txrks · 7 months ago
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Tag Dump 1
#Ah. There he is. That motherfucker. What a tool. [OOC]#I'll never find a moment of peace. Even in the silence. [Meme. Specify Muse]#I swear we had the best intentions. [Answer]#I might have wept but there was no one around to prove it. [Queue]#When does a man become a monster? [Veld. Isms]#My heart could be burning but you wouldn't see it on my face. [Veld. Visage]#Is this the price I'm paying for past mistakes? [Veld. HC]#What is grief if not love preserving? [Veld. IC]#You haven't given into fear before. Why start now? [Jules. Isms]#I have always been full of light. [Jules. Visage]#They should be terrified of you. [Jules. HC]#I just wanna laugh through it all. [Jules. IC]#I just want to survive. [Ruluf. Isms]#I am going to find some trouble. I am going to make some trouble. [Ruluf. Visage]#I still know how to take the abuse. [Ruluf. HC]#Careful with me. I'm volatile. [Ruluf. IC]#Plenty of monsters know how to play at being human. [Vincent. Isms]#Not yet corpses. Still we rot. [Vincent. Visage]#This time around I'll make you proud. [Vincent. HC]#An echo of inflicted evil. [Vincent. IC]#Life isn't easy. Life isn't fair. [Ren. Isms]#Who we are versus who we need to survive. [Ren. Visage]#I will be the one to make it out alive. I will be the one to survive. [Ren. HC]#Fight it or accept it. [Ren. IC]#I fell in love with the fire long ago. [Rude. Isms]#He who creates misery also has the ability to destroy it with kindness. [Rude. Visage]#Do we get what we deserve? [Rude. HC]#One of us is gonna lose. [Rude. IC]#Rather die than give up on the fight. [Elena. Isms]#I wanna be loud. So loud. [Elena. Visage]
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urf1lterr · 2 years ago
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lovesick | pedro pascal [2]
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"and on this night and in this light i think im falling, im falling for you."
next chapter: [3] previous chapter: [1] series masterlist
summary: in which a 1975-obsessed film student accidentally falls in love with an older man she can't have.
pairing: actor!pedro x intern!reader
genre: acting world!au, big age-gap!, strangers to friends- maybe lovers?? au | angst, mature, awkward, love- eventually
word count: 6.7k
status: in progress
author's note: this chapter was for fun- i have the 1975 on repeat so i had to lmao. i kinda wanna do a slow burn because i don't want to make anything happen so fast. and pedro was at the oscars a few hours ago so why not post another chapter for him :) not edited.
You hated working weekends.
Something about waking up extremely early on a day that was supposed to be your day off irks you. Why have a scheduled rest day if you're just going to be scheduled to come in? It made zero sense, especially since you were only given a two hour notice before while sleeping.
No pay, clothes, gifts could ever make you happy after being called in at 5am for a 7am shift-
"Venti iced white chocolate mocha with oat milk, vanilla sweet cold foam, caramel drizzle, and light ice as always," Pedro listed as he handed you the coffee.
"Oh my god, I think I love you," you blurted out, staring at the cup in awe.
"That was fast, I see now why you're single," Pedro replied, giving you the side eye. "And soon diabetic."
Rolling your eyes, you take a sip of the coffee before shaking your head. "Not like that, you moron," you scoffed as he glared at you. "I love coffee too much- and who says I'm single."
"Think of it as your reward for waking up to the call," he joked as you just stared at him annoyed. The one time you turn off your do not disturb and this happens. "Your loneliness says otherwise."
"I am not lonely!" you gasp as he shrugs. "I'll have you know I am dating-"
"If you dare say Matty Healy I will personally push you in a bush-," Pedro declares, stopping you as you try to interject. "-and won't help you back up."
Huffing, you cross your arms as he laughs at the sight of your defeat. He knows you too well considering the fact you only met two months ago.
In fact, these two months were probably the best ones you have had all year. Not only did you experience some awesome moments you're sure you'll never get to witness again, but you got along with a lot of special people.
What made things even better was the fact that you got along with your boss because who knows where you would've ended up if Finn was a total douche- which he wasn't. But he did have his moments where he took your kindness for weakness- like asking you to come in for shift on a Saturday.
One thing that definitely advanced would have to be your relationship with Pedro. Nearly best friends is what you two were typically called on a normal day on set by how close you've become.
The nearly part added because nothing could ever come between his relationship with Bella, or Bellie in his own words. And because Jules always made sure to tell the jokesters that she was not giving up her position just yet.
But when it came to work, Pedro was always there for you. Considering he's been in the industry since before you were even born, which he yelled at you once when you joked, he was the best support.
He would even ask you what you were assigned to do and tell you specifically what was wanted without you even asking- even finding ways to physically assist before being caught and sent back to his actual job.
There were also the constant times where he would spam you with iMessage game requests to 8 ball and ignore you after beating him three times in a row, claiming his phone died despite your messages being sent through.
The only thing that made today better was that he was here because who knows how boring the day would have been if you were spent hanging with the technicians who; in fact, did not appreciate the countless times you dropped a mic.
"Why didn't Jules get called in?" you questioned as he turned up the computer brightness you were using. "That girl never wakes up early but I kid you not, she was playing minecraft on her computer when I was leaving."
"I love minecraft," Pedro sighed.
"I do too, but Jules always sends the creepers to my house," you complain. "They always destroy my garden."
"I could only imagine the devastation in your eyes," he dramatically exhales as you nudge him. "But I think it's because you're more...attentive? Not saying that she isn't, but she sure loves to talk about Jersey Shore in between takes."
"She's been binge-watching all the seasons after work."
The conversation ended once he was caught again by one of the producers and lured out of the office you were in. Initially, he searched around the studio and found you to gift the coffee, but he stayed because he did not want to sit on the makeup chair for another round of a drastic look being applied to his face- especially if you weren't there to pester him.
As for you, once clocked in Finn managed to have you scan after emails as a way to apologize for the call in. Apparently, one of his assistants called out so he decided to use you as their replacement since he couldn't find the time to sit down in a cozy office and do so.
But you were totally not complaining.
That only lasted you about two hours before you were finished and terribly bored.
Throwing the empty cup of coffee in the trash, you decided to walk around in hopes of finding something better to do or else you would've fallen asleep on the desk.
You would've if you weren't scared of the thought of a director finding and; consequently, firing you.
Hearing a loud noise, you quickly averted your eyes where your ears were signaling where the noise came from. Lightly jogging behind a curtain, your eyes widened to a sight of a desk on its side and a man hovering over it.
"Joon?!" you exclaim, running over to find him lowly panting, trying to remain his coolness as you began inspecting him to find any injuries.
"I'm fine," he calmly replied, using his dimpled smile as a way to reassure this but you didn't believe him. That was a loud drop.
"Why in the world are you lifting a desk that surely isn't less than 30 pounds?" you glare as he chuckles at the fake anger you poorly tried displaying.
"One of the technicians asked me to bring it out."
"And did you forget that your back would disagree?"
He shuts his mouth for a second, loss for words at your comeback. "I couldn't say no," he shyly replied. "I didn't want to have to pull out my medical forms explaining why I can't lift a table."
Feeling your face sink, you helped him stand straight as he glanced down at the fallen table. "You should have called for help then- everybody would need help for a gigantic table like this."
He only nodded in response, making you feel bad. You felt like you were lecturing him, technically you were, but you didn't want to find out in the future the reason he stopped attending work was because he pulled his back again.
"I'll drag this out," you declare as he tried slapping you hands away from it.
"It's too heavy for you!" he argued.
"Which is why I said drag," you countered back, ignoring his pleas as you somehow managed to lift the table back to its standing positioning.
Walking around it, you bent your back as you began pushing it around the curtain as Joon followed your position, crouching next to you for the extra support.
If it wasn't for the film crew being around the floor, you were sure you would have passed out right then and there. But you couldn't let them know how weak you were.
"And that's how teamwork makes the dream work," you announce, causing Joon to giggle before giving you a high-five as the two of you stand up from your bent posture.
Joon was another person you got along with incredibly well. For one, you guys were the duo out of all the interns. Every job you had that included another person, he was always there.
There was also the many times the two of you, and Jules of course, would carpool together to get home. It turned out Joon was also friends with some of your college classmates so he was always the only person from work who joined you guys for the random nights of cheesy movies and boring games while eating takeout with your other friends.
Despite hanging out for so long, you felt dense when someone called him Namjoon one time, even turning your head around for this Namjoon, completely oblivious to the fact that Joon was connected to Namjoon.
To be fair, he never went by his full name claiming that his nickname sounded more 'chill,' or whatever that meant.
Other than that, you were sure he was your other best friend. Well, after Jules and maybe Pedro. They were probably on the same level if you had to arrange them- not that friends had to ranked.
"Are you ready for this afternoon?" Joon called out as the two of you walked off the stage back to the curtains.
"For what?"
He sent you a surprised look, scaring you because is there something crazy happening that you had to prepare for? "Do you have your phone?"
Patting your back pocket, you shook your head. "I think I left it in my bag. Why? I'm about to cry if you don't tell me," you impatiently whine.
"What kind of fan you are," he simply responds, causing you to widen you eyes.
Immediately jumping on him, you shake his shoulders repeatedly. "What is the 1975 doing?! You must tell me or I swear to the gods I will bust your kneecaps and make you crawl for help."
He bursts out laughing at your threatening begs, trying to calm down your jumps by grabbing your shoulders to hold you. "You're violent."
"And you'll need surgery if you don't hurry it up."
Tapping your shoulder to calm down, you slowly do so. "3 o'clock is when their tickets go on sale for their upcoming tour, one of the dates being in New York City."
You could have sworn you were about to faint if it weren't for Joon pulling out his phone to show you you still had time to mentally prepare for the combat you were about to enter.
That's what ticketmaster was, a war zone.
"How was I not aware of this?!" you cry out, internally panicking about what you were going to do. You can't miss out on this concert, you just had to see these British people in person in order for your life to be complete.
"They did just post the news half an hour ago," he admitted. "Good for you for not being addicted to your phone."
Scowling at him, he quickly closed his mouth as you went over all the things you needed to do to prepare. "Wait, can we go together? None of my guy friends like them."
If you weren't in your own world mentally planning how you were going to beat all these teenage girls online, you would have noticed Pedro walking up to the two to you. But you didn't because your mind couldn't stop thinking about Matty Healy singing 'She's American' because you were indeed American.
"Why does she look deranged?" Pedro questioned, standing a few feet away from you. "Oh no, did Matty Healy die?"
Glaring at him, you ignore his irrelevant comment and face back to Joon. "You and me, my place straight after work. Got it?"
He nods, already in game mode because he knows how bad the two of you need to witness this concert.
Pedro exchanged a crazed look between the two of you, assuming his own ideas as to what you meant. "You're having a party and didn't invite me?" he tried joking to understand the conversation a bit more.
"No time for fooling around, Pedro," you state, grabbing Joon by his arm and making your way back to the office to search for your phone. "We have important business to settle, see you around!"
He watched the way Joon and you walk away hurriedly and wonders if you have a thing for the boy. It would make sense right? Joon was around the same age and he saw you guys work together all the time.
Shaking his head, he walks back to the stage trying to not overthink whatever was flowing in his head. But he couldn't help but question why he was never invited to your place? He instantly rejected that idea, he was twice your age. There's no way that was realistically appropriate.
However, you were friends- so wasn't it hypothetically okay?
No, there was no way he was really debating this. It's completely understandable why he didn't need to be invited over and Joon could.
But how many times did Joon come over?
Stop. His thoughts were confusing him and he needed a distraction. He wasn't going to let another man make him envy of where his friendship stood with you because there is no way he's jealous Joon might take his close friend status.
Because that's who you were to him, a close friend.
After another hour of working with Joon secretly about the tickets while emailing more people who Finn ordered, you two were finally cut for the day.
And luckily you still had two hours before the tickets went on sale.
"I need to grab my coat I left backstage, meet me outside?" Joon asked and you nodded, waving him off as you put on your own coat and bag.
Sprinting out of the office, you didn't expect to fall on the floor by the the person who ran into you. Well, the person fell to the floor while you comfortably landed on top of them, their arms wrapping around you.
"If you missed me that much you should've just texted me sooner to drop by," you heard the culprit chuckle, immediately making you shake their secured hands off your waist to stand.
"That was definitely not the case," you laugh, sticking a hand out to help him get up.
He raises a brow while staring at your hand before taking it, instantly pulling you back down with him. Falling over again, you slowly slip into his arms before finding your balance and giving up on helping him.
"How adorable of you to think you can lift me up," he grins, pulling his own weight up.
"I would love to stay and chat," you start, before looking past him and back again. "But I have something very important to do."
Trying to move around him, he stops you by grabbing your shoulder. "That's why I came to be a generous person and offer you a ride- so you can be home faster and do whatever you needed to do with Josh."
"His name's Joon."
"That's what I said," he ignores you're doubtful glance. "I can take you guys to your apartment."
Thinking it over, it would make it easier and faster to get home and prepare for the sale. If you would've taken a cab and subway it would have been an hour, with him it'll be half that.
"Fine," you spit out and watch as his face lights up. "But I am not owing you anything, you offered."
"Love how two months ago you would've begged the world for me," he placed a hand over his heart. "Oh how comfortable you've gotten with me."
"I don't want to hear it," you shun him, walking past him as he makes a silly face behind your back. "I can feel that!" He immediately stops, surprised you sensed it.
Maybe the two of you gotten a long too well.
"He's gonna drive us to my place, it'll be faster," you quickly explain to Joon who just nods, happily smiling at Pedro who sends him a fast greeting.
Right as you walk through the parking garage and see the familiar black car, Pedro unlocks it before quickly pushing you into the passenger seat, ignoring your protests and slamming the door before you could slip out.
"Not cool," you utter once he buckles inside the driver's seat.
"Don't make me cry," he fake cries before pulling the car out and hitting the road back to your place.
Due to it being the weekend and everybody wanting to be social and outside for some reason, the streets were packed.
It didn't help that Pedro thought starting a deep conversation with Joon about why electric cars annoyed him, knowing damn well Joon loved the environment, was a good idea.
And Pedro's defense being because he loved the smell of gas made you want to slap him.
As if the heavens felt your annoyance, your wish was granted. You were finally in the front of your apartment complex with Pedro pulling up along the red curb. You would've fought him, but you were desperate to get inside as you barely had an hour left.
"Thanks, see you Monday!" you exclaim, jumping out of the car and slamming the door shut. "Let's go, Joon!"
Barely stepping a foot out, you heard Pedro begin talking. "Wait, what are you guys gonna do?"
"Very intense work," Joon stated before turning to you. "But we got this in the bag."
Pedro squints his eyes, curiously scanning your body language because he does not know what this very intense work meant.
Working out? Making out? What the hell was it?
"Of course we do, love has no limits," you declare, making Pedro cough as you grabbed Joon's arm. "Now, let's go!"
"What are you two going to eat?!" Pedro called out, making you heavily sigh and turn back around.
Faking a smile, you gritted your teeth. "Don't know. Maybe we'll cook or make Jules' grab food as we work."
He makes a face, not convinced he wants to let you guys leave. Now that he was here and his day was over with, he didn't want to be alone.
But he also didn't want to tell you he wanted to stay. He wanted you to invite him- but you weren't getting the hint. Or maybe you were, but you couldn't have him in the room while working with Joon.
"That's cool, did you know I make a killer chicken alfredo?" he speaks out, making you pull an interested face as you were very much not. "Especially with garlic bread."
"Make sure to make that once you get home, safe travels," you wave, trying to turn away but was once again stopped by his voice.
You could feel your kindness slowly leaving your body. Was this the day you would be arrested and charged for murder?
"You know what's the secret with making the pasta?" Pedro questions as Joon replies back a curious, "What?"
"The sauce!" he exclaims as you try to control yourself. He was definitely pushing your buttons but you had to stay calm- you had to.
Joon was too interested in the conversation Pedro was beginning, trying to ask what was in this mysterious sauce. You knew you had to interject or you would both be ticketless.
"Maybe you can tell us about this secretive sauce on Monday, when we next see you," you force a laugh, trying to slowly take a few steps back to inch towards the entrance doors. "We really have to g-"
"Why wait till Monday when I can tell you now?" he claps, getting reading to explain his recipe. "For starters, you need a thick, sauce that can sp-"
"Oh my god!" you squeal, causing both men to jump and stare at you in shock as you rambled on. "The parking structure is around the block, my number is 912- just park and come up! Let's go, Joon!"
With that, Joon and you ran inside and Pedro smiled to himself. His planned worked. He guessed the only way to get to you was by speaking nonsense until you gave in- he'll remember that in the future.
Rushing through your door, you took your coat off as Joon pulled his laptop out if his backpack and set it next to your desk.
You looked at it confusingly before asking, "you carry your laptop with you to work?"
"Duh, an intern should always be prepared for computer work," he replies as if it was the obvious rule we should all know.
Shrugging, you turned on your PC and immediately went to ticketmaster, finding that the tickets weren't going on sale until 35 minutes from now. "We still have time to breathe." That was until you heard light knocks on your door. "Spoke too soon."
Walking up to your door, you see that no one was out there.
That was until Pedro decided to jump out from the side and scare the living shit out of you.
"I'm not doing this," you glare, trying to slam the door on his face, but he forced his way in while laughing at the scream you exhaled before.
You stared at him with no expression as he fell to the floor, continuing to laugh as if your fear was the funniest thing in the world. Joon was even silently giggling in the corner, stopping when you made eye-contact with him.
Trying to find a bowl to fill with water so you could throw at him, your plans were interrupted when you heard your roommate's voice boom across the room.
"Who the fuck is making so much noise?! Some of us are trying to sleep- ah! Why is Mr. Boss here?" Jules' gasps, jumping behind the hallway wall and peeking only her head out, too embarrassed to show off her hello kitty pajamas.
"He's gonna make us some pasta with his secret sauce," Joon happily states as she just gives him a confused look.
"Plus, it's almost 3 in the afternoon...," Pedro adds, giving her a baffled look as to why she is barely waking up.
She just gives him an awkward glance before running back to her room, shutting the door. Saturday's were her day off, of course waking up after 5pm was normal.
"The time limit just turned green! Refresh to join the waiting room-" Joon began screeching, doing so on his computer as you jumped around Pedro to do the same on your PC.
Slowly walking up to where Joon was, Pedro began examining the situation you two were in. Reading over your computer screen, his face fell. "The 1975 2022 World Tour...were you guys seriously trying to buy concert tickets this whole time?!"
Joon and you exchanged innocent glances to one another, not sure if he was judging you for your dedication.
"No, we still are trying to buy tickets," you simply reply, pushing him away from your computer.
His negativity was bad luck.
"This is why you were rushing to get home? All for-"
"Be gone, pessimist. Your energy is not it," you frown, moving your game chair to block his view from your screen. "Joon, block your computer, we can't afford his cynical attitude to ruin our chances of making out with Matty Healy."
"Making out with Matty Healy? You still want that? How is he gonna notice you?" Pedro asks, trying hard not to laugh in your face.
You were quiet for a minute. It was just a crazy thing you said because of all the videos you had seen online whenever it was somebody's birthday or they were just a lucky fan in the front.
You weren't actually dedicated to kissing him, but you did wish.
Joon slowly raised his finger, pointing at Pedro. "You're famous, right? Maybe if you went he'll notice us?"
Eyes widening, Pedro quickly shook his head as you placed your hand over your mouth. He was right, maybe he wouldn't kiss you, but he would for sure meet you if he found out a famous actor with over a million followers on Instagram attended his show.
"Not a chance," Pedro declared, ignoring your puppy dog gaze as you just hoped doing it for long would make him so uncomfortable he would give in.
Nudging Joon, he followed your actions with the sad stare, the two of you in front of the poor actor, leaving him really no choice. You were even thinking about calling Jules out to help, but she probably wouldn't appreciate it by her state of looking homeless.
But if it were on a work day she would totally be in.
"You just look like a deformed bull terrier," he says, pulling a disgusted face. "It's kind of unattractive."
"What is that?" you urge, watching Joon hold a laugh.
"The target dog," Joon answers for you.
Shrieking, you smack Pedro in the arm. "My god, woman! You always hit me."
"You're coming with us to the concert," you announce, watching him roll his eyes. Before he could reject your demand, you beat him to it, "if you don't I'm never talking to you again."
"Please, I've been wishing for that for weeks now," he cheers. "Plus, I'm pretty sure I am busy the day they come."
Pulling yourself close to the computer, you check to see the day they were arriving. "So you're saying you aren't free November 7th?"
"Kid, that's basically a year from now. I can't guarantee anything."
"Damn, you're right," you frown, your mood going down. Joon's idea was pretty amazing, but just wrong timing since the concert was so far away. "You can leave now."
"And what about that famous chicken alfredo?" Pedro chuckled, finding your change in demeanor amusing. You must really love these indie boys.
You were about to reply when Joon intervened. "Oh my god! We are in the queue!"
Twisting your head, you could see the clock had hit 3 o'clock exactly. How did time go by that fast?
"Holy shit! Everybody disconnect from the house wifi on your phones! We can not have anything disturbing us!"
Pulling out your phone, you did what you ranted on and made sure Joon did the same. You even ran to Jules' door and banged on it until she confirmed she did so.
Running back to the computer, you could see there was still 983 people in front of you while Joon had 754. "Why is your computer going faster?"
"This laptop-," he sheepishly smiled. "-cost a fortune, but works like a charm."
Turning back to the screen, you saw the purple line move closer. Not even three minutes in and you only had 534 people left while Joon had 312.
You don't know what you did, but God was certainly rewarding you.
"You're honestly really weird," Pedro confessed, staring at your computer screen. "And sad."
"You would be if you were about to buy tickets to see the love of your life."
"I wouldn't pay anything, money can't buy love," Pedro insists, pulling a chair from your table and placing it in between Joon and you.
"That's very romantic," you swipe an imaginary tear from your cheek. "Save it for the cameras."
His jaw drops as you return back to your computer. In a few moments you were about to be inside the room and you were beyond scared. If you did not get these tickets you don't know how much longer you'll have to live.
"I'm in!" Joon shouts, causing you to jump to his screen.
Great, the two of you were going together anyway so it works out.
"Fuck, what's the presale code?!"
Placing your hands on your head as he begins to panic, you die inside. What the fuck were you going to do now? "Go on Twitter and check!"
To say Pedro was not intrigued would be a lie. It was very fascinating seeing how strongly engaged you were just for a damn ticket. To be honest, he thinks you would be great on a reality tv show- your expressions were just off the roof. He wonders if other people genuinely acted like you.
"It's probably something super simple, try 'thesound,'" you exclaim, watching as he typed right away but frowning when it denied it. "try 'somebodyelse.'"
After each attempt of every famous song they had, it was still wrong. What pissed you off even more was that fans were gatekeeping the code no matter how many times Joon and you tweeted for help.
Greedy little shits.
Eventually, your screen allowed you into the room as well. It was no use, you didn't have the code. "I think I'm going to have a panic attack," you clutch your chest as you felt your lips quiver from sadness. "We were so close."
Pedro just stared at you not believing how miserable you suddenly became. Is this how easily young people let concerts take over themselves? Do people really idolize artists that much to the point where they feel depressed if they don't get tickets?
He shivered imagining how BTS fans dealt with this pressure.
"Let me try," Pedro speaks up, pushing you to the side as he began typing away on your keyboard.
It never hurts to try, right?
Innocently clicking away, your face fell as the check mark appeared, unlocking the room for you. "He got in!"
Hurriedly jumping to the screen, Joon urged Pedro to do the same as you began searching through the seats. Instantly clicking on the floor, you hit the continue button for 2 seats.
Feeling your nerves kick in, your hands begin to shake as you typed in the needed information in order to complete your order. But once you pressed 'place your order," your world stopped.
Ignoring your surroundings, you only focused on the screen. Quietly praying, you're sure Joon and Pedro could hear your desperate requests to the ruler of the universe to grant you your biggest wish: these tickets.
You Got The Tickets To The 1975!
Feeling weightless, you screamed so loud you were sure your neighbors were going to call the cops. Joon looked over, doing the same cheers once he realized you two were set for the show.
Jumping out of your chair, you practically tackled Pedro to the ground as you wrapped your arms around his neck and planted him numerous kisses all over his cheeks.
For once, you were happy you managed to outlast his annoying-self.
"I will forever be grateful for your existence!" you cheer, squeezing his poor body in your arms as he tried to remain in balance, laughing at how nice you suddenly became.
Planting a big kiss on his forehead, you turn to Joon and jump together in happiness. You couldn't believe you managed to score tickets, especially floor seats.
"Wait, what was the code?" Joon asked, pulling away from you and turning to Pedro who tried containing his grin.
"The 1975."
You dropped you arms, feeling incredibly stupid. How could you not write their name as a code attempt? It was shorter than 'it's not living if it's not with you.'
"Joon, we are officially the two dumbest people in New York City," you confess as he slowly nods before stopping.
"Not dumber than Jules though."
You heard her door open before her loud yelling appeared, "Well fuck you too!"
Ignoring her, you jump to Pedro who had his gaze on you already. "Welp! Since we got that out of the way, why don't you make some of that chicken alfredo with your sauce."
He smiled before realizing what you were asking. "What sauce?"
You roll your eyes before hitting his side. "The secretive one you were bothering us about."
Pedro bounces up once he understands what he had mentioned earlier. "Oh, right. That one," he chuckles. "I was kidding, I just wanted to see what you guys were dong."
Your face falls as Joon lets out a sad sigh. "Man, I really wanted to taste how thick and creamy that sauce was."
Pedro just tilts his head to Joon before pointing at the door. "It was great hanging with you guys though! Hey, at least we all worked together for those tickets! I'm gonna head out now, have a good rest of your evening!"
With that, he awkwardly backs away and opens the door, quickly running out before you could argue why he would lie about such a thing.
Before you could process what had just happened, he quickly opens the door again and peeps his head inside. "By the way, you don't actually like a deformed bull terrier," he clarifies. "I was kidding, maybe a cavalier king charles spaniel, those are precious."
And again, he runs out. This time, your face was pretty noticeable when it came to how much redness was present. You cringed to yourself, the littlest of compliments always made you blush- it made you sick.
Joon and you exchanged confused looks to each other. Pedro was a very interesting man.
"What is a cavalier king charles spaniel?" you lightly question.
"The dog in the arms of an angel commercial," Joon simply replies.
Reaching his car, Pedro quickly unlocked the door before jumping in. He felt his heart beating fast, not sure why it was doing so.
Was it because he adored how committed you were for those damn tickets? Maybe. Or how your eyes sparkled once you realized you got the right code? Possibly.
How you kissed him and pulled him in close? Most definitely.
But he would never reveal such a thing to anyone. People would take it wrong and believe he had feelings for you. All he had were feelings one would have for another close friend like you.
His heart was beating because he was excited for you, that's all.
Walking around the studio Monday morning was exhausting. Not only did you pull an all-nighter Saturday night because you were too happy to fall asleep, but you only managed to gain a few hours of sleep on Sunday as you were too busy trying to finish homework due that same night.
"Are you alright? Do you need water?" you heard Bella worriedly ask as you pulled a hoodie over your head and walked near the snacks table.
"I need a pill that can wake me up."
"That could be arranged," she joked, stopping when you sent her a serious look. "Not by me, of course."
Bella managed to wake you up a little once she suddenly pulled out her phone and turned the flash on, flashing it all around your face. "Are you trying to make me blind?!"
"It's supposed to wake you up, is it working?" she grinned, still shoving her phone up your face.
Grabbing her wrist, she stops. "No."
"Damn, that sucks."
Somehow you managed to pull yourself together, walking to where the rest of the interns were once you heard all the directors call out for an urgent meeting.
Probably wanting one of you to run to the coffee shop for coffee as usual.
Seeing Pedro waving at you from the side of his cast's group, you smiled and returned it. He then proceeded to make a confused face, wondering why there was an emergency meeting being held.
You sent the same look, adding a shrug because you were feeling the same. You weren't aware about what was going on, but noticing how many people were present- it must be a big deal.
Finn walked in and stood near the director, sending you a smile that didn't look natural.
If anything it looked fake and...sad?
"A lot of you are probably wondering why I called everyone down here on this early morning," you hear one of the directors begin, making some people nod while others just patiently waited for him to continue. "Starting with wonderful news, we have just been given access to explore our visuals and proceed to try out different surroundings in regards to our planned perception for the series."
Hearing a few people clap, you do the same. You were glad that the set was upgrading, but what did they have to do with everyone?
"Unfortunately," you heard him begin, causing your breathe to hitch. "with locations being held in various places like Canada, we are going to have to make cuts."
Feeling your heart drop, you already knew who he was planning to remove. A big series like this can't send interns they don't care about out of the country for help and you sure as hell couldn't afford to pay for the travels yourself if it came down to it.
You didn't want to make eye-contact with Bella or Pedro and feel their condolences through their expressions. All you wanted to do was be cut already so you could go home and cry at home.
To cry over a job was pathetic, but considering how much you learned and loved to manage it for the past couple months, it was sad to let it go.
As the director went down the list of small departments he planned on letting go, he finally made it to yours. "As for the interns, we are especially grateful for the hard work you brought to this set and trying to fill not only our needs but the casts. If we have any open positions in the near future we will make sure to grant you priority, and if you ever need letters of recommendations for your future activities, I am sure Finn would be able to handle that behind closed doors..."
You zoned out after that, not really caring what else was being said. It was the typical its not us excuse, claiming the company couldn't provide for all of their workers yet were able to spend millions of dollars on each location and its visuals.
The meeting was over when you noticed the directors and producers giving a final sympathetic look to the crowd, bowing their heads before walking back to where their offices were located.
"I feel like crying," you heard Jules sniffle, patting her under eye with her sweater. "But I took time on my eye makeup so I can't!"
Rubbing her shoulder, you tried to distract her from her tears coming out as Joon stood next to you guys, telling her funny spongebob jokes that she did not understand.
"Uh oh, Mr. Boss is coming. He's gonna make me cry, I can't hear his sorrow," Jules' explained, turning her back the other way.
"Hey, kids," you heard Pedro lightly say.
"The tears are coming out!" Jules' exclaimed, running away to the nearest bathroom while Joon and you looked at each other, feeling extremely bad for her.
"Sorry about that," Pedro awkwardly started, continuing once you shook off his unnecessary apology. "I just wanted to talk, see how you guys are handling the unfortunate news."
Joon was the first to speak, sounding surprisingly calm for someone who just lost his internship. "It sucks, but at least it was for an understandable reason. Traveling costs money. Plus, we go to school here, we can't just leave."
You nodded, agreeing with what he said. It was true, you should have known this job would've ended sooner than later, there was only so much you could have done inside a film studio.
The series was an apocalypse that needed feature more outside and environmental sets that looked deadly than a building that was only useful for inside takes.
"How about you?" He questions, sincere eyes following yours as you shrug.
"I am sad but that's the industry," you force out a small chuckle. "If you aren't cut at least once, you aren't gaining the full experience."
Right after you said that, you felt tears lining around the inner corner of your eyes. Looking down, you tru to contain yourself. "I'm going to go check up on Jules."
Reaching out for you, Pedro tries to console you but you were out of his reach in seconds. He hated the tears in your eyes and his job being the reason behind it.
He felt as if it were his fault for your departure when he knows he shouldn't.
It also didn't make him feel any better that Joon followed straight after you once you walked away. He knew he had to do something but he wasn't sure.
All he knew was that he would rather see you smile than cry.
595 notes · View notes
onlydreamofmysoul · 4 years ago
Text
Speak Now
This.... was supposed to be short. But then it spiralled. I hope you guys like it! Characters and their world by @lumosinlove
Julian
“Re?”
Julian’s voice was quiet, but his brother heard him anyway. Remus always heard him. Sitting out on the porch under the starlight, just like they used to do when Julian was very small and Remus would let him sneak out of his room after their parents put him to bed. They would sit on the porch swing under a pile of blankets, usually with a mug of hot chocolate and just hang out. Sometimes they were quiet. Sometimes they laughed at jokes, but no matter what they were doing, Jules treasured every memory. 
It was fitting this was how he was spending the night before his wedding. 
“Yeah?” Remus half hummed, tilting his head, tearing his eyes away from the stars to his brother. 
“Were you scared? The night before your wedding?”
Remus smiled softly, cupping his mug. “I was a hell of a lot of things before my wedding. Nervous? Sure. But not scared.”
Julian nodded, the heavy knot in his chest twisting. Maybe he really was making a mistake. 
Then 
“Hi, I’m Katie.”
Julian grinned and shook her hand. “I’m Julian, but you can call me Jules if you want.”
Katie nodded, a funny little business -like movement as she stood in her fairy costume, wings poking over her shoulders. “We’re all playing downstairs, wanna come?”
Julian nodded eagerly, pulling away from Remus and his parents and rushing down to the basement. His feet halted when he reached the bottom, his eyes wider than dinner plates.
“Woah,” He breathed. “You have a rink in your house!”
Katie nodded, giggling. “Oui. Jouez-vous au hockey?”
Jules blinked, looking at her in confusion. “Oh, I uh, I don’t speak French, sorry.” He said as his face flushed a little but Katie just grabbed his hand and pulled him over to a wall of skates.
“That’s okay. Do you play hockey?”
Now this, Jules understood. 
“Yes!” He said, bouncing on his toes in anticipation, noticing all the other kids playing on the ice and realising that he might get to as well. 
Katie looked pleased as she pulled a small pair of white skates and took off her shoes. “My brothers have lots of skates, you should look and see if there’s some in your size.”
Julian went to them immediately, looking at them in awe, all of them far more elegant and expensive than any he had ever owned. He found a pair in his size and pulled them out gingerly, even though they looked well worn. 
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to borrow them?” He confirmed with Katie, even as he pulled off his shoes. Katie just nodded impatiently, having already laced up. 
“Oui, it’s okay I promise. Now come on! I wanna go skate!”
“You can go,” Jules said, rushing to tie them up, “I’ll catch up.”
Katie looked at him like he was crazy. “Don’t be silly.” She said, reaching a hand out to take his. “We can go together. Come on.”
Julian finished tying his skates, stood up and took Katie’s hand. Together, they stepped onto the ice. 
Now
“Are you scared?” Remus asked, his concerned voice cutting through Julian’s thoughts. “Because it’s not too late you know.”
“No, no it’s fine.” Julian said, hoping it sounded reassuring to Remus. It didn’t to his own ears. “Just nervous I suppose, but you said that’s normal.”
Remus tilted his head the way he did when Julian would pretend he hadn’t eaten the last chocolate bar, even with the evidence all over his face. 
“You know you can tell me anything, right?”
Julian sighed, resting his head on his brother's shoulder, hearing the heartbeat that used to rock him to sleep. 
“Yeah, yeah I know.”
Then
“Hey Katie.” Jules said, still a little shy but glad to see a friendly face in the locker room. 
“Jules!” She beamed, bouncing over in her ‘Dumais’ jersey. “Whose number did you wear today?”
Jules flushed as he lifted up his number six shirt to reveal the number twelve underneath. “Both.”
Katie nodded, impressed. “Cool. Hey wanna go get some snacks?”
Jules didn’t even respond, just told his mom where he was going and raced her down the corridor to the kitchen, running past the rows and rows of framed photographs and dodging photographers and reporters. 
“Ha! I win!” He yelled as they burst through the door to the kitchen, racing through the doorway at the same time. If they had been a little bigger, they might have gotten stuck in the frame.
“Nah ah!” Katie protested, “It was a tie.”
“My foot went in first”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“Yes I do.”
“No you don’t.”
“Wanna bet?”
“Whoever wins the race back to the locker room is the actual winner.” Katie proposed and Jules nodded, satisfied. 
He climbed onto the counter to reach the high cupboards, only to discover the cabinet stocked with mugs and glasses. 
“Over here,” Katie said, giggling as she opened the fridge, scanning for something good. “Ooh, chocolate!”
Jules jumped down and went to her side. “Can we just take it?”
Katie nodded. “Oui. Plus, they’re not supposed to eat chocolate, so we’re doing them a favour by taking it away.”
Julian donned a matching smirk. “Katie, I like the way you think.”
Now
“Oh here you are!” Sirius half-whispered as he poked his head out the front door. “I’ve been looking for you two everywhere.”
Remus pulled back a corner of the blanket and patted the bench beside him. “Wanna join us?”
Sirius looked to check with Jules first, before nodding and sliding in next to Remus. Julian had long since overcome his starry-eyed obsession with Sirius-the-hockey-god but he’d never be over the love for Sirius-his-brother-in-law. Sirius who had come to all of Julian’s big games. Sirius who tended to be awake whenever Julian couldn’t sleep, so he would wordlessly take him out for midnight drives. Sirius who had later taught Julian to drive in that same car Julian accidentally crashed one icy morning. His brother in law hadn’t even gotten mad, not for a second. Julian had personally seen one of his friend’s parents red with anger after spotting a scratch in the paint, but Sirius hadn’t even blinked at the massive pole shaped dent in the hood of his car, just run to make sure Julian was alright. 
“Sirius?” Jules asked into the soft silence. Sirius just hummed in response. 
“Were you scared? When you were getting married.”
Sirius seemed to still for a moment, a gentle breeze rustling his curls as he thought. “Non.”
Remus’ chin ducked towards his chest, his eyes flitting to Sirius. “Really?”
Sirius scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “Well, I was scared for sure, but I was scared of messing it up, or that my family would make a surprise appearance at the reception or that we’d lose the rings. But I was never scared of a life with Re.”
Remus laughed softly. “We did lose the rings.”
“Oui. But it didn’t even matter, it all worked out, ouais? So really I had nothing to worry about.”
Julian and Sirius chuckled too, all three of them remembering back. Julian had nearly forgotten about that - surprising since it had been partially his fault. His and Katie’s. They had become inseparable by then and the two of them together had gained the name ‘JK Chaos’. 
Then 
“Come on, let’s see what’s in here!” A nine year old Katie whispered to an eleven year old Jules as they crept through the country house that was being used as the staging house for Remus and Sirius' outdoor wedding. 
Katie rattled the brass door handle, but it was locked. “Do you have a key?”
Julian gave her an incredulous look. “I don’t have a key to my own room, why would I have a key for here?”
Katie shrugged, her dress swishing gently, the bluebell shade bright against her skin. “I dunno - groomsman duties?”
Julian laughed but shook his head. They walked down the corridor a few paces, stopping at the window that overlooked where the ceremony would take place. Chairs bedecked the grass, all turned to face the focal point - the beautiful ivy arch, bedecked in flowers. Everything was immaculate, untouched. Any guests staying in the country house were still getting ready and the rest had yet to arrive. Jules lifted on his toes to see a little further out the window, but a tall sturdy tree to the right blacked his view. 
He turned so quickly he nearly got whiplash, grabbing Katie’s wrist unconsciously. 
“Look! A tree!”
Katie raised her eyebrows at him. “Jules, I’m pretty sure they have trees in Wisconsin too.”
Julian shook his head, too excited to even roll his eyes. “No, look where that tree is! If the window to the locked room is open…”
Katie’s eyes lit up, her mischievous grin returning.  “We might be able to get in.” She breathed. “Jules, you genius.” She grabbed his hand and began rushing down the corridor. “Let’s go!”
“Is it open?” Julian called, a couple of branches below Katie. 
“Un moment.” She muttered and he smiled, knowing she was concentrating too much to even have listened to him, never mind switch to a language he actually understood. She paused and grabbed the silky top layer of her dress, gathering and tying it in a knot around her waist, leaving the white underskirt hanging. “Allors,” She said, sounding much more satisfied. She climbed onto the branch that extended towards the window and shuffled along it, craning her neck. 
“It’s open!”
Jules let out a whoop of victory and climbed the rest of the way, careful not to stain his suit as she slid her fingers into the small gap, prying the window open so they could both clamber in. The room was unimpressively empty. Lovey, like all the other rooms, perhaps a living room if the several couches were to be trusted. A wall of shelves boasted an impressive amount of books and everything seemed to be edged with gold. Other than that though - Julian couldn’t see any reason why the room should be barred. 
“A mystery.” Katie said as she trailed her hand along a bookshelf. Julian agreed with her as he sat down on one of the luxurious chairs, a little side table with a lamp on his left. 
“What’s this?” He voiced as he picked up the little black box that had been resting in the light streaming in from the window. Katie wandered over to peer at it as he opened it carefully to find two gold rings resting inside. 
“Oh.” Jules whispered, finally understanding. “That’s why it’s locked.”
They both picked up a ring, looking at them curiously. The metal glinted in the light and Jules angled the one in his hands to read the inscription. 
“Mon voeu.” He muttered. “What’s mon voeu?”
“How would I know what you wish for?” Katie retorted, before she read the engraving on her own. “Oh right I see. ‘My wish’.”
“Oh.” Jules repeated. “That’s really nice.”
Footsteps and voices came from down the corridor and Julian and Katie froze. 
“Did you see the cake?” 
“It’s literally all I’ve been thinking about since the tasting.”
Julian met Katie’s eyes, both of them hardly breathing as they listened carefully. Lily and James. 
“The tasting was months ago!”
“So you can guess I’m pretty excited about it.” Lily chuckled. “Do you have the key?”
Julian rushed to put the box back on the table and he and Katie half flew in their rush to get back out the window. Katie went first, Julian close on her heels as they scrambled down the tree. 
“Where did they say they left it?”
“On the side table with the lamp.”
“Oh I’ve got it, come on, let’s get back.”
Julian let out a sigh of relief while Katie looked at him in horror. 
“Jules…” She whispered as she pulled a gold ring out her pocket. “We have a problem.”
Julian felt his heart speed up as he pulled out the matching ring. They had been in too much of a rush to put them back. 
“We are gonna get in so much trouble.”
Now
“You were so scared.” Remus laughed, tears forming in his eyes, matching ones already wetting Julian’s cheeks as he lost himself in the memory. It was true - to this day, Julian remembered the way their hands trembled and they stuttered through the explanations, but in the end, no one had cared. It became a funny story to tell at the reception. 
“You laugh, but we dropped them in the grass on the way to bring them back and it took us so long to find them again, we were seriously trying to come up with something to replace them with.”
They burst into a new round of laughter, Hope coming outside at the racket. 
“Boys!” She scolded as if they were all little kids. “You should be in bed - it’s a big day tomorrow.” Despite her commanding tone, her eyes were soft. Time was a fickle friend to all but Hope Lupin, who looked just as lovely today as she did twenty years ago. And perhaps even twenty years before that. 
“We’ll be in soon.” Sirius promised and she nodded satisfied, vanishing indoors again.
“Suck-up.” Julian teased, elbowing Sirius. “Always wants to be the favourite.”
“I think he is the favourite.” Remus grumbled. “You’re the youngest Jules, so you’ve got that going for you. I, however, have been replaced.”
Sirius chuckled, a low sound from his chest and curled an arm around Remus. “You can be my favourite.”
“You can’t cook like she does.” Remus lamented dramatically, but grinned to show he wasn’t serious before kissing Sirius’ cheek. 
“We probably should get to bed though. Especially you Jules, you need all that beauty sleep you can get.”
“Hey!”
Then 
Hey Jules! 
You got a phone! 
Yup! JK Chaos can finally go viral! 
Thirteen year old Julian chuckled as he sat in the passenger seat of the car on the way to practice. 
Sirius says hi. Katie texted and Julian sent a picture of him waving in response before tucking his phone into his bag and climbing out of the car. 
“Thanks mom!” He half yelled as he closed the door and ran inside to the rink, waving at his friends. 
“Hi Julian.”
Julian turned to see one of the members of the girls team - Anna. They were the same age group and the two teams often had to share the ice if the rink was busy. 
“Oh hey Anna, how’re you?”
She grinned, her light hair tumbling around her face until she scraped it back into a ponytail as she chatted to him. Julian was never sure how girls managed to tie their hair back so quickly with so little effort but it was pretty cool. He wondered if maybe he should learn so he could do Katie’s sometime.
“I’m good! I’d better run though, I’m late for practice.” 
Jules nodded and with that, Anna was gone. He blinked and continued his way to his own locker where many of his own team were already gathered. 
“Hey guys!” He grinned, and just like that, his head was back in the game. 
Now
Julian stared up at the ceiling of his childhood bedroom. The glow in the dark stars were still there, although their glow was very faint now. Not that Julian needed their light to guide him, he had looked at those stars all his life, he could map them out better than a sailor. 
He was getting married tomorrow. 
And so, he did as he so very often did. He texted Katie. 
Then 
The Christmas party was loud and busy, people seemingly in every nook and cranny in the house. Julian looked around for Katie, he had been here for at least an hour but he had only seen glimpses of the other girl and she had always been busy, whether it was helping Celeste put out food or chatting to others and once even putting out a minor fire she had certainly not caused by tipping over a candle  but so far, she hadn’t been able to talk to Julian. 
Julian finally caught her eye and they managed to slip away going out to the garden, past the pool and down to the swing hidden by a great big tree where they had always plotted and planned. 
“We need a code word.” Katie said by way of greeting. “So we can say it and the other knows we need to talk, just us.”
Julian agreed. He couldn’t believe it had taken this long to think of something like that. At fifteen, he and Katie had been best friends for at least six years now. 
“What should our code word be?”
Katie shrugged, sitting on the swing and rocking back and forth gently. “Pancakes?”
Julian laughed, but he nodded. “Yeah that works.”
Katie grinned, but her face quickly became more serious. 
“Hey Jules?” She asked, her voice softer than he had heard it in a long time. 
“Yeah?” His tone matched hers, but he didn’t know why. He hadn’t planned it. 
“Have you ever kissed anyone?”
Julian froze, his heart stuttering. In the moonlight, Katie’s hair glowed, silver catching on the dark strands braided back, her jeans and jumper not suitable for the weather, nor were Julian’s own but they hadn't planned on coming out here for long. “No.” He whispered. 
Katie nodded. “Yeah, me neither.”
She stood up, shivering a little. “Come on, we should get back inside.”
Julian could only blink, but made to follow her. “Yeah okay.” He followed, taking a few quick steps to catch up with her when Katie turned quickly and they collided. 
Katie reached out and steadied herself with Julian’s shoulder before surging forward and pressing their lips together. Julian stayed frozen where he was, her lips warm against the cold night. 
Katie pulled away and stepped back, nodding to herself. “I just wanted to know what it’d be like.” She explained and then launched into a description of what new drills her hockey team were learning. It was funny, everything was different, but nothing had changed. 
Julian thought about the things they were learning in science, all the calculations. How there always needed to be a constant. 
He thought maybe Katie was his constant. 
Now
You up? 
Is this a booty call? Cause I gotta say, it seems like inappropriate timing.
Julian laughed, then covered his mouth, hoping he hadn’t woken anyone. Katie’s quick wit had never once failed to amaze him. 
Darn, there goes my plans 
Why are you still up?
I just can’t sleep
So you’re texting me?
Who else?
Then 
Julian got his first girlfriend at seventeen. 
Anna was lovely and bright and sweet. They had been dating for around six months already when she finally met Katie, the Dumais girl arriving in Wisconsin for a weekend visit. 
Julian didn’t know why he had been nervous - they both got on really well. He had had no indicators to suggest otherwise and yet the entire week leading to their meeting, his head had been full of anxious ‘what ifs’. Not to mention the knot in his chest. 
But there was no reason to be nervous… right? He just felt like this because Katie was his very best friend. He wanted them to get along. Yeah, that was it. 
“I like her.” Katie commented as Anna left the Lupin house. 
“Yeah, me too.” Julian said automatically, laughing when Katie elbowed his side. 
“Well duh. That’s why you asked her out.”
Julian shrugged as they walked back inside waving to his dad who was on the phone in the kitchen. “Actually it was the other way around.”
Katie barked a laugh as she threw herself on Julian’s bed, tucking her arms behind her head, lounging as if she owned the place. “Why am I not surprised?”
“I’m not sure if I should be insulted or not.” Julian said as he lay down next to her, staring up at his stars. 
Katie was the one to shrug this time, shifting with the movement. “Neither. It’s just an observation I suppose.”
“And what would that observation be exactly?”
Katie tilted her head to look at him. “You’re careful. Not with other stuff, mon dieu, we all know you’re a reckless idiot on the ice but with this kind of stuff. You’re gentle I guess.”
Julian smiled, that warm rush of feeling known to your core washing over him. “And you’re the exact opposite.”
Katie grinned, some of her dark curls coming loose. “But of course! JK Chaos wouldn’t be balanced if I wasn’t.”
Julian smiled, holding out his hand and they performed their super secret, super complicated, super cool handshake. Katie had named it when she was ten and it had stuck. 
“Well we need balance.” Julian agreed and Katie nodded, blue eyes meeting his for a moment before she turned away, biting her lip. 
“Ouais.”
Now 
Julian looked at the words on the screen, his heart clenching. 
So you’re texting me?
Who else?
Your soon to be wife for one
Julian didn’t know what to do. He felt like Katie was the only one who could help him figure this out, but Katie was the last person he should ask. 
Ha ha. He said, because even that was better than the turmoil inside him. Guess I’m just nervous. 
Why?
Why am I nervous? Cause I’m getting married. I know I call you Katie Kat but I sure hope that brain isn’t made of chocolate.
We should get you up on a stage. Katie responded and Julian snorted,  practically hearing her sarcasm even as he lay alone. 
But what do you have to be worried about?
Um.., How about the terrifying concept of making the wrong decision?
Katie was quiet for a long time. Julian thought maybe she had fallen asleep when a reply finally came through. 
Do you think you’re making the wrong choice?
Julian paused. Was he?
I don’t think so?
Do you love her?
Yes. Julian wrote back, even as something thundered in his chest. 
Well then, you have your answer I guess. Katie responded.  I’d better get to sleep. 
 Jules held his phone close to his chest. 
Yeah, me too. Night Katie Kat
Then 
“Do you love her?” Katie asked out of nowhere as they passed the puck back and forth in her basement. 
“We’ve been dating for two years.” Julian replied, sending the puck back to her harder than he meant. From her raised eyebrows he knew she had noticed, but she didn’t comment. 
“That’s not what I asked.”
Julian shrugged, taking the puck and dragging it around the goal. 
“I guess? How do you ever really know you’re in love.”
Katie raised her chin, blue meeting brown as their eyes focused on each other. Julian could have sworn she was staring at his soul. 
“I suppose it’s something you just know.” Katie said. “My maman and papa are in love. And Re and Sirius. Leo, Logan and Finn. Your parents. They all seem to know pretty well.”
“Yeah.” Julian whispered, his mind reeling. Remus and Sirius were his role models for just about everything, including the love he wanted to have. Was that what he shared with Anna? How had they known? How would Julian know?
Now
Then Jules crept into Remus’ room once more. 
“Re?” He whispered into the dark. The light from the hall dimly lit the room and Remus stirred, Sirius sleeping soundly next to him.
“Jules?” Remus whispered, even as he threw back the covers to climb out of bed, tiptoeing so he wouldn’t wake Sirius and following Julian back to his room. “Hey Jules, what’s up?”
Remus climbed onto the bed with him, just like he used to do when Julian was small and had a nightmare. 
“How do I know for sure?”
Remus didn’t have to ask what he meant. “I guess you never do. You just have to trust that you love someone and they return that same love back to you.”
But what wasn’t quite what Julian meant. He didn’t doubt that Anna loved him. He was just never sure if he loved her the same. 
He thought he must. Julian was twenty six years old, they’d been dating for nearly ten years. Although sometimes… just sometimes Julian thought that was maybe why he had proposed. Because that’s what everyone expected from them, particularly as they had been together for so long. It was the logical next step. 
“Right, yeah.” Julian muttered. “That makes sense I guess.”
Remus held out his arm and Julian hugged him tight. 
“I can hear you mind whirring.” Remus murmured, but Julian just tucked his face into his brother's chest. “It’s not too late Jules.”
Tears burned Julian’s eyes but he refused to let them fall. It was too late, it was all too late. He was on the ice and he could see the collision coming but there was nothing he could do to stop it. 
A song he had heard a long time ago rang through Julian’s head, one line playing over and over again on loop. 
And I asked my friend, what’s a fella to do? Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue.
So Julian held his big brother close, and fell asleep. 
Katie
Now
“I still can’t believe it.” Marc laughed as they ate breakfast at the hotel, his plate piled with food from the buffet. “Little Julian getting married.”
“Yeah.” Katie agreed, taking a big drink from her coffee. “Neither can I.”
Marc continued eating, oblivious to the storm raging inside Katie’s heart. “Why aren’t you best man?”
Katie raised an eyebrow. “Well for one, I’m not a man.”
Marc rolled his eyes, pausing to take a sip of orange juice before shovelling another forkful into his mouth. “Y’know wha- I mean.”
Katie covered her face with her hands. “Okay ew, first of all don’t talk with your mouth full. You’re not five. And second of all, Remus is his best man.”
Marc tilted his head, accepting the answer and Katie could have sighed in relief. She was already tense enough, two people had already come up to her for a picture and at least three had ‘discreetly’ photographed her as she just tried to have her breakfast. She hadn’t even showered yet so she was not looking forward to what the media would come up with later. 
Then 
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Katie grumbled to Adele as her sister finished pinning her hair. “Why am I doing this again?”
Adele didn’t miss a beat. “Because prom is fun, and even if it’s not, hanging out with your best friend in fancy clothes is always funny.”
Katie couldn’t argue with that. Sighing, she stood up and turned to Adele, her floor length gown comically out of place in her room cluttered with hockey sticks and signed pucks, helmets and polaroid's of her with her team. 
“How do I look?”
Adele beamed and kissed her cheek, being careful not to smudge Katie’s makeup. “Comme un ange.”
Katie rolled her eyes but smiled and began to leave her bedroom, hearing the doorbell ring. 
“Wait, shit I can’t go down now!” She said in a mild panic. “Jules is here, if I go now it’ll be like some dumb movie when the girl comes down the stairs as the guy just stares at her. It’s weird and awkward.”
Adele bit her lip as if she was trying to suppress a smile. “Okay, I’ll go and distract them and you can sneak down, ouais?”
Katie nodded gratefully. “Ouais. Merci.”
Katie waited in the upstairs corridor, hearing Adele lead her family into the kitchen. When the voices had dimmed a little, she gathered her skirts, her sneakers peeking out at her as she crept down the stairs. 
“Oh, wow.”
Katie whipped around to see Julian walking out from the bathroom, eyes wider than Katie had ever seen them. 
“I thought you were in the kitchen.” Katie groaned as she let her dress drop inelegantly around her legs once more. She looked him over, eyeing his blue suit with a careful eye. “You don’t look half bad.”
Julian laughed and took a step closer, holding his hand over his heart dramatically. “Wow Katie Kat, you sure know how to flatter a man.”
Katie raised a single eyebrow, a power play of there ever was one. “I mean, you’ve said nothing about how I look so really I think I have the upper hand here.”
Julian quirked his signature goofy smile before finally pulling Katie in for a hug. “You look incredible.”
Now
“Katie, ma cheri, es-tu prêt?”
Katie looked up from where she was rooting through her suitcase to see her mom, stunningly beautiful as always in a deep red dress. 
“I’m ready.” She cleared her throat, standing up straight. “You look amazing.”
Celeste waved her off with a flick of her wrist. “Oh non, look at you.”
Katie blushed, her forest green dress fluttering around her. “Merci.”
Celeste took a step forward, cupping Katie’s face in her hands. “You love him.”
Katie didn’t even have it in her to be surprised. Of course her mom knew. She felt tears well up in her eyes but tried her best not to let them fall - it had taken her long enough to do her makeup, she really didn’t want to have to do it again. 
“Oui.”
“Does he know?”
Katie shook her head sadly. “Of course not, he loves someone else.”
Celeste carefully wiped away the stray tear that had danced down Katie’s cheek. “Are you sure?”
Then 
“I think I have literally never seen it rain so hard.” Julian commented as the two of them stared out the car windshield as the rain poured around them. They faced the hotel where the dance was being held, but even stepping out of the car would have them soaked instantly. 
“See, this was a sign that I wasn’t supposed to come.” Katie commented, her tone dry. Julian side eyed her, not saying anything for a minute before he turned up the car radio. 
“I have an idea.” He said, opening the door and stepping out into the car park in the lashing rain. He ran to Katie’s side and opened the door, holding out his hand. 
“Come on! Come dance in the rain.”
If she had been Adele, she might have refused or protested. She might have even taken off her dress to protect it. 
But she was not Adele. 
So Katie took Julian’s hand, laughing at his curls, already flattened against his forehead and shut the door behind her, watching splotches of water darken her dress until she was fully saturated, tilting her head back into the sky. 
She opened her mouth, sticking out her tongue to catch the raindrops, Jules giggling as he followed suit, the two of them looking absolutely ridiculous and getting very strange looks from passer byers who had made use of the wonderful invention that was the umbrella, but they didn’t care. 
Katie connected her phone to the car speakers and pressed play to a song, grabbing both of Julian’s hands and spinning them in a fast circle, round and round until they fell together, laughing as hands slid over slippery skin and hair stuck to them better than any tattoo. 
And I don't know how it gets better than this
You take my hand and drag me head first
Fearless
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance in a storm in my best dress
Fearless
Now
Katie couldn’t help but think about that day lying on Julian’s bed. She had said he was careful and she was not. She was supposed to be his counterbalance. 
Katie had been too careful, she hadn’t been doing her job. 
“It’s not too late.” Her mom had whispered. 
Speak now or forever hold your peace. 
Heart thundering, Katie picked up her phone. Six hours until Julian’s wedding she pressed his contact and texted him one word. 
Pancakes.
Then 
Was it just Katie or did Julian seem nervous? Julian was never nervous with her. Maybe it was just the connection of the phone call, she should move to a place where her signal was stronger-
“Katie, I um.. I’m gonna ask Anna to marry me.”
Katie’s eyes snapped to his face. “Quoi?”
Julian swallowed, and Katie watched from miles away as he pulled out a ring. 
“Yeah, I figured it was time.”
“Romantic.” Katie teased as she tried to quell the feeling that she was going to throw up. This was not how it was supposed to go. It had taken her a long time to figure out her feelings for Julian, but at twenty four she had finally worked it out. And he was going to marry someone else. 
Now
“Hey Katie Kat.”
Katie smiled weakly, shoving her hands in her coat pocket to hide the trembling. She felt overdressed in her outfit for the wedding when Julian was still in jeans but that couldn’t be helped. Katie sat next to Jules on the Lupins’ porch swing, glad she was wearing makeup because maybe it would help hide her blush. 
“The weather’s really nice today, huh?” Jules prompted, but Katie just smiled, steeling herself. She couldn’t idly talk about the weather, she would lose her nerve. So she threw back her shoulders, raised her chin and-
“Julian, I love you.”
Julian frowned, taking her hand. “I know, I love you too Katie, what-”
Katie shook her head. “No, Jules, listen. I’m in love with you.”
Julian froze and Katie’s heart beat over a hundred times a minute. Or maybe it had stopped completely. Either way it certainly wasn’t doing what it should be and Katie’s hands shook and she bit her tongue to stop herself from blurting out more when Julian obviously needed to process things.
Julian stood up abrupt, taking his keys out of his pocket. “I have to go.” He said and took off, getting into his car and driving away. Katie sat frozen where she was, alone once more, lost in the place where she had always felt found. Julian drove away, the world spun around and Katie stayed right where she was. 
Then 
Katie opened the door to Sirius and Remus’ house with her key - she had been given one for when Julian had come to stay, so she could come and go as she pleased. 
“Salut, it’s me!” She called into the empty hallway as she dropped her bag and ventured in a little further. Sirius was in the kitchen pouring a cup of coffee and he just smiled at her as he pulled out another mug. 
“Hey Katie, you here to get into some more JK Chaos?”
Katie chuckled and accepted the coffee with thanks, cupping it with both hands and holding it close to her face. “What else would I do?”
Sirius just smiled as Julian came into the room, wordlessly greeting Katie with their super secret, super complicated, super cool handshake.
“See you later!” Julian said to Sirius and Katie waved goodbye before they went out the door, getting into the car and driving away.
“What’re we doing today?” Katie asked as she drove. Julian shrugged in the passenger seat. 
“I don’t care, as long as I’m with you.”
Now
Someone was knocking on her hotel room. 
Katie had made her way back, she hadn’t even said goodbye to the Lupins - she didn’t think she could without crying. Instead she went home alone and straight to her room, knowing she couldn’t miss the wedding no matter how much she may want to. If she didn’t she knew that one day, she’d look back and wish she were in the pictures. Wish she was there for her best friend. So she was going to go and smile and be happy because she loved Jules and she could do this for him. 
There was another knock on the door and Katie rolled her eyes. “I’m coming, jeez calm down.” She muttered, the door handle cold on her skin as she opened the door. 
Julian was waiting on the other side. 
“I called off the wedding.”
If Katie had been holding anything, she would have dropped it. As it was, she took a step backwards, blinking. “What?”
“I called off the wedding.” Julian repeated, running his fingers through already very mussed hair. “I love you. I’ve always loved you. I’m a blind idiot, but I love you.”
Katie was beginning to wonder if any of this was real when Marc came up behind Jules, completely oblivious. 
“Hey Katie, did you get that text saying the wedding’s off? Weird, what’s that abou- Oh hey Jules.”
Katie turned to her brother. 
“Marc, I love you, but if you don’t leave right now I might have to kill you in your sleep tonight.”
“So that’s why the wedding’s off.” Marc commented before backing away, no doubt rushing off to tell everyone what he had seen. 
“Come in before anyone else sees.” Katie said as she took Julian’s hand, pulling him in and shutting the door. 
Julian’s hands were shaking. “Am I too late?” He whispered. “Please tell me I’m not too late.”
Katie smiled as she brushed a stray curl out of his eyes. “You’re right on time.”
And then she kissed him. 
Once upon a time, there had been a girl who kissed a boy in her back garden at midnight. She had been young and inexperienced but even then, she knew the kiss had been magical. 
Today, there was a girl who kissed a boy in a hotel room on what should have been his wedding day. She was still young, but much more experienced so she could now say with much more confidence that if their first kiss had been magical, this one was earth shattering. 
“I love you.” Julian whispered again and again between deep kisses that made Katie feel like her soul was bared. 
“Took you long enough.” Katie grumbled, but kissed him again, twining her fingers through his hair like she always dreamed she would. “I love you too.”
Soon
Katie blushed as she sat in a room, surrounded by both their families. Her dad kissed her on the cheek before handing her a drink and proposing a toast. 
“To JK Chaos,” Dumo said, his knowing smile nearly splitting his face. “For finally getting their shit together.”
Everyone cheered while Katie just laughed, lifting her hand to show off the engagement ring and tilting her head a little to give Julian a chaste kiss. He grinned down at her, hand resting delicately on her waist. 
He surveyed the crowded room for a moment, before ducking down a little to whisper in her ear; “Pancakes?”
Katie was pretty sure her eyes sparkled as she winked at him. “I’ll meet you outside in ten.”
The End.
361 notes · View notes
daintyduck99 · 3 years ago
Note
Rulie + ❛ wait, you think i’m cute? ❜
“Thanks again for doing this.” Julie bites her lip as she glances at the door that leads beyond the waiting area. “I know it’s not exactly how anyone would want to spend their winter break.” 
Reggie gently bumps her shoulder. “Hey, it’s not like I had anywhere else to be. My brother’s working long hours until Christmas, and you’re the only person I know that has a piano at home, so I would have had to stay on campus to practice over break, otherwise. Plus, I like spending time with you, and your family seems awesome. It’s a win-win, really.” 
She smiles, but it quickly wavers. “I’m going to be a loopy chipmunk for like, a week, though.” 
“Maybe. That’s okay. You’ve seen me drunk, it can’t be worse than that.” He grins at her as a tiny giggle spills from her lips. “And I doubt the regular pain meds will make you loopy. The anesthesia might wear off before we even get you home.”
Julie manages to relax until the receptionist calls her name. Her hand works its way into Reggie’s, and he squeezes it tight, leaning over to murmur, “Hey, you’ll be okay. You won’t feel a thing. Want me to walk with you?” 
"Please," she whimpers. 
She doesn’t let go of his hand until she absolutely has to, and he watches as she vanishes through the swinging door. The receptionist gives him a sympathetic look.
"Don't worry, honey. Your girlfriend will be alright, it's a standard procedure." 
"Oh—" Reggie clears his throat. There's no sense in correcting her. Doing so would just leave both of them embarrassed, and she’s only trying to be kind. "Right, thanks." 
He loses track of time playing on his phone, but it feels like barely any has passed when he's summoned to the back of the dentist's office. Apparently, there's a shortcut to the parking lot through there, so he won't have to guide Julie back through the maze of the building.
She's hugging the nurses and thanking them when he gets to her room, telling them how much she loves them, and he chuckles. She's so fucking cute.
Julie grins as she spots him, then winces as it tugs at her slightly puffy cheeks. She clumsily launches herself at him, humming as he catches her, seemingly content to keep her forehead pressed into his chest.
"Reggie! I love you too! They—you—everyone is sooooo nice. I love you all. A lot." 
He rests his chin in the nest of her curls, resisting the urge to press his lips to the crown of her head. God, but he's so fond of her. How could he not be? 
"We love you too, Jules. Let's get you home, though. As cute and cuddly as you are, these people have other patients that they need to help, okay?" 
"Okay!" she chirps, lax as he tucks her under his arm. She waves languidly to everyone on their way out of the room. 
He's about to ask her if she wants to stop for ice cream when she muses—
"You know who's really cute? You." 
He halts in his tracks, tightening his hold on her when she stumbles. “Wait, you think I’m cute?” 
Shock had prompted him to ask, but he regrets it immediately. Just because Julie doesn’t have a filter right now doesn’t mean he should do away with his! Christ. 
She nods, blithely responding before he can switch topics. 
“Sooooo cute. With—with your bright eyes, and your freckles, and your button nose, and your pretty lips, and—and the way you laugh. You’re so ticklish, too. Makes me wanna kiss you everywhere.” She sways in his arms, tilting her head to meet his gaze through lidded eyes. It has to be from drowsiness, or at least mostly, but he still shivers as she repeats, “Everywhere.” 
“Thanks,” he squeaks, and it’s not the right thing to say, but nothing about this is appropriate. Julie giggles, nuzzling his jaw with her nose as his cheeks flood with heat. 
“You’re blushing! Did I say that already? I love the way you blush. Looooove it. Cute.” 
"Alright—" 
She laughs in delight as he scoops her off of the ground, making a beeline for the car. He manages to distract her with their playlist, and she sounds scarily like Luke as she babbles about how listening to music isn't enough sometimes. 
"I'm telling you! I neeeeed to eat it. I need it so bad." She's pouting when he glances at her, plucking at her seatbelt. "I need you too, but you're so far away now." 
"Julie, I'm driving," he reminds her gently. Her pout only worsens, amplified by the slight swell of her cheeks. It's really not as bad as she'd thought it would be. That, or he's just so embarrassingly gone for her that he finds her adorable regardless. 
He tells the voice in his head that sounds suspiciously like Alex to shut up and turns the volume of the music a little louder. 
She's half-asleep by the time they make it to the Molina residence, so he greets her family for the first time with her drooling on his shoulder, bundled in his arms. He flushes as her father sends them a knowing look that's not too different from the one all of the nurses gave them. 
Reggie nearly hands her over to him, but she makes a noise of protest, curling her fingers into his shirt. Her father—Ray, as he insists on being called—directs him to her room, instead, and squeezes Reggie’s shoulder with a reassuring smile before he heads back downstairs, so Reggie guesses that everything is fine, so far. 
Julie blearily opens her eyes as he lays her on her bed, and he's helpless to her pleading face when she whispers, "Stay." 
She falls asleep in the crook of his arm with her hand splayed over his heart. His arm migrates over her hip sometime in the night, and he’s petrified the next morning, but she merely snuggles closer, smiling sheepishly. Her ears have turned a blistering red. 
“It’s not how I wanted you to find out, but I still think you’re cute.” 
He brushes his lips against her forehead, and she scrunches her nose, only to wince. He drops another kiss on the tip of her nose in apology. “I didn’t mean to pry. Is—is this okay?” 
Julie nods. “I really want to kiss you, but my jaw hurts.”
He kisses the top of her head again because he can, smiling into her hair. “That’s okay. We can wait a little longer. I’m going to go get your medicine.” 
She makes good on her desire to kiss him everywhere a few weeks later. It’s well worth the wait.
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fruitcoops · 4 years ago
Note
in the one week of remus being the big spoon he kinda talks in his sleep a bit ... would you possibly write something about him sleep talking?
Yes!! I love writing sleep talking fics because my whole family does it and the untapped comedy potential is just incredible. Coops credit goes to @lumosinlove!
Sirius squinted blearily at the alarm clock on the nightstand, stifling a groan when he saw the time. 1:45 am on a Monday, of all days.
“Lemonade,” Remus mumbled again, snuggling back into him. “Lemonade and ice cubes.”
“D’accord, mon chou,” Sirius muttered. He kissed the top of his head and closed his eyes, praying to whatever higher power existed that Remus would please, please shut up.
“ ’s a pick-a-nick. Lemonade. Lem-on-ade.”
“Lemonade, okay.”
“Shut the fuck up, Pots.” Sirius pressed his face into the pillow to hide his laughter, but Remus grumbled and reached back to still his shaking shoulder. “Kitty cat. Go away.”
“Okay, love.”
Remus turned over with a huff; blessed silence fell over the bedroom and Sirius took a deep breath as drowsiness seeped into his mind. Soft snores started a moment later, but anything was better than the near-constant chatter that had been plaguing him all night.
“Do you see it?”
Sirius sighed and cracked an eye open. 2:13 am. “See what, honey?”
“The bird. Big bird, teeth.”
“The fucking what?”
“The bird,” Remus insisted, patting Sirius’ face clumsily. “Over there. Has teeth, I don’t like it.”
“Okay—okay.” Sirius took his wrist and gently guided it back down before Remus accidentally broke his nose or something. “I’m sorry you don’t like the bird.”
Remus went rigid suddenly. “Don’t move.”
“…why not?” Sirius blinked at him, torn between confusion and concern. Remus struggled to prop himself up on his elbow, then flopped back down with a mumble and snuggled closer. “Why do you do this to me? It’s Monday. Please stay asleep.”
“I am asleep.”
“Shhh.”
“Don’t tell me to shh,” Remus said indignantly. “Fuck you, Harzy, and move over. I don’t like cuddling you. You have pointy elbows and cold feet, and you’re not tall enough.”
Sirius raised his eyebrows. “I’m not Finn.”
Remus just snored in response, clearly out cold once again. Sirius sighed through his nose and laid on his back. Sleep. Just sleep. It’s not hard, especially at 2 in the morning. Five more hours and then you can get up. His eyes fell shut a few minutes later and he smiled, letting the current drag him under.
“Hey. Hey. Hey.”
Sirius reached over without opening his eyes and put his hand over Remus’ mouth. “No.”
Remus continued talking despite Sirius’ palm, though at least it wasn’t quite as loud. Just as Sirius was about to doze off again, something pinched his hand.
“Did you just bite me?”
“Kisses,” Remus murmured, wrapping his arms around Sirius’ waist and lugging him over for a cuddle with surprising strength for someone who was dead asleep. “Kisses, kisses, kisses, kisses. Good night.”
“It’s four fifteen in the morning.”
“Bonjour. Je t’aime. Je veux parler au coach, s’il vous plait. Le match d’aujourd’hui s’est très bien passé. Notre défense était forte et la ligne offensive—”
Sirius frowned and looked over his shoulder. “Why are you French?”
“I’m American. J’habite dans le Wisconsin, idiot.”
“Rude. You don’t live in Wisconsin anymore.”
“Oui. J’habite avec mes parents and my little brother. His name is Jules.”
“I know. Please be quiet.”
The sweetest, gentlest kiss pressed to Sirius’ cheek and he smiled as Remus nuzzled his neck. “Have a good day at work, baby. You’re the best and I love you so much. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you.”
Without another word, he grabbed the blankets and cocooned himself, practically shoving Sirius out of bed. “Remus!”
Remus bolted upright, smacking one hand against the headboard and grabbing Sirius’ arm with the other. “What? Are you okay? Did you start rolling again?”
Sirius sat up and ran a hand down his face as Remus shook off the last bits of sleep. “One of these days, I’m getting you a mouthguard.”
“Why?” Remus gave him a befuddled look and flexed his injured hand. He looked down and frowned. “Wait, why do I have the blankets?”
“You stole them. Also, you’ve been talking basically nonstop for about four hours.”
His eyebrows pitched up in the middle. “Did I wake you?”
“Several times.”
“I’m sorry, baby.”
“It’s alright.” Sirius grinned. “You bit me, too.”
“I did what?” Remus whispered, looking horrified.
Sirius’ smile became full-blown snickering. “I had just fallen asleep and you started talking, so I put my hand over your mouth and you bit me. It was very light, don’t worry.”
Remus dropped his head into his hands. “I am so sorry.”
“It’s fine, sweetheart.” Sirius opened his arms and Remus curled up against him again with a hum. “You don’t do it on purpose.”
“I didn’t say anything mean, right?”
“You told Pots to shut the fuck up and then went off on Finn about his cuddling skills. Oh, and you freaked me out a bit when you stared talking about a bird with teeth.” Sirius kissed the space behind his ear. “Otherwise, you were very sweet. What were you dreaming about?”
Remus bit his lip. “I don’t remember. Maybe a fair? There were lots of people talking.”
“You spoke French for a bit.”
“Did I?”
“Mhmm. You told me you loved me and then started talking about the game like you were being interviewed.”
Remus laughed at that, though he yawned partway through and looked over at the clock with a grimace. “Ugh. It’s early.”
“We’ve still got a couple hours.” Sirius closed his eyes and settled into the mattress, wrapping his leg around Remus’. “Good night.”
“Good night, baby. I’ll try to stay quiet.” Remus placed a kiss to his forehead and ran his thumb along Sirius’ cheekbone, lulling him to sleep once more. “Sweet dreams.”
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lumosinlove · 4 years ago
Text
Day Four: 12/17/20
On the fourth day of Ficmas, Hazel gave to thee, Sweater Weather behind the scenes!
Sweater Weather Outtakes. Sometimes I changed it because I feel like the pacing was off, which is the case in the first big chunk, and sometimes I changed it because I just wanted the plot to be different. I wrote a lot of the end of Sweater Weather in the very beginning before most of the fic was even written, just musing to myself about my boys winning the Cup. Enjoy!
TW: Mentions of being outed.
(This takes place right after they were outed.)
Sirius was doing something wrong, and that was not calling Remus for two days.
Sirius stood. “So, we’re settled.”
Alice nodded. “We have our plan. Now, as Arthur says, we just have to wait for a few punches. Good thing you’re familiar with those.”
Arthur stood, too, and slapped Sirius on the back. “I’m proud of you, kid. You’ve let no one own you, and that’s hard for someone in your position. You’ve come a long way. See you on TV, eh?”
Sirius glanced at Remus, who was talking to Alice as they walked out of Coach’s office and into the hallway. “It hasn’t been without help. Merci, Coach. For everything.”
Sirius ducked out into the hallway, half expecting to find Remus gone, disappeared, to find all of this not real. He felt like he was floating above everything, dreading the comments that he knew to expect from others, kicking himself for running, fighting to be brave about it all.
Sirius had a lot of people making decisions for him.
This one was for him to make.
There Remus was, back turned, watching Alice disappear back into her office.
Sirius’ heart pounded as he reached out and lay a gentle hand on Remus’ back. He felt like he was going to collapse with it, with wanting to be alone with him, to say he was sorry, to say how thankful he was to have him. Remus turned and looked at him, face soft. He looked as tired as Sirius felt.
“Come with me?” Sirius asked.
Remus nodded hurriedly and Sirius followed Remus towards the quiet room, where they seemed to be just making memory after memory. Remus shut the door and stayed against it for a moment, hands on the smooth wood.
Sirius took a few quick, nervous breaths. Looking at Remus, he was done trying to protect the both of them by pushing him away. He hurt without Remus and, by the set of Remus’ shoulders, he felt the same.
“Remus,” Sirius stepped forward, and Remus turned.
“I don’t care if I get fired,” Remus said suddenly, all in one breath, back against the door. “I want you. I care about you. Sirius, do whatever you need to, just talk to me about it so I can do what I need to—”
Sirius strode forward and took Remus’ face in his hands. Remus sank into his touch, like it pulled the tension coiled in his muscles. Like it was all he needed.
“I’m scared of a lot of things right now,” Sirius whispered, thumbs stroking across Remus’ cheeks. “But I’m the most scared of losing you.”
Remus’ lip shook, and he brought his hands up to hold Sirius’. “You are?”
Sirius hated that Remus even questioned it. He couldn’t seem to get close enough, pressing them together, feeling Remus’ warmth through his t-shirt.
“Remember what you said? What you said about people who told me I wasn’t good enough?”
Remus’ hands tightened around his wrists, eyes filling. He nodded. “I’d make you forget.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” Sirius said softly. “But I didn’t need you to make me forget.” He stroked his thumbs through the slow tears that blinked down Remus’ cheeks. “I needed you, so I could see that they were wrong.”
Remus let out a tear filled breath, curving a hand around the back of Sirius’ neck.
“Re,” Sirius whispered, brushing their noses together. “I see now.”
Remus let out a laugh, half sob. “C’est l’heure?” He twisted his wrist, making his watch flash in the dim light. It’s time? he had asked.
Sirius smiled, tears in his throat, relief in his chest. “Oui, mon vœu.”
Remus pressed up onto his toes and kissed Sirius hard, breath hitching. Sirius let Remus clutch him close, craving the feeling of him after what felt like so long. He wrapped him up, his strong shoulders and slim waist, and buried his nose in his hair, breathing in.
They stayed like that, kissing and close in the semi-darkness. It didn’t matter if anyone walked in, Sirius suddenly realized with a thrill. It didn’t matter at all. He could hold Remus like this in the middle of the street if he wanted. His mother’s face flashed in his mind. The image of a burning jersey, his burning jersey. A chill crept in, but he pushed it back, holding Remus’ warmth closer. He was leaving tonight. He needed all the warmth he could get. It was as if Remus remembered, too, because then he was pulling back and pressing kiss after kiss to Sirius’ mouth, to his cheeks and jaw.
“I’ll miss you,” Sirius whispered. “I wish you were coming with me.”
Remus tucked his face into Sirius’ neck, hands locked around Sirius’ waist, resting at the base of his spine. “Me too.”
“My mother will be there,” Sirius’ voice shook despite himself. “Because my brother.”
“Maybe…” Remus pulled back just enough to look at Sirius. “Maybe it will help to see her. To talk to her. Maybe it will show you that she really has no say in your life. Not anymore.”
Sirius nodded. “I think, maybe, but I also…When I see her, I can’t help it, I get all…”
“Aw, baby,” Remus sighed and pressed his cheek to Sirius’ chest.
“What about you, your family? Have you talked to them?”
Remus made a guilty noise. “I texted them…I don’t know why, I just—I wanted to sort things out with you first. I couldn’t think about anything but you.”
“Remus,” Sirius sighed. “Merde, you’re so…this happened to you, too. How are you, mon loup?”
“Worried about you,” Remus laughed and then pressed his forehead to Sirius’ chest before looking up at him. “I’m…I’m actually okay. This isn’t how I wanted to tell my family but, when I talk to them…I get to talk about you, too.”
Sirius stared at him, smile slow. “Jules.”
Remus laughed again. “Oh my fucking god. I think he’s going to pass out.” He groaned. “God, I hope he didn’t see those pictures, though. That’s…I don’t know. I wish we could have surprised him, or told him together.”
“Maybe he doesn’t know yet,” Sirius offered. “Maybe we can.”
“Maybe,” Remus said, then reached up and wrapped his arms around Sirius’ neck, pulling him in for a kiss. “I’ll call them tonight.”
“Text me so I can call you when I get to the hotel?” Sirius asked hopefully, and Remus nodded.
“You better.”
“You wanna come over and help me pack?”
Remus raised an eyebrow. “You sure you’re gonna get any packing done with me there?”
Sirius shrugged, ducking to brush their mouths together. “Maybe a little.”
Remus kissed him, and they pressed together for a few minutes, mouths hot. Remus laughed breathlessly as Sirius leaned against him, their kisses turning deeper.
“This sounds crazy, given everything,” Sirius said, dragging his mouth across Remus’ jaw. “But I feel—I’m relieved. Are you?”
“Yes,” Remus whispered, tilting his head back so Sirius could kiss more of his neck. “I can have you.”
“You could always have me.”
“Yeah,” Sirius could hear the smile in Remus’ voice. “But now I can have you wherever I want.”
Sirius grinned, biting gently on Remus’ jaw. “I’ll take you back to Sid’s and you can wipe food off my face all you want, cameras be damned.”
Remus laughed out loud. “My dream.”
“Should we get out of this dark room?” Sirius said softly after another lingering kiss.
Remus smiled and nodded.
Here’s a really early piece of dialogue I wrote where the team finds out about Sirius and Remus on the ice after they win the Cup:
“Holy shit,” Finn said tearfully. “You and the fucking Captain. I didn’t even know who I was talking to, did I?”
“No,” Remus laughed, and Finn kissed him right on the cheek.
“Jesus Christ, Loops, we’re in love and we have a Cup.”
“We really do. Proud of you, Harzy. All of you.”
~
“I love you.”
It came out of nowhere, slammed into Remus like a check to the boards, like a gust of pure, clean win across a frozen pond. He was blissful and awake with it.
“I love you,” Sirius said again, whispered against his skin. “I love you, Remus, je t’aime, je t’aime, je t’aime, mon loup, Remus…”
Sirius was gasping with it, as if the words were air themselves.
Remus clutched him, hands fisting his jersey. “I love you. God, of course, of course I love you, too.”
And here’s me almost giving Pascal a career ending injury during the playoffs, which Sirius and Remus overhear the Cubs comforting Logan about. Just incase the discord wants some angsty roads to go down :)
“Oh, sweetheart,” Leo’s voice came gently, followed by a low sob, probably from Logan.
Remus and Sirius looked at each other. Sweetheart Sirius mouthed, and Remus shook his head.
“I’m fine,” Logan said, voice thick. “I’ll be fine, let’s go, we need to play.”
“You’re not fine,” came a third voice, Finn’s, Remus realized. “And you don’t need to be. Lo, c’mere, please let us be here for you. C’mere.”
There was the unmistakable sound of a short kiss, and with that, Remus grabbed Sirius’ arm and pulled back back down the hallway as fast as he could. They ended up in Remus’ office, staring at each other.
“I…” Sirius began. “Okay, I don’t know what we just heard, but…”
“He’s being comforted by his—friends,” Remus said. “That’s all we know because…”
“They haven’t said anything yet.”
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wonder-womans-ex · 4 years ago
Text
‘Cause Boy I was Made for You
By wonder-womans-ex for @inloveoknutzy Sweater Weather secret santa exchange 2020
When Remus Lupin was eleven years old, he learned about soulmates. 
“Almost everyone gets a soulmark on their nineteenth birthday,” Mr. Holliday, his fifth-grade teacher, had explained. “A design, like a tattoo, on their left wrist. And out there, somewhere, someone will have a matching one.
“Some people don’t get them until later—no one knows why. Some don’t get them at all. It’s rare, but some people have more than one soulmate, or their soulmate changes. 
“Can anyone tell me why this might be?”
Trust a teacher to turn this into a lesson, Remus thought, and put up his hand. 
“Because people change, and the person who your soul matches could change, too?” 
“Very good, Mr. Lupin.” 
***
When Sirius Black was eleven years old, his parents kept him home from school. Instead, they sat him down at the dining room table—which was only ever used for special occasions; he couldn’t fathom why this might be considered one—and told him three things. 
“One,” Walburga said, bony fingers and long nails that reminded Sirius of talons drumming on the centuries-old wood, “your career comes first. Always. No matter who your soulmate turns out to be or how you feel about it, you are expected to make the choice that benefits yourself and your role in this family.” 
“Two,” Orion put in, “you are the only person who can prove who your soulmate is. If the reality is something that puts your future or your reputation at risk, lying is the best option. Remember, listen to your head, not your wrist.”
“Three—” this was Walburga again, “—your soulmark, when you get it, will remain covered at all times. No one else is permitted to see it. Are we clear?”
Sirius nodded. 
“Speak up!”
“Yes, Mother. Yes, Father.”
***
When Remus Lupin was thirteen years old, he had his first kiss. It was with a girl from his first aid course to whom he’d never really talked before, and it was wet and clumsy and didn’t taste very nice. In six years when he got his soulmark, he probably wouldn’t even remember her name. 
***
When Sirius Black was thirteen years old, he fell asleep in math class twice. He’d spent the entire night practicing—under his father’s instructions, of course—and the words in the textbook began to swim in front of his eyes. 
His mother slapped him across the cheek when she found out. Though he told no one for a very long time, that was when he started drinking coffee. 
***
When Remus Lupin was fifteen years old, he googled what if your soulmate doesn’t love you. 
***
When Sirius Black was fifteen years old, he found out what it was like to be famous. He enjoyed it, at first. There was so much to enjoy: the attention from his parents, the people who recognized him in public and smiled, and the hockey. 
The hockey was everything. 
He wouldn’t have thought so, but it was freeing, really, to be on the ice, doing what he loved, and know that the whole world was watching. It showed him he was enough—better than enough. He was the best. He’d been working towards being best his whole life, and now he finally got to feel good about it. What wasn’t to like about that?
Amycus Carrow, apparently. The first guy on his team to notice he was different. “Queer,” he whispered, as Sirius packed his gear up. 
Sirius wasn’t sure who he was trying to prove something to by sleeping with Janie Clearwater—Amycus or himself. 
***
When Remus Lupin was seventeen years old, he and his mom picked his little brother Julian up from daycare. Jules had a crude drawing of a star on his wrist in green washable marker. 
“My teacher has one! So I wanted one too!” 
Remus smiled, ruffling Julian’s hair. 
That night, he locked his bedroom door and looked up Sirius Black. Video after video of slapshots, passes, interviews, until he finally drifted off to sleep thinking that’s the sort of person I want to be loved by. 
***
When Sirius Black was seventeen years old, he had his first panic attack. He wasn’t sure what triggered it; he wasn’t sure how he pulled himself out, but he ran a thumb over the red marks where his fingernails had dug into his skin and tried not to cry.
***
When Remus Lupin was nineteen years old, everything went wrong. He woke up on his birthday to his wrist itching, and it took all his willpower not to look at it. He wasn’t quite ready yet. 
It was like Schr��dinger’s cat, he reasoned—if he didn’t look, he couldn’t confirm what had been nagging at the back of his head for a while now. He couldn’t deny it, either, but it was better than nothing. 
Julian ran to hug him when he got downstairs, grinning to show off his gap-toothed smile. “I got you a present! Wanna know what it is?”
“I think,” Remus told him, “I’m about to find out anyway.”
Two weeks later, Fenrir Greyback approached him in the locker room. 
***
When Sirius Black was nineteen years old, he found himself signed to an NHL team he wasn’t supposed to be on and with a soulmark he could make neither head nor tail of: a silver wolf and black dog, intertwined like yin and yang, two crossed hockey sticks behind them. He remembered, distantly, being told that soulmarks were meant to make sense. 
The black dog was probably meant to represent him—black dog, dog black (he still hadn’t forgiven his parents for that one)—and the hockey sticks almost definitely had something to do with, well, hockey, but the wolf he had no idea about.  
***
It is now that these two stories meet. There is a split second, a fraction of time, and it seems as though the whole world is holding its breath. Will their paths cross, only to continue on their separate ways? Will they travel together for a time, before they are destined to part once more?
“Hello,” says Remus, and when Sirius holds his hand out coldly, their fate is decided. 
***
“Pots, c’mere a second!” 
Sirius is happy, almost. He’s got the team—he’s one of them, now, really and truly, but there’s something still off. He knows what it is, but he doesn’t want to. 
“I’m coming, Captain! Keep your head on!”
James comes to a stop in front of him. “Hi. What do you need?”
“Please poke Dumo.” A few of the guys chuckle, and this makes Sirius smile. He likes making other people laugh. 
“What, and you needed me for that? You couldn't do it yourself?”
Finn walks into the room, then, jersey half on. “Why do it at all? What did poor old Dumo do to you, anyway?”
“Yeah,” Pascal says from where he’s sitting by his locker. “Respect your elders!”
“Elder, you say? Edging on retirement, are you?”
“Tais-toi!” 
Glancing over to Remus, Sirius allows the barest flicker of a smile to pass over his face. He gets one in return. 
“Alright, everyone get moving,” Coach tells them, opening the door and surveying where they’re all arranged, faces like guilty puppies. “You’re paid to play hockey, not sit on your asses and gossip. Practice starts in five minutes, or you run laps around the outside of the rink. In skates.”
Most of them groan, and Kasey downs a Powerade. “Well, boys, that’s my cue.”
James is the next to go, then Finn, then Logan. Leo and Talker continue their argument—something about George Harrison; Sirius isn’t really listening—out onto the ice, and Adam follows them with Olli and Nado close behind. Dumo winks at Sirius before he goes, too, and then it’s just the two of them. 
“What did he do?” Remus asks, after Sirius has laced and relaced his left skate three times. “Dumo, I mean.” 
“Nothing much. Just… well, if you must know, he put shaving cream in the fridge, once. Guess what I had on my waffles that morning.” 
“Waffles aren’t on your diet plan.”
“It was last year.”
“And you waited until now to get James to poke him?”
He knows Remus can see right through him. He always can. “Never question the methods of a hockey player, Loops.”
He meant it as a joke, but Remus stiffens for some reason, jaw clenching and eyes darting away. There’s an awkward pause before Sirius says, “I’m sorry—”
“Don’t be.” 
“Right.” He clears his throat, trying in vain to find something else to say. He would be lying if he said Remus didn’t mean something to him—he knows it. But, after all, knowing something and acknowledging it are two very different things. 
Sirius runs the laps. 
***
That night, after practice, Remus is about to head for the bus station when Sirius steps in front of him. He’s walking backwards, even with his hockey bag slung over his shoulder, and Remus isn’t ashamed to say he’s a little impressed. (From a purely objective point of view, of course. It has nothing to do with Sirius and everything to do with the skill it would take, hypothetically, to do such a thing.) (He’s not fooling anyone, least of all himself.) 
“Want a lift?”
“You don’t even know where I live.”
“Well, we’ll just have to fix that.”
Remus rolls his eyes; he pretends to think about it. “All right,” he says, finally. “On one condition.”
“Which is?”
“I get to choose the music.”
Sirius lets out one loud ‘ha!’  It’s the most beautiful thing Remus has heard in a long time. (That would go well: “Oh, I’ve changed my mind. No need to put on the radio, I’ll be content if you just keep laughing.”) (There’s a reason people like him are off to the side, out of sight, instead of right in the spotlight with a microphone.)  
Remus is glad that Sirius waits until he’s parked outside Remus’s apartment building to bring up their earlier conversation. It says something that they say “So, about this evening—” in unison, but Remus isn’t going to think about that. 
“You go first,” Sirius tells him, the corner of his mouth lifting ever so slightly. “Please.”
“I suppose,” Remus says, slowly, “That I haven’t quite been honest with you. Any of you. I wasn’t always a PT.”
“Of course not. You’re my age. You can’t have always worked for the Lions—before that you were a teenager. A student.”
Remus shakes his head. “No. Before that I was a player.” 
“You played? Why’d you stop?”
“Bad hit,” he says, shrugging. “I’m over it. But I… I know what it’s like. The pressure. The rules. So, if you need someone to talk to… just remember—I know what the game does to a guy. You’re not the only one who’s been told to be something you aren’t by someone who forgets you’re a person off the ice, too.
“See you tomorrow, Cap. Thanks for the ride.” 
***
Sirius is probably the one person in history who has managed to burn eggs without even turning the stove on. 
“How on earth did that happen?” James asks when Sirius phones him. 
“I dropped them into the toaster—hey! Stop laughing! It could happen to anyone!”
“Yes,” he hears from the other end of the line, “But it didn’t. It happened to you.”
It takes exactly two minutes and thirty-seven seconds after hanging up on James for Sirius to decide to call Remus. Cooking failures might not have been quite what Remus meant when he said Sirius could talk to him, but it’s the problem at hand right now. 
(Remus laughs just as hard as James, but at least he has the decency to apologize for it afterwards.) 
“Well,” he says, once he’s calmed down, “What are you going to eat now?” 
“I’m not sure. Cereal?”
“Practice is in two and a half hours. You need more than that.”
“I’ll be—”
“If you end that sentence with ‘fine,’ I’ll take the laces out of your skates and strangle you with them. Do you want me to walk you through, I dunno, a pancake?” 
“Sure. What do I need?”
“Flour, butter, eggs, milk…”
Twenty minutes later Sirius is left with milk on his shirt, flour in his hair, butter practically everywhere else, and a microwave that won’t start. 
“I think,” he tells Remus, “I should have cereal.”
“You are going to eat a pancake if it’s the last thing I do—”
“Why don’t you just come over here and make it for me, then? I’m sure you’ll have more success.” 
He holds his breath for a moment, hoping this wasn’t a step too far, before Remus responds. “Yeah. Sure. I’ll be over in… half an hour?” 
“Sounds good.” 
Click. 
The instant the call is over, Sirius opens the freezer and grabs one of the popsicles he secretly has stashed there. They’re not part of his diet plan, but he needs one. Then he takes a sponge and starts trying to get the butter out of the sole of his shoe. 
***
The first thought that crosses Remus’s mind is that Sirius’s tongue is purple from one of the popsicles he thinks no one knows about. If Remus kissed him, he’d probably taste like grapes. (The thought is banished from his mind the moment it enters.) 
“So,” he says, surveying the damage. “I am going to teach you how to make a pancake.” 
Sirius, it turns out, is infinitely better at following instructions when they’re simple, and the two of them work out a system quickly. Remus makes the pancake, Sirius gets the ingredients. It works. 
“That’s salt, not sugar. Try again.”
(Most of the time, at least.)
 “Really?” Sirius is squinting at the package. “Why doesn’t it say so?”
“It does. Right there.” 
“How am I supposed to read that?”
“You need glasses, Cap.” 
“I have glasses. I just never wear them.” 
“What?” This is news to Remus. Visions of Sirius with glasses and bed hair are swimming in front of his eyes. “Why?” 
A shrug. “I look stupid.” 
“I’m pretty sure you’d be drop-dead gorgeous in anything.” 
There’s a beat of silence. Remus realizes that, yes, he said that out loud. “I mean, all those fangirls certainly seem to think so.” 
“Right. Yeah.” Sirius clears his throat. 
“Anyway, pancakes! I think these are almost ready to cook—can you turn on the element?”
“The what now?” 
“The element? The coil on the stove?” 
“Should’ve just said that in the first place,” Sirius grumbles. “Fucking Americans.” 
“Fucking French.” 
Suddenly, Remus has a spatula pointed at his nose. He has to cross his eyes to see it properly. “Say that again; I dare you.”
“Fucking French?”
“Awright, that’s it! En garde, bitch!” 
And so begins the great whisk-vs-spatula duel of 2020. There is very little batter left once they’re done—in the bowl, at least. Most of it is on their clothes. 
They look at each other. “Cereal?” 
“...Cereal.” 
***
Kasey’s eyes go wide—almost comically so—when they show up to practice together. 
“Cap giving rides?” He says, and Sirius isn’t sure what accent he’s trying to fake but he ends up sounding like a scandalized duchess from the movie adaptation of an Austen knockoff. (Maybe that is what he was going for. It’s hard to know, with Kasey.) “I thought the day would never come.”
“Shut up.” 
“Make me.”
Remus’s elbow digs into Sirius’s rib cage. “You don’t want to say that. He tried to make me shut up this morning—it’s something I’ll never recover from.” 
Sirius almost laughs at the expression Remus makes when he realizes exactly how that sounds. 
“He dumped pancake batter down my shirt!” 
“You didn’t!” The look on James’s face is aghast. “First the eggs, now this—what will people think?” 
Finn looks up from his phone. “Eggs?” 
“Sirius here dropped the eggs he was going to eat for breakfast into his—”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” 
Dumo slings an arm around his shoulders. “The price you must pay for telling James to poke me yesterday. Learn from this, mon fils. Learn.” 
“Don’t tell me what to do, old man.”
“Treachery!” 
Shrugging him off, Sirius grins. “I am the kitchen monster. Cross me and I will slaughter you in a food war.”
“Try me.” This is Logan speaking; Sirius hadn’t even realized he was there. 
“You’ve been warned!” 
***
“Look, there are twenty-two hockey players in this arena, and I ain’t one of them,” Moody says, and Remus can’t be sure, but he thinks Sirius looks at him. 
***
“You’re favouring your right leg,” Remus comments as soon as Sirius is off the ice. “Want me to take a look?”
“It’s fine, really—”
“I’ll try again. Want me to take a look?” 
“Yeah, that would be great. Thanks, Loops.”
“That’s what I thought you said.”
They walk into the PT room in businesslike silence, Sirius hoping all the way that one of them will break it. Neither does, and it isn’t until Remus has taken off both his skates for him, now expertly examining his left ankle, that he realizes what he should say. 
“You mentioned you played, last night.”
The finger tracing his Achilles tendon stills. “I did.” 
“Were you any good?” He knows, somewhere, that he’s entering forbidden territory. He can’t bring himself to care. 
“I’d like to believe so.”
“Be honest.” Sirens are blaring in his head. He keeps going. 
“There were rumours…” Remus bites his lip, glances away. “People said I was set for first.”
“What? How come you never said anything? C’mon, you need to play with us sometime, just scrimmage or something—”
“Maybe. That hit…”
“Right. God, I’m sorry, Rem.”
If Remus’s Adam’s apple bobs at the nickname, Sirius doesn’t notice. He certainly doesn’t try his best not to jump to conclusions. (Double negative; that’s a yes, a voice that sounds suspiciously like James’s says in his head. Shut up, he tells it.)
“It’s fine. Really. I just don’t like talking about it. And besides, I like this. Working with the team, even if I can’t be a part of it.”
“You are. A part of the team, I mean. Just as much as I am.”
“Sure.”
There’s another awkward pause before Remus clears his throat. “So, I’m gonna put on some anti-inflammatory gel because it’s a little swollen, but don’t get used to it. I want you to keep doing some stretches, not too much pressure. Capeesh?”
“What the fuck is a capeesh?”
“Just say it.”
“...Capeesh?”
“Awesome.” 
Remus leans forward towards him, their foreheads almost touching. Sirius’s breath catches. 
It’s over just as suddenly. The tube of extra-strength Voltaren is in Remus’s hand, and Sirius feels stupid for thinking he was going to—
Nope. Not thinking about that. 
When he feels tears start to prick at his eyes, he glances up at the fluorescent lights overhead; at least then he’ll have an excuse. There’s a moth resting on one. Its wings flutter once, twice, then go still. Fragile things, moths are—maybe it’s died, maybe it hasn’t. He could read into that, but he won’t. 
He jumps when the cool of the gel on Remus’s hands touches his foot. “Hey!” He yelps, looking quickly down. 
Sirius hates to succumb to cliches, but he would be lying if he was to say his heart doesn’t still. 
Because Remus has pulled the sleeves of his jacket up to his elbows, and his wrist is turned to the sky—to Sirius, who has seen that mark before somewhere. 
Somewhere. He’s kidding himself. He’s seen it every day whenever he bothers to look at his own soulmark, and he’s seeing it again now. 
“You know what, I’m fine,” he blurts out, shaking his ankle out of Remus’s grasp. “Thanks, though. See you later, Loops.” 
***
Remus stays there for a second, watching Sirius leave. He doesn’t know what he did wrong, and he’s not sure he wants to. 
When he gets up to leave, tossing the container towards the first aid kit on the bench and allowing himself a small smile when it lands perfectly inside, blood rushes to his head. He closes his eyes, waiting for the dizziness to pass. 
And then he crashes into Finn. 
“Whoa, sorry,” Remus says, stumbling backwards.
“Nah, don’t stress it. There’s just something I want you to check on.”
Remus is hit by a sense of deja vu. He wonders if Finn, too, is going to leave without explanation. He follows him back into the PT room, Finn gesturing for him to lock the door. 
Though he may be the shorter of the two, Remus knows it’s his job to be the bigger person. “What was it you wanted to talk about?”
Finn waits another moment before yanking one sleeve up to reveal three paw prints, each no bigger than a thumbnail, clustered together—one forest green, one golden, and one a deep navy blue. 
“Your soulmark.” Remus doesn’t understand. “What? Is something wrong?” 
“There’s three of them,” Finn says. “Which means there’s three of us.”
“You have two soulmates?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s fine, Finn. It may not be common, but it’s not unheard of. You don’t have anything to be ashamed of.” 
“It’s not that. It’s… hey, you can’t tell anyone this, okay?”
“I know. Doctor-patient confidentiality, remember?”
“Right.” Finn takes a breath, squeezing his eyes closed. “What if I told you I know who they are? Or I think I do?” 
“Hypothetically?”
“Hypothetically.”
“Well, I’d ask you if they knew.”
“And I’d say I don’t think so. One of them’s pretty stubborn—wouldn’t see love if it stood up on the ice and sang the national anthem—and the other isn’t nineteen yet, so he doesn’t—I mean wouldn’t—have his mark yet.” 
“His?”
Finn’s eyes widen. There is a pause before he nods, slowly. “Yeah. Got a problem?”
“Trust me, I’m the last person on earth who’d have a problem with something like that. Hypothetically.” 
This, at least, earns Remus a smile. “Are you…?”
“Yeah.” 
“Cool.” Another pause. “What if I told you, still hypothetically, that they were both on the team?” 
“Then I’d say get the fuck out of here and win them over before they start thinking you’ve forgotten about them.” 
Finn, smiling ear to ear, starts to leave. “Wait,” he says, hand on the doorknob. “You said you were…”
“Gay.”
“Yeah. Do—do you know who your soulmate is?”
Remus opens his mouth to say ‘no.’ He really does. But what comes out—when he takes into account the look of recognition on Sirius’s face when Remus had his sleeves rolled up; the understanding that had passed between them outside Remus’s building (god, that was just last night); the way they’ve always just clicked—is most certainly not ‘no.’ 
“Oh, fuck, I think I do,” he says, and he and Finn run out into the hallway together. 
Sirius’s car is pulling out of the parking lot when Remus arrives, out of breath, at the front doors of the arena. 
“I don’t know why he’s in such a hurry.” Remus jumps. He hadn’t heard James come to stand beside him. “Just packed up his gear at the speed of light and left. Didn’t even shower; he said he’d do it at home.”
So Sirius had been so appalled—disgusted, even—at Remus being his soulmate that he’d left without explanation, with barely even a goodbye. There was a pleasant thought. 
He turns so his back is against the door, sliding slowly down to sit on the floor. 
“Y’know,” James says, sitting next to him, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you needed a hug.”
There’s a moment of comfortable silence before Remus says, “James?”
“Yeah?” 
“I need a hug.” 
James gives the best hugs. Everyone says so. But until now, Remus has never been on the receiving end of a true James Potter hug—warm, strong, and friendly as hell. (“I want that on a t-shirt,” James says when Remus tells him so.)
But eventually, James has to go, too, and Remus heads back to the PT room. He passes Logan in the hall, looking like he’s been hit over the head with a two-by-four. Maybe it’s Finn’s doing; he had mentioned that one of them was oblivious. Logan, Remus knows, is the definition of oblivious. 
***
“And I think that’s all,” Coach Weasley says, glancing around, “Unless anyone else has something to say? Moody? Cap? Loops?” 
“Actually, yes,” says Remus after a moment. “Checkups! Not naming names but Kris lied about his rib acting up so now all of you get to be interrogated.” 
Sirius swallows. He’s not anxious to be alone with Remus; not after yesterday. There’s no way there aren’t going to be questions. 
Kasey goes first, Remus taking just under five minutes to deem him ‘good to go.’ Kris, surprisingly, is only kept for eight, despite the claim of his ribs acting up again. Finn takes the longest—fifteen minutes—and as soon as he’s out he grabs Logan and Leo by the wrists and marches them off somewhere. Sirius’s turn comes last, right after Pascal’s, who gives him a knowing look as he enters.
“Hi,” Remus says, first aid kit nowhere in sight. “Sit down.” 
“Where?” Sirius gets only a shrug in response. 
He hesitates a moment, then sits on the floor, picking at the sole of his sneaker. 
“How are you feeling?” Remus asks suddenly.
“Fine. Ankle’s not bothering me any more.”
“No, I mean how are you feeling?”
Scoffing, he starts to stand up. “I’m not doing this.”
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not.” 
“Sirius Black, sit your ass back down before I make you.” 
Sirius sits his ass back down. 
“Good. Now, how are you feeling?” 
“I’m… confused,” he says, trying to be honest without being specific. “And nervous. And I cried myself to sleep last night, which I haven’t done since I was like seventeen, so there’s that. But mostly I’m just really fucking mad.” 
“At me.” It isn’t a question. 
“No, not at you! At me! At the—” he gestures wildly. “—Universe, or whatever. Can I go now?” 
Remus doesn’t even acknowledge his request. “So you’re disappointed.”
“...Yeah.” 
“May I ask why?” 
“I’m pretty sure you fucking know why.” 
“Maybe I do. But I’d like you to explain it to me.” 
The stupid thing is that Sirius wants to talk about it. He really does. And Remus is the only person he can conceivably talk about it to. But he still chokes on his words when he says, anger burning his throat, “It was never supposed to be like this.” 
“What do you mean by that?”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” Sirius practically screams. “Stop trying to fucking— psychoalalyze me or something, for fuck’s sake. You fucking asked, and I—” He tears his fingers through his hair, feeling his chest start to constrict. “Just stop talking!” 
The echoes of his shouts fade out too quickly, and the only thing worse than the voices is the sound of his breathing getting faster and faster. Remus’s hand twitches, as though he wants to touch him but thinks better of it.
“It was always supposed to be someone different. Someone faceless; nameless. Someone I could run away from. I can’t fucking run away from you, Remus.
“I always thought I could lie. That I could—pretend, or something. Just keep hiding. It was supposed to be someone I could hide from, because I’ve spent my whole life fucking hiding and that’s all I know how to do. It was never supposed to be someone I could fall in love with.” 
There’s a choked noise from where Remus is sitting on the bench, but nothing else. Sirius refuses to look at him. 
“And I just—I just fucking hate this, because all I’ve been told is that hockey comes before my dreams. And that’s made sense until now because until now hockey was my dream, but now there’s you. Yeah.” 
Remus, to his credit, waits until Sirius’s breathing has calmed down and he’s furiously wiped the tears from his eyes to speak. “What do you need?” 
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I mean forget everything. Forget your family, forget the team, forget me—what do you need?  
“Right now? For the rest of my life? Because those are two very different things.” 
“Let’s start with now. Can I do anything for you? Can you do anything for yourself?” 
“I need a hot chocolate.” 
***
They wait until everyone else has gone, and then make their way outside to Sirius’s car. There’s only one other in the parking lot—a grey Toyota Remus thinks belongs to Nado, or maybe Kris. He’s not sure why he thinks it matters, because it doesn’t. 
Silence hangs around them the whole four blocks to the nearest Tim Horton’s. Inhale; exhale. Inhale; exhale. This doesn’t necessarily mean anything. 
That doesn’t stop Remus from hoping. 
He knows it’s wrong; of course he does. It’s Sirius’s choice, in the end, because Sirius is the one who will be most affected. His career, his life—all on the line if he decides to trust whatever plan the world has in store for them. It’s not like that for Remus. Not anymore. 
There’s a parking spot right outside the front door. Sirius pulls into it, but he doesn’t get out right away. He glances around, makes sure there’s no one immediately in sight, and then he looks down to where his hands now rest in in his lap. Slowly, he pulls up his right sleeve to expose, bit by bit, his soulmark. 
“I don’t know why I never guessed it could be you—Wolfy McWolf Wolf.” 
Remus feels his lips twitch upwards into something resembling a smile. “I could say the same, Dog Black.” 
When he puts his hand on the console, Sirius rests his on top of it. It’s not much. 
But it’s something. 
***
Sirius looks longingly at the Boston cream doughnuts. “Please. I haven’t had one in so long.” 
“Think again, Mr. I’m-on-a-diet-plan.” 
He’s not surprised. What was he thinking, having his PT as his soulmate? (Well, he wasn’t. He didn’t get to choose. But, he thinks to himself, the point still stands.) 
“I’ll have a medium hot chocolate, please, a plain toasted bagel,” Remus looks at him and sighs. “...And a Boston cream doughnut.” 
When the food is set down on the pickup counter, Remus snatches it before Sirius has a chance to. “Hey, this is my doughnut.” 
Sirius pouts. 
“You’re cute. Here.” He tosses him the brown paper bag, and Sirius removes his prize carefully. He‘s going to eat every piece of chocolate glazing if it kills him. 
Back out in the car—this is a conversation neither of them is willing to have in the public dining area—Remus chews on his bagel thoughtfully. Sirius tries and fails not to swear when his hot chocolate burns his tongue.
“Shit!” 
Remus glances over at him. Their eyes meet for a moment, then both look away. “So,” Sirius says after a while. “I think we need to talk.” 
“Yeah.” 
Silence, then—
“You go first,” they say at the same time, and laugh. Some of the tension is broken. 
Sirius reaches hesitantly to where Remus’s arm rests between the seats. He doesn’t need to voice his question—Remus sees it in his eyes; nods. 
Up close, he can see that there are a few differences between their marks. Nothing that could possibly mean they aren’t soulmates—just the discolouring on the dog’s tail; the angle of one of the sticks; the faded white gash that stretches from one side of Remus’s wrist to the other, separating the wolf’s head from its body. Sirius doesn’t quite know what he’s doing when he presses his lips to the scar. 
When he looks up, he sees that Remus is trying not to cry. And that’s when he makes his decision. 
“I want this,” he says, voice soft but sure. “All of it.”
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julie-thefatones · 4 years ago
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Ghost of You || Luke x Reader || Part 3
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A/N: Your best friends with Julie, since the stamp was removed from the boys they are able to be seen by lifers at choice and can touch lifers at choice, but are still ghosts. You and Luke grow closer and closer starting to go from friends to more than that and everyone starts to notice, it just takes a little longer for you two to figure it out.
Part 1 Part 2
@deanandthephantoms thank you for helping me with one line! Appreciate you! 🙌🏻💜
WordCount: 3,568
WARNINGS: 16+ years old to read this, me and my friends have discussed... its nothing super intense but still Mature themes. If this were a Netflix show the reasoning under the rating would say (Sexual content, rude behavior)
After the movie you could hardly focus on anything, walking home with Julie who was talking about something that Flynn did in gym class that you missed because you were off with Luke.... She probably wouldn't have noticed that you were in your own world of thoughts if it weren't for you tripping over every step you took *yeesh!* you thought to your self *Pull your self together! hes your friend, now stop it!* you continued to your self.... Julie's chuckle interrupted your thoughts and you turned to face her "So, you going to tell me whats really going on with you and Luke or are you gonna continue with the 'we're just friends' bull crap?" Julie said to you with a smile hoping to get something out of you, you sigh and roll your eyes "Seriously Jules, its nothing, we just like hanging out together" you said not really making eye contact with her, you could tell she wasn't gonna give up "Y/N! people who hold hands that often and sneak off together with out telling people.... usually aren't 'just friend'" she said the last part using air quotations around Just Friends, which you understood why she thought that.... You and Luke did seem really close... but that was the thing, you guys were just really close, he was like your second best friend at this point... you continued to look off, softly crossing your arms in insecurity still confused about your own feelings "Well, I guess we are the small percentage that is just friends.... so sorry to disappoint if you were looking for a more juicy story Jules" you said in a tone that wasn't very believable and Julie could see right through it "Well I think you should talk to him about how he is feeling... thats all" She said in her caring Julie tone that you grew to know over the many years of friendship, she only used this tone when she really cared and wanted you know it, Julie did a caring sigh and put her hand on your back "Listen, Y/N, if your avoiding having feelings for him just because he is my bandmate.... then this is me giving you permission or whatever to go ahead and go for it... because I don't care and quite frankly think you two would be cute" She said still in the same caring voice, but with a slight chuckle at the end, and then she removed her hand "But please be careful, I know he got a second chance at kind of being a live I guess you can say..... But you don't know how long that is gonna last ... so just be cautious" Julie said but this time more serious, you could tell she thought about this many times, concerning all the boys .... they slowly became a second family to her and you know how hard it would be when they eventually do have to cross over. You didnt want to even think about that.... You never wanted to think of a life with out them either.... with out .... Luke.... you shook your head to get the thought out of your head. You turned to Julie and gave her a hug resting your chin on her shoulder, you could feel a small tear come to your eye just from your previous thought "Thank you Jules" you said with sincerity, and then pulling away, Julie smiled as you guys continued walking "Of course! youre my best friend!" she exclaimed and then her face started to turn cocky "And I knew you liked him .... that just proved it" she said in a confident teasing tone, you laughed "WHAT? How?" you said with a gasp, she rolled her eyes "Oh please!! your literally crying at the thought of him crossing over" she said still in that cocky tone, you weren't award that your tear was that obvious, you quickly wiped your eyes and turned back to her "Excuse me! that doesn't mean I like him! it just means that I care for him because he is my friend" you said again with a tone that was not believable in the slightest, Julie laughed "Uh huh!" She looked to the side down the street we were in front of, which was Julies street "Well as you know this is where I leave you" she said with a sigh, and then she smiled "Text me, or FaceTime me when you are ready to admit that you are totally in love with Luke!" She yelled as she ran down the street, and you laughed because she tripped over
a rock on the way "Yeah! well then I wouldn't worry about checking your phone because thats not gonna happen!!" you yelled back to her "Liar!" she yelled as she approached her house, you rolled your eyes and continued walking.
When you finally got home you turned on your lights to find Luke, just casually sitting on your bed, leaned back, Legs crossed, and reading your Diary, You slammed the door to get his attention, He looked up slowly in the corner of his eyes, his eyes widening when he saw it was you and then the biggest half smile because he was chewing on a guitar pick "Y/N!!! Finally your here!" he said so excited he sat up and brought his legs into a criss cross apple sauce position, You stomped over to the bed and snatched your Diary out of his hands "Luke!" you exclaimed, his face fell, his eyes getting big but in a sad way this time, like he was a puppy dog, you sighed "You cant just read my diary..." you said as you sat on the bed next to him "I write personal, private stuff in there.... hence diary sir" you said pointing at the diary In your hands, he pouted his lip, but now you knew he was teasing because the pout had a hint of a smile "Im so sorry Y/N.... can you ever forgive me" he said in the fakest baby voice you have ever heard, as he leaned closer to you, you laughed and rolled your eyes putting your whole hand on his face pushing him away in a teasing manner, him laughing and sitting back up, nudging closer to you in the process "Anyways, I didnt read anything Juicy...." he said with a cocky smile, you knew something was up "What did you read Luke?" you asked with a huff scared to find out what he now knows, he pursed his lips and grew a mischievous face "welllllll..... I mean do I really have that great of abs ... like I haven't worked out in 25 years and I ate a whole pizza yesterday " he said looking down at his stomach, slightly lifting his shirt, then looking up at you with a smile, you gasp and then hit him in the shoulder "OUCH! make that 3 times that you have hit me today... really starting to hurt my feelings" Luke said laughing, you laughed "You wanna make it 4 because we can" you said with a cocky tone, he smiled with tight lips not showing his teeth showing he was thinking about it "Nah... unless you had a different form of hitting in mind?" he said with a cocky tone and wink, your eyes got big and your mouth fell open "LUKE!" you said hitting him once again "MAKE THAT 4!" he exclaimed, grabbing his arm and laughing "well thats what you get for being gross" you said tilting your head to the side, now his mouth fell wide open in offense "Oh so I have in your words 'the best abs I have ever seen, I just wanna like ice cream off them' but it would be gross to have sex with me......" he said still in a cocky, but jokingly offended tone, then looked off as if to think about it "Alright then" he said nodding his head slightly, then moving closer to you and leaning back into the same position he was in when you came home, You looked to the side and sighed "Yeah it would be gross, especially since you read that" you said in a sassy tone, he squinted his eyes and got close to your face scrunching up his nose as he said these next words "oh yeah? how gross would it be?" he said in cocky tone that brought out his slight accent that was almost a whisper, You could feel your hear race, that feeling in your stomach was back, but you got closer to his face, now you two were only centimeters apart "Oh it would be the grossest thing in the world Patterson" you said almost in a whisper, he tightened his lips together still squinting his eyes and then nodding, moving away from your face so fast and immediately going back to his teasing tone and huge smile "Alright! Good thing, we're just friends right" He said in teasing tone, your eyes got wide as you didnt know how to process what just happened, you had to catch your breath for a minute, were you and Luke really just discussing sex? you looked at him and smiled "Yeah! good thing" you said slightly out of breath, he smiled back at you and then he he got excited standing up so fast with the biggest smile on his face "I ALMSOT FORGOT!" he said almost as excited as this morning by the lake "I have something for you" he said going over to the corner of the room where he hid
whatever
it was, you were so distracted by everything you totally forgot he had gotten you something, he turned around, now holding whatever it was behind his back, his face just read excited puppy on it "Okay!! hold out your hands" he said so excited he could hardly hold behind his back anymore, You put out your hands and in an instant he put the thing in your hands.. it was the panda from the movie theater, the one with the heart that said I adore you on it, you didnt even know how to react, you loved it, you looked at Luke and then back at the panda and then brought it into your chest so tight squeezing it "YOU GOT ME THE PANDA!" you exclaimed so excited your self, Luke hopped forward with the biggest smile sitting back down next you on the bed "Yeah!!! I GOT YOU THE PANDA!" he exclaimed back still with the biggest smile, with out thinking you threw your arms around Luke giving him a big hug squeezing him so tight to you, he squeezed you back, you both laid down on the bed together still in the hug "Im glad you like it" he whispered in your ear while playing with your hair, you nuzzled your face into his chest "I don't like it..... I love it" you said cuddling in closer to him, holding him tight so he wouldn't leave "Hey Luke.... " you said softly, him still playing with your hair "Yeah Y/N?" he replied in a soft tone, you squeezed him closer "Don't leave tonight okay?" you said now half awake, he smiled "I won't..." He replied now braiding a piece of your hair, you felt him slide down a little bit, putting your hair down, now wrapping his arms completely around you as you drifted off to sleep feeling the most comfortable and safest you have ever felt. *Just friends* you thought to your self right before sleep came.
The next morning you woke up, Lukes arms still wrapped around you, he got to choose when he wanted to sleep since he was a ghost, when you looked up at his face he was in a deep sleep, you could see a slight smile on his face, you squeezed him in closer nuzzling your face into his chest to you wake your self up taking his scent which was something like abrocrombie and fitch and nature, you loved it.... he shifted a little bit as you nuzzled, you looked up and he was now looking at you with a soft smile "Goodmorning Beautiful" he said in his raspy morning voice, you smiled "Goodmorning sir" you said still waking up, he continued smiling "You have a cute morning voice" he said, still with his own morning voice, you blush, you didnt even realize you had morning voice "Thank you" you said shyly smiling into his chest, you look up at him "Thank you for staying last night" you said with a sincere soft voice, he looked down into your eyes softly "Of course..... " he said with a soft sincere tone, then he scrunched his eyebrows together, now thinking "Was there a reason you wanted me to stay?" he asked intrigued by the answer, you put your face back into his chest "I don't know.... I just wanted you to stay..." you said softly, you looked back up to see his response, his smile was back, he looked into your eyes and then he leaned down and kissed you, pressing his lips softly against yours, you kissed him back, and as quickly as it happen you both pulled away, his eyes wide and your eyes wide, you sunk back down with your face in his chest, you felt him tense up a little bit, not because he was uncomfortable but because he felt confused "was.... was that okay?" he asked softly, you had to think about it for a second, then you squeezed him closer "Yeah that was okay... it was just a kiss" you said shyly but confident.... you felt him relax again, and just like last night started playing with your hair, you sighed "We're friends... we were just caught in the moment" you said still sighing hoping that he wouldn't be freaked out, you felt him stop playing with your hair for a moment as if he had to think about something, and then he continued "Yeah.... friends" he said almost in a defeated tone.
It was really hard to get out of bed and go to school, it was so comforting laying in bed with Luke.... you guys laid there for about 30 minutes before you had to get up and get ready. Luke seemed down the rest of the time you were together before you left, he just didnt seem like himself.
You saw Julie and Flynn talking down the hallway, Carrie was with them since they made up after The bands performance at The Orpheum, it was nice having Carrie back your group.... but you just weren't up for talking to anyone, you tried to be low-key so they wouldn't notice but it didnt work "Y/N!" they all yelled in unison, you turned putting a fake smile on your face in hopes they would read your real emotions "Hey! guys!" you said with as much enthusiasm as you could manage, they didnt buy it "Whats wrong?" Carrie asked crossing her arms, demanding the truth, you sighed *dang it* you thought to your self "Nothing, just confused" you said with a dejected tone, Julie sighed and faced Carrie and Flynn "Our girl here has conflicting feelings about Luke" Julie said in an informative tone, Carrie nodded her head in agreement "I could have told you guys that" she said confidently, Flynn smiled super big "I knew it!! I SO knew it!" she said all hyped up, your eyes widening "What do you mean you all knew it! there's nothing to know!" You exclaimed and then looked to the side confused "I think...." you said in a softer but confused tone, all three girls rolled their eyes in unison "You do! we have known you since we were 5, we know!" Carrie said still confident, you looked at them and rolled your eyes in exasperation "Ugh! you guys are impossible" you exclaimed and started walking to class, as they all laughed at your response following after you "Oh she's in love" Flynn laughed.
After a long day at school, and then your job at your local Frozen Yogurt hang out, you were exhausted, you couldn't stop thinking about last night though, your emotions were .... all over the place. You sighed in relief at the fact that you avoided the topic with your friends though.... you didnt know how to explain it to your self let alone them.
You walked into your room, where you found a restless Luke that was pacing back and forth biting his thumb, you closed the door and he stopped in his tracks and looked at you with a passion in his eyes that was slightly confused, he dropped his hand from his mouth "Screw it!" he exclaimed and before you knew it he swiftly removed his white sleeveless tee and was pushing you against your door crushing his lips against yours, your lips moving so fluidly together, he tugged at the bottom of your work shirt as if to ask if it was okay to remove it, with out thinking you lifted your arms above your head only breaking the kiss for a second so he could swiftly remove your top, the cold air hitting your skin causing you to realize how on fire you were for him, not wanting that feeling to end you tangle your hands in his hair slightly tugging it as your kiss grew more passionate, you felt him pick you up, you wrapped your legs around his waist in response, he swiftly took you both over to your bed dropping you on to it, him gently falling over you, immediately kissing your neck tracing it down to your collar bone, you look up biting your lip, what was going on you wondered to your self, you didnt know but you liked it, you liked it alot... then you both stopped at the sudden gush of air you both felt, you both look up and see Alex and Reggie standing at the other side of your room, both with tight lipped smiles and bright cheeks, wide eyes with fists in front of their mouths "OH! JUST FRIENDS MY --" Alex started to exclaim with a laugh until Luke interupted him "SHUT UP ALEX!" Luke exclaimed with a sigh as he fell on his back right next to you on the bed, putting his hand over his eyes in frustration, Reggie laughing "Ehm Y/N, would you like your top back?" Reggie said with a smile picking up your shirt and handing it to you, you smile shyly and nod your head taking the shirt and sitting up to put it on "Thanks reg" you said, a little embarrassed "well, we just came to see if you two wanted to come get food with all of us.... but please... finish!" Alex said in a cocky tone, laughing a little bit, Reggie sighed playfully, hitting Alex's arm "Be cool man! That was mean...... anyway I don't think he would be able to finish now..... two of your friends popping up and laughing causes what I like to call a De-rection" he said smiling laughing at himself and widening his in approval at his joke, in which Alex looked at him like he was disappointed and shook his head no, then looked back at us "Well you kids compose yourself, and we will meet you both there...... alright...." Alex said still slightly laughing and then they both poofed out just as Reggie was defending himself to Alex concerning his joke. Once they were gone you laid back down on the bed next to Luke, he removed his hands from his eyes to look at you, you both shyly smiled "soooooo what was that?" you asked slightly teasing him but was genuinely curious, he sighed and then looked up at the ceiling "That was me acting on the thoughts I have been having all day since last night, and since this morning when you said ..... we were just friends" he said the last part like he had a bad taste in his mouth, then he looked back at you "I guess I didnt like that" he said softly, smiling shyly, you nudged closer to him "I don't know if I liked that I said that either....." you admitted, he looked at you, both of you just staring into each others eyes "What do we do now?" he asked softly.... You twiddled your thumbs "I guess we could pretend nothing happened and continue as we were....." you said softly, not knowing if thats really what you wanted, he sighed "Yeah.... I guess thats probably for the best" he said nudging a little closer to you, now with your arms lightly brushing against each other, then Luke sighed, and then smiled a shy cocky smile "But ya know if ya ever actually wanna lick ice cream off my abs! we could do that" he said laughing, and nudge his shoulder laughing and he laughed in response "BUT! I get to so the same to you! its only fair" he said in a teasing tone,
you
laughed "True that is only fair" you said in a teasing tone to match his, you both now just looking into each others eyes, He bites his lip and brushes your hair behind your ear, "Just friends?" he whispers.
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bright-molina · 4 years ago
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together
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@jatp-week​ day two fanfiction prompt: write an au
synopsis: Your sister has been hiding more than a few things from you recently, it’s just not at all what you expect.
characters: Molina!reader (older sister, she/her pronouns), Julie, Flynn, the boys are all briefly mentioned
warnings: follows the themes of the show so there are mentions of death/dying but other than that none
a/n: I’ve been debating posting fics for Julie and the Phantoms for a week or two now and I figured I’d jump in head first for JATP week! Huge shoutout to @meangirlsx​ cause I know its been like a week since we talked about it but you’re a huge part of the reason I’m posting this! 
Lowkey tempted to do a part two cause there’s so much I wanna explore with this reader so thoughts and feedback are very much appreciated <3
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A twisting feeling you absolutely despised filled the pit of your stomach as you marched straight through the halls of your sister’s high school. It started with an offer to pick her up and go get ice cream together as you usually did when one of you was feeling down. The fact that she’d been removed from the music program was definitely deserving of pick-me-up ice cream.
Can’t. Busy. Later? She’d responded within seconds and that in itself was worthy of concern. So you’d promptly left the last half of your own school day to go and see what was wrong. It was when you were pulling up to the school that Flynn had texted you, Jules is performing???? Text you updates…
“Julie,” Your voice caught her attention almost immediately, tearing her attention away from the singing coming from the front of the gym.
“Y/N?” She frowned and met you halfway, letting you wrap her in a hug. You being there was the last thing she expected. Her first instinct had been to want to tell you all about the boys. She hadn’t been able to though, not without worrying you. Not without figuring out an explanation first.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” You could see the way her eyes widened and you let out a soft sigh. “Dad texted me about this morning and Flynn is the one who told me you were gonna give performing a shot again.”
“Oh that,” Julie relaxed upon realizing you weren’t talking about the same thing but she didn’t miss the hurt look in your eyes. The way you were pulling at the rainbow colored bracelet she’d made you years ago. The way that you didn’t look like your usual confident self and it was all her doing. “I was going to but -”
And then with the absolute worst timing possible the three ghosts she purposely hadn’t told you about flashed into the gym right behind you. Her eyes narrowed at them, not noticing the fact that you thought she was both speaking to and glaring at you. “What are you doing here?”
Julie had no clue who to focus on. A look of hurt flashed across your face, she noticed it right away, but then the boys started talking too and all she could do was look back and forth between all of you.
“Look if you don’t want to tell me that’s fine -”
“Who’s this?”
“I’m here now, though -”
“Wait the family picture!”
“So if you want I’ll stay to watch you sing.”
“That picture really doesn’t do her justice.”
“Don’t even think about it!” Julie’s glare turned impossibly harsher as she focused her glare on the boys behind you.
You, meanwhile, remained oblivious to the fact that she wasn’t talking to you. Admittedly you struggled to force the slightest smile onto your face. It was hard not to let it hurt you. The past few months had been complicated to say the least and now it seemed she was moving on without you. “Okay then, I guess. I’ll see you later.”
“No, not you!” Julie reached to stop you, pulling you so you were now on the opposite side of her as Luke, Reggie, and Alex. She ignored the rest of their comments and instead held one of your hands in hers. “I was just um, a little distracted. I’m really glad you’re here.”
You couldn’t help but relax then and give a more genuine smile, “Well I’m glad I’m here too.”
“Still up for ice cream after school?” Julie glanced behind you as the music ended but didn’t move from her place yet, still ignoring the boys telling her it was time from behind her. “I promise I’m not doing anything anymore.”
“Sure,” You laughed then nodded towards the stage at the front of the gym. “Now go blow everyone away.”
It was then that she nodded and left after giving you one more hug. Meanwhile you moved towards Flynn who immediately grinned and locked one of her arms through yours. “Thanks for telling me.”
“Of course,” She smiled before nodding encouragingly at Julie who had started playing a few notes while you gave her a thumbs up. “Hey, have you thought about moving home? I think Julie could really use you back right now.”
“Believe me I want to,” You gave a sigh and thought briefly of your own home. 
After your mom had died your Tia Victoria wanted all of you to move on quickly. Literally. You had noticed right away how much just the idea of leaving the house bothered Julie, Carlos, and your dad. Eventually you’d been the one to give in and accept moving in with her for the pure reason of giving them a break from her constant lecturing.
She meant well, you knew that. And really you did have fun with her and it was nice to have the connection between you grow stronger. But there were also days where all you wanted to do was cry and be allowed to remember. You missed being home more than anything.
“I just don’t know if tia would be too -”
You didn’t get to finish your thought. Before you knew what was happening a bright flash came from the front of the room and the music that had been coming from what you’d previously assumed was the gym speakers started coming from the stage.
Three boys now stood on the stage with Julie singing alongside her as they played. They knew every single word that was coming out of her mouth. Knew the song. Knew the notes. Knew everything.
You couldn’t help yourself. Slowly you walked towards the stage, taking small steps as you tried to figure out what was going on. As hard as you tried you couldn’t shake the feeling that you had seen these people before.
It wasn’t hard to notice the fact that somebody was staring, you could feel eyes on you before you saw them. When you finally looked at the person on the far side of the stage you found the source of the feeling. It was also then that you were positive you knew them, knew him. You just weren’t sure from where.
Then the twisting feeling returned and you felt more anxious than you had been before. Julie was happy. She was singing for the first time in months and all you could think about was the fact that it wasn’t you that had been able to get her there. On that stage she looked free and you were glad, you really were. But you still couldn’t help the voice in your head that kept telling you you’d done something wrong.
You were the first person Julie searched for after the song ended, momentarily ignoring the confused whispers echoing across the room. She found you near the back of the crowd, taking slow steps back towards the door. You knew her well, she knew that, but she could read you just as easily.
She could see the anxiety quickly building inside you as you tugged on the bracelets on your wrist again, identical to the ones she wore. Your movements were a little jittery and rushed as you held up your keys and nodded towards the door. I’ll be outside, she could see you tell her before rushing out of the gym.
*
“I’m sorry.”
Your words broke the silence that had fallen around you and Julie just an hour later. You’d been wrapped up in your own thoughts as you drove to the ice cream place you frequented then again as you drove to an empty field that was definitely worth the thirty minute trip.
Julie frowned, turning her head so she was looking at you instead of the clouds above her. “For what?”
“I promised you I’d be there.” You hadn’t looked away from the sky just yet. “I told you I’d listen when you needed me to. Support you no matter what it was you wanted to do. After mom died I promised we’d do all of this together and instead I left you alone.”
“Y/N -”
“And now you’re singing again, Julie, and god I’m so proud of you. And those guys, your band apparently -”
“They’re not -”
“I don’t know where they came from but they did what I couldn’t and actually helped you. I don’t know, I’m just sorry for leaving in the first place. I know how hard it must’ve been and I wish I could’ve -”
“Y/N!” It wasn’t until Julie shouted, sat up, and reached over to cover your mouth with her hand that you stopped talking. You stared at her for a moment, watching as she dropped her head and let out a heavy sigh. “They’re ghosts. They live in mom's studio.”
You sat up after her and she waited patiently as you processed what it was she was saying. Eventually you gave a single nod, “I don’t believe you. You sound like Carlos.”
“I swear!” Julie sat up straighter and slammed one hand down on the grass, leaning towards you a little. “And I can prove it.”
“How do you plan on doing that?” Before you knew it, Julie was pulling you up from the floor and in the direction of where you’d parked the car. “Jules, where are we going?”
She stopped and shot around to face you, a newfound smile on her face. “To introduce you to my ghost band. Now come on.”
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wren-ravenheart · 3 years ago
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I'll Keep Your Memory
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@witcher-rarepair-summer-bingo
Prompt: Childhood Memorabilia Relationships: Lambert/Jaskier Rating: T Content Warnings: Hints of child abuse, cursing, Summary: Modern Au Julian and Lambert have lived next door to each other as long as they can remember, and have been close friends for nearly as long. Lambert entrusts a box of his most prized possessions to his best friend, and spends more and more time with him and away from his own house. Before either can come to terms with what this means for them, tragedy strikes and both boys are left wondering if they'll ever see their friend again.
Cross-Posted to Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31149023
Most of this is under a cut as I went Completely off the Rails with this little prompt, and this is 6k words of chaos. <3
~~~~~~~
In a small town, on a quiet street, in the middle of nowhere Redania, there lived two families who seemed completely innocuous to anyone passing by. Each family lived in a squat little cookie-cutter house with dark brick walls, a comfy front porch, and a well-maintained lawn. Each family consisted of a husband, a wife, and their only son. And there is where the similarities end, for while in one house there is love and laughter, the other holds darker secrets that would never come to light.
Julian had lived next to Lambert’s house for as long as he could remember. Their dads worked together up until recently, and the two boys were never far from each other. He considered Lamb his very best friend in the whole wide world, with his bright hazel eyes, lop-sided grin, and floppy black hair. And now, finally, at the tender age of Ten, Lambert apparently also considered him his very best friend as well.
“Julek, you have to promise me to keep these safe at all costs, okay?” Lambert had a serious look on his face as he handed him a shoebox full of his most important things. Julien took the box with trembling hands as he nodded.
“Of course. But… but why are you giving me these? You never let your trading cards out of your sight..”
Lambert shuffled back and sat on Julian’s bed with a sigh. He kept his eye on the box as the other boy turned to nestle it into a corner of his closet carefully. “Well, you know how my dad doesn’t work with your dad anymore?”
“Mhmm.”
“Yeah, well he’s lookin around the house now for anything he can get his mitts on to sell. Some of those cards took me forever to find and I ain’t about to let him get anywhere near ‘em. So they’ll stay here with you…. Along with a few other bits.”
Julian popped his head up and looked over at Lambert in awe. “You mean…”
“Yeah. It’s in there. Don’t touch it.”
He shook his head so hard he wondered if he was gonna rattle something loose. “I promise. I’ll keep it all safe.”
Lambert cracked a small smile and patted the bed next to him in invitation. Julian hurried over and plopped down, pulling his legs up to cross in front of him. He nudged the other’s shoulder slightly in hopes of more of the story.
“Not much to tell, Jules. I just don’t… I don’t have a good feeling. He’s actin’ different and Momma is quieter lately. I haven’t heard ‘em fight, but then who knows why adults are the way they are.”
Julian nodded and leaned his head over on his best friend’s shoulder. Lambert ruffled his hair and stole a quick hug before shoving him over in the bed. Julian bounced off the mattress with a laugh.
“Enough sad crap! C’mon I wanna kick your ass in Mario kart.”
He was up and out the door before Julian could roll himself off the bed. “No fair! Cheater!” And raced after him with a shout.
They didn’t talk about the box again, and Lamb only asked to see it maybe four times over the next two years. Things got progressively worse at his house as his father failed to keep a steady job and took to drinking. He overheard his own parents whispering from time to time over the state of “that poor boy’s mother” when they thought he couldn’t hear them.
He kept a watchful eye over his best friend anytime the two were playing together, trying to see whatever his parents thought they saw. He only saw Lambert acting sillier and sillier as time crept on, and spending more and more time over with him. The night of his twelfth birthday, Lambert even spent the night. It was a turning point for him.
They woke the next morning in an octopus tangle of limbs, and he felt his little pre-teen heart stutter as he suddenly noticed the way Lambert’s hair brushed his forehead, and the way the lingering chub to his cheeks only enhanced his smile. Clearly, whatever his parents thought they were seeing was wrong. His best friend was fine! More than fine, really...
He took two entire painful weeks to come to terms with the sudden crush he had developed, and another month to think of a reasonable way to admit said crush to his very best friend without terrifying him away forever. He wrote five letters to Lambert in the hopes of figuring out what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. All five ended in crumbled heaps at the bottom of his trash can.
Finally, he could take it no longer and decided to just go pay him a visit and confess it all. Patience had never been his strong suit, and what self-respecting 7th Grader kept such important information to themselves anyways?
With a quick glance at Lambert’s special box for courage, Julian marched out his front door on his mission…
Only to be brought up short at the sight of four police cars, two fire trucks, and an ambulance blocking his street and covering the lawn of his best friend’s house in various uniformed people. The bouncing red and blue lights caused him to squint as he tried to make out what was going on. Before he could even take a step forwards to investigate, his father’s hand came down on his shoulder, holding him fast. He glanced up to see his father with a grim look on his face and  his mother a step behind, tears already shining in her eyes. Julian swallowed around a sudden lump in his throat as he gazed back towards Lambert’s house. His eyes burned as he tried not to cry. This wasn’t supposed to happen…and how was he ever going to confess now? Was this what his parents had been whispering about for months?
“Dad, what’s… what’s going on? Is Lambert okay?”
“I don’t know, son. I don’t know.” His voice was quiet and not at all reassuring, even as he tugged Julian into a loose hug.
His father was able to coax him back indoors with the promise of ice cream and Star Wars, but the flashing of the lights stayed with him. They would play over and over again whenever he closed his eyes. And they would haunt him again when he finally made it back outside in the late afternoon of the next day and all that greeted him was an empty street and police tape barricading off the house of his favorite person. And he knew he’d never get those lights out of his nightmares when the scene outside didn’t change, and his best friend never came back.
~13 years later~
Kaedwen was terribly muggy and sticky in late summer. The humidity made the air outside feel like it was nearly chewable, and Jaskier had to stop from time to time to wipe the sweat from his forehead as he hunted for the row his new flat was on.
Jaskier, formerly known as Julian, was enrolled in the Musical Theory graduate program at the University of Daevon, freshly turned 25, and was absolutely turned around in what he hoped was his neighborhood. He pulled a suitcase behind him and had a duffel bag hanging from his other shoulder, and looked to all the world at large to be a completely lost tourist. Four people had passed him and given him the stink eye as they went.
He took another glance at the paper his lodging information was on again and sighed heavily. This was not shaping up to be his day, or even his week.
“Lost, little puppy?”
Jaskier turned his head so fast he thought he heard something in his neck pop, bringing himself at eye level with a very tall and broad man with hair that looked like a snowdrift. He couldn’t help it, he gawked and wasn’t even subtle about it.
The man grinned at him, apparently well aware of the effect he had on strangers, and strode forward to take the paper from Jaskier’s hand without even asking. Jaskier spluttered a bit, straightening to bring himself to his full 6 foot height as the man frowned and hummed at the paper. He puffed his chest, brought up his hand, and prepared to begin a proper lecture on the rudeness of this strange man.
“Now see here - “
“You missed your flat. It’s six houses back on the left. The numbers can be a little weird around here, but if you double back you shouldn’t miss it.” The stranger pointed as he spoke, singling out the building in question as he handed back the paper. Jaskier took it with a squeaked out ‘Thank you’, completely deflating in equal parts confusion, gratitude, and little bit of attraction to this very headstrong person.
The stranger simply grinned and nodded to him. “Welcome to Daevon. You’ll love the food.” And with that odd non-sequitur, he strode away, leaving a mildly dazed Jaskier behind.
As he lifted the paper again to double check the address, he noticed the man had also managed to tuck the small menu of a local restaurant as he’d handed it over. The Wolf Den: Kaedweni Cuisine with a Redanian Twist . Huh. What were the odds of that? He missed the food around Novigrad… maybe this was something he should try out. He tucked the menu safely away in his duffel pocket and made his way into his new home.
~
Lambert carefully shifted the skillet he was using onto the burner and wiped his hands off as his brother strode into the kitchen with a grin on his face that meant he was up to something. He eyed him warily as Geralt dumped his latest grocery haul onto an empty prep table.
“What’re you smiling at?”
“It’s a lovely day.”
“Bullshit. My sweat is sweating. You look up to something…”
Geralt shrugged and began sorting through his haul. “Saw a cute guy today. University chap. Totally lost looking like a sad puppy. Slipped him a menu.”
Lambert let out a loud bark of laughter. “Ohhoh! You’re hopin he comes sniffin around here and you get to ooze your charm at him.”
Another shrug from his brother. “Maybe it’s just nice having more customers..”
“Mhmm. Customers. Right. Maybe I’ll sneak out to him first.” He turned to wiggle his eyebrows at Geralt and make a mildly crude gesture with his left hand. His brother just rolled his eyes and proceeded to ignore him. With a shrug of his own, Lambert went back to work.
He’d been adopted by this family shortly before he turned 13 and they had literally saved his life. He wasn’t sure of where he would be if he hadn’t been taken in by his Foster father. Vesemir had already had Eskel and Geralt, both six and five years older than him respectively, and this restaurant near the University district. He’d been taught to cook, had an excellent head for the numbers side of the business, and had been able to incorporate some of his favorite dishes from his early childhood into the menu. Any other memories of his time in Redania he swiftly shoved down as far as he could. Was it healthy? Maybe not. But the less he thought of it, the less it hurt. And eating away his feelings was honestly his favorite thing.
A phone ringing about fifteen minutes later kicked him right out of his spiralling thoughts as he watched Eskel reach out and snag the receiver.
“Wolf Den, what can I get ya?”
Eskel mumbled, explained, and scratched out a delivery order before pushing it towards Lambert.
He picked it up and looked it over. Jaskier P. Weird name. With a shrug he tacked the order up next to his current and threw a thumbs up at Eskel. Lunch rush time.
~
Jaskier sat cross legged on his couch, gesturing at his friend Essi with a fork and talking around a mouth full of food. Three take out boxes sat open on his coffee table, all from The Wolf Den.
“I’m tellin’ you, Ess. Not only is this the best food within delivery distance of this place, but they’re staffed entirely by greek gods pretending to be men. One of them is clearly a mountain god, built like an entire apartment building with what must be the softest head of brown hair I have ever seen. One clearly lords over the snowy plains, white hair but he can’t be that much older than me and also looks like he could break me in two and I’d thank him.” Essie snorted and he waved the fork menacingly. “You mock, but I’m serious. And I also met what I think must be the owner, because he’s clearly an older gentleman, but yet again! Built like a tank and aging gracefully. I have yet to meet their other cook, but I will if it’s the last thing that I do! I want to marry this place.”
“That’s illegal in all territories, Jask. We aren’t that progressive yet.” The tremor in her voice as she tried not to laugh gave her away.
“Again with the mocking!”
“Well, I could hardly call myself your best friend if I didn’t put you in your place on occasion. Now am I going to help you unpack or are you going to blow all your time and grad money on more food?”
Jaskier huffed and shoved one more bite into his mouth before getting up and stomping off into his bedroom. Essi followed shortly trying to suppress her giggles. The kitchen was still a disaster of boxes, hence the take out, and the bedroom as well. All he had managed to get properly set out was his living room and working spaces, clearly the most important.
Three squat boxes sat at the end of the bed and the closet doors were propped open. Essi sat herself down on the corner of the bed and cracked open the box closest to her. She pulled out an impressive length of soft rope and raised an eyebrow at Jaskier.
He darted over and snatched the box away from her with a glare. “It says Private on the box, Ess! Open the other one!” He grumbled as he stomped away to shove the box wholesale into the closet to be promptly forgotten about. Essi just grinned at him in a way that made him sure she had done that on purpose.
“You’re a menace.”
With a raucous laugh, she settled back into the other box.
Two hours, and a bottle of wine, later and all that was left was a few items tucked away in the bottom of the last box. There were clothes hanging in his closet, proper bedsheets on his bed, and several photo frames on his walls. Essi pulled a very battered, barely holding together with duct tape, shoebox out and squinted at it.
“What in the name of 90s nostalgia is this monstrosity?”
Jaskier turned to see what she had and his face went through several rapid emotions before settling on the best poker face he could muster. He stepped forward and took the box gingerly from her, trying his best to ensure his voice came out steady.
“An old friend gave it to me for safe-keeping.” The words came out steady and he gave himself a mental high-five as he walked into the closet and set it carefully on a high shelf. As gently as he could, he shifted it back until it hit the wall and was safely tucked out of sight. Despite the ease with which he said it, Essi caught the emotion there. She stood up and crossed over to wrap her arms around his middle. He tried not to get choked up as he patted her arm in quiet thanks.
“It’s Lambert’s, isn’t it?”
“I can’t believe you remember that.”
“Jask, you were drunk off your gourd, sobbing into my lap… how could I forget?” She punctuated her last sentence with a soft headbutt between his shoulder blades. “You haven’t spoken of him since, but you were close.”
“Closest I have ever been to anyone besides you and my parents.” He reached back and scratched at her head until she let go and he was free to wander back over and flop on the bed. She followed and sat down beside him.
“I didn’t mean to drag down the mood.” Essi hummed while flipping his wisps of hair out of his face. “How about we go over to this little food joint you love so much for lunch tomorrow, in person, so you can shamelessly flirt in a more open fashion than by simply filling your bin with endless takeout boxes.“
That got a smile and a wink out of him. “You won’t regret this. The workers are nearly as delicious as the food.”
~
True to her word, Essi followed along behind Jaskier as they walked into the rather unassuming building that housed the “World Famous”, Jaskier’s words, Wolf Den. It was warm and cozy inside and much to her surprise and happiness was indeed entirely staffed with the most lovely specimens of the male variety.
A tall, handsome man with curling blonde hair and an interesting scar through his eyebrow was perched near the front and greeted them. He was scribbling away in a binder and motioned out towards the tables. “It’s open seating, so find a comfy spot and we will be by shortly for your drink orders.”
They found a corner table and settled in. There were a few other people scattered around, but it really seemed like a mellow afternoon. Essi settled in with her menu while Jaskier propped his chin in his hand and took in the surroundings. The greeter was talking briefly to a very tall and pale-haired woman with tattoos, piercings and a hip apron singling her out as likely their waitress. Sure enough, she sauntered over and smiled down at them. “Hey, welcome to the Wolf Den. What can I get you to start or drink?”
Jaskier grinned and rattled off his order and piped up on Essi’s behalf as well while she made googly eyes at the waitress and forgot how to use the common tongue. With a knowing smile, and a wink to Essi, the waitress sashayed away towards the kitchen.
“We’re coming here every day.”
Jaskier burst out laughing and put a hand to his belly as he chortled. Essi just glared at him, which only made the laughing worse, and by the time the waitress was back with their drinks he had dissolved into a teary-eyed hiccuping mess.
“You okay there, pal?” She asked sincerely and held out a handful of napkins to him. He took them gratefully and nodded.
“Yes.. yes.. I’m fine. Ahem. Just fine, thank you.” He managed to get out while smacking his chest to clear the last of his giggles and hiccups. With a final throat clear, he picked up the menu and tried his best to successfully order their lunch.
~
“What in the devil’s name was that noise?” Lambert tried to peer around Ciri as she loitered in front of the kitchen door holding an order ticket.
“Guy at table eight has a funny friend apparently. She nearly killed him with some kind of joke. I think it had to do with my ass.” She grinned as she said this, cocking her weight onto one hip and shaking the ticket back in her uncle’s face.
Lambert grabbed the ticket and bared his teeth, trying again to get around her. “If someone is harassing you, that ain’t funny! Let me at ‘em. I’ll show ‘em manners. Fuck their food. “
Ciri grabbed him by the shoulders and stood her ground. “Hey! Stop it! I was having a bit of a laugh myself. They were perfectly fine, I just thought the girl was gonna swallow her own tongue when I took their drink order. No harassment. Besides, she was kinda cute.” She ended with a pat to Lambert’s cheek and a smug smile. “Now make them lunch, or I’ll do it for you and you know how that will end.”
Lambert winced as he went back over to his stove. “With the freakin’ police department shuttin’ us down for health code violations and poisoning the customers, that’s how… Fine. Fine! But you just wait until you aren’t watchin’ me. I’ll show them not to ogle my niece.”
“Of course you will, you big softie.” She winked and swanned back out the door to the front of the house.
With a series of curses and grumbles, he sets to work. He was proud of his food. Maybe he’ll just serve it himself. See how that goes. Have a little word with the fairly odd couple out there. Yeah. He could do that just fine.
~
One moment, Jaskier is engaged in a spirited debate over the authenticity of a recent submission to the department by one Valdo Marx, the next he is all but forgetting to breathe as the last of the great Wolf Den Men saunters his way out of the kitchen and directly towards their table with their order. He’s tall, but whereas Geralt is Ethereal and Eskel is an entire Mountain, this man is more like the physical embodiment of a warm hug. He has dark black hair slicked back from his head, showing off what must be an early onset widows peak, and looks both muscular and comfy from every angle. His eyes are a warm amber, but a mildly menacing look across his face is pulling at a long scar across the left side of his face giving him just that hint of danger Jaskier is always such a sucker for.
He realizes he hasn’t closed his mouth yet. Something about this man is sucking away his entire ability to breathe correctly.
The man stops in front of their table and carefully sets out their plates. “Here ya go. I assume you’re in from the university, a nice couple like you. I hope my niece saw to you when you got here. She’s 19, the sweetheart, and the pride of this place. Family run. I’m sure you understand.” He gestured back towards the front door, where the waitress from earlier was talking with another pair of customers. There was something in his voice that was both fond, and mildly intimidating. Like he was aware of Essi’s eyes lingering earlier. There was something else in the accent that kicked Jaskier’s heart rate up and made him stare even harder.
He made a mildly choked noise as he finally closed his mouth and attempted speech again. It wasn’t very well done.
The man narrowed his eyes at him and the intensity of that gaze, more hazel now that he stares longer, once again stops all the words he might have been trying to say.
Geralt picked that fun and awkward moment to stroll into the building, look over, and promptly yell “Hey, Jaskier!”
The tense atmosphere screeched to a halt.
“What the hell, Geralt? This is Take Out Boy?”
Jaskier spluttered. “T-Take out boy?? What?”
Geralt just grinned and nodded. “You call at least once a week. We draw straws on who gets to deliver to you. You’re just so cute when you open the door and get flustered. Lamby here is salty he hadn’t met you yet. But he’s too good a cook to stick on delivery duty. I’m glad you came in for once.”
Jaskier tried to keep up with the font of words coming out of Geralt, but his brain had latched on to “Lamby” and refused to let it go. He spluttered some more, hoping a word or two had come out in there that might get one of these fine gentlemen to help explain what was going on.
“Aw come on, now. Don’t call me that in front of our best regular.”
“Why are you out here anyways, Lambert, I thought Ciri was working today.”
Jaskier’s brain fizzled out entirely. “Lamby… Lambert?” He muttered, mostly to himself, but also to the room at large.
“Well, yeah, she is. But she mentioned something about this table makin’ eyes at her and so I came over here to deliver their food and look menacing, I couldn’t help it. You know how I get.”
Geralt raised an eyebrow at that and looked more closely at the tables occupants. Jaskier looked like he was having three existential crises at the same time and his female friend was as red as red could be.  “Ah. My apologies. Didn’t mean to be making a scene out here. Lamb, let’s talk in the back, okay?” His voice held it’s own hint of steel that didn’t bode well for someone.
But as Lambert nodded and turned to move, Jaskier finally got his brain functionality back enough to whip out his hand and grab hold of the closes part of Lambert he could… his apron. The other man halted suddenly and frowned down at the hand on his clothes.
“Lambert?”
He looked over at Jaskier and noticed how his eyes looked like the ocean, wide and blown out, and his entire face looked like he was a mix of happy and terrified and borderline about to pass out.
“Yeah?”
“From Redania?
He went still, and dropped all emotions from his face.
“Who wants to know?”
“Julian Pankratz.”
Now it was Lambert’s turn to suck in a breath and then promptly forget how to breathe again. He opened his mouth and all that came out was a bit of a choked off noise before he was ripping away from Jaskier’s hold and sprinting back into the kitchen. Jaskier was left with his hand still out and the beginnings of tears forming in his eyes.
Geralt looked back and forth between Jaskier and the still swinging kitchen door a couple of times before landing back on the other man and putting his hands on his hips. “What the hell was that?”
Jaskier tried to clear his throat and speak, but all that came out was a wounded groan. Essi reached over and covered his hands with her own.
“Jaskier is from Redania as well. Mentions on brief occasions his oldest and best friend from his childhood. His first crush. A man he still carries around a beat up old box of mementos for. A man named Lambert.” She spoke softly, not taking her eyes off her friend as she did.
Geralt sat down heavily in an empty chair. “So you… you knew him. Before?”
Jaskier nodded.
“Lambert won’t tell us what happened before he was adopted. The only things we know were that he was from Redania, he loved his mother’s cooking, and that he wanted to incorporate it into our menu. Other than that. He’s silent on anything else. I imagine that’s why he ran…”
Jaskier looked wounded. He had always wanted to know what had happened to his friend that night. But more than that, he just wanted to have his friend back at all. And to see him here, in a random restaurant in Kaedwen… well he was still trying to wrap his mind around it all.
Geralt nodded and stood up again. “I’ll go check on him. Can you… Can you stay? His shift ends in an hour anyways.”
With one more solemn nod from Jaskier, the other man stood and left. Essi ruffled his hair in affection before tucking into her own food. He just stared at his in a mix of shock and awe.
It was barely 40 minutes later, and only about half of his food eaten, that Lambert re-emerged from the kitchen and headed straight for their table. He stopped in front of it and shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. Jaskier watched him and tried to give him a tentative smile.
“Can we talk? Somewhere else?” He blurted.
Jaskier looked surprised but nodded and looked over towards Essi. She just waved her hand in dismissal.
“I can make my own way home. Thanks for lunch. I’ll see you tomorrow.” And with that she stood, nodded at Lambert and left the building. Jaskier stood up and pointed towards the door.
“My flat is a block over. We can talk there. I… there’s something I want to give you. And it’s private. I don’t have a roommate.”
Normally that would be grounds for a solidly flirtatious remark, but Lambert was still struggling with his own brain at the moment and simply nodded and followed after his old friend as they left and made the short walk.
Once the door to the flat was shut behind him, Lambert seemed to deflate a bit, the tension loosening some. “I wasn’t expecting to ever see you again.”
“Neither was I…” Jaskier agreed and walked towards his bedroom. Lambert followed and took a cautious seat on the edge of the bed. Looking around he saw photos of Jaskier with friends, with his parents, and with different instruments. Little snapshots of his life growing into what Lambert had to admit was a gorgeous and talented man.
The handsome man in question was rifling around in his closet, trying to pull something off a high self all while shaking his hair out of his eyes and mumbling to himself. He was about to ask if he needed help when the other made a little noise of triumph and bounded out and onto the bed with a very old box in hand. A box that was more duct tape than cardboard at this point.
“I never did more than patch it up when it threatened to fall apart. I never took out any of the contents, I didn't look or peek, and everything should still be in there just as you left it.” His voice had an excitedly breathless quality to it as he held out the box to him.
Lambert took it with shaking hands, little fragments of memory niggling at his mind as he lifted the lid with shaking hands. Inside, the bulk of his most cherished trading cards, his own copy of mario kart, and a letter and ring from his mother, cared for so diligently by another and protected like he had been unable to. He couldn’t form words. The emotions welled back up that he’d managed to push down so very hard since that awful night. The night she was killed. The night his whole world ended and then rearranged itself.
But here he was. Sitting on the edge of a bed that belonged to the first person he truly trusted besides his mother. He looked up to meet Jaskier’s eyes and was surprised to find his own vision blurring with unshed tears.
Jaskier made a hurt sort of tsking noise and launched himself forward, wrapping his arms around Lambert and hugging him. He let himself cry then, for the first time in over a decade, and fall apart feeling bafflingly safe in the arms of someone he hadn’t seen in even longer than that.
Jaskier shifted them to let Lambert lay down on the bed after his sniffled had died down, and went to go get them water and snacks. He returned to see Lamb propped up against his headboard, the box in his lap and the lid firmly on it. He went and sat beside him, holding out a glass of water to him.
“I can’t believe you kept this.”
“Well my very best friend in the whole world entrusted it to me. I wasn’t about to break that promise. Especially not after…” Jaskier’s smile faded as he trailed off. Lambert took the water before he dropped it and sipped while he thought about what to say. What could he say? If he was honest, Jaskier had been the first inkling he had that he wasn’t going to be living in a little brick house with a picket fence and a wife. Those first early childhood crushes lingered in the memory. At this point he was better off sipping his water and waiting for the other to find his footing for him.
“I wrote you letters. For a time. I didn’t put them in that box, and I didn’t keep them for long, but I… I did it anyways. All the way until college.”
“I worked very hard not to think of my life before… I never did anything like that, Julek. I’m not worth you having kept this for me. I worked so hard to forget my time before.”
Jaskier took a risk and reached out, taking Lambert by the hand and squeezing it. “You were my best friend. In my more morose hours, I may cry at length about the tragedy that was never knowing what happened to you. I had been going to go over that night and tell you I had a crush on you, but you were gone. But you’re here and whole, and I have a chance to get to know my best friend all over again.”
Lambert squeezed back then snapped his head up. “What? You had a what?”
“Oh, ah… Welllll. Of course that’s what you would latch on to. Turns out little Julian was not very into girls. My very first crush was on my very male best friend.” He winked as he said this, trying to bury his nerves behind bravado. He hoped it was working.
Lambert stared at him and then started giggling, giggling!, like a child. “No fuckin’ way.”
Jaskier puffed himself up and glared in a very ineffective manner. “Yes, fuckin’ way.”
“I had a crush on you , nimrod. I just… didn’t want to say anything. You knew my… well my situation.”
Jaskier hummed and scooted up closer. “I did. Though it seems like your situation has changed mightily. I’d… well, I would like to get to know you again. We’ve both changed. Be nice to become friends again in this new life.” He smiled as he talked, and Lambert just shifted his hands to lace their fingers together and smile back.” Hell, keep holding my hand and looking at me that way and I’ll lose control over my mouth entirely and go so far as to ask you on an actual date.”
Lambert’s smile went lopsided as he tried to avoid breaking out into laughter again. He shifted closer. “Yeah, well your mouth is welcome to run off and do that. I’m off on Thursdays. Which is, oh! Would you look at that… is tomorrow.”
Jaskier laughed and leaned in before stopping himself. “Still sassy. Can I hug you again?”
Lambert took his free hand and set it on Jaskier’s neck to pull him in. “You can have more than a hug, Buttercup.”
Jaskier barely had time to huff a laugh at that before Lambert’s lips were on his and his whole world was finally righting itself. They sat there, clinging to each other, working hard to be as close to the other as possible. When Jaskier finally pulled away to suck in a deep breath, Lambert carded his fingers through his hair.
“So, how about that date, then?”
The laughter sparked by this quickly dissolved into a series of very light moans as Lambert kissed him again and rolled them both over.
They had 13 years to make up for, but more important than the past for them, was the promise the future held.
~End~
34 notes · View notes
valatheapprentice · 4 years ago
Text
Random main 6 head cannons because I can?
(My first set of these. Shoukd I do more? Open for suggestions)
Asra
You know people who have no chill? He's the opposite. He stole their chill. Just don't get sick or arrested and he'd be aight.
Until you get sick. Ptsd of the plague will make him so on edge. You both will need to talk about it since you don't remember it and don't want there to be tension
We all knew this, but snake sweaters and little hats
He has a specific tea for gossiping. Nothing magically relevant, just he likes the feeling he gets. Maybe hibiscus and skullcap? Idk ill look at my herbs and think on it
He likes to put temporary/semi permanent color in his hair. Just a couple face framing strands. Maybe on holidays or birthdays or big events
Eats healthy, but his weakness is soda. Loves the carbonation
Julian
Normally will not say no to you if you want something. If he does, you might change his mind through looking at him in a certain way. Or a blowjob
Unpopular opinion: the man is a switch! He has an extremely stressful job. He has days he has to keep it all together and have control of everything and other people. Then he may wanna bottom. There will be days nothing seems to work out and he feels out of control. He may wanna top then.
Has a vague belief system. Since "dating" asra, he realized that magick was real and I have no doubt he tagged along in at least one holiday ritual. He may not be any more than letting whoever is out there, look over MC. He may want to learn more if you are heavily into it
Bitters and butter pecan ice cream for breakfast? You're darn tootin
Malak will steal your food. Jules may not care until you're in a screaming match with a bird. He may find it so freaking cute though.
He pops so much melatonin pills to sleep, please make the man something lavender to drink. He would also have a weighted blanket. Cuddles help wonderfully, but humans are not blankets. Whether he has a heated stuffed animal is up to your imagination. Long story short, its a cute ass sight
Nadia
I think she doesn't have a faith system. She celebrates whatever vesuvias main holidays are for public appearances. But I truly think she may be atheist. The way she felt about family growing up, her husband being the way he was, and whatever else we don't know about? Idk. He heart can change towards people but I dont think she has any faith.
Make the woman lavender and honey cupcakes for her birthday
On her period, she will eat a certain strawberry ice cream and watch Mulan on repeat while in fuzzy pj's.
Modern au nadia. I think her favorite music comes from the Civil wars. No idea why I thought that but im sticking with it
If single, I think she'd use tinder on particularly lonely nights. Not often, but once in a while
Wanna see her blush, surprise her. Especially in public. Confess your love in a restaurant. Whisper what you want her to do to you in a meeting. Send a nude when she's out. Show up at dinner with a gift or 9. Surprises are her weakness
Muriel
I don't think he would ever think of marriage unless you brought it up. Like if your waiting for him to propose on his own? Hope yall live forever bc he is just content just having you with him. Even if you have kids, he'd be so happy. If you want to get married, honestly, I think he'd be proposed to instead.
Put pants on the chickens and wait. When they run he will die of laughter
He clenches his teeth. Ptsd and stress still gets to him. He gets random jaw pains on particularly bad nights. He tries to bite the inside on his cheeks but he really needs some guided meditation
If you get him into condiments, he will use so much, its ungodly. I think he'd like mustard the most
It gets boring in the woods. And he rarely says no to you. Please try out different funky hairstyles on him. Itll be a huge laugh and we love a laughing muriel in this household
Everyday, he leaves you a note when he wakes up before you. Mostly saying he's out doing chores and he loves you. Sometimes it will be so much more emotional. He will blush of he finds out you saved all of them
Portia
Wears workout pants and stained oversized t shirts to bed. And honestly, same
Messy artist. She does her job and everything else in the house so cleanly, but he will get paint in her hair or a rhinestone behind her elbow when it comes to crafts.
Thrift shop queen.
She has an eclectic arrangement of home decor in the cottage. Theres no theme but cute things
She loves setting up scavenger hunts for you and jules. You each take turn being the organizer. Whoever of the two (or three if hes with someone) hunting finishes last, pays for dinner.
You'd think she'd be god tier gift wrapper, but no. You see. She likes getting drunk with jules and having a contest on whos the best gift wrapper drunk. Their both horrible but we don't say anything or risk the spoon
Lucio
Acts like a princess, but has a super high chill to horror or action stuff. During a jump scare, he will gasp, cuss, and laugh at himself
While redeeming himself, he will battle his demons until the day he does for real. Anger and a thirst for power will always be a think with him so I see him taking up martial arts to release some of it
Hes dumb in the way he doesn't think through everything. He is wicked smart in the way that he can assess a room or person almost immediately. Being a mercenary really helped with deduction and quick assessing for survival
Which is why I dont think there would be as many fights as one might think. He does dumb shit. But immediately sees in you where he fucked up and tries to fix it.
He will 10000% help you dress up camio, Mercedes, and melchior. They will hate you both until its time to be fed
Favorite food is fair food. Get him the meaty cheese fries and watch him melt faster than the cheese did
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lilyvandersteen · 4 years ago
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Don’t Jinx It by lilyvandersteen
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Author’s Note: This story is dedicated to @grlnxtdr30​, who fuelled my inspiration with a wintery Klaine fic prompt. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy reading this!
As soon as Kurt stepped outside, it was clear to him that he shouldn’t have put on those gorgeous boots he bought at 70% off on Black Friday.
Overnight, the drizzle that had been falling all week long had frozen solid on the sidewalk. Kurt stared at the ice, horror-struck. He was clumsy and uncoordinated on the best of days. This was an accident just waiting to happen, especially with boots that were stylish but offered no grip. He would need to either go back upstairs to his apartment to change his footwear or suck it up and hope he’d get to work in one piece.
Seeing as he was already running late for work, he decided to risk it.
He slipped and slithered and cursed a lot, but apart from falling on his bum twice, his luck held until he reached the Condé Nast building. His sigh of relief came too early, however. He slipped right in front of the sliding doors, his flailing arms found nothing to hold onto, and down he went, hard. He heard a sound like a branch snapping in half. Pain flamed through his left leg. Before he had time to process this, his head hit the sidewalk, and he blacked out.
When he came to, Cathy from the reception desk was crouching next to him, freaking out if her frantic babbling was anything to go by. “Kurt! Kurt, please wake up! Oh my God, why does this have to happen while I’m on duty. I’m not good with blood and stuff. I faint, and I panic, and I never know what to do. Should I call an ambulance? But they’re gonna wanna know what’s wrong with him, and I have no idea. Kurt! Dammit, Kurt, wake up, will you? I can’t have you die on my watch!”
“I’m not dead,” Kurt said.
Cathy jumped and held her hand to her heart. “Jeez, warn a girl next time! You okay?”
“Never better.”
“Really?”
Kurt glared at her. “No!”
Cathy’s relieved smile slid off her face, and she backed away a little.
Kurt hastened to sit up - wow, that made him feel dizzy - and apologise. “Sorry, sorry! I just… My head hurts, and my leg hurts even more, and I haven’t even had coffee yet ‘cause I overslept… But that’s not your fault. None of it. So… Sorry for snapping at you.”
Cathy offered him a hand to help him up, but as soon as he put pressure on his left foot, he hissed in pain. “Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!!”
Cathy went back to looking panicked. “Maybe you’d better sit back down?”
Kurt bit back a sharp retort and sat.
Okay. A broken ankle. Great. Just great. Could this day suck any more?
“Want me to call you an ambulance?” Cathy asked.
“Nah. A cab will be cheaper. Where’s the nearest clinic where they do X-rays?”
“I’ll look that up for you, and I’ll call you a cab, too.”
“Great. Thanks, Cathy, I appreciate it.”
Kurt shuffled a bit to the side so as not to hinder any other Vogue employees from going in or out the building, and called Isabelle to tell her what had happened, and to promise he’d be back as soon as he could. He tried calling Adam as well, but got his voicemail three times in a row.
After that, there was nothing for him to do but wait for Cathy to come back, or the cab to arrive, whichever came first. His stomach rumbled, and his bum went numb from sitting on the cold hard ground.
Luckily, it didn’t take long to rustle up a cab, and an hour later, he limped into the room where his X-rays would be taken.
In the waiting room, he’d tried calling Adam about six more times. Either Adam had forgotten his mobile at home, or his phone battery was dead again.
Ugh. Could this day suck any more?
The X-rays showed that his ankle was broken. In two places. But apparently, it was a “mild” break, according to the chipper radiology assistant. “It shouldn’t take too long for it to heal. Four weeks in a cast should do it. We’ll get you a pair of crutches, and you’ll be all set!”
The assistant escorted him to the plaster room and told him to lie down on the ambulatory chair and wait for the nurse to arrive. Kurt took his boots off and lay down as instructed. The nurse bustled in, and before Kurt could say or do anything, she cut open his trousers to put a cast on his lower leg and foot.
Kurt’s eyes almost bulged out of his sockets. “These are Ralph Lauren!”
“These are tight as hell, and we’d never have gotten them off you without doing more damage to your ankle,” the nurse retorted. “Buy yourself some wide jogging pants for the coming weeks.”
Kurt sulked through the whole application of the cast. Those trousers were among his absolute favourites, and it was a colour that paired beautifully with most of his shirts.
I hate this! Could this day suck any more?
When he hopped outside a little later, he shivered as soon as the cold hit him, and realized he’d left his coat in the X-ray room. He managed to find the room again, but not his coat. The assistant, still as chipper as ever, helped him look everywhere, and even went to the plaster room to check if Kurt had left it there. He hadn’t. His coat was gone. And his phone had been in the inside pocket, so he’d lost that, too.
Noooo! Maybe I should stop asking myself if the day could get any worse, cause every time I do, something worse happens. I hope this was the last of it.
He thanked the assistant and left the clinic, struggling to keep his balance with the crutches. The wind seemed even colder now, and… wetter?
Oh, great, it’s snowing now, too.
The air was filled with fat snowflakes, and in other circumstances, he’d have smiled and made plans to go for a walk in Central Park. Now, though, it was inconvenient.
He looked for a cab to get home, but there weren’t any around, and of course he couldn’t call one without a phone.
He cursed under his breath when a drop of ice-cold slush fell on his neck and trickled down his spine. He had to get out of the cold, and fast, before he caught pneumonia.
There! Across the road was a cosy-looking coffee shop, tastefully decorated, with a steady stream of people going in and out and lovely smells wafting his way.
Kurt hopped his way to the coffee shop slowly and carefully. He didn’t want to fall again. A woman heading out of the shop held the door open for him, and he smiled and nodded gratefully.
Inside, it was toasty warm, and the delectable smells were even stronger. Kurt’s smile widened, and he joined the queue to get a hot drink and a snack. Thank heavens he still had his wallet!
He found himself humming along with the Christmas songs playing, and admiring the nifty bowtie one of the baristas was wearing.
Of course, that was when the universe decided he was too happy, and messed with him again.
Kurt heard someone laughing. A laugh that sounded very familiar. He could have sworn that was Adam.
And yes, when he turned around, he saw his boyfriend of two years, now lip-locked with some other guy, plastered against him and fondling his ass as though he’d forgotten he was in a public place.
Kurt moved towards the table Adam was sitting at, barely aware of what he was doing.
“Adam?”
He had to call twice more before his boyfriend ended the kiss and looked up. “Yes?”
When Adam saw it was Kurt, he didn’t even have the grace to look ashamed. Instead, his expression was annoyed.
“Who’s this, sweetheart?” the other guy asked.
Adam let out a put-upon sigh. “That stalker I told you about. I thought he’d give up after I graduated last June, but here he is, as annoying as ever. Don’t pay him any attention, Jules, he’s not worth it.”
Kurt was struck numb. What was happening?
Jules turned to him, his lips a thin line. “Okay, let’s have a little talk. You seem like a nice enough guy, but you need to stop bugging my boyfriend. It’s been TWO YEARS. Adam has told you time and again that he’s taken. Get over your crush and find someone else to love. Because this is not healthy. Okay? Let it go.”
Kurt gaped at him for a moment, before he got himself together enough to ask, “YOUR boyfriend?”
Jules looked at Adam with a soft smile, and then at Kurt again. “Yes. We’ve been together for nearly five years now, and we’ve been living together for three. We’re quite committed to each other. I’m afraid you never had a chance with Adam.”
Kurt fixed Adam with a stare. “So that’s why I could never come to your place. Now I get it.”
“Why would you need to come to our place?” asked Jules.
Kurt sighed and ran a hand over his forehead. “I hate to break it to you, but Adam isn’t as committed to you as you think.”
“Don’t listen to him, Jules!”
Kurt continued, “He’s been dating me for two years. I swear I had no idea he was seeing you at the same time.”
“He’s lying!” Adam shouted. “A sick, twisted little liar is what you are, and I don’t want you anywhere near me!”
He stood up and made to push Kurt, but Jules stopped him. “No, don’t! Can’t you see his leg is broken? He’ll get hurt even more!”
“He deserves to!” Adam thundered.
Kurt flinched and took a step back, losing his balance. Thankfully, Jules caught him and offered his chair for Kurt to sit on.
“What are you doing?” By this time, Adam was nearly apoplectic with rage. “Don’t let him sit down, tell him to bugger off!”
Jules gave him a long look. “Calm down, and let the boy have his say.”
“It’s nothing but lies!”
“I’m not taking anyone’s word as gospel at the moment. I’m sure that whoever speaks the truth, will be able to prove he’s right.”
“Jules!”
Kurt looked up. “I can prove it, if you’ll let me use your phone for a minute. Mine got stolen earlier today.”
“It’s a trick!” Adam yelled. “He’ll steal your phone!”
Jules rolled his eyes, and handed Kurt his phone after unlocking it. “Don’t be ridiculous, the boy can barely walk, let alone run.”
Kurt logged into his Google account and looked for the sexy videos he had of Adam on his Google Drive. He selected one and pressed play, angling the phone so that only he and Jules could watch, and turned up the volume to the max. The video showed Adam jerking off while telling Kurt everything he liked about Kurt’s body and everything he wanted to do to it when he next had the chance. It ended with Adam coming and shouting “Kuuuuuurt” really loudly.
There was nothing but silence when the video ended. You could hear a pin drop in the coffee shop.
Kurt closed the window, logged out again and handed the phone back to Jules.
Jules swallowed with difficulty. “I take it your name is Kurt?”
Kurt nodded. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I really didn’t know he was two-timing us.”
He got up from the chair and gently pushed Jules onto it, then handed him his drink.
Jules sipped from it, staring blankly ahead.
“You’re really going to believe him over me?” Adam asked, putting on a wounded air.
Jules set his mug down with a clang and glared at Adam.
“That video was fake!” Adam insisted.
Jules set his jaw. “Shut. Up.”
“I love you. Please don’t do this.”
“Shut. Up. That was you. I know what you look like naked. I know what you sound like when you’re turned on. I know what you look like when you orgasm. And that was you in that video. Dirty talking to HIM. Saying HIS name, not mine. I’ll give you until three this afternoon to pack your things and leave my apartment. Then I’m changing the locks.”
Adam wrung his hands. “You don’t mean that!”
“I sure do. You get ‘till three p.m., and not a minute longer. Better get a move on!”
Jules got up, put his coat on, nodded at Kurt and left without sparing a look at Adam, who seemed beyond speech or action.
As soon as the door clanged shut behind Jules, though, Adam unfroze and lunged for Kurt. “You bloody arsehole! You piece of shite! He’s throwing me out of his flat because of you! You will PAY for this!!”
Before he could hurt Kurt even more than he already was, two coffee shop employees grabbed Adam by the shoulders and firmly escorted him out, telling him he was no longer welcome in the shop.
Adam looked like he wanted to argue, but the taller of the two employees cracked his knuckles and said, “Give me an excuse, man, go on. Make my day.”
That shut Adam up at once, and he scurried off as fast as his legs could carry him.
Applause rang out in the coffee shop when the employees came back in, and the tall one doffed an imaginary hat and made a low bow. “Thank you, thank you!”
Kurt sagged down on the nearest chair and buried his face in his hands, no longer able to keep the tears at bay. He was cold, tired and hungry; he’d gotten both his ankle and his heart broken, and it hurt like hell. He’d give himself five minutes to have a good cry about this and then he would try and find a taxi to take him home.
“Hey,” said a soft voice, and he felt a fleeting pressure on his arm.
Kurt looked up and saw the bowtie-wearing barista. “Oh… I-I haven’t… I know I haven’t bought anything yet, but I will. In a minute. I promise. I just needed… a moment.”
The barista, whose name tag read “Blaine”, smiled at Kurt. “Relax. You can sit here as long as you like. And I brought you something to cheer you up. On the house.”
Blaine set a tray down, winked at Kurt and disappeared behind the counter again.
Kurt watched him go with his mouth wide open, and then looked at the tray. On it was a steaming mug that smelled of cookie spices, and a filled croissant still hot from the oven.
Quick as a flash, he tore off a piece and popped it in his mouth. Ah, heaven!
The rest of the croissant disappeared in no time, and by the time he’d finished his hot drink as well, he found himself smiling again.
“Better?” the same soft voice asked.
Kurt looked up at Blaine and nodded. “Much better. Thank you. You knew just what I needed.”
Blaine grinned. “Something sweet always helps. May I ask… Why aren’t you wearing a coat in this weather?”
Kurt’s face fell. “It got stolen at the clinic. With my phone.”
“That sucks. Not your day, huh?”
Kurt let out a humourless chuckle. “You can say that again.”
“Do you live nearby?”
Kurt shook his head.
“Is there someone you could call to come pick you up?”
Kurt shook his head again, his heart sinking.
“Okay… So here’s what we’re going to do. My shift will be over in an hour. Then I’ll call us a cab and I’ll bring you home, all right?”
Kurt looked at Blaine in wonder. “Why would you? You don’t know me at all!”
“Call it my good deed for the day. It’s about time your bad luck streak got broken.”
“Oh, don’t jinx it!”
Blaine was as good as his word, and after his shift, he brought Kurt home and escorted him upstairs to his apartment.
The first thing Kurt saw as he came in was a paperback that belonged to Adam on the coffee table. He picked it up, and tears sprung to his eyes again.
“Well, I guess I should count myself lucky I never gave Adam a key,” he mumbled.
“Are you scared your ex will turn up here?” Blaine asked, solicitous as always.
Kurt stared at him, aghast. He hadn’t even thought of that. “I…”
“I can stay with you a while longer, if that would make you feel safer. I was heading to the library for some peace and quiet to study, ‘cause my roommates are noisy, but I can just as well work here, if you’re okay with that. I’ve got my laptop and everything.”
“Oh. I…”
Blaine shrugged. “Or not. We don’t actually know each other. I guess I shouldn’t expect you to feel safer with a stranger around.”
Kurt cocked his head to the side. “You know what? I do feel safe with you. Yes, stay. We can get some work done together. And I’ll make us dinner, in a bit. Consider that a thank you for helping me out.”
Blaine ended up staying after dinner, too, even though Adam never showed up, and he was the first contact Kurt added to his new phone.
He took Blaine to Vogue’s Christmas party two weeks later, and kissed him under the mistletoe.
Six months later, Blaine moved in with him, and a little later, Kurt took him to Ohio to meet his dad.
When Kurt proposed to Blaine the next New Year’s Eve, he said, “I’m so glad I met you that day. You were the one who turned my bad luck around, and saved the day for me. And that’s what you’ve kept doing, every day since. You make my life so much better and brighter. Will you marry me and stay with me for keeps?”
Blaine said yes, of course, and Kurt’s luck held for the rest of his days.
THE END
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headheartbellarke · 4 years ago
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Speak Now | WILLEX
dear @calamitykaty​ - happy valentine’s day! i’m your secret valentine, and i hope you have a brilliant, lovely day!! i just wanted to say that i absolutely adore your fics hehe :3 this one is for you, i hope u like it, you wonderful human!!
& a million thanks & kudos to @screwunsaidemily​​ / @jatpsecretvalentine​ for organizing this!! happy valentine’s day, raegan! and i hope today is as amazing as you are!!
✿◕ ‿ ◕✿
PAIRING(s): Alex Mercer x Willie, Flynn x Carrie Wilson, Julie Molina x Luke Patterson, past!Alex Mercer x Luke Patterson
WARNING(s): nothing haha just some fluff and we stan bobby in this house.. oh and some language
WORDS: 3.85k
SUMMARY: With his boyfriend marrying Carrie Wilson (well, in his defence, that’s his grandmother’s ‘dying wish’), Willie fancies himself to be the main character of a Shakespearean tragedy. Based on Speak Now by Taylor Swift.
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KEEP READING BELOW OR READ ON AO3
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     Willie exhales, watching his breath crystallize into tiny ice particles. He extends a hand to catch them, but that action causes the little cloud to dissipate.
  He rolls his eyes. Who has their wedding in Canada, in winter? Plus, not just on any day, but on Valentine’s Day.
  He fancies that he might as well be the main character of a Shakespearean tragedy. Watching your boyfriend get married is painful enough, but to a girl? That shit makes you feel as if your heart has a screw lodged in it. He feels as if he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.
  Willie likes to say that he hates Alex (i.e., the said boyfriend, the love, the light, the star of his life) – but that sentence leaves behind a bitter taste in his mouth, like he’s just had that weird cough syrup that his mother buys.
  Alex’s friends can definitely see through his act, like, right now.
  “Willie, relax! Everything’s gonna be alright!” Julie Molina, Alex’s bandmate, ‘unbiological sister’, and ‘best gossip partner’ exclaims. She is crouching beside him.
  “Julie, I’m not the type of guy to crash a wedding and sabotage it, especially one hosted by those…” His hand moves in circular motions, pointing to the direction of the church, where Alex’s parents are probably seated. 
  Luke Patterson, Julie’s boyfriend and Alex’s ex-boyfriend, and current best friend and bandmate pipes in. “Homophobic, racist mingers?”
  Willie grins. “Don’t know what that means but sounds accurate!”
  “You know, we are saving Alex’s life, right? Literally?” Bobby Wilson chimes in, Alex’s other best friend from his position behind them. They are currently hiding behind a table laden with sweets of all kinds, and it makes Reggie, the last of Alex’s best friend-cum-bandmates’ mouth water. 
  “I still can’t believe that his parents are forcing him to marry a girl!” Julie exclaims, ponytail bobbing as she speaks. Luke adds, “Not just any girl, but Carrie fucking Wilson.” 
  “My fucking cousin!” Bobby says, looking behind to check if anyone’s there. There is, but they’re all either part of the caterer’s group, or the waiters – they are currently outside a church, where the reception will be held, post wedding. The attendees, the families, everyone – are inside the church, for the wedding.
  “Hey, is Grandma Ruth really that sick?” Reggie finally asks, his eyes diverting from the sweets. Luke smiles sweetly at him. “I’m glad you finally decided to join us, Reginald.” 
  Reggie fails to catch the sarcasm in his tone, and he smiles brightly. Luke rolls his eyes, but a faint smile teases the corners of his lips. “Yeah, she really has stage four cancer.” 
  Julie says, “Poor Ruth.” 
  Luke huffs, “I don’t care that she’s dying – she shouldn’t fucking blackmail her grandson like that! Alex, honey, I’m dying. My dying wish, you ask? Marry someone. No, not your boyfriend of four years! Marry a girl, dummy. Homosexuality is a sin!” 
  Bobby adds, “Not just any girl, but your best friend’s cousin! Whose probably into Flynn, but, yeah, whatever.” 
  Julie smiles brightly at the mention of her best friend. “Oh, she definitely is.” 
  Reggie’s brows quirk. “I thought she was still into Nick.” 
  Bobby shakes his head. “They broke up last summer.” 
  Willie clears his throat, finally gaining some confidence. “He shouldn’t be marrying the wrong girl.” He exhales, and adds, as an afterthought, “Or any girl.” 
  “You two should be walking down the aisle, Willie.” Julie says, resting a hand on his shoulder. He nods, grateful for her support. 
  He remembers this morning, when he was at the grocery store, buying as many buckets of chocolate ice cream as he could fit in his arms. Suddenly, he had felt a warm hand wrap around the back of his throat, and he let out a yelp, dropping all the buckets. 
  He remembers thinking that the universe was against him. First, it’s the day of his boyfriend’s wedding, and along with that, someone’s here to kill him. Well, he thought, it’s better to die than – 
  “Willie!” A familiar voice exclaimed, and of course, it’s Julie – he realized that the hand that he thought was here to murder him, belonged to her. She was dressed in a long, pink, A-Line dress, that complimented her skin tone perfectly and – suddenly, Willie understood that it was a bridesmaid’s dress. Yep, she’s Carrie’s bridesmaid, along with Flynn. 
  Willie wondered if she was here to rub salt on his wound. 
  “What do you want?” He had mumbled, averting his gaze from her dress. Sure, it’s a pretty dress, but it reminds him of Alex, because he has a hoodie that he adores in the same colour. (It’s in Willie’s closet now, and he makes a mental note to burn it.) 
  “We have a plan.” She said, conspiratorially. 
  Willie sighed, leaning down to pick up the fallen containers of ice cream. “I’m not in the mood, Jules.” 
  She grinned, evilly. Or as evilly as you could while having an angelic face. 
  Sure, it took her a while to convince him to crash his boyfriend’s wedding, but on the way here, he felt as if it was worth it. Julie helped sneak him in, since he doesn’t have an invite – and he found the rest of Alex’s friends – Luke, Reggie, and Bobby waiting for him. 
  Now, as Carrie’s family emerges from the church doors, he doesn’t feel that way anymore. 
  “God, I think I’m gonna throw up just by looking at them.” Luke murmurs, while Julie slaps his shoulder. “Don’t say that, they look very… colourful.” 
  Bobby snorts. 
  Carrie’s family includes her parents, two of her cousin sisters and an aunt – and they are all dressed in pastel yellow. To be really honest, that colour looks like vomit. They stand in a circle in front of the church doors, and Willie notices her aunt rolling her eyes at the waiters. He sighs. This is the same aunt who told Carrie that ‘oh, honey, it’s just a phase’, when she came out as bisexual. 
  “Guys, guys, guys!” 
  Willie sees his cousin, Flynn, running in their direction, and stopping at their table. She huffs, catching her breath and he notices that she’s wearing the same dress that Julie is. 
  “Carrie is losing her shit, dude.” She says, once she’s breathing normally again. “Why?” Julie asks, concerned. 
  “Probably because she doesn’t wanna marry Alex? I don’t know, but she yelled at me for eating!” She exclaims, an annoyed expression taking over her face. 
  Willie and Bobby exchange a look – they all know that Carrie can get a little intense sometimes – she doesn’t mean harm, but on a day like this, you can’t really hold it against her. 
  “Where is she?” Julie asks, alarmed. 
  “She’s in the back. Her mom misplaced her veil, and its total chaos out there. Also, her gown looks like a fucking pastry.” 
  Everyone’s eyes widen, and Flynn sighs, looking away. “I hate everything.” 
  Willie knows that she’s feeling just the way he is. 
  Julie stands up. “Come on, let’s help her. And boys?” She points a finger in their direction. “Stick to the fucking plan.” 
  Everyone nods rapidly, and Reggie whispers, “Yes, mam.” 
  She kisses Luke, whispering something in his ear, and squeezes Willie’s shoulder, giving him a sympathetic look, before running off in the opposite direction with Flynn. 
  Watching Julie and Luke, Willie is suddenly overpowered by a memory, a memory that was gathering dust in his brain. He remembers a cold, dark winter morning in their – his and Alex’s – apartment. It was last year, and their first morning in that apartment, in their home. They were nineteen and couldn’t get enough of each other – even after three years of being together. Somehow, somewhere they felt as if an invisible string was pulling them closer and closer, until they merged into one. 
  He remembers Alex combing his fingers through Willie’s hair, and whispering, “Is it crazy if I say that this is everything that I’ve ever wanted in life?” 
  He had smiled, eyes filled to the brim with euphoria. “No, then that would mean that I’m crazy.” 
  “We’re both crazy.” 
  “Maybe.” He had pulled him closer, loving the way Alex buried his face in the crook of his neck. 
  “Willie?” Alex softly asked, drawing patterns on his bare skin. 
  “Hmm?” 
  “I want to wake up next to you every single day. Like, I don’t ever wanna be without you,” 
  “Me, too.” He had said, then adding, “I don’t see myself marrying if not you.” 
  He could feel his boyfriend’s grin. “Not gonna lie, I’ve thought about it. A little.” 
  “A little?” 
  “Okay, I’ve planned it all out.” They both laughed, and Willie felt as if he was flying. 
  Alex continued, “I imagine us getting married on a beautiful summer day – on the beach. Where we met all those years ago. Remember?” 
  Willie smiled. “How could I forget? I will love Flynn forever for bringing me to Julie’s sweet sixteen – I never thought that I’d meet my soulmate that day.” 
  “Yeah. I imagine Luke to be my best man, and Flynn to be yours. Julie and Carrie would be our groomsmaids, yep, I invented that – and Reggie and Bobby could be the other best men. It’s a little messy, because I love them all so much and I can’t choose – but yeah.” 
  “Funny that your ex-boyfriend will be your best man at our wedding.” 
  “Shut up, Willie.” 
  “Carlos could be the ring bearer.” 
  “I think he’s a little too old for that.” 
  “Well, you have a point. But he’s gonna be pissed if he doesn’t get a title like his sister does.” 
  “All right, he’ll be the ring bearer.” 
  “We could have a skateboard shaped cake.” 
  “We will… think about it.” 
  “And we won’t need a band!” 
  “I’m not playing at my own wedding!” 
  “Well, Bobby could take your place. I’m sure he won’t mind taking a day off his solo touring.” 
  “Yeah, that sounds nice.” 
  As they went over every possibility, every dream, the world melted away and all Willie could see were the oceans in Alex’s eyes. 
  Luke’s voice dissipates the haze of nostalgia around Willie’s brain. “Yep, Carrie’s family went inside.” 
  Bobby nods. “Okay, Willie, you stay with Reggie and Luke – I’ll go inside first and distract everyone, and y’all will come at my signal.” With that, he runs towards the church. 
  “Uh… what is his signal…” Willie trails off. Luke and Reggie exchange a panicked look, as Reggie says, “I’m sure we’ll figure it out! Besides – oh my god, are those flamingos?” 
  Willie and Luke’s eyes dart to the church door, where a bunch of flamingos – Carrie’s favorite bird, apparently – are on the loose and the waiters and the staff are running around trying to catch them. 
  “Boys, I think that’s our signal.” Luke says, grabbing their hands and dragging them towards the back of the church, where the girls had previously disappeared into. 
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  Luke sneezes, and Willie absentmindedly whispers a ‘bless you.’ He shifts, saying, “There’s so much dirt here! It’s like nobody cares about my allergies!” 
  “I’m sure nobody in Canada will ever care about your allergies, Patterson.” Flynn hisses.
  The trio are currently hiding behind a curtain, the lilac shades sickening them. “Well, you wouldn’t be in this position if Alex’s lovely bride-to-be didn’t uninvite me!” Willie exclaims, looking around to make sure nobody is nearby. 
  “I’m sure she has a very good reason!” Flynn says, and Luke rolls his eyes, saying, “You’re saying that as if you don’t know Carrie. She’s hyper fixating on this wedding to distract herself from the fact that her parents will never accept her for who she is, from her fear about the fact that she’ll never get someone who sees and loves her for who she is and right now, she believes that this wedding would gain her parents’ favour, that somehow they’d be okay with her being bisexual if she’s married a man, a gay man at that, too – and now she’s doing everything in her power to make sure nothing gets fucked up.” 
  Willie and Flynn sharply look at Luke. 
  “Dude, that was deep.” He whispers. Flynn dabs the corner of her right eye. “You should be a therapist, bro.” 
  “I know, bro.” He grins. 
  Willie can’t stop a smile from breaking out on his face. He turns back to the scene in front of him, and his heart seizes because there’s Alex, dressed in a perfect tuxedo, with his hair perfectly done, with a perfect smile on his face, and Willie realizes that that is not the man he loves. 
  The man standing in front of him looks too pristine, too immaculate. It’s almost as if he is being strung up by invisible puppet strings, but his face doesn’t give away any of that – it’s absolutely blank, and Willie would have thought that the man in the front is not real if he hadn’t seen his eyes. His eyes, which houses cyclones, cyclones being fed by the apprehension, the fear, the anger, the sadness that he must be feeling inside. His eyes, that Willie loves to see first thing in the morning, showing off the parts of his soul that he is desperately trying to shield. 
  Willie wonders if he’ll see him standing behind the curtains. He probably won’t. Willie’s at the back of the room, and he’s at the front, waiting, waiting, waiting. For a moment, Willie wonders if Carrie is going to show up at all – because the wedding was supposed to start half an hour ago, and it doesn’t make sense why a person who has never been late in her entire life, would be late on her wedding day. 
  He doesn’t have to wonder long, though. The organ starts to play ‘Here Comes the Bride’, and honestly it sounds more like a death march. Willie is reminded, yet again, of another reason why this is not what Alex wants – he wants to play ‘Lover’ by Taylor Swift at his wedding. 
  Willie takes in a sharp breath when Carrie enters. She looks like a pageant queen – wearing a beautiful, white, classic dress. In one hand, she holds her dad’s arm, and in the other, there is a bouquet of daisies. 
  Flynn whispers. “I have to go. Boys, do not mess this up. Or I swear I’ll kill you.” 
  As the duo watch her run to the front of the room, Willie whispers, “Does she know about Carrie’s big, fat crush?” 
  Luke snorts. “You think so? Come on, let’s sit. They won’t be able to see us here.” 
  As they crouch down and make their way to the benches, Willie casts one last look at Alex, and he knows, he knows that Alex wishes it was Willie walking down the aisle instead.
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     “Speak now, or forever hold your peace.” The preacher says, and Willie’s heart erupts into a frenzy. As the room goes completely silent, Luke whispers, “That’s your cue, Willie.” 
  Ignoring his anxiety, he stands up with his hands shaking, and his brain telling him to just fucking run out the doors. 
  Alex’s eyes widen, relief flooding his features, and for a moment, he looks like the real Alex again. Willie catches Julie and Flynn’s eyes, who are standing beside Carrie, and they nod at him, enthusiastically. But the bride, Carrie – she looks absolutely horrified. And so does all the other people in this room, including Alex’s parents, his grandma Ruth, and Carrie’s parents, too. 
  From Alex’s right side, Reggie and Bobby give him encouraging looks, and finally, he averts his eyes back to the man he loves. 
  But he can’t say anything. He feels as if he’s frozen in time, and his mind completely blanks out. For a moment he wonders if this is his rock bottom. 
  But Luke comes to the rescue, thrusting a guitar in his hands, and breaking him out of his trance. “I remember you told me that you can always sing, even if the world was ending. So, I brought this along, as backup.” 
  It’s true. Music is a part of his soul, much like it is Alex’s. Music is what connected them in the first place, and music is what still keeps them connected now. 
  He positions the guitar, and notices that it’s Luke’s acoustic guitar. He strums it, and finally, his mind comes back to himself. He keeps his eyes trained on that of Alex, and he watches the storm of emotions in his irises. 
  “I am not the kind of guy, who should be rudely barging in on a white veiled occasion…” He sings, loving how Taylor Swift has written a song for every occasion.
  “But you are not the kind of boy, who should be marrying the wrong girl!” He sings and hears loud gasps around the room – he knows that people expected him to be in love with Carrie or something. 
  “Or any girl!” Reggie adds, and Alex grins, and that gives him the motivation to continue. 
  “So, don't say yes, run away now. I'll meet you when you're out of the church at the back door… Don't wait or say a single vow – You need to hear me out, and they said speak now!” 
  He drags the ‘now’ for as long as he can, because he knows that the silence that will follow will be excruciating. And it is. Alex just stares at him, an unreadable expression on his face. 
  Willie finally looks at Carrie, and when their eyes meet, she gives him an odd look. He half expected her to kill him, but the way she looks at him, it’s almost as if she’s relieved. 
  Alex clears his throat, the sound piercing through the silence of the room. Whispers arise, and Willie exchanges a look with Luke, who asks him, “You want me to dig you a hole to die?” 
  Before he can nod, Alex says, “Uh…” He fiddles with his hands, before finally saying, “Fuck it”, and untying his tie. His mother gasps, and his father stands up, but he raises a hand. 
  He locks eyes with Willie, and his world spins on its axis. 
  “You are not the kind of guy to be rudely barging in on a white veiled occasion…But I am not the kind of boy… who should be marrying the wrong girl… or any girl!” Alex sings in that raspy voice of his, and Willie feels his heart soar. He can’t help the grin from escaping on his face, and he knows that his eyes are what Julie calls, ‘heart eyes.’ Luke grabs the guitar from Willie’s hand and starts playing along. 
  “And you'll say let's run away now, and I'll meet you when I'm out of my tux at the back door,” 
  Alex walks down the aisle, but suddenly remembers something, or rather, someone. He turns around, locking eyes with Carrie, and Willie can’t see what he’s saying, but Carrie smiles a big, soft one – one probably no one has ever seen on her face, and he sees her mouth ‘go.’ 
  “Baby, I didn't say my vows, so glad you were around; when they said speak now!” 
  He finishes, and stands in front of Willie, and Willie knows that the both of them can feel the air electrifying between them.   
  He turns, facing his grandmother. “Grandma, I’m sorry, but you’re 93, and I’m 20. I’m not going to give up my life for you to live. I love you, though. Mom, Dad, I’m truly sad that I’m not what you wanted. But I’m not gonna apologize for being myself, nor am I gonna apologize for loving who I want to. This is my life, and maybe it’s time that I start acting like it. I can’t keep wasting my life to please you. You – you should love me for who I am, that’s what good parents do.” Alex’s voice cracks, and Willie intertwines their fingers. Alex squeezes his hand. 
  Carrie’s mom stands up, shaking her head. “No, no, no… you do not get to ruin my daughter’s wedding –” 
  Alex’s father stands beside her, his face matching the shade of Carrie’s red lipstick. “I will not accept this –” 
  “Will?” Alex whispers, his eyes trained on his father. 
  “Yeah?” 
  “Run.” 
  With that, Alex tightens his hold on Willie’s hand, and the both of them run down the aisle, and outside. Willie can hear an uproar behind him, but it fades to background noise behind the thump of his heart. 
  “That was so fucking romantic!” Alex exclaims, as they come to a stop before Willie’s car. 
  “I just…” 
  “Wait – I’m sorry, Willie. I shouldn’t have put you through that. I should’ve fought more; I should’ve run away or something. That was not okay. I’m a twenty-year-old adult, and I should – I should – learn to be it, and not hurt any – anyone –” 
  “Hey, hey, hey…” Willie says, stepping closer to Alex. “It’s alright. They’re your parents. It’s not your fault that you want their approval. But I just want you to know that I love you, all of you, for who you are. And all of us do – Luke, Julie, Bobby, Reggie, Flynn, and even Carrie. We all love you, for who you are, and we’re always gonna be by your side.” 
  He smiles, cupping Willie’s face. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I – I love you so fucking much.” He kisses Willie, and the latter feels like he is floating amongst the stars. 
  “That – everything inside – from this tux to the decorations was horrible. I’m really glad that you… you know, stopped it.” Alex says, rubbing his thumb around Willie’s cheek. 
  He shrugs. “Well, it was your friends’ idea.” 
  “Of course it was.” 
  “Guys! Guys, guys, guys!” 
  Willie and Alex break out of their embrace at Carrie’s voice, who is currently running towards them, her dress bunched in her hands. Flynn is following her, holding her veil in her arms. Julie, Luke, Bobby, and Reggie are behind them, and they all have a look of panic plastered on their faces. 
  Flynn yells. “Carrie might’ve told your and her parents to fuck off, and your grandma to just die already, and so there’s a fair chance that we’re all gonna get killed, now that everyone knows that we’re all behind this.” 
  “Also, I threw red wine at our aunt’s dress, Carrie!” Bobby yells. 
  “I might have told your parents that they’re failures, and Julie and I are your real parents, Alex!” Luke yells. 
  “Also, Flynn and I are getting married!” Carrie yells. 
  Alex’s eyes widen, and he looks at Willie. “I think we all need to run.” 
  Willie nods, and he looks around. Maybe they will get killed (probably not), and maybe everything is a little crazy right now – but what he knows is that all of them are a family, and that he’d do anything for them. He also knows that Alex is worth everything, and that someday, they will get married, just the way they want, with the people that love them just the way they are. 
  Plus, is it weird to say that he kind of feels like Taylor Swift right now?
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fruitcoops · 4 years ago
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for the jules stay with coops, would you be able to do something where jules kinda just messes around on the ice with a stick n puck n the team just kinda watch in adoration? 🤧
This is the final installment of Adventures in Babysitting! Thank you to everyone who stayed interested in this idea, which is the longest series I’ve ever written for SW fanfic (about 15k words total! Wow!). This is my favorite part so far, I think. Hope you enjoy!
Intro 1 2 3 4
Credit for Sweater Weather/ Jules goes to @lumosinlove!
“Can I watch again today?” Jules begged, tugging on the strap of Remus’ duffel bag as they walked to the car. “Please? Please please please please—”
“Yes, you can watch,” Remus groaned, hefting their gear into the trunk. It seemed extra heavy today. “Though keep asking like that and I’m going to say no.”
“The plane doesn’t leave until six thirty, so we’ll be able to hang out with the guys after practice, right?”
“Well, yeah, but we should be at the airport by five just in case,” Remus said. “And it’s an open practice, so the media will want to ask some questions afterward. You can probably hang out with them between interviews, though.”
Jules bit his lip. “Oh. Okay.”
“We’ll figure something out, don’t worry.” He watched Jules buckle in through the rearview mirror while Sirius turned the car on. Most of the snow had melted the previous day, leaving a clear and crisp morning that Remus could feel through the windows as they drove to the rink; he felt a little bad for everyone who wouldn’t be moving around to keep warm for the next few hours.
Moody wasn’t by the door when they arrived, nor was he in the PT room. Remus checked the clock quickly and frowned—they didn’t have a lot of time to spare before they needed to get ready to go. “Coach!” Sirius called, waving down the hallway.
Arthur looked up at them and smiled. “There you are! Got your skates, Lupin?”
Remus blinked. “Uh, yeah?”
“Not you. Little Loops, did you bring your skates?”
Jules and Remus turned to Sirius at the same time and he hid a smile behind his hand. “Got ‘em right here, Coach,” he said without looking at them, holding his bag up.
“What?” Jules whispered and turned to Remus, who shrugged. “What’s he talking about?”
“You’re number…24?” Arthur squinted at his clipboard and walked closer to them. Jules nodded silently. “Alright, I think we can figure something out. You play center, right?”
Jules squeaked out a ‘yes’; Remus could feel him trembling with excitement. “I get to play?”
Arthur raised an eyebrow and bent slightly to his level. “Your brother never stops talking about how you’re the best center Wisconsin has ever seen. I wanna know if it’s true.”
“Sirius, what did you do?” Remus murmured as Jules struggled to take a deep breath.
“I may have possibly told Coach it was his last day here. Perhaps,” Sirius whispered back.
Remus shook his head. “You are the most incredible person on the planet and I’m going to kiss the daylights out of you as soon as humanly possible.”
“Love you, too.”
“Re.” Jules yanked on his arm as he jumped up and down, ramping up with every passing second. “Re, I get to skate with the team! I get to skate! With the team!”
“Looks like it,” Remus laughed. “Come on, practice starts in twenty.”
Not only had Sirius packed Jules’ skates, but somehow he had snuck all his gear into their duffels without either of them noticing; all the guys brightened when they walked into the locker room and Kasey waved to him from his stall. “Hey, Little L—”
“I get to skate!” Jules blurted as he gripped Remus’ hand hard enough to hurt.
James shared a look with Sirius—so you were in on it, too, Remus thought as he led Jules to his stall. “That’s pretty exciting,” he said with a low whistle. “How’d you swing that?”
“Coach Weasley wants to see me play.” If Jules made it through the next three hours without fainting from happiness, Remus would be shocked.
“You must be pretty good, then.” Leo grinned as he buckled into his pads. “Think you can score a goal on me?”
Jules hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll give it a shot.”
“That’s the spirit,” Finn laughed, ruffling Jules’ hair. “You got a jersey yet?”
“Nope.”
“Hmm. What’s your number?”
“24.”
“Yo, Ringer, you got an extra?” Evander Bell dug around for a moment before tossing him a clean jersey. Finn grabbed some stick tape out of his bag and tore two pieces off; when he shook it back out, a decent ‘24’ had replaced the previous ‘21’. “There you go. You might have to tuck it in a bit.”
Jules threw his arms around Finn’s waist and squeezed him tight, mumbling ‘thank you’ over and over again. Finn rubbed his back and looked up at Remus with pleading eyes���can I keep him? he mouthed, pouting when Remus shook his head. Logan and Leo ‘aww’ed in the background.
“Okay, bud, let’s get your pads on so you can enjoy your last day here.” He put a slight emphasis on the final three words and the rest of the team perked up, trading glances between their stalls as Jules hurried to change into his gear.
Thankfully, he already knew what to do, and within ten minutes all three of them were on the ice. Several fans pointed to Jules and waved; he seemed surprised by the attention and shyly smiled back. Coach’s whistle snapped them all to attention and Remus laid a hand on Jules’ helmet to keep him close, just in case. “Cap, you know our drills for today. We start our scrimmage at 12:30 and you get twenty minutes for a lunch break.”
“Yes, Coach,” they chorused. Jules’ answer was a little delayed and Remus caught several half-hidden smiles beneath visors.
“Over here, 24,” Logan said, guiding Jules to the starting line with his stick on his back. “You wanna be on my team?”
“I want dibs!” Talker called as he skated past. “Jules, who’s your favorite? Me, or Shortie Pants over there?”
“Uhhhh…” Jules looked quickly to Remus. “I don’t have a favorite.”
“Sucks to be you guys, but he’s on my team.” Sirius held his hand out for a fist bump that Jules happily obliged. “Right, buddy?”
“Totally.”
“Hell yeah.”
The drills were far easier than usual, even for an open practice, which gave everyone a chance to show off. They went through the motions, adding little flourishes here and there that the slowly-gathering crowd ate up; even Jules started having fun with it, tapping pucks back and forth with Pots between rounds and shooting goal after goal toward Kasey and Leo. He shone with joy.
When the lunch whistle blew, Remus tapped the back of his helmet lightly. “Remember that trick I did to knock Harzy over?” he asked under his breath. Jules grinned. “Want me to show you how to do it?”
“Duh.”
“Alright, c’mere.” Remus skated over to the far end of the rink, keeping an eye out until Finn was safely out of sight. “Plant your leg like this, yeah?”
Jules frowned, but did as he was told. “I thought you went right.”
“I did. You have to fake him out with the left. He falls for it every time.”
“Really?”
“Dollars to donuts. Give it a shot.” Jules wobbled a little. “Keep your balance steady…there you go!”
“Cool!” he whispered, looking up with a bright smile. Remus leaned down so they could knock their helmets together. “Cool.”
“Okay, time for lunch. You can try it out in the scrimmage.”
Jules practiced the motions all the way back to the bench, muttering instructions under his breath as Remus kept him from knocking anyone over on accident. He scarfed down a sandwich and downed a few gulps of Gatorade, which Sirius confiscated in case he drank it too fast and made himself sick.
“We’ve got a game to win, buddy,” he said. “Take it slow.”
“Scrimmage list is up!” Coach called from the doorway, tacking a sheet of paper to the wall. Everyone immediately crowded it; Remus shouldered his way through Kasey and Logan to get a good look.
He laughed out loud when he saw it. “Jules, you better square up!” he shouted over his shoulder.
“Am I playing against you?”
“Yep. You’re up against Sirius for the face-off.”
Jules’ eyes got huge in his head. “No.”
“See for yourself, buddy.”
“Does that mean we’re on the same team for once?” Sirius murmured as he leaned against the side of Remus’ stall.
“Looks like it.” He tilted his chin up for a quick kiss and Sirius tugged the edge of his shoulder pad lightly.
“Love seeing you in these.” He tapped the wooden shelf above them and grinned before straightening. “Alright, boys, let’s go!”
It almost felt like family skate again, except for the overarching vibe of genuine competitive spirit that spread through the team. Jules and Sirius skated to the center and braced for the drop; Jules dug his blades in, and not for the first time Remus was struck by how much they looked alike.
Sirius tapped the front of his skate, but Jules didn’t flinch from his laser-focus on Dumo. “He’s got his head in the game, Cap,” Dumo said with a grin. “Ready?”
“Ready.”
The puck dropped. In a flash of movement, both lunged for it; Sirius won, but Jules was hot on his heels as he skated toward the opposite goal, his face lined with pure determination. “Twelve!” Remus called, tapping his stick against the ice.
Sirius passed it, but Jules didn’t falter from his tail, moving to shadow his every moment. Remus passed James easily, but Talker stole the puck and turned it around for a quick move toward Leo, who dropped into a lunge and blocked his shot. The pace picked up after that and Remus heard the telltale click of press cameras going off along with the whoops of fans who had come to watch.
And then Jules started tailing him, the little shit. Remus did a lazy loop around the outside, then darted in to shake him—Jules reappeared moments later, a bit out of breath but otherwise fine. Remus took the puck out from underneath Logan and raced for the goal as a beautiful line opened up for him, but he heard the familiar shush-hush of Jules’ skates and braked hard.
He should have known it wouldn’t work. Jules dodged sideways at the last second, just barely missing the puck with his stick, then spun back around and chased Remus in a sharp curve through the defense. He heard several people start laughing as he lowered his center of gravity and took a hard turn; the chill of the ice burned his cheeks, but Jules didn’t leave him alone.
“Come on, Little Loops,” he taunted, grinning over his shoulder. “Come and get it!”
Jules grumbled something under his breath and pushed off harder, skating right at Remus with single-minded intensity. He saw his left foot lift and internally shook his head.
With a couple quick taps, he was behind him again. “You can’t use my own tricks against me!”
“I can try!” Jules shouted back as they flew up the ice once more. Kasey caught his shot. “Nice one, Loops.”
“Better luck next time, eh?” Remus knocked on his helmet as he skated past, still panting. Arthur was laughing so hard he had to lean against the glass while Moody patted him on the back and winked at Remus.
“Eight more years,” Moody called with a grin. “Then we’ll have two Lupins out here.”
“Wouldn’t that be something,” Remus laughed.
They stayed on the ice for a while after the scrimmage ended, losing 2-1 to Sirius’ team. Jules shadowed anyone he came within five feet of and was harder to shake off than a piece of duct tape—Remus had never been prouder.
“Harzy! Harzy, I gotta show you something!” Jules waved to Finn, who looked over in amusement from Leo’s goal. “Skate toward me like we’re in a game.”
“Sure thing, bud.”
Jules kept his eyes on Finn’s feet as they grew closer, mouthing something under his breath. No, Remus thought. Is he going to…?
He did. In one perfect motion, he picked up his left skate and pushed hard in the other direction, zipping beneath Finn’s arm and sending him in the other direction. “No!” Finn shouted immediately as Jules burst into maniacal giggles. “Absolutely not! Remus Lupin, get your ass over here!”
“That was perfect!” Remus held his hands out for a double high-five and Jules jumped to reach his palms. “Excellent form.”
Shaved ice coated them both as Finn snowed them, still scowling. “I can’t believe you!”
“Have you tried saying ‘no’ to the puppy eyes?” Remus asked, turning Jules by the shoulders and sticking his own lower lip out.
Finn scoffed, but he could hardly hide his smile. “You’re both ridiculous.”
“Indeed.” He squeezed Jules’ arms briefly. “It’s about time to head out, J. Do you want to say goodbye to everyone while I check in with Marlene?”
The unbridled excitement on Jules’ face dimmed a bit. “Do I have to go?”
“You’ve got school in a couple days.”
“I could stay until it starts again.”
“Mom and Dad miss you a lot.”
“Remus!” Marlene flagged him down from the boards and he skated over with Jules in tow, pulling his helmet off and swiping sweaty hair out of his eyes.
“What’s up?”
Before she could speak, a skinny man with large glasses pushed to the front of the group; Remus disliked him instantly. “Mr. Lupin, can you tell us—”
“Excuse you, I think she was trying to talk,” he interrupted, giving the man a stony look. “Hey, Marley, how’re you doing?”
“I’m doing fine. This is Craig Stearns, from the Hockey Daily…magazine.” Her smile was slightly forced. Tabloid. “He has a couple questions for you.”
“Hi, Craig.”
“When were you going to tell the media about your secret child?”
Remus raised an eyebrow. “My what?”
Craig’s eyes flickered down to Jules, whose grip tightened on the hem of Remus’ jersey. “Your son.”
“You mean my little brother?”
“You’ve been seen with him an awful lot this week—”
“Because he’s my little brother.”
“—and he appears to be living in your house—”
“Because he’s my little brother.”
“—and several photos show you walking hand-in-hand—”
“Do you have siblings?” Remus cut in. “I’m going to assume you don’t. My parents visited for the holidays, during which time there was a death in the family and Jules stayed with Sirius and I for the week. He was living in our house because I’m not about to put my ten-year-old brother in a hotel, and I was holding his hand so that he didn’t run into the street. Are we done here?”
Craig paused. “Can we get a picture—”
“No.”
Jules tapped his elbow and Remus bent down. “Can we go home?” he asked quietly.
“Yeah, buddy, we can go home.” Remus gave him a gentle nudge toward the boards. “Go find Sirius, okay?”
“Okay.”
Remus watched him skate across the ice until Leo caught him and swung him into the air before turning back to Craig with the coldest glare he could muster. “You can say whatever the hell you want about me, but keep my little brother out of your fucking gossip column. He’s ten. I better not see his face on some tabloid, got it?”
“Crystal clear,” Craig said with a harsh gulp.
“Good.” Remus looked over to Marlene and smiled, giving her a fist bump. “See you tomorrow, Marley. Say hi to D for me.”
“Will do.”
--------------------------------------
After endless hugs and a standing offer to play from Coach, they finally made it to the car just before four pm. They practically had to crowbar Jules and Moody apart—Remus was half-expecting the grouchy old man to run out after their car waving adoption papers, and letting Kuny figure out Jules was ticklish may have been the worst mistake of Remus’ life.
It was cute, though, seeing the puppylike love on his teammates’ faces whenever Jules entered the room. Jules clearly had a good time; he passed out cold in the backseat within two minutes of leaving the parking lot, still damp from his shower.
“Is it bad that I don’t want to give him back yet?” Remus asked.
“I was just about to say that,” Sirius laughed, glancing into the rearview mirror. “We could tell your parents the flight was cancelled.”
“They miss him.”
Sirius sighed. “I’m sure they do.”
“I still don’t want to put him on a plane alone.”
“He’ll be safe.”
“One of us could fly with him…?” Remus shook his head. “Never mind, he’d think we were treating him like a kid. Ugh. I already miss him.”
“We’ve still got an hour or so to pack.” They turned into the driveway and Sirius parked, but neither of them moved to get out. “This was really, really fun. I’m glad we did it.”
“Me, too.” Remus sighed and twisted around to shake Jules’ knee. “Jules, we’re home. You can sleep on the plane, okay?”
Jules took a deep breath and blinked awake, scrunching his nose up. “I don’t wanna pack.”
“I’m not doing it for you, so you better get a wiggle on unless you want to go home in just your underwear.” Jules was out of the car in a flash and both of them dissolved into laughter. “Oh, fuck, I didn’t think that would work.”
“Come on, he’s about to break the door down.” Sirius snorted and got their bags out of the trunk, then tossed Jules his keys. “It’s the one in the middle, buddy.”
“The blue one?”
“No.”
“The yellow one?”
“Are either of those in the middle?”
“…is it the silver one?”
“There you go.”
Jules got it open after a moment of maneuvering and they tumbled inside in a heap of hockey gear, locking the door against the cold wind that was starting to blow. Packing wasn’t difficult—Remus had put Jules’ laundry into the dryer the previous night and threw it into his backpack as Jules collected his books and leftover socks.
They were in the car by five; Remus was a little nervous about getting to the airport on time, but traffic was light and they arrived with more than an hour to spare. Check-in was easy, they made it through security without any issues, and before he knew it, they were standing in front of the gate.
“You have everything, right?” he asked for the thousandth time as Jules rocked on the balls of his feet. “Books, clothes, everything you brought?”
“I’m fine, Re,” he said.
“You’re not hungry?”
“I had a sandwich before we left, remember?”
“It’s a four-hour flight.”
“I’ll be okay.” Jules looked up at him and smiled. “I’m ten, remember?”
I know, that’s why I’m worried. “Boarding for first-class passengers and unaccompanied minors,” a smooth voice called over the intercom. Remus’ heart leapt and he saw Sirius stiffen slightly.
“That’s you, bud,” he said around the lump in his throat, crouching to give him a proper hug. He buried his face in the side of Jules’ neck and gave him a tight squeeze. “Love you.”
“Love you more,” Jules mumbled. Remus let go after a moment and Jules moved to Sirius. “I’ll miss you.”
“Oh, buddy.” Sirius kissed the top of his head. “I’ll miss you, too.”
“Say hi to mom and dad for me, yeah?” Remus added as Jules walked over to a stewardess in a blue dress.
“I love you!” he called again. Just before they reached the gate, he stopped in his tracks. “Wait!”
“What?” Remus’ stomach dropped to his feet as Jules shrugged his backpack off and ran back to them, flinging himself into Sirius’ arms.
“I didn’t think of a nickname for you!”
“That’s okay,” Sirius assured him. “I don’t need one.”
“Nicknames are for people we care about, and I care about you,” Jules insisted. He narrowed his eyes in thought before breaking into a wide grin. “Siri.”
“Like the phone app?”
“Exactly. Might need some workshopping, though.”
“Go catch your plane,” Sirius laughed, setting him down after a final hug. Jules ran back to the stewardess, who gave them a quick smile while she helped him get his backpack on again. They stayed in their spot, hand-in-hand, until the plane was nothing but a speck among the clouds and their feet started to ache.
“They’ll come visit soon, right?” Remus leaned his head against Sirius’ shoulder as they headed for the exit.
“They will.”
“How much do you want to bet Jules left at least three things behind?”
“He probably left half his clothes under the bed, but there are so many other things we’re going to be doing tonight that don’t include tracking down a kid’s lost sock.”
“Oh, really?” Remus raised an eyebrow at him and kissed his knuckles. “I like the way you think.”
“We already earned our Oreos, mon loup. I think we deserve a reward for surviving three weeks of constant family time.”
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bug13underscore · 4 years ago
Note
Bookstore!au with trope exes and prompt “sometimes, i sit in bed and wonder what would happen if things were different.” For Alex/Wille
Not sure if you wanted them to get a happy ending, but that’s what I went with. 
Did I want to push my own bookstore-cafe-barista experience into this? Absolutely. Did I know how I wanted to go about that at first? Absolutely not, but I managed it. <3 I hope you enjoy this Anon!! <3 
“Hi! Welcome to Narne and Bobles, is there anything we can help you find today?” Willie’s voice drifted to the café from where he stood greeting people from his position in the front of the store, and Alex resisted everything in him that urged him to look across the floor, instead focusing on pressing the right buttons on the espresso machine. 
Forcing himself to focus on the three drinks to make in front of him, rather than relying on his muscle memory as usual, was harder today. It also didn’t help that he knew he was due for a break soon and would have to leave the sanctity of his café counter. He passed the three vanilla lattes over the counter to their recipients, just as his café counterpart came back from her break. 
“Hey, Jules.” He smiled as she pulled open the door to their kitchen. “Hair looks a little out of place, wanna pull it back again?” He teased, watching as she pulled her black apron over her head and yellow sweater. 
“Oh my god.” The girl groaned, quickly pulling her scrunchie out of her hair and adjusting it. “Remind me to kill Luke later, yeah?” 
“Tsk, tsk, Molina, kissing and murder on the job?” He gave a sharp laugh, beginning to make a drink for himself. 
“Shut up!” Julie bristled, picking up the nearest sharpie and tossing it at him. “Go on your break and leave me to complain.” 
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going.” He huffed, dipping over to their bake case and grabbing a croissant, drink already in hand. “I’ll pay for this after my shift, promise.” 
“Sure, sure.” She gave him a wink as he finally pulled off his apron, giving her a final wave before making his way through the store to clock out before heading to their break room. 
After entering the code to get into the back, he gave his (favorite but don’t tell the others) manager, Ray, a slight wave before he went back to their cluster of fold-out tables. Alex usually spent his breaks zoned out, allowing himself to process his day up to that point and he was beginning to do just that, when he’s sadly interrupted by another person coming onto break. 
The last person he wanted to see, to be honest. 
“Hey, Alex.” The other boy offered him a nervous smile, taking a seat at the opposite end of the table. 
“Hey, Willie.” He replied with an awkward smile, quickly taking a bite of his croissant. 
They say in the silent room for a while, he thinks, though when Alex checks the time on his phone it’s barely been five minutes. He has to hold back a groan, knowing that the next twenty-so minutes would be worse. 
Alex uses the knowledge that Ray is within earshot to comfort him. He wouldn’t know why he’d need Ray if anything did happen, but just knowing he was there was a comfort. 
Until he hears the telltale sound of the door to their employees-only area slams shut and no one new comes back here. Meaning that Ray left and it truly was just Alex and Willie back here. 
Fuck. 
“Can I be honest?” Willie’s voice is quiet, which almost feels like a punch in Alex’s gut, as he’d only known the boy to be so loud, volume wise and by personality. 
“About what?” Alex’s voice came out just as quiet, it felt like they were sharing secrets or talking after lights-out at that weird summer camp he used to go to. 
“Everything,” He paused, only continuing when Alex gave a curt nod. “Sometimes, I just sit in bed and wonder, y’know, what would happen if things were different.” 
Alex sits for a moment, processing the words that Willie said. ‘What would happen if things were different.’
It wasn’t as if he hadn’t thought those same words, some nights not sleeping because his brain was too busy coming up with alternate outcomes. 
“Me too.” He swallows, lunch long forgotten. “But things aren’t different, so we have to deal with them how they are now.” 
“What if we made them different?” Willie offered, his stare earnest and solid, voice more confident than it had been since this conversation started. 
Alex felt like he’d been thrown into a completely different world, with the option to change things being placed in front of him. He blinked a couple times, mind reeling. The feeling of anxiety in his stomach wasn’t new, it had been living with him near constantly his whole life, but with it came a sense of warmth, of excitement. 
“Yeah.” He heard himself say, although his voice sounded foreign in his ears. “How do we start?” 
“You’re off tonight?” Willie’s grin is blinding, his question is empty though. Alex knows that he knows he’s off tonight, neither of them usually worked Thursday evenings, but he nods anyway. “I’ll meet you here after your shift then, yeah?” Alex gives another nod before checking his phone. 
“Well, I better clock back in. I’ll see you later?” Alex feels giddy all of a sudden as he collects his stuff and cleans up. 
“I’ll see you later.” Willie looks as giddy as he feels, which comforts him a bit. He gives a wave and goes to clock back in before rejoining Julie in the cafe. 
“Hey, Jules.” Alex smiles, pulling his apron over his head. 
“Someone seems happy.” She walks past him with a couple dirty plates, hip-bumping him as she heads to their dish-pit. 
“I am.” He laughs, occupying himself with checking their ice station. “We talked.” 
“Oh, yeah?” Her voice was higher and Alex knew without looking at her that her eyebrows were cinched together and full of her usual sisterly concern. 
“Yeah.” He grinned, angling his body towards her. “I think we’re gonna be okay.” 
“That's good.” Julie laughed, coming to draw him into a hug. “I won’t have to have my dad fire him now.” 
“Jules, we talked about this, you can’t have him fire people just because they upset one of us.” 
“Okay, but to be fair, Mikey totally deserved it.” 
“Amendment, you can’t have Ray fire people for upsetting me or Luke. If they upset Reggie, it’s fair game.” 
“I think I like this amendment, this amendment is good. Speaking of which, I think Rodney from receiving is giving him shit again.” 
“Jesus fucking Christ, that guy again?” 
As they raddled into their usual work gossip for the next couple hours, Alex felt more at ease than he had in awhile. If he happens to grin across the store at Willie anytime they lock eyes and Julie notices, she doesn’t mention it. She certainly doesn’t mention it when Willie comes up and joins in their gossip for the first time in weeks and Alex can’t be more overjoyed at how the day had turned out.
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goosewhisker · 4 years ago
Text
this crooked posture (is all you’ve ever known)
read this on ao3 || read this on fanfiction.net
i wrote this whole thing in a span of about 5 days :pensive: as u can maybe tell i have a lot of feelings abt that one conversation btwn scourge and jules...there is so much potential here and im sad we never got to see it
as far as timeline goes- this would probably take place in the pre-boot universe about six months or so after scourge & co escape from zone jail. the destructix are camping out on mobius for the time being to avoid drawing zonic's attention and knothole has wrapped up the ixis naugus/metal sally arcs.
Summary: Fiona heads off with a wave, and he's left where he started - staring through a window into a nearly-empty kitchen, looking in on a life was never his and never will be. Inside, the robian sets bacon on the stovetop to fry and starts making toast, blissfully unaware of the hedgehog just outside. It's hard to tell on a robot, obviously, but he looks perfectly content with his life. Happy, even.
Pathetic. 
Or: Scourge avoids his problems, Fiona is exasperated, and Jules is mostly oblivious.
It's the early hours of the morning. So early, in fact, that it shouldn't even technically be called morning because it's still basically nighttime and no one sane is up right now.
Which is probably why the idiotic robian is up at five o'clock in the morning, puttering around in the kitchen and making breakfast. There's literally no reason for it. It's not like he can eat anything, after all, and his stupid son lives off chilidogs, so he's not going to eat it. And his stupid wife isn't getting up for like two hours, so she's not eating it either. See? Idiocy.
Yet another thing that their universes seem to have in common.
"What are you doing?"
Scourge almost shrieks - key word is almost, 'cause he's too cool to scream like a dork - and tackles Fiona into the bushes. "Shhh!"
Fiona splutters indignantly and a second later her fist bounces off his jaw, which, ow. "Are you nuts? Get off me!"
"Shhhut up!" Scourge throws a quick glance over his shoulder at the window. No one's come outside to investigate, so hopefully no one's heard. He rolls off her a second later. "You wanna get us arrested, woman?"
"Hey, I'm a legal citizen of this universe!" Fiona protests. "If anything, it's you who's getting arrested, Mr.-Snooping-Through-Other-People's-Windows. That's so creepy."
"We're both wanted criminals here; if we get caught, we're going down together," Scourge points out, graciously ignoring her last comment. "And anyway, I'm... gathering intel."
Fiona snorts. "Pull the other one, Scourge. That's not gonna work on me." Crossing her arms, she adds, "You've been gathering intel every night for the past week. And I know you're technically the same person, but watching Sonic sleep is really weird."
"I'm not watching him," Scourge snaps before he can help himself.
"Oh?" Fiona's eyes glint and it's then that Scourge realizes he's slipped. "Then who are you watching?"
"Uhhh..." Scourge fidgets while trying not to look like he's fidgeting. "No one. I'm just passing through, not watching anything. Why'd I want to do that anyway?" He forces a laugh. "So lame."
Fiona regards him with a flat stare. "Your fingerprints are smudged all over the window."
"What?" Scourge whips around to check the window. He'd been so careful not to leave any traces of his visits, but-
Waitaminute.
"Very funny," Scourge growls into his gloved hands. Fiona snickers.
"Look, if you don't want to tell me, I won't make you," she says, standing up and brushing the dirt off her pants. "But I'll find out eventually. And if this new obsession of yours endangers yourself or the team, I'm going to put a stop to it."
"Yeah, yeah," Scourge mutters, waving her off. "Get lost."
"Mhm. We still on for that movie night?"
"'course. See you there, babe."
Fiona heads off with a wave, and he's left where he started - staring through a window into a nearly-empty kitchen, looking in on a life was never his and never will be. Inside, the robian sets bacon on the stovetop to fry and starts making toast, blissfully unaware of the hedgehog just outside. It's hard to tell on a robot, obviously, but he looks perfectly content with his life. Happy, even.
Pathetic.
Scourge kicks the side of the house, suddenly incandescently furious with everything. Inside, Jules looks up in surprise, but Scourge is already gone.
"I need to stop," Scourge says later. The movie is over - some samurai flick that Simian had picked out and Lightning had ruined with his constant nitpicking - and they'd gone out for ice cream afterwards (read: robbed that nice gelato place downtown). Getting used to having teammates again is... something, Scourge supposes. But it's not completely terrible.
"You need to stop," Fiona agrees. She's texting furiously, slouched into the ratty couch in their current hideout with Scourge's head on her lap.
"It's just weird seeing him alive, is all," Scourge tells the ceiling. "That's all it is. Like, when you see something weird, and you just gotta look at it. It doesn't mean anything."
"Are you trying to convince yourself or me?"
"Not tryin' to convince anyone. I'm just saying what it is."
Fiona sets down her phone with a sigh. "Look, you gotta stop hurting yourself like this."
Scourge sits up a little too fast. "Hurting myself? What? Babe, have you forgotten who you're talking to? I'm Scourge the Hedgehog, I don't hurt."
Fiona gives that all the acknowledgment it deserves, which is none. "I told you about the... the prison, when I was a kid," she says. Scourge falls silent. "I went back there a few times, after I was big enough to handle myself. There wasn't a reason, really. I just thought I had to see it. And it sort of helped the first time - I cleaned out all the bots and made sure that place couldn't hold anyone ever again - but after that, I just went back again and again because it made me hurt and that felt good. Because I was hurting anyway, and being able to make it worse when I wanted to made me feel like I could control it."
Scourge doesn't say anything.
"But that wasn't true," Fiona says. Her voice shakes just a little, and without thinking Scourge takes her hand. It's stupid (sentimental) but she smiles faintly. "I wasn't healing or in control or anything. I was just hurting myself. And I can't stand watching you do the same."
"Babe," Scourge begins hoarsely.
"Tell me it's not the same," Fiona says flatly. "Or tell me- tell me that if I went back to that prison and crawl through that tunnel I dug with my own hands and relive every moment of the hell I went through, that you wouldn't stop me. That you would watch me do it."
He can't tell her that. He can't tell her that and she knows it.
Scourge looks away.
Fiona sighs and runs her hand along his spines. "He's not your dad, Scourge," she says quietly. "He's an entirely different person. Hurting yourself isn't going to make anything better."
"Okay," Scourge agrees. "Okay." Then, after a moment, "Thanks, babe."
Fiona smiles again, and there's something so sad about it he squeezes her hand again (uncool, but it's not like there's anyone else to see it). "No problem, hun."
He goes back again the next day.
This time, the wife is there too.
Scourge crouches in the massive oak tree beside the window, pretending he doesn't feel like a massive creep. His green fur blends neatly with the leaves, rendering him all but invisible to any casual observers, particularly when it's not-quite-light. With luck, it'll fool robian eyes as well.
Anyway.
Scourge doesn't remember his mother. She was simply never in the picture; whether because of death or divorce he never knew. Generally, he suspects the latter - months upon months of neglect, of being constantly passed over and ignored for the more important burdens of the state and the good of the people - yeah, he can see how a divorce would happen. Not that he'll ever know now.
The hedgehog in the kitchen doesn't look neglected. She throws her arms around the robian, not seeming to mind the cold metal, and dances around him as they prepare breakfast. The robian, in turn, leans into her touches and takes advantage of a moment of distraction to dab pancake batter on her nose. It's disgusting. Scourge gags.
Part of him wonders what he's gaining out of this. Hiding in a tree, spying on some losers and their dumb domestic life - not exactly fitting behavior for the former king of Moebius, after all.
It's not... It's not that Fiona's right. It's not like he's hurting himself - like he told Fiona, he's Scourge the Hedgehog. He doesn't do that emotions garbage. That kind of wimpiness is more Sonic's thing.
(Let alone that Fiona had said it happened to her. Let alone that she's usually right, and that she's one of the strongest people he knows.)
He's just curious. That's all. Nothing more, nothing less.
(The voice in his head sounding suspiciously like Fiona whispers, Yeah, right.)
Inside the kitchen, the robian starts flipping pancakes. For a second, Scourge tries to imagine his own father like that: Jules the Hedgehog, king of Moebius, flipping pancakes in a frilly pink apron and laughing with his wife. Arguing over who gets to wake up their son. Talking and hugging and laughing and living -
- and the illusion dissipates. Jules wouldn't set foot in a kitchen. He had servants to do that kind of thing, just like he had servants to take care of his son.
Scourge drops down from the tree branch and lands lightly on his feet. He's done here. He slinks off into the streets, hiding his face from the strengthening sunlight as synthetic laughter rings out behind him.
"Hey, Simian," Scourge says a few days later.
Simian continues lifting weights without slowing. "Yes?"
Scourge likes Simian, as much as he likes anyone. The ape is steady and has a solid head on his shoulders, and while it's kind of a drag most times, he does occasionally have helpful bits of advice. And when he goes loose on the battlefield, he can be really fun to fight alongside.
So that, plus the fact that Hawk doesn't care and Lightning would probably make fun of him and he'd rather eat his own shoes than talk to Fly, makes him Scourge's best option.
Scourge swings his legs back and forth as they dangle off the chair and tries to think of a way to broach it. He just needs to be subtle, right? "When was the last time you saw your parents?"
And maybe that wasn't super subtle after all, because Simian stops in the middle of his workout session (he never stops in the middle of a workout session) to stare at him. It feels... extremely uncomfortable, actually, wow. Scourge hops up and starts his stretches (anything to avoid looking back).
"When I last left my village, I was eighteen," Simian says at last. He sounds thoughtful, which is never a good sign. "That was several years ago... six years, I believe."
"That long, huh?" Scourge moves to quad stretches. "You're pretty old, man. Slowing down anytime soon?"
He's rewarded with a sharp grin. "I'm not that old. Though I suppose most people look slow next to you."
"Damn straight!"
"Why do you ask?"
And that's the issue - when even Scourge isn't sure why he's asking. He takes his time answering. "Oh, you know... just curious. Ever think about 'em?"
There's another ponderous silence, which mostly just succeeds in making Scourge antsy. Well, antsier.
"Sometimes," Simian says. "But I am a dedicated member of this team. You can rest assured of that."
And that's nice, but it's not what he's asking-
"...but that's not what you're asking, is it?"
Scourge freezes. Is he just that transparent? Why can everyone suddenly read his mind now? "What're you on about, man?" he deflects.
Simian shakes his head. "I do miss them, sometimes. It is natural for children to miss their parents."
"Not me!" Scourge laughs, and if it comes out a little too sharp, well, who's to blame him?
"Of course," Simian says, sounding vaguely indulgent. "Does that satisfy your curiosity?"
"Uh, sure," Scourge lies. "A little heavy on the oversharing, but it's cool." And then he scarpers, because if super speed's good for anything it's for escaping uncomfortable conversations. Simian doesn't say anything about it later, and thank Chaos because he doesn't think he'd be able to face Fiona if she ever got wind of that little talk.
The next time he's in town, Scourge picks up a new set of woodworking knives and leaves it on Simian's equipment. It's not like he's gone soft, buying presents for his friends or whatever, Scourge tells himself. He's just... buying Simian's silence. It's a bribe, is all.
(Simian saves him some extra ice cream the night after and that's that.)
It is natural for children to miss their parents, Simian had said. Ha! As if. Scourge hasn't missed his old man a day of his life and he's not about to start now.
... that'd carry more weight if he wasn't spending two or three mornings a week moping outside their kitchen.
Scourge sips his frappe and pretends he's not sulking. Right now, he's outside some random diner in Knothole in full disguise, complete with a trenchcoat, fedora, and sunglasses. He was honestly expecting someone to stop him before now - this kind of garb is about as suspicious as it gets - but no one seemed to even notice anything out of the ordinary. Idiots.
Fiona would kill him if she knew the kind of risks he's taking - which, of course, is why she doesn't need to know.
Scourge checks the time. Seven o'clock, meaning the wife is just getting up and they're having breakfast right now - Chaos, he has their entire morning schedule memorized, doesn't he? Fiona was right, he is obsessed. Scourge slumps over the table and buries his head in his arms.
He can still turn this around. Knowing their schedule is useful, from a strategic standpoint; he could threaten them, take them hostage... even kill them. Sonic would be taken completely offguard. It would be simple. Easy. The smart thing to do.
Scourge's groan is only partially muffled by the table.
"...you alright, son?"
What-
Something electric shoots up his spine. Scourge's claws dig into the edges of the table with a crunch as he bolts upright. And there, before him, with a look so familiar but so foreign in his eyes is-
He's not the same.
His skin is metallic where it should be flesh, plated where it should be furred. His eyes burn a bright pixelated red when they should be brown. That stupid tuft of fur on his head is shining chrome that glints under the bright sun.
But the way he stands - colored though it is with a hint of a soldier's posture - that proud tilt of his chin, the gentleness in his hands as they reach out to him -
It's Jules.
It's different from seeing him in that dim, lamp-lit room. In the daylight, the differences are exaggerated - and so are the similarities.
For a second, Scourge can only see his dad standing there.
He reacts on instinct. Scourge rears back and smacks Jules' outstretched hand away. "Don't touch me!"
Jules straightens up, virtual eyes widening with shock. "I'm- I'm sorry, it looked like you were unhappy. I only meant to-"
"Well, don't," Scourge spits. "Get lost."
Jules looks at him longer and then, for some Chaos-forsaken reason, doesn't leave. Why isn't he leaving, Scourge thinks furiously, and only realizes he's breathing heavy when his breaths start coming too fast and harsh in his ears. Jules says something, but the words don't make sense and he can't tear his gaze away from the polished metal. Beneath his fingertips, the table starts to splinter.
And then there's warm hands on his shoulders, and a steady voice in his ears, saying, "Listen to me. Do you want me to leave?"
Nothing comes out of his throat. Scourge shakes helplessly. He wants him to leave, he wants him stay, he wants to never see him again. He wants his dad.
Jules must take it as permission to stay, because he doesn't leave. The grip on his shoulders is a solid, unmoving presence, and Scourge can't help but lean into it. "I'm going to count slowly. Try to match your breathing to my voice - it's alright if you can't. Starting now. One, two..."
For some completely batty reason, he tries, and it helps some. His breathing is a little too fast and a lot shaky, still, but it settles into a more even pace instead of the uncontrollable rush. Sense comes back slowly, and with it, an acute, uncomfortable awareness of what just happened.
Well. At least he's not crying.
Scourge stands abruptly, tearing himself from Jules' arms. The robian raises a brow but doesn't protest. "Are you feeling better?" he asks instead. It's entirely casual, with no hint of pity, and Scourge hates himself a little for being pathetically grateful.
"Peachy," Scourge snaps and whirls around, hiking up his collar. Jules isn't screaming yet, so he clearly hasn't realized who he is, and Scourge is in no hurry to correct him. Honestly, this hedgehog's stupidity knows no bounds.
"Well." The robian stands up, reaches for a grocery bag that Scourge only just realized was there, and adds, "Stay safe, son."
Scourge's vision briefly whites out from fury. "Don't call me that," he snarls and takes off running before Jules can reply.
He finds a secluded place in a lonely corner, throws his warp ring, and promises himself that he'll never go back.
Scourge does some research.
It's called a panic attack, apparently. Common among soldiers, which is probably why Jules knew what to do - he said he'd been on the front lines, hadn't he? Common among victims of PTSD, the website says, and Scourge scoffs and closes the tab. Trauma - ridiculous. Scourge doesn't do trauma. If anything, he gives it to other people.
He's still snickering at his joke when Hawk comes in to tell him that Finitevus called in with another job. Normally, Scourge would tell him to screw off, but he's offering a massive stack of Anarchy beryl in return - something they've been in short supply of since they ditched Moebius.
Scourge's body itches at the thought of going super again. He accepts.
Thirty minutes later, they're waist-deep in smashed Eggman bots and struggling to fend off a fresh wave while Fiona and Hawk bicker over the terminal.
"I'm telling you, if we do that, we'll get locked out of the system entirely!" Fiona snaps.
Hawk throws up his hands. "Fine! Ignore me! It's not like you literally just have to enter the code or anything!"
Scourge spindashes down the line of Eggpawns, smashing through them like paper. He hits the wall at the right angle to bounce right off and uncurls in midair to land on his feet.
"Wrap it up, guys!" he yells and ducks beneath a stray kunai. "Watch it, Lightning!"
"Thought you were supposed to be the fast one," Lightning calls back.
"And I thought you were supposed to be able to aim!"
"I can." Lightning flicks a wrist and Scourge drops backward into a roll to avoid the next kunai that comes his way. When he springs back onto his feet, ready to chew out the idiotic trigger-happy lynx, there's a Badnik pinned to the wall right where he'd been standing. Lightning shoots him a smug grin.
"Right back atcha," Scourge mutters and barrels through the cluster taking potshots at Hawk and Fi.
"Ugh, fine!" Fiona shoves Hawk away and starts typing furiously.
Scourge drops another five Badniks and skids to a stop as an Egg Launcher smashes through the wall directly in front of him. "Fiona!"
"Give us a minute," Hawk snarls back.
The Launcher brings its arms down to eye level and Scourge leaps into the air as its targeting system locks on - and then Fly drops out of nowhere onto on its shoulders. "Need help?" the frog giggles (sweet Chaos Scourge hates him) and rips the thing's head off. Scourge blitzes right through its chest.
As its body slumps bonelessly to the floor, another Launcher steps through the wall behind it... and another one. And another. Chaos.
"If those things unload all those missiles in here, we're going to have a problem," Lightning says, echoing Scourge's own thoughts.
"Out of the way," Simian grunts, swinging the first bot's disembodied missile launcher-slash-arm onto his shoulder and taking aim.
"Are you nuts, man?" Scourge yells. "Didn't you hear Lightning? You fire that thing and this whole building's going down!"
"Better have the exit ready, then," Simian returns evenly.
"Got it!" Fiona announces, jumping up from the terminal with a chip in hand. Hawk follows, looking severely disgruntled. "Turns out we really did just have to enter the code. Hah."
"I told you," Hawk begins, but Fiona waves him off.
"You were right once, don't go getting a big head. You got the ring ready, sweetie?"
"Everyone over here! You miss the ring, we're leavin' you behind!" Scourge doesn't wait for a response and throws the warp ring. The portal spins into existence, glistening faintly in the electric light, and they all pile in. Simian fires off a final missile salvo before the ring vanishes and they tumble haphazardly into the Doc's lair to the sound of the entire base going up.
For a second, no one moves, too tired and bruised and tangled together to bother getting up. Lightning sighs heavily from the bottom of the heap. Scourge laughs.
"I trust you have what I asked for?" Finitevus asks from literally two feet away, and Scourge isn't even going to question how he knew where they'd end up. After all, they are at his mercy inside his weird evil lair, and Scourge knows how to be tactful.
Scourge props himself up on an elbow. "So do you like, practice being creepy, or is it natural?"
Without looking, Fiona smacks him in the back of the head.
"Ow!"
"We have it," Fiona says, extricating herself from the tangle. Scourge considers tripping her as she walks past, decides against it, and settles for hooking his ankle around Hawk's heel as he stands up. The bird goes down with a satisfying squawk right on top of Lightning and the ensuing chaos lets Scourge hop up onto his own feet.
Fiona ignores it.
"All the files relating to the roboticization process are on this USB," she says, holding it out. Finitevus takes it and, after a moment's inspection, slips it into his robes.
"So why'd you want that, Doc?" Scourge asks, adjusting his sunglasses. "Woulda thought that robot stuff wasn't quite your style."
"It is true that roboticization is a perversion of the natural order and representative of that which I seek to destroy," Finitevus concedes. "But I am not opposed to much that will give me the advantage against my nemeses. And I must admit the idea of enslaving your opponent's will to your own has a certain... charm."
Scourge and Fiona exchange a look - of the literally why is he like this and the why do we talk to him again variety - and Scourge shoves his hands in his pockets and steps up. "Uh... yeah, man. Totally. Anyway, if we're done here, can we have the beryl now?"
"Of course. But first, I have one more task for you."
Scourge scoffs disbelievingly. "Are you kidding? The deal was we break into Eggman's lab, steal your stupid information, and hand it over. We've done that. It took like forever and it was a massive pain in the butt the whole time, we are not adding anything else onto that and that's final."
"...I'll double the amount of beryl."
Scourge hesitates.
... which is how they ended up here. Scourge crouches on the windy rooftop, tugging his dumb fancy suit jacket closer and hoping idly that something happens soon. "Can we go in yet?" he asks.
Hawk, who's busy adjusting his own disguise, shakes his head. "You really have no patience at all, do you?"
"Nope!" Scourge tugs on his overly-tight tie and mostly just makes it worse. "How 'bout now?"
"If you were any good at infiltration, Fiona would've let you go in already," Hawk says. He's typing on his communicator, syncing all their devices into something they can actually use. It's not that Hawk's particularly adept at technology, or anything; it's just that all the rest of them are so abysmal at anything electric that tech duty usually falls to him or Fiona. "Unless Plan C falls through, you're not headed in 'till the last minute."
Scourge sighs loudly, letting his feet dangle off the edge of the building. "I could just walk in and grab him. They wouldn't even see me coming. Then we wouldn't have to spend a million years sitting out in the cold."
Hawk doesn't look up. "And then Sonic would pursue, and then we'd have to fight him off while trying to kidnap a geriatric former soldier without killing him. Which, given our previous track record..."
The bird trails off and Scourge grimaces. Yeah. They'd given up on kidnappings for a reason. They wouldn't have even considered this one if not for the offer of Anarchy beryl - which has been in extremely short supply recently, given they can't hop dimensions without instantly snagging Zonic's individual attention. And it's not like Scourge isn't flattered that the self-important dimensional cop will drop everything for a chance at catching him, but he's not planning on seeing the inside of Zone Jail ever again.
Anyway. It's a small blessing that Zonic hasn't come looking for them personally, or sent Sonic after them, but it's one Scourge isn't willing to throw away just for a power-up. Thus the kidnapping mission.
Scourge swings his legs contemplatively and longs for Fiona to hurry up so he can bash some heads.
Right on cue, their communicators ring. "Alright, boys," Fiona's voice comes through a little tinnily. "You ready?"
"Heck yeah," Scourge says immediately.
"Ready to go whenever," Hawk confirms.
"Roger. Meet me where we agreed." The comms unit crackles and goes silent. Scourge hops up and starts stretching quickly, trying to limber up his half-frozen muscles. Hawk sets his communicator down and picks the lock on the trapdoor they'd been sitting next to. Once it's open, they slip down a small flight of stairs and through an empty hallway. At the end, they take a right through another hall and stop outside a janitor's closet.
Scourge raps on the door. "Knock, knock," he says.
There's a moment of silence. Then Lightning opens the door. "Hurry up," he whispers, peering over their shoulders.
Scourge clicks his tongue in disappointment. "Dude, you're supposed to say 'who's there.'"
"Yeah, Lightning," Fiona says from inside. "You're ruining the script."
"I- what?" Lightning sputters. "You people are so immature. Simian, can you tell them to shut up?"
There's a good fifteen seconds of judgemental silence. "...you should've said 'who's there.'"
Lightning rolls his eyes and Scourge pushes past him into the room. Simian nods as he enters and Fly, who's doing something he can't quite make out, cackles in a corner. Scourge spreads his arms wide. "Alright, I'm here now, the party can start!"
"Good to have you," Fiona says. She's sitting on an overturned bucket, one ankle folded over her knee and eyes glued to her phone. "Alright, so Plan A failed."
"Yes!"  Scourge cheers, pumping a fist in the air.
Fiona shoots him a glare. "We weren't able to get him away from his bodyguards and the speech is about to start soon. I didn't want to do this in front of a crowd, but we may not have a choice. Right now, we only have to deal with the normal security and Sonic. After the ceremony, they're going to meet up with a bunch of Sonic's friends before going back home to Knothole."
"Wouldn't it be better to wait, then?" Simian asks, folding his arms.
Fiona shakes her head. "No for two reasons. We can handle the normal security easily, especially if we use the crowd for meatshields while Scourge is distracting Sonic. Sonic's friends are, frankly, a much greater threat than the security, and they will not be holding back. And if we wait until they go back to Knothole, we have that... woman to deal with."
Everyone shudders at the mention of Nicole. Their last attempt on Knothole is not a memory anyone wants to relive.
"So if we use the crowd for cover and Scourge's able to distract Sonic for long enough, this is doable," Fiona resumes. "We'll just have to time it right. And we can not let Sonic know our target at all costs. If he realizes we're trying to kidnap his uncle, he won't let the old man out of his sight, and our job will get a lot harder. Got that?"
A quick briefing on everyone's roles later and it's time to go. Scourge starts to follow the guys out the door and is caught short by Fiona's hand on his wrist. "Sweetie, can I talk to you for a second?" she asks and drags him back inside before he can answer.
She turns him loose and Scourge spins around, rubbing his wrist. "Alright, if this is about what I think it's about-"
"Don't worry, I'm not yelling at you. Just..." she trails off to stare at him.
Scourge tries not to fidget and goes for a confident smile, propped up against the wall. "Babe, don't worry about me. This'll be a lark."
"It's... you know." Fiona shrugs and apparently decides to just go for it. "You've been having issues about your dad. I need to know if that'll affect your performance here."
"What?" Scourge is almost kind of offended. If it was anyone but Fi asking, he would be offended. "Babe, my uncle was a total nutjob. Like, worse than my old man. No issues here."
Fiona looks at him a second longer. "Alright," she says at last. "If you say so. I'm counting on you."
She brushes past him on her way out, squeezing his hand on the way, which is nice since she's weird about stuff like that. Scourge follows a minute later.
I require one more thing for my research, Finitevus had said. Charles the Hedgehog. Inventor of the roboticization process. He is receiving an award for his technological advancements in Central City in two days. Bring him to me alive and you will have your full reward.
Scourge scans the crowd for Charles now, leaning on the fancy railing of the fancy indoors balcony overlooking the fancy banquet hall. There's a name for a balcony like this - a mezzasomething - but he can't remember what it is. Maybe Fiona would know.
Scourge tugs at the collar of his unbearably fancy suit jacket and longs for his sunglasses.
He'd told Fiona the truth earlier - his uncle was a wackjob. Paranoid, jittery, simultaneously ravenous for power and terrified of it - no one had liked him, least of all his nephew.
Jules had liked him, probably. Enough to give him a home and a laboratory for his crazy experiments and to turn a blind eye when they started getting darker and more deadly. That had gone on up until Charles had invented a machine that turned moebians to robots, and its first (unwilling) test subject had been Jules.
Yeah. After Ivo managed to save Jules' life, they'd put a stop to that real quick.
They'd told Scourge that Charles had gone far away to someplace he could be happy. He still remembers that scene - Jules crouching down before him with mournful eyes, one arm cold and stiff where the roboticization process had gotten it before Ivo had pulled him out. His flesh hand had been warm and comforting on his shoulder, and Scourge had been so distracted by the touch that he hadn't even cared that his uncle was gone. He'd faked tears just to get Jules to stay with him a little longer.
Scourge shakes his head wildly, dissipating the memories. Anyway, it was painfully obvious in hindsight that Charles had either been jailed or executed for treason. Not that Scourge would have cared either way. Mostly, he's just vaguely curious to see what Charles is like in this world. Still a mad scientist, or something more benevolent?
A mass of whispering erupts at the main entryway of the hall. Scourge straightens up.
A bunch of bodyguards in black enter, followed by a few people who could be family or friends. Sonic's there, obviously, and next to him can only be Uncle Charles.
Scourge doesn't really remember his uncle; he was, after all, a kid when the guy vanished, and he avoided him whenever possible. But the face before him is undeniably like his own. He has the same sloping forehead, the same pointed muzzle. Honestly, he looks exactly like Sonic with a mustache.
Scourge leans forward, intrigued, as the old guy says something that has Sonic pitching forward in laughter. It's weird, seeing him. Not like seeing Jules, or even like seeing the mom. Just... weird.
Not the kind of weird that Fiona's worried about, thank Chaos. No, he'll have no problems handing this schmuck over to the Doc.
Charles and his little squad sit down in the front row while the bodyguards split up to cover the exits. Scourge tracks their positions automatically, mostly focused on the target. Charles claps his nephew on the back and leans over to whisper something in his ear. Scourge looks away with a sneer.
The ceremony starts. A bunch of people Scourge doesn't know talk about a bunch of things he doesn't understand, blah blah blah. Scourge yawns and taps a tattoo on the railing with his claws. Luckily, all the civilians seem to have gone down to the seating area, so he's alone on the balcony. As long as the security doesn't notice him, he should have no problem staying under the radar until it's time to make his move. Until then, he amuses himself trying to find the rest of the Destructix hidden in the crowd.
Down below, the speeches start wrapping up. Charles ruffles his nephew's quills one last time and heads up to the stage. Scourge straightens up as he accepts his award and takes the mic.
"First, I'd like to thank you all for being here today," the hedgehog says. Scourge taps his foot impatiently. "I know it's a bit of a long way for a lot of you - we've got some visitors from Holoska, even! - and it means a lot to me that you'd take the time to make it here today. So thank you."
Ugh, so boring. Can't Fiona hurry up? At this rate, they'll be doing the audience a favor by sparing them all this drivel.
"- of the University of Spagonia for funding my research and going out of his way to help me whenever I needed it. Thank you, old friend."
Scourge taps his communicator and almost jumps when it crackles to life.
"Alright, everyone's in position," Fiona says. "On my mark, Scourge, you're going to distract Sonic. Jump down there, challenge him to a fight, anything. His sole concern needs to be beating you up."
"All he has to do is be himself and Sonic'll be jumping at the chance to tear him a new one," Lightning interjects. "Works on me."
"Oh, shut up," Scourge says. "Fiona, tell him to shut up."
"...well, he has a point."
Lightning's amused huff is audible over the comm. Scourge rolls his eyes. Traitors, all of them.
Fiona's voice goes serious. "But for real. Get him mad and get him out of here. Make him chase you 'till I call you back, and don't give him a second to realize there's more going on. If he comes back here before we're done, it's over. Okay?"
"I got it handled, babe," Scourge says. "Worry about yourself."
"Believe me, I am." The comms go silent a second later. Scourge stands up, shakes the stiffness from his limbs, and hops up to crouch on the railing. It's showtime.
On stage, Charles is still talking. Does the hedgehog not know how to shut up? "And finally, I'd like to thank my family, who loved and supported me every step of the way, up to and including being here with me today as I accept this award. Sonic, my amazing nephew - you've grown so much and, while I wasn't there for all of it-"
Well, that's enough of that. Scourge leaps into the air, curls up, and lands a perfectly executed homing attack on the podium. Splinters, chunks of wood, and a massive dust cloud fly everywhere. Someone in the audience screams, and behind him he can hear Charles stumbling back and coughing furiously.
"Uncle Chuck!" In the front row, Sonic rockets to his feet and dashes forward, only to come skidding to a stop. As the dust dissipates, Scourge grins. He can feel the light glinting off his fangs.
"Long time no see, faker," Scourge spits. He pulls his sunglasses out of the stupid suit jacket's pocket and slides them on with a flourish. "Can't exactly say it's a pleasure seeing you... then again, I always look forward to a chance to kick your butt."
"Wh- Scourge?" the blue idiot sputters. The shock only lasts a matter of seconds before fading, as the flabbergasted expression turns into something more like a smirk. "Well, well. I haven't heard from you since I demolished you and left Zonic to drag your sorry carcass away. Did they let you out on good behavior?"
Good behavior. Hah. As if Sonic knows anything about what goes on in Zone Jail. "Please. I smashed my way out of there the first week. The Zone Jail's in shambles; just ask Zonic! Oh wait - you can't." He laughs.
Sonic's smile slips a notch and the quills on his back bristle. "What happened to Zonic?"
Scourge keeps laughing.
"Alright, pincushion. Maybe you'll tell me when I beat it out of you!" Apparently done talking, Sonic curls up into a spindash. Scourge, still laughing, topples off the wrecked podium and leaves Sonic to smash into the stage where he'd been standing. People are screaming, someone's escorting Charles off the stage, and Scourge is reveling in the chaos.
"Slowing down, blue boy?" he mocks him. "You'll never find out about your stupid friend if you can't even touch me." Zonic's perfectly fine, actually, unless you count the truckload of paperwork Scourge saddled him with after his escape from Zone Jail. Not that Sonic needs to know that, 'cause if anything ticks him off, it's a threat to one of his friends.
And, true to form, Sonic snarls wordlessly and Scourge knows he's got him.
"You're looking kind of slow today - let's see if those legs of yours still work," Scourge calls over his shoulder and takes off. The world blurs around him as he taps into his speed, rockets between panicked partygoers and confused waiters and angry bodyguards. Out of the corner of his eye, he briefly spots Fiona crouching behind a pillar before she's blown away in his wake. Like this, outside sounds, sights, everything drops away, leaving him alone with himself and the wind.
It's nice. Peaceful, even.
And then the only other being who can keep up with him barrels into his side, sending them tumbling over each other right through the big open doors outside. Scourge lands a kick to Sonic's chest, sending him spinning away, and sprints down a sidestreet towards the marketplace. A moment later, the sound of footsteps running at 300 mph picks up behind him.
Scourge grins. The plan's working, then - Sonic's so ticked that he hasn't even stopped to wonder why Scourge isn't stopping to fight, or why he crashed the party in the first place. Now he just has to play this out 'till Fiona's done.
"Been slacking your exercise regimen lately? 'Cause I thought you were faster than this!" Scourge calls out.
"That so?" Sonic returns. The sound is unexpectedly close and Scourge looks back to see Sonic running only a few paces behind him. "I could say the same for you."
Scourge growls and vaults a fruit cart, sending it flying with a back kick. Sonic dodges the cart and dives through the onslaught of flying fruit, coming up without a scratch. Scourge's gained a precious few seconds, but in a contest of speed, those seconds mean everything. He blocks Sonic's path - kicking over trash cans, dodging in front of moving cars, knocking a baby out of its mother's arms with a well placed swipe. Sonic dodges the trash cans, goes over or around the vehicles, and loses a good fifteen seconds saving the baby. By the time they've cleared the marketplace, Scourge is about thirty feet ahead and gaining.
"What's wrong?" Sonic yells. "Scared of a little fight?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Scourge yells back. "Dunno 'bout you, but I'm not wasting my time fighting someone too slow to keep up!" Up ahead, a pile of trash bags is stacked against a sloping wall, reaching up to the edge of the roof. Scourge leaps up in a single bound and sprints along the rooftop. Behind, the trash bags crinkle as Sonic races up, and tiles creak as the hedgehog fights for balance. Scourge snorts and picks up speed.
The rooftop run is fraught with near-misses and almost-falls. This area of town has a mixture of buildings; some are modern and boxy, with flat tops, but there's a number of older structures with pointed tile roofs. Scourge skids down the sloping ridge of one of these, slips off the building, snags a flagpole on the way down and turns his fall into a launch point. He lands upright on the narrow ledge of a skyscraper and darts along the line of windows, flashing a mock salute at some goggle-eyed kid in its bedroom.
Sneakered feet hit the concrete behind him as Sonic pursues, grinning despite his ferocious eyes.
Scourge hooks a fast right as the ledge ends and drops down to the top level of the parking garage nestled against the 'scraper. Mostly he's planning on going back down to street level, but Sonic puts on a burst of speed and tackles him right there.
They roll head over heels across the concrete, colliding with a dusty pickup truck hard enough to dent in the side. Scourge throws himself out of the way and rolls onto his feet just as Sonic picks himself up. The blaring car alarm is the only sound as they stare each other down.
Sonic moves first. He doesn't bother curling up, just lunges fist first at Scourge's face. Scourge ducks the punch and goes in low for Sonic's solar plexus, narrowly dodging a knee to his face. Sonic slams his heel down on Scourge's foot and drives an elbow into his neck. Scourge stumbles back, falling into a roll to avoid Sonic's left hook, and comes up on his feet with room to spare.
There's another moment of staring and circling as they pant heavily and pretend they're not.
And then Sonic steps something that crunches and looks down.
Scourge lunges. Sonic sidesteps him easily and snatches it up - and wait, Chaosdammit that's his communicator-
"Is this a mic?" Sonic asks disbelievingly and then the pieces click.
He stares at Scourge blankly, and Scourge can practically see his train of thought - comms means accomplices, accomplices means there's a plan, a plan means Sonic was intentionally drawn out here away from the ceremony, and if Sonic's out here then -
Then -
Scourge swears and moves to tackle Sonic but the idiot's already gone. Instinctively, his hand goes to his ear - "Fiona, he's coming your way, I-" No, wait, Sonic's got the communicator and it's broken anyway, dammit. The plan's falling apart and it's entirely his fault.
Well. It hasn't fallen apart yet.
Scourge takes off, running full-tilt after Sonic. The irony of the situation isn't lost on him, not that he appreciates it. Sonic's trail is a direct beeline back to the hall. It should be easy to follow, but for some reason Scourge can't catch up those last few feet.
"I thought you wanted to fight, you dingus!" Scourge snaps. "Make up your mind already, sheesh!"
"You tricked me," Sonic growls.
"Uh, yeah? I'm the bad guy. It's kinda what I do."
"What's your actual plan?"
"Thought you were gonna beat me up and find out?"
Sonic snarls and, impossibly, picks up speed. Scourge has to drop the conversation entirely to focus on just keeping up.
They hit the convention hall scarce minutes later. There's clearly a fight going on inside; explosions and the faint sound of screaming accompany the flood of people battering down the doors in their desperation to escape. The Destructix are clearly having fun... and more importantly, haven't escaped yet. What on Moebius are they doing?!
Sonic zips through the crowd, dodging panicking mobians with practiced ease. Scourge doesn't bother; he kicks one middle-aged cat into the heart of the rush and vaults over the resulting pileup without missing a step. "Babe! Hope you're wrapping it up in there!" he yells as they burst into the ceremony hall.
The Destructix are more than holding their own. The security has been almost entirely cleared out; fallen guards litter the area while none of their own are even scratched. Fiona, wielding a G.U.N. issue stun pistol, jerks up in surprise as Sonic skids into the room. "Scourge, you had one job!" she screeches.
"So did you!" Scourge rams into Sonic from behind, sending them both flying into a row of seating. Scourge comes out on top. "What happened to Ch- the target?" he asks, pinning Sonic down with an elbow to his throat.
"Escaped," Fiona says grimly. "We've already informed the Doc... and, uh, we have a new objective now."
Sonic makes a choked-off sound and Scourge leans down harder. Something shifts behind him but he ignores it. "Alright, what is it?"
Fiona hesitates.
And then cold metal claws clamp down around his shoulder and tear him off Sonic, lifting him bodily into the air. The hedgehog wheezes for breath on the ground, but Scourge isn't paying attention. He's not paying attention to anything anymore, because in front of him-
"What the hell are you doing here," Scourge breathes.
Artificial red eyes burn into his own. "Don't touch my son," says Jules, and the anger in his voice causes every limb in Scourge's body to lock up with instinctive fear.
Of course Jules is here, Charles is his brother, why wouldn't he attend the ceremony - hadn't the blasted hedgehog said as much during his speech? Scourge should've realized it then. This was a bad idea, they need to get out of here, why did Scourge even come here in the first place-
Something in Jules' mechanical expression thaws.
The clawhold on his shoulder eases as he's lowered to his feet, but Scourge's brain is still spinning in circles. He's gone completely unresponsive, some part of him knows, but he can't think.
"Get away from him!" Fiona yells and plants a high kick right in the center of Jules' chest. The robian goes flying, pursued by Simian, and Hawk swoops down behind them to tackle Sonic away. "Babe," Fiona says, kneeling down beside Scourge, feeling frantically at his shoulder. "Did he get you?"
The world shifts a little bit back into place. "No," Scourge mutters. "Fiona, I don't-"
"Save it." Fiona's eyes are full of worry as she grabs his wrist and hauls him to his feet. "I think you need to sit this one out, sweetie."
"What? No." Scourge grips her hand like a lifeline. "I can fight. I can still fight."
"Scourge... the new target is Jules."
Something in his chest catches. Scourge stares at her, and around them, the noise of the battle seems to fade. "...what? Why?"
Fiona grimaces. "We lost the inventor of roboticization. Next best thing is its last survivor."
"No. We're not doing that." Scourge has no idea what he's doing, only that they cannot hand his- hand Jules over to Finitevus. He catches both her hands in his own and squeezes them tight. "Call off the mission, we're going home."
Fiona stares at him. "What? Scourge, you can't be serious! After all the work we've put into this? And what about the beryl?"
"We already got the beryl from the first mission. We'll be careful and save it until we can restock. We've gotten this far without any beryl at all, we don't need it that badly!" Scourge hesitates. "...Fiona, please."
It's the last word that breaks her. She knows how bad he hates saying it, knows how much this means to him that he's saying it now. Her shoulders slump in defeat. "...fine. But you get to explain this to the Doc - and please, let's try to avoid burning that bridge again."
Scourge squeezes her hand one last time before letting go. "Thanks, Fi. And don't worry about the Doc; I'll take care of him."
"That's what I'm worried about," Fiona grumbles, but she's smiling. "Alright, team," she calls out, pulling out her warp ring. "Mission's off. We're going home."
"Wait, what?" Hawk asks and nearly gets clobbered by Sonic for his trouble. "Why?"
"Ask questions when we get home," Fiona says and throws the ring. As the portal whooshes open, Scourge turns to survey the troops. Lightning and Simian are slowly retreating back to the portal, fighting Jules every step of the way, while Hawk and Fly are trying without much success to fend off Sonic long enough to run.
Scourge spindashes into Sonic, knocking him off-balance. "Get to the portal, idiots!" To Sonic, he adds, "Sorry, but it looks like we're cutting this date short." If Chaos has even a drop of mercy in its unforgiving soul, Sonic will have been too thoroughly distracted by the fight to have overheard his exchange with Fiona.
And it looks like for once, his prayers are answered, because Sonic's grin, strained with exhaustion though it is, hints at nothing off. "I'm not letting you get away this time," he says and launches into another spindash. "I still have some questions for you to answer!"
"Then they'll have to wait for next time." Scourge ducks the attack and slams his heel into Sonic as he passes, boosting his momentum to slam into the opposite wall. "Alright, time to go!" he yells, scrambling for the portal. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the rest of the Destructix doing the same.
Fiona's already waiting at the portal, with one leg halfway through, and-
"-aaaaaAAAUGH, WHAT THE HELL," she screams and falls back, pinwheeling wildly.
"Fiona!" Scourge yells and then the world blurs briefly and he's at her side, hauling her to her feet. "Fi, what's-" and then he screams too, because Finitevus is literally right there, climbing through the ring like a monster in a horror movie.
The battle cuts off. A few feet away, a newly recovered Sonic skids to a stop, staring incredulously. The Destructix are sort of ranged out behind him, looking to Scourge and Fiona for the next move. And who knows where Jules is.
"Dude," Scourge says emphatically, putting a hand to his chest. "Don't do that."
"What are you doing," Finitevus hisses.
Scourge makes a show of looking around. "Uh, escaping? I mean, what does it look like?"
"I should have known better than expect you lot to pull through," Finitevus mutters, and hey, that's actually kind of offensive.
"Hey! Screw you, man!" Scourge yells, shaking his fist. "We're leaving 'cause we want to, not 'cause we're losing!" Fiona slaps a palm to her face.
"Oh? And what possible reason could you have to do that?" Finitevus asks, but he doesn't seem very interested in an answer, because his hands flare with dark energy a second later, and Scourge knows what that means.
"Scatter!" he yells and hits the ground with Fiona as a bolt of Chaos energy goes right over their heads. Fiona rolls out from under him as he leaps to his feet.
Sonic seems to have switched targets. Currently, he's hammering away at Finitevus' defenses, running his mouth the whole time. The ring portal is still open behind Finitevus, but they need to get the crazy echidna out of the way first.
Fiona, as usual, is two steps ahead. "You're going to need to team up with Sonic."
"What, seriously? Can't we just let Sonic take care of the Doc and ditch?"
She gives him a flat look. "I don't know how he did it, but Finitevus must have hijacked the ring's signal and keyed it to his lair. I need time to reset it before we can leave. Just, you know-" she waves a hand vaguely. "Move the fight away. Whale on Finitevus. Keep them both off my back long enough for me to work."
"Ugh. Fine." Scourge turns around on his heel. "Hey, loser!" he calls out, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Five minute truce?"
Sonic uncurls in midair long enough to yell, "Make it two!"
Fiona had better work fast, because this isn't going to take long. "Destructix, watch Fiona's back," he orders and throws himself into the fight.
Finitevus was clearly anticipating something like this, because he moves smoothly into defending against the both of them without hesitation. And it's - frustrating. Whenever Scourge throws a punch, a ring portal swirls into being in just the right place to take his hit. If he tries a kick, the same thing. And Chaos forbid he spindashes, or he'll wind up on the opposite side of the room (or, more accurately, slamming into Sonic).
Between the ring portals and the constant misdirection, the two minute mark passes and they haven't landed a single hit. The guy isn't on their level, exactly, but he's unpredictable with enough tricks that he could probably take either of them on their own. Against both of them, he doesn't stand a chance - or he wouldn't if Sonic would get out of his way.
"Dude, we're supposed to be working together!" Sonic snaps.
Scourge flicks his ear (it's been ringing since Finitevus dropped a portal that sent a spindashing Sonic on a collision course with Scourge's face) and ducks beneath a Chaos-infused punch. "Not my fault you can't keep up."
He sidesteps a second punch and follows up with a roundhouse kick that comes inches from the Doc's face before another ring portal intercepts. Dammit.
Sonic, of course, chooses that moment to go for a homing attack, which takes him right into the portal as Finitevus dodges. From somewhere on the other side of the room, the moron makes a faint oomph sound as the portal spits him out.
Scourge rolls his eyes and sweeps his legs under Finitevus' ankles, forcing the echidna to stumble back. "You make a remarkably disloyal minion," Finitevus says and drops into a portal.
On a hunch, Scourge spins around and slams a haymaker into Finitevus' face when the echidna reappears behind him. "Calling me a minion was your first mistake, Doc," Scourge says. "I'm the king, baby."
Finitevus snarls and vanishes again. "I must wonder at the cause of this particular instance," his voice says. Scourge whirls around, fists up before him, but the scientist is nowhere to be seen. "You were, after all, so eager to serve at first. What changed your mind?"
"You really gotta learn the difference between serving and making a deal, bud," Scourge says. "This why your friends always leave you?"
Finitevus ignores him. "Nothing changed between then and now. Nothing... except the target." Something flickers in the corner of Scourge's eye and he starts to turn, but he's met with a blow to the jaw followed by one to the shin. Scourge crumples to his knee with a cry of pain and looks up to see Finitevus' Chaos-powered boot swing for his face-
And then someone's hand snags his wrist and they're moving.
The world blurs just a little as Sonic hauls him across the room at lightning speed to drag him behind an overturned table. Scourge clutches the lapels of his jacket and tries to force his racing heartbeat to settle. For a second, they just breathe.
"Okay, we need to coordinate," Sonic says belatedly.
"Don't tell me what to do," Scourge says, mostly on reflex.
Sonic rolls his eyes. "If you draw his fire, I'll go behind to take him offguard. Think you can do that?"
"What? No. You draw his fire and I'll sneak up behind him."
"Yeah, maybe I'd do that if I had any faith at all in your stealth. You aren't exactly subtle, bud."
Scourge thinks back to every mission that involved some level of sabotage/stealth/general sneakery and their inevitably disastrous ends and winces. Unfortunately, he has a point. "Fine, whatever. Don't mess this up, dweeb." A blast of chaos energy rocks the floor beneath their feet - time's up. Finitevus is here.
Scourge breaks for the left.
"Hey old man, having trouble keeping up?" He leaps into the air as Finitevus goes for a sweeping kick and curls into a spindash, aimed at the scientist's head. Predictably, he sails right into a ring portal and falls out several feet away. In midair, he uncurls and kicks off the ground to rebound towards Finietvus.
The Doc raises his hands coated in Chaos energy and actually catches the spindash. For a moment, they war against each other - dark energy to living buzzsaw - before Finitevus shoves back and they break apart.
Scourge hits the ground in a crouch and lunges again. This time, he feints an uppercut followed up with a knee strike to the gut. The echidna stumbles back, but recovers almost instantly. As Scourge goes in for another strike, Finitevus snags his collar and yanks him off-balance, slamming him into the dirt. Scourge tries to wriggle out of his grip, but the Doc pins him to the ground with a hand on his throat and a knee on his chest.
"I can't say I haven't been waiting for this," the mad scientist breathes, and raises a handful of swirling black energy.
Scourge scrabbles helplessly at his wrist and wonders, briefly, if this is it.
And then a blue ball of spikes rockets out of nowhere, smacking into the back of Finitevus' head so hard the floor creaks when he faceplants. Scourge kicks him off and rolls back onto his feet, smacking away Sonic's outstretched hand. The echidna staggers upright, but his shield is broken and Sonic and Scourge poised on either side of him. The echidna eyes them warily, rings at the ready, and for a second no one moves.
"Got it!" Fiona's voice breaks the spell.
Sonic's concentration slips. Scourge can see it; the way his posture straightens slightly, the way he half-turns to face her. Finitevus sees it too.
And then Finitevus' hands are up, radiating dark energy, and Scourge drops into a defensive stance 'cause the blue buffoon can get himself killed if he wants but Scourge is going down fighting- but Finitevus isn't looking at either of them.
He's looking behind them.
At Jules.
Jules, who has no Chaos abilities, can't break the sound barrier on a whim, can't dodge bullets point-blank.
Jules, who both is his father and isn't, who's a machine but still alive, who stood across from Scourge in a dark room and didn't flinch though Scourge held his life in his hands, who loves his wife and child and wouldn't hesitate to die for either of them.
Jules, who would walk a random stranger through a panic attack on the street but can't dodge a Chaos spear if it's pointed at his chest.
Time slows down to a crawl. Scourge doesn't think.
He just moves.
The last thing he sees, as pain erupts from his chest like lightning and the world is drowned out by the black of corrupted Chaos energy, is the bright red of Jules' horrified eyes.
There's a beeping noise somewhere near his ear. Fiona's phone, probably (even though it sounds nothing like her alarm). Scourge reaches up to shut it off and is stopped halfway by the clink of cold metal.
...huh?
He opens his eyes to dim electric light and a pounding headache. There's a hard surface beneath his back, thin sheets around him, and a metallic chill around his wrists, ankles, and throat.
Through the haze, something about the last one feels familiar.
Beside him, something rustles, and a soft voice says, "Awake, then?"
"Dad?" Scourge mumbles foggily. For a moment he's eight again, in the hospital after a near-drowning, and his dad took a whole day off from work to rush to his bedside and hold his hand. It was the first time he'd seen him in a week.
Then reality catches up and reminds him that no, his dad is dead and whatever's going on here is something to worry about. The fog is gone in an instant.
Scourge's eyes snap open and he throws himself as much he can to the far side of the bed from the figure standing there now. Jules is there - a little scratched and dinged up but very much alive.
There's a flicker of something like relief inside him before Scourge stuffs it down and crushes it very firmly. Chaos, Fiona was right. He let his stupid hangups about this robian get out of hand, and now look what's happened - the mission went south, Scourge is chained to a hospital bed, the rest of the Destructix are nowhere to be seen, and worst of all, he made a heroic sacrifice like he's Sonic or something.
Chaos, Scourge is never living this one down.
"It's good to see you're moving around already," Da- Jules says in that same too-soft tone. "Some of the doctors were convinced you wouldn't live another day. I suppose any son of mine, even from another dimension, is just too durned stubborn to go out like that..."
"Don't," Scourge rasps.
Jules blinks at him. "Pardon?"
"That." Scourge lets go of the bed's railing just long enough to gesture irritably. "I'm not your son. Don't call me that."
Instead of rearing back in offense or dropping the nice act altogether, Jules tilts his head slightly, as though in recognition. "Ah," he says after a moment. "So that was you."
Scourge freezes and tries to play it off. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"That day in front of Chuck's diner," Jules says. "That was you. I wasn't sure, since you were still supposed to be in Zone Jail then."
"Chuck's diner? What?" Scourge forces a laugh. It comes out entirely fake and just a little unhinged.
"You had a panic attack," Jules continues, unperturbed. "I walked you through it. Honestly, at the time, I thought it was because of me."
It was because of you, Scourge wants to say. Instead, he asks, "Whaddya mean?"
Jules gestures vaguely to himself. "I'm a robian," he says. "Robotnik put Knothole through a lot when the roboticizor was still functioning. Plenty of people have had... adverse reactions to my body in the past. It's unfortunate but can't really be helped, except through time and patience."
...for some reason, that stings. Scourge pushes the thought away and snorts. "Sucks to be you. Don't see what that has to do with me."
"You did ask," Jules reminds him, which is fair. He supposes. They lapse into silence.
Scourge slumps against the bed, a little more relaxed with no attack evidently imminent, and holds up a hand to the light. The dangling cuff glints coldly. He can't reach the collar on his neck, but he suspects it shines the same way - like the inhibitors back at Zone Jail. "You guys already talked to Zonic, then?" he guesses.
He's not really expecting an answer, but Jules gives one anyway. "We did. He gave us that inhibitor collar you're wearing right now." Nailed it. "He wanted to take you back with him to Zone Jail right away, but with the condition you were in, we didn't want to risk moving you until you were stable."
Scourge flexes his fingers, watching the muscles move. He'd suspected already, given how drained he feels right now, but knowing that he's wearing the collar is... disheartening. That level of powerlessness is something he'd never wanted to feel again. "I'm stable now. So when will you be moving me?"
Jules hesitates. "Now that you're awake, we'll probably call Zonic to pick you up sometime tomorrow. It's nighttime right now."
"What? How long was I out?"
"Two days."
Two days, and he's still here? Either the Destructix got nabbed too (possible), are planning a rescue mission (unlikely), or ditched (most likely). That... also stings. A lot. He'd liked Fiona, and he was getting used to the rest of the idiots, too.
"What about my team?" he asks.
"Vanished. They tried to retrieve you but retreated when reinforcements arrived."
It doesn't mean much - he is, after all, their strongest fighter and tactically it makes sense to avoid losing him if possible - but it makes Scourge feel better to know they'd at least tried. He lets his hand fall back to the bed with a metallic jingle.
"I still don't understand," Jules says, and Chaos, why won't he shut up? Is this something inherent to Sonic's family? "Why did you save me?"
Scourge inspects the patterns of cracks on the ceiling. That one looks like Sleuth Dog's face. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he mumbles.
"You took an attack meant for me. That much concentrated Chaos energy would've killed me - it's likely the only reason you survived is because you're a very adept controller."
"Sounds like you already have an answer to me."
There's a brief pause. Scourge continues avoiding eye contact. "I do have an idea," Jules says softly. "But I'd like to hear a confirmation from your own mouth."
Scourge doesn't say anything.
What's he supposed to say - that every time he sees Jules some stupid, long-dead part of him longs for his approval? That Jules is dredging up memories better left buried? That when he saw his dad - any version of him - in danger, that his first instinct was to protect him, despite everything he'd done?
Ha. Yeah, right.
"Think what you want, old man." Scourge bares his teeth. "It doesn't mean anything. It was an accident."
Jules doesn't waver. "I think we both know that's not true."
Can't this guy take no for an answer? Scourge huffs and rolls over as much as he can so his back is toward Jules. "Leave," he says. It's what you're best at, after all.
"Sonic heard that you attacked the ceremony to kidnap Chuck."
Scourge has a sudden, sinking feeling he knows where this is going. "I don't care. Go away."
Jules marches on, implacable. "He said that halfway through, after Chuck escaped, Finitevus told you to switch targets. That the new target was me."
"Shut up!"
"And that when you heard I was in danger, you-"
"So I called it off, alright?" Scourge bolts upright. The handcuffs snap back against his wrists painfully and his ankles scream as the cuffs cut into his skin, but he's too furious and aching and raw to care. "Yeah, I called off the mission. Yeah, I took that stupid attack. It doesn't change anything! I'm still your enemy, I'm still going to kill Sonic, I'm still going to tear apart your world and everything you love! So what if I- if I..."
"Risked all that to save one broken-down, tactically unimportant robian?" Jules finishes quietly.
"Yes! No!" Scourge tries to bury his face in his hands and can't even do that, damn this tiny range of motion. "Will you leave me alone?" Metal glints in the corner of his eye as Jules reaches out a hand. Scourge growls deep in his throat until the hand is slowly drawn back.
Mercifully, the robian is silent while Scourge desperately tries to keep himself from falling apart. Chaos, what is wrong with him?
"What do you want from me," he mutters.
This time, it's Jules who looks away. "There's not much time before I have to call Zonic in," he says. "Before he left the first time, there was talk of... life in solitary confinement. Or execution."
Breathe. It's fine. Scourge has been in worse scrapes before. "I can see where the similarities between you and my dad come in," he says softly. Venomously. "He never hesitated to lock me away, either." Sure, it hadn't exactly been tossing him in a prison cell and throwing away the key, but the perpetual grounding to an empty mansion, the total abandonment of him to an endless stream of nannies... and then, of course, that fiasco right before he died.
Dads. So eager to foist their screwups on other people, wash their hands and move on.
"Doesn't any of this setup seem odd to you?" Jules asks abruptly.
Scourge blinks, thrown. "What? You hit your head somewhere, old man?"
"Think about it. You're a top-priority prisoner. You've broken out of Zone Jail. And yet your only security here is an inhibitor collar, some handcuffs, and a broken-down old robian."
...there's a trap here somewhere, Scourge knows it. "Yesss?" He eyes Jules warily. Is this some kinda reverse-psychology thing?
Jules laughs wearily. "You're not the only one with emotional ties he can't quite cut, son."
"Don't call me that," Scourge says reflexively before the weight of Jules' words catch up to him. "Wait, what? Are you saying-" and then he cuts off, because that's so ridiculous it shouldn't be said out loud.
"Yes," Jules confirms. "I volunteered for guard duty because I had to ask, first. To make sure for myself that something of my son is in there."
"I am not your son," Scourge snaps. Distantly, some part of him recognizes that he's being actively detrimental - that if he plays his cards right he could actually walk out of this free - but he's past that kind of rational behavior now. "You're chasing ghosts, old man! Stop looking for stuff that isn't gonna happen!"
"You're not my son," Jules agrees. "You're not my Sonic. But you're a Sonic, and somewhere... that potential for great good is inside you."
And isn't that exactly what Sonic had said on their last birthday - the day he'd finally ditched that lame Anti-Sonic moniker, had finally stepped out of Sonic's shadow into his own light - that all it'd take is a bit of decency, and Scourge would be just like him? The echo stills him.
"You're making a mistake," he says hoarsely. He's not going back to Zone Jail, he'll die before he goes back to that hellhole, but he needs Jules to understand this. "I'm not Sonic. I'm no hero. If you let me go, I'm just gonna go right back to doing what I did before. People will die because of you."
"No, they won't," Jules says, half-smiling. "I've done my research. The Destructix don't kill. You wreak havoc and destroy things, but... no bodies. I understand it's to avoid trouble with G.U.N.," he adds, holding up a hand to forestall Scourge's protests, "But you don't have a body count. That's important."
Shows what he knows - but Scourge can't bring himself to point out the obvious. "I still ruin lives," Scourge says instead. "There's other ways to kill people without holding a gun to their heads."
"I know. And that's where I'm being selfish." The half-smile turns into a full smile, but it's so sad and wracked with exhaustion and bitterness that Scourge has to look away. "I... I lost my son once. I can't help it... I can't watch a son of mine - from any universe - be destroyed while I can do anything to stop it. I'm not a good person, Scourge. I've lost too much to try. So I'm going to be selfish, just this once, and hope you don't make me regret it."
Scourge is silent. He's silent when Jules stands up and unlocks the cuffs, one by one. He's silent when Jules reaches up to his throat to unlock the inhibitor, and he's silent when it falls away and power rushes freely beneath his skin once more.
His boots are on the floor, suit jacket draped over a chair. He pulls on the shoes and digs through the pockets until he finds his sunglasses, but leaves the jacket behind.
"Scourge," Jules says quietly, as Scourge pushes the window open. He hesitates over the window sill, half inside and half out.
If Jules asks him to stay, he doesn't know what he'll do.
But he doesn't. In the end, Jules looks down and whispers, "If you ever need somewhere to rest, my home is always open. Till then... be safe, son."
The words catch in Scourge's throat. He nods, wordlessly, and drops out of the window to land lightly on his feet on the ground below. For a moment, he dallies beneath the window, waiting for-
For...
He doesn't know. Scourge shivers in the cool night air and starts running.
...thanks, Dad.
He finds the base a few hours later, jogging to the next town over and hopping a train the rest of the way. When he walks in, the base goes dead silent.
Fiona leaps up from the circle of Destructix - planning a rescue mission, he later finds out - and tackles him, hugging and pounding him in equal measure. She cries a little too, which he only discovers when she points out he's tearing up himself. The Destructix surround them, yelling over each other and clapping him on the back until Simian picks them all up in a group hug. It's at that point that Scourge declares he's done with all this mushy stuff and if they don't knock it off he won't bother coming back next time. Fiona announces that if there is a next time he won't have to worry about coming back because she'll kill him first, and Simian gives them all one last squeeze before turning them loose.
Scourge retrieves his leather jacket with a sense of great relief and they all end up watching another trashy samurai movie, which Lightning ruins again. Fiona holds him tight the whole time and doesn't chew him out like he deserves, for which Scourge is unendingly grateful.
He doesn't go back to the house. He pulls jobs with the Destructix, they beat up on Sonic and his lackeys, they have one run-in which Finitevus that they come off much worse for. And they watch crappy movies, eat ridiculous amounts of junk food, and get personally banned from every arcade and amusement park across the continent. He's... not gonna lie, it's actually pretty fun.
But in the back of his head, the house is always there. The robian bustling around the empty kitchen in a pink apron. The scent of pancakes frying. Till then... be safe, son.
It takes a long time - months of denial, of wondering and longing and furious self-restraint - but he caves eventually.
He shows up on a morning he knows Sonic and his mom won't be there. He doesn't knock on the door, or ring the bell. Mostly, he just hovers outside, unable to work up his nerve to do anything.
He's about to leave when the door swings open. Jules stands there, looking exactly the same as he did that night by the hospital bed, with eyes too soft for his wayward not-son. Scourge, half-frozen on the sidewalk, searches for something to say and comes up empty. They stare at each other silently.
Scourge shoves his hands in his pockets and forces back the lump in his throat. "I was in the area, so I dropped by," he mutters. "Don't think this means anything."
Jules looks at him for a long moment and Scourge forgets to breathe. Slowly, softly, his dad smiles. "Welcome home, son."
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