#holiday fanfiction 2022

[ivorydragoness44]

Bernard the elf x elf!Reader: Delicate Word Count: 381 Summary: (Toy)Santa had upset you, so you go in search of Bernard for help.

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  It had been quite a while, but you were determined. Turning another corner, you finally found him.    “Oh, Bernard! There you are. I need to talk to you.” You called out as you caught up to him.    “Not right now, please.” He paused to acknowledge you. “I have to go check in with the reindeer. I’m sorry. We can talk about this later.”    For the head elf, he seemed more stressed then usual. He gave an apologetic smile before turning and walking a few paces away.    You sighed as you watched him. “It’s about Santa.”    Bernard stopped in his tracks, pivoting around and frantically scurried back to you. Quite close in fact; you could smell the peppermint off of him. Panic shown in his eyes though he visibly tried to remain calm and composed.    In a hushed voice, he was a flurry of words. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

   “I made a humorous comment, as I usually do with Santa,” you began, receiving a nod from Bernard. “But…something’s different. He said that if I were a child, he would put me on the Naughty List so fast that my pointy little ears would fly off. And he laughed. And not his usual jolly and fun laugh. This one sounded…strange, disturbing even.”    Bernard’s mouth opened and closed more than once before he could find the words. He obviously saw how hurt you were from Santa’s words.    You did not recall a single Santa who had made such a remark to an elf, much less you personally.    Bernard proceeded to gently hold you by your shoulders. “I know that Santa has been acting a little…new, but I swear I’ll talk to him. Even though he’s Santa, that is no way to talk to someone. I’ll fix this, okay?”    “And…Bernard?” Your voice small.    “Hmm?”    “You don’t think there’s anything wrong with my ears, do you?”    He gasped in his shock. Reaching upward with his hands, he delicately touched your ears with a feather-light touch. “No. Never,” he shook his head with a smile. “They are the most perfectly pointed elf ears I’ve ever laid eyes on.” His kind eyes twinkled as he gave you a reassuring and caring smile. “May I see you again later?”    “Yes. Thank you, Bernard.”

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[buckets-and-trees]

Title: Fire Burning from a Cedar Tree

Fandom: MCU

Characters/Pairings: King!Steve x Royal!female!Reader, brief appearance from Natasha

Word Count: 3.4k

Summary: Georgian-but-quasi-American royal AU. You came into the betrothal with no illusions to the situation – yours was a marriage to ensure the continuation of many generations of alliance and peace between your respective kingdoms. Very early, however, you learn what your royal union truly means to you both.

Content Warnings: politically arranged marriage, reluctant pining, SMUT (rough fucking, p in v, oral – female receiving, fluffy fucking, nipple play)

Additional Notes: The eighth and final offering in my 2022 Holiday Extravaganza. Just a smutty one-shot here with a smattering of situation painting/plot and relationship development. Did I think we were going to end up with this much Steve for the HE? Nope! But here we are, yet again ahaha. I had closed my laptop and gotten up to go to bed, had this idea while brushing my teeth, and sat back down and typed for an hour, then have been feverishly returning to it as I had the time. So I hope you enjoy, dear reader.

Music Ficspiration: Big God by Florence + the Machine, I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face from My Fair Lady, Better Love by Hozier, Movement by Hozier, So Real by Jeff Buckley, Lover, You Should’ve Come Over by Jeff Buckley

“Your Majesty,” one of your ladies in waiting enters your bedchambers and sweeps into a curtsy.

“Yes?” you prompt, turning in your chair to look at her directly instead of through mirror of the vanity.

“His Majesty the King has returned.”

You nod, “Thank you. You may retire for the evening.”

She curtsies again, bowing her head, and then leaves, closing the door softly behind her. You sigh, turning back properly in your chair so your lady in waiting, the Duchess Natalia, can resume taking down your hair.

“Your Majesty?” she prompts, noting your sigh.

“It’s good to hear the king is back.”

“He will undoubtedly request an audience with you tomorrow,” she says. She is far too observant and already knows you too well.

She is also mercifully diplomatic, discreet, and a confidant who listens and doesn’t needle you or pry, so she continues letting out the braids, letting you muse on your own and only speak further if you want to.

You don’t want to.

The product of a long-arranged betrothal to bring peace between two countries, you had accepted your fate, resigned to be a good and dutiful queen. You were not to inherit a throne in your own country, had known that from birth with two older brothers, and you had grown up ready to embrace duty and opportunity. On arriving in the kingdom of Brooklyn as the future queen, your interactions with King Steven had been limited, but pleasant. They had been sufficient for you to be secure in your hope that it would be a good union, no need to worry about him being either cruel or moronic.

You had expected to be wedded and bedded. What you had not expected was to actually fall for him after the wedding ceremony and royal festivities when the two of you had taken the custom ten-day royal honeymoon to the palace in the north of his country by the lakes. The first night, of course, you’d consummated the union. The first few days you had been tentative in each other’s company. But with few staff, few interruptions, no royal obligations, only time really to yourselves – dining together, walking in the gardens, riding in the forest, in your bedchambers… you had grown close, and you had dangerously started to lose your heart to him.

Then you had been sent back to court while he had to depart directly to attend to matters in California in Stark’s kingdom. Two weeks had stretched to three, and the longer he was absent, the more you missed him, spurring you to grow more irritated at your naivety for developing more tender feelings for him than just that of the dutiful wife and queen you were supposed to and had intended to be.

No, here you sat, hoping your husband would summon you on the morrow, as you could not simply turn up in his royal presence, even though you were queen. Indeed, you could go anywhere else in this kingdom, had the company of many – some only because they had to or were courting your favor, but enough warm and developing relationships throughout the court – but not the one person you now yearned for.

You had been prepared all your life to marry a king and not to grow sentimentally attached to him as your husband. You felt like such a fool, pining when you had been perfectly fine and content in your life a mere six weeks ago.

There are voices outside your bedchamber and you and Natasha exchange perplexed looks. Just as she turns toward the door, it bursts open, the king entering without hesitation. He takes in the scene then quickly strides forward.

Natasha quickly drops into the customary curtsy. “Your Majesty,” she says.

You should have risen from your spot and greeted him as well, but your heart has jumped into your throat, and you are momentarily frozen.

The king is across the room and standing next to you by the time Natasha rises back to her full stature. He reaches out for the brush in her hand, and you catch the nearly imperceptible lift of the corners of her lips in a smile as she gives it to him.

“Duchess, you may go, I will take over.”

“Yes, your Majesty.”

She makes to curtsy again before exiting, but he waves her off. “Go,” he commands, impatiently but somehow without any irritation, and she heeds his wishes and departs immediately.

Wordlessly, he steps right up behind you. You suppose you shouldn’t have been surprised he came to you. You belong to him, and he’s been denied by proximity for three weeks. He pulls all your hair into his left hand, then, holding it, works the brush through it with his right hand, starting at the bottom, moving up a little at a time. You marvel at how gently and methodically he works through your locks, almost reverently. Neither of you speak as he brushes your hair. You study him in the mirror. He’s concentrated fully on his task. Coming to a finish, he finally meets your gaze in the mirror, and the look in his eyes is intense. He sets the brush on the dressing table and sweeps your hair to one side, exposing your neck and he leans down to press a long, heated kiss to your delicate skin. You shiver as he follows this with shorter kisses trailing down your neck to the juncture where it meets shoulder, and it’s a sensitive point that draws a sigh from your lips.

He stands up straight and urges you to turn in your chair and face him. His fingers possessively trace along your jaw, tilting your chin up. “Did you miss your king?”

You couldn’t say you missed your husband and not your king, not yet, so instead of mincing words or spinning together something else true enough to say, you bring your hand up over his, and turn your head to press a kiss into the palm of his hand.

You try to move to kneel before him, but he says, “Oh no,” instead insisting on luring you up and pulling you into a kiss, fully flush against his body, and he leads you in no uncertain terms to the bed, shoving you down to sit at the foot of the mattress. He draws back and both of you are panting heavily. He stands between your legs, and he doesn’t take his eyes off your as he pulls his tunic up over his head and drops it to the floor. His breeches quickly follow, and his cock springs free, hard, and ready to take you. Already breathing heavily, you’re able to hide your reaction somewhat – which is a confusing mixture of both excitement and trepidation.

He urges you to scoot back, crawling up to join you,

Midway up the bed, he presses on your shoulder, “Lay back for me. “

He rucks up your nightgown around your hips, and crawls over you, using one hand to guide himself into your already slickening folds before caging you in on either side of your head and thrusting deep inside your cunt, filling you completely with the first thrust.

He adopts a frenzied pace to fuck you. It’s hard and fast. He’s no longer looking at you, his head dropped and buried into the crook of your neck. You can’t catch your breath. This isn’t what you wanted.

He holds your thigh up around his narrow waist, spearing into you again and again, his fingers digging into your flesh with a bruising force. You let out a quiet sob and he abruptly stills, raising his head to look at you, but you can’t look at him.

You’re not fast enough to brush away the tears though, and you know he sees them slowly rolling down your cheeks, tears you had fought to keep at bay.

He utters your name as if in pain and draws away completely, sitting back on his heels.

You turn away, rolling to your side, feeling so much more of you has been exposed than merely your naked body before him.

After a moment that stretches on between the two of you, his fingers tenderly caress your calf. He murmurs your name tentatively this time, a question.

You sense him shift on the bed, and suddenly you feel him behind you. You are wrapped in on yourself, but his hand brushes softly from your elbow to your shoulder. He lingers there for a moment, then you feel him shift behind you again, and he props himself up, so he can look down at you over your shoulder, and his hand moves purposefully now to your cheek to wipe away your tears. He plants a kiss on your shoulder. Then he brings his hand back to your shoulder and softly urges you to roll toward him so you’re on your back again and he can look directly at you again.

“That was too rough. You are a queen and deserve better treatment from a king.”

You turn your head away. “No, it’s not…” You bite your lip. Even the way he apologized was too detached and it made your heart ache.

“Not what?”

More hot tears spill silently over your cheeks. How can you explain? You hardly understood the tempest in your heart yourself.

But then he cups the side of your face, brushes his thumb over the apple of your cheek, and when he draws your gaze back to him, there is something in his eyes so searching and raw that your heart longs for more of that version of him. “It wasn’t that you were too rough, it was that I don’t want to be merely used and discarded.” Your admission is out in a rush before you could second guess your words or their consequences.

He frowns. “Far from it.”

He moves closer and plants a kiss on your forehead, then rests his forehead against yours. Eyes closed, for a moment you both simply breath each other in being that close, one of his hands still cupping your cheek. At length, he speaks again. “I was desperate for you.”

“Desperate for me?”

He breaks away and laughs softly, but there’s a pang of bitterness to it. “Yes, desperate.”

He sits up, facing away from you.

You sit up next to him, smoothing your nightdress down, unsure how to proceed, you don’t want to lose him in the present. “Steven?” you try to coax him for more.

He sighs. “I’m afraid you will find me to be a fool.”

You wait for him to continue, needing to hear what he means.

“I was serenely independent and content before we wed, and inexplicably in a matter of days you somehow seem to have seeped into my bones, because from the first of your absence my mind turned so often of you. I found myself wondering what your opinion would be, wanting you to try some of the delicacies alongside me, wishing to see your smiles and your frowns throughout the course of the day. When I returned to my chambers each night, they were empty instead of peaceful and solitary. I’d grown accustomed to your voice, accustomed to your face, accustomed to your place at my side.”

He pauses again for a moment, and his expression pained. “But it was more than accustomed – I truly yearned for you and was angry to feel so much unlike myself when I’ve ruled for more than a decade without you, lived a life I thought was very much complete before you, devoted to the crown and happy in my reign, and now…”

The sentiment lingers in the space between you. Surely, he must hear your thundering of your heart in your chest. Finally, you say, “If you’re a fool, I’m a fool.”

His head snaps to look at you.

You take a deep breath and expose your soul to him, too. “I was born and raised for our royal duties, to marry and become a useful and reliable queen. There was no question of your deep commitment to rule this kingdom dutifully as its king. In the days before we married, it was evident we had the same expectations of our union, no sentimental notions. It made sense, and we were well-matched. At our wedding, we became king and queen. Away from our royal expectations, alone with each other, I think we both fell into becoming husband and wife. I’ve yearned for you these past weeks as well, and I couldn’t abide how impossible I thought my situation was, so sure and confident I would make for a good queen but discovering I wanted more. It was only when you went away that I felt the lack of something – an affection as I’d never had before, both for you and from you.”

He turns fully toward you and kisses you again, and instead of the demand and hunger, as he kisses now it’s driven only by the unrestrained yearning he confessed and that you admitted in return.

He pulls you into his lap, and you straddle him. He breaks the kiss to rid you of your nightdress entirely now instead of only pushing it out of the way as before, and then his lips immediately seek yours again. Your arms wrap around his neck, and his broad, warm hands are splayed across your back, pressing you flush to him, and you are just as eager to feel every inch of his skin seared against yours

He pauses his kiss, both of you utterly breathless now. You put a hand on his chest over his heart. He looks down and smiles at the gesture before looking up and beaming at you, but his small falters a fraction at the concentrated look on your face.

“What is it?”

You speak the notion that’s newly bloomed in your chest. “We are the only two people in the world with whom we can be totally ourselves, husband and wife, not the king and the queen, just a man and a woman.”

He nods fervently. “A new vow then between us: to both guard and embrace this as a true and unfettered love.”

You kiss him, but he only returns it briefly before pausing it again. “Do you swear it?” he asks.

You bob your head eagerly, seeking his lips, but he grips your chin, holding you back. “Words.”

“I swear it with everything I am.”

“As do I,” he affirms, then captures your lips again with his, moving you both again, this time lowering you worshipfully to the mattress. His mouth begins moving slowly down your neck, and you shiver, one hand coming up to tangle in his hair, the other clutching his muscled bicep. When he reaches the base of your neck, his tongue laves at the sweet spot he discovered there in your first precious days together, making you whimper. He then mouths at the spot and plants one more kiss there before moving lower. His lips skim lightly down your chest, kissing over where your heart is thrumming. He kisses the swell of your left breast, and then moves to mirror that action on the right. He brings his right hand up to palm one of your breasts as his tongue flicks across your nipple. He works to bring both to stiff peaks, licking and sucking the right while his hand plays with the left. Your back arches in pleasure at his ministrations.

He moves his mouth back to the other breast, and before you can think to miss his hand there, it’s confidently parting your thighs, seeking your now extremely wet folds.

“Steve.”

“That’s it, my love, let me make you feel good,” he says, and you whimper again. His fingers stroke your labia slowly. Your eyes close as he stokes your pleasure. He slips a finger into your core, pumping in and out. When he adds another finger, you can’t hold back the little noises that escape you. He presses his thumb to your clit, rubbing circles, and those little noises morph into a moan. Steve moves up now to hover over you, watching your face as he works you up to your first climax that night. You would feel too exposed if he had studied you this way during your first days together, but your confessions tonight to each other leave you now feeling safe being so intimately on display. When you cry out, hips bucking, he continues to stroke, working you through the orgasm.

He removes his fingers, and you need the moment, but lament the emptiness. His eyes are still on your face, and when your breathing is close to normal, you open your eyes and look back at him. Then you glance lower to see he’s pumping his hard, thick member with the hand that was still glistening with your slick of arousal. His eyes are aflame with his need, and he moves in to kiss you again. You welcome it, parting your lips and sliding your tongue between his. He opens for you, and as your tongues tease and delve, you roll and hungrily push him back on the mattress.

Steve grabs your hips with both of his hands and moves your body to straddle him. In place just where he wants you, chest to chest, you drop down to your elbows, planted on either side of his head. As you continue to kiss, he presses his hand down to the base of your spine and brushes his cock temptingly against your entrance. You push your hips back against him, and his chest hums with approval.

“Please,” you plead.

He doesn’t make you ask twice, using his other hand to guide his length into your quim. He doesn’t rush this push into you, but it’s not slow. Once fully sheathed, he moves his arms to circle around your chest, holding you close to him as he sets a steady pace thrusting up into you. He swallows your moans of ecstasy. When it begins to overwhelm you, you have to break off the consuming kiss to gulp lungful’s of air. Seeing you desperate like this above him drives his voracity.

Still buried inside you, he rolls to bring you beneath him once more. You cling to his shoulders, and he continues to advance toward release for both of you. He shifts the angle of his hips, and he’s rewarded with a pure keen from you. He continues to hit the spongy spot up against your pubic bone. You sob, so close, and this time the tears are pure pleasure. He grasps at one of your hands, and your fingers twine together. A few more thrusts and your walls flutter around him and then he your orgasm hits. Your spasming channel is too much, and with a groan he spills inside you right after.

He collapses against you, and you welcome the weight of his body. You’re both quiet in your moment of satiation. Your free hand draws lazy patterns over his shoulder blade as your breathing returns to normal. You wonder if he’s going to drop off into sleep, but then he repositions slightly, and asks, “Are you comfortable?”

“Mhmm,” you respond. You’re comfortable physically and intimately in this moment with him.

He brings your joined hands to his lips, and he kisses the back of your hand, then tucks it close to his chest and begins conversing with you – about the mundane, the important, things from the past few weeks apart, and from your lives apart before. There’s more kissing, followed by more pleasure, pulling each other apart in turn, and no sleeping until long after midnight.

You groan when he wakes you at what seems to be daybreak. You close your eyes again swiftly, and open your mouth to protest, but he cups your jaw and his thumb brushes over your parted lips. “I know it’s early,” he murmurs, “but I want to have you once more while we’re alone and unbothered.”

And when he says it like that, with such tenderness and longing, you wouldn’t dream of denying it for either of you. You hope to grow accustomed to many more stolen mornings over your lifetime together now.

COMPANION/PREQUEL PIECE: The Thrill of Knowing How Alone We Are

READ THE NEXT PART: A SHIFT IN THE MORNING ROUTINE

↠ Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

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[evelinessa]

The Time Loop Ritual

An angsty time loop fic! Originally written for Ace Attorney Holiday Exchange 2022.

Narumitsu | Angst and tragedy | 13.7k | Rated M

The Time Loop Ritual *Major Character Death*

Tragedy strikes on the night of Phoenix and Miles' first wedding anniversary; Phoenix vows to go to any lengths in order to fix it.

Some tropes & tags:

Time loop | Grief/mourning | Established relationship

[talkfantasytome]

The Newest Valkyrie

Cassian decides to give Nesta a little surprise for the holidays.

Warnings: None | Word Count: 2,337 | Read on AO3

Nessian Masterist

Happy Holidays, @ignite-me!!! It is I, your Secret Santa! I really hope you enjoy this little drabble! It's not much, but it's soft and fluffy, literally and metaphorically lol. I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season and have a great new year! 💕

"Thank you so much!"

Cassian let out a sigh of relief as he looked into the fully packed bag sitting on the settee at the foot of his and Nesta's bed. He'd honestly had no idea what he would find after asking the House for this favor, but apparently emphasizing that the request was actually for Nesta offered better results. It would make the surprise all the sweeter having everything ready for his wife and mate.

He looked through the bag, checking to make sure there wasn't anything else he needed to add. Cassian was pleasantly surprised at the amount of lingerie - and quality of it - the House had packed. And grateful, of course. There were also a few day dresses, some training clothes, some cozies for lounging, and even a few formal dresses. He hadn't requested that. Guess he'd need to add some formal attire into his own bag and plan out one or two fancier dinners for them.

Then again, did he really need to follow orders like that from the House? It wouldn't be with them to see what happened, thank the Mother. He might finally feel like they have some privacy.

The temperature of the room decreased drastically as if the House could read his thoughts. "Okay, understood, packing some nice shirts," he mumbled, walking over to his closet and pulling out some of his nicest clothes. As he folded them up and placed them in his own bag, he saw the House add three books to Nesta's. "Surely she won't need that many. She's going to be kept quite busy."

The House added three more to the bag to spite him. Maybe it wasn't as on board with his surprise as he thought.

"Fine. This week is about her, if she wants to spend it all reading, she can do that." He rolled his eyes and closed both bags, fastening them shut and bringing them up to the balcony. Luckily, Nesta was out with her sister and Gwyn, doing some Solstice shopping. That gave him the freedom to bring the bags up to where Az was waiting to winnow them to their destination.

His brother took one look at the bags and shook his head, chuckling as he said, "I thought you were only going for a week."

"Yeah, well, the House overpacked, and then made me do the same," he shrugged.

Az nodded in understanding. The last time he'd asked the House for a favor, he'd ended up with a picnic basket filled with enough food for twelve, including ten different chocolate desserts. All because he requested help in preparing a lunch for Gwyn. "I'm sure you'll be glad to be away for a few days."

"And you'll be glad to have the house to yourself." Cassian threw a wink at Az. "I imagine Gwyn will be around quite a lot."

"You know it's not like that."

"What? I just meant for dinner," Cassian hummed, smiling innocently.

Az gave a grunted, "Hmmm," and grabbed the bags. "See you at Solstice."

A quick exchange of nods, and Az was gone, gliding up to beyond the wards and then winnowing the bags away to help Cassian with the surprise. Of course, if he touched anything, Cassian would host a party every week and force Az to give a speech at each one. No mercy.

And that was the last of the tasks. All that was left for Cassian to do was wait for Nesta to get back.

And wait. And wait. And wait.

It was almost three hours before Nesta got back, hand grasping a bag from her favorite bakery, a gentle smile on her face. It still took his breath away. He'd never get bored of seeing Nesta happy, of glimpsing that smile that sent his heart racing.

Her lips spread wider when she saw him. Nesta walked toward him and gave him a kiss on the cheek before asking, "How was your afternoon?"

"Nothing special. How was yours?"

"It was good," she sighed, her steel gaze bright. "Found the last of the gifts I wanted to get. And some extras for a certain someone." She wrapped her arms around his waist, and Cassian instantly had his snaking around her shoulders.

"Oh really?"

"Yes. I do hope Eris likes them." Cassian froze until he saw the glimmer in Nesta's eyes and the way the corner of her lip twitched upward. Not to mention the slight twitch of her arched ear, a dead giveaway.

He laughed softly, kissing her atop her head. "I'm sure he will." Tucking away a loose golden brown strand, Cassian added, "And, speaking of presents, I have a surprise for you." Nesta's eyebrows quirked as she looked back up at him. "But we have to go to it."

"Color me intrigued." Cassian smiled widely down at her and grabbed her hand, leading her to the balcony. "Oh, we're going now?"

"We are," he replied. "But don't worry, you can bring your sweets."

Nesta huffed out a small laugh and rolled her eyes. "Do I need anything else for this trip?"

"Everything is sorted, don't worry about it." He leaned down and kissed her gently on the cheek. "But we are flying, so I'd like to leave while we still have some daylight."

"So needy," Nesta mumbled, just loud enough for Cassian to hear.

He picked her up swiftly in response and gave her no warning as he lunged off the balcony. Her arms snapped around his neck, taking an iron grip around him as she chastised him with a shockingly colorful vocabulary.

After that it was a smooth flight. Chilly, but Cassian used his siphons to create a shield from the wind to minimize that. It was a comfortable silence as they flew. Nesta enjoyed looking at the world around them. She'd gotten used to flying, but still experienced it with wonder and awe. And Cassian enjoyed looking at her as she did.

It was about two hours before Nesta started to get a bit antsy. "Cassian, where are we going?" she asked through a groan, fidgeting to find a new, more comfortable position.

"I told you, it's a surprise," he reminded her.

"Ugh!" She moved around again, and then just seemed to give up. "How close are we?"

"Very, I promise. Just a few more minutes."

Nesta let out a loud sigh and dropped her head. If the trip were any longer, Cassian would've planned to make a stop. He knew that, as much as Nesta enjoyed flying with him, she didn't like to do it for too long. Interesting, considering how easily it was for her to spend a whole day in the same spot when she was reading.

It wasn't even five minutes until their destination came into view.

The small cabin was nestled neatly in the mountains, atop one particular peak that was well guarded. The peak was also elevated enough that the view from the cabin was spectacular, looking out over the entire range.

Cassian held Nesta tighter and whispered in her ear, "Here we are."

"Is that the cabin?" she asked in shock, eyes widening.

"Not exactly," Cassian chuckled. "It's not the one Rhys owns. It's mine. I thought you might appreciate that more, and I wanted to share it with you."

Cassian set Nesta down on the snow carefully and took her hand, leading her to the wooden house. His heart began to pound faster and harder with each step they took. There was no way to turn back now, and yet the deed was not done. It was a horrible position to be in.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open and stepped aside, motioning for Nesta to step in first. He was right on her heels, until she gasped and his entire body froze.

Shit.

What did that mean? Was it a good gasp? A bad one? Did she see something terrifying? Had something gone horribly wrong?

Cassian looked around the cabin for anything out of place. The kitchen and living room both seemed to still be intact, as were all the decorations he'd been putting up over the past week. Floating Fae lights and pine garlands, candles on every flat surface and large wreaths hung on each window - everything was there, and it looked pretty damn good, if Cassian said so himself.

There was no fire roaring, but Cassian had managed to convince Helion to place some hospitality enchantments on the cabin, including one that would keep the cabin well heated. And then he found a lovely painting of a fire in a fireplace and put it right where the fire would be - for the aesthetic.

"Did you do all this for me?" she asked gently, eyes scanning the room.

He couldn't help but smile down at her. And then he sidled up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning his head on her shoulder. "Of course. I thought you might like to have a celebration with just us, and a chance to get away from Velaris."

"Cassian," Nesta breathed in that way she only did when she was at a loss for words. Her eyes snagged on the chocolate cake in the middle of the table before she turned in his arms and rested her hands on his chest. "This is amazing. Thank you."

He grinned widely at her before leaning in and pressing his lips to hers. "Happy Anniversary, Nesta."

"Happy Anniversary, Cassian." She pushed herself up onto her toes and kissed him again, snaking her arms around his neck to pull him down and deepen the kiss.

Cassian let her for a moment, all too willing to get carried away in Nesta, but then he heard a soft whine and was brought back to reality. "Ahhh," he sighed as he pulled away. "There is one other surprise. Something I thought you'd enjoy having some time with without the rest of the rabble."

With lifted eyebrows, Nesta tilted her head at him and said, "That now has my full attention."

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and then disappeared into the bedroom.

Nesta wandered around the cabin as she waited for Cassian to return.

She was truly speechless at what he'd done. The cabin was a Solstice wonderland, incorporating Fae and human decorations perfectly. Stepping into it was like a hug of warmth and comfort, almost like stepping into Cassian's arms after a hard day.

It had been a rough year. Training only intensified after the Blood Rite, and Nesta was spending more time with Gwyn and Emerie, recruiting and planning out what they might do with their new Valkyries. There was also a lot more time spent with family this year, and while Nesta cherished all the nights she spent with her nephew, she could've done with fewer family dinners and other obligations. It was starting to get to the point where she and Cassian had to plan to have a night to themselves at least a week in advance.

Even when Nesta was free, that didn't always guarantee Cassian was. He didn't like to complain about it, but Nesta could tell it was a drain on him, the need to split his time between Velaris and Illyria. She joined him often, especially if he'd be spending more than one night there, but it was a lot of energy, and he missed his family when he was gone.

Nesta was smelling one of the wreaths on the windows, savoring the strong scent of pine, when Cassian returned, his hands full.

The basket he held wasn't very large, but it had a massive red bow on it. And inside, a small, furry head was sticking up, wide eyes practically glowing.

"Cassian…"

"Surprise!" he cheered, holding the basket out to Nesta. Inside, a tiny, long-haired kitten with steel grey fur sat, looking up at Nesta.

She nearly melted at the site of the little animal. Its tiny nose and little, white-booted paws. "What did you do?" she asked in a quiet voice as she reached in and picked up the kitten. Gosh, it was light. And it snuggled close to her as she held it close to her body.

"Do you like her?"

"Her?" Nesta asked.

"Yup! I saw her the other day and just knew. She held her head up high, turning her nose up at a kitten that was clearly trying to annoy her, and I just had to get her."

Nesta could feel a heat building behind her eyes as she hugged the cat close. "She's perfect."

"And very fierce. You should see what she did to the evil towel I left in there," Cassian chuckled. "Your newest Valkyrie."

The kitten yawned and Nesta felt her heart expand as she then rested her head against Nesta's arm and fell quickly asleep. "I love her, thank you."

Cassian beamed down at her. "You have a whole week to get acquainted. From what I've heard and read, that'll bond her to you so you won't have to worry about her loving anyone else quite as much." He lifted his hand and scratched the kitten's head softly.

"What about you?"

"I'll give you two space."

Nesta rolled her eyes and chuckled softly. "No, I mean, I want her to love you, too. She's ours."

"I just thought-"

"No, Cassian," Nesta interrupted, smiling up at her husband, her mate, her life partner. "She's ours. I want to share my life with you, remember? That includes her."

He took her breath away with the smile he gave her, likely thinking back to the vows they shared during their wedding and mating ceremony. "I remember. It's the greatest honor of my life." He kept his hand on the kitten, his fingers meeting where Nesta's rested, and kissed her again. One of many kisses they shared that week. Ending with the first of many nips from the newest addition to their family, and a shared laughter that filled the cabin for their entire trip.

@live-the-fangirl-life @generalnesta @secretlovelybeauty @julemmaes @boredserpent @autumnbabylon @moodymelanist @sv0430 @nesquik-arccheron @gwynrielsupremacy @katekatpattywack @moonstoneriver77 @deedz-thrillerkilller16 @swankii-art-teacher @lemonade-coolattas @emily-gsh @my-fan-side @champanheandluxxury @sayosdreams @simpingfornestaarcheron @perseusannabeth @clemidansleschoux @meher-sumedha @labetenoir @vinylcryes @shinya-hiiragi @starryblueskies7 @a-court-of-milkandhoney @pintas3107 @embersofwildfire @superspiritfestival @aks18 @thewayshedreamed @lunabean @xstarlightsupremex @mis-lil-red @wannawriteyouabook @dealfea @acotargiftexchange

[bebepac]

Holiday Vibes 🎄

I am participating in @choicesficwriterscreations  holiday event 2022.  

I am also participating in @choicesflashfics prompt #21 “it looks like Santa threw up in here.” will appear in bold

I am also participating in  @choicesholidays​ prompt well that’s the holiday spirit which is the overall theme of this story.

Series: School Dayz

The Book:  TRR (no royals) 

Pairings: Liam x Riley

Word Count: 1036

Song Inspiration:  Silent Night by the Temptations

Warnings and Ratings:  None. Everyone.  A total fluff piece.

Original Post: 12/18/22 at 10:45PM EST.

“Thanks for driving me to the mall today, and driving me around when Jaiden can’t.”

“It’s no problem, and I like driving you around, makes me feel manly. Like i'm a super boyfriend.”  

Liam’s face turned bright pink.  

“I…..said that out loud didn’t I?”

“You did but it’s okay. And you are a ‘Super Boyfriend.’ I like that you’re always adorkably honest with me.”

The smile faded from her face and her face was replaced with a serious look.

“You know, the car accident sliding on the ice during the storm really scared me Liam.”

“I know it did, but I’m glad you and Taylor were okay.  When I saw your Jeep…. My heart stopped, Riley. I was so worried you were hurt.”

Liam took her hand and held it.  

“I’m okay.  It means a lot that you care so much.”

Riley gently squeezed his hand in return.  She still had bruising to the side of her face, and arm because when they skidded out of control, Taylor wasn't wearing her seatbelt, and Riley reached out to hold Taylor back, when the airbags deployed.

“I just want you to know I do, and I’ll drive you around as long as you need me to or want me to.”

“Thank you Liam.”

“You’re welcome.  So what’s on the agenda for the rest of the afternoon?”  

“Well if you want to hang out with us for a bit, we might be doing some Christmas tree decorating.  Dad said you could stay for dinner.”  

“That sounds nice.  He’s warming up to me, don’t you think?”

“Yeah maybe he is.  I mean as much as my dad can warm  up to people.”

When they pulled to a stop in front of the Brooks’s residence Riley laughed at the look on Liam’s face.

“Whoa…. Looks like Mr. Brooks has been busy.”  

“Dad loves Christmas, it is by far his favorite holiday.”

When they left the Brooks household that morning, there was no Christmas decor up. Coming back that evening the yard was filled with Christmas decorations 

and the house had been strung with lots of Christmas lights.  

Liam grabbed some of Riley’s shopping bags to assist her bringing them inside.  No one appeared to be nearby, so Liam spoke freely.

“Whoa…. It looks like Santa threw up in here.” 

And the Brooks family came out the woodworks like ninjas, starting with Mr. Brooks.

“No Liam, tell me how you feel about our Christmas decorations.” 

Taylor burst out laughing from the couch as Mr. Brooks stepped out into the foyer holding yet another a string of Christmas lights.

“Damn Liam. You just like stepping on landmines don’t you?”

“Jai! Language!”  Mrs. Brooks exclaimed.

“I’m sorry. I’m just not used to a lot of Christmas decorations. My family doesn’t really do holidays like this.  I think it’s really nice.”  

Ren affectionately rubbed Mr. Brooks’s shoulders.  

“Jason and I grew up in the foster care system, and holidays were hard when you were living in foster homes at the holidays.  We both vowed if we ever had families, we would celebrate.  It’s very important to us.  So we always go all out.”  

“Wow, I really meant no disrespect with what I said.”  

“It’s okay Liam. Go help Riley put her presents away in her room, and you can come back and help us decorate.”  

Liam hurried and helped Riley put her gifts in her closet to hide them and almost ran back down stairs to  the living room area.  He looked excited to be helping with decorating the Christmas tree.

“That’s some very meticulous placing of the Christmas ornaments Liam.  I could almost take a ruler to those and i’m sure their spacing would be identical.”  

“I don’t want to mess the tree up Mr. Brooks.”

“You can’t mess decorating a Christmas tree up.  At least not on my year.  I like bright colorful trees.  So does Taylor.”

He pointed to the box of ornaments.  There were so many different colored ornaments and trinkets in the box.  “We bring out the crazy.  Next year is Ren and Riley’s year,  they like a silver and gold tree with white lights.”

“And Jaiden, what about you? What type of tree do you like?” Liam asked Jaiden.

“I don’t care either way, as long as there are presents for me under said tree.”

“Seems legit.”  

Mrs. Brooks had disappeared from the decorating and had been in the kitchen for a little bit and emerged from the kitchen with a tray sitting down first a tray of cookies, then coming back shortly with a tray of cups of hot cocoa.  Mr. Brooks was still admiring their handiwork.  

“I think it’s time.”  

Ren looked at Jai.  “You know what to do.”  

“I’m on it Mom.”

As the lights in the living room started to dim slowly, Jason’s favorite Christmas song started  playing over the living room surround sound.  It was never officially Christmas in the Brooks’s household unless he heard The Temptation’s version of Silent Night.    

When the song hit its iconic first verse, the Brooks’s living room, the Brook's tree erupted with colorful light.

There was silence for a few moments while Jason wrapped his arm around Ren sipping some cocoa.

"This was a good one, Ren."

"You're right it is. Liam, you did a good job."

"Thank you sir."

After dinner Mr. Brooks pulled Liam aside.

"Yes sir?"

"What are you doing for Christmas, Liam?"

His face turned bright pink.

"Nothing, my Dad will be away, it's going to be just me and Leo. The cooks will make us dinner."

"What does your father do for a living Liam?"

"He's a corporate lawyer. They call him Constantine the Cutthroat."

"Sounds like he's a great lawyer."

"He is. Just a crappy father."

Jason looked at Liam sympathetically.

"You and your brother have plans now.  You're spending Christmas Eve and Day with us."

"Seriously Dad?!?!"

"We'll have plenty of food, and it's the least we can do, because Liam refuses to take gas money to chauffeur you around."

"Thank you Dad."

Riley hugged Jason.

"You're welcome, Jelly Bean."

When Riley's dad left the room, she turned to Liam with a huge smile.

"See! you were right, my Dad is warming up to you. This is huge."

Liam smiled back at her.  It was a bittersweet moment for Liam, but deep down the excitement outweighed the sadness. This was going to be the first Christmas he would really be celebrating since the passing of his mother.

[lokkanel]

At the Stroke of Midnight

Isak and Even meet at a New Year's Eve party.

A 1000 words SKAM Secret Santa gift fic written for @mrsrobinson11 ✨🎄

Read it now on ao3.

[petri808]

Nalu Yakuza Au *cover art by @jmoart214 💜

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |

*Special holiday chapter*

“Uwah!” 

Lucy’s excited giggle pierced the cold night air as she held out her hands to catch the snow falling around her. It’s not very often that Tokyo receives snow, maybe a couple times in a season and rarely enough to blanket the ground. On the sidewalk around her, other tokyoites scurry past uninterested in a young girl’s childish antics for it is two days before Christmas Eve and there are errands to run. She grinned at Natsu before looking towards the sky and closing her eyes for a moment while the cold little drops of snow flurries touched her skin. He merely chuckled as a warm smile graced his lips. It never failed to amaze Natsu each time the woman did something to make him fall in love all over again. But here she was, her face bathed in the artificial glow of store signs looking like an ethereal angel. 

This was their first winter after graduating from high school when nothing was yet set in stone and the rest of their lives laid before them. Once Natsu turned 20, he already knew that his father wanted him to succeed as the Oyabun, but he wasn’t ready to be a boss of their yakuza group just yet. He’s still young! And as he watched his girlfriend catching snowflakes, it only steeled his desire to focus on love not business… especially because Lucy is opposed to him becoming the boss. He held back a sigh and put on a smile as she grabbed his hand again to continue walking down the avenue. 

“Did you order the meal from KFC?” Lucy queried.

“Of course,” Natsu lifted their conjoined hands, kissing the back of her knuckles. “I even ordered your favorite cake from the patisserie.” 

“Mmm,” she bounced up placing a quick peck on his cheek. “You take such good care of me,” she cooed and snuggled to his side.

‘I’d kill for you,’ Natsu mumbled in his head. “I wanna give you everything kitten. I’ll always protect and take care of you.”

He knew that she knew exactly what those words meant… and it only added to her opposition. It wasn’t that Lucy was against him being the boss, what she’s really annoyed with is the whole boys club aspect of the yakuza. Natsu didn’t blame her for feeling the way she did, hell one of the things that attracted him was her strength. People often assumed Lucy was just another pretty girl who traded on her looks and lacked in intelligence, but they’re dead wrong. Picture it. The woman who was just minutes ago childly catching snowflakes was always in the top 10 percent of exams and was accepted into Tokyo University, one of the toughest universities to get into for business. Beautiful, brilliant, and feisty. He loved her so much… It’s because of that love that he didn’t want her joining the yakuza. 

Time to change the subject.

“Hey, I was thinking we should go to an onsen after visiting the shrine for New Year’s.” Natsu suggested. “We haven’t visited one in a while.”

“That would be nice, a trip before I start college.”

Natsu kissed her temple. “I’ll book a room with a private onsen.” 

The couple spent a sweet and savory Christmas Eve together at Natsu’s apartment, cuddling under the covers for most of the evening. He lived in a one-bedroom flat on the 26th floor of a high-rise apartment building where the nighttime views of Tokyo were beautiful. Outside the picture window, snow flurries fell and swirled through the air, catching on the light coming from the apartment before disappearing into the darkness. A few scattered buildings around the city were lit up for the holiday season making them stand out in the skyline. These really were the best times, when they could forget the world and all the responsibilities of life that lay beyond the front the door. Here in their own little heaven, where they made the rules, it was always sad to leave it. 

The next morning, Lucy went home with plans to hang out with her best friend Levy because Natsu had to deal with some end of year matters for the organization. No matter, it’s just five days until they’ll leave for their trip. He really hated being apart from her for more than a couple days, but he knew he better get used to it. Once Lucy started school, there will be times she needed to focus on projects and exams that may keep them apart for weeks at a time. He too may have problems that pop up that he needed to deal with. As the current first lieutenant it’s his responsibility to take care of matters before they escalated and required the boss to get involved. 

Finally, the 30th arrived. Natsu picked Lucy up from her apartment and they headed out in his car to an onsen located in the Saitama region. It’s about an hour’s drive, but the route is scenic once they leave Tokyo with forested land flanking many sections of the highway. During the autumn, the colors… all the reds, yellow, and orange leaves are pleasing to the eye, now those trees lay barren, and the pines are blanketed with piles of snow. Mountains of white wintergreens gleaming in the mid-afternoon sunlight.         

The ryokan Natsu chose was a mid-sized inn tucked away from the nearby city. Its design featured traditional Japanese style accommodations from tatami floors to pillowy futon mattresses, complimentary yukata robes, and in-room dining services. There are sliding shoji doors that led to a private deck and covered onsen bath that’s open to the outside. It’s a perfect hotel if you’re looking for a cozy, intimate getaway, and that’s exactly what Natsu wanted to spoil his girlfriend with before school stress began. Let Lucy start off the new year relaxed and sated. 

“Of course, I’m being clingy,” Natsu teased as they walked towards the guest room after check in. “It’s been a week.” He wrapped his arms around Lucy’s waist making it difficult for her to walk, but as much as she grumbled through gritted smiles, he won’t let go. The poor attendant carrying their luggage must’ve been so uncomfortable. 

The moment the door closed behind them… “Okay! Okay!” Lucy shrieked and clawed at the arms cinched around her waist. “So embarrassing!”

“Oww! Oww!” Natsu laughed as he finally let go. “Sorry kitten, I’ll leave the affection for behind the scenes.” Lucy rolled her eyes though there’s no malice in her expression, so Natsu still considered it his win. He kissed her cheek. “I’m just happy.” He kissed her cheek again. “Can you blame me?”

Lucy’s cheeks flushed. “No…” 

Yup, definitely his win.

The couple changed into the more comfortable yukata robes and hapi coats before venturing outside. For the three hours before the dinner service would be served, they spent it walking around the hotels zengarden and tea house. It’s a beautifully maintained garden replete with a koi pond that had a wooden bridge that crossed it, several intersecting pathways to follow, benches along the way to rest, and a couple of gazebo structures to enjoy the tranquility of nature. There’s a very light snow fall during the walk, but without much of a breeze the chill factor is tolerable. Natsu couldn’t remember the last time he’s been in a garden like this one. It might have been during a school trip. Had he held hands with Lucy then like he’s doing now? Possibly. Oh well, now there’s this memory to add to the collection.

Because the hotel is smaller it doesn’t have a sit-down restaurant, so meals are delivered to the rooms by request. Guests were also allowed to order specialty menus at the time of reservation, which is the route Natsu chose. He knew Lucy’s favorite dishes and made sure they were included. For dinner he’d chosen a mix of options. A chirashi bowl of sushi rice covered in a variety of fish, scallop, shrimp, and eel sliced thin in sashimi style. Braised pork belly coated with a sticky teriyaki sauce. Red miso soup with wakame seaweed, tofu, and scallion. Shrimp and vegetable tempura, and lastly for dessert, strawberry mochi ice cream drizzled with sugar glaze and kinako powder. The resident sake master included a top line junmai daiginjo sake to go with the meal. Everything was delicious. 

Now that their bellies are full and the sake has mellowed them, it was the best time to relax away the rest of the evening. They took turns taking a quick bath before slipping into the onsen. Natsu went in first. 

“Finally,” he teased from the steaming waters. “I was starting to worry you fell asleep in the bathroom.”

Lucy kneeled next to the edge with the towel wrapped around her body and her hair tied up in a loose bun. “I have a surprise to show you first.”

“Oh?” Natsu shifted his body to rest his elbows on the edge.

She turned around, still on her knees, then let the towel drop down to her waist to reveal her back. “I got it on the 26th so it’s still healing.” Lucy twisted her neck so she could see him. “What do you think?” Then before he started to respond, she let go of the towel and joined him in the water. 

Natsu prompted Lucy to sit with her back to him so he could look at it closer. “It’s a beautiful tattoo, fits you perfectly.” He ran his fingers over the soft, fluid line work that graced her upper back. Top to bottom it covered half of her back, perfectly centered over her spine with the wingspan stretching over her shoulder blades. He couldn’t quite place the style, a touch of whimsy, fantasy, maybe even tribal and the design was part butterfly, fairy, and angelic in its beauty. “Very delicate, perfect for a woman, but why wings?”

Lucy turned back to him. “Because you often call me kitten or angel, so when Levy and I visited the tattoo shop and I saw this design I decided to go with it.” She caressed his cheek and placed a pressured lingering kiss on his lips. “Now I’m forever your angel.”

Natsu pulled her onto his lap so she’s straddling his legs, wrapping his arms around her waist with hands draping over her lower curves. The steaming waters chased away the winter chill, while Lucy’s lithe body is framed by the lightly falling snow behind her and the overhead light created a haloed glow around her blonde hair. Just, breathtaking… and it’s all his. He grinned and returned the kiss in kind letting his forehead rest against hers, “Damn right your mine, and I’ll never let you go.” 

Snap Snap Snap “Boss? Oi Natsu, why the hell are you staring at the kids?”

“Kids?” Natsu’s eyes blinked and slowly readjusted from daydreaming. That’s right, the restaurant they ate dinner at was across from a park decorated with lights for the holiday season. He was waiting outside while Gray settled the bill when he noticed a young woman bathed in lights looking at the sky while two children, presumably hers, were laughing a few feet away as they made snow angels in the snow. Did he just flash back to a decade-old memory? The second he realized where he was, he turned around to address Gray. “I um, was just remembering how we used to make snow angels too as kids. Remember, Gray?”

Gray’s brow raised in suspicion, “not really, but whatever. I paid so let’s go.”

“Right…” Natsu glanced back to the park one last time before falling in step with his lieutenant. He’d almost forgotten that memory, but how could he. “My angel,” he muttered under his breath and gained another weird look from Gray. 

With the shinnenkai end of year celebration party coming up in a couple more weeks, Natsu had been too busy preparing to notice all the Christmas seasonal decorations around the city. Though a western thing, it was becoming more and more accepted as a secular holiday, especially in the bigger cities. But that wasn’t the issue of the moment. He really loved it when Lucy got that tattoo because he thought that it meant she’d accepted a future with him— Oh, how wrong he’d been because that was the year they broke up and ten years later he still wasn’t exactly sure why.  

“You go on in Gray, I’ll be in shortly.” They’d arrived back at the office building, but Natsu wasn’t ready to go in just yet. 

Natsu pulled the collar of his coat tighter to his neck to brace against a small gust of chilly wind. Lately his and Lucy’s current relationship as rivals was starting to wear on him mentally and it was getting harder and harder to control his emotions surrounding her. Guess ten years of pining really will drive a person insane. He closed his eyes and tilted his head to the sky to allow the little white flurries to chill his skin. Somehow, some way he’ll win his angel back and finally fulfill the wish he’d made at the shrine all those years ago. ‘I said it didn’t I Luce,’ he smiled to himself. ‘I’ll never let you go…’

[genevievemd]

Your Midnights

Book: Open Heart Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Genevieve McClure) Word Count: 1996 Rating: G Category: fluff, Ethan POV Trope(s):

Summary: Two New Years, four years apart. 

Warnings: none

A/N: No, I will never stop naming fics after Taylor Swift lyrics. I am who I am, besties lol Enjoy the fluff. 

Also another entry for @choicesficwriterscreations​ Holiday Event!

December 31, 2018

Dr. Ethan Ramsey hated most, if not all, holidays. The pomp and circumstance, the commercialism, the fakes niceties, none of it appealed to him. 

And New Years Eve was no different. In fact, it may be the one he has the greatest disdain for. Simply for the existence of New Years resolutions. 

They were completely pointless, most forgotten by February and if not, came with disappointment when the year ends and expectations were not met. 

He’d given up the silly tradition decades ago and hasn’t even celebrated the holiday since his med school days. Now, Ethan does what he has for every other holiday…

He works. 

And this year, with his mentor and dearest friend fighting for his life in a hidden corner of the hospital, Ethan had even less desire to party and celebrate. 

Though, it seems the interns are still planning to. Their laughter and cheers echoing down the halls, as if they were at a bar and not the most prestigious hospital on the East Coast. He rolls his eyes, quickening his pace towards Naveen’s room. He had no desire to be around the group of cackling hyenas any longer than necessary. 

Soon enough, he makes his way to the construction zone. Pushing back the plastic curtains and avoiding the forgotten power tools and piles of supplies. He takes a deep breath, enjoying the piece and quiet. 

Until a delightful little laugh dances down the hall. 

He’d recognize it anywhere, the sound now imprinted in his mind. 

His stomach swoops involuntarily every time he hears it, even more so when he’s the cause of it and that fact alone make Ethan want to flee to the most remote place on Earth. 

But, run towards the woman who owns that laugh at the very same time. 

He straightens his white coat and takes a deep breath before opening the door to Naveen’s room. He makes it no more than a foot inside when he stops, staring blankly at his mentor and intern. 

“What in God’s name is on your head, Rookie?” 

The petite blonde turns to face him, her smile so bright its almost blinding.

“My New Year’s Eve hat, duh.” Genevieve laughs, taking a second to adjust the pointed monstrosity. “Don’t tell me you’re a scrooge about New Year’s, too?” 

“Scrooge is Christmas, Dr. McClure. Which has, thankfully, come and gone.” Ethan rolls his eyes, then closes the door. Walking over to Naveen’s bedside. “Please tell me you’re not interrupting Dr. Banerji’s rest.” 

“Of course she’s not! I was up when she came to check on me.” Naveen smiles at the intern and it was clear that her presence had cheered the old man up. 

And effect Genevieve seems to have on most people. 

“We’re making resolutions and discussing our plans for the new year.” Gen offers Ethan a hat from the stack on the bedside table, to which he declines. 

He still has zero desire to partake in the festivities, no matter how adorable she looks in the party hat. 

“You need to loosen up, Dr. Ramsey.” 

“I do not.” 

“You do.” She laughs again, and his insides melt like they had in the hall only minutes ago. 

He feels like a fool; getting butterflies like some prepubescent teen, having a crush on an intern in his charge. And there was nothing he could do to quell the fire that was slowly growing for her. He needed her help with Naveen, he oversaw majority of her cases, and despite his best efforts, she was becoming his friend, as well. 

He enjoyed her company and hated the idea of losing it. So, he was determined to keep his crush at just that, a meaningless little crush. Nothing more, nothing less. 

Even if his wayward heart had other ideas. 

“Well, will I make it to the new year?” Naveen quips, breaking Ethan out of his thoughts. 

He looks down at his watch, and shakes his head. “With three minutes to twelve, I’d think so.” 

“Good. Now, you two should get out of here and go ring in the new year properly.” Naveen nestles down in his hospital bed, pulling up the blankets. “This old man is going to attempt to get some sleep.” 

“As you should.” Ethan smiles down at his friend, patting his shoulder gently then walking to the door. “I’ll see you in the morning, Naveen.” 

“Goodnight, Dr. Banerji.” Gen squeezes the older man’s hand. “Happy New Year.” 

“The same to you, my dear.” 

They share another smile before she joins Ethan at the door. The pair taking one more look at their sickening friend then leaving. 

“Any plans for tonight?” Gen breaks the silence as they walk down the hall, looking up at him. 

Even in the dim lighting, he can see how green her eyes are. Like two emeralds sparkling in a dark cave. Enchanting. 

“Home. To a glass of scotch.” 

“That’s so boring.” She shakes her pretty head at him, though she smiles playfully. 

“On the contrary, Dr. McClure, its–” He stops when he sees her about to trip on a pile of tiles, quickly reaching out to grab her arms. “Watch your step.” 

He pulls her away, and inevitably into his space. The air around them suddenly gone when their eyes meet, faces inches apart. 

Time stops and the world fades away, neither doing any more than breathing. It’s like something out of one of the myriad of romantic comedies Harper used to make him watch. Something so fantastical it couldn’t possibly be possible or real. But, clearly, it was. 

“I…” She’s the first to speak, a fractured word between breaths. “Thank you.” 

The small embers have now turned into a raging fire and its consuming every inch of him the longer they stand so close. 

He was truly playing with fire now, and, for the first time in a long time, Ethan found he didn’t care. 

“You’re welcome.” He offers her a small smile, forcing his eyes to stay connected with hers and not travel down to her lips . 

The moment is interrupted by cheers coming from beyond the plastic door to the secluded wing. Finally pulling them both out of the fog.

Ethan steps away, clearing his throat and fixing his coat. “It would appear that it’s midnight.” 

“Yeah.” She’s quiet, her voice barely above a whisper and her eyes still focused on his face. 

“We should go.” 

“We should.” Gen nods, then takes a breath. 

She steps back into his space, quickly but with determination. Reaching up on her tiptoes, she ever so gently kisses his cheek. It barely lasts a second, but the action still has him frozen. 

It was a bold move by an intern, and he was impressed by her gall. But, she wasn’t just an intern. Something they both clearly knew. 

“Happy New Year, Dr. Ramsey.” Gen smiles and without looking back, she leaves him there. 

His cheek still tingling from her kiss, and his heart beating rapidly. Thundering against his ribcage. 

Struck with on singular thought, he wanted more. 

Four Years Later; January 1, 2023

The sunlight slowly begins to creep in from between the closed curtains. The soft rays dancing across the floor and the king sized bed. But he’s been awake long before the sun began to rise. Even on a mini vacation to Dagger Mountain, and after a night of festivities, his body is unable to sleep in past his usual wake up time. 

Though, he doesn’t mind, instead using the time to catch up on emails and, of course, stare longingly and lovingly at the woman sleeping peacefully beside him. Amazed at where life has taken them. 

Four years ago, he’d woken up on New Year’s Day, alone, thinking about the unexpected kiss he’d received the night before from an intern who he had an unwanted crush on. How he wanted her to do it again. How he wanted it to be a real kiss, and not just a quick peck on the cheek. 

How damaging and dangerous his ever growing feelings where. And now…

Now he’s woken up on New Year’s Day, happier than he’s ever been with that very same intern. Only now Genevieve isn’t just an intern, she’s his wife and his equal in every way. 

So much had happened in those four years, but the one constant through it all was their love for each other. Even when Ethan didn’t know it, or tried to deny it. It was always there, behind every action he took with her, and every ounce of patience she had with him. Like an eternal flame that could never and would never be extinguished. 

He turns on his side to face her, gingerly brushing the hair from her face. She was so beautiful, even with last nights mascara smudged under her eyes. It took his breath away. Has his heart skipping a beat. 

She stirs, shuffling closer and reaching out to ensure he’s still there beside her– like she does every morning. 

Ethan grabs her hand with a smile, kissing it gently. “Good morning, sweetheart.” 

“Morning.” Her reply is nothing more than a sleep drenched murmur. Eyes still closed as she burrows into his chest. “More sleeping.” 

“Unfortunately for me, I’m wide awake.” He leans down, kissing her head. “But you’re more than welcome to go back to sleep, we don’t need to check out until noon.” 

“No, just cuddling is good.” Gen drapes an arm around his waist, her fingers lightly scratching his back. “Did you sleep good?” 

“I always do with you next to me, my love.” 

“You’re very romantic this morning, Chief Ramsey.” She leans back, face scrunched with suspicion as she looks up at him. “What’s gotten into you?” 

“Nothing. I was merely thinking of you and us before you woke up. That’s all.”

“What about?” 

Ethan sits up against the headboard, pulling her to sit with him. His arm wrapped securely around her shoulder as she settles. “Our first New Year’s Eve together.” 

“First, like our first as a couple or first as in my intern year.” 

“The latter.” 

“Oh, when I kissed your cheek like a crazy person.” 

“Yes.” 

“I still can’t believe I did that.” She laughs, “Like, I have no idea what came over me that night. I just knew it was midnight and I wanted you to be my New Year’s kiss.” 

“Hm.” Ethan nods.

He wasn’t blind back then, he could see she had feelings for him, as well. He had assumed it was just a crush like him, brought on by the amount of time they’d spent together. As he said would happen months prior during the fMRI. Of course he was wrong, it wasn’t just a fleeting crush, and their first real kiss three weeks later in Miami was the proof. 

Not to mention all the things that happened after that.

She was always meant to be the love of his life. 

“You know what I just realized.” Gen sits up to face him, her hand moving to rest over his heart. “You’ve been my New Year’s kiss every year since.” 

“Have I really?” He covers her hand with his own, thumb running across her soft skin. 

“Yeah. We were secretly dating unofficially the following year, and then dating for real the year after that, engaged last year and now this year we’re married.”  

“And what about next year?” 

He already knows what comes next, what will be for the rest of his life. But he’ll never tire of hearing her say it. 

“Who knows, maybe we’ll have a baby, but,” She changes positions again, this time moving sit in his lap. One leg on either side and her arms wrapped around his neck. “We’ll still be husband and wife, and be each other’s midnights forever.” 

“Sounds amazing, G.” He smiles, then pulls her into him. 

Sharing their first kiss of the year, one with the promise of a million more to come.

A/N: I might do one more NYE themed fic but we’ll see. Either way, Happy New Year peanuts! 

(tagging separately)

[ivorydragoness44]

Holiday Fanfics 2022 Masterlist:

Bernard the elf x elf!Reader: Delicate

Imagine planning cookie gift giving with Natasha Romanoff

Murtagh Morzansson x Reader: New Traditions

Imagine Bucky’s reaction to holiday plushies

Imagine baking cookies for the Wolf Pack

Imagine Bernard checking on you

Imagine seeing Jack Frost

[buckets-and-trees]

With You [Steve x Reader]

Fandom: MCU

Characters/Pairings: Steve x female!Reader

Word Count: 600

Summary: A normal nothing kind of Saturday that turns into a moment Steve will remember forever.

Content Warnings: fluff for the sake of fluff

Additional Notes: I almost posted this a couple of days ago for the Holiday Extravaganza because I felt like I was going to be pretty mean to Steve between Tiny Vessels and another piece I had slated for this little fest, but then I didn’t… Also because this is a little something I have tucked away with some other scenes for a Neighbor!Steve longer WIP I have been working on, but I’ve also been toying with telling their story out of order.

Song inspiration: A World With You – Jason Mraz

Steve stretches and puts his book to the side, looking over to where you are sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, hunched over the New York Times crossword, occasionally tapping your pencil to your lips, scribbling answers down onto the paper as you work them out.

“Do you want to head down to the corner to get some ice cream?” he asks.

“Yeah,” you reply without looking up.

After a few beats, Steve frowns, seeing no change in your actions despite your answer.

“And we should probably get some groceries while we’re out.”

“Mhmm,” you respond.

Still no change.

Steve’s brow furrows. “Let’s hit the road and throw out the map, take off and escape for a week.”

“Sure.”

“Then after that let’s move to Paris, get ourselves a loft, live in squalor, and eat far too much brie.”

You whip your head up to look at him. “I was with you until the squalor.”

“Oh, so you were listening.”

You laugh. “You thought I wasn’t?”

He tilts his head and shrugs, challenging you. You roll your eyes in return and push yourself up from the floor, dropping your pencil on the table. Stepping around the coffee table, you make your way to the armchair he’s sitting in. It’s really only big enough to accommodate Steve’s big frame, but you crawl onto his lap anyway, settling yourself sideways across his legs, tucking your knees up to your chest and wrapping your arms around his neck. He immediately brings one arm around your back, holding onto your waist, and the other holds your legs snugly in place.

“Steven Grant Rogers, what you clearly haven’t fully grasped yet is that I’m going to say yes to almost anything you ask without hesitation.”

“Only almost anything?”

“Until a minute ago, it would’ve been anything period, but then you said squalor and also insinuated that we could consume too much cheese, and I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Okay,” he laughs then kisses you.

“So, when you’re not making ridiculous requests, I’m always going to say yes, because I know you’ll be there with me every second.” You said it with such nonchalance, he couldn’t help but believe you meant every word you’d just said, and it almost made his heart stop, overwhelmed in the best way by the warmth of your indelible certainty.

“You should just marry me, Rogers,” you add. “I’m ready.”

“No!”

“No?” you jerk away from him, and he sees the hurt and surprise spring into your eyes.

But just as quickly, he contracts his arms, not allowing you to move away. “No because I want to ask you properly with a ring in some outlandishly romantic moment.”

“Oh,” you breathe out, the tension from a moment before melting away completely, a soft smile spreading across your face.

“That okay with you?” he asks.

“Mhmm,” you hum, then tilt your head and kiss him. It’s not heated in this moment, but it’s intimate, a promise. He kisses you back until you’re both breathless, and then you rest your foreheads against each other.

The moment rests between the two of you quietly for a few minutes, both of you just holding each other, drinking in the peace and closeness.

Finally, you press a quick peck to his lips and say, “So, ice cream?”

He chuckles and playfully but gently pushes you off his lap. “I know the way to your heart.”

You laugh and pull him up from the chair. “Always ice cream.”

↠ Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

If you enjoyed, reblog to help others find this story AND to normalize the fic-reblog culture. There are so many talented writers, and a reblog really fuels the muses of the soul more than you know - we all appreciate it whether we're big or little fish in this pond.

My askbox is always open. See you on the flipside.

[evelinessa]

Locked Inside (The Key to Your Heart)

My fluffy getting together on Christmas fic! Originally written for Wright Stuff Holiday Exchange 2022.

Narumitsu | Fluff and angst | 8.4k | Rated T

Locked Inside (The Key to Your Heart)

Phoenix and Miles get locked inside a mall together on Christmas Eve.

Some tropes & tags:

Emotional hurt/comfort | Locked in | Getting together | Mutual pining

First kiss | Sharing a bed

[liaromancewriter]

The Best Present

Premise: It’s his first Christmas as a married man, and Ethan reflects on how he got here.

Book: Open Heart (post series) Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Cassie Valentine) Rating/Category: Teen. Fluff. Words: 1,315

A/N: This is set today (Christmas 2022). Submission for @choicesficwriterscreations Holiday event; @choicesdecember2022 prompt Day 4 “snow on the beach”; @choicesflashfics Holiday prompt 17 in bold; @choicesholidays​ week 5 “Meet me at midnight”

The frigid wind coming off the Atlantic was howling outside, swirling snow on the beach like tiny crystals in the air. Inside the Newport mansion facing away from the sea, the rooms were decked out for the holidays in festive reds, greens and golds.

The family room was warm from the central heating and a roaring fire; the drapes across the French doors pulled aside to let in the sunshine but keep out the cold.

The beautiful tree in the corner with its matching ornaments and gold star topper no longer sheltered colorful presents. Those had long since been opened by their recipients over hot cocoa and eggnog. Exclamations of surprise, gratitude and laughter filled the air as each gift was unwrapped.

Ethan Ramsey sipped coffee from a holiday-themed mug chockful of sarcasm, a present from his wife. The fire popped and crackled in the large fireplace, but his mind wasn’t in the here and now. It was in the past and the events that led him to this moment.

When he was a little boy, Ethan still believed in the magic of Christmas and Santa Claus. He remembered trying to stay awake one Christmas Eve, hoping to catch Santa in the act. Maybe give him the card he had drawn just for him. But he’d fallen asleep curled up next to the upstairs banister.

The last thing he remembered was watching his parents kissing under the mistletoe while Christmas music played on the radio. His dad must have found him because he woke up on Christmas morning tucked inside his bed, clutching his favorite teddy bear. He never did get to meet Santa.

Over the years, he’d stopped believing in Christmas and all it entailed. The season had been a good way to make extra money in high school and college. He’d been too busy with his studies in med school to give it much thought, except when Tobias dragged him out to celebrate.

During residency and after, he preferred working. He’d often rang in the season with any of the revolving door of women in his life that happened to be free. He didn’t want permanency. But something about the holidays made others wish for it. So, he’d been careful to keep things casual.

Fast forward almost ten years later, Ethan still had difficulty believing he was in the most permanent relationship of his life. Marriage. And with someone for whom family was as essential as breathing.

He glanced over his shoulder, searching and then he saw her. Cassie Valentine. His first and only love. His wife. His partner in everything.

She was laughing with her brother and cousins on the other side of the room. And he wondered again how he’d gotten so lucky.

He had finally met his match. Someone who was his equal professionally, challenged him personally and made him laugh and feel lighthearted even on the darkest days. And was happy with who he was and not who she wished he could be.

“I fell in love with the real Ethan Ramsey, not a figment of my imagination,” she told him the night before their wedding when his nerves had gotten the better of him.

He’d found himself standing outside her bedroom door, a speech prepared, convinced that it was only fair to offer her an out. No hard feelings. He wasn’t sure he could ever give her what she deserved. But he should have known she’d see right through him.

“I don’t want an out, Ethan,” she said quietly. “But if you do….”

She stood in the open doorway looking beautiful in a simple green gown, her hair in a messy bun, and her face shiny from the night cream she liked to slather before going to bed.

And he realized what an idiot he was at that very moment.

“I don’t,” he said vehemently. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life than I am about marrying you.”

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow at the altar.”

She started to close the door, but he wasn’t satisfied with leaving things like this. He yanked her into his arms; his mouth descended on hers, swallowing her sighs, imprinting himself on her. Reaffirming the promise of what was to come and thank her for giving him endless chances.

Six months later, his nerves were still there, and so was his fear of messing up. But he also knew that he was a product of his DNA. Not the half that was restless and had chosen to walk away but the one that had stayed, devoted to the last.

He looked over at the armchairs near the fireplace where Alan was enjoying mulled wine with Olivia, their conversation too low for his ears. His father was the symbol of constancy in his life. A man who loved his family and had endless patience and forgiveness in his heart.

Once upon a time, Ethan had worried about the differences in his and Cassie’s family backgrounds. But his father and in-laws had gotten along exceptionally well from the first meeting. And he realized that at the core, where it mattered, they were similar people.

When his phone pinged, he fished it out of his pocket; his thumb automatically clicking on the notification when he saw Cassie’s name on the screen.

He was still grinning like a fool at the screen when he felt the air shift around him, and he quickly locked the phone. They were surrounded by Cassie’s family, and the last thing he wanted was someone to see the risqué text.

Ethan let out a sigh of relief when he realized it was Cassie. She joined him on the couch, draping his arm over her shoulder as she nestled into his side. She kissed the underside of his jaw and grinned.

“Excited for your present?” she asked wickedly.

“Are you sure we have to wait until midnight?”

He cupped the side of her face, the pad of his thumb moving against her lower lip as he stared into her eyes. She was already wearing the earrings he’d given her, the sparkle of diamonds no match against the emerald green of her eyes.

“Yes! I want you panting in anticipation.”

“You do that just by breathing. I can prove it. Right now, in fact,” Ethan smirked.

“Nice try, Dr. Ramsey,” she said, throwing him a mock steely-eyed gaze, a teasing smile hovering on her lips. “I plan to drive you crazy today, and you will play along.”

Before he could convince her otherwise, she shot her arm up in the air, held it still above their heads and looked up. “Look, there’s mistletoe. We have to kiss, it’s the law.”

Ethan followed her gaze and saw she clutched a sprig of mistletoe in her hand. He smiled when she gently shook it, a not-so-subtle hint. She straddled his lap, uncaring about who might be watching.

“Well, if it’s the law, who am I to break it?” he drawled, taking her face between his hands.

They both closed the distance between their lips, neither certain who kissed who first. Not that it mattered. Mistletoe was forgotten, and her arms circled the back of his neck. He wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her close

Lost in each other, they didn’t notice the secret smiles on their parents’ faces or the hollering and teasing laughter from her cousins.

Later that night, after he’d unwrapped and enjoyed his final Christmas present, he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling with eyes struggling to stay awake. He tightened his arm around Cassie, already asleep beside him.

His last thought before sleep took him was that today had been the best Christmas ever. He wouldn’t change a thing because everything in his life had led him to this moment. This woman.

And that was the best present of all.

Bonus

All Fics & Edits: @a-crepusculo​ @annfg8​ @bex-la-get​ @bluebelle08​ @cariantha​ @choicesaddict5​ @coffeeheartaddict2​ @crazy-loca-blog​ @doriopenheart​ @genevievemd​ @headoverheelsforramsey​ @lucy-268​ @jamespotterthefirst​ @jerzwriter​ @mysticalgalaxysstuff​ @openheartforeverinmyheart​ @peonierose​ @takemyopenheart​ @potionsprefect​ @queencarb​ @quixoticdreamer16​ @rookiemartin​ @trappedinfanfiction​ @vi-writes-stuff​ @zahrachoices​

Submissions: @openheartfanfics​

Ethan & Cassie only: @custaroonie​ @lady-calypso​ @hopelessromantic1352​

[camaro-and-smokes]

Harringrove Fics Masterpost

Masterpost for all my Harringrove fics (both on tumblr and AO3) below the cut. Unfinished fics marked unoriginally as unfinished.

UPDATE 31 Jan, 2024: I changed my blogname, so most of the links on my tumblr fic posts are now broken. Links below are fixed to work and you can always read all my fics on AO3, AO3 links work and everything is available there also without logging in. I hope you like to read these despite the trouble.

My Metalsandwich & Mungrove fics masterpost >>

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The Way It Should've Been -series (AO3 >>)

Steve meets Billy. They fall in love. This series follows them through the most important events of their lives.

Part 1: The Love of My Life 1/10 >> / AO3 >>

Part 2: Is She for Real? 1/16 >> / AO3 >>

Part 3: Little Bird Starts Nesting 1/? >> / AO3 >> (unfinished)

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

August 1/8 / AO3 >>

After his first year in college Steve comes back to Hawkins for the summer he hears there's a new king in town. It could be another easy summer fling and he'd be in charge, but little does he know what he gets himself into… (Title from Taylor Swift song)

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Dream a Little Dream of Me 1/21 / AO3 >>

Steve works as VP of marketing in a Fortune500 firm. He starts to have a recurring dream of a relationship where he feels content in a way he'd never felt before. "It's just another dream" he tries to tell himself. It's not like you can dream someone perfect alive, can you?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Pretty (wo)man 1/12 / AO3 >>

This was the first night Steve had dared to actually stop by the red light district at all. He'd driven by maybe ten times the past week and spotted the blonde in the corner four times. He knew that he would actually have to talk to him at some point. But even the thought of being close to him always made him so anxious that he just couldn't stop the car. But as the vision of having the blonde in his bed haunted his mind stubbornly, he had decided that tonight would be the night when it would happen.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Get Out Of My Dreams, Get Into My Car 1/? / AO3 >> (unfinished)

1992 in San Diego, where Steve recently moved because of his new job, he runs into Billy - literally. Billy isn't exactly what he used to be when Steve had last seen him, but it isn't a bad thing. At all. By chance, they end up as roommates and, well…

or OMG they were roommates!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The Family Values Program 1/? / AO3 >> (unfinished)

Co-written with Aggressiveviking

When society started to decline, morals deteriorate and disease wiped almost one fourth of the population in the United States, The Family Values Program (TFV) was launched—the last beacon of hope for the betterment of the American people.

Steve had thought he wouldn't need to join TFV thanks to his dad's riches, whereas Billy had done all he could to ensure he would be one of the few accepted to it, for his father's sake—hoping desperately to turn twenty-five before being matched and thus age out of the program.

So, when they got the message from the Matchmaking Service of a successful match, neither of them knew what to expect—and how badly wrong it had gone.

To Steve, finding out that he was matched with a man by mistake was just one problem. The more pressing one was his upcoming twenty-fifth birthday a week from now, effectively aging him out of the program. If their match was revoked, Steve would be cast out of the TFV zone, with a promise from his father for no financial support. Steve couldn't let that happen.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::

A Shot for Life 1/? / AO3 >> (unfinished)

Billy Hargrove, a 24-year-old model with striking looks and undeniable talent, is on the brink of superstardom after landing his biggest gig yet as the face of Givenchy. The opportunity of a lifetime brings him to a three-day-long photoshoot in the Bahamas, where he meets the legendary photographer Steve Harrington, a 46-year-old icon in the fashion world.

What begins as professional tension quickly evolves into an undeniable connection, as Billy and Steve find themselves drawn to one another in ways neither expected. But with an age gap that invites scrutiny and careers that thrive on image, their relationship stirs up gossip and reveals old secrets, risking everything they’ve worked so hard to build.

Will they be able to rise above the lies or will the unforgiving spotlight of fame drive them apart forever?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Oneshots

Standalones, either my own or prompted from fandom events. Latest is always the last on the list. Enjoy :)

Surprise >> / AO3 >> Pure fluff, genderfluid Billy

Sugar >> / AO3 >> Pure fluff

The Smear >> / AO3 >> Domestic fluff, genderfluid Billy

King Size (only on AO3) >> Lemons

A Fair Deal >> / AO3 >> Fluff, the party

Cat in Heat >> / AO3 >> Lemons

Princess >> / AO3 >> Fluff, lemons

May I feel? >> / AO3 >> Pure fluff

Menace, My Beloved >> / AO3 >> Mild hurt/comfort

(I'm in Orbit) Stars Exploding >> / AO3 >> Fluff, feelings realizations, not really character death, happy ending

The Letter >> / AO3 >> Angst, unhappy ending, permanent character death

Wounded Deer >> / AO3 >> Angst, hurt/comfort

Oh Baby >> / AO3 >> Lemons, hurt/comfort

Snow on the Beach >> / AO3 >> / Podfic on AO3 >> Pure fluff

Take it off (drive me crazy) >> / AO3 >> Lemons

Little Siren >> / AO3 >> Merman AU, fairy tale

Screwdriver >> / AO3 >> Fluff, meet cute, innuendos

Snowfall on the Sahara >> / AO3 >> Fluff

Like a Virgin (only on AO3) >> Roommates, lemons with feelings

Something memorable >> / AO3 >> Kinda fluff I guess :D

Sunlight on his face >> / AO3 >> Fluff

It started with an ice cream cone >> / AO3 >> Lemons

Hello >> / AO3 >> Pining and fluff

Morning wood >> / AO3 >> Written for Tease Mates, lemons and pining

Even better than... >> / AO3 >> Lemons and fluff

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

[ocappreciation]

☆ HAPPY HOLIDAYS! | 2022 OC GIFT EXCHANGE ☆

ocappreciation is looking to have some fun with you this holiday season! We would like to arrange a holiday gift exchange between our wonderful followers and friends! :)

Here’s how it is going to work:

You must be following @ocappreciation​ to participate

One request per follower

No anon requests

☆ Today - December 3rd:

Submit to us the following information to let us know you would like to receive a gift (We will tag you in a masterlist of participants letting you know we have received your submission)

Label your submission “OC Gift Exchange”

Faceclaim (please try to make sure it’s an actual person so that others are able to make something. Also note, we do not accept OCs paired with people in real life, sorry.)

Character’s name

Fandom

Story Title

Story Link (if applicable)

Pairing w/ Faceclaim (if applicable)

At least three gifts you’d be interested in receiving: manip, poster, gifset, drabble, aesthetic, video, playlist, drawing–or you can say you’re up for any type of gift!

Also let us know if you’d be willing to make an extra gift!

The admins understand that some people aren’t capable of creating things. Don’t let that stop you from submitting a request! Please do! 

Making something for someone else isn’t mandatory, but we do strongly encourage it if you can!

☆ December 5th - 10th: You will be able to choose a person to make a gift for on these days. We will post a Google Doc with the person, the fandom their OC is in, and what gifts they’d like. (We will keep this updated throughout the week so you know who has been selected)

Those participating will then send us a message with 3 people they are interested in making something for. Hopefully, we will be able to match you up with someone you picked. But this will be first come, first served. If you are up for making something for anyone, just message us “anyone” and we will pair you up with someone!

After we have received your ask, we will send you an ask back with who you have been officially selected to make something for. Again, we will try our hardest to give you your first selection, but that might not always be possible. You may start making your gift as soon as you hear back from us.

☆ December 21st: All gifts must be submitted to @ocappreciation by this date. You may certainly submit them earlier than that.

If your gift is more than one image, and can’t be submitted regularly, we suggest that you put the post on your page on “private” and then send us the link. No one can see a private post but you and whoever you send the link to. Please make sure your gift is only one post in length.

☆  If your gift has not been submitted by this date, the admins will send you a message asking about your gift. ☆

☆ December 24th & 25th: We will post ALL the gifts on these two days. It will just be gift exchange posts, this way everyone can receive their present on Christmas. We will tag both who the gift is for and made by on the post.

Please let us know if you have any questions regarding anything stated up above! We will try to answer them as soon as we are able to. We look forward to spreading some holiday cheer this season!

[goforth-ladymidnight]

For @woahpip, for the @acotargiftexchange 2022

The Third Night of Solstice, Part 1

Pairing: Elain x Lucien

Rating: Teen and Up

Contains: Angst and Fluff

Summary: The second night of Winter Solstice has come and gone, and neither Elain nor Lucien got what they were hoping for. Only one night remains before the dawn of a new year, and this is their last chance to give each other the one thing each of them truly wants. Or so they think... Set during the events of A Court of Silver Flames, this is one Solstice that neither of them will ever forget.

Read on AO3

[mystradeholidaycollection]

Mystrade Holiday Fic Update!

Hoping everyone has had a lovely holiday season so far! The Mystrade Holiday Collection 2022 is now up to 24 fics. Seven new fics have been added to the collection and another fic has been completed. Here are the latest contributions to the collection.

The incredible happiness of being home by @mimisempai

After a few days of absence, Mycroft looks forward to returning home. Because now he has a real place to call home.

Cello by @merindab

Greg comes home to hear Mycroft playing his cello

Watch Over You by AbAbsurdo

Mycroft disregarded Sherlock's worries about his safety and he forgot all about it when his favourite author audited to be present in his lectures as research for new novel. Mycroft never thought falling in love would be so easy. Greg is funny, intelligent and pretty. Danger and lies may pull them apart.

You’re my Christmas miracle by @mimisempai

Mycroft and Greg find themselves stuck in the same airport because of the weather. They don't know each other, but fate will bring them together. Can a love story be built on a few hours spent together thanks to a twist of fate?

Double The Fun by @eventhorizon451

Mycroft doesn't answer when John phones for a Sherlock situation, so John rings Greg instead. Mycroft also doesn't answer when Greg phones about John's concerns. It may be Christmas Day, which Greg was very much looking forward to enjoying in the comfort of his flat with no ones expectations to satisfy but his own, he sets out to see if a certain Holmes brother needs a little help. What he finds is not at all what he expected...

The Merriest Christmas Yet by @221addie

Ada spends her second Christmas with her foster dads.

Rosie’s Snowman by @lavenderandvanilla

Rosie is extremely fond of the snowman she and Sherlock built. She worries if Santa will remember to bring her snowman a present come Christmas Day.

There Is, In Fact, Mistletoe is now complete!

Please stop by the collection and enjoy any and all of the 24 fics. Leave the authors a little love, if you will. Please reblog to share the wealth of all the wonderful Mystrade holiday fun. 😃