#also sorry estelle if youre reading this that it took me so long to follow through on your excellent show rec thank you!! and also aughh

[brigitttt]

oughh the pirates really got to me

[acahope311]

Alone Together

Sleepover request

burning-quesadilla said: Can you do Fluff #3 for Glorestor? Also the sleepover idea sounds really fun, I love it & can't wait♥️ ((She/he/they) don’t compare to you. No one does.)

A/N: SOOOOOOO... Hi haha! I am back! I now have more free time to just get back into writing-- I forgot how fun it was to do this. @burning-quesadilla I am sososo sorry it took so long to do this 😭 but I hope you can forgive me and I hope you like it as well. This is technically my first only canon characters fic so... I really do hope I do them justice. But thank you so much for sending this request in! I had such a blast writing it!

Warnings: Death (but as a flashback/dream); sparring; falling; big booboo bruise on the forehead; fluff.

The evening darkness seeped into the glowing halls of Imladris. Although the hour grew late and everyone had retired to their respected quarters, Erestor’s mind continued to storm in the clear summer night. Tossing and turning in his bed, the poor elf could not relax.

“How can I rest knowing that a dark evil has arrived at our door?” He asked already knowing the answer.

His restlessness traveled from his mind to his palms, he needed to busy his idle hands, hoping that in doing so, his mind would calm. Silently, he stood and headed towards the training grounds. Now, normally, Erestor was not one to blow off steam through physical exercise, being a strong advocate of "brain over brawn", but even he knew how therapeutic it was to hit something with a sword- be it wooden or real.

Arriving on the premises, his slender fingers gripped a training sword. It had been a while since he'd gripped anything bigger than a pen, but it was not a strange sensation-- although a scholar, he made sure his body and movements were as sharp as his mind. Facing the wooden post, Erestor practiced his movements, swift and precise.

Lunge. His foot extended forward, bringing him towards his target.

"What is the next move?"

Sidestep. Quickly turning on his heel, he spun and landed a side strike-- chipping the wood.

"How can we defeat this growing malice in the east?"

Deflect. Imagining an enemy, Erestor held his sword up in hopes of stopping an imaginary attack- strangely enough reeling in the process.

"The halflings cannot take this evil alone."

Advance. Focusing once again, the lithe elf ran towards the post, preparing to land the final blow.

"What help can I provide?"

As he was about to land the finishing blow, his ankle caught on a mound of dirt he did not realize he’d formed with his movements. Instead of finishing through, his body toppled over and his face ate dirt-- literally. After a few moments-- thanking Eru that no one was alive to see that--Erestor turned over and laid on his back, in pain and frustration… and maybe a twinge of embarrassment. His chest heaved with difficulty from his exercise, but also with exasperation.

“What help can I provide?”

Still deep in thought, he failed to register the sound of another person moving through the ground to lay next to him. When the other elf laid down next to him, staring at the sky, Erestor jumped.

“Glorfindel?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A horrendous screech echoed through the stone cliffs, wracking the very bones of the elf warrior as he stood, steadfast, against his foe. The balrog of Melkor was no small enemy-- literally. Standing heads above Glorfindel, the creature surged forward with heavy but strong steps, driven with the determination to obliterate him. Under normal circumstances, anyone- with a sound mind- would turn tail and run for their lives. Not Glorfindel, not the Lord of the House of the Golden Flower. The mighty elf swung his sword with precision, slicing the thick horn of the balrog. A pained roar blasted the elf back to the edge of the cliff. Looking back to his followers, Glorfindel could see his kin terrified of the events.

“GO! I WILL HOLD IT OFF! KEEP OUR KIN SAFE!” He yelled, his command piercing the howling of the beast and the wind. Turning back to his enemy, he saw the rabid look in its eyes, angered by its wounds. Invigorated by rage, the balrog lunged at him once again, hands outstretched, teeth in a snarl. It was as if evil embodied had come down to smite the golden elf. However, Glorfindel was not one to be tested so easily; quick as a flash, the ellon sheathed his sword deep in the chest of his enemy. It happened so fast that even the balrog itself had no idea what had occurred, rather its body reacted on its own. Black spots danced in its vision as it began to fall over the cliff, into the jagged peaks below. Glorfindel was the victor. A sigh of relief escapes his lips as he looks to the sky sending a silent prayer to his maker.

“Thank Eru.” He closes his eyes and revels in a moment of respite as he feels the wind whip around him and through his golden hair, making it dance wildly in the air.

“Finally, I need to help-” Suddenly the world goes black as a sharp and heavy tug pulls his head abruptly in an inhuman angle towards the abyss after his enemy.

SNAP

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Glorfindel jolts awake in a pool of sweat. His chest is heaving as he gulps down air. His throat is stinging as he touches it, making him assume that he was screaming. Luckily, his rooms are in their own separate side of Rivendell away from the other citizens.

A dream… No. A memory. Trying his best to steady his breathing, Glorfindel runs through the events of the past few days to anchor him to his present, reminding him that he is not in the First Age, that Balrogs are no longer in this era.

Strange… I’ve not had that dream in such a long time. The air turns cold as he feels like he is being watched. Suddenly he remembers his escapade of saving Frodo from the Nazgul.

The Ring. A restlessness--no, an uneasiness-- falls on his entire being.

“I need to do something,” Glorfindel says out loud. Jumping up, he dresses in training clothes and heads to the training grounds.

A good spar will do me some good.

As he nears the grounds, he hears grunts, pants, and growls. Confused as to who would be here, his first assumption would be Legolas or Estel.

Good, I’d prefer a real sparring partner to a wooden doll.

As he rounds the corner, his eyes widen at the sight of Erestor, the librarian, destroying the wooden doll with such precision and speed that even he was almost impressed. Almost. He noted the fluid movement and purposeful strikes, but he pointed out the lack of determination-- he was distracted.

If he does not pay attention, he’ll- As though reading his thoughts, his dear companion decided that the ground would be his next victim as he fell, face first, into the dirt. The sight of the fallen elleth was enough to lift his spirits up, but he knew he needed to make sure that he was alright. However, Glorfindel is not a cruel man, so instead of letting loose a string of guffaws, he stealthily, walked to Erestor’s panting form on the dirt. As he laid down next to him, a sigh of relief escaped him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hello, Erestor. Fine night to lay under the stars.” The golden eldar said calmly. His very presence made his companion even more flustered from fear of having been seen in his tumble.

“What are you doing here?” Glorfindel chuckled as he folded his arms behind his head and sighed contentedly.

“I was taking a stroll, and heard a noise coming from the training grounds. At first I assumed it to be the prince of Mirkwood, but imagine my surprise when I see the counselor of Rivendell flailing a stick around like an elfling trying to wave off an imaginary orc in the night.” His baritone chuckle reverberated through the cool breeze, sending a shiver down the brunette elf’s spine-- not sure if it was because of the chill or his voice. Blushing furiously, he asked,

“Why are you lying on the ground?”

“You face planted. So I am lying next to you just in case someone were to pass by, they’d think we were just resting from a night of sparring.” His answer caused Erestor to choke on his breath.

He saw! An embarrassed moan is pulled from his mouth while Glorfindel smirks.

“Don’t worry, I understand. What weighs your heart that it distracted your training? He asked without looking at him. Erestor is silent for a bit

“I am weighed down by the worries that the halflings bring, Glorfindel. I need to propose a plan of attack and defense. I need-” Erestor’s rant is cut off with his companion’s hand on his mouth.

“You need to rest. Your mind has done more work than your body-- and it is showing with that huge bruise on your forehead.” Self consciously, Erestor covers his bruise.

Cute.

“And there is no use being worried and burdened at the same time, then your punishment is prolonged and double-- believe me. I know.” The tone in his voice held a twinge of sadness that Erestor did not miss.

“Why are you here Glorfindel?” He whispers. When did they move closer?

Silence again. Closing his eyes, the golden elf sighs and confesses his dream.

“Oh Glorfindel… We need to go to the healers, they can maybe give you something for sleep.”

“No, I just… just stay here with me. Your company is remedy enough.” Glorfindel says softly, almost vulnerably. His request pulls at Erestor’s heart and mind.

“I am no healer, Glorfindel. I cannot heal you.” Erestor says, turning to him and propping his head on his arm to better look at him.

“I don’t believe so, our healers are great- do not misunderstand. But to me, they don’t compare to you. No one does.”

Still not looking at him, Glorfindel closes his eyes and just basks in Erestor’s presence with a small smile. A comfortable silence passes, so long, in fact, that the morning birds are beginning to wake. Noting the peace that falls upon Glorfindel’s face, it dawns on him that he should have given him some time to spar.

“I should leave you alone.” Erestor says reluctantly, pulling away. Before he could get far enough, Glorfindel’s hand gently pulled him back.

“I think you could use some alone time as well. So why not let us be alone together, melethen.”

Erestor smiles and nods. Laying back down, the two elven lords lay on the ground, under the dawning sky as the city around them slumbers. Erestor’s mind calmed and his heart felt lighter. A chuckle escaped his lips.

“You know… We should be alone together more often.”

Taglist: @elvish-sky

[bbyannabeth]

So maybe a fluffy fic where Percy accidentally loses his memory and wakes up with annabeth in his bed and he's like who are you? And she's like I'm your wife...And he's like WHATTT..But you're so pretty.

i loved this prompt tbh but i changed it slightly bc i couldn’t figured out a reason for him randomly waking up in his own bed with no memory, if that makes sense,,, but i think i kept the same idea and i hope u like it<3 - Percy woke up with a pounding headache and to the sound of machines beeping. The room was insanely bright and it took several minutes until he could fully open his eyes. He was in a hospital room and panic flowed through him when he realized he had no idea why.

Not only did he not remember why he was there, he also didn’t seem to remember anything.

There was a heavy weight in his hand and he looked down to see a head of blonde hair. A girl sat in a chair next to his bed, her hand loosely in his, with her other arm cradling her head on the mattress as she slept. Percy carefully tried to extract his hand but as soon as he moved, the woman’s head shot up and she looked at him, both tired and alert at the same time. She looked exhausted and absolutely stunning.

“Oh my God, finally,” she said, looking at him with relief, standing up and cupping his face. “You’ve been asleep for nearly two days. You scared the hell out of your mom and me.”

Percy blinked. He had no idea what she was talking about. Something in his expression must have conveyed his confusion because her brows creased and she asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Um,” he started. Her eyes were startlingly intense and there was so much visible concern, it made him nervous. “Who… are you?” he asked tentatively.

The woman stared at him and her hands fell from his face and landed on his chest. “What?”

“I, um, don’t remember why I’m in the hospital and I don’t… Who are you?”

She looked shocked and her mouth opened and closed before she stood up a little straighter and carefully took his hand with both of hers. “Annabeth…” she said slowly. “Your wife.”

Percy’s brain stopped working for a second and his eyes fell to their hands where, sure enough, they both had rings. If it weren’t for the rings and the fear in her eyes, he never would’ve believed someone so beautiful was married to him.

“We got in a car crash a few days ago,” she continued. “The other car crashed into your side so you got the worst of it. Silena and I are fine for the most part. Just a concussion and some bruising.”

“Silena…” he trailed off, watching as Annabeth’s shoulders fell and her eyes turned glassy.

“Silena,” she whispered, “our daughter.”

“Oh,” he breathed. He tried to think and it made his head pound again so he shut his eyes. “I don’t- I’m sorry. I don’t remember.”

“It’s not your fault,” she whispered. “Let me get the doctor.”

She let go of his hand and right before he heard the door open, Annabeth sniffled and it made Percy’s heart twist. He desperately wanted to remember her and every memory he had of her. But nothing came to mind.

A moment later, the door opened and Percy opened his eyes to see a woman in a white coat followed by Annabeth. Her eyes were red now and she idly played with the necklace she was wearing. From what he could see, it was a red pendant of some kind.

“Hello, Percy. I’m Doctor Mendez. Can you tell me how you’re feeling right now?” the woman asked, reading something on a clipboard.

“My head hurts a lot. And my body hurts… a lot.”

“That’s expected. You got a pretty bad concussion, some internal bleeding, and a few broken bones. And seemingly a case of amnesia. Your wife tells me you don’t remember her or your daughter?”

Percy glanced at Annabeth who looked dangerously close to tears. “Yeah,” he whispered.

“Okay, can you tell me what you do remember? Think back to your childhood. Where did you grow up? What are your parents’ names?” Doctor Mendez asked, pulling a pen from her coat.

“Manhattan,” he answered. Slight relief flooded him as he realized he did know some things. “Sally and Paul, my mom and stepdad. I never knew my dad but his name was Poe. I think. And I have a sister, Estelle.”

“How old is your sister?”

Percy thought for a second before answering, “Three.” He knew that was the wrong answer when Annabeth inhaled sharply. His eyes snapped to her and tears were flowing freely down her cheeks now.

“Estelle is nine,” she whispered. Percy’s heart sunk.

“Nine?” he breathed.

“Okay,” Doctor Mendez said. “So that gives us an idea of a timeline. I’m going to go get a brain scan set up and we’ll see what we can figure out and go from there.” She looked at Annabeth whose eyes were still locked with Percy’s.

“Mrs. Jackson, your husband may regain his memory,” the doctor said. “But it’s possible he may not. You need to be prepared for that, too.”

Annabeth nodded. Doctor Mendez gave them both a small, sad smile and said, “Alright, I’m going to run a few tests and order the brain scan. I’ll be back in ten to fifteen minutes.”

“Thank you,” Annabeth whispered. Then they were left alone. She stood a few feet away from the bed and despite not remembering anything, Percy couldn’t stand to be apart from her for another second.

“Come here,” he whispered, holding his hand out. Annabeth took it immediately, sitting in her chair. Percy weakly lifted her hand to his lips, ignoring the pain that shot up his arm. More tears sprung from her eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said again.

She shook her head. “It’s not your fault, Perce.”

“I know. But still,” he said. They looked at each other for a second before he quietly asked, “How old is Silena?”

Annabeth smiled slightly. “One and a half,” she whispered, pulling her phone from her pocket. When she showed him her lockscreen, Percy wanted to cry. It was him, smiling and holding a happy little girl in his lap with blonde curls and green eyes.

“She’s beautiful,” he said, biting his lip. His eyes fell to their joined hands. His wedding band was a simple silver one that had words etched into it that he didn’t even try to make out. Hers was silver, too. The engagement ring had a solid band with a square-cut diamond, and there were bands on either side of the ring, both just a row of tiny diamonds.

“How long have we been married?” he asked, unable to look her in the eyes as he said it.

“It’ll be four years next month.”

They were silent for a moment and he finally looked back up. She was watching him and even with cheeks wet from tears and red-rimmed eyes, she was breathtaking.

“You’re my wife?” he asked, almost in disbelief. Her brows creased briefly but she nodded. Percy chuckled quietly. “But you’re, like, so beautiful.”

Annabeth laughed. “During your vows,” she smiled, “you said something like that. You said you’d never understand how someone as beautiful as me could’ve fallen for you, but you were so grateful I did. Those were your words.”

Percy smiled ruefully. “I was right. I don’t understand,” he kissed her fingers again. “I want to remember. I’m trying so hard.”

“I know,” she said. “It’s okay. Even… even if you don’t, we’ll figure it out. I’ll just have to make you fall in love with me all over again,” she tried to keep her voice light as her lips curved upwards slightly, but there was still a heaviness behind her words.

He looked at her stormy eyes, which glittered behind tears. Her curly hair was loose and fell past her shoulders and there were freckles across her tan skin. “I don’t think that’ll be that hard.”

[creativelyderangedme]

Last Night Chapter 3

Previous chapter

Read on AO3

Before they could go gallivanting around Paris, though, Nino made a request to stop in at the club to deal with a last minute tab mix-up from the night before - which since it was on the way to the location tagged in the earliest posts of him and Ladybug, he didn't have a problem with it. It was also kind of hard to argue with a request from a guy literally planning on following you on a glorified scavenger hunt.

But before then, of course, there was also the matter of the strange hotel room mix-up that needed to be sorted out. 

So after combing over the room for anything else he might have left and changing into something a little more comfortable, both he and Nino went down to the front desk in the hotel lobby. 

The Huxton truly was a fantastically posh sort of place - giving off the air of old money with a mixture of fashionable millennial hipster charm. Warm leather chairs littered the open lobby, accented by the navy and bright reds of carpets and plush cushions, and deep greens of floral arrangements around the connecting room leading to the open terrace and bar and lounge. It was the kind of place Adrien could see himself spending a lot of time in given the chance. Something between the extravagance of his old room back at the mansion and a home he’d like to create some day; filled with things that were like him - things that screamed Adrien. 

But that was a day dream for another time.

"Good morning, Mr. Agreste, I hope your stay has been pleasant so far!" A young attendant beamed at him the moment they approached the desk. 

He recognized the bubbly blonde immediately, having been helped by her when they checked in the day before. 

Estelle was her name. 

He wondered briefly if they’d been professionally trained, or if Estelle always looked this perfectly coiffed and outwardly radiant and approachable. It sometimes took multiple cups of coffee before even he could muster the amount of charisma she seemed to have in spades. 

Adrien grimaced, but tried to hide it under a smile, "Please, just Adrien. And actually I think something happened last night and I wanted to apologize."

The young woman gave him a confused look but allowed him to continue without interruption.

"You see, I woke up in a completely different hotel room than the one we checked into yesterday, and for the life of me, I don't know how, and I am so sorry for any trouble that might have caused. I'll pay for the room and any damage fee to make up for it."

The receptionist merely blinked for a moment at his word vomit, her bubbly radiance flickering for a moment as she seemed to mentally ask herself how this always seemed to happen to her before turning back into a megawatt bulb of sunshine, "Oh! I-I see. Would you happen to remember the room number?"

"Yes, it was 414." Nino answered in his place, recognizing the mortification crawling up Adrien's spine.

Estelle nodded and quickly began typing at her terminal, silence and persistent tapping filling the void while they waited for the impending news. Though, the longer they stood there, the more confusion seemed to fill her expression, "a-actually, sir, while I'm not completely certain of the circumstances, it - it looks like you booked that room."

"What? No, I only booked the room you checked us into yesterday."

She smiled once more, though, this time it seemed a bit strained - as she turned the monitor so that he could see what she did, "it says here that this room was booked early this morning. It looks like Collette was the one to book the room for you. She's not set to arrive until later this afternoon, but I could give you a call when she does?"

Early this morning? If the time stamp was to be believed it was nearly four am when the room was booked. 

Staring at the screen wasn't giving him any further clues, so he nodded at the attendant.

"Yeah, please do. Thanks."

They began to walk away but Adrien stopped, turning back to the woman, "By chance, do you happen to remember seeing me leave here yesterday?"

Even as she appeared put off by the question, she answered him quickly.

"Yes. Both times. First with your friend and then again about an hour and a half later. Though, the second time you'd changed clothes. I remember because you asked me if I thought it looked too flashy for a club." She giggled good naturedly.

Nino snickered at his side, coughing to cover it up when Adrien scowled at him. 

Finally, they waved and headed out the hotel's main entrance.

If ever Adrien hated the reminder that alcohol was not his friend, it was then as he and Nino stepped out into the late-morning sun of a gorgeous day in Paris - where the combination of splitting headache and overwhelming nausea nearly brought him to his knees while his friend pulled up the Uber app to confirm their ride.

"You good dude?"

The blonde could only grunt in response, swallowing back the abundance of saliva in his mouth in an effort to keep from heaving.

Something that didn't exactly convince his best friend that he was in the clear, "You know they charge extra if you puke in the cars, right?"

"I'll - I'll be fine. Just give me a moment."

Nino hummed, watching him with a curious tilt to his brow, "I haven't seen you this fucked up since the day after your old man's arrest. Just how much did you drink last night anyways?"

The unwanted memory of sitting hunched over someone's (he doesn't exactly remember who's) toilet bowl while puking his guts up until he had nothing left in his system (then dry heaving for at least an hour after that) flashed in his mind. It was a party his friends had thrown to just celebrate the end of Hawkmoth's reign of terror. For him though, it had been an opportunity to forget that twenty-four hours prior to that, he'd unmasked his own father after the man had tried to kill him and his partner in the hopes of stealing their miraculous to bring back his comatose mother.

There had been a lot of things he'd wanted to forget. 

Unfortunately for him, he didn't have the tolerance for the alcohol he drank. Landing him in a nice cozy embrace with the porcelain throne the next day.

Apparently he still didn't have the tolerance.

Through his musings of the past, Adrien failed to notice his friend fishing something from his bag to hand to him until it was waving in his face.

A pair of aviators. 

The blonde thanked him before putting the glasses on, reducing the ever present sting of light on his hungover brain. And just in time as a car pulled up to take them to their destination.

The ride to the bar was blessedly short and Adrien had managed to keep his stomach from rolling for the most part, but was very thankful when they climbed out of the silver economy compact with a half hearted wave and 5 stars.

Looking up at the ostentatious entrance to Chez Moune, the blonde had the strangest rush of dejavu. Something about the gold embellished entrance trim sparking familiarity that he couldnt place.

Nino walked right past him and through the doors, making his way up to the main club room and Adrien shook off his thoughts to follow after. 

The former cabaret turned dance club was lit brightly for the early staff, stocking and preparing for another night of fun for tourists and local party seekers alike. 

It was a club that Nino had managed to land more than a couple gigs, and had reserved a portion of for the going away party they’d all thrown him the night before. Celebrating the next leg of his life...

I’m leaving town soon. Tonight I’m supposed to be celebrating...

The voice wrapped around him like a fine silk, beckoning him towards the edge of a memory. Red - he was surrounded by red and moving shadows. And if he listened hard enough, he could hear the pounding of a bass beat that synced with the beating of his heart - steady and rhythmic and sultry. 

There was the twinkling of bells riding on the coat-tails of a sweet voice.

You’ll get over it, I’m sure...

"Hey man - did you hear me?”

Adrien blinked, and the red club lights and shifting bodies disappeared, leaving an entirely too quiet empty bar and bright fluorescents. It took another moment before he realized he’d been asked a question, turning to look at Nino and ground himself in the present once more.

"Dude, you sure you’re good?"

His adam’s apple bobbed with the force of his swallow, but he nodded slowly. He was dizzy, and for the first time, not because he was hungover.

The blonde turned back to the bar and snippets pieced themselves together in his mind, bringing clarity to what felt like a fever dream.

"I actually did make it back."

"What?"

Adrien ran his tongue over parched lips, “I made it back to the club,” he said quietly, almost absently, but with much more confidence as he stared unseeing at a pair of bar chairs on the far side of the room.

There. 

That's where he'd seen her.

When he'd managed to make it back to the club and no one was the wiser of his identity behind the black mask, he'd looked up to find his friends, only for his eyes to lock on her almost immediately in the crowd.

Understatement of the year, but, It had been a total shock to his system. Knocking the breath clean from his chest as he took her in.

It wasn't the red mask or the signature pig-tails hidden beneath a chic rimmed hat that had given her away.

Funny enough, it was her skirt.

Maybe not funny, because the presence of that one article of clothing had turned his world on its head. 

It was more than possible he was mistaken. It could have been anyone.

But not just anyone could pull off ladybug spots. Which she did. Oh god she did. It was a long,  high-waisted skirt with a bow in the same fabric on her hip. 

But he'd remember that skirt anywhere. She'd only ever worn it one other time, afterall, and it was the last time he'd seen her, so the memory of her outfit from that day was burned into his memory.

It had to be her.

Right? 

Adrien ignored the crowd as he made his way over to her, all the while his heart raced and mind fumbled over what he was going to say. The nerves were killing him. What if he was wrong? What if this was a complete stranger and he made an absolute fool of himself.

But what if it was her, a voice pushed in the back of his head, sounding suspiciously like Plagg. 

He fought himself the entire way over, his mind completely unaware of the body's natural magnetism to the woman until he was standing close enough he could reach out.

It was now or never.

“What’s a lady like you doing in a place like this?”

Mentally, he'd face-palmed at the absolutely horrid words spilling from his mouth. Seriously? That's what he went with?

The lady in question rolled her eyes at what was probably not the first pick-up line she’d heard that evening, turning to look at him, blue eyes flashing with something close to shock and recognition before a brow pulled up under her mask. 

She searched him for a moment. 

The longest moment of his life. 

Those eyes (if he was right, and he was positive that he was - oh god please let him be right) had always been so expressive - and he could see everything as it flashed in her expression; uncertainty, disbelief, reluctant recognition again before a smirk slowly graced her perfectly painted red lips, “Really? That’s the best you got?”

"For now, yes.” He nodded decisively, before finally taking the open seat next to her, “Though it did get you talking to me, so, I count that as a win."

She eyed him critically again before commenting, "Smooth."

"I try."

"Too hard."

He chuckled, because she always had been quite sharp-tongued and feisty. Good to see that hadn’t changed. “You never did answer my earlier question, though.”

"Why should I? You're a stranger in a bar."

Maybe, maybe not, he wanted to say, but thought better of trying to be too pushy.

"That's fair. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

He could see her eyeing him critically out of his peripherals. 

“I’m leaving town soon. Tonight I’m supposed to be celebrating, but it just doesn’t feel right.”

He didn't let the grin spread over his lips at having gotten an answer, but did nod along, “I understand the feeling.”

“Oh?”

“As it turns out, I’ll be leaving town soon as well. And I too am supposed to be celebrating.” what were the chances they'd both be here celebrating? Slim to nil.

“So what’s your excuse?”

“Well, I saw this lovely lady sitting at the bar and felt it was my sworn duty to keep her company.”

The masked woman snorted a chuckle, trying desperately to hide the amused grin as she brought her drink to her lips, “Wow. That was worse than your intro.”

“Meowch. You wound me!”

He caught the way her eyes cut back over him at the pun before answering, “You’ll get over it, I’m sure.” Laughing lightly into the back of her hand, sweetly, like twinkling bells.

He could spend eternity getting lost in the sounds she made, but he had a mission. He could not allow himself to be distracted.

He waved over a bartender and ordered a rum and coke, throwing a few bills on the counter, exchanging currency for liquid courage before turning back to his companion.

“Why doesn’t it feel right to be celebrating?”

She hummed, considering her words as she peered over at him and the drink he made himself busy consuming, then turning back to stare at the glass she passed back and forth between her fingers on the bar top, "There was - something I had hoped to do before I left Paris, but I don't think that's possible anymore… I missed my chance."

Missed her chance? Adrien fought every instinct in his body urging him to envelope this woman in his arms and tell her it wasn't too late - but he had no idea what she was referring to.

And it hadn't been her that had missed their chance. No, the blame for that was solely on his shoulders. "I see. I'm sorry to hear that." He murmured softly, not quite sure what else to say to her confession. 

Which left them sitting in an awkward silence that neither seemed to know how to dissipate. Both turning to finish their respective drinks.

That is, until the bartender came back around not five minutes after their glasses were empty with a fresh drink for the both of them.

Adrien’s masked companion immediately went to rectify the oversight, “Oh! But I-”

“On the house.” The bartender smiled, looking between the two of them - a kid in a candy store kind of giddiness to his stare, nodding his head like he was trying to find the right words to say before settling on, “And thanks. For everything.”

Both Adrien and his masked companion’s eyes widened at his words.

Neither confirming or denying his claims.

And the bartender didn’t stick around long enough for them to do so, either.

There was a moment where both of them just sat there staring at the drinks placed in front of them. Like taking the drinks would confirm every suspicion dancing between them. 

“I-it was almost like he recognized us or… something…” She said softly, and had it not been for his enhanced hearing, he probably would have missed it. She reached out and took the drink and Adrien watched as she stared at it, the faintest hint of a smile pulling at the corner of her lips. A soft yet sad far away look in her eyes.

A small chuckle escaped him as he too took his drink, “... or something.” He confirmed.

They were dancing around their identities again. It was so familiar and so frustrating, but he didn’t dare broach the subject in fear of breaking whatever spell kept her seated next to him instead of leaving. 

Because she had every right to.

She had every right to get up and leave and never say another word to him. Disappear into anonymity like a ghost of his past destined to haunt his every waking thought, but dancing just out of reach.

So he accepted the drink and accepted the company even if it meant hiding behind masks again, because - God he missed her.

He missed the easy conversion. He missed the quiet moments spent on rooftops under the stars. He missed her chiding him for his jokes. And he missed the way she demanded he take care of himself. Like her happiness depended entirely on his wellbeing.

And despite everything, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't still irrevocably in love with her.

It wasn't until they'd both nearly finished their free rounds that something caught the lady’s eye and made her groan to herself.

"Whats with the sound of distaste?"

She hummed, and shook her head, remembering her audience of one, "nothing. Just saw something gross." She threw back the rest of her drink then turned back to him, “You know… this place is seriously beat.” grumbling, and looking for sympathy.

But instead, she would be met with a flash of inspiration across his face. “Then what are we waiting for?” he stood, nearly knocking over his chair, but steadied himself, reaching out to offer her his hand, “Let’s blow this joint.”

She sputtered a laugh as she looked between his face and the hand he outstretched to her, “And go where? Do what?”

What couldn’t they do? He smiled, feeling an overwhelming excitement take hold of him. Like he’d just transformed and he could feel the power Plagg once offered wash over him. “Everything.”

“Everything?”

He nodded, not at all deterred by the ‘you’ve grown two heads’ expression on her face, “You said you’re leaving town soon, right?"

"Yes?"

“Then, what would one night of fun hurt?”

Because right now, he was Chat Noir. He could leap great distances, climb towers, defeat evil. They could do anything as long as they were together. 

"B-but I don't even know you. You don't even know me!"

He grinned still, "Perhaps we know each other better than we think we do? Either way, we're two people about to leave Paris. We can't just go without giving the city one last chance to give us an adventure, right? Something sweet to remember it by."

She chuckled again, looking dazed and stricken, and trying to convince herself that the man before her was nothing but a creep trying to lure her away. She glanced at something over his shoulder, but her eyes kept coming back to rest on him. The indecision was being overshadowed by a spark of temptation in her features - something giving away how badly she wanted to say yes.

All he needed to do was give her a reason. 

“Would I ever steer you wrong, M’Lady?”

The mystery woman's eyes widened as Adrien made the comment, confirmation of his suspicions in a single gaze as he offered her his hand in invitation. He could have said anything, and she could have denied it. She could have brushed off the comment as him being a terrible flirt and told him to take a hike.

Instead, recognition lit her eyes like summer fireworks and painful tenderness filled her stare.

And despite everything, She took his hand.

"No, I suppose you wouldn't. Would you, Chaton?"

[simp-for-spencer-reid]

Favors- George Weasley fic

I may delete this from this blog bc it’s my criminal minds blog. but for now, here’s my latest writing idea if anyone’s interested :)

the title of the fic and the chapter title are a work in progress and subject to change

Chapter 1: Be My Alibi

A puff of smoke swirled around the library common area. Essie was shifting her focus between her Care of Magical Creatures essay and her upcoming Potions exam. Her eyes were growing heavy as she read her Advanced Potion Making textbook. A few groups of students who were also in the library had gotten up and made their way to the hallway. Essie briefly glanced at the commotion, but brought her attention back to her work. Two snickering red-haired boys were calmly following the crowd. 

The Weasley twins. 

Their reputation preceded them: notorious for their pranks they’d been pulling since the end of their second year. Before that, they had received some of the top grades in Gryffindor house. Now, just beginning their sixth year at Hogwarts, their main focus was on their pranks.

One of them had accidentally knocked into Essie’s table, sending her ink for her quill toppling over, a stream of black trickling over her hard work. 

The laughter between them came to a halt- one kept walking, he hadn’t bumped her table and was oblivious to the ink. The other; however, paused, noticing the Hufflepuff girl gaping over her destroyed essay. 

“Oh, sorry!” He muttered a quick incantation to soak up the excess ink, but it left the words that had been written before a bit faded. Essie gave him a shy smile, before gathering her work. It would probably do her better to finish up in her common room, less commotion and a certain pair of twins wouldn’t be up to their tricks. 

“It’s okay, thanks for clearing that up,” Essie turned on her heel and hauled out of the library towards the kitchens. 

“Wait! Let me make it up to you,” he had a grip on her upper arm, keeping her in place, yet it was still gentle. His twin was long gone down the hall now, not noticing yet that his other half was not following him. 

“Oh, erm, don’t worry about it. I can fix the rest,” Essie shook her head, tucking a loose strand of her golden hair behind her ear. 

“Please, I owe you one. It’s the least I could do.” He realized his hand was still on her arm and dropped it back to his side- then shoving it in the pockets of his pants. “Just think about it.” he shrugged.

“Uh, okay.” Essie agreed, wanting this interaction to end so she could finish her studying in her room. She turned away from him, walking as fast as she could back to her dorms. 

Just as she had gotten out of the grasp of one of the Weasley twins, Gabriel Truman- a fellow Hufflepuff and Head Boy, was coming into step beside her. She was trapped between the wall and Gabriel as they walked toward the Hufflepuff common room.

“Hey,” he started cooly, “Bit late for you out here isn’t it?” Gabriel asked, but it was more of a statement. 

“Gabriel,” Essie said dryly, “I could say the same about you.” Gabriel had been trying to convince her to go on a date since the start of their fifth year. Essie, didn’t have time for dating. She was busy with her studies and trying to get the best grades possible to set herself up for a promising future as a magical creature professional. She had a lot of pressure on her shoulders now that she had made Prefect her sixth year..

The magic in Essie’s family had skipped a generation. Her mother was a squib who married a muggle man, much to the disdain of Essie’s maternal grandmother. Her grandmother was famous Wizarding author, Dria Finkle. Dria was known for her stories of her travels- voyaging across Europe and writing about her affairs with politicians and diplomats and other famous wizard-folk. 

Essie kept her grades up to make her parents proud. Her father wasn’t sure about the whole wizard thing, but Essie sweet-talked him into allowing her to board at Hogwarts and showing him that magic wasn’t as unbelievable as it sounds. 

“What do you say: you, me, and a couple of butterbeers down at the Three Brooksticks next Hogsmeade weekend?” Gabriel put an arm out to stop her in her tracks, caging her in between his body and the stone wall. 

“Tempting, but I already have plans,” she moved to escape under his arm, but he shifted his arm down, blocking her. 

“Oh, yeah? Doing what?” He tested her. 

“I’m working on the Care of Magical Creatures essay.” she raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips, and pushed her way through his arm to continue walking. 

“That’s not due until the end of the year!” Gabriel called after her. She was thankful for his temporary defeat as he had stopped following her. 

Essie shook her head,now just wanting to retreat under the covers of her bed. She made her way down a flight of stairs to the basement. The smell of comfort food and the warmth of the ovens getting stronger as she got closer to the entrance of the basement. She stopped by a stack of wooden barrels, tapping the correct one to reveal the circular door to the common room. 

Copper lanterns provided a dim light, the main light source coming from the fireplace now that it was nightfall. Many plants hung from the ceilings or sat on shelves. Essie’s favorite plant was some sort of ivy whose tendrils swayed in its own dance and it whispered if you listened closely. It hung from a basket made of twine over one of the desks, and Essie talked to it sometimes while she did homework. 

A few students were gathered in the common room, and Essie politely informed them of curfew and that they needed to get to their dormitories. With some groans and sighs, they cleared out. 

Essie walked through the door that led to the dorm for the Prefects. She shared the room with the two other Hufflepuff Prefect girls, Cleo and Gwen. They were already in bed, as Essie could tell from Gwen’s snoring. Through the light of the lanterns, Essie placed her study materials on her designated nightstand and quickly changed into some sleep shorts and a tank top. Once she was nestled under her covers, Essie quickly fell asleep. 

This year at Hogwarts, the castle was hosting the Triwizard Tournament, as Professor Dumbledore had announced at the first feast. Hogwarts students were accompanied by two other schools: Durmstrang and Beauxbaton. Only students who were 17 could participate. In this dangerous tournament. 

They were given a night for students to put their name in the goblet of fire. Essie would never partake in something so dangerous, not to mention the attention that came with being chosen. She knew that her friend Cedric had put his name in: tempted by the thousand galleon prize and eternal glory. 

The night after Professor Dumbledore’s announcement, Essie was walking  the corridors of the castle, thinking of her schoolwork and making a mental to-do list as she took the long way to the Hufflepuff common room past the stairway to the dungeons.

She could hear footsteps coming from ahead of her. Fred and George Weasley were running down the hall. One of them beelined down a smaller branch off the hallway, while the other’s face brightened as he saw Essie. Slowing down, he stepped into place beside her.

“Never caught your name the other night in the library,” he looked over his shoulder, breathing heavily from running down the hall. “I’m George,” he smiled. They rounded a corner. 

“Estelle, but you can just call me Essie.” she also looked in the direction where George was glancing. She saw Filch, angrily hobbling after them, yelling about his cat. When Filch caught up to them, he continued his shouting.

“Weasley! I know it was you. You and your brother did that to Mrs. Norris, I just know it!” 

“Ah, but you see, Filch, I have been with Essie all evening. It couldn’t have been me that dyed Mrs. Norris pink,” George feigned politeness, going as far to throw an arm over Essie’s shoulders. Filch looked to Essie, and when he saw her Prefect badge upon her school robes, George and Essie could see the battle in his head of whether to trust this story. George lightly elbowed Essie to prompt her to speak.

“Yes, Mr. Filch. George and I were just on our way back from discussing tutoring sessions for Potions class-” George elbowed her again to get her to stop talking.

“You might consider asking my brother Fred about his whereabouts. I believe he went that way,” George pointed back in the direction of where Filch had chased them down. 

Ultimately, Filch grumbled about the twins and their mischief and he hobbled off in search of George’s twin. 

“You ought to learn to keep your lies short and sweet.” George told Essie, “Easier to keep straight.” She lightly shrugged his arm off as they continued walking in the direction Essie was headed.

“There’s nothing to keep straight if you just told the truth. Pretty soon they have the snowball effect.” Essie rolled her eyes at the ginger boy. Gabriel Truman was walking towards them, looking to strike up another conversation with Essie. She halted in her tracks, and grabbed George’s arm to wrap over her shoulders again. 

“What are you-?” George was cut off by Gabriel as he approached.

“Essie, did you give anymore thought to my Hogsmeade preposition?” Gabriel hadn’t noticed George’s arm around her.

“Actually, Gabriel, I can’t.” Essie shrugged, holding onto George’s hand to keep his arm over her. “George has just asked me to be exclusive, so I can’t.” George’s eyebrows shot up when he heard the words come out of Essie’s mouth. The twins were just as famous for their flirtatious mannerisms as they were for their pranks. Gabriel looked between George and Essie suspiciously. 

“That’s right, Gabe,” George held Essie closer, sliding his arm from her shoulders to her waist. Essie blushed profusely at the contact. “Essie and I are what you would call a ‘thing’ now.” George’s chest puffed out, proud of his words. 

“Well, I didn’t realize you two had been seeing each other.” Gabe said, still wary of the two of them. “Enjoy your night,” he said as he walked off, “Don’t stay out past curfew.” Essie and George watched him walk away, waiting until he was out of eyesight. 

“What was that you said? Something about telling the truth?” George mocked a thinking face. Essie scoffed, stepping out of his arm.

“Shut up,” she rolled her eyes, “Didn’t you owe me one from ruining my essay?” Essie countered. “Consider us even.” Essie began walking again towards her common room.

“Essie Essie Essie,” George tutted as he watched her walk away. “You don’t know what you started.”

[enchantingkittengaditor]

The Fae | 3. Lessons

POV: Emma

“I’m not going to date him because he’s too tall and I care about my neck too much to bother,” I stated, discussing my father’s picks for my future husband with the only one of my friends who I trusted and knew would understand my dilemma. While she just looked at me with bulging eyes like I was insane while she leant forward, her blonde hair sprawling behind her as she sipped on her milkshake listening to me complaining.

“Not the only reason I can see but a reason nonetheless,” She blatantly stated staring at me with an intensity that could only be matched by two people. Neither of which I wanted to see at this point.

“What else is there?” I asked my brain hurting too much after what we had just done swirling with important things I'd forgotten to think about what she could possibly be talking about.

“The fact he tried to kill us last week doesn't ring any bells. Any at all?” She queried raising a singular eyebrow me completely unfazed by what had just gone on only hours before.

“Oh, yeah, that did happen. Anyway, what's going on with you and King Hunk,” I asked cheekily jabbing at the crush she’d develop on one of the boys and a secret Sky had told me after the battle.

She'd found find out soon enough.

“I can and will stab you with my straw,” She said though, I had no doubt she would and could do that in a multitude of ways based on what I knew of her godparents.

“Princess.”

That story though has a much larger plot than that so I'll take you back to the first interesting event in it. Moving Day.

After dropping off Maya’s two friends at Faragonda's office. We try to find our dorm rooms and checked in with Grizelda.

“Well, girls, Emma and Maya have their own rooms this Estelle, Marketa you're sharing. Your name is on the door second floor east wing,” She had stated as we started dragging our bags up the stairs towards the dorms we were allocated to.

“So Emma, why'd you got your own room?” Marketa asked highly annoyed at me for reasons I couldn't control.

“It’s most likely a request for my grandparents though, I doubt it'll last long with our two new additions. Also, Marqueta can you please pass me the box in the corridor?”

“Lazy, bitch,” She muttered passing me the Box before going back across the whole to her room she shared with Estelle.

And started unpacking her own bags and boxes. I assume what she was actually doing was helping Estelle unpack her 20 suitcases and attempt to fit all of it in their magic wardrobe. I shook my head laughing before closing my dorm door heading towards the bedroom to unpack. That was before I heard a knock on my door and decided to open it.

“Ah, Miss Lokidöttir, just who I wanted to see. This is your new roommate, Tegan. She'll be staying here after tomorrow. But until then enjoy having the room to yourself,” Miss Grizelda, the teacher in charge of sucking all of the joy from the students, stated before turning to Tegan, “Emma will be your roommate and you are expected to keep her in line at all times. Understood?

“Yes, ma'am,” We stated in union as she stepped into the room.

After I talked to Tegan about herself and her life on Earth I felt the need to defend her to Estelle and Marketa whenever they started being rude about her at our movie night that followed. We talked as she helped me unpack, I promised to do the same when she came back with her stuff the following day. We talked about how we both hated our fathers, about how we both felt out of place in the place we were meant to call home, about what we had in common, which as it turns out is more than either of us expected. She was so sweet and I could tell that there was a lot more underneath the surface than she let on. I'd asked her about them and she claimed it was fine but I could tell it hurt her and for that, I am so sorry for her. She just needs to get to know them and they need to get to know her and they'll get on.

I tried to explain to her in that time some of the traditions we have on Magix like the annual gift ball to welcome the freshmen which I think confused her more. I tried to explain princess balls and everything I could think of to make her transition to Alfea easier than what I imagined it could be like especially if Estelle and Marketa continued to be such bitches to her and her friend. They're good people deep down inside, I'd told her she only responded with a chuckle and 'I know a lot of people like them, and I'm sure they are but for now I think it's best that they stay the ice princesses they are while I get settled it'll make it feel more homely if the popular kids don't like me'. I felt sorry for her she was coming to a new place and yet still they instead on being so rude to her and not giving her a chance even though she would give them a chance if roles were reversed. I just wish they could see things from an outsiders perspective, life here was and is hard when you weren't born into a fairy family, or raised by one they have no clue what it can be like to be on the outside looking in, but I do so I'm going to make sure she doesn't have to put up with that anymore.

The movie my friends had decided to watch was actually a documentary about earth as Maya decided they should know more about where they were mocking before they decided to continue with their torment of these two girls. Hopefully, they would see that life can be hard especially depending on where and how they were brought up because unlike Magix their world is falling to pieces due to... well everything that's happened in recent years, and people are killing their planet. The chances of my friends changing their opinions and minds is slimmer than the chance a pig could grow wings and fly but it can be done I just know it can because they have good hearts and good intentions they just don't know how to express that to new people who are used to completely different cultures and ways of life but I know that they will do what's right, even if it takes them a while.

After our all night long movie festivities we had to stagger down the stairs towards the dining room making sure not to allow Grizelda to notice how sleep deprived we looked. Once we entered the Grand Dining Hall I could instantly see how it got its name. The ceilings had to be at least 20ft high and there was a beautiful mural painted on it of the defeat of the ancestral witches one of Estelle's cousins proudest feats before her demise, though I doubted anyone would find it useful of me to point it out given that no one else remembers the Winx Club, only us and perhaps a few of the boys but you couldn't say for sure because it's hard to bring up because what do you say "Hey do you remember that group of 6 fairies that single-handedly took down some of the greatest threats to our world ever? No me either I must have just dreamt it" you can't just say that to a person you'd get put in a nut house or worse detention. At least I know my friends know too and that means I'm not the only one who wants to find out what happened to them. The dining hall was truly magnificent though, the only thing in my opinion that beat it at Alfea was the food, their food had certainly improved from what Stella's diary had described it as and trust me that is a great thing.

We’d read Stella’s diary to help us figure out what happened to her and everyone else in the Winx Club but it’d come up with nothing which doesn’t surprise me given that you know they vanished and nothing but a hand full of relics of them still existed but it did lead to us being able to know the ins and outs of Alfea before even stepping foot on the campus, including and not excluding: How to sneak into the restricted area of the library, where all of the tunnels under the school lead to, and how to handle Miss Grizelda without any hassle. It had been a very effective weekend for all of us.

Today was day 2 of our 2 moving days, meaning there were tours, chances to speak to teachers and of course the mandatory course selection which is a fancy way of saying, "tell Grizelda what your powers are so she can check you're enrolled in the right classes" and the only other mandatory thing. Shopping. Going shopping on the second move-in day was a custom for freshman because of the annual gift ball being held at the end of the first week and of course this lead to us explaining how buses here work to our two new group members after we helped them move in and get all checked in, correctly by Grizelda.

"So, what are you guys looking for for the ball next week?" Estelle asked as Maya gave Tegan a worried look that to me said if you say anything but a dress I will kill you in your sleep tonight.

"What ball?" Simone asked cutting off anything else that was going on for Estelle to start well being Estelle...

[silas-lehnsherr]

Fic Writer’s Year In Review

I was tagged by @areyouscarletcold (Thanks so much by the way) and thought I would do one of these as well.

General Fic Stats for 2018:

Word Count: 253,567

Number of fics: 28

Most Popular by Kudos:

Birthday Boy

My first pre-series Coldwave fic. Summary: Mick shows up on Leonard’s birthday to give him a very special gift he’s been thinking about for a while. (Maximum smut)

My Favorite Fic To Write:

Santa Baby

It’s hard to chose, but I have to go with my first contribution to Coldwave Winter Week this year. Summary: Dirty Santa Heist fic. While laying low after a job gone bad, Leonard convinces Mick to help him rob the Starling Mall by dressing up as Santa. (Again, much smut)

Funniest Fic:

Save a Horse (Ride a Cowgirl)

I’m not generally a funny writer, so it is really hard to pick any of what I wrote, but my favorite bit I wrote involved a joke about Leonard being attracted to safes. At least I thought it was funny. Summary: While the Waverider is laying low in the temporal zone, Sara and Kendra take the jump ship for a girls’ night out, which gets cut short when Sara runs off with the bartender. Part 3 of my captain canary poly series. (And yes, more smut)

Fluffiest Fic:

How I Almost Met Your Mother

I am not a fluff writer by any means, and this might be the only story where I actually achieved genuine fluff. A contribution to legends of superflarrow fluff weekend. Summary: After spending the night together, Leonard is forced to hide in Mick’s closet to avoid running into his mother. Pre-series teenage dorks.

Saddest Fic:

This one is actually a tie because I can’t choose between them.

The Space Between Us

This one may count more as angsty than sad, but I still count it because writing it made me sad. Summary: Newly returned from the dead, Michael Scofield tries to bond with his son while out camping. (Deals with the aftermath of faking his death and not knowing how to have a relationship with the child he hurt in the process of trying to save the family.)

Things We Lost in the Fire

This one is definitely sad and angsty. My contribution to Leonard Snart Big Bang. Summary: While going back in time to save teenage Mick from The Pilgrim, Leonard is forced to confront a past he long buried. (Includes the past death of a child, very sad.) I still have plans to continue this one in a pre-series epic fic at some point this year. It is on the ever lengthing list.

Most Challanging Fic To Write:

Paper Birds

My epic Prison Break fic that I started in April and then had to take a step back from for a few months in order for it to happen. It ended up being over 176,000 by the end and felt like it would never end in both good and bad ways. Summary: After two years at Fox River Sara Tancredit thinks that everything is starting to come together for her until she is asked to do a psych eval on Lincoln Burrows before he can be executed.

Fic I’m Proudest of Writing:

All I Want For Christmas

Obviously I am quite proud of Paper Birds, but since I already used that one, I will go with my last contribution to CWWW this year. It includes some fluff, though hinted at, and some angst and ended up my favorite of the seven I wrote for the event. Summary: Arriving home earlier than expected Leonard finds his hot firefighter roommate thinking about him. (A shit ton of smut to go with the fluff and angst, including sex toys and voyeurism.)

Least Popular Fic:

Firestarter

It makes sense this one wouldn’t be super popular since it is an extremely rare pair (this was only the second fic for them on ao3) and it was also posted at the end of the year so it had less chance to get many hits. I am greatful to those that read it and commented or left kudos on this off the wall Mick Rory/Martin Stein fic. Summary: Dr. Stein knows he shouldn’t be attracted to a patient, especially one dealing with his own attraction issues, but he can’t help himself when the opportunity to help the man coincides with his desires. (Therapist AU)

Honourable Mentions:

The rest of my CWWW series: Sounds of the Season (which is basically seven stories of varying degrees of smuttiness)

Bad Dog Another contribution to fluff weekend. Summary: While left alone in his crate while his humans are gone, a small dog is left to wonder what he did wrong for them to abandon him when all of a sudden two thieves break into the house. (Basically, during a heist, Leonard steals this family’s dog, told from the dog’s point of view)

What You Need The second of my Captain Canary Poly series. Summary: After the first time they hooked up Sara couldn’t help thinking of something very particular Leonard let her do only to discover he’s been wanting the same thing. (A lot of smut with some cuddling.)

General Writing Impressions:

I took a long break from writing until this year, and even then most of my stories were written within the last few months. Apparently I wrote 23 stories this year, one of them over 176k, so I got back in the swing of things with a vengeance. I had a very odd year and writing helped me a lot. I have a number of projects in the works including a sequel to Things We Lost in the Fire and to whichever CWWW fic wins the poll I am currently running. I also have some completely standalone stories to work on that I hope someone out there is interested in. Thanks to everyone who read me this past year. I hope that I wrote something that you liked and that you will come back in 2019 to read more. I’ve already posted my first fic, and by no means to I intend to stop anytime soon.

Writers You Should Read:

This is by no means a complete list. I have met a lot of really great people over in the Shipyard discord server that have been a great help to me. I don’t know all of their names on here, so if I forget you, it was probably because I didn’t know you blog name and I am sorry. The ones I do know as well as a few others I would suggest reading are as follows:

@agentmarymargaretskitz @bold-sartorial-statement @stillnotginger10 @pinkletterday @jewishgarygreen @kleptoandpyro @hiverforesteevee @coldflasher @coldtomyflash @sophiainspace @drnathanielheywood @dragonydreams @captainwhogotthecanary @dbcwinter @ranger-of-estel

And many many more. I had a lot of fun writing this year, and I know a lot of other people did to. It has been a great pleasure to share with you all and hear your feedback. I look forward to more in the future. Thank you so much for all the support and Happy New Year!

[hockeyfun]

Jakob Chychrun #1

Anon request: Hi! Loved the Sebastian aho one!!!<3 could I request a Jakob chychrun one this time, where you play for the Boston pride and either you meet the team/wags or you guys have a cute skate date and he doesn't know you play? Merci:)

Warnings: none (except a little moment of comparing the readers self to wags)

Word count: 3194

Author’s note: this one kind of sucks and i’m sorry. I legit wrote it four times all with different plots. I had extreme writer’s block on this. So so so so sorry.

“Why do I have to do this?” you questioned your good friend Max Domi. You could practically feel his pleading stare through the phone, “Because I want you to come to this family skate with me because Estelle can’t come till later and I thought it would be fun for us. I haven’t seen you since last year when I played in Boston,” he reminded you. “Fine, I’ll come. I’ll let you know when I land,” you hung up. It was going to be your first time back to Arizona in a long while. You were one of the few prides of the Arizona hockey world. You paved the way for many to see Arizona as a hockey state making you semi important. You were one of the firsts to get to a pro-hockey league. After playing a few years in Europe and a few years of playing for the US national team, decided to play for the newly National Women’s Hockey League on one or their teams, the Boston Pride.

When your plane touched down your sister was waiting there to pick you up. She engulfed you into a huge hug. “I can’t believe you’re here right now,” she smiled at you. Her skin glowed with a tan from the Arizona sun. “Max has been calling me making sure you didn’t bale out on him,” she told you as she threw your luggage in her car. You rolled your eyes., “You know I’ve only really met Max in person a few times and yet he acts like we have known each other our whole lives,” you laughed. Your sister nodded her head in agreement. “I think he’s just an extreme extrovert,” she laughed. You agreed with her.

Max picked you up at your sister’s apartment. His car was sleek and professional, a car that was too expensive for its own good. He called your name as he got out of the car. He wore jeans and a Yotes t-shirt. You smiled brightly at your friend. “Maxi,” you proclaimed as he held his arms open for you to hug. “I can’t believe you are actually here right now,” he whispered to you while he held you in the embrace. You two broke apart and left for the arena. When you arrived to the arena Max led you through while you carried your skates. You passed many players and their families. You grew self conscious comparing yourself to the women. Their bodies were a lot different than yours. They were skinny while you had an athletes’ build, your thighs and arms were thick with muscles. You quickly shook the feeling off, telling yourself that your body was the exact way you wanted it to be. It allowed you to be the athlete you are. Max brought you to the locker room. “Estelle, I thought you weren’t coming till later,” Max said a little too obvious as he saw his girlfriend. She looked at him, “Surprise, I got off early,” she spoke. You looked at Max, everything coming together, “You lied. Estelle was always going to be here,” you laughed in astonishment. Estelle couldn’t help but to laugh, “What gave it away? Max’s inability to act?” she joked affectionately. You couldn’t help but laugh with her. “I told him he wouldn’t be able to pull it off.” You nodded your head to agree with her statement. Max looked at you both, “Okay whatever, I got her here and that’s all that matters,” he stated proudly. You looked at him a bit confused, “why was it so important for me to be here again?” You questioned. Estelle looked at Max with the ‘this was your plan. You tell her’ look. He rolled his eyes at her, “well you see one of my teammates didn’t have anyone to bring to the skate and was a little down about it so I told him I’d bring a friend. Which is you,” he pointed out. Now it was your turn to roll your eyes at him. “Why didn’t you just ask me?” “Because you could have said no. Now you’re here and so is Jakob,” he responded while looking over your shoulder. You turned around to see who he was looking at and saw a tall blonde boy walking into the locker room. Your heart raced as you made eye contact with him. You turned quickly back to Max. “I can’t be with him. He’s gorgeous,” you panicked. Your mind raced. No man like that could ever be into you. He was gorgeous. He could have anyone. Estelle and Max looked at you with amusement. “Yes, you can, and he’ll be very impressed by your skating skills,” he argued. You rolled your eyes at him. There was no fighting it now. You were already here. He knew he had won. “Awesome, I’ll go get him,” he said as he passed you. Estelle took a step closer and linked her arm through yours. “I’m sorry I let him do it, but I think this would be really awesome for you. You never know he could be the one,” she whispered to you. “You sound like my roommate every time I have a date,” you responded. She was about to respond when another woman come up to her. “Estelle,” she smiled and hugged your friend. She then turned to you, “hi, I’m Brooke,” she spoke sweetly. You responded with introducing yourself. You weren’t particularly sure how you felt about Brooke but to be fair you didn’t know how you felt about Estelle for a while and now you absolutely love her. Estelle and Brooke kept talking as you looked and examined the locker room. The room was bustling with excitement. You could tell how much the players loved moments like these with their family. As you looked at the players, your competitive side come out. You could definitely beat some of these guys on a one on one. Max and Jakob walked over to you.

The moment Jakob walked into the locker room you caught his eyes. He knew Max was trying to set him up but he didn’t really know what that meant, and to be honest he forgot about it. He had been pretty bummed about being alone for the skate (which is why Max brought you) but after seeing you he was excited. He saw you scan the room and read your emotions like a book. You  were self conscious about the woman around you. Seeing you like that angered him, how could you not see the beauty you held. Then he saw your face soften when you looked at the relationships across the room. When Max’ walked over, Jakob was ready to meet you. Max kept him waiting for a second blabbing on about things. Finally though, he said it was time to introduce you.

Max introduced the two of you. Jakob’s blue eyes looked at you with interest and attraction, something that made the butterflies in your stomach flutter. The head coach of the Arizona Coyotes, walked into the room with a few other people followed. His eyes scanned the room and as he passed you, he gave you a small cordial nod. Jakob looked back and forth between you too. “Do you know coach?” he asked. You nodded your head, “Kind of, we’ve met a few times in passing. I think,” you answered. Jakob was very confused. “Was it at a Coyotes events. I know I would have remembered you if I had seen you before,” he was trying to figure out more than complimenting you. You laughed a little at that. “I honestly can’t remember.” The coach began to speak, “We all are excited to have you all here today for the annual loved ones skate. Please enjoy it, without you all I’m sure our boys would not be the players they are. Lets skate!” he said and everyone cheered. “Want me to help you put on your skates?” Jakob whispered in your ear. You looked at him a bit confused. Did Jakob not know who you were. He must not have and you couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh. “If you want?” you responded planning to milk this out a bit. He walked you over to his locker stall and you sat down. He “helped” you put on your skates which seemed ridiculous but it was also nice to be treated. “Have you skated before?” he asked as he stood up and held his hand out to you. You chuckled as you took his hand to help you up. “Umm… yes, i have,” you said a bit vaguely wanting to hold out on telling him who you are. It made you feel like you had the upper hand on this situation. “Well, if you need any help, I will be right with you,” he kindly said. You smiled at him sweetly. Jakob was just being nice and maybe you should just tell him who you are but also it would be fun to see his face. He kept a guiding hand on your lower back as the two of you walked out of the locker room and to the rink. An indescribable happiness filled you when you saw the blank sheet of ice in the arena. It was a feeling that overtook you every time you saw ice. Your face followed upwards to the large arena. You had never played a game in this big of an arena so when you stood there, you tried to imagine it. Jakob watched your face light up in excitement. It was gorgeous. He could stand there looking at you for forever, but you had other plans. “Come on,” you said like a kid on Christmas. You grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the open gate. “Be careful,’ he called as you took a step on to the ice. As you were on the ice you looked up around the arena. Jakob skated next to you. “So this is what you see every time you play?” you said in awe. He nodded his head. In a not to far off distance Max was skating at a high speed towards you. Once he got close enough he turned his skates to a stop, spraying you with ice. You pressed up against Jakob. He instinctively wrapped his arms around you in protection. Max let out a laugh. “Max, I’m going to kill you,” you said. He took off skating. You pushed yourself out of Jakob’s embrace and speed off to Max. You caught up to him with ease as you were faster, and luckily for you, he was nearing the boards. You checked him into them. You stayed in that position, pushing him into the glass, “uncle, uncle,” he pleaded. You finally released him, and he fell to the ice laughing. You put your arms up in victory. “Once again, i’m always victorious and Max Domi isn’t,” you cheered. “What the hell was that,” you heard Jakob skating up behind you guys. You looked at him while trying to compose yourself and slow your breathing down. Max was still laughing on the ground, “what,” you brushed some of your hair out of your face. “You can skate, and skate well,”  he said flabbergasted. Max who was getting up started laughing and fell onto the ice again. “Yeah she can skate, she’s played for like every women’s team in the world,” he exaggerated. You looked down at him and rolled your eyes, and looked back at Jakob. “Yeah, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. You were just being really cute and I didn’t want to burst your bubble,” you said sheepishly. “And she’s the devil,” Max pitched in while finally standing on his feet. You looked at him, “Don’t make me push you again,” you glared at him. “That was nothing,” he taunted. “Okay really? Well I know someone who can hurt you, Estelle,” you yelled. Estelle was currently talking to some of the other women but when she heard you call she looked up at you. “Can you come get your man, He’s being a dick” you hollered. She rolled her eyes and looked at Max. ‘Get over her’ she mouthed at him. “tattle tell,” he whispered as he skated towards his girlfriend. You knew she wasn’t going to do anything but get him away from you. “So your a professional hockey player?” Jakob asked. He was totally taken by who you were. You nodded your head and told him your hockey story. The two of you skated around the rink holding hands as he kept asking you about your life. You told him your favorite memory of playing. He told you his. It was really nice to talk to someone so who understood what you were going through but still was curious about it. He thought it was so interesting that you had gotten into hockey as a woman from Arizona. He was impressed. You just fell in love with the sport and because woman’s hockey wasn’t huge here you had to always play with the boys making you always having to work harder to prove yourself. It worked in your favor to get you where you are now. “Are you coming to our game tomorrow?” He asked. You hadn’t actually planned on going to the game as you weren’t going to be in Arizona for too long and tonight but the feelings you had building up for Jakob made you want to say yes. It was a crush in that you knew you shouldn’t pursue but one that you heart was going to make you pursue anyway. You had no control. “I can,” you said to him. His smile grew, “I’m not sure if I should be nervous having you watch me. You actually know the game,” he truthfully joked. You rolled your eyes at him, “You have nothing to worry about. Except if you screw up I won’t ever be able to talk to you again,” you sarcastically spoke. You skated backwards away from him. He shook his head at you. He skated close to you again, “fine, then I won’t give you my jersey to wear.” You kinda stumbled, not expecting him to say that. His hands reached for you effortlessly in a protective way. You looked up into his blue eyes. His smile making you feel weak in your knees. “So, will you wear my jersey and be supportive?” he asked with a teasing tone. “Sure,” you tried to subdue your growing smile, “oh but Max will be pissed,” you joked. Jakob rolled his eyes, “he’ll survive.” The smile on both of your faces. While everyone else was skating, Jakob took you back to the empty locker room. “Stay here while I grab a jersey. Home or Away?” “Home,” you answered. He walked out and you took a minute to settle your heart. You looked around the locker room and smiled. When you woke up this morning you didn’t think you would be having this much fun. In came Jakob and you couldn’t help but have a huge grin on your face. He gave you an amused yet confused look, “What?” he asked. You shook your head at him, “Nothing, I’m just happy,” you responded. He gave you a matching grin, “Here,” he said handing you his jersey. You grabbed it and analyzed it. The Coyotes logo was one you were familiar with but there was a specific happiness in getting a new hockey jersey that over took you.

The next day you were freaking out. You wanted to look good for this game. You wanted to look good for Jakob. You asked Estelle to do your makeup and hair, something she was better at than you. She gladly did it. You wore your favorite jeans and knee high boots. Something you normally would never pair with a hockey jersey but Estelle said it was the normal thing women wore to games.

The first period of the game was intense. The Arizona Coyotes were a physical team and it was getting a rise at the opposing team, Jakob was in the thick of it being a bigger guy. But the second period you were worried for the team. The game was getting dangerously physical and the referees were not taking control of the game. The ice team came out to clean the ice, the jumbotron showed you sitting in your seat. You looked at it a bit surprise but you relaxed as they began to introduce you over the speakers. They told the crowd how many accolades you won as a hockey player, they even showed some clips from your career. They then showed some pictures of you in an (at the time Phoenix) Coyotes Triple A jersey as a young child. The announcer then said how important you were to Arizona and hockey there. You waved to everyone graciously as it showed you again. The arena cheered in gratitude and the players from both benches banged their sticks against the ice and the boards. You were grateful for this moment and a bit embarrassed but you tried to not let it show. Finally when the jumbotron stopped showing you, you looked for the player wearing the number 6. You could see his electric blue eyes staring at you. You smiled and turned your shoulder just enough for him to be able to see his number 6 on it. His mouth grew into a large grin then he returned his focus to the game.

Your nails were nonexistent by how anxious you were. The game was in OT and you had never felt this connected to a game you weren’t a part of. 3 minutes were left in Over Time and Jakob and Max were on the ice. The Coyotes passed the puck a few times and it ended up on Max’s stick. He was quick to pass across the ice to Jakob, where he took a quick slap shot. It soured pass the defensemen and the goalie into the net. The arena went wild and you were no exception. You were screaming and so was everyone else. You hugged Estelle as she was super excited for the team. She had been through a lot of the losing so any when was a good one.

The moment you saw Jakob your adrenaline was still running high so you launched yourself at him. “Oh my gosh you did amazing!” You cheered. He caught you effortlessly and chuckled. When your feet where back on the ground he kept his arms around you. You stood there in his arms and looked up at him. His blue eyes capturing your heart. “The jersey looks amazing on you,” he commented. You couldn’t trust yourself to respond outlaid so you just smiled. “Why don’t you greet me like that,” you hear Max pout to Estelle. You rolled your eyes at him. “So I was thinking,” Jakob pondered, “that maybe I could take you out before you leave?” he asked shyly. Your smile grew into a full toothy grin. “I would love that.”

[telltheworld-phff]

Chapter 30: Promotion

December was a busy month to everyone. But to Carol, it became her busiest yet.

They were only in the second week of the month and she still wasn’t speaking to Harry. There was a side of her that missed him, their chats and even their Skype calls. But she didn’t want to give him hopes she wouldn’t be able to fulfill. She was clear with him all the time, but he still thought he had some sort of claim on her. She wasn’t talking to him because she was mad, she was, but that wasn’t the only reason. Carol didn’t want to be a bitch and break his heart. Because he had such a kind and good heart and she wanted it to remain the same. She thought it was best for him to make them disconnect a little bit. They were spending a lot of time, calling, texting and when they were together, they were glued together and it wasn’t a healthy thing to do with someone you didn’t intend to have a relationship with. But she couldn’t deny she was missing his voice, specially when his accent became stronger. Because that meant he was either happy or aroused. Sometimes even when he was angry his British accent came out stronger. She missed how he made sure to find a way to talk to her all day, every day.

She was enjoying a quiet day at the office and was reading a few articles here and there when she came across one announcement that made her royal-watching heart fill with joy:

“Their Royal Highnessess Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel have the great pleasure to announce that they’re expecting their third child.

The birth is to take place in April 2018.

Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar are looking forward to welcome a new sibling.

No changes in the schedule of the Crown Princess couple public engagements are planned.”

She smiled big when she read it. Victoria was one of her favorite princesses and she truly was a great role model to everyone. She instantly got her phone to text Harry the news when she stopped mid way. She too was used to tell him everything and this habit scared her how subconsciously she was going to do it. She erased the text before sending it and got up to start her day. She had a meeting with directors and she didn’t want to be late.

(…)

“I’m going to where?” she asked in disbelief.

“London” one of the directors said.

“Why?” she asked.

“Because your inclusion project was well received and our main office wants to implement it there. And since you were the one who developed it, you’re to go there.”

“For how long do you think I’d have to stay there?” she asked.

“Well, darling… It took you nine months to implement it here. So given that our London headquarters is four times bigger than this one, I’d say you’re going to stay there at least for a year, but really wanting to say you’re probably going to be one of their permanent employees.” her boss told her and she was awestruck. She was being kind of promoted and they were putting up a plan for her to move to London. It was a dream come true? Yes. But at the moment she wanted to be anywhere but there.

“I think it’s a great opportunity, Carolina.” one woman she didn’t remember the name said. “Your housing will be paid by the company. You’re going to earn a lot more, not to mention the fact you’ll be living abroad. It is a booster to any resume.” she finished.

“I… I don’t know what to say.” Carol said above a whisper.

“We know it’s a lot to ask you. But, let’s think this through. You have worked hard and fought for this project with everything you had. You followed every step, you put most of this together. Would it be fair for us to send anyone but you to work there?”

“No. It wouldn’t be fair.”

“Exactly.” her boss said. “So, we’re offering you another position. You can tell us how much you want for a wage and how many times in a month you want to receive your payments. You can chose a London neighborhood to live, you’re going with a full sponsored visa paid by us and you’ll be working in the same company you are right now...”

“The same but not quite same.” she said.

“I really want you to choose to go, Carolina.” her boss said and looked at the other directors. “Because it’s simply a dream job.”

“I know… I probably have always dreamed of living abroad, but right now, I don’t know if I should move to London due to personal matters...” she took a deep breath “But I take it they’re demanding someone as soon as possible, right?”

“Always clever. They want someone that knows how this project works to go there. And if you chose to stay, we’re going to send someone else.”

Carol closed her eyes and her mind was racing already making pros and cons lists. She wanted to go? Of course. But she never was away from her home or from her mom. But in London she’d be close to her sister. She’d have her friends (that were Harry’s friends too), she’d be able to get the master degree she wanted and she’d be close to him. She laughed at the irony that fate kept pushing them together. Just when she decided to step back and give them some space, she was thrown in his way once again.

“I’ll do it. But I want to negotiate terms.” Carol said getting a piece of paper and a pen. She started to write everything she wanted. If they wanted her to go, she’d go in her terms.

“Let’s start with payments…” she said cutting to the point. Her boss only smiled brightly, he had taught this young lady well.

(…)

She soon had a growing list of tasks to do.

To be able to have a working visa, she had to take a proficiency test to see if she had the required level of English. Her company had scheduled it to three days later, after the meeting. She studied a little bit just out of habit, because right now she didn’t have any doubts about her level of English. It was a difficult test, not because she didn’t know what was asked of her, but because she had to do a writing report on a plain subject (flowers), she had to listen to excerpts of movies, songs and readings to answer a few questions about it, there were lots of text interpretation questions along with grammar ones. And the final part of the text was an hour long conversation with a native speaker. He was pretty sharp and sometimes even rude. He shifted the conversation to common things to news around the world to books and literature. She never was so relieved in life when she was dismissed to go home. Her scores would be up in a couple of weeks and she really wanted to not have to repeat this test again.

RH had applied for her visa. She had a meeting with them where they explained the type of the visa they were getting her. It was a tier 2 visa, also an intra-company transfer. Her visa was for a  long term staff and where she could stay in UK up to 5 years. They didn’t think she was able to introduce, discuss the particulars, implement and train employees in less than a year. So they were paying for the 5 year visa, so that way they wouldn’t have a deadline to make them hush things. It’d take two weeks for her answer to come back from UK’s embassy in Brazil and that would be only after Christmas. But it was a certainty that she’d get one, so they helped her to look at the other documents she needed to do. They gave her the receipts of her income tax payments ever since she became a BBC employee, they helped her to translate and validate all of her degrees (high school and university and other courses she took) and they shared with her a couple of flats that she could chose from to live in. She received her TOEFL test score by December 21st , her last day of work, she had gotten an outstanding 110 points out of 120. She smiled proudly and her boss only said she was the perfect person to send to the main offices.

(…)

Christmas she spent at home with her family. Hailey was here and they all had cooked their dinner. Flavio and Maria were more in love than ever and their daughters were having the time of their lives to mess with them about it. They opened the gifts after eating dinner. As a Brazilian couture, gifts were opened in the eve of the 24th. They all were sitting on the living room floor and were surrounded by wrapping papers. They were chatting freely and Maria gave Carol a small envelope. She opened it and saw it was a letter.

“Darling,

I know I can’t start a letter saying I’m sorry. But right now I can only think of it to start it. So here it goes: I’m sorry for the way I treated you. I’ve let you down again and it pains me to say that I don’t deserve this friendship. I’m such a shitty and jealous friend and I understand why you got so pissed and why you ignored me this past weeks. I want you to know that I have missed you a lot. Really, a lot. I want to make amends with you, so I decided this will be the first year I don’t throw my new year’s eve party, because I can’t celebrate anything if I’m to be far away from you. It sounded cheeky, right? I know. But it’s the truth, Carolina. How can I celebrate without my best friend?

Instead, I asked your mom’s help to give you a gift you’ll really enjoy. We’re going away. Just you and me. Don’t worry, I’m not going to kidnap you. Because if I was to do it, I wouldn’t be writing it on a letter, would I? It’s just a getaway from our busy lives and a quiet place for us to talk freely. I really want you accept the gift I planned for you. Because I had so much fun putting it together and I can’t wait to actually be there. So, I’m going to ask you: get your passport ready and pack for a cold weather. The rest is taken care of. See you on the 27th.

Always yours,

Henry.”

Carol was in tears by the end of the letter. She missed him so much and those heartfelt words melted her icy heart. She missed him and she had already forgiven and forgotten what he had said.

“Mom! Where is he taking me?” she asked her mom while drying her tears.

“I’m not going to tell you, but I think you should go.” Maria answered.

“Please...” Carol pleaded.

“I won’t tell you, don’t even try.” Maria shared a mischievous smile with Flavio and Hailey and it was clear that they all knew where she was about to travel to.

(…)

On Christmas morning Carol ate breakfast with her family. They were in pajamas and Carol was still trying to know where she was going with Harry but they all kept their mouths pretty shut. She was annoyed for a little while and her mood changed to a grumpy one for the rest of the day. She only truly smiled when they were walking around Ibirapuera park. They went to have lunch at one of its restaurants and decided to take a stroll around the park. In Brazil this time of the year is summer, and the park was pretty empty because of the holiday. They walked to a patch of flowers by the lake and the three women gasped when they turned around to see Flavio on one knee with a ring box opened and asking Maria to marry him.

“Nós não conseguimos da primeira vez, mas eu não quero te deixar escapar novamente. Você quer se casar comigo?” [we didn’t get it the first time, but I’m not letting you go again. Will you marry me?]

The girls were jumpy and waiting for her answer.

Maria had her hands on her mouth and tears in her eyes. He was giving her the same ring he had proposed all those years ago. The one she had given back to him. She nodded once, twice before saying.

“Sim! Sim, sim, sim!” [yes! Yes, yes, yes!]

He got up and hugged her taking her feet of the ground. He spun her and they kissed before he put the ring on her finger. They soon hugged their daughters (both were crying) and they felt this was one of the best Christmas ever. When they got home, the girls were the first to grab their laptops and start planning their parents wedding. Flavio and Maria were just having fun with them, but truth be told, by the evening they had already sorted out a couple of things, but specially the date. April 14th, 2018. And it scared both of them how crazy their girls could get when they went into planning mode. But they were also relieved that the didn’t have to do most of the heavy work. If the girls kept this pace, they’d have to just show up on the day. They shared a knowing look before getting up to get a bottle of wine and snacks for all of them.

A/N: It’s 2 am right now and I couldn’t go to sleep before putting another chapter up. Hope you like it.

I also want you guys to go check @royalfanficcentral They have other amazing histories for you to read (I sure am reading lots from there)

[chaosbisexual]

1-74?

Hey there nonnie!! idk why, bc tbh i’m p boring, but thank you! i’ve already answered a handful of these so i’ll just do the rest!! thank you!!

1: How tall or short do you wish you were? i mean i’m 5″2 so i wish i was taller,,,, like maybe just 5″6 or so??? just a bit taller???

2: Do you have a favorite clothing style? i LOVE dresses okay i’m that girl,, but i love dresses that come in at the waist bc i’m curvy so i like the waist,, and like high waisted shorts and jeans and skirts w shorter tops??? mm i LOVE. but i’m also comfortable with like big jumpers and stuff too so…

3: Do you like makeup? if so, What’s your daily makeup routine look like? Yes! I love makeup! i’m not very good at it but i find makeup v calming and usually when i’m upset the process of putting youtube or music on and doin my makeup is so theraputic,,, i usually do pencil eyeliner, eyebrows, concealer, mascara and eyeshadow if i have time (not in that order) but i honestly love eyeshadow pallets sm 

4: What three things/people do you think of most each day: things bc i’m boring; tea, blankets and friends. 

5: If you had a warning label, what would yours say? OVER EMOTIONAL AND OVERBEARING AND WILL PROBABLY LOVE YOU TOO MUCH,,, A BIT LIKE A PUPPY. ALSO HIGHLY ANXIOUS AND CRIES WHEN TEA IS UNAVAILABLE,,, that sounds about right,,,, 

7: What is your Greek personality type? [Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric, or Melancholic] : I love personality quizzes and i literally just took this and i’m melancholic?? which i agree w a lot actually (look it up if you want to know more lol)

9: who’s your favorite celebrity? hmm currently dodie clark (she counts ok) emma watson, adelaide kane, or matty healy,,, hmmm,,,,,,

10: who’s your favorite viner? i dont really watch vines but i think thomas sanders and lizzza are hilarious so,,,,

11: favorite youtubers? i kinda answered this before but dodie, lucy moon, jack and dean (anyone in that circle) dan and phil, carrie hope fletcher. 

12: cat or dogs? i dont like this bc i love them both but when it comes to mutual love,,,, dogs (but my cat has LOVED me recently idk whats happening)

14: If you had to change your name, what would you change it to? i honestly don’t know,,, i LOVE the name lyra but i feel like i’d want to name my child that,,, but idk i also like laurel, lily, estelle,,,,

16: Would you rather be nocturnal or diurnal [opposite of nocturnal]? i feel most productive at night, and i love night, but i feel like people diurnal is more the norm and when i’d actually be able to get stuff done,, so that

17: Any phobias or fears? bein alone, being unproductive, unhappiness,, i don;t think i have any phobias but i am quite an anxious bean

18: Favorite movie? hmmmm 10 things i hate about you, any hp film, the narnia films,,, r+j,,,, there’s so m a n y 

19: Do you get scared easily? short answer: yes,,, long answer: Y Y E E S S 

21: What is a color that calms you? blue, like pale blue, green (bc being outside makes me feel calm) and like mauve bc it reminds me of my mum 

23: Where were you born? melbourne buddy

24: Introvert or extrovert? ambivert,,,, but i think i’m closer to extrovert 

25: Do you believe in horoscopes and zodiacs? YES I’M SUCH A TAURUS

 26: Hugs or kisses? i mean i’ve never kissed anyone so i’d have to say hugs

28: Talk about your crush, if you have one! idk where to begin w this omg,,,,

29: A sound you really love? RAIN. RAIN.  R A I N. and my friends talking, that makes me feel good too. 

30: Can you do the splits? nOPE 

31: Favorite actor and/or actress? emma watson, thomas brodie-sangster, asa butterfield, tatiana maslany, dev patel,,, ugh so many people

33: How are you feeling right now?  i mean ??? neutral??? like i’m not happy but i’m not sad?? fine??? 

34: What color would you like your hair to be right now?  i mean i used to want to be ginger but then i realized i would look crap but tonight at a dinner i was called a ranga (my hair is v light brown) and now i’m conflicted,, but like i kinda want darker hair rn 

35: Something that calms you down? dodie clark, my friends, tea, long walks.

36: Have any disorders? no but i might have anxiety??? 37: What does your URL mean? combo of my fave characters, clara oswald from doctor who and james and lily potter from hp,,, not even sorry 

38: What makes you unfollow a blog? inactive, rude or a person i just don’t want to be associated with anymore (this only happened once when i had a falling out w someone irl)

39: What makes you follow a blog? nice username or aesthetic, or i find you on my dash somehow. i follow a lot of people but it’s nice there’s variety. 

40: Favorite kind of person: one who understands me and listens to me but is also completely at ease w who they are and is willing to be open with me.

41: Name three of your favorite blogs. @alicelongbottom, @hpwritersnet (i’m part of this but we’re great) and @acestephendene ,, ily all sm and your blogs are all AMAZING,

42: What is your MBTI personality type? INFJ!!!! and it fits me really well tbh.

43: What outfit out of all your clothes do you like to wear the most? currently my maxi dress or my jeans :)

44: Post a selfie or two? lol i don’t currently have any up put i have a pic of ME if that counts. everything will be under the tag “my face”

45: Do you like to swim? YES

46: Is swimming or ice skating more fun to you? swimming, i can’t skate for shit lol

47: Something you wish didn’t exist: tr*mp

48: Some thing you wish did exist: MONEY TREES AND TIME MACHINES

49: Piercings you have? just my ears

50: Something you really enjoy doing: reading and writing and walking. sometimes all at once oml 

51: Favorite person to talk to: hmm maybe either my two closest friends or my sister?? 

52: What was your first impression of Tumblr? *actual recreation* “plants, plants, plants, i guess they’re pretty,,,, wAIT IS THAT HARRY POTTER”

53: How many followers do you have? nearly 0.5 k :))))))))))))) (do you guys want me to do something to celebrate?? i’m so excited??)

54: Can you run a mile within ten minutes? probably not omg 

56: What are your birthstones? emerald,, thats the only one i know oops 

58: Someone you look up to: my sister (both literally and metaphorically)

59: A store you love? in australia we have this stationary store called typo,,, and it’s my favourite place on earth. and like any type of bookstore, vintage, or like anything. just books. 

60: Favorite type of shoes? boots,,, heeled boots,,,

61: Where do you live? australia m8

62: What color do you wish the sky was? i wish it always looked like it does when its dusk tbh 

63: Favorite thing about a person: their eyes, their passions, their hopes.

64: Something you love about Tumblr: all the kind people who send me asks and messages :)66: On a scale of 1-10, how attractive would you say you are? ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,,,,,,, idk maybe a 4 or 5? and on a good day, a 6-6.5? which is kind of ironic when you think about the fact that i idolise my sister,,, who looks like me,,,,

67: What nicknames do you have/have had? lexi, ali, alexy-indre, munchkin, smol bitch, peanut, smol cabbage, and most recently, the good ole “al”

68: Did you have any pretend or imaginary friends? when i was v little, but i think i stole them all from story books so,,,,

69: Have you ever seen a therapist/shrink? i have seen a counselor, and i probably go back actually,,,70: How many languages do you speak fluently? just english,,, but i am trying to learn french.71: Name three people you would like to talk to right now in person. mum, my sister, and hannah (@acestephendene)

72: Do you like BuzzFeed? i mean ??? yes ??? i know they’re problematic and all but yes i like the content,, espec unsolved its my fave. 

73: How many people are you following? i’m such a mess i think last time there was around 3,000??? i should probably maintenance that omg 

74: How many posts/likes/ and or drafts do you have on your blog? 14,168 posts, 31,092 likes, and 2 drafts (again, i’m a mess)

phew that was long!! hope ur not asleep anon, thank you so much xx

[daniellethamasa]

Hey all, Dani here.

It’s my birthday today.

As usual with my monthly wrap-up, let’s start off by checking in on my overall goals for the year.

Reading: So…for some reason I thought that this month was going to be a slow reading month, because I had a week where I only read a couple hundred pages, and I was expecting my month wrap-up to only be like 15 books. But no, I somehow wasn’t thinking about quite a few of the books I read in July–probably because my days/weeks are blending together. I’ve actually read 25 books this month. That takes me up to around 175-180 books read for the year. I raised my reading challenge goal from 125 to 200 a couple months ago, and it looks like I’ll probably need to raise it again in the next month or so. Cool.

Blogging: I will freely admit that I wasn’t the greatest at blogging in the month of July. I eventually got up the posts I had planned to write up and all that, but many of them did not go up on time, and I’m sorry about that. I’ve been so stressed with our internet issues and all the time I’m spending on both my jobs. Then add into it the stress of likely needing to completely reschedule our wedding…because I really don’t see the USA getting things under control by October. I’m so upset about that, because I loved the idea of our wedding anniversary date being 10/10/2020. I’m hoping I’ll be a little more on top of things for my blogging in August.

Writing: I wrote up a couple backstories for some D&D characters…and that’s basically the extent of my creative writing for the month. I have copied over what I’ve drafted of my D&D romance book from Scrivener to Google Docs so I can work on it no matter where I happen to be or what device I’m using, and I’ll be doing a quick re-read over it all so that I can hopefully manage some progress in August. I hope.

Conventions: Well, I’m currently sitting in a hotel room participating in Gen Con Online, so I guess this counts as being at a convention? It’s a weird experience, for sure, but we’re trying the best we can to still enjoy our geeky hobbies. A couple days ago they announced the cancellation of Cincinnati Comic Expo, so I guess we’ll just have to start marking our calendar up for next year’s conventions. But my friends at Colorworld Books are still doing Colorworld LIVE convention style events just about every week, sometimes two a week. They gather up three or four awesome voice actors, hold a livestream panel, then a VIP panel for anyone who buys some signed merch, and of course you can get shirts, metal art prints, and more with characters these actors have portrayed. It’s pretty cool.

Okay, now that the general month wrap-up is over, let’s go ahead and jump into the specific reading wrap-up. As always, if I have a review up already then I will include the link to it, because my weird posting schedule might have meant missing some of my posts. So, let’s go over everything I read in July.

Fruits Basket Collector’s Edition Volume 5 by Natsuki Takaya — 4.5 stars

Fruits Basket Collector’s Edition Volume 6 by Natsuki Takaya — 4.5 stars

Fruits Basket Collector’s Edition Volume 7 by Natsuki Takaya — 4.5 stars

Fruits Basket Collector’s Edition Volume 8 by Natsuki Takaya — 4.5 stars

Not Like the Movies by Kerry Winfrey — 5 stars

Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter — 4.5 stars

Stranger Planet by Nathan W Pyle — 5 stars

Mayhem by Estelle Laure — 4 stars

And Demons Followed Behind Her by Russell Nohelty — 4 stars

The Price of Creation by Lance Conrad — 4 stars

Shielded by KayLynn Flanders — 4 stars

Restaurant to Another World Volume 1 by Junpei Inuzuka and Takaaki Kugatsu — 3.5 stars

The Weirn Books, Volume 1: Be Wary of the Silent Woods by Svetlana Chmakova — 4 stars

How to Build Your Creative Career by Russell Nohelty — 4 stars

Teleworld by Rachel Kelly — 5 stars

Shadoworld by Rachel Kelly — 5 stars

Curse on the Land by Faith Hunter — 4 stars

Hounded by Kevin Hearne — 5 stars

Lobizona by Romina Garber — 4.5 stars

My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s Volume 2 by Matsuri Akai and Hiroyuki Aigamo — 4 stars

Flame in the Dark by Faith Hunter — 4 stars

Circle of the Moon by Faith Hunter — 4 stars

Spells for the Dead by Faith Hunter — 4.5 stars

My Hero Academia Vigilantes Volume 7 by Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court — 4.5 stars

The Shadow of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee — 5 stars

Whew, okay, with all of that done, now it is time to move into the book haul and OwlCrate unboxing portions of today’s post.

Yes, most of this book haul is from my “birthday trip” to B&N just a couple days ago. It is the biggest stack I’ve had in a single trip to the bookstore in a long time…21 books in total from me, though I also took a photo of the 5 books Damian bought himself, and the 1 book he bought me for my birthday (as well as “My Neighbor Totoro” chopsticks).

Okay, and here’s the OwlCrate. I am actually very happy with the OwlCrate exclusive cover this time around. The color change really makes this book stand out, and the shimmery sprayed page edges are gorgeous; the photo really doesn’t do them justice.

Now I guess it’s time to talk about my August TBR. Noura at The Perks of Being Noura is hosting the Diversify That Shelf Readathon August 10-19th and it sounds great, so I want to participate. You can find out all the details at her post.

I still need to narrow down my choices for the readathon, because I want to continue reading diversely the whole month of August, like I have in June and July.

However, here’s some of the books I’m planning on/hoping to read in the month of August. Also, I will definitely be adding The Faithless Hawk by Margaret Owen to my August TBR, but that book will be out on August 18th. Oh, and I’ll have a Blog Tour Review for Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles. And if I have time this month I’d also like to read Ignite the Sun by Hanna Howard (release date Aug 18), Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar (release date Aug 11), and Vicious Spirits by Kat Cho (release date Aug 18).

So overall it could end up being a very busy month. We’ll see what happens.

July Wrap-Up and August TBR Hey all, Dani here. It's my birthday today. As usual with my monthly wrap-up, let’s start off by checking in on my overall goals for the year.

[asgardavenged]

rules

hi everyone i’m estelle & i reside in vancouver canada timezone pst. i thank you for taking the time to read this page as it outlines how imma be running this here blog. there is a quite bit to read here & i’m sorry for that but this is purely to make sure we don’t run into complications & awkwardness when we start interactions.

first off you should know is this is not my main blog, however it will be one of my more active ones. if you need me right away pls check out ashesincaptivity my tony. i am usually always there. i will provide a full list of my blogs in current use in the navigation.

secondly i am a full time student in class from 1-5 monday-friday. i am studying to be a mental health and addictions worker. this program will last until july 2019 so i ask you be patient with me in terms of replies.  most roleplaying will likely be done on weekends. or whenever i have free time / i am not drained from school.

i have a.d.d which stands for attention deficit disorder. i used to take pills for it when i was in grade school but i no longer require them now. that being said i can make many mistakes & even after checking my work time & time again i CANT SEE EVERYTHING. so i ask that if something about the way i write bothers you please tell me. i will not take it as offence ( as long as you are nice about it ) but i do ask you to be patient with me in this regard.

please do not take any icons from this blog they are all made by me & i take pride in my work. if we are friends i may make you some.

i am 21 years of age so nsfw will be on this blog. however i will not be smutting with anyone under the age of 18. well i doubt one of us will go to jail its better safe then sorry. if i fund out you lied to me about your age i will block & unfollow you so fast your head will spin. i do not want to be that guy so please don’t make me be.   also i will not be smutting with just anyone as i am shy bean who is awkward with it.  however if i know you well ooc then i will happily sin it up with you.  any nsfw memes posted will be answered at my comfort zone  so don’t be upset if you don’t get a reply to one.  its all about my boundaries & all. please respect them !

i am not new to the mcu rp fandom however my last/ first attempt was brief. i ask you be patient with me as i learn the ropes here.

PORTRAYAL.

thor is a hella new muse for me so i am going into this a little blind. i am working out my version of him as i go. if my interpretation is not to your liking you may unfollow, no hard feelings !  

SHIPPING

thor is pansexual & panromantic. however i am super super super picky who i ship him with. 

i am a die hard jane x thor shipper & thats my main endgame for him. hes probably the only other muse besides another that never took off that i am super picky with ships.  however i do have a soft spot for thorbruce & will gladly write it !   anything else i would kindly ask you bring up to me in private. i am likely not to pursue a ship with you unless we discuss it. but please don’t be shy i am trash so come talk to me, sell it to me & i will likely agree.  i could also possibly see thunderstrange maybe ? but that one would be highly dependant on the mun & plot.   bottom line if you wanna ship just come talk to me, & i will see what we can do. 

chemistry is always key regardless between muns & muses. please no forcing ships on me or thor thats not cool to either of us.   

to clear it up right here & now, anyone who asks me for thorki is going to be auto blocked. i have no time for this. its disgusting & i am not here for it. i don’t like it but i’m not going to personally judge you for shipping it, as incest doesn’t trigger me it just makes me meh.  however please advised if you rp it i will likely not follow you. again this is not to offend this is just a personal preference.  DO NOT ASK FOR THORKI YOU WILL BE BLOCKED. 

FOLLOWING & UNFOLLOWING.

this blog is MUTUALS ONLY. that being said. i understand some people can’t follow everyone that follows them for a few reasons, but that does nothing to hinder their desire to write. therefore it will be simply as long as I AM FOLLOWING YOU we may interact. ( though i prefer mutuals ) if i am not following you, you may approach me with a plot in mind but i am in no place to agree to said plot. please do not like starter calls, or plotting calls of any kind if i am not following you. it makes me uncomfortable & aggravates me i may take a bit of time to follow back as i am not always on this blog & i need to check out many accounts for follows. please be patient with me. it can take me sometimes a week or more to follow back. i like to make sure i check out everyones blog. & trust me i do check each & every blog that follows me. i rarely unfollow people unless you have either pissed me off ( to which i would tell you ) or have offended me in some way. so unless there was some drama that started leaving me so angry at you that i needed to cut & run. then if you notice me unfollow you please give me a nudge as its likely tumblr being a dick head. 

TYPES OF WRITING & REPLIES.

i am open to all kinds of writing. para, novell, text chatting etc. though the most common form you will get is lengthy as hell shit. when i get into character i get into character hella. so i am all form long threads with lots of feels & character study. though small things with icons are fun too!! i love it all. the only thing i won’t be doing is stuff with big gifs & the like. also i kindly ask given the number of blogs i run ( you can see on my sidebar ) i ask that you be patient with me for replies. if i haven’t replied in a week you are welcome to nudge me, but please do not constantly harass me or i might drop the thread. patience guys & i will get to you.

GODMODING

don’t do it. i control my muse & you control your muse. if you want to control my character go right some fic or make a spock blog. if you mess up once i will remind you. again & we will drop the thread. third time i stop interacting with you all together. ( rules to exercised at my own discretion ) most people stop after strike one so don’t worry about that. i’m sure it will all be hunky dory.

TRIGGERS & TAGGING

i tag edits & gift sets with my own otp tags till someone comes forward asking for blacklisting. then i will use the basic tag if needed. ( i know my otp tags don’t always register in blacklist ) i will not ship tag threads though. sorry not happening. only tags on threads will be tracking tags & verse tags along with urls.  if this isn’t too your liking then feel free to unfollow.  no hard feelings.  

as for triggers i tag *insert trigger* tw  on anything including said trigger ( threads, images etc. )  if i forget to tag a trigger come talk to me & i will tag it for you !! i am very accommodating.

as for my triggers i really don’t have any. but i ask you TAG YOUR natural disasters  & excessive gore.

EXCLUSIVITY  

i am open to it !!! yes very much so. however i have a few rules. if you would like to be exclusive we must have some ooc relationship or ic relationship plotted or established. & if you do ask me & i agree i ask that its mutual. or i will drop the exclusivity. however if i chose to go exclusive to you it DOES NOT NEED TO BE RETURNED. but it would be nice, but i will not bark if you don’t. i will go exclusive with certain people as i see fit.  current list can be found here

exclusives & mains ( x )

OOC DRAMA

keep it away from me. i do not want it. have enough of it to last a life time. ic drama however is wanted & encouraged.  like 99.99999 % of what i do is angst

FINAL THOUGHTS.

so in case this made me sound intimidating i want to assure you i am the furthest from. i am a huge dork who sits around and gushes about her otps all day, and I

[detectiveofhades]

Marie’s Mystery - 2: The De Luc Party

Nico glanced at Erik as the carriage rolled down the streets of Paris. “What?”

“You’ve been mulling over the conversation with Madame Roget since we left her house,” he stated.

“Well yes, it was rather . . .” “Odd, shall we say?”

“Yes, rather odd.”

“What is your conclusion?”

“She must have heard something, she mentioned that her ears are working just fine.”

“That she did. I wonder if the good Doctor also caught on that.”

“He might have, but if not . . . well, that was why I asked about what would happen if Camille were to die.”

“Which suggests that Madame Roget heard Estelle say something.”

“Which also means that Estelle has an accomplice, and both have been in the house. Perhaps that was also the reason behind Marie’s disappearance? The accomplice could actually be someone that has become quite close to the family, thanks to Estelle, and Marie had her suspicions but had no way to prove them. So she leaves mysteriously, no one knows where she’s gone or why, and suddenly reappears also without explanation. Perhaps to find out more about said accomplice which has now put her in more danger than ever before? Though, if Estelle really is after the money, then she would have to take out Marie either way.”

“And they have to act fast before Marie can say anything.”

“Which begs the question, why hasn’t she said anything as of yet? She’s been back for almost a week!”

“Perhaps she is still looking for definite proof, she could have had nothing but stories about the accomplice, but no real, definitive proof.”

“Yes, I just hope she’s not taking bets with her own life.” Nico paused as the carriage came to a stop. They had arrived back at the Roget’s house where Dupin, Gobelin, and the two women were waiting.

“Ah, perfect timing, we just walked out of the house,” stated Dupin as he opened the carriage door for the women. “And thank you for handling the costs of the carriage.”

“It’s my pleasure,” replied Nico with a smile. His eyes locked with Marie Roget, and that same odd look came over her face, but only for a second as Camille and the gentlemen entered the carriage not long after her. The carriage ride to the De Luc’s consisted of the adults talking about French pastimes, especially the opera as both Erik and Marie had a particular fondness for it. Nico noticed that Marie seemed to prefer Erik’s opinion over the others, and often turned to him for support if she was ever in a playful dispute with the others over something. Was she falling for Erik? Impossible! They had really only just met. But, there was such a thing as love at first sight, Hades had spoken of it often when referring to Nico’s mother. Could it be the case here? And why was he uncomfortable with it? Was it because he was afraid of Marie taking Erik away from him, the one person he had come to depend upon so much? He blinked back tears as he pushed those thoughts back, Erik wouldn’t leave him, not now, not ever. The di Angelo estate was the only place he could call home, where he felt welcomed. Besides, there was the issue of Erik’s condition, no one besides Nico had ever looked upon his unmasked face without horror. No, Erik wouldn’t leave him, and if Marie did in fact come to terms with both of their secrets, she could move in with them. They would not mind one bit. Nico snapped out of his musings as the carriage rolled to a stop in front of the De Luc’s house. Dupin and Gobelin got out first and helped the young ladies out, leaving Nico and Erik to emerge from the carriage last. Upon entering the house, they found that Estelle had already arrived and nearly threw herself upon the sisters upon seeing them.

“My dear cousins! Whatever took you so long? I’ve been here for what felt like ages!”

“Oh, we’re sorry, Estelle, we ran into some traffic on the way over here,” explained Camille as she returned the hug.

“Oh of course, everyone is rushing home from work, and I’ve only been able to miss that crowd since I had promised Mrs. De Luc to help set up for the party.”

“For which I am very grateful. Oh, Doctor Dupin, I would like you to meet Marie and Camille’s cousin, Estelle Roget. This fine gentleman is Monsieur Beauvais, our administrator of naval affairs. This is Doctor Dupin, of course Prefect Gobelin, and the visiting Seigneur di Angelo and his butler Erik.”  

“How do you do?” said Estelle as she bowed, though Nico noticed she seemed a bit on edge. The men echoed the greeting. “Say, Camille, where is Marcel?”

“Right here. Good evening everyone,” said a young man as he came in behind the group. “Apparently my being detained at work helped me to get here just at the same time as you, traffic and all.” He grinned at Camille.

Camille chuckled, “So it would seem.”

“Have you met the famous Doctor Dupin and the young Seigneur di Angelo?”

Marcel glanced at them with a slight surprise. “Well no, but I have heard a great deal about both of your work in the Rue Morgue incident. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.” He glanced at Estelle. “Estelle, may I have this dance?”

“Of course!” The two left the group and joined the other dancers out on the floor. Dupin and Camille soon joined them, followed by Marie and Erik. Gobelin went around the room, interacting with some of the other guests, leaving Nico all to himself, with which he was perfectly fine. He slowly backed himself into a corner, mainly to keep an eye on Estelle and Marcel, they seemed to be in a deep conversation, likely about Camille as they kept glancing at her and Dupin. Was Marcel the accomplice? Nico wished he could hear what they were saying, and passing by the dancers on the way to the banquet table would provide him with an adequate excuse, but the dance floor was too packed for him to get by unnoticed. That’s when he noticed that Erik and Marie were twirling closer towards Estelle and Marcel. Would they be able to catch anything? He could tell from the looks on their faces that they were unanimous in catching whatever snippets they could, if they could get close enough. They were certainly trying, and at the moment, had a better chance of catching anything than Nico, who really did not want to squeeze through the dancers. That was too much contact. He grimaced and shuddered, no, he’d just have to let Erik and Marie do their best. He did not want to touch anyone. Contact always made him squeamish. So instead, he turned his attention to watching their movements. What did their expressions, their body language, say? He paused as his heart thumped wildly. If he was reading their body language correctly, it practically shouted ‘plotting to kill’. He glanced at Dupin and Camille, dancing away, oblivious to the scheme, before glancing at Erik and Marie, their focus on the plotting duo as intent as Nico had been. Nico began to wonder, did Marie stick close to Erik because she knew the four gentlemen were supposed to be protecting them? And since Camille seemed to have chosen Dupin, or at least, he chose her, while the Prefect would have made it too obvious she was in danger and Nico was rather young . . . was she pretending a romance with Erik for show? Nico shook his head, snapping out of it as the dance came to an end. He couldn’t think of that, at all. They were on a mission, he needed to stick to that. He opened his eyes to glance at the dancers dispersing and was startled to see Marie join Erik as he was heading straight for him.

“Where you blinking to keep yourself awake? Is the party really that boring?” asked Marie with a smile.

“I’m not much of a person for parties,” Nico stated.

“Then how do you have fun?” asked Marie incredulously.

“I like a good book,” stated Nico, thinking of The Hunchback of Notre Dame he had received from Monsieur Valdemar.

“Ah, the quiet type, I see. But you really should get out at least every now and then. You’re too young not to have any friends.”

“It’s better that I don’t,” muttered Nico.

Marie glanced at him oddly. “Why’s that?”

“It’s . . . it’s complicated,” muttered Nico nervously, realizing that saying any more could lead to a complicated scene.

“You’ll have to excuse my young master. He lives on a little island kingdom, practically all by himself, with me and a few servants to handle the house. His father is a very secretive person, but unfortunately, who has made enemies. Those enemies destroyed Master Nico’s mother and sister, so you’ll excuse Lord di Angelo’s desire to protect his only son. Master Nico is only let out of the castle for a certain amount of time because of it,” stated Erik.

Marie turned to Nico, wide-eyed. “Oh, I’m so sorry!”

“It, it’s fine, you didn’t know,” muttered Nico. Marie gave him a tight hug. Nico grimaced. “Um, uh, thank . . . thank you.” Nico squirmed, it was already getting uncomfortable. “Um, could you, uh, let go please?” pleaded Nico. Erik came forward and helped peel her off. Nico let out a shaky breath as it felt like a heavy stone had been lifted off his chest. She had been hugging him tighter than he thought, or liked. Well, he didn’t want the hug at all. He grimaced as he shook off the feeling of the contact.

“You’ll have to excuse him, he’s not comfortable with physical contact,” Erik told Marie.

“I’m sorry, I really am, for all of it,” she said, glancing at Nico with the hint of a tear in her eyes. “It’s not easy losing family.” Nico nodded, she was right about that, but he was concerned that she might become another Bianca, and do whatever she could to protect her little sister, even to the point of death.

“Are you up for another dance, madam?” asked Erik.

“Oh yes! Would you care to dance, Nico?” asked Marie. Nico blinked, what was with the familiarity?

“No thank you,” he mumbled. Marie glanced at Erik.

“I’m still working on it. Kind of hard to do so when there are few girls his age,” he replied as he led Marie back to the dance floor. The two struck up a conversation as they began to dance again. Nico let out a sigh, he could trust Erik to come up with a good excuse for everything. He was good at that, probably the main reason why Hades hired him to be Nico’s butler. He glanced at the couple on the dance floor, a soft smile playing on his face. Perhaps adding Marie to the family wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.