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hyperfixdccoms · 3 years

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The Start (1)

The Flame Within The Ice

'You need to always remember that the powers we go to are meant to be hidden away. No one should ever know about them, no matter what. Grimoire, do you hear me?!'

' Grimoire baby, you know why I called you Grimoire? In our family tree, we had witches who worked to gain the powerful book of the summoning spirits called the Grimoire a long time ago. While you are not the book, we have a special connection toward the beyond. We do not practice the craft, but we have been passed down powers from our ancestors. We carry the fire that burns throw our vain and the Ice that helps us calculate every move. We are special. You are special, Grim.'

' Grimoire Im sorry it has to be like this. We, I can't keep on protecting you like this. You will end up dead. I'll leave you here where you are safe with Viena.'

" Grimoire, It's time to get up!" Yelled a prominent voice that sounded like a middle-aged woman. It was relatively early in the morning. The people that were up at this time were ready to leave home, kissing their spouse goodbye and their kids, and good luck at school. Children waking up at this time, getting ready with their book bags, and eating their breakfast remains to catch the bus.

" Dammit, this child. Grimoire Vi llan, Get your damm ass up before I do something. You won't even see it coming." The women shouted again. After a few minutes, a five-foot-six androgynous-looking teen came downstairs. " Grim, you can't keep on doing this. I got work, and I have bills to pay." The women complain, rushing around the kitchen still not looking at the teen. When she turned around, she noticed the rather ghostly pale-looking skin from the teen. She sighed, giving Grimoire a sad smile. " I made you your favorite pancake pb&j." She said, trying to get a reaction from the teen.

Not moving from his place, Grimoire chewed on his lips, picking on the skin of his nails. His long wavy hair was hidden under a crochet beanie that he had done in his free time. The average height teen wore a thin black long-sleeved shirt with a soft blue crocheted vest on. His pants were just some regular vintage denim jeans with some classic black Chuck Taylor shoes.

Grimoire shifted from one leg to another with his weight. His bag resting wine red canvas backpack rest on his left shoulder. He felt uncomfortable with the silence. Thankfully, His aunt Viena didn't ask any questions but gave him a comforting hug, but to him, it felt like that night he was tensed. " You look just like your mother and your father. It's almost surreal. They would be so proud to see you grown up like this." Viena was the sister of Grimoire's father. She was always there, and when his parent died from the accident, she took him in with open arms.

" Morie, I know you don't think you can trust in yourself. But it is not your fault. Thorn and Golgotha Would never fault you for something you can't control yet." Viena said, cupping Grimoire's face. Viena lost in Grimoire's eyes the same eyes as her big brother's icy blue and fiery red eyes. Viena held herself from shedding a tear. Lucky to hear the alarm of the bus coming soon rang, she cleared her throat and gave her nephew a smile. "I'll pack you your pancake. You should be ready. If you are missing something, go get it." Viena said, going to pack the pancake in a sandwich bag and putting it inside a paper bag. Viena came back to Grimoire, who was standing at the doorsteps. She handed Grimoire his paper bag and said her goodbyes. Viena stood at the doorstep, seeing her brother's baby walking away.

Grimoire took out some gloves his father had given him to help maintain his power from spiking out. Of course, his body emitted different temperatures, and he could easily adjust to any temperature. It was pretty gray outside, even for an early morning. The fallen dead leaf scattered around the neighborhood made it even more unsettling like always. Grimoire turned on his headphones, turning on his walkman playing the first song suggested Sowing Season by Brand New.

The soft guitar filling up his ears and the words filling his mind. His mind being transported to a reality of tranquility and peace. Grimoire closed his eyes, breathing in deep the clean air that cleansed his revolting mind. His right hand resting on his backpack band while his left hand is inside his pants pocket. Mumbling some words from the lyrics, he opened his eyes to see himself getting closer to the school bus stop.

Grimoire's eyes landed on the teenager he sees every day. The girl had pale skin, her hair colors dark purple. She seems to use the same outfit or at least the same shade of clothes every day. Ultimately Grimoire has come to an unspoken agreement with the girl. The two were outcasts, laughed at, and if anybody did something to stop it, they would get hurt. In conclusion, the two stuck a bit together if they could, like in the school bus sitting together, in class, if they could.

When the bus arrived, it was already packed with other students. Grimoire let the girl in first. He followed right behind, seeing the mess of a bus it was. He took a seat next to the girl keeping his distance yet close enough to not fall out of the uncomfortable love seat. The girl leaned on the window, looking out it was comfortable, nobody talking well except the kids from the back. Every time Grimoire turned to give the girl a side look, he couldn't help but admire her despite the shit she had to take in school. She doesn't flatter behind. She just keeps ongoing. The silence was pleasant until one of the kids teased us got between us from the chair behind.

"Boo!" The boy laughed, leaning close to the girl. "Come on. What are you hiding from?" He asked rather intrusively. He turned to look at Grimoire with a smirk " How about you? Are you some type of cult?" Grimoire could hear his buddies laughing, not really trying to play it off.

"You don't have to be shy with me." The boy said mockingly, leaning toward the girl said. Grimoire chewed on the inside of his cheek. He slowly reached to grab the girl's hand, squeezing it lightly to reassure her that it would be over soon. " I like freaks." He said, leaning closer to the girl. Grimoire could feel the girl squeezing his hand back as she turned her head away from the creep leaning toward her. "No? Well, maybe you would take the offer." The boy said with a sly tone, leaning toward Grimoire, who tilted his head down to avoid looking at the harasser.

Before the boy to lean any closer, a kid from the front with blond hair turned back, and with courage and tiredness, he said, " Leave them alone, Kyle." The attention from the three was brought to the blond boy named Matt. It was rare to see somebody trying to stand up for any of us. Matt was a student and part of the football team. "Don't you have a touchdown or something to throw, Matt?" Kyle said like it was a big insult or something. Matt stood up from his seat, facing toward the three of them. " Just leave them alone, asshole."

Grimoire and the girl looked rather worried that something could break out just because of them. "Before I make you." The two boys stood front to front from each other. The tiny walkway didn't help create space. Kyle shoved Matt backward " Maybe you should take a seat." Kyle said with a smirk. Of course, Matt wouldn't back down repeating Kyle's shove but with a bit more force. The kids had their eyes on the two boys, who were now throwing punches at each other. Some kids were encouraging the fight. Grimoire let a shaken breath out while the girl looked at the two fightings wanting to do something to help the fight stop. "Sit back down! Both of you! Now!" The bus driver yelled as he drove. The two boys pulled away, panting hard while glaring at each other. The rowdy kids encouraging the fight were disappointed the two had stopped fighting.

When the two broke apart before Kyle sat down, he menacingly leaned toward us. "Sluts" He said, very pronounced. Kyle turned away to sit on his seat. The girl turned to look out to the window while Grimoire sighed, taking his hand away from the girl's hand. His head lowered in humiliation.

Grimoire and the girl got out together when they got to school, walking inside the school building. The two had a locker on the opposite side of the hallways. Grimoire stuffed his book into his locker, seeing a picture of his parent on the locker's door. He felt a wave of guilt, sadness, and anger. He didn't understand why couldn't he had been born without these powers. Why couldn't he be like his aunt, as his mom? Normal. Grimoire turns to the side as he heads his bus companion speak up, " Uh.Matt.Thanks for..." The group of boys just bypass her with no second look. The girl turns to look up at Grimoire. He could only offer her a small ghost smile before she turned away.

He sighs, closing his locker. The girl had come to his side of the locker before offering him a small smile. She took Grimoire's hand " Thank you for sticking with me." She said shyly. Grimoire felt his heart race avoiding her face finding his shoes much more interesting. " No problem." He let out in a whisper. "Rachel. My name is Rachel Roth. Im sure you heard it from the teachers, but. I think a bit of a formal introduction is better." The girl now named Rachel introduced herself. Grimoire's eyes slowly scan from bottom to top Rachel, who was holding his mitted hand. " Grimoire. Grimoire Vi llan. Nice to meet you, Rachel Roth." Grimoire returned the gesture of politeness. His voice, airy yet melodious, reached Rachel's ears, who had a faint blush on growing.

The bell brought them out from the special moment. What they didn't know is that from there, nothing would be the same.

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spine-buster · 4 years

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The President Wears Prada (William Nylander) | Chapter 11

A/N: I know this chapter doesn’t have a lot of William/Aberdeen interaction, but we learn a lot about Aberdeen here. Plus, the next chapters definitely make up for it. Enjoy!

November 29th, 2019

Aberdeen Bloom was ready to go home and watch the game.

They were facing Buffalo tonight, the first game in a back to back that would see the boys finally come home tomorrow after their long road trip. Like most nights, all she wanted to do was go home, snuggle with Minerva, and finish the bag of Doritos. Maybe she’d even be able to cook a well-balanced dinner before eating those Doritos she craved.

Except Peter had other plans for her.

“You need to wait tonight for the mock-ups,” he told her before she could even pack up her bag and put on her jacket.

“The…the mock-ups,” she nodded her head, pretending to know what he was talking about.

“The mock-ups, Aberdeen. Of the St. Pat’s jersey the team is going to wear,” Peter said. “You have to deliver it to Brendan’s house tonight when the designer is finally done with it.”

“I thought he got those last week.”

“He did, but every night since then he’s returned it with his notes,” Peter explained. “I’m supposed to do it, because Brendan is very private and doesn’t like strangers in his house, but I’m at an alumni event with Kyle tonight. So…you get the lovely task of waiting around for the mock-ups.”

“That’s fine,” Aberdeen said. She figured she wasn’t a stranger anymore to him, anyway – she’d been working for the team for about three months now. Plus, it wasn’t like she could refuse to do it. It was, in its own way, part of her job – sit around and do nothing but wait for something she needed to deliver.

“Now, it’s very important that you do exactly what I’m about to tell you,” Peter said, his tone suddenly getting very serious. “Write this down.” Aberdeen scrambled to get a pad of paper and a pen. “The mock-ups will be delivered to you in a black portfolio and you must wait around for it until then. You’re going to have to deliver Brendan’s dry cleaning with the mock-ups.”

“Okay…” she scribbled everything down so quickly she could barely read her own writing.

“Lou will take you straight to Brendan’s house, as he does every morning. Lou will have a spare key. You let yourself in. Now, Aberdeen…” Peter loomed over her sitting at her desk at this point. He was looking her straight in the eye, staring into her soul. “You do not talk to anyone. Do not look at anyone. This is of the utmost importance. You must be invisible. Do you understand?”

“Y—Yes.”

“You open the door and walk across the foyer. You hang the dry cleaning in the closet across from the staircase that leads to the basement. And you leave the mock-ups on the table with the flowers. You then leave like you weren’t even there – like the mock-ups were delivered by a stork or something.”

“O—Okay,” he had officially made her nervous. “W—What if—”

“Invisible, Aberdeen.”

She nodded her head.

***

“Here’s his key,” Lou said as they sat in the car for a few moments after he parked on the street. “Peter told you what to do, yes?”

“Mhm,” Aberdeen nodded, gulping nervously. She grabbed the key from Lou’s hand and clutched it in her hands. “Wish me luck, Lou.”

She exited the car and walked up the driveway slowly, clutching the portfolio in one hand and his dry cleaning in the other, swung over her shoulder. Shoving the key into the door, she opened it as quietly as she could, walking into his foyer. Fuck, he had a beautiful house. So this was the benefit of being the president of the Toronto Maple Leafs, huh? And a three-time Stanley Cup Champion. And one of the top 100 hockey players of all time…

Okay. The dry cleaning.

She looked at the stairs that led to the basement and noticed the closet right across from it, so she opened the door as quietly as she could and hung the three suits. She closed it and looked around for a table with flowers.

There was one right beside the closet.

There was one right at the entrance.

There was one further down the hall, with bigger flowers.

Aberdeen panicked. “Shit!” she squealed to herself. She stood in the hallway awkwardly, not knowing what to do. The distant sound of a TV on somewhere in the house could be heard. Somebody was walking upstairs. Brendan was obviously somewhere in the house, but she had to be invisible. Invisible. But which table was it?! What if she left the portfolio on the wrong one and he didn’t see it? What if – what if – it had to be the table with the big flowers on it, right? It was the biggest table. The portfolio would at least fit on it and wouldn’t fall off. The other tables were smaller. Okay, big table with big flowers it was.

So she began walking into his house. As quiet as a mouse.

But then she heard voices. A long “Daaaaad!” and Brendan’s voice mumbling something. Aberdeen froze in fear.

“Sweetpea, I was on a conference call with the NHL offices in New York City,” she heard Brendan loud and clear now as he followed his youngest daughter, Cate, right into Aberdeen’s view.

Cate whipped around and stopped right in the doorframe Aberdeen was looking into. “But dad, I rushed out of class to try and call you, and I was trying to get a hold of you for almost an hour—”

“I was busy, sweetpea. My cell phone line was all tied up and the notifications were silenced for the meeting—”

“You were the only dad who didn’t know within the hour. Everyone else’s dad called to congratulate them on being selected for the team. And I knew what all my friends were thinking – there’s Cate, waiting for her dad again.” Cate stopped, noticing Aberdeen in the hallway. Aberdeen couldn’t move as Cate saw her – she was too terrified. When Brendan noticed his daughter looking away, he looked as well, seeing Aberdeen.

If one look could murder someone, Brendan had it on his face.

Cate walked away from her dad, leaving him staring at Aberdeen, who was practically trembling from fear. Her body felt like it was full of cement as she stood in place, not knowing what to do. She couldn’t just hand in him the portfolio; she could just outright leave his house with the portfolio still in her hands. As he continued to stare at her, she felt her body getting hotter under the pressure to do something. Without thinking, she turned to her side, put the portfolio on the third or fourth step of the stairs beside her, and rushed out of the house, not looking back.

***

November 30th, 2019

The next morning, Lou informed her that Brendan had gone into the office early, so they didn’t need to drive out to Etobicoke. Aberdeen thought that weird, but didn’t put too much thought into it. When she walked into the office alone, she barely had the opportunity to put her coffee or bag down before Peter swooped in. “Nooooo no no no, you get over here,” Peter grabbed her arm.

“Okay okay okay okay—” she knew exactly what this was about.

“What in the world happened last night, Aberdeen?” he asked.

“It really wasn’t that big a deal. I promise. There were multiple tables with flowers, so I went into the hallway, you know near the stairs where the big table is—”

“You went into the hallway? Oh my God, why didn’t you just climb into bed with him and Catherine and ask for a bedtime story?!” Peter was indignant.

“Okay, I made a mistake. I know—”

“Aberdeen, you don’t understand. I was the one supposed to teach you the ins and outs of this. I can get in shit too, and if that happens, I will search every bank in the city of Toronto you’ll be telling in until I track you down.”

Aberdeen’s eyes widened at what Peter was implying. “He’s gonna fire me?!”

Peter shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. But he’s not happy.”

“Aberdeen?” her name was called from deep within Brendan’s office.

Both she and Peter looked towards the office. Aberdeen could swear her heart was beating out of her chest. She put her bag down on her desk and took off her jacket before she walked in, standing a few feet away from his desk. “Mr. Shanahan…about last night—”

“I need you to get a jersey signed by Nick,” he said, furiously scribbling something down on his notepad, not looking at her.

She exhaled quietly. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t as mad as Peter made him out to be. Maybe he took it in stride and realized she was still learning and all he wanted her to do right now was get a jersey signed by Nik Antropov. “Okay. Okay. I’ll go down to player development right now.”

“Did you fall down and smack your head on the pavement?”

She froze. He finally looked up at her through his glasses, waiting for an answer. Okay, maybe he was angry. “Not that I can recall.”

“We need a Tre Kronor jersey from 2006 signed by Nicklas Lidstrom for a veteran who will be in attendance at the game tonight against Buffalo,” he said before focusing back on whatever he was scribbling down. “We’re surprising him off-camera since Nick is his favourite defensemen.”

Aberdeen’s heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. “You want a signed jersey I can only find in Sweden?”

“We know everybody in hockey. It shouldn’t be a problem, should it?” he asked, peering at her though he was still scribbling. “And you can do anything, right?”

She smiled meekly at him before exiting his office. She scurried behind her desk and noticed that Peter was still there, waiting for her to get out. “He doesn’t get it,” she mumbled frantically to herself, scrambling and picking up things she didn’t even need, only to put them back on her desk. “I could call fucking Nicklas Lidstrom himself. I’m not gonna get that jersey.”

“What?” Peter furrowed his brows.

“Colonel Richard Brant will be backstage with us before the game. 6:30 is when I hope to give him the jersey so it better be here no later than six,” Brendan said as he walked out of the office, looking down at his watch for extra effect.

“Of course!” Aberdeen exaggerated her smile.

“And I’d like a hot coffee here in fifteen minutes when I get back,” he walked off.

“No problem!” she called out, starting to pant. “Okay. I have nine hours to get the impossible jersey. Starbucks is just downstairs. How am I going to do this?”

“Aberdeen, what are you talking about? What impossible jersey?”

Aberdeen ignored Peter’s question, closing up her iPad and shoving it into her purse. She sprung up from her desk chair. “Okay. I will be back in ten minutes. Wish me luck!”

“Aberdeen!” Peter called after her as she ran down the hallway. “ABERDEEN!”

***

Aberdeen’s heart had never beat so hard as it did as she was waiting for Brendan’s coffee. She tried to think of ways she could get this impossible jersey. Nicklas Lidstrom lived all the way in fucking Sweden. Sweden. A ten hour flight away – probably more. And it’s not like the Leafs had his personal number or anything. She had no way of contacting him and no way of even knowing anybody who would be remotely close to—

“We know everybody in hockey,” Brendan’s words echoed in her ear.

Her eyes went wide. She took out her phone and began furiously typing ‘Nicklas Lindstrom agent’ – three different agencies popped up with three different phone numbers – one for hockey, one for professional appearances, and another one for signings. This was her start.

“Coffee for Brendan!” the barista called out, and Aberdeen reached to grab it before the barista could even put it down. She rushed back up to the office, scurrying through the hallways and into his office to place it on his desk.

She watched as he walked in, looking at his watch. “What’s that?” he asked, grabbing some files from his desk. “I don’t want that. I’m having lunch with Larry. I’ll be back at three.”

Brendan left just as quickly as he arrived. Aberdeen stood awkwardly in his office, trying not to cry as she picked up the Starbucks cup and practically whipped it into the garbage can. She made herself calm down so her voice wouldn’t crack as she grabbed her iPad and her phone and began calling the numbers available for Nick. When the two first ones didn’t even answer the phone, she prayed to God the last number worked in her favour.

She was put on hold for over ten minutes. She wanted to scream. Just as she was about to hang up and try the other numbers again, or at least call back because maybe she got stuck in an alternate “on hold” universe where she had been floating in the abyss for the last ten minutes, the stupid elevator music that was playing stopped. “Alright, who’s Aberdeen Bloom and what do you need?” a man’s loud voice suddenly filled the line.

“Yes yes yes yes. I’ve been on hold. It’s for Brendan Shanahan – my name is Aberdeen Bloom and I’m his personal assistant. It’s very important. I need access to Nicklas Lidstrom and a Tre Kronor jersey—”

“Impossible,” the man barked.

“Well, I was wondering if you could make the impossible possible…if that’s at all possible,” she was practically begging. She knew she sounded completely desperate but at this point, she didn’t care. Her job was on the line, and she would do anything to save it.

“Impossible,” he barked again. “What do you think this is, some sort of convention?”

“Have I mentioned it’s for Brendan Shanahan? President of the Toronto Maple Leafs? Cause I think that makes a difference,” Aberdeen pressed.

“I know you’re desperate but it can’t be done,” he continued. “You’ll just have to come up with a plan B.”

“This is Brendan Shanahan we’re talking about,” Aberdeen wanted to scream into the phone. “There is no plan B – there is only plan A.”

“Listen. Nick’s in Toronto but he’s booked solid. He’s not taking any new meetings or engagements.”

Aberdeen couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She wished this fucking dude could have led their abysmal conversation with that tidbit of information instead of giving her the go-around. “He’s – He’s in Toronto?!”

“Yes, he’s been staying at the Four Seasons for the past two weeks because of the alumni game he had with Mats Sundin and other engagements. But he’s leaving for Sweden tomorrow. Today is his last and possibly his busiest day. He just can’t get it done.”

The Four Seasons was up in Yorkville. She could get there in maybe ten minutes if she flagged down a taxi. “Have a good day,” she said as she hung up her phone, grabbing her bag and iPad before rushing out of the office

If Nick’s agent wasn’t going to help her, she was going to have to get to Nicklas her damn self.

***

Aberdeen tried to walk calmly into the Four Seasons – not at all looking like she was in a rush because her job was on the line and she was going to be fired at six that night – but the attempt proved futile. One of the women behind the check-in desk was looking right at her the entire time she made her way towards them.

“Hi,” Aberdeen said, slightly out of breath. “My name is Aberdeen Bloom,” she said, grabbing her credentials and flashing them at the woman.

“Can I help check you in?” the woman smiled.

“No no. I’m Brendan Shanahan’s personal assistant.” The woman looked confused. “Brendan Shanahan, the president of the Toronto Maple Leafs,” she said, pushing the credentials forward so the woman could look at them herself. “I need you to call Nicklas Lidstrom’s room for me so I can speak to him.”

The woman looked between Aberdeen and her credentials and furrowed her brows. “Miss, I’m sorry, but a Mr. Nicklas Lidstrom is not staying at this hotel.”

Aberdeen’s body felt like it was on fire. She knew this woman was lying, and Aberdeen didn’t have time for it at all. There was no time for anything to go wrong right now. “Listen, I know this is all very weird, but I know he’s staying here. His agent just told me he’s been here for the last two weeks. I need you to get a hold of him for me.”

“Miss – a Mr. Lidstrom is not staying at this hotel,” the woman repeated, moving towards the computer. “I can even type his name in for you – no-one by that name is staying here.”

“Please, please, I’m begging you,” Aberdeen shook her head. This couldn’t be happening to her right now. “I know he must be under an alias or something because he’s a hockey player and this is Toronto. I get it. But I really need you to—”

“Miss, I’m sorry but it can’t be done,” the woman pushed Aberdeen’s credentials back towards her so she could take them. “Nobody by that name is staying here. And that’s that.”

“But his agent told me—”

“Miss, if you’re going to keep pressing this, I’m going to have to call my manager.”

That’s the last thing Aberdeen needed. Aberdeen grabbed her credentials before giving one last dirty look to the woman as a ‘thanks for nothing’ – it was probably immature, but Aberdeen really didn’t like her right now.

Now what was she going to do? If the hotel wouldn’t even let her have access to him, despite her showing them her credentials, how in the hell was she going to get to talk to him? Would she have to sneak into the elevator and knock on every door until she found him? Would she have to call back his agent and demand the access to him? Would she have to learn Swedish and scream his name into the streets of Toronto and hope he’d hear? Would she – Swedish – Swedish –

Swedish.

No.

She couldn’t.

She shouldn’t.

She had to.

She whipped out her phone and called a number she knew off by heart. “Real Sports Bar and Grill, how may I help you?” a perky voice answered on the other end.

“This is Aberdeen Bloom, Brendan Shanahan’s personal assistant,” she began as she usually did when she called them. “I need you to get me the contact information for Michael Nylander immediately.”

“A-ber-deeeeeen Bloooom?” the girl on the other end asked. Clearly she was new. All the other hostesses already knew her name and had done the super-elongated pronunciation of her name before. “I just can’t give that information away—”

“I am Brendan Shanahan’s personal assistant,” she repeated, her tone harsher this time. “Check the employee directory if you need to.”

“I don’t have access to that—”

“Then call your manager!” she screamed, her patience wearing thin. “I need his telephone number now.”

***

“Hello Mr. Nylander, this is Aberdeen Bloom calling. You, uh, you probably don’t remember me – we met very briefly after a game in Toronto when you came to say hi to William and I opened the door for you. I’m Brendan Shanahan’s personal assistant. Um, anyways, listen – I have a massive favour to ask you because I’m desperate. Like, desperate. I noticed that you played on the same World Championship team as Nicklas Lidstrom, and I was wondering if you can please give me his personal phone number. Like, a number he’d use when he’s in North America. I need to contact him about something urgent, very urgent. So, um, please, if you could give me a call back, that would be amazing. Thank you, Mr. Nylander. Have um, a good night? I know it’s like almost night time there. Okay bye.”

***

Every jersey on eBay was a fake or already had a name on it. Aberdeen was getting desperate. She’d been to Real Sports Apparel – no Tre Kronor jerseys. She’d called every SportsChek, Sportling Life, Champs Sports, and just about every independent sports store in Toronto – no Tre Kronor jerseys. Even the last store that she’d visited – gone by foot, even – didn’t have anything Swedish.

She was going to cry. She’d be fired. This is where it all ended. She’d end up a bank teller for the rest of her life. She’d never be able to write. She’d never be able to do what she loved. All because she couldn’t find a stupid jersey and was denied any access to one of the best defencemen in the history of the league —

Then her phone began to ring, snapping her away from her thoughts. It was an unknown number. Against her better judgement, she answered the call. “Hello?”

“Hello, is this Aberdeen Bloom?” a calm voice asked on the other end. She noticed because she was anything calm right now.

“Speaking.”

“Miss Bloom, this is Nicklas Lidstrom.”

Aberdeen stopped dead in her tracks, making various people almost crash into her on the sidewalk. One of them gave her the finger. “Mr. Lidstrom! Hello!”

“My good friend Michael Nylander called me and gave me your number and told me to get in touch with you,” he said. Her eyes went wide; she was going to have to erect a gold statue in Michael’s honour. “Apparently you’re Brendan Shanahan’s personal assistant and there is an urgent matter?”

“Yes Mr. Lidstrom, yes,” she said, spinning around because she didn’t know what to do. “Sir, I understand you’re in Toronto right now.”

“I am.”

“Staying at the Four Seasons?”

“Yes…”

“We have a veteran coming to the game tonight – Colonal Richard Brant – and you are his favourite defenseman,” she explained. “I was wondering if you could sign a Tre Kronor jersey from 2006, when you won the gold medal.”

Nicklas laughed into the phone. “A Tre Kronor jersey? Miss Bloom, I will sign what you need me to sign, but I don’t have a Tre Kronor jersey with me. Not least from 2006.”

“If I find one, will you sign it?”

“Well, I don’t know where you’re going to find an almost fifteen year old mint-condition Swedish jersey in Toronto, but sure. Unless you have it shipped in from Sweden. You’ll have to come to the Four Seasons after 5:30 – that’s when my last commitment ends,” he said.

“I’ll be there at 5:30,” she said definitively. “I’ll call you back on this number.”

Aberdeen’s heart was racing as she hung up the phone. She had exhausted all her sports store leads for Swedish jerseys. What else could she do? Who else could she call? Who in Toronto would have a mint condition Tre Kronor jersey from 2006? Swedish people, obviously, but…

Her eyes went wide. She swiped through her phone to find another phone number.

“Aberdeen?” Robert Nordmark, one of the Swedish scouts for the Leafs, answered on the other end. “Why’re you calling me?

“Robert, where can I find a 2006 Tre Kronor Olympic jersey in Toronto?”

***

It was 5:55pm as Aberdeen made her way throughout the offices, her flats clacking against the floor as she made her way into Brendan Shanahan’s office. He was facing away from her, so he couldn’t see her come in and place the jersey on his desk in one fell swoop. It was the breeze from the jersey that finally made him turn around, immediately eyeing her and looking down at the jersey on his desk.

“One jersey, not signed?” he asked, staring down at the Tre Kronor jersey. “What is the colonel going to do with that? He probably already has five.”

“Oh no, here’s the signature,” she said, flipping the jersey over to reveal the perfect inscription and signature. “I had Mr. Lidstrom customize it and sign it, right here on his number,” she said, watching Brendan’s eyebrows raise higher and higher until he took off his glasses. “And one more thing.”

Brendan’s eyes whipped up to meet hers. “What’s that?”

On cue, Nicklas walked into Brendan’s office. “Hey Shanny – or do I have to call you Mr. Shanahan now?”

“Nicklas,” he smiled, though he was still looking at Aberdeen. His body was perfectly still despite one of his old friends walking into the room. “What a pleasant surprise.”

“Is there anything else I can do for you?” Aberdeen smiled.

He eyed her one more time. He was clearly in shock that she was able to get it done. “That’s all.”

***

Aberdeen’s body was aching with fatigue as she gathered the last of her belongings from her desk after the game. The Leafs had won in overtime, Colonel Richard Brant got his jersey and got to meet Nicklas, which made him cry, and everything was alright in the world. She’d finally be able to go home after the shit-show of the day she had. Cuddle with Minerva. Eat Doritos. Eat in general, since she hadn’t all day, too busy going on wild goose chases all over Toronto for Nicklas Lidstrom and a Tre Kronor jersey from random Swedish people living in The Beaches who just happened to have five Nicklas Lidstrom jerseys from 2006 in their house because that’s how much they loved him.

As she escaped down the stairs, taking the route that would lead her right out the door to the street, she heard another person’s shoes clacking up the concrete steps. When she looked up, she saw William rushing up the stairs.

Of course. Because the day couldn’t just end.

“Aberdeen,” he said, approaching her and grasping onto her elbow gently, sending shockwaves throughout her body. It didn’t even matter that she had her wool coat on. He pulled her over to the side on one of the landings, a worried look on his face. “Why’d you call my dad today?”

She shook her head. She should have known Michael would also call William about it. “It’s a long story.”

“Well, tell me now,” he said. “I’ve been worried fucking sick since he called me to tell me and I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“I just…I had to get a hold of Nicklas Lidstrom, and your dad helped,” she explained briefly, not really wanting to get into it. She didn’t want William knowing how much of a fucking idiot she was and the reason why she had to do this seemingly impossible task in the first place. “It’s all – it’s all fine.”

“So you’re okay?” William pressed.

“Yeah. Fucking tired though. Niklas is one busy guy,” she tried to make a joke. William didn’t laugh. She sighed. “Can I just go home?”

“Why’d you have to get hold of Nick?” he asked, not able to let it go.

She sighed, bringing her hand up to rub her forehead. “I made Brendan angry, okay? I fucked up and I like, went into his house when I wasn’t supposed to and overheard a fight he was having with his daughter and then he saw me and—”

“Holy shit, Aberdeen.”

“Yeah, I know. Believe me,” she said. “I had to live through how much he didn’t like that today, alright? You don’t have to tell me too.”

William could tell by the tone of her voice she didn’t want to talk about it. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked again, wanting, needing to make sure. He even went so far as to reach out to grab her hand, though she pulled away before he could really get a good grip and lace his fingers with hers.

“Yes,” she said. “I’m just tired, Will. Can you please just let me go home?”

“Can I walk you home?”

With whatever backbone she had left in her after the day she’d just had, she shook her head. “No, Will. You should be going home to sleep.”

“But Aberdeen—”

“Goodnight, Will,” she said as she sidestepped away from him. “Nice goal tonight, by the way,” she said as she looked back at him, descending down the stairs.

***

December 4th, 2019

Lou and Aberdeen had been waiting in Brendan’s driveway for almost ten minutes. He had never taken this long in the mornings ever since she began her job, and she was starting to get worried. Was he already in the office and forgot to tell them? Did he sleep in? Brendan wasn’t one to sleep in.

“This ever happen before?” Aberdeen asked Lou.

“He’s probably looking for a sock or tie pin,” he joked.

Her phone began to ring, and she saw his name flash across her screen. “Good morning Mr. Shana—”

“Can you come in here quickly please? Aaaargh!” he gruntled into the phone. He sounded like he was moving something.

“Um…I’ll be right in,” she said, taking off her seatbelt and getting out of the car. This had to be some sort of joke. Just a few days ago he murdered her with his eyes for being in his house – now he wanted her inside? She didn’t get it.

When she shut the front door behind her, he must have heard her. “Can you come downstairs, please?” he called out from the basement.

“Is this some sort of sick joke?!” she called back, standing nervously in his foyer.

“No – no, but I get why you’d ask that. I can be an asshole, I know,” he kept calling out. At least he admitted it out loud. “I just need your help finding something!”

Against her better judgement, Aberdeen took off her winter boots and made her way into Brendan’s house, going down the stairs into the basement. She saw Brendan kneeling on the floor in his suit, a bunch of boxes surrounding him. “I need your help finding some of my old yearbooks.”

“Yearbooks?”

“Yes. Can you check these boxes while I work on these?” he said, rummaging through the one in front of him.

Aberdeen did as she was told, looking around the boxes for the apparent yearbooks he was so desperate to see this morning. On her third box, she hit the jackpot. “These?” she asked, lifting one up.

“Yes!” Brendan exclaimed excitedly. She handed it to him. “God, this is from St. Leo.”

Aberdeen perked up at that name. “You went to St. Leo?”

“Yeah, why?”

Aberdeen couldn’t help but smile. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Of all the schools in Etobicoke – of all the Catholic schools in Etobicoke. “My mom teaches grade one at St. Leo,” she revealed.

“What!” he exclaimed excitedly, his eyes lighting up at the information. “Oh man…I guess I never really did ask you about your family, huh?”

“You haven’t,” Aberdeen shook her head. “But that’s okay. I don’t…I like to keep them separate. I don’t like bringing my work home. Family stays family and work stays work. That’s the way I like it. No overlapping, because then things get complicated.”

“I get it,” Brendan nodded. “That’s why I got so upset when I saw you in the house…I mean, I—"

“You don’t need to – I was being an idiot,” Aberdeen shook her head, trying to wave it off.

“No no – you deserve an explanation,” he said. “This job is all encompassing. Sometimes I forget that I should be on the beck and call of my children rather than the NHL head office,” he explained. “Catherine did a lot of the parenting while I was playing, as you can imagine. But when I retired, I made a promise to myself that I’d always be there for my kids. That they would always know they were the priority instead of hockey. Sometimes I break that promise. And it breaks my heart when I do, because I don’t want my kids thinking that they’re not my first priority. So that night, when Cate told me she had made the rowing team, and that she was trying to call me to tell me the good news, and I didn’t answer the phone – she got upset. I got upset. It was a horrible thing for me to do. And then I saw you and you reminded me of work in that moment fighting with my daughter and it just – it all spiralled out of control. Work didn’t become separate from family in that moment. But I want to apologize, Aberdeen.”

“You don’t have to do that—”

“Yes, I do, Aberdeen. I was being an asshole. And I shouldn’t have punished you when all you were doing was your job. So really – I’m sorry.”

Aberdeen didn’t know what to say. It was so clear to her that Brendan loved his family and children more than anything, but she could understand how being president of the Toronto Maple Leafs could be all-encompassing. She could understand how it took a lot out of a person – and how that person would want some quality time with family when they got home. “Thank you,” she began awkwardly. “But I must say, that wasn’t the first time I’ve done something stupid since moving downtown and getting this job. And as my boss you know better than anyone – besides my mother – that it won’t be my last time.”

Brendan chuckled slightly at her words. “I promise I’ll be nicer next time,” he quipped. “So your mom wasn’t nervous or scared about you moving out and living downtown?” he asked.

Aberdeen snorted. The notion to her was completely ridiculous. “My mom grew up in Belfast and Derry during The Troubles – she’s not scared of shit.”

Brendan laughed out loud. “A Belfast lass? She’s like my mom, then.”

“Seriously?”

“Mhm,” Brendan nodded his head. “Rosaleen. Dad’s from Dunmanus in the Republic.”

“My mom’s family is originally from Aberdeen in Scotland. Hence my name. But my grandparents moved to Belfast before my mom was born because my grandpa got a job there. Then to Derry,” she explained.

“So does your mom have an accent?”

“Oooooooh yeah,” Aberdeen nodded. “She’s straight out of that show Derry Girls. She moved to Canada when she was eighteen so the accent never left her. There’s no way she could lose it. I mean, she lived in Bogside in Derry. Staunch Catholic. Still goes to church every Sunday.”

“Do you?”

Aberdeen shook her head. “My sister and I used to. She’d drag us along, but we stopped in high school after our confirmation. Still have the guilt though,” she joked.

“Ahhh, that good old Catholic guilt. And your dad?”

“Dad’s Persian.”

Brendan looked at her skeptically. Everybody always did when she told them her dad was Persian. “Bloom isn’t a very Persian name.”

Aberdeen nodded. “Yeah…it’s a long story,” she said. Brendan’s look urged her to go on. “My dad fled Tehran during the revolution. His parents were university professors and after the political revolution came the cultural revolution. They taught English literature and promoted a lot of Western texts so they knew they would be targeted. They made him leave because they were scared the new government would target him, too. He was only fourteen.”

“Fourteen?”

“Yeah.”

“H—How did he get out?”

Aberdeen shrugged. “He walked. Took buses and stuff. His parents gave him money to pay traffickers to get him across borders. They made him change his last name so he wouldn’t get caught. Forged documents and everything. He chose Bloom because of Leopold Bloom from Ulysses.”

“James Joyce.”

“Exactly,” she said. “So he left and went Aleppo first. All his documents were processed there – claimed refugee status, all that. Then Canada finally accepted him, and he came over at eighteen as well. Didn’t look back.”

Brendan was silent as he took in all the information. “What happened to your grandparents?”

Aberdeen paused. “When he first left, he would write them every week. The letters back and forth would be sent through intricate channels and to friends of friends so it could get to each other and not be traced, because they were still scared. It lasted for maybe a year, but then they stopped responding. And he knew.”

Brendan stayed silent. The information she’d just revealed to him was clearly hitting him hard. And he knew nothing about it until now. He realized there was a lot more to Aberdeen than he thought; a lot more to her than he led himself to believe. He should have known better. Everyone had a story, a family history within them that defined who they were and how they saw the world. This was Aberdeen’s story; this was her family history that defined so many things about her. “Your parents have been through a lot – the Troubles and a revolution. That’s incredible.”

“Yeah,” she nodded her head. “I think it’s part of what bonded them together. They had similar experiences in that regard. Like, my mom voluntarily left and went to university here because she was sick of all the violence at home. She felt like it would never end, and she never went back to Northern Ireland until it did. And my dad – well, he left kind of involuntarily, but he knew deep with him he had to leave Iran. And when he finally got to Canada, he loved it. He’s always told me and my siblings he never considered returning, and that he thanks his lucky stars every day that Canada accepted him.”

“Siblings?”

“Siena’s older – she’s in law school in Ottawa. Then there’s the baby Camden. He’s eleven. Right now he wants to be an engineer.”

Brendan nodded his head. “So then tell me something, Aberdeen,” he began. “Who is it you want to be like?”

Aberdeen shrugged her shoulders. “I just want to be the best version of me, really.”

“But there needs to be a person you look up to, career-wise,” Brendan pressed.

Aberdeen shrugged sheepishly. She was almost embarrassed to say. “Anna Wintour.”

“Pardon?”

“Anna Wintour,” she said more loudly this time.

“Anna Wintour?” he asked, clearly shocked by her answer. “Why Anna Wintour?”

“Well, for one, she’s incredibly stylish – that’s a given,” Aberdeen shrugged again. “But it’s important. Because regardless of how much people peddle that inner beauty is what counts, your first impression of someone isn’t of their inner beauty. I’m not saying that’s a good thing, I’m just saying that’s the way it is. So she’s stylish, and she presents herself well, but also…she got shit done. She was an editor at magazines. She’s changed the way we see fashion and how fashion influences us our everyday lives. I know not a lot of people like her and I know she has her faults, but we all do. She’s incredibly driven – even now when she’s perhaps one of the most iconic magazine editors in recent memory. She’s never complacent. She always strives for more. She seeks out new designers to support. She finds the best and promotes the best. She never stops.”

“You mean she strives, she seeks, she finds, and doesn’t yield?” he chuckled slightly, referring to her tattoo.

“Exactly.”

“And you enjoy fashion?”

Aberdeen smiled. “I enjoy it as much as an almost-broke-just-graduated-from-university person can,” she joked. “It’s not really about the fashion. I think I’m fashionable and can be fashionable given the opportunity but it’s not about that. It’s about creativity.”

Brendan smiled knowingly. “Creativity,” he repeated before pausing. “You know Aberdeen, I wasn’t sure if you were going to be able to pull off the Nicklas Lidstrom thing,” he admitted.

“I know you didn’t.”

“You know, out of all the personal assistants I’ve had, you’re the only one that was able to pull something like that off,” he revealed. “And not only that – you got Nick to come to the arena.”

Aberdeen shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t know what he wanted her to say. “I was just doing my job, Mr. Shanahan. I was just doing what you told me to do.”

“Nah,” he shook his head, dismissing her words. “You were creative in your approach. You thought outside the box and you got it done. You made the virtually impossible, possible. Which, again, is more than I can say for all my other previous assistants.” He paused again. “You’ve got it in you, Aberdeen – the creativity. You’ll be able to show it one day.”

“I hope so, Mr. Shanahan.”

“Brendan,” he corrected her.

After everything that was revealed between them, she finally felt like they were on the same page. She let loose. “I hope so, Brendan.”

204 notes · View notes

jaynovz · 3 years

Text

Dead man in a ditch thoughts pt1, super spoilery

Listen like. Fingers ok. Hendricks is handfeeding him? I cannot.

Also this flashback of them hanging out makes me fucking sad as shit GOD. b/c I know how it all ends.

okay now DM format:

"colder than that cup of tea you made four hours ago and forgot about" excuse me I have been called out Lol

Got to say it is extremely interesting that there are no guns since it's a noir

But it doesn't seem like there are only fantasy weapons

I wouldn't consider brass knuckles to be a fantasy weapon

I like this gnome

Fetch sure does get clawed in the face by werecats a lot

“AREN'T YOU THE ONE WHO SHOT ME?”

“THAT WAS A WHOLE 2 MINUTES AGO” Fetch is such a sassy shit. I laugh so hard reading this

All I can think about this cat thief is Selena Kyle

"I could catch an infection just by looking at you" SAVAGE

This man is such a fucking disaster

I want to bundle him up stat

Get Fetch Laid challenge

And then Get Fetch Love and Affection challenge

"you're just a boy" ok you don't got to call him out as a sub in his own home

“Sorry I rarely have guests so early”

She looks at her watch.

“But it's--”

“I'm sure it is. How's the leg?” I relate to this

Oh my GOD THE CHAMBER POT FELL OFF THE ANGEL DOOR BALCONY

AHAHAHAHAHAH

Luke: when I introduce a new character I simply must describe their fingers

I fucking love Simms

Fetch: I am not looking for ways to bring the magic back

Everyone: sure of course not ;)

I'm assuming that non-magical explosives do not exist

again, THE WORLDBUILDING. Luke is a nerd after my own heart

oh wow, his dwarf voice is great. Now I’m imagining Luke DMing a campaign 🤩🤩

I feel way less bad for all the shit I’ve done to Silver in fic b/c Luke treats Fetch So Much Worse

"you don't have any friends" 🥺

NOO MY SON

MAGIC

Also this man gets hit in the face so much

Oh this line is super good: “he didn't act like I'd hit a nerve. He acted like I'd strung it over a violin and played it with a razor blade.”

I love how Fetch is literally just stealing things from this pharmacy before calling the cops

So many things

He Deserves It

The chronic pain is also big Silver feels

Tho Silver is on the opposite end of the spectrum in refusing to take any pain meds instead of literally mainlining them

Aw fetch "I was all giddy from the ridiculousness of Simms talking to me like she cared"

Honey On Purpose ppl Care about you

The lil gnome gave him some hand holds earlier and he was Shook

Omg a dumpster of fae bodies

Poor lad

I'm going to send fetch to a spa and then put him in a bed with a bunch of people to cuddle him

Omg this is hurtful. Crying in the club

He fixed up the mansion and cleaned and got Amari new clothes

Jesus

I'm SUFFERING

Also Fetch and his suicidal ideation jesus

BAXTER TIME

Oh yes describe Baxter again

Big

OH NO

They are Sad

Everyone in this city needs a hug

"I guess that's where your eyebrow went"

KISS ALREADY

"the fire in Baxter's eyes turned blue behind their glasses."

S-sexy

He's like "I could lie down right now and die and nobody would care. Beautiful 🥰"

I've gone from Silver vibes over to Big Flint vibes

Oh here come the trauma nightmares

Honey 😔

Luke has a very good scary voice

This possum is me

Somebody has been digging the petrified brains out of fae bodies and that is so horrible

The way he writes all this gruesome shit

Damn

He really took "how do you write? First make a gay little man. Then give him a problem" to heart

Goddamn it's getting worse

This is like the most triggering thing I can imagine for this character

Also this: "there are some questions you try not to ask yourself. Even if you spend every second trying to push them away, they never quite leave. They sit in the shadows with sharpened teeth, waiting for a chance to bite down on the most tender pieces of your brain."

OHHHHH nooooo

He found a letter and now he's thinking about Hendricks and I'm SUFFERING

Man's been repressing shit for 6 years

And then BOOM

Fetch 🤝 Silver

"I SHOULD HAVE JOINED THE CIRCUS WHEN I WAS 15, FALLEN OFF THE TRAPEZE AND SAVED EVERYONE A LOT OF TROUBLE"

Sir

That's very funny and also very upsetting

HOW

Omg Fetch do not watch this

omgggg

choking

EXCUSEME

HIS

CROTCH EXPLODED?

Nooooo not the other eyebrow

Fetch like "I don't know how to explain to you that desecrating corpses is bad"

"eyebrows like toilet paper are things you don't miss till you reach out and realize they're gone"

AHAHAHHA

Oh. Dog collar. Ok.

Warlock on a leash

"A man might cross an ocean for love but with enough hate, he'll try to drink it"

Listen he needs to stop with these

Oh more choking. Ok

And uh this: "we rolled along the path like lovers, trading kicks, slaps and scratches instead of kisses."

Anyway I'm only on chapter 15 and already fetch has been beat a million ways to Sunday

Can this man have a vacation

They're being nice to him and he's like "hmmm this makes me uncomfortable"

REMIND YOU OF ANYONE

"if someone turns in a couple of eyebrows--brown, fuzzy, in need of a pluck-- can you push them through my letterbox?"

PFFFFTTT

"I stared at the legs for a while, wondering how long they'd been there and what kind of person they might be connected to. They weren't moving. Maybe they weren't connected to anyone. Maybe they were just a couple of legs, off on their own, out for a walk." WHY IS HE SO FUNNY

GUN

OKAY

WHY WOULD YOU LEAVE THAT WITHOUT INSTRUCTIONS

“I IGNORED IT ALL EXCEPT THE BIT ABOUT THE HAT” OMGGGGGGG

Mr. "I didn't know whether to be turned on or terrified"

Both?

OHHHHH she's like "oh my God you disaster stay right here we are about to fix this"

Thank God someone's doing it

This. Sub.

his head. in his lap.

okay i’m done. digging a hole. bye. that’s it.

GAY

I'm going insane

Tattooed Lady werewolf sign me up

Trauma Flashback Time~

What will help me feel safer? A GUN

Oh my god this is going to be Terrible

This man should not have a gun

He's so jumpy

Back to the Brothel!

Wonder how much trouble him gonna get in this time

I'm going to go ahead and say that bronze leaves are supposed to be 20s

This nerd really invented a whole card game

I appreciate and respect how Extra this is

Oh hmmm yes

Mmm he said darlin. Luke saying darlin made me have to pause and recalibrate my brain.

"He'd written a version of events inside his head and he was holding onto them so he wouldn't have to admit what a mistake he'd made." HMmmMmm sounds familiar

Fetch Phillips should not have a gun but also the way Luke just read the "I'll make your head explode" was

Sexy

Also "so how about I show you a little miracle"

Sir have mercy

Oh he's finally testing the gun out on a dummy andddd:

He. Should. Not. Have. This.

FETCH IS A HORSE GIRL

Mr Arnold you are mean:

GOBLIN WITH A PROSTHETIC

Fetch. Handcuffed

NOOOO

THE HORSE

THAT WAS

SO RUDE

(okay that’s it for now. I have more and I’ll post it later)

Omgggg "don't be jealous"

Hendricks WHAT THE FUCK

#cw suicidal ideation #fetch is just Like That ok #luke arnold #dead man in a ditch #sunder city #sunder city verse #fetch phillips archives lb #long post

11 notes · View notes

secondgenerationnerd · 4 years

Note

Lois Lane, Koriand'r, Linda Park-West, Bianca Reyes, and Jade Nguyen all deserve a Happy Mother's Day from Omega Squad!

We will also add Miss Selina Kyle, because not all moms are biological! I have an amazing bonus mom through my stepmother, so shout out to her!

Koriand’r

“Mommy?” A tiny voice whisper. Kor’i opens her eyes immediately, ready to handle whatever crisis might be happening. Instead, her five year old daughter looks at her from the side of the bed.

“Starshine? What are you doing up so early?” The queen sits up, glancing at her clock to know she has two hours before anyone will come to find them.

“You said today is a holiday on Daddy’s planet. It’s supposed to honor mommies?” Mar’i climbs onto the bed, handing her mother a piece of paper. “Happy Mommy’s day, Mommy!”

Kor’i smiles softly, pulling her young daughter into her arms. “Thank you, Starshine. I’m happy to be the mommy to such a strong girl.”

Jade Nguyen

“Momma!” Eight year old Lian races to the door, nearly tackling her mother.

“Hey, baby doll!” Jade tries not to dwell on how big Lian’s gotten since she saw her last. Lian’s unbrushed hair tumbles into dark eyes. “I missed you so much!”

“Dad! Momma’s back for Mother’s day!” Lian pulls her mother into the kitchen. “Dad said I’m big enough to make your french toast with him. Are you going to stay for breakfast?”

Roy gives her a genuine smile when he sees her. Their relationship is...complicated for sure, but Lian’s always a safe area for them. She’s sure Roy will want to catch up later.

That’s later though.

“Of course, baby doll.” Jade picks Lian up like she’s still little bitty. “It’s Mother’s Day after all.”

“I don’t have a present for you!” Lian’s brown eyes go wide. Jade can’t help but laugh.

“You and Daddy are all I need.”

Lois Lane

“Boys!” Lois looks around at the mess. When her sons insisted she leave for a quiet afternoon too herself, she didn’t think it would come at the cost of her kitchen. Jon’s glasses are covered with a thick layer of flour.

“Er. We can explain?” Conner gives Chris a panicked look. “Right, Chris?”

“We wanted to make you dinner.” Chris knows there’s no lying to his foster mother. “There were....complications.”

“I’ll say.” she shakes her head. “How about I order Chinese food and we all clean the kitchen before it gets here.”

“No!” Jon protests, “You’re not supposed to clean, it’s your day off.”

Lois gently takes his glasses off him, revealing his too blue eyes. “Sweetie, I appreciate it, but as long as I’ve got my boys, I’d clean this whole house top to bottom.”

“Er, do we have to?” Conner asks. Lois rolls her eyes and pulls all three of them into a hug. She might have carried only one of them, but they’re all her boys.

Bianca Reyes

“¡Oye! ¡Iba a hacer eso!”

“¡Estás yendo demasiado lento, mocosa!”

“¡No soy una mocosa, lo eres!”

“Milagro, Jaime!” Bianca sets her keys down, stern gaze fixed on her children. “I just walked in the door. Why are you arguing?”

“He wouldn’t let me help wrap your present!”

“You were the one that she’d be home soon!”

“ ¡Oye!“ Bianca claps her hands. They look up at her. “I love you both with all my heart and soul, but if you keep arguing like this, I might lose my mind.”

“Sorry, Mami...” Milagro wraps her arms around her mother’s waist.

“Lo siento, Mami.” Jaime rubs the back of his neck. The Scarab must be bothering him.

“What’s this gift you two were arguing about?” Bianca asks. Milagro hands her a mostly wrapped little package. Inside is a simple, gorgeous necklace that she’d seen a while back at one of her favorite shops. She pulls Jaime to her side, hugging both of her kids. “Gracias, mijos...te amo.”

“Te aman, Mami.” Jaime hugs her back.

Linda Park-West

“Mom!”

“Mommy!”

“Oof!” Linda grunts as her 10 year old twins jump on her. Clearly there’s no other way for them to wake her up. She gives her husband a half serious glare. “I thought we agree before 9 on Mother’s day, they’re your issue.”

“It’s 9:30, Mommy,” Irey chirps, kissing Linda’s face, “You gotta get up!”

“Yeah! Dad made pancakes!” Jai pulls the blankets away. She laughs softly, sitting up as Wally hands her a cup of coffee.

“I tried to keep them occupied, beautiful,” He apologizes to her with a kiss. “They have your ability to argue.”

Jai and Irey look at their mother with their beautiful smiles, both of them looking like their father. She can’t find it in herself to be annoyed. Instead, she sets her coffee down, pulls both her kids close, and dramatically sighs, “I suppose I can get up and be pampered today.”

Jai and Irey both giggle at that. Jai hugs her tight, “You’re the best mom ever.”

“She already know that!” Irey reminds him.

“Still nice to hear. Especially from the two that made me a mom.”

“I thought Daddy--”

“Easy, Lightning Bug.” Wally laughs, “It’s too early for that.”

Selina Kyle (Bonus Mom)

“Hush, ‘Lena.” Damian scolds as he holds his little sister’s hand. The two year old blinks up at her older brother. “We don’t want to wake Mother up.”

“I’m up already.” Selina calls out to her 13 year old stepson. She’s lacing up one of her boots when her daughter toddles to her arms. “Hello, kitten! What were you and your brother up to?”

“Nummies, Mama,” Helena cuddles into her mother’s chest. Damian sets a tray down with a few pieces of toasts and tea. “I hep Dami!”

“You did?”

“I apologize for it just being toast.” The teen shrugs. “She wouldn’t let me do anything without getting involved. I felt using a stove would be unwise.”

“It’s fine, dear.” Selina chuckles.

“Hap Hap Mama,” Helena presses a sloppy kiss onto Selina’s arm.

“I believe she was trying to wish you a happy Mother’s Day.” He leans down and kisses her cheek. “I’m happy to have you here.”

That’s as close to an ‘I love you’ she’ll ever get, and she’s happy to accept it.

51 notes · View notes

unloveable-unreachable · 5 years

Text

You’re the One My Heart Wants- Chapter 11

Word Count: 6,568

Warnings: Swearing

Author: Me

Y/N POV

France. It’s beautiful in every way, I don’t know what else I can say about it because I’m still soaking it all in. The culture, the food, even the architecture was fucking amazing. I’ve been here a few times, enough to count on one hand, and it still amazes me each time I visit. Anyways, here we are again in another World Cup tournament placed in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Being here with my team makes my heart fill with happiness and pride because we’ve all worked so hard to be here. Being here with Alex was a whole different story, the emotions I have towards that are hard to put into words. We’re here in Paris, the most romantic city ever, happy together. Although to the public it’s still not shared information, we’re still enjoying our time together. We’re also focused on the task at hand: holding on to our title and proving that we truly are the best in the world.

We got to France a few days early since we wanted to watch the matches going on before our first one in a few days. Today was special though. Today we get to spend time with our families who flew out here to watch us play. While standing in the lobby looking at everyone talking, laughing, and spending time with their families, I just feel out of place. Not having my actual family here to celebrate this accomplishment does hurt a little, but that’s short-lived when Uncle Kyle picks me up and spins me around in a hug. “Hello, my favorite niece in the entire world,” Kyle says as he sets me down, causing me to laugh. He really does treat me like I’m a part of their family just like Ali and Ash do, and that cures my sadness on the spot. “Hey, Uncle Kyle,” I say in response. “Why are you over here all by yourself?” He asks with a sad, concerned look. “Just watching everyone with their families, kind of wishing I had one to celebrate with,” I say as I shrug my shoulders. He looked at me with a shocked expression before pulling me with him towards the Krieger-Harris crowd. “How dare you say you don’t have family here,” he says as we got closer to the group, “You know damn well that you’re a part of this family. We all love you just as much as we would if you were actually Ali and Ash’s kid. Which you and I both know that you really are their kid, blood or not.” Damn, he’s really trying to make me cry. “Y/N!” I hear from the crowd, and it’s no surprise who’s pushing through the group to give me a hug- Ali and Kyle’s mom. “I have missed you so so much. How are you liking Orlando? How’s Luna? Ali tells us that your house isn’t too far from theirs, so they get to see you all the time.” I laugh and answer all of her questions as Ali walks over, “Okay, okay mom. I know you missed Y/N, but you’re gonna suffocate her. So, please let my kid go.” Ol’ Debbers lets me go with a laugh and a small apology as Ali pulls me over to stand with Ash, who throws her arm around my shoulders as we listen to both families talk about where they’re going to take us to eat.

Alex’s POV

As happy as I was to finally see my family after so long, I couldn’t help but feel like I was keeping something from them. I mean, yeah I am. But is now the right time to tell them? “Alex,” my mom says, pulling me out of my thoughts, “Are you okay? You look a little out of it.” Of course, my mom would notice that my mind was elsewhere. Elsewhere would be on my girlfriend. “Yeah, sorry mom. I’m okay,” I say with a smile while I held my niece, Liv. She nods her head and continues to talk to Jeni and Jeri. As they talk, I look around the room trying to find Y/N. When I finally find her, she’s being hugged by Ash’s mom while laughing at Kyle. I was so worried that she’d feel left out today, but when I see her interacting with Ali and Ash’s families my heart swells and I can feel the smile forming on my face. She has a family to call her own, and I was so happy about that.

“So, Alex,” I hear my mom say as I turn around to face her, “Do you want to tell me who’s been making you so happy lately? Don’t think I haven’t noticed, especially since you’re practically glowing right now.” Evidently, my face wasn’t great at hiding things from my family. Fucking great. Here goes nothing. “Can’t get anything past you, can I mom?” I laugh as I glance over at Y/N, “There’s actually someone I want you to meet.” I hand Liv over to Jeni before excusing myself from my family. I walk over toward the group of Harris and Krieger’s and wrap my arms around my girlfriend’s waist. She turned in my arms with a confused look before she relaxes when she sees it’s me, “Hey, Al. What’s up? Is there something wrong?” I shake my head with a smile as I try to work up the nerve to ask my question. “Do you possibly want to meet my family? Like right now?” I ask with a soft smile. It takes her a moment to think everything through before she gives me a bright smile as she nods her head. Thank god. I release the breath I didn’t realize I was holding in and give her an even brighter smile as I intertwine our fingers, leading her towards my family.

“Hey, guys,” I start with a shaky voice, “I want you to meet my girlfriend, Y/N. We’ve been dating for a little over a month now.” We both stand there waiting for their response, Y/N squeezes my hand for support and comfort. After a few moments, my parent’s faces light up with happiness and my sisters start jumping up and down with excitement. My mom pulls Y/N in for a hug and says, “It’s so great to meet the one who makes my daughter so happy. Thank you so much. She really needed someone and I’m so glad she found you.” The rest of my family hugs my girlfriend and say nice things to her before she comes back to stand next to me, intertwining our fingers again. I can’t help but smile at how happy she looked while she’s caught in a conversation with my sisters and when she makes my niece laugh. She looked so beautiful in this moment, I always want to make her this happy because she deserved it. “Y/N!” we hear Ali yell from behind us a few moments later, “Come on! We’re going to eat!” She looks at my family apologetically, “I’m sorry, I have to go eat with my family. It was great to meet all of you, hopefully we can talk again soon.” They accept her apology and she turns to me, pulling me in for a hug. “I love you, babe. I’ll see you later,” she whispers in my ear before kissing my cheek and leaving to catch up with Krashlyn. As I watch her walk away my mom asks, “She makes you really happy doesn’t she, Alex?” I turn my attention back to my family with a big smile plastered across my face, “Yeah, mom. She really does. We love each other, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Y/N POV

The lunch with my family was very eventful and saying that is a hell of an understatement. I was sitting in between my moms and Uncle Kyle was sitting across from me, laughing at something Ol’ Debbers said. “Raise your glasses, everyone,” Kenny K says from the end of the table, “Here’s to the reigning World Cup Champions. We’re all so proud of you three, and we can’t wait to see you hold up another trophy. I love you three beautiful, strong women more than I can put into words. Go kick some ass.” This only causes everyone to laugh loudly because we rarely heard him curse. “We love you too, Dad,” Ali says after she finished laughing. Afterwards, we all fall into our own conversations while we continued to enjoy our food and each other's company. “So,” Ash says to me while nudging my arm, “You met the girlfriend’s family. How’d that go, kiddo?” The question catches Ali and Kyle’s attention. “Ooooo, yes. Tell us how that went,” Uncle Kyle says eagerly, “By the way, thanks for telling me that you’re dating Alex Morgan. Not like I’m your ‘uncle’ or anything.” I roll my eyes at him with a smirk. “Shut up, Kyle,” Ali says while slapping his arm, “She was going to tell you. There’s a lot of things she has to handle first since this isn’t public information yet. Now, let the woman speak.” I let out a small laugh as I feel all three of them stare at me, waiting for my answer. “Yes, I met her family,” I start with a small smile, “It went pretty good. I was nervous at first but after seeing how happy her family was I just kind of relaxed. I was happy knowing that they accepted our relationship, I’m not used to that kind of reaction. So yeah, it went really good.” When I finished, I gained a collective ‘aww’ from the three of them as Ash and Ali give me side hugs. We continue with small conversations as we finished our meal.

When we got back to the hotel an hour later, I get a text from Sonny saying that everyone was out at the pool and that we should go. It doesn’t take much convincing before my moms agree and we’re all changed into our swimsuits and we’re out at the pool with the team. Ali and Ash leave me to talk to Pinoe while I look around for Alex. It doesn’t take too long for me to find her lounging with Allie and Kelley by the pool. I walk up behind her, noticing that she didn’t see me, and I wrap my arms around her shoulders causing her to jump a little. I laugh along with Allie and Kelley before giving her a quick kiss. “Hey, babe,” I say when I pull away from our kiss. “Hey, baby,” she says with a grin as I sit down next to her, “I missed you. Did you have fun with everyone?” I nod my head with a smirk while I move the hair out of her face. I sit back in the chair and listened to the conversation Allie and Kelley were having with Christen and Tobin as Alex leaned into me, interlacing our fingers. I pull her closer to me, wrapping my arm around her waist, and kiss her softly on the shoulder before resting my chin on the same shoulder. I’m lost in my thoughts of how happy I was in this moment, and honestly I didn’t want to be taken out of them for the time being.

“Y/N! Kelley!” Sonnett yells from the pool a few moments later, “Come on! Get in the pool with us!” Lindsey and Sammy join her in yelling for us to get in the pool with them. I groan and try to wave them off because I wanted to spend time with Alex since I really didn’t get to earlier. Kelley laughs as she gets up, waiting for me to join her and my idiot best friends. “You should go,” Alex whispers to me, “Go have fun with your friends. We can hangout later, baby.” I pout at her before I sigh and nod my head as I go to stand up from the chair to slip off my shorts. “Wait,” Alex says while grabbing my hand as I was walking towards my pestering best friends, “I love you, Y/N.” I give her a soft smile before leaning down to kiss her. “I love you more, Al,” I say after I pull away with a wink as I walk with Kelley towards the pool after I tossed my tank top at her. “Not possible!” I hear her yell from behind us which only causes me to give her a goofy smile right before Kelley pushes me into the pool. Sonny, who begged us to come get in the pool with them, is dancing to the music she put on from the side of the pool while Lindsey and Sammy were sharing a float. “Sonny,” I say to my dancing best friend, “Are you actually going to get in the pool? If not, I was pretty comfortable over there with my girlfriend.” Sonny lets out a laugh and mocks me for a moment before jumping into the pool right next to me, splashing me with water. We spend the rest of the afternoon singing along to Sonny’s playlist and lounging around, enjoying our off day before everything started to get hectic with the tournament.

Alex POV

“So, your family liked Y/N?” Allie asked as we walked back up to our rooms. “They actually loved her,” I say with a smile, “They asked all about her while we were at lunch, and she made Liv laugh uncontrollably when we were in the lobby. You should’ve seen how happy she was, Allie. It was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” “Awww,” Allie says with a bright smile, “Alex is in love. I support this one hundred percent.” “I second that,” Kelley says from in front of us, “Actually, it’s more like one hundred and one percent from me. Sorry to beat your support, Allie. I have to support my best friends being in love the most.” That causes me to laugh while Allie chases her down the hallway into their room, claiming that she supports my relationship more than Kelley ever could. I’m best friends with children, I swear. Surprisingly, they weren’t the only ones acting like children in the hallway.

Coming from the other end of the hallway I can hear laughing and people running. When they finally come into view from around the corner, I see Sonnett on Lindsey’s back being chased by Sam with my girlfriend perched on her back. Jesus, Jill is going to kill them if she walks out of her room to see this. “Go, Linessi!” Sonnett yells through her laughter, “They’re catching up!” Right after she said that Lindsey realizes that I’m watching the chaos from the other end of the hallway. She immediately stops in her tracks, causing Sam to run into her and Sonnett. “What the hell, Linds?” Y/N says while she gets off Sam’s back, “Why’d you st-” She realizes that they aren’t alone in the hall anymore when she sees me glaring at them. I can only hold my glare for a few seconds before I smirk at the four shocked idiots in front of me. “Alright, children,” I say while walking towards them, “Go get ready for dinner before Jill catches you being childish in the hallway and makes you run your asses off tomorrow at training.” Lindsey, Sonnett, and Sam rush past me and into their rooms while my girlfriend stands in front of me with an apologetic smile. “Hey, Al,” she says while rubbing the back of her neck. “Done acting like a child?” I ask with a smirk. She nods her head with a goofy laugh. Like I‘ve said before, I’m dating a child.

When we get back in our room, Y/N goes into the bathroom to change while I sprawled out on the bed. “Hey, babe,” she calls from the bathroom. “Yeah?” I answer. “How long do we have until we have to be downstairs for dinner?” she asks. I looked at my phone to see what time it was before answering, “Uhh, it’s 6:00 now. So, like an hour. Why do you ask?” She didn’t answer right away which left me a little confused. “Baby? Did you hear me?” I ask while I sit up in the bed. She came out of the bathroom a few seconds later, still in her tank top and shorts, with a mischievous grin plastered across her face. It was hot, to be honest. “Why do you have that grin on your face right now?” I asked with a laugh. She didn’t answer, just shrugged her shoulders. A moment later she ran over to the bed, tackling me back down onto the mattress. I started giggling while she peppered my face with kisses. “I was just wondering because I was hoping to spend some time with you,” Y/N said while she smiled down at me, “I missed you today, babe.” “I missed you too, baby,” I answered with a bright smile. I leaned up to kiss her while placing my hand on the back of her neck. After we kissed for what seemed like forever, Y/N laid down next to me on the bed and intertwined our fingers. “So,” I start while she rubbed her thumb across my knuckles, “I know I asked you this earlier, but did you have a good time with Ali and Ash’s families? I was a little worried about you today since it was a family day. But I was happy to see you with them in the lobby.” She nodded her head while saying, “I really did. It’s funny actually. This morning, while everyone was with their families, I felt so out of place. Because my real family isn’t here…” She paused for a moment. She looked like she was getting a little upset about the whole thing, so I moved the hair out of her face and kissed her forehead softly to give her some comfort. She gives me a soft smile as she continued, “But then I realized, with some help from Kyle, that I do have a family. It’s Ali and Ash and their families. It’s you. It’s the team. That’s my family. So, with that in mind, today was a pretty good day.”

She had a bright smile across her face when she finished and her eyes were lit up with happiness. I was glad because like I’ve said before, I always want her to be this happy. After a moment of being stuck in a trace caused by Y/N’s eyes, she said, “Did you have a good time with your family? I felt bad having to leave right after meeting them.” I let out a small sigh while I moved to lay on top of her. “Yeah, I did,” I say while I rested my chin on her chest, “Don’t feel bad for leaving though, baby. You evidently made a great impression on them.” She gave me a puzzled look before I continued, “In that short amount of time that they got to talk to you, they fell in love with you. Which I don’t blame them. They asked all about you while we were at lunch, especially my mom. She’s really happy that I found you and that I’m so happy being with you.” She was smiling at this point while she ran her fingers through my hair. “Well, I’m happy to hear that, babe,” she said, “I want to spend more time with them soon. I really enjoyed getting to meet them and talking to them, especially Liv.” I smiled softly at the mention of my niece, remembering how Y/N was with her earlier. “I’m sure they’d love that,” I say, the smile not leaving my face, “I know Liv would love to see you again. You were so good with her today, baby. She really lit up when you were talking to her, I've never seen her laugh like that before. She doesn’t act like that normally around new people. It’s adorable seeing you interact with kids, Y/N. You’re going to be a great mom someday.” That causes her to laugh loudly before saying, “It’s a little early to be talking about that, babe. I’ve always been good with kids. My sisters have kids and they love me almost as much as I love them. It kinda sucks that I don’t get to be around them. Oh well, something to look forward to in the far future I guess.” She has a small sad look on her face while she continued to stroke my hair. I leaned up and gave her a kiss before saying, “I love you so much, baby.” She moved a stray hair out of my face to behind my ear as she said, with a smile, “I love you more, babe. And I always will. Now, go get changed for dinner so we can spend more time together before we have to go downstairs.” I groaned at her while I got up from the bed and walked towards the bathroom.

A few moments later, after I decided to shower, I realized that I had forgotten the clothes I was going to change into. I quickly wrapped myself up in a towel and stepped into our room, walking towards my suitcase. “And you say I’m the tease,” I hear Y/N say from the bed with a laugh. “You are a tease,” I say with a smirk while grabbing my clothes, “This was unintentional... Stop looking at me like that!” She had an eager look across her face as she got up from the bed and walked towards me. “We don’t have time for this,” I say as she placed her hands on my shoulders, causing goosebumps to travel down my skin. She gently started kissing my neck which caused me to let out a small moan. While she made her way down my neck I say, “Wait, stop. We really can’t do this right now.” She looked at me with sad eyes as she stepped back from me, “Oh, okay...” “No, no,” I say quickly, “I’m not saying I don’t want to, because believe me I do. One hundred and ten percent. I just don’t want to rush it because we have to be down at dinner in like 45 minutes. It’s just not the right time right now, okay?” She nodded her head while I leaned up and kissed her nose before going back into the bathroom. “You’re still a tease though,” I heard her say through the bathroom door, causing me to laugh. She talked to me through the bathroom door during my shower and while I got dressed for tonight. When I came out of the bathroom, I see that she had changed her clothes for dinner. She was wearing a plain black v-neck with some khakis and a pair of her Vans. It was simple but it still managed to get me all hot and bothered. “Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” she says with a laugh while putting on her necklaces as she looked at me in the mirror. I blushed, out of reaction to getting caught staring, and at the sight of her in the mirror, “Can you blame me for staring? My girlfriend’s hot.” She laughed as she turned around to face me, “I’m sorry but have you seen yourself? You look beautiful, Al. I’ll be happy if I can come anywhere close to how good you look.” My blushing returned as I smiled at her. She always knew what to say. Y/N finished fixing her hair and then walked up to me, pulling me in for a kiss. “Okay, let's go,” she said when she pulls away, “I left my watch in Ash’s room, so we have to make a stop before we head downstairs.”

While we walked down the hallway, we see Ash come out of her room to meet Ali. “Hey, mom,” Y/N says while jogging down the hallway to meet them. “Damnnnnn,” Ash says when she sees my girlfriend coming down the hall, “You look fucking good, kiddo. It’s simple but I fucking love it. Ali, look at our kid.” Ali laughed while agreeing with Ash. “Thanks, moms,” Y/N says when we stopped in the hallway while she rubbed the back of her neck, “I actually need my watch. Ash, I left it in your room earlier when we changed for the pool.” “Oh, yeah. I was trying to figure out who that belonged to,” Ash said while she pulled out her room key, “Come on. I put it with the rest of my jewelry.” When they go into the room, I’m left in the hallway with Ali. “So,” Ali says a moment later, “Did your family like Y/N?” “Yeah, they really did,” I answer with a bright smile. “Okay, that’s good to hear,” she says with a relief. “Were you two worried they wouldn’t?” I asked with a concerned look. She shook her head before saying, “Oh, no. It’s not that. We figured they would love her, everyone does. She just hasn’t had the best track record with families when she gets in a relationship. We were just a little worried about that.” I stood there for a moment and processed what Ali said. I didn’t know that Y/N had trouble in the past with other families, other than her own. Well now I’m glad my family loves her, otherwise I don’t know what would’ve happened. “You don’t have anything to worry about, Ali,” I say, “My family loves her just as much as I do. I would never put her in a situation where she’d end up hurt. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, I promise.” Ali smiles as she pulled me in for a hug, “Thank you, Alex. She really does need you as much as she needs us, even if she won’t admit it. I may not have supported this fully at the beginning, but now I see how much you love each other and I couldn’t be happier for the both of you.” We heard the door open as we pulled away from our hug, just to see Y/N laughing at something Ash said. “Thanks, Ali,” I whisper to her as they motioned for us to follow them to dinner.

Y/N POV

Somehow Jill managed to get a private area of the restaurant blocked off just for us and our families for our dinner. I’m at a table with Ali, Ash, Kelley, Allie, and Alex. And just like the first night of training all those weeks ago, I’m sitting in between Alex and Ali. Only this time, it was less stressful since everyone knew about our relationship. As we all ordered our food and drinks, Jill stood up and gave a small speech, “I want to thank everyone here today for coming and supporting our girls. The road here hasn’t been easy, but we all know what our goal is. Another World Cup win. With that being said, and I’m sure Dawn can agree with me here. Ladies, keep the drinking to a minimum. We have training bright and early in the morning, and I don’t want any excuses about a hangover. Yes, I’m looking at you, O’Hara.” That causes the room to erupt with laughter, especially from Kelley. “Don’t worry, Jill,” Kelley says with a sly grin while holding her glass up, “Only water for me tonight.” Jill laughs and gives her a thumbs-up before taking her seat.

During dinner, I notice that Ash and Allie are posting stuff to their Instagram stories, like always. I was holding Alex’s hand the whole time we were in the restaurant until Ash turned the camera towards me. “Wait, Ash,” I say quickly before she started recording. I kissed Alex’s hand before letting it go, causing her to give me a sad look before she realized why I let her hand go. “Are you ready now, kiddo?” Ash says with a laugh, “Wait, let's add some others to this… Sonnett, Horan, Mewis! Come over here for a minute.” Ugh, what is she doing? When my idiot best friends come over to our table, Lindsey pulled my chair out so she could sit in my lap. Jesus, here we go. Ash started recording and said, “What’s up, guys? I’m at dinner with my best friends, my wife, and my kid of course.” She turned the camera to face me and my friends, and we all waved at the camera. “Hey, guys,” we all say while Sammy and Sonny hugged me and Lindsey. “See guys!” Sonny says with a grin, “Y/N does love us! We’re the three best best friends she could ever have!” Jesus, she’s obviously been drinking. After a few more videos for Ash and Allie’s stories, Lindsey gives me a hug and kisses my cheek quickly before following Sonny and Sammy back to their table. “We love you, Y/N!” they yell when they get back to their table. My best friends are idiots, literally. I smile at them and tell them I love them too before turning back to my food. As we all continued with our small conversations, I notice that Alex was being pretty quiet. “You okay?” I whisper to her, but she wouldn’t look at me, “Alex, what’s wrong?” When she finally made eye contact with me, her eyes are a dark blue. Almost black. She leaned in and kissed my cheek before whispering in my ear, “Mine.” That one word got me extremely flustered and confused while she took my hand in hers.

The rest of dinner went the same: small conversations, and videos for Instagram. Alex hasn’t really talked to me since she whispered ‘mine’ in my ear, but she wouldn’t let go of my hand. She’s a lot more possessive than I thought, it’s kinda hot but then again I’m a little worried about what she could be thinking. When we all finished eating, I followed Ali and Ash to the table where our family was after Alex let my hand go with a promise that I’d come see her at her family’s table shortly. Ol’ Debbers got my attention first whenever we got to the table, “Are you excited for the first match, Y/N?” I let out a small laugh as I answered, “Yeah I really am, Debbers. I’m just ready to get this started.” She laughed as she pulled me in for a quick hug. “Are things okay with Alex?” she asked softly after she pulled away, “Things looked a little tense during dinner, and she’s giving you a glare right now.” After she said that I looked over my shoulder and confirmed that Alex was glaring at me for some reason. “Everything’s fine, Debbers,” I say with a soft sigh, “Just a misunderstanding, I think.” She nodded her head and told me she loved me before I went to hug Uncle Kyle. “I’ll make this quick since Alex doesn’t look too happy with you right now,” he says whenever I pulled away from the hug, “Good luck in your match, Y/N. I love you so much, kid.” I grinned at him and say, “Thanks, Uncle Kyle. I expect to hear your cheers over everyone else’s. I love you, too.” He gives me a wink and one last hug before I walked over to Alex’s family.

“Y/N!” I hear Alex’s mom yell whenever I got closer to the table. She got up from her seat and gave me a tight hug, which I returned, “It’s so great to see you again. I’m sure Alex told you that we asked all about you at our lunch earlier. I hope you don’t mind, we just wanted to learn about the girl who’s made Alex so happy.” I smiled at her and the rest of my girlfriend’s family, even at Alex who still had a small glare while she looked at me. “I don’t mind at all,” I say, “I’m sure there are a lot of things you could tell me about her. She makes me really happy, too.” That causes Alex’s glare to vanish as she gives me a soft smile. Her mom and sisters let out a collective ‘aww’ as I go stand next to Alex. “Hey…” I whisper to her. She let out a small sigh as she took my hand in hers, much gentler this time, and whispered, “Hi, baby.” Okay, I guess we’re fine now? After a few moments of hearing a few stories about Alex, Jeni catches my attention, “Y/N, someone is very excited to see you again. Here you go.” She lifts up a smiling Liv to me, who’s reaching out for me to hold her. I let go of Alex’s hand and hold Liv, who starts playing with the chains around my neck. “Hey, Liv,” I say with a smile, “Do you like my necklaces? Yeah? Me, too.” I talked to her for a few more moments while rocking her back and forth. She started talking to me in baby-talk which of course I went along with, “Really? Oh, really? Please, tell me all about it.” I walked around the table as she continued talking. After a moment she looked up at me and smiled, “Hey, that’s a pretty smile. Hmm, let’s see if we can get that pretty laugh to come out.” I started tickling her, which caused her to laugh hysterically. I laughed along with her while I felt everyone’s eyes on me. I glanced over at Alex just to see her laughing with everyone else, her eyes never leaving me. When Liv finally stopped laughing she gave me a pretty big hug for a baby, which I returned, causing everyone to let out another collective ‘aww’. “You’re really good with kids, Y/N,” Jeni says as I hand Liv back to her, “And Liv just adores you. Looks like she might have a new favorite soccer player, huh Al?” That caused the whole family to laugh, even Liv, as I walked over to Alex. “Kids just like me I guess,” I say while Alex intertwined our fingers again, “I have a few nieces and nephews that absolutely love me. I adore Liv, she’s adorable and quite the talker. But, I couldn’t take Alex’s place as her favorite.” Alex hits my shoulder before saying, “If anyone’s going to take my place as her favorite soccer player, it’s going to be you. She’s only known you one day, and she absolutely loves you.” I looked at her, seeing nothing but an adoring, loving gaze coming from her. “Fine,” I say with a smirk, “I’m Liv’s favorite soccer player, fair and square.” The group laughed once again before telling us goodnight and that they would see us at the match in two days.

When we got back to our room, Alex was still a little too quiet for comfort. “So,” I say when she came out of the bathroom, wearing my clothes again, “Do you want to talk about what happened at dinner? Why you’ve been so quiet?” She let out a long sigh while she put her hair up in a bun, “Just a lot on my mind, I guess.” “Like what?” I ask while I sit down on the bed. She thinks for a moment before running her hand over her face. “Were you jealous or something?” I ask after she doesn’t say anything. She turns and faces me with an angry glare, “First off, I don’t get jealous.” “Okay, okay,” I say while I lift my hands up in defense, “I just asked a question. Do you want to tell me what’s wrong then?” The anger that was covering her face has softened while she looked at me. “I don’t know,” she says a few seconds later, “You letting go of my hand put me in a weird mood, I guess. I always want to be close to you, but then you let go of my hand and then Lindsey sat in your lap and…” She started rambling while she paced around the room. Okay, she’s not jealous. Maybe just a little hurt and confused I guess. I stood up from the bed and grabbed her shoulders to get her to stop walking and to look at me. “Alex,” I say softly, “You know why I let go of your hand, I didn’t want to but I had to just for a minute. If it were up to me, I’d hold your hand all day, every day. And someday, that’s going to change, okay?” She smiled at me after I finished and placed her hands on my waist. “I know,” she says while she closes her eyes, “Someday… I love you so much, you know that right?” I kissed her forehead, causing her to smile, before saying, “Yes, I do know that. I love you more, babe. And I always will.” She looked up at me with a bright smile before kissing me softly. I pulled her in closer, making the kiss much deeper. After a moment, air is needed. We rest our foreheads together while we catch our breath. “Do you want to watch a movie?” she asked after a few seconds. “Yeah, I do,” I say with a smile, “Let me change real quick.”

After I changed into my pajamas, I got into bed next to Alex while she put on a movie. “So,” she says while intertwining our fingers, “You were really great with Liv again tonight. She really loves you.” I smiled softly at her before saying, “Yeah, she’s super adorable. I love her, too. And I saw the way you were looking at me while I was talking to her. You looked really happy, babe.” Alex smiled softly while she nodded her head at me. “You know who would make a really great mom?” I asked. “Besides you? I don’t know, who?” she answered. I moved a stray hair out of her face to behind her ear before lifting her chin to meet my gaze as I said, “You.” She let out a small laugh before looking down at our hands. “I don’t know,” she said softly, “I never really thought about it before. Soccer has taken up my whole life. I guess I’ve just been waiting for the right person to come along and show me that there’s more than just soccer…” I lifted her chin again and said, “You’d be a great mom, Alex. I know this is really soon to talk about, but you found me. I’ll show you things outside of soccer if you’ll let me…” She looked at me with tears forming in her eyes. She pulled me in for a kiss as a tear fell to her cheek. “I love you, babe,” I say after we pulled away as I wiped the tears from her cheeks, “I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.” She was still crying but it was out of joy as she said, “I love you so much more, baby. I’ll never leave you, no matter what.” She looked like she just found the one thing she’s searched her whole life for…

Me.

To Be Continued

#alex morgan #alex morgan x reader #alex morgan imagine #alex morgan imagines #ali krieger #ashlyn harris #krashlyn #kelley o'hara #allie long #emily sonnett #lindsey horan #sam mewis #uswnt #uswnt imagines #nwsl #nwsl imagines #woso #woso imagine #You’re the One My Heart Wants

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cozywritings · 4 years

Text

Stitches: ch3 Painkiller

It’s been 5 days since the fashion dinner. 5 days since you first kissed Shawn. And 5 days since you’ve seen him. It’s not like he was avoiding you, though, he’d sent you a text that next morning telling you that he had to go help some friends, who lived off campus, with moving in to their apartment.

It was completely understandable, but you wanted more of his intoxicating kisses, and more of Shawn in general. Something about him made you feel giddy, but extremely comfortable like you’d known him forever, but there was still excitment. Maybe it was the way he looked when you first meet him and he had that warm smile and soft hoodie, or the way he looked so peaceful when he was sleeping on top of you that night. Maybe it was the way he accepted the dinner invite and made you feel like the only girl in the room. You had to stop yourself there before you got too distracted, you needed to focus on pre-reading. That was, until your phone went off.

McDreamy: Hey, there’s a pizza night in the student center tonight since classes start tomorrow. Be my date?

You sent a quick “Of course”, going back to pre-reading on your Intro to Business chapters. You knew that class was going to kick your ass, you qeren’t good with numbers, but it was a requirement for you degree, so there wasn’t really a choice when it came to the class.

Luckily, Kyle has been letting you use his notes, so you’ve got a good idea of what Dr. Ledger was expecting. “It’s a lot of power points and outside reading. And he talks really fast, so you might wanna record the lectures.” Kyle warned you when he dropped off the notebook. “But as long as you do well on the exams you’ll be fine.” You remembered his words, reminding yourself that you could do this.

About three hours later, you had successfully copied the first 4 chapters of notes and done your reading. That’s when there was a knock on your door.

You opened it to see Mike, one of the other pre-med students you met that first night. “Hey.” He greeted, rubbing his arm nervously. “I was wondering if you’d seen Shawn lately. I was going to ask if he could help me with getting ready for my biology class, but I can’t seem to find him. You two seemed really close so I figured you’d know where to find him.” Mike was a first year, and he was extremely nervous about his intro classes.

“He’s been helping some friends off campus move into their apartment the past few days, but I can text him and see if he can help you. I’m sure he’d be more than happy to help.” You saw him relax, glad to know that he would be getting help.

To: McDreamy: Mike is here looking for you, he’s hoping you’d help him prepare for Bio. He seems pretty nervous.

McDreamy: Tell him that I’ll be back in an hour, but I’ve got a date tonight 😏 so I can’t help him for a long time.

You looked back up to see Mike shuffling his feet outside your door “He said if you could wait about an hour he can help for a while. But we have a date tonight.” Your cheeks heating up at the last part.

“Oh. I didn’t know you two were together.” He smiled at you, he was a good kid. You’d only talked to him briefly at the movie night, but he was really nervous about his classes. His parents are both sergeons, so he wants to make them proud.

“It’s not an official thing. We just went on one date, he was my date to the fashion department dinner a few days ago.” You smiled, playing with your fingers.

“But you like him a lot. I can tell. You two would make a hot couple.” His last statement threw you off and him too. “I- I just mean you’re both really attractive people and…. I’m gonna stop talking now. I’ll come back in about an hour to meet with Shawn then, bye.” He gave an awkward wave and then he was gone.

At around 5:00, Shawn was knocking on your door. “Can I come in?” He asked, through the door. You shouted a “yeah.” And listened as he entered. You were sitting at your desk, finalizing your notes for sociology. “Everything go good with Mike?”

“Yeah, he’s a good kid. Just first year jitters. You ready to go honey?” Your eyes shot up at the pet name, but you didn’t say anything. It sounded too nice to make him take it back.

As you stood up, you brushed out your jeans, that were covered in eraser shavings. “I like the shirt.” He said, pointing to the Elvis Presley shirt that your dad gave you as a going away gift. It was a little too big, but when you tucked it in or knotted it to the side, it was super cute.

“Oh, thanks. I live in an Elvis household.” You laughed, pulling your hair back into a low ponytail. Shawn held out this hand for you and you took it, grabbing your keys and making your way to the student center.

Arriving at the pizza party, to realised how much people really liked to interact here. There were so many students in the student building that the stairs were filled. It was a party school, efter all, you just weren’t ready for something this big on campus.

“Shawn!” Someone yelled, walking up and giving him a hug. “Hey man, thanks again for all the help this week. We couldn’t have done it without you.” You assumed that was Brian, or the roommate.

He just smiled, “It was no problem, besides. You did feed me for the week.” The two boys laughed until the one turned to look at you

“And you must be the reason he left us so early. I’m Brian, by the way.” He said, holding out his hand and confirming your suspitions. He seemed nice, as you shook his hand and took the beaded necklace he handed to you.

“Brian. This is my new hallway neighbor and…” he leaned into his ear and whispered something you couldn’t hear.

You watched Brian laugh and looked over at you with a wink. “I’m sorry, what was that?” You asked, confused and a little cocky.

“Oh nothing.” Shawn reassured you with a hand on your lower back, pressing a kiss to your temple.

“He called you his future girlfriend!” Brown yelled, earning a slap to the back of his head. “Aw come on Shawn. Don’t be a wuss.” you laughed, catching another set of beads that was tossed off the top of the staircase.

The rest of the evening was fun. You met a ton of people, played in a bean bag toss and won against an engineering student named Jordan, and had more fun than you’d ever thought. Back home, you usuallu stayed home and didn’t really get out much. Howerver, tonight Shawn was right there with you, cheering you on, introducing you to his friends, and apparently making sure that no one tried to steal you from him.

“Shawn,sweetie I’m really tired and I have a 9:00 am class in the morning. I think I’m gonna head back to the dorm.” You told him, noticing it was nearing midnight.

He nodded, tossing an empty water bottle into the recycling can. “Do you want me to walk with you? It’s dark out and you’re way too cute to be walking alone.” You blushed and felt someone come up behind you, and you turned to see Emily and Mike.

“Actually, we were headed back too. She can walk with us.” She said, placing a hand on your arm. She smiled at you, offering you a solo cup that had some gummy bears in it from the snack table.

You looked up to Shawn, who now seemed a lot more comfortable that you wouldn’t be alone. “Okay honey. I had fun.” He said, staring at your lips, begging for a kiss. So you nodded, leaning up on your tiptoes for a quick kiss. “Keep her safe.” He laughed at the other two dorm mates, who both had shocked looks on their faces. They obviously we’re prepared for that.

“You didn’t tell me you two were a thing!!” Emily yelled when you were far enough from the building that no one would hear her outburst. You laughed, shushing her.

“Yes I did! After the dinner. Either way, it’s very new. At the dinner we ended up kissing and he was so good looking and nice and sweet” You stated, filling in Mike on what you’d already told Emily a few days prior “ And he’s so not what I’m used to and-” you let out a sigh at the thought of Shawn.

That’s when both of them looked at you “Well, what are you used to?” Mike asked, his voice extremely cautious. You looked down at your feet, not sure how to phrase the next story that you were going to tell. Mentally you kicked yourslef for saying something, you didn’t want to bring this up, thiswas your chance to start over.

“My last ex. Actually all of them, even though there’s only been three. They were all pretty shitty, with sexual stuff. I’ll tell you guys more later, I’m not really comfortable talking about it. Anyways, it just really messed me up, and I’ve even been in therapy for it. Mainly it’s my most recent ex that caused it.” They looked at you, Emily almost tearing up. “I don’t want to get into details but I-“

Mike placed a hand on your shoulder. “You don’t have to. But from what I can tell about Shawn. He wouldn’t do that to you.” You looked up, about to thank him, when your heart dropped. Across from the courtyard from you, was the devil himself. He was leaned against the technology building, laughing at something someone had said, a cigarette to his lips. “Mike. Em. Keep walking. Just, please let’s go. I want to get back to the dorm.” The shake in your voice prompted them to walk faster, Emily holding your hand tightly while Mike looked around for what could’ve set you off.

When you got to your door, you started crying. “Oh my god. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t my place to ask. I’m sure that was a lot for you to bring up” Mike babbled, rubbing your back while Emily got your door open and helped you inside and onto your bed.

Through choked sobs and your attempted breathing exercises, you got out a “not your fault.” The room was spinning at you tried to regain control of your breathing and heart rate. “Mike. She’s having a panic attack. I want you to go get some water and call Shawn, okay?” Emily barked, grabbing your hand and looking at you. “Hey there, listen to me. You’re okay. Have you had these before?” You nodded. “Do you have any pills for them?” You shook your head. “Not anymore.” you gasped, wishing you’d refilled your perscription before you left home.

Mike barreled through the door with a water bottle. “Shawn’s on his way. Is she okay? What can I do? This is all my fault.” You reached out, grabbing Mike’s hand and shaking your head. “She said it’s not your fault Mikey. She’s had them before, but she’s out of her meds. This isn’t your fault.” He seemed to relax after that.

He looked at you apologetically, you could see he felt bad, but you still weren’t able to speak to tell him this wasn’t your fault. “I’m gonna go see if Shawn is here.” He said, looking down at his phone.

After he’d left, Emily turned to you. “Without causing an after shock. Can you tell me what happened?” You took a very shaky deep breath, your body finally calming down enough to speak.

“It wasn’t Mikey’s fault. I looked over and my ex was actually there. The one I was talking about earlier? I didn’t know he was attending this school too. It was just a shock, like a sucker punch to the gut.” She nodded, pressing a kiss to your hand before walking out to let you decompress on silence.

Just as you were about to close your eyes, your body drained of all energy, the door opened again and you noticed a head of curls walking towards you. “Hey. Are you okay? I knew I should’ve walked you back.” His hands were resting on either side of your body like a shield while you laid on your bed. He looked at you before placing a hand on your cheek and rubbing gently with his thumb.

“I’m okay now. I- I saw my ex and it wasn’t pretty. I’ll tell you about it later. For when we are a little more established” Your eyes drooping in exhaustion.

“Mike and Em already told me what they knew. I promise I’ll keep you safe baby. Nothing is going to happen to you okay? Not as long as I’m around. Can I get you something? Do you need more water or I could start a shower for you.” You shook your head, placing your hand on his cheek.

He instantly stopped talking and looked at you, waiting for you to tell him what you needed. “Look at you, all protective and shit. It’s cute.” You smiled and he kissed the side of your palm. “But no I don’t need anything. Just want to get some sleep and start fresh tomorrow.”

He smiled, tilting his head slightly to kiss the entirety of your palm again. “Remember that I’m just across the hall, okay? Do you want me to stay a few more minutes to check on you? I want to make sure you’ve calmed down enough to fully rest.” You really just wanted to sleep, but the look on his face was begging you to let him stay. Maybe it was the doctor in him, or maybe he was just this passionate.

“I’d really like that. You can turn on the tv if you’d like. I have a fire stick, pick whatever you want. I just want to decompress.” He laughed softly, turning it on and clicking on some cooking show.

“How about you put on something more comfy and I go talk to the nurses outside. They are really worried and Want to make sure you’re okay before they go to bed” You let out a breathy laugh, getting up and walking towards your dresser.

“Tell them thank you, for me.” He nodded, walking over to place a kiss to your head.

Whispering softly he said, “Put on a sports bra, I’ve got a gift for you.” He smiled before walking out to talk to Mike and Emily who were no doubt a mess in the hallway.

Now dressed in your Calvin Klein sports bra and shorts, you were comfy in bed. Shawn walked in with a navy blue shirt in his hand and gave it to you. “I noticed you like to bury your face in my nack, and I know that calming scents help the body stay at ease. So I thought you’d like this.” You smiled, slipping the shirt over your head and snuggling into the sheets.

Shawn was now laying next to you, keeping a hand on yours to help keep you calm. It gave you a sense of safety, knowing that he was so gentle. “Thank you for making sure I was okay. I know you were having fun at the party.” He just kissed your head.

“It was time to come home, it was late. And don’t thank me, it’s my job. As a caretaker and hopefully a boyfriend.” You looked up at him, a tired smile on your face.

“Definitely as both.” You stated, nuzzling into his chest. Feeling safe for the first time in a long time.

He hummed happily, “Want me to stay tonight?” Too tired to answer you nodded, clinging to his body like he was a life support. “Then you’ve gotta let me get changed sweetheart.” You reluctantly pulled away, allowing him to get up and go to his own dorm room to change. But you couldn’t help the look he gave you before he shut the door. You could’ve swore you saw pure love him his eyes, and you’d only known him a week.

He returned five minutes later in some plaid pants and a wife beater. But the thing you couldn’t get past, was the fact that his pants were tucked into his socks. “Shawn?” He looked at you, nestling into bed with you, his head resting on your shoulder. “What the fuck is going on with your pants.”

#shawn mendes #shawn peter raul mendes #Shawn writing #shawn fluff #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn mendes writing #shawn mendes fic #college shawn #med student shawn #my fic #stitches

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pkg4mumtown · 5 years

Text

New Man

Summary: See Photo

Warnings: Swearing, fluff, and dumb stuff, female reader

A/N: Big thank you to @abigailredgrave for this request and for being super cool. I had a lot of fun with this and decided to be a bit silly with it. Despite what I've written, I don't hate the song or Ed Sheeran so don't get mad at me lol

When I left Kyle months ago, I expected to be more distraught over the break up. The truth was I was sick and tired of putting up with his bullshit. Still, you don’t stay with someone for six years and walk away entirely unscathed, but here I was. When I met him, he was still getting into the music industry and hadn’t yet been tainted by it. Within a few years, he had completely blown up and that’s when the problems started occurring. He started to frequently come home drunk and high after ridiculous parties, sometimes not even coming home at all. Rumors of him hooking up with random girls surfaced and I tried my best to believe that they were just that; rumors. Meanwhile, I was working at a coffee shop near our apartment and constantly getting hounded by media and fans. I was done. Absolutely done. He wasn’t the same man I fell for anymore, he was so full of himself and obsessed with his image that I felt like I didn’t even know him. So, I left. I packed all my shit, left Los Angeles, and moved to the opposite side of the country to New York.

I was able to snag a job at a coffee shop on the outskirts of downtown, thankful to not have to commute in that clusterfuck. That’s where I met John. He was an easy customer, always ordering the largest Americano we offered and every so often requesting extra shots in it. He visited so frequently that I was able to tell how many shots he required just by the weariness written on his face.

“Today looks like a ‘two extra shots’ kinda day, John,” I had greeted him.

“I can’t argue with that,” he sighed.

“The extra shots are on me today,” I spoke quickly, hoping he would miss it as I tapped on the computer screen.

“I can’t let you do that,” he protested.

“Oops,” I shrugged and sent the total to the card reader.

He chuckled and shook his head, swiping his card. He pursed his lips in thought as he waited for the machine to finish the transaction, “Well, how about I buy you dinner to pay you back?”

“John, two extra shots are worth less than two dollars. So, unless we’re going to McDonald’s, it’ll be a lot more than a repayment.”

“Is that a problem?”

I went silent as I deciphered his words, “Um, what?”

“If me asking you out to dinner is more than a repayment, is that a problem?” he clarified.

“Are you asking me out on a date?”

His face reddened in response, but he nodded, glancing down at his feet briefly. I bit my lip, writing my phone number on his coffee cup before making it.

The date went well because in a couple weeks we were absolutely smitten with one another. He was so genuine, kind, and an all-around sweetheart that I couldn’t help but fall for him. That nearly changed a week later during a trek at the park with Dog.

I took a picture of the three of us together, hoping to brag a little on my social media. I stared the photos I had taken, settling on one and showing it to him. A gentle smile spread across his face as he gazed at the photo with me, pressing a kiss against the side of my head.

“Can I post this, John?” I asked him, admiring the photo with a lovesick smile.

“Post it?” he asked, looking all kinds of lost.

“On Instagram,” I clarified.

“What-a-gram?” he asked slowly. If anything, he looked more lost than before.

After a thorough explanation of Instagram and a scarily quiet John, I waited for his answer nervously. He was older than me and only really used his phone to text or make calls, so I thought I understood his apprehensiveness.

“No,” was his only response.

“Can I ask why?”

“I’d prefer that you didn’t,” he glanced at my crestfallen face and sighed heavily. “But, it has to be said some time.”

I looked up at him questioningly.

“Look, the reason I can’t have my face plastered on the internet with you isn’t because I don’t want you to,” he ran a hand over his face. “It’s for your safety.”

“John…”

“Promise me, that you won’t hate me for what I’m about to tell you,” he pleaded.

“John, what’s going on?”

“Promise me.”

“Okay. I promise.”

“I—I’m an assassin, Y/N. I have a lot of enemies, some who wouldn’t hesitate to hurt you. I also just prefer to not risk the security of a future mission, so I’d like to have very few people know my face.”

I stared at him with my mouth slightly hung open, trying to process what he just told me. It was all so absurd that it felt like a joke, but his face held a deadly calm. I was certain I could tell when he was joking, and this was not one of those times. I felt his hand hesitantly reach out to grab mine, my hand twitched slightly in surprise.

“Please, don’t be scared of me. I just wanted you to know what you’re getting into with me. If this is too much for you, I’ll understand if you want to end this now,” his voice held an air of defeat.

I swallowed thickly, finally meeting his eyes again. I leaned up, pressing a kiss to his cheek and feeling him relax. He maneuvered me, so I was sitting in between his legs, wrapped securely in his arms. I could feel his heart thundering into my back, as if he was still nervous about what I would say.

“What if I don’t show your face or use your name?” I asked, loosely holding my phone between my fingers and fidgeting with it.

His chest expanded behind me, telling me he took an exceptionally big breath while placing his chin on my shoulder, “Okay.”

“Really?” I asked a bit too hopefully, earning me a soft smile and a kiss to my temple from John.

“Yea,” he murmured, taking the phone from my fingers and opening the camera app.

With his free hand he brought my face closer to his, allowing him to hide his face while he kissed the side of my face. I was so caught off guard, that I laughed at the tickling of his beard against my jaw and completely missed the fact that he took a picture. His chest rumbled with laughter behind me, pressing his body closer as he peppered more kisses across my cheek, the phone long forgotten.

“I adore you,” he whispered blissfully, sliding the phone back into my hands, “Go crazy.”

From there, it became a bit of an obsession to plaster my interactions with this faceless man on my Instagram. I’m pretty sure he regretted telling me to “go crazy” because I would sneak pictures of us or just him whenever I could. My Instagram was flooded with photos of him and the dog, especially one where he decided to lay on John’s face and caused John to sneeze for hours as dog hair got up his nose. I would say I snuck a photo of John laying in bed, half naked, but he caught me immediately. I was careful to not get the large expanse of tattoos on his back in their entirety, as I didn’t know exactly what they meant but edges of the tattoos inevitably made their way in.

Time flew by with John and we had been together for a few months, but I was so happy I couldn’t imagine my life before he walked into it. This particular morning, I felt his arm slip around my waist and bring me close to his warm body.

“Yes, John?” I asked groggily, wondering what was so important that he had to wake me up as early him. His lips brushed across my shoulders and the nape of my neck, causing me to convulse and bury my face in the pillow, “No…,” I whined, trying to wriggle away from him.

He followed my movements, laughing into the skin of my upper back and resting his face there, “Wanna go for a drive today?” he mumbled into my skin.

“Where?” my voice muffled by the pillow.

“Mmm,” his voice vibrated as he thought, “Beach?”

“Sounds good, now let me sleep,” I murmured, closing my eyes in a vain attempt to catch a couple more hours of sleep.

“It’s already seven, hon,” he laughed at my inability to survive on six hours of sleep.

“John,” I groaned at him.

He laughed once more, kissing my shoulder and sliding out of bed, “I’ll get breakfast started.”

The promising smell of coffee and bacon dragged me out of bed, so I could eat with John. After breakfast, we packed any necessary items for the beach and changed. I had to stop and admire John in a t-shirt, board shorts, and sandals as he carried things to the front door. The three of us piled into John’s Mustang and headed toward a nearby beach.

When we first started dating, John confessed to me that he didn’t really listen to music while driving. He knew I did, though, and allowed me to take control of the radio. I usually compromised and kept the music low, so we could talk over it. I fiddled with the tuner, catching the end of a pop song I enjoyed, and John tolerated. The host’s voice came over the speakers right after the song faded out, announcing the release of a new song.

“Up next, we have new music from Kyle Eagan. This one’s called New Man.”

I could almost see John’s ears perk up at the name, knowing exactly who he was from what I had told him.

“Isn’t that…?” He trailed off.

“Yep,” I muttered, moving my hand to change the station.

“Wait! I want to hear it,” he swatted my hand away.

“Why would you want to hear it?” I scoffed.

“Didn’t you hear the title?” he raised an eyebrow at me.

“I don’t know why you want to do this to yourself,” I sighed, turning the song up so we could make out the lyrics.

John’s face immediately turned into a grimace as a bassy, pop beat assaulted his car speakers.

I heard he spent five hundred pounds on jeans Goes to the gym at least six times a week Wears boat shoes with no socks on his feet And I hear he's on a new diet and watches what he eats He's got his eyebrows plucked and his arsehole bleached Owns every single Ministry CD Tribal tattoos and he don't know what it means But I heard he makes you happy, so that's fine by me But still, I'm just keepin' it real Still lookin' at your Instagram and I'll be creepin' a lil' I'll be tryin' not to double tap, from way back 'Cause I know that's where the trouble's at Let me remind you of the days when You used to hold my hand And when we sipped champagne out of cider cans I guess if you were Lois Lane, I wasn't Superman Just a young boy tryin' to be loved So let me give it to ya

I watched an amused smile tug at the corner of John’s mouth as he listened intently to the words. He didn’t feel the strong urge to hunt down Kyle anymore, which I felt was a good thing. He simply wasn’t worth John’s time and energy. So, the song was like one big joke to John.

I don't wanna know about your new man 'Cause if it was meant to be You wouldn't be callin' me up tryin' to 'Cause I'm positive that he don't wanna know about me I don't wanna know about your new man We'll get there eventually I know you're missin' all this kind of love But I'm positive that he don't wanna know about me

Your new man rents a house in the 'burb And wears a man bag on his shoulder, but I call it a purse Every year, he goes to Málaga with all the fellas Drinks beer, but has a six pack, I'm kinda jealous He wears sunglasses indoors, in winter, at nighttime And every time a rap song comes on, he makes a gang sign Says "Chune, bwoydem light up the room!" But enough about him, girl, let's talk about you You were the type of girl who sat beside the water readin' Eatin' a packet of crisps, but you will never find you cheatin' Now you're eatin' kale, hittin' the gym Keepin' up with Kylie and Kim In the back of the club, kissin' a boy that ain't him Okay, you need to be alone And if you wanna talk about it, you can call my phone I just thought I would tell you, 'cause you oughta know You're still a young girl tryin' to be loved So let me give it to ya

I rolled my eyes at the lyrics, crossing my arms and sinking further into the seat of the car. John’s hands gripped the wheel tightly for a split second when it vaguely mentioned cheating, but he relaxed quickly when I placed a hand on the back of his neck.

“Who’re Kylie and Kim?” he murmured over the song.

I snorted out a laugh, covering my mouth as his question was so unexpected. A smile spread over his own face as he caught a glimpse of my smile out of the corner of his eye.

Baby, I'm not tryin' to ruin your week But you act so differently When you're with him, I know you're lonely Please remember you're still free To make the choice and leave Don't call me up, you need to show me I don't wanna know about your new man 'Cause if it was meant to be You wouldn't be callin' me up tryin' to 'Cause I'm positive that he don't wanna know about me I don't wanna know about your new man We'll get there eventually I know you're missin' all this kind of love But I'm positive that he don't wanna know about me But I'm positive that he don't wanna know about But I'm positive that he don't wanna know about I don't wanna know about your new man

I switched the radio off as the song ended, not wanting to hear anything else after that mess. My mood was entirely changed as I sat simmering in anger, which was unavoidable as soon as the song mentioned “me”. My hand had long abandoned John’s neck, now tucked firmly under my other arm as I crossed my arms.

“Y/N, relax,” John’s voice cut through the silence, bringing his hand to my head and rubbing soothingly. “I know the whole thing was bullshit, okay? I trust you.”

I leaned my head into his touch, nodding in response and releasing a heavy sigh. He dropped his hand from my head, grabbing my hand comfortingly and bringing it to his mouth to kiss the back of my hand. John’s house wasn’t far from the beach, so we arrived a few minutes later. We found a secluded spot, spreading out a large blanket to claim the area and setting everything else on top of it. I plopped down next to him, leaning my head on his shoulder as we watched the dog run around along the edge of the water.

“You know, his voice is really fucking annoying,” John said through a chuckle, causing me to laugh along with him.

“Oh, I know.”

“Are we going to talk about him stalking you on Instagram?” John growled, becoming protective in a split second.

“I honestly didn’t even know, John,” I patted his knee and gazed up at him, a mischievous smile slowly appearing on my face. “But…”

“What?” he asked uncertainly, his mouth wanting to smile involuntarily at the look on my face.

“We could give him something to look at.”

John tilted his head at me, narrowing his eyes in thought, “Lay down on your stomach.”

We rearranged ourselves, so we were both laying on our stomachs next to each other, propped up on our elbows. I stuck my arm out and opened the app, turning my head to look at John, “Kiss me.”

“My face?” he wondered.

“Cover it,” I shrugged.

He thought over possibilities, then licked his lip and nodded when he thought of a suitable one. He leaned into me, kissing me so tenderly that I nearly forgot to take a picture. I didn’t notice his hand move toward the phone or his eye open to guide his hand into place. When I finally remembered to press the capture button, he was already set up. We separated after a few more stolen kisses, immediately bringing the phone to my face to see the photo.

“Jonathan!” I exclaimed, dropping my head and laughing into the blanket. In the photo, covering his face except where his mouth met mine, was a huge middle finger.

“All covered,” he chuckled, kissing my head and standing up to rip is shirt over his head. “Come on!” he called out to me while chasing after the dog.

I shook my head as I watched him run off, hovering my fingers over the keyboard as I decided what to write.

“Trust me, he knows about you and he’s not impressed, bro. #FuckYouKyle #NewMan #AssholeIsNOTbleached #HeKnowsWhatHisTattoosMean #ImSureHesBeenToMalagaBeforeIDK #NoManPurseButHisTacticalBeltIsHotAsFuck #BurbonIsBetterThanBeer #IAteHalfAPackOfBaconThisMorning”

I clicked “post”, tossed my phone in the bag we brought with us, and ran after John and the dog; satisfied with the level of pettiness I put into the caption. I nearly tackled John as I ran into the waist deep water, but he recovered and lifted me easily. His mouth fused to mine as he took us deeper into the water and I knew there was no place I’d rather be. Yea, fuck you, Kyle.

Taglist: @futuristic-imbecile @anita-e-taylor @beyondantares @samanthagraceg @cuttlefishcatfish @gwenebear

#john wick x reader #john wick fanfic #john wick x you #john wick imagine #female reader

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piccolina-mina · 5 years

Text

But Who Takes Care of You?

Fandom: Roswell, New Mexico

Pairing/Characters: Kyle Valenti and Maria DeLuca (Kyluca)

Inspo: Who takes care of the caretakers?

A/N: Because the show really needs to let Kyluca be great (preferably better than this, but it’s something).

They’re the best apart, and they’d be even better together if they ever got more screentime. It’s a random freestyle I wasn’t sure if I would share, but #KylucaRights.:)

~~~~

The desert air made him instantly feel at home.

The sun beamed down as he inhaled deeply and ignored the jostle of folks scurrying in and out of the airport.

“Ay Guapo!”

He didn’t have to see her to recognize the voice. His lip curled up into a genuine smile. His eyes darted around him until he saw her standing a few feet ahead holding a “Dr. McSexy” sign and smirking at him.

He sauntered over to her, his carry on in tow, and pulled his sunglasses off when he got closer.

“Are you posing? Rubbing it in with those cheekbones,” she snorted. “Every time I see you, you get hotter, Valenti.”

Maria flashed him that stunning smile that made him return one in kind.

“I would say the same, but you’ve always been hot. A little hard to improve on perfection.”

She rolled her eyes but grinned widely and before he realized it, he was wrapped up in her arms.

He squeezed her back, basked in her scent of sandalwood and vanilla, and the shea and coconut that clung to her hair.

They hugged for what felt like an eternity, but it was only a few moments.

He didn’t know when it happened exactly. He and Maria socialized in school, but they were never particularly close.

He was more than aware of how much of an ass he was back then, and she didn’t hesitate to remind him. Rosa’s death changed everything.

Their world tilted on its axis. He never anticipated how one tragedy could change the trajectory of their lives.

He didn’t know Rosa enough to feel like he lost her, but he lost Liz. Those years after were life-altering.

Any opportunity he had to make it back home, outside of his mother, the only constant was Maria. She was there, and familiar, and somehow they developed a bond over the years.

She kept up with his life on social media – the graduation ceremonies, the late-night bitching during residency, and her personal favorite thirst posts on Instagram.

He kept up with her too. She told him things his mother never did and updated him on old friends, like Alex.

He visited her at the Pony when he was in town, and sometimes they would catch a movie at the drive-in and reminisce on the old days. Mainly, they would imagine what Liz Ortecho was up to.

“I thought you were driving?” Maria squinted up at him. She nudged him until he started walking, and it was only when they neared her truck did he realize she was driving him.

“I planned on it, but I got called into the hospital early at the last minute,” he stopped at her car and leaned against it taking in his surroundings and smiling fondly.

“Admit it, you were homesick and wanted out of Iowa,” Maria teased. She raised a brow daring him to refute.

“It was very cold and very white.”

Her laugh was contagious, and he found himself joining in with her.

“I just told mom before I boarded the flight. How’d you find out I was coming in early?”

“I’m psychic, remember?” She winked at him playfully, and he couldn’t stop grinning.

Maria always had that effect. She had a way of making everyone around her smile. She was comforting and real, and he never realized how much he missed her energy until he was sucked back into her orbit.

“You didn’t have to come for me,” he said quietly. “I know my way home.”

She shrugged, signaled for him to toss his luggage in the back and disappeared into the driver seat before he could read her expression.

He took his time arranging his luggage and sliding into the passenger seat. He sensed she needed a moment to regroup and put on that fun-loving facade he adored but knew she clung to more than she let on.

“Seriously, Maria. I know you’re busy,” he said carefully.

She reached out now and then for inquiries. His mother was the one who told him about Mimi’s mental deterioration, how she had bad days, and Maria juggled the Pony and looking after her mom.

He tried not to pry, but from what he knew, no one could figure out what was wrong.

“All work and no fun makes Maria a dull girl,” she drummed her fingers against the steering wheel as they waited for the cars ahead of them to pull off.

“I take off on special occasions,” she honked her horn, and he winced at the person flipping the bird back at them.

“I’m a special occasion?”

He went for sly, but something about the way her eyebrow rose equal parts impressed and flirty gave him the impression it sounded more suggestive than he intended.

But Maria always gave as good as she got.

“Only if you’re lucky, Valenti. You’re not that lucky.”

“The Insta comments say otherwise,” he teased her.

She shot him an annoyed look utterly ruined by her scrunched up mouth as she tried to keep from laughing.

Finally, a break in the traffic and Maria shot forward. He gripped the seat and instantly recalled her penchant for going above the speed limit.

“It feels like a special occasion anytime anyone makes it back home.” She was serious, and something about the tone of her voice made him want to squeeze her hand, but he refrained.

“Everyone deserves a welcome wagon, Kyle.”

‘It doesn’t get any warmer.“ He tilted his head to the side and added. “Thanks to you.”

And in a quintessential Maria move, she turned up the volume. He didn’t contain his excitement when the car flooded with Regulate.

Somewhere between the highway and his mother’s house they ended up in a heated rap battle sing-along, and he didn’t care what Maria said, he won.

Returning home came with its share of memories, many of them painful.

But it came with friends too.

ii.

"Right or wrong. Don’t it turn you on–“

“Maria?!” He called out. The second he unlocked his apartment, her voice bounced across the no longer bare and no longer white walls.

“Can’t you see we’re wastin’ time, yeah,” she continued.

From the way she was swinging her hips and bobbing her head, he suspected her music was up too high for her to hear him.

“Maria!’ He called out louder, as he dropped his keys on the counter and shut the door behind him.

"Do you wanna touch …Yeah.”

“Maria!’ He tried again to no avail. He had to give it to her; she was committed. Her long legs and short overalls were splattered in paint.

She had her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and she was retouching a small spot with the last of the paint.

He leaned against the kitchen island and for the first time took in his apartment. She had rearranged his furniture, finally putting it in place after far too long spent collecting dust in the first place the movers sat it down.

All of his boxes were emptied, and everything was seemingly put away. Instead of the college frat boy vibe happening from the moment he moved in, his place looked every bit the trendy bachelor pad that it was.

"Do you wanna touch– FUCK, Kyle!”

Maria spun around mid-dance move, and if he didn’t literally know any better, he would have thought he gave her a heart attack.

“You scared the shit out of me,” she tossed the paintbrush into the pan and swiped hair away from her forehead.

“Funny you should say that,” he tried to suppress his laughter, but it didn’t work. She rolled her eyes at him and plucked her earbuds out of her ears.

“I had the same reaction given there was someone else in my apartment. It’s been a while since I came home to a woman playing house.”

“See, this is the kind of tea I like to hear, and yet you keep withholding.”

He shook his head and padded to the refrigerator for a drink. Halfway through guzzling an iced tea, he noticed she was actually serious about her statement.

He made his way around the island until he was in front of her. Handed her a bottle and rested against the back of the couch.

“Fine, she was a live-in girlfriend for a year. She worked at the hospital too.”

Maria squealed. He found her way too thrilled about his love life, but who was he to deny her the small joys of gossip when she had done so much for him?

“Did she greet you at the door with a martini in hand?” She joked.

“Nah, usually she was naked,” he winked at her.

“Hate to disappoint you, Valenti, but I took a more practical approach.”

He softened staring around his apartment and all the changes she made.

His mother had got on his case for weeks about making his apartment into a home, but between work and sleep, he hadn’t gotten around to it.

She bought the paint, deliberately pushed boxes into the middle of the floor and hoped it would be enough to prompt him to get to work, but two months later, his apartment wasn’t that different than when he moved in.

Until now.

He didn’t recognize the curtains framing the windows or the area rugs, but given the color and flair, he knew it was all Maria.

His kitchen appliances were where they should have been. Throw pillows made his leather couch pop, and the tv no longer sat atop sturdy boxes but rather an actual stand.

For the first time, his apartment actually felt like home.

“Maria,” his dark eyes met hers, and he could hear the emotion in his voice. He tried to keep it at bay as he internally processed why this touched him so much.

“You didn’t have to do this,” his eyes landed on a frame on a shelf, a picture of his father, and his mother’s rosary resting over it.

He pulled Maria to him with one arm before she could react. He pressed his lips to her hair before clearing his throat and stepping away.

“You really didn’t-”

“Hey,” her eyes sparkling like glitter was the only indication she gave him that she was emotional too. “It’s no big deal. The Wild Pony flooded today, damn pipe burst, so I’m losing a day and a half. I needed the distraction.”

She cupped his face tenderly, flashing him a half-smile before giving him a light smack, breaking the spell.

“It was getting depressing, Kyle. Two months of your shit lying around, if I didn’t do it, would you ever have gotten around to it?”

“You sound like my mother. I have my doubts, but I’m guessing that’s how you got in?”

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to,” she sing-songed backing up. “And you may want to enhance your security, just an FYI. I’d hook you up with my handy guy, but you two always had bad blood.”

He snorted. Not much changed between him and Michael Guerin since high school, but apparently, Maria developed a soft spot for the broody cowboy over the years.

“Hey, mind if a grab a quick shower before dinner?”

She asked, but it wasn’t lost on him that she was already headed towards the master bath.

She clearly had made herself at home.

“Why start asking now?” He plopped on the couch, finally getting the chance to put his feet up and relax after hours spent in the OR.

“Did you say dinner?” He bellowed from the couch.

“It’s on the way. I’m starving, and you’re paying. Don’t forget to tip,” she called out.

She peeked out from his bedroom dangling one of his workout shirts.

He could have sworn they were still packed in a box that morning, which meant Maria unpacked his bedroom too. The thought of that should have concerned him, but he pushed it out of his mind.

“I’m borrowing this!” Her head disappeared before he could so much as respond, and he chuckled to himself.

Before he knew it, he was tipping the delivery boy from his favorite BBQ joint, and Maria was setting up dinner in front of the big screen.

She smelled like his body wash, and she curled up on the couch next to him, cross-legged in his oversized shirt, and he didn’t even want to think about what of his she borrowed as bottoms.

“What’s your pleasure, D? Rom-com?” He took a bite of his brisket sandwich and hummed in appreciation.

“I know, right? The good stuff.” She mirrored him, a healthy bite making her cheeks bulge. “I don’t sniff at a good rom-com, but it’s an action kind of night.”

“Thank God,” he kicked his feet up on the coffee table and grabbed the remote. To his surprise, it was already keyed up for one of the Mission Impossibles.

“It’s OK, you don’t have to say it. I know I’m the best.”

He stole a french fry off her plate and laughed when she swatted his hand away. After a while, they settled into a comfortable silence watching the movie.

Truthfully, she really was.

iii.

On the anniversary of his father’s death, he learned to throw himself into work.

In the early days, in his youth, he would toy with a bottle of whiskey, roll the top between his fingers. He would inhale, slow and deep and wonder if he’d find a reason for why he had to lose his father so early in the bottom of a bottle.

He thought it would bring them closer together … him closer to understanding the man who he worshipped and ached for every day.

His father found answers at the bottom of a bottle, why couldn’t he?

But it was a slippery slope, and he knew that.

He’s not an addict, but he could be, and the thought of slipping into the darkness scares the hell out of him.

So he directed his energy into something else, usually picking up other shifts. And while he and his mother checked in with each other, their grieving processes were different.

He never gave it much thought. He didn’t want to intrude.

But when he got a text from Maria, he realized maybe, since he was home again, it was time to grieve together.

The Wild Pony was packed, as usual, and he felt out of place in his scrubs he didn’t bother to change out of.

He glanced around, afraid of what he might find. Maria reassured him in brief texts, but that day he wouldn’t get any comfort until he saw his mother for himself.

Maria was serving up drinks with a tired smile, and when her eyes met his from across the room, she nodded.

He followed her gaze to the back of the Pony. His mother was in her street clothes. Her hair was loose and obscuring her face – a black curtain falling over her eyes and dipping into what appeared to be a lukewarm cup of coffee in front of her.

He sighed. The other drunks and regulars didn’t seem to notice her or him for that matter. His father got away with a lot, but he doubted his mother as a female sheriff could. Small towns meant lots of gossiping.

“Mom,” he squatted down in front of her, his knees groaning with the action after a long shift. “Let me take you home, mom.”

She looked at him with bleary eyes and tear-stained cheeks. She didn’t see him at first. It was like she was looking through him, but when he folded her hands into his, she finally did.

She didn’t say a word; she merely nodded and reached out to stroke his jaw.

The only thing that rivaled the sadness in her eyes was the shame. She stood and grabbed his arm like it was the last thing keeping her from drowning. When he saw how broken she appeared, he thought maybe he was.

“Take me home, perrito,” her voice was hoarse, barely a whisper as they shuffled toward the door.

He pressed a kiss to the side of her head and bit his lip to keep from crying. The burning warmth on the side of his face as he guided his mother through huddled bodies was like its own hug.

Maria eyed him from behind the bar her brows knit in concern and mouthed, ‘Are you OK” or something akin to it.

A curt nod was all he could muster before they slipped out.

The drive to his childhood home was short, but the process of getting his mother settled down was long.

She refused to sleep in her bed– the bed she shared with his father for years. She settled on the couch, and after he slipped into some old clothes of his lying around, he did too.

She slumped into his lap and curled up on the couch like a small child. He could still smell the stale beer and gin. He stroked her hair – his nimble fingers ghosting across her forehead and pressed a cool compress to her neck.

The blinking light on his phone caught his eye, and he checked his messages.

Maria texted once to ask if he was alright and called once too.

He wasn’t alright. He was far from it, but there was nothing that could be done. His father’s old clock sounded, and it was only then when he realized it was past midnight.

But it was too late; his fingers worked of their own volition calling Maria before he could think.

“Hello,” she sounded tired but also concerned. The whooshing in the background meant she was driving home for the night.

“Kyle,” she breathed. He looked down at his mother softly snoring in his lap, and then the photo on the coffee table, a family portrait, but he couldn’t bring himself to respond.

“It’s OK,” her voice was soft and soothing. “You don’t have to talk. I promise I won’t hang up.”

His eyes prickled with tears he had managed to restrain all day. A gurgled sound crawled up his throat, and he inhaled sharp surprised the choked sob came from him.

He pressed the heel of his palm to his eyes trying to staunch the dam, but it was no use.

He could hear Maria hum soothingly, but it only made him cry more.

And that was how they stayed. He heard her car stop, the sound of the key scratching against the door. He heard her breathing as she went about her nightly routine.

He heard the water running, the soft creak of her climbing into bed, her sighs as her body relaxed after a long day.

“Thank you,” his voice was hoarse as he whispered into the phone, but at least his words were back. “Thank you for letting me know.”

“Of course, Kyle,” she sighed into the phone. “How is she doing?”

“Resting,” he whispered, not wanting to rouse her.

“How are you?”

The question caught him short. He exhaled slow, but it didn’t make his voice sound any less small and fragile. “I miss him,” he said honestly. “We both do.”

“I know,” Maria whispered back. “I know.”

And he knew she did. Her mother was still alive, but it was like she wasn’t there at all. Sometimes he wondered if that would feel worse; missing someone who was still there.

“I need to do better – be better,” he stroked his mother’s hair and bit back another strangled sob. “I’ve been so busy. We don’t check-in enough, and I–”

“You’re a good son, Kyle,” Maria yawned into the phone. “She talked about you nonstop, and she still does. She’s so proud of you.”

He sniffled and nodded his head, looking down at the woman in his lap. “Maybe so, but I should – ” he cleared his throat. “I just need to do a better job taking care of her too.”

“And you do, Ky…” Maria mumbled into the phone. Her speech slowed down as she struggled to stave off the slumber but failed. “But who takes care of you?”

He listened to her soft snores over the phone for a moment – the breathing of both women oddly relaxing him.

“Goodnight, Maria,” he whispered into the phone hanging up and succumbing to his own exhaustion.

iv.

He learned over the years that Maria had a knack for scaring the shit out of him, but it wasn’t until later he realized it wasn’t intentional on her part.

Somewhere between jamming out to his playlist and waiting for a gaggle of tourists to cross the town square, his passenger door opened unexpectedly.

Before he could so much as yelp in surprise, Maria slid in all flowy skirt and a hint of sandalwood.

“Shit! Maria, what –” one glance in her direction stopped him cold.

“Just drive, please,” her voice was raspy as if she had been crying, but he saw no traces of it.

“You want to talk about it?” He asked gently.

She placed bare feet up on the dash, her skirt billowing around her knees, and he refrained from lecturing her on the pitfalls of being in such a position if they ended up in an accident.

“No,” she said quietly. She pressed her face to the window and hugged herself.

He reached across the console and fastened her seatbelt for her, and turned the music up.

He didn’t know what was troubling her, but he understood the need for distraction.

He didn’t pry, but he did sing-a-long to his Latin mix badly. He could make Spanish sound the opposite of sexy when he made an effort, and while she didn’t join in, her lips would turn up just a tad during a particularly bad note. Her eyes were dark pools of sadness though.

She didn’t budge when he dropped letters off at the post office. She stared at the mechanizations of the car wash with that childlike wonder one never seemed to lose.

She tipped the young pimply-faced teen drying the car before he could dig out more singles, but she never said a word.

It was like he was on his own and Maria was his shadow.

She hopped out when it was time to go inside the grocery store. She tagged along like a bored kid, except she wasn’t so much bored as unusually quiet and distracted, with her mind a million miles away.

“I can feel your judgment from here,” he joked when he put a dozen frozen dinners into the basket.

“Inquiring minds want to know how are you a doctor with a body like that,” she gestured at him. “Living off of frozen dinners?”

“They’re quick, easy, and delicious. Don’t act like you don’t eat this shit too.” He tossed a box of Easy Mac into the basket and glowered.

“I’m poor, Kyle. Of course, I eat this shit,” she countered throwing two boxes of Pop-Tarts in with the other groceries.

“I’m poor too,” he smirked at her dubious expression. “Student loans.”

She nodded. “Touchè.”

To his surprise, shopping with Maria became an adventure. She tossed more crap into the cart, most of which he snuck out when she wasn’t looking.

She was a natural haggler too. She charmed the butcher into giving her, well, him, a deal on a couple of steaks which she promised to make for their next movie night.

They only had one mishap when he accidentally hit the back of her ankles with the cart, and he almost saw his life flash before his eyes when she glared at him.

They settled on a pint of ice cream, he caved to cookie dough because he promised her it would make her feel better, and they snagged a few spoons from the hot food bar before hitting the register.

She opted for the self-checkout, and he figured out it was for the best when she dug through her huge purse for a handful of coupons she knew she had in there.

He wasn’t a coupon person, and it embarrassed him a bit until he saved 13 bucks. He could live with Maria’s smug response after that.

She was lighter and happier, the Maria he was most familiar with by the time they settled down on a park bench to relax and share their pint.

An ensuing war over a coveted chunk of cookie dough led to a spoon battle and his utensil falling to its death in a pile of dirt.

“Mine!” She crowed claiming the piece.

He couldn’t resist laughing at her victory dance as she hummed in satisfaction at the sweet confectionery goodness melting on her tongue.

She didn’t see him coming when he plucked her spoon out of her mouth, dove into the pint and shoveled a hunk of ice cream into his.

“Hey, asshole!” She shrieked ignoring the dirty look a mother with her children shot her way.

“Sharing is caring,” he said around a mouthful of ice cream.

She rolled her eyes, snatched the spoon and pint back and went to town.

“This is the most fun I’ve had adulting in a long time,” he admitted truthfully.

“That’s because adulting isn’t meant to be fun,” she shrugged. The smile on her lips settled into a hard line.

“Let’s hear it, Maria.” He gently knocked his shoulder into hers. “Not that I didn’t enjoy you practically hijacking my car today, but what’s wrong?”

“They still don’t know what’s wrong with her,” she whispered. “Another specialist. More money that I don’t have spent, and no answer.”

She met his eyes briefly, and he saw the tears she was fighting back. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and offered a comforting squeeze.

“Maria, I can loan you–” he started even though he felt her tense beside him.

“No, Kyle. I can’t. You’ve helped me enough. Your colleague back in Iowa at least didn’t treat me like a crazy person or treat Mimi like an inconvenience. He was good, kind, and a breath of fresh air.

God knows I’ve run into my fair share of assholes. Not to mention the entire healthcare system is fucked…” she sighed.

He clenched his jaw as it pulsated with his own frustration. “Trust me, I know better than anyone.”

“It’s just every day I feel like I’m losing more of her,” she stared at a young mother helping a toddler climb on a plastic turtle.

“I know it seems like I …” she blew out a puff of air and distracted herself with stirring the remnants of ice cream until it became soupy.

“Losing pieces of her is like losing myself,” she shrugged. “She’s my compass, and she grounds me, without it – without her, I’m lost.”

He nodded. He understood that feeling after his father died.

“I think it’s incredible, the way you take care of Mimi…” he knew she didn’t always take compliments well, but he didn’t consider it a compliment so much as the truth. “It’s hard, and I can’t even begin to imagine, but I admire you, Maria. I hope you know that.”

She didn’t respond. She looked away instead, but he saw the way her cheeks were the slightest tinge of red.

“You take care of your mom, and you feed the community every month, and … ” he sighed, frustrated for his friend. “You need to let someone take care of you some time.”

“I’m a big girl, Kyle,” she went for light and flashed him that irresistible smile. “I can take care of myself.”

He wanted to add that she shouldn’t always have to, but in addition to knowing how hypocritical that would be of him, he sensed she wanted to drop the topic.

So he did.

“I’ll deny it later, and don’t let it get to your head, but I’m glad you’re back, Kyle.”

He chuckled, snatched the ice cream soup out of her hand and downed it.

“I am too,” he said after a while.

And he was.

There were days when his job was the worst in the world.

Losing a patient never got easier, and no amount of experience could make delivering the news to the family less difficult.

His chest still ached from a pummel of fists hitting him as he eased a sobbing woman to the waiting room floor and held her.

His skin was blotchy and bruise. It was tender to the touch, but he welcomed the pain.

The pain reminded him that he was still alive, but it also reminded him that his patient wasn’t.

It took him a while to find a routine – something to direct all his energy towards in those dark moments.

Otherwise, the darkness would consume him. It would take a toll on him, but more importantly, it would interfere with his ability to be effective at his job.

He could never risk that; it was too important to him.

He retreated into himself. He declined the offers for drinks or dinner. He hit the gym and worked himself out until he collapsed, and then worked himself out some more.

Angry beats, a cacophony of harsh lyrics, blared in his ears as his feet slapped hard against the treadmill.

Sharp jabs against a punching bag until his knuckles were sore.

Shadowboxing, more often than not, was easier on his hands; but sometimes he wanted to punish them for failing. For not healing. For allowing someone’s life to slip through their fingers.

He knew there was nothing he could have done, but feelings aren’t logical.

Then he hit the showers, hot water at a punishing setting sluicing against his skin in rivulets.

He drove home in silence, and sometimes he prayed and hoped the next day would be better.

On particularly hard days, an anguished scream would claw its way up to his throat, and he would cry. The echos of distraught family members and friends haunted him.

He would throw on a reality cooking competition and eat a frozen dinner until he fell asleep.

Everyone had their process.

His was almost complete until he arrived home and saw the kitchen light on over the stove.

He cursed to himself when he dropped the keys on the counter. He couldn’t… be if his mother dropped in.

She knew what it was like losing a person, but her way of coping differed from his.

“I know you probably don’t want to talk,” Maria came out of the bathroom not the least bit surprised by his appearance.

“I heard … that accident,” she wiped her hands down her sides to get off the remaining moisture. “I’m not staying. I just brought you something to eat.”

He was frozen in place, and he couldn’t meet her eyes. “Thanks,” he responded sharply.

He didn’t trust himself to say more, and fortunately, Maria seemed to understand.

He dropped his gym bag on the floor beside him.

His hair was still dripping from the shower, and his body already ached, and he just wanted to fall face-first into the couch, but he couldn’t bring himself to move.

The intrusion threw him all out of wack. Any move could lead to him being more vulnerable than he wanted to be in anyone’s presence, even hers.

But then there was something about her presence …

“I’m heading out now,” she said softly. “Text me later.”

She gave him a sympathetic smile as she brushed past him. She squeezed his shoulder on her way past. “Sorry for your loss, Kyle.”

His hand entangled with hers before he could think about it, grabbing and locking her hand in his as she breezed past.

“Stay,” his voice was gruff even to his own ears. “Please. If it isn’t too much trouble.”

She squeezed his hand and nodded.

He went around the island and peeled back the foil on the plate she left him. It was still hot.

He shuffled to the couch and collapsed on it like the wind had been knocked right out of him.

He turned on an old Master Chef and ate in silence. It wasn’t until a sweaty bottle of root beer was placed in his hand that he noticed Maria hadn’t sat beside him yet.

She was standing off to the side, and it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks that she was trying to give him space.

Larger than life Maria DeLuca was making herself small for him, and that wouldn’t do.

He knew she meant well, but it made him feel shittier.

“I promise I don’t bite,” he went for a light joke, but it fell flat.

“No, you don’t,” Maria finally sat beside him, and his body relaxed. “You don’t need to make me feel comfortable, Kyle. I just wanted to give you space.”

Her hand entwined with his, and they sat in silence. But then it switched to Master Chef Juniors, and he lost it.

A toothy 10-year-old, eerily reminiscent of his patient, smiled into the camera. To his utter embarrassment, he began sobbing.

“He was only seven,” he sputtered. His voice was choked up and every attempt to rein himself in failed. “He loved wrestling and Spiderman. He wanted to be a fireman when he grew …” he couldn’t finish – cut off by his own sob.

He felt her shift closer, her arms wrapped around him tight enough to stop the onslaught of anxious breathing.

He buried his face into her neck, his embarrassment abandoned in favor of the full-body release of his sadness, anger, and pain.

Maria clicked her tongue, rocked him gently, and brushed her lips across his temple and damp hair.

“I’m s-sorry,” he choked out, aware of how he was dampening her neck and shirt with tears and God knows what else.

“Shhhh,” she hummed soothingly. “Talk it through. It’s OK if I don’t understand the procedure; just talk it through.”

He ran through the entire surgical procedure. Every step leading up to Levi’s surgery and every tool he used.

Maria stopped him on occasion to confirm it was the proper protocol, the proper utensil, and so on. When he was done, she made him repeat it all over again.

They were settled into the couch by then, his head resting on her chest wedged beneath her chin.

She scratched at his scalp, and at some point, his tears subsided, and his breathing matched hers.

“You did everything right, Kyle,” she said after a while.

“Bless that sweet baby’s soul and his parents. You didn’t make any mistakes. There’s nothing else you could’ve done. He had the best care by the best doctor until he closed his eyes, and he went peacefully. Mourn him, but don’t let it eat away at you.”

He nodded. Knowing the truth and hearing the truth were two different things.

At some point, he felt he should have extricated himself from her embrace, but a selfish, lonely part of him relished the comfort.

As if reading his mind, like the psychic she proclaimed to be, she hugged him tighter.

Her heartbeat lulled him into the soundest sleep he had in months.

When he woke up, he was hugging a pillow that still smelled of her. it was a quarter past two.

He scanned the room bleary-eyed, the throw tossed over him tumbling to the floor with the effort.

The blinking on his cellphone let him know he had a text.

Had to run. Rest up and start again tomorrow. ♡

He shuffled into his room and fell onto his bed. He expected to feel a wave of regret and embarrassment, but it never came.

Instead, he felt unburdened.

vi.

He didn’t sign up for this. Him, Liz, Rosa, Alex, and Maria. None of them did.

But extraterrestrial bullshit invaded their lives, and they made do with it. Whether it was love and feelings or a birthright, the alien fight became their own.

But they weren’t resistant to attacks. They weren’t immune. They were fragile and susceptible.

They weren’t soldiers; they were humans. Assets. Liabilities. Victims.

Rosa was a victim once. It was something he fought to make peace with, and that took a long time. But now she was a victim too.

Flashes of the past two days flickered through his mind like an old film.

Another survivor from the crash was in their midst. What began as a tenuous partnership to help revive Max turned into lines drawn and a declaration of war.

All wars have casualties, and Maria was nearly one.

He couldn’t shake the image of Michael carrying her lifeless body across the desert.

It was the most distraught he had seen him since the prison explosion. Liz and Rosa flanked his sides.

Alex and Max were closing in behind them. There was blood everywhere.

He did what he could to stop the bleeding while Michael sped to the hospital.

He worked on her all the way to the OR, straddled over her form on the gurney willing her to live.

He physically fought his colleagues trying to rip him away.

As a general rule, no one is supposed to work on family and friends, but some rules were meant to be broken.

He couldn’t leave that OR if he wanted to, but he didn’t want to. There was no way in hell he could sit idly by when he could help.

He left the questions to his mother and Max. They could sort out the stories on their end, and he could do everything in his power to make sure his friend came out of it on the other side on his end.

He hadn’t slept in two days. He hadn’t left the hospital. He barely left her room at all.

He couldn’t lose anyone else. He got a second chance with Rosa, but second chances were anomalies, not the norm.

He rubbed his temples, closed his eyes and sighed.

“Y-you,” Maria croaked before clearing her throat with no success. “You look like shit, Valenti.”

She coughed and laughed at the same time before her body alerted her that both were a terrible idea. “Oww!” She groaned.

He was at her bedside in two long strides. His body relaxed for the first time in days as he poured her a cup of water and smiled fondly with utter relief as she drank it greedily.

“Take it easy,” he cooed, as he stroked her hair.

“I’m assuming I have a couple of cracked ribs?” She asked, her voice raspy.

“You would assume correctly.” He looked down on her and smiled. “I want to tell you that you look like shit too, but it would be a lie.”

“Flattery … will get you … everywhere,” she rasped as she tried to get comfortable. “Although …”

He scanned the machines and checked her vitals, and signaled the nurse that she was awake.

“Although, what?”

“Although, I briefly remember you on top of me, and…” she ran her fingers across the bandage on her chest. “You lucky bastard, you already saw me naked,” she joked.

“Ah. But the circumstances weren’t like I imagined. It would require a do-over.” He moved out of the way for the nurse to check out Maria.

After what seemed to be an eternity she left urging him to let Maria rest and get some himself.

“You imagined me?” It was like Maria to pick up where they left off.

He felt his face heat up.

“You scared the crap out of us, Maria,” he plopped on the bed and grabbed her hand.

“Nice swerve, Kyle, but I’ll allow it,” she squeezed his hand back. “Where is everyone?”

Her voice was small, and he wondered if she had an irrational fear that no one else showed up for her.

“I texted them that you were awake,” he replied running his fingers feather-light against the pulse in her wrist.

“Visiting hours are over, but almost everyone has been here,” he fretted over her. He knew he was doing it, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

“Almost everyone?” She looked wary. He could tell she already had her suspicions before he could confirm.

“Michael was thrown out two days ago,” he couldn’t hide his annoyance mentioning the most volatile of their pod squad acquaintances.

“He was too … aggressive. Others were complaining. He couldn’t be reined in. He really cares about you, you know?”

“I know,” she shook her head.

“And Rosa wasn’t happy that she couldn’t come,” he flashed back to how volatile his half-sister was. Max’s apartment was probably a wreck.

“Which one of them slugged you?” Maria ran her bandaged hand with the IV across his jawline.

“Rosa has a mean right hook,” he admitted not hiding how impressed he was by that.

“She always did,” Maria agreed. “How’s that going?”

“Still adjusting, I guess.”

“To know you is to love you, Kyle. She’ll come around,” she squeezed her eyes shut tight and exhaled slowly.

“Are you in pain? I can get you some more–”

“I’m fine, Kyle. I don’t need anything. I’m probably going to wish that alien bastard had finished the job when I get the medical bills though,” she blinked back tears and forced herself to smile.

“Maria –”

“Go figure, I got probed and in none of the fun ways. Stabbed in the chest by glowing alien paraphernalia and left to die in a cave is not how I expected to go. I’m guessing Max still can’t tap into his healing powers?”

He wanted to say so much – comfort her better, but he settled for going along with her topic change. “No, Max is still blocked. But Michael tried to heal you,” he met her eyes and shrugged.

“But Michael can’t heal…” her confusion was almost endearing to him.

“Didn’t stop him from trying,” he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He was still fretting and busying himself. “You had a close one. We thought we lost you twice, and none of us can bear losing anyone.

He was tired, and doctor mode bled into friend mode. He didn’t realize he was pulling back her gown and checking her bandage.

Her surgical wounds would heal nicely, if he said so himself. He secured the bandage tight, poked and prodded until he was satisfied.

At her cough he yanked out his stethoscope and listened, nodding to himself after confirming her breathing was fine.

He flashed a light in her eyes, studied her pupils and ignored her scrutiny.

He knew he looked like hell, bloodshot eyes, and dark circles around them. He hadn’t shaved in days, his dark stubble uncharacteristic. His hair was matted except for the tufts he mussed from constantly running his fingers through his hair.

“When’s the last time you slept, Kyle?” She asked innocently enough.

“I’m fine,” he lied. “Remember? I do this for a living.”

She raised her brow but dropped it. “What’s my prognosis, doc?”

“You look good,” he replied, his voice soft and worn even to his own ears. “You had a concussion, but we kept an eye on it. Your surgical incision looks good. You’ll barely have a scar.”

“Scars mean you lived – they mean you survived,” she replied.

“Yeah,” he rubbed his thumb across her hairline. “Yeah, they do. Vital organs were missed, so that’s –”

“When do I get out of here, Kyle?”

Leave it to Maria to get to the bottom line. It killed him that even then, her concern was financing. They probably didn’t require exceptional healthcare on whatever planet the others derived from.

“If you promise to take off and settle in at home, preferably somewhere with room and a simple floor plan, then I’ll get you out.”

Max’s spacious home came to mind, but there was also the cabin or even his apartment.

“But you need to rest, Maria.”

“Pot meet kettle, Kyle. Pot meet kettle.” She shuffled in the bed and winced and gasped in pain.

His jaw clenched as he bit back a sharp reprimand. She patted a spot on the bed beside her and raised her brow.

“Maria,” he started, too tired to argue with her but gearing up for one anyway.

“Don’t,” she glared at him. “Just for a little bit, please.”

She didn’t want to be alone. He understood that.

“Just for a little while,” he ignored her triumphant smirk. She acted as if she didn’t have a knack for making people bend to her will.

He slid beside her. The hospital bed was more comfortable than he cared to admit. He checked her vitals again, slid his arm beneath her, and gingerly pulled her into his chest.

It was a small enough bed where snuggling was the only option. She didn’t seem to mind. She burrowed herself into him.

He tucked the covers around her and double-checked to make sure her water pitcher was full. When she thought she hid a grimace, he upped her morphine drip.

He felt her soft laugh reverberate through him and how she shook her head infinitesimally.

“What?” He yawned. “Do I even want to know?”

“Always fretting,” she patted his hand gently. “You’re always taking care of everyone, but who takes care of you?”

He wanted to laugh. Instead, he rested his head on hers. He allowed her warmth and the sound of the heart monitor to lull him into a sleepy daze.

His eyelids were heavy, his voice husky with exhaustion as his lips barely grazed the shell of her ear.

“You, Maria.” He could tell he caught her by surprise. Her breath hitched, and admittedly, it made him smile.

"It’s always you,“ he whispered as he finally drifted off to sleep.

—-

#roswell new mexico #Kyluca #kyle valenti #maria deluca

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faefictions · 6 years

Text

The World is Black

Pairing: roommate!Harrison Osterfield x Reader

Prompt: “we can’t go back in time, so stop trying to reverse what you said.” (with a slight alteration to the wording to make it fit better. oops)

Warnings: cussing and angst

Word Count: 4,254

A/N: this is part of @h-osterfield ’s 5k writing Challenge! Also yes, my dumb ass named this after a Good Charlotte song, but it was playing when I was writing and like the lyrics fit. So SNS.

Tears were streaming down her face as she stood outside her apartment that night. Suddenly it didn’t feel as much of a home as it did just hours earlier.

Y/n had spent that Saturday morning with her best friends and roommates, Harrison and Tom. They usually went out to get coffee on Saturday mornings, but Tom was feeling under the weather so she decided to make them all tea at home instead.

Their busy schedules kept them from seeing much of each other on weekdays, even though they all lived in the same apartment. Y/n worked varying shifts, sometimes getting off by 3pm and sometimes working graveyard. Tom and Harrison each had different exhausting filming schedules. The only thing the three had in common, work wise, was their shared day off: Saturday.

This meant that they usually spent all day Saturday catching up. They talked about their work weeks and personal lives, anything that hadn’t been apparent during the few times they would see each other within the confines of their apartment during the week.

This Saturday, y/n was quieter than usual. Both of the boys noticed, but neither of them wanted to say anything. Eventually, she piped up, but they could sense her nerves.

“So I know we usually spend Saturdays together, so please don’t hate me, but I may have maybe made plans, maybe.”

“With who?” Tom teased, knowing her well enough to see that this was the cause of her nerves.

“Doesn’t matter,” she muttered, hoping they would leave it. But the boys were nothing if they weren’t persistent, a characteristic that could both be endearing and infuriating.

“Oh come on, if you’re going to ditch us, you have to at least tell us who’s lucky enough to be stealing you away,” Harrison pestered.

After a few minutes of them insisting, she finally gave in, telling them she was going on a date with a co-worker, Kyle, who she had told them about plenty of times before. Nothing she had said had been very good though, so the mention of his name made both of their faces fall.

“Isn’t that the asshole who tried to touch your ass a couple months ago?”

“And that’s why I didn’t want to tell you guys.”

“Y/n, you can’t be fucking serious. The guys a prick, why would you be going on a date with him?”

“Believe it or not, I’m a big girl. I’m capable of making my own decisions.”

“Apparently not. Give us one good reason why going on a date with him is a good idea,” Tom asked, giving her a pointed look. She rolled her eyes and got off of the couch, taking the three tea cups into the kitchen with her to wash.

“I really don’t need to explain myself to you guys. But he’s taking me to an early dinner. So I’ll be leaving around 5. I should be back in time to watch a movie with you guys, though.”

They boys shared an annoyed look with each other. She had endless stories about this guy, each one with the same theme. He didn’t know how to treat women. He had made so many inappropriate comments to y/n and her female co-workers. He had gotten away with every count of sexual harassment. His silver tongue could talk his way out of anything, but it helped that their boss was a 55 year old widow who thought he was just adorable.

Y/n left the room before they could protest. It was only noon, which meant she had 5 hours before Kyle was supposed to pick her up and take her to her favorite restaurant. She didn’t want to avoid her roommates for that long, but she felt like it was her only option. Being around them was just going to result in them harassing her about the date, and she didn’t want to talk about it with them.

She really didn’t want to go on the date anyway, but this was about the hundredth time Kyle had asked her, and each time she had said no he backed off for only about a day before he would ask again. Every time she would tell the boys about it, they would be on her side, calling him a prick or an asshole. But her mother was another story. She was the kind of woman to ask for grandchildren once her children turned 18. When she found out that her daughter was moving in with two boys, she was certainly hopeful there was a marriage hidden somewhere in her future with one of them. And y/n would be lying if she had said that she hadn’t have hoped for the same thing.

She had met Tom at a party in the summer after high school. He was charming, sure, but she wasn’t attracted to him in that way, and he loved that about her right off the bat. Of course they flirted from time to time, but it was always teasing and platonic. But the second he had introduced her to Harrison, she felt her heart explode. His eyes were like nothing she had ever seen and she had the sudden urge to run her hand through his hair.

6 years later, at the age of 23, she still couldn’t admit to anyone that she felt that way about him. She told Harrison and Tom everything, except for the fact that every time Harrison did so much as look at her she thought she would die. 6 years of friendship and the fireworks she felt every time he would hug her hadn’t died out. But the fear of losing both him and Tom was too real. She didn’t want him to be weirded out and not want to be around her, and of course him and Tom had more history than she had with either of them, so Tom would obviously choose him over her. And now that she was living with them, that would have meant either having to move back home or finding a new roommate. Neither option was desirable, so she chose to live with the fact that she was hopelessly in love with one of her best friends.

Which only gave her more reason to go on this date. She had to get over Harrison at some point, and no one else was volunteering to take one for the team and let her date them, so she caved. If it meant it could get her mother off her back and get rid of the guilt of loving Harrison, she was for it, despite her hatred for the boy.

A knock sounded at y/n’s bedroom door an hour later. She was watching something on her laptop, but paused it as she called for the person to enter.

Harrison came in with her favorite mug, filled with a delicious smelling soup.

“Hey, I made lunch, figured you’d want some.”

She nodded excitedly, reaching her hands for the mug. He chuckled and brought it to her, sitting next to her on the bed as she took it.

“We didn’t mean to upset you. You’re not mad are you?”

“Not anymore,” she joked, gesturing to the soup, causing him to chuckle. He had a strange nervous energy to him, something she hadn’t seen in him often.

“We really want you to come sit with us again. We’ll shut up about the date, promise. This is just the only chance we get to see you during the week.”

The thought of him wanting to spend more time with her made her heart swell, so she agreed to go join them again.

“You know, you guys don’t have to baby me. I know exactly what I’m doing.”

Harrison frowned as he did his best to hold back every hurtful comment he had about Kyle. He just didn’t understand how she thought that going out with him was a good idea.

When y/n had told him and Tom about Kyle trying to grab her inappropriately, an anger bubbled up inside of him, an anger that resurfaced with every mention of him from there out. Hearing that she was going to be alone a date with him made Harrison extremely nervous. He wanted nothing more than to ask her to just cancel, to just stay in with him and Tom like every other Saturday. But Kyle’s personality wasn’t the only reason he didn’t want her to go. He was hurt that she would choose someone like Kyle over him, although he refused to accept that his jealousy was because of his budding feelings for her.

Just like her, he didn’t want to complicate things. So each time he had the urge to lean in and kiss her, he would instead replace his emotions with a sense of frustration. He had had a few outbursts with both her and Tom because of this. He just couldn’t control the stupid things that came out of his mouth in an anger caused by his frustrated heart. But he couldn’t rid himself of the butterflies he felt when she smiled.

“We just want what’s best for you, love.”

“Who says this isn’t what’s best for me,” she mumbled, hoping he didn’t hear her. But he did, and it stung. Just knowing that she could possibly think Kyle was better than him was a punch to the gut.

He got up and headed towards the door waiting for her to follow. As she approached him, standing in the doorway, he paused. His heart was screaming at him to say something, but his denial of his feelings stopped him from saying what he should.

“Just promise me one thing,” he said instead.

“What?”

“If anything goes down tonight, anything you don’t like, you call me and Tom. And we will take care of it.”

“Ok, dad,” she laughed. He was rarely this protective, but she definitely wasn’t hating it.

“I’m serious,” he chuckled with her, the crinkles under his eyes making her heart flutter.

“Ok, I’ll call you if anything happens. But it won’t.”

They returned to the couch with Tom who immediately began to whine that his common cold was going to be the death of him.

When y/n eventually got up to get ready, she felt bad for leaving the two on the couch, but there was no way she was going to cancel last minute. Her manners were too good.

So she got up and put on her favorite dress, with earrings to match. She curled her hair and put on an amount of makeup that she hoped was acceptable. She called a goodbye to the boys as she went out the door, receiving some less than excited farewells from her roommates.

Harrison immediately got up and got some beers from the fridge after she left. The feeling in his chest seeing her in that dress, the admiration of how beautiful she looked and jealousy that it wasn’t for him, wasn’t going to go away on its own.

Kyle was waiting outside, standing on the sidewalk with a bouquet of flowers, a good sign right off the bat. But those flowers were no indication of how terrible her date was going to go. He played terrible music in the car there, which wasn’t anything she would have complained about later on, but it was just the beginning of her misery. Once they sat down for dinner, Kyle barely paused for breath between boring stories about himself. None of them were cute anecdotes, they were all just opportunities for him to brag about himself. It was made obvious within the first five minutes that he had no intention to get to know her. She assumed that this was how all dates went with him, and although she had worked it up in her head that she needed to get back out there and start dating, she was now sure that Kyle was not the guy to do that with.

In the middle of one of his stories, y/n’s phone went off, lighting up with Tom’s name. Her anxious nature couldn’t let her skip a call from her sick roommate, and it wasn’t like she was exactly invested in the conversation anyway. So she excused herself from the table, telling him it was an important call and that she would be right back.

Once in the open air in front of the restaurant, she answered the call with a “This better be good” but was met with no response. She could just hear some muffled talking, and some bottles clinking. She immediately knew that Tom had just butt-dialed her. The boy could barely use his phone with his fingers, but his pockets made up for it. He made over 10 accidental calls a week, most of them to either her or Harrison, so this was nothing new.

She was about to hang up, but she heard her name come from one of the muffled voices.

“I just can’t believe she’s being so dumb.”

“That’s a bit harsh, Haz.”

“No, it’s not, she’s fucking idiotic. Who goes on a date with someone like that?”

“Harrison!”

“You’ve heard the same stories that I have! The guy is a terrible human being, but here she is, whoring herself out to him.”

The voices kept going, but y/n wasn’t listening anymore. She pressed the end call button as her arm dropped to her side. Tears were threatening to fall, and she didn’t want Kyle to see her like this, so she texted him to let him know that an emergency came up and she had to leave. Of course, he never replied to the text, but she didn’t care how rude leaving halfway through a date was at that point. Harrison was right about one thing, Kyle was a dick, but as far as she was concerned, Harrison was on the same level after those comments.

Their apartment was only 5 blocks away, and y/n was thankful that she had decided to not wear heels on her date. She spent the walk trying to think of how she could deal with the situation at hand. She felt weird telling them that she had eavesdropped in on them after Tom accidentally called her, it felt wrong. But there was no way she could just pretend like she wasn’t hurt by Harrison’s words.

If only she had continued to listen in on their conversation, she would have heard Tom call him out for his hateful words.

“Mate, not cool. Don’t talk about her like that!”

After a few seconds of careful consideration, Harrison mumbled out that he didn’t mean it.

“This is like the seventh time you’ve said something like that. It’s almost like it only happens when she shows interest in another guy. What’s up with that?”

Harrison didn’t reply, just tried to avoid eye contact with his best friend. What could he say? He loved her? He couldn’t even admit it to himself.

“Oh my god, I’m an idiot. How did I not fucking see it before?”

“See what?”

“You love her don’t you?”

“Shut up.”

“No, yeah, that’s why you get all angry every time something like this comes up. I’m a fucking idiot for not connecting that, holy shit…”

“Tom, shut up!” Harrison exploded, a blush creeping up his neck and over his cheeks.

“Haz, don’t deny it. And you better not be an ass when she gets back. You should tell her how you feel! I mean, we both know nothing is coming from a date with a guy like that.”

“You really are an idiot.”

“You pushing your little crush aside isn’t going to help anything. You need to tell her.”

“I can’t, Tom.”

“And why not?”

“Because… I can’t lose her.”

The pain was evident in his voice, making Tom’s heart constrict. He didn’t know how y/n felt, but he knew the kind of person she was, so he knew that even if she didn’t feel the same way, she would never be cruel about it. They would remain best friends, because no matter what, she loved him at least that much.

They continued to go back and forth on the topic until they heard y/n’s keys in the front door.

When she got to the apartment, it was evident that she was upset. Despite her best efforts, a few tears had slipped down her cheeks, and walking home in the cold didn’t really help her mood. When she reached their front door, she took a deep breath and decided to just rush to her room and try to avoid the boys. It wasn’t like she was going to have to talk to them until next Saturday anyway.

She opened the door, ignoring the looks she received from the boys on the couch. She slammed the front door, something she did not mean to do.

“Hey, how did it go?” Tom called from the couch. Harrison sat quietly, hoping her response wouldn’t hurt him too much. But she didn’t respond. They both looked at her to see the small lines of mascara running down her face as she hung her keys up by the door.

Both of the boys called her name as she headed for her room. She prayed that they would leave her be, that they would just shrug it off and go back to their stupid conversations, but the worry grew in both of them. They worried what could have happened on the date with Kyle that could have gotten this kind of reaction out of her. They both got up from the couch, rushing down the hall to her. Harrison got to her first, grabbing her wrist before she could close the door in their face.

“Hey, love, what happened.”

She jerked her hand away from him, growling at him not to touch her. Both of the boys looked at her in shock. She never acted like this towards them. Even when she was upset with other people, she never took it out on them. Their minds were racing as to what could have broken her nice exterior.

“What did he do?” Harrison asked, receiving a scoff from her.

“Believe it or not, he was a perfect gentleman. Even brought me flowers, even though I was just, you know, whoring myself out to him,” she spat, refusing to make eye contact with either of them.

Her words rang through Harrison’s head, instantly sending a rush of guilt through him. She went to slam her bedroom door, but Tom stopped it from closing.

“What are you talking about?”

“You butt dialed me, Holland.”

He cursed under his breath, trying to vouch for Harrison immediately, telling her he didn’t mean it, but she didn’t want to hear it. She should have known Tom would be on Harrison’s side.

“Tom, please shut up. I just…. I’m going to go spend the night at Allison’s. I’ll let you know if I’m coming back.”

Her coworker Allison had spent the night with her after countless heartbreaks, so it was only natural for her to go there to avoid the boys. She had no intention of actually not coming back, she had no idea why she said it, but it made both the boys panic.

“Y/n, please don’t be ridiculous,” Tom begged, praying that Harrison would take over any second and try to make his mistake better.

“I really don’t think I’m being ridiculous, Thomas. Your best mate just called me a whore. I think I have every right to be upset.”

“Y/n….” Harrison began.

“No, I don’t want to hear any more from you. I think you’ve said enough.”

“Please, I-I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Harrison, believe it or not, we can’t go back in time, so don’t try to reverse what you said. You said it, you’re gonna deal with the consequences.”

Tears were streaming freely down her face at that point, but her voice never faltered. She grabbed a bag from her closet and began to throw items in it so she could leave. Tom left the room, giving Harrison a stern look on the way out.

“Y/n, please, stop packing.”

“You know, you were so worried about Kyle hurting me tonight. Really made me feel like you cared about me. You really got me fooled there. It’s like poetic justice that you were the jerk to hurt me in the end.”

Her words cut him, but he knew he was deserving. What he said was terrible, and he regretted it. He could be a real idiot at times. But there was no way he was going to give up on her.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Your intentions didn’t matter. Just because you didn’t want me to hear what you were saying doesn’t make it ok. You still fucking hurt me.”

“I didn’t mean it how I said it though.”

He expected her to spit another hurtful line at him, but her silence was somehow more painful.

“I-I’m sorry. But in my defense, you were going out with a complete dick. He didn’t deserve you, and I just don’t fucking understand why you would go out with him.”

He hated himself for defending his insult, but the words were falling from his mouth and he couldn’t stop himself.

“I mean you knew he was a prick, you complain about him all the time, but here you were suddenly defending him. Even after how he’s treated you, it just makes no fucking sense.”

As his temper grew, she stopped packing, just stood staring at the wall. He could see her holding her words back from him, physically straining from the pain of keeping the tidal wave of hurt inside. It took all of her to reserve her words.

“Well why the fuck did you go out with him anyway?”

“Because he asked!” She exploded, finally filling her angry silence.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I mean… no one else was asking. And I’m not getting any younger. And according to my mother, an asshole is better than nothing. So, I’m sorry that he didn’t meet your standards, but I was doing what I thought was best for my future.”

“You thought you had a future with him?” he scoffed. The question came out as cruel, but that wasn’t his intent. He just couldn’t say anything right. She didn’t make an effort to hide her offense as she began to pack the bag again.

“No, fuck, I didn’t mean it like that,” he reached out and grabbed her arm, hoping she wouldn’t jerk away, “I just meant… well he’s not good enough for you. The guys a dick.”

“So are you,” she whispered, making him chuckle sadly.

“I’m a fucking idiot.”

Her heart was swelling with too many emotions, both positive and negative. Her head was anything but clear and everything felt overwhelming. She sighed and rested her back on the wall previously in front of her. She slid down, resting her forehead on her knees, trying her best to not scream to her hearts content. She just wanted to not feel anything for a minute. She wanted to put all emotions aside and just figure out what she was supposed to do. Harrison had just called her something she found unforgivable, but here she was, feeling the crush just as much as usual.

His heart broke as she dropped down to the ground, hugging her knees to her chest. Her sniffles echoed in his ears, amplifying the guilt he felt. Of course he didn’t mean what he said. He had never viewed her as anything less than perfect, but his jealousy got the best of him. It made him say stupid things on multiple occasions, but this was the worst he had done, the worst he had felt.

He cautiously kneeled down next to her, resting his hand on her shoulder. If she had pulled away from him, he wouldn’t have tried to touch her again, but he wanted to comfort her. She welcomed the touch, but she didn’t look up at him.

“Love, you need to believe that I didn’t mean what I said. I was being a div. I am so sorry. Please, tell me what I can do to make it better.”

She finally looked up at him.

“If you didn’t mean it, why would you say it?”

They looked into each other’s eyes, a tension building between them. This time it wasn’t angry or hostile, just curiosity and nerves.

“I-I don’t know.”

“Harrison, I know you wouldn’t say something like that just because. There was something behind it. I just… I don’t know if I can forgive you for that.”

And he understood. He wanted to beg, but it wasn’t getting him anywhere, so he decided to give it up. The guilt finally consumed him and tears began to stream down his face. He never imagined that he could hurt her to the point of no return. Of course he wanted her. He wanted to tell her that he was just jealous, although that was no excuse. But he couldn’t. So he decided that letting her be angry at him was deserved, and that he was going to accept his consequence.

He watched as she got up and packed a few more things into her bag. Her eyes looked vacant went she turned and glanced at him on her floor, before passing him and closing the front door.

A/N: My sorry ass couldn’t leave it like this, so keep an eye out for part two, coming to a theatre near you

Taglist: @smilexcaptainx @castawayparker @rose-marys-love @chonisberonica @5sos-wdw @chloe-geoghegan1 @spiderlingsweb @johnsambrosemcclaren

#hosterfields5kwc #harrison #harrison osterfield #harrison osterfeild imagine #harrison osterfeild x reader #harrison osterfield angst #harrison osterfield x y/n #angst #haz #haz osterfield #the world is black #can't believe this is the title i went with but whatever #couldn't think of anything better

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shannie-writes · 5 years

Note

BAND AU AND SIREN/PIRATE AU. PLEASE FEED ME I NEED GOOD CONTENT THANK U I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH! 💖💞💜💖💞💜

TAWNY, BLESS YOU!

I’ll be posting them separately, so this will be for Band AU. Band AU was the very first AU I made for IkeRev and it is very near and dear to me and I could honestly go on all day about it. It was really hard to pare it down to the short description below. Please enjoy!

------

AU: Band

Pairing(s): Jonah/Lancelot, Sirius/MC/Ray, Seth/MC2/Zero

Setting: Modern

The Basics: The famous idol group “Shine” has a good thing going until the up-and-coming rock band “Giving Hearts in Spades” comes out with a single that tops the charts, beating out their songs by a long shot. Thus begins a rivalry between the two for several years to come. Little do they know, a connection had already been created between the two bands, that was desperately trying to stay a secret.

Ray: Plays guitar and backup vocalist for Spades. Was the first to be asked to join the band by Sirius. Eventually grew into a relationship with Sirius and later added Alice, under wraps.

Sirius: Plays keyboard and backup vocalist for Spades. Had gone to a performance school with Harr and Lancelot, but was not picked out to join a group like Lancelot was. Created his own group on the side and worked hard to put it on the map. Is dating Ray, and Alice when able.

Luka: Plays bass for Spades. While usually shy and quiet, he plays with all his heart and effort on stage. Was pushed into music by his parents and he does enjoy it, but wanted to earn his spot in a band, rather than have his family name behind it.

Seth: Lead vocalist for Spades. Was found by Sirius at a karaoke bar he frequented. Seth still visits the bar at least once a week when he’s able. Met Nancy and Zero there before Spades made it big. In a romantic relationship with the both of them.

Fenrir: Drummer for Spades. Loves to do drum stick tricks during performances and always has several backup pairs, just in case he goes too wild and loses/breaks one. Was suggested by Ray when Sirius was looking for a drummer.

Lancelot: Plays piano/keyboard and is a vocalist for Shine. Was picked to join an idol group when he was still in performance school and couldn’t refuse. Loves to play duets with Jonah. Keeps his relationship with Jonah a secret, though the rest of the group already knows.

Jonah: Plays violin and is the main vocalist for Shine. Son to a famous musical duo, who raised him to sing since he could talk. Keeps his relationship with Lancelot a secret everywhere but the group house.

Edgar: Plays guitar, along with multiple other instruments, and is a vocalist for Shine. Had been in a few other bands before, but none of them stuck around long before he joined Shine.

Kyle: Plays bass, guitar, and is a vocalist for Shine. Is extremely talented with his hands and has an entire online fanclub dedicated to them.

Zero: Plays drums and is the rapper for Shine. Went to a karaoke bar to let off steam and met Nancy and Seth that same night. Made it a goal to sneak out of the group house to visit them at the bar once a week. In a romantic relationship with both of them.

Harr: Had gone to a performance school where he met Lancelot and Sirius. Plays guitar, but does his own solo thing. Music interest-wise, he prefers the music produced by Giving Hearts in Spades.

Loki: A big fan of Shine. Goes to almost all of their shows and has plenty of their posters up on his walls. Is working on getting into a performance school so he can be on stage someday, too.

Blanc: Manager over Shine. Flirts with a lot of the fans, but keeps his relationships professional. Has the schedule for Shine near well packed, down to the hour.

Oliver: Manager over Spades. The band members give him a headache most days and he feels like he babysits a lot of the time, reminding them constantly of the relationship rules set on them. This doesn’t stop them from disobeying them anyway.

MC(Alice): A huge fan of Giving Hearts in Spades. Wrote them fan letters and would regularly see them in fan meets in their early days. Gradually caught the attention of both Sirius and Ray, who pulled her into their relationship and make sure to see her as often as they realistically can with their restrictions once they made it big.

MC2(Nancy): Regularly visited a karaoke bar and made sure she was there on the nights Seth would perform, well before he joined the band. Didn’t actually approach him until the night Zero visited the bar for the first time. They developed a friendship that turned into a relationship and they all keep it a secret for different reasons.

Snippet:

“Whoa, whoa. Wait, go back! Did you see it?” Nancy leaned into Zero, pointing at the screen he was holding. “It’s a Spades song! You have official karaoke status now, Seth,” she laughed.

Seth finished his drink, the third one for the night, his eyes bright and his grin wide as he picked up the other screen, scrolling along it until he found what she was looking at. “Paradise in Passion? I would have loved to see Rocket to Your Moon--oh, there it is. This is so exciting!”

“Congratulations, Seth.”

“Thanks, Zero,” he said, flashing him a return smile.

“Put it up, I want to sing it.” Nancy hopped to her feet, snatching the microphone from the table laden with drinks and snacks.

“Rocket?”

“Yes!”

“I’ll sing Paradise when she’s done, then,” Zero said, taking another sip of his water. “It’s really my only chance to get to sing one of your songs, after all.”

“Aww, you two are so lovely. Alright, they’re all queued up. Hit it, sweetie!”

Nancy laughed as the first chords began. Zero tapped his fingers against his glass to the beat of the drum, unable to resist a smile as they both watched Nancy’s demeanor mellow to the tone of the song. It started off fast, the words flying by on the screen on the wall above the seating behind them. The chorus was slow and intense and it was only then that Zero realized that Nancy wasn’t even looking at the screen in the first place, her eyes on Seth as she sang his own lyrics to him.

She had only just finished the last line when Seth jumped up in front of her, cupping her face in his palms to give her a desperate kiss. Zero blushed, unsure if he should watch or not. Seth wrapped his arms around her and he spun her in a tight circle, his lips still on hers as he dropped her back to her feet. She giggled and tilted her head back, the spin and the alcohol she had been drinking all night leaving her slightly dizzy.

“That’s what I’d call a first kiss,” she sighed happily.

Zero stood, clearing his throat. “I shouldn’t be expecting one of those, too, right? I’m afraid I may be too heavy for you to spin.”

Nancy laughed, extracting herself from Seth’s hold to hand him the microphone.

“Depends on how well you do,” Seth said, giving Zero a wink before he ushered Nancy back to her seat, grabbing the screen and restarting the song for Zero. “Hit it, Zero!”

Zero shook his head, wearing a soft smile as he watched the screen, waiting for the words to scroll up. He hadn’t had the pleasure to listen to Seth’s songs as often as Nancy had, but he had the training and he was going to make it sound as perfect as he could. His voice was deeper than Seth’s, but he had a good range and was able to sing spotlessly to Seth’s song of love and passion. He couldn’t help his blush from rising to his cheeks again as he did. He hadn’t paid that much attention to the lyrics before and they were far raunchier than he had been anticipating.

The last few notes trailed off and while Nancy clapped, Seth stood up again. Looking Seth in the eyes, he couldn’t help the quick pace his heart set as Seth gripped the front of his shirt, pulling him in for a kiss that was surprisingly soft, and tasted of the fruity margarita he had just finished a minute before. He barely had time to react before Seth pulled away, smoothing out his shirt and giving him a bright grin.

“Beautiful.”

#chief speaks #au questionnaire #band au #tawny

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spidey-babe-parker · 6 years

Text

Fragile Line

chapter 5:

oh, holding my breath

Inspired: Beauty and the Beast

Featuring: Bucky Barnes

warnings: angst, tears, sadness, oh and yeah smut happens... finally.

an: So it’s been forever and a day, and I’m sorry about that. There might be one more chapter of this if people like actually want epilogue chapter. Also Infinity War totally didn’t happen in this story for many reasons.

I’m starting almost done with a Drunk Bucky Barnes college au mini series, that I’m trying to finish so that’s going up soon. Oh and the next next fairy tale inspire story is going to be the modern day little mermaid story with Steve Rogers and Bucky is going to pop up in that.

Series Masterlist: links are broken, the series masterlist is in my masterlist. The link is in the bio.

Lydia listened to what Steve has told her to do. She got down to Amsterdam and checked into a hotel with nothing but her duffle bag and purse. She watched as the feud between Iron Man and Captain America played out in front of the world.

After the constant coverage it got to the point, she couldn’t watch it anymore.

She couldn’t believe all of this seemed to be happening over Bucky. Who was being framed for something he didn’t even do.

She went into to town to find a bookstore so she could find a something to reader to keep herself distracted. She avoided seeing newspapers or watching TV. She didn’t want to read the horrible things that everyone was saying about Bucky Barnes. She saw over and over again he was being referred to as the assassin the Winter Soldier. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that some people considered him to be a killer. The man who rescued her who seemed more afraid of himself didn’t seem like the man who would kill people. She knew he had a dark past but she knew he didn’t have any control over who he was or what he did. He wasn’t the monster they were making him out to be.

It had been two weeks since she last saw Bucky, and she missed him. She missed constantly having him around even if they didn’t talk much. She just felt safe being around him and she like his presence. On the fifteenth day they had been apart she opened the door to her hotel and found a flip phone with a text on it. It simply read “meet me at the café rose at 8:30am”. She didn’t have a doubt in her mind that it was Steve finally coming to let her know she could leave. That night she nervously sat around. She was worried Steve was going to tell her something bad happened to Bucky. That night she didn’t get much sleep, she tossed and turned and a dream about being with Bucky again.

She got dressed and headed into town in the early morning. At eight thirty she walked up to Café Rose to find Steve Rogers sitting outside with a baseball had on and sunglasses. Slowly she walked over and sat down across from him. She could tell something was wrong, he just looked sad.

“Morning,” he softly said.

“Morning,” she replied not exactly what else she should say. She hadn’t ever talked to Steve outside of the time Steve found her in Bucky’s apartment.

“Before you ask, he’s safe and hidden away from everyone,” he looked over at the girl who seemed to be on the verge of tears right in front of him.

She let out a soft sigh and nodded her head knowing that him being hidden away was for the best.

“He’s not hurt at all?” she asked knowing there had been a big fight in an airport in Germany.

Steve sighed and her heart dropped at the thought of him being hurt. “He got pretty beat up and his metal arm gotten taken off.”

She gasped and reached up to cover her mouth. She suddenly wanted to cry at the thought that he lost his arm again. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah he’s fine I took him somewhere where he can get a new arm and he’ll be okay,” Steve sounded so calm and it was making her feel better about the situation.

“Where is he?” she asked.

Steve let out a heavy sigh and looked down at the table that had a coffee sitting in front of him, “Lydia I can’t tell you that unfortunately. I can’t let anyone know where he is. I can only keep him safe if nobody knows where he is.”

She knew he wouldn’t be able to tell her, but there was a part of her that wished he could, “is he still having nightmares?”

He shook his head, “no he won’t anymore. Where we took him, they’re going to fix him and take away what Hydra put in his mind away.”

Her eyes grew wide and started to brim with tears, “please tell me you’re not gonna wipe him.” She felt bile crawl up her throat at just the thought of someone wiping Bucky again, when he was just getting some of his memories back.

Steve’s own blue eye grew wide as he reached across the table and placed his hand on top of hers, “oh god no, I will never let that happen to him again.” He paused for a moment. “Were trying to get him back to being normal Bucky. I don’t want them to ever be able to trigger him again.”

She nodded her head trusting Steve. From what she had read in the last two weeks, Steve and Bucky were childhood best friends. She knew that he cared for Bucky as much as her.

“What happens from here?” she asked knowing that Bucky was never going to be in her life again. It was finally time for her to go home to the states for a while. She just needed to hear what Steve thought she should do.

“I’m going to go into hiding and you should probably leave Europe for a little while. If anyone ask about your time in Romania don’t let anyone know you knew who he was.”

“Okay will do.”

-&-

She had been home back in the states for about two months. She moved back into her parent’s house. When she first came home, they asked her loads of questions of about her time in Romania. She didn’t tell them much other than she worked in a café. She worked on restarting her life back in the states. She had just started working at a coffee shop in her town. Her life was simple and she knew that, but since coming home she felt like something was missing. She knew it probably had to do with the fact she never actually got to say goodbye to Bucky. The last time she saw him was the morning in the safe house after they shared a kiss. She had fallen in love with the man that saved her life, and now here she was having to live her life acting as if she had never met him.

She often heard people talking in the coffee shop about Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. Every time she heard Steve’s name, she would help but listen in at the thought that maybe they might mention Bucky. After everything had originally happened Bucky’s picture was plastered across magazines most of them referred to him as the Winter Soldier one of the deadliest assassins to live. It always made her sick to her stomach reading about him, because she knew the Winter Soldier wasn’t truly Bucky. That was who the people who wiped him turned him into. She hated that people didn’t know the Bucky she knew, and they never really would.

Three years later

Sitting in the kitchen at her parent’s house she was listening to her parents talking about her birthday that was tomorrow. She hadn’t even actually thought about her birthday her mind had seemed to be in other places recently.

“What are your birthday plans Lydia?” her mother asked grabbing her attention.

“What?” she looked up from her coffee that was sitting on kitchen table in front of her.

Her mother gave her an unamused look as she knit her eyebrows together, “Lydia have you even been listening to me or your father?”

“Sorry I zoned out,” she picked up the large cup of coffee and brought it up to her lips. Her eye looked at her mother who gently shook her head at her daughter.

“Did you want to have dinner tonight with us?” she asked her daughter.

Nodding her head, she gave her mother a half smile, “yeah I’m going out tonight with some friends and people from work tonight. So, tomorrow is perfect.”

-&-

Walking into the crowed bar with some friends and coworkers, she couldn’t help but wonder if she made a mistake by going out. She wasn’t ever a person who enjoyed going to crowed bars, and she wasn’t sure why she thought going to one with all her friends to celebrate her birthday would be a good idea.

Standing at the bar next to her friend Allie she was listening to her go on and on about her cousin who she thought would be a great match for Lydia. Allie had been a friend of hers since high school, and she was on a mission to find Lydia a man, even though she had told her often she wasn’t interested in dating. Allie like everyone else had no clue about Lydia’s time with Bucky. She just assumed that Lydia didn’t want to take because of her terrible break up before she left to move to Romania.

“Lydia you and Kyle would get along amazing, why do you at least go on one date with him?” Allie asked before taking a sip of her cranberry and vodka.

“Allie I’m not interested in dating,” she sighed looking down at her drink that was sitting on the bar.

“Come on Lydia one date wouldn’t kill you,” Allie wasn’t ready to give up on getting her friend to go out on a date.

“Allie maybe another time,” she picked up her drink and walked over to the table where the rest the group was sitting.

Allie followed behind her friend, and shouted to the group, “someone buy the birthday a shot we need to get her drunk.”

Lydia did nothing but roll her eyes as she sat down at the table. Moments later some of the group were waving down a waitress to order her a couple shots. She groaned as two shots of tequila were sitting in front of her. Taking both shots, she shook her head as the gold colored liquid slid down her throat.

Soon she was being dragged on to the dance for in the corner of the bar and was dancing with some friends. The gold liquid left her feeling slightly tipsy, few people offered to buy her drinks, but she turned them down not wanting to get drunk. As the clock struck midnight, she said her goodbyes to her friends telling them she couldn’t stay out super late because she had family stuff to do the next morning.

Walking outside she hailed a cab. Luckily the bar she was out wasn’t too far from her apartment. The warm feeling of the alcohol flushed through her system as she walked up to the elevator in the lobby of her apartment building. Clicking the button, the doors to the elevator opened and walked inside alone. Leaning against the wall of the elevator she couldn’t help but wonder if she should have maybe stayed at the bar for another hour, but for some reason she wasn’t really in the mood to celebrate her birthday. As the elevator doors opened as stepped out into the hallway. She saw a man in a hoodie standing in front of her door and she suddenly got nervous, she was tempted to go back to the bar instead of walking up to the man. Before she could even decide what to do a familiar face turned and looked at her.

Her heart jumped at the sight of Bucky standing at her door. Her eyes went wide as her eyes locked onto his icy blue ones. Without even thinking she took off running down the hall towards him. The second she got to him she wrapped her arms around him holding his body close to hers. “Bucky,” she muttered as tears started to slide down her face.

“Lydia,” his metal hand rubbed her back holding on to her.

As she held onto him tightly afraid if she let go of him, he would disappear again. Her body shook gently as she held on to him.

Pulling away from him slowly she looked up at him with watery eyes. She was still in a state of disbelief that Bucky was standing in the hallway in front of her apartment. She reached up placed her hand on his scruff covered cheek. A soft smile formed on his lips as his blue eyes stayed lock onto her eyes.

They hadn’t said a single word to each other, other then their names. She still seemed to be in a state of disbelief that she was with Bucky again, and he was shocked that she wasn’t mad at him for leaving her.

Leaning down he rested his forehead against her taking in her presence.

She wasn’t even sure what she should say to him right then. She had no clue where he had been for the last three years, and even though she thought about him often. She was constantly trying to remind herself that most likely she was never going to get to reunite with the man standing in front of her.

“I’m sorry I left you and never said goodbye,” he whispered breaking the silence that was between them.

She closed her eyes pushing back the tears that had formed between them. Reaching up he rested his hand on her cheek, and his thumb reached up an brushed the tears off her cheek.

“You didn’t have choice,” she said softly.

“Can we maybe go inside and talk?” he asked pulling away from her.

Nodding her head, she reached into her purse to pull out her keys. Bucky took another step away so she could the door. Walking side she set her purse on the floor and walked over to the couch in the living room. Bucky followed behind her and sat down on the couch next to her.

They stared at each other for a long moment neither of them exactly sure what they should say to each other. She reached over and rested her hand on thigh, and gave him a soft smile.

“I’m assuming you have a lot of questions,” he said softly knowing that three years had passed since they had seen each other and she had to have some questions.

“How did you find me?”

“Steve tracked you down for me,” he reached over and rested his hand on top of hers and gently squeezed her hand.

At the mention of Steve’s name, she couldn’t help but wonder if Steve had told Bucky that she thought she loved him all those years ago. She couldn’t lie that even with three years passing she was pretty sure she loved the man that was sitting next to her.

“Did he tell you that he met up with me after Germany?”

He nodded his head, “I asked him to make sure you were safe. I had him check on you occasionally.”

She nodded her head not exactly sure what else she should ask him, she was still completely blown away by the fact that she was seeing him again. “Are you still having nightmares?”

He shook his head, “no, they were finally able to take away what Hydra put in me.”

He gave her a gentle half smile that suddenly gave her butterflies.

“This might embarrass me, but did Steve possibly tell you how I felt about you?” her heart raced at the thought of Bucky rejecting her feeling she felt for him three years ago, especially since she still had those feelings.

Slowly he nodded his head, “he told me about them a little while ago. He also made sure to bring you up often. He knew you were one of the only real things in my life in the last seventy years.”

Tears started to slide down her cheek slowly, “when he found me that day, I honestly thought I was never going to see you again. We had shared that kiss that morning and I thought things were getting better for you…” she paused for a moment reliving that morning. “I should over never ask for you to go out and get fruit. We might have had more time together,” she couldn’t help but cry feeling suddenly guilty.

“Hey,” he reached up placing his hand on her cheek so she was looking up at him. “We were living on borrowed time. If I didn’t go out that morning, I was eventually going to go out again, they were going to find me at some point. I’m just glad that Steve found you and not someone else.”

She nodded her head and asked him the one thing she needed to know in that moment, “are we on borrowed time right now?”

He shook his head, “no I’m not going anywhere unless you ask me to.”

“Okay good because I’m not ready to lose you again.”

“Lydia, just so you know, I felt the same way you did back then.”

She couldn’t help but smile. Reaching up she placed her hand on his wrist that was resting on her cheek, “do you still have those feelings?”

She needed to know, even if he didn’t it wouldn’t change how she felt then or now.

He nodded his head, “you’re still the realest thing that has ever been in my life.”

“That makes me feel better knowing that I’m the only one with those feelings,” she said softly causing him to smile.

“Are you single?” he asked completely out of nowhere.

Her brows furrowed together as she gave him a confused look, “yes, why?”

“Because I would like to kiss you again, but I want to make sure you’re not taken.”

Her eyes lit up at the thought of them sharing another kiss. “I would love for you to kiss me.”

Without another word he leaned forward and connected his lips to hers for a gentle kiss. His lips moved against hers slowly as if he was testing the waters. Pulling away from her he couldn’t help but smile, he had waited a long time before he was able to see her again, and here he was being able to kiss her again.

“I have missed you so much,” she whispered.

“I missed you too, I know I have been gone for a while, but they fixed me.”

Even though they had taken out what Hydra put in him, Bucky was still left with what he had done under his control. He felt a substantial amount of guilt for the people he had hurt because of Hydra.

“Why does it sound like you don’t feel like you’re fully fix?” she asked knowing that by his tone he still sounded guilty.

“I will never be able to forget what I did because of them. Even being wiped I’m still left with the memories are coming back,” he sighed.

“Hey, we’ve been over this, you weren’t in control you aren’t a monster. You didn’t do those things,” she sighed shaking her head.

“I know, that’s what Steve reminds me of all the time.”

“Bucky what happens now?” she asked needing to know if eventually he was going to leave again.

“I don’t exactly have a plan, I asked Steve to track you down. I told him I needed to see you, I wasn’t sure if you had a boyfriend or something, but needed to see you again.”

She smiled, “I’m glad you tracked me down, because in the last three year I have thought about you often.”

He reached up and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear and asked, “where were you tonight?”

She let out a heavy sigh, “I went to the bar with some friends to celebrate my birthday.”

His eyes went wide at the mention of her birthday, “it’s your birthday?”

She smirked at how caught off guard he sounded, “well technically since it’s after midnight yes it’s my birthday.”

“I wish Steve would have told me that I would of brought you a gift,” he sighed feeling suddenly stupid that he didn’t know this information.

“I don’t really need a gift. See you again is enough,” she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his again for a soft kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him close to her, she didn’t think she would get over the fact that she was able to kiss him again. Pulling away from him she looked over at the clock to see that it was one in the morning. “Did you maybe want to stay the night? It’s late and I’m exhausted, but I’m not ready for you to leave again.”

He nodded his head, he couldn’t lie he thought about the nights he shared wrapped up in her arm held close against her curvy body.

“I would really like to stay the night.”

Standing up she reached over and laced her fingers with Bucky metal fingers and led him down the hallway towards her bedroom. She dropped his hand and walked towards her dresser to grab her pajamas.

“You can sleep how ever you want. If you want to sleep in your boxers,” she as she walked towards the bathroom so she could take off her makeup and get ready for bed.

She removed her make up and washed her face and changed into her pajamas. Walking back into her bedroom she found Bucky sitting on the edge of the bed in nothing but his boxers. Walking over to him she moved to stand in front of him, he looked up and smiled at her. He never in his wildest dreams thought he would see her again, let alone get to share a bed with her again. Reaching up he gently took her hand and pulled her closer to him. Standing up he moved to press her lips to his for another kiss.

“How are you even real?” he asked wondering how he found her.

“I’m pretty average at most,” she whispered as his hands moved to her round hips.

He shook his, “you are far from average Lydia. You are perfect.”

Before she could even say anything sat back down on the bed and pulled her onto his lap so she was straddling him as he sat on the edge of the bed. Reaching up he held her face in both hands staring at her.

“I don’t know what happens tomorrow, for all I know you could kick me out and tell me to leave…” he paused for a moment to stare into her eyes. “But I would love to share one real night with you.”

“Bucky I would never kick you out and tell you to leave,” she leaned down and connected her lips to his for an intense kiss. Their lips moved together as if they need the other to breathe. Her fingers tangled in his long hair hold him close to her as his hand gripped her round hips grinding her against him. There tongued moved together as she rolled her hips gently against him. His lips moved from her mouth and started kissing down her jaw. As his beard tickled her skin, she couldn’t help but moan at the feeling of his lips against her skin. His metal hand pushed her shirt up exposing the metal of his touch to her bare skin. The cool metal sent a shiver down her spine in the best way possible. Tilting her head back she gave him more access to her exposed skin.

Pulling his lips away from her skin he reached down for the bottom of her shirt. Pulling it off he couldn’t help but groan at the sight of her bare chest in front of her. He licked his lips before his lips moved to kiss her collarbones, before working his way to her bare chest. His lips kissed her sensitive skin as she grinded her hips against his grown bugled.

“Bucky, I need more,” she moaned.

With his lips ghosting her skin he spoke, “I didn’t come to see you with the intention of this happening.”

“I know you didn’t, but I need all of you,” she sighed as his lips peppered kisses across her skin. “I have missed you so much, and I just need all of you.”

He pulled his lips away from her skin, and in one quick motion stood up holding Lydia’s curvy body as if she weighed nothing. Her eyes went wide as he held onto her. She attempted to have him put her down but before she could say something he said, “you weigh nothing to me, quit freaking out.”

He moved and laid her down on the bed. Reaching up to her curvy hips he hooked his fingers into the band of her pajama shorts and panties, and pulled them both down in one quick motion. Laying on the bed completely naked in front of him she sat back on her elbows and watched as Bucky removed his boxers leaving him naked and proud in front of her.

“Do you have a condom?” he asked sounding slightly nervous.

Nodding her head, she moved to reach into the top drawer of her nightstand and pulled out a foil packet. Holding the foil packet out Bucky took it and tore it open and slowly slid the rubbed down his length. She watched with lust filled eyes as he pumped his length a few times before crawled into the bed. Lying next to her he connected his lips to hers for a searing kiss as his flesh hand moved down to her sensitive mound, his finger slid up and down for slit a few times before his fingers did lazy circle on her bundle of nerves while their lips moved together. He was attempting to give her some foreplay before. Pulling his lips away he continued to move his finger against her bundle of nerves causing to moan her name.

“Lydia what to you want?” he asked lying next to her.

“All of you,” she moaned.

Pulling his fingers away from her, he moved so he was hovering over her. She reached down and helped line him up with her entrance. Slowly he slid in and she gasped at his size, it had a been a really long time since she had sex. She was going to need a moment to adjust to his size. Once he was fulling in, he stilled for a moment giving her time to adjust. Her head rolled back as she took a deep breath and then looked up at Bucky who was staring out with lust blown eyes.

“Are you okay?” he asked feeling suddenly worried at the was hurting her.

“Yeah I’m fine, I just need a moment,” she said giving him a soft smile. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers for a soft kiss. “Go head and move,” she said with his lips still brushing hers.

With a slowly roll he started to move his hips against hers. Her hands moved up to grip his back as he continued to move into her. Groaned as his hips thrust into hers picking up the pace slightly. In all the time that had passed since they had last seen each other, he didn’t think he would ever get to be with her. In his mind back then he thought that they might event sleep together, especially after they had kiss, but then again, he wasn’t sure if she ever would want to do this with him.

“Bucky,” she moaned.

“Baby,” he groaned dropping his head to her shoulder. He started placing wet kisses across her bare skin. She moved her hands down to his butt pulling him as close as possible with every thrust. His teeth gently dragged across the skin of her shoulder as he moaned her name. He was getting close to the edge and he needed her to finish before him.

“Are you close?” he asked.

“Yeah Bucky,” she moaned as he picked up the pace.

Biting her bottom lip, she rolled her back moaning. Her fingers dug into his tone butt pulling him closer. With a few more thrust he pushed her over the edge. Her hands moved from his but up to his face pulling him closer to her so she could kiss him as she rode out her high. She moaned into his kiss as he rolled his hips a few times before hitting his own high. With a couple sloppy thrust he rode out his high before stilling his hips as he kissed. Pulling away from her he rolled off her and laid on the bed next to her. Silently he discarded the condom, and reached over to pulled her curvy body close to him.

She was left in a dazed state as she curled up next to him.

“Don’t ever leave me again,” she whispered as she was coming down from her high.

“I won’t ever let anything take me away from you again,” he leaned down and pressed his lips to the top of her head.

All my taglist are open. Let me know if you want to be tagged in the Steve Little Mermaid Modern day AU story.

@thisismysecrethappyplace @minahraven @lokilvrr @justreadingthesefanfics @inmyworstlies @shlach @imanaesir @theinsomniacsblog @unhealthyobsessionwithmarvel @acebelle @nerd-without-a-cause @captain-rogers-neighborhood @sadancing @theonelittleone @all-of-the-little-infinites @thepandadrawer @hermione0919 @tnupsweetpie @learisa @kgcurtis30 @alwaysbandslut @ruckystarnes @sarahsassafras13 @jessicao19 @breezy1415 @violetrose90201 @jamesbarnesappreciationsociety @iamthemaskhewears @lapels123 @explorer–of–the–unknownn @coal000 @thorsstorms @libbymouse @asadmarveltrashbag

#my writing #fragile line #marvel imagine #marvel fanfiction #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes au #beauty and the beast #barnes barnes story #the winter soldier #the winter soldier fanfiction

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dekudynamight · 6 years

Text

Title: Worth Waiting For IX

Rating: E

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x Jon Kortajarena x Chris Evans

Word count: 3.2k

Summary: Sebastian & Chris spend their weekend together, hoping that for once everything goes smoothly and doesn’t end in disaster.

A/N: sorry for the wait on this one but we’re back! My thanks to @captainrogerrsbeard for all her help and the gorgeoussss moodboard and for reading this and reassuring me that it’s not total garbage, and my undying love and gratitude to everyone reading this, I love you so much and hope you guys like this!

Chris: so, noon on Saturday right?

Seb: that’s right. I’ve got lunch covered if you wanna take care of dinner :)

Chris: no problem. I’ll bring some movies too

Seb: sounds good :)

Chris: I did wanna ask you something about this weekend if that’s okay

Seb: of course

Chris: I’ve been thinking and I think it might be a good idea if we took things slow this time around. Everything happened so fast the first time around and I wanna do this right, but only if you agree of course

Seb: you saying you wanna wait to have sex again?

Chris: it’s not exactly that I want to. I just think it’s the smart thing to do.

Seb: okay. Yeah that makes sense, you’re probably right.

Chris: you sure? I just want you to be happy

Seb: I am :) and yeah I’m sure. We should take things slow. I’m with you.

Chris: okay good.

Chris: I can’t wait to see you again

Seb: God me too. Saturday can’t come fast enough.

Saturday came soon enough, however, Sebastian waking up early that morning to hit the gym with a big smile on his face. He’d said goodbye to Jon the night before, the two men spending their time before his flight out in bed together and soaking up as much of each other as they could before they had to part ways. Sebastian was sad to see him go but excited for his weekend with Chris, nervous but very ready to see where this new arrangement of theirs would take them.

He had his anxieties about it too, though. He’d asked Jon that last night if he was really okay with it and if there was any chance at all that he didn’t want to do this deep down, and if he secretly hated the idea of Seb and Chris spending time together alone. But Jon was quick to reassure him and put his mind at ease, and even Sebastian and all his nerves couldn’t doubt him. Jon really was just that amazing.

By the time noon rolled around, Sebastian had picked up lunch and showered and straightened up his apartment, absently singing along to one of his playlists as he awaited Chris’ arrival. He was nervous but in a mostly excited way, flitting about his kitchen and putting out nice dishes to eat their takeout on when a knock on his front door made him stop dead in his tracks. He quickly fumbled with his phone and turned off the music, setting it aside clumsily on his counter and then jogging to the door while unconsciously biting his lip the entire time, feeling like his heart was about to burst.

Finally reaching the door and hurriedly throwing it open, he smiled brightly enough to power the whole city when his eyes landed on the man on the other side. There Chris was, channeling his best inner lumberjack in jeans, blue flannel and a white t shirt with surprisingly no hat, just loosely styled hair and the beard that haunted Seb’s very soul. In other words, if his intent was to show up and murder Sebastian where he stood, he’d been more than successful.

And he smiled back at Sebastian just as brightly.

“Hey, man,” Sebastian finally greeted him, stepping aside to let him in. Chris was carrying quite a bit, a backpack and a laptop bag and a few cases of beers, so he went to work helping unload it all after Chris stepped inside.

“I was almost late thanks to traffic,” Chris sighed, letting Seb take the backpack for him as he set the beer cases down on the floor for the time being. “And a couple people recognized me so I stopped and took a few pictures, and you know how that goes.”

Sebastian paused as he straightened up, smile shrinking a bit. “Oh. Was it - did that happen here? Did they -“

“Oh, no no, it was outside of my hotel,” Chris shrugged. “Yeah, don’t worry.”

“Okay,” Sebastian nodded, visibly relieved. “Good.”

Chris nodded back, paused for a moment as he looked Sebastian over, then took a step closer and reached out for him with a murmur of, “C’mere, Seb.”

Being pulled into Chris’ arms was a kind of heaven all on its own, Sebastian was sure of it. He melted into the embrace, returning it warmly and feeling like he was floating on air the entire time. It only got better when Chris’ hand cupped the back of his neck and whispered into his ear, “Fuck I’ve missed you so much.”

When they drew apart they didn’t go far. Sebastian smiled up at Chris and a few quiet seconds passed before Chris leaned in and kissed him softly, the touch of their lips so sweet it made Sebastian’s heart ache in the best way. One kiss became two and it wasn’t long before they were getting caught up, Chris’ hand sliding into Seb’s hair and Seb’s hands finding Chris’ waist under his open flannel shirt. Their tongues gently played and Sebastian couldn’t help but let out a little whimper, and suddenly Chris’ grip tightened and he was kissing Sebastian deeper, hungrier, and holy fuck if he didn’t stop -

“Shit,” Chris muttered as he forced himself to break away before they went too far, brows furrowed and eyes squeezed shut. “Dammit. I’m sorry.”

“God, don’t be,” Sebastian replied, hoping he didn’t sound as dazed as he thought he did.

“It’s just... I said we’d take it slow and here I am,” he rolled his eyes at himself, “barely five feet past your door and... yeah, fuck.”

Sebastian chuckled, tugging affectionately on Chris’ collar. “Well... I’m not complaining, am I?” He grinned and Chris smiled back, both of them taking deep breaths before Sebastian asked, “So... lunch?”

“Lunch,” Chris nodded, tone adorably resolute. “Yeah.”

Sebastian smiled and led him to the kitchen, willing himself to calm down and take even breaths despite his urge to say screw it and drag Chris to his bedroom. But Chris was right, they’d moved at the speed of light the first time around and now they were navigating an even trickier situation, so Sebastian told himself to simmer down and do this the right way.

For awhile he was successful, managing to hold a proper conversation with Chris as they ate lunch together. They talked about everything from scripts and current projects to weightier topics like the way Chris found out that Seb and Jon had gone public. He told Seb how he’d been on a date when he’d been alerted to the Instagram post by several texts from friends, and then how he bailed in a slight panic afterwards. It hurt Sebastian’s heart to imagine that, his intention never having been to want Chris to hurt despite how he’d hurt Seb in the past.

“I’m sorry,” Sebastian muttered, his gaze sincere and apologetic. “I probably should have texted you or something as a warning, or -“

Chris shook his head, reaching out and taking Seb’s hand from across the table. “It’s okay, Seb. Really. We weren’t talking then and... you didn’t owe me a damn thing. I brought it all on myself.”

“But I -“

“Seb, really,” Chris chuckled softly. “I mean it. It’s okay. And I was happy for you. Still am. He’s good for you.”

Sebastian smiled, his heart warming from those words. “Yeah, he is.”

“I’m still trying to wrap my mind around all of this and him being okay with this,” Chris added, gesturing to the two of them. “I’ve never experienced anything like this.”

“I haven’t either,” Sebastian replied. “I’ve got some poly friends and I understand the concept but actually trying it... it’s a little surreal.”

“Hopefully in a good way,” Chris grinned.

“Definitely a good way,” Sebastian smiled back. “I think we all still have a lot to talk about and figure out, but... Jon told me to try not to overthink and just take it one step at a time, so I’m trying to take that advice.”

“Me too,” Chris nodded. “And I’m gonna try my best to make up for how I hurt you.”

Sebastian gave Chris’ hand a warm, gentle squeeze. “Chris... it’s okay. You don’t have to keep beating yourself up over what happened. I’ve already forgiven you. This is a fresh start for us.”

Chris took a deep breath and gave Seb a watery smile, dragging his free hand through his hair and chuckling, “One hour into our weekend together and I’m already about to start crying like an idiot.”

Sebastian laughed and shook his head, getting up from the table and pulling Chris up with him. “As long as they’re happy tears,” he smiled before leaning in for a quick, innocent kiss. “Wanna watch a movie now? Before we both turn into big blubbery messes?”

“That sounds like a great idea,” Chris smiled back, and after a quick clearing of the table, they headed to Sebastian’s living room and began debating which movie to kick off their weekend with.

After some good natured back and forth, they settled on Batman Returns. Sebastian barely cared what they watched, if he was being honest, and he would have settled for watching C-SPAN if it meant cuddling up with Chris on his couch for hours, but he was happy with the choice and loaded up the blu-ray on his TV while Chris sat back and got comfortable. Sebastian smiled afterwards when Chris lifted up his arm in a sweet welcoming gesture, and he wasted no time in curling up next to Chris and enjoying the closeness as the movie began.

For what Sebastian considered an impressively long time, he was content with the easy cuddles and kept himself in check, watching the movie and keeping to the whole taking things slow approach. It was Chris who ended up putting all of that in jeopardy, leaning in to whisper in Seb’s ear during the scene where Michelle Pfeiffer’s Selina Kyle dons her iconic catsuit for the first time, “Bet you’d look even better in one of those.”

Sebastian turned his head slowly and gave Chris a crooked smirk. “You think so?”

“Mhm,” Chris hummed, running his hand up Sebastian’s denim-clad thigh. “Maybe next Halloween.”

“Or I could just dress up for you one of these days,” Sebastian suggested with a knowing quirk of his brow. “I’m sure you wouldn’t mind.”

Chris looked at him through hooded eyes, grinning and replying, “I’m sure I wouldn’t.”

Sebastian couldn’t help but lean in and steal a kiss. It was soft and warm and it lingered, becoming several more increasingly hungry kisses before Chris once again hit the brakes. “Behave, Seb,” he chided playfully, turning his attention back to the movie while Sebastian tried not to pout.

He tried his best to obey, he really did, but Sebastian was only human and only had so much self control in the presence of Chris Evans. He sat there and behaved for all of five minutes before he squirmed a little and began nuzzling Chris’ neck, first just breathing him in and gently brushing his lips against his skin. But soon he was kissing him there, lips pressed increasingly insistently to the spots that he remembered being sensitive, and he earned a deep goosebumps-causing groan from Chris before he tugged Seb back by his hair with a firm, “Seb, stop it.”

“Daddy,” came a slightly high pitched whine before Sebastian could stop it, and as soon as the word left his lips it changed everything. It wasn’t the first time he’d called Chris that but their brief prior relationship also hadn’t given them a lot of time to explore the kink before it had all fallen apart. And now as a result, Chris turned and looked at Sebastian with slightly wide, suddenly voracious eyes and Sebastian could only sit there and wait with baited breath for Chris’ reaction.

“You start talking like that, Seb, and...”

It was in that moment that Sebastian decided to hell with it. They’d been apart for months and that was more than enough, he rationalized as he climbed on Chris’ lap and straddled it, movie officially forgotten. He placed his hands on Chris’ chest and slowly slid them up his neck towards his hair as he purred, “Talking like what, Daddy?”

Chris’ eyes darkened, hands gripping Seb’s hips and head shaking as he half-growled, “You just don’t know how to be good, do you baby?”

Sebastian bit his lip, rocking slightly in Chris’ lap and shaking his head. “Missed you too much, Chris. Wanna feel you again.” He leaned in and kissed Chris long and filthy, pouring all of his love and desire into it. “Please, let me have you.”

Chris groaned low, hands sliding to Sebastian’s ass and rocking him harder on his lap, both of them hard as hell already. “Tell me how bad you want my cock.”

“So bad, Daddy,” Sebastian nearly gasped, kissing Chris again to prove his words. “Wanna suck your cock, wanna feel it inside me again. Please, please...”

“Fuck,” Chris cursed roughly, pulling Seb closer. “Hold on to me, baby.”

Sebastian did as Chris said and then lost his breath when Chris stood, holding Sebastian up and carrying him to his bedroom. Sebastian smiled happily and giggled a little, never having been carried to bed before in his life. They kissed the whole way there, Chris kicking the door shut behind them when they arrived, and then he tossed Sebastian on the bed with a grin and a look that promised Seb that he was truly in for it.

And he couldn’t have been happier.

---

A few hours later, it wasn’t quite dinner time yet but Sebastian was thoroughly exhausted and wrecked several times over. Chris was in the shower while Seb laid in bed under the sheets, sore and satisfied and sporting beard burn in more than one place, dozing off in a state of pure bliss. Chris had taken him apart piece by piece, giving him everything he could ask for and more, proving that he could still play his body like a skilled instrument. Whatever else might change between them with time, that never would, and neither would Sebastian’s hunger for him.

He was halfway to a blissful nap when his phone chiming pulled him back to reality. Sebastian pried his eyes open and reached towards his nightstand, grabbing his phone and smiling when he saw who was FaceTiming him. He quickly answered it and felt his smile widen as Jon’s pretty face filled his screen.

“Hey Jon,” Sebastian greeted happily, though his drowsiness was very evident on his features.

“Hello, mi vida,” Jon smiled back, appearing to be walking through his hotel room as he tilted his head and furrowed his brows. “Did I wake you?”

“No,” Sebastian replied automatically. “Well kinda. I was on the verge of taking a nap.”

Jon appeared slightly puzzled for only another second or two before realization dawned on him. “Ahhh. I know why you’re so tired.”

Sebastian blushed and shook his head. “No, it’s just -“

“You’re so pretty when you’re fucked out like that,” Jon interrupted, making Seb’s blush deepen. “You can’t hide it from me, Sebastian. I know what you look like when you’re so satisfied you can’t walk.”

Sebastian sighed, dreamy smile stuck to his face. “Yeah, you do, huh?”

Jon stepped out on to a balcony, lighting up a cigarette. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” Sebastian replied sincerely, missing him terribly even though it hadn’t been a full 24 hours apart yet.

“I’m glad someone is there to look after you while I’m gone,” Jon smirked. “He seems to be doing a good job so far.”

“It’s going great,” Sebastian confirmed, blush lingering. “I’m really happy.”

Jon blew out a cloud of smoke. “And sore?”

Seb chuckled. “You want all the details?”

“Well I would prefer to watch,” Jon retorted, “but since I can’t...”

Sebastian tried not to shudder a little, the idea of the three of them spending an entire night together leaving his head damn near spinning. It was what he imagined heaven must be like. “You sure you can’t come home like... right now?”

Jon laughed and shook his head. “I wish, I wish. Trust me. I hate being away from you.”

“I do too,” Sebastian murmured, wishing that he could touch Jon and kiss him, that he wasn’t limited to just seeing him through his phone. “Is it late over there?”

Jon nodded. “I’m getting ready for bed. But I had to see your pretty face before I fell asleep.”

Sebastian’s smile returned at full force. He was trying to figure out what to say back to that when Chris emerging from the shower caught his attention, clad only in boxers and making his way towards the bed until he saw who Seb was taking to. Chris suddenly froze and gestured vaguely towards the door, asking if he should give them their privacy, but Sebastian beckoned him over and Chris obliged. He slid in next to Sebastian under the covers as Seb shifted the camera his way and said, “Say hi.”

Chris laughed and waved a bit awkwardly. Jon smiled and gave a wave back, greeting him with, “Are you making yourself at home with my boyfriend, Evans?”

Chris floundered for a moment before replying, “I - yes? I’m supposed to say yes, right?”

“He’s just messing with you,” Sebastian grinned.

“I am,” Jon replied with a soft laugh. “I’m happy to hear your weekend is going well. Very well, judging by the way Sebastian looked when he first answered. But it’s late here so I will leave you two alone now.”

“You sure? I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Chris was quick to say, just in case.

“You didn’t,” Jon assured him. “Take care of our boy while I’m gone, yes?”

“Absolutely,” Chris replied while Sebastian tried not to faint with joy at the being called their boy.

The trio then bade their farewells and after Sebastian ended the call, Chris let out a long sigh and muttered, “God he makes me so nervous and I don’t even know why.”

Sebastian chuckled and cuddled up to him, laying his head on Chris’ chest. “You’ll get used to him. I think we all need time to adjust, but... I really think this might turn out amazing.”

“I hope so,” Chris said, laying a kiss in his hair. “Because I really need you in my life. It’s never the same without you.”

Sebastian peeked up at him and smiled. “Well I’m not going anywhere.”

“You better not be,” Chris murmured, leaning down to give him a short, sweet kiss. “Because I’m not either.”

Sebastian’s smile grew brighter and he kissed Chris again, hoping that the sense of inner peace currently within him would last. He needed this to work, needed them to work more than he’d ever needed anything else. It was everything he never knew he wanted but God did he want it. It felt right, more right than anything ever had before.

And he wasn’t ever gonna take that for granted.

taglist: @captainrogerrsbeard @take-me-tom-hiddleston@onehotgreasymechanic@stanclub @time-travel-bouqet@supersmuttyqueernerd @its-a-pretty-interesting-wall@itsstillnotwhatyouthink@lisamott9 @ravensonata@buckmesideways22@loki7ms @weareallteamcap@laughingatthevoid@nade2308 @wintersoldier1989@steve-bucky-stucky@loricameback@imagininggirl @dviciosamadridista

#kortaevanstan #kortastan #evanstan #chris evans x sebastian stan #sebastian stan x jon kortajarena #chris evans x sebastian stan x jon kortajarena #chris evans rpf #sebastian stan rpf #jon kortajarena #sebastian stan #my ficlets

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acrobaticcatfeline · 6 years

Text

Rebuilding a Broken Mind, an Orphan Sanders fic

Word Count: 6484

TW: swearing, only a little bit, death mention, murder mention, doctors? patton is a veterinarian, idk if doctors is a trigger but you know better safe than sorry, i wrote thomas as bi and married to a chick but hes dead so like? also patton is pan and likes a chick. patton gets overwhelmed and cries a lot.

Notes: This is my orphan au and i cherish it they’re all such goods.

Pairings: uh none really, thomas and valerie, patton is crushing on my OC.

Summary: “Oh! Um, hi! My name is Patton Sanders, nice to meet you! Um, I’m 20, a veterinarian, and well, I’m an orphan.” Patton lost his parents when he was 15 and had to raise himself and his three younger brothers on his own. hes 20 now, and hes got a job and hes starting to get his life together. Of course with reminders of his parents constantly surrounding him, it makes it hard to really move on.

Oh! Um, hi! My name is Patton Sanders, nice to meet you! Um, I’m 20, a veterinarian, and well, I’m an orphan. I have three little brothers named Virgil, Logan, and Roman! They are so super awesome! Virgil is the sporty guy at his high school, he’s 17 and the captain of like, all of the schools’ sport teams! Logan is my little genius! He’s only 14, but he’s a whole two years ahead and in high school with Virge! Roman is my theatre kiddo, he’s in every arts program at his school and knows how to play just about every instrument at only 9!!! Now, as for me, I’m nothing special, I just try really really hard, so my brothers are safe. I triple timed high school and college so that by the time I turned 18 I had my degree in veterinary medicine. Logan claims I pulled an Aaron Burr by doing this, which I don’t fully understand, but I assume it’s a cool thing. I only did what I had to though, we were already orphaned by the time I started high school, which meant we had no money for college. My high school said that it would pay all my college expenses if I followed the guidelines set, and so I super dashed through school. I managed to ace just about all my classes with some help from my friends and siblings. But that isn’t what this is about. I’m not the focus in this story, I’m just the narrator and eyes. This is a story about 4 kids forced to grow up far too fast. This is a story of the children of the most amazing people. Because when it comes down to it, we’re broken minds, struggling to put ourselves back together.

Now, to start, we have to explain what happened first. Our parents, Thomas and Val Sanders were out at a college play that a friend of theirs was a part of. Unfortunately, they never made it out alive. One of the people attending the play started a shoot-out with about 5 others helping him. Nearly the whole auditorium was killed. Including them.

We had no living next of kin, so a family friend took us in for a short while before dropping us all off at the orphanage. I will never forget that day. I remember them letting us grab our important things from our old house. I remember crying while holding all my siblings close. I remember having to be dragged out of my home. I remember the looks of pure pity from the orphanage staff. I remember them trying to separate me from my brothers. I remember almost punching them. I remember the name of the staff member who was the only one to understand and let us stay together, his name was Terrance. I remember hugging him before we were ushered off. I remember the confusion from Roman when we told him we weren’t going home. I remember Virgil carrying him around telling him that this was home now, with faux excitement and a plastic smile. I remember Roman thinking mom and dad were still coming back, and none of us having the heart to tell him otherwise. I remember Logan not speaking at all for the next month. But most of all, I remember the broken parts that got littered everywhere we went.

I was 15. Roman was only 4. We were broken beyond repair. At least, I thought we were. I thought for sure that we were going to go straight from the orphanage to the homeless shelter. But I did it. I managed to do something, and it changed our lives forever.

The day before I turned 18, I went through with my plan. I have friends named Joan and Talyn who already had a house due to Talyn’s parents having money to spare. They let us stay with them for as long as we needed. We brought all of our things over and we explained the rules of this new situation. My bros were quick to follow instruction. The next day we officially moved out of the horrible child prison we were owned by. I was already well into my job as a vet tech and was able to fully become a veterinarian the next month due to my boss seeing that I was at least twice as competent as the resident vets. And so, it began.

It was bittersweet when we got our own place, as Joan and Talyn had grown to adore my little brothers in the short year we lived there. But I had finally earned enough money to rent a house, plus the orphanage contacted me, telling me about a very large inheritance we apparently had, which was somehow enough to buy said house. We ended up moving in and used the money I earned for beds and a couch.

Over the next year we bought more furniture and accessories as we saw fit. At the present moment, my room is bright blue with animal posters and pop culture references sprawled about randomly. Logan and Roman’s room is split in half. One side is meticulous with dark blue and black walls and a few nerdy posters, mostly of doctor who and Sherlock Holmes. The other however, was messy as all get out, had musical posters everywhere and usually had the mess all the way up to the metaphorical line. Logan never complained unless Roman’s things crossed it. Now Virgil confused me. I was planning on him sharing a room with me, but he refused, claiming that I needed privacy and rest since I was working full time and he wasn’t. All he wanted was a couch, some bedding, music, and some makeup. Because I’m a stubborn mule, whenever he lets me buy him things, I buy him the most bestest makeup and all his favorite albums, as well as some of the best headphones sold. He gets mad at me, but he deserves the world and more.

Okay, now we’re in the present! So, I might as well start the actual story now. Ok well then. Its Friday morning, today the big game at the high school is happening, which means Virgil has to leave early for practice. By early, I mean about the time that I leave for work which is 6 am.

I get up and make food like I normally do, only doubled because Lo and Virge usually sleep for another half an hour. Ro always gets up with me because I’m his ride to school. Virgil has a motorcycle that he drives himself and Logan to school on. I start up some friendly conversation as we eat, Virgil still groggy from sleep.

“are you ready for the game today? Isn’t it against the school rivals? I hope you guys beat them again, but I’m sure you will with such a good captain!!!” I wink at him as he chuckles.

“yeah, we’ve got this, if anything, I’ve got this, and that’s really the point. Yeah, it’s our rivals, the panthers, today. Not that they’ve ever been a challenge. We’ve swept the floor with them for countless years. And thanks for the poorly concealed compliment. Do we have anymore coffee?” he rambles off answers to my questions.

“yeah, but I don’t get paid til tomorrow and there’s only a cup worth left. Proceed at your own risk.” As soon as I say it, Logan zooms to the coffee and brews it for himself, cackling maniacally (giggling cutely).

“HAHAH!!! You will never get a drop of the saccharine nectar!!! Tis mine, forever and always!” he brushes his hair back with his hand and smiles at us. Roman beams and stands up in a fighting stance.

“thou shalt not loot this poor pauper of his deserved libation!!! Come at me thy villainous fiend!” and quickly the two start playing mock sword fighting. Me and Virgil laugh as Logan gets vanquished and the cup of coffee gets given to V. Logan ends up stealing some still, to my amusement.

We end up splitting up as the kiddos go to school and I head to work. I walk in, put on my coat, and then the place blows up. There is a half dead dog on my table and another 2 that are at least stable waiting. I’m apparently the only actual vet that showed up today. Great. Today’s gonna be fun.

I’m not gonna go into what happened at work, because honestly, not much happened. It was an average day at work, but now is time for the interesting part!!! So, the big game at the high school is happening today right? Well, let me talk about it!

So, I go and pick up Roman from school and head over to the high school while asking Ro about his day. He learned a healthy amount of animal and plant biology, so I talk about some of the things he didn’t understand and made a few biology puns which were received quite well luckily! When we get to the school, I call Logan to figure out where he had stationed himself. We meet up and find a nice spot on the bleachers. Not long after, the teams came out and started playing. Virgil is easy to spot, not to mention the announcers are constantly shouting about him as he keeps running the ball the furthest of either team. The game is pretty average for the most part, up until the very end. Virge takes the win but not a second after, he gets tackled full force to the ground. I stand up and look over the crowd as I see him up again, shoving the other guy away. The guy gets up close to his face and I think Virgil is going to punch him-oh god please don’t punch him. The guy gets dragged away by the referee and Virgil has a bunch of teammates coming to check on him and I feel much less on edge. I shouldn’t though. As soon as I think it’s done the announcers go quiet and the stands go crazy as Virgil uppercuts the guy and then knees him in the stomach.

“what just happened there?! Kyle, why did Sanders just risk his high school career like that?!”

“Fitton insulted sanders’ younger brother.” Oh. Oh no. Oh HELL NO! Logan stands up and looks in the direction of the guy and visibly shudders. Oh, he’s lucky that V got to him first. Oh, I might be going to jail guys! The rest of this story might be told from prison!

“Logan, do you know that guy?” I ask calmly. He looks at me before turning away.

“um, yeah. He uh, he’s an ex of mine…” I tense up. He’s never told me about him having been in a relationship! He tells me everything! Ugh, that’s not important right now…

“is he a freshman? I haven’t seen him on the team before.” Lo nods.

“yeah, we met at the local library. I didn’t tell you cuz I didn’t think you’d want me to date someone and um, never mind… Anyways, we broke up cuz he was trying to pressure me into doing um, bad things.” I twitch. Oh, I might kill him. I shake my head and take Roman’s hand and start walking down towards the team to pick up Virgil. We get down there and I check up on Virgil, checking for medical issues; he very well could have gotten another concussion. I get distracted when Virgil hisses at something behind me.

“oh, calm down parselhead. I wasn’t even coming over here for you” I hear in a low drawl behind me. “how’s it hanging bookie?”

“first off, I’ve told you what that actually means and that that nickname bothers me, please cease this instant, and second, I’m doing fine how are you Loki?” I hear Logan say calmly. I tense slightly and turn around with an angry look on my face.

“Logan you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. I know for certain I wouldn’t if I were you.” Logan looks at me but shakes his head.

“I can converse with an ex and still be civil about it Pat. It’s no problem.” he smiles softly at me, but I can’t help the anger that swells in my chest seeing the huge smirk that this guy is wearing.

“yeah Patton we can be civil here, no need for this hostility. Anyways, I’m doing fantastic Logan! Thank you for asking! I even have a new boyfriend, one who doesn’t try to keep me a secret.” His voice is contradictory to his words.

“it was two years ago, and I was twelve and still in an orphanage, I didn’t need my older brother worrying about me anymore than he already did. Plus, I barely understood my emotions, how do you think I would deal with my brothers’?” Logan crosses his arms and looks up at him accusingly.

“I dunno, I sorta thought you were enjoying the relationship, but you just ended it for no reason, citing your brother as too intimidating to cross, and neither of them look that scary to me.” He says and I look over to Logan in confusion. He walks closer to him and starts talking again, harsher than before.

“you and I both know that wasn’t what happened. You got pissed off that I didn’t want to go smoke and bang you arrogant prick. Also, I’d watch what you say about my brothers if I were you.” He just smirks while he backs away.

“okay then, I see I’m no longer wanted here. See you round bookie.” He walks away, and Logan shakes his head and face palms.

“every fricking time… I try to be civil but he always… ugh never mind it doesn’t matter. V are you okay? I don’t know what Loki said, but I can almost guarantee it was a lie. Also, he has a ridiculously hard skull, don’t ask how I know that, are you bleeding? Concussed?” Logan looks up at Virgil with a worried smile.

“yeah, I’m sure it was a lie, didn’t make it any less enraging. And no, I’m not bleeding or concussed. You dated him? How?! He’s such a prick!!!” Logan laughs.

“I don’t know, he was interesting. He told good stories and listened to me when I needed to vent. He’s also an incredibly good pillow. Really, he was just, the person I needed at the time, I guess.” He shrugs. Virgil is still watching him leave with an angry glare fixed on his face. I decide to change the topic.

“hey guys, you want pizza for dinner tonight? Food for champions!” the other three smile and cheer. V changes out and we head home, and I hand make three pizzas from scratch the way that we usually like it. Dad loved pizza and he said my pizza was the best, so I usually make it for celebrations or as a pick-me-up. It seems like its serving as both tonight. While its baking I make a couple of announcements.

“okay, so I’m going shopping tomorrow morning, but when I’m done with that, I thought we’d go visit Joan and Talyn? They have some presents for you all.” All three of them look up from what they were doing with wide eyes and smiles.

“YEEEEESSS!!! JOAN AND TALYN ARE SUPER AWESOMAZINGSAUCE YAAAAAAYYY!!!” Roman screams. I giggle as Roman jumps around and hugs me. Logan laughs along with me as he pulls Roman away.

“calm down Ro, Pat is cooking, you can’t be that close to the hot oven. I’m excited too, yes Ro.” Virgil looks at me questioningly.

“why do they always get us gifts? It seems like every time we see them, they have stacks of presents for us.” I shrug.

“well, I sort of introduced my lifelong friends to my 7, 12, and 15-year-old brothers who were sort of helpless at the time. They like me, but they adore you guys. Some kind of cool grandparent syndrome I guess.” Virgil laughs loudly at this as the pizzas beep. I pull them out to cool and tell some more puns to pass the time. The evening goes on without a hitch, we play a round of word association games as we eat our pizza. I pack up the leftovers in lunch bags for the 4 of us and then clean up the kitchen. As I finish with that, Roman shouts for me to tell him a story.

I tell a story of a brave prince who has to protect his kingdom from a fierce dragon witch. The dragon witch had stolen away the princes soon to be bride. The prince fought through many trials to save his fiancé, however he was beaten to it by another beautiful princess who had won the maidens heart instead. The prince was of course fair, as the princess had fairly bested him, and so he went on a mission to love himself before he went around looking for a fitting bride-or groom, again. Roman sleepily cheers and snuggles into a black cat plush V gave him.

The most difficult to get to sleep is Logan, who just wants to read all night. He changes to a different book just as I walk over to his desk. “Lo, you need to go to bed. You want to be well rested for tomorrow kiddo. You can read your book tomorrow, I promise the ending won’t change, and it won’t leave without you.” He yawns, he has had a long day.

“if I go to sleep will you sing for me? Please?” he looks at me with puppy dog eyes.

“of course, Lo. Bookmark your page and go get ready for bed and I’ll sing for you.” He smiles and rushes off to get ready. He’s back in a few minutes.

“can you sing dads old lullaby? If not its ok but-” I cut him off.

“of course, I can Lo.”

“somewhere there’s someone who wants you to be

How they want you to be, their opinion

They’ll paint you the colors that they wanna see

And to them, its Monet,

But to you, it’s a gray, silhouette

So, pick up a pencil, a stencil, a crayon,

The picture is not finished yet

You can let someone else tell you your story,

You can let someone else tell you what’s true

Or you can set yourself free,

Climb the tallest highest tree,

Or maybe sit back and take in the view,

You can let yourself, let yourself do

Anything.”

By the time I finish the chorus, Logan is sound asleep, snoring softly and cuddling an owl plush. I get up, tuck him in, turn off the lights, then head into the living room. Virgil is laying on the couch with his headphones on full blast. I grab his sleep meds and a cup of water and hand them over to him.

“hey, you shouldn’t listen to your music that loud, it could damage your hearing. You don’t have to listen to me, but I just wanted to let you know. I worry about you guys, you know?” he smiles and takes the meds. He turns down the volume on his headphones and nods.

“sorry Pat, I didn’t realize they were that loud. And, we worry about you too. You do way more for us than you have to. Anyways, thanks for the meds and sleep well okay? Don’t stay up all night again.” I giggle and nod before giving him a quick hug and going to my room.

I do a few pieces of paperwork that I wasn’t able to do before the end of my shift and send a quick text to my vet tech Elenora, checking in on her, as she’s been off on vacation and she’s supposed to be getting back tomorrow, and she has some things she needs to pick up at the office. She’s also absolutely amazing and sweet and beautiful and I love talking to her so so much. But that’s beside the point. After I get all of that done, I check the time, realizing that its now 11:45 and I should have been in bed an hour ago. I quickly fall asleep soon after luckily.

The next day is super-duper hectic so like, hold onto your horses, this is gonna be a wild ride! Okay okay, so I get up at 8 and go shopping, blah blah, tons of coffee because my boys and I have a problem. I unload everything by 10 which is when the kiddos are waking up. Virgil apologizes for not waking up to help but I wave him off as I start to make a small lunch because three meals a day, but Joan and Talyn are probably going to take us out for lunch knowing them, so I don’t want us to lose our appetite, that’d be rude! Anyways I set out the 4 plates and eat mine before going to take a quick shower. By the time I shower and change, all three of them are conversing around the table. I smile fondly because, hey, I helped raise these fantastic kiddos! LOOK AT MY BROTHERS!!! Okay, I’m good now. I walk up to the table and they all smile happily at me before going back to their debate.

“listen, if you have straight caffeine you die, therefore this stuff is totally deadly and like, we’re slowly killing ourselves by drinking it.” Virgil says, being devil’s advocate per usual.

“well yes but that’s like chlorine and sodium!!! They are both deadly elements on their own, but together give us salt! Not to mention that even too much water can kill a human! And! Another point, coffee is a natural occurrence just like water!!! In reasonable quantities, coffee is perfectly safe!!!” Logan rants passionately making me glad that I invested some money into speech and debate for him. Roman grins.

“but if water, coffee, and salt could kill us, does that mean that the world is trying to kill all life on it?!? are we living on a death rock?!? LOGAN IS THE WORLD GONNA KILL US?!?!” his grin slowly gets sadder and more scared as he continues. Logan flinches slightly.

“I mean, technically humans have been killing the earth for years so I wouldn’t put it out of the question that that is the reason that everything on earth is potentially deadly to humans. That would make sense… gosh darn it why do you always send me into steadily collapsing bouts of existentialism?” Logan shakes his head likely jumping into one of his existential crises.

“do I want to know the opening remarks?” I ask and they all shake their heads no. I grab a mug and make myself some creamer with a hint of coffee. Heheh!!! Caramel coffee is very good, but caramel mint coffee is even better! Roman runs off to get changed right as Logan goes to take a quick shower. V asks to change in my room which I am totally ok with because of course!!!

Oh! I should say what we’re wearing shouldn’t I? okay okay, so I wear my favorite pair of khakis, which are quite worn from wear. I wear a pun-ny shirt about dogs, and a tan cardigan with black white and purple plaid shirt underneath. I also have some nice black boots. When Roman comes out, he’s dressed in a red theatre shirt, white jeans, and a white fluffy coat, with his favorite white fluff boots. Logan comes out with his talk nerdy to me tee, black ripped skinny jeans, a black fluffy jacket, black boots, and a snap back. Virgil ends up wearing his nirvana shirt, black ripped skinny jeans, leather jacket, and black converse.

Logan sneaks up behind Roman and puts one of his Disney caps on him. Roman gasps because Lo never shares his hats. He tries to give it back but Lo tells him not to. “I got that one just for you Ro, keep it.” I think RoRo almost cries as he dashes into a cute embrace with Lo. Logan giggles as he sees his baby brother smile. It really is the best feeling ever when you can be the cause of a smile.

Soon after the scene of pure wholesomeness, we head on our way to Joan and Talyn’s house. We are greeted by happy faces and a stack of gifts. This is normal I guess, like V mentioned, they always have piles of gifts for us.

“hiya!!! Glad you could make it! We decided to make a big meal instead of going out, I hope you guys don’t mind?” Talyn grins sheepishly. “and we also invited a couple more people. Sorry we didn’t tell you it was a surprise!”

“a surprise? Who’s here?” I ask, looking around them both to see. There are more gifts than usual. And they’re gift wrapped. Oh gosh what did I forget? Wait… what month is it? oops. I might’ve said that out loud.

“its January Pat.” Joan states simply with a growing grin. Oh god, it’s my birthday soon isn’t it.

“happy early birthday Patton-cake!” Talyn yells happily. Yup. Oh, I’m an idiot. I facepalm.

“I’m glad Joan called me on Monday, otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten your presents from us and brought them over!” V smirks as we walk in. of course they were all plotting against me, I should have known! As I walk in, I see Leo, Jamahl, Dominic, Dahlia, Kenny, Derionna, Rafaela, calypso, and oh god, how did they get Elenora?!? I don’t think I’ve ever even talked about her to them!!! Not to mention that she must be horribly jetlagged!

“oh my god no way!!! I love you guys so much aaaa!!! How do you even know Elie?!?” I say as I go around giving hugs to my friends from back in high school that I’ve missed so much.

“dude, Els is in a bunch of my classes. She never shuts up about work, so it was easy to find out that you guys knew each other. Not to mention her constant fawning over ‘doctor sanders’” Elie punches Joan in the arm.

“listen here bean boozled, are you gonna keep outing me or are we gonna start this party? I estimate the time between now and when I fall unconscious from exhaustion and jetlag is t minus 4 hours.” She states matter of factly. God, I love her, I’m so far gone.

Joan and Talyn attack me with a hat while I’m fantasizing, and they laugh mischievously as they drag me over to the table. Joan’s saying something in one ear and Talyn’s saying something else in my other and I’m confused as heck, but all my friends surround me as well as my baby brothers and start singing at me. I don’t even comprehend what they’re saying because my brain can’t remember the last time I had a surprise party, and its actively making me remember my 14th when my dad and mom threw me a giant birthday bash and it was all day long and we fell asleep in a pile on the couch and before I can stop it all the voices start freaking out and I touch my face and I finally notice that I’m crying, and gosh I just ruined it of course gosh darn it they all went out of their way to make this and now I’m just sad and crying. I feel a thud and finally pay enough attention to see Roman hugging me tightly and apologizing. I pat his head and smile at him before kneeling down and reassuring him.

“Ro Hun, it’s not your fault I’m crying, I just remember mom and dad that’s all. I was caught up in my head but I’m fine. I promise ro. Do you wanna help me blow out the candles?” Roman smiles widely and nods. I pick him up and we blow out the candles together. The others all smile and cheer. Joan stands next to me with a smirk. Oh gosh they’re going to have me do something dangerous and I’m gonna agree because its going to be fun and d a n g e r o u s.

“you realize we are stealing you tomorrow to go barhopping right? Els even offered to dd for us! I mean of course, she’s sorta still underage for a few more months, but yeah, you, me, Talyn, and els are going to have birthday bash part two and its going to sick as Fu-” I cover their mouth before they can finish their swear.

“my baby brothers are here!!! No swearing!!! It’ll hurt their poor innocent ears!!!” I see Virgil and Logan give me a skeptical look before I gesture at Roman and I see their eyes widen in realization, before they nod furiously in agreement. Roman obliviously drags Logan off to play with the bubbles that Joan had gotten to keep the little ones occupied. I uncover their mouth and shoot them a look before giving it up for a smile as I hug them.

“thank you for this Joan, it’s kind of you. You didn’t have to really, haven’t even seen you guys in a few months!”

“that’s exactly why we did it. We don’t need a reason to give the littles gifts, and if we have a reason to give you gifts you won’t turn them down. You never have been one for spontaneous presents, but you know what, I love ya man, and you deserve to get shit on your birthday you oaf. I always felt bad that you wouldn’t let me help you and the kids when we were still in high school. God its been so long now, we’re old pat! You know my mom always tells me that they’d be so proud of you whenever I tell her what you’ve been doing. She actually wanted me to give you something, its wrapped in the pile of gifts.” They winked and nodded over to the living room where far too many gifts in my opinion, were sitting. The rest of my friends were there too, keeping themselves entertained one way or another, and I saw that Logan and Roman were running around outside chasing bubbles.

I go over to the stack and feel immediately intimidated. I hear the door open and Roman and Logan come inside. They sit behind me and I grab the first present that I can reach. The wrapping is purple plaid and Virgil’s name is scrawled on the tag. I open it up and look at my brother with a mocking look as I pull out a pale blue lab coat with dog face emojis.

“oh my gosh you dork I love it!!!” I pull it on quickly, seeing how it fits and beam at him.

“I’m glad. You’ve got another one somewhere from me” ugh of course that’s how there’s so many gifts.

I grab the next one with the same wrapping and rip it open only to see a new surgical kit, which I had been desperately needing to get but had been avoiding. They’re ridiculously expensive and I haven’t had the money to spare. I don’t know how vee could have managed to get that much money, and I don’t understand why he would spend it on me. I feel tears welling up in my eyes for the second time today, and launch myself at Virgil, picking him up and twirling him around. I see Elenora look at the tools out of the corner of my eyes.

“holy crap how did you afford these? This set is worth almost a thousand!” Virgil gives a feeble look as I set him down.

“I’ve been saving up for a few months, no big, you had mentioned you needed a new set a while ago, and I know you wouldn’t let anyone give you one. You can’t give this one back otherwise it’d be wasted so ha I win.” He ends with a smirk, and I punch him in the arm for calling me out on my OCD about work.

I grab my next gift which is a deep red with a matching bow. I peel off the paper and see a Pooh bear onesie and I smile down at it before laying back to smile at Roman who is giggling loudly.

“Lo helped me find it!!! I know you love Pooh, so I thought you’d like it!!!”

“he had tried to get you a size that fit him at first it was really quite adorable. We got him a Tigger one to match but we told him he had to keep it hidden until you got yours.”

I reached out for a hug and instead Roman kissed my nose then pushed me back into a sitting position. I huffed dramatically before grabbing my next gift, from Logan. I rip open the striped paper and see a book called animal madness, about animal mental health, and I feel my smile widen. There’s another book, by Jackson galaxy called total cat mojo and I might have squealed a little bit?

“LOGAN, I LOVE THIS THANK YOU SO MUCH OH MY GOSH OH GEEZ THESE WILL BE SOOOOO HELPFUL!!!!!!” Logan smiles and chuckles softly.

“I had imagined so, you have said that a couple of your patients have had mental issues more than physical and you’ve seen them more often due to their owners not knowing how to treat them, I hope the books hold deeper insight than google.”

I give him a big hug, and then grab the next presents, opening one after another all very sweet but also rather irrelevant gifts including coffee, cooking ware, and fandom stuff. I eventually get to Elenora’s gift though, which I was slightly scared about opening if I’m being honest? It could be anything, what would she get me? I open the rose gold box that holds a few different items. The first I notice is a necklace with a four pawprints on them, each a different color, red, navy, cyan, and purple, and each with me and my brothers’ names. I smile softly at it as I put it on. The next thing in the box is a new stethoscope that matched my light blue theme at work. After that is a build a bear Alolan Vulpix plush with an absolutely adorable cloak and a spare outfit. I squeeze it and it sounds so cute??? I’m so glad I share my obsession with Pokémon with her it makes work that much more enjoyable. The next thing I pull out is a dual sapphire and ruby pop head set and I let out a laugh at it, she knows me so well, I had mentioned I loved their characters and that they reminded me of my mom and dad once offhandedly, and yet she’s gotten me ruby and sapphire things three times now. I pull out a gift card to pizza shop I adore, and the last item in the box is a card that says read later, so I throw a glance her way as I put the card in the pile.

I thank her, and give her a hug, before turning my attention to the last present remaining, the present from Joan’s mom, who was basically my second mom growing up. I pull apart the wrapping hesitantly, and I almost let out a choked sob at what is in the package. It’s a letter from my parents. I cover my mouth as I grab the letter and read it.

“dear Patton, we hope this letter reaches you in good health, and that we are still in contact when you reach 21.” I make some odd strangled noise and my eyes start filling with tears. “no matter how our relationship is, we have a present for you. Patton cake, we know you’re only a year old now, but when you get this, we want you to know that no matter what we love you so so much and we want you to be happy no matter what. So, if you’ll forgive us if we’ve hurt you, we want you to have this glass and drink. Your mom made that glass right after you were born. She believes that the essential gift for a 21-year-old was a wine glass and a nice red wine. This wine is the same one I had on my 21st with my father and I saw it fitting to share it with you. I love you so so much son, and I hope you know that you’re in my heart wherever I am. The same goes for your mother. You know me and how paranoid I am, so this will probably be given to you by my best friend who I don’t doubt will grow close to you. In case anything happens, not that it will.” I don’t think I can breathe anymore oh my god this is from my dad- “but anyways ill stop rambling” no dad please keep talking don’t go please! “happy birthday Patton, you make me and your mom so proud. I love you so much” I wheeze and double over, I can’t breathe my dad, it was almost like he was there again, my dad was there and I-

I open the wrap on the glass, the crystal glass has an imprint that has the words “you’re capable of anything” and me and my parents’ names inscribed in it. Etched in, not just printed, its won’t fade, it will always be there. I look up at the roof to stop my tears, and to hopefully tell my mom and dad I love them if there is an afterlife. I wish I could see them one more time and be able to say goodbye. I can’t, but god it hurts so bad, I miss them so much its not fair they should have been able to come home they should be here they should have been here to see Roman and Logan and Virgil grow up it’s not FAIR GOD DAMN IT!!! I need to calm down, its in the past its over I can’t change it I can just keep going. I take a few deep breaths and wipe my eyes. I set down the glass and look at Joan.

“Joan, I need you to thank your mom for me, I-I owe her so much for this I can’t even properly explain just how much this means to me. If she ever needs anything let me know, I will do anything to help.” Joan nods and smiles at me softly.

I breathe a few more deep breaths before standing up.

“now, that’s enough of that. There’s cake and games!!!”

#tw swearing #tw cursing #tw death mention #tw murder mention #Orphan AU #my writing #my fanfiction #logan sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #joan and talyn #others but just mentioned #my oc #elenora #lots of crying

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writeremblemfics · 6 years

Text

The Angry Tactician is Not Impressed pt. 2/4

48 Hours Until Celebration

“Alright, Your Majestys, let me know if you need anything,” Kyle served two cups of steaming-hot tea to the two figures perched at the tiny table in Eirika’s quarters and bowed respectfully before making his exit.

“Thanks, Kyle,” Eirika called after him. The princess turned her attention to her oaf of a brother, whose bedhead reached unprecedented levels of fluffiness and whose eyes were barely cracked open. “You alive, bro?”

“Mhm,” Ephraim grunted vaguely.

“Here, have some tea and perk up. We need to talk strategy.” In contrast to her usual breezy kindness, Eirika’s tone was all business this morning. “We have a time crunch, and we really can’t have Innes interfering with our plans. He grilled Tana last night and we were almost found out.”

“Need more help?” the king yawned.

“You are helping. You have a very important job this time.”

“Is it training?” Ephraim was suddenly wide awake. He took a big gulp of tea, only to burn his mouth on the searing liquid and nearly choke. As he coughed violently, Eirika patted his back.

“You okay?” The girl asked, at war with herself over whether she should laugh or be legitimately concerned.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ephraim managed.

“Anyway,” Eirika cleared her throat. “we can’t do the same thing every day, we need a bigger diversion. I’ve enlisted some backup.”

“Backup?”

There was a sharp knock on the door. “Right on time. Come in,” Eirika said.

Right on cue, Franz and Amelia marched into the room, posture stick-straight and eyes brimming with eager determination. “We are here to serve, Your Majestys!” chanted the young knights in unison.

“Wonderful,” Eirika beamed. “I need you two to help my brother occupy Innes for the day so we can make arrangements for his party. And not a word of this to the other castle staff, alright?”

“I won’t fail you,” Franz clenched his fist.

“Milady, if word gets out, I will rip out my own vocal cords as penance.” Amelia vowed, stone-faced.

“Amelia, that… won’t be necessary.”

“You gotta admit, the kids have balls,” Forde burst into the room, planting himself between the two and tousling their hair in a brotherly fashion.

“Brother,” Franz pouted, swatting away Forde’s hand.

“We are all present, save for His Majesty Innes,” Kyle announced, closing the door behind him. “We’ve finished the preparations to travel to the mountains.”

“The mountains?” Ephraim glanced at his sister in askance.

“The six of you are going monster-hunting,” Eirika grinned.

~~ After a tense, hours-long trek into the heart of the mountains, the hunting party began to notice an ominous aura hanging in the air. Even though none of them were particularly attuned to magic, something felt… off about their surroundings. The mountain ecosystem that normally teemed with life was noticeably void of animals, and the plant life appeared dull, pressed downward by some invisible force.

“Milord, this is the place the scouts mentioned,” Franz hopped off his horse and approached the group, who’d been waiting further behind for his report. “We’ve sighted monsters that haven’t been seen since the Demon King’s defeat.”

“Strange,” Innes mused, poring over the map and stroking his chin. “Could this mean a surge in demonic activity? An attempt by a dark mage to...” Innes cut himself off, thinking better of mentioning Lyon’s fate at the hands of the Demon King.

Truthfully, Ephraim had no idea how monsters had reappeared in Magvel. When he’d asked Eirika about it, she’d simply given him a devious smirk and replied, “You’ll see.”

“Right now, it’s important that we eliminate the threat. We can examine the source later,” suggested Kyle, to which the rest of the party nodded in agreement.

“How about a little wager to spice this up?” Forde suggested, attempting to lighten the mood.

“Is now really the time?” Innes frowned.

“Hmm, so you don’t think you can kill more monsters than ol’ Ephraim here? I see.”

“No one said that,” Innes bristled. “If we are keeping score, I’ll certainly emerge victorious.”

“You’re on,” Ephraim readied his lance.

Their banter was interrupted by a piercing howl that echoed off of the mountainside. “There!” Amelia pointed to a rocky outcropping in the distance where an imposing canine figure stood stock still, yellow mane blazing in the harsh sunlight, fangs bared, glowing, hellish eyes boring into his prospective prey.

“Is that a Mauthe Doog?” Franz asked. From his post to the right of the young man, Ephraim could see the boy’s sword-arm quiver.

“No, it’s a Gwyllgi,” Forde corrected. “Fully grown, much more dangerous. Stay on your toes, Little Brother.”

“Strange, they don’t usually travel alone,” Kyle muttered.

“It isn’t alone,” Innes gestured with his bow to the pack of prowling beasts surrounding them on all sides, a mix of young monsters with red and black fur, and their elders, with noticeably bigger teeth jutting from their maws and manes glowing yellow. “The leader signaled its pack. We need to stick together and fight as one, don’t let them isolate you or you’re as good as dead.”

Nice job, Eirika, Ephraim groaned internally, maybe now Innes will never know about his birthday party. Because he won’t live to see it.

Ephraim counted three heartbeats of tense silence, then everything was a blur of chaotic melee.

“Innes, on your left!” Ephraim roared, yanking his lance from the corpse of an elder beast and reacting just in time to hold off a second, which clamped its jaws in the middle of his weapon. The king of Renais kicked the Gwyllgi off and it crashed into the canyon wall, slumping to the ground, dazed.

Before Ephraim could finish the job, an arrow sprouted from the monster’s forehead. “That’s another one for me,” Innes deadpanned.

“Hey, that was mine!” Ephraim protested. “I did all the work!”

“But you couldn’t follow through, what a shame.” There was a wicked smile on the archer’s face as he aimed his bow right over Ephraim’s shoulder, laying another beast to waste before it could pounce. “This is fun, it’s as if I never left the battlefield,” he mocked.

“Watch your mouth, dastard,” Ephraim took a bounding leap and skewered a charging predator midair, muscles burning as he drove it into the ground. “Point, Ephraim.”

“Hey, lovebirds!” Forde snapped. “Three of the Mauthe Doogs ganged up on Amelia, get over here.”

All of the humor evaporated from their faces as the two men charged after Forde. Abruptly, the knight stopped in the face of a steep incline, and Ephraim had to firmly grasp Innes’ arm and yank him back against his chest to keep the Frelian king from taking a nasty fall.

“Don’t die,” Ephraim growled.

Instead of a ‘thank you’, Innes notched an arrow and pointed it at the scuffle below. Amelia was fighting valiantly, having bested two of her three pursuers. But her stance swayed, her blonde hair was plastered to her forehead and there were claw and teeth marks marring her prized red armor. The lone remaining creature circled her, seeking an opening.

“Can you hit that thing and miss Amelia?” Ephraim asked.

“Obviously,” Innes closed one eye. But before he could take a shot, Franz came thundering down the incline, eyes rimmed red with rage and a mix of adrenaline and gravity spurring him forward at superhuman speed.

“Ameliaaaaaaaaa!” He cried, catching the Mauthe Doog in the jaw with his shield and sending it flying. With that opening, Innes finished the job in the blink of an eye. The monster lay still.

“Amelia,” Franz sobbed, throwing his arms around her as fat tears rolled down his cheeks. “You’re alive.”

Stunned, Amelia tentatively patted the boy’s back, a tired smile gracing her lips. “I’m okay. My rival got to me in time.”

“Are you hurt?” Kyle skidded down the slope, followed by the rest of the party. Forde practically had to pry a blubbering Franz off of his companion so they could examine her.

“No major injuries,” Kyle reported. “But we should get her checked out by the healers once we get home.”

“Maybe,” Franz managed, swiping at his eyes and trying to regain his composure, “maybe we can take a rest in that cave over there.”

“Wait,” Ephraim commanded. Everyone froze. “If the monsters have returned, we can’t travel through the caves. Remember?”

It dawned on the others, and Forde gave a disgusted groan. “I hate spiders.”

“What should we do now?” Franz asked tentatively. “Isn’t it our mission to wipe out the monsters here?”

“Demonic beasts aren’t naturally occurring,” Innes mused. “We need to find the source. If we can do that, we won’t need to fight every monster directly.”

“What are we looking for, then?” Amelia cocked her head to he side.

“A dark mage, a suspicious gateway, ancient runes or artifacts, maybe?” Innes shrugged.

Eirika has to know, Ephraim figured. But bringing Innes back this early from the expedition could be problematic. “Amelia, are you alright to keep going?”

“Of course!” Amelia showed no hesitation. “I won’t slow you down.”

“If you’re okay, that’s good. Innes?” Ephraim grinned. “You’re our tactician, I’ll defer to your judgement. What’s the best course of action here?”

Innes paused, deep in thought. “Heading toward the summit might be our best bet. We can get a good vantage point.”

“Roger,” Ephraim gave him a playful salute. “Let’s head out, then.”

The group pressed on, making their way up as quickly as possible while taking Amelia into consideration. They ran into monster after monster; a cyclops here, a stray Bael there. Ephraim and Innes were tied for kills, growing frustrated that neither could develop a significant lead.

They were nearly at the mountain’s peak when Franz, who had been stuck to Amelia’s side like glue the whole way, let out a gasp. “Wait.”

The party came to a halt, following his line of sight to a large stone that blocked their path up ahead. The closer Ephraim looked, the more the mound of rock began to resemble a human silhouette. It cast a long, jagged shadow on the uneven ground.

“Allow me to inspect,” Kyle offered. “Forde, come with me.”

“I’m good here,” Forde folded his arms, but contrary to his words, he followed his

friend to get a closer look. Unable to quell their curiosity, the others inched forward after him. “Gods, it’s definitely a person.”

Amelia put a hand to her heart, voice shaking. “Do you see that crest? It’s a soldier from Grado.”

A hush fell over the party. “Only one culprit comes to mind,” Innes furrowed his brow.

“It couldn’t possibly be a gorgon—” The companions traded tense looks. Gorgons were some of the most dangerous monsters in Magvel. Not only were these grotesque fusions of snake and woman skilled at magic, but one well-aimed spell could petrify even the mightiest warrior.

From the summit, there came a hissing shriek, a surge of dark magic that barely missed the party and blasted the rock face behind them. “Run!” Ephraim commanded. That proved redundant, everyone’s feet were already flying, frantically thundering down the mountainside. They were all short of breath from the elevation and tired from their full day of hiking, it was all the warriors could do to dodge falling rocks and keep from tumbling to their deaths. Kyle and Forde led the way, with Franz and Amelia at their heels and Ephraim and Innes bringing up the rear a fair bit behind.

“This is bad, that thing has the high ground, and who knows if we can outrun it,” Innes panted. “Also, if its attacks don’t let up soon, we could be dealing with a full-on landslide.”

“That means we’ll need to beat it quickly,” Ephraim huffed. “If that’s the case, I’ll hold it off and the rest of you go on ahead—”

“Absolutely not!” The archer barked. “You have a death wish?”

“Innes,” Ephraim stopped short, readying his weapon and turning toward the pursuing beast. “I don’t pick fights I can’t win.”

The King of Frelia was speechless. Staring. Scowling. He looked torn between leaving the foolish lancer to die and backing him up, but as the gorgon rounded the corner and barreled into sight, he settled on the latter. He notched an arrow.

“Haaah!” Ephraim cried, lunging forward to swipe at the monster’s undulating snake-torso. His strike was too shallow, only leaving an oozing scratch on its scaly hide. Innes loosed his arrow to similarly small effect. The gorgon reared back, enraged, magic pooling between its spindly human hands. Only now did it sink in for Ephraim that the mountain path was too narrow to dodge magic at close-range. There was nowhere to go but backward as the gorgon readied its petrifying blow.

Everything seemed to slow down. Ephraim briefly registered Innes leaping in front of him in a futile attempt to shield him, directly into the path of the oncoming spell.

Was this the end for both of them?

Instead of pain or nothingness, however, there was a blinding flash of light. The air was thick with magical energy, but the cold menace of dark magic was soon overwhelmed by a sudden, life-affirming warmth.

When the spell faded, Ephraim was met with the shaking form of a panting priest, his red curls disheveled and his staff raised to the heavens. Ephraim was shocked nearly speechless.

“A-Artur?”

The young man let out a relieved smile. “King Ephraim, King Innes, you’re safe.”

“Good timing,” Innes managed, struggling with the shock of nearly being turned to stone.

“I’m sorry,” Artur looked sheepishly from the king of Renais to the king of Frelia. “I should have kept a closer eye on her.”

“Her?” DId he mean the gorgon?

“Hey, Artie!” An excited voice called from below, and all at once, Ephraim understood their situation. “You seen my gorgon egg?”

“Lute,” Artur’s lips were pressed into a hard line. “I thought we agreed, no gorgons.”

The mage prodigy, her dark purple hair longer and her expression somehow conveying more curiosity and mischief than ever before, laid eyes on her visitors and laughed. “Well, if it isn’t my fellow saviors of Magvel. Well-met, I suppose.”

“Is this your doing?” Innes could barely contain the fury in his voice.

“Don’t be so dull,” Lute drawled. “There is danger in the pursuit of knowledge, but that inevitability cannot quash exploration.”

“‘Inevitability’ my ass, we nearly died!” Innes fumed, standing toe to toe with the source of the day’s adrenaline. Lute, despite the massive height difference, stared unflinchingly in the face of the archer’s rage, head tilted in defiance.

“Please, Dear, be polite,” Artur begged. “They’re royalty, they could banish us.”

“They would never--”

“We would never--” Ephraim and Lute spoke simultaneously, and upon realizing it, the two broke into hearty laughter.

“I’m glad the two of you aren’t statues,” Lute smirked. “Would you care for a cup of tea and a hot meal? Artur was about to get started on dinner.”

“We couldn’t possibly impose,” Ephraim scratched his neck.

“Nonsense, gather the rest of your party and meet at the house.” Lute gestured past path to a modest yet cute little dwelling tucked into the mountainside. Surrounding the house were patches of mountain herbs and ingredients for various elixirs drying out in the sun.

“How did you know we brought a hunting party?” Innes asked suspiciously.

“Would two kings travel in the mountains alone?” Lute rolled her eyes. “That would be foolish.” The mage shot Ephraim a subtle little wink before leading the way. He wondered if his sister knew how far Lute had taken her mission, how much real danger they would face. Somehow, he doubted it.

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babygirlgalitzine · 7 years

Text

This Is Halloween

Aaron Livesy - aged 3

A zombie. That’s what Aaron was dressed up as, green face paint on and black bag in hand, ready to go trick or treating. Chas clung on to his other hand, ready to go out onto the cold streets, the sky already a dark shade of blue.

“Will I get sweets, mummy?” He asked, jumping up and down excitably.

“We’ll have to see won’t we?” She teased, bending down slightly.

The streets lights illuminated the pavement an orange colour, Aaron’s little legs jumping up and down in excitement with the joy of being allowed out so late.

“Calm down.” A voice came from the back of them, stern and strong. Aaron instantly stood up a little bit straighter as Gordon walked past him, holding his hand out for Aaron to take as they both walked up their neighbours path.

Aaron squealed with excitement when his first neighbour came to the door, scary mask covering his face, hand holding out a large bucket of sweets, every child’s dream.

“Just take one.” Chas said, helping her son holding his bag open.

“Oh he can take more than that!” The neighbour replied, grabbing a handful himself and throwing the sweets into Aaron’s bag. “I doubt we’ll get a lot of visitors.”

That was true. It was a school night, meaning that a lot of the children in the area would have either knocked on doors early in the evening, or just come on Friday night, despite it being November by that point.

Aaron Livesy- aged 15

He’d ran out of home, leaving Gordon and Sandra to look after Liv. He had promised to take her trick or treating, just as he had done at that age, but after witnessing the arguments, and having Gordon raise his hand to him yet again, he grabbed his bagpack, shoved a few cans of Carling in it and ran halfway to the school, just so he could reach his friend’s house.

It was the end of October, and the year elevens had decided to have a house party for Halloween. Luckily for Aaron, it wasn’t at all fancy dress because not only could he not afford it, he’d ran out of the house with no change of clothing. One of the girls helping set up the party was a dab hand at make-up, or so everyone thought in the early noughties, so she shoved red all over Aaron’s face, smudging black under his eyes in an attempt to make him into some kind of devil.

The party started at eight, when the sky had blackened, and the lights from the house were the only things lighting up the street. With any luck, nobody would knock on the door trick or treating, because the music was so loud that even if anyone was speaking, people wouldn’t be able to understand them entirely.

Kyle and Aaron stood next to each other, both of them leaning against the cream wall, beer in hand and heads banging under the booming noise of Craig David. “How’s everything at home?” Kyle asked, lips precariously close to Aaron’s ear just so he could hear a whisper of his question.

Aaron just shrugged, not finding it in himself to talk about the afternoon. He knew it’d be bad tomorrow when he got home, but for now, he focused on swigging his beer and feeling the music pulsating through his body.

Aaron Livesy- Aged 18

He didn’t even twig that it was Halloween. Neither of them did. Jackson was still stuck in hospital, having pointless assessments to see if he could feel touches. They all knew he couldn’t, but none of them wanted to give up hope that he could regain his sense.

The hospital had been decorated, all green and orange and sparkly pumpkin fairy lights adorned the walls, not that Jackson could see. Hazel had come in, raving about how nice it looked, and how Heath and Cathy had been so excited all day to go out and get sweets that they hadn’t bothered to get dressed into normal clothes, instead getting into their pirate and witches costumes respectfully.

Aaron didn’t even realise, but his hand was placed firmly on Jackson’s wrist, rubbing at it softly. From where he was led, Jackson could just about see what Aaron was doing, and could definitely see Aaron’s face, expecting, hoping that Jackson could feel it.

“It won’t work.” He announced in a monotone voice, eyes fixated on the same crack on the ceiling that they had been for weeks.

“I know.” Aaron said, fingers still rubbing. “I’m still allowed to touch my boyfriend though.”

Jackson didn’t even respond, just closed his eyes and hoped that Aaron would stop soon enough.

Aaron Livesy- Aged 21

They’d been in France for over a year now. Ed had been successful at rugby, becoming a well known figure, whilst Aaron had been doing well building and fixing cars. They’d only just started allowing themselves to go out partying, after Aaron was constantly on edge that someone would recognise him from being on the run.

Ed had been invited to a nightclub with his team for Halloween, inviting Aaron as his plus one. They’d realised last year, but Halloween in a foreign country was completely different. Pumpkins weren’t sold in every shop, people weren’t big on carving them out and leaving them on their windowsills, and the children’s costumes were genuinely terrifying.

A girl had knocked on the door last year, and Aaron had answered it expecting her to be in a princess dress, but when he had opened the door, he saw realistic blood dripping from her eye, and a bloodstained shirt covering her body.

Now, they were on their way to a nightclub, both of them just in ordinary clothes, but with face paint on just to get in the spirit of things. It wasn’t Aaron’s cup of tea, not anymore. All he wanted to do was go home, and see Chas, and Paddy, and Adam. He was sick of being stuck in another country, branded as a fugitive back home, a nobody in France.

Aaron Dingle- Aged 26

He was a Dingle now. A Sugden, if you’d asked his husband. Now it was Halloween, one of Robert’s favourite time of the year, mainly because “he’s a sociopath who enjoys watching scary movies” according to Liv, who was sat at the table looking in a mirror as she applies liquid latex to her face.

She’d been practicing all month, copying tutorials from Youtube, even going as far as to attempt to scare both of Aaron and Robert when they came in from their date night, blood dripping down her face, left eye covered by tissue paper, making it out like she had had it gouged out. Aaron screamed, of course, not expecting it at all, whereas Robert felt a little jolt in his heart when he thought Liv had been hurt, but laughing as soon as she started smirking and cheering at Aaron’s reaction.

Chas had been on their case for weeks now, demanding that the lot of them go to the party that the Woolpack was hosting, instead of Liv going to a friend’s one and Aaron and Robert having a night in. Of course, Robert was completely up for it, wanting to go all out and look like Freddy Krueger. Liv had practiced the make up on him as soon as he said it, and Aaron hated it. He loved how close the two of them were now, thick as thieves. But he hated the fact that Liv was talented enough to freak him out like that.

Aaron had been forced into becoming the Joker, something that was easily achieved once Liv forced him to sit down. Chas had been so excited, running about the pub trying to get it perfect, cobwebs dangling from the ceilings, pumpkins on tables lighting the room up, while Marlon and Victoria worked tirelessly to get the themed vol-au-vents out on time.

It was Aaron’s favourite Halloween, definitely. Proper family time, with the people he loved in the place he loved.

Robert Sudgen- Aged 10

He really didn’t want to go into the village, not when it was a long walk and it was blistering rain outside. Sarah hadn’t even persuaded him to do it, she didn’t really care because Victoria wasn’t exactly elated to be going out in the rain. It was when Jack shouted, that Robert’s spine grew taller, and he chucked his coat over his shoulders, shouting his little sisters name waiting for her to come bounding in the kitchen wearing the witches costume she’d been wearing all day, hat and all.

She was a tiny little thing, even for her age. Ginger hair fell down just past her shoulders, straight as anything except for when Sarah plaited it. Victoria held her hand out for Robert, while she wiggled to put her wellingtons on. They didn’t quite match her outfit, but Robert knew the first thing she would do is jump in the puddles collecting on the floor.

“You behave for Robert.” Jack said, opening the door for the two of them.

Victoria nodded eagerly, probably more excited about getting sweets than anything else, and they left the house into the harsh weather.

“Can I splash?” She asked, tugging at Robert’s arm when she jumped up and down already.

“Go on then.” He said, rolling his eyes but grabbing her hat off of her hair before she ran off to the nearest puddle.

It took a good while longer for them to get into the village than normal, with Victoria wanting to jump in every puddle she could see. Robert had eventually fed up and said “The sooner we get to the village, the more sweets we can get.” which seemed to do the trick because she practically ran ahead afterwards.

By the time it was 8pm, her bag was full of sweets, and even Robert had managed to grab some from the pub when Alan wasn’t looking, causing his little sister, as tired as she was, to giggle behind her small hands. Now, he was carrying her back home, her head lolling against his shoulders, tired breaths huffing out every so often, sending a chill down Robert’s back with just how cold it was. It’d stopped raining sometime when they were in the pub, and Robert was grateful for that fact because it was hard enough trying to carry a sleepy toddler with a bag full of sweets in the pitch black darkness, never mind if the rain decided to lash down again.

Robert Sugden- Aged 16

The music boomed over Robert’s head, a can of beer in his hand while the teenagers of the village all congregated into one compact room, barely leaving any room to move. Nobody really wanted to be there, that was clear to see, but it was a night away from family and free booze, so nobody complained.

Except Andy was there too, brooding over a beer and Katie, who looked like a small fish in a big pond as she leaned against the wall with a glass of orange in her hand.

It was forced upon the two of them to go to the party, and with none of them actually going out of their way to speak to the other, the atmosphere was frosty to say the least. Halloween meant it was almost November, which to Robert meant it was almost the anniversary of Sarah dying, or rather, the anniversary of Andy killing their, his mother.

“Are you two still not speaking?” Ollie asked, obnoxious green tracksuit jacket over her, a lazily drawn skull on her face, attempting to get into the spooky spirit.

“No.” Robert said, eyes still locked on Andy’s, taking a sip of his beer. “Why would we be?”

Ollie rolled her eyes, completely fed up of the feuding between her friends. “Because you’re brothers! You need to get on a some point. C’mon, it never used to be like this Rob.”

His eyes fell from Andy’s stare, instantly locking on to Ollie’s, “He’s not my brother.” He spat, slamming the now empty can on the sideboard, picking up another simultaneously.

“Adoptive brother or whatever then!” She retracted. “My point is, you’ve both got a little sister, and she’s just lost her mum as well. She needs her brothers, both of them, to be around for her.”

Robert Sugden- Aged 24

It had been five years since Robert had left the village. Since Jack had told him to drive and not come back. Now, his dad had died, and Robert didn’t even go to funeral.

He was stuck in London it seemed, a once unfamiliar place that he now calls home. It was hard work, but he climbed his way up the ladder, doing nights on end of bar work, jumping from scene to scene, mixing cocktails and pulling pints. At one point, he was bringing home men and women every night, to whatever hotel he could afford for a few weeks.

It wasn’t ideal, and Robert was aware of that, but his self-taught talent enabled him to live in the capital city, miles away from Emmerdale, so he couldn’t really complain.

Halloween was always a mental night to be working the bar, any holiday was, but Halloween was definitely the main one where people would spend hours getting ready just to dance all the make up and face paint off in the dark. It seemed ridiculous, but it was always entertaining and a high earner.

Robert leaned against the bar, his uniform a nice fit, tight in all the right places. The boss had allowed the workers to wear their own face paint, so his face was an off shade of green with eye liner streaks of stitches above his eyebrow and across his cheek.

“Cider please mate?” A customer asked, devil horns stuck to his face and shirt ripped, fake blood dotted all over.

“Magners do ya?” Robert asked, looking at the ciders they stored in the fridge.

“Perfect.” He said, arm reaching behind him to pull out his wallet. “Not from round here are you?”

Robert raised his eyebrows, pulling change out from the till. “No, Yorkshire born and bred.”

“Leeds?” The man questioned.

“Just outside of it, small village.” Robert said, slamming the till shut. “five eighty change.”

Twenty-four wasn’t Robert’s best Halloween, but it wasn’t the worst either. He was working, earning money that he needed, wasn’t homeless, but wasn’t at home either. As much as he hated Emmerdale, he missed the serenity of it, and how everyone knew each other. He missed his family half the time, Andy not so much, but Victoria definitely.

Robert Sugden- Aged 28

He’d been back in the village for a few days, with Chrissie and Lawrence. So far he’d managed to see the immediate family, Victoria barely letting him out of her sight for fear of leaving again without so much of a goodbye.

Home Farm. That was his new house. Robert remembers growing up in the Village, back when it was owned by the Tate’s, and now he got to call it home, no matter how much he despised that it was technically owned by Lawrence.

Robert swiped at the condensation on his glass, catching the cold water before it dripped onto the pub bar. Diane was stood with him, chatting with Victoria and Marlon, both of who had donned their chefs outfit, ready to make the vol-au-vents for tonight’s party.

“What are you dressing up as Rob?” His little sister asked, rolling her sleeves up.

“Oh I’m not.” Robert confirmed, ready to stand his ground.

“What?” Victoria practically shouted. “You used to love Halloween!”

Robert rolled his eyes, sighing. “When we were kids, Vic. Chrissie’s dressing up anyway, so it’s not like none of us will be.”

Without saying another word, Victoria looked down and walked away, like a child who had just been told off.

“Robert!” Diane whispered. “She’s so happy you’re back pet, and ever since you and that new family of yours announced you’ve moved here permanently, she’s been so excited for this holiday.”

“Look, I’m sorry Diane but I just don’t fancy dressing up.” He said, drinking the very bottom of his pint and pulling his face. “Maybe next year.”

Robert Sugden- Aged 34

At three years old, Ellie Dingle-Sugden was a confident little girl, best known for running rings around her dads, metaphorically and physically. From the minute she had learnt to walk, Robert had let her toddle in the middle of him and Aaron as they walked around the village and she had escaped from Robert’s hold, running off almost instantly. Aaron had chased after her, being the protective parent he is, and picked her up from behind, putting her on his shoulders as she giggled loudly, making Robert smirk.

“Taller than daddy now, aren’t you El?” Aaron said, lifting his hand up for his daughter to high-five him. Robert, as always, acted mock offended, and then pulled a sad face, making his daughter giggles even louder.

They were peas in a pod, inseparable since her birth, and even when people had told Robert and Aaron to go out and have some alone time, he’d still be texting whoever they had left Ellie with to see exactly how she was.

It was barely the beginning of October, and shops in Hotten had already started to get Halloween costumes and decorations in. Robert had been adamant that the entire family would be dressing up and going to the party in the Woolpack, because Chas had been organising it all throughout September and there was no way he’d be getting it in the neck from his mother-in-law if the four of them didn’t turn up.

Aaron didn’t want to dress up at all, rolling his eyes as Robert showed him his phone, scrolling through possible matching costumes. “Why am I the girl?” Aaron asked, taking a sip of his tea while Ellie sat on the floor in front of them, a picture book on her knees, tracing the words with her little hands.

“Wonder Woman, Aaron.” Robert said, shocked. “And you wouldn’t be, we’d both be Wonder Man!”

“You just want me to get my arms out.” Aaron joked, looking down at Ellie, making sure she was okay.

Robert rolled his eyes, locking his phone and putting it at the side of him.

“Daddy what am I dressing up as?” Ellie asked, getting to her feet and climbing up onto the sofa, sitting on Robert’s lap.

“Remember I took you shopping, El?” Robert asked, shaking his legs up and down, making his daughter jump about.

That picked up the interest in Ellie, and she instantly smiled and hid her face behind her hands, putting her finger against her lips in a ‘shh’ motion, something that her Auntie Liv had taught her from a young age. “Secret.”

Robert looked so proud, smile brightening straight away, cuddling into his three year old and kissing her head while Aaron raised an eyebrow.

“So I’ve got the two of you ganging up on me now?” He asked, opening his arms out for his daughter to climb into, which she did, instantly cuddling into Aaron’s chest.

When it was actually Halloween, a Tuesday this year, much to the displeasure of everyone, but luckily the children were off school, Aaron had left the house midday to help Chas and Charity decorate the pub. By the time they had finished, the entire place was orange and Liv had brought Aaron’s costume around for him to get into, saying that Robert and Ellie would be around soon.

Liv had dressed up too, as the Joker, because Gabby had been practising special effects for it all year round, creating the perfect slit of the mouth. They’d sprayed her hair green, stealing Aaron’s gel that he rarely uses nowadays to create the wet look.

“What’s Ellie like?” Aaron shouted to Liv, who had now walked past the bar and was ready to go upstairs.

“She’s so cute!” She shouted back, “Rob’s done amazing!”

Chas looks confused, grabbing a tray of food from Marlon and placing it on the table that was surrounded by decorative severed heads. “Is he surprising you, love?” She asked, stealing a cake cover in orange icing, decorated with a traditional pumpkin face in black icing.

“Yeah, he took her shopping and since then I’ve not been allowed to know what he’s got planned for her.” Aaron responded, sitting at a bar stool, putting a tealight candle in a carved out pumpkin before lighting it and putting the top back on.

Just as he got up to finish the pumpkins off, the pub door swung open, Robert stepping through first in the same outfit as Aaron, arms more defined than they used to be now he had started to do ‘actual’ work at the scrapyard. He wasn’t quite on Aaron’s level, but he had definitely started to gain muscle mass, and Aaron was very appreciative of it.

His arm was stretched out, holding the door open, clearly for Ellie. “Are you ready?” He asked, grinning as he pulled his eyes away from his daughter, to look up at his husband and mother-in-law, who were now both smiling.

Aaron nodded, before saying, “Come on out then El.”

And in she walked, brown hair in pig tails, fringe over her forehead and a long pink shirt on, covering way past her knees, only just showing the purple leggings. On her feet were a pair of white converse, the ones Liv and Gabby had bought her for her birthday, the ones she always wore.

Chas gasped, putting her hand over her mouth in shock, whilst Aaron’s face completely melted, seeing his daughter grinning up at him, head tilted to the side.

“Do you like it Daddy?” She asked innocently. “I’m Boo!”

“Course I like it, baby.” He said, standing up from the stool and walking over to pick her up into his arms.

In reality, Aaron should have guessed that she’d dress up as her favourite character from one of her favourite films, especially Monsters Inc. after she spent the entire year asking to watch it over and over again. She always giggled when Boo appeared on screen, always saying “It’s me!” and pointing to the animation, because, in her eyes, the fact they both had the same hair made them the same person.

Robert grinned, seeing Ellie cuddle into Aaron, before Aaron turned to him. “You got her hair cut?”

“Just a fringe, don’t worry.” He consoled, leaning in to kiss Aaron. “Looks cute though.”

#robron #my fic #halloween #this is halloween #aaron x robert

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