, are you gonna make me carry everything?”, Dean growled, and dropped two plastic bags on the kitchen table. Sam put me down. “Dean”, he muttered. “What?”, Dean grunted; and turned around.

His face went through a range of emotions – before, with three long strides; he stepped over to me. Just as I thought he was about to take me in his arms, he pulled out a knife. “Did you check her?”, he growled. “She came in with Cass”, Bobby said. “Did you check her!”, Dean repeated. Sam sighed, and handed me a flask. “Take a sip”, he said. I frowned – taken aback by the cold reception from the man I’d spent months missing. “What is it?”, I asked; looking at the knife in Deans hand. “Holy water. Just drink it”, Sam muttered.

With a cold look at Dean, I grabbed the flask, and drank the liquid inside. Dean looked at me for a few seconds; and seemingly satisfied I wasn’t going to burn up in flames or melt – or whatever it was he’d expected – he put away the knife. “Lulu…”, he muttered. “Cass brought you?”. “Just a little while ago”, I said quietly. “Thanks for the warm welcome, by the way”. Dean clenched his jaw in anger. “Dammit, he wasn’t supposed to bring you here”, he growled. “Maybe he was sensing how grumpy you’ve been”, Bobby grunted in response.

Dean did look extremely grumpy. And tired. “Sorry, Lou… This isn’t a good time”, he said. I made a scoffing laugh. “Well, just call Castiel. I’m sure he can take me back to my apartment”. “No”, he said. “You can’t go back there right now”. “Why?”, I sneered.

Sam cleared his throat. “Angels… and demons… They’re using the people we care about to get to us”. I shook my head in confusion. “I’m sorry, what?”. Dean sighed. “We got wind that they were coming to nab you. I asked Cass to bring you somewhere safe”, he said. “Not here”. I shrugged; trying not to seem hurt about Dean’s standoffishness. “So, what happens now?”, I said. “What happens now, is you stay here”, Bobby said. “Bobby!”, Dean snarled.

Bobby rolled his eyes. “Keep your pants on, Dean”, he sneered. “And I mean literally. At least until we’ve left the room”. He rolled towards us. “You don’t think we’ve noticed how you’ve been missing this girl?”. Dean met my eyes for a second. “It’s not safe”. “It’s never safe, son”, Bobby said. “But this place is warded better than any other I know. As long as Lulu doesn’t leave, she should be fine. And maybe you can get that stick out of your ass, and be able to do the job”. Dean scoffed. “So, now I can’t do the job?”, he grunted. “Not well”, Sam muttered. “You…”, Dean said; pointing at his brother. “Shut up!”.

I sighed and looked at Sam. “You said you brought alcohol?”, I muttered. “Give it”. Dean shook his head. “No”, he said. “No alcohol. Call Rufus. Have him take her”. “I’m really feeling the romance in the room”, Bobby grunted. “I’m beat. Going to bed”. He rolled out the door, and down the hallway. “And I’m going to go… away from here”, Sam said; almost running for the stairs. Dean and I stood for a moment in silence; before I stepped towards the kitchen. “Well, I’m having a drink”, I said.

Suddenly, his hand was on my wrist, and he pulled me towards him – wrapping me in his arms. I couldn’t fight the urge; and embraced him right back. “Are you ok?”, he breathed. “Yeah… just confused”, I muttered. Dean pulled back a bit, and looks me in the eyes. “You’re here… I should have… I don’t know what to say”.

“Try an I’m sorry!”, Bobby called from down the hall.

Dean looked towards the hallway, and frowned. “I’m sorry”, he muttered. “I know that’s probably not the welcome you had expected”. “I don’t know…”, I grunted. “It’s not the first time you pulled a knife on me”. “Yeah… sorry. Again”. I sighed. “Can open a window, and let in some air? This place smells like old farts”. He smiled slightly. “Hex bags. We made some earlier. The smell goes away after a while… How have you been?”, he asked. “Fine… I guess. It took a while to heal properly since… last time”, I said. Dean frowned. “But you’re better. Right?”. I nodded. “I’m… living. Moving on”. “Good”, he said. “That’s… good. That you’re moving on, I mean”.

He cleared his throat, and let go of me. The separation was almost painful. “Thanks for checking in, by the way…”, I said. “Castiel’s been a real hoot”. Dean didn’t meet my eyes. “I should have called”. “Yeah, you should have”, I muttered. “You didn’t call either…”, he said; a slight accusation in his voice. I looked at him in indignation. “You told me you were going out to stop the devil”, I said. “I didn’t figure I should be the one to check in”.

I sat back down on the couch and yawned. “Let me go put away the groceries, and I’ll show you where to sleep afterwards”, he said. “Sounds good”, I said quietly. I pulled my legs up under me, and leant my head against the armrest. The smell of the hex bags had dulled; and I now noticed another scent – one of gunpowder, wood and metal. The hunter smell, I thought to myself. My eyes began drooping, and the last thing I noticed was a soft kiss to my temple, and a blanket being tucked around me.

“Goodnight, Lou”, Dean whispered.

---

The sun hitting my face woke me up. “Mornin’ kid”, Bobby muttered from his table. “Fresh coffee on the pot”. “Thanks”, I rasped. I got off the couch, and stretched. “Where are the guys?”, I asked. “Checking on a lead”, Bobby grunted. “Grab me a cup?”.

I went into the kitchen, and filled two mugs with coffee; bringing one over to the desk. “Demon stuff?”, I asked. Bobby shook his head. “Ghost”, he said. “Yankton…”. I frowned. “Yankton… I’m in South Dakota?”, I asked. “Yeah… you’re about 600 miles from home”, he said. “Well, that’s just great”, I muttered. “And this is your place?”. “Singer Scrap”, he nodded. “Good cover”. A scrapyard owner. I knew it, I smiled to myself.

I looked over the many books and papers strewn about the room. A row of phones were hanging on the wall; each with a sticker on it, letting Bobby know what persona he’d need to take on when he picked up. The was an old cookie-tin filled with different fake id’s – FBI, Wild Life Service, Sheriff’s badges; the list went on.

“You have a pretty bad-ass setup here, Bobby”, I said. “Also 100% illegal I’m guessing”. “This job isn’t exactly easy to do if you follow the rules”, Bobby said. I sighed. “Is there anything I can help with?”, I asked. “What, are you bored?”, Bobby smiled. “Yes”, I nodded. “You can make lunch; it’s almost noon”, he said. “I don’t cook… but I know how to order a pizza”. Bobby frowned. “I’ll call the boys, have them bring something back”. I shrugged.

Bobby narrowed his eyes at me. “Did you… uhm… kiss and make up last night?”, he muttered. I chewed my lip. “Not exactly… He seemed preoccupied”, I said. Bobby chuckled. “That’s Dean for you”, he said. “Always so busy trying to save everyone else, he doesn’t see when his own salvation is staring him right in the face”. “I don’t know if I’m a salvation, exactly”, I said. “I’m a bartender from Denver with a teaching degree”. “Maybe you can teach him some manners”, Bobby grunted and returned to his document. “Grab me that magnifying glass over there”, he said, and pointed towards the coffee table.

I handed him the magnifier, and picked up an amulet that caught my eye. It was almost glowing in the sunlight. “Put that down”, Bobby yelled. I almost jumped, and dropped the chain to the table. “Sorry”, he muttered. “I haven’t been able to break the curse on it yet… and I’m pretty sure you’d be a lot less pretty with an extra nose stuck to your chin”. “It’s cursed?”, I asked. “Maybe you should lock it up somewhere”. “Tried that”, he grunted. “It reappears there every time I do”. I studied the amulet closer. “Hoodoo, right?”, I muttered. Bobby looked at me. “Is it?”, he asked. “I think so… It looks like a sigil I saw once, in a book”, I said. Maybe cover it in goofer dust, and bury it in an old grave…”. I met his incredulous eyes, and blushed. “Or, something else. I don’t know”.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “What do you make of this?”, he asked, and pushed an old newspaper clipping across the table. I read through the text. “Another strange case of a dead body in Yankton this month, when Thomas Clayton was found near Yankton Municipal Cemetary – his neck broken; and his lower body buried into the ground. He leaves behind a wife and two children…”. “Sounds like a myling”, I muttered. Bobby frowned. “How’d you know about those?”, he asked. “I read… a lot”, I replied. He looked at me disbelievingly. “You call studying Scandinavian ghosts leisurely reading?”. “I was almost killed by two supernatural beings”, I shrugged. “Thought I’d study up in case anything happened again”. “Huh…”, Bobby said. “So, you think it’s a myling”. “I’m no pro, so I wouldn’t know for sure”, I said. “But the half-buried thing? And just outside a cemetery… More like he was forced to carry a ghost on his back; but didn’t make it to hallowed ground”. The corner of Bobby’s lip raised in a crooked smile. “But you already knew that”. “Was beginning to come to that theory myself”, he said. “You have some knowledge in that head of yours, kid”. I blushed again.

There was a knock at the door. I looked through the kitchen window. Outside stood a darkhaired policewoman. “It’s the cops”, I muttered. “Crap”, Bobby groaned. “Woman? Looks like she eats nails for breakfast?”. I looked again. “Yup…”. Bobby began rolling away from the view of the windows. “I’m not here”, he said. I shook my head. “Fine, I’ll talk to her”, I said, and walked to the front door, opening it.

“Hello”, I smiled at the woman. She looked mistrustingly at me. “Miss… I’m sheriff Mills. Is Bobby Singer in?”. I shook my head. “He’s out…”. “Out cold?”, she grunted. “Bobby! Roll your ass out here”.

Bobby appeared behind me. “Sheriff…”, he grunted. “What did I do this time?”. The sheriff sighed. “Your neighbors have been reporting strange smells from your house”. “Stranger than usual? This is a scrap yard, sheriff”, I smiled. She narrowed her eyes at me. “And you are?”. I thought fast. “Ann Wilson”, I said brightly; and reached out my hand to shake hers. “My niece”, Bobby said. “She’s staying with me to help out since my accident”. “All right…”, the sheriff said. “If you say so”.

I cleared my throat. “You were saying? About strange smells…”. “Yes”, the sheriff said. “You can’t be polluting the air with methane gas, Bobby. Your neighbors say the smell was so rancid, their eyes watered”. Bobby sighed. “Look, my nearest neighbor is 3 miles away. If any of them have been reporting any smells, it means they’ve been trespassing – and I’d be in my right to shoot them”. The sheriff clenched her jaw. “With what weapon? I don’t believe you have a license”. “I do”, I said. She lifted her brows. “Can I see it?”. I smiled. “I never mentioned a gun, or using one for that matter. So, you don’t need to”. She stifled a smile. Under different circumstances, I might have liked her. “If there’s nothing else, uncle Bobby needs to have his lunch now”.

“All right”, sheriff Mills said. “Just, keep down the stench, all right?”. “Absolutely”, I smiled. “Goodbye, sheriff”. She walked off the porch, and got in her car. I waved as she drove away. I turned to look at Bobby. “That was fun!”, I grinned. “Yeah, a real giggle of a time”, Bobby grunted, and went back into the living room.

One of the phones rang – one labeled CDC. Bobby picked it up. “Fisher here… Yes, he’s one of mine. He in some kind of trouble?... That’s ridiculous, son… No, you listen to me. Let him finish his job… Put him on”. I heard him mutter idjit below his breath. “Garth? You moron. You told them it was a strain of the plague?... Yeah… Give him back to me”. There was a pause. “Officer. Agent Fitzgerald is right. Let him look at the autopsy report… Thank you. Bye”. He hung up. “Stupid son of a bitch”. I chuckled.

Bobby began rolling towards his desk, when another phone rang – the one labeled FBI. I looked at him pleadingly. “Be my guest…”, he grunted. I picked it up.

“Nicks here”, I said. “Yes, hello ma’am. This is detective Alan Jackson from the Yankton PD”, a tired voice said. “I have two men here claiming to be FBI…”. My eyes lit up. “Let me guess. One is a 6’3 puppy, and the other looks like he’d flirt with your daughter right in front of you, and not be ashamed of it?”. “That sounds about right”, the man muttered. “Yeah, those are mine”, I said. “What’s the problem?”. “They want to examine the body of…”. “Thomas Clayton?”, I asked. “Yes…”, the man said. “And what seems to be the problem?”, I asked. “Well they don’t have the right papers to begin with”, he answered. “The FBI rolls into town, asking to oversee a murder-case, and you refuse them?”, I said. “Won’t look good on your yearly report, detective Jackson”. “Ma’am…”, the man began. “Look, I don’t have time for this. Put me on with your captain”. Bobby’s eyes widened, and he shook his head fervently. “Ma’am, I’m sure that won’t be necessary…”, the detective muttered. I scoffed. “No? Well, you’re not being very forthcoming with my men…”. “I’ll let them look, ma’am. Right away”. “Thank you. Please put the pretty one on”, I said. “Your boss wants you”, the man muttered, and I heard the phone change hands. “Hello?”, I heard Deans voice. “Speaker?”, I asked. “No”, he grunted. “Good. Bring back lunch. Bobby’s hungry”, I said. “Yes, ma’am”, Dean grunted, and hung up.

I put the phone back on its hook. “That was even more fun”, I grinned. Bobby chuckled. “You could come in handy, Lulu”, he smiled. “Good job”. “Thanks”, I said. “Bobby… you wouldn’t happen to have some shoes laying around I could use?”.

---

A few hours later Dean and Sam came back from Yankton. Dean looked like a thundercloud.

“What the hell, Bobby?”, he growled. “You have Lulu doing jobs now?”. “Just this one”, he smiled. “And she’s done a fine job, as well”. Dean stepped towards me with and gave me a searing look. “You don’t ever do that again!”, he roared. “Why?”, I frowned. “You could have had us thrown in jail!”, he said. “Horse crap”, I said. “You were fine”.

Sam put down some cardboard boxes on the coffee table. “We brought pizza”, he said. Bobby groaned. “We were in a rush”, Sam muttered. I grabbed a slice, and sat down on the couch; putting my feet on the table. Dean looked at me with hard eyes. “Comfy?”, he grunted. “Very”, I smiled. He cursed below his breath.

“Lulu’s got a theory on the ghost”, Bobby said. Sam looked at me with pleased surprise. “Really?”, he asked. “Tell us”. “A myling”, I said. “An unwanted child, killed by its parents; and buried in non-consecrated ground”. Dean frowned. I handed him a slice of pizza, and he accepted it without thanks. “A mew-what?”, he asked. “Myling”, Bobby said. “Tell ‘em, Lulu”.

I took a bite, and chewed enthusiastically. “It crawls onto people’s backs; wanting them to bring it to consecrated ground to rest”, I said; mouth full. “Usually, the weight of it on the victims back will make him or her sink into the ground before they make it all the way. The ghost will be pissed, and kill them – strangling them or breaking their necks”. “How do you know this stuff?”, Sam smiled. “She reads… a lot…”, Bobby muttered.

Dean looked at Bobby’s desk. “Where’s the cursed amulet?”, he grunted. “Covered it in goofer dust, and buried it out back with my old dog”, Bobby said. “Well, Lulu did”. I smiled, and wiggled my feet – on which I was wearing a pair of old loafers Bobby’s wife had used when she was alive.

“You shouldn’t be meddling with any of this”, Dean growled. I shrugged. “Your pet angel kidnapped me, and brought me 600 miles away; without my shoes or my phone. Might as well keep busy”. “Don’t you need to go to work?”, Dean grunted. “Yeah, like 3 hours ago”, I admitted. “I’m probably fired”. Dean frowned. “And you don’t care?” I looked at him exasperatedly. “Of course I care, Dean. My whole life is in Denver”, I sneered. “But you’re also telling me that angels and demons are out to kill me. Being there right now would just bring people in danger. I’m staying away… To keep them safe”.

Dean raised a brow at me. I realized then that’s what he had been doing. In his own way. “I called Cass. He’s gonna take you somewhere safe”, he said. I frowned. “Bobby said…”. “You’re leaving, Lou”, he said. “That’s final”.

“She can’t…”, Castiel – who’d appeared from nowhere – said. “Cass!”, Dean growled. “Get her out of here!” “There’s no where I can take her”, the angel replied. “You wanted her safe. She is safe here”. “Hardly”, Dean said. “We’re up to our necks on this case, and Ironside over there can’t even get off his porch on his own”. He gestured towards Bobby.

Bobby frowned at him. “Where do you want her to go, son?”, he asked. “Rufus is buried in vamps in Wichita, Martin’s in the psych ward… Ellen and Jo? That’s the only people I’d trust her to be safe enough with; and they’re dead!”. Darkness ghosted Deans face. “Lulu is safest here, Dean”, Sam said.

Dean shook his head, and looked everywhere but at me. “If you didn’t come to take her away, why the hell are you here, Cass?”, he snarled. “To give you this”, Castiel said. He pulled out a knife I recognized as being an angel sword. “We already have one of those”, Sam said. Cas shook his head. “It’s not for you, it’s for her”.

Castiel went to hand me the knife. Dean stepped between us. “Whoa… no, no, no. That’s not happening”. “Excuse me?”, I frowned. He looked at me indignantly. “You’re not gonna be walking around with a heavenly weapon in your purse”, he said.

I put down my pizza, and stood up – fully ready to smack him across the face. “I’m a grown ass woman, Dean. I can make my own decisions”. “Not this one”, he grunted. “You can’t even shoot a gun”. “I can shoot a damn gun; I told you!”. “And fight with an angel sword?”, he asked indignantly.

He took the sword from Castiel. “I’m keeping this. Having two is always handy”. “Dean, Lulu needs to be able to protect herself from my brothers”, Castiel said. “No”, Dean said. I stepped up to him; and looked him square in the face. “Give me my sword, Dean…”, I snarled. “Take it”, he smiled; and held the sword over his head – knowing full well I wouldn’t jump for it like some child. I looked at him with sad eyes. “I really don’t want to do this…”, I muttered. Dean chuckled.

I walked behind him, pretending to give up. “Good call, sweetheart”, he muttered. Quickly setting my foot between his own from behind, my knee between his; I crouched, leant forward, snaked my arm across his torso – and flipped him backward over my thigh – making him land with a bang on his back. “Ow…”, he gasped. “Roller derby”, I growled; and snatched the sword from him. “Thanks, Castiel”, I muttered.

The three men still standing, all looked at me in surprise. Sam bit his lips to stop from laughing. “Not funny, Sam!”, Dean growled from the floor. “Dude, she just railed your ass!”, his brother grinned.

Dean got on his feet, and stretched his back. “Fine!”, he roared. “Take the damn sword… That was cheating, though”. “Might have earnt me a penalty back in the day; but still my favorite move”, I muttered. “You’re just pissed you got beaten by a girl”. “That has nothing to do with it”, he frowned. “Women can fight…”. “I just can’t, is that it?”. He shook his head in indignation. “We’ll talk about this later”, he grunted coldly. “We have a case to get back to”. I smiled. “No, Lou. We have a case. You don’t”. I rolled my eyes. “Roll your eyes all you want, sugar. That’s what’s happening”.

I went into the kitchen, and grabbed a beer from the fridge – opening it, and taking a large sip. Castiel walked over to join me. “I take it you haven’t had intercourse yet”, he muttered. I grimaced at him. “Cass. Stay out of my sex-life. Ok?”. He nodded, looking almost embarrassed. “I just meant – seeing as Dean is still in a bad mood – you must not have…”. “Stop”, I said, and held out a hand at him. “You’ve done plenty of damage as it is”. “I apologize for that. It wasn’t my intention”. I sighed. “I know… you were just trying to help”. I looked up at him. “Look, Cass…”. He was gone.

I couldn’t help but feel bad about how I’d spoken to him. He was a friend – not just to Dean and Sam – but also to me.

---

The three hunters spent the next hours researching mylings; and it seemed Dean had to relent and agree that I had been right.

“So how do we get rid of it”, he grunted. I was seated on a kitchen chair, pretending to read a book on the with trials of Salem. “Salt and burn, like every other spirit”, Sam offered. “Yeah, except we have no idea where the kid is buried”, Dean said. “Bobby? Any ideas?”.

The elder hunter looked towards me. “She knows more about them than any of us…”, he muttered. “Yeah, well; she’s not a hunter”, Dean grunted. “Just, give it a rest, Dean…”, Sam sighed. “Get over yourself, and let Lulu help”. Dean rolled his eyes. “Roll your eyes all you want, sugar…”, I sneered. “Just… help us out here, kid”, Bobby said.

I stood up, and walked over to the desk. “Putting the spirit to rest by salting and burning sound good enough. But you could also just give it what it wants”. Sam narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean? Carry it to the graveyard”. “I don’t think you need to throw yourself into the fire this time, Sam”, I smiled; remembering how he’d almost let himself get killed by the maren, who had been haunting my dreams when we first met. “Find it’s parents…”. “They’re probably dead too…”, Bobby said. I shrugged. “Can’t you, like… summon them?”, I asked.

Dean scoffed, and chuckled. “Great idea; except that’s impossible”. “It’s not…”, Bobby said. “There are ways”. “Of course there are…”, Dean snarled. “Why don’t you three do this job, and I’ll go hit a bar. Don’t seem like you need me here anyway”. “Dean…”, Sam began. “No, really; Sammy. Go ahead. Looks like Lou’s got this one”, Dean said. He grabbed his jacket, and left the house.

“I’ll go talk to him”, Sam muttered. “No, I will”, I said. “This is on me”. Sam nodded, and I went out the front door.

---

#dean winchester fic #dean winchester x oc #dean x oc #dean winchester #supernatural fic #supernatural #sam winchester

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lynelovespopculture · 5 years

Text

CHILLING ADVENTURES OF ZELDA CHAPTER 2-SECRETS AND CURSES

Turns out that telling Hilda about her pregnancy was the easy part. The hard part? Getting Hilda off her back! Zelda submitted to a complete physical exam and she and the babe passed with flying colors. Zelda knew she would, she was an experienced mid-wife as well so, of course, she would take extra care of herself when it came to her own baby. Yet, try to tell Hilda that! From the time they completed her exam until it was time for bed, Hilda constantly fussed over her. Yet, the sisters both agreed on a family meeting tomorrow evening in order to tell Sabrina and Ambrose the news. Zelda added that they should invite Prudence to join them because, despite her and Ambrose being in a weird place now, Zelda cared deeply for her stepdaughter and understood the babe she now carried was her half-sibling. Hilda’s fussing began again the moment Zelda opened her eyes the next morning and continued all through breakfast. At one point, it got so bad that Zelda thought about killing Hilda and tossing her in the Cain Pit. On 2nd thought, maybe not. The last time Hilda was in the Cain pit was terrifying, it was the first time Zelda prayed to Hecate, with all their sister witches, for Hilda’s safe return. The moment it seemed that Hilda was gone forever was the longest and scariest moment of Zelda’s life. Zelda swore that before Hilda’s hand pushed through the dirt, Zelda was 1 second away from digging up the grave by her fingernails. Anyway, Hilda had ever suggested that Zelda stay home today. What for?! Zelda wanted to yell at her baby sister. She had 6 months left of this pregnancy, surely the Academy couldn’t do without its headmistress for half a year! Still, Zelda found herself reassuring Hilda that she would walk to school rather than teleporting. It took her much longer than she originally thought. When Zelda finally got there, she found herself turning left rather than to the right and to her office. Zelda stopped by the school’s infirmity where she found Prudence tending to Dorcus. Dorcus had been killed by Blackwood 3 months ago and although the Cain pit had worked its magic on both her and Elspeth, for some unknown reason, recovery was always much so for witches that weren’t Spellmans.

Zelda approached the girls and greeted them with a big smile. “Good morning, Dorcus. Hello Prudence. How are you ladies today?”

“We’re fine, Mistress Spellman.” Prudence answered for herself and the other weird sister.

“We were just talking about Agatha.” Added Dorcus. “We’re worried about our sister, Mistress Spellman. Is there any news?”

Zelda frowned. “I’m sorry, girls, but no. There is no news, no one has seen any of them in months.” Zelda was sorry to have be the bearer of such bad news she changed the subject, fast. “Dorcus, sit up please, I’ll like to see how you’re healing.”

Dorcus obeyed and Zelda was pleased to see the girl pulled herself up with very little effort. The oldest witch moved to sit behind Dorcus and gently pulled the nightgown up to look at the wound then Zelda stood. “Getting smaller every day. I won’t be surprised if you were up and walking around by next week.” Papers appeared magically in Zelda’s hand. “Plus, if your work continues like this, you may be able to graduate earlier than planned.” She handed Dorcus her corrected assignment and turned to Prudence. “May I have a quick word with you, out in the hall?”

“Of course.” Prudence nodded. “Be right back, sister.”

“Take care, Dorcus,” Zelda said.

As soon as they stepped into the hallway, Prudence wore a worried look. “Did you lie? Is it my father? The twins? Agatha?”

“No, there’s no new information.” Zelda reassured her. “I simply wanted to ask you if you had any plans for this evening?”

“Oh.” Prudence wasn’t expecting this. “Nothing, really. Why?”

“Hilda and I are holding a family meeting tonight and I would like you to join us.”

Prudence was confused again. “You want me at a family meeting? But I’m not a Spellman.”

“You may not be a Spellman,” Zelda said slowly. “But you are still my stepdaughter, and in my book, that makes you family.”

Prudence smiled but still seemed anxious. She looked up at Zelda though her lashes. “Will Ambrose be there?”

“Yes, he will,” Zelda answered, her tone only slightly shaper, “but don’t worry. My announcement has nothing to do with the two of you, I promise. You don’t have to sit or speak with him if you don’t wish to. It’s just that it took me the entire day yesterday to summon the courage to tell my sister my news. I rather not waste the rest of the week chasing down you, children one by one.”

Prudence now looked amused. “Alright, I’ll be there.”

“Wonderful. 7 o’clock? My place?”

The younger witch nodded as a bell rung.

Zelda was startled. “Why on earth is that bell ringing? It’s far too early for morning assembly!”

“No, Mistress Spellman. The bell is right on time. See?” Prudence pointed at a nearby clock.

Zelda sighed. “Walking takes too damn long. I don’t know why mortals do it.”

That afternoon found Zelda working at her desk. After correcting classwork, Zelda wanted to work on the school’s budget. She searched for the ledger all around her desk then groaned when she realized that she had forgotten it at home. Secure in the knowledge that Hilda was in class, Zelda stood up and said the words that teleported her home. She found the dumb book and was to leave again when the doorbell rang.

Zelda slung her head back. Unbelievable! “Could someone get the door, please?” Silence. “Sabrina? Ambrose?” After even more silence, she even tried, “Hilda!” Nothing. “What is even the point of keeping the funeral home open if no one is home during the day to run it?” Zelda muttered to herself as she walked through the front parlor and opened the door. On the other side stood a harmless old lady who smiled up at Zelda.

“Hello, dear, “ The old lady said. “I’m afraid I’m having a bit of car trouble. I was wondering if I could use your phone, just for a moment?”

Zelda sighed. “Come in.” Zelda backed up to allow the old woman to pass by her. “Please make it quick,” Zelda said as she shuts the door. “I’m in a hurry.” As soon as she turned, Zelda could feel rough hands pushing her up against the door as well as cold steel against her throat as Zelda looks into the eyes of Blackwood.

“I can’t believe you actually fell for that! I mean, it’s the oldest trick in the book!” Blackwood laughed. “You stupid, Spellman whore!”

“I’m not a whore!” Zelda spat. “As much as I regret it, every single day, I’m your wife and I’m going to have your child!” Zelda gasped. The moment the words left her lips, she regretted them, wished with all her heart she could take them back, but it was far too late for that.

Blackwood seems dazed and lowered the knife from her throat. “You’re pregnant?”

Zelda was unsure of what to do or say next. Should she lie? Just kidding? Deny he was the father? Shove him away? Kneel him in the groin? Before she could decide what to do, Blackwood let out a cry of pain. Zelda looked down and saw that his left wrist, the one that held the knife, was being twisted, but by who? They were alone and Zelda hadn’t spelled him. Yet, the twisting continued until he had to drop the knife. He looked at Zelda and just before his nose started to bleed massively. Blackwood tried to stop the nosebleed with his hands, and he turned his back to Zelda.

“Not now, you pathetic little weakling! If you were stupid enough to make another Spellman, it’s just one more for me to kill!”

“I’ve told you before to stay away from Zelda and her family!”

Who is he talking to? Zelda wondered.

When he had cleaned up the blood and turned back to Zelda, he smiled at her and his eyes were soft. “A child, Zelda. Our child, do you know how long I’ve waited for this?”

Zelda had just enough time to return his smile before Faustus groaned and grabbed his head as if he suddenly had a massive headache. “Run, Zelda. I can’t hold him off for long.”

She touched his arm. “Faustus, what’s wrong with you? What’s happening?”

“Just go, Zelda.”

“I won’t leave you like this.” She objected.

“JUST GO!” He spoke in Latin and suddenly Zelda was back in the office at the academy.

“What was that?” She wondered out loud to no one.

“Maybe we should do this other night.”

“Maybe you should learn to trust the children and stop putting things off.”

They had just finished supper and both Spellman sisters were huddled at the sink, washing dishes. It was nearly 7 o’clock and Zelda was feeling anxious about sharing her news again.

“Apparently, you feel anxious sharing news of this pregnancy with anyone.” Commented Hilda.

Anyone but the mad father. Zelda thought. She had replayed her bizarre meeting with Faustus this afternoon a million times in her head and still had no idea what to make of it. Zelda finally decided that until she knew what it meant; she would keep it to herself.

“Well, we’re all done here,” Hilda announced as she placed the last plate in the cupboard. “Shall we call them down?”

Zelda sighed but nodded her head. Hilda left the kitchen briefly.

“Sabrina! Ambrose! Could you come down here, please? It’s time for a family meeting!”

Meanwhile, Zelda braced herself and lit up a cigarette. Soon, all Spellman family members were sitting around the kitchen table.

For a long time, Zelda said nothing, so Hilda took the lead. “You see, my loves, we have news.” Sabrina leaned forward but Hilda saw this and raised a hand. “Before you ask, it’s not Father Blackwood or anyone else who is with him. This is good news for bloody once.” Hilda smiled at Zelda as a knock was heard and Prudence appeared in the doorway.

“Hello?”

“Why is she here?” Asked Ambrose.

Prudence got defensive. “I was invited!”

Ambrose shrugged. “Fine, then, I’ll go!”

“Sit down! Both of you!” Zelda proclaimed, standing up. “This news is hard enough to tell you at all! You can at least give me 5 minutes of your time.”

Ambrose and Prudence both sat down across from each other as Sabrina held Zelda’s hand.

“So, what is this news, Aunt Z?”

Zelda sat back down, took a break and said it. “Children, I’m going to have a baby.”

“That wonderful!” Sabrina cried out.

Zelda tried not to make a face. “It is?”

“Of course,” Sabrina seemed excited. “So, when are you and Mambo Marie going to adopt?”

Suddenly, Zelda felt like banging her head on the table, repeatedly. “No niece, you don’t understand. This has nothing to do with Mambo Marie, in fact, we broke up yesterday. I was actually referring to the fact that…I’m currently 7 months pregnant.”

Ambrose was the first one to put it together. “7 months?! Then Father Blackwood is”

“the father, yes.” Zelda finished for him.

Ambrose was silent, but only for a moment. “How are you feeling, auntie? Are you healthy?”

Zelda smiled. “I am. Thank you, Ambrose.”

Sabrina was confused. “How can you be having a healthy pregnancy? You drink regularly, I mean, you’re smoking right now and how are you in your 7th month? You’re not even showing.”

“Sabrina, love,” Hilda answered. “I think you’re confusing this pregnancy with a human one. Alcohol and smoking is not harmful to a witch’s body, before, during or after pregnancy and a witch pregnancy is 13 months so it’s rare to start showing before the middle of the 8th month, even later for a lean woman like your Aunt Zelda.”

“But she’s healthy?”

“Completely.” Hilda nodded. “I gave her and the baby a complete physical and I’ m happy with the results.”

“What about the shooting?” Ambrose asked.

“The fact that Zelda and her baby both survived the shooting is nothing short of a miracle.” Hilda continued.

Zelda was happy that her family was more worried about her and the baby’s health than who the father was. Yet she was still worried about 1 thing.

“Prudence? You haven’t said anything yet. Are you alright?”

Wordlessly, Prudence got up, stalked out and a moment later, they all heard the door slammed. Hilda started to rise, but Zelda placed a hand on her sister’s arm. “No, I’ll go.”

Zelda found Prudence on the far side of the deck, arms folded and staring up at the moon. Zelda placed herself beside her slowly. “I’m sorry if the news came as a shock.”

Prudence turned her head to look at her stepmother. “No, Sister Zelda, I’m sorry. It was a stupid, childish way to react.”

“And why did you react that way?” Zelda questioned slowly, gently.

“I just thought I didn’t protect my sisters; I didn’t protect the twins and what if this baby is another sibling I can’t protect. I’m so angry and I’m taking it out on the world, especially poor Ambrose but the fact remains that it’s all my fault!”

“I’m sorry. I’m a bit lost. What’s your fault?”

“Everything!” Prudence pounded on the railing. “If I hadn’t betrayed you and told my father that Leticia was alive and where she was, who knows where we be? The twins could still be babies, Dorcus wouldn’t have died and Agatha wouldn’t be lost or-“

“Or we could all be locked away in the dungeons or we could all be dead,” Zelda said sternly. “We will get the twins and Agatha back 1 day, I promise you. You know that I love the twins like they were my very own, but I had a hard time holding on to them because I have no blood claim to them.” Zelda placed a hand over her middle. “With this baby, it’s completely different.”

“I know, and I also know that you’ll be a wonderful mother to my new baby brother or sister.”

Zelda smiled. “Thank you, child. That means a lot.”

Prudence gave a short, bitter little laugh. “You want to know something completely crazy? Sometimes, I still miss him. I miss my father. Not that raving lunatic that would kill anyone of us on sight but the man he was before, from earlier. I remember that when I was little, even before I knew he was my father, he used to give me piggybacks rides, day or night, no matter how busy he was. He used me to sneak me in treats, chocolates or little candies, always 4 at a time. 1 for me, 1 for both my sisters and 1 to save for later and-“ Prudence drew a breath as if forcing herself to stop. “I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. That man is gone now. Crazy, right.”

“No, dear child, not so crazy. In fact, something happened today that-“

“Who is that?”

Zelda turned so she could see what Prudence was seeing. Standing right before the Spellman house was an odd little man who appeared to be dressed in a grey bellhop suit.

“I don’t know who that is,” Zelda responded. “But I’ll deal with him. Get back inside the house.”

“Actually, I want to go back to check on Dorcas.”

“Fine, just take the backstairs.”

Prudence nodded and the 2 women went in opposite directions. The bellhop guy came closer as Zelda came down the front steps.

“Are you Zelda Blackwood?”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s actually Zelda Spellman, but yes.”

“Hi, I’ve come to bring you to hell.” He said cheerfully.

“Oh, really?” Zelda couldn’t tell if he was supernatural or an insane mortal.

“You are Lilith’s midwife, right?” Zelda nodded, even with everything going on, she couldn’t believe she almost forgot about Lilith and the dark lord.

“You need to come with me, now.”

“Alright, just let me go get my medical bag.”

Without warning, the bellhop reached out and grabbed Zelda’s wrist in a death grip. “If you ‘re not back in 5 minutes, I have my orders to hunt you down, drag you to hell and you will not return with any of the information you seek!” He hissed unexpectedly.

“I’ll be right back,” Zelda said firmly and shook herself free. When she was out of the bellhop’s sight, Zelda ran into the house and straight to the kitchen. “Hilda! Hilda has Sabrina and Ambrose went back upstairs?”

“Yeah.” Hilda nodded. “How’s Prudence?”

“What? Oh, she’s fine but right now, we have more pressing issues to attend to. Outside is Lucifer’s minion is outside. I’ll apparently start attending to Lilith tonight.”

“What? Now?”

Zelda nodded as she went to get her medical bag out of the hallway closet.

“You know Zelds,” Hilda said. “I’ve been thinking, with your condition and everything, maybe I should go be Lilith’s midwife in your place.”

Zelda stopped and looked at her sister. “That’s a kind offer, Hildy, but you know how tricky the dark lord can be. If he asked for me, there must be a reason.

Hilda nodded. “You’re right.”

Zelda sighed. “I hope I won’t be long and just in case they ask; please tell the children I’m just doing bed check at the school. We shouldn’t bother them until we know more.”

Hilda nodded. “Okay.” Zelda started to walk away. “Oh, and Sister? Be careful.”

Zelda nodded and was gone.

She let the bellhop lead her to hell. It was funny how if only a year ago Zelda would be wide-eyed, trying to take in every single detail of the kingdom of the dark lord she had worshipped since childhood. Now, Zelda kept her head down as she followed the bellhop into hell’s palace and into Lilith’s bedroom.

“Zelda Spellman?” Lilith shrieked as Zelda rounded the corner. “Of all the witches in all the realms, you asked Zelda Spellman, to be my midwife?”

“Calm yourself, Lilith. Remember, I know best.” Lucifer then noticed that Zelda in the doorway. “Aw, Lady Blackwood! Right on time. I’ll just leave you ladies to check on the welfare of my son in peace.”

“I feel the need to remind you that I’m only doing this to get that information about my brother you promised me.” Zelda said. “Be ready.”

Lucifer bowed out of the room mockingly. For the next hour, Zelda carried out her midwife duties with as little conversation as possible.

Lilith broke the silence. “Are you scared of me?”

Zelda looked up. “I’m not scared of anything or anyone.”

“Well, thank you for doing this for me.”

“I’m not doing this for you. Your master has information that could affect my family and I need to know what it is.”

Lilith rolled her eyes. “Your family. You really would do anything for them?”

“Yes. I would kill or die for any one of them.”

“Even your baby? Oh, don’t look so shocked. You know the dark lord knows everything. Frankly, I was shocked that you agreed to do this, considering Blackwood’s role in this.”

“What does any of this have to do with Blackwood?” Zelda asked.

Right on cue, the bellhop showed up. “All finished?”

Zelda stood up. “Yes, we’re finished.”

The bellhop told Zelda she would see Lilith once every month until the baby was born. He led Zelda to the dining room where Lucifer sat waiting.

“Aw, Lady Blackwood! How is my son?”

“The baby is fine,” Zelda explained, putting her bag down and sat down. “Yet, Lilith is not far along enough to determined gender. She’s 4 months,3 weeks and 5 days pregnant. The date sticks in my mind for that was the very night I was shot. But I’m done talking.” Zelda sat back. “It’s your turn.”

Lucifer smiled calmly and sat back. “So, our deal was prenatal care for information, right?”

“Right but not just information. You said that my brother, Edward was keeping yet another secret from our family and I’m so ready to know what that secret is.”

“Years ago,” Lucifer started, “Edward came to me begging to marry the mortal, Diana. To gain my permission, Edward agreed to sign the book of the beast on behalf of his firstborn child.”

Zelda was unimpressed. “I know all this! I was Edward’s witness when he did sign Sabrina’s name in your book. You have to do better.”

“Really, Lady Blackwood. You need to learn some patience. I was about to say that signing Sabrina’s name in my book was Edward’s idea. Since all my followers sign their names when they’re 16 anyway I thought Edward’s idea was a little weak; so, I added my own 2nd condition and Edward agreed to it.

“There was a 2nd condition to marry Diana?” Zelda suddenly found it hard to breathe.

“Indeed.” Lucifer waved his hand and an open book appeared on the table before Zelda. “Read the last entry of the page.”

Zelda sighed and read out loud. “In order to marry the mortal, Diana Sawyer, I, Edward Theodore Spellman, do agree and vow to do the following; to sign my firstborn child’s name in the book of the beast and to condemn the marriage of a close relative. Wait, this makes no sense. Edward never mentioned a 2nd condition and ‘condemn the marriage of a close relative’, what does that mean? Who’s the close relative?” Zelda looked up to find herself sitting in a chair at the table inside her own kitchen. “What?” Zelda looked to see the book she was just looking at was gone. “Damn it!” Zelda closed her eyes and held her head in her palm.

“Aunt Zelda?” Zelda looked up to see Sabrina near the kitchen entrance. “Are you okay? I didn’t hear you come home from the academy.”

“I just teleported home,” Zelda answered as she watched Sabrina get herself a glass of water. “Sabrina, where is your Aunt Hilda?” Zelda tried to keep her tone as calm as she could.

“She went down to Dr. C’s a while ago. Well, back to homework.” Sabrina sighed and started to exit the room. Then she turned back. “Oh, Aunt Hilda did call an hour ago. Something about eloping.”

“Eloping?!” Now Zelda couldn’t hide her panic.

“Relax, Aunt Z, I’m sure she was kidding.”

“Of course.” Zelda smiled and kept it in place until Sabrina went upstairs. When Sabrina was out of sight, Zelda raced outside and down the stairs. Once in the yard, Zelda took great care not to be seen by any of the house windows before she teleported herself downtown and right in front of the bookstore. Zelda rushed in the door.

“Hilda?! Dr. Cerberus?! Hecate, please be here!”

“Zelds?” Hilda came up from the back, Dr. C right behind her.

Zelda put her hand on her chest. “Hildy, you are here! You called Sabrina and told her you were eloping. Please tell me you were joking.”

Hilda smiled. “Of course, we were joking. Zelds, calm down. Think of the baby.”

Zelda closed her eyes and let out a breath of relief. “Sister, we have a problem. My 1st instinct was right. Edward was keeping a big secret from us.”

“I’ll go make some tea.” Dr. C offered.

“So, let me this straight,” Hilda said 20 minutes later over tea and cookies. “In order to marry Diana, Edward agreed not only to sign Sabrina’s name but also to condemn the marriage of a close relative.”

“Yes.” Her sister nodded.

“Well, maybe it’s not true,” Hilda suggested. “The dark lord isn’t exactly known for his honesty.”

“Oh, it’s real,” Zelda assured her. “I saw the book; it was definitely Edward’s handwriting. Plus, if it was a lie, Lucifer would’ve drowned me in details but he basically just gave me one sentence for one appointment. I won’t know more for an entire month.”

“Well, you know what they say. The devil’s in the details.” Dr. C said.

Hilda smiled at his bad pun while Zelda just rolled her eyes.

It was those exact details that drove Zelda crazy. Over the next few days, as much as she tried to busy herself with school and family, her mind was filled with questions. Which marriage had Edward condemned? Was it a marriage that already happened or was it one that was, yet to be? If so, could it be prevented? Condemn the marriage how and how close a relative would it have to be? The Spellmans were an ancient family with many, many distant cousins. Maybe Edward somehow tricked Lucifer by making sure that marriage never took place. No, Satan never would bring something utterly useless to her attention, and Edward would have said something! These thoughts went round and round in Zelda’s mind like a hamster on a wheel.

By the 4th night, Zelda was dressing for bed. Her mind was desperate for answers but, she had none, and she was searching. Yesterday, she invented an excuse to borrow Edward’s journal from Sabrina. She read half of it last night and the other half in the morning and found no even a clue about a condemned marriage. Zelda and Hilda bid goodnight to each other and turned off the light. As Zelda got comfortable in her bed, Zelda found herself thinking about hiding places that could hold Edward’s secret. She knew every secret hiding place in the Spellman house and would have found any of Edward’s secrets long ago. That’s left the school, maybe, the office…

The office! Zelda’s eyes snapped open. Zelda’s mind went back a week when she and Mambo Marie stumbled across a secret button that loosens a panel. Life got busy and Zelda forgot all about it, until now. Zelda looked over her shoulder to find Hilda asleep. Zelda whispered the words and teleported herself to her office. Wearing nothing but her nightgown and bare feet, Zelda tiptoed to the door and looked in the hallway. All was silent and dark, it seemed like everyone was asleep. Zelda closed her door and switched on her desk lamp. Zelda then moved the globe statue, bent down and found the small button. She watched the panel that moved just like the last time it was pressed as she pressed the button and the panel moved once again.

“Now, let’s see what you’re hiding, Edward.”

Zelda pushed the loose panel aside and pulled a small stainless steel box out.

She bought the locked box to her desk and sat down. Locks to witches are child’s play. Zelda stared at the lock for 5 seconds before it popped open. She opened the lid and found a photo of a black panther, a pearl necklace and some plain black notebooks labeled from 1 to 10. Zelda took the 1st notebook, opened it and found that the handwriting wasn’t Edward’s. It was Faustus’s.

Once Zelda had started reading Faustus’s old journals, she just couldn’t stop. It was like finding a really good book, a page-turner that she just found impossible to put down. Even when she was supposed to be doing other things like teaching class, saying mass, preparing lessons or doing anything else, Zelda found herself thinking about the journals and when she could read more. The fact that Faustus was the author of all this only made it more compelling. Faustus had told Zelda he had a difficult relationship with his father, but the more Zelda read from the first journal, the more Zelda realized how much he downplayed it…a lot. Zelda was horrified as she read about the serious level of mental and physical abuse a young Faustus suffered from both his parents. Zelda was also very touched as she read on and discovered how Faustus’s schoolboy crush developed into genuine mature love and respect of a young man for his sweetheart. Zelda remembered how angry and annoyed she felt that Faustus wouldn’t propose to her when they were young. Last year, he confessed that he had asked Edward for her hand and the entire conversation was recorded in 1 of the journals and Edward’s reply was downright cruel. Zelda was so consumed with the writing of the journals, that the days blended and before she knew it, 2 weeks had passed and one day, after mass, Zelda summoned all her courage and announced her pregnancy to the entire coven. Sure, she got a few evil looks, but most were supportive and happy for her, most.

“You’re pregnant? How are you pregnant?! You should have told me yourself!”

It was Monday morning and Zelda was sitting at her desk, in the middle of yet another journal when she looked up and saw a very angry Mambo Marie. “Is something wrong?” Zelda asked.

“Yes, something is wrong! I walk into the staff room, this morning and everyone but I knew you were pregnant! You should have told me yourself!”

Zelda stood up. “First of all, if you insist on yelling at me, you can at least close the door. Secondly, other than my family, I told everyone in the coven at the same time, yesterday at mass.”

“But I don’t go to your mass. I have a different faith than you.” Marie called over her shoulder as she went to close the door. “Could you have told me yourself?”

“I’m sorry, Marie. I forgot.”

“You forgot? You forgot?!”

“Yes, I forgot! On top of this baby, I have a million and 1 things to do! Between running this school, caring for my family and not to mention breaking my head over trying to figure out Edward’s latest secret.”

“You at least owe me-“

“I’m 8 months pregnant and we only met 5 months ago. I don’t owe you a damn thing!” Zelda snapped.

“They’re laughing at you, you know, the coven, this school. There are already whisperings everywhere that Blackwood is the father!” When Zelda looked down, Marie’s eyes bulged. “You mean, he really is! Wait until I tell the others that their leader, their high priestess and the headmistress is sleeping with the very man who wants us all dead!”

“It’s not like that!” Zelda growled. “Faustus is, he has changed. For 16 years, he was this coven’s high priest, even before that he was a respected and gifted teacher here at this academy and even before that he was a brilliant student here, always flipping back and forth for top grades with 1 other student and I was that student!”

“Then what changed?”

“I don’t know!” Zelda rushed to the fireplace. An excuse to turn her back to the other woman before Marie could see the tears in her eyes. “You have no idea how badly I want the answer that question,” Zelda continued once she composed herself. “Granted, Faustus never was perfect by any means, but I never expected him to turn into a raving lunatic literally overnight.”

Marie softly placed her hand on Zelda’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Cherie, truly I am. I shouldn’t have stormed in here and started yelling at you. I came in here to ask you something. Do you break up with me to protect me from Blackwood?”

“Yes,” Zelda confessed.

Marie nodded. “I thought so, my poor baby. But I have something that can help.” Marie pressed something small into Zelda’s palm. “I thought you might be afraid to get rid of this mistake on your own, I figured that’s why you let this get so far so I’ll aid you.” Marie whispered and kissed Zelda.

Zelda looked down at the tiny vital of blood-red liquid in her hand. Zelda thought she knew what this was but, for Marie’s sake, she had better be wrong. “What is this?” Zelda demanded.

“It’s easy, ma Cherie. All you do is put this, all of it, into the tea you have with your dinner tonight, have a deep, long sleep and by sunrise, there will be no more baby, and we can resume our romance.”

Zelda nodded knowingly, as her anger returned 100 times hotter. Zelda gripped the vital before she tossed it into the fireplace. Then Zelda had to walk away because of the temptation to slap the voodoo witch was just too great.

“Hey!” Marie objected.

“How dare you?!” Zelda hissed. “You walked in here, after talking to some of the staff, not to talk to me, not to support me, but you just start screaming at me and when we finally calm down, you say that your original intention for coming in here was to slip me an abortion potion?”

“I am supporting you. I’m trying to help you. Like I said, I thought you might be afraid to get rid of this mistake on your own. That is why you kept this to yourself for so long, yes?”

“No!” Zelda objected. “The reason I kept this to myself was that I knew that the witch’s council has no say about this pregnancy after the 7th month, even if the father is a wanted criminal. That should tell you how much I want this child. For Hecate’s sake, I’m a trained mid-wife, Marie. I know how to end a pregnancy and if I wanted to end this one, I would’ve done it months ago and not made it common knowledge to the entire coven.”

Marie looked confused. “Wait, you’re a midwife? I thought you were a teacher.”

“I’m both, actually.” Zelda was just now realizing how little she and Marie knew each other.

“Whatever.” Marie shook her head. “If you have this child, you’ll be bound to Blackwood forever.”

“I don’t care.”

“We had a good thing starting between us. You are willing to turn your back on that and for what? To raise Blackwood’s bastard!”

Zelda took a step forward. “I realize that having Blackwood blood will give my child problems down the line but being a bastard won’t be 1 of them.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m married, Marie, for almost 10 months now.”

“But you said you had almost no experience-“

“I lied!” Zelda snapped. “Just like I lied when I told you that the kids were mocking me when they called me Lady Blackwood, it actually my true legal name. I’m 8 months along with my husband’s child and I swear that no one in the world will harm my baby!”

Mambo Marie crossed her arms. “I can’t be with someone who would keep a murder’s child.”

“I can’t be with someone who would blame an innocent child for the sins of the father!”

“Fine!”

Fine! Unless you have any school matters to discuss, get out of my office.” Zelda watched her go, knowing she had made the decision. She then returned to her desk and the journal she was reading. Turns out, Zelda announced her pregnancy just in time. For 2 nights later, she toweled off from a bath, Zelda discovered a tiny, yet growing baby bump. In wonder, she touched it and smiled.

“Hello, in there. I don’t want you to worry. Mommy loves you so much already. Your aunt Hilda, your sister and your cousins all are excited to meet you and I will never let anyone hurt you.”

“Zelda Spellman, get to bed!”

“I told you, Hilda, 5 more minutes.”

Hilda put out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table with her sister. “You told me that 2 bloody hours ago. It’s 2:20 AM.“

It was only then that Zelda finally looked up. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.” Hilda nodded. “I know I told you at your check-up this morning that you and the babe are still doing great, but you still need to sleep. You’re at the school all day and you’ve fallen into this habit of reading all night. When are you supposed to get your rest?” Zelda's only reply was to drop the book she was holding and stretch. Hilda glanced at the notebook on the table. “Which journal are you on now? Number 6?”

“Number 7,” Zelda corrected “I gave 6 to Prudence, for some passages, concerned her mother and I felt it was only right for her to have it.”

Hilda nodded understandingly. “At least, are you finding answers? Do you know whose marriage Edward doomed?”

“No,” Zelda sighed, getting up from the table to get herself a glass of milk. “If anything, I’m more confused than ever.” Zelda sat back at the table. “Hilda, what did Edward tell you about Faustus and Constance’s courtship?”

“Not much, why?”

“Please, humor me.”

“I think Edward told me that they were pen pals and over a year, the letters turned romantic and they were married less than a month after Constance moved to Greendale.”

Zelda nodded. “That’s always the story I was told too.” Zelda picked up the journal. “But this paints a very different picture. Faustus writes that he didn’t even know Constance when she moved here and that Edward blackmailed him into that marriage.”

“ Blackmailed him? How?”

“Faustus wrote a senior thesis, an article about demonology,” Zelda explained. “I knew that it took him years to perfected it, to get it just right, and when it was finally ready, Edward threatened not to publish it unless he married Constance. This was Faustus’s life work, not publishing it would have been career suicide. Edward had no right to hold it over his head. And it’s not only that, when it to Faustus, Edward only told us half-truths if not complete lies.”

“Yeah, but Zelds, these journals were written by Father Blackwood. Are you sure that you can trust any of these writings?”

“Faustus’s official journal is in the academy’s archive, just like all the other high priests. I found these in a hidden place in the office,” Zelda told Hilda. “Along with the journals, I found a picture of a black panther, which I learned from reading the journals, is Faustus’s familiar. I also found a pearl necklace which I still don’t know who the owner is. He had no reasons to lie in these journals, the writings are way too personal.”

Hilda made a face. “Sounds like a lot of wondering for a man who wants to kill us.”

“I’m not even sure about that anymore since-“

“Since what?”

Zelda could’ve kicked herself. “I wasn’t going to tell you this until I knew what it means, but the night we told the children about my pregnancy, I-I saw Blackwood.”

“What?! Where?!”

“Here, at the house. He used the glamour of an old woman; I was in a hurry and not paying attention, so I let him in and he did attack me but when I told him about the pregnancy”

“You told him about the pregnancy?!”

Zelda shrugged. “It just slipped out. But it turned out to be a blessing because he tried to stop himself.”

“Tried?”

“It was so odd, Hildy. He was arguing with himself and it was like he was fighting with himself from the inside. It was Faustus who teleported me to safety.”

Hilda sighed as both sisters got up from the table. “A condemned marriage, secret journals and 2 sides of Father Blackwood. What does it all mean?”

“I don’t know.” Zelda switched off the light. “But I fully intend to find out.”

Nearly 3 weeks later, Lucifer summoned the bellhop. “It’s time for an update on my son. Go fetch Lady Blackwood.”

“No need, gentlemen.” Zelda came into view. “Here I am.”

Lucifer smiled. “Lady Blackwood, right on time. Edger to serve me again?”

“Edger for my next payment. Shall we?”

The bellhop led Zelda to Lilith’s room and the 2nd appointment was underway. It went just as well and as quick as the 1st time.

“How’s the baby?” Lilith asked.

“Fine,” Zelda replied, anxious to get back to Lucifer to shed light on Edward’s secret.

“Could you pass me my dress, please? You’re closer to it.”

Zelda looked behind her where Lilith’s dress was hanging on the back of a chair. Zelda sighed as she went to get it. However, as soon as Zelda touched the dress, the room changed around her, and she was somewhere else. Zelda blinked; she was in what appeared to be a narrow hallway. The sound of dripping water made Zelda’s head turned left. She saw a bathroom, in the middle of the room was a standalone bathtub. Nobody was in the tub, but it was filled with murky water.

“Demoness, are you sure this will work?”

“What do you care? I promised you the mark of Cain either way.”

Zelda couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Zelda’s heart was in her throat as she turned her head right. The room was a bedroom and at that exact moment, there was a couple having sex but not just any couple. Zelda could see Lilith’s head on the pillow. She couldn’t see the man’s face, but she knew those tattoos anywhere.

“Faustus?”

A clock rang out and Zelda noticed the time and because there was a calendar under the clock, Zelda also knew the date.

“No!”

“Hey, where is my dress?” Zelda felt a hand on her shoulder, and as suddenly as she left hell, she was back. As soon as she saw Lilith, Zelda grabbed the other woman’s arm roughly, backing her against the wall, pinning her thereby putting her arm against Lilith’s throat.

“What game are you playing at?” Zelda demanded.

“What? I just asked you to pass me my dress?”

“Oh? Did you spell it for the moment I touched it, I was set up that I knew that the mortal that shares your face shot me at the exact moment you were in bed with my husband!”

The bellhop showed up just then. “Lady Blackwood, are you done? The dark lord will see you now.”

“Good. There’s something important to tell him.” Fuming, Zelda followed the bellhop to the same room where she met Lucifer the 1st time. As soon as she saw him, she dropped a bombshell. “It’s not your baby.”

“What?”

“Lilith showed me the night she conceived, and it wasn’t you in her bed.”

“Oh.” Lucifer dismissed easily. “It’s my child. I was just wearing Blackwood’s skin when it happened.”

Zelda was confused. “Wait, if you were still using Faustus’s body when the child was made, wouldn’t Faustus’s sperm have to-“ Zelda stopped herself and held up her hand. “Never mind. I really don’t want to know.”

“I’m impressed, Lady Blackwood. Most wives would have stomped off in a jealous rage.”

His smug smile told Zelda everything. “It was you who spelled the dress, to test me.” His smile only grew bigger making Zelda extremely annoyed. “Whatever, I don’t have time to play games. The babe and its mother are doing well. Now, I’ve come to collect payment. Tell me whose marriage Edward condemned and how.”

Lucifer shook his head, “No, no, no. Those are too many juicy details for 1 visit.”

“What if I could sweeten the deal?” Zelda pulled out a small envelope from her pocket. “This has the child’s first picture as well as the gender.”

“Lilith has already assured me that it’s a boy.”

“Do you trust Lilith then? The same Lilith who betrayed you, trapped you and tried to take over your kingdom. The same Lilith who has every reason to tell you that she’s carrying your son and heir?”

Lucifer said nothing; he just snapped his fingers and a book appeared on the table and he held out his hand for the information. He took it greedily when Zelda passed it to him before Zelda sat down and read what was in the book. Zelda gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

“No! I don’t believe you! You’re lying! Edward would never do this!”

“I’m sorry, do you not know your own brother’s handwriting?” Lucifer sounded bored. “It’s right after signing an infant Sabrina’s name in the book of the beast and you know that’s true.”

Zelda read the passage again, out loud as if that would make it more real. “I, Edward Spellman, do hereby condemn the marriage of my sister, Zelda Spellman to Faustus Blackwood. Should this marriage ever come into being the groom will suffer from insaniam maledictum spell. This curse will come into effect as soon as they are pronounced husband and wife.”

Lucifer was done with her. Zelda could feel herself being teleported. She ripped the page out of the book. A second later, she was home and still holding the page. Zelda saw that her sister was nearby.

“Hilda, I think it’s time we told the children what’s going on.”

#chilling adventures of sabrina #caos #fanfic #caoz #chapter 2 #zelda spellman #faustus blackwood #spellwood #hilda spellman #sabrina spellman #ambrose spellman #prudence blackwood #mambo marie #lilth #dr. cerberus

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earamis · 4 years

Text

Crescente, cum Dilectione

“You were bound to Hojo as a protege and mentor. He had trusted you with various responsibilities, some were praiseworthy, some better kept hidden. It was a mutual kind of dependence that benefited both parties. One day the professor granted you access to a whole new part of The Shinra Tower. There laid an unfamiliar territory with a surprise at the end.

One surprise in the form of silver and jade barely two winters old.

When you first saw him, the thought of witnessing the growth of a child who'd eventually change the world for either worse or better never once crossed your mind.”

Sephiroth x reader fic reposted from my AO3 account.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24734419/chapters/59792911

Before starting to read, there are some things I want to point out:

1. I gain no profit from writing this. It is written solely for the heck of it, cause I think the fandom deserves more Sephiroth/reader stories.

2. Reader is female, uses feminine pronounce, and can conceive, but in terms of the level of femininity and visual characteristics, I try to be as vague as possible to give more space for the reader's imagination. So, please, visualize yourself as freely as you are possible to do.

3. Reader is called “Praenomen” instead of Y/N. It comes from Latin and translates to “forename”, so reader can treat “Praenomen” or “Nomen” (name) as Y/N, and change it with yours respectively.

4. I will try to include as many canon references as I am able and cater to the timeline of events accordingly (probably some tweaks of time here and there, but not much aside from the reader's part that will be added).

5. Please feel free to ask me anything or point out any mistakes that I make, I will be honored to answer your questions!

I hope you enjoy the story :)

Good day.

Chapter 1: Two Seasons Old

Rain had been pouring outside your room since midnight. The air of early morning hours became colder both outside and in. The corroded, rickety heater your landlord was too lazy to repair could only help so much. Chill seeped from the cracks between windows to invade what warmth was saved inside your blanket. You had been awake for quite some time, and been pretty much reluctant to leave the coziness of your bed. Pitter-patter of tiny raindrops kept knocking on the glass as you watched it with fluctuating sobriety.

The lids of your eyes fought to keep themselves open. Getting some more rest sounded like a really good idea. The clock showed barely six, and work wouldn’t start until nine. Yes. You supposed more sleep would do no harm. You slowly let yourself be lulled back to slumber as you gave up the thought to wake up early and actually do your laundry before going to work.

‘It was raining anyway’, your mind supplied. ‘You won’t be able to dry them.’

So you slipped back to oblivion with the drizzle of morning rain as your lullaby.

Until one and a half hour later, the loud ring of a PHS jerked you abruptly awake. You tangled yourself between the sheets and slipped twice in a hasty attempt to reach it. Swiping your unruly hair from your face, you flipped the device open, then instantly paled to find Professor Hojo’s name blinking on the screen. On what business your mentor called you, you could only guess. It was only thirty past seven, far from being considered late. Strange. So it must be another matter. You quickly fixed your appearance out of habit and cleared your throat before pushing the green button.

“Nomen!”

“Yes, professor?”

“Come to the lab, I must show you something.”

You looked at your state of your partial undress, then at the mirror to find your disarrayed reflection. Your eyes blinked frantically for a moment. “R-right now, sir?”

“Yes!” His curt response left no room for compromise.

You hadn’t got the chance to say anything for he hung up as sudden as he’d called. Stunned, you took a few seconds to process what just happened. But then another sound, this time a small ping, from your PHS broke the silence. You saw a following message from your mentor.

‘Bring the first volume on Mako Molecular Anatomy.’

That book was stranded somewhere beneath the pile of your hoard. The old shelf at the corner had been filled long ago with tomes of your past research. Dozens of newer volumes ended up getting stacked on the floor around it to accommodate them in your snug apartment. Under a brief glance, this part of the room might cause befuddlement, but for you, well, they were still chaos alright, but a neatly organized one.

The required volume laid at the bottom of a stack labeled as “mako basics”. You lifted the heavy books above it one by one, wondering if you needed to up your workout routine after all. You were panting like a dog barely halfway. An academic life really made it easy to submerge one’s attention. For years you’d been doing mostly nothing but burying your nose in books and scriptures. What free time you had you spent either assisting your mentor, writing your own research, or to catch some sleep, hence the embarrassingly lame mass of muscles in your arms. After nearly dropping the last book and toppling every towering stacks over, you breathed a loud sigh of relief at the sight of Mako: Molecular Anatomy and Structure Divisions, First Volume.

For fear of risking your mentor’s wrath, you washed yourself lightning fast, forgetting the idea of brushing your hair altogether as you grabbed a lab coat and your bag in one arm and cradled the book in the other. The sound of your rapid footsteps must be bothering the neighbors. One grandmother from somewhere in the lower floor shot you her elderly disapproving look when you rushed past her. You didn’t even have a care to say sorry. If Hojo lost his patience waiting for you, he’d ignore your reports for the rest of the day and that would be problem. He was a man slightly screwed in the head but an exceptional mentor none the less. He’d given you priceless insights to boost your performance time and time again.

You ran through the morning drizzle with the book wrapped under your coat. Shinra tower was just three blocks away. You entered one of the entrance tunnel reserved for employees to avoid getting wetter. A guard saw you panting at the entrance, definitely suspicious toward the disheveled woman holding a bundle of fabric this early in the morning.

“Halt!” The guard approached as you stood still to catch your breath. “What’s inside that?”

Still panting from exertion, you answered with haste, “It’s a book.” Hojo must be wondering where the hell you were at this point. That man did have some crazy standards.

“Show what’s inside or you will be denied entrance.”

“Oh, Shiva.” You unfurled your coat with slight difficulty, revealing the cover of a thick book.

The idiot guard was still unconvinced. “Open it.”

You blinked incredulously, what in Ifrit’s name did this look like to him? “It’s a book! See? Plain old paper!”

When the guard didn’t say anything, you chose to just ignore him and go ahead, but he pulled the strap of your bag, causing you to jerk backward. “What’s in the bag?”

“For real?!” Hojo would definitely be pissed.

“Entrance will be deni-”

Fortunately, or rather unfortunately in a sense, your PHS rang again, and it was Hojo. He was pissed. You swallowed thickly and slid the device out of your pocket. Answering him was daunting, but not answering him meant certain hell.

“Yes, professor?”

“What is taking you so long, you slug?!”

You peered at the guard. “I’m currently denied entrance, sir.”

“What?!” He screeched so hard, you had to distance your ear from the speaker. “By who?”

You looked at what was written on the man’s nametag. “Uhm…. Markus P., sir.”

Hojo spat at the end of the line, “Tell him to let you pass or he’ll be the one passed into my lab.” Then the professor hung up, leaving an awkward silence to hang between you and Markus P. Said man was dumbfounded. You decided to pass on what your mentor had said, then, in a moment of peculiar understanding, his face turned five shades paler and let you pass.

You muffled a thanks.

Down in the lower levels of the tower, was Shinra’s Science & Research Division. The floors was each designated to one specific subdivision. Environmental research would be at the topmost, followed by civil engineering, mako development, bio-engineering, and lastly were Hojo’s personalized research labs. Only authorized personnel belonging to one of the subdivisions might enter. Every subdivision hosted plenty of confidentiality that not all members were permitted to move freely between the levels. You were one of the few who were granted more access due to working directly under Hojo’s mentorship.

The elevator ride was long enough to give you plenty of time fixing yourself. You put on your white coat and combed your hair between your fingers as best as you were able to. Thanks to the early hours, you’d only have to pass three other people beside Markus P., and two of them were overtime workers already knocked out on their desks. Hojo’s labs were inaccessible via the main lift. You had to transfer into a private entrance beyond the common area. The machine blinked green when it scanned your fingerprints, allowing you to descent straight into the professor’s office.

“Nomen. You’re finally here.”

“I’m sorry. I was-”

“Yes, yes.” Hojo waved his hand dismissively, not in the mood to hear your ramblings. “Come here child, and did you bring the book? Good.”

He led you away from the main hall to a winding pathways even you weren’t familiar with. You had the urge to ask where he planned to take you, but thought better. Hojo wouldn’t have called if this was anything but pertained to his research. There was a double metal door at the end of the aisle. Hojo scanned his palm to allow both of you access. You looked around, this was definitely an area you’d never ventured into. Everything about it was unfamiliar. There was an open space with multiple doors on its walls. Several glass windows showed medical facilities and rows of sealed bio-pods. Now you couldn’t scratch the itch to ask away.

“Professor, what’s in the pods?”

Hojo knew exactly what you were referring to. “Those, my dear, are the chrysalis of my latest experiments,” he said. “Let me show you a glimpse of their beauty.”

Your course teetered to one of the door. He entered with you on his tail. From this distance you could see series of numbers written at on each pod. There were about twenty of them connected to one another and by a single gargantuan pipe. Every pod had a small window about on its door, about as high as your head, but the glasses were tinted in black that you couldn’t get a glimpse of what was inside.

Hojo stopped in front of one labeled P-XII-001. He beckoned you to come closed and you did. A panel on the right side of the window was opened. Hojo typed a series of code and with a smooth whirr, the machine came to life. The tinted glass began to set alight, revealing the familiar green of liquid mako. You stood on your tiptoes to try and get a better look.

“Chimeras?”

“Yes!” Yelled Hojo with a childlike glee. “Oh…. Aren’t they exquisite?”

You observed with keen interest. The specimen behind that door wasn’t anything you had set your eyes on before. It looked humanoid with the characteristics of a cuahl – its skin was patterned, extended whiskers protruded from the top of its mouth, and two huge feline ears stood above its head.

“Taken straight from Gaea’s Cliff, I have enhanced its ability to thrive amongst the harsh winter of the north. They are suited to conquer mountainous terrain as they please.”

“Have you made prototypes, sir?”

“I have, and none were as perfect as this one would be.”

Amazing was too degenerative a word to describe him. You always wondered just how he found the time to create this things amidst the chaos of Shinra’s busiest department. Moreover, lately President Shinra himself had decreed expeditions to plant new reactors in strategic locations. Probably half of the Science & Research Division had to be deployed and here was Hojo, managing everything under his thumb like he was merely playing chess. Even Hollander, the Division Head himself, was having difficulties splitting his responsibilities.

“Alright, that’s enough.” He said suddenly, turning the pod back to sleep. “This is not what I had intended to show you. Let’s not get sidetracked, shall we?”

The professor moved along. In deafening silence you began to wonder who else had ever roamed this place. Curious tools and paraphernalia were scattered all around. You thought the winding path would never end, but then Hojo stopped once again, now before a small metal door. He opened it with, surprisingly, a set of analog keys instead of digitalized lock system.

“Now…. I know I need not ask this of you, Nomen. You have proven yourself reliable beyond my expectation. But still, I feel like I must inquire something.”

You stared at Hojo. His black eyes behind the round spectacles probed yours. Aware that you were treading on the edge of something unknown, you hesitantly nodded your head. “Yes, professor?”

His glasses flashed for a moment as his chin upturned.

“Do you like children?”

You needed a moment to let the question sink in.

“Do you?”

“I- I’m sorry…. I fail to see how that is relevant to….”

“Just answer me.”

You cleared your throat. “Uh, I don’t have any particular feeling, or, um…emotion toward them.”

Hojo nodded, apparently the answer was enough. “I suggest you get yourself used to one.” Then he pushed the door open.

Behind it a view you would least expect to be found in the deepest part of a Shinra lab was revealed. The professor had stepped aside to give you better vision. You doubted your eyes for a moment, but as you moved inside, slow on your feet, you knew that the object lying right before you was, in fact, a crib. A baby crib, complete with colorful ornaments and a heap of soft blankets. Such infantile properties were clashing horrendously with the sterile white and grey of the lab. You scanned around it to find even more objects of similar quality littered around the floor.

“What is…,” your words were cut short. As you casted your gaze back into the crib, the previously unmoving lump of velvety blankets had sat up to stare at you with equally curious eyes. They were most beautiful color of jade you had ever seen.

And they belonged to a baby.

“Behold, my ultimate creation.” Hojo slinked past you, waving his hand to the tiny form in the crib. Said infant followed the movement of your mentor with alertness uncanny to his age. “My son, Sephiroth.”

Right in that moment, your jaw dropped. That was…?

“Your s-son…?”

Hojo pushed the rim of his glasses up his nose. His face looked maniacal with a grin splitting it. “And you, Nomen, are the only one besides me who’s privileged to witness the wonders of this being. Give me the book and take him out.”

You absently handed the book to your mentor. He had asked to get…what was his name...? Sephiroth? “Pardon me, professor, but I’ve never lifted a child in my life.” You gawked at Hojo with wide eyes, hoping for leniency, yet Hojo had buried his nose inside the pages. Just like any other scientist and their tomes, he was immediately lost, deep in his own mind. That left you with his round-faced ‘offspring’ alone. The little boy directed those jade irises at you, blinking innocently. That only served to unsettle your nerves.

‘How does one even lift an infant? What if I drop him?!’

Steeling your resolve, for the sake of your mentor’s trust and your career, you lifted your palms toward the child. They were slightly trembling and your back was damp with perspiration. This felt ridiculous in a sense. Sephiroth was just a bundle of softness oblivious to your inner turmoil when you were only supposed to lift him up. And how in Shiva’s name you were going to get used to this, pray tell.

That calm eyes flicked to your hands as you froze in your way to hold him. You swore you saw him tilt his head one side like he actually understood what was going on, and lifted his arms. Either it was an encouragement or a force of habit, you didn’t know. Since the party involved had seemingly gave you an explicit clue on how to handle him, your hands finally landed around his middle. And, boy, was he soft.

A smile inadvertently bloomed on your lips.

Sephiroth was unexpectedly heavy when you lifted him. Or you were simply weak. The living, breathing bundle in your arms offered zero resistant. You cradled him to your chest and immediately the scent of chamomile and all the things calming hit your nose. You’d like to think this was exactly how purity would smell if it had one.

“…the aforementioned properties of its distilled liquid will cause the chain reaction of so and so and such…,” Hojo’s mumbling took your attention away from the boy that had begun to suckle on his own hand. You were considering taking it out but the professor addressed you first.

“Put him on the table.”

You walked to the mentioned furniture and carefully put him down, feeling somehow reluctant. Hojo came next to you, dumping the heavy volume in front of his child. He opened a chapter on distilled mako before pointing a finger upon one passage.

“Read, son.”

Your breath literally stopped in your chest. You made a sound teetering between a chortle and a gasp. The sun must have barely reached a quarter of its course yet today had presented so much anomaly. This infant couldn’t have lived longer than 3 winters and his self-proclaimed father asked him to read, an advanced mako science none the less! What in the world was going on, you didn’t know. Maybe your glorified mentor had finally snapped. He did have some screws loose in that big head of his.

Hojo casted a challenging look in no way you were capable of defeating, snapping you back in place. You quickly realized your slip and was planning to rectify that mistake when an ambiguous gurgling sound was heard.

If jaws could be taken off its hinges like a door, yours would certainly drop to the floor.

“mmako…ditti..aion”

“In Holy’s name….”

The pipsqueak just spelled freaking mako distillation, with baby language!

“…te…a- aometioned poppetie isth dilled…,” Sephiroth made a pause, his nose scrunching in confusion.

“Liquid…,” somehow noticing his difficulty, you unconsciously said the next word. The baby pouted for a moment before he tried to copy you and continue the rest of the passage. You were so dumbfounded, you didn’t realize when the miracle had ended until Hojo patted your back.

“I haven’t described your responsibility yet you’ve done it so well. I was right to choose you.”

There wasn’t a word to describe how you felt right then. Years of assisting research under Hojo’s mentorship had put you up against some of the strangest conditions. But this, by far, was the strangest of strange. You swore not once the thought ever crossed your mind, that you’d be a nanny when you signed up to Shinra’s exalted Science & Research Department, still green and a living proverb of an ‘empty cup ready to be filled’. You guessed there would always be things left to surprise you, huh….

“First of all, I have to remind you that what happens in my lab; my research, your work, and anything pertaining to my son, is of utmost confidentiality. You are to assist me in monitoring the growth and development of this child. To make sure he turns into the utmost prodigy, will be your sole purpose under my wing,” the professor was kind enough to explain only what you needed to hear, as you doubted you’d be able to process much right now. Not after this shocking turn of events. “You, Nomen, are thus now a member of my innermost circle of team. Pack your belongings and move to the tower. You are to stay near my son at all times.”

Your eyes opened wider than the Gold Saucer. Whether you wanted to thank Hojo for suddenly exalting your status and career prospect or sue him for dumping all this responsibility like cold water without consulting you first, you weren’t quite sure. You’d be justified if you sue him for labor extortion. But all was good still. You were the one who sold your soul to the devil when you requested Hojo a mentorship all those years ago after all.

Such was the prologue to your newest chapter in life. It was brusque and unceremonious to a fault. The oath of confidentiality forced you to keep mute. Nobody was to know about anything, not your shock, nor your bafflement upon how to properly approach the change. Your mentor was the only other person who knew and sadly was better posed as an academic than a colleague. He’d try to analyze the workings of your mind before you even finished telling a thing. Maybe, you consoled yourself, maybe some other human being would come into the picture later. Although you haven’t seen any, you were sure there must be more people wandering these labs besides just the professor and you.

At the beginning of the next day, this particular chapter had progressed quite dramatically. You found Shinra personnel moving to and fro your rickety abode with boxes and boxes of your belongings. Mainly consisted of books and clothes, then a small number of trivial objects like your favorite chocobowl with its moogle spoon. There were a couple of low-rank guards supervising the whole process, to which their purpose was quite ambiguous to you, but as they didn’t try to piss anyone off like Markus P., you supposed it was fine. Some nosy neighbors peeped with curiosity, either wanting to know with whom Shinra had business with or wondering if you were up to some shady deals with them. You tried your best to ignore them.

To be honest, the whole affair of moving was inconsequential in a greater sense. You have never felt any particular attachment to your home. There wasn’t much to incite emotional fixation, except, perhaps the memory of peace after a hard day’s work, after shower, buried beneath the layers in your bed. But it was just one between too many discontents accumulated throughout years – for instance, the heater could do with some maintenance. Winters were always arctic. You were gladder to finally break free from an old routine. Taking care of a Promethean scientist’s infant certainly opened the door to new and exciting opportunities.

The professor had prepared an empty room prior your arrival. It was deep down the basement of Shinra Tower, right next to his son’s. Whatever plan Hojo had for you to partake in, he surely thought it out well. Accommodation was taken care of and its basic facilities already provided. The new lodging had a bedroom, a living room, one spare room you planned to turn into a study, private bathroom and a kitchen. Though not by much, the space was larger than your previous home, and most importantly, the air conditioner worked out perfect. The only downside was an absence of windows. Bereft walls gave quite the forlorn impression without any chance to glimpse beyond them and into the sky. This would take some time getting used to, but you would manage. Slum residents beneath the plates had it way worse.

When the last of your boxes had been transported down, you learned two things at once. One, your hypothesis was proven true. There were other people besides you and the professor roaming these lowest levels. Janitors and technicians, mainly the latter, had been tirelessly helping you. And two, Sephiroth actually had another proper, professionally acclaimed babysitter named Eredith. You immediately approached to introduce yourself after chancing upon her with the infant. She had offered her name in return before excusing herself with the boy in her arms. It wasn’t the warmest of welcome. You didn’t mind one bit. Simply knowing that she existed to fill that role had lessened the burden you previously thought was much bigger. As they went down the aisles, the baby in her arms turned to stare at you with his jade irises. You absently waved a hand, which, to your delight and astonishment, was replied with a grabby-hand.

The rest of the day was spent unboxing. You had only a handful of things to be unpacked, except of course, the books. Half were deliberately left untouched for another day of labor. The muscles in your arm already screamed with exhaustion before you could even finish arranging the unpacked ones inside the shelves. That left you with two boxes abandoned in the corner of your to-be study. Everything else was already in place by night. You took a long bath afterward and only after you were sure pretty much everything had been settled, you allowed yourself to relax.

*******************************************************************************************

You made a humble portion of toast for breakfast to start the day. Hojo didn’t require you until sometime around 10 in the morning. He had told you to prepare a list of basic science textbooks, preferably illustrated, for his son to begin reading. So you made use of the free time to continue unboxing. From this collection alone, you could submit more than 50 titles to the professor. The existence of multiple bookshelves, each one bigger than what you previously had, displayed the diversity of your collection perfectly. The books were gathered into sections of congruous topics. There were plenty to choose, you had a habit of buying whatever writings caught your attention, though when you finally thought about it, nursery rhymes and clean energy looked astoundingly disparate next to one another.

Just before 10, Hojo took you on a tour while explaining the nature of your job. Beginning from the entrance where you first arrived, to the winding halls and the rooms he deemed necessary for your work. He had programmed an almost unlimited access for you. Only one area remained off-limit for some reason. Despite your curiosity, you decided against probing further unless the man himself allowed you in. Sometimes not knowing was actually easier. The ones you were allowed to enter was interesting enough. You even thought to propose borrowing the bio lab for your own research. Maybe later after having familiarized yourself better, you’d ask the professor.

Sephiroth was waddling around his room when you entered with Hojo sometime near noon. Eredith watched attentively from a distance with his bowl of lunch half eaten. The infant had been engrossed by a stuffed chocobo that he ignored everyone else completely. The professor glanced at his son once, dismissing the babysitter with a wave of his hand.

“Pardon me, sir, but Sephiroth hasn’t finished his lunch.” Eredith tried to explain.

“Your time is up, Edith. Just put the bowl somewhere, you are no longer needed.”

Surprisingly, she didn’t leave right away. She gave you a look that could almost be interpreted as a plea. Either she was asking for your help to reason with your mentor or actually hoping you’d continue feeding the baby, you could only stood in silence. The woman received a harsher repetition of the command before she dejectedly put the bowl down on a table. She bowed to Hojo and excused herself. It was the silent frustration on her face that suddenly moved you. Maneuvering with three heavy volumes in your cradle, you called out to her as she was about to close the door.

“I’ll continue feeding him, don’t worry.”

She paused to look at you as if you had grown a wing. Her smile was subtle yet genuine as can be when it appeared. “Thank you,” she said with relief, then left.

“Troublesome woman, that one,” you heard Hojo mutter in her absence. “Sephiroth this, Sephiroth that. Always making excuses for her own incompetence.”

You’d been here barely a day. Everyone but Hojo were still strangers to you. There was no way your input on the matter would be credible, so you opted to make none. You simply headed to the table where the last half of Sephiroth’s lunch was, putting the books you brought right next to it.

“Come here, Nomen.” Your mentor gave you a clipboard. He showed the papers attached to it. There was a table containing multiple statements which had to be filled and sometimes rated from scale one to ten. “My son is unique. He is far beyond his age, he knows how to process more and more complex stimulus everyday as his adaptability runs high compared to most, mediocre infants.” You had never heard your mentor spoke with that level of pride before. “But alas,” he casted his eyes at the sight of Sephiroth not six feet away, playing with the same stuffed animal, “A child is still a child.”

Hojo closed the distance between him and his son. His figure towered over the boy. “He lacks the ability to focus on what matters.” Sephiroth didn’t even heed the other’s presence, still too happily hugging the chocobo when Hojo took it from his tiny hands. For a second there was this stifling, immovable tension going on between them. A battle of willpower between a father and his son. Hojo kept the toy away from him, staring the infant down with intense scrutiny. “Bring the book here.” You snapped out of your trance, scurrying to get the book for the man. He exchanged the book with it. In lack of a better thought of what to do, you just held it like an idiot.

The child looked really upset. His mouth curved downward, his hands made tiny fists where they previously held the stuffed animal, and his eyes…. You thought he was about to cry, but looking closer, those jade irises actually held an entirely different emotion. Never have you ever saw a baby held such anger in silence. Children are supposedly prone to tears and tantrums. Not with him. He, for the second time, looked uncannily beyond his age. It was honestly ironic because mere moments ago he looked exactly how any infant would with the toy you currently had.

“Playtime’s over, son,” Hojo shoved the book closer. He opened its first chapter. “You have so much potential. I didn’t go through the trouble to create you with failure in mind, so don’t waste your time.”

That immovable tension increase tenfold. You shifted in your spot, wondering why the mere scene of a parent scolding his child seemed to bother you. But then again, seeing as the parent was your mentor and his child had the tendency to be creepily uncanny each time you saw him, this couldn’t be considered normal at all, and you didn’t have a child anyway, you wouldn’t know.

“Make sure you don’t miss anything on that list.” He said to you. Sephiroth was still glaring at him from the floor. “All the tool you will require is in there,” he said, pointing at an overhead cabinet. “If you have questions, message me.”

“Should I call Eredith back when I’m finished?”

Hojo snorted. “Just leave after you’re done. This child gets too spoiled with her.”

Like countless times before, you shut your mouth even though you disagreed. That child was independent enough. Hojo just had illogical standards most times.

“I will leave you to it, then. Report to me later tonight.” Unexpectedly, he began to go. You hastily asked the man in panic. “Wha- You’re not staying, professor?”

Said professor sighed with his distinct flair. “I am occupied and will be for some time. The President require me. That’s why I must entrust some things to you, Nomen. I believe you can handle it well. Now, I shall leave you to it.”

Just like Eredith previously did, he was gone, leaving you and his less than pleased infant alone. You peered at him nervously. He was hunched over the book that looked too big for his tiny figure. The child still looked upset.

“Um….” There was that list in your one hand and his toy in the other. You tried to weigh the value of each. As you inspected what was on the list, you instantly thought it was both intriguing and ridiculous.

PROJECT-S

Report: 07-10-1983

J-01.S1.16817.00599.000.6

Subject Name: Sephiroth

D.O.B.: 05-05-1981

Age: 2 year 5 month

Physical Development

Cephal

Circumference:

Shape:

Facio

Length:

Width:

Iris color:

Teeth condition:

Brachium

Length:

Circumference:

Flexibility:

Strength:

(….)

The whole first page of the document was all about the boy’s physical growth. There were even 10 pages in total, things were quite normal up to the point where Hojo actually wanted you to rate the child’s understanding of certain vocabularies like ‘cathode’ and ‘anode’. You didn’t mean to underestimate Sephiroth’s ability as he had proven to be quite the anomaly just after three brief meetings, you simply found it hard to believe that a two-year-old had to put up with this level of standard. You shook your head incredulously.

Looking at him now, it kind of answered some of the mystery his uncanny behavior omitted. If Hojo had done something to make ‘his son’ biologically enhanced, he was bound to be different in some ways.

“Sephiroth?” He gave you a scrunched nose and nothing else. The child fumbled with the hem of his shirt under your constant gaze, as if hesitating with whatever he decided to do next. You were about to struck a conversation when his tiny hands landed on the book.

He began to read.

“In e be..begin’in o’ e book-”

“Um…Sephiroth?”

“-a in…indodooction o ele..men-”

“Hey,” you put a hand to cover the page gently. “Seph, stop for a second, yeah?”

He turned to look at you with the most flustered expression a baby could ever muster.

“I haven’t told you my name, right? My name’s Nomen.”

There was silence after your awkward attempt at introduction. He still didn’t say a word, just stared at you with the same expression. You started to wonder if he actually get what you said. The child got tired of looking at you after a few seconds and dived back into the book, but you were persistent yourself.

You plopped the stuffed animal in front of his line of vision.

This time when he looked at you, not only was he flustered, but his eyes also round with surprise. He was visibly teetering between holding himself back or just accept the offering. Almost a minute passed with him freezing up. To your surprise he pushed the animal back to you. His face looked so conflicted it made you feel bad.

You quickly put the toy back on top of the book. “Didn’t you want to play?”

Sephiroth now fumbled with his fingers. His pout was back. “Tis a test….”

“No! I’m not testing you, kid. Oh, by the Goddess.” Your lips turned to a smile. Without even giving it a second thought, you patted the boy’s head. He then froze again. It was unclear whether he felt offended by the touch. Do kids even feel offended? Alas, you began pulling your hand away, but he suddenly grabbed your wrist with tiny hands and put it back on his hair, looking at you with an annoyed expression.

He liked it.

Just like you would with a cat, you petted his head. He leaned into your touch with the same pissed off face, but his body was relaxed. You took the chance to shove his chocobo at him. Fortunately, he immediately accepted. The two of you stayed that way for a while. It felt comfortable. Your heart was warmed up in the face of this unexpected softness.

“I promised Eredith you’ll finish lunch, sooo…before we start everything, let’s eat first, okay?”

His jade irises peered from below your palm. He looked unsure.

“You can keep the chocobo. I won’t take it away. I promise!”

After he nodded, you immediately took the bowl temporarily abandoned on the table. He was nothing but cooperative and you were relieved for it. Sephiroth munched his food with the toy never leaving his hands. You utilized the interval between each spoon to start measuring the boy’s physique. He was quite the slow eater, taking all the time in the world to chew. By when he finally finished lunch, you had managed to fill the first page of the document.

Hours went by unnoticed as the examination process was carried on. He time and time again amazed you with the ability to maintain almost unwavering focus. He actually always wanted to play, sometimes allowing himself to take a toy lying around when your attention was elsewhere. But once you subjected him to another test, he rallied all of himself to it. It was mesmerizing to watch.

Somewhere along the way, Eredith actually came knocking at the door. She brought biscuits and a bottle of milk for the infant’s afternoon meal. The woman didn’t say much to you, she just politely asked to feed Sephiroth again and brought the empty bowl away. Nothing much happened after that. You allowed the boy to munch on his snack while you asked him questions or told him to perform some task.

At some point you came across the question of whether Sephiroth understood some terms written on the paper – the cathode and anode one. You sighed exasperatedly. The child was currently drawing something resembling his favorite stuffed animal, if you weren’t mistaken. You leaned over him, asking just for sure, “Is that your chocobo?”

“Uh-huh.”

You nodded appreciatively. His skill was decent enough for his drawing to be understood. That indicated a capability to understand and replicate the existence of objects around him. You quickly took a note.

“Um…kid?”

“Hm?”

“Can you read these two words for me?” You showed the nouns for him to spell. He studied them momentarily and tried. “Ca’ffode an’ an….”

“Anode.”

“…aode.”

“That’s right,” you gave him a smile and another pat on the head. “Do you know what they mean?”

He shook his head hesitantly.

“Alright….” You thought to yourself the best way of explaining it to him. “Do you know battery?”

“Un…yea.”

“Cathode is the part of a battery that has the [+] symbol, while anode has [-].”

Sephiroth stared at you silently. He didn’t seem to get what you mean, so you looked around. Amidst the toy lying around was a fake gun, colored in bright colors appealing to children. You took it and opened the battery case.

“Here, look, there’s a [+] sign here and a [-] sign. This one is the cathode and this one is anode. The battery has power, it runs to the gun from here to here. Without one of these two, the power is stuck in one side, just like a road that’s blocked.”

“They…’re like ‘oors?”

You smiled fondly, “Yes, yes! They’re like doors. If they’re not set in properly, the power from the battery won’t flow to the gun, just like one can’t pass through a door if it’s not opened.”

The boy was astute. You never had to explain things twice as long as you gave him a good example. Filling the rest of the document became nothing but a breeze. Before you knew it, you had completed the day’s report. Sephiroth also looked bored, the chocobo was back in his cradle as he laid on the floor, his tiny fingers fumbled with its feathery butt. You couldn’t help the laugh that escaped your lips. This was the first time you interacted with him and you could already see various shades of his personality. At times, his calm demeanor and self-restraint made you feel like there was someone much older trapped inside that tiny body, then there were also times like these, when he behaved innocently like every other child in the Planet did. He was highly intriguing at such a young age and you dared to bet he would continue to be so when he grows up.

Having nothing else to do left but gawk at the tiny fluff caressing a chocobo butt, you took another brief moment to appreciate it before preparing to leave. Your task was over technically, but you couldn’t help feeling like there was more you could do. Then an idea struck your mind.

“Seph, stay here, okay? I’m gonna get something for you.”

You hurried to your room, heading straight to the bookshelves. At the children’s section was a compilation of nursery rhymes and tales. You scanned the titles with keen eyes, finding the one you were looking for right away, then quickly headed back to Sephiroth’s. The boy was still on his back when you returned. You approached him with an enthusiastic smile plastered on your face.

“Look what I’ve got.”

The boy looked at you half-heartedly. He was definitely done for the day. Then he saw the book you had brought. He quickly sat up to take it.

Below the title – Pickle in a Fickle! – was a picture of one golden chocobo, just like his toy, staring at two gysahl greens completely bamboozled. “Chochobo!” Sephiroth pointed at the character.

“Yes, the same as yours. His name is Pickle.”

“’ickle…,” the boy copied. He wasted no time opening it, eyes seemingly glittering with wonder to see illustrated pages instead of black and white passages. You waited patiently for him to start reading. But the moment he saw some passages, he pouted.

You blinked in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

“’m tired weadin’.”

Ah…. That made sense. He’d been forced to spell hundreds of words in a day. Some people didn’t even bother to read. The young boy had accomplished nothing short of a feat. You supposed he was justified to call it a day.

“Do you want me to read it to you?”

His giddiness was back instantaneously, “Yea! Wead it!”

So began your habit of bringing children’s books to him. He spent morning ‘till sundown doing his best with the examination and you rewarded him with new tale almost every day. He was always tired by the end that you had to read to him. The young boy listened with rapt attention, sometimes sitting beside you while playing with Pickle – he named his chocobo after you narrated the story, some other time getting into your lap to see the pages as you read.

Eredith started to give you smiles that grew bigger each time you saw her, though you two still hadn’t talked much aside from some pleasantries and formalities. She was always there when you came in the morning, then proceeded to make herself scarce all day long, only coming in once or twice to deliver foods and drinks. By sundown, you’d be bidding little Seph a goodbye. Eredith was already by the door when you exited. You nodded your head politely and let her be to do her job.

By night, Hojo would call you to his office and ask for report. He’d inspect the document you filled every single day, taking notes of certain aspects that he deemed significant. The professor was overall pleased with his son’s progress, seemingly unaware of the new habit you had helped him build. If your mentor knew anything about you adding non-academic books – nonsense jabberwockies, he’d said – to his son’s curriculum, he had certainly done nothing to stop it.

Sephiroth had become much more open to you after a month of constant meeting. He would happily stand by the door every day at 10 o’clock, the time you were supposed to get in. He kept urging you to hurry with the tests so he gets to hear another story. You gladly did as he asked, it was a win-win situation for all anyway. The effects of your diligence was showing and it affected everyone. Hojo rarely spoke harshly to his son nor Eredith, he gave you a raise, and most importantly, approved your proposal to borrow the bio lab for the sake of your own research. He didn’t question your intentions much, simply asked you to not let it hinder your main responsibility with Sephiroth. He only allowed you to use them at night when you were done reporting. Without hesitation you agreed.

Life became much easier than ever before. For once things were actually going the right way. You couldn’t be more grateful, to the professor, to fate, and to the fluff of silver and jade who was the reason of it all. By the time you went to bed, the only thing that came to your mind was which story you should bring tomorrow.

#ff7 #ffvii #ffviiremake #ffvii remake #ff7 remake #archive of our own #sephiroth x reader #reader insert #hojo #professor hojo #sephiroth is a baby #baby sephiroth #young sephiroth #young hojo #young president shinra #everyone is young #fanfiction #my fics #e-aramis

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ellewritesathing · 5 years

Text

So Close - S.S. XVI

Summary: The universe has a funny way of putting the things you want right in front of you, but just out of reach. Stiles and Y/N have been best friends ever since Scott brought him home, but when Stiles realizes that he might want to be something other than best friends, she leaves to go to some fancy private school up North. Now that she’s back though … maybe he’s got a shot? A Teen Wolf AU in which the reader has always been so close to Stiles and yet so far.

Prologue - S2E1 Part 1 - S2E2 + S2E3 Part 2 - S2E4 + S2E5 + S2E6 Part 3 - S2E7 +S2E8 Part 4 - S2E9 + S2E10 Part 5 - S2E11 + S2E12 Part 6 Part 7 - S3AE1 Part 8 - S3AE2 + S3AE3 Part 9 - S3AE4 Part 10 - S3AE5 + S3AE6 Part 11 - S3AE7 + S3AE8 Part 12 - S3AE9 + S3AE10 + S3AE11 Part 13 - S3AE11 + S3AE12 Part 14 Part 15 - S3BE1 + S3BE2 Part 16 - S3BE3 + S3BE4

Word-count: 3.5k+

A/N: nano’s lowkey kicking my butt but i’m super excited to get back to writing fics when december comes around

“You know, I really hate driving on this thing,” you mumbled as you took off your helmet. Scott took it from you as you shook out your hair. “I mean, look at this. My hair’s a mess.”

He didn’t answer and you were about to complain some more when you saw him walking around the bike to talk to the twins. What were they doing back?

“You’re back in school?” he asked them.

“No, just to talk,” Ethan said as you stood next to your brother. He cast a quick glance at you before turning back to Scott.

“Well, I’m not really in the talking mood, so-” you said as you looped your arm through Scott’s.

“Plus, talking’s kind of a change of pace for you guys,” Stiles interrupted you as he walked up to the group. “Usually, you’re just hurting, maiming, and killing.”

“You need a pack,” Ethan continued like he didn’t hear you and Stiles. “We need an alpha.”

“Yeah …” Stiles pretended to think about it. “Absolutely not. That’s hilarious though.”

“You came to us for help. We helped.”

“You beat his face into a bloody pulp,” Stiles argued. “That’s not helping. In my opinion, that’s actually counterproductive.”

“Seriously, that’s what you guys were doing while I-” you started, pulling on Scott’s arm again.

“Why would I say yes?” Scott asked interrupted.

“We’d add to your strength. We’d make you more powerful,” Aiden said. “There’s no reason to say no.”

You rolled your eyes. You liked it better when he wasn’t talking.

“I can think of one,” Isaac said as he strode over, pointing a finger at them with the same hand that was holding Cora’s. “Like the two of you holding Derek’s claws while Kali impaled Boyd.”

“Yeah, that was real helpful, guys,” you said sarcastically.

“I don’t know why we’re not impaling them right now,” Cora chimed in.

Aiden shifted just enough for his blue eyes to shine and his fangs to drop. “You wanna try?”

You stepped forward and put a hand out to Cora to stop her from engaging. Scott pulled Isaac back by his wrist. You took a deep breath and stepped back so you weren’t in the middle of everything.

“Sorry, but they don’t trust you,” Scott said, diffusing the situation. “And neither do I.”

He pushed past them and Stiles followed. You started to as well, but stopped when Cora lingered. You grabbed her hand and pulled her away from them, and Isaac trailed after the two of you.

“I don’t get why you always stick up for them,” Cora said once you were a few feet away.

“I don’t stick up for them,” you said. “I just don’t want you to all worked up before your big geometry test.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.”

---

The school was a nightmare. You hated mischief night. As fun as it was to pull pranks and get free candy, it was exponentially less fun to hit with a toilet paper roll on your way to class. You put on a smile for Cora because she was having enough trouble adjusting to high school as it is. The look of relief on her face when Derek called was enough for you to encourage her to ditch the rest of the day. Yeah, she needed to catch up a lot but she also needed to not murder her classmates.

Noah had come to deliver an announcement to the school and you’d bumped into him in the hallway. The two of you were talking about the book you were reading in English when Stiles came running up to you.

“The William Barrow?” he asked, bulldozing over your conversation. “The Shrapnel Bomber? Spotted nearby?”

“Stiles, what are you-”

“A little closer than nearby, actually,” Noah admitted.

The frown on your face deepened as your dad blew past with a team of officers, talking about he needed to know where every entrance and exit in the school was.

“Okay, can either of you tell me what’s going on here?” you asked. Your eyes followed your dad until he rounded a corner.

Noah told you about the bomb that Barrow set up years ago and then he told you the reason why he did it. The kids on the bus had glowing eyes. And now he’d escaped from the hospital, with the intent to set off another bomb.

“We, um-” you put your hand on Stiles’ arm after Noah. “We happen to have some friends with glowing eyes.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “You wanna tell ‘em or should I?”

The original plan was to split up to cover more ground, but at some point you’d met up and gathered Lydia and Allison to tell them what happened. The police already cleared the building but Lydia was sure Barrow was still there, and you had to figure out what to do once he was caught.

“The bestiary is literally a thousand pages long,” Allison said as she lifted the blinds. “If I’m going to find anything about flies coming out of people’s bodies, it could take me all night.”

“I’ll help you,” you said. Stiles was giving you a look. “It’ll go by faster that way and it’s not like I can concentrate on my classes with Barrow still out there.”

He nodded and you started following Allison out the window.

“And remember,” Lydia said, “The word in archaic Latin for fly is ‘musca.’”

“Got it,” Allison said as she climbed over the ledge.

“See you guys later,” you smiled and waved at them before following her out.

---

After a good few hours of combing through the bestiary for any mention of flies, Chris got home with dinner. Allison pushed herself up and walked over to the door, throwing a look over her shoulder to you.

“You coming?” she asked.

“Yeah,” you sighed. “You go ahead. I’m gonna call Scott with an update.”

“Okay,” she smiled. “Hey, uh, I know this is awkward, but-” you raised an eyebrow and she laughed. “Never mind. I’ll save you some pizza.”

“You’re the best.” You grinned at her as she closed the door behind her. You dug out your phone and got up while you waited for it to ring. Voicemail.

“Okay, so Allison and I have basically spent the day doing nothing,” you sighed as you paced. “Well, nothing helpful. Flies are able to carry messages from the dead, but Barrow’s not dead. Beelzebub is the Lord of the Flies, but I think he probably has better things to do than mess with teenagers.” The lights started flickering and you got quieter. “Just call me back, okay?”

You hung up and walked over to the door, but it wouldn’t open. You tried again but it was locked. You heard something fall over and spun around to find five shadowy figures getting closer to you. You engaged Derek’s knife and called for Allison, but it didn’t help. Fighting didn’t help.

You heard the Argents yelling your name when they closed in, but they started to sound further away. The room was cold. One of the shadows put their hand on the side of your face. They cradled your face, and you were faintly aware of the burning sensation. Just like you were faintly aware of your screaming.

You couldn’t pull your eyes away from the glowing orbs just behind the shadow. Or were they in front? They were gone in the instant that you blinked. And so was everything else - except for the darkness.

You weren’t sure how much time had passed between calling Scott and Chris pouring water on your face. You gasped as you woke up and scrambled to get your back against a wall.

“Y/N, what happened?” Allison asked, trying to get close to you.

“I- I don’t know,” you said. You were stuttering. You were freezing. “There were five of them. They- they came out of the shadows. They were the shadows-”

Your phone lit up and you could see Stiles’ name flash across the screen. He could be in danger. You reached for it and got up.

“I-I have to go,” you said.

“Y/N, wait-” Allison caught your arm. “What happened?”

“They were wearing black and I couldn’t see their faces. Their eyes were …” you searched for the word. “Haunting. Glowing. Almost like …”

“Like what?”

“Fireflies.”

---

You ran out of the Argents’ apartment building and called Stiles. He didn’t answer. You checked your messages.

“Hey, so don’t panic,” he started. You hated it when he said that. “I know you hate when I say that but just- just trust me, okay? Barrow was after Kira and we’re on our way to the substation to go save her. It’s no big deal. Call me when you get this.”

You checked your most recent message.

“Okay, so you didn’t call me. It’s cool. It’s fine. Scott says you called him but whatever.” He took a breath. “Uh, this is kind of awkward but your dad is kind of taking us into custody because we may or may not have destroyed the power station. If you could meet me at the police station, that would be great. Oh, this is Stiles, by the way. In case you didn’t notice from the-”

Your phone cut him off and you shoved your phone in your pocket and started heading to the police station. Scott, Kira, Lydia, and Stiles were on their way out when they got there.

“Oh, so your phone does work?” Stiles asked as you ran up to him. You almost tackled him with the hug you gave him. “Woah, hey, I’m fine. I told you- why are you so cold?”

“I don’t- just hug me, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” he said softly, tightening his grip around you. You pulled away when Scott cleared his throat and handed you his jacket.

“What happened?” he asked. “You look terrible.”

“Thanks,” you mumbled. “I don’t know exactly what happened. I was at Allison’s and I called you … and the power went out so I tried to go find Allison. The door was locked and-” you looked up at Kira. “I’ll tell you at home, okay? Right now, I just want to go home.”

---

Not to sound narcissistic or anything, but considering this was the second time you almost died in six months, you expected a little more concern. But Scott was more concerned about Kira getting her phone back. He even gave her your helmet so she could ride on the bike with him! Sure, you hated that bike but still. A little brotherly concern would be nice.

“Okay, this one will get you into all of the perimeter doors,” Stiles explained as he handed Scott a key. You stopped sulking in the passenger’s seat and paid attention. “This one into the evidence room. And this one’s for my father’s office.”

“You didn’t steal these, did you?” Scott asked. You rolled your eyes.

“No. I cloned them using the RFID emulator,” Stiles answered with a nod.

“Is that worse than stealing?” Scott asked, frown on his face.

“That depends on your definition of worse,” you said, leaning over the armrest to get closer to the conversation. “But it’s a lot smarter.”

“Aww, thanks,” Stiles smiled and looked down at you. You realized just how much closer you had gotten.

“Uh, Scott, can I ask you something?” Kira asked. She led Scott a few feet away and you moved back to your side of the car.

“So they’re cute together. Don’t you think?” you asked.

“Who?” Stiles asked. You pulled a face. “Oh, Scott and Kira? I mean, yeah. They’ve both got that sunshine child thing going for them.”

“Yeah, but-” you stopped when they headed back to the car.

“Okay,” Stiles grinned at them. “So, now almost everybody’s out dealing with the blackout. But there’s always somebody at the front desk. There’s dispatch and usually a night shifter or two.”

You listened as Stiles explained the plan to the two of them and that he could only be lookout because of the investigation around Noah. That your dad was in charge of. He sunk back in his seat and watched Scott and Kira leave.

“So you think they’ve got a shot at pulling this off by themselves?” you asked quietly, slumping back in your chair.

“Oh, not a chance in hell,” Stiles answered. “But Scott goes along with all my dumb ideas so-”

“Your ideas aren’t dumb,” you said, pushing yourself up. “Reckless, maybe. Never dumb.”

“You think so?” Stiles asked.

“Of course.”

“Listen, we, uh, never really got the chance to talk,” Stiles started. “About, you know, that night our parents were missing … and Scott wasn’t …”

“I remember,” you said.

“You do? Great, uh …” he took a deep breath. “Listen, I’m really sorry for-”

A car pulled in front and you pulled Stiles down. Peering over the dashboard, you saw that it was your dad. Stiles was unusually quiet next to you.

“I’ve gotta go help them,” you whispered. You were so close to him.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “I understand. I’ll, uh, text Scott.”

You nodded and made your way into the building. What you were going to talk to your dad about, you had no idea. But you had to try.

“Dad!” you called after him, pushing through the doors. “Dad! I need to talk to you.”

Rafael looked surprised to see you. You couldn’t blame him. “What’s wrong?”

“I just-” you took a breath. You needed something. “Why did you stop coming to see me? I know Willow Creek was a lot closer, but why didn’t you … call? Or text?”

Rafael looked away and took a deep breath. “Y/N, I … I thought we were in a good place.”

“We were, but then I got kicked out and you dropped off the map,” you said. “You didn’t even tell me you were coming home.”

“I didn’t want to have to bring you guys into this,” he explained. “I just wanted-”

“Wanted what? To do your job and leave?” you asked. “Were you even going to tell us that you were back?”

You heard the doors open and felt Stiles stop next to you. Rafael was staring at him but you couldn’t look away from your dad.

“Stiles, what are you doing here?” he asked.

“I-”

“I asked him to come,” you said. “Because he’s always been there for me. Just like Noah has always been there for me. Unlike you.”

You turned to leave and Stiles said he’d be right behind you. You stormed out to the parking lot and sat on the Jeep’s hood while you waited for everyone to finish.

Stiles was out first, but he didn’t say anything. A few seconds later, Scott and Kira ran out with dumb, goofy grins on their faces.

“Are you finished?” you asked.

“Yep! All the pics deleted,” Scott beamed.

“That was awesome!” Kira was still visibly excited. “I mean, terrifying. Completely terrifying, but kind of awesome! I’ve never done anything like that before. Have you?”

You choked back some laughter when you saw how quickly Scott’s face fell.

“Yeah, once or twice,” Stiles said. Kira hummed in acknowledgment.

“So I guess I should take you home,” Scott said. Kira looked a little crestfallen as they walked away.

Stiles turned to you. “I guess that’s our cue, huh? After all the excitement of, uh, getting some new emotional baggage to carry around?”

You laughed pushed yourself off the Jeep. “You know … Cora texted me something about a blacklight party at the loft. If you wanna take your troubled childhood and use it as an excuse to do a little underaged drinking?”

“I don’t need to use my troubled childhood an excuse for my underaged drinking,” Stiles scoffed. “I’ve got plenty of other reasons to drink underage!”

You met up with Scott and Kira at the party, but excused yourself to grab some waters for the group. Before anything too crazy happened, you needed to make sure everyone at least had some water in their systems.

When you got back to the group, however, you found Stiles’ face smeared with luminescent lipstick. You handed the waters out and shoved Stiles’ in his chest. “Seriously?”

“Y/N, it’s not- it’s not like that!” he yelled over the music. You were already stomping away.

“I don’t think I care what it’s like anymore,” you said. You laughed. “I mean, honestly, Stiles, I don’t know what I expected. Go have fun with whoever kissed you. Heck, go have fun with Lydia! Just leave me alone.”

You shrugged him off and went to find wherever they kept the alcohol in the loft. You ended up finding Allison and handed her another drink. She was staring in the direction of Cora and Isaac slow dancing to electro-dance music.

“Rough night for you, too?” you asked, bumping into her arm.

“I’m not moping,” she said when she turned to you. “Seriously, I’m not. So don’t pity me.”

“So this doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that Scott’s here with Kira and you thought Isaac was into you until he asked Cora out?” you asked, downing your own drink.

“Maybe,” she admitted. “Okay, give me that. I’m not moping sober.”

“That’s the spirit!” you laughed.

“Wait, why are you moping?” she asked a few drinks later. “And why is Stiles dancing with some girl in a wig?”

“I’m moping because he’s dancing with some girl in a wig,” you said. “God, I can’t believe I just said that out loud.”

“So you’re seriously saying you’ve never told anyone how you feel about him?” Allison asked, laughing slightly.

“I’m saying that …” you sighed. Looking around the room. “That I need to find Lydia. How long has it been since you saw her?”

“I don’t know … a little while ago.” She frowned. “You’re right. We should find her.”

You got lost in the crowd and eventually found Stiles racing out of the loft. You grabbed his arm.

“Hey, have you seen Lydia?” you asked.

“Seriously, you’re still mad at me about that?” he asked.

“No- well, yes. But I haven’t seen her since we got here and I’m really worried about her,” you said.

“I’m sure she’s just making out with Aiden somewhere,” he sighed. “Is that all? Because I’ve gotta go.”

“Where are you going?” you asked.

He sighed again and pulled out a key. It was glowing under the UV light. “To figure this out.”

---

The sun had started to come up by the time you and Stiles broke into the chemistry classroom. Stiles closed the door carefully behind you and then went to the supply closet. His mystery key fit perfectly.

“Stiles, that doesn’t mean anything,” you said gently.

“What? You’re talking to me now?” His words were harsh but his voice was quiet. He was confused. Hurt.

You watched him go up to the blackboard and take a piece of chalk. He wrote matching atomic numbers next to the originals. His handwriting was an exact match.

“Does that also not mean anything?” he asked. His voice was shallow.

You put your hand on his and took the chalk out of his grip. “Hey,” you said gently. “Look at me, okay? Stop looking at the numbers.”

He did. There were tears in his eyes. “I thought you were mad at me?”

“I was,” you said. “But I think I was just jealous. It doesn’t matter now.”

“You forgive me?” he asked.

“I-” you looked down. And you realized that you did forgive him. He’d done nothing wrong. “I understand that it wasn’t your fault. There’s nothing to forgive.”

“There’s a lot to forgive,” he said. “Y/N, I- I’m scared. I don’t remember doing this. I’m getting worse.”

“I know,” you said softly. “So am I. I think Allison’s the only one that's not … not falling apart.”

“I’ve been having these nightmares,” he started. He shook his head and scratched his neck. ��I don’t know. Can you still call them nightmares if they happen when you're awake? Or when I think I'm awake. Am I awake?”

“As awake as I am,” you said.

You reached for his hand when he started picking at his nails again. They were a little bloody and ragged looking, but that didn't matter to you.

“You promise?” His voice was small and it trembled with every word. He looked like a scared little boy.

“No matter what.”

You squeezed his hands and pulled him into a hug. When he pulled away, his hand was cupping your jaw. He ran a hand through your hair, finger stopping behind your ear, and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” you asked, tilting your head to the side.

“Nothing.” His eyes snapped up to meet yours. “Nothing at all.”

You frowned. He was acting strange. “You’re sure nothing's wrong? Cause you’re acting a little-”

“Actually, I’ve gotta go,” he said. He pulled away and started heading for the door. “I can’t do this.”

“Do what?” You asked, walking behind him. He was going so fast. “Stiles, you drove me here. Stiles!”

But he was gone when you reached the hallway.

“Great,” you mumbled. “Looks like I’m walking home.”

Part 17

#stiles stilinski #stiles stilinksi x reader #stiles slow burn #stiles stilinksi imagine #so close #teen wolf #teen wolf au #teen wolf rewrite #mccall!reader

96 notes · View notes

fantasiesandbooks · 5 years

Text

Tenerife Sea xiv

I don’t own any of the photos.

Prologue Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14

Soundtrack 1

Soundtrack 2

warnings: slightly smut-ish in one part.

It was Friday evening. Chanyeol was on his way to pick you up from work since today you two were gonna go to the dance class he had agreed to take with you. He was almost at the place where he always pick you up when you called him.

“Hi honey, I’m almost there” He said as he was rounding the corner.

“Hi! Don’t worry about it. I’m exiting the building. I was calling because I have thought you would be there already” You explained through the speaker.

“I would have but Baekhyun wanted some help with assembling a toy from his new collection and time went by so fast”. The tall boy explained.

“Aw you’re such a good friend” you cooed through the phone.

“Shut up” Chanyeol laughted.

“I think I see you” You said, looking at a grey van that was approaching.

“I see you too” Chanyeol said.

“Ok. See you in a bit” You said.

“Bye” Chanyeol hang up as he was parking next to the sidewalk in front of you.

You waved at him through the glass and pull the door handle to open it. You hop on and closed the door. Chanyeol took some of your bags from you and put them on the backseat among his things. You turned to looked at him and smiled.

“Hey. Thank you” You said and smiled at him.

Although you wanted to give him a kiss, both of you had agreed that maybe that kind of greetings, even in the inside of his car wouldn’t be possible since there was the possibility that there would be paparazzi and people snooping around. You two would only get to be affectionate towards each other when you were certain there was no one around that could leak a photo to the world.

“Hey” he smiled back and squeezed your hand gently. He started the engine and started driving towards the dance studio.

“How was your day?” Chanyeol asked you while keeping his gaze at the front.

“Tiring. I have thought that these days would be more relaxed since the holidays are approaching but they decided to make a new section for the Christmas edition and guess who has to edit all the articles from it?” You asked sarcastically while pointing at yourself. Chanyeol looked at you quickly and let out a sneer.

“And there’s no one who can help you with that?” Chanyeol asked you.

“No. It’s just me and another co- worker” you let out a sigh “the only good think about it is that after Christmas Eve the magazine will be closed until the first days of January. The following weeks we get to do home office” You said relieved.

“That’s nice. We could spend more time together” Chanyeol said.

“You are waking up when I am just returning from my lunch hour.” You mocked.

“Yeah but I could get up earlier, go to your place, have breakfast while I watch you working and take a nap after it” Chanyeol said and you sneered.

“I don’t think so” you said. “but you could stop by for lunch” you suggested instead.

“Ok” Chanyeol said satisfied with the outcome.

“Hey, are you coming to the concerts?”. Chanyeol asked you

“Only for the first one. I’ve been thinking about it and today I was checking some flights. I think it’s time for me to go back home. I want to be there by New Year’s Eve” You said calmly but you were a little bit worried about Chanyeol’s reaction.

“Oh... ok” Was the only thing he said after a moment.

“Is that ok with you?” You asked him hesitantly at his lack of words.

“Of course. What makes you think I’m not ok with it?” Chanyeol said surprised.

“Your short response. And the fact that this would be the first holidays we get to spend as a couple”. you explained.

“I’m just surprised for your decision but I also know that you miss your family and if you want to go I totally support you” Chanyeol said and gave you a side smile.

“Thank you. That means a lot to me” you said and smiled at him “I mean it’s still a thought though. I still have to prepare all the luggage I have to take with me and book the flight”.

“Well I’m still free for the next two weeks before the rehearsals for the concerts. I can help you with the luggage. Do you have to pack a lot of things?” Chanyeol said.

You thought about it for a couple of seconds before you answered “Like five suitcases”.

“Are you going for the holidays or are you planning on leaving town?” Chanyeol asked you sarcastically.

You laughed at his comment “I’m not leaving permanently. It’s just that I have to take a lot of clothes and shoes to leave them there” you explained.

“You need an intervention for all the online shopping you do” The tall boy said amused and you lifted a brow at him.

“Says the guy who orders everything online. Seriously, I think that the mailman gets to see you more than I can” You countered back.

“I don’t buy everything online. Besides I do that because it’s easier that going to the malls, specially in this time of the year” Chanyeol explained.

“Yeol you have so much clothes that you can’t even tell which ones are new.Remember what happened with Junmyeon’s jacket” You said.

Touché you thought.

Chanyeol scoffed at remembering that incident “It was one time and you guys don’t let me live after that”.

“That’s because you need to stop buying things online, at the malls, just buying in general” You said.

“Ok let’s make a promise. We will not buy anything from today until January, do you agree with that?” Chanyeol asked you.

“Ok but... first let me buy all the Christmas presents and after that I can keep that promise without any problem” you said.

Chanyeol shook his head amused “Fine. Only because I had to buy presents too”.

You smiled widely at him “Thank you. You are the best boyfriend I could have asked for” you said.

“I know” Chanyeol said smugly and you slapped his arm playfully.

“And what can you tell me about your day? Did you do a lot of fun stuff? Do you love more than yesterday?” You asked him.

“I will answer you in the order of your questions. 1. I woke up late, did some workout, prepared my stuff for the class, helped Baekhyun and came to pick you up. 2. The first 3 things weren’t that fun to do except for waking up late. I really needed that. And 3. Yes, I love you more than yesterday” Chanyeol looked at you with a cheeky smile on his face.

“Good to know” you chuckled.

“We are here” Chanyeol indicated.

“Are you excited for it?” You asked him happily.

“Not really but let’s see how it goes down” Chanyeol said.

“Ok”. You said with a resigned expression.

You two got out of the car, picked up their bags and started walking towards the building. “But it’s not a pole dance class, right? Because if it is then I will only be a viewer” Chanyeol said and you laughed out loud.

“No Yeol. It’s not a pole dance class. I sign us up for a class were they teach us different dancing styles. You really need to loose those hips” you said teasingly.

Chanyeol scoffed at you “May you pardon but lately my hips have been looser than ever. Haven’t you see me doing the “Rolling Rolling” dance from Baekhyun’s song?” Chanyeol said offended.

“Yeah, sometimes it’s like I’m watching a robot grinding over the guys” you joked. Chanyeol glared at you. You laughed at his face, took him by the arm and made him follow you.

“Come on. If you don’t like it I’m not going to insist anymore” you said to him and he sighed.

Once inside you went to change your clothes into a pair of blue pants, white t-shirt and sneakers. You grabbed your hair in a ponytail and went straight to the dance room where Chanyeol was waiting for you since he was already dressed for it.when he picked you up –He was wearing a pair of black pants, a white t-shirt, a blue jacket, his sneakers and his cap.- He was looking at some pamphlet stuck to the wall.

“What are you doing?” You said. Chanyeol got startled and you chuckled.

“Jesus you scared me” Chanyeol said.

“I’m sorry” you laughed.

“So, what is that?” You said and pointed at the paper he was reading.

“Oh, it’s a schedule where you can see all the classes that you can take. Look! there’s even one for lap dance” Chanyeol said bewildered and pointed at it. You took a step closer to look at the schedule. Indeed they have a lot of different classes.

You made a mental note of checking that out later and ask Jackson if maybe you should take another one.

“Ah yeah. I see it” you said nonchalantly.

“Can I sign you for it?” Chanyeol asked you excitedly and you gave him a pointed look.

“Only if you put a show for me like the one in Magic Mike” You said. Chanyeol opened his mouth to counter back when the teacher came in an interrupted you.

“Good evening” She said cheerfully. Both of you greeted her back.

“My name is Minnie and I’m gonna be your teacher for tonight” she announced. “I would like to know our names before we start”.

“I’m y/n and he is Chanyeol. Nice to meet you” you said and smiled at her.

“Oh yeah. That’s why I had thought you look familiar” She said to Chanyeol and he averted his gaze awkwardly. “It’s nice to meet you too” she said to you.

“Teacher since you already noticed he is famous, could you please don’t talk about this to anyone? We are friends and we don’t want a misunderstanding” You said politely.

“Of course. There are a lot of famous people that come here to take classes and we know how troublesome can be for them. Don’t worry about it” she said.

“Thank you” both of you said.

“So let’s begin with the class. I’m gonna teach you choreographies for different kinds of songs; there’s gonna be hip-hop, pop and some latin ones”. You and Chanyeol nodded.

“Ok then. Please stand right there. I’m gonna put on some music” She said and headed towards the speakers.

“Is it too late to have second thoughts about this?” Chanyeol asked you hesitantly.

“Yep” you said. “Just relax, it’s not like you’re performing in front of your fans”.

“No, but the only songs I dance to are our own”. Chanyeol said referring to his group.

“That’s why you need this class” you said matter of factly.

The music started playing and Chanyeol look at himself through the mirror. Ok. If Sehun and Jongin can do it so can I He thought and high fived himself.

After 2 hours of practice Chanyeol and you were seating on the floor exhausted. You were taking a sip of water when Chanyeol turned to look at you.

“My legs are so sore” The tall boy panted.

“I can hear my knees screaming” you breathed. The teacher laughed at you two.

“I would have thought you would be in better shape Chanyeol” She looked at the boy amused.

“There has been two weeks since the last performance we had. Plus, I have danced some difficult choreographies but you lost me with the Latin ones. They moved so fast” He said.

Minnie chuckled at his statement “yeah. This is not even half of it. There are dancing styles where they move faster”. Chanyeol looked at her surprised.

“Well guys, It was lovely to meet you but I have another class in about 5 minutes so I have to go to the other room. I hope you had enjoyed the class and if you want another one you already had my schedule” your teacher said and picked up her stuff.

“Thank you teacher” you and Chanyeol said and waved her goodbye as she was exiting the room.

“I’m so proud of you honey” you said at Chanyeol and raised your hand in order for him to high five you.

Chanyeol smiled widely at you “thank you. Actually it was pretty cool. Maybe we could take another one the next week”.

“Whenever you want”. You smiled pleased. Both of you picked up your things and you turned to look at him.

“I’m so proud of you that I could kiss you right now” you said. Chanyeol grabbed you by your waist, pulled you towards him and a smirk was drawn on his face “And what is stopping you from it?”.

You gave him a mischievous look and said “Look up at the right corner. There is a camera” you said. Chanyeol looked at the place you said and saw a little green dot twinkling. He hadn’t noticed that when he first walked in nor when you were taking the class but you were such an observer sometimes that you could easily spotted things like that. Still his mischievous smile never left his face “I have my cap on. No one will know who you are kissing”.

You smiled at him and cupped his face in your hands. You stood up on your tiptoes the best you could and closed the distance between yours and his lips.

“Fine, only one kiss.” You whispered and joined your mouths. Your boyfriend was smiling against it and after a moment, which Chanyeol thought it was very short, you separated from him.

“That was a peck not a kiss” Chanyeol complained.

“I said one kiss not a make out session” you laughed.

Chanyeol frowned at you “Fine. We are having that at home” he said and you stared at him mischievously.

You were walking towards his car, breathing in the night air and looking at the sky. You were enjoying the sight of it and smiled.

Chanyeol stared at you “Why are you smiling?” He asked you. “Look at the sky, the moon is so bright and big today” You said and looked up again.

Chanyeol looked up. He saw the sky with its blues and blackish colors, some stars scattered around it and the moon big and white. The look of all those things combined brought him peacefulness.

Then he heard you chuckled and settled his gaze on you again “what now?” The tall boy said.

“I remembered what you had said earlier about if this class wasn’t a pole dance one and I imagined how would you look like hanging from a pole giving the show of your life for a couple of bills” You said while laughing. He pushed you gently but the image that came to his mind with your description was laughable. “You can be so silly sometimes. Besides, I would only accept bills of 20 or higher”. He said smugly.

“Mmm... that’s cheap. I will go for Euros then” you said and he laughed out loud.

“I don’t have those. Do you accept credit card?” Chanyeol said.

“I think we can reach an agreement” you said jokingly. Both of you got inside the car and headed towards your place.

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

When you arrived at it you had dinner and after it you started with your movie marathon on your bedroom. You and Chanyeol were laying on the bed. Chanyeol was drawing patterns on your arm gently and you were snuggled against his frame, your hand was resting flatly on his stomach. He started giving you little kisses on your head and forehead and you looked at him.

“What are you doing?” You asked amused.

“Giving you kisses, dah...” Chanyeol said and rolled his eyes at you.

You chuckled “I know that but you are not like that during movies” you said, still leaned over his body.

“Oh yeah, then how am I?” Chanyeol asked you with an amused expression on his face. You turned over and were laying on top of him now.

“Mostly quiet if you like the movie. If you don’t like it you start playing with my fingers or my hair.” you explained.

He put his hands on your waist and moved them gently up and down. “Maybe this is a new tactic to get your attention” Chanyeol said and shrugged.

“You have it now so what do you want?” You asked him.

Chanyeol put one of his hands on your cheek “You” he said simply and lifted his head from the pillow to kiss you.

What it started as a gentle and soft kiss soon turned into a heated one. Chanyeol rolled you over and now you were facing the ceiling and he was on top of you. He was kissing all over your face and neck. With his free hand he rolled over your top and revealed your stomach. He was trailing a path with his mouth towards it when his phone started buzzing. You looked at it over your nightstand. Baekhyun’s face appeared on the screen.

“Baekhyun is calling you” you said between breaths.

“Leave it” Chanyeol muffled against your belly. The phone stopped moving and you closed your eyes in an effort of concentrating on your boyfriend’s kisses. That didn’t last long since now it was your phone the one that was buzzing. You lifted your head to see who was calling. It was Baekhyun again.

“Chan, it’s him again” you announced “maybe we should...�� you were cut off by a little pain that you felt on your lower belly when Chanyeol gave you a hickey.

“Or not” you breathed and laid again.

Your boyfriend grabbed the waistband of your pants and took them off of you. He was kissing your thighs when you heard a knock on your entrance door.

Your eyes popped open “Yeol” you called him but he was so focus on his task that didn’t answer you at first. Did I hear right? You thought to yourself when there was another knock on the door, this one louder than the first and a muffled noise after that.

“Chanyeol” you said louder and he looked at you annoyed.

“Y/n Leave it. I’m trying to...” he was saying when you gestured him to shut up.

“Listen”. You said and he frowned at you.

You two went still and heard the same noise again. You pushed Chanyeol gently aside and stood up from the bed. He gave a frustrated sigh and lay on the bed while you were putting back on your pants and went for the door. As you were approaching it you could hear someone calling your name and banging on the door. Once you were in front of it you heard Baekhyun calling you.

“Open it. Please” The white haired boy was saying out loud. You reached for the handle and opened it.

“Thank god. What took you so long?” Baekhyun slurred as soon as he look at you. “What are you doing here?” You asked baffled.

“I’ll explain” Baekhyun said and staggered forward, leaning his whole body over you.

You caught him but you were loosing your balance as he was pushing you. Both of you landed on your couch. He took the air out of you and you grimaced in pain “Oh... Chan” you half yelled.

Chanyeol was in the hallway when he noticed the open door, followed by a half unconscious Baekhyun and you trying to push him off of you. He ran to close the door and went to your side rapidly. He struggled a little bit with getting Baekhyun’s body out of you since the boy was moving so much.

You gave an intake of breath “Thanks” you said as you got up from the couch and look at Chanyeol leaving the other boy on the other sofa. “What are you doing here?” Chanyeol asked him.

“I was at this club near here and I felt tired so I came” Baekhyun explained.

“How much did you drink?” You asked him.

“A lot. Not that much. I’m still sober-ish” Baekhyun said and smiled at you. He was clearly drunk but he still comprehend some of the things you were saying.

“Did you drive like that?” You asked him incredulously.

“No. I called a cab” he said offended as if you didn’t think he was carefully enough to do that. “I feel kinda weird though”.

You sighed heavily and stared at Chanyeol who had a murderous look on his face towards his friend. “Lets put him in the guests room” you said and went to stand in front of the white haired boy to grab his hand when he made a weird face and the next thing you knew was that he was puking over your carpet, staining your leg on the process.

You gasped. “gross” you said and look at him angrily.

“I’m sorry” Baekhyun managed to say.

Chanyeol looked at the two of you disgusted.

“Take him to the bedroom please. I need to clean my leg and the mess here”. You said and looked around you.

Chanyeol grabbed the boy and put one of his arms over his shoulder.

“Yeol... thanks bro. I love you” Baekhyun said.

“Ugh... turn your face to the other side, your breath smells like vomit” Chanyeol said grossed out.

You gagged at seen your leg and went towards the kitchen to get a cloth and others things so you could clean the floor at the living room.

Come y/n you can do this without puking you encouraged you.

Chanyeol went to your room and brought some of his clothes for Baekhyun. He helped his drunk friend in getting dressed with the clean garments and although the other boy was swimming in his t-shirt and pants, he smelled better than before.

“Why are you upset?” Baekhyun asked him, looking at his friend’s grumpy face.

“You came here drunk in the middle of the night, you prevented me from getting some and if that wasn’t enough you just puked over my girlfriend”. Chanyeol listed.

“I’m sorry”. Baekhyun said regretfully.

Chanyeol sighed “Just go to sleep. There’s no use of me scolding you if you’re not going to remember anything tomorrow”.

“Thank you Yeol” Baekhyun said and looked at the tall boy with tiredness in his eyes.

You came inside the room with a bowl, a toothbrush with toothpaste on it and a bottle of water. Chanyeol looked at you weirded out. Clearly you just had taken a quick shower because your hair was wet and you smelled like your honey soap.

Baekhyun looked at you with remorse on his features “I’m so sorry y/n. I didn’t know you were getting it on with Yeol”.

You shook your head at his weird apology. “It’s ok. Now take this” you extended the toothbrush and bowl towards him.

“What’s this?” Baekhyun asked confused. “You need to brush your teeth. I can’t stand the thought of you sleeping with your vomit breath”. You explained.

Baekhyun stared at you with his puppy eyes and started sobbing “You are such a great friend. Better than any of this guys. This fuckers would have leave me like that. I don’t deserved you”. He hugged your waist and sniffled over your t-shirt. You padded his head and looked weirded out at Chanyeol to which he only smiled amused.

“Yeah yeah. Now brush your teeth ok?” You said to the white haired boy and he nodded. After Baekhyun finished with that he laid on the bed. Chanyeol was exiting the room, you followed him behind when the other boy called you.

“Y/n” Baekhyun said softly.

Chanyeol and you looked at him.

“Could you cover me with the blankets please?” Baekhyun said quietly.

You went to grabbed the blankets and put them over his body.

He smiled at the warm feeling “thank you”.

You gave him a side smile and said “you’re welcome. Good night”.

Chanyeol and you walked towards your room. Both laid on the bed and he opened his arms for you to settled your body near his. He was stroking your hair soothingly when you said “I will have to burn my carpet.”

“We can send it to the laundry” Chanyeol suggested.

“I don’t think that will work. I tried to remove the stain but there wasn’t a big difference.” you said sadly.

“Then I will not kiss your leg again”. Chanyeol said and you slapped his chest, trying to suppress a laugh.

“It was only on the low part of it and I already washed it like 3 times” you countered back.

“Wash it 2 more and I will think about it” he said jokingly.

“I hate you” you said.

“You love me” Chanyeol said confidently.

“But sometimes I hate you” you said and pouted at him. He took your lips between his fingers and pinched them slightly. He laughed at your frown.

“Oh! I have forgotten about it but do you want to go with me tomorrow to the mall? I have to buy the presents for the boys and some others for my family and co-workers.” You said.

“Sure.” Chanyeol smiled at you and you peck his lips. He grabbed your head gently and put it over his chest.

“Lets go to sleep, shall we?” He said and you closed your eyes, slowly dozing off as you heard his breathing and heartbeats slowing down.

The next morning you and Chanyeol were having breakfast on the kitchen when Baekhyun came in with his puffy eyes and disheveled hair.

“Hey” he yawned.

“Hey” Chanyeol and you greeted him.

“There is your breakfast” Chanyeol muffled with a bite of toast on his mouth. Baekhyun looked at the glass that contained a juice with a peculiar color. He made a weird gesture at it.

“What’s that?” He asked hesitantly.

“It’s supposed to help you with the hangover”. You explained.

“Suppose? So you haven’t tried it?” Baekhyun lifted a brow at you.

“No, you are gonna be the first one” You smiled at him. Chanyeol took a sip from his coffee and looked at him amused. Baekhyun took the glass and took a little sip from it. He made a gesture of disgust and coughed.

“Ugh... what is this?” Baekhyun asked grossed out.

“A combination of tomato, cucumber and lemon” you said.

“This taste like vegetable soup. I’m not drinking this” Baekhyun said and put the glass aside.

“It’s all natural. It’s good for you” you said.

Baekhyun grabbed the glass and gave it another sip reluctantly.

“Was it my imagination or the living room has something weird since the last time I stop by?” Baekhyun asked curiously.

You gave him a pointed look “Really? You don’t remember anything?”.

“About what?” The white haired boy said.

“About you vomiting all over it and her” Chanyeol pointed out.

Baekhyun eyes got rounded as plates and he blushed furiously.

“I did that? I’m so so sorry y/n. I just remembered me coming here and you opened the door. Send me the laundry’s bill” Baekhyun said regretfully.

“Leave it like that” You said and waved a hand dismissively.

“No. If you don’t want me to pay for it then I’ll make up for you in another way” Baekhyun insisted.

“If I need anything, I’ll let you know” you assured him.

“You should buy her a car just for having puked over her” Chanyeol said.

“Yeah I’m so sorry about that too” Baekhyun said ashamed without looking at you.

“Well at least I didn’t do the same when I was cleaning myself, or the floor” you said. “But if you are planning on coming here drunk again, at least you should bring a plastic bag or something like that in case you can’t reach the bathroom” you said.

“I promise you I will not come here drunk again” Baekhyun sat up straight and said that solemnly. You were looking at him doubtfully

“Fine. I’ll promise to bring a bag too just in case”. The white haired boy said.

“Thank you” you said with a pleased smile on your face.

“But you and I are not done yet” Chanyeol said at his friend sternly.

“Why did I do to you?” Baekhyun frowned at him.

“Well discussed that later” Chanyeol said.

“So what are you guys planning for today?” Baekhyun said.

“We are going to the mall because y/n has to buy some presents” Chanyeol said.

“What about you? Do you want to come with us?” You asked Baekhyun.

“Nah I’m good. I’m planning on taking a shower and have a nap. Thanks for the invitation though” Baekhyun answered.

“Ok then. You can stay here if you want. Just let me know when you leave” You said to him.

“Sure, thanks” Baekhyun smiled at you. “Are you going to eat that toast?” Baekhyun said to you and you offered him your plate for him to take it. Baekhyun took a bite from it and muffled “This is so good y/n. Can you do more of these for me?”.

“Yes but you have to finish the juice first” you gestured at the glass half full. Baekhyun grimaced and drank it in one go “Agh. Done. Now make 5 of this, please?”

You shook your head amused “on it”.

Baekhyun smiled smugly at Chanyeol and the tall boy threw his napkin at him.

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When you arrived at the mall there was a sea of people walking from one store to another.

“Maybe we should have arrived earlier” you said, regretting the choice of going at night.

“Too late now”. Chanyeol said “let’s just go for the presents and leave”.

“Yes. Do you have your list with you?” You asked him.

Chanyeol pull out his phone and shook it gently as a way of saying his list was in it.

“And you?” He asked you.

You showed him your piece of paper and nodded at him.

“How about we go on our own and whoever finish first call the other one to see its location?” You suggested.

“Ok” Chanyeol answered.

“But before that, where is the video games store?” You asked him.

“I’ll leave you there and I’ll go find my presents after it” Chanyeol said.

“Thank you” you smiled at him.

When you arrived at the store you entered immediately, Chanyeol following behind and you said to him “It’s ok, you can go now”.

“No way. There’s a lot of dudes in here. Some of them are looking at you” Chanyeol said quietly, he had a big frown on his face and a cold gaze.

“Just ignore them like I do. I came here for a game not a date. A game it’s what I’m getting” you laughed.

“I’ll stay just in case” Chanyeol said determined.

“Ok then” You said. “Now, I need to find that game for Baekhyun”.

You had bought 6 out of the 9 presents you needed for the boys including your boyfriend. You were still undecided on what to give to Sehun, Junmyeon and Chanyeol.

You were walking across the mall, trying to look around the stores in case your brain came up with some ideas for their presents.

This would be a lot easier if they weren’t rich you thought.

“What can I get for 3 grown ass men?” you said to yourself.

You were wandering for a while when an idea finally came to your mind.

I think I got it. Now I have to find the freaking store you thought and started walking in search of a map or someone that could guided you towards it.

After almost 5 hours outside you and Chanyeol arrived to your place. Baekhyun was long gone by now and surprisingly for you, you found the home as you had left it. Without a hint of chaos. You put the presents on your closet and both of you changed onto you pajamas so you could have your take out dinner.

“I feel so tired” you said while sprawling over the couch.

“Me too but I have to work on some songs for the studio” Chanyeol said.

“You should leave it for tomorrow” you said at seen his face full with tiredness.

“I can’t. They are planning on releasing it on Tuesday and I haven’t even finish it. After that I have to make the final arrangements” Chanyeol explained as he was pulling out his laptop out of his bag and setting his instruments on the table.

“Well I let you work then. But if it’s 03:00 am and you hadn’t come to bed yet, I will come here and turn off your computer” you threatened him.

Chanyeol sneered at you “Yes ma’am”.

As you were getting up you asked him “Do you want me to prepare some coffee for you?”

“That would be awesome, thank you love” Chanyeol said and you gave him a little smile. It was 02:00 am and you were watching a series marathon on your room. You took a nap before it because you wanna make sure Chanyeol would get some sleep. He hadn’t come to bed and you could hear the music that came from the living room. You got up and went to see what was he doing. Chanyeol let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed his eyes. He was able to finish two songs already but he was having trouble with the one he was more eager to finish.

“Yeol” you said and he looked at you. You went to sit by his side.

“Did I wake you up?” Chanyeol asked you.

You shook you head in response “I was watching a serie. You haven’t finished huh?” You said as you see a lot of things open in his computer.

“No. I have finished two songs but the one I really need to finish, I just can’t.” Chanyeol said exasperated.

“Why don’t you release one of the other ones?” You said quizzically.

“Because... this song was the first one that I composed for this project. I have always envisioned that this one would be the first one to be out there” Chanyeol explained.

“You know sometimes the best things take more time in cooking themselves so they can be great” you said but he seemed not to catch what you were saying by the weird out look he gave you.

“I’m not making myself clear, am I?” You chuckled.

“Not really” Chanyeol admited.

“There are times when I have to write articles from the scratch and although I have some good ideas about how to started them, in some cases there comes a point in which I got stuck and I don’t know how to keep writing it. But then another idea for an article pops up in my mind and it’s so effortlessly that it’s seems it’s writing it by itself and I’m just typing. So I end up releasing that article instead of the one I did first. That one is just waiting to be finished. It may take me a day, or a week or a month but I don’t want to finish something if the ideas that I have at that moment don’t feel right with them.”

Chanyeol thought about your words for a moment “I get it but what if people don’t like the songs?” He said worriedly.

“There would always be people who wouldn’t like what you do, or what I do, or what they do but if it’s something that you like then at least you would be happy for it” you side smiled at him.

“Thank you. I needed to hear something like that” Chanyeol smiled tiredly at you.

“I think you need to release all that stress” you said and put some music on the stereo.

“You need to do that by shaking it off” you said and started whiggling. Chanyeol gave you a quizzical look and laughed at you.

“Come on. You need to release your body, let the vibe and energy fill your soul” you said and shimmied. You offered your hand at him and he took it reluctantly.

“I’m tired. I don’t want to dance” Chanyeol laughed.

“God you are so tall that I can’t spin you around” you said between breaths. You raised both of your arms so he could pass beneath them.

“Please gentleman. I can’t do this without your help” you said to him. He shook his head amused but do it anyway.

“Shake it for me”. You said enthusiastically and put your hands over his hips in order to move them.

Chanyeol laughed out loud “stop, you’re tickling me”.

You grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him.

Chanyeol caged you between his arms so you stop moving. You two were laughing and he kissed your cheek.

“You are so crazy. I love you” he said and smiled fondly at you.

“I love you too”. You said and caressed his cheek.

“I think I enjoyed watching you dance more than me dancing with you” Chanyeol said thoughtfully.

“Nonsense. If you want to see me dance you will have to do it too” You said.

“I’ll try my best” Chanyeol said. “For now I can only offer you the grinding and some swaying”.

“Ok, we can try the swaying now” you grinned.

Chanyeol forgot about the song for the rest of the night. It could wait for tomorrow since he wanted to enjoy this moment. The music flooding the room, the cozy light coming from your Christmas tree and the most important part, you smiling peacefully at him.

Thank you for the support and the love. I hope you like the series and enjoy this chapter. I’ll try to come up with the next one as soon as possible. If you have any comments regarding the series feel free to send me a message. I think it would help me a lot.^^

#chanyeol #exo au #park chanyeol #exo #chanyeol au #pcy #chanyeol fanfic #chanyeol series #exo fanfic #fic #exo scenario #chanyeol scenario

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