#I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before but when I went to see him in Turkey the concert ticket itself was the cheapest thing I spent money on

[faithinlouisfuture]

i think we're gonna get a better asia tour in the future. like it's gonna include other countries he toured during ltwt (turkey, uae, philippines..) and gonna include the shows he cancelled and didn't tour before (japan, india etc) or maybe i'm delusional lol why do they take us for granted? asia is literally the biggest continent :( we deserve better

you’re a lot more hopeful than I am… and even in this best case scenario that you’ve described, treating a particular group of people like shit and then treating them right afterwards isn’t that great of a look

agree with your last sentence, we deserve better

[buckets-and-trees]

First Night

I promised two anniversary fics this weekend, and it's still "this weekend" in a couple of time zones...

Fandom: MCU Series: The Brooklyn Boys Title: First Night Characters/Pairings: Stucky x female!Reader Word Count: 2.3k Summary: Takes place immediately after the events of the final part 10 Steve and the Best Friend. Dinner and a movie and...

Content Warnings: fluff, feelings, soft semi-retired superheroes

Additional Notes: Filling my ninth square for Bucky Barnes Bingo @buckybarnesbingo - U1 "Galaxy" and is the much spoken of (by me) PROMISED ANNIVERSARY EPISODE TO CELEBRATE POSTING PART ONE FOR THIS SERIES A YEAR AGO! These boys meant a lot to me back then and writing for them again to celebrate this with all of you has been a dream.

↠ Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

Bucky kisses the back of your hand, then stands from the couch, checking his watch. “Dinner’s about ready. I’ll go finish it off.”

As he leaves the living room, Steve scoots a little closer. He pulls you into a short kiss, then rests his forehead against yours, eyes closed, and you breathe in the moment.

“I know it’s so predictable to ask you about your day,” he says, “but I’ve been waiting for weeks to just have these everyday conversations with you.”

You smile, though you know he can’t see it. You’re sure he can feel it because you can feel it coming from him, too.

“When we went to dinner that night, I thought that was going to be the beginning of so many days like that, seeing you, texting with you, just sharing everything with you.

Your heart stutters and leaps, “I wanted that, too. I’m sorry it wasn’t–”

He stops you with another gentle press of his lips to yours and cups your cheek. “No, I didn’t mean to bring it up to make you feel guilty. Tony would say if you want to make an omelet, you have to break some eggs. I think we’re coming through for the better.”

In the time that you’ve spent with Steve, you’ve become aware of how influential and powerful his mood is in any situation, and right now he’s feeling a contentment that really does envelop you.

So you sit back a little in the armchair, but take his hand, and start talking. He holds your hand in both of his, idle stroking of the back of your hand with his thumb as he listens. You talk about the bookshop. Bucky has become a regular, but Steve hasn’t been in yet. You’re eager to share that with him soon, too. You tell him about an upcoming book launch event you solidified today with a local author – it’s their debut novel, but they’ve been a frequent friend of your shop for a few years. “Oh,” you suddenly remember to ask, “you mentioned before that you were getting a lot of chatter about some things happening in Turkey. Is that where you and Bucky went?”

“Yeah.” He grins, probably pleased that you remembered. “Turkey was… interesting.”

“I’ve wanted to go to Turkey! Mission stuff aside because I know that’s probably classified, did you get to experience anything?”

“Not too much, but we did get to see a little of Istanbul. It was beautiful.” He tilts his head a little. “I… would like to go back and see more.”

You plant your elbow on the armrest of your chair and prop your chin on the hand Steve’s not holding. “Steve, have you even been on a vacation?”

He shakes his head. “Only day trips or weekends once or twice upstate when I was a kid. We kept on the move and covered a lot of territory when we didn’t agree to the Sokovia Accords, but that was survival and trying to be of use while keeping a low profile, not traveling. And during The Blip, it never even crossed my mind.”

You squeeze his hand.

“We should go.”

“I’ve never done as much traveling as I wanted either. Couldn’t afford it when I was starting out, then… yeah, The Blip, and since the Second Snap, it’s been busy, but now…”

“Now maybe we have even more reason to make it something to prioritize.”

Butterflies flare in your stomach when he smiles at you like that. Your chest gets that happy tightness. This was why you said yes to them.

“So, Turkey,” you say, a little breathlessly.

“I’ll put it on the list.”

You’re melting.

“Dinner is almost ready!” Bucky’s voice calls from the kitchen. “Steve, come set the table!”

“France should probably go near the top of the list.”

Steve nods in agreement and pulls you up as he stands. He keeps your hand in his as he walks both of you into the kitchen.

“Bucky won’t let us eat in the kitchen, not even at the stools at the counter,”

“Damn right I won’t!” he says, already catching your conversation. “The French wouldn’t hear of it, and I worked hard enough for us to eat at the altar of a proper table.”

“Everything smells incredible,” you gush when you enter their beautiful kitchen. Every part of the brownstone you’ve seen so far is beautiful.

Bucky turns and flashes a devastating grin before turning back to his prep. “Glad you think so.”

Steve brings you to a stop right next to Bucky, who is fully occupied whisking egg yolks one at a time into a custard on the stove, a separate pan with melted chocolate set off to the side. You lean your hip against the counter so you can watch.

Standing behind him, Steve puts a hand on Bucky’s shoulder on the other side and leans over the stove to stick his finger in the chocolate, getting his taste before Bucky can stop him.

“Rogers!” Bucky growls.

You laugh, and Steve grins wickedly.

“It’s good.”

“Get to setting the table. Food’s already set, just going to finish this off and put it in the oven.”

“And pour the wine?”

“We’ve got a Syrah, right? Or any Bordeaux blend.”

“I’ll look and see.”

“Can I help?” you ask.

They both immediately frown at you. “You’re not lifting a finger the first dinner you’re eating here with us,” Bucky says adamantly.

You hold your hands up quickly in surrender. “Understood,” you laugh.

“Good girl,” Steve says, his smile immediately returning. “I’ll go sort out the wine.”

He squeezes Bucky’s shoulder before he leaves the kitchen.

It hits you out of nowhere. There’s a short constriction in your chest at seeing how easy that casual intimate gesture was between them. They’ve known each other for years and years longer than they’ve known you. You’re nowhere near close to that ease and familiarity with them yet. Will this work?

“Come here,” Bucky invites you in closer, and as you step forward, he tucks an arm around you and pulls you securely into his side while he continues whisking with his other hand. Did your insecurity show on your face? Did he merely suspect it? Or maybe he just wanted to hold you for no other reason than wanting to. Whatever the reason, it does soothe away that doubt that had tried to creep in. He presses a kiss to your temple. “I missed you. I don’t know if I would’ve been patient enough to wait much longer. Steve was adamant we had to wait for you to set the timing though.”

Your chest blooms with warmth. You’re glad they did wait – you had needed the time to think and sort out your heart so you could feel secure jumping all in – but it also made you feel good to know he’d been eager. You circle your arms around his waist and look up at him. “Thank you.” You could say more, but you think he knows. His eyes and a squeeze of his arm around you say that he does.  “Kiss me?”

“Always,” and he does. It’s a swift kiss because he is in the middle of the complexities of whatever he’s cooking, but he makes sure even the short kiss takes your breath away.

You only just manage not to whimper when he draws his lips away. Instead, you content yourself with resting your head against his chest. “Now what is it you’re making?”

“The boeuf bourguignon was easy to finish off, and I had decided something decadent for dessert was in order. Chocolate soufflé.”

“Damn, Barnes, you know how to impress a girl.”

He laughs. “Honey, get ready for a lot more of this.”

Your stomach flips, but he doesn't leave you flustered for long, diving into normal conversation while he continued working, Steve coming in and out of the kitchen to set the table. Bucky allows you to assist him as sous chef for only a moment, letting you to open the oven door when he was ready to carefully put the chocolate delicacy in to bake.

Then the three of you sit down to dinner, and it wasn’t an oversell to say it is one of the best meals of your life. The food is incredible, and simply being there with the two of them with the conversation, the laughter, the way they look at you, the way they look at each other, all of it is bliss. That bliss bleeds into Bucky taking the chocolate soufflé out of the oven and the three of you devouring the rich masterpiece. Then you settle in to watch a movie together, you tucked between them.

When you wake up, you are no longer tucked between your super soldiers, but instead tucked beneath a set of soft sheets and blanket that are unfamiliar to you, your head rests on a comfortable but foreign pillow, and your body feels the awkwardness of having slept in your jeans and button-down blouse. The latter wasn’t awful, but never ideal. Why were you asleep in your day clothes? You shift and yawn and sink a little more into the pillows and mattress, appreciating how cozy they are but wondering where exactly you were. You rewind your memory and start to recall a few of the last details in your mind – leaning up against Bucky’s side, Steve pulling your legs up across his lap and giving you a foot massage while the opening scenes of a movie played out.

They had let you choose the movie, and you’d gone with The Count of Monte Cristo, one of your favorites, but now you weren’t certain you’d even made it to the Chateau D’If with poor Edmond Dantes before falling asleep. Actually, you were pretty sure it was that soothing foot massage that had you lost to the land of the waking. You do have a vague half recollection of being scooped up from the couch into someone’s arms, but that was it.

It's clearly what landed you here.

You roll onto your back and smile. The ceiling is littered with carefully mapped out constellations, a glow in the dark replication of the galaxy. Adorable nerd, you think, and with a look around the room, the shelf full of books that covers an entire wall of the room and a neatly stacked pile of three books on the bedside table let you know you must be in Bucky’s bed. There is a low level of moonlight casting a glow across the room from the windows, and you remember the distinct thought you’d had about wanting to see how this man kept his books and what else was in his collection, but that would need to wait for daylight. You never would have dreamed this was how things would have played out all those weeks ago.

A little more alert, your throat feels a little dry, and knowing once the thought has crossed your mind you wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep without a drink of water, and it was clearly too late to go home (or late enough to absolutely justify staying in this very cozy place for the rest of the night and seeing your boys in the morning), you pull back the covers and shift out of bed. Sitting at the foot of the mattress you see a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt that are clearly meant for you, and a huge sleepy smile splits across your face. You discard your clothes, feeling immediately comfortable in the alternative – which smell like Steve.

Bucky’s bed but Steve’s clothes.

Your head spins happily as you pad quietly into the hallway and make your way to the kitchen.

Once properly watered, you make your way back to the bedrooms, carefully bringing the partially-refilled glass with you just in case you get thirsty again. It is so quiet in their home, but comfortably so. You will get to see more in the daylight, but you love how it feels already. You pause at the doorway to Bucky’s room, bite your lip, and turn to look across the hallway at another bedroom door.

You don't want to sleep alone in Bucky’s room when they are together in Steve’s.

Heart pounding just a little, you step across the hallway and slowly turn the doorknob, trying to open the door as quietly as you can. You step inside, but then stop and look around. This was an unoccupied bedroom – it had a bed, but that bed was empty, and this room didn’t seem to have much to it. It was a guest bedroom. A little bloom shoots through your heart at the thought that while they had wanted to give you every bit of privacy – leaving you clothed, giving you a bed to yourself – it felt intimate in its own way to know that they’d tucked you in in Bucky’s room, not the guest bedroom.

Not at all nervous now, you step back into the hallway, close that door, and make your way further down the hall, eager to find where these two impossibly wonderful men were slumbering and join them. The next door on the left was a bathroom, but the door on the right is Steve’s. Bucky is asleep, but Steve is sitting up against the headboard and had been engrossed in scrolling in something on his phone, earbuds in, but looks up when your movement pulls his attention. He grins and pulls the buds out, “Hi, Sweetheart.”

“Hi,” you breath, padding toward his side of the bed.

He nudges Bucky as you make your way over. Bucky groans.

“Told you our girl would make her way to us before sunrise,” Steve says to him, and that seems to bring Bucky around slightly.

Steve sets his phone on his bedside table, takes the glass from your hand to set it there as well, and pulls back the covers so you can hop up and crawl in and join them. Bucky immediately pulls you in to his chest, kissing the top of your head. You sigh as Steve closes in behind you, and between your two super soldiers, you quickly drift back to sleep, held safely in their arms.

↠ Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

[shemarmooresfedora]

Baby Daddy (Part 2)

Summary: After making the decision to have a kid with your best friend, things get a little complicated.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Content/Warnings: mostly fluff, little bit of angst, mentions/allusions to sex, typical cm case stuff, vomiting, swearing

Word Count: 2.6k

Part 1

Masterlist

“Do you know it costs about a thousand dollars just for them to shoot your sperm up my vagina?” you had your legs kicked up on Spencer’s lap, laying on his couch, “And the success rate is only 15.8% for women under 35. I’ll be broke before I get pregnant.”

“I don’t mind paying,” Spencer offered.

“No, I’m paying. It’s the least I can do after roping you into this situation. I’m just saying it seems a little ridiculous to spend so much on something most people could just do for free,” you continued to skim the pamphlet.

“Whatever you’re comfortable with,” Spencer hummed.

“What do you mean ‘whatever I’m comfortable with’?” you glanced up at him, his eyes still reading his third daily newspaper of the day.

“I’m saying I’ll do whatever. If you don’t want to pay, I’m happy to try the old-fashioned way,” Spencer spoke like it wasn’t a big deal.

“You want us?” you motioned back and forth between the two of you, “to have sex?”

“I mean I’m trying to save you some money here. Unless you prefer that I come in a red solo cup and shoot it up you with a turkey baster,” Spencer chuckled.

“I’ll think about it,” is all you could say, picking up your pamphlet again.

“Okay, just let me know” Spencer flipped the page, “No rush.”

“Well actually, yes rush because I only have about 8 good eggs left,” you retorted.

Spencer checked his watch, “Just an FYI, your ovulation started last night and lasts roughly 24 hours.”

You slammed the pamphlet shut, “Okay, I’ve thought about it. Put a baby in me, Spencer Reid.”

-

And so it began. In storage closets at work. At your apartment. In hotel rooms during cases. And once in a back alley behind a bar.

You thought it would be awkward to be having lots of sex with your best friend but it truly wasn’t. The leap didn’t feel so drastic when you had already spent most of your time together before.

The team seemed to be none the wiser because how could they have predicted that you guys were secretly trying for a baby.

You would take a pregnancy test every Friday night, hoping it would display two prominent lines on the stick.

“Nope,” you flipped over the stick, showing Spencer the single line.

“Test again,” Spencer handed you another box, “This is going to sound weird but last time when we tried that new thing, I just feel like I got you pregnant.”

“Okay, whatever floats your boat,” you began to chug water in order to be able to test again.

You peed on the stick again, Spencer set a timer, and you waited.

Once it beeped, you gestured him towards the stick.

“You look, Mr. I feel like I got you pregnant.”

“1…2…3,” Spencer flipped it over and his face went pale, “Pregnant,” he murmured.

“Let me see,” you took the stick from him and sure enough, there were two lines, “Well, what does this mean? We’ve got one positive and one negative.”

“False negatives are more common than false positives,” Spencer was grinning, “Try one more test.”

When it came up positive again, you screamed, “Oh my god, Spence!”

You both immediately started crying happy tears.

“We’ve having a kid,” you sobbed into his chest.

“Oh my god, we’re having a kid,” Spencer worried.

-

“Y/N, we’re going to the bar tonight and you can’t say no,” Penelope entered the bullpen right at 5.

“Ummmm,” you turned towards Spencer, looking for an excuse.

“Y/N is actually watching a five hour long Russian film with me tonight. I already bought the tickets and they’re nonrefundable. Anyone is welcome to join though,” he quickly stepped in.

“Sorry, boy wonder. Not the night of fun I had planned. Let’s go, Emily and Derek.”

As soon as they left, you turned to Spencer once again.

“Okay so what are our actual plans for the night?” you asked.

“I’ll leave that up to you but I was thinking takeout and a movie,” he replied.

“Sounds delightful,” you hummed.

-

“A rom-com and Chinese food is pretty much my perfect night,” you sighed as you set the empty lo mein carton down on the coffee table.”

“Pretty much?” Spencer questioned, “I’m intrigued.”

“Well there’s just one other thing that the pregnancy has been making want lately but I’ll settle for an almost perfect night,” you laughed it off.

“I won’t accept nothing but the best for you. Name it. I’ll go get it right now,” Spencer was standing to get his coat and keys.

“Spence, don’t worry about it. It’s not something you go buy at a store anyways.”

“Well now I’m really intrigued,” he sat back down.

You rolled your eyes, he wasn’t going to let this go. That stupid, beautiful brain of his, having to know everything about everything.

“So the pregnancy has made me very hormonal,” you started, “So I’ve been feeling a lot more…lustful recently.”

“You’re horny?” Spencer put it plainly.

“So eloquently put, Spence,” you replied sarcastically.

“Well, why didn’t you just say so? I’m happy to help. It’s nothing we haven’t done before,” he stated.

“But that was for a purpose,” you explained.

“And this is for a purpose too,” he responded, “Co-parenting begins with helping the mother of my child with all her needs.”

“This isn’t exactly a need,” you retorted.

“Fine, we don’t have to have sex. It was just an offer,” he backed off.

“I never said I didn’t want to,” you responded.

By the look in Spencer’s eyes, you could tell you were in for a long night.

You managed to get three rounds in over the course of the night before you both were called away on a case by Hotch.

-

It was 3 a.m. when you quickly ripped yourself out from underneath the covers and stumbled to the hotel bathroom with your hand clasped over your mouth.

You had only gotten to the hotel about an hour ago after working for about twenty hours straight. There was a serial killer on the loose, kidnapping women at an alarming rate so there was no time to waste.

You made it to the toilet bowl just in time and fell back against the cool bathroom tile, curling into fetal position.

“Are you alright?” Spencer whispered from the doorway.

“Just some very early morning sickness,” you groaned softly.

Spencer sat himself on the floor beside you, gently picking up your head and placing it in his lap. He combed his fingers through your hair.

“Do you want to get up from the floor?” he whispered after a few minutes.

“Mmmh,” you just snuggled yourself further into his lap.

You felt Spencer’s hands wrap under your legs and back, “You’ll be more comfortable in bed.”

He lifted you slowly and carried you back to your bed, tucking you under the covers.

Just as Spencer was getting back into his bed, he felt someone getting in on the other side.

“Is this okay?” you asked, snuggling up under his covers.

“Yes, of course,” he wrapped his arm around you.

“Being close to you makes it better somehow,” you murmured, drifting off to sleep.

-

You awoke to the view of Spencer’s concentration face, tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth, as he tried to complete the newspaper’s crossword.

“Morning,” you yawned, rubbing your eyes.

“I got you a blueberry muffin and tea,” Spencer pointed to your bedside table.

“Oh what I wouldn’t give to be able to have coffee right now,” you sighed.

“If it helps, I’m giving up everything you can’t have in solidarity,” Spencer sipped from his cup of tea.

“Your suffering doesn’t cancel out mine, Spence. You’re sweet but have your coffee,” you gave him a peck on the cheek.

You rolled out of bed and collected your clothes to shower.

“Hotch wants us down in the lobby in 30,” Spencer informed you.

“Got it,” you spoke, stripping off your clothes in the bathroom.

You inspected yourself in the mirror and noticed the little bump beginning to form, “You know we’re going to have to tell them relatively soon, Spence. It’s only going to get more noticeable,” you called out.

“I’m just not ready for all the questions,” Spencer grimaced.

“Me too but I’m sure the longer we wait to tell them, the more mad Penelope will be that we kept this from her,” you replied.

“How about a team dinner when we get back from this case?” Spencer proposed.

“Sounds good,” you called back, hopping into the warm water of the shower.

-

You set a coffee down in front of Spencer who was reviewing files, “Emily and I are going to the most recent dump site so I’ll see you later.”

“Okay, be safe,” Spencer squeezed your hand to try to communicate what he really wanted to say.

I love you.

-

An hour had gone by when his phone began to ring but Spencer was so wrapped in his paper trail, it had only felt like five minutes.

“Y/N has been taken by the unsub and is currently being held hostage in a building off Sunset Ave,” Hotch wasted no time stating.

“On my way,” Spencer said flatly despite every single emotion running through his chest.

You had to be okay. He couldn’t lose the two people he loved the most in one day. It would be too much grief to bear.

-

Spencer was running up the caution tape barrier when Hotch stopped him.

“Hotch, you don’t understand,” Spencer began.

“I understand she’s your best friend, Reid, but-”

“She’s pregnant,” Spencer blurted out, “She’s pregnant with my baby. I need to go in there. I’m not asking for permission.”

Spencer took off running towards the building.

He scanned each room of the house slowly, careful not to make any noise to alert the unsub of his arrival.

“You’re just a worthless bitch,” he heard a slap, “Just like my ex-wife and every other woman on this planet.”

Spencer saw red as he approached the door he heard the muffled sound coming from. How dare this man hit you? He couldn’t even think straight as he burst open the door.

Spencer lunged at the unsub, knocking him down. The unsub fought back, slapping Spencer across the face. Spencer retaliated with a punch that knocked him unconscious, quickly cuffing him.

“Spence, you could have gotten yourself killed,” you exclaimed.

“I couldn’t just sit outside and wait. I just needed you to be okay,” he cupped your cheeks.

“I am okay,” you promised him, “Both of us are.”

“Y/N, you are my whole word and I don’t know what I would do if you weren’t here,” Spencer cried.

“It’s okay,” you rubbed his back soothingly, “We’re all okay.”

“Please don’t ever leave,” Spencer whispered, looking at you directly with his watery brown eyes.

“Never,” you promised, resting your forehead against his.

You felt Spencer’s warm breath bouncing off your skin. You could practically hear his inner monologue and overthinking.

His lips softly brushed up against yours as if he was testing if you were actually there or just a dream.

You responded by deepening the kiss, letting all the stress from before melt away.

Spencer, with deep regret, pulled away after a few moments, “We’ve got to get you to a hospital! We need an ultrasound to check on the baby!”

“I’m fine,” you tried to pull him back in.

He was swayed only for a brief second before pulling away again, “No more kisses until after you are all checked out. They’re too distracting.”

You wrapped your arm around Spencer’s shoulder and he helped you stand and walk out of the building.

An ambulance was waiting to take you to the hospital and you heard Hotch tell Spencer “we’ll talk later”.

-

“Spence, what does this mean?” you asked.

“What does what mean?”

The ultrasound had come back fine and you were all stitched up. The doctors were just running a few additional tests to make sure everything was in order before you were discharged.

“We’re having a kid, we’ve had sex multiple times, we just kissed. I’m confused and I don’t think it’s just my pregnancy brain,” you explained.

“Then let me make it clear,” Spencer stood from his seat and then got down on one knee.

“Spencer Walter Reid, don’t you even dare,” you warned.

“Hear me out,” Spencer defended, “You are the only person I want to spend the rest of my life with. I am so certain of that. I will never stop loving you. I’m fully committed to you, Y/N. I know you’re probably not ready for the question I’m in the position to ask right now…but just know, I’ll be waiting even if it’s forever.”

“I love you,” you cried, pulling him up by his tie to give him a kiss.

“And I love you,” Spencer replied.

His phone on the bedside table started buzzing and he looked over.

“Hotch,” he informed you, looking at the caller ID, “I’ll be right outside. Try to get some rest.”

Spencer gently shut the door behind him. Rather than closing your eyes, you watched him from the glass window, moving his hands about and messing with his hair as he talked to Hotch.

God, you loved that man so much.

-

You awoke in the hospital bed with Spencer’s head in your lap. You combed your fingers through his curls, never allowing yourself the luxury of this kind of intimacy until now.

Spencer lifted his head and yawned.

“I’m sorry, Spence. I didn’t mean to wake you,” you apologized.

“That was the best possible way to be woken up,” Spencer grinned, “And it’s good you did. You’re ready to be discharged.”

Spencer helped you out of bed and change into sweats and a t-shirt, no longer worrying about hiding your bump.

He insisted on pushing you down to the car in a wheelchair despite your protests but he persuaded you by promising to get you a milkshake on the way home.

“I’ve just got to stop at the BAU quickly,” Spencer said as he started the car.

“How’d the talk with Hotch go?” you asked.

“Long story short, Strauss heard I broke the rules and demanded I be punished so I’m suspended for two weeks. But, you are given two weeks off as recovery time for field injuries so it looks like you’re stuck with me,” Spencer smiled.

“Sounds more like a vacation than a suspension,” you chuckled.

-

“What did you say you needed again, Spence?” you asked as you stepped off the elevator to the BAU floor.

“Just some file,” he spoke.

“You’re suspended, what file could you possibly-”

“SURPRISE!” the lights to the bullpen flickered on, revealing a fully decorated room with the whole team.

“What’s all this?” you looked to Spencer.

“Your baby shower, of course!” Penelope replied, slinging a slash around you that read ‘Mom to be’.

“Aww, that’s so sweet, guys. Thank you so much. You didn’t have to do all this,” you gushed.

“None of that!” Penelope hushed you, “Would have been sooner too if I was told,” she glared at Spencer.

“How is this solely my fault?!” Spencer asked.

“She’s carrying my godbaby,” Penelope pointed to your belly, “I couldn’t be mad at her if I tried.”

“Yeah me neither,” Spencer sighed and stared at you adoringly.

taglist (ask to be added/removed): @samuel-de-champagne-problems @spencerreid9 @averyhotchner @coldlilheart @k-k0129 @ickleronniekinsemotionalrange @harrystylesandthegoobs @cmily @jswessie187 @hoodpankow @mochionly @spencerreid-187 @babymetaldoll @fics4arainyday @ssavanessa22 @all-tings-diego @beepbooptoop @tvandfanfic @navs-bhat @spencerreidsmommy @this-is-doctor-and-its-calm @mggs-sidehoe @rexit-mo @hufflepuffhaze @thisismynerdyself @xoxospencerreid @reidsbookclub @draw-back-your-bow @muffin-cup @ssa-uglywhore27 @lil-stark @strawberryspence @fbivestreid @venomsvl

[subpar-ghoulfriend]

Let’s have a baby

yandere!EraserMicx PREGNANT!Reader 

A terrible mix up leading to an accidental pregnancy? Or something more intentional? Either way now you were pregnant with (none other than the beloved power couple heroes) Eraserhead and Present Mic’s child. Time to discuss how co parenting is going to work. 

TW: pregnancy, artificial insemination, yandere elements, mentions of stalking, alludes to potential custody battle

You had been avoiding the two men for the past week, which was challenging seeing as they managed to find your phone number, address, and place of work. Any time you blocked their calls they got a new number. Two Pro Heroes versus a twenty something civilian, it was only a matter of time until you were cornered.

Now the couple stood between you and your apartment. You had a long shift at your job as a pet groomer and just wanted to get some rest.

Present Mic was the first to speak. "Hey lil momma, we heard you had work today so we brought you some dinner. We thought we could talk over a nice meal."

You had no response. You were tired, both physically and emotionally. You had been put through the ringer ever since meeting them at your doctors office. It was a total Jane the Virgin situation. You went in for an assessment about some supposed ovarian cysts and unknowing left artificially inseminated. There was a supposed mix up, a digital glitch that somehow merged your chart with the surrogates - apparently your names were super similar. Two weeks later you were called back into the doctor's office and informed of what took place. And now you were in this living nightmare.

And the two heroes had nothing to do with the error. There was totally a surrogate. They hadn't paid off your provider. And why would they? You had never met them - although given their patrols they may have seen you once or twice...

They were tearful when they were informed of the mix up, they had been waiting patiently through the whole process and now everything was thrown in chaos. They offered to compensate you for your service which sent you into a blind rage. They just assumed you would carry a child, a child with half of your DNA, and then give YOUR baby away. Rationally you understood that they had planned to be be the only parents to the child, but that was with a professional surrogate who understood the process, who didn't want the child in their life, just happy to help out a loving couple. But that wasn't you, you grew up wanting to be a mom, and now they would take that from you.

What if they tried to legally take sole custody of the baby? Surely they had some pull in the judicial system. Besides, they were a solid couple with money, while you were alone with no family and working two jobs. The thought made you sick to your stomach.

You were shaking as you tried to push past them. Maybe they would just disappear if you ignored them, a girl could dream. But instead they tagged along inside. Albeit you weren’t fighting them on it, you knew this had to happen eventually.

Aizawa easily found the cluttered dining table in your small apartment. You flinched when the loud one tried to help you shrug off your backpack. Taking a seat on the couch you waited for them to start berating you.

"Come sit at the table, dinner is getting cold," Eraser spoke for the first time.

"I'll eat later, I'm not hungry."

"You may not be, but the baby needs to eat."

You glared, how dare they insinuate you didn't know what your child needed. If your body was hungry, you ate. If you were full the baby was full too.

But, you complied, not wanting to argue, "Fine, but I ate a snack not too long ago."

As you ate, Mic kept you company, picking at some left overs, they clearly ate before their visit. Aizawa was rummaging through your place but you managed to hold your tongue until he began throwing things out of your fridge.

"What are you doing?" You hissed, getting up out of your seat.

"Mic and I will bring you groceries tomorrow. The food you have is barely safe for an adult, let alone a fetus."

"Are you kidding me? It's not like I'm chugging alcohol and living off Twinkies. Hey! I just bought those turkey slices. How is turkey bad?" You whined.

To make sure you wouldn't dig the food out trash he dumped it out of his container.

"Zashi, don't let me forget to empty the trash on our way out. Do you know how much salt is in deli meat? And there's no way you can drink any of this while you're pregnant." He gestures to the cans of soda.

As the frustration built you had to fight back tears. They couldn't come in to your home and start throwing out your things.

"Some of us don't make ridiculous money, I'm buying what I can afford and the doctor never had any problem with my health." You hissed.

Hizashi felt the tension thickening, "Hey hey hey, it's okay. Sho and I will go get you some good stuff. We just gotta watch out for you and baby."

And that was the end of your resolve, you stomped past the Hero and locked yourself in your bedroom. Finally tears began to drip down your cheeks.

Back in your kitchen Mic was chiding his boyfriend for being so tough on you.

"So I should just back down while she stuffs herself with junk food?"

Mic gave him a shrug, showing him a bottle on your counter, "At lest she's taking her prenatal vitamins?"

Grabbing the keys to your apartment Aizawa instructed Mic to wait with you while he got you better groceries. He would make copies of your keys on his was back.

You prayed they would leave soon. You were laying in your bed having cried yourself out. Barely into your second month of pregnancy. You still had to endure this for at least seven more months, but most likely much longer.

Next thing you knew you were opening your eyes and the clock read seven AM. By now your uninvited guests must be gone. Nervously you sat up, praying that you'd skip the morning sickness just once this week. You had always had a weak stomach and even the doctor was surprised you were already experiencing the symptom. Unfortunately the minute your feet touched the floor you knew what was coming. You sprinted to the restroom, not even checking to see if the duo had left.

God this was terrible, you didn't just hate throwing up, you were terrified of it. What if you started and never stopped? But it did come to an end. You wiped the water from your eyes and took a moment before standing from the floor. You screamed when a hand slid under your arm, helping you up. Another set of feet rushed to the bathroom.

" What's wrong?" Hizashi huffed as he skid to a stop.

You pulled arm free from Aizawa's grasp. "What are you two still doing here?"

You turned in the faucet to rinse your mouth. Trying to calm your stress, the nausea was trying to return.

Undeterred the scruff pulled your hair into a bun before rubbing your back. You debated returning to bed but that wouldn't get them out of your apartment. You told them you need to sit down, both of them nodding, still wearing their concerned expressions. They got you a glass of water before joining you on the couch. Stubborn men, you sat at the end of the couch so they couldn't both sit, but Mic decided to perch himself on the armrest.

He started petting your hair, "You feelin better little listener?" You nodded in response.

"I got you more food, let us know if your hungry."

You sighed in defeat, "I'm barely two months pregnant, I can fend for myself. What did you all want to talk about?"

You anxiously placed a hand on your stomach. Both men felt their hearts flutter recognizing your maternal instincts kicking in.

Aizawa let Mic begin, he was the more gentle of the two.

"Well, we figured we got off to a rough start. You got put in a tough situation. We shouldn't have assumed you didn't want a child so we're not mad at how you stormed out. But either way we expect to be in our baby's life. The two of us talked it over and we don't want to fight you if you want to be in their life too. So if you wanna be the mommy we're cool with it."

You could blame your reaction on your hormones for your response but you didn't, "Geez thank you so much for allowing me to be in MY child's life."

Aizawa placed a hand on the back of your neck, giving you a gentle massage. "Okay then, the three of us are gonna have a baby. That means you have to stop ignoring us. We can raise the baby together, without involving anyone else. But if we have to, we can always go the legal route for the baby's best interest." 

He knew it was a low blow, but the couple needed you to stop fighting them. Your eyes snapped to his and you shook your head in protest.

"Okay then we're all the same page," Aizawa reassured you.

Mic cheered, "Now we can focus on the fun stuff."

"Hun," Eraserhead caught his attention. "There's still a few more important things to figure out. We don't want you going back to that doctor. They're incompetent. We scheduled you an appointment with another's clinic for next week. Okay?"

You couldn't find your voice after how easily he threatened to take your baby. So you just nodded. Half listening.

"Good. We also went ahead and programmed our numbers into your phone. We need to be able to check in with you."

"Okay, but I can't use my phone at one of my jobs."

"About that lil momma," Mic started. "You work a lot, which is totally bad ass, but we don't think you leave enough time to rest and take care of yourself."

You tried to protest but Aizawa cut you off, "You also shouldn't be working around so many animals. Even though we love animals, they can be unpredictable and one dog can trigger all the rest into a frenzy."

You were dumbfounded, "I've never heard of anything like that happening. One of my coworkers was pregnant last year, she worked until her maternity leave. Plus I need to be able to pay my bills. And don't offer to compensate me again."

"Why do you have to view it as compensation? We just want to take care of the mother of our child. Just think about it. Mic and I have to go take care of some business but we'll be back later this week."

---

Back at their home Hizashi was dramatically splayed on their bed.

"Babe why are you pouting?" Aizawa asked.

"Why can't we just bring her home already?"

Aizawa sympathized with his better half, but they needed to be methodical. He reminded Hizashi that they didn't need to cause her even more stress, especially so early into the pregnancy. If they played their cards right they would have their happy little family soon enough.

If they could ease you in to the relationship everything would be easier in the long run. They had been managing just fine until now, they could wait a few more months.

He joined Hizashi on the couch. Mic was comforting himself the way he usually did when he felt like this. He was scrolling through the countless photos they had collected since their chance encounter with you over a year ago. 

[cizzisblog]

some things about bnha 302:

-endeavor literally just fucked off like “I have work I can’t watch Touya” and left Rei to deal with it herself for five years lmfao??? 1. what a fucking coward and 2. Rei showing again that even if she can’t necessarily do anything to fix it, she’s still more in tune with her children’s emotions than he is, she knows Touya wants Enji’s acknowledgment! I don’t know why people are acting like she just ignored Touya’s existence in favor of Shouto???

-when Touya looked up at Endeavor and Shouto on the balcony he just looked sad?? maybe vaguely annoyed? what is up with the “he gave an evil look to Shouto” shit? Are people just looking to demonize everything this 13 year old did? He’s a kid goddamn

-Also in the same chapter he says he was wrong for going after Shouto??? He didn’t even say anything that was incorrect he is not “manipulating” Natsuo for his evil purposes jesus christ he’s THIRTEEN and Natsuo was his ONLY confidante he’s looking for comfort and crying he’s THIRTEEN JESUS

-On that note Touya isn’t really..being necessarily misogynist by saying “the girls can’t understand”. Like from his perspective they don’t understand why he needs so desperately to gain Enji’s approval and of course he’s going to react negatively to “find something else other than being a hero” no matter what good intentions they have. This isn’t their fault and it’s not his either. (cough it’s endeavor’s cough)

-Rei says “you’re going to the hill again” which leads me to think going to the hill to train is something Touya does often. And he’s very resistant to her asking him to not go, being fairly disrespectful to her (again, not his fault he’s that way) and talking back. Again, Rei is more in tune with what he’s actually feeling, she can see he’s in pain because of his obsession, and I can only imagine what she felt if she talked to him before the LAST time he went to the hill and never came home. (But also Endeavor literally just didn’t fucking go??? He couldn’t get off his ass for five minutes to go see what Touya was up to??? How is he escaping blame for the incident? Rei is shown trying to convince him to acknowledge Touya, so it’s not at all out of character to say she probably begged him to just go. But Enji chose not to.) But still, it kind of blows my mind that people think it’s Rei’s fault that he went. Like, what do you expect her to do? Use physical force to stop him and potentially make things even worse? Instead of taking any responsibility for 1. causing the obsession in the first place, 2. ignoring Touya when he has no use to him, and 3. failing to use any of his actual professional ability to help Touya control his Quirk and prevent disaster, Endeavor just comes home and blames it all on Rei, in true abuser fashion. (He literally just abandoned Touya’s training cold turkey, he didn’t even keep up with trying to at least make sure he could control it? You can’t tell me specialized training or counseling for self destructive Quirks doesn’t exist??) Which is also what the fandom’s doing lmao. She really was out of options at this point...she couldn’t convince Touya not to go and she knew it, and I’m sure she felt like a failure of a mother for it, but Enji really was the only one with any power to sway Touya’s decisions. He could have committed to spending time with his son and taking responsibility at any point, but instead focused 100% on Shouto. Rei was in the very difficult position as a parent that many mothers are put into in real life- parenting their children in an abusive environment is made even more difficult because of both the lack of support from their spouse and their children growing resentful or disrespectful towards them because of the behavior they see modeled by the abusive partner. Enji literally, directly undercut Rei’s ability to parent at all; this is literally not the same as Rei just being “neglectful” and I’m tired of seeing people say she was “passive and complicit” in what he did. Literally this whole flashback she’s been trying to help Touya, but because she couldn’t and acknowledged that she couldn’t she’s somehow taken as this bitch who didn’t try at all. the bnha fandom really takes misunderstanding abuse victims to a whole other level. “She could have told Endeavor” literally as soon as he found out (possibly when she actually did tell him after he found the burns) he just fucking beat her and continued to do nothing about Touya. What options did she have to employ to help Touya when Enji continued to ignore and hurt him?

-This panel is...kind of interesting to me. This is another line people are bashing Touya over for supposedly being misogynist. But I really don’t take it that way? I think he’s lashing out because Rei doesn’t understand him, and yeah he may want to say something to hurt her, but I feel like that’s more of a subconscious urge? It really feels more like he’s trying to say “You’re being a hypocrite, you aren’t using your own advice; you were also used, but don’t understand me.” I don’t think he’s literally blaming her for being “bought” (even though, emotionally, he may place some blame on her for him being born in the first place, because emotions themselves don’t have to be ‘rational’). I think this is just another thing Dabi blames Endeavor for.

-in summary the whole “cancel Touya because he’s misogynist” is both stupid and batshit lmao y’all are wild do you ever go outside have you ever spoken to any 13 year old

-Both Endeavor and Rei mention that they didn’t know how to talk to Touya, but it blows my mind people are treating them the same. Rei acknowledged she didn’t know how to talk to Touya, but she still tried. The disconnect between her and her child was directly caused by her husband. Enji literally fucking ignored him on purpose??? Just because Enji feels bad about it now and wants to make an excuse, doesn’t change the fact he was really just running away all along. Rei literally calls him out on this lmao.

-Literally why are people demonizing Rei for saying the issue is all of theirs to bear? That scene doesn’t read at ALL as if she’s saying “it’s literally all our fault this happened”. She is not blaming her toddler children for past events. She’s acknowledging that they all have to deal with it now as a family, which is just, facing reality to be honest. None of them can just close their eyes and pretend Dabi doesn’t exist. She knows her kids feel guilty about Touya too and is acknowledging that running from it will only make them feel worse. Do you think Shouto would listen or feel better if his mom told him “this isn’t any of your concern, so don’t think about it”???? You know he wouldn’t and she knows that too.

-“Rei didn’t say anything about Natsuo and Fuyumi in this one single conversation when she praised Shouto and used him as an example of a hero (maybe because that’s what he’s trying to become) that means she doesn’t care about the abuse they endured” lmao this is so dumb and the weirdest take I’ve seen I’m not even gonna talk about it. Where is the reading comprehension. Do people know conversations take place off screen too do they know Rei talked to her children when they visited her in hospital. What the hell

-I cannot physically believe people are referring to this scene as a “fight.” “The kids were hiding from Enji and Rei fighting.” Lmfao what the fuck is wrong with you? This is a direct parallel to the other scene involving Enji physically abusing Rei and Shouto being present. You think a woman is cowering on the floor with her confirmed abusive spouse towering over her for fun? No, he fucking put her there. Baby Shouto even says stop bullying mom. People are so desperate to act like Rei wasn’t abused and the misogyny is so ironically clear for people complaining about one or two supposedly misogynistic comments a little boy made. The kids were hiding from Endeavor abusing their mother. They were hiding from Enji.

-In conclusion, I didn’t think the bad takes about Touya and Rei could get any worse but boy I was fucking wrong.

[farfromtommy]

seb being a stepdad to chris' kids or vice versa!

not my gif

a/n: okay this is literally one of the best ideas ever and im so in love with this fic. i think this takes the cake for my favorite fic i’ve written!! this is mildly edited so pls be kind. im so proud of it and hope you guys love it <3

please reblog if you enjoyed reading and and feel free to leave any comments!!

warnings: drinking, mentions of sex, brief mention of medical procedure(s), there might be some language i dont remember

word count: 4,400

masterlist

social media au masterlist

taglist 

~~~

Chris has been your best friend since elementary school and all through middle and high school. Everyone knew how close you were to him and how deeply you loved each other. It was never in a romantic sort of way, though. Nobody really understood the relationship you had with him, they just shrugged their shoulders and minded their business.

When Chris told you he wanted to move to New York to follow his dream of being an actor, he asked you to go with him. You shared his love for theatre and the arts and always wanted to see if you could make it as a big-time Hollywood actress. You packed all your things into your tiny car and made your way to New York with your best friend.

You spent your 28th birthday sitting on Chris’s couch with a bottle of tequila and a broken heart. Your boyfriend of 3 years broke up with you on the grounds of you being “such a drag” and “not someone he wants to settle down with any more”. You had planned a life with him. He talked about marrying you and having kids with you just weeks prior. And he had just thrown it all away.

Having gone through almost half of the bottle of tequila already, Chris took the bottle from you and just looked at you with sad eyes. He ran his hand through your hair as you buried your face in your pillow and just cried. You pulled yourself together after a while and willed yourself to sit up and look Chris in the eyes.

“I know I’m kinda drunk right now but Chris, listen to me. Can we make a pact? When we’re both 30 and if we’re both still single and loveless. Let’s have a baby. We don’t have to like… y’know… do it or anything. We can do it through insemination or in a petri dish or however they do it. I’m just- I want to settle down and have kids but I don’t think I’ll ever trust anyone else.” You rambled, gesturing wildly with your hands. Chris suppressed a laugh and looked at you like you were crazy. You just looked at him questioningly until he realized this was not the alcohol talking.

“Are you serious? Like, me and you? Having a baby? Seriously?” He pulled himself off the floor and sat on the coffee table in front of you.

“I’m so serious. You can say no, Chris. This is me asking you what you think. I always said that if I don’t have a husband or have been with someone long enough to have a child with them, that I would go to a sperm bank and do it like that. You know how badly I want kids, and I know you want them too.” You moved to the edge of the couch to move closer to him. He stood up and grabbed your hand to help you up. He dragged you towards the kitchen and sat you down at the table, telling you to wait there while he grabbed something. He came back a few moments later with a notebook and a pen.

“Alright, let’s figure this out. We’re going to ask each other questions about this and write down the answers. Any conditions we have we’ll write down, if we can’t agree on them we don’t do it. I know you’re not super sober right now so we can do this now and talk about it again tomorrow.” He wrote ‘Y/L/N - Evans Baby’ along the top. You smiled a bit to yourself and waited for him to talk.  

“I don’t want to be just the sperm donor, I want to be involved in everything. From the ultrasound appointments to picking preschools. I also want to be in the room when you’re in labor.” He wrote it down as he was talking and looked up at you. You nodded with a big smile on your face.

“I would want you as involved as possible. We would be co-parenting this hypothetical child. My turn. To keep this from getting messy, we should do it through a clinic. Me in stirrups and your swimmers in a turkey baster. Sex can make things complicated and weird, I don’t want to risk something going wrong between us and then there be a child involved. Insemination isn’t as effective but we can always keep trying if it doesn’t work.” You pulled the notebook towards you and wrote down your condition.

That went on for the rest of the night. You and Chris take turns asking questions about your hypothetical baby. You had filled up pages and pages of notes about what you both want, from how you would decide to tell your families to living arrangements to if you’d circumcise or not if it was a boy.

A little more than 2 years later you and Chris found yourselves at the dining room table of his Boston home again. The notebook you had filled just a few years back right in front of you, along with 5 pregnancy tests. They were face down on the table as you anxiously waited for the timer to go off.

“Alright, Chris. This is it. It’s been 5 minutes, we can flip them over.” You released a shaky breath and stared at the tests right in front of you. Chris grabbed your hand and laced your fingers together. You looked at each other before reaching out to flip over the individual tests. Seeing all 5 of the tests with 2 solid pink lines knocked all the air out of your lungs.

“Oh my god. They’re all positive! Oh my god, Chris!! We’re going to have a baby!” You both jumped out of your seats and jumped around the kitchen before hugging each other and crying. He kept thanking you and kissing the top of your head while you sobbed into his chest, soaking his shirt. There were lots of tears over the next few weeks from you both after confirming your pregnancy with your midwife.

8 or so months later Penelope Elizabeth Evans-Y/L/N made her way into the world and the arms of her parents. The world seemed to stop when you heard the cries of your daughter for the first time. You could’ve sworn Chris stopped breathing the second he laid eyes on her when she was placed on your bare chest. He didn’t even care that she was covered in blood and other bodily fluids, he swore that she was the most beautiful human being to ever exist.

He took a lot of time off from filming and working to take care of you both. Once you found out you were pregnant, you stopped acting for the most part. You knew that you wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, at least until she was old enough to go to school, and maybe then you’d go back to smaller roles that kept you close to home.

Chris had a hard time leaving you and Penny once it was time to go back to work. He held her close to his chest and cried at the thought of leaving her when she’s still so little. Seeing the extreme separation anxiety he was already having, you offered to go with him to set and find an apartment or house to rent for the duration of the shoot. This ended up being the greatest thing you could have come up with. Every single project that took him away from Boston, you and Penny were right there next to him. You and Penny followed him to what seemed like every corner of the Earth.

The weeks leading up to shooting The Winter Soldier were the most exciting for Chris. He had been training for months to get into shape and was really excited to have you and Penny on set with him. He had also been talking nonstop about working with Sebastian and Anthony again.

One night Chris came home with Sebastian and Anthony trailing behind him. Penny had gone down for the night and you were nursing a glass of wine on the recliner, watching whatever you could find on TV.

“Hey, Y/N. I should've called ahead, I’m sorry. We’re just going to have some beers while we watch the game.” He walked in and gave you a quick kiss on the cheek. You moved the blankets off your lap and stood up to greet Anthony and Sebastian.

“I don’t think you ever got a chance to meet these guys before. Y/N this is Anthony and Sebastian, guys this is Y/N.” Chris introduced you and you moved forward to give them both hugs.

“Sorry for barging in on you unannounced, we would’ve made sure this idiot called you before to make sure it was all good,” Anthony said, taking the beer Chris handed him.

“Oh please, don’t worry about it. He used to do it all the time when we lived in New York. Sorry, the place is a bit of a mess. Didn’t get a chance to clean today, I’ve had my hands full, especially with this one” You gestured a thumb to Chris and he sent you a playful glare in return.

You offered to put together some snacks for the game, knowing very well Chris couldn’t handle his alcohol without some sort of food in his system. Anthony and Sebastian offered to help while Chris snuck off to go see Penny.

“How long have you and Chris been together?” Sebastian made some small talk while looking for serving bowls in your kitchen. Anthony leaned against the counter and continued to sip on his beer.

“Oh, we’re not together. We’ve been friends since we were kids and we actually are just uh...” You chuckled nervously, not knowing what to say to his friends. Chris walked into the kitchen with Penny in his arms at that moment. Her head tucked into his neck, hands gripping at the fabric of his shirt and his arms under her butt.

“We’re raising our daughter together. They go with me wherever I go so I don’t miss anything and so Y/N doesn’t raise Penelope by herself. We’re co-parenting in the same house.” He said, looking at the tired toddler in his arms. Sebastian and Anthony both sputtered on their beers at the same time, not believing what they were seeing.

There was no denying that she was a product of you and Chris. Even with her sleepy eyes, they could see the bright blue color that matched the man carrying her. They saw the swoop of your nose and the color of your hair. They stood there just taking it all in.

“I had a bit of a crisis when I turned 28 after my long term boyfriend dumped me out of nowhere. It was one of those ‘if we’re 30 and aren’t married’ sort of things. We turned 30 and were both still single, so we had a baby.” You shrugged, looking over at your girl.

“And it works, being parents without being together but still living together?” Anthony asked, gesturing towards the two of you.

“We had everything figured out before she got pregnant. We had conditions that we both had to agree on before we even got serious about it. We were both very adamant about not doing it the old fashioned way so things didn’t get messy. It took some time to figure out the… terms and conditions I guess.” Chris laughed a little bit. Anthony and Seb nodded in understanding and kept looking at Penny.

“I’m happy for you, man. Seems like you both are really happy. How old is she?” Anthony walked into her line of sight and waved his fingers a bit, trying to get her attention.

“She turned one a couple of months ago.” You said and watched Penny pick her head up and look at Seb and Anthony, inspecting them a bit. Her big blue eyes landed on Sebastian and she stared him down before he gave her a small smile and waved at her. She was a little shy around new people and would usually bury her face in the neck of whoever was holding her.

To your surprise, she leaned away from Chris and moved her hands out to Sebastian. Everyone’s eyes widened as she whined a little bit when he didn’t reach out to grab her. Chris moved closer and told him it was okay and let Penny make herself comfortable in his arms. She buried herself into his neck much like she does with you and Chris, her tiny fists clutching his shirt. Her eyes shut immediately and let herself fall asleep in his arms.

The next few months went on more pleasantly than expected. Chris often had late-night shoots and training, leaving you with Penny most of the day. Anytime he knew he would be home late, he’d send Seb over with dinner or just an extra set of hands to help you with Penny. She knew you were her mama and Chris was her dada, then one day she had her Seba. Anytime you opened the door to let him in with her on your hip, she immediately squealed and started to chant ‘Seba! Seba!’ and didn’t stop until he was holding her.

Sebastian had brought up the idea of taking you to dinner one night to Chris. Even though you were a single adult who could make decisions on your own, he didn’t want to disrespect Chris at all. Chris never saw you as anything more than his best friend, it had always been like that. He was ecstatic when Sebastian brought up the idea of asking you out.

“I’m so serious, Seb. I think it’s a great idea. She talks about you a lot and really loves being around you. She’s going to say yes, I promise. Y/N hasn’t dated since we had Penny, mostly because she’s scared of what someone would think about her living with her childhood best friend who happens to be the father of her child.” Chris told him honestly. You weren’t interested in dating at all since having Penny. Mostly because being a mom was your first and only priority.

Sebastian let out the breath he was holding and ran his fingers through his hair, all of a sudden nervous about asking you to dinner. Chris clapped a hand around his shoulder and gave him a quick pep talk before sending him on his way.

The 2 years between wrapping Winter Soldier and starting Civil War had been interesting, to say the least. Everything Chris did kept him in the states for the most part. You and Penny were still trailing along with him, always loving the things you got to experience as a family.

Sebastian had found his place right in your crazy life. You had been unofficially together after wrapping Winter Soldier. He went off to do his next project and you and Chris spent some time in Boston with your families. You texted him most of the day, and he called at night to talk for a few hours before you went to sleep. He always said goodnight to Penny and she blew her Seba kisses through the phone.

He flew to Boston a bunch of times to see you, even if it was only for a few hours. You flew to wherever he was for a few days at a time, most of the time with Penny. Chris somehow managed to get you on the plane by yourself a few times and promised he would FaceTime every single night and would have hourly pictures sent.

On one of your first weekend trips out to see him, he refused to let you leave without making it official with you. He had you in tears at the end of his ‘I can’t spend another second without calling you my girlfriend’ speech. When he proposed to you he had said that the only thing better than the girlfriend speech was the one he was about to give. His ‘I can’t spend another second without calling you my wife’ speech knocked that one out of the water.

Neither of you wanted to make a big fuss about a wedding. You weren’t interested in the big white dress and the stressful bridesmaids and the whole cliche wedding things. Sebastian suggested getting eloped somewhere quiet with a handful of the most important people in your life. Chris’s mom, Lisa, had offered to hold the ceremony in her backyard. Knowing very well how spacious and beautiful it was, you and Seb graciously accepted her offer.

You kept your dress simple yet elegant, a beautiful white lace dress that ended mid-thigh, and complimented your body so perfectly. Seb kept it classy with a dark blue suit and light blue button-up that brought out his eyes, no tie, because who needs one?

Right at the end of the ceremony right as the officiant was about to have you say ‘i do’, you heard whines coming from Penny, who was sitting right up front on her daddy’s lap. You looked over to see her squirming in his lap and whining out ‘mama’ and reaching out for you. Chris made eye contact with you and mouthed ‘i’m sorry’. You shook your head and let go of one of Sebastian’s hands to motion to let her go so she could walk over to you.

Everyone aww’d as she walked over to you as quickly as her legs could take her. You bent down and scooped her up, resting her on your hip and wrapping your arm around her waist to keep her up. Sebastian made faces at her to make her laugh and keep her happy for a few more minutes. Your photographer had taken advantage of the incredibly sweet moment and had made sure to get as many shots of Penny at the altar with you.

When the officiant pronounced you husband and wife, you were going to set Penny down but Sebastian was quick to pull you both close to him and go in for your first kiss as a married couple with your daughter right there. Everyone cheered and Penny was mimicking the claps of everyone around her. Before he pulled away from you two he pressed two sloppy kisses on Penny’s cheeks as she giggled, which pulled some tears out of you.

No more than 15 people were attending the ceremony. You wanted to keep it quiet with just family and a few close friends. The reception, however, was anyone and everyone you could fit into the ballroom you had rented at one of the best hotels in Boston. All your guests had filled the room before you and Seb arrived. You nervously held his hand as you heard the cheers from everyone inside after hearing the DJ announce “Ladies, gentlemen, and nonbinary friends … let’s give it up for the couple of the hour, Mr. and Mrs. Sebastian Stan!!”

No one understood how you, Chris, and Seb managed to make your situation seem so easy and flawless. He knew that living in Boston was a must, so he bought the house that sits right behind the one you shared with Chris for so many years. He never wanted to get in the way of the system you and Chris had created over the years. Somehow, he managed to make things easier for everyone.

Penny’s first day of school was emotional for all 3 of you. You were all at your front door taking pictures of Penny in her school uniform that she looks so ridiculously cute in and the backpack that was way too big for her. She insisted on getting the Avengers backpack that “has my daddy on it!”

“Okay my love, it’s time for us to go to school! Are you ready?” Chris grabbed her tiny hand and led her to the car.

“Yeah daddy, I’m ready!” Penny said as he lifted her into the car and her car seat.

“Daddy? Mama and Sebbie coming too?” She asked him when he clicked the last buckle together. Right on cue Sebastian opened up the door to the free seat in the back and climbed in right next to her. She squealed in excitement at the sight of Sebastian buckling himself in the car.

Chris laughed at her genuine excitement and made sure all her fingers and toes were inside the car before shutting the door. He saw you lock the front door and make your way to the front seat. He noticed you put a few packs of tissues in your bag before setting it on the ground and buckling your seatbelt.

“Planning on crying today, Y/N?” Chris asked in a teasing tone. You swatted his arm lightly and scoffed at his question.

“Our baby is going to her first day of school, of course, I’m going to cry! I cried last night after I tucked her in, I cried in the shower this morning, I cried doing her hair.” You heard Seb talking enthusiastically to Penny, telling her about all the fun things she’ll get to do in kindergarten.

“It’s okay, I cried in the bathroom while she ate her waffles this morning.” You snorted at Chris’s confession and looked back at your baby girl, who was not a baby anymore. She was waving her hands around telling Seb about how excited she was to see her teacher again.

Chris and Sebastian watched from the car as you walked through the front doors of the school with Penny’s hand in yours. They had agreed that it might not have been a good idea to go in with her since they might get recognized and to avoid causing a ruckus. They both waved at her as she turned around and waved one more time before the door shut.

“Did you and Y/N ever think about having more kids together? If I hadn’t started dating her, do you think you would've had more?” Sebastian asked Chris.

“We never explicitly talked about it. She brought up wanting Penny to have lots of siblings not long after you started seeing each other. She felt guilty and thought that I was going to be upset about you and her maybe having kids one day, which meant I probably wouldn’t have anymore. I told her that this was honestly the best thing that could’ve happened because I don’t think I want any more of my own. Penny is all I ever wished and hoped for, and I got it. But since you’re together, she’ll get all the siblings she could ever want, and I won’t have to change a single diaper.” Chris nudged Seb’s shoulder with his. “You guys thinking about having one?”

“Yeah... Yeah, we are.” Sebastian lowered his head and smiled a bit. “With Penny in school and everything, it makes sense. She’s ready, I’m ready.” Seb sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He looked up and saw you walking back towards them with a tissue in your hand.

“I had the morning crying shift, it’s your turn.” Seb looked at Chris.

Just as Penny wrapped up her very first year in school, you and Sebastian welcomed Beverly Olivia Stan-Y/L/N into your family. Penelope had been so excited to hear that her mama finally had the baby she had been waiting so long for. You had gone into labor in the late afternoon and Beverly made her debut in the middle of the night.

Sebastian had called Chris an hour or so after to let him know that both you and the baby were doing phenomenally and that you were asking for Penny and wanted to see her as soon as you could. Chris chuckled at the demands you were making, knowing very well how the epidural and pain meds messed with you.

Early the next morning Penny had crawled into bed with Chris, crying for you and wanting to know when she was going to see you. It was still too early for them to go to the hospital, so he called Seb in hopes that he was already going to be awake.

A very exhausted Sebastian lit up the screen and Chris heard the soft cries of the new baby in the background. Penny’s cries turned into hiccups as soon as she saw Seb’s face because she knew she would be able to see her mama, too.

“Sebbie can I see mama, please?” Penny’s little voice spoke up. Sebastian immediately handed the phone to you and whispered that Penny was on the phone.

“Hi, baby.” You spoke softly to not disturb the baby.

“Mama when you come home? I miss you.” Penny wiped her eyes with her fists to get rid of the tears stuck in her eyelashes.

“It’s going to be a few days until I get to go home, baby. But you and daddy will be able to come to see me, Sebbie, and the new baby in a few hours. You need to go back to sleep and be a good girl for your daddy. I’m sure he’ll let you have some cuddles in his bed with him and Dodger until it’s time to wake up again.” Penny hiccuped and looked at Chris with eyes that mirrored his. He nodded his head and she buried herself closer to him.

“Okay, I go back to sleep with daddy and Dodger. I love you, mama. I love Sebbie, too.” She yawned out, her eyes blinking with sleep.

“Me and Sebbie love you so much, Penny. We’ll see you so soon, I promise” You blew a kiss to her through the screen and waited for her to throw one back. She giggled when you caught it through the camera and put it over your heart.

You, Sebastian, and Chris all watched with tears in your eyes as Penny held her baby sister for the first time. Penny had jumped right up in the bed next to you the second she walked into the room and told you about all the fun she had with Chris. Seeing your girls together melted your heart into a puddle. Chris couldn’t believe his little girl was so grown up and was a big sister. Seb thought about the night he first met you and Penny and would’ve never imagined that he’d be right here at this very moment.

Everything was so perfect and you never wanted to imagine your life being any different.

[shinygoldstar]

Midnight Snack

DannyMay Day 11: Midnight

(Also DannyMay Shadow, Scars, Power, Nature, Seasons, Teeth can you find them all?)

Word Count: 2271 (not beta’d. experimental writing)

Warning: mentions of ghost cannibalism, nothing explicit

@floralflowerpower ​ – for that ghost cannibalism post

(it’s 1 am so i’m gonna sleep now. might post on AO3 later)

Edit: AO3 Added!

.

It was mid-October. The leaves are starting to turn yellow heralding the approaching autumn. Danny was happy because that meant the unusually hot weather is almost over. It wasn’t that he’s melting from the heat- quite the opposite, he’s probably the only person in Amity that isn’t sweltering under the sun with his cold core. But due to this exact same reason, his cooler body temperature also drew in water vapor which condenses on his skin, pooling into beads of water dripping down his shirt, making him appear extra sweaty. He can’t wait for the temperature to be cool enough to not change clothes every few hours. Good thing his clothes are purchased by the dozen; no one really noticed him wearing new sets of clothes throughout the day.

.

It was the contaminated fridge foods that disappeared first. No one missed them. At least until they can’t find the mutated turkeys for their annual Thanksgiving hunting event.

.

Danny yawned as he and his friends entered Fenton Works. Autumn is comfy. Just the right temperature where he can wear loose clothing and not be stared at for being underdressed for the weather. No ‘sweating’ either. His mouth closed with a click, a bit too fast on his new fangs. Danny winced. The fangs seemed to have grown longer overnight again. At this rate Danny won’t be able to pass them off as normal pointy canine teeth for much longer. It didn’t hurt but the itch is annoying. Danny took a detour to the fridge, grabbing an ice cube from the freezer and popped it into his mouth, absentmindedly chewing on the cubes to take the edge off the itch as they walked down to the basement lab. His parents are at a paranormal convention at a nearby city and won’t be back until tomorrow. Danny and his friends gladly took the opportunity to do their ‘Danny’s quarterly fitness test’.

Danny flipped on the light switch and walked to the center of the lab, transforming into his ghost form. “Okay I’m ready. What’s first on the list?”

Tucker dropped his bag and took out a piece of notebook paper, “Okay, first we gotta do the baseline measurements. Height, weight, temperature, and the ecto reading.” Sam dug through her sports bag, pulling out the measurement tape. She held it against Danny, eyes scanning the tape measurement numbers. “Still the same height.”

Tucker nodded, noting down the measurement in Danny’s health notebook. “Next, weight.” Danny stood over the scale. “Yup, still the same weight too.”  

.

Then it was the ecto-samples that Jack misplaced in the kitchen fridge. Jack warned everyone a few days later (everyone knows to avoid glowing food on normal basis so the delayed warning is mostly just courtesy), but no one could find where it went and assumed it grew legs to join the other tiny ecto-samples lurking as their equivalent of household pests. (No matter how often Maddie tried to patch up the mouse hole it keeps reappearing in the same shape but in a different part of the house as if the original mouse hole got transplanted from its original location)

.

“Lunch Lady’s right. You need to eat more. You’re still as skinny as ever.” Sam remarked as Danny took the thermometer out of his mouth. “76 F. The ghosts keep attacking me all day and night. You’d think my parents would notice when a ghost sneaks pass them while they work in the lab but I triggered all their ghost alarms just by being in the house so they deactivated the system when I’m around. They must’ve kept it turned off during the day too.”

“Tough luck dude. Ecto scan next.” Tucker passed the scanner to Sam while Danny stood still for her to scan. The machine beeped, “Wow 6.8, that’s quite a jump from last quarter’s 5.1”

“Maybe it was from all the ghost fighting I did over the summer?”

.

As the leaves began to fall from the branches, ghost attacks lessened in frequency. Not looking the gift horse in the mouth Danny happily enjoyed the lack of ghost attacks to focus more on his studies. If he did well enough, he might even get Bs for his efforts. He also managed to avoid getting detention for the entire week much to the relief of everyone involved.

.

Two days before Thanksgiving, the Fentons finally remembered their turkeys. But by then it was gone. In a rush, they quickly purchased a pre-made turkey instead. While Danny enjoyed the fact that they’re having a normal family dinner for once, he can’t help but feel like there’s something off about the chicken. As if it’s missing a particular tangy or zingy flavor that would’ve made it richer in flavor. ‘Must’ve been because it’s overcooked.’

.

"Honey? Have you seen the new ecto-samples I placed in the basement lab fridge?" “Again Jack? This is the third time this month. Have you checked the upstairs fridge?” “I-ah was pretty sure I placed them in the correct fridge this time. Must be some no-good thievin’ ghost.” “I’ll set up the ecto-anti-theft, that’ll get ‘em good! No ghost can escape Jack Fenton for long!”

.

*Intruder Alert* *Intruder Alert*

Red lights peppered with robotic voice and alarm noises lurched Maddie into full alert mode. She quickly took stock of her surroundings and tried to wake Jack up. But Jack had his earplugs on and continued to snore blissfully. A loud knock on the door caught her attention. “What’s going on mom?” Jazz’s voice floated through the door. Maddie quickly rose to open the bedroom door, swiftly pulled Jazz in and locked the door. “Jazz dear, try to wake your dad up. I’ll go check on the intruder.” Maddie strode quietly to the door then paused, “Have you checked on Danny?” Jazz bit her lips and looked away for a moment “-ah yeah! Danny’s snoring so loud he can’t hear the alarm.” Maddie twisted the doorknob but paused, hesitating. “He’s fine mom.” Jazz reassures her. “If Danny wakes up, he’ll come here first. I’ll let him know what’s going on.”

The alarm rang loudly in her ears as she walked down the stairs to the basement lab, its loud ringing noise effectively covering up the sound of her footsteps. Reaching the basement floor, Maddie quickly crept over to hide behind the shelf on her left, eyes scanning the lab for the intruder.

The glass jars clinked as a shadow moved about the fridge. A very familiar shadow. That didn’t glow. Maddie turned on the lab lights. “Danny?” she started, carefully walking over to face him, her eyes still scanning him to check if he’s really her Danny. The faint, barely noticeable scar on his eyebrow from his attempt to fly off the tree when he was five is there confirming his identity.

“What are you doing down here-?” Maddie noticed the glowing jar in his hand, “and what exactly are you doing?” Danny hazily stared at her; eyes half-lidded. Maddie snapped her fingers to get his attention. Danny didn’t blink. “He's still not awake, Danny come on wake up!”, she shook his shoulders. “Huh? Wuzzat?” Danny groggily woke up. He blinked in confusion.

Finally aware of his surroundings, Danny looked down at his right hand that still held the glowing sample. “Aah!” Danny yelped dropping the sample, then realizing he dropped the sample, tries to catch the jar, fumbling clumsily. Maddie would’ve laughed if it was anywhere else but in this situation. “Danny, do you remember what you were doing?”

“I was doing my homework and was craving for a good cheeseburger?”

---

“And the half-opened jar of ectoplasm?”

“Pickles?”

---

“Dude are you for real? That was priceless!” Tucker crowed with laughter. Sam leaned away from Tucker to avoid the meat spittle, “Urgh! Gross Tucker! Swallow it before you speak!”

Danny grumbled into his glass of milkshake, “’s not funny Tuck. you didn't see her face. She was about ready to scan me for signs of ecto-possession. Good thing my lie about craving cheeseburger and opening the wrong fridge worked. Otherwise I’d be in big trouble if she scanned me now with my latest ecto-reading. Anyways I'm banned from the lab now.” Danny bit into his burger.

“So what really happened there dude? Did you seriously sleepwalk into the basement lab?”

“I think so? I don’t really remember anything before Mom found me in the lab. Only that I was feeling a bit hungry.”

.

The ghosts stopped coming. Everyone in Amity held their breath when there were no ghost attacks for two weeks straight, then a month. Then two months, three. No ghosts. They let out their collective breath. It might be too soon to hope but for now they will enjoy their ghost-free, perfectly ordinary life. It feels a bit strange to not have ghost related interruptions as part of their daily routine but they didn’t miss the ghost-related reconstruction expenses. The local insurance company employees received a nice bonus for the ghost-free month.

.

By the time March rolled in, Danny is restless. “Guys, there's definitely something big going on.”, he waved his hands for emphasis. “The Fenton portal is still open yet no ghost came through? Not even Boxy since the North District warehouse thing last month. There’s definitely something big going on. I've been taking the ghost-free break for granted for a while now and it helped save my grades but this is too big to ignore.”

“Dude, maybe it’s because you’re much more powerful now? Your latest reading last week is 8.2. None of the ghosts we’ve met so far is above 6 except for Vlad and the Ghost King.” Tucker suggested.

“You might have a point there, Tucker. We haven’t seen any of the ghosts bothering Vlad so far and he’s definitely higher than 6.” Sam added.

Danny frowned, “Maybe you’re right but I just have this nagging feeling that that’s not quite it.”

.

Danny entered the Zone with little fanfare. The area around the Fenton portal looked normal enough, the usual rocks and clouds of debris are still floating around in their usual areas. Danny aimlessly passed through the nooks and crannies, ducking under the endless spiral staircase, not entirely sure of what to look for. The Zone felt a bit quiet today but Danny haven’t been to the Zone that frequently to be certain about it.

.

The Ghost Zone, while still filled with random bits of odds and ends felt empty somehow. It wasn't until he sighted Skulker that he realized he hasn't seen any of the tiny blog ghosts nor the occasional passerby ghosts through his trip.

.

Luckily or unluckily, Danny quickly spotted someone he knew in the distance. As if called, Skulker turned his head towards Danny, then veered sharply to the left and flew fast in Danny's opposite direction, a first for the self-proclaimed hunter to not hunt his favorite prey. ‘Something's not right and Skulker definitely knows something.’ Danny thought.

Danny quickly chased after him; Skulker could never beat Danny at speed chase even at his best, and he won't be winning today's unplanned race either. “Hey Skulker! What’s going on?” Danny yelled over the gap between them but Skulker gave no reply, diving down deep into the reddish forest ravines of the island below. Not to be deterred, Danny did a quick aerial flip, adjusting his flight angle to follow down Skulker’s path. Danny soon caught up to Skulker and launched him into a nearby rock with sticky ectoplasm to hold him still long enough to talk. Skulker ejected from his metal suit but Danny was faster and caught the real ghost before he can escape.

.

(Why is Skulker fleeing?)

.

"Hey Skulker, not hunting me for once?" Danny asked teasingly.

Skulker paled (Danny never knew ghosts can turn pale) and squirmed even more. Danny's smile dropped.

"What’s going on Skulker?" he asked worriedly. “None of the ghosts have appeared in the human world and the Zone looks empty somehow”

Skulker squirmed a bit more but realizing he’s stuck finally said, “Ghost Child, haven’t you ever wondered why the Infinite Realms is never overcrowded?”

Danny frowned, puzzled as to where this leads to. “How is this related to this situation?” Skulker stared at Danny stunned.

“What?” Danny asked, suddenly self-conscious, “-was there something I was supposed to know about?”

Skulker sighed, unconsciously loosening a bit of his tension, “You’re so young. So very young. We Ghosts don’t fade as fast as Newcomers arrive from your world. In the Realms, there's a natural system that keeps the population under control. An ecosystem. There's predator and there's prey. And then there's the Apex Predator. There's a reason why Dark was feared. It wasn't just for his harsh rule. It was because he was the Apex Predator.”

Danny struck at the odd wording, "’Was’? Was that because he got sealed?” Danny paused, “But wait- if he's sealed, he would still be the Apex predator. So how-? Wait. Did I?"

Skulker nodded, "Good you're catching on fast. By defeating Pariah Dark, you have proven to the Realms that you're the best candidate for the Apex Predator. And with the new status comes sets of conducts, one your body instincts know well. You've been culling down the uncontrolled excess from Pariah Dark's sleep quite fast. Your hunger would settle down soon of course once balance has been re-established in the Realms."

“But- How- Wait- What-?” Danny looked down at his hand “Hey Skulker--!” but his hand is bare.

.

Danny’s lips tasted oddly tangy, energized.  

.

.

.

-----

(Skulker might've slipped out of Danny's slack hand while Danny is in shock. Danny might've bit his lips hard enough to bleed. It's not that hard with his new fangs. But this is just speculation...)

[comfortwriting]

Never Alone - The Marauders

Masterlist, Posting Schedule, Requesting Rules, Writing Prompts, navigation

The Marauders x Fem Reader x Marlene McKinnon

A/N: As someone who was bullied in highschool for my sexuality and slandered by members of my family, this was somewhat therapeutic yet hard for me to write as I’ve never spoken about it. If you need a helpline, etc please scroll to the bottom of my navigation <3

Requested/About: The reader is dating Marlene McKinnon, once their relationship is made public, other students decide to be openly homophobic towards her. Her cousin, Sirius Black and his best friend James Potter find out, going after the students and comforting her. 

Warnings: Homophobia, Homophobic Slurs, Mention of conversion, Swearing.

“Are you sure you want to, you know, go public?” Your girlfriend Marlene asked.

You felt your heart speed up, sweat already forming in your palms, you sighed.

“Yeah... just give me one more day” you swallowed hard and looked into her starry eyes “I’m tired of hiding who I am, I’m tired of hiding us - but I’m scared.”

Marlene smiled sympathetically from ear to ear, talking your hand in hers.

“It’s never going to be easy, Y/N, but we’ve got each other and that’s all that matters”

You nodded again and held onto her hand tighter, squeezing it as you often did when you were nervous.

Sharing a kiss, the two of you stood up and walked across the school grounds.

Before you could reach the doors to be engulfed by the delicious mouth watering meals, you heard foot steps behind you.

Two boys in the year above you in Raven Claw had closed in on you, they were glaring but the corners of their lips curled up slightly.

“I never would’ve thought Marlene was a dyke—“

“Leave her alone!” You hissed and the taller student, pushing yourself in front of your girlfriend to shield her.

The two boys shared a glance and started laughing.

“You’d think that being a witch you would fix yourself, make yourself normal.” The other boy spat at you.

Your throat went dry and started to feel tight, boiling blood flowed through your veins and you felt like you could throw up or faint, you wanted to scream, to say something back but you couldn’t.

Tears filled your eyes and your vision went glassy, every noise around you turned into muffled nonsense, you were trapped in a vice with your own thoughts and the disgusting comments from other people, torturing yourself and toying with your mind.

Why can’t I be normal?

Am I disgusting?

What are my family going to think?

Sirius won’t be able to look at me

Whilst drowning in your thoughts, Marlene pushed herself out of your shielding and stood up to the other students, arguing back, yelling and getting out her wand.

“You talk a lot boys, why don’t we settle this another way?”

But Marlene wasn’t as good as she thought, the two boys simply laughed at her, disarmed her and walked away, threatening to spill the truth to whole of Hogwarts.

“Y/N?” Your girlfriend called out softly “Y/N”

Blinking away the tears, you slipped out from your vice and felt as if you had been thrusted back into reality.

You looked up at Marlene and felt ashamed for not doing something.

“Marlene, I’m sorry, I love you.”

She shushed you softly “hey, it’s okay.” Her fingers traced your scalp, holding you in her arms “I love you too... let’s just get ourselves sorted out and head off for dinner.”

Wiping away your tears with your sleeve, the two of you walked into the great hall.

You cousin Sirius waved and ushered you to come over to sit with him and his friends.

James Potter and Lily were away with the fairies, giggling.

Remus Lupin looked a lot better than the previous week and the scratches on his face were starting to heal nicely.

You sat next in between your cousin and Girlfriend. Staring at your plate, too scared to say anything incase the boys had already blabbed to them.

“Well, aren’t you going to eat something?” Sirius asked, taking a sip from his goblet.

You nodded “right, yeah” and stabbed some turkey, piercing it with your fork and stuffing it into your mouth.

“You aren’t usually this quiet” James butted in as Lily left to go to the toilet.

Marlene gave James a sad look and started to eat, hoping the subject could be dropped.

“He’s right, Y/N.” Remus said softly “is everything okay?”

You could hear the intrusive thoughts and comments rise in your head again, the vice getting tighter.

You put your head in your hands and started to cry, you wanted to stand up and run but you were too afraid, you were terrified people would make a big deal and would end up finding out the truth.

“Nothing is okay” you wailed.

Sirius wrapped his arm around you and bent his head next to your ear.

“Can you just try your best to explain what’s happened?”

You shook your head even more and continued to cry, wanting to throw up the food you had worked so hard to chew down and swallow.

Marlene sighed and asked Sirius to come over, Sirius got out of his seat and crouched next to Marlene.

Marlene looked at you, the two of you making eye contact, emotions spinning in the air, your hearts running a marathon, this was it - you couldn’t hide anymore.

“Please can I tell him?” Your girlfriends eyes were pleading more than they ever had in their life.

You nodded and cried even more, holding onto her hand for support.

Marlene let out a shaky breath and looked into your cousins deep eyes “me and Y/N, we’ve been together for awhile now and it’s been kept secret but” she sighed again, her voice wobbling “two boys from Raven Claw spotted us and—“

“They think it’s okay to just toss out a homophobic slur like it means nothing, they think it’s a choice and that magic will make me normal” you wailed, too scared to look your cousin and his friends in the eyes.

James’s eyes widened and Lupin looked horrified, he stood up and walked over to your side of the table.

Sirius had never been so infuriated in his life, his veins were bulging out of his skull, his eyes burning with fury, his teeth gritted.

“Who” he growled.

Marlene looked across at the Raven Claw table and pointed at the two lads who were whispering to one another, grimacing and laughing.

Sirius stood up with his hands balled into fists “James—“

“You don’t need to tell me even once.” His best friend replied, pushing back his glasses.

Lupin pulled you into his arms, Marlene still holding your hand.

“I don’t want them to get in trouble—“

“They can’t get away with this, Y/N” Lupin replied softly “it’s bang out of order.”

Sirius stormed over to the Raven Claw table with James, both of them focussing on one lad each. In synch, they pulled the lads up by the back of their collars, dragging them out of their seats.

“Think you’d get away with it, did you?” Sirius seethed.

The lad stood up and stared Sirius down “want to take this outside?”

Sirius didn’t budge, James still holding back the other student.

“Don’t see why I would” Sirius spat “Homophobes don’t deserve to kept in the dark - protected. You disgusting scum bags shouldn’t be allowed here at Hogwarts!”

“And you expect your cousin to be accepted for who she is?”

The professors got up from their tables and hurried over to the unfolding scene, you could hear the rising in whispers and chatter from the other tables around you.

“It’s going to be okay” your girlfriend reassured you.

“You have nothing to be ashamed of” Lupin said softly “you’re perfect the way you are.”

Dumbledore glided over, staring at James and holding Sirius back from launching at the boy. He knew what James and Sirius were mischievous, yet good natured and kind hearted - he knew the was a reason behind this outburst of rage.

“Can the four of you make your way to my office”

James let go of the other student and followed behind Dumbledore.

“Only if you make that dyke normal—“

Sirius turned around and socked the student in the face, causing him to fall on the floor with a bloody nose.

You hid your face into the crook of Lupin’s neck, everyone now knowing your secret.

“Everyone get out!” Dumbledore yelled, everyone instantly leaving the hall in a hurry.

Dumbledore flashed Lupin a look and nodded.

The three of you were sat in the empty great hall for what felt like hours, your stomach doing flips and you couldn’t stop shaking, Lupin and your girlfriend constantly reassuring you and trying to cheer you up.

Sirius and James walked back into the hall, Sirius ran over to you and picked you up into his arms, the two of you crying.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

You shook your head “no but I will be.”

“You don’t ever be ashamed of who you are” Sirius cried “it doesn’t make you any less of the person you are, we all still love you.”

“Are you okay, what happened, I—“

“Those two pricks have been expelled, they’re packing immediately” James smirked, rubbing your back.

You felt part of the weight on your chest had been lifted, James engulfed you into a hug while Sirius talked to your girlfriend, thanking her for being there for you and for treating you nothing short of perfect.

Dumbledore called out your name, asking to speak to you in his office.

James and Sirius smiled and nodded towards Dumbledore, you swallowed another forming lump down your throat and followed your head teacher.

Sitting down in his large and warm office, your eyes were glued to the gorgeous Phoenix sat in-front of you, batting its eyes at you.

“Sirius isn’t in trouble is he?”

“Not at all.” Dumbledore replied “Y/N, I want you to know, you will always be accepted here at Hogwarts and we won’t stand for Homophobia or discrimination of any sort.”

You let out a sigh of relief and nodded, thanking him, not knowing where to look you continued to stare at the Phoenix.

“You shouldn’t be ashamed of who you are but I can understand it takes time, it took me awhile too.” Dumbledore smiled softly.

You looked through his half moon spectacles and into his eyes.

He nodded his head, and held out his hand for you to hold.

“You are never alone, Y/N.” His eyes filled with tears, the two of you finally feeling free.

[wiypt-writes]

Murder, He Wrote

Part 3 Co-Written with @southerngracela​

Summary: It’s Thanksgiving, but when you’re being held hostage by Hugh Ransom Drysdale there’s really not a lot to be thankful for, is there?

Warnings: Bad language words. MATURE (NSFW 18+) NON-CON situation, kidnap, violence. DO NOT READ IF ANY OF THOSE TRIGGER… READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!

Pairing: DARK! Ransom Drysdale x Reader

A/N:  So this is Part 2 to our submission for @Jtargaryen18 ‘s Haunted House 2020  Challenge. Once again READ THE WARNINGS!!!! This is a DARK Series… don’t @ us if you can’t follow simple instructions and end up with butt-hurt. And if you’re under 18…get off my blog.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and by writing it does NOT mean I agree with or condone the acts contained within. This fiction is classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar reader and any other OCs that may or may not be mentioned. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Murder, He Wrote Masterlist // Main Masterlist.

Part 2

You could feel the chill of the outside seeping into your space, your bones, through the vented window following your shower. The way it crept in made you realize just how far along through fall you were, maybe it was even approaching the onset of the holiday weather. Either way, a storm seemed to be outside. At least it felt like it. Once dried, you found yourself wrapping up tighter in the thick cardigan you’d chosen before you dried your hair, and allowed yourself a quick squirt of perfume before settled into the reading chair in the corner of your room, your journal on your lap.

The little, leather bound book had been in your handbag which had been given back to you earlier that morning as the latest reward for behaving and as you ran your hand over the deep brown cover, you couldn’t help the air of excitement you felt at having been given your treasured little note book, despite the dreary sky you could see from the porthole above your chair.

It had actually surprised you that Drysdale had kept it and not disposed of it the same way he had your phone and your car. But for whatever reason, he’d held onto it, and for that you were grateful. Grateful that you had something of your own from before this imprisonment to anchor too. You’d expected him to want some kind of favour in return but he hadn’t demanded any sort of sexual gratification, simply informed you he would be out most of the morning and would be back mid to late afternoon. As soon as he had gone you had eagerly tipped the contents of your bag onto the bed, almost crying at the sight of your half empty bottle of Coco-Mademoiselle, the Mac Lip-gloss, NYX Eyebrow pencil, Mont Blanc fountain pen, a full tube of mints and your treasured journal. With teary eyes you’d put everything away in its new place, apart from the book and pen before padding into the bathroom for a shower, deliberately sorting yourself out for the day. All you could think of was taking the time so you could savour the moment when you could hopefully make some sense of the jumble in your head by spilling it onto a page.

You opened the cover and flicked to your last entry, the morning of Halloween. A rambling rant about Mick-The-Prick filled the page and you paused, tears in your eyes, as you’d give anything to be stood in his office thinking about ingenious ways to kill him and get away with it. Ironic, really considering that was exactly what your captor had done; committed murder and gotten away with it.

You went to jot the date down in the corner of the page and realised that actually, you didn’t have a clue what it was. Down here, night bled into day, day bled into night…and soon it all bled into weeks. However, given the fact your cycle had been and gone a week ago you figured that it was maybe four weeks since Halloween. Of course, you could ask Hugh, but the less you had to ask him the better as far as you were concerned. You hate the fact that he had this hold on you, that you had to ask for and ‘earn’ things by being ‘good’. And whilst it made you sick to your stomach, you’d fast learnt it was easier to comply than rebel. The night he had left you tangled in your sweater had hurt. It had taken you a good twenty minutes to muster the strength to work your way out and drag yourself into a bath, your body shaking with the trauma, sobs wracking your frame. Your body ached for days, your mind in a post-traumatic cloud of despair. And whilst it hadn’t broken you per-say, it had certainly made you realise exactly what the bastard was capable of, and you had no intention of finding out just how much further he was willing to go.

So, in summary, it had taken Ransom Drysdale two days to break you into compliance.

You’d become passive, so to speak. You gave into his whims, let him use you as he saw fit, did as he told… for the most part anyway. There had been a few other incidents post the sweater one where you’d forgotten yourself and protested, fought a little and he’d gone hard on you, but nothing like that second night. Your passive behaviour was mistaken by him for compliance, and as such you had earned a number of rewards. The bistro table where you took your meals, a book or two which just so happened to be by his grandfather, a gesture you weren't sure was him purging or pressing an agenda onto you. And more recently and most preciously, your bag. But, the strange thing was, that whilst he wanted you to give into him physically, he seemed to enjoy the fact that you were in no way, shape or form compliant to him in others. You openly sassed him, bit back, called him out and he actively encouraged it. He’d started spending a little more time with you in the mornings and afternoons, not just visiting you to toy with you or fuck, but to engage in these little tete-a-tete’s, and the sickest, most perverted thing about it was that you were almost glad. The loneliness was crippling, and you craved company. Even if it was his.  

All things considered, you’d rather ask him for as little as possible so instead, you flicked to the front of the book and crossed off the days on the small calendar inside the cover. Deciding that the date it led you to was as accurate as it was going to get, you turned back, jotted it down in the top right of your page and stared at the blank lines, looking to sort your thoughts for your next entry.

The saying used to go, what's in a name, however as I sit here thinking back on the last few weeks I wonder now what's in a day. My days consist of imprisonment. Held by a captor I have met once before. He's smart, almost too smart. Displaying forms of abuse and aggressive behaviors any FBI analyst would love to dive deep into. But that's not my job, no, my job is to please and satisfy him. Answer to his whims of gratification at any call of the day. I have nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. But if I behave, he lets few things get by. I miss home, my bed, my life. I miss Mick, which is saying a lot all things considered. I don't know still what he wants from me, other than the obvious sexual gratification with little to no room for anything else. I'm a toy, a means to an itch. I don't know how long exactly I've been here, I can only guess it's been about a month. Nor do I know how long I'll have to stay. The answers are blurred like my vision, marred by tears and the low light inside. I haven't seen outside since the day he took me. I haven't been anywhere outside this room. I can see from the small porthole window above this stupidly soft leather chair the season has changed. It feels like deep fall, and as a storm comes outside, what little sky I see is bleak and dark, clouds covering the bluest of skies, angry and ready to open up, raining down water to wash away the sins of the day. I wish I could do the same. 

Before you realized, time had obviously passed, for the sound of the door bolts unlocking had you guessing it was late afternoon or early evening. A glance up at the porthole behind you confirmed as much. The sky was dark and rain had been beating on the window for a little while. 

In came Drysdale, hair a bit wet, a strand slightly out of place, wool pants and maroon sweater. He carried a plate of food in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He looked irked, like he'd wasted time on something, a look you were now able to decipher after weeks of seeing it. 

"Happy Thanksgiving," he said, setting the plate down on the bistro table with its two accompanying chairs, waiting for you to join him. 

Instead of biting back, you simply whispered, "it’s Thanksgiving?" You checked the inside cover of your journal and see the date again. You were a day off and it now dawned on you. It was the fourth Thursday of the month and indeed, Thanksgiving. You glanced back up at Ransom and a deep sadness washed over you. Closing your journal and setting it on the table by your chair, you stood, moving towards him and the plate of food. You took a seat and looked down at the plate, full of the holiday dish basics; turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, diced not candied yams and roasted green beans. It was gourmet and nothing near what he'd been serving you or managing to try. "Thank you," you said softly, rolling your fork through the potatoes. You take a bite but it's about as bland and tasteless as your despair. 

"I brought it back from the country club, I met my father there," he looked under your gaze again, as if willing your eyes to his. "Do you not like it?" 

Finally, your gaze met those cold cerulean orbs, setting your fork down and you took a drink of water, "No, it's fine." Then you picked up your fork again and took another bite, this time of the turkey and gravy. You didn't have it in you for an argument or it's physical ramifications. 

"Are you not hungry?" Ransom pressed. 

"I guess not as much as I thought," you repled further poking at your food, your voice cracking a little as you try to keep your composure. The sting of the holiday has you broken, far more than you'd expected. Normally, today you'd be helping your mother in the kitchen, settling the final touches on the side dishes and listening to your father tell your uncle about some a-typical dad joke he'd heard. Your sister would be giddy over the wine while her boyfriend of the month received death glares from said uncle and your father. 

Ransom outwardly sighed and you wait for what you were trying to avoid. "Are you alright?" 

The question threw you off guard completely and you struggled to hide the shock from your expression. He never cared about your feelings before. Maybe he thought you were coming down with something. You braced yourself to answer honestly. There was no point in lying, he'd see through it. 

"I'm fine, I'm not sick if that's what you're thinking," you answered, a deep restraint on your tone to keep yourself in check. "I hadn't realized what day it was. I didn't know it was Thanksgiving." You swallowed the lump in your throat and blinked hard. "My mom, my sister and I, we used to all help make dinner as a family. My dad and uncle would talk a bunch of shit around the fireplace while shooting death glares at my sister's flavor of the month."

He looked at you like he was confused. You scoff, "Of course you wouldn't understand."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He squint his eyes, biting the inside of his cheek. His body language completely changed as he leaned forward on his forearms, popping one shoulder up higher than the other. 

"Nothing," you backed down immediately. 

"Tell me," he pressed. 

God, he was relentless. You pushed your plate forward and leaned on your own elbows. You looked at him with a raised brow, "am I going to be in trouble if you don't like what I have to say?" 

"Depends," he popped a shoulder smugly. 

You matched his expression and his demeanour falters just a fraction. You saw it, but you didn't hold back. "Then I'd rather keep it to myself. That's what you want isnt it? Me to comply, be obedient? Frankly, I'm not in the mood." 

He failed to hide his smirk and you noticed that too, "Sweetheart." It wasn't laced with teasing, rather his pet name for you on his tongue held a cautious venom. 

"You hate your family. You know nothing about love and what it takes to give love. Hell, I don't doubt that for a minute you've ever felt loved. It's all an act. Self-preservation even. I don't know you or your family outside of the hours of research I did and the mere forty five minutes I listened to you drone on about your 'predicament'. But, the cold hearted truth of it is, you don't know how to love." You watched him run his tongue along his teeth as he continued to glare at you, but you weren't finished. "And that's what family is, it's what they do. They love, they are the embodiment of love at its deepest root. Maybe, just maybe somewhere along your life, your parents loved you, but judging by the Thrombey-Drysdale standards, none of you know what love is outside your selfish tithings and flashy cars. It got lost along the way, more than likely long before you ever were born."

"Wow," he raised his brows and clicked his tongue against his teeth, "That's good, that's really good."

You're fear receptors suddenly spiked as recognizable flash of anger in his eyes flashed through his irises. But there was something else there that you couldn't put your finger on it. Your breathing quickly up-ticked as you felt your palms begin to sweat.

He inhaled a deep, almost centering breath, "that perfume in your bag, I like it."

As if he'd grown a second head, you blinked hard refocusing on him. Had you heard him right? You'd just broken a rule, laid out an unspeakable truth for him and now in a blink he's, God forbid, complimenting your scent? Who the fuck was this guy? Was he on meds? Because he should be or he should at least probably share. It might make life here more bearable. "What?" 

"The perfume from your bag, you're wearing it. It smells good," he lamented. 

Alright, now the 'of sound mind' argument might be worth something because he sure as shit wasn't now. You swallowed and picked up your fork, taking a bite of the cold food just to buy yourself some time as you tried to process the scene before you. You had no remark to make. Confusing jumbled any thought of a coherent word you could utter. 

"Maybe if I'm out, I can pick you up a new bottle. I noticed you were near empty," Ransom offered. 

This was starting to make your stomach turn. If he'd gone through your bag, because why wouldn't he at this point, smelled your perfume, had he read your journal? You made a mental note to go back through and see if there was anything he'd read that he had used against you thus far or could use to corner you in the future. You looked around the room, waiting to see if you were being Punk'd. Just who the fuck is this guy? Without your expression giving too much of your confusion away, you nod at him in reply. "Thank you, I'd like that."

"Hmph," he paused, a dramatic effect he seemed to know that your heart rate up in anxiety. "Well, then why are you looking at me like I have two heads, Y/N?" 

Tread lightly, you thought to yourself. He didn't call you by your first name often, in fact, the last time he had, you were very much smarting back and it resulted in a forceful situation that left you raw and sore for a few days. It was always 'Sweetheart'. 

He baited you, you knew it, but you couldn't back out now. So you sighed, "I know I'm not supposed to ask questions, but, I don't even know who you are right now. Do you? One minute you're giving me food and being gentle, the next you're allowing my opinion, and now you're ready to flip this table. That's as close as two heads as it gets." 

"Careful, Sweetheart," he now glared at you. There it was, you were in for it. The approach of choice, you weren't sure of, but he was done. You'd learned the different tones in his voice by now, the cues he gave. You were definitely in trouble. You dropped your eyes to your plate. The food stone cold and no longer even appealing in its slightest measure, a wave of nausea washing over you. You further pushed your plate away, "I don't think I'm hungry anymore."

His broad frame rose from the chair, "you weren't to begin with," his left hand reaching for the plate and holds it in his hand, "Third drawer down in the armoire. Pick something, I'll be back."

You watched him leave, the familiar click of the door shutting and snap of the lock sounded around the small apartment and you exhaled loudly, your head dropping into your hands. This wasn’t the first time he’d requested that you ‘dress for the occasion’ so to speak. With a deep breath you stood up and crossed the room, opening the drawer of requirements, seeking out a negligee for him to no doubt remove. Your fingers roamed over the fabrics and selection. La Perla, Agent Provocateur, Carine Gilson, Coco de Mer and Fleur of England were just a handful of the expensive, high-end brands that filled the space. Your fingers smoothed over a black macrame and tule underwired long line bra and the matching thong that was folded neatly under it. Plucking it from the drawer, you headed for the bathroom. You slipped out of your casual tee, duster cardigan and leggings, the bra and panties you'd had on. You sighed as you took a good look at yourself in your naked form. 

While you hadn't lost a ton of weight over the last month, you could tell you'd grown thinner. You weren't gaunt but your lack of a daily Dunkin' Donuts macchiato had seemed to thin you out. Your captor made sure you were fed, but you didn't always eat. The plump of your cheeks had receded and your little pooch brought on by happy carbs was sucked into your frame. There were a few bruises still seen, near green, an indication of their final healing stage. The pock mark from a hickey he'd given you still a bit scaby as he'd broken the skin just barely. This was your life now and it made what few bites of Thanksgiving dinner in your stomach nearly lurch forward back up your throat.

You swallowed it down, pulling the long line bra straps up your arms and clasping it behind your back. Your legs slipped into the thong panties and you pulled the material up your freshly smooth legs. Your shaky fingers plucked at the hair tie that fastened the end of your brain closed, nails raking through your hair to loosen your tendrils. He always wanted your hair loose. You looked at yourself in the mirror, you were ready. 

***** Ransom tossed the un-eaten food into the garbage and dumped the plate into the sink to be dealt with later. Turning so that his lower back was leaning on the edge of the kitchen counter he ran a hand over his clean shaven jaw, his mind ticking over the events of the day so far. A pain-in-the-ass Thanksgiving meal with his father had been made bearable by the fact he knew he was coming back to her, and because he hadn’t wanted to be a complete monster he’d made the effort of bringing her a nice dinner back too. But she’d hardly touched any of it.

And what disturbed him most about it, was the fact that instead of wanting to punish her for being an ungrateful bitch, he instead felt a deep rooted sense of concern. She’d lost weight, her face was pale, her hip bones more pronounced, and frankly the last thing he wanted was her passing out on him. Whilst he wanted her compliant, necrophilia really wasn’t his bag.

He had thought by giving her back the bag she’d had on her the night he took her he might have seen a lift in her spirits so to speak, a little gratitude, but instead she’d been meek and reserved until he’d coaxed that familiar sass out of her. And even then she’d been reticent.

It should have pleased him that she was learning her place and becoming more subservient. But if he was being honest with himself, he almost missed her fighting and arguing back. It had been exciting in a way, and he had thought it would have taken longer than it had to break her so to speak. Maybe he had overestimated exactly what a fighter she was, maybe she wasn’t the right muse for his writing after all. Because, let’s face it, writing a tale about a woman who was captured and broken into submission within two days, merely becoming a puppet for her captor’s whims was hardly going to win him any accolades was it? He needed more, needed something that he could spin a good story from. He knew now that when he went back down to her he had to try a different tact so to speak, he needed to coax her mind into reacting not merely her body.

Because if he couldn’t do that, there was no point in keeping her.

He allowed her half an hour or so before he headed back down the stairs and found her sat on the bed, dressed in one of the sets he’d purchased, her hair loose round her face and shoulders the way he liked. She jumped to her feet and he had to actively supress the groan that was rolling in his throat as his eyes scanned her up and down, and he didn’t miss the slight bruises that dotted her skin in various places where he’d marked her as his own. She’d long since stopped trying to cover herself up. Instead she stood stock still, her eyes focussed on the floor.

With long strides he walked into the room and stopped in front of her, tipping her chin up with his finger so she was looking at him, her eyes wide with trepidation and he gave a smirk as he reached up, brushing her hair off the side of her face and neck, dropping his head as he did so.

“You smell so good, Sweetheart.” He inhaled against her pulse point, lips pressing into her there. He felt the gasp of her breath, the way her skin pricked with chill bumps. He smirked to himself, he’s found her spot. And he filed that away, committing it to memory. 

“I like this…” he practically purred as he toyed with the straps to the bra, a long, thick middle finger outlining the strap against her skin, lips following pursuit.

“You should, you chose it.”

He chuckled, ignoring the snark behind her words. “Like I chose you, huh?”

Like I chose you.

His words echoed around your head, reminding you exactly why you were in this fucking situation. Because he had decided you would be. He wanted you, and just like with everything else in his life that Hugh Ransom Drysdale wanted, he simply took. But what worried you the most about all this was whether or not you would be discarded the same way he no doubt discarded the other possessions he lost interest in.

You took a deep, steadying breath as his hands moved from the straps of your bra, long fingers moving to caress the back of your neck, but there was no grabbing, no force. He was being positively gentle.

And it scared the crap out of you.

“Are you afraid of me?” He asked, his breath hot and wet in your ear as you trembled under the further graze of his fingers against the macramé of your set. 

“You know I am," you swallowed nervously. You weren't new to this, this wasn't your first time, but the way he was being soft, a stark character change to his a-typical stance with you was what had you crawling in fear in the inside. Was it a game? Was it some sort of ploy? Was this his idea of foreplay now before he turned it up and went hard enough to bruise but not hard enough to make you cry?

A flat palm ran down your abdomen, already taught in fear. But not before a thumb grazed along the underside of your breast. Agonizingly slow, his hand, still splayed over you, dips into your matching macrame panties, dipping into your wet folds, thumb lightly pressing against your clit. 

“You’re so wet, considering you’re scared.”

You didn't answer, just swallowed hard, the lump stuck in your throat as it fought against a little whimper. 

His mouth once more latched onto your neck, the kisses gentle as opposed to the bruising ones you had become accustomed to. The fingers in your folds matched his slow nature, teasing you in such a way that when you closed your eyes and focussed your mind elsewhere, you could almost believe you were somewhere with a man you’d given permission to touch you in such away. But when his lips moved to your jawline and you took a deep breath, the heady scent of his cologne hit your senses and your eyes flew open as you were reminded just whose lips and hands were violating you in such away.

You swallowed as Ransom pulled away, his hand gently grasping your chin once more as he issued a simple instruction.

“Strip for me, sweetheart.”

You took a deep breath, swallowing down the bile that had once more risen up your throat as he sat down on the edge of the bed, his legs bent, hands resting on his knees as he watched you the way a lion watched its prey. You undid the clasp on your bra, your eyes remaining locked on his as you slid the straps down your shoulders and dropped the garment to the floor. Your captor took a deep breath, his eyes flicking down your body as you moved to shed the bottom half, wondering what on earth had been the point of wearing it in the first place. But even as you asked yourself that, you already knew the answer. It was a bout power, another way for him to remind you just who you belonged to now. How he could strip you bare in more way than one without even lifting a finger.

But lift a finger he did, curling it in mid-air as he beckoned you towards him. You took careful steps over the floor until you were stood in between his legs. His large hands smoothed up the outside of your thighs, before he pulled you towards him, his nose brushing the skin of your abdomen as he took  a deep breath, fingers curling round your thighs.

And then, in a flash he stood, taking you with him, and before you could so much as utter a squeak or noise of surprise he had you naked, laying across the bed, the sheets cold against your skin, a contrast to the heat emanating from the body against yours. The look in his lust blown eyes was overwhelming. You didn't know what you were in for but as his body, still clothed in the frayed maroon sweater and wool slacks sunk into the mattress between your legs, you felt a chill course through your veins, your skin, again, pricking in bumps all over. His hands, with their thick fingers, trailed long lines up and down your thighs, Ransom's full lips kissing at your sensitive inner skin, a nip or two here and there as he went from your knee, upward. 

He could smell your arousal, see it glistening as it dripped from your core. "Someone's ready," he quipped. He watched you swallow hard, a literal lump in your throat bobbing the skin. Your eyes never left him. "No cumming until I tell you. Do you understand?" When you didn't answer immediately, he swiped his tongue over your wet lips, tasting the honey your body gave him, your back arching away from sheets. "Do you understand?" 

And there it was, your punishment finally arriving from your little moment before over dinner. As you still had your wits about you, you uttered a single word response, in the hope that the more submissive you were, the more accepting you were of your chastisement, the less hard on you he was going to be.

"Yes." 

His mouth expertly devoured every inch of you, from your inner and outer pussy lips to the depths of your walls, tongue fucking you like you he was starving, the lavish holiday meal he'd partaken in not filling enough. His thumb pressed against your engorged nub, causing you to writhe but a firm arm over your abdomen kept you in place. The same thick fingers that traced lines up your thighs, two were now buried deep inside you, his tongue working away any juices that seeped out. As he gave you a third, stretching you more, you felt your walls start to tighten, that burning coil in your belly flare and your hands gripped the sheets tighter. 

Ransom could clearly feel you flutter against his fingers as he stopped his assault and looked up at you.

"What did I say?" 

Your chest heaved, your stomach taught and you fought to obey. When you managed to calm yourself, he began again, almost from square one, slowly, tantalizingly slow. 

The action was torture and you were desperately willing yourself to remain grounded as again your body fought to ride over the edge building inside you. When his mouth was over you completely, tongue deep, thumb pressing again into your clit, you felt the urge to cum. But he pulled away, slowly, his thumb stopping the pressure, his tongue slowly dragging out of you. 

"I said no. This is your punishment for your smart mouth over dinner."

"Please, I need to, I'll... I'll make it worth your while, please just let me." Your voice sounded alien as you spoke, the words leaving your mouth in the desperate hope he’d take pity on you but to no avail. Your attempts at bartering served only to frustrate him, anger him even and he Ransom backed away, roughly pulling you to the edge of the bed before stripping out of his sweater and undershirt, the undeniable outline of his hard cock along his thigh strained against his wool slacks. 

Harsh in his grip, he repositioned himself between your legs, your thighs across his shoulders, ass dangling above the floor as a heavy arm kept you still. His flat tongue, hot and full of your sex was eating away at you while his final throws of resolve ate away at him.

“I’m done playing fucking games.” he growled against your aching cunt “I should have gagged you, stuffed my cock deep into the back of your throat, something, anything to shut you up.”

You barely had time to register his words before once more you were flat out against the mattress, trying to regain your breath and calm yourself down when he backed away, tore open his flies and smirked down at you.

"Oh no, Sweetheart, we're not done yet."  He kneeled beside you, his chest heaving, hair completely out of place, anger and wait, was that pain, flickering in his eyes as he stuffed you with a hard thrust of his length. "Now you’re gonna cum on this dick."

He thrusted hard and within a few slams of his hips against yours, he allowed you the release you were begging for, "that's right, Princess, cum on my cock." 

You wept at the feeling finally freeing you, cries of pleasure spilling from your lips as you squeezed around him. Your chest heaving against his, skin to skin. The fabric of his wool pants hot and itchy against your inner thighs. He was still thrusting but now it had slowed to a roll, slow and calculated. Your muddled mind was buzzing and rapidly trying to sort out if he'd cum inside you or if he wasn't finished. His features were softer, but still filled with purpose and his lips latched onto a naked breast causing your body to react, tingles and flames licking at your core again. His eyes looked up at yours as he caged you in, still buried deep inside you, hips rolling. 

"I said we weren't done," he rasped. His thrusts and rolls, the two very different tactics mixing now, made the swell of his cock inside you abhorrently pleasurable. Try as you might, it was impossible to feel otherwise. 

And Ransom was finding it equally as hard to hold on. His weight was evenly distributed over her, his cock swelling inside her heat. It took all he had not to blow his load the first time he made her cum, hearing the sinful sounds of her orgasm that felt like a volcanic eruption around his hard shaft. But now he could feel her again, tiny little pulses around his already overtly sensitive dick. He was sure his precum was leaking out, wanting to paint the way for the rest of him to follow. He rolled and thrust as his lips nipped at her neck. She moaned loudly, her body exuding lust. He could feel her shake beneath him and to his delight and surprise her eyes were no longer screwed shut and turned away. Instead they were locked on his. The moment those deep hued orbs met his, he felt a hitch in his breath and tightness in his chest that travelled through his belly and into his cock, causing the thick member to throb inside her. Tiny, soft hands gripped at his biceps, her touch a fiery scald against his skin, almost as if it were frost bite. Her touch equally shocking as her stare and he gave a roll of his hips to hide what he felt. A deep, satiated roll of his hips that sent her over the edge. 

"Hugh!" She came around him, harder than her first, crying out his given name. It snapped him from his moment of revelation, driving him insanely frustrated at the word leaving her lips. He slammed into her as she rode out her orgasm, chasing his own. 

You felt the dismissal of his body as he violently pulled free from your walls, spewing his hot seed over your abdomen, drops claiming your tits too. He nearly collapsed, his dick in hand, the other holding himself up against the mattress between your legs. 

He left you there, dirty, degraded and shut the door with a barked instruction for you to clean yourself up. You no longer cried in front of him, either before, during or after. There was no point. He didn’t care about how you felt, but the thing he DID seem to care about was the fact that you still refused to call him Ransom. 

It was the one thing you held on to, the only thing that gave you an inch of control in this entire fucked up situation. You hadn’t missed the look on his face when you’d cried out 'Hugh' in the throes of your last orgasm. Before that moment there had been a softness in his eyes, one that had unnerved you no end, along with something that had looked suspiciously like hope. But when his given name had tumbled involuntarily from your mouth and not the one he preferred that softness had turned to contempt and you didn't miss the undercurrent of disappointment either.

And seeing that, knowing that it pissed him off and dare you say it, upset him so much was your single, albeit feeble, act of rebellion that served as a desperate boost to your ever waning inner strength. *****

Ransom laid in his large, plush bed, hands behind his head as the silk sheets pooled at his waist as morning was in full swing outside. His thoughts strayed to his girl in the basement and he took a deep breath, shifting slightly as he remembered the way her fingers had felt as they’d curled around his biceps, her touch firey but cold. That had been the first time she’d touched him when she wasn’t trying to push him away, it had been involuntary, he knew that, a reaction to the way she’d been feeling, the way he had made her feel. 

A twitch resounded deep in his belly....the way he made her feel.

He realised now that he’d been going about this the entirely wrong way. The force had been necessary to make her comply at first, but last night she hadn’t just complied she’d participated, just what he had wanted all along. And all after he’d shown her a little leeway, brought her dinner, entertained her talk. He understood now that he needed to play a different card from his hand. She responded better to conversation, talking. Ransom hated fucking talking, he was more cerebral, calculating. Conversation means connecting, and connecting was something he wasn’t particularly interested in normally. He needed to lead, to be in charge, but it was clearly what she knew and thrived on, so he had to swallow his apprehension down to play the long game, to get what he wanted. 

Now he understood that, it was going to be so fucking easy. All he had to do was to seemingly show her compassion, a little give so he could take so to speak. He rolled his head, cracking his neck as he remembered what she said about cooking with her mom so he decided that after her stellar performance last night, today she’d earned a bigger reward than a book or some journal. He was going to show her what she could have if she just gave in and admitted what he knew she truly wanted. A large house, a garden, a pool, a hot tub, silk sheets, a large bed, and a man to fuck her every way to heaven and back. He could give her everything that any woman could possibly desire, and then some.

With a twitch of a smirk across his lips, Ransom pulled his naked frame out of bed and slipped into joggers, a soft waffle knit thermal long sleeve pulled over his tousled hair. He felt like company for breakfast and he knew exactly to invite up. 

His bare feet padded with purpose over the plush carpet of his room, down the stairs and onto the first floor, over the hard wood and marble tile of the halls and entry, down the plush carpeted spiral staircase down to the basement.

He reached the door and gently turned the locks, quietly pushing the door open as he turned the knob. It opened quietly and his eyes fell upon the empty bed. He frowned slightly, wondering where she was. Then his eyes found her, sitting curled up with her eyes cast upward, that little tease of a porthole window in her focus. She'd turned her chair around so she could see it more clearly, the throw blanket he'd tossed at her the week before was wrapped around her body. He didn't know the time, but it wasn't early nor was it afternoon. Not that it mattered, neither had anywhere else to be.

"Good morning," he said lowly. He watched as her eyes slowly moved away from the only bit of outside world she'd seen for weeks now.

"Morning," she replied quietly, her eyes locking onto his. "I err, I was just..." she trailed off. "Actually, I don't know what I was doing to be honest."

He stalked up to the chair, kneeling in front her. His hand reached up and cupped her cheek, his thumb running over her cheek bone. "You were such a good girl last night. Took me so well, teased me with that little number you had on. I've thought about you all morning."

Ransom watched her throat bob as she swallowed before licking her lips and biting the inside corner of her lip. Such an innocent gesture that had him half hard straight away.

"I want to give you something. But you have to be good, or it goes away," he started. "Can you be good, Sweetheart?"

She nodded, slightly. "Okay," he smirked. "Now, fix the chair and come up to make us breakfast."

Ransom stood back, allowing you some space to accommodate his request. You slipped the throw blanket from your shoulders and left it in the chair as you rearranged the piece back to its normal state. You met him at the doorway. You didn't miss the way his eyes moved over you, the way they lit up in a way at as he looked at the silken material covering your body. The dark teal silk and lace cami set was just one of a handful of options he'd provided for you. All the same, different colors, all in your size. 

You hesitated for a second, not sure if this was another one of his little games but he simply met your eyes with his own and nodded up the stairs. With tentative, shaky steps you climbed them, sensing him close behind you as for the first time in weeks you left your prison.  You felt anxious, highly on edge and nervous. What was awaiting you? There was the sickening feeling in your stomach of excitement too, you hadn’t seen the outside since Halloween. You paused at the top of the stairs in the hall. The kitchen was directly across from you, the entry to your right. The door to the basement clicked shut and you felt Ransom’s firm chest behind your back as his form invaded your space. He dragged a finger down your arm causing the strap of your top to fall away, placing a soft kiss on your shoulder.

"Straight ahead, Sweetheart."

“Okay,” you whispered before you slowly made your way through to the large, airy kitchen. You stood looking around, taking in the fancy appliances before you turned back to Ransom. "Did you have something in mind?”

"Well..." Ransom leaned in the doorway, watching you as you stood in the middle of the tiled floor "Yesterday wasn't the first time you said you enjoyed to cook so I thought you might like to." His eyes flicked once more down your frame and back up again before he nodded his head towards the rear of the room. “Anything you need is in the pantry and fridge.”

“And I can make anything I want?” You blinked, not quite able to believe what he was allowing you to do. It was fucked up that you were even considering this as a reward but, you’d take it. Boy would you take it, anything to grasp some sense of normality in this day-by-day hell you were living.

“Sure.” Ransom popped a shoulder again and you took a deep breath before you turned and headed to the sink to wash your hands before sorting out your menu and you froze. The outside landscape had stopped you cold. From what you could see of the back garden the property was secluded, not over looked. A lawn extended a fair distance back from the rear of the house, a neat decking area stood to the right which sported a hot tub and a little further down there looked to be a pool of some kind which was covered over for the season. Trees hung over the bottom of the garden lining the high wooden fence, what few leaves they still sported were shades of crimson, gold and brown and the river traced it’s banks as it curved around the side and back of the house, the sun shining off the surface, giving it the impression it was made of sapphires. It was breathtakingly beautiful and you felt your heart shatter, your eyes well and you couldn't help but hold back the urge to weep as your chest contracted painfully. You were so close to the outside, separated only by a pane of glass, yet it had never felt further away.

His voice broke you from your despair and you swallowed back the sob that choked your throat as you flicked your attention to the left, Ransom's reflection drawing closer towards you as he crossed the terracotta tiled floor.

"Everything alright?"

You cleared your throat and gave a quick shake of your head, "Fine."

Again you felt him in your space. His presence consuming. “You sure?”

Sure? No you weren’t sure. Because none of this was fine, in fact it was as far from fine as it could possibly get. In that moment you wanted nothing more than to spin round and hammer your fists into any part of his body you could hit but you knew that it wouldn't get you anywhere, bar back in the basement likely shackled naked to the bed so you instead turned slowly to find yourself caged in by his broad frame so close to yours. You cast your eyes downward, uncomfortable at his searching stare, "Yeah, I’m sure.”

Your tongue flicked nervously over your lips as you continued to avoid his gaze before you cleared your throat “How do you like your eggs? Or would you prefer an omelette? Pancakes even?" The urge to move away from him pulled you away from your idea of a menu. Brunch basics were flooding your brain and you rattled off a few nervously. He may have said you could make whatever you wanted, but right now, you had no clue. Seeing a different space, the outside world and breathing new air had rattled you.

“You choose.” Ransom spoke softly, his hand reaching up to brush your hair off your face before he tipped your chin up so your eyes met his. He looked at you, and you swallowed as for the first time there was something unreadable on his face. His eyes were looking at you in a way they’d never looked at you before, with a softness you’d never have anticipated he could possess.

"Waffles." You suddenly blurted out, desperate to escape his gaze "I err, do you have a waffle iron?”

“No.” He deadpanned.

"Oh," you swallowed "Erm, then in that case French toast...maybe? Is that ok?"

“Sounds delicious.” He said, his hand dropping from your face, “Sure it’ll taste almost as good as you.”

“Great. How about with fresh Chantilly cream and berries if you have them?” You asked, completely ignoring his blatant back handed compliment and you started familiarizing yourself with the space as you glanced around.

“Like I said, whatever you want, Sweetheart.” He shrugged, and with that he stepped back to allow you to move away.

Ransom watched her move around the luxurious kitchen, looking through the pantry and cabinet near the stove taking out cinnamon and vanilla, plucking items like bread, butter, eggs, berries and cream from the fridge. Searching drawers for utensils and measuring cups and spoons. Finding a pan and bowl from a bottom cabinet. Measuring sugar from the glass jar on the counter. He hoped the ingredients were still fresh, he wasn't exactly sure how long they'd been stored. She moved like she belonged there, he thought to himself. So sexy looking in her nightwear, bare feet on the tile, her ass and breasts moving underneath the silk as she stretched and worked. 

"Coffee?" He offered, as he moved from one side to the other. He made sure his exquisite espresso machine was ready as it sat in all its glory on its own portion of the counter like a batista station inside Starbucks. 

He didn't miss the way she watched him move around her, preparing the coffee and grabbing the orange juice from the fridge. He reached over her shoulder, his body brushing against hers as he opened the cupboard where he kept the glasses and mugs. He peered down at her, giving a twitch to the corner of his mouth. A smirk indeed. He noted the way her eyes followed him as he poured the juice, like he was going to poison her or something. 

"It's just juice, Sweetheart," he said nonchalantly and put the juice back in the fridge. He set the breakfast table for them and took a seat in his place, a now hot cup of coffee in his hand, hers sitting on the counter next to her. 

It wasn’t long before she had finished and brought the plates to the table, sitting down timidly in the seat to his right as he gestured to it, stopping her dead as she was about to make her way around to the opposite side.

It was quiet, the only sounds heard for a while were the click and scrape of forks and knives cutting away at the plates of food. Ransom wouldn't admit it out loud, but this was the best French toast he'd ever had in his life. Something about it, the way it was not soggy, but perfectly moist, the edges just crispy. The way the cream made for no syrup and the sweet berries added the final element. He watched her pick at the food for a moment or two as he glanced over at her and saw a small bit of Chantilly in the corner of her mouth.

A long arm reached across the table and automatically she flinched a little, as if she was going to pull away but one firm stare stopped her in her tracks. His thick thumb padded away the white, sweet cream and he brought the same thumb to his lips, sucking the cream away. He lifted his brows in a teasing manner and twitched up his lips, "Delicious. Like I said, almost as good as you, Sweetheart."

"Thanks, I think," she paused. 

"Trust me, I know."

The comment seemingly threw her off her meal and it didn't get past Ransom. She had started picking at it, moving it around the plate like she had done with her dinner the night before. He, on the other hand, was near finished. 

"Are you still not hungry?" He inquired. 

She shook her head, "I just made my portion too big. I overestimated my appetite, I guess."

"Huh," he placated her reply. He knew she was lying but he let it slide, realizing that seeing a new space, the window to the outside was overwhelming. So, he thought he'd sweeten the deal. "I thought maybe you'd like to see the house," he offered, watching as her big eyes locked onto his and she took a deep breath.

"That sounds nice, thank you."

"Good, after breakfast then." He nodded affirmingly, as if it were drying ink in his mind. He picked up his coffee and finished it off, his plate already clear. 

She stood from the table, collecting his plate with her own and headed for the sink. He turned in his chair, stalking her, watching her every move. The way she pitched over the sink, bending her frame over the dishwasher to load it as she cleaned up the kitchen. 

With each bend and snap of her hips, he felt his mouth water more. Her little silk cami riding up as she moved, her breasts falling in and out of a fuller view. When she tucked a stray hair behind her ear, he was on her. He moved behind her, his hands grabbed her hips as she spun around completely startled giving a gasp and a quick yelp. 

"Easy, Sweetheart," he chuckled as she looked at him, her eyes wide.

"Sorry... you, err...you startled me." She whispered as he moved his hands so they gripped at the side of the kitchen counter on either side of her, caging her in with his body.

"Some women would like that," he quipped, arching an eyebrow a little and watched as she swallowed hard and cast her eyes downward. Moving one hand slowly up her arm, over her shoulder and around her neck, he tipped her head back up so those large, Bambi eyes locked onto his.

His hand adjusted, gripping her chin softly as he moved closer still, dipping his head he pressed a firm kiss to her lips. He felt her go rigid, her chest spiking as she drew in a sharp breath, her body shaking slightly in his hold. "Stop fighting it..." he whispered against her mouth before he kissed her again. This time, his tongue traced the line of her upper lip, the feel of it soft and soothing.

You felt his tongue line your lip and you couldn't hold the whimper of fear that passed through you. He’d never kissed you before, not on the mouth anyway. You felt him deepen his kiss, his big hand cupping your face, pulling you into it more. Your mind went elsewhere, imagining anyone but him kissing you like this. You couldn't deny it, this intimate moment, completely lost on both of you for different reasons, felt good and he was good at it. He was damn good at it in fact, and that alone made you want to vomit your breakfast into his throat. At that, you jerked back, panting a little, feeling your lips swollen from the way he'd sucked your bottom one between his, pulling at it just the right way. You hated the feeling between your legs that it had evoked, your body betraying you just like it always did.

In an attempt to stave off the conflicting emotions spiking within you, you focussed on his face, the face you hated and to your surprise he looked dazed. The usual stoic expression that clouded his features had been replaced with something akin to surprise but no sooner had you noticed it, it was gone.

"Clean up and I'll meet you in the study." He told you, his voice a deep almost pained whisper. 

"But I don't..." you started but were quickly cut off. 

"You're a smart girl, figure it out," he smirked and slipped away. 

You were tempted to follow, just so you'd see where he was going but you knew not to defy a command. The feeling of unease seemed to disappear as you slumped your shoulders and instead defeat filled your frame. A trembling hand came to your lips as jittery fingertips touched your swollen skin. Your bottom lip quivered like a ripple in a river and you quickly covered your mouth, turning on a dime as your French toast littered the sink. If the water hadn't been running already, Ransom would no doubt have heard you retching. You rinsed your mouth out to attempt at hiding that vomit taste from your tongue and quickly finished your task of cleaning up the kitchen, salty tears dripping from your chin, mixing with the soapy water. 

When you could stall no longer, you sighed and headed out into the large hallway, taking a quick look around. It was light, airy, the grand staircase swept in and curved round to the next floor and your eyes lingered on the heavy wooden door just beyond it. You hesitated, and then with a dejected sigh realised there was no point even trying to escape. Even if it was unlocked, which you doubted, the threat to your family was just too much for you to risk. Instead, you decided to head down the corridor to your right and found yourself in a large open plan living room of sorts. It was decorated in clean whites and crisp greys with a huge feature stone open fireplace and sported a bar at the back. A brown leather sofa and two matching arm chairs were strategically placed around an expensive looking coffee table but you didn’t bother to look at the rest, this wasn’t the room you needed so you turned back on yourself, walked back into the hall and took the turning to your left.

This time you found yourself walking into what you could only assume was his study-come-den of sorts. It was huge, and once again sported a sofa pushed up against the wall, looking out over the spectacular view of not only the garden but the river too. But that wasn’t what caught your attention, nor was it the walnut desk and laptop that sat upon it. It was the floor to ceiling bookshelf behind it. Your mouth dropped open as you made your way towards it but then you stopped, biting your lip. Were you supposed to be looking at them? But, he had said to meet you in here. And left you to find your own way.  Surely, if he didn’t want you looking around he wouldn’t have left you to it.

Throwing caution to the wind you strode forward, your pace hurried this time and your eyes quickly scanned across some of the books. You couldn’t help but feel shocked. Whilst there was a huge collection of his Grandfather’s books, and a number of other crime novels of types, it was the colourful spines to your right that made your chest heave in delight. The entire Harry Potter collection. With a shaky hand you reached for The Philosopher’s Stone, noting the British version of the title, and opened the front page giving another gasp as you read the publishing details.

This was a first edition.  And from the date you also knew it would be one that contained the misprint errors. And as such, would be worth a small fortune.

“See something you like?” that familiar voice hit your ears and you gave a little shriek, jumping around, clutching the book to your chest to avoid dropping it.

“I’m sorry.” You hastily began to apologise “I was just…erm…”

“It’s ok.” He assured you, crossing towards you. Once more he encroached into your personal space and you felt the blades of your shoulders press into the shelf behind you. “Harry Potter fan?”

“Yeah.” You nodded, “Didn’t think they’d be your type of thing.

“They’re not really.” He shrugged “I’m a collector. Everything on the shelves, well they’re all first or limited editions, so worth a lot.”

“Figures.” You mumbled, turning round and slotting the book back into the space it had come from. As you did you felt him push up behind you, his hands on your hips, the unmistakable feel of his hard on dug into the lower part of your back and you fought to stop yourself shuddering. He was after pay-back for allowing you to leave your prison.

“Did you like the house?” he asked, brushing your hair off your neck.

“Yes.” You answered politely, your voice catching a little as he placed a kiss to the crook of your shoulder.

“You know, it could all be yours sweetheart if you just stopped fighting what you know you want” His kisses continued up your neck as his words whirled around your brain and you were back to where you had been in the kitchen. It felt good. And that disgusted you.

“Did you enjoy making breakfast?” he whispered, his lips by your ear.

“Yeah.” You nodded, your voice barely there.

“Show me how much.” His teeth nipped at your lobe, his hips grinding forward and you swallowed and closed your eyes. You knew what he wanted but as you turned to face him you had an idea. One which would save you being fucked no doubt over the desk or on the hard looking couch.

With a lick of your lips you looked at him and sank slowly to your knees, taking his sweats with you. His hard cock sprang free, slapping his lower abs and you reached out, grasping it in your hand.

“Fuck, yeah baby…” Ransom hissed as you moved your head forwards and took him in your mouth.

You pulled out all the moves, you took him as deep as you could, gagging a little as he wasn’t a small man. You kept your hand firmly on the base of his cock, you hollowed your lips, you swirled your tongue around his shaft and he let out a little groan his hand fisting in your hair as his hips bucked forwards.

“Jesus, I knew your mouth was smart but…” he panted, looking down at you. You raised your eyes to look at his as he bit his lip, his entire face contorted in pleasure…

Pleasure that was ruined by the sound of the doorbell.

 “What the fuck…” Ransom growled out, un-fisting his hand from her hair. “Who the fuck is that?”

He glanced down at her and she looked up at him, wide eyed. She was a mess, swollen lips, wet chin and dressed in nothing but her skimpy tank and shorts. With a frustrated growl, Ransom pulled his dick out of her mouth and grabbed his phone from the table to check the doorbell camera. His face blanched as he saw who it was.

“I don’t fucking believe it…” he mumbled, as she looked up at him.

“Who is it?” She asked, wiping her face, “I’m not exactly dressed for visitors, Hugh.”

Ransom might have been pre-occupied with the familiar face staring at him from his phone, but he still picked up on that 'Hugh' and he glared down at her. “No shit, and because we have a visitor, I'm gonna let that one slide. Get up.” She rose to her feet, blinking a little as he pulled off the thermal he was wearing and tossed it to her. “Put that on. No one gets to see you in silk but me.”

She blinked as she caught it, confusion spreading across her face. “Don’t you just want me to go-“

In a flash, he grabbed her chin between his thumb and finger and she winced, “If I wanted you downstairs I’d have said. So put the damn shirt on, and when he starts asking questions just remember what I said I could do to your family and friends.”

In complete complacency, he watched her slip his thermal over her head, her fingers barely peeking through the sleeves to fix her dishevelled hair. The material hit her mid-thigh and his eyes brows gave a flicker of approval before he walked to the entry and opened the door. "What do you want?"

"Pleasure to see you too, Mr. Drysdale..." that infuriating Southern drawl hit Ransom's ears with all the finesse of a cheese-grater. Benoit Blanc, without so much as a gesture of request, pushed past Ransom as he strode inside, stopping in the tiled entry, looking around.

"Do you have a warrant?" The man of the house snipped in his usual spiteful tone.

Blanc still didn’t reply, and Ransom rolled his eyes following him as he wandered down the hallway, stopping at the open door to the study. "Well, if it isn't the lady of the hour."

Ransom stood behind Blanc, an infuriatingly warning glare sent his girl's way. He noted the way she was sitting on the couch, her legs tucked underneath her, lips still swollen, cheeks flushed, hair tousled. She looked like a sex kitten, and maybe that was the idea. He warned her to sell it after all…

"Excuse me?” Y/N looked up at the two men in the doorway. 

Blanc stepped inside the room, taking a seat on the edge of the same couch where she sat. "I've been looking for you, young lady. A lot of people are looking for you, you know Miss Y/L/N.”

“I errr…” she swallowed a little as she slowly got to her feet, her hands pulling the hem of the thermal down before she folded her arms across her chest, not in a defiant manner, but almost as if she was hugging herself “Did someone send you or…”

“No, nothing like that. You see, I heard you'd gone missing, and I knew you had a work connection to Mr. Drysdale, that, shall we say didn't go quite as planned. So when things started adding up, I thought to ask the man himself."

“Well, congratulations, this is one mystery you actually solved correctly, Sherlock. As you can see she’s here and she’s fine, and we were in the middle of something, so if you don’t mind….” Ransom folded his arms, his eyes moving from hers to Blanc, who was irritatingly completely ignoring him, his gaze focussed intently on the woman who stood in front of him.

Ransom could see him take her in fully, now seeing the situation he may have just walked in on. She looked dishevelled and was missing crucial parts of her clothing, but she had no tears in her eyes, no markings looking to be of abuse or out of the ordinary. None that were visible anyway. Blanc’s gaze then dragged over to Ransom who was bare foot in joggers and still half aroused, which he did nothing to hide as he folded his arms over his naked chest.

Ransom held Blanc’s gaze, his chin jutting out defiantly, the detective only looking away when the lady of the hour spoke, her voice quiet, as she gave a small nod. "He’s right, I’m fine."

"Then why not tell your family where you are?”

“I err…” Y/N’s right hand gripped he cuff of the sweater sleeve tightly, “I just, well, I…”

Ransom could see that she was losing it and he knew he had to intervene. He walked over to her and placed an arm around her, kissing the top of her head lightly, "It's alright, Sweetheart. I know how he can be frustrating. We're doing nothing wrong."

With that he turned his gaze to the man in front of him, not even trying to hide the sneer of contempt that was crossing his face “I have neither the time nor the crayons to explain this to you Blanc.”

“Well, maybe Miss Y/L/N has some crayons hidden up her sleeve so to speak.” Blanc smiled innocently and Ransom felt the anger floor his system.

“You’re starting to really piss me off.” he snarled, “You barge into my home, without so much of an explanation…” his rant was stopped dead as Y/N placed her hand on his chest, palm splaying over his bare skin. Ransom swallowed at the touch of her fingers against his skin, firey hot just as they had been last night when they curled around his arms.

"Hey," she spoke and he looked down to see her giving him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes but one that should be enough to convince the dumbass detective who was watching them. "It's okay." She then turned to Blanc as he held his hand up, palm open, speaking to Ransom.

“I’m not trying to be frustrating Mr. Drysdale, I'm merely enquiring after Miss Y/L/N’s wellbeing."

"I'm not here under duress if that's what you're thinking.” She spoke, clearing her throat. “Hu… Ra, we have had to keep our relationship private,” she stumbled on the right identity, settling for 'we'. Clearing her throat again and settling her nerves, she continued, "Mr. Blanc, as you well know, I'm reporter and his background has been less than stellar as of late. It no doubt would not look good for either of us if it had come to light. My reputation as a journalist would have been in tatters.”

“Well, lies and deception certainly go hand in hand when it comes to Mr. Drysdale...”

Ransom rolled his eyes dramatically “Change the record, Blanc. The static is a little loud.”

Blanc completely ignored him, his attention still on her. “So you caused all this worry, because of some…” he waved his hand in front of him, gesturing between the pair of them. 

Ransom’s arm curled round her even tighter, his fingers pressing into her hip and he felt her stiffen a little before she relaxed into his side and gave a small nod.

"Like I said, it wouldn’t have gone down well with my family, or my career.”

“Ahh, yes, your job, which you quit.” Blanc looked at her. “Yes, I spoke to your boss.” He answered her unasked question. “Why would you be so worried for your reputation as a journalist, if you’re not actually a journalist anymore?”

At that she took a deep breath “I quit the paper because my boss is an asshole. His antics on Halloween were a step too far. But that doesn’t mean I have no intentions of working ever again. I'm currently taking a long overdue sabbatical.”

Blanc studied her again, almost as if he was weighing something up and she once more began to fidget and Ransom decided he’d had enough.

"Okay, I’m done being polite,” Ransom moved his arm from around his girl and stepped towards Blanc, placing himself directly between the detective and the woman. “You've interrupted out little post brunch love affair and I’m horny, so…do you need help finding the door, or can your super sleuth skills figure the way back out of it on their own?”

“Miss Y/L/N?” Blanc spoke, his eyes locked onto Ransom’s. Ransom felt the nerve in his jaw twitch, the fact that Blanc wasn’t scared of him irritated him no end.

There was a pause and then her voice came clearly from behind him as she spoke, “If you'd be so kind as to not tell my family where I am, I'd appreciate it. I prefer this time without their unwanted opinion.”  Her voice was steady, measured almost. “You can tell them that you've found me, alive and well."

Blanc knew he wasn't welcome, he had proof of life and no reason to suspect foul play. He stood, his long wool coat falling into place around him. "Well, then I guess my work is done." He brushed passed Ransom and gave a quick quip, "I'm warning you...." 

"What was that?" His girl wondered. She'd heard him. 

"Have a nice day," Blanc nodded curtly “I’ll see myself out.”  

You watched the back of the detective as he left the large living room, Ransom following him to the doorway where he stood, arms folded, watching. The sound of Blanc’s feet on the tiles of the hallway grew fainter and fainter until eventually they stopped completely.  The latch of the door sounded and you fell to the closest thing you could sit on. Your while body shook with a chill that crept into your bones but not from the cold. No, you were sick to your stomach in fear and worry. The bile of deceit rose to your throat and had you not already spewed up your breakfast it would have most likely decorated the carpet of the study.  Instead, you swallowed down the sour bile as Drysdale approached you and you glanced up at him, blinking whilst he studied you for a second, his face passive. As you held his gaze, something akin to amusement flashed in his cold blue eyes and a twisted smirk spread across his face.

“Your acting skills certainly improved there along the way, at the end you were almost award worthy.” He drawled, his hands falling to his hips. “Even Meryl Streep would be jealous.”

"Fuck you," your voice quivered.

He arched an eyebrow, an amused expression on his features “Already played that game Sweetheart, and carry on back-chatting me and you’ll be back in the basement.”

"Wh... What?"

"You pulled through in the end there. It was a rough start, but you convinced Colonel Sanders that you were here on your own."

“Colonel Sanders?” You blinked, “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Blanc. CSI KFC.” He replied. You were none the wiser as to what he was going on about and it must have shown on your face as he simply rolled his eyes. "Never mind...the point is, sweetheart, I'm in a good mood. And seeing as you behaved...”

"What?" Your voice was quiet, meek.

"If you shut that pretty little mouth for longer than a second, I'll explain." His tone was measured but you didn’t miss the underlying threat.

“Sorry.” Your eyes fell to the floor, your left hand worrying at your right.

“Eyes on me.” He barked and your head whipped up automatically and he smirked at you as you took a deep breath. “As I was saying, seeing as you were such a good girl, I thought I’d reward you, let you stay up here with me for the day.”

The notion shocked you. Your mouth went dry and you couldn't make sense of it. But then, the more you thought about it, the more his audacity irked you. He’d imprisoned you, used you, abused you…and now he was implying that staying in his company was a fucking reward.

“Wow, thanks…” you blurted before you could stop yourself, sarcasm lacing your tone. As soon as the words had slipped from your mouth you felt panic flood your system as he stepped towards you and reached out, his right hand curling around your throat.

"Don’t push me sweetheart.” His voice was low as his fingers squeezed the column of your neck, a reminder of how easily he could simply end it all whenever he chose. 

And just like that the softness that he had displayed with you earlier that morning was gone, and the shutters were back up. You swallowed hard, feeling the strain of your throat against his touch, his eyes now dark and full of that familiar angry lust and desire that chilled you from head to toe. Blanc had riled him, gotten underneath his skin, that was easy to see while your mouthy comments fuelled that ire. And as such, he needed an escape, an outlet.

And he was going to get it from you.

“Now on your knees and finish what you started."

**** Part 4

[nightshade-minho]

- Miracle -

- felix x reader / changbin x reader

- part of @hanflix ‘s christmas collab

- warnings: breaking up, cheating, fingering.

- wc: 3k

You hummed a Christmas carol to yourself happily as you danced about your apartment.

It’d been a while since you’d spent Christmas with your boyfriend, so you were understandably excited.

You’d spent all afternoon cooking up an amazing dinner, all of his favorites included. You hadn’t cooked in ages, so it had definitely been quite a bit of work.

You didn’t mind though. Anything for him.

You glanced at the clock again as you adjusted an ornament on the tree, one which had both your faces on it. Grinning widely, you moved the gift box under it to the side a little. Satisfied, you made your way to the couch, staring at the door as you waited for the bell to ring.

To say you were excited would be an understatement. Not only were you anticipating spending this evening with him, you were also quite excited for the events that would follow. It’d been so long since you had any kind of relief- you were incredibly horny.

Your clothing reflected that as well. You’d purposely chosen a strapless dress that would clearly show off the lace of the crimson lingerie you had underneath. You’d seen the pair in a window last week and just had to have it. You felt so pretty in it, like a gift just waiting to be unwrapped.

A few minutes passed by, as you ran a hand through your hair absentmindedly.

Hm, he was a little late. It wasn’t a big deal though, right? The Christmas traffic was probably insane.

More time passed by, and you got even more antsy as the minutes passed by. But it would be fine. He would be here soon enough, you knew it. He probably just had extra work to do.

Almost an hour, now.

You were starting to worry about the turkey getting cold. Letting out a small groan of frustration, you grabbed your phone, dialing your boyfriend’s number as quickly as possible.

“Y/n?”

You inhaled, the tone of his voice confusing you a little. Why did he sound so surprised?

“Uh yeah...where are you, Bin?”

A small curse could be heard from the other end of the line. There were some rustling sounds, and then a cough. Followed by some silence. You felt your heart drop slowly, as the seconds passed.

“Changbin?” You asked again, your voice quivering slightly. “D-don’t tell me you forgot.”

“Uh...” There was more silence.

And then a sigh. A defeated, saddened sigh.

“I’m...I’m so sorry. I really am. Sorry for doing this to you. You really do deserve better than m-“

And that’s when you heard another cough. It was slight, but still audible. Quiet and...distinctively female.

“Changbin?!” Your eyes widened as you sat up. “Are you not alone?”

“Y/n...I’m really sorry. I wish things could have been different but-“ He hesitated when he heard you sniff. “I just...think we should spend some time apart.”

You let the phone drop. Changbin’s voice could still be heard, but you drowned it out. You tried to ignore the hot tears pricking at your eyes as you cut the call, burying your head in your hands.

So, that was it.

It had all been for nothing. All the effort, all the time and love you’d put into this relationship had been meaningless.

You couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. It helped, really. You let all your emotions flow past your cheeks, cursing out your boyfriend- ex boyfriend now, you supposed- in your head.

It was all you could do...cry. Cry until your eyes could barely stay open. You’d spent an hour crying and you were definitely going to spend the rest of the night the same way-

Until there was a knock on the door.

Opening your eyes, you blinked in confusion. Who could it be? Sitting up, you rubbed vigorously at your eyes until the tears were gone, more or less.

You moved to the door, pushing it open. You had an idea of who it might be…and if you were right, your heart already felt lighter.

Cause really, there was only one person who could possibly make you feel better right now.

And there he was, standing right in front of you.

“Lixie.”

Your best friend gave you a soft smile, holding what seemed to be a bunch of DVDs as well as a few snacks. “Hey.”

“Why are you here?”

“Uh well...I heard what happened.”

“How? I never called-“

“Changbin told me.” He bit his lip, pushing past you and into the room.

“He’s an ass. I can’t believe he would do this to you. I got all this ready as soon as I heard. There’s no way you’re spending Christmas all alone.” He turned to you. “I won’t allow it.”

You sighed, watching as he went and sat on the couch, arranging the DVDs and snacks in front of him.

“Do...do you know how long he’s been cheating on me?” You asked, wringing your fingers as you moved closer to him.

“I...I’m not sure. Although I know the girl. They’re childhood friends, but I thought they were just that.” He sighed.

Childhood friend. Weird, Changbin had never mentioned having one.

“He was making a bunch of lame excuses. Said that he’d fallen out of love with you and was going to tell you soon anyway. That doesn’t excuse it though...I’m really sorry, Y/n.”

The tears slowly made their way back into your eyes at his words. He’d fallen out of love with you? Why? You hadn’t even noticed any issues between the two of you. Of course, he’d been a little distant these past few months...but you’d just assumed it was because of how busy he was at work.

You slowly went and sat down next to your best friend, leaning back in silence.

“You look very pretty tonight, by the way...” Felix mumbled softly, running his eyes over your dress and turning back to the screen. You muttered a thank you, sighing.

“That...that jerk is just that, okay? I’m going to help you forget for a bit. You don’t deserve to spend Christmas night in tears.”

“It’s okay. You’re right. It’ll be hard to get over him though, Lixie...he was all I had.”

“You have me.” He said insistently. “And I’d never leave you. Now, erase him from your memory.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“I know. But you’ll have to try, atleast for tonight. Promise?” He tilted his head at you.

You held his gaze for a few seconds, your heart heavy. Groaning, you nodded. “Okay.”

“There’s my good girl.”

You blushed at his words, clearing your throat and moving forward in your seat. “Which movies did you bring?” You sniffed, inspecting the DVDs.

“Well, I know you like watching Christmas romcoms.” He chuckled, wiggling his eyebrows. “So I’ve got plenty of those.”

“Hey! I don’t.” You let out a small laugh, shaking your head. “I only watch them cause they’re so silly. And making fun of them is entertaining.”

“Then let’s do that.” He grins and picks out one, putting it into the player and sitting back.

The movie started playing, and you settled yourself to be more comfortable. Grabbing a blanket from your side, you draped it over the two of you. Felix smiled softly at the plushy blanket, bringing it over you higher.

There was silence as the two of you watched the movie, only interrupted by your occasional jeers. You forgot Changbin and his betrayal momentarily, your brain focused on the idiocy displayed by the Mary Sues on screen instead.

“This is so stupid...no one holds in their feelings for that long, do they?” You rolled your eyes as the character onscreen holds back their confession for the millionth time that day.

“Yeah…” Felix shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Glancing over at you, he observed your profile carefully. He couldn’t tell which one out of the two of you was more oblivious.

“I mean, you never really know...these movies might hold more truth than it seems.”

You scoffed. “I really doubt that. It’s just unrealistic.”

He stayed silent for a while, before shifting closer to you and wrapping an arm around you tentatively.

“How are you feeling now?”

“To be honest? Still not very good.” You mumbled, the tears slowly making an appearance once more as memories of your ex flooded your mind.

“Yeah...I know. I’m sorry.” He put his other arm around you as well, pulling you close to him. He let your bury your face in his shirt, his heart shaking at the sound of your muffled sniffles.

Felix felt warm, safe. You held onto him tightly as your tears flowed endlessly.

Patting your back, he kissed the top of your head. “You’re such an amazing person, Y/n. I’ve known this since day one.”

“I don’t know. I’m not amazing enough for him, am I?”

“Maybe you don’t need him to decide your worth.”

You looked up from his chest. “All I’ve known for years now is him, Lix. We’ve been together for five years, how am I supposed to just forget?”

Felix bit his lip, not knowing what to say. He kissed the top of your forehead again, humming to himself.

“You don’t...deserve him. You’ve deserved better from day one.”

“Better?”

You looked up at Felix, frowning as you observed the emotion in his eyes- so deep and profound. Swallowing, you sat up. “What do you mean?”

“It’s just…” he clenched his fists, closing his eyes. Fuck, this was so much more difficult than he thought it would be. Why was it so hard? He was the biggest hypocrite ever for criticizing those romcoms with you. The truth was, he was just as much of a coward as the protagonist.

Felix had held in his feelings for you for years, since childhood. The moment you stumbled into his life in grade 5, running into him with your full tray and spilling its contents all over his brand new shirt, he’d known.

You’d apologized profusely, offering to take him out for coffee to make up for it. He’d refused at first, but you’d insisted.

That was one of the things that made him fall in love with you. Your tenacity and stubbornness, the way you never backed down. You’d always been strong, as long as he’d known you.

That was exactly why it hurt to see you look so vulnerable. Of course he’d given Changbin a piece of his mind when he’d heard, but it still felt like it wasn’t enough. He wished he could do more.

Felix wished he could just blurt out his feelings to you. Wished he could be like you, the type to be unapologetic about their desires, to be straightforward.

“I don’t know. What if...what if the one who you really deserve was in front of you all along?”

You raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” He swallowed. Shit, what was he supposed to do now? He was in a corner.

There was only one thing he could do now, really. And the idea scared him and excited him at the same time.

“I mean this, Y/n.” He took in a deep breath.

And suddenly, his lips were on yours.

To say you’d never expected it would be an understatement. It was just too much of a shock, something you’d never even thought of happening.

His lips were soft and delicate. His kiss was fragile, his fingers gentle as they came up to ghost along your jaw. Everything about it was surprising, and yet...

It wasn’t unpleasant, that was for sure. Cause even as Felix pushed you backwards, you kissed him back.

You just couldn’t help yourself. You’d never seen your best friend in a romantic light- which made your sudden neediness for him all the more astonishing.

It was like there was a some sort of magnetic attraction connecting the two of you. You couldn’t hold yourself back. He tasted so sweet...

Everything about Felix is the opposite of him…and that somehow pulled you in even more. How had you never noticed until now?

He pulled away finally, his panicked eyes searching yours. His hands never left your body, though.

“Was that ok?” He asked, his voice shaky. His lips were still throbbing with the force of the kiss the two of you had shared.

“It...It was p-perfect, Lixie...want more…” you forgot the movie as you pulled him back to you, lips claiming his.

It just felt so addictive. Fuck, what were you doing? You’d barely gotten over your ex, and then here you were making out with your best friend.

His fingers ran down your back as he kissed you again, and again and again. His lips pulled your bottom lip, as he gazed deep into your eyes.

There was love in those eyes that you’d never seen before...not even in Changbin. It was an emotion so profound and raw it made you breathless, your heart pounding in your chest. It all felt so new, and yet not scary or daunting at all.

“There’s things I’ve always wanted to say to you.” He mumbled in between kisses, holding you tight as he lifted you up onto his lap.

“Tell me now then.”

“I will.” He nodded, kissing your jaw.

“The first one...I’ve always wanted to kiss you like that. I could stare at those pretty lips of yours forever...tasting them was like a dream come true.”

Felix’s hands were gentle as they ran up your bare back, lifting your shirt up over your head. You let out a shy whimper as he did so, your eyes fixed on him. He groaned inwardly at the innocent look on your face. What an idiot he was to let someone like her go.

Slowly he stood up, making you clutch onto him like a koala as he headed over to the tree in the corner.

He scoffed at the ornament as he set you down onto the ground, hovering over you. “Fuck him. You’re mine, now. And I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

You looked up at him with wide eyes. Was what he said true? Did he mean it all?

You didn’t know if you were being too suspicious. You’d had enough of empty promises, words spelling forevers that were never meant to be.

Felix pressed one more kiss to your lips before sitting back to run his eyes over your lingerie. His eyes widened as he ran his fingers over the satin, his finger gently playing with your clothed nipple. “Fuck, you really did all this for him? That prick really really doesn’t deserve you.” He bummed.

“So pretty…”

You watched as he reached to his side, pulling out the ribbon of one of the wrapped gifts. Taking the crimson silk, he took your hands and carefully tied your wrists together. “That’s it...You look so pretty like this. A little gift, all for me.”

He leaned in to nose at your neck, his fingers dipping down to rub over your clothed panties. He groaned at the feeling of the soaked fabric, wetness gushing out of you as he explored your folds.

“All for me. Mine.”

You stared at him, your lips parted. As his fingers slowly slid aside your underwear, you closed your eyes, whining gently.

“The second thing I’ve wanted to tell you...do you even know how amazing you are? You’re perfect. The way you always care for the people around you...the way you know exactly what to do in any situation...anyone would be lucky to have you in their life.”

You blushed at his words, your chest rising and falling with your breaths. Did he really think of you in that way? You didn’t know if you were all that special, to be honest.

The way Felix said it with so much conviction made you wonder, though.

Suddenly, your phone lit up.

Momentarily pulling away, Felix frowned as your phone dinged with messages. They kept coming, incessant pings piercing through the air.

Groaning, he sat up and grabbed your phone before returning to your previous position.

“He must be kidding…” Felix raised an eyebrow as he read the texts. Turning it, he showed you the phone.

There were a bunch of texts, all from Changbin. Apologizing, begging for you to meet him up so he could explain.

A few hours ago, you would have immediately grabbed the phone to reply to him. However, at the moment reconciliation with Changbin was the last thing on your mind.

You scoffed. Forget it. Felix was right, you deserved better.

“Forget it. Lixie...please. I need you.”

That was all he needed to hear. In an instant, the phone was discarded as Felix leaned down to kiss you again, smiling against your lips as he pressed his body against yours.

“The third thing I’ve always wanted to tell you...is how much I love you.” He tucked a strand of hair behind your ear as he gazed at you.

“I’m in love with you, Y/n. And I always will be.”

You opened your mouth, but he sealed your lips with a finger.

“You don’t have to say anything now. I know this is sudden. You can have time to think about it.” He said reassuringly.

You smiled up at him, shaking your head as you grabbed his cheeks and pulled him to you once again. Leaning in, you whispered against his lips.

“We have all the time in the world…and right now, I know all I want to be is yours, Lix. I’d be a fool to not love you.”

A smile lit up his face, and you giggled at the sight. He always looked so pretty when happiness consumes his face like that.

He kissed you again, as he gently slid in a finger into your core. You gasped, your eyes glazed over as you stared at him.

“I love you, my little Christmas miracle…” He mumbled, sliding his lips down your neck. You smiled, moaning softly.

And in that moment, those sappy Christmas movies didn’t seem all that far-fetched after all.

[bedbellyandbeyond]

Only Vampires

(Story Post)

Nari wasn't sure why he trusted these two vampires, but he wanted to know what they knew and so he followed them to their home. They didn't live more than a block north of where the library stood. They must've lived there a long time to afford such a big house, but then again, he had no idea what the housing market was like here. Either way, any active and diligent vamp over 100 years old could secure themself considerable wealth if they tried. Nari himself hadn't focused on capital during the majority of his life though, but he still did well for himself. The front doors of the house were very big, with stained glass windows, but Wesley and Everett took him around to the back door which was average sized and let no light in. This wasn't an issue right now as it was an hour to midnight, but he guessed that any daytime travel came through here, so they'd grown accustomed to it.

Inside was a small mudroom with another door at the other end. Nari waited for Everett to take off his shoes before he removed his own because wasn't sure what the traditions were in this country, but he was only further confused when Wesley took his shoes off but Everett kept them on. “Um, shoes on or off?” Nari had to ask. Wesley wacked Everett's leg with his loafer. “Shoes off, please.” Nari was relieved and did as told. “Alright.” “I'm not sure why we adopted that,” Everett said, reluctantly removing his footwear and then promptly putting on a pair of slippers. “My family always wore their shoes inside, his family wore shoes inside… Not to mention, it doesn't matter at all what Wesley wears.” “It's for our housemates,” Wesley said. “We have several housemates from across the world, you'll find Nari. The general consensus has been shoes off. We do our best to be accommodating.” He then proceeded to pull out a set of wheel slippers and socks and maneuvered them onto his chair. Nari thought for a second and then raised a hand. “I hope you don't think I need somewhere to stay. I'm well established.” “No, no,” Wesley said. “We just like to help anyone when it comes to library matters. As you may have noticed, it is not very accessible to all vamps of all shapes, abilities, and colours. We like to help anyone find the knowledge they need.” Nari nodded. “I see. So you steal the books for them.” “I told you, we borrow them,” Everett said as he led them through to the main hall. “Evie does think of himself as a modern-day Robin Hood of Knowledge, though,” Wesley said. The main hall was a lot more modern than Nari expected for a house apparently full of vampires. It was open concept with a lovely kitchen with granite counter tops. Further on was the living room and stairs, both up to the next floor and down to the basement. An elevator had also been installed beside the stairs for easier access to all floors. Nari’s hosts took him down to the basement, which was set up as a games room and study. There was pool, and darts, and even a pinball machine on one side. Some lounge chairs, a sofa, and a set of bookshelves on the other. There, they found another pair of vampires, one with her nose in a book, the other passed out on the couch, an open book on his chest. “Ah, glad some of you are here,” Wesley said going over to the reading nook. “Inaya, please meet Nari. We met him at the library.” The conscious vampire got up and smiled. She wore a hijab and had big round eyes framed with detailed eyeliner. She offered a hand to Nari. “Nice to meet you. Are you looking at a room?” “No, no, I’m just getting a little extra help with my research,” Nari said shaking her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve never met, well, a vampire like you.” “A hijabi vampire?” Inaya chuckled. “Me neither. That’s why I’m here.” “To find more?” Nari asked. “No, to learn about being a vampire,” Inaya said. “I didn’t know anything about them really until I was turned, and I didn’t have any other vampires around to teach me. Figuring out how to be a vampire and muslim at the same time is difficult. Blood is haram, you see.” “Ah.” Nari nodded. “Have the books been helpful?” “Some, yes. Wesley seems to know how to find me good reads,” Inaya said. “I’ve tried entering the library on my own, but it’s always been a hassle. They always find some excuse not to let us in.” “I understand,” Nari said rollimg his eyes. “It's a different excuse each time.” Everett went over and kicked the end of the couch to wake its occupant. “Rise, Jeremiah! Meet our guest!” Wesley frowned. “Evie, let the boy sleep. He's probably been studying tirelessly, the poor kid.” It was too later however and the sleepy vampire stirred and sat up, rubbing his eyes. The book he had been reading fell off his chest and onto the floor. The bang made him curse and scramble to pick it up. “Shit, it better not be busted… These old ass books…” “Language, Jeremiah. You know the rules,” Everett scolded. “Shit, sorry, Ev,” the vampire huffed. “Not my fault you woke me up.” “I have half the mind to discipline you,” Everett said, crossing his arms. “Yeah, that’ll look good, you pasty old Brit beating my black ass…” the young vampire mocked. He noticed Nari. “Who’s this little mosquito?” Wesley put a hand on Nari's shoulder. “This is Nari. We're helping him in his research.” The other got up and offered a hand to the newcomer. “It's Jez, but these old farts insist on calling me by my whole name like they're my damn mother or something.” Everett huffed. “Seriously, if you don't straighten out your language, I'll—” “The entire concept of vulgar language is inherently racist,” Jez interrupted, his entire diction changing just to prove a point to old Everett. “My use of swearing is not abusive, but instead cathartic, emphatic and idiomatic, forms of swearing that are not meant to offend anyone. For you to tell me what words I can and cannot say is a blatant form of oppression and reduces my abilities to cope with pain or misfortune.” Everett frowned, his lips pursed. “Fine. But could you tone it down just a bit?” “No.” Wesley came up behind Everett and patted his back. “Relax. We're all adults. Anyway, where's Paolo?” “He's in his room,” Inaya said. “Probably working.” “Ah, okay. Nari can meet him later,” Wesley said approaching the coffee table. From out of nowhere, he pulled out a book and offered it to Inaya. “I found an Arabic tome with stories from Turkey in it. I’m hoping it might help you.” “Oh! Maybe!” Inaya took the book gratefully. “I appreciate it, Wes!” “Where did you pull that book from?” Nari asked, a bit dumbfounded. “The library?” Wesley said, a little confused by the question. “No, I mean… I didn't notice it on your person before,” Nari said. “Oh! It's pocket magic,” Wesley said. “Easier than carrying them around.” “Pocket magic is some real basic level shit,” Jez said, eyeing Nari. “If you don't know that, what abilities do you have?” Nari shook his head. “…I never learned vampire magic. Well, except a blood purifying spell I found the other day.” Everett placed his hands on Nari's shoulders. “Oh dear, so you've just been going about your life with all the cons and none of the pros to the whole vampire thing? Sounds miserable!” Nari frowned. “I didn't know I could learn any of it…” “You absolutely can!” Everett said. “We will show you the basics.” “Honestly, it's fine…” Nari said. “I don't plan on sticking around long, and my partner has enough magic for the both of us…” “Your partner knows magic but you didn't know you could learn it?” Inaya asked. “They didn't try to teach you?” “He’s not a vampire,” Nari said. “He doesn't know what I'm capable of doing as one.” “What is he, then?” Jez asked. “A dragon?” “No, he's a wizard,” Nari said. “A wizard?” Wesley inquired, his voice a little concerned. “Like, a human wizard?” “Uh, yes,” Nari said. “The magic isn't the same, though he's convinced he can learn vampire stuff…” Everett started shaking his head. “Do you always engage in romantic relationships with humans?” “Yes.” Nari frowned, reading the negative energy coming from his acquaintances. “You say that like it's bad. Are you going to tell me we're not supposed to do that? It's taboo or something?” “No, it's fine! I mean…” Everett put his hands on Wesley's shoulders. “He was unturned when I fell for him…” “But we weren't trying to reproduce, that’s for sure,” Wesley said. He placed a hand on Nari’s arm. “It’s no wonder you’ve been having trouble… You can't have children with humans. It never works.” Nari clenched his jaw. “That's not…My information came to a 1-in-8 chance that a vampire can complete live birth.” “It's more complicated than that,” Everett said, pulling out one of the books be grabbed. “It's likely the one successful time out of eight, their partner was another vampire. The odds are much better with two vampires. Like, 1-in-3.” He opened to a page that displayed a large family tree on it. “Any time in history that a vampire successfully completed a pregnancy, both parents were vampires. Any pairings with children from one unturned and a vampire were from before the vampiric parent had turned. Or, there has also been the occasional time a vampire sired a child with an unturned person, but it is rarer.” Nari frowned and sat down on the couch. “But…I… Isn’t there any magic that can help?” Wesley shook his head. “Not that we've found. Your best bet is to try with a vampire.” “But I don't want a child from someone else…” Nari said. “I want one with Diederich.” “I'm surprised you even date unturned,” Jez commented. “It's sad stuff watching humans grow old and die all the time…” “Diederich isn't just any human, he's immortal too,” Nari said. “He knows really powerful skills and spells.” Jez rolled his eyes. “So, easy fix. Just turn him.” Nari shook his head. “No, I can't do that.” “I could teach you,” Everett said. “Or I could do it.” Nari glared. “No, I don't want to turn him. I wouldn't do that to someone.” Everett sighed. “Nari, I don't know what to tell you. Your goal is to have a baby with your partner. Both of you need to be vampires for that to happen. That's all there is. We don't have any other advice.” Nari looked down at his hands, his eyes brimming with tears. “So, all those times I tried… Complete waste of time...” Wesley rubbed Nari’s shoulder. “You didn't know…” He looked to Everett. “Would you give us a moment? All of you.” “Of course, love,” Everett said, kissing Wesley on the forehead. “Come along now, children.” “We are not your kids,” Jez groaned as he got up reluctantly and followed Inaya and Everett upstairs. Once they were alone, Wesley sighed and rubbed Nari's arm. “Before you turned, did you have any children?” Nari slowly and sniffled. “Yes… My son, Tae-seok. He was just a baby when I turned…” “Is he alive?” Wesley asked. “No… He passed away around the turn of the millennia…” Wesley sighed. “When did you start trying for another baby?” “We tried for several years when Tae-seok was young… But his father, Eun-young, died in a factory accident when Tae-seok was still a child. I didn't try again until well after my son passed away too.” “With your current partner?” Wesley asked. Nari shook his head. “No, my previous relationship. It was an accident… But I wanted it to work out. I had a little hope.” “I'm really sorry, Nari,” Wesley said. “It must be difficult to hear about the circumstances of your pursuit… And I'm sorry about Evie. He thinks turning people will always fix everything. It doesn't.” “But he's right though… If Diederich were a vampire, we'd have a much better chance,” Nari said spreading his hands. “If he were turned, we could try…” Wesley shook his head. “I can tell, you don't want to do that. It sounds like your experience with being a vampire has been more negative than positive and you don't want to subject someone else to that.” “I don't. Diederich is… He’s so lovely, and he's happy…” Nari said. “I don't want to take that from him.” “I understand. It isn’t easy. I don't always love being a vampire either… And I certainly wouldn't make that decision for someone else,” Wesley said. “You do realise that if you did manage to give birth to a baby, you'd be choosing a life as a vampire for them too?” Nari blinked. “Yes, but… I…” He paused. “…With Diederich, since he's unturned, I thought that they might not be…” “Well, even if you could reproduce with a normal human being, you’re a vampire. Your kids would be vampires.” Nari grit his teeth. “…I guess I just…you know, if I could have a baby again, I didn't care what they were… But now just saying it, that’s sounds so incredibly selfish… To subject my own child to the exact same curse I've suffered for their entire life…” Wesley rubbed Nari's knee. “I think you need to think about your situation and talk to your partner. Really work out what path makes the most sense for both of you, and any possible children in the mix. What's best for everyone is what is important.” Nari nodded slowly. “Yes… I just want to be with Diederich… I should go…” Wesley checked his watch. “Where are you staying? Evie can drive you over.” “It's okay, I can walk…” “No way, this time of night, any drunk vampires tumbling out of a bar will want to pick a fight, and while I'm not saying you can't hold your own, you don't know much magic and vampires around the library know their stuff.” Nari sighed and told Wesley his hotel. “I do appreciate you guys trying to help me… You’re honestly the nicest vampires I've ever met.” “Aw, it's nothing,” Wesley said going to the elevator. “Each of us understands the difficulty of being accepted in the vampire world. But we've been very lucky and those who have should give.” “So, is this sort of a boarding house for vampires using the library?” Nari asked. “Sort of… We keep the rent super cheap though because the house was paid off many, many years ago. Our housemates just split utilities. Evie and I cover the taxes and insurance.” Wesley smiled. “If you ever need somewhere to stay, we'll be here. First month is free for long term. Of course, we won't charge you if you just want to come over and visit.” Nari nodded. “That's more than generous, thank you.” They rode the elevator together and met with Everett at the back of the house. “Good talk?” Everett asked, spinning his car keys. “Yes, I think so,” Wesley said. “Inaya and Jeremiah are back in their rooms, then?” “Yeah.” Everett unlocked the door. “Alright, Nari. We won't keep you any longer than you'd like. Wes said you needed a ride, yes? Come along.” Nari blinked. “When did he tell you?” “Come on, now.” Everett placed his hands on his hips. “You really do need a rundown on basic magic. You could teach toddlers mind connection.” “I really don't know anything, then…” Nari frowned following him out. Wesley waved as they left. “Hope to see you soon!” Nari waved again before going to the garage with Everett. “You should consider coming back tomorrow night,” Everett said, unlocking the car. “Jeremiah will teach you everything you need to know.” “I might take him up on that. At least I'll have gotten something out of this trip.” “Well, there you go. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” “Hm… Yes, I suppose.” “Oh, and you still have to meet Paolo! He’s Asian like you too! Wouldn’t guess from his name though, would you?” “You really don’t think before you speak, do you?” “Hey, respect your elders.” “Sorry, grandpa.”

[ourloveisforthelovely]

Princess Part 6

Harry Potter Marauders Era 

Link to Part 5 

Parings: Regulus Black. Mentioned Sirius Black x Remus Lupin

Rating: Explicit- smut warning 

________

“It's Christmas Eve tomorrow. I still have to get your mother’s present.”

You said as Regulus pushed a small path through the hordes of people that were out snagging last-minute gifts.

“I figured that you would have had everything done weeks ago.”

Regulus commented, rolling his eyes as the fourth person ran into him. You wrapped your arms together around his to prevent separation.

“Well, I would but she’s been hovering over me since we returned home. It's hard to buy a present with her breathing down my neck, however, I could have turned around and asked her if she liked whatever the item was.”

Regulus smirked.

“Father got her a nice necklace and diamond ring this year. I thought last year’s gift to that self-help seminar was a wonderful gift. Father was right. Mother needs to get out of the house more and network with other basketcases.”

“Regulus.”

You said his name with a sly smile remembering last year’s horrible Christmas disaster when Orion gave Walburga those tickets to that seminar. Walburga didn’t speak to Orion for three weeks. She, instead, insisted upon following Regulus and yourself around questioning everything that the two of you were doing?”

“So, is this what teenagers are doing today?”

“Regulus, do you really have to play quidditch? What if you fall or hurt something?”

“Where is your jumper?”

You could still hear her shrieking in your mind. Both Regulus and yourself had politely dealt with Walburga’ meddling. The two of you were too polite to say anything to her. It wasn’t until Orion came home with jewelry did she start speaking to her husband again.

Even Kreacher was delighted for his mistress and master to be speaking again. The poor elf had taken refuge under Regulus’ bed resulting in sex not happening.

“Master and mistress, just pretend that Kreacher isn’t here.”

Both Regulus and yourself were looking at each other with disturbing expressions and given up on whatever thought of sex that was once had.

“I know what you are thinking about and Kreacher is not living under our bed for three weeks again.”

Regulus whispered, rolling his eyes. The two of you had finally gotten to a place where people weren’t running into you. Regulus pulled you closer to him.

“Yes, we don’t need a house-elf living in our room again. That was awkward.”

Regulus glanced over his shoulder. His eyes had stopped on the candy store that had the one type of chocolate his mother enjoyed.

“I’m going to run in there quickly. Mom needs her chocolate fix. Are you coming?”

You shook your head upon realizing just how many people were in the store.

“Go ahead. There are too many other humans in there. I’ll wait for you here.”

Regulus shrugged and disappeared into the shop. You took a breath and looked down at your watch. 7:30...Walburga was probably wondering where the two of you were. Forget the fact that Regulus and yourself were almost adults. Walburga, after Sirius’ departure, turned up her worrying over Regulus (and yourself too) to new heights.

When Regulus’ dark mark started burning and he had to leave, Walburga turned into a worried child whose blankie was in the wash. She would pace the floor until her son returned home. Her out of character behavior was never mentioned, however. If someone mentioned Walburga acting differently over Regulus now, she would deny it.

“Y/n?”

You looked up the moment that you heard your name being called. The moment that you met the source, you froze seeing Sirius standing in front of you. A few feet behind him stood James and Lily Potter.

It had been ages since you had seen or spoken to Sirius last. After he ran away, Walburga made it crystal clear that she didn’t want Regulus or yourself speaking to him. Regulus was just fine obliging to his mother’s request. Your lover wouldn’t admit it but he was devastated by his brother leaving. Sirius leaving was, in Regulus’ mind, Sirius saying that he didn’t care for him anymore. It was harder for you to stop talking to Sirius cold turkey. The two of you had always been friendly. You were the go-between when he was having issues with his brother or mother.

“Hello, Sirius.”

You said, softly before looking around to make sure that Regulus wasn’t coming back. Regulus would be livid if he saw you speaking to Sirius. Livid or jealous...which one it would be was yet to be determined. Regulus has always been jealous of your friendship with Sirius. Why, you weren’t sure. You had been dedicated to Regulus since day one. He was the one that you played wedding with. Regulus was the one that you followed around like a shadow and vice versa.

“It's good to see you! It's been a long time...I heard that you agreed to marry Regulus.”

You could tell Sirius was struggling with the subject. There had always been a part of Sirius, whether he wanted to admit it or not, was sour that you didn’t “choose him.” After all, you had been meant for Sirius in the beginning. When you took to Regulus that plan was shot to hell.

“Yes, we are getting married after school is over. How have you been?”

You asked, changing the subject. Sirius shrugged.

“You know me...just going about here and there. I’ve been doing some traveling. I have a question and it's a bit awkward to ask but I need to know…is Reggie really a death eater? As the person that knows him the best, I figured that you would know.”

You blinked a few times seeing Regulus step out of the store. His eyes instantly narrowed on his brother as a cold glare set on his face. Sirius noticed it too.

“We don’t have much time. Blink once for yes and twice for no. I won’t tell him a thing.”

You blinked twice. Sirius put his head down, knowing that it was a lie. The moment that he looked back up, you blinked once. Sirius wanted nothing more than to offer to help keep both Regulus and yourself safe. He wanted to get his brother out of that mess but he knew Regulus would never say yes to him or the order.

“Look who it is.”

Regulus said coldly as he finally reached you. His arm went around your waist as Sirius met his eyes.

“Regulus, it's good to see you.”

Regulus only stared at Sirius. He made no move to speak to his brother. It didn’t matter deep down that Regulus wanted to talk to Sirius. He wanted nothing more than to beg his brother to forgive him for being so cold but that wouldn’t happen. Regulus was “the good son” and his parents were counting on him.

“We should go, Y/n.”

Regulus said before wrapping his wrist around your hand and tugging you with him. Sirius held his hands up.

“So you aren’t going to say anything? You’re just going to stand there like some kind of zombie?”

Regulus turned.

“You don’t deserve a moment of my time.”

You couldn’t bring yourself to look at the hurt expression on Sirius' face as Regulus tugged you along with him. There had been many run-ins with Sirius when he was still at Hogwarts that resulted in Regulus hexing his brother. Many MANY times you were pulling Regulus away as he shouted any insult that he could at Sirius. When you couldn’t get him away it was Evan and Snape hauling him off.

“Can we slow down?”

You snapped as you almost lost your balance for the third time. Regulus turned and glared down at you with jealousy in his eyes.

Lovely…

You thought. It was going to be one of those nights. Nothing that you had to say would please Regulus at the moment. It didn’t matter that it was his engagement ring on your finger or that you were chasing after him. All that Regulus could think about was the fact that you were supposed to be Sirius’ betrothed. The insecure side of him questioned in you or Sirius actually cared for each other and was just too good to say it.

“Let’s just go home. We don’t need to talk.”

Regulus replied before turning and starting back in the direction of Grimmauld Place. This time his hand wasn’t around yours making sure that you didn’t get pulled off. Regulus had shoved his hands in his pockets and reminded you of a jealous child.

“Fine.”

You commented before following him. If he wanted to be difficult then you would let him.

Thankfully Walburga and Orion were in bed when the two of you arrived home. You immediately followed Regulus to your shared bedroom. He took off his jacket and tossed it carelessly on the floor.

Shaking your head, you reached down to hang it up.

“Leave it. That’s what Kreacher is for.”

Regulus snapped. You blinked a few times having to bite your tongue. There were a lot of things that you could say to Regulus at the moment but you didn’t want to sleep alone or end up sleeping on the sofa.

Regulus had started the fire in the fireplace before sitting down on the sofa to glare coldly at the flames. He knew that he was being childish but he didn’t care. You didn’t seem to realize how much Sirius still hurt him. Seeing you talking to the jerk with none other than James-Fucking-Potter close by was enough to make the jealous little shit in Regulus come roaring back with a vengeance.

You gave Regulus half an hour to “get over himself” before plopping down on his lap in emerald green lingerie that left little to the imagination. Regulus was still scowling as he looked you over. You sighed.

“Stop acting like a child Regulus Black. I’m your fiance and you know it.”

Regulus sighed.

“If you weren’t my fiance I would be worried about you sitting on my lap dressed like this, princess.”

You smiled. There was your prince charming.

“I was saving this for our wedding night but given our current situation I figured this would be better than me just rolling around naked on your lap.”

Regulus reached up to stroke his hand over your cheek.

“You don’t see how he looks at you.”

You frowned.

“Are we still talking about Sirius?”

Regulus nodded.

“Uh-huh. He looks at you like you’re something to eat. I see how his eyes roam over your body. He doesn’t seem to understand that you are mine.”

You rolled your eyes and leaned into the kiss Regulus’ lips. He didn’t stop you. The kiss was tender for a moment before leaning backward further on his lap. You knew that you would tell him all about Sirius dating Remus Lupin. Why this was so lost on Regulus was still a mystery. You could have picked those two out as lovers without either of them saying anything.

“I assure you that he sees me as nothing more than a friend. Reggie, he knows that I am devoted 100% to you. He’s known it for a long time. Besides, I don’t have what Sirius needs. I’m made for you.”

Regulus had to grin at that though. Hell yes, you were “made for him.” Your bodies fit together perfectly. Everything about the two of you went together.

“Princess, you’re killing me.”

He groaned as you wiggled your ass on his now prominent erection. You giggled before kissing his bottom lip.

“I’m down for some nice jealous sex.”

Regulus raised an eyebrow before harshly pulling your upper body against his.

“Well, then love, you are in luck. All of your slutty self is all mine.”

He growled against your lips before possessively kissing you. You reached up tangling your fingers in his curls. Resisting the urge to start tugging, you instead stroked your hand through his hair earning a moan from your lover.

Regulus’ hand had fallen to your ass and roughly squeezed your plump flesh. He gently pushed you backward on his lap.

“I believe we should take this to our bed.”

You didn't wait to be told twice before getting up and hurrying to your shared bed. Regulus had gone to the door to lock it. The last thing that he wanted was his mother walking in and screaming when she realized what was going on. He turned to look at you as you pulled back the heavy duvet and blankets.

Your foot became stuck in one of the soft blankets resulting in you slipping. Regulus had rushed forward and caught you.

“You’re so clumsy. If I wasn’t around to catch you all of the time, you would forever have broken bones.”

“Yes, lucky for me.”

You said, kissing him and laying back on the bed. Regulus shook his head and began to undress. Your heart began to pound the moment that you heard Regulus’ belt unbuckling then the loud noise it made upon hitting the hardwood floors.

Regulus was on top of you before you were able to formulate another thought. His hand immediately went between your legs and shoved the emerald thong to the side.

“Oh, look at that, you are wet...just as I suspected. You’re so wet and I haven’t even touched you yet.”

His voice was almost mocking as he glared down at you. You knew that game that he wanted to play now and as messed up as it sounded, you were excited.

“Why wouldn’t I be wet for you?”

You squeaked when Regulus shoved his index and middle finger inside of you.

“You could be wet for him too.”

“It's always you, Reggie. I only want you.”

You gasped as he scissored his fingers. Regulus didn’t reply. It wasn’t until you reached out to wrap your hand around his length did he push you away.

“No touching.”

Regulus leaned down and smothered his face in your neck. You swallowed as he bit down. A pornographic moan left your lips as he continued to manipulate your already spasming core. Regulus’ breath on your neck was hot as he sucked love bite after love bite onto your neck. There would be no mistaking on whose woman you were.

You whined the moment that his hand left your body. His grey eyes silenced you with one disapproving look. You fought back as he tugged the emerald thong off and tossed it over his shoulder.

“Now, where were we?”

You wanted to scream to answer the question...Right here! We were right here! Just touch me! Anything!

You knew that, however, would get you nowhere. Regulus would probably get out of bed and leave you moaning for him. He wouldn’t come back to you until he was good and ready.

“You’re such a good girl, princess.”

Regulus praised you as he took his length in his hand. You moaned as the tip rubbed over your clit then down to your entrance multiple times.

“Reggie, don’t be a tease.”

“Who said that I was teasing?”

Regulus replied. His face was dead serious. He had returned to his stoic reserved nature as he continued his game. A loud moan escaped your lips as Regulus shoved in. His hand instantly clasped around your mouth.

“Hush now. Mummy will hear us.”

Regulus whispered before giving you a little grin. He knew exactly what you were thinking about. That little comment alone brought back memories from years past. Regulus would make that comment when the two of you were early teens and started messing around. Gone were the days where Regulus could get off by seeing you naked. You could simply take off your shirt for him and let Regulus put his mouth or hands on you. He would barely touch himself and come. Now things were different. You had to work to make Regulus come.

“You’re a fucking tease.”

You said with a giggle as you took his hand in yours and brought it to your lips. Regulus leaned back on his heels but made sure to remain snuggly inside of you. His eyes winded as your mouth wrapped around his middle and index finger. You sucked the digits like you would if they were his cock.

“Love, you call me a tease.”

“Then fuck me…”

“You asked for it.”

Regulus hissed before pulling out and slamming back into you at a furious pace. You couldn’t help crying out as he ravaged you. Regulus didn’t care that the headboard was slamming into the wall and that you were screaming. Too much blood had already left his head to leave him incapable of thinking of anything other than fucking you. His goal was to leave you so sore that you couldn’t put your legs together the next morning.

The sound of skin slapping against skin filled the room, leaving you light headed as your body began to spasm around Regulus’ length. As much as you enjoyed sensual lovemaking, you equally enjoyed Regulus using you as his own personal toy.

“I need to come.”

Regulus groaned. You moaned at his words alone. Your body tightening was enough to push Regulus over the edge. His body shivered as he emptied inside of you.

“Come, love.”

He choked out through his own orgasm before teasing your clit with his fingers. It took two or three circles before you were coming screaming his name like a prayer.

Regulus was the first to pull out. His come coated your thighs as he leaned down for a kiss.

“Shall we have round two?”

Before you could respond, someone was pounding on the door. Regulus’ face went scarlet as he looked down at you. Your eyes were wide as Orion’s voice came from the other side of the door.

“Okay, you two...we have heard enough for one evening. Go to sleep!”

_______

@amelie-black

@realgaytrash

@scarletscross

@truly-insatiable

@swinginsoulbailiffrascal

@velveteencurls

@spiderxalmighty

@sunles

@brokencasbutt67-writer

@authoressskr

@fandom-trash-worth-it

@hankypranky

@li0nh34rt

@tas898

@maggioli-m

@marichromatic

@stuckinsaudi1

@knight-of-gleefulness

@shadows-and-padlocked-hearts

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@emiwrites3reads

@untoldshortsofthefandoms

@sprnaturallover

@wontlookaway

@mycuddlycorner

@shitfaceddaniel

@wontlookaway

[beauvibaby]

Anthony Beauvillier – First Christmas

• living across the hall from Anthony Beauvillier has its perks, and thanksgiving is where it all changes •

word count: 8.6k

warnings: brief mention of death, and like two innuendos of sex (barely)

You returned from the grocery store, having an odd pep in your step despite the chaos you had just endured to get your hands on this turkey for thanksgiving in just a few short days. You looked around your apartment, sure, you had some harvest decor up, but with the way it was already so chilly outside, and the hallmark Christmas movies being a nightly routine of yours. You decided you wanted to decorate, sure, it was a little early, but you wanted the extra cheer, and you knew your family would love it when they came over for thanksgiving, your first year hosting–come to think of it, maybe you were decorating to ignore the stress of that responsibility. So you changed into some comfier clothes, slipping your fuzzy slippers on and hauling your decor out of the closet, only a few bins since it was a relatively small apartment, but your tree was your prized possession. It looked like it came out of a catalog, but still felt homey, and you adored that. You quickly changed out the wreath on the outside of the front door, you heard the elevator open as you slid the fall colored wreath off, and began struggling to get the large Christmas wreath to stay on the hook, you heard a couple of pairs of feet walking down the hall, you stole a glance.

“Hi, Anthony.” You smiled softly, he was a nice enough neighbor, always polite, sometimes he could be a little flirty, but you always brushed it off, knowing his status, you attributed it to him being able to get whatever girl he wants. “Hi, Y/N.” He responded with a small wave, holding in a chuckle as he and his friend, Mat, you think, watched you struggle. “I think that wreath is a little too big, don’t you?” Anthony finally cracked, grabbing the fall one from you, “besides, isn’t it a little early to decorate?” He added, you finally found the tie you’d weaved into the wreath and secured it to the hook. “One, it is not too big, and two, it is never too early to decorate for Christmas.” You gasped, taking the fall wreath back from him, crossing your arms dramatically, with a huff. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a tree to put up.” You smiled dramatically shutting the door, cringing when you heard the wreath fall on to the ground. A soft knock following, you looked out the peephole and saw Anthony holding it with a teasing smile. “Just put it on the hook, Anthony!” You shouted through the door, “for the last time, call me, Tito!” He groaned, putting the wreath on the hook and walking off with his friend.

***

“Mom!” You gasped into the phone the second she answered, “well happy thanksgiving to you too.” She giggled, “my oven won’t turn on!” You groaned, it was time for you to be putting the turkey in the oven, along with the green bean casserole, “is it the cooktop too? Or just the actual oven?” Your mom questioned, you scrambled to turn the burners on, watching as they glowed bright red emitting the heat instantly. “Just the oven.” You sniffled in annoyance, why couldn’t this just go right. “Oh honey, don’t cry, we can just get takeout.” She assured you, “my first time hosting and it was a huge fail.” You groaned, before an idea popped into your head, a crazy idea–but an idea nonetheless. “I’ll call you back, mom, I have an idea!” You rushed to hang up the phone. Quickly, you dabbed the tears from your eyes and smoothed out your shirt before confidently walking across the hall to the door you’d only knocked on once, and that was to ask him to keep it down. You lifted your hand and hesitated, “ok, here goes nothing.” You whispered before giving three soft knocks, you heard movement from inside, followed by the lock turning. “Y/N?” Anthony cocked his head to the side, sweatpants and a t-shirt covering his frame. “Uh, hi.” You spoke nervously, he smiled at your clearly nervous demeanor, “everything ok?” He questioned, “I thought your family was coming over today?” He added, shocking you that he even remembered that you told him that nearly two weeks ago. “Oh-uh-they are, but I have a little problem.” You rocked on your feet, he motioned for you to continue, as he leaned against the door frame. “My oven won’t turn on.” You blurted, he stared blankly at you, not picking up on what you were insinuating. “Can I use your oven? If you don’t have any plans, and you’re more than welcome to join us, it’s the least I could do, really.” You rambled, not daring to meet his eyes, he let out a soft laugh. “I hope you don’t make a dry turkey.” He opened the door, silently inviting you in. “Oh, thank you, thank you!” You cheered, resisting the urge to hug him. “You just saved my thanksgiving.” You sighed in relief, rushing over to your apartment as he laughed boyishly at your excitement. You came back with a turkey, already bagged and ready to cook, easily walking into his kitchen as his apartment mirrored yours.

You quickly set his oven to preheat to the correct temperature, taking the chance to look around, his apartment was a lot cleaner than you figured a bachelor nhl player would keep it. “Did you need any help? I’m no chef, but I think I can be of some use.” He laughed approaching you, “no, I’ve got it, thank you, again, so much.” You sighed, smiling at him. “I don’t want to impose, you know, I don’t have to join you.” He laughed a little nervously. Your eyes shot up at him, “you wouldn’t be imposing! It’s the least I could do, you’re lending me your kitchen for goodness sakes.” You gasped, feeling your phone buzz in your pocket, your mom asking if you figured anything out. You quickly told her you got it under control, and that your neighbor would be joining you, to which she simply sent a thumbs up. “So who am I then? The crazy neighbor next door that let a girl use his kitchen to cook? That’s a long title to introduce.” Anthony quipped, sitting on the edge of his counter, legs dangling in front of the cabinet. “No, you’re Tito, the nice guy across the hall.” You shrugged, missing the way his lips turned up at the use of his nickname. “Wow, you can actually listen.” He joked, you blushed under his gaze, “don’t get used to it, you're doing me a favor, I figured I’d use your nickname for once.” You teased lightly, watching the way he threw his head back in laughter. “Oh my god, you didn’t have any plans did you?” The thought suddenly hit you, he shook his head, “no, I’m off today, figured I’d be lazy, but who am I to turn down good food.” He spoke softly, watching as guilt flashed in your eyes, “don’t worry about it, Y/N. It’ll be fun, I’ve never met a girls parents that I wasn’t dating.” He joked, earning an eye roll from you. “Who’s coming?” He tilted his head to the side again, asking the question with a small hint of concern, for some reason unknown to him, he wanted to leave a good impression, even if he just was ‘Tito the nice guy across the hall’.

You let out a nervous laugh, “my mom, dad, grandma, uncle, my brother, sister in law and two nieces.” With every name you listed off his eyes grew wider, “oh.” He laughed softly, at least I’m good with kids, he thought to himself. Surely that would be an easy way to impress your family. “Oh, and you should know, my grandma doesn’t really speak English.” You added, grimacing when his face fell, “she speaks Italian, but she’ll try to talk in English for you.” You explained, nervously shrugging, the oven finally being warm enough for the turkey, you slid it in, setting a timer on the oven and your phone, “um, so I’ll just come back when it’s time to put the green beans in?” You asked, shifting awkwardly. “I’ll leave the door unlocked for you.” Tito smiled, “thank you, Tito.” You responded, walking past him as you felt his eyes on you, “anytime, Y/N.”

Two hours later and here you were walking into his apartment with a casserole dish full of green beans, you didn’t see him in the living room, so you assumed he was in his room, you simply went to the oven, adding the green beans to the lower rack, smiling at how well the turkey was cooking, your family would be here in about an hour, and you had the mashed potatoes, gravy and anything else ready to be cooked on your stovetop. You were setting a new timer when you heard footsteps, Tito standing frozen in the hallway, a towel wrapped low around his hips. “Oh, I’m sorry!” You gasped looking away when you eyed him for too long. “It’s ok, sorry, I didn’t know you were out here.” He apologized, laughing nervously as he turned, being sure to hold his towel tightly in place, you stole a glance as he rushed back down the hall, you knew he was attractive, but he was even more so than you thought. He came back out a moment later with jeans on as he buttoned up a short sleeve shirt, his chain laying against his chest, you bit your lip at the sight before coming to your senses. “You clean up nice, Beauvillier.” You teased, watching as his eyes snapped up at the use of his last name. He smirked, “so you did look me up.” He pointed out, watching as you blushed bright red under his gaze. “Me? No, I would never.” You joked, “listen, I had to make sure my new neighbor wasn’t a serial killer.” You defended, earning a deep chuckle from him, something that was quickly becoming your new favorite sound. “I thought you weren’t a hockey fan.” He reminded you, this time instead of smirking when you blushed, he smiled, if he had even a part of the reason why you were suddenly watching hockey, it made him happy. “I watch your games, that’s it.” You admitted, “really?” He gasped, walking towards the kitchen, peeking through the window on the oven door, “looks good.” He added, smoothing out his shirt. He looked over your outfit, “is the dress code sweatpants?” He teased, only then did you realize you were still in your house clothes. “No,” you paused to laugh, “I’m going to go get ready now, I’ll be back for those when the timer goes off!” You called already making your way out the door. “Have fun!” Tito called in response as you shut his front door, a smile lingering on his face.

The timer on your phone went off and you silently cursed as you were trying to get the zipper up on the simple burgundy dress you put on, of course, it was just family there was no reason to dress up, but it was a tradition really, all of you always put on something at least a little nicer. You turned the timer off on your phone and rushed across the hall, walking right in, like this was a normal occurrence, Tito was in the kitchen pulling the pans out of the oven for you. “Thank you.” You sighed in relief, afraid the green beans would’ve started to burn by now, he finally looked over at you, his eyes lingering on the dress. “Yeah-“ he cleared his throat, “yeah no problem.” He stood up straight, shutting the oven door. “Uh, do you mind zipping this for me?” You asked sheepishly, sweeping your hair over one shoulder, he nodded and you turned your back to him, feeling goosebumps litter your skin as he pulled the zipper up slowly, his breath fanning over the back of your neck. “There you go.” He whispered, hesitating to step away, but so did you, finally you heard commotion out in the hall and realized your family must be outside your door, “thank you.” You cleared your throat, all but jumping away from him. You each grabbed pot holders and began making your way to the door, somehow you opened it with your elbow, smiling at your family that was huddled around the door. “It’s open, go on in.” You encouraged them, seeing the way they looked at Tito behind you. They pushed open the door to your apartment, your nieces instantly rushing to the couch where they knew you’d have a Christmas movie set up for them to watch, your dad held the door open for everyone as you filed in, “thanks.” You sighed, rushing to the kitchen to set down the green beans, Tito right behind you, desperate to set down the turkey that was growing heavier by the second.

You scrambled around to introduce everyone to Anthony, to which he kept saying, “call me Tito.” And everyone chuckled, your grandma whispered to you, once she heard his name, asking if he was Italian, you giggled and told her no. She grumbled, making her way to her seat but still being kind nonetheless.

Your dad helped you cut the turkey, asking question after question about Tito, “I’m not dating him, stop it. He just let me use his oven.” You snapped lightly, your dad nudged you with his shoulder, “well then don’t get so defensive.” He teased, washing his hands after finally getting the turkey carved.

You looked out into the living room, seeing your brother and Tito talking like they were the best of friends, your nieces occasionally walking up to him and asking something. You smiled at the sight, your mother catching your gaze, “he’s cute.” She commented, you shot her a look, “what? I’m just making a statement.” She put her hands up in defense, laughing when you sighed, knowing she was implying more than that. “Time to eat!” You called, everyone forming a line through the kitchen, you laughed at the site, saving yourself for last. You grabbed a plate and stood behind your grandma, Anthony glanced and saw the two of you, he frowned and moved behind you. “What are you doing? You can go before me.” You whispered, he shook his head, “ladies first.” He mumbled, placing a hand on your back when you went to move around him. “Are you sure?” You questioned, moving forward as your grandma did, “positive.” He whispered, watching as your grandma turned to the two of you. “Y/N, puoi fare il mio piatto, tesoro? Sono stanco.”(can you make my plate, sweetheart? I’m tired.) She asked solemnly, “si, vai a sederti, un po 'di tutto?” (Yes, go sit, a little of everything?) you responded, setting your plate down and taking the one from her, she nodded, hobbling over to the table with her cane. You frowned to yourself, “sorry, let me just make her plate real quick.” You apologized to Tito, he shook his head, “no rush.” He smiled softly, going as far as to take her plate from you and bring it to her when you were done, so you could make your own.

You smiled when he returned, “thank you, you didn’t have to.” You whispered, again, he placed a hand on your back, this time you felt his thumb move back and forth for a moment, “it’s ok, I don’t mind.” He assured you, patiently waiting until you were done to make his plate and join everyone at the table, of course, the only seat being open was next to you. Dinner went on perfectly, everyone having a good time and chatting, you definitely took notice to how much your nieces liked Tito, the sight along warming your heart. By the time the night was over, you’d had a couple glasses of wine, your face shaded pink from the alcohol, and your family was making their way out while Tito lingered behind, “let me help you clean up.” He insisted, “no!” You refused, he’d done to much already. “Y/N.” He deadpanned, “Anthony.” You mimicked, crossing your arms over your chest. “You’ve done too much, I can’t let you do this.” You added, pushing him out of your kitchen, he chuckled, letting you think you were actually moving him, when we all know he was just walking himself. “You’re very stubborn.” He pointed out when you reached your doorway. You rolled your eyes, hesitating for a moment, you pushed up on your toes, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek, “thank you, Tito. It was nice having you over.” You whispered, leaning away, but still staying close to his face, god, how he wanted to kiss your wine stained lips, and stay with you even if it meant washing dishes together, he just found you contagious–and he wanted more. But he didn’t kiss your lips, he didn’t want to scare you off, he pressed a quick kiss to your forehead, your eyes fluttered shut at the delicate action, you wanted to melt into his arms and tell him to never stop. “Goodnight, Y/N.” He mumbled, and just like that he was back across the hall in his own apartment, leaving you there to touch your forehead, shocked that he had just done that, little did you know he was doing the same to where your leftover lipstick stained his cheek.

***

It was the weekend after thanksgiving and you were anxiously waiting for it to be time for the islanders game, despite there still being a couple of hours until then, there was a soft knock on your door and you walked over, looking through the peephole but seeing no one, you opened the door, looking to see if you’d gotten a package and you couldn’t help but laugh as you saw an islanders jersey folded on your door mat, a note on top of it, what you didn’t know was Tito was watching you through the peephole of his apartment door. A smile covering his face as you bent down to grab the material, hugging it to your body as you read the note,

“Hopefully this fuels on your new hockey obsession!”

You let out a genuine laugh, glancing over at his door, shaking your head with a laugh, you unfolded the jersey, smile widening when you saw his name sprawled across the back.

You changed into it when you got inside, smiling at how the material was baggy on your frame, you laughed softly, taking a mirror photo, daring maybe, but you had gotten his number after thanksgiving, so you figured, why not use it. You sent the photo,

“It fits like a glove–a very oversized baggy glove”

He read the message nearly instantly, making your heart race,

“I think it looks better on you than it does on me”

“Are you flirting with me, Tito?”

His response was quick,

“So you finally noticed.”

“Good luck tonight! I’ll be rooting for you”

You locked your phone after you sent your response, looking up in your mirror to see your red cheeks looking back at you. A fluttering feeling in your stomach at the thought of him even being remotely interested in you. Making your way into the kitchen, a thought popped into your headed, you had already planned on doing some baking, why not make a few extra for the cute guy across the hall, you laughed to yourself but started your adventure, setting aside a mix of cookies for him, you’d bring them and leave them on his doorstep when the game was over, so they wouldn’t be sitting out there for too long. You changed the TV to the hockey channel, listening to them talk about what was to come while you baked, your ears perking up everytime they mentioned Anthony. The time flew and before you knew it the game was over, the islanders winning by only one point, but it was still a win, you grabbed the container, sticking a post it note to the top,

“I’m free on Friday.”

Daring, most definitely, but you felt bold, a connection between the two of you that you thought only happened in movies. You set the tin on his doormat, knowing he wasn’t home yet, but still you smiled, making your way back home and giving one last glance to the Christmas themed container sitting there.

When you woke up, you were surprised to see two messages from Tito, a smile forcing its way onto your face.

“I’ll pick you up at five on Friday, dress warm”

“Holy shit, Y/N, these cookies are amazing!”

You laughed at his second message,

“See you then!”

A giddy feeling filling your stomach at the thought of what you would be doing Friday.

***

Friday came quicker than you thought it would, which was a win in your book, you were finishing up the laces on your boots when Anthony knocked on your door. You stood up, giving yourself one more look in the mirror, your outfit was nothing special, skinny jeans, a pretty blouse that was currently being covered by your thick coat, a blush scarf around your neck, and the boots with a small heel on them, but you looked good. You opened the door, smiling at Anthony, “hi.” You spoke, watching him give you a once over, “hi.” He repeated, pulling flowers out from behind his back, “oh, they’re so pretty!” You gasped, taking them from his outstretched hand, “thank you.” You added as he followed you inside as you went to put them in a vase before you left. “Of course.” He grinned, “you look beautiful.” He added, you glanced down at your outfit and back at him, seeing nothing but sincerity in his eyes, “you clean up pretty well yourself.” You laughed, looking at his dark jeans and long tan coat, a black scarf around his neck. “I try.” He posed, making you laugh when you glanced over at him. “Where are we going?” You questioned, setting the vase on the counter, flipping the lights off as you made your way towards him. “It’s a surprise.” He retorted, following behind you, “oooh, a surprise.” You smiled at him, “it’s going to be kind of a long car ride though, I hope you don’t mind.” He suddenly looked nervous, “that’s ok, I can make small talk with you, Tito.” You teased softly, not feeling nervous for this date at all, it was easy to be around him.

The car ride was long, but you quickly figured out you were going into the city, a smile gracing your face when you found out why, “you didn’t.” You gasped as the car pulled to a stop at the side of the road, the Rockefeller tree just to the left of you, “I did.” He smiled happily, following you as you rushed to climb out of the car, “Anthony, this is too much. You didn’t have to bring me all the way out here.” You suddenly felt guilty as he paid for the ride, that couldn’t have been cheap. “Shush, I wanted to, I wanted it to be special.” He mumbled sheepishly, you hugged your coat tighter to yourself, smiling up at him. “I love it.” You assured him, pulling your gloves on your hands, him doing the same before making the move to lace your fingers together, you didn’t hesitate to do it, smiling at the way your hand fit in his. “I figured we could go skating, and maybe grab something to eat if you’re hungry.” He explained, watching the way your eyes lit up as you looked at the giant tree, you nodded wordlessly, “yes, yeah, whatever you want to do.” You breathed out, eyes focused on the tree in front of you, “I haven’t been able to come see this in years.” You added, glancing over at him to find him staring right at you, “it’s beautiful, isn’t it?” You asked, looking back to the tree, and seeing the people down below skating around the rink, “it’s gorgeous.” He answered, barely looking at the tree before stepping closer to you. “I should tell you now, I’m definitely not the best skater.” You laughed nervously, watching as a couple down on the ice struggled to skate together. “That’s ok, I think I can manage.” He joked, laughing when you rolled your eyes, “don’t be a show off, it’s not attractive.” You retorted, smiling when he squeezed your hand a little tighter as a brush of wind came through, your hair flipping in front of your face. He pushed it back, leaving his hand in your cheek for a minute, “what do you say? You gonna show me those skating skills.” He spoke, moving his hand away, you shivered at the loss of contact, “yeah.” You whispered, allowing him to lead the way.

“Anthony!” You shrieked when he dropped your hand as you got on the ice, “I’m right here.” He laughed, skating backwards slowly in front of you, “stop.” You pouted, reaching out for his hands as you struggled to catch your footing, it’s been a long time since you’d done this. “I won’t let you fall.” He assured you, grabbing your hands as you looked panicked. “I got you.” He added, meeting your eyes, the smile on his face being contagious as you looked at him. “Promise?” You teased, slowly pushing off on your skates, he easily met your pace, glancing behind him every once in a while. “Promise.” He spoke sincerely, rubbing his thumbs over the tops of your hands as you slowly became more confident in your abilities. “How embarrassing, I’m on a date with Long Island royalty and I can barely skate.” You joked, he shook his head, releasing one of your hands and moving to be beside you, “I’m not royalty, and you’re doing good babe.” The word fell from his mouth, he looked away in embarrassment. “Thanks.” You giggled, easing his nerves, gripping him harder when you came up to the curve, he laughed, easily guiding you, and he was right, he didn’t let you fall once. On the ice at least.

You were walking down the sidewalk, to a little restaurant on the corner, when your boot hit a patch of icy snow, your foot swinging up and out from under you, Anthony’s hold on your hand not doing much but keeping you from fully smacking your head on the sidewalk. You yelped as your butt landed hard on the cement, your shoulders following but thankfully keeping your head up. “Shit, Y/N, are you ok?” Anthony was kneeling beside you instantly, helping you sit up, “are you ok?” He asked again, brushing your arms off, you nodded stifling back a laugh at his concern, also using it to hide the pain you were feeling on your butt. “Ouch,” you whispered, standing up with his help, brushing off your legs, “yeah, I’m fine.” You spoke, catching his concerned gaze. “I’m sorry, oh my god.” He laughed nervously, you shrugged, “it’s not your fault.” You assured him, walking off the pain, laughing when he walked a lot closer to you this time. “Do you still want to go eat? I can just take you home.” He rushed, seeing the small limp in your walk, “no, no, I want to go eat, don’t worry.” You turned to him, resting a hand on his chest, “I’m ok, promise.” You whispered, the wind coming through again, blowing his scarf up a little, covering his jaw, you pushed it down, letting your hand linger there. You pushed yourself up, his hands going to your waist to steady you as he brushed his lips against yours. “Kiss me.” You breathed out, his lips on yours a second later, he moved one of his hands to your cheek, rubbing it affectionately, sighing into the kiss. You finally pulled away to breathe, a smile on your face, your eyes opening slowly to find him already smiling down at you. “So, food?” He asked, watching as you tipped your head back in laughter, you couldn’t help but steal another quick kiss, “food, but I’m paying.” You demanded, he’d already paid for so much, there was no way you were letting him pay for food too. “What? No!” He gasped, walking beside you, an arm over your shoulders, “no I’m paying.” He deadpanned, “you paid for skating, and the ride up here.” You reminded him, and he looked at you with raised brows, “so?” He quipped, “that’s too much!” You whined, looking up at him with a pout, “no it’s not!” He groaned, “just let me be a gentleman.” He demanded, teasingly rolling his eyes at you.

“Fine, then I’m paying for the next date.” You gave in, and he smiled at you, “so you’re saying there will be another date?” He teased, you nodded, “at least so I can pay for it.” You giggled, blushing at his next response, “oh, I think there will be a lot more than just two dates.”

***

You stepped out of the elevator as it dinged, of course, of course Tito had to be getting ready for a game right now, you wiped at the tears on your face, wishing you could see your boyfriend of only a couple of weeks, the two of you being inseparable whenever you were both not working, thankfully your schedule was pretty set in stone so you always knew when you’d be off. You took a shaky breath as you struggled to unlock your front door, mind racing at what just happened, your grandma going to the hospital for a simple nose bleed, unable to get it to stop, to now, her being moved into a hospice center because her heart was failing. It all happened so quick, you’d spent the whole day by her side, calling out of work the second your mom called and told you what happened. You finally got the key in your door, letting the tears fall freely again, your phone ringing in your pocket, you were afraid to check it. You shakily pulled it out, unsure if you should be relieved or nervous that Tito was calling you. They were about to play the rangers, and you knew it was a big deal, but you couldn’t make it to the game, you had completely forgotten that he was going to call you beforehand.

“Hello?” You tried to speak evenly into the phone, “hi, baby.” Tito breathed out, his nerves melting away as he heard your voice, the pet names came easy for him, the second you two decided that you were really going to do this, he hardly used your name anymore. You were a little slow to use them on him, not used to having a guy that adored you that much. “Are you getting ready for the game?” You asked, thankful that he hadn’t caught on to your slightly rough voice. “Yes, I just wanted to call you first. You’re going to watch right?” He asked jokingly, of course you were going to watch. “Of course I am, I’m going to get my jersey right now.” You laughed softly, enjoying the soothing sound of his voice. “Will you be home tonight?” You asked, thinking maybe you might try and stay up to see him. “Yeah, I shouldn’t be too late, we’ll be coming home right after.” He explained shortly, you heard some people talking in the background. “I’ve gotta go, I’ll talk to you later.” He spoke softly, “good luck, babe.” You mumbled, those words being the best thing he’d heard all day. “Thank you.” And with that, you hung up the phone.

You showered the stress of your day away, slipping into the jersey and a pair of leggings, settling in on your couch, flipping to the channel for the game, indulging in a bowl of ice cream as it started. Your phone lit up, once again, except this time it was your mom, and not Tito, your breathing hitched, you waited until the last second to answer the call. “Hi, mom.” You whispered, her muffled sniffles telling you all you need to know. “I’m sorry.” You sighed, letting your own tears fall silently, “do you want me to come back to the city?” You asked her, having just made the exhausting trip back out here. “No, you need to rest, honey. I’ll call you in the morning with the details.” She sighed, your father talking to her in the background, “I love you.” She added, “I love you too mom.” You mumbled, hanging up the phone, looking up to the TV screen as the second period began, you curled further into the couch, watching the game, but not really watching as your mind wandered.

When the game finished, you were still wide awake, and you knew sleep wouldn’t be coming over you anytime soon. So you did what popped into your mind, you slipped on some fuzzy Christmas socks, and went and sat in front of Tito’s door, resting your head on your arms that held your knees tucked up under your chin. You knew it would still be an hour or so until he was home, but you didn’t care, you wanted–you needed to see him. But what you didn’t expect was that you’d end up getting hit with exhaustion as you sat leaning against the door, you buried your face in your arms, hair falling to the side.

When Tito stepped off the elevator, he had his eyes on his phone, concerned as you hadn’t answered his texts, then he looked over at his door, stopping in his tracks as he saw you asleep, a pout being pushed on your lips from how you were laying against your arms. He could tell you had been crying, he slipped his phone back into his pocket, taking a few large steps over to you, he unlocked his door before waking you up. He kneeled on the ground in front of you, running a hand through your hair. “Y/N?” He spoke softly, not wanting to scare you. “Baby.” He spoke again, gently placing a hand on your shoulder, you stirred, wincing as you lifted your head, a kink in your neck from sleeping like that. “Tito?” You croaked out, a fresh set of tears brimming, “hey, shh, what’s wrong?” He murmured, cupping your cheeks. “My grandma.” You sniffled, looking at him with wide eyes, his face fell. “I’m sorry.” He whispered, knowing now wasn’t the time to ask questions, if you wanted to talk about it, you would. “Can I come inside?” You mumbled, leaning into his hands as he wiped under your eyes, “of course you can.” He pressed a kiss to your forehead before helping you to your feet. He pushed his door open, holding it in place for you to step inside, “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to greet you like this.” You sighed, wiping at your eyes, he shook his head, pulling you in for a hug. “Don’t apologize, it’s alright.” He shushed you, running a hand over your hair, “did you want to stay here tonight?” He offered, “not like that, obviously, unless you want that–if you don’t want to be alone, I don’t know.” He stuttered over his words, you silenced him with a kiss, a hand going into his hair. “Please.” You whimpered, barely pulling away, “please what?” He breathed out, rubbing your back, “please, both.” You pulled him back in, allowing him to guide you to his bedroom.

When you woke up the next morning, you had to take a second to remember what exactly happened, but it all came rushing back when you heard Tito snore softly from behind you. His hand resting on your stomach, arm draped over your side, you didn’t regret what happened at all, but you still felt a little self conscious as you realized you only had on a shirt and underwear. You rolled to face him, smiling at the peaceful look on his face, you reached up to push his hair from his forehead, leaning in closer to him, feeling him squeeze you a little tighter at the action. “Good morning.” He whispered, voice raspy, the tips of his fingers slipping under the shirt to rub circles into your skin. “Good morning.” You repeated, sighing as he pressed a kiss to your temple, “how are you?” He murmured, keeping his eyes on yours, “better.” You answered truthfully, fluttering your eyes shut when nudged your nose with his, kissing you quickly. “I’ve got a question.” He announced, smiling when you hummed, resting your head on his chest as he rolled to his back, “the Islanders have a Christmas event coming up, and I wanted to know if you would go with me?” He sounded nervous, you pressed a chaste kiss to his neck, “of course I’ll go, but isn’t that kind of a big deal to bring me?” You whispered, picking at the sheet hanging over his hips. “I wouldn’t want to bring anyone else.” His words made your heart skip a beat, you sat up, looking at him with a grin. “I’ll need help picking something to wear.” You spoke, making his nerves melt away, “I think I can help with that.” He winked.

***

“Oh–wow, you look, wow.” Tito gasped as you opened your door, the dark emerald dress looking even better than he remembered, “it’s not too much, right?” You questioned, afraid you’d be to over dressed, but that should really be a concern, considering he was in a tuxedo. “No, baby, it’s perfect, you look phenomenal.” He pulled you in for a quick kiss, “thank you, handsome.” You whispered, lacing your hand with his, pulling your coat on, “can you believe Christmas is only a week away!” Tito gasped, watching as your face lit up, “I know, I’m excited!” You cheered, “but I’m nervous to meet your family.” You added, stepping into the elevator, he furrowed his brows, “don’t be nervous, they’ll love you.” He gave you a reassuring squeeze, “don’t add any more pressure, now I’ll be upset if they don’t love me.” You giggled, watching as his skin flushed under your gaze, he just gave you a subtle eye roll and a kiss to your hairline before guiding you to the taxi.

Walking into the event only made you feel further out of place. Tito quickly introduced you to some of the other girls so you at least had someone else to speak with, but you still stayed glued to his side for a while, uneasy about the setting. “Are you alright?” He whispered as you nursed the champagne flute you’d picked up right away, you shot him a smile, “yeah, I’m alright, I’ll go sit with the girls, you go do what you have to do, yeah?” You offered, he hesitated before he nodded, sending you off with a delicate kiss. You took your spot with the other ladies, quickly bonding with Sydney, your personalities meshing instantly. “How long have you known Tito?” She asked, resting her jaw in her hand, “six months?” You answered, doing the math mentally, “yeah, I met him the day I moved in, but we didn’t really start talking until thanksgiving.” You added, watching as she looked at you with wide eyes, “wait, really?” She gaped at you, making you concerned, “is something wrong?” You questioned, glancing behind her as her husband approached. “He’s been talking about you since before thanksgiving, I just assumed you two had been dating this whole time.” She explained, Matt raising his eyebrows from behind her, nodding in agreement. “Oh.” You shifted in your seat, feeling put on the spot, “that’s a good thing, I promise!” Sydney assured you, Matt resting a hand on her shoulder, startling her. “Yeah, he’s totally in love with you.” Matt shrugged, making you choke on your drink, he clearly hadn’t heard the length of your relationship, Sydney elbowed him lightly, whispering in his ear and he went wide eyed. “Oops?” His voice went up an octave, sitting down beside his wife. “I mean it’s fine, right? It’s not like he’s rushing you.” Matt tried to mend the situation but it only made you feel more pressure, like you had to feel the same way right now, and you knew you would in time, the relationship between the two of you building so quickly, it felt like you knew him for years. But knowing he was so seemingly in love with you already, made you nervous, like somehow you’d scare him off. “Excuse me.” You stood up abruptly, needing to get some space, “good going, Matt!” You heard Sydney chastise her husband as you walked off, in search of anywhere that wasn’t crowded with people.

You rounded the corner and spotted a relatively empty hallway, leaning against the wall you let out a deep breath, calming yourself, you stayed like that for a few minutes before deciding to go find Tito before he began to worry. When you walked back towards the table you saw him sitting beside your seat, he didn’t seem nervous at all, so you’re assuming Sydney covered for you. Another deep breath as you approached, putting a smile on your face when you reached them, “hi.” You smiled at your boyfriend, smoothing your dress as you sat down. “Hi, baby.” He rested a hand on your knee under the table, rubbing soothing circles into your skin. Sydney shot you a wink when he wasn’t looking and you let out a breath of relief, the rest of the night going off without a hitch.

***

“It is not funny!” You whined as you were helping Tito decorate his tree last minute, his exact words were “if I don’t have a tree for Christmas my mom just might kill me” you laughed at his dramatics, but you agreed to help, knowing it would be a good time together. “It is funny.” He retorted, helping you pick the garland flakes from your hair, he thought it would be entertaining to pull some off of the extra strands and throw it at you. It’s safe to say you weren’t amused. “I thought you’d like it, Christmas is your favorite holiday after all.” He teased, kissing your pout, laughing when you pulled him back in. “If you keep that up we’ll never finish this tree.” He mumbled against you, his hands sliding down your back. “Ah-ah, no, we have to finish, your parents are coming tomorrow.” You tsked, laughing when he gave you a quick pat anyways, “I didn’t say anything about after.” You reminded him, giving him an incentive to finish decorating. “Oh, it’s on.” He rushed over to what you had deemed his side of the tree, “whoever finishes last has to make dinner.” He smirked, and you just gave him a blank stare, “we both know if you lose you’re just going to order takeout.” You laughed at him, to which he nodded in agreement, pushing his glasses up his nose, smiling at you as you stood on your side of the tree. “Three, two, one!” You counted down, the tree was already lit and you’d already done the garland so now it was only placing ornaments, and you knew you’d beat him at it.

He was sloppily hanging them to fill the gaps in the tree, meanwhile you were taking your time–carefully placing each ornament, the prettiest sides out, and you still finished before him, he looked at you flabbergasted when you stepped back and announced your completion. “How are you? Oh my god.” He looked at your side of the tree, seeing the ornaments perfectly adorning your side of the tree. “How do you do that?” He pouted, pulling you over to his side to help, “I’m gonna go order Chinese.” He mumbled, kissing your cheek, sending you into a fit of giggles as you blended the two sides of the tree together. You heard him talking on the phone, rambling off some numbers from the menu, you giggled to yourself, thinking of how many times he’s called the restaurant. You took a moment, looking at the photo of Anthony and his brother as a child on an ornament, shocked by the amount of sentimental ones he had. You looked around the tree, taking the time now to admire it, your fingers running over the ornaments, you spotted one that was facing the wrong way, you took it off the tree and turned it to face you, gasping softly at the framed ornament of you and Tito from your first date, a picture you’d take in front of the Rockefeller tree before making your way back to your apartment. “That was supposed to be a surprise.” He mumbled, wrapping his arms around your waist from behind, “well then you shouldn't have put it on the tree when you know your girlfriend is a perfectionist.” You sighed, leaning into his hold, he hugged you a little tighter, “that’s one of the reasons I-“ his voice dropped off, you glanced back at him, carefully hanging the ornament back on the tree, he stayed frozen in place as you turned to face him.

“Babe, it’s one of the reasons you what?” You whispered, arms wrapping around his neck, playing with the hair on the nape of his neck. “You can say it.” You added after he stayed silent, staring at you intently. “It’s one of the reasons I love you.” He all but breathed out, you tugged him in for a kiss, he sighed in relief, pulling you impossibly closer, “I love you, Anthony.” You mumbled, he rolled his eyes at the use of his name. “I love you, oh god I can finally say it.” He grinned, pulling you along with him to the couch, you laughed as he laid you down on it, “we’ve got food coming, bub.” You laughed, tilting your head to the side as he kissed down your neck. “It’s snowing, they’ll be slow, we’ve got time.” He muttered against you, smiling when you laughed at his words, but you made no effort to stop him.

Christmas Eve was here, and so were Tito’s parents, you could hear them the second you stepped out of your apartment, your stomach twisting into a knot. Your hand lifting to knock on the door, you could hear Tito chuckle from inside, “come in!” He called, exactly what you told him not to do. “Hello!” You spoke loudly into the apartment, pushing the door open, instantly met with Tito’s bright blue eyes looking over from the kitchen, his parents turning from their spot on the stools at the island. You smiled kindly at them, making your way over to them, “hi, I’m Y/N.” You held your hand out for his mother, who scoffed and stood, pulling you into a hug, relief rushing over you at her mind gesture. His dad did the same, “it’s nice to meet you, Y/N. We’ve heard so much about you.” He spoke softly, much like Tito would do sometimes. You walked around to greet your boyfriend quickly, also sticking the wine you brought into the chiller. “All good things, I hope.” You joked, earning a scoff from Tito as he checked on the food he was cooking. “Only good things.” His mom assured, smiling when her son kissed the side of your head in passing. You fell into easy conversation with them, all four of you laughing throughout the day, you were grateful to get this time with them today, considering tomorrow you would be an hour away visiting your own family. Of course, Tito was a little disappointed, but it was all still new to you guys, and you hadn’t had time to plan accordingly, but you swore up and down you’d go straight to his apartment when you got home Christmas night, the two of you saving your gifts for then.

“I’ll be right back!” Tito called to his parents, walking you across the hall, much to your laughter filled dismay. “Wow, look, I made it safely, all thanks to you.” You teased him, he let out a breathy laugh, leaning down to kiss you. “I love you.” He murmured, “Merry Christmas, baby.” He added, not wanting to let go of you. “Merry Christmas, bubs.” You grinned, “I love you too.” You added, giving him a few more short pecks, “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” You assured him, “and then you get to give me my gift.” You teased, finally getting a genuine smile out of him. “Mhm, can’t wait.” He gave you one more peck before forcing himself to go into his apartment, shooting you a wink as he shut the door. This boy would be the death of you.

***

You stepped off the elevator, arms full of the gifts you’d been given by your family earlier today, you were happily surprised to see Tito already standing outside your door. “Want some help?” He teased, taking a couple of items from you, “Merry Christmas.” You giggled, unlocking your door, “Merry Christmas.” He repeated, a grin covering his face as he walked in, your present from him being dragged along as well. You set down the items on your table before turning to your boyfriend, greedily kissing him, “if they asked me where you were one more time I would’ve gone insane.” You groaned, he laughed pulling away from you. “Sorry baby.” He murmured, kissing all over your face, laughing at your protests. “Can I give you your gift first?” You asked giddily, he nodded and set your present down on the coffee table as you told him to sit on the couch. He listened and smiled when you pulled the single box out from under the tree, running over to him like a little kid. You sat beside him, eyeing him as he shook the box, “just open it!” You whined, nudging his shoulder, he pulled your legs across his lap before tearing open the small box. You watched him raise an eyebrow as he popped it open, it was possibly a silly gift, but you figured with the amount of times he had to wear a suit for work, why not give him a little something. He grinned, looking at the cuff links, them being shaped as the number 14, your apartment number, “I love it.” Tito whispered, leaning over to kiss you, “thank you, baby.” He smiled, before handing you yours, it was quite large, but very thin, leaving you confused.

You eyed him, “I saw you looking at them…” he trailed off as you peeled the paper away, your hand shooting to your mouth. A framed poster of the stars, not from the night of thanksgiving, or even your first date, but from the day you moved in. “Tito.” You gasped, tracing over the date with your fingers. “Baby, this is so sweet, thank you so much.” You carefully set it down on the table, moving to straddle him. “I love it, I love you.” You smiled, his arms wrapping around your back, pulling you flush against him.

“I love you, Y/N. The first Christmas of many more to come.”

Taglist: @vinceduhn @vincecdunn @kempe @jackiesquinn @literarycharleton @wtfkie

[marmosa]

if it were up to me.

George Weasley x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 5.8k

Warnings: none!!

A/N: i don’t celebrate christmas, but if you do- merry christmas!!!! i hope this is a lovely treat for all of you that do and don’t celebrate the holiday. i’ve been binge watching the movies with my sibling this past week (we’re on winter break right now) and i was just on a roll (finally got some inspo thank god). but i loved writing this piece and i truly hope you all enjoy reading it just as much as i did writing it. happy holidays to you all, i love you tons <3

***

“Are you busy right now?” 

[y/n] looked up from the papers splayed out over the table in front of her, her lips pursing into a little pout of annoyance at her broken spell of silence. She grit down a sarcastic remark and looked over her shoulder towards the source of the sound, the venom bubbling to the tip of her tongue dissolving in an instant as she put a face to the voice. 

“Ah! George! Um, a little bit, but I have a moment to spare. What do you need?” 

He visibly relaxed when the soft tone of her voice ran through his ears, her inviting smile and outturned posture welcoming him into her space, “I wanted to ask you a question actually.” 

[y/n] furrowed her brows and quirked her head to the side, her brain rapidly noting and filing his odd behavior. George was naturally more calm in his pursuits and actions, well as calm as a Weasley twin could be anyway, but this seemed to her a bit overkill. As he stalked over, she picked up on the way he was wringing his hands and the corners of his smile were twitching. It irked her, but she resigned not to mention it. 

“Well, out with it already! You’re making me nervous just standing there,” she chuckled, using her ankle to pull out the chair next to her, motioning for him to take a seat with a jerk of her chin. 

He let out a puff of air and plopped down next to her, slumping his shoulders into the chair. [y/n] couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her at his display of annoyance, his eyes flickering to her face for what felt like the first time since he approached her. He could feel his smile twitch yet again as he rehearsed what he was supposed to tell her. 

“Okay, well it’s less of a question and more of an explanation and then a query,” he explained, obviously trying to dance around getting to the point. 

“Alright, out with it then,” she nodded, raising her brows with a tilt of her head to edge him on. 

“Uhm, Merlin, he’s a bloody git for making me do this,” George groaned, shielding his face with his hands and lulling his head backwards. 

“Who’s a- George if you keep beating around the bush I’m gonna tune you out and get back to work,” [y/n] huffed, her expression falling into one of mild irritation. 

“Sorry! Sorry- uh, you know Emmett right?” George began, his heart twisting in his chest with every word that started to tumble forth from his mouth. 

“Yeah, we have nearly four classes together. What about him?” 

“Well, uhm, he was too nervous to ask you himself- Hufflepuff and all, so he requested my services during potions. Came up to me, sweating awful bad, red up to his neck, and asked that I ask you if you’d go to Hogsmeade with him this coming week,” George finished the last part with venom biting at his tongue, his retelling obviously botched out of Emmett’s favor. 

[y/n] could feel the embarrassment bleed its way into every single crack of her face, her eyes bulging out of their sockets as her brain drowned in it’s process’. She quickly averted her gaze to the papers next to her, grabbing at some blank parchment and her quill. 

“That- uhm, wow! That’s incredibly sweet of him to ask. However-” 

George felt his heart begin soar at the ‘however’, biting back his extremely obvious shit-eating grin fighting its way onto his face, “Yes?” 

“I was actually hoping someone else would ask me to Hogsmeade, well not necessarily ask, more like officiate it as a date of sorts? I-I don’t know, but I unfortunately can’t accept his offer- lovely as it is! Of course,” she rushed out, chewing on the inside of her cheek to try and soothe the discomfort bubbling in her stomach. 

“So, that’s a no?” George questioned for clarification, more to fan his internal flame of victory than get an answer for the Hufflepuff boy. 

“Yeah, it’s a no- oh! But George, do let him down gently please, I know Emmett and he can be a bit overcritical at times. Just let him know it’s not his fault, I just happen to like someone else,” she trailed off, her eyes glued to her hand that had subconsciously shot forward to squeeze George’s wrist as he stood up to go dutifully deliver her answer. 

“Anything for you,” he finally let his smile crack through, his other hand reaching over and squeezing hers, “See you in the Great Hall?” 

“Yeah,” she nodded, retracting her hand and turning back to her work as George padded away, leaving her to her thoughts. 

As soon as she was sure he was out of ear shot she let out a string of curse words, her head falling forward with a defined thunk, “Merlin, now I can’t finish my work at all.” 

***

“[y/n]! What took you so bloody long?” Esme called out from the table, clambering out of her seat to rush over to her friend who looked more than a little flustered. 

“Oh you know, the usual, running into yet another ridiculous unfathomable situation,” [y/n] shook her head, plopping into her seat. 

“Do tell,” Esme hummed, her lips curled up into an expectant smile. 

“Don’t be shy, give us all the details,” Lucile chirped from across the table, pointing at [y/n] with a fork adorned with a chunk of turkey.

[y/n] looked down and across the table, scanning the area to make sure George and none of his pals were anywhere to be seen. She let out a puff of air as soon as she deduced that the coast was clear, motioning for her friends to huddle in as best they could with their seating arrangement. 

“So you know how I usually spend my free period in the library doing homework, right?” 

The two other girls nodded, Esme already giving [y/n] that cheeky, suggestive grin. [y/n] frowned and shook her off, slapping Esme’s shoulder lightly with a plain ‘ew’. 

“Well George came up to me, acting all the more nervous, completely out of sorts for him-,” 

“A Weasley twin? Nervous? Someone pinch me I must be hearing things,” Lucile whistled, frowning when Esme kicked her leg under to table in a silent warning to watch her volume. 

“And then he spends forever getting to the point of his sudden appearance and it turns out Emmett set him to ask me to go to Hogsmeade with him!” 

“The Hufflepuff?”

“Yes” 

“Well, what did you say?!” Lucile urged, setting her drink down to minimize the splash zone had [y/n] given them a surprising answer. 

“No, of course! You know I like-,” [y/n] whipped her head around, doing yet another sweep of the table to ensure she wouldn’t be heard by the wrong people before dropping her voice to a hush, “you know I like George.” 

“No wonder he was nervous!” Esme threw her hands up, earning herself a few awkward glances from the people seated next to them, “he was worried you’d take up Emmett’s offer.” 

[y/n] could feel that same embarrassment from earlier draw itself taut on her features, as she folded into herself, “That’s a load of rubbish.” 

“No, Esme’s right. If you certain he approached you as awkward and nervous as he was, it’s probably because he didn’t want you to say yes to Emmett’s offer,” Lucile concurred, finally directing her attention back to her meal, “besides, I passed him and Lee in the hall earlier and I caught your name.” 

“What-?” [y/n] coughed, nearly choking on her food at Leslie’s far to casual mention of this piece of information. 

“Yeah and then when they saw me they went all quiet and headed the opposite direction of me,” Leslie nodded, biting back an amused smile as she watched [y/n] literally melt in on herself in real time. 

“You’re bluffing! That’s great news innit! Come on [y/n] you’ve gotta let yourself accept that he likes you,” Esme clicked her tongue, elbowing her in the side gently. 

“I won’t because it’s not true. Besides, we’re already going as friends and I think that’s quite alright for me,” [y/n] shook her head, shrugging off Esme’s side eye and disproving frown. 

“Whatever you say, Ms. denial,” Lucile grumbled, pouring some more gravy over her turkey. 

“If you don’t quit picking on me I’m going to head off to the dormitories and forget this interaction ever happened,” [y/n] deadpanned, crossing her arms over her chest with a pout. 

“We wouldn’t have to pick on you if you’d just admit that he likes you already!” Esme nearly shouted, sinking into herself slightly when Lucile took her turn reminding her to watch her volume. 

“What’s all this about picking on [y/n]?” 

[y/n]’s face went slack with horror, as her nerves painted themselves plainly obvious on her features. She passed Lucile a pleading look not to mention anything, and Esme didn’t need to be told twice simply by the waves of terror rolling off of [y/n]. 

“Just teasing her for the whole Emmett thing, it’s quite funny if you ask me. Poor lad will just have to find someone else, but so’s life,” Esme chuckled, scooting to the side to make room between her and [y/n] for George to take a seat. 

“Exactly, that’s what I said! Which, by the way, he took the let down very nicely [y/n]. So don’t go beating yourself up over something you couldn’t help,” George mentioned, reaching around [y/n]’s shoulder to give her a squeeze. 

“Thanks George, I appreciate it,” [y/n] smiled, ducking her head slightly to try and conceal the water building up in her eyes purely from nerves. 

“He’s a Hufflepuff, he’ll cry it out, get a few hugs from his pals and move on with it,” Lee noted from across the table, he and Fred taking liberty to sandwich Lucile between them. 

“Aside from him, we heard you already had a fancy in mind- is that true [y/n]?” Fred added, leaning his chin onto his hand, a devilish quirk to his grin. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” [y/n] snipped back, sticking out her tongue in defiance, “Why are we even concerned with my love life anyway? Esme might be going with Dina, Lucile has got her hands full of potential suitors, Lee’s got his dates for the next month planned, Fred is practically tripping over himself for his newest infatuation, and George’s got- wait, what’ve you got George?” 

It was George’s turn to feign embarrassment, the red slowly seeping up his neck until it overtook his entire face, “Well, nothing in particular actually, it’s quite complicated-,” 

“Complicated in that his crush is shy and he’s shy and they’re both hopeless but he’d kill me if I tried to help, so we’re all just waiting for a miracle to drop from the sky,” Fred sighed dramatically, reaching across the table to snatch a roll from one of the quickly emptying break baskets. 

“When you put it that way it sounds lame,” George grumbled, passing his brother a bitter look, “It doesn’t matter anyway. Hogsmeade is just a bit of holiday magic, something could happen at any time.” 

“He does make a point there,” Lucile chimed in, nodding her head in agreement.

“Oh for Merlin’s sake, you’re literally living your own version of The Bachelorette- if I can recall that’s what my cousin told me. Anyhow, if anyone needs a bit of holiday magic it certainly isn’t you,” Esme giggled, wiggling her eyebrows at Lucile’s less than amused expression. 

“What’s this Bachelorette you mentioned all about?” Fred quipped, his eyes sparkling with interest. 

“You’d certainly enjoy it, Fred. What with your lifestyle of charm and dazzling your fancies and all,” Esme hummed. 

“Did you just call me a slag?” Fred gasped, faux hurt painted across his face. 

“I did nothing of the sort! Don’t you put words in my mouth,” Esme threatened, pointing an accusing finger at Fred. 

George rolled his eyes at his friends’ antics and decided now was a great a time as any to slip away while everyone was distracted. He carefully elbowed [y/n] who was thoroughly amused with the electric banter flying across the table, her head snapping to the side at his redirection of her attention. 

He mouthed a silent ‘want to get out of here?” to which she responded with an eager nod. George’s smile widened and her made quick work of maneuvering his long limbs out of the table, offering a helping hand to [y/n] shortly after gaining his bearings. 

The two began to head off but not without Lucile calling after them, “Where are the two of you headed!?” 

[y/n] swiveled around with a messily concealed expression of excitement, offering their friends nothing more than a bouncy shrug of her shoulders before she turned back around and quickened her pace to match George’s. 

The cacophony of sounds echoing from the Great Hall slowly trickled down to nothing but a dull murmur, the occasional hallway conversation the only discernible noise through the sleepy castle. 

“So, I take it you needed a breather after that harsh interrogation,” George began, burying his hands into the pockets of his robes. 

“You wouldn’t believe. I swear they were moments away from drilling me for my Ministry administered ID,” [y/n] giggled, shaking her head, “honestly, you’d think they’d get tired of asking a question they never get an answer too.” 

“Very much so. Maybe it’s just blind optimism and a bit of hope that one day they’ll chip away enough at it that you’ll just give in and admit it,” He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders, “But who knows.” 

[y/n] hummed in agreement, pulling her robes tighter around her body to try and hoard every last sliver of heat she could as they wandered the corridors of the castle, “so, what’d you drag me out here to do?”

“Truthfully I just wanted to get out of there, I had no general plan in mind. But hey! I’m a Weasley, we’ll find something to do soon enough,” He grinned ear to ear, making a show of his jazz hands. 

“I’d usually recommend going out to sit under the stars but the snow and cloudy sky do make that a very unpleasant option,” she sighed, blowing out a puff of air from between her lips. 

“Oh! I know, I have the perfect idea,” He exclaimed giddily, “I know you’re going to start out opposed but hear me out.”

George grabbed her hands and drew her to the side, huddling his shoulder to try and minimize his size to capitalize on whatever privacy they had made for themselves in the tiny little niche in the wall. 

“It’s not against the rules is it?” [y/n] questioned, a concerned quirk in her brow. 

“Not entirely,” He trailed off, trying his best to reel her back on board when she looked more than a bit opposed, “But it won’t get us in trouble- or not a lot of trouble, at least. If anything happens I’ll take the blame, I swear on Godric Gryffindor himself.” 

“Fine, fine, tell me your idea,” she giggled, drawing her lip between her teeth to try and get her bubbly laughter under control. 

“Okay, so you know all those dusty, old, empty classrooms on the upper levels?” He paused, waiting for her nod of conformation, “well, they just so happen to be the perfect place to practice charms, spells, and the newest collection of Weasley Wizard Wheeze’s.” 

“You’re letting me see the new line?” [y/n] gasped with glee, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. 

“Not necessarily new, more like a final product. But more or less yes,” He nodded eagerly, his hair shaking with the aggressive movement. 

“Well, what’re you waiting for? Lead the way!” 

“Say no more.” 

***

“You were not lying when you said these places were dusty,” [y/n] coughed, fanning the invisible particles from out of her face, taking in the clothed furniture and dim windows. 

“It’s not the brightest place, but it’s not too shabby either! Watch this,” George muttered a spell and flicked his wand, all the candles and wall fixtures flickering to life before them.  

[y/n] turned to him with an impressed look, her arms crossed over her chest in pride, “Since when have you paid any attention in charms?” 

“Since forever! I don’t know what you’re talking about,” He rolled his eyes, getting on his hands and knees to search under the furniture for his hidden treasure, “ah ha!” 

“What’ve you found?” She quipped, jogging over to help him with whatever his search had brought him. 

“The new line of course,” He grinned, handing her a lovely orange and purple box, pushing himself off the floor to dust the particles off his robes, “Do ya like the packaging?” 

“It’s certainly bright,” She nodded, lifting the box up slightly to examine the bottom, “I like the ribbon though, it’s a beautiful shade of purple.” 

George felt his smile soften as he reached forward and pulled the ribbon loose from the box, dangling it in front of her, “Well then it’s yours.” 

“Really?” She asked softly, setting down the box, taking the soft piece of fabric from him. 

“Of course. It’d probably end up in the trash anyway. It’d look much lovelier in whatever way you intend to put it to use,” He grinned, leaning against the desk that held the box. 

“Thank you,” She muttered sheepishly, reaching behind her to tie up a section of her hair, “I love it already.” 

George could feel the blood rushing to his ears as he looked at her with pure adoration, his heart drumming against his ribcage so aggressively he was sure it was going to beat right out onto that dusty floor. 

“S’no problem,” He tipped his head forward courteously, “now, you wanna try out some Wheezes?”

“You bet I do.” 

***

“I can’t believe you guys managed to make all this stuff!” [y/n] squealed in childlike delight as she pulled yet another one of their confetti party favors, the confetti charmed to bloom into flowers as soon as they hit the ground. 

“It’s our passion, the thing we love most. I’m just glad it’s having its desired effect,” George chuckled, stomping on the now empty box of trinkets to flatten it out. 

“You guys are some of the most talented people I know. You’re incredible George,” She breathed, reaching down to pick up one of the confetti flowers, stroking its petals ever so carefully. 

George felt time stop. Her words looping in his mind like a broken record, her rolled up sleeves, out of place hair, and gentle handling of the flower an image he was never going to burn from his mind. He felt as if he could scoop her up right there and consume her in a hug so strong she’d melt into his arms and never leave them. 

[y/n] glanced over her shoulder at George, who was sitting crisscross on one of the desks they’d uncovered. Her smile faltered when she noted the way he was looking at her, a far-away look in his eyes and a weird quirk to his lips. She was suddenly extremely self-conscious under his gaze and she quickly straightened out her posture, coughing as if to clear her throat. 

“I look rather unkempt now, huh? Reckon I was having a bit too much fun,” She chuckled quietly, clicking her heels together. 

“You look fine,” George spoke up, suddenly in front of her. 

“You’re just saying that to be nice, I know there’s probably confetti in my hair or ash on my cheeks,” She shook her head, eyes flickering to meet his. 

Her heart nearly stopped, his gaze so intense it made her want to sink so far into herself that she just disappeared and never returned. She wanted to know what he was thinking, what had him so trained on her. It was almost certain in her mind that there was something up with her appearance. 

“Well?” She asked, trying to coerce some words out of him. 

“S’just a little smudge of ash, right here-,” He squinted, reaching forward and swiping his thumb right on the apple of her cheek, letting his hand linger on her face a little longer than it needed to. 

“Oh- thanks,” She swallowed, sounding far too breathless for her comfort, but pretending to not notice just how obviously out of sorts she was feeling. 

“No problem.” 

The two stood side by side in their own little world for what felt like forever, until [y/n] felt the bubble of words lodged in her throat finally pop and surge forward, “are you going to Hogsmeade with anyone?” 

Her brain immediately wanted to back peddle and come up with some shitty excuse as to why she asked such an out of place question, but it was near impossible now as George was already jumping to answer her question. 

“I was thinking it was just going to be Fred, Lee, and I. Maybe we’d run into you and your friends. Like every year. But-,” He shrugged, “I was kind of hoping for something else this time ‘round.” 

“Something else?” She echoed. 

“Like a date,” He continued.

“Anyone in mind?” 

George fell silent, offering her nothing more than a silent nod. Because when it came down to it, admitting feelings for someone when they were right in front of your face seemed more daunting than anything. 

[y/n] nodded and shuffled off to retrieve her things, straightening out her dress shirt and pulling on her robes. She could hear George behind her doing the same, a soft gust of wind letting her know he was also tending to the aftermath of their games. 

“Thanks for inviting me out to do this, it was fun,” She spoke up, still not daring to look up from her hands, continuing to pretend that she was still busy fixing her attire. 

“Anytime,” He replied, waving his wand to send the trash to the bin, ‘you’re always welcome to have fun with me.” 

“Good to know,” she hummed softly, “well, I don’t know what your plans for the night are, but I best be getting to bed.” 

George wanted to say something, anything, to try and make it clear that she was the girl he was thinking about. That she was the one he wanted to take to Hogsmeade on a date. That she was the one he wanted to drink butterbeer with, buy a cute gift for, play in the snow with, and then cuddle by the fire after it all. It was always her he wanted to do those things with. Always. 

But his words failed him once more and he finished the last of his cleaning, offering her a small gesture of farewell, “I have to find Fred and Lee, we sort of planned for something later tonight, so...”

“I understand. You lot are always having far more fun than you should be,” She giggled softly, “But I’ll be off then, I don’t want to worry Esme.” 

“Yeah, don’t keep her waiting. Merlin knows she’d have my head if she found out I was responsible for getting you in trouble,” He snickered. 

“That is very much true, she certainly would do that. Anyway, Goodnight George,” [y/n] waved him goodbye, shutting the classroom door behind her with a click. 

***

“You look far too down in the dumps for the night before Hogsmeade, what’s got you so low?” Esme questioned, hopping over the top of the sofa and sliding down next to [y/n]. 

“It’s nothing, really, I’m not upset, just sleepy,” [y/n] assured, shaking her head with a weak smile. 

“I know you and I know a liar when I see one. Come on, out with it, before I go get Lucile to talk your brains out,” Esme huffed, scooting closer and wrapping her arms around [y/n], “you can talk to me y’know.” 

“I know. It’s just-,” [y/n] sighed, letting herself relax into her friends embrace, “Everyone kept saying George liked me and I was really hoping he would’ve built the nerve to ask me to Hogsmeade. But it seems like I was right, and he doesn’t like me that way. I’m sorry to bore you with this topic again, it seems like the only thing we’ve spoken about for the past couple of days, but I- I just wished you guys had been right about us.” 

Esme could feel the sadness building up in [y/n] by the quiver in her voice and softening of her tone. It broke her heart to see her friend so distraught, especially over something as trivial as a boy. But she knew well enough herself how much these sorts of things meant to her and her friends and despite her urge to tell [y/n] to just push him out and party, she knew that would be of no help.

“I understand darling,” Esme cooed, squeezing [y/n]’s shoulder, “and I’m sorry things turned this way. But remember, we’re all going to spend time together tomorrow with our favorite candies and drinks, near the crackling fire with the winter blizzard swirling outside. It’s going to be lovely and just like George himself said, a little holiday magic isn’t the only opportunity to confess your feelings.” 

[y/n] giggled through her sniffles, rubbing her fists into her eyes to try and dissipate the tears that had welled up in her eyes. She knew Esme was right and though all she could feel was a dull hole in her chest at the prospect of only meeting George as a friend tomorrow, she knew Hogsmeade in itself never disappointed. 

“You’re right, no more tears from me, I promise,” [y/n] smiled.

“You better not, tomorrow is about fun, now off to bed! We’ve got a day ahead of us tomorrow!” 

***

The Three Broomsticks bustled with business, students of every kind huddled together with glasses of butterbeer engaged in cheery conversation. The three girls had found themselves tucked off in a cozy little corner, giggling about something or other, lips covered in foam. 

“And that’s when I turned to him and told him to shut his mouth before we both got caught and ended up in detention,” Lucile exclaimed, throwing her hands up and falling back against her chair. 

“Scandal!” Esme and [y/n] gasped, exchanging looks of intrigued horror. 

“There’s no way he did that, not-,” [y/n] stifled a laugh, dropping her tone to a hush “not in the common room.” 

“Oh, but he did!” Lucile broke into another fit of laughter, her head hitting the table with a thunk as she struggled to real herself back in.  

[y/n] finally got a grip of her laughter, trying to equalize her breathing pattern as she scanned the restaurant for familiar faces, her cheery disposition quickly dying out as she recognized the patrons who’d just entered the shop. 

Esme picked up on her change of manner and reached across the table, squeezing her hand with a reassuring smile, “It’ll be fine.” 

[y/n] returned a weak smile and nod, “I know. Don’t worry about me.” 

The three girls sobered themselves up as Lee, George, and Fred made their way over to the table all with cheery grins plastered on their faces. 

“Well ladies, how’s Hogsmeade been treating you so far?” Fred inquired, sliding into the booth next to Esme, Lee following suit.

“You know, gossip, jokes, more gossip-,” Lucile began, giggling at the looks the boys gave them. 

“And lots of butterbeer,” [y/n] added, raising her glass in the air. 

“Speaking of butterbeer, here comes our order,” George noted, rubbing his hands together happily as he slid in next to [y/n] and Lucile. 

“Lovely timing,” Fred noted, the table erupting in a cacophony of ‘thank you’s.

The table broke out into conversation, some involving everyone and others only demanding the attention of a few. Amusement, horror, anger, and disgust all adorned their features as they cycled through topics, never at a shortage of something to grace the table with. 

As time passed they found themselves outside, discussing where to head off to next, everyone with hopes of their own for the rest of the day. It ended up being decided that Esme and Lee would head off to the Sweet’s shop, Lucile and Fred would make a stop at the Instrumental shop for some personal supplies, and  [y/n] and George would be at the bookstore. Then they’d all meet up at one of the gift shops to search for some small gifts and knick-knacks. 

Before they all headed on their own separate ways, Esme made sure to give [y/n] a tight hug and some reassuring words. The group split and left each other to their own devices before they were to regroup. 

“Is there any book you’re looking for in particular?” George asked, quick to keep their dialogue going. 

“Well not really, I’m actually looking for a few bookmarks and some new pens and such. The bookstore has a lovely selection there, so,” [y/n] explained, glad he shouldered the burden of lighting a conversation. 

“That’s nice, reminds me that I do need some new quills. I have gone through far too many for comfort, my mum is going to gut me when we head home for break,” he chuckled, shaking his head with a shudder. 

“Come on, she cant be that bad. Besides, I know a spell to fix them right up, if you ever need it.”

“First off thank you, I appreciate it. Secondly, if you’re so sure you should come over during the holiday’s, meet her for yourself.”

“Are you inviting me over for Holiday break?” She asked, surprise evident in her tone. 

“I guess I am,” He chuckled, “Only if you want to, of course.” 

“I’d be delighted to join your family for the holidays.”

“Terrific! I’ll send an owl to my mum as soon as we return to the castle!” 

The book store run didn’t last for very long considering they both had an idea of exactly what they needed, the only dallied around the new shipment of quills that were fancifully decorated, as the glitter was hardly something anyone could resist. They paid for their things and stepped back out into the frigid cold, the snow surprisingly calming down quite a bit considering they’d expected it to only turn up. 

“Hm, it seems we still have a decent amount of time to spare,” George muttered, glancing down at his wrist watch. 

“What should we do? I doubt the others are finished,” [y/n] exhaled, the plume of air dancing in front of her before blending in with the rest of the atmosphere. 

“I have an idea, but you’re going to have to trust me,” He perked up, that same giddy excitement from the night before written all over his face. 

“As long as you’re not dragging me to the Shrieking Shack, I’m more than happy to come along.” 

“Brilliant, alright then, follow me!” 

***

“Oh, Merlin!” 

[y/n] gaped at the scenery, her eyes bulging out of her head as she took in the beauty around her. The trees towered high over them, covered in sheets of snow, the green peaking out as if to remind them that it was still persisting through the cold. A few patches here and there of purple flowers that had withstood the freezing cold, poking out from under the snow. A lone bench poised in the center of it all, the entire place feeling like a little nook they could call their own. 

“This place is gorgeous George! How ever did you find it?” She breathed, absolutely enamored with the way everything looked. 

“You’d be surprised what you can find with a few years of exploring and adventuring under your belt,” He nodded, a sense of pride swelling in his chest at her display of wonder. 

“Yet again, you are absolutely incredible George,” She said, more to herself than him, but still managing to get him flustered.

“I’m glad you like it, I’d hoped you would. Wanna take a seat?”

“Oh, sure!” 

She staggered over, dragging her feet through the thick layers of snow towards the bench, pulling out her wand to mutter an incantation so that the snow on the bench melted away, leaving it clean and dry for them to sit on. She plopped down with a huff of content, her legs finally getting a break from all their heaving in their monstrous snow boots.  

“I’ve always wanted to bring someone here, y’know,” George sighed, setting his bag of stuff down between his feet. 

“Am I-?” 

“The first person I’ve brought here? Yeah,” He nodded, a small smile unconsciously pushing its way onto his lips. 

“I- I don’t know what to say,” She nearly whispered, taken aback with just how forward he was being and just how lucky of a position she was in, “thank you George.” 

“Of course,” He grinned at her, his cheeks red from the blistering cold. 

“Hey George?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Can I kiss you?” 

His smile faltered and his eyes widened as he processed her request. 

“It’s totally fine if you don’t want to, I just thought I’d ask, because I got a feeling-,” She went off, trying to save whatever was left of her dignity. 

“[y/n]!” He grabbed her face, turning her head so she was facing him again, “you can.” 

He pulled her into him, their lips connecting in a sweet exchange. She felt her bag slide out of her lap as she scooted closer to him, her arms wrapping around his torso, trying to pull him into her the best she could with their awkward positioning. He did the same, pressing into the curve of her body as he held her face like if he let go she’d vanish. 

It was a soft and drawn out kiss, the two finally reveling in the fact that they’d both gotten what they’d so desperately wanted all this time. George could practically feel himself going lightheaded from just how overwhelmed he was. 

When they pulled away, he had that same grin, giddy joy practically radiating off of him, “You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that.” 

“Me too,” she giggled, unwrapping her arms from around him to reach forward and tuck his stray hairs back under his hat. 

“Can we do it again?” He asked, eyes wide with childlike anticipation. 

“You can do it as much as you’d like, darling. I’m all yours from here on out,” She hummed, slinging her arms around his neck

“Absolutely wicked! Now c’mere, love.”

[bluepenguinstories]

Remoras Full Chapter XL: Please Don’t Take My Sunshine Away

I

There’s that old saying: “things get worse before they get better.”

Perhaps that’s true. It is in most cases. But then there was also that one about calms before storms. Sometimes it could be hard to tell which phrase applied when.

Is it over? At last? I thought when the sky cleared and the frozen mashed potato landscape I came to know as snow lit up and an orange warm glow lit up in the distance.

I remember how I took what must have been the largest sigh of relief. For the rest of the day, even for a few days, it really felt like it was all over.

Scared refugees, people who once may have known a sense of normalcy, all huddled in fear. They too changed their tune once the beauty such a cold and barren place could bring. Less scared, more excited. Some were hesitant, yes, but a good few got up, headed for the door.

“Wait!” I snapped.

Two, no, three of them, looked my way. Both in confusion and horror at the sharpness of my tone. I too was a little startled even though I had grown used to it at that point.

“We don’t know how long it will last, or if it’s truly over,” I explained to them.

“Oh, come on!” An older man complained, thin gray hairs on an otherwise bald head. He looked grizzled, like someone who would have worked in a mine, or a construction site. Burly, with a wide stance, grit teeth.

He was the first, but the others began stirring up a commotion as well.

“We can’t just wait! If it’s going to get worse, we should go before it happens!”

“You can’t keep us here forever!”

Do you even think I want you here?

More was spoken, but each turn of phrase was drowned out by another. It turned into a storm.

“Go ahead and die, then, if you’re so eager to!” I was so tempted to say, but I hadn’t yet reached such a point. Instead, I turned to Wendy, who was seated somewhat toward the back, in the second booth. She looked listless, like she was staring off into space. From what I knew of her, it was more the opposite: she was gauging the situation.

“Wendy, can you take these people to the airport? After that, you can go wherever you want,” I instructed for her, as if it were some mission and I was the one at the helm.

Her face was still fixed on nowhere in particular, like it was focused on a speck of dust on a counter top. However, her eyes, ever slight in motion, turned my way. Then, a hint of a smile could have been traced upon her face.

“Are you sure that’s a risk you’re willing to take?” Her cinnamon-like voice rasped out the question.

Of course I’m not sure, but I don’t want to live without taking risks.

“Yes. If it gets bad again, I’ll reach out to you,” I answered after a moment of silence.

“How will you reach out to me?” Her voice was less husky that time, more absent, like one gets late into a tiring night.

I don’t know how. I’m in a constant state of not knowing enough and it’s too much.

“I’ll figure out a way,” I assured her.

She stood up and walked toward the door. Her arm raised and she made little waving motions in the air both as a playful gesture of goodbye as well as a motion for everyone who wasn’t Sunny, Tigershark, or I to head to the door.

“Bye sword lady!” Tigershark waved back to Wendy.

“Thanks for your help,” Sunny added in. Both of them stood beside me near the kitchen. For those precious few months where we had to scramble to deal with everything, it was Tigershark in the kitchen while Sunny and I took turns watching everyone in the dining area and passing around food. In a way, if not for the horrible circumstances, it would have been nostalgic. Like how so many years ago, I was in the kitchen while Sunny and Elodie, just a small creature, took orders and served the patrons.

It’s been too long since this place was an actual restaurant. And it may never be one of those ever again.

When everyone left, the three of us remained inside, hesitant. Even small Tigershark, with her joyous energy, was fixated on the window. None of us could pull ourselves away, and it made it hard to understand where to go from there.

Then, naive as we were, the next day came: clear skies once more. Sharp and coarse freezing air greeted us when we opened the front door and stuck our hands through as a meager test. It felt like the deepest layer of hell. In other worse, paradise.

Joyous rapture, Tigershark ran toward the back to grab her parka, then headed out the front door.

“Don’t stray too far!” Sunny called after her.

“I won’t! I just want to play in the snow!”

Again, we were so naive.

Sunny and I spent much of that afternoon in each other’s arms. Careless, we both fell asleep against each other at one of the booths, our faces pressed against the window. When we awoke, the fog had returned. At first, we thought it was just our breaths and condensation. But then we saw that void, that vapid nothingness. Neither light nor dark. Just inescapable gray blurs spilled over the sky.

We bolted out of our seats.

“Where’s Tigershark?” Sunny asked.

“Good question…” I squinted, then pulled my glasses from out of my lapel.

The two of us searched high and low throughout the diner with no success. The only place we avoided was the basement. Such a silly place to overlook, but as it turns out…

The diner’s front door flapped open and slammed against the wall adjacent. We ran in its direction and what burst forth from the door was the hooded figure of a redheaded devil, one who ran into my arms as I knelt down. There were cuts all over her face and she looked frostbitten; an uncontrollable stiffness covered her, almost blue in the face, and the only thing which helped animate her, brought her to life, were the tears which flooded her eyes.

“Where were you?” I asked, and by no means did I intend for my words to be harsh, yet the tone suggested anger rather than worry. All the same, I held her tight.

“I’m sorry!” She wailed and sniffled. I rubbed her back. “I ran off and before I knew it, the fog came back!”

“Don’t be sorry,” I tried to reassure her, “none of us knew it would come back.”

Although I had my suspicions.

“We were just worried, is all,” Sunny added, who stood beside me, and soon dropped to her knees as well. Within the minute, all three of us were huddled together.

Once Tigershark calmed herself down, as did Sunny and I, she explained everything:

“I wanted to run to Remora’s house. I thought maybe she was back there, you know, like how things were in the beginning when she would go back and forth. I know she said it burned down, but I found it, and yes, everything was burned inside, but it still stood.”

“I had no idea,” my words, a near whisper. I wonder if Remora ever revisited that house, or if she left it behind for good.

“There wasn’t a trace of her. There wasn’t much of anything,” Tigershark went on, a sniffle here and there, “I knew she probably wasn’t...but I just thought…”

“Why?” It sprung out. No elaboration. Tigershark broke away, looked at Sunny and I both.

“She saved me, right? When there was that blizzard that took my parents! So, maybe, she’d be there to save us again, and all I would have to do would be to tell her about the fog.”

I shook my head.

“I’m sorry. I wish it worked that way.”

“Hey, that was a dangerous thing to do, but I can see why you’d think that,” Sunny snapped her fingers, “now come on, try and give me a big smile!”

To demonstrate, Sunny smiled wide. Tigershark, well, she tried, but her lips shook, and it wasn’t for the cold, but for her emotions at play. When I thought she would bawl again, she instead sucked up some air, then let out a deep breath.

“I don’t remember everything and I don’t know if I ever will but I remember my name. I remember I’m Rotellina Littlewheel.”

It seemed so random for her to say, but when she told me her given name, it all clicked: the researcher couple, the Littlewheels. Mead and Ginny Littlewheel. Mead had hair like honey, always wore those stiff scrub-like lab coats and had a drunken posture to him. He always ordered the usual: turkey leg, scrambled ostrich eggs, and buttered brioche toast. Then Ginny, a sweet woman who had a preoccupied mind. Always had research on the back of her mind. Always changed up her dish, but if I had to not a common food of hers, it would have to have been biscuits and gravy with chocolate potato cake.

Those two, while not eccentric, brought me a mild interest. Especially how they mentioned anomalies, like animals which shouldn’t have existed in this environment, or caves which seemed to have sprung up from thin air. I should have known something was up when they stopped showing up, but I just figured they were busy. Maybe there was a partial truth to that, at least up to their deaths.

“Yes, I’ve met your parents before,” I told the child.

“You have?” Tigershark’s jaw dropped.

Sunny nodded and added:

“We both did. I was always just passing by, but they were neat people. I remember them mentioning having a daughter, but they never showed any pictures.”

“Indeed,” I corroborated Sunny’s explanation, “I told them they should bring their daughter sometime and Ginny would tell me that they’d love to, if they could ever find a break from work.”

“So we could have still met!” Tigershark’s eyes lit up.

“Yes, if only under better circumstances.”

She shook her head.

“Still. I’m glad Remora found me. I’m glad I found all of you. She probably didn’t think about it. I know she wasn’t my parents, she wasn’t even much of a sister sometimes, but I still care about her and I still miss her.”

“We all do,” I assured her.

“Can you guys keep calling me Tigershark? It’s important to me,” she seemed to change the subject just as fast.

“Of course, dear,” Sunny and I spoke in unison.

It’s funny to think that even that was a pleasant memory compared to what was to come. I wasn’t sure, it must have been gradual, but it didn’t feel that way. My reaction to the change in environment felt like a shoe which I already knew would fit without even having to try it on.

We went now, more than a year after such a mess. Almost a year and a half had passed and I grew to resembled what lay outside the diner. I found myself shattered, fragments, glass shards of whatever it was I once was.

Tigershark, herself, came to understand the importance of staying inside. Her injuries that day had been all the proof she needed. Ever since, she kept herself laser focused on cooking and baking in the kitchen for all of our inhabitants.

I tapped the door to the kitchen with the back of my hand. Those days, I was a man of few words, save to complain about how my life had ended up.

Tigershark stood on a stool, stirring a giant bowl of mashed potatoes.

I wished to wave to her, say something, anything, but I didn’t. I just let the door close and walk past.

“Order up!” She yelled, and even with the incessant chatter from those who took up residence, her voice rose past them all.

As I looked out among the crowd with their concerns and uproar, I wondered what kind of role I had put myself in: was I really to be a leader when I couldn’t even keep my own morale high? Sunny continued to be in high spirits, her laughing and telling stories to the folks beside her. But it must have been forced, right? There was no way to be in denial of such a situation, yet I had succumbed to the pressure of trying to keep everything together while she was her usual self. I didn’t hate her for it, but I could no longer envy her either. Like it or not, I had to be the person I became, because the one who tried to be a ray of sunshine was as good as dead.

There went Astraea, the mysterious child-like figure with the spider-silk hair which seemed to take on a life of its own with the way it flew back in every direction as she walked. She walked past me, not even commenting on my blank stare, and went into the kitchen to get the food from Tigershark to take to the others. While there was always something off about her, both in speech and action, I allowed her to work as a waitress. Child labor laws aside, it could have been a sign of either my passivity or my desperation to have something resembling a functional system.

Beside Astraea, followed the sister of silence, Sister Cecilia. Another mysterious force to which I just didn’t care enough to look into, let alone give her much thought. She insisted on working, but I couldn’t imagine why. If I was someone seeking shelter, wouldn’t it have been enough just to know that I was taken care of?

Then again, everyone is different and I can’t expect to understand the perspective of everyone I meet.

That was the first thought. Then came the second thought:

Nor would I want to know everyone.

Despite that thought, there were things that I wanted to know. Things which refused to make themselves known to me. Long hours I spent at my desk in the back, just pondering, and trying to piece together a puzzle with nary a clue in sight.

First the strange things in the arctic, then the trap in the mansion. Remora suspected it to be a cosmic entity before her dismissal. Wendy later claimed it had to be the work of a cosmic entity once she saw the fog. But she also said they had to represent an emotion. So then, what? Every act that could have been linked to this possible ‘entity’ has been random. With the mansion it was ‘consume others and drain them of their sense of self’, with the beasts that looked like an amalgamation of various animals which shouldn’t fit together, and then this fog, a still nothingness which injures anyone who walks through. If one were to stay in there long enough –

I’d shake my head at my desk.

If it was just the thing with the mansion, I’d ask myself, “is hunger an emotion?” True, hunger is a feeling, but so are other physiological responses. With all the things that don’t add up, however, it does bring to mind cosmic entities, but not the kind Wendy described. When it came to things like Cthulhu or Yog-Sothoth, the whole point was that they were beyond comprehension, beyond understanding. But in that sense, wouldn’t the thing at the mansion fit, or at least fit the idea people have when they think of such things? Some incomprehensible beast with infinite knowledge? It was like how some would perceive such a being to be.

So maybe it all came down to perception: the mansion itself was perceived to be haunted, when really there was something far worse. That there would be penguins appear in the arctic is like how some might mistake the arctic for the antarctic region. Those creatures? It was like a mash up of what was ‘supposed’ to appear. Then, the fog...maybe like a blizzard without the winds and snow, but the danger that comes with a blizzard?

Gah. That didn’t quite add up either. I thought I was on the right track, and maybe I was, but it was still just a little out of my reach.

Something that is perceived to be, but off.

There was that other thing Wendy said, and when I thought about it, something clicked: they usually possessed a human host, and that everything that happened seemed deliberate, targeted, even, then it must have been someone under its influence.

If not for their deaths, I would have suspected that ‘Cronus’ fellow, or whoever it was Remora encountered and fought in the cave. Maybe they were hosts, in their own way, but it could have been that they weren’t the main one. So if there was a main one…

There were two immediate suspects.

She appeared a few weeks after the activity picked back up and more strangers had taken shelter. It was early spring and not long after I explained the situation to Cybele. There was no warning, and in fact, she showed up with a bubbly sing-song expression and a wide grin upon her face. It would have been normal, even welcome, if not for the danger which lurked outside.

“Astraea has arrived!” She announced herself and strolled through the dining hall. Odder still was her attire: a plain white T-shirt which stretched past her knees with the characters ‘せいそ’ written in the middle and a fashionable pair of skinny jeans. She had a brown bag with a strap over her shoulder, and a plush toy of some character from something poking their head out from the bag.

One patron, despite their mortified expression from what might have been terror at the thought that leaving the door open could ‘let in’ whatever was outside, got up to close the door that Astraea had left hanging open. For her part, she turned around and swayed her head across the room.

“Wow! There are many humans here!” She remarked. Then, she turned back to face me. “And, who might you be?” She stood on her tiptoes and looked up. In turn, I looked down, scratched my chin, and grasped at straws for an answer.

“I’m confused,” I replied, “where are your parents? Why did you come alone?”

She closed her eyes and shook her head, though continued to look up.

“I have been told about those, but have none. As for why I came alone, it’s because I did not come with anyone else!”

That’s too obvious of an answer. Like asking why something was round and being told “because it’s not flat.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have come alone. It’s dangerous out there.”

Maybe that should have been a sign. Others have come alone, yes, but…

“And why is that, Confused? By the way, you have an interesting name. I have never thought to be an adjective before, let alone a mood.”

“Uh, no. My name is Ray Sunshine.”

“Ah –” She let out a sound, sure to have had more to say, but Tigershark ran out at full speed.

“Astraea!” Tigershark yelled and her arms were raised high.

“Me!” Astraea replied, and the two embraced for a hug.

“Right,” I adjusted the cuff of my suit, “I’ll leave you two to your reunion.”

“Ray! This is Astraea!” Tigershark let go and turned to me. “I told you about her, remember?”

“Yes, and now I’ve met her.”

“What have you been up to all this time?” She turned back to Astraea.

“Well...I walked to this place called Japan and I tried singing some songs and then these guys in suits found me and recorded me doing karaoke and people started calling me an ‘idol’ and some even said I was their goddess, and I think they were a little confused, so I went on record and told them: ‘There has been a mistake. Astraea is not a goddess, Astraea is a human. Therefore I am leaving. Bye.’ After that, I decided to walk around a bit and now I am here.”

“Wow! How much of that is true?” Tigershark’s arms were pressed together in joy as she stood in awe of such a tale.

“Yes,” Astraea replied.

“I’m really happy to see you, but I won’t have much time to spend with you, I’m afraid,” Tigershark broke the news.

“Why?” Astraea tilted her head and looked puzzled.

“Because I have to cook for all these people!”

“Why do you have to?”

“You don’t,” I cut in, “your friend’s right. You’re free to enjoy yourself if you’d like. I can take over.”

“No! I need to help too! I like cooking and I don’t want you to be stressed about everything!”

I took a step back and my head jerked back as well. My eyes widened, and for a second, I wanted to thank her. Instead, I pressed my glasses up, then cleared my throat.

“I see. Very well.”

“So it has come to this,” Astraea closed her eyes and smiled, then pointed at Tigershark, the tip of her finger almost at Tigershark’s nose, “if I wish to spend the most time with you, how may I do so?”

“I’ve got an idea! You can be a waitress!” Sunny got up from whatever seat she had been at. “Sorry! I couldn’t help but overhear the whole thing!”

“She’s a kid,” I pointed out, “besides, does she know how to do that?”

Astraea shook her head and smiled wide.

“I do not know how to do a waitress,” she stated, her breathy words floated out from her.

“Then I don’t see a point,” I concluded.

“I can teach her,” Sunny was insistent.

“Fine, do what you want,” I waved off, then began to walk to the back.

“Hey!” Sunny called after me.

“What?”

“You’ve got people helping out. I know this is difficult to deal with, but you’re not alone. There’s Wendy, Tigershark, and I. Hell, there’s even Aurora. Yes, our resources may slowly deplete and we didn’t expect to deal with such a thing, but isn’t it more manageable with others helping out? So one more person should be fine, yes?”

You don’t understand. I’d rather have been alone.

“Sure,” I shrugged and walked off.

Nothing has changed since then. No, that’s not true. Little has changed since then. Wendy returned once to take some people back to wherever they came from. It was a little after Astraea had arrived, and Wendy left just as soon as she arrived. It should have been a relief to see more people go, return to the safety of their homes.

It wasn’t.

More people came in, from where, I didn’t know. It filled me with questions, filled me with dread. Why? Why didn’t they take heed of the danger? What led them to wander inside? Was it of their own volition or were they just puppets and props? Unreal, yet life-like.

While things remained hectic, I persisted. We did, I meant. Or maybe I didn’t know what I meant anymore.

Toward the tail end of spring and summer crept up (seasons were used as a unit of measurement, and didn’t reflect anything on the weather we experienced), I received a call from a number I didn’t recognize. I was seated in the back, at my desk, and as usual, lost in thought.

“Who is this?” I answered, against my better judgment.

“Unblock Demetria’s number, you coward,” of course. That sly hiss mixed with an equal measure of dead seriousness and the pitch of a blue jay.

“Wendy? Why are you calling?” I replied, a little miffed by the suddenness of the situation.

“To tell you to unblock Demetria’s number.”

“OK. Why?”

“You need a way to keep in contact with me, right?”

Yes, but why do you have her phone? I felt like that was a vital question that was left unanswered.

“Fine,” I sighed, “I’ll play along.”

I scrolled down on my phone and unblocked Demetria’s number. I still didn’t really understand why.

When I went to put the phone back to my ear, it was silent. I checked, and she hung up. Then, my phone rang again. This time from Demetria’s number.

“Bitch,” she rasped.

“Is that all you called to say?”

“No,” her voice changed to that hiss she had when she sounded more playful, “but it needed to be said.”

“OK. I take it you met up with her?”

I reclined in my chair. I could have really used a smoke, but I resisted the urge.

“Yeah, you could say that. Her tracking skills are impeccable, it’s rather frightening.”

“What did she want with you?” I felt a hint of disappointment and dismay on the tip of my tongue. Not from Wendy, but from myself at the thought that Demetria could return, despite my worst wishes.

“She wanted to get away from home for a while, figured it would be a good idea to crash with me.”

“You didn’t tell her about the situation up here, did you?”

“I didn’t,” she stated, as simple as that.

At least I can ease my mind in that regard.

“So why do you have her phone?”

“You know how those types of girls can get: she’s at a point in her life when she keeps thinking she has to start over, be a new person. So she had it in her head that if I held onto her phone for her, it would be easier to do just that.”

Was that right? Well, I suppose from what I knew about her from her time here, it would track.

“That’s unfortunate. I hope she figures herself out one day.”

“Yeah. In a way, I think she already has, but you know, it’s like she’s always changing. Taking on a new image. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was a chameleon one day. Anyway, if you ever want me to come back to the diner, just give this number a call. I figured it would make things easier for both of us.”

“Yeah. I guess. I’ll call if I need you back.”

“Good. Hey Ray?”

“Yeah?”

“Any new ideas? Anything come to mind lately?”

“Hmm...Astraea is a bit weird,” I mentioned.

“Ah, yeah, but what kid isn’t?”

“True. In that case, no. I’ve got nothing.”

“That’s a shame. I was hoping we’d have some kind of progress.”

“It is what it is. Hope’s in short supply these days,” I couldn’t help being dour.

“Hey. Short supply doesn’t mean no supply. Talk to you later, Ray.”

Indeed, short supply doesn’t mean no supply. It means that it’s soon to run out.

There were times when I would forget Aurora was still around. Or times when I wondered if they had all but died out. Such wonders were put to rest one day when she entered the diner, not looking so proud or manic, but instead as weary as I had been. By then, it was near winter, and it wasn’t the cold that made people stir-crazy, but my adamant stance that no one was to venture outside.

So then when Aurora walked in, I knew there would be some people pointing her out, as if her entrance was a slight against them.

“Why does she get to come and go as she pleases while we’re stuck in here?!” One man roared.

She ignored his complaint and walked up to me. As for me, I leaned off to my side and addressed that man.

“Her and her crew live in the train right beside this diner. If you want to join them, you’re free to, but you probably won’t enjoy it any more than you do here.”

“Actually, Ray, that’s what I’ve come to talk to you about,” she didn’t look too pleased to be making any requests, but I could already tell what was coming. Rather than speak it into existence, however, she turned her attention toward Sister Cecilia, who happened to have been wandering around.

“First, who is that?” She pointed her thumb back.

“Some nun. I don’t pay her much mind.”

She squinted her eyes, her face turned to a scowl, then she put two fingers in her mouth and whistled.

“Hey girlie! Nunny!”

Sister Cecilia turned around, knowing that she had been addressed, and walked up to us.

“You’re a nun, huh?” Aurora scratched her chin.

“That’s correct,” Sister Cecilia wrote down and held up a sheet of paper to Aurora.

“I had someone in my crew who used to be a nun. What kind of nun are you? My crewmate was Buddhist. What about you?”

“Catholic,” she flipped one of the sheets. I take it she’s been asked that before.

“One of those, huh? So what kind of vows have you taken? Simple? Solemn?”

“Why does any of this matter?” I asked.

Aurora held her hand up to my face.

“I’m just asking questions. Don’t read into it. So, what is it?”

“I’ve taken a vow of silence,” she flipped to another page. Already written.

“What would that fall under? Solemn?”

“Nun of your business,” she wrote down and showed Aurora. That only made Aurora stare with greater intent.

“Is that so?” Aurora seethed.

“Won’t you just tell me what you came here to tell me?” My annoyance couldn’t be held back any further.

“Yes, but this is important too. Why don’t you know everyone here?” Her vitriol was now directed back toward me.

“Why do I need to?”

“It’s about trust, Ray. How can you trust anyone you don’t know? Any one of these people could double cross you. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

No. It doesn’t.

“I think it would be idiotic for anyone to do that, seeing as they’d be stuck in the same predicament I am in.”

She must not have liked that answer as she lifted me up by the collar and dragged me up against a nearby wall, her other elbow against my neck.

“You know something? I make it a habit to know everyone in my crew. I’ve dealt with situations like this before: us stuck inside, rationing just to get by. I keep telling myself I’ve been through worse, and maybe I haven’t. Maybe this is the worst it’s been. But at least I’m struggling with others, at least we’re all still fighting, because lemme tell ya, I don’t want to be in this mess forever. What about you?”

Of course I don’t.

I said nothing, however.

She let go and I just about dropped to the floor. I knew I could have held up my own, fought back, but I didn’t.

“You’re not a leader. If you wanted to be one, you’d accept help from others. You’d put your trust into others. Not blind, but because you know who they are.”

“What do you think I’m doing?” I wheezed out.

“You’re being passive. Do you think that’s an honorable trait? Just letting everyone do what they want while you isolate yourself. Is that helping anyone?”

“Why do I have to get the lecture from you? You’re a ridiculous person most of the time.”

“And so are you. The difference is that I don’t have a magical weapon or any of that bullshit to help me and my crew out. We’re holding on by our pride alone.”

“That woman’s right!” Yelled that same guy who raised a stink when she walked in. “You do nothing while you tell us to stay inside. Why do we listen to you? You’re probably downplaying this whole thing right now!” He got up and in a huff, reached for the door.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I growled at him.

“Or what?”

“Leave it, Ray. If he wants to die, let him.”

“I bet I won’t! I bet you’re all just making shit up!” He continued to throw a fit, and as he was about to pull open the door, I darted for it and grabbed the back of his collar.

“You’re not leaving,” I ordered.

He thrashed about and then elbowed me in my stomach. As I reeled back, he turned and his fist flew into my face and all of the color around the room vibrated, faded, until black. I fell to the floor, my glasses shattered.

“I don’t know about any of you, but I’m leaving!” The man announced in a huff and jerked the door open, then ran off.

It was more than a simple injury this time; a few seconds passed, followed by a minute or two, and then echoes of screams could be heard in the distance, sounds of blades swinging every which way.

I pulled myself up.

“I’ll have to find his body and bury him later…” I muttered under my breath. Everyone looked out, and although they could see nothing, I heard collective gasps.

“You think I’m joking?” I raised my voice and looked around at everyone. I groaned my eye that got hit turned swollen. “Maybe some of us get lucky, it’s a few cuts. But that is also likely to happen. From the inside it may look like nothing, not a big deal. But it’s either be stuck in here or risk serious injuries, even death, just for the crime of walking outside. Do you think I like that either? Do you think I want to be stuck with any of you good-for-nothings? I don’t.”

My head swayed. I definitely needed some ice, or something, but I wasn’t finished.

“Maybe to you guys it looks like I do nothing. Even if that’s true, then that still puts me in the same situation as all of you. I’m just another good-for-nothing, myself. Not everyone has the strength to help out, and I don’t ask anyone to. I’m still going to take anyone in, they’ll still be fed, and I’ll tend to anyone’s wounds that I can, but if you value your lives, then you would stay inside.”

I was beginning to get a headache. I needed to get away. Astraea, for her part, started to clap.

“I didn’t understand any of that, but it sounded good!” She commented. Wendy put her hand on Astraea’s shoulder and I heard her say, “this isn’t the right time.”

As I began to walk away, Aurora put her hand on my shoulder.

“That’s what I came to tell you about: I want our crew to join you guys in here.”

I turned to her.

“Really? There’s already so little room as it is.”

“Yeah. I know. And a few members of my crew have died. Some of them we’ve had to bury twice.”

“What?”

“Yeah. The first time is hard enough, but the second time, when you have to put them down yourself, that just seems cruel. I’m not saying it’s a zombie situation, because even then, they’ve got some kind of life in them,” Aurora shook her head, “I had to bury Russell. We woke up one day, unable to find Russell until I looked outside, and there he was, on his back, torn apart. We suffered the injuries and buried him. There was also Chet, and Morgan.”

“My condolences,” I replied.

“Do you know what this tells me? This thing, whatever it is, doesn’t care if you’re indoors. It just can’t enter your place in particular. We’ll do whatever we need to. I just don’t want to suffer any more losses.”

I sighed.

“Very well. But understand that things aren’t as lax as I make it out to be. There are scheduled shower times. Scheduled eating times. You may not have much of a choice as to where you sleep, and it may not be comfortable.”

“We’re used to not sleeping comfortably.”

After that was settled, I went to the kitchen, grabbed a towel and a few blocks of ice, and pressed it against my face.

II

It was a few days later when I came back from burying the man who ventured out. He was more or less a mangled mess, chopped up, no delicacy to it whatsoever. While I was burying him, I received some scratches of my own. The sleeves of my suit were all torn up, yet I pressed on, digging up dirt, digging out until there was enough space. Once I laid his body in, I shoveled the dirt back over.

“For the record, I don’t hate you. You were an idiot, yes, but I don’t blame you, either.” I wanted to say more but winced as some invisible force cut into my side.

I gasped out and coughed on the suffocating air.

I better go. Shame I had to cut it short, but I shouldn’t have been performing any eulogies in a danger zone, anyway. Now, I better hurry or I’ll join his same fate.

By the time I returned to the diner, I was a bloody mess. But still alive somehow. If that meant anything. Sunny was seated nearby and gasped.

“Where have you been?” She asked.

“Mind your own business,” I groaned.

“I thought you said none of us were to go outside! You know how bad it is out there!”

“Damn it!” I snapped. “Of course I know how bad it is. I get myself hurt just so I can bury someone. It’s not the first time I’ve had to do that, either.”

“I never knew that. You never told me.”

“Why would I have? If I’m hurting, that’s on me.”

“It’s not just you. Whether you like it or not, we’re all hurting. You’re not alone.”

I huffed and shambled on past.

“And therein lies the problem,” I replied.

“You’ve grown cold!” She called after me.

“I’m this way because I have to. This situation hasn’t gotten any better.”

“But I have to have hope that it will,” her voice warmed up, and I couldn’t see why.

I just continued to walk into the back.

“You’re being a real asshole, you know that?” She yelled after me. “Come on, Sister Cecilia! Back me up here!”

Huh. That nun must be sitting across from her. No concern of mine.

I went into the back and knocked on the bathroom door in the hallway. No one answered. Usually that place was under constant occupation. I went to the sink and splashed some water on my face. I closed my eyes and refused to look at myself in the mirror. It was bad enough that my vision had become so terrible after my glasses broke. They were such an expensive pair, too.

From behind the mirror, I grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol and poured it on my wounds. When the inevitable sting came, I bit down on my lips. It would pass.

I sat down at my desk and pulled out a cigarette from the drawer underneath.

If Sunny knew I was smoking...well, Sunny and I seldom speak these days.

I flicked my lighter and took a puff.

Out of the corner of my eye, the shape of Astraea began to take hold. I just about jumped from my seat.

“What are you doing back here?” I asked.

“No one’s ordering right now and Tigershark said I could take a break,” she explained.

“I see. Go on and take a seat, then. I’ve been meaning to have a talk with you.”

She sat as instructed.

I inhaled another puff, then blew out.

“I’ll cut to the chase: you’re the cosmic entity, aren’t you?”

“Ah,” she smiled, “so that’s what you’ve been meaning to ask. The answer may surprise you, as I am human.”

I shook my head.

“You don’t need to hide anything from me. Who are you possessing?”

She tilted her head from one end to the other.

“I don’t possess anyone. I possess a Nintendo Switch and a Sothis plushie.”

I really wasn’t approaching this well.

“Look, it’s fine if you are. It’s not fine, because if you are, then you’re responsible for the misery of many lives. But it’s fine, because if you are, there’s nothing I can do about it. Apparently your kind can’t be harmed.”

“Ah! But I can. If you want, you can punch me. I’ve seen other humans get hurt, so I know I can get hurt too. Amen,” she continued her usual mannerisms. It could have just been her form, but I couldn’t imagine myself punching a child. Then, she added, “also I wouldn’t want to cause misery for others. I don’t find misery to be very interesting.”

Ah. So that’s what it is.

“It was either you or Sister Cecilia. Those were my suspects.”

“Suspect of what?”

“Of being the entity among us.”

“Amog...us?”

She needs to work on her enunciation.

“I suppose when I think about it, Sister Cecilia, while mysterious, isn’t as unusual as you, so I figured it would have to be you.”

“Why would it have to be either of us?”

“Because both of you showed up here unharmed.”

“Wendy did too,” Astraea pointed out.

“Yes, well, her weapon apparently wards off the threat outside. As for you and Sister Cecilia...”

“Well, I know it’s not Sister Cecilia, because she has a mouth and humans have mouths!” She answered, all gleeful, too. Then, she put her hands over her mouth, “I wasn’t supposed to reveal that!”

“You have a mouth as well,” I pointed out.

“Yes. Because I am human.”

“Anyway, I don’t think that was much of a secret. Everyone has a mouth. Most animals, too.”

“Then why would she hide it?”

I shrugged.

“Beats me. Maybe there’s something she’s hiding on her face. But I didn’t once think she didn’t have one. Anyway, it doesn’t make much of a difference to me. I’ve got bigger things on my mind.”

“Like what?”

“Like what I’m going to do. Our food supply is starting to run low. Even if we combine with Aurora’s, we won’t hold out for much longer.”

“Oh!” Astraea shot her hand up. “I know what you should do.”

“What?”

“Apologize to Sunny.”

Even you would think so, huh?

“Yeah, you’re right. It wouldn’t really change the situation, but I still love her and she didn’t deserve that. It’s just...her and Sister Cecilia both have said that I’m not alone, but it’s like they don’t get it.”

“Get what?”

“I would rather be alone. Because then nobody else would get hurt. If everyone else could just stay away, I would be the only one that would have to endure this.”

“Mm...and you’re sure they don’t understand that?”

I took another hit. Maybe they did. It just didn’t make much sense to me why they would insist that, then.

“It sure seems like they don’t,” I replied.

“I don’t know, it sounds simple enough to me. If you’re the only one getting hurt, then others wouldn’t be. Still, I don’t know why others wouldn’t be. Humans are capable of being hurt.”

“So why do you think Sunny would insist to me that I’m not alone, like I don’t already know that?”

“Hmm...because it’s true? There’s other people around.”

I wasn’t sure why I thought I could take advice from her. Someone I was convinced was some all-powerful space alien.

“I wonder if things will work between us…” I leaned back. “You know, before Sunny, I only dated men. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to go back to seeing men.”

“Don’t you see men all the time, and women, and children, and dogs and cats?”

This child really is tiresome.

“That’s not really...not like vision, like, relationships. Like, romance. Love. Things like that.”

“Oh. Those kinds of things.”

“Yeah. You know, I used to have a curious mind like yourself. I used to wonder about all these little things and chase rumors. Now, it’s like I have none of that left in me.”

“That’s not true. You said you wonder about Sunny and wonder about men. Anyway, I’m going to go now. It’s almost time.”

“Time for what?” I was a little struck.

“There’s an event in Animal Crossing. That’s what Tigershark said the game is called.”

She walked off after that and into her room. Well, the room Tigershark slept in. It still felt weird thinking that she slept there. Maybe I still had some hope that all of this would be temporary.

I put out the cigarette and tossed the butt into the nearest trash can. I tossed a mint into my mouth and chewed down.

I guess I’ll take the kid’s advice, was a thought I never imagined I would have.

Still, I caught Sunny, still seated, and seated alone. I couldn’t really see Sister Cecilia anymore, either, but the place was so crowded that she could have been anywhere.

“Is this seat taken?” I asked. She seemed surprise, shivered in place, but then looked up and smiled.

“It isn’t.”

I sat across from her. It was easier to see her eye to eye that way.

“How are you doing?” I initiated.

“Oh, you know,” she smiled and moved her head about, all sing-songy. “It’s difficult, both dealing with such an adjustment, and watching you become like this. But I remain hopeful that it won’t last forever.”

“How do you remain hopeful? I’d like to believe that this will come to an end, but I don’t see any end in sight.”

“I never said it was easy.”

“So how?”

“Because I have to. If I have nothing else, I still have that.”

“So it’s like that, huh?” I nodded.

“You know, I went outside the other day,” she began to mention.

“What? Why would you do that?” I protested, but she put her index finger up to my mouth.

“I’m not the type to let a little bit of danger stop me.”

“That is one of the reasons I love you,” I couldn’t help but say.

“You do realize that getting into danger means risking being hurt, right?”

I kept my mouth shut. She chuckled.

“I went up to our mailbox. It’s still standing, intact and unharmed. Of course, there’s been no mail delivery, but that doesn’t matter much to me.”

“So why did you do it?” I asked.

“I wrote a love letter with no address. I wonder what those words will mean when the letter is returned to sender. It’s for that reason that I have hope. Because I want to know what kind of people we’ll be once you get a chance to read it.”

I spat out. Caught off guard, I couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. Even if my voice still sounded dry, void of passion, she managed that much.

“Why couldn’t you have just told me the stuff you wrote in person? Why do something so ridiculous?”

She laughed right back.

“It got a reaction out of you, didn’t it?”

“That it did,” I smiled. It felt unnatural, yet it wasn’t a conscious decision, either. “You know, when you would tell me that I wasn’t alone, I thought you were being ridiculous, because when the fog began, I didn’t want you to come back. I didn’t want any of these people here, I just wanted to take it all on and protect everyone else.”

She nodded.

“I could tell. It was stupid of you, but it’s not the first time you’ve done such a thing.”

“What? How’s it stupid? I would be protecting you.”

She grabbed a napkin from the napkin holder against the wall, folded it up, and hit my hand with it. It didn’t hurt at all.

“It was stupid. You don’t think I wouldn’t be hurt if you were the only one? I’d share that pain with you. In a heartbeat.”

“You shouldn’t have to.”

“Nor should you have to keep it to yourself.”

I gazed down at the table.

“Maybe you’re right,” I muttered.

“Louder for the people in the back,” she cupped her ear.

I looked up.

“I’m sorry,” I said, since I couldn’t find any other words. “Everyone’s been trying to tell me, but I’ve just been so focused on keeping everyone alive, and I couldn’t even manage that.”

“But you’ve still managed a great deal, and you wouldn’t have managed nearly as much if you didn’t have help.”

“Yeah. You’ve got that right…” I looked around. Wendy was at the other end of the dining hall, chatting with the sailor. I could tell that sailor guy wasn’t a real sailor, but I didn’t bother to consider who else they could have been.

“Hey. Do you think that there could be someone here who isn’t who they appear?” I turned back to Sunny. Her eyes shimmered, so radiant to the point that I had to avert my gaze, lest I go blind.

“Maybe. Wouldn’t it be fun to think about?”

I shuddered.

“I’m not sure if fun is the right word…”

She laughed.

“Maybe you’re right this time,” her hand waved over her mouth, then she leaned in, her eyes fluttered, “you know, there would be times when I was on my adventures and I would wonder if you missed me. I know, carefree me, wondering such things. It was just how you would be so casual, and wave it off, it was like you didn’t mind me being gone.”

Maybe that was true in a sense.

“I do like my alone time, but yes. Always.”

“Really?”

“But that’s why I was okay with it, because whenever you returned, it was like I had found a treasure. So while I always awaited your return, I was at ease at the same time, because I knew wherever you were, you were smiling.”

“What about here? Right now?”

I pressed my palm to my head. I felt about ready to weep.

“I want to enjoy our time together. I just wish things were simpler. Remember when we used to take on requests? Now everything’s so complicated. I mean, there’s this fog, our food’s running low, and hell, even if by some miracle, this all gets solved or goes away, what then? I wish we could go back to how things were.”

“You can’t. Those times are gone. But they were fun while they lasted, right?”

I smiled and nodded.

“Yeah.”

“There’s gotta be some beauty in that. Yes, maybe it’s gone, and we can’t get those times back, but who’s to say something new won’t come from it, something similar?”

“You’re right,” I placed my hand over hers, “so, here’s to the unfamiliar?”

“To love,” she nodded, “and whatever form it may take.”

She leaned in and I met her halfway. Our lips were about to meet as well, the distance could have been measured with a microscope, but before they could join each other –

“Ugh, get a room you two!” Shouted a disgusted and squeaky voice.

We opened our eyes and looked around. That voice, it must have reminded us both of the same person.

“Did you hear that?” Sunny asked.

“No way…” I uttered.

“It sounded so familiar, don’t you think?”

We let go of each other and looked around. At first, nothing stood out, but then I saw someone with a black hoodie tied around her waist and wearing black slacks. Covering her face was a book, upside down which the title read ‘How to Sneak Into Diners For Dummies’.

“You know, I spent over a year away, and do you know what I learned?” She paced about and drew near us.

“Demetria?” I couldn’t help but ask. In response, she set down the book and that’s when I noticed her hair, shoulder length and wavy, dark green. She pointed at Sunny and I and shouted:

“I learned that none of us are smart!”

Sunny and I looked at each other, then back at her, and laughed. I couldn’t even be mad, as much as I didn’t want her to be in such a mess with us.

“That’s your big epiphany?” I asked.

“Yes,” she tossed the book behind her. “I had a whole hero’s journey while I was away. I went and got my degree which means I could be a marine biologist, but then I realized: degrees meant shit. I’m most likely to work at a coffee shop with such a degree, so I figured, you know what? If that’s the case, why don’t I just come back here?”

“Is that really your motivation?” I couldn’t say that I disagreed with such an assessment, but it seemed a little...out there.

“Not really. I also heard about what’s been going on. I won’t reveal my sources, but I can say that I know how to deal with it.”

“You do?” I didn’t believe such a thing, but who knows? I’ve been surprised already.

“That’s right!” She put her hands over her hips and smiled all proud.

“Demetria!” Tigershark just about tackled her as she ran and dived in for a hug.

“Whoa, there,” Demetria turned around. “Careful, you won’t believe how many knives I’ve got in my pockets.”

“You have knives in your pocket?!” Tigershark exclaimed.

“Yeah,” Demetria dug into her pockets and pulled out a couple of throwing knives. “This one’s named Hilda, this one’s Marianne.”

She then pulled out another, a black and gold switchblade knife.

“This one’s called Death Knight,” she held out. Tigershark jumped back.

“Why such a scary name?”

“What? Don’t like it? How about Mercedes, then?”

That switchblade knife, it’s just like...ah, I see. So that’s how she got in. I’m impressed.

“I missed you!” Tigershark cried into Demetria’s hooded sweatshirt around her waist.

Now that I think of it, that black hoodie…

“Aw, I missed you too. You know I couldn’t keep myself away for too long. You’re like family to me.”

“Yay! Speaking of family, while you were gone, I got another sister! Her name is Cecilia! I’ll find her and you guys can meet each other!”

“Uh, sure. Good luck with that, kiddo,” she snickered.

Tigershark ran off. That poor kid.

“So what made you reveal yourself now of all times?” I had to ask.

“Eh. It seemed you were starting to get back to better spirits, and to be honest, I was tired of keeping quiet for months on end.”

“Still, I’ve seen better days…” my right eye was still swollen.

“And you’ll see better days again,” she sounded so sure of that.

Tigershark ran back over, looking distraught.

“I can’t find Sister Cecilia anywhere!” She pouted.

Demetria whistled, or at least, it was an attempt at a whistle.

“I’m sure she’ll turn up. Let’s not worry about that right now,” she told Tigershark.

“Aw, but –”

The lights went out before the kid could finish her sentence. Soon we were met with pitch darkness, then gasps emitted from the crowds in their seats.

“I see it’s begun,” Demetria muttered.

Others’ voices flooded the room:

“What’s going on?” “Will we be OK?”

Were just a couple of things I heard among the commotion.

“Quiet everyone!” I raised my voice to a shout. “We’re going to go downstairs and check the breaker!” I couldn’t see her in the dark, but… “Wendy, Aurora! Make sure to protect everyone while we go down, OK?”

“Aye-aye, boss,” I heard from Aurora.

“No need to tell me,” was Wendy.

“I’m, uh, going to use the restroom,” chimed in Captain Acab.

“...OK? You’ve been here how long?” I didn’t understand the need to be told that.

“I swear, that sailor guy’s been giving off weird vibes ever since I’ve been here,” Demetria commented.

“Whatever! Let’s leave Captain Crunch to do his business!” Sunny’s cheer was unparalleled.

The four of us felt our way around to the kitchen, then crawled down on the floor until I found the hatch.

“Okay, down the hatch. Watch your step, guys,” I held open the hatch and the first to climb the stairs down was Sunny, followed by Tigershark, then Demetria.

“Why do you have your breaker underground, anyway?” She criticized on the way down.

“It was actually my idea!” Sunny answered. “I thought it would be neat!”

Once down, it was just a matter of feeling around on the wall until...aha.

I opened the door to the breaker box and flicked a flame on my lighter to help me see.

“Yep. Central lighting was tripped,” I noticed. I flicked the switch back and within seconds, everything lit up around us. All lights were blinding and it took several seconds of blinking before mine adjusted. Even then, my vision was blurred. How could it not have been?

Once I adjusted to the light, the shapes of the giant kegs of ale surrounded us.

“You know, I’ve never actually been down here before,” Demetria noted as she looked around. “It’s a little cold down here, actually,” she began to shiver, and so put her hoodie back on. It really did look more like a cloak than anything.

“Well, we got the lights back on, let’s head up,” I motioned for them.

“I just realized something,” Demetria walked forward instead, “it’s cold down here.”

“Yeah?” I wasn’t quite sure what the deal was, but then…

Wait. I get it.

“We can get everyone else down here and smuggle them out through the airport. There’s a tunnel down here and –” I began to formulate my plan, but Demetria stopped me.

“No. I’m sure the enemy knows about this path as well. I say we press on and end this, once and for all.”

“How can you be so sure?” I asked her.

“Because I’ve faced our enemy before. I’m willing to be this is no mere oversight. Hell, if we keep down this path, we’ll probably be in for a fight.”

Great. I was unequipped and in bad shape. I wished I had time to prepare.

“How fitting, too...a fight in a basement…” She scoffed.

It felt weird having her lead, yet she was so sure about moving forward. As we took a few steps, I stopped her.

“Wait.”

“What?” She turned back, a look of disappointment upon her face.

“Listen.”

There was a creaking sound from nearby, something like screeching metal. It must have come from the safe beside the tunnel.  Then footsteps.

“Be on your guard,” I advised everyone.

“Tigershark, get behind me,” Sunny added.

She nodded and we stood in place until the figure emerged into view from behind the last keg at the far end of the hall: someone tall, black form fitting clothes, and a with short, blue hair.

“Remora!” Tigershark cheered, but Demetria held her arm out.

“Not quite,” Demetria warned.

Whoever she was, she smiled and began to walk up to us, then waved.

“Hello. Nice to meet you all, I’m Rhea Flection.”

My heart thumped against my chest. There was no way. Of course not. It was all wrong. Even as her voice matched Remora’s, it still made little sense.

“Yes. Nice to meet you, as well,” I greeted her, or whoever she was. “But I heard you died.”

“That’s right. I faked my death and have been hiding out here, in your safe.”

Of course you have. Oooof course.

“Do you know what’s been going on?”

“Nope!” She grinned. “But I’m sure we can all figure it out together! Follow me!” She began to walk toward the tunnel and I looked over to everyone else. Sunny and Demetria alike nodded, and it was a sort of telepathic communication of “let’s follow for now.”

We began to walk toward her and Demetria shifted beside me.

“Remember, Ray: some people aren’t who they say they are,” she whispered.

“I know, but what other choice do we have at the moment?” I asked in turn.

Demetria scoffed, then let out a loud, audible groan.

‘Rhea’ turned around and beamed.

“Hm? Did you guys say something?”

“Yeah, actually,” Demetria spoke up. “I’ve got a question for you that only the real Rhea would know the answer to.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“What color panties am I wearing?” She asked, deadpan, despite the crude question.

“Demetria! You can’t just ask someone that!” Tigershark protested.

“Easy! Green!” The figure who was supposed to be ‘Rhea’ answered.

“Ah, that puts my mind at ease,” Demetria replied. “Thank you.”

“No pro –”

Demetria in one swift motion reached into her pocket and flung a knife the stranger’s way; the knife landed square in the middle of her forehead and blood began to trickle down.

“Demetria! You just killed her!” Tigershark flailed her arms about and began to panic.

“At this point it’s like beating a dead horse, isn’t it?” Demetria remarked, then turned back to the stranger. “The real Rhea would have answered something like, ‘how should I know?’ Or ‘why would you ask me that?’ I would have also accepted, ‘no clue. I don’t go looking at people’s underwear.’”

“That’s just common sense!” Tigershark scolded, still flailing her arms about.

“Yes, which is why I know you’re not who you say you are.”

Whoever, then, the stranger was, as blood ran down her face, she formed a crooked toothy grin which stretched her face wide.

“Clever,” the figure uttered in a low, guttural sound.

Demetria, meanwhile, slipped on a pair of fingerless gloves and brought her right arm forward, her palm spread out. Then she made a pulling motion and the knife in the figure’s forehead flew out and the hilt landed right back into Demetria’s palm.

“I had Hephaestus put magnets into my gloves. The blade of the knife is more dull, while the hilt is actually more metallic, and I’ve practiced with my aim.”

“Wow, magnets! How do they work?” Tigershark was astonished.

“Miracles, dear,” Sunny replied and pat Tigershark’s head.

Once the knife was pulled out, blood began to spray from the figure’s forehead, and then their head split in two, like a banana peel and hundreds of vines emerged and the flaps which made up the upper half of the creature’s body had rows of jagged teeth. The creature took a step forward and all of us stood back. Their arms changed into several thorny vines as well and spun in place in a circle.

“Any more bright ideas?” I turned to Demetria as we all continued to back away.

“In fact, I do. Lemme see your lighter.”

“Why?”

“I’m thinking I can throw one of my knives at one of the kegs, then when alcohol pours down on the floor, I take your lighter, strike a flame, then toss it into the alcohol.”

“No, no way,” I shook my head with a violent force. “You’d burn the whole restaurant down!”

“Damn it, Mr. Krabs! Is this restaurant more important to you than our lives?”

Are you really comparing me to a crab?

“You don’t get it! If the restaurant burns down, we’ll all go down with it. I can’t take that risk.”

“Oh. Yeah. I didn’t consider that.”

“Anyone else? Any ideas that do not involve arson?”

The three ladies shook their heads and I was a little disappointed.

As whatever it was that impersonated Rhea drew closer, I really began to think that the end might be upon us all. That was, until the crackle of a rifle sounded and I watched as a bullet flew into the creature and the creature’s parts exploded onto the floor.

I looked from the direction of the fire to see Remora, also with blue hair in much the same fashion, and wearing a sailor’s uniform crouched down in a corner of a hole in the upper wall.

So now they’re both here.

She swooped down and split her rifle into two smaller guns.

“So, you’re Rhea, huh? You have got to tell me how you do that thing with your face,” teased the coy voice of Remora, something I wasn’t used to from her.

Nearby, the scattered pieces of the creature’s form slithered around and piled up against each other until it reformed, back into the shape of a person.

“And now you’re here too,” the impostor Rhea creature snarled.

“That’s right,” Remora smiled a sinister smile as well. “John. Jacob. Jingleheimer. Schmidt.”

She did a flip in the air and blasted away with the two guns, then landed and took cover between the giant keg barrels.

“She always has to show me up,” Demetria scoffed. “I could do that too, if I wanted to.”

“By the way,” Remora turned to us and winked, “they’re purple, right?”

“That question wasn’t for you!” Demetria shouted.

“OK. But did I guess right or nah?”

“That’s not the point!”

“I’m pretty sure they’re purple.”

“I’m wearing boxer shorts!” Demetria was fuming in protest.

Remora whistled, then replied, “didn’t need to know that, but OK.”

Her face then turned more serious, much more like the Remora I was familiar with.

“Sorry to cut this reunion short, but you guys should go on ahead. I’ll take care of this fashion disaster.”

We all nodded, then ran on ahead. As much as I wished the five of us could go on together, I at least had confidence that Remora could handle such a fight on her own. Once into the tunnels, the light began to grow dimmer and dimmer, but I just hoped that we could all find a light at the other end of this tunnel.

[snootsnoot-fiction]

Cookie Dough

Characters: Mark Renton x reader

Word count: 1.9k

Warnings: Mention of drug relapse and overdose, and a little bit of smut. Otherwise fluffyflufffluff.

A/n: Recently been made aware it's the 25th anniversary of the Trainspotting film and suddenly felt like using it as an excuse to write a Renton fic in celebration (I mean, I really like the 5x tables too). I ended up channelling some of my fluffy needs into this

Summary: You and your boyfriend start the weekend by baking together...

It had been a fun few months. Quite the rollercoaster actually. Scary at times, but ultimately fun and providing you an experience you'll never forget.

You went to Scotland for a well deserved extended holiday. A holiday you intended to be as stress-free as possible. 

Your family was quite well off. Not tremendously, but enough for people to assume you were a little too privileged growing up. They didn't know what it was like behind closed doors. 

You were the black sheep in a strict family. That combined with virtually everyone else around you either despising or using you for money, you quickly came to realise your only true friend was loneliness. Over your teenage years especially, a bunch of bad habits were tried out, but none of them ever really helped. 

Finally having enough, you just left. You didn't leave any sort of explanation, it's not like they would care, right? Even though your family were only known within certain circles and the city you grew up in, you decided to cut off a lot of your long locks to help people to not recognise you. It was time for you to attempt to live a normal life away from the people that controlled your life prior. 

In your casual clothing and shorter hair, you had made your way to Scotland - a place your parents never seemed to like. Within the first week, you met a couple girls that ended up bringing you to a group night out with their boyfriends and mates.

~~~

There was a brief introduction. You looked at each man in turn; Spud, Sick boy, Tommy, Begbie, and Rents. They all gave you very different vibes, but you didn't have time to think over them before suddenly Begbie jumped right into telling a story a little too passionately. Not that you were paying much attention. 

The way Mark had looked at you earlier caught your attention. The both of you occasionally looked at Begbie to show you were listening, but you kept looking at each other. The more it happened, the more you wished you were sitting right next to him. Something about the man just drew you to him.

Eventually, after biting your lip during direct eye contact, you made the excuse you needed the toilet and that you'd get another round of drinks on the way back. You acted as though you were desperate to go to help make them think you'd be a short while.

Not too long after you reached the bathroom door, Renton appeared. You made sure the coast was clear enough before the both of you snuck into one of the cubicles. The second the door was locked, the man's large hands were on your face as he pressed a hungry kiss on your lips.

Next thing you knew, one of his hands was gripping your backside tightly, using it to grind into you particularly hard. The feel of his own excitement grinding roughly against you had you hot and desperate. It was you that started the action of getting rid of pants. After that, you had the best few minutes of your life.

You felt amazing and a million times lighter when you left that cubicle and went to go buy that round of drinks for everyone.

~~~

Of course, you ended up spending a lot of time with them while in the country. Growing especially close with Mark Renton. While the meeting between the two of you was dirty in every sense of the word, that sexual tension wasn't on your mind as much as you expected it to be as you got to know the guy. 

You brought each other so much joy, it wasn't long before you realised you were actually falling for him. The pair of you ended up dating. Taking your time, but not too long, you also entered an official relationship. 

The only thing you did want to take your time with was admitting how you truly felt. You couldn't quite explain it, but you wanted to wait until the right moment to say it. Both of you had been through a lot, and those were some serious words. 

The first heartbreak you felt was when Mark relapsed. It felt like you hadn't been quite enough even though you knew these things happened sometimes. 

Throughout it all, though, you stuck with him. Supported him. Renton was aware of just how lucky he was, and he had to fight the urge every day to tell you he loved you, in fear of scaring you off. He felt lucky enough to have you with him still, even after relapsing, and he tried hard to make sure you knew he appreciated that. 

It was when he overdosed that you experienced your biggest heartbreak yet. To almost have lost him hurt you in a way you never had hurt before. When his parents told you they were going to make him quit cold turkey, you agreed with it. You hated to think of the suffering he would go through, but you knew this might be the only way lest he not wake up next time. 

Deciding it was maybe time to try make a start on your own life, you moved down to London, leaving a message with Mark's parents about where you were going in hopes he'd follow suit when he managed to get clean again. 

That's exactly what he did.

Now, you and Mark each had your own comfy apartments and jobs in London. The pressure of your old lives behind you. Naturally it took a little while to get over how things had been left, but you were soon right back where you were before - bringing nothing but pure joy to one another. 

Both of you happened to have the weekend off, so you had decided to spend it at your place. Your week had been particularly stressful, so you felt awful to begin with when you got home on Friday evening. 

Your boyfriend called, quickly saying he was going to be a little longer, but not explaining why. There was already a spare change of clothes for him at your place, so you couldn't help but wonder why he didn't tell you what he was doing.

It wasn't long before there was a knock at your door. Getting up with a sigh, you answered. Only to be greeted immediately by Mark grabbing your face and giving you a quick kiss before wrapping his arms tightly around you like he hadn't seen you in over a month. Your heart and body melted into him.

"I've missed you." He mumbled against your ear.

"We saw each other a couple days ago." Your words muffled against his chest, although you missed him too. Pulling away, the man held your shoulders as he looked at you in forced disbelief.

"Are you saying I'm not allowed to miss you?" He raised a brow. "No." He added with a finger to your lips when he saw you readying to respond. You both knew he wasn't serious. Letting go, he picked up a small bag of stuff off the floor and you closed the door after letting him in.

"What's in the bag?" You questioned as you followed him to the kitchen area. Renton didn't answer straight away as he took one item out at a time. You walked up to see ingredients to what you could only assume would be cookies. "Are you going to make cookies?" You questioned further. Mark turned to face you.

"We're going to make cookies."

"We're going to bake together?" You couldn't help the excited gasp. Baking together was always something you wanted to do with him. It was Mark Renton, so you figured it would be extra fun.

"We are." He, himself, couldn't help his excited smile at seeing how excited you were at the idea. You had seemed down when you opened the door, but that had apparently evaporated. 

Before you could say anything else, he turned around and pulled the last item out of the bag - an apron. Another gasp left you. You had one apron yourself, but seeing he had bought one himself only made the following events that much more exciting. 

The man threw his jacket and shirt off, allowing you a glimpse of his chest before he threw his apron on. Then all of a sudden your own apron was thrown at you, bringing you back to reality. Pulling it over your head, you saw your boyfriend smirking at you before moving to stand behind you and tie your apron. 

With Renton having no idea what to actually do, you took charge. It was when it got the cracking of the eggs that things really started to get fun.

Watching closely to make sure no shell fell into the bowl, you were completely unprepared for what happened once the eggs were in. Suddenly his sticky yolk fingers were on your cheeks and before you could react, he placed a kiss on your lips, chuckling at the stunned look on your face.

"Earth to Y/N, hello?" He teased after a moment, bringing you back to said Earth.

"...You got egg on my face!"

"Is there a problem?" Despite trying hard to keep a straight face, there was a small smile peeking through. You dipped your fingers - clean of course - lightly into the egg before simply wiping them on his face. 

"Not at all." You said, succeeding in keeping a straight face for now as you sorted the ingredients. Mark stared with a mix of confusion and excitement before helping again. Tonight was going to be fun. 

Before long, all the ingredients had been mixed together, and the both of you found yourselves looking down at the cookie dough thinking the exact same thing.

It was you who acted first. You acted as casual as possible as you dipped a single finger in to scoop a little out.

"Wanna try some?" You used the question as a guise, carefully lifting your finger up near his lips. He opened his mouth to say something, but then shrugged and kept it open for your finger. Smiling, you wiped the cookie dough on your finger all over his nose. 

Mark looked genuinely shocked for a moment as you giggled. Almost like a deer in headlights. After a moment, you unable to stop giggling, he started laughing too. 

"I love you!" The words fell out by themselves from his mouth. Now you were the deer in headlights. Your heart pounded and there were butterflies in your stomach. Realising what he had said, your boyfriend stopped laughing and looked around to avoid your shocked look. Then he looked at the bowl of cookie dough. 

Not bothering to hide his intentions, he dipped a finger in to swipe some himself. It took you a second to come back to reality as you saw what he was doing. 

"Wait! N-" You went silent as he smeared it, not only on your nose, but on your entire face. Now it was his turn to laugh as you processed everything that just happened, but suddenly you started to laugh as well.

"I love you too!" You laughed as you smeared the cookie dough from his nose all over his face. 

Neither of you really knew how to react, so you simply dissolved into fits of laughter until you could contain it enough to actually put the dough on a tray then in the oven. You and Mark Renton were smiling blissfully the entire time. 

A new kind of weight had been lifted from your shoulders, and you were completely, absolutely, and undeniably in love.