#Plus. They both have to deal with their baby sister staring down the people who maimed her and going 'round two bitches' lol-

[inkperch]

Will there be Odette angst in the book?

I'm gonna go into both the girl's backstories, and I'm pretty proud of the angst Nice, Fun Stuff I've come up with for them lol-

[repulsiveliquidation]

Mikrokosmos || Grace Clinton

summary: Grace loved her little world. she didn't know if others would too.

a/n : i don't know what this is but it's fluff! there is insinuation of sex but nothing else.

Grace was a private person. She loved her people with her whole heart but she kept her work and family separate. Don’t get it wrong, she loved her team and adored being the baby but there was a bubble in her home that she didn’t want them in. 

Her mikrokosmos. 

There were two people in there that mattered more to her than football. She was willing to do anything at all to protect it from the outside world. 

You were sitting in a quiet little bookstore one day, your little nephew in your lap. He was munching on a bit of sausage from your sausage roll as you read a little novel in a corner. The smell of coffee mixed in with the books perfectly, you found yourself sitting here every other day to relax and get some peace away from your chaotic life. 

“Is this seat taken?” a Liverpool accent asks and it startles you a little. You look up and see the most beautiful pair of eyes looking down at you. The Liverpool accent smiles, pointing to the seat across from you. You stutter and nod, smiling at her awkwardly. 

“He’s cute,” the accent tells you, smiling at your nephew Jake. He giggles and the accent giggles back, her hand coming up to tickle his cheek. 

“Say hi Jakie,” you tell him, his hand grabbing at the girl tickling him. 

“Hi Jakie, I’m Grace,” she says, cooing when his little hand finds her finger. 

“He likes you,” you tell her, book and pastry forgotten. 

“That makes two of us,” she says with a grin, looking up at you. “What’s a pretty girl like you doing here with the cutest baby in the world?” 

“It’s quiet, plus he likes the strawberry tart Michelle makes.” 

She turns to Jake, who’s trying to eat your blouse, to boop his nose. “You, little man,” she begins, booping his nose again; he giggles, “have great taste.” 

Grace stands, eyes sparkling in your corner of the quiet bookstore cafe.

“Can I buy you another coffee and a tart for my new favorite person?” 

“Only if you promise to sit here a while and share.” 

“Deal.” 

“Baby! I’m home!” 

“Mama!” 

A two year old knocks into her knees and she picks him up, heart growing fonder when his little giggle rang through the living room. 

“Hi little buddy,” Grace smiles, walking into your office with Jake on her hip. He tucks his face in her neck, calming into her hold when he feels her rub his back. 

“Hi baby,” you greet Grace, looking up from your desk in the corner. Your heart melts when you see Jake already falling asleep in her arms; you were struggling to put him down for his nap earlier so he was a little grumpy at tea. 

Jake was your nephew but when your sister fell into some bad habits, he was about to go into the foster system. You loved him dearly and couldn’t bear the idea of leaving him so young so you made the decision to adopt him. He had always called you Mommy when he first spoke and didn’t know his mother to be his mother. She abandoned him when she got clean and wanted a new life abroad with her boyfriend so you raised him as your own. 

Sure it got your weird stares since you were so young and Jake looked alot like you since his mother looked like you too. But you didn’t care, he was going to be loved and cared for under your roof, who cared about who said what. 

When Grace came along, you warned her about the things you had heard people say about you. Her job would have only brought on more stress for you and her so you were prepared for her ‘i can’t do this’ speech on the second date.

But Grace surprised you with her honesty and willingness to work it out because she didn’t want to lose you and she certainly didn’t want to lose her little buddy. 

Grace was young and didn’t need to deal with a practical newborn and a girl who was still getting her life in order but she didn’t care. She wanted you both and she was willing to do what it took. 

One thing she did the best was protect you both from rude people and weird stares. She wasn’t afraid to call people out and make them feel bad for their behavior. It made you uncomfortable at first but when you saw that more and more people left you alone, you were grateful to her. 

“Jakie here needs his nap, I think,” she says, kissing his head. 

“I tried to but he refused so you’re welcome to try,” you tell her, watching as she got a cheeky grin on her face before disappearing for a while. You hear her faintly bargaining with a two year old down the hall before the only thing you hear is the traffic below and your rambling thoughts. 

Seeing the time and deciding to clock out of work and start on dinner, you walk out of your office after turning everything off. 

Grace isn’t in the bedroom or the living room where she usually is so you tiptoe to Jake’s room. 

Grace was in his bed with him on top of her, both of them snoring just a little. Her legs stuck out from the end and her hands touched the floor but you never loved her more than you did in this very moment.

“Oh Grace,” you mumble, pulling your phone out to take a picture. You send it to your mum and make it your wallpaper before leaving the door ajar to start on dinner. 

Grace walks into Lionesses training grinning at her phone. Millie T sees her and watches as the young striker types fast and doesn’t stop grinning on her phone. She sneaks up on Grace and it startles her, making her drop her phone in surprise. 

“Mills!” 

“Sorry Gracie, who’s got ya grinnin’ like that eh?” 

“Nothin,” Grace provides, checking her phone for cracks. Millie grabs it out of her hands and runs away with it. She dodges through the rest of the girls in the gym, laughing her head off as Grace chases her. 

“Mary! Stop her!” 

Mary, who’s just walked in, grabs the lanky Millie and holds her tight, before Grace grabs her phone off her. 

“Who’s that you’ve got on your screensaver huh? Grace has got herself a little wife, girls!” 

“Shh Millie!” 

“Who’s got a wife?” Tooney asks, drinking from her water bottle. 

“Little Gracie does.” 

“I don’t,” Grace defends, “not yet at least,” she mumbles to herself. Grace walks away from the girls who are gathering around her, putting her headphones in in hopes that they’d get the message. 

Beth comes and sits beside Grace, stretching as the young United player does. The rest of the girls have gone back to warming up, Millie T standing at the weights looking a little guilty for outing her friend. 

“I’m happy for you Gracie,” Beth tells her quietly after they get their boots on, leaving the girl conflicted. 

Grace comes home after training exhausted. Sarina had them working hard as they had some important games coming up. The smell of your world-famous lasagna filled her senses when the front door shut behind her. 

“Is that Mama I hear at the door?” she hears you tell Jake before the soft patter of feet gets louder and louder. 

“Hello, love,” Grace sighs, holding Jake in one arm while snaking the other around your middle. You feel her muscles relax when your warmth blends into hers. Jake wriggles around in her arms after a while and she puts him down, watching as he goes back to his building blocks on his play mat. 

“I missed you,” she mumbles, hugging you from behind as you stir the tomato sauce. Grace kisses your nape and you lean back into her a little, realizing you missed her just as much as she did. 

“I missed you too, sweetheart,” you tell her, both of you looking at Jake who was showing the dog what blocks he had, “we both did.” 

Grace pulls out and you turn over, watching her reach for the wipes she kept in her side table. 

You drag a finger over her warm skin as she cleans you both up, leaving soft kisses all over the marks she’s left on you. 

Her face says something entirely different though, like there was something bothering her. 

“Grace?”

“Hm?” she looks up at you and you watch those eyes you fell in love with look troubled. 

“What’s wrong, love?” 

“You’ve always been able to tell when something’s bothering me.” 

“It’s because I know you, darling,” you say softly, sitting up and reaching for her chin to look up at you. “What’s the matter, lovely?” 

“Millie saw you today,” Grace sighs, now sitting cross-legged with you. Her fingers trace along the insides of your forearms, beautiful eyes refusing to look at you. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Millie got my phone and saw you and Jake today.” 

“Okay,” you say, taking her hand in yours. “So?” 

“So? I’ve never told anyone about you two. Not even the girls.” 

“Why not?” 

Grace thinks, wondering what her excuse was. 

All the other girls never hid their relationships. 

Why did she?

“I love having you all to myself, I don’t want to share what we’ve got just yet.” 

“Oh honey,” you coo, realizing where all this was coming from. “The girls will understand, Gracie.”

“I don’t want to make you feel like you need to hide who you are with them.” 

“You’d never let that happen, Gracie,” you say, leaning in to kiss her soft lips. “Never.” 

You stand, walking backwards into the bathroom. You’re taunting Grace, hinting at round two in the shower. 

“Besides, I’d love to meet the girls who don’t know the baby has a baby.” 

||

“Who’s that?” 

“Who’s who?” 

“The girl Gracie’s with,” Maya gasps “and the cutest little boy ever!” 

“You wanna say hi little buddy?” Grace coos, taking Jake out of your hands before walking out towards the girls. You follow her and strike up a conversation with Beth, Lotte and Leah, watching Grace out of the corner of your eye. 

The girls fawn over Jake and seemingly Sarina joins in, practice for the day delayed by about a half hour. 

“This is what you’ve been hiding Grace?” Millie quips, tickling Jake a little as Mary makes faces at him. 

“They’re very important to me, Mills.”

“I get that,” she nods, “I’m happy for you Grace. Thank you for sharing them with us.” 

You’re sitting in the stands with Jake, watching as his eyes light up when Grace shows off her skills. He becomes a little fussy at nap time and Sarina, to your surprise, takes him from you and holds him the entire hour he naps on her shoulder while you do some work on your laptop. 

At the end of training, Grace hops the barriers to get to you. The girls have already come over and taken Jake to the locker room, his giggling makes your heart grow fonder of the girls you’ve watched on tv for years and heard stories about. 

“I think that was a successful day in the office, don’t you think?” Grace says tiredly, sitting beside you. 

“Mhm, it was,” you turn and face Grace, her perfect smile on her face when your eyes lock with hers. “The girls love Jake and it’s clear they love you. Thank you for letting them into our little world. I’d love to share more of it with them.”

“I think they’d like that.” 

“Jake! I am utterly heartbroken that you said she was your favorite!” 

“HA! I told you he liked me better!”

“FUCK OFF LOTTE!” 

“Leah! Language around the baby!”

“PWUCK!” 

“Oh no.”

[tossawary]

2,500 words of the Moshang Forced Marriage AU, in which the PIDW plot is turned off and Tianlang-Jun doesn’t fall, but this only causes even more problems for Mobei-Jun and Shang Qinghua. Written on my phone. 

- 

Shang Qinghua stumbled back into his leisure house with a jar of Zui Xian Peak’s best light wine in one hand and a sack of Qian Cao Peak’s tastiest specialty melon seeds in the other. He kicked the door closed, kicked off his shoes, and then kicked back for some quality lounging. 

   “Ahhh, now this is more like it!” he declared, wiggling into the cushions worthy of a head disciple’s house. “It’s all shoving off my chores onto other people from here on out! Having flatcakes on order with a snap of my fingers! Making some other poor bastard deal with Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge - at each other’s throats even at Yue-Shixiong’s nice dinner to celebrate our future ascension, eugh. I’ve really earned this! I’ve suffered enough!” 

   He dropped the sack of seeds onto the side table and fiddled with the wine, embarrassingly clumsy despite the fact that he was sober. As always, he’d been much too chicken-shit to really indulge around other people. He needed his fast reflexes for ducking and running away when he was out and about! Plus, people would freak the fuck out if a transmigrator started running his mouth, giving everyone existential issues and shit, so him waiting until he was alone to drink was really more of a societal service here than sad. 

   The Transmigration System had also been a concern before, but not anymore! 

   Shang Qinghua raised his jar and laughingly declared, “The plot is dead! Long live the free author! Ah, this toast is a little late, but better late than never, huh?” 

   At long last, this transmigrator had managed to get into the Transmigration System’s settings and turn off the plot! It had honestly been a little infuriating just how easy it had been, once he’d hit on the right combination of things to open the right settings menu. There may or may not have been a lot of outraged shrieking and frustrated crying, after all the sweat, blood, and tears he’d shed to become the head disciple of An Ding Peak. All Airplane Shooting Towards The Sky had needed to do, in the end, was flick a few buttons from “on” to “off”. Outrageous. 

   “No more missions! No more restrictions! And no more bad endings for anyone! Ah, at least for everyone besides Huan Hua Palace Sect’s old master, that is… but, heh heh, I really think that I and the new Empress Su Xiyan can live with that,” Shang Qinghua muttered, then took a drink, wiggling deeper into his lounging and feeling very good about himself. 

   He felt as free as a bird! As free as the wind! Why shouldn't he celebrate his newfound freedom and future as a Cang Qiong Peak Lord by doing a little bit of nothing at all? 

  Shang Qinghua shamelessly did his best to become a lump. As he toasted to the distant happy couple and the bouncy baby protagonist on his way, with wine and melon seeds both, he removed all but one layer of clothing, tossed his belt and his jewelry on top of the pile, and yanked everything out of his hair. He slid from a sitting position to a totally horizontal one without realizing how it had happened, then he let heavy eyes fall closed with the knowledge that everything was going to be so much better now. 

   A person knew things were good when they could fall asleep just like this. 

   Then a burst of cold air startled him into looking up at a shadowy figure stepping out of nowhere above him. Shang Qinghua shrieked with terror. 

   "SHUT UP!” the shadow snarled. “Get up!” 

   “What- my king?!” 

   Mobei-Jun didn’t wait and grabbed Shang Qinghua by the front of his robes, hauling him to his feet. The wine sloshed against the floor and the melon seeds scattered around them. Shang Qinghua yelped, choked, and then wheezed and flailed, and then yelped again as his loose robes got a little looser with the rough handling and he slipped in Mobei-Jun's grip. 

   "What- get dressed!" Mobei-Jun snapped, and then dragged him into the bedroom right away. 

   "The sight of my naked chest offends you this much, bro?!" Shang Qinghua thought, stumbling along. "There's not enough room in this house for two tits-out outfits?! What the fuck is going on?!" 

   Mobei-Jun threw Shang Qinghua towards the dresser. He just barely managed to catch himself, taking a hard wooden edge to the gut and stubbing his toe on its base, instead of falling and concussing himself at least. Shit! It still hurt, though! 

   "Get dressed!" Mobei-Jun snapped again, pointing at the dresser for emphasis. "Now!" 

   "Right away! Right away, my king!" With shaking hands, his heart thundering in his ears, Shang Qinghua pulled out the first set of robes his fingers touched. 

   "Not those!" 

   "Aah!" 

   Shang Qinghua dropped the robes onto the floor. They were the regular everyday robes of an An Ding Peak disciple, plain and sturdy, something that the demon had seen him in many times before. 

   "Wh- what's wrong with th-these?" 

   "Too plain!" Mobei-Jun barked, and stalked forward to shove Shang Qinghua aside and go through the dresser himself. 

   Shang Qinghua stumbled away and took shelter near his bed, quickly retying his current robes to prevent another fucking nip-slip or worse. He watched with wide eyes as Mobei-Jun threw his clothing to the floor as not good enough. The next drawer was yanked open with so much strength that it splintered and tilted crookedly to one side. 

   "My king, why-?! What's happening?! Are- are we going somewhere?! Who does this servant have to impress?!" 

   Mobei-Jun finished throwing aside everything in this drawer and tried to shove it back in, but it was too broken to be moved. The demon snarled, yanked the entire drawer from the dresser with another terrible splintering sound, and threw the drawer out of his way. It hit Shang Qinghua in the chest and sent him sprawling back onto his bed. 

   He lay there and wheezed without shoving it away, just feeling the impact rattle through his ribs. He heard another drawer splinter. 

   "Ah, so this is how I die?" he thought. "Just as expected: with a bang AND a whimper." 

   He pushed the drawer to one side and sat up, only to be smacked in the face with the robes thrown at him. They were the nicest robes he owned. The An Ding Peak Lord had ordered them for him for the coming ascension of a new generation of Peak Lords, so they had all sorts of fancy embroidery and several heavy layers, which meant Shang Qinghua fell back against the bed again under their weight when they hit his head. He sat up again and then gawked at these robes he had never worn and wasn't supposed to wear yet- 

   "Tianlang-Jun." 

   "Aha, what?" Shang Qinghua looked at the demon lord scowling at him. "My king…? What about Tianlang-Jun…? This- no. What?! My king, you can't mean to take this servant before the Demon Emperor, that would be ridic-" 

   "Get dressed," Mobei-Jun snapped. 

   "It's not Tianlang-Jun, right? Why-?! What's really going on here? Are we going somewhere? Are we meeting someone?" 

   Shang Qinghua got to his feet, but he didn't dare put the fancy robes on, like being nearly naked would save him from being dragged off anywhere else. No amount of nice clothing would ever make the likes of this displaced author impressive to the likes of the OP Demon Emperor, finally sitting on his late sister's throne. 

   "This servant can't serve his king to the best of his abilities unless he knows what the-" 

   "My father is dead!" 

   “...Wh… what?” 

   Mobei-Jun’s expression was like a thunderstorm. Shadows curled around his clenched fists, as light and heat fled this room that was suddenly even smaller than Shang Qinghua remembered it being. 

   "My father…" Mobei-Jun repeated, slowly, daring Shang Qinghua not to understand a second time. "...is dead." 

   Shang Qinghua stared in horror, the robes slipping out of his hands, which itched to count all the years that had just been skipped even though he knew he didn't have enough fingers. Thirty years or so? Definitely more than twenty. His breath came out in a trembling fog as he demanded: 

   "H-how?!" 

   "Tianlang-Jun," Mobei-Jun said again, through gritted teeth. 

   Good point! Good point! Who the fuck else could it be? The real question was why the fuck?! And also what the fuck was Shang Qinghua of all people supposed to do about clashes between OP demon lords?! 

   Mobei-Jun advances on Shang Qinghua, the shadows in his fists writhing like he's strangling them. "Tianlang-Jun took offense to some of my clan's foolish disrespect towards his human Empress and he made an example of my father. He has threatened to destroy the body unless a suitable gesture is made." 

   "But… the power of your ancestors…" 

   Mobei-Jun, looming over him, shoved him down to his knees to pick up the robes he had dropped, and snarled: "Get dressed." 

   Shang Qinghua snatched up the robes and skittered away to dress himself up for the slaughter. His heart was racing fast, but his mind seemed to be going even faster, almost too fast to actually think and also do things like make sure clothes weren't inside-out as he put them on. 

   The power of the Mobei clan rested in the ascension ritual in which the new king "consumed" the body of the old king. Spiritually and… er… possibly also physically? Shang Qinghua had no idea if the System had picked up on those implications or not. Anyway, if Mobei-Jun's father's body was destroyed, then he wouldn't receive that power-up necessary to enforce his rule, which would make him the target of every ambitious cousin and every greedy neighbor. The Mobei clan would probably fall into civil war and the rest of the northern kingdoms would follow them into bloody battle. 

   Shang Qinghua's favorite character, currently glaring at him for the fancy clothes probably making him look even less fancy by comparison, was sure to die. Mobei-Jun's shitty uncle had probably already picked the poisoned knife with which to stab him in the back. 

    "My king… what… what gesture is being made here…? This servant… this servant really needs to know how he's supposed to be of service…" 

   Shang Qinghua also needed to know whether or not he needed to take the first available window to run away. He definitely wasn't above leaping out of literal windows. If Mobei-Jun intended on hanging him over to Tianlang-Jun as a human sacrifice or some shit, then promises of loyalty might expire a lot sooner than originally planned! 

   At the question, Mobei-Jun's expression only darkened and the room darkened again with it. The cold seemed to spread from Shang Qinghua's skin deep into his twisting chest.

   "Marriage," Mobei-Jun said, again through gritted teeth. "Tianlang-Jun has suggested marriage to a human as a worthy gesture." 

   "M-marriage?" 

   Mobei-Jun looked so fucking murderous that Shang Qinghua knew he hadn't misheard. He had to have misheard, though, because this was absurd. 

   "Marriage betw-between me and- and…?" 

   "Yes." 

   "And… you?" 

   "Yes." 

   Shang Qinghua should have been given an award for not fainting dead away. The System should have given him a million points for every second he managed to stay conscious, except… the System had essentially been turned off. No more points. No more plot. 

   No more Proud Immortal Demon Way plot, at least. 

   Ah, was this some kind of warped vacuum effect? A new plot come to take its place? 

   "There will be great riches." 

   Shang Qinghua refocused on the demon glaring at him. Riches?! What the fuck did riches have to do with anything right now?! 

   "Mobei Clan is the second strongest in the Demon Realm," Mobei-Jun informed him, but the demon was kind of scowling like he resented this now, instead of bragging. "You would not have to work again." 

   It was a really fucking weird day when being told that his Dream Guy wanted him and that he'd never had to work again was somehow bad news. It almost sounded like Mobei-Jun was… was… trying to persuade Shang Qinghua to marry him by offering wealth, power, and a life of indolence. All things that would tempt most people! Especially blindly greedy, thigh-hugging sect traitors like his character! 

   "Did… did Tianlang-Jun tell you… to just pick any human?" Shang Qinghua asked faintly. "There weren't… there weren't any requirements…?" 

   Clearly Mobei-Jun didn't want to be tied to Shang Qinghua of all humans! 

   "He asked - laughingly - if none of us knew any humans. I said that I did." 

   Okay, Shang Qinghua fully believed that Mobei-Jun didn't know any other humans. Mobei-Jun was on a deadline and didn't have time to go find the most acclaimed matchmaker or anything. By default, Shang Qinghua was the best, most handsome, most skillful, most wellborn, most desirable, and altogether most marriageable human Mobei-Jun knew - and he was not feeling super fucking thrilled by this victory. 

   "What… what did my king say about me..? What is the Demon Emperor expecting?" Shang Qinghua could only hope expectations had been set on the floor, preferably into the floor or maybe even underground. 

   "A disciple of Cang Qiong in my service." 

   "Oh…" 

   "Fix your robes." 

   "What? Oh, shit. Right away!" 

   Shang Qinghua didn't have a lot of experience wearing robes this nice and Mobei-Jun barking at him to look less like shit wasn't helping. The fact that he was sweating from nerves and his fingers were still shaking a little also wasn't helping. He skittered around to add tasteful ornaments and jewelry, some of which got violently rejected by Mobei-Jun as too ugly to show anyone, but looking down at himself, he mostly just felt like he was throwing shiny gold onto a pile of crap. How could this really fool anyone?  

   "My king, what… what am I supposed to say to the Demon Emperor? Do you want me to lie? To the Demon Emperor?!" 

   "Do not speak unless spoken to." 

   Sure, Shang Qinghua could do that, but was he really supposed to leave the talking to Mobei-Jun?! To Mobei-Jun?! The protagonist's right-hand man had not been known for his silver tongue! Did he think people weren't going to have questions? Like, "How the fuck do you know some random human?" Or, "Holy shit, you're really going to marry THAT one?" 

   "Isn't… my king, isn't Tianlang-Jun well known for his interest in humans and human stories… though...?" 

   Love stories! Shang Qinghua was pretty sure that the man loved a good love story! How the fuck were he and Mobei-Jun supposed to pull off a love story? And make it a love story compelling enough to convince a pissed-off Tianlang-Jun to grant the Mobei Clan mercy? Shang Qinghua wasn’t totally sure he was going to be able to do anything besides break down sobbing and curl up into a pathetic ball on the floor. 

   Mobei-Jun's face twisted slightly, in the way of an angry demon who didn't want to admit that his lowly human servant actually had a super great point. Tianlang-Jun had already proven himself a man who liked to play with his food a little. 

   "Do not tell some story," Mobei-Jun snarled finally. "Do not speak unless spoken to. Do not lie." 

   "Of course! Of course! Very wise not to lie to him!” Shang Qinghua told himself to focus on the logistics here; he was the logistics man; it was what he did. If he just kept focusing on the details, he didn’t have to think about the bigger picture. “This servant will remain silent until called upon, which… when… my king, when will that be? Tomorrow morning? I have to tell-" 

   "Now." 

  "-my martial sib- what?!" 

   "Now," Mobei-Jun repeated. "He is waiting." 

[slasherhaven]

Hello, if it's not too much could I maybe get Otis/Baby calming their SO down after SO sees a murder for the first time? Maybe reassuring the SO they aren't gonna kill them?

Otis Driftwood and Baby Firefly calming their S/O down after they witness them murdering someone:

Otis Driftwood

You had just ran, after breaking out of your frozen state anyway. You had only come to visit your boyfriend, the last thing you expected was to see him brutally murdering a man in the living room whiling cursing him out, you would later learn that this man had been an escaped victim. Of course, you were never meant to see it.

You had been frozen, stunned by the scene, but when Otis lifted himself away from the victim and noticed you, you knew you had to move. When his gaze settled on you, blood-splattered face dropping slightly, you turned and ran right back out the door.

It was a lost cause, you knew that. The house was far away from anything else, from anyone or any main roads, you would probably tire before you reached help. But you didn’t even make it to the end of the property before Otis caught up to you.

The whole time you could hear him shouting after you, along with his rushed footsteps. You were just nearing the property line when you felt a hand grab your arm, pulling you back to crash against him. You fought and thrashed against his hold, crying and pleading with him to let you go, but he just wrapped his arms around you and held you tighter.

He attempted to shush you but you continued to thrash and shout at him. It was long before you began to wear yourself out and you accepted that nobody was going to help you and he wasn’t going to let go, so you stopped fighting but the crying didn’t stop. You just saw your boyfriend brutally murdering a man, covered in blood and unfazed by it, of course you were emotional.

“I’m not gonna hurt ya, okay?” you finally started processing Otis’ words properly, actually hearing what he was saying. “I’ll let go but ya gotta promise not to run, alright?” he told you but you weren’t sure how to respond. “Y/n?” he prompted an answer and you just nodded, agreeing but not trusting your voice. 

Like he promised, Otis released you. As soon as he let go, you jerked forward away from him, and turned back to him. You were looking at him with fear in your eyes and he couldn’t even blame you, and he couldn’t blame you for running, what else were you supposed to do?

“What...what the fuck, Otis?” was all you managed to say and you were even surprised you were capable of asking that. 

“Just come back to the house with me” he didn’t answer and that only worried you more. What was he hiding? 

“I’m not going back in there!” you exclaimed, eyes widening slightly. There was no way you were walking back into the house where a dead body was just laying after being killed by your boyfriend.

“Don’t worry the others are cleanin’ up” Otis assured you, or at least attempted too. It wasn’t exactly what you wanted to hear in that moment.

“Cleaning up?” you were in disbelief. “Who was that guy?” you asked. 

“I don’t fuckin’ know” Otis scoffed, as if the question was ridiculous. 

“Did he...break in or something?” you asked, hoping that there was a better explanation for all of this. Yes, Otis would have still killed someone but maybe you could deal with it if it was in self defence.

Otis knew what you were doing and he knew that he had to decide whether he tells you to truth or not. “No. Baby brought ‘im back” he decided to be honest with you.

“...you’ve done this before” it wasn’t even a question, it was a statement. Maybe, deep down, you had known something was wrong. You knew Otis was...strange and morbid and violent with people, maybe you were just in denial, kept pushing away any concerns and ignored what was right in front of you this whole time. All those red flags that you over looked where now overwhelming you.

Otis didn’t respond to that because he didn’t need too. “C’mon” he reached out to take hold of you, to take you back to the house, but you stepped away from him. “Fuck” he muttered to himself, trying to figure out how to approach this, he’s not exactly the most sensitive person.

“Ain’t gonna hurt ya” it was more messed up that you believed him but he had never given you a reason not too before now. He had never hurt you, he had never been violent or aggressive towards you even though you had seen him act that way towards others. “Promise” it was sincere. Damn it.

“You’ve got to explain everything...” you told him. He couldn’t leave you oblivious, he needed to tell you everything that he had been hiding if he ever wanted you to be able to trust him again. Plus, you knew that he wasn’t about to let you leave without making sure you wouldn’t go to police or anything.

Otis agreed to tell you everything as long as you returned to the house with him. You just didn’t expect the grotesque confessions he was about to make. One murder was one thing...but what you were about to learn couldn’t be easily overlooked.

Baby Firefly

All you had wanted was to go to your girlfriend’s house and spend some time with her but instead you found her in the living room of her home, standing over a man with his blood everywhere. Before she noticed you, she had muttered something to the body, before kicking them and laughing a little to himself. 

“Baby, what the fuck is going on?” you asked, giving her the benefit of the doubt that she has a good reason or explanation for all of this. She was your girlfriend and you loved her, of course you wanted this to be one big misunderstanding despite the evidence right in front of you. Surely there had to be a reasonable explanation...

“This prick didn’t know how to do as he’s told” she sighed, dropping the knife she had used to kill him. 

“Baby...?” you asked, quietly processing the scene. She had definitely killed this man and she didn’t seem to care at all.

“Baby! Did you deal with-” Otis’ voice caught your attention as he came into the room, but he stopped talking when he saw you, realising that you were seeing far too much. “You better fucking deal with that” he ordered his sister, pointing at you.

“I will” Baby rolled her eyes, acting completely unfazed by everything that was happening.

That’s when you realises that this hadn’t been an accident, it wasn’t a case of self defence, both of the siblings were involved in this person’s death and you had to leave. Without even thinking, you spun around and darted for the door. 

“Hold on, hold on, hold on” Baby jumped into action quickly, hurrying after you. She caught you just as you reached the door, quickly slamming to shut just as you began to pull it open. “It’s alright, Doll, we ain’t gonna hurt ya” she assured you when you turned to her and she noticed your tears. 

You had no idea what to do or say, you were just frozen and staring at her with wide teary eyes. 

“It’s all going to be okay, come one, let’s get you outta here” her tone was surprisingly comforting considering the brutality she was able commit only moments before. You knew you could leave, there was nowhere for you to run, you just had to trust that she wouldn’t hurt you. 

So, you barely nodded, but Baby placed a hand on your back and guided you to her bedroom. Once you stepped into her room, she closed the door and sat you down on her bed. 

“What did you do, Baby?” you asked carefully, finally finding your voice. 

“Don’t worry, we ain’t gonna get into trouble” she assured you, as if that was your main concern. You hadn’t even thought about the possibility of her getting arrested for murder, you were still processing the actual crime. 

“You killed him...” vocalising it was even worse, Baby had killed somebody. Right in the middle of her living room and now you were sitting in her bedroom with her. God, his blood was still on her... 

“Aw I don’t like hidin’ things from ya, I just didn’t want to scare ya” Baby sighed. She didn’t make a move to sit beside you, instead standing in front of you. Probably so that she was between you and the door in case you tried to make a run for it. 

“Well, I’m pretty fucking scared now” you nearly scoffed. The tears had stopped rolling down your cheeks but your eyes still felt watery.

“I know, I’m sorry” her apology seemed oddly sincere.

“Can you just explain what is going on?” you pleaded, desperate for some sort of explanation. 

“You sure you want that?” she asked, giving you an unsure look. 

“You just killed someone!” you exclaimed, throwing your hands in the air as you stood from the bed. She killed someone and now she’s asking if you’re sure you want an explanation. You needed one. 

“And look how you’re reacting to that!” she threw her hands up as well, matching your theatrics.

“Baby!” you snapped, needing her to tell you what was going on and stop avoiding the subject. 

“Sorry! Okay!” she apologised again, finding herself glad that the two of you could fall into some sort of familiar banter, even with how frightened you were.

Baby agreed to tell you everything and you would soon learn why she had been so reluctant to do so, but she had to be honest because it was obvious to you that something was very wrong in this house.

She didn’t know how you would react but she was sure that it wouldn’t be good. What she did know was that she would be there to comfort and reassure you, no matter how you reacted. 

[thatfanficstuff]

Summer Wedding - Stucky

Grouping - Stucky x Reader

Warnings: 18+. Minors DNI. smut including unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it), public teasing, oral sex (m receiving), spit roasting, minor knife play and other stuff I'm sure I forgot.

A/N: This is the first fic I'm posting for my summer celebration and it was actually written for boxofbonesfic's Hot Girl Summer Challenge. Not as um...descriptive as I'd intended on making it but I like it. Enjoy.

Word count: 3544

***

The wedding was beautiful, even you had to admit that. It was a relatively simple affair as these things went, though you were certain your uncle had spent several thousands on the flowers that seemed to dot every surface of the grounds of his estate. At least he’d kept your cousin from having a large church wedding this time. There was only so many times that was acceptable anyway, right?

A sigh slid from your lips and you sipped at your drink. You never should have come to this wedding. You weren’t in the mood for it. No, you should have made up an excuse about being sick and stayed home. The only reason you hadn’t was the fact you had no desire to listen to your mother bitch at you for the next six months for missing a family event. Just the thought had you rolling your eyes.

You’d actually been looking forward to the wedding until last week. That’s when you discovered your boyfriends were going on a mission and would not be back in time to accompany you. Not only did you hate going to weddings alone, but you’d already gone through the ordeal of explaining to your aunt why you need a plus two instead of a plus one. And she certainly hadn’t kept that information to herself. Half the damn day had been spent answering questions about your relationship from nosy family members.

Speaking of…Your cousin Natalie sat down in one of the empty chairs that flanked you. She smirked and sipped at her champagne. “So, where are your dates, Y/N?”

You resisted the urge to roll your eyes again. Too much more of that and you’d have a raging migraine. Instead, you kept your gaze on the dance floor and took another sip of your drink. “They had to work.”

“I just find it interesting that you all but beg mother for an extra seat and here they both are. Empty.” She eyed you, waiting for a reaction you had no intention of giving her. “I mean, why lie? It’s kind of pathetic.”

You finally turned your head to her. “Shouldn’t you be doing something wedding-ish? You are the maid of honor, aren’t you? Oh, that’s right, you aren’t in the wedding party, are you?” You sucked a breath through your teeth in mock sympathy. “Sorry.”

There was certain to be a reason why Natalie wasn’t part of her only sisters third wedding, but you didn’t care beyond the fact it was sure to be a sore spot. Frankly, Natalie had always been a bitch, even when you were children. Though, unlucky in the marriage department, her sister Sally had always been your preferred cousin. Maybe Sally had finally gotten tired of dealing with her sister’s shit.

Natalie narrowed her eyes and leaned toward you. “I don’t believe you could get one man to put up with you, let alone two. No one does. We actually had a pool going over whether either of them would show up. And if they did, whether they’d leave with you since you’d probably paid them to be here. I mean, most people just make up one boyfriend. Two really takes the cake. You never could stand not being the center of attention.”

The irony wasn’t lost you that most of your family had no idea you worked with the Avengers. Nor had you mentioned the names of those two boyfriends of yours. Real attention seeker you were. You chanced a glance at your phone to check the time. You had at least another hour before you could leave without a lecture from your mother. You also had zero messages from your boys. Hopefully, that meant they were taking care of business and would be home soon.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” your cousin started whisper yelling from beside you as she froze in her chair. Her eyes were wide and slightly crazed.

Your brow furrowed. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Even as you waited for an answer, your trained ear picked up murmurs beginning amongst the other guests.

When you went to look over your shoulder, Natalie gripped your hand. “Don’t turn around,” she said through clenched teeth. When you went to do it anyway, she snapped again. “Don’t. They’ll see you staring.”

“Who?” Your tone was clipped as irritation crawled through you.

“Steve Rogers and James Barnes just walked in,” she hissed, her gaze locked on them. So apparently she was allowed to stare but you weren’t. By this point, everyone else would be staring as well. The boys were used to it.

You snatched your hand away from your cousin and spun in your seat. As soon as you saw them, a smile covered your face. They had been so certain they wouldn’t be back in time. You knew they’d pushed themselves to be here for you. You ran your gaze over them, taking in the rare sight of them in suits. Even though you’d helped them pick them out, you still licked your lips at the sight.

Steve wore a beautiful bright blue suit that you knew brought out his eyes even though they were currently hidden behind sunglasses. Buck’s suit looked light blue but it was actually a thin blue pin stripe. Both of them looked incredible as always, but you always got a little thrill seeing them dressed up. Of course, that feeling was mutual.

They hadn’t seen you yet, but they were scanning the crowd as they moved across the vast grounds of your uncle’s estate. When your uncle moved to greet them, you stood as well.

Natalie grabbed at your arm. “What are you doing? You’re going to embarrass me.”

Yeah, she didn’t need any help with that. You shook her off and started toward your men. Both of them immediately locked onto your presence and wide smiles greeted you. Your uncle got to them before you could. Steve shifted his attention to speak with him, but Buck’s attention was 100% on you. His gaze trailed over you from head to toe and his eyes darkened.

“We’re extremely honored that you’re here. How did you hear about the wedding?” you heard your uncle ask. He was one of the politer members of your family.

“They’re with me, Uncle Frank,” you said as soon as you were close enough to be heard without raising your voice. “Sorry they’re late. They were working.”

Frank turned to you, his mouth slightly agape and his brows lifted. “These are the dates Margie wouldn’t stop going on about?” Margie was his wife and the aunt you had to beg for the extra seat.

You hummed in agreement.

“Well, I certainly hope so or this is going to turn awkward in a moment,” Bucky said with a lopsided grin. He opened his arms in invitation and you stepped into them. “Missed you, doll.”

You nuzzled against his chest briefly, careful not to transfer your makeup to his shirt. “I missed you, too. So much. I’m glad you’re home.”

There was a tug on your arm and you were pulled into Steve’s embrace. He pressed a kiss to your temple. “Hey, baby.”

“Hey, soldier.” You turned to look at your uncle who was still staring in stunned silence. “Steve, Bucky, this is my Uncle Frank. Father of the bride.”

Both of your boys shook his hand and thanked him for allowing them to come. He hurried back to his table, undoubtedly to announce this strange turn of events. You fell into step with your boyfriends, taking their hands in yours while you walked in the middle. You led them over to your table to find Natalie still in Bucky’s seat.

“Natalie,” you said to get her attention. When she continued to gape at the two men you said her name again.

She smiled at you as if you were her favorite person in the world certain there was an introduction in her future. “Yes, cousin?”

“You’re in his seat.”

She blinked at you for a second before her face twisted in anger. She scrambled from the chair and stormed back to her table with a toss of her head. Steve and Buck chuckled as they took their seats on either side of you. They slid their chairs as close to you as they could get. “Are you two hungry? We already had dinner but I could find you something.”

Bucky squeezed your thigh. “We ate. Don’t worry about us, sweetheart.”

“I’m glad you two made it,” your mother’s voice caught your attention and you turned to find her standing next to Steve. He stood to greet her and you leaned against Bucky, knowing he wouldn’t care to do the same. “If I had to listen to one more person say she made you up I was going to scream,” she admitted as she hugged Steve. That earned another low chuckle from Bucky.

“Mrs. Y/L/N, it’s good to see you again,” Steve said, managing to sound sincere. Not that he disliked your mother, but they’d just returned from a mission. All they wanted to do was stay home for a couple of days and destress. But they’d come here for you and they would be on their best behavior.

“We won’t be staying long, mom. They just got home,” you informed her and braced yourself for an argument.

Instead, she nodded. “Of course, sweetheart. Just make sure to introduce them to Sally before you leave.”

You groaned. “Can’t I just do it at her next wedding?”

“Y/N!” she snapped but you caught the twitch at the corner of her lips.

Bucky snorted a laugh beside you while Steve shot you a chastising look. You smiled. “I will, momma.”

She left and Bucky turned to speak in your ear as Steve sat back down. “We don’t have to leave, baby girl.” The nickname shot a thrill up your spine. “I love weddings. The food. The dancing. The clothes. Like this little number you have on. I really love this dress, doll.” You wore a white sundress with tiny blue flowers on it to match their suits that fell a few inches above your knees. It was the first time either of them had seen it.

Steve’s arm settled across the back of your chair and his fingers played with your hair. “Yeah, that dress is something special. It might be a bit too short, though,” he said without glancing at you. Instead, he seemed to be keeping an eye on the crowd around you.

“It’s not too short.” You loved the dress and thought it was perfect.

“Yeah, Stevie. If anything, it’s not short enough.” Bucky’s fingers dragged your dress up your thigh, bunching it up in his hand as he went.

“What are you doing, Barnes?” you hissed.

“I told you I missed you, doll. I want to show you how much.”

You placed a hand on his, stopping his movement. “You can’t be serious.”

“Of course, we are. We talked about it all the way home,” Steve answered. He lowered his mouth to speak in your ear. “Talked about how we wanted to please you in front of everyone. With everyone watching because you know their eyes are glued to our table trying to figure out how we managed to land a beautiful gal like you.”

You snorted a laugh that cut off in a gasp as Bucky pulled your dress further up your thigh. “I don’t think that’s what they’re thinking, Steve.”

Bucky kissed the patch of skin behind your ear. “How come he gets Steve and I got Barnes?”

“He’s not the one actively trying to feel me up at my cousin’s wedding.” Your eyes slipped closed as his fingers brushed your inner thigh. Sweat beaded your skin and you wondered if you could blame it on the heat even though it was ten degrees cooler than it had been earlier.

“But it was all his idea,” Buck whispered.

Your eyes flew open to shoot a glare at the blond’s head. “Steven Grant Rogers, What would your mother say?”

Buck laughed, drawing the attention of some of the few people that weren’t already staring. “She’d probably say, ‘good going, Stevie’. She would have loved you.”

“Would—” All ability to finish your sentence or to have a rational thought fled from you when he pushed your panties aside and ran his fingers through your folds. Fuck.

“She’s already soaking wet for us, Steve. Such a good girl,” Bucky cooed.

Steve’s hand fisted on the back of your chair as he glanced around again. “I was wrong. I don’t have the patience for this. I need to be buried in her.” He slid his sunglasses off and put them in the inside pocket of his jacket. He turned to face you, blue eyes burning into you. “You have exactly two minutes to find us someplace private or we’re going to finger fuck you right here until you scream. Your choice, princess.”

In less than a minute, you’d sent a text on your phone and jumped to your feet. Taking their hands in yours, you dragged them toward the house. You pulled them through the large home until you reached a familiar door on the main level. Opening it, you shoved the super soldiers inside. You locked the door behind you and turned to find them already loosening their ties.

“We don’t have time for that,” you argued with a wave of your hands. “I told Uncle Frank we were borrowing his office for an important phone call. We have twenty minutes tops.”

Bucky groaned. “I wanted to take my time with you. I missed you,” he nearly whined.

The corner of your mouth kicked up. “We can take all the time you want later, baby. Right now, just fuck me.” That had him groaning again, an entirely different sound this time.

Steve, however, wasn’t wasting any time. He grabbed a cushion from the couch and tossed it on the floor. “All fours, princess.” He was already undoing his belt by the time you dropped to your knees. He moved behind you and pushed your dress up to give himself a clear view of your ass. He ran his hand over it before giving you a light swat. The mild sting was still enough to have you shifting.

“These have got to go,” he said tugging on the side of your panties. “Buck?”

You glanced up to see Bucky grin as he pulled out a knife and handed it to Steve. He traced your spine with the back of the blade causing you to hiss and arch your back. The sensation only doubled when he moved from cloth to bare skin. The cold steel on your flesh sent tremors through you but you weren’t scared. Far from it. “I think she likes that, Stevie,” Bucky said, a teasing lilt in his voice. “We’ll have to remember that.”

Steve merely hummed before slicing through both sides of your panties and pulling them off as he handed the knife back to his friend. His hand immediately cupped you and his fingers dipped into your soaking wet folds. “Christ, Y/N. I hope you’re ready for me, baby.”

The head of his cock nudged your entrance as if asking for permission but that only lasted a moment. A second later, Steve surged forward filling you with his length. You moaned at the familiar sensation and clawed at the carpet. He paused, giving you time to adjust then he was thrusting into you in long, slow strokes. “Don’t tease,” you ordered.

Steve laughed and increased his speed. When you groaned, Bucky was there rubbing the tip of his cock across your lips. You opened your mouth and sucked at him greedily, needing to taste him while Steve railed you from behind. Only when you had both of them inside of you did you feel complete. Whole. Whatever the fuck was wrong with you, you hoped there was no cure. You would gladly die like this.

The feeling of both of them moving in and out had a perfectly sinful, wanton moan coming from you. The vibration ran along the length of Bucky’s cock and he grunted. His fingers tightened their hold in your hair and his speed increased. Steve mirrored his pace and it didn’t take long for the office to fill with lurid grunts and the sweaty, sweet smell of sex.

Soon, you were so lost in sensation you became little more than a vessel for them to use as you climbed to your peak. Their rhythm stuttered and you knew they were close. You clenched your walls around Steve and were rewarded with a hiss and his grip on your hips tightening. At the same time, you sucked harder on Bucky and ran your tongue along the underside of his cock. “Fuck,” he bit out. “I’m close. Cum, baby girl. Come on.”

Steve’s fingers found your clit. Two seconds later you were screaming around the cock in your mouth as your cunt clutched greedily at the one in your pussy. Fuck. Bucky came next, his load shooting into your mouth and down your throat. As you swallowed his offering, Steve filled you with his cum. You felt it leak around him and drip to the floor.

They pulled out of you at the same time and you collapsed to your side. “Holy shit,” you said between pants causing your boys to laugh.

“Holy shit’s right. Damn,” Bucky agreed. Your eyes followed his movements as he tucked himself back into his pants and put himself to rights. Before you could turn to Steve, you felt fabric between your legs cleaning you up.

A glance showed him wiping away his cum with the remnants of your panties. He gave you a wicked grin. “Can’t have you leaking all over your cousin’s wedding, now can we?”

Your face heated as you thought about all the times they’d made you walk around with their cum leaking out of you. Apparently, that wasn’t appropriate for a wedding but was fine everywhere else. Steve stood and pulled his pants up before doing up his belt. He held out a hand to you. “Let’s get you fixed up, sweetheart.”

They’d barely done anything and looked like they had when you walked into the room. You, on the other hand, probably looked like you’d gone a couple of rounds with a rabid raccoon. Stupid men. Steve made sure your dress was laying correctly so everything was covered while Bucky did the same thing behind you. They both fiddled with your hair for a moment before declaring you gorgeous.

You narrowed your gaze at them, not buying it for a moment. The three of you quickly put the office to rights. There was nothing you could do about the smell of sex in the air but hopefully it would dissipate before your uncle needed to use it.

“Seriously, baby girl. You look fantastic,” Buck insisted when he noticed you fidgeting.

“Yeah, but you guys like it when I look freshly fucked,” you said as you opened the door. There was a mirror in the hallway you used to check your appearance. You actually didn’t look that bad, but you definitely looked a little wild. You shrugged. Honestly, you didn’t care. “All right, we’re saying hello to the bride, then we’re leaving.”

“No argument here.” Steve took your hand in his and Buck did the same thing on the other side.

When the three of you made it outside, you headed straight for the head table. “Sally, this is Steve and Bucky. Boys, this is my cousin Sally and her new husband Ben.”

“Lovely to meet you,” Steve greeted with a smile. Sally launched herself at him and wrapped him in a hug.

“I can’t believe you came to my wedding,” she squealed before letting go of him to hug Bucky. His eyes begged you to help him but you just smiled. Sally was a bit flighty but she was good people.

She hugged you last. “You should have told me, Y/N. I would have sat you closer to the front.”

“It’s okay, Sally. We have to go. Congratulations,” you said then let her go. When you did, you found that most of the family had come to get introductions or say their farewells. Nicole tried to go in for a hug, but Steve subtly made sure it was nothing more than a handshake. The fact you didn’t introduce her was enough to tell them she wasn’t the kind of person they wanted to know.

When she tried to hug Bucky, you intercepted and hugged her instead. “It was good seeing you, Nicole.”

“You have some explaining to do,” she said in a low voice as she hugged you tighter than necessary. When she released you, she continued to stand by you.

You watched Bucky and Steve say goodbye to your mother and uncle before they turned to you. You held up a finger to tell them you’d be right with them and leaned sideways to get closer to your cousin. “So, just out of curiosity, did anyone in the pool have them fucking me during the reception?”

[k-comfyspace]

Neglected

Idol: Kim Chaewon, Kim Minju (Izone)

Request: Yes

Love: hi, i really love your writing! can i request a chaewon x minju x fem!reader where the reader wants to break up bc they seem happier without her but 2kim comforts her? angsty but with happy ending please? thank you!!!

A/n: Again can’t believe this is the first time I wrote this kind of story, take my privilege please! Ya’ll are just really nice, makes my heart soft and because I was in the mood to write, this is the longest scenario I’ve ever written🥺

You glanced outside the window, looking down at the field as you cleared your thoughts, trying to observe the students playing and exercising.

But really you were deep in your thoughts, struggling as you tried to figure out a solution, you knew they cared for you. You were the luckiest woman in the world to have the chance to date Minju and Chaewon.

To have them love you and show you sides that no fan has ever seen before, you knew it was too good to be true, and recently it’s been showing.

You never wanted to let your thoughts get the best of you. But recently you’ve found your relationship to be only centered around the two of them. Oftentimes you were stuck in school or you were back home doing projects, you would constantly cancel your time with them because you were busy, while they would just be a reach away.

You were the only one who was always busy, so you blame yourself that they were always happy being together because you were never there.

It would make you feel better if they had talked to you if they have any issues. But you couldn’t complain, how could you, not only is it your fault but they seemed a lot happier without you.

“Ms. L/n!” you snapped your head to the front, suddenly hearing your name as you realized the whole class was staring at you. Your professor included as he had his eyebrows furrowed, anger clear in his features before he asked you to stand.

“Could you answer the question, Ms. L/n?” He asked and you could only look down, hands behind your back before you heard him sigh, “Y/n this has been the 5th time this week, am I going to have to call in your parents?”

Your head shot up to look at your professor, shaking your head rapidly, “No, I’m sorry professor it won’t happen again, this is the last time,” you promised before he paused looking at your form and making you uneasy until he nodded, raising his finger towards you.

“One last time, Ms. L/n,”

“Thank you, sorry professor,”

Then the bell rang making you professor look at you with disappointment before he dismissed the class. You suddenly felt the guilt of the trouble you caused for the man as you left the room.

“It’s been the 5th time this week,” his words echoed in your head, your shoulders slumping as the reality dawned on you, that's because you kept in your issues so much that it started to show.

Your emptiness and sadness started to affect your performance, you were lucky that the professor was nice, if it were anyone else, your parents would’ve been interrogating you at this point.

You were so caught up in your thoughts that you didn’t notice the crowd behind you in the front was your girlfriend, following you with a smile as she held her bag, Minju caught up with you. Linking your arms together you suddenly jolted, jerking your hand as you earned a confused look from Minju.

“Sorry, I was thinking,” you played it off before Minju giggled and linked her arms with you again, “You’ve been thinking a lot these days, ba—Y/n,” you kept looking straight trying not to give too much away and ignored the slip up she had.

Of course the other students didn’t know, they couldn’t, since most of them were already wild enough as it is because out of all the people she chose L/n Y/n, to be the closest with and not to mention that her career only began 5 months ago so having a dating scandal this early on would surely affect not only her and Chaewon’s career but the rest as well.

“They’re dumping a lot of projects this week, so I’ve been a little out of it, sorry,” you apologized but your girlfriend could only shake her head before a sudden idea struck her, “You can come to the dorm and we’ll help you, Y/n!” She said and you could only shake your head.

“I don’t want to bother the other Minju, you’re already so busy I can’t just go there and interrupt,”

“Nonsense, Y/n, the girls practically adopted you when they met you, plus we’re on our break anyway.” She said and you were about to refuse but she cut you off, “You’ve been working too hard these days, baby, a little help wouldn’t be bad,” she said softly making your heart melt at her concern.

So with a conflicted heart and messy thoughts you agreed, your girlfriend cheering as she led you to the van.

—

“Y/n!” You smiled at the others waving as they greeted, “Baby,” Chaewon pushed herself off the couch and went to hug you and Minju as you forced a smile to convince the girls who cooed and playfully gaged at their members’ affection, but you didn’t quite fool all of them.

Your eyes landed on the blue haired girl, as Yujin gave you a soft smile when she saw the conflict in your eyes.

She was the first person you knew that was part of a group. Yujin was the perfect friend for you, she often matched your personality and she was a good listener.

Since in your first year at school she was the one that you got to know first, though you were both shy at first something eventually clicked until she introduced you to her friends.

Yujin was the person you could approach when you needed help with your girlfriends, even if she was young, Yujin did her best to listen to you and figure out a solution. Sometimes she was the reason why the three of you would make up when you had a problem, she cared for you like her big sister and you cared for her as your little sister.

So naturally when you started to have thoughts about Minju and Chaewon, Yujin was the first person you approached and ranted to, trying your best to not ruin their relationship as members while you ranted.

Thankfully Yujin didn’t think any bad things towards her unnie but she did find it quite annoying that her unnies were sweeter to each other than they are to you.

She’s been wanting to intervene, say how much they’re hurting you but to her displeasure you would constantly hold her back, saying it wasn’t a big deal. Which made it increasingly difficult to not be annoyed because of your niceness. If it was her she would’ve marched toward them and yelled out everything.

She admired that about you, that even if you were mistreated you would still forgive them and brush it off because it made the other happy, but sometimes it could be the reason you break.

—

Laying down on the floor, you did your best to write, tracing the sketch carefully as you ignored the couple giggling every so often. But in the corner of your eye, you could clearly see them, laughing as they kept talking about something. It was like they already forgot that they had someone else.

You gripped your pen, biting your tongue because you were afraid of blurting something out.

Yujin watched you from her spot, before she slowly made her way over next to you, nudging your body. As you looked over, she sent you a gentle smile keeping her voice low to avoid the others from hearing,

“If you need a second we can talk about it just say something,” she whispered and you smiled, sending your friend a thankful smile as you patted her knee.

Minju noticed you and Yujin whispering to each other, a small frown on her face as she wondered what you could’ve talked about.

“Hey, Y/n, is this good?” She called you, wanting to get your attention as she showed you her work on one of the parts you’ve given her. It was a weak attempt to get you because you were whispering with Yujin but you did glance over and gave her a smile.

Nodding at the work as you thanked her and said that she did a good job.

Throughout the night most of the girls had spent it finishing your projects, making sure to thank all the girls for their help. And throughout the night you had given yourself a fair distance away from the couple, focusing on your job as you plugged in your music or kept talking with Yujin who did her best to distract you, which you were infinitely grateful for.

However Minju and Chaewon had noticed you distancing yourself, it might’ve been their imaginations but you are so full of life when you spoke with the others, smiling as you replied excitedly or happily with the rest of the girls.

But whenever they would call for you, a short reply was all they got, even if they would try to hug you or say random sweet nothings, you would accept it but push away after a few seconds as you got back to your work.

You were slowly starting to get annoyed, partnered by your already conflicted feelings and with them constantly calling you for your attention, “Y/n we can we talk for a second, in private?” She whispered again which made you suddenly snap.

“I said I can handle it Yujin,” you said sharply, causing the younger girl to flinch, pursing her lips as she turned quiet.

You kept silent for the rest of the night, finishing your projects before you packed. You thanked the girls, making sure you showed them your gratitude and promised to repay them for their help.

Then you turned to your girlfriends, seeing both of them chatting, you wanted to thank them for helping but seeing them laugh so hard and so joyfully your mood was dampened again.

Your eyes however caught another sight, across the room Yujin cleaned up the mess, but the frown on her face was visible behind the curtain of hair she hid behind.

You sighed, approaching the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Yujin glanced up, seeing a small smile on your face as you gestured your head to the side, “Let’s talk,” you said, which immediately the blue haired followed you.

Unbeknownst to them of the eyes watching as they went into the hallway, Yujin avoided your eyes before you rested your hand on her shoulder, “Hey, I’m sorry for snapping at you,” you started seeing her about to speak but you cut her off.

“Me going through stuff doesn’t give me a valid reason to be mad at you Yujin, you were only trying to help me and I’m grateful for that. I don’t want to bring you into my problems, I don’t want you hating on other people because of me, you’re a good friend Yujin-ah,” you finished, seeing a pout starting to form on the younger’s face as she couldn’t say anything.

You giggled, pulling her into a hug, noticing the two figures peeking from the living room. You pulled away and smiled at your best friend, ushering her away before the two other girls came into the hallway, looking at you with concerned faces.

You forced a smile, eyes lingering on their clasped hands, “Hey,” Chaewon greeted you as Minju smiled, reaching their hands out for yours.

Intertwining your fingers together used to make you feel everything, the slight dip in your stomach because of the excitement, your heart beating against your chest because it felt so full, and the tingling sensation on your skin because of their warmth.

Now everything seemed off, it felt incomplete, you wanted to pull away but you didn’t want to disconnect yourself from them, then the conflict in your eyes didn’t escape past both of them. Squeezing your hands before they asked you, “We just want you to be honest with us, Y/n,”

“Are you tired of us?”

The question shocked you, eyes snapping towards the two of them who looked at your with sad features,

“Because recently we’ve been noticing that you keep moving away, when we have plans you cancel, when we want to come over you say you’re busy, when we talk to you your responses are always short and empty. And we uh—wanted to know if, you still want to be with us,”

There was silence for a while, you looked at them in disbelief before pulling your hand away, your breathing getting heavier as you tried to contain your anger.

“Are you serious?” You asked, as they could only look at you with confusion, “You’re really gonna ask me a question when you yourselves are the ones who need it?”

“What do you—“

“I’ve spent the past week, torturing myself to forget, seeing you two being so sweet and caring for each other while I’m at the side being ignored. I keep canceling because I didn’t want to bear the fact that you two are starting to forget about me, that you’re too caught up with each other to even notice that I’m struggling.”

“I don’t want all of your attention, but please do keep in mind that there are other people in this relationship besides you two.” Your voice was getting louder, the girls in the living room perking up when they heard your voice.

Minju and Chaewon looked at you with mixed emotions, suddenly confused on why you would hide this from them silence lingered for a while the tension rising,

“Then why didn’t you tell us? Why choose to say it now? You have a lot of chances to say it but you didn’t,” Minju asked with a sudden tone to her voice, making you scoff in disbelief.

“You think I didn’t try?!”

“I’ve been wanting to say something everyday, I wanted to talk with you two just so this wouldn’t happen but everytime the three of us get together it’s like I never existed in the first place. I respected it at first, maybe you didn’t want to bother me but the way you feel for each other doesn’t go to me anymore, it feels one sided.”

At this point the girls already heard everything, looking at the three of you with their brows furrowed, they’ve seen you three fight but it never went to this level.

You bit the inside of your cheek, holding back your tears before Yujin padded to the three of you, but suddenly Chaewon spoke again, the words leaving her mouth made everyone’s breath hitch, “So how do we know you’re not sick of us? You might be seeing Yujin for all we know,”

Your jaw dropped in disbelief, looking at Chaewon. You couldn’t say anything, before your eyes snapped to Yujin who looked at the older with annoyance and anger,

“You’ve got some nerve to accuse Y/n like that, what’s gotten into you, Unnie? She’s your girlfriend for God’s sake!”

“How do we know for sure! She’s been ignoring us for the past week and has been with you, so sorry if I started to think that!” Their voices started to get louder before they started to argue, the girls stepping in and pulling them away from each other before anything got out of hand.

Your head started to hurt, your hands shaking as you saw them yelling at each other, “Just stop it!” You yelled, a voice echoing off the walls which made them pause, it was the first time you yelled that loud, tears streaming down your face as you tried your best to wipe them.

“This has nothing to do with Yujin, she’s the one that’s been helping me and convincing me that I don’t need to break up with you, but I didn’t think you would stoop so low and accuse me of seeing another person behind your back especially accusing your own member too.”

You turned, grabbing your coat and slamming the door, your footsteps rushing to the elevator before you left. Once the door shut a sob escaped your lips, a sudden weight on your shoulder every step you took away from the dorm.

—

The room was quiet, most of them staring at the door with shocked expressions, a scoff came from Chaewon as she stomped away, going to her room and slamming the door shut, Minju standing still with her eyes wide.

Yujin was breathing heavily, tears in her eyes as she walked away, hurriedly going inside her room.

A few minutes later Minju left, padding towards Chaewon’s room and entered, closing the door gently. Leaving the girls in the living room glancing at each other, the concern and worry in each of their eyes.

Weeks went by and the girls didn’t receive any contact from you, Minju couldn’t see you in school anymore, and Yujin couldn’t call you.

Which worried everyone to no end, they’ve been wanting to visit you but recently their schedules have been so packed that they didn’t have time to check.

Minju, Chaewon, and Yujin were quiet for the whole week, their interactions were minimal except when they were on camera. The girls didn't want to intervene, because this was their problem, but it hurt them with each day to see them ignoring each other.

So when one day Chaewon and Minju knocked on the door, Yujin opened it, her eyes suddenly turning wide when she saw the two in front of her door, their heads down as they guiltily fidgeted in their place.

“Can we talk, please?” Chaewon spoke up, raising her head to look at the younger who kept silent nodding as she stepped aside and allowed the two in the room.

They sat on the beds, the air awkward before Minju sighed, “We’re sorry,”

“We’re sorry for what we did, what we said and what we thought wasn’t right. We shouldn’t have accused you and doubted you we were wrong.”’

“I don’t like to be mad at you unnie’s, what you did was wrong, you did a lot of things that day that were wrong. I know I’m young but please don’t think that badly about Y/n unnie, the things she’s been telling me about you two, it’s something I don’t think I could go through, so please don’t apologize to me, apologize to her.”

Chaewon pulled the blue haired girl into a hug, Minju joining as they made up, Chaewon smiling as she whispered to the younger girl, “We will,”

—

When the girls had been given the week to rest, Minju and Chaewon didn’t waste a beat, rushing home and washing up before they asked their manager to bring them to your apartment.

They went to your door, using the key that they had hoping to see you but all they were met with was silence. No TV, no music, no sounds in the kitchen, they were sure that you were home because your shoes were beside the door.

They made sure to check every room calling out for you until Minju stopped at your room, opening it gently before she saw you on your bed, your body covered with sheets as you slept, as the soft snores passed your lips.

Minju called her girlfriend, both of them padding to your form and cupping your cheeks but worry struck them when they felt how warm you were.

Your forehead covered in a sheen of sweat before they looked at each other, you were sick.

They removed their coats, placing them aside as they took the blankets of your body. Chaewon went to get a basin and a towel while Minju got some clothes out of your closet before they cleaned you.

Minju cleaned up your room after Chaewon finished wiping your body, leaving the towel on your forehead to absorb all the heat.

Chaewon rummaged through your fridge and did what she could to make you some soup while Minju sat by your side, observing you as she suddenly felt whole again.

After a week of not seeing you, talking to you, it left her so empty and without her noticing a tear dropped before she started to cry silently, her eyes closed while she held the sheets until she felt someone cup her cheek.

Minju opened her eyes, a sob fully escaping her lips when you were smiling at her, wiping the tears that kept flowing out, “Why are you crying?” The softness of your voice made it worse for her and soon Chaewon entered, a tray in her hands with your food, water, and medicine.

When she saw you awake she froze at the door, her eyes welling with tears when you looked at her, no anger or disappointment in your eyes. She padded closer to you and placed the tray to the side before reaching for your hand, which you gladly gave her as she put it against her cheek, her own eyes stinging with tears.

“I-I’m so sorry,” Chaewon’s voice was so small, so defeated that it hurt you that she was going through that, even if it was her own fault.

“We l-love you, Y/n, please don’t ever forget that, we’re so sorry that we n-neglected you,” Minju nuzzled her cheek against your palm,

“P-Please give us a chance to be better, we w-won’t know what to do without you,” they inched in and embraced you, making you close your eyes when you felt them again but this time everything felt normal again.

The sinking feeling, the tingles, and your heart hammering against your chest. You felt whole to be with them for so long, “We’ll a-always love you, n-no matter what,” you felt your hair get brushed aside before they kissed your cheek and you could only sigh.

Your arms tighten around them as you want them to be closer. With a silent acceptance and promise they would always take care of you, show you how much you mean to them because truly they wouldn’t be who they are without you.

[kittydemon9000]

SO MERLOPIAN KAI PART 2 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

So, with Kalmaar, he ofc immediately goes to his parents about his feeling, slightly placing his revenge on hold. They are...dubious about it, but Maya raises the point of how there has never been a human/merlopian hybrid before, and from what Ray has told them about having two EM parents it’s possible for Kai to have some water abilities himself, which could be what gave Kalmaar his feeling. So, they agree to look into it.

Moving on..... Uh. Kai doesn’t have a fun time in S6, as briefly as he’s there. You see, Nahdakahn knows exactly what buttons to press and is able to get Kai into a panicked state where he, on the verge of a panic attack and mental breakdown, just says “I wish that I could just be normal! I wish I could just go home! I wish I could be with dad and mom and father and Kal and Bentho and Nya!!!”

The “normal” comment comes from how they weren’t able to completely hide Kai’s heritage since yeah, there were other people on the boat who saw him. That and he also tried a lot less to keep it hidden. And because some humans are assholes, he has to deal with that.

So ofc, Nahdakahn interprets it in the worst ways and as two wishes. Kai is now a full human yes….but was also sent to where the fish fam currently were……which just so happened to be at the bottom of the ocean.

So yeah, double trauma for both groups. Kai got to experience what drowning felt like, and his fam was essentially forced to watch him die since there was nothing they could do. They were too far under to take him to the surface and too far from the palace to take him there.

But dw, it gets even worse.

You see, the whole reason Nahdakahn is being this malicious about Kai’s wishes is because he learned that Kai was the reason the Preeminent was destroyed, thereby destroying Djinjago.

Nahdakahn is then able to do a “oh? Is this not what you wanted? I thought you wished to be normal.” Which ofc sounds really bad since it’s in front of his family. “But, I understand. You grow tired of the stares in the street, how they whisper behind you back about what you are. Not human, not merlopian, not normal. Just a freak masquerading as one of them.”

This ofc supremely pisses off the fam. Like, weapons drawn ready to commit murder.

But then Nahdakahn stop them with a “ah ah ah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you. After all, I am the only way your son has a chance at living. So go ahead. Make a wish.”

Trimaar ends up being the one to do it, and is smart enough to know this uh will twist it in anyway he can so says. “I wish for Kai to be sent safely to the surface without harm done upon him.”

Blah blah blah, your wish is yours to keep, Trimaar realizing “wait there’s a lot that could be interpreted” but too late BAM now Kai’s kinda stuck on the Misfortune’s Keep.

And he....generally has a pretty bad time. Think Jay but this time it’s personal.

However, Kai’s appearance had Trimaar get the Merlopian army and start heading to the surface. The remaining ninja have a brief moment of “are you kidding me two enemies at once” before learning that this is Kai’s lost family and they’re here to help.

So now the ninja have a whole ass fish army to help them, plus a very protective, very angry fish family.

But for the rest of canon, the only difference is that when they’re leaving Tiger Widow Island, Nya gets snatched along with Jay(who was taken because he hadn’t used his wish yet) and they aren’t stuck on the island, and then later that Kai gets sucked into the sword when the ninja launch their rescue mission.

But yeah, it gets all Un-Happened by Jay’s wish(which at seeing Kai physically hurt and being emotionally torn apart at his baby sister dying, wished that none of this ever happened and that Nahdakahn was never found), only like canon Nya and Jay still remember what happens.

Nya is now firmly on team Kai Is Alive and tells her parents everything about what happened and the wish Jay made, and more importantly where Kai is.

Unfortunately, they need to take some time and prepare. Trimaar and Maya have been doing their best over the years to open the populace possibly making bonds with the humans, but now it’s finally happening. They can’t just go up there out of no where, since from what Nya has told them 1) most humans don’t even know they exist and 2) in the past few years they have been subject of many attacks, mostly from non-humans, so they need to make sure the humans understand they don’t mean any harm.

So DotD happens, then the beginnings of S7 :)

Right out, Kai never liked the museum curator. Up to that point he’d only ever caught fleeting glimpse of him but something about him Kai just despised. As a result, he also visited the museum as scarcely as possible, and thus didn’t notice a very interesting painting containing a two very strange figures.

When he learns his name was Dr.Saunders.....things don’t go well.

It happened when Kai brought the helmet with his dad’s symbol on it. As much as he disliked the curator, he was the most likely to be able to recognize what kind of helmet it was.

Then in his anger he gets himself captured.

He’s taken to a special cell lined with vengestone and has guards around the clock, and Krux takes extra care to make sure Kai doesn’t know where Ray is.

ofc it’s around this time that the Merlopians arrive and express their wishes for a possible alliance between their two races. Unfortunately they showed up at literally the worst time, and double unfortunately the people in charge of diplomacy decide to bring some of the ninja in as an extra precaution because of the villains have been running around.

So the people who join the meeting are Lloyd and Jay from the ninja(they would’ve brought Kai but he hasn’t returned from his missions yet and isn’t answering their calls) as well as some police officers and from the Merlopians is the whole royal family plus a few guards.

Both Jay and Nya have a silent moment of staring at each other since “I know and I’m not sure you know but I think you know but I don’t want to say anything since you might not”

And just as they’re about to start, The Time Twins attack. Because why the hell not.

They’re actually able to hold them off for a while, but unfortunately there are too many Vermillion. Then Kalmaar whips out his Water Powers which causes him to get kidnapped since they need both Fire and Water masters for the blade.

While they’re recovering, Lloyd then gets a panicked call from Zane saying that he checked the museum footage and Kai has been captured. The gets overheard by the royal family, and then Lloyd asks why they looked so upset at which they learn(sans Jay since wish) that Kai is royalty. The eldest son actually, and thus first in line for the throne, as well as being presumed dead for the past five years.

So basically Krux has kidnapped the King and Queen’s husband, the crown prince, and the second in line prince(if anyone knows a more fancy term for this please let me know)

Maya, Trimaar, Nya and Benthomaar are not happy. Not with the Ninjagian people, no they’re fine, but they’re bout ready to murder Krux, and they don’t even know about Ray yet.

So they offer any help they can.

Zap back to how Kai and Kalmaar are doing.

Kalmaar is….kind feral tbh. Like, he’s biting, clawing, trying to strangle them with his tentacles, and before they got vengestone cuffs on him was trying very hard to drown anyone.

Ofc, this does little to the Vermillion and soon Kalmaar finds himself in the cell right next to Kai’s. He’s overjoyed to see his brother again, albeit upset that this is why.

They both reluctantly come to the conclusion that there isn’t much they can do at the moment, and there are many Vermillion guards right outside their cells, so they decide to start catching up.

And for pretty much the rest of the season canon is pretty much the same, just shuffle around the characters a bit and add a protective Fish Fam. 

Though their little trip back in time is quite sight for the Past EMs, especially because of how Kalmaar is using his powers, which leaves Kai mostly stuck in his Fish Form. This time they don’t even bother trying to explain, just give instructions on how to defeat the Vermillion and jumping into the battle. 

And I mean just imagine that from the EMs perspective. An enemy you thought you defeated just returned with a giant metal creature and an army of snake things that don’t look like any kind of Serpentine they’d ever seen. Then a shark person and squid person??? show up and not only do they know how to fight the snake things but they also seem to be Elemental Masters???? Despite the fact Ray is very much alive and they didn’t even know there was a Water EM. Then the two not only summon dragons but they also fuse their dragons into an even bigger one with two heads.

And then all of them disappear into the sky without a trace.

W i l d

But yeah, after that it calms down quite a bit. Kai spends the time skip before S8 reconnecting with his family and his dad, and through some tech courtesy of Borg they're able to bring Ray with them :D

And Kai actually goes to meet the Jade Royal Family since y’know. He’s the crown prince. He’s kinda important and legitimately forgot about it. Luckily Kalmaar is able to help coach Kai through it, but is also a bit smug about how he finally has something to teach to his older brother. Kai was actually the one who suggested asking the ninja for help protecting the mask.....but we know how that inevitably ends.

Bentho, Kal and Nya were actually on the ship for this particular adventure, and then Nya and Bentho were dragged along when they got sent to the First Realm. Bentho, despite being the youngest sibling and to the surprise of literally everyone, was actually really good with kids and spent the most time with Little Wu, right behind Cole.

But yeah S9......Nya and Bentho have a really bad time in the First Realm beause of the heat, but at least they don’t get captured. Kai on the other hand....

Yeah at some point he gets accidentally splashed with water and well.....it definitely doesn’t help with the Oni accusations. The Dragon Hunters decide to burn him along with the Wind Dragon, which moves up their Build Our Own Dragon time table.

After they escape Faith is actually pretty chill about the whole fish thing, but she does ask a lot of questions. 

And then S10..... kinda the same. They end up dropping off as many people as they can with the Merlopians since the smoke can’t reach them.

I might make a Part 3 for the rest of the seasons, but yeah. this is where we’re at.

[ddixons-angel]

Fated: Season 8

Summary: Gloria Rhee narrowly escapes Atlanta with her brother as the outbreak reaches the city. Luckily, they find a camp outside the city and together, they fend through encounters with the living and undead.

Starts a little before Season 1 and then follows the main storyline of the show.

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Glenn Sister!OC

Warnings: major TWD spoilers, language, violence (the typical TWD stuff)

A/N: and here we are... the FINAL (temporarily anyway hehe) chapter of Fated! It’s a pretty bittersweet feeling since I grew so attached to this series, I don’t really want it to end, which is why I have plans to continue it with the next few seasons of the show! And I know that the gif I used for this chapter was from season 6... but it was so hard to find any gifs of Daryl smiling... which is sad :( ANYWAY, let’s go forth with the last chapter!!!

Chapter 10

It was mid afternoon at the Hilltop, people were going about their lives and doing their chores around the community. Gloria lies in her bed with a tired smile as she watches Daryl cradle the newborn baby girl in his arms, cooing at their daughter she had just given birth to mere hours ago. 

“Hey,” Gloria calls out as she sits herself up on the bed, “haven’t you hogged her enough?”

Daryl looks at her and scoffs playfully, “ya’ve had her for nine months, and ya say I’m hoggin’ her.”

“That’s not even the same thing! And for the record, I didn’t even know I had her for the first four months.” she argues with a pout.

“Tha’s yer fault.” Daryl replies with a smirk then looks down at the baby girl in his arms, “isn’t it? Hm?”

Gloria isn’t able to hide her smile as she sees Daryl talking to the baby, she then opens her arms in his direction, “can I at least get some affection from my husband then?”

Daryl looks at her and smiles at her words, he steps towards the bed as Gloria scoots to the side, making room for him to sit down. Cradling the baby in his arm, wrapping his other around Gloria who snuggles into him. She leans her head on his chest as she smiles down at their daughter. 

“How did we make something so innocent and pure like her?” Gloria says softly, not wanting to wake up the sleeping girl.

“She gets all that from ya,” he says, pressing a kiss on Gloria’s forehead, “she wouldn’ be here if it weren’t for ya.”

“You say that as if you don’t know how babies are made,” she chuckles, making Daryl roll his eyes.

“I mean it,” he looks at her sincerely, “ya carried her for 9 months, yer body protected her, even from the Saviors and ya didn’t even know ya had her. If ya weren’t as tough and strong as ya are, she might not’ve made it.”

Gloria smiles at his words and brushes their daughter’s cheek gently with her finger, “I can’t take all the credit for that, she’s a little fighter too, I just did my role as a mother, even if I didn’t know it yet, my body for sure did.”

Daryl hums in agreement, “an’ I’ll protect ya both, like a dad’s supposed to.”

Gloria looks at Daryl at his words, “hey,” she calls out to him in a whisper as she caresses his face.

There was a sadness in Daryl’s voice and Gloria knew where it came from. She knew very well what kind of man Daryl’s father was and what he did to Daryl and Merle when they were kids. 

“You’re gonna be such an amazing father, I can tell.” she says with a soft smile.

“Can ya?” he lets out a small chuckle.

Gloria nods, “just by the way you hold her, you’re a natural. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you had more experience, and I’m not just talking about Judith.”

“Hmm... maybe I do an’ jus’ never told ya.” Daryl teases with a smirk.

She eyes him playfully, “you’re lucky I love you.”

“You’re right, I am,” he says, pulling her in for a kiss, “I’m the luckiest man alive.”

Gloria giggles into his lips and kisses him back tenderly. Their kiss is interrupted by a knock on the door, the two pull away from each other as Maggie opens the door with a smile.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” she asks.

“Not too bad, given that I just popped a baby out of me,” Gloria says with a chuckle.

“Are you able to walk?” Maggie asks, “Carol’s downstairs with the others, if you’re too tired I can let them know.”

“I think I’ll be okay, I may need you to help me down the stairs though,” Gloria smiles.

Maggie chuckles and nods, going over to Gloria as she gets off the bed, “since you got attached, you hold onto her,” Gloria says to Daryl.

He scoffs playfully and gets off the bed as well, not denying that he did get attached to their daughter fairly quickly. The three of them make it out the room with Daryl carrying the little girl in his arms as they go down the stairs. Maggie gently holds onto Gloria as she takes each step and finally they’re on the ground floor. Gloria turns into what she considered the lobby of the Barrington house and she’s greeted by delighted smiles of people from Alexandria and the Kingdom. Carol is the first to go up to hug her.

“We came as soon as we heard it was happening,” she says as she pulls away from the hug, “how are you feeling?”

“Tired, exhausted, can’t wait to sleep,” Gloria says with a chuckle.

“I have some bad news for you then,” Rick says with a teasing smile, “you and Daryl aren’t gonna have a good night’s sleep for a while.”

“I don’ sleep much anyway,” Daryl mutters then turns his attention to their daughter who had woken up, “right? You’re gonna keep us up, aren’t ya?”

“I’ve never seen Daryl like that before,” Aaron says in awe as he watches the two.

“He was like that with Judith,” Michonne grins at the sight.

Daryl looks at the others who are staring at him, slight blush creeping on his cheeks, “what?”

Tara shrugs, “I just don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard you be so... gentle before?”

“Yeah, it’s amazing what kind of hold she has on you,” Rosita grins as she teases Daryl.

Eugene nods as he stands beside her, “I have to say, witnessing Daryl as amiable as he is right now is really a sight to behold.” 

Daryl purses his lips and looks to Gloria for help and she chuckles as she shakes her head, “alright guys, that’s enough, you’re embarrassing him.”

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Daryl,” Ezekiel smiles warmly at him, “I believe what the others are trying to say is that you are a natural with your kin.”

“You’re a natural, dude!” Jerry chimes in cheerily.

“Thanks..” Daryl mutters, his face still a light shade of pink.

“So!” Jesus starts, clapping his hands together, “Have you two decided on a name for your little girl?”

His question turns their immediate attention to Daryl and Gloria, patiently waiting for their answer. They all look eager to chime in with suggestions if needed. Gloria smiles at this and glances at Daryl.

“Go ahead,” he says with a small smile.

Gloria nods then looks at the others, mainly focusing on Maggie and Carol, “we decided to name her Sophia Bethany Dixon.”

Grateful smiles light up Maggie and Carol’s faces as they hear the name given. Gloria lets out a breath of relief when they thank her with a deep hug. She and Daryl had discussed it when they found out they had a daughter. Gloria thought it was only fitting to name her after Sophia and Beth to honor the girls. 

---

Sophia is now a few days old as Gloria places her in the crib beside Hershel’s. She’s finally drifted off to sleep after a crying fit. Gloria lets out a soft sigh then goes to check on Hershel and smiles at his little sleeping figure. She tucks them both in to make sure they’re sound asleep then leaves the nursery. She makes her way to Maggie’s office and knocks three times before opening the door.

“Hey Maggie-” Gloria says as she opens the door but cuts herself short when she doesn’t see her sister-in-law in the room.

Instead, she’s met by Jesus standing by the door, Rick leaning on the desk, Daryl sitting on one of the chairs placed along the wall, and Ezekiel and Aaron standing by the chairs facing the desk. Gloria blinks as they all turn to look at her.

“Everythin’ okay?” Daryl perks up when he sees his wife in the doorway as if he’s ready to ditch whatever conversation is going on.

“Yeah, I’m just looking for Maggie, wanted to let her know the kids are out,” Gloria smiles at him then glances around the room, “so what’s going on here?”

“Nothin’-” Daryl tries to speak but he’s interrupted by Rick.

“Shouldn’t she have a say in this?” Rick says, gesturing to Gloria.

Gloria furrows her brows in confusion, crossing her arms and leaning on the door, propping it open, “have a say in what?”

“We’re trying to decide who Sophia’s Godfather should be.” Aaron informs her.

“Godfather?” Gloria lets out a chuckle, amused, “let me guess, you all have amazing reasons for why we should pick you?”

“I’m a King!” Ezekiel exclaims.

“I saved your life,” Aaron reminds her.

“Daryl’s my brother.” Rick says matter-of-factly.

“Come on, you call me Jesus.” he says, giving Gloria a knowing look.

“Ya see what I had to deal with in the last hour?” Daryl groans.

She shakes her head as she lets out a laugh, “okay... Ezekiel, you’re gonna be too busy taking care of the Kingdom and looking after Henry. Aaron, as much as I am very appreciative of you saving my life, you have your hands full with Gracie, already. And Rick, being Daryl’s brother means you’re already her uncle. Plus, all of you are busy in your own communities anyway.”

Jesus looks at her with a grin, “does that mean I win?”

“I can’t say I don’t like calling you Jesus and being her Godfather. ” Gloria tells him.

As she speaks, the main door to the Barrington house opens and Maggie, Carol, Rosita, and Tara walk in. The women glance at each other as they see Gloria standing in the doorway of Maggie’s office, propping open the door with her body. 

“What’s going on?” Maggie asks as she walks towards her office.

Gloria turns to look at Maggie, “the guys are fighting over who’s Sophia’s Godfather.”

“My bet’s on Jesus.” Tara chips in, “his name, it’s Jesus!”

“Thank you!” he exclaims from inside the room, then grins cheekily, “and you were about to name me Sophia’s Godfather before they walked in?”

“Well, no,” Gloria chuckles as he pouts, “I was about to say that you’re going to have to fight Carol on the Godparent position.”

Gloria had this conversation with the women before Sophia was born. Maggie and Gloria had an agreement that since they were directly Hershel’s and Sophia’s aunts, it wouldn’t be fair for the others to give each other the title. Maggie had appointed Tara as Hershel’s Godmother. Rosita was perfectly fine with being their aunt. Daryl was more than accepting of Carol being his child’s Godmother. 

Rick, Jesus, and Aaron groan in disappointment, knowing that it was impossible to beat Carol in a fight, as Ezekiel grins happily, “oh glorious day! I have been named Godfather of the lovely Sophia Bethany Dixon! Haha!”

The others look at Ezekiel in confusion while Carol freezes at his words. Gloria glances over at Carol and notices her cheeks flushing a light pink. A grin spreads across Gloria’s face and her grin is noticed by the other women and they all turn to look at Carol. She looks at them nervously and fidgets, making the other women giggle. 

“Congratulations, Carol.” Gloria chuckles, patting Carol’s arm. 

She rolls her eyes playfully at her and smiles, “thank you, now if we can stop him from announcing it to the world, that would be nice.”

They laugh at her words as Ezekiel says his speech, announcing his relationship with Carol, earning a groan from her. Everyone except for Carol is immersed in Ezekiel’s poetic proclamation of love for her when a baby’s cry catches Maggie and Gloria’s attention.

“That’s Hershel,” Maggie says, instinctually heading towards the nursery, then a second cry can be heard.

“And he woke Sophia...” Gloria sighs as she follows Maggie into the nursery. 

---

A few months have passed since Sohia was born. She is now able to sit up with some assistance as she plays in the nursery with Hershel beside her. Gloria sits on the other side of her in case Sophia loses her balance and falls. Maggie comes into the nursery with two bottles of formula and sits down on the ground beside her son.

“Here,” Maggie says, handing a bottle to Gloria, “just so they don’t whine when they’re hungry.”

She chuckles and nods, “thanks, we both know how impatient these two can get.”

Maggie smiles and hums in agreement as they watch their children. Hershel and Sophia were both busy playing with the toys in front of them. As the two of them reach for the same toy, Hershel reaches it first but lets go of it when Sophia grabs it and lets out a small whimper when she isn’t able to get it. Hershel watches her as she giggles when she is able to get the toy then he gently reaches over to her and pats her head. The sight of brotherly affection brings tears to Gloria’s eyes as Maggie smiles in awe at the two. 

“Did you see that?” Maggie says, her voice full of delight.

Gloria nods, sniffling slightly as she tries to hold in her tears, “Yeah...”

Maggie looks over and her brows furrow in concern, “Gloria... what’s wrong? Talk to me.”

“Nothing... he just reminds me so much of Glenn...” she says with a soft tearful smile.

“There’s more to it than that,” Maggie reaches her hand out and holds Gloria’s, “there’s been something bothering you even before the war ended, don’t think I didn’t notice.”

Gloria looks at Maggie and sighs deeply, “I disappointed Glenn...”

Maggie frowns at this, “what makes you say that?”

“I let revenge, hate, and anger get to me, I killed a lot of people-” Gloria is cut off by Maggie.

“We were fighting a war, what did you expect?,” Maggie tells her.

“I became a cold hearted killer, Maggie...” Gloria lets out a breath, “I killed a lot of people on my own because I wanted all of the Saviors to die to avenge Glenn. I wanted them all dead so I did what I thought was right, I thought they were all bad people... but now I see they can be people we can even trust, like Alden, Laura... what if I killed people who didn’t deserve to die?”

“That’s the unfortunate thing about a war, people die. A lot of people die, even those who don’t deserve it, you were protecting what was yours, taking back what belongs to you. You did what you had to do.” Maggie tries to comfort her.

“What if I didn’t have to kill all those people? What if I only thought it was what I had to do because I was blinded by rage? What if I made the wrong choices?” Gloria says as a tear rolls down her cheek.

“Then you admit that you made a mistake,” Maggie reaches out and wipes the tear away, “admit that you made a mistake then fix it.”

“How? I killed a lot of people, Maggie... how do I fix that?” Gloria asks.

Maggie ponders for a moment then smiles softly, “do you remember back at the farm when I was mad at Glenn for telling everyone about the walkers in the barn?”

“How could I forget? You egged him.” Gloria says with a slight chuckle.

Maggie chuckles and nods, “I did, but then afterwards, you came up to me and gave me good reasons to give him a chance to explain himself. Did he ever tell you what he said to me?”

Gloria shakes her head, “he didn’t, and I never thought it was my business to ask.”

“He told me that he knows he screwed everything up with me by telling everyone about the barn, and that he knows there’s no going back in time to undo it, but he believes that he can make up for it by doing the right thing.” Maggie explains.

“That is such a Glenn thing to say...” Gloria chuckles, “do the right thing... how do I know what’s the right thing to even do?”

“I asked him the same thing when he said it, and can you guess what he said to me?” Maggie says.

Gloria ponders for a moment, “that his heart would know.”

Maggie widens her eyes in awe, not expecting Gloria to actually be able to guess, then smiles and nods, “exactly.”

Gloria smiles at Maggie then she looks at Hershel and Sophia as they share toys with each other. Sophia coos at Hershel as she hands him a building block and Hershel responds with a babble. Gloria’s heart had her answer, she’d start by properly raising Sophia and protecting her, making sure that she would know the right choices to make. That’s only the start but that’s how she would be able to make it up to Glenn. 

---

“Hey, she’s almost a year old,” Gloria says over her shoulder as she sits on the bed with a notebook propped open.

“Already?” Daryl responds, sitting on the bed and leaning on the headboard with Sophia bouncing in his lap, “you’re growin’ so fast.”

“Mhm, today’s day three hundred and fifty,” Gloria says as she writes the number on the top of the page.

She’d been keeping a journal since the day that Sophia was born. Gloria wanted to be able to keep track of her daughter’s daily progression, and to make sure she didn’t lose track of her birthday; if the adults weren’t able to have a birthday, at least her daughter would be able to have one. 

Sophia lets out a babble and points to Daryl’s face then begins to giggle. He raises his eyebrow at this and playfully eyes her.

“I think she’s laughin’ at me,” he says, earning a chuckle from Gloria, “are ya laughin’ at me? Huh? Ya laughin’ at yer dad?”

“Dada!” Sophia squeals.

Daryl freezes in place as Gloria snaps her head back to look at the two, “did she just... call you Dada?”

“I dunno...” he says in a whisper as he stares at her.

Gloria puts the book on the nightstand beside the bed then moves to sit beside Daryl, “Sophia, did you say Dada? Can you say that again?”

Sophia looks at her mom and blinks, letting out a few incoherent babbles. Gloria remembers that Harlan told her babies tend to babble things that sound like mommy or daddy when they’re around Sophia’s age but they might not have any recognition of what those sounds mean. She decides to test it; she waves her hand in front of Sophia to get her attention then points to Daryl.

“Dada!” she says again.

“You’re her first word!” Gloria exclaims happily.

Daryl grins and leans down to kiss her forehead, “knew ya were a daddy’s girl.”

“Don’t ruin the moment,” Gloria rolls her eyes playfully.

He chuckles then leans back as Sophia decides that she’s going to plop on Daryl and snuggle him, “Dada.”

Gloria smiles at the sight and kisses the top of Sophia’s head then moves up to kiss Daryl’s cheek. She adjusts herself so that she’s lying down beside him.

“I guess this is how you’re sleeping tonight?” Gloria says as she sees Sophia closing her eyes.

“Guess so.” Daryl says softly then carefully moves his arm to wrap around Gloria, pulling her close to him.

For the last two and a half years, life had been hectic for Daryl and Gloria to say the least. The outbreak that caused the end of the world was a blessing in disguise as they had only found each other after the world ended. Many would and have considered them an unpredictable couple, but together they fought through the odds. Whether it was fighting the walkers or the people who turned into monsters because of the outbreak, they would get through all of it together. They belong together. They are fated to be together. 

---

This was literally just a chapter of pure fluff.... AND I LOVE IT. I couldn’t really think of a better way to end this series, but like I said before, this is only a temporary end! I have some ideas for the next seasons ^^

I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who’s supported this story, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so so so so much for reading, commenting, liking, and just being there for me throughout this story. I love you all so much! You guys are the best!

Please let me know what you thought of this chapter, I always love hearing from you~!

Taglist (please let me know if you’d like to be added/removed!):

@twdeadfanfic​ | @fandomfanatic97​ | @crossbowking​ | @watchmeaspire​ | @spidergirla5​ | @kamieshep | @letsstarsfalling​ | @molethemollie​ | @alicewinchester99​ | @neilox​ | @womanup22​ | @jodiereedus22​ | @theonlyone-meeeee​ | @theunofficialduke​ | @inlovewdxx​ | @delightfullykrispypeach​ | @mrsfortune1306​ | @wolfkg​ | @funeral-7​ | @wnygirl2012​ | @alispaceme​ | @themihala | @aavocadocloud​ |  @polkadottedpillowcase​ | @felicisimor​ | @depressedfrog2​ | @spacexkiddo0 | @rachelxwayne​ | @liadamerondjarin​ | @soraitmnt​ | @angelofthorr​ | @vampteefies​ | @lightning-butterfly​ | @huffledor-able541​ | @squigglylinesdotthei​ | @carnationworld​ | @supernatural79impala​ | @reichelhache​

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch41: Drops Of Jupiter Part 2- There’s Still A Life To Live. 

Intro: Pepper finally makes an honest man of Tony, and as the sun sets on, quite possibly, the most horrific year of their lives, the New Year brings a familiar face back into Steve and Katie’s life.

But Tony has some news that puts a smile on his sister’s face. If only her husband was as happy…

Warnings: Bad Language words. Brief mentions of Smut (NSFW, 18+)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: @angrybirdcr​ I LOVE YOU

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 41 Part 1

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

October 2018

Despite Katie’s protestations to the contrary, Steve refused to believe that Tony and Pepper actually wanted him at their wedding. She had tried in vain to convince him to go but at times like this he was so stubborn and, ironically, the only man on the planet that could rival him for pig-headedness was Tony himself. So now she was doubly pissed at him. He knew that, and if he hadn’t already he would have certainly guessed it by the way she was currently throwing things into her bag after hardly speaking a word to him since the previous night.

FRIDAY informed her that Happy was here to collect her and Katie closed her small carry case. Steve sighed and went to pick it up for her, fully intending on carrying it to the car, but she beat him to it, swatting his hand away.

“I got it, its fine.” she said a little curtly as she did up her jacket. “Baby, c’mon, don’t leave on a bad note.” He pleaded, following her into the living area. “You know I get that you might think Tony doesn’t want you there, but I do.” Katie’s voice was quiet as she levelled him with a look. “And I was kinda hoping that would be enough to make you swallow your pride for once in your God-damned life” His face fell and the expression on it almost made her relent and apologise. 

Almost.

But the Stark stubbornness in her won out and she simply left it at that, slamming the door behind her. 

Steve felt like shit. Absolute shit as he stared at the place his wife had been stood a few moments before, the noise of the door banging shut still echoed round his head. With a sigh he swiped at his face with his hands before he headed into the bedroom, changed and wandered down to the gym to work off some frustration.

****

Katie glanced at her reflection. The bridesmaid dress she was wearing was an Alexander McQueen, as was Pepper’s dress, her favourite designer who hadn’t been dusted. It was a deep, burnt gold, almost brown to look at with a hint of a shimmer, perfect Autumn colours. The dress was plain, with a sweetheart neckline, the bodice drawing in her waist and the skirt was floor length, with a slight flare to it.  Her hair was twisted up and she wore a white gold headband which was studded with diamonds and pearls, her mom’s necklace that Tony had given to her on her wedding day sat flush to her collar bone. But all that aside, what she really loved was her make-up. It was all autumnal colours, eyes lidded under a burnt orange which had a slight golden shimmer to it setting off her green and amber eyes to perfection, and the contouring was amazing. 

Smoothing down her skirt once more, she looked down and stepped into her gold Jimmy Choo heels and stilled as a familiar voice spoke.

“You look beautiful.”

Her head shot up and Steve’s eyes locked onto hers in the mirror before she spun round to face him stood in the doorway.

“I thought you weren’t coming?” She frowned.

“I wasn’t.” He said shyly, stepping into the room “But, after you left yesterday I thought about what you said and you’re right. So I spoke to Pepper and well, here I am.” Katie looked him up and down. He was dressed in his blue suit and underneath it he wore a light green shirt complimented by a tie more or less the same colour as her dress, along with his shiny dark brown oxfords. Exactly the outfit she’d picked for him and left at the front of the closet just in case. With his hair immaculately styled, short stubble impeccably trimmed and a nervous smile on his face, he looked absolutely gorgeous.

“I’m so glad you came.” She smiled, all anger forgotten as she stepped forward and he met her halfway.

“I hate it when we fight.” He muttered, gently kissing her, his strong hands on her back, pulling her to him. “I’m sorry, Doll.”

“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in.” A familiar voice drawled and the pair of them turned to see Natasha leaning in the doorway, two flutes of champagne in her hand. She looked stunning in a knee length figure hugging bottle green dress.

“You look great Nat.” Steve offered, surprised to see a faint tinge of red flushing up the blonde’s neck and cheeks as she uttered a soft thanks before she looked at Katie.

“Came to let you know that Tony’s here.” 

Steve took a deep breath.

“Right, erm…” Katie tugged on Steve’s hand and took a glass of champagne off Nat. “Come on.” “Where are we going?” Steve frowned. “To see my brother, the pair of you need to get this out of the way before the ceremony.” “Baby, I-” “Don’t argue with me Steven.” she retorted, leading him down the stairs and out into the Autumn sunshine, across the lawn which was sporting a banquet tent and down the small path which had been lined with a gold carpet. Tony was stood at the end, under the arch which led into the tent where the reception would be held, directing people. As the Weather was nice, the actual ceremony was going to take place at the end of the wooden jetty. People were already settling on chairs on the banks of the lake.

Steve felt, and looked, like a deer in headlights when he caught sight of Tony. Katie squeezed his hand and whispered for him to relax as Tony, who had seen them approaching, started striding over to meet them.

“Well, don’t you look handsome?” Katie said to him, taking in his dark grey formal tail suit, ivory patterned waistcoat and ivory ruffled tie.

“Errm, shouldn’t you be with Pepper?” Tony asked, dropping a kiss to his sister’s cheek. “You look beautiful by the way.” “Thanks. Your gorgeous bride is just having her hair finished off and then I’m going to get her in her dress, but I wanted to come and see you first, we both did.”

“It’s a err, beautiful house.” Steve cleared his throat as he spoke and looked around. He’d never been before, and he felt ridiculously uncomfortable right at that moment for being a complete jerk. He should have done this months ago. "Well, it’s a bit like you Cap.” Tony replied, his eyes locking onto his brother-in-law’s. “Ancient, but nothing a little modernisation couldn’t fix.”

Steve let out a chuckle and took a deep breath. “Tony, listen, I want to apologize. For everything.” He swallowed a little before he continued.“What went down in Siberia was, well it was harsh, and I was out of order. I should have told you about your parents. I’m sorry, I really am.”

Katie held her breath, she knew how much that would have taken for Steve to apologise, so heartfelt as well and she knew he wasn’t doing it just for her. As she stood watching, she saw Tony bristle and she stiffened slightly.

“You should be.” Tony sniffed, but just as Katie was about to chastise him she saw his face soften, “But all that’s in the past now. You know, I get that Barnes wasn’t in control of his actions but I still can’t-” he stopped himself and took another deep breath ”Look, it doesn’t matter now, so let’s just say I understand why you did what you did even if I don’t agree with it. And I’m sorry too, Cap.”

Steve took a deep breath and gave a small smile. “I missed you Tony.”

“Yeah, well, that goes without saying because I’m so incredibly missable” Tony shrugged before he smiled “I missed you too, buddy.”

The two men shook hands before Tony gave a small huff and pulled Steve into a slightly awkward embrace, the two men clapping one another on the back.

Steve felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. As much as he had tried to deny it, Tony was like a brother to him and he had missed him. Plus, he knew how much it had hurt Katie them both being at odds. And he just wanted his wife to be happy and to move forward, past what had happened. As he looked over Tony’s shoulder he saw Katie watching them both, her eyes shining and she mouthed a thank you to him before she cleared her throat.

“Right, now that’s done can I leave him with you whilst I go do Bridesmaid stuff?” She spoke with a smile on her face that her two best boys were finally over their spat.

“Yeah, go ahead, in fact, I have just the job for you,Spangles.” Tony nodded, and the two men strode off, Tony’s hand in between Steve’s shoulder blades as they walked. Steve looked back at his wife as she strode across the lawns to the house before he turned his attention to Tony as they headed towards the lake.

*****

The wedding was beautiful. And whilst he really should have been thinking this about the bride, Steve seriously thought his wife was the most stunning woman there. As she walked down the aisle first, arm linked through Rhodey’s she caught Steve’s eye from where he was sat in between Banner and Natasha and he smiled at her, a genuine smile which she returned. When it was time for Pepper’s entrance, Steve glanced at Tony and couldn’t recall a time where he’d seen the man so happy, so emotional. 

The small ceremony was conducted, and it was time for Steve to perform the task Tony had given to him-signing the witness register along with Happy. It was a small gesture, but one which meant a great deal to the Captain.

Then, the rest of the afternoon passed in a bustle of photos, drink, food and speeches. Tony’s was slightly self-indulgent, as always, before he gushed about his new wife. Rhodey told plenty of stories about them growing up, and then it was Katie’s turn.

“As all of you here know, Tony brought me up from the age of seven.” Katie cleared her throat, glancing round at the various faces in the room. “Our parents died and suddenly there he is, twenty-one years old with a business to run and a pain in the ass kid sister to look after.” She scratched at her head. “My childhood was happy, I wanted for nothing, and that was all down to you.” She locked eyes with her brother. “Tony, I don’t tell you this enough, but I really am grateful for everything you did and everything you gave to me, least of all the absolute, unconditional love I have always felt from you. I know we have had our differences but you always told me that you could never be prouder of me if you tried, and I want you to know, that the feeling is mutual. I love you, not just as my brother, but as the best substitute father I could have wished for. And it makes me so happy to see you here today, after everything, with the woman that finally made an honest man out of you.” A few more chuckles, but Tony’s eyes were now wet with tears as he glanced up at her.

“Pepper has been a big part of my life for almost twenty years now, and I couldn’t think of anyone else I’d be happier with as a sister-in-law. But, you do know what you’ve let yourself in for right?”

Pepper laughed and nodded.

“Good, because he’s your problem now, good luck!”

Katie sat down as the room erupted into laughs and Steve pressed a soft kiss to her lips, gently wiping at her tears before they could ruin her make up.

As the night closed in, the Marquee was strung up with lights and wooden benches giving the place a warm, welcoming ambient feel. Far too soon for Katie’s liking it was time for the first dance. Tony clearly hadn’t told anyone she was performing as many puzzled faces peered up at her as she took the microphone in her hand and cleared her throat with a nod to the keyboard player who struck up the opening notes to Eta James “At Last.”

Tony’s face split into a grin as he offered Pepper his hand and the new Mr and Mrs Stark took to the dance floor, applause and camera flashes filled the tent as Katie sang, watching her brother and his new wife dance closely. In turn, Steve watched his wife, her voice s powerful and sultry, her eyes shining softly as she was watching Tony and Pepper revolve on the dancefloor. And then, as customary, people began to join them and Steve turned to Nat.

“May I have this dance ma’am?”

Natasha studied him for a moment before she smiled and slipped her hand into his, where he took her into a polite hold and steered them around the dancefloor, catching Katie’s eye causing her to smile.

When the song finished everyone turned to her and she flushed a little, giving a shy smile before she cleared her throat. “I’ve got one more.”

Tony frowned as he looked at Pepper who met him with an equally puzzled look, but when the band started to play, Tony’s face slid into a huge smile as Katie winked at him, before she once more began to sing.

“Now that she’s back in the atmosphere, with drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey…”

As she continued through the verse, Tony looked up at her, his eyes shining as he tossed his arm over Pepper’s shoulders, everyone in the tent gently swaying along to the song, and when the upbeat part kicked in, everyone hit the dance floor again.

Katie was now completely lost in the song that her and her brother had sung together so many times. She allowed the memories to wash over her as she sang, suddenly back in his convertible mustang cruising over the Golden Gate Bridge, then again dancing round in shorts and a bikini by the pool, then she was back in the kitchen, both of them holding wooden spoons to their mouths as make-believe mics. She sang out note after note and as she launched into the final chorus. Tony, who knew the song was coming to a big crescendo had stopped dancing to start winding the crowd up as she belted out the last bit of the song, eyes closed as she dipped slightly, hand extended by her side.

And now you’re lonely looking for yourself out there

The marquee erupted into a cheer and Katie smiled to herself, handing the mic back to the singer of the band who thanked her, drawing another cheer from the crowd. Steve walked forward and offered his hand to his wife to help her walk down the small steps from the stage.

“You amaze me every single day you know that?” His lips brushed her ear as the band struck up into a soul song and he led her towards the bar for a drink. She beamed at him, cheeks flushing from the singing and the adrenaline that had been pulsing through her veins at the fact she’d been stood on a stage, singing in front of a group of people for the first time since she could remember. He dropped a kiss to her cheek and she moved her head to catch his lips softly.

“Kiddo?”

At that she spun to face Tony, who didn’t say another word, simply pulled her into his arms and squeezed her tight, kissing the side of her head. She held him back, happily resting her head against his shoulder until he eventually released her, and then turned to head off over the dance floor to greet someone else.

“I saw you dancing with Nat.” Katie slid her hands up Steve’s chest as he ordered a beer and a gin and tonic, his jacket and tie now discarded on one of the chairs behind him.

“Jealous?” He arched an eyebrow, his hand settling on her hips.

“Not in the slightest.” Her hands connecting round his neck. “I thought it was one of the sweetest things you could have done. She’s been so down lately.” “She seems okay tonight.” Steve turned, watching the woman in question as she stood talking to Bruce. “Maybe she just needed reminding that there’s still life to be lived.” “That’s very philosophical of you, Captain.”

“I have my moments.” He grinned, looking back down at Katie, his hand on her hip pulling her closer. “Are you still staying here tonight or coming home?” “Undecided.” She teased, her hands resting on his chest, muscles broad and tense under her fingers.

“Well if you come back with me I’ll do that thing you like.”  His short beard scratched her cheek as he spoke softly into her ear.

“That’s blackmail.” 

Smirking, he kissed her softly. “I know.”

She did go home with him, and Steve was about as gentle and tender that night as she could ever remember him being. His lips were soft as he made sure to cherish every single part of her body. His hips rolled against hers, keeping them locked together, hands entwined together as he gently pinned them at either side of her head, eyes locked onto hers as he took her apart, piece by piece.

They lay there afterwards, Katie’s head resting in its favourite place on his chest, his hand gently running up and down her spine as she slept. Resting his head against hers, he closed his eyes on what had been a pretty amazing day in all honestly. He and Tony were back on an even keel, and being surrounded by people at the wedding, he couldn’t help but marvel at the love, friendship and happiness that had been present at the event. 

He hadn’t ever thought he’d see it again on that scale after the snap, and it gave him faith that, just like he had said earlier, there was still a good life to be lived.

*******

January 2019.

Steve pulled his jacket collar up against the snow and trudged across the car park towards the store entrance. A soft, white blanket covered the cars that lay abandoned after the snap, something he knew that the Government was going to have to sort at some point. Heading into the shop, he noted that it was reasonably busy compared to how it had been the last time he’d popped in a few weeks ago. He supposed that was a good sign. Grabbing a basket he headed straight for what they needed- milk, eggs, bread, bacon, fabric softener and tampons. Okay, so the last weren’t what they needed, obviously, more what Katie needed. She’d laughed when she had given him the list, remarking that this was the first time she’d ever sent him shopping for shit like this before offering to go instead, but he was a modern man now, they’d been together for almost six years, married for over three, he could deal with buying his wife tampons, right?

Now he was making a mental note, as some woman was slyly eyeing him as he grabbed a box, to remind his wife it’s a fucking good job he loves her as much as he does.

He whizzed around picking up the rest of the stuff and was heading to the till when he heard a loud shout. Spinning round on autopilot he saw one of the security guards chasing someone, a kid dressed in a pair of dirty jeans, a jacket that was far too thin for the weather, and a baseball cap, down the aisle. Steve let out a sigh. Shoplifting and petty crime had rocketed as people struggled to make ends meet following The Decimation. As the kid neared him he gently held out an arm to stop them passing and the child, a girl, gave a loud yell and looked up at him angrily. 

Instantly his heart leapt into his throat. Granted, it was a few years since he had seen her at the last Stark Christmas Party, but he’d recognise those large, deep brown eyes anywhere.

“Gerrroffff me!”

“Emmy?” He frowned, and she paused her struggling to look up at him and he removed his hat. “It’s me. Steve.” “I know you are.” She blinked, and then began to struggle again.

“Stop it.” He instructed, voice full of authority and he turned to the security guard. “What’s the problem here?” 

“Caught her down the aisle back there, shoving packs of chocolate and chips into her backpack.”

“Has she actually committed a crime yet?” Steve asked. “I mean, nothing has left the store. If I pay for it…” “No but she was gonna!” “But she hasn’t actually?” The security guard let out a groan. “Look pal, you’ve no idea what it’s like trying to keep this place straight.” “Oh believe me Sir, I do.” Steve mumbled, before he glanced down at Emmy. She was small, her dark, ebony hair was dirty and knotted, and her olive-skinned cheeks were pinched like she needed a good meal. He looked up at the man. “I’ll pay for the items and then ensure she’s dealt with.” “Dealt with?” The Security guard frowned before he looked at Steve properly and then his eyes widened “Holy shit, you’re Captain-” Steve cut him off, holding his hand up. “I assume that’s an acceptable proposition?”

“Of course Captain Rogers.” He nodded. Steve shook the man’s hand and then turned to Emmy.

“Give me the bag.”

She looked up at him before she sighed, handing it over. Steve tipped it out onto the conveyor belt at the till. A few bars of Hershey, some kettle chips, toothpaste, soap.

“Have you been on your own since, well, since it happened?” He asked and Emmy shrugged.

“Foster parents both dusted. Not that I care like, they were horrible. Better on my own.” Steve stiffened slight as he handed over some cash to the assistant. He studied Emmy as she packed her things into her bag. He couldn’t leave her like this.

“No one’s better on their own.” He shook his head. “Listen, I’ll give you two choices. You either come back to the compound with me for something decent to eat, or I can take you to one of the shelters.” “And if I refuse to do either?”

“Okay, three options.” Steve raised an eyebrow at her sass. “I turn you back over to Mall Cop over there and you can be handed into the police.”

Emmy snorted at his film reference before she looked down and plucked at something on her coat. “Is Katie…” “Yeah, she’s there.”

“Suppose coming to see her wouldn’t be so bad.” The small girl shrugged. Steve smiled, picked up the bag of groceries and gently went to place a hand between her shoulder blades, to steer her towards the car, but he stopped dead when she flinched violently to his touch.

“Hey, its okay.” he said gently. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

She looked at him, with an expression that made her look far older than her years and rolled her eyes whilst giving a snort. “Yeah, that’s what they all say.”

*****

Lucky alerted Katie to Steve’s return home as he shot off the couch next to her and headed to the door before it even opened. Katie glanced over the back of the sofa and did a double take as Steve headed in with a familiar face in tow.

“Emmy?” She gasped, getting up off the sofa. The girl smiled a little and allowed Katie to pull her into a hug “What are you doing here?” “He kidnapped me.” Emmy glowered at Steve who rolled his eyes as she stood up from where he had crouched down to greet Lucky.

“That’s crap Emmy and you know it.” He said sternly as he turned to Katie. “She was stealing.”

“Don’t look at me like that, it was that or starve.” Emmy shrugged.

“Starve? What? Wait, have you been-” Katie let out a groan as she realised the implications of what the kid was saying. “Oh, honey you should have found someone, got help!” “Better on my own.” Emmy repeated her earlier sentiment, kicking the floor with her dirty trainers. “And you can’t keep me here ya’ know?”

Katie looked down at the girl. She would be ten now, but she looked a lot smaller than she should be for her age. Katie glanced up at Steve who nodded to the kitchen.

“Listen, I was gonna cook dinner so at least stay for some food?” She asked. Emmy shrugged.

“Suppose so, what we having?”

“Pot roast.”

“Got any mash?” The girl’s eyes lit up and for a brief second Katie saw the cheeky little kid she had last seen a few years back.

“I can do mash.”

“Okay I’ll stay.” Emmy agreed before she looked at them both, a little sheepishly “Could I have some hot chocolate, like they used to do at the parties, please?”

“Sure I can manage that.” Katie smiled.

After settling her on the sofa, Lucky jumping up beside her, Katie retreated into the kitchen and gently shut the door before she set about making Emmy the hot chocolate she had requested.

“What happened?” Katie looked at Steve who sighed, crossing his arm.

“The Security guard at the store was chasing her after he caught her stealing.” Steve shook his head “She’s been on her own since the snap, said her foster family all disappeared.” “Shit.” Katie sighed stirring the cocoa powder and a square of chocolate into the hot milk.

“Yeah but,” Steve gently moved to hand Katie the marshmallows out of the cupboard, “she said something odd, about her being better on her own and she practically jumped out of her skin when I touched her. When I told her I wasn’t gonna hurt her, she said ‘that’s what they all say’”

Katie’s hand slipped at little as she contemplated Steve’s words, and she reached for a cloth to wipe up the liquid she had spilt. “You don’t think…” “I don’t know.” Steve sighed “But I couldn’t just leave her.” “No, course not.” Katie shook her head, reaching up to touch his face. “Just one of the many things I love about you, Rogers.”

He gave a soft smile. “I thought maybe we could give her a good meal, get her cleaned up and she could stay here tonight whilst we can figure out what to do.” Steve shrugged. His wife smiled at him, and grabbing the mug, she stood on her toes and gave him a kiss.

“You know,” she said, opening the door to the kitchen, “you might not be Captain America anymore but you’re still a hero.”

The three ate dinner and then Katie convinced Emmy to have a shower and, after digging her out a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, settled her down in the spare room, promising her that neither of them were mad at her. Once she was convinced the eleven year old was asleep she dumped Emmy’s disgusting clothes in the washing machine, before she headed into the living room and snuggled down next to Steve who had poured her a glass of wine.

“She okay?” He asked.

“Yeah. Out like a light.” Katie sighed “I’m so glad you found her.”

Steve sighed a little. “She looked so lost. I can’t believe she’s been on her own for so long.” “Yeah well not anymore.” Katie scratched at her nose. “This is exactly why we need to sort those homes out. I mean there are hundreds of kids out there like that.” Steve nodded and took a long pull from his beer.

“Just seems so shitty.” Katie carried on “That she’s had two foster homes now and, ok, the last one doesn’t sound like it was so great, but we’re gonna shove her back in a home and…” She trailed off, tears in her eyes. “She deserves so much better, they all do.”

“Well,” Steve turned his head to look at her. “I’m sure you’ll make sure she has a good place for when she has to leave.” Katie stayed silent for a moment, before she took a deep breath and decide to just go for it and voice what was on her mind. “What if she doesn’t?” 

“Doesn’t what?”

“Leave”

“What, you mean, she stays here?”

“Would that be so bad?” Katie asked, “I just, I dunno, Steve, I can’t…” She trailed off, simply looking at him, a hopeful expression on her face that made Steve want to kiss the life out of her. He knew she loved the little girl, she’d always had a soft spot for her. And would fostering a kid for the time being be such a bad idea? It would mean changes, a lot of changes and they would be inheriting an eleven year old, with an attitude to boot. But, they had the room and Natasha was always on hand as well…

Maybe this was just another little way they could give something back.

“Why don’t we ask her tomorrow?” Steve suggested. “If she wants to stay then maybe we can look at it, at least until something else turns up.” “You mean that?” Katie looked up at him and he nodded.

“Yeah.” 

With a teary smile she shifted so she knelt up and reached to gently cup his jawline with her fingers.

“Thank you.” she kissed him softly.

***** Of course Emmy wanted to stay. And, after a fortnight of her being at the compound, Katie and Steve made the enquiry into fostering her on a more official basis, which was easier than it would have been pre-snap, officials keen to rehouse children with people that were willing to take them in. 

The first month was full of teething problems. Emmy had refused to go back to the house she had been living in, screaming blue murder when Steve had suggested they collect her things. So Katie had taken her out shopping for clothes and bits and pieces that she needed. Then she had refused to try anything on in the changing rooms. Ever patient, and recognising the signs of trauma and panic, Katie had calmed her down and told her they would simply take the clothes home to try on there, and that it wasn’t a big deal.

It transpired, after a tearful confession later in her room, Emmy was simply frightened that they would see the marks on her back left by the belt her foster father had hit her with and she had broken down, Katie simply laying with her until she fell asleep. 

The girl also had nightmares, and would often wake up screaming, but wouldn’t let Steve anywhere near her to comfort her. He didn’t take it personally, not after he knew what she had gone through with her foster father, but it did upset him somewhat to think that she could be afraid of him. As time went by she became a lot more comfortable around him, but still wasn’t really happy with any physical contact from anyone bar Katie. Steve simply respected her boundaries, Katie assuring that she would come round eventually.

Emmy found a friend in Natasha, the young girl spending a fair bit of time with the woman, often Steve would find them in the gym, Natasha teaching her some boxing move or other. Steve wasn’t completely sure it was a very good idea, but he left them to it as Emmy would come back to the apartment gushing about what she had learnt, keen to show them both her ‘moves’ as she called them. It was those moments that they both enjoyed, the signs of a cheeky young, innocent girl flashed through and it made Steve’s heart swell to see her coming out of her shell more and more.

Maybe more surprising, however, was how much she took to Tony. Katie said it was because they were the same mental age, which Pepper had vehemently agreed with. But Steve thought it was because Tony simply treat her like he would anyone else with his usual sarcasm and bluntness and she was fascinated by anything the inventor would show her when they visited the lake house. Turns out she had a real knack for technology, and the two of them set about on a project, building a small remote control robot which Lucky wasn’t quite so sure about as the dog would run away, bark, come back, and run away again whilst Emmy cackled away from her vantage point on the stairs where she controlled it.

Alongside this, Katie was still working on setting up homes for other kids through SIDE, and when she came home saying that there was a place for Emmy at the most recent one, the Rogers were both forced to face the reality that, whilst they had meant the fostering to be a temporary arrangement, neither of them wanted Emmy to be placed back into care.

So at the end of April, they made the fostering arrangement permanent.

Which was why Steve now found himself in a hardware store with a ridiculously hyper young girl, picking out a colour to paint her bedroom in.

“I don’t want pink.” Emmy frowned, looking at the colour chart on the wall.

“Well, what do you want?” Steve asked patiently.

“Purple. I think. Maybe a lilac.” “Okay there are some over there.” he nodded and she crossed the aisle to study the colour.

“I think I like this one.” 

Steve nodded. “Good choice,” before he found the tin with the correct shade in and dropped four onto the trolley. “Alright, that’s that done.” He turned to look at her “You wanted a new lamp too?”

“I don’t need one…”

“No, I know, but you wanted one.” 

Emmy’s face lit up and she nodded so they headed over to the light display. Her eyes went wide as she made her way straight over to a tall lamp, the shade of which was decorated with tiny, silver stars.

“I love it.” She said gently. Steve nodded, picked a boxed one up off the shelf and dropped it onto the flat bed trolley.

“That was easy.” He smiled.

“Please can I get some fairy lights for round my bed?” Emmy asked timidly “We told you kid, whatever you want, well, within reason.”  

With another face-splitting smile, Emmy selected some fairy lights. And a rug. And a few new cushions. And a throw. And a new bed for Lucky who seemed to have taken up permanent residence in her room when she was in there. Several hours and a couple of hundred bucks later they were on their way home after Steve had been cajoled into taking a detour through the drive-through for a burger.

“Hey!” Katie greeted as they walked through the door, Emmy carrying the cushions, Steve lugging everything else “Wow, you buy the whole store?”

“Is it too much?” Emmy asked, nervously “We can…” “No, I’m teasing, honey!” Katie chuckled, dropping a kiss onto her head. There was a moment and then Emmy burst into tears.

“Okay,” Katie sighed, taking her hand “Come on.”

Steve watched, feeling slightly useless, as he couldn’t help comfort the girl. He followed as Katie led her to the couch and he sat on the arm chair as Katie patiently sat Emmy down and waited until she had stopped sobbing. Lucky jumped up beside her and pushed his face into hers, licking away her tears as she wound her hands into the dog’s sandy coloured fur.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered.

“You have nothing to be sorry about.” Katie assured her “Do you wanna talk about it?” “I’ve never had nice things.” The little girl wringed her hands together and looked up at Katie from underneath wet eyelashes. “And when I did, then my foster brothers would break them and then he would hit me because I didn’t look after them.” She never used her foster father’s name. It was always he or him. Steve clenched his fists and felt the nerve tick in his jaw as he fought back the urge to go on a rant about the asshole.

“You know we would never hurt you Emmy.”He leaned forward, fighting the urge to reach out and tuck the hair that had fallen over her face behind her ear. “And no one else is gonna hurt you whilst you’re here.”

She wiped her eyes and gave a small sniffle. “I know.”

“So, how about we dry those tears and you help me make dinner?” Katie looked at her “Whilst Steve-O puts your things in your room.”

Steve let out a playful groan as Emmy giggled. “I really wish you’d stop calling me that.” Katie stuck out her tongue as he rolled his eyes and stood up, slapping his thighs with his hands. “The pair of you are a monumental pain in my ass.” “Language!” Emmy shot back as she smirked at him and he gave a snort, picking up the items they’d bought and taking them into her room.

Whilst they were in the kitchen, Steve set about fixing up her lamp, the fairy lights, tossed the new throw and cushions they had bought on her bed and set the remote for the flat-screen TV they had had installed on the wall on her nightstand. He called the girls to come and look and Emmy’s face was a picture, her eyes lighting up as she saw her room. She glanced around and looked at Steve, then to Katie, then back again.

“We can start painting over the weekend-” Steve began but was cut off when the girl threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her forehead to the top part of his stomach. Steve paused for a moment before his hand gently fell to the back of Emmy’s head as he stooped and gave her a hug back, looking up at Katie who was smiling from her vantage point in the doorway.

“She’ll come round in time…”  

His wife’s voice echoed around his head as he dropped a soft kiss to the top of Emmy’s head and smiled.

That was just another time in a long list of instances his wife had been right.

***** Chapter 42 Part 1

**Original Posting**

[aceavatar]

Star Crossed

Oikawa x Reader

♡ A COLOSSEUM VALENTINES DAY COLLAB ♡

warnings: Swearing, fluff, angst, meanie kageyama :(

word count: 4,006

“Good morning, y/n,” Suga said, ruffling my hair. 

I blink up at him, a soft smile on my face. “Good morning. How’re you?” I ask, handing him a coffee. It’s become routine to bring him one when I go to morning practices. 

“I’m doing well, thanks. And yourself?” He gladly takes the cup, warming his hands and taking a sip. 

“I’m fine,” I blink tiredly. 

“That’s good. Is your brother here yet?” He asks.

I hum, shaking my head. “No, he’s racing Hinata or something. Not quite sure. I gave up trying to keep up with those two a long time ago.” 

He laughs at my remark, shaking his head. “Understandable.” He looks down at me. “So, are you going to play today, or do schoolwork?” Suga asks. 

“School,” I roll my eyes, “I’ve got a quiz today.” He nods, wishing me good luck, and I head to my usual spot on the bleachers, putting in my airpods along the way. Once settled, I pull out my math homework and start factoring. 

After a bit, I hear distant yelling so I glance up, seeing the gym is fuller than it was a while ago. My brother and Hinata were being idiots, and so were Tanaka and Noya, while Suga busied himself with something in the closet. So much chaos. 

My eyes lock with Noya’s, and suddenly all of his attention is on me. “Kags!” He shouts, running towards me. 

He said that “Kageyama” made him think of my brother, but “Kags” for me was more fitting. Because “It’s shorter, like you.” And, “It’s cute! Like you!” (Noya’s words, not mine).

“Noya, good morning.” I say, smiling and waving at him. 

“Mornin! Watchya doing!!” He asks, plunking himself next to me. 

“Just doing homework and listening to music.” I smile at him. He’s always been a friend of mine. I’m not sure why, but we just seemed to click. Not romantically or anything, but just, our friendship didn’t make sense but it was right. 

“Oooh gimme.” He holds out a hand, and I take out my left AirPod and place it in his. We usually pair ours to my phone or his and listen together, but since he was just playing, he didn’t have his. 

“I’ll turn it up.” I say, clicking the button on the side a few times. 

Noya and I nod along to Crazy in Love by Beyoncé. “Nice choice.” He says, whacking my shoulder. 

I laugh, thanking him. 

Then, it happens. 

The music gets quiet, and there’s a melodic chime. 

<Message from T red heart. It says: Good morning baby. Thanks for that. You look beautiful. Winking face emoji.> 

The music returns to the previous volume.  I stare ahead, avoiding Noya’s now prying gaze that’s boring into me. 

“Uhmmm. Miss lady. Is there something you wanna tell me?” He asks, sass laced in his voice. 

I meet his eyes, and he’s smirking. I blush deeply, raking my fingers through my hair. “Shit. Fucking Siri announcing my damn messages, shit.” I mumble, face hot. 

“Looks like Noya’s picking up your sister.” Tanaka says loudly, and I look up to see him and Tobio looking at us. 

“Shut it jerks!” Noya shouts. “I just found her secret Spotify playlist! It’s like all death metal, it’s really weird. I-“

“Noya!” I squeak, tackling him, making the other boys laugh and/or shake their heads. Tobio just rolled his eyes. 

“Thanks.” I say quietly, still wrestling with Noya. 

“No problem, Kags.” He smirks, shaking his head. “But you owe me.”

“What do you want?” I raise my eyebrows. 

“You to tell me everything. What’re best friends for?” He says with a grin, finally pulling himself away. 

“Okay, okay. Your advice will probably be helpful at times. I haven’t told anyone, like, anyone.”

“My lips are sealed.” He mimics zipping his lips and locking it, throwing away the key, making me laugh. 

“Thanks. Now go practice, idiot!” I shove him towards the court and he speeds back.

“So, are ya gonna tell me?” Noya asks. 

“Oooh tell him what?!” Tanaka exclaims, making me roll my eyes. 

“It was supposed to be a secret, Noya.” I squint at him. “But I guessss I can tell you.” I look at Tanaka, a playful grin on my face. “Will you explain?” I ask Noya and he nods excitedly, I knew he’d wanna break the news. 

After Tanaka heard, he slammed his hands on the table excitedly. “NO WAY! LITTLE SIS HAS HERSELF A LOVER.” He says excitedly.

I blush and look away. 

“Yeah and I wanna know WHO!” Noya says, “I know it starts with a T, so I thought maybe you Tanaka, but you didn’t have your phone and plus I’m sure you would’ve told me.”

“Oh sure thing dude.” Tanaka nods. “Maybe it’s Tsukkishima?” He suggests. 

“Hmmm, maybe, but the nickname was T, and she calls him Tsukki. Hmm, Kuroo? His first name starts with a T.” 

“How do you know he plays volleyball?” I say with a smirk, teasing. 

“OH.” Tanaka says, laughing at himself.

“He does though.” I mess with him, making him shove my shoulder. 

“YAMS?” Noya asks, eyes wide. 

I shake my head. My phone buzzes, and I look down at it.

T❤️: hey babyyyy. i miss you

me: i miss you too!💓

T❤️: can u come over tonight🥺 i don’t have practice 

me: hmmmm yeah sure :)

me: noya and tanaka found out that we’re a thing. they don’t know it’s you but i bet they’ll cover for me lmao

T❤️: bless

T❤️: well i gotta go baby i’ll text you later

me: okay bye!!💓

T❤️:😘

“Is it Takeda? If it is, we won’t judge.” Tanaka says quietly, making me laugh loudly. “No no no!” I shake my head.

“Tendou!?” Tanaka exclaims. 

“Takeru?” 

“Goshiki?”

I shake my head at all of their attempts. 

It dawns on Noya, and he leans across the table, Tanaka copies him, and whispers, “Is it Oikawa?” 

I bite my lip with a small smile. 

“NO. WAY.” Tanaka gasps, jaw dropped. “That’s like, illegal!! You know who your brother is, right?!? Dude. That’s ballsy.” 

I laugh at Tanaka’s ramblings. 

“Wow okay, get it I guess.” Noya says, grinning. “What’s he like?” 

“He’s sweet. Nothing like his on the court persona.” I say honestly. “And I really really really like him.”

“You haven’t told Kageyama, I assume?” Tanaka asks, and I shake my head. 

“I just don’t know how, honestly. I’ve been dating Tooru for a little over a year now. Things are great, but just, he and my brother don’t get along. Tooru wants to try, though. But every time I even mention his name, Tobio shuts me down.” 

Noya nods, eyebrows furrowed in thought. “Hey, we’re always here to help, you know.”

“Yeah, feel free to say you’re staying at my house with me and my sister or something, Kageyama knows we wouldn’t ever do anything weird. Gross.” Tanaka pretends to gag, and I laugh. 

“Thank you guys.” I reach out, grabbing their hands and squeezing them.

“No prob, Kags.”

——

Later that night, I found myself in the arms of the man that was causing such a stir in my friends’ minds. 

His soft lips against mine, doing exactly what made me feel warm inside. He runs his hands up and down my back, settling on my hips. My arms rest on his shoulders, and eventually move up to run through his hair, messing it up. 

I sigh, pulling away to look at his face. His brown eyes gaze up into mine, and I smile gently, resting my forehead against his. 

“I’m so lucky that you’re my girl.” Tooru says, eyes closing. I hum and kiss his nose, cuddling into his chest, closing my eyes as well.

“Babe. Wake up.” A soft voice says, rubbing my arm. I open my eyes to meet soft brown ones filled with love. 

“Hi, darling.” I say, stretching and yawning. 

“Sleep well?” He asks, pulling me closer to him. 

“I did. You?”

He hums and nods, closing his eyes. “It’s early still, but I wanted to be with you before you leave.” He pouts, pressing a kiss on my temple. 

“Thanks for waking me up.” I smile, putting my hand on his cheek. He turns his head, kissing my palm before going back to look at my face. 

We talk about random things for about 30 minutes, like how shocked Noya was when he heard the message, and how Iwa hit him in the back of the head with a ball again.

Sadly, time passes, so that means I have to go to school. 

“Bye, baby.” He says, telling me farewell at the train. 

“Bye. I love you.” 

“I love you too.” He smiles, kissing me quickly before I get on and head to Karasuno.

“Hey, kid.” Daichi says as I walk into the gym carrying my bag. 

“Hi!” I say with a grin, hugging him. 

“Thanks for coming in today.” He says, hugging me back. 

“No problem. I’ve got some time to kill anyway.” Today, a bunch of people are coming to Karasuno to practice together, it’s really informal but fun and useful. I wave bye to Daichi and walk over to my friend Yui. She’s the captain of the girls team. I wasn’t able to play this year, but next year I’m going to join after basketball season.

“Y/n! Hello! Thanks for coming!” She gushes, hugging me. 

“Of course! I wouldn’t miss it.” I smile at her as we start to leave the gym to change. 

“Y/n! Good morning!” My brother shouts at me, and I turn around and yell good morning right back with a wave. 

With that out of the way, I walk out of the gym with my friend. 

In the empty club room, we change into shorts and a tshirt and head back, mindlessly chatting along the way.

“Y/n! Hello!” A familiar voice stops me outside. 

“Iwa!” I grin, “Hi! Welcome to my school.” I jokingly bow, making him laugh. “You can go on Yui, I’ll be right there!”

She nods and heads into the gym, probably to see Daichi. 

“Yyyyy/nnnnn,” the smooth voice of my boyfriend rings out, making me laugh.

“Hi!” I smile sweetly at him. “I’d kiss you but there are, ya know, people,” I say quietly. 

He nods his head in understanding. He wasn’t going to ask for one anyway, he didn’t feel like dealing with the secret today.

“Are you going to play too, Y/n? You’re wearing athletic clothes.” Iwa notes.

“Yeah, a bit.” I say, and the three of us walk into the gym. 

“That’s great.” Iwa says, patting my head. 

“She’s the most pretty setter.” Oikawa says quietly, making Iwa and I both chuckle and roll our eyes. 

“The great king!” Hinata exclaims, making a few heads turn in our direction. 

I can sense my brother’s icy stare, and my boyfriend sends him a smirk. 

Oh no, this is gonna be trouble. 

I sigh, pushing my hair back. I walk towards Suga, but turn around and mouth the words “be good” to Tooru, then I do the same to Tobio. 

Oh god oh no oh god oh no, repeats in my brain as I walk wide eyed to the grey haired boy for some kind of comfort. He looks somewhat out of place due to third wheeling Daichi and Yui, so when his eyes meet mine, they flood with relief. 

“Y/n,” he says as I approach him, “today’s gonna be a long one.”

“You’re telling me.” I sigh, putting my hands on my head. I glance back to check on the two boys in my life, and thankfully they’re on opposite sides of the gym. 

“Something the matter?” He asks, concerned.

“Just worried about my brother and Tooru.” I pause. “Oikawa.” I correct myself, and Suga eyes me. 

“If he’s the mystery man I overheard Noya and Tanaka talking about, I feel sorry for your situation.” He says honestly, making my face heat up.  

“Yeah.” I admit. Maybe Suga could help me if something goes awry...

After a moment of silence, he smirks at me, giving me a knowing look. “Does he really hit it till it breaks?” He teases. 

“Oh god Suga!” I exclaim, shoving his shoulder, my cheeks turning red. 

He laughs at my flustered state. 

“He does, but so do I.” I whisper to him, making his jaw drop. It’s his turn to be speechless. I giggle, covering my mouth. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” I say, shaking my head. “Unless...” 

He whacks my shoulder, “You’re too young for lewd jokes like that, young lady!” He teases, giving me a soft whack in between the words. 

“You started it!” I laugh, holding one hand up in surrender, the other on my stomach from laughter.

——

At lunch time, I opt to sit with Noya and Tanaka. 

“The tension between the two is so,” Noya says, waving his hand in the air. 

“Thick.” Tanaka finishes for him, and we all nod. “I don’t like it.”

“Me either. And Tooru has been good, it’s Tobio who’s trying to rile things up.” I frown, pushing my food around with my fork. 

“Yeah, he needs to calm down.” Tanaka agrees. 

“You know what? I’ll go sit with him.” I say, pushing myself up. 

“Go get em!” Noya cheers, making me laugh. 

I walk over and sit down next to him, brushing his shoulder. “Y/n, hey.” He says. 

“Y/n!!!” Hinata beams from across the table. “How’re you!”

“I’m fine, how about you?” I smile at him. He tells me he’s good and rambles for a bit about volleyball. 

“It’s fun.” Tobio admits. “I want to go up against Oikawa, though. Haven’t had the chance yet.” He grumbles, shoveling food. into his mouth. I roll my eyes. “Oi, what was that for?” He demands, nudging me. 

“Nothing, nothing.” I wave him off.

Hinata squints at us, wondering if we’ll start fighting. It happens occasionally, and in front of Hinata a good amount because Tobio “feels like he can be himself” around the orange haired boy (his words, not mine).

“Don’t fight, let’s just focus on learning from others today!” Hinata begs. 

I nod, smiling at him. 

“Now, I’m gonna go.” I say, standing up. I whack Tobio on the head, mumbling “behave” before walking away, waving bye to Hinata.

———

I found myself sitting in between Oikawa and Suga, kicking my legs while I drink my chocolate milk. The two boys chat with each other, making me smile. I look at my boyfriend and he ruffles my hair before continuing his conversation with Suga. Next, I look up at Suga, who’s nodding along to my boyfriend’s words. He looks down at me, fixing my hair before meeting Tooru’s eyes again.

I feel so content, two important guys in my life are getting along. 

“Hey, Y/n, I- what? OH!” Tanaka says, bounding up to the three of us, Noya hot on his tail. 

“It’s nice to meet you, loverboy.” Noya says, stepping from foot to foot in excitement.

Instead of lashing out, Tooru blushes a bit and looks down, acting out of character. This makes Noya grin even wider. “You’d better treat our Y/n right, and I know you do, but I need to say it, and-“ the small boy rambles, making me laugh. Suga shakes his head, whacking Noya to get him to shut up.

“We’re baaaack!” Hinata shouts, “Let’s play!”

“Y/n?” A voice I didn’t want to hear says. 

I look up to meet the hard blue eyes of my brother. 

“Hey, Tobio.” I offer a smile. “Why are you with him?” He folds his arms, making me roll my eyes.

“It seems like you’re ignoring the fact that I’m also with Suga, Noya, and Tanaka.” 

“Still.”

“Okay, you know what, fine,” I say, taking a deep breath. Holy shit, I’m doing this. I’m doing this now of all times. Okay okay okay, get the words out, “He’s my boyfriend.” 

Tobio’s facial expression changes into confusion. If his face could be a punctuation mark, it would embody “?” perfectly.

“Okay, don’t get mad-“ Tooru starts.

“No, okay, I, just,” Tobio stutters, blinking hard.

“Listen.” I tell him, putting my hand on his arm, “I love him, okay? And he’s treated me so well, and I just-“

“Give me a minute.” Tobio says, shaking his head and storming out of the gym.

“Babe,” Tooru says, gently taking my hand in his.

“Take a breath, he’ll come around.” He whispers.

“But what if he doesn’t?” I ask, trying not to tear up.

“If he doesn’t, then oh well.” Tooru rubs my back. “He’s not part of our relationship. It might even take years of him seeing how much I love and care about you, it’s not going to fade. He’ll have to see someday.”

“And,” Suga adds, “we all approve, if that helps things.”

“I can’t believe you’re dating the great king!” Hinata gushes, hugging me. “I’ll go talk to Kageyama.” 

“Thanks, Hinata.” I smile, hugging him back before he runs off.

“At least he didn’t punch me.” Tooru mumbles, making me and the boys around me laugh.

———

At the end of the day, all of the guys are tired and sweaty, walking slower than they did in the morning. I walked between Iwa and Tanaka (admittedly, two guys I never thought I’d walk in between) while listening to chatter amongst the volleyball boys.

“Hey, do you think I can hang out at your house now that your brother knows?” A smooth voice asks me.

I smile, nodding. “Yeah, I think so.” 

“That’s great.” He grins, lacing his fingers with mine. “Plus, I need to prove to him that I’m not actually terrible.”

“Yeah, he’s really hard headed.” I shake my head. 

After a bit, we all get to the train and it’s time to say our goodbyes and go our separate ways.

“It was nice talking to you, loverboy.” Noya says, socking Tooru in the shoulder.

“Yeah, you too I guess.” He rubs the spot that got punched, jokingly wincing.

We break off from the group a bit, and I hug him. “Thanks for acting right.” I say, somewhat jokingly.

“Hey, I’m not a dick when things are important to me.” He shoots back, squeezing me closer to him.

I stand on my tiptoes and he leans down, meeting me halfway. His warm lips are against mine again, and I smile, closing my eyes. 

“Hey, uh,” My brother’s voice interrupts our moment. We pull back and look at him. “This is so weird. I hope you understand how in shock I am. Y/n, we’re going to have a talk on the way home. I don’t know if I can accept this.” He scratches his neck in discomfort.

Tooru stiffens, jaw clenched.

“Tobio, I-“

“No, Y/n. Just, no.” He shakes his head, glaring at the ground.

“At least let me tell you how good he is to me. Let him show you, please Tobio.” I beg.

“I, I can’t, I just,” 

“You’re too fucking stubborn.” I snap. “This is why I didn’t tell you. I knew you’d be a total dick and ruin things.”

“I don’t mind ruining things if it has to do with him.” He folds his arms.

I look back at my boyfriend, who’s obviously trying to hold himself back.

“What the hell, man?” Tooru finally says something. “I’ve literally treated Y/n well for more than a year now, and I could never hurt her. I love her, so much, and I don’t hate her for being your sister, I don’t hold idiotic grudges,”

“You do against me.”

“It’s an act, stupid. You play into it all just as much as I did.”

“Don’t start that, Oikawa.” 

“Hey, Tobio, Tooru,” I butt in, “Please stop.”

“I’ll stop arguing when you dump his ass, Y/n.” Tobio says.

I shoot him a glare, then look to Oikawa, whose eyes swimming with emotion.

“I am not breaking up with Tooru. I love him, Tobio. A lot. Just, accept it, would you?”

“No. I can’t. See him for all I care, but you won’t have me.” He storms off, leaving the two of us standing there in silence.

———

Two months later, I’m sitting in my last period class. I head out of school as the bell rings, arms folded and eyes down. I don’t like admitting that my brother’s words affected me, and I especially don’t like that he made me choose between the two. 

I chose the one who wasn’t a dick. The one who loves me, the one who would do anything to make me smile. The one who looks at me like I put the stars in the sky, the one who holds me at night and gives me his jacket when I’m cold. The one who sneaks my favorite candy in my backpack before I leave his house, the one who lets me pick which anime we watch. The one who kisses each of my fingers, the one who makes my heart stop, the one who supports me no matter what.

Yet my heart aches for my brother, the one that would put bandaids on my scraped knees, the one that would laugh at me when I fell, right before he’d give me a hand up. The one who helped me get ready for basketball tryouts, the one who always forgot his bag at home. The one who refuses to look me in the eye, the one who’s giving me the silent treatment, the one who makes my home life miserable every day. Why do I miss him when he’s so mean?

I kick rocks along the sidewalk, walking past the volleyball gym. I hear familiar squeaks of shoes and slamming of volleyballs on the wood floors. I peek in, praying that my brother isn’t there.

“Y/n!” Suga says, noticing my presence. I squeak and jump back, stumbling a bit. “Sorry to scare you!” He says, jogging up to me, reaching out a hand to help me up.

“It’s okay.”

“How have you been? It’s been ages!” He throws an arm over my shoulders.

I shrug. 

“Not good, huh?” He frowns.

I shake my head.

“I’m sorry. You’re always welcome at my place. I know it’s closer than Oikawa’s.”

“Thank you.” I smile gently, hugging him. “I’d better go before Tobio shows up here.” I laugh lightly, pushing my hair back.

“Hmm, all right then. Don’t forget to text me though, all right?” 

“I won’t. Bye, Suga.” I wave and walk away, heading to the train.

He waves bye back, heading back into the gym.

I glance back, remembering when I’d run Tobio his bag that he left on the counter.

I shake the memories out of my head.

Once on the train, I put in my earbuds, nodding my head along to the first song that came on shuffle. I look out the window, thinking. 

Once I’m at the house of my boyfriend and his family, I truly feel at home. I feel warm, I feel loved, I feel cared for. In fact, I am warm, loved, and cared for here. His parents let me stay over, and I cook dinner for everyone multiple times a week. 

It’s 8:00 pm now, and I’m spinning in Tooru’s desk chair while he folds his clothes.

“Hey, c’mere.” He says, sitting down on his queen sized bed, patting the empty space next to him.

I nod and stand up, then plop myself down. 

“I love you.” He takes my face in his hands, moving closer. “So much.” He kisses my lips firmly. “Don’t you ever forget, missy.”

I laugh, scooting closer to him and nuzzling my face in his chest, sighing in contempt. 

“I love you too, Tooru.” 

‘Star crossed lovers, doomed from the start, huh?’ I think to myself, a small smile on my face, ‘What do ya know? I made it work.’ 

[thedefinitionofendgame]

hi! I think in the midst of all that was happening this morning I forgot to send you a specific prompt? my apologies! I’ve just taken a look at the list and would love to see amelink for #15 c:

prompt is from this list - “May I have this dance?” (just for you, Wren ♡ hope you like it. btw i'm pretending that link didn't propose in the s17 finale, instead this scene took place. it's also way longer than planned; so long i might upload it to ao3 later this week)

“Thought I’d find you out here,” a deep voice said, interrupting Amelia from her thoughts. She turned and was met with the steady blue gaze of her boyfriend, aka the man she loved more than anyone else in the world.

“Hi.” Amelia smiled at him, though it was a sad smile. Today as she watched her sister get married, she had thought about her own relationship. She was disappointed in herself that she couldn’t give Link what she knew he desperately wanted; marriage and a second child. It wasn’t a sort of “maybe one day” answer, for her it was a “I don’t think I ever can”. Link seemed fine with her boundaries but deep down she knew that he wanted more. Would he resent her for not being able to have a wedding and cake and a celebration of their legal love? Would he resent her inability to go through pregnancy and birth again, just to give them another child to love? Questions like this had always bounced around in the back of Amelia’s mind, although today they had been especially prominent.

Link came over and wrapped an arm around Amelia, moving to kiss the top of her head. She smelled sweet, like a mix of baby powder from back home and that wonderful shampoo she used. The sun was just beginning to set in the distance, a sort of mural being painted on the ocean in front of them. It was absolutely spectacular and made Link wish he had his cell phone on him to take a picture. Unfortunately, he had lent his device to Ellis who begged him to let her play candy crush. While the kids were having fun at Maggie and Winston’s wedding, they certainly got bored after a few hours.

The ring box lingered in Link’s pocket. He had three more hidden in his sock drawer at home, but for today he had picked the one he expected Amelia to like best. Right now seemed like the perfect time to pop the question; it was just them and the endless sea in front of him.

Although as he moved in front of her to get down on one knee, he noticed the tears in Amelia’s eyes. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked, straightening completely upright immediately.

Amelia looked out at the water, then back at Link. “I’m sorry,” she murmured.

“Sorry for what?” Link was confused; she had done nothing wrong, so why was she apologizing? He opened his arms and pulled her close and said, “It’s okay, you have nothing to be sorry for.”

Ignoring him, Amelia took a deep breath and pushed on. “I can’t give you my hand in marriage that Maggie gave Winston today. I can’t give you the three kids Meredith gave Derek. I can’t fulfill all your dreams and wants, because that would be going against everything I stand for. I’m sorry for what I can’t give you.”

Link was silent for a moment. The hand in his pants pocket stilled, and he thought for a moment. He wondered just how long Amelia had been holding her feelings in, how long she had waited to tell him. She was scared and rightfully so because Link had failed. He had failed to talk to her and he was only just realizing it now. He cursed to himself, internally, because he was about to spring marriage on her when that was clearly something she didn’t want. He had about to be selfish and not think of Amelia before he opened his mouth to get what he wanted. Link knew he had messed up these past few months, and it hurt him to think that he could’ve just ruined it all.

“Don’t be sorry,” Link said, tilting Amelia’s chin so that she was staring up at him. He marvelled over how the light from the sunset turned Amelia’s eyes slightly green. “Never, ever be sorry. I love you and I love Scout and I’m the one who should be sorry. I don’t need to be bound by law to know you love me. I love you no matter what and I always will. If you don’t want to get married, then we won’t get married. If you don’t want to have another kid, we won’t have another kid. I mean, maybe we could compromise and foster once Scout gets older? I’ve always wanted to do that. I’m getting off track, but anyways, I just want you to know that you should never be sorry.” His gaze searched Amelia’s face and he desperately wanted to know what she was thinking.

Luckily for him, Amelia was always one to speak her mind in the end. “Okay. I love you too and perhaps we can come back to the fostering thing. But not until Scout’s at least ten because there’s no way in hell I’m juggling a kid plus a baby.”

Link laughed out loud. “Deal.” Removing his hand from his pocket and letting go of the ring box all together, Link shifted so that they were both looking out over the water again. The sun had sunk lower but it was still light out enough. A short distance away, the wedding tent was bustling and alive with music. For some reason, Link didn’t want to go back just yet. He wanted another few minutes alone with the woman he was crazy about. Sure, marriage would be nice but it wasn’t necessary. And despite what Amelia might think, he would never blame her for the decision. It was something they both made together, because that’s what relationships do. They talk and come to a conclusion that makes sense for both people. Amelia was willing to compromise about the second child thing, with fostering down the road. They would be okay, and they would love each other no matter what.

Amelia looked absolutely breathtaking in her red dress. She had changed at Meredith’s where Maggie had gotten ready, so Link had only seen her outfit when he arrived at the wedding after leaving Scout with Jo for the night. His heart had skipped a beat, she looked so damn beautiful. Link had then realized how lucky he was to have the prettiest girl on his arm at the wedding. He was so lucky to have Amelia by his side and Scout in his arms. The perfect family of three, who didn’t need anything but love. That’s what bound them. Not marriage, just love. It was enough for them.

After a moment, Link decided what he wanted to do with Amelia while they watched the sun disappear. He wanted to spin her in circles and kiss her lips and tell her everything he loved about her. So he extended a hand to the woman he loved and smiled while asking, “May I have this dance?”

Written by @thedefinitionofendgame (aka me)

[clouditae]

Let’s Escape Reality

Jungkook x reader | pg15 | oneshot | barista au | christmas party | fluff | angst | mentions of death

Word: 5.6k

Christmas has become a holiday you never look forward to. Divorced parents, multiple parties to attend, but he’s always there to remind you that it never hurts to be a kid again

[Tuesday, December 24th, 10:15pm] Mom: Hey sweetie! Can’t wait to see you tomorrow morning! Your father always wakes up closer to the afternoon so he can wait while we have you all to ourselves! 

[Tuesday, December 24th, 11:48pm] Dad: Hi baby, hope you had a great time with us today and we can’t wait to see you tomorrow whenever your mother let’s you go!

It’s currently five in the morning, your eyes barely open and thoughts not wanting to deal with your parents right now. It’s always the same with those two; one parent complains about the other. “Your mother is always so naggy” or “Your father never listens”. Always putting you in the middle whenever you talk to them or whenever you’re with them. They need someone to listen to them as they bash the other, and that happens to be you or your siblings. The daughter they created. All you want is for this day to end already, and it just started.

Forget the Christmas morning and lunch with your parents, forget wrapping the gifts you got for your family, friends and the person you picked to be secret Santa for. Forget the Christmas party you have later on today. Screw all of it. 

Rather than going to see the other messages you got from your siblings, you open a different message.

[5:26am] Kook: Gooood morning beautiful! Can’t wait to see you at the party tonight <3

You can’t help but smile, feeling more calm than you did going to bed last night. You take in a deep breath, finally getting out of bed to take a shower and begin your morning on Christmas day. Plugging your phone into its charger on the nightstand next to your bed, you head into your bathroom where you start your shower. You take off your clothes, bringing your hand under the running water to feel the temperature. When it’s to your liking, you step in, letting the warm water run down your body. Thoughts run through your head as you close your eyes, taking in deep breaths to not have a breakdown. 

Ever since your parents divorced, life has been difficult. It’s been four years since their divorce, but it always feels like yesterday when they announced it… separately. It was hard on not only your parents, but you and your siblings as well. Whose party do you go to? What is supposed to be happening New Years? Birthdays? Simple lunches that your parents fought over because one somehow figured out the other made plans with you. You felt like a toy they were fighting over; never considering how you’re feeling or how your brother and sister are feeling. 

You suppress the urge to cry as you quickly take your shower. Once finished, you get out and put on pajama pants and a shirt, putting your hair up in a towel to dry before making your way towards your room to begin wrapping presents. You begin with the long distance lamp you got for you and your best friend. She always seemed upset at the thought of moving to New York for work and leaving everyone here, so you got her that best friend touch lamp that changes colors for both lamps when you touch it. 

”She’ll cry when she gets it,” Jungkook told you last year when you almost bought it but didn’t. Your best friend was supposed to move to New York last year, but things happened and she did not leave. 

“I don’t think she’ll cry,” you tell him, staring at the picture of the lamp on your phone. 

“How much do you want to bet?” he challenges.

You chuckle at the memory. Guess you’ll see if today you lost that bet. You write your friend's name on the present, placing it to the side before moving to your mom's present. You begin to wrap the gift, thoughts going back to Jungkook. You wonder what he’d say when you’re at the store staring at an alarm clock you were considering getting for your mom at first. He’d probably lecture you. You think further back to when you first met Jungkook three years ago.

You sigh, entering the café with your friends. How much longer are they going to argue about team Clarissa or team Dante? In the end they’re both going to cry over the season finale. 

“I’m telling you, Mina, Sophie is totally going to end up with Dante! He’s sweet and only wants to make them happy!” your friend Rory argues, walking up to the long line. 

Mina only laughs challengingly, “Yeah right. Clarissa is the one for them. She’s been there since the beginning and she confessed her feelings for Sophie compared to Dante who acted cold and was a dick to her!” 

“That’s because he has trouble letting himself feel something for someone again! It’s your typical troubled bad boy!” Rory protests, shaking his head before crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Will you two keep it down? You need to remember we’re in public and no one wants to hear you gushing over two fictional characters,” Ben sighs, rubbing his temples. He’s clearly done hearing this conversation just as much as you are. They’ve been arguing since all of you got into the car to get coffee. 

Mina sighs, “Fine. We’ll stop for now, but the second we get into that car, you’re gonna regret ever being on Dante’s team.” She pokes at Rory’s chest. 

“You’re on,” he replies in a quieter tone, taking a step forward as the next customer goes up to the cashier and places their order. “Changing the subject,” Rory begins, now looking at Ben, “I know you’re a coffee fanatic, but why bust a mission so far out of our way to get coffee when there are a million stores closer?”

Ben smiles, eyes lighting up in realization. “Remember how I’ve been telling you for weeks that I want you guys to meet my friend Jungkook?”

“Yeah, but you never bring him anywhere when we actually get together. I still think you’re making him up,” Mina theorizes, looking up to meet Ben’s eyes. 

“Ha-ha,” he mocks. “But no, Jungkook is real and he works here. I thought that the best way to meet a busy kid is to find them at work. Plus he makes a pretty damn good cappuccino.” Ben shrugs, gesturing with his head for the three of you to move forward. 

“Does he work eight jobs or something?” you can’t help but ask. Ben has been talking about you three meeting this Jungkook non stop for almost two months, but never once has Ben actually brought him over. Ben’s excuse as to why Jungkook has never been brought over is because Jungkook is busy. 

“No. He has six older brothers, so he’s always with them. They help him with everything he could need, and how to be a better barista is one of them.” Ben can only shake his head as he chuckles.

“Damn. Their parents got busy,” Rory whistles. 

“They’re not blood related; they just grew up together.” 

“Next in line,” a voice calls. You look to the front of the line, realizing that you’re next. The four of you quickly walk up to the woman behind the counter. She smiles her customer service smile and asks, “What can I get you today?” You all give your orders to the brunette behind the counter, Rory and Mina buying the most expensive drink they can get. She repeats the order back. “Is that correct?” she asks, earning a nod from Ben who is paying. “Okay. Your order should be ready soon!” 

You follow the group to the side closer to the pick-up counter where Ben’s name will be called. “So where is your best friend?” Mina asks, eyes scanning the staff behind the counter. 

Ben looks behind the counter where Mina’s gaze remains. “Hmm. He’s probably in the back or on break,” he answers, turning back to look at her. “He’s real.” 

Rory and Mina can only chuckle at the determination Ben is giving. “Okay, okay.” 

“So are we going to start doing secret Santa? I’m telling you, it’s a great idea,” you voice, pushing your idea on the crew once again. 

You’ve been dedicated to having secret Santa since last Christmas. It’s something you have always wanted to do, but didn’t have enough friends to do it with. Even now you don’t have enough friends to do it without it being easy as to who was picked by which person, but if you find enough people willing, it’ll be a great idea to try out. When they say nothing you add, “C’mon! You can even invite your friends to join and hang out with us at the party.” 

“Five people is still not enough, Y/N,” Ben says, shaking his head while giving you a sympathetic look. 

You groan, “That’s why you invite some of your friends over so that we can all get to know one another and then ask who wants to join the present exchange.” You then cross your arms over your chest. “You guys always say you want to do something with friends only, and here I am presenting to you with a pretty good idea.” 

They stand in silence, looking lost in their thoughts at your words. Finally, Ben is the first to sigh and say, “Fine. I’ll ask him and find some other friends.” He points to you. “But you’re planning the party for all of us to meet and the party for the secret Santa.” 

It’s Mina’s turn to exhale. “I’ll ask around.” 

You turn to Rory who only nods. Breaking out into a huge smile, you say in a singsong tone, “I’ll have everything ready. I promise.” 

“Order for Ben,” a disembodied voice calls. 

You all turn to the pick-up counter to see four cups in a drink carrier. Following Ben, you watch him drag the carrier closer to him. You don’t see him look up and smile as he says, “Hey.” You tear your eyes away from the cups where yours lay in wait for you to devour and look up to see Ben’s attention on the person behind the counter. He turns to the three of you. “Guys, this is Jungkook. Jungkook this is Rory, Mina and Y/N.” 

Jungkook is for sure real, but he doesn’t even look real. He’s tall, almost as tall as Ben, but not quite there. His cherry red hair is brought back into a bun, some of it draping around his sculpted jawline. His round, coffee brown eyes glances at your friends before landing on you, a smile gracing his lips. “Hello,” he says in a silvery, husky tone. 

You feel how Mina sounds when she replies, small and taut. Ben is friends with this God like figure? It’s not that Ben isn’t good looking—it's more that you’d have to be either very beautiful or funny as hell to be friends with someone like Jungkook. You’re putting him on a pedestal when his personality could be horrible.  

“So, my friends—mainly this one,” he begins, nudging your arm with his shoulder, “wants to do a secret Santa and since we need more people, Y/N is going to throw a party beforehand so we can all get to know each other. You interested?”

Jungkook can only smile for a moment, expression clearly taken aback from the sudden invitation to a party where he’ll only know one person. He looks to you, his smile a bit more genuine and answers, “I don’t mind going. Just tell me when.”

You smile at the memory as you turn off the ignition to your car and get out. You stand in front of your mom’s house, letting out a small sigh before opening the trunk and pulling out the presents you got for your mom and one for your siblings. You stack the presents on top of one another, realizing that you’ll have to make trips. However, to your luck and the sense of a sibling in trouble, your brother appears beside you. 

“Well if it isn’t my favorite sister,” he says, giving you a side hug before grabbing the stacked presents from you. 

You chuckle, “If Cal heard you say that, she’d throw a fit.” Grabbing the other gifts and items you bought, you close the trunk and follow him up to your mom’s two story house. You make your way up the walkway towards the decorated front door. Your mom goes above and beyond when it comes to decorations. The outdoor has lights lining the roof, two inflatable snowmen were on the snow-covered lawn, and as you get closer to the steel entry door, it’s decorated with a garland running along the window and door; a wreath hanging above the entrance. 

The door flings open to reveal your mom. She smiles widely at you, crows feet forming at the eyes. “Hi, honey,” she says in her nasal voice, opening her arms out for you to walk in to. You smile, juggling the items in your arms as you wrap them around her waist, hugging her tightly. “It’s good to see you.” 

“Hi, Mom.” You release her, but she doesn’t seem ready to let go of you just yet. It’s understandable since the last time you saw her was around a month ago, but your arms are getting tired from holding all the heavy objects. “Okay—Mom, my arms hurt.” 

She chuckles, removing herself and her grip around you. “Sorry.” She grabs the items from your left hand. “Why don’t we put these under the tree and have breakfast?”

You follow her out of the entryway and into the living room where the Christmas tree stands. It stands in the far left corner between the stand and the couch. It’s tall and decorative with old ornaments you made when you were a kid. The television is playing a Christmas movie you forgot the name to. It’s old, but the scenes play in your mind like a record. Your sister sits on the couch facing across the television. She looks up to you as you follow your mom across the room and place the presents under the tree. 

“Well if it isn’t my favorite sister,” she calls, getting up from the couch, making her way around the coffee table in the middle of the room and wraps you in a just as tight hug as your mother’s. 

“I’m your only sister,” you explain, patting her back before she let’s go. 

“But that’s what Nathan said right?” she inquiries, laughing when you don’t deny fast enough. “That’s what he told me when I came.” 

“You’re both my favorite sister,” he defends, shrugging his shoulders as he walks to the island that somewhat separates the kitchen and living room. He grabs a piece of bacon from the plate placed in what looks like a field of plates. 

“We’re your only sisters and can you not eat until we’re all at the table,” Cal groans, shaking her head as she goes to the island to grab the plates and place them at the table in the dining room to the left of the kitchen. 

Nathan says something you can't understand due to his chewing, but he nevertheless grabs the plates and follows Cal’s lead. You do the same, grabbing a plate full of pancakes and another plate full of eggs, placing them at the center of the table. Once everything is set, you take a seat next to Cal, your mom and Nathan sitting across from you. You chat with one another as you fill your plates with a little bit of everything. You listen to their stories as coffee, milk and orange juice is poured into cups. 

Your mom took advantage of the three of you being in the same room as her as she tells you about that one day at work where one of her students laughed so hard at their own prank that they farted and that resulted in urinating themselves a bit. “I don’t understand why I chose to be a teacher, but here we are,” she sighs, taking a sip of her coffee. 

“You should have been a nurse,” Cal chimes, shoving a piece of toast in her mouth. You glance between your mom and Cal, waiting for the tension to rise. With Cal being exactly like your mom; hard headed and with the same attitude, they always butt heads and sometimes ruin whatever get together you have. 

“Elena is pregnant,” Nathan suddenly blurts. You stare at him wide eyed. Usually when your mom and Cal get into arguments, Nathan will come up with some stupid comment to ease the tension, but this one was a lot bigger than his usual lies. 

“What?” you mom whispers.

“Yeah, Nathan. At least come up with a believable lie,” Cal chuckles. 

“Uh,” he begins, adjusting himself in his seat, “today’s not a lie. Elena is pregnant—the doctor told us a few days ago.” He brings his hands up and shakes them lightly, somewhat looking like he’s doing jazz hands. “It’s a Christmas miracle. Merry Christmas,” he says in a tremulous tone. 

You, Cal and Nathan wait in anxious silence for your mom to say something. She’s silent for a moment before smiling, eyes getting glossy and tears streaming down her cheeks as she reaches forward and hugs Nathan in a tight grip. “I’m going to be a grandma,” she cries. 

Cal nudges you with her shoulder. “We’re gonna be aunts,” she tells you, eyes wide and clearly in shock. 

“I’m going to be an uncle!” Jungkook yells, wrapping his arms around you from behind while you’re trying to fold your laundry. “I can’t believe it.”

You giggle, “I know, I know. You’ve been screaming about it since Seokjin first told us.” Jungkook introduced you to his brothers six months after meeting him. Six months after that you were asked to be his girlfriend and now in nine months time, you’ll be a not legit aunt. 

“I always thought Taehyung would be the first to have kids since he’s such a kid person, but since Seokjin is the one with a wife, it makes more sense.” He smiles at you as he removes his grip from around your waist and takes a seat on your bed where your folded clothes lie. “I’m going to spoil that baby and ruin Seokjin’s life with how spoiled that baby is.” 

“Well you’re about to ruin my neatly folded clothes with your determination to spoil a baby that hasn’t been born yet,” you laugh, grabbing his arm and pulling up off your bed.

You’re not sure why that memory came to you all of a sudden. Maybe it’s because you’re going to be an aunt in nine months. Maybe it’s because you’re going to spoil that baby like Jungkook always talked about and did when Haru was born. Maybe his dedication rubbed off on you. 

“We should probably head out,” Nathan’s voice rings, bringing you out of your thoughts. “Dad’s lunch is starting soon.” You follow in suit, getting up from your spot on the couch in the living room. You grab the remaining wrapping paper that was torn apart off the floor, tossing it in the trash where the rest lay. Grabbing the presents everyone got you, you place them carefully in a bag, feeling the weight of it drag your arm down. "Bye, Mom. Thanks for the presents and breakfast." Nathan gives your mom a tight hug. 

You smile at your mom as she releases your brother and opens her arms for you to walk into. “Come by more often, yeah? You only have one mother you know,” she lectures, rubbing your back affectionately. 

You chuckle. “Yes, yes. I’ll come by and visit more often.” Saying goodbye to your mom, you get into your car and follow your siblings to your dad’s house on the other side of town. All five of you used to live in the middle of the city; a nice cozy home where you shared so many memories. Your parents divorced and your father moved up north while your mother moved south. Both completely away from one another where they never have to see each other for any reason other than something important happening to you or Cal or Nathan. 

Twenty minutes later, you pull up to the driveway of your dad’s house. Just like your mom’s, your father’s house is decorated with lights, and other types of decorations on the outside. You can only imagine what it looks like on the inside with your dad’s new girlfriend always being extra when it comes to Christmas. More than your mom. Grabbing the rest of your siblings presents and your dad’s gift from the trunk, you follow Cal and Nathan to the front door. Cal knocks on the door and a few seconds later the door opens revealing your dad with red frosting all over his lips. 

“Hey,” he begins, voice booming with excitement, “I’m glad you guys made it just in time! We’re putting frosting on the cookies.” Your dad moves to open the door more for you three to enter. 

“Put frosting on the cookies or eat the frosting?” Nathan asks, placing a finger on his chin where a small dab of frosting stuck and wiped it on his apron. 

Your father laughs, “You know me, I can’t help myself when it comes to frosting.” 

The day goes on as you spend a few hours at your dad’s place. You talk about what you’ve done since you last saw one another, Nathan being a future father, and how long the lines were for the recent Christmas movie that came out in theaters. You opened the presents and ate the cookies they made—they were actually good. Everything was peaceful, and for the first time, you spent Christmas without one of your parents saying something bad about the other. 

That is until your dad made a joke about your mom and you decided it was time to leave. You say your goodbyes once again, and left the house. You’ll wait for your father’s apology text; you’ll tell him to stop acting like a child and grow up about the divorce, and that’ll be the end of that. Your mom may hear about it, and you’ll have to tell her the same thing. 

It’s your endless circle of bull. 

You show up to Rory and Mina’s place earlier than usual. When you knock on the door, a surprised Mina opens it, but it immediately disappears when you shake your head at her. You enter the small, comforting house as Rory walks up to you and hands you a glass of eggnog. You drank it like you’re dehydrated. You just want today to be over already. 

“We were just about to decorate the tree if you want to help,” Mina says, holding up some ornaments. 

“You’re barely doing it on the last day?” you question, placing the glass on the coffee table before following her to the tree that was also in the corner of the living room. 

“This is our friend tree,” Mina starts, tone defensive, “we already have our actual tree up in the den.” 

“An actual tree?” You grab an ornament from her hand and hang it on the “friend” tree. 

“We have one for the family, and we have one for our friends. All ornaments for this tree has pictures and stupid things from you guys,” Rory explains, lifting an ornament picture of Ben. Taking a closer look you see that it’s a picture of him in the middle of taking a bite out of his burger. HIs mouth opened and his eyes looked wild and hungry as he ate. You can’t help but laugh. “Remember his face when we first put it up on the tree? He was pissed.” Rory laughs along with you. 

You remember that memory. Ben lectured you guys for a while. As you continue to decorate the tree, you can’t help but remember your first time putting up a tree together with just Jungkook. It was your first Christmas as a couple and he wanted to help you decorate your tree at your apartment. 

“I say we don’t put lights on your tree,” he grunts, struggling to untangle the Christmas lights. 

You grin as you watch him before pulling out another box of decorations. “You almost got it,” you encourage, clearly finding this amusing. 

“If you keep smiling like that I’ll just leave you here to do this yourself,” Jungkook warns, glancing at you with a small hint of playfulness. 

“Okay. Sorry, sorry.” You go over and sit across from him on the floor. Grabbing the other set of lights, you untangle the knot with him. “Thanks for helping me by the way.” You glance at him, watching a small smile grow at his lips. 

“Christmas is my favorite holiday. The decorations, the present wrapping, opening the presents, and a bunch more,” he explains, a look of victory on his face when the lights untangle. “Why aren’t you as excited as I am?” 

You give Jungkook an awkward smile. You never told him about your parent’s divorce, but you suppose now would be a good time as ever. “Uh…” you trail off, handing your still tangled lights to him. “My parents divorced, and now they’ve ruined all of this by talking bad about one another and always trying to keep you from doing something with the other parent. They just ruined the whole… family thing Christmas is about.” 

Jungkook is suddenly to his feet, the lights untangled once again. He looks down at you with determination. Holding his hand out for you, he announces, “Well today I’m going to make you love the whole process of Christmas all over again.” 

“What?” you chuckle nervously, slowly reaching for his hand. 

He grabs it, startling you as he pulls you to your feet. You don’t have great balance with the force he causes when pulling you as you fall into him. He wraps his arms around you as you look to meet his eyes. He smiles his toothy smile, placing a small kiss on your nose. “Let’s decorate the hell out of that tree.” 

You can feel the heat rise in your cheeks. You should be used to this by now, but every time he does something cute, you’d only act like it was the first time he’s ever done it. “Okay,” you mumble, feeling him release you from his grasp, but you’re only disappointed it ended so soon. 

Walking to the tree, you watch Jungkook as he gets on the step stool and starts at the top of the tree to wrap the lights around. You stand on the other side, grabbing the lights to bring it around the tree and back into his hands. Finishing the first lights, Jungkook gets down and grabs the second set of lights, but not before pulling his phone out of his pocket and browsing through it before you hear a familiar song play through the Bluetooth speaker you have sitting next to your television. You smile as he looks at you. Suddenly he starts dancing to the Christmas song playing. Swaying side-to-side, snapping his fingers, he looks like he’s never danced before. You can't hold back your laughter as you watch him dance his way back to the stool to finish wrapping the tree in lights. You bob your head to the song as you help him with the lights, then the garland and finally the ornaments and star. 

Everything is ready. Ready for presents to go under and pictures to be taken. You’re going to be one of those people who takes a picture of their tree, but Jungkook thinks of something better and takes your hand in his, bringing you closer to him. He wraps an arm around your waist, the other holding your hand to your chest as he sways side-to-side with you. Placing a hand on his shoulder, you rest your head on his shoulder as well. The two of you danced in silence for a while, even though some songs were upbeat. 

“I love you, Y/N,” Jungkook whispers after a few more seconds of silence. 

You don’t hesitate, and maybe that’s what shocks you the most as you answer, “I love you, too.”

Everyone is gathered in the living room, talking and laughing about everything. It’s getting hard to have everyone hang out, but you’re grateful to see familiar faces smiling. Some are running late or won’t be showing up at all, and it hurts you just a bit to know that you’re all growing and maturing as time goes on. You won’t be seeing these people as often as you used to or wish to. Eventually they’ll just disappear out of your life and move on with their own. Enjoying everything that comes their way while you struggle to stay afloat with everything happening in your life. 

You get up from your seat, telling the few who notice you try and leave that you only need air. That you’ll be back in just a sec. Once outside in the spacious backyard, you take in several deep breaths. There are plenty of times where you wish you had their lives—any of their lives. They get over their parents divorce, or their family is still one. They don’t have to mature so early in life, and they enjoy the little things. They love their job. They’re happy where they’re at, but always willing to strive for more. 

Your life only crumbles. 

Closing your eyes, you imagine Jungkook walking out the back door to comfort you. He’s always concerned and late at every important event. He lights up your world when you struggle to swim above the roaring waters. 

Opening your eyes, Jungkook stands in front of you, your favorite smile plastered on his face. “I see you’ve missed me,” he says, a hint of teasing in his tone. You can only roll your eyes at him. “Do you want to build a snowman?” he suddenly questions. “It seems like you forgot the meaning of Christmas.” 

You scoff, “Are you Jack Frost or Santa or something?” 

Jungkook shrugs. “I may be.” He walks past you and more to the middle of the lawn, getting on his knees. “So are we doing this or what?”

You sigh, clearly giving in to him like you always do as you walk up to him and get to your knees. You gather as much snow to the middle, creating a bigger pile and forming it into a ball. When the two of you decide it’s just big enough, you start to form a smaller ball for the middle section. 

“Tough day?” he asks, eyes focused on forming the ball. 

“More like year,” you confess. 

“Look,” he begins, slowly picking up the ball and placing it on the bigger one, only for it to somewhat break apart, “fuck—life has been rough for you. For the years I’ve known you, you are always the one to take everything in. No matter how hard and tiring it is, you have to just make time for yourself only. Don’t let your parents get to you; tell them off once in a while. They’re adults, too, and they have to know that putting the kid in the middle of their ridiculous fight is getting them nowhere. Also you need to have fun, too. You’re in your twenties and acting like you’re forty-something is not the answer. I don’t like telling people I’m dating a grandma.” 

You stare at him in shock. “Grandmother? That’s—how—” You have no idea what to say to that. So, instead of saying anything, you grab a handful of snow and shove it in his face. “Shall I tell people I’m with a kid then? I don’t think they’ll like that.”

With his eyes closed, he is frozen from the impact. He wipes at his eyes, clearly in shock as he stares at you. “I see this is how we’re starting our night.” You don’t have time to react as a handful of snow was shoved in your face. 

It’s an all out war with him as the two of you go to opposite ends of the yard and hide behind trees as you throw snowballs at one another. Clearly you’re both bad seeing as for the following ten minutes, you both hit each other once during the entire fight. Jungkook catches you off guard when he suddenly lies on the floor, stretching his arms and legs out and begins to sweep them in a semicircle. You drop the snowball and walk over and lie next to him, creating your own snow angel. 

From the corner of your eye, you see him get up and look down at his masterpiece. He looks pleased before looking over to you. He gives you a sad smile. “I know life is hard, and I know me not being here is harder, but know that even though I’m not here, I’ll always be with you. I love you so much, Y/N, and you’re going to do amazing things in life. But you need to be a kid once in a while. How else am I to appear?” He chuckles. “Bring me an Christmas tree ornament yeah?” 

You wipe at your tears. “Yeah.”

That’s how you spend your Christmas with Jungkook at the secret Santa party, and that’s what he’d say if he was still here. But he’s not here.  

“Y/N?” You open your eyes to see Rory, Mina and Ben standing around you. “Everyone left and the cemetery should still be open. Ready to see Jungkook?” Ben asks, holding his hand out to you. 

You let out a shaky breath and reply, “Yeah.”

[soniaxdixon]

The New World; Series

Okay so this is my first time writing a fic and obviously will be my first series but I’ve just rewatched TWD for like the 17th time and my obsession with Daryl has reached new levels. I hope that it isn’t too shit and that you guys actually read/like it. Thank you in advance for baring with my average writing but I mean, how else will I learn? Anyway, enjoy! 

Sonia x 

Set pre to early season 1, back story for when the world ended.

Part 1 of ??

Summary: Y/N Grimes is Rick’s younger hot headed sister. When Rick gets shot and falls into a coma, Y/N’s world ends. Y/N Finds herself at a quarry near Atlanta with her nephew carl, sister in law Lori and her best friend Glenn where she meets her new family including the equally hot headed redneck Daryl Dixon. Over time Y/N and Daryl begin to form a friendship, finally allowing one another to open up to someone and maybe finding someone they can actually love. 

Warnings! Slowish burn but the feels are there from the start, swearing, some gore (hardly in this one) and merle being a bit of a dick as usual. 

Words: 1428

Growing up a Grimes wasn’t always the best, especially being hot headed but having Rick as a brother made everything a lot easier. He was always able to calm you down, like he was the only one who knew how.

The day he got shot felt like a piece of your heart being ripped away, never to be replaced, never to be healed. That was the day your world ended.

When the world went to shit you were wishing he was there guiding your every move.

You scrambled through your one bedroom apartment, haphazardly shoving clothes into bags, anything and everything you thought you might need. Medicine, first aid kits, anything you could use as a weapon, anything to keep yourself alive. Ripping open the drawer near your front door you grabbed your keys and drove like you had nothing to lose. Racing through streets, running red lights, you watched as the world crumbled before you. People looting stores on one side of the street while on the other side the monsters ripped into the people you once new. Normalcy was now a memory. Normalcy was not normal anymore.

Swinging around a corner you barely put the car in park as you leapt out and barrelled into Lori’s house.

“Lori! Carl!” You yelled as loud as you could, your voice being drowned out by the sounds of sirens, helicopters and king county shattering around you.

“Lori! Where the fuck are you?” At this point you were screaming.

Carl came running around the corner throwing himself at you, tears in his eyes as you both fell to the floor hugging each other. Knowing he was safe was all you needed.

You held carl’s face in your hands, forcing him to look into your eyes.

“Where’s your mom?”

“She’s in the garage with Shane, packing all of our camping gear. I’m scared Y/N”

“I know you are baby but we will get through this. I promise.”

You got up and let go of the boy, racing into the garage and catching Lori’s eyes, she ran and embraced you.

“Thank God you’re okay” she said, still holding you tight.

“I don’t know what to do Lori. Everything is happening all at once, how will we get Rick through this, how will we get through this?” You rambled looking between Lori and Shane.

You watched as their expressions dropped, Shane’s eyes looking at the floor as he rubbed the back of his neck. Lori’s eyes filled with tears as she grabbed your hands.

“Rick’s gone”

The words hit you like a freight train as you collapsed to the floor, your own knees not being able to take the weight of the words that she spoke.

“I went to the hospital to get him out, he wouldn’t wake up. I tried Y/N I tried.” Shane was explaining what happened in the hospital but the words washed over you, your brain refusing to comprehend the things he was saying.

————

All of this felt like years ago at this point. A distant memory. Rick was a distant memory.

You woke up in your tent as the morning light began to enter the space. Sounds of people chatting quietly outside filled the air as you forced yourself off the ground, pulling on your black jeans, a grey t-shirt and your boots. Looping your belt around your waist and making sure your knife was easily accessible.

You fumbled around with the zipper of your tent still half asleep, stumbling out and greeting everyone with a small smile.

“There she is” Dale said with a charming smirk, “any longer and we would have sent Carl to come and jump on you.”

You chuckled at the remark, “It’s like 6 o’clock, calm down old man” you retorted, earning a hearty laugh from Dale.

You made your way over to Lori to see if she needed any help with breakfast but she and carol had it under control. “Smells great, you making your famous Sunday pancakes, Lori? Don’t forget to actually mix the batter” You said, obvious sarcasm in your tone.

She pushed your arm playfully as you reminisced the many clumps of flour you had eaten in the past, forcing a smile every time with a fake compliment “they’re greeaatt”

You sauntered over to T-Dogg who was sitting on top of the RV keeping watch.

“Mornin’ Y/N”

“Hey T”

You made it half way up the ladder before you were halted by an unfortunately familiar voice.

“Now how the hell did ya manage to squeeze that ass in those jeans, God damn.” The Southern drawl of the older Dixon brother had you fuming before you even turned around.

“Man don’t you ever shut up?” T-Dogg yelled from the top of the RV.

“What the hell d’ya say to me?” Merle retorted but before anything could get heated between the two of them you dropped off the ladder and made your way over to Merle.

“Keep it in your pants you redneck prick.” Your harsh tone really getting the message across as Merle put his hands up in surrender but still made it known that his eyes were on you the whole time you walked away.

Your best friend, Glenn made his way into the middle of the group announcing that he wanted to make a run into the city to look for some supplies. He said the last time he went in, he found a department store that had everything from clothes to food and looked as though it wasn’t overrun or burnt down. A few of the group members volunteered to go including you but Shane was quick to shut that idea down.

“No way in hell am I letting you go into the city.”

“Last I checked, you’re not my babysitter, Shane.” You quickly responded

He shot you a glance and you rolled your eyes. It wasn’t worth the argument, plus, after you had volunteered, Merle did too and you did not want to deal with that headache for however long the run took.

Within an hour, Glenn and the others were packed and ready to go into the city. Glenn came over to you and you pulled him into a tight hug.

“Don’t get eaten, please.”

He chuckled and let go of you, nodding. “Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

“No promises” you smiled and waved as he and the rest headed off towards the city.

You looked to your left and saw the younger Dixon brother watching as his brother went off on yet another run. You could see worry in his eyes but you knew he would never show it properly. He’d probably be called a pussy by Merle for showing the slightest ounce of care towards anything. You didn’t realise you had been staring until you heard his voice.

“What the hell r’ya lookin’ at?” His words came across with more anger than he had intended

You blinked quickly and looked away. Your cheeks flushing a slight shade of pink as you struggled for words. Something about this man made your mouth run dry and your stomach flip.

“N-Nothing, sorry.” You quickly walked off but Daryl’s eyes remained trained on you, squinting as you walked towards the sunlight but still remaining focussed on you. He couldn’t figure you out. You were so harsh towards his brother, so easily set off by the slightest thing. If someone said the wrong thing you would mercilessly attack them with words and yet with him, you could hardly speak. You couldn’t be around him for more than 5 minutes.

He thought about you for a while, he didn’t understand why you were on his mind but you were. You had never even held a conversation and yet the only thing he could think about was you. In a similar way, the only thing on your mind that night, was him.

You made your way to your tent stealing one last quick glance at Daryl who was making his way up the RV for night watch, he locked eyes with you for a second and you smiled, a small smile but enough to make daryl nod at you in return.

The simple gesture made your heart jump as you hastily pushed your way into your tent almost falling over.

Changing into your pyjamas the simple interaction played over in your head as you climbed into your sleeping bag and drifted to sleep.

Just like that, another day was over in this new world and another one was ready to begin.

[themadauthorshatter]

If you're up to date with my posts, then you know what's about to happen.

I've read the books, WE'VE ALL READ THE BOOKS, but this is a somewhat fun switch-a-roo.

Expect a BUNCH of changes that I'll try justifying, especially painful ones, so bear with me🙏

OTP SWAP PART 1: THE CRUEL PRINCE!!!!

I'm starting with the first book for obvious reasons

Like before, we start in the mortal world with Ashley Duarte(yes, human!Cardan's last name is Duarte, but like I said, bear with me) making tacos in the kitchen while one of the MANY dogs and other animals wait for her to drop some food. Baby boy Cardan and his older half-sister Rhyia are watching some human stuff, maybe Looney Tunes or old Mickey Mouse cartoons, when the door is knocked on, which alerts the animals and wakes a half asleep Cardan; Rhyia does not wake up.

Cardan answers it and finds a cloaked Madoc at the door. Rather than ask who he is or call for his mother, he stares at this man, who kneels and asks as evenly as possible if his mother is home.

Cardan slams the door in his face, which prompts Ashley to ask why he did so.

Madoc BANGS on the door and shouts, "Asha!" and Ashley pales as she realizes who is at the door.

She demands Cardan to go upstairs as Madoc kicks the door open and walks inside, giving the same speech as the original, that Balekin told him she'd ran away with his daughter, that she killed a woman who was just as pregnant as her, that she ran away and married some lowly farm hand and blacksmith. He thought it was a lie, but nope. Here she stands.

Asha(which is her real name) is deeply ashamed at his words, and tries to pull Cardan away; an angry Madoc is an unstable Madoc.

Like before, Justin rushes in to save his family, but ends up getting kebabbed with his wife.

Rhyia does wake up to see both and Madoc spills the tea that she's his and needs to pack her bags because they're leaving, and Cardan's coming with.

Cardan, despite being seven, is outraged and tries to kick Madoc into oblivion with no avail. Rhyia, however, swears that she'll never love a monster like Madoc, who simply scoffs and tells her to wrangle the human and gather her things in half an hour, because they're leaving for Faerie.

Reluctantly, they do and they never see the mortal world again for a very long time.

Jump to the present day as Cardan, a now seventeen year old human heart throb, is getting prim and proper for a revel. His hair is getting styled nice, he's in a nice suit, he's wearing a cool belt that makes him look like he has a tail, and has ear cuffs that make his ears look pointed like a faerie.

He also has rowan berries on his wrist, because he doesn't want the necklace to be easy to see as a lot of his shirts show his chest.

He's dolled up and meets Locke, his brother that came around when Madoc married Oriana and had Oak. The two did not get along, at first, but they began to tolerate each ither as they realized they were the only humans in Faerie that were gentry kids.

Locke is more of a bard or a poet, always seen with a little book, and doesn't wear the same stuff Cardan does, so no pointed ear cuffs for him. He's also more accustomed to Faerie, being good with half truths and minor deception. He's on good terms with both Madoc and Oriana.

Cardan, however, is not on good terms with either of them, as he has tried multiple times to leave Faerie, with and without Rhyia with him, and every time ended with Madoc outside scowling at him and leading him back to his room. Still has that 'no kill' rule, but he's better with sneaking and a sword, having been able to lighten his steps so he could sneak past Madoc and his guards whenever he tried to leave. He's not bad with a sword, but he still has a lot to learn, being 17 and all. When he doesn't have a sword in his hands, he has an animal in them, i.e. a foal, a dog, or, at one point, a skunk that was calm enough to not spray him. Yeah, animal lover that can hold his own.

The two exchange banter and Locke shows show rare excitement for this revel, saying the two will have the time of their lives. Locke, who isn't as close with her, wonders where Rhyia is, but Cardan reveals she's not attending, instead going to visit some friends in the mortal world.

Her funeral as the boys saddle up with Oriana amd Madic and go to the revel.

Similar events occur, like Oriana telling the boys to be careful, Madoc talking to Dain and Balekin, and Locke leading Cardan through the revel so they can have a good time.

IT GOES DOWNHILL WHEN THE GREENBRIAR TWINS AND THEIR FRIENDS ARRIVE. Jude, her older sister Taryn, and their friends, Edir, a bard that can sing and play anyone under the table, Valerian, who's a sadist, and Nicasia, the princess of the Undersea.

Jude and Taryn may have the same face and body, but don't be fooled, Jude has horns, always wears a sword, and will slap you in a dress and then set it on fire without a second’s hesitation. Taryn, however, always has a bunch of flowers in her hair, always wears a dress, and uses words as her weapon. Did you know that she broke on of the most boisterous men in Faerie qith nothing but her words? True story. Edir is the guy that keeps them both in check, an order of Balekin's, which we'll learn later. He is also more of Jude's friend and Taryn's bed buddy, in SFW terms. Nicasia is Jude's friend, like FRIEND, and Valerian is the same, really, just more of an ass now that he has more even targets.

Everyone bows to these guys, even Cardan and a smirking Locke. That smirk vanishes when Taryn winks at Cardan, who Jude GLARES AT.

Locke feels the same way, cinfused and angry, but no time to think in it because Valerian storms toward a confused Cardan and grabs him by the collar, snarling that he can play dress up and make believe all he wants because it won't hide his plain hair or round ears or barn dog smell, so he shouldn't even bother.

Valerian throws him back and Locke rounds on Cardan, asking him what the hell that was between him and Taryn. Cardan brushes him off, as it was just a wink, not a lap dance. Before they can REALLY go at it, crying draws their attention and see that Jude just pincushioned someone who didn't bow, said someone nkw having a hole in their stomach and a slash across their torso. Taryn is annoyed, Nicasia and Valerian are trying not to laugh, and Edir, who's embarassed, is scolding Jude for losing it at a revel.

Jump to after the revel and the day of school. The boys do indeed get dirt kicked on their food, but instead of 'make me,' Cardan snaps, 'TRY me,' because Nicasia asks if he's as filthy as other human boys. Locke talks him down, but Valerian, kicking more dirt and even throwing some IN Cardan's face, asks if the two qould like them for friends.

Locke apologizes for Cardan, but Jude commands he prove it by dropping out of the tournament, it'll be less embarrassing than getting his ass beaten in front of everyone.

Nicasia spots one of the ear cuffs and pulls it off, asking if he stole it. Big mistake because the cuff burns her hand, as it is iron and iron hurts Faeries.

Cardan smirks and the group leaves, Locke scolding him for being stupid.

Later, at dinnner, after talk of Dain's coronation, Cardan, despite some minor objection from Rhyia, asks Madoc a question: May he please have a green sash for the tournament? Why? He would like to be a knight, please and thank you. Madoc chikes on his wine, Locke coughs to hide a laugh, Rhyia winces, and Oriana os shicked into silence.

Madoc gives it to him straight: he's not bad with a sword, he's good on his feet,and he's the best damned rider that anyone's ever seen, but no. He cannot compete for knighthood, on the count of being the furthest thing from a killer imaginable and just being in over his head.

Cardan protests that he can do just fine, but Madoc warns him to stop before he gets himself thrown in a dungeon instead if his room until the coronation of prince Dain.

Cardan relinquishes and we get the salt prank like before, except Locke is pissed beyond all reason at his foster brother. Cardan doesn't mind until he's grabbed by Edir and Valerian, Locke being pulled by the hair by Jude and both are thrown in the river, which has Nixies in it.

Thier supplies get yeeted, Locke gets pulled out by Valerian and is made to kiss Jude on the lips and both her horns, but, when asked, Cardan does not give up, vowing that he will never give up, which makes Jude laugh and the group leave.

Locke and Cardan walk home, get some baths, and go to bed, except they go to the mortal world with Rhyia and meet her friends Vivienne and Heather at the mall. Vivienne apologizes for Jude's behavior, and we learn that Rhyia is planning to leave Faerie, and is probably going alone.

The boys return and endure a lesson, but Jude pushes Locke's buttons, so Cardan pushes her into a tree. Challenge accepted.

TOURNAMENT TIME!! Cardan fairs wellin that Valerian is lazy, Edir is out of shape, and Jude got cocky, so he wins.

Jude fumes at him, later grabbing him by the tail on his belt amd demanding he beg for her forgiveness. He does... NOT! And spits in her face that she may push him down, but he'll pull her down with him, and it will hurt her like hell.

Taryn approaches him and expresses interest in him, saying that she once took both Edir and Nicasia from Jude because people just like a sensitive girl.

She leaves and the tournament eventually ends, which leads Cardan to return hime and meet Dain, who requested one of Madoc's people to tell Cardan one of Eldred's children had come for a visit.

Dain and Cardan get talking and Dain offers him something that isn't knighthood: spying. Plus one wish.

Cardan knows what he wants: to not be controled.

Granted, but Dain can still control him and the fruits of Faerie will still effect him.

Screwy, but deal, he's a spy now

STAY TUNED FOR PART 2!!!!!

[puckinghell]

The Plus One Pact | William Nylander | Part 6

Summary: Your ex is getting married, and you don’t have a date, which means the unavoidable “why don’t you have a boyfriend” question is about to haunt you for the rest of eternity. But then there’s Will, who could be the answer to all your problems. A simple business pact, no feelings involved: that won��t be hard for you, because you really don’t like him anyways. Except pacts were made to be broken… or something. Right?

Note: This is part 6, the final part! Click here for part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

--

When you scoot into an empty seat in the back of the church, you suddenly feel very thankful that your sister invited Ellie because if you were alone, right now, you might just leave and go home.

“I’m gonna throw up,” you mutter under your breath.

Ellie hears you, and laughs. “Better not, I left the tag on this dress and I fully intend to return it after today.”

Then the crowd goes quiet and Noah appears.

He’s wearing a suit, and he looks objectively handsome, but it does nothing for you. It’s good to realize that, you think, as you watch him walk down the aisle.

The guy you thought you’d marry is getting married. And you really don’t care.

You think of Will, instead.

Betty appears too and she looks beautiful and really happy. Maybe they really were meant for each other; he still shouldn’t have cheated, of course, but if there’s one thing Noah had been right about it’s that it would’ve never worked out between the two of you.

You barely hear the vows they exchange; you’re there for show and you won’t pretend otherwise. Ellie is fucking around on Instagram on her phone and you look over her shoulder as she starts liking posts.

“Speak now or forever hold your silence,” a voice sounds loudly through the church, and you zone back in for a second.

Your mom is looking at you and you catch her eye. You don’t say anything, and she looks like she approves. Perhaps she believes that Noah belongs with someone like Betty, too. 

You find yourself not really caring about that, either. 

The priest speaks again: “If nobody has any objection to this marriage, I would now like to declare...”

A door slams. 

Everyone turns to look at the person that just came in, and when you see him, your breath sticks in your throat.

It’s Will. 

He looks around with his eyes squinted. He’s wearing a suit, but his hair is a mess, like he’s been raking his hands through it, and his tie isn’t tied properly.

He still looks like the most beautiful guy you’ve ever seen.

“Sir?” the priest asks, a little confused. “Do you wish to object to this marriage?”

“Oh.” Willy’s eyes widen. “Oh, God, no. No, no objection here. Totally go for it!”

A somewhat hysterical giggle escapes your lips and Will’s eyes find yours, a careful smile appearing on his face when he does.

“Sorry,” he says out loud to the crowd, then bows down and hurries towards you, sinking down on the empty chair at your side. “Sorry,” he repeats, now in a whisper.

You have no idea what to say. There’s so much you want to say to him: I’m so sorry, I was wrong the first thing that comes up, the second being please don’t give up on this, I think I love you.

It hits you with how true it is. You don’t just like him anymore, you love him, everything about him, and being around him feels more natural than anything else, it feels right.

You don’t say anything, though, because the ceremony continues on. Will stays silent, too, stares straight ahead with a sullen look on his face.

But he came. That must mean something, right?

This, however, is not the time or the place to talk about it and after the ceremony you trail your family to the reception, both Ellie and Willy hot on your heels. The two of them are keeping up a steady amount of chitchat and you would worry about that, about how well they seem to fit together, except…

Well, some part of Willy must care about you, because he wouldn’t be here, otherwise.

“So,” your mom says, when you’ve entered the reception hall. “Who is this, then?”

You’ve not even got yourself a drink.

“This is Will,” you say. Willy shifts, his arm bumping against yours. “My, uhm…”

You really haven’t thought this through. The deal was that he’d pretend to be your boyfriend, but after everything... 

“Her boyfriend.” Willy’s smile is nearly blinding. “Nice to meet you.”

“Boyfriend?” your mom repeats, sounding incredulous.

“Yep.” Will’s arm hooks around your waist and he pulls, so you stumble into his side. “We’ve been together a while, so.”

You haven’t, oh God, what is he doing? You know this was the plan, but surely after everything, the pact isn’t the pact anymore, you broke all the rules by falling in love with him. 

And...

You wish, more than anything, that he wasn’t pretending. 

“Oh, they’re adorable together,” Ellie pipes up. She’s obviously totally lying, but you could kiss her for it, because your mom’s eyes widen. “Always at each other’s sides. He’s so good to her, you know? Head over heels, really.”

Will smiles in the most bashful way, then swivels his head and presses his lips to your cheek.

You’re pretty sure your face is bright red, at this point.

“Want a drink, babe?” he mumbles.

This is torture.

“Uhm, yeah, sure.” You watch as Will disappears into the crowd.

“You didn’t tell us you had a boyfriend,” your dad speaks. Your sister is still staring at Willy, her mouth slightly agape.

“He’s hot,” she says, and she sounds shocked, which makes you wonder if you want to punch her or want to laugh. 

You don’t do either. After all, she did invite Ellie here, so some part of her must care for you.

“So hot,” Ellie nods. “When I didn’t know they were together I tried to flirt with him, but he had no eyes for me. Only wanted Y/N.” She smiles, and you think of her earlier words and can’t help but wonder if there’s some truth to that.

Fuck. You have to find Will.

“I’m going to go find Will,” you say, and before you can hear what your parents have to say about that, you turn around and leave, as fast as your high heels can carry you.

Your eyes search the crowd for a familiar head of blond hair, but when you see it, everything in you goes cold and rigid.

Oh no.

Next to Willy is Noah. Everything about Noah is relaxed, and everything about Will is tense; his muscles strung tight like a fiddle, his jaw clenched.

Oh, no. No no no.

You push through some people to get to them, but you can hear Noah’s voice before either of them have noticed you.

“I can’t believe William Nylander is at my wedding,” Noah laughs. “Dude, when you came in I nearly had a heart attack.”

As if it couldn’t get any worse. Will doesn’t like being recognized in general, and now this. 

Then, Willy spots you.

“Y/N,” he says, and some of the tension leaves his shoulders. Noah turns around with wide eyes.

“You know her?” He sounds even more shocked than your sister and this time, it pisses you off.

Well, Willy did show he was ready to perform the act, so.

“Hi, baby,” you coo, wrapping your arms around Willy’s waist and pressing yourself against his chest. His arms immediately come around you and you feel the slight press of his lips in your hair.

It’s an act, but God, you wish it wasn’t. 

“Sorry your drink is taking a bit longer, sweetheart,” he says, a little too loud. “Something held me up.”

Noah has the decency to look sheepish. Willy looks a little murderous.

“You’re dating William Nylander?” Noah asks.

No, scrap that: Willy looks a lot murderous.

So, even though you might be enjoying this a little, you’ve gotta make sure nobody gets killed at this wedding. As a warning, you press your thumb in Willy’s side. The scowl disappears from his face, although he’s clearly still unhappy.

“Noah, congratulations to you and Betty,” you smile. It’s fake, but you don’t think Noah notices – or cares. “I’m going to dance with my boyfriend, now.”

You pull Will away before he can say anything, and he lets you guide him towards the dance floor.

“I hate that guy,” he growls. His arm is still around you.

“Try to be more obvious about it,” you quip, and it feels natural until it doesn’t, anymore.

Because now you actually have to dance, and you don’t think you still have the right to do that. Everything that happened between you fills the air with something heavy, so you stand still and awkwardly look at him. 

“I won’t bite.” Will rolls his eyes and guides you into the correct position. He’s a good dancer, which is surprising because at Zach’s wedding, he definitely wasn’t.

At Zach’s wedding, Willy and Kappy had been diving into the wine coolers all day, though, so maybe it’s not that surprising.

His hands are heavy on your waist and he’s guided your arms to wrap around his neck. He smells like Willy and you realize that this might be the last time you get to touch him like this, maybe even the last time he’ll talk to you, so despite everything you let your head dip and rest your chin in the crook of his neck.

You feel, more than hear, him inhale deeply.

“You came.” The words are whispered into his suit but he hears you, anyway.

“We had a deal, and I don’t go back on a promise,” he says. It’s not what you want to hear, but he still came, and that still matters, so.

After a pause, he adds: “Besides, I wouldn’t let you deal with that jerk alone.”

That’s... something else, and a flicker of hope lights in your chest like a candle in the wind, dull and small, but there.

“Will,” you whisper, this time knowing that he’ll hear. “I love you.”

It’s not the right way to do it, probably, too much and too soon and too sudden, and when Willy inhales again it’s sharp and short.

“And I’m sorry…”

“Not here,” he cuts you off. It could come off as harsh, but it doesn’t, because he pulls you a bit closer and lets his head rest on yours.

Somewhere, people cheer for the married couple, but neither of you really notice.

--

“Come on.”

Willy’s hand is warm and rough tangled in yours, as he pulls you towards his car. You drove here with your family but you have to admit you’d much rather drive home with Will, even if it might be the most awkward car ride of your life.

It was easier to pretend everything was fine when you were in a room full of people laughing and smiling. Now, the night is quiet and dark and the wind is cold, and everything that hasn’t been talked about lays thick in the air. 

You told him you loved him. Why the hell did you do that?? You’re lucky he didn’t punch you in the face. He’s too nice to do that, even if you might deserve it. 

Neither of you speak, in the car. You because you already said too much, and Will seems to be thinking, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel.

It feels like the drive lasts forever. Finally, the car stops in front of an apartment.

But it’s not your apartment.

“Where…” you start, but Will doesn’t let you finish.

“At my place,” he says. “Wanna come up?” There’s a clear hint of vulnerability in the question and you’ve never been out of a car so fast.

You’ve never been at his apartment before, because he was always the one that came to pick you up, and when you follow him into the elevator you notice that he lives on the 8th floor. 

It makes you smile despite everything. Hockey players and their superstitions.

The inside of his apartment is somehow exactly like you expected it to be. It’s pretty in a very clear interior-designer sorta way, but there’s little pieces of him scattered all around; pictures of his family everywhere, pictures of the team, hockey pucks with dates on them, a million sneakers lined up against the wall.

He flicks on some of the lights and motions towards the couch, where you take a seat.

In front of you, the city of Toronto glistens a million lights.

It could be really romantic, but, Willy is standing in the middle of the living room, his arms crossed and his face a carefully constructed form of indifferent. So it’s not. 

“I, uhm,” he starts. Pauses. Sighs. Then: “Did you mean it?”

“Did I mean what?” you ask, softly. Because there’s a lot of things you’ve meant and a lot of things you didn’t, and it’s really important that Willy knows about every single one.

“That you, uh.” Willy is flushed a bright shade of scarlet. “That you love me, I guess.”

That one is easy to answer.

“Yes.”

Something shifts in Willy’s demeanor. His arms drop and with it, so does the shield around his heart; you can see it shatter and it causes something to shatter within you, too.

“I didn’t mean those other things I said, though,” you say. “The things I said right after Noah left. I guess his words threw me off guard and I just thought…” You try to smile, but you don’t think it reaches your eyes. “I just couldn’t believe I would get to have my happily ever after, I suppose.”

“I just don’t know what I could do differently,” Willy says. He sounds desperate, like the words have been swirling around in his brain for far too long, bursting to come out. “To make you believe that. Because I’ve tried, Y/N, I keep trying to…”

“I know.” Something is burning behind your eyes, but you’re not gonna cry now. “Will, I know, and I’m sorry for not trying harder to believe you, earlier.”

You stand up, carefully walk towards him. His hands are hanging limply by his side but you see his fingers twitch when you reach him. It gives you the courage to gather his hands into yours.

“I’m trying, now, though,” you say softly. “This is me trying. And I think I can believe it, if you just tell me one more time.”

The corners of Will’s mouth are curling up into a smile, hesitant and tentative but there, and your heart goes pitter patter.

“Y/N,” he mumbles, lacing his fingers through yours. “I’ve liked you since you rolled your eyes at me at Zach’s birthday party two years ago and I fell in love with you when you nearly destroyed my cousin’s gender reveal party. I want to be your automatic plus one to any event in the future, even if it somehow always ends up a disaster.”

You laugh. “Today was pretty okay, though, right?”

“Yeah.” Willy’s breath is warm against your cheek, and you feel the slightest press of his lips against the skin there. “Would be better if I got to kiss you now, though.”

Instead of answering, you press up on your toes and kiss him.

--

Three years later, you press up on your toes and kiss him in a grand mansion while all your friends and family surround you, wearing a white dress and a ring on your left hand.

You feel Willy smile against your lips.

“Thank you for inviting me to be your plus one today,” he mumbles.

“You’re getting better at it every time,” you smile. “No disasters today.”

“Day’s not over yet.” Willy grins and spins you around. You let yourself fall back into his arms and he catches you, like he’s been doing for years, and will do for years and years to come, too.

“So,” he continues, “now that we’ve made a new pact, is the Plus One Pact really over, then?”

“A new pact?” you repeat, a little confused.

Will’s eyes twinkle with mischief. “Yes, mrs. Nylander. You just promised you’d take part in the Love Me Forever Pact.”

You can’t help but hide your laughter in his shoulder.

“I do love you, Will.”

“Forever?”

“Forever.”

[elysiashelby]

In Another World - T.Shelby Imagine Ch. 15

Paring: (Eventual) Thomas Shelby x Aliena Welsh (OC)

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Word Count: 8,982

WARNINGS: Fluff, Cursing

Summary: Aliena is doing better. She’s found some happiness again. But now she has a new worry, is she going on her first date with Thomas Shelby? 

MASTERLIST  CHAPTER 14  CHAPTER 16

A/N: This chapter is a fluff! Nothing but fluff! You guys deserve it ‘cause... It will only last for so long. Also, please check out this post-- it will clear up a lot of things and I’d love it if you guys could respond.

“Hello, my love!” I shrieked as I ran to Karl. I picked him up from his cradle into me arms. He was gumming his hand. I made all sorts of noises at the sight. It is purely because I found babies so adorable! I bounced him in me arms as I walked over to Ada, who was busy fixing herself up.

“Thank you so much for doing this, Ali!” Ada shouted. She was prettying herself up in the mirror. 

I shook me head as I pinched Karl’s chubby cheek. He grumbled ‘n swatted me hand away. I laughed as I replied. “It’s no problem really! I mean I am the Shelby Family’s maid, after all.”

Ada turned ‘round to me with a pout on herself. “I’m a Thorne now, Ali. I’m not a Shelby.”

I scoffed. “So, your brothers are not your brothers anymore. You’re a Thorne, afterall.”

“What?” Ada exclaimed as she was applying eyeshadow. “No, that’s not what I meant.” 

I turned Karl over in me arms as I sat down. Had him sitting on me knee, facin’  his mum. As I began to bounce him, I quipped. “Well that’s how it came out.” I sighed, defeatedly. “No, no. I get it. You’re a Thorne now. But remember Ada in the world that the rest of your family lives in, you’ll always be the sister to the big bad Thomas Shelby of the Peaky Blinders. Not to mention that you’ll be listed as a communist ‘cause of Freddie.”

“I’m not a communist by association, Ali. I’m an actual member now.”

I averted me gaze and gave a secret tight lipped smile. Karl lifted one of me fingers into his mouth and I gasped. “Ada, Karl has a little tooth growin’!” 

Ada scoffed as she turned ‘round while fluffing up her hair. “You don’t have to tell me that! I feel it every time I feed him.” I think she rubbed her breast, subconsciously.

We both let out a small laugh. 

She sighed before walking closer to us ‘n took Karl into her arms.

I wiped me finger on me skirt then dusted off me hands. “You still breastfeeding Ada?” I asked as I reached over to pull down Karl’s shirt that had ridden up.

She nodded. Ada was patting his back. “Yeah. I’m planning on breastfeeding him until he’s one. But, don’t worry like I told you when I telephoned ya— Freddie and I bought formula for days like this.” Ada handed Karl back to me and then walked off.

I rose to me feet and followed her into the kitchen. I’m guessing she wanted to show me where she kept the formula at. I held Karl’s arm me hand, and I waved it up and down. 

Ada reached into a cabinet and showed me the formula. She showed me how to make the bottle. 

I actually knew to make a bottle of formula because I helped me sister make bottles for her daughter, but I wasn’t confident abar it now. Different times, different amounts. 

After she made the bottle, she handed it over to me. “He’s probably getting hungry by now.”

I took it then we walked back into the living room. We sat down. I positioned Karl’s head to be in the crook of me left arm while his body laid across me lap then I put the bottom in his mouth. 

Ada reached over to Karl and smoothed out his clothes. She sighed. “He’ll drink that then fall asleep. When he wakes up, wait a little while ‘cause if you change him when he wakes up— it’ll all be for nothing.”

I glanced over at her ‘n nodded. “Okay.”

We fell into this comfortable silence as we stared at Karl. That ‘til I heard Ada suck in a breath. Me head snapped in her direction. She was red in the face. 

“Ada,” I asked. “What is it?”

She fanned her eyes before waving me off. “It’s nothing. I just hate it when I leave him.”

I gave her a small smile. I knew what she meant. He’s been her solace in crazy times, I’m sure. But, I laughed— hoping to quell some of her worries. “Haven’t you left him with babysitters before. Geez, Ada! I swear he won’t die on me watch!”

She laughed a little then finally scooted back into her seat. We fell into another comfortable silence. The clock and Karl’s gulping were the only sounds audible in the room. He eventually let go of the bottle and I brought him to me shoulder. I made sure to suppress the urge to bounce him as I patted his back.

“When is Freddie coming?” I asked Ada.

She hurriedly rose from her seat and walked closer to the clock. While playing with her necklace, she replied. “Any second now.”

Any second was actually twenty minutes later. Freddie ran in, grabbed Ada, and they both ran out of here like a bat out of hell. I scoffed to meself as I repositioned Karl in me arms. I was cradling him in me arms. I got up and walked over to the rocking chair Ada had in the living room. 

I just sat there with him as he was napping away. Staring at his face. It’s been such a long time since I held a baby in me arms. I couldn’t help but trace his features. But, he didn’t like that and started squirming ‘round. I stifled a laugh and muttered an apology. I dropped me hand and used it to support his bum. I patted his bum as I began to rock us. 

I debated humming a song, but I couldn’t decide which one. Plus, I didn’t want to wake him up. I decided to just look around the flat. It was little. Adequate enough for a little family with a newborn, in me own opinion. However, I could only stare at the room  for so long.

When I was sure Karl was deeply sound asleep, I rose to me feet slowly and walked to his cradle at the same pace. I held me breath, and when I was abar to set him down— I couldn’t help looking over his face. 

I felt like a mother who had lost her child…

I shook me head and laid Karl down. I wiped me hands on me skirt, then walked ‘round the flat. It had little life. Barely any photos on the walls, the colour of the walls were this muted grey, and there were hardly any furniture or utensils. It was like they were prepared to run at the first sign of trouble. But, it was theirs. 

I sighed while walking into the kitchen. I leaned against the counter, me palms were digging into it. Then, I folded me arms and was just with me thoughts. I was thinking abar Cillian Murphy’s filmography. All the movies he was in. 

It felt weird now ‘cause of Tommy. But, the two movies that stood out to me the most were The Edge of Love and Sunburn. The Edge of Love gave me an, probably, unrealistic idea of how Tommy was before the war. 

I smiled at the idea. I, subconsciously, raised two fingers to me lips. I looked down in shock before me hand slapped over me mouth. I stifled a chuckle which came out as a snort. 

I fluttered me fingers to rid meself of the absence of a ciggie. Then, I lifted meself onto the counter.

Sunburn was a movie I was fond of. A very young Cillian Murphy is all I need for me justification. His character was not very honorable, but when are men ever. When are people ever! 

The movie was flashing through me head, but it felt wrong. It felt dirty, in a way. Made me chuckle, not gonna lie. I didn’t even catch meself when I began comparing Cillian’s characters to Tommy himself. 

I bit me lip and hopped off the counter. I clapped me hands together softly before rubbing them together. “Let’s clean, shall we?” I whispered.

Ada didn’t ask me to clean, but I’d figured that I’d just clean up whatever I found. I wasn’t going to go into any rooms. Since that was an invasion of privacy. But, did everythin’ else. I dusted off the walk-in carpet, then swept up the ‘ole house. When I was done with that— I wiped down the tables in the living room ‘n kitchen. 

I raised a hand to me temple as I used the other to support me weight, all while leaning on the table I finished wiping. I looked over at Karl’s cradle and stood still. It’s not like I could hear his breathing, but he wasn’t fussing either. 

I tsked, dropped the towel on the table, ‘n then walked over to the fireplace. Ada and Freddie had a collection of books on the overmantle. I looked over the titles and chose the one I was most familiar with. Tess of the D'Urbervilles, it was. I had the biggest crush on Gemma Arterton and Eddie Redmayne, ‘n I watched a TV show they starred in that adapted the book. 

After watching it, I read the book soon after. So, this wouldn’t be me first time crackin’ this story open. 

“When was the last time you read a story, Aliena?” I asked meself as I brought the cross pendant to me lips and ran across me bottom one. It was the one Tina got me all that time ago. I opened the book and began readin’ aloud while slowly pacing.

‘Cause I only remember growin’ up in America, I spent most of me life with an American accent. I adapted the accent when I moved to me second middle school. I just tried it for shits and giggles, but found that me existence there was so much easier when I did so. I didn’t ‘ave to deal with people asking me to repeat meself every time I held a conversation. 

It didn’t help that me ma’ was the scouser while me pa was from Boston. The only reason I didn’t develop a Boston was due to me ma taking care of me for the majority of me early childhood. Me pa was working morning till night. 

I didn’t feel like a true scouser nor a true American. But, I can affiliate more with my upbringing in California. It’s what I can remember. 

Anyway, the point I was getting to was that— I do different accents. American, me own, Irish, Russian, and Scottish. I never said they were any good, but I did them. And I did them when I talked too much for a long time, or when I was reading.

I was in the middle of a line when I heard a little whimper. Me eyes darted to the page number I was on ‘n I hoped I could remember it. I threw it on the couch and shuffled hurriedly to him.

Tears were welling up in his eyes. I cooed and took him into me arms. “It’s alright, Ka-.” I cut meself off as I felt wetness on me midsection. I sighed and looked ‘round for extra diapers and towels. When I couldn’t find any, I whimpered and just had to take the bullet. 

I held him closer to me and practically ran to the bathroom. I shifted ‘round in there and found some. They weren’t really diapers, not in me own opinion. I set the clean nappy on the sink before getting the rag, throwing it in there, and letting the water get warm as I ran it.

I sighed while looking down at Karl. “Your mummy is a proper divvy, Karl. Forgot to leave your nappies with me.” I huffed while pinchin’ his cheek softly. “Let’s get ya changed, love.” I stroked his cheek as tears fell down. I felt the water and I deemed it warm enough. I turned off the faucet and wrung some of the water out before I held it in one hand while the other grabbed the diaper.

 “Okay, love. Let’s get you cleaned up now.” I was looking down at Karl the whole time as I walked back into the living room. 

Me gaze, finally, shifted up ‘n standin’ there was Tommy. A frightened yelp escaped me and I clutched Karl tighter.

“For-! For goodness sake, Tommy!” I shouted. I huffed before I continued me hurried shuffle over to the couch. I laid Karl down ‘n began changin’ him. 

“So, this is where you were. Had to find out from Polly. I need to talk to you.” Tommy said while looking over his ciggie. Titling it in his hand.

I scoffed. “You’d know where I am, if you’d let yourself have the time for a chat once in a while. Do you remember the last time you rested, Tom?” I blew a strand of me hair out of me face as I gave him a teasing glance. I bundled up Karl’s soiled nappy and held it up for him to take. “Go on before you ask me this favor, do one for me.”

With his hands in his pockets and leaning back, he scoffed at me. Tommy rolled his eyes before taking it out of me hand ‘n walkin’ away to throw it in the bin. Hurriedly, I took off me jumper when I was done dressing Karl then I took him into me arms. I was bouncing him in me arms by the time Tom walked back in. 

He cleared his throat, tsked, and then pointed at me. "I wanted to know if you’re feeling better.” Tom sniffed, flicked under his nose, and then looked up at me.

Disbelief was no doubt written all of it. I scoffed as I bounced Karl in me arms.

“Tommy Shelby, you-!” I scoffed again before it turned into a cackle. “You did not come here to ask me that! Why’re you blaggin’ for?” I continued to cackle long enough ‘til me knees grew weak ‘n I started folding in on meself.

Tommy’s tongue prodded the inside of his cheek as he tried to fight off a grin. He sighed loudly before walking toward me and the baby. “Fine. Ada expressed her worries to Polly the other day about you taking care of Karl, and I offered to come ‘n help.” He held his arms out and waved me to give Karl over.

I looked at ‘em up and down. “You? You are gonna help me take care of a baby?” 

Tommy gave me a look before wedging a hand between me chest to grab Karl. “I have taken care of one before.”

I threw me head back in a giggle. “Who?” I shouted. “John?”

He nodded. “And Ada. And Finn. And fucking Arthur, too.” Tommy turned Karl ‘round in his arms, so that Karl was snug against his chest. Then, he lifted the boy in the air.

“Oi! No swearing ‘round Karl. Ada will have us both for it.” I dusted me hands off before I wiped them on me skirt, and then I sat down. Tommy was still playing with Karl, throwing him up in the air. 

When I felt Karl’s head was too close to the ceiling, I whimpered. “Oh, do be careful!” He snickered. I couldn’t deny that Karl’s giggling was like music to me ears. It truly warmed me heart.

Tommy caught Karl one more time before he crashed on the couch and let Karl sit in lap. Karl began tugging on the lapels of Tommy’s coat. I watched them ‘til it was painfully that I was being stared at too. 

I met Tommy’s gaze and we held it. We held it for a while ‘til I couldn’t take it anymore. With me face heating up— no doubt, giving away me feelings, I jutted me head out with widened eyes before I started giggling. I rose to me feet and walked over to Ada’s phonograph. 

I picked a random record and put it on. “I can’t stand silence.” I said while not looking back just yet. I turned ‘round with me hands locked at the fingertips. “Are ya hungry? I can make you something.”

Tommy’s eyes flickered to me, but he looked back at Karl. “Have you eaten yet, Ali?”

I rolled me eyes while me hands dropped to me waist. I could lie and say no, but if I forced meself to eat— it could end badly for me. But, perhaps while I’m cooking I’ll get hungry again.

“No, I haven’t. So, I’ll check what they have.” I said while walking off. I looked through the cabinets and found some canned food. I could replace it another time. 

I was sitting down in a chair while I watched over the pots. I was waiting for the bubblin’ or whistling. I heard footsteps behind me and there was Tommy with Karl.

He handed him over to me which I happily obliged to. “Hello, little one. Your uncle finally decided to hand you over.” Karl just began to babble in reply. 

I looked over at Tommy, who had just finished settling himself in the chair opposite of me, and asked. “So, how is that tattoo of yours healing?” 

He finished lighting up his ciggie and said. “Nicely. I reckon that it’ll be fully healed within the week.” 

I hummed while bringing my attention back to Karl. Tommy got a tattoo some weeks ago. It was a rose intertwined with a horseshoe on his left bicep. I had a hold on Karl’s hand and I was making him punch the air between us. I made fighting sound effects as I did so. I leaned forward and made him punch me cheek softly. I threw meself back at the contact which made him laugh.

“How evil!” I exclaimed. “Why are you laughing abar that? Huh!” I hugged him as I pretended to eat his neck. His giggles never stopped as he flailed abar. I sighed and hoisted him on me hip as I got up. I walked over to Tommy, took his ciggie from his mouth, and handed him Karl. “Hold him, yeah?”

I put the ciggie in me mouth and took a puff. I used a spoon to check if the soup was burning at the bottom ‘n all that. As I turned off the stove, I took another pull. I walked over to the cabinet that had the plates and bowls in it ‘n took two out. I poured in the soup then walked carefully back to the table. 

I sidestepped, wiped me hands of me skirt, took the ciggie from me mouth ‘n placed it back in his before I took Karl into me arms. I walked back to me seat and settled down. I looked up Tommy who had just finished taking a drag.

“Should I be worried that you don’t cough anymore, Ali?” Tommy quipped.

I shrugged. “No?”

He scoffed as a small smirk graced his face. Tommy leaned forward, stubbed out his ciggie, and gripped the spoon. “Ya know, if I knew you were going to cave this early about my smoking and drinking— I would have saved meself the stress.”

I gasped, exaggeratedly horrified. “Do you know how hard I did try! You just go on and smoke the moment you’re not in me sights. Pssh. Don’t even get me started on your terrible drinking habits. You drink alcohol like it’s water! If I’m not the one giving you water, you won’t drink it!” I shocked me head and grumbled under me breath.

Tom snickered. “Watch what you say, Ali. What if Karl learns it?” He threw me a teasing glance before looking back down at his soup. 

I tsked. “I didn’t even curse, so shut your piehole!” I groaned loudly. “You’re so lucky that there’s nothing here I can throw at ya. And that you’re so far away!”

Tommy’s lips smacked before he asked. “So, you’d hit me with Karl in your arms? Show him your violent ways?”

Me eyes practically came out me head. I snorted. “Oh, that’s rich coming from you! But, yes. Yes, I would.” 

I focused back on Karl. I let him teethe on me finger for a while ‘n I was just watchin’ him. I was just reminiscing that fact that me baby niece used to do that same when she was younger. I mean, of course she did, she was a baby herself!

I shifted me eyes back at Tommy’s and he did the same. A snicker escaped the both of us.

Tommy and I ended up taking care of Karl for abar three more hours. It definitely was a sight. I mean I knew he cherished family a lot, but I never thought of him as a “family man.” I just didn’t think he’d help me out with Karl as much as he did.

I mean wasn’t it more of a big deal in the 50s and 60s? Abar the whole absence of the father in the family dynamic. The father figure just being the either overbearing brute or the couchpotato? I don’t know. All I can say is that we both tuckered out Karl. Once he was asleep— Tommy and I caught up a little more. Just talked abar the simple stuff.

Right now, I was busy adding up some numbers in the shop while Polly was talkin’ to me. 

“I’m just saying! When are you gonna be bringing home a lad?” She was smiling down at me while nursing a ciggie.

I rolled me eyes as I smiled too. I scoffed. “Polly, I don’t know what you want me to say. It’s not for me own lack of trying!”

Polly shoved me shoulder while she whispered. “It’s ‘cause you still fancy Tommy.”

Me head flashed to her direction as I stifled a loud gasp. I swatted her leg as I exclaimed. “Polly!” I resorted to spluttering for words as she cackled. Me hands were covering me forehead. I sighed deeply. “I’m tryin’, Pol. I really am. I’m trying to stop caring for him.”

I dropped me hands and looked up at her. I gave her a solemn smile to which she did the same. Polly tsked before she hopped off me desk ‘n caressed me cheek with her thumb. Polly awed before she cradled me head to her stomach.

She whispered. “You’re too good for him anyway. My sweet little one.”

I didn’t dare stop the smile that took over me face. 

“Aliena!” 

Polly and I detached from each other to see who was calling out to me. 

“Aliena, Tommy sent me to come fetch ya!” Finn shouted with a red face. 

Polly and I both sighed. We gave each other a look. A look that said, “This damn kid. Shoutin’ like we were miles away from ‘em!”

I rose to me feet and before I could start tidying up me station, Polly took me face in her hands. “Go on.” She said. “I’ll take care of this.”

I gave her a quick grin as I reached for me coat.

“God only knows what he wants with you this time!” Polly chimed as she dusted off the shoulders of me coat. Polly stepped over to Finn, licked her thumb, and wiped the dirt off his face. He shirked away while I cackled at his expression.

I sighed as I tugged on me gloves. “C’mon, Finn! Can’t have your brother waitin’ long or he’ll throw a fit.” When I was done, I put me hand on Finn’s shoulder and we began our journey.

When we were some ways away from the shop, I decided to break our little silence. 

“So, Finn,” I began. “are you still studying?”

He began to groan exaggeratedly while he attempted to rest his head on me shoulder. I scoffed.

“All right!” I shouted. “Just remember, Finn. I’m not the one you’re hurtin’.” Under me breath, I muttered. “At least you know how to read and write.” I looked back at him. Finn was already me height. We were standing shoulder to shoulder. “Oh, come ‘ere you!” 

I threw me arms ‘round his shoulders ‘n pretended to put him in a headlock. 

He protested, more like begging me to stop. I didn’t stop teasing ‘em ‘til we got to the office, company headquarters, whatever. Just a few men work here. Men who were intelligent enough to handle the legal stuff and keep their mouths shut.

Finn and I marched right to Tommy’s office. Finn knocked on the door and Tommy shouted for us to come in. 

“I brought her, Tom.” Finn said as he took off his cap. Looking just like the eager little lad he was. 

Tom looked up at us. “Good job, Finn. Now, piss off.” Tommy motioned to the door with his ciggie. “Aliena, come here.”

I turned to Finn and pinched his cheek before walking over to sit in a chair. I settled meself while taking off me gloves. I let out a deep breath before I asked. “So, what am I doing ‘ere, Tom?”

He didn’t answer me yet. He was still working on whatever paperwork that was in front of him. So, I took in his appearance.

Tommy looked tired yet not. Like a boy who was not gonna admit to being tuckered out since he was having so much fun. He wasn’t any thinner or bigger. So, I think that’s a good sign. Tommy had his coat hanging, but his suit jacket is draped ‘round his chair. 

I looked away after a couple of seconds of staring. I resorted to admiring me fingernails and humming a random song. 

When Tommy, finally, cleared his throat— me head snapped back to him. “I had Finn get you ‘cause I wanted to tell you…” Tommy intertwined his fingers as he leaned back into his chair. “That I’m taking a day off tomorrow.”

I blinked.

And then I began to blink rapidly. 

And then me hand slapped over me mouth as I tried to desperately stifle me laughter. 

Very strainiously, I asked. “Why the fuck did you need to tell me abar this?” I giggled loudly. I took a deep, calming breath before I sat up straight ‘n looked Tommy in the eyes. He had such an amused look on his face. “I was fucking working, Tom! What the hell is this about?”

Tom leaned forward, resting his clasped hands on the desk. “It’s simple. I’m taking a day off to rest and I want you to rest with me. Tomorrow’s your day off too, so unless you have plans… You should be available to join me.”

I can’t deny that me eyes widened a little before me face contorted in confusion. “What are you up to Thomas Shelby? Huh? Why aren’t you planning a boy’s getaway or somethin’?” 

Tommy averted his gaze to the left while dropping his jaw a smidgen ‘n widening his eyes. “Because I want to spend the day with you.” 

I glared at him. I trusted this as much… You know what, I don’t have a metaphor for this feeling. It felt like he was asking me out on a date, but he wasn’t asking me out— like directly! Tommy would have explicitly said this was a date, no? I think he just wants to hang out then.

I sighed as I fell back into the chair. I rested me right elbow on the arm of the chair and rubbed me forehead. Me eyes flickered to Tommy’s. “Fine. Yeah, alright.” 

Tommy pursed his lips a little before he nodded. “Good, it’s settled then. Be ready by 10.”

I scoffed, me jaw dropped dramatically. “Is Tommy Shelby plannin’ on sleeping in?”  

He rolled his eyes as he muttered. “Shut up.”

I stuck me tongue out at him and then relaxed again. “So, is there a dress code for this occasion or what?”

Tommy rubbed his fingers together as his gaze dropped to the side. He looked back at me and said. “I could care less. Just don’t come in your work clothes.”

I glared at him again. Me gaze dropped to his little bar cart as I asked. “Do you have a plan as to what tomorrow entails?” I started picking at me skirt. Picking it up and smoothing it out repeatedly.

Tom tutted. “I was thinking we would walk around London. I’ll take you shopping or something like that. Then at 12:30, we are going to eat at a fancy restaurant called The Barge.” He gave me a pointed look as he continued. “Is that alright with you?” 

I gave him a tight-lipped smile as I nodded. I tsked and sighed as I rose from the chair. “Okay, then. I’ll see you tomorrow. At 10. Not wearing me work apparel.” I turned ‘round and waved him with the back of me hand. “Night, Tommy!”

“Night, Ali.”

I had a smile on me face the whole walk home. I couldn’t help it. It felt like a date. 

It felt like a date. But, it wasn’t. Right?

I ran into the house ‘n immediately darted for the phone. I phoned Cassie. 

“Ali, what’s up?” Cassie asked once the operator put me through.

I stumbled with me words. I didn’t know how to phrase this. The word “date” just kept running through me mind. “I-uh! So, Tommy…”

“Dear God, Ali! Did you both get into another fight? I told you I didn’t want to hear it if this happened again!”

I scoffed and shouted. “No! Cassie, no! We didn’t get into a fight. On the contrary, Tommy has asked me to spend tomorrow with him.” 

Cassie got quiet. “What?” She whispered.

“Yeah.” I said breathily. I brought one of me hands up to me forehead. “He didn’t explicitly ask me out. Like he didn’t say the word date, but it feels like he asked me out on one.” I squealed as quietly as I could into the phone. “Oh, Cassie! What if this is actually it?” 

Cassie sighed, quite defeatedly— might I add. “Aliena, sweetie. Let’s not throw this out of proportion just yet. Did he tell you this was a date?”

I sighed as I turned ‘round and rested against the wall. “No.” I quipped childishly.

“Then, it’d be safer for you to go in this without that kind of mindset.” 

There was a silence between us.

“I don’t want you to get excited then get your feelings hurt, Ali.”

I tsked as I closed me eyes and held me forehead again. I ran that same hand through me hair as I said. “Yeah, your… You’re right.” I shook me head as if I was shaking those thoughts out of me head. “So, ever heard of The Barge?”

Cassie scoffed. “Of course, I have. I go there sometimes for seafood.” 

I hummed. “Okay. Well, what kind of setting is it? Actually, don’t answer that. Lemme guess, aristocratic.”

Cassie laughed, dryly. “That’s a nice way of saying only rich people eat there. But yeah, it is. So, I would suggest wearing something semi formal. You know something that would not-!”

I rolled me eyes. “Yeah, I know what semi formal is, Cass. I wear something that would make Angie suck her teeth, but not tell me to go and change.”

“That sounds good.”

I huffed before saying, “Thank you for helping me. And bring me back down to Earth.”

“Anytime, babes. I hope tomorrow goes well for you.”

I laughed dryly while looking up at the ceiling. “I do too.”

I hung up the phone not too long after ‘n went upstairs to shift through me clothes. I had decided on a black dress with puffed long sleeves, a square neck cut, and a slit on me right thigh. I wore decent sized heels and I was going to keep me hair down. As for makeup, I was going to keep it light.

A nude lip, foundation, winged eyeliner, mascara, and some white in the corners of me eyes. I was debating putting some white on me lids too. I decided against it after I tried the look out. 

The next morning, I woke up ‘round six ‘n made meself breakfast. After that, I took a bath and washed me hair. It was fucking baltic, la’, but I fucking did it! After I was done, I kept me hair wrapped in a towel as I got ready. 

I put on me matching black undergarments. Bra, panties, and I almost put on a garter belt— but then I remembered the slit in the dress. When I had those two on, I lathered me legs and arms in lotion ‘n then focused on drying me hair. I just kept wringing the water out of me ends as much as I could. 

I, then, brush out me hair which caused me to repeat the whole wringing me ends process. After that, I hurried to begin putting on me makeup. It took up more time than I thought it would since I kept fucking up the eyeliner. I’m blaming me nerves. Any other time, I’ve been perfectly steady-handed.

I threw me lipstick down and checked the clock. It was 9:45. I groaned exaggeratedly as I rose to me feet. I quickly put on me dress as carefully as I could manage ‘n then put on me heels. When I was done, I went back to me desk and brush out me hair one more time. I took a deep breath.

“I feel like somethin’s missin’.” I muttered to meself. I snapped me fingers as the idea came to mind. ‘Jewelry!’

I dropped to me knees and pulled out me box of jewelry. I debated between me ma’s set and me papa’s set. I, ultimately, decided on the pearl set. I struggled to put them on as I stumbled to me feet. 

I was putting on me right earring when there was honking outside. Jitters shot through me body. I took a deep breath. I finished fastening the earring in and I smoothed out me dress.

I hurriedly grabbed my clutch and ran down the stairs. I was putting on me coat when Tommy honked for the fifth, sixth, seventh time. I huffed before shouting, “Hold your fucking horses!” I opened the door and flailed me arms out. “Jesus, Tommy!” 

I walked over to the passenger side, his head following me the whole time. I slid into the car with a loud sigh. “Good mornin’, Tommy.”

He didn’t reply. He was still lookin’ at me up and down. I gave him a goofy grin in return. 

Tommy cleared his throat. “Good morning, Aliena.” And with that, he started up the car again ‘n we were out.

I fiddled with me coat as I asked. “So, where are we headed first?”

Tommy scoffed while tilting his head to the side. “ How about you stop worrying about it and you just sit there ‘n look pretty.”

I rolled me eyes and tried to stop the smile that wanted to envelope me face. I cocked me eyebrow as I looked at him. “So! You think I looked pretty.” I teased in a sign-song tone. I threw me head back as I laughed. But, then I quickly sobered up and said. “You can’t take it back!” I looked back down, picking at me coat while humming.

Tommy looked at me, emotionlessly. I gave him a toothy smile in return before me hand smacked over me mouth and I looked away. 

Tommy sighed. “Do you ever not laugh?”

I shrugged. “Don’t know.” I tilted me head in thought. “Huh.”

‘When was the last time I didn’t laugh? Like I used to not laugh this much. Does it have something to do with my mental illnesses?’ I thought.

“Well, come out with it.”

I looked at Tommy and shook me head. “Is nothin’. I’m just a giggly person.” There was a short silence between us before I broke it. “Wait, ‘ang on a mo’! Haven’t we known each other for abar three years now? Why are you complaining abar me giggling now?”

Tommy replied, calmly. “I have aired my grievances before.”

I tsked while crossing me arms. “So, why are you still complaining abar it?” I grumbled.

Tommy looked at me before ruffling me hair. “‘Cause you still give me the same vague answer.”

I gasped horrified and scrambled to fix me hair. 

Eventually after a very animated car drive, we made it into the city. True to his word, we strolled ‘round for some time. It wasn’t ‘til I clocked some very nice looking shoes did we stop and go into the shop.

I tried preventing him from buying me the red heels, but he wasn’t having it. It was confusing the hell out of me, to say the least. And once we went in that store, we were going into every other store. I’d say he bought me like two new dress, four new work blouses, four skirts to match, two new pairs of stockings, and a necklace.

“Tommy! Enough now! What are we going to do with all these bags at the restaurant?”

Tommy gave me the most mocking facial expression as if the answer to me question was so obvious! “Stop fussing, Aliena.” Tom turned ‘round and motioned his arm in a wave, like he was calling someone over. And he actually was. Two men walked up to us with peaked caps.

Immediately, me hip dropped to the side and me arms folded. Tommy handed them all the bags in his hands then took the bags I was holding ‘n gave ‘em to them too.

Tommy cleared his throat curtly ‘n pointed his finger at them as he gave them orders. “Now, boys, take these to the car and drop them off at the betting shop. Tell Polly to put these in Aliena’s room.” He waved his hand, turned toward me, gripped me by me arm, and then we walked. 

“Why were they here, Tom?” I asked, slightly miffed. 

“Well, the more obvious answer is for protection. You know that.” 

I rolled me eyes. “Of course, I know that. You think I don’t know you ‘ave men following me ‘round sometimes when I’m out of the city with me mates. Well, I do. But, what I don’t get— is why they were here if you’re here?” 

Tommy sighed. “I only called them here, so that they would get the bags.”

I squinted me eyes and attempted to playfully put me finger in his face. “That better be the truth. Or I’ll kick ya shin.”

Tommy scoffed while throwing his head back. “Deal.” Tommy pulled out his watched and read the time. With his grip still on me arm, He sighed ‘n said. “Right, come on. Don’t want to be late for our reservation.”

I shook his hand off, to which he gave me a pointed look. “Don’t give me that look. Give me your arm right, will you!” I wrapped me arms ‘round his and we continued walking.

I could tell we were finally at the restaurant ‘cause of the huge ass sign. I let out a sign of relief. “Finally, we can sit down.” I whispered to meself. 

Tommy hummed in response. Not that I was looking for one. 

We walked up to the receptionist. They asked us for a name to which Tommy gave him and we were shown to a booth. A rather secluded booth. Red flags were popping off in me head, but I didn’t want to seem paranoid— so I kept it to meself.

Tommy motioned for me to enter the booth first, so I was going to— but I had to take off me coat first. Tommy helped me as I took it off. He held it for me and kept his hand out for me. I tucked me dress under me bum as I slid into the booth.

Another flag was raised as he chose to sit so very close to me. Hardly had any arm space. So, I slid over a little more. 

The waiter gave us each a menu and said they’ll be back when we’re ready. I looked it over and debated just getting a salad. Ya know for… Appearance sake.

Then, I saw there was a lobster dish and caviar. I was sold. I. Was. Sold. As for drinks, there is no soda! So, I’m going to leave that up to either Tommy, or I’m getting water. Do they serve apple juice here? No.

Because I was making jokes in me head, me hand kept flying to me mouth to both stifle me giggles and hide me smile. Luckily, I wasn’t audibly giggling. Time and place, Aliena!

I looked over to Tommy ‘n asked. “Do you already know what you’re getting?”

Tom sniffed before replying, “Yep, have you figured out what you’re having?” 

I nodded, but then I began to double-check the prices of everything. Getting the lobster dish and the caviar was like getting two main courses, right? It was, actually, pretty expensive. So, maybe— I should just pick one. Unconsciously, I started to nibble on me fingernail. Not trying to bite it off or anything, just biting down on it softly, repeatedly.

Tommy grabbed me hand and took it into his. “What are you fussing about now? Show me what you want.” 

I pointed to the two dishes while being hyper aware of the fact that he was still holding me hand. Oh, was I fucking freakin’ out in the inisde!

“Right then. We’ll order both.” Tommy let go of me hand and settled himself in his seat. While reaching for his ciggie case, he muttered. “Not like I’m paying for it.”

Me eyes practically bulged out of me head ‘n I had to will me hand not to slap over me face. I leaned into him and whispered. “Thomas Shelby, are we doing a runner?”

Tommy smirked as he placed his ciggie in his mouth. “Not exactly.” He lit the bloody thing and closed the lighter with a loud snap.

I furrowed me eyebrows in confusion as I tried to think of another possible reason. While I was thinking the waiter came back.

“Can I take your order?” He asked.

I was abar to say yes when Tommy cut me off. “We’re not ready quite yet. But, we’d like to order some white wine.” 

I rested me left elbow on the table, me thumb ‘n pointer finger were shaped in an L-shape as I used it to support me head. I looked at Tommy with an eyebrow raised. I waited ‘til the waiter left to ask. “And why are we not ordering yet? We were ready.”

“It would be rude to have our food be done first.” He looked at me, deadpan.

It finally clicked. “You doin’ a deal, Tom?” I asked, full with spite.

“A little one, yeah.”

I sucked on me teeth and looked away from him while I cradled me temples with me right hand. I wanted to be more upset, but I wasn’t. This was just typical Thomas Shelby behavior. I dropped me hand after I let out a calming breath. 

“Right.” I said. “So, am I to be eye-candy during this deal or do I have job? Have to seduce him or something like that? Follow him out of this place.”

Tommy shook his head as a little chuckle escaped his mouth. “Nope. You’ll be doing none of that. I’m just killing a bird with a stone.” 

I snorted at the expression. Me hand went to covering me mouth. “That’s not-!”

“I know.” Tommy quickly replied. “I asked you to come out with me today because you mentioned we haven’t talked like we used to, and you’re right. This was the perfect opportunity to do so… While sweetening my deal with Mr. Daniel Taylor.”

I smiled as I shook me head. I locked me fingers, rested both of me elbows on the table, and then rested me chin on me hands. “So, this is what you meant when you said I should sit here and look pretty.” 

A smile tugged at the corner of Tommy’s mouth. “Yes.” 

I watched as Tommy took a drag from his ciggie before I dropped me arms and straightened me back. 

It took Mr. Taylor quite some time before arriving. The wine came before him, for Christ’s sake. 

Tommy placed his hand on me back, signaling for me to stand with him. 

“Mr. Taylor, nice to see you again.” They shook hands then Tommy motioned his hand toward me. “This is Ailena Welsh, my companion this evening.” 

I shook Mr. Taylor’s hand ‘n exchanged greetings. I’m happy to say we ordered not too long after. I did just as Tommy told me too. To sit here and look pretty. I didn’t jump in the conversation nor did I maintain eye contact with the man. It seemed that this was “Danny” from season three. The future leader of the Birmingham City Council. Just like mentioned in the episode, Mr. Taylor had interests in steelworks in Cradley Heath. Tommy offered to help him get his products to carmakers.

That’s the jist of it. After tuning into those parts of the conversation, I focused on the expensive meal in front of me. I absolutely loved the caviar. It suited my tastes perfectly. I had to contain me joy, though. Didn’t want to look comical in front of the client, after all.

“Oh, we’ve been chattin’ up a storm, Mr. Shelby. I don’t want to leave your missus out of the conversation. How is the meal, dear?” Mr. Taylor asked me.

I covered me mouth as I hurried to swallow down the bite of scran I just took. I only spoke once I was sure me mouth was clear. I dropped me hand ‘n said. “Oh, it’s lovely.” I nodded me head for emphasis.

“How is the caviar? Have you had it before today?”

I shook me head. “No, today was my first time tasting it. I thought it was delicious.” 

“Oh, well. I’m glad that it suited your taste.”

I nodded and gave him a polite smile. Tommy reached under the table and squeezed me hand. Almost reassuringly. Luckily, after that little “inclusion,” the conversation ended ‘n it was back to only them. Fine by me, to be honest. 

It seemed that this meeting was coming to an end when a man walked up to Mr. Taylor and whispered something into his ear. Mr. Taylor stood up as did we. “Well, looks like I’m needed elsewhere. It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Shelby.” They shook hands ‘n then he took my hand. “And it was nice meeting you, Ms. Welsh.”

I let out a little, “Likewise.” 

Mr. Taylor let after that. Me eyes darted to Tommy and I asked, discreetly. “He’s still paying the bill, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, thank God.” And with that, we sat back down. “That seemed like it went well.” I chimed.

Tom was busy lighting another ciggie. “Yes, it did.” 

Now I was busy debating whether to ask him if he knew there was a loo in this joint, if I should just walk ‘round ‘til I found one, or just hold it.

“If you need to use the restroom, there’s one for ladies ‘round the corner.” Tommy muttered. 

Me head snapped toward him. “Huh?”

He sighed before smiling. “I said if you need to use the lavatory, then there’s one over there.” He pointed to a door, which a woman came out of.

“Oh.” I looked back at ‘em with a pout. “I knew that.” I got up and walked to it. 

 After I handled me business, we left the restaurant ‘n began walking again. On the way, I had to beg Tommy to go through the park. I just admired the scenery, honestly. I’ve been in the park loads of times with the girls. But only the lord knows when I’d get a chance like this again.

I was walking a little bit ahead of Tommy. I was taking big steps while twirling ‘round. “Oh, come on, Tommy! Live a little!” I shouted as I was still twirling.

“I live plenty.” He rebutted.

I rolled me eyes as I said. “Boo!” I put me thumbs down for emphasis, but it ended up making me laugh. I twirled front and started teetering me head from left to right with me hands locked behind me back.

Just as I turned me head ‘round, a gust of wind blew through me hair. A very picturesque moment, if I do say so meself. If only I had a hat.

I hurried to fix me hair which made Tommy laugh. “Oh, do one!” I shouted. I swatted his chest once he walked up to me. Tommy was still laughing as he helped me fix me hair. I stuck me tongue out at him.

“You know. I’d say you are more petulant than Ada and Finn combined.” He quipped as he was still helping me.

Me jaw dropped slightly. “Isn’t that just a sophisticated way of calling me the biggest brat you’ve ever met?”

Tommy snickered with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Can never get one passed you, can I?”

I glared at him. “No. No, you can’t.” I shook me head before I bursted into a fit of giggles. 

After that whole fiasco, I made sure to stop twirling ‘n stuff. I walked side-by-side with him. I had a really strong urge to hold his hand, but I fought it. I’m just used to doin’ that is all. I hold all of the girls’ hands whenever we’re out. Angie tried fighting me off at first, ‘cause— manners. But I broke her down! Tina just went along with it, though. I’m guessing she just wanted to avoid conflict.

We made small talk, but mainly basked in the silence. It was nice. I was focusing on kicking a pebble when I heard Tommy scoff.

“What?” I asked while not looking up.

“What did the pebble ever do to you?” He asked in a teasing manner.

Me head shot up and I stopped kicking the pebble. I shouted in surprise since I walked ahead of the pebble, but sighed in defeat as I decided to just keep walking. 

Tommy shook his head.

I pouted. “You made me lose it.”

“There’s plenty more. Choose another.”

I pouted harder while crossing me arms. “No, that one was mine.”

Tommy sighed while shaking his head. I could see his grin from the corner of me eye which made me smile as well.

The moment we exited the park, Tommy made it clear that we were going home. I shrugged and accepted it. The car ride was, for its majority, silent. I had me eyes closed and I was letting the wind flow through me hair.  

I like it when the wind froze me ears. My comfort action wasn’t sucking me thumb rather I played with me ears. I played with me pa’s ears too. I missed being able to do it from time to time.

When I felt that we were near the house, I sat up straight ‘n opened me eyes. Tommy parked in front ‘n I opened the car door.

“Well, thanks for the day out. And for the fancy meal. And for the new clothes.” I was abar to step out of the car when I remembered a certain promise I made. I pivoted me body ‘round and kicked his shin.

He hissed. “The fuck!”

I cackled as I jumped out of the car. “Said I’d do it, didn’t I?” I skipped over to the pavement and then twirled ‘round to get one last look at him.

He was shaking his head. “Ali!” He called out to me. 

I threw him a mocking look. “What?”

He beckoned me with two fingers ‘n I’d be lying if I said that that didn’t have no effect on me. So, I walked up to his window ‘n repeated meself.

I stared into his eyes as he said. “Your hair looks better when it’s down. I wanted to tell ya that.” I blinked in response. Flabbergasted, I was. “I had a nice time too. Night, Aliena.”

I whispered. “Night, Tommy.” He started up the engine and I instinctively stepped back. I watched as he drove off before a hand came up to me hair ‘n I stroked a strand of it. A smile creeping up on me.

I ran up to me room soon after ‘n threw meself on the bed. Me thoughts were racing a million miles per hour. 

What the hell was today? Why did he decide to spoil me of all people? He could’ve taken out Polly, no? Or, his brothers? But it wasn’t just a free business lunch, he bought me clothes and a necklace. 

Oh my god, the necklace! It was a simple locket necklace, but it was jewelry from him, nevertheless! Whose picture would I put in it? I would have put me parents in it, but…

And I can’t bloody well put Tommy in it! Maybe I should put Polly and Cassie. 

I twirled a strand of me hair ‘round me finger.

Maybe I should start wearing me hair down more often. 

I grabbed me pillow ‘n squealed into it while kicking me legs.

You know, this could be boiled down to an inferiority or superiority complex. I have rich friends who shower me with expensive gifts ‘n maybe this was a show that he could do it too now.

I shrugged me shoulders with an facial expression to match.

Who cares. His attention was practically all on me today ‘n it felt like a date.

Even though, it really wasn’t.

I began squealing in me pillow again!

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