#and you still had to actively push her off you after being snogged

[grandeoatmilklatte]

Further With You 💚 (Ominis x F!MC)

I'm back with more Ominis one shots! I've got two more coming up after this as well so hope you guys are ready for an influx in Ominis love!

This one is based off a delicious Thirsty Hour post from the wonderful @greedyforgarreth.💕 It was this post specifically. I couldn't get the imagery out of my head and needed to write something surrounding it.

Tagging my Ghostface partner in crime @myrachondria cause I know you love my Ominis content! 💕

Further With You - Ominis Gaunt x F!MC || Summary: Ominis and MC are in a brand new relationship. After keeping things innocent this whole time, they decide to take things a little further. (Sorry the summary is crappy but this fic is 10% plot 90% smut!) 2.2k words

Warnings: Characters aged up, 18+, and in 7th year || NSFW || Smut || 0ral || f!ng3r!ng || Minors DNI ||

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The cold winter air was refreshing as it hit her face, one hand pushing open the door that led outside, while her other hand tugged on her boyfriend’s hand, leading him along.

Ominis let out a soft chuckle. “Now darling, where are we going in this cold weather?”

She dragged him a short distance to a little corner in the Transfiguration Courtyard. The normally busy courtyard was empty due to the cold snow that littered the ground as well as the air, but the heat they were both feeling overshadowed any feelings of cold they would have had. She pushed him against the wall, slamming her lips into his. The kiss was rough, wet, and sloppy. Her hands were in his hair as his came to her waist, pulling her closer, as if she could get any closer, her body already flush against his. He pulled away for a moment to catch his breath. “Someone couldn’t wait, huh?” He teased. 

“Is that a complaint? I can stop, you know!” She teased back with a bite to her voice, which excited him. 

Ominis brought his head forward, catching her lips with his as they resumed. It had only been a month since this had started, and Ominis still couldn’t believe his luck. After pining for her all of sixth year, she was finally his, after he had mustered up the courage to tell her how he felt. To his surprise, she had spent her year pining over him as well, also being too scared to admit it. Now, they were a month into a beautiful relationship, and Ominis felt like the happiest man alive.

She was the one to pull away this time. He heard a small sigh fall from her lips before she spoke. 

“I actually brought you out here to talk to you…as well as kiss you!” She laughed, but Ominis could hear the nervousness that accompanied her laugh. He felt her place a hand to his cheek, softly stroking it. “I know we’ve only been together for a month, but…I really want to…take things further with you…I…I’m ready to take things further.” Her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest as she finished her sentence. 

Ominis’s heart, on the other hand, felt like it had stopped. “Take things further” he heard her voice repeat in his head. Although they loved each other deeply, they hadn’t gone very far with each other yet, at least not physically. They did snog, a lot, almost too much according to Sebastian the numerous times he caught them in the Undercroft or in numerous little hidden corners around the school (like the one they were in now). They had also done their fair share of over-the-clothing activities - Ominis’s hands were very familiar with the size and squishiness of her breasts, and she thoroughly enjoyed grinding herself against his clothed cock, leaving him with a boner he had to desperately will away before someone noticed. But they had never gone any further than that.

“Further…?” Ominis whispered, the naughty thoughts flooding his brain left him breathless. 

“Yes, further, as in, the things we’ve already been doing, but maybe more…naked.” He could hear her confidence rising as she spoke. “And maybe we could do some things we haven’t tried before…also…naked.” She let out a small laugh that made Ominis melt. He leaned in to give her a quick kiss before he took her hand. This time he was the one leading as he held out his wand, allowing it to guide him back inside and towards the Undercroft, which had become their spot to spend alone time together. 

They were stopped on their way there by Garreth, who begged for her quick assistance with a brew he was working on. She agreed, promising Ominis it would be quick. But the quick detour turned into a several hour delay, as they kept getting interrupted by another one of her friends needing a favor everytime they finished helping someone. He always loved her willingness to help those around her, but right now the personality trait couldn’t be more frustrating.

When it seemed as though she had helped half the student body with their problems, it was dinner time. The anticipation they both had was now desperation. Ominis assumed their alone time would have to wait once again, so he was taken by surprise when she pulled him away from the Great Hall towards their prior destination.

“My my, I would have thought you would have wanted to at least have dinner first, my love!”

“There’s only one thing I’m hungry for, darling, and it’s not food!” she shot him a wink before she burst out laughing. “I’m sorry! I know that was awful, I just couldn’t help myself!” She stopped as they approached the Undercroft door. She took a deep breath before tapping her wand to the clock face. Finally, the two of them were going to be alone. 

As soon as the door to the Undercroft chimed shut, her arms were wrapped around Ominis’s neck, pulling him into a rough, sloppy kiss. He returned her kiss with equal passion, their tongues intertwining. Without breaking their kiss, she pulled their bodies over to their little corner of the Undercroft, where they had previously left a collection of pillows and blankets. On the nights where sleep evaded them both, they met up down here, finding comfort wrapped in the blankets and each other’s arms. The Undercroft was their favorite spot for innocent alone time, but tonight it was going to be used for a much naughtier purpose. 

She reluctantly broke the kiss to get down on the ground, sitting herself on the blankets and pulling Ominis down with her. When they were both on the floor, they resumed their make out session. As they devoured each other, Ominis’s hands ran all over her clothed body as her hands ran through his blonde hair. 

“Darling…” Ominis started, pulling away for a second to catch his breath.  “I know we were eager to do this earlier, but I don’t want you to feel like we have to do this right now…” There was a nervousness to Ominis’s voice as his eyes darted away from her direction. Her hands released his hair and cupped his cheeks, her thumbs swiping across his cheeks lovingly. 

“Ominis, I want to do this, but only if you want to.” Her voice was soft and gentle. It was the same soft and gentle voice she always had with him, the voice he fell in love with. She was always so soft and so gentle with him, a contrast to how everyone else had been with him his whole life. There was nothing he wanted more than to be closer to her. He answered her concern by bringing his head forward, meeting her lips. Her hands came down to the buttons of his shirt, slowly working them open as her fingers shook, still nervous, but eager. Ominis took that as his cue to do the same, and within minutes, they were naked before each other.

She took a moment to look over his bare form, sighing slightly, which Ominis of course caught. “Everything alright, my love?” He asked. She could only respond with a “Mhm”. He was beautiful, almost angelic. Her heart ached as she was reminded that he couldn’t see her the same way. She closed the distance between them as she pulled him in for another kiss, but not before he took his hands and placed them on her waist, allowing him to feel her bare skin. 

His hands squeezed her hips before they moved upwards, coming up to cup and squeeze her bare breasts. He chuckled lightly against her lips as he did so. His hands continued to move slowly up and down her chest, feeling every inch of her upper half. He was mapping her body, the same way he had mapped her face when they first became friends, the way he had mapped her lips before their first kiss. 

After several moments, his hands came to rest on her hips as he pulled her lower half, having her lay on her back. He finally pulled his kiss-swollen lips away from her equally swollen lips as he hovered over her.

“Before we do anything, can you…spread your legs for me so I can just feel you?” his nervousness was back. “Obviously I’ve never…touched between a woman’s legs before. I just want to memorize every inch of you.”

She laid back on her elbows and spread her legs wide, as Ominis kneeled between them. One hand came to rest on her hip while the other moved up her thigh. His fingers trembled, which he apologized for with a nervous laugh. She reassured him that everything was okay, and that she’d guide him through if he was worried. 

He reached his destination, his fingers lightly grazing her. He took a sharp intake of breath before his finger slipped between her wet folds. The softest sigh fell from her lips at his action, almost as if she was trying to hide it. This gave him the encouragement to add a second finger. “You’re so wet, darling.” He groaned. He then began to move his fingers up and down her slit, coating them in her wetness, committing the feeling of her to his memory, and this was certainly something he wanted engraved in his brain for all eternity. She was slowly and softly panting as his still trembling fingers moved down, grazing her entrance, and then grazing her asshole as they moved further down. He made sure to press over each hole, earning small moans out of her before he brought his fingers back up. 

“Show me where your…sweet spot is?” Ominis asked nervously. He wasn’t completely unaware of a woman’s anatomy, having heard far too many things from Sebastian. She took a hold of his hand, moving his fingers up towards her clit. “Right here.” She whispered as she moved his fingers to rub one small circle into herself. He followed her direction, rubbing his own slow, small circle into her, an action which elicited a whimper out of her. He continued rubbing, memorizing every twitch her body made in response, as the sounds of her moans flooded his ears. 

He moved his hand lower, his fingers greeting her entrance once again. His fingers didn’t tremble this time as he slipped them inside. Her body was so inviting, a feeling of heat and tightness meeting his fingers. “So warm.” He whispered as he moved his fingers, feeling around until he found a spongey spot. “Is this your other sweet spot?” He asked with more confidence in his voice as he pressed down on it. He got his answer in the form of a loud moan and a violent buck of her hips. 

He continued to pump his fingers in and out of her, while his other hand came off of her hip and on to her clit, ensuring that both of her sweet spots were getting the love they deserved. She was practically screaming, and Ominis hoped that they were too far underground to be heard in the hallway. Not that he had a right to complain about her noises, as he was making his own noises as well. He felt so overwhelmed by what was unfolding in front of him, the woman he loved falling apart in his hands. He was falling apart himself, his hard length leaking, dangerously close to his own undoing. All of his senses were full of her - his ears filled with her beautiful sounds, his fingers feeling her warmth, his nose filled with her intoxicating scent, all he was missing was a taste of her…

Without a second thought, he crashed his lips into where his hand was working her clit, and if the students didn’t hear her before, they heard her now. 

His wet fingers gripped her thighs as his mouth devoured her. He moaned against her as he alternated between sucking and licking, eager to push her past her limit. Her release was quick and intense, a scream of his name topping it off. He took in every drop of her release as his own release hit him as quickly and as intensely as hers had, his cum coating the blanket underneath them as he whimpered her name. 

They both sat up, panting heavily. She took note of the mess on their blanket, a look of disappointment painting her face. 

“Ominis! I’m sorry! I would have loved to have taken care of that for you!” she groaned.

“Oh, it’s quite alright darling, I don’t think I could have handled anything else. Taking care of you was more than enough stimulation for today.” He shot her a shy smile, his nervousness flooding back to him for a fleeting moment before it faded away as she leaned in to kiss him, tasting herself on his lips. 

They cleaned up, smiling to themselves as they did so. Ominis couldn’t help the way he heart was fluttering, reveling in the big step their relationship had just taken. It would only get better from here, and he was excited for the next step, knowing there was still so much more exploring left to do with each other.

[mickules]

What are your opinions on rare Danganronpa ships? If you have any favorites, what would they be?

I'm afraid I don't really have any in the way of rare ones, since I tend to hover around canon-compliant. Even then, in general I don't err toward romance very often, rather I tend to land hard on platonic, ride or die, best friends interactions. There usually has to be something specific that suggests otherwise to me.

In the rare-pair platonic vein, I think Hifumi/Tsumugi are dream team collaborators. They would dominate any convention. I like to think they have a surface level rivalry where they try to top each other, but are extremely appreciative of the other's efforts.

Also, I don't know if this is that rare- I've definitely seen it floating around, I think first from @hatteymcstache Romantically or platonically, I think Celeste would love Gonta. Endlessly gullible and accommodating himbo who wants to be a gentleman? That's too perfect, she'd never let him slip through her fingers - although the bugs and lack of shoes might be a hurdle.

I mean is this or is this not her peak aesthetic?

I can see why antagonist-protagonist pairings can be so popular since there's so much interpersonal conflict to delve into and explore- especially since many 'rival' pairings are essentially two allies who are separated by circumstance. In essence that's what Taka and Mondo are, just fast tracked from enemies - friends - soulmates by way of sauna based conflict resolution.

I'm sorry to say that I've been primed by a childhood adoration of Seto Kaiba to be far too generous to Byakuya (excepting that nonsense with Chihiro) He'd never describe any of his relationships in terms other than 'temporarily interesting plebeians with some limited potential use' with any kindness he provides always having an ulterior motive; but his interactions with Makoto give off 'surly cat who happens to be in the same room as you 90% of the time' energy to me.

Nagito is a bit of a nebulous one for me to imagine since he seems a too preoccupied with his adoration of the talent the ultimates posses than necessarily caring about them as people which makes it difficult for me to see him engaging with any of them in a genuine way, either platonically or romantically. (there does seem to otherwise be some 'protag-oriented' energy in SDR2 with how the cast interact with Hajime lol)

I . . .uh. . . I'll be frank. I know he's a fan favourite but I just do not jive well with Kokichi. No shade meant, but because of that no matter how I try, I can't really imagine any interaction between him and Shuichi that doesn't boil down to:

Ah, for the record- No I don't, but I think this is continued confusion from the "v3 cast as the kids of the dr1 cast" post - in hindsight it's kinda opaque- so let me clear that up! The top part was supposed to show adult Mondo and adult Taka with adopted son Kaito meeting newly adopted sister Maki. In my mind it was unmistakable that they would be adopted so I plain forgot to specify! I can see how it looks like two separate parents introducing their kids.

The bottom part was supposed to be completely separate alternate take, showing adult Hiro with biological son Kaito from an unspecified partner. Unspecified because I don't personally picture anyone specific with Hiro romantically. (That's just me of course, I know there's a lotta love for Hiro in the fanbase!)

I hope that ^ clears it up! (Coincidentally my parents have the same age gap, tho' of course they didn't meet in high school with my dad havin' been held back like 6 times XD)

(edit: more pairing [asks])

(next set of asks [about Taka’s eating habits]) (previous set [Head-canons about Taka’s mum/Takaaki])

[samuclit]

Love Foolish

miya atsumu x reader

tags: angst, hurt/comfort, established relationship, mature, a little smut (define little on your own), 7.8K words

Summary: Miya Atsumu didn't realise that he was actually counting the days he spent with you while being your boyfriend. The step-process to how your relationship with him rekindles every time a new day begins was not as apparent as it seems to be, but he sure knew that the dreaded day when it comes to an end will never come.

This is an old piece that I worked on last year...I am terribly sorry for the way I post this fic I am not good with tumblr yall this is harder than my degree 

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Day 153

Atsumu was exhausted. He just got back from training with the college team for a few weeks already. He needs to catch up with the college team even though the time he spent away was used for his training with the MSBY Black Jackals team. He was advised by his family members, team coach and his friends that he should not miss out on any practice without a valid reason and should diligently claim his spot on both teams with the most outstanding effort and attitude so he followed, believed that this is for the best in order to build his volleyball career he was always so passionate about since he was in middle school. If only Osamu joins him, he thinks it won’t be as draining as it is right now.

Everyone in college knows Miya Atsumu, he is too perfect. The handsome look, tall and built figure, his diligence in both studies and shaping his career, to top it all off he is charming and is a ladies’ man. He could make every girl fall for him the instant he flashes his smirk that has been scientifically proven to be a bait for everyone in this universe. One small talk he could get girls on his bed, spending the whole night snogging off each other and leaving them whenever he got annoyed with the sudden disturbance. You happen to be one of the girls who got in his bed, goes on several dates with him, but this time you were one of the people who last longer than a week, and then a month and few more months after that. He assumes and waits for you to be the one ending the relationship but it won’t even come, and he is already tired of waiting.

So, he makes you tired. He doesn't want anything to be on his way at all, and you in the equation is making him disturbed at some times. During the first few weeks of dating, you often invite him for a date at the coffee shop which he obliges only for the reason to not break your feelings even though he has some tasks which are more important at hand. You are nice, but he isn’t. He told Suna that you deserve better. 

It has also been roughly two weeks since he last talked to you, and deep in his heart he kind of wants your nagging presence around him, just to distract him from the truckload of stress he’s carrying on his shoulders. So he texted you.

You: [Name], are ya coming or not. Been thinking of binging that Netflix series you’ve been babbling about.

[Name]: Ah sorry, it’s girls’ night with Midori and her gf. 

You: I see. Have fun. 

Seen.

That’s weird. You said it yourself that you wanted to binge on the weekends with him, after he finished with this practice for the week, and also he thinks that’s just you trying to make up with him after your first argument with him. It is...nobody’s fault, he thinks. He doesn’t want to blame himself and you, partially because you were really upset that day that you raised your voice and he didn’t chase you after you ran out of the apartment. It is just a silly argument. He doesn't want to think about it that much. 

As he took a shower and dressed himself in a fresh new pair of t-shirt and black sweatpants, he plopped himself on the sofa and went through Netflix to find something worth watching. He saw the show you wanted to watch ; Pretty Little Liars. Ah it’s not even a Netflix series, it’s just a series which is available on Netflix. Seems like he wasn’t even attentive to what you said. 

Before he falls asleep, he walks down the memory lane, to remember how exactly you and Atsumu could last this long in a relationship.

Day 0

The party seems to be a hit! His seniors on the volleyball team joined hands with the football team to conduct a party to celebrate post-sports festival of Tokyo U that happened for a week long and the party is held at the dorms outside of the campus so the board of education won’t meddle, with the promise that there aren’t drugs involved. Which is okay, the athletes are supposed to stay away from drugs and they’re disciplined enough to consider their life decisions. 

He was simply just hanging around in the living room of the dorm, which is a terrace house in a neighbourhood a few kilometres away, talking to his friends, Suna and Komori, who are his teammates in the college team. Komori used to go to the same Youth Camp with Atsumu so they knew each other since then. “Huh, sick party. I didn’t think there would be too many people here.” Komori said as he chugs down his cold beer, swaying a little after he finishes with a slightly long chug. “Senpai said just the athletes of the college are invited, but it seems like the whole campus crashed together. Lunatics.” Atsumu said as he plopped down on the bean bag and leaned his head back. Suna calls out.

“Oi, Midori is here. I invited her.” Atsumu is familiar with Midori, he has never been close with her but he knows of her since they went to the same high school together. The three pairs of eyes went towards the door together to greet Midori, with you tailing behind her. “Hey, glad ya made it!” Suna lunges forward and grabs Midori in a hug. “Yeah, cool place, I’m sorry I don’t have a plus one to bring with so I just drag my friend along. Hey, this is [Name]. Go say hi and be friends!” Midori pushed the other girl, which he heard to be [Name], also a familiar name. “Oh wait...you guys must have not have known about her...we went to the same school man...” Midori pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. It is sad that not many people know about small girls like [Name] that much. 

Indeed, you went to the same school and you’re in a completely different league than Atsumu, he was and still is the famous athlete that has the entire girls’ population wrapped around his fingers. You’re around the circle of...top scorers who are active in volunteers and some other stuff Atsumu was not into. “Oh, is she another one of your hockey teammates?” you continue hiding behind Midori’s taller frame. Midori pulled you away and hugged your waist, giving support. “Come on now, babe say hi, they’re our friends” you glared at her with a smug look. “Hye, it’s [Name]. I’m not an athlete, I’m a political science major, pleasure to meet ya” your eyes tried to glance from Suna to Komori and to Atsumu but you averted your eyes away from him as soon as it landed on him. You look cute in just a rock concert t-shirt with black jeans shorts and plain converse. Classic party look, but you are not the type to go to parties because...assignments and stress are getting through you  which explains why you’re all fidgety. Midori knows there’s more to that, cause you’re a very wild extrovert at some time.

“Hey, enjoy the party, drinks and snacks are down there, the toilet is on another end, help yerself.” Atsumu pats on your shoulder and moves past you to greet his other friends who crashed the party. You’re petrified, to say the least and moved quick on your heels to head to the bathroom for some reality check. The environment is overwhelming. 

Atsumu gets tired easily even after downing a can of beer but he isn’t exactly drunk. He is just tired with the lots of conversations and the girls from other courses trying to talk to him, wanting the conversation in a bedroom which he said no to, he is a responsible man. He is not going to do it with them when in their drunken stupor. However, his endless denials are stopped with a sudden disturbance right in front of him.

Midori is on a couch, with a girl and was playing with her hair and occasionally rubbing her thigh and before they closed in someone threw a beer cup at Midori. “What the hell? Leave me alone!” Midori turned his body to see a bulked up guy whose name Atsumu doesn’t remember behind the couch, looming over the two figures sitting on the couch. It’s going to get ugly. 

“What the fuck, you leave us alone! Why the hell are homos here. Get out!”  Midori and the poor girl trembles in fear and Atsumu wants to blow a kick so bad but he can’t move because of the girls that are around him. Before he tried to push the girls away, he saw you moving towards him, taking away the beer can he has in his hands. “I’m sorry I’m taking this!” Your eyes had a small fire ignited in it and he can’t help but gave away his beer can, and then he saw you walking up on the couch and on to the head rest, spit into the beer and pours the beer all over the homophobic guy who slandered your friend. The guy was drenched and screamed because the beer was icy cold and it came to contact with his skin that got heated from way too much alcohol consumed. 

“Oh, I am very sorry, I was convinced that this big hunk of muscle is a trash can!” you screamed with an evil laughter and the whole party laughed and cackled at the sight of the giant asshole from Engineering talking shit about the woman adored by the majority of campus. Midori is your best friend, a very kind, beautiful  and valid lesbian friend of yours. You would do anything to protect her from the touch of homophobic devils that would insult her every now and then. It has been happening more recently after she got out of the closet, even when she was inside all this time, you have always given her tons of support and protection because it’s just something about you. Midori was already smiling and got herself up away from the sofa with the girl she was with, hands holding hers tightly. 

“You punk! Are ya crazy? Do ya want me to kill ya like I kill your friend here?” your figure who had one leg propped on the head rest while the other on the couch went tense and is about to fall and the nasty asshole grabbed you by the neck, having you lifted in the air and no one helped to stand against him except Midori who was pulling your body before the guy fully grasped your entire neck in his hands. Before he even pressed harder on your throat, Atsumu landed a punch on his face, making himself knocked down on the floor. You already fell flat on the couch, trying to regain your breath. He warns the guy off and he immediately leaves after. 

“Shit shit, are you okay?” Atsumu kneels on the floor to check up on you, who were lying on the couch, still coughing out and trying to calm down. Midori ran to get some water for you. “I’m fine, fine, where's Midori? Is she okay?” Midori hit you in the arm. “Idiot. I am fine but look at you, I told you I’m alright, if you give them attention and piss them off they will harm you, look what happened.” Midori cries and hugs you. Atsumu checked up on your face, saw tiny drops on the edge of your eye which got wiped away the instant Midori wrapped her arms around you. “I told you  I will always protect you okay, I promised you that” Midori looked at your face again and was still sobbing. She turns towards Atsumu who stood by them. Suna and Komori arrived in the space after making sure the guys had run off. The party went back to normal and it’s chaos again. 

“Thank you, Atsumu, if it weren’t for you, I don’t know what would happen to the both of us.” The girl from before is rubbing her hands on Midori’s back trying to calm her down. “No, [Name] did the most fight, I only come in when it gets physical. I let ya know when I see that guy again I am going to beat the living shit out of him. Nasty jackass.” Atsumu’s rage calms down when he sees you and Midori laugh, finally he makes a safe space for you and her. After some minutes of calming down and talking and giggling Midori takes the cue to leave. “I think I need to go now, need to take some air, you should, too, babe. Love you” Midori hugged and left with the girl she was with the entire time during the party.

Atsumu has long left you and Midori alone when you were busy talking to her, so he goes away somewhere to talk with some of the boys from the football club. They heard something about how that guy is a maniac and has been expressing his hate crimes for several years now, basically a loser and Atsumu thinks his sucker punch is something he could take pride in. After he saw Midori take off with the girl he saw you heading towards the door that linked to the backyard. More people were there, some were laying on the ground doing some unnecessarily lewd stuff that Atsumu does not want to remember.

He saw you taking a seat on one of the stools that was set up for guests to sit. He brought a can of beer, intended to give you. As he approaches you were rubbing around the area on your throat which the bully from before had pressed on. You were still in pain. “Hey, needa drink?” Atsumu hands over the beer while he sits down on the stool next to you. “Ah, I’m sorry I don’t...drink around guys. Trust issues.” Atsumu furrowed his eyebrows and he finally got what you were trying to say. “Oh, I totally get it, I’m sorry.” You were a flustered mess. You didn’t intend to actually...reject a kind offer from him but it’s a strange new place and strange new environment, though you knew Atsumu from high school to be quite a decent person that you– “[Name]? Are ya okay? Ya were about to say something earlier?” “Oh, yeah. You don’t have to apologise, we can just go for drinks some other times'' you let out a small laugh and he smiles. Awkward.

“Ya don’t have to worry about that guy, I heard someone is going to report him to the dean. He’ll be out in no time” you smirked. “Good! Midori must be happy”. The both of you laughed and the  conversation continued randomly, topics about his volleyball activities and you popping in some random thoughts about life to him, it makes him feel weird at first but he picks up after quite some time.

And the night goes with you spending your night with him on his small bed in the apartment he shared with his other friends. Kisses are littered all over your body and Atsumu leads you through your first intimate session with so much ease and gentleness. He left an especially passionate kiss on the neck that tells the stories of your fight and trauma, hoping that he could kiss it away and replace it with the memories of your first. “Are ya really sure about this?” Atsumu asked at one point when you were making out with him on his lap just right after he got you in his room. “Please, do what you want” and Atsumu continues to ravish you and pulls on every article that trapped your beautiful untouched body. 

The morning he woke up, you were sleeping soundly, despite the uncovered chest you had on display cause you fell asleep after the second round of fucking you had no chance to clean up or put on a shirt. The messy hair and arousing look you had on aside, you look too peaceful to be on someone’s bed, someone who you have known for a long time but have only gotten close from an impromptu encounter so Atsumu threw the plans of getting out of bed aside and continues watching the small details on your face. He would pick up the falling strands of your hair and tucks it behind your ear, trailing his fingers on the swollen lips you had after making out with him the entire night. He enjoys your presence. He likes it, being with you, so this is all worth it. 

As your eyes fluttered open, squinting because of the bright sun, which was now covered by Atsumu’s hands to help you get back to sleep without the disturbance. You woke up anyway. “Atsumu, what are ya doing?” you asked, trying to pull the blanket that barely covers your naked front. “Just letting a princess continue her peaceful sleep” you were blushing, it feels like a dream to wake up with Atsumu next to you, so you lean into him more and he tackles you under the sheets. As Atsumu closes in again, about to kiss you like he did the previous night before, your eyes widened and you pushed him away, rolling out of bed naked. You pulled the blanket to cover yourself and scrammed to find your underwear and outfit from last night. “Fuck, fuck I’m late shit I gotta go” you were clasping your bra and putting on your underwear as you continue with your series of cuss words picked up at random. “What’s going on are you okay? Was it–“ you put on your jean shorts and looked at him. “No-no I’m late to a group discussion and I am going to die I think.” You already had your phone in hand with your bag in hand running to the door. Atsumu put on his sweatshirt and training shorts in a haste, offering to give you a ride. 

“Hey, I can help ya get to yer spot with my car. Don’t have ta rush'' you gaped and mumbles thousands of gratefulness and lunges forward to hug but stopped yourself. In the car you were on a phone call with one of the people in your group and you immediately spilled the idea you had in mind in a heartbeat. Atsumu has been driving nowhere so he stops and parked his car at the parking space of the nearby McDonald’s. After several arguments and reasons to have your opinion accepted you finally heaved a relief and ended the call with another apology. 

“Yer quite a persistent one aren’tcha?” you looked at him, face messy, unclean and tired. The post-sex glow seems to not work with everyone. “Yeah, there’s an event and I’m in charge. I was so caught-off guard. Pretty sure they will kick me out if they don’t accept my idea but guess not!” you laughed and smiled gleefully. Pure satisfaction whenever people acknowledge us. Atsumu understood that much. “So...since you don’t have to go...breakfast?” Atsumu points his thumb to the back of the car, which was the entrance to the McDonald’s. “No...I stink so much...but I am hungry so....drive-thru?” Atsumu smiles and puts down the handbrake. “Sure thing, princess”.

After you both got your respective breakfast meal set, Atsumu takes off to the lake and brought you together with him to eat on the benches. Atsumu enjoys the company as much as you did. What starts off with a random conversation of how the duck is limping, to talking about the fluffiness of the poodle someone took for a walk turns into a conversation about each others’ personal lives.

“If anything, virginity is a social construct to put down women, so if you think last night is fun just because of that, I am going to berate your entire existence” you warn him, mouth full with the breakfast muffin. “Sure, what’s fun about last night is that you’re hot and I like you.” Atsumu closes in, trying to make you feel more flustered. “You...like me?” you were blushing and he guessed that his classic method works. “Can say that, I don’t usually have breakfast with people I sleep with, so I think that’s how I know.” You scoffed as his smug smile grew wider. “Oh you’re quite a cheesy one. So, this isn’t just a one time thing?” you looked over to him. He said no and continued kissing you like he meant it. 

Days after that, the dates are frequent, spending the night in his apartment is a routine, watching movies is a norm and the intimate sessions get more interesting for the past few months, he thinks he needs to tell you all about his fantasy and you told him yours and both wishes are fulfilled.

Day 150

Atsumu woke up from the nap, the movie was already finished by then. He reached for his phone which was ringing non-stop. He's going to puke his brains out. Midori was the one calling him. There are around 7 missed calls coming from Midori.

“Oi pisshead, your girlfriend’s drunk. Come and pick her up.” Atsumu looks at the time

10.50

“Didn’t last that long?” Atsumu giggles. Midori snapped. 

“I’m being serious. She gets crazier now you need to pack her up. I can’t because my girlfriend is as shit-faced drunk right now.” Midori starts to call out your name to get off the table. Whatever that happened it must have been really shitty what’s going on down there at the bar.

“Okay, just text me the address I’m on my way” Atsumu took his wallet and car keys with him, all fresh to fetch your drunk ass home. 

As soon as he arrived he stormed to the booth which you and Midori sat at. You were already lying down on the couch, fast asleep and giggling as you sleep. “Okay you’re here. I’m going home with my girlfriend so you take care of her properly.” Midori sat herself at the couch you were sleeping on. “[Name].....I’m going now so take care okay! Love you goodnight!” you were whining so loudly at her. “Nooooo....Midoriiiii-chan I am going to miss you don’t leave me” you were pouting and whining and hug Midori to prevent her from going. Atsumu stood at the side watching the mess unfold. “Your boyfriend is here to pick you up! Goodbye!” Midori dragged her girlfriend away and got out of the bar.

“Midori’s good at lying. There’s no way my boyfriend cares ‘bout me” Atsumu covers his face in shame because the other customers at the bar are looking at you. “Who are ya...are you a stranger? Can I call you Mr Stranger? You look handsome.” You giggled and Atsumu laughed at your cuteness. This is certainly a new side to you, he has never seen you turn into a giant ball of fluff before. “Okay now cmon Miss [Name] let’s get ya home.” Atsumu swooped your legs in his right hand while the other supported the small back of your body. Your eyes are still squinting which must be the reason why you can’t recognise Atsumu yet. 

“I miss my boyfriend Mr Stranger. I want to see him...please take me to see him pleassseeeee.” You buried your face in his chest and held on to the cotton string of his hoodie. “Oh yeah? Is he really that handsome?” he puts you in the passenger seat and buckles your seatbelt. “He is! His hair colour is a bit funny, Midori said it makes it look like he bathed in piss” Atsumu got that too many times already. “But in my very personal point of view, it is kind of biased, he rocks that look. He looks hot!” Atsumu blushed and proceeded to head to the driver’s seat. It’s you and your habit of expressing too many opinions again. He liked this one. He also misses your constants chit chat after a whole month of not talking to each other because of a petty argument. He admits that he misses you so much, but a jerk like him won’t admit it. He’s going to break up with you anyway.

As he continues driving he would listen to what you said about ‘your boyfriend’ and he would sometimes smirks and whispers an ‘I know’ and sometimes it is too loud you caught him in the act. The night drive seems fun with you, and he figures you are still too drunk and even with too much talking your body stays the same. You fell asleep at some point, when he is close to the apartment you resided in. He found out after quite some time that Midori moved into her girlfriend’s apartment so now you live alone. 

Even after he arrives at the apartment complex he lets you take some time to sleep, and as time passes by and it’s getting later into the night, he shakes your shoulder to wake you up. 

“Hey, [Name], we’re here.” Atsumu smiles as you yawn and stretches your limbs.

“Mr Stranger? I have a secret. Can I tell you...I’m afraid to tell anyone.” You said after some time. Atsumu had no idea what to do. So he just played along. “Yeah, I promise I will keep it.” Atsumu laughs and looks at you. 

“I think my boyfriend doesn’t love me. I kind of got the gist of it for a long time...but...now I am convinced. I think...the next time I see him, will be the last time I see him. And I–I don’t wanna” you cried immediately, you were sobbing too hard and you covered your face with the both of your palms. Atsumu is shattered especially, what you said was true. He might break it off when time comes, but seeing your heart broken and giving up the usual happy and chaotic smile and laughter you had because of the thought of breaking up with him, he felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest. So he asked further. He needs to know more, he needs to know why. Why do you catch up to what he was thinking so fast? 

“W-why is it?” Atsumu choked on his breath. His heart was thumping so loudly, and it was beating off the charts. “He seems to not want me around...I tried my best to give him space, time for himself  but....he never wants a time wimme....and then...I-he-he don’t want to see me even when he is free”. You continue crying in the silent car, Atsumu wanted to reach your hands but he knew that would be such an asshole thing to do since he is the one causing this mess. Atsumu got out of the car and opened the door from your seat. “Hey hey let’s get you to your apartment okay?” Atsumu unbuckled the seat belt and you kept on crying, you pulled on his sweater and gripped it so tightly and wailed like a baby into his chest. He sighed and embraced you in a tight hug, calmly rubbing the small of your back trying to calm you down. 

After quite some time only the sniffles could be heard. You start talking again. “You know...I’d rather see him happy even if it means I need to break up with him. Ah I’m so dramatic for no reason. Can you help...carry me to my apartment, Mr Stranger?” you pulled away from his hug, makeup ruined and eyes red. Atsumu smiled and nodded at you. “Of course, I’ll carry you.” He carried you in a manner when he hugs your tiny body to carry you to the bed during one of those nights he needed a release. This closeness to your warm body, and the earlier event that happened of you confessing to a complete stranger about him, he is regretting it. 

Day 125

Atsumu just got home from South Korea. He was there for a training camp with the home team there because one of his coach from the MSBY Black Jackals used his connections with an old friend to conduct a camp for them to further polish the players’ skill in the said sport. It would be a great chance for him to bloom more than how he is after his successful debut as a Div. 1 League player. 

He was simply relaxing around after two days and Osamu was cooking plenty of food for the gang. Osamu invited some friends of his, and Suna brought his girlfriend with him. Komori was there too, with his cousin. When Osamu asked if he was going to invite you, Atsumu shrugged and said no, he wants to relax without you around. Even if you are around you would never go that far to make him uncomfortable. He still hasn’t called you yet even when he landed in Tokyo two days before. 

“Atsumu, didn’t ya miss yer girlfriend? Just tell her to come over.” Osamu said from the kitchen, bringing a pot of stew he made for the gang and putting it on the table. “Nah, she didn’t even know I’m in Tokyo.” Everyone in the living room looks at him. “Miya you’re kinda an asshole for that” Komori said as he passed a bowl to Suna and his girlfriend. “Cmon now don’t look at me like I’m a criminal or sumn...I just want to relax I’ll tell her later.” Atsumu scoffed and leaned his back to the sofa as he was sitting on the carpet.

“Are you...joking. She came by practice the other day, said she can’t reach you.” Sakusa said as he put down his mask aside and dug in. Atsumu knew that. He purposely ignored your text and calls and only left a message when you’re offline or when he knows you were sleeping. He doesn't want distractions. “Yer a prick, [Name]’s really nice and ya can’t see that. If ya got issues just break up already.” Suna speaks and his girlfriend agrees. “Yeah for real, if Rintarou had issues I know he is going to leave my ass in the streets. But I’m glad he has no problems. As a woman I will honestly kick you in the ass, ya know, that woman with woman solidarity.” Suna kissed his girlfriend on the cheek and Atsumu scoffed. “I know, I just don’t know the right time yet.” Komori already mumbles a series of cuss words,  Osamu and Suna sigh and Suna pulls his girlfriend back from kicking Atsumu in the face. Sakusa heard a doorbell and reached for the door now to open.

“[Name]?” Sakusa screams in shock. Speaking of the witch. Well, you’re not a witch, you’re the sweetest person ever that happens to be Atsumu’s unlucky girlfriend. “Hey Sakusa-san! Nice to see you! I brought something!” you waltzed in the door and headed to the kitchen you’re already familiar with. Atsumu felt his guilt eating his insides. Who the fuck called you here? 

Komori puts his phone up so Atsumu can see. Komori smirks at him and Atsumu flashes out the middle finger to him. Sakusa mumbles and points at Atsumu, he said somewhere along the lines of you solve this on your own, Miya! 

Osamu headed to greet you first. “Hey Osamu, I brought some home made dorayaki for you and Atsumu. You guys love it right?” Osamu smiles and thanked you endlessly. You smiled but as you looked at the awkward little Atsumu behind Osamu you stopped smiling. He headed towards you and Osamu knows it’s his cue to leave the both of you in the kitchen.

“Hey, how’s South Korea?” Atsumu sat on the chair of the kitchen island. “Twas good. The food there, they’re amazing.” You hummed. “Glad you enjoyed it. Maybe I would know more if you actually answer my calls and texts about how busy you are and tell me when you arrived. But it seems like you don’t miss me that much.” You sighed. 

“[Name], I’m just...I’m sorry I need time for myself I’m so tired.” You looked at him, sad and gloom covering your whole body like the dark blue cardigan you had around you. “Tired of me or of practice?” you asked and reached for the tips of his fingers. “That’s–that’s not it, okay. Please give me some time.” Atsumu pleaded, you flinched when he suddenly glared at you. 

After some time, you released a deep breath and headed to the door. “Enjoy the dorayaki guys, I hope I don’t interrupt you guys. I’m sorry and please take care of Atsumu for me.” You opened the door and headed out. Atsumu is still in his seat. When the door was slammed he got up and sat himself back on the carpet around his friends. He picks up his chopsticks and pulls the omelette Osamu made. Everyone was staring at him.

“Eat your food and stop staring at me.” Atsumu rolled his eyes and ate more food on the table. “Ya don’t even want to chase her?” Osamu asked from beside him. “Nope.” Komori scoffed. 

“Just want you to know she got here by bus alone. I don’t know if it helped change your mind.” Komori said and drank his cold lemon tea he poured for himself. Atsumu stopped chewing and clenched his jaw, looking at Komori.

“The one who ruined lunch is you, Atsumu.” Suna’s girlfriend said and Suna agreed. So does everyone else. 

You don’t leave a text to Atsumu to the day he picked you up from the bar. He only texted you because he wants to end the relationship.

Day 153

Atsumu still has you in his arms. You’re already asleep, face still drenched with tears. He struggled with the pin to your apartment but picks up after a while of thinking. It is his birthday. 

Atsumu realised he is a bigger asshole than how he was minutes ago in the car as he remembered that he had never come to your apartment. Months of relationship it was always his place as you always preferred his place over yours and he thinks that maybe if he was the one giving in more effort to be the one going all the way to your apartment to spend time with you, he would have felt  better about himself. Normal dates outside are very rare aside from lunch or a quick grab of coffee before classes because he was too busy with his practices and you with your duties as a political science student.

He carried you to what he assumed to be your bedroom, carefully putting your body on the bed, taking off the leather jacket you had with you, slowly dragging the thick comforter to cover your shivering body. After shuffling in the kitchen, looking to find some aspirin and a glass of water for you to gargle right after you woke up he put it on the desk at your bedside. 

He saw a picture of you and Midori on the table, during graduation day. Midori carried you on her back while you threw a peace sign with tongue out and Midori making a disgusted face. He laughs at it, putting it back to where it belongs, carefully. 

You had a lot of other pictures pasted on the wall, the one that faces you when you sit on your study table. The notes and thick books are messily arranged on the shelf, a succulent that says ‘Good Job!’ on the table standing cutely, possibly the one that kept you up during the late night study sessions. He never really checked up on you and your studies, how did you manage to be so strong on your own without a supportive boyfriend, he doesn't know. 

And then he saw the pictures you hung neatly. He took the pictures one by one and saw some notes you scribbled on the back of the photograph. 

First, a picture with your parents. You talked about them at some time because you’re their only daughter and you missed them as much as they missed you. One time when you were making out with Atsumu your parents called and you pushed him away to answer the phone call. So funny how you got so innocent and angel-like just right after doing some lewd stuff with Atsumu just with the voice of your parents on the phone. At the back of the picture, it wrote.

Secured the top-scorer title with a scholarship! Mommy and Daddy are proud of me and I will never stop!

The second picture is of you and Midori at a pride parade. This time you wore a white t-shirt with blue jeans and sneakers and you looked absolutely mesmerizing. 

Pride with Midori. I am so happy for her!!

Some other pictures of you at an animal shelter, old folks home, in the streets, caring for homeless people, women’s march and marathon for cancer awareness. You were basically everywhere and it is what makes him regret not finding out about this side of you. All he does is talk about his talent in volleyball and you always make him feel the best that he never gave a chance for you to talk about yourself. 

Atsumu can’t stop the stretch of his smile and it is making his jaw sore. He is so whipped for you. You have always been such a caring person to him, doing your best to take care of him when game losses make his sour mood make a nasty comeback. 

He would cry in a phone call because he messed up his set and you arrived in his room, dropping your bag to hug him and lull him back to sleep. He cries so hard and you would never make him cry worse than he did, you were always comforting but his pride and selfishness would forget that in a day because he thinks the relationship you had with him is a waste. 

Atsumu is a fool. He didn’t realise how much his confusion hurts you more than it hurts himself. He is such a fool for not being there to protect you. The thought of you crying minutes earlier makes him scream in his heart, he doesn't ever want to see it again. If he made that happen again he will never forgive himself and if he has to build a shrine and be a monk to make sure his sins are forgiven he would do it. He would do anything for you. 

The last picture hid him the hardest.

It was him, and you, during his debut game as MSBY Black Jackals setter. 

You had your body leaned into his arm, smiling wide with a bouquet of flowers for him in your hand. He was staring at the camera with a lazy smirk, hands encircling your waist. It was sweet, and you look very cute standing next to him, in his embrace like that. A sight so beautiful. It is a shame when he remembers what exactly happened that night.

It was a very joyful day for Atsumu and for you but Atsumu didn’t even tell you about the match, you were only informed of the game because of Komori so the ticket you got is because Osamu gave up his ticket for you. He is tired of seeing Atsumu play volleyball and he can see it on his phone if he wants so he just gave it to you, saying you deserve it better. Even when you’re not informed about the game, you still showed up in the cutest little dress with the cutest little smell and the cutest bouquet of baby breath flowers for him. 

Atsumu is not fond of flowers. He is not fond of surprises either. When you showed up on the court, congratulating him, he was shocked. He was busy talking to fangirls and kids who love volleyball until you call out his name with so much pride. 

“Atsumu aaaa I am so proud of you! You worked so hard for this and I am sorry I don’t know of this sooner.” You hugged him and pat his back when you hugged him. Eyes glistening as you pulled away. Said the cries are happy tears. You told one of the passers-by to take a picture of you and Atsumu, resulting in the small piece of photography in his hand.

Later that night he went with his team and celebrated the debut together with them while you took off to your apartment, barely making it to the last bus of the night to get there safely, wishing you were with Atsumu in his car instead.

He turned the picture over. There is a long note there.

Might be the first ever picture with Atsumu, like ever. Nonetheless I am so happy and so proud of him it made my jaw hurt so much as I write this. I can’t stop smiling!!! I hope I can attend more of his games, more to his success, more time with him. I feel like I am the happiest person alive! I feel like one of the fantasy film protagonists where the person they have loved for a long time is within their arms, finally! I am so happy to have known Atsumu since the beginning days of school, how his charming and cunning personality, inspiring and charismatic figure would walk down the hallways of Inarizaki, I will always fall for him over and over again. I love him so much, and even if it takes a thousand years to wait for him I will always wait. Praying that this essay reaches the Gods because I love him too much, I don’t even want to let him go. I love Miya Atsumu, and I hope he feels the same thing too.

Atsumu pasted the picture back on the wall, turning off the study lamp and closing the door as he walked out. He sat on the couch in the living room, only having the kitchen light to illuminate the entire apartment. As he sat there, tears rolled off his eyes and loud sobs spilled out of his mouth. 

He realised he is such a foolish man, living in a complete lie with an angel from heaven taking care of him despite getting paid dust in return. He cried so hard he took the pillow next to him and cried himself to sleep. 

Day 154

If it is not for the bubbling and disturbing feeling in your stomach, you wouldn’t have gotten up and run to the bathroom to puke your guts out, but here you are. Smelling so stinky you just take a shower along the way. Fresh out of the shower in clean new clothes you saw a tall glass of water with your birth control pills right beside it. After downing the glass of water you headed to the kitchen to grab an aspirin to calm down the throbbing pain of your chest.

What you found instead is the sight of Atsumu, wearing an apron on top of his white t-shirt. It has been way too long since you have last seen him, and you didn’t expect to encounter him in your apartment, let alone him in the kitchen, preparing a breakfast for two. “Atsumu! What are you doing here!” you screamed audibly to him and got to the table to see a tray of rice and a bowl of soup on the table. 

“Ah, ya woke up earlier than I thought ya would, was intending to make breakfast on bed like in that one cheesy film you love so much.” You blushed. You headed to the cupboard and popped the aspirin into your mouth with the assistance of the barley tea Atsumu prepared for you. 

As you sat down awkwardly, he pulled out the rice bowl and put the tray in the sink and scooped another bowl of rice and soup for himself. He prepared a hearty meal for two, a miso soup to help you sober down and ease the gut after rounds of alcohol shots dumped in your body. 

Right, you were drunk last night. “So why are you here?” you asked after spooning out the final drop of the miso soup. “You remember nothing at all?” Atsumu asked. “Wait...so...Midori didn’t lie?” you asked again. Just realising that Midori already told you that your boyfriend was there. 

“Oh my god...how much did I say?” you pressed your palms on your face and dropped them to your lap. Atsumu smiles. 

“You said a lot! You said too much that it made me learn a lot.” Atsumu reaches your hands the moment it gets on to the table. He clasped it with care and so much gentleness even when his hand is calloused and rough from the intense training for so many days in a week. 

Atsumu sighs and hangs his head low. “I just realised that all this time, our relationship is one-sided” you gasped and the grip on his hands gets tighter. “I...took you for granted. I never gave you a comfort space to live in, a shoulder to cry on, and I have never...expressed my feelings for you.” You were trembling and Atsumu fully connected your fingers with his, interlacing it together hoping that neither of you will let it go.

“All this time you were always there for me, no matter what I was struggling with, no matter the time and place you would rush and hug me and tell me that it will be okay but I let you cry on your own whenever you deal with the same problem. I made a big mistake, and I swear to my life that I will make it up to you.” You got up from your seat and went to the sink along with your empty bowls. Atsumu got there too, hugging you from behind. 

“I am so sorry for being late, I love you. I love you so much that it hurts when I see you get hurt because of me.” Atsumu hugged you like he would make you dissolve in his body, it was so tight and warm and comforting it felt like home.

Miya Atsumu is your home. You are his home. And so he kisses your hair, your neck, your shoulders to make sure you won’t disappear before him, to tell you that what he said is true. 

You turned around. Holding his head in your hands.

“Atsumu, I love you too, and I missed you so much.” You smiled as the tears dropped, and Atsumu thinks this sight of yours hurts him as much as it makes his heart feel warm. It was a mixed feeling, but he knows that the perfect moment is right there, he holds your waist and your neck and kisses you on the lips with so much need and passion, to tell you that he loves you.

Your hands went to wrap itself on his neck, occasionally stopping by to run your hair through the blonde locks you love so much. He kisses in deeper and languid motion; it makes your head drowsy, worse than what the alcohol did to you but the sensation is nice. The alcohol was bitter and you hated it, this kiss tastes sweet and flavourful and you love it.

Atsumu continues while he carries you towards the bedroom he left you in alone last night, slowly putting your body on the messy bed who still has the scent of you from last night. It is supposed to gross you out but Atsumu is making it harder for you to breathe so nothing really matters, and Atsumu loves the scent as much as you love his oozing warmth that makes your eyes roll to the back of your head.

He continues peppering kisses along your entire body, just like the night when you first spent together. Shirts off, pants off, underwear off. There’s nothing in the way of the both of you in the intense love-making session. Atsumu loves the way his name rolls on your tongue as he nibbles addictively on your neck, your chest and your tummy that is filled with the food he made for you, the love he had in store from his heart is delivered into you with so much ease. He plans to deliver some more as his kisses turn more passionate as the clock ticks, tongue intermingles and liquid drooling out of each other’s hot mouth.

Atsumu is already so eager to get inside you but he always has to prioritise you before him so he asked you. “Can I-can I get on with it now?” he asked, trying to recollect his breath at the same time while he looks for a particular wrapper in the drawer of your bedside table. “It’s fine, Atsumu, I’m on birth control.” You smiled at him and he smiled back, caressing your cheeks, touching your lips and tucking your hair behind your cute ears he loved to kiss so much. “You know, you mistook the birth control pills for aspirin that’s why I rummaged through the whole cupboard to look for one.” You gave him a glare so cute he continues kissing you. “My bad, baby. Can I get in now?” He asked with a teasing little smirk displayed on his stupidly handsome face.

“Yes, you can Atsumu.” You kissed him on the cheeks and hugged his neck as he entered. Inches by inches you sucked him in and he would kiss your temple to make you feel better after the stretch. The time away clearly made a lot of changes between the two of you, and it all makes this event more admirable than the ones before, because of the heartfelt confession you shared with him in the morning. All he wants to do is kiss your body like it is the only thing in this world worth worshipping. You are the most beautiful thing that ever happened in his life anyway, and he would never regret anything in his life anymore.

After the both of you peaked, he released into you, stayed there for a few minutes and took it out after he finally made your deep furrowed eyebrows disappear. You finally relax after the soothing time with your dearest one and he plopped himself next to you. 

Atsumu opened his arms and you found him inside it, getting smooches here and there as he hugged you. He would play with your hair, draw stars on the naked back of yours, and you would draw circles on his chest as you listen to the small heart beat in him. 

His heart was beating because of you.

“Hey, that noise in there is because of ya.” Atsumu kissed you on the forehead. 

“Oh really, yer not special, Miya, listen to mine!” you said with a glare after hitting him playfully on his chest.

“Uhuh...can I kiss it? Like this?” Atsumu continues his attack on your chest and you laughed loudly as he starts skimming his fingers on your waist and your tummy. He was smiling and laughing into the attack. 

Atsumu thinks that even if it is true that he is a fool, at least he is a fool that is so foolishly in love with you. 

[chudleycanonficfest]

the hippogriffs and the flobberworms

Day 23, Post #2 by @accio-broom

Title: the hippogriffs and the flobberworms Author/Artist: accio-broom Pairing: Arthur & Ron Weasley (platonic) Prompt: slice of life Rating: T Trigger Warning(s) (if any): Mentions of sex lives and STDs, very cringe-worthy.

Arthur whistles as he roams the ground floor of the Burrow, searching for his youngest son. Ron’s best friend Hermione is due to arrive any day, ready to spend the latter part of the summer holiday with the Weasleys, but there are some things Arthur needs to speak to Ronald about before Miss Granger joins them.

He’s probably left this conversation a little late—Ron turned fourteen a few months ago—but this is the first time the youngest has shown any interest in the opposite sex. With the rather exciting activities coming up for their fourth school year, including a ball, it’s only inevitable that different feelings will start to stir.

Chuckling, Arthur reminisces about the conversations with his other sons. Bill, always cool as a frost salamander, kept his focus on his old Dad without any outward discomfort, even though Arthur made a complete mess as he told Bill about the facts of life. All of Arthur’s words came out in a massive jumble—he couldn’t even use the correct terms for various body parts and used all the wrong euphemisms. Arthur had been trying so hard to be a cool dad that he got himself far too worked up to make any sense. 

His second son, Charlie, was dismissive and didn’t seem interested in the mechanics of making love, which was disappointing given the amount of time Arthur had spent rehearsing, determined to get it right that time. Percy approached the conversation with logic and appropriate questions, discussing it as he would an important Ministry policy before thanking his dad then leaving the room without a backwards glance. In stark contrast, the twins cracked inappropriate jokes and turned the tables on Arthur, making him feel awkward as innuendo after innuendo spewed from their mouths.

Ron will be Arthur’s last chance to do “the talk”. Molly is responsible for dealing with Ginny, and they’ve probably already started. He doesn’t baulk at the female aspect of puberty, having lived with a woman for almost twenty-five years, he’s well versed in the potions and muggle contraptions they need to use, but he thought it only fair that Molly gets a go of this, too. It’s one of the essential parts of being a parent, after all. 

Although Arthur is well-seasoned in explaining the facts of life without going overboard with the detail or using cringe-worthy phrases now (although the twins did teach him a few new idioms), he has decided to step away from the ‘cool’ dad persona and go full-on over the top this time. 

He could make this easy for Ron, but why would Arthur want to spoil his own fun?

A flash of red hair leaving the broom shed catches his attention out of the kitchen window, and Arthur’s grin widens. It’s a beautiful day, the sun is shining, but there is a light breeze, keeping the air fresh and cool. It’s the sort of day that would lead to him fishing in the lake at the bottom of the garden, but he has a task at hand that he needs to deal with first. 

Maybe there’ll be time for him to get his rod out later.

Pouring two glasses of lemonade from the jug Molly has left on the side, Arthur uses a cooling charm on them then steps out from the backdoor and onto the patio. 

“Ron,” he calls, smiling as his son turns his head around faster than a niffler chasing gold, looking like Arthur has caught Ron doing something that he shouldn’t. Probably skiving from the long list of chores Molly gave him this morning. “Come up and have a chat with your old Dad.”

Arthur eases himself into the bench under the wisteria with a groan. Although he isn’t all that old, having seven children and living through a war takes its toll on a guy’s body. Now, every joint clicks and complains every time he moves. Forget getting somewhere in a hurry; slow and steady is now the way to go.

Ron settles in the seat next to him. 

“What’s up, Dad?” he asks, smiling at Arthur. He takes the offered drink, gulping almost half of it in one go before letting out a loud, satisfied sigh.

“Hermione is coming to stay with us before we go to the World Cup, I hear? But not Harry?”

Ears turning pink, Ron turns his head to look out at the garden. “Y-yeah. We’re going to collect Harry in a few days, remember?”

“Oh, yes. I’m very excited to be visiting the Muggles. Will they tell me about eckeltricity? Should I take my battery collection?”

Ron laughs. “I don’t think the Dursleys will be too impressed with batteries, Dad. They use them every day.”

“Shame.” Arthur sighs, then turns his eyes to gaze the same way as Ron’s. “So, Hermione is a girl.”

“Er, yes, I guess so.”

“A girl you’re attracted to?” Arthur glances at Ron, whose face has turned as white as a ghost.

Ron reacts with a knee-jerk response, but the look on his face indicates that he’s not telling the whole truth. “No!”

“Are you sure? You and her have gotten close lately. Mum and I like her.” Arthur waits a moment for Ron to take back his first response, then tuts when he stays quiet. “Well, I’m sure you’ll find someone you do like soon. Anyway, as you already know, she’ll be staying in Ginny’s room with your sister, and I’m sure you’re clear on the rules of the house. Your Mum does not want any sneaking around or late-night visits.”

Arthur doesn’t hold the same views as his wife. Sure, he doesn’t want the kids to be sleeping in each other’s beds, but he remembers the conversations he and his friends had during the early hours of the morning when he was their age. If the children wanted to get up to something, Arthur would rather it happen under their roof where they’re safe than have them take unnecessary risks. He and Molly were young once, too, although it feels like a lifetime ago now.

“I know, Dad.”

“Good. And so you know, if you ever find yourself feeling conflicted or wanting some advice on how to ask a lady out, you can always come to me. Because being a teenage lad is a very confusing time, and the magic will heighten this, as well as the fact that you live in proximity to some charming young women. You might not feel it right now, but you’re on the precipice of being a man. Your voice has started breaking. Sure, it’s a little later than the others, but I’m sure that’s nothing to worry about. Everyone develops at their own pace, after all. Pretty soon, you’ll have hairs sprouting all over the place, even in places you wouldn’t expect it. I can’t remember when all of this started happening for me, but it was around your age. And don’t get me started on the wet dreams…”

“Merlin,” Ron sighs, now squirming in his seat, trying to make himself as small as possible. When Arthur checks again, his youngest is looking into the depths of his glass as if considering whether he could drown himself in there.

“Sex is healthy, son, especially if it’s with someone that you admire and love, whether that be a girl or a boy, Your mum and I don’t mind as long as you’re happy. And if you find the right person, then it can be amazing.”

A low groan emits from Ron’s mouth as he pushes himself further down the bench, attempting to put some distance between him and Arthur. 

“Please stop talking,” he pleads with bright red cheeks.

“Having a good sex life is nothing to be ashamed of, let me tell you. The seven of you weren’t delivered by the hippogriffs, after all. Not that we only have sex to procreate. Having you kids out of the house has done wonders for our love life. 

“While we’re on the subject, if you can’t get a partner, then there’s nothing wrong with taking matters into your own hand. Masturbation is very beneficial, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It’s important to explore your own body and learn the kind of things you like so that you can recreate those moments with a partner. I can tell you some useful charms if you need them—ones for when you’re with someone, and others for when you’re alone. Of course, there are some spells that are vital for you to learn. Safety is sexy, and you don’t want any little accidents happening.”

Ron runs his hand over his face as if trying to erase his dismay. “Dad. Please stop. I know all of this already. Not that I wa-I mean, do that sort of stuff.” 

He crosses his legs with a gulp, and Arthur feels a rush of joy. He’s succeeded in making his youngest son feel as awkward as possible. You have to take delight in the smallest of moments, especially the older you get. 

“Who told you?”

“I have five brothers and live in a dorm with four other boys. Also, Flitwick taught us the contraceptive charm last year.” Ron is still focused on his glass, looking like he wants to be a million miles away.

“Oh, right. ”

An irrational surge of disappointment crashes over Arthur. He should have realised that kids are far more advanced and talk much more than they did in his day. He should have bit the bludger earlier and nabbed him last summer.

“Well,” Arthur continues anyway, determined to see this through, “contraceptive charms aren’t the only things you need to learn. You need to ensure you protect yourself from Sexually Transmitted Diseases, or STDs, as well. Some of these can make you a little itchy, but others can be dangerous. You should go and see Madam Pomfrey if you think you might have one. Of course, you could always get some muggle con-domes. Fantastic little invention they are. Rather than trying to remember a load of different spells while you’re in the heat of passion, you can whack on a rubber and get to it.”

He doesn’t allow Ron’s small squeak to put him off his speech, now he’s in full flow again. “Talking about getting to it. Consent is important. When you decide to take that step, or even before when you snog someone, you need to make sure they want to do it too. Every step of the way. If they say no, you stop right away, even if they said yes only a minute previously. You must understand that. Never force yourself on someone, especially if they are drunk or otherwise intoxicated. If they can’t say yes, it’s a no-go. Got it?”

“I-I d-do,” Ron stutters, his voice strained under the embarrassment of the situation. “C-Can I go now?”

“Yes, yes, of course. But don’t forget that I’m here if you need anything, son. Even if you think it might get you into trouble. And look after Hermione, even if your feelings for her are only platonic. I admire the way you, her and Harry have formed a little group. The three of you are good for each other.”

Arthur reclines on the bench and closes his eyes, letting out a sigh as the sun warms his face. There’s no point getting one’s wand in a knot over spilt potion. He still managed to get Ron squirming like a flobberworm, so it was mostly a successful mission.

The bench shifts as Ron rises to his feet. He finishes his drink with a gulp and sets the glass down on the floor before shuffling away.

“Dad?” a small voice asks.

When Arthur opens his eyes, he spots Ron towering over him. When did he get so lanky? Ron is going to be the tallest of the family, for sure. There’s a smile on his face, though he still can’t meet his Dad’s gaze.

“Yeah, Son?” Arthur asks, shielding his eyes from the sun.

“Thanks for trying.”

Ron shrugs, then wanders back down the garden, his gangly frame hunched over. Arthur marvels at Ron’s response. You think you fully understand your children, and then they do something that knocks you off your broom. But Ron is a decent lad, and Arthur knows he will go far, like the rest of them.

With a happy sigh, he leans back and closes his eyes again. He’s done an okay job at this parenting thing. As long as none of them gets arrested or tries to break into Gringotts, he can die a happy man.

[sociallyanxiouss]

I Can’t Lose You (Draco Malfoy)

MASTERLIST

pairing : draco malfoy x slytherin reader 

summary : draco and you have dated for a couple years now, but pansy can’t really get over draco, and decides to seek revenge.

word count : 3,075 words

request : can i request a one shot where the reader and draco are both in slytherin and are dating and they get into an argument and pansy overhears and maybe she laces a potion to have the y/n get sick slowly each day and by a couple of weeks of the reader and draco not talking he notices she looks deadly and her being friends with blaise he asks her what’s wrong and she’s like she doesn’t know she’s been feeling horrible for days but she can’t do anything about and maybe draco overhears and she passes out in class and draco apologizes and the reader and them get back together and maybe she passes out in his arms during class one day and she won’t wake up for a few days until madam pomfrey tells draco she took a cursed potion and it’s all angsty but it ends in fluff? that’s kind of the premise i’d like but if you want to tweak somethings feel free to!!

oh sorry! i asked the request of the reader getting sick from pansy’s potion, i also wanted to ask if you could add to that possibly a scene where the reader is a lot of pain because of being so sick and draco tries to comfort her and he’s truly scared of losing his love? thank u 🥰

a/n : sorry for the hiatus, i’m actually sitting for finals. i won’t start writing new stories until the end of the week since my last paper is in 3 days! thank you for waiting :)

- 

at first, yours and dracos relationship was platonic for years. until you saw how touchy and flirty pansy, the pug faced parkinson was, you felt overprotective towards the malfoy boy. 

one day in third year, you brought up your feelings to him. to your surprise, he hugged you tightly and told you how happy he was to hear that you liked him as much as he liked you. 

when you both officially told the rest of hogwarts, no one was surprised. even the professors thought that you deserved each other since day one. even your godfather, the former potions, now DADA professor thought the both of you fit well together. 

you were born into a rich and pureblood family. one of the top ranks in the pureblood community, followed closely by the malfoys. this meant that you grew up with purebloods around you. 

the malfoys and your family were close friends, which meant you grew up with draco and soon met crabbe, goyle and zabini. the five of you grew up inseparable, constantly wanting to be with each other. you didn’t mind being the only girl. in fact, you enjoyed it more this way. 

when you finally reached hogwarts as first years, the five of you met pansy parkinson. at first, she seemed sweet, a pureblood like yourself, it was easy to make friends with her until she became obsessed with draco. 

you were never a jealous girl, so it surprised many people when you grew angrier just from looking at her and draco together each day. draco showed no interest, but it didn’t mean you couldn’t feel jealous at the thought of them being together. 

even when the whole of hogwarts knew you two were together, she didn’t change her ways. in fact, it seems like she became worse in her ways of obsessing over draco, your boyfriend. 

everyone knew you two were inseparable, more so that you were now in a relationship, if that was even possible. everyone also knew that you rarely fought, or always knew how to resolve a problem quickly.

but pansy took that as a challenge. at first, it was as simple as trying to make it seem like they were snogging, or had just came out from the broom closet, but you knew the type of person she was, and never believed her. anyways, you knew draco would try his best to avoid her at any cost.

it became apparent that she would never take no for an answer, so the five of you would try to avoid her in the halls or exclude her from group activities. but one day on the start of your seventh year, she decides to cross the line. 

pansy knew that her parents would listen and do anything she wanted, so she knew that it was easy to get her way of revenge on you. she wanted to feed you the curse potion. 

the curse potion is not something to play around with. unlike the spell ‘avada kedavra’, the curse potion would cause the drinker to be in immense amount of pain for weeks, until their body decides to shut down finally. when drank, it would feel as if someone is rearranging your insides and squeezing them, tighter every second. 

hence, when she told her parents she needed this potion in order to seek revenge on you, they were hesitant. it was for one reason, you came from a high ranking family. if your parents knew who fed you the potion, the parkinsons would not only be sent to azkaban, but also be on death row. 

although they were reluctant, they listened to their daughter and gave her the desired potion. 

-

you walked in the great hall, hand in hand with draco for breakfast. he lets go of your hand and holds your waist gently before guiding you to sit on the bench before he slides besides you. he scoops food onto your plate for you before putting food on his own plate and digging in. 

you slowly ate with him, sometimes conversing with him and blaise, who was seated on your left side. you looked up from your plate and held a hand out to grab your goblet. thirsty, you take a couple sips of water before placing the goblet back down in front of your plate.

unnoticed to you, pansy was staring at you, slighly smirking when she sees you sipping on the water in your goblet. 

soon, draco gets up before you from the bench and extends his hand to grab yours as you stand up to walk out the great hall for a small rest before the start of your classes. 

eyes trained on the couple, everyone was jealous of the powerful, pureblood and rich couple. everyone knew they would stay together for a long time, if not, forever. they looked envious at the way draco was treating you, and the way you were treating him, with respect and a lot of love. 

pansy knew nothing would get them apart, she tried it all. thus, her last resort was to kill you. she wanted to be the one to stick with draco as he mourns your death. that way, he would finally realize that she was the one for him, not you. 

as days go by, you realized that your stomach was always in pain. since it has been less than a week, you brushed it off as stomach cramps. blaise, being a good friend and always observant, always sees you cowering in pain, trying to stabilize  your breathing. you always assured him that you were fine, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t worry about you. 

as the end of the week came, you brought the pain up to draco, but he assured you that it was probably nothing and that you would be fine again in no time. you believed him, of course. but as soon as the week extended to two weeks, you weren’t so sure anymore. 

it’s been about two and a half weeks now and to you, the pain you’ve been feeling in your stomach was too unbearable. but you weren’t one to skip classes, so you pushed through the pain and kept an emotionless face all day. 

draco has started to be a little more concerned. he thought at first that it would be your stomach cramps from your time of the month, as he knew that you had terrible cramps when you have your period. but as soon as a week became two weeks, he grew more worried but still pushed the thought of, thinking maybe it was a stomach bug. 

you were the type of person to always show up prim and proper, hair always neat down or in a ponytail and face always ready, never swollen from sleep, but everyone seemed to notice that you came to meals or classes, hair in a messy bun and face constantly contorted in pain. 

pansy noticed all of it, of course. she felt a little guilty, knowing that draco would be devastated after you leave him. she knew she needed to get rid of you to have him for herself, but it did make her slightly scared, now that the potion is kicking in. she had never killed anyone and she never thought that she would ever murder anyone. 

you walk in the great hall for dinner alone, as you took a different class from your friends. you slowly sauntered towards your normal seat. you glided your hand slowly on draco’s back as you slid in to sit next to him, in between him and blaise. 

the couple exchange smiles. draco pushes a full plate of food towards you, signaling you to start eating. you silently thanked him before picking up your cutlery to start your meal. you didn’t realize that draco was still staring at you as you slowly ate your food. 

when you finally noticed the gaze on the side of your face, you turn to him. 

“you just look so cute with your hair up so messily.” he says, after you turned to him. 

you brought up your hand to touch his, as your way of thanking him. you couldn’t brind yourself to open your mouth to talk to him, everything hurt, even eating. 

“you okay, love?” draco asks. 

you nodded to him, looking back at your food before pushing the plate away, your appetite gone. you rested your arms on the table before putting your head on top of it, using your arms as a pillow. 

you felt draco slowly rub your back as a sign of comfort since he knew you’ve been in pain for a while now. he rubs your back with his left hand and eats with his right, while talking to crabbe and goyle, who was seated opposite the three of you. 

pansy looked at you. your head was deep in your arms and draco’s hand rubbing your back comfortingly. she didn’t feel jealous. in fact, she felt terrible, now seeing you in pain. she knew that in the matter of a week, you’d be gone. pansy thought about bringing you to the hospital wing, in hopes you still had time to survive. 

slowly, some students have stood up in their group of friends to leave the great hall to finally catch up on sleep.

draco turns back to you and gently taps your shoulder to wake you. you didn’t show signs of you waking up. draco then shakes you slightly, whispering your name in your ears from time to time. you still hadn’t moved from your position. 

this alarmed draco, you were one of the lightest sleepers he has ever met, he knew that you would have surely woken up by now. the rest of the boys around you also became concerned. 

draco moved your face to tap your cheeks, in hopes you would wake up. once he sees your face, his eyes widen slightly. blaise, who saw his best mate’s expressions, walks beside him to see you. once he sees your face, he backs away, slightly surprised. 

your face was pale, drained from any type of color. your lips were no longer pink and soft looking. it looked like all your blood was drained from your body. 

draco slowly moves you from the bench, so that he could carry you instead. as he moves you, the students in the great hall, including the professors could see your face. gasps were heard throughout the hall. 

as draco sets you in his arms, he noticed how light you had become, and how fragile you looked. draco almost cries from seeing you like this. he glances up to find the former potions, now DADA professor, more known as your godfather. draco notices that he was already walking towards the both of you. 

he turns to walk out the hall, towards the hospital wing. soon breaking out in a jog, with you in his arms. he was scared, he didn’t know what was going on with you. 

pansy saw the commontion. she pales slightly, constantly playing with her hair as she was nervous. this was too soon. you weren’t due until next week, at least. was your body already giving up? she needed to talk to her parents. she didn’t know what to do. 

she ran to the owl post to send a letter to her parents, she needed to fix this, fast before you become any worse. 

hours later, your friends are still worried sick about you. madame pomfrey wouldn’t tell them anything, besides that she would try her best to help you. all that draco know is that you’ve consumed something bad. but what could you have taken that he didn’t notice? 

your godfather, severus, knew everything that was happening with you. you drank a curse potion, he didn’t know how it got in your system in the first place, but it was in you. he was determined to find out who had fed you the unforgivable potion, and they were to be sent to azkaban and be left to die there. 

he was concerned for you. he quickly got his patronus to tell your parents about your wellbeing. unfortunately, your parents were stuck in a different country doing work, but they knew that you were in good hands of severus and draco but still tried their best to come as fast as they could.  

now, severus was flipping through a book for counter curse potions for you. he needed to be quick in order to save you before your system breaks down. he couldn’t lose you, he won’t 

draco was silently crying beside blaise. they both hoped that you would get better, they needed you to get better. they couldn’t see the future without you in it. blaise had silent tears going down his cheeks, his left arm draped around draco’s shoulders as sign of comfort, knowing he needed it most. 

although you were unconscious, you still felt the burn everywhere. your stomach, ribs, veins. you were in a lot of pain, but you were not about to give up, not when you haven’t said your goodbyes. you needed closure before you could ever think about giving up your life. 

pansy runs in the hospital wing, panicked, looking for something, someone. all heads shoot up as they heard the fast paced footsteps. draco makes eye contact with the parkinson girl and quickly looks back down to his hands, shaking his head, not wanting to deal with her at the moment. he didn’t have the energy entertain her.

“i’m sorry, i did this. i know it was wrong but i only realized it now. i have the potion to heal her. i’m sorr-” pansy tries to finish her sentence, not before severus puts both his hands on her shoulders, startling her. 

“you did this?” he says with his intimidating tone, scaring pansy even more. 

pansy slowly nodded, not wanting to anger him any more. 

“give me it.” your godfather demands. 

pansy grows confused. she didn’t understand what he wanted. 

“the counter potion, you dunderhead.” he says, voice increased as he grows more and more impatient. 

pansy quickly realized what he wanted. she dips her hand in her robes pocket and takes out something. a vile of liquid. a liquid everyone knew would make you better. 

“if this makes her worse, you’d be dead faster than you can say your own name.” severus tells her. 

pansy pales, and silently prayed that the potion worked. she couldn’t see you suffer any longer. she saw a glimpse of you when she walked in. you looked pale, almost lifeless, but she didn’t want to think that you were dead, by her choices. 

it took weeks to finally see progress in you. when you drank the potion, nothing noticeable happened. you cheeks didn’t gain any color until three weeks later. classes now were dismissed earlier as many professors had to help with your recovery.

draco was miserable, constantly crying. when he knew that pansy was behind this, he was beyond furious but he hadn’t tried anything. he didn’t have enough energy to, he was beyond exhausted to do anything. on the contrary, he knew that pansy would get the punishment she deserved later on, but for now, you were his first priority. 

a full month go by. now, all the professors are watching you, hoping that today was the day that you would wake up. everyone prayed for you, even those who hated slytherins. everyone knew you are a sweet girl, and you didn’t deserve this at all. they hoped that you would be well again soon. 

when you first regained feeling in your hands, you were confused. why couldn’t you open your eyes? you could feel drops of water dripping on your left hand, which you then understood that it was someone’s tears. you could tell it was draco, since he would whisper sweet things in your ear, begging you to wake up. 

you also knew that besides showering, he stayed at that spot everyday. you felt bad, and worked hard to try and open your eyes. for him, for your friends and family. 

the day you opened your eyes, you didn’t expect to see almost everyone you knew, professors included, standing and staring at you. 

when you finally opened your eyes, everyone let out a breath of relief. you could tell it has been a while since you slept. draco almost pounced on you in happiness, but he knew you were still sore from the pain you went through from that stupid potion that pansy gave you. 

he was relieved to hear that pansy was sentenced to azkaban soon after she gave your godfather the counter potion. and although most people had doubts about that potion, they knew that it was their only choice to save you. 

skipping your recovery time, it has been a while since you became full healthy, now in your seventh year, your graduating year, but draco was still as concerned as ever. you always told him that you were fine, and there was nothing to worry about, but he would tell you that he didn’t want to take any chances, as he had to see the love of his life sick and pale, on her death bed. 

the day of your graduation was the best day of your life so far. everything went smoothly. the head master’s speech was boring, but all the seventh years were too excited to care.

as the graduation ceremony came to an end, all the graduating students ran to their parents, to give them a hug, finally able to leave the school and find a career. everyone was excited but still sad to leave the beautiful place they called school ever since they were eleven. 

your parents and the malfoys were talking when you and your boyfriend went to find them. as you reached your parents, they pulled you two in for a group hug. although you enjoyed it, draco was pushing his parents away, telling them not to embarrass him. 

as you pulled away from your parents, you laughed at draco. “you’re so dramatic, just hug them and not make a fuss for once.” 

draco rolls his eyes, before slightly chuckling. as you both stared at each other, you knew that this was what you wanted from the day you met him. you’re happy that the both of you graduated together, relationship as strong as ever. 

-

TAGLIST

@imonlyherecauseimbored

@lokilover-39

@evilluciferisevil

@misselsbells06

@thatcatsit

[wildheartsalwaysburn]

Sex on Fire (by Kings of Leon) || C.W.

Pairing: Charlie Weasley x fem!reader summary: Charlie and y/n are celebrating their anniversary with some sexual fantasy they've had in mind for ages: sex on a dragon's back. a/n: If there would be any real dragons around, I'd highly recommend not try this at home. They are some very empathic and highkey intelligent creatures with a serious bonding issue, so any activities on their back are only happening with their consent! Also I think Charlie is such a caring and sensitive person, so this is gonna be the real "love-making" art of sex.

warnings: Smut18+, unprotected intercourse, a few swear words but actually it's fluff-smut words: 1.609

If you like it feel free to like, comment and reblog <3 Also if you wanna be put on my taglist, let me know!

"And you are sure he gave us permission?", y/n asked while she undressed completely and put on her new piece of lingerie. Her boyfriend, while taking off his shirt and pants, chuckled: "Again, love. We talked about this and it's an honour for him. Fedir won't hurt us, he never did. You know him." Fedir was one of y/n's favourite dragons in the reservate Charlie was working at and a 26 feet tall Ukrainian Ironbelly. Due to their international reputation of being one of the most dangerous breeds, her worries were eligible. But she trusted her boyfriend more than anyone else. He planned something very special for their 3 years anniversary: having sex on a dragon's back. The couple has talked about this fantasy so many times, he had no choice but finally try it out now with y/n. Charlie, completely naked, grabbed the kilt y/n had gifted him for Christmas. He never knew what to do with this but today it hit him that his girlfriend had got something in her mind when choosing this thing as a present. The man was bobbing eagerly with his feet until his girlfriend came out of the bathroom. Only an opaque gown encased her body, still keeping her best parts a secret. His amber eyes widened when finally seeing her and a hint of blush appeared on his freckled cheeks. Y/n smirked when noticing: "So after all these times you're still blushing when seeing me like this?" She walked closer to him and put her arms around his neck. Her hands were playing with his long ginger hair, which he had tied up in a ponytail all the time. As a response Charlie just pulled her even closer and started kissing her impetuously. His hands were running all over her in a silk covered body, grabbing her thighs firmly before lifting her up and pressing his girlfriend against the wall. Y/n wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing his hard crotch against her hips, just one layer of tartan separated him from her sweet entrance. Her hands were running over his strong arms trailing the freckles on his skin up to his shoulders again before she buried her fingers in his hair. When the ginger started kissing and sucking on her neck, she couldn't help but moan his name quietly. As if this was a signal Charlie stopped and breathed against y/n's soft skin: "We should continue outside, princess…" one soft kiss more on her cheek, " It'll be worth it, I promise."

It was a warm summer day without any breeze. The crystal clear sky above them seemed like a perfect invitation for their plan. Fedir was already waiting on a small hill, his silver scales glistening in the sunlight. When seeing the couple coming closer, he spread his wings on the ground to make it easier for them to climb up his back. "How do we actually...sit here, Charlie?", y/n asked slightly doubting that anything would work out on there. Her boyfriend smirked: "Let me handle this, love." Before she knew, he already lifted her up with ease and pulled her on his lap, which made her gasp of surprise and affection. Through the delicate fabric covering her thighs, she could already feel his hardness, so she started to get more confident again. As if Charlie could read her mind, he pulled her even closer, his strong hands on her back, wandering underneath the silk. "Looks like we can get on, now", the dragon tamer growled with a voice as deep as the ocean but as warm and sweet as fresh honey. He even smelled like this, which made y/n go crazy everytime she noticed. Just like at this exact moment. She pressed her lips eagerly on his, her hands on his warm face, pressing her body on his with pure relish. With a small, almost unnoticeable hand sign, Charlie told the dragon to fly off. The moment they raised into the afternoon sky, he mumbled into the kiss, telling his heated girlfriend to hold onto him. So she did, wrapping her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck, her hands tangled softly in his hair and her cooch exposed towards his hips. He could feel her getting wet, what made him even more excited to go further. His hands wandered from her back to her bum, squeezing it firmly while one hand went around her hips in between her thighs and up to her slit. There he started to caress her clit with his fingers and he knew exactly how to make her feel good. When feeling him down there y/n started moaning into the fiery kisses, Charlie taking the chance to slide his tongue in her mouth dancing with hers as if they were two snogging teenagers again. The air between them was getting hotter with every second, their bodies burning from lust and desire for each other. Sometimes a low breeze was waving through them causing some goosebumps on their skin. But the lovers didn't mind at all, it made them feel like being completely free. "I want you, Charlie.", her voice sounded quite desperate, "Please." To emphasize her craving for his hard cock, she pressed herself onto his lap slowly moving back and forth, slightly massaging him to get even harder. Her hand stroke over his broad shoulders, down to his strong tensed biceps, back again to his muscular chest where she dag into his freckled skin. Charlie hissed quietly due to the short pain but it turned him on even more, since he knew she was doing this because she wanted him really bad. And he liked that. So he opened his kilt and pushed the tartan fabric aside, exposing his huge, stiff member. Without hesitation he scooped up his girlfriend with one arm, his hand leaving her wet slit to get a hold on her thigh. The sudden cold air between her legs made her shiver for a second before the dragon they were sitting on was flapping his wings, making her lose balance and Charlie's hard cock sliding into her all of a sudden. Both gasped in surprise, the sudden pleasurable feeling running down their spines, stirring up the already heated atmosphere between them even more. Y/n's hands laid on her boyfriends warm, freckled shoulders, her legs tensed and pressed against his thighs, moving rhythmically up and down to give Charlie the pleasure he deserved. To show his appreciation, he pulled her hair slightly back, so her neck stretched and he could cover her in kisses, most of them soft but sometimes he couldn't help but sucking on her skin, leaving small hickeys. His lips rushed over her neck and throat, his tongue traced her muscles and veins down to her breasts where he started to carefully bite her nipples. All of this made y/n even more wet, she moaned out loud since nobody

was up there to hear them anyway, her arms were embracing Charlie's strong body tighter with every thrust of him inside her. The dragon's wavelike motion intensified the pounding of his huge cock inside her, hitting her G-spot, slowly getting her to the edge. She could feel he was almost ready, too. His body moved more erratically, his hands grabbed her breasts and bum more roughly, his whole behaviour became more demanding, more eager. The thrusts got faster. Her moans got louder. Their kisses got more fierce, tongues nearly battling to win over the other. Heat was rising up in both of them. "Oh fuck...Charlie…", every word of hers was just breathed heavily between snogging, "I-I'm about to come…" She moaned the last words out loud, feeling his hot breath against her cheeks when he begged her to wait for him. "Let's...come together", his voice sounded raucous, as if a warm firewhiskey was running down his throat. Charlie took y/n blushing face in his right hand, making her look at him, locking his amber eyes with her y/e/c ones. "Fuck...babe...I-" - "...love you." she smiled briefly when finishing his sentence, putting his freckle covered face in her hand as well, reaching her climax shortly before he did. A wave of pure heat, serotonin and delight was rushing through their bodies. He still thrusted a few times after that, wanting to make her feel good. Her body collapsed on his, shivering and sweating heavily. His face still in her hand y/n laid her forehead on his one, her sign of purest affection and love. Charlie's body relaxed then as well, he let out a deep breath of satisfaction, smiling when she touched his face. "Damn, y/n. How did I get so lucky?", he chuckled. His girlfriend, completely out of breath, just chuckled, shrugging her shoulders and pecked his lips. His arms were scooping her body, lifting her up a little to get out of her. She shifted herself in a more comfortable position, sitting between his legs nowm the silky gown loosely hanging around her shoulders. The air around them was cooler now, but she wasn't cold, protected by her boyfriend's warm body, and he was never cold actually. "What about we keep enjoying this view up here a while, before taking some hot bath together, down on earth?" Y/n stressed the word hot with a small smirk, holding Charlie's hands who blushed a little but chuckled when she suggested this. "A hot bath seems perfect to me, princess." - "So round two then?" her smirk was getting wider. "Round two, then.", he winked, squeezing her slightly.

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Taglist: @marturavera

[boxofbadaddiction]

Crazy Bitch

Song Inspired

George Weasley x Reader

Warnings: Smut. Swearing.

Note: First full smut piece. So the writing's pretty bad.

[Y/N] was always known to have a hot temper, and for being quick to the draw when it came to hexes or defensive charms, against anyone who poked her in the wrong way. At face value she was the perfect example of a Slytherin. Dangerously ambitious and just a stone cold bitch. Though not many people got the chance to find out that was far from the truth. She had built very high, very strong walls around herself from a young age to keep herself from ever being hurt and as such developed a rather fierce reputation. Given which meant there weren't many people daring enough to cross her.

Of course the Weasley Twins, however, weren't like other people. They saw her as a direct challenge on their mischief making abilities. At least they did in the beginning. I mean...a Slytherin with a reputation of being untouchable? They're just begging to be pranked. But now, the boys tended to avoid pranking her after learning the hard way that her idea of payback was not an equally elaborate prank or perhaps a stern lecture but more rather...painful.

On two separate occasions Fred had found himself, stunned, flying backwards through the air. George was a tad more fortunate but still had a fair share of hexes thrown his way. Safe to say they definitely learnt their lesson. After 5 failed attempts, which landed themselves some rather ugly bruises, they agreed the hassle just wasn't worth it and gave [Y/N] quite a wide birth where they could.

George recalled the last prank they had played on [Y/N]. One which left her with bright maroon hair. [Y/N] confronted the laughing boys that day and had let her wand do most of the talking for her. She had began by shouting at them to get some steam off her chest.

"Oi, mind the accusations [Y/L/N], what makes you think it was us?" Fred asked incredulously.

"Because no one else in this school is stupid enough to pull a prank on me. I thought we'd settled this boys. Don't. Provoke me."

Fred let out a haughty laugh as if to challenge the angry Witch infront of him.

"Dunno, you look well enough provoked to me. Never thought I'd see the day someone would have brighter hair than us, eh Georgie" he elbowed his brothers arm playfully as they both began to laugh.

[Y/N]s hand twitched toward her wand and it was enough for George to know the time for jokes was over and that things were indeed about to get very messy. He cleared his throat before speaking, "it was just a joke [Y/N/N], it'll wear off in an hour or so...hopefully"

The look she shot him at his words were enough for him to back down, bowing his head slightly. He knew better than his brother who, had evidently, opted to poke the bear that bit further.

"Come off it, won't ya? If you ask me it's an improvement" he jested, flicking her hair slightly with his hand.

Bad idea. [Y/N]s wand was drawn and, before anyone could register what happened, Fred was promptly flying down the length of the corridor. Georges eyes followed his brother, drawing his own wand and raising it as he turned back to the furious slytherin in front of him.

"Expelliarmus!" she bellowed and Georges wand flew into her grasp.

She began advancing on him slowly, his own wand raised at his chest as she starred directly into his eyes. George backed up, soon finding himself pressed firmly against the castle wall. She walked toward him until their chests were just about flush. His wand stabbing into him, not enough to hurt but enough for it to sting, and he knew there'd definitely be a mark left when this was over. He flattened his head to the wall as she slid the wand up slowly till it was pointed into the crook of his neck. George swallowed thickly and cast his eyes down to meet hers. She was smiling, wickedly, he would never admit it but this was sort of a really big turn on. A gorgeous and confident Witch putting him in his place? To George there was nothing hotter. His mind got lost as his eyes searched her face and slowly ventured down her neck, then to the slight cleavage protruding from her blouse, visible only due to his great height advantage. He swallowed again as he watched her chest heaving lightly while she drew slow, long breaths to steady her heartbeat. It wasn't till she spoke he realised just how long he hadn't been paying attention to the dull stab on his throat.

"I'm warning you. Prank me again and I promise you..." she paused as she moved his wand swiftly down from his throat so it was prodding directly into his groin, he gave a small grunt and pushed his head back with tightly closed lips to try avoid the not so gentle pain she just inflicted, her eyes never left his face as she continued to speak.

"You'll lose more than just your wand next time. Are we clear?" She gave a quick glance down and smiled back at him sweetly. He nodded repeatedly. Forcing the wand slightly harder into his crotch she spoke again "I said. Are we clear!?"

Grunting George spoke fast "Yep. Yes, absolutely, painfully clear."

Retracting the wand from it's owners flesh she smiled and whispered "good."

With that she stepped back from him, George let out a hard breath he had been holding. She raised her arm to his eye level and dropped the wand she'd disarmed in front of him. He fumbled over air for a moment in an attempt to catch it. He turned to see her striding past Fred as he returned rubbing the back of his head and lower back with a confused and hurt look.

"What's the deal? I get flown half way cross the castle but you just about get wanked off?" His brother chuckled "What'd she say?" They both watched as she disappeared round the far corner at the end of the hall.

"She threatened to take off my balls if we prank her again." Fred laughed at this

"Well, Georgie boy, there's worse ways to go. At least she's hot." He shrugged and clapped his brothers back as he began to walk the opposite direction to where [Y/N] had strided away. George mumbled a faint "mmm" in response, his eyes still cast after her as he rubbed the place on his neck where his wand had been jabbed. After a few long seconds and a call from his twin he finally turned to leave.

Things didn't get better from that point on. Although the boys had admit defeat and stopped trying to prank her, there was still a resounding amount of tension between the three. [Y/N] and George most of all. It seemed that whenever the two of you were within eye sight of each other it was inevitable they were going to fight. Near every time they saw one another they wound up screaming.

So, all in all given the mutual hate/hate relationship with one another, it was safe to say that George was beyond shocked to find himself currently, and yet again, pulled tight between her thighs on a desk in an empty classroom frantically clawing at the various layers of clothing separating their bodies from one another. Lips locked in a heated and deep kiss that left both gasping for air. He was tearing at the buttons of her shirt as she fumbled with the clasp of his belt and jean zipper.

This had become a somewhat regular occurrence between them. They both hated each other but whenever they were alone neither could restrain themself.

If they were to run into one another past curfew, there was always somewhere to hide and fuck one anothers brains out. Caught alone in a hall between classes, they'd suddenly find themselves clumsily shoved into a hidden passage or cupboard pashing intensely or otherwise involved in some other not suitable for school activities.

By this point they had probably snogged in every closet of the castle, and fucked in just as many empty rooms.

It hadn't been easy of course, for George especially, having to lie to his brother was something he always hated to do. So when he asked where the scratches on his neck and shoulders came from things would suddenly become uncomfortably awkward between the two. For a few minutes anyway, until Fred eventually would drop the subject.

He could only imagine the questions [Y/N] was being bombarded with when people noticed the countless hickies littering her skin. Questions he knew were being asked due to the circling rumours he'd heard of the marks. He could never help himself. Leaving love bites over her soft skin was one of his favourite things to do in the moment. He'd be sure to leave a few fresh ones again tonight.

As his belt came loose he shimmied his jeans down the rest of the way, stepping out of the bunched material. The sound of his pants hitting the floor excited [Y/N] further, wrapping her legs tight around his waist in anticipation, she rolled her hips into his seeking friction. This pulled a deep groan from George as he threw the girls shirt aside haphazardly, lips still locked with the others.

Breaking the kiss only to pull his sweater over his head, while he removed her tights. He snaked an arm around the girls lower back and pulled her flush against him as his other found it's way into her [Y/H/L] hair to bring their lips back to his once again. She reached eagerly for his buldge and palmed him gently a few times, over the thin material, before sliding a hand below the band of his boxers. Taking a firm grip to his member he moaned and detached her legs from around him completely. Bringing the hand he had placed on her lower back to pull off her lace underwear. Gasping as the cold air struck her aching core, and the cold desk top hit her bare ass she immediately threw her legs over him again but this time the grip in her thighs around his waist was notably tighter. The hand that'd been supporting herself on quickly came to grip Georges shoulders. He used his free hand to finally remove his boxers completely and she lined him up with her soaking entrance. Both moaning as his tip made contact. Unable to wait any longer [Y/N] looked into Georges eyes, breaking their needy kiss once again, seeking premission to continue. He nodded as he buried his head into her neck and she brought him in by her legs. Unable to restrain the whine that left her lips as she adjust to his size.

Chest heaving against his, [Y/N] moaned his name and bucked her hips to let him know she were ready. With a deep growl from his throat and a final kiss to the nape of the neck he began to thrust, at first slowly, but both knew by now how the other liked it and so soon he was fucking her with as much force as he could. Pressed tight against one another she were scratching for grip on his shoulders as he pulled her into him with both hands on her lower back. [Y/N] was fighting with all her strength to stop herself moaning too loud. He was lightly biting at the skin of her chest to keep from doing the same.

[Y/N]s mind wandered for a moment to what would happen if a teacher were to walk by. They'd stop abruptly at the sound of soft moans and gasps coming from the meant to be empty room, mixed with the rhythmic beat of the old desks legs being rocked off the floor with every hard thrust from George's hips.

Suddenly she were snapped back from her thoughts by a tightness in her abdomen and the feeling of Georges strong hand reaching up to wrap around her neck.

He pushed her down so her back was flat against the cold wooden desk top, grip on the throat tightening. [Y/N] knew he was getting close. That was his go to finishing move. He'd choke her against the surface of, whatever, they were having sex against and use his free hand to stroke her sensitive clit as his speed violently increased. As he pounded into her, her mouth opened in a silent plead for release. His breathing was rapid and he could be heard grunting with every thrust as he tried desperately to hold on until she came first.

Then for the first time, in a long time, George did something new. Lifting one of her legs over his shoulder as he fucked her. She had to bite her lip to stop from screaming now, but any attempts to remain quiet were futile against the loud moans escaping her dry mouth as he pounded directly into her g-spot. Feeling his hands grip loosen around her throat and travel to the baseline of her hair, George pulled their faces towards one anothers. Placing a rough kiss to her lips he leant to speak in her ear, whispering in a husky voice "scream if you need to, just let it go." They'd never spoken much during these encounters and his new position coupled with his coaxing tone got her heart racing faster, chest beginning to heave. "George..." she whined into him and tightly shut her eyes, he chuckled at the pleading "I know." His finger on her clit began to press down and circle faster, and her breath began to falter and shudder under his touch. Head falling forward into the crook of his neck "George!" She moaned loudly this time nearly shouting. "Look at me." He comanded, pressing his forehead to hers. She tried to obey but the pleasure was too much, it caused her head to drop again.

He clasped her jaw in his hand that had been pulling on the hair at the back of the scalp, forcing her to stay at eye level with him. "I'm not going to last much longer, so it's bloody well time you fucking cum." he growled.

[Y/N]s toes began to curl and she bit her lip "fuck" she breathed. Another loud moan leaving her lips, tightening around him as her orgasm approached. Unable to stop the sounds issuing from her own mouth now. With one final hard thrust from his hips she screamed. There wasn't a doubt in their minds that, had there been a teacher or prefect in the corridor outside they'd be promptly storming toward the room.

Feeling her unravel beneath him George let himself come undone. Letting go to step back, giving a few final tugs on his cock, he'd readied himself to cum when suddenly his movements were cut off by [Y/N] jumping down to his feet and taking him whole in her mouth. Running tongue over his swollen tip and right down to his thick base, she could taste herself on him. Gently grazing teeth over his sensitive skin it didn't take much and he came hot and heavy into her mouth. Gripping a handful of her [Y/H/L + C] hair as he did so.

Licking lips as she stood and she pulled her body close to kiss him deeply. Only stopping when she felt him shudder slightly from poorly restrained laughter. [Y/N] looked up at him with furrowed brows to which he smiled brightly.

"Fuck...you're a crazy bitch." The girl looked at him sternly as if to ask 'seriously?'.

"Am I now?" She asked trying to hide a smile, given the circumstances it was a little difficult to remain angry at him - after all he does look fucking gorgeous after sex.

"Yeah, you are." He grabbed her and pulled their sweaty bodies flush together once more. Slowly he traced his fingers up across her bra strap, along the vein in her neck to behind her ear, "but you fuck so good, think I'm on top of it." He kissed sweetly.

"We really need to go" [Y/N] mumbled into his lips and swiftly turned away from him to begin getting changed. He huffed and frowned at the abrupt break in closeness but lightened when he recalled the past events.

"True. I guess, even though the whole castle heard you having mind blowing sex, I don't think the staff on patrol will appreciate catching us half naked" he joked pulling on his jeans and stuffing his underwear in his pocket. Throwing his jumper at him she ran her fingers through her hair and made to leave when a whistle from behind made her turn.

George was leaning against the tainted desk with his arms folded and a grin on his face. She raised an eyebrow at him impatiently which only caused his smile to widen as he raised one hand to show a pair of lacey pink panties dangling from his forefinger. "Can't forget these, love."

She snatched them from him and left with a scowl like nothing in their relationship had changed. George couldn't contain his smile as he shoved his hands in his pockets and slowly left the room heading for his dormitory, laughing to himself he commented "Crazy bitch".

[be11atrixthestrange]

Waking Up In Vegas Chapter 15

After a night of debauchery, Ron and Hermione wake up in Vegas... married.

Muggle!AU. Romcom!Romione. Slow burning, smutty, angst-fest.

Rated M.

Ao3 | FFN

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*Six Weeks Later*

[Ron]

The flat is small but well-arranged. Bookshelves line the walls from floor to ceiling, maximizing the vertical space that only one of its residents can fully use. The kitchen is sparkling clean, save for two empty red wine-stained glasses in the sink. Usually, the dishes would be washed and stacked away before the clock strikes bedtime, but last night other, more fun activities got in the way.

The apartment's decor is simple — it has to balance the strikingly orange accent wall behind the television. The only other thing commanding attention is the large painting of a cityscape hanging on the wall across from the entry. It's an artistic rendering of a well-known skyline, characterized by neon lights, a replica of the Eiffel Tower, and a series of flashy hotels. Although the portrait might be recognizable to many, it's meaningful to only a few.

As the morning light peeks through the windows, the bedroom's blinds give up on filtering it out. The sun casts a ray across the pillows, illuminating the two sleeping figures entangled together in bed. Gentle and mild, the light is easier to ignore than an intense desert beam, and it takes a few moments for the tall, red-haired man to open his eyes.

When he does, he turns onto his side to bury his face into his pillow. The bed is warm and comfortable — the satin sheets were a worthwhile investment. Same for the pillow, which somehow maintains the perfect combination of cold and cozy. Ever since they bought a new, albeit expensive mattress, his back problems have become a thing of the past.

He smiles at the mountain of fluffy blankets beside him, topped with spirals of bushy brown locks. There's so much goddamn hair. It looks like a plush volcano of cushions is erupting with curly brown hair. He can't decide what he loves more: the explosion of brunette, the bright orange Chudley Cannons t-shirt, the black mens' boxers that have a little too much fabric for a woman, or the person it all belongs to.

Well, technically, the Cannons t-shirt and boxers are his, or at least, were his. But marriage is about sharing.

"Morning, wifey."

Hermione groans and covers her face with a pillow. "Too early."

Ron slips an arm around his wife, encouraging her to turn toward him. She obliges and snuggles up into the crook of his arm, where she fits perfectly. He presses a kiss to her forehead and nuzzles his head into her hair.

It would be easy to stay like this forever, ignoring real-life responsibilities. In a way, their bed has become an escape from reality, an oasis built upon the lessons they learned in Las Vegas. Defined by frequent 'I love you's, reprieves from work, and late-night explorations fueled by a glass of wine and the need to destress, it's the place that keeps them anchored to the magic. Who wouldn't want to stay forever?

But alas, they can't, as they have Maid of Honor and Best Man duties to attend to. Today is Harry and Ginny's wedding, and within a few hours, they need to transition from the carefree vacationers they became in Vegas to the highly organized planners helping to orchestrate the festivities.

Ron groans. Although their friends know they're together — they put on quite a show back in Las Vegas, after all — they haven't revealed the extent of their relationship, and the worst part about being in public together is pretending that Hermione's just his girlfriend.

"We should just tell everyone," murmurs Ron into Hermione's hair.

She chuckles and snuggles closer. "After the wedding. Let's not steal their thunder."

Steal their thunder. To be honest, Ron has frequently fantasized about stealing Harry and Ginny's thunder. A small part of him is jealous of their hen and stag weekend in Las Vegas and their elaborate wedding. Ron wants everyone to celebrate him and Hermione, and as time passes, he grows more desperate for them all to know.

"I want to steal their thunder."

"I know." Hermione gently pushes him over on his back and slides on top of him. The movement is swift and natural, and as always, she fits like a glove.

"Hmmm, hi," he says right before their lips meet. The kiss lingers; Hermione's teeth lightly latch to his bottom lip, driving him wild. Without breaking their kiss, Hermione shifts some of her weight onto her hips. She knows exactly what she's doing, and if Ron doesn't stop this train, they'll be late.

"Er-my-nee," he groans, pulling away. She pouts at him with her wide chocolate brown eyes, and it's all he can do to resist tangling himself back up in her arms. "Can I ask you a question?"

"What?"

"Do you wish we had more thunder?"

Hermione brushes a tuft of hair from Ron's forehead. "Sometimes. But I still wouldn't change a thing."

Ron smiles as she leans down for another kiss. Her fingers thread into her wild curls, prompting him to flip her over and land on top. He groans when she wraps her legs around his waist.

"You know we don't have time for this," he says between kisses. "We should get rea—"

"Shhhhh." She pulls him into her embrace and tightens her leg lock around his hips. "There's always time."

"Hey!" he teases, then leaning down toward her ear to whisper, "I take offense to that."

Ron doesn't give her time to respond before connecting his mouth to hers for another kiss. He can smell his cologne from the night before on her skin, yet it still tastes like Hermione when his lips travel from her mouth to the nape of her neck. A soft moan escapes her lips and sends him into a tizzy that leaves nothing else to do but get lost in her.

Six weeks in, and he's still convinced he'll never get sick of snogging Hermione Granger.

Plus, she's right — there's always time.

x

Harry and Ginny's wedding is just as elaborate as their weekend of partying in Las Vegas, but of course, classy. The venue is a converted warehouse, which initially horrified Molly, Ron and Ginny's mum, but it's unrecognizable after a few hours of decorating. They tie the knot underneath a trellis of climbing vines and twinkling lights illuminating the exposed brick wall behind them. Cafe lights drape from the ceiling beams, filtering the room's color just enough that everyone appears to glow. Each row of seats is marked by a simple bouquet and a periwinkle ribbon that matches the color of the bridesmaids' dresses, and the aisle appears to have been assaulted by flower petals, courtesy of Victoire, Ron and Ginny's niece, who recently discovered the true strength of her throwing arm.

Ginny has insisted that she and Harry walk down the aisle together as equals. Although originally disgruntled at the pushback on tradition, their father, Arthur, chokes up when he watches the pair approach the altar. Ginny's eyes sparkle with rare tears, and Harry can't keep his gaze off her radiant smile.

They're a couple in love, and there's not a doubt in the room.

Ginny's dress is simple — Hermione had said something about satin, but Ron doesn't remember the details. It's one of those dresses that doesn't dare pull focus from the woman wearing it, not that any dress could. Ron's always resented the Weasleys' fiery red hair and the way it sticks out like a sore thumb, but Ginny makes him think that maybe it isn't so bad after all.

While everyone watches the couple, Ron chances a glance at Hermione across the altar. He can hardly stand seeing her in her periwinkle bridesmaid dress, and he hopes to heaven his gawking isn't too noticeable. When he shifts his eyes in her direction, she turns her head back toward the bride and groom.

She was checking him out, too.

He doesn't have to keep his eyes on her for his imagination to run wild. That periwinkle dress turns white, and suddenly it's Hermione walking down the aisle. Her hair is tucked up into a spiral on top of her head, a few wisps escaping to frame her face.

Since it's his sister's wedding, Ron forces the image out of his mind, but he can't stop a wistful smile from forming on his lips and staying there throughout the ceremony.

When Harry and Ginny arrive at the altar, the music slows to a stop, and the officiant steps out from behind a curtain.

"Well, hello, folks!" says the blonde-haired man in a thick, mumbling American accent.

The wedding guests stare in silence at the man, who's dressed in white from head to toe, a greasy black wig barely covering his blonde locks.

Harry and Ginny burst into laughter, which breaks the seal for everyone else to follow suit.

"Yes! You got an Elvis impersonator!" shouts Fred, Ron and Ginny's brother, from the front row. "Someone check Mum's pulse."

With that, Ron snaps his head toward his mum, whose face has collapsed into her hands. Her body is heaving with what can only be sobs, or…

Laughter. Ron grins when he realizes that his mother's laughing hysterically.

At Molly's outburst, the tension and stuffiness of a formal event dissipate, and the ceremony continues flawlessly, having now been marked by Harry and Ginny's personalities. Elvis speaks to their bond, and even though he doesn't know the couple, he manages to capture how they approach life, always wearing their hearts on their sleeves and marching to their own beat. They've written heartfelt but humorous vows, expertly eliciting laughs and tears from their guests while they read them with shaky hands. They share their first kiss as a married couple to a round of applause and a standing ovation. Emboldened by the support, Harry picks up Ginny and drapes her over his shoulder as he skips back down the aisle to a chorus of cheers and whistles.

The wedding party follows the happy couple back down the aisle, starting with Ron and Hermione. They link arms and lock eyes, sharing a small, knowing smile. Ron wonders if she's also imagining the roles reversed, everyone clapping and celebrating for them as they traipse down the aisle after tying the knot.

What would the pseudo-Elvis have said about them if this were their ceremony, not Harry and Ginny's? Would he have spoken to how they disliked each other when they first met, and the utter disbelief they felt when they woke up next to one another in bed? Maybe he'd have talked about their strong determination to get a divorce and straighten everything out, followed by the looming 'what ifs' that kept knocking. What if they gave it a chance? What if they opened their hearts and it worked out? What if it was meant to be?

Maybe Elvis would have told a white lie at their request, saving their families the heartache of learning that they missed the original wedding, even though Ron and Hermione kind of missed it too.

That would be best wouldn't it? They could hire an Elvis to spin a new love story for their family, so they could keep the real one to themselves—not due to shame, but the simple fact that it's theirs.

Ron can't help but wonder.

Rather than a formal sit-down dinner, the ceremony transitions straight into a party. The delicate set-up of chairs and flowers clears into a dance floor. The doors to the warehouse open to an outdoor deck complete with a buffet and a dessert table, and a crowd forms at the bar.

Tugged away by Ginny, Hermione disappears into the crowd, and Ron becomes absorbed by friends and relatives. He'd rather stick with Hermione, but before he can locate her again, he's trapped in a conversation with long-lost family members. Old cousin Barny, Auntie Muriel and her flavor of the week — a scruffy looking man who introduces himself as Argus, and a neighbor who used to babysit when he was a toddler — he smiles through it all.

"Anyone special in your life, Ron?"

"I noticed the way you were looking at the brunette."

"Is it serious?"

"Should we be marking our calendars for another wedding?"

He deflects the expected questions — the ones that could draw attention away from the happy couple — with suggestive 'maybes' and 'we'll sees' although the truth, or at least a version of the truth, is evident on his face.

Yes, there is someone special. Yes, he was probably gawking at the beautiful brunette. Yes, it's serious enough that they live together.

"You're living together before you're married?" Auntie Muriel chimes in her most dismissive, judgemental tone.

Ron gives her a guilty look, a 'we're already married, you just don't know,' but to her, it's an admission of living together in sin.

"Well, I hope for your sake, she's the one."

"She definitely is," he says, nodding in a way he hopes ends the conversation.

Ron eventually negotiates an escape from small talk and heads to the bar for a slight reprieve. He slides into a seat and accepts a generous glass of champagne from the bartender. One sip reveals just how thirsty he is, and he lets out a satisfied sigh of relief before indulging in the rest of his glass.

"Another?" asks the bartender once he finishes.

"Erm, sure. Thanks."

While the bartender refills his glass, Ron takes a quick scan of the room. He's looking for Hermione, but she's nowhere to be found. His search doesn't last long as a certain someone slides into the barstool next to him and interrupts.

"Thank you for being here," says the dark-haired man beside him. "It means a lot."

"Ugh, not you," groans Ron, but his tone is laden with a touch of sarcasm only his best friend can decipher. "Should I say congratulations?"

"Yes, please," grins Harry. "Even though you've said it a million times."

"Well, you should soak it up because tomorrow, I'm done congratulating you," he says. "So needy."

"Cheers to you too," says Harry, clanking his champagne glass against Ron's.

"I've been meaning to ask you," says Ron, remembering Harry and Ginny's elaborate ceremony. "Why Elvis?"

Harry laughs. "Oh, Ludo? We met him at one of the casinos in Vegas."

"And you just asked him to officiate your wedding?"

"Well, he offered, and we didn't have anyone else," shrugged Harry. "To be honest, we were kind of drunk when we agreed, but Ginny wanted to bring some of Las Vegas into the wedding, so it worked out."

"Well, I liked him. I thought it was brilliant."

"I agree," grinned Harry. "So, will I get to congratulate you anytime soon?"

"Congratulate me for what?"

Harry rolls his eyes, aware that Ron is playing dumb. "Do you think you and Hermione will ever get married?"

"What makes you ask that?" Ron looks over at his best friend, and his expression that's full of excitement. Part of Ron loves that he and Hermione are the only people who know about their marriage. Another part of Ron just wishes he could share it all with his best friend. It doesn't feel right keeping him in the dark.

"You live together and seem pretty happy," continues Harry, oblivious to Ron's internal debate. "I'll admit, at first, I thought you two were moving fast, but you seem well suited for each other."

"After Hermione, you'll be the second person to know," says Ron, grinning at his friend.

"I'll take it!" says Harry. "Can I give you one piece of advice?"

"Sure, mate." Ron can't help but smirk — Harry's been married for barely two hours and is already touting marriage advice. Typical.

"If you know she's the one, don't overthink it. You'll just waste time."

Ron laughs softly. "I don't think that will be an issue for me."

"Good. I'm going to find my wife," says Harry, emphasizing the word like he's trying it on for size. "And you should go dance with your girlfriend. She looks like she could use a hand."

Harry motions across the room to where Hermione and Luna are alone at a cocktail table. There she is. Hermione's stiff body language is a stark contrast to Luna's eccentric gestures, and it appears that Hermione has become an unwilling audience for one of Luna's wild conspiracy theories.

"Happily," mutters Ron as Harry saunters off to find Ginny.

Ron meanders across the room to rescue Hermione from Luna's verbal clutches. Since she doesn't see him approach, he decides to surprise her by sneaking up behind her and looping his arms around her waist.

"Hi, girlfriend," he whispers into her ear.

"Hmmm." She seems to melt into his touch ."Hi, boyfriend."

"Sorry, Luna," says Ron, as he slides a hand down Hermione's arm and interlaces his fingers with hers. "I'm going to steal Hermione away for a dance."

"Of course! Have fun, you two," Luna says before turning around toward the crowd and skipping away, presumably in search of another unsuspecting guest to engage with.

"She's a lot, isn't she?" asks Ron.

"She's not too bad, once you get to know her. She's just talkative, that's all."

Ron tugs Hermione toward the dance floor where a smattering of couples intertwine, swaying to one of the rare slow songs in the D.J.'s repertoire. She wraps her arms around his neck, and he tightens his embrace, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"It's a little weird to call you my girlfriend."

"It sounds wrong," she says, her voice muffled by his dress shirt. "I was never your girlfriend. It's probably how people feel when they first start saying 'wife' or 'husband.'"

"I reckon you're right."

Ron reflects on the first time he called Hermione "wifey." It didn't feel weird at all, probably because it was a joke. Eventually, the joke just turned real.

"Hubby suits you better, anyway," says Hermione. She always seems to know what he's thinking, but he doesn't mind one bit.

"I agree, love." Even now, Hermione can still make his cheeks tinge red with a simple statement. "Are you enjoying the wedding?"

He can feel her nodding against his chest. "Yeah," she mumbles. "Although, it was a lot of work. Are you?"

Ron shrugs. "Ours was better, I think."

Hermione laughs. "I'm sure it was. Too bad we can't remember it."

Out of the corner of his eye, Ron can see Harry and Ginny embracing on the dance floor, surrounded by his grinning family. A spotlight shines on them, and at the sound of clinking glasses, they lock eyes and share a kiss. When they make contact, the bystanders whoop and whistle. "Maybe they should have gotten hitched in Vegas like us. This is a lot of commotion."

"Well, you know Harry and Ginny," says Hermione as she loosens her embrace to glance over at the couple. "They like their parties."

"They do," he says, tugging Hermione back into his arms. "What would you have done if this was your wedding?"

Ron expects Hermione to take some time for her answer, but surprisingly, she has one at the ready. "It would have been smaller. Maybe a live band instead of a D.J. And red velvet cake."

Ron smiles into her hair as she continues.

"I probably wouldn't have had a huge wedding party. Probably just a maid of honor. Intimate rooftop ceremony. I'd write my own vows. I even have photos of my dream dress."

Ron chuckles. "You have it all planned out."

"I never really planned it, I just knew." She's smiling when she pulls away and meets his eye, but her smile fades into a frown. "But seriously, I wouldn't change a thing."

She must have interpreted his pensive look as disappointment. "Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"Let's plan it."

"Plan what?"

"Our rooftop wedding," he says as the color pink creeps up his neck.

"Ron, we're already married." Despite her deadpan tone, there's a twinkle in her eye and a soft smirk hiding behind her lips.

"Then let's get married again."

She narrows her eyes at him, and Ron can almost see the gears turning inside her head. "You don't think that would be a waste of time and money?"

"No. Not at all. Plus, I couldn't stop picturing you walking down the aisle today, and I'd love to see you in your dream dress."

She leans back and stares at him for a few moments, clearly running questions through her mind. When she finally speaks, her eyes are glassy with held-back tears, and a smile lifts her words. "You're serious?"

"Hermione Granger," he states in his most serious tone. "Will you marry me again?"

Their feet stop moving, and she bores her gaze into his. Her answer is swimming in her eyes, but he waits for her to verbalize it. "Of course I will. I'd marry you every day."

Ron barely has time to smile before she's pressing her lips against his. He responds so enthusiastically that it could very well be their first or thousandth kiss, lifting her gently off her feet. They're probably drawing attention to themselves, but Ron doesn't mind. It's like she's the only person in the room.

That seems to happen a lot.

Ron sets her back down and slides his hands down her arms, landing at her unadorned fingers. He rubs a thumb across her left hand, desperately wishing he had brought the ring. He didn't think to bring it to the wedding.

The ring — a modest emerald-cut solitaire in yellow gold, is still safely stashed in his bedside drawer, hidden by a few football magazines. He had a whole plan that didn't include a quiet proposal at someone else's wedding, but sometimes the best things in life are accidents.

"I have a ring, you know."

"You do?" she asks, her eyebrows raised. "You planned this?"

Ron laughs. "Well, sort of. But I wasn't planning on asking you tonight. Didn't want to steal anyone's thunder."

"When were you going to ask?"

He had it all planned out. A surprise candlelight dinner at their flat. A homemade cocktail — his best attempt at Liquid Luck. Slow-dancing in a dimly lit living room, furniture pushed against the wall to make room. Dropping to one knee in the middle of a dance. Strawberries and whipped cream. It would have been perfect.

But this is perfect too.

"I was going to propose six months in. Since that's when you can finally divorce me if you want to—"

"Right. Divorce," she scoffs. "When did you buy the ring?"

Ron averts his gaze when he answers. He hasn't planned on telling her this part. "In Las Vegas."

"That early?" she asks, her tone suspicious.

He nods.

"You knew you wanted to stay with me?"

"Of course, I did. Didn't you know, too?"

She smiles and answers him with another kiss. This time it's slow and loving, taking its time. Their bodies seem to melt together into one.

"That would have been so sweet," she says when they eventually break free.

"We can stick to the original plan if you'd prefer that—"

"No!" Her eyes widen as if she's afraid he'll take it back. "When have we ever followed plans?"

Ron grins. There it is — that spontaneous Hermione that only he gets to see. "And you were worried 'Vegas Hermione' would disappear completely," he says, tucking a hair behind her ear.

"I guess she's here to stay," says Hermione as she nestles her head into the crook of Ron's neck where it fits so perfectly. "I love you so much, Ron."

"I love you more, fiance."

Ron can't help but wince at her new title. 'Fiance' sounds just as odd as 'girlfriend,' and it'll only be true for a small fraction of their lives together — not enough time to get used to it.

"I still like 'wifey' better," she says as though reading his mind.

He does too. "Then I guess we have another wedding to plan."

"I guess we do," she says. "And what about our real wedding? Do you want to tell people?"

"Should we?"

"No," she says before securing her arms around his neck. "That wedding can stay ours."

Ron smiles as his lips meet hers. The desire for everyone to know is still there, but less so. They'll get to celebrate a 'real' wedding together, their guests blissfully ignorant of Ron and Hermione's little secret. It's a perfect plan, really.

Someday they might reveal the truth. They might let it slip in conversation, or accidentally admit it to Harry and Ginny after a few cocktails, or decide to tell their future children.

But until then, their original wedding can just be theirs.

*THE END*

[too-attached-to-fiction]

A Simple Misunderstanding | g.w.

Masterlist here

Word count: 1118

Warnings: none

Request: Heyyy! 💕 can you do an imagine with George Weasley where he wants to ask reader to the Yule Ball but he thinks she likes Dean (but in reality Dean x Reader are only best friends) also reader is a Gryffindor ❤️💛 thank you! Love your writing I'm so excited!

A/N: Wow, this request is MONTHS old. I’m so sorry I’m only getting to it now, I got burnt out for a while, but I’m back on my bs again! Sorry it took so long anon!

~~~

The Yule Ball reminded you of those Muggle movies you’d grown up with. As a muggleborn, you had grown up hoping to be swept off your feet in secondary school. However, that hope was lost when your Hogwarts letter arrived, turning your life upside down. 

Suddenly all of the fairytales your grandfather had told you were true, and yet, somehow false as well. Things weren’t happy in the wizarding world, and a tournament where the student competitors could die certainly wasn’t helping your nervousness. Despite being a Gryffindor, you weren’t sure there was much courage in you. 

Luckily, you weren’t alone in the unfamiliarity. Dean Thomas, your next door neighbor who felt more like a younger brother, was revealed to be a wizard a year after you had arrived at Hogwarts. The two of you spent long nights talking about the differences between the wizarding world and the muggle world. You went home together for every holiday. 

Funnily enough, while you and Dean acted more than friendly on multiple occasions, there was nothing between the two of you. It was difficult for you to picture Dean as anything other than your little brother. Still, most didn’t believe you when you protested their suspicions. 

This included George Weasley.

Your reputation in Gryffindor wasn’t notorious, and yet, everyone seemed to know you. Even the first years waved or stopped you in the corridors of the castle. This was because you made a point to talk to anyone and everyone in the common room most afternoons and evenings. If someone was doing homework, you’d stop to help. 

As the Weasley twins were often performing one of their pranks or tricks in the common room, you interacted with them a lot (if only to raise an eyebrow at their activities). You’d been partners with George once or twice in Charms and DADA, but things never pushed past small talk. However, he found himself harboring a crush on you after those small encounters. 

The only problem, he thought, was Dean. The two of you seemed awfully close, and while George was never one to trust the Hogwarts rumor mill, there was substantial evidence that you were dating. After all, you often wrapped your arms around his shoulders and could be seen hugging Dean in between classes. 

“I don’t know what to do.” George groaned, falling face first onto his bed one evening. In the common room below, you and Dean were sitting next to each other, both talking about writing home. “What do I do?” 

Lee Jordan and Fred looked at George. “You don’t know that they’re dating. It’s not like they snog.” Lee Jordan pointed out. 

“They act like a couple! They’re downstairs right now, talking about sending letters home. Why would they talk about it if they weren’t dating?” George rolled on his back and Fred peered down at him. 

“That’s definitely not an assumption.” Fred rolled his eyes at his twin. “You know you could just ask them.” 

“Ridiculous.” 

“You’re acting like Ginny.” Fred retorted, and George threw a pillow at him. 

Lee Jordan took things in his own hands, walking out of the room. George’s crush was starting to get out of control. He was more distracted now when planning pranks, and that was bound to cost them a few detentions soon enough. 

He went down to the common room, and spotted you and Dean easily. The two of you were chatting next to the fire place, both opting to sit on the ground instead of on one of the couches. He walked over, and you looked up. 

“Can I help you, Lee?” You asked, a polite smile on your face. 

“Are you two dating?” Lee blurted out. You and Dean looked at each other before you burst into laughter. 

“God, no. I mean, I understand how you could see that, but we’re not.” You said once your laughter had died down. 

“Alright, cool. Do you have a date to the Yule Ball?” Lee asked, and you raised an eyebrow.

“No, I haven’t been asked yet. Why, is there something else you’d like to ask?” You asked, giving him a funny look. 

“Nope! I’m good. See you.” Lee said, running off to the boys dorms. You looked at Dean. 

“I wonder what that was about. I don’t think I’ve ever talked to Lee much.” You said before shaking your head and returning to your letter. “Anyways, d’you reckon my grandfather will try to buy robes for me? Or shall I just ask for money?” 

Lee returned to his room with a bright smile. George was laying face down again, immobile. 

“She’s not dating Dean, and no one’s asked her to the ball yet.” Lee said. “I just asked. Go downstairs and ask her out already, you git.” He said, shoving George lightly on the shoulder. 

Once he had registered the words, George shot an incredulous look at Lee. “You did what?” He asked, his eyes the size of saucers. “You didn’t need to-” 

“You wouldn’t have done anything. You would have wallowed and then tried to go with one of the girls from the Quidditch team. So shut up and ask her.” Lee said, dragging George off the bed. Together, he and Fred forced George out of the door of the dorm and locked it behind him. 

George grumbled something incoherent, then wiped his sweating palms on his trousers. As if trying to convince him to do it, his feet moved on his own accord, stepping down the stairs as they had millions of times before. 

Dean caught George’s eye, nodding and then saying something to you before running off to his own dorm. 

George sat next to you on the ground, just as you turned your head to see what Dean had been looking at earlier. “Oh, hello George.” 

“You know who I am?” 

“We were partners in Charms and DADA, remember? Of course I remember you.” Your warm smile just made him more nervous. He could feel the heat rushing to his cheeks.

“Did Lee talk to you earlier?” He stammered out. 

“Yeah, he came out and asked me if I was dating Dean and if I had a date to the Yule Ball. Then he just went back upstairs without another word. Do you know anything about that?” 

“W-well… He asked you because…” George said slowly. You gave him an odd look. In the four years you had known George, he was never the type to get nervous. He and Fred practically thrived off of attention from other people. 

“Because…” You repeated, waiting for him to spit it out. The sooner he did it, the more time you’d have to finish your letter to your grandfather. 

“Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?” George blurted out, and you giggled. That was why he had been nervous? Over a simple invitation? His face started to fall, and you stopped giggling. 

“Oh, I’m not laughing at you! But you could have just asked me instead of having Lee be your wingman. I’m not that intimidating.” You smiled. “Yes, I’ll go to the Yule Ball with you.” 

[ginnympotter]

uhm this is kind of a vague prompt but harry and ginny going on a date in the muggle world doing the things he always wanted to do as a kid but wasn't allowed? x

LOVE ITTT. OK anyone who actually lives in London reading this, I apologize. I know nothing and admit to this. Also this ended up much longer than intended I’m sorry lol. Hope you like it!

“Ginny, I already told you-”

She groaned, closing the front door of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place behind them. “And I’ve already told you that I don’t give a damn.” She took the invisibility cloak from the crook of his arm and threw it over them. “Now, I’m going to need you to apparate us so please concentrate and stop being a humble git.”

Harry sighed, recognizing defeat. “Where to, then?”

“Westminster Bridge Road,” she informed him.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Muggle London? What for?”

She rolled her eyes and grabbed on to his hand. “If you would exert some patience, please, you will find out shortly.”

He conceded, securing her hand in his. “Hold tight.”

He spun on the spot, and Ginny felt herself being squeezed into nothing, suffocating, and then suddenly her feet landed firmly on pavement, the rush of traffic ringing in her ears. Her hand still firmly locked in Harry’s, she dragged them into an ally and took off the cloak, handing it back to its owner. “Put it in your pocket.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he responded, doing just so. They both put their wands in their pockets as well, and then Ginny dragged them back to the sidewalk. 

People walked around them in haste, and Ginny looked at the street signs on both sides of them. “This way,” she determined, tugging Harry’s hand and navigating them to the right. Ginny strode down the street excitedly, Harry by her side, chuckling. 

“Are you going to tell me what we’re doing now?”

She chanced a glance at him, and his face held both suspicion and amusement. “Listen,” she began. “I know you don’t care much about making a deal of your birthday, but you should. I mean, need I remind you, it was only about 3 months ago that you almost died.”

“I remember,” he mumbled.

“And so the fact that you made it to 18 is something to be celebrated! And I wanted to do something special, since all I gave you last year for your birthday was an interrupted snog and an overbearing brother,” she smiled. 

He laughed at that, squeezing her hand. “Fair enough.”

“But I knew going out in any Wizarding areas would be too stressful. We don’t need anyone hounding you, and I suppose we could’ve taken Polyjuice Potion but I’d prefer to see your handsome face.”

“Not sick of it yet?”

“Never.” She stopped abruptly, pulled him to her, and kissed him firmly on the mouth. Then remembered herself and kept them moving as to not cause any further pedestrian traffic. Harry had a lopsided smirk on his face as she resumed to steer them towards their destination. “Anyway,” she continued, “we should be pretty safe here. It’s crowded and not many wizards come roaming about Muggle London, except my dad, maybe.”

“I hope you’re right, but I wouldn’t underestimate Rita Skeeter’s determination.”

“Good thing I’m not afraid of beetles,” she quipped back, shooting him a smile. “So now that you’re of age in both the Wizarding and Muggle world, I thought we’d exercise those freedoms in the most optimal way possible- aha!” She spotted the place and made a sharp turn down the block, Harry still holding her hand but tailing her, and stopped short at the entrance. “Ta-da!” 

Harry took a moment to catch his breath, then looked up at the sign above the door. Namco Funscape.

“No...way...” Harry gaped breathlessly. “No way.”

Ginny felt triumph beating in her chest. “Last month, you told me about all the things your aunt and uncle would take Dudley to do, or allow him to do at the house, all of which you were deprived...and I wanted to make that up to you and take you myself. But as an adult, it’s all up to you what we do. And you can even have a Muggle drink now that you got an ID last week.”

Harry continued to stare at the building front, then turned his shocked expression to Ginny, which quickly melted into the kind of warm smile that left Ginny immobile, like the one he had given her when they first exchanged ‘I love you’s, or when they played one-on-one Quidditch two weeks ago and she caught the Snitch right under his nose. He let go of her hand and closed the gap between them, wrapping his arms around her, fitting her snugly into his chest. She closed her eyes, content to just stay like that for the rest of the day if he wanted. But she was a good gift-giver, and she knew how eager he was to go in. “I will always be grateful for gifted snogs, interrupted or otherwise, but this is...really...” He released her from his grip and kissed her once hard, the second time more softly. “You’re the best. The best.”

“I am pretty amazing, aren’t I,” she joked, the look on his face making her heart flutter even more rapidly. 

“You are,” he confirmed, his smile widening. “Now c’mon, let me introduce you to all the fun Muggle activities I wish I could do as a kid that you will surely kick my arse in.”

She could hardly contain her own excitement seeing Harry display his own so openly, swinging the door open and striding through into the massive arcade and entertainment center. Harry explained to her the concept of tokens, and before he could pay for them to have any Ginny took out the stash of Muggle money she brought. She handed the clerk the bills before Harry could get a full objection out. “Ginny, let me-”

“It’s your birthday,” she stated simply. “Stop. Let me take care of it. You can waste all the money you’d like to pamper me in eleven days.”

“Fine,” he replied resentfully but seemed to get over it quick enough as the clerk handed him the cup of tokens. He took her through the rows of video games, and it was some of the most fun she ever had, having Harry teach her how to play and, as predicted, quickly dominating him in almost every game he taught her. The only one Harry continued to beat her in (though only marginally) was Pacman, but she demolished him in Skee-Ball on the first round, and the four others that followed. “Should’ve seen that one coming,” he snorted, trying and failing to hide the gleam in his eye he’d get when turned on by Ginny’s unexpected prowess as she successfully sunk her final ball into the top goal. “Bloody Chasers.”

“How could you forget, when my Quidditch Captain badge arrived just yesterday?” she beamed at him, bending down to collect her plethora of tickets. 

“You’re a usurper, is what you are,” Harry shook his head.

Ginny gasped dramatically as she pulled the last of her tickets up and shoved them into Harry’s hand. “Not usurper, rightful successor!” Harry laughed as he took the tickets and put them in their bucket. “You know, jealousy doesn’t look so good on you.”

Harry pulled her toward him and put both hands on her cheeks. “I’m only jealous of everyone who’s going to be there to watch you shine.”

Ginny felt her heart sink slightly. She knew it was a difficult decision for Harry to forgo the rest of his education, to not return to the Quidditch team for one final season, and most of all, to spend the better part of ten months apart from her after finally getting back together. But they both knew it was what made the most sense, and that they would be okay. He offered her a small smile before leaning in to kiss her. 

She sighed, his lips gone too quick. He chuckled, throwing an arm around her and leading them to another area of the arcade. They tried the jackpot machine game multiple times, and on the sixth attempt, Ginny hit the jackpot, which was 550 tickets. Harry and Ginny decided they had enough accumulated to go claim a prize, and Harry convinced Ginny to get something called a skateboard, which she was able to pick up rather quickly before they were reprimanded for riding it inside. Then Harry taught her ping-pong, which took her a bit longer to pick up, but by the end of it won two matches. All the playing left them famished, and so they went to the bar and got pizza, and Ginny convinced him to try Muggle beer. He eyed it skeptically, took a sip, swallowed, and made a face of disgust.

Ginny laughed heartily. “That bad?”

“Yes,” he confirmed, pushing it away. “I can’t believe anyone would drink this when butterbeer tastes so much better.”

She tugged at his collar and pulled his face close to hers. “Let me have a taste.”

“You’re not of age,” he said, looking at her curiously.

“Not that way,” she informed him, the suggestive grin forming on his lips stunted by Ginny’s crushing against them, prodding his mouth open, sweeping her tongue over his. She pulled away briefly, told him, “I can bear it,” then continued to kiss him.

She only got to have her fun for about thirty seconds, however, as they were interrupted by a loud and recognizable “Oi! You’re in public!”

They broke apart, and Ginny could see the blush spreading across Harry’s cheeks. “I thought interrupted snogs and overbearing brothers were gifts of the past,” he whispered quickly.

“I thought you were grateful for them, anyway?”

“The snog bit, yeah-”

Hermione’s voice cut in. “Sorry,” she winced, then glared at Ron. “Somebody still needs to learn manners.”

“Yeah, them!” he retorted, gesturing towards his sister and best friend. 

Hermione rolled her eyes, then walked forward to hug Harry. “Happy birthday, Harry! We didn’t mean to interrupt-”

“It’s okay, Hermione,” Harry told her as she let go. “I didn’t know you two were coming!”

“I meant to mention it,” said Ginny. “But I lost track of time. I wanted to try that bowling thing, and I thought it’d be fun to have them join us for a bit before we head back home for dinner with everyone.”

“We’re bowling?” Harry shouted in excitement. “Oh, man is this going to be fun. I’ve always wanted to bowl. I got to watch Dudley once but wasn’t allowed to play.”

Ron threw his arm around Hermione, pulling her to his side. “Alright, Hermione, we’re ready to learn.”

After three matches, the first as individuals (Harry just winning, all scores rather close), the second as boys versus girls (girls demolishing), and the third as a couple match-up (Harry and Ginny victorious), their arms were sore and they were ready to apparate back to Ottery St. Catchpole for Harry’s birthday. 

Ginny’s mother made an elaborate dinner and cake that, seeing Fred’s empty seat, Ginny could tell he did not quite feel he deserved but expressed his gratitude all the same. Most everyone he loved was there, including little Teddy, whose hair and eyes matched Harry’s throughout most of the meal, which made Ginny’s heart swell. As her mother insisted Harry stay the night, she helped him bring up all his presents to Ron’s room before turning in for the night herself, although not before making sure Ginny was in her own room with Hermione. And although Ron still could not hold back his disgust, he knew there was something to be gained for himself in having Harry and Hermione swap places once they were sure it was safe. Hermione quietly left, and a minute later, there was a light rap of knuckles against her door.

She flicked her wand and the door opened. Harry, his face lit in his own wand light, wearing his pajamas, stepped in quietly and closed the door behind him, clicking the lock. He walked over to Ginny’s bed, whispered ‘Nox,’ put his wand and glasses on her bedside table, and crawled into her small bed. 

“Hello,” he whispered, and she could see his smile in the dark as she pulled him closer to her. 

“Mm,” she sighed happily, intertwining her legs with his, firmly planting her face in the crook of his neck. “Good birthday?”

He wrapped his arms around her. “The best, I think. Today was...” he paused, and Ginny knew he struggled to verbalize his feelings sometimes, so when he uttered out a loving, “thank you,” and kissed the top of her head, she knew he was happy, and so her goal was achieved.

“So it surpasses last year’s gift, then?” she asked playfully.

“Well, I did receive the same gift this year too, earlier before bowling, didn’t I?”

“I suppose.”

Harry readjusted them and put a hand on her face, causing her to look up at him. “And as incredible as today was, I was hoping for that present in an uninterrupted format if you’d be so willing.”

Ginny laughed, melting at his touch, feeling pierced by the sparkle in his eyes, made brighter by the contrast of the dark. “How could I deny you such a gift?”

Harry grinned widely as Ginny drew her face closer to his. Their lips impossibly close, she whispered against his, “Happy birthday, Harry.”

[remywrites5]

hey!! it’s my birthday today!! And I wanted to know if it wouldn’t be any trouble if u could write a jegulus one shot where they celebrate regulus’ birthday? if not I understand!! I just rlly like ur fics!!

Hi, sorry I’m reading Red, White and Royal Blue and am currently in a Royalty AU mood. Hope you don’t mind! Happy birthday!!!!

                                                           ***

           James Potter was not at all excited about going to Prince Regulus’ eighteenth birthday party. He sat in the back of the car, staring grumpily out the window, wishing something would happen that would mean they could turn around and go home. Normally, James would be all about getting to party and Prince Sirius had been James’ best friend since they were kids. It was Prince Regulus that was the problem.

           Prince Regulus was an obnoxious brat who always used to follow James and Sirius around. James knew that Reg had grown up quite a lot since then, he was always portrayed as some kind of heartthrob in the tabloids and had over 100 million Instagram followers. James knew his own 80 million followers was nothing to sneeze at, but it was just another reason for him to be annoyed. It didn’t help that Regulus had the audacity to be very attractive with his dark hair in a fashionable undercut, his stunning grey eyes and his high cheekbones.

           Although James wasn’t royalty (thank Christ) he was the son of one of the richest men in Britain and that held its own kind of clout. He always got invited to social gatherings and had deemed him an acceptable friend for the heir to the English throne. It meant going to social events and being accepted without all the weight of expectation.

           When he arrived at the party, James immediately flagged down a glass of champagne. He took his phone out and took a selfie. There was not point in attending the social event of the season if he wasn’t going to flaunt it on the gram. Besides, he looked rather smart in his dark blue suit with maroon tie. Anyone would be lucky to take him home.

           His eyes landed on Reg (very much of their own volition as James was not actively seeking him out) to find the birthday boy dancing with some pop singer that James vaguely recognized. The Pop singer had her phone out, probably doing an Instagram story of the two of them. James had no idea why the very notion of that had his blood boiling. James went into the fray, shimming his hips to the beat. He danced first with a football player and then some actress. He still hadn’t managed to find his good for nothing best friend, who was no doubt off snogging Remus somewhere and ignoring the party.

           James twirled around and came face to face with Regulus. After an awkward moment of neither of them moving, James reached out and touched his fingertips against Reg’s hips, waiting to see if the Prince would step away. When he didn’t, James grabbed his hips more fully and brought Regulus closer.

           “Happy birthday!” he shouted over the music, leaning down to speak directly into Reg’s ear.

           “You don’t have to pretend like we’re friends,” Regulus said, scowling slightly up at James.

           “Then why are you dancing with me?” James shot back with a grin.

           “Why amI dancing with you?” Regulus countered, sliding out of James’ grip and dancing over to a pair of twins who were more than happy to play sandwich with Regulus.

           James shrugged it off and danced with an Instagram model for a bit. For some reason his traitorous eyes kept seeking Reg out wherever he was. It didn’t matter if he was dancing, eating, drinking, talking with his mum, James kept trying to find him like he was playing hide and seek with Reg. He had to admit Reg looked nice in the grey three-piece suit that matched his eyes. He could see why people were constantly swooning over him and why Regulus’ dating life was constantly splashed all over the tabloids. James could admit he had been following it a bit closely as of late.

           James saw Regulus slip away from the crowd and decided to follow him. He was just curious why Reg was abandoning his own party. He had no other interests beyond that. He dodged behind pillars and weaved in and out of doorways as he followed Reg up to what he knew to be Reg’s rooms. When he slipped inside, Regulus was already halfway done unbuttoning his shirt, his vest and tie already discarded on the vanity chair, and as he turned the smile on his face dropped. “What the fuck are you doing here?” he asked, swearing in his unbelievably posh accent and making James grin just a little.

           “I was curious.”

           “Why are you here?” Reg asked, pulling his shirt closed for propriety.

           “Why are you skipping out on your own party?”

           Regulus glowered at him. “I don’t see why that’s any of your business and if you don’t leave immediately I can and will have you thrown in the dungeons.”

           James couldn’t help throwing his head back and laughing. “The dungeons, Reg, seriously?”

           “Why are you here?” Regulus asked again impatiently, punctuating every word with emphasis.

           “Maybe I just want – “

           “James!”

           “Okay!” James said, putting his hands up in surrender. “I don’t know! I can’t stop looking at you in that damn suit and I saw you sneaking away and – ugh – can’t a bloke just follow another bloke around without having to explain himself?”

           “You do have to explain yourself when you’re in my bedroom when I’m about lose my damn virginity!” Regulus snapped at him, stomping over and grabbing James by the arm. He hauled James towards the door and tried to shove him out of it.

           “Whoa, wait!” James said, putting his hands up and blocking himself in the door. “You’re planning on losing your virginity tonight?”

           “Get out!”Regulus shouted, using his whole body to try and move James but James didn’t budge.

           “To whom?”

           “James Potter, I swear I will –“ The threat died on Reg’s lips as one of the Prewitt twins Reg had been dancing with earlier came into view.

           “Really?” James said over his shoulder to Reg. “That guy?”

           Regulus let out a scream of frustration and tried once again to shove James out of the doorway. James waited until the Prewitt was close enough. He timed it perfectly, waiting until Regulus was off balance, and then spun around, capturing Reg’s lips in a surprised kiss. Regulus let out a noise of shock and quickly pushed James away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

           “Oh hey Reg,” the Prewitt said, giving a small wave. “So James came to his senses after all. I’ll leave you to it then, cheers!”

           “Huh,” James said, cocking his head to the side and watching the Prewitt leave. “He’s good people.”

           “James, I swear I will gouge your eyes out with a spoon!”

           James stepped into the bedroom and kicked the door shut behind him. “What did the twin mean that I’d come to my senses?”

           “How the hell should I know?” Regulus asked, turning his nose up primly. “I’m not in charge of what other people say.”

           James smirked. “But you knew what he meant, didn’t you?”

           Regulus wheeled around and put his hands on his hips. He was clearly pouting but James didn’t know if it was about the kiss or the Prewitt twin leaving. “Are you going to get out or am I going to have to have someone throw you out?”

           “You know, you’re very attractive,” James observed, walking backwards and sitting down on Reg’s bed.

           Regulus huffed indignantly and slid his phone from his pocket. “I press one button and they will toss you out,” he threatened, his thumb hovering over the screen. “And I’ll make sure you’re never allowed back, Sirius or no Sirius.”

           “If you want to explain to whoever comes rushing in why I’m in your bedroom then you be my guest,” James said, waving his hand at Reg. “While you’re in a state of undress.”

           Regulus’ face went bright red as he stomped over to James. “You are the most insufferable wanker I’ve ever met!”

           “And you’re a selfish brat,” James said, raising an eyebrow, daring Regulus to argue. “But I think you like me.”

           Regulus’ jaw dropped. “Who in their right mind would like such an infuriating, pig-headed, absolutely –“ Regulus stopped talking as James reached out and grabbed him by the lapel, tugging his forward until Reg was standing between James’ open legs. Their lips were just a few little centimeters apart, their breath mingling with the taste of champagne, heady and sweet.

           “Is that why you used to follow Sirius and me around constantly?” he teased, sliding his hand along Reg’s collar and then pushing his fingers up into his hair. “Did you have a little crush on me?”

           Regulus rolled his eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

           “I don’t have to,” James quipped back. “You’re flattering me plenty.”

           “I’ve done nothing but insult you since you arrived here,” Regulus reminded him, his gaze dropping down to James’ lips for a moment and then back up.

           “I do enjoy a challenge,” James murmured, guiding Reg’s face forward and crashing their lips together in a heated kiss.

           Regulus shoved James down onto the bed and immediately climbed on top of him, biting at James’ jawline before finding his lips again. There was nothing sweet about the kiss, each of them pushing and tugging at each other, gaining ground and then losing it quickly. But damn if it wasn’t the hottest snogging of James’ life.

           James rolled them over, managing to pin Regulus underneath him. “Are you going to behave? Or am I going to have to take your present back and return it?”

           Regulus’ eyes lit up at the mention of presents. “What is it? What did you get me?” he asked excitedly, patting James down in search of it.

           “I don’t have it on me.” James laughed and pressed a kiss to the corner of Reg’s mouth. “Stay right here and I’ll go get it. You move and I’m taking it back.”

           “Fine,” Reg said, lifting himself up onto his elbows and watching James as he went to the door. James rushed back downstairs and got his present from his driver who had been watching it for him. He hurried upstairs, suddenly very anxious for Reg to see the present.

           When he got back to the room, Regulus was scrolling through his phone absentmindedly but he dropped it the moment James shut the door. “Gimme!” Regulus said, doing grabby hands at James.

           James snorted and placed the carrier down on the bed and then pulled the cloth off the top. Regulus immediately made the highest pitched squeal James had ever heard. He couldn’t help feeling a little bit smug at that. “I take it you like it?”

           Regulus opened the carrier and gently pulled out the kitten from inside, cradling the small black cat by his cheek. “He’s incredible! And so soft!” Regulus melted, petting the tiny cat behind the ears with his index finger.

           James smiled and sat down next to Reg. “I know you always wanted one,” he said, watching Regulus place the kitten on his chest in a ball of fluff. “But your family always had dogs growing up.”

           “You remembered that?” Regulus said in surprise, turning his face towards James. “I never thought you paid any attention to me. You and Sirius certainly ditched me often enough.”

           James lay down next to Regulus and reached out to pet the kitten. “That’s only because you were terribly obnoxious.”

           Regulus backhanded his stomach, making James let out an “oof” of surprise. “And now?” Reg asked, grinning in amusement.

           “And now I wanted to fight everyone on the dance floor that was touching you,” James admitted, reaching out and sliding his fingers through Reg’s hair.

           “You know jealousy is very unbecoming,” Regulus teased, pressing up for another kiss while being careful not to disturb the kitten. “I’m a very desired individual and you’re just going to have to accept that if we’re to be together.”

           “Oh is that so?” James asked, wiggling closer and ducking his head into the hollow of Regulus’ throat, licking at his Adam’s apple before sucking a mark there. Regulus gasped against him and threaded his fingers through James’ hair. “Then I’ll just have to make sure everyone knows you’re mine.”

           “You spiteful, arrogant – “

           James swallowed up the rest of the insults with more kissing. Regulus whimpered against James’ lips and tugged hard on James’ hair in retaliation, making James groan against his mouth. “Just name the damn cat, you little shit, before I take it away from you and raise it as my own.”

           Regulus stuck his tongue out at James and held the kitten protectively, shielding it from James’ view. “Hmm,” Regulus said, thinking it over. He examined the cat, lifting it up and then letting it settle back down. “Dante.”

           “What?” James said, furrowing his brow. “That’s a dumb name!”

           “Excuse me, no one asked you!” Regulus said defensively. “Besides, it’s my birthday present!”

           “Fine,” James said, conceding this one time. Regulus looked adorable and James very much wanted to cuddle him all night. But he remembered Reg had plans for the evening. “Are you still looking to lose your virginity tonight?”

           “Not anymore!” Regulus said, dropping his jaw as if scandalized. “Not in front of our son, you pervert!”

           “Our son, huh?” James asked, biting his bottom lip to keep from laughing at Reg’s slip up.

           “Well, I mean…” Regulus blushed a deep crimson color. “You did buy Dante and I’d be willing to share custody with you. If you wanted.”

           James chuckled and kissed Regulus sweetly on the lips. “I don’t know who I’m going to spoil more, you or the cat.”

           “Me I hope,” Regulus said, chasing James’ lips as he pulled away. “You can still spoil Dante but spoil me more.”

           “Brat,” James chided, sliding his tongue into Regulus’ mouth and kissing him breathless.

           “Git.”  

           “Demon.”

           “It’s my birthday,” Regulus whined, letting his lower lip protrude. “Be sweet to me.”

           “Very well,” James said with a long-suffering sigh, kissing the pout off Regulus’ lips. “You win.”

           Regulus hummed happily with a satisfied grin on his face. “I do so love to win.”

           “Good birthday then, sweetheart?” James asked, stroking his finger down Reg’s cheek affectionately.

            Regulus nodded. “The best.”

[afaithy]

Takari Headcanons Part II

So here I come with my next Takari Headcanons. Once again I must remind you that these HC applied mainly into the context of my Universer, but some might be valid for the general series.

Let's get to it then!

🌷 🌷 🌷 🌷 🌷 🌷 🌷

🌷 Takeru is a romantic fool due to his literary influences. He's the one who comes with the best date, proposal, confession...ideas, but in real life he's a little cynic about love due to the bad reference/ trauma he got from his parents' breakup. Due to this, he has never taken the idea of "dating" seriously, which is why he can easily go out on dates with girls he has no interests with. With Hikari the situation is different, since he denial originally mistakes his infatuation with Hikari as Pure Friendship interest.

🌷 Hikari is the first one to realize she has feelings for Takeru very early in their friendship. At first she choses to stay quiet believing that the feelings are onesided, but as time passes she figures that it is actually mutual and that Takeru's cynicism is to blame for his apparent denial of it. Instead of pushing the matter and confessing straight away, she teases him and often does things to ruffle his feelings in hopes that he will, once for all, fall into elightenment of his own feelings. The things she often does is commenting on his misadventures with random girls or some friendly flirting with Daisuke (sorry dude) or Shun who supports the cause of making Takeru aware of his feelings.

🌷 Infact, Taichi is the first one to suspect that Hikari has a thing for a boy (Brother's instinct!), but he originally thought that Hikari was crushing on Yamato, it is not until later that he figures that Takeru might be an candidate. Eventually he dismisses the whole thing. Ironically, he's the last one to find out that Hikari and Takeru were in a relationship

🌷 Takeru finally comes to terms with his feelings thanks to a pep talk from Taichi. Ironically, the pep talk came after Taichi was venting over his soccer team members (yeah he still plays in college) were trying to hit on his little sister.

🌷 Hikari seems to be magnet for soccer players lol

🌷Taichi actually approves of the relationship, but he likes to tease Takeru making him think that he will kill him if he does anything improper to his sister. Yamato is delighted with the news.

🌷 Mimi (and by default Koushiro) is the first to find out about the relationship after she casually caught them snogging during one of their secret dates. She eventually uses this to blackmail them to stay quiet about her own love life.

🍀 In my verse, Hikari's birthday falls on November 11th. I chose this date because based on months and personalities, November children are psychic, empathic and positive, but easily overwhelemed by the sensitivity which often causes them emotional burden. 11th, because using numerology, people born on the 11th day are usually very aware of their surroundings, intuitive and supportive; but they are also very secretive. This seem to suit her well

🍀 Takeru's birth day is on December 13th. December childre are loyal, generous, pretty boys and girls that are easily loved and admired, very active, outspoken and influential. Then can be very impatient but are always willing to give and help. People born on the 13th day are very hardworking, creative and optimistic.

🍀 Takeru introduces Hikari into the literature world and turns her into an avid reader. They reach a point that they use a secret code consisting of fictional language words, author names and quotes to pass messages between each other. No one understands them and wonder why they can't simply flirt like normal people.

🍀 At last year of college, Takeru receives a scholarship to take postgraduate studies in England (a writer's dream lol), so he has to go overseas. Hikari often goes to visit during vacations.

🍀 Takeru is pride boyfriend who always talks about his grilfriend, so the whole literature department already knows about Hikari before she is even introduced to them. She has earned the "MUse" nickname between them

🍀 Takeru proposes during "by accident" at some point during this time. He had been jugling with the idea for a while and during a field trip to Ireland he ends up buying the engagement ring in a celtic store. He gets a Claddagh ring with Topaz (Hikari's birthstone) and Turquoise (Takeru's birthstone) out of impulse, without even realizing what he had done

🍀 Taichi gave him a call and long pep, big brother talk after Hikari dropped the news. Takeru was absolutely terrified. Eventually Taichi is pulled off the phone by Sora, since everyone was impatient to give the congratulations

🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀 This is it for the time being. Don't worry I still have lots of HC if you guys are interested lol ❤ but writing them all down in one single post would sure make a long post. So for now....

TO BE CONTINUED

If you enjoyed this and wanted to share more HC, we have a discord server! Just DM and we can talk about it!!

[dinglemingle]

Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy)

Chapter 5 

TW: Drug use + dealing TW: Vomit TW: Violence

This chapter contains explicit language.

Saturday mornings were not the time to be standing outside McDonald's whilst your dodgy mate dealed, but here Aaron was, freezing his arse off for a couple of quid.

To be honest, he'd hardly class Ross Barton as a mate, he'd only know him a few weeks, but he needed the money and Ross was more than happy to cut him in if he helped. A life of crime wasn't what Aaron had in store, but for the time being, it gave him enough money to not have to rely on his mum.

Relying on Chas was something you couldn't do, she'd make a promise then never see it through, or swear she only needed a fiver but somehow leave with twenty, which was of course never repaid. He did love his mum, and she tried her best, but her overbearing nature and mother knows best attitude could be a lot to handle sometimes.

He used to think he was the luckiest kid, to have Chas and Paddy, but by the time he'd hit 15 he realised how patronising they both were. Paddy had gotten worse in recent years, trying to manipulate him and overacting when he put the smallest foot out of line. Aaron knew he was just being protective, it didn't stop him from getting frustrated every time Paddy tried to control his life.

He still viewed Paddy as a father figure, still idolised him, he didn't think that would ever change, despite everything. Paddy had taken him in and loved him as his own, even now that Leo was here, he still made time. Add to that the fact that Paddy was the only one he'd spoken to about being gay

Aaron hadn't fully admitted it, not quite comfortable enough yet. He managed to confess his attraction to lads however and his curiosity. Paddy had been great, promised not to tell anyone and that he still loved him. Aaron didn't care, even telling one person had been too much, so they'd dropped the subject and never spoke of it again. Aaron preferred it that way, he didn't want all the attention that came with coming out or being the only gay in the village, still, he always noticed Paddy's watchful eye when he so much as looked at another boy

In a way, Paddy had helped him feel more comfortable, so he felt like he owed the man, couldn't write him off, no matter how pushy he could be. It was sort of an impossible situation, one he often kept at the back of his mind.

The thought however was interpreted when Ross emerged from the corner, cash in hand, grin up to his ears.

"There you are" he stuffed £40 into Aaron's hand and patted his shoulder

"Right so-" Aaron began, the ringing of Ross's Nokia cut him off

Ross retrieved the phone from his coat and gave Aaron the signal to wait

"Alright mate" Ross started

Aaron felt a bit useless, just stood there

"Outside Maccies mate, be there in a bit yeah" Ross continued, talking to the unknown source

He nodded a bit before finishing the call

"Right sound" he put the phone away and turned to Aaron

"Come on, we're picking up then dropping off" He spun back around and made his way towards the bus station, Aaron closely following behind

Bus journeys were usually calming for Aaron, not this one though, as Ross painfully made small talk, going on about which girls had the nicest tits and had Aaron got any recently? Of course, he had replied with "Yes Ross, in fact, it was your younger brother in a dingy wood."

The pick up had somehow been worse, a bunch of lads Aaron only knew from their bad reputations, who had somehow made friends with Ross in the five minutes he'd been in Yorkshire

Aaron didn't speak, just stood waiting for Ross to hurry up. He wasn't scared of the lads, but the knowledge that they'd batter him if they knew who he was made him feel uneasy

After what felt like 10 years Ross appeared from the kitchen, a shed load of drugs stashed in his coat

Soon they were back on the bus, this journey being silent, thank god, and at Tanya Holden's house

She opened the door with that sour-faced look that was glued to her like a bad stain. Her mega-rich parents were away for the weekend,so the beer bottles and bodies lying around weren't much of a surprise

"Ah babe why didn't you invite me" Ross signalled to the clear remnants of a party whilst trying to hug Tanya

"Piss off" was her response, as he pushed him away

Ross laughed and held his hands up, Aaron was still in the doorway, hating being there, feeling all the more awkward as Tanya had of course been one of the girls Ross deemed "shaggable" on the bus

She noticed his presence

"This one don't speak?" She questioned, reaching for her purse

Aaron's cheeks flushed

"Oh he's shy" Ross approached, pinching his pink cheeks

Aaron batted his hands away, rolling his eyes

Ross laughed again "soft lad"

Tanya had pulled out some money and was waving it in Ross' face

"The stuff?" she questioned

Ross didn't hesitate before producing a few bags

Coke, Aaron thought, to be honest, he didn't know, or maybe he just didn't care

Sometime between leaving Tanya's and getting the bus back to town, Ross had mentioned a party that night, he'd only been invited because he had drugs, and he thought Aaron might be up for it

Up for it wasn't how Aaron felt at all, but he appreciated the offer, and he'd grown tired of spending his Saturday's third-wheeling with Vic and Adam, so at half-past 8, he was in the back of a Vauxhall Corsa with Ross, on the way to god knows where, pockets stuffed with Ket

Midnight was fast approaching and Aaron was positively off his face. He hadn't gotten this high in a long time, preferring the odd joint over a full-on bender.

There was a time this would be his usual weekend activity, but he'd moved on from that crowd and away from nights spent in A&N with sick down his shirt.

At age 15 he'd had his stomach pumped 4 times and was already dealing and nicking anything he could find, an attempt to make a few quid quid so he could go and buy more drugs.

The life of crime had soon caught up with him, when he'd been battered by the McFarlanes for a deal gone wrong. It was after this that he packed it all in.

Yet here he was again, falling back into bad habits, stumbling through a crowd of drunk teenagers and a couple of blokes who looked way to old to be knocking back dark fruits with 16 year olds.

Before long he'd found himself in the bathroom of whoever the fucks house this was. Alone with his thoughts his mind began racing, Aaron couldn't decide if it was because of the substances or the blonde boy he hadn't seen in over two weeks.

Well, that was a lie, of course, it was, Aaron couldn't escape seeing Robert, he was constantly there, sauntering through the halls, or snogging Chrissie in the common room

But Aaron hadn't actually seen Robert, not properly. He hadn't seen him up at the farm, getting chastised by Jack, or on a night out, sat dazed in the toilets, rambling about bullshit whilst he scrolled through his phone.

He hadn't seen the cocky glint in his eye or the smug smirk. And it was bothering him

Ever since that day at the unused classroom it was like a switch had gone off in Robert. There were no snarky comments or digs coming Aaron's way anymore. He didn't want to get carried away but he could've sworn Robert was avoiding him.

Maybe he'd touched a nerve,he didn't know, and quite frankly he didn't care what the reason was,he was just pissed off.

Sure he didn't like Robert telling him to fuck off or taking the piss out of his cheap trainers, but this was awful

This, god this was so much worse.

The constant impenetrable silence, the complete of avoidance of each other everywhere they went,it was killing him. Aaron craved Roberts attention, he craved the rush of Robert calling his name or the way they'd bicker in the canteen.

Aaron hadn't realised just how much he relied on Robert to feel a buzz. Sure a part of him hated arguing with the prick,but these last few weeks he'd realised he absolutely loved it as well

At that moment, as he collapsed into an empty bathtub, ribs aching and vision blurred from aggressive strobe lights, Aaron realised he'd rather hate Robert for the rest of his life then never have anything with him at all

As if by some sick force of nature Robert Sugden himself stumbled into the bathroom,fly already down, beelining for the toilet before he wet himself and spoiled his new Ralph Lauren jeans

Aaron's eyes looked as the tall hazy blonde raced passed him and for a split second believed Robert himself was a god and that the heavens must be real

Others would say it was the ridiculously large number mushrooms he'd consumed earlier that evening

"What the fuck" Aaron's dreams of god's and angel's were disturbed by a visibly startled Robert,who was staring at him, jeans at the knees and white briefs protecting his modesty

Aaron would be lying if he said he didn't look, after all, he had to confirm if the rumours were true

"Fuck off Dingle!" Shit. There it was, just like that Aaron was sober, his eyes wide open as he realised that Robert really was there, in front of him and he desperately clambered out of the bath and through the door,which expectantly closed with a loud bang and a murmur of "for fucks sake" and "can't take a piss in peace"

Once back downstairs, though not really remembering how he'd got there, Aaron had headed straight for the kitchen for another drink, he didn't like this sudden sobriety, in a strange sort of way it left him feeling naked, vulnerable, unable to hide behind the mask of a drunk persona.

He'd downed a Budweiser,two dark fruits and done 4 vodka shots when he next saw Robert. The blonde was making his way into the living room from the garden, sweat glistening his forehead and quite clearly fucked out of his mind.

He stumbled in through the doors, leaving mud stains on a perfectly beige carpet, though at this point everyone was far too pissed to care and in true Robert fashion had gone flying into Brandon Keene, Hotten's biggest wanker, spilling his Stella (typical) all over his definitely underage girlfriend

Without a moment to spare, Robert was flying through a crowd of people and crash landing onto the couch, nose gushing with blood after being punched right in the face

Suddenly a crowd of drunken teens had formed and all began chanting fight! fight! fight!

Aaron rolled his eyes as Robert charged at Brandon, wrestling him to the floor

Aaron didn't even know why Brandon was there, he'd left college two years earlier and was known for being a nasty gobshite. Last Aaron heard he'd swanned off to Liverpool with a new modelling job. Obviously not

Within mere minutes a couple of punches had been thrown and the sweaty bodies around him had almost duplicated, Aaron decided it was too much hassle and too much noise and made the motion to leave.

Robert had other ideas,he'd looked up from being smacked by the twat on top of him and locked eyes with Aaron right as he decided to go.

Aaron couldn't quite pinpoint what it was in Robert's eyes. Fear? Anguish? Desperation? Whatever it was it saw Aaron pulling off Brandon with all of his might, and throwing him as far into the crowd as humanly possible

When he turned round Robert was already stood smugly in the centre of the living room like he hadn't just been beaten to a pulp

That's when the tidal wave of drugs, alcohol and the way Roberts nose had been rearranged from the rest of his face came over him and he threw up everywhere

The carpet was a mix of sweat, blood and tears quite literally,and now Aaron's sick

He'd never been bothered by blood and gore but the heat and the intensity of everything got that better of him and it was too late to do anything

He turned to see Robert stood there with his sick all over his shirt and shoes

Aaron felt like he'd be sick again. The music became all blurry and he vaguely caught snippets of the abuse Robert hurled his way

His fists were sweaty and his head was spinning he felt like he was losing control. The weight of the room collapsed on his shoulders as he saw the camera flashes and heard the sniggers. The air in his lungs vanished as he desperately pushed through the crowd, never having been so mortified on his life.

He'd escaped with Roberts voice echoing "you fucking freak" over and over and over again as he collapsed halfway down the street, hot tears brutally spilling from his red eyes. The night air hit him violently,he'd left his jacket somewhere in there

But he couldn't go back. No

He'd just thrown up on Robert. Fucking Robert. In Front of half of his college

Aaron physically felt his stomach churn,but not because he was going to be sick, but because he'd never felt so ashamed,so stupid, in that moment he wanted to disappear.

So he got up and ran through the streets,crying, humiliated,the cold air shaking him, and he didn't stop til he got to some random kebab shop in town, where he'd sat on the pavement,with no jacket,no money,only his dead phone and a trackie pocket full of shitty receipts for two hours before a stranger let him use their phone

And when at 1:27 am he'd buried himself in the passenger seat of his uncle Cain's car, no questions asked,he declared officially that he fucking hated Robert Sugden,but more importantly,

he hated himself.

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

Aaron spent the weekend at Cain's, much to Chas' dismay but he really didn't care, he felt awful and he knew his mum would only pry

He'd charged his phone, but had avoided it all weekend for fear of seeing what people had said

It was at 1:44 am on Monday when he'd finally plucked up the courage to turn his phone on when he saw a text from a familiar yet distant number

Sorry,R

[mfingenius]

Hello! I love your page! I was just wondering if you could maybe do something about Harry and Draco being auror partners and Harry gets badly injured? Thank you!!!!

“You’re kidding,” Harry says skeptically.

Draco glances at him warily for a moment, before turning back to the muggle brothel they’re supposed to be keeping an eye on; they think it’s a cover for a potions dealing ring that they’ve been chasing for a few months, and they’re so close to solving the case that Harry already feels the rush of magic at his fingertips.

“Of course not, Potter,” Draco says. His cheeks are the slightest bit flushed. “I hardly think that’s a common experience.”

“You hardly-” Harry squints at him. “Every Auror has done it, Draco! It’s a – a rite of passage! What else did you do when we were just out of training and you were sent on the boring stakeouts where nothing happened?”  

“My job.” He says pointedly.

Harry huffs.

“Wait,” Draco says, turning back to him. “You mean you and-” he looks horrified. “Griffiths?”

Harry grins, abashed. Adam Griffiths had only been his partner for a few cases, before him and Draco had been partnered up; it had been complicated, at first. Harry still hated Draco then, and the git hadn’t made it any easier. He’d walked into their shared office with his long eyelashes and mouthwatering arse, and Harry had thought that maybe he could ignore everything else about him. Until the git had opened his mouth.

They’d spent the first three months of their partnership arguing about every little detail, fighting more often than working on the cases they got. That had all changed when they’d been tasked with finding the remaining death eaters. They had had to work together for three days straight – practically living together in their office – and in that time, Harry had learned more things about Draco than he ever thought he would.

After solving the case, they’d gone out for drinks, and had somehow ended up snogging in the back of the bar.

Working together hadn’t been very hard after that.  

In fact, they’d sunk into an easy partnership where it became evident that Robards had known what he was doing when he’d paired them together; they completed each other perfectly, work-wise.  

Draco was much more cautious than Harry was, and often stopped him from doing reckless things, helped him stay out of his own head after someone died and Harry blamed himself for not being able to save them. In return, Harry seemed to… soothe Draco. Harry had never noticed before, but Draco is a ball of pent-up nervous energy; his mind works too quickly and in ways Harry can’t quite understand – he truly doesn’t get how Draco gets from one point to another, doesn’t see any sort of logic in it – and it tends to lead to too much tension, anxiety.  

Harry has developed what he calls the Malfoy-Anxiety scale. First, is bouncing leg. Second, biting knuckles, third is mouthing his thoughts without actually saying anything out loud, four is chewing at his lower lip, and five is scratching at his forearms.

If they get to number five, Harry knows to remove Draco from the situation entirely, because it means he’s about to get unbearable and most people can’t handle him in that state; the last time Harry ignored the scale, one of the Junior Aurors ended up in tears – to be fair, he had made a very stupid mistake that had lead to their witness being killed.

Harry doesn’t quite have that problem; he’s learned how to calm Draco down before that happens.  

“He was hot,” Harry shrugs. “And we were bored.”

“But - but-” Draco evidently doesn’t know what to say. His face is redder now, and Harry grins, making Draco throw him a glare. “This is not polite conversation, Potter.”

“Oh?” Harry raises his eyebrows. “I thought we’d passed polite conversation after my tongue was in your mouth.”

Draco turns redder and pinches Harry’s thigh, making him yelp. “Don’t be crass.”

They don’t mention this, at least usually. After that first time, it’s become a sort of tradition. They always end up at Harry’s place, snogging fervently on the sofa, Draco’s hands in Harry’s hair, and Harry’s hands on Draco’s arse. They’ve never gone further.

The first few dozen times, Harry had tried to convince himself that it was just because they were both single and their job was stressful; solving a case is always a major high, so it makes sense that they’d want to celebrate, right?

That excuse had quickly gone out the window when he’d walked in on Draco brewing a potion they needed for a case. He’d been wearing the biggest pair of glasses that Harry has, to this date, ever seen, and they made his eyes look absolutely huge, his irises lighter. Harry had wanted to wrap him in his arms and keep him safe for the rest of their lives.

Still, Harry’s an expert at ignoring his feelings; he’s, since then, simply shoved his feelings for Draco to the back of his mind and ignored them, convincing himself that he’s happy with snogging him after cases.  

His feelings will go away.  

Probably.  

Possibly.  

Probably not, but Harry doesn’t know what else to do.

It doesn’t help that Hermione keeps trying to set them up, as if Harry doesn’t have enough trouble with this as it is. She won’t stop talking about how much of a beautiful couple they would make, how they’d be perfect for each other – after getting transferred, of course, because you can’t date your Auror partner, Harry - as if Harry doesn’t already think about it without her saying it.

“I’m not crass,” He says, waving it away. “And anyways, Robards isn’t here. He’s not going to find out. In fact…”  

He trails off, raising an eyebrow and gesturing towards his lap.  

Draco frowns. “What?”

“Merlin, you’re clueless,” Harry breathes, rolling his eyes. “I’m asking you to come over here, sit on my lap, and let me song you.”

“Potter,” Draco hisses, cheeks immedately turning scarlet.

“What is it, love?” Harry asks, smiling. “Too forward?”

“Yes.” Draco snaps. He shifts lightly, rolls his eyes, and then crosses his arms, huffing angrily. Harry observes all of this with a very amused look, and, finally, Draco purses his lips and glares at him. “If we miss something-”

“I’ll take full responsibility for it, love,” He says. Draco doesn’t move, and Harry raises an eyebrow. “Scared, Malfoy?”

“In your dreams, Potter.” Draco says, and moves carefully to straddle Harry’s lap. He’s still red – he always is, when they’re about to do this – and he wraps his arms around Harry’s neck hesitantly.  

Harry smiles, encouraging. He places his hands on Draco’s hips to pull him closer and makes the first move, pressing his lips softly against the blonde’s. The kiss is immediately returned, and it’s not long before Harry’s kissing Draco’s jaw and his neck, loving the low, shy moans.

He turns his head to kiss the other side of Draco’s neck, and catches sight of Allison Jones, the leader of the Potions ring, walking into the brothel.

“Fuck,” he groans, when Draco pulls at his hair and trails soft kisses down his temple and the side of his face. “We need to – stop, we have to stop.”

“Why?” Draco asks, and he sounds so indignant it’s adorable. Harry – briefly – considers ignoring Jones just to keep doing this. It’s very tempting, and also incredibly unprofessional.

He rests his forehead against Draco’s shoulder and presses soft kisses to his collarbone.

“Jones just went into the brothel.”

“Jones?” Draco asks, frowning. Then, “Allison Jones? The leader of our potions ring?”

“Yes.” Harry says.

“Fuck, what are we still doing here, come on,” Draco says. He opens the door and scrambles off Harry’s lap – very nearly kneeing him in the stomach – and gets his wand ready. Harry climbs out after him, casting a notice-me-not charm over the both of them.

“Ready?” He asks.

Draco nods, and Harry pulls him into a deep kiss before they go in.

*

It happens quickly. Draco’s defensive spells are flawless, as usual, but he makes a mistake; half of his mind is in what he’s doing, the other half is wondering what that kiss outside meant. Him and Harry have been snogging for almost a year now, but they’ve never talked about what it is they are. Draco’s been secretly in love with Harry since the first time they snogged. Otherwise, he wouldn’t do it.

He’s being terribly improper; he knows better than to snog people he’s not dating, specially if they’re Harry Potter. He’ll end up breaking his own heart, and he’ll have no one to blame but himself.

It’s what he keeps repeating to himself when a spell shatters his shield, another, blue-lighted one hitting Harry’s back on the next second.  

Panic seizes him.

*

When Harry wakes, everything hurts. There’s a steady beep from an active pulse-tracking spell, the one in all the St. Mungo’s rooms, letting him know exactly where he is. He sighs lightly without opening his eyes. Fuck, what happened?

“Harry?” Draco’s voice is anxious and alarmingly unsteady. Harry opens his eyes, immediately catching sight of Draco. He looks terrible. His eyes are red-rimmed and his nose is red. His clothes are rumpled and there’s a thin blanket on the chair he’s sitting on, leading Harry to believe that he’s been sleeping here.

“Hey,” He says. “Are you alright?”

Draco looks at him disbelievingly. “Am I alright? I thought I’d - I thought you’d - fuck. Are you alright? I was too late, I couldn’t - you were bleeding, and I couldn’t - we’ve arrested Jones, it’s over, but I couldn’t be there, I needed to be here in case you woke up, and you’re up, are you alright?”

He’s never seen Draco quite this anxious. He’s not even scratching at his forearms anymore, but he looks more terrified than Harry’s ever seen him.

“I’m alright,” he says. He pushes himself up and grimaces, and Draco immediately frowns disapprovingly, calling for a nurse.  

Harry bears the checkup silently just so Draco can have some peace of mind; the second the nurse assures him that Harry will live – it was a variation of the Diffindo charm, and though it caused Harry to bleed heavily, he’ll be alright – Draco seems to be able to exhale.

“I’m alright.” Harry repeats, because Draco’s pacing. “It’s alright.”

“It’s not.” Draco snaps. “I - I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Harry tells him. “These things happen.”

“They shouldn’t.”

“Come here.” Draco doesn’t move, and Harry rolls his eyes. “Come here.”

Draco walks towards him hastily, as though he might somehow harm Harry just by being around him.

“It’s alright,” Harry tells him. “I’m alright. I’ll be fine. The healer said so, didn’t she?”

Draco nods stiffly, and then his shoulders slump and his body seems to go lax; he looks exhausted.

“I was terrified,” he whispers.

Harry swallows.  

“I - I can’t keep snogging you.” He says. It’s not what Harry expects.

He swallows as his heart begins to beat faster. This is going to be it, then. “Oh?”

“I can’t.” Draco repeats, in a whisper. “I - I care too much, and I know it’s just fun for you and it’s not your fault. I didn’t realize what it – what it meant for me, and-”

“What does it mean for you?” Harry’s heart speeds up for another reason now. Could it be? Could Draco return his feelings.  

Draco looks pained, and he rubs at his eyes. “Forget it. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. I’ll – I - I’m sorry Harry, I’m so, so sorry-”

“Draco,” Harry says firmly. Draco doesn’t listen, muttering apologies under his breath and scratching aggressively at his forearms. “Draco. Love.”

That seems to get his attention.

“You don’t call me that unless we’re about to snog.” He whispers.

Harry swallows. “I’m sorry, too. I should’ve said something earlier. I – it’s not fun for me. It’s not just fun for me. I want more. I want you. I want to date you, for real, not just snog. I want to take you on dates, and watch films with you.”

Draco seems to be speechless.

“I’ve wanted it for a long time now,” Harry admits. “And - if you want it, too-”

“Of course I want it!” Draco bursts. His cheeks go red, and then he speaks lower. “I - I’d really like that, Harry.”

Harry smiles. “I’m glad to hear that.”

He pushes himself up to pull Draco in for a kiss, and then immediately clenches his jaw as pain burns its way through his shoulder.

“When I’m better, though?” He grimaces.

Draco laughs breathlessly. “Alright. When you’re better.”

So they sit there, hands joined tightly together.

————————–

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Commissions

[lifeinahole27]

CS ff: “Walking the Tightrope” (Chapter 5/10) (au)

Summary: Killian’s daily routines are a matter of habit. When he wakes up late one morning, his routines all change for the better. Emma doesn’t care about routines, but she does care about Killian, no matter how reluctant she is to admit it to herself.

Rating: E (much later in the story)

Content Warnings: Maybe some strong language.

A Special Thank You: My continued gratitude to my lovely friends, @captainstudmuffin and @phiralovesloki. And a heap of love to @captainswanbigbang for putting this together and helping me accomplish this.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | 

Find it on Ao3 & FFN!

-x-

Chapter 5: Of Pirates and Settling In

October 31: Thursday

The night before Halloween, Killian is thankful for his prompt attention in setting out his Halloween costume a week ago since he doesn’t get home until after dinner time. Not that he’s going to complain, of course, since he had a damn good reason to be home at that hour after snogging Emma Swan in the middle of the street for way longer than either of them anticipated. 

He wonders if they’d still be there if Granny hadn’t interrupted them. 

Just thinking about it again sets his heart racing. After Emma asked him to be patient, Killian genuinely didn’t know if they would ever develop past friendly acquaintances. But after tonight, the way her hands had framed his face as she leaned up to kiss him before going inside, he’s pretty sure they’re well beyond that. He figured he would be lucky to find himself amongst the ranks of her friends and allies, but now there’s a genuine chance that this could turn into something more. 

Kissing her is an experience he can’t compare. Not only does she affect the way his heart beats but he would let her steal the air right from his lungs if that’s what she wanted. It’s probably dangerous to be this enamored with her already. 

Shaking his head, Killian pushes through his nightly routines, enjoying the ghost sensation of Emma’s lips on his.

At the end of the night, he doesn’t even notice that he didn’t follow his steps precisely or in the correct order, only that he completed what he had to before he climbs into bed anticipating the next day.

On Halloween, he wakes up early enough to fully prepare. He’d been told shortly after arriving that Halloween in this small town was a much-celebrated affair, and it just so happens that it is one of his favorite holidays to really get into. So he takes his time sliding on each part of the costume he’s had for years. 

Just about the only good thing that’s come out of losing his hand is the ability to authentically pull off a Captain Hook costume. He’s so adept at putting on the layers that he still has plenty of time to grab his coffee and secure his bag as he strolls out the door. 

It’s cold out, cold enough that he wishes again for a hat and a glove, and certainly not to have half of his chest exposed with the way the shirt buttons up. He hastens to his meeting spot with Emma, already looking forward to her reaction and to see what she’s wearing as her own costume. When he’d asked her about it last night, she’d smiled unassumingly and told him he’d have to wait and see. 

He’s more than a little surprised when he gets closer to the corner to find it already occupied. He knows it’s Emma, of course, but he’s so used to her hair being down and free-flowing that it takes him a couple seconds to absorb the fact that it’s carefully pulled back in a bun and pinned away from her face.

She turns when he gets closer, and his steps stumble just the slightest bit which causes her to smirk. She’s wearing glasses, which he’s never seen before, and his eyes just glance across the rest of her to take in the details. Her black leather jacket is on again, but instead of the usual jeans, she’s wearing a pair of dark grey dress trousers. On top, she’s wearing a button-up shirt and tie that look so close to something he owns that he wonders for a second if she snuck in and raided his closet. It’s all topped off with a waistcoat that matches the bottoms, but dips low and fastens beneath her bust. 

Her eyes must focus on him because her jaw is dropping and her eyes pop open wide beneath her spectacles, and they more than likely have matching looks on their faces. 

“Wow,” she says slowly, looking him up and down a few times. “You were not joking when you said you go all out.”

He spreads his arms wide so she can see the whole thing uninterrupted, spinning once when he finally gets all the way to the corner. She inches closer, tucking a book he didn’t notice before under her arm so she can reach out and grab the much older fashioned hook he uses with the costume. It’s a bit of a pain in the sense that he doesn’t have the functionality of his usual hook, but this fits the costume better and he loves the authentic feel of it. 

She lifts the apparatus to inspect it, running her fingers along the smooth metal. 

“Captain Hook? Really? Where’s the perm? The waxed moustache?”

“Left them back in England,” he tells her, shifting forward to move closer to her. 

“I like the eyeliner,” she confesses, her other hand sliding along the lapel of the greatcoat that he had specially made for this costume. 

“Our light is about to change,” he murmurs as she steps even closer still. He’s certainly not going to complain about these developments, even if it’s throwing their whole morning off by a few minutes. 

“Yeah, I know.” Despite those words, she still leans up and kisses him, lingering over the one simple press of her lips until just before the safety bell starts dinging to let them know the protected cross will end soon. 

She moves fluidly, then, using her grip on his hook to guide him across the street. When they get to Granny’s they pause again. 

“I’ll be working late tonight,” she tells him. “Text me to keep me entertained?”

“Hordes of rival pirates couldn’t stop me, love.” He bends to kiss her cheek softly, enjoying the noise she makes in approval before he steps away again. “Have a good day, Swan.”

“Thanks. You too, Captain!”

She’s already moving up the pathway before he remembers to ask, confused at the bookish look she’s wearing. “By the way, who are you supposed to be?” he asks from the entrance to the patio. 

Just as she reaches the door, she turns and pulls the book from beneath her arm, flipping it open and adjusting her glasses on her face. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m you,” she responds, fixing him with a look he knows he gives her when he’s flirting. His heart beats double-time even as he laughs. If he’s not careful, he’ll fall in love with her before they even manage to go on a date. 

Thankfully, she takes the opportunity while he’s laughing to lift the book in farewell, entering the diner and leaving him still chuckling as he moves along towards his office. 

The whole company has dressed for the spirit of the day; Robin is dressed in full Robin Hood regalia and Will as his second-hand man. They’ve been friends for so long and the joke’s been made so many times that they just go with it now. Even Anna is playing along and wearing a traditional Norwegian dress that he knows for a fact was passed down from her ancestors because she’s told him three times now. 

For the most part, however, no one seems to be doing their work. If this was a Friday, he’s willing to bet that most people would be out of the office at noon. Instead, since they’re mingling and not attempting to be productive, he’s the only one in his office trying to get something done. He gives up before lunch time, packing up Henry’s book and all his notes and heading to Granny’s, but even there the festivities seem to be lingering and he can’t seem to concentrate on anything he’s reading.

Instead, after he’s finished his early lunch, he collects the darts from the board and starts throwing, thinking back to that night out with Emma. As if thinking her name summons her, the door to the diner opens and shuts and he turns to see her scanning the restaurant before heading straight for him.

“Everything all right, Swan? Or have you come to get your second caffeine fix?”

“Something like that,” she says, taking a moment to continue. He lines up his next throw but it ends up going far off course with what she says next. “Actually, I’m here to ask you out. To dinner, or something.” The clack of the dart hitting the wall goes unnoticed as he turns slowly to look at her.

“Shouldn’t I be the one to ask you out?”

“Should’ve known you’d try to be old-fashioned about it. But we’d both be three hundred before you managed to do it. You had the perfect opening last night!” 

The whole diner seems to have paused in their activities to watch the progression of their conversation. It’s not like he can blame them, since it’s definitely not anything he was expecting to be dealt today, and they all get front-row seats to the show. Even Granny is staring at them, only turning and going back about her business with a knowing smile on her face when she notices him look at her. 

“I was trying to follow your lead,” he says incredulously, throwing his hand and hook into the air. When Emma continues to just stare at him, he drops his arms and moves closer. “I’ll happily accept on one condition: you let me plan the evening.”

“I know how to plan a date!”

“You know how to chase traffic violators and blow into my workspaces like a whirlwind. I know how to plan an evening out.”

Her expression says she knows he’s not wrong, and she bobs her head in acquiesce. 

“Well, I don’t pillage and plunder on the first date, just so you know.”

He chuckles at that, moving closer as his scoundrel side peeks out again. He regards her from beneath hooded eyes for a second. “That’s because you haven’t been out with me yet,” he says plainly, breaking the moment only a bit with a smug smile when he sees the look in her eyes. 

“Saturday,” she says after she snorts and schools her facial expressions again. “Save it for Saturday.”

“I’ll try my solid best, love.”

She rolls her eyes, but she’s laughing under her breath as she does. She turns, looking like she’s about to head to the counter but instead she moves back and kisses him solidly again. 

“See you tomorrow morning,” she tells him as she backs away.

He watches as she approaches the counter, to Granny and the softly amused look on her face. “On the house, Emma,” she tells her as she hands over a bag of food that he doesn’t think Emma even had the chance to order yet. 

She says her thanks and moves back towards the exit, turning once when she gets to the door. He’s still watching her, fiddling with one of the darts and a star-struck look on his face. He lifts his hook in a parting gesture, pleased to see her returning grin come out full force. 

The second she’s out the door, everyone goes back to exactly what they were doing. Normal conversations resume, and the sounds of cutlery hitting plates echoes around the small place once more. Even the kitchen seems to make noise again, with the cooks calling out orders and the life returning to the whole restaurant. If Killian was a betting man, he’d guess that the whole town will know of their impending date by the end of the hour. 

He keeps his word and texts her later in the day, even sending her pictures of the other employees that dressed up. In return, she sends the picture she gets later of Granny and Ruby dressed up as they get ready for trick-or-treating. Granny’s usual outfit is just topped with wolfy ears and a tail, and a frilly white apron with Ruby dressed as Little Red Riding Hood. 

In the early evening as he’s just trying to pack up and head home, Will appears in his door. 

“Did you know your girlfriend dressed up as you for Halloween?”

He almost corrects Will that Emma isn’t his girlfriend, but now that might very well be a lie. They do have a date planned and she has kissed him multiple times now, so while the words are on the tip of his tongue, he just gives a long-suffering sigh as he continues to tidy his office, diligently shutting down his computer as he responds.

“I’m aware, yes.” 

“She steal the clothes out of your closet for that?”

“Amazingly, no. She hasn’t even been to my flat yet.”

Will makes a noise at that, but he looks impressed. The fact that he doesn’t push or tease any further speaks volumes as to how fast the news has already traveled. “You comin’ out for a drink tonight?”

“Aye,” Killian responds, tucking the last of his notes into his bag and looping it over his shoulder. “Might as well. But only the one!” They do have to be at work tomorrow, and he doesn’t plan on looking exhausted out of his mind when he shows up to his meeting in the afternoon. 

He’s glad he agreed after he walks into the bar. Despite it being a Thursday, the place is packed. Among the throngs, he’s still easily able to pick out Emma, leaning across the bar so Jefferson can hear what she’s saying. The other man, doing way too good of a job dressed as the Mad Hatter, nods and hands her a bottle of water before she turns and starts heading back towards where he’s still standing. 

As soon as she spots him, she grins and yanks him in the direction of the door. 

Outside, with the noise dampened by the structure of the building, he can hear her when she greets him.

“Hello, love. Off shift yet?”

“No, but almost. I just had to warn Jefferson that a group of teenagers was overheard bragging at the diner about how real their fake IDs looked. Hey, you’re Captain Hook right now. Think you can keep an eye out for some Lost Boys and scare them off if you see them?”

“Careful, Swan. I may just try to recruit them to join my merry band of pirates so we can finally defeat that blasted Peter Pan.” He makes sure to go into the full character, letting his voice dip low in a growl and shaking his hook with vengeance. 

Emma tilts her head back, chuckling at his theatrics before dropping it back down to level him with a stare. “Also, Prince Charming and his Snow White are in that bar somewhere so if you get out of line, at least one of them is coming for you.”

“I can’t wait to see the costumes,” he admits, even as Emma takes his hook in her hand again and he forgets what exactly he was excited to see when he heads back inside. 

“Don’t get into too much trouble?”

“I’ll be the very picture of innocence.” He takes her hand gently in his, bending low and kissing the back of it, smirking up at her when he catches the look in her eyes. “Unless you want me to be otherwise, of course.”

She hums, using her grip on his hand to pull him closer so she can place a kiss on his cheek. “Be good. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Looking forward to it,” he says, waving as she starts heading back towards the station. 

By the time she returns, she looks a little frazzled and tired but relieved to see him still amongst the crowd inside. He’s spent the majority of the evening clustered at a hightop table with David and Snow, with Will and Belle popping by for bits of time. Emma happily accepts the seat Killian vacates for her, shrugging out of her jacket and throwing it over his greatcoat on the back of the chair. 

“Something to quench your thirst, Swan?”

“I’m tempted to ask for a whole bottle of rum but I’ll take a weak vodka cranberry, instead.”

He returns with the drink after a few minutes, careful of how close he stands. He doesn’t know what she’s told her brother about their progress into a relationship and he’s determined to let her do this all in her own time. 

It’s difficult, however, when she goes about rolling up her sleeves, loosening the tie around her neck and popping open a few buttons at the collar of her shirt. She rolls her neck, and when she looks at him, he can tell by her expression alone that she’s been doing it on purpose. There’s a smirk hidden in the corner of her mouth and he somehow manages to hold back the groan that’s trying to make its way out of his chest. 

If either of the others at the table notice anything, neither of their faces give it away. He’s just fine with that, though. 

It isn’t until David and Snow are occupied talking to Ariel that Emma places her chin in her hand and looks up at Killian with an innocent smile on her face. “Just a small taste of your own medicine.” He’s tempted to ask what she means by that but he sees she’s undone yet another button on the shirt and he sighs and averts his gaze. 

“One day you’ll pay for this, Swan.” When he looks at her again, she’s looking right back with a very readable expression on her face. She knows damn well what she’s doing, by the looks of it. 

This is still new. And because it’s still new, he knows that while he wants to venture into a whole sinful variety of responses to her teasing, he also knows he wants something that lasts. They have plenty of time to get to the fun parts, so for now he takes the coy behavior and slips it away with a redirection. “Tell me, love, did you ever gather up those Lost Boys that were running amok around town?” 

“Every last one of them has been taken back to their homes and tucked in for the night. And if not, it’s Phillip’s problem.”

As the evening continues, he gets pulled onto the dance floor by Emma. He knows dances - he knows the Waltz and can hold his own in a Tango if he has to, but casual dancing to a steady, heavy bass beat is a different ballroom, so to speak. 

“Come here,” she says when they get to the middle of the swaying bodies. “There’s only one rule. Pick a partner who knows what she’s doing.” 

Since he moved to Storybrooke, Killian has felt like an outsider looking in. Even with the Fridays at the bar and the new friends gained over the past months, there’s been something holding him back. But in this moment, as Emma moves to the music in front of him, this feels like him becoming a true part of the town. 

The dance they’re doing is very tame compared to some of the other couples around them, but this is a good start for him. At one point during a slower song, his eyes scan across the rest of the bar and his eyes land on Snow, her smile soft and considerate as she watches the two of them sway together. When she sees Killian looking, her smile grows wider. Then she’s grabbing David’s hand and pulling him to the dance floor, as well. 

It’s not long before Emma turns Killian’s wrist to look at his watch. She groans, resting her forehead against his chest for a moment. 

“One more song and then I’ve gotta call it a night,” she tells him.

“Agreed.”

Far earlier than he would’ve gone home on a raucous holiday in his youth, he and Emma push out of the bar and into the open, cool air. The spirit of the day follows them down the street, with Emma holding his hand and swinging their arms. 

“You know,” he starts. “I quite fancy you, Emma Swan.”

“Yeah? Enough to accept that I’m walking you home instead of the other way around this time?”

“If that’s what the lady wishes, it would be bad form to deny it.”

“I do wish it, so lead the way, Hook.”

“It does suit me, doesn’t it?”

“There’s a lot we could unpack with which version of Hook you’re trying to be.”

“You’re familiar with Barrie’s discussions about the character?”

“I liked reading as a form of escape growing up. When the internet became a thing, I kind of went on a Wikipedia bender and ended up looking up everything I could about the play. There was this kid in one of my classes that was named Peter. We all called him Pan and we got in appropriate levels of trouble whenever the teacher left the room.”

“And what happened to young Pan?”

“We don’t really know,” Emma says, her eyebrows drawing down in thought. “He was gone one day. His foster parents wouldn’t talk about it. I thought about trying to track him when I got older but decided that there are some things that shouldn’t be found.”

“Kindred spirit with reading to get through life’s challenges,” Killian says, more to change the subject than anything else. It’s clear that the subject of the past still upsets her but at least they had a major thing in common growing up. “I would read for hours after I was finished with my assignments and chores. It was a Liam-approved activity that kept me occupied and out of trouble until the trouble got into me.”

“Is that from the files of the… how did you phrase it? That sordid but charming history?”

“Aye. All of which you’ll get to hear about in a couple days if that’s where the conversation takes us.”

“We can skip all the breakup stuff, if that’s cool with you,” Emma throws in. 

Ground rules. He likes ground rules. And establishing them now means he won’t do something idiotic like pry into something she doesn’t want to discuss. And likewise, that means he doesn’t have to tell her anything about Milah, so it’s a perfect concept.

As they get closer to the end of the street, Killian nudges her a little bit. “This is me. The first floor.” He nods with his chin to indicate the charming little duplex up the short walkway. She tilts her head as she looks at it, smiling at the dark green and the small but intricate stained glass piece that makes up the window. 

He falters trying to decide if he should invite her in, spitting it out at the last second. “Would you like to come in? I have hot chocolate on hand, since I prefer it over the powdered varieties.”

“That’s what Snow always makes me,” she says with a wide smile. “And while I’d love to, I have to get home and wash the holiday out of my hair. But save me some?”

“Of course, love. Would you text me just to let me know you’ve arrived safely?”

Her grin stays put as she removes the space between them, pushing onto her toes for a moment to press her lips to his. “I can do that. Goodnight, Killian. See you tomorrow.”

His quiet tidings slip out of the dreamy look on his face, and he sighs as he watches her walk back up the sidewalk. He waits until she turns down the next street before he makes his way inside, closing and locking up before he rests against the door. 

It’s good that she didn’t agree, since most of his home is still packed away. Perhaps, he thinks, it’s time to change that.

-x- November 1: Friday

The hardest part of knowing they’re going on a date on Saturday, at least in Killian’s mind, is acting totally natural when he sees Emma Friday morning. Of course, it’s hard not to look excited and surprised when she throws off his whole routine by showing up outside his flat. She’s back to her hair flowing free, a knit cap snug over her head and a scarf wrapped around her neck. She lifts one of her gloved hands to wave to him, looking sheepish at the same time.

“Not that I’m not thrilled to see you, love, but what are you doing here?”

“Well, I figured it was pointless to make you walk by yourself when we’re going in the same direction. And the Bug is all warmed up and ready to go so those ears of yours don’t have to turn bright red again today.”

It’s only then that he realizes she’s standing in front of a yellow Volkswagen Bug, looking aged but well-tended if the soft puttering of the motor is anything to go by. 

“I’ve never been one to turn down the kind gesture of a beautiful woman,” he responds, making his way towards her from his front stoop. “And it just so happens I have one in return.” 

With care, he maneuvers his arm to shift one of the two stainless steel mugs from his protective hold and hands it over to her. 

“I was going to give you that at the corner, but I suppose now is a good time, too.”

She happily accepts the coffee, flipping the lid open so she can inhale the warm aromas before closing it up again. “Thank you,” she says on the exhale, smiling gratefully and beckoning him forward towards her car. 

“This is quite the vessel you captain, Swan.”

“Gets me from point A to point B. I take better care of it now than when I first got it.”

“There’s a story there. Going to share?”

Emma hums for a moment but says nothing else as she pulls on her seatbelt. She shifts into gear and starts making her way along the route he’s so used to walking. It goes so much faster, obviously, but then he realizes he has just a limited time to talk to Emma this way. In realizing this, his whole mind clams up and he’s at a loss for words as he watches the scenery zip by. 

“I’m having dinner at my brother’s place tonight, so I won’t be out at all,” she tells him as they get closer to their corner. “You have tomorrow planned?”

“Aye,” Killian responds, thankful for the conversation opener. “But you’ll have to wait to find out where we’re going.”

“Gonna give me any hints?”

“Wear whatever you think constitutes as nice,” he tells her. He looks at her when they stop at a red-light and she’s staring at him with her eyes narrowed, probably trying to figure out where he’s taking her. “It could be that outfit from yesterday and I’d be just fine with that. Light’s green.”

She presses her lips into a thin line, but it’s more to prevent the smile from getting any bigger. “Okay, okay. Keep your surprises.”

“I’ve every intention of doing just that,” he tells her as they pull up outside of his office building. “Until tomorrow, Swan.” He lifts her hand from the gearshift to place a kiss on her knuckles, even if it is through the fuzzy fabric of her gloves. He exits the car as gracefully as one can from such a cramped space and makes sure to give her one final wave of goodbye before she drives off.

Now to just get through a day of work with his head on straight so he can enjoy tomorrow. 

Once in his office, he sits down with his notes from the day prior and gets into the mindframe of where he needs to be for this story. Just from a quick glance at the planner in front of him shows he has a progress meeting with Robin today and another meeting with Henry on Monday. 

There’s a solid ten minutes where he sits there, frozen in his chair, staring at the words on his computer as they blur together. His life has been about routine and order for so long but lately it’s felt like a breeze of chaos has swept through it. Not that he minds, of course. The sole reason everything’s a bit less structured is because Emma brings a new adventure to his life every day.

He can remember a time when the simple act of being surprised, like he was this morning, could’ve derailed everything, but instead it was such a small but thoughtful act on her behalf and one that he finds he would invite into his life now more than ever. 

With a subtle shake of his head, he clears his mind in order to focus. Then, before he can get lost in thoughts of his date tomorrow, or what he’ll wear, or what they’ll talk about, he wades right into the next chapter of Henry’s book and lets himself be immersed. 

He reads through the chapter again, jotting down notes by hand to check consistency later. Then it’s time for the surface edits. Spelling errors and word choices, grammar and syntax. He follows through each step carefully before going back to the start of the chapter to make notes. He’s barely a page in when Will appears in his doorway with a steaming mug of coffee and a take-out bag from Granny’s. 

“Best to eat now because you’re up next in the line of meetings,” Will says as he sets the items down on the edge of Killian’s desk. Will has his own projects to tend to but he makes sure to leave some of the concept art for the cover of Henry’s book along with lunch. 

“You’re a good man, Scarlet. No matter what everyone else tells me.”

“Funny man,” Will mutters on his way out, holding up a hand in farewell as he goes back to his own side of the building. 

Killian has just finished his lunch when Robin taps on his door frame. “Ready?”

“Aye. Let me save everything I did today and we’ll get started.”

The rest of the afternoon is consumed with his meeting with Robin. He’s thankful for the freedom his boss is giving him regarding this project but it only means that this progress report goes longer than it would’ve if Robin was breathing down his neck the whole time. They sit there with their combined notes on the chapters Killian has completed and talk about what the discussion with Henry will consist of the following Monday.

Despite having a good deal of experience with editing under his belt, this is Killian’s first involvement from start to finish. It’s something he knows will get easier and smoother with time, but for now he’s already feeling the pressure to get it all just right. At the end of this tunnel comes everything else, including helping with marketing and strategy. With how young Henry is, there will be more buzz around this release than they generate for their usual authors. The road ahead is long and arduous, but one he’s absolutely willing to take.

In an astounding turn of events, Killian is one of those that ducks out of the office ahead of quitting time. He waves to Will on his way out, smirking when the other man throws up his hands in exasperation. He shrugs, pushing through the exit and welcoming the cold chill of November. 

The walk back home is a little more brisk than usual, and he’s grateful for the fact that his heat is on and working to make his house as comfortable as possible. 

He follows his own line of routines after he gets back, tucking his boots on the tray beneath his coat rack before heading to his office to put away his work. There’s a likelihood that he’ll sit down with it again later, but for now, he has every intention of going through every item of his clothing until he knows what to wear for his evening with Emma. 

Choosing his outfit for the next day derails everything else for a few moments. After dinner is in the oven, he goes to his closet and carefully selects the items, standing back and admiring the effect of each combination. The winner is one that’s not far off his usual brand, but different enough that he won’t feel like he’s going to work. And hopefully, Emma will see that, too. Pleased with his choice, he sets it aside and goes back to check on his meal.

Once he’s sitting at his kitchen table, he looks around the sparsely furnished area. Much like his office, he hasn’t done any settling in the time that he’s lived in Storybrooke. It’s not that he feels like he’ll be leaving again any time soon, but rather an inability to see the big picture of comfort here just yet. As he glances at the counters and surfaces in his respectable kitchen, however, he starts to see what he never could before and what he thought of last night: a home. 

Just after he finishes eating and cleans his dishes, he gets a text from Emma about dinner at the Nolan residence. There’s a picture of her hot chocolate, a respectable dollop of whipped cream to top it off, and he imagines what she must look like curled up in what is clearly a comfortable place for her. 

“What are you doing?” she texts a little bit later. He’s not quite sure how to respond, since there’s an absolute disorder of boxes and package filler littered around his normally pristine kitchen. 

“Creating a mess,” he sends back when he finally gets to his phone. He’s surprised when it rings right after.

“A mess?” her voice comes across, and it’s clear that he’s on speakerphone, so she must be back home already.

“An awful mess, Swan. Did you know that bubble wrap, if left alone for too long, multiplies inside the boxes you packed it away in?”

“I was unaware,” she says, clearly amused by the tone in her voice. “What are you unpacking?”

“Well, a little bit of everything. Other than some absolute necessities, my possessions have been living in boxes since they were shipped over. I’ve decided to start with the kitchen tonight, for some reason. And while everything is now out of the boxes, it’s in utter disarray until I get it all put away.”

“You finally settling in?”

“Something like that,” he says, his voice going a little soft. “Everything just seemed so orderly when I could keep a running inventory in my mind.”

There’s a momentary lull in the conversation, but he can hear Emma rustling around on the other line so he still knows she’s there.

“I was surprised you called,” he admits. On the other end, Emma huffs out a quiet laugh.

“I’m working on something. It was easier to call than text,” she tells him. “Besides, now that I finally have your number, I figured I should make up for lost time.”

“I nearly asked your brother for yours before I added it to your card,” Killian tells her. “I wasn’t sure if we were heading towards that ‘dating’ status and so I was afraid he might bite, as previously warned.”

Emma’s laugh comes across loud and clear, and he can hear the audio jostle. When she speaks again, it’s closer, and he knows she’s taken hold of the phone.

“Only if you ask him to, I told you that. I’m going to leave you to your chaotic kitchen. Don’t get so lost in it that you forget about our date.”

“As if I ever could, Swan.”

“Goodnight, Killian,” she says, her voice soft and smile evident.

“Sweet dreams, Swan.”

-x-

Chapter 6

[saiilorstars]

Star-Crossed

Previous Story || Current Masterlist

Chapter 7: Memory Lane

Pairing: 10th Doctor x OFC

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel @stareyedplanet @perfectlystiles [If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s works/edits, let me know!]

Minerva’s face claim: Victoria Camacho // (Kaeya’s face claim: Michelle Trachtenberg)

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Chapter summary: The Doctor finally gets to confess what he's been thinking about in the past few months. Maybe then he'll feel less guilty.

"You know I can't paint, Doctor. Why not give it a rest?" Minerva sighed as she tried placing down her paint brush for what seemed the billionth time. Every time she did so, the Doctor would pick it right back up and place it in her hand. This time wouldn't be different.

The Doctor took her hand and kept the brush in it, "Nonsense, you're doing wonderful!" He gestured to the canvas in front of them.

Minerva was painting, rather badly she believed, the scenery they had in front of them; a Japanese cherry blossom park. It was Sakura, the cherry blossom festival, and the park was more than beautifully decorated with lanterns that would be lit in the night, families in their respective gatherings, market stands of food and trinkets set up around, and the beautiful cherry blossom trees.

The Doctor had surprised Minerva with this trip in the morning, telling her it was just a random surprise. Secretly, he wanted to bring her somewhere entirely peaceful so she could rest from the crystal's effects and also distract herself from her family problems. The Doctor truly hated how badly Minerva was feeling for things that weren't her fault. All that guilt was mixing with Kaeya's crystal's effects and he was afraid it would damage her health to the point of...well...death. He didn't know just how strong that crystal was but he knew it could go up to terrible stakes. After the planet of the Ood, a planet basically of snow, he wanted to bring Minerva somewhere nice and calm where the crystal was less likely to act.

Though the specific location of the cherry blossom festival wasn't that warm as he wanted it to be. Still, it was a decent cold that humans were used to. But it didn't stop him from actively trying to hand over his coat so Minerva could wear it and stay warm. He doubted her kimono could really be that warm.

But oh that kimono...

As peaceful as he wanted it to be, he could not stop himself from actively trying to steal kisses from her. He wanted Minerva's day to be serene and here he was trying to snog her every opportunity he had. Not very calm, was it?

Minerva was styling a traditional Japanese kimono for the event. She, along with Donna, outright refused to attend the festival without the proper attire. So, Minerva came out wearing a blue and pink flowered patterned kimono that wrapped around her body quite beautifully. The sleeves were bell styled, although not too loose, and her v-neck was a bit lower than usual. Minerva's hair was picked up in a braided bun with a few strands of sticking at the sides of her face. The only thing she'd done differently was that instead of wearing the usual traditional geta sandals, she wore blue flats; the necklace the Doctor had given her for her birthday also dropped proudly around her neck.

The Doctor truly felt like he was being tested. How far could he resist his Clever Girl's charms? She was just too beautiful.

...which made it all the much harder to control himself.

"Doctor, can't we do something else?" Minerva turned to him, oblivious to his thoughts, "It's useless, I can't paint."

"What are you talking about? That-" he pointed to the canvas, "-is wonderful progress!'

The pair stood beside a lake, a small bridge to their right that connected them to the other side of the large park. The Doctor had suggested Minerva try and paint the scenery. The lake was quite beautiful, bright blue with fresh cherry blossoms floating downstream and even a couple of fishes swimming by. The trees were letting dozens of loose cherry blossoms down. It was a scene that deserved to be painted, and who else to paint it than the most beautiful woman in the world?

"It's horrible," Minerva pouted. She had attempted to paint the left side of the lake and she thought all the cherry blossoms were too pink and uneven.

"No it's not," the Doctor wound an arm around her waist as he stared at the canvas. He saw the delicate cherry blossoms painted beautifully and realistically. The half side of the lake was painted with the exact brilliant blue it had. He didn't understand why Minerva was so keen on putting down her work. It was she that had wanted to paint back in China, and she did make progress with blue butterflies!

"You're just saying that because you're my boyfriend," she crossed her arms, "But the truth is I stink at it and it's nothing." She shook his arm off her and turned away.

"Hey, where'd that come from?" he reached for her arm and turned her to him, "Putting down your own work like that isn't something you do. What's wrong, Clever Girl?"

"Everything, my family and me...it's all wrong," she looked at the canvas behind them, "I'm nothing," she mumbled sadly.

"Where did that come from?" the Doctor frowned, appalled at such a thought.

"There's something I haven't told you," she fiddled with her fingers.

"Which is?"

She sighed, "Marisol has called a few more times...and I keep answering."

"Why, Minerva?" the Doctor sighed, already seeing where this was headed.

"It's been three days," she looked down, "And I stupidly think each time she's just calling to accept my apologies..."

"Minerva, what on earth could you be apologizing to her for?"

"I don't know!" she started sniffling, "I just wanted to fix something with my family. I thought if I apologized she'd accept it and forgive me for what ever I did...but she hates me, she despises me apparently," she burst into sobs, "She outright despises me and I don't know what I did."

Minerva didn't understand why she garnered so much hatred from her cousin. As a kid, Marisol was always rude to her, making her feel like she was truly nothing. Olivia would try to defend her little sister but she wasn't always there for Minerva, which left it wide open for Marisol to attack. Minerva couldn't remember doing something to provoke Marisol. Marisol just liked making her feel bad for no reason. As children, Marisol would steal Minerva's toys, push her around to the point of actually physically hurting her. And when Minerva would tell her parents, Marisol always convinced them she was innocent and Minerva was lying. And as they grew, things got worse. In middle school, some of Minerva's classes would be in an upper division...into Marisol's classes to her dismay. Marisol would always make jokes to her friends about Minerva, only making Minerva feel worse. Things were now at their worst now that they were both young adults. Over the phone wasn't much of a difference; Marisol would get straight to the point and insult, gloat, and belittle Minerva.

Minerva just didn't understand what she'd done to her cousin.

The Doctor had taken her into a hug with a big sigh, "Minerva, we've talked about this. Stop trying to get forgiveness for something you didn't do. You've done absolutely nothing wrong!"

"No, it seems like I always do everything wrong!"

"No, no you don't. And it honestly surprises me that you would let such an awful woman taint your self esteem like this. You know you're amazing, you know you're clever, skillful, etc., why do you let one of the worst people take that away from you?"

"I...I don't know," she confessed. She honestly didn't. She always had a good image of herself but when it came to her family, it just went down to the sewers. Her family, while running away from them, did mean a lot to her. She didn't care that her parents didn't love them, she did. She loved them and all she wanted was for them to forgive her.

And perhaps that was the problem.

By desperately wanting to be forgiven, she'd accept any insults in hopes that they would see she was truly sorry and forgive her. Since Marisol was closer to her mother nowadays, perhaps the woman could get her mother to forgive Minerva. That's why, when Marisol called those last three days, Minerva did her best to express how sorry she was and how much she accomplished just for her family. But Marisol had other ideas, she kept shooting Minerva down, insulting her in every way possible and gloating just how much she was enjoying the attention Sophia was giving her instead of Minerva. That while Minerva was off doing silly little paintings and traveling, Sophia was giving her love and affection to Marisol instead of her daughter.

And it broke Minerva's heart.

She viewed her painting as something insignificant that could never compare to her mother's love. It was awful, nothing...

"Tell you what, as soon as we get back to the TARDIS, we'll chuck the cellphone into a black hole, yeah?" the Doctor offered, really going to do that despite what her answer was.

"But what will we do when Martha tries to call?" Minerva tried stopping her sobs.

"We'll get a new phone, upgrade it and it'll only have her number."

"And grandma's?"

"Of course," he rubbed her back, relaxing only slightly that she had managed to stop crying.

"And Uncle Aaron's? Astrid's? Jack's?"

" Yes, yes, and...um..."

Minerva giggled at his resistance to add Jack's number. Even though the immortal man had made it perfectly clear he had no interest in Minerva whatsoever, the Doctor was still prone to be jealous. And seeing the kick out of it, Jack would often have some fun.

"Oh I love your giggles," the Doctor sighed, now much better.

"Or...we could just block the number," she offered, "It's a lot easier."

"Blocking it is!" the Doctor nodded as he rubbed her tears off her face, resting his hands over her cheeks afterwards, "Now then, I'd like to see your gorgeous smile."

Involuntarily, Minerva smiled, her face warming up, "So...do you really think my painting is coming out okay?"

"I think it's coming out beautifully. You're making such good progress, really."

"Think I could give Leonardo da Vinci a run for his money?" she glanced at her canvas, perhaps it wasn't that bad...

"Oh definitely, but you'll never compete with him because you're never seeing him again," the Doctor declared.

"Overly jealous, Martian," she informed as she got on her toes.

"Have you seen yourself? I have a right to be jealous," he leaned down to ease her struggle of her toes.

"I'm plain and simple," she declared and kissed him.

That was far from it, the Doctor thought. To him, she was a goddess that seemed to captivate him more with each day.

~ 0 ~

"These are some funny fishes," Minerva remarked, she and Donna knelt down on the edge of the running lake.

"You're telling me, I think that one has only one eye," Donna tried leaning forwards to get a closer look at a fish that had caught her attention.

"What? Where?" Minerva leaned forwards as well, though with her curiosity she nearly slipped into the lake if it hadn't been for Donna yanking her back.

"Minerva they're just fish!" Donna laughed, "You don't need to drown for them!"

"Sorry, sorry," Minerva blushed in embarrassment, pushing strands of her hair behind her ears as she took another look at the lake, "These fish are just marvelous to me," she sighed in content, "Martian, please tell me you didn't see any of that?" she looked behind her to where the Doctor stood. She tilted her head when she noticed he seemed a bit...distant, "Martian?" she called again, her blush slowly fading, "You okay?"

The Doctor blinked, his ears working just fine as he heard her and yet...his mind was somewhere else.

"Where are we going, Kaeya?" the Doctor struggled to walk up the snowy hill. It was a very small hill but with its heavy snow covering every last inch it proved to be quite the challenge for him.

Kaeya simply bit her lip with a knowing smile, "Somewhere. It's really nice and I want to show you."

"Can't you just tell me what it is?"

"Where's the fun in that?" she crossed her arms, "It's a really lovely place, I promise."

"Is there any place on this planet without snow?" he earnestly asked, struggling even more while she stood just a couple feet away in calmness.

"This is the Silver Monsoon, there is no such thing as 'snowless'...except for houses."

"Or castles," he murmured, recalling the size of the castle Kaeya lived in. It was simply beautiful and made of ice.

Kaeya laughed, "C'mon," she gently thrust her hand forwards and blew away a clear path for the Doctor, "Before we get caught," she giggled and reached for his hands, pulling him up to where she was.  The Doctor blinked at their proximity, their faces just inches away from each other. Kaeya smiled softly, her hands still in his, "Is something wrong?" she quietly asked.

"N-nope," he shook his head and stepped back, blushing, "So where's that place?"

"C'mon!" she let go of one of his hands and used her other to pull him towards a small lake, one that was not iced as was their usual preferred lake to meet up in.

"Another lake?" the Doctor tried not to sound as disappointed as he really was.

"This one's different," she promised as they reached the edge. She let go of his other hand and knelt down, passing a hand through the lake, "Isn't it beautiful?" she looked at the creatures swimming peacefully in the lake, "When you brought me the book of aquatic life on Earth, I kept thinking of this lake. I think it has the most beautiful aquatic creatures the Monsoon has to offer. They're marvelous," she sighed happily, "Don't you think?" she looked up.

The Doctor nodded, kneeling down beside her and dipping his hand into the lake, "Quite," he looked at the princess with a soft smile, she returning the gesture.

"Oi, spaceman?" Donna called, finally managing to get through the silent man.

"Huh? Yes?" the Doctor blinked rapidly as he looked at the two women.

"Are you okay?" Minerva stood up, dusting herself off as she walked up to him.

"Y-yes," he nodded.

"You seemed kind of lost."

"And more than usual," Donna added from behind.

"Thank you Donna," the Doctor cast a small glare her way before taking Minerva's hands in his. "I was just thinking, nothing important."

"Are you sure?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, "It's been happening a lot lately. Anything on your mind?"

"Just you, dear," he gave her a peck.

Minerva chuckled lightly, "Smooth, Martian."

"Always," he grinned and placed another kiss on her lips.

"Em, so how about before you start snogging we head over for some lunch?" Donna cleared her throat before the pair got lost and forgot she was there.

"Lunch sounds delightful," the Doctor said as he held one of Minerva's hand in his up, "Would you care for some good ole lunch, dear?"

"Is that another date?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Mm, yes, but this one has no adrenaline in it, I'm afraid."

"Well, you'll have to make it up to me somehow," she warned with a smirk.

"Oh don't you worry, I'll definitely find a way," he kissed her hand and led them off.

Donna gave a mock roll of the eyes before following them. Suddenly, she felt like she had seen a faint blue glow behind her. She turned around and scanned the area but saw nothing out of the ordinary. She shook her head and continued walking after the pair, figuring she'd imagined it.

~ 0 ~

"Fish cakes?" Donna Noble asked, watching in disgust as the Doctor picked one up, "As in...fish...cakes?"

"Please don't eat it, Martian," Minerva pleaded, doing her best to keep her self calm. She sat on the man's lap, Donna sat across them on a lunch table, "I won't kiss you anymore if you do."

The Doctor grinned, waving said cake in his hand, "What? This wasn't for me, silly," he tapped her nose.

"Then who-"

The Doctor stuffed her mouth with the fish cake, raising his eyebrows as he awaited for her to chew and swallow it...

...much she liked forced him to drink her coffee and strawberry crepe in 1969.

Minerva made faces as she forced herself to chew, the thing was horrible! Donna was smiling in amusement, knowing it was just the Doctor trying to mess with the Clever Girl and get her to smile. Neither knew it was also for a bit of sweet revenge Minerva owed him.

"So, how was it?" the Doctor asked, smirking, when Minerva had swallowed.

"H-horrible," she shivered and reached for a napkin off the table, "That was horrible! Why'd you do that!?"

"You did that to me in 1969, your birthday!"

"But I made you drink maple syrup coffee! That was sweet, not disgusting! And I gave you strawberry crepes! Those two were delicious and it didn't make your breath smell bad! You smelled like strawberries and I like strawberries," she started pouting, the Doctor internally sighing as he knew she would get him to do anything she wanted when she did that, "I smell like fish and no one likes fish! And now you're not gonna wanna kiss me anymore cos I said if you ate it I wouldn't kiss you anymore and-"

The Doctor had went ahead and kissed her.

Donna rolled her eyes and reached for a strawberry, how Minerva didn't see that coming she did not know.

"Delicious," the Doctor parted, smiling softly at his Clever Girl that still seemed in doubt.

"Really?"

"I could gladly go ahead and prove it again," he shrugged innocently.

"Don't you dare, spaceman," Donna called, not about to see a snog while she ate, "I wanna keep my food in my stomach."

Minerva blushed and reached for a grape, while the Doctor may not be affected by the fish cake she sure was. She picked several up and dropped them into her mouth, "Sorry Donna," she chewed.

"Tell me, how did Martha stand you two?" the ginger joked, shaking her head.

"She left when we got together," the Doctor said absently, stroking Minerva's side of her face. He just loved how smooth and warm her skin was, knowing, and practically beaming, it was red and warm because he was touching her.

"Smart Martha," Donna mumbled.

"We should go visit her soon," Minerva suggested, really excited to introduce her best friend to her ginger sister, "I'm sure you two would get along really well!"

"Anytime you want to go, just say the word," the Doctor said to Minerva. He would secretly want to see their old companion as well, but Minerva's need was much stronger than his. They were best friends and of course phone calls wouldn't be the same. And besides that, Martha was really the last companion they could actually visit. Rose wasn't here anymore, nor Mickey, so those two were out of the question.

"We should," Minerva nodded, "Martha said she was going to be transferred to the states for her UNIT work. Apparently they found an odd case in a hospital or something like that. Dr. Jones, on the case!"

"She's a doctor, now?" the Doctor asked, surprised he had missed that important detail.

"UNIT rushed it for her since she was a bit...experienced," Minerva smirked, "Because you know, who's better at saving the earth from aliens than the woman who saved the planet on her own?"

"Well...I helped too you know," the Doctor mumbled, mock offended.

"I know you did, that's why you got me!" she pointed at herself with a beam and laughed.

"What a reward," he Eskimo kissed her, both chuckling, "I'd stay another year locked up just to get you."

"Really? In all those awful conditions the Master had you in?" Minerva asked and the Doctor simply nodded. Minerva blinked, surprised he'd willingly be in a cage just for her.

But the Doctor was quite sure of himself. All that horrible year the only thing he had to do to pass the time was think...and in thinking, his mind always wandered to the Clever Girl, Minerva. He would think about their time together, ever since Rose's departure, and he cursed himself for wasting so much time. Those times in 1913, as short as it was. were precious to him. As a human, he truly had fallen in love with Minerva. That woman had worked her way into his hearts with such ease and in such a short time it actually shocked him. He especially thought about their kisses, oh their kisses...even as an elderly man his hearts beat at the speed of a teenager when they came into mind. The one that really stuck in his mind was the one in 1969, the "secret" kiss as he thought before. It had been a kiss that he had went for, as wrong as it was to practically steal it from Minerva, but it was the kiss that made him accept his feelings for her and that's why he though about it the most.

So then he cursed himself for wasting all the time before that. Sure, it was about half a year in Earth terms where he started falling for Minerva, but it was precious time for Minerva and her human lifespan. He could've done so much in six months, taken her to the most amazing places he could think of. He could've had her in his arms, comforting her when she needed to be, kissing her when he'd like...he'd wasted all that time and it only made it harder to look at the poor girl being tortured by a man he was responsible for. The Master, the man who killed his past love, had been to the brink of killing Minerva.

He liked to think that the year-that-never-was was more of a punishment for him hurting Minerva. The only thing he loathed was that Minerva had also been punished. And, even after so much of her pain, she still accepted him. In a miracle, he'd finally gotten his Clever Girl.

"I would without a doubt, of course you'd have to be safe and sound and far away from the Master," he tapped Minerva's nose.

She blushed, "You're so sweet.."

"And since silence has fallen..." Donna swayed her head, there was another kiss to be shared.

"Believe me, dear, no one compares to your sweetness," the Doctor looked his Clever Girl over, neither him or her hearing Donna's remark.

He looked at the woman on his lap and simply could not believe he could have gotten her, even more that she actually wanted to be with him. He...was no good man, he knew. Minerva was the complete opposite; despite having a horrible childhood, she was absolutely sweet and kind, a little too much for her own good he often admitted. And having those qualities, he didn't know why she wanted him when she deserved someone much better, a kind, a good man...someone who hadn't killed an entire species. But for her Minerva to openly decide she wanted him, even after knowing what he'd done, a Martian who was a gazillion years older than her, was simply 'wow'. There were no other words that came into mind. It was a miracle.

Minerva blushed deeper as his eyes lingered on her, "Believe me, you're worth all the tortures," she leaned in and the two kissed.

"I really dread to think what you did before I came along," Donna took a sip of her drink as the pair parted.

"We behaved," Minerva replied, looking at the Doctor with a sly smile as she bit her lip, "Just like Martha said to, right Martian?"

"Y-yes," the Doctor cleared his throat.

Donna didn't need to know they snogged almost all the time during their first months of being in a relationship, it wasn't as if they did something they shouldn't have. They simply kissed and spent all their time together, going on dates, giving each other educational lessons like Minerva teaching the Doctor how to use a blender and he teaching her a new language. They only kissed at times...well, whenever they got something right on their lessons...or when they were happy...or sad...or crossed...or...just in the mood.

Donna just smirked, as if they could pull one over her, "Yeah right, let me guess: you snogged in the console room, kitchen, pool, library, Minerva's painting room, and I'm willing to bet every last part of the universe."

"Shut up," was all the pair had to sat on that topic.

"Just know that when I meet Martha I'm telling on you," Donna smirked even wider when the pair blushed deeply, "That's right, you're both in big trouble."

"I'm not afraid of Martha," Minerva shrugged, looking at the Doctor to see he was actually a bit more concern, "Martian?"

"It's a bit easier for you not to be afraid, dear," he leaned to her ear and whispered, "I'm the one that's snogging her best friend."

"Yeah, which I give consent to!"

"Still..." he mumbled and looked away.

"Aww, don't worry, I'll protect you from big bad Martha," she pecked his lips.

"You two are ridiculous," Donna remarked, "You find an excuse to turn everything into a kiss."

"If you want Donna, I can set you up with someone," Minerva offered, "Like I said, there's some planets with some real good looking aliens."

Donna pretended to think about it,"Well...I don't know, I might get stuck with a long streak of nothing like you did," she gestured to the Doctor.

Minerva laughed which then made Donna laugh...all while the Doctor frowned and looked between both women.

"This is my cue to leave," he declared and moved to get up.

"N-no!" Minerva pushed him down. Before she was forced off his lap, "I'm sorry, Martian. You know I don't think that," she rested her head on his shoulder and absently stroked his chest, "You're wonderful."

"Kiss up!" Donna called.

"Shut up, Donna," Minerva lifted her head and kissed the Doctor's cheek, "So, am I forgiven?"

"I can't really say no to that face," the Doctor sighed, "So yes."

Minerva beamed and gave him another kiss, "Yes!"

"Oi, here eat this before you snog," Donna chucked Minerva a grapefruit which she barely caught.

"Hm, I've never had grapefruit," Minerva shrugged before eating a bit...only for her spit it out to the side, "And I never will again!" she pursed her lips together and shivered, "Now that was really awful. It's sour!"

The Doctor blinked at her, finding her adorable and yet in the back of his mind...there was something else that popped up.

"So what exactly is this?" Kaeya blinked as the Doctor placed a brown basket in front of her. Without waiting for an answer, she dropped to her knees and started picking up the various types of food inside.

"It's fruit from Earth," the Doctor replied as he squatted down beside her, "They brought some to Gallifrey just for some tastes and so..."

Kaeya glanced at him with a smirk, "You 'borrowed' them?" she raised an eyebrow.

The Doctor stared at the basket with a small smile, "Perhaps..."

"You realize you can't borrow food, right? I'm sure that's a similarity your planet and mine share."

"They won't miss it," the Doctor waved it off and picked up a fruit, a grapefruit, "Try some."

Kaeya took the fruit and and tore it apart in a wonky half, "Try it with me," she held one half for him. The Doctor took the half and awaited her to prepare, "Ready?" she asked and he nodded, "Bite!"

Both took a bite of their fruit at the same time and garnered different tastes. The Doctor thought of it sweet but Kaeya thought it was plain sour!

The Doctor let out a big laugh when Kaeya started making faces, the princess spitting out what was left in her mouth, "No, no, no, that is VERY bad!" she decreed.

"What? It was good!"

"No, it was bad," she threw her half and then snatched the Doctor's to throw it as well, "Grapefruits are not allowed on the Monsoon. Never, never, never."

The Doctor stared at her for a moment and smiled, "You're adorable."

Kaeya blushed, "You're not so bad yourself," she chuckled and started searching through the basket again.

The Doctor shook his head upon returning back to the present moment, something that didn't go missed by Donna. Minerva was too busy looking for something decent to eat to notice anything.

"Minerva, do you mind?" the Doctor quietly gestured if she would allow him to stand.

She looked at him and nodded, "Sure thing," she stood and was immediately sat down when he had stood, "Is something wrong?" she asked when she noticed how pale he'd gotten so suddenly.

"Yeah," he swallowed, "Just, um, gonna go see about some horses."

"Oh no, no horses please," she pouted, "You know how I feel about them."

"Don't worry," he smiled, "Your Martian will be right there protecting you from the big bad horses," he teased and set a kiss on her lips.

"He better be or I'll kill him," she warned weakly after their kiss.

The Doctor smiled and set another kiss but on her head, "I'll be back," he whispered and walked off.

What was going on with him? Why did his mind choose to play this games with him!? He was happy where he was, he wanted Minerva, he lo...he wanted her and only her. Why must he keep thinking of Kaeya?

"Oi, spaceman!" he heard Donna holler behind. He looked over his shoulder to see the ginger grabbing the side of her kimono in order to catch up to him, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Donna, don't leave Minerva alone," he shook his head.

"Oh, she didn't mind. I told her I was getting changed for that horse thing. Mention horses and she wants nothing to do with it apparently," Donna shrugged, "But in reality I came for you. What's going on?"

"Nothing, why would you think something's going on?"

"I'm no idiot," she whacked his arm, "I've noticed how distant you've grown at times, like you're just not there with us. Now I told you this before, spaceman, I'm here to help both you and Minerva. What's the matter, eh?"

"I don't want to leave Minerva-"

"And yet you don't want to be with her right now and that means something truly bad is going on," Donna crossed her arms, "C'mon, I told you once to tell me the story. I'll listen, promise," she put a hand on his arm.

The Doctor looked past her towards the table where Minerva had been left in and sighed, "Find someone to keep her company, please? It won't be right to leave her."

Donna nodded, "Yeah, I'll get one of the new friends we made."

"Just no men around her age," he warned, "...or any man actually."

Donna laughed, "Yeah, got it," she gave a thumbs-up and hurried to do her task.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and Donna walked through the small woods that served as a place for the horse riding to take place in, Donna now changed into more comfortable clothes including a a purple jacket with a black blouse, jeans and small black boots. Donna had convinced Minerva to spend some time with one of the families they had met earlier in the day while they were off 'horse riding'. With her terrible fear of horses, Minerva hadn't even questioned it and simply went with the family.

"So, wherever and whenever you want to start," Donna sighed lightly, doing her best to be patient with the Doctor.

He'd been silent (for the first time) for a quite a while now and Donna feared he'd never talk. But the Doctor took a breath and decided to go with the most urgent thing at the moment, "I keep thinking of Kaeya," he declared. He looked down when Donna's eyes widened, feeling ashamed of himself.

"What? What do you mean?" she asked.

"It's been happening lately, and it's bad I know, but...I can't stop it."

"Well, do you have feelings for her?"

"No, no, I just...look, Kaeya was and will always be something truly important in my life. She was my first love, a love that was never lived," the Doctor swallowed, "But I've got Minerva now." Just at the mention of her name he felt himself slowly relax and even smile a little, "She's my everything and I don't want to lose her by telling her about this."

"What do you think of Kaeya right now?" Donna decided to ask, perhaps there was a different reason for seeing the other woman that the Doctor hadn't picked up on.

"It's weird, I..." the Doctor paused to gather coherent words in his mind, "...sometimes, there's these little things that Minerva does or says that...remind me of what Kaeya used to do. I never really noticed how similar they are at times. It's peculiar to me."

"But they're not completely the same are they?"

"No, they're both kind women but there's sharp differences between the two," the Doctor nodded with assurance, "Kaeya never spoke out, she never had the courage to do what she wanted, no matter how much it harmed her. Minerva does, she did. She left her parents and went out to travel because she wanted to. Minerva's bold, she's got attitude, she's got sass, and..." he smiled softly, "...she's one woman you do not mess with."

"Except for when it comes to her family," Donna added with a sigh, making him sigh in agreement.

"That's all their fault, not Minerva's," he said, "She's all those things I just said because it's her personality. Kaeya always dreamed of being like that..." he sighed, "...but it never happened."

"Well listen, it's my understanding that you and that princess shared centuries together so naturally it's going to be popping into your head at times, but I wouldn't worry about it. What I think is going on is that you've never really spoken about her to anyone but Kaeya herself. I think you have all these memories of her that are trying their best not to be forgotten."

"So what do I do about it?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Talk to me about her," Donna nudged him, "C'mon, tell me about this snow princess."

"What do you want to know?" he raised his shoulders awkwardly. He would think a sister, whether by blood or not, would never want to hear about her sister's boyfriend's past love.

"Why didn't you ever take her away from that planet?" Donna began at the very beginning of her curiosity.

"The Moontsays are bound by the cold, they'd need to adapt slowly to warmer climate and Kaeya never had that opportunity. If I were to take her somewhere, she'd die."

"Ouch," Donna made a face, "So that's why you visited her instead?"

The Doctor nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "Yeah. At first, when I had no TARDIS of my own nor a family, I would steal the TARDIS I have now from its place and take it for a joyride to the Monsoon."

"Didn't you get caught?"

"I knew when to take it; I had every visit to the Monsoon perfectly calculated...when to go and when to come back."

"You were on a tight schedule, then? Blimey, what a 'date'," Donna chuckled.

"It had to be that way," the Doctor shrugged, "Kaeya had to sneak away from her home, from her guards, everyone. We'd usually meet on this lovely iced lake."

"And what did you do all that time you were there? I doubt you paraded down her city's streets or anything like that," Donna smirked, "What did you do, spaceman?"

"Donna," the Doctor looked away with a deep blush on his neck that slowly crept onto his face.

"This was before you met Minerva, everyone's got a past, no need to be ashamed," Donna shrugged.

"We didn't do anything bad," the Doctor assured but kept receiving elbows on his side like Minerva would, "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

"Tell me the truth!"

"Ow!"

"Spaceman!"

"Alright fine," the Doctor stepped away from Donna, his hands in front of him to protect himself from the ginger, "So...you have to understand, Donna. I first saw Kaeya as a child, both of us, and I continued to see her each year for a couple minutes before the spaceship I was in would fly away from the Monsoon. One year, as a teen, I tried sneaking out of the ship to see her, and I was caught, so I went a long time before I saw her again."

"Aw, that's sad," Donna made a face.

"It was, that's when I stole a TARDIS for the first time, the TARDIS I would one day really steal and never give back," the Doctor smiled, "But by the time I did that I was over the age, a 'young adult' as Earth terms would proclaim. Kaeya was no longer that child I saw from a ship. She was...a beautiful young woman," he breathed, "She kissed me that first time we met face-to-face."

Donna rolled her eyes, "Is there any woman you haven't snogged?" the Doctor gave her a look up and down to answer her question and so Donna immediately pointed at him, "And it's staying like that," she warned.

"Kaeya and I...we knew nothing could happen, at least for the moment," he continued his story, actually finding it easy to talk to Donna for some reason, "But we still 'courted' as she used to say. We kissed, we had small dates on parts of the Monsoon, but it never went beyond that," he turned serious at the last words, "Never. I had plans for us, I wanted to marry her and take her away and show her the universe...but it never happened," Donna set a hand on his arm for encouragement, "One day my parents decided to arrange a marriage for me, claiming it was for the best. Of course they didn't know I'd been secretly visiting the princess of the planet most Time Lords despised. They'd chosen a woman for me, a 'proper' Time Lady."

"Did you tell them?" Donna asked quietly.

"I didn't have plans to tell my father, he was one to truly advocate against Moontsays. But my mother, she...was neutral. She never said anything kind but never anything bad about Moontsays. I wanted to tell her, but..." the Doctor shrugged and looked down, "...I was a coward. I felt everything was out of my control. There was a bride chosen, my bride apparently, and I was to marry her."

"What did you do, then?"

"I ran straight for Kaeya," he swallowed, "She was waiting for me like always, this big smile on her face as soon as I stepped out...but then she saw me...and she knew something was wrong."

"You told her," Donna gave a small, sad smile, "You did the right thing, you know? Most men would have simply stopped coming altogether, or worse...lie to her about it."

"She was the only one I couldn't lie to. I told her everything, and...you know how I told you she'd let Minerva and I be if we really wished?" he asked and Donna nodded, "I know she would do that because that's exactly what she did the first time. She actually encouraged me to marry another woman," he bitterly laughed, "That was Kaeya, too sweet for her own good."

"Like Minerva," Donna remembered his words from the beginning.

The Doctor nodded, "Kaeya didn't get angry, she didn't yell, she just...told me to go marry."

"Oh, that's...that's awful," Donna couldn't really find any more to say about that. There was nothing to be said. The woman gave up her love without a fight, just like the Doctor assured she would this time around when she'd find Minerva.

"After that, all our courting ended," the Doctor continued, this time uncaring if Donna was listening. He simply wanted to get it off his chest, let the emotions take over once and for all to finally stop thinking of the princess. Donna had been right, he needed to stop bottling it and just let it go.

"Anything that went beyond friendship vanished between us," the Doctor said, "I didn't want to stop seeing her, even if friends was the only thing we would ever be. But before getting married, I met my bride-to-be and I told her everything."

"You did that!?" Donna blinked, "Isn't that a big no-no!?"

"I thought maybe if I told her, she'd break things off and I'd be free again..." the Doctor shook his head, "...but she told me it was fine. She had no intention to break what ever was going on with Kaeya and I. She didn't want to be married, she apparently had had her own love who passed away. She wanted no love from me, she said she was only doing this for her family. But there was never to be any love between us. Actually," he took a breath, "She encouraged me to go see Kaeya whenever I could. She understood perfectly what it was to have a real love."

"That's big of her," Donna remarked.

"She was a good woman, I never had one complaint about her. Admittedly, if I had to have been in an arranged marriage, it would've been with her. She understood what my situation was like, the only difference being her love had died a couple months before her family told her about the arranged marriage. There was only thing she wanted in the world," the Doctor took in a breath, "A child. She wanted a child to dedicate her life to."

"Oh, see she didn't go light on the question," Donna gave a small chuckle.

"As a wife she had a right," the Doctor sighed, "But every time I saw my children, I couldn't help wonder what they would be like if they were..."

"Kaeya's?" Donna raised an eyebrow, smiling when the Doctor nodded, "It was impossible not to think of that."

"Throughout all that time, all those centuries, Kaeya was there for me. She loved seeing the pictures of my children, even grandchildren. She said she loved them because they were mine, and I knew she was telling the truth. She met one of them, you know."

"She did?" Donna blinked, "What happened!?"

"She met my granddaughter, Susan," the Doctor let a small laugh as he remembered at day, "Along with her two teachers, our current companions at the moment. They got along so well it stunned me."

"You expected some cat-fight or something?"

"No, Susan wasn't the violent type, but...this was a woman that was not her grandmother. Obviously, I was a bit afraid of what could happen," the Doctor smiled as he sighed in content, "But Kaeya was so kind, so welcoming. They grew to be very close, Kaeya even admitted once to me that she liked to pretend that Susan was our granddaughter."

"Did she ever...marry herself?" Donna curiously asked, "Have any grandchildren of her own?"

"No," he shook his head, "She remained unwed her entire life. She claimed she didn't want anyone else that wasn't me. I told her, I begged her, to make her own life. I even offered to stop visiting her if that would help her move on..."

"And what she say?" Donna could guess the answer by his shameful face.

"Never," he whispered, "She stayed single and waited for me to visit. After things ended with my marriage, I tried to tell her she needed to make her own life. Heck, I even decided to age just so that she could distance herself from me."

"You 'decided' to age?" Donna raised an eyebrow, "I thought you didn't."

"Well, the first incarnation you can decide whether or not you want to age, of course if you do decide to age ultimately you'll have to regenerate due to old-age."

"And you thought Kaeya would be that shallow she'd stop loving you because of some wrinkles and gray hair," Donna said in amusement.

"I made the mistake," the Doctor nodded, "She never stopped, despite the little phases I went through. Each incarnation she greeted me with open arms and a kiss on the cheek, nothing beyond that though. We kept true to our word, friendship only. She died when I was so far away, at least I thought she did, and I've lived with that guilt for so long now."

"But she's coming back," Donna reminded, "And you think of her because of your guilt. Of course there's going to be similarities between her and Minerva but that doesn't mean anything bad. I bet there's similarities between Minerva and I."

"Oh, there are," he cut her off, "Both bold, sassy-"

"I'd be very careful with your words, spaceman," Donna wagged a finger, "But my point is, let the past go. Kaeya is coming back and eventually she will make her own life. The past is the past, it's okay to spare her a thought now and then," she set a hand on his arm.

"But why now? Why when I'm happy am I thinking of her?" he insisted.

"There's no real answer for that," Donna sighed, "But perhaps it's because, like you said, that love with her was never lived, and now that you've found someone you can have...old memories come back. But don't fret about it."

"Should I tell Minerva of this?" he turned to her, nervously awaiting an answer.

"I think only you can decide that," she pointed, "I won't say anything, I'm gonna say that right now. It's not my story to tell."

"I'm afraid, Donna," he admitted, "I'm afraid of how she'll react to it."

"Just think on what's right for her and you, you'll figure it out," Donna assured and gave him a hug, practically knowing what he was going to do already.

~ 0 ~

Eventually, the Doctor and Donna had found Minerva back at the par. They found she had changed from her kimono, claiming it had gotten cold. She had grabbed a green, loose blouse with a black three-quarter sleeved blazer, and her silver necklace. She wore dark blue jeans and black, knee length boots with a small heel. Her hair remained in its bun although with the rubbing she had just done, it grew messier at the top.

The trio were looking at a nearby pond back in the woods, one that seemed to be full of fishes, even several frogs on their lily pads. Donna was really engulfed in them, hearing the Doctor explain what each fish was and what they did. Minerva was also interested...but she couldn't help feel like something was watching them. Every now and then she would look around in case there actually was someone stalking them. But there was absolutely nothing...and then...

She heard whispers...in her head.

It was like a couple voices were overlapping with each other, all trying to say something but nothing was coherent. She rubbed her temple, happening to look back and see a...a...blue light? Yes, it was a blue light. And it seemed to almost...glow. It was like a blob of blue light just floating in midair. She knew that light, at least she think she did. It was the same one that had appeared in the Valiant, not to mention the one that had teleported her out of the Titanic spaceship. But what was it doing here? And why did she feel like it calling her? Without thinking, she found herself walking away from the Doctor and Donna, the two distracted to notice her leave.

Minerva was determined to see what exactly that light was, why it had chosen to save her. She walked further into the woods, trying to pay attention to the whispers she kept hearing. However, everything was so jumbled up she couldn't make out anything coherent. She came to a stop in a small clearing where the blue light stayed by some trees ahead of her.

"Who are you?" she decided to speak out in a calm way. If she angered what ever it was, she may regret it and that was something she didn't want, "Listen, I guess you're alive, looks like it," she studied the light, "What do you want?"

The blue light glowed at her words, consuming the trees ahead of her. Ice started emerging from the roots, quickly rapping itself around the trunks...branches...leaves...

And then it rushed front the roots to the ground, almost chasing towards Minerva.

Minerva screamed and jumped back, "What are you!?" she cried, feeling her chest tighten for some reason. She felt...cold. She placed her hand over her heart, feeling it compress her chest, making it harder to breath.

"Minerva!?" she could hear the Doctor call, Donna calling after her a second later.

"H-here!" Minerva tried to yell but the air was leaving her body rapidly. She fell to her knees, her hand clutching her chest. The light reached up to her knees, just barely touching her. She screamed again. She could have sworn the ice hissed, like it was also in pain. She stared at the light suddenly rush away from her, almost running away her. She blinked, hugging herself while she shivered, her eyes watching the light seemingly fading...in a near sad manner. With it, the ice started disappearing into nothing.

"There you are!" the Doctor ran out from behind, dropping beside her to check what was wrong. He'd only heard her first scream and immediately realized she wasn't with then anymore, so he bolted to find her.

Minerva trembled as she pointed ahead, the Doctor turning just as Donna arrived to see the last of the ice from the tree's leaves disappearing.

"What the hell is that!?" Donna gaped.

"It was the light, the blue light from the Titanic" Minerva looked at the Doctor, "I think...I think it was hurt. It touched me and it got hurt, just like me. Doctor my chest hurts, a lot," she screwed her eyes shut from the pain, "It's like I can't breath!"

The Doctor knew it was the crystal complicating it for her and quickly took her into his arms. In extreme cases like these he could treat it like asthma and give her an inhaler. But he needed the TARDIS and so he quickly headed to the box, "It's okay, it's okay, shhh," he rubbed her back.

Donna had stayed behind and frowned as she stared ahead, tilting her head in confusion. She looked around and saw a small spot where ice had remained near a trunk of a tree.

"Donna!" he heard the Doctor shout for her.

Donna quickly turned and ran to catch up with the pair, "Is she going to be alright?" she looked at the barely conscious Minerva.

"Yeah, I just have to get her somewhere warm and give her an inhaler," the Doctor replied with haste.

"But I don't want to leave the festival," Minerva complained quietly.

"You're not staying, Clever Girl," he shook his head.

"Please, I want to stay in the festival."

"Minerva, I'm putting you to bed and that's that," the Doctor declared. But with that look she was giving him, a sad hopeful look, with her face stained of tears...he knew it wouldn't be easy to keep his word.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was reading over Minerva's test results in the TARDIS med-bay, heavily sighing as he reached the end.

"Well?" Donna asked, standing beside him.

She had returned from checking on Minerva in her room, the girl asleep with dozens of blankets around her and on, her room's heater on full blast. To her, it literally felt like the freaking sun, but for Minerva...it seemed just right.

"Same as always, simply the crystal," the Doctor laid down the papers on the table in front of them, "And that I'm useless. Nothing new there!" He crumpled up the papers and threw it to a wall.

Donna laid a hand on his arm, "Hey, it's not your fault. You're doing everything you can."

But the Doctor shook his head, he was utterly frustrated because he couldn't do anything for Minerva. The only thing he can do is bundle her up in blankets and blast a heater, fat lot of good that was! He was useless because the one person he truly lo...cared for, was in danger and he couldn't do a damn thing. He couldn't even figure out what that little blue light was!

"It's alright," Donna cut into his thoughts.

"I should be able to cure her," he muttered, "She shouldn't have to live like this...I..."

"But she's happy, and that's what matters."

"Is she? Is she truly happy, Donna? Because I know anyone who lived like this wouldn't be too happy."

"Minerva is happy. And you wanna know why?"

"Enlighten me."

"Because she's with you," Donna smiled when the man's head snapped to hers, actually looking surprised which only made her laugh, "Doctor, she's told me all about you two and how you ended up together. The girl practically beams when you enter the room. And right now, when she feels 'sick', the only thing she wants to feel better is you. You think you're not doing anything for her but you are, you're really helping her just by being with her. Sooo, with that being said," she moved behind him and started pushing him for the doorway, "Go and see if she's woken up yet and make her feel better."

"Donna Noble you are something," he had to smile at the ginger as he was pushed.

"Yeah, yeah, temporal temp, non-important, blah, blah, now go!" she pushed him out to the hallway.

"Yes, but before," he spun around to face her, plopping a kiss on her forehead, "You are very important and I shall not have you running around my TARDIS without knowing so!"

She smiled softly, touched at his determination, "Thank you, spaceman."

"You're welcome," he nodded and went off to find his Clever Girl.

He went straight to her room, opening it just slightly to poke his head inside...only to see her bed was completely empty.

"Minerva?" he called, now coming inside. He looked around and saw no one so he went for the bathroom door, knocking on it several times, "Minerva? Are you in there?" he knocked again and awaited for an answer that never came. Cautiously, he opened the door just a crack, in case she hadn't heard him, "Minerva?" he poked his head inside, seeing no one around and so coming inside. He walked around, seeing nothing.

Where had that Clever Girl gotten to?

~ 0 ~

Minerva rested her back against a tree, her legs propped up to her chest, and her head tilted up as she stared at the dark sky above. She did her best to ignore her shivers or trembles, even if they were small she did still feel cold. She told the Doctor she didn't want to leave the festival yet, and even as the Martian refused to let her stay...he had kept the TARDIS in the festival where they had originally arrived. So, when she woken up and realized neither him or Donna were around...she made her escape.

But as she kept looking up to the sky, her mind seemed to drift back to the blue light she encountered earlier. That light...it felt...odd. It felt familiar in a way, but then again it had protected her back in the Titanic ship so she figured that was the reason behind it. However, she kept thinking on the noise of pain it had given when it touched her. It sounded like it had been in as much pain as she'd been. But that begged the question of why it had tried to touch her. Had it known that it would hurt both parties? Why had it even tried to touch her in the first place? For what purpose? The light was active, that much she knew, classified as alive who knew...but it had made a conscious move towards her. It even talked. She was sure those whispers she heard in her head were coming from the light, but what did it mean?

"I thought I'd find you here," the Doctor came around the tree, startling her out of her thoughts.

She looked up with an apologetic smile for her escape, "You stayed in the festival..."

"Of course I did, my Clever Girl asked me not to go," he held a red blanket in his arms, "I also assumed you had made your escape so quickly that you didn't bother getting something warm," he knelt down beside her and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders.

"Maybe," she confessed, biting her lip, "Are you mad?"

"No, of course not," he took a seat beside her, "Though I still say you should've stayed in your room where it was warm."

"That's boring," she scowled, "Boo. I wanted to come out and watch the rest of the festival..."

"While you shivered?" he pointed to her trembling body.

"Petty side effect," she waved him off, "Plus, I've got a Martian who always keeps me warm," she smiled slyly.

He caught her smile and shook his head, "You just love testing me, don't you?"

"Because you always fail me when talking about recreational mathematics, yes, I do."

"It's really not that hard, Minerva. I explained to you what the prime numbers was and-"

"La, la, la, la, la," Minerva covered her ears, "La, la, la, no math at a festival, la, la, la-"

The Doctor simply turned her head and kissed her. Minerva laughed against their kiss, she always won that argument. Every time one of the Doctor's lessons were about mathematics, she would push it aside or act so annoying that the man really only had the option of kissing her to make her shut up. Oh well...

"You are sneaky," he rolled on top of her, either legs of his on her sides so he wouldn't hurt her. He didn't weigh too much, at least he liked to think he didn't.

"You're the one that swiftly moved over me," Minerva bit her lip as the Martian neared her lips again.

"Are you still cold?"

She nodded, "My forehead is cold," so the Doctor moved up to kiss her forehead, "And my temples," two kisses were given to her temples, "My cheeks are cold too," she giggled as he kissed her cheeks, "And then these are extremely cold," she tapped her lips.

"You are very demanding aren't you?"

"Mhm."

"Well, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't keep my Clever Girl warm?"

"A very bad one..." Minerva smiled sweetly.

He just laughed and kissed her again. This time, though, he didn't plan on giving her a short little kiss, no...

Minerva's giggle broke through the kiss at the sensation of the Doctor's fingers brushing repeatedly on her sides, "Doctor," she gasped as his fingers moved to her back. Her skin was turning into goosebumps, but the good kind...a good set of chills she never experienced before, chills he provoked with his soft fingers.

Suddenly, though, the Doctor pulled away, feeling guilty about everything he told Donna earlier in the day...something that Minerva had a right to know about as well. He knew what was right. He was already hiding something monumentally big from her, the least he could was tell her of the lesser secret.

"What's going on with you, Martian?" Minerva sighed, her fingers tracing the sides of his face, "You've been acting weird lately, an extra weird for you."

"Minerva, there's something I need to tell you," he moved beside her, wondering if he would be able to hold her hand after he told her about Kaeya.

"What is it?"

"First, I just want you to know that I'm happy with you, okay?" he decided to go for her hand and hold it. At least if she got angry he would have the satisfaction he'd held her hand.

"I'm happy with you too," she smiled and gripped his hand.

"Minerva, I've..." he took a deep breath and let everything go as Donna had said, "...I've been thinking of Kaeya a lot more lately," he shut his eyes and awaited for the worst, even unconsciously gripping her hand in case she wanted to snatch it away from him.

"And?" Minerva blinked.

The Doctor's eyes snapped open and turned completely to face her, "And? What do you mean 'and'?"

"Just what it means," she shrugged.

"Minerva, I just told you I'm thinking about Kaeya, and..."

"You expected me to yell at you or something?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, sighing when the Doctor nodded, "I'll admit, it isn't to my greatest like that you think about her but it's natural. We're searching for her and clearly that's going to bring up some old thoughts about her. But thank you for telling me this," she rested a hand on his cheek, "I feel so special because you were honest with me. Frankly, I'd be a upset if you denied that you've been thinking about her."

"You would be?" he made a face of confusion.

Minerva nodded, "Because then you'd be lying to me," immediately, the Doctor's eyes darted to the side in guilt of his secret. She had no idea of the crystal that laid in her heart and he didn't want to think of what she'd do when she found out, "So it's okay, Martian, I'm not angry," Minerva assured him, "And thank you for taking me into consideration in all this."

"You're not...upset or anything?" he knew a smart person would stop insisting but he needed to make sure she was alright.

"No, truthfully, I've been thinking of her too," she admitted, "There's a lot of things that don't make sense about her encounter with the Master."

"But my thoughts aren't from that moment..." he said shamefully.

"They're from your time together," she finished what he couldn't, "It's okay, Martian. I wouldn't want you to act like nothing happened between you and her. That would be good for no one. I like being realistic, you know that. You think of your ex-girlfriend, to put it in simple terms. Big deal."

The Doctor took her hand off his face and gave it a kiss, "You are absolutely wonderful."

"And you are absolutely brilliant," she countered.

The Doctor leaned forwards and rested his forehead on hers, one of his hands still clutching Minerva's, his other making a trail up and down the side of her face. Her piercing jade-green eyes looked up at him with such softness and kindness in them it made him nearly melt. He felt like he could stay in this spot for an eternity as long as Minerva was right in front of him, the way she was. There were so many feelings rushing through him he didn't know what to say next, or what he could do.

"Minerva, I think I l..."

However, Donna approached the two with a big, red, rectangular gift box in her arms, "Oi!" she hollered, "There you are!"

The Doctor looked back at the ginger and saw the box, his eyes widening when he saw the box, "N-n-n-no! What are you doing with that? That wasn't for tonight!"

"What was?" Minerva asked, looking at him with confusion.

Donna took a seat in front of the two, leaving just enough space between them to place the box in, "Well the TARDIS was humming or whatever it does and then she showed me the gift," Donna explained, "Now what is it?" she leaned forwards with a smile that just screamed curiosity.

"It's not for you," the Doctor snapped then sighed, looking at Minerva, "It was for you."

"Me? But...it's not my birthday, it's not Christmas, no anniversaries or anything..." Minerva blinked, considering any other possible special occasion that could require a present.

The Doctor chuckled as he watched her grow more concerned she'd missed something, "No silly, I just wanted to surprise you. You've been a bit depressed lately so I figured I could help boost your mood up with that," he nodded to the gift.

"In that case, open it!" Donna exclaimed and patted the box.

Minerva sheepishly reached for the present and placed it on her lap, slowly ripping off the wrapping paper from the corners. She could make out a rather large square as she pulled down the paper, but when she opened it...her mouth hung open.

"A new Wahoo," she whispered, passing a hand down the box.

Donna scowled and tilted her head, "What is it?"

"It's um, an old game I used to play with my grandfather when I was a kid. A guy gave me one of these last year for my birthday but...it got left behind in 1969," Minerva looked at the Doctor, smiling softly, "Did you buy me a new one?"

"I figured what could make my Clever Girl happier than her favorite childhood game board?"

She leaned over and gently kissed him, "That could have," she whispered.

"I don't get it," Donna shook her head. How could a silly little game board make everything better? "Minerva, if you already had one why would you want another one?"

"It was left behind in 1969," Minerva reminded, "We were stuck there for a couple of months and a friend I made gave me one of these for my birthday. Though if I do recall..." she looked at the Doctor, "...it had made some one a tad upset..."

"Upset? Why would you be upset?" Donna asked him.

"Because it made her happy and it wasn't me that made her happy," he grumbled.

Just remembering that moment where Minerva had become so excited for the present that Jerome gave her made his blood boil. He wasn't upset she was happy, no. He loved seeing her happy, even back then. But it irritated him knowing that it hadn't been him that made her so excited and happy. It had been another man, another man that clearly had feelings for her and managed to snag a date with her meanwhile himself couldn't even confess his own feelings for her.

He loathed those days in 1969 where Minerva was closer to another man that wasn't him. Only he was allowed to make her smile, comfort, touch her, hug her, only him. And to see Minerva going on a date with Jerome and not him was, was...infuriating. Yes, infuriating because that meant Minerva could've fallen for Jerome and then that would lead to boyfriend and girlfriend and that was something the Doctor wouldn't stand for. That date of hers had been the breaking point of his indecision; the Doctor wanted Minerva to fall for him and only him. He wanted to be the one to ask her on a date, to give her that first-date kiss and hopefully become a boyfriend to her...and not Jerome. He was a helpless jealous idiot, but for Minerva he would be anything.

"Jerome was a nice," Minerva shrugged, biting back her laugh when the Doctor snapped his head to her, already annoyed he was talking about the man, "But I had my feelings somewhere else...on a certain Martian," she looked at him with a sheepish smile, "Now he made me truly happy when he decided to play with me."

"Well, can you teach me how to play?" Donna asked, taking the box from Minerva to look at it, "It looks weird..."

"It's fun, I promise," Minerva assured, gesturing her to start opening it. She then turned to the Doctor, "And you, thank you so much," she lunged on him when she kissed him, successfully pushing him to the ground, "Thank you!" she peppered kissed his entire face.

The Doctor laughed as he reached for her face, stopping her and unfortunately her kisses, "Glad you liked it."

"I promise I won't lose it," she swore before giving him one last deep kiss that left him with a burning desire for more. She sat up and started helping Donna set up the game, "Donna, you're gonna love this!"

The Doctor sat up and reached for the blanket Minerva had dropped behind. He wrapped it around her and scooted closer to her, watching her ecstatically rambling to Donna the instructions for the game. She truly did sound like him when she spoke that fast and excitedly, but she sounded so much better simply because it was her.