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lilystyles · 4 months

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when not in rome.

a @lilystyles blurb!

my masterlist & no strings attached masterlist & blurbs masterlist

authors note idk this was a random thing i wrote at 2AM because i just missed them, i am still working on style so don't worry that should be out soon. also this is set way before no strings, i love writing about them in their previous moments!

brief description harry surprises y/n at her graduation (also listen to love of my life by h whilst readinggg)

warnings! angsty? fluffy? drunk y/n and harry (2.1k)

younger!lhh!nostrings!h x reader

* * * * *

SIX YEARS BEFORE

University has a funny way of making you feel like you might never cross the finish line. Y/n like everyone else had multiple days where she would just sob and scream from the stress of it all. Exams were totally a torture device.

When Y/n graduated with her first degree before deciding to write her thesis Harry surprised her.

He’d been touring the world with One Direction for months now and she hadn’t seen him since Paris the year before, when he’d surprised her by flying her to join them in their Paris show and they’d had a wild few drunken nights that she felt blurred the lines of friendship into something more.

But after their few days, when the champagne ran out, and she came back home, she sobered and realised that nothing would ever happen between them. And if you spent a few nights with Harry in a limo drinking champagne and dealing with his wandering hands you too would fall for him. Just a bit. It's only natural.

She missed him, though, loads. He was one of her best friends after all.

Around a month ago they phoned each other, it was late for her and the morning for him, she’d been studying and they talked for hours catching up till the sky turned bright for her and her eyes drooped shut. The time between their phone calls had grown longer and longer now, and she missed him. She’d mentioned that she was graduating soon and that they were both supposed to be graduating if he’d stayed in Uni. She remembers them staying up late at parties discussing their futures and how post-graduation Harry was insistent that they’d still be roommates. She realised now that their dream definitely wasn’t a possibility anymore.

He’d told her that instead of being there graduating like they’d suspected he was going to be, he was in Rome at some fashion show gala thing, and his date was this sexy model named Rosalie who had her sex tape leaked a couple of months ago. She was happy for him, but a part of her couldn’t help but be disappointed. She felt like he was drifting away from her every day, but she couldn’t find in herself to be cross with him. He was swept up by the fame of it all, and how on earth could she be mad that he was literally a rockstar? She knew that he was still Harry and she was still Y/n but they weren’t Harry and Y/n anymore. Not like before.

And honestly, she’d probably leave everything and everyone behind, party all night, and sleep with sexy models too if she had the chance to be famous. But she couldn’t sing for shit. So instead she did what she was doing, and shoved her nose in a book rather than in lines off a bathroom sink, and she was rather content with the peacefulness of it all.

All thoughts of Harry were swept away from her mind when she walked across the stage in the grande hall. She was finally graduating! Thank god! She thought. She had a sash that showed she was an honours student, and she was blooming with pride, when they called her name her list of achievements was longer than the four painful years she’d spent studying in their grande libraries. She was so glad to shake the hand of one of her favourite professors and leave, the next year ahead she planned to travel and work overseas, she was excited about that.

But honestly, she was even more excited to get absolutely shit-faced at the graduation after-ball party. She found herself a few pints down, sitting by the edge of one of the fountains, when she nearly fell in at the absolutely shocking sight in front of her.

There was just no way it could be true. I mean he was in Rome, and she was drunk in London. She’d seen photos on her Twitter of him wrapping his tattooed arms around that Rosalie model girl, so how could he be here in London just like that? It was not real, surely. She must be hallucinating and the second-hand smoke of all the spliffs had finally got to her brain. But suddenly the man turned around and Jesus Christ it was him. It was Harry. His eyes were pinched as he searched the crowd and when he finally saw her they lit up, all green like a forest, and his mouth kicked up into that devilish grin of his.

He saw her dumb-struck expression and laughed softly walking toward his best friend. He was dressed in a suit jacket like everyone else, and since they were all drunk none of them noticed it was the Harry Styles of the One Direction AKA the biggest band in the world. To them, he was just some random twat who just graduated too.

His hair had grown all long and curly, and he just looked so much more like a man than when he’d left. Had he gotten taller? More strong? The arms of his jacket strained and Y/n sighed at the sight of him.

She didn't think she'd changed much, but Harry thought she looked even more beautiful than before, if possible.

When he stood right in front of her, her mouth was still wide in utter shock. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

He laughed. “Is that all you hafta’ say? Come on, hug your best friend!”

She sprang up from her seat and the silky long dress, which was a teal blue colour. All smooth and tight on her skin was hiked up slightly. Her gown and cap were long gone, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders. He lifted her up off the floor and spun them around.

She smelt like peaches and sweetness, and God, he could've stayed holding her for weeks.

She giggled and felt her face hurt from smiling so big. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you!”

When he placed her down, his hands did not leave the curve of her waist. “Surprise, babe.”

“What the- shit- I thought you were in Rome! How’d you even get here?” She asked

He smiled. “I was, got a flight this afternoon. It was the only one coming home, sorry for missing the graduation part.”

She just smiled up at him. “You’re crazy.”

He shook his head landing a hand on her shoulder. “I knew how important it was to you, and I missed you. Sue me.”

She laughed, eyes welling with slight tears. Maybe he wasn’t drifting too far from her after all. “Oh, god, don’t make me cry, you know how I get after a few pints, H.”

He laughed, arms outstretched for her to cuddle him. “Aw, pet, c’mere.”

She smacked his chest playfully but cuddled him nonetheless. “Let’s go get royally fucked, mate,” She whispered and they pulled apart, hands interlocking as she lead him off to one of the pubs where everyone was buying drinks.

It was called The Ducks Nuts.

A few of her mates were inside. Ones Harry didn’t know, but she’d already spent a good portion of the night with them. So she told them her old friend had surprised her and they’d be here and there.

Harry ordered them some shots and eventually the night was just a blur of hands touching each other, as they got so drunk Y/n felt her world spinning. They’d hopped around multiple different pubs and bars and Y/n was so tired. Her heels itched her feet with pain and she ripped them off, along with her bag. As they walked with little purpose she threw her things at him and began to dance in the middle of the road.

Harry was holding her things as she danced in the street showing her best Elton John impression, and he silently decided that was what made her so perfect. She was just herself. And he loved that about her, he loved everything about her.

He laughed and told her what a realistic impression it was, and how they’d met at some award show to back up that comment. She was infinitely jealous, she loved Elton.

On her way back toward him she landed in his arms after losing her footing he shook his head at her.

“You are very drunk, Lovie. Aren't ya'?" He said, in a soft tone one that made her tummy turn in flips.

She sighed as they walked in a direction with no destination in mind. “You aren’t drunk enough, you need to get on my level.”

He noticed her shiver under his arm and quickly ripped his coat off. It swallowed her form and she smiled gratefully hugging the coat around herself. It felt like a warm embrace, and that smell filled her nose and suddenly she was home in her old flat with him, home in Holmes Chapel, home with him. Just home.

“Smells good.” She giggled as she sniffed the shoulder pad, her cheek brushing against the soft material all dog-like. “N’ soft too.”

“Why thanks, it’s Gucci.” He replied.

She rolled her eyes. “Come on then, money-bags, let’s get you as drunk as me.”

They strolled into a tavern near her flat and drank so much tequila that they had to practically carry each other home.

As Harry looked up at the stars and moon, feeling the cool air nip her skin he sighed. He hadn’t gotten this drunk, and been this happy in such a long time. He was giggling contently, as she leaned into him and he silently wished that the night would never end.

He never wanted his time with her to end either. He loved spending time with her, whether they were on an adventure or doing nothing at all. Y/n made it worthwhile.

When they reached the shitbox of a flat she lived in Harry followed calmly behind her, and when one of her neighbours spat a comment about drunken youths he sighed, “I wish you would’ve taken up my offer,”

She looked up at him as she played with the jammy door that never seemed to open on the first try. Shoving her shoulder into it as she managed to finally wedge it open, stumbling inside ungracefully.

And with a roll of her eyes, she ushered him inside. “There is zero chance I’d let my all-of-sudden bazillionaire rockstar friend buy me a flat, just cause he can afford shoes worth more than my entire life savings. Anyway, how could I ever pay it back? I have two p to my name and a packet of noodles in my possessions, Harry.”

He laughed. “Think of it as a graduation present then,”

She sighed. “Just shut up and sit down, and I’ll get some wine.”

It was almost 4AM now, and neither cared. They were beyond drunk, but Y/n missed him and if force-feeding him wine would get him to spend a whole 24 hours with her, she totally would.

When she sat down with two mugs spilling with a cherry red wine, that was the cheapest shit she’d ever bought, Harry laughed. Her wobbly legs forced her to land awkwardly on one thigh practically on top of his. He smiled, one that showed his kind eyes.

Green pools of emerald she wished to swim in for eternity. She laughed at the thought, she really got poetic when she was drunk, huh?

“God, remind me to get you drunk more often.” He whispered.

She sighed. “Oh shut up, and fill me in on life then. Who are you shagging?”

He looked at her pointedly. “Who are you shagging?”

A blush crept up her neck, and suddenly the only secret she had kept from him was threatening to slip past her drunken red-stained lips.

“None of your business, but there’s this hot guy in my physics who I would totally shag,”

He laughed, but underneath it, he felt a jealousy creep up his spine, he knew he had no right since he’d been balls deep in two Italian models this morning, turns out threesomes are a really good cure for hangovers by the way. But despite that, he felt an itch he couldn’t scratch that resembled something pretty close to jealousy.

“What’s he like?” Harry asked.

She shrugged. “Dunno, tall, glasses, got that whole nerdy silent thing going for him.”

“That’s what you like then, silent types?” He asked, running a hand through his long curls, and she reached out to play with one.

She shook her head, and said distractedly, “I don’t know.”

“Makes sense why you never dated me then.”

During primary school, Harry dated every girl in their class including Daisy and Penny, except Y/n who told him she didn’t fancy him. It was an ongoing topic of discussion between them. Why wasn't he good enough? He always asked.

She laughed at that comment. “I know you too well for that, and I get the unfiltered you, and I lived with you which was basically like being married to you. We bickered too much to ever date, Haz.”

He looked at her with hooded eyes, and for some reason that stung, but trying to be light-hearted he said. “Never say never, what if we needed to repopulate the earth?”

She looked over at him and placed a hand on his and kissed his cheek, all soft and slow, and for a moment he thought she might actually kiss him for real but instead, she said. “There’ll be no hope for humanity then.”

He sighed, fake pouting before a couple of minutes of silence passed and he turned to her and said. “Come with me to Brazil.”

Her eyes widened, “What?"

“I leave tomorrow night, come with me.” He said.

She frowned. “What? Come with you? You can't be serious.”

He nodded. “Please? I miss you! And we can party for a whole week together, or sleep, or do whatever the fuck you want! Just come, pack a bikini and something sparkly, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

Y/n and Harry did end up going to Brazil but that’s a story for another time.

She stood up from the couch holding her hand out to him, and he slid his into hers. Cool rings grazing the soft skin of her palm.

“Let’s just go to sleep, you're talking like a crazy person.” She said, softly pushing a lock of his hair away from his eyes.

He sighed at her, “But m’ serious, Love.”

“Alright, ask me again tomorrow. That is if you even remember...now come on, let’s listen to Fleetwood Mac and sleep until tomorrow evening.”

Y/n's room was cosy and welcoming. Harry felt his eyes droop at the sight. A tiny lamp shining over them in an orange glow, her cot-like bed covered in blankets and the scent of her likely covering those sheets.

That night they slept in Y/n’s twin bed, cuddling, with Stevie Nicks serenading them to sleep. Cheeks plump and pink from too much alcohol, hands wandering scandalously, and the love in air was thick and obvious.

Before Y/n fell asleep she pecked his lips, in a quick kiss, one that it barely even touched him and said, “Night, mate,”

His lips burned like wildfire, and from that night on, he did think humanity had a chance if it was up to them. Whether or not she believed that.

“Night, Love.”

i have been a bit slack with updates lately...second year of uni is crazy and im already soooo busy, but i missed them and i wanted to write a lil sum for y'all until my next proper update :) BIG LOVEEEE

#nostringsattachedblurbs #nostringsattachedseriesbylilystyles #harry styles #harry styles smut #harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles angst #harry styles x reader smut #lilystyles #harrystylesseries #childhood best friend to strangers to fwb to lovers #nostrings!H #blurb #longhairharry #my love #them

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parasolyaa · 10 days

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give me rtc character hcs for being in the subway for the first time

i love how this implies that they’ve never been in the subway before. well, since most of them almost never left uranium, this checks.

ocean — she always advocated for public transportation (and for some reason believed it wasn’t widely used, probably because she assumed everyone could use a car and subway was for noble people who cared for the environment), but if she ever went to a big city, she never stayed there for long, and usually walked by foot. when she actually used the subway for the first time, she decided to hand out flyers that said something like “thank you for choosing public transit! here are some other ways you can help the planet (…)”. ended up absolutely overwhelmed and in a taxi, wiping tears with the flyers no-one seemed to like. wonder why.

noel — romanticized the shit out of paris metropolitan, said he researched all about it and prided himself on being more knowledgeable of it than a local. when he got to go to france (probs a family/school trip when he was a teen) he bought an overpriced graphic t-shirt with the metropolitan map and confidently entered the underground. immediately got disappointed it wasn’t all gothic catacombs, and accidentally sat on a wrong train. had to take off his t-shirt and figure out where he was, and after two hours of being chest naked in the french underground and hopping from one wrong train to another even wronger train a kind passer-by pointed out that the print on his tee was of marseille, not paris. he spent an extra hour figuring out the correct map and asking for directions in broken french (the locals despised him). he entirely missed the drag show he waited for, and ever since then grew to hate the french underground.

mischa — is in on a ukrainian inside joke about metro in odesa. successfuly convinced all choir that there’s metro in odesa. there is no metro in odesa.

there’s also a ukrainian book called toreadors from vasyukivka, where two boys want to build a metro in their village, so they dig a big hole in their yard and a cow accidentally falls into it. safe to say their idea doesn’t stick. at some point these boys get to kyiv and immediately get lost in metro there. that’s 100% mischa. he did this i was the cow.

also he always finds ways not to pay for his ride: jumps over the tourniquet’s, crawls under them, squeezes in with a person in front of him etc. sometimes gets extremely bored and hides in a train wagon when it reaches the final stop, and stays in it when it goes to depo.

ricky — his parents drove him everywhere by car, and told the tales about toronto subway being inaccessible, dangerous and full of freaks. he never believed them. at some point (maybe in a trip with the choir) he got to travel by subway himslef. it was, in fact, a bit of an unpleasant experience, but he found out that it sucks on his own terms and was lowkey proud.

also he was listening to some cringefail furry music (i do not know if furry music is a thing but it will be now) and realised his earphones disconnected and he was blasting it to everyone only after he got home.

penny — had a secret hiding spot in toronto subway where she could keep her things and return to see them intact. she and ezra hid there often and spied on people, sometimes picking up what fell out of their purses — like pieces of candy or pennies (get it? penny? pennies? penis?). they never stayed there for long tho cause it was too overwhelmingly loud.

one time she went to that place and realised some construction workers occupied it. she was emotionally devastated.

constance — always saves the seat for the elderly, disabled and other people who might need it, and people always thank her plenty when she does so. actually never ever sat on a train seat unless the wagon was mostly empty. however, one times she had a horribly tiring + devastating + bad day and decided to sit down for once. got called 10 slurs by an old guy who didn’t see there was another free seat and ocean then told her she should have thought about others first. when she got home she wrote an angry vent in her musical diary (yk, the ones that open with a password and then play a one direction song or smth) with a fluffy pen.

+ talia — she is a subway rat. has a love/hate relationship with obolon station. has beef with pochayna station. she herself is from solomyanka region of kyiv where there is no subway. considers it her curse.

thank you folks for reading this, feel free to send me asks for headcanons!

#ride the cyclone #rtc #ocean o'connell rosenberg #ocean rosenberg #noel gruber #mischa bachinski #misha bachinskyi #ricky potts #penny lamb #constance blackwood #talia bolinska #talia moruska bolinska

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applejuicefruit · 1 year

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Hi, can you write something with neymar where he and reader had a fight and some fluff later maybe ? thankyou !

I loved this request!!!!

I hope you like it ✨✨

Everything I need

Neymar was mad at me.

He wouldn’t even speak with me.

Why?

Simply because ai had missed his march with PSG yesterday.

Just one match.

I had worked all day long and couldn’t wait to go home and sleep but unfortunately to me PSG was playing that night so I had to go and cheer for my boyfriend and for his team.

The problem was that I had fallen asleep and missed the match.

When I woke up I saw the million messages Neymar left me during the break and when I called him back it was too late.

I tried to wait for him to come back from the match but truth was I was still very tired. I had a week full of meetings and working for one of the most famous tourism agency in Paris was huge. Not everyone could have that spot. But with my studies and my hard work I made it into my dream agency.

But it was also a month before Christmas and I know that people love to spend holidays in Paris so I worked more and were hardly at home.

When Neymar got home he found me asleep on our shared bed.

He was mad but decided not to wake me.

Morning came and he was ignoring me. When I woke up he wasn’t in bed like every single morning but he was already in the kitchen having breakfast.

“Good morning” I said to him hoping he wasn’t mad.

Boy, I were so wrong.

He ignored me.

It made me feel so guilty but at the same time it made me so angry. I wasn’tin the wrong, or so I thought.

“Ney?” I said trying to catch his attention but nothing.

“I’m talking to you” I said louder this time.

He wanted to act like a child?

“Oh so you remember you have a boyfriend?” he said, his voice filled with venom.

“Ney I’m sorry I fell asleep yesterday” I tried to explain.

“Oh I know, I saw you sleeping peacefully when I came home, I didn’t wake you, I didn’t want to wake her majesty the sleeping beauty” he said with high tone, almost screaming.

This hurt.

I tried to fight back tears.

But he was getting so mad for nothing.

We never fought like this.

“Ney, my love, I was so tired from work…” I tried to explain but he wouldn’t listen.

“Sure…well to let you know, we won and I scored, twice, but guess what? My girlfriend wasn’t there to cheer up for me” he said getting angrier.

“Ney would you listen to me for a second?” I screamed back. He knows I hate when people scream, it scares me but this was the only way he probably would have listened.

“Go on” he simply said.

“I was tired from work…” I lowered my ton a bit.

“You already said that”

“Would you let me finish?” I was on the verge of tears. I’ve never seen him like this.

Everyone knew Neymar’s ego was huge but he was acting like he was the king of the world and it was pissing me off.

“I work 12 hours every fucking day. I’m barely at home. I have meetings every single day and I’m about to lose my mind so don’t come at me telling me I missed your fucking stupid game okay?” I screamed.

“My fucking stupid game? You know how much it’s important to me! I needed you there! What kind of girlfriend are you?”

“The kind of girlfriend who wants to have her own career! Why does only yours matter? What about me? Am I not allowed to have my dreams? Am I not allowed to build up my career?”

“You know this isn’t what we’re talking about!” he screamed at me making me flinch a bit.

This was getting serious.

“Yes this is what we’re talking about! You’re ego’s too big you don’t care about other people’s dreams! I’ve worked my ass of to get where I am today! So, excuse me if after 12 hours of nonstop work I just wanted to sleep!”

“You don’t even have to work! I can provide for you and you know that!” he said trying to play the victim.

“Neymar this isn’t about money! I don’t want your money! I just want you to understand that the world doesn’t revolve around you! I’m trying to tell you that I’m sorry if I missed your game but I want you to put yourself in my shoes…I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep and you’re making a drama about it!”

“I’m not making a drama I just wanted you to be there and you weren’t!”

He wouldn’t understand.

I was already tired and it was only 9 am.

I decided it would be best if I left for some hours.

I left the kitchen without saying nothing.

“Where are you going?” he asked me.

“To work” I lied. It was saturday and my agency was closed on the weeknd but apparently he didn’t know or he didn’t care.

“If you leave now I don’t know if you’ll find me here when you come back home” he said not even looking at me.

So was it?

It was over?

“Just get down of your fucking pedestal Neymar” i said closing the front behind me.

I went straight into my car and drove.

Don’t know where I was going but I had to clear my mind.

Neymar’s P.O.V.

I’m an idiot.

I just let the woman I love most in the whole world go.

Because I got mad for something stupid.

I know she wasn’t going to work, she doesn’t work on the weekends which means I really let her down if she had to lie to me.

I’m a fucking idiot.

I decided to stay home that day. I would have missed training but I didn’t care. I needed to find a way she could forgive me.

I had to apologize.

Just a couple of hours later she came back home.

I was sitting on the sofa watching TV.

Truth was I wasn’t watching TV, I was still looking for a way to apologize because I knew I messed up.

When my eyes met hers my heart broke.

She cried.

She was still crying.

And it was all my fault.

“Baby” I said standing up from the couch and going towards her “I’m an idiot, a completely fucking idiot” I wrapped my arms around her but she didn’t say anything.

Instead she cried harder on my shoulders.

Fuck…

“Baby listen to me…I’m so sorry, I acted like a dick. You’re so right and I’m so proud of you for achieving your goals, you have no idea how proud I am” I said kissing her head “You’ve been working so much these days and I can’t imagine how tired you must be, I’m sorry I overreacted, can you please forgive me?” I asked her almost crying.

She looked at me with her gorgeous eyes and she smiled a bit.

“I forgive you” she whispered her and I thank her for letting me having this second opportunity. She could have easily broken up with me, they way I acted like a dick and the way I treated her.

I smiled at her and kissed her.

I guided her on the couch, me sitting on it and her on my lap while we continued kissing. I held her close because that day I almost lost her.

I couldn’t imagine spending a singe day without having by my side.

#neymarjr x reader #neymar junior #neymar #neymar x reader #neymarjrxreader #paris saint germain #psg #neymar fluff #neymar angst

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lenievi · 16 days

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Les Misérables, the musical: things I found worthy of note (seen in Prague on 18th May 2024)

Madeleine/Valjean used a cane and limped

in this version, Javert was shorter than Valjean

when Valjean met Cosette in the forest, he kissed her hand. When he took her away from the Thénardiers and dressed her in the black dress, they held hands and skipped away together. It was cute.

during "Lovely Ladies" there were some threesomes with two guys and one girl

during "Master of the House", Thénardier had several cute scenes with Éponine. They danced together on the table.

during the song, when the second guest came, he had a (toy) cat with him. Thénardiers took it, killed it, cooked it, and served it to him (to go with the lyrics)

sad that during the cart scene, Valjean gave his hat and coat to a random policeman who tagged with Javert because Javert was too busy holding his own hat lol

Javert, played by a 74yo guy, has an aura of being absolutely done with the world and oozing holier than thou kind of attitude. He calls Valjean his rival twice in the lyrics. He also does not have long hair in a ponytail, and he has white hair since Toulon. And his Toulon/Montreuil uniform is chef's kiss

Confrontation: when Valjean was like "pls gimme three days", Javert was like "no *scoffs, shaking his head* no". For some reason, the final fight between them (after they stop singing) was missing, so the scene kind of ended in a way that made it seem that Javert let Valjean go. It was funny because he also wore a weirdly exasperated expression.

During the Arras trial, when Valjean takes of his cravat and exposes his chest (he still has the number on it), Javert just looks at him and then orders Champ to be taken away

Marius kissed Éponine's temple (or forehead) during the scene in Paris when we see grown Cosette for the first time

the café was called Café ABC lol

I think I mentioned this before, but they don't wave the red flag in our adaptations (there are reasons for that), they use the French flag. It's reflected in the song ("Do you hear the people sing?") with "the tricolour will fly" and it was also reflected on stage in a really cool way - they were slowly putting red, blue and white pieces of fabric over a gun to form the French flag (and then in the following scenes, they'd have a real one to wave as if they sew it from the fabrics). The three pieces of fabric thrown over the gun made a comeback during "Empty Chairs", where one of the dead guys was carrying it (which to me symbolized the broken dream because the tricolour flag didn't fly, it stayed as three pieces of fabric)

when Éponine was dying, everyone was crying. Little Gavroche was lying on the ground in some women's lap, crying and being comforted. (Javert was sitting on his chair having the expression of pls let this be over already. why am I still here?)

when they captured Javert, they threw him on his knees and Gavroche was then singing right into his face (and those two were the oldest and youngest ones in the cast). It was fun. Gavroche was really small, the boy didn't look older than 10.

one of the barricade guys carried Gavroche on his shoulders almost all the time (and when Gavroche died, he shouted the loudest). And they appeared liked that during "Empty Chairs" too

Enjolras was the last one to die. He climbed the barricade and waved the flag, was shot and fell down. When Javert came to the barricade, he climbed it (then it got turned, so we saw), and Enjolras was hanging in the middle, covered by the flag, and Javert bowed to him and climbed down.

Javert almost picked up the sewers cover haha

when Javert met Valjean again after the sewers, he was using the formal "you" in the song

when it comes to the lyrics and "look down", I liked how well it was done - our lyrics have "I/we want to exist" and I was curious how it would fit the post-sewers song and it did

Javert jumped from the bridge. Like he climbed up the bridge (and yes, the 74yo guy climbed ladders several times during the show) and then "jumped" and a younger guy plopped down on the ground (= into the smoky illusion of Seine) lol

during the curtain call, Valjean and Javert's actors "high-fived" (but it was on the level of their hips). And Javert's actor got six cans of beer which I found funny.

also during "Master of the House" Madame Thénardier's mic stopped working, so the poor woman had to sing without it for a while until a guy in a suit brought her a handheld mic.

#les miserables #leni's nonsense

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ang3lb1iss · 9 months

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Notre Dame | paris paloma | Part 1 of 2

Word count: 2.7k

Pairing: James Potter x F!Bestfriend Reader

Summary: Hogwarts years | You were James’ best friend since first year. Throughout your years at Hogwarts, you had started to develop a crush on James, but you refused to act on your feelings due to the fact James only ever had eyes for Lily. Now you're sitting at his funeral, reminiscing about the past and you can't help but feel regret and guilt.

Authors note: This is my first fic /one-shot so forgive me if it isn't that great to read, I just found it fun being able to interpret lyrics into stories about characters I love. The story loosely follows the Marauders scenes in the HP movies. I picture James with either a scouse accent or a really chavvy London accent, but you can picture him however you want. I apologise in advance if the tenses get mixed up, the story is made up of the reader looking back on the past and reliving certain moments.

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‘I'm in the rafters looking down It's cold up here Between walls of stone I made my home’

The church is cold and dim. Especially in the upstairs seating, which is where you are situated. As you try to listen to the speeches full of childhood memories and happier times, you can't help but lose focus and think about the what-ifs and how things could've gone differently. If you had never met James in that cabin on the way to Hogwarts, you wouldn’t be feeling this pain and heartache, but you also wouldn’t have had such a joyful and exciting time at the school. Hindsight is a funny thing after all. “What if it was me and not Lily? Why wasn’t it me? Why did I have to fall for him?” You wonder what the answers to these questions could be, but the harsh truth is that you never will, and you will live with the never-ending ambiguity until the day you die.

‘And the air hangs heavy with the incense Feathers fall from pigeons Cooing in the tower’

Your first year, you remember it all so clearly. You were looking to find a cabin for the journey to Hogwarts, but the majority were filled, and in the rest, there were stone-faced older kids that openly sneered at you anytime you walked past them. Until you found his cabin.

He was the only one in there and you thought that he looked somewhat friendly, so you decided to take a chance. It ended up being one of the best decisions you’ve ever made.

He welcomed you in with a bright smile on his face, despite looking like his face would split with how wide his smile was, he asked you the standard questions, “What's your name? What house d’ya think you'll be in? D’ya want to be mates?” Of course, I wanted to be friends with him, I probably would have been miserable without him in my life but then again, I wouldn’t be so heartbroken now. Hindsight is a funny thing after all.

You can recall the way his eyes gleamed when he introduced himself as James. James. Tears sprung to your eyes, making your surroundings go blurry. You can't help but miss the way he proudly said he was a Gryffindor “where dwell the brave at heart” and how Slytherin was full of “evil prats and I'd rather die than be in Slytherin.” You had always admired his pride and how he never let anything upset him too much or for too long.

That is of course until Lily Evans became more vicious and spiteful in her rejections and jabs. Whenever James was insulted by his “Lilyflower” he let it break down his nonchalant persona and let it cut him deeper than any knife ever could. His Lilyflower. The common factor in all your suffering, you couldn’t blame her of course, it wasn’t her fault that a big oaf like James Potter fell in love with her. But it's not like that fact softened the blow in any way.

You decided to stop that train of thought before you cried even harder. Instead, you choose to remember when the Trolley Lady came to the door and being breath taken at the assortment of sweet treats. Upon looking in your purse which was just a pouch, you’d realised that you didn’t have enough to get the Bertie Botts Every flavour Beans that you would've liked, with disappointment quickly replacing your awestruck expression, you had declined and took to looking out the window instead of having to see the trolley taunting you with all its colours and designs.

That’s when you heard him.

“We’ll take the lot of ‘em” you heard him say and you had insisted that he shouldn’t be wasting his money on you, but he simply drowned out your pleas and focused on the shock of the Trolley Lady. He was always so generous.

After much reluctance and countless Thank you’s, you'd decided to have a few cauldron cakes and indulge in a chocolate frog when a small timid boy opened the compartment door and asked if anyone had seen his toad, he introduced himself as Peter Pettigrew and he ended up sitting with the both of you for the rest of the journey while you had pulled out a book to read and ended up falling asleep with your head leaning on the compartment wall.

‘I rarely go down there, the view's just so beautiful from here And I can see everybody at their worst points At their worst points’

You start to remember the moment you openly started looking at James differently. It was the end of third year, and he had just won the quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin after declaring during dinner in the great hall that Gryffindor was 100% going to win and he would “wipe his arse with the slithering bastards”.

You also remember his mumbling and moaning about having to go to detention and you remember him being too busy laying his head on your lap when you both were in your dorm and going to sleep while you read a book.

But there he was on his broom hovering above the crowd that had formed to celebrate the win with him. The noise of screams, chants and shouts reverberated across the entirety of the school grounds. The thought of it making you shiver. While James was practically the same shade as the snitch by how brightly his smile was beaming, you were perfectly content with watching him from the Gryffindor stands and away from the chaos that was the Quidditch pitch.

To this day you can still feel the way your heart skipped a beat when he looked up and smiled at you. At least you thought it was at you. You noticed his wet hair, whether it was because of the rain, him sweating or a combination of both, you didn’t care. His curly dark brown hair that normally looked so fluffy and messy that you just wanted to run your hands through it and make it somewhat tidier.

His arms that made his jersey look to be too tight, it made you picture scenarios with him being able to carry you places when you got too tired, fighting someone who tried to hurt you. You are still quite ashamed to admit the times when you got flustered at the thought of him using them to pin you against a wall and having a heated makeout session in a broom cupboard.

Thoughts aside, you had decided to retire to your dorm for a quick nap. The cold can be very tiring. You gathered your things and stood up only to see Lily Evans, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew sat together directly behind you. You hadn't even noticed them while you watched James previously.

Lily and Peter said hello while Remus only managed an awkward tight-lipped smile. You and Remus didn’t become friends until your seventh year when you both bonded over being unrequited lovers. The reason for this being that you always felt like he could see through you. He knew things about people before they even knew it themselves which always made you paranoid that he could see your feelings for James and tell him, and as a result, ruining the best friendship you ever had. At least I don’t need to be paranoid anymore.

Your mind skipped to fifth year, when you were sitting with the Marauders on a warm sunny day, exams had just ended, and you all were just waiting for the results to be calculated. That’s when you heard the boys get up and walk over to a nearby tree. You looked over and saw a mop of stringy black hair and a pale face with an expression of distaste painted on his face. Snivellous,, the foul git.

You had chosen to stay far back enough that you could still see what happens clearly but ensured you weren't too close as to avoid McGonagall's wrath if she were to show up at the scene.

The next thing you knew was that Snivellous was hanging upside down in mid-air. Levicorpus. You remember coming across the charm in the library with Sirius and James while looking for more spells for future pranks. You never got involved in the pranks because you didn’t fancy sitting in a silent room for an hour for detention or, Merlin forbid, whatever task Filch might've issued you with.

There was always a slight rift between you and Sirius because of your refusal to get involved in pranks, he would never have outwardly said it in front of James or Peter because of their loyalty to you, but he disliked how you would only ever consider helping them if James had asked you. You were the only girl in Hogwarts he couldn’t sway with his charm and good looks. And Merlin did it get him jealous. Not that you had noticed back then at least.

You ended that tangent before it made you spiral down a rabbit hole of confusion. You thought back the past, Snape was being held high by none other than James Potter. His fluffy green Slytherin socks and the sparse leg hair upon his dry ashen legs, were left on display for everyone to see. You had wondered what provoked James into performing such a spell. But your question was left unanswered as your attention had gone to Snape being dropped back onto the ground and Lily Evans being called a “Filthy Mudblood.” by her old childhood best friend.

If anger meant seeing red, then James wasn’t seeing anything but of blind rage. “Don’t you dare call her that word you vile, disgusting creature.” There was an array of insults and cussing until Lily had brought him back to his senses. She told Snivellous to piss off and she waited until he was far enough away to round on James and unleash the anger that had been building inside her for years.

You couldn’t hear what she said due to the fact she had put a silencing charm on the area but based off what James whimpered and whined about while he dreamt in your bed with you for comfort, she had probably said something along the lines of “I would rather kill myself then ever be your girl, Potter.” Hindsight is a funny thing after all. You couldn’t help but feel a pang of your heart at the fact that his soul had latched onto Lily and not you, not even giving you a chance.

That was the night you realised that you would never get the guy. You will forever be condemned to loving James Potter. Your life will continue to be tormented with the possibilities that could've happened, the dreams that made you weep with despair and the everlasting longing and desire slowly encasing your heart until it breaks and shatters. James Potter was the light of your life, but he also caused the darkness that it left behind. James Potter was the sun, but now everything has gone dark.

‘I'm not a sadist, I enjoy just being able to be witness of the loneliness and fear I abhor in case there isn't one In case there isn't one’

After that night, after your tragic discovery had become the only thing running through your head. You had pathetically tried to recover the way you saw James before you fell for him. You tried for 2 long years with no luck. He still had your attention and heart, and yet he didn’t realise he had either. So, when the Marauders split for the night, you decided to ask for help.

You were suffocating with the grief and the mourning of what could've been. And you needed someone to help you breathe.

With Peter and Sirius headed to the dorm, James doing his Head-Boy patrols with Lily, it was only you and Remus left in the library, the map and the invisibility cloak set to the side until you both decided to leave. It turns out you didn’t even need to say anything because Remus knew exactly what was going through your head.

He saw the adoration in your eyes when you looked at your best friend, he saw the longing and upset you tried to hide when you heard him constantly talk about marrying Lily and having “Mini Potters” with her. No matter how well you tried, you couldn’t help but subtly display your inner turmoil.

And Remus saw it all.

“You're in love with James, aren't you, I see the way your eyes shine brighter, and your smile gets bigger when he enters the room. But he doesn’t love you back and you know it. I know you know it. And I know you’ve known it for years now. But I know what it's like, it feels like a constant weight on your chest and when they walk in the room, it disappears even if you try to hold it down, but then their presence, their joy, their affection for someone else, drains you, the energy you put in to try make them notice your love just gets brushed away until eventually it leaves you so empty that you become a hollow shell of the person that fell for them all that time ago.”

“I can't tell you how to get rid of it simply because I don’t know how to, but I can offer you some advice that I should've taken before it was too late. Leave, Leave them alone. Leave their life. It'll suck balls for the first while I'm sure but by staying you're degrading yourself. All your insecurities and the suffering you're facing now will pass. This is doomed love sweetheart. You're slowly breaking down. Leave. Before you can't piece yourself together again.”

And with that he leaves the library.

How are you supposed to leave his life? How are you supposed to keep him out of yours? The questions won't stop plaguing your mind, do you take Remus's advice and move on, or do you ignore him and feel your heart pull and crack every time you see him. The choice will be the most difficult one you will ever make and yet it’s the one that needs to be made.

You walk into potions the next day, you thought that it would help make a choice if you avoided him for a day as a trial. Instead of sitting in your normal seat, you walked over and sat beside a Ravenclaw who you believed was called Pandora.

The Marauders walked in and sat at their tables; you avoided James’ gaze when you looked over to you in confusion, but Remus diverted his attention elsewhere. You had inwardly thanked Remus for helping you out.

As the lesson went on everything got worse and your decision became clearer and clearer.

Since the year started, James had started to think twice about the pranks, he acted more mature in general and overall started becoming a man. All of this was for Lily of course. You couldn’t help but ask yourself if he would do the same thing for you if he chose you in the first place.

You were taking notice of all the little things that you're usually too delusional to notice.

How every time he made a joke or laughed; he would glance at Lily. You could feel your heart in your throat.

How he would wink and smirk at her when he got an answer correct. A tear forms in your eye.

How he would look over at her to make sure she understood the topic. Another tear forms.

How he whispers the answer in her ear if she doesn’t know it. Another one

How he shines with pride when Professor Slughorn appraises her. Another.

More tears form until you couldn’t stop them anymore. Thankfully the class was dismissed, and you quickly left before the tears fell and left a salty trail down your cheek. A representation of your life back then. Although in thinking that you can't help but notice that it didn’t get any better. Hindsight is a funny thing after all.

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sequinsmile-x · 11 months

Note

hi hello! you and your fics are seriously the best. I appreciate all that you do for us hotchniss fans!

I know you’ve done a few fics about aaron comforting emily when she feels insecure about how she looks but I thought maybe you could write something the other way round with emily comforting arron? maybe he’s retired from the bau and so he hasn’t been exercising or staying as active as he used to and he thinks emily doesn’t find him or his body attractive anymore. but of course emily finds out and tells him it’s not true (with smut maybe?👀) obviously if you don’t want to or don’t have the time I totally understand!! ❤️

also: maybe some jealous hotch with him comparing himself to derek or someone???

hiiii bestie.

this got away from me pretty massively...and (I know I say this every time) is the smuttiest smut I have ever written.

I hope you enjoy it.

This ones for the Hotch girls.

-x-

New Perspective

Aaron feels insecure. Emily shows him he has nothing to be insecure about.

Words: 3.7k

Warnings: 18+, Smut, Oral Sex

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

There was nothing quite like coming home. She’d feel whatever tension she’d been carrying in her chest ease the moment she turned onto their street and saw their house, the one she and Aaron had bought together to raise their family in.

She knows it's because she never had a home before this, before him and their children. She’d spent her whole life without roots, without anywhere or anyone to call her own. Then she fell in love with Aaron and Jack. A family she’d never expected to find right in front of her the whole time. Shortly after they got married they decided to try for a baby of their own. Then Alice came along, the six-year-old already fiercely independent, followed by Hazel, the baby of the family even though she was about to start preschool.

Emily was now part of a family of five - her life as full of chaos as it was of love, something she could never have imagined when she was alone in Paris wondering if she’d ever see anyone she loved ever again. There were still moments, even now all of these years later, when she worried it would be torn away from her. She’d lay there in the middle of the night listening to Aaron breathe, or she’d stand in the doorway of one of the kid's rooms to do the same with them, just to remind herself that this was real. This was her life.

Emily sighs in relief as she walks into the house, the smell of home washing over her as she closes the door behind her. She has mere seconds to put her go-bag down by the door before she hears a familiar yell throughout the house, her youngest daughter’s feet loud against the hardwood floor as she launches herself at her.

“Mommy!”

She bends down and catches the four-year-old in her arms before she heaves her onto her hip, holding her daughter close for the first time in a couple of days. Hazel is already in her pjyamas, her hair braided in the way she could always convince Aaron to do for her, and Emily knows her husband would have kept their daughter up a little longer than usual so she could say good night to her.

“Hi Hazel,” she says, pressing a kiss to the little girl's head, “Mommy missed you.”

Hazel leans her head against her chest and plays with Emily’s necklace, her tiny fingers wrapping around the metal chain, “Missed Mommy.”

Emily smiles and readjusts her hold on Hazel as she walks further into the house, “Let’s go see what Daddy and your brother and sister are up to.”

“Daddy missed you too,” Hazel says, rubbing her face against Emily’s collarbone, a sure sign that she was getting sleepy having found solace in her mother’s arms.

When she was pregnant with Alice, Emily and Aaron had decided that one of them needed to leave the BAU. Their work was not only dangerous, but it took them away from home and leaving an infant with Jessica didn’t seem like the right thing to do. Ultimately, Aaron decided to retire once Alce was born. Emily had worried if it was the right thing to do if people would judge her for continuing to work even though she financially didn’t need to, but Aaron assured her it was the right decision for their family. He was older than her, he’d achieved everything he’d wanted to with their career, and he was still haunted by the time he’d missed out on with Jack when he was in hiding with Haley.

“He did huh?” Emily asks, rubbing her daughter's back, feeling her getting heavier against her.

“Daddy’s been sad,” Hazel says, yawning as she settles even further into Emily’s grasp.

It sets off alarm bells in her head, and she’s suddenly repeating every conversation they’d had in the couple of days it had been since she had left for the case. He’d seemed himself as he updated her on what the kids had said and done throughout the day before he let them speak to her, their excitement at talking to her warming her from the inside out even when she was on the other side of the country.

The morning she’d left had been normal too. She’d been woken up early by her phone ringing and had done her best to be quiet as she got ready to leave. It was rare that she was up before him, even though it had been years since he’d retired, but Aaron had been out the night before with Derek, Dave and Spencer, a ‘guys' night’ that Dave had organised for them all. She’d dropped a kiss on his forehead before she’d left, chuckling as he grumbled at her.

The thought of him keeping something from her makes her uneasy. She adjusts her hold on Hazel as she walks into the kitchen, and her uneasiness only increases when she sees the tight smile that flashes across her husband's face before he can cover it.

“Hi sweetheart,” he says, walking over to greet her. He presses a kiss to her cheek and when he pulls back she sees the same smile on his face again, not the usual one that makes her stomach swoop, “We missed you.”

Before she can reply in kind, or ask him if he’s ok, Jack and Alice rush into the room to see her and the moment is lost.

___

The next time they were alone together was when it was time for bed.

The kids were all in bed, and as Emily took a long and well-needed bath, Aaron made lunch for Alice and Jack to take to school the next day. She’s changed into her pjyamas, a large t-shirt of Aaron’s and a pair of sleep shorts, and walking back into their bedroom when she pauses in the doorway of the ensuite, frozen in place as she watches her husband look at himself in the mirror.

She can see the critical way he’s looking at herself. How he looks himself up and down, his hand on his stomach as he turns sideways as he furrows his brow.

“You ok?” She asks, and he flinches, unaware that she’d been standing behind him at all. He turns to look at her and he clears his throat.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replies, smiling at her like he had in the kitchen again before he nods and tries to walk past her. She sighs and she stops him, her arm around his middle.

“Yeah, that’s how someone who is fine would say that,” she says, smiling softly at him. Her eyes searching his for something, anything, that would give away what was wrong. She reaches up and cups his cheeks, holding him in place. “Hazel said you seemed sad.”

He sighs and closes his eyes, guilt for the fact his four-year-old had been able to pick up on his mood making his chest ache, “I didn’t think she’d pick up on it.”

She leans in to kiss his cheek and she smiles at him, their eyes meeting as he opens his, “Well she’s very good at picking up on how other people feel,” she says, brushing her fingers through his hair, “Just like her Daddy.”

He chuckles softly, “And her Mommy.”

She kisses him and wraps her hand around his to lead him to the bed. They sit on the edge of it, their thighs pressing together, and she lifts their joint hands to kiss his knuckles, her lips catching the cool metal of his wedding ring. “So, what’s wrong?”

It feels absurd even as he thinks about it, the comments that he knows were a joke the other night rolling around in his head as they had for days.

He hated that he felt a little out of place with the team these days, that he was on the outside with jokes and comments that he would have once been at the centre of. He knew he’d made the right call, that not one part of him regretted retiring to stay home with their children, but it had been an adjustment over the years. He appreciated that Dave still insisted he went out on ‘guys night’, but he had different priorities than his friends now. The others would speak about cases, that he’d already heard about from his wife so could give his advice on, and he’d tell them about the kids, shaking his head as Dave pointed out the sparkly nail polish on the fingernail on his pinkie.

The other night had been fun, he’d drunk a little bit too much beer, enough to make him a little handsy with Emily when he got home, but he kept thinking about something Derek had said. He’d just come from the gym, his upper body aching, and he’d commented that Aaron could do with joining him if he wanted to, a teasing smile on his face as he patted his belly, before saying something about Emily and how he wondered how Aaron kept up with her.

Aaron was aware that he wasn’t quite as fit as he used to be, that his body had changed as he got older and less active now he was no longer in the field, but someone else mentioning it had thrown him. It made him self-conscious in a way he hadn’t been since the scars Foyet had given him were fresh, and he hated it.

He’d been grateful that Emily was away for a few days so he could attempt to get over it. So he could reconfigure his thinking and get over what Derek had said, but apparently, he hadn’t been able to.

He should have known better than to try to hide something from his wife.

“It’s stupid,” he says, and she raises her eyebrow at him, love for him shining in her eyes.

“Nothing you say is stupid,” she says, shifting so she can look at him properly. She squeezes his hand, “Just tell me.”

Aaron nods and huffs out a breath, “When I was out the other night, Derek made a comment about the fact I’m not as…fit as I used to be, and he asked how I keep up with you,” he says, feeling embarrassed he was even admitting to it, watching as her mouth falls open “And I know I’m not, and I know he was mostly joking, but I can’t stop thinking about it,” he smiles tightly, “I…I even signed up to a gym yesterday.”

She scoffs, her hand tight around his, “I’ll kill him.”

Her fury is stoked by the way Aaron chuckles and leans down to kiss her cheek, “It’s ok, sweetheart, I promise,” he says, “I shouldn’t have let it get to me,” he shrugs nonchalantly, “I don’t care what Derek thinks, I only really care…” he drifts off, clearing his throat before he can say it outloud, but she catches it, and she chuckles humourlessly, not quite sure she can believe what he was about to say.

“You think it bothers me?” She asks incredulously, staring at him as he avoids eye contact. It's her turn to scoff and she shakes her head at him, “How could you think that?” She can see the tension in his shoulders, how tightly he is holding himself, and she sighs, her teeth sinking into her lower lip as an idea comes to her. She leans in and presses a kiss to his neck and then his jaw, her lips catching his cheekbone before she speaks again, “I love you,” she says, her hand sliding his down his chest as she reaches for the hem of his t-shirt, smiling as she hears his breath catch in his chest, “Every part of you.”

He isn’t sure how she manages to pull her shirt off of him, his arms moving almost of their own accord as she throws his t-shirt onto the bed behind them. She shifts so she’s straddling his lap, a knee on either side of his hips, a glint in her eyes that makes him groan, familiar desire pulling in his belly. He puts his hands on her waist holding her securely in place, moaning as she rolls her hips against his, smiling as she presses a kiss to his lips. He can taste the toothpaste on her tongue, and smell the lavender essential oils lingering on her skin from her bath.

She kisses down his neck and to his chest, pressing her lips to the scar at the top of his chest, “I love these scars,” she mumbles, running her hands down his sides, smiling when he shivers, grinding down on him as she feels him harden underneath her, “They’re made of you,” she says, kissing the next one as she works her way down, her fingertips now at the waistband of his sweatpants, “And they show you survived,” she murmurs, repeating words he’d told her over the years when it was her turn to feel insecure, “That you made it to me.”

She stands up and encourages him to lift his hips just enough to pull his sweatpants down, both of them working to remove them completely. She kneels on the floor in front of him, pressing her legs together to get some friction as she looks at him, half hard and laying against his soft stomach.

He was different to how he used to be, but she loved it. She loved that it made his hugs feel all the more encompassing, that she loved to lay in his arms or half underneath him, the weight of him against her the greatest comfort of her life. That she loved watching him hold their kids, how he’d comfort them and encourage them and somehow make them look tiny, even now when they weren’t babies anymore.

He was huge, in every way, and she loved it. And she hated that he’d ever think otherwise.

She knows he wouldn’t believe her if she said that, so she carries on proving it to him. He’d always been an action kind of guy anyway.

She shifts forwards on her knees so she’s between his thighs, and she feels nothing short of powerful at the way he’s looking down at her, his pupils blown wide as she sees a different type of tension take over, his hips thrusting towards her before she even touches him. It had always been like this. He’d been desperate for her from the start, as she had been for him, and that desperation hadn’t faded over the years. If anything, it had got worse. Anticipation and knowledge of how well they knew each other, how well they took each other apart, enough to make them crazy for each other.

She grabs him, unable to stop herself from moaning as he does too, the sound that leaves him as she pumps him up and down is punched out as she spreads precum over his skin. She leans in and wraps her mouth around him, one of her hands at his base, still slowly pumping him, and the other on his thigh to keep her balance. Aaron groans, one of his hands wrapping itself into her hair, holding her in place as he once again thrusts involuntarily.

“Fuck, Em,” he grits out, any previous insecurities starting to melt away, all of his focus on her. How she bobs up and down, choking slightly as he hits the back of her throat, “Sweetheart, you’re so good at that.”

She pulls back to look at him, gasping for breath as she does so, spit connecting her to the tip of him, “You’re so fucking hot,” she says, never stopping pumping him up and down. She tilts her head back towards the mirror behind them, knowing that from where he was sitting he’d be able to see himself, to see her kneeling in front of him, “Just look at you.”

She leans back in, and he watches himself in the mirror as she goes down on him again. The mixture of the sensation of it, of her mouth hot and slick around him, and the sight of it reflected back at him kicks his pleasure up several notches. He doesn’t see his softer skin or his less defined chest. He sees himself as she does. He sees them together. And they were magnificent.

He thrusts firmly into her throat, groaning as she moans around him, the vibration almost pushing him to the edge. And he tugs on her hair, pulling her back, smiling at the sight of her. Her hair messed up and her eyes wide, her skin flushed with desire as spit dripped onto her chin. His stomach rolling at the knowledge that she was like this because of him. And he hadn’t even touched her yet.

“What?” She asks, wiping her hand over her mouth as he pulls her up, turning them so she’s laying on the bed. “I was trying to-”

“Oh, I know what you were trying to do, baby,” he says, already pulling her shorts down her legs, smirking against her neck as she whines as he purposely runs his thumb against her as he does so. “But you know what makes me feel better every time?” He asks, as she shakes her head chasing his touch as he skins his fingers over her thighs. He pushes up her shirt and allows her to sit up just enough to pull it off her, throwing it to join his somewhere higher up on the bed. He places his lips next to her ear and breathes over her skin, making her shiver, “Making you fall apart.”

She moans as he pushes two fingers into her, stealing the air from her lungs as he curls them inside of her, “Jesus Christ.”

“Nope,” he smirks, pulling his fingers from inside of her and lifting them to his mouth, groaning as he tastes her on his skin, “Just me.”

She wants to be annoyed at him, but she can’t bring herself to be. Not when he’s pressing her into the mattress, his lips against her throat as he pushes her thighs apart even wider, a pull in her legs that she thinks would make her wince in any other circumstances

“Please,” she breathes out, throwing her head back as he pushes into her, the familiar stretch of him making her moan loudly. He captures it by kissing him, just about aware enough of everything beyond the two of them that if they woke up the kids this would be over. She buries her hands in his hair and kisses him fiercely as she matches him thrust for thrust, the two of them naturally falling into a rhythm they’d found years ago.

“Fuck, Em,” he says as he pulls away from the kiss to bury his face into her collarbone, “You’re incredible.”

“So…so are you,” she grunts out, her breath stolen from her as it feels like he pushes in deeper every time, and she knows she’ll still feel him in the morning, “You feel so fucking good.”

He puts his hand in between them and draws circles on her clit, groaning as she clenches impossibly tighter around him, “Come for me, baby,” he says, biting into her shoulder, “Show me how good I make you feel.”

She comes, hard. And she pulls him into a kiss to muffle her scream, and he comes too, his hips stuttering against hers as his orgasm chases hers.

She lays there for a moment, to catch her breath content to stay there under him, and she groans in disappointment as he tries to roll off of her. She wraps her arms and still shaking legs around him as she buries her face in his neck.

“Stay there.”

“Sweetheart,” he says, his voice thick, “I’ll crush you.”

“Don’t care,” she mumbles, stamping her kiss against his, “I love it,” she kisses him again, “It makes me feel safe.”

He feels pride swell in his chest, the last tendrils of his insecurity finally letting go, and he nods, purposely shifting so only half of his weight is on her, “We’ll need to get dressed soon,” he says, resting his head on her chest, “Hazel will sneak in soon.”

She hums, the thought of spending a night sandwiched between her husband and her youngest after spending a few days sleeping alone filling her with joy.

“In a minute,” she says, clenching around him on purpose, laughing when he moans, “Then we’ll shower together.”

“Sounds good sweetheart.”

___

She yawns the next morning as she pours herself a cup of coffee in the bullpen kitchen, and she hears a familiar chuckle from behind her.

“Late night, Princess?”

She turns to look at Derek and smiles as she takes a sip of her coffee, making a point of winking at him as she thinks of her very late night with her husband. The shower hadn’t been the end of it last night, and by the time Hazel did sneak into their room in the early hours of the morning they’d only just changed the sheets.

“Something like that.”

He shivers and makes himself a drink, “Gross.”

“You asked,” she watches him carefully, her tongue pressing into her cheek as she questions whether she should say something, but her desire to protect her husband wins out over everything else. She steps closer to him, “Derek?”

He hums in response and looks a little shocked as he looks up and sees she’s closer now, “Yes?”

“If you ever say anything to my husband again about his appearance, or imply he is anything less than perfect for me, I will kill you,” she says, her face stern, “And we both know I’d get away with it.” She says, and she suppresses her smile as his face falls and he swallows thickly. “Are we clear?”

He nods, “Crystal clear.”

She smiles at him, “Perfect,” she walks away and heads towards her desk when she hears Derek call after her.

“Are you limping?”

She turns back to look at him, a wide smirk on her face that makes him immediately regret his attempt to get the upper hand again.

“Oh Derek, when will you learn not to ask questions you don’t want the answer to.”

-x-

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yetanothersparrowofthedawn · 4 months

Text

The Way I Loved You

Series Masterlist

Word Count: 9k

Pairing: Jake x Reader

Genre: Angst, hurt, ex!Jake

Context: YN has some big news. Chaos ensues, as per usual.

Disclaimer: THIS IS UNEDITED, this chapter has been driving me insane and I just wanted to get it out of my drafts. Also, English isn’t my native language, so I apologize in advance for mistakes and awkward wordings to come. Also, I guess this fic could be triggering for some because it’s kind of sad and angsty.

Previous Track: Style

Chapter soundtrack: That’s the way I loved you – Taylor Swift

He is sensible and so incredible He opens up my door and I get into his car And he says, "You look beautiful tonight" And I feel perfectly fine. But I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain, And It's 2 a.m. and I'm cursing your name. So in love that you act insane, And that's the way I loved you. Breaking down and coming undone, It's a roller coaster kind of rush. I never knew I could feel that much And that's the way I loved you.

(By the way, for every ‘Chapter Soundtrack’, basically the idea is that it’s a song that YN eventually wrote with that chapter of her life in mind)

Alright, let’s get into this.

The plane cut through the clouds, having left the US behind as YN and the band embarked on a journey together. YN couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia mixed with anticipation as the Paris skyline unfolded beneath them.

The past six months had been quite a personal success. A mosaic of regular shared experiences had broken down any residual tension that might’ve lingered between her and Jake. Their casual encounters at shows, festivals, and birthdays-alike had served as genuine moments of connection, reforging the group dynamic they had all missed.

YN’s relationship with Harry, on the other hand, had blossomed into a real spectacle that constantly adorned the front pages of tabloids. This, of course, earned her a lot of suffocating attention, but amidst the whirlwind of it all, she managed to find refuge in the simplicity of the few moments she spent with the band.

The purpose of their Parisian escapade was twofold — YN was set to attend the art exhibit opening of an old friend of hers, while the band sought out some specific piece of music equipment that Sam had simply refused to order online.

It was a perfect opportunity to blend business with pleasure.

The jet touched down at Charles de Gaulle Airport and as they stepped onto the tarmac, the crisp Parisian air infused the atmosphere with a sense of adventure.

As the day unfolded, the city of lights revealed its magic. Goofing around in a place where no one paid attention to them was exactly what they’d needed. It felt just like old times.

They explored hidden corners and indulged in local delicacies until the jet lag simply became too much to bear. With tired but cheerful eyes, they returned to the hotel as the city lights began to shimmer.

__________

The lobby buzzed with the chatter of a day well-spent. YN got off the elevator on her floor, wishing the boys a good night with a smile.

As she stepped into her hotel room, her gaze wandered across the space. The muted ambiance contrasted sharply with the vibrant memories of the day.

The blinking light on the telephone caught her attention, and curiosity compelled her to check the answering machine.

With the press of a button, none other than her fiancé's voice resonated in the room, a familiar warmth despite the miles that separated them.

"Hi, love, hope you're havin' a good time with the guys. Wish I could be there with you, but I'm still in London.” She smiled softly as his words wrapped around her like a comforting embrace.

“Listen, I just wanted to let you know I just got off the phone with the jeweler,” a pause hung in the air, heavy with the weight of the unspoken, “they said they're done."

YN fell back onto the bed with a huff, the mattress embracing her in its soft contours. Stretched out on the bed, her gaze fixed on the ceiling, the weight of the secret she’d been keeping pressed on her conscience.

Harry’s voice, a distant echo, continued to fill the room, “The ring should fit perfectly now."

The next day arrived, and jet lag had firmly taken hold, but YN shook off its drowsy grip to join Josh, Jake, and Danny in the hotel's dining room for some brunch.

The fatigue was evident on everyone's faces. She inquired about their plans for the day.

"Well, we have an appointment at the music store in an hour," Danny replied.

Josh scoffed, "If Sam ever decides to—"

"If Sam ever decides to what?" Sam's challenging voice cut in as he strolled over, taking a seat at their table.

"Samuel, how nice of you to join us," Jake teased.

"You know I need my beauty sleep, brother. Don't be jealous," Sam retorted. YN chuckled at the banter, enjoying the familiar dynamic.

As the conversation continued, Danny, with a raised eyebrow, steered the discussion back to the important topic, “As I was saying,” he resumed, “we have an appointment at the music store in an hour. How long do you reckon that will last?” he asked.

Sam, with his typical nonchalance, replied, “Not sure; the call was all in French. Might be ten minutes, could also be ten hours.”

The eye rolls from Josh and Jake were nearly audible, a synchronized response to their younger brother’s signature unpreparedness.

“Alright, we should probably head out right about now,” Jake declared, scanning the surroundings. He sighed in anticipation, “For all we know Sam may have gotten the address wrong as well.”

The youngest, catching wind of the ribbing, protested with a whine, “Hey now, that’s not fair,” as the group headed out through the bustling lobby.

__________

Once they stood outside the hotel, Danny turned to YN, “Are you heading to your friend’s thing?”

One of YN’s old friends was having the opening night of her new art exhibit, an event which they were all planning on attending later that evening, and YN had mentioned the possibility of going early to lend a hand.

“Yeah,” she replied absent-mindedly, “I’ll see if she needs anything.” She looked away in apprehension.

“Alright then,” Sam said, “we’ll see you later.”

As they were about to part ways, YN nervously blurted out, “Do you all need to be at that appointment thing?” She paused, turning to Josh, “I mean… the equipment is just for the players, isn’t it?”

Josh instantly scoffed, feigning an offended expression, “Well, I happen to play something called the vocals, YN, thank you very much.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?” she insisted, an unusually tense expression on her face, “please?”

Sam was about to retort with a whole bunch of technical issues but Josh, catching on to his friend’s unspoken plea, quickly intervened, "Uh, you know what, guys? I think I'll stick around with YN for a bit. I can catch up with you later."

The others, slightly taken aback, glanced at each other, then at Josh and YN.

“Sure, no problem,” Danny smiled.

YN grabbed Josh and the pair strode away, arm in arm, leaving the others slightly dumbfounded.

Josh couldn't help but shoot YN a puzzled look, to which she responded with a silent gratitude that spoke volumes.

The rhythm of their footsteps echoed a subtle tension in the air. After twenty minutes, Josh, usually the easygoing one, couldn't help but enquire, "So, what was that about?"

She glanced at him, her expression a mix of urgency and hesitation. "It’s nothing, let’s keep going we’re almost there.”

He stopped dead in his tracks, “come on, there clearly is something,” he stated, crossing his arms, “and I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on.”

She stared at him, tempted to call out his bluff, but decided against it, knowing it was only a matter of minutes anyway.

“Alright,” she sighed nervously, “I have some news.”

___________

The air hung heavy with the weight of revelation. YN's eyes, now wide with anticipation, searched Josh's face for a reaction, a sign that he had processed the bombshell she had just dropped. The silence echoed like a distant melody, the street a quiet stage for the unfolding drama.

YN finally broke through the deafening quiet. "Aren’t you going to say anything?" her voice carried a mix of vulnerability and desperation, a plea for connection.

Josh, still processing, stared into the distance as if searching for answers among the unseen horizons. The creases on his forehead deepened, and the corners of his lips twitched with unspoken thoughts. "I just—” he finally uttered, “this- it’s is a lot to take in."

"I know, I'm sorry to spring this on you like that," YN said, her words softening the room's tension. She continued, "I've been dying to tell you- or anyone for that matter, but- with the boys and other people always around, I was afraid it would turn into a big thing, and the news would get out."

Josh remained silent; his eyes still locked on some distant point.

"So..?" YN pressed on. She needed a reaction, a response, anything to bridge the chasm that had opened between them.

"So..." Josh hesitated, choosing his words with measured precision, "we're not heading to your friend's exhibit, are we?" he finally inquired, his question cutting through the haze with unexpected clarity.

"Well,” YN couldn't help but let a smirk play on her lips, “remember we always said you'd have dibs on giving your- style opinion if I ever tied the knot?" she teased, the corners of her lips curling with a hint of mischief.

Josh’s eyes widened with surprise, "Hold on, what?" he exclaimed. The tempo of the conversation had, once again, caught him off guard. "Didn't you just get engaged?"

"I know, it's all going a bit fast," she admitted with an excited sigh. "But Harry and I were at this Westwood show a week ago and the bridal look was just exquisite," she paused, “one thing led to another and we just- booked an appointment.”

Josh returned to his silence; surprise still etched on his face.

"Come on, don't be mad," she implored, her tone softening. "You know you love a private fitting," she added, attempting to inject a bit of lightness into the atmosphere, to soften the edges of the unexpected news.

After a while, Josh looked up, meeting her eyes. "There’d better be a lot of champagne involved," he finally quipped.

She smirked, a sense of relief washing over her. Finally, a normal reaction from her friend. "And only the best,” she assured, “this is Paris, after all."

_____________

The boutique, nestled in the heart of the 7th arrondissement, exuded an air of exclusivity that transcended the ordinary. As YN and Josh stepped into its realm, they were greeted by the hushed whispers of luxury. The walls, adorned with mirrors, reflected the rare creations that hung elegantly on display.

An impeccably dressed man emerged to welcome them with a pronounced French accent. Every detail of his attire spoke of an innate understanding of elegance, a testament to the boutique's commitment to excellence.

It was the kind of boutique that dealt exclusively in one-of-a-kind couture looks, each piece meticulously curated through age-old relationships with some of the most illustrious maisons in the world. It housed creations that transcended mere garments; they were wearable art, destined for the most exclusive clientele.

Led by the man, Josh and YN were ushered into a private fitting room. A sanctuary of privacy, it was adorned with soft, indirect lighting and the air was filled with a faint scent of peonies.

With a polite nod, the man assured them that he would return shortly with the dress YN had come to try on. As he exited the room, Josh couldn't resist calling after him, sending a playful reminder to bring in the champagne.

The leather sofa cradled them in its plush embrace as a delicate silence lingered, both YN and Josh settling into a cocoon of thoughts.

Josh, breaking the quietude, voiced the question that hovered between them. "So, you're really engaged, then?" His words hung in the air.

“Yeah,” a wistful smile played on YN's lips at the surreal nature of her situation. "I guess I am."

"How did it happen?" Josh asked, the question laced with genuine curiosity and a hint of brotherly concern. Her eyes sparkled as she recounted the proposal.

Josh listened attentively, a complex array of emotions crossing his features. He wanted to be solely happy for her, to share in the joy of her new life, but the reality of the situation still needed time to settle.

"It's all moving so fast, isn't it?" he mused, a thoughtful expression clouding his features. YN nodded in acknowledgement.

The atmosphere shifted as Josh leaned back against the velvety cushions, his eyes fixed on a distant point. "On the bright side of things,” he suddenly stated, “Sam owes everyone twenty bucks.”

She looked at him with a confused smile, “What?”

Josh sighed, memories flashing through his eyes. “About four years ago, the guys and I made this whole wedding bet thing” he giggled, “Sam, of course, bet the first marriage among all of us would be him and Carole King,” they both laughed, “guess that’s not happening.”

“Did you bet on anyone?” YN asked playfully.

Josh nodded silently, a serious expression quietly returning to his face. “Yeah," he finally admitted, a veil of nostalgia covering his eyes. YN's smile softened, a hint of understanding in her eyes. Of course, Josh would’ve bet on her and Jake.

"Life takes unexpected turns," she gently stated as she leaned back into the sofa. “Who would’ve thought?”

“Yep,” he mirrored her words, “who would’ve thought?”

As the minutes passed, the pair found solace in the shared silence.

The man finally returned with a garment bag that made YN’s eyes sparkle in excitement. Josh, taking charge of the celebratory mood, promptly popped the bottle of champagne, the effervescent bubbles escaping with a soft hiss.

He poured the bubbly liquid into two crystal flutes, the delicate clink resonating in the air as a toast to the unfolding moment.

_____________

As YN disappeared into the changing area, Josh took a seat, sipping the effervescent liquid and allowing its crisp taste to dance on his palate.

Amid the subtle symphony of sips and the rustle of fabric, Josh suddenly heard some noise emanating from the main area of the boutique. Curiosity piqued, Josh set down his glass and ventured toward the source of the commotion.

“I don’t think this is the place, it’s all clothes in here.”

Josh closed his eyes as he recognized the all too familiar voice. Sammy. He sighed, recognizing the imminent chaos that his baby brother, in all his oblivious glory, was probably about to unleash upon the sophisticated boutique.

Josh let out an exasperated breath, mentally preparing for hurricane Sammy. As the chaos drew nearer, he glanced toward the main area.

« Puis-je vous aider? » the owner inquired, attempting to bring order to the unfolding comedy.

“Oh, um, oui, oui, oui, Bonjourrrr Monsieurrrrr, ” Sam stammered in response, « nous, uh- ouch! Daniel, my foot!” he whined.

Danny interrupted, mercifully ending the linguistic massacre, “I’m sorry, do you speak English?” The owner nodded in response. “Great, um, I don’t suppose this building is also an art gallery by any chance? We’re looking for our friends.”

“I’m afraid not. Who are your—” the manager began before being cut off.

“It’s okay,” Josh interjected, stepping out from the doorway to the fitting room with a mixture of amusement and mild irritation, “they’re mine.”

“There he is!” Sam exclaimed before turning back to the owner, “merci very much, pal,” he said, tapping the flabbergasted-looking man on the shoulder.

As Sam and Danny approached, Josh wasted no time addressing the impending chaos. "How did you even find us her—” he interrupted himself, “Danny, how many times do I have to tell you to stop tracking my phone?"

Danny, caught off guard, stammered, his ears turning red, "I don’t know what you’re talking ab—"

"I swear to G—" Josh began, frustration evident in his tone.

“It doesn’t matter,” Sammy interjected, nonchalantly dismissing the potential drama. “Weren’t you going to some gallery?”

“It’s- a long story, not really mine to tell,” Josh replied, visibly nervous, “weren’t you going to the music store?”

“Well, we did go,” Danny rolled his eyes, “only someone apparently booked an appointment for the year 2032-”

“Here we go again!” Sam groaned, throwing his arms up, in the air “I already said it was my bad, what more do you want from m-”

“Alright,” Josh sighed, his patience wearing thin, “you guys should head out, like, right now. Where’s Jake?”

“Jesus, chill out, he’s just outside, on the phone with Ma’,” Sam informed, attempting to diffuse the tension.

Danny, with his signature grin, couldn’t resist adding his two cents. "You know," he said, "if you guys wanted to go shopping, you could’ve just said so."

"That’s- not it," Josh retorted, his tone carrying a mix of irritation and urgency. "Will you please just listen to me and go before—"

“Hey!” Jake suddenly appeared from behind the other two, “Ma’ says hello,” he slowly looked up from his phone. “What are we doing here?” He took a moment to assess his surroundings, “Are we going shopping?”

“No, we were just about to leave, actually,” Josh replied nervously, his words rushing out. “Y/N will meet us later.” The air seemed to tense with an unspoken secret, the ambiance of the couture boutique now a battleground for conflicting interests.

"Is she not here?" Sam asked, glancing around the shop.

"No, she’s—" Josh began, but he was suddenly cut off by a voice from behind him.

“Alright, I’m coming out…” a voice range out.

Lord, help us all.

“…but I swear to God if you start crying, I will kick your—" YN’s figure materialized from the fitting room, and instantly froze. Her eyes widened, and her words hung in the air as she recognized the crumpling faces in front of her.

The four guys, equally dumbfounded, if not more so, slowly took in the sight of their friend wearing, what very much appeared to be a wedding gown.

Sammy was the first to break the silence, “What the—”

Fuck.

___________

"So… now you know," Josh announced, absurdly loud, attempting to divert attention, "This year’s MET Gala theme is all-things-white, I know, I know, controversial, but, uh—"

“Josh,” YN cut in. She was thankful for her friend’s futile attempt to cover for her, but it was time to be honest. She turned to the boys.

“So…” She sighed hesitantly, “I guess the cat’s out of the bag, then. I’m kind of—" she paused, the word struggling to come out, “engaged?”

“You’re joking,” Sam blurted out.

“I don’t have my ring,” she clarified, “It’s getting resized, but—”

“Are you for real?” Danny interrupted.

There was a moment of palpable silence, and then YN timidly confirmed, “Y-yeah.” She wore a shy smile, and they scanned her face for any sign of dishonesty, finding nothing but sincerity. The realization hit them like a freight train.

“When’s the due date?” Sam couldn't resist adding.

“I’m not pregnant, Sam,” she snapped back, her eyes rolling with annoyance.

“Holy shit,” Danny exclaimed, rushing towards her and spinning her around. She laughed, feeling the tension dissipate.

“Someone’s making an honest woman out of YN, that certainly wasn’t on my bingo card” Sam teased, earning a look from YN, a mix of annoyance and amusement. “Alright, come here,” he opened his arms, and she gladly stepped into the embrace. “Congrats, superstar,” he mumbled into her scalp.

YN’s eyes finally landed on the one person who had yet to say a word.

Jake stood there, completely still. His gaze remained fixed on YN, an array of emotions flickering across his face. Surprise, disbelief, and perhaps a touch of realization danced in his eyes as he took in the sight of YN in a wedding dress.

In that moment of stillness, Jake's mind raced. The news of YN's engagement hit him with an unexpected force. Despite knowing that they had both moved on, seeing his ex-girlfriend on the verge of marriage obviously stirred something within.

He watched as YN stood before him. She radiated excitement, yet looked at him with nervous doe eyes, as though seeking approval. Jake's features softened into a faint smile and he finally broke the silence, his voice barely above a whisper. “I’m so happy for you.”

She instinctively wrapped him in a soft embrace. Taken aback, he eventually wrapped his arms around her waist. “Thank you” she mumbled against his chest, “that means the world.”

“Okay,” Sam’s voice interrupted the moment of tenderness, “now that this is out of the way, let’s talk about this” he said, motioning to the dress she was wearing with an expression of disgust.

The atmosphere lightened as the group transitioned seamlessly from the weight of the revelation to their usual playful banter. "You don't like it?" YN inquired with genuine surprise, her eyes flickering from Sam to Josh, seeking confirmation.

Josh’s mirrored expression conveyed that his baby brother may have had a point, the unison hinting at a rare consensus. YN sighed with playful resignation, a mischievous grin creeping across her face as she hatched a plan to address the situation.

"Alright,” she announced, the glint of mischief in her eyes, “you know what we have to do, then." The boys, catching on to her playful intent, mirrored her smirk in anticipation.

"Fitting Frenzy!" they chanted with a jump, as Danny and Jake shook their head with both amusement and despair. The impromptu decision dispelling any lingering tension as they embraced the whimsical spirit of the moment.

____________

The boutique transformed into a whirlwind of shades, fabrics, and laughter as said fitting frenzy ensued. Each member of the group contributed their unique flair to the impromptu dress-hunt, turning what was initially a stressful situation into a memorable experience.

"Eggshell, Daniel?" Josh's voice echoed through the boutique, a mock sense of outrage coloring his words. "Have you gone mad? Do you think our Y/N will have some barn wedding?"

Danny, unfazed, shot back with playful defiance, "Well, I'd rather have her in an eggshell gown than that horrendous bedazzled mess you suggested." Their banter echoed through the fitting rooms, punctuated by bursts of laughter that drew bewildered glances from the boutique staff.

YN, caught in the middle of the sartorial crossfire, couldn't help but chuckle at the playful antics of her friends.

Amidst the banter, Sam emerged from a changing room, strutting down the shop in a princess ballgown layered over his shirt. "You know, this is actually much more fun than what we had planned for today," he declared, twirling around.

The boutique's managing director, growing increasingly concerned with the boys' chaotic energy which clashed with the usual etiquette of his establishment, observed the spectacle with a mix of confusion and disapproval.

As the afternoon continued, YN found herself submerged in a sea of fabrics and styles. The excitement that had initially fueled the endeavor was now tinged with a hint of desperation as she tried on dress after dress, searching for the perfect one. Despite the growing frustration, she maintained a sense of fun, laughing at the playful banter of her friends.

Throughout the disorder, Jake moved around the boutique, occasionally offering suggestions but seemingly preoccupied with his own thoughts. His attention wavered here and there.

“Hey how about this one?” Sam interrupted his brother’s train of thoughts holding up a dress to him, but Jake wasn’t paying attention, his gaze seemingly stuck on something. “Jake?” Sam inquired.

Breaking from his distracted reverie, Jake finally voiced his suggestion, pointing at the specific garment that had captured his attention. "No," he said definitively, "She should try this one."

The owner's enthusiasm echoed through the opulent boutique, his thick French accent lending an air of sophistication to his words. "Aaaah, I see you have the American eye, don't you? We curate very few pieces of American design, but this one," he declared, his fingers delicately grazing the luxurious fabric of the dress in contemplation, "yes, it is… quite delectable, is it not? Tom Ford, 1986. A good year."

As he held the dress with a certain reverence, Sam eagerly announced, "We'll take it," seizing the hanger from the poor man's hands and dashing toward the fitting room. "YN, look what we found!" he gleefully shouted through the boutique, the proclamation carrying a hint of mischief that made the owner flinch.

Apologizing once again for his brother's exuberance, Jake offered a sincere "Sorry about that" to the slightly rattled proprietor. The old man, despite the chaos Sam had caused, chuckled halfheartedly as he returned to the meticulous task of sorting the upscale garments.

After a pause, he turned back to Jake, his eyes holding a glint of appreciation. "If I may," he said with a knowing smile, "you have a good eye. She will look exquisite in it."

Jake nodded in acknowledgment, a sense of satisfaction warming his chest.

__________

As he headed back towards the fitting room. A chorus of oohs and aahs reached Jake’s ears.

There she was, YN, adorned in the dress he had chosen just moments ago, the sleek and elegant silk hugging her frame in a way that seemed tailor-made for her. The dress accentuated YN's beauty in a way that left him momentarily breathless.

Caught in the moment, YN looked around the room and inquired, "What do you think?" A chorus of enthusiastic responses filled the air.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Sam chimed in, eliciting a genuine smile from YN.

Turning to Josh for his opinion, YN received a heartfelt compliment that seemed to catch her off guard. "You look really beautiful," Josh admitted, his voice slightly breaking with emotion.

"Gosh, stop it,” she playfully remarked, attempting to lighten the mood, “You're going to make me cry, and I haven't even seen it."

“Well go on, then,” with a helpful hand from Danny, YN was guided onto the small platform, facing the grand mirror. Taking a deep breath, she finally looked up at her reflection, and the room held its breath in anticipation.

Her eyes began to glisten as she took in her own reflection. The dress reflected Jake’s taste for the understated, emphasizing the beauty of simplicity and allowing YN's natural grace to shine through. It was a creation of plain elegance, a sleek masterpiece crafted from immaculate porcelain silk that draped effortlessly on her frame.

A soft smile played on YN's lips as she stood there, momentarily rendered speechless by the sight before her. "It's-” she eventually said struggling to find the right words as emotions bubbled to the surface. “It’s so…"

"…you," Josh finished the sentence for her, “it’s so you.” The collective affirmation in the room conveyed a shared understanding—the dress wasn't just an exquisite garment; it seemed to be an embodiment of YN's essence, a celebration of her being.

The owner, with an air of grace, stepped forward, breaking the tender moment. He inquired, "Now, what are we thinking in terms of hair?"

"Up," Jake and Josh said in unison. Jake glanced down, slight embarrassment coloring his expression.

YN nodded with a radiant smile, "Up it is."

"Would you like to see our collection of hair accessories? Just to get an idea." the owner offered, leading to an affirmative nod from YN. A skilled stylist promptly approached, delicately crafting an elegant updo, revealing YN's delicate collarbones.

As she perused the display case of accessories, YN settled on a sophisticated white gold pin adorned a single pearl. The owner, appreciating her choice, carefully retrieved the accessory.

However, the pin slipped through the owner's fingers, hitting the floor with a delicate clink. Before anyone registered the mishap, Jake had descended to one knee. He delicately picked it up, his movements fluid and confident, as if the gesture had been rehearsed a thousand times before. The boutique seemed to hold its breath as Jake rose to his feet. Sam and Danny exchanged a knowing glance.

The clearing of Jake's throat pierced through the stillness, drawing attention from the clandestine intensity of the scene. His eyes met YN’s through the mirror, seeking permission.

A nod from her, gentle yet affirmative, signaled her consent, along with a soft flutter of her eyelashes. With a deliberate step, Jake closed the distance between them, the air charged with unspoken anticipation.

He extended his hand, gently placing the pin in her hair. In a moment suspended in time, his fingertips accidentally brushed against the nape of her neck. A feathery touch that let an electric current pass between them.

As the two stood side by side, the lavish Parisian boutique provided a glamorous backdrop to a silent interlude. YN, adorned in the white gown, and Jake beside her, found themselves momentarily immersed in the alternate reality painted in the mirrors. The soft ambient lights seemed to cast an otherworldly glow.

In that suspended moment, their reflection seemed to carry whispers of the 'what-ifs' and the divergent narratives that fate had penned for them.

As their gazes met in the mirrored picture, an unspoken understanding lingered in the air—a shared acknowledgment of a parallel universe where the threads of destiny had woven a different tapestry.

The boutique owner, sensing the shift in dynamics, played the role of an artful conductor, steering the ensemble away from treacherous territories. "Beautiful!" he exclaimed, his voice serving as a gentle reminder of the present moment. “Isn’t it?”

The spell broken, Jake and YN found themselves back in the shared reality of the Parisian boutique. The moment dissipated, leaving behind a trace of wistfulness and a shared understanding that some paths, no matter how enticing, were to remain veiled in the realm of what might have been.

In that fleeting moment, Josh and Sam exchanged another knowing look. They understood the silent undercurrents that had rippled through the room, visible only to those attuned to the intricacies of their story.

"Yeah,” echoed Jake softly, a touch of unease in his voice “Beautiful."

Suddenly, a voice breaks the contemplative atmosphere, announcing, "Hope I’m not interrupting." To everyone's surprise, the figure standing at the door is none other than that of YN’s fiancé.

Harry’s entrance cut through the atmosphere like a gentle disruption, eliciting a swift reaction from the gathered ensemble. In the blink of an eye, Jake stepped away from YN, creating a visible distance as the unexpected visitor approached.

The shift in dynamics was palpable, the subtle recalibration of postures a silent acknowledgment of unspoken boundaries.

"Oh my god,” the surprise painted across YN's face turned into sheer joy as she hopped off the platform, and sprinted towards Harry, her hand tenderly finding its place on his neck. In an impulsive burst of delight, she planted a kiss on his lips, an expression of unrestrained affection that spoke volumes to those around. “What are you doing here?" she exclaimed in disbelief.

Harry, with a casual charm, explained, "Just landed an hour ago, thought I’d surprise you." His eyes then shifted to greet the boys, who still bore the remnants of surprise on their faces. As the initial shock settled, YN, still wrapped in the delight of the moment, turned to Harry with a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

"Are you coming to the opening tonight?" she asked, anticipation of his response lingering in the air.

“No, I’m flying back as soon as I’m done with my interview,” he said, “Actually, I have to run right now, I’ll make sure to send Camille flowers though, tell her congrats for me, will you?”

Camille, Jake thought reluctantly. Harry knew YN’s other friends. How come Harry already knew her other friends? How come he’d never heard of Camille before?”

“Are you sure you can’t stay just a little while longer?” she pleaded.

“Sorry, my manager’s expecting me back in London by tonight,” he said, prompting a subtle pout from YN. “Aw, come on, don’t make that face, love. Here, I have something that’ll cheer you up.” He reached in his coat pocket and pulled out a small leather box and Josh cast a quick glance at his twin brother, who observed the scene. “I swung by Cartier on the way here,” Harry opened it to reveal a dazzling engagement ring. “There,” with gentle precision, he slid the ring onto YN's finger, “fits like a glove.”

"Thank you," YN smiled, her words accompanied by a tender kiss Harry planted on her hand.

“I left a little something at your hotel as well” he murmured, and she smirked sheepishly in response. She, by nature, may not have been driven by material gifts, but she knew how excited Harry always got.

“You’re the sweetest” she said softly.

“You are,” he retorted, “and would you look at you!” he exclaimed, eyes dancing with admiration as he twirled his fiancée around, reveling in the enchanting vision she presented. The moment, however, took an unexpected turn as he took a closer look at what she was wearing, “Hey, this isn’t the dress we’d talked about,” he questioned.

“Yeah, the Westwood didn’t exactly pan out,” Sam interjected, before YN could respond “that’s on us, mate.”

“Is this the one, then?” he said, gesturing to the gown she had on.

The room seemed to hold its breath as his question lingered. A wave of discomfort washed over YN. The very thought of walking down the aisle to Harry in the dress felt terribly inadequate for some reason.

“Uh, no,” she gently admitted after a pause, "I think I'll keep looking,” she shrugged. Her words prompted groans of disapproval from Sam and Danny. "It should be perfect for us," she insisted with a smile, though in truth, she was uncertain whose feelings she was trying to spare.

"Whatever feels right for you," Harry said, "I’ve got to run. It was nice seeing you all," and with one last peck on her lips, he exited the room.

Harry's departure left the boutique enveloped in a subtle sense of relief as Jake grappled with an internal turmoil that mirrored the brewing storm outside.

Irritation, disguised beneath a veneer of nonchalance, slowly began seeping through his veins.

Suppressing the inconvenient truth that lay dormant within him, Jake found himself grappling with an internal struggle between acknowledging the depth of his feelings and maintaining the carefully constructed walls he had erected around his heart.

YN silently turned back to the boys, casting a quick glance at Jake. The subtle creases of his brow, a silent acknowledgment of a storm brewing beneath the surface.

“I think we’re done for today,” she declared, as she fumbled with the ring on her finger. “We don’t want be late.”

______________

As the day melted into the evening, YN's wardrobe transitioned from the sleek ivory gowns of the boutique to a fun silver dress that shimmered with each step she took. The metallic fabric reflected the neon lights that illuminated the night, outside of the art gallery they were heading towards.

Adorning her ears were emerald earrings, thoughtful gift left by Harry at the hotel, glinting subtly as they caught the sporadic flashes of the vibrant light.

The anticipation of the evening's celebration seemed to clash with the subdued mood that had settled among the group as they approached the venue,

YN, still tense after the afternoon's emotional rollercoaster, maintained a dignified composure, though the echoes of her emotional turmoil lingered beneath the surface.

Jake, who hadn't uttered a word, let alone glanced in YN’s direction since their departure from the boutique, appeared increasingly tired as resentment simmered beneath the surface.

The vibrant energy that had characterized their friendship now hung in a delicate balance, disrupted by the unexpected currents set in motion. YN, though saddened and upset by the palpable shift in dynamics, chose to endure the silent treatment. It was true that she could have handled things with more thoughtfulness earlier.

They were welcomed into the space by the sound of music and sight of a decent crowd, a mix of art enthusiasts and socialites, swirling around the vibrant works of art.

Camille, with cheeks flushed and a self-soothed confidence fueled by a few drinks, spotted YN from across the room. "Oh my God, you're here!" she exclaimed, rushing towards her old friend with genuine excitement. She enveloped YN in a warm hug, her voice reflecting both joy and intoxication. "How have you been?" The two of them chatted for a minute.

The attention then shifted to the Greta boys, looking as handsome as ever. Camille, her eyes gleaming with mischief, greeted the boys with a seductive charm. "Well, bonsoir, gentlemen," she cooed, extending her hand with theatrical elegance, "Enchantée."

Seizing the opportunity for a flirtatious exchange, Sam pushed his brothers aside, positioning himself at the forefront. With a confident flair, he lay a delicate kiss on Camille's hand. “The pleasure is all mine,” he said, prompting the others to roll their eyes.

________

As the evening unfolded within the pulsating confines of the neon-lit gallery, Jake sought refuge at the bar, carefully avoiding any contact with YN like a sailor steering clear of a storm. His deliberate avoidance, a self-imposed exile, left her feeling adrift amidst the swirling currents of tension.

Distressed by the unspoken chasm between them, YN ended up seeking solace on the terrace, where the crisp night air provided a temporary respite from the stifling atmosphere inside. Her eyes were fixed on the ring on her finger, it glistened delicately in the light, yet felt heavier than ever on her finger.

“What are you doing out here?” Danny's voice interrupted the solitude, breaking the quietude of the night. He approached YN, his breath forming visible puffs in the chilly air.

"Is that a cigarette I see in your hand?" he asked, genuine surprise coloring his words.

"Old habits die hard, I guess," YN responded with a wry smirk. She wasn’t a regular smoker, but when days were high in stress, she sometimes found comfort in the smell and taste of tobacco, a weakness from years past. She took one last drag before moving to put out the cigarette.

"No need to put it out," Danny reassured her.

"It's okay, I don't mind," YN replied, extinguishing the cigarette with a flick of her fingers. The cool night air seemed to match the tense atmosphere lingering between them. Danny, breaking the silence, finally broached the sensitive topic that loomed over the night like a specter.

"So…" he began, his words hesitant.

"So…" she echoed, her eyes teasing him.

"Marriage, huh?" Danny eventually voiced, the question lingering in the air like an uncharted path in the dark.

"Yep," she replied, a soft smile playing on her lips. Danny and YN shared a glance that conveyed an unspoken acknowledgment — a few years back, the notion of YN embracing matrimony was nothing short of an absurdity. She and Jake had broached the topic once or twice, but it simply wasn’t her style. Not at the time, at least.

As her short response hung in the cold night air, Danny's eyes held a mix of curiosity and concern. "Are you happy?" he gently probed.

"You know…?" she paused, the words carrying the weight of introspection, "I think I am." As she spoke, the echoes of her own journey reverberated through her voice.

There was a time, not too long ago, when the prospect of happiness felt elusive, hidden in the shadows of heartbreak. After Jake, she had wandered through life with difficulty. The idea of happy-ever-after had seemed like a distant dream, an illusion shattered by the echoes of what had been.

Yet, Harry had entered her life like a gentle force, a subtle breeze that whispered promises of new beginnings. It wasn't the same love, nor did it intend to be. The edges were softer, the hues more muted, but it felt right, it felt- sensible.

She had once believed that devotion could only wear the guise of what she had known with Jake, but life had a way of rewriting its own narratives.

Danny, leaning against the cold metal railing of the terrace, absorbed YN's words with a thoughtful expression. "You've come a long way," he remarked, his voice gentle, “Both of you.”

"Yeah," YN responded, her gaze momentarily drifting to the city skyline. “He hasn’t said a word to me all afternoon, though.”

Danny nodded, understanding the weight of unspoken words. "You know him, better than most. It doesn't mean he's not happy for you; he’s just never good with change."

Amid the day's tumultuous atmosphere, Danny once again stepped into his role as the voice of reason. His words carried a soothing reassurance, a balm to the unease that had settled over YN.

She sighed, the night air carrying a hint of hesitation, "I hope so.”

A gust of wind swept through, eliciting a shiver from YN.

“You should go back inside,” Danny said with a gentle nudge, “Wouldn’t want you to catch death before you make it down the aisle.”

“Yeah,” YN chuckled back, “that would not be a good look.”

_______

As YN walked back inside, her eyes locked onto Jake, who, upon meeting her gaze, promptly diverted his course, striding purposefully in the opposite direction and disappearing into the men's room. The continuous avoidance and unspoken tension had reached its breaking point, and Danny’s reasonable words seemed like no more than a distant echo.

Fuck it.

Fed up with the unspoken rift, YN briskly followed the guitarist, determined to confront the lingering unease that had shadowed them throughout the day. With each step, her resolve strengthened. The hallway echoed with the clicking of her heels, a stark contrast to the lively hum emanating from the exhibit area behind her.

The door to the men's room swung open, revealing the dimly lit space within, and YN was met with the sight of Jake standing near the row of sinks. His posture, while seemingly casual, hinted at an anticipation that sent a ripple through the charged atmosphere.

She tried to hold onto her tenacity before it inevitably slipped away. "Can we talk?" she ventured, unnecessary loudly.

A flicker of discomfort crossed Jake's downturned gaze as he replied, "This is hardly the place."

"Since when has that been a problem?" she retorted, frustration seeping into the words. Jake's silence, an unnerving response, hung between them like an unspoken challenge. "We need to talk; you've been avoiding me all day," she continued, the weight of the unsaid pressing down on the confined space. “See? You won’t even look at me.”

"Alright," Jake finally shrugged, looking up at her, "Get on with it."

Caught off guard by the intensity of his gaze, YN hesitated for a moment, collecting her thoughts.

"Are you okay?" she finally asked, concern evident in the furrow of her brow and the subtle quiver in her voice.

Jake scoffed, turning away. "What do you think?" he spat, his words cutting through the air with a sharp edge.

"You said you were happy for me," she countered, a flicker of hurt in her eyes.

"Yeah, well, what the hell d'you expect me to do?” he shot back, “I wasn't exactly about to make a scene in front of everyone."

"Jake,” she sighed, her voice softening in the face of his evident frustration, “I'm sor—"

"And to find out about it like that?" he interrupted, hurt evident in his eyes. "I mean, I know we've had our ups and downs, but Jesus, I thought we still had some respect for each other."

"I'm sorry," she offered sincerely, "this— it wasn’t supposed to happen like that. I wasn't—"

"Sure,” he pressed, his voice carrying a bitter edge, “and when exactly were you going to tell me, huh?"

"I— I don't know—" she stammered, her words an acknowledgment of the disarray surrounding the situation, a vulnerability laid bare.

"Were you just going to wait until paps got a shot of that huge rock you carry on your finger?" he continued, and YN wished she could sink into the ground. The rapid clenching and unclenching of Jake’s fists revealed the intensity of his emotional turmoil. "Or better yet, wait for me to see photos of your fucking honeymoon in the press—"

"Stop it, you know I'd never do that," she interjected defensively.

"Actually, I'm not sure I know anything about you right now," he retorted.

"And what's that supposed to mean, exactly?" she demanded, her voice tinged with defiance.

Jake looked at her for a moment, his own frustration simmering beneath the surface. "You're seriously going to make me say it?" he shot back.

"Well, I'm not a fucking mind-reader!" she roared.

"Come on, YN” he rolled his eyes, “Marriage? Mrs. Styles?" he mocked, his words carrying a weight of disbelief as if grappling with an inconceivable reality.

"Yeah, well, what about it?" she spat, attempting to conceal the hurt that flickered in her eyes.

"Please," he shook his head dismissively, as if challenging the very essence of the decision she'd made. “That's not you."

"And what do you know, huh?" she said, the echoes of her frustration reverberating off the restroom walls. "We haven't been together in years; what makes you think you know what I want for my life?"

"Because I know you!" he yelled, the force behind his words revealing a desperation to be understood. Silence hung in the air, a palpable tension between them before Jake pressed on, "and better than that jackass does, apparently,"

"You don't even know him!" she shot back, her defenses rising.

"See, that's the thing," he scoffed, a bitterness underlying his tone, "I don't need to know him. I know your taste in men."

Her eyes flickered with pain, a wounded expression betraying the impact of his words. "That's a low blow," she eventually said, a mix of hurt and indignation coloring her response, "even from you."

"Yeah, well, only the truth hurts, I guess," he mumbled, a bitter acknowledgment hanging in the air as he walked past her and headed towards the exit.

"So what?" she called out, the desperation evident in her voice. "Was I supposed to stay single for the rest of my life?" He turned around, his heart breaking as he met her sad eyes. She continued, "I—After everything- do I not deserve a chance?"

"No, that’s not-" an instinctive pull drawing him closer to her. His hand gently cupped her face, his thumb brushing away a stray tear. "You know all I want is for you to be happy."

"Well, I am. For maybe the first time in years, I am," she whispered, nuzzling her cheek into the palm of his hand. "Harry, he's good, he makes me feel- safe."

He felt a pang in his chest at her words. "I'm sure he does," he said sadly, his words weighted with an unspoken ache. "That— that's not the problem."

"Well, then, what is it?" she searched his eyes, desperate for understanding.

"It's just— " he hesitated, the words burning in his throat, unwilling to ever come out. His fingers delicately brushed her hair behind her ear, and his gaze lingered on the emerald earring that dangled from her lobe. "He’s-” Jake continued, his eyelids flickering, “he's got good taste."

With those words, he walked out, leaving YN behind, paralyzed, the weight of the unspoken lingering in the air.

________

YN found herself back in the exhibition area, but the vibrant artwork was a blur as her mind wrestled with her recent exchange with Jake. The odd thrill of their heated encounter served as an unsettling reminder of what she’d left behind.

She’d messed up and he’d messed up, a pattern that seemed to keep on haunting the both of them, even in friendship.

Truth was, he’d probably been right. She wouldn’t have had the guts to tell him about her engagement.

Why, though, was a question she couldn’t quite answer. Perhaps she’d enjoyed that in-between. On some level. Perhaps she’d wanted to witness his unfiltered reaction, or she’d been curious as to what might happen if she let the news come out on its own. Perhaps she’d simply been bored out of her mind.

Her songwriting had seemed to have run dry recently. The more time passed, the more she found that ‘happiness’, whatever that was, presented a ridiculously uneventful subject. After all, there would be no grand choirs to sing, no chorus could come in about two people sitting doing nothing.

Perhaps Patty had been right when she’d said YN had always needed to go to war to find material to sing. But it was a dangerous game, one she’d renounced a long time ago. Too much of her blood had been shed. She had let the sword fall to the floor, only to be replaced by the ring on her finger.

Immobilized by a sea of emotion, YN suddenly felt a comforting presence beside her. Josh's voice cut through her thoughts.

"Don't worry about him,” he offered, “he'll come around eventually. It's just a lot to process."

"I know," she replied with uncertainty, her eyes still fixed on the artwork as if seeking solace in its silent forms.

"One of you was gonna end up getting married someday," Josh continued, "you just happened to be the first. That's nothing to apologize for." His hand found hers, the silent gesture conveying a silent promise of support.

_________

The following day unfurled with an air of quiet tension. It was YN’s turn to deliberately avoid Jake as they moved through the day's activities. However, the serendipity of travel arrangements had a laid out different plans for them.

As they boarded the plane, YN's eyes darted across the cabin in search of her seat, her desire to maintain distance palpable. Yet, the universe seemed intent on weaving a narrative of its own.

There, in the vast expanse of plane seats, she had apparently been expected to sit next to none other than the very person she’d been trying to avoid.

A flicker of reluctance crossed YN's face as she hesitated near the row, contemplating her options.

Just as she decided to retreat, Jake's hand gently reached out, “YN, come on,” a silent plea evident in his touch, "please?" His words hung in the air, soft yet compelling. It seemed he had renounced his fighting mood from the day before. She relented, sinking into the seat beside him.

The hum of the plane engines served as the backdrop to a charged silence, unspoken tension echoing in the space that stretched between their bodies.

Once takeoff was done, Jake hesitated, glancing towards YN with a contemplative expression. Breaking the uneasy silence, he began, "About yesterday..."

She met his gaze, her eyes reflecting a myriad of emotions, a silent invitation for him to continue. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did," Jake admitted, his voice carrying a blend of regret and vulnerability. " It's just... it all caught me off guard."

YN, too, felt the weight of remorse settling in. "I should've told you. I should've found a way to tell you before,” she looked down at her hands, “but everything happened so fast, and I-I didn't know how…"

He nodded, a mix of regret and understanding in his eyes. "Still, I was an ass.”

"I get it," YN replied softly, meeting his gaze. "It's a big change. I never intended for you to feel blindsided."

He sighed in acknowledgment, "I guess we both have a lot to process. I never expected- I mean, I didn't think it would hit me that hard."

She met his gaze, a shared understanding passing between them. "To be fair, I never expected to find myself here either," she admitted, her voice soft. "But things change, I suppose."

"Yeah," he whispered, "they do."

The tension that had gripped the air between them began to slowly dissipate as YN chose to inject a much-needed dose of levity into the confined space of the plane.

"If that makes you feel better," she remarked with a gentle smile, "I’ll make sure to have a full-on meltdown when you get married, that way we’re even."

“Deal,” Jake chuckled, a warmth spreading through him, "just make it memorable, okay? Maybe hire a choir or something."

"Oh, absolutely," she nodded with mock seriousness, "I'm thinking fireworks, synchronized swimmers, the whole shebang. It's going to be an event."

“And of course, you'll need a soundtrack.” He mused, “Maybe something like ‘I Will Survive’ or ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’?"

"Solid choices," she laughed, "but I was thinking more along the lines of Cryingby Aerosmith. Really amp it up, you know?"

"Ah, a woman of refined taste," he quipped, "I'll be sure to add it to the playlist.”

She nodded, playing along, "And a fog machine as well, for my dramatic entrance.

"Well, naturally," Jake responded, “Can't forget the fog.”

The banter continued, a familiar cadence of playful exchanges that danced on the edge of shared memories. YN, feeling a sense of relief, leaned into the easy camaraderie they had always shared.

"So," Jake eventually needled, a curious glint dancing in his eyes, "have you set a date?"

“No, not yet" she responded with a casual shrug. "But knowing us, it's probably going to be a while. We're constantly swamped with work. You know how it is.”

“Too busy to plan your special day?” he smirked, “I don’t believe it, you were already picking your dress, weren’t you?”

“Well, I do have my priorities straight,” YN laughed. “But seriously, though,” she insisted, “I swear you might end up tying the knot before I do.”

Jake chuckled in response.

__________

He would contemplate the conversation in the following weeks, assuming the wedding talk had merely been banter. The idea of YN getting married seemed like a distant future, perhaps years away.

Little did he know that merely a month later, a small, elegant envelope would arrive in the mail, bearing news that would unknowingly alter the course of their fate.

Miss YN YLN and Mr Harry Styles Request the pleasure of your company at their Wedding Save the Date

Next Track : St Jude

Series Masterlist

Hope you liked it! Once again, I am begging you all to interact and leave comments it makes me so happy to get feedback and reactions xxx

Also, this is only the beginning lol. I have a billion drafts for other chapters so stay tuned, peaceful army.

Taglist

@aintthatapity

@sinarainbows

@vanfleeter

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lara635kookie · 8 months

Text

My Ship Ranking:

Okay so a few warnings about this:

1-I added all the ships I could find. If there is any missing, let me know and I'll add later.

2-This is my opinion and it isn't meant to be offensive to anyone. You can agree or disagree and it's totally fine. If you wanna do your own rankings, I would love to read it.

3-It's a long post that I've been writing for weeks. I made revisions but if something passed through me and you guys notice, you can tell me.

1-Red Crackle:

Is that even a surprise to anyone? Red Crackle is my whole life and owns my entire soul lol. But jokes aside, these two are just so linked and have a foundation not even time and space can separate. Even when they're apart by circunstances, they meet again. They always comeback to one another. Duane Capizzi said in this interview Carmen and Gray "will definitely meet again":

https://youtu.be/PIjX9rGvUmk?si=4paV3k7alKrt-B4f

And I haven't seen other interviews yet but in this specific interview the person just says Duane said Carmen doesn't see Gray in a flirty light and brushes it off asking about Carulia. Then Duane just talks more about Julia's character and then says, "if it's there, it's intentional" which indicates, from what I got, that the double meaning is there, you can choose how you see and interpret it. They could have made the carulia interactions more clear and chose not to do so on purpose. So I imagine the same thing applies to Red Crackle, Carmivy, Jeantonio, etc. The show ended so now is up to us to interpretate with what we have. Even if Duane, and the whole crew of the show overall, ship something, we can ship something different. As the show is not romance focused, we can choose from what we have. And no way there's no people who ship Red Crackle among the show staff. Michael Goldsmith(Gray's voice actor) seemed to ship. This guy seems to as well(not sure tho) considering the way he directed the holy trinity of Red Crackle episodes:

Gray's character is fundamental for Carmen to be the person she is. Can you picture Carmen jumping from the plane with El Topo, Le Chevre or Tigress? She trusted only Gray enough to do that. Without him she wouldn't have jumped, and would not realize what V.I.L.E. truly is about. And if so, a lot later, maybe too late. And at the end, they could have chosen Devineaux, Zari, Julia, or even Ivy to save Carmen with the A.C.M.E. machine. I think it would be kinda nice if it were Ivy so she would have an interaction with evil Carmen, like Zack had at the ferris wheel, and would impress A.C.M.E. instead of just randomly joining it with Zack out of nowhere at the end. But I'm glad it was Gray and then Shadowsan finished the job. The thing that gets to me is that she looks to the crackle rod on the floor and screams:"Gray!". The person she always prioritized the safety of the most was "dead", by her. Then she asks what has she done and I think here she could have also shown some concern for Devineaux and Julia. Specially Julia. Because Devineaux was there, standing, and depending on the impact of the thing that fell on her head, she could have died. And she seemed to faint under a curtain that also could kill her by asphyxiation if she didn't wake up on time. But the only thing she cared about was Gray. She could have remembered on screen she hurt other people too by seeing the crackle rod, but she only remembered Gray and I was like:"But what about Julia? Aren't you worried about her? Carmen is not gonna care about her at all? Really?" "That's it? That's the ending?" I believe that if there was no red crackle shipper there, the show would be a lot different. Gray's character wouldn't be so important as it was if that was the case. Speaking of which, I want a red crackle week because I never participated in one and I want to write an AU about what would have happened if Gray decided do join Team Red on the train to Paris and on the Himalayans and red crackle week is the perfect excuse for that. Also one if Carmen decided to go back to V.I.L.E. on the train to Paris to destroy them from the inside. If we have a Red Crackle Week it could be in December with a Christmas-themed vibe, @redcrackle-week ? Christmas is my favorite holiday and Red Crackle is one of my favorite ships, perfect combination.

2-Carmivy:

Again, no surprises. I've got nothing to say about this two that I haven't said before. They are so in love and they have my heart. I'll never understand why they are so underrated, they deserve more appreciation.

3-Jeantonio:

It's almost a crime that they aren't first place, but they were so close. They are like, the only ship the whole entire fandom agrees it's canon and I got mad respect for them for being able to unite the shipers because everyone likes them and wants to protect them(specially El Topo). They were clearly dating and were romantic boyfriends and I would do pretty much almost anything for them.

4-Cleobellum:

The same thing with Jeantonio, they are just a little bit lower because they don't have the general consent and less moments but to me they are a married couple.

5-Chasari/Zarineaux:

I think they would be the greatest girlboss and malewife ever. Devineaux is a dumbass but he would be Zari's dumbass. The little they interacted I could tell they would be an amazing couple. I just can see it. I can picture all their interactions perfectly in my head. When Zari fell into his arms, and the way Devineaux held her. Zari telling Devineaux not to be in her way and slowly getting softer to him with time, like, they would be such a good storyline. I wanted them together so badly so they deserve this place at my top 5.

6-Chasulia:

These two are a little bit lower because I'm not sure about them. At the start, they are a definite no. But after the fourth season Devineaux was prasing Julia the way she deserves to be praised and treating her better, redeeming for his past actions towards her and actually listening to her. He admited that he was wrong with Julia and did better. They are such adorable dorks together and while I love them as a platonic ship, I feel like they could also work romantically. It would be an interesting plot. I feel like most people think romance and friendship can't coexist but it can and it should. These two combined are one of the factors that make a good and healthy relationship and I feel like Devineaux and Julia have potential to be that way. I would like to know more about their Interpol days like why they were partnered together and how did they got to Carmen Sandiego, etc. So because of their wholesome platonic relationship that may or may not be affected my romance, they are a little bit lower but they are amazing and I love them.

7-CarChase:

This one, I did not expect to be this high up. First, the ship name is just as funny as "Red Crackle". Carmen and Devineaux did have quite a few number of car chases. Second, I'm aware that they have a 12 years age gap but I have a pretty high tolerance for age gaps. While I would rather not have an age gap too big for romantic relationships, 17 years age gap or less I don't mind. It bothers me a little, but it's not that big of a deal. If it's 18 years or more, it bothers me because I go like:"They could be their dad/mom." I just think they would be so funny together. The idea of them is surprisingly good. It makes me laugh when I think of Coach Brunt calling him handsome and Carmen being so done and after maybe going like:"He ain't ugly"(Carmen Sandiego is that kind of show that the animation is so pretty nothing and no one is ugly). And Carmen not wanting to see Devineaux because it's "really not a good time" and then seeying him even more to the point she doesn't mind it and even starts appreciating it. They would be a hell of enemies to friends to lovers story. They interact more than Carulia, but not as much as Chasulia so seventh place sounds about right for them. Not my favorite but I approve.

8-SpinTrap/FlyKick:

I don't know what their official ship name is but they are assigned partners and that, by V.I.L.E. standards, for me, usually means they make out. I wanted more development for both of their characters, which we don't know much about, so eighth place sounds nice. They clearly work well together and have a great harmony so I would say they are a cheaper version of Red Crackle. Like: "Kid:Mom, I want Red Crackle. Mom:We have Red Crackle at home." And they are the Red Crackle at home in question. Still, it works. Of course they are nothing compared to Red Crackle, but they still work. In the, idk three times we saw Spin Kick and Flytrap, you can tell they have the chemestry to convince people they are a romantic couple so this place is well deserved for them.

9-Dokusan:

No, you haven't read wrong, it means Shadowsan and Lady Dokuso. Just hear me out:I can picture it perfectly:They meet at V.I.L.E. academy, they fall in love, they start dating. But then, Shadowsan is promoted to a member of the faculty, a position Lady Dokuso also wanted, but she was happy for her boyfriend anyway. Then, it ends up not working out a faculty member dating a mere operative and then they break up but still love each other, but their relationship was full of ups and downs and they are both bitter and salty about it. Then, Shadowsan backfires V.I.L.E. and joins Team Red and Lady Dokuso can finally have a chance as a faculty member but at the cost of destroying Shadowsan. The drama, the angst, the complexity of loving each other but being different and being in two sides that can't collide or meet in the middle. If you stop to think about it, they are basically a toxic version of Red Crackle that went wrong(Yes, I use Red Crackle as a parameter to measure other couples because they are the standard). So why are they so high up? Because a sad ending love story can also work. Representativity matters and tragic love stories deserve to have some spotlight sometimes.

10-PaperTiger:

It wouldn't be me if these two didn't make it to the top 10. I know Paper Star is a psycho so she can't actually feel love or empathy for anyone other then herself, but hooking up without commitment works for these two. It would also hold some drama like:Paper Star and Tigress start being passive aggressive to each other, then they start being assigned to even more and more missions together and get to know each other better, Tigress falls in love for Paper Star and Paper Star starts caring for her a little bit more than the others and they start confiding in each other and telling things about themselves they wouldn't tell anyone else, and they try a secret relationship because Tigress accepted Paper Star's condition, but they end up not working out because of the V.I.L.E. work and the missions that they put in first place other than the relationship because they aren't El Topo and Le Chevre, unlike them, Tigress and Paper Star have other priorities and other things to worry about than each other. As you can see, I really love some angst, and they had the chemestry for that. Their versatility could also hold some fluff and funny moments like:Tigress judging Jeantonio for cuddling then doing the exact same thing with Paper Star, Tigress saying Paper Star isn't that bad to them(she is bad to everyone else tho, she would only be "soft", in her strange way, for Tigress), them trying each other's clothes and weapons, them teaching each other stuff, going out on dates, they would be V.I.L.E.'s IT couple like evil Carmen and Crackle were people, there's no way around it.

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commissionsopened-cruxred · 28 days

Text

I love you, still do.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Kennings looked at the picture on his desk. Amongst all his possessions, it was the most special one. One that he cherished the most. A picture of his ex-girlfriend, Cecilia, is also known as "Miss Heed." They met when they were young and fell in love. They dated for six long years before Cecilia finally left him. It was sudden and shocking for him. He didn't notice anything wrong prior. It was just him and her happy together living in his small apartment. He was a good boyfriend, too. He'd clean the place and cook homemade meals for the both of them. It was a simple yet quiet and lovely one..... or so he thought. Ever since she left him with a letter telling him that she was breaking up with him, he felt like he did something wrong. As if the reason why she left was because of him. She never specifically said it was his fault, but he felt like if he only had given her things she wanted, maybe.... she would have stayed. 'That might be it', Kennings said in his mind. He couldn't give her nice bags, clothes, and a nicer apartment, that's why she left him. He stood up with a determined look on his face. He knew what he needed to do, and he would do it if it meant to get her back. He would do every job so that he could take her out on a nice dinner night. He then changed clothes and walked the street nights of Paris. He was inquiring if any of the restaurants and bars needed a waiter. He hanged his head low as he was rejected for the 5th time. As he decided to go back home and try his luck tomorrow, a flyer slapped him on the face. He took it off, and a smile grew on his face. It was a flyer for a well-known restaurant in his area and wouldn't you know they are looking for a waiter! 'This is great! Now I'll be able to save up more money to take Cecilia out!', Kennings squealed as he ran directly to where the restaurant was. He entered, huffing as he tried to gain back some air back to his lungs. The staff who were closing up the place looked at him in confusion. He then looked up and raised the flyer, "You are guys looking still for a waiter?", he said in an excited tone. The staff then spoke up after a solid minute, "Sorry, but we are clos-", then a loud slam of the kitchen door erupted. It was the owner and head chef of the restaurant, Herbert Leth. He smiled brightly, "Oh, looks, we already have a new waiter! Isn't that nice!", Herbert said in a cheery and loud voice. Herbert walked towards Kennings and held his hands, "Welcome to La Gueule de Saturne. It's a pleasure to be your boss and to have you as a new employee. You'll be starting next morning! Don't be late, alright?", he said before releasing his death grip on Kennings's hands. Kennings rubbed his hands together to relieve some of the pain, "A-already?.... No interview o-or anything???", he asked, perplexed by Herbert's overly positive and cheery attitude. Herbert just shook his head, "None, unless you want that? But I'm sure you don't. Anyways, remember, I need you here by 5 am sharp. Ok?", Herbert said as he faced his other employees, "Keep moving. We are 4 minutes late from closure.", his cheery voice shifting to a more serious one. Kennings felt relieved that he immediately got the job, but...... he felt like something was off. Did the great master chef Herbert Leth really just accepted him with no questions asked? It was strange, but nonetheless, maybe it was just luck being on his side today. He left the restaurant before a voice called out to him, "Oi! New guy, don't forget your uniform!", the staff member said hastily giving it to him before running back to the restaurant. He looked at the guy wanting to say thank you but couldn't even finish. His eyes then stared at the uniform, then the outside of La Gueule de Saturne. Looks like his boring life got busier than ever. He doesn't want to disappoint his new boss, just like how he did with Cecilia. After she was the main reason why he wanted this job. It was for her. He then carried his uniform back to his flat and slept. Ready to take on what tomorrow holds for him.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

#villainous #dr flug #dr kenning flugslys #herbert leth #goldheart #miss heed #cecilia amanda kelly #dead plate au

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box-architecture · 4 months

Text

"So Dream's date went well I see." Hannah noted idly as she began to take samples.

Sam's stormy expression further soured. "No personal-life discussion at work."

"That's not what you were saying yesterday." Hannah smiled, a thin veneer of benevolence. "Mr. 'Dream, where did you meet him? Where are you going out, Dream? What time will you be back? Is it just dinner?'"

"All good questions to ask your roommate." Sam defended, moving away from the computer to start examining the body's flesh. Hannah's facade fell away to reveal something far more puckish.

"Of course. I'm sure it was incredibly important to know what dessert they would having. Wouldn't want the date to roofie his ice cream."

"They weren't having ice cream." Sam snapped. His face was flushed teal. "They probably just went to his house and- had sex."

"Ooh, that look like it hurt to say. You want to take five?"

"I'll tell security you shut off the basement cameras." He pointed a finger at her threateningly. Hannah looked amused. "You can't keep using the sarcophagus room to-"

"To what, Sam?"

With a jerk, he spun around to face Tina. She had an eyebrow raised, labcoat folded over her arm. Briefly, he tried to point his finger at her, before flushing further and dropping his hand.

"You know." He said, albeit mildly strangled. She leaned in and smiled sweetly.

"No, I don't. Tell me about what Hannah does in the sarcophagus room."

After a moment of sputtering, Sam deflated like a balloon. It wasn't really surprising. The man had always been all bark, no bite. It made him kind of funny; kind of annoying, too, but these things had their gives and takes. Hannah patted him on the back.

"Oh, Dream's here!" Tina's exclaimed joyfully, and Sam's wilted demeanor vanished instantly.

"Dream!" He brushed past Hannah and descended down the platform, hurrying over to meet a disheveled blonde man who was shimmying on his lab coat with one hand, leaning on his cane with the other.

"And there he goes." Hannah sighed. She bundled up her samples and set them on her moving tray. Tina hummed, still watching the men.

"Do you think he knows?" She asked. Hannah snorted.

"That he's in love? Sam would have brought out champagne and roses Day One if he did."

"No, Dream." Tina insisted. Hannah paused, looking up to squint at the pair.

Sam tied Dream's coat for him, brushing off the nonexistent dirt and likely rambling. Dream, slowly, reached out to cup Sam's face with a tenderness that Hannah had only ever seen him give to the dead. There was a moment of surprise, and then Sam melted, leaning into a hug. It allowed him to completely miss the forlorn, obvious yearning that flitted over his roommates face.

"No," Hannah decided. "He's an idiot. He would have done something stupid by now to force himself to 'get over it.'"

"You're right. He would have flown to Paris or something." Tina agreed. She plucked the sample tray from its cart and leaned in to whisper in Hannah's ear. "I'll put these in your office. Meet me in the sarcophagus room?"

Hannah smothered a giggle and nodded.

Uhhh notes:

you are not immune to Forensic Anthropologist Awesamdream AU

Dream and Sam are roommates, who tend to spend time together by watching marathons and eating ice cream on the couch together. Sam and Dream notably don't eat ice cream with other people, unless the ice cream is handed to them or it's a required thing. Sam considers it Their Thing That's Theirs Only For Them and Dream, quietly, also thinks of it like that

Hannah and Tina have sex in the sarcophagus room. Notably they turn off the security camera to do this, or go in the blind spots. This is illegal probably.

Dream grew up with Sapnap and George, but for Reasons they are no longer friends. Dream met Sam in school and Sam had the biggest crush on him, but they ended up separating at some point and going in different directions. When Sam transferred to this branch of forensics and met Dream again, Dream was notably covered in scars, walking with a cane, and a lot colder.

Dream tends to be distant with his coworkers and warms up over time, but Sam is Immediately allowed in his space and can be as touchy as he wants.

#awesamwastaken #sfw boxing #Listennnnn #Sam is Old Friend Soft Good Gentle #reminds Dream of when things didn't hurt #reminds Dream that Things Can Still Be Good #forensic au

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boldlyanxious · 1 year

Note

Steph as ladybug :3c

This has been ages. So sorry

It isn't really what I think you were asking for but it was what happened.

I did try to get someone else to write something closer to what might be wanted so hopefully that will come too

It had been years but Steph had found the girl fairly easily.

Batman kept the records hidden but Jason has helped her find them. They had been untouched since they were sealed there. She probably never would have figured it out Marinette was a hero if she weren’t already watching her house.

She and Jason munched on a selection of treats from the patisserie. She hadn’t even been able to go in herself. She was too nervous at what she might find. But Jason understood. He was there for her every step of the way.

They watched as the red spotted hero landed on the roof and entered the room as a flash of light revealed Marinette. She couldn’t face her past but she couldn’t let it continue like this. They pored over the interviews for the past few years and realized that the heroes were not just children. They had the responsibility forced on them by another. They hadn't been given a choice but to fight or give in.

Steph knew that she had made the choice to fight when she was young because she wanted better for herself and her mom. She wanted to hurt her father because he had hurt them.

It was also her choice that put the girl here.

She was the one to sneak into the room. It wouldn’t be a good look for Jason to be caught in the room of a fourteen year old girl no matter what the reason. She paused when she got to the bed. She knew she needed to take the earrings but she hesitated before she looked.

The child was sleeping peacefully. Her face was soft and worry free. That is the life Steph had wanted for her. The life she hadn’t been able to provide at fifteen. She hadn’t looked then because she knew she wouldn’t be able to let her go but she deserved better. She still deserved better.

Steph moved quickly to get the earrings off. The child only stirred slightly. The only movement was the sudden appearance of a red sprite that followed after her when she went for the trapdoor. There would likely be a panic when she realized her earrings were missing but this was for the best.

—

It had taken three weeks to end it.

They also had to remove Chat Noir from play too. He would not or could not get over their forced removal of Ladybug.

If his reaction was over the top then the reaction of the villain Hawkmoth was explosive. He was furious about them swooping in and taking his prize. The city of Paris was in constant chaos from the moment they announced they had taken into as the Ladybug and the Chat. Many of the citizens had to shelter in place by the end. The emotional effect of the constant siege provided far too many unwilling participants for the emotional manipulation.

Steph probably shouldn’t be so happy that Marinette was never one of them.

It spoke to her fortitude which she had no place in shaping. She knew that, but it still made her feel proud that she had been robbed of her chance to fight and still didn’t turn.

She had gone to a small massage parlor and spoke with the healer inside for a while. Steph waited for her to leave before she dropped in on the man who had turned the children into heroes forced to fight against a villain without any training. His lies about the secret magical society were expected but when they took the jewels from him, she hadn’t expected him to run from the city that very night. He didn’t even try to fight back.

—

The battle was tough. She almost wished she had told more of the people she knew about what they were doing here. But the people of the city loved their heroes even if they weren’t the same ones they had always known. They rallied behind them and based on the comments online, a lot of them were happy to see older heroes and hoped that the children were doing well after their sudden disappearance.

But when the Ladybug fell during the fight with Hawkmoth and couldn’t immediately fight back and the Chat was too far away to help, the citizens turned to protect her. That was what they needed to turn the tide of the battle. The additional people fighting was just enough to catch Hawkmoth unprepared and it ended up being Marinette that ripped the broach off him. His cane whipped out and knocked her feet out from under her but she already had the jewelry in her hand. He was revealed as she hit the ground.

The Ladybug took the girl and swung away. Her Chat took care of the downed villain. The police were quick to show up and arrest him and the press was buzzing about the reveal.

None of this mattered to Steph.

She cast the cure as she had been taught by Tikki after capturing the miraculous and Marinette was no longer injured by her fall.

“What are you doing?” she asked. “You stole my miraculous.”

“You never should have been burdened with it.”

“I failed. I failed all of Paris and Tikki.”

Steph reached out for her hand.

“Marinette, you didn’t fail and you will have the earrings again. I promised Tikki I would return them once Hawkmoth was defeated.”

Marinette covered her mouth. Her tears were hovering on the edge of falling.

“I won’t be allowed to keep her. You said my name. Youknow who I am so I have to give her up.”

“I only found out you were Ladybug because I was following you, and there is no one to take it back now. Your mentor left when we took the rest of his jewels.”

She spit out the last part in disgust and didn’t realize that Marinette was stuck on the first part.

“You were following me?”

She jumped up, preparing to run away but Tikki’s voice stopped her.

“Wait, please hear her out,” Tikki said.

Steph held the earrings in her hand out towards the girl.

“I’m pregnant,” she said. “The only person who knows so far is the new Chat. We were both heroes as teens and we didn’t want our child to need to fight like we did. That is what made me decide to find out what happened to my first child.”

Marinette turned back towards her, no longer trying to run away. Tikki floated over to nuzzle up to her as she listened. Steph sat down before she continued and Marinette sat nearby but out of reach.

“I don’t even know if you know and if you don’t I’m so sorry for revealing the secret. I was just fifteen when I gave birth. I wanted better for my child. It nearly broke me when I told them to take you away without even looking at your face. I knew I would never have gone through with it if I had seen or held you. But someone I trust helped find a loving couple who wanted a baby more than anything.”

“I knew I was adopted,” Marinette said quietly. “I tried to not think of why I had no one when I was born because I knew my parents wanted me.”

“I'm happy about that. I never meant to spring this on you. I wanted to wait until you were older and decided you wanted to know more. I will stick to that until you and your parents try to find me.”

She held out the earrings and Marinette didn’t reach out for them but Tikki floated out and took them from her.

“I am not ready,” she said finally.

“You don’t have to be. I’m leaving. I have told Tikki what she needs to know to find me if you ever decide you are,” she turned away so her daughter couldn’t see her tears forming. “Be well until then.”

#Ladybug Steph #biomom Steph #maribat #boldlyanxious #bold answers

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g1itchtree · 6 months

Text

Divulgence- Part 1

Okay quick authors note cause! Why not!

This is a new lukadrinette series. Honestly I love this ship so much it needs more stuff so. Here I am! It’ll be a bit canon divergent, idk how much but Chat and Ladybug actually have proper communication so that’s fun.

Updates will be pretty sporadic, basically whenever the writing mood strikes me. I wrote this in only like a few hours but then l’ll go weeks without writing lmao

Also I really have no idea how to use tumblr and I’m on my phone so if these are formatted weird please let me know

That’s it I guess? Enjoy!

———

“Miraculous ladybug!” Ladybug shouted as she tossed the spotted Dino Huggie in the air. As always, the magic ladybugs swirled around the city, fixing any damage the akuma had caused.

There was one thing that couldn’t be reversed, however.

As Marinette- no, Ladybug. As Ladybug gave Alec his charm and the trio of heroes brought him back to his TV crew, Luka couldn’t help but dread the consequences of what he had learned today. Two of his close friends (if that could even describe what he felt for each of them) were Paris’s superheroes. The sheer fact that they risked their lives every day and still managed to make time for average civilian life was astounding.

He was beginnning to understand why Marinette was always running off.

After they were done with Alec, he and Ladybug zipped off toward an empty alleyway. As soon as the coast was clear he took off his Miraculous and handed it over.

“Thank you, Luka,” Ladybug smiled at him, tucking the bracelet back in her yo-yo. And yeah, he could totally see it now that he knew. He knew quantum masking was powerful and all, but they had the same exact smile, same sparkle in her eyes after a job well done. How could he have missed that?

“Thanks to you, our secret identities were preserved and no one discovered who Chat Noir and I really are.”

Oh, she was still talking. Luka should probably stop staring.

It didn’t seem to matter too much though, because she turned to leave right after. Except she stopped right before tossing her yo-yo, that nervous smile that was just a bit too tight and her eyes a bit too wide to be genuine on her face. “Not even you, right?”

“Not even me,” He confirmed, though he could feel his nerves bubbling up. “Luckily Wishmaker never hit you or Chat Noir.”

Ladybug narrowed her eyes at him, and he knew she could see right through him. Like he could hear her inner song, she seemed to be able to know his deepest thoughts, no matter how much he tried to play it cool. Sure, that was part of the reason he fell for her. She was always the first to comfort him whenever things got a bit much. But damn, if it wasn’t inconvenient right now.

With a look outside the alley to make sure no one was near, she let out a deep sigh, her shoulders slumped as she leant against the wall. “Tikki, spots off.”

With a pink glow, the suit slipped away, leaving only Marinette and her kwami behind, looking stressed to all hell.

“Sorry,” Luka muttered, mostly on reflex.

“It’s not your fault, I knew this was a possibility when I asked for your help,” She assured, fishing a macaron out of her bag and giving it to Tikki. “Is it just me, or Chat Noir too?”

“Both,” He admitted, tugging at the bottom of his hoodie with discomfort. “…you looked really cute as the knitting fairy?”

She looked at him with that adorable expression she had whenever she was disgruntled or surprised, nose scrunched and lips pursed slightly. She then let out a laugh, shaking her head and pressing her hands to her face. “Fuuuck, that’s embarrassing.”

“Not at all,” He waved it off, grinning just a bit despite the circumstances.

“What was Chat Noir’s?” She asked, then seemed to realize her mistake. “Wait, maybe you shouldn’t tell me that, scratch it-”

“He just wanted to please his parents,” Luka shrugged, figuring that wasn’t too bad. Lots of people wanted to do that. “Make them proud, do whatever they said.”

Marinette furrowed her brows ever so slightly, nodding after a moment. “Yeah, that makes sense. I know his dad is overbearing, but he still loves him.”

The two sat in silence as Tikki finished her snack, unsure of where to go from there. Eventually though, the tiny god wiped her face and gave Luka a smile, diving into Marinette’s bag.

“We should head back and find Adrien,” She said after that, pushing herself off the wall. “Can you come back to my place after? We… need to talk.”

“Of course,” He agreed, but really he was dreading that conversation. Many possibilities ran through his head, each worse than the last. Would she not let him be Viperion again? Would she tell him they couldn’t be seen together anymore? Would he have to leave the country just so Shadow Moth couldn’t get to him?

The endless downward spiral screeched to a stop as Marinette took his hand, giving him that tiny smile that said everything would be fine. “It’ll be okay. Let’s just head back for now.”

And so they went.

———

As soon as they reached her bedroom after talking with her parents, Marinette immediately started freaking out.

She paced back and forth, hands tugging at her hair as she started to plan. “Okay so obviously it’s bad that you know who both of us are. If it was just one that might be okay- hell I already told someone, and I let Chat know that he could do the same. But both is a recipe for disaster! If Shadow Moth finds out, then you or your family could get hurt, and if you’re akumatized? I don’t even- that can’t happen! I could load you up on charms, sure, but what if you lose them? Or they break? Wait, can they even break? What if-“

“Marinette,” Luka interrupted, making her stop in her tracks. “You’re going to burn a hole in your floor if you keep going like this.”

She let out a sheepish laugh, her eyes dropping to her feet. “Sorry, sorry.”

“Come on, sit down,” He offered, patting the spot next to him on the chaise. “Let’s work through this one problem at a time, without catastrophizing.”

“Right, okay,” She agreed, plopping down and taking a deep breath. “How about… do you have any questions for me?”

“You mentioned others know?” He started with, figuring that was easiest.

“Oh yeah, that’s a pretty recent development,” She admitted, looking down at her hands. “I told Alya, after the Gang of Secrets mess she figured something big was up. I… I was really struggling balancing my superhero and civilian life, and it kind of just came out.”

“That’s perfectly reasonable,” Luka said, giving her his patient smile that honestly made it super hard not to cry. “I’m sure being Ladybug is stressful enough, and after you became Guardian? I’m not sure I would’ve been able to handle it myself.”

She bit her tongue, holding back from saying that she wholeheartedly believed anyone could do better than her, and she was sure Luka would do utterly amazing. She instead continued her answer, picking at her nails a bit. “I told Chat Noir who Carapace was, cause it was a bit unfair that I got someone and he didn’t, and obviously Carapace isn’t me so there was no risk of him accidentally telling me his identity. And the two are around the same age, and I know Carapace can keep a secret if it really matters. I’m not sure if Chat ever approached him though.”

Luka nodded, silent for a while before asking his next question. “Will… will I get to be Viperion again after this?”

Marinette sighed, dragging her hands over her face as she thought about it. “I don’t know… in all honesty, I really shouldn’t. But… you know how this all works already, and you’re really good at it too! Finding someone else I can trust to wield that power will be a lot of trouble. It’s easy to abuse it or not really know how to utilize it. And… I know Sass likes you a lot, too.”

That made Luka smile, a low chuckle escaping him. “Well, I like Sass too. I’d miss the little guy.”

Marinette couldn’t help but smile back, glancing to where the Miracle Box was hidden. “I guess… well, I won’t call on you unless it’s really needed. But… so long as no one ever finds out you know, then it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”

“I can keep a secret, there’s no need to worry about that,” Luka assured, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She glanced up at him, the familiar butterflies returning once more. It wasn’t fair that he was just so… so charming! And comforting! And someone she could just be herself around without any fear! Not to mention absolutely gorgeous? Honestly, it’s like the universe was trying to make her suffer.

“Marinette?” He all but whispered, drawing her attention back to reality. His brows were pulled together ever so slightly and he was biting the inside of his cheek, sure signs that something was on his mind.

“What’s wrong?” She immediately asked, starting to panic. Did he think this was too much? Did he not want to be seen with her anymore? This was the first time they’ve really spoken after the breakup, and honestly, she didn’t know if she could watch him leave again. Even if it was for the better.

“I… the whole reason we broke it off was because you’re Ladybug, right?” Luka asked, immediately filling her with dread. “Because you had to keep leaving, and I couldn’t know why.”

She winced at that, turning gaze back down to her hands. “Yes, that’s most of it… and I’m so sorry for that, Luka. I just couldn’t tell you. If I hadn’t broken down, I wouldn’t have even told Alya! I just didn’t want to put you in danger, but I still-”

“No, I get it,” He immediately assured, moving the hand on her shoulder to her own hand. “Now I do, at least. I’ve never had any hard feelings about it, I knew you had your reasons. I still loved you, even though I couldn’t be the one who you open your heart to. I still do, even now.”

“You… you still…?” Marinette whispered, looking to him with wide eyes. Great, now she felt even worse for dumping all this on him. He now knew why it was totally unable to work at all, not with the utter mess that was her life.

“I do, and now that I know you’re Ladybug…” He trailed off, looking down to where his hand laid on hers, slowly interlacing their fingers. “I really wanted us to work, y’know? Is there… any chance we still might?”

“Wait, you-” She immediately moved back, pulling her hand away. “Are you serious? You- after all I did, you still-”

“Sorry, that was probably too much,” He immediately backpedaled at her reaction, hiding his obvious hurt behind a smile. She could see it though, and it made her feel all the worse. “I just wanted you to know I care about you. I get why you wouldn’t want to, though.”

“Hold on, I didn’t say that,” It was her turn to interrupt as she held her hand out, cutting him off. “Just… give me a minute. I honestly wasn’t expecting that.”

Luka softened at her flushed cheeks and how she bit her lip, his affection for her evident in the look he gave. “Of course, take all the time you need.”

She visibly relaxed at that, leaning against the back of the chaise as she contemplated it. She glanced up at him every so often, then at her picture board, and a few times towards the box.

“I… I wouldn’t be able to dedicate enough time to you,” Marinette started with. “I would always have to run off, leave you behind again.”

“And I’m okay with that,” He said. “I was just worried that something was wrong with you before, that you were in danger. Or that I did something wrong. But I know why now, and I can help you escape if it’s needed.”

She let out a sigh, knowing he had a point. “If Shadow Moth ever finds out who I am…”

“He won’t,” Luka immediately cut in, that passionate fire blazing in his eyes. God, she loved that look. “You’re always so careful. That’s why I was there today, right? To ensure Shadow Moth wouldn’t find you. And that was a good call. There’s no way he’ll find out who you are.”

He really wasn’t making this any easier, was he?

“Dammit, Luka…” She muttered, uncurling herself and moving back next to him. “I really lo…like you, too…” She winced at the stutter, cursing herself for being unable to really express her feelings. “You make me feel so… comfortable? I don’t know if that’s the right word. I can just relax around you, not worry about every little thing. I hated breaking it off. I do want to be with you, really. But… I still don’t think it’s a good idea. I still… I lik-”

“Is it Adrien?”

Marinette turned to him with wide eyes, sputtering at that. “I- wha- nooo, of course not! Why would I ever… was I that obvious?”

“I think the only one who doesn’t know is him,” Luka joked, bumping their shoulders together. “I don’t blame you. Honestly, I’ve got the hots for him too.”

“You do??” She almost shouted, mouth agape. “But- you just-”

“You can love more than one person, Marinette,” He started, taking her hand in his again. “It doesn’t have to be this exclusive thing. I mean, it’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, but I personally have no problem with you pursuing a relationship with Adrien while you’re with me.”

She looked from their hands to his eyes, utterly confused at this point. “I- I’m not sure I understand.”

He laughed at that, tucking a loose hair behind her ear. “That’s alright. I can try to explain.”

He turned away, a little smile on his face as he walked her through it. “Love isn’t something that’s limited. Some people choose to only love one person with their whole being, and that’s perfectly fine. But others prefer to have more than just one partner. They spread their love evenly and wholly. And you, Marinette, have more love to give than anyone I’ve met. I’d honestly feel bad keeping you to myself.”

She was silent, processing his words. “So… you, me, and Adrien would all be a couple?”

“That depends. I’m not sure if Adrien’s into me. But we don’t all need to date each other for it to work,” He explained. “As long as there’s communication and clear boundaries, then I see no reason why you can’t date who you want. The only question is, are you comfortable with that?”

Marinette thought about it, coming up short with a perfect answer, as was the pattern with her feelings. But… it sounded nice. “I don’t know. It… I guess I wouldn’t mind trying? I haven’t even considered that.”

“Most people don’t,” Luka smiled, turning back to face her. “It’s fine if you don’t want to. Just follow your heart.”

My heart really wants to kiss you.

The thought turned her bright red, but she was unable to deny its validity. Could you blame her? The way he looked at her, with endless compassion and devotion, made her absolutely melt. Now that she had this new perspective, she honestly couldn’t bear letting him go again.

It seemed he felt the same. He was slowly leaning in, bringing a hand to her face. Not pulling, just caressing her gently. His eyes flicked down to her lips then back up, a new glint of desire in them.

Fuck it.

She grabbed him by his hoodie and pulled him down to her before she could second guess herself. He jumped a bit in surprise but adjusted quickly, tilting his head ever so slightly as he reciprocated it.

It was quite honestly the best thing she’s ever done. His lips were soft and warm, and they fit against hers perfectly. His hands were rough from years of playing guitar, and the feeling of them on her was too good to ignore. The one holding her hand moved to her waist, drawing tiny shapes there.

They pulled apart after a few moments, both breathless at the exchange. Marinette immediately panicked once it was over, which should honestly be expected. “Oh my god, we just- wait I am so sorry I didn’t even ask that was so awful of me! I can’t believe I did that, I’m so-”

“Mari, it’s okay,” Luka interrupted with a laugh, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. “I wanted it too, no worries. You can ask next time if it bothers you that much.”

She looked up at him with amazement, smiling nervously. “How do you always manage to calm me down?”

“I know you,” He murmured, sending her heart into overdrive.

She hesitated for just a second, a bit shy but really wanting to continue. “Can I… can I kiss you? Again?”

He huffed in amusement, dipping his head down to capture her lips in his. She immediately melted against him, a little content hum escaping her. She brought a hand to his hair, threading her fingers through it and pulling him closer.

She really had no idea what she was doing, but Luka made everything so easy. He slowly backed her up so she was against the back of the chaise, moving the hand on her cheek to the back of her neck. His tongue glided over her lips carefully before retreating, giving her the chance to back away if she needed to.

Yeah, like hell.

Instead, she gave an experimental poke of her, surprised to be met with his. She let him guide her, following his movements and slowly making bolder moves of her own. She tightened her grip on his hair, not quite pulling but definitely firm. A low groan escaped him and he kissed her with more fervor, clearly affected by her actions.

Marinette herself was thrilled with this course of action, giving a few more slight tugs as she wrapped her legs around him. Before they could get too into it however, she felt someone watching them. Many someones.

With a groan, she reluctantly pulled away, glaring over at the kwamis. Most of them had their heads poked out, including Tikki, the traitor.

Luka sat back with a laugh, giving a small wave to the creatures. Daizzi rushed forward first, flying around his head with excitement. “Are you the Guardian’s new partner? That’s so amazing! She’s been really upset, honestly. Staring at those photos of you all day, that glum look on her face.”

“That’s enough!” Marinette squeaked out, grabbing Daizzi and covering her mouth. “Another word and I won’t be sneaking you any choquettes!”

“We’re just happy for you, that’s all!” Xuppu cheered, the rest of the kwamis flying out. “And it sounds like you can still be with Adrien! It’s a win-win!”

“Please don’t take our choquettes!” Mullo whimpered, giving Marinette her puppy dog eyes.

“Ugh, fine, just don’t peak next time we make out…” She sighs, letting Daizzi go.

Luka perks up at that, shooting her a smirk. “Next time?”

Marinette turned red, waving her arms around awkwardly. “What? Did I say that? Pfft, how silly would that be? Unless you want there to be a next time, then I’d be more then happy cause honestly that was really hot and I wanted to keep going but! I get if you don’t want to cause I wasn’t really expecting to either, not to say it was amazing, it totally was, and please just shut me up already…”

He laughed at the last bit, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “I’m totally down for more. But maybe another time… I’m sure we’ll get some privacy next time?”

He looked to the kwamis, and each instantly nodded their agreement, giggling and looking between the two of them.

“See?” Luka gestures to them, that easy smile stretched across his face. “No trouble.”

“I should probably feed them now, anyways,” Marinette sighed, slowly standing up. “Do you want to grab something too?”

He grinned up at her, grabbing her hand and pulling the hatch down open. “Lead the way.”

#lukadrinette #lukadrien #adrinette #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #luka couffaine #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #viperion #chat noir #ladybug and chat noir #ml ladybug #fanfic

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starlight-vixen-emiko · 9 months

Text

WIP Wednesday 9/20/2023

Marinette was super excited to go to France’s biggest comic book convention of the year.

She would show off her budding seamstress skills with her detailed Princess Peach cosplay and she was told the comic book convention would feature a special guest appearance from Viperion.

Marinette remembered gasping at her TV. Chat Noir, Carapace, the Monkey King, and Viperion were in an impromptu interview where they were asked to make a visit at Paris comic book convention and like clockwork Chat Noir enthusiastically obliged. Carapace and the Monkey King also showed interest but Viperion seemed reluctant. Marinette noted his modesty but at the same time she wanted nothing more but to see her beloved hero at the comic book convention.

After being hesitant the other boy wonders gave Viperion some much needed nudging and eventually Viperion smiled and grabbed the microphone and exclaimed that he would love to visit the comic convention.

Marinette promptly lept in the air and rejoiced. The noise ended up alerting her parents and her father asked her if anything was wrong.

Marinette insisted everything was fine before she grabbed some fabrics and worked long and hard on her Princess Peach cosplay.

And when the day of the comic book convention came Marinette eagerly ran in ready for fun. Multiple people stopped and stared and complimented her but when she finally met up with Nathaniel and Marc the two of them couldn’t be more overjoyed.

“Marinette, you look amazing!” Marc cried.

Marinette took a moment to observe her pink skirt. “It’s nothing much…”

“Viperion won’t be able to resist you,” Nathaniel teased.

Marinette placed both her hands on her blushing cheeks. “Oh no!”

Nathaniel and Marc smirked in response and then Marc took out a comic.

“By the way, we finished that Viperion comic we promised you!” Marc said.

“Really?” Marinette yelped. Marc gleefully gave Marinette the comic and she did a low gasp as she gazed at the cover.

“You two always outdo yourselves,” Marinette turned so she looked at the details of Viperion in the light but then she heard a familiar voice.

She removed the comic from her face and saw Viperion not too far away talking with a girl in cosplay. Marinette felt her heart beat faster and Nathaniel took the comic away from her as the two boys nudged her to meet up with him.

And Marinette mustered up her courage and made her way gently through the crowd of girls.

“That’s a really fascinating story,” Viperion said to the one girl. And that girl took a moment to squeal because Viperion gave her such a warm smile even if he was a snake boy.

“I’m sure all of you can teach me a lot about music,” Viperion said. But then he finally met eyes with Marinette in her adorable Princess Peach cosplay and once again the chemistry between them grew.

Marinette moved closer as all the other girls took notice of her and Marinette found herself blushing.

“Well hello Miss Dupain-Cheng, or should I say her highness Princess Peach,” Viperion grinned. “I am happy to see you here.”

Marinette was slightly frazzled as she giggled and fixed the tiny tiara on her head. “It’s great to see you too, Viperion. This comic book convention is even more fun with you around.”

Viperion smiled down at her and reached out his hand even though everyone else was watching. Marinette blinked her eyes before she reached her gloved hand for his.

“Viperion!!!”

Marinette’s heart dropped when she heard the sheik of a familiar rich girl. A girl with blonde hair who was running straight for Viperion. And Viperion couldn’t just ignore such a cry as Chloe fell into his arms.

“Oh Viperion! Parting is such sweet sorrow!” Chloe whined. She playfully stroked his cheek and Viperion looked unamused.

Marinette felt fury build within her that caused her cheeks to go from soft pink to fiery red. And there was a glint in Chloe’s eyes when she took notice. Marinette instantly regretted giving Chloe that satisfaction but she also felt she had a right to be angry. Also to note Chloe was wearing a trashy trailer made yellow superheroine outfit, possibly to match Viperion.

“M-Miss Chloe!” Viperion cried.

“Oh Viperion , you are such a hero! You refused to let me fall!” Chloe said as her gaze darkened.

Viperion finally managed to release her hold on him and gave her a stern look. “No problem!”

Just when Viperion was about to walk away she “caught” him by cupping his face with her hand. “But I miss show gratitude toward my hero.”

Everyone gasped as rich girl Chloe kissed Viperion on the cheek. And Marinette couldn’t help but let out a disgusted groan.

It may have not been civil but Marinette was 100% ready to chase Chloe out with a frying pan. She figured Princess Peach would’ve done the same thing if a gross girl kissed Mario without his consent.

“That’s enough Chloe!” Marinette cried.

Viperion finally stepped away from Chloe and noticed that Marinette looked so intense with her outraged expression and her Princess Peach cosplay.

#wip wednesday #lukanette #well actually #vipernette #pro lukamari #this was supposed to be a birthday present for Lenora #but I got sidetracked #still #look out everyone it's Vipernette time!#the best ship!#thanks for reading

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rosie-b · 1 year

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True Blue

Chapter 6: A Window into Darkness (<- ao3 link) (2943 words)

M. Agreste shook his head as he closed the casket. “The Wish will rewrite every mistake we have made, Marinette. It will be as if the akumas never happened. There will be no pain, only a brave new future rid of monstrous deeds and people. It’s as simple as ripping out bad stitches in a dress, only...” “Only, Golden Bug and Chat Grise have the seam ripper,” Marinette realized. M. Agreste smiled grimly. “Exactly, Miss Dupain-Cheng. I knew I was right to choose you as my apprentice.”

Read the whole chapter on AO3 using the link or just below!

Marinette lay awake in her bed, unable to sleep as M. Agreste’s words turned around in her brain, repeating themselves in an endless circle.

She hadn’t had enough time to think about them that afternoon, while M. Agreste rapidly explained everything and practically pushed her out of the door. There was far too much for her to digest in one evening, as her parents exclaimed in relief that she was safe from the Evillustrator and stuffed her full of comfort soup when they noticed how shaken she still was.

It was one thing to learn that M. Agreste was Hawk Moth. It was another to learn that Adrien was created by magic, a magic that had broken and nearly killed his mother. A magic that was possibly breaking her, too.

M. Agreste had created an akuma that could have killed both her and his son. He’d also offered her a life-saving medicine, and was working day and night to save his wife and the lives of two others. He was stiff and cold, but it was clear that his heart was full of love for the people closest to him.

And yet, he was the face of evil in Paris.

Marinette didn’t know what to do with the heterogenous mix of information swirling around her head; should she try to warn Adrien that his father was misguidedly using a Miraculous to try and save his mother? Should she tell him that his existence was bewildering to every brain cell she owned?

If she were Adrien, she’d rather hear about all this from her parent, not a girl who’d only just found out about it, herself, and didn’t have a good grasp on the situation.

Marinette rolled over and buried her face in the warm pillow. Did Adrien even count as human? Was he some kind of humanoid magical being, like an elf?

That would explain his superhuman good looks, at least.

But no! He had to be human! Adrien was the most human boy she’d ever met! He felt everything so deeply, even when he hid it, fought to protect her from the Evillustrator, made the worst puns she’d ever heard, and cared so much about life and the people he met in it.

He just also happened to be tied to an amok that could let anyone (or maybe just his mother? Marinette wasn’t sure) control him.

She had to tell him eventually. He deserved to know the truth.

Resolved, Marinette rolled over again and tried to fall asleep.

Before she could drift off, another thought struck her.

Emilie was still alive according to Gabriel, but the rest of the world thought she was dead or missing, at best. So where was she?

She really hoped Gabriel wasn’t keeping her in the attic. That would just be creepy.

__*__*__*__*__

That morning, when the Gorilla came to pick Marinette up, Adrien was waiting in the backseat. As Marinette approached the car, he opened the door and stepped out, balancing his new bookbag on his shoulder.��

“Hello, Marinette,” he said, lifting his hand in greeting and offering her a small smile.

Marinette stared at him unblinkingly for three agonizingly long seconds. Then she jumped backwards and grinned manically, her eye twitching as she spread her lips further.

“Haydrien! Smile nice to move you! No, I mean hi, Adrien! Your smile is nice! Very human!”

Marinette wondered if she could ask M. Agreste for an akuma to make the ground swallow her.

Adrien blinked. “Thanks, Marinette! Your smile is very human, too.”

Marinette coughed into her fist and kept staring at Adrien as the smile slowly fell off his face.

His ears turned pink as he adjusted the bookbag’s strap on his shoulder.

“Marinette, I know we don’t have much time before you leave for the mansion, and I have to get to school, but I need to ask you about yesterday. Chloe didn’t apologize, did she?”

Oh, right, Chloe’s latest bullying attempt had been yesterday, too.

Marinette shook her head, remembering how Chloe had laughed about M. Agreste only thinking of her as a servant. Well, he’d proven that he cared about her enough to trust her with his biggest secrets.

Marinette slowly smiled as Adrien lowered his head and frowned remorsefully.

“I’m so sorry, Marinette! I could tell she was acting weird, but I didn’t know what to do about it. I won’t let her get near you again, I promise. She has to learn to stop bullying people!”

“Yeah,” Marinette agreed, still caught up in gloating over the inaccuracy of Chloe’s taunts. Just a servant, indeed! Just a girl with the most dangerous information in Paris! That had to count for something. She was like a secret confidant, and everyone knew confidants were worth more than servants.

The Gorilla pressed the car’s horn, startling both Marinette and Adrien.

“I guess it’s time to go,” Adrien said, scratching the back of his neck. “Listen, I know I can never make up to you for what happened yesterday, but I promise I’ll try! And I’ll see you after school, right?”

Marinette shrugged as she swung her backpack off her shoulders and put it in the car.

“I hope so,” she said, brushing her bangs out of her eyes and turning to Adrien. “Have a good day at school, Adrien! I’ll miss you during lessons!”

Adrien swallowed, watching Marinette climb into the car and get ready to go.

“I’ll miss you, too,” he said, and waved as the car pulled away from the curb.

Minutes later, Marinette was stepping into the mansion, feeling a shiver of dread as she remembered that this was the house of Paris’ feared villain, Hawk Moth.

She tried to banish the thought, reminding herself that M. Agreste had a good reason for what he was doing, and besides, he seemed to care about her. She was probably safe.

Ms. Sancoeur led Marinette into the study room, which felt twice as large without Adrien in it.

“Mr. Agreste told me that you discovered Hawk Moth’s identity yesterday,” she said once she’d closed the doors behind them and they were alone in the room.

Marinette’s heart skipped a beat. That’s right, Nathalie knew about his secrets, too!

“Yes,” she nodded as she wet her backpack down unsurely. This day was not going to be normal, was it?

Ms. Sancoeur sighed and pushed her glasses up. “That’s not ideal,” she said. “How are you taking the news?”

I’m still not sure if it was a dream, Marinette thought. Out loud, she said, “I’m still adjusting to it. Although, I can see why M. Agreste is almost never available, now. He has to be one of the busiest men on earth, since he’s running a company and making akumas at the same time.”

Ms. Sancoeur frowned and tapped her pen against the tablet she was carrying. “It isn’t easy for him. But even though I’m sure you have questions, I have a few very important ones that I’d like you to answer, first. And they’re not your times tables,” she said, stretching her mouth in an awkward smile.

Marinette stared.

“Sorry, I was never good with humor,” Ms. Sancoeur sighed. “Well, please do your best to answer, anyway. Where was Gabriel when you found the safe? Was he inside?”

“No, he was outside by Emilie’s statue,” Marinette responded.

Nathalie took a deep breath. “And he needed his tablet?”

“It was his sketchbook, actually,” Marinette replied. “He wanted to try a traditional approach yesterday, so he asked me to get his sketchbook for him.”

“And he told you it was in the atelier?”

“Yes.”

Marinette scrunched her brows together as she thought. Hadn’t M. Agreste told Nathalie any of this yet? Then again, he was pretty busy, as Ms. Sancoeur had just confirmed.

“And that’s when you found the open safe and put on the brooch.”

“Exactly, and then M. Agreste found me while I still had it in my pocket.” Marinette squirmed as she had to retell the story. “I wasn’t feeling well afterwards, so he took me upstairs and gave me some of Emilie’s medicine after explaining things to me. It was very nice of him.”

Nathalie muttered something under her breath and made a note on her tablet.

“So, you know that Emilie used the Peacock to create Adrien, that it made her ill, and that Gabriel is using the Butterfly to try to gain the Ladybug and Black Cat, which he’ll use to bring her b— to heal her."

“Along with someone else who used the Peacock, and two others who died from it.”

Nathalie sat down in Adrien’s old chair. “He really told you everything, then?”

Marinette frowned. “Well, mostly. He didn’t tell me where Emilie is. Is she in a hospital somewhere? The United States, or England?”

Ms. Sancoeur looked away. “She is receiving the best care we can offer her,” she parroted. “In Paris. You’ll have to ask M. Agreste if you want to see where she is exactly.”

“Oh. He did say I could ask him more questions after school today, but I don’t really want to bother him more than I have,” Marinette said. “Do you think I should ask him?”

Ms. Sancoeur gave her an odd look. “If you think you’re ready for the answer, then go ahead. I think he wants to share this with you,” she said, and cleared her throat as she stood up. “Now that that’s done, we should get started on our lessons. There are many subjects to cover, and you’ll need to get started on your homework early if you want to ask M. Agreste about Emilie this afternoon. We’ll begin with a short French lesson, and after that, your Chinese tutor will be here...”

__*__*__*__*__

It wasn’t until three o’clock that Marinette had the chance to speak to M. Agreste. Standing in his office, she looked at the portrait of Emilie with a trace of guilt in her chest. None of this would have happened if she hadn’t temporarily stolen the brooch from that safe!

“So, did Nathalie explain anything more to you?”

Gabriel looked down at Marinette from where he stood, working on a new design at his art stand. She fidgeted and shifted her stance.

“She said you’d gone over most of everything. But she said I should ask you about where Emilie is receiving care, not her.”

M. Agreste turned off the tablet he was working on and turned to Marinette.

“Yes, I suppose that would make sense. Come with me,” he said, walking over to the painting that hid the safe.

Marinette was confused, but she followed behind M. Agreste. He pressed a few buttons hidden in the artwork, and suddenly, a circle appeared in the floor, opening up to reveal a glass elevator.

“We will have to go one at a time. When you get to the bottom, wait for me,” M. Agreste said, guiding Marinette into the elevator by her shoulders.

I don’t like where this is going, Marinette thought as the doors closed behind her.

The elevator was not very wide, and Marinette stayed stock still, afraid to tilt the whole machine, throughout the ride down to the hidden basement. The elevator opened, and she stepped out through a second, metal door onto a dimly lit balcony connected to what seemed to be a catwalk of sorts. She stayed frozen there as the elevator rushed up to the first floor and came back down with M. Agreste in it.

He stepped out of the elevator and walked past Marinette onto the metal bridge. A group of lights turned on, and at the far end of the catwalk, a large window opened up, illuminating a large, circular platform with plants growing on it. In the middle of the platform, there was a white box that looked like a casket.

Marinette’s heart twisted as she followed M. Agreste onto the bridge. Was this really where Mme. Agreste was being treated? It was just as bad as if she had been kept in the attic!

M. Agreste began to speak as they neared the end of the long bridge. “From what I understand, Miss Dupain-Cheng, you have never lost anyone close to you before. Nathalie tells me that you might have some difficulty understanding our position because of that. Well,” he said, placing his hand on the white casket, which opened to reveal an unmoving Emilie Agreste, “Perhaps you will understand me better after this.

“Imagine that for twelve full years, you have to watch a loved one, perhaps your mother or father, slowly die of a mysterious illness. No medicine can cure them, it can only lessen their suffering. And soon enough, even medicine begins to fail them. So you turn to your friend, who creates a piece of technology so advanced that it can hold death off for years. And then for months, you hold on to hope for a miracle. You hide your loved one’s sickness from their child and the rest of the world, just as they asked. You help them into this bed and hope that one day, they’ll step out of it. You let the public give up on her, and you hold a funeral, a façade meant to divert public attention until you find the cure.

“And you do find the cure. But someone else has it, and they’re unwilling to share. They’ll never share, even if it means my wife’s death, and the death of three others. Hundreds could die, and they still would not give me their Miraculous!”

M. Agreste was breathing heavily, his hand clenched into fists as he leaned over Emilie’s life-saving coffin. Marinette watched in shock as a tear fell from his eye.

“So, you do the only thing you can. You put on your Miraculous, become Hawk Moth, and fight to save the people you love. And the city calls you a monster, as if you don’t know who the true monster is!”

He slowly turned from the coffin and glared as he looked at Marinette. “The Guardian of the Miraculous is a cold-hearted man, Marinette. He will do everything in his power to stop me from saving Emilie and the others, even you. But I can’t give up hope, not when the Wish would solve every problem I face and more. Not when Adrien is giving in to despair and turning to school to distract him from his fear that he will never see his mother again. Do you understand now, Miss Dupain-Cheng?”

It was hard to speak through the lump in Marinette’s throat, so she just nodded instead. Her eyes were wide and glistening as she stared at M. Agreste, whose face relaxed as he nodded back at her.

“For as long as the Guardian clings to his foolish old ways, I must remain as Hawk Moth. Rest assured, Miss Marinette, I will win in the end. And the Agrestes will rise once more.”

That was fine, but, “What about the Parisians you akumatize? Won’t they remember the trauma from causing harm to the city, even if Golden Bug always undoes it?”

“Only, Golden Bug and Chat Grise have the seam ripper,” Marinette realized.

M. Agreste smiled grimly.

“Exactly, Miss Dupain-Cheng. I knew I was right to choose you as my apprentice.”

Marinette’s stomach flipped. “Just for fashion, right? You’re not training me to be the new Hawk Moth, are you?”"

The corner of Gabriel’s mouth twitched. “Of course, just for fashion,” he said in a voice as sticky-sweet as honey. “I would never expect you to put yourself in harm’s way for someone you hardly know.” Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply. “There’s something I must attend to,” he said as his eyes shot open. “A person’s heart is ripe for akumatization. Would you like to come with me to see how it’s done? It might set your mind at ease. I can feel your discomfort through the brooch.”

Marinette swallowed as he removed his ascot and touched the metal butterfly lightly. From his shirt pocket, a purple kwami emerged, wings drooping as he stared sadly at Marinette.

“Well?” M. Agreste asked impatiently.

“Maybe next time,” Marinette said quietly. “I promised Adrien I’d talk to him after school, and I only have a little time left here, anyway, so I should get ready to go. If that’s okay with you.”

M. Agreste frowned, but nodded in understanding. “Then go, Marinette. I will see you again tomorrow. I suggest you be ready then.”

Marinette felt his eyes boring through her as she slowly walked back to the elevator and pushed the button to go to the first floor. There was another button, too, but she wasn’t sure where it went, and she didn’t think she could handle anything more today.

She practically fled from the atelier, hoping that she would never see Emilie Agreste’s coffin again. She wasn’t sure how she could face Adrien after today, knowing so much more than he did about Hawk Moth, about the woman hidden under his house, even about Adrien himself. There was so much she had learned that she'd never wanted to.

At least it turned out that Hawk Moth was on the good side, after all.

#bluewing au #ml fanfic #rosie-b writing

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