#chiffon could work that's really flowy

[starpros-sunshine]

The marine club should all get jellyfish themed outfits I think

[cameronspecial]

Thorn In My Side, Rose In My Hand (Part 5)

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x Reader

Warnings:  Under Age Drinking, Swearing and Making Out

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 3.4K

Summary: Y/N’s confusion causes her to ignore Rafe after their midnight McDonald’s run. Midsummer brings about some upsetting conversation and sights.

Masterlist

Y/N lies in bed looking up at the ceiling after getting changed into pyjamas. She and Rafe have just gotten back from McDonald’s. She goes over the day’s events in her head, trying to figure out why she feels the way she does. Her date with Wilson was boring, but the time she spent with him was decent. He didn’t seem to really understand her. However, Rafe took her to the most mundane place in the world and she had an absolute blast with him. He could read her body language and understood what she needed. How could she be feeling this way about Rafe when Wilson is the one she is dating?

She shouldn’t feel this way towards Rafe. It must be a fluke, so she should ignore him until this feeling goes away. She should focus on her relationship with Wilson because it is the one with the potential to turn into something more. He is the one Y/N needs to be with. With the decisions made, she turns to her side and goes to sleep in hopes that she will stop thinking about him. 

———

Y/N wakes up to a silent house, which is unusual when both Mason and Rafe are home. If it’s not music blasting from somewhere in the house because of them, then it is the shouts from whoever is losing at the game they are playing. She lazily strolls her way into the kitchen to see her mother at the kitchen island untying a take-out bag.  It’s no surprise Cassie bought something to eat; she is just as much of a disaster in the kitchen as her daughter. “I ordered us some breakfast. Since your brother, Rafe and your dad are going for a morning surf and then to the country club for breakfast and golf, I thought you and I can have a girls’ day. I got some eggs benedict and after, maybe we can get our Midsummer dresses?” Cassie suggests while giving the food to her daughter. Y/N nods in agreement, “I love that idea! Could I invite Lace to come dress shopping with us?”  

“Of course! She’s practically my other daughter. So… I saw you come home last night with your date and then a few minutes later, I see you leave the house again with Rafe for like an hour. What’s up with that?”

“Ummm, I was going to make a grilled cheese. Rafe suggested we go to McDonald’s and we went. End of story.”

“It can’t be. I saw the way he looked at you, Y/N/N. Before we left for Bali, you never wanted to be alone with him and now, you are going out with only him at midnight. Something has changed between you two.”

“It can’t be different. Nothing can happen between Rafe and I, I’m dating Wilson.” 

“Whatever you say, sweetie. Are you going to ask Wilson to Midsummer?”

“Yeah, I can’t wait for you to meet him. He is a big fan of your earlier works.” 

———

Y/N stands in front of the mirror looking at the dress she is wearing. Her mother picked this dress and Y/N is not exactly feeling this colour. It is a green asymmetric ruffled silk-satin maxi dress; the colour reminds her of puke and the ruffles made Y/N feel like she is a flower girl for someone’s wedding. Lacey, Y/N and Cassie come out of their respective changing rooms to show off the dresses they found. It looks like Lacey and her mom have both found the perfect dresses for them. Lacey is wearing a jaffa orange asymmetrical open-back midi dress and Cassie is wearing a light blue chiffon dress with a ruched waist, shoulder-wide straps, and a flowy skirt. When the other two look at Y/N’s dress, they both realize how wrong the dress is for the girl. Seeing their faces, Y/N immediately goes back inside to change into the dress Lacey chose. 

The dress Lacey picked out is a pastel yellow halter-neck open-back dress. It is a pretty dress, but it is a little plain for Y/N.  She goes out to show her other shopping companions. “No, it looks a little boring for you,” Lacey confirms Y/N’s suspicion. “Agreed. I don’t have any other dresses to try on though.” At that moment, Cassie returns with a blush dress in hand, “Here, try this on sweetie.” Y/N thanks her mother and goes back into the changing room to put it on. She looks at the blush cover dress on her. It is a blush chiffon lace midi skater dress, so it reaches just below her knees. Her straps are flower lace and the top is pleated a little so it forms a little v-shaped valley on her chest. It is simple, but the pleated and lace elements add the much-needed oomph to the dress. 

She walks out of the changing room with a little twirl to show off her dress. This is the one. The smile on Lacey’s and Cassie’s shows their agreement with her thoughts. “Sweetie, it’s perfect. The colour complements you so much,” Cassie praises. Lacey nods her head, “You look so hot. Like damn girl. And we can make a flower crown with pink flowers to match with purple flowers to add some variety.” “Oooh, I love that idea. You can make an orange and blue flower crown. It would be so cute!” Y/N continues. Cassie’s mom beams at the excitement of the two girls, “We can go to the florist next, but right now, I need you both to change so we can pay for the dresses. 

———

After finishing off a day of outdoor activities, Rafe decides it is finally time to go back to Tannyhill. Rafe wanted to go back to the Y/L/N’s house with Marvin and Mason, but he is running out of clothes and he knows he has to face his father eventually. The particular reason why he has been avoiding Ward Cameron this time is that Rafe had finally told his dad that he wasn’t considering being on the swim team when he is in university. Rafe wants to focus on school and intern for his dad during the semesters, so he thought that not joining the university swim team would help him find a good balance between the other two commitments he wants to prioritize. 

Rafe enters the house as quietly as possible in hopes of not alerting his father to his arrival. However, he failed at doing so as he hear his father’s heavy footsteps come towards him. “Look who finally came back home. I was beginning to think you ran away from home,” Ward says harshly. “I just came back for more clothes,” Rafe grumbles, trying to get past his father. Ward stands in his son’s way in front of the stairs, “No, you aren’t going back there. We are your family, so you need to live here. Plus, we need to finish our conversation because you are going to join the swim team and intern for me at university.” 

“You don’t treat me like family. You are too busy treating Sarah like a princess to even remember Wheezie and I exist. The only time you pay attention to me is when I fuck up. As for the swim team thing, I’ve already explained everything I needed to. I want to focus more on my studies and work. I can’t prioritize those things if I have to worry about getting to swim practice.” 

“Don’t talk back to me! Sarah would be able to balance school, work and the swim team; you’re older, so you should be able to do the same! I worked my ass off to get to where I am now; I expect you to do the same too.” 

“I’m sorry I’m not perfect Sarah but you have to stop comparing Wheezie and me to Sarah. I know how stressed I get with trying to balance the swim team and school work in high school. I’m trying to look out for my mental health and set my boundaries. Why can’t you just accept that I’m trying to be better mentally? Because a lot of people older than me would never try to do what I’m doing even though they need it way more than I do.” 

Ward grew frustrated at his son as he realizes Rafe is actually making valid points, “Enough! I don’t want to talk about this anymore! Go to your room! You aren’t going back to the Y/L/N house any time soon.” “You’re the one who wanted to talk about his,” Rafe grumbles, shoving past his father to go up to his room. 

———

Y/N and Wilson are sitting in her theatre room watching The Civil War: The Postage Adventure by Timothy Satonis. As one may guess, it is a documentary about the postage system during the Civil War. Y/N could not be bothered to really pay attention to what the boring narrator is saying because his voice is so dull and she could not care less about the postage during the Civil War. Wilson chose the film. Y/N tries cuddling herself into Wilson’s side because of how cold she is, but Wilson would not let her so she resorts to using a blanket and holding his hand. 

Y/N speaks up to try to add some excitement to the movie, “So… Midsummer is coming up soon. And I was wondering if you would be my date?” “Yes, but can we finish watching the movie please?” Wilson answers. She listens to what he requests and scrolls on her phone while the movie plays. Once the movie is finished, Wilson and Y//N go upstairs to make something to eat. Y/N starts making grilled cheese for both of them. “I already picked out my dress. Mine is a blush colour, I can send you a picture if you want to match with me,” Y/N tells Wilson, buttering the bread and adding the cheese before putting it in the pan. 

 “No, I prefer to go for a plain black suit and tie with a gray handkerchief. It looks cleaner like that.” 

“Okay, if that’s what you want.”

“So where is your mother? I have not had the chance to introduce myself to her yet.”

“She’s on the main island for a work meeting. You should be able to meet her at Midsummer.”

Wilson nods in understanding at the girl. The conversation can’t continue because Rafe and Mason enter the kitchen too. “Y/N/N, can you make me one too, please,” Mason asks as he sits beside Wilson on the island stool. “Yo, Y/L/N can you make me one too, please?” Rafe chimes. “Of course, Mace,” Y/N responds to Mason while ignoring Rafe. This doesn’t go unnoticed by Rafe so he tries asking again, “Y/L/N, can you make one for me, please?” She ignores the boy again and continues to make the grilled cheese for the other two boys. She finishes up cooking and hands it over to everyone, but Rafe. After realizing she isn’t going to give him one, Rafe leaves the kitchen and goes up to Mason’s room. Mason could see the upset on Rafe’s 

Mason eats his grilled cheese without engaging in conversation with the other two and goes upstairs to check on Rafe. “Why is she ignoring me?” Rafe complains with sadness in his voice. “I don’t know, dude. When did she start ignoring you?” Mason inquires. Rafe looks at him with an almost puppy-dog look in his eyes, “I’m not sure, I haven’t seen her since last week because my dad has been forcing me to sleep at home. But I know she was talking to me then because I took her to McDonald’s.” “Maybe she just had a bad day and she reset to before you started trying to befriend her. She just needs time,” Mason reasons. Rafe mumbles a sad maybe as he hopes what Mason says is true. 

———

Midsummer. The excuse the elite use to display their wealth through clothes and to come together to brag about themselves. It is where young lovers will announce their courtship to the rest of the Kooks just to make other people jealous. Y/N is helping her mother get ready for the event by helping her with her hair and makeup. “My love, have you seen my tie?” Her dad inquires as he walks into his bedroom with a misbuttoned shirt and suit jacket on. Cassie looks up at her husband through the mirror and laughs at his dishevelled state, “Vin, it’s right here. With my dress, remember?” She gets up from her vanity and grabs the tie that matches her dress. Cassie rebuttons Marvin's shirt and then ties his tie for him. “You are the smartest person I know, Vin. But I swear, if I wasn’t here to screw you head on every morning, you’d forget where it is.” She finishes up the tie and gives him a kiss on the cheek before going back to her daughter. 

As Y/N watches the domestic scene before her, she can’t help but wonder if she’d ever have moments like this with Wilson. She can’t imagine he is the type of person to ask for help if he needed it. Rafe would though, at least from her he would. Even if he didn't need it, he would still ask because he knows it makes her feel needed and happy. But Y/N and Rafe would never get moments like this. She shouldn’t want to have them with him. “Sweetie, did you hear me?” Cassie says, breaking Y/N out of her thoughts. 

“No, can you say that again, please?” Y/N mumbles while focusing on her mom’s hair again. 

“Are you driving with us or Wilson?”

“Wilson, he’s picking me up in 30 minutes”

———

Y/N answers the door when Wilson knocks. He is wearing exactly what he said he would, “You look beautiful, Y/N. Where are your parents? I should say hello before we go. ” “Thanks. And they are already on their way to the club with Mace,” she gives him a tight-lipped smile, making her way to his car. “Oh, I guess I will meet them there.” 

During the ride to the country club, it is mostly silent until Y/N breaks the silence with an idea she had. “I was thinking of starting a YA book club at the country club. Would you like to join?” Wilson glances at her with a funny look on his face, “Do not be ridiculous. You know I do not read those silly books.” Y/N’s shy smile turns into a frown and she slowly slumps in her seat, turning towards the window. “All you had to say was no. You don’t have to be so rude about this.” Wilson sighs at this, “I am sorry. I did not mean to offend you. I just do not understand what you find so entertaining about those books.” “It’s fine, I get it,” she brushes it off curtly. 

After a silent car ride, they finally make it to the club. They find Mason and Rafe near the bar upon entering. “Hey, Mace. How has everything been going on here so far?” It doesn’t go unnoticed by the boys that she is still ignoring Rafe. He wants to speak up but is afraid of being turned down by her and being embarrassed. He quickly looks away to not make her uncomfortable. “Hello, Y/N/N. Wilson. And it’s been okay. Hey, look you and Rafe are matching,” Mason points out after Wilson says his hello. At this, Rafe’s head turns to see what she is wearing. It’s true, she is wearing a blush dress that perfectly matches his blush suit jacket, which he definitely didn’t pick because it reminded him of her. She looked incredible in the dress. The way it kissed the bottom of her knees. The way the lace on the shoulders teased at the skin below. The way the pleats draw attention to her breast.  The way the bright colours of her flower crown match the joy on her face. This may be his new favourite dress. 

“Come on, I see my parents over there,” Y/N announces, ignoring Mason’s observation, as she drags Wilson over to Cassie and Marvin, leaving her brother and his best friend behind. “Mom, come meet Wilson.” The younger couple approaches the older one quite quickly.

Rafe stands near the bar with Mason, watching the scene with jealousy. Even though he’s known Cassie and Marvin for around 12 years now, he wants to be the one being introduced to them as Y/N’s boyfriend. Mason pats Rafe’s back in a comforting and sad manner. “Let’s go see if we can find that bartender that doesn’t check for id,” Mason suggests in hopes of cheering his friend up. 

Meanwhile, Y/N is introducing Wilson to her mom. “Dad, you’ve already met Wilson. So mom, this is Wilson. We’ve been seeing each other. Wilson, this is my mom, who you might’ve noticed is Cassie Y/L/N.” Wilson eagerly reaches his hand out for Cassie to check, “It is lovely to meet you, Mrs. Y/L/N. I love your early works. Your daughter is also great.” Cassie finds it odd that Wilson would mention her books before her daughter but says nothing about it. “Thank you. I’m very proud of both, but especially my Y/N/N.” At that moment, Y/N’s favourite song started to play. “Wilson, will you come dance with me?” He shakes his head, which again causes a frown on Y/N’s face, “I am sorry. I only dance to jazz or classical music. I will request one of my favourites so we can dance to that later.” “Oh okay, I’ll just go dance with Lacey,” Y/N reasons as she goes to find her best friend, while Wilson is talking to Cassie about her writing. 

Rafe had been drinking to forget. Forget that all the progress he made with befriending Y/N had gone away for some unknown reason. All he wanted to do was forget about her and what a cliche way he decided to do it. He decides to hook up with Elizabeth Huntington to make his troubles go away. In hindsight, that is a worse idea because of who he decided to try to hook up with. Elizabeth is Y/N’s classic rival. Both girls are vying for the spot of valedictorian this year. Even though Y/N is much more introverted than Elizabeth, she couldn’t help but be a little jealous of Elizabeth’s life of the party personality. Rafe and Elizabeth are in a supply closet heavily making out and trying to rid each other of clothes. Elizabeth’s hands shoot to tangle in his hair. She gently tugs on it which causes him to groan out a name, just the wrong one. “Y/N.” Elizabeth immediately stops her assault. “Seriously? You’re just using me to forget about her,” she grumbles. She readjusted her dress before leaving the closet. Rafe groans again and runs his fingers through his hair. He leaves after fixing himself up, not realizing that Y/N is watching while she dances with Wilson. 

Elizabeth leaving with a huff is what first caught Y/N’s eyes. She was curious about who Elizabeth was in the closet with. However, when Y/N sees Rafe exit the same closet as Elizabeth, her heart sinks. Rafe knows how she feels about Elizabeth and she thought he felt the same way every time they had a moment together. But she now sees she is wrong because if he did feel the same way, then he wouldn’t be hooking up with the person that makes her feel so insecure. 

Rafe spots Y/N dancing with Wilson and he feels a pang shoot through his heart. Guilt about what he was about to do immediately washes over him. If Y/N had seen him, it could’ve been the end of anything they could’ve been. He knew she felt the same way as he did during their moments; if he ruined that, he’d never forgive himself. Little did he know it was already too late. 

Taglist: @itsalexwin @sublimepenguinpeach-blog  @gillybear17​  @terraeluce

[toxicradio]

Ok corporate goth outfit ideas that are actually realistic:

-dark/deep colors if all black isn't enough. I'm talking maroon, the deepest emerald, midnight blue.

-mix up textures. Satin/shiny. Velvet. Soft and flowy like chiffon or structured.

-keep makeup minimal. Don't do your whitest face, sousixe brow, and biggest wings. Dark/warm neutral lipsticks. Darken your natural brow. I LOVE dark brown eyeshadow. It's still dramatic but not overly so. Especially if I put black eyeliner on my waterlines.

-hair be careful with. If you have a pony tail, really slick down the hair before the hair tie. I suggest keeping bats nest sales really low key or not at all depending on where you work.

-Stevie nicks style cardigans or shawls. I love a dark maroon cardigan on all black.

-puffy shoulder sleeves for a little victorian drama. Slightly puffy poet sleeves.

-marry Jane's are coming BACK. and patent lether is another texture. Be careful with boots/booties I recommend avoiding docs and if you do just be careful to dress them up and keep them clean.

-layering jewelry but be careful with this. In most cases I recommend keeping it fairly minimal or one statement necklace. I discourage spikes, locks, heavy duty chains. Be careful with the charms too. Avoid skulls but be mindful of spiders and ghosts and things. If you get a resin necklace with a bug or spider or bones and it's subtle, it can be a nice conversation starter. Just nothing too big, especially if layering other jewelry. I also encourage playing around woth the lengths.

-vests can be good for adding layers.

-belts can be helpful both thin and thick

-avoid fishnets. Black or brown tights and panty hose.

-no rips or frays

-if appropriate, SOME band tees can be ok if dressed up with a very nice cardigan and slacks or blazer.

- be mindful of skirt length but I love below the knee skirts with slightly healed knee boots. Helps feel a bit more vintage

-button up blouses and high colars like mock necks and turtle necks.

-if doing all black, try to make it sleek. Like avoiding ruffles, try to match textures smooth your hair, minimalist makeup like dark brows and simple eyeliner. Minimal jewelry.

-colors can be your friends. Especially if very dark and rich.

I wish we still had that site where you could put together an outfit

[sweetish-original-story]

Chapter 19

Tap tap tap tap. Tap tap. Tap tap tap tap-

"Uuuuhhh GOD, PLEASE take me away from thiiiis..." Sammy groaned as she nearly slumped over her computer desk. Of course, she couldn't because she was fully hooked in, visor and all. The smelly old thing COULD have been upgraded months ago, but the new parts are made with so much lower quality that it would risk all 3,000 terabytes of work (and 17,000 terabytes of high quality anime, some being so rare and old the characters depicted still had functioning gills, scales, and PROFOUNDLY bigoted facial features). No, she couldn't risk getting it updated now. She would just have to wait for a full replacement and move the data from one to the other.

That day couldn't come faster.

She had to do the mind-numbing work of editing celebrity photos this week because of their current collaboration with DNA Wholefillers and their plus-size summer cataloge coming out soon. She absolutely HATED working with these people. They brag about having such a wide variety of fits for everyone, but everything is made so fast and so poorly that its just sad to watch people be willing to put such slop on themselves. None of their designs looked good. They weren't unique, and if you ever complained about the quality, they would just try to sell you something else instead of fixing the issue.

This dress looks distressed, even in the photos they sent her, and she had to go about trying to make it look somewhat presentable. She ordered an outfit from them once just to see if the rumors were true, and she could have sworn they just tried to cover up a blood stain with an extra pocket. Which is really bad to see on a pair of brand new underwear. She'd join the boycott against them, but her mother doesn't seem to care what she had to say about them.

Tap tap tap. Sliiiide tap tap. Tap taptap tap.

"It was probably a fluke in the production, hon. I don't know why you felt the need to buy such a thing anyway. You're better than, ew, this thing." her moms voice crept into her mind like a quiet whisper."Poor people can't afford Bandaids, sweetie, that's why go to these galas, thays why we do this! Now put on some perfume like a lady and let's go." Ugh. Gross. Thinking about that memory made her feel gross in a way she couldn't describe. It's not weird for some dyes to get mixed up in production. Its not weird for a teenager to want to wear what her freinds are wearing, even if the most expensive thing they have to offer costs half the amount of pocket change you tend to carry when you go for a drive. The poorest person she knew really DID have trouble affording band aids when they first met. What was it about that memory that felt icky?

"Okay, almost finished..." she carefully dragged her fingers over the hologram to raise the heavy burlap fabric she was working on to make it seem more flowy and soft. As if burlap sack could ever be as soft and airy as a chiffon chemise. Disgusting. She just wants to watch sone frickin cartoons.

Sliiide.

She kept from complaining, though, she WANTED this job, after all. Maybe she should treat herself after this. Maybe she should buy herself a new dress. One WORTH buying. She'll never wear it, of course, among all the others sitting in her closet, but she felt it was nice to see that side of herself from time to time. The more Sammy thought about the dress, the more unfocused she became. She started thinking about her belly. Her hips and thighs. They've grown, but she can't tell whether her mom had noticed her new size. She couldn't let her mom find out she'd been getting bigger, or else she'd immediately make her start drinking that horrible tea and rabbit food again. A small plate of plain uncooked vegetables should NOT count as a meal. Why do the maids let her get away with this?

Click.

Saved. Copied. Sent. Freedom. And it couldn't come any sooner. She lifted her visor and took a look outside. It was approaching noon. She leaned back in her chair and reached as high up to the ceiling as she could, releasing so much tention from her body that her whole being unintentionally quaked as if she was in an earthquake, before gently releasing all the pain and ache she had been feeling from her workout.

She then saved her work once more (for good mesure) and closed the window before opening her files and turning on Hair Piece to decompress. She has already watched this episode, but she was looking for details to make fun of alongside her many online friends.

[casspurrjoybell-19]

CLAIMED - Chapter 39

*Warning: Adult Content*     

‘Remember to breathe. In and out. In and out. Breathe... Breathe.’

"Fuck," Beta Jaxson Ortiz exclaimed, popping open a few more buttons of his shirt as yet another trickle of sweat joined the puddles that were rapidly forming both underneath his arms and within the canal of his spine.

White knuckles curling around the edge of the sink, the bright green emerald of Jaxson's engagement ring caught the moonlight that snuck its way into the dressing room, distorted and colorful due to the stained glass that adorned the tops of the windows.

Jaxson gulped in lungfuls of air as his own emerald eyes remained fixated on the depths of the sink basin, wondering if there was some kind of magic out there that was strong enough to let him fit down the drain and hide in there forever.

"Goddess, c'mon, get a grip," Jaxson whisper-shouted to no one but himself, attempting to wrangle a lasso around his rogue getaway plan.

To be fair, Jaxon didn't actually want to run away from it all, not really. 

He was just... so fucking nervous that he was three hundred percent sure that he was about puke his guts out, all over this fancy fucking outfit that Benji, having been made aware of the Crescent Falls Beta's ineptitude for any form of reasonable fashion outside of sweatpants and a hoodie, had been so kind to help him pick out.

Finally deciding to give the rim of the sink a break from incessant strangulation, Jaxson opted to instead press the heels of his palms into the divots of his eye sockets, instead escaping into the firework-like lights that swirled and popped behind his overstimulated lids.

It wasn't until he pulled his hands back from their assault on his orbital bones that Jaxson cursed once more, peeking down at the black smudges that were now streaked across freckled skin. 

Peering into the mirror above the sink, the Beta caught a glimpse of the wreck he had so quickly become over the course of five, agonizing minutes. 

Maybe it wasn't just the Fae, Daffodil and Pack Warrior Tyrus Cahill who didn't need to be left unsupervised.

The lapels of his flowy, chiffon shirt were uneven, draping wildly to either side of his sharp collarbones and somehow a few of his meticulously styled curls had managed to frizz right back up again. 

But worst of all, somewhere between sweating his ass off and grinding his eye sockets to dust, Jaxson realized that he'd essentially destroyed all of the hard work that Luna Berlin Cahill had done to and he quoted 'give Jax the most fabulous make-over in the history of ever.'

At first, Jaxson felt pretty iffy about the whole concept of getting any sort of makeup slathered onto his face. 

After all, he'd never felt the need to accentuate his unconventional features any more than they naturally were. 

But one glimpse of the excitement that sparkled behind Luna Berlin's eyes a flicker of genuine happiness that was so much harder to come across these days and the Beta found himself ass-down and face-up in some twirly makeup chair.

Jaxson could have sworn that the Omega had some sort of extra, hidden arms with how swiftly he poked and prodded all over Jaxson's face with an assortment of weird-smelling sticks, fluffy brushes and something that reminded the Beta of a dishwashing sponge from the kitchen.

The whole process only took a total of about twenty-five minutes but it felt like so much longer as Jaxson silently brooded through it, preparing himself for eons of disappointment when he looked in the mirror and saw the damage that Berlin was sure to have done.

The sharp gasp that escaped Jaxson once Berlin twirled the chair around so that he could see the finished product was one of an absolute spectacle as he gaped, tilting his head this way and as the ethereally gorgeous creature on the other side of the mirror stared right back at him, mimicking his every movement.

"Is that... me?" the Beta asked after a long period of silence, during which his breaths came out in bursts of disbelief.

Berlin just smiled, resting his hands on either one of Jaxson's shoulders as he bent over so that their faces would be parallel in the reflected image. 

The smile that tugged at his rosy lips was equal parts satisfied and expectant.

"Corey is gonna lose his marbles," Berlin exclaimed, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet with anticipation. "You're so freaking handsome, I can't wait to see his reaction."

Jaxson groaned at the incredibly recent memory.

‘Yeah, he'll lose his marbles all right. That is, if I'm even able to scrounge up the courage to just fuckin' go out there and face him.' He thought to himself, closing his eyes at the exact moment that a gentle knock sounded on the door.

"It's open," the Beta rasped, barely maintaining enough energy to care who his visitor was. 

However, the words that were said to him next left Jason twirling around in his spot, facing the tiny flurry of yellow that was shooting himself like a torpedo all into Jaxson's personal space.

“Cor Cor cry already. So silly, so silly," Daffodil giggled as if it were the most hilarious thing he'd ever witnessed, half-skipping, half-hobbling the rest of the way over to Jaxson. 

It took a few moments of figuring out how to navigate around his front-heavy belly but the tiny Fae somehow managed to fill the space in no time, engulfing the Beta in a massive hug around his midsection since it was the only part of Jaxson that he could realistically reach.

 "Hi best friend. Hi."

"Hey, little mutant. Thanks for coming to see me," Jaxson replied, patting the top of his fluffy, yellow head.

Daffodil and Tyrus had only been living behind The Veil for a few weeks now but even so, everyone could tell that it had made a significantly positive impact on their demeanours. 

Although the entire pack missed the mismatched pair and their puzzling, impossible-to-keep-up-with shenanigans, it was obvious that their retreat back to Daffodil's homeland had been more than necessary.

And now, the small Faerie hobbled around with his protruding belly weighing more than the rest of him when they returned for Jaxson and Corey's ceremony, telling any and everyone who would listen about how he and Tyrus supposedly 'saved the world' in the few weeks that they were gone.

If Jaxson had to make an educated guess, 'saving the world' likely translated to 'had a dozen cupcakes for breakfast and went into a hallucinatory coma,' in Tyrus and Daffodil speak.

Either way, as the Faerie grinned up at Jaxson wide enough to flash his small canines, Jaxson thought of how he never failed to light up the room like the sun over the horizon, sweeping away any and all dark clouds in his wake.

"Daffie, no spoilers," Berlin's voice sounded from down the hall, words directed at the Fae who was still way too busy grinning up at Jaxson like the Cheshire cat to even register the reprimand. 

Gigantic eyes wide and imploring, Daffodil looked like something out of a CGI alien flick as he blinked excitedly, not missing a beat.

"Jax Jax pretty, pretty," Daffodil said, reaching up with his weird little hands, the soft pads of three fingers and thumb hovering just over the apples of Jaxson's heavily freckled cheeks. "Pretty like flower."

As he uttered the last word, that very item materialized in the center the Fae's palm, pink petals bursting to life from nothing but fairy dust and a strictly honed sense of belief. 

He pushed up to his tiptoes then, tucking the short stem into the curls at the side of Jaxson's hair before pulling back to glean a wide-eyed glimpse of the masterpiece he'd just perfected. 

"Pretty, pretty, pretty." 

Bouncing on the heels of his feet and clasping his hands to his chest, Daffodil chittered with satisfaction at this masterpiece.

Jaxson reached up to touch the waxy petals of the flower, forcing a grateful grin onto his lips despite the way it made his overly nervous stomach do a couple extra acrobatics.

The Beta had come to develop a kind of unexpected fondness for the odd little duckling before him, what with his seemingly constant sense of seeing only the best things that this world has to offer. It was a little infectious if he was being completely honest and at a time like this, he needed all the help he could get to stay positive.

"Thanks, bestie," he endeared, reaching down to ruffle Daffodil's yellow waves. 

The thin strands stuck to one another as he did so, hair defying gravity and turning into a bird's nest of sorts. 

But the Fae didn't seem to even notice, let alone mind. 

"I really like it."

"Welc.." Daffodil chirped out the heavily abbreviated 'you're welcome' the very moment before his eye caught rainbow arcs of moonlight that emanated from the stained glass above. 

Attention instantly snagged, Daffodil released a soft ‘Ooohh’ before traipsing over, crouching down and staring intently at the place where the light met the floorboards as if he'd never seen those colors before.

And of course, it was then that Berlin finally caught up with them. 

Peeking his blonde head in the door, his wide smile instantly dissolved into a picture of wide-eyed shock when he spied the sorry state of Jaxson's ruined makeup.

"Oh my Goodness, what happened?" the smaller Omega was on him in less than a second, patting his body all over as if he expected to find a battle wound. "I was sent to fetch you before the ceremony begins and this is what I find? Goddess, I knew we should have left Benji in here with you," he half-seriously, half-jokingly mumbled to himself as he steered the haphazard Beta back to the same chair he'd been thrust into earlier that day.

Jaxson sat obediently, much too preoccupied with thoughts of what was about to occur to resist. 

Instead, emerald eyes just watched with silent acceptance as Berlin flitted around the space, quickly gathering back up his discarded array of makeup supplies on the vanity beside them.

The Beta's nerves vibrated endlessly underneath a thin barrier of freckled skin, injecting a muddled sense of overstimulation into his every vein and reminding him that this was not, in fact, a dream.

This was real and this was happening.

His stomach did a kickflip and he was only vaguely aware of the cool makeup remover wipe rubbing at the smudged blackness beneath his eyes when his lips parted and his vocal cords betrayed him, selling him out without his permission.

"Berlin... I'm... I'm so scared I think I'm gonna fuckin' hurl."

The Omega's eyes widened momentarily at the admission, briefly faltering in his pursuit of rectifying Jaxson's makeup mishap.

Silence hung in the air like a shroud as he stared down at Jason who, in turn, seemed highly preoccupied with deciphering the secrets of the wooden floor beneath them. 

But at the sight of a thin stream of moisture conjuring its way to life on Jaxson's lower lash line, Berlin immediately reached around to pull up a second chair directly in front of the Beta, leaning forward once he settled down into it, floorboards creaking under the shifting of weight.

Waiting for a response to his confession was nothing short of torturous and Jaxson clasped his hands together in his lap once they began to shake, the tremor increasing to a point that it was borderline impossible to conceal. 

The scrape of metal against his ring finger calmed him only the slightest bit, the memory of Corey presenting him with the gorgeous piece of jewelry sating his overactive fight-for-flight by a fraction.

But at the same time, as his fingertips toyed with the precious ring, the emerald that lay atop it seemed to weigh a million pounds, forcing him to retreat into the depths of his own mind to escape the pressure.

"Oh, Jax..." Berlin gave him a small, flickering smile filled with bittersweet understanding, thumb brushing soothingly against the place where the Beta's pulse beat the strongest. "Life isn't about being perfectly prepared for every little thing we encounter. At any moment the world around us can shift, people can come and go, and our emotions, wonderful, crazy things those are, can transform in ways we never imagined. Sometimes facing it all seems utterly impossible through all of the sadness and anxiety and fear but we can only do our best to walk along the paths of our lives with bravery," Berlin paused for a moment, shuddering out a breath as if trapped in an ever deeper thought. "You have two packs that have and will be honored to have you as their Beta, a child who adores you and a mate that would kiss the very ground you walked on if it were socially acceptable," Berlin joked and Jaxson couldn't help the way his lips twitched upwards at just how goddamn true that statement was. "And they will all continue to love you regardless of what you choose to do today."

Jaxson felt the tear roll down his cheek before he could manage to suck it back in, plopping onto their entwined hands below when he squeezed his eyes shut. 

Tossing the words that Berlin had just said around in his brain, he forced his mind to swallow them down like a shot of burning liquor.If there was anything that he could be sure of, it should be this. 

It should be today.

But right now, it was as if his psyche was attempting a last-ditch effort to wrangle him back into the thought processes that he'd tried so hard to leave behind, the trauma of long ago digging poison-tipped barbed wire into the liberating sense of individual rationality that he'd so recently learned to embrace.

Desperate to get out of the prison of his own head, Jaxon blinked rapidly, swallowing back the rest of the tears that threatened to fall alongside the first one. 

Then, he raised his head, locking watery gazes with his Luna.

"We visited their resting places yesterday," Jaxson started, to which Berlin drew in a sharp breath. 

No matter the fact that it had been weeks now since the incident, the mention of his parents' passing still stung sharp and quick like a needle, puncturing deep into flesh and bone.

"It's... It's not fair," Jax followed up with a rush of air, voice cracking with the heft of his anguish.

Forcing his face not to crumble was so much harder than just letting the emotions flood his system. 

Later, he would allow himself to remember, to sob out every ounce of water in his body but Berlin knew that this was not the time or place for reliving his parents' deaths. 

No, today was a day for celebration.

"I still see them in the morning beams of sunlight that light up my room and give me the strength to face another day. I smell them in the tea that I sip on the back porch each afternoon. I feel them in my soul in the fleeting moments when I hover between wakefulness and sleep," Berlin smiled, the expression contradicting the way his eyes welled up to the point of near overflow. "They aren't ever truly gone, Jax. The Goddess' Paradise is a wondrous place. Trust me, I've been there and it's gorgeous," he emphasized his words with a gentle shake of his head, eyes drifting upward as if remembering before shifting back down to Jason. "You see, even if their physical forms are not with us, their spirits are never truly gone."

Jaxson sniffled, eyes pleading as he held Berlin's gaze. 

"E-even my mom?"

"Yes, even her. And life... it still goes on. It's different, sure and sometimes just feels so incredibly empty without them. But still, it goes on." 

Berlin assured with a smile and a nod, releasing Jaxson's neck in favor of shifting the collar of his cream chiffon shirt back into place. 

"Now, are we doing this today or would you like me to tell everyone that due to... technical difficulties, we are postponing to a later date? We can do whatever you're comfortable with, no harm no foul."

Beta Jaxson Ortiz swallowed.

He was still scared out of his ever-loving skull. 

He wished more than anything that he had Corey’s parents, Raymon and Danny Cahill, smiling their approval as he took their son's hand. 

And even more so than that, he wished that his mom was there, holding him and guiding him through every inkling of doubt.

But now, with the help of his Luna, his mind was now able to piece together the real things that mattered among the raging chaos.

Corey was out there. 

Corey was waiting for him. 

Corey had, if Daffodil was to be believe, already cried over him, over the everlasting bond they were to form today.

But most of all, Corey loved him. 

And he loved that giant, fluffy, stone-faced Alpha right back.

"Today," he replied after what felt like both a second and a century of inner deliberation. "We will do this today."

"Okay. Today, then. Let's fix your mascara and get this show on the road, shall we?" Berlin's smile was mega-watt and so infectious that Jaxson couldn't help the way a grin tugged at his own lips as well.

Yeah, he could do this.

Then suddenly, at the very apex of their breakthrough, a giant crash left both men swiveling their heads around to see a pile of cardboard boxes tumbling to the ground, right alongside a squealing Daffodil who had apparently been halfway through a self-prescribed mission of climbing up and trying to sneak a peek at the contents inside.

For a moment, both Jaxson and Berlin scrambled to their feet, ready to save the tiny Fae from a fall that had the potential to hurt both him and the baby growing safely inside of his stomach. 

But before they could reach him, without a single shred of fear, Daffodil just giggled, sticking out a three-fingered hand just before hitting the ground.

 A cloud of sparkling dust formed beneath his palm, forming a cushion large enough to suspend the clumsy Faerie a few, meager inches above the ground.

He lifted his yellow head, waves even wilder than they were a second ago as he stared up at them with a toothy grin.

"I okay."

Jaxson just sighed, walking over to lift the Faerie out of suspended animation by his underarms. 

"Okay, no more climbing or getting into potentially dangerous situations until after the ceremony. I need my flower boy in one piece so that when I walk in, I stun everybody in a badass blaze of flower petals and glory."

Daffodil nodded hard, expression scrunching up into one of determination. 

Then, he surprised Jaxson by giving a three-fingered salute and a stomp of one of his croc-clad feet. 

"Daffie do good."

Jaxson didn't waste the opportunity to ruffle the short Fae's hair once more, his yellow tresses now resembling more of a beehive than anything. 

Somehow, it kinda fit his outfit, which consisted of a onesie pajama set with a supremely bright pattern of a dancing banana.

After giving Daffodil a few makeup sponges to occupy his hands with, it took about fifteen more minutes for Berlin to work Jason's makeup back into a presentable place, re-tuck his flowy shirt into carefully tailored trousers and mash a few curls back into place. 

And then, before he knew it, Berlin was situating him in front of the full-length mirror, peeking from behind the Beta's larger body to get a good look at his triumph.

"You look amazing, Jax," he praised, meeting Jax's eyes in his reflection. "Goodness, my brother really scored the jackpot with you, didn't he?"

Jaxson snorted dismissively at that hilarious joke.

"Uhh... Sorry to burst your bubble dude but it's definitely the other way around. I mean, just within the first few months of us meeting, I gave him at least a dozen stress ulcers. And even then, he still stuck by me. Not many people will do that when things get hard, not even family. But Corey? Goddess, he's... he's just so... special."

"Just the way you talk about him proves my point," Berlin had shifted his focus to Jaxson's face at some point throughout his spiel, foregoing his reflection for something more real. "And you know, even through all of the craziness that was the beginning of you two's relationship, Corey never failed to visit his siblings every night to tell us how wonderful you are and every little detail about how hard and fast he was falling for you. In fact, at some point, we had to tell him to find a hobby because he couldn't seem to find any other subject worth speaking about," he chuckled a little at the memory, "You had things to work through, yes but even before you could even see yourself, Corey always saw the real you. All that you needed was a little push to set yourself free."

Cotton filled Jaxson's throat, strangling him.

Was that really true? 

Even on his very worst days, had Corey really never thought of giving up on him?

Jeez, Jaxson was pretty sure if he didn't get a reign on things, he was definitely gonna start cry-spiraling again and mess up this second round of makeup, too. 

If he did that, Berlin would probably cancel the ceremony of his own accord.

Yeah, it was time to get a move on.

"Thanks for telling me. I didn't even know that I needed to hear that," Jaxson responded honestly, taking one last look in the mirror.

He looked... dare he say... good? 

Great, even.

It had been Jaxson's idea to go with a more casual theme for the ceremony, the soft chiffon of his flowy shirt showing off glints of creamy skin underneath while cuffed, caramel chinos hugged his thighs, ass and calves to absolute perfection. 

The flower in his hair gave a pop of pink that accentuated the hint of blush on his cheeks and nose, bringing a certain softness to his strong features that Jaxson found himself slightly mesmerized by.

He could barely wait to see the look on Corey's face once he caught sight of him.

"Alright, I'm ready. Let's get this party started," Berlin shimmied in his spot, excitement coursing through his veins as he waved Daffodil over. 

"Ahh, it's time. Daffie, will you do the honors?"

"Daffi has, Daffi has," the Faerie says, rushing over, tossing the sponges on the floor behind him before squeezing himself between the two men so that he had at least one body part touching each of them. 

Then, the tiny being reached out a hand, closing his eyes momentarily before making a waving motion with his fingertips.

There was a brief shift, or maybe a tilt, to the air around them as shimmers filled their vision and the floor seemed to fall from underneath them in one fell swoop. 

Jaxson winced when he felt his entire body squeeze and pop, as if all of the air was sucked from his lungs in one go, and then, before he could even blink, his heels slammed back down against the ground, dirt flying up around his ankles from the harsh landing.

"Holy fuck," Jaxson exclaimed, stumbling over to lean his hand against a tree as he blinked rapidly, straining to catch his bearings. "Ya' could've at least given a guy a warning before you scatter his molecules without his consent!"

Daffodil practically floated over, seemingly unruffled by the harsh form of transportation they'd just been made subject to and patted Jaxson's shoulder a few times. 

"I very, very, very, very excited. Daffie sorry."

Luckily, the nausea and discombobulation went just as quickly as it came, so Jaxson was soon able to straighten right back up and give Daffodeil a little ruffle of appreciation. 

"It's cool, little guy. I guess I can't be too mad that you saved me a couple hundred steps."

Daffodil chittered, practically vibrating with joy as he skipped back over to Berlin. 

"Welc..."

"This way," Berlin instructed, waving Jaxson over to a large, white gazebo-style tent that completely blocked off the view of the area where the ceremony was to be held. "Quick, we don't want anyone to see you just yet."

"Okay, okay, I'm comin', Jeez," Jaxson grumbled but he still did just as Berlin instructed and picked up the pace.

Pushing the fabric flap back from one of the sides of the tent, Jaxson stepped inside and surveyed the area.

It wasn't anything fancy, with half of the space being used as decoration storage space and the other half consisting of a makeshift mini-dressing room with it’s full-length mirror and table that doubled as a last-minute vanity station. 

But what really mattered was what was on the other side of this tent or better yet, who was on the other side.

Maybe, if he really, really focused, he wouldn't trip over his own feet and fall flat on his face while attempting to get down the aisl

Berlin popped the rest of his head back into the tent-gazebo through the fabric flap that they'd just entered through, apparently done with whisper-yelling at whoever was unfortunate enough to be on the other side. 

Planting his hands on his hips in triumph, the Omega then twirled back around toward Jaxson and Daffodil, immediately cranking the bossiness up to full gear.

It was then that a soft orchestral song began to play, filling the air with a sense of bittersweet joy that sent tingles of an unfamiliar, vaguely comforting feeling zinging throughout Jaxson's entire being.

This was it. 

His very last stop before the dawn of a new life, of renewed beginnings. 

In just a few steps, he would be there.

Somehow, it managed to be both the most exhilarating and the most terrifying thought he'd ever managed to conjure up.

"Flower boy Daffie, you're up. Ten seconds," the Luna whispered, giving a hand signal to which Daffodil nodded with understanding. 

Before he moved toward the other side of the tent which led to the ceremonial space however, he turned his attention briefly to Jaxson, scurrying up to gather up his friend in a giant bear hug full of love and support.

"Bye bye Jax Jax. Love much," he whispered, squeezing the Beta's midsection with as much power as his thin arms could conjure up. 

Daffodil's next action would have sent Jaxson teetering right over if he wasn't already meandering halfway down the road to madness as it was.

In one, quick movement, Daffodil bent his knees a few inches, giving Jaxson's lower stomach a soft pat alongside a trickle of sparkling dust. 

"Bye bye bae," he greeted, as if speaking to someone there, before following up those bizarre words with a gentle kiss to that same area.

Then, the little fuckin' alien shot right back up and twirled, yes, literally twirled all the way to the other side of the tent, completely unbothered and glowing with joy as if he hadn't just completely upended the trajectory of Jaxson's entire reality.

But before the Beta could get in a word edgewise or even begin to form a question about what the hell had just occurred, the Faerie disappeared through the tent flap in a flurry of fairy dust, flower petals and bright yellow beehive hair.

"What the fuck did he mean by that?" Jaxson immediately catastrophized, pressing a palm firmly against his stomach as if it contained a button that would reveal whatever it was that Daffodil had just insinuated.

To his horror, Berlin completely ignored the frantic question, much more preoccupied with whatever impeccable timing scheme he'd decided was the most important thing in the entire universe right now.

A hand at his waist crowded Jaxson toward the flap at the other end of the tent that Daffodil had just disappeared through but Berlin stopped right before they reached the exit point, giving Jaxson one more good once-over, doting on him like a proud grandpa.

"You always look amazing but you look absolutely stunning tonight, Jax," he reassured, smoothing out the Beta's collar one last time. 

"Deep breath," he instructed and Jaxson didn't think twice about obeying, stuttering in as deep of a breath as he could manage through quivering lungs. 

"You got this. Now go get 'em, tiger."

It all happened so fast that Jaxon barely even realized that his legs were moving or that he was being pushed out of the tent flap that had been pushed aside. 

But in a flash of bright light that quickly settled into a soothing glow, Jaxson was finally given the opportunity to take in the scene before him from the ground up.

The aisle was lined with bushels of fresh calla lilies that grew directly out of the ground and the rest of the clearing was littered with peals of all colors, shapes and sizes, as if a flower shop had exploded all over the space. Instead of seats, there were many an array of comfortable cushions and pillows scattered across the ground that Crescent Falls Pack Members lounged on in both human and Wolf form, giving the environment a much more casual ambiance that Jaxson truly appreciated.

All around them, the trees bowed inward toward the clearing, forming a natural canopy that had hundreds, maybe even thousands of string lights weaved throughout, casting just enough of a glow onto the nighttime air to illuminate it in intimate shadow.

"Man, I'm so glad you let me and Daffie wear our crocs to this. Now I get to look just as fancy as you while we skip down the aisle together."

The excited whisper followed by a swift capture of his arm nearly left Jaxson jumping straight out of his skin. 

But luckily, a quick glance up at his goofily grinning friend settled him back down in less than a heartbeat.In the absence of any biological family members to accompany him through such an important life event, to Jaxson, it was a no-brainer to ask Warrior Tyrus Cahill to walk him down the aisle. 

The Dominant Wolf was undoubtedly the best option, seeing as how he was not only Corey's brother but also possessed a semi-instinctual knack for diffusing stressful situations with humorous quips. 

It never failed to make everyone more than relaxed around the silly man in no time at all.

Jaxson couldn't help the chuckle that slipped past his lips, realizing that while he was so busy gaping at the decorations, he'd somehow already made it one-third of the way down the aisle.

"I mean, with an outfit like that, they might think you're a damn prince or something. Let's just hope the pack doesn't get confused about who the real groom is," Jax countered playfully, gesturing to the familiar, banana-patterned onesie pajama ensemble that Tyrus had also paired his crocs with. 

Apparently, both Ty and Daffodil had taken the casual dress code and not only ran but full-on sprinted with it.

At least they had thought it out enough to match.

"Look, my brother's a handsome man but I'm not from Alabama," Tyrus explained, flashing Jaxson a look of shock and horror. "Plus, I've already got the most adorable Mate who just saved the entire universe while extremely pregnant, so you can rest assured that even if the Pack does become entranced by my fashionable presence, Corey is all yours."

Jaxson could only chuckle, shaking his head. 

Yeah, he'd made the right choice with Ty for sure.

"You know, I'm gonna want to hear you guys' whole 'saving the world' story one of these days."

"Oh, honestly it was no big deal. We just had to discover the secret to unlocking the most powerful..."

"Later, Ty."

"Dang, sorry. Forgot we're in the middle of your wedding and all that good stuff," he chuckled, flashing a thumbs up and a canine before settling his attention back toward the end of the aisle. 

"Jeez, you've already got my brother snot-crying for the second time. I wish he would just stay consistent and sob until he chokes the entire time, just like I did at Daffie and my wedding."

Jaxson's eyes widened, head snapping up at his friend as he stared at him with a slack jaw.

"You and Daffie are married?"

Tyrus raised a brow and scratched the back of his neck with his free hand, as if completely un-phased by Jax's reaction.

"Oh yeah, I guess we forgot to tell you guys. Daffodil and I were bonded behind The Veil in a traditional Fae ceremony. It was a few days or a few months back, depending on how you interpret the flow of time."

Expression melting into a vision of unadulterated bafflement, Jaxson chose to halt the conversation right there, before it managed to become any more bizarre.

Every day, Daffodil and Tyrus seemed to find a way to prove that they lived on an entirely alternate plane of existence than everyone else. 

Their Mate-ship pairing was strangely perfect that way, just two weirdos vibe at the perfect frequency to potentiate their own, perplexingly intricate, yet also completely nonsensical interpretation of reality.

Even Jaxson had to admit that the way the couple thrived together despite their unique circumstances was nothing short of adorably endearing.

"I see..." Jax concluded the conversation with that, despite the fact that he most definitely did not see a single fuckin' thing. 

Right now wasn't exactly the best time for an in-depth chat though, seeing as how they were already a little bit more than halfway down the aisle.

It was only then that Jaxson finally allowed his gaze to rise and settle upon the very end of the flower-lined walkway. 

                                                 *****  

Swooping vines adorned with more calla lilies than the eye could count decorated the archway that framed his mother's lake, a portal between a beginning and an end. 

It stood upon a wooden platform that was only raised a few inches above the ground, a platform upon which a pair of shiny, brown dress shoes rested.

Time moved in slow motion as Jaxson's gaze lifted, heartbeat stuttering at what he knew he was to find at the apex of his vision.

Dark brown chinos with crisp pleats, cuffed just above the ankle.

 A cream-colored, billowing silk shirt, the top few buttons left loose to reveal a peek of the firm mounds of muscle underneath.

 A pretty, pink flower that matched the one in Jaxson's hair, tucked into his breast pocket and accentuating the fabric.

And then, there was him.

There would never be enough words in any language to explain the way Jaxson's heart exploded, the way his mind settled into a sense of peaceful calm, the very second that their eyes met. 

It was like looking into a mirror of his own soul, one that echoed all of his hopes, mistakes, needs, and desires.

Jaxson couldn't even bring himself to blink, lest the vision he witnessed before him be deemed a mirage and float away before he could open them again.

To his credit, Jaxson wasn't the only one currently overwhelmed with the urge to cry out every drop of liquid in his body.In one, beefy hand, Corey clutched a handkerchief that he'd already managed to completely drench hours before Jaxson had even made his grand appearance. 

The overused square of fabric had been given just enough time to dry while Corey was pampered and dressed but before the Alpha had even made his way up to the stage, it had suddenly become thoroughly soaked once more. 

Alpha Oasis Amador pulled out his own handkerchief in its stead, which Corey was currently attempting to use to catch the unceasing flood of tears that invaded his lids and showed zero signs of letting up their assault any time soon. 

Jaxson... 

Goddess, Jaxson was ethereal.

Curls framing his face idyllically, the flower in his hair bouncing with every step, and lips curling up in a wide smile despite the tears that accompanied it, his Mate was everything and more. 

Corey was utterly beside himself, vibrating from the inside out with a need to hold, to kiss, to protect, and most of all, to love.

He wanted everything with his Jaxson. 

He wanted forever. 

And today... today was the day that he was finally going to see that wish fulfilled.... 

That is, if he could figure out how to make his brain re-learn English again, preferably sooner rather than later.In what felt like a split second, Jaxson was right there, toeing the wooden platform on which Corey currently stood. 

He wasn't necessarily passed off by his brother, because Jaxson could do that just fine on his own. 

But rather, Tyrus supported him through the motions, helping Jaxson up and onto the platform to ensure that he wouldn't trip. 

Then, with a quick wink, he was returning to his own seat beside his mate, situated directly behind the three, empty cushions that made up the front row of the audience, each one with a little plaque that read 'reserved for the parents of the grooms.'

It took a moment of dumbfounded staring for Corey to remember to shove his handkerchiefs in his pocket in favor of holding Jaxson's hands instead but once he did, he was rewarded with a balmy sense of rightness that flooded his every cell once their skin made contact. 

The Alpha gulped and a shy... 

“Hi,”  was all that his frazzled mind could think to utter.

"Hey, smooth guy," Jax responded with a grin, low enough so that only Corey could hear. 

The Alpha cleared his throat at that, trying to buy a few more seconds for himself before attempting a reply.

"You look... you look..."

"Shh," Jax assured, squeezing Corey's hands. 

They were so big, endless tanned skin engulfing his own paler, freckled ones. 

Their rough surface brought Jaxson so much comfort that it almost scared him. 

"Let's get to the part where we become husbands first and then you can tell me all about how sexy and hot and gorgeous I look tonight, alright?"

Corey's lips twitched downwards with a hint of a frown... 

Or was that a pout? 

"But I want to tell you now and then."

Jaxson almost snorted, giving his hopeless romantic Alpha a soft look. 

"I know you do, babe. But remember what you taught me? Patience is key. We have all of the time in the world," the Beta lifted one of his Mate's hands to press the warm, calloused palm side of it against his cheek, eyelashes fluttering at the sensation of home that emanated from the soothing appendage.

"Okay," Corey gave in immediately simply because he was helplessly in love with the man in front of him, weak against the idea of not giving Jaxson whatever it is that he wanted. "But after you are declared mine, you will be smothered. Whether you like it or not."

The Beta grinned and Corey recognized the mischievous glint in his eye that accompanied it. 

"I look forward to it, Alpha."

Gritting his teeth, Corey had to fight against himself with all of the strength of a single thread of silk to keep from tackling his Mate right here, right now in front of everybody. 

Apparently, Alpha Oasis noticed the shift in Corey's demeanor and decided that it was now time to start the ceremony, preferably before Jaxson got himself bred in front of the entire Pack.

With a clearing of his throat, the Pack Alpha took his spot just behind Corey and Jaxson and began.

"We find ourselves here tonight, under the watchful eye of the moon Goddess' eye herself, to celebrate the intertwined fate that Corey and Jaxson have found within one another," Oasis paused, allowing the words to settle before continuing. "Finding one's Mate is a rebirth in itself, in which one is reunited with the other half of their soul. That other half balances, they protect, they love and they cherish. Our other halves share our burdens and ease our worries, they celebrate our joys and revel in our successes..."

Jaxson hated to say it but at that point, Oasis' voice became a garbled mess, his mind refusing to focus on anything else other than his enchanting man standing before him, gazing down at him with a searing intensity and clutching his hands as if he held the key to existence right there between the freckled digits.

Through their bond which bellowed and flickered like a tangible thing between them, both Corey and Jaxson shared their joy, fingers zapping with little savory tingles back and forth. 

It was a secret conversation that they could enclose in their own little hidden loop, something small and precious and private even when it felt like the whole world was watching.

Jaxson's eyes were streaked with a thin dusting of brown eyeliner and a few swipes of mascara in such a way that his emerald irises came alive with swirling, Veridian forests, flora bursting behind his pupils and drawing Corey in with their searching vines.

He was pretty sure that he could get lost in those depths forever, staring endlessly just like the lovesick fool he certainly was. 

The Alpha would disappear inside of his mate completely if he could, skating across his neurons, caressing every fiber of his being as he loved him from the inside out.

His Jaxson was marvelous, beautiful, strong. 

Courageous, loving, kind.

His Jaxson was ART.

"Corey," Jaxson whispered with a knowing smile, squeezing his hands and drawing him out of his Jax-induced trance. "Your vows, babe."

The Alpha blinked absently, bringing the periphery of the world back into focus as he tried to push against the urge to venture right back into the tempting abyss of his mate's irises.

"Sorry, I..." Corey shook his head a little, tugging at the corner of his brain that protected the meticulously practiced lines that he'd spent endless hours perfecting. "Vows. Right, vows are happening right now," he concentrated his attention, shifting his weight from foot to foot. 

Then, Corey commenced the process of pouring his entire heart out to the one person who long owned every inch of it.

"Jaxon. My love. My mate. My gift," he rasped, pushing the words out from a place that held all meaning. 

His palms became slick with sweat where they rested against Jaxson’s but still they both held tight, synchronized heartbeats thundering in attuned ears. 

"You steal my breath, harbor my soul and paint my heart in the colors of your world. And such an enchanting world it is that you reside within, perpetually bright, disastrously joyful and marvelously unique," Corey took in a breath, filling his lungs with the intoxicating scent of his beloved as his eyes filled with moisture once more. "I don't just love you, Jaxon. I love to love you. I love that I was given the privilege of loving you. I love that..."

"How many different ways are you gonna say that you love me?" Jaxson joked through a moist laugh, trying to find a way to cope with the way his heart was ready to jump right out of his chest from the raw sincerity of Corey's sermon.

His Alpha only leaned in closer, completely un-phased by the interruption. Almost as if he expected it.

"I will tell you how much I love you until you get sick of hearing it. Until you beg me to stop. And even then, I will refuse. My love for you is boundless, Jax. It cannot be bridled, it cannot be contained or lessened. My soul hums to your frequency, my body is tethered to your every step, and every day that I wake up with your wonderful, frizzy curls tucked underneath my chin, I wonder how the Goddess managed to stuff my entire universe beneath your skin."

Tears flowed freely now but neither man bothered to wipe them away this time.

"You poetic freakin' nitwit," was all that Jaxson could think to say, choking out the words between sobs. 

The endearing insult filled Corey's chest with pride nonetheless. 

"How the hell am I supposed to follow that up?"

"There is no competition here, gift. Only you and me," Corey took a step closer to his Mate, giving in to the longing to be nearer. "Close your eyes if you have to. I'm right here."

"O-okay," Jaxson nodded with a steadying breath, eyelids fluttering shut as he tuned into his Mate's calm intake of breath, trusting in him and the firm hold they maintained on one another's hands.

His Corey would never steer him wrong.

"I'm not good at fancy words like you. Honestly, you're so good with those fuckin' things that I'm pretty sure you could romance a bird into falling out of the sky."

 A few chuckles sounded out from the audience, giving Jaxson a small boost of confidence that motivated him to keep on. 

"But... I always thought that love was something that happened to other people. I thought that it was some joke, a scam that I was unlucky enough to be caught on the short side of. Over time, I found that I'd been picked apart, torn limb-by-limb and hollowed out until there was nothing left that made me... me. And as I grew older, that resentment festered until I could barely bring myself to look in the mirror, unable to bear the idea of facing this twisted, discarded shell of who I used to be, or better yet this monster that I had become. But then, in the middle of all of that crazy, wild, chaos, there you were. Barreling headfirst into my life during the moment in life when I didn't even know that I needed you the most," he laughed, bits and pieces of their tumultuous first meeting flashing across the front of his skull. 

"I didn't even know that all along, I was begging for someone to tell me that I didn't need to allow the ghosts of my past to haunt me, to torture me for this long. I didn't know that all that I needed was someone to tell me that I was enough," Jaxson's breaths were short now as his lungs locked up, seizing up with unadulterated adoration for the man who stood before him.

"The world has given me so much hurt. And there are still days that I wonder if all along, I deserved it. And there are days when I stare at a wall and remember. And then there are those long, endless days where I wonder if I should have just erased myself from this earth a long time ago," he whispered the last sentence, the words heavy like boulders in his heart. "But through it all, you have shown me that there is no fear that cannot give way to new strength. That no matter how far away it feels, I will always have today, I will always have love. And I will always, always have you."

Jaxson finally finished with a whoosh of air, only to find his closed eyes scrunching up with bafflement at the array of scattered, surprised gasps that sounded out from the crowd.

'Have I done something wrong?' the Beta instantly wondered, a nervous flutter hijacking his heart. 

But then, a warm, calloused hand released one of his in favor of cupping and caressing the apple of his cheek with a large, sweeping thumb, silently coaxing his eyes back open.... 

And what he saw when they fluttered back to life, fixating on the love of his life, halted his entire world in its tracks.

Corey's entire face was aglow, eyes shimmering with shiny rivulets of saltwater that painted rivers down tight cheekbones and cascaded into the ravines that now lined the sides of his lips... 

Lips that were stretched across a once-stony face, revealing pearly white teeth, sharp canines and the brightest, most genuine smile Jaxson had ever lay witness to. 

It painted itself across those tanned features with such a natural casualness that if he didn't know any better, Jaxon might have thought that it was always there to begin with.

Jaxon's breathing hitched, stumbling closer as he reached out and up with his own free hand, desperate to touch that gorgeous expression, to commit it to memory and hold it there until time ran out.

"Corey, you... you're..." Jaxson stuttered breathlessly, barely able to believe that what he was seeing was anything short of a mirage.

"I love you," was all that Corey replied with as he guided their foreheads to touch, unable to form any higher level of thought past the adoration that swirled around, tangling up with the sacred vows that Jaxson had just pulled from a place so sincere that Corey could physically feel them. "Goddess, I love you,"

Jaxson laughed, the sound happy. The sound complete.

"I love you more." Jaxson giggled wetly, happily. "Now stop crying so much, you big baby."

Corey's smiling chuckle was a gift in itself, and Jaxson couldn't bring himself to peel his eyes away as Corey pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his lips. 

"You first, sweetheart."

The rest of the ceremony passed in a gorgeous haze of moonlight, stardust, and tender smiles. 

And Jaxson...

 Oh he shrieked like a damn banshee when he caught sight of Theon being pulled down the aisle in his little, red wagon, a gigantic, pink bowtie pinned to the top of his onesie as he gummed happily on the traditional binding ribbon like it was the most delicious thing he'd ever had the honor of tasting.

After prying the ribbon from Theon's gums and kissing all over his face until the infant was reduced to a flustered, pink-cheeked mess, Alpha Oasis bound their hands together with that slob-covered ribbon, speaking the sacred words of the forest, of their Pack and of their love.

Before long, Oasis was announcing that the grooms may kiss to seal their bond.

"You know, if you do this, you're like really, really stuck with a master menace for the rest of eternity," Jax teased, raising a playful brow as he wiggled their intertwined fingers. "I hope you know what you're signing up for, 'cuz there's no take-backs on this one."

Corey didn't miss a beat. 

"I have never wanted anything more in my entire life than to call you mine."

"And just like that, you've sealed your fate," Jaxson grinned. "Now pucker up, big boy."

Surprisingly, Corey tensed up at those words, his beautiful smile flickering with an unreadable emotion. 

The unexpected reaction only had the chance to worry Jaxson for a split moment though, as his Alpha's next words explained all.

"I– I am afraid that if I kiss you, I may not be able to stop."

Jaxson laughed aloud, leaning up on his toes and wriggling his hand free of the ceremonial ribbon to grab his Mate's ears, pulling his own, personal brand of him-bow right down to where he wanted him.

"Oh, will you just shut up with all that nonsense and kiss me, you gorgeous, sexy, delicious hunk of husband?"

And without another second of hesitation, Jaxon tugged on his Alpha's ears down with the force of a thousand soldiers, smashing their warm, waiting lips together in a clash of sparks.

Both men smiled into the playful yet powerful embrace, packing the simple action to the brim with the pinnacle of devotion as the crowd went wild all around them. 

Clapping and hooting and hollering, they all congratulated the newlyweds, participating in their moment as the couple hovered well above the summit of untouchable joy.

And, unbeknownst to them all, Jax and Corey had even more guests baring witness to the momentous occasion than expected, as, above the tree line, far beyond the altitude at which birds called out into the night and clouds sprinkled the sky with their powdery weightlessness, there just happened to a reside a few more straggling spectators.

"Oh my Goddess, scooch over, Just because you've got huge, sexy, biteable shoulders doesn't mean you can use them to hog up the entire freakin' portal," a familiar voice chided, the dull thud of a neck pillow followed by a calm hum of acceptance leading straight to the couple that lounged in an endless meadow, wildflowers tickling at their legs as they toiled amongst themselves.

Without removing his focus from the portal for a single second, Raymon instinctually reached up to grab his Mate around his waist, pulling the smaller man down into the secure confines of his lap without skipping a beat.

"There you go, bunny. Now we can both see."

Danny tried to protest the manhandling, but after decades of Mate-ship, both men knew good and well that the Omega was more than happy to occupy the profoundly comfortable seat that was his mate's legs at any and all times. 

And with the way they had chosen to pass the time lost in the throes of a not-so-quick-quickie while lounging in a nearby waterfall only an hour prior, Danny's aching ass and spine certainly appreciated the extra support of his mate's firm abdomen and chest.

"Oh my gosh, look, Ray. It's Theon." The Omega exclaimed, watching as their son gurgled and clapped happily from his cushion, which sat directly beside the three empty ones in the front row. 

The infant watched with wide, adoring eyes as his adoptive parents shared a prolonged kiss that was quickly entering 'Can they even breathe at this point?' territory.

Ray leaned forward then, craning his head over Danny's shoulder to catch a glimpse of the precious child that they had been forced to leave behind.

"Bunny he... he's gorgeous. He looks just like you since he's gotten a little older."

Danny just chuckled, kicking his bunny slipper-clad feet that dangled over the edge of his mate's folded legs while he tucked his pillow securely behind his neck. 

Settling into the comforting cavern of his mate's body never failed to provide peak comfort.

 "Oh, puh-lease. You said that about literally every single one of the triplets when they were babies, too."

Ray shrugged, wrapping large arms tightly around his Omega who currently lounged sideways, fitting like a puzzle piece in his lap. 

The Alpha rested his cheek atop his bunny's silky, black hair.

"You're just too beautiful, bunny. I wanted every single one of them to be your clones."

Danny smiled softly as they lapsed into a comfortable silence, pupils reflecting the sight of their pack rejoicing in another universe that they could no longer reach. 

Eventually, Danny turned his head to press a kiss to Ray's exposed pec, murmuring.

"I'm so happy that you're here with me. But I also can't help but miss them all so, so much, too."

"I know," the Alpha sighed, nodding in agreement with his precious darling. 

"Maybe... maybe it is time, my love."

Danny's breathing sped up for a split second at his mate's words, fear always gripping at some visceral place inside of him when he was presented with the option of venturing into the dubious, perpetual ring of light that existed at the only edge of the meadow that existed, casting the entire dimension in an effervescent glow.

But unlike all the others, this time... something was different. 

The God/dess had given them the momentary privilege of visiting their family from afar, and now that he had tangible proof that they were all safe and sound, prospering to the fullest and set firmly on a path of new frontiers and novel discoveries... maybe it really was their turn to do the same.

"We did good." Danny whispered, brown eyes never leaving the exuberant vision projected onto the portal.

He felt, more than heard, Ray's response.

"Yeah, we did."

"Do you think they'll forget us?"

"Never."

"Is this it, then?"

"Yes, bunny. It's time. It's the end."

Looking up at his mate with big eyes filled with fear and excitement and so much trust, Danny nodded.

"H-hold my hand, please?"

"Of course, my love. Forever."

The pair took their time as they frolicked around the meadow, opting to amble the long way around to the giant, glowing portal. 

They stopped a few times to smell the flowers, to steal a couple desperate kisses, and finally, to breathe each other in for the very last time.

But even after they said their last goodbyes, they knew that no matter what the Other Side would bring, that this would never be the end. 

They knew that in any world, in any dimension, they would always find one another. 

No matter the circumstances, no matter how far they had to go or how long it took, they would always do it.

No matter what, they would always be two halves of the same soul. 

Forever bonded. 

Forever loved.

So after they finally parted from the fleeting touch of one last, final kiss, not a single tear was shed as they stepped across the threshold of the portal together, hands clasped between them. 

At first, they kept their eyes locked on one another for as long as they could possibly manage.... 

And then, with a confident swivel of their heads, they looked only forward.

                                                       *****

Back on an earthly plane, Daffodil chittered to himself quietly, eyelids fluttering closed as he felt the telltale ripple in the universal balance. 

It shuddered and flared through him, signaling the birth of life anew.

Two, black butterflies swooped and dipped through beams of moonlight as they hovered around Theon, the happy infant cooing back at the crystalline insects, reaching up to poke at them with curious, chubby fingers.

"Hi Raisin, hi Dan Dan," Daffodil greeted nonchalantly as he slowly opened his eyes once more, smiling wide at old friends in new forms. 

He reached out, sprinkling a generous sweep of Faerie dust onto each of their fluttering backs with a thumb and forefinger. 

"Miss much."

The butterflies fluttered up, up, and away after a few more moments of playing with a giggling Theon, apparently having seen all that they needed to see.

"See later. Love lots," Daffodil smiled at the path to which they went, waving a glittering goodbye before settling his attention back to his other friends.

Corey and Jaxson had finally pulled apart from their extended-edition kiss and were currently floating back down the aisle, sappy eyes locked on one another as if they were gazing at the only other being in this entire world.

Daffodil smiled brightly, waving a hand to materialize hundreds of petals that would fall from the sky like rain, showering Corey and Jaxson in a stunning array of rainbows. 

How the Faerie loved to see his family whole and happy, their auras imbued with euphoric radiance.

And into their future Corey and Jaxon walked, intertwined fingers sweaty, hope fueling every step and love splitting them open like helium-filled balloons.

Jaxson leaned into his Mate's side, a little bit concerned that he would never be able to wipe this smile off of his face. 

But oh well, even if he couldn't, it was there for a reason. 

He was miles beyond happy and frankly, anyone who had a problem with that could suck his entire left ball sack.... 

Well, on second thought, he should probably leave that privilege up to Corey.

"You're mine," Jaxson whispered dreamily, having to remind himself that it was, in fact, really true. 

Corey was his, in many more ways than just one.

"Just as you are mine," Corey whispered back, bringing his Mate's hand to his lips to press a firm, lingering kiss to the back of it. 

The Alpha pulled back once he declared the extremity thoroughly ravished, getting a good, wide-angled view of the only man who could make forever feel like it were not nearly enough time. 

The one man who he would never, ever get enough of in this life or the next.

The brilliant smile that slipped its way back onto Corey's long-dormant face and animated every dip and crevice, followed by the words that danced and melted along the bumps of his tongue like butter, felt just as natural and inevitable as his next breath.

"My Mate. My Jax. My husband."

[wildernessuntothemselves]

I'm Yours, You're Mine | 5

Word Count: 4.1k

Genre: Smut, angst

Warnings: Cheating, yandere!felix, sub!felix, mention of blackmail, public sex, pussy eating, guided masturbation?, fingering, hella jealousy, assault mention, jisung inclusion lmao

A/N: link to the gorgeous dress the OC wears made a super lovely anon thank you babe

GIF CREDIT

“What is taking you so long?” You grunt, walking into the kitchen to find the freckled boy pulling a tray out of the oven. At the sound of your voice, he springs up and flashes you a brilliant smile that explains just why he’s nicknamed the sunshine boy. You smile bitterly at the reminder. Oh, how you used to believe that.

“I just finished the brownies for the picnic, noona.” He chirps happily, looking so angelic, like a bad thought never crossed his mind ever.

Felix wants to take you on a romantic picnic date beside the river. He volunteered to do everything, making you both the food and drinks you’ll need so all you’ll have to do is sit there and enjoy the pleasant early summer weather.

Taking a deep breath, you steal yourself, preparing for the transformation you’ve come to expect from him. “Oh, we’re not going on a picnic. I changed my mind. I wanna go to the mall instead.”

You know the commercial, impersonal place would upset the sentimental boy, and that’s why you do it. The sharp fall of his smile makes your heart stop for a second and your body stiffen, preparing for an attack.

“What?” He asks gruffly.

“I need new summer clothes.” You try to appear nonchalantly.

“Can’t you do that any other time?”

“I want to do it today.” You shrug, stopping yourself from flinching as you see his jaw clench. “You promised you’d take care of me. You promised you’d do what I want.” You remind him of the promises he made after attacking you last time. The promises he made to make you give him another chance. You didn’t believe in any of his promises, and you were provoking him on purpose to prove that he can’t himself in check so you’d have a reason to call this whole thing off.

And it seems he’s getting there. “But we agreed on this date. I prepared a lot for this. I made you fucking brownies.”

“You promised you wouldn’t hurt me.” You accuse, and he flinches, his body immediately deflating as the anger rushes out of him. “No, I won’t. It’s okay. We can go wherever you want, noona. You just took me by surprise, that’s all.”

You didn’t expect this reaction from him. You thought he’d lash out again. Maybe it really was a mistake like he said, and you should give him another chance. You’re lost in contemplation when his soft, low voice breaks through to you.

“Would you at least try the brownies?” He pleads, his pretty eyes sparkling, making you believe that the universe truly is a cruel, uncaring place if the stars would agree to light up the eyes of someone like him. Still, you can’t resist the constellations reflected in his eyes and onto his cheeks, finding yourself compelled to lean down and press a kiss to his pouty lips.

You suck in a sharp breath at the exploding light that brightens his face at such a small action, like a supernova, blazing your cold heart.

“Okay.” You breathe, and he, giddy with excitement, cuts off a piece for you. You reach out for it but he swings his hand out of the way, wanting to feed it to you himself. You open your mouth and accept the food, biting a piece of it off and chewing it.

Felix watches you with bated breath, as if your opinion would win him a national baking competition. You’re scared by how much you’re enjoying his attention, and it scares you. It’s too easy to get addicted to him.

“How do you like it, noona?”

“It’s sublime.” You smile, the divine taste of the dessert and his angelic features could fool you into thinking you’re in heaven. How can one person give you such radically conflicting feelings? You feel like you’re teetering on the edge of a cliff, not knowing if at the end of fall you’ll be greeted by the refreshing ocean water or the jagged, deadly rocks.

Felix’s smile gets impossibly wider as he giggles. “I knew you’d like it, baby.” He leans in to give you a peck that’s sweeter than the food you just had.

______________________________

You can’t find anything you like. Nothing at all.

Frustrated, you turn to Felix who had been following you obediently like a little puppy through the countless stores.

“I don’t know. Do you see anything good?” You huff, and he seems surprised by your question, not having expected you to actually take his opinion, albeit how last choice it is. You feel bad. He not only didn’t complain like he promised, even though you cancelled the picnic he wanted, but he actually hyped you up and showered you with compliments every time you’d try on something new.

“What do you like your girl to wear?” You tease him, knowing your words will bring a pretty blush to his face.

“I--I like dresses.” He replies sheepishly.

“Yeah? Like what? Show me.”

It’s your turn to follow him around as he bashfully picks out a few dresses for you. You notice they're all so girly and pretty with bows and frills and lace. Seems like he has a type.

“Do you want me to try them on, baby?” You ask when he hands them to you.

“Please.” He breathes, impatient to see them on you and you think it's adorable how excited he is. You don’t wear dresses, and you know you won’t wear these, but you try them on just for him, not expecting how much his reaction will affect you.

"Wow." He sucks in a breath, his widened eyes taking in every inch of you. Smirking, you ask, "You like it that much?"

He nods vigorously, looking at you with adoration and want you’ve never had directed at you before. It takes your breath away, how genuine it looks, compelling you to do everything in your power to earn it.

The dress is made of a pretty pink Chiffon material, with a pink bow circling under the chest and a sweetheart neckline that exposes your collarbones and dips down to show quite a bit of cleavage, serving to emphasize your breasts that Felix can’t take his eyes off of. The contrast between the light and princessy look of the flowy skirt, and the seductive neckline hints at a certain corruption of innocence begging to be undertaken.

But just as you prepare to be engulfed in the sparkly blue-green of the ocean water, you find yourself crumpling over the rocks as Felix pulls out his phone to take a picture of you.

“You and your pictures.” You comment bitterly, happiness gone. “Gonna blackmail me over this too?”

He gasps, and the hand holding his phone immediately drops down, as if he couldn’t believe you’d say that.

“What, did you forget that you forced me into this?” You mock, “I bet you’re loving this. Making me do this. Dressing me up like I’m your doll? I bet your little dick is hard right now.”

He shakes his head, and you’re not sure if he’s trying to deny your words or just defend his actions. Pulling him close by his jeans, you press your thigh between his legs and laugh when it’s met by his hard-on. “See? I know everything that goes on in your sick brain.”

“Just wanna be good for you.” He whimpers, but even as he says that, his eyes fall to your breasts and his hand reaches out to run over the neckline of the dress you have on.

“Of course you do.” You snarl, and he cowers under your harsh tone. But like a kid at a candy store, he can’t stop his hand from straying, his fingers trailing down to circle around your nipples pushing through the soft material of the dress.

Grabbing his wrist, you bring his hand to your mouth and take his middle finger into your mouth, sucking on it lightly, grinning as his knees buckling and a small whimper leaves his lips. He tries to push you back into the fitting room but you don’t budge, taking his finger out of your mouth and humming. "I suddenly want something to suck on. Why don't you buy me a popsicle baby? I'm feeling hot."

He gulps harshly, "Yes, noona."

________

Felix buys all the dresses for you and you keep wearing the pink one, wanting to make him suffer more through the trip.

You strut to the ice cream store, feeling unstoppable in your flowy dress with your lovestruck lover in toe, hand on your waist and eyes glaring at everyone, trying to fend off anyone who would try to approach you.

Felix sits you down in a booth at the far end of the store, hiding you from view as he goes to get what you want. You sigh, playing the skirt of your new dress, lost in thought about Felix and how you feel about him. He’s sweet, addictively so, but he’s volatile and that scares you. Would you pick him over Chan? What if he just wants you because Chan has you? Maybe this is some kind of sick competition for him. Or maybe it’s the contrast with Chan that makes you like him at all. Maybe you’re just upset with Chan.

Your thoughts are interrupted by a loud, cheery voice. “Noona, how are you?”

Coming out your daze, you blink, taking in the new figure. “Oh, hey, Jisung.”

“What are you doing here?” He asks giddily, eyes raking over your body, stopping over your breasts the same way Felix did, and lingers on them too long. You clear your throat, smirking as his eyes snap back up to your face as he flushes.

You’re quite aware of the crush he has on you. So better get rid of him before Felix comes and throws a tantrum. Unless…

This could be your chance to get back at Felix for what he did to you and for forcing you to go on this date. He can threaten to tell Chan on you but what is he gonna do to Jisung? Nothing.

“I’m just hanging with a friend.” You smile broadly, “Why don’t you join us?”

“Wouldn’t your friend mind?” He asks, already moving to sit down. You grin wickedly, “No, he’ll love it."

“Okay.” He sits down opposite you, unsuspecting of the storm about to come over. Right on time, Felix comes back with your popsicle.

“Oh, hey Lixie! This is Jisung. We work together.” You pull him down, ignoring the sour look on his face.

“Hey!” Jisung pipes up with a friendly wave that Felix doesn’t return. Felix pins the other boy down with a glare that makes Jisung shrink back.

“He’s just a little shy.” You reach over the table and place your hand over his to comfort him, a gesture that only makes Felix angrier and he in turn grabs your thigh under the table and squeezes it in warning. Turning to him, you pluck the popsicle out of his hand and take a big lick. “Hmm, this is tasty.”

You take the part of the popsicle into your mouth, giving Felix a wink before you turn to the other boy. “So, how have you been, Sungie?”

“Um… good.” He fidgets as you swirl your tongue around the popsicle in an obviously suggestive way.

“How's your girlfriend?” You ask, knowing full well that they broke up. His eyes follow your tongue for a second before he clears his throat and answers. “We’re not together anymore.”

“Oh, no!” You pout, lips cherry colored and glistening with melted ice cream. “That must be very hard for you, baby.”

You feel Felix’s hand clench around your thigh, but you don’t spare him a glance as you continue, “How have you been handling that?”

You place the popsicle back in your mouth, sucking on it enticingly as you eye Jisung up and down and wait for him to answer, but the poor boy can barely string his words together. “It’s--I’m...o-okay.”

Pulling the popsicle out of your mouth with a wet slurp, you smile while licking the tip of the treat. “I’m so glad. Hmm, this is so good.” You moan out, and extend the popsicle towards him. “Wanna try it?”

Jisung chokes on his own spit, and you can tell that a handprint will remain on your upper thigh from how hard Felix’s fingers were digging into your skin.

"No that's okay, noona." Jisung fidgets, and you know he’s rubbing his thighs together under the table. You ignore his refusal, pushing the popsicle towards his mouth. "Come on baby, open up for me."

He obediently opens his mouth despite his refusal, but before he can close his lips around the ice cream, you pull it away with a laugh. "Why don't you stick out your tongue for me?"

He sucks in a sharp breath and his eyes snap to Felix. You can only see the other boy from the corner of your eye, but the rage rolling off of him in waves more than explains the terrified look on your coworker's face. No, that wouldn't do.

Leaning over the table, your ass in Felix’s face barely covered by the short dress, you curl a finger under Jisung’s chin and turn his attention towards you. "Don't look at him baby. Keep your eyes on me."

He nods weakly and you smile, moving to sit back down when Felix grabs your hips and pulls you down onto his lap, a small gasp escaping from your lips as you feel his hard-on against your thin underwear.

Your grin grows bigger, and you grind down on Felix’s dick as you tell Jisung, "Now show me your tongue, baby."

The sight of Jisung’s glazed eyes and pretty tongue out like a cute puppy makes you moan a little, something only Felix can hear. You feel his hand move from your hip to your pussy, fingers rubbing over you now soaked panties. With a shuddering breath, you move the popsicle over Jisung’s tongue, delighted by how he doesn’t pull it back into his mouth until you tell him to.

"Such a good boy." You coo, and you feel Felix’s fingers slip under your panties to rub harshly at your bare pussy. Shuddering, you open your legs wider for him. "He's such a good boy, isn't he, Felix? I bet he'd never act out or disobey me."

Felix grabs your clit between his thumb and index finger and pinches lightly, making you jump in his lap and bounce on his cock, the two of you groaning out in pleasure and making poor Jisung whimper as he clutches hard onto the table to keep from touching himself.

Opening your legs wide, you order Felix, "Put your fingers in me. Wanna show you what you're not getting by being a brat."

His hand leaves the tight circles he’s drawing over you clit and dip down to your hole, plunging a finger right in. “Oh, fuck.” You shudder at the delicious intrusion and the thrust of Felix’s dick against your pussy, the both of you clearly wishing that was his dick instead of his finger.

“Feels good, baby?” You whisper back to Felix and he nods sharply, finger pushing in and out of you incessantly as if you’ll tell him to stop at any moment. "Yeah? Tell Jisung how it feels."

Felix growls against your skin, sinking his teeth into your shoulder angrily, not wanting to think about the other guy with you right now. But you don’t back down. "Tell him or I'll have him find out himself."

He stuffs another finger inside you, and obeys, voice grave and hostile. “Noona’s pussy is tight around my fingers. So soft and wet for me. Only me.”

You laugh breathlessly, bucking your hips against Felix’s hand so that your clit can rub against his palm. Poor Jisung’s hands were white from how tightly he was gripping onto the table, and you’re worried he would either break it or hurt himself.

“You getting turned on watching us, baby?” You drawl, getting his attention. “It’s okay. You can touch yourself.”

As if he was waiting for your permission, Jisung instantly sticks his hand between his legs, and humps against it to relieve some of the pressure.

“Good boy.” You murmur, and Felix abuses the spot he bit in your shoulder again, deeping the mark forming there and making his feelings clear about you praising another guy while he’s fingering you. "Did you fantasize about my pussy, baby?"

“Yes.” Both of them answer, and you laugh.

"Hmm, seems like you've got competition, kitty. Maybe I chose the wrong boy to play with."

Felix stops abruptly, pulling his fingers out of you and pushing you onto the seat next to him. Your heart beats rapidly against your chest, thinking that he’s about to make a scene. Instead, he slips under the table and pulls on your hips so your ass is at the edge of the seat. Yanking your panties off, he spreads your legs wide.

"Gonna prove to you that I'm the one for you." He buries his face in your pussy, angrily licking every little inch of it and sucking harshly on your clit.

“Oh, fuck---Felix!” You moan, grabbing onto his hair as he devours your pussy. “Good boy. This is exactly where you belong.”

From the barely open slit of your eyes you see Jisung frustrated and on the verge of crying as he’s not getting as much stimulation as he needs.

"Pull your pretty cock out for me baby.” You drawl, trying to entice him so he’d forget about being in a public place and give in to you. “Don't be scared. Noona wants you to be dirty."

He discards his fears, pulling his dick out and yanking on it fast.

“Good boy. Such a good boy.” You effuse, and under the table, Felix pulls back to slap your pussy in punishment, furious that you’re still giving Jisung attention even though he’s on his knees under the table eating your pussy out.

“Brat.” You hiss, tugging on his hair and pushing his head back between your legs, grinding your pussy against his face.

"Wanna cum, please." Jisung begs, and you tear your eyes away from Felix’s shiny and livid ones to look over at him. He doesn’t look pretty or angelic as Felix looks even under the cramped table and surrounded by the pink Chiffon as he ignores his need to breathe in favor of pleasing you. Instead, Jisung he looks sweaty and fucked dumb, his eyes barely focused and his jaw hanging open.

"Wait for noona." You gruffly answer, squeaking in surprise as you feel Felix’s tongue push inside your pussy, a growly moan ripping out of him as he feels your tight walls around his tongue.

"You are doing such a good job, kitten.” You purr down to your lover, fucking his pretty face.

“No, I can’t, n-noona… please.” He cries, and you glare at him. “I said wait.”

“Can’t….ahh...noona, I’m sorry….fuck, fuck!” He squeaks, body convulsing as little ropes of white stain his shirt.

Seeing the mess he makes, you’re tipped over the edge yourself, cumming on Felix’s tongue and closing your thighs around his head, trapping him there. Obediently, he stays still as your hips buck a few more times against his face before your body relaxes and your legs fall open.

Felix gives your pussy a couple of soothing licks before he pulls your dress down and emerges from under the table, his face glistening with your cum. Yet somehow, he still looks as delicate and beautiful as ever as leans into your hand cupping his cheek.

“Good boy.” You murmur, your other hand reaching out to palm his crotch when a wet spot surprises you. You raise an eyebrow "oh?"

"I'm sorry. I know you didn’t say I could cum. I just wanted this for so long. Wanted to make you feel as good as you make me feel." He sobs, thinking you'll laugh at him. But you find it so incredibly sexy and flattering. You never thought you'd meet a guy who enjoyed pleasing you that much.

"You did good, baby." You beam, patting his cheek. ”Sitting there while I flirt with another boy? Maybe next I just make you watch while I fuck him. How does that sound? I bet it will make your little cock so hard, you little pervert."

He shakes his head violently, getting upset. "No, please don't. It would kill me. I love you so much." He breaks down and starts babbling about how he never wanted it to be this way. How sorry he is, begging you to not do this again.

"Hush, my dumb kitty." You press your finger against his lips to stop him from talking. “It’s okay. How about we go home and get cleaned up then have some coffee and brownies?"

He nods gratefully, and you’re about to get up when you hear someone cough. You look in front of you and remember that you had a guest.

“Oh, Jisung. Let’s talk tomorrow, okay?” You say, pulling Felix up and ignoring Jisung’s protests, and walking to the door.

However, Jisung isn’t the only one with something to say. As you’re about to leave the shop, an employee intercepts you. You can immediately tell what he’s going to say from the severe look on his face.

“Please, don’t try to come back to our shop or we’ll have to call the police.”

You nod, cheeks burning in humiliation as you run out and drag a smiling Felix behind you to the car.

__________________

When you head off to work a few days later, you wonder what you’re going to say to Jisung. You had set off to work with a promise to Felix that you’re not gonna pursue anything with the brunette, but he weirdly didn’t seem particularly concerned about the matter, despite how upset he was that day.

Yes, you’d been extra nice to him these past few days, acting much more receptive to his affectionate ways and responding in kind, but you still didn’t expect that much change.

Your brain is buzzing with all the possibilities about how Jisung will react and your lover’s one-hundred-eighty flip in attitude as you step into your office, but then you realize that Jisung isn’t there at all. Asking around, you find out that he’s at the hospital. Apparently he’d injured himself while playing with a knife. You roll your eyes. That boy is a danger to himself.

Still, you decide to go check up on him at the hospital.

You expect him to act awkward around you, to blush and stutter and look away. What you don’t expect is the sheer horror on his face upon seeing you.

“Wow, did I scar you that bad?” Is the first thing you say to him once you’re inside his hospital room.

“Why are you here?” He asks shakily, staring behind you as if he’s expecting someone to pop out from there.

You frown, “I realize I may have crossed the line yesterday but I just wanted to make sure you’re alright."

“I’m fine. Now please leave.”

“Thanks, I’m so reassured right now.” You roll your eyes, moving closer to him. ”How did this even happen? How does one stab their own leg?”

But as you reach out to touch his shoulder, he screams. "Don't touch me! You can't touch me!"

"What's going on? You're freaking me out." You jump back, and once again, he looks behind you. "Does he know you're here?"

"Who?"

"Your boyfriend."

"Chan?” You ask, confused. What does Chan have to do with this? “He doesn't even know you."

"No, Felix. The one that was with you yesterday."

"Felix? He's not my---" Your face suddenly falls as a horrible thought crosses your mind. No. It can’t be. "Did he do this to you?"

Jisung pales and shakes his head violently "No. I told you it was an accident. Now please leave."

He seems to be on the verge of breakdown, and maybe you should try to calm him down, but your mind is in an upheaval right now, and all you could think of is running to Felix to prove to yourself that you’re just being crazy. He would never do something like this, would he? It can’t be. It’s simply outrageous. But then again his weird change in behavior, his volatile attitude that always keeps you on edge… No, that’s crazy talk.

Numbly you go out of the room and make your way to your car to head back home. You’ll talk to Felix and he’ll tell you how stupid you’re being, and it’s all gonna be alright.

__________

A/N: this chapter was written so quickly because of all the lovely feedback you guys gave me so yeah feedback feeds me

[saphirered]

Was wondering if I could request a Dorian x Rogue Reader where the reader’s never really taken part in any sort of pageant event before and needs some guidance from the party’s resident performer? Love your writing by the way! Have a great day!

Thank you and I hope you like this one too. Have a nice day! 😘

Everyone’s picking out outfits, talking about the pageant and having fun doing so. Orym and Fy’ra have gotten out of participating in the pageant but you weren’t as lucky. Wether it’s because Opal is very convincing, you’re easily tempted, the prospects of a shiny crown or Dorian’s persuasion, you don’t know. Might just be all of the above but you’re apparently in now and will be participating and find yourself playing the part of dress up doll for Opal who’s put you in a grand total of twenty-seven outfits varying from big voluminous dresses to nice suits, some of which including some impractical but pretty armour.

Awkwardly you leave the dressing room. This dress she’s put you in is so poofy you can’t even lower your arms to your sides as the sheer volume of tule keeps them at an angle. You’re pretty sure you look about as comfortable as you feel. The only good part about this humongous ballgown is there’s loads of places to hide weapons and stuff you could possibly lift from people’s pockets among the yards upon yards of fabric. Opal is fawning over you, pulling at the fabric flouncing it up to adjust the layers. Dorian notices your feelings about this twenty-eighth outfit and steps in to save you from the pageant expert.

“Maybe not this one? It doesn’t really do much for their figure, wouldn’t you agree?” Opal taps her lips at Dorian’s suggestion. The genasi has a point. The majority of your features get lost in the garment and no amount of accessorising can fix that. She scrunches her brow and nods. You let out a breath of relief hoping to be done with this. Not like you mind shopping but dressing up in this many outfits is exhausting and you can’t wait to be done. Why can’t you just pick a random one off the rack and call it a day? Lesson of the day; never go pageant shopping with a pageant girl. You’ll be at this for hours.

“Yeah. Too much volume. Maybe we should go back to something more formfitting. I think I saw a couple of outfits that would work much better.” Opal’s words make your breath hitch and you keep in a groan at the mention of more things to try on as the girl scurries off to find the things she saw and you’re left with Dorian. Turning to him as you finish staring after Opal and praying to the gods these new outfits she’s looking for would just spontaneously combust before they made their way back to you, you grab the genasi by the cloak, both hands clutching on tightly.

“Save me, Dorian. Please have mercy and save me from this hell.” You beg. Dorian presses his lips together tightly as to not let the laughter escape. He’ll have to admit it’s very funny to see you so completely and utterly out of your element but he also feels for you.

“I reckon we have about ten minutes before Opal returns. Only way to stop her is finds something you like and suits you well. Blow her away with whatever you find. As long as you look as uncomfortable as you feel, She’ll keep coming with the outfits.” Dorian’s right nothing will satisfy Opal as much as you feeling as comfortable and pretty as they know you are, regardless of you admitting it or not. The problem is, you don’t even know where to start looking. This shop, it’s all just a needle in a haystack for you.

“You have to help me find something and quickly! I don’t think I can take another hoop skirt or waistcoat. I might just faint.” Dorian clasps your hands over his and releases your grasp on his cloak. He offers you a confident smile that somewhat eases your fears of the intimidating woman on fashion spree. Dorian pulls you along to the racks, using one hand to browse while holding yours tightly clasped in the other giving it a soft squeeze whenever you look over your shoulder and around to find Opal and her growing heap of clothes.

“So we’ve eliminated any big skirts and traditional suits. How do you feel about something fitted and flowy?” Dorian brushes his fingers over the shoulder of a smocked shirt. You stare down at the poofy mess you’re still stuck in like a butterfly in a net.

“Uhhh, as far away from any ballgowns as we can get please. I don’t mind a bit of a cinch.” You say as Dorian picks up something akin to a corset with set in with decorative chainmail pieces. He holds it up to your body, purses his lips and puts it back not the rack. Not really your style. You need something fierce and practical, something that shows off your features just right but won’t be wearing you and will still make you feel comfortable in your own skin.

Then he spots it. This will look perfect on you. A dark navy blue fitted top with a deep v-neck nearly down to the bellybutton, and fitted sleeves. The matching leather pants also are fitted and somewhat resemble what you normally wear, though these are much less weathered. Over this all goes a very long trained chiffon robe rhinestoned like the night’s sky held together by an ornate silver clasp at the waist. When Dorian pulls it from the rack and holds it up to you you don’t know wether to fear or feel relieved at the look he gives you. Before you know it you’re being rushed back to the dressing room. Dorian helps you out of the monstrosity of the gown you’re in and leaves you to change into the new outfit as he distracts Opal long enough before she can return with the pile she’s gathered.

You never doubted Dorian to have style but this takes it to a whole new level. This is perfect. It fits in all the right places and whatever he said about it showing when you feel uncomfortable in a garment, it’s true as when you see yourself in the mirror that fully disappears and instead you feel confident. It may not have any protective properties like your usual armour does but it sure feels like you could take on the world right now. You’re badass, beautiful and confident.

When you step out of the dressing room you can already see Dorian mid argument with Opal who wanted to barge in, arms filled with clothes of all kind and the shop assistant being with whatever she couldn’t carry, huffing and puffing under the weight of it all. Their attention turns to you. Dorian’s attention turns to you and he doesn’t know how but you take his breath away. You look absolutely stunning. You look like a deity from the stars themselves, the energy you radiate does you justice and if he ever even had an ounce of doubt (he never did) it only shows your natural beauty more than ever.

“Oh. My. Gods.” Opal exclaims as she drops all the fabric in her arms rushing over to you, inspecting your new outfit, gushing about how it fits and how you should style your hair, maybe do some makeup to match the ‘star-effect’ of the robe for cohesion. You can’t even keep up anymore but let her ramble on. She tells the assistant you’d found your outfit and the assistant exasperatedly begins picking up the pile she dropped to put back on the racks. No more fittings for you. Opal’s satisfied and you’re safe. You offer Dorian a look of gratitude and he winks back, not daring to interrupt the fashion tyrant dressed in pink.

——————

Backstage before your turns in the pageant you get a moment alone with Dorian as the two of you watch the other candidates. You’re panicking as Dorian pulls up your hair, adding a comb to keep it in place and add some flare. You have no idea where he got it nor dare you ask right now, just thankful he’s been doing what he can to ease your nerves. This is not your thing. Prancing around like some trick pony is not your thing. You stick to the shadows, at most mingle with society using honeyed words to get what you need or want but this is a whole new world and you feel as if your skills are useless in this environment.

“You’re going to be okay. All you have to do is answer the question. It doesn’t take much more than a charming answer to persuade the judges. No different than persuading a shopkeeper to give you a better deal.” Dorian adjusts the comb before removing his hands and taking a step back to inspect his work. He taps your shoulder and has you turn around. It doesn't take a genius to see you’re nervous and the jitters are clear through your bouncing leg as you sit staring up at him, panic in your eyes and breathing hitching high in your chest visible through your partially exposed collarbones.

“Yeah but getting a better price on potions doesn’t have a crowd a few hundred large to witness it. What if I say something wrong? What if they don’t like me?” Dorian kneels in front of you, stroking your cheek and hand on your shoulder.

“Deep breath.” You do as you feel his thumb run across your cheek, the gesture alone calms your nerves a little bit and pulls you back to this world. You nod to signal you’re good.

“This is no different that the real world. If you say something wrong, own it. Make them think it’s intentional. There’s very few things you could say that you couldn’t own or turn into something funny.” Dorian assures you. You place a hand over his on your cheek and press a kiss to his wrist as a thank you as he continues.

“As for them not liking you, I don’t see how the couldn’t instantly be mesmerised. You are gorgeous, intelligent, resourceful. If they don’t eat you up and admire you for who you are they don’t deserve you.” The next candidate is called to the stage and both of you know you’ll be up soon. You’re glad Dorian’s pep talk is working and you can feel the affection from him. If only he knew how much it means to you to have him here. Then again, you’ve told him plenty of times how amazing he is.

“Why are they walking all weirdly getting on stage?” You raise an eyebrow as the next candidate places one foot directly in front of the other, walking on their tiptoes more than their full feet.

“Watch the hips.” You do as Dorian says and you can see their hips swaying as they walk adding just a little bit more flare to that strut. You have to say, it kinda looks good. Maybe you should give it a try?

“Could you, I don’t know teach me? I know how to sway hips but this, this goes beyond me.” You gesture to the candidate stopping at Ruby to answer the question. Dorian looks a little taken aback but rises to his feet pulling you with him. He never thought he’d ever be teaching anyone how to walk the walk and is pretty sure he’ll get some weird looks from the others but he doesn’t really care if it makes you happy and more confident about this whole pageant. He puts his hands on your hips as you stand facing each other but keeps a bit of a distance between he two of you so you can still take the steps as you would on your own.

“Okay, so first things first. You want to keep your steps on the same line. See it like walking on a narrow ledge or a tightrope. You want to stick to balancing on your toes and keep a bounce in your knees. Don’t lock them too much. Light on your feet.” Dorian guides you forward as he steps backwards with you guiding you along, tapping whatever hip is swaying next. Your movement is a bit rigid at first but before you know it you’re doing it and Dorian steps away to let you strut without his help. You’re a natural. He gives pointers as you turn but you have the walk down in no time.

Then your name is called. The panic returns for a second but is overshadowed by your newfound confidence. You look the part, you got the act down so act the part too. Confidently you strut down to Dorian, give him a seductive look as you stroke his cheek following his jawline. He’s gotta say, he likes this look on you but can see the glee break through your seduction.

“What would I have done without my handsome hero in blue?” You smile and give him a kiss.

“Still be stuck in that dressing room with Opal probably? You look stunning. Go show them exactly what you’re made of.” Dorian encourages you, a hue of purple spreading lightly across his cheeks as he watches for any witnesses to your moment. Holding on to his cheek as long as you can stepping backwards you offer him one last wink and blowing him a kiss before you turn and strut onto the stage ready to play. Who knew pageants could be fun after all.

[theoldgaylion]

For the doriax prompts 👀 "seeking each others hands while sleeping" or "dancing together".

Whichever sounds more fun :))

Read it on ao3

"That was kind of Mr. Gilmore to invite us, don't you think?" Fearne asked in her usual hushed tone as she finished braiding Opal's long silky hair, who was sitting on a velvety dormeuse adorned with golden details and attentively following her movements.

"Especially after the troubles we caused him." Orym gloomily mused as he leant against the wall next to where the faun and the girl stood, one hand reflexively resting on his hip as if ready to act on whatever upcoming threat, despite not carrying any kind of weapons on his person.

Sitting, too, but in a little, uncomfortable armchair, though as luxurious as the dormeuse, in the farthest corner of the room, was Dorian. As he was trying to not have a panic attack and thus ruin everybody's feisty mood, he barely registered his friends chatting in the background. He was overwhelmed, the rooms and the main hall outside brimmed with people, from enriched nobles to foreign merchants to powerful wizards, and that feeling of inadequacy struck him as fiercely as ever. Although the possibilities were close to none, he was also afraid to come across his relatives, whether distant or not. He didn't want to meet them, he didn't want his friends to meet them, not when he left that life behind his back.

His mind was spiraling as he stared at a blank spot outside the wide window on the opposite wall, nervously twisting his fingers.

"Free food and alcohol are always appreciated." Dariax commented somewhere near his right, he could see him in his peripheral vision as he stubbornly tried to keep his unruly tuft behind his ear with poor results, standing in front of a wall length mirror, his tongue sticking out between his lips and his brow furrowed in concentration.

"We really owe him a gift, though." the halfling sighed and Fearne giggled amusedly as she wrapped a beautiful, bright pink ribbon around the end of Opal's braid.

"Maybe next time we're on an adventure, we can bring something back for him." she suggested, her face lighting up as a soft smile curled up her lips.

"That's a good idea. But!" and the girl stood up from the dormeuse before declaring, hands on her hips and chest puffing out, "But now we must party and enjoy free alcohol and food, as our winged boy here suggested.".

"Yes!" the dwarf exclaimed and winked at her through the mirror, before returning to his previous task.

"Hey, do you need a hand with that?" Opal asked him as she walked over to his side. "I have some wax that'd do the work." she wiggled her eyebrows as she fished out a vial out of her high-heeled opalescent boots.

Dariax gasped as he eyed the vial, then nodded. "You're a lifesaver." he thanked her before Opal uncorked the vial and let him get some wax to do his hair properly.

The genasi jumped a little in his seat when Fearne craned her neck to look him in the eyes, then heaved out a relieved breath. He didn't even hear her approach, so lost in his thoughts as he was.

"Sorry, I didn't want to scare you, Dorian, but I was wondering…" she tapped her lower lip with a finger as she studied him. "Would you like a ponytail, perhaps? You'd look great in it." she smiled down at him as she unwrapped another ribbon from her own hair.

Dorian blinked in confusion, caught by surprise, before his gaze bounced back and forth between Fearne and the ribbon she was now holding.

"W-why not?" the genasi accepted in a weak tone as he shrugged his shoulders.

Fearne just chuckled at that, then waited for him to scoot forward with the armchair before positioning herself behind him. First, she began brushing and carding his hair with her fingers, letting some loose strands down to frame his sharp features. Afterwards, she carefully gathered lock by lock in her hands before lifting them up at the top of Dorian's head.

"You and Opal have the most beautiful hair, so soft." she admitted, her voice cheerful as she proceeded to secure the ponytail with the ribbon, and Dorian skeptically glanced at her, or tried to at that weird angle. Not that he didn't trust her friend's opinion, but it really never occurred to him before.

Fearne's milky white organza gown rustled softly as she clopped right in front of Dorian. "One last detail." she explained when Dorian frowned at her, not understanding why the faun was vigorously rubbing her palms, a sly grin playing on her lips as sparks of fire flickered at the friction.

Dorian was getting anxious, but that feeling was short lived, leaving room for wonder as soon as realization clicked in. Fearne's hands moved to the sides of his face, then curled the loose strands with her heated fingers and Dorian noticed that it wasn't hot at all. Magic was truly something.

Once she was finished, the faun clapped her hands, satisfied with her work. "You look amazing, my friend." she assured him, her smile softening.

"Wow." a raspy whisper caught Dorian's attention before he could reply to that and he darted his eyes in the direction of it, to his right. Dariax was watching him mouth agape and cheeks flushed, and Dorian wasn't even sure the dwarf was aware he was doing that in all honesty.

Dorian turned incredibly frustrated under that scrutiny and fidgeted in his seat as a suffocating heat spread across chest and down his belly.

"Go look for yourself." Fearne prompted him to stand up with a gentle pat on his shoulder.

Dorian slowly rose up on shaky legs and moved to stand before the wall length mirror. Okay, maybe he should've trusted his friends more, because he looked fine as fuck. He never considered himself a vain person, but, as he stared at his own reflection now, he must've admitted that that outfit highlighted his best body traits, starting with the dark blue high-waisted lace pants he was wearing, not much see-through per se but open to the sides in two slits and with incorporated shorts that ran down to his mid thighs. On his upper body, the loose peach gold chiffon top that wrapped at his middle in a silver waistband with some rhinestones and left his chest exposed, the massive flowy sleeves clung at his sides and made him look so dreamy. At his feet, his beloved winged boots.

Opal helped him with his makeup earlier but he had the chance to evaluate her work just then. She used a silver eyeliner on his eyelids, the ends as sharp as her knives, while she dusted some moonshine highlighter on his cheekbones, the tip of his nose, his pecs and under his eyebrows, following their natural curve.

After a long time spent admiring himself, he felt very observed and turned his head towards Fearne, who was still looking at him, her hands clasped together against her cheek as she smiled merrily like a mother proud of her son.

"Thank you, Fearne. It looks amazing." he told her in an earnest tone.

The faun chuckled delightedly in response, before stifling a snort as her eyes glanced away from him and Dorian quirked one eyebrow at that. Then, he heard frantic fumbling and a loud snap. He spun around and found the dwarf still there, yet turned a little to his side as if he was trying to hide something, his mouth was pressed in a thin line now while tips of his ears were as red as his face as he busied himself with the laces of his vest. Dorian didn't know what to do with that notion.

Once they were all ready, the group finally exited the room, walked down the hallway and crossed the threshold of the dance hall, just to immediately get lost among the swirling of robes and skirts and cloaks, the colorful reflections of the flames that shimmered down from big crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, the chattering of voices that mixed with the soft music playing in the air, the tables full of delicacies.

That combination of visuals, sounds and smells rendered the five speechless.

"Okay, this may be a little too for us." Dariax murmured to the group after a pregnant pause, his lips pursed to the side hidden behind his hand. And the genasi couldn't agree more.

"We've been lucky that Mr. Gilmore warned us and let us go on a shopping trip before coming here." Orym pointed out as his keen eyes studied the surroundings, feeling even smaller than he was already.

"Yeah, but, I feel underdressed all the same." Opal whined in a pout, crossing her arms on her chest. "And I'm wearing a fuckin dress." she added as she ran her hands down on her big puffy tulle skirt.

“Where's the wine?" the faun asked out of the blue as she looked around, her ears eagerly perking up, and the group laughed.

"Hey, look, there's Fy'ra!" Opal exclaimed as she pointed with her index finger at her, who was already in the company of Shaun Gilmore himself and a man who presumably was his husband by the way he was circling his waist with one arm.

Orym scolded her about her manners, or lack of, but his words hardly affected her since she was trotting to Fy'ra, Fearne following suit.

He sighed hopelessly, before joining them together with Dorian and Dariax.

They all greeted and complimented each other for their attires, everyone but Orym immediately falling for Gilmore's charme once again and his husband laughed whole-heartedly at their behavior, saying that he fully understood them.

As much as he really wanted to blend in and forget about his previous worries, Dorian felt anxious and uncomfortable, also regretting his choice of outfit for the night since it would've certainly drawn attention to himself, but now it was too late, he would've dealt with it.

His current mood must've been as clear as the empty glass Gilmore was holding in his hand because he noticed Dariax sliding closer to him at some point while the rest of his friends were chatting amicably, and tilting his head up to look at him.

"You okay there, bud?" he asked him in a lower tone, his warm hues regarding him with concern.

Dorian wanted to lie, although it would've been useless. The dwarf could be... slow on the uptake sometimes, that was true, but he always understood when his friends were troubled and that was one of the things he liked the most about him, he was kind and thoughtful and cared dearly for the people he held close to his heart.

So, the genasi shook his head and bit the inner part of his cheek.

Dariax’s mouth twisted in a sad grimace upon his non-committal reply. "Alrighty, let's go grab some food, yeah?" he proposed, nudging him playfully on the thigh while showing a toothy smile.

Dorian quickly warned Orym before walking away with the dwarf to find something to eat among the many, almost too many set tables.

Dorian's uneasiness gradually dissipated thanks to the dwarf's presence. Since that moment he stayed with him the whole time, trying to draw a smile out of him and the genasi really appreciated his efforts.

The two were now standing at a table with any type of meat Dorian could imagine, Dariax was trying his hard to catch a chicken leg with a fork but it kept rolling and rolling and squishing away as oily and dripping with sauce as it was, so he gave up in the end and grabbed it by the bone. Dorian wanted to be grossed out by that, but honestly after what they've been through in the last months that was the least disgusting thing the dwarf had done involving food, or anything else really.

The genasi had to admit that Dariax really stood out in those clothes. As if he was just seeing him for the first time that night, he ranked him up and down with his gaze, taking advantage of his current distraction. The dwarf had chose a white blouse with puffed sleeves and flounce collar, his broad shoulders emphasized by.. now that he took a better look at it, Dorian noticed that it wasn't a vest, more like a corset garment that made him waist look slimmer, the velvety burgundy texture complementing his auburn hair while the golden embroideries on the hems made him look princely, somehow. On his lower half, he wore black tight trousers with a detachable wrap pleated skirt on its left side, at his feet a simple pair of dark brown leather boots.

Dariax was so… dashing.

"Want some?" the dwarf's voice brought him back to the present and Dorian felt himself blush guiltily upon being caught staring so openly. Or maybe Dariax didn't notice him at all, too focused on eating his well-earned chicken leg. The genasi really hoped it was the latter.

"Uhm, no. Actually, I'm not that hungry." he admitted in a sigh and saw Dariax's joyful mood shift a bit. Even though the dwarf was helping him a lot, anxiety was still swirling in his stomach, clutching at it, making him feel nauseous.

"But if you don't eat, you can't drink." Dariax reasoned, his half smirk slotting back on his face, and those words earned him an amused snort from Dorian. As if that ever stopped the dwarf, or anyone in their group, from getting smashed, yet Dorian knew what he was trying to do and was grateful for his patience and consistency.

"I know, but I don't think I can drink either, sorry." the genasi admitted, another sigh falling from his lips, and Dariax gazed up at him, slowly lowering the chicken leg.

Clearing his throat, he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, then his free hand reached out for Dorian's and that gesture made his heart skip a bit, or a few.

"I don't know what you're going through, but I think we should enjoy ourselves tonight, we deserve some funny time, don't we?" the dwarf squeezed his hand oh-so-gently as his eyes bored into his as he spoke. "You should enjoy yourself, relax, unwind, relieve some stress." another squeeze of hand and Dorian's heart quivered in his chest. "Nothing's gonna happen, and in any case, I'm here for you. You got a healer in heels next to you." he winked at him as he tapped one boot's heel against the other.

Dorian's whole face was flushed deep purple by the end of his speech and, albeit his frantic heartbeat echoing in his head, he nodded and smiled down at him. The dwarf's hand was so warm around his and his mind quickly drifted back to all those time they slept together on his bed roll, so close yet so far, as Dorian wanted to touch him and hold him and-

Dorian shook his head vehemently and swallowed around a lump in his throat.

At that distance, Dorian noticed that there was eyeshadow on Dariax's eyelids, smudged, of the color of charcoal, in strict contrast to the amber of his hues, making them shine even brighter under the lights of the chandeliers. In the inner part of the eye, a glint of gold that recalled his corset, while a bronze highlighter gleamed on his cheeks. Opal must've done his makeup, too.

The genasi found himself staring at Dariax a lot that night, clearly unable to stop himself as if magnetically drawn to him.

"And honestly, you're really missing out because this stuff is delicious. I don't know when another banquet like this will happen to us in the near future." Dariax added a few moments later, emphasizing his words by swinging the chicken leg he was still holding.

Dorian heaved out a breathy chuckle, rolling his eyes at the ceiling, more for the sake of tearing his gaze away from him than being actually annoyed by what he just told him. "Alright, you got me. No more convincing." he gave up in the end as he picked a clean plate and a fork, before wandering around the table with his look.

"That's my man!" Dariax grinned victoriously, then joined him in the food hunt.

As simple as it was, that praise made Dorian’s chest fill with warmth and affection.

"Thank you, buddy. You're amazing." the genasi said after a while, his voice soft now, and shot a glance at his side to catch Dariax's cheeks turning as red as his corset as he murmured something under his breath that Dorian couldn't quite catch. In that moment, he realized it was the second time that he inadvertently made the dwarf blush and he stopped in his movements as that thought crossed his mind. What did that mean?

Anyway, the two kept circling around the table while chatting and, since Dorian's stomach finally loosened up, he was able to eat something, too. When the genasi lifted his head in a heartfelt fit of laughter after that Dariax told one of his dumb jokes about the turkey wearing socks, his attention was caught by Opal who stood some feet away at another table, watching them with a cocky grin and an arched eyebrow.

His laughter quickly ended up in an awkward coughing as he blushed from his neck to the tips of his ears and the fact that Dariax hurriedly came to his help didn't help his situation. At all.

Two glasses of wine later that embarrassing accident, glasses that Dorian gulped down like a drowning man in the desert, eventually they split up because Dariax decided it was the right time to go and grab some stronger alcohol that wasn't just wine; in the meantime, Dorian found interest in the instruments the band was playing. Despite his eagerness, the dwarf didn't leave him until Dorian assured him he was feeling better so he could go without worrying about him.

When Dorian noticed that it was taking the dwarf a little too long to get their drinks, he searched for him with his eyes, just to find him standing between two individuals, who possibly were courting him if he didn't mistaken the way they both leaned close to him, offering him drinks as they smiled flirty down at him.

He felt a strange pang of.. jealousy awfully twisting his guts as his jaw tensed at that sight.

"Are you going to ask him or not?" Opal's face suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.

Blanking out for a solid second, Dorian almost choked on his own tongue. "W-what?!" he cried in a shrill voice and immediately slapped a hand on his mouth.

The girl sighed deeply as she slowly shook her head in disappointment.

"To dance." Fearne replied from his other side on Opal's behalf and Dorian felt suddenly very cornered. "I bet he's dying to. Waiting for you to make a move. Can't you tell?" she tipped her head in a quizzical way as she eyed him.

The genasi's gaze frantically darted back and forth between the two. "I-I don't think that-" he then started babbling out, anxiety coming back at full force, but Opal cut him short with a huffy tsch.

"Please, you two have been circling around this for months, honestly. Now it's your chance to go get it." the girl pointed out as she nudged him with her hip and Dorian's heart started hammering erratically against his ribcage. What were they talking about just now?!

"Get what?!" he croaked out in a squeal and the faun's laugh only made him more miserable than he already felt.

Opal loudly gasped at that question as if she couldn't believe what she just heard. "Dorian, how oblivious can you be?!" she looked like she was that close to rip her own hair off her head for desperation or to choke him with her bare hands in an act of mercy and the genasi thought that he really didn't want to find out.

Thankfully, Fearne intervened once again. As she grabbed Opal's hand to soothe her outburst of anger, she smiled her benevolent smile at Dorian. "Dariax's been over the heels for you for like.. well, pretty much since we met I think?" she confessed in a pensive frown, then had to stifle an amused giggle when Dorian's mouth slacked open.

His head was spinning dizzily as his heart jumped up in his throat, his hands were shaking as he brought one of them to scratch at his neck in a foolish attempt to calm his nerves. He was pretty much freaking out at that point, he'd never actually noticed anything that-

Wait.

Oh gods.

"I'm a fucking idiot!" he yelled as he smacked both his hands on his forehead, and the two girls tried to not make fun of him, just to fail miserably.

"Now that you're caught up, do yourself a favor and <i>go</i>." and with Opal's words ringing in his ears, he was being pushed by Fearne and the girl herself toward the dwarf, still at the same table.

And suddenly, he was in the middle of the dance hall, his knees wobbling as his heart was trying so desperately to break free from his chest. He wanted to hide. He felt.. irremediably stupid. How could he be so blind?!

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. In retrospect, above all the things that had happened between them in the past months, Dorian realized that the dwarf had been looking at him the whole night with such a look in his eyes, something deeper concealed behind his usual fondness that he reserved for his friends.

He was getting itchy. If he wanted to act, he needed to do it now.

Mustering every ounce of courage he had in his body, the genasi walked the last steps that separated him from Dariax at last.

He cleared his throat way too loudly to be spontaneous, interrupting whatever was happening between the dwarf and those two strangers. He didn't even spare them a single glance as he stared at Dariax, who was visibly surprised by his antics.

Dorian straightened up, before bowing a little with his upper body, his left arm folded behind, as he outstretched his other, unsteady hand towards him.

"Dariax, m-may I have this dance?" the genasi asked in a solemn voice that cracked a little at the end, feeling heat rising up on his cheeks the longer he hoped for an answer. He gulped as a bead of sweat glided down his temple, his heart beating so fast right now that Dorian felt like it could stop at any moment.

And Dariax was looking at him like he held the entire world in his hands and the genasi felt himself burn from the inside out under that intensity, his hazel hues gone wide and round in complete shock, his thick eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

There was a moment of terrible, utter silence. Then, the dwarf let go of his drink, which fell and spilled on the floor, and that noise made a few heads turn in their direction while the two individuals jumped back from him. But Dorian couldn't care less as Dariax's trembling hand clutched tight around his as a happy, dazzling smile bloomed on his lips.

"Of course." he replied in a whisper, hesitant yet fast, like he'd been waiting for that question all night but couldn't believe he just got asked.

Fingers intertwined, they sauntered over the center of the dance hall to stand in front of each other like the rest of the people didn't exist.

Dorian's yearning turned out to be pretty much useless since Dariax shared his feelings and he could plainly see it now, written all over the dwarf's face as he hadn't stopped beaming up at him since he accepted his invite.

The genasi had never danced with someone that much shorter than him, or had much experience with balls in general, but they would've managed nonetheless.

They were holding hands, both their arms stretched outward in the liminal space between them as they looked into each other's eyes, full of emotions. Dorian thought he was going to faint here and there from how tense he felt, he was anxious for a totally different reason now.

Then, their feet started moving on their own and the music grew louder and louder, their bodies following the rhythm as they met halfway, their hands locking in the right positions as much as their heights would allow.

"I didn't know you could dance." Dorian said, genuinely delighted by that discovery, as they turned and spinned, completely lost in the music, in each other.

Dariax chuckled, his cheeks flushing again upon that compliment and the genasi had to stop himself from acting on the thoughts that image elicited in his mind. "Me neither." the dwarf admitted as he shrugged his shoulders.

Dorian snorted amusedly, before tightening his grasp on Dariax.

They kept waltzing, staring at each other, smiling brightly, moving freely. They kept waltzing, fingertips brushing on clothes, hands grasping, wanting for more. They kept waltzing, their looks promising.

And Dorian never felt so happy in his life.

[alexcaldownapier]

Film Adaptation - Past Few Weeks (9-11)

The SD cards are as full as my wee heart. I’m so incredibly proud of the whole group, the people who helped us out on set and our excellent actors. Thank you to everyone that helped us out and thank you to my wonderful group. Yeah, very happy.

Four days shooting, done! We’re now onto post and I couldn’t be more excited.

Tests

I had a very hectic week leading up to the shoot and even more so during the shoot. Let me start at the beginning, then. 

Thursday. Up at Craiglockhart for 9am to pick up the equipment. Natalia booked us out the best and the brightest - lights, a lot of lights. We then went to our main location - Peer’s parents’ house/our studio.  The large space let us set up our sets, with plenty room for lighting and camera. We took the rest of the day to work out how we were setting up the chat room and the dark room. 

We’d talked through how we could achieve the chat room at the start of the week. The purpose of the location is to seem inviting, bustling and cool, so we understand why Kayleigh feels shy and why she wants to hang out with the people. We’d been unable to come up with a concrete plan for the set dressing as we were struggling to find a location. But, once we knew we were filming at Peer’s, we came up with the hanging fabric idea. This is to make the space seem more expansive, as if it could keep going, make it feel larger than the room we were filming in. I went and picked up some chiffon from a fabric store. While I mainly went for this fabric because it was cheap - it also has such an ethereal vibe, being transparent and flowy. They add a lot of depth to the shots, I feel as well as a bit of mystery. 

I’d made a production design document going through the plans for the sets and costumes. I’ve realised, this is something I’ve not really got the brain for - more on this later. But, anyways, I’d chosen out chairs for Kayleigh and Credence. Kayleigh’s a wicker chair that looks innocent and natural, something that would be in a granny’s garden. My original plan for Credence’s chair was a director’s chair with red fabric, to emphasise the way he directs/controls the conversation/image. But, when we were getting set, Peer suggested the leather chair we ended up using - it works a lot better. It puts the person sitting in such a laid-back, almost arrogant posture, perfect for credence, as well as fitting into his costume’s colour scheme. 

So, on this thursday, I was helping peer and rowen set up their master shot of the scene, hanging the fabrics and sheets. I had to leave early to shoot my documentary - they came up with a plan and set up the dark room for...

Friday

This was a *reasonably* easy set-up. In order to achieve the void space that Kayleigh confronts herself in, we got some black-out fabric and a lilliput on a C-stand and I just love the end effect. Rowen has a plan for the post-production workflow on the vfx shots. For this scene we had to make sure that there was enough black space and contrast with the lighting so we can easily cut out the actor and put her alone in a void. 

This was our first time working with our lead actress, Claire. We threw her in the deep end with a silent, introspective moment that’s supposed to be quite emotional. I’m really happy with our actors overall and I think Claire embodied Kayleigh perfectly. She may be a little older than the character, but she still conveyed the vulnerability, dysmorphia and insecurity.

After we got the footage of Kayleigh and her avatar, we, the crew, got all dressed up and stood in as other avatars that we could cut to, chop up - alternate identities. This was so much fun - Peer brought his funkiest clothes and we all did eachother’s make-up and had came up with some personas - Tom was a sailor boy, Natalia was French and Rowen had suspenders. Nat and Peer had made a shot-list and a schedule which we mostly stuck to, it was a pretty smooth first day. :))

I was AC-ing and gripping on this day and just helping out with little tasks. I wasn’t too much of a nuisance this day, I don’t think, but this was soon to change...

Saturday

This day, I had to leave the set early as I had a shift at work. But what I saw, I was head over heels for. We got to Peer’s nice and early to finish setting up the set - so many pish puns in the walls. While Rowen and I got that sorted, Peer and Natalia went over the day’s schedule and shot list, before we all got together to do the finishing touches and fiddle with the lighting. Our actors arrived then and we got them all into costume and makeup. Peer knew exactly what he was doing with the costumes - leaps and bounds ahead of my document (I think Kayleigh’s outfit was the only one unchanged from the document). Yeah, I think I don’t have the best eye for what would look/feel right for the characters and the world, but thank god for Peer and his clothes, they saved the day. Natalia handled the makeup, creating a beautiful extravagant look for Credence and a subtle sweet look for Kayleigh. I’d brought in an actress friend for a small role and my flatmates for extras and they all seemed to have fun with it :) 

The set ended up looking gorgeous, busy and lovely. While I only saw a little part of the acting, I think they all had excellent chemistry and interacted perfectly and it was lovely seeing Rowen guiding them through the scene. The tracking shot of Kayleigh entering the space has such an amazing feeling - it perfectly captures the emotion of the moment. I think everything was really coming together on this day, we were in our groove - Natalia was keeping us moving and on time; Tom was calmly and cooly getting the sound; Peer was getting some gorgeous stuff; and Rowen was guiding everyone with a deft but gentle manner. 

I think this day was when I started to over-step. I’d like to think I was trying to be helpful, but in actuality I was just getting in the way, particularly with Peer and Rowen. I’ve spoken with them about it and I don’t think I annoyed them too much but yeah, I’m going to write about it here. I think I forget that people have thought everything through. Rowen knew what direction he wanted for the film, Peer knew how he wanted it to look. But I kept thinking: “what if they haven’t thought of this, or that, or maybe if we did it this way?” And yeah, it’s maybe trying to be helpful (if i’m generous to myself) or it’s arrogance and pettiness (if I’m being accurate). I realised I was never jumping in and aggravating people when I was on the Grad shoot, Between Us, and I think this is maybe because it was harder for me to think that I knew something they didn’t, with them having two years of education on me. Or it could’ve been that I wasn’t as close to the project - I was there to do a job, not to influence the direction of the film. This film is very close to me but that doesn’t really excuse me attempting to domineer others in order to get what I want. I don’t think you should ever prioritise the film you’re making over the way that you make it. Sets are always quite stressful places, so tensions do come up, but there’s easy ways of smoothing it out. Just staying respectful and calm when things go wrong. I think I’ve improved on my set-etiquette since first year. I was asking Rowen about my thoughts, not giving notes straight to actors or changing things. But, then again, Rowen is a polite man, so wouldn’t say no to hearing my ideas so I’d end up pestering him anyways (plus, I think my tone is often “you should do this” rather than a suggestion). But yeah. Sorry to Peer and Rowen specifically and the rest of the group as well for getting all pestering and annoying. It’s something that I keep in mind, or at least think about and I try not to do it. I’m there to do my job and help them do their job. My impulses and reflexes are not my actual opinions but too often they’re the things that come out. There’s a little too much of a gap between how I want to act and how I actually act.

Aaaaanyways, tangent aside, I think this day went well, although I missed the second half. Now, on to:

Sunday

(Mr Theilen and his assistants)

Filming in Hermitage of Braid, a place I want to stroll through for hours on end - so Pretty! It was a great location for the scene (one part of the film I love is the motif of nature and how it’s associated with Kayleigh, her tRuE nAtUrE). We got there 11 ish, got the actor’s set up (big ups James Fox for stepping in as “the player”, pure star power) and set up the master shot for the first part of the scene.

So, this day was a real tricky one. It’s a deceptively long scene despite only being a page or so. This is the only time that our busyness leading up to the shoot impacted us. We’d all been so busy that we hadn’t done a group recce of the location - there weren’t any glaring issues that created problems, but we didn’t have much of an idea about the blocking. We were coming up with it on the fly with the added time pressure of the limited daylight hours. So, on one part of the scene we had filmed the two reverse shots before realising that there was a tree in the way of filming the two-shot and filming the other way would cross the line. 

Another issue we had was that the lenses we had booked out were larger than the usual ones so using the matte box was difficult. We were using a pro-mist filter and there was a lot of lense-flare so we needed the matte box on. For most of the day this went smoothly, just with a little extra wiggling before a take, but then on our shots of James, the sleeve of the mattebox slipped and is in a few of the shots on that set-up. We could maybe crop the image, or cut around it, but we’ll see what Tom comes up with in the edit. 

I think the time pressure was the main issue. It was some added stress that exacerbated things - I was borderline insufferable on this shoot (as per previous tangent). We did manage to get some good stuff in the can and at the end of the day we got a shot of Kayleigh entering the chat room from outside - we’ll need to see how this works in the edit but it adds to the other-worldly feeling of the space. We set up the fabric doorway on some C-stands, lit it as similarly as possible and had Claire walk through, filmed on a tight lense.

The sun was lovely and the chat was good. I went home and ate pasta and watched tv and fell asleep nice and early. 

Monday

Our final day, nice and cosy in Tom’s flat. As this was a location we’d had for a while, we had a pretty good idea of how we were dressing the set, so it didn’t take too long to set up. The lighting for this scene looks gorgeous - the blue of the monitor lighting up kayleigh with the background lit up in warm practical lights. We were getting some damn cinematic stuff through this shoot, I think - more on this at the end. 

This was the shortest scene, our shortest day. We got through our set-ups smoothly and got some extra fun stuff for alternate edits :))) Not much to report about this day to be honest, just a nice relaxed day. Again, I was AC-ing and gripping and helping out with little tasks. I think I’d reigned myself in by this point so I was happy when we finished. We sat in the setting sun and grabbed some drinks together and even made another movie that night - Rowen Henderson’s horror/romance masterpiece “Ivy League”. 

In Summary

Not to go on about it too much, but I am just so impressed with what our group has managed to pull off through these shoot days. No doubt there’ll be issues with parts of it and things we’ll need to work around, but I’m sure we can overcome them to make a great film. My role on set was mainly just to help out as much as I could - helping Peer get set up with the camera, helping Tom with booming sometimes, helping Natalia with the production design and helping Rowen with some script issues. I think I helped out well, in terms of just doing work that needed done, but again, I was also often in the way. And, despite us all having been really quite stressed in the run-up to the shoot and during it too, I think my groupmates have so much raw talent and passion that they were able to make some beautiful stuff anyways. So yeah, thank you everyone, I’m very proud of us all. Can’t wait to see how it all comes together in the edit.

I’m going to post again soon to outline my ideas/approach for the sound design. I still need to talk with Rowen and Tom about it, but I’ve got some base ideas to build from. Yeah, just very excited...

[amlovelies]

🤥🍰👖🎵💧for my beloved Romi please?

of course ginger! thank you for asking about my girl 😍

🤥 LYING - are they good liars? do they have tells to show they're lying?

Romi is a good liar. she's used to it. back in the sidestep days she used to bite her nails a lot which could be a tell when she was lying (it was more an anxiety thing but depending on the size of the lie sometimes there would be accompanying anxiety) that's just one of the things she's left in the past. she keeps her nails carefully manicured now.

🍰 CAKE SLICE - favourite cake flavour? are they specific about types of cakes?

Romi is a sweet step so she will never say no to cake. any cake is a good cake in her book, but if she had to choose she would probably go for german chocolate

👖 JEANS - what is their go-to outfit?

Romi puts a good deal of effort into her outfits. she always favours less fitted clothing, not anything super tailored or that will really highlight and show off her shape. She likes high collars and long skirts. will gravitate towards like large bow details or peter pan collars with like a long cardigan layered over it. she's already on the taller side (5'10) so she usually won't wear heels. very feminine and pretty. likes pink and white, softer shades and flowy silky/chiffon fabrics when possible. this sorta vibe 👇

🎵 MUSIC NOTE - what is their playlist like? their favourite artists? do you associate a particular song with them?

this is an area I'm working on developing for her! I had started a playlist for her and it just doesn't feel right. as of right now I'm thinking she mostly favors instrumentals rather than songs with lyrics and something with a heavy drum/bass line. something that feels more physical, that she can feel in her chest something more visceral than like the indie singer songwriter tracks I was originally thinking about. I'm thinking maybe artist like apocolyptica and pelican but I have to do some more exploring.

💧 DROPLET - random angst headcanon

Romi can barely remember Themmy. Like she knows they were close, that they were teammates, but her actually memories of times they spent together feels so distant, like remembering a movie she watched when she was half asleep. so many of her memories from the sidestep days are like that. it usually takes ortega telling the story for things to even begin to fit into place but even then it always feels like it happened to a different person

oc emoji asks

[temilyrights]

the case of us (chapter eleven)

Jack Sloane x Reader

A/N: Okay, we’re finally here. The last chapter. It's been a wild ride! Thank you all for joining me on this journey. I’m linking the dresses Jack and Reader wear later on in this chapter. My description doesn’t do Jack’s dress nearly enough justice. (Thank you for all your suggestions and this isn’t really what any of the colours you suggested but I saw it and fell in love). Also @x-multifandom-trash-x​ I may have added an adaptation of the text thing you tagged me in....Also, gotta thank @sassystrongsexysloane​ for being my sounding bored and motivating me to write aha. Wow, so this really is the end. Really thank you guys for reading/commenting/liking. I'm honestly kind of sad it's over. I hope you're happy with how I decided to end it. It took me forever to decide how to do it because I just kept adding more ahah. Anyway, I’ll shut up now and as always, feedback is welcome and very much appreciated :)

Jack | Reader (just pretend there’s a slit in reader’s dress)

Read on AO3

Chapter Ten

You sat on the cold autopsy table watching Jimmy pace back and forth, hair sticking up in different directions due to how many times he’d run his hands through it. “This was going to be the celebration we never had! But if I can’t make it or you guys can’t-” 

Jumping off the table you grab Jimmy’s arms halting his steps. “There’s no way you won’t be there and it’s still two days away Jimmy, I’m sure the case will be wrapped up by then.” 

Jimmy and Breena were throwing an anniversary party, they’d sent out invitations months ago but this was your third day working the case for SecNav and it didn’t seem like it would be wrapping up anytime soon so Jimmy was beginning to freak out. He wanted you all there and you wanted to be there. It was just the reality of that happening was lowering by the day. 

“You think so?” 

“I do. I don’t care if we wrap the case 10 minutes before the party begins, I’ll make sure everyone is there.” At your earnest expression, Jimmy relaxes slightly, and you drop your arms from him. 

“Thank you.” 

“Not a problem.” You smirk. “Now, I need to go get a book from Jack. I’ll see you later.” You exchange goodbye’s before you quickly make your way to the elevator, probably too giddy at the thought of seeing her. 

Since the evening at her house, you hadn’t really seen her even during office hours. This case was a hard one. Gibbs had you all working pretty much constantly. The only free time you got consisted of you heading home to catch a few hours of sleep, shower and maybe eat before you’d be heading back to the office. So, apart from one coffee break that you’d managed to catch together and a couple of times over the last few days she’d appear to drop off evals or watch an interrogation you hadn’t seen her. 

And it sounded pathetic, but you missed her. 

Jack’s sitting at her desk when you enter, a bright smile lights up her face when she sees you and it has you relaxing for the first time in days. “Hey.” 

“And to what do I owe this honour?” She grins, dropping her pen and turning her chair to face you. 

“Do you happen to own a copy of Hollin’s Criminal Behaviour?” 

“Yeah, on the bookshelf. For the case?” 

You hum, making your way over and start to scan the shelves for your target. “I remember reading it in college, it had a reference to a case that could help with this.” You shrug frowning. “Thought it was worth a look, that’s if I can find it-”

You suck in a sharp breath as Jack comes up behind you, fingers brushing your waist as the whole of her front pushes into your back and she leans over grabbing the book from the shelf. “This the one you looking for?” Her voice tickles your skin and you have to resist the urge to squeeze your thighs together, her voice sounding like pure sex. You swallow, nodding your head wordlessly as you take the book from her and try to control the blush rising up your cheeks. 

Jack steps back, a devilish smirk on her face as she makes her way back towards her desk as if she wasn’t aware of the effect she was having on you. “You’re a cruel woman, Jacqueline Sloane.” Jack laughs as she leans over her desk with a wiggle to her hips that has your eyes zeroing in on her ass before trailing down her legs to her heeled feet. She’s wearing a tight black pencil skirt with a zip down the back that was demanding your attention along with a champagne satin blouse. “Very cruel.”

Jack turns around humming, as you approach. “Is this where I’m supposed to pretend to be sorry?” Rolling your eyes, you drop the book onto the coffee table and then pull Jack into you. She wraps an arm around your waist pulling you in closer and arches a brow. You cup her cheek, a smile spreading across your face as you just take her in. 

“Hi.” 

“Hi” Jack’s expression softens. “Shouldn’t you be getting back to work?” 

“Yeah, probably but I’m really quite happy here at the moment.”

“Oh, well, I can’t argue with that.” 

You hum, your eyes moving to focus on Jack’s lips which are smirking devilishly and god, you really wanted to kiss her. “I think we should pick up where we left off the other night.” 

Jack’s nose scrunches up. “Really? In my office?” 

You shrug, stepping forward, prompting Jack backwards until her bottom hits the desk. “Why not? Plenty of fantasies involving this place.” 

Jack pushes your shoulder, as she huffs a laugh. “Behave.”

“Where’s the fun in that, Jacqueline?” 

Jack’s eyes darken, her gaze flicking to your lips and then back to your eyes.  “I like when you call me Jacqueline.”

“That’s good to know.” You brush your thumb over Jack’s lip, a smirk blossoming on your face when you hear her suck in a sharp breath. “...Jacqueline.” 

“Y/N,” Jack warns. 

“Yes?” 

“Step. Back.” You pout but don’t move, and Jack rolls her eyes playfully. “I don’t want the first, well second, time I kiss you to be in my office when we’re both tired and also half concentrated on a case where someone could interrupt us at any second.” Good to know you weren’t the only one thinking about that kiss still...it’d been the main contender in your dreams (day and night) since it happened. How Jack felt in your arms, the feeling of her lips and the way she’d gripped your hair. You swallow roughly. 

“One, I didn’t know you were such a romantic,” You get a jab in your side for that, causing you to release a yelp and step back. “and two, you bringing up that kiss isn’t exactly motivating me not to kiss you.” 

“Pick the book up and get the hell out of my office.” 

“Bossy.” You mutter and then immediately duck seconds before a lollipop flies over your head. “Hey!”

Jack walks around her desk, falling into her chair with a smug smile on her face that has you rolling your eyes. 

“Fine. I get the message. I’m going.” Smiling you make your way to her office door. You pause before opening it though, turning back to see Jack shamelessly checking you out, you arch a brow. “Enjoying yourself?” 

“Immensely.”

You chuckle. “Oh, hey, you’re still coming to Jimmy’s anniversary party, right?” 

Jack nods. “If the case is wrapped up.”

“Ok, cool.” You swing on your heels, chewing your lip as you wonder if you should ask the question you’ve been toying around in your head for the last day. Jack’s watching you closely and it makes your chicken out. “I’ll meet you there I guess.” 

Jack smirks. “Or you could pick me up?”

Your cheeks flush pink as a smile takes over your face “Or yeah, I could do that.”

“Good, now go do your job.” 

“Yes, boss.” You were pretty sure if you hadn’t moved and shut the door behind you another lollipop would have been flung at you. 

----

The case is finally wrapped up Saturday afternoon and you’re practically dead on your feet by the time you finish your report and hand it into Gibbs. He takes one look at you and the rest of the team, all in similar states of drowsiness and huffs. “Alright, go home and get some shut-eye.” 

“Oh, thank god.” Nick sighs from his desk, perking up for the first time that day. You quickly grab your bag and switch off your computer.

“See you all at six!” You shout back to the team as you make your way to the elevator receiving a variety of groans and grins in response. 

You manage a couple of hours of sleep when you get home and wake up feeling semi-human and start to get ready for the evening. Your dress for the night was gorgeous. It was a midnight blue colour and you may have picked it out with Jack in mind. It was a silk midi halter neck dress that flatters your figure. The criss-cross spaghetti straps held the back of your dress together, showing off your back all the way down to your waist but your favourite part of the dress was the slit that went up above your knee. You paired the dress with a pale gold clutch and strappy heels, you keep your hair down styling it nicely and applied your makeup, spending way too much time trying to get the perfect wing with your eyeliner.  

Your heart’s thumping in your chest when you pull up outside Jack’s house. You shoot her a text informing her you were here and then get out the car and lean against it as you wait for her. 

Your jaw nearly hits the floor when she exits. She looked like a literal goddess in her dress. It was a black chiffon material that was covered in metallic purple leaves and golden birds. It was a wrap dress with a flowy skirt and billowy sleeves with a deep plunging v neck that showed you ample cleavage while still looking completely sophisticated. She’d paired it with a simple pair of nude heels and a matching bag. Her hair was straight for a change and you could feel yourself heating up at the sight, her smirk devilish as she approached. 

“You look...gorgeous.” You swallow roughly and the second she steps in reach you pull her flush against you. Jack wraps her arms around your neck, clutch still in her hands as she laughs softly. 

“I’m glad you like it, cost me an arm and a leg.” 

“Definitely worth it.” You hum, your eyes dropping to her cleavage then up to her mouth and then back to her eyes which are filled with amusement. 

“You look stunning too. I like you in blue.” Your cheeks heat up as one of Jack’s hands moves from your neck to trail down your back, stopping and teasing at the waist of your dress. 

“Jack.” You warn, fingers digging into the soft material on her hips. Jack smiles smugly and you move to cup her cheek pulling her in closer to you.

“Nuh-uh.” Jack stops you, pulling her head back as you pout. “You’ll ruin my lipstick.” 

“Seriously?!” You moan, mouth hanging open as Jack steps back and with a smug smirk walks around you opens the passenger’s side of the car and slips in. You tip your head back groaning. She was actually going to kill you. 

----

Because of how busy the case had been, you’d spent the whole week in professional work mode, meaning people (well, Ellie) didn’t have the opportunity to question what had happened between you and Jack. No one could really work out how the two of you were either because whenever Jack appeared she was in work mode as well. She’d shoot you a few smirks or smiles and you think Ellie noticed a couple of times, but it wasn’t enough to form a conclusion of what had happened. 

Jack and you had never clarified what the two of you were and to be honest, you weren’t in any rush to have that conversation. You knew you liked Jack and that she liked you too so that was enough, however that didn’t help you with tonight. Part of you wanted to scream from the rooftops that the woman of your dreams was into you but a bigger part of you wanted to keep this between the two of you, at least for now. 

“Jack?” You ask, switching off the engine of the car as you look from the venue and towards her. She hums, as she sorts through her clutch. You don’t respond and Jack looks over to you with a frown. 

“Everything okay?” 

“Yeah. I just...Tonight. Can we keep us on the down-low, it’s not that I don’t want-” 

Jack reaches out and squeezes your hand, halting your words. “I’d like that. I could really do with at least a few weeks without Torres’ comments and the looks from the rest of the team. Plus, it makes it more fun if people don’t know.” 

You breathe a sigh of relief, squeezing Jack’s hand with a soft smile. “Thank you.” 

Jimmy’s outdone himself. The venue is beautiful. A decent sized room filled with round tables, a dance floor and a bar already surrounded by guests. You spot Ellie and Nick standing at the bar and wave at them. Ellie waves back and signals her head to the side of the room where the rest of the team were. Gibbs, Ducky, Vance, Kasie, and Tim and Delilah. 

Jack laughs from beside you when she sees Gibbs. He looks widely uncomfortable and you know this is his literal idea of hell. A room full of people, half of who he doesn’t know but who he’ll probably end up having to socialise with while also wearing a suit, which looked brand new so probably wasn’t that comfortable. “Enjoying yourself, cowboy?” Jack teases when you reach the group. 

Gibbs grunts causing the rest of the group to start laughing. Everyone falls into conversation. Jack and Vance walk away from the group, presumingly to get drinks and you talk with Delilah. This was her first night away from the twins for a while and you could tell she was enjoying it. You want to say hello to Jimmy but every time you see him he’s already talking to someone while looking a little frazzled, so you decide to wait for later. 

It’s not long before it’s time for food. You make your way over to the table the team had claimed as their own. Jack’s sitting down already, a free seat on one side of her that she signals to. You grin and make your way over but before you get close enough Ducky takes the chair. 

“Sorry.” Jack mouths, disappointment clear and you shrug, trying to hide your pout. There’s a seat free in between Nick and Kasie so you take that one. Jack was basically opposite you, so it wasn’t too bad. 

Food is served, conversation is had and after dessert plates are cleared away Jimmy rises from his chair. He’s sitting a few tables away from you all, he clinks his glasses a little hard causing it to smash in his hands. Nick sniggers from next to you and both you and Ellie elbow him in the side at exactly the same time. “Hey!” Nick whines as the rest of the table laugh, Jack looking at you with a playful roll of the eyes and smirk.

Jimmy clears his throat. “Okay, let’s try that again. Breena and I want to thank you all for coming. This party has been a long time coming, and I’d like to thank Y/N for keeping me calm throughout the week as I freaked out on more than one occasion that this was going to be a repeat of what happened with our wedding all those years ago.” Jimmy nods towards you with a smile, and you lift a glass up at him and smile, your cheeks heat up as everyone turns to look at you. You see Tim and Gibbs exchange a look as they remember the day years before. It’s weird to think that the team was completely different now and that there was an ocean of people you’d never had the opportunity to meet. It makes you sad on occasion but then you look at Jack, as you do now, and you decide it doesn’t matter. 

“So, I asked you all here today to celebrate Breena and I. We met around this time 10 years ago and she brought a light into my life I didn’t even realise I was missing. It hasn’t always been easy, sometimes it’s been damn right difficult, but I wouldn’t ever change any of it. Getting to love you, Breena has been one of the greatest honours of my life, along with being Victoria’s father.” Your eyes flick from Jimmy and towards Jack. She’s watching Jimmy with a soft smile on her face and your heartbeat begins to pick up. “With the job I do, it gets difficult to see the good in the world, sometimes the bad just seems like too much, that no matter what I do there’s always going to be something evil lurking around the corner. And maybe that’s true, but it’s also true that coming home to you, no matter my day, will never fail to lift my mood because just being near you or hearing your voice fills me with a sense of calm and belonging. Our love isn’t perfect because we aren’t perfect but it’s real. It makes me a better man and a better father. It has kept me strong and helped me to grow into the person I am today, and every day I come home and see you I’m reminded of how lucky I am that you walked into my life and decided I was worthy of your love. So, I want to thank you Brenna, and Victoria, for being my home, for being my world.” 

“Wow, Jimmy’s got skills,” Nick mutters from next to you but you don’t acknowledge it, can’t. Your eyes remain fixed on the side of Jack’s head as you think about how the thing between the two of you could easily become love...You wonder if it already is because you look at her and you feel that sense of calm and belonging. You’d had feelings for Jack long before you admitted them to yourself and yes, she could set your body on fire with just a look but she could also make your chest swell with something words couldn’t describe, and that’s what love is right? Indescribable. 

Jack turns her head and looks at you, her eyes are misty, and your emotions must be all over your face because Jack sucks in a breath. Her eyes soften with a smile just for you, and yep, you’re a goner. 

----

Jack disappears once people start to make their way to the dance floor. You search the whole room for her and eventually find her standing outside on the patio. Her arms are wrapped around her waist as she looks up at the sky. You can still hear the music sounding from the hall as you make your way to stand beside her, pausing only to place your drinks on a table. Jack doesn’t move but you know she knows you’re here. “Everything okay?” You ask quietly, lightly bumping your shoulder against hers as you look up to the sky. It’s a clear night and the stars shine brightly down on you. 

“Yeah, just…” Jack blows out a breath and she doesn’t need to use any more words because you get it. 

“Yeah, me too.” Jack smiles and lightly bumps her shoulder back against yours. A song you recognise starts sounding from the hall, and you grin. “Come with me.” 

You tug at her arm, prompting her to drop her arms from her waist and you tangle one of your hands with hers and drag her down the side of the building. “Y/N, where are we-” 

“Ssh.” You whisper and know Jack has rolled her eyes without even turning to look at her. You look around the space, stopping when you reach a slightly secluded area. It’s dark enough that people wouldn’t immediately notice the two of you if they came outside, but still close enough that you can hear the music, even if it’s slightly muffled. You turn back to look at Jack, who’s watching you with an amused smile. “Dance with me?”

Jack grins and tugs you close. Your hands remain clasped together as she holds you against her and you both move to the song. You move your free hand to fiddle with the ends of Jack’s hair. You loved her beachy waves but her with straight hair just did something to you. “You look beautiful tonight.” You say as Jack spins you out. 

“I know,” Jack smirks, and you roll your eyes and spin yourself back into her. She grasps your other hand and you sway, your back pushed into her front as she holds you close. Jack sighs as she rests her head on your shoulder. Your eyes fall shut as you bask in the moment. It still felt a little surreal, that this was your new reality. That you could touch and hold her like this without fear of rejection.

“Thank you.” The words escape your lips in a breathy whisper. 

Jack hums, “For what?” 

“For everything. For being you.” Jack smiles into your shoulder, placing a soft kiss against the exposed skin. She drops one of your hands and you turn back around to face her, cupping her cheek and lightly brushing a thumb over her open lips before meeting her eyes. “Can I kiss you yet?” It’s not a whine but it’s almost one and Jack smirks but instead of answering moves her hand to the back of your neck and pulls you in. 

And oh, god, it’s better than the first time. The kiss is tantalizingly soft and slow and full of things that it was way too early to say. She pulls away all too quickly with a light nip to your lip that has you wanting to pull her right back to you. “Was it worth the wait?” Jack’s face is full of smug satisfaction so you assume your eyes are slightly glazed. 

“You’re the romantic, you tell me.” 

“You think you're cute, huh?” Jack rolls her eyes, lightly poking you in the side causing you to laugh. 

“Oh, I’m damn right adorable.” 

Jack snorts. “You wish.” Laughter sounds from the hall drawing both of your attention, Jack sighs and steps away. “We should go back inside.” 

You pout. As much as it was the right thing to do no part of you wanted to return to a hall full of people and not stay right here in Jack’s arms. “5 more minutes.” 

Jack tugs your hand. “Come on, It’s Jim-”

“Make me.” Jack freezes, swallowing roughly as her eyes darken in the moonlight. You bite your lip, preening at Jack and that’s all it takes for her to pull you back in flush against her. She leans in, her mouth coming to hover by your ear. 

“Fine, but you might moan a little.” and oh. That definitely wasn’t fair. Jack captures your lips in a kiss that has your toe’s curling. Your hand cups her jaw, the other wrapped around her waist to keep her close while Jack’s hand finds its way to your hair. She walks you backwards until you hit the wall. 

“Not motivating me to go inside.” You say in between kisses. Jack makes a noise of frustration every time you pull your mouth away from hers. 

“Shut up.” Her lips slam back into yours and your tongues fight for dominance. Jack pushes you further into the wall, her hand moving to tease at the slit of your dress and you moan, thighs squeezing together. Jack smirks against your mouth and takes control of the kiss. You don’t try to fight it, your hand skims down her back and palms her ass causing Jack to groan into your mouth. In retaliation, Jack’s hand sneaks further up the slit in your dress, shifting it upwards as her fingers tease the top of your thigh and you wiggle against her, your body already aching for her touch. You nibble her lip when she just smirks. 

“Really?” You say breathlessly. “You made me wait to kiss you but your fine with basically fucking me against a wall?” 

Jack laughs. “No, just getting you worked up as punishment.” 

Your eyes close and your head tips back when Jack runs her nails down from where they rest on your thigh. “It’s working.” Jack kisses up your neck, making her way to your earlobe which she roughly tugs before instantly soothing it with a swipe of her tongue. 

“Good.” 

“Jacqueline.” You whine, bringing her mouth back to meet yours as Jack’s hand squeezes your thigh and she releases a breathy moan. 

Someone loudly clears their throat and you jump in Jack’s arms, yanking your mouth away from her and looking towards none other than Leon Vance. Your face turns scarlet as you quickly fix your dress while Jack just steps back with a smug smile and turns to look at her friend. 

“Can I help you, Leon?” You know she’s friends with the director, but you have no idea how she’s not at least slightly embarrassed. Vance rolls his eyes, shaking his head as he chuckles and looks between the two of you.

“Really, Jack?” Jack’s entire body tenses up, her face morphing into a scowl. Leon’s eyes widen as Jack’s body shifts to stand slightly in front of you, protecting you. 

“Yes. What’s the problem?” 

“That’s not what I meant. I meant that if you’re going to” Vance’s face scrunches up slightly “do that...at least do it somewhere private.” 

“It was private until you turned up.” You mutter but obviously not quietly enough as Vance releases an unimpressed snort as Jack laughs. Your face heats up all over again and you groan, dropping your head onto Jack’s shoulder as you die from embarrassment. 

“Anyway, I’ll leave you to it. Just go somewhere private before Victoria, or even Jimmy, comes across you and you scar them for life.” You smother a laugh into Jack’s shoulder as you imagine the look of horror on Jimmy’s face. Jack must do the same as she chuckles. With one last shake of the head, Vance turns around. “Nice to know some office gossip does ring true though.” 

Your head snaps up from Jack’s shoulder. “What office gossip?” Both of you shout at the same time but Vance doesn’t answer just continues walking and makes his way back into the hall. Jack and you turn to each other and break out into laughter.

“Do you think it’s late enough that we can leave?” 

Jack arches a brow “Got somewhere to be?” You grin but don’t respond so Jack looks at her watch and shrugs. “Kind of early but if we’re apologetic we’d probably be fine.”

Pulling Jack in by the fabric of her dress as your hand comes up to swipe at the underside of her breast and you breathe against her lips “Take me home Jack.” She growls, capturing your mouth in a searing kiss that has you whimpering. You slow it down into soft kisses, both of you eventually separating as you take ragged breaths. 

The lipstick Jack had been trying to protect at the beginning of the night was now basically non-existent, most of what is left is smudged around her lips and with a chuckle, you reach out and wipe it away. “You need to get a kiss-proof lipstick.” 

Jack smirks. “It looks better on you anyway.” Your eyes widen as you wipe a thumb over your own lips surprised to see the muted pink of Jack’s lipstick covering your thumb. “Here, let me.” Jack wipes at your mouth, getting rid of the rest before placing a soft peck against your lips. “Ready to go?” 

“More than.” 

You drop each other’s hands, keeping a suitable distance between you as you make your way back into the hall. You feign tiredness as an excuse, and no one really questions it especially after the case this week. You pull Jimmy and Breena into hugs, congratulating them and apologising for ducking out early. Vance gives you both a pointed look but doesn’t say anything, although his smirk says enough if Gibbs’ eye roll is anything to go by. Delilah looks absolutely gleeful and it prompts you to check your dress is in place and run a hand through your hair to check you were presentable as there wasn’t a reason she should be this knowing. You watch as she leans over and whispers in Tim’s ear. Tim splutters on his drink head flying up to look between you and Jack, his ears turning bright pink. 

You look to Jack, who’s watching you with an affectionate smile and you feel your chest warm as you breathe deeply. She tilts her head towards the door and you nod, both of you saying one final goodnight to the team before making your way out of the hall. 

“Do you think anyone doesn’t know about us?” You ask, looking at Jack over the top of your car. 

She huffs. “Not with the way you were making goo-goo eyes at me the whole night.” 

Your jaw drops open, as you make a noise in outrage trying to dampen the blush rising up your cheeks. “It’s not like you were any better!” 

Jack shrugs as she fails to suppress her smile. “Probably not.” 

Life isn’t perfect. You’d accepted that a long time ago, but as you drive to your apartment listening to Jack hum along to the music playing from the radio as she flicks through her phone, it felt pretty damn close. It didn’t matter that you had a mountain of chores waiting for you at home, or that both of you were a little jaded, or that at any moment you could be called into work. All that mattered was that she was next to you.

“Will you stop looking at me and focus on the road? I don’t really fancy ending our evening with a trip to Bethesda.” 

And even if she didn’t know it, she already had your heart. 

[hopesbarnes]

Speak Now

Based on the song Speak Now by Taylor Swift

Summary: Your best friend's wedding is just wrong. Wrong dress, wrong decor, and mostly wrong bride for him to marry. 

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: angst with a happy ending 

Everything was wrong. You’d imagined this wedding a thousand different ways, a thousand different times. But it never looked like this. The ten bridesmaids are dressed in varying pastel shades, and their dresses could rival that of a Toddlers and Tiaras competitor. There’s enough tulle that the dresses could probably stand straight up on their own. The archway is covered in tacky balloons ranging in colors to match the bridesmaid gowns. The wedding dress resembles a cupcake and has a see-through corset top. 

It’s far from the simple modern wedding you envisioned. You imagined flowy chiffon dark teal dresses on your two best friends. The bouquets would be simple, white roses surrounded with baby’s breath. The wedding dress would have lace, long sleeves, and flow effortlessly as you walked down the aisle. A perfect day, to marry the perfect man.  

But it’s not the perfect day. It’s not even your day at all. It’s hers. She won him over, and he proposed to her. As the so-called ‘best friend’ you had to accept the invite and quiet the voice that wanted to scream Julia Roberts’ “Choose me, marry me, let me make you happy” line from My Best Friend’s Wedding. 

You walk down the hall towards the men’s dressing and overhear Natasha yell at her bridesmaids because their nails were painted the wrong color. Yikes. How Bucky fell in love with a nightmare like her you’d never know. How he didn’t see you all along you’d never know either. You get to the room to find Bucky and Steve both staring dumbfounded at the tie around Bucky’s neck. 

“How the two of you made it this far in life, I’ll never know,” you say entering the room.

“With clip-on ties and Ma’s who pitied us,” Steve answers and you tie both men’s ties. 

“You look handsome, she’s a lucky girl,” you say tightening the material and kissing his cheek. “I’d say Peg’s lucky too but let’s face it she is way better than you.” 

“Oh, I am not arguing with that. I don’t know who told her to take a chance with someone like me, but I thank my lucky stars they did,” the blonde man says blissfully. The two of them had been married for 5 years now and had a 2-year-old girl named Sarah. They had another baby on the way, but you weren’t even sure if Peggy had told her husband yet so you didn’t dare share that secret. 

“How are ya’ feeling?” you ask the darker hair man. 

“Nervous, and like I’m forgetting something,” he admits. You manage a weak smile back. You thought it’d be easier watching the man you were desperately in love with getting ready for his wedding to another girl. He wasn’t yours, he never was. So why was this so hard?

“I’m sure she’s made sure everything was in order. I should go grab a seat, just wanted to make sure you were good,” you manage to squeak out. A part of you was hoping he would be a mess and want to call off the whole engagement. 

He smiled back and you snuck from the room. Thankfully the bathroom was nearby and you were able to make it in there before the tears started falling. Your entire life you pictured marrying this man, and now it was really hitting that you wouldn’t.

It was Kindergarten when you first met his blue eyes. The two of you only 5 then. You fell at recess which caused you to skin your knee and pull the bow from your hair. Everyone continued to play, but Bucky. He tried to retie your hair (it failed but made you giggle) and after that, you were by his side for good. 

In Middle School things shifted, he no longer was Bucky who came over for playdates. He was Bucky, the boy with cute floppy hair and a smile that made you swoon. He was your first crush, and you longed for the day he would tell you he liked you too. But that day didn’t come and you remained friends throughout the awkward years.

Then in High School, he became popular. With High School came Steve. The huge jock surprised you by being kind-hearted. He was already dating Peggy and she became your best friend quickly. The two men met through football. Bucky was Quarterback, co-captain with Steve and everyone wanted to date him. You included. He never looked at you that way though. Instead, he dated a new girl every month and followed the cheerleaders like a lovesick fool. It didn’t matter that you were on the Cheer team too, or laughed at his jokes. He only saw you as his best friend. 

The four of you both were accepted to the same school for college and you roomed with Peggy while Bucky roomed with Steve. The two of them knew you were completely in love with the guy and tried their hardest to make him see that he cared for you as well. But it never happened. You decided the time would never come and dated for the first time. A series of people came and went, and every time you compared them to the guy you grew up with. 

After college, Bucky met the redhead at work. She was the first woman he had to chase after, and the first one that lasted longer than two months. He never saw her snobby behavior, or that she was horrible to be around. Peggy couldn’t stand to be around the woman, and Steve struggled to find nice things to say. But when he proposed everyone faked a smile and congratulated him. If he was happy, you were happy. Right?

Except now here you are, in a bathroom at your best friend’s (love of your life) wedding sobbing. It should be you in the dress, getting the guy. You knew him better than he knew himself. You knew his favorite band, held him when he found out his mom died, stayed up for hours helping him study for tests. You were the one who deserved the happily ever after. 

But he did too, and his happily ever after didn’t involve you. So you caught your breath, wiped your tears, and fixed your dress. It was selfish to take away from his day. So you made your way to the seats and took deep breathes as the ceremony began. 

Bucky stands at the front of the room, looking nervous. Steve stands at his side, and other friends follow in suit to form the groomsmen. The typical music starts to play, and the sound feels like nails on a chalkboard. Natasha moves down the aisle perfectly as if she were a runway model. You watch as she greets him, and he doesn’t look any calmer. 

The ceremony starts and you almost blank out. But you hear the words “speak now” and you can’t hold it back anymore. With courage found from deep within you stand. The entire room gasps and you manage to see Steve stand with a smile.

“Don’t do it. Don’t get married,” you say surprising yourself.

“Y/N, what are you doing?” Bucky asks.

“Don’t get married to her. I- It isn’t right. I should have said it years ago but I’m in love with you. I can’t stand to see you with her. You should be with me. I’m the one who makes you smile, I’m the one whos been by your side since the beginning, I’m the one who loves you so much it hurts. Watching you be with her is killing me.”

“I-”

A moment of realization hits you and you recognize that you just objected to a wedding.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe I just did that. I. I’m sorry,” you say before running out of the building. 

Outside you catch your breath and know that you’ve truly lost it. No sane person objects at a wedding. Who were you kidding, there was no way that he would give up everything for you. You made a fool of yourself in front of all your friends, and his entire family. You could never show your face again. You accept defeat and begin to walk to your car, deciding that you need to change your name and move far away. 

You grab your keys from the clutch your holding and unlock the car. 

“Wait,” you hear from behind your back. Turning you see a disheveled Bucky.

“What are you doing!” you exclaim.

“You love me?” he asks sheepishly. 

“I’m so sorry. I should have just sat quietly and not ruined everything,” you say fumbling with your hands.

“You love me?” he repeats.

“Of course I love you, James.” 

“I’ve been in love with you since the moment I heard you giggle at the ribbon I tried to tie in your hair. I thought you didn’t feel the same way and have been trying to move on for over two decades. I don’t love Natasha. I thought marrying her would get me over you.”

“You love me?” you iterate the words Bucky had asked you.

“We’re really stupid huh?” 

“I can’t believe you just ran out of your wedding.”

“I can’t believe you objected!” he says laughing.

“Do you wanna go somewhere and talk?” you ask.

“More than anything,” he says getting in your car.

The two of you drive to a diner and order a meal. You look out of place completely dressed up eating burgers. 

“Wait, what happened with the wedding?” you ask.

“Steve said he would handle it so who knows.” 

It turns out Steve let Natasha know she was horrible and shrugged his shoulders explaining everyone should take food from the reception hall and go home. 

A year and a half later another wedding happened. This one looked identical to your dreams, down to the man holding your hand and reciting his vows. But this time there were no objections. He chose you, and you actually got the happily ever after. 

[starker-stories]

A Boy in a Dress

Created for @mcukinkbingo​​ Also on AO3 Square Filled: Crossdressing Ship: Peter Parker/Tony Stark, Starker Rating: T Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Word Count: 1914 Additional Tags: Crossdressing, Not Feminization Summary: “Peter… I…” He slowly blinked. “There are things you only see in fantasies. You don’t even have a frame of reference to explain them. Ideas you never let yourself think because what you want is impossible,” Tony explained. “Baby, you’re perfect.” ——————————————————

“Oh my god Tony. It’s… they’re… oh… beautiful!”

Peter rushed over to the bed and started rifling through the clothes draped on it. “You have a whole wardrobe here!” There were flowy skirts and narrow tight pencil skirts. Skirts that came to the floor and ones that looked like they’d barely cover the curve of his ass. Blouses made of soft silk. The fabric draped over his hands and flowed like water until it puddled back onto the bed. Ones of sheer fabric and lace that were more air than cloth. Shoes. High heels, cute little ballet flats, sandals that had string laces that looked long enough to tie all the way up Peter’s legs. Dresses — narrow waisted, broad shouldered. And lingerie! Every kind imaginable. Suitable for day, and especially, for night.

When his initial rush of excitement passed, he noticed that the clothes weren’t just women’s clothes from a store, like he used to sometimes sneak out and buy.

“You had all of this made?”

“Yes baby. You explained to me what you wanted. You’re very happy being a boy and don’t want to change that, never wanted to.”

“Right. But people have misunderstood before…”

“Pete, am I ‘people’?”

“No Tony.”

“So, taking you at your word, I do listen to you, you know.” Tony ticked on his fingers. “Very much a boy. Not a drag queen. Not trying to hide the fact that you’re a boy while you’re dressed. Sensuality is a big part of it. Not costume-y but not ordinary. Not done as a political statement.”

“This dress!” Peter held the dress up to his front and let it drape, looking at himself in the mirror.

“Baby, that’s going to look gorgeous on you.”

Peter quickly stripped out of his t-shirt and jeans then shimmied the golden yellow soft chiffon dress on over his head. He couldn’t take his eyes away from the mirror. He’d tried dresses before, but they never worked as well as a skirt and a blouse. The ones he could get were designed to fit the curves of a woman. There were always places that hung in un-filled-out wrinkles or pulled too tight. His arms and shoulders hardly ever fit. But this fit him perfectly.

The vintage silhouette was styled like when girls wore shoulder pads, but not the cartoonish 80s style. It was more classic, elegant. Of course Peter needed no pads on his broad shoulders. The shape of his body was one of the things he always hated when he dressed. He thought it made him look awful. Yet he liked the way he looked when he wasn’t dressed.

Tony watched as the boy turned this way and that, frowning at times, looking like he was working a puzzle. “There was very little that needed to be changed. The problem was that you needed couture. Off the rack is designed for women. Couture is designed for models. It's a less curved body.”

“Tony, how did you know all this?”

“I’ve dated a lot of models,” he said with a shrug. “Eventually you get bored enough to listen to them.”

“It’s all so beautiful. Thank you.”

“So… I have reservations for eight. There’s more things in your bathroom. I didn’t know what sort of style you wanted though. I’m afraid I picked things I like. More natural.”

“Exactly. Not drag, not obvious. Just a bit of glamour. But…” Peter’s face fell.

“What Pete? What can I fix?”

“Tony, I can’t go out like this.”

“Why?”

Peter sighed. “People get the wrong idea. You might not be people, but people are people. I got caught one day at Columbia wearing a blouse like this,” he held up a simple white linen blouse that wasn’t far off from looking like a shirt, “and I still don’t think I ever convinced them that I wasn’t trans and in denial. I kept having to tell them my pronouns were he/him and yes my name really is Peter. It’s not that I think that being trans is wrong, it’s just that…”

“You’re not.”

“Exactly.”

“Baby, what you are right now is a very beautiful boy in a very beautiful dress. I’d like to take you out to dinner so that everyone can see how beautiful you are.” Tony walked up behind Peter and wrapped his arms around his waist, looking at him through the reflection. “I think you’re stunning.”

It was wonderful that Tony thought he looked that way. When Peter looked at his reflection, he could almost believe it too.

“Baby, when you first started telling me, I mean… I’ve always liked a boy in a bit of lingerie. But the problem was the opposite as it has been with you. They were willing to wear it but it was a kink. And while that’s fun…” Tony shrugged.

“I know! It’s impossible either way.”

“It’s possible. People will see what you show them. If you act camp, they’ll see a drag queen. If you mime the way a woman behaves, then they’ll see a transvestite. If you actually behave like a woman, they’ll see a trans woman. If you’re just you, baby, they’ll see a beautiful boy in a beautiful dress.”

“I can’t.”

“Do you want to?”

“Yes!”

“Try. Get ready as if we were going. Come out into the living room with me and we’ll just be together a bit first. If you’re really not ready, then I’ll have the restaurant send dinner here.”

Peter bit his lip. It was amazing seeing their reflections standing there. Peter and Tony had very different body types. Tony was a compact, muscular, solid man. Peter was a lithe, fluid, delicate… man. And they did look beautiful together. Or would if Tony was dressed to match. Right now, in a torn t-shirt and a pair of dad-jeans that did nothing for his ass, they most certainly weren’t a match. He laughed. “You have to dress nice too.”

“Pete, I do clean up all right, you know.” He kissed the side of Peter’s neck. “Can you trust me? A little? But if I do anything that makes you uncomfortable, you let me know.” Peter looked like he was about to start going through all the reasons he couldn’t do it. “Baby, don’t overthink it. Right now just start by picking out what you want to wear and getting ready in whatever way makes you feel… like you. Don’t think about ‘people’. Just Peter and Tony, okay?”

When Tony bought Peter’s wardrobe, everything he had for himself looked wrong in comparison. He didn’t explain the particulars about the gender of his date to his tailor, he just brought several of the dresses with him and said he wanted to look ‘better than I usually do’. Apparently it took more than simply spending a lot of money on a suit. Wanting to look a match for Peter, he let the man put him through, what Tony joked was, ‘finishing school’.

Peter was beautiful to Tony no matter what he wore. But since the boy told him about this, he hadn’t been able to stop imagining what ‘a boy in a dress’ might actually look like. Every one of his imaginings was more beautiful than the last. He never thought Peter would look incongruous or awkward and certainly not camp or drag, like the boy worried about. Peter couldn’t look that way. He was graceful and light and… as he stepped into the room, perfect.

Peter’s hair wasn’t ‘done up’. There were soft, messy curls with something in them that made it look wet, but not wet. Glistening? Yeah. Glistening. Tony could tell he was wearing cosmetics, but he didn’t look like it. Not even like the ‘natural’ makeup that some of the girls he’d dated wore. There was a bit of shadow to his eyes, but just barely enough to heighten the depth of them, to bring out the honey-color. His lashes looked brighter, but Tony couldn’t tell if that was something he was wearing because Peter naturally had the most amazing long lashes. His lips though… the color was perhaps just a tiny bit pinker, but they were shiny and looked like they did when he got nervous, because he had a habit of licking them. Tony wanted to bite.

That dress. It was beautiful when he saw it on him in the mirror, but in combination with everything it was… The fit was as before, and the way the fabric draped, Tony’s fingers were itching to feel. The stockings had just a little bit of shimmer to them but weren’t ‘fetish’, not black or red, but the same color as Peter’s pale skin. Tony hadn’t been sure if Peter actually knew how to walk in heels, but the boy flowed into the room.

“Oh Peter. I…” Tony stumbled over his words. He was a man who had dated some of the most beautiful women in the world. Without a bit of exaggeration, he told Peter, “Baby, you take my breath away.” When the boy blushed? Tony’s words were literal.

“I don’t look ridiculous?”

“Peter… I…” He slowly blinked. “There are things you only see in fantasies. You don’t even have a frame of reference to explain them. Ideas you never let yourself think because what you want is impossible,” Tony explained. “Baby, you’re perfect.”

Tony rushed to Peter, wrapped his arm around the boy’s narrow — muscular, masculine — waist. He lifted him and spun him around like they were dancing. The way he felt in Tony’s arms. The lean body of a boy who took ballet lessons. Everything about him was the same. There wasn’t anything about him that wasn’t Peter. He was a stunningly handsome young man. Graceful, but the fabric, the clothes, the way he looked, went from graceful to otherworldly. Formed of beautiful renaissance paintings, old black and white movies, and stylized images of long-limbed saints.

“Please tell me you feel this,” Tony said, stopping them in the middle of the room.

Peter stepped closer until he and Tony were against each other. “I… Tony… you’re… we’re…”

“Beautiful, Peter.” He nestled Peter on his shoulder. “Shh, don’t cry. You’re a vision.”

“It’s not just a…” Peter sighed. “Like you said, a kink?”

“Baby, do I want to take you into the bedroom and fuck you senseless? Yeah. When don’t I? Do you remember the first time I took you to a gala and you put on that tux? I wanted to fuck you senseless then too. You in my old sweatshirt and jeans makes me want to fuck you senseless. You just do things to me, kid.”

Peter laughed. But then he stopped and swallowed hard. “We can’t though.”

“Go out? Why? People?”

Peter nodded. “No one will understand.”

“Peter, you don’t look like that. You’re without camp, without drag, without imitation.”

“Well there is some imitation.”

“No. None. There’s a… derivation of style, that’s all. It suits you. But why don’t I call the restaurant. I’ll put on some music, because god Peter do I ever want to dance with you. And then we’ll eat in the dining room instead of the kitchen for a change. Save going out for another time. Let you get used to everything at home first.”

“You don’t mind if we don’t go out?” Peter said hesitantly.

“Baby, that means I get you to all to myself. Saves me from having to beat the shit out of some guy who looks at you too long.”

——————————————————

[nykaafashion123]

Top 10 Street Styles for Winter

With winter comes the dreary period of only wearing sweats and joggers, and resorting to the comfort of your PJ’s as you cuddle up with bae on the couch with a mug of hot cocoa! Personally, it doesn’t sound like the worst thing in the world – I’m all for lazing with my boo at my ugliest. However, there’s something to be said about walking out into the street, dressed to the nines, and looking your best. You’re going to be making heads turn and jaws drop as you make a sharp streetstyle statement. Largely, in the past few years winter wear has been straightforward and basic – a pair of stockings and a knit dress with a trench coat, highlighting comfort, warmth, and effortlessness. However, this new decade is all about fashion rules that are hard and fast being redefined, and how style must also continue to adapt to a new way of existing. Here’s a couple of winter fashion styles that are sure to be all the rage this season. Stay in tune with these and make a frosty and icy statement.

1. OD on the 70s

Thanks to the era’s whimsical uniqueness and freedom of expression, the ’70s and their style are something to which both designers and fashion-lovers are continuously drawn. From hippy and glam rock to disco and bohemian, the decade encapsulates numerous iconic styles that are still wearable today. All you need to know is how to rework those time-tested trends to fit perfectly into your wardrobe.

2. Leather for Bad Weather

A leather jacket is an investment piece that never loses its value. A structured blazer will always be in style. This season leather coats, trench coats, safari style jackets with a belt and pockets, the classic biker, the loose fit blazer and the shirt jacket are favorite runway to street style trends.

3. Power Puffer

We aren't even that far into winter and already the fashion set is whipping out simple puffers and styling them in ways that are actually approachable. Complete with warm color palettes of creams, tans, browns, and more, all of those crazy-colored, patterned puffers that fit in no closet I've ever seen suddenly feel obsolete. This new wave of puffers also includes puffer vests, which I personally feel will be a fresh update to my all too often repetitive winter wardrobe. 

4. Cool Quilts

A few years ago, quilted coats and jackets were associated only with a working uniform or a blanket, you don’t want to get out of on the cold and dark morning. Now they can be found at almost every fashion show. Fashionistas are really fond of the new must-have. Trench coats, down jackets, vests and etc. Skirts – from maxi to mini - pants, shoes, bags and even evening dresses – this trend captures not only the runways, but wardrobes of those who follow trends and want to look stylish.

5. Crushing on Velvet

Velvet is also a great way to dress to impress in January as a blazer or jumpsuit can really make an impact. Whether it is a bold red or a luscious green this can all help you to look and feel great in the new year. In addition to clothing, you can also accessories with leather boots or high heels to make the perfect look that suits your style and perfectly incorporates this highly versatile material in a new and exciting way. Whether you are on a night out around the town or a business meeting in the office, this can all help you to dress to impress

6. Bye-bye Bodycon

When it comes to styling a boxy outfit, wearing a t-shirt or blazer dress without any bottoms is the fashion girl outfit of choice lately, but you could also throw one on with a flowy midi skirt or slip dress for a look that’s feminine but not quite so daring. With relaxed trousers peaking in popularity right now, it can be ultra-chic to lean into the oversized theme and pair a big blazer with something equally roomy, like wide-legs trousers or slouchy jeans. Below, get inspired by the street style set for your next boxy blazer outfit idea.

7. Extravagant Sleeves

While bell sleeves look sleek and chic, bishop sleeves appear soft and feminine. Most commonly spotted on lovely dresses, bishop sleeves compliment the outfits to which they belong while remaining a standout feature in their own right. The style, which balloons out toward the lower arm before gathering into a cuff at the wrist, looks best in sheer fabrics such as chiffon and lace designs.

8. Old Blue Jeans

Boot-cut jeans are the denim trend you'll see the most of in 2021. While wide flares now feel outdated and a bit costumey, these slim boot-cut jeans are right on the money. They look super sleek and pair well with heeled ankle boots, so really, what's not to love? Frayed hems had their moment in the sun but are now on their way out. Replacing them are the loose-fitting ripped jeans the fashion crowd is obsessed with. They're sure to be a staple in 2021 as an of-the-moment way to bring a laid-back quality to any look.

9. Natural Nudes

An all nude-brown-beige look, is the definition of understated elegance, OR it can be a very cute boho chic style, depending of course on how you wear it. Beige shades look clean, fresh, refined and quite luxurious. The mix of all nude colours holds a certain femininity to it and a classy minimalism with tones of glamour or bohemian vibes, while being kind of understated. To me these colours have a certain grown-up quality to them, especially when worn with bold lips, stiletto heels, and expensive looking accessories.

10. White Wonder

All-white outfits are one of my favourite kind of outfits to wear. It instantly adds an elegant and sophisticated vibe in my opinion. In this outfit, I decided to make a fancy top a bit more casual by wearing jeans. I paired it with my go-to mirrored sunnies which took the look to a whole new level.

[wildefiction]

Elysian

Pairing: Rob x Reader

Word Count: 1,723

Chapter: 2/?

Chapter Summary: Rob invites reader over to his place to continue their movie marathon, but something seems...off...with Rob.

Chapter Warnings: Anxiety, Slight class-ism (minor characters)

A/N: That writers block tho! Seriously, it’s good to be back. 

TWO

The following morning, as you pulled open the front doors of a very large, very sterile-looking office building set into the heart of downtown, you were glad you'd agreed to only one movie. Black, strappy heels clicked against reflective slate tiles beneath your feet; portfolios held securely beneath one arm.

"Right this way, Ms. [Y/F/N]." "Can I get you anything to drink?"

The receptionist was a bright, young intern. Bold, coppery hair fell nearly to his shoulders, his striking blue eyes lit with an eager kind of excitement as he showed you to the conference room.

"If you've got any tea, I'd love some." 

Smiling as the man nodded and bustled away, you took a moment to glance around your surroundings. As conference rooms went, it was fairly ordinary - a long, glass-topped table was set in the middle of the space, surrounded by about twenty leather office chairs. One wall was constructed entirely of crystal clear glass, though the only view was more of the same tall, lifeless buildings. 

Turning as the door shushed open behind you, a woman approached, a grand smile on her face; one hand extended in your direction.

"Ms. [Y/F/N], it's so good to finally meet you. My husband and I have heard good things."

The woman's grip was firm, confident, and immediately you got the inclination she was going to be the one you'd need to impress.

The man from earlier had returned, a selection of teas, creams and sugar arrayed on a dark serving tray.

"Thank you Dylan, that will be all." 

Glancing to the woman whose hand you still held after smiling in appreciation at Dylan, you wondered if this woman was as dismissive with everyone else as she appeared to be with him. His own smile faltered, quickly replaced with a wary expression of disinterest as he turned and left the two of you alone.

The next two hours were spent presenting your work to the owners of Caliber Entertainment. 

By the time you'd been shown to the door by Dylan, you were exhausted. While confident in your abilities and your work, your struggle had always been selling yourself.

Regardless, you were happy to be out of there. While meetings like those were a necessary evil, you really wanted nothing more than to go home, take off these damned heels and relax.

Pulling your phone from the pocket of your blazer, you typed in the lock-screen password and found several messages waiting.

[Rob]: Hey, finished at the studio a little early today. How was your meeting?

[Rob]: Thought I might stop by the store, pick up a couple steaks...you hungry?

The rumbling of your stomach as you read the words was answer enough.

Noticing the last text had come through only a few minutes prior, you hurried to type out a response.

[Y/F/N]: Starving. I didn't know you could cook.

Almost immediately, the device in your hand chirped with an answer.

Rob: One of many things, I'm sure. Movie at my place tonight? Should be home in twenty.

Trying to remember if you'd ever actually been inside his house, it took only a moment to realize you hadn't.

Sending off a message to let him know you'd bring the beer before dropping the phone on the passenger seat of your car, you couldn't help but be excited at the prospect of spending another evening with Rob.

Pulling into your driveway a short time later, you were surprised to see him sitting on the front porch. The ridiculous grin that spread across your face was hard to hide, so you decided not to bother.

"Well look at you, all dressed up...heels and everything eh?" His teasing tone matched the mirth in his expression.

"Don't get used to it." The phrase was clipped, but accompanied by your smile, still firmly in place.

Reaching out to grip his arm while you kicked off the footwear, the blazer quickly joined the abandoned semblance of professionalism. 

Crouching to pick up both items, you proceeded through the front door, calling out an invitation for Rob to follow. 

"Let me just change real fast, no way am I doing movie night in jeans."

Nodding, Rob headed for the kitchen "I'll grab the beer."

Disappearing down the hallway to your room, the closet stretching along the north wall held more clothes than you knew what to do with. Unfastening the buttons of the dark-washed denim clinging to your thighs, you reached a steadying hand out to balance against the dresser as you peeled them from your body, abandoning them in the wicker hamper set in a corner.

"Hey, [Y/F/N] - have you got any pepper? I think I'm out."

Nodding to yourself, you quickly realized that he couldn't hear you. Grabbing a pair of cutoffs, you turned, stepping into the bottoms and pulling them up as Rob paused in your doorway.

Peeling the flowy chiffon fabric of your business shirt off over your head, you answered his question without missing a beat; completely unfazed at your state of undress.

"Yeah, I think so - one sec." 

Pulling open the second drawer of your dresser and selecting a solid-white tank top, you pulled it over your head while heading for the door.

Walking past the man into the hallway with the shirt still covering your head, you missed the flustered look on his face.

Closing his eyes, the back of his head fell against the doorjamb. The initial attraction he'd felt towards his neighbor had started to blossom a few months prior, but he'd never said anything to her about it. He liked the way things were between them, but her obvious nonchalance for being half-naked around him was going to change that.

Pushing a breath between his pursed lips, he stepped away from the wall, scrubbing a hand over his face as he joined [Y/F/N] back in the kitchen.

"Here's that pepper you needed." "Ready to go?"

Dropping the pepper mill into his outstretched hand, you made for the front door, flipping light switches as you went.

Following you from the house, Rob pulled the door shut behind him, watching with a small smile as you skipped barefoot down the sidewalk.

The sun-kissed warmth of his deck seeped into the bottom of your feet; the smell of the grill wrapping you in the savory flavors of summer.

Twisting the caps off of two amber bottles pulled from the cooler, you handed one across to Rob. Closing the lid on a large stainless steel grill, the man turned, accepting the drink with gratitude.

"So, how was your day?" Flopping down on one of the adirondak chairs situated around the wrought-iron grate of his fire pit, Rob turned his eyes up to yours, the light blue-grey hue fixed in place. Raising the bottle to his lips, he took a long swallow, awaiting your answer.

"As good as can be expected I suppose. I despise having to suck up to rich assholes though." 

After a pause, you laughed. 

"No offense." Tilting your bottle towards him in apology, the lopsided grin on your face made him chuckle. 

"None taken." "Hey, how do you like your steak?"

Rob stood from his seat, wandering over to check the grill.

"Medium rare, please." 

Shielding your eyes from the late-afternoon sun, you peered out across the expanse of chillingly still water, ripples of light dancing across the surface of his pool.

"So...do you ever actually use your pool or is it just for sheer decorative purposes?"

"Oh, uh, well..no real point when you live alone right? Sometimes I swim laps I guess." 

Shrugging nonchalantly, Rob turned back to the grill, transferring the food onto a serving platter.

"Can I help with anything?" Placing a hand against his back, you peered over one shoulder. 

"That looks amazing, I could eat a goat right now."

Rob chuckled again. Pointing towards his kitchen, the tongs still in one hand, he shook his head.

"Could you grab the salad please?"

Over dinner, which was even better than it had smelled, the conversation revolved around work and the increasingly fleeting amount of free time both of you found yourselves with.

It took you longer than you cared to admit to notice towards the end of the meal that Rob was acting a bit strangely. Pushing what was left of his food around the edges of the plate and offering little in the way of conversation or eye-contact when he did speak, the sudden shift in his behavior concerned you.

When he began to stutter and it took visible effort for him to form complete sentences, you reached across the table, tentatively covering his hand with your own. The touch startled him enough that you nearly pulled back. 

"Hey man, you okay?"

While the question remained friendly and open-ended, the idea that he might not want to share what he was thinking only occurred to you after the fact. 

“Yeah, yeah I’m okay.” The smile he offered was anything but convincing; wilting quickly, it didn’t come close to reaching his eyes. Rather than push the issue however, you reflected that same uneasy smile, drawing your hand back and rubbing the suddenly clammy skin against your bare thigh. 

"Ready for movie number two?" Standing suddenly, Rob reached forward, grabbing your empty plate before hurrying inside.

A seed of doubt wedged itself in your chest, tendrils of unease taking root when your brain began to throw every possible scenario around as to why his behavior had so suddenly changed.

Slow to follow, by the time you'd walked back through the patio doors and crossed the house, Rob was kneeling in front of the entertainment center, elbow deep in Lily's toy box, muttering under his breath about something.

In one fluid movement, he stood, clutching the remote he'd apparently been searching for in one hand.

Perching on the edge of the sofa, eyes shifting between Rob and the screen in front of you, the worry that flitted around your consciousness continuing to grow. Where earlier in the afternoon, he’d been all smiles and carefree laughter - his rigid posture and the awkward silence blanketing the room in a thick fog allowed only one valid conclusion to form in your mind: Rob was angry, and somehow, somewhere - you’d messed up.

TAGS: @jamielea81 @wings-of-a-raven @natasha-cole

[watercolourferns]

Zayn Luna Age: 30-32 Height: 5′ / 152 cms. Gender: Nonbinary Pronouns: He/him; they/them. Flowers: In Arcanaverse Deadly Starstrand. Rest of the AU’s: Ixia Viridiflora. Familiar/pet: A beautiful male quetzal called Jawahir. Pansexual, Polyamorous.

Likes:

Sweet foods, specially chocolate and baked goods.

Animals, specially birds and small mammals.

Sweet rice wine

Jasmine blooming tea, peppermint tea, and spiced tea.

Water and everything about it: going swimming, water magic, the sound of falling water, drinking water, etc.

To do magic

To dance, specially bellydance and related styles.

Gold and aquamarine jewelry

The colours turquoise, aquamarine, gold, white, and black but only when performing. He likes pastels as well.

His long hair

To sleep

To spend time with his loved ones

Long walks down the beach or forests/gardens, specially barefoot.

To flirt a lot.

Dislikes:

Narcissists

Liars and cruel people.

He hates Lucio because of how arrogant he is; and he can’t be around Asra in Arcanaverse. (He can’t trust Asra anymore due to their history together).

Animal abusers

Salty and really spicy foods.

Loneliness

Being purposefully ignored.

Leeches and spiders.

Strong coffee and black tea

Extreme weather, heat or cold.

Shoes

Beer; salty bitters in Arcanaverse.

Strong points: Dancing Baking Dressing hair Make up Showing his loved ones they are everything to him and trying to make them feel loved and at ease.

Weak points: Excessively flirty at times. Walled up emotions. Will explode sometimes because he keeps everything inside.

Small biography:

Zayn Luna is of Mexican, Spanish, and Moorish descent. He was born to a family of merchants and performers. He started to dance even before he could walk properly, almost at the same time he learned to swim. He was raising to be one of the best child dancers in his family’s troupe, together with helping his mother and grandmother make soaps and remedies to sell in the marketplace. When his family found out he could do magic, he was shunned, though as they were extremely religious and any mention of magic was hushed.  In every AU he’s abandoned by his parents at the age of 6 and lived a homeless life from that age till he receives word his parents have left the city and he’s the only one who can take on the family’s house and business. This is at age 26, from that age onward he starts making soaps, remedies, reads tarot, dances in festivals and bars, etc etc. till he meets his SO(s) of that universe. He continues his trade but also includes his SO(s) in it if they want to be included.

His parents’ abandonement and subsequent homeless life left him with a fully developed, untreated BPD he’s been struggling with. He wants to get better and he’s conscious that he needs help to get better. Curently this hasn’t been addressed fully.

In Arcanaverse, he comes from Nopal, where he meets Asra, then dies, and is brought back. But he finds out Asra placed a geas on him. The strain of the magician constantly leaving has left an already sensitive Zayn more sensitive to abandonment to the point he’s developing an emotional disorder. When Asra realises this he places the geas, preventing the disorder from furthering developing and giving Zayn his current personality: carefree, chill, able to cope with Asra’s constant absences to the point of not caring anymore. The problem was when Zayn found out about the geas and was unable to take it off on his own, also unable to tell other people about it and rendering him incapable of seeking help. He questioned his whole identity, questioned Asra about it, and not getting a satisfactory answer his trust on the magician was broken. He could regain it with time if both parties agree to try and work it out. As of currently Zayn still has the geas on.

In every AU except Arcanaverse, Zayn possess a very old stuffed bunny called Snowdrop, only remnant of his childhood. He lacks Snowdrop in Arcanaverse due to him lacking memories of his childhood and due to the geas. Jawahir is his pet and familiar, depending on the universe. He’s a gorgeous male quetzal that accompanies him everywhere. In every other universe, he adopts Jawahir from an illegal trader or an abusive household, protecting him and giving him the life he deserves. In Arcanaverse he doesn’t know where Jawahir comes from. In the Hell AU, before transforming into a demon he’s The Frankenstein killer, as he harvests parts from criminals before dumping their corpses in a ravine in the forest. After turning into a hooded crow based demon, he turns into a cryptid, haunting the forests of the northern hemisphere. they  say that if people go into his forest they will disappear, curiously it’s only people who have criminal records, are known abusers of any kind, or have insulted him or his loved ones before.

He’s not the trusting kind despite what he looks like. He’s afraid people will find out his quirks and weird qualities and stop wanting to be with him. He’s polyamorous, but he needs reassurance at first as he’s scared the other partner is better than him. He knows these thoughts are irrational and he shouldn’t have them, but he’s not in therapy yet, so he struggles to open up about them not wanting any type of confrontation or problem created for his SO(s).

He’s flirty to a fault, and that has gotten him in trouble before... But he has his standards and won’t lower them for anything. He’s very flexible and strong, product of a lifetime of dancing. He’s very intuitive about others, but lack a little self awareness, and has to constantly ask his loved ones about his own personality because his identity is fractured. Being nonbinary, he dresses in whatever clothes fit his fancy, but favours dresses, shorts, flowy tops, and sheer and soft materials, like gauze, silk, chiffon, things of the sort. Almost always in shades of aquamarine, turquoise, white, and gold or pastels. He will always dress in black and gold for his performances, though.

He wants to have kids, but he doesn’t want to reproduce least he passes on his malady to the babies. He will gladly adopt, though, and will try to give the kid or kids the life he didn’t have, full of love, respect, and fun.  He has a thing for tall people, and seems to attract soldiers or fighters a lot. He likes people who are protective of him and let him be protective of them. He loves to take care of his loved ones, cook for them, send them home (if they don’t live together) with left overs and tons of products he creates from soap bars to marmalade jars.  He speaks mostly English/Common Tongue, but can fluently speak Spanish, and very little Arabic since his father was the only one in the household who spoke it and he rarely had time for Zayn.  He wants to open a sanctuary for birds.