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just-jordie-things · 3 years

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(Please Don’t) Leave Me Alone - Richie Tozier

word count: 3142 warnings: swearing, mentions of being drugged summary: maybe richie ignoring you had more reason to it than you thought. maybe he was just... jealous? ___

Looking back on it now, going to a party by herself was probably the worst idea (y/n’s) ever had. Not because she disliked parties, she loved them, but she’d always gone in a group, or with a friend. Tonight, she’d gone completely alone.

She’d thought it would be exciting, she could do whatever she wanted, and stay as late or leave as early as she pleased, not having to wait for a friend hooking up with a stranger or a ride home. She could drink to no end and meet new people- it was a good idea, in theory.

Except now, she was trapped between a rock and a hard place. Meaning the wall, and Steven Matson’s arm. Earlier the attention had been welcomed, she didn’t mind being flirted with by a cute guy, it’d been a while since anyone had flirted with her, honestly, so it was very welcomed.

There was once a time where she didn’t really have to worry about that kind of attention, because she used to always get it from-

“Want me to get you another drink?” The boy in front of her asked, shaking her thoughts.

“Hm? Oh,” She nods, handing him her empt cup. “Yeah, sure, thanks”

He grins in response before leaving. And she doesn’t realize that she’s been holding her breath until she sighs, and slumps back against the wall.

Steven’s not that exciting, she realizes. He’s been chatting her ear off for the past- who knows, hour, maybe? And she couldn’t recall a single thing he’d said. It wasn’t due to the alcohol either. He was just that simple.

He wasn’t ugly, though.

Running her hands through her hair, she wished that she had a tie to pull it back, because it was suddenly very hot in the room, and it was all she could focus on. The smell of sweat from dancing and bustling bodies, and how much heat they generated in this small room. She wanted to head outside for a breath of fresh air, but there was no way she could make it out and back in time to see Steven.

She made a glance towards the door, just out of curiosity, to see if she could run there and back. But her eyes landed elsewhere.

On a tall, curly mop of haired figure that had just wandered in.

Richie’s eyes met hers, and she darted her gaze elsewhere with an inhumane speed.

Richie Tozier was her best friend, or at least he used to be. In the past month he’d been shutting her out, until eventually he was more of a ghost than a friend at all. She didn’t know what she did, or what happened that made him not want to hang out with her anymore, but it was no use trying to ask, because anytime she tried to talk to him, he’d vanish.

At first it was heartbreaking, because she’d known him for so long, and she thought that they were close enough to talk through any rough patch they could go through. But as time went on and Richie pushed himself further away, (y/n) only became annoyed, and was a bit more eager to let him do whatever he wanted.

And if he wanted nothing to do with her, then fine. She wasn’t going to beg him to stay.

Even though she really, really wanted to.

“Hope you didn’t miss me too much”

(y/n) nearly jumped when Steven appeared in front of her, one arm caging her in while he handed her a drink. She gave him a short, weak smile, and backed herself up until the wall wouldn’t allow her to move away any further. The flaw in this plan, however, is that Steven just followed, and the space between them was even shorter.

“Course not” She mumbled back, and was about to take a drink from her cup, before she noticed the strange fizzing at the bottom.

Great. He spiked it with something.

She let out a soft sigh, lifting the cup to her lips and pretending to take a sip, so that he wouldn’t realize she caught on to his dumb scheme.

Tonight couldn’t have gone more terribly.

“So, whaddya say you and I go somewhere else?”

(y/n) looked up at him, eyes bored, and a eyebrow raised as if to say ‘really?’.

“Somewhere, huh?” She hums, only for her own entertainment. “Like where?”

“Well we could go upstairs…” He suggested, leaning in closer. It took a lot of energy for her not to shrink away.

God his breath smelled like beer.

“Or to my car out front,” He continued. “Or honestly, we could just-”

“Alright pal,” (y/n) pushed her hand into his arm, and began to shove him away so she could leave. “It’s not happening”

With that, she began to walk off, tossing her drugged drink to the ground carelessly.

“Wait wait wait,” Steven spun around, snatching her arm in his hand so she’d stop. “But all night you-”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” She snapped at him, yanking her arm to get it of his hold, but he was much stronger than her. “Steven let go-”

“You’re such a fucking tease, (y/n),” He snarled, the playful and flirty voice long gone. “Leading me on all night long, and now you’re acting like you don’t want this”

There’s a split second where she’s genuinely afraid of him, because his grip is unrelenting, and the look in his eyes suggests that he doesn’t care whether she gives in willingly or not.

And as soon as the idea of yelling for help crosses her mind, the feeling is gone.

Because she’s torn away from Steven’s hold, and there’s a secure hold around her waist.

“Why don’t you fuck off, Matson” A voice mutters.

All of the fear she’d previously felt disappeared, and it’s replaced by the surprise of having Richie right there next to her, keeping her firmly held against his side.

He’s being protective.

Steven rolls his eyes, obviously not giving a shit about Richie’s little display. He scoffs, glancing from Richie to (y/n).

“Come on, why don’t you tell your little guard dog here that you can speak for yourself, and that he can go and fuck off now?” Steven asks.

(y/n) scoffs, staring at him with disgust, and honestly, she should spit on him. She wants to spit on him, fuck she really wants to step forward and spit right on his face-

“Matson, I swear to fucking god, if another shitty fucking thing comes out of your mouth, I’ll break it,” Richie’s hand is tightening on her hip, and he’s pushing her behind him a bit. “Seriously, walk away”

He’s practically growling, and even when they were friends she’d never seen him so… angry.

“Richie fucking Tozier why are you here being a buzzkill?” Steven spat out, taking a daring step forward. “She clearly doesn’t even give a shit about you, so why don’t you just-”

The loud crack of skin on skin was a sharp echo, and anyone in a five foot radius could hear the burning sensation on Steven’s cheek.

(y/n) was panting, and she shook out her hand, because the slap stung her palm more than she thought it would.

“Fuck you” She muttered to the boy who was holding his cheek and whining like a baby.

She cast a glance towards Richie for a short moment, before shoving past him and making her way to the door. She was done with this night, this party, she just wanted to go home and curl up into a ball under her blankets and forget all of this had happened.

Of course, she wasn’t able to leave that easy, and as soon as she walked out the door, someone hollered for her.

She looked back at Richie, before shaking her head, and continuing her trek.

“What do you want?” She muttered, leaving him no choice but to chase after her in order to catch up.

She barely even looked at him.

“Jesus, (y/n/n), give me some credit, I’m here to make sure you’re okay”

“Wow,” She rolls her eyes. “Thanks. Really,”

Her voice is monotone, so he knows she doesn’t mean it, and it’s annoying, but she continues before he can come up with some witty snap back remark.

She stops in her tracks, whirling around and shoving an accusatory finger into his chest. He stumbles backward, caught off guard from the sudden action, but he catches his footing, left to watch her explode.

“Thanks for showing up, and for being there. Wow, Richie. Just… wow”

It’s more of a simmer than an explosion, but it feels just as bad.

(y/n) starts to walk off again, but Richie just runs up to her side again.

“For fucks sake (y/n)- will you pause for just a second-?”

“No!” She shouts, shaking her head furiously. “No, Rich, I won’t, I’m not going to- I- I can’t wait for you anymore, I’m tired of waiting for you,” Her voice cracks, and he knows that if she starts crying right now, then he’s going to break. “So can you please just… just go back to icing me out because it was honestly easier”

She sniffles, and turns away to walk home in peace. It hurts to walk away but she’s just so tired of his bullshit. Never before had her own body felt so heavy, each step making her bed more and more enticing.

Richie didn’t say anything, but he kept walking next to her.

She looked up at him, teary eyes narrowed, and her brow furrowed in a glare, but Richie just shrugged his shoulders.

“Well I’m not gonna let you walk yourself home alone at this time of night,” He said, and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “So you’ll just have to put up with me for the next ten minutes”

She shakes her head and rolls her eyes again, but doesn’t give him the benefit of a remark, opting instead to keep her mouth shut.

She makes it a whole minute before feeling compelled to say something.

“What were you even doing there?” She muttered out, wrapping her arms around herself tightly. “I thought you hated parties now”

He lets out a chuckle, earning another glare from the girl.

“To come save you, obviously,” He teases, which she definitely doesn’t appreciate. “I just thought I’d give it a shot, seeing as I had nothing else going on tonight”

She didn’t know what she wanted to hear, but that certainly wasn’t it. And Richie could tell, because she was frowning.

“Are you mad?” He asked with a chuckle.

“You did not just fucking ask me that” She mutters back.

“(y/n), you asked, what did you want me to say?” He asks, and she just scoffs.

“I didn’t need you to swoop in like some hero and rescue me, Richie,” She told him. “You might find this hard to believe, but I’ve actually learned to live on my own now thank you very much. And with that means I can protect myself, I don’t need you to-”

“Alright, I get it,” He mutters. “Your ‘standing back and doing nothing’ was your way of standing up for yourself,” He says, and before (y/n) can argue, he’s muttering again. “My apologies, I didn’t realize you had that handled. Which is why I came over to help your ass-”

“Alright, that’s enough-”

“-which would have been his, by the way, had I not intervened”

“Congratu-fucking-lations!” (y/n) shrieked. “Go ahead and pat yourself on the fucking back then. What do you want from me? Huh? Do you really think I would’ve let Steven fucking Matson have his way with me?”

“No, I don’t think that,” Richie mumbled. “But I didn’t like the way he was looking at you. Or grabbing you like that-”

“Wow,” (y/n) rolled her eyes. “I honestly didn’t think you still gave a fuck”

Richie looked down at her, but she’d rendered him speechless, so he didn’t say anything. He looked forward as they walked in silence for a little while longer.

It was silent until they got to her porch.

She looked up at him, with a sad sort of expression, like looking at him broke her heart. And quite frankly, it did.

“Thanks for walking me home, Richie,” She said in a soft mutter. “You can go back to forgetting about me now”

She turned to walk inside, but his hand stopped her. It wrapped around her wrist delicately, in a hold much more gentle than Steven had her in earlier. If she wanted, she could tug her arm away and go inside. If she wanted.

“For the fucking record,” Richie muttered down to her, voice so low it was almost in a growl like it had been earlier. “I wasn’t icing you out because I wanted to. You think I want to? For fucks sake (y/n), I couldn’t be around you anymore because I was so goddamn in love with you that it hurt being around you when you obviously didn’t feel the same way. You don’t know how much it fucking sucks being friendzoned by you. I thought it was going to be easier not having you around, than having you right in front of me, and out of reach,”

Her heart is pounding, and she could feel it everywhere. From her chest to her stomach to her through to her cheek to the very tips of her fingers- she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Richie had been in love with her? It was almost too good to be true, and normally she wouldn’t believe it, but she could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice, he’d never been more serious about anything.

“I’m sorry for doing it,” He continues. “But if I hadn’t, I would’ve lost my fucking mind”

“That’s such bullshit,” (y/n) mumbles, her breath hitching in her throat. “You shut me out because you had feelings for me?” She asks, and Richie furrows his brows, offended by the outburst. “Did you ever think about- I don’t know- just telling me?” She asks with a humorless laugh. “I mean, jesus Richie, we would’ve been together this whole fucking time, but instead you make me think that you hate me and you shut me out-”

“Hold on- stop- you liked me?” Richie asks, shocked by her off-handed confession.

“Liked you?” (y/n) repeats breathlessly. “Richie, I’ve been in love with you since we were kids, you fucking dumbass-”

She raises her hand up to shove him in the chest, but he captures it with his own before leaning over and kissing her. It’s sudden, so sudden that she trips on nothing but the sheer surprise of his lips on hers, but Richie’s arm wraps around her waist, securing her against him.

A sigh escapes her, one of content and safety, and she melts against him, almost becoming a puddle on her doorstep. The hand in his is held tightly against his chest, and the other is gripping his shoulder, keeping her balanced.

He kisses her again, quickly, before she can completely pull away. Just in case she decides to walk through her door and never look at him again.

When they part, it’s slow, and his hand flies up to cup her cheek, a quick but gentle action, and his thumb traces over her cheekbone with a featherlight touch.

Her eyes are still shut, and she blindly leans forward a bit, close enough that when she whispers, he feels it against his lips.

“Are you gonna go back to ignoring me?”

He chuckles, stealing another quick peck, before shaking his head.

She finally opens her eyes, and instantly, there’s a smile on her lips.

“I guess that depends, on if you want to go out with me tomorrow night?”

“To a party?” She asks.

“No, of course not,” Richie shakes his head. “Anything else, literally anything else” He murmurs, and she grins even wider, nodding her head.

“Yeah, yeah anything else sounds good to me” She agrees softly.

She’s still nodding, in a shaky sort of way, and Richie has to cup her face in both hands to get her to stop.

“Okay,” He hums. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow, then”

“Okay,” She repeats. “I’ll see you tomorrow”

He gives her a grin, before letting go of her, and stepping back.

“Alright then” He hums.

She watches him go, a delighted smile on her face. Her heart is still pounding in her chest, and she thinks it might never stop.

“Wait, Rich,”

She calls when he’s descended her front steps, and she’s quick to race up to him, wrap her arms around him, and lean over the few inches that she’s towered above him, and kiss him one more time.

His arms encircle her waist, holding her flush against his chest. She’s on her tiptoes on the step, and one of her feet lifts off the ground, both from the bliss and from Richie picking her up, just a little bit.

“I just wanted one more,” She murmured, and Richie laughed, kissing her quickly once more, and then again. “Okay, Romeo,” She sighed. “You better go home before my parents come out and see us”

“Fine, fine,” He sighed, and backed away, reluctantly releasing her from his arms. “Tomorrow”

“Tomorrow” She says back.

She combs her fingers through his hair for a second, before turning and actually heading inside.

With a content sigh, she leans her back against the front door, eyes falling shut as her mind wandered to the events of the night. It was ridiculous, how quick of a turn things went. And now, she was going to see Richie tomorrow, for a date. She couldn't believe it.

“Who was that boy?” A voice asked, making her perk up, and realize her mother had been waiting there at the door.

“Richie,” (y/n) replied. “He walked me home”

“Richie your friend?” Her mother replied. “You’re friends again?”

(y/n) grinned, nodding her head.

“Well, I’m going to bed,” She said. “G’night, mom-”

“You’re dating this boy, now?”

“Richie,” (y/n) reminded, pausing on the steps to look down at her. “And yes, I- I think I am”

Her mother shakes her head, and lets out a small scoff.

“Really, (y/n)? Of all your options-”

“Oh, fuck off,” (y/n) laughs, trying not to listen too closely to the harsh words. “Don’t go acting like you give a shit now”

She ascends the stairs, and forgets about her mother’s cruel idea of parenting. It won’t matter tomorrow, though. So she thinks about tomorrow. Because she’s gotten Richie back, and he’s all hers now.

___

taglist: @thegr8kush

xoxo ~ jordie

#it 2017 #it 2019 #it fanfiction #richie tozier #richie tozier x reader #richie tozier scenario #richie tozier imagine #richie tozier fanfiction #finn wolfhard #finn wolfhard x reader #bill hader

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gasolineghuleh · 3 years

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A Little Love Maybe?

Commission for @cardinal-copulate for Rain discovering he’s actually in love with his favourite Sister!

Not SFW below!

The music is in full swing and couples have already paired off on the dance floor by the time you arrive. You could hear the music pulsing from a couple of hallways away, and had let the music guide your feet to the large room, not bothering with the signs and pageantry. A drink is quickly pressed into your hand by a passing Ghoul and you toss half of it back without a second thought, burning a path down your throat as you cough through it. It’s a celebration, after all— the Ghouls and the newly anointed Papa have finally returned from their long and drawn out tour across the globe. The Church is more popular than ever and the funds have been rolling in faster than the treasury Ghouls can count it.

Evidence of the new found funding is everywhere you look, from the newly gilded walls of the dance hall to the fancy finger foods being served on silver and gold platters. It seems that the Cardinal, now Papa, has chosen blue and gold as the colours to adorn his papacy and shades of the two can be found intertwined throughout the Abbey now. The Sister Imperator, as well, has begun making small changes throughout the Abbey to reflect the wealth— nicer pews in the Chapel, newly bound hymnals and custom made grucifixes for the new recruits. One of Papa’s Ghouls passes you (Aether, you think) and you take a moment to appreciate the new outfits that he’s chosen for his aides.

His vest is striped in shimmering silver filigree, with golden buttons along his stomach. If you look closely, you can see that the underneath pattern of grucifixes has stayed faded into the print, but outlined in a thin silver thread. Aether’s shoes have been shined and his spats replaced with newer and whiter ones, leaving him with the appearance of being freshly summoned and clothed. Likewise, his mask seems newly polished and with no chips or scratches that you would expect from a Ghoul who has just finished two world tours. Aether tosses you a quick wink as he passes by, raising his glass in a silent toast.

It doesn’t take long for you to realize that he’s found you. His cool arms wrap around you from behind as his chin comes to rest on your shoulder and you feel the metallic chill of his mask resting against your temple briefly before he readjusts. His tail curves around your waist and you sigh, leaning heavily into him. Your Rain. The morning mass after gathering was getting boring without him, and you feel yourself relax back into his body as he presses a soft kiss to your temple. From across the hall, Copia winks at you and you raise your own wine glass in a silent toast.

“He likes you,” Rain purrs against the soft skin of your cheek. “He’s a good guy, you know.” You hum an affirmative and rock slowly in his arms, allowing his hands to roam across your body in a comforting slide. “Kept us real safe on tour. Made sure we ate what we needed to and slept when we were too tired.” He pauses and then laughs, squeezing you tightly to him for a moment. “He gave one of the stage hands hell because he woke us up three hours too early. You should have heard him yelling… ‘My Ghouls need their sleep, si?!’ It was amazing.”

“So you aren’t too beat up then?” you ask, leaning your head on his shoulder and turning slightly to press a kiss to the cool skin of his neck. The relationship between the two of you is no secret; most of the Abbey knows that Rain has his choice of Sisters to fool around with, but that you are the favourite out of all of them. Fiercely defensive of you almost to a fault, it’s become rare to see one of you without the other whenever Rain was off tour.

“No, not too bad. Boss made sure we were kept pretty comfortable. Well. Except Dew.” Rain’s head nods in the direction of the slimmer Ghoul as he turns his chuckle into a cough when Dew looks over, pointedly humming and rocking the two of you away. “Misbehaved enough to get sent to the smallest cot on the bus.”

“Oof. Are we really surprised? Better him than you though, hm?” Rain laughs silently against you and tucks your head under his chin, wrapping his tail possessively across your hip. The music changes to a slower paced song and he matches the time count with ease, tapping his foot along with it as he sways the two of you to the beat.

“I missed you. It feels weird sleeping without you,” he finally says quietly, his lips brushing against the shell of your ear. You can feel your face burning and you’re briefly grateful for how dark the room is, lit only by the occasional floating candle or Fire Ghoul showing off for an enraptured Sibling.

“You didn’t take any pets on the road?” It’s a silly question and you feel stupid as soon as you ask it, but something inside of you is dying to know if he replaced you while he was gone. You’ve been a loyal toy for him, and you’ve staunchly refused anyone else who’s invited you into their bed while he was accompanying the Cardinal. Rain is quiet for a moment before he finally answers you, and his voice has somehow gotten even quieter.

“It never occurred to me.” His answer takes you by surprise and you find yourself holding your breath until he rests his chin on the top of your head again, leaning down to press a gentle kiss there. “I didn’t think… I didn’t consider it an option. I mean, I knew I could. I knew you would have let me but… It didn’t feel right.”

“Rain-”

“Shit.” He pulls away from you quickly, as though scalded by something, disappearing into the crowd with one arm raised. You’re able to track him with your eyes for a moment, meeting up with another Ghoul before he fully vanishes, pulled into the throng of dancers and people mingling with drinks and small finger foods. Your hand drifts to your hip where his tail just was, brows furrowed in slight confusion as you try to figure out what just drew his attention away from you.

On the other side of the hall, out of sight of your searching gaze Rain ducks behind a pillar and drags the unfortunate Aether along with him. Aether squawks indignantly, managing to keep a hold on his small sandwich with his claws as he flails at the sudden movement, skidding along the marble floors as Rain tugs him along. A small splash of his champagne slops over the side of his glass and he grumbles as he licks up the liquid from his knuckles.

“Whaddya want Rain? I was busy. Chaperoning you idiots for months made me miss pleasant adult company,” he says, tearing another bite from his sandwich and chasing it with the champagne. Rain curls his lip in mild disgust at the combination before he shakes his head and starts to talk.

“Did you have roadies? Did Dew? Swiss? The girls?” His eyes dart from Aether’s face to the Ghouls in question, mingling throughout the party and laughing at well-timed jokes from one another, easily impressing the Siblings hanging on their every word— the prodigal conquerors of the globe, returned to the fold to bring the spoils of the outside world.

“Mmm, well yeah, some of them did.” Aether swallows his bite and turns with Rain, pointing to Dew. “Dew had a few that he kept with him. Likes more than one at once, you know. I don’t think he kept any Siblings from the Abbey with him though. Just picked up some strays.” Aether tosses a wink to Rain and takes another bite of his sandwich as he thinks, his eyes moving towards the Ghoulettes.

“Yeah, yeah, we all know Dew is gross. Anyone else?” Rain scratches the back of his head awkwardly as his eyes scan the room for you, trying to stay hidden by the pillar and the larger Ghoul.

“Cirrus and Cumulus took a victim, but he only lasted a few hours I think. Wasn’t too keen on picking anyone up myself. You know me.” Aether shrugs and finishes his sandwich in one large bite, struggling to chew and swallow. “I don’t know if Swiss did. Probably. Mentioned something about not dancing alone. I didn’t ask questions.”

“Yeah… I know Mountain did, too… Shit.” Aether turns back to Rain sharply, cocking an eyebrow under his mask.

“You good, man?”

“All tour, every night, all I thought about- There’s this Sister, right? She’s the only one I thought about on tour.” Rain brings his hand to his mouth, chewing idly on his nails for a moment as his eyes stare off into the distance.

“What, like, when you were… alone?” Aether puts emphasis on the word ‘alone’, leaning towards Rain and fixing him with a pointed stare.

“Yes. She’s beautiful, charming, and cunning. She’s like- She’s just- She’s a lot like me, man, and I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Missing her. Her smell, her soft skin, the way she laughs and throws her shirt at me when I say something about it being off. God, and especially the way she feels after she gets out of the bath.” He stops again, his eyes going unfocused as he smiles to himself, lost in a daze.

“Rain. Come back, man.” Aether snaps his fingers in front of Rain’s eyes sharply.

“Shit.”

“What’s up? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.” Aether jerks a thumb over his shoulder towards the newly crowned Papa. “Not that one, either.”

“Yeah, I just realized some shit. I gotta go do something. Thanks, man.” Rain claps a hand to Aether’s shoulder quickly and leaves, scurrying back through the crowd just as another upbeat song begins to play over the speakers— there’s no live band tonight, as the new Papa proclaimed that no live entertainment was a match for his Ghouls, who deserved the evening off, after all.

You’ve managed to locate another drink and sip about half of it by the time Rain finds you again, approaching from the front this time and seemingly out of breath. He takes a moment to look at you, his eyes going soft as he takes in your new habit, accented with a shining grucifix rosary and smokey eye make up. Cocking your eyebrow at him, you can’t help but smile, the corner of your black painted lips lifting ever so slightly when he takes your hand.

“A dance?” he asks, bowing exaggeratedly. A small giggle bursts from your lips as you find yourself as giddy as you were the first time he took your hand in his, when he was just starting to court you.

“I’d love to.” You deposit your drink on a nearby table and he takes your other hand in his, gliding you onto the dance floor and wrapping his arm around your waist as he draws you close, his other hand drawing your arm up towards your head.

“4/4 time. You know what that means?” Rolling your eyes, you nod at him and allow him to guide the motions as you dance, moving quickly through the hall as your habit swirls around your knees. It’s shorter than the one that you would usually wear, but the occasion calls for something a little different, doesn’t it?

Rain’s eyes stay on yours for the duration of the dance and you notice that his smile is slowly growing as his own eyes scan your face. By the time you’re half way through he’s practically grinning, twirling and spinning you to the music and adding his own flourishes in the steps that you’ve known since you were practically a teenager. It’s a classic song and dance, and the other couples around you move with the same ease as you, but not with the same fluidity and tenderness. The song ends with your knee hooked over his hip, foot extended on the dance floor as you breathe heavily together, your eyes locked together and unmoving.

“Rain-”

“Hey, I-”

“You first.”

“We should talk.” Rain moves his hands away from you gently before taking your hand in his and guiding the two of you from the dance floor, finding a small secluded corner of the room and leaning against the wall. As you watch, he runs his hands over his mask and head, where his hair would be.

“Did I do something wrong?” you ask, stepping forward and trying to take his hand. He practically flinches away from you, his eyes darting over your shoulder before meeting yours again.

“No. You should know, I… Aether and I are the only Ghouls who didn’t take anyone with us on tour. Or didn’t invite anyone into our bed, I should say. Well that could be a lie, Aether might have invited someone to cuddle. But not sleep with. I’m babbling, I’m sorry. I’m nervous.” He stops and swallows hard, taking a deep breath before starting again. “Aether and I are the only ones who didn’t sleep with someone while we were on tour.”

“Oh. Does that mean you win something?” You squint your eyes, genuinely confused, only to widen them and take a step back when Rain growls in frustration.

“No! Dammit, no. That’s not- Why am I so bad at this?” He growls again and cracks his knuckles, wringing his hands together before taking another deep breath and looking back at you, eyes serious. “I didn’t take anyone else to sleep with me because I didn’t want to.”

“Oh, well that’s fine. You don’t have to want sex all the time, that doesn’t make you a bad Ghoul, Rain.” When your hand reaches his shoulder you can feel how stiff he is, not relaxing under your touch as he usually would when you reassure him.

“That’s not what I’m trying to say either. Lord below. Fuck this. Do you want to go be alone with me somewhere?” When he leans in and his eyes bore into yours you feel the familiar fluttering in the pit of your stomach and you nod eagerly. He takes your hand and draws you farther away from the party, leading you down the hallways until the sound of the music and laughter fades into the distance.

There’s old dorm rooms lining the hallway that haven’t been occupied in a few months, but have recently been made up in the expectation of new members coming into the fold from Papa’s word reaching farther corners of the globe and the two of you take advantage. Rain swings open one of the doors to reveal a large bed, recently dusted and made up with starched and blue sheets, still crisp from the irons. As soon as the door closes behind you, Rain has you against the wall, his hands needy and insistent along your sides as his lips find your jaw line.

“Rain-”

“Don’t talk, just kiss me.” You nod and his lips find yours in the darkness, almost hesitant until you moan against him. When you do he moans in response, a breathy sound that does nothing to soothe the hot coil of arousal beginning in your core, and his hands dig at your side, tugging up the hem of your habit until his fingers find the dip where your stockings are indenting your skin.

His fingers toy with the elastic band as his tongue dances along your lower lip, small huffs of breath coming from his mouth when you roll your hips against his hand. Finally he extends a claw and slices through the stockings with ease, tugging down the rest of the nylon material until you’re able to toe off your shoes and kick them off into the corner of the room. Instantly his hand is at your side again, under your dress and caressing your skin, feeling how soft you are against him and humming his approval. His finger skims the top band of your panties and you whine against his mouth, biting his lower lip as you feel him curve into a smile.

“No teasing,” you whisper against him. “It’s been too long.” He smiles against you again and pulls away, kissing his way down your jaw until he reaches the pulse point on your neck. Rain sucks a hard kiss there, no doubt raising a bright red mark that will darken to a purple bruise in no time. You can’t help the whimper that falls from your lips at the sensation, your eyes sliding closed as your head falls back against the wall.

“You’re so fun to tease, baby. The sounds you make… It’s all I wanna hear forever. And what did I say about no talking?” Rain brings his free hand to your mouth, resting his palm on your chin as he parts your lips with his index finger. “Suck on this and shut up, baby girl.” You acquiesce, taking his finger into your mouth and lathing your tongue around it and subtly opening your legs for him.

He doesn’t take the hint, instead tracing his finger along the hem of your panties maddingly slowly, completely ignoring your panting and huffs of desperation. You can feel his lips curving in a smile as he kisses and bites along your neck, slowly making his way to your collarbone. When he reaches the edge of your habit with his mouth he draws his hand away from your panties and up your back, pulling the zipper down until the heavy material falls around your feet with a thump. Collarbone exposed, he starts to kiss lower, licking a stripe along your collarbone until he reaches your neck once more.

“Rain, I feel like a live wire.” Your voice feels like it’s coming from miles away through the blood rushing in your ears— it’s been over a year since you’ve been touched like this, and your body is reacting like it’s the first time all over again.

“Just relax into me,” he says, and you can feel his lips moving along your skin when he speaks. You let out a deep and shuddering breath, trying to relax against him like he said but you jolt when his hand moves back down to your panties. Your skin sparks wherever he touches you and finally, blessedly, his finger slides along your lips over the fabric of your panties.

“Oh, fuck,” you sigh, rolling your head along the wall and squeezing your eyes shut harder, sucking on his finger and breathing heavily around it. You feel rather than hear him chuckle against you as he pulls his hand away and drops to his knees, his hand traveling down your chest slowly, caressing and worshipping your skin before pressing his lips to the soft skin between your thigh and hip.

When his lips finally press against you, mouthing at your clit through the material you implode, moaning and gasping as you drop a hand down to the top of his head. You grip one of the horns on his new mask tightly in your fist and pull him closer to you, pressing him against you. He growls in response, his hands latching onto your hips as his claws dig into your skin, no doubt leaving marks as he buries his face into you. You can feel his tongue lathing along your slit through the thick material and it barely brings you any relief— in fact, all it does is seem to make your desire even worse.

“Rain, I need-”

“I know. I got you, baby.” Rain’s claws hook around the hem of your panties and pull them down slowly, humming when it clings to your slickness momentarily. The cool air of the room hits your overheated flesh and you groan, your hands flexing into fists at your sides. “Yeah, just like that baby. C’mon, grab my head. Show me how it feels.”

You obey quickly enough, grabbing his head again as he surges forward and presses his tongue to you, urging one of your legs over his shoulder to open you for him. At the first lick, his tongue parting your lips, Rain groans into you. His own eyes slip closed and his hands grip you tighter reflexively. Your sounds only egg him on until he’s eating you out with gusto, claws leaving pinpricks of blood where they break your skin as your legs tremble with arousal and it becomes harder to hold yourself aloft.

“Rain, I’m- I’m already close-” You cut yourself off with a gasp when he wraps his lips around your clit, sucking on the small bundle of nerves as his tongue runs over it. His hand has somehow managed to make it down towards your entrance and the single finger sliding inside of you is enough to force you over the edge, cumming so hard that you become soundless— you slam yourself against the wall with a silent groan, shaking and gripping his head tightly against yourself as you ride the wave of your climax.

By the time you come down he’s already standing in front of you, his shirt long since removed and thrown to the side. He’s in the process of unbuckling his pants and toeing himself out of his shoes when you come to, his lips already tracing a trail down your neck again. You hum and wrap your arms around his shoulders loosely, kissing whatever part of him you can reach until he turns to kiss you. Rain sighs into the kiss and you can hear the sound of his belt jingling as his pants hit the floor. His arms come back around you, fingers moving deftly at the clasps of your bra until you feel it loosen and slide down your arms. He steps away from you to allow it to slide down and off, and begins to back away towards the bed.

“Join me?” he asks, holding out a hand to you. You can see the outline of his cock through his grey briefs, a small wet spot where the head of his cock is pressing against the thin and cottony material. You reach out and take his hand, allowing him to guide you to the bed as you had in the dance hall.

Rain sits down heavily on the edge of the bed and pulls you onto his lap, dropping your hair and running his hands up your back to tangle in your hair. You duck your head towards his, sealing your lips together in a kiss as you grind your hips against his, feeling the heavy weight of his cock against you. As soon as you feel it throbbing against you, you moan against him and one of his hands drops to your ass, encouraging your movements on him.

“I missed this so much,” he sighs against your lips. You nod in agreement, moving down to kiss along his neck, nipping and biting him as you roll across his lap. His hand falls from your ass to free his cock and it isn’t long before you can feel his hot and hard length against you, skin to skin. “Take me.”

“Yeah? You want me to take you? Want me to be the first one you’re inside after you’re home?” You mean for the questions to be teasing, and you expect a teasing response. What you don’t expect, however, is Rain’s actual response.

His hands fly to your upper arms where he grips you tightly and flings you to the side, landing you on your back on the bed. His eyes never leave yours as he crawls on top of you, his cock bobbing with the movement as he breathes deeply, situating himself over you and looming above. Rain’s eyes scan yours and then continue down your body, stopping for a moment at your throat, where you’re sure he can see your pulse pounding there.

“No. I want you to be the only one I’m inside after I’m home,” he says in a low voice. Before you can quite process what he’s said, his hand is at your knee and moving your legs apart for him. By the time his cock has started to slide inside of you you’ve realized what he means and gasp, both from the feeling of being spread open and from the sudden emotion.

“You mean you only want me?” you ask, hand flying up to grip his bicep tightly as he sinks himself into you. Rain knows your limits though, and he stops when he bottoms out, giving you a moment to adjust to his size and length.

“I mean I love you.” His eyes are looking anywhere but you now, focused intently on the headboard above you. Well enough, you think, since you don’t quite want him to see your own eyes filling up with tears of emotion all of a sudden. The tears evaporate quite quickly, however, when he slides out of you and slams back in, rocking the bed hard against the wall.

“Fuck!” you gasp, throwing your head back against the pillow and digging your nails into his arm. You readjust your leg over his hip and he thrusts again, pushing deeper and keeping up his pace this time.

“God, you feel so good.” Rain ducks down over top of you, his hips rolling into yours as he presses hot kisses and bites to your neck again, further bruising and marking the soft skin. If there was any other sound in the room besides the sound of skin on skin and the headboard smacking against the stone wall, you may have missed his next words. “You feel like home.”

“Rain.” You bring your hand to his face, pulling him gently until you can press your lips to his, sighing against him as his strokes get slow and deep. He kisses you as he fucks you, with the same hard intensity and ravenous, all consuming desire. It isn’t long before you feel the same rising in your core of your climax, fast approaching.

Rain can sense it as well, changing his thrusts to focus on your pleasure, teeth scraping along your lower lip as he gives you everything you need to hit that crescendo. You tip over it easily, cumming around his length as you moan against his lips, bringing your hand back to his arm where you grip him tightly. He pulls his head back from you as you come down from the peak, watching your face as he fucks it through it.

“So fucking beautiful, aren’t you? I could watch you like this for the rest of my life.” Rain’s hips snap into yours quickly as he chases his own high, sharp and short thrusts to focus on the head of his cock. You watch him as he does, his eyes half closing as his hands tighten, one on your hip and one tightening on the bed sheets.

“Then do it.” It’s enough to make him cum, stilling inside of you as he does so, his cock pulsing as he moans through the shocks of pleasure. You run your hand along his taut bicep towards his head, once more pulling him down on top of you for a kiss. Rain groans against your lips, sinking into your arms and rolling the two of you to the side.

“I think I will.”

#lorraine writes #fics #ghost #the band ghost #ghost bc #era 4 ghouls #era 4 ghoulettes #nameless ghouls #rain

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dirt-cup-draco · 3 years

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Fred Weasley x Reader- Games Part 2/2

@just-here-to-escape-from-reality: Pls make a part 2 of games where she finally tells him off 🙏🙏

Previously:

Even if you always lost, you loved Fred’s games. No one else could own your heart like he did. The lows were nothing in comparison to the highs. Even if he couldn’t commit, even if this was all you’d ever have, even if you crashed every night, it would all be worth it.

You knew that by the time the sun rose, you would be ready to play the game all over again.

Your bag was heavy against your shoulder, back aching and eyes burning. You’d snuck out again the night before to see Fred and you were regretting it now. Not just in the way your eyelids fluttered closed with exhaustion every time there was a lull in your class, but in the way your chest ached and every breath seemed like a battle.

Is he thinking about you? Maybe today is the day he’ll realize you’re the one he wants whether you’re behind closed doors or not.

Stomping out any gleaming bit of hope that tried to rise, you made your way to the great hall with slow and hesitant steps. Fred had been stealing you away for months now. Every word from his lips felt like a promise until you asked those damned words that felt like ice when you got lost in his fire. What are we?

Nothing. The practical, semi-pessimistic part of you hissed. Freddie knows you’re always going to be around, so why not have some fun in between girlfriends?

It felt more like the truth than the quiet girl muttering in the back of your brain that Fred Weasley might love you, but just not know it yet. You knew he had love for you, but never in the way you craved. Fred loved you because you were a constant. You were one of his closest friends and you could never stray long from those honey brown eyes and sinful smile. It was easy to love someone who gave you all the attention you could ever ask for and more, especially with a family as large as his and siblings so close in age.

You never asked anything in return and whether he knew it or not he was taking advantage of your love and it was bringing you closer to rock bottom everyday.

“Where’ve you been? You look like hell,” Lee Jordan pointed out and you tried to comment playfully, engaging in your normal banter, but you couldn’t find it in you. More often than not these days you couldn’t manage more thank a weak smile and a huff of laughter that felt foreign to your ears.

“Just been busy with school,” Had been your most relied upon excuse and it didn’t fail you now as Lee nodded, shoving a cauldron cake into his mouth and speaking over the crumbs that fell from his open mouth.

“Snape, the bloody bastard, took away ten house points from me yesterday just because my essay was two inches too short in length,”

“Not the first time you’ve been accused of being a bit too short in length,” Angelina giggled to Katie and with a holler from Lee and a snort from Fred, they had forgotten all about your plight.

George snuck a glance at you, noticing that your lips moved into automatic smiles when your friends around you grew more rambunctious but there was no warmth to it. It was like watching a puppet dance around on stage at the behest of someone else. He had to suppress a shiver when you looked to him, that tired turning of lips trying their best to convince him they were playing their part. Your eyes were dulled in a way he couldn’t remember seeing before. Surely school couldn’t be the issue?

Tucking into his meal after giving you the widest grin he could, hoping to share some warmth, George promised he would ask Fred before lights out if you were okay.

“Whaddya mean something’s wrong with Y/N?” Fred asked, eyebrows knit together but the concern that George expected to see at his statement was vanished. Instead, his twin’s look read more like he found George to be off his rocker.

“She’s just not herself,”

“I saw her last night, she seemed fine to me,”

“You were with Lee and I last night,”

Fred shrugged, tossing his pajama shirt on with nonchalance. “Saw her after,”

George narrowed his eyes, climbing into his four poster and trying to see if anything on Fred’s face would give away what was going on. If Fred was sneaking out to see you, after already getting up to no good with Lee and himself, what could the two of you possibly be up to?

“Something’s got to be wrong then if she’s losing sleep over your ugly mug,”

Fred laughed at the joke, and then, “Seriously Georgie, she’s fine. It’s just school getting on her nerves,”

Sensing he would get no other answer from his brother; George pulled his curtains around him, turned over in bed, and promptly fell asleep despite the growing questions.

George came to you the next day, hair rumpled and out of breath. “Merlin woman!” He exclaimed, sucking in a deep breath. “I’ve been calling your name since you left Potions. Where’re you going in such a rush? Been chasing you halfway ‘round the castle,”

“Oh don’t be a drama queen Georgie, it only suits your brother,” You teased and he was glad to hear some of the warmth back in your voice but it still remained void from your eyes. You looked....hurt. Not like you were shielding a bruise or trying to go easy on a limp, but like someone had taken everything dear to you and shattered it on the ground as if it were glass.

“Glad you brought him up,” George grinned, tossing his arm around your shoulder. He missed the way your smile drooped. Why could he possibly want to talk to you about Fred? Did he know? And if so, what did he think you and Fred were?

Maybe he told George he likes you. Your heart jerked around uncomfortably.

George wouldn’t be coming to you with questions if he had answers. Reason put your sporadic heartbeat to rest.

The boy with his arm around your shoulder steered you past the Great Hall and to the room of requirement. What could the boy need so badly that the room was now opening up to the two of you? You hesitated for a single step and then George was pulling you inside with a tug of your hand.

The space was small, comfortable. The fireplace behind you crackled and warmed your back. The two plush seats in the center called your name. You looked skeptically at the redhaired boy.

“What’s so concerning about Freddie that you’ve brought me here?”

George looked bashful, pink crawling up his neck. You shuffled nervously on your feet. “Well, it’s more about you than about him but he said something last night that’s got me wondering.... Do like Fred, Y/N?”

Your eyes bugged out, the air knocked from your chest. Not because George had figured it out, but because it had taken him so damn long. You let out an incredulous laugh, feet carrying you to one of the plush wingback chairs so that you could bring your knees to your chest as a form of protection.

“Took you long enough,”

George simply nodded, no gloating, no laughter, no teasing. You couldn’t help but grow more confused.

“George why is this relevant-”

“My next question-” He interrupted. “-is why you haven’t told him how you feel yet.”

The breath that had been knocked from your chest was having a hard time coming back in and you felt light headed as you forced yourself to inhale, albeit shakily. How did you explain to George that your true love, the boy you would trade the world for, didn’t feel the same and it had been proven by his lack of commitment and attentiveness.

“It’s a long story, we’ve been-”

“Sneaking around Hogwarts?” George guessed and you sent him a nasty glare but the proud little smile on his face at pulling a genuine reaction from you had you smiling back and the air was suddenly circulating in your lungs again.

“More or less, not stop interrupting or I fear I won’t let out all I need to,”

Heading your warning, and feeling an uneasiness in his chest, George quieted.

You revealed that after your kiss during a typical game of truth or dare, you had expected things to return to normal. You, with your feelings and hopes still intact for a someday with Fred. And him, not thinking anything of the kiss or hopefully thinking of a someday with you. You hadn’t been prepared for Fred to seek you out every chance he got to pull you into hidden spaces and snog you until your mind grew fuzzy and all worries vanished. Then, when you’d finally gained enough courage to ask what you two were, if the kisses meant anything, Fred had dodged a real answer and expected you to want what he wanted.

But how could you be what he wanted when you weren’t sure if it was you that he wanted? You were a friend, a confidant, a body. You stumbled over your seemingly harsh analyzation.

“I know he means well, he hasn’t done anything wrong,” You defended, wringing your hands together and it was only then that George had taken notice of the very obvious love bite on your neck. It had been covered well by your robes earlier but you’d been fidgeting in your seat the entire conversation. “He cares about me but I don’t think he cares about me that way, I’m just easy access and he’s grown used to it,”

George watched as the spark he’d seen not ten minutes before had sizzled out again and he finally had his answer. Fred was what was wrong with you. His idiot brother was using you, whether he saw it or not and you were being crushed by the weight of having the one you clearly more than liked but not having all of him. George felt guilt rise up and swirl with the fury in his gut. He wasn’t mad at his twin, but he was furious for you. You had been hollowed out because Fred acted first and thought last and never had to deal with the consequences of it.

“Y/N, you’re not-” George went to argue but his voice sounded pitiful even to his own ears, “He’s- I’m sure that he.... You know he cares,”

Your eyes met George’s and you could see the turmoil lying behind his eyes. Melted chocolate as opposed to the honey you’d fallen for. He was much like Fred but when you looked in his eyes you saw someone who wore his heart on his sleeve and Fred couldn’t be further from that.

“I know he does,” You sniffled, eyes glistening and George almost wished he could take back the blank look you’d been schooling for some odd days. He hated to see tears in your eyes. He hated knowing Fred had put them there and that he couldn’t make up for any of it. How did he fix his twin’s mistake?

With a short nod and an affectionate squeeze of his arm, you left George puzzled and alone in the room of requirement.

Fred wanted to see you again tonight.

You were sat in his lap, his hands running through your hair, but this time, both of you had your eyes on the stars. The nervousness bubbling in your chest was eased as Fred failed to make a move just yet. You were craving time spent with him that meant more than just easing his frustration or giving him a high. You wanted to be like this, comfortable and close, but content to do nothing. It made you feel more cared for than any kiss thus far.

Fred was always careful in the way he held you and kissed you, knowing just what made you turn to mush in his hands, but he was clumsy with your heart and after your conversation with George you feared he had dropped it too many times.

“Talked to Georgie last night...” Fred spoke into the night air, voice only a whisper but your heartrate spiked despite knowing that you and George had talked that evening and so Fred had to be alluding to a different conversation.

“It’s a bit odd when you don’t talk so-”

“Y/N/N” Fred interrupted gently, gaze soft as he made you look him in the eye. He was quiet longer than you expected. He was searching your features for something but all you could express was mild confusion. “He said there was something wrong, thought I would know. Y/N, what don’t I know?”

“Whaddya mean Freddie, I tell you everythi-”

“Why are you lying?” Fred huffed, eyebrows now knit together in frustration, his hands pressing harder against your hips but not uncomfortably. “I-I can see it now. Where’d my happy girl go?”

You bit down on your lip to stop from the whimper that wanted to force itself from your throat. You crawled out of Fred’s lap, immediately missing the warmth he provided. You wrung your hands together to distract from the sick feeling in your stomach. “That’s just it Freddie, ‘m not your girl,”

“Y-you’re not?” He asked, face paler in the moonlight than you had ever seen it before.

“I’m your best friend, I’m the person you trust most outside of Georgie, and I’m just another girl, another body. Like I told your brother... all I am is easy access,”

Fred’s face had gone red as you continued to speak and the frown grew more persistent on his face until it was morphing into a sneer. You’d have seen it if your eyes weren’t downcast and blurred with the tears that were starting to fall.

“You want parts of me Fred but you don’t want all of me and I can’t live that way anymore,” You choked out, hands slippery with your fallen tears. You looked up at the same time Fred bolted up, that angry look upon his face forcing you to wonder if you’d said something cruel in your admission.

You opened your mouth to ask him- Well what had you wanted to ask him? It all seemed to disappear now as he ran from the astronomy tower.

“Bloody hell!” George cussed as the door to his dorm was blown wide open, his counterpart stomping over the threshold with fury in his eyes. Fred’s hands were clenched tight, his jaw wired shut. George knew it was best to just wait for Fred to speak when these times came. He couldn’t help but feel the seed of worry that grew in his stomach when he remembered Fred and you had been together.

“I cant believe she-!” Fred began but a strangled scream cut off the rest of his sentence as he tugged at his hair. “And that I-!” Another sentence lost to the sound of Fred kicking his trunk.

Sooner than George thought, Fred was whirling on him, a finger suddenly pressed against his chest in accusation. “She told you how she felt dammit!”

“Who?” George asked and Fred threw his hands up in the air.

“Y/N!” He snarled, back to pacing the common room. “She told you that she felt like... like... well-”

“Easy access? Just another body? Like she was all yours and you could never be hers?” George supplied, laying back comfortably against his pillows as Fred took a seat beside him, deflated at the words that had riled him up so much.

“How could she think that?” Fred choked out, eyes misty as he looked to his best friend for answers. “I-I, well, I love her,”

George let out a grateful breath, one he’d been holding since he’d noticed your misery from across the table. “Because you idiot, you told her relationships were messy. Because you’ll hold her hand in the astronomy tower and make her feel like the most wanted girl in all of Hogwarts and then the next day she feels like the most invisible girl in Hogwarts. Because I know you better than you think and you didn’t realize until you stormed in here that you are irrevocably in love with Y/N Y/L/N. Now get your ass back to that tower and tell her yourself,”

And Fred did just that, running like hell was on his heels.

Your head was buried in your arms, forehead pressed tight against your knees as you tried to slow your breathing and force the sobs to stop. You’d told him how you felt, you’d told him you couldn’t do it anymore and he’d left without so much as a word. He must not want anything to do with you anymore.

The fresh wave of thoughts reduced you back to your sobs, your shoulders shaking. The force of your cries were so severe you didn’t hear the steps that were racing up the stairs. By the time you registered anyone was there, their arms were wrapped tight around you.

You caught a flash of red in your peripheral. “George? Did Fred tell you to come?”

“You daft girl, George told me to come,” Fred laughed through the few tears he’d begun to shed on the way to the tower. Never had he ever wanted to see one of his dearest friends look so vulnerable, yet you did and it was all because of him. Your gasping sobs as he’d come up the stairs had stopped him in his tracks for a moment and it sunk the stake in deeper that it was all because of him.

You recoiled slightly at his words but couldn’t bring yourself to pull away. If the only reason he was here was because of George, why was his voice thicker than usual? Had Fred been crying? You took a chance to look at him and found a tear rolling down his cheek and over his freckles. Momentarily, you forgot the situation you were in and you brought your hand to Fred’s cheek.

Concern burned in your eyes and Fred could feel his stomach doing flips. You’d been crying over him, you were crying over him, but once you saw he was in any distress you’d completely forgotten it. At least for a second it seemed, his shocked expression bringing you back to reality as you let your hand fall away uncertainly.

“I- um- sorry...” You mumbled, going to stand. Fred finally saw the empty look George had told him of and it made his heart stop painfully.

Fred didn’t let you get far before he was pulling you into a hug, a few more tears escaped past his eyelids and fell onto your hair as he brought you closer to him, head nuzzling against yours. “Merlin, no,” He choked out. “You’ve got nothing to apologize for. I didn’t realize until you said... well- I didn’t realize you felt so used and I didn’t realize everything I said and did confirmed every fear you had.”

You froze in Fred’s grasp, even your sniffles having gone away.

“I don’t know a good way to say this,” Fred laughed weakly, hand pressed against the small of your back, his fingers twitching as he thought.

“I love snogging you until your eyes glaze over and you turn to putty in my hands, which I think I’ve made a bit too obviuos. I love your messy hair whether I’ve just finished running my hands through it or you’ve just woken up and stumbled into the Great hall. I love how you stifle your giggles when one of us has said something mean to the other but you still can’t help but laugh once everyone else gets going. I love that you see the best in people and that even when I treated you the worst you still look at me like I’ve only spilled ink on your paper instead of broken your heart,”

“Freddie-” You began but the boy shushed you and he took a second to fix you with pleading eyes. He needed to say this.

“I love that I can trust you just as much as I trust George, just as much as I trust Lee. I love that you always listen to me and you notice when something is wrong before I do. I love that you are patient with me even when I can be a complete arse, and I love that even now you are listening to me because I’ve asked you to. You should be kicking me and running in the opposite direction after all I’ve done but you’re still here and I love you for it.”

“But we’re just friends,” You finished for him, a rueful smile on your lips as you stared down at your feet. His arms were still warm around you but they tensed.

“Is that what you want?”

Your head snapped to his. The fragile wavering in his voice had stopped you cold. Since this started he had never asked what you wanted, at least emotionally, and now here he was asking you what you’d been begging internally to hear since the first time you’d kissed.

“W-well what do you want?” You mimicked to him. You had put your heart on the line too many times now and it was his turn.

“You,” He said simply, hand warm against your cheek as he stroked the skin on your cheekbone. The honey brown of his eyes shined brighter in the moonlight and you found for the first time you could see the truth in his eyes. “I want you to be mine,”

“Then you’ve got me,”

And this time when Fred Weasley, you felt a promise instead of a heartbreak.

The game was over and both of you had won.

Tag List: @stuckysdaughter @thehumanistsdiary @gaycatlord-stuff

Those who might be interested: @hogwarts-is-my-h0me @emcchi @elf-punk @mozz-are-lla @alyssa-lupin-weasley-salvatore

#fred weasley #fred weasley x reader #fred x reader #angst #fluff #who knew #that would be the last sentence #i only work in cliches #thnx

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theokotrain · 3 years

Text

Vestige - Chapter 3: Someone Else Will See It For Yourself

Wattpad Version

In the middle of the vortex, the wind picked up

Shook up the soot, from the chimney pot

Into spiral patterns, of you, my love

---

Who said that?

It sounded distant, but I could almost tell it was meant for me. I shut the door as fast as I can manage, locking it behind me. Turning around, I glance further into the cabin.

"Shaela? You here?" I lightly shouted, hoping she would just be in her room or something. No response.

I moved to the backdoor, looking out the window to see if she was waiting in the backyard. The trees and bushes are noticeably rustling from the wind. The door to the generator seemed to be open, but I had absolutely zero interest in checking that out, let alone going outside. I reach for my pocket, aiming to grab my phone so I can call her, only to find out it isn't there.

Shit, right, I left it with Liam.

I open the backdoor a crack, sticking my body half out the door, "Shaela! Where the fuck did you go?"

The eerie silence of the wind is all that returned, leaving me spooked, to say the least. I close the back door, choosing to head back out front. As much as I wanted to hide inside the cabin for the rest of this bullshit, I couldn't just leave Shae and Liam out there. I step outside, closing the front door behind me as softly as I can manage. As the door shuts, I feel an unnerving amount of pressure building up in my ears and softening the sounds around me. I step down the creaky wooden steps, heading back down the driveway.

"I swear to god Shae if this is you just trying to scare me..." I huff, looking through the nearby trees, "...It's fucking working. Now cut the shit!" I know that situation is unlikely, but it's definitely the preferred outcome out of all the scenarios my anxiety-ridden brain is currently playing out.

Maybe she called Liam again and met him at the lake because I was taking too long? I definitely would've heard her on my way up to the cabin if that were true, though. Any reasoning at this point is useless anyway, it's easiest for me to just head back to Liam, then I could at least have my phone and call Shae to see where the hell she went.

The fog seems to be a bit clearer near the highway, which instills at least a minor amount of confidence in me. I cross the asphalt road as fast as I can, trying to hear for any cars that might come barrelling down the limited-visibility highway. I start walking down the trail towards the lake, each step filled with the determination to get the fuck out of this forest, and at least back with Liam. My ears twitch at every minor sound that fills the nearby area, the whistling of the wind, the rustling of the flora, the skittering of the local wildlife. I can't help but feel watched, despite the minimal evidence I have backing up that fear. Well, with the exception of whoever the fuck was talking to me a few minutes ago.

Did I really just skip over that major detail? Someone was talking to me, but I didn't see anybody around. Am I going insane? It could have just been the wind, the voice lacked the substance of someone actually talking. The problem with that, though, is that the wind doesn't typically sound out actual fucking words. Whatever, any of these ideas are just my anxious thought-process trying to make sense of the information it's been taking in.

When I reach the clearing by the lake, I can barely see out into the water. It was typical for it to get foggy by the lake during the spring or fall, because the warming temperatures didn't collide well with the cold air and freezing lake, although rarely to this extent. That doesn't matter now though, the important detail that hadn't registered in my mind yet is that Liam is nowhere to be found. The blanket, along with the rest of the stuff I brought is still lying exactly where I left it. I look around the clearing..

"Liam?" I shouted, hoping he was close by.

Someone has to be fucking with me at this point. Did he go up to the cabin? Maybe he saw the fog and decided to head back? Obviously not, cause I would've at least heard him! I try not to expect the worst, but it feels almost impossible not to at this point.

The jarring sound of my ringtone brings me back to reality. The vibrations of the phone are quieted by the blanket it lays upon. I pick it up, looking to see the Caller ID.

Tyler?

I answer the call, still trying to figure out what's going on, "What is it?" I said, a noticeable irritation in my voice from the situation.

"why did you wake me?" He replied. His voice sounded almost hollow, like a memory.

"Wake you? Dude, you called me? Just tell me what you want cause I'm kindaaa busy right now!" I said hurriedly, trying not to come off as rude.

"i wanted so much to be at rest."

"Wha- then go to back to bed?!? I don't see why you had to call for this, dude. Besides, it's like one in the afternoon? Shouldn't you be working right now?" I remarked, eager for him to get to the point.

There's a long pause between us, I didn't count the time, but it was long enough to be noticeable, and for me to quickly get impatient.

"it's different now, i think"

...

"What is? Just- can you stop speaking like you're reading poetry and say something actually coherent?"

There's an even longer moment of silence, he doesn't seem interested in answering my questions.

I sigh deeply, sitting down on the blanket that was left behind, my face in my palm. "What's different now?" I said bluntly.

"somewhere i lost whatever else i had"

"What, are you writing music now? Testing your lyrics out on me? Very poetic. But this is not the ti-"

"i wasn't over you"

That does a pretty good job of shutting me up. I bury my face further into my palm, trying to escape whatever bullshit I've gotten myself into as the wind picks up around me.

"...Yeah. I know." I admit. I could tell whatever explanations he came up with last night were pretty clearly a façade, but for him to admit it like this? None of it seemed real. "Is that why you called? ...I'm sorry, Tyler. You're a great guy, better than you care to admit. B- but I'm happy now. I hope you can get to that point soon, too."

"there's so much travel yet, jake."

I take a moment to process his words, when I hear the sound of leaves crunching distantly behind me. I jerk my head towards the sound of the noise, hoping to see Shae and Liam coming to find me, to no avail. It feels like there's thousands of eyes on me all at once as I try to ignore my surroundings.

"I- I know." I say, not really wanting to continue my thought process. "You know, some part of me wishes it went differently... back then." I can feel the wind getting stronger as I continue.

"who would you be now?"

"...someone better, probably. At least I'd have things figured out," I sighed. "Everything's been so uncertain lately, I don't know what my life's gonna look like in a few months, let alone when I'm older."

"don't worry, someone else will see it for yourself."

"Wh- what do you mean?"

The wind quickly dies down, and the only sound remaining is the tone coming from the phone, signalling the connection was lost.

What the fuck just happened?

I go back to my phone, dialling Ty's number once again. The phone rings a few times before he finally answers.

"Hey! Whaddya need? You kinda caught me at a bad time, it's pretty busy right now at work." He replied sincerely, his voice noticeably different from moments ago.

"Oh, uh, sorry! Did you just call me?"

"Call you? Uhh, I don't think so? Unless I butt-dialed you or something?"

"Ah, robocaller must've spoofed your number or something." I didn't have any way to rationally explain the previous events without sounding crazy, so I opted to stay casual, repressing the thoughts back to where they came from. "So, you're able to come tonight, right?" I said, trying to shift the topic.

"Yeah I should be able to if they don't make me stay late again! You need me to bring anything over?" He inquired.

"Uhh, I'll get back to you about that in a bit. I am currently at the lake near the cabin and have no clue where Shae and Liam are." I exclaimed in a sarcastically perky voice.

"...What?"

"I- It's probably fine, they're adults, they're probably fine. I'm just paranoid." I said, lightly laughing to lighten the mood.

"Oh, well, let me know if you find 'em! I'll try to keep my phone on me." He assured.

"Yeah, will do!" My eyes widen, and I let out a sigh, "God, I'm just bothering you at this point. I give you permission to go back to work now!" I joked.

"Nah, you're good! I like talking to you." He said, I could almost hear the smile in his voice.

I laughed a tired laugh, "Yeah. You too." A moment passed as neither of us spoke up, "Well, I should probably at least try calling them."

"You haven't tried calling them yet??? Remind me to never let you lead the search party if I go missing," He joked.

"Yeah, like I'd even be considered for leading any search party," I remarked sarcastically. The both of us laughed. "I'll let you know if we need anything, I should get going." "Sounds good!"

We said our goodbyes and I hung up, my mind returning to focus on the lake. I gathered the blanket and anything else Liam left behind and started walking back up the trail. The wind had reduced to subtlety at this point, but the fog was still in full force. I said to Ty that I would call them, but I needed a few more minutes of uncertainty. Any of the fears that occupied my mind earlier were long dissipated as I thought over some problematic dilemmas.

If Ty didn't call me, then who was I talking to?

It sounded just like him, minus the usual substance of his low-toned voice. And unless he was lying to me when he said he didn't call me the first time, then maybe I'm just losing whatever remnants of sanity that I had before today.

Honestly, what's even the point of me rationalizing this? What would I even tell people? That I heard a voice talking to me, but no one was there? That Liam and Shae essentially vanished off the face of the Earth? That I got a phone call by the water from my ex, speaking incoherent poetry, admitting that he wasn't over me?

I cross the highway.

Yeah, there's no combination of words in any language that I could piece together to explain that without losing the respect of everyone around me. I'm sure I could at least get an explanation from Liam and Shae about wherever they ran off to.

I step up the stairs onto the front patio of the cabin.

Whatever, this is just some anomalous twenty minutes of my life that I'll probably forget in a week or two. The simplest solution is to just move on, there's a lot of time left on this trip for me to not have to deal with shit.

I try the door knob, finding it unlocked. The door creaks as I open it, peering inside.

"Fucking hell, where were you?!?"

#Vestige #Story #Novel #Chapter #Three #3 #chapter #novella #furry #gay #lgbt #mystery #coming of age #wattpad #fiction

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quicksilversquared · 6 years

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How to Fake a Marriage Ch. 18

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(AO3) (FF.net)

Now that Marinette and Adrien knew each other's secret identities, Plagg saw absolutely no reason to be remotely subtle with his pranks, much to Adrien's exasperation. His only comfort was that Plagg did at least refrain from constant references to "your wife" and any crush that he thought Adrien might have on Marinette... at least for the most part. For now, at least.

"Adrien, why do you have this tucked under one of the couch pillows?" Marinette called, and Adrien frowned as he set his laptop back down on his bed and headed back into the living room. What on Earth could Marinette possibly be talking about? He didn't keep anything besides a few pillows and a spare blanket on the couch. He was pretty positive that he hadn't accidentally left anything else there.

In the living room, Adrien found Marinette holding up a printed photo of the "wedding" kiss and was looking very, very perplexed. Adrien groaned loudly.

"Plagg, get your ass out here!"

There was a grumble, and after a pause Plagg came floating very slowly into view. "Whaddya want?"

Adrien narrowed his eyes at the kwami. "I thought I told you to quit it with the hiding pictures all over the place."

There was a quiet 'Aha!' from Marinette. Plagg just snickered.

"That stopped being funny months ago, Plagg," Adrien scolded, still irritated. "If anyone else had found that, I wouldn't be able to explain it."

Plagg shrugged. "But they didn't."

"So are you gonna stop doing that, then?" Adrien demanded. "You're going to make my printer run out of ink again. And that stuff isn't exactly cheap, you know. Especially the colored stuff."

Thankfully, it was Tikki that spoke up next. "Plagg, you really shouldn't do that. It might have been a little funny this time, but you know how often Adrien has people over."

Unsurprisingly, Plagg scoffed, completely unrepentant. "How often he has people over? He doesn't! If he studies with other people, he does it at school, not here. Marinette has people visit more often, and they mostly pop into her apartment and only for a short while to talk about work. No one was gonna find it except her."

"Which would have been awkward if she hadn't found out about you!" Tikki argued. "And don't try to tell me that you only started after Marinette found out, because it's obvious that you didn't!"

"He was doing that back in the fall," Adrien said with a sigh, plucking the picture out of Marinette's fingers and tossing it in the recycling. "I swear I found at least two or three a day, and I was terrified that Mari might find one and think I was a giant weirdo."

Marinette giggled. "You are a giant weirdo," she told him fondly. "A giant punny weirdo. But yeah, I would have thought it was really weird. I did think it was really weird."

Adrien had the sudden urge to murder Plagg for that. If Marinette had found those photos before, when he couldn't tell her about Plagg being the one to blame...

(He just really, really didn't like the idea of Ladybug thinking that he was actually weird. He could deal with goofy-weird, just not creepy-weird.)

"You know, I think I liked it better before the reveal," Adrien announced loudly, giving Plagg a stink-eye. "Then Plagg actually hid and didn't annoy me when Marinette was over. It was nice and quiet then."

Marinette sniggered. Plagg only shrugged, unaffected.

"Yeah, but then you wasted your time going out to run around with Ladybug after you had seen her all day instead of, oh, I don't know, sleeping."

"Plagg, you don't actually care about how much sleep I get. You just don't want to work," Adrien pointed out dryly. "And it wasn't a waste of time. I liked getting out and running around."

"But he does have a point," Marinette said, making Adrien pout at her. Was she really taking Plagg's side over his? "You have all sorts of papers and projects due soon, and if we hadn't figured out each other's identities, you can't tell me that you wouldn't have not gone out until your finals were over, even if it meant sacrificing some of your sleep."

Adrien opened his mouth, ready to argue that. He would have done the responsible thing- he would have gone to bed, he would have done his homework- after all, he had done it before- but then he paused.

Could he honestly say that he wouldn't have pushed himself to the limit to see Ladybug, when he hadn't yet known that Ladybug would be staying in London for another year? There was no way of knowing how soon she would have remembered to bring it up, and if she only mentioned it after the school year was over, he totally would have lost time going out to meet up with her. Maybe he would have tried to schedule get-togethers for nights that would work better for him, but he would definitely have tried to go see Ladybug. That was just what he did.

"Yeah, he can't even deny it," Plagg scoffed. "He would go out of his way to see yommmph."

Adrien laughed at the disgruntled look on Plagg's face. Clearly the kwami didn't appreciate having his taunting cut off with a chunk of cheese shoved in his mouth. Still, he couldn't help but wish that Marinette had maybe done that a little sooner, considering that Plagg seemed intent on revealing information about Adrien that would make him seem like a lovesick kitten.

He was a lovesick kitten, but Marinette didn't need to know that.

"Well, it's good that you don't have to waste time right now, at least," Marinette pointed out as Plagg floated grumpily down the hall and away into Adrien's bedroom to sulk- or, more likely, take a nap. "Don't you have a few projects due next week?"

"Yeah, I do," Adrien admitted. "As much as I wish I had more time, it's good to get it over with before I really have to dive in with studying for finals. I'll probably be pulling some late nights later in the week to get everything done."

Marinette let out a quiet, playful hum. "Funny thing, I remember you saying something last semester about irresponsible classmates having to scramble last-minute to get things done and how you were never going to do that."

"I'm not pulling all-nighters. There's a difference," Adrien called over his shoulder as he headed back into his bedroom to grab his laptop again. "I just had a little more homework than planned last week, and then there was the concert that we went to that I hadn't taken into account. I'll be a little rushed, but I have everything under control, I promise."

By Thursday evening, Adrien was wishing that he hadn't been so confident earlier in the week. Everything that could go wrong with his projects did go wrong- or, well, almost everything. Thankfully the files hadn't been lost and he hadn't forgotten any of his numerous projects, but books had been misplaced, his notes had fallen off of the table and had gotten into complete disarray, and several of the papers and articles online that he had marked on his computer had somehow vanished completely from his bookmarks and it took several hours of sifting through his site history before he found them all again. That meant that Adrien had pulled more late-night study sessions than he had anticipated, and he wasn't even able to see Marinette as much since she was going back to her own apartment after they finished cleaning up from dinner so that Adrien could focus better.

While being alone definitely forced Adrien to actually work instead of talking with his best friend, having no one to talk to (Plagg had been strongly suggested into going to bed early, meaning that Adrien wouldn't get distracted by him, either) meant that his mind sometimes drifted off a little more than it should.

A light knock at the door followed by the sound of it opening shook Adrien out of the light doze he had accidentally slipped into. He jolted upright, grabbed onto his computer to steady it, and glanced up from the screen to see Marinette slipping in through the door, wrapped in a bathrobe. She was probably wearing pajamas underneath, but the robe was tied shut securely to ward off the eyes of any too-nosy neighbors. She raised an eyebrow as she caught sight of Adrien in front of his computer. "Adrien? I thought you were going to bed early tonight."

"I was," Adrien admitted, even as he glanced down at his computer. "But I have a couple finishing touches to put on the project that I have due tomorrow. It's not much, just proofreading and then sticking in a few details that I remembered today during class. But I hope to be in bed by one. Go on ahead- that's what you came over for, right?"

Marinette's cheeks turned pink and she looked a little sheepish. "I- I mean, yes, but if you're going to be busy, I don't want to hog your bed, I can sleep in my own-"

Adrien snickered. "You're too small to hog my bed, My Lady. And go on ahead, I'll be there soon enough." He had to admit, seeing Marinette flustered about sharing his bed- even though they did it regularly, and there was nothing remotely inappropriate about it- was adorable. "Go on and warm up the sheets for me."

"You don't want company while you finish that up?"

"As much as I love your company, I think you'd be more of a distraction than anything," Adrien assured her. "And you need to sleep. Shoo, little bug."

Marinette shooed. Adrien smiled to himself as he listened to the rustle of fabric as Marinette took her bathrobe off and hung it up on his closet door, then the click of a light switch and more rustling as she crawled into his bed. He let the sound distract him for a few minutes, and then he refocused on his paper. Right. Editing. The sooner he got done with this, the sooner he could go join Marinette for a well-deserved night's sleep. The thought spurred him on, and it didn't take long at all for Adrien to make the last change, save the document, and send the finished paper to his professor. He was about to congratulate himself with a hard-earned chocolate-chip cookie (baked fresh only hours earlier) when a note in his planner made him freeze. Because right there, written under the assignment that he had just completed, was another note.

Data sheet marking- due at noon! Summary + write-up.

Adrien knew exactly what assignment that was. He knew what class it was for, he knew what he had to do for it...

...and to the best of his recollection, he hadn't finished it. Not even close.

It wasn't as though the assignment was particularly difficult, Adrien reflected as he reopened his computer. It was just using a computer program to mark a bunch of old scanned datasheets into categories based on the amount of time it had taken each datasheet to run, and then it would take maybe a minute after everything was marked to run the data through a program that would summarize everything nicely. The process was so easy that anyone could do it, and Adrien hadn't had any trouble with the program when he did the first few pages. It was just that it would take a whole lot of time to go through everything.

Except he didn't have a whole lot of time anymore, because he had been a complete freaking idiot and forgotten about the assignment until last minute. Unless his memory was seriously failing him, the project was due in less than thirteen hours.

In short, he was screwed.

"I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot," Adrien groaned as he opened the program and confirmed that yes, he had in fact forgotten to go through most of the data. He had done a handful of the pages- maybe a couple dozen, tops- but that left hundreds of pages to go. He was going to have to stay up most of the night, and he had already had a short night of sleep the previous night after he stayed up late studying a concept that he was having a bit of trouble with and then had to wake up early for an eight o'clock class. This was the worst possible night to find out that he had an assignment he hadn't done due the next day.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. How on earth had it managed to slip through the cracks? Adrien knew that he had had a crazy number of projects to do that semester, plus he had gotten that crash course in applying to and interviewing for jobs partway through the semester and that had definitely added to his workload, especially since he had had to look into whether or not he needed a work visa and especially especially because he had never applied to a job before. He had had to keep calling Marinette over to help explain things to him. Still, even with all he was trying to juggle, he shouldn't have forgotten a project entirely. That was just plain irresponsible.

With a growl, Adrien buckled down to plow through the pages. He could do it, he could do it, he could do it...

He couldn't do it. Several hours later, Adrien was bored out of his mind from staring at one nearly-identical page after another. He had perked up a little an hour in after inhaling nearly half a dozen cookies, but the sugar high had long since worn off and left him plodding miserably through his assignment.

Adrien yawned again before forcing himself to focus on his screen. He was really starting to drag now, he could tell, but he couldn't go to bed yet. He still had a solid hour of data left, at the least, and more if he kept slowing down like he was now.

He really had to stop thinking about how much his bed was calling him, soft and already warm with Marinette sleeping there already...

Adrien shook himself yet again and refocused on the screen. If he weren't worried about waking Marinette up, he'd make himself some coffee to jolt himself awake. Maybe he should invest in some green tea in case this happened in the future.

Of course, he'd have to either worry about the teapot whistling or he would have to make it in the microwave like a heathen. Maybe he should ask Marinette if he could borrow the extra key to her flat so he could make his coffee in her place when she stayed over...

A noise down the hallway made Adrien jump. He glanced down towards the bedroom and saw Marinette exiting his bedroom, hair messy and eyes bleary. She blinked at him before meandering down the hall towards him.

"I didn't wake you up, did I?" Adrien asked, reaching out an arm to pull Marinette down onto the couch next to him. She plopped down and snuggled up against his side without missing a beat. "I've been trying not to make any noise, but-" he yawned and clapped a hand over his mouth. He glanced sheepishly over at her. "I'm sorry, I really did want to go to bed earlier."

"I thought you were going to come to bed by one?" Marinette glanced down at the time on Adrien's computer screen. "Adrien, it's already past three."

Adrien cringed at the reminder. It was really getting ridiculously late. He was fairly certain that he had never stayed up so late before, with the only possible exception of him having to get up in the middle of the night to fight an akuma. "Yeah, I know. But I remembered that I had this thing due tomorrow at noon, and since I have class until eleven, I need to get this done. I forgot about it with all of the other projects-" he yawned again, long and loud "-all the other projects that I had. It's not hard, just really time-consuming."

Marinette leaned over to watch as Adrien did a couple pages. "So what are you doing?"

"These are the results from this experiment people have done over the last few years. We're summarizing the data by tagging each of these sheets with what time category they fall in- you know, like how long it took for the experiment to run."

Marinette curled into his side a bit more and peered at the screen. "There's several times, though?"

"Yeah, each page has several runs on it. I'm supposed to tag all of them, because not everyone did the same number of runs in different years and so the averages would be not as accurate...or something." Adrien yawned again. He was so tired that it was questionable if he could even get a decent write-up done later. If he went to bed now he could probably get just enough sleep to function decently well until after all of his classes were finished, but that wasn't going to happen.

He was definitely going to have to be more careful about keeping track of his projects after this, even if that meant programming every single last one into his calendar so that he would get a dozen reminders a month about each and every one.

"And then I run them through a program that compiles all the tags and gives me a summary of the data, and then I do a short write-up about it and turn it in with the summary sheet." Adrien let his head drop onto Marinette's, relaxing for a long moment. "I completely forgot about it. It wouldn't be a problem normally."

"Is that it? Just tagging?"

"Yeah. It's just that there's so much to do." Adrien yawned again. He was about to fall asleep right here, right now, with his head resting against Marinette's. He really needed to sit up and get back to work before he conked out just like that. "I probably have at least another hour just with the tagging, and then running the summary sheet will only take a couple minutes after that. I was planning on doing the write-up after my last morning class and before lunch, just so I can get some sleep."

"I can tag things, Adrien. You go to sleep." Marinette nudged Adrien's side, then nudged harder when he didn't respond. "Seriously. I'm more awake than you are right now. Go get some sleep. It'll only be, like, four hours, but it's better than nothing. You can run the summary in the morning or before lunch. Shoo."

Adrien straightened up and blinked at her, startled. "Mari, this is my homework, I can't ask you to do it for me-"

"You aren't asking. I'm telling you I'll help." Marinette wrapped an arm around his waist and gave Adrien a hug. "And you helped out when we were in a pinch at Fashion Week. Let me help you now."

Adrien blinked blearily at his computer. Marinette was right, she definitely wouldn't have any trouble with the tagging. She was smart, she could figure out the tagging pretty fast. He'd get to sleep- well, not a decent amount, but a passable amount- and actually would be able to function the next day. He'd have to take a nap in the afternoon before he could get any productive studying done, but at least he could do that and didn't have classes all day, just in the morning-

Wait.

"You have to work tomorrow," Adrien protested, even as Marinette slid his laptop from his lap to her own. "I can nap in the afternoon, you can't-"

"Adrien, I've been sleeping since ten. I've already gotten five hours of sleep. You said that this will take an hour, so I'll be back in bed a little past four. I can go into work a little late if I really need to, so I'll get another two or three hours of sleep. I'll be fine." Marinette pushed at his back. "I've got this, I promise. Shoo."

Adrien shooed.

He was asleep the minute his head hit the pillow. Adrien woke up briefly around four when Marinette crawled into bed next to him, and then he was sleeping again until his alarm went off at seven. He groaned his way out of bed and out of the bedroom, rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he got ready as fast as he could. Adrien could smell breakfast cooking in the kitchen- Marinette must have decided to just cook at his place so both of them could eat, she was an actual lifesaver- so he hurried out to the kitchen as fast as he could.

"You are amazing, have I told you that yet?" Adrien said as he hung over the short dividing wall to the kitchen. Marinette was piling toast onto a plate and had jam and butter already on the table with a small bowl of chopped fruit. The smell of coffee filled the morning air, along with the smell of cooking bacon. "Wow, you really went all out."

Marinette turned and grinned at him. "Hardly! The fruit is from last night, the toast was easy, and the bacon and coffee were both quick. I figured you might need it this morning."

"Yeah, I really do. I slept in as much as I could. I don't even have time for a shower this morning." Adrien ran one hand through his hair, wincing. It wasn't as though his hair was greasy or anything, but he could feel the traces of product left over from the previous day. It wasn't a particularly pleasant feeling.

Marinette laughed at that as she came to the table with the plate of bacon. "You'll survive. Besides, you can wash your pretty-boy hair this afternoon once you've finished class." She reached over and ruffled his hair, ignoring his laughing protests as he tried to bat her away.

"Plagg, the mean woman is making fun of me," Adrien managed to mock-whine between his snickers, batting Marinette's hands away. "Make her stooooop."

Plagg, who had been lounging on top of the refrigerator with a chunk of cheese, peered down at them and made a face. "Ugh. You're so gross together."

Adrien made a face at Plagg in response as he rearranged his hair into something that would less resemble a bird's nest. He and Marinette weren't gross. They were just friends having fun.

"Any problems with the data tagging last night?" Adrien asked Marinette as she started to spread jam on her toast.

Marinette shook her head. "Not at all. It was easy."

Adrien let out a sigh of relief. "Fantastic. Thank you so much for doing that, by the way. I probably would have taken forever and then had to run on an hour of sleep."

"It's not a problem. You do still have to run the summary sheet, though. I didn't want to do that and mess everything up somehow."

"Oh, that's fine," Adrien reassured her hastily. "I've done that before in class- with smaller data sets, of course- so it'll only take a couple minutes for me to do. I'll try to get it done before I leave, and then I can think about what I want to write during class." He chanced a glance at the clock and winced. He'd be cutting it close with the bus, probably, but he could always run to the station.

Marinette caught his glance and followed his gaze. She looked a little concerned. "Maybe you should do that now and then eat your breakfast while you're walking. You won't be cutting it as close that way."

"Right, right, of course. Mari, have I ever told you how much of a lifesaver you are?"

Predictably, Plagg didn't stay quiet for long after they left the flat.

"So your wife helped you out with your homework last night, hmm? How domestic!"

Adrien groaned quietly as he hurried down the street, toast in hand. "Plagg."

"What? It's true!"

Adrien really couldn't debate that. Marinette had made him breakfast, after all, and they had slept in the same bed together like it was normal- which it was for them, he reminded himself- and then she had made sure that he had everything before he left for school. The kiss that she had pressed to his cheek as he raced out the door only added fuel to Plagg's arsenal.

"So domestic," Plagg sighed. Then he made a small retching noise. "It makes me sick."

"You could stop thinking about it all the time," Adrien suggested. For someone who claimed to hate romance, Plagg sure seemed to be incredibly interested in his own love life. Adrien guessed that he might never figure that little mystery out.

Plagg blew a raspberry at Adrien.

The morning flew by, and soon Adrien was handing in his project. The summary sheet wasn't quite up to his normal standard, but it was good enough to get his a pretty good grade. There were more than a few other people in the class that looked a little bleary-eyed, which made Adrien suspect that he wasn't the only one who had forgotten the project until last minute. He just happened to be incredibly lucky that he had Marinette willing to sacrifice her own precious sleep to help him.

He had the best friend in the world, honestly. Adrien was pretty positive that most people would have given him a coffee and a few encouraging words before going right back to bed.

Class dragged on, and Adrien did his best to pay attention when his eyelids felt like lead and every blink was an effort to force his eyes back open. Finally class was over and he was done for the day, and Adrien hopped on the bus back to his neighborhood. The ride woke him up a bit- well, the ride and the small iced coffee drink he had picked up on campus so he wouldn't do anything stupid like falling asleep on the bus- so he decided that before he went back to his apartment to sleep, he should do something nice for Marinette. After all, she still had several hours of work left before she could get back to the apartment and take a nap herself.

What to do...what to do...

Just when Adrien was just about to give up for the moment and go home to sleep on it and figure out a solution later, he caught a whiff of something delicious. It smelled warm and welcoming, like baking bread and sugar.

Of course! Their favorite bakery (at least, favorite in London; Marinette's parent's bakery and the pastry stall from the festival up north ranked a bit higher) was nearby. Marinette would no doubt welcome something warm and sugary, since it was still a bit cool outside and really, when wouldn't something warm and sugary be welcome?

Six minutes later, Adrien headed down the sidewalk, pastry bag in one hand and carrier of hot chocolates in the other. He hoped he wouldn't be interrupting anything- he hadn't texted Marinette to let her know he was coming, and maybe he should have- but his luck had held out so far. And if she were busy- well, Adrien didn't have to stay for long. He could just drop off one chocolate-filled croissant and Marinette's hot chocolate at her desk, or have another worker bring them to her.

Luckily for him, Marinette was busy at her desk. A sketch of what looked like a lovely summer dress filled her computer screen, and she was busy making notes in a small notebook. Adrien tried to crane his head to get a peek- was she coming up with a list of fabric she would need? Was she making notes about current fashion trends?- but before he could see anything, Marinette noticed the movement behind her and spun around.

"Hey, Adrien! I didn't know that you were coming in to visit today!"

"It was a bit spur-of-the-moment," Adrien admitted, setting the hot chocolates and pastry bag down on a clear spot on her desk. "I wanted to thank you for helping me last night- well, early this morning. And I figured that you might start to drag sometime soon, so I got some sugar to help."

"Sugar is always appreciated," Marinette said, peering into the bag and sniffing appreciatively. "This looks fabulous."

"I can just drop it and leave you to eat if you're busy," Adrien said, glancing at Marinette's computer screen again. It definitely looked like an in-progress sketch, which meant that if she was on a roll, he was just in the way. "I'll just snitch a croissant-"

"You can stay!" Marinette said hastily. "I'm not really in the middle of much anything. I've been trying to get into a groove with the dress, but I'm having a little trouble," she said when she caught Adrien's glance towards the computer. "I'm having a bit of a creative block right now. I might have to go do something else for a bit and come back to it later."

"The lack of sleep probably isn't helping much, huh?" Adrien asked, feeling a bit guilty. As much as he appreciated Marinette's help (a ton), he couldn't just ignore that her having to be up in the middle of the night and then getting up early to get breakfast for him cut into her sleep time, which probably was affecting her productivity. "I'm really sorry about that, honestly-"

Marinette snorted. "I didn't miss out on that much sleep. You're making it sound like I was running on three hours of sleep instead of, like, seven. This design has been giving me trouble for days."

"Really?" Adrien had always rather thought that designs gushed out of Marinette freely. She certainly had been drawing new things easily enough when he saw her at home, but maybe that was because she was drawing things that she wanted to wear, not things that were new and fresh enough to be carried by a fashion house. He supposed that there were probably a lot of designs that got scrapped or cast aside without ever making it to production. And when he took that level of pressure into account...yeah, it made a little more sense that Marinette might be struggling a bit from time to time. Besides, he vaguely remembered a few discussion about the creating process that they had had before, and yeah, Marinette had definitely mentioned occasionally having designer's block then. He just was too tired to remember those full conversations.

"I'm just not quite happy with it. I can't quite put my finger on what's wrong, but there's just something..." She glanced at the computer screen again. "It doesn't quite have the oomph factor to it, you know?"

"Maybe it could be made with a fabric with some sort of pattern?" Adrien suggested as Marinette pulled her pastry out of the bag and passed it back to him. "You could use some of those patterns that you thought up earlier in the year, they're all gorgeous."

Marinette froze, pain au chocolate caught between her lips, and then she lunged for her drawing tablet, sitting on her desk behind her computer. Still mid-bite, she pressed a button and frantically started searching through the drafted fabric patterns she had saved on it. Adrien watched, torn between amusement and concern as she flipped through one design after another, finally settling on one with a happy noise. Seconds later, the pattern showed up on her computer screen. Marinette made a satisfied noise at that, then grabbed her sketchpad, flipping to the page with the dress design on it before flinging open a desk drawer and yanking out some colored pencils. It was only once she had started coloring the design that she froze, put the pencil down, and sheepishly turned to Adrien, pulling her pain au chocolate out of her mouth as she did.

"Sudden burst of inspiration?" Adrien suggested, amused. "I can go. Don't feel bad about kicking me out," he added when Marinette looked like she might protest. "I need a nap anyway. My plans for this afternoon were eat, sleep, shower, in that order, and I wasn't planning on bothering you for long anyway."

"I don't want to seem ungrateful," Marinette said, finally taking a bite of her pastry. Her eyes closed in momentary enjoyment before she focused on him again. "Really, I love the food, and the hot chocolate, and thanks so much for getting me back on track with the design, I really needed that suggestion-"

"But now you need to get that idea all sketched out before you forget it," Adrien finished, getting up and immediately bending down to press a quick kiss to Marinette's forehead before gathering up his pain au chocolate and hot chocolate. "I get it, I promise. I'll see you at home."

"See you later," Marinette responded absently, attention already back on her design as she picked up a colored pencil and started filling in the design with a rough representation of the fabric pattern, pastry forgotten on a napkin on her desk. Adrien smiled at her back for a moment, just watching her draw. It was admirable how focused she got when she was hit by a burst of inspiration for a design. She forgot about the rest of the world for however long it took for her to get her design sketched out. Strands of hair were falling out of her bun and into her face, but Marinette was so far into the zone that she didn't even bother to brush them aside.

When he heard a giggle, Adrien quickly turned and glanced around. Several of Marinette's coworkers were watching him watch her, and they looked rather amused. Trying not to blush, Adrien nodded a greeting to the giggling duo before making a hasty exit.

Yeah, he definitely needed a nap if he was openly staring at Marinette like that.

#Miraculous Ladybug #My writing #How to Fake a Marriage #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #these dweebs honestly

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