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goldenraeofsun · 4 years

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just say yes

The latest installment of this verse... or 5 times Dean tries to propose to Cas.

Dean bites his lip as he scans the menu. What the hell is branzino, and where the fuck are the prices? He flips the flimsy piece of cream-colored paper over, but no dice.

Thank god there’s a steak listed among the five lone entrees. It’s probably five times his normal dinner price tag, but Dean already made peace with putting off buying that 30 year anniversary Rush album. It’ll still be there after his next pay check.

Cas eyes him over the top of his own menu. “What are you thinking?”

Marry me.

Dean doesn’t say that, though. He has plans. Keep his trap shut until dessert. Tell Cas he’s going to hit the head. Pull a waiter aside and ask for two glasses of champagne. Return to Cas. Hopefully not shit his pants as he proposes. Drink champagne. Go home and have fantastic engaged sex.

Dean has high hopes for the last part of the plan.

“Dean?”

Belatedly, he says, “The steak.”

Cas hums. “That does look good.” He ducks back behind his menu. “I was thinking of getting that too. But maybe not.”

Dean takes a hasty sip of water. “Get the steak if you want it, man. We don’t go to places like this often.”

“I think I’ll get the honey glazed salmon.”

“Sounds good,” Dean says lamely. He drinks more water. At this rate, he won’t have to fake the bathroom run.

Aren’t they supposed to have alcohol by this point? They’ve been sitting at their fancy-ass table in this fancy-ass restaurant for nearly fifteen minutes.

Maybe he shouldn’t have picked the newest five-star restaurant to propose to Cas. He’s already on edge from the pressure, and the pristine white tablecloth isn’t helping. He can already see five ways he’s gonna stain it. There are several forks in front of him. For fuck’s sake, this place has an actual chandelier. Dean hadn’t honestly thought they existed outside of billionaire mansions and Disney movies.

The live music is nice, though. A sedate piano tinkles in the background, barely audible over the buzz of polite dinner conversation.

Dean catches a glimpse of himself reflected in the dark windows to the street. He looks a little sweaty, but not as nervous as he feels, thank god.

This is stupid. He shouldn’t even be nervous.

They’ve talked about marriage before. They’re adults in an adult relationship, so popping the question out of the blue would go down like the time Dean swept Cas away for a surprise camping trip. Turns out, Cas did not like camping. Which Dean would have known if he had asked anytime in the past four years.

But… that marriage conversation was two years ago. Dean wasn’t ready then; they both weren’t. Cas was still in a bad place with Jimmy and Claire, and Bobby had just died, so they weren’t about to roadtrip to Vegas anytime soon.

Now, Claire can have a civil dinner with her parents, and the hole Bobby left in Dean’s life can go unnoticed some days.

The deal is, Dean can’t chicken out tonight. He already told Claire to make herself scarce. She can sleep at her parents’ or at Krissy’s, Dean doesn’t care, as long as she is not crashing on their sofa when they get back from dinner.

Dean would rather read a hundred plagarized student essays on The Very Hungry Caterpillar than admit to Claire he failed to ask Cas to marry him.

So, proposal time.

The waiter comes by with their drinks and takes their orders. Conversation is a little stilted, but hopefully Cas chalks it up to Dean being outside his comfort zone in this fancy-ass place. There’s no steady thunk of darts hitting a board or clack of pool balls in the background to put him at ease. Just that lame piano.

Cas makes porn noises over his salmon at first bite, which Dean totally doesn’t get. It’s fish.

“How’s your steak?” Cas asks as he surfaces and dabs his mouth with his cloth napkin.

Dean belatedly slices off a piece of his meal and pops it in his mouth. A generically bland compliment dies on his tongue. Jesus Christ - that’s some good cow. It practically disintegrates before he can chew. “Great,” he tells Cas honestly.

Cas hums in contentment.

“And since you’re practically at third base with that salmon,” Dean starts, “I take it-”

“Oh my god!” a woman’s voice squeals behind them.

Dean reflexively turns his head in the direction of the commotion. A few tables over, near the center of the restaurant, a man is down on one knee, and - son of a bitch.

Dean watches, his mouth hanging open, as the woman shouts, “Yes, of course, yes!” Waiters walk past their table with a whole fucking bottle of champagne. People at nearby tables fucking clap.

Dean resolutely turns back around to face Cas, at a loss for words that aren’t extremely loud swears.

“Isn’t that nice?” Cas says mildly.

“Yeah, very nice for them,” Dean says through gritted teeth.

Of all the goddamn nights. Of all the goddamn restaurants. What are the goddamn chances?

Dean slices into his steak with extreme prejudice. If he could murder the happy couple, he would. With zero regrets.

Fuck it all, Claire’s gonna be insufferable.

A CHARMING B&B IN VERMONT

Dean wakes up delightfully cozy with Cas spooning him from behind. No memory foam, but the bed is delightfully springy anyway. It was definitely what they needed after a full school day and a nine-hour road trip. Luckily, the owner of the bed and breakfast, a charming older woman actually named Mrs. Butters, was happy to wait up for their late check-in last night. She even had hot cocoa waiting.

Dean had held out a slight hope they could christen their room before they turned in for the night, but Cas passed right out before Dean turned on the lights. Poor guy had to deal with three sets of angry parents, and it was only the second week of school. Something about how their supposed-genius kids should be in AP Latin instead of the Fun Latin class - aka the one for dumbass seniors.

The mid-morning sunlight filtering in from behind the plaid curtains casts everything in a warm glow. The room itself is beyond charming. There’s a legit fireplace next to the bed, and they’re currently nestled under a patchwork quilt. The wood panelled walls give a distinctly rustic feel to the place, despite the reasonably sized television screen mounted on the far wall.

Dean turns over in bed so he’s facing Cas instead of the door. He resists the urge to poke him awake, and instead prods with a gentle, “Cas.”

Cas grumbles wordlessly. Fucker doesn’t even open his eyes, although Dean can tell from how his breathing changes that he’s awake.

“Cas.”

Cas wrinkles his nose and shoves his face into the pillow. “What, Dean?”

Dean can barely make out the words, but he gets the gist from the million times Cas has done the exact same thing. “I smell bacon.”

Cas’s eyes slit open. “So?”

“Don’t you want bacon?”

Cas huffs, and Dean can tell the exact moment he resigns to waking up. “Then go get the bacon. Nobody’s stopping you, Meat Man.”

Dean wiggles in bed, jostling the whole mattress. “Come on, babe.”

“I was sleeping.” Cas raises his head to look squint out the window. “It has to be before ten am. Since when are you a morning person?”

Since today is the day Dean is going to propose.

Instead, Dean reminds him pointedly, “Bacon.”

“Ugh,” Cas groans as he sits up. “I expect at least a blow job after breakfast if we’re leaving bed this early.”

Dean slaps his ass and jumps out of bed before Cas can retaliate. “Up and at ‘em!”

“I hate you.”

“Love you too, Cas.”

* * *

Claire 11:02 Did you ask him yet? If he said no I’ve got chunky monkey waiting

Claire 11:31 That was a joke Uncle Cas will say yes Theres no way he wont

Claire 11:40 If you’re not answering because of sex don’t tell me

Dean sighs as his phone lights up with Claire’s latest text. In the bathroom, Cas hurls again.

Dean 11:41 No proposal

The bubbles showing Claire’s typing start almost immediately.

Claire 11:41 Are you serious? He’s not goin to turn you down!!!

Dean 11:41 Food poisoning

Claire 11:42 HAHAHAHA

Dean scowls at his phone.

Dean 11:44 Not now, Claire.

Claire 11:44 Wait Seriously?

Dean 11:44 We think it was something he ate at breakfast

Claire 11:44 Oh fuck I’m sorry for laughing

Dean rereads her text. He hasn’t ever received a straight-up apology from Claire before. Unsure of how to respond, he sets down his phone and gently pushes open the bathroom door. “How’re you doing, babe?”

Cas, slumped over the toilet and looking like death warmed over, raises his head an inch. “It seems to be easing up.”

“Really?”

Cas vomits into the toilet again. He groans.

“Shit,” Dean mutters as he crouches next to Cas. He rubs his back with one hand. “Do you think you can get some water down?”

Cas nods, so Dean straightens and fills a glass next to the sink.

As Cas drinks, Dean runs a hand through Cas’s sweaty hair. His forehead has a sickly sheen to it, and the back of his neck feels hot.

“Dean -” Cas breaks off to cough the water right back up into the toilet. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, no,” Dean says quickly as he refills the glass. “Don’t be sorry. This isn’t your fault.”

“But you had all these plans,” Cas moans as he takes the water to try again.

“We’ll do ‘em some other time.” He wets a washcloth and wipes down Cas’s forehead.

“Before Thanksgiving,” Cas rasps, “we’ll come back. I don’t want to miss the leaves changing.”

“Of course,” Dean says soothingly. He moves the washcloth to the nape of Cas’s neck. “On the bright side, you’ve been puking for, like, an hour. There can’t be much left.”

Cas, the dramatic bastard, nearly brains himself on the toilet seat with the force of his next hurl.

HOMEMADE DINNER

After the disastrous fancy restaurant and B&B, a homemade dinner has to be the way to go. They’ll be in their own goddamn house - that has to cut down on the number of things that can go wrong.

Dean spends a whole week deliberating on what to make. He could do his usual burgers and fries routine, Cas’s favorite, but it should be special.

He settles on beef wellington. Pie for beef!

It’s a bitch to make - both because puff pastry from scratch is no joke, and hiding his first experiments from Cas means inventing increasingly convoluted reasons to get him out of the house. And, sure, every Youtube chef and Great British Bake off contestant has said store-bought puff pastry is fine, but Dean doesn’t want fine, he needs perfect.

Dean picks a day when Cas has Model UN afterschool. It’s in the middle of the week, but at least Cas is guaranteed out of the house until six at night.

By 5:58, Dean is ready. The Wellington is cooling on the counter; the red wine has been breathing (whatever the hell that does) for the better part of an hour; and he’s showered and made himself presentable.

His phone pings at six pm on the dot.

Heart sinking with foreboding, Dean taps the screen.

Cas 6:00 I’m going to be late for dinner. There was an accident with chemistry club a few minutes ago. The building had to be evacuated.

Dean 6:00 Are you OK?

Dean takes a moment to hammer the heel of his hand against his forehead. One fucking break. That’s all he’s asking for. One goddamn evening to go right.

Cas 6:00 Yes, and the kids are too. They’re airing out the halls now, but we won’t be let in for another half hour.

Dean picks up the wine with the hand not holding his phone.

Dean 6:01 What time do you think you’ll be home?

Cas 6:01 7:30 maybe? I’ll keep you updated.

Dean swigs back a gulp straight from the bottle before he can answer. Fuck this.

Dean 6:02 Great! I’ll order pizza when you’re on your way back

Cas 6:02 Meatlovers?

Dean 6:02 Unless you’d like something else

Cas 6:02 No thank you :)

Dean flips on a recorded Jeopardy! episode as he cleans up the kitchen and texts Charlie. He has a free dinner waiting for her if she can hightail it to his place in the next hour and never speak of it again.

HOMEMADE DINNER #2

If Dean is anything, he’s stubborn. John Winchester raised no quitter. Try, try, and try again. And try a fourth time, when the first three go sideways.

Burgers, this time. They don’t need a days’ worth of prep. And they’ll go over well.

“Dig in,” Dean says as he sets the plate down in front of Cas.

“This looks delicious, Dean,” Cas says sincerely as he picks up his burger.

Dean waits, and he can see the moment Cas tastes the molten cheese stuffed in the middle of the patty. His eyes go wide with surprise.

“Like it?”

Cas nods vigorously and inhales the rest of his burger in record time.

“There’s enough for us to have thirds,” Dean says smugly.

Cas smears ketchup all over patty number two, and beams at him. “These make me very happy.”

Dean laughs. “That’s the goal-”

Cas’s phone rings.

Dean falters.

Cas stares at him expectantly, waiting for Dean to continue.

“You should get that,” Dean says, his shoulders slumping as he sets his burger down. It’s probably a bad sign he was already half-expecting things to go south. “It’s probably important, or whoever it is would’ve texted.”

“We’re in the middle of dinner,” Cas protests even as he reaches in his pocket to pull his phone out. “It’s Claire,” he says, baffled, before he picks up. “Hello?”

Cas sets down his half-eaten burger. He listens, his brows slamming down forbiddingly as Claire’s voice gets louder and louder, but still not loud enough for Dean to make out actual words. Silently, Cas takes his napkin off his lap and pushes his half-empty beer in Dean’s direction. Finally Cas says, “Yes, of course, Claire.”

Dean frowns as Cas lifts his gaze up to meet his. “Jimmy and Amelia?” he mouths.

Cas shakes his head, speaking into his phone, “Does Kaia need a pick up from the hospital?”

Dean goes cold. Kaia was actually one of his favorite students. While she was in his class, she won a Scholastic Gold Key and honorable mention for two of her horror novellas and always did the reading. But Dean and Cas haven’t seen her since she broke up with Claire the summer before college.

“Is she okay?” Dean asks quietly.

Cas’s mouth thins. He gives a short nod.

Dean sighs and picks up the plate uneaten burgers. He can probably reheat the patties. The fries won’t keep, though, so he leaves the plate in front of Cas. He shoves a few in his mouth and gets to his feet.

He’s halfway through cleaning the frying pan when Cas gets off the phone with Claire.

“Are you heading out?” Dean asks gruffly while he gives the iron a particularly hard scrub.

“Yes,” Cas rumbles as he wraps an arm around Dean’s waist. “I’m sorry to cut dinner short.”

“Hey, it’s Kaia. ’Course we gotta help.” Dean forces an understanding smile on his face. “I’ll make up the couch while you pick her up?”

Cas squeezes him gently before moving away. “Thank you.”

“You got time for the cliff notes on what happened? Why’d you get the call?”

Cas leans against the counter next to the sink. “Kaia was in a car accident. She’s a little banged up, but mostly fine. A few bruised ribs and a possible concussion.” He shakes his head, disbelieving. “You know Kaia was never especially close with her foster family, so Claire got the emergency call.”

“Huh.” Dean grabs a plate to clean. “It’s been two years since the split.”

Cas shrugs. “I’m not sure what their situation is. I know Claire was surprised. She’s already in her car, and she should be here by midnight. Hopefully she recognizes Kaia’s injuries,” he frowns, “and they won’t try any… any ‘hanky panky’ tonight.”

Dean laughs, and if it’s slightly higher than normal, Cas doesn’t seem to pick up on it. He grabs Cas and kisses him square on the mouth. “You are ridiculous. Nobody says hanky panky. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Cas scowls. “They have to be well past kissing at this point.”

Dean snorts a laugh. “Yeah, that ship has long sailed, dude.”

Cas throws his hands in the air. “We don’t have enough sleeping surfaces to separate them.”

Dean sets the dirty plate down to face Cas fully. “Do you really think they’ll get back together? Kaia broke Claire’s heart not too long ago.”

Cas throws him a look like he wonders where the hell Dean’s logical brain has flown to. “Are you asking if I think couples can get back together after a harrowing break up?”

“… no.”

Cas shakes his head ruefully. “You’re more like Claire than I ever was, and you took me back.”

“Huh,” Dean wipes his hands off on a dishtowel, “you might have something there.”

“You do call me the smart one,” Cas says as he pushes off the counter and heads to the doorway. “It has been known to happen.”

“Smartass,” Dean corrects loudly as Cas grabs his coat and keys.

“Semantics.” Cas doubles back to kiss Dean a proper goodbye, and it’s just as electric as it was when they were seventeen. Cas tastes like Dean’s cooking, and he’s been letting his stubble grow out, the short hairs rasping against Dean’s palm as he cups Cas’s cheek.

“I love you, Dean,” Cas says as he draws away.

Dean grins. “I know.”

Cas huffs an almost-laugh as he heads back towards the door. “Now who’s the smartass?”

IN BED

Cas, the son of a bitch, falls asleep before Dean can wring out a second orgasm out of him. Such a godamn shame. Just goes to show, they really aren’t teenagers anymore. At least Dean got to use the new vibrator he bought for the occasion and the edible panties.

Dean flops back in bed. Maybe he should put the proposals on pause. Clearly, marriage isn’t in the cards. He can be a bit dense when it comes to Cas and him, but there’s dense and there’s denial.

It’s been two and a half months. Five proposal attempts. They’re nearly halfway through October, and he’s no closer to getting a ring on Cas’s finger than he was in late August, sweating bullets in that stupid fancy restaurant.

He can’t keep planning and failing to propose to Cas every other week. One, he can’t handle the stress and constant brainstorming. And B, he’s way behind in writing college recommendations and grading his freshman’s essays on Animal Farm.

Cas isn’t going anywhere. Dean isn’t going anywhere. So Dean can cool the proposals for now and start fresh in January.

SCHOOL ASSEMBLY

“I hate these,” Dean mutters to Benny. He frowns across the top rows of the bleachers where the seniors are supposed to sit. There are a few notable faces missing, but nobody that belongs to Dean’s homeroom, so he couldn’t give less of a shit. Below them, sit most of the juniors, and pretty much all of the sophomores and freshmen.

“It’s thirty minutes, brother,” Benny says, patting his arm. “You’ll live.”

“Shows what you know,” Dean grumbles back as Jody strides to the middle of the gym, microphone in hand. He asks Benny, “Do you know what this one’s about? Bullying? Cliques? Hugs not drugs?”

Benny shakes his head.

Jody sighs loudly into the mike. Clearly, she wants to be here just as much as he does. “Thank you all for coming,” she starts like any of them had a real choice. “First things first, Halloween is in two days, and while costumes are allowed and encouraged, don’t be racist.” She grimaces. “God help me, I don’t know why I still have to say that. If you are unsure if your costume is racist, it probably is. Wear something else. Secondly…”

Dean tunes her out. Instead, he scans the bleachers again, this time looking for Cas. He should be with the other sophomore homeroom teachers, but there’s no sign of him. Dean frowns. He can’t remember the last time Cas played hooky. And never without Dean. Dick move, Cas.

Movement at the edge of the gym catches Dean’s eye, and he watches, puzzled, as two students roll out one of the old projectors. The overhead lights turn off.

Is Jody seriously going to make him sit through a slide show? They’re wasting a prefectly good Friday morning on a goddamn PowerPoint?

The projector flips on, and the first photo is… of Dean.

What the fuck? His mouth drops open in horror. In the picture, he’s in his junior year of high school - he can tell from the hair - with a bunch of people he hasn’t seen in fifteen years. Plus Cas, who’s at the next table over in the cafeteria, head bowed over a book and slightly out of focus.

There’s a click, and text scrawls along the bottom of the screen, Destiel Met in Edlund High School Fifteen Years Ago!

The projector flips to the next photo, this time showing Dean’s senior yearbook picture.

More than a handful of students peer excitedly in his direction, undoubtedly hoping for a reaction.

Scowling, Dean cranes his neck to search the crowd for Charlie’s flaming red hair. She’s the only one who refers to the two of them as “Destiel”. Everyone else uses their names like sane people.

But the projector clicks to a photo of Cas, and Dean can’t help getting distracted. In the picture, Cas is alone at a table in the library. God, he was cute back then. His cheeks were a little fuller, and his hair was curlier. He still had the same intense blue-eyed stare, though. Patented Cas.

It all started with a tutoring session. Young Mr. W needed help in Latin, and our future Latin teacher, Mr. N, was up to the task!

Dean is going to kill Charlie. He tries to get to his feet - maybe she’s hiding behind Jo or something. But Benny’s hand grips his upper arm, holding him in place. “Don’t,” Benny says softly.

“What?” Dean demands as he tries to shake Benny off and fails. “Do you know what the hell is going on?”

“Stay.” The corners of Benny’s mouth twitch like he’s fighting a smile. “Watch.”

Dean huffs a breath and turns back around. If it was anyone else, Jo or Charlie, he wouldn’t trust a word out of their mouths. Benny, though, he’s not the type to make Dean sit through this without a good reason.

But that’s all ancient history. Destiel really got started five years ago, in this very gym.

The projector shows a picture of their class reunion, when Dean met Cas after ten years of no contact. They’re standing pretty close together (but that doesn’t mean much with Castiel What-Is-Personal-Space Novak), and they appear deep in conversation.

Since then, they have been inseparable.

Dean and Cas at a softball game. Dean and Cas at homecoming. Dean and Cas at GSA’s pride party.

Here’s to fifteen more years of Destiel!

The students clap and cheer with more than a few laughs.

Musical Interlude! flashes in front of a picture of Dean playing guitar to a group of pajama-clad students at last year’s Senior Lock-In.

The lights flip back on, and Dean blinks as his eyes adjust. By the time the spots have cleared from his vision, the projector has been wheeled away, leaving the main floor of the gym empty.

A staticky crackle echoes around the gym. And - is that Def Leppard playing on the speakers?

As the intro to Rock of Ages plays, the cheerleading team troops out from the locker rooms.

They start a routine Dean’s never seen before. To Rock of fucking Ages.

The cheerleaders sings along with Joe Elliot, “What do you want?”

Dean’s mouth falls open as the entire high school chants back, “I want rock and roll. Long live rock and roll!”

By the time they get to the “Rock of Ages” chant, all the students are on their feet, clapping along with the beat and cheering.

The song dies down soon after, and Dean, a broad smile on his face, turns to Benny. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I dig it.”

Benny laughs. “Good. He’ll be pleased.”

Dean’s just about to ask who he is (he’s 99% he knows), when Cas walks out from behind the bleachers.

Cas takes the microphone from Jody. He coughs nervously, waiting for the students to settle back down. “Thank you,” he says to the cheerleading team. “That was... awesome.” He glances up at the assembled students and teachers. “Dean-” he pauses as the cheers and clapping start up in earnest “-can you please come down here?”

But Dean’s frozen to the spot.

Benny gives him a not-so-light jab with his elbow. “Go on.”

Dean shakily gets to his feet and makes his way to the gym floor, and he swears his legs are about to give out from under him.

“Alright, you got my attention,” Dean says with forced bravado. “What’s up, Cas?”

The students hoot and holler.

Cas reddens as they die down again. Clutching the microphone in a death grip, he says, “Dean, we have been together for a number of years.”

Dean grins, a wonderful, all-consuming giddiness filling him the longer he stands in front of Cas. “I know, dude. I was there.”

The students laugh and someone, probably Jo, wolf whistles.

Cas swallows. “I wanted to do this here, where we first met, where you first asked me out on a date, where we had our first kiss.”

“Don’t tell ‘em about all our firsts on school property,” Dean says in a stage-whisper, “or Jody’s gonna have an aneurysm.”

Over a fresh round of student laughter, Jody puts her head in her hands. Donna, the school guidance counselor, pats her a few times on the back.

“Dean Winchester,” Cas says, and, shit, his hands are shaking. “I have loved you for more than half my life, and I look forward to far more than fifteen years by your side. Will you marry me?’

Dean’s not stupid. He had a strong hunch, ever since Rock of Ages played - aka the cassette he put in the Impala the first time he took Cas for a drive fifteen years and a lifetime ago - that this was what Cas was leading up to.

He’s mostly surprised Cas had the guts to pop the question this way. There was a reason Dean tried to keep his proposal plans mostly to the two of them. One of them is practically a social hermit, and it’s sure as shit not Dean.

“Just say yes, jerk!”

Dean spins around, nearly tripping over his own feet in surprise. Fuck, that’s Sam. His giant of a brother is hovering right outside the gym’s double doors, beaming at the pair of them. Claire gives a little wave from where she’s half-hiding behind him.

Dean turns back to Cas. He can’t think about Sam right now. Or Claire. Or the five hundred students with their eyes on them.

Only Cas.

“Cas,” he says, and it feels like the whole room is holding their collective breath, none more so than Cas, who looks like he’s about to pass out. “Man, I’ve loved you since I was seventeen. Of course I’ll marry you.”

Cas lets out a shaky exhale of relief, and Dean laughs. He takes the microphone from Cas’s now slack grip, steps all the way into Cas’s personal space, and kisses him.

The cheers from the assembled students are nearly deafening.

#destiel fanfic #fanfic #destiel #teacher dean #teachers au #teacher castiel #profoundnet #established relationship #fluff #the story of us verse #5+1 fic #rae writes fic

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virgilantejustice · 3 years

Text

A Winter’s Journey

Hi @turbovickiii!!!! I really hope you like this, your prompts really helped me get out of a rut, and I just really hope you enjoy this. And, of course, a merry Christmas!!

I don't believe I need to add any warnings, but let me know if I'm wrong.

@sanderssidesgiftxchange

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The air was cold. Spitefully cold. Far colder than it needed to be.

Roman muttered to himself as he trudged through the full six inches of snow that covered the path to the cabin. Spitefully cold.

Why on earth they had decided to rent a cabin for Christmas was beyond him. It had been his idea of course, but that doesn't mean that the others should have /listened. Why didn't one of them point out that his car could break down halfway down the several mile long track through the middle of nowhere slap bang in the middle of a snowstorm?! Obviously that was going to happen!

But, Roman would be damned if he didnt make it to that damn cabin, even if he had to walk the four miles left. Again, an absolutely terrible idea, but Roman never was the logical one, and Logan was waiting for him there, and he couldn't wait to hear his beloved tell him what a total idiot he'd been.

Arms crossed firmly across his chest, teeth chattering, feet numb in their snow filled boots, Roman marched with a stony expression of (slightly exaggerated) grimness. He did think at one point that he should probably make a pun about romans, y’know, marching, get it? But the cold is freezing his creative flow! His brain was slowing down! He could practically hear Logan's voice in his ear telling him that he was being ridiculous, but he didn't care.

Finally, after several thousand years of trudging down that blasted track, Roman saw a wooden structure. Small, slightly run down, but it was shelter.

“Thank the Gods,” Roman breathed into his hands, the slight warmth making his hands feel a little less icy.

He breathed out again, deeply, through his mouth. There was just something about how the air seized the moisture that he exhaled and turned it into his own little cloud. For all his bitterness towards the bitter cold at that particular moment, Roman saw beauty in that little puff of mist. He saw beauty in most things, and certainly in every season, but there was something about winter that captivated him as he walked down the snow covered path. The crunch of the gentle flakes under his boots, the swirls of frost on the gnarled bark of the trees, the jagged lacework of cracks in every frozen puddle. To be fair, I suppose it is expected to see more beauty when your arduous voyage is nearing its end.

“See," he grumbled through chattering teeth, “we could work together, you beautiful bitch.” He was referring to winter, of course, because addressing an entire season is a perfectly normal thing to do, at least it is in Roman’s eyes.

It seemed to him that he quickened his pace in excitement when he saw the reddish-brown walnut wood walls, but in all honesty, that last straight was as painfully slow as the rest

He was practically falling over himself by the time he reached the heavy wooden door of the cabin, and he silently prayed that there weren't /two remote, wooden cabins down this road and the right one was actually a further two miles, because, well, just no.

Fingers too numb to turn the handle, Roman sort of just whacked his hands against the door, wincing when his brittle skin, dried out from the cold, cracked with each impact. He prayed again (wow, twice in a day after a lifetime of agnosticism, it's funny what the cold’ll do to you) that Logan had in fact already arrived.

“Good lord, what happened to you?!”

Logan opened the door, and, frankly, looked a little more shocked than was /strictly necessary (at least in Roman’s opinion).

“And a merry Christmas eve to you too, my darling,” Roman replied indignantly, gently pushing Logan out of the way and soaking in the warmth of the cabin. A sigh escaped his lips as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes a fire crackled softly in the grate, casting warm, dancing patterns across the inside of his eyelids as he turned, exposing his whole body to the heat, like a pig on a spit, happy to roast for a while.

A hand on his arm roused Roman to open his eyes to meet a pair of bespectacled ones. He leaned forwards for some kind of hello kiss, but Logan stopped him with a warm hand to his chest and a raised eyebrow. Logan looked at Roman’s lips. “You're bleeding,” he said plainly, turning towards the corner of the room sectioned off by a countertop which they optimistically called the kitchen.

Roman peeked his tongue over his lips and felt a split down the bottom one. "So i am,” he said, equally as plainly (in proportion to their usual levels of exuberance, of course). The ice that had slowly begun to build up in his eyelashes was melting, and nature's own tears dripped down his face. He licked them from where they settled in the corners of his lips.

"Here," Logan said, handing him a damp paper towel, but when Roman reached out to take it, Logan clasped his hands with surprising urgency. "Your knuckles!" He said, looking increasingly concerned as Roman's icy fingers sucked the warmth from his own.

Roman looked down and was almost surprised himself that he hadn't been in some kind of fight, judging by the cracked and shredded skin on his hands.

"You should see the other guy," he chuckled, but Logan gave him a stern look.

"Hand cream and mittens," he said, somewhat absently as he began to look for the aforementioned items. "And for goodness sake get changed, you're soaked through."

"Care to help me with that," Roman smirked as he came up behind Logan and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"Stop stealing my body heat and go!"

Rolling his eyes, Roman grabbed his bag and found one of the bedrooms (it wasn't hard, seeing as the two bedrooms made up half of the rooms in the house).

He rummaged through his rucksack, felt something soft and pulled. A pair of thick pyjama trousers, hoisted out by the ankle, were followed by a pyjama top that, by some cruel twist of fate (or perhaps Roman was just really bad at packing) did not match. Roman glared at the non-matching pyjamas as if it would make one of them change colour.

They did not change colour.

Disgusting.

Huffing and puffing, Roman pulled on the hateful garments, then shivered. Please say I packed a hoodie, he thought as he delved once more into the breach of his rucksack, once more, please easy I packed a hoodie.

His fingers touched something soft and he grabbed it and he pulled.

His bag pulled back.

He pulled harder, grunting with the effort, but his bag held on tight in its cruel game of tug-of-war.

“What’s going on?” Logan asked, standing with his arms folded in the doorway, his tone incredulous.

“This fiendish bag won't yield my hoodie!” Roman glared at the bag for a moment longer before shivering again. “I’m cold,” he said quietly.

“Of course you are,'' Logan sighed, coming forward and, somehow, and with no effort on his part at all, extracted the somewhat stretched hoodie from the bag and threw it gently to Roman.

He missed Roman entirely, so Roman picked it up off of the ground and slipped it over his head, hiding the unmatched pyjamas.

“Come on, you ridiculous human being you, your hot chocolate is getting cold.”

“No! Not the cocoa! You fiend!” Roman addressed winter as a season again, leaving Logan standing in the doorway, a little perplexed, but let's be honest, not surprised to be so.

Roman wanted to drink his hot chocolate then and there (I mean, who wouldn't) but Logan maintained that it could be reheated and stubbornly pushed the lotion into Roman’s hands.

Logan glared until he had put on so much hand cream that his skin stubbornly refused to absorb any more, leaving a slick over his hands that Logan immediately shoved into mittens.

Roman winced at the strange, slimy feeling that that combination induced, but Logan continued to glare, so Roman quietly submitted.

"I've never felt more beautiful," Roman sighed, leaning back across Logan's legs and delicately resting the back of one slimy, mittened hand on his forehead.

"You're always beautiful," Logan said quietly, brushing a strand of hair from Roman's forehead and pretending not to be looking at him as his cheeks turned just a little but pink.

Roman didn't say anything. He thought he would, it seemed like the kind of time that he would, but he didn't.

---------

The rest of the evening was spent on the sofa. Roman finally got his hot chocolate, and Logan listened and nodded as he excitedly went on about some new idea or another, smiling in the right places as he had learned to do, but Roman could see that his eyes were somewhere else.

“What are you thinking about, my darling?”

Logan had a strange expression on his face, part confusion, and then a whole mix of other emotions that Roman couldn't quite make out.

“Why did you walk here?” he finally replied. “Virgil and Patton broke down in almost the same place, but they're waiting for a repair service. Why did you figuratively freeze yourself solid walking four miles through a snowstorm?”

Roman looked up at his lover's face, the harsh edges softened by the glow of the fire, and he genuinely felt his chest seize with the love for that ridiculous nerd that resided there.

“Because I knew that you would be here,” he answered plainly.

Logan let out one of those short, breathy laughs of incredulity and said, “you're a fool. I've fallen in love with a fool.”

---------

As the night crept in and the light faded, Logan read by the flickering light of the fire, as Roman had persisted that they should by no means turn on the lights. (the conversation went something like this:

“But it makes no sens-”

“But the aesTHETIC!”)

Roman began reading, but soon abandoned that in pursuit of just laying with his head in Logan's lap with his eyes closed. It was warm and quiet and Virgil and Patton still hadn't arrived, but apparently the repair person had just arrived and was giving them a lift.

The door opened with its characteristically deafening squeak, and Roman was just about to lift his head to greet his friends when he heard, “sshh! He’s sleeping!”

Feeling nice and sneaky, Roman decided not to pick Logan upon this just yet.

Virgil snickered, Patton squealed, the door closed.

“Don't say a word," Logan muttered dangerously.

"I didn't say anything, dude." Roman could imagine Virgil holding his hands up in surrender with a smirk and hand to pretend to shift in his sleep to hide a grin.

"You two are just so darn adorable!" Although clearly intentionally breathy, Patton’s excited words could barely be called a whisper.

A weight shifted on the sofa and Roman felt a new hand brush some of the hair from his face and tried extra hard to look as asleep as he possibly could. Patton, he was willing to bet. Virgil always preferred to fling his legs over the arms of the armchair across the room.

"He walked halfway here," Logan murmured, sounding fond, but ultimately unimpressed.

“Goodness gracious, the poor thing.”

“Idiot.”

Roman bit his tongue.

“This is gonna be the best Christmas ever!”

“If we don’t freeze to death first.” Roman heard Virgil clamber up from his chair, presumably in search of blankets.

“You gave it your best shot,” Logan muttered, just loud enough for Roman to hear (if he was awake of course). Roman decided that asleep people could still squeeze gently and affirmatively on people's hands, so he did. Logan didn't stop stroking his hair, so he figured that he got away with it.

“Could I have one too please my Spooky Sweetheart?”

“Sure thing. Logan?”

“No thank you, I'm evoking William Harvey at this precise moment.”

Silence.

“William Harvey? Civil War doctor? Bodies for blankets- you know what, never mind.”

Presumably Virgil came back with the (non-corpse, thanks for that image, darling) blankets, and the soft chatter slowly dissolved into gentle, steady breathing of sleep.

Roman suddenly felt a wave of contentment wash over him. Drowsily, he felt around for Logan's hand and brought it close to his face. It was warm. He heard Logan sigh somewhere above him, but felt his fingers gently cup his chin.

Real sleep crept closer and closer, and he knew that when he woke up, Christmas day would be ever so, ever so sweet.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Taglist (tellme if you want to be added or removed):

@celeste-tyrrell @uwillbeefoundtonight @stop-it-anxiety @soakinforsif @combine-the-kitchens @randomavengersquotes

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autisticfangpyreclub · 4 years

Text

Gold stained hands, red stained teeth - chapter 3

sorry this took so long I was feeling kinda lethargic over the past few days but hopefully I’ll get back into the Writing Mood

“One hot cup of cocoa, coming right up!”

Lloyd laughed as Kai dramatically poured the chocolate powder into the mug. He was sitting at the table reading a book on engineering Jay had given him to keep him entertained. Kai was in the kitchen making himself a nutritious breakfast of instant ramen, while also making Lloyd a cup of hot chocolate. Zane would be upset if he saw how much of a mess he was making, but that was future Kai’s problem.

“You gonna be okay here while I’m gone?” Kai asked as he wiped up the milk he had split on the counter. He handed the warm mug to Lloyd, who accepted it graciously.

“Of course, I’ll be very quiet,” Lloyd said, taking a sip of his hot chocolate, “if anyone tries to come in I’ll just turn into a bat and hide.”

Kai took his ramen out of the microwave and poured it into a thermos. “I’m more worried about you getting bored cooped up in here…”

Lloyd raised an eyebrow. “I’m sixteen, I can keep myself entertained.”

Kai sighed, and grabbed his backpack off the coat hanger. “Maybe I should just skip…” he hummed, looking up at the clock that was swiftly ticking towards 11:30.

Lloyd put his mug down and shook his head furiously. “No, I’ll be fine here, don’t miss class because of me.”

Everyone else had already left for morning classes, leaving Kai and Lloyd alone in the dorm room. He only had one class today, but it was two hours long. While he didn’t want to leave Lloyd all by himself, Wu would kill him if he skipped for the third time in a month.

“You sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yes!” Lloyd grabbed a pillow off the couch and tossed it at him, “now get a move on!”

Kai squawked as the pillow hit him in the stomach. “ACK! Okay I’m going!” Kai shielded himself with his backpack, and darted out the door to avoid a barrage of pillow torpedoes.

Lloyd turned back to his book. He didn’t want to admit it, but reading about automobile engineering basics wasn’t exactly the most interesting, especially considering he didn’t even know what an automobile was. He closed the book, and laid his head down on the table.

It’d only been two minutes since Kai left, and he was already bored. It was rather pathetic, he was a centuries old vampire and yet a few hours alone sounded awful to him.

A shrill noise startled him out of his thoughts. It sounded like a distressed animal, and it was coming from outside. He leapt out of his chair, and ran to the kitchen window. He tried to peek through the blinds, but his eyes were burned by the flash of sunlight.

He hissed and drew back. The one thing he was asked to do was not go outside, and Lloyd didn’t want to lose the trust of the few people he knew in this time period. But… the pained cries were only getting louder, and he hated the thought of some poor creature being in trouble. It wouldn’t take more than a minute, surely…?

He grabbed his cape off the coat hanger, and draped it over his head. It wouldn’t completely block the sun, but it would be enough if he was quick. His eyes clenched shut as he opened the door, and stepped out into the daylight.

As he stepped out of the dorm, his attention was immediately drawn to the tree planted at the edge of the parking lot. That was where the noise was coming from. Being careful not to let his cape fly away in the wind, he ran over to the tree.

“Oh no!”

There was a small gray cat sitting high up on a tree branch. It was shivering and meowing sadly, clinging to the branch like its life depended on it.

“Are you stuck?” Lloyd called up to it, “I’ll get you down, don’t worry.”

It blinked it’s emerald green eyes at him, and meowed in response. Climbing the tree with a cape draped over his face would be a difficult task, but luckily for him, he had an easier solution.

Lloyd dropped his cape, and transformed into a bat in a puff of golden sparkles. The cat yowled in alarm, and sped further up the tree. It hissed and swatted at him as he flew up and clung to the branch. He tried to say something to soothe the cat, but all that came out was squeaks.

He gulped at the hungry look in the cat’s eyes. Bats did look an awful lot like flying mice…

The cat lunged toward him with its claws out. Lloyd transformed back in a panic, not thinking about how he was still hanging upside down from the thin branch. He heard a SNAP, and he and the cat were sent hurtling towards the ground.

In the split second before they both hit the hard ground, Lloyd caught the cat in his arms. It mewed softly, and nuzzled against his chest. His head was shaken a bit from the impact, but his powers healed any other injuries faster than he could notice them. He stood up, and held the cat up in the air.

“It’s very rude to eat someone trying to rescue you,” he scolded, “what do you have to say for yourself?”

The cat sneezed, and stuck it’s tongue out. Lloyd giggled and rubbed his face against it’s velvety fur. “Alright, I forgive you.”

“Meowthra!”

Lloyd jumped, and turned to see a woman running towards him. She had silvery gray hair, but she looked like a young adult. She huffed and leaned against the tree.

“Thank goodness, you found her,” she gasped, out of breath, “where was she?!”

Lloyd glanced away awkwardly. This was exactly what he had been afraid of. God, what an idiot he was. Now she was probably going to tell everyone he was here and Kai and the rest of them would get in trouble and it would be all his fault and-

“U-Um…” Lloyd stuttered, “she was stuck in the tree…”

Meowthra squirmed around in his arms. He let her go, and she bounded over to the woman and rubbed against her leg.

“Silly kitty…” the woman sighed, “I’m Pixal, thanks for your help.”

“Oh, um, don’t mention it…” he said quietly, trying to figure out a way to escape the conversation. He couldn’t go back into the dorm, not with Pixal watching. He couldn’t exactly walk off either, at the moment the shade from the tree was the only thing protecting him from the sun. “I’m Lloyd.”

“Are you a student here?” she asked.

“Uh, yes!” Lloyd replied without thinking, then mentally slapped himself.

Pixal scooped up Meowthra, and held her under her arm like a suitcase. “You must be in the drama program, that’s why you're dressed like that right?”

Lloyd looked down at his clothing in confusion, before remembering he was dressed for a totally different time period. “O-Oh, yeah, I was just on my way to class actually-“

He bit his tongue. Great, now he had an even deeper hole to get out of.

“Oh, that’s perfect actually!” she said cheerfully, “do you think you could help me move some boxes into the theatre?”

Lloyd blinked. “Theatre…?”

“The tech crew needs some extra cables, but the guy who was supposed to help me move the boxes bailed on me…” she explained, “and I haven’t even started yet thanks to this little demon,” she glared at Meowthra, who just yawned and twitched her ears.

“U-Uh…” Lloyd realized there was no way he could politely say no without having to say he lied about being on his way to class. Great. Just great. “Of course, it’d be a pleasure!” he said, hoping she wouldn’t notice how much he was sweating.

“Thanks so much!” she turned and walked towards the parking lot, “the boxes are in my car, follow me.”

Lloyd discreetly grabbed his cape off the ground and threw it over his head. He winced as he stepped back into the sunlight, already regretting this decision immensely.

It’d been many years since Morro had stood before the gates of Garmadon castle. Nothing had changed a bit. It looked just as decrepit as it had centuries ago.

“Why is the gate locked?!” Morro snapped, rattling the bars as if he could somehow yank the gate open with his bare hands, “this is ridiculous! What kind of arcane barrier is this?!”

Bansha sharpened her knife against a rock she had picked up off the ground, indifferent to Morro’s tantrum. “Probably because this is a tourist attraction now, I’d guess… and I assume the gate is opened with a button inside that box over there,” she said, pointing her knife towards the ticket booth.

The lady inside the booth was fast asleep in her chair. She had music on loud enough you could hear it blaring from outside the booth, and she had a sleeping mask on.

Bansha clicked her tongue. “Not very good at her job, is sh- HEY!”

Morro snatched the rock out of her hand, and stomped over to the ticket booth. He aimed the rock at the woman’s head, but before he could throw it the woman stirred. She pulled her sleeping mask off, and looked around groggily. “Huh? Is someone there?”

Morro hastily hid the rock behind his back, and cleared his throat. “Open the gate… please.”

The woman turned her music off. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of decay emanating from him, and she tried not to stare at his medieval looking clothing. “You mean you want… a ticket?”

“Yes, a ticket for the gate, because I would like inside,” Morro said stiffly, “please open the gate.”

Behind him, Bansha groaned and rubbed her temples. “Dear god help me…”

She nodded, and leaned down to open the safe tucked between her feet. “I’m surprised we’ve been getting so many visitors lately,” she mused, shuffling through the papers stuffed in the safe, “we rarely get two groups visiting in one month, much less in the same week-“

Morro frowned, his hand brushing against the dagger strapped to his belt. “There were people here before us?”

“Yeah, a couple of college students from NCU,” she explained, stamping two tickets, “they were acting kinda strange when they came out though… fortunately for them I don’t get paid enough to care if they stole anything.”

Morro exchanged a look with Bansha, who pocketed her blade and approached the ticket booth. “And just where is this ‘NCU?’” Morro asked.

“Downtown, just north of that big shopping mall, you can’t miss it really,” she said absentmindedly, sliding the tickets to them. “That’ll be ten fifty please.”

“Uh…” Morro gripped the rock he was still holding tighter, “we don’t have any money, but-“

“Enjoy your day miss,” Bansha cut him off, and pulled Morro away by the arm. The woman watched in confusion as she tugged Morro far enough away that they were out of earshot.

“What was that for?!” Morro sputtered, “must I remind you that I am the one in charge?!”

Bansha eyed the rock he had in his grip. “I feel I must remind you, our queen would prefer if we performed our mission… quietly.”

Morro scowled and tossed the rock aside. “I wasn’t going to kill her… I was just going to give us enough time to open that gate.”

“The castle is obviously no longer a reliable fortress for Lloyd,” Bansha said, crossing her arms, “I believe his new lair is that college she mentioned, NCU.”

“Then what’re we waiting for?” Morro stomped his foot impatiently, “let’s go-“

“Patience, Morro, patience…” she hushed, “do you not remember what I taught you when you were a child?”

“...A good hunter must always wait for the ideal opportunity before striking, I know…” he turned away from her, and stared up at the crumbling towers of the castle. It was poetic almost… a dying castle for a dead family. Soon to be completely dead, that is.

His attention snapped back to Bansha. “I’m not a child anymore, you don’t need to teach me anything,” he grunted.

She let out a raspy chuckle. “Don’t be arrogant, everyone can be taught something.”

Morro watched as she summoned a wisp of blue fire in her hand. She whispered something incomprehensible to it, and it floated out of her hand and disappeared into the forest. “A message for the others,” she told him, wiping the excess blue powder off on her coat.

Magic had always seemed to allude Morro. He had begged the preeminent many times for magic lessons, but she had always said he just didn’t have any potential. His queen always knew best. Still, he was bitter about constantly feeling inferior to his subordinates.

“I’ve been patient enough, let’s go.”

Bansha rolled her eyes as he sauntered back towards the parking lot. She followed behind him, putting an arm out to stop him just in time before he stepped in a large puddle of water.

“Water is our only weakness, remember?” she said in response to his confused expression, “if it touches you, your flesh will melt right off your bones.”

Morro shuddered, and lurched away from the puddle. “A horribly inconvenient weakness…” he murmured.

“Perhaps if you hadn’t failed to kill Lloyd, then we wouldn’t have such a weakness,” Bansha hummed, lifting her skirt so it wouldn’t drag along the wet ground.

“What?”

She stiffened. A brief hint of sadness flickered in her eyes. “It’s nothing,” she said, shaking her head, “let’s get there before it rains again.”

Class went by uneventfully. Kai didn’t pay much attention during Wu’s lecture, his mind was too preoccupied worrying about Lloyd. He didn’t fully realize how much he had spaced out until he looked down at the blank notebook page sitting in front of him. Whoops. He’d just have to ask Skylor for her notes after class.

“Please remember your assignment is due by the end of the month,” Wu announced, “see me if you need any assistance.”

Kai closed his notebook with a sigh. He was way behind on his history paper, he could thank his shitty adhd brain for that. None of the tips he was given on focusing ever helped, so he usually just did all his assignments last minute and prayed his professors wouldn’t notice. To his credit, they usually didn’t.

As he was wading through the mass of students exiting the classroom, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Wu standing behind him. “May I speak to you for a minute Kai?” he asked.

He beckoned Kai over to his desk. “I’ve noticed you’ve been having some trouble on your assignment.”

Kai stuck his hands in his pockets, and gave a half shrug. “Uh… yeah, a little bit, but I’m fine.”

Wu stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Nya told me you all visited Garmadon castle yesterday, yes? How was it?”

“It was… interesting,” he replied, suppressing a laugh. Interesting was a severe understatement, what went down yesterday was straight up fantastical.

“If you have yet to pick a topic for your paper, may I suggest you do some more research on the castle?” Wu said, “I’m quite… knowledgeable on it myself, so I could offer you plenty of help.”

Kai’s eyes lit up. Of course! Lloyd probably knew everything about the castle's history, he wouldn’t even need to do any research. Who needs google when you have a friendly vampire living in your dorm room?

“Yeah, that’s an awesome idea!” Kai cheered, “thanks Wu!” He waved goodbye, and ran out of the classroom.

Wu watched him go with a smile. His eyes drifted to the framed handwritten letter he kept on his desk, the letter he’d received from Misako just before Lloyd’s sixteenth birthday. He held the picture frame in his hands and read the letter aloud.

My dear brother-in-law,

I hope this letter finds you well. We’ve all missed you terribly while you’ve been away, Lloyd especially. He grows more beautiful and darling each year, like a blooming flower in springtime. He’s become such a charming young man. I wish you could be here for this momentous celebration, but I understand your business abroad must come first. Garmadon has planted a tea tree for you in the garden, if that entices you to return sooner. We could all sit and have dinner under the moonlight, just like we did in our youth. I know Lloyd would love that.

Adoringly, Misako.

It was the last letter he’d ever received from them. He’d spent centuries rereading it over and over, torturing himself with it as punishment for being the catalyst in their deaths. A teardrop landed on the glass as his shaking hands clung to the frame.

All these years, and he still wept every time he thought of them. Thought of how his mistake of taking in one child, caused the death of another.

Jay groaned and dropped the box of lightbulbs on the ground. “Y’know, we’d be able to get the lights fixed a lot faster if you actually got off your ass and helped.”

Cryptor didn’t look up from his phone. “Not my problem,” he said curtly.

“But you're the one who made half the lightbulbs in the damn theatre burst!” Jay snapped back at him.

The doors to the theatre slammed open. “Sorry I’m late!” Pixal cried out as she wobbled past Jay, carrying two boxes of various cords and cables in her arms. She set them down, and she leaned against them to catch her breath.

“Meowthra got out again and Cryptor bailed on me, so I almost had to move these all by myself- HEY!” she angrily squinted at Cryptor, “where were you?!”

Cryptor avoided her gaze. “I was… busy.”

“If by busy you mean making half the lightbulbs in the theatre explode, then yeah, you were pretty busy,” Jay scoffed. He grabbed a long cable out of the box, and swung it around like a whip. “I oughta hit you with this!”

“Please don’t,” Pixal chided, “how did that even happen?”

Cryptor shrugged. “Long story.”

The theatre door gently opened. Lloyd stepped tentatively inside, a huge stack of boxes in his arms. “Um, where should I put these-“

He locked eyes with Jay, and froze. Jay stared at him with his mouth agape, the cable he was holding clattered onto the floor.

Pixal gave them both an odd look. “Uh… what’s wrong?”

Jay sputtered, his eyes darting between Pixal and Lloyd. “Lloyd?! Your not supposed to be-“

Lloyd bit his lip and set the boxes down. He could feel his face heating up in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry, I promise I won’t go outside again, please don’t be mad-“

Jay’s eyebrows shot up in alarm. “No no, I’m not mad!” he said quickly, “I was just-“

“Okay, I don’t care about whatever drama is going on here,” Cryptor interrupted, “what I want to know is how the fuck did you carry all those?”

“Cryptor!” Pixal snapped, “don’t be rude! He’s obviously just very strong.”

Jay glared at Cryptor, then grabbed Lloyd’s hand and led him out of the theatre. He scanned the hallway for anyone else, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw they were alone.

“Are you okay?” he asked anxiously, “you didn’t get burned in the sun did you?”

Lloyd shook his head. “No, well, a little bit… but not very much,” he replied, “I’m alright, I promise.”

Concern washed over Jay’s features. “Shit, don’t scare me like that kid… if anyone finds out about you we’re gonna be in big trouble.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Lloyd stammered, “I shouldn’t even be here, I should just go back to the castle-“

“Lloyd!” Jay grabbed him by the shoulders, “look at me.”

He tilted Lloyd’s chin up and brushed a stray lock of hair out of his face. A tear fell down Lloyd’s cheek. “I’m sorry-“

“Stop apologizing, it’s not your fault,” Jay told him, “we’ll figure out a better solution for you soon, don’t worry.”

Lloyd choked back a sob, and nodded. “Okay.”

“Speaking of which,” Jay added, “I think I might’ve found something you might like.”

He pulled out his phone, and showed him the tab he had open. Lloyd squinted as he looked at the screen. “Blood meal…?”

“Yeah! It’s dried blood powder, usually used on plants,” Jay said, pointing to the picture on the website, “I don’t exactly know how you’d eat it, but maybe you could like… add it to a smoothie? Or, I’ve heard that coconut water can be used as a blood substitute, so maybe-“

“I’m sorry, are you two talking about drinking blood?”

Jay whipped his head around to see Pixal standing behind them. She had her hands on her hips and one eyebrow arched. “What is going on here?” she demanded.

He shared a nervous glance with Lloyd, and then chuckled wearily. “Uh… hey Pix… you think you could keep a secret?”

#ninjago #lego ninjago #lloyd garmadon #ninjago lloyd #ninjago jay #ninjago kai #ninjago morro #ninjago wu #ninjago pixal #ninjago cryptor #ninjago au #vampire au #ninjago bansha

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is0gild · 4 years

Text

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 12

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 10,649

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

There was no way.

No. Friggin'. Possible. Way.

Rayne was bonkers. Off her rocker. Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. A couple screws short of a toolbox, a few cards shy of a full deck, and several fries scant of a Happy Meal.

She was just… wrong. She had to be. The very idea was outrageous. Laughable, even. There was just without a doubt and quite simply no way.

No way that Lea had a crush on me, that is.

I mean, come on! All I'd ever done was make a complete bumbling idiot out of myself in front of the guy! I'd kissed him before uttering so much as my very first 'hello' to him, chucked a phone at a wall in front of him for no apparent reason after spouting off nonsensical gibberish, sat on him without even the slightest bit of a heads up or forewarning - which to be fair wasn't really my fault, but still! I could go on and on with this list, but I'd rather not as it was just depressing me at this point.

Had a crush on me? Please, he probably just saw me as a total trainwreck of a human being by now and was merely half curious, half terrified to see what would next be pulled out of the bag of crazy that was me. So no, he absolutely did not have any sort of feelings even remotely resembling… that. Not at all. Not towards me.

...so then why did I now find myself hovering outside the mall, trapped in a heated staring contest with my pale reflection in the glass door as arriving and leaving customers gave me weird looks, the very idea of so much as taking one more single, solitary step over that threshold and into the food court seeming utterly impossible to me?

It'd been a couple days since the now infamous (or so it was in my head, at least) Friday night out. A couple of days which I'd thankfully had off from work, giving me some much needed time to recuperate from all that stressful social activity. By the grace of some benevolent deity up above, not to mention my magnanimous, boundless mercy, Anna still lived. But she hadn't got off without a long, stern, and particularly mind-numbing lecture from me, as well as a promise from her to keep me stocked in a lifetime supply of Triple Chocolate Mallowpuffs by way of recompense. She wasn't completely off the hook yet, but it was a start.

During my downtime, I had given little to no thought to Rayne's musings - aka unhinged ravings of a madwoman. Oh sure, the stray ghost of her words might have flitted across the back of my mind once or twice. But whenever they had, I'd simply banished the silly notion with a soft chuckle and a shake of my head.

Which is why I wasn't quite sure what the big deal was now, out of the blue, here, at the entrance to Dusk Town Center, right before my first shift back since the night at the bar. Why in my brain, her words had cranked up from a barely audible whisper to a full blasting, thundering roar played on loop. Why the idea of facing Lea now just all of a sudden seemed so…

...intimidating.

...ugh, this was stupid.

I was being stupid.

It wasn't like I was some third grader in the schoolyard afraid of catching cooties from a boy. I was an adult, damn it! An adult in the adult world with an adult job leading an adult life! So I could handle any such feelings, or more specifically lack thereof, like a goddamn adult!

He did not have a crush on me.

He did not.

With that, a newfound determination filled me. Eyes hardening, chest puffing up, and shoulders squaring, I grabbed the door handle, yanked it open with more force than necessary and marched into the food court with my head held high.

...followed immediately by flipping a one-eighty, dashing back outside and around a corner to hide, pressing my back against the wall with one hand over my hammering heart.

Well done, champ. A for effort. Did a real bang up job there, eh?

I took a few seconds to regain my composure and fortify my resolve. Then I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, straightening up to my full height once more. Alright, take two. Giving myself a firm, reassuring nod, I walked back inside again.

It was there, seated at a food court table roughly halfway between Pizza Planet and Ice Palace, that the reason for my initial retreat could be spotted. Lea was hunched over what looked to be a textbook of some sort, with papers covered in messy scrawl strewn about every inch of the round dining surface. He was gnawing a pencil between his teeth and agitatedly ruffling his hair as flipped to the next page. I don't know why I had given into my knee-jerk reaction to run from him the second I'd seen him. He was so engrossed in whatever he was working on, I highly doubted he'd even noticed me walk in. And I was strongly suspecting he'd probably continue to fail to notice me if I just strolled straight on past him to the Ice Palace to prepare for the start of my shift.

Which is exactly what I was going to do.

Or at least, that'd been the plan anyway.

But something stopped me. A sort of… stubbornness that abruptly flared up within me. I wanted to settle this right here, right now. Prove once and for all without a doubt that Rayne was in fact a total loon and that he definitely did not see me as anything more than just a friend. I still had a few more minutes before I had to clock in, so now was a good a time as any.

Seizing the opportunity before I could overthink things and lose my nerve, I made a detour and headed straight towards where Lea sat. Arriving at his table, I pulled out the chair across from him and sat down heavily, burdened with great purpose.

Alright. Phase One of the Mission Not A Crush complete. On to Phase Two.

Which was…?

Good question. Was actually... still kind of, sort of trying to figure that one out.

Potentially a greeting of some sort would be a good place to start.

As Lea glanced up and became aware of my presence at last, I began, "H-"

He leapt out of his seat and bolted, knocking several loose papers off the table in his wake.

I blinked.

...see? Not a crush.

Not if he was running away in fear at the very sight of me.

As well he should. I was a very fearsome vision to behold, after all. My mere visage redefined the very essence of horror, did it not? Look upon me and tremble, puny mortals, for I-

"Ow! Hey, quit it already!" a voice that sounded suspiciously like Xion's pulled me from my thoughts.

Turning my head towards where it'd come from, sure enough, there Lea was with the girl in tow. Literally. He was dragging Xion over to the table by one of her ears pinched between his fingers. The two of them pulled up to a stop in front of me, Lea scowling as he released her and she stumbled a few steps forward. With a tiny hiss of pain as she rubbed the abused lobe, she glanced back at him. He simply crossed his arms and started tapping his foot, clearly waiting for something.

Xion looked at me now with a guilty frown, folding her hands together just below her waist and bowing her head. "Please forgive me, Elsa, I am so very, very sorry. Sorry for tricking you-"

Lea cleared his throat.

She hastily tacked on, "-and for conspiring with Anna-"

He did it again, louder this time.

"-and, uh… for manhandling you into my car-"

A third time.

"-and…" she pursed her lips to one side, squinting up in thought, "...and for not driving with the comfort and safety of my passengers in mind-"

Once more, with feeling.

"-and for, ah… providing… less than optimal seating arrangements to you throughout the whole experience?" Xion ventured, glancing back at Lea. He rolled his eyes but gave a shrug, which she seemed to take more or less as a sign of his grudging acceptance. Her eyes then fixed on me once more, "I meant no offense, but sincerely apologize if I embarrassed you or made you feel uncomfortable in any way."

...this… I had not been expecting.

I just stared blankly at her for a second. Then I realized she was patiently awaiting my response. "Oh! Um," I gave a tiny awkward laugh, "that's okay. We're fine. Totally good. Don't, uh… don't even worry about it."

Her face immediately lit up with a relieved smile. "Thanks, you're the sweetest!" Then she gave Lea a dull look. "Satisfied? Can I get back to my job now?"

His eyelids drooped, but he sighed and waved her off. She ran past him, blowing a raspberry in his direction as she went. He plopped back down into his chair at the table, pinching the bridge of his nose as he grumbled, "Kids these days, I swear."

"Thanks," I smiled at him, "that was really very thoughtful, but you didn't have to make her do that. It wasn't necessary."

"Somebody's gotta teach the lil twerp good manners and respect," he leaned back in his chair slightly, scratching a spot behind his ear. "Her parents certainly never did."

Humming a soft, noncommittal noise, I then looked down at the clutter littered across the table. "So what are you up to? What is all this?"

"Decided to take my lunch break to try and unravel the enigma that is," he held the textbook up, showing me the cover, "Intro to Calculus. It's being a real pain in the ass though. Honestly, who needs to know all this crap? Evil math genius super villains, that's who! Shit, I'm just looking to run a lil shanty of an ice cream parlor by the sea, not trying to calculate how to blow up the sun or anything," he tossed his pencil down against the open pages of the book.

I rubbed a knuckle along my lips as I felt them tug up at one corner. "Not math's biggest fan, I take it?"

"Not my strong point, no, but usually I can get by. Unfortunately, I caught some kinda bug a couple weeks back and had to miss a few days of lectures. Asked the teach what I missed, but he's a royal asshole. Just brushed me off, telling me to talk to his TA instead."

"And the TA?"

"Mini asshole in the making," he scoffed, snatching up a small stack of sheets from the table to wave about. "Just handed me his photocopied notes for the days I was out sick and told me to figure it out. They're useless though. I can't read his chicken scratch. A big test is coming up on all of this too that's s'posed to be a huge chunk of our grade, so I really need to wrap my head around this junk."

"Maybe I can help. Let me see." I moved closer, shifting over to the seat beside him. My shoulder brushed against his as I leaned in, spotting a piece of paper sticking out from beneath the textbook on which it looked like he'd been trying to (unsuccessfully) work through some of the chapter's exercise problems. "Derivatives, huh?" I murmured, picking it up to take a closer look. Then I pointed to the first equation, "This one is almost right, you just forgot to conjugate the binomial. It's an easy mistake, anyone could've made it."

"I, uh…" he trailed off. I glanced over at him, realization just now smacking me like a ton of bricks at how close our faces were. Boundaries, Elsa, boundaries! Dropping the paper, I quickly pulled away, spine banging firmly against the back of my seat. Clearing his throat, Lea picked up the sheet and glared down at it, "Damn, I thought I did that!" After a couple seconds of scrutiny, he grabbed his pencil and started furiously erasing his work before jotting in new numbers, his knee jiggling restlessly beneath the table. The scratching of the graphite stilled almost immediately however as he looked over at me, quirking an eyebrow. "...weren't you an Art History major?"

Reaching for my ponytail to self-consciously pluck at a tendril, I said, "Well, yeah, but I'm pretty good with numbers too. You're in luck, Calculus was just about where I called it when it came to college math courses. I mean, I took the class a couple years ago, but a lot of it's still pretty fresh in my brain. I'd be happy to work through more of it with you, but..." I frowned up at the giant clock hanging over the food court entrance. "My shift's about to start."

His eyes followed my gaze and he grimaced. "Crap, I need to punch back in myself." He rose to his feet, slamming the book shut and swiftly gathering all his stuff into one big, crumpled heap. His gaze shifted to glance at me out of his peripheral. "...you working tomorrow?"

I stood as well, tipping my head to one side. "No, but then I'm back on the schedule for the next three days after it. Why?"

"Good, I have it off too." Things more or less together now, he picked the sloppy stack up and tucked it under one arm as he slid the pencil behind one ear. "You think maybe you could help me cram for my exam? Say…" he looked away, rubbing the nape of his neck, "...my place around noon tomorrow?"

My eyes widened a fraction. "Oh! Uh… yes. Sure. Of course! I don't already have plans, so I'd be glad to. What are friends for, after all?"

Note the keyword here: friends. Cuz that's what we were. Period.

The huge smile that broke out across his face now all but blinded me. "Thanks, El, you rock! I owe you big time for this! I'll treat you to an absolute mountain of your favorite ice cream, which is…" he paused, narrowing his eyes for a second before snapping his fingers and pointing at me. "...Goofy Parfait? No, too basic… Double Crunch? Nah, that's not it either. Eh, I'll figure it out sooner or later! I'm closing in, I can feel it!" He started jogging backwards towards the Pizza Planet. "Anyway, you can get my address from Raindrop! S-" He bumped into a plastic chair, stumbled for a bit before catching himself as another paper flew loose. "Heh… meant to do that. See ya tomorrow!" He waved then turned and sprinted off to avoid clocking in late.

I raised my hand, my fingers curling in a tentative wave back, "Yeah… tomorrow…"

So that, apparently, was Phase Two of Mission Not A Crush.

Go to his home and prove it there.

Perfect.

What could possibly go wrong?

A lot.

That was the answer you were looking for.

A lot could go wrong.

Starting with-

"Ahhhhh!" Rayne squealed yet again as she turned the steering wheel, making the car take a right down a side road. "I can't believe my baby's going on her first date! It really is true, they grow up so fast!" she gave a mock sniffle as she reached over to pinch my cheek.

My left eye twitched and I swatted her hand away. It was a mistake telling her. But Lea had told me to get his address from her. And of course the second I'd asked, she had insisted on driving me there. Should have seen that one coming a mile away. I sighed, "I've had dates before. It's kind of hard to wind up engaged without going on a few dates first. Not impossible, mind you, but hard. And it's not a date, I'm just helping him study for a test."

"Mmmhmmm, sure," she gave me a knowing smirk, "and I'll bet you get all dolled up in a new dress like this for all your other not-a-dates."

"Please, I bought this secondhand in a thrift shop for ten dollars, I hardly call that getting dolled up," I rolled my eyes before looking down at myself.

As it turns out, yesterday had been payday. Meaning my first check, hallelujah! I think this officially made me a bonafide adult. And seeing as how my wardrobe was limited to my work clothes, a couple of hand-me-downs from Rayne that she no longer wore, and that one outfit I had, er… shall we say "borrowed" during my whirlwind escape on my wedding day, I had felt some clothes shopping had been in order after I got off shift yesterday. But working at an ice cream shop in the local mall doesn't exactly have you rolling in the big bucks, as one might imagine, so I'd quickly discovered that a used clothing store was a dirt poor girl's best friend.

I'll admit that I had lucked out a bit with the sundress I now wore, given that it'd come from the bargain bin and had even miraculously fit like a glove. It was a pastel blue with tiny, faded white polka dots, its gently billowing skirt falling to just below my knees. Triple spaghetti straps held it up at the shoulders and it had a sweetheart neckline with embroidered, white lace trim. It was high waisted, with ribbon weaving up the front of the bodice segment and a loose bow tied at the small of my back. Paired with my usual ankle boots of course, because really, who had the munny for more than one pair of shoes? Not me, that's for sure! But the best part? Stockings. Blessed, blessed stockings! My legs could die happy now.

So was it a new dress? Yes, but that was more so to do with my distinct lack of other options than anything else. And, okay sure, the thought had crossed my mind that this was the first time Lea would be seeing me not in Ice Palace attire, so of course I'd wanted to look at the very least, erm… presentable? Yes, that was the word. Presentable. Was that a crime now? I think not!

"Well I think you look cute enough to eat!" she declared before waggling her eyebrows at me. "I'm sure that's what Lea will be thinking too."

"Oh my god, Rayne!" I huffed, hiding my face in my hands and slouching down into the car seat.

I don't know a lot about having friends, but I wonder if they're exchangeable. Like, if you can return them to Ye Olde Friend Shoppe and get store credit that can go towards the purchase of a new gal pal, one that's not delusional and won't take sadistic pleasure in teasing you mercilessly. Yeah, that'd be super-duper nice right about now.

"We hath arrived!" I heard her gleefully announce, feeling the vehicle come to a full stop.

I peeked out between my fingers to see we were now parked at the curb beside a long, colorful row of what looked to be duplex apartments. As I lowered my hands completely, Rayne suddenly seized my chin and jerked my face towards her, studying me with eyes squinted. My brow furrowed, "...what are you doing?"

"Hold still." My jaw still trapped within her iron grasp, she reached for her bag in the backseat, hand noisily rummaging inside for a few seconds before pulling out a light brown makeup pencil. "I wanna make those adorable freckles of yours hella pop so that boy really goes all weak in the knees."

"Ugh!" I yanked my chin free and snatched the pencil away from her, rolling down my window and chucking it outside the car.

"Hey! Those aren't free, you know!"

"Tack it onto what I owe for rent," I grumbled as I closed the window again.

"Whatever," she huffed before she started taking off her jacket. "Take this, will you? It's chilly out, I don't want you to get cold."

Unbuckling my seatbelt, I gently pushed the proffered garment away, "I'll be fine. The cold never bothered me anyway, you know that."

She shrugged, tossing it into the back. "Suit yourself, but don't come crying to me when you catch your death out there." I reached for the door handle, but stopped as she said, "Hold it, c'mere." Oi, what now? I slowly turned my head to cock an eyebrow at her. She licked the pad of her thumb and wiped it across my cheek, "You got a lil schmutz."

I couldn't get out of the car fast enough, staggering onto the sidewalk and whipping around to slam the door shut behind me, nostrils flaring as I narrowed my eyes down at her.

She lowered the passenger window again, gracing me with a sly grin. "Have fun on your study date, sweetpea!"

"It's not a-" The engine roared and she cackled as she sped off. I stamped my foot and crossed my arms, lips twisting sourly. "...date."

It wasn't! That was in fact what I'd come here to prove, after all. That there was no crush and this was not a date. She'd see. I'd show her. Then we'd see who got the last laugh. Ha!

As I turned to face the line of apartments, I realized I had no clue which one was supposed to be Lea's. Rayne had never given me a unit number, just told me she knew exactly where it was and would take me there. I would hope that this one coated in a dingy cherry paint that she'd dropped me off directly in front of would be it, but with that girl's sanity track record lately, I couldn't be sure that was a totally safe bet. Still, I had to knock on one of these doors, so this one was as good as any to try first.

Running my hands down my dress to smooth out the nonexistent wrinkles and sweeping my braid forward over one shoulder, I puffed out a slow breath and put one foot forward. Then, after a pause, the other. Then the other. Eventually, I was climbing the three steps that led up to the door and coming to a stop in front of it.

Then I hesitated, gnawing on my lower lip.

Smoothed my dress again.

Fidgeted with my braid some more.

...I was running out of ways to stall.

Inhaling and exhaling once more, I brought my fist up to the door, preparing to initiate Phase Two of Not A Crush. And came to an abrupt halt, my knuckles a hairbreadth's away from the wood.

Because now we came to the second thing to go wrong.

That being me realizing I had absolutely zero idea of how to accomplish Phase Two.

In fact, what the heck was I even doing here? I struggled with regular one-on-one social interactions on any given normal day, even when I didn't have an ulterior motive to worry about on the side. How on earth had I fooled myself into believing I could handle it, this, here, now, while juggling a stupidly self imposed secret mission as well? This was a terrible plan! What the actual frick had I been thinking?! Did I know myself but at all?!

...you know what? I'm leaving. This was already too much and I hadn't even gotten past the friggin' front door yet. Sorry to bail, Lea, but you're a smart lad with a good head on your shoulders. I have the utmost faith in your ability to navigate yourself through the trials and tribulations of Calculus all on our own. Peace, I'm out!

Spinning on my heel, I rushed back down the steps and beelined for the sidewalk. The walk home wouldn't be short. And I hadn't been paying attention on the drive over, so I wasn't even sure which way I should go. But psssh, minor detail. I'd just pick a direction and if it was meant to be, I'd find myself on my own doorstep sooner or later, right? Right. Now this was a plan I could get on board with. This, I could-

"El?"

I froze mid-step with a wince, gritting my teeth.

Fudge.

...should I just make a run for it?

Probably not. Pretty sure he was way faster than me with those freakishly long legs of his.

Putting on a shaky smile, I stiffly turned back around to see that front door now open with Lea standing on the threshold, giving me a quizzical look.

And it was just hitting me now as I looked at him that this wasn't only going to be the first time he was seeing me out of work clothes, but the first time I was seeing him out of his too. He was wearing a long, untucked button up that was a deep purple plaid and sleeveless, with a black tee on underneath and a black, loose hoodie vest that hung open over it. His legs were clad in dark, dark red skinny jeans, accompanied by tall black boots on his feet. His hair had been pulled back into a stylishly messy ponytail with a few spiky bangs poking free and of course he was sporting his usual guyliner. Though was it just my imagination or was there a bit of an extra swoosh to those wings at the corner of his eyes today? Probably just my imagination.

He… cleaned up pretty good.

...I mean, not that I pay attention to stuff like that or anything. Ahem, anyway!

"Where ya going?" He moved one step down the small set of cement stairs, grinning slightly. "You know that's the wrong direction, right? Living room's this way."

"...it is?"

First thing to blurt out of my mouth and we're off to a simply superb start here.

"Oh! Y-yes! Of course it is! I… I knew that! But, ah…" I took a teeny step backwards. "...I forgot something at… at home!"

Yeah, my backbone.

"That's it!" I laughed weakly and there was another shift back of my feet. "So I was just going to, you know…" I jerked both thumbs to the right, "go get it! Then… come straight back. Here. To your place, uh... o-of course!"

He frowned, looking down the street before glancing back at me. "You were gonna walk? Isn't that kinda far? Tell ya what, let me go grab my car keys and I can swing you back by your place real quick."

"No!" I threw up my hands, rapidly shaking my head. Drat. Thwarted. "N-no, that's… that's fine. And you know what? It's... not actually all that important. Really! Turns out I, um… I don't need it after all."

Looks like it was just time for me to grow a spine instead.

"Oh. Okay then, if you're sure," he shrugged before heading back up the steps and walking inside, holding the door open wide for me and smiling big. "Come on in. Mi casa es su casa!"

"Th...thanks," I managed to squeak past the anxiety squeezing my throat, making it hard to get words out. Taking a deep breath, I clenched and unclenched my clammy hands before clasping them together in front of me just below my waist. Then I rallied, if only just barely, and got myself up those stairs and inside, hearing him shut the door behind me.

The room I'd stepped into was open and rather spacious. To the right seemed to be the living room, in the middle of which stood a long coffee table, a couple of armchairs, a well-worn plush blue sofa covered in far too many pillows (all of them mismatched) and a large rug checkered in various shades of red. A giant dark wood entertainment center took up one wall with a large flat screen in the middle. The shelves surrounding it were mostly filled with books and DVDs, but there were a few odds and ends to decorate it as well, such as a couple of red frisbees sporting sinister-faced fireball decals in one cubbie, while in another sat a framed chart of what looked to be the lunar cycle.

To my left was a dinette space with its table already buried underneath a textbook and a mound of papers, and further to the left beyond that lay the kitchen. The two rooms were separated by an island counter wedged between a pair of thick square columns, the one furthest forward having a skinny door in it that was currently closed. Behind the dinner table and further back in the apartment was an open arch leading into a small corridor - more of an alcove, really - with two doors on the back wall and two more at either end of the hall.

"So..." I began as I glanced around, fingers already fiddling with the tip of my braid, "this is your casa?"

"Yup! Let me give you the grand tour." He all but bounced into the sitting area, arms dramatically flourishing in his best Vanna White impersonation. "The living room! Top of the line and comes with all the deluxe amenities you could ever dream of, including a couch as ugly as sin and a rug old enough to be your father!"

I snorted into my fist, biting back a tiny grin as I felt some of my tenseness beginning to fade, if only by a smidge. "Fancy."

"You like that? Well then prepare to have your mind blown." He darted over to the left side of the apartment now, presenting it with another theatrical sweep of his hands. "Dining room! And get this, you're never gonna guess… a kitchen!"

"Wow, dining room and kitchen? Amazing, you really do live in the lap of luxury here. My my, how the other half lives."

"I try not to let it go to my head. And check it out," he moved to the column bearing the small, inset door and pushed it open, revealing cramped shelves full of foodstuffs, "comes complete with itty-bitty pantry space!" It really was tiny. Could Lea even fit in there? Leaving the door open a crack, he then moved into the hallway, smacking a hand to the back door on the left. "My room." He pointed to the door at the right end of the hall, "Bathroom." Then the one at the left end, "Closet."

Nodding, I looked to the only remaining door directly to the right of Lea's bedroom. "And that one?"

He shook his head and waggled an index finger, "Oh-ho no, you don't wanna know what horrors lay beyond that door."

I quirked an eyebrow at that, one corner of my lips twitching upward. "Is that where you hide all the bodies then?"

"How'd you know?" He'd said it with such dead seriousness that for a second there, I started to get nervous. Then he snerked and chuckled, folding his arms beneath his chest as he leaned a shoulder against the inside of the archway. "You really are too easy, ya know that? Nah, that's just where I keep my household Saïx."

My head tilted. "...what's a Saïx?"

"Two for one deal, roomie-brother combo."

"You live with your brother? That sounds nice... not a lot of people do that after highschool."

One of his shoulders bobbed in a half-shrug, "Half-brother if ya wanna get technical, but yeah. We grew up in the foster system and had to put up with a lotta crap. Learned fast the best way to survive was for us to stick together. I guess old habits die hard. But I don't see him all that much anymore actually."

"Oh?" I frowned at that. "Why not?"

"I'm a creature of the sun, he's a child of the moon. Total night owl. His job keeps him up all hours and he sleeps all day. Nowadays I really only see him during breakfast which is his dinner and vice versa."

My eyebrows knit together. "What's he do for a living?"

Another bounce of the shoulder. "Hell if I know. He works remotely, so basically just locks himself up in his room all night glued to his laptop. Rox and Xion sometimes do take a late night though and caffeine up before dropping by to drag his ass outta his hidey-hole n' make sure he gets some fresh air every once in a while. The kiddos are convinced he's a vampire at this point, swear up and down that they've even seen him hiss at sunlight. But I know that's just silly. Totally ridiculous." Here he paused with a smirk. "Cuz he's obviously a werewolf."

A smile tugged at my lips. "Obviously?"

"Yup! All the clues are there." He struck up a finger. "Crazy obsessed with the moon." Up went a second one. "Likes his steak so rare, it's still mooing. Classic sign of lycanthropy." A third digit joined the other two. "And here's the real kicker: dogs? Love him."

"Wow," I laughed softly. "Well then, with such irrefutable proof, hard to argue that logic."

"Thank you," Lea bowed his head. Then he pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the dining table, pulling out a chair for me. "On that note, shall we?"

I nodded, taking the offered seat and reaching for one of the pages of notes. "Sounds good. Let's get to it."

"Bueno Volcano?"

I glanced up from the open textbook before me, blinking once at Lea before my eyelids drooped. "No, I do not believe the derivative of F evaluated at X as H approaches zero is… Bueno Volcano."

Another one of our flavors of ice cream, as you might've already guessed.

He was staring at me with a completely straight face while wearing his pencil like a moustache. Removing it with a gentle harrumph, he leaned his chair back onto its hind legs, "C'mon, El, we've been at this for hours now. I need a study break."

I sighed through my nose, inserting a worksheet into the book to save the spot before shutting it. "Fine." I was kind of getting stiff from sitting still for so long. Stretching one arm over my head and arching my back to work some of the kinks out of my muscles, I asked, "So, Bueno Volcano… final answer?"

Lea's seat wobbled precariously and he had to grab the table to keep from falling over. Ruffling his hair with a sheepish laugh, he then visibly mulled for a second before shaking his head, "Nah. Spicy veggie ice cream is just weird. No one's into that junk."

"You'd be surprised," I hummed a chuckle, planting an elbow on a small stack of papers and resting my cheek in my palm. "You're running out of options. You sure you haven't guessed it already?"

"Positive. I'm getting warmer though. It's on the tip of my tongue now, I can practically taste it!"

I raised a brow at him. "So what's it taste like?"

He slapped a hand down to the table with a smile, declaring, "Victory!"

"...I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with that flavor," I deadpanned.

"Bah, don't get cute, you know what I meant," he bopped my forehead with his pencil and I flicked it away. Then he tapped it to his chin as he eyed me thoughtfully. "...so why Art History?"

Um…? Where had that come from? Besides out of left field, that is. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged, twirling the pencil between his fingers now. "Just something I've been curious about… why pick that as your major? Why stick with it until you graduated if you weren't feeling it? Why even start it in the first place?"

"I, uh…" I averted my gaze, hands rushing up to toy with my braid. Answering those questions would involve bringing up my parents. And that was a whole other can of worms that I wasn't sure I was particularly ready to pop open just yet.

"Ooo, I'm sensing another secret." Grinning, he scooched his chair over closer to me now, bumping his knee into mine. "Don't worry, I know information isn't free. So how 'bout another trade? Tit for tat. Quid pro quo. One o' mine for one o' yours. I'll start." Then he was lifting up his shirts.

And I, in turn, was turning beet red and slapping a hand over my eyes.

Jeez, this guy did not know how to keep his top on!

"I've had stitches!"

...oh.

My fingers tentatively parted and I saw that he'd only raised the layers of fabric by a few inches, revealing a jagged scar wrapped around his side just above his right hip, big and gnarly, but also old and long since healed. I was kind of amazed I hadn't noticed it the first time he was shirtless in front of me. Then again, he had been drenched in ice cream at the time which had most likely covered it, and I had been a little preoccupied with spazzing out and using my hat as a makeshift censor bar.

"What happened?" I breathed, lowering my hand.

"Saïx happened." I gaped up at him and he released the hems, letting them fall back into place as he batted a hand, "It was an accident. We were only kids at the time. But turns out a chainsaw? Not a toy."

I spluttered, "A ch-chainsaw?!"

"Pssh, it's no big deal, was only a lil one. It'd have to be for an eight year old to be able to lift it after all," he brushed off with a snerk.

Fixing him with a flat look, I muttered, "You and I have two very different definitions of 'no big deal.'"

"Trust me, it looks a lot worse than it actually was. Poor Saïx though, he thought he'd killed me and the little dweeb couldn't stop bawling his eyes out at the hospital. I think he cried more than I did that day, which is funny cuz I was always the bigger crybaby of the two of us." Lea smiled as he relaxed back into his chair a bit, interlocking his fingers behind his head, "Yeah, we were one screwed up pair o' brats. It's no wonder no family ever wanted to keep us monsters, we were a handful to say the least." Then he nudged my shoe with the toe of his boot, "Alright, your turn now."

I glanced away, pursing my lips to one side. Then I locked my gaze back on his with a tiny smirk. "I've shoplifted."

His eyes widened and his head rocked back a bit as he blinked at me a couple times. Then he was narrowing his gaze, "Okay, one, no fair, you know what info I wanted."

I let my shoulders rise and fall, "You just said a secret for a secret. Never specified I had to answer your earlier question."

The rolling of his eyes was his only retort to that before moving on, "Two... you? Shoplift?" He gave a snort. "Does not compute. What was it even, a stick of gum? Some change from the Take-A-Munny-Leave-A-Munny tray?"

I lifted my chin a hair and inspected my nails, feeling a bit too pleased with myself. He'd thought he'd had me pegged. Well, I'd shown him. There's more to me than meets the eye, bucko. "Some clothes. These shoes," I slightly lifted one of my feet, presenting the left ankle boot. Then I paused for dramatic effect. "...a phonebook."

"A…?" he gave me a blank look for half a second. Then he burst out laughing, throwing up his hands, "Look out, we got ourselves a badass here! Behind that sweet, innocent face lurks the sinister mind a hardened criminal and cunning master thief! Best be careful or she'll come for your sticky notes and wall-hanging calendars next. Pfffft, a phonebook. Why? Just… why?"

Crossing my arms, I gave a derisive sniff. "I had my reasons."

Now he cocked his head to to the left, a sly curl twisting his lips. His interest had been piqued. He looked down, studying my shoes with a low hum. "...those still look kinda new. So your lil foray into the world of the five-finger discount had to of been pretty recent. I'd say… maybe a month ago, two tops."

I stiffened.

Oh no, I'd said too much.

I hastily pulled my feet back under my seat, as if to hide any further evidence he might gleen from them. "Speculate all you want, you're not getting anything else out of me."

"Oh, I see how it is. Tough nut to crack, eh?" His eyes crinkled as he leaned in closer to me, propping his elbows on his knees and tucking one arm behind the other. "Am I gonna have to go all good cop, bad cop on you now?"

...okay, cheeks, what's the deal here? I know you're still on red alert from the false alarm with the shirt earlier, but come on, this was nothing to be stoking the coals over! I cleared my throat, turning my head to one side, "No, it's just… that's a whole other secret, is all."

Lea straightened up in his seat, both eyebrows reaching for his hairline. "You mean you want another one outta me?" He shook his head with a grin, rising to his feet now. "Damn, El, you drive a hard bargain. I need to rack my brain to come up with something else good for ya. I'm gonna grab a soda while I'm at it." He winced as he made his way over to the kitchen, "...and I'm just now realizing I've been a totally crap host this whole time. Did you want anything to drink?"

"Just a water, please?" I asked, soon hearing him clinking cups around followed by the sound of a running faucet. I looked down at my lap, tucking in my lower lip as my fingers tangled into the tuft of my braid. I don't know why I was still thinking about it. I'd successfully sidestepped the question and he'd let me off the hook without me giving any sort of explanation for now. And yet, it still lingered at the back of my brain… prickling, needling, until-

"It's because I was a coward." The words were out before I'd even realized it.

He looked up, blinking at me from across the island counter. "Pardon?"

"...why Art History," I clarified softly, my hands going to my lap now to clench slightly at the fabric of my dress. "Because I was a coward, too afraid to go against my parents' wishes. They… said it would be necessary in order to make me more refined and cultured for my eventual role as… as a wife to any potential future husband I may have had. And I just… It seemed… easier just to go along with what they wanted."

"Woah," I heard him approaching again and watched out of the corner of my eye as a glass of water was set down at the table beside me. He retook his seat, a can of Kupo-Kola now in hand, "Remind me again, what era we living in? Coulda sworn we'd left the Dark Ages behind a few centuries ago." My gaze rose to meet his, a wilted attempt at a smile tugging my lips. He cracked the can open with a satisfying fizz before taking a sip. "So then, what did you want?"

I frowned. "What did I…?"

"Say you'd flipped your folks the bird and done your own thing. What would you have majored in instead? If you'd even major in anything at all. Just… what did you want?"

My brow furrowed as I processed for a few heartbeats. "...I'm not sure, actually. Guess I never really thought about it." Then again, no one had ever really asked before. Not even me to myself.

He huffed out a laugh through his nose. "Sure ya have. Everyone has interests, dreams... and hey, you were a kid once. What did you wanna be when you grew up?"

"I…" Trailing off, I squinted towards the ceiling as if I'd somehow find what I was seeking somewhere up there. Unfortunately, no magical, clear-cut ceiling answers divining the secrets to my soul revealed themselves unto me. Drat.

What were my dreams and interests? Did I ever even have any? How pathetic was it that I had to ask myself that? That said however, my mind did strangely keep circling back around to that conversation I'd had with Rayne a few nights ago. I began slowly, "When I was younger, I… did like taking part in musicals. Nothing huge, mind you, just for school and summer camp, things like that."

"That's still something though!" he nodded, face lighting up as he took another swig before putting the soda down. "And didn't I tell ya you should get into singing?"

Eyelids drooping, I gave a tiny scoff. "It's nothing, just a stupid, childish fantasy. My parents were quick to squash any such silly notions as I grew older, saying no daughter of theirs was going to be a failed singer or two-bit actor who never made it. It's not a job that's suitable for-"

"But whoever said anything about turning it into a job?" he cut me off, tipping his head to one side. "I mean yeah, that's one option, but it could also just be a hobby. You know, for fun. You could take a class or something, just to check it out... they offer drama courses at my university. Oh, and I know a couple people from the local community theater, I could check with them for you! Why not give it a shot?"

I grimaced, one hand shifting to rub my elbow. "I don't know…" Being on a stage again, performing in front of an audience, just... all those people… the mere thought already had me feeling the chill of anxiety clawing its way up into my chest.

"Look, I'll talk to those theatre friends of mine and also get you a catalog for next semester's courses. No pressure, but just so you have the information, ya know, in case you get curious," he smiled.

...I guess it wouldn't hurt... And I had to admit, a teeny part of me was drawn to the idea. However, a much bigger part of me shriveled up in dread and made my stomach churn and knot up. "...thanks, but I don't think that's really-"

The loud, groaning creak of a door opening suddenly pierced the air. Lea paled as his head snapped over to the left towards the hallway, his eyes going round. Then he facepalmed and hissed out through grit teeth, "Fucking hell, not today!"

Puzzled at his reaction, I started to follow his gaze, "What are you-?"

His hand abruptly grabbed mine, immediately drawing my attention back to him as he whispered urgently, "Don't move. Don't even breathe."

What the…?

Despite my rising confusion, I did as I was told. I heard a slow thud, thud, thud of footsteps approaching, felt movement behind me as something brushed passed and kept lumbering along. Was that… Saïx? If so, why then did it feel like we were reenacting a scene from a Jurassic Park movie with him the T-Rex and we the scared humans trying to hide in plain sight by going stock-still? I heard the steady footfall muffle now, presumably by the living room rug which is where it'd sounded like he'd been heading. Lea relaxed a little and I took it as a sign for me to do the same, now tentatively turning in my seat to glance over my shoulder.

Across the room stood a man with his back to us. He was tall, but I think Lea still may have had him beat by an inch or two. Long blue hair fell down well past his shoulder blades, bangs a chaotic mess on top - most likely bedhead if, like Lea suggested, the guy had been sleeping all day. A black tank top hugged his torso with grey camo sweatpants beneath it and feet bare. He'd come to a stop directly in front of the far wall and was now just… staring at it.

Knitting my eyebrows together, I whispered, "What's he doing?"

Still keeping his voice down as well, Lea said, "Sleepwalking. Something he's done all his life, but it's been months since the last episode, so I was hoping we'd be in the clear today."

"Oh." I cocked my head. "...shouldn't we wake him?"

"No," he said quickly and with as much emphasis as he could muster in his hushed tone. "He goes totally berserk if you do. Believe me, it is not pretty. Best just to stay out of his way and let him do his thing. He usually only wanders about for a few minutes before he heads back to his bed. Just-"

He hastily cut himself off as Saïx chose that second to whip around and face us. His eyes were closed and between them, a faded scar in the shape of an X slashed across the bridge of his nose. Lea's hand still on mine, I felt his grip tighten as Saïx started ambling in our direction. "Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it," I barely heard Lea chanting under his breath, watching Saïx like a hawk as he drew ever nearer.

He came to a lurching halt once more, this time next to the dining chair across the table from us. Lea scowled at him, muttering, "You're gonna do it, aren't you, you slumbering jackass? You're gonna play musical goddamn chairs." As if on cue, Saïx pulled out the seat and sat down. Watching him, it was almost eerie the way he seemed to look directly at us even though his eyes remained shut the whole time. A second later, he was rising again and moving counterclockwise towards the next chair closer to me. As he plopped down once more, Lea growled, "Damn it, of course. Of. Fucking. Course you are, you big, dumb, sleep deprived- shit, move!"

Lea leapt to his feet, yanking me up and out of my chair with him just as Saïx was about to yet again take a seat, this time on top of me. Lea backed up a few steps towards the kitchen island, me still in tow and our fingers now interlaced, his other hand miming pulling a zipper over his lips to me while his unblinking gaze never left his brother. A few seconds ticked by before Saïx was up and on the move again, his knee banging into Lea's chair, making the redhead cringe slightly. However, this only seemed to give Saïx pause for a beat before it too was sat upon.

I felt a tug on my arm and Lea started pulling me along, gingerly sidling over to circle the table in an attempt to put it between us and Saïx as we watched him stand back up and move onto the next seat. Then the next. And the next. He did this a few more times, with us all the while continuing to sneak around so as to stay opposite of him. At last, he seemed to lose interest in the dining area, turning his back to it and making his way into the kitchen.

Lea's eyes darted over to his bedroom door. Then to where Saïx had disappeared behind a column. Then back and forth a few more times. Then he murmured, "C'mon. My room. He always stays outta there."

I reached for the textbook with my free hand, "Just give me a sec to-"

"No time, leave it!" he hissed, making a run for it, giving me little choice but to stumble after him or be dragged. We were almost there, his door was just a few more feet away, but then-

"Motherfu-" Lea quietly choked out as Saïx reemerged from the kitchen directly into our path. Immediately putting on the brakes, his feet scrabbled and skidded until he had shifted into reverse and backed up against the square column at the end of the kitchen island, yanking me backwards with him. He flattened himself against the surface and I did the same as Saïx shambled by hardly centimeters in front of us. Saïx then came to a stop once more, this time taking up post in the small corridor right smack dab in front of Lea's room.

Lea released a barely audible sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. Then, still maintaining a whisper, "Bad Saïx! Bad!" He flicked his hand in his roomie's direction a couple times, "Shoo! Shoo!"

Saïx, seemingly unperturbed, didn't budge.

...this had to be… without a doubt, hands down… the weirdest social visit I'd ever been to.

Another minute passed of Lea unsuccessfully trying to persuade Saïx to get lost. Finally however, he did decide to move… straight towards us.

"Crap." Still leading me by the hand, Lea bolted around the corner and back into the dinette. The table, the chairs, the island, everything blurred past us. It was all happening so fast and before I knew it, Lea was jerking me into a hiding spot with him. And where, one might wonder, might that be?

Do the words 'itty bitty pantry space' ring any bells?

This, at least, solved one mystery. Lea could, in fact, fit in here. Not only that, there was even enough space left over for one (1) awkward Elsa to go in there with him. It was however, hrm... a rather tight squeeze, to say the least.

"This door opening in is really shit design," Lea grumbled, back pressed against said door and unable to close it as there was, quite simply, not enough room to do so. Not with us in the way anyhow.

He'd released my hand by now and I currently stood opposite him, my own spine uncomfortably pressing into the shelves of canned goods behind me. The gap between us was virtually non-existent to the point where every breath I took had my chest brushing up against his. Of course, that cinnamon scent of his that I was becoming oh so familiar with at this point was present and accounted for, invading my senses. And was it just me or was it getting a bit on the warm side in here? Poor ventilation. That had to be it. Yup.

I had no idea where to look. His face? Out of the question! Not in here, not this up close and personal, nope, nu-uh! I'd just have to settle for what was right in front of my nose.

Why good day, Mr Man Boob! We really have to stop meeting like this. Still looking as stately as ever, I see… wait! Oh gosh! What am I doing? I can't be staring at his frigging man boobs! That's just… just so unseemly! ...or is it? Is it technically okay for me to get an eyeful of man boob? If so, well that's a bit of a double standard now, isn't it? Better to be on the safe side and shift over to your charming neighbor here.

Hello there, Mr Bicep! Looking real good, real fit… have you been working out? Well whatever it is, it's doing wonders because let me tell you, you look nice enough to-

...ahem, readjusting focus once again, now landing on, um... Mr Collarbone! Yeah, Mr Collarbone here seemed innocent and harmless enough.

I think.

Clearing my throat, I asked, "So… he doesn't ever come in here during one of his episodes, right?"

"Never." I heard some shifting that I think was his head turning to look out the door, where there had yet to be any further movement. "...almost never."

"...how reassuring."

And silence reigned once again. This was so uncomfortable. I was dying. Come on, Elsa, say something else! Anything to break the stifling awkwardness! Say something… something nice! Yeah, like a compliment! Tell him… what a lovely home he has! No, too generic. Comment on the… smallness of his food closet! No no, jeez, that wasn't even a compliment. Point out the… stateliness of his man boobs! …oh dear god, no! Dang it, Elsa, why are you so bad at this?!

"So, uh... what's a nice girl like you doing in a pantry like this?"

I blinked. Then, somehow, I finally found the courage to look up at him. He said nothing else, just gave me a tiny half-grin and a wink. And just like that, all that tension inside me cracked, shattered, and started to melt. Slowly but surely, a smile stretched at my lips and I gave a soft snort.

How did he do it? How did Lea always seem to know just what to say to put me at ease?

Shaking my head, I murmured, "I bet you use that line on all the ladies."

He hummed a low chuckle and made no other reply, just continued to stare down the few inches that separated us. Gosh, his eyes really were just the most beautiful shade of green, weren't they? Out of the corner of my peripheral, I saw his hand slowly rising until it hovered just beside my cheek. There he paused… hesitated… and then-

Clunk!

A sudden noise from outside and his hand had seized my shoulder tightly while his other shot up, pressing an index finger to his lips. I nodded and we both peered out into the dining room, waiting. We heard Saïx before we saw him, that very distinctive thud, thud, thud of his footsteps drawing nearer. Then he plodded into view, pulling to a stop right outside the doorway and just stood there. Neither of us moved a muscle, remaining frozen like statues and holding our breaths as we watched and silently prayed.

After what felt like an eternity but in reality was probably only ten seconds, he started walking again, lumbering off out of our line of sight. We both exhaled and slumped, listening to his footfall fade. Then there was the blessed sound of a door creaking open followed by it clicking shut.

"Is that it?" I asked hopefully, voice still a whisper.

"Should be." He cautiously poked his head out to look around. "I mean, sometimes he gets crafty for a sleeping dude and will just open and close doors without going through them, but it's rare."

Good enough for me! I slipped out of the pantry and crossed the dinette, coming to a halt next to the sofa where I started to stretch a bit. Ahh, taste that sweet, sweet air of freedom! Whew, I had been starting to get a bit claustrophobic in-

"Look out!"

At Lea's warning, I spun around. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the apartment, there Saïx was again, heading straight for me!

And I, being the total dummy that I am, decided to pick the absolute worst time (aka now) to have a total deer in the headlights moment. My body was just not responding. Hello, legs? Anyone home? Now would be a really great time to jump out of the way! ...huh. No reply. Feet? Come in, feet, old buddies old pals! Saïx's getting real close here so if you could just, ya know, get a move on, that'd be swell! ...radio silence from that corner too. Well shoot, I thought as I squeezed my eyes shut, I guess this was it. The end of the road. The final curtains. Goodbye, cruel world. So long, and thanks for all the-

An abrupt force suddenly barreled into me from the side, pushing me out of Saïx's path at the last second and sending me tumbling over the arm of the couch where my back hit the seat cushions, decorative pillows flying everywhere. As my brain scrambled to catch up, I gradually became aware of the fact that there was a large weight on top of me, pinning me down. Warily, I peeked one eye open. Then the other. Then I blinked once. Twice. Then my face erupted into an inferno.

Because that weight on top of me? I'd figured out what it was. Or rather, who it was.

Lea.

He must have thrown himself at me, knocking us both out of the way of danger and onto the sofa. And thus why he could now be found hovering over me, his hands on my wrists, holding them down to either side of my head as he propped himself up, his hips resting between my legs. His head was currently turned to the left as he watched over the backrest of the couch, probably tracking Saïx's movements. So engrossed was he in this that I don't think he was aware of the rather compromising position we were in right now.

Unlike me, who was very, very aware.

I just stared up at him, unable to move, unable to think. My face grew hotter and hotter by the minute as my heart thundered in my ears. My breath hitched and my mouth grew dry. But the weird part? I… wasn't panicking. Oh sure, all the classic signs of panic were there, but that wasn't it. That wasn't what I was feeling. What was it then? This strange, alien emotion I felt invading my chest as I gazed up at him, making me feel all…

...kind of, sort of warm and fuzzy?

...wait.

This wasn't-

I wasn't-

Dear lord, it couldn't be I-

"There!" Lea puffed out a sigh, his shoulders sagging in relief. "I actually saw him go back into his room just now, so we should be safe for real this time. Sorry 'bout all th-" The words died in his throat as now, at long last, he looked down at me. And you could all but hear the click in his brain. He froze, eyes wide. There was a long stretch where neither of us said or did anything. Then abruptly, "Shit, s-sorry!" He quickly released my wrists, shooting up onto his knees and hastily crossing his arms, jamming his hands into his armpits. "I didn't mean to- That is, I- This was just- This isn't how it-"

In his rush to stand, he slipped and fell off the couch, banging his head against the coffee table. I gasped, sitting up and reaching for him, "Are you okay?"

In a flash he was back on his feet, rubbing the fresh sore spot and blurting out, "Yup, no, I'm good! Just dandy! Just a small concussion, no biggie, nothing a bandaid or-" once again, the coffee table got the better of him and he stumbled backwards over it. He managed to catch himself however and chuckled weakly, "Heh… who put that stupid thing there? Anyway, I'll just go, uh, get myself patched up... in the bathroom! Yeah, be right back!" And with that, he practically blurred across the apartment and straight into the restroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

...well then.

I think that answered that.

Mission Not A Crush.

Because I think we can all agree now that Lea clearly and quite obviously…

...did not have a crush on me.

I mean, come on, did you see the guy? He couldn't get away from me fast enough! All but tripping over himself to put as much distance between the two of us as he could. Probably desperate not to give me the wrong idea. Well message received, loud and clear.

However, this did complicate things a bit now though.

Because even though he didn't have a crush on me…

...I was now pretty sure I had a crush on him.

Author's Notes: Ahhh, this chapter… in which it's probably never been made more clear how really bad Elsa is at reading social cues from others xD Also, always love me a good ol' "hey, look, we're trapped in a tiny cramped space together" scene, that's my crack yo :3 But on another note, now Elsa's gone and done it… she caught feelings, the lil fool! Something she's never had to deal with before, so this should be fun xD Minor Fun Fact: Saïx's middle name in this is Isa, just like how Lea is technically our redhead's middle name as well. But unlike Lea, Saïx actually likes his first name so that's what he goes by. And we'll have a real appearance from Saïx in later chapters, not just sleepwalking zombie Saïx xP Another Minor Fun Fact: the stuff about the chainsaw was supposed to be a reference to Saïx's claymore from the video games - chainsaw is just the closest thing I could come up with xD And for those unfamiliar with this bit from the manga, there's a point where Saïx attacks Axel with his claymore and leaves him wounded right where Lea's scar is in this chapter, so another teeny lil reference, weeeee! Another ANOTHER Minor Fun Fact: Lea's outfit, if you didn't recognize it, was based on his outfit at the end of KH3! Elsa's outfit… was not based on anything, it just sounded like something I thought she'd look cute in xD Also this chapter marks the start of me regretting a little bit making this story only Elsa's POV. I mean, how fun would it be to write all the things going through Lea's head right about now? xD Alas, I'll just have to leave that up to your imaginations, dear readers!

Next chapter, what will Elsa do with these new fledgling emotions of hers? Is it really a crush? Or is she simply confused in all the whirlwind of excitement that just happened? Will Lea ever pass his exam? COULD the derivative of F evaluated at X as H approaches zero actually BE Bueno Volcano? Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

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f0xwrite · 4 years

Note

for the stricklake prompts - hot cocoa date downtown?

Barbara bundled herself against a heavy breeze coming in off the mountains, scarf flowing like a blue banner behind her steps. The morning radio had warned of a rare “Canadian Clipper” that was to drift from the Pacific into Arcadia Oaks, and as predicted, the temperature had dropped from balmy to bracing within the span of hours. Despite donning a coat, she found herself shivering against the sudden chill, closing her eyes until the blast ran its course. Walter, at first, had prompted that they stay indoors at their usual cafe, but the small space and crowded line dissuaded the notion. With barely over an hour before her shift, there had been no time to wait.

“I’ve another old haunt around the corner,” He’d suggested, green eyes glimmering like snow-frosted blades of grass. “They’re not so good at tea, but they’ve hot chocolate like you’ve never known. It’s just a shack, however. No seating.”

Trepidation loomed in his voice as he eyed her reddened nose and cheeks, but it had been a week wince they’d last seen each other, and she was going to be damned before she let the weather get in the way of their tea date.

“Lead the way,” she hooked an arm around his elbow, smiling when his chest puffed as they walked along the sidewalk.

Minutes later, the doctor watched his long legs stride away from the serving window, feet pointed in her direction as he rolled his steps to ensure that no liquid spilled over the edges of the two paper beverage cups he held aloft. Two matching blobs of whipped cream jiggled over the tops, trying earnestly to stay in place.

“So,” he sat down on the edge of the bench, gingerly handing her one of the cups. “Are you ready to try the finest cup of cocoa this side of the Atlantic.”

“Oh, c’mon,” she chortled, “It can’t be that good.

“I’m serious.” He admonished. “The Blackbird Cafe has been in business for some time, and they’ve perfected the art. They use powdered chocolate, not cocoa, and it makes a world of difference.” His voice lingered richly on his words, dipping just so. “You’ll notice the homemade marshmallow cream on top. “It’s an absolute delight.”

“Alright, well. If you’re wrong, you owe me a bubble bath later.”

The sudden thought of her nude form peeking out from beneath the waterline sent all manner of thrills.

“In that case, you’re going to hate it,” he amended.

An elbow to his rib-cage found him chortling alongside her, revelling in a moment that was so very far removed from his other life—his true life.

“Okay, okay.” She said, trying to suppress giggles as her lips journeyed towards the rim.

“Do take care.” Walter warned from her periphery. “It’s quite hot.”

“You or the cocoa?

“Hmm?” he intoned, half-distracted with his own cup before he caught the coyness in her eyes.

She made a sizzling “Tcssssh ” sound as she pressed a finger to his forearm.

“That was awful, Barbara”

“Woo,” she sucked her finger, feigning pain, “I might have to check into the burn unit when I get to work.”

“You’ll have to have a proper sizzle, first.”

“Oh, will I?” She raised a brow, to which he laughed.

Revenge came with the glint in his eyes, and the tilt of a challenging smirk.

She merely sipped her chocolate, tongue darting out to catch any lingering cream. “Mmmmmm,” she intoned, voice lingering richly on the note, to which he nearly dropped his cup. When their eyes met again, his pupils were blown.

“Well,” he cleared his throat, attempting nonchalance, “how does it rate?”

“Barring any sentimental attachment I have towards Jim’s recipe? Pretty darn good. It’s not tooth-achingly sweet, and the marshmallowis amazing. We’ve always used the store bought puffs.”

“Those have their place. You can’t exactly roast this off of a bonfire.” He sipped his cocoa, and then smiled down at her. “Do you know I once ate an entire bag?”

“No way, Mr. Fancy-pants.” She shook her head, leaning her shoulder against his. “Next you’re going to tell me you eat frosted cereal.”

It was all sport.” he carried on, “part of a pep rally. What they didn’t know was that I was part t-” Confound it! “Uh—troglodyte.”

She raised a brow, “Err, well I bet Jim would have laughed his socks off at that one.”

“He did. It was during his first year. I believe I gained his respect that day.”

With the words, his face went sour, memories surfacing of that troubled creature near the edge of his classroom, scrawny and unnaturally kind. Those days, he’s wanted so badly to levy the child’s worries, and had even taken a proactive role in filling the gaps a deadbeat father had left. Now, in the end, Atlas only carried more weight.

“Hey,” her voice cut through him. A small hand found his shoulder. “We’ll get there again, okay?”

Finding the hand, he brought it to his lips.

“Let’s hope, love.”

A strand of silence found them smiling at each other. She sat back and nursed her drink.

“This is definitely taking the edge off the chill,” she said, just as the frigid fingers of a draft swept by. She curled into herself, trying with one hand to tug length out of a scarf that had already reached its maximum amount of wraps while balancing her cup with the other. ”Okay, I spoke too soon,” a hand shoved itself into her armpit. “How is it you’re only wearing one jacket?”

“A cold heart doesn’t require much heat.”

“Walt, seriously,” she narrowed her gaze, the doctor shining through. “You’re going to freeze.”

He pecked her on the cheek. “You’ve been in California too long, darling.”

“Walter” Her pout sparked laughter, and he suppressed the urge to kiss the wrinkles it made around her nose.

“Here,” he spread one side of his jacket open, wrapping both it and his arm around her. The proof was in the pudding. “You’ll find that I am plenty warm.”

“What are you, part furnace?” Her arm came around his waist, sending shivers up his spine. They amused themselves with watching the passers-by, as well as a stray blackbird that seemed intent on chirping at them from the ground.

“We must be near her nest.” Barbara yawned languidly from somewhere near his armpit when it wouldn’t be shooed away. It fluttered off for a moment, only to return to lay a berry at her feet. Two more rounds saw a stick and a feather joining the display, before it resumed its chirping.

“Strange,” Walter tried again to shoo the creature with his foot, reluctant to move from their cozy roost.

“I see where the cafe gets its name,” she said as her own foot joined his. “Go on, birdie,” Again, it flew off; this time not to return.

“All creatures listen to you.” His voice was low, speculative.

“Except teenagers.” The feeling of her forehead nuzzling against his chest sent sparks. Lazily, she sat up and downed the dredges of her cocoa. Then, grabbing his wrist, she checked his watch. “Ugh, I thought so.”

“Never enough time,” he admonished.

She puffed her cheeks in frustration, but then looked up at him, eyes alight with the spark of some thought.

“Hey,” she pointed to her upper lip, “You have some marshmallow.”

His tongue darted out to save the day. “Gone?”

“Not yet,” she bit her lip.

Next, his sleeve had a go. “What about now?”

Her red hair shook. “Here, let me.” Without warning she slid her mouth against his.

The changeling’s moan of surprise melted quickly into delight. A blast of air swept past, whipping her red locks out of their moorings to mix with his salt-and-pepper strands. It drew them closer, and he grasped her jaw to deepen the kiss.

Without checking her handiwork, she withdrew and smiled. “Got it.”

He huffed in exasperation, though his traitor mouth tugged upward. “Was there even anything there in the first place?”

“Was there?” She raised her brow coquettishly.

“What a rascal.”

“You like it.”

“I do.”

She laughed, bell-like, as he brushed his nose against hers. Settling in to steal another kiss.

Click, came a sound from somewhere close, click

“Ha!” came a sound from behind the bush, “That little butt-snack is gonna pass out when he sees this! Oh, yeah, Steve. Who’s the man?”

With the force of a provoked tiger, Walter spun around, eyes threatening to start wildfires as he scanned for the imp whose voice he recognized. Surely, the teen wasn’t this idiotic. Surely, there was homework to do. Surely, any number of activities sparked more interest than peeping on one’s principal. Surreptitiously, what was left of Walter’s cocoa found its way onto his pants. He squeaked.

“Oh!” the doctor shouted. “Oh! Are you burnt?”

As if the warm liquid trickling down his manhood wasn’t enough; enter Barbara dabbling at his trousers.

Walter rose with a yelp, dashing away from the hand before assumptions could be drawn, and then spun around to face his perpetrator with an unholy scowl. “Mr. Palchuck,” he crossed his arms, though it was difficult to look intimidating with splashes of cocoa on his trousers. “Are you spying on me?”

“Oh no, dude,” Steve failed to hide his snickering. “Uh, Sir, I mean, principal. I was totally not spying on you.”

“Then what are you doing?” His finger tapped against his elbow.

“Uh, duh. I was spying on Jim’s mom! Dude, he’s like, my arch-nemesis, and he’s such a mama’s-boy. What better way to get at him than by doing it through his mom?”Walter opened his mouth, closed it. Opened it again. Could he really scold this boy for committing the same crime. He shared a glance with Barbara before he shut his eyes to hide their glow. The Janus Order was different. There were lives at stake–his bretheren’s lives. This was simple adolescent bullying; an entirely different venue. Entirely, he thought, despondent.

“This is absolutely inappropriate and uncalled for!” He finally growled, pointing in emphasis. “After school tomorrow, detention. I’ll be stopping by for a little chat.”

“Hey, you can’t do that!” The boy whined, eyes desperate. “I’m not even at school!”

“Oh, yes I can.” The cold breeze running against his trousers did nothing to stave his annoyance. “Now hand me that phone.”

Steve tucked his phone behind his back. “But I didn’t do anything!”

“You took pictures of us. You’re bullying Jim! I think you’ve done quite a bit.”

“What do you care?” The boy sniffed indignantly. “Lake doesn’t like you anyways. In fact, as amazing as it sounds, I think he hates you even more than he hates me.” He jabbed a thumb into his own chest. “Which is, as I said, amazing. I saw it myself when we were in your office.”

“Again? Barbara blinked, taken aback, and then palmed her forehead. “Ugh.”

“The bodily function jokes, Barbara.” Walter clarified before protests mounted. “We discussed it.”

“Oh, right.” She said, shoulders unclenching.

“Phone.” Walter opened his palm to the boy, jaw clenching. “Now.”

The boy crossed his arms, turning to the side with a dramatic flair. “Make me, old man.”

“Hey!” Barbara shouted before Walter could boil over. “Okay, okay, calm down.” She placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “Steve, isn’t it?” Her blue gaze found the boy’s. “Yeah, sweetheart, come here for a second so we don’t violate any HIPPA laws.”

She led the teenager a few paces away; out of earshot by human standards. Walter, of course, wasn’t human. “Remember that time a couple of weeks ago,” he overheard her, “when you came into the clinic because you’d eaten too many beets and didn’t realize what it did to your poop. I let you out without writing up a chart, or billing anything, and we even agreed that your mom didn’t have to know about it because it wasn’t a concern.” “Now, I did you a big favor that night, and now I’m hoping you’ll do me a favor now by letting me delete those photos. Will you do that for me?”

His eyes darted to Strickler and back, then his shoulders sunk.

“Sure,” Steve handed her the phone.

All creatures Walter thought.

“Thank you,” she fiddled with the phone for a few moments before handing it back. “There, now I’m sure Walt-uh Principal Strickler will be glad to forget giving you detention tomorrow as long as you promise not to do it again.”

“Really?” he lit up.

She looked to Walter, who heaved a sigh. “Fine, but I expect you in my office before school starts tomorrow. We’re going to set up a meeting with your guidance counselor. I’ve a feeling I know why you’ve been acting out even more than usual.”

“Okay, Mr. Strickler.” Steve shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Try to stay out of my ER, okay, kid?”

“Yeah, no promises,” he grinned, and then strode away.

“Guidance counselor?” She asked as they both watched the teen disappear into the throng of buildings.

“Ah, well,” the changeling finally felt his muscles relaxing. “Jim isn’t the only one who’s been slighted a good father. Unfortunately, Mr. Palchuck is still dealing with his. He and Jim have more in common than they realize. Each sees traces of himself in the other, even if it is subconscious. Jim is sympathetic, while Steve resents.” He looked down at her, the corner of his lip tugging skywards. “I’m impressed, you know. You have such a way with others, and you handled that far better than I did.”

“Well, I had selfish motives,” she pulled out her phone before sitting on the bench. He followed.

Pulling up her photo gallery, she scrolled through the pictures. “I took a moment to send them to myself before destroying all the evidence.”

“Have you considered a career in espionage?”

“Nope,” she said, placing a kiss onto his neck before settling back against him, “I get enough excitement in the ER.” She continued to scroll. “These are cute. Ha! It must have caught the reflection in your eye in this one. You look possessed.”

Green eyes looked down to the yellow ones on the screen, and he cursed himself for his lack of control. What, precisely, did he intend to do if he ever slipped entirely? Protocol demanded that he take her life but that was…out of the question. Would he imprison her, threaten her, resort to blackmail, do any number of things he done to any number of innocents in the past.

Shifting to look at her, Walter noted the blue gaze full of weariness, that unassuming smile, this ragged creature whose existence demanded only that he commit the most heinous crime a changeling could commit.

He shifted uncomfortably.

“You okay?” her soft voice rose past a swallow.

“Yes,” his nose was running against the cold, and he wiped it crudely with his sleeve, dredging his mind for an excuse. “Wet trousers are dreadful things.”

“Oh, that’s easy,” She looped her scarf around his neck, pulling him closer. I know exactly how to treat those.”

“After work, then?” He squeezed her hip.

“Yeah,” her smile went lopsided, “but…here.” Gently, she grasped his jaw and guided it towards her own. “Just a small dose to get you through.”

“Tcssssh,” he hissed when their noses bumped together, delighting in her laugh. And as their tongues met, he forgot why he was ever disturbed.

***

Also read/comment here:

Hot Chocolate - FoxLight - Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro [Archive of Our Own]

#trollhunters #stricklake #Barbara Lake #Walter Strickler #Steve Palchuck #askbox #requests #tales of arcadia

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youbestedme · 5 years

Text

Little Miracle (1/1)

Note: I decided to post some of my old Swan-Jones family one shots on tumblr too, since when I wrote them I was barely using the platform. This one is about the day Hope was born. I hope you like it :)

AO3

Summary: Emma and Killian never imagined how much one's world can change in a second, until they held their tiny infant daughter in their arms for the first time.

captain swan family fluff, a few hours after the birth of their baby

----

It’s a miracle.

She is a miracle. Her daughter. (She needs to get used to saying this: My daughter. It makes her heart do weird things in her chest). She’s been here, her daughter, for less than two hours, and Emma thinks it’s probably the best - less than- two hours of her life.

(She knew childbirth was painful. She’s been through this before. But that was so many years ago and she barely registered what was happening back then. Now everything is crystal clear. And so is the pain.

She’s pretty sure Killian is about to faint just by seeing her hurting. Yet, he stays behind her, holds her hand and whispers reassurances to her ear. She holds onto him so tight and she doesn’t know if it’s an attempt to draw strength from him or out of fear that he will somehow disappear. And then she’ll be seventeen, alone and chained to the bed again.

He doesn’t seem to mind, even if she’s pretty sure she’s about to break the bones of his remaining hand. She tells him between contractions, half-jokingly and he looks at her in the eyes and replies that it would be worth it, as long as they are safe. And that makes her hold his hand even tighter.

He uses his hook to draw back her hair, the cold metal a welcoming sensation against her sweaty forehead. Her skin feels clammy and wet but Killian kisses her brow and tells her she’s the most beautiful woman he has ever seen.

He talks to her all the way through. He tells her he loves her more and more as the contractions come closer together. He tells her about their daughter, about how brilliant she will be, how eager he is to meet her, how lucky she is to have a mother like her. He tells her about how strong she is, how much he admires her, how amazingly she’s doing.

They put their joined hands on her belly, talking sweetly to their daughter, encouraging her to come meet them. Her eyes tear up when Killian uses his soft cooing voice, asking her to “be good for mummy, little love.”

When the pain is getting the best of her, her screams tearing his heart in half, he tells her he’s sorry, tells her he wishes more than anything that he could bear her pain himself.

He can’t. He can’t take away her physical pain but with every word, every kiss, every caress, he manages to chase away ghosts of the past that hurt her for decades. He helps with the pain more than he will ever realize.

When it’s time to push, the doctor asks Killian if he wants to watch the procedure and Emma lets out a breath of relief when he says he doesn’t want to leave her, his arms around her tightening. He knows, he always knows. He kisses her cheek and promises her once more that he will always be by her side.

Their daughter comes screaming into the world - and god, not even the most melodic symphony could ever compare to how beautiful that screeching sound is. Emma realizes how crazy her life has become when the flickering of lights once the product of her and Killian’s true love makes her grand entrance, doesn’t even surprise her.

Of course she has magic.

Emma is crying and Killian is definitely crying as he kisses her, muttering words of gratitude and praise and love. She hears the doctor talking, congratulating them, asking if Killian wants to cut the umbilical cord but everything is a blur. She knows nothing will be okay before she holds her. She needs to hold her baby this time, make sure she’s hers and she’s here. Make sure this time is different. She can barely hear Killian explaining urgently to a nurse and before she realizes a pink, tiny, still screaming infant is deposited to her chest. And it’s true love in a second. )

Her thumb is currently trapped in her daughter’s small palm, her grip so strong. (“Strong like her mummy.” Killian said earlier.) She didn’t know babies can do that. She didn’t know many things. She has been a mother, a real mother, for almost a decade but she never had a baby to care for, a tiny person that depends completely on her. It’s enthralling but terrifying too. Maybe that’s why she has counted her baby’s little fingers and toes eight times already.

They are perfect.

Everything about her is perfect. The way she breathes so adorably, little puffs of air leaving her mouth, as her chest rises and falls in a way that Emma finds almost hypnotizing. Or the way she scrunches her nose when she’s about to cry, her lips forming the cutest pout Emma has ever seen in her entire life. Or the way she waves her hands like she searches for something, someone. Her? Maybe. She gives her her other hand to hold too, just to be certain. She’d give her everything, everything she ever asked for.

Her daughter has been there for less than two hours, yet Emma is completely and totally in love.

She wonders if her eyes will remain that blue. She knows most babies are born with blue eyes but it often changes as they grow. She does hope their little girl keeps Killian’s eye color. That baby blue that becomes lighter when he smiles, stormy and dark when he’s sad, with the faint golden ring around the iris, the one you can only notice if you’re staring in his eyes too long. And oh, she has.

When she looked into her daughter’s eyes for the first time, she’s pretty sure time stopped. It was when she knew. She’d go to the end of the world for her. No exceptions, now buts. It’s just how it is.

What she loves most is stroking her daughter’s face, tracing every perfect feature with the pad of her thumb. She’s so tiny, so fragile. When she was first brought to her chest she was almost scared to touch her. But the nurse said it’s okay. She’s perfectly healthy. Emma would lie if she said she didn’t feel pride ripping through her at that. Which is silly but ...Does that count as a compliment? Being “perfectly healthy”? The first compliment her daughter received and damn her if she doesn’t feel proud.

She has a tuff of blonde hair on her head and Emma is genuinely surprised she didn’t inherit Killian jet black hair color. She was pretty sure she’d have his coloring, seeing as Henry doesn’t really have much from her. Their little girl surprised her with how much she actually looked like her. Apart from the eyes and her elfish ears -she was in love with these tiny ears- she was her own mini-me. Killian was positively delighted. The nurse commented on how much the baby looks like “mummy” adding that “dad can have his chance with the next one.” Killian’s laughed through his tears -he was crying, of course he was still crying, from the moment she first laid eyes on her- as if this was the most insane thing he has heard. (“Why would I wish for my daughter to look like me when she can take after the person I love most in the world, her radiantly beautiful mother?”)

When the baby starts to whimper Emma shushes her, her fingers dancing over her chest, touching, caressing, every spot of her small body she can find. She’s still red and wrinkled but god isn’t she the most perfect thing she ever had the chance to hold in her arms.

She wants to do so much stuff with her. A lifetime of things. She wants to read and sing to her, she wants to let her taste ice cream for the first time, she wants to take her to the Jolly, Killian putting her on his shoulders as he explains each and every part of the ship. She wants to teach her to walk, and she wants to soothe her fears, and treat her scraped knees. She wants to braid her hair and make her hot cocoa with cinnamon. (She’ll like it that way, right?). But most importantly, she wants to make her laugh. All the time. Every minute of every day she wants to make her laugh.

One of her daughter’s tiny feet escapes the blanket and Emma is quick to cover it again like the air would burn her. It feels so motherly and so...normal. Tucking her in. Caring for her. Making sure she’s warm and happy and well fed. She brings her closer to her chest. She smells so nice. How can babies smell so nice? She’s pretty sure she smells gross. Well, at least the baby didn’t scrunch her nose in disgust, she thinks, smiling.

As she rocks her against her chest, her little girl’s palm goes flat against her collarbone and Emma stills. It feels like she’s caressing her back and if she thinks about it she will cry. Again. Instead, she focuses on counting her fingers once more, just to be sure.

“It’s ten, love.”

Killian’s gentle voice shakes her out of her daydreaming. He’s standing in the doorway, “Granny’s Diner” bag hanging from his hook. She asked him to get them some food, of course she did. And of course he didn’t deny her. Even if she knew leaving her and the baby for ten minutes must have been hell for him.

“What?”

“Ten fingers. Ten toes. I counted.”

Open book, Emma, she thinks. Killian sets the bag on the nearby couch, the one where his leather jacket lays discarded, and he slowly walks into the room as if he’s trying not to startle them. His eyes are focused on the bundle in her arms and Emma feels a little selfish for seperating them, even if only for ten minutes. (Now that she thinks about it, the distance between "Granny's" and "Storybrooke General" is definitely bigger, so her adorable dork of a husband must have jogged back to them. Damn, she loves him.)

“I counted too. But...” She trails off, not knowing how to tell him about all the emotions flooding through her, about how counting heir daughter’s fingers, tracing her nose, staring in her eyes, helps keep them at bay. It’s a reminder. She’s here. She’s ours. She’s perfect.

“It’s comforting.” He supplies, giving her his soft half smile, the one reserved only for her.

“Yeah.”

“I know, darling. I feel the same way.”

His eyes are still red and puffy and Emma knows he probably cried at “Granny’s” too when people congratulated him. One would think he’d be all smug, but no, her pirate is turning to mush when his daughter is as much as mentioned.

“Come here.” She gestures him closer with her free hand. “I’m sure this little one missed her daddy so much. Didn’t you, baby?”

Killian kneels next to the bed, actually kneels, (“I don’t wanna squeeze you both, love. I’m perfectly fine”) and touches their daughter’s cheek.

“Hello, my littlest love.” He coos and then his voice breaks. “God, Emma, she’s so beautiful. Thank you, my love. Thank you.”

Emma carefully bends to kiss his head. He has thanked her probably a hundred times since their daughter came into the world.

“Come sit with us.” Killian shrugs convinced that he’ll somehow make them uncomfortable if he comes too close. “Killian, please.” This does it. He carefully lifts himself up and Emma makes space for him to sit on the hospital bed. It’s not like their king sized bed at home but it will fit them just fine.

His hooked arm immediately goes around her, and she melts into his embrace. It’s been ten minutes and she already missed him.

“Look what she did while you were gone.” Emma says, nodding down. “She put her hand over my chest, on her own.”

Killian looks at their daughter in awe and then kisses her tiny palm, still resting on Emma’s collarbone.

“Clever lass. Always wanting to touch mummy. You take that from me, don’t you?” He strokes their girl's rosy cheek with his thumb while the curved part of his hook goes up and down Emma’s side, stroking her arm.

“Definitely from you.” Emma says, trying hard to hide a yawn.

“You should rest, my love.” Killian kisses her temple. “You did so wonderfully with our girl, you must be exhausted. We’ll be here once you wake, I promise.”

“The food you brought will get cold.” It’s a silly excuse but she really doesn’t want to sleep. She feels weary and boneless but she also doesn’t want to let go of this. Of their perfect family.

“I’ll go bring you more, whenever you desire.”

“No, I don’t want you to go again. Will you stay, until we are clear to go home?” She feels like a child, not wanting to be left alone but Killian will understand, he always does.

“Emma, of course I’ll stay. There’s nowhere else than I’d rather be than by your side. Always. It’s home wherever you are." He looks down at their daughter, whose breathing has now evened out. "Both of you.”

“I love you.” Emma turns to capture his lips, just for a second,before pulling away, their foreheads still touching. "Killian, I know you feel like you need to thank me for her but I want to thank you too. For going on this journey with me, for giving me this second chance. Our little miracle.” She says as they both turn to look at the now asleep baby in her arms.

“Oh, love.” He whispers and Emma uses the hand that doesn’t support their daughter’s back to wipe the tears from his cheek. “What did I do to deserve you?”

“You changed. You showed me love that I never thought was possible for me. And I know you’ll do the same for her.”

“I promise, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy. And it still wouldn’t be compared to the happiness you already gave me.”

Emma rests her head on his shoulder and for a few moments, they stay silent, looking at their daughter, marveling at her beauty.

“I can’t believe we made a person.” She says after a while.

Killian, touches their daughter’s small nose, a featherlight caress that shows everything: love, affection, devotion. “The most wonderful person there is.”

“Can you imagine there’s a little one who’ll be calling you daddy in a few months?”

“It’s surreal, love, it’s more than I ever dreamt of.” She feels the tears in his voice, and she is tearing up too. “She’s half you and half me. It’s just ...” The baby moves in her sleep and Killian bends down to kiss her palm. “She holds my heart in these tiny little fingers, Swan. My daughter. God, my daughter.” He shakes his head like he can’t believe it. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever said. Along with “my wife”. Emma, we have a daughter.”

“Yeah.” She says, a faint whisper she isn’t sure he heard. “We do.” This time her voice is stronger, letting it settle in her that he’s right. They made a baby. A person.

She gently puts the sleeping newborn on her shoulder and watches her as she lets out a little snore, getting comfortable in the new position. She rubs circles on her back with her hand, overwhelmed by the desperate need to feel her, to soothe her, to make sure her dreams are beautiful.

Just like a mum does.

She feels like her mum, stronger than she has ever felt anything else in her life. It took her time to open up to Henry, to Killian, to her parents. To accept how she feels, to stop hiding behind her walls. But the baby in her arms, she knows her for two hours and she already feels like she wants to be everything for her. Killian’s hand covers her own on their daughter’s back and she realizes all the twenty-eight years of pain were worth it. She’d do it again and again and again if it led to this.

"It looks like she's smiling." Killian says, his voice low, betraying a smile of his own.

"She is a smiley baby, isn't she? Well, technically I don't know if it is a real smile yet, but..."

"I know what the books say, but Swan, I think she's just ahead of her age. Just brilliant." Emma chuckles. They read all the books together. They read about the "reflex" smiles babies have, even from the uterus, and how they aren't intentional, not until the baby is a few monhs old.

"We can decide it's a smile. We are her parents, no one can tell us otherwise, right?" She says instead. Maybe Killian is right, maybe she's just ahead of her age.

"That we are, love." He kisses the baby's temple. "We are your parents, aren't we, cygnet?"

"Oh my god, Killian, look at this adorable grin. Which is totally your grin by the way." Emma turns from her daughter to him. "I think she knows your voice. Maybe this is a real smile, after all."

"Can we...Can we always do that?" Killian looks like he is struggling to find words, and for him that is rare.

"Do what?" Emma raises a questioning eyebrow at him.

"Make her smile." Killian says the same thing she kept thinking from the moment their daughter came into the world.

"Yeah." She replies confidently, looking at her husband. "I think we can."

Between her and Killian, they can. They loved her, even when she was just two pinks lines on a stick and they will love her till their last breath. A sudden need to tell her, to makes sure their little girl knows how loved she is overwhelms Emma, and she holds her tighter.

“My wonderful girl, you can’t Imagine how much we love you. You are mummy and daddy’s world. We’ll do good by you.” She lets out a breath before continuing. “You’ll never be alone. Not like I-“ She feels a light, reassuring squeeze to her hand and she looks up at Killian who is smiling at her warmly. She shakes her head. No bad thoughts today, no contemplating the past. “Baby, even if I fail in everything else, I promise, I’ll never fail in being your mum. You’re so loved.” She locks eyes with Killian who’s looking at her, at them, like they are the eighth wonder of the world. “So, so loved.”

“Mummy is right, my darling lass. You’re so loved.” Killian bends to kiss the crown of her head. “You’ll always be.” Another kiss on her back, just above his and Emma’s hands. “Our compass.” Another kiss on her fingers. “The star that guides us home.” And finally one to her forehead.

“You’re our home.”

They stay there for several minutes, their joint hands stroking their daughter’s back as she breathes against Emma’s neck.

“Killian, I think I’m getting sleepy.” Emma breaks the silence. She doesn’t want to fall asleep holding the baby, she barely trusts herself holding her when she’s conscious.

“Let me take her, my love.” He puts a strand of hair behind her ear. “You deserve some rest. Sleep for a few hours.”

“Yeah...Better do it before my parents arrive. You’ll be here?”

“Aye. We’ll be right next to you.”

“Good.” She smiles. “Let me help you get her.”

It took a few tries for Killian to perfect holding their daughter right after she was born but as Emma told him, that happens to all new fathers. She knew what he was thinking and she made it clear. His hook isn’t a disadvantage, it never will be.

He positions his hooked arm against his chest, creating a cradle for the baby, the end of his hook away pointing downwards. Emma kisses her daughter’s chubby cheek and lays her in his arms. Killian immediately puts his other arm around her to keep her steady, his hand supporting the back of her head like the nurses told them to.

“Hello there, darling.” The change of position must have disrupted her because she starts whimpering. “Shhhh, little love, don’t wake up on my account.” Killian rocks her gently in his arms and she’s back asleep in seconds. “Daddy has you.”

“I told you, you are a natural.” Emma’s smile softens, the sight of her husband and the daughter they made together making her heart leap off her chest.

“If that didn’t work I already have some dozens of sea shanties in my repertoire, just in case.”

“I know, babe. I’ve listened to them for the last nine months.”

“That you have, my love. I had to make sure the little lass slept well, like a responsible father.” He gives her his signature wink.

“Well, it worked because she always stopped kicking me. Daddy’s girl, aren’t you, little duck?” Emma strokes the baby’s hair and pulls the blanket up to cover them, realizing she can barely keep her eyes open anymore, no matter how hard she tries.

“Wake me if either of you needs anything, okay Killian?”

“Of course we will.”

“Oh and Killian, don’t send a million pictures to my dad yet. They’ll be here to see her in a while, let them be surprised.” Killian looks at her in a way that makes her know if his arms weren’t occupied he’d scratch behind his ear.

“Oh oh, I know that look. How many?” They did take photos, or more like Killian took photos until his phone ran out of space, before she gave him hers. Emma is a more "living the moment" kind of person, even though she does love her husband's passion for capturing memories.

“Eighteen, Swan. But to my defense, he asked for them.” Emma giggles at the fact that Killian thinks he’s in trouble. As if she doesn’t know he probably sent their daughter’s photos to the whole town already, proud father that he is.

“Look at you, little bug. Only two hours old and daddy already made you a model.”

“Our lass takes after you.” Killian says softly, as he leaves a chaste kiss on Emma’s lips before she closes her eyes. “I promise I will take good care of her while you sleep."

"I know. You are her dad." She couldn't see his smile but she felt it all the way to her heart.

"Sweet dreams, my love.”

Whatever I may dream of, Emma thought with a smile, it can’t be sweeter than reality.

#captain swan #ouat #emma swan #killian jones #hope swan jones #captain cygnet #cs ff #cs fanfiction #daddy!killian #mommy!emma

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rayraywrites · 5 years

Text

Characters: Kuramochi Youichi, Shirasu Kenjirou, Kawakami Norifumi, Miyuki Kazuya

Relationship: Kuramochi Youichi x Shirasu Kenjirou x Kawakami Norifumi x Miyuki Kazuya

KuraMiyuNoriShira

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences (Only because there’s some kissing)

Total Word Count: 2089

AO3

Gift for @pagsywagsy

Summary: Sitting outside in the cold, cuddles, hot cocoa, and sunsets...is anything else really needed?

Leaning against the column of their porch, he huddled his body close into himself. His breaths came out as small puffs of air, visible in the distinct chill of the evening. A small whine escaped his throat as he felt the blistering wind rush through his body. He wasn’t sure why he was the only one outside, having been softly requested to make his way outside only ten minutes prior along with the rest of their group.

Just as he thought that it was time to head back in, potentially shouting at the person who wanted him to catch a cold so close to the holidays, the screen door behind him was pushed open. The grating sound it made in the frame had both him, as well as the person crossing through, flinch. Craning his neck slightly, he could see the beginnings of warm, sock covered feet stepping carefully towards him. Fully forcing himself out of his huddle, he turned back completely and quickly scowled.

“Nori...go back inside, get some damn shoes on your feet!” His eyes widened as he realized that his boyfriend wasn’t even wearing a coat, when he himself had worn at least two additional layers before even considering stepping outside. “And go get a coat on as well! Are you trying to fall sick?” Seeing the embarrassed blush spreading on Nori’s face, he was satisfied that his point had been made, and quickly plopped himself back into his small huddle on the porch.

He sighed through his nose, hoping everyone hurried up and finished whatever they were wasting their time with inside, and came to warm him up. He slipped his hands out of his coat, bringing them to his hand to blow warm air onto them. They had already begun to turn slightly red from the chill outside, but with his warm breath they slowly began returning back to their normal colour. The action brought his eyes level with the area in front of him, and he found himself glancing around at the small plot of land that they all called home. Looking out onto their yard, he smiled softly at the small garden that was tucked off into a corner of their yard.

He easily remembered the day that Sawamura had visited their home, not too long after they had all moved here together. Sawamura had gone off on one of his infamous tirades, spouting rhetoric about how no home was truly happy without a little carefree garden on one side. While they had, for the most part, ignored the things he said, Nori had been intrigued by the idea of having a garden, and Kazuya, with his avid cooking hobby, had decided to pitch in with an herb garden section. Of course, now they all helped in maintaining the few plants that managed to survive both Nori and Kazuya’s fanatic gardening phase. Though, he and Kenjirou were less effective in their attempts, they did remember to water the plants as often as they could.

Now, with the weather approaching a frosty temperature, many of the plants had already shrivelled and died for the year, though like always he assumed Nori would return to plant them in the Spring with an unexpected vigor. Kazuya had long since decided to keep most of his herbs inside their home, rather than fight the ever-changing weather.

Having been distracted by the garden, as well as the reminiscing, he started slightly as a soft weight settled on his shoulders. Glancing up, he laughed softly as he saw the concerned look on Kenjirou’s normally calm face. Tugging on the corners of the blanket that had been placed on him, he lifted one side as an offer of company towards his quietest partner. The gentle smile he received was enough to pull a joyful “hyaha” from his lips, which proceeded to leave a smile that mirrored Kenjirou’s on his own face.

Once they were both snuggled up together, his arm having reached out to wrap around Kenjirou’s waist, while he himself was tugged into the other’s arms, he sighed contentedly. His face was turned in, towards Kenjirou’s neck, so he could see the shiver that ran through his boyfriend’s body at the quiet sound. Smiling widely, he pressed a soft kiss against the rapidly warming skin, not needing to pull back to feel the blush that was rapidly blossoming on Kenjirou’s face and neck. Perhaps it was a bit mean, when they were relying on each other to stay warm, for him to tease the other so much, but he couldn’t resist it. Another soft laugh left his mouth as he finally, verbally, greeted his boyfriend.

“Hey, Ken,” again it slipped out as a sigh, a briefest of whispers against the column of Kenjirou’s neck, that proceeded to pull another shudder from him, this one much stronger than the previous one. He felt the arms that were resting around his waist squeeze for a moment in greeting as Kenjirou attempted to settle into the floorboards of the porch. With a wide grin, he pressed his body into the embrace even more, nuzzling his face into Kenjirou’s neck. There wasn’t much they needed to say, both content to simply spend some time together.

They all had busy schedules, different practice times, different jobs, different things pulling on them in opposite directions. So finding time where all four of them managed to be together was difficult. It was even harder for him and Kenjirou, as nothing in their life really lined up except for home . So every moment together was precious.

They continued to speak, voices quiet, nearly murmurs due to their close proximity. He hadn’t seen Kenjirou for the past few days, having just returned from an away game with Kazuya. They had quite a bit to catch up on, but being outside in the cold for this long was beginning to bother both of them. It was evident in his continuous fidgeting, or in the way Kenjirou’s hands clenched and unclenched around his waist. He tried to share more of the heat between them, one hand running up and down Kenjirou’s side, the other that was still free reached up to his face and began rubbing his cheek slowly.

Frowning when he realized he wouldn’t really be able to help in his position, he pushed himself up slowly, out of Kenjirou’s arms. Moving quickly, for he didn’t want to be out of the blanket for long, he turned around and moved to be sitting on his boyfriend’s lap and wrapped his legs around Kenjirou’s waist. Grinning at the startled squeak that left Kenjirou’s mouth, he reached forward to rest one hand on his cheek, while the other moved into Kenjirou’s hair. Playing with the small strands of hair at the nape of his neck, Youichi smiled softly, before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to the corner of his lips. Feeling the soft whoosh of air that left Kenjirou’s mouth at the kiss, his smile widened into a full-blown grin that took up his entire face. He leaned in again, but this time he didn’t miss.

Pressing their lips together, he sighed happily as his body melted into Kenjirou’s hands. Tilting his head to the side slightly, he deepened the kiss a bit, but didn’t push it further. They were both content to keep it sweet and slow, the weather and the time of day interesting neither of them into putting more energy forward. Slowly the languid kisses receded, till they were just breathing into each other’s mouths, the distance between their lips only barely existent. Both shared soft looks in their eyes, and a fond laugh threatened to spill from his lips.

In his periphery, he could see their other half finally pushing open the door, making their way outside. Breaking the moment with a final soft press of their lips, he snuggled comfortably into Kenjirou’s arms, resting his chin on the other’s shoulder. Seeing Nori finally in a warm coat and boots, he was quite a bit happier, but then seeing that Kazuya was holding a tray of steaming mugs, he smiled even wider.

When they both settled down near him and Kenjirou, Youichi pulled back slightly, still keeping his lower half wrapped around Kenjirou’s waist, but reached out with his arms to brush down Nori’s arm with his fingers, till he could tangle their fingers together. His free hand grasped the mug that Kazuya held out to him, smirking in conjunction with the catcher.

Blowing gently along the rim of the mug, he took a moment to sip a little of the hot cocoa. A soft sigh left his mouth as the heat flowed into his body, causing his shoulders to relax slightly. Even snuggling and kissing Kenjirou hadn’t warmed him the same way as the hot liquid did. The heat spread from his throat and stomach, till he let out a pleased hum. With a careful amount of maneuvering, holding the mug firmly in one hand, he slid off of Kenjirou’s lap, so that he was sitting between him and Nori. Youichi was still holding Nori’s hand, and squeezed lightly as he resettled himself between his boyfriends.

Pulling Nori in by their entwined hands, he pressed a soft kiss onto Nori’s lips. Tasting the hot cocoa on both of their lips, he smiled into the kiss. Opening his lips, he licked his way into Nori’s mouth, tangling their tongues together. Fighting the moan that threatened to work its way out of his throat, he softened the kiss back down to a few soft pecks before pulling away. While kissing Nori, he had felt Kazuya come settle behind him, so he leaned back to rest his head against the familiar chest. Tilting his head up, he wasn’t able to reach Kazuya’s lips, but Youichi pressed a few soft kisses onto Kazuya’s jaw, enjoying how his boyfriend gulped in air quickly, before relaxing into the affection. Satisfied that he had greeted all three acceptably, Youichi turned back to his drink, focussing on warming his body up, and spending time with them.

Even while they were all drinking their rapidly cooling hot cocoa, they continued to shuffle and scoot around till they were as close together as possible. Legs tangled up together, becoming an amalgamation of bent legs and knotted boots. With him leaning against Kazuya, both Kenjirou and Nori simply rested their heads on his shoulders, prompting him to relax his body as much as possible.

Comfortable where they were, they all began talking, catching each other up on their days that they had been apart. Eyes glittered joyfully as there was a collective sigh of relief, all of them were home, and they had the evening to spend together. Youichi had spent the week with Kazuya, but all four of them being together was something they all treasured immensely.

In the background of their conversation, the sun began setting giving the sky a gorgeous gradient of deep purples and blues that bled into a luscious orange colour that disappeared into the horizon. A lull in their talks had Youichi distracted by the stunning sunset, leaving him simply in awe of nature. Glancing to his sides, he saw that his boyfriends had also been attracted to the sky, but what he saw then was a sight even more beautiful.

The way the light reflected off of Kazuya’s glasses, made his eyes sparkle in the dimming sun, how the colours of purple and blue made Kenjirou’s smile look effervescent, and how the soft blush on Nori’s face was only matched by the hints of pink that were smattered across the remaining clouds. He felt a surge of affection for his partners well up inside him, which brought tears to his eyes, but he managed to keep them at bay, instead letting the feelings come out through a wide smile, and a slightly louder than necessary laugh.

The giggle brought the attention of the other three back on him, soft smiles looking down at him, prompting him to laugh once more, but this time he continued with the only response he could give to the feelings he was experiencing.

“I love you guys. ”

The chorus of blushing, snickers, and smiles from Nori, Kazuya and Kenjirou had him laughing joyfully again. He really did love them, and he knew that they all loved him as well. Could he ask for anything else? Maybe one thing...

“But, could we go inside now? I’m freezing my ass off out here!”

#daiya no ace #kuramiyunorishira #kuramochi youichi #miyuki kazuya #shirasu kenjirou #kawakami norifumi #ot4 #fluff #happiness is cuddles #ray ray writes #gift fic

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thorne93 · 5 years

Text

12 Days of Christmas (Hot cocoa - Peter Parker)

Prompt: December 21 - Hot Cocoa with Peter Parker / Spiderman

Word Count: 3202

Warnings: language… angst

Notes: Peter is college aged. Dan is an OFC. for the Marvelous Christmas Challenge @until-theend-oftheline @like-a-bag-of-potatoes…. Beta’d by @like-a-bag-of-potatoes and @carryonmyswansong (thank you both, very much).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Here you are, miss,” the host offered as he pulled the chair out for you, and let you sit down in the completely greenhouse styled part of the restaurant. Windows served as the walls and ceiling, with the floor marbled in large tan and brown stones. Space heaters were stationed every few feet to keep the bitter cold away from the windows. Alternatively, you could have sat inside, in the warmer, middle part of the restaurant like all the other patrons of the restaurant. But the sky and the city looked so gorgeous tonight, you wanted to sit and look out into the tiny garden the restaurant had beside their building.

“Thank you,” you responded as you sat down. Across from the white linen, Dan sat across from you.

Dan being a guy in your Behavioral Neuroscience class. He was rather handsome -- well, downright gorgeous. The two of you had hit it off early on in the fall semester. Both of you being Psychology majors and becoming study partners. He was rather funny and sweet. His eyes were as clear as crystal, and as blue as the ocean. He had a smile that could bring a girl to her knees. He was certainly charming, and seemingly smart and dedicated.

Sure, Dan was probably every girl’s dream.

But for you, he didn’t hold a candle to the one man who had really held your heart for several years. However, that man had no intention or desire of ever being yours. See, you’d practically grown up with The Boy Next Door. A boy who was kind to everyone in his life. A boy who could outsmart some scientists you’d shadowed. A boy who never made anyone feel inferior to his abilities. A boy who always had time for you. A boy who walked you home every day from school to make sure you got there safe. A boy who stayed endless hours at your house to help you grasp a subject. A boy, who had drastically grown up in college. In a way, you’d seen him come into his own. Bloom in confidence, evolve his education and knowledge, and become even more of a sweetheart.

Maybe he wasn’t every girl’s dream. Maybe Dan was, with his toned muscle, and deep, rumbling voice, and his own way of being charming and nice. He just wasn’t yours.

As with any romance though, the man who held your heart captive was bewitched by another. In high school, he only had eyes for her, and that stayed true for the last three years of college. Watching him love her was the hardest thing you ever had to do in your life. And you were powerless to witness it. You weren’t the type of person to make your feelings known. Even if you thought you had a shot with him, you couldn’t impose on someone else’s relationship.

He was your best friend after all, you couldn’t do that to him.

With Christmas fast approaching, you were really feeling the effects of being alone. In a few days, you’d head home to be with family, surrounded by your mom and dad, your brother and his wife, your sister and her boyfriend of three years… All to be reminded just how alone you were.

In high school and college, you remained single. This was by choice. A few guys had asked, but you were holding out hope that one day, the guy you loved, would ask you out. It didn’t bother you at first, the hope shining brighter than any lonely feelings that invaded your heart or mind.

Yet now, seven years later, you were finally ready to move on. The hope had fizzled out, the last flame had been snuffed earlier this month. So, when Dan asked you out on the last day of school, you accepted the offer without hesitancy or regret.

The host handed you two your menus and informed you your waiter would be there soon. And soon he was. Within a flash, your waiter arrived with ice water, took your drink order, and then scurried away.

Flashing his aquamarine orbs at you, Dan stated, “Thank you for coming out with me tonight. I know you’re leaving soon to go see your family.”

“Of course. I had one more night in the city. I thought we should do this before I left.”

“Finals were a total killer,” he remarked.

“I know,” you agreed. “But hey, here’s to one semester left,” you toasted, raising your glass of chilled water.

“I’ll drink to that,” he said happily, clinking his glass with yours.

From your left, you heard that unmistakable voice. “Y/N?”

Your pulse quickened. Immediately, the glass left your lips as you nearly yanked it away from your mouth, holding as you turned your head toward the location of the sound. “Peter?” When your eyes landed on him, you witnessed his expression morph from happy surprise to disappointed shock. It made your curiosity flare.

In an instant, you sat the glass down, about to stand but then he approached the table.

“Hey, what, uh, what’re you doing here?” Peter asked as he approached, his warm brown eyes darting between you and Dan.

“I’m actually on a date… with Dan,” you said, gesturing to your classmate as politely as you could. “Dan, meet Peter. Peter, Dan,” you introduced. “Dan’s a classmate of mine in Behavioral Neuroscience,” you explained. Although, in reality, you didn’t have to explain a thing to Peter. He hadn’t talked to you since the fall semester began. You’d tried reaching out a handful of times during the semester but got the cold shoulder.

You didn’t take the silence hard, at first, seeing as you knew senior year was a busy time for both of you. But by the end of the semester, you couldn’t exactly ignore the sting that came along with the radio silence.

“Hey, man, nice to meet you,” Dan greeted, holding out a hand and a star studded smile.

Peter, looking ten years younger, smiled and took your date’s hand. “Good to meet you. You guys been dating long?”

“No, this is our first,” you informed, shooting a sweet smile to Dan.

“I see. Well then I’ll leave you to it,” he stated. “Good meeting you, and good to see you, Y/N.” He waved a small, awkward wave before going to sit down several tables over, alone.

After the quick encounter with your best friend, you couldn’t help but steal a few glances at him all night. Each time, his face was long, solemn with the look of loss etched into his features. His brows remained furrowed, his eyelids drooped, his lips pouted slightly, his shoulders hunched forward. Every time you saw this, you frowned a little before re-engaging with Dan in conversation.

You couldn’t help but wonder what had your best friend so down. And if he was having a tough time or a rough night, why hadn’t he reached out to you in four months?

Alongside the concerns in your head, were the aches in your heart. When your heart went pitter-patter at the sound of his voice, and your stomach exploded into a million butterflies at the sight of his lopsided smile, you resented yourself. Would you ever get over this man? Even on a date with another, perfectly amazing guy, your body responded involuntarily in ways you weren’t sure would ever happen with anyone else.

“This was a lot of fun. Would you want me to walk you back to your place or…?” Dan suddenly asked, snapping your attention away from Peter for the fifth time. Either Dan was oblivious to your wandering eye, or he was being polite and not mentioning it.

“Uh, no that’s okay,” you declined sweetly, waving the offer off.

“You sure? It’s dark, and getting late, and cold. Wouldn’t want you to freeze to death. That might stop you from getting back home to your family.”

You chuckled a faint laugh, a ladylike laugh. “No, no. I’m sure. I think I’d like to walk alone tonight. I’ll be fine.”

He peered at you a moment longer, assessing if you were trying to appear is if you didn’t need him to do that, or if you had a bad date, or if something else was wrong. His lip curled up, gazing into your eyes.

“Well, alright. If you’re sure. Could you text me when you get home, so I know you got home safely?”

“Absolutely. Thank you, for dinner and everything. Now I’ll have something to talk about with my family when I get home for the holidays.”

“Me too. Can’t wait to see you in the spring,” he reminded, getting up from the table. The bill had already been taken care of by him, despite your best efforts to split the bill.

“Absolutely. Criminology?” you reaffirmed, giving him a pointed look.

“Yep. See you there. Text me over your break, if you feel like it. I’d love to have some company.”

“Will do.”

“Alright, goodnight, Y/N.” He leaned down and kissed your cheek quickly before straightening and disappearing through the restaurant.

For a moment, you enjoyed the moment of being alone. The waiter wouldn’t come back to check on you, and no one was in this part of the restaurant. So you stole the chance to stare absentmindedly out of the glass wall beside you, admiring the frost on the dark greenery.

With a heavy sigh, you stood up, slipped on your oversized coat, and exited the restaurant through the glass door straight into the garden. Taking your time, you stepped on the little stone pathway out through the gate, onto the sidewalk of Manhattan. The cold had hit you a little hard, but you’d felt harsher cold than this. Small, chilled breezes nipped at your face, making you wish you’d brought a hat of some sort.

You had only taken five steps up the sidewalk towards your house when you heard your name being called again. Like deja vu, the butterflies and erratic heart rate hit again at the sound. Just as you were about to turn to face Peter again, he was jogging up to your side.

“Hey, hey. Where’s Dan?” he questioned, his breath sending puffs of clouds into the air between you. It’d been a long time since you’d been this close to him, but you really, really missed this.

“Oh, I sent him home. Kinda. He offered to walk me home but I decided to go alone.”

“Oh… would you want to grab hot chocolate? I saw a stand one block over. I’m freezing and I could use some warmth to keep me going on the way home. Maybe we could catch up? I haven’t seen you in forever.”

For a second, you bit your lip. You wanted to do that, to be around him again. But he had sort of broken your heart by ignoring you all these months. Would jumping back in as if nothing happened be the smart move?

Yes, because despite a broken heart, you were his best friend, and there had to be a reason for him ignoring you.

“Yeah, sure. I could use a cup of something warm,” you agreed, keeping your hands jammed in your pockets to steal any sort of warmth you could.

A smile worth 1000 watts lit up his face as he gestured with his head in the opposite direction of your home. “Great. Cart’s this way.”

The two of you walked side by side down the street, mirror images of each other with your hands tucked into your coats, keeping your chins down in your zippers.

“So, how was the date?” he chimed up after you two crossed a crosswalk.

“It was fine,” you informed. “Really good, actually.”

“So he’s in your class, right? Why are you just now dating him?”

You shrugged. “Don’t know. Guess the stress of finals is over, and we don’t have the fear of awkwardness in the classroom if it didn’t work out.”

“Right.. Right.”

Just then, you two hit the cart. Peter offered to get your cup while you stood out of the way, off to the side, near a store front.

“Here ya go,” he offered as he came up. The two of you set off back towards your home now, receding from the bright city lights into the lamp posts only area of the city.

“Thanks. So…where have you been this whole semester? I thought you were sort of… ignoring me,” you admitted, feeling silly for saying that.

“What? No. No,” he stated, suddenly ashamed and guilty. “No, I uh… I got busy with school and stuff. Senior project, did some research, worked on getting an internship.”

Turning to him, a bright smile illuminated your face as you gripped his arm gently. “Oh that’s great. Sounds like you’ve been really busy.”

“Yeah.. yeah I was… I’m sorry, you know, for ignoring you. I didn’t mean to.”

You shrugged. “It’s fine. I was just worried is all.”

“I know, and I should’ve reached out. So what’s been up with you?”

Just as you finished taking a sip of the hot drink, savoring the rich chocolate taste, you answered him. “Same. Except the senior project. I worked in two labs, and did one internship. So I guess we were both too busy anyway.”

He nodded, seeming to want to explain himself further. “I just… Something happened.”

You slowed down, touching his arm. “What, Peter? What happened?”

“Gwen and I broke up.”

Your heart somehow sank and inflated simultaneously. Knowing he was hurting cut you deeply, and knowing you weren’t there for him. Yet, he’d instilled so much hope in you with those few words.

“Oh, no, Peter. I’m so sorry… Are you okay? When did this happen?”

“Right when the semester started,” he informed, taking a deep breath.

“Is that why you stopped contacting me?”

“Yeah… We started to have problems like a week before classes started.”

“Like what? You two always seemed so perfect.”

“Yeah, I thought we were. I really thought she was my future, you know? But man, as time went on, I just kept lying to myself about just how not true that was.”

“So you wanted to leave and she didn’t?”

“I guess so. I don’t know. She could sense it though and… she told me that I needed to stop talking to you and stuff. So I did. Basically she wanted to cut me off from everyone and focus on her. But then I realized how wrong that was, and how I didn’t like where things were going so I ended things.”

“That had to be hard for you.”

He nodded, his eyebrows shooting up in agreement. “Yeah, it was.”

“But if you two broke up, then why didn’t you reach out to me? I could’ve helped you through it.”

“I was so embarrassed and ashamed. I couldn’t face you and tell you what I’d done. That I chose her over you. That’s just… no.” He shook his head and laughed slightly, no humor in the noise.

“You could’ve though.”

“I know… But I just… I couldn’t. I thought you’d be mad at me. Heck, I was angry at myself. I just figured you’d be unable to forgive me for ignoring you for such a stupid reason. Then school got busy and it just snowballed.”

“I wouldn’t have been mad. Sure, I might’ve gotten pissed if you ignored me for her for months. But a couple of weeks…Yeah, I missed you like crazy, but hell, I was busy too. I mean, you love her, right? Of course you’d want to pick your girlfriend over me. It’s only natural to pick the person you’re in love with over anyone else.”

Peter made a half-amused faced. “That’s the thing… I didn’t.”

You frowned and stopped walking, peering at him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… Gwen found out I had feelings for another girl. She basically told me to choose between her and the other girl.”

Your eyes went to the ground in thought. Wow, not only did he love Gwen, but he loved someone else. If someone kicked you in the gut it would’ve been more merciful.

“Oh, wow.” You blew out a breath of air, somehow trying to catch your breath from the blow. “That’s… When were you going to tell me? I mean… I’m your best friend, Pete.”

“Well, right now,” he said with a laugh.

“So when are you going to tell this other girl you like her? I mean, are you over Gwen?”

“I’ve been over Gwen long before we broke up… I was thinking of telling her tonight, when I saw her.”

Your eyes went wide. “You saw her tonight? What happened?”

“She was on a date with someone, and I knew I was too late.”

Your breathing became labored as your heart raced.

“Pete…. Peter, are you… You’re… are you talking about me?” you stammered.

He half-heartedly nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, but I mean like… I don’t wanna make this weird or anything. You just… never dated or anything… I guess I thought I had time to ask you out… I wanted to catch you before you went home on break. I thought when I saw you tonight it was a sign, but then I saw you were with that guy… Which is great… I’m glad you’ve found someone…”

“Peter…” you started, completely unsure how to even start this conversation. A conversation you’d always wanted to have. “Peter, I only went on the date because I gave up on you and me. You’d been with Gwen so long… between that and not talking to me for months, I decided to move on.”

“Move on? You had feelings for me?”

You took a step closer to him. “Peter, I have feelings for you. They haven’t changed. That date means absolutely nothing to me if you feel something for me.”

His eyes seemed to light up at your words, your proximity.

“Is that…” He swallowed, nearly trembling. He’d dreamed of this for a long time, too long. “Are you sure?”

You nodded vigorously. “Yes! I… Pete, I have been in love with you for years. I didn’t want to cause problems with you and Gwen though, so I kept quiet. I never dated anyone because I secretly hoped you’d ask me out at some point. When it never happened… well… I went on a date with Dan.”

He shook his head. “I only stayed with Gwen because I thought you didn’t have any feelings for me.”

“So all this time--”

“We could’ve been together.”

The two of you could hardly contain yourselves, the grins on your faces widening by the second.

“What do we do now?” Peter asked.

You shook your head. “I have no idea.”

He peered down at your cup and then up at your face. “We could start with finishing these hot chocolates back at your apartment, and then figure it out from there?”

You nodded, peering up at him with love in your eyes. Allowing yourself to feel the full extent of your affection. “I think that sounds like a perfect place to start.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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#hot cocoa with peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker fic #peter parker #spiderman #spiderman x reader #spiderman fic #Kari and Ida’s 12 days of MCU Christmas

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poweredbycoffeeandwine · 5 years

Note

For the kissing prompts: in the moonlight for Elina and Cullen, please?

Thank you for the prompt dear Rogue! I hope you enjoy this little bit of fluff! *hugs****

Slight continuation of this prompt, but stands alone.

In the Moonlight - Elina Trevelyan x Cullen Rutherford - One shot from the Snapshots Verse - Fluffy goodness - 1031 words

***

“Come on, boy. If you don’t do your business soon, I might freeze to death.” Elina tried to look cross at Atticus, but wasn’t successful. She thought longingly about the campfire and Cullen’s warm embrace wishing the mabari wasn’t such a bathroom snob.

After a day of fishing, Cullen had made a fish fry dinner. It was only fair that she hiked out with Atticus, despite the biting wind. She’d never eaten anything she was responsible for catching. Though she had skill with a bow, a refinement her father had encouraged along with the dancing and music lessons her mother had pressed on her, she had never killed anything. The dark was pressing in around them, and she began to worry they wouldn’t make it back to camp before it fell completely.

She wasn’t scared, but the total dark of the wilderness was vastly different from night in the city. She could easily trip and injure herself, and she wouldn’t want to ruin the trip Cullen had so carefully planned. Atticus barked, waited for her to acknowledge him, then raced off in the direction they had come from. She raced after him, laughing as he ran through leaves, chomping at them as they dropped.

They stumbled into camp, and she stilled. The fire was put out, and Cullen was nowhere to be seen. She worried at her lip for just a moment before a smile split her face. “Hey, what are you getting up to?” she called out.

Cullen hopped down from the bed of his truck wiping his hand on his jeans and motioned for her, “I have a surprise for you.”

“Another one?” she giggled, stuffing her hands into his coat pockets for warmth. “Is this some way for you to make up for all the things I haven’t done?”

“Yes, the re-education of Miss Elina Trevelyan.” he looked at her lovingly and pressed a kiss to the tip of her cold nose. “I have plans to make proper memories for you, the kind you don’t want to forget.”

Elina didn’t know how to reply. She knew her childhood was rigid, structured, without the freedom to be a kid. Embarrassment always took over when they compared stories from their youth. Cullen’s recollections so full of love, light, family and fun. Hers were rather stark in contrast. He was perceptive, and seemed bound and determined to give her something joyful.

“Hey now,” he rubbed his thumb across her cheekbone, eyes saying too much, “none of that. Why don’t you make yourself comfortable. I’ll feed Atticus, put him in the camper, then I’ll join you.”

She smiled brightly, and looked around, “But, you’ve let the fire go out, and the chairs are put up. Where should I go?”

He grinned and lifted her, he carried her fireman style to the bed of his truck and placed her gently onto the mattress he had moved there. His hand cradled behind her head, fingers wrapped in her hair, smile evident in his eyes. He slowly moved closer to her, she felt the warmth of his breathing puff against her neck, she felt giddy, and like she was sitting near the fire afterall. He pressed his lips to her jaw in a series of soft delicate kisses until he reached her temple.

“Stay here and get warm, really your hands are frozen.” He tucked extra blankets around her and leapt to his task.

She lay stunned at his sudden departure, but laughing at herself for how quickly she had melted in his intense presence. He always managed to put her off guard, to forget her manners and turn her into all the ridiculous female heroines in every trashy romance novel Varric managed to get her to read.

She watched him move in the coming twilight, body strong and graceful, and her face flushed at the thought of having him pressed closely again. She was sure their relationship would progress beyond the newness, the tentative touches, the sweet romantic kisses. Though she was still startled by how quickly they seemed to be moving in that direction, she had never been more certain about a man in her life. Cullen wasn’t out to make demands of her, didn’t care about the money she came from, he cared for her, loved her.

“Here, I brought some hot-cocoa,” he said as he gave her two travel mugs and joined her. He sat next to her, staring up into the night sky. “I always forget how amazing the view is away from all the lights.”

She had been watching him, the outline of his strong jaw, the way his eyes glinted in the moonlight, distracted by his nearness. She leaned over and set her cup safely aside, and lay back. The stars twinkled above her, dazzling and wondrous in the inky blackness. “Wow,” she breathed, “Would you look at that! It’s gorgeous.”

“Yes, it is.”

She turned back to him, catching Cullen staring at her, no clue what he was thinking, but hoping for something all the same. “That was cheesy,” she replied breathlessly.

“I know.”

He rolled to his side and lightly traced her face with his fingers. Her heart beat loudly in her ears, eyelids closing in anticipation. His lips met hers, warm and soft. The taste of chocolate and cream lingered on his tongue. Her thoughts drifted, only the feeling of his hands running down her side, drifting closer to the hem of her sweater. The spark in her ignited, the same one that did anytime he held her as if she was delicate, precious.

Cullen broke their kiss, breathing hard, voice hoarse he said, “Elina Trevelyan, you will be the death of me.”

She sighed softly, allowing her brain to return to the moment, “You’re one to talk, Mr. Rutherford,” she curled her fingers through his hair. “I’m looking forward to my continued education under your tutelage. I’ve never had an instructor so thorough and attentive.”

He laughed, pulling her to his side and drawing the blanket up around her shoulders, “Yes, well, I’ve always taken training very seriously.”

She snuggled up next to him thankful for his warmth and replied, “I have no doubt.”

#dragon age #dragon age fic #cullen rutherford #female trevelyan #female trevelyan x cullen rutherford #elina trevelyan #elina treveylan x cullen rutherford #atticus the mabari #modern au #snapshots from haven one-shot #my writing #steph did a thing #steph does prompts #rhetoricalrogue

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mistermegee · 6 years

Text

Winter Wonderland

A small McReyes drabble I did for @oblivionscribe as a Christmas present, I love you so much baby and hope we have many more Christmases to come.

---------

“You really think all that naughty and nice list shit is real?”

The question seemed to come from out of nowhere and honestly, took Gabe by surprise. It must have easily read on his face because of his companions drawling laugh that followed. “What, ah… caused that to pop into your mind?” His brows were perked in curiosity before the cowboy motioned to the waving animatronic of Santa Claus in front of them. “Just being around all this… well, holly jolly-ness got me thinking about all that shit from when we were kids.” Jesse paused and scratched at his chin hairs, “I guess as much as you get when your family can barely scrape anything together to have a meal that wasn’t boxed mac and cheese for Christmas. What I mean is, you think all we do for Blackwatch is gonna end us up smack dab on the naughty list for life?” His grin was teasing, obviously amused at the thought of Santa’s shaking head at the sight of their names.

It had the Latino entertained as well, “You, Jesse McCree, are probably number one most wanted on that list. You are coal for life, my friend, sorry to say!” The pair burst into silly giggles, just enjoying the calm that they were able to soak up despite how stressful their usual days were. Gabe wasn’t a huge Christmas person, Halloween was more his holiday, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to deny his agent’s request to go wander around the city park’s light display. He had to admit it was strange… just acting like they were normal people doing normal things instead of covert agents stealing away to brave the public and ooh at some lights shaped like reindeer and snowmen. With a warm hot chocolate in hand though, it turned the outing into something more romantic than he wondered if Jesse had wanted. The fact that they were surrounded by families and happy couples didn’t do anything to aid the strange throbbing in his chest that grew with every moment alone with the other.

“Augh, suppose its Krampus for me then, nothing but being whipped with sticks all Christmas~” The waggled in his brows had Gabe groaning and pushing off the railing they were against to head to the next display. “Hey! Hey, wait for me, haha!”

The pair slowly wandered through the lit wonderland, chatting about whatever came to mind with no aim in particular for the end of their journey. Though as they spoke, the commander found himself more and more drawn to watching the small puffs of air that left Jesse’s lips with every word, and every word leading to watching those slightly cracked lips… Was it wrong to be so enamored by his subordinate? Even with Jesse being as crude as he was, there was a charm hidden inside the lewd jokes and that strangling accent. He couldn’t help but compare the quick shot to a cactus bloom, dangerous and defensive, but gorgeous to look at and once you could appreciate how to handle them, you could see the true beauty. “Hey, boss, you okay?” Gabe was drawn back from his thoughts when his companion spoke, eyes snapping up to meet those whisky colored orbs. “I… yeah, yeah… sorry…” “Mhm… yeah, totally ok even though you haven’t answered me or told me to shut up for a while now, heh. Something on your mind?” Jesse sidled over closer to the latino, making it even harder for poor Gabe to concentrate and answer him fully… but there he was, looking so earnest and worried… And then Gabe did something he hoped he wouldn’t regret immediately. He pulled the other closer to him, their cold reddened noses brushing against one another while their lips hovered- barely scraping skin against skin. Gabe’s heart was beating a mile a minute now and he couldn’t believe what he’d just done!! No! Jesse was going to recoil in shock and that was going to be that. He was going to be known as the commander that tried to take advantage of one of his agents! One of those scum that made people ‘earn’ promotions… oh god, what had he done!? “Gabe….?” The soft response had every hair on his body standing up straight as can be and Gabe swore he couldn’t remember what breathing felt like… but then he felt a hand nestle on the back of his neck.

It was as if time had stopped… Jesse guided their bodies nearer and closed the gap that he’d left there out of fear to connect their lips in a gentle, nervous kiss. Gabe had no idea how to react at first, now he was the one flabbergasted by the affectionate act.

Slowly he let himself return it without another worry, tossing all his insecurities out of his mind and allowing himself to let his poor cocoa drop to the snow below to pull Jesse flush against his chest. The cowboy’s heart matched his in the quick pace as their hands desperately grabbed at cloth and skin to keep their partner as close as possible.

Eventually, the world returned to its movement and time ceased its magical halt it had allowed the men. They’d had to break away to gasp in cold breaths but Gabe swore he still felt dizzy from it all, from the very remembrance of what had just occurred. Jesse was now hiding away under his hat and the latino wished his beanie was big enough where he could do the same. Would the younger regret the kiss? Would this ruin everything at Blackwatch? Gabe knew that nothing could be the same anymore after this, that time couldn’t stop again and let them forever wander this park without a care. No, that wasn’t the real world and this wasn’t a fairytale. Whatever happened as a result of this was going to happen… all he could hope was that it wasn’t a disaster. “Gabe?” It was the second time tonight that his companion had to break through that mental wall of his and the man nervously looked up to meet Jesse’s gaze. “...shit… yeah, Jesse?” “I… hah…” The gunslinger lazily rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks pink not just from the cold now, “B-best Christmas present ever… way better than pulling socks out from under the tree!” Gabe gaped at the other’s words before rubbing his face with a tired laugh, “Seriously? That's what you compare this to? Socks??” “I said better than socks!!” The quick defense had him snorting now as nerves melted away and doomsday thoughts flitted off like the snowflakes surrounding them. “I… ah… might need to try it again though.” That coy look he’d grown so used to, that he saw each day, now seemed brand new. The twinkling eyes that matched the lights were only looking at him and all he could do was sigh dramatically before obliging the other and dragging him close. “You better enjoy it, McCree, there isn’t a gift receipt for this one.” A terrible joke, but at least Jesse gave him a pity laugh right before they kissed again. Suddenly he wasn’t bothered by the cold anymore… in fact, it was the only thing keeping him from burning up in all his layers. “We should, ah… maybe head back.” “Mmm… yep, we have a casualty and definitely need reinforcements.” Jesse nodded solemnly and motioned to the forgotten cup of cocoa now mostly spilled out onto the snow. “I can think of some fun things we can do when we get back as well… enjoy a little fire on the t.v… more cocoa…” He purposefully trailed off and that was enough to get the super soldier's heartbeat starting up again. “Merry Christmas, Jesse…” “Merry Christmas, Gabe… I… I hope we can do this again next year.”

Gabe gave a grunt in agreement just as he quietly took Jesse’s hand in his to give the glove a quick smooch. “Just don’t make me wear that ugly sweater you got me then too, ok?” The laughter that rang through the park would always be a dear memory that the old soldier would keep in his heart. Even though they knew nothing of the struggles the future held, at least for this night, they could forget about the world and merely be selfish with one another… if only for just a night… they could imagine it was merely the two of them and the snow that sparkled in the night sky.

And Gabe was the happiest he’d ever been.

#fanfiction #mcreyes #overwatch #merry christmas baby #i hope you like it

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freedom-shamrock · 7 years

Text

Adopted Chat

Also on AO3 Directly follows “You’re Hot”

Marinette looked out at the lightning arcing across the sky and sighed. Chat was supposed to come by for movies tonight. His schedule was free now that the Chronologer was no longer at large and everyone was restored to their proper ages. She'd looked forward to it, not just because she wanted to tease him for being so distracted by her during their earlier surprise visit.

She heard footfalls on the stairs and looked up to see her mother peeking into her room. "I thought Chat was coming over tonight," she said holding out a bowl of popcorn. "Is the weather too bad?"

Trying to hide her disappointment, Marinette nodded. "I… don't think it's safe for him to run around on roof tops in the rain. It's probably slippery." There was another flash of lightning. "And I don't think I want him getting hit by lightning."

"I suppose that's true," her mother agreed, crossing the room to wrap one arm around her shoulders, sliding the bowl onto the desk. "And it's better to have him safe at home than…"

Marinette shook her head.

"You don't want him safe?" her mother asked, uncertainty coloring her voice.

"Of course I want him safe," Marinette said with a snort. "But his home life… it's not healthy, Maman. And I know that if he's home right now, he's all alone, in a big emotionally cold house, with no one who cares about him."

There was a clatter from Marinette's terrace and her skylight flew open briefly to admit the black cat hero. With a twist of his body, he bypassed her bed entirely and landed quietly on the floor. His eyes were closed, which struck her as odd.

"Princess?" he asked quietly, sniffing in her direction. "Oh, good evening Sabine. It's movie night."

"I'm going to go get some towels for you," her mother said quickly, after one look at the sodden young man. "Why are you closing your eyes?"

"Oh, is it okay to look?" he asked. "Normally I don't come in without permission. I'd hate to walk in on Marinette changing. But it's pouring cats and dogs out there."

Her mother chuckled. "It's plenty safe to look. I'll be right back." She patted Chat on the shoulder before disappearing back downstairs.

Marinette beamed at him, utterly charmed by his sweet side, which she'd seen so much more these days. "Thank you for being so considerate."

"I want to be welcome back." The words were simple, but the meaning behind them was clearly heartfelt.

"It would take more than one incident of peeping tomcat for me to kick you out, especially if it was accidental." She heard her mother on the steps again and went to grab the towels. "Maman, would you have time to make cocoa? Chat looks a little chilled."

Her mother grinned and rubbed her hands together. "I agree. I'll be back in a bit."

Marinette handed him a towel and went straight to work on his hair, dripping and plastered to his head. She was careful around his cat ears, uncertain if rough handling would hurt or not. "You can't go back out there until the storm dies down," she told him. "I worry about you leaping across rooftops in this."

"You'll get no argument from me." He leaned his head against her hands, his purr making his voice oddly rumbly. It also made her heart jump a bit, and she liked it.

"Come on, Kitty," she coaxed, tugging on his hand and leading him to her ladder.

"But that's your bed," he said, his resistance half-hearted. "Can't take your bed."

"It's okay," she insisted. "We'll share." She made him go up first, partially because she wanted to make sure he went, and partially because the view was pretty nice. "I want to snuggle. You'd like that, right?"

"Yeah." His response was breathless and dreamy.

Once they were nestled under her light summer blanket, their heads sharing the same pillow, Marinette reached out and ran her fingers over his cheek. "You okay?" she asked. "You look so tired."

He nodded, seemingly relaxing under her touch. "I am. It was a long day."

"Are you sorry you beat that akuma and turned me back to eighteen year old me?" she asked.

His head rocked under her hand as he tried to shake his head without losing her touch. "I like this you, very much." His arm around her waist tightened slightly. "And while the sneak peek at older Marinette was… extremely nice, she made eighteen-year-old me a bit too tongue tied."

She giggled. "I kind of liked that part, though."

He tilted his head to press against her forehead. "You do just fine right now without the extra help. Do you want me to spontaneously combust?"

"Hmmm, I guess not," she said thoughtfully. "Spontaneous suggests too little involvement on my part, and combustion isn't quite the goal I had in mind, though it could be a nice euphemism." Her grin faded when he opened his eyes, staring at her with an intensity that left her breathless.

"Princess, are you teasing me on purrrpose?" Oh god, the purr was back in his voice, leaving it gravely.

"Yeah." She let her fingers slid off his cheek into his hair. "It's called flirting, Chat."

Without looking away, he took a slow deep breath. "I think I'm going to kiss you, Marinette," he whispered. "If… if that's not something you want, it might be good to tell me so I don't make you uncomfortable."

"If you kiss me, I promise to kiss you back," she said, simultaneously wanting to pull him in and needing to allow him to move at his own pace.

His first kiss was gentle, a light touching of lips. The second was a little longer, more of a caress. Before their kisses could move into tongue category, he raised himself up on an elbow to leave a trail of pecks along her jaw, leading to her neck, where he pressed his face.

Slipping her arms around him, she held him tightly. "If it wasn't already clear, I really like you Chat." She moved one hand to his neck, trying to encourage him to stay where he was. "Spending time with you makes me happy, and, well… I kind of like it when you look at me like you did earlier."

She felt a puff of his breath against his skin as he laughed. "Are you suggesting I stop trying to not oogle you?"

"Yeah." He was still purring and it was so soothing. "Is it okay if I look at you like that, too?"

"Totally okay." He pushed against her mattress, and she loosened her grip as he raised himself up. "You'll tell me if I ever do anything that makes you uncomfortable, right?" he asked. "And I don't just mean physical stuff. I've had a terrible role model for relationships, and I don't want to mess this up."

She nodded. "I've had good examples, but I want you to be able to do the same with me." She dropped her hand from his neck to lightly boop his nose. "I don't ever want you to feel uncomfortable because of me. I don't want you to feel like you can't talk to me about anything you need to, all right?"

"Yeah." He yawned. "Sorry. My day is catching up with me."

She giggled. "It's okay. We can talk more tomorrow." She tugged him back down next to her. "Sleep, Chat. I want to fall asleep to your purr."

"You realize I have no control over that, right?" he asked, settling back in.

"Yeah."

There was a moment of silence. "You're going to exploit it ruthlessly, aren't you."

She grinned. "Purrobably."

Next in series > Deadly Sweet

Marichat May, Day 12, Sleepover This is also a continuation of my Miraculous Acts of Kindness series proposed by @squirrellygirlart. Pretty much everything written by @baneismydragon is golden. You can find them on Tumblr or check out their stories (from fluff to angst to everything in between) on AO3.

#miraculous ladybug #Marichat May #fanfic #my writing #baneismydragon #squirrellygirlart #marichat #Miraculous Acts of Kindness

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crypticcravings · 7 years

Text

Miraculous Macarons

Happy Adrinette Month Day Four! Today we are celebrating by Baking! My favorite pass time! This AU takes place post-reveal, established relationship. Adrien and Marinette have been together for some time now, and while Marinette had worked closely with Adrien’s father, Adrien couldn’t always get the hang of baking with her parents. He always does his best, though, and he knows he can get the hang of things with a little help from his favorite bug.

Also on AO3

Adrien was focused. He was going to do this, and he was going to do it right.

He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead with his arm. He needed to calm down. They were just macarons. How hard could they be?

Very hard, he was discovering. At least for the novice baker that he was. For Marinette, this was a breeze. She had been helping her father make macarons for years. While Adrien was whipping his first batch of egg whites, Marinette was already piping out her cookies.

“Alright, so now they just set for about three hours,” Marinette said, wiping her hands on her apron.

She walked over to where Adrien had begun folding the dry ingredients into the egg whites and peered over his arm. “You’re doing really well!”

“We’ll see about that,” he said, folding the egg whites over one more time. “I feel like I’m already messing this up.”

“Well, it’s your first time. Don’t worry. You’ll get better with practice.”

Adrien laughed, “You always say that.”

"And I’m always right.” Marinette grinned at him and swiped her finger on the tip of his nose, coming away with a small dollop of chocolate buttercream from earlier. His heart nearly stopped beating in his chest when he watched her lick the smear from her finger. “You did the puff pastry very well last time.”

“I felt good about that batch,” Adrien told her. He lifted his spatula and watched the batter run down in a ribbon, the way Marinette had shown him. “I’m still nervous about this though.”

“All we can do is bake it and see.” Marinette gave him a comforting pat on his shoulder and retrieved the pastry bag.

She filled the bag and settled in front of him, pulling his hands so that they held the bag under hers. He blushed at their position. He was right up against her back in her parent’s kitchen. He was just glad they were occupied in the bakery and likely wouldn’t be walking in on them any time soon. He wasn’t sure if he could survive the embarrassment of being caught in this position.

“Okay, so now you just tap the tray on the counter a few times to release the air bubbles,” Marinette said, giving him a peck on the cheek before untangling herself from his arms.

Adrien couldn’t help the grin on his face. He did as she instructed, not even bothering to stifle his smile.

The past three months dating Marinette had been the best of his life. Ever since she came into his life, it had been brighter, even more so since their feelings had officially connected.

He felt like he hadn’t stopped smiling in weeks.

Even his father had taken a liking to Marinette, though he didn’t express it outright often. Marinette’s parents, of course, had welcomed him with open arms. As a result, Marinette spent a lot of time studying at Adrien’s house, and in their spare time Adrien came to Marinette’s to learn how to bake.

Which is how they ended up cuddled on the sofa while they waited for two batches of macarons to set and bake.

Marinette’s head was tucked into Adrien’s shoulder, and his arm around her. They were just srarting their third movie when the timer for the cookies went off.

“We need to get up,” Marinette groaned. “If we don’t, the cookies will burn.”

Adrien made a noise of displeasure deep in the back of his throat before heaving them both off of the couch. Hating to loose contact with her, he kept his arm around her shoulder until she had to pull away to get the cookies out of the oven.

Marinette’s macarons were perfect, of course. They were a light pink, lightly dusted with cocoa powder. Adrien’s were baby blue, only a few shades lighter than His Lady’s eyes.

Once the cookies had cooled, Marinette began to fill her’s with the dark chocolate butter cream and raspberry jam they made. Adrien watched her as he finished whipping the white chocolate ganache for his own. Her mother had taught him how to make ganache a few weeks ago, and he was fairly proud of it.

“Your’s look good, Adrien,” Marinette praised, “See the way they puffed up around the edges? Those are called the feet. They’re a good sign.”

“Nice. Maybe it’s not a total failure, then.”

“It won’t be a failure no matter what.” She batted him on the shoulder in reprimand for the pessimistic thought.

“Ah, but you underestimate my bad luck, Bugaboo. You’d be surprised how many things I can mess up."

"Well, hopefully my good luck will cancel things out.”

Adrien took the offset spatula and removed his cookies from the parchment paper. Most of the cookies made it out alright, but unfortunately a few crumbled in his hands. Several others broke on the plate.

“They’re just a bit hollow,” Marinette said, examining half of a cookie. She shrugged a shoulder and popped the ruined macaron into her mouth. “They taste fine, though.” She gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “You’ll get it next time. Here,” Marinette picked up one of her finished macarons. Heart-shaped, chocolate raspberry flavored. “Try this one.”

She held the macaron up for him to eat, and Adrien realized she could make his heart skip a beat from even the smallest things. He took a bite of the macaron between her fingers. He savored the sweetness of the chocolate, paired with the slightly tart jam in the middle. “You’re so great, Marinette. You must cook with magic, I swear.”

Marinette giggled. “Not magic, Chaton. Just a lot of practice, and my father’s recipes."

"Well, whatever it is, I could eat my weight in these macarons.” He looped his arms around her neck, and felt her’s come to his hips. He kissed the tip of her nose. She tasted like almonds. “I love you, Bugaboo."

She gave him a peck on the cheek and pressed closer to him in a hug. "I love you, too, Chaton.”

#AdrinetteMonthDay4 #Adrinette Month Day 4 #Adrinette #Adrienette #Marinette #Adrien #miraculous ladybug #Miraculous Macarons #Cryptic Fic

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sexysemefish · 7 years

Note

Percico Prompt: playing in the snow (maybe with their kids?? I think that would be cute but totally up to you)

Thank you for the prompt! I used the kids I originally imagined for these two, ahhh. I hope this is good ouo

“You can’t just stay in doors all day.” Percy had said, clearly underestimating Nico’s ability to do just that. “The kids won’t like it.”

And that’s where Nico realized he was stuck. When they had first started dating Nico was terrible at getting out of the house during the winter. It didn’t snow at Camp Half-blood and he spent more time in California that it was foreign to him. But Percy loved the snow. Their first winter together Nico had not grown fonder of snow.

But now, married with two kids, he realized he was terribly out numbered.

“She can’t even speak!” He had protested when Percy had raised their daughters hand in a vote to go outside. She was a little under a year, babbling and stuffing teething rings into her mouth.

“Fine, two against one then.” And Percy high fived their five year old son who was sitting innocently beside Nico.

Percy helped suit them up, taking out the heavy jackets and beanies while Nico helped lace together Kallistos shoes. Once the kids were suited up for the snow Percy kissed his cheek sloppily as apology for being outvoted in his own house.

Nico had Bianchi held to his chest, wrapped up in a baby sling and multiple blankets. She was chewing on her pacifier, looking around with big eyes while his husband and son ran around, kicking at the snow.

It was aesthetically pleasing. It dusted across the tree branches and ground in a way that actually looked quite beautiful. But it was cold and freezing and just because he was a child of Hades didn’t mean he was used to it.

Percy played with Kallistos, making snow angels and snowmen before finally looking at Nico with a grin that spelled trouble.

“Snow ball fight?”

“That’s not fair.” Kal interrupted, startling Percy. “You control water, daddy. You cheat.”

Nico smothered his grin, seeing Percy sputter at being betrayed by his son.

“No powers, I pinky promise.” He held out the hand for his son, sending a quiet look to Nico who shrugged. “Papa would have my neck if I used powers in public.”

They traded kids after Kal demanded to be paired up with Nico. Percy angled the baby on his chest, covered in blankets and looking like a puff ball that Nico laughed. They made pretty terrible forts and Kal geared up the snowballs.

“Your dad has terrible aim.” Nico explained, winking at Kal. “I think we got this in the bag.”

They lost, like, terribly.

Percy had the upper hand by angling Bia on his chest and Nico had nailed him in the face once he realized he was using their daughter as a shield. Once Bia was safely in his arms Kal threw another snowball, letting out a battle screech as Percy was tackled into the snow.

They returned home after that, snuggling up in front of the heater with blankets all around them. Percy sneezed, complaining at catching a cold while Kal slurped his hot cocoa loudly. Bia was asleep, resting on Nico’s chest as they watched a Disney marathon.

“Love you.” Percy muttered, arm wrapped around his shoulders. Kal was firmly in his lap, humming to the songs appearing on screen.

“Mhmm.” He chided, leaning up to give him a kiss.

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thorne93 · 6 years

Text

Inexplicable Fate (Part 4)

Prompt: When a blinding pain overtakes you at work, what will be in store for your life when you run into the Winchesters and learn Lucifer’s son is about to be born?

Warning: Language, pain, angst, violence, fighting (verbal and physical)…fear of insanity??

Word Count: 2186

Notes: This is for @roxyspearing gif challenge. This is like a slow burn?? Idk. It’s a Jack x Reader fic (so Season 12 and 13 spoilers…) It’s LONG. So buckle in. It is slow-ish at first. But things will build to a head…Promise ;P

Beta’d by the ever fabulous @like-a-bag-of-potatoes

Forever Tags: @capsmuscles @cocosierra94 @essie1876 @magpiegirl80@letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @iamwarrenspeace @marvel-imagines-yes-please @superwholocked527 @missinstantgratification @thejemersoninferno@rda1989 @munlis @thefridgeismybestie @bubblyanarocks3 @random-fluffy-pink-unicorn @hardcollectionworldtrash @igiveupicantthinkofausername@kaliforniacoastalteens @feelmyroarrrr @kaeling @friendlyneighbourhoodweirdo

IF Tags: @iamafishandigosplish @myfamilysincarolina @ilovemyangelforever @kazuha159 @bisexualdolphinthings @mysteriouslydeliciouswerewolf @justiceiswater

Dean Winchester: @akshi8278 @mogaruke

Sam Winchester: @mogaruke @lenawiinchester

Castiel: @lenawiinchester

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

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The next morning, the boys were already up and ready for the day. You brewed some coffee and made them breakfast, seeing as you were starving as well. While the three of you ate breakfast in a comfortable silence, a knock came at the door.

“That should be Cas,” Sam informed as he got up from the breakfast table to let him in.

He opened your front door, but from your position in the kitchen, you couldn’t see the man they claimed was an angel. A large part of you, the rational, logical part, didn’t believe any of this. You were hallucinating, you were still at the hospital, or your voices had taken a turn for the worst...but there had to be an explanation. With skepticism in your heart, you felt you needed them to prove without a shadow of a doubt that this Castiel was in fact some sort of all powerful being.

“She’s right in here,” Sam informed as he came around the corner, gesturing to you. In tow, a man in a khaki trench coat, black suit pants, and a white button down behind him. He was...handsome. He was just as handsome as the other three. But there were no wings, no halo, no glowing light, no Heavenly look about him. He looked like a normal man…

Dean got up and hugged his friend, who returned the gesture before they turned their sole attention on you.

“So what do you think Cas?” Dean asked. “Is Y/N here coocoo for cocoa puffs or is she something else?”

Castiel frowned, tilting his head slightly before walking over to you, narrowing his gaze as he lowered himself to look you in the eyes.

“I can’t be for sure...She looks human enough. I’ll have to touch her soul,” he stated.

“You what?” you asked, peering at him.

“Your soul, I need to touch it,” he repeated.

“No, I got that but….Can we just slow down here? How do I even know this is legit?” you asked. “I mean, so far, all I’ve had to go on is some pretty elaborate stories, but no concrete evidence. So I think before this goes any further, I’d like to confirm that you’re a real angel,” you demanded, wondering how you sounded so sane...so...calm about telling someone to show you they're an angel.

“What would you like me to show you?” Castiel asked, a kindness in his voice.

“I don’t know. What...can you do? I mean, what can you show me?”

Castiel thought for a moment before walking over to your butchers block, pulling out a knife, and without much warning, jabbed it into his chest. The action made you jump back and gasp loudly.

“What is he--What are you doing?!” you demanded, your voice loud and shrill.

He pulled the knife out and opened his coat. “See? No wound. I can only be killed or hurt with a special blade.”

Slowly, you nodded, taking a few steps closer to him, examining the area for yourself. The coat, the shirt, both ripped, but underneath there wasn’t even a dot of blood. The knife wasn’t a trick knife because he pulled it from your kitchen.

But it still didn’t seem like enough. Illusionists did things like this all the time. So you thought. What could be something that would prove his powers or ability without question.

“Sam and Dean said you can heal people. Can you still do that?” you wondered, knowing they had explained after Castiel had fallen he had lost some of his abilities.

“Yes. I might not be able ot bring you back from the dead, but I can heal most wounds,” he informed, stoic and monotone.

You nodded, picking up the same steak knife he’d just used on himself, taking a deep breath. This was crazy, absolutely crazy, but you needed answers and you needed to be sure this was real.

Taking the blade, you dug it into your hand as deep as you could bear without just utterly screaming out, but at least making a deeper cut than a paper cut. After a moment, blood starting to spill out from the severed flesh.

“There. Can you heal that?” you asked, holding your hand out.

Castiel said nothing, he simply held your wrist in one hand, and put his hand on top of yours, a gold light and warmth coming from your palm. Within two seconds, he let go, and let you examine your hand. It looked as if you’d never even touched it. It felt great, no stinging, no pain.

Your eyes went back and forth from your palm to the man before you, and back again, over and over as disbelief washed through you and you stumbled backwards. HEaring the stories from Dean and Sam was one thing. Meeting a being who...an angel. An angel was standing in your kitchen. This meant...everything you’d ever believed in was real. God. Hell. Heaven. Angels. Demons. Satan...All of it, true….Walking amongst everyone.

“Y/N, are you okay?” Sam asked as he reached out for you from the other side of the table.

“I...I...I just... I need a moment,” you said as you turned to walk out to your backyard.

“She appears to have nausea, dizziness, and confusion,” Cas informed as you started to walk by him. Frowning, you looked at him and shook your head as you escaped the madness inside your house.

This couldn't be real. It was fun to pretend. It was neat to think that all of this was really real. But now...it wasn’t what you thought it would feel like. Knowing angels existed, it meant that demons existed. Knowing God existed, it meant Satan existed, and now he had some demon child about to be born into the world, wreaking Lord knows what havoc.

You’d always thought that when you learned the Divine truly did exist, it would feel joyous, happy...but now, every light must have a dark. Every evil have a good. So where there were good people, there were bad….A Heaven meant a Hell…

Not to mention all the monsters Sam and Dean had told you about. They sounded like bad dreams, nightmares come to life, something from a wicked movie...And of course, they sounded unbelievable. But now...now it meant they were real, that innocent people died from monsters everyday, all over the world. It meant that at any moment, they could kill you. Life as you knew it was...different.

You heard a door close behind you and you knew it was one of the guys coming to check on you, most likely Sam, as he seemed to be the sensitive one in the group. But when Dean appeared beside you, it surprised you.

“You okay?” he asked, staring straight ahead, and again that inkling of a feeling that he didn’t do well with emotions came bubbling up.

“Yeah. I just...I needed a minute…” you said in a soft voice. “I’m sorry,” you apologized. “I probably seem like a total idiot. I’m telling you I hear voices and I’m having a mental breakdown from meeting an angel. I’m sure you think I’m sort of backwards.”

He shrugged. “Like I said before, you were a little too chill about the whole thing. Some people need to see it to believe it, and you’re probably like that,” he informed.

“I suppose so. I felt you and Sam were telling the truth. There was just too much that was too detailed for you two to be making up or to be crazy...But to actually...to actually see him stab himself and then heal me…” You wanted to go on, but for some inexplicable reason, you wanted to cry. Probably because you were beyond your wits end. You had no idea what to think of feel right now.

“Believe me, I get it. I’ve been in this...business a long time. Since we were little, and I never cease to get the shit shocked out of me. Hell I thought I’d seen it all with my Dad. Disgruntled spirits, a few demons, run of the mill stuff. But then...well, we met a reaper, we met Leviathans, we met God. Let me tell you, that was a doozy. I mean, you keep thinking ‘This is it. This is as big and as bad as it gets.’ But then something comes along and just kicks you in the balls and teeth and...and it’s hard to accept it. So I don’t expect someone who’s never seen anything weirder than a computer virus to take this all without some sort of meltdown.”

A smile pulled at the corner of your mouth at his comment.

“I just thought...I thought learning of God and Heaven and angels would be a good thing. You know? I always thought that if I ever had an experience or when I died or whatever...I always thought I would be thrilled. I mean, who wouldn’t be? You’re learning life’s great mysteries. But now…”

“Now all you see is the evil?” he finished, turning to look at you with a stone face.

You nodded, biting your lip. “Yeah...But that’s part of who I am. I’ve always been cautious, scared, worried. I mean, as a kid, I was always afraid of strangers, thinking they would kidnap me. As an adult, I don’t go into dark alleys, I don’t get into my car until I’ve looked in the back. And nothing’s happened to me to make me paranoid like that...It was just always part of me...So now, I learn all of the good stuff is real, my mind can’t help but go to the bad too. Great, so there’s angels, does that mean my neighbor is a demon? God exists? Great, but now Lucifer has a little bundle of Hell on the way, trying to get him ready for...whatever...It’s just not the fairytale I always imagined, ya know?”

“Yeah, I do. I also know...it won’t get better,” he said, wisdom in his tone. “I’m not gonna sit here and lie to you and tell you that you shouldn’t see it that way, or there’s more good in this world or any of that hippie junk. Because there’s not. Good might win, most of the time, but it comes with a hefty price. It’s never easy.”

He stopped, and your eyes cast down to the grass on your yard as you nodded.

“Now, you also don’t have to go through with this. It’s up to you, and knowing what you know. No one’s gonna force you to go through this. I will say, whenever we head back in there, my friend Cas is gonna search your soul. He’s going to put his arm in your chest and touch and feel your very soul to see what’s going on with you. Now, I don’t know what he's going to find. Maybe you’re psychic, maybe you’re just crazy...Maybe it’s nothin’ at all and he can heal you. But once you find out, we’re gonna have to make a choice. To either go down the rabbit hole if it’s some sort of freaky power and embrace it, which means this life we live will be your life. Or you can take the knowledge and just live with it. You can take what Cas tells you and move on with your life and forget we ever met. But just so you know, once you’re in this life, you can’t get out, and it’s not easy.”

“From what you and Sam told me, it doesn't sound easy, any of it. Losing your dad or getting your mom back, losing friends and family….You two have lived a harder life than anyone should,” you remarked softly. “I don’t know what I’ll do, to be honest. I guess it all depends on what he tells me, but thank you for telling me. You’re a good man, Dean Winchester,” you noted with a smile.

“I’m just a guy who saves people and hunts bad shit for a living,” he said with a shrug.

“You’re so much more than that, and the fact that you either don’t see it, or won’t admit it, means I’m right,” you said before kissing his cheek and walking back inside.

Castiel and Sam were sitting and talking at the table, their chatter slowing and quieting when you approached them.

“Okay, I’m ready. I want to find out what’s going on inside my head,” you stated.

“Very well,” Castiel said as he stood.

“Can we go somewhere private?” you asked, not comfortable doing this in front of the boys, or your kitchen. For some reason, you just really wanted the comfort of your own bedroom, surrounded by all the things you loved.

“I’ll go wherever you like,” Castiel said, bowing slightly.

You nodded, giving the boys a goodbye glance, a small smile from both of them in return as you escaped into your bedroom, the angel following you before you shut the door.

#inexplicable fate #we have a gif for that challenge #jack kline #jack kline fic #jack kline x reader #jack the nephilim #dean winchester #Sam Winchester #spn #spn fic #supernatural fic

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