#i drank champagne before a wedding i was a bridesmaid in and then I took communion at the wedding mass and i went to Sunday mass and took it

[countess-of-edessa]

yesss finally went to confession today and stayed after for mass and received the Eucharist for the first time since august. just as i was going up to receive i got a horrible stabbing pain in my eye and was like Don’t Even Try It The Devil

[yeonzzzn]

🏵️champagne and sunshine: sunoo

a you complete me series: seven / seven

pairing: sunoo x afab!reader

word count: 2k

synopsis: you and sunoo decide to pop the champagne under the sunshine…

genre: established relationship, vampire!sunoo, elf!reader

warnings: mentions of blood, some alcohol, sassy cutie sunshine ♡

p1: vampires bleeding mlist

☾ sunghoon(1) | niki(2) | heeseung(3) | jungwon(4) | jake(5) | jay(6) | sunoo(7) ☽

Sunoo’s giggles filled your ears, the pink blush on his face made the smile and scrunch of his nose all the more cute.

He gently kissed your cheek, “Babe! Do it again!” 

You took the empty glass away from your mate, begging Jay with your eyes to please take the glass and put it elsewhere, “Please grab him some water, we need him sober for the wedding.” 

Jay took the glass with a nod, “Kinda your fault for showing him that trick.” 

You softly nodded in agreement, placing your hand on your mate's forehead, “I didn’t think he would find it that funny.” 

Today is Heeseung’s and __ wedding. Heeseung and his grooms(the main OGs of the pack) were sitting around getting ready in the private room away from the venue. 

All the females in the pack(which are obviously the bridesmaids), besides the bride, came to see their mates before the wedding started. 

To your and the other girls' surprise, the males were pregaming. Which honestly kinda also didn’t surprise you at all. 

Heeseung has been shaking nonstop since last week. Jay has been wanting to drink since the royals even announced their wedding. Sunghoon and Jake have been gaming pregaming jokes since yesterday while Sunoo and Jungwon laughed and teased along with it. Meanwhile, poor Niki sat in the corner drinking his blood bag like a juice box. 

Again, it didn’t surprise you or the girls when you all walked in and saw the males drinking. 

Sunoo was already buzzed when you walked up to him, using your magic to refill his empty glass as a form of a party trick, mostly since all the other boys were watching as well. 

Sunoo’s face lit up as he drank the refilled alcohol in one gulp, asking you to do it again as he giggled.

Thinking there was no harm in it, you did it again, only for your mate to gulp it down again, slurring his words asking for it to happen again and you realize your mistake. 

With your palm on his forehead, you used your magic to release the tension in his head and remove the drunk feeling. 

“Well now my head hurts,” Sunoo pouted, resting his head on your shoulder as he wrapped his arms around your waist. 

“I know my sunshine,” you ran your hands in his hair, “This is why we wait to drink until after the wedding.” 

Jay chuckled, pulling his mate to his side, placing a kiss on her forehead, “Tell that to Heeseung who still has a half-full glass in his hands.” 

You glanced over at Heeseung, his face was flushed as he leaned against Sunghoon, mumbling about how nervous he was. 

“Sunoo, my sunshine, can you stand up without me? I need to help Heeseung.” 

Your mate nodded, releasing you just to take a few steps and fall onto Jay’s shoulder. 

You and the witch tried pulling Heeseung off Sunghoon, “Damn, didn’t think pregaming was going to lead to this,” Sunghoon teased. 

His mate rolled her eyes, “Babe, you knew how nervous he was for today!” 

Once Heeseung was off Sunghoon and standing up straight, your palm touched his forehead, doing the same thing you did for Sunoo. 

Once the drunk feeling was gone, Heeseung furrowed his brows and closed his eyes tightly, his own hands grasping his head, “Fuck…” 

You patted the king's back softly as the witch helped him keep his balance. 

“I can make some herbal tea for you guys, how does that sound?” the witch asked softly, rubbing Heeseung’s back.

Heeseung nodded, “Please do, I don’t need my groomens falling over.” 

Sunghoon chuckled, “You mean just Sunoo and yourself, the rest of us are fine.” 

The witch glared at her mate, “Hoon, please.” 

Sunghoon thinned his lips into a line, trying to keep from laughing. 

Jungwon, being the leader he is, took the witches' place at Heeseung’s side, “Go ahead and make their tea, I’ll take over.” 

She nodded, “I’ll have to grab my bag from the other room,” then quickly rushed off. 

“Y/N,” Jungwon grabbed your attention, “Go ahead and go back to Sunoo, I got Hee.” 

You nodded, rushing back to your mate's side. 

“How are you doing my sunshine?” 

Sunoo pouted even more, as he pushed off his Hyung and ran back to you, “Why did you show me you could refill alcohol?” 

You wrapped your arms around him, softly giggling, “I didn’t think you would find it that entertaining, my sun.” 

Sunoo rolled his eyes, “I always find your magic entertaining,” he sassed, giving you his famous side-eye. 

You placed your hands on his cheeks, pinning them slightly, “No need to sass me, not my fault you decided to pregame a little too hard.” 

Sunoo knew you were right, but it was a happy day today. 

Sunoo feels maybe he was more excited about this wedding than the actual one getting married. 

The witch returns handing the small porcelain cup to Sunoo, “This will help the headache and make it feel like you never drank at all.” 

Sunoo thanked her, taking the cup to his sips. 

Heeseung also gulped down the tea, the red on his face slowly fading away. 

“Okay!” Jungwon scouted, clapping his hands together, “The wedding starts in twenty minutes! Everyone, start actually to prepare yourselves.” 

You fixed Sunoo’s tie on his tux and parted his hair back off to the side where it once was. 

Sunoo took the last sip of his tea, smiling brightly at you, “You look beautiful.” 

You smoothed out a wrinkle on your silk red dress, “The future queen picked out a pretty red huh?” 

Sunoo pulled your body back to him, “No you just look pretty in red, I could bite your neck and suck your blood from how pretty you look,” he opened his mouth slightly, his beautiful fangs making their appearance. 

You smirked at him, smoothing out his tux jacket, “Put those fangs away and finish getting ready for the wedding, ya?” 

Sunoo rolled his eyes, retracting his fangs, “All for you my love.” 

You pulled him into a soft kiss before rushing back out the door with the other girls. 

One of the beautiful things about having an early summer wedding at the beach is the breathtaking view and cool breeze. 

Heeseung and __ really chose a beautiful time of year for their wedding. 

Sunoo couldn’t stop smiling during the whole wedding ceremony. His heart nearly beat out of his chest as he stood with his brothers watching the oldest one take his vows not just as a married man, but as the king of the vampires. 

Sunoo also couldn’t stop looking at you and how that red dress complimented your skin. How your earrings dangled and moved with each movement of your head as you pulled your hair behind your pointed ear. 

He couldn’t help but picture what it would be like with himself kneeling before you asking for your hand in marriage. 

And by the looks of his brother's faces, they all were thinking the same with their mates. 

Sunoo nudged Niki’s shoulder, “You’re too young to think about marriage,” he teased the maknae in a whisper. 

Niki rolled his eyes, “I am not even thinking that, besides, being stuck in a seventeen-year-old's body for my whole lifetime, remember?” he whispered back. 

Jungwon hushed the both of you, “We are literally in a wedding, shut up.” 

Niki leaned closer to his hyung, “You thinking about marrying __ huh?” he teased. 

Jungwon tightened his jaw as Sunoo leaned closer to him as well, “Turn back around. Right. Now.” 

Sunoo and Niki giggled, putting their attention back to the royals. 

—

The sound of bottles popping and the smell of champagne filled the cool summer air. 

Heeseung and __ shoved cake in each other's faces as everyone cheered and took sips of their alcohol. 

The courtiers at the sides of the king and queen, whispered into Heeseung’s ear as his smile grew wide. 

Sunoo felt his heart race faster, the courtiers being here meant the royal government had fully accepted Heeseung as king. 

Heeseung wiped the cake from his face, cheering loudly with his hands raised, “I WILL MAKE THE CHANGE!!!” 

The pack and the other guests all cheered, bowing down to the new king and his queen. 

Glasses of blood were being handed out to the crowd, and the witch tied her arm with yours, leaning on your shoulder, “No sorry,” she smiled politely, “We aren’t bloodsuckers like this guy!” she said pointing her thumb at Sunghoon at her side. 

Sunghoon ripped her away from you, his fingers taking her chin, her soft giggles escaping her lips, “Better watch it when it comes to teasing me hex girl, I’ll sink my teeth into you.” 

The host handed Sunghoon his glass of blood as he wrapped his arms around his witch. 

Seeing them made you miss your vampire. Your eyes searched the crowd. 

“Look for me, my elf?” Sunoo said from behind you, and your heart nearly stopped. 

His arms wrap around you from behind, “Yes I was my sunshine,” you leaned into him, “Where were you?” 

Sunoo chuckled, “I was with Heeseung and __, but then I had a perfect idea.” 

“Which was?” 

Sunoo called the host back over to grab himself the glass of blood, taking two good gulps, returning the glass, “Follow me!” 

Sunoo took your head as he led you away from the wedding party and down the beach, the loud music softly fading in the background. 

“Sunoo, they will worry about where we went,” You glanced back behind you at the party, “What if someone needs me?” 

“My love, you are an excellent doctor, but Heeseung and Jay are also doctors, and there’s our witch too, they can handle everything.” 

 You sighed with a nod, you knew he was right. 

Sunoo suddenly stopped, “Ta-Da!” 

You look down at the sand, seeing a pretty orange beach blanket with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. 

You giggled at him, “You want to drink again?” 

Sunoo did his famous smile that you loved so much. You swore his smile was brighter than the sun. 

You both sat down, opening the bottle of champagne. Sunoo filled both glasses, saying, “I just want to drink with you.” 

You both drank to your heart's content, Sunoo getting buzzed and asking for you to refill the bottle with your magic. 

With a roll of your eyes, you moved your hand over the bottle, watching as the liquid replenished. 

You had to admit, drinking with your mate was fun. Sunoo never once stopped smiling and always kept on giggling. 

Elves drink all the time, so your tolerance to alcohol is a lot higher. But right when you started to get buzzed, Sunoo took the glass from your hands. 

“Baby,” you pouted, reaching back for the glass, “Give it back.” 

“Marry me.” 

You stopped moving, looking up at him with eyes widened, did you hear that correctly?

“Huh?” you asked, making sure he said what you think. 

“I said marry me,” he sassed, rolling his eyes, “I overheard Jay saying earlier he wanted to marry __, and then Jake and Sunghoon also stated how everyone getting married sounded like a good idea,” he pouted, “Do you not want to marry me?” 

You smiled, cupping his face, “Why don’t we talk about this when we are sober?” 

Sunoo smiled, leaning to rest his forehead against yours, “Okay. But think about it, a cool vampire-elf wedding? The party would be awesome and if we have kids-“

You kissed him suddenly, your heart not being able to see the cute image of Sunoo in a wedding tux and as a future father. 

Sunoo kissed you back, not being able to hold back his smile. 

He pulled you closer to him, watching as the setting sun reflected onto the ocean's water. 

“Want to use your magic to refill the bottle again?” 

You giggled at your mate, holding your hand out for the bottle.

[golden-forge]

Ao3 is acting up for me so take chp 2 of Wedding Planner au (Meljay Microfics)

Prompt: Happy Hour

There were aspects of wedding planning Mel liked, and parts not so much.

Right now, she was stuck in the part she didn’t like. She internally sighed and withheld the urge to rub her temples. “No, magenta is not an accepted color.” Elora showed her something to sign. She continued to talk into her wireless earbud while signing off on the reorder of the ghastly mummy yellow table cloths to actual white. “I’m looking at the order right now.” She looked at her tablet that was connected to her phone. “It clearly states - You have it as well? Then why are you asking me what the color was on the order?”

At the top of the screen was a text message from a new number.

‘Hey, it’s Jayce. I know you’re busy but we’re hitting the happy hour today at the bar in the hotel like 5-ish. I can’t take anymore groomsman training.’

“Perhaps I can simply take my business elsewhere if you -“

‘Though if I’m part of Cait’s party does that make me a bridesmaid?’

“-if you…” she trailed off as Jayce’s texts distracted her.

‘Wait what am I saying? They’re both women so it doesn’t matter which side. This wedding’s training is making me dumb. Forget I said something.’

Mel lightly chuckled. The rep on the line voiced their confusion. “I’m sorry, a….friend. Sent something.” She cleared her throat. “Well? What are our options to correct this?”

‘But don’t forget about happy hour.’

***

Mel wasn’t going to go.

She really wasn’t.

It was almost like she was under a spell as she calmly made her way to the hotel bar. It was convenient, she told herself. The wedding reception was in the ballroom of the hotel and she did actually need a drink with how much she got done today. It had nothing to do with who invited her.

He had his back to her. She stood half behind him, half next to him as he laughed at something the bartender said. He had a good, hearty laugh. Made the air around him feel lighter and brighter somehow. The bartender was looking at her, which made Jayce turn.

She rarely saw someone’s face “light up” at the sight of her. Except maybe Kino’s when they were younger. Usually it was more thankful tears because of how much of a disaster their wedding would have been….or the sight of her would bring sobbing and spite after a case. But that was not her life now. Right now, Jayce’s brows went up and a smile threatened to split his face.

”Hey you came!”

”So I did.”

”Oh, here let me.” He quickly leaned over and pulled the stool out for her. “That too far out?”

”No. Thank you.”

She put her purse on the hook under the bar and calmly laid her hands on the bar top. It was a memorable place with the amber glass bottles along the walls and the logo of The Last Drop.

”Sorry, I started without you.”

She looked at the empty glass and the nearing empty one he was currently working on. “It’s expected. I’m two hours late.”

”It’s an informal thing.” He finished his second glass and turned to her with an elbow on the counter. “So what’s your drink? Martini? Wine? Champagne?”

She looked at the bartender. “Noxia Prime, top shelf.”

”Whoa, top shelf on day one?”

“It’s a short time frame to complete this project.” The bartender poured the amber liquid in a glass for her. She took a sip, letting it burn on the way down. She could feel Jayce’s eyes on her. “Have you tried this before?”

“No. Heard it’s strong.”

She offered her glass. He turned it and drank from a clean side - only to cough it up as soon as it hit his throat. She took it back with a sharp laugh.

”It’s an acquired taste,” she demurred. “Don’t feel too bad.”

He gave her a sour look as he drank his water. “That supposed to be a metaphor?”

She flashed him a quick smile with teeth showing. “Take it how you want.” She looked at the fresh glass the bartender brought for Jayce. “May I?”

He was still clearing his throat from her drink so he gestured ok with his hand. It was an interesting reddish-magenta color with a slice of dried pineapple for a garnish. She took a considering sip of it.

”Sweet and tart. What is that flavor?”

”Hibiscus.”

”I see.”

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Bit like you?”

“Aw geez,” he let out a chuckle, his hand going up along the back of his hair. “Am I?”

Cute.

”I mean, I don’t know. Maybe? I just like hibiscus drinks.”

She took a longer sip. “It’s growing on me.”

[lost-in-the-80s]

The Wedding

Pairing: Izzy Stradlin x fem!reader

Words: 2.321k

Summary: Your brother's wedding has arrived, without having a boyfriend, you invite Izzy, your best friend, to be your date. (smut)

A/N: When I started listening to gnr, it didn’t take much time before Izzy got a place in my heart, so this is for his birthday

Song rec for the fic: Woman by John Lennon

Sitting on an airplane for over an hour now, Izzy observed your asleep figure beside him, your head laying on his shoulder, like you had done so many times before, unaware of the warmth it caused on the brunette’s heart.

He questioned himself for a thousandth time that week. Why in the hell did I agree with this?

The idea didn’t sound like a big deal at first, accompanying you to your brother’s wedding wouldn’t cause any harm. But as the days started to go by, his mind traced every aspect of a wedding, the music, the romantic atmosphere, the dancing, and he soon started to regret having said yes so easily.

The truth is that Izzy has always loved you, ever since the day the two of you met. It all happened so naturally that he didn’t notice he was in love until you went on a date with another guy.

At first, he loved your voice, he’d call you just to hear you talking for hours about the most random things. Then it was your eyes, he found himself entranced by their color, the way they rolled when you got annoyed, and how they seemed to invade his deepest thoughts and memories every time you looked at his eyes.

The last thing was your attitude, your bluntness and forward behavior shocking him sometimes, and being his main entertainment in others. He found a true interest in watching you, it didn’t matter what you were doing, you would always be in his sight.

And even though years passed, that feeling seemed to just grow more and more, and every time he saw you going out with another guy, his heart broke into smaller and smaller pieces.

Little did he know the reason behind your maneater habits.

The truth is that, just like him, you had fallen for him since day one, you loved his nonchalant attitude and his style, the shape of his hands and fingers, and how dry his voice was after his third cigarette.

Just like him, you would secretly observe him, the two of you being too good on your game to ever get caught by each other.

But you didn’t want to risk your friendship over admitting your feelings, especially when you didn’t know if Izzy felt the same way. So you went on multiple dates, meeting guys with the most different appearances and personalities, all in hopes that one day, you’d meet someone capable of making you stop thinking about the guy from Indiana. That, obviously, never happened.

A little turbulence on the plane woke you up, you immediately looked up, meeting his brownish eyes.

“It’s just turbulence. Go back to sleep.”

You nodded slowly, before laying your head on his shoulder again, inhaling his scent of cigarettes and cologne and immediately feeling your body calm down.

---

You looked at yourself in the mirror of the hotel room, rolling your eyes at Niki's choice of color and design for the bridesmaids' dresses.

A soft knock on the door caught your attention and there stood him, a black blazer matching his black jeans.

He looked you up and down.

"You're gonna steal the bride's attention like that."

"It's grey, the most boring color ever! I wouldn't steal her attention, even if I wanted to."

He chuckled softly.

Well, you stole my attention. He thought to himself.

Picking up your purse and gift you exited the room, locking your arm with his for support, as you got on the elevator and then walked towards the hotel's saloon.

---

During the entire ceremony, Izzy found his attention caught by you, the way you stood out amongst the other bridesmaids and how impatient you seemed to grow with how long the ceremony was taking.

Your grey dress looked like pure silver, reflecting the lights. You looked so beautiful that he wished he had brought a camera to take a picture of you.

Your eyes caught his for once, and you blinked in his direction, smiling when you saw his lips turn into a small smile.

After what felt like forever the ceremony ended and he found himself sitting at a table with “Y/N and boyfriend” written down on a card.

“I think someone gave them the wrong info.” He showed you the card when you plopped down on the chair beside him.

You rolled your eyes. “Classic coming from my family.”

You lifted the tablecloth, making him look down to see what was happening.

“These heels are killing me.” You complained, removing your silver sandals and quickly massaging your feet.

“I bet they are.” He took two champagne glasses from a waiter passing by.

He knew you weren’t used to heels. Being almost his height, you never felt the need to wear them that often.

“Thanks.” You took your glass towards your nude lips.

“How much did you pay for that gift?” He pointed towards the biggest package on a pile, knowing it was yours.

“300 bucks.”

His eyes widened for a second.

You didn’t wait for him to say anything, knowing exactly what was crossing his mind.

“He’s my only brother. I might not like Niki that much, but he’s happy with her, and I’m happy for that.”

“Fair enough.” He drank from his champagne again. "Those ice statutes are quite tempting for a man who wants to take a piss,"

He chuckled to himself, but soon realized that your attention was focused on the main door.

“See that girl over there?” You pointed at the door.

“What’s with her?”

“That’s Braeden,” the name made him realize she was your sister. “She’s the only woman taller than me here….”

He looked back at you, and so you lowered your voice, keeping eye contact with him.

“When the bouquet time comes, you’re gonna block her.” You gestured aggressively with your hands, making a smile start to form on his lips.

“Why?”

“There’s no way my younger sister is gonna get married before me.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t know you aspired to marriage Y/N.”

Your eyes softened with his sentence and a small pain formed in your heart. If only he knew what crossed your mind when you looked at him during the ceremony.

---

The night seemed to go by faster than he expected and soon he found himself at the drinks table, observing as you talked to some relatives of yours on the other side of the saloon.

You sensed his eyes and looked towards him, giving him a look that said “Help me.”

He chuckled softly, but before he could do anything a woman’s voice caught his attention.

“You must be Izzy.”

He looked to his side, seeing a woman that looked just like Joey, your brother.

“Yes, and you are….” He extended his hand for her to shake.

“I’m Martha, Y/N’s mother.”

“Pleasure to meet you.”

“I didn’t know the two of you were dating.”

He choked on his drink.

“We aren’t, we’re just friends.” He looked down for a second.

She nodded slowly, before locking her eyes on your side.

“I know my daughter very well,"

Her voice made him look back at her.

“She has had many boyfriends in her life, but I’ve never seen her look at them in the way she looks at you.”

He opened his mouth, but your presence made him stop.

“Hey, mom!” You smiled, kissing her cheek.

“Hello, darling.” She touched your hair, adjusting some locks. “I promised I'd dance this one with your father.”

You nodded in understanding as she smiled before walking away.

“So… wanna dance with me?” You nudged him from the side, before taking a sip from his drink.

“With this song?” He asked, taking notice that Woman by John Lennon was playing.

“Why not?” You shrugged.

“Okay.” He placed his now empty glass on the table before taking your hand and guiding you towards the other people there dancing.

One of his hands held you delicately by your waist as you slowly swung to the song. Your eyes locked on each other as the other people around you seemed to disappear.

Your mother’s words mixed with the lyrics hitting his head like bells as he finally noticed the glow that formed in your eyes as you looked at him, making his heart race faster than ever.

You just realized another song was playing when someone bumped into you, making a disco song hit your ears.

You both looked so distracted and for a second you thought you’d sit down for the rest of the night, not being able to feel his cold fingers brush on your skin through your dress.

But those thoughts washed away when he let go of your waist just to grab both of your hands and guide you throughout the song, just like he did for the rest of the night.

That was the happiest night you have had in your life, and when your hotel room number became noticeable at the end of the corridor, you wished you could turn back time and do it all again.

“Happy with your bouquet?”

“More than happy.” You giggled, smelling the flowers one more time.

It was comic the way Izzy put himself in front of your sister, pretending not to be aware of what was happening.

“Thanks for that.”

“If that makes you happy, I can do that at the next weddings too.”

Next weddings. The thought made butterflies erupt in your stomach.

“So…” he started, stopping in front of your room as you opened the door.

“So…”

“Tonight was fun.”

“Yes, it really was!” You said looking down. “Thanks for coming with me, Iz.” You leaned towards him, kissing his cheek gently.

“Anytime.” He replied so lowly that you weren’t sure if he had actually said that.

You entered your room and closed the door, resting your forehead against it as you sighed.

Rushed knocks against the wood made you regain your posture and quickly open the door.

Izzy looked deep inside your eyes, his brown orbs saying everything his mouth wanted to.

Not a second after that and you wrapped your arms around his neck, your lips colliding against his.

No kiss ever had felt like that. It was warm like fire and exciting, you felt your heart start racing faster and your mind went numb.

He wrapped his arms around your waist, bringing you as close as he could while entering your room and kicking the door shut behind him.

Soon you found yourself in your bed, your legs wrapped around his hips as your tongues fought for dominance, making small moans and grunts leave your mouths. One of his hands started traveling underneath your dress's fabric, exploring every inch of your legs, making you shiver with his cold fingers.

Your lips found his neck, kissing and biting at his flesh with desire, delighted by his irregular breathing and the small moans he tried to hold.

A certain hardness was pressed against your core among what seemed like a thousand layers of clothing. The sensation making you wet as you bit harsher on his neck, loving the smirk that formed on his lips.

He pushed himself off of you, standing up and ripping his shirt open, the sound of buttons hitting the floor filling the room.

“I need your help with the dress.”

You sat on the bed, your back facing him as he found the zipper, opening it quickly while he applied wet kisses on the extension of your back, biting your flesh just like you had done with him, making a small moan leave your lips.

“So beautiful.” He whispered against your ear, making another shiver possess your body.

You stripped off of the dress as you watched him undo his pants and remove his underwear with it.

He made his way back to the bed, his calloused fingers removed your blue lace panties slowly and delicately. One of his fingers traveled in between your folds, his eyes closing for a second when he noticed your wetness for him.

Izzy cupped your face with one of his hands, kissing you tenderly before asking.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

You felt the tip of his member entering you, making you close your eyes, focusing on the sensation it caused. You felt him slowly expanding your walls until it was all the way in, making a soft and small moan leave your lips.

Izzy looked at you for confirmation and after seeing you nod, he started moving.

In the beginning, it was slow and passionate, he made it the most intimate he could, touching every inch of your skin, whispering sweet nothings on your ear, as you traced his back and arms with the tip of your fingers, allowing your nails to softly touch his skin.

After some minutes, sweat started to form on both your bodies, your moans coming out in unison filled the room as you felt your walls start to clench around him.

That’s when he sped up his pace, the tip of his member now hitting your g-spot with no mercy, he massaged one of your breasts with his hand, while the other rested on the bed for support.

“Izzy,” His name left your lips in a loud moan and you saw a proud expression consume his features.

“I know, princess, I know.”

You closed your eyes and moaned again, feeling as you and he both came at the same time. A groan leaving his throat matching your whimpers as you felt a wave of pure pleasure wash over your body. Your legs started to shake and you scratched his back, while he bit harsh enough to leave a mark on your neck.

Both sweating and trying to gain your breath again, you laid in bed, your head resting on his chest as he softly caressed your body.

“Izzy?”

“Hum?”

“This is not a one-time thing, right?”

“No, Y/N, it is not.”

Thanks for reading <3

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[tintinwrites]

i have loved you too much | Santiago ‘Pope’ Garcia x Fem!Reader | Part One

A/N: You guys liked this idea I think so here you are with part one!! Please remember that Reader ends up pregnant from this one night stand and that’s the focus of this series.

Rating: 18+

Warning: This fic is going to deal with pregnancy in the future, please be aware! Naughty words. P in V sex. One-sided Frankie x Reader. Reader yells Frankie’s name I’m warning you bc I was embarrassed just writing it lol. Pining. Meaningless sex wrap it before you tap it please even if you won’t get pregnant protection is IMPORTANT.

Word count: 3,413, apparently!!

Summary: You’re in love with Frankie and it’s the day of his wedding to a woman who is not you. You and a lonely Santiago find solace in each other.

GIF credit: damerondjarin

Tags: Since this is a series, the taglist is OPEN for those who want to read more rather than me tagging everyone from my general taglist. I don’t want to tag people in a bunch of parts who might not be interested, so let me know if you are!

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Frankie always made your heart flutter.

When you were fifteen and it was your first day of high school in a new town, and your first impression of dropping a bunch of papers in the hallway was not so embarrassing when a young boy in a backwards cap rushed to help you pick them up.

When you were seventeen and your prom date walked out with the girl he really wanted to take who happened to be your best friend of two years’ date, and he awkwardly asked if you wanted to dance to stop you from crying.

When you were eighteen and you were clinging onto him as he was about to go off to join the military, and he pressed a kiss to your cheek and promised to send you letters.

When you read every letter as you sat in your dorm, even as you entered your twenties and the letters became few and far between.

And then, when he came home when you were just shy of twenty-eight, you found out that Frankie could make your heart sink, too.

Like when you ran to hug him and he told you he wanted you to meet someone, and he introduced you to his fiancee.

Or when he announced the wedding date would be in a year and a half from that date.

There was also when you were twenty-nine and he asked you to be his ‘best man’, and asked you to help him pick a few things out.

And now here you were, a few days from thirty years old, and seeing Frankie all dressed up in a tux without a hat on his head made your heart flutter and sink at the same time.

How did he do that?

You were sitting on the arm of a chair that Benny was sitting in, your dress matching the ties and pocket squares that he, Frankie, and the other boys were wearing, as you watched a slightly nervous groom who wasn’t used to big celebrations look at himself in the mirror. You’d been introduced to the other men when they came into town to see Frankie and became fast friends with all of them.

“Why’d she have to choose bow ties? I can barely tie a normal tie,” he joked, trying for the third time to figure out how to tie the fabric.

Will seemed to be the only one who knew how to tie it and he gestured for Benny — who’d been fiddling with his for quite a bit now — to walk over so he could help him.

You stood after watching Frankie for a moment longer and stepped between him and the mirror, taking hold of the bowtie so you could do it up for him. “Can’t believe you’re all grown up.”

He chuckled, leaning over a bit as you tied the bow so he could glance at himself in the mirror again.

“I look like a dork, but you know...she’s worth it. Fuck, I love her.” He didn’t notice the way you looked down, fixing a piece of errant hair that fell from the style his wife-to-be wanted most.

“There you go, sweet Frankie.” It was a name you’d called him since you met him because you’d never met anyone as sweet and gentlemanly as him.

Still hadn’t.

And you’d never met anyone as handsome or as funny or…

“I’ve never worn one of these fuckin’ things,” Santiago grumbled, and you turned your attention to where he’d tied his bowtie into a knot.

“Where would you guys be without me and Will?” You bumped your hip into the man in question as you walked by him to go to Santi. “Come on, let me see it now.” You batted his hands away and grimaced at the tight knot, starting to pull at it delicately.

He watched you closely as you fixed the bowtie and, though your eyes were downcast to focus on the work at hand, he’d seen the tears in them. “You doing okay?”

You looked at him in bemusement for a moment and then you realized that he was rather blurry, and you quickly looked back down as his question made your tears threaten to spill.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, just, uh...you know, weddings...so emotional…” You tried to laugh it off with a teary chuckle, hurrying to finish up with the tie so you could step away from him.

He stopped you before you could by pulling his pocket square out and holding it to you.

“Santi, that was perfectly folded!” You’d spent hours with Frankie’s almost wife, helping her with last minute decorations, and the pocket squares needed to be folded in the right design.

She was so nice and you couldn’t blame Frankie for falling for her.

“Sorry, fuck!” Santi hurriedly shoved it back into his breast pocket and did his best to make it look like it did before, but there was no time as the bride’s father knocked on the door to let you all know it was time to head down.

The wedding was being held entirely in a hotel so you left the room you’d booked for changing and headed down to where the ceremony was being held, hooking your arm through Santi’s despite being the best man as there were only two bridesmaids and Frankie requested that his two best friends walk in together.

A hand gently squeezed your side and you looked to see Frankie smiling at you nervously, before he walked down the aisle.

You didn’t think you would be crying again just from walking down the aisle, but all you could think as you looked at the man you loved was that his eyes were looking past you, waiting for the woman he loved.

That woman would never be you.

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

You were always able to tell when Frankie was embarrassed.

And, yes, he was a really sweet guy, but slow dancing in front of all the wedding guests was very clearly embarrassing him.

Though his eyes would flutter to his new wife’s face and he’d look all dreamy, a big, dopey smile forming on his lips at the mere sight of her.

She was beautiful and very kind, and she deserved someone as wonderful as Frankie.

You knew that.

You knew you were being ridiculous with your jealousy over this.

Yet there you sat, your chair turned away from the table so you could watch them, half-smiling and half-crying because they were beautiful and Frankie was officially never going to look at you like that.

A hand holding a glass of champagne blocked your vision and you sat up a little straighter, looking up to see Santi standing there with a gentle smile. “You look like you could use a drink.”

“Oh, yeah, weddings always make me emotional…” It was the same excuse as before as you took the glass from him and forced yourself not to down the whole drink in one sip.

“Mm,” he hummed like he didn’t believe you, but he didn’t press as he grabbed the vacant chair next to you and turned it around to sit.

The song ended and the couple kissed each other sweetly, and you were so occupied with staring at Frankie longingly that you didn’t notice Santi watching them with a bit of sadness in his eyes too.

Frankie smiled at you with more giddiness than you’d ever seen as he walked past, and you quickly reached up to swipe away the tear that fell down your cheek.

Not fast enough; Santi regarded you with realization and then sympathy.

He thought for a long moment, then drank the rest of his own glass of champagne and stood up, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Listen, I, uh...I don’t dance, but you’re really pretty tonight and someone should dance with you.”

“Santi…” The song that was playing was slow and you knew he wasn’t the type, but then he was extending his hand to you and you reluctantly took hold of it.

“No complaining if I step on your toes.” He yanked you towards the dance floor and you laughed as you stumbled into him, letting him guide your hand to his shoulder as his moved to your waist.

There was something about swaying with him that was only working up your emotions more and you were breathing deeply, doing your best not to cry, but a few tears started to fall and Santi quickly pressed your head into him to hide it.

Why did it have to hurt so much? Why couldn’t you just not love him?

You really hoped Santi thought you were just sobbing against him because weddings made you cry.

You forced yourself to calm down so he wouldn’t read much into it, just closing your eyes and letting him lead you in a way that was surprisingly decent considering he didn’t seem like the type to dance.

“You okay? You need to step out of the room for a minute?”

“I’m fine. It’s just—”

“Weddings make you emotional?”

“—yep. Yeah.”

You swayed with him silently for a couple moments, your emotional mind with its unrequited love taking the time to really think of how kind it was for him to dance with you, of what he said when he asked you…

You pulled back to look at him. “Did you mean it?”

“Mean what?” He raised an eyebrow.

“That I’m pretty tonight.”

“I mean, yeah, but you’re pretty every night.”

You stared at him for a moment and then you leaned forward to press your lips to his. He stayed still in shock for maybe two seconds before he was eagerly kissing you back, his hands lowering from your waist to your hips.

You blinked at him slowly when you pulled apart, tilting your head slightly. “Would you like to go up to the hotel room with me?”

“I would love that.” He let you take his hand, noticing that you look around as if to make sure no one was watching before you pulled him out of the reception hall.

The walk to the elevator was quiet, but you were on Santi the moment the doors closed, seeking comfort from your broken heart in his lips.

He could make you forget about this.

Even if it was just for ten minutes or so, you wouldn’t think about Frankie for those ten minutes.

You weren’t thinking of Frankie now.

Or how sweet he looked in his tux.

Or how you would never be his, never know what it was to make love to him or come home to him or have a family with him.

Fuck, you were thinking about him, so you quickly reached between Santi’s legs and cupped him through his pants.

“Shit, baby! We’re almost to the right floor and I’m not gonna be scolded again for using the emergency stop for this.” He smirked at your raised eyebrow, but pushed you into the hallway as the doors opened.

The hotel was the first door to the right of the elevator and you had the keycard on you since you were the ‘best man’, sliding it through before pushing open the door as the man behind you hurried you in.

He barely kicked the door shut and then you were kissing again, hands roaming all over each other in search of buttons and zippers to undress each other as fast as possible.

Your dress loosened and was falling off your shoulders when Santi pulled the zipper down, and he sneaked his hands under the fabric both to push it down and to grope your breasts.

You stepped out of your dress, only in panties now since the style didn’t really allow for a bra, and you pulled away with a teasing smile as Santi reached for your breasts with a groan, making your way towards the bed.

The clothes Frankie had worn to the hotel before changing into his tux were on the bed and you paused when your eyes landed on them, thinking of how it wasn’t him you were going to bed with and now it never would be.

Santi opened his mouth to ask you why you stopped, only to see the clothes and know immediately that this had something to do with the way you were staring at Frankie and crying at the reception; he was no idiot, and the more pieces he put together, the more he realized that you thought of him as more than a friend.

He could tell you would probably cry again if you looked at the clothes for too long, so he reached over and shoved them right off the bed.

You blinked, looked over at him, and then let out a laugh before wrapping your arms around him and pressing your lips to his.

He wrapped one arm around you and let his fingers roam over your bare back as he guided you closer to the bed, watching you flop down when the mattress touched the back of your knees.

His bowtie was undone and his tux jacket was unbuttoned by you when you were entering the room, and he quickly took them both off and then started on unbuttoning his shirt. “Your tits are probably the nicest I’ve ever seen.”

“I can tell by just looking at your stupid, beautiful face that I’m going to enjoy the rest.” Your eyes followed his movements until he was letting his shirt fall off his shoulders, showing off a torso that was decently toned from his work.

“Wait until you meet Santiago Jr.” He was sexy enough that naming his penis didn’t make you want to run, laying there with lust in your eyes as you watched him open up his pants.

“Oh,” you gasped out when you saw him spring free, barely acknowledging his lack of underwear as you sat up to admire him.

You’d been with a few men, but you could admit that you’d never seen a dick quite as pleasing as Santi’s; dicks were not pretty and his was...well, it was nice, and you might’ve wanted it in your mouth if you weren’t just trying to forget somebody else.

“I showed you mine…” He cocked an eyebrow, stepping forward at the invitation of your opening legs and slowly running his hands up your thighs, teasing along the hem of your underwear before he started to tug it down.

He groaned at the sight of your pussy and immediately moved between your legs so he could kiss along your inner thighs, but you quickly grabbed onto his hair to pull his head up.

You just shook your head slightly because you wanted to be fucked even though the idea of Santi eating you out was tempting, and you gently guided him up until his hips were nestled between your legs.

Maybe you weren’t letting him use his mouth on you, but he still moved his hand so he could stroke over your clit, wanting to be certain you were wet enough to take him before he tried to put his cock inside you.

You were decently wet just from kissing and thinking about having sex with him, so he merely stroked you until you were squirming and moaning underneath him before he took hold of his cock.

He pressed his tip against your entrance and looked at you for your consent, slowly pushing forward when you nodded and letting his head drop with a moan at the way your cunt stretched to accommodate him. You took every fucking inch like you were made for him and he was able to enter you almost to the hilt, his hips jerking as he let out a low moan.

His cock filled you so well that you were moaning along with him, one of your hands moving to play with and tug at the hair at the nape of his neck which only turned him on more.

“Fuck,” he panted, laughing softly and leaning down to kiss you.

“I know.” You pressed a few kisses to his lips as you enjoyed being full and he enjoyed something so tight hugging around him, then you bucked your hips. “Move for me. Please, Santi.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice.” He pulled his hips back and then thrust forward again, doing that a few times as you moaned your approval before he found a rhythm that allowed him to rock into you smoothly.

Your legs tightened around his hips as he fucked into you, and you moved your hands so your fingers ran through his curls, ruffling them up a bit when you tugged on them.

This only made him groan and move even faster into you, the springs in the bed started to creak a bit the harder he fucked you.

He was grunting and panting and you were practically mewling each time he’d fuck against your G spot, but one of your hands slid down between your legs to touch yourself.

“Hell no.” He growled, shoving your hand away to replace it with his own so you wouldn’t have to pleasure yourself, rubbing circles on your clit.

Now as Santi was practically pounding into you and offering your clit the stimulation that you needed, your moans were growing into loud cries of ecstasy, your hands moving to press your nails into his shoulders.

Santi only moved his hips harder and faster as he sought out his own orgasm, grunting and groaning with every thrust back into your wet, tight pussy.

You knew that you were going to come by the way your clit tingled and your cunt fluttered around his cock and you could tell that he knew too as he moaned, his fingers keeping their movements on your clit consistent so he could push you into your climax.

You clenched down tight around him before your walls started pulsating on his cock and you screamed out, “Frankie!”

His hips stuttered and he stared down at you for a brief moment, but he didn’t want to embarrass you by making it awkward, and he knew he was just so you could forget about Frankie anyway, and he was so close to coming that he didn’t really care.

He continued thrusting into you as he lost a bit of that rhythm, pushing himself as far inside you as he could go as he came with a loud groan.

The only sound was your panting as he collapsed on top of you and nuzzled against your neck.

You tapped on his arm and he rolled off you, watching as you slid out of bed, redressing like his cum wasn’t still dripping out of you.

“Thanks, Santi. That was...really great,” you said as you pulled your panties on, then you walked over to the door where you put your dress on and stepped into your shoes before you paused, looking over your shoulder. “I’m sorry about the—”

“It’s fine.” He quickly waved off your apology for saying Frankie’s name, but it was still a little awkward, so he moved out of bed to redress himself.

He looked up when he heard the door open and shut, not certain what emotion it was that made him almost sad at how quick and detached that was; maybe the same emotion that made him look at Frankie and his wife with jealousy even though it was thanks to his bouncing from woman to woman that kept him from finding that happiness.

Not that it mattered, really, because he knew this was just a quick fuck and that you had eyes for somebody else, and he couldn’t really say he’d ever thought of you beyond friendship and sex. It wasn’t the fact that it was you that was making him sad, just the fact that this was all he was ever going to be.

You walked away from the hotel room with tears falling down your cheeks because you would never be with Frankie, and you might’ve forgotten about him for a few minutes, but you still said his name as you were having sex with another man.

You enjoyed yourself and you knew being distracted by Santi was only going to make you forget about longing for Frankie for those few minutes, and now you were right back to wanting him as much as you did before. Santi was just a moment of solace. Nothing more than that.

[your-eternal-muse]

Half As Pretty

Heather Series Part 5

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

The Song Mentioned in the chapter, Poison and Wine by The Civil Wars aka, the song that made me sob because it was too perfect for this damn fic. I recommend listening to it while you read the part its mentioned in.

Summery: Reader is experiencing her own personal hell, but one midnight confession sets everything ablaze.

Words: 3.4k I told y’all it’d be longer.

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of nicotine addiction, the beginning of an alcohol addiction, suicidal thoughts, slight manipulation from one Derek Morgan, and just a whole lotta hurt.

Paring: Spencer Reid x Heather Charmical, eventual (I promise) Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

A/N: Okay.....I’m finna be real honest.....I was listening to my music on shuffle when Poison and Wine came on, and I started crying while typing, and than I re-listened to it while typing this up and proceeded to cry again. It took me about 3 minutes of psyching myself up to write ONE sentence near the end of it because I knew there was no going back once I wrote it. This was so hard to write in the most beautiful way possible, and I really hope you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Shout out to @toosassy2handle​ for the recommendation of Heather's last name. It’s long and annoying and just reminds me of a stuck up bitch so its perfect.

~~~~~~

I used to love weddings.

They were always so well put together.

I’d always admire the pretty bride, the dress, everything.

I dreamed of having one of my own one day. And when I met Spencer, those daydreams changed so that I was walking down the aisle towards him instead of someone whose face I could never quite focus on.

But that’s all I’m ever going to have. Daydreams.

Because here I sit, all dolled up next to his mother, at none other than Spencer Reid’s wedding.

It’s obvious Heather did most of the planning.

I don’t take him as a ‘dusty rose’ type of person.

I stare at the soft colors and delicate flowers, and fire burns deep within me.

I want to burn this place to the ground.

I can’t, though.

I’m supportive.

I’m happy for Spencer.

I’m happy that he’s happy.

I’m happy.

I’m happy.

I’m happy.

I look down at my hands, playing with the hem of my burgundy party dress.

I don’t think I’ve been this dressed up since….

I think I threw that dress away when I got home that night.

I don’t remember much of that night after coming back to the table.

I’m positive I drank at least half the champagne they had.

Derek had to carry me home.

“My son didn’t plan any of this.”

I look over, and see Diana scowling at the decor. 

I can’t help but let a small smile spread across my face.

At least she agrees with me.

I lean in closer to her, so our words can only be heard by us.

“I completely agree. He’s more of a ‘dark academia’ kind of guy.”

She smiles at me, reaching her hand over, and patting my leg. “You know when he told me he was getting married, I thought it was going to be to you.”

My heart stops. “Y-You did?”

She nods, looking around the room like she hadn’t just said something that made my world stop spinning. “I didn’t meet Heather until a week after he told me. That’s when I learned that they were dating in the first place. I can’t say I wasn’t disappointed.”

I bring a hand up to my mouth, covering the smile and laugh threatening to spill.

“But she makes him happy. Anyone can see that.”

The smile falls, and the laugh dies.

“Though, he did bring you to meet me not too long after meeting you himself.”

I nod, remembering the trip. “It had been a month. I had known him for a month, and he really wanted me to meet you. I was so nervous. I really wanted you to like me.”

Her smile is big, and her hand finds one laying in my lap, squeezing it.

“I liked you the minute he told me about you.”

I loved Diana.

I will always love Diana.

I open my mouth to say something, but someone a few rows back says ‘Here comes the groom.’

I turn my head, and low and behold, there he is, walking with the biggest smile on his face towards the front. He stands, with his hands clasped in front of him, as he waits like the rest of us.

He looks stunning, in a simple black and white tux.

His eyes meet mine, and I smile at him.

He winks back at me.

The moment doesn’t last long before a song starts, and a hush falls over the crowd.

Slowly, one by one, bridesmaids and groomsmen make their way down the aisle. 

Derek is the best man, and he pats Spencer's shoulder as he takes his position behind him.

And then the music shifts, and while she starts to walk, something dawns on me.

I will never be as pretty as she is.

She’s breathtaking.

She’s practically glowing in the white satin ballgown, a bouquet of roses clutched in her hands.

She’s looking around at the crowd, smiling and nodding and it’s only when she’s halfway down the aisle that she meets his eyes.

I look at him, and I don’t think there are any words that can explain the look of pure joy written across his face.

JJ, who is sitting beside me, reaches over and grabs my free hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.

She reaches the front, and all eyes are trained on her, but I can’t tear mine away from him.

He holds her hand so delicately, and I can see him fighting back tears.

I don’t even notice when vows are said and rings are exchanged. I only notice when I see JJ look at me from the corner of her eye as the officiant says “If anyone has any objection to the marriage of these two people, speak now, or forever hold your peace.”

For a moment, I think about it.

“Me! I do!”

The crowd gasps as I make my way towards the front.

“I do. I object.”

His eyes are wide and she looks furious.

“Why do you object?” The officiant says, startled.

“Because I love you.” I’m looking directly at him.

“I love you, Spencer.”

No.

No, I can’t.

I’d lose everything.

You’d be a selfish bitch is what you would be.

“Then do you, Heather Charmical, take Spencer Reid to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.”

Tears are lipping out of my eyes, though my eyes are not the only wet ones in the room.

I can blame it on the emotions. I wouldn’t be technically lying.

“And do you, Spencer Reid, take Heather Charmical, to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Please say no.

“I do.”

I don’t have a heart anymore.

This just confirmed it.

“Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

He takes her face between her hands, and places his lips on hers in a passionate kiss.

That’s it.

They’re married.

People clap and cheer, and they lock hands, walking back down the aisle, now together by law.

I want to puke.

People start to get up, and I suddenly can’t breath.

My chest rises and falls, and I shoot a glance at JJ, before making my way through the crowd as respectively as possible to leave the room as quickly as I can.

I look down to my bag once I make my way into the vast hallway, digging and searching for my cigarettes when I ram into someone, dropping my purse, and spilling the contents over the smooth tile floor.

“Fuck.”

“Hey hey hey, what’s the rush baby girl?”

I look up to see Derek, kneeling down to help me pick up my stuff.

“I just, I just um,”

Breath, y/n, just fucking breath.

“I just really need to find a bathroom. I shouldn’t have drank all that tea before coming here.”

I shove things back into my purse, not even really looking, before standing back up.

“I’ll find you and Pen in a bit. Promise.” 

I don’t wait for him to answer, turning and walking away before he gets a chance to speak.

I’ll find a bathroom eventually.

~~~~

When is an appropriate time to leave the wedding of your best friend, whom you're secretly in love with, without seeming rude?

Because I need to leave.

I’m afraid of what I’ll do if I don’t.

My right leg is crossed over my left, shaking with every anxious heartbeat.

People have plates full of food, and are mingling with drinks from the open bar, another thing that I know for a fact Spencer had nothing to do with.

I’ve barely touched the food on my plate, my appetite gone, at least not for anything other than the fruity little cocktails that keep appearing in front of me.

I’m about to get up and find someone, probably JJ, that I got sick in the ladies room, and to tell Spencer I’m sorry, when he walks up to where I’m seated, his hand outstretched for me.

“Come dance with me.”

The liquor in my system makes me giggle.

“I thought you didn’t like dancing?”

“I’ll make an exception for my favorite girl.”

Don’t let Heather hear you say that.

I place my hand in his, and let him lead me to the dance floor, where he spins me, before bringing me in close to him, resting a hand on my hip, and grasping my left hand with his other.

My hand not in his rests comfortably on his upper arm, and we sway, back and forth to the soft music.

My heart is pounding in my chest, and I’m positive he can feel every heartbeat through the layers of our clothing. 

The lights are soft, and the music is gentle. If I close my eyes, and don’t think about it, I can imagine that this is our first dance, at our wedding that will never happen.

“Thank you, for coming y/n.”

My eyes open, and I can’t hide from him anymore. His eyes don’t falter from my own, and his smile is small.

“Of course I’d come. Why wouldn’t you think I would?”

“I don’t know. You’ve seemed off these past couple months. I didn’t know if you’d be up for it.”

Shit shit shit.

I laugh off my panic. “Spence, I could be bleeding out on my apartment floor, and I would still make it here. You mean everything to me. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

He grimaces at the thought of me dying, but the words that follow erase the worry on his face. “You’d tell me if something was wrong right? Everything’s okay?”

I smile at him, placing my head against his shoulder so I don’t have to look him in the eye when I lie. “Everything is fine. I’m okay. I promise.”

You’ve gotten way too good at lying to him. What’s gonna happen when he finds out? About your secret? About how it's getting harder and harder for you to get out of bed in the morning because it’s just not worth it anymore? Or about your depleting alcohol cabinet, since every night you seem to think drowning out your sorrows will make it easier to sleep?

He rests his chin on my head and we just sway back and forth to the music. 

His fingers start gently playing with my own, and I hear him softly singing to himself as we dance.

“Oh, your hands can heal, your hands can bruise.” His hand moves from my hip to my lower back, holding me there against him as he continues to sing. 

“I don’t have a choice, but I still choose you.”

I move my face farther into his shoulder, like I could disappear if I wanted to. This feels too intimate, feels too wrong. I should step away and congratulate him, tell him to go find his wife for god's sake, and leave with my dignity still intact. 

But I don’t want to. I’ve dreamed of him holding me like this, and the words he’s whispering I know are for only me to hear.

“Oh I don’t love you, but I always will. I don’t love you, but I always will.”

Whoever the dj is, deserves a raise, because while this song is totally not for a wedding, it’s perfect for this moment.

“I always will. I always will.”

The song ends, and we stand, still together, for a second longer than we probably should. 

“I’m sorry to break you two up, but I was wondering if I could convince my son to dance with his mother.” 

Diana’s voice is soft, and I smile against his shoulder before moving back, removing myself from him. 

His eyes are wet.

“Of course, Diana. He’s all yours.” 

She turns to me before I walk away, pushing stray hairs out of my face, fixing my necklaces and smoothing out my dress. “Heather looked like she was about to burst into flames. I thought I’d save you from a public sacrifice.”

Fuck.

“Thank you, Diana.” 

She kisses my forehead before turning back to Spencer, and I use the time to walk back over to my table, grab my purse and make my way out of the room. 

I find a balcony of sorts, and the cool December air cools my skin. 

I once again dig through my purse to find my cigarettes, pulling out the pack once I do. When I open it, however, I find it empty. 

I smoked my last one and didn’t even realize it.

“Damnit!” I crush it in my hands, before placing it back in my purse.

The sun is setting, and I can see my breath.

I walk forward to the stone railing, looking out over the small park below the building. The stone is rough beneath my palms, and dark spots appear as I cry for the second time today.

I don’t have a choice, but I still choose you.

He couldn’t have meant it the way I’m thinking he meant it. He was just singing along to a song he’s probably heard thousands of times the past couple months.

But it’s too perfect not to. 

Is it possible? Did he love me? If he did, does he still love me?

“Aren’t you cold, sweetheart?” Derek’s voice startles me, and I jump a little. 

“Uh, no. It feels nice. It was getting a little stuffy in there so I thought I would come get some air.” 

He hums, and walks up to stand beside me, his hands in his pockets. 

“You know, when you dropped your purse earlier, an envelope fell out.” 

My eyes widen.

“It didn’t have anything written on it, so I just assumed it was for Spencer and Heather and put it with the others. You seemed like you had other things on your mind so I thought I’d help.”

No no no no no no no no this isn’t happening. This isn’t real, he didn’t just give my love confession to the now married man it’s about and his wife. Oh my god, I’m gonna die.

“Y-You what?! No no no, that wasn’t meant for them. No no no. Holy shit.” I start pacing back and forth, combing my hands through what little of my hair was down.  

“I need to go get it. He’ll understand. It’s just a big mix up. He can’t have that envelope.”

I turn ready to run back into that room and make a scene when Derek speaks from behind me.

“You mean this envelope?” I turn and there he stands, holding it in his hand. 

My stomach rises from my feet. “Jesus fucking christ, Morgan. That’s not fucking funny.” I walk forward to grab it, but he’s taller than I am, and raises it out of my reach. “I never said it was.”

“Give it back, Derek.” Even in heels I can’t quite reach his hand.

“I will, once you tell me what's in it that gets you so worked up at the thought of Spencer having it.”

I don’t meet his eye as I reach for it again. “It’s nothing. It’s none of your business.”

“Baby girl, I see the way you look at him.” He grabs my wrist with his free hand, lowers himself so he can look at me straight on. “And that dance that you two just had? That’s not nothing and you know it.”

My lip trembles and I remove my arm from his grasp, walking back to the railing. 

If you jump, this could all end. You wouldn’t have to explain anything. It's a perfect cop out.

I pinch the bridge of my nose, my voice shuddery when I talk. “You have to promise not to tell anyone. Not even Penelope. And especially not Spencer.”

He stands close by my side, his eyes on my face as I stare out over the park. “I promise.”

Is this what having a heart attack feels like? 

I take a short breath in, it's all I can muster, and speak. 

“It’s a confession. I’m horrible with words, so I wrote it down to give it to him.”

“What were you confessing?” 

Tears resume to fall down my face, and I pinch at my cuticles. “That I’m in love with him.”

I feel Derek shift to look down at the railing, the envelope placed in between us.

“I confessed that I’m in love with him. That I have been since the moment I met him. I know how horrible it is, I know but I couldn’t keep it in any longer. Even if he never finds out, I needed to put it out there that I love him.”

“You’re in love with me?”

I choke on my breath, and my nails dig into the stone.

No. Please no. Please tell me this is all just a nightmare, and I’ll wake up this morning and it’ll have never happened.

My body is frozen, but I manage to turn to see him standing in the doorway, a look of pure shock written across his face.

He looks like I just slapped him.

“Spencer, oh my god.” It’s nothing more than a whisper, but it feels like a scream ripping from my chest.

“Y-You’re in love with me? When-, I-,” he runs his hands through his hair, and takes a step forward. 

I'm sobbing, and I can’t stop. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was never supposed to happen. “Spencer, I-I’m sorry. I didn’t plan on you finding out like this.”

“When were you going to tell me?” His voice cracks, and I realize then that he’s not angry. He’s hurt.

I have to be honest with him now. I can’t lie to him. It’s over. The ruse is over. 

I’m finished.

My fists clench and unclench as I try my best to keep my emotions under control.

“I was going to tell you the day you introduced me to Heather.”

His eyes flicker to the envelope resting on the railing, and they gloss over for a second as he remembers that day.

“You told me-”

“I lied. I lied and said it was for my mom, but it wasn’t.” I cross my arms in front of me, a chill settling itself on my skin.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

I wish his voice would get louder. I wish he would scream at me. I deserve to be screamed at.

“You were dating someone, Spencer. You had been dating someone, and you had just introduced me to her. What would you have wanted me to do?”

“Not lie to me!” There we go. Get angry. Hate me.

“Why? What would you have done!? What would have happened if I didn’t care about your relationship with her and just given it to you?”

It’s getting darker, and the light pouring outside from the building is the only one to see by, so I can’t really make out his face.

“I don’t know! I have no idea of knowing, but I do know that I wish you wouldn’t have lied to me. You’ve been hiding from me, Y/N. Please stop hiding from me. I can help you.”

I roll my eyes, my vision going blurry from the tears. “No you can’t Spencer. You’re married. Did you forget that?”

He’s quiet, and I can see Derek shift his gaze from between us, not really knowing what to do. 

His voice is substantially softer when he speaks next. 

“Give me the letter.”

I choke back the noisy sobs. “No.”

He repeats himself, holding out his hand.

“Please, give me the letter.”

“Why?” I’m exhausted. Can’t this conversation just end?

“Because I need to know that you loved me like I loved you.”

Loved?

He just told you to your face, that while he may have loved you once upon a time, he doesn’t anymore. He doesn’t love you anymore. He doesn’t love you.

I can’t fight this anymore.

“Please don’t hide from me anymore.” He pleads, and I can feel myself beginning to go numb. Whether it’s from the cold, or my mind starting to shut down, I have no idea. 

I grab the envelope from where it sits, walking forward and handing it to him. 

He brings it to his jacket, tucking it safe inside one of the pockets. 

“I’ll call you. Okay? And we can talk this out.”

There’s no talking this out, Spencer. What’s done is done.

He looks between me and Derek, and without another word, he walks back into the building, shoulders tense, and head down.

This is it. This is the end of the line. Nothing will be the same.

“Y/n….”

I don’t respond. I just turn, grabbing my purse and walking down the stairway the leads to the park from the balcony. 

My tears leave hot streaks against my cold skin. 

A snowflake lands on my nose.

~~~

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[waywardnerd67]

Be Mine

Title: Be Mine Summary: All of (Y/N)’s friends were getting married while she was traveling the country killing monsters. As all the invitations flood her P.O. Box, she decides to ask her hunting partner for a huge favor. Paring: Dean x Reader Word Count: 2607 Rating: E - Everyone Warnings: Fluff/Slight Angst Square Filled: Fake Dating Bingo Card: @spndeanbingo​ A/N: None

Check Out: SPN Dean Bingo Masterlist

You are cordially invited to…

Lauren and Michael, Renee and Michelle, Allie and Caleb, Theo and James

“Fuck. My. Life.” (Y/N) whispered opened the fourth wedding invitation for the year.

She was at the point in her life that all of her friends were settling down with significant others while she was fighting the things nightmares were made of. Taking out the R.S.V.P. card, she stared down at the million dollar question she had been thinking about for weeks.

____ Yes I will be attending with a guest. Guest’s Name: ____________________

She could not remember the last date she had been on since most of the men she met she left sleeping in their beds in the morning. The life of a hunter was not one where you could have real attachments to anyone. Which is why being partners with the Winchesters worked perfectly for her. They had the same beliefs about hunting, except for Sam who had found a hunter to fall in love with. Most times, (Y/N) was happy with how her life was but right now is when she missed having someone to be with.

“Hey, you ready?” Dean called into the Mailbox Store.

(Y/N) gathered the rest of her mail sighing, “Yeah.”

They were driving back to the Bunker after another dead end of finding Chuck. They had dropped Sam off halfway on their trip home for him to meet up with Eileen. (Y/N) sat in the passenger seat, re-reading the latest invitation.

She heard Dean chuckle, “Another invite? Jeez, how many is that now?”

“Four. Four weddings to go to all within a month of one another. That is four different dresses. Four lousy dinners. Four different tables in which I know nobody and can’t talk about what I really do for a living.”

“Four open bars.” Dean smiled, finding the only positive in the whole thing.

“True and hopefully four chances to find a hot guy to get laid.” She smirked, glancing over to see Dean’s hands grip the steering wheel until his knuckles were white.

She shrugged it off deciding to go through the rest of her mail. Once they were back in the Bunker, Dean walked off towards his Dean Cave while (Y/N) decided to do some much needed laundry. Sitting in the library, she pulled her phone sending a text to her friend.

“Got your invite! Can’t wait to celebrate with you!”

The response was immediate as her phone rang, “Girl, it will be the party of the year! Please tell me you’re bringing a date.”

(Y/N) rolled her eyes, “I thought weddings were the place to get drunk and find your true love?” Her phone started to ring.

“(Y/N), you haven’t RSVP with a date to any of the weddings. You. Need. A. Date.”

“Theo, you know me and dating have been on the outs for a long time. I’m a love ‘em and leave ‘em before they wake up kind of girl.”

He laughed, “Where that has its benefits, aren’t you lonely? Traveling around all by yourself and no one to come home too.”

“I love my life babe and I wouldn’t change it for anything. Now, tell me all about the suit you chose because I know it has to be to die for.”

She knew exactly how to get Theo off topic and spent the next thirty minutes listening about all his wedding plans. As she was changing out her laundry, she found one of Dean’s flannels in her bag. It was by far her favorite one he wore with the red and black buffalo pattern. Bringing it up to her nose, it smelled just like the leather of the Impala and fading scent of Dean’s natural musk. The mixture made her head spin slightly as she walked off with it to her room.

(Y/N) had been with the Winchester for nearly five years after a werewolf had killed her husband and she was on a revenge path. They had helped her kill off the pact of female werewolves killing men in her hometown. After learning about monsters being real, she knew that hunting them was where she was meant to be. Sam had been more accepting than Dean at first, but once she saved him from being a Djinn’s juice box. She proved how serious she was about being a hunter.

Of course, she was not immune to the Winchester charm and feelings for the elder brother developed quickly. (Y/N) pushed all feelings deep down and only when she drank alone did they sprout up momentarily. She was surprised that she found her mind wandering to thoughts of what Dean would be like at weddings. She imagined him in one one of his nice FBI suits charming all the bridesmaids and drinking whiskey all night long. The thought of him being her plus one made her stomach buzz and heart race. Quickly, she pushed those thoughts aside reminding herself that he did not have attachments and nor did she.

Over the next three months, (Y/N) attended three out of the four weddings. She came walking in fairly early from wedding reception number three. Dean and Sam were sitting at the map table with a few lore books opened.

Dean let out a cat call, “Hey sexy, you’re home early.”

“Yeah, just didn’t feel like staying plus the bar was only free until a certain time and no single men to take advantage of.” (Y/N) hopped up on the table crossing her legs in between the two men.

From the corner of her eye, she watched as Dean’s piercing forest eyes traveled the length of her body and then sucked his bottom lip between his teeth. An all too familiar ache hit her hard as he averted his eyes from her.

Sam cleared his throat as he stood up, “I think I’m going to get a few more books. You do look beautiful, (Y/N).” he leaned down kissing her cheek.

“Thanks Sam.”

She hopped down kicking off her shoes, “Well I’m going to wash off all the girly crap and relax in my room.”

“O-Okay, if you… uh feel like watching a movie later I’ll be in the Dean Cave.” He stammered watching her every move.

She nodded walking off to her room. After a shower and putting on comfy clothes, she decided that a movie with Dean would be nice. She did not want to be alone after watching all the happy couples at the wedding. Sure enough, Dean was in one of the recliners watching her favorite horror movie. One thing she loved about Dean was no words were needed with him. There was never an uncomfortable silence between them.

Even though it was her favorite movie, her eyes kept going over to him. His long body stretched out covered in gray sweatpants and a black hoodie. She found her body urging her to go over and snuggle with him. Her heart beat encouraging the same thing to go be with him. Her mind screaming to stay far away and protect herself from heartache.

Then her mouth opened asking a question burning on the tip of her tongue, “Hey Dean, do you think next weekend you would come with me to my friend’s wedding?”

He looked stunned for a moment then smiled, “Absolutely.”

Her heart leaped and she hid her face with her hair as it burned hot with happiness. The wide smile he had on his face was mirrored by her own spreading across hers. Over the next week, she tried to distract herself from the upcoming evening she would be spending with Dean. Saturday, she had hardly seen him at all as she spent most of the day getting herself ready. She tried hard to push away any expectations or hopes as to what could happen, but something felt incredibly right about going with Dean.

Slipping on her one shoulder white dress and the last touches of make-up, she walked out to the library. A small gasp escaped her lips as she walked in to see Dean standing by the stairs talking with Sam and Eileen. His lean body was dressed in a fitted black tux. The jacket fitted snug over his broad shoulders and biceps. His hair was over to one side and as he turned his bright olive eyes connected with hers.

There was a tense moment of silence before Sam elbowed him, “You look gorgeous (Y/N). Right Dean?”

He nodded as his eyes trailed down her body, “You’re beautiful.”

The words were barely above a whisper floating into her ears making them burn, “Thank you.”

She continued her path towards Dean as Sam stepped away saying goodbye. He swallowed hard, gently brushing a rogue strand of hair came loose.

“Come on sweetheart, let’s go get drunk and dance the night away.”

The wedding was beautiful as Theo and his husband recited their vows and sealed the ceremony with a kiss. The reception kicked off as waiters came around handing out champagne. She watched in amazement as Dean charmed and dazzled every person he spoke to. Theo caught up to her at the bar as she was watching him talk to a group of Theo’s co-workers.

“Girl, where have you been hiding Mr. Hottie? Good god!”

She started laughing, “I didn’t want you stealing him away from me.”

He rolled his eyes at her, “As if I could, he hasn’t taken those dreamy emeralds off of you all night. Now, tell me the truth… how is he in the sack?”

She averted her eyes to the floor as her silence answered his question.

“Hold on, back it up a moment,” He placed both hands on her shoulders as she took a sip of her whiskey, “You’re telling me that you have not fallen to your knees and climbed that man like the mighty, thick, hard tree he is?”

(Y/N) nearly spatted her drink out, “Theo! No, believe it or not I have some self-control and I really don’t know what this is. We work together and I don’t want it to get weird if this dating thing doesn’t work. He may not be into me that way.”

His eyes looked over to Dean and she followed his gaze finding his piercing eyes staring right at them, “Oh honey you blind as a bat. That man wants to ravage your body and tonight is as good a night as any for him to take you to church”

“You’re terrible. Get your damn drink and find your husband. Leave my love life alone.” She rolled her eyes as he held his hand up to the bartender.

“Baby, someone has to invest in your love life since you won’t,” He grabbed his drink then kissed her cheek, “You look gorgeous and I love you. Now, go over there, drag tall and handsome into a closet and suck him up like a vacuum.”

Theo walked away as her jaw hit the floor. Dean walked over with his eyebrow perfectly arched in curiosity, “Everything okay?”

“Y-Yeah… yeah, just my dear friend…” she downed her drink, “spitting truth at me as usual.”

He chuckled then held out his hand to her, “Care to dance?”

The slow, sensual love song began to fill the room as Dean led her onto the dance floor. Slipping his hand over her hip pulling her against him and clutching her other hand within his. His cheek rested against her temple as they began to sway back on and forth. For the first time since losing her husband, she found herself completely relaxed. His body was firm and strong caging her in with a sense of security. The few days stubble tickling her skin as he lowered his head slightly. Then his beautiful, husky voice flowed into her ears.

Darling, so it goes Some things are meant to be Take my hand Take my whole life too For I can't help falling in love with you

The lyrics were like an arrow piercing her heart. He looked down at her searching her wide eyes before they drifted to her lips. His tongue darted out over his lips as they slowly descended towards hers. Suddenly, the song switched to heavy bass and quick pace as bodies began dancing around them.

“I have to go.”

She stepped out of his arms threading through groups of people until she found the doors leading outside. The cool night air hit her burning face as she ran out into it. Her chest heaving as she desperately tried to catch her breath. Small gasps of hot air turning into puffs of mists as her chest ached from gulps of air filling her lungs.

“(Y/N)?”

She flinched hearing Dean behind her, “I-I’m fine. I just needed some fresh air.”

A blanket of warmth covered her shoulders as he placed his jacket over them, “What did I do wrong?”

She turned around hearing the defeat in his voice. His eyes downcast and shoulders slumped forward with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He looked like a child who was just scolded for breaking something.

“Dean, you did nothing wrong. You’ve been perfect this whole night. Everyone, including Theo, thinks we’re this happy couple madly in love,” she paused as he looked up smirking, “but we’re not. We’re partners who hunt monsters together and kind of friends.”

Dean took a few steps closer to her, “Kind of friends? Other than Sam and Cas, you’re the only other person I trust completely in this world. Said that is a bit more than kind of friends.”

Rather it was the whiskey and champagne flowing through her or pure desperation she found the feelings she had long buried bursting from her lips.

“That’s all we’ll ever be. Just friends. Just partners. Forever stuck watching you sleep with woman after woman and me being sickeningly jealous of them for catching your eye. I know you don’t see me that way and I get it if it’s weird knowing that I have feelings for you. Feelings that I have bottled up and buried deep that I’m just word vomiting all over you. Oh god…”

(Y/N) turned away from him as tears slipped down her cheeks. Her heart splitting in two as the truth slipped out into the world for all to know. Hanging her head in shame from even allowing the hope from this evening to breach her defensive wall. Agony and guilt and shame weighing her shoulders down and making it hard to breath once again.

His large hands gently grasped her shoulders, turning her around slowly. His hands gliding up to her face just as his lips firmly pressed against hers. They were warm and surprisingly soft and all too tempting to keep falling down the rabbit hole he was creating.

Pulling away, “Dean…”

“Shut up and be mine.”

“W-What?” She stammered not believing what she was hearing, “What did you just say?”

Dean flashed his famous charming smile that she had seen many women and men fall for right at her. Her heart pounding against her chest and knees trembling.

“I said, shut up and be mine. Haven’t you noticed that I haven’t been with anyone in almost a year. Ever since that damn haunting in Iowa City when you almost died. The thought of losing you tore me apart. If Cas hadn’t been there to save you then I don’t know…”

She pulled his lips to hers silencing him before whispering against them, “Shut up and be mine.”

“I’m all yours beautiful, I’m all yours.”

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For updates please follow #waywardnerd67fics

[tinyboxxtink]

"Doppelganger" *Part 25* !!Finale!!

Okay I know this took two days but remember when I said I was NOT going to make another chapter? Well I had to just fit multiple chapters into this last one. Because dammit it will STOP HERE.

Except for the epilogue.

So here it is, I hope the anticipation and the hype doesn't ruin it for you, I did my best!

Also thank you so much for coming on this ride with me, it's been the longest one yet! I'm going to miss Pinguino and Raffi, but they'll be fine.

Part 24

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

It was finally the night before your wedding day. The day you had been waiting for since you had first kissed Rafael, if you were being totally honest. You were staying at Chloe’s due to the whole traditional “not seeing each other” before the wedding; it was the first night you had spent away from Rafael since the whole “Nevada” debacle. You wanted to prove to him and yourself that you could spend one night without him cuddling you like a toddler afraid to sleep in their own bed. But the more you drank during your “last girl’s night” the more the demons came out for you. Before you knew it you were hiding in your old bathroom dialing Rafael’s number.

“Baby aren’t you--” He started to ask you but you cut him off.

“Do you still want to marry me?”

“Ay dios,” You heard him chuckle. “Si, mi amor,”

“¿Estás seguro?” You asked worriedly.

“Yes carino,” He said very seriously. “I am very very sure,”

“...Okay,” You said in a small voice.

“Now go have fun and tell Chloe not to let you drink anymore, comprende?”

“Si,” You rolled your eyes. As you came out of the bathroom, you were greeted by Maria who was now in your former living room...for some reason.

“Hey babe, so Maria came by for--”

“I came by to ask you a favor, mija,” Maria cut Chloe off.

“Oh um--” You tried to act more sober around the only mother figure you’d really been around since forever. “Yeah sure! What’s up?”

“Well, I know we haven’t known each other that long, but Raffi is basically my son, so I consider you like a daughter,” She smiled sweetly at you, and you were suddenly aware that she was carrying a box with her.

“Oh, well that’s very sweet of you Maria,” You tried your best not to look uncomfortable.

“My husband Felipe and I,” She explained as she opened the box. “We were never able to conceive children ourselves,” She pulled out a very ancient looking, very detailed veil from the box.

“This veil has been worn by many generations in my family, and if I can’t pass it onto my own daughter, it would be my honor to give it to you to wear tomorrow,”

“Oh, Maria,” You did your best to hide your disgust for the veil, looking at her teary eyed smile. You glanced over her head and caught Chloe’s gaze; she was making a face that mimicked how you felt. It was like one of those fruit hats women wore in movies or commercials, only white and frilly. But what could you do?

“I’d be honored to wear it,” You nodded sweetly. Maria threw her arms around you with a tearful cry of joy. Behind her Chloe waved her arms wildly like “what the hell are you doing?!”. You could just shrug like “what else am I supposed to do?!”

“Bless you, hermosa,” She kissed you on the cheek as she stood up to leave. “Now I’ll leave you ladies to your fun,” She smiled and waved as she walked out the door.

“...What the hell?” Chloe couldn’t help but erupt in giggles as she properly examined the monstrosity.

“Shut up,” You tossed a pillow at her. “What was I supposed to do?! She was asking me to carry on her family name, or something,” You looked at the door where she had left; although you were still pretty drunk so you half remembered the conversation.

“Well if Rafael marries you while you wear this, you know it’s true love,” She snickered as she put it on you and turned you towards a mirror above your key ring holder.

“Oh God…” You threw your hands over your face and fell onto the couch face forward.

“Hey hey hey, don’t wrinkle it!” Chloe continued to tease and giggle. “That thing probably came over in some old Cuban woman’s raft,”

“I hate you,” You muttered through the cushions.

“You’ll hate me more if I don’t get you in bed right now,” Chloe shook her head with a laugh and a bottle of water. “But first, drink this. We don’t want you hungover on your big day,”

“Thanks mom,” You took the water and headed to your room, leaving the veil on the couch.

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

The next day Chloe woke you up by jumping up and down on your bed yelling “IT’S YOUR WEDDING DAY!!!”

“...Jesus Christ Chloe,” You grumbled. “It’s too early for this,”

“Too early?” She scoffed, plopping right on your butt making you grunt. “Nonsense. It’s your wedding day!!”

“Which begs the question why you’re so happy about it,” You raised a suspicious eyebrow.

“What? I can't be happy for my best friend to get her happy ending?” She feigned offense.

“....Uh huh”, You continued to give her the look.

“And the fact that my bridesmaid’s dress makes me look like a classy pornstar?” She added.

“....An oxymoron, but go on,” You waited for it.

“....And the fact that every eligible lawyer and cop are gonna be at this wedding?!” She finally exclaimed.

“There it is,” You nodded your head with a roll of your eyes as you threw on some clothes to go downstairs.

------

There was a limo waiting outside Chloe’s apartment for you and her. You hesitated getting in, remembering the last time you were in one of them. Chloe decided she’d do a ‘sweep’ for you. She jumped in and slid down the seats, squealing in delight.

“All clear babe! Check out what the husband left you!”

You cautiously slid in the limo to see Chloe pointing to a mini bar/fridge full of sweet pastries and champagne.

“Good lord,” You shook your head with a smile. “Chloe maybe we--” You were starting to say maybe at least wait until 11 am to start drinking, but she had already popped the champagne.

“Here,” She grabbed orange juice from the mini fridge. “Mimosas, the breakfast drink,”

You just stared at the drink she was trying to hand you; orange liquid in a champagne flute. You closed your eyes and told yourself the mind elixir was bright orange like Fanta, not orange juice. You took a deep breath and slowly accepted the mimosa, sipping it. See? You were fine. Everything was fine.

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

As you pulled up to St. Michael’s you saw it was swarmed with cameras, reporters, and people in general. It looked like a circus. You saw the crowd and silently wished you had said screw tradition and had Rafael there with you. But you were a big girl, and you had Chloe.

“...Can we get out somewhere less...this?” You nervously asked your driver.

“Absolutely ma’am, I’ll find a private entrance. No problem,”

“Thank you,” You sighed in relief.

-----

After driving around the church a few times, the driver finally found a side street blocked off. He informed the copper he had you in the limo, and the cop waved your limo inside. Chloe jumped out of the limo while holding your hand, nearly breaking your arm.

“Oh! Wait! Hey Jeeves, can we get those pastries and mimosa’s in the lady’s bridal suite?”

“Chloe his name is not--”

“It’s fine, ma’am,” The driver chuckled. “I’ll make sure the refreshments are delivered to your dressing room,”

“You’re a doll,” She blew him a kiss before she continued pulling you through the huge building like she knew exactly where you were going.

“Excuse me, where do we go?” Chloe asked a random man in a suit.

“Oh, it’s you Ms. Y/N!” The man pulled out a camera and began snapping photos.

“Oh my god--- What is WRONG with you people?!” Chloe shoved him aside and took you down another corridor. Finally you reached a doorway that was guarded by two armed guards.

“Hi, do you know--”

“Right this way,” One of them took your hand. “Mr. Barba is already inside getting ready,” He nodded to the door as you walked away. You wanted so badly to swing open the door and jump into his arms, but you knew you had to stay calm.

“Great!” You did your best to smile at him as he led you and Chloe down the hall to another doorway. He opened it to reveal a huge room with a vanity, a changing wall, two long body mirrors and a lush couch. Two sinks lined the wall and a room with a toilet was behind it. Yours and Chloe’s dresses were hanging on the changing wall, and sitting on the vanity were your treats from the limo.

“Weee! Look at all of this!!!” Chloe clapped her hands and giggled wildly as she danced around the lavish room.

“I mean, it is nice--”

“Nice? God I wish I was getting married here!” Chloe sighed as she poured herself another mimosa.

“Well, if you ever find a man I’ll look into it,” You teased her.

“Uh I think you mean WHEN,” She pointed out. “And I think the ‘when’ will be by tonight!”

“My wedding reception isn’t a singles mixer, Chloe,” You rolled your eyes.

“Well of course not,” She shook her head. “It’s a BALL!”

“Oh good god,” You groaned with a small laugh as you poured yourself a mimosa and downed it.

“Whoa there killer, let’s slow it down there,” She gave you a look. “Wouldn’t want you stumbling down the aisle in front of a million people,”

“...Do you think you’re helping?” You asked her in an annoyed tone.

“Sorry, sorry,” She apologized as there was a knock at the door. Chloe answered it to see two women carrying makeup cases and hair tools.

“We’re here to get you ready, Ms. Y/L/N,” One of them smiled at you.

“And her maid of honor, right?” Chloe jumped in.

“Uh...if that’s what the bride wants,” The other one looked at you with a wary stare.

“Yeah that’s fine, actually please do her first by all means,” You waved them over to the long sink wall and vanity.

“You’re a good friend,” Chloe put her hands over your face with tears in her eyes as she smiled.

“...You’re ridiculous,” You patted her head sweetly before she sat in the vanity, ready to be made over.

While Chloe was being turned into a princess, you walked over and admired your dress that looked like it was made for one. It was a long, cream white colored sleeveless dress with intricate cubic zirconia diamonds sewn into the bust. It was the simplest dress Chloe had let you pick. Suddenly you remembered the cornucopia veil, it was sitting on the couch in the box Maria had brought it over in. You pulled it out and put it on; when one of the stylists saw it she gasped.

“Oh, ma’am, I don’t know--”

“My...mother, asked me to wear it,” You stopped her.

“Right,” She nodded uncomfortably while Chloe tried not to laugh at the disgusted faces they were clearly trying to hide.

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

After what seemed like hours, you and Chloe were finally done in full make up and up do's. One of the ladies picked up the ancient headwear and tried positioning on your hair as best she could. She took several tries, using hair pins and hairspray before she finally stepped back.

“Lovely,” She smiled as she stepped back to admire her work. You looked in the vanity mirror to see your finished look. The headdress felt like it weighed five pounds, but it was intricately woven into your hair, there was no getting it out now. You longed for the moment Rafael would rip it off your head as soon as you were alone in your honeymoon suite...or, y’know before then.

“Well we’ll see you out there ma’am,” One of them nodded as they gathered their stuff and scooted out the door, leaving you and Chloe alone once again.

“Well,” Chloe examined your head. “At least you won’t lose it…” She was cut off by a knock at the door. You started to open it when you recognized those eyes.

“Rafa!” You slammed the door and yelled through it. “What are you doing? We can’t see each other before the wedding, it’s bad luck,”

“Baby I think we’ve gotten all the bad luck already out of the way,” He called through the door. “And I really, really need to talk to you,”

Your eyes widened in panic as you looked at Chloe, who sprung into best friend mode. “Calm yourself, I’m sure it’s nothing…” She walked over and put her hands on your shoulders.

“Stop freaking her out counselor, are you planning to run? Tell me now so I can get out there and tie you to a chair,”

“What? No! I just-- Y/N please will you open the door, por favor?” He sounded seriously distressed, and he used his secret weapon: speaking in spanish.

You sighed and slowly opened the door, revealing Rafael in a gorgeous black and white tux, and the tallest top hat you’d ever seen.

“Well well well, Mr. Monopoly, don’t you look spiffy?” Chloe snickered, causing you to hit her while Rafael made an even more distressed face.

“I knew it, god it’s awful,” He sighed as he took it off his head and walked inside the room.

“So why are you--?” You started to ask.

“The mayor said it would ‘look better on tv’,” He scoffed in disgust.

“Oh Jesus--” You rolled your eyes. “Baby why didn’t you just tell him--?”

“Because that stupid fucking contract we signed said we would go along with everything he said for the rest of this whole shit show!” He growled at the mess he had gotten himself into. The mayor knew damn well how much more “favors” he would ask of him before he signed that contract, he just knew it.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better…” You pointed to your own head. Rafael’s worried expression turned into a relieved smile as he finally noticed the bird’s nest on your scalp.

“...Maria sprung this on me last night,” You pointed to it. “At least you can take yours off,”

“...Well, that does help a bit,” He half smiled as he examined your ceremonial headdress.

“Is that it mi amor, you’re freaking out over a hat?” You put your hand on his face.

“Well our children are going to see these photos! Videos! Our GRANDKIDS! They’re going to think their grandpa was a huge douche,” He cried overdramatically.

“...Is this what it’s like to be with me? Because I don’t love it,” You teased him.

“I’m serious, Y/N! This isn’t funny!” He gave you a pitiful pout.

“...What else?” You gave him an expectant look.

“What else?”

“All of this over a hat?”

“...Alright fine,” He sighed as he sat down on the lush couch. “I know what I said about all that mattered was me and you standing across from each other but--”

“But?” You gave Chloe a worried look.

“But I also wanted someone else,”

“....Who, Olivia?” You rolled your eyes.

“No!” He exclaimed. “No, my childhood priest, Father Hernandez,”

“Oh,” You said with a relieved sigh. “Well, baby why don’t you just--”

“Because they’re being super particular, stupid Catholics!” He got up and started pacing.

“Apparently THEIR priest Father O’Shannon is ‘assigned’ to this place. God forbid anyone dare replace him,” He grumbled as he continued to pace.

“So you--”

“And it’s just the last straw on top of all of this bullshit, all this bending. I can’t do it!!” He threw up his hands in frustration.

“....Baby, breathe,” You stopped his pacing and pressed your forehead against his, your own personal calming gesture.

“God I guess it is true what they say,” Chloe suddenly spoke up, causing you both to give her a perplexed stare.

“In a couple when one person starts to go off the rails the other one instantly becomes the calm rational one,” She gestured between the two of you.

“Hey, I am NOT--” He protested.

“Baby please,” You shook your head. “I almost forgot how high strung you were until this moment,”

“High strung?” He took offense. “What are you talking about?”

“You forget that I worked for you,” You giggled.

“I’m high strung at work?” He asked. The question caused you to erupt in laughter. “What?! Am I?”

“Oh no sweetie, you’re totally mellow,” You smiled sarcastically.

“How am I--?”

“Think about how much coffee you drink at work, Rafa,”

“I don’t see how that is relevant,” He huffed. He loved his coffee, so what?

“...Mmmkay,” You chuckled, kissing his cheek.

“Well whatever, kettle” He made a pouty face.

“Fair,” You chuckled. “But we’re talking about you right now, pot,”

“Hey, I think I have done more than my share of helping you through your little ‘episodes’, it’s your turn!!!” He crossed his arms like a kid.

“Oh really? ‘Episodes’?” You replied in a snarky tone. Chloe sensed the rising tension and sprung into action.

“Okay! I think that’s enough, Pot. Kettle.” Chloe stepped in between you. “You’re clearly both too high strung for this conversation,”

“He started it,” You stuck your tongue out at Rafael like a five year old.

“Okay now let's not turn on each other, then the terrorist headwear wins,” She pointed to the hat on the vanity and your head.

“....Well do you have a solution, Gandhi?” You raised an eyebrow.

“Actually,” She smiled proudly. “I think I do,” She grabbed her phone and began typing something into google maps.

“You wanna share with the class?” Rafael asked as he gave you a look, like you were supposed to understand her crazy.

“.....Have you seen The Office?” She asked them, then glanced at you with a knowing look. Your face turned into a huge grin as you realized what she was implying.

“Chloe, you’re a genius,” You grabbed her in a hug.

“I know,” She nodded with a cocky smile.

-----

Chloe popped her head out of the door, making sure the coast was clear. When she was sure, she motioned to the two of you out and down the hall towards the back door where you left the limo. You and Rafael got in, and Chloe began to shut the door when you stopped her.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“Someone has to vamp!” She pointed out.

“You're a good friend, Chloe,” You gave her a kiss on her head.

“I know,” She said boastfully. “Just hurry, my bubbly personality can’t hold them off for long,” She slammed the door and you were off.

-----

“...Fucking New York traffic! Estúpido tráfico de mierda,,,” Rafael began muttering under his breath. His childhood church in the Bronx was at least thirty minutes away with the busy Manhattan traffic. You put a hand on his knee to try and soothe him, but he was extra wound up by now. It reminded you of when you were just his assistant; he’d get this way when a trial wasn’t going his way and he felt backed into a corner. The worst days you’d seen him have at the office, where he’d suddenly take off for hours in the middle of the day….

That gave you an idea.

“Baby,” You snapped him out of his internal ranting monologue. He turned to you with a dismayed look.

“I’m sorry, carino,” He apologized, taking your hand that was placed on his knee. “I know I’m--”

“Can priests marry people outside of their church?” You simply asked him.

“....Like a closer church?” He looked at you in confusion.

“.....Actually, I was thinking somewhere closer,” You bit your lip with a smile as you took his phone and typed in an address that linked to the driver’s phone map. He glanced down at it and gave you a huge smile.

“You’re the best,” He gave you a huge kiss as the limo made a U-Turn.

------

Luckily Father Gonzalez used a bike for his transportation, so he was able to make it through traffic pretty easily. He met the two of you outside Central Park pretty soon after you got there.

“I appreciate you doing this for us, Padre,” Rafael hugged the priest tightly. “I didn’t want anyone else marrying us,”

“Claro, Rafael,” He smiled. “Of course! I was hoping St. Michael’s would have a change of heart, pero--”

“You know Catholics,” Rafael rolled his eyes.

“Si,” He nodded. “They’re almost as stubborn as you!” The padre chuckled. Then he noticed you.

“Ay, Rafa,” He gestured at you. “es este su prometido?”

“Si,” You nodded. “Soy su prometida,”

“Ay bien! Ella habla español!” Father Gonzalez smiled brightly. “So are you two ready?”

“Si, Padre,” Rafael nodded. “But first, we need the right backdrop,” He grinned as he took your hand and walked into the park.

----

It was the middle of the day on a Saturday so the park was full of families playing, joggers, street artists and the like. Luckily for you however, nobody seemed to want to see the penguins today. The enclosure was almost empty except for one elderly couple.

“Witnesses!” You beamed at Rafael as you calmly walked up to the two and tapped the woman on the shoulder.

“Excuse me,” You smiled sweetly. “Would you-- my fiancé and I, we’re supposed to get married in this huge chapel down the street from here, but it was just all too much circus so we snuck away so that we could just get married in our favorite spot here and--”

“Baby, too much detail,” Rafael laughed. He loved it when you would ramble on about something when you got excited, but you were on a time crunch.

“...Right,” You blushed. “Anyway is there any way--”

“You’d like us to be witnesses, dear?” The old woman smiled brightly at you.

“Yes, if you wouldn’t mind,” You smiled gratefully.

“Of course not!” The man with her chimed in. “Y’know, back in our day, we had to get married in secret too,”

You suddenly noticed that they were an interracial couple; a white woman and a black man. Your smile faded a bit as you thought of the hardships they must have been through, just to be together, similar to you and Rafael.

“Okay, we’ll do the fast version of this, mijos,” The Padre opened his Bible and began to speak, but looked at the two of you.

“Actually, you know you’re going to do this whole spiel in a little while anyway, why don’t you say your vows in your own words while you can?”

“Oh God,” You muttered, then gasped. “I’m so sorry! I--”

“It’s fine, senorita,” He nodded.

“I just...I’m not great, with the speeches and the speaking in public thing,” You twirled the one piece of hair hanging from your updo in your hand nervously.

“I mean, we’re not exactly in public, amor,” Rafael smirked.

“You know what I mean!” You hit him playfully. “I just...I want it to be perfect,”

“If you speak from your heart dear, it will be perfect,” The old woman assured you. “Just look into his eyes and say whatever it is you’re thinking,”

“....Well, maybe not ‘everything’,” The old man added with a laugh, giving you two a raunchy look. Good lord.

“Okay,” You took a deep breath and took Rafael’s hands, looking into his gorgeous green eyes.

“I...um….” You looked down nervously.

“Hey,” Rafael cupped your chin to look at him. “It’s okay, mi amor. It’s just me, it’s just us. Just like I said,”

“Just us,” You smiled, then began to start again.

“Rafael,” You took a deep breath. “It’s...it’s hard for me to make some big speech because the truth is, when I look into your eyes I forget everything. Every wrong decision, every hurdle we’ve been through, it all just...fades away, when you look at me,” You squeezed his hands tighter.

“You have done so much for me in so little time. People probably think that we’re insane because we’re committing our lives to each other after only really knowing each other for a few months, but the truth is it feels like a lifetime. I feel like I was born loving you, I just didn’t know it until I saw you,” His eyes were starting to water as your voice cracked with your own tears.

“I know that I have put you through so much grief, so much pain and...doubt,” You paused, wiping a few stray tears. “But you have never, not once, abandoned me. You’ve stuck through all of my crazy, all of our shenanigans--”

You glanced over at the old couple who were grinning ear to ear. You didn’t want to get into all the psycho drama you and Rafael had been through in front of total strangers, but he gave you a knowing look when you said ‘shenanigans’. He knew what you meant; because of course he did. You were connected.

“I’m actually really glad that you had your ‘freak out’ because for one it made me look like the sane one for once,” All of you chuckled. “But also, because it got us our chance to get married our way, in our spot,” You gestured to the cave around you.

“I remember the very first time you brought me here, I thought that it was done. We were done. I thought that our one perfect day was going to be just that-- one perfect day,” You began to choke on your words again as you thought back to that very first day, the day you “magicked” him.

“I never in my wildest dreams thought that--'' You glanced at the Padre and the couple again. “That we’d….start, again here,” You exchanged another knowing look.

“And I certainly never thought you’d propose to me in this place-- with a flash mob, no less!” The Padre and couple laughed in surprise, Rafael began to blush profusely, but you put a hand to his red cheek.

“Literally every single beginning we’ve had-- it started right here,” You wiped more stray tears, already knowing the woman back at the church was going to have to re-do all of it.

“And now it’s starting again-- for the rest of our lives,” You sniffled while Rafael wiped more tears from your face and then his own.

“...Okay I’m done,” You took a deep breath in and out as you smiled at Father Hernandez.

“Alright well then Rafa--”

“Oh wait!!!” You suddenly interjected. “Also, I love you,” You make an “eek” face. “I can’t believe I left that out,”

“...I’m pretty sure that whole speech was an ‘I love you,’ dearie,” The old woman patted your back with a reassuring smile.

“I agree,” Rafael nodded. “And to be honest-- I don’t think I can follow that,”

“Oh come on,” You rolled your eyes. “It wasn’t that great,”

“No it wasn’t great,” He shook his head. “It was perfecto,” He took both of your hands in his once more. “...All I can say is, ditto,”

“Ditto?” You laughed. “Real romantic, Rafa,”

“Well I can’t think of anything more than what you’ve already said!” Rafael shrugged with a laugh.

“Well, except this: You say that I’ve put up with you, and never abandoned you, but neither did you,” He pulled you closer towards him.

“You’ve put up with me plenty, and you could have walked away plenty of times. But you stayed with me. You fought for me. And I will spend the rest of our lives trying to be good enough for you, not the other way around,”

“You’re already good enough for me, Rafael,” You bit your lip as you tried your hardest not to kiss him before Padre said you could.

“Can I kiss her yet Padre?” Rafael read your mind.

“Calma, Rafa,” Padre chuckled. “Do you have rings?”

“Shit, the rings!” Rafael groaned. “Sorry, Padre,” He quickly apologized.

“Wait...baby,” You turned around and looked down at all the decorative stones that lined the bottom of the tank. You picked two up and handed one to Rafael.

“Pebbles,” He smiled at you. “Like penguins,”

“Ah, well then…” The Padre shrugged, having no idea what was happening but went along with it anyway. “I guess, exchange the pebbles now?”

You giggled as you placed your pebble in Rafael’s hand, then he placed his in yours.

“Well then, I guess by the power vested in me by God and the state of New York, I now pronounce you man and wife,” He shrugged with a smile. “Now you may kiss her, Rafa,”

“Gracias, Padre,” He grinned before pulling you into a passionate kiss, a kiss rivaling many of the kisses you had exchanged in this cave before now.

“Now, if you three would like to attend a circus, we’d be glad to have you,” You glanced at your three witnesses.

They looked at each other with confused glances, then shrugged and followed you and Rafael back towards the limo.

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

As soon as you pulled back behind the church, the Padre and the couple were shown to seats by one of the security guards while you and Rafael walked back to the bridal suite. Chloe ran up to the both of you before you could make it here, Rafael’s top hat in her hand.

“What the hell, you guys?!” She hissed, then realized you were in a church so she made a sign of the cross and kissed her fist.

“They’re about to start rioting!” She added.

“Sorry, sorry, Chloe,” You kissed her cheek. “You’re a good friend,”

"I want you to realize you've said that three times now,” She smiled proudly. “Be sure to tell all of your sexy eligible lawyer friends that, Rafael,”

“I’ll be sure to slip it in every conversation later, Chloe,” He smirked as he gave her a kiss on the cheek as well.

“Alright now take this magic hat and get down that aisle before the mayor actually kills you,” She shoved the top hat in Rafael’s hands and shooed him through the hall and towards the doors of the sanctuary.

“Alright,” She focused on you. “You ready to do this?”

“I mean…” You gestured to your messed up make up and the veil falling out of your hair.

“Aw crap,” Chloe grimaced. “Ok, well looks like you’re getting the Chloe special,” She went and grabbed her purse from the bridal room and pulled you into the ladies room.

After a few minutes you reemerged with perfect make up and the veil reattached to your hair like a nest. Hey, you just had your perfect ceremony. You could last a few more minutes with this thing.

“Alright, now you’re ready,” She brushed you off and opened the sanctuary doors to signal the piano to start playing the Bridal Suite.

The doors opened and Chloe took your hand as you both walked down the aisle together. The flashing lights and bright red dots from film cameras were starting to overwhelm you as you walked, but you focused on Rafael.

He was at the end of all this erratic tunnel of people gawking at you like a zoo animal. You just breathed in and out and kept your gaze locked into his; his smile was like a bright beacon in the darkness. Finally you reached the altar and he took your hands in his. You felt safe again; you’d always feel safe in his grasp.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…” The priest began to speak, but the only thing the two of you heard were each other, speaking volumes to each other with just your looks. It was just like Rafael had promised: Just you and him.

And it would just be you and him, forever.

[smol-and-grumpy]

Light My Fire - Epilogue

Pairing: CEO!Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: She always thought her boss was an ill-tempered man, but when he presents her with a proposition she can’t quite deny, she gets to know him better. It’s not bad, right? Because all she has to do is being fake married to him for six months, sounds do-able, right? Right.

Warnings: It’s so fluffy it’ll maybe rot your teeth, NSFW

WC: 1801

A/N: So, this is definitely the end of the road. I’m so happy that you’re here with me and read this story to the end. I hope it was a good one for you! Please share your thoughts with me, I’d love to hear your feedback.

Beta’d by @deanwanddamons​​​​​​​​​​​ <3

SERIES MATSTERLIST

BECOME A PATRON ~ BUY ME A COFFEE

She had moved back on the same day, and into his bed that same night. She still kept her room but Dean was okay with that. She mostly sleeps there when he comes home late. Dean would then go in and take her back into his bed. He has perfected his techniques and now she doesn’t even stir when he scoops her up and carries her back into his bed. Their bed. 

It’s true that she kept the room as hers but she had moved all her clothes into his room by the time they annulled their marriage. 

It was never an option for her to stop working for him. But she stayed as his PA and they hired someone else to help with Ruby’s load of work. Their relationship had never been questioned by his staff. Dean thinks that he can count himself lucky for having great and loyal employees. He got his temper under control, too. He only fired one person in the last three months which is a huge improvement.

The marriage with Amara was a piece of cake. After Amara got wind of the existence of the tape, she was quick to agree for the annulment and Dean could even get money out of her. Serves her right, really. He used the money to give his employees a big bonus. 

They have gotten over the initial pregnancy scare too. Turned out that she was indeed just stressed. He was a little disappointed, couldn’t lie about it, but she was happy so there’s that. He’d like to have kids one day, and especially with her. Dean knows that she wants kids too, but not right now. He hopes that she wants kids with him, though. 

Dean really didn’t give up on asking her to be his real wife. He would drop it in the weirdest times. It’s a game he plays and he actually enjoys it. He has gotten her another ring. Doesn’t want to ask her with the same ring they already sealed their fake marriage with, it just didn’t seem right.

 *

 The first time he popped the question was after they were fake husband and wife and only girlfriend and boyfriend. She was sitting in the tub when he came back from work because he still worked longer than she did. Dean peeled himself out of his clothes to join her, “Do you wanna marry me?” He’d asked before he sits in the tub and grabs her by her arm to place her onto his lap.

“No,” She giggled and he buried his face into the crook of her neck, sucked at her skin until she moaned a yes but it’s not the answer, he knew.

 *

 The fourth time he asked her to be his wife, Y/N was lying on the couch when he walked in after a long working day. She was reading a book and she was wearing one of his shirts and only panties and that did things to him. Especially when half her ass cheeks poked out of it. He looked and smirked before he walked over to the drawer with food delivery leaflets. He held the leaflets in his hand and looked over to her before he asked, “Do you want to marry me or shall we order in food?”

Laughing, she said no, and that she wanted pizza with pineapples.

 *

 The ninth time Dean asked her was at work. He came out of a meeting and walked past her desk, dropping off his notes for her to put down on paper. She was so lost in her work that she didn’t even notice him standing next to her, so he lowered himself with one hand braced on her chair and whispered into her ear, “Do you want to marry me?”

She rolled her eyes but she kissed his cheek. It was enough fuel to get into the next meeting. 

 *

 The twelfth time he asked her was when she was laying between his thighs and he had spread them for her to be able to reach his rim. He was there, held up his legs by the back of his knees and looked down. He would have loved to take a picture if his hand were free. 

His balls are heavy on her nose, his dick, hard and leaking, was resting over half her face. It was a sight to behold, and in that moment his heart felt so full so he whispered, “Do you want to marry me?”

She ignored him and continued licking at his rim and sucked in his balls that made him choke on his own words.

 *

 The seventeenth time that he popped the question was while they were in a meeting together. They listened to Garth's new idea on office improvements and she was typing away on her laptop when he sent her an email, “Please be my wife?”

Y/N frowned, her lips pulled into a thin straight line before she clicked on her mouse and soon his phone vibrated. Dean took it out and thumbs over her email of Michael Scott from The Office screaming No meme.

 *

 The twenty-third time Dean had asked her, they were having dinner with Jack and he had told the waiter to put the ring in her glass. What Dean hadn’t accounted for,  was that the waiter would be so dumb and mix up their glasses. So when Jack drank his champagne he had the ring in his mouth, and damn near choked on it. Y/N had stomach cramps from laughing too hard.

But hey, Jack said yes and they’re planning a spring wedding. 

Jack is a great guy. Dean’s glad that he took Jack on a fishing trip back in Jamaica. Jack was so hostile towards him and Dean just knew that he had to pour his heart out to Jack to get him to understand that he was never just in it for the fake marriage. It meant so much more to him. Thinking back, it needed a lot of courage from Dean to do so. Jack didn’t speak for an agonizing long time and it was while they were on the boat and Dean had almost gotten sea sick than he started to speak the truth. 

Jack smirked when he saw that the blood had drained from Dean’s face.

“Do you like fishing?” Jack had asked him.

“Yeah but from the shore.” Dean answered, trying not do fucking puke. 

Jack laughed at him but apparently, the trip had helped cement their friendship.

 *

 The twenty-ninth time he asked was when he ate her out and she moaned yes yes above him. He paused and mumbled against her wet cunt, “You wanna marry me?”

She came right on the spot but not without moaning out something that sounded awfully like fuck no.

 *

 The thirty-third time Dean asked, was when they spent a weekend away at a secluded cabin in Colorado. 

That’s another thing that Dean loves about her. When things get too stressful, she always made sure that he took a break and she planned trips that should take his mind off work. She feared that he’ll overwork himself, which is not entirely wrong.

So when they were roasting marshmallows over a fire, he wrapped his arm around her, and asked her if she wanted to be his wife. 

She didn’t answer, instead she said, “You’re not going to give up, do you?” 

He smiled down and kissed her forehead, “Nope.”

 *

 The thirty-eight time Dean popped the question was during a game night of pictionary with Sam and Ruby and her brother. Yeah that’s right, Sam never let Ruby go again. Dean swears, if they marry before him...

Dean drew a ring onto the board with a question mark and instead of answering right, she just said “Lord of the Rings?”

Even Jack grew a little annoyed at her and screamed that she should fucking say yes already.

 *

 The forty-fifth time he asked, they were at a concert and she stood before him, his hands around her waist as she leaned her head against his chest. He placed a kiss on the crown of her head, “Do you want to marry me?”

The one girl next to them gasped loudly and she pushed her boyfriend out of the way, thinking that Dean needed room to go on his knees. They had to laugh and explain that his girlfriend is not saying yes, so there’s no worry. The woman was embarrassed and Dean took Y/N’s hand to move further back. 

 *

 The fifty-second time Dean asked, was when he came home from a work trip. It didn’t go very well so he was kind of down. He found her in the guest bedroom, sleeping on her side and Dean scooped her up, carried her into their bed and left to take a shower. 

When he came back, she was partially awake. And it’s like she knew because she opened her arms for him to crawl in. He placed his head on her chest, letting her stroke his head. 

“Please be my wife?” He’d asked, but there’s no answer. Her heart beat slow, she was already asleep.

 *

 The fifty-third time he asked, was the next day right after the fifty-second time. Dean spooned her from behind, rained kisses onto her shoulder and neck, she stirred awake, “I really wish you’d say yes.”

It was not really a question. Just a statement.

“Okay,” She said and Dean’s heart picked up speed.

“Okay?” He asked again, just to be sure.

“Yes,” She turned around in his grip and cradled his face between the palms of her hand, “I’m saying yes,” 

Dean kissed her while smiled like a fucking idiot, held her tighter, “Fucking finally,” he mumbles against her lips.

  They married in a small ceremony with just the closest of people and no press, because he still took her out to social events and they all thought she was his wife anyway. It’s easier that way. It feels more real. 

Sam and Jack were both his best men while Ruby resumed her position as a bridesmaid. 

Dean didn’t make a prenup; it's his way to piss off his parents. It’s the right decision, he thinks. Y/N never once asked him for money. She hates being dependent on him and sometimes there were petty fights when she wouldn’t allow him to buy her something. However, she let him pay for Jack’s tuition and that is progress. 

Like Dean said before, he would give her the world and so much more but she’s happy as it is and that’s the most important thing actually, because he’s happy too when she’s happy. He’s less grumpy, less hot headed and, that’s not a lie nor an exaggeration, he’s the happiest he’s ever been.

[deakydeaky]

Can you do a Joe proposing to you type of thing? He's like planning and getting a ring and stuff please? Thank you☺

(A/N: alright lets fuck it up, also please continue to send me shit thanks❤️)

Joe planning:

Joe knew from the moment he met you that he could marry you

It was all about time though. There had been a lot happening to him in the last few years and you two hadn’t been together together for very long

But he still knew that you were the only one he wanted

Joe had spent months looking for rings, and I mean months. He would be looking during all of his free time

It was funny how weird he was acting because you thought something was happening but you knew Joe, and he wasn’t that type of guy

When Joe found the ring, all he needed was the perfect moment. He kept the ring on him all of the time

He then got tired of waiting for the perfect moment and made it

He made dinner, lit the candles, placed the mood, everything. But, then he got called into work, you got super sick and it was a mess of a night

After that he thought planning it out wasn’t great and asked the other what he should do because he was so unsure

He tried to drop hints about things to see when he could pop the question

“So, uh, our anniversary is coming up. Anything you’ve been, I don’t know, thinking about?” He would ask when you were making them breakfast

“No, is there anything you want to do? Because I’d be okay for a day where it’s just us.” You would smile at him

“I would too. But are you sure you can’t think of anything. A neckless? Or a ring perhaps?” He would wrap his arms around your waist from behind and out his head in your shoulder

“Joe if you’re asking me for a gift idea just say so.”

Joe thinking maybe an anniversary proposal would be too cheesy

A few weeks after your anniversary he decided that he was going to throw a small party and ask you there. Around both of your friends and some family

During the party things were going the way he wanted. The food wasn’t done in time, everyone kept going out for more alcohol and no one could stay in one place

At some point Tyler asked where he was and you went looking to find him in the bedroom. He rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands when you sat next to him

“Is something wrong? You seem upset.”

“No, I’m not upset I’m just- I’m trying so hard to make something perfect. I want it to be perfect, for you, because you deserve it, you deserve the perfect moment.”

“Every moment with you is perfect.”

“I’m glad you said that.” He took the box out of his pocket and opened it, getting on one knee.” Will you do me the honor of marrying me?” You we’re completely shocked, like this was not where you thought this was going

“Oh my god yes!” You said before kissing him

Planning the wedding/parties:

You want your anniversary date to stay the same so you decided that you want to have the wedding fast and on that day

You two planned most of it together. The food, the band, where it would be at

You and Lucy planned your bride stuff, along with a few other friends

The guys tried their best to help but weren’t helping at all

You guys chose the basic things like a full Italian course, a big wedding cake, loads of friends there, something that was big but personal

You and your friends went dress shopping along with the boys

On day Roger and Brian came along just to give opinions

You could have sworn you would cry when you saw them looking at you in a dress

“Absolutely gorgeous.” They would comment

It was the day that the most people came for just what you thought would be a few dresses try on day

But, when the wrong dress was grab, you still tried it on, just for fun

When you walk out the gasps were amazing. You looked in the mirror and wanted to cry

“This is it. This is the dress.” You put your hand on your stomach.” I’m getting married. Holy shit.” The others would laugh

The wedding:

You had never been so nervous yet so calm. You were nervous because something could go terribly wrong but you were calm because you were marrying the love of your life

The bridesmaids and you all got ready, your best friend doing your hair and makeup with you

You wanted this to just so smoothly, and have it be the best day no matter what. Then again marrying Joe? You wanted nothing more

At some point you really needed a minute. It was like it was all hitting you and everyone around you was fine. When you went out to the halls of where you were staying you ran into Joe, also kid getting ready

“Hey, are you okay? Cold feet?”

“Never. I just can’t believe today is the day.” You would laugh as your hands shook

“We will do whatever you want to do.”

“I want to marry you, today, and if there were a priest right next to us I would ask him to do it.” You both laughed.” I just- I want this day to be...”

“Yeah, yeah me too.”

After that you were set. You went back to the room, started up music, drank with your friends, all of it.

After you were ready the boys came to see you, all of them almost in tears

“You look beautiful. Absolutely just- god.”

“Ben, please, it’s my wedding day, they can’t find out about us like this.” You would say as you walked next to them

“You do look great Y/N.” Rami would commented

“And even Joe looks really good! It’s going to be a perfect wedding.”

You would get walked down the isle by whoever(if you didn’t have someone Ben would do it, fight me)

And after they everything was perfect

The after party was even better. The food was amazing, you watched your friends get drunk, Gwil surprisingly turn into a total flirt when drunk, people dance around, the whole lot

The best part of the night was Joe’s speech

“This is to the bride, my wife. Wow, my wife. I can’t even believe I get to call her that, I mean look at her, who wouldn’t want her as a wife. I just wanted to say this day has been everything to me, I’ve loved every minute of it. And I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, Y/N. I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t fall more in love with you, and I can’t wait to finish this life with you. I love you Mrs. Mazzello. So please join me in raising a glass, to my wife.”

You were in tears, happy tears, and you couldn’t believe those words he just told you. You were truly in love and had never been happier

Bonus! Honeymoon:

You went to Italy, shocker right? But you had a not been once and that’s where you two wanted to be as newlyweds

You stayed out all night

Drank and ate so much food you both could have passed out each night

Had breakfast outside on the patio, over looking the place you stayed in

Took sooooo many pictures

S E X

Flirted like you two just started dating

Took midnight walks, midnight dinners, went skinny dipping, help each other home when drunk

“You are the prettiest girl on the whole wide world.”

“Thank you Joey.”

“No I- I mean that shit! Not just because your my wife, it’s ten times hotter because you’re my wife.”

“You are so drunk.”

“Off of love.” He say because he started to sing Love of My Life

Went to a lot of places like museums and restaurants

Drank champagne just about every night and morning because you loved it and always saw it in movies

Sang Queen around Italy

Rented a boat just for you two to try and drive

Over all spent all of the time you could together and made a lot of memories from it

[definitelyseven]

it was always you

summary: in a twisted turn of events, you find yourself naked in the bed of your best friend, Mark Tuan

one (m) | two | three (m) | four | five (m) | six | seven (m) | eight (m) | nine | ten - final | epilogue - one (m) | epilogue - two |

You walked into the restaurant with your friend and the waiter sat you down by the window with the view. 

“Champagne?” You and your friend said at the same time. You both laughed. Ever since that night, you and Mark haven’t spoken to each other. He completely ghosted you; left you in your shared apartment alone and naked. It’s been three weeks and nothing from him.

“So are you finally going to tell me what’s up? Your friend asked. 

“What do you mean?” You knew what she meant.

“You know what I mean! You and Mark!” You shrugged and took a sip of your champagne. “Fine don’t tell me, but I know something’s up.” The server came by to take your order and to refill your glass with champagne. “Y/N...don’t look, but you won’t believe who just walked in.”

“Who?”

“Mark and Sana.” You choked on your champagne. Not only have you not seen Mark in three weeks, you also haven’t spoken to Sana. You didn’t know how to face her. You couldn’t. You and Sana have been friends since university and you were the one who got them together. 

You wanted to leave. You wanted to hide. But you couldn’t. How could you tell your friend you wanted to leave before your food even arrived? You kept quiet and chugged your glass of champagne. 

“Y/N!” You turned to look. It was Sana and Mark was close behind. 

“Hey...” You said giving her a small smile. 

“I missed you! It’s been so long!” She said giving you a hug. You hugged her back and looked at Mark. He didn’t even bother to look at you and that hurt. Whenever you and Mark had a fight it always ended quick. You both couldn’t stand being mad or not talking to each other, but this was different.

Sana grabbed your hand. “I have news to share!” She said happily; the happiest you’ve ever seen her actually. “Look!” She said showing you her left hand and the big diamond ring that was on her finger. Your heart sank. You tried to hide the sadness and the disappointment, but your heart ached. When did he propose? How could he not tell you? Was he even planning on telling you? 

“Congrats!” You said trying to hide your disappointment. 

“We’re planning on telling all our friends and family tomorrow! You should come over!” She was so happy. How could you tell her that you slept with her soon to be fiancé?

“I-I can’t.” 

“Please, please, please!” Sana begged. “You’re the reason we’re together and I want you to be there. I want you to share this moment with us!” She turned to Mark. “Mark, will you please convince her?” He finally looked at you. No expression on his face. 

“You should come.”

“I’ll try my best.”

--

Tonight’s the night. You debated the whole day whether or not you should go. Sana even called you to confirm that you’d be there. There was no hiding. 

You were standing outside her house, waiting for her to open the door. 

“Y/N! I’m so glad you came! Come in!” The house was filled with people. “Make yourself at home. We’ll begin soon.” Sana said as she handed you a glass of wine. You sat down on the couch. Mark was busy talking to people and making sure everyone was either holding a drink or being served appetizers. He didn’t seem to realize you were here; not that it mattered.

“Family and friends, we’d like to make an announcement!” Sana said as she clinked the silverware against her glass. “I’m sure all of you already guessed, but Mark proposed to me three weeks ago!” Three weeks ago - it couldn’t be, could it? Did he propose right after that night or before? Your body went numb. You tried to contain your emotions by keeping your eyes closed. “Mark, baby, would you like to say something?”

“Uh...yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Thank you everyone for coming today. It really means a lot to share this special moment with all our family and friends.”

“I’d like to thank someone. Someone very important to Mark and I.” Sana turned to look at you. “Y/N!” Everyone turned their attention to you. “Thank you! Without you we wouldn’t be together. Would you mind saying a few words?”

You weren’t expecting to make a speech. Not here where your emotions were all over the place. You couldn’t. But you did, you had too. 

“Um yeah sure.” You said standing up. “Wow I wasn’t prepared to make a speech tonight.” You said clearing your throat. “Um well. Sana and I, we met at university. She was in the grade above me and was pretty well known at our school. We took the same chemistry class and she was my lab partner. Till this day, I still don’t know why we tortured ourselves like that.” Everyone laughed. “We became good friends. She helped me a lot.” You paused and turned to the couple. He was finally looking at you. Your eyes teary as you sniffled - thank god it was normal to get emotional during these things. “Mark...Mark’s the oldest friend I have. He’s my best friend. I’m happy for you both.” Everyone clapped and Sana gave you a hug.

“Will you be one of my bridesmaids?” As if you didn’t feel guilty enough. Sana was always nice to you and you betrayed her. Now you couldn’t stop thinking about that night you and Mark spent together; the way he held you against him as you pleasured each other that night. “Please.” You gave her a small smile and nodded. As painful as this was, you knew she would be happy if you said yes. 

The party was coming to an end and it was time for you to leave. “Y/N, Mark can take you home.” You were about to object. “I don’t know what’s going between you to, but I want you guys to be okay. I’ve never seen you guys not talk to each other for this long. Did something happen?” Sana was genuinely concerned about your relationship with Mark, but she didn’t know the truth.

“No..no, we’ll be fine.” You assured her. 

“Let him take you home. It’s been three weeks. As much as I love him, he needs to go home, he needs new clothes. Plus you two need to make up soon for the wedding!” You wished she’d stop being so nice. Sana called for Mark to take you home. You were tired and didn’t want to argue anymore.

You and Mark didn’t speak to each other - not when you were riding in the elevator and not in the car ride home. You didn’t look at him during the whole ride home. Your heart stung and you knew if you looked at him, you’d break down. Your eyes were fixated on the road in front of you or the scenery to your right the whole ride home. He parked the car in the parking garage and made your way upstairs. You knew Mark well enough to know that he was dying to say something. But no words came from him. You punched the passcode to your shared home and walked in together. This was the first time he’s been home since that night. You took your heels off and made your way to your room.

“Can we talk?” He finally spoke. You both stood there awkwardly by the kitchen island; both of you claiming opposite sides of the kitchen, sipping your tea. It’s been 10 minutes and he hasn’t said anything. The tea was getting cold and you were growing more and more impatient. You drank the final sip of your tea and decided you’ve had enough. You set the cup in the kitchen sink and walked towards your room. “I’m sorry.” You stopped. The feeling of nervousness and anxiousness in your stomach didn’t go away. It was like someone had punched your stomach over and over again.

You turned to face him. “Is that all?” You asked crossing your arms in front of your chest. He slowly made his way towards you. He didn’t say anything else which made you even more angry. You scoffed and tried to leave again. This time he grabs your arm. “Don’t fucking touch me!” You said flinging his hand off your arm.

“Will you please just listen to me?!”

“Listen to what, Mark?!” You felt tears forming in your eyes. “It’s been three fucking weeks and not one word from you!”

“I-I’m sorry.” He looked just as hurt, but he had no right to be. He left you alone and naked in his bed without saying a word. “I was scared and confused.”

“Yeah? Well imagine how I fucking felt!” It was obvious all kinds of emotions were running through your body, and you were no longer trying to hide the fact that you were angry, upset and hurt. Tears rolled down your face. “I woke up and you were gone! I was scared and alone! You ran back to your girlfriend!” He reached for you, but you moved out of his reach. He can’t come back like this and expect it to be okay. It doesn’t work like that. 

“I was wrong..what we did was wrong.”

You sobbed. Did you feel guilty? Yes. Did you betray Sana? Yes. Did you ever think it was wrong? No.

It was the most magical thing you’ve experienced with anyone. You were sure he felt the same that night, but now you weren’t so sure.

“If it was so wrong, why did you fuck me over and over again? Why didn’t you stop after the first time?” The tears wouldn’t stop rolling down your face. Your vision was blurry and your head hurt. “Why did you propose to her?” You whimpered.

He reached for you again, faster than you could pull away. He pulled you in for a hug. You tried to squirm away but his grip on you tightened. He pushed you gently against the wall and kissed you, not letting go of his grip on you. It felt good to feel his lips on yours again. It brought you back to that night and how it felt to be in his arms. 

But as quickly as those memories came, the memories of him leaving you came just as fast. Using all the strength you can gather, you pushed him off you and slapped him. Tears still rolling down your face, you both stood still. The sound of yours sobs filled the room and it felt like eternity of you two just staring at each other. 

“I-I’m sorry. I’ll go.” He said as he made his way slowly to the door. 

Was this what you were always afraid of? Every time you and Mark wanted to get intimate you were able to stop yourself. Why couldn’t you this time? Was this the end of your relationship with Mark? He was your oldest friend - the only friend that never left your side. 

You chased after him. Just as he was about to open the door, you reached out to hug him from behind. “Don’t go...”

[nessabear05]

A Day To Remember, a Nea x Yui Oneshot

#2k21BVryKnd

#SilverRescueTeam

#SRT

This is a commission collab I did with my friend Fizzie! Basically, we came up with the idea that we give each other characters and a third or first-person POV to go off of, and we write a story just based on those. She posted hers a day or so ago, so go check it out and give it some love!

Fizzie’s Story: http://aminoapps.com/p/u8pxte

Keep in mind…she doesn’t know the plot ;) But I decided with the number of characters she gave me, I would do an AU where they just have a girl’s day! She gave me Nea, Yui, Laurie, Claudette, and Meg to work with! Hope you enjoy girl!

Also uh....had to add a little side ship of your OTP since I know how much you like Quendette :)

Word Count: 1,929

━━━━━⊱✿⊰━━━━━━

The weather was perfect today. The sun was shining, no clouds to be seen...it was just a great day to get out and do something. And that’s exactly what this group of friends was doing. But they weren’t going out just as a last-minute thing, this was all planned out months in advance. And it was going to happen no matter the conditions.

Why so dead set on going out? Well, today was an extremely special day for two girls, in particular, those girls being Nea and Yui. The two had been dating for...well what seemed like forever. But they had been dating for around four years maybe? Ever since the beginning of college. And well...within the next couple of days, they were going to get married. And who else would be a part of their wedding if not their group of friends they had been with basically since they were children?

Now, things weren’t always great for this group of girls, but honestly, it always worked out in the end. And today would hopefully be no different. The five of them were just supposed to go out and get their nails done, then go to lunch afterward. And it was all supposed to go according to plan, but you know, nothing could ever go perfect, especially not with this group.

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It had all started this morning, and can you guess who the first one to screw up was? If you guessed Nea, you would be correct. The girl had forgotten to set her alarm the previous night, and Yui had gone to spend the night with some of her old friends from Japan that had flown down to America for the wedding of their friend. They had stayed at the hotel, but they weren’t coming with them to get their nails done today. Since it was just going to be the two bridal parties together.

And as anyone could have guessed, Yui was not that happy to find out that Nea had forgotten an alarm on a pretty special day. But, Nea had apologized profusely as she ran around the house quickly getting changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt, all while their three friends Laurie, Meg, and Claudette giggled at the couple’s antics. The lack of Nea being prepared did not make them late though, so that was a little bit of a bonus to the shitty beginning of the day.

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When they arrived at the nail salon, everyone was no doubt, excited. Nea was talking with Meg and Claudette as they walked in, trying to decide on a matching color. Since the two were her bridesmaids, she wanted to make sure she picked out something they all liked. In the end, they had decided on a pretty light pink color. Since Nea’s dress was white, sticking with the traditional way of things. Well, as traditional as you could get with a lesbian wedding that is. The pink would match really well with the bright white gown.

Yui on the other hand was supposed to wear a white kimono, sticking with her traditional Japanese ways. She had a pink and white floral uchikake for the reception afterward, something her grandmother had worn at her own wedding, a garment Yui absolutely adored ever since she was a child. Now….she would get to marry the love of her life in it.

Laurie was her bridesmaid, being closer to the older woman than Nea’s two other friends. And they had both decided on a beige color for their nails, thinking it would look good with the white and the pink. Which, funny enough, were the colors for the decorations the two women had decided to be their main decor of the ceremony.

━━━━━⊱✿⊰━━━━━━

As they walked inside the salon, there weren’t a lot of people there, maybe like….two others? Since it was still pretty early, but since they were getting both nails and feet done, they didn’t want to be there super late in the day when more people would start popping up. Common decency at its finest.

They were lead to sit down by a worker after picking out a polish from the walls, deciding to get acrylics for their hands with gel polish instead of normal polish, so it would stick on longer. And...quite a few of them had short nails, mostly because of their jobs. Yui was a mechanic since she always loved bikes and cars, things like that. Nea was a painter, but not a normal one. She got paid to do graffiti art on bridges and such, something to make the town more lively.

Meg was a semi-professional athlete. She wasn’t too well known, but she made a pretty good amount of money. Laurie was a childcare worker, working at a school and her nails broke easily around young children, she had come to learn that the hard way. And Claudette was a doctor, and she didn’t want to accidentally be poking people with her nails all too often through the gloves she wore. So needless to say, they didn’t get to have nice long nails like some girls a lot of the time and wanted to make sure they stayed on for the amount of time they could have them.

━━━━━⊱✿⊰━━━━━━

They were sat down in the chairs to get their toes done first, one of the workers bringing over five glasses of champagne for them, one for each girl. And since they were all over twenty-one, they accepted it gratefully. Claudette wasn’t much of a drinker, but she would make an exception for this. It was a pretty special day after all, and she had taken off work for the next two days for the wedding.

Honestly, most of them had forgotten what it was like to just...be pampered like they were. It was honestly something they weren’t able to do often, being adults and such now with jobs to worry about. So it was relaxing while they just chatted, laughed, drank, and got their nails done. They did have a little incident where Meg almost kicked the nail stylist because the red-head was very much ticklish, but it didn’t seem to phase the person working on her. Only waving it off with a chuckle and saying it happens all the time.

━━━━━⊱✿⊰━━━━━━

They were there probably around….three and a half hours? Mostly because despite the early time of day, a lot of people seemed to come in quickly, and the girls had to wait to get their hands done. But, nonetheless, it was worth the wait, and the five females were very happy with how everything turned out.

Though they didn’t condone drinking and driving, Claudette didn’t really like the champagne, and only ended up drinking two or so sips before she couldn’t do it anymore, finding the taste too strong without a chaser. And Nea was more than willing to finish it off for the smaller girl.

This also meant Claudette was now their driver for going off to lunch. So, they all piled into Laurie’s car, Laurie in the front with Claudette while the other three sat in the back, Nea and Yui sitting beside each other holding hands while Meg stared out the window, asking where they were going for the thousandth time since they left the salon. And the answer was the same each time. It was some little small-town restaurant that Claudette’s boyfriend, Quentin, owned. So not only would they get a discount, but he made pretty awesome food.

━━━━━⊱✿⊰━━━━━━

It didn’t take long to get there, the place only slightly packed for the rush hour of lunchtime. And they quickly got out of the car, heading inside while chatting, obviously having to tease Claudette about coming to the place her boyfriend worked at.

As they walked inside, they spotted the curly-haired brunette behind the diner immediately. He had on his usual bright smile, his smile only growing bigger when he saw the five walk in, but it was definitely aimed towards Claudette.

“Hey, guys! Welcome in and have a seat wherever you want. I trust you guys to not take any unneeded space,” he said, more concentrated on the plates of food he was currently trying to carry. Quentin had changed a lot since high school. He wasn’t as shy as he used to be, and he had grown a lot taller almost six feet, and his hair had grown out a little longer. Needless to say, Claudette made a really good choice when she decided to start dating the nerdy kid.

The five took a seat at a booth, Meg, Laurie, and Claudette on one side with Nea and Yui on the other sitting beside each other. They chatted as they waited patiently for Quentin to come over to take their order, the boy handing off the plates of food to his co-worker, and ex-girlfriend Nancy. They had ended off on good terms, Quentin finding out he was into Claudette. And Nancy was totally fine with that, considering she and Quentin had been friends since childhood.

When he did come over, he let his customer service facade drop, his smile still there but seeming just a little less fake. He leaned down to press a quick kiss against Claudette’s cheek, causing the girl to giggle quietly and her friends to coo at her, “Alright….I’m guessing you all want the usual? Tea for you babe, water for Laurie, Sprite for Meg, iced tea for Yui, and a coke for Nea?” he asked, earning nods and smiles from the five girls. He wrote it down and walked off quickly, not before giving a quick congratulations to Yui and Nea. He hadn’t had much time to see them running his diner. One that his friend Steve had said he should open and most of his friends had pressured him into it. It was one of the best decisions of his life if he was entirely honest.

━━━━━⊱✿⊰━━━━━━

They sat and chatted for an hour or so, eating the food that was paid for by Quentin, despite the objections of everyone at the table. But, the brunette was kind that way...even if he was a little more than annoyed when he saw the tip left for him by the five women. Since the day was over, Claudette was going to drive everyone home with Laurie’s car, and Quen would pick her up when he was done with work in a couple more hours.

Nea and Yui were the first to be dropped off since their house was the closest, the engaged couple giving hugs and promises of seeing them tomorrow bright and early to go to where their wedding ceremony was supposed to be held. And after the goodbye’s, waved as they watched their three friends drive off down the road.

Nea turned to her smaller fiance, a small smile on her face as she slipped her arms around the woman’s waist, pulling her closer and pressing a kiss against her forehead, “I ever tell you how much I love you?” she asked with a small tilt of her head, and Yui could only giggle at Nea’s antics.

“You say it all the time darling....but I guess there’s nothing wrong with hearing it again..” she told her as she leaned up, arms wrapping around her shoulders to kiss her properly, lips pressed firmly against Nea’s. If this is what she was getting for the rest of her life, well, then she got pretty damn lucky.

[your-1up-girl]

Won’t Be In White

@aerith-week day three! Theme of Red and Pink dress. 

Pairing: Aerith Gainsborough x Cloud Strife

Word Count: 1495

Read on Ao3

Did Cloud ever think that he would make it to the point in his life that he would get married? No, not at all. Was he happy that he could finally make it to this point with a wonderful girl in his life? Absolutely. Cloud didn't think someone like Aerith would ever come into his life. But the flower peddler with the breathtaking smile stopped him one day, Would you like a flower? You can give it to the special someone in your life. From there the rest was history. It was a cool day and Cloud was thankful for that. Standing there in his tux, he thought that he was going to melt from nerves. Barret seemed to notice this and handed him a handkerchief. He took it with a soft thank you.

"What's with all the nerves SOLIDER boy? Afraid she's gonna change her mind?"

Cloud's eyes widened and he turned to Barret, who was going to solemnize their marriage, "Do you think she will?"

"You know that Barret is just messing with you." Zack wrapped his arm around Cloud's shoulder. "Aerith is absolutely crazy for you. And I haven't seen you smile so much since you've met her. I really am happy for you Cloud.

"Yeah. I was just kidding; didn't mean to scare ya." He didn't respond, so Barret tried to change the conversation. "The girls did a great job getting this place ready huh?"

"Y-yeah, it is very scenic." They decided to hold the wedding at Elmyra's house. There was a clear area that plants haven't grown to yet so the part decided to take advantage of that. The fence leading along to that area was decorated by Yuffie and Tifa with ribbons and arching banners. Chairs were set up for a few select people and created an aisle that lead to where he a Barret stood. People were creating conversation, awaiting for the ceremony to start. Prior to the wedding day, Barret, Cloud, and Cid hand built an arbor. Elmyra and Aerith, along with Red and Marlene's help, arranged some of the vines around the house to wrap beautifully around the arbor a day before. The flowers on some of them still looked fresh despite being cut. "It's all perfect for her."

"All's that's missing is the bride." Cid said, he was taking pictures of the event after Aerith had convinced him to do so.

Meanwhile back at the house, the girls were putting the finishing touches on a few things. Aerith was still upstairs getting ready. Elmyra was tying the bow-tie around Red's neck, he seemed very happy that he too was able to dress up for the event. Yuffie fixing up Marlene's flower girl dress making sure that everything is right. And Tifa was putting the last of the petals in the for Marlene; along with making sure Aerith's bouquet was ready. It was an arrangement of wine red roses, pale blue forget-me-nots, and ivory hydrangeas. The leaves were eucalyptus leaves and olive branches to create a bit of a cascading look to it.

"Alright, I think we are set." Tifa happily announced as she tied the stems with a pink ribbon. Tifa and Yuffie were the bridesmaids so they helped Aerith plan the wedding and they all helped make the dresses. The two girls wore a champagne key hole neckline dress that when to their knees with a chiffon skirt.

"Thank you girls. Now, we just wait for Aerith."

"I'm sorry I took so long." As Aerith walked down the stairs, Elmyra thought she was going to cry. Aerith looked beautiful. Her dress was had off the shoulder straps with a sweetheart neckline. The straps looked as if they were made of petals. The bodice was beautifully beaded at the waist that faded into the tulle of the skirt. The skirt itself had just enough puff that Aerith liked but didn't look like too much. Aerith had added the touch for the top layer of the skirt by carefully sowing fake pink, white, red, and ivory flowers to the top and bottom of the skirt. But what really pulled this dress altogether was that the dress itself was a blush pink, similar to the color of what she normally wear. But in this case, it looked much better than it had the dress just been white.

"Aerith! You look so pretty!" Marlene ran to give her a hug being careful not to pull the leaf-like jeweled necklace the bride wore.

"Oh thank you Marlene! You look pretty too! The best flower girl I've ever seen. I think you're the one that will steal the show today." This made Marlene blush. She and Red went out the door to prepare to walk down the aisle. Tifa and Yuffie both gave their own form of praise to Aerith and left as well. Elmyra was in a state of shock, but it was the best kind of shock you could feel. "What do you think Mom?"

"You're just-," She shook her head and gave her a hug, "I'm so happy for you and Cloud."

"I don't think I've ever seen you cry this much before."

"I was saving them for this moment." She brushed a bit of hair out of her daughter's face. Aerith's own eyes were glassy and they hugged once more. "Your mother would have been very happy for you."

Aerith laughed, her biological mother was always in the back of her head, she would never forget about her. But right now, it was between her and Elmyra. "I can see that she is." Both women walked out the door. Cid was waiting, a half smile on his face He took pictures of them as they walked down the path to the area where everyone is waiting.

Marlene and Red walked down first. Marlene was carefully letting the petals fall onto the grassy dirt path. Yuffie and Tifa were close after, the silence was filled with the camera shutter and the little waterfall behind them. All of them took their place Marlene sat with Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge, the girls on Aerith's side, and Red next to Zack. Finally, Cloud saw her.

Walking arm in arm with her mother she looked right back at him. The amount of love in each other's eyes matched the other. Cloud felt a tear fall from his eye, and another, and another. He had to keep himself together as he reached out to her and they held hands as Barret began. What he was saying it didn't seem to matter to either of them. At this moment, in this great big world, it was just the two of them. Aerith smiled, her lip shaking just a bit. And he licked his lips, nerves and excitement filled their bodies all at once. She looked beautiful in that dress. It was different but still seemed to match her. The light pink allowed her to stand out from other brides who have worn just a white dress. It was all Aerith.

"Do you Cloud, take Aerith to be your wife?" Barret asked them.

"I do." His eyes never left Aerith.

"Do you Aerith, take Cloud to be your husband?"

"I do."

"Well then," The smile on his face was contagious to the rest of the attendees, "By the power invested in me, I know pronounce you Husband and Wife. You may kiss the bride." Aerith jumped into Cloud to kiss him, he caught her with ease but it still caught him off guard. Barret belted out a laugh and the rest of the crowd cheered for the newlyweds.

The rest of the day went on without a fuss. Everyone had a great time. They celebrated, ate, sang, danced, and drank to their hearts content. They played some games took so many pictures. It was getting late but and people began to filter back to their homes. A few hung back just to shoot the breeze with others. But Aerith and Cloud slipped outside for some time alone. He twirled her in the empty area under the arbor. They laughed like children. Cloud pulled her close and they swayed together. Her lips were pressed close to his neck that he could feel her light breath. And his head bent down towards hers. Eyes closed just allowing themselves to have this moment.

"I can feel your heart beating." She spoke softly and she giggled. "You're not nervous around me right?"

Cloud held her tighter, "Whenever I see you, it feels like I'm meeting for the first time all over again. I will won't forget that feeling of falling in love with you. You're the only one for me, Mrs. Strife"

Aerith moved just enough to see the smile on Cloud's face. She could tell that he's been wanting to say that to her for a while. She pulled on his tie to bring him close to his lips and said. "And you're for me, Mr. Strife."

[laurawritesandgames]

Title: Objections

Fandom: Beetlejuice (Musical)

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Beetlejuice/Adam/Barbara, Charles/Delia

Prompt: Wedding

Content Warning: Set during coronavirus pandemic

Summary: It’s Delia and Charles’s wedding day. The Maitland-Deetz household tries to keep their irreverent demon from spoiling the big day. Little do they know it’s not Beetlejuice they need to worry about….

It had taken ten minutes, but Barbara was finally satisfied with Delia’s lashes. “There. I think we’ve got it.” She moved aside to let Delia see herself in the mirror.

Barbara had put her hair and makeup skills to the test and helped Delia out on her wedding day. Why invite over a makeup artist and hair stylist during a pandemic if you didn’t have to?

Delia examined her reflection and beamed. “It’s perfect.”

That was being kind. It wasn’t exactly one of the dramatic looks on Delia’s wedding Pinterest board. More dramatic makeup would’ve suited her dress better. Ordered from Italy, her dress was a gold ballgown with dramatic tiered tulle flounces on the skirt and a deep V neckline. The gold in the dress played off the gold accents in Delia’s bright orange hair, which was in romantic waves down her back. It was daring and sweet all at once.

When the pandemic hit, the household had talked about postponing her and Charles’s wedding. But Charles’s parents were old-fashioned, and since Delia and Charles wanted to try for a baby right away, they decided to have a virtual wedding instead.

“I can’t thank you enough, Barbara.”

“I’m not letting you do your own hair and makeup on your big day!” She gestured to the laptop. “Now go show the girls.” Her bridesmaids were eagerly awaiting drinking mimosas and celebrating Delia’s look. Barbara had met them at Delia’s virtual bachelorette party, though, of course, they hadn’t known Barbara was there. The bachelorette party had also been rather subdued, considering Delia’s usual standards. She, Barbara and the bridesmaids had streamed both Magic Mike movies, ate popcorn and drank champagne. What else could you do in a pandemic? “I’ll go check on the preparations.”

Delia’s phone, face down on the makeup table, buzzed again. Someone had been texting her all morning, and Delia had been ignoring them. Her gaze flicked to the phone, jaw tightening before she looked back into the mirror.

Barbara gestured to the phone. “I can grab that for you, too.”

A hint of a frown worked its way between Delia’s brows. A moment later, her expression relaxed, and she waved the suggestion away. “I’m fine, darling. I’ve been getting so many robotexts lately. You know, you could stay and have a drink. You’re a bridesmaid too, dear!”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I like keeping busy!” And if I bump something or the camera catches me drinking a mimosa, the focus is definitely not going to be on the bride. Barbara excused herself and went downstairs.

The walls of the living/dining room were decorated with curled gold ribbons and champagne-coloured tulle banners beneath the crown molding. The ghosts and Beetlejuice had moved all the furniture—quite easily, with telekinesis—and added two rows of four chairs on either side of an elegant pale gray runner. The rug led the eye to the laptop, set up on a crystal-laden table where the officiant would’ve stood, and the pale-wood wedding arch wrapped in the same champagne tulle. Everything looked perfect.

Adam, Beetlejuice, and Lydia, the family’s impromptu wedding photographer/videographer, were gathered around a photo album. It took Barbara a second to recognize it.

“Aww, our wedding album!” She joined the group, resting her head on Adam’s shoulder. He kissed her temple, pulling her closer with both arms. The book continued floating in mid-air.

“Obsessed with sunflowers much?” grumbled an unimpressed Beetlejuice.

“I guess so,” Adam said. “My family’s farm had a little sunflower patch. That kinda became our thing.”

“Love the mason jars,” Lydia commented.

“Hey, those were the big thing in 2009,” Barbara said. She supposed their wedding had followed a lot of popular trends: an outdoor barn wedding, lots of tea lights in mason jars, and even a photo booth. But they’d managed to be ahead of the curve on a few things. “Remember our party favours, sweetie?” she asked Adam. “They were little terrariums in stemless wineglasses.”

Adam grinned and squeezed the arm around her waist. “They were tied with ribbons that said ‘Thank you very ‘mulch’ for coming to our wedding!’”

Lydia chuckled; Beetlejuice rolled his eyes.

“Don’t encourage that,” the demon said to his friend. He continued scowling at the wedding album, but Lydia seemed happy to keep looking at the photos.

The most pages they turned, the more Barbara’s mood slid closer to Beetlejuice’s. All those photos were full of friends and family she couldn’t see anymore. Most of her friends’ Facebooks or Instagrams were private, so she couldn’t even do any light internet stalking unless she wanted to log into her old accounts and confuse everyone. Was Lisa still going back to school to get her Masters, or had the pandemic put that on hold? Was Alison still having issues with her mother-in-law? Barbara had no idea. Dead women didn’t have friends. Not to mention her family….

But a wedding was no time to be sad. She pasted a smile on her face and even managed a few cute wedding stories.

“Remember when your uncle Eddy tried to drink his wedding favour?” she asked Adam, who chuckled. “He almost choked on a succulent!”

“But he kept trying to drink from it! Three times!” Adam chuckled. A moment later, his smile faltered. “Probably because he’s a massive alcoholic.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” That story wasn’t quite as cute as she remembered. “So, um, why don’t we do a last-minute check? Make sure we’ve got everything.”

“All right,” Lydia said. She took the photo album from midair and put it away, frowning slightly. “This is probably going to be the nicest moment I have today, so thanks for that.”

Barbara and Adam shared a worried look. Lydia was deeply ambivalent about her father marrying another woman only six months after her mother died. Lydia had used that fact to extract a lot of concessions about the wedding: Delia had let her wear a black dress and take photographs on her analogue camera instead of a digital camera.

“C’mon, kid!” Beetlejuice said. “Just wait ‘til I get the party started!” He blew a party favour, and sparkly beetles flew behind him.

While Lydia rolled her eyes fondly at her friend, Barbara and Adam shared another worried look. The young woman went upstairs to get changed.  

Barbara turned to Beetlejuice. “I just wanted to remind you about your promise, Beetlejuice. I know it’d probably be very funny to interrupt the ceremony. Maybe Lydia would even appreciate it. But this day means a lot to Delia and Charles. They’ve found each other through a lot of pain and hardship, and they deserve a fun, special memory.”

Beetlejuice waved her words away. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. You don’t know this about me yet, but I love a good party. And people can finally see me! Well, only people here, but whatever. Why would I mess that up and have everybody pissed at me? I’m here for the fun and the food, baby.”

As much as Barbara wanted to believe him, she suspected that the only reason he didn’t have a disruption planned was because of Lydia’s innate goodness, not his own.

“I noticed you didn’t love us going through the wedding album, buddy,” Adam said. “Is everything okay?”

He shrugged. “It just…it looked nice. Your wedding.” He glanced between Barbara and Adam, loudly announcing, “None of that boring-ass shit at our wedding, okay?”

Barbara tried not to look too surprised—Beetlejuice loved shocking them. “Noted. But it’s also not going to be jump scares every minute, or a projector that reveals everyone’s darkest fears, or some kind of Saw situation.”

Beetlejuice’s eyebrows rose. “I was just thinking there’d be singing cockroaches and banners made of bats, but those are way better! You wanna plan it, baby?”

“I said ‘not.’ It’s not going to be any of those things. Did you even hear that part?”

He darted in close and kissed her lips. “Eh, we’ll find a compromise that works for all of us. We’re all about that life, right?” His neck stretched cartoonishly to kiss Adam on the lips as well. Then he poofed away in a cloud of smoke.

After a few moments, Adam said, “Did he just ask us to marry him?”

“I think it was a joke proposal. You know him. If he really wanted to propose, there’d be a lot more pizzazz. And possibly dead bodies.”

“Right, of course.”

“Would you have said yes if he’d been serious?” Barbara asked, curious.

“Things between the three of us have been going pretty well, but I don’t think I’m ready to jump into another marriage quite yet. And you?”

It was exactly what she’d expected from Adam. They’d changed since their deaths—six months later, their afterlives involved parenthood, isolation from friends and family, a lot more free time, and a polyamorous relationship. But it was nice when she could guess what he was thinking. Not everything had changed. “The same. Maybe in a few years or so.”

*

Before the ceremony, Charles and Lydia stayed in the living room, helping older relatives log on to Zoom and greeting people as they logged in. Charles was wearing a pale grey tuxedo with a metallic grey tie and pocket square. Lydia looked like an elegant classic Hollywood starlet with a goth twist: her black lace gown had a subtle skull pattern to it, barely visible unless the light hit it just right. Her onyx choker and bracelets looked like thorny vines going up her pale arms and encircling her neck. On her head was a raven fascinator with golden bead eyes, her one concession to the wedding colours.

The laptop screen filled up with squares of happy, smiling faces. Everyone had dressed up for the occasion, wearing suits and dresses.

“Betcha most of them are wearing sweat pants,” Beetlejuice said.

“Well, hopefully we’ll never find out,” Barbara replied. The three of them were sitting on the white chairs on either side of the aisle. Most people watching this meeting online probably assumed these chairs were only there for symmetry. As far as they knew, Lydia was the only other person physically at this wedding.

Despite her earlier claim, Lydia was smiling and chatting with Charles’s parents and, to Barbara’s surprise, Emily’s mother. Coming to your son-in-law’s wedding six months after your daughter’s death must have been hard, but if there were any issues, Barbara didn’t see them, and she wasn’t about to eavesdrop on a family moment.

Emily was sick for years. I suppose her family had a lot of time to mourn her. She thought about her parents and her sister at her own funeral. What had that been like?

Lydia took video of Delia coming down the stairs to the bridal chorus, played on speakers set up throughout the room, then put the video camera on a tripod so she could participate in the ceremony.

“I want to thank everyone for joining us today,” the officiant said. “In lieu of wedding gifts, the bride and groom have asked that you donate to the Rural Connecticut Preservation Society. I’m pleased to share that we’ve raised $10,000, which will be donated after the wedding.”

If Charles had had any reservations about donating to a charity dedicated to stopping housing development in rural Connecticut, which directly impacted his career, he hadn’t brought it up during the wedding’s planning stages. Lydia had suggested the charity, after all.

Everyone applauded.

“We will now bless the rings,” the officiant said.

Lydia took out the rings, held them both tightly in her hands, and whispered her blessing into her clenched fists. She smiled mischievously at Charles.

“I suppose if they burst into flame, we’ll know Mom disapproves.”

There were a few awkward chuckles from the assembled, none louder than Delia’s. “That’s my darling, unique stepdaughter for you! Oh, Lydia, you’re so funny!”

In a mocking, little-girl voice, Lydia replied, “I appreciate the compliment, my dearest stepmother.”

Barbara and Adam made sure that they were holding Beetlejuice’s hands so he couldn’t raise them.

The demon scoffed. “You know, I don’t need my hands to do ghost magic? I could just set the rings on fire with my mind.”

“Do not—”

“I wasn’t gonna! Jeez.”

With a theatrical flourish, Lydia showed off the rings to the laptop camera. Barbara half-expected them to be Netherworld green, but they were normal. “My blessing has been spoken. Please speak your blessings now.” Ideally, everyone would’ve been able to touch the rings and speak their blessings in private.

After a pause, Delia’s father spoke first, and others followed. The wedding program had provided a few sample blessings, but people were free to write their own. Delia’s mother began crying halfway through hers.

“Save something for the wedding speech, Amanda,” her father joked. He reminded Barbara of her own dad.

Barbara and Adam gave their own blessings. “Delia and Charles, we wish you health, happiness and love as you start your new life together,” they said, touching the rings, making sure not to brush Lydia’s hands.

Beetlejuice had declined to take part in “New Age bullshittery,” so he remained hovering over his seat.

The rest of the wedding was more traditional, probably to appease Charles’s parents. Barbara’s mind wandered. She and Adam had come so far, hadn’t they? She held Adam’s hand lightly, running her thumb up and down his palm—rather, she did until Beetlejuice forced his way between the two of them and sat on both of their laps.

“Poor baby, no one was paying attention to you,” she cooed into his ear.

“It’s the worst,” he agreed. She ran her fingers through his spikey green hair. Adam gave him some attention by resting his head on Beetlejuice’s shoulder. That seemed to do the trick—he sighed and relaxed.

Readings were read, vows were said, and rings were exchanged. Charles’s vows were simple and straightforward—too curt for Barbara’s tastes—but Delia’s were long enough for them both. Barbara fought the urge to check the time. She felt like Delia had been going for 10 minutes.

Delia actually appeared to be wrapping up when “I object!” sounded over the laptop’s speakers.

A square popped up on Zoom, revealing that the speaker was a tanned older man with more salt than pepper in his hair and bright white teeth. He had a faint accent that Barbara couldn’t place. She’d never seen him on any of Delia’s photos or social media.

Delia made a few choking noises in the back of her throat, the colour draining from her face.

Charles glared at the screen. “You,” he spat out.

Clutching Charles like a lifeline, Delia drew herself up as tall as she could. “Jeremy, log off immediately! I don’t know how you got my number or how you got this link, but get out, you narcissistic psychopath! You don’t get to be a part of my life, not after what you did!”

“Delia, my love, I know you still feel something for me—“

‘My love’? This can’t be the ex-husband, can it? Years ago, Delia’s ex had sailed away to Rome with the secretary he’d been cheating on her with.

“Hey,” Beetlejuice whispered, “I never possessed someone over the internet before. Maybe if we all work together, we can do it?”

Jeremy had opened his mouth to speak again. If ghostly powers could stop this disaster, they had to try. Barbara grabbed Beetlejuice’s and Adam’s hands and held them out to the laptop screen.

“—and I—” Jeremy continued. His gaze abruptly unfocused. Barbara tried to force words into his mouth.

“I’m so sorry!” he said, just as she’d scripted. “I’m going to log off and…and…and throw myself into a dumpster like the piece of trash I am.”

She hadn’t told him to say that. Barbara glanced at Beetlejuice, who grinned back at her.

“And then,” Jeremy continued, “I’m gonna take my toenail clippings, and my belly button lint, put them in a blender, take a shit in that blender, start the blender, and pour myself a shit-shake. It’s my regular Saturday morning routine, baby!”

Lydia rushed forward and tapped a few keys. His square vanished from the screen.

“I blocked him,” she said.

“Thank you, stepdaughter.” Delia sniffled, and Charles handed her a Kleenex from his suit pocket.

As Delia struggled to compose herself, Barbara whispered, “A poop-shake? Really, Beetlejuice?”

“It was Adam!” He couldn’t even keep a straight face, and chortled. “Okay, you caught me. Hey, I had to make sure he’d never be able to look these people in the eye again.”

Delia glared at the laptop screen. “Lydia, darling, explain to me how you set this event up again.”

“I set it as a private Zoom event. Everyone involved in the ceremony had to have a link and a password.”

“So,” Delia said, “who gave my ex-husband—who, I’d just like to remind everyone, is a cheating bastard—the link and the password?”

Slowly, one of Delia’s aunts raised her hand, her face bright pink behind her makeup.

“Millie!” Delia’s mom exclaimed.

“Mom!” shrieked one of Delia’s cousins.

Most people on the Zoom call started shouting at once. It took a few minutes to hear Aunt Millie’s explanation.

“I had no idea he was going to object,” she squeaked. “But he was such a big part of our lives for such a long time, and I thought he deserved to at least see the ceremony….”

“Aunt Millie,” Delia said, “you are no longer welcome!”

“Of—of course. I’m so sorry, Delia.” Aunt Millie took out her glasses and peered at the screen. “Er, which button do I…?”

Lydia took care of it, and banned her.

“And everyone thought I’d use my ghost powers for evil,” Beetlejuice boasted. “Look at me, doing good deeds! Being a goddamn hero!”

Barbara would’ve responded, but poor Delia sagged against Charles, tears running down her face. She tried to speak, but only managed a quiet sob.

“We’re going to take a break,” Lydia said quickly, turning back to the laptop. “See you in 10 minutes, everyone.” She muted them and closed the laptop.

Beetlejuice waved his hand to grab Delia’s attention, grinning broadly. “Thought I’d mention that if you know where he lives I could teleport to his location and, well, cause a little havoc.”

“Do we need to go over the house rules?” Barbara asked. ‘No Murdering’ was the first one.

“No murdering, this time! Just a little non-fatal revenge.”

Delia hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. “No, thank you.”

“Non-fatal?” Lydia asked Beetlejuice. “Are you sure? Our wedding did set a precedent for murder….”

Beetlejuice chuckled, and the two fistbumped.

After a moment, the demon frowned. “Wait, should I fistbump you for murdering me?”

“You already completed the ‘bump—you can’t take it back now,” Lydia said.

“Shit, you’re right.”

Delia stared at the living room, lips quivering. “Maybe…maybe this is a sign. The universe must not want me to get married again!”

Beetlejuice floated over. “Delia! Signs don’t exist. Trust me, I’d know! There is no heaven, no hell, no meaning to anything! The universe is cold, distant, and uncaring. It’s basically my mom,” he joked. “But the point is—it doesn’t care what you want, and nothing you say or do can affect it.

“Besides, girl!” Beetlejuice leaned in. “Chuck is rich as fuck. Lock him down!”

Charles glared at him before turning back to Delia. “I still want to get married to you, Delia.”

“Are you sure?” She blew into her Kleenex before continuing. “There are women who…who don’t have ex-husbands that ruin their weddings and—and make a scene in front of all their friends and family….”

“Delia,” Barbara said quietly, “you’re not the first person to date an asshole. I mean, look at me and Adam.”

Beetlejuice appreciated the burn, even if it was at his own expense—he cackled over Delia’s tepid chuckle.

“Don’t blame yourself for what just happened,” Barbara continued.

Delia whimpered into her Kleenex. Charles stroked her hair lightly.

“Delia,” he said, “I stood in front of our friends and family and told them how you were the brightest light in my darkest time. I meant every word of it. Nothing will change that. I love you.” He kissed her so deeply that Barbara looked away to give them some privacy.

When they were done, Lydia cleared her throat. “I’ll go get the digital camera so we can adjust the photos faster. That way you won’t have to worry about your makeup looking perfect.” She began to set her analog camera down.

Delia shook her head. “No—you said this was your artistic vision, and I won’t see it compromised.”

Lydia looked surprised. “Oh.” Her smile was small but sincere. “Thanks, Delia.”

Delia took this as an invitation to hug her stepdaughter. Lydia rolled her eyes, but patted her shoulder and didn’t pull away.

“Besides,” Delia added, “this camera was your mother’s gift to you, and I don’t want her coming back from the Netherworld to tell me off.”

Beetlejuice facepalmed. “That is not how the Netherworld works! That’s not how any of it works.”

“Well, it couldn’t hurt to make sure, could it?” Delia stepped back. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll just fix my face.”

“I can help,” Barbara said, and Delia nodded.

Once they were upstairs, Delia collapsed in her makeup chair, sighing heavily.

“I actually thought it was going to go well,” she commented. “That I’d have one beautiful day even in the midst of the world’s ugliness. I was so stupid. Nothing ever goes right for me.”

Barbara reached out to pat Delia’s shoulder before stopping herself. When Delia looked confused, she explained, “Lydia said touching me or Adam is like touching an ice cube tray straight from the freezer.”

“I don’t mind.”

Hesitantly, Barbara touched Delia’s shoulder. It was the first time she’d touched a living person other than Lydia in months, and hugs from a 16-year-old girl she didn’t know that well were rare. The older woman shivered but didn’t pull away.

“Lydia’s not wrong,” Delia admitted. She put her hand over Barbara’s, squeezing slightly. “But a hand offered in friendship should never be refused. You know, it’s been almost four months since I last touched someone who wasn’t Charles.”

“Hopefully this coronavirus pandemic will end soon.”

“I’ve been saying healing prayers twice a day.”

Barbara wasn’t sure they’d be effective, but healing prayers were more than most of America’s leaders were doing. At least Delia was listening to the science and wearing a mask when she went outside. She’d grown so much in the short time Barbara had known her.

Barbara missed her friends from when she was alive. That was natural. But she couldn’t let her loss keep her from recognizing that she’d made a friend after death, too.

“Thanks, Delia,” Barbara said. “Not just for the healing prayers, but for everything. Having two ghostly housemates and a demon would be a lot for some people, but you’ve taken it in stride.”

Delia chuckled. “I once lived in a commune of 200 people. Living off the land, growing our own food…and digging our own toilets.” She wrinkled her nose, then chuckled. “You three are a walk in the park compared to that!”

“If there’s anything you need from me or Adam, please let us know. We don’t want to trouble you or Charles.”

Delia opened and closed her mouth. After a moment, she said, “Well….I suppose I do have a rather personal question….”

“Shoot.”

“Beetlejuice—is he actually good in the bedroom?”

Barbara giggled. “He is. He’s had millennia to think about what he’d do if he ever had sexual partners again. He’s very…inventive.”

“I’ll admit, I’m surprised. He doesn’t seem the type to be concerned with another’s pleasure.”

“Oh, there’s definitely times he forgets. But then we get to teach him. Ahem. Now,” she nodded to the mirror, “let’s get your makeup touched up.”

*

Barbara wouldn’t ever be hungry or thirsty again, but the stuffed butternut squash was delicious. Delia and Charles had deferred to Barbara and Adam’s local expertise when they planned the menu at their wedding dinner. Adam knew most of the farms the vegetables had come from.

The Deetzes had said goodbye to all their guests, and the family was eating their wedding dinner in the dining room.

Delia had been going to give out the crystals on either side of the laptop as wedding favours—the stones were mostly rose quartz, moonstone and a pale white stone called selenite. But after Jeremy’s arrival, she said she needed to cleanse the crystals. “I’m going to give them a few lunar cycles, just to be safe.”

Barbara nodded, pretending she understood what that meant. “Adam, Beetlejuice and I are dead. We’ve got nothing but time!”

“I just want to thank everyone again for your hard work,” Delia said, smiling at them. “Lydia, for your photographic eye and leading the blessing. Barbara, for the hair, makeup, decorating and emotional support. Adam, for sending out all the emails and doing the tech support. All the ghosts, for intervening when a certain someone decided to crash the party.”

“It was mostly me,” Beetlejuice said. Barbara rolled her eyes at Adam, who chuckled.

“He is the ghost with the most,” Adam said, making Beetlejuice grin.

“My mistake—thank you, Beetlejuice. Thank you all for being part of one of the most important days of our lives. Thank you for being our family.”

Barbara sniffled a bit as she and Adam applauded the speech.

“I got the happy couple some extra gifts,” Beetlejuice said. “For the wedding night.”

“I’m going into another room,” Lydia announced abruptly, setting her plate down. “Another house. Another life.”

As she left, Beetlejuice grinned. “We’re rated PG-13, guys! It’s just rose petals on the bed and some boozy chocolates. Figured you two have your own toys—”

Lydia started singing loudly as she covered her ears, taking the stairs three at a time to get away.

Barbara tried to figure out what he had in mind. “These rose petals won’t become spiders, will they?”

“They’re totally normally and boring, if you must know. I ordered them off Amazon.”

“How?” Adam asked. “You have no money.”

“I typed in Chuck’s credit card, duh.”

“What?” Charles snapped.

Barbara and Adam sighed. Beetlejuice’s morality was a never-ending project that was not without its consequences.

Not for the first time, Barbara reflected that it was a good thing the Maitlands loved working on projects together.

*

After the wedding dinner, as Barbara, Adam and Beetlejuice were cleaning up, Lydia came downstairs. She was carrying another photo album and wearing a glum expression. She’d changed out of her party dress, and was wearing a comfy hoodie and sweat pants—all black, of course.

“Got a sec?” she asked quietly.

“Of course, sweetheart,” Barbara said.

Lydia showed them a photo—a younger Emily Deetz on a younger Charles’s lap, grinning at the camera in a fancy restaurant.

“My mom and dad’s wedding wasn’t like today’s. There wasn’t any structure. It was just a big party at one of the best restaurants in New York, followed by wandering the city with all their friends and family. They stopped in at dingy bars to listen to live music, they caught a comedy show, they walked through Times Square at two in the morning. They almost got mugged! Mom was hard core like that. Daddy attracts dramatic weddings, doesn’t he?” she joked.

Her smile dropped a second later. “And Daddy looks just as happy here as he did today. I was photographing him and Delia the whole time. I’d know.”

“So,” Beetlejuice said, “the big takeaway here is that Chuck is in love with the women he gets married to?”

Lydia chuckled sadly. “Something like that. I mean, one of them was a woman he met in college, while the other was his employee…. But who cares about things like abuses of power when it’s true love? Daddy and Delia keep trying to make me comfortable with their love story, but how can I be? If it were any other situation, I’d be blasting Daddy online as he stars in the latest MeToo scandal, right?”

Barbara nodded. “You’re right. It’s pretty rare for a story like Delia and Charles’s to end this way. You sound like you’re carrying a lot, Lydia. Do you want to sit and—”

“No, thanks. I just wanted to whine for a bit. Delia’s family seem nice, at least. Except for Aunt Millie, obviously.” She closed the photo album in a short, frustrated gesture. “Well, goodnight, guys.”

“Do you mind if we check in with you tomorrow?” Barbara said. “See how you’re feeling?” Sixteen was such a tough age—particularly when your father was remarrying.

“If you want.” She shrugged, as if she really didn’t care, but her small smile made Barbara hopeful that she’d made the right decision. The only thing more difficult than being a teenager was parenting a teenager she’d just met a few months ago.

Beetlejuice was frowning as Lydia left. “Guys, we gotta help Lyds!” He was nothing if not loyal. “We should break Chuck and Delia up, right?” He leaned in to Adam. “I got the perfect way to do it. You know how Delia thinks Emily can come back from the Netherworld?” Beetlejuice became Emily Deetz for a moment, still with a few mossy patches and green hair. “Well, what if she can? And then we tell Delia to GTFO!”

That he was asking them instead of just doing it was a pretty good sign.

“Well, Bug,” Adam said, “think about it—if Lydia didn’t want this wedding to happen, she could’ve objected herself. Or asked her father not to get married to Delia.”

Beetlejuice became his usual self again, looking disappointed. “Oh. Right. Didn’t think of that.”

“She’s an intelligent, sensitive young woman with complicated feelings about a complicated issue,” Barbara said. “I think the best way to help her is to listen to her without judgement.”

“Why is the right way always the most boring way?” Beetlejuice said, sighing.

Barbara knew how to get him happy again. “Now,” she said, running her hand along his shoulder, “why don’t we finish up and go upstairs? After all this work for everyone else, we deserve some…ah, quality time together.”

Beetlejuice fistpumped and chortled. “Yes! Unfortunately, because of this fic’s rating, we gotta cut it off here. I just wanna let everyone know, it’s gonna be freakin’ awesome—'cuz I’m awesome, baby.”

Barbara had no idea what he was talking about, as usual. Adam kissed her cheek, and they went back to the dishes.

[cutie1365]

Hello Detective Chapter 68

Pairing: Sherlock x Reader

Word Count: 3.1k

A/N: This is my first update in over a year, wow. Please comment and let me know what you think, its the kind words y’all leave that motivate me to keep writing!

Masterlist in my bio, taglist in the reblog

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“Ms. Gregson, I’ve brought your dress.” Your assistant entered your office and held up a garment bag.

“Dress?” You muttered, your eyes not leaving the papers in front of you, your work completely distracting you. Who knew missile threats lead to so much paperwork.

“For the wedding ma’am. Your driver is ready whenever you are.” He explained, snapping you out of your trance.

“Ok, I’m almost done here.” You informed him, pointing to the door for him to hang your dress.

Once you gathered your papers and notes together to be sent off to Mycroft, you slipped into your tastefully simple dress. You were a lover of fashion from birth, most likely due to your mother being a dress designer, but you knew it was a total faux pas to outshine a bride at a wedding. So you opted for a simple spring colored dress.

The drive to the venue was about an hour outside of London, and you were grateful for an escape from the city. The long trip gave you an opportunity to take care of some work and update Mycroft on the events of the morning.

As you were nearing your destination you received a text from Sherlock.

Service is over, not as entirely painful as I expected. The pictures... now that’s another story.

-SH

You chuckled to yourself, after all this time he still signs his initials with every text. You’re convinced that it’s a preset in his phone that he secretly has no idea how to change, but of course he’d never admit that.

It’s almost over, you attempted to reassure him, I’m in the car now, I’ll be there soon. Xx

When you arrived everyone was in the reception hall milling about and visiting. You spotted Sherlock from behind, chatting with a woman in a lilac bridesmaid dress. You approached him and laid a hand on his arm to get his attention.

“Hi.” He whipped around and smiled, happy to see you. He placed a gentle kiss on your cheek. Either this whole wedding thing was torture or he was more nervous about his speech than you thought.

“Sorry I’m late.” You apologized.

“You’re here now.” He nodded, grateful for your presence.

“That I am,” You suddenly realized you had interrupted their conversation and turned to apologize to the bridesmaid, “Oh I’m sorry-.”

You turned to who he was talking to, ready to apologize, when your face went flush. Your smile faltered for just a moment, long enough for Sherlock to clock your reaction.

“Hello Ms. Gregson,” Janine said with a cheery smile.

“H-hi Janine.” You tried to recover and smile politely.

“Sherlock here’s been trying to find me a suitable date.” She explained, you were still in shock that she was here, considering your last encounter was her boss blackmailing you.

“Is he now? Well, I don’t doubt he’ll find you a good match, he’s very observant,” You said as you spotted Greg off sitting at a table with a drink in his hand, “I’ll let you two get back to it.”

You politely excused yourself, laying a hand on Sherlock’s arm again as you passed him, giving him a little squeeze.

“Hello there,” You smirked at Greg. He hadn’t expected you to make it, he lit up at your arrival.

“Look who decided to show up!” He jumps up and hugs you.

“That bad, eh?” You laugh and point down to his glass.

“Oh no, it was lovely, just not a big wedding person.” He explained, since he and his wife split you could understand why this might not be the happiest of reminders for him.

You look down at the table and see you’ve been seated next to him.

“Looks like we’re stuck together,” You smiled and pointed to the name plate next to him.

“That we are,” He smiles, taking another sip of his drink.

“Well I better go congratulate the happy couple, I’ll be back.” You smile, and go off to find John and Mary.

You see them standing together in the center of the room and make your way towards them, you see Sherlock doing the same.

“John!” You call to him with a wave, getting their attention.

“You made it!” He smiled, both of them turning to you.

“Wouldn’t miss this for the world.” You greeted and hugged both of them.

“Our wedding or Sherlock’s speech?” John smirked. Sherlock, who now stood by your side raised a brow, he didn’t like that comment.

“Oh hush,” You chuckled, “Mary you looked beautiful.”

“Oh thank you, I’m glad we could pull you away from the office for a few hours at least.” She placed a loving hand on your arm. You remembered the first time you met her at the doctor's office. You were surprised you could even remember her, consider there were about a million things running through your mind at that time. Things were so complicated then, well in your line of work things were always going to be complicated.

“Yes, just be glad I dumped my work onto Mycroft to keep him busy.” You smirked, earning a laugh.

Suddenly a bell rang, signaling dinner was to be served and you all were to make your way to your seats.

“Hey-” You grabbed Sherlock’s hand as everyone shuffled around you. You knew this would be the last chance you got to talk to him before his speech.

“It’s going to be fine. You’re ready.” You tried to reassure him, placing a hand on his cheek. You centered him and calmed him. He placed his hand over yours, leaning into it for a moment before nodding.

“Thank you.” He removed your hand and kissed it gently, squeezing it lightly before he turned to leave.

He remembered your words from earlier as he sat down at the front table with Mary, John and the bridesmaids, you’re Sherlock Holmes, you’ve faced demons and the devil himself, a little speech isn’t going to kill you.

You took your seat the corner table by the door between Mrs. Hudson and Lestrade. You were conveniently across from Molly and her Sherlock-wanna-be boyfriend... fiance? You glanced down at her ring.

After dinner and some light conversation, it was finally time for Sherlock’s speech, and you were a little nervous.

“Ladies and gentlemen, family and friends... and others... also-” He was too in his head, examining and deducing the room instead of focusing on his speech,

“The telegrams.” You mouthed to him as his eyes finally landed on you in the sea of people. He seemed to realize what you were mouthing.

“Right. First things first. Telegrams. Well, they’re not actually telegrams we just call them telegrams, I don’t know why. Wedding tradition, because we don’t have enough of that already, apparently.” He rambled and you smiled shaking your head, this wasn’t exactly what you meant when you said be yourself.

He began to read them, and there was something so funny to you about Sherlock saying such gushing words, they sounded so foreign.

“Mary lots of love... oh.” Sherlock stopped for a moment, John looked up to him questioningly as he continued, “poppet.”

This earned a laugh from everyone. Now that was a word you’d never thought would come out of Sherlock’s mouth.

You thought it was odd for this telegram to only be directed at Mary, no mention of John. The previous ones addressed them both.

“Oodles of love and heaps of good wishes from Cam. Wish your family could have seen this.” You noticed Mary’s reaction, something was wrong. No one reacts like that to these happy little notes. And you’d seen Sherlock obsessing over the guest list, there were no Cams on it.

Meaning- it had to be initials. Three words suddenly jumped into your mind:

Charles Augustus Magnussen

Sherlock begins to tell the funny story about John asking him to be his best man, a day which you vividly remember due to the fact that you almost drank from a cup inhabited by an eyeball, one of Sherlock's experiments.

You were distracted, this couldn’t be a coincidence. First Janine and now Magnusen. This nearly confirmed your earlier suspicions that Mary might have been the target of John’s Guy Fawkes night attack. And it was highly suspicious that there was zero trace of her in the intelligence databases. Everyone’s got a file, even ordinary people if not just a birth certificate. You know she was employed, hell you’d seen her at work, she should at least have an employers file, but nothing.

By the time you tune back in Sherlock was telling the story of the Bloody Guardsman. You hoped no one had noticed you’d tuned out for who knows how long. You couldn't shake the feeling that Mary was hiding something deeper. We all have secrets, and as someone with a fair few and a lot of red in your ledger you knew a thing or two about trying to wipe it clean and start fresh. A whole new life. Is that what she’s doing here? What pushed her to do this, clearly something of that magnitude would not be looked upon lightly. You wanted to get to the bottom of this, but now is not the time.

You couldn’t get the idea out of your mind, you needed answers now. It's a good thing your table was next to the door and you could slip out largely unseen. Sherlock seemed to be doing a good job on his speech, people like detective stories. You won’t be missed. And a government job in charge of the safety of all British citizens was a pretty good alibi if anyone asked why you slipped away, work would be your excuse.

You made your way towards the seating area outside of the water closets near the kitchen door. You began to search everything you have on Mary, Magnusen, and Janine. MI5, MI6 every database you have access to. You’re in a deep dive when a waiter approaches you.

“Would you like something to drink?” He offered, pulling you from your train of thought. He was holding a tray with champagne.

“No I think I’m ok,” You smiled, looking back down to your phone.

“You sure? You look like you’ve had a long day.” He says politely.

“On second thought...” You smile and accept. Taking a sip as he returns into the kitchen. You return to the file on your phone, Magnussen has a lot of fingers in a lot of pies, but nothing explains his connection to Mary.

There had to be one, you were so frustrated that your searches were not fruitful.

Before you realized it, the words on the page were turning fuzzy. You glanced back at the champagne glass, raising it to your eyes to examine it... had you been drugged? Your hands began to shake and the glass dropped from your hands, shattering. You tried to remember the face of the waiter but it was a blur.

You stood quickly, you knew you had to get this out of your system. You glanced to the tray near the kitchen door and grabbed an empty glass and salt shaker. But it was too late. You collapsed as you tried to make your way towards the bathroom.

Back in the reception hall Sherlock began his Q&A portion of his story. As he asks Lestrade for his theory on the Bloody Guardsman case he noticed your absence. He sees the empty chair beside him, he knew something was off about you earlier when you’d met Janine. How could you two know each other? Even he’d just met her. He momentarily writes your absence off as a work emergency.

He quickly began to realize that the Mayfly Man was here today as he went over the case again in his mind. Something was about to happen, and that made your absence all the more suspicious.

“Who could you only kill at a wedding?” Sherlock asked as he made his rounds around the room, biding his time to solve the case and keep control of the room. You immediately came to mind because of your government position, but he ruled you out due to your numerous public appearances both formally and casually.

Lock this place down.

He texted Lestrade who quickly jumped to action, running into the hall.

The first thing he noticed was the shattered glass and a limp hand on the floor behind the seating area near the loo.

“Oh God, Y/N.” He rushed to you, checking your vitals.

Sherlock runs into the hall with John, Mary, and Molly on his tail.

“I thought you were locking the place down.” Sherlock asked in a scolding manner before his eyes landed on you and his heart dropped.

“I don’t know what happened.” Greg tried to explain but Sherlock quickly cut him off.

“She was drugged.” He pointed to the salt shaker and empty glass, what would have been used in an attempt to rid your system of the chemicals. But you were too late.

John checked your vitals and confirmed that you were just unconscious. He knew now this case meant life or death, and he didn’t have much time.

“Someone did this to distract me from solving the case in time, we have to go. Lestrade go get the photographer, he shouldn’t be too far now. Molly I need you to wait with her, please!” He yelled from down the hall as the trio began to make their way to Major Sholto’s room.

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When you wake up Sherlock is kneeling next to you, your head in his hands.

“Y/N... can you hear me?” He asked frantically, he was worried. He didn’t know what kind of drug you’d been given.

“You’re yelling, so yes.” You muttered, wincing slightly.

“Oh thank god.” He sighed, helping you to sit up on the couch.

“What happened?” You asked.

“Mayfly Man, he was working his way up to Sholto. The Bloody Guardsman was a practice round.” He explained, pointing over to the man Lestrade was interrogating who was handcuffed to a luggage rack. You recognized him as the waiter who gave you the drink.

“He was pretending to be a waiter.” You explained.

“He was the photographer, he must have thought you’d put a damper on his plans. Wanted to get you out of the way, or at the very least serve as a distraction for me.” Sherlock explained and you nodded in understanding.

“And did it work? Is Sholto ok?” You asked.

“He’s on the way to the hospital but he was stable.” Sherlock explained and you were relieved.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Sherlock pressed.

“Oh please, not the first time I've been poisoned,” You smiled, earning a concerned look from Sherlock.

“Still.” He pressed.

“Im fine. Promise.” You smile, placing a hand on his knee.

In all the commotion you forgot what you came out here to do in the first place. Any thoughts of Magnussen and Mary and Janine were far from you now.

“Isn’t it time for your song?” You asked Sherlock, referring to his waltz you’d been forced to road test.

“Yes, but you need to rest. Ten minutes ago you were unconscious.” He said with a protective tone.

“I’m not missing their first dance, I can rest after.” You pushed and he agreed reluctantly.

Everyone made their way onto the dancefloor and made way for the newlyweds.

Sherlock began to play as they waltzed, they looked happy. You smiled as you leaned against the wall to steady yourself. Things were a little fuzzy, but you were fine. How has this become your new normal?, you thought to yourself shaking your head.

Sherlock’s song was even more beautiful than his recording from earlier. You loved when he played the violin, there was something so calming and soothing about it. You swore he could solve all of your problems with one note.

After he played and gave an apology for the commotion earlier, you saw him make his way towards John and Mary before they shooed him away with a smile. Had he just revealed that they were pregnant? Leave it to Sherlock to know before John, a doctor.

“Lets get some air.” Sherlock whispered in your ear once he had approached you, pulling you from the loud ballroom.

You followed him into the cool night air, the darkness surrounding the two of you. You were alone, the two of you against the world.

“This isn’t exactly how I expected today to go.” You chuckled as you made it to a faintly lit courtyard outside. You could see the flashing lights from inside and the faint beat of the music.

“Who would have guessed.” He laughed, shaking his head and pulling you closer to him. The two of you swaying slightly in a dance, in your own little world.

“Sherlock Holmes, can you not go one day without saving a life or two.” You smirked, laying your head against his chest.  

“You’re the one that has saved me.” He spoke, his tone more serious than a moment ago.

“Well that’s incredibly cheesy, but I’ll let it slide.” You teased.

The two of you had stopped dancing, but Sherlock was still holding you as if he never wanted to let you go.

“Im serious Y/N. You, you came into my life and you made everything better. I’m excited to get up in the morning, I’m excited to live, because I know you’ll be by my side. You've taught me how to love, and I never want to live another day without you by my side.” Sherlock says in a serious tone, bending down to get on one knee.

“Sherlock...” Your jaw drops, and you glance back towards the party. On John and Marys wedding day?, You thought.

“And I know what you’re thinking... it’s past midnight, not John and Mary’s day anymore.” He smiled, you hadn’t even notice him slip a ring box out of his coat pocket.

“Our day.” You smile, as a tear slips down your cheek.

“Our day, just us.” He nods, smiling just as wide as you bent down to kiss him.

“I am going to need verbal confirmation here, Y/N.” He asks as you pull apart, he's still on one knee. You laugh as more tears spill slowly.

“Yes, yes.” You cry as he slips the ring on your finger.

You jump into his arms as he stands up, catching him a little off guard, causing him to laugh.

“Just me and you...” You whispered.

“Against the rest of the world.” Sherlock finished your thought, tilting your chin up to kiss you once more.

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Thank you for reading!

Please let me know what you think!

Feedback is more important than you know.

Hope this was worth the one year wait ;)

Taglist in the reblog

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Happy Together : 17

So the bell tolls

Character(s): (deceptively) dark!Steve

Warnings: this is a dark!fic, it contains non/dubious-consent elements. It goes without (and with) saying that this is 18+.

Series Synopsis: The reader is stood up while awaiting a blind date, instead finding herself keeping company with the restaurant’s famous owner; Steve Rogers. After that night, she tries to forget her humiliation but she just can’t shake one thing about that night: him.

Masterlist

Chapter Summary: Wedding bells ring and the reader hears them clearly.

Notes: Okay, so the fates aligned and I got enough time before work to edit this and get it out so thanks everyone for understanding. I love you all and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Let’s just say, we’re in the endgame now.

I look forward to hearing from you in the replies/reblogs/tags/asks. <3

-

One day. Your last night of freedom. No, not really. That was long ago. 

Time passed swiftly, you could barely keep track. Each morning and night mirrored the last. The same bed, the same room, the same man beside you. You didn't imagine that marriage would be much different. Your life was already his. You belonged to him. The ceremony was only a pretense.

Marriage. The word hovered over you. The reality of it just hours away. One sleep. One dinner. Another performance.

It was startling. How had you let yourself slip so far? Staring at yourself in the white dress, the veil, the ring sparkling on your finger. It was as if your very reflection had shattered before you. The happy bride-to-be wasn't you. It was what Steve had made you. 

Your cheeks hurt from the fake smile, your throat tight as you forced out your lines. He was always watching. Always there. His hand on yours as your mother and father marveled at the man they were all too pleased to call their son-in-law. They swallowed his lies so much easier. For once, they were proud. Not of you, of course, but of the man you attached yourself to.

Steve ordered the wine. He bemoaned that this restaurant lacked the variety of his own. Alas, a meal there would have to wait until after the reno. For now, this would have to do. He requested a Cabernet and your mother cleared her throat.

"Steven," She called him by his full name. She liked that. He did too. "If you will, Jim and I would actually prefer a champagne to celebrate the marriage. Our treat."

"Not at all," Steve waved her away, "I insist. It's on my dime." He turned to the waiter. "Champagne, then. And another glass. We are still awaiting another guest."

The waiter as good as clicked his heels and diligently ran off to fetch the wine. It seemed everyone in the city knew your fiance. Revered him. You had been foolish before. He was more than the local celebrity, he was their saviour. That you had ever thought you could seek refuge in this city was naive.

Heels tapped along the floor and neared your table. Your mother glanced over her shoulder and waved to your sister. Estelle, with her died blonde hair and perfect contouring belonged more than you did. Steve stood and you mimicked him.

Your mother hugged your sister and your father did the same. You recalled how they had barely spared a nod for you. Steve greeted her with a handshake and a kiss on the cheek, "You must be Estelle."

"And you're Steve Rogers," She sang, "Wow, I really thought you guys were playing me."

She turned to you at last. "Hey," Was all you could manage. She chuckled and pulled you into her arms. 

"Hey?" She held you back and looked you up and down. "Is that all I get?"

You felt the tingle behind your eyes. Your lips trembled but you kept your smile in place. "I missed you." 

"Oh yeah? Well, you know I'm always up for a trip to New York." She chided. "You have my number."

"I'm sorry," You didn't realize you had grabbed her hand. You released her slowly.

"No, don't be," She chimed, "Congratulations. I'm so happy for you!"

The waiter returned and you stepped back as he set down the bottle of champagne and the spare glass. You resumed your seat beside Steve, Estelle on your other side, and your heart sank. You loved your sister but even she would think you were crazy. Maybe you were.

Steve poured the champagne and handed the glasses out. "Oh, Essie, you must see the ring," Your mother tapped the table with a long nail, "Come on, show her."

You shakily raised your hand and placed it daintily on the table. The sparkling pink diamonds caught the light and Estelle gasped. "You know she has no taste but Steve did a marvelous job."

"Mom," You rescinded your hand as she reached for it.

"I think she has wonderful taste," Estelle grinned at you. Your mother always agreed with her, even when she was wrong. Her baby girl could do no wrong.

"Well, I'll allow that she had improved. That whole artist look...so drab," She rolled her eyes. 

You couldn't smile anymore. You glanced around at the other diners and gripped the edge of the table. You stood suddenly. Steve caught your hand quickly. Was it concern for you or that you'd try to flee? Could he see the treasonous thoughts behind your eyes?

"I need to use the restroom," You lied. "Excuse me."

Steve nodded and kissed the back of your hand. "Alright, honey." He let you go and Estelle pushed herself back to her feet. "I actually need to freshen up, too. I love the city but it's dirty."

She took your elbow and guided you past the table. You sensed Steve bristle as she did. Her hand slipped down and her fingers twined through yours as you neared the bathrooms. She pulled you inside quickly.

"Why didn't you tell me? I can understand you not telling them, but me?" Her tone was not unkind. She was your best friend after all and in her eyes, you had entirely blocked her out of your life.

"I…" You exhaled and lowered your head. You looked at her hand in yours. "Es," Your eyes were glassy but you sniffed back the tears.

"Did you see anyone?" She asked, "I know in uni, you had to see that counselour…"

"I'm not..." Your voice cracked and you shook your head. "It's been stressful. The wedding. Planning…" You sighed. 

"Mom sent me a picture of the dress. It's amazing," She squeezed your hand. "I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner." She swung your hand. "I know it's your special day so I haven't told them yet but I want to tell you."

"What?" You wondered.

"I got a sponsor. In England. Model and brand ambassador for big make-up line. Big," She was giddy. "I'll even be able to incorporate my Instagram. It's actually one of the reasons they hired me."

"That's...wonderful, Es," You hugged her again. Her dream was coming true. "I'm so proud of you. I can't believe--England?"

"Yeah, that's the part mom and dad won't like," She frowned, "But I'll be going all over Europe. Asia, too."

"Fuck them," You said. "Really. They don't matter. You should go and have the time of your life."

"And you? Your art? I checked your website but...are you going to start again after the wedding? I really wanted to sponsor a piece for my apartment...or should I say flat?"

The wedding. You had almost forgot. You felt yourself deflate and you backed up against the sink. "I don't know." You whispered.

"What's wrong?" She leaned next to you against the counter. "Nervous?"

"Yeah," You said weakly. "Nervous."

"Well don't be, I'll be right next to you," She rubbed your back kindly, "Maid of honour, and all."

-

Estelle wasn't enough to save you but enough to make you brave. If this were to be your fate, you'd meet it with dignity. Even in white. Even in misery.

You didn't sleep. Steve spent the night in the den and left you alone. Tradition, he said. Even with the bed to yourself, you couldn't settle. You rose in a daze; groggy and numb. You ate, dressed in jeans and a tee, and followed Steve up the stairs into the early morning light.

A church. Wow. You almost laughed as you drove up to the grand cathedral. It was the place where celebrities and socialites wed, not you. Inside, Steve pecked your cheek and parted as you were left in a small room. A talkative stylist began on your hair and you drank cold coffee from a paper cup.

Your mother arrived shortly after with the dress and was followed by your sister and your collection of bridesmaids. Each had their own stylist and your mother bossed hers around like Meryl Streep in that movie. Estelle told her to stop and you were glad for it. She wouldn't have listened to you.

Your make-up was light. Your face shone as if it were natural beauty and you leaned forward to look in the mirror. You looked good. You didn't want to admit it, but you did.

The dress was a challenge in its. The laces tied tight enough to crush your ribs. You struggled to breath and wobbled as Estelle help you into your heels. The veil was pinned in your hair and a necklace with a single pearl around your neck. You reminded yourself of those gaudy royal weddings that people lost their heads over. Ugh.

You tucked the folded paper Steve gave you that morning and tucked it into your bodice. Your lines. You hadn't read them yet. Dreaded it. You tried to breathe against the tight gown and closed your eyes as your mother's voice rose in another complaint. You didn't know if it was better to get it over with or enjoy the last minutes you had.

-

You hated that smile. That face. You held back a glare and forced your lips to curve in deceit. Steve's voice carried across the caverned ceiling, his words as sickly as they were sweet. You felt as if you would pass out; from lack of air, lack of sleep. lack of sanity. He held your hand as he recited the words. Carefully planned and yet spontaneously pronounced. 

When he went silent, you stared at him. Voices buzzed in your ears, the audience in a ghastly silence. He squeezed your hand and the priest's words came clearer. 

"Miss," He whispered, "Your vows."

You shook your head but the haze remained. With your free hand, you reached into your bodice and uncovered the folded paper. You drew your hand from Steve's and unfolded it with a shudder. You gulped, cleared your throat, but couldn't look at him. So you looked at candlestick behind him.

His writing blurred. Was it nerves or tears? Both. You shook and brought the paper closer. You focused on reading the letters. Speak! You glanced up and Steve's jaw ticked. You peered around the large room. Speak, goddamn it!

"Steve," You forced out, the first syllable the hardest. "Steve, my...love." You swallowed the repulsion. He didn't know. He didn't know you weren't his little doll. Didn't know that when you go the first chance you would run. Yes, run. "I've never been very good at these things. I express myself in pictures rather than words. I am no poet but some things are best said simply." You inhaled and he took your hand again, the other wavered as you concentrated on the paper. "To put it simply, I love you. There's not much more to say than that. Other than I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you. You're my true love, my best friend...my hero."

You almost crumpled the paper but instead folded it with one hand and held it to your skirt. The priest smiled at the two of you and made his final pronouncement, "...man and wife…" 

Steve pulled you close and you lifted your head just as his lips crashed into yours. The pews rumbled with applause and your stomach twisted. Finally, he pulled away.

"My wife," He whispered as he turned you to the audience and raised your hand in his, "Mine."

-

Steve hadn’t let go of you since the ceremony. His hand was always there, lingering. The limo ride, the dinner, the toasts. The latter the worst part. Empty words from those you didn’t know and those you did. Your father had taken the lead as your mother had little positive to say about you. ‘Finally, our little girl has got her head on straight--’ You were thankful when he swiped the microphone and you sunk into the endless folds of your skirt.

It all passed in a frightful blur. The time ticked by so quickly you were certain fate had you on some cursed list. You were hurtling towards the end and you weren’t ready for it. 

The DJ announced the imminent first dance and the walls of the grand banquet hall began to close in on you. Five minutes. Five minutes and all eyes would be on you again as you were trapped in the arms that would hold you for the rest of your life.

“Sweetheart,” You tugged on Steve’s hand. His grip was firm. “I gotta---” You struggled not to hyperventilate. “I gotta go…” You tilted your head. “You know…”

“Oh,” He blinked, “Uh, yes. Um, do we have time?”

“I’ll have to make it work,” Your panic was real but the reason not so transparent. “I’ll just...lift my skirts.”

He sighed. His brow furrowed as he thought. His blue eyes considered you. You shifted in your chair to add urgency to your act. 

“I can’t hold it,” You hissed. He shook his head and looked down the table. 

“Get your sister to help,” He checked his watch, “Three minutes.”

He stood and helped you rise. He walked you down the table and you tapped Estelle on the shoulder. You bent over her. “I need your help.” She rose and followed as Steve kept your hand in his. She had imbibed a bit too much already and she hiccuped as she trailed behind.

Steve escorted you to the hall and peered down it with a frown. His jaw twitched and you could see the suspicion whirring in his head. He turned to you as you grabbed Estelle with your free hand. He stared you down and reluctantly let go of you.

“Two minutes,” He warned, “They won’t wait.”

“I promise, I’ll be quick,” You pulled Estelle down the hall, “I need you to help me with my dress…” You let your voice carry.

“Again?” She slurred, “You know, I’ve seen these ones where the skirts come off--”

You turned the corner and glanced over your shoulder. Steve stood at the other end of the hall. His shoulders squared as he crossed his arms and watched after you. You disappeared around the bend and hurried Estelle towards the bathroom. You opened the door but kept her from going in. You let it close with a loud click and listened.

“Wh-” You clapped your hand over her mouth and signaled for her to hush. Her eyes rounded and you slowly pulled away. You knelt and carefully removed your heels as you nodded to her own.

You took your shoes and hers and backed slowly down the hall, keeping an eye over her shoulder as she wobbled after you. You could see the confusion but her drunkenness made her complacent. You gently pressed the long bar of the back door and eased it open. You waved her out and waited for her to follow.

You shut the door quietly and leaned against it. “What’s going on?” Estelle asked.

“I just--need air.” You tossed your heels and hers. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”

“A walk? It’s your wedding--”

“Es, let’s go,” You inclined your head, a desperate grimace on your lips. “Please. I need to get away.”

“Why? You’re so happy and--”

“I can’t explain now, there’s no time,” You lifted your skirts and bunched them in your arms. “Come on.”

“Where--”

“I don’t care where. I need to get out of this city.” You began across the parking lot. “Let’s go.”

She followed and stumbled behind you. You turned to pick her up, your arm around her back as you urged her past the rows of car. She giggled. “I can’t believe you. Running away from your own wedding. It’s like that mov--”

“Shh,” You heard the door and ducked behind an SUV. You pulled her down with you and smothered her mouth again. “I...I’ll go to England with you. Please.” 

She blinked and you kept your hand in place as you listened. Hard soles echoed across the tarmac. You kept low and drew Estelle behind you as you snaked around cars. The footsteps grew fainter until they were almost silent. 

You felt a sudden weight and turned as Estelle crashed into you and belched obnoxiously as she landed on top of you. You swore. Her body went limp atop you and her head slumped over your shoulder. 

The footsteps were upon you in an instant as you were trapped beneath the unconscious Estelle. Steve stepped up between the cars on either side of you and knelt with a huff. He hung his head and ran his hand over his golden hair.

“Honey…” His voice was laced with fury.

“Estelle...I just came to help her. She said she was gonna vomit and--”

“Shut up,” Steve snarled as he grabbed Estelle and lifted her easily from atop you. “And get up.” 

He slung her body over his shoulder and grabbed your hand as he stood. He turned you back to the banquet hall and dragged you along, your bare feet scraping on the pavement. 

“It’s too bad your sister had to ruin our night like this...your parents will be so disappointed.”

-

tags to be added in reblog