enchantedelain · 4 months ago
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”My dad thinks I’m a princess!” —> Eltamcien
-Mita :)
Elain swirled in front of the mirror, swishing her tulle skirt back and forth as she gazed pensively at her reflection. Back at home, she would have been thrilled to even see a dress this lovely — let alone have it made for her and have the honor of wearing it.
Yet, something felt off. It was her wedding day and there was not a spot of color on her apart from her bright cheeks and pink lips. White was just so…boring.
It felt easier to go with tradition. Pleasing others was her natural state, even when it came to her own wedding gown. The lace was soft and covered in tiny pearls tracing the floral design. The neckline was modest. It fully covered her, leaving only her graceful arms bare. The more she hid, the more others could wonder.
She looked up when there was a knock on the wooden door. As a seer, it was no surprise to her to find Lucien (her mate and groom) and Tamlin (his best man) peeking in the door.
Upon seeing the wedding dress, Tamlin quickly covered Lucien’s eyes, eliciting a grumpy groan from the fox.
“Please. That is superstition only.” Lucien whined.
Tamlin shook his head, sincerely. “I don’t know about that. I saw Feyre in her dress and look at what happened! Gwyn, on the other hand…”
The blonde admired his own wedding ring.
Elain laughed. “You boys are being so silly.”
She stood, arms akimbo, gently glaring at Tamlin. “Please free my mate.”
“Yeah!” Lucien echoed. “Let me see my bride.”
Tamlin shrugged. “I suppose that I will be the one remaining ‘stitious enough for all of us.”
He let go and watched Lucien’s eyes grow wide with admiration. Lucien was rarely silenced, but Elian’s beauty did it on a regular basis.
“You look like a princess…” He whispered.
Elain blushed. “My dad thought I was a princess…”
She wished he were here with her today. Her sisters were walking her down the aisle, but it would never be the same.
Tamlin eyed Elain’s wistful eyes, before tilting his head. “You don’t like your dress, do you?”
Elain reddened, fiercely. “Of course — of course…no.”
“The curse of the Archeron sisters and their bridal garb.” Tamlin sighed, raising a brow. He thought for a moment, before carefully waving his hand and letting the dress take a new form under his magic.
Elain gasped as white sparkles tingled around her. She looked down. The waist of the gown had been lowered and cinched with delicate pleating. The skirt was layered now, in a soft pastel rainbow that reflected the light. The bodice had not been touched, apart from it fitting in a way even the best seamstress could not create.
“Now I feel like a princess.” She whispered. Her eyes glowed as she looked at her favorite boys.
“Princess…” Lucien said quietly, stunned.
“Come on, Fox.” Tamlin chuckled, tugging him out the door. “You have hours left in the day to admire her.”
“Still,” Lucien sighed. “There will never be enough.”
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incorrect-ikevamp-quotes · 2 years ago
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Comte’s Drama CD: Track Three, A Date at the Mercy of an Extraordinarily Bad(?) Adult
And we are back with our third installment of this unhinged recounting translation series, to perhaps the funniest and lowkey horniest track on the whole CD. In this one, Comte takes MC to a boutique to try on dresses and select something for a party/ball later that night. Without further ado, the contents are as follows:
Comte: Come on in. This boutique is my favorite.

There is a large variety of designs, so if you see a dress you like, don’t hesitate to give it a try.
Of course, I’m going to have you wear a lot of the dresses I select, so be prepared for that.
Let’s pick a dress for the ball tonight.
From now on, it’s my pleasure to show off the most beautiful person I know.
The way he makes me so giddy, “to show off the most beautiful person I know” no you!!!!! But also like. Lmfao the way he’s so ready for this, you can just tell this is what he lives for and it’s hilarious.
What’s that? Have you found a design that you like?
I…yes, I’ve decided. I carefully selected about ten gowns because I was worried about it.
Huh? ….I didn’t think it was that many….
Well, let’s leave that discussion aside for now and examine each dress in order.
I love how he’s like “okay what did you pick, let’s compare.” MC presumably has like two and he’s like “oh yeah, here’s ten.” And not only that, the second she’s like “uhhhhh don’t you think that’s too many??” he’s like “ANYWAY--” The way he will deadass evade any questions about excess I’m. Iconic. King Shit. Nobody Doing It Like Him. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I love how the energy of their married life is like: MC: I did not grow up rich Comte: YOU GON LEARN T O D A Y--
I think one of my favorite bits about Comte is how he’s like “I’m so normal” while everyone stares at him in sheer disbelief or incredulity 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
First off, this is an evening dress.
The beaded embroidery that spreads down to the hem is intended to reflect the light that spills from the chandelier overhead when dancing.
It must be breathtakingly beautiful
It’s a sight I’d love to see….Though…there is the trouble that this dress is dazzlingly attractive. (MONSIEUR IS CONFLICTED)
I feel I have made it clear (but I must reiterate) how much I love him being the living embodiment of that meme like:
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Comte: Look at MC!!!! Isn’t she the prettiest!!!!! I love my wife so much!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Anyone: Wow I like her too Comte: kill bill sirens no.
I can assure you that this exotic dress would suit you without even needing to see you try it on.
A sash belt with wide cuffs and a high waist…
It’s similar to a traditional Japanese kimono from your homeland, isn’t it?
And then…a pretty floral dress with a soft/fluffy drape.
Ah...I should probably put this dangerous looking black lace dress away. (HE SOUNDS SO TURNED ON AND LOWKEY HOARSE IM)
Ah…the more I look at it, the weaker I get…I can’t choose because I think any of them would look good on you.
I find it absolutely hysterical that he tries to hide his real taste behind all these very subtle and feminine dresses and then he’s like. LOOK AT THIS. COINCIDENTALLY BLACK AND RISQUÉ DRESS. NOW YOU SEE IT NOW YOU DON’T--
Comte just give me the dress I’m yelling 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Oh that’s right…if I get all of them, I won’t have to choose…! (EXCITE)
Oh, no…haha, I know (IMMEDIATE GIVE UP)
I’m only kidding. (ARE YOU?? I DON’T BELIEVE U SIR)
But since we’re here anyway, do you mind if we look around for a while together?
I don’t know what’s cuter, the fact that he gets so hyped and then sulks immediately, or the fact that he tries to compromise and be there together for a bit longer. I love him!!!!! Mans is trying so hard to dote on her I’m dying
Yes, leave it to me. I’ll make you the best princess in the world.
Well then, let’s go to the fitting room with the dresses we have chosen…Don’t worry if you don’t know how to wear it.
I’ll help you, okay? (DON’T WHISPER I’M FRAGILE)
---
Come now, don’t run away,
At home, you let me tie the ribbons at the back and help you with your necklaces all the time.
Well the setting is a little different, so I suppose it would make sense that you might be a bit more self-conscious.
You’re blushing all the way up to the tips of your ears…you’re so cute.
I’m telling you right now, don’t even think about asking the shop clerk to help you. (EEEEEEYYYYYY YOOOOOOO)
I don’t care who it is, I’m the only one allowed to touch you like this. (SEXY SEXY O//O)
Aight so there are so many things going on here, and the asides barely even cover it all. Fuwa fuwa about the best princess in the world, no u!!!!!!!! My face was in my hands when he said she was cute, he’s so earnestly affectionate!!!!
This. mf. going into the changing room with her. Without hesitation. Sir that is not how any reputable place of business operates!!!!! I laugh even more because he sincerely sounds a bit put out trying to chase her around to let him help her 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Okay but that last bit when he’s telling her only he gets to do that stuff. Bruh. He goes lowkey savage and it’s HOT AF. Sultry and possessive inject that straight into my veins h e l l o--
…Don’t worry. No one knows what’s going on behind the curtain unless you make noise. (THAT’S NOT ALL I’M CONCERNED ABOUT SIR)
Now then…turn around and I’ll help you take off the dress you’re wearing right now. (SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP)
…You are beautiful no matter what you wear, but there’s no match for the breathtaking sight of you with nothing at all on… (STOP BEING HORNY IN PUBLIC)
I won’t do anything...If only you were quiet?
Hm? The sound of footsteps approaching…is that a clerk I hear? [audible footsteps in the background]
I’m so torn because like. There’s the half of me that’s like “go on” and the other half of me that’s like slaps his little pizza hands. Being a Comte stan is just being torn between scolding him and/or enabling him constantly LMFAO
Shh…forget other people noticing me, are you all right?
(STOP LAUGHING WHY IS IT ADORABLE) It can’t be helped. If you’re so worried, I’ll cover your lips for you. Mn…
Well…I think he’s gone…[chuckle] I didn’t mean to kiss you in a place like this.
Hm? You’re such a naughty woman…to look so love drunk with a single kiss.
We can continue this tonight…tonight we’ll have our fill. Do you like the sound of that?
I gotta wonder what MC looked like to make him be like “bro, you good?” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Behold the consequences of your actions, Comte, you keep wooing and charming her and she’s going to be incoherent by the end omllll. But also him finding any excuse to kiss her eyyyyyyyyyyyy (I will forgive his relentless desire for her because it’s sweet and v sexy, gold star ⭐️)
Also why does that last bit lowkey sound more like he’s trying to bargain with himself than her 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 “just be patient Abel. Bide ya time”
----
…Yes, I think this dress looks the best/most attractive on you.
(HIS LAUGHTER SEND HELP THE DELIGHT) I just knew it would look stunning on you.
Ah but I can’t help but pester you a little. Every dress looks so lovely on you.
No, it’s not just flattery…do you mind if I see you in just one more?
I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard a man who loves to play dress up as much as he does, should I be concerned??
Sir you are under arrest for being beyond silly goofy cute LOCK THE DOORS FETCH THE CONSTABLE--
Everyone at home says it's just a deranged aristocratic hobby or that I’m turning you into a dress up doll…
The loveliness and beauty of my lover, I can’t help that there’s no end to my desire to see you shine even more.
Thank you…I’m glad you at least understand/don’t feel put upon.
Oh dear, it’s about time for the carriage to pick us up. Since we’ve tried a few things on, I think we should start heading over to the ball.
…But before that, I must offer you one piece of advice.
…Don’t show the defenseless face that I see now in front of any other man. (SO SERIOUS HEART FLUTTERY VISION GROWING DIM)
Understand? …Yes, that’s a very good answer.
Well then, let’s go, my princess.
Honestly I do feel that--while it’s hilarious and somewhat fair the mansion men rib him about dressing her up--Comte does have positive intentions regarding the whole endeavor. It was recently brought to my attention by a friend (I can take little to no credit for this idea) that part of being lovers with someone is sharing what you have. Now this obviously doesn’t mean an exacting 50/50 type of thing, rather that part of showing proper care and affiliation can involve gifts/money depending on the situation.
In the case of Comte who is a man of considerable wealth and social standing, it would potentially appear negligent if MC were to appear at a ball with a dress she’s worn before. Part of being a responsible spouse in his context, then, would be to provide her with nothing less than the most stunning jewelry and top class new dresses. While I don’t necessarily think he’s interested in his/their image in a vain way or even all that obsessed with what others think, I do think he’s concerned about being a good husband and lover. And by extension, he wants MC to enjoy nice clothing and accessories and be able to present herself at his side with confident pride.
Another dimension that’s important to consider, I think, is the fact of his upbringing. It is very likely that in his household growing up, that might have been what he was taught. I won’t spoil the next Drama CD track, but there is evidence to believe he has a number of preconceived notions about what it means to be an adequate partner to someone. Granted I don’t think he’s incapable of seeing things any other way, but I think those lessons from when he was a kid do color his perception. He was likely taught that, as a person of status, he had to be exquisitely mannered, exceptionally talented in some form of the arts, a captivating dancer, a sharp and witty conversationalist, and many more expectations that he had no choice but to meet. And most importantly, he had to be able to convey that to and lead the woman he chose for himself. We have already explored the fact that pureblood vampires are a bit extreme and inhumane in their beliefs about many things. Given how weirdly obsessed they are with breeding more of them, it really wouldn’t surprise me if they have absolute ideas about gender roles.
It almost seems like for him to feel worthy of a relationship, he feels the need to meet those expectations. On some level, it’s like he forgets MC is just happy to be beside him; she’s not necessarily all that interested in him fitting the cookie cutter perfect aristocrat spouse. And in truth, I find that whenever she reminds him of what truly matters at the core, it always seems to give him a jolt. Not that he had considered it irrelevant, but that he gets so caught up in his instinctive/learned behavior that it’s a soothing reminder that he’s more than enough to be loved as he is. I think its particularly fascinating because it really doesn’t feel superficial or naive as much as it does a product of his habits/lifestyle. Yes it allows him to stay informed and busy (beating the bad thoughts away with a broom, mood) but he also loses that depth of connection that he yearns for. (Which he also fears, of course, because of everyone he’s lost. Man Comte tough break being allergic to your own feelings fr, spamming F in the chat--)
And God like. I know I’ve said it before but. The way this man does possessiveness/jealousy????? Unmatched. Enormously attractive. Yessir I wasn’t particularly interested in looking at anyone else, but wow does it set me on fire to be reminded sternly 👀
All right well that’s it for track three, on to the next!
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fastwiemagie · 1 year ago
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One-day-trip to the middle ages aka "let's go to ren faire"
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Red Riding hood with a basket full of goods for grandma or more like "follow me behind this tent, I've got mead if you got coins"?
On July 8th I've went to ren faire - though that's not what we call it locally obviously. It's called "Mittelalterfest" in German, which translates to "medieval party". This event took place at the "Heeresgeschichtliches Museum" (museum of the history of warfare, Heer = army) and I really liked their slogan "Kriege gehören ins Museum" (=war belongs into museums). Wars should be a thing of the past!!
I've had a wonderful day with a couple of friends!! (Only sharing one selfie with my dear friend Duplica who's very comfortable with her likeness being shared!) I was pleasantly surprised at gaining free entry for dressing up for the event! Hurray for my thrifted dirndl-esque dress!! I've pinned the sides up with safety pins to give me more air flow and wore my pretty green hip bag for valuables & a string backpack for additional stuff! The dress is a linen & cotton blend, so it's very comfy to wear! Plus it has pockets and I thrifted it (with a broken zipper) for a super mark-down of 1€ during a special sales event. And I didn't even know until I went to pay and was flabbergasted at being only asked for one buck! Yay!
I've forgot to take better pictures of it, but I made a beautiful hair-crown with two overlapping braids and wore a felt leaf pinned to the back. (Felt leaf by my dear friend @wuselwesen .) That hair-do read semi-medieval enough for me, plus it's way cooler to wear my hair up in summer of course!
We've had great food & beverages (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic - stay hydrated in the heat folks!!). It was about 30°C on that day, so we kept it very cozy, lots of breaks and sitting around and chatting with our friends. But we also checked out all the vendours of course and chatted with them and admired their pretty wares! I was SOOOO tempted by all the gorgeous clothes in natural fibers. Alas, my coin purse (=budget) said no buuuuut I bought myself a beautiful basket bag, as an early birthday present to myself. It's so lovely, with a long woven fabric strap to carry the basket. I've also bought cherry mead at one vendour stall and my friend joked that "I'm almost like Red Riding Hood now, I only would need some cake for grandma!". But alas, I even had some pyramid cake with me (is Baumkuchen really called pyramid cake? Dictionary says so... it's dough wrapped around a piece of wood (hence "Baum" = tree (cake)) and rotated over a fire. I like it classic with sugar and cinnamon.
I've also found 5€ on the ground and invested it into an arrow head necklace immediately. What comes around, goes around!!
The day was SO beautiful, I was so emotional & happy leaving at night, I had to ask my friend if I could hug her because my happiness had to go somewhere and she said yes of course. Ahhh happy memories!!
Tagging @worth-beyond-a-number-scale because she's asked me to be tagged in posts where I'm wearing traditional/dirndl dress. This is a very casual outfit, it would be traditional to wear it with a blouse underneath & an apron. But it was way too hot for any of that last weekend!!
[id] Pic 1 & Pic 2:
both close-up pictures taken on public transport. Pic 1 is going to the renfaire, Pic 2 is the travel back home. Pic 1 shows the face & upper body of a young fat white woman with glasses and brown hair in a braided up-do. She's wearing a pentagram necklace and black earbuds. As well as a linen/cotton blend dress with a black bodice with floral machine embroidery on it.
Pic 2 has cut off the face of the young fat white woman, but you see the gorgeous woven basket she bought at renfaire next to her on a seat. More of the floral machine embroidery on the dresses bodice is also visible, as well as the green lacing on the front and the green skirt part. She's also wearing a green hip bag and has another black-and-floral bag with her (it's a backpack). Another necklace has appeared also: a golden arrow head on a black string! Ren faire purchase spotted??
Pic 3 shows some naturally-dyed yarn draped aesthetically on a construct of wooden sticks with a medieval-esque banner in the middle. The colours are very pleasing to look at and surprisingly colourful for natural dyeing!
Pic 4: The young white fat woman with glasses and brown hair (worn in a braided hair-crown on this day) is standing in front of some vendour stalls, with some faire goers in the background. She's smiling at the onlooker. You can see that the skirt part of her dress has been pinned up, for the aesthetic and extra air flow. Keen-eyed watchers spot a black bracelet on her left arm and she's also wearing black leather sandals.
Pic 5: This one is almost identical with pic 4, the young white fat woman with glasses and brown hair in her renfaire outfit, but she's smiling even more in this picture (and the people in the background have also changed).
Pic 6 & 7 are close-ups again.
Pic 6 shows the top part of the woven basket that has been purchased at the ren faire, with a pentagram necklace, an arrowhead necklace and a braided black bracelet lying on top of it. The close-ups shows all the accessories in detail!
Pic 7 is a selfie of the young white fat woman with glasses and brown hair together with another young white thin woman with brown hair, both looking into the camera, smiling and showing off the bottles of mead they just bought from a vendour.
Pic 8 is a full body shot again, with the young white fat woman with glasses and brown hair standing in front (or rather: behind) a yellow-and-turquoise striped tent (aka vendour stall). You can also see a more muted yellow-and red ochre coloured tent in the background as well as a dirty white tent. The woman is excitingly showing off her newly purchased basket bag, which she's stored her bottle of mead in. Hurray! She's looking very happy with her day at ren faire and her purchases.[/id]
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the-nysh · 2 years ago
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Fubuki is pretty but I don’t like her hairstyle. If she grew it out a bit in a way where it gently cascaded down her head and curled prettily around her the base of her neck, she would look more gorgeous. Have you noticed that despite Fubuki being the most modestly/ plainly dressed character in OPM she is still so sexualised.
When it comes to her hair, I keep thinking it's longer than it really is, but when you actually reference it, it falls flush with her chin/jawline area, a bit shorter instead of being more shoulder-length, which is what I'd usually expect. :O And depending on how it's styled, it makes the difference between looking like a cute & clean bob cut (left) and....hanging like loose strips of tape (right).
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The 'tape-like' look isn't quite as flattering (it could frame her face better), but it's kind of a hereditary trait she shares with her sister (just like their similar eyes), whose tufts of hair curl vs Fubuki's tufts that fall more loosely. So they do have a common theme going on that makes them instantly recognizable as siblings. I do think Fubuki's hair could be a tad longer (at least, that's what my brain keeps thinking she should have) to flow more elegantly around her shoulders.
But as for her outfits....
Which is your favourite outfit worn by Fubuki? Including the ones she wore on manga volume/ chapter covers and extra illustrations? Can you explain why as well?
It really makes all the difference when Murata references actual women's fashion vs.....going for his usual vacuum-sealed fabric. :P Of course he loves to accentuate her voluptuous curves even underneath her fully clothed, modest coverage, but instead of looking uncomfortably tight and undersized in all the worst chafing areas (ulp) giving her actual seams, breathing room, and proper support more like what an actual women would naturally wear, is what actually looks far more flattering on her. (References are important!)
Anyway, my favorite pattern comes from her Floral Lace dress, and my favorite fit/cut on her (most flattering to her shapes) is the Vietnamese Ao Dai dress.
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The black Floral Lace is suuuuper fancy, woo - that even Murata came up with several other designs for it, and was very indecisive how best to dress her in it. It’s such a meticulous pattern he drew by hand, and I can clearly see how much he loved it (cause I love it a lot too - it really boosts her elegance and she looks fabulous in it) but I also understand why he had to scrap it too, as that would have been too much work to repeatedly draw her in that for the entire MA arc!
So going for the more minimal design that’s also most visually appealing to her best curves - ooh I really love that Ao Dai on her. The little dip in the collar, the diagonally angled seams on the sleeves (nice), the snug but roomy - very important!!! fit over her breasts (yes this looks far better referenced) and the side slit over her hip (+bonus window) are very flattering shapes and lines. Elegant and functional. And to top it off with....actual pants(?) whoa! or maybe another underskirt - either way it’s a very fresh, streamlined, and comfortable look on her that I think she should wear more often. (And speaking of more traditional wear, the game gave her a Chut Thai outfit where she looks like a goddess, so she can rock those traditional clothes - show her off in more of those please!)
As for bonus interesting design elements, ONE gives her these....glove-like thumb thingies that feel like a fancy esper theme she shares with Psykos (also note the similar collar ONE gives her like on the above dress) so I think they’re neat (maybe even a little sporty?) :D
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For more outfits I would like to see her in - just put her in a full dress suit complete with a tailored jacket and business pants to really accentuate her domineering strong girl/mobboss vibe. (Maybe combined with some embroidered white/gold floral lace patterns here and there against the black or dark forest green fabric for additional points of interest.) Cause she could totally rock that look too.  
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lustspren · 3 years ago
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Devil's Walkway
length: 9.2k words
Red Velvet’s Wendy/Joy & Male Reader.
genres: !dom Joy, !sub Wendy, double blowjob, facefuck, oral, lesbian, threesome, rough sex, public sex, voyeurism, shower sex, creampie✧
✦✧✦✧✦✧
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It was practically a tradition to go out every weekend with your girlfriend, the funniest thing was that they always went to a different place, it could be the cinema, it could be the park, it could be an amusement park, a cafe, etc. But you never cared about where they went, the most important thing to you was spending time with your radiant and loving girlfriend, one of the most amazing and kind-hearted women you could have ever met in your life.
The destination of this Saturday was unknown to you, you insisted many times that you wanted to know, but Wendy also insisted that it was a surprise, the only detail she gave you was that they were going to meet one of her best friends, and that you had to dress as attractive and elegant as possible. You didn't complain, after all, it must be important to her when it comes to a friendship like that, but you couldn't help but feel uneasy. Why was the place a surprise, but the reason wasn't? And why should you be attractive and elegant?
You had many questions, but the least of your intentions at that moment was to argue with your girlfriend on such an important night for her, so you just listened to everything she told you to do; As instructed, you dressed as elegant as you could, the selection had been black dress pants, a turtleneck sweater of the same color and an expensive khaki trench coat that you only used in winter or formal parties, and of course, your boots Leather.
Ready to go, you walked to the bathroom where Wendy was putting on makeup and knocked on the door with your knuckle three times.
“Hey, honey, are you ready?” You asked out loud so she could hear you over her music.
“Yes! Just give me a minute baby, I won't be long,” she answered, opening the door a few centimeters and peeking out. She looked you up and down, both eyebrows raised. "Wow, you look very handsome, as always.” she smiled. "Go get the car ready, okay?"
“At your service, little sun,” before she closed again, you leaned forward to give her a little kiss on the lips. “I know you'll be beautiful too.”
This done, you went to the living room and took the car keys from the table next to your phone, which you put in the pocket of your trench coat, and left the house towards the street in front of it, where your Kia Sorento 2019 was waiting, a true beauty of a car.
You entered the car patiently, got on your seat and started the motor, to get out again, go around the car and wait for Wendy, leaned against the door of the passenger seat.
You crossed your arms to bundle yourself up for how cold it was out there; then you started tapping your foot on the ground while looking up at the sky; women's things, one minute always equaled a minimum of 10. In your moment of distraction you heard the sound of the keys a few meters in front of you, you lowered your head, to see your girlfriend closing the door of the house and turning around to walk towards you
You were stunned by how beautiful she looked.
She wasn’t a girl to wear dresses very often, but when she did, she always managed to awaken in you the deepest of her crushes; this one in particular fitted her body perfectly, from the abdomen down it was black, and her top area was white, both parts of lace. And if that wasn't enough, her shoulders were covered by a piece of transparent black fabric adorned with floral patterns. She not only looked beautiful, she looked sexy as fuck.
"God... I really hit the jackpot with you. You look awesome, baby." you got away from the car door and rushed to wrap her small frame with your arms, impregnating her with your warmth. She responded by placing her arms around your neck.
"I love you so much, you know that, don't you?" she asked with a sweet tone of voice that shook your heart and put butterflies in your stomach.
"Of course I know it. I love you the same way, little sun,” you smiled and tilted your head down, merging your lips with hers in a slow and tender kiss. You were like that for almost a minute, until Wendy broke up the kiss.
"Honey, we'll be late, let's go." she patted you twice on the chest and you nodded, stepped aside and opened the passenger door for her; you waited for her to get in and then you closed it again, to go around the car and get into your seat.
The road to the address Wendy had sent to your phone was pretty quiet, the traffic wasn't overly heavy, and the traffic lights helped by not turning red just as you approached, which always got on your nerves. You had a nervous tingling in your stomach for not knowing what the hell you were getting into; but soon you could get an idea.
"Honey... this is a venue, are we going to a party or something?" you asked, looking for a place to park.
"Mmm, something like that," she replied with a mischievous smile that you couldn't do anything but distrust.
You finally parked and turned off the car, took out your keys and made sure you had everything in your pockets before you got out and went to open the door for Wendy; you offered her your hand, and she gave you a kiss on her cheek as a thank you. You closed the door, and walked towards the entrance of the place.
“Are you going to tell me what we're getting into or how?” Wendy linked her hand with yours as she walked beside you.
“Just wait and see.”
The guard at the entrance stopped you before you passed. Wendy went ahead of you, and said the names of both; the guard reviewed her list for a few seconds, until he finally nodded and moved out of the way.
“Come in, please.”
"Thank you," you and Wendy said in unison before entering the long corridor, full of extravagant sculptures illuminated by ceiling lamps. The traffic of people was quite high, just in front of you was a group of three girls, and just behind, another older couple had just passed by. It was then that you realized that this was not a party.
The corridor turned to the right, and just at the end, you found yourself in front of the gigantic main hall, where your jaw dropped.
"No fucking way…"
The room was dark, but you could see that it was full of people, all of them seated formally in chairs that bordered a lit catwalk from below, this one formed a kind of L, being the end of the straight line where you supposed you go up there. The people who were arriving all went straight to sit down, and some went to a bar installed in one of the corners to get a drink.
It was a fashion show.
"Honey, really? What are we doing in this place?" you weren't complaining, it was just that you couldn't understand it.
"You see... hmm, one of the girls who is going to go up to model is the friend I told you about, Sooyoung," she squeezed your hand, pulling you slightly towards your respective chairs, which were located just in front of the point where the models stopped to turn around and walk off the catwalk.
"And why didn't you tell me?" you asked, settling into your seat as you politely greeted the woman who was sitting on your left side.
"It's just that you've never been in a fashion show before, and I wanted your reaction to be a surprise," Wendy placed one leg on top of the other, marking the luscious flesh of her pale thighs.
"Well, I'm surprised," you admitted as you looked around. "Will it take a long time to start?"
"I don't think so, the invitation said at 9:00 PM, and it's 9:11."
"Great.”
Said and done, as soon as Wendy finished her sentence a tall man came up on the platform, he was handsome, and he was dressed in what looked like an expensive blue velvet suit; he made a short speech, welcoming everyone present and introducing the collection that would be exhibited. As soon as he came down, the perfect definition of what was known as "runway music" began to play, you subtly moved your head to the rhythm of the music, but Wendy gave you a little pinch on the leg that made you stop.
"Ouch!" you complained in a whisper, and that's when the models started coming out.
It was like seeing goddesses straight from Olympus.
The girls walked to the rhythm of the beat, each step of their way perfectly graceful and precise; they were beautiful, and their proportions were obviously perfect in your eyes, many of them did not fit the typical stereotype of super tall and skinny women, heights varied a little more, as did their physical complexions. That pleased you.
You were delighted with what you were seeing, not only because of the big number of hot women there, but because of the atmosphere in general, one that you felt quite comfortable and glamorous with; besides, the clothes that were exhibited were incredible.
Everything was going normally, until she got on the catwalk.
"Oh, here she comes," you heard Wendy say.
"Is she…?"
"Yup”
Sooyoung had something special about her face, her walk, her gaze, her body, that instantly captivated you. She was nothing like any of the previous models, she was charismatic, with an aura that warmed you even under your coat. She was fucking gorgeous, in short. She was dressed in a long-sleeved white dress, which fit her delicious body and made each of her curves shine; What caught your attention the most were her long fleshy legs that seemed never to end, and her good pair of breasts pressed by the fabric.
"God, she looks amazing," Wendy said, with a sparkling smile.
"Agree…" It was the only thing you managed to say in the middle of your trance.
Time seemed to go into slow motion as Sooyoung stopped at the edge of the platform in front of your eyes, making very subtle poses and turning around, but not before fixing her sexy gaze on the two of you; especially in you. Worst of all, when she was walking back to get off the runway, you not only noticed that she had beautiful legs and nice tits, but that she also had an amazing ass.
Yes, she gave you the "fuck me" face, but maybe it was just a product of your dazed sense of reality.
"Did she... see us directly?" Wendy asked, as confused as you were.
"Oh, so it wasn't a figment of my imagination."
"Nope, actually... I think she saw you for a few seconds more than me." Wendy didn't speak as if she was jealous, on the contrary, she seemed...
No, she must be jealous, there was no possible way she wouldn't be.
"Are you okay?" you asked, turning your head to look at her.
“Um…yes, yes!” She quickly nodded , as if she was trying to cover up something she didn't want you to be aware of.
"Ok?..." You shrugged, returning your gaze to the catwalk.
The rest of the exhibition went on as normal, a few more models passed by, before the presenter went back up the catwalk and ended that section of the night; You had understood that there would be about two more collections, but you didn't know if Wendy had any intention of staying that late in there.
Soon your question was answered.
"Honey, we're allowed to go backstage to see her, shall we?" she asked, placing her hand on your leg and then pointing her chin towards the area that was covered by a black curtain.
"Are you serious?" There wasn’t a reason, but you still felt a nervous tickle in your abdomen.
"Uh-huh, come on!" Your girlfriend was the first to stand up and offer you her hand, which you accepted without hesitation to follow her to the dressing rooms, where again, Wendy was in charge of talking to the doorman so that he would let you pass.
The place overwhelmed your vision in every possible way, there were people walking in a hurry from one side to another, many of them with clothes in their hands and bags with what you assumed were beauty products; dryers, irons, everything. You and Wendy had to make your way through the crowd being very careful not to bump into anyone and slow them down, but eventually you made it to what appeared to be Sooyoung's dressing room.
Wendy knocked on the door, and a short, plump woman peeked out.
”Hi, ma'am. Park Sooyoung invited us, could I tell her that we're here?” your girlfriend asked as nicely as possible.
"Let them in, Mrs. Im," you heard a female voice say from the other side of the door, which you knew belonged to Sooyoung.
Mrs. Im was hesitant at first, but then she stepped aside and opened the door wide, you and Wendy walked in, and froze when you saw Sooyoung in there.
Half naked.
The dark-haired girl was waiting for them standing in front of the mirror, both hands on her curvaceous waist and a devilish smile on her face. She only had on black panties and a bra of the same color; which gave you a much better look at her incredibly hot body, especially her tits, which were screaming to be released. And of course, you didn't realize you weren't even dissembling.
“Oh my God! S-Sooyoung, I mean,” Wendy giggled nervously, trying with all her might to look away from the girl in front of you. “You're almost naked.”
"Calm down girl, it's not the first time you've seen me like this, right?" She raised an eyebrow, staring at you two.
"Um… I…" Wendy bit her lip and looked down.
"Excuse me?" You managed to say, looking at your girlfriend.
"Plus, you guys seem to be enjoying the view." Sooyoung laughed mischievously, walked up to face Wendy and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad you have a boyfriend as fine as you." she winked at you, taking advantage of the fact that Wendy wasn't looking.
You opened your mouth to say something, but only a faint muffled sound came out.
"Uh... you did great a few minutes ago!" You looked beautiful, right honey?" Wendy looked at you, thinking that somehow this would end up being a change of subject, but it only fueled Sooyoung's spicy engine.
"Yeah! What do you think, h o n e y?" Sooyoung repeated, pronouncing each syllable of that last word separately. Her gaze fixed on you.
"Well... yes, I mean, yes, you looked beautiful." You didn't understand what the hell was happening to you, her aura made you stupid. Wendy just nodded silently, what was wrong with her? You were nervous, but she couldn't even look Sooyoung in her eyes.
"Thank you, cuties." Sooyoung smiled, and for a moment she seemed innocent and adorable, but then you looked down from her neck, and you knew that there was nothing innocent and adorable about her. "Oh, looks like you two weren't the only ones enjoying the view," she said, looking down, specifically at the bulge you hadn't realized had formed in your pants.
Oh no.
You looked down, and sure enough, you were rock hard.
"I-I... mmm, I have to go to the bathroom, I'm sorry, excuse me."
You quickly turned around and left the dressing room, desperately looking for the bathroom as you covered your pants with your trench coat. Once you found it, you went into one of the cubicles and put your hands to your face. You just got hard thanks to another girl, in front of your girlfriend.
"I'm so screwed," you whispered to yourself.
You stood there, waiting for your erection to go down. In the waiting time you heard the door open, but you didn't give it importance since you thought it was a stylist or something. But after a few minutes you came out.
And you came face to face with the devil himself.
“WHAT THE F-” You were about to scream, but Sooyoung covered your mouth with her hand.
“Shhhh. Someone could hear us, shut up,” Sooyoung said in a very low voice, then removed her hand from your mouth.
This time she was no longer in her underwear, but she was wearing an outfit that didn't make her less sexy: tight low-rise jeans, and a white T-shirt that revealed her tonified abdomen in all its splendor and tightened her breasts.
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"Have you gone fucking crazy?! Anyone who enters can discover us!" You whispered, inches from her face. You were clearly upset, but you could see in her eyes that she didn't give a shit about your anger.
“Us?” she arched an eyebrow, “And what are we supposed to be doing?”
Shit.
"Ah... that's not what I meant," Your anger quickly turned to embarrassment.
"Do you think I don't know what you were thinking when you saw me in my underwear? Your eyes were going to pop out… cutie," she closed the distance between you two, her eyes on yours, and your bodies almost touching.
"I-I wasn't thinking anything, I'm just a man, where else could I look?" You lied, turning sides with her to take a few steps back until your lower back hit the sinks. You were cornered.
"You were hard as fuck, don't lie to my god damn face," Sooyoung moved closer to you again, and this time she made sure you felt her firm breasts pressing against your chest.
“Sooyoung, ah…shit, this isn't right. I have a girlfriend, and we're in a public place,” You said quietly, then you licked your lips and held back a gasp as you felt your erection press against her abdomen.
"Oh... you seem to be big, can I make sure?" You didn't have time to answer before Sooyoung took a hand to your crotch, to squeeze your erection hard, "Mmmm, yes you are, but I think he's not fully awake yet."
Sooyoung turned around and leaned her back completely on you, pressing her butt against the bulge in your pants.
"Go ahead, hold on to my waist honey," she invited. You knew it wasn't right, but fuck…her ass felt amazing against your cock, you wanted more.
You brought your hands to either side of her waist, feeling her luscious, toned flesh between your fingers; as soon as you did, she started moving her hips in a sensual way to The Hills, song that was playing on the catwalk and was muffled thanks to the bathroom walls.
That was it, you were completely at her disposal.
“Fuck…” the rubbing of her ass against you was destructive against your willpower, as much as you wanted to stop everything, her movements were perfect in every way possible, and in no time you were completely hard.
"Mmm, you can grab my boobs if you want, honey," she said softly, with a very slight moan at first.
You didn't even need her to tell you twice. Your two hands moved up her abdomen, then placed them on her breasts and gave each one a strong squeeze. Sooyoung moaned, and rubbed her butt harder against you. At this point she wasn't following any specific rhythm, just her lust and her desire to feel you.
Her boobs felt great under the grip of your fingers; You wanted the full experience, and to feel her flesh against your hands, but you didn't dare try anything for fear of doing something she didn't like, so you just stood there, massaging her through her shirt while the friction of her ass against your dick drove you crazy.
“Ah, fuck it, I’m gonna suck you off” Sooyoung turned around and knelt down in front of you. Her hands worked on your belt, unbuttoned your pants and lowered them to your ankles. She looked at your erection under your boxers as if it were the wrapper of her favorite food, and then buried her face directly in it, kissing on your cock before giving it a hard squeeze with her hand.
Without much less patience, Sooyoung lowered your boxers to the level of your pants and released your hard cock, which had been screaming to be released for quite some time.
"Holy crap…it's bigger than I felt, I love it," she grabbed onto your thighs and started spreading wet kisses along the entire back of your shaft; then she kissed the tip of it, and went down to your balls, caught one of them with her lips and sucked on it very carefully, sending chills down your spine.
You were completely frozen, neither your body nor your voice allowed you to do more than stand there watching the beautiful model play with your cock. Sooyoung locked eyes with you, and left your balls to spit into her hand and grab your shaft with it, giving you a few strokes before bringing your tip into her mouth.
"Ah shit," you gasped, as Sooyoung sucked on the tip of your cock, her tongue swirling and catching the little drops of precum that seeped out. She did for a few seconds, until she pulled you out with a loud "pop."
"Fuck my pretty face, I want to feel this cock in my throat," she stuck out her tongue, and slapped your cock against it several times. You didn't hesitate for a single second, taking your shaft with one hand to slide it inch by inch into her warm mouth; Sooyoung clutched her lips to your length and looked into her eyes, inviting you to continue. And so it was, your cock was a little more than half inside her, and not noticing any kind of effort on her part, you gave one last push to let your tip touch her throat, and yet, she showed almost no gag reflex.
"God, that feels fucking amazing...ah...fuck," your breath came in quick gasps, all the pleasure of being deep in her throat coursing through your body. You left your hands on either side of her head, pushing her a little further until her nose was against your pubes; you could be like this for hours, but the real fun came when you started moving your hips back and forth, each movement as deep as the last. Sooyoung moaned into your cock, pulling her shirt up over her breasts to massage herself for more of her own pleasure, but then she took off her bra, revealing her perfect mounds and giving you enough motivation to fuck her mouth fiercely.
You moved frantically, delighted and obviously impressed by her ability to take so much cock down her throat that fast and still not choke. Her saliva soon spread on both sides of her mouth, which fell directly on her own breasts and her jeans; she spread it all over her flesh, playing with her nipples and squeezing hard as she sent vibrations up and down your shaft thanks to her moans.
You couldn't take it anymore, the scene in front of your eyes, combined with the incredible amount of pleasure you were receiving, gradually brought you to ecstasy; you gave her a few more furious shoves, until finally you buried her nose back against your pubes to explode fully inside her mouth, sending your entire massive load down her throat. Sooyoung latched onto your thighs and dug her nails into them, swallowing every drop of your cum until she slid away from your cock.
Sooyoung opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue. There wasn't a single trace of your fluids.
Meanwhile, you were trying not to pass out and look like an idiot. You leaned your elbows on the sink behind you and dropped your head back, seriously thinking about what you had just done.
"Oh, looks like we have company," Sooyoung said with a mischievous smile and a raised eyebrow, looking towards the exit.
You followed her gaze, and what you saw you could swear stopped your heart for a second. Wendy was sitting on the floor, her back against the wall and her legs spread wide as she slowly rubbed her shiny pussy. Her face was flushed with a mixture of pleasure and shyness. How long had she been there?
"Oh fuck!" You tried to pull up your boxers and pants, but Sooyoung stopped you by placing a hand on your knee.
"Wow, have you been there all this time?" Sooyoung asked with a small giggle. “Did you enjoy seeing how your cute boyfriend fucked my pretty face? It was soooo delicious,” she leaned back toward your semi-erect cock, cupped it in one hand and brought you into her mouth again, sucking half of it a couple of times before pulling you out.
"B-baby... I can explain." you tried to excuse yourself.
"Shut the fuck up, let's go home, the 3 of us, now," your girlfriend replied with more desire than anger in her voice.
"Hell, now we're talking," Sooyoung stood up and cupped your face in her hands, giving you a steamy kiss that you couldn't help but reciprocate. Then she grabbed her bra off the floor and put it on, soon she was just like when he arrived.
Wendy got up too, she fixed her gaze on you, as if to tell you to hurry up, and you did, quickly pulling up your boxers and pants.
"Wait, let him go out first, we wait about five minutes, and then we go out," Sooyoung said, gesturing with her head for you to come out.
"Wait for us outside, just start the car so we can get out of here fast," Wendy said right after.
You walked towards her and stood in front.
"Honey, are you okay?" you couldn't help but be concerned, even though she didn't seem upset.
"I just want you two to fuck me, now HURRY UP," she pulled your shirt towards her and gave you a quick kiss before turning you around and push you out of the bathrooms.
The sudden change of environment stunned you for a moment; you stood there, outside the bathrooms while everything went back to "normal" in front of your eyes. No one knew what happened there, but you did, and you still couldn't believe it. You just face fucked a beautiful model, with your girlfriend watching and touching herself in the meantime.
As soon as you woke up you started to get out of there as fast as possible, you dodged as many people as you could, and you didn't mind pushing a few as long as you left the dressing rooms. Another phase of the fashion show was taking place outside, but you didn't even stop to pay attention to it, you just concentrated on getting out and going straight to your car, which you got into to wait for the girls with the motor running.
Both beauties came out after about five minutes, just like Sooyoung had said, and got into the car, both in the back seats.
"You drive honey, don't look back, unless you want to kill us," Sooyoung said, before Wendy climbed onto her lap and started kissing each other.
You had mixed feelings watching the scene, but soon it all turned to sexual arousal, and the atmosphere became hot even though the inside of the car was cold.
You put the car in gear, driving at the highest legal speed just to get home as quickly as possible; despite the temptation you avoided looking in the rearview mirror, you knew that if you did you would be hypnotized, and you would lose concentration on the road; but you could hear muffled moans, and the sounds of their fused mouths.
As soon as you arrived, you parked as fast as your driving skills allowed, turned off the engine and got out of the car to open the door. Sooyoung and Wendy were behind you, and they were the first to go inside; you followed them, locked the door, took off your coat and dropped it on the floor. Wendy turned around to wrap her arms around your neck and crush her lips against yours, Sooyoung stood behind her and started kissing her neck, her hands roamed her body, from her ass to her boobs, until she decided to unzip the dress and strip it from her, leaving your girlfriend with nothing more than a pair of white lace panties.
You deepen the kiss, attacking her mouth with your tongue to bring your hands to her modest, soft breasts, gently squeezing them and giving her nipples little pinches as Sooyoung slipped her hand inside Wendy's panties and rubbed her already wet pussy. That made your girlfriend muffle soft moans against your mouth and squirm a bit.
"To the room, now," Wendy murmured in a gasp after separating from the kiss.
She slipped out of both bodies and took them both by the hands to walk up the stairs to the room. When she arrived, the first thing she did was sit on the edge of the bed, looking at you while she bit her lower lip. Sooyoung pulled you by the nape of the neck to kiss you, and you automatically placed both hands on her firm butt; you squeezed both cheeks hard, followed by a spank that made her moan against your lips. Wendy stood up and helped you take off your sweater and pants, then repeated the process with Sooyoung, soon the three of you were semi-naked and almost ready to go.
The attention went back to Wendy, who with a look full of lust made it understood that she wanted you both in one way or another. She removed her panties, and climbed into bed to settle her head on the pillow and spread her legs, revealing her soaking wet pussy. You and Sooyoung followed her, and perfectly coordinated your movements to play with your girlfriend. You went straight to the left side of her neck, kissing and biting down to her breasts; meanwhile, Sooyoung was doing the same thing but with her abdomen and inner thighs, getting dangerously close to her slit but not making contact with it. After that, both of you took one of Wendy's breasts into your mouth, you the left one, and Sooyoung the right one, kissing, licking and almost causing the girl below you to melt. You decided to give her a little break, so you and Sooyoung started a makeup session just above her; one of your hands went from her to her back, removing the annoying bra that prevented you from feeling her juicy mounds between your fingers; she got on her knees just like you, giving you a more comfortable position to cup her tits with your hands; in response, Sooyoung slipped her hand inside your boxers and started stroking your cock, while slowly rubbing your girlfriend's clit with the other. Soon, the rest of the underwear left on your bodies ended up on the floor.
"Mmm I think it's time to give your pretty princess what she wants, don't you think?" Sooyoung brought two fingers from her hand to her mouth, filling them with saliva before going back and inserting them into her pussy without any care.
Wendy let out a loud moan and clutched at the sheets; Sooyoung positioned herself between her legs, now with her face very close to her pussy as she finger-fucked her at an intermediate pace. You took advantage of the situation, placed yourself at the level of your girlfriend's face and rubbed the tip of your cock against her cheek; Wendy immediately turned around and caught it in her mouth, applying a messy suction for a few seconds.
"Fuck my mouth baby, please," she asked between moans, then took your hand and put it on the back of her neck. You gripped her tight, and pushed more than half of your cock back into her mouth; a gasp escaped your lips as you began to pump in and out.
Sooyoung increased the speed of her arm, her fingers moving in and out of Wendy's pussy at a frantic pace, but not satisfied with it, she captured her clit between her lips and began to suck it gently, then stimulated it with the tip of her tongue at the same speed as her fingers. Wendy arched her back violently, moans turned into vibrations that ran along your shaft, making you groan out loud.
You didn't want to move your hips too fast, for fear of coming too soon this time, but you were still making sure your girlfriend got a good fuck in both holes. Your cock was all slippery at this point, and her saliva was slowly spilling onto the pillow beneath her. You felt the climax close, but to avoid it you took your cock out of her mouth, Wendy looked at you in dismay, and you just placed your hand on her neck, squeezing with some force.
"Cum baby, cum for daddy and mommy," you had no idea why you said that, but apparently it worked, as a strong spasm took over your girlfriend's body and her thighs almost crushed Sooyoung's head, which struggled to keep Wendy's hips in place as she went through her intense orgasm. You loosened your grip on her neck, letting her moan as much as she wanted. After a few seconds, Wendy seemed to be in another spiritual plane of how satisfied she was.
"Mmm, what a nice girl," Sooyoung said, wiping her mouth and chin before leaning in and giving a sweet kiss on Wendy's lips, "Take a break baby, okay? Let mommy and daddy have fun.”
Wendy gave a weak nod, giving you and Sooyoung the green light to do whatever you wanted with each other's bodies. Sooyoung took the lead, rolling over on the bed to rest her face and her breasts on the mattress, her perfect plump butt facing you.
"Come and fuck me, sweetie," she slowly moved her butt from side to side to tease you, even grabbing a butt cheek and spanking herself.
You positioned yourself behind her and took a few seconds to admire the goddess in front of you, her butt was meatier than Wendy's, there was no doubt about that; but it wasn’t necessary to compare the rest, since both bodies seemed a gift from Aphrodite for mortals like you.
You grabbed both buttocks and squeezed them hard between your fingers, making sure to cover as much of the flesh as possible. The tip of your cock brushed against her wet slit, and the temptation was so big that you couldn't help but grab your shaft and slide without any foreplay into her hot pussy.
"Ahh fuck yes! Give me all your cock inside my tight wet pussy baby,” Sooyoung ran a hand through her hair and turned her head to look at you with her demonic smile, which disappeared to transform into a cute grimace of pleasure when you were fully inside her.
Her pussy felt wonderful wrapped around your cock, it wasn't as tight as Wendy's, but her warmth was out of this world, inviting you to stay there all night. You started to move your hips slowly at first, but building up the speed to the point of shaking Sooyoung's body back and forth with every thrust.
"Ssshhhit, just like that, fuck me hard please, fuck me like your life depended on it!” Sooyoung propped herself up on her elbows, and you immediately complied with her wish, slamming your pelvis hard against her bubble butt, “Fuu-u–u-u-uuuuck!” she moaned, cuted by your forceful thrusts in and out of her pussy.
Sooyoung lost the stability of her elbows, so now her moans were all drowned out by the sheets, which she bit and then grabbed with her hands to crumple them, but you grabbed a handful of her hair, forming a messy ponytail that allowed you to yank her neck back and pull her face out of them, now you were sure her moans would be heard at the neighbors house at least, but you didn't give a shit, you were giving the fuck of her life to a hot supermodel who had been silently begging for your cock all night.
"Spank her baby, leave her damn ass on fire," Wendy said next to you, you turned to see her, and there was nothing but desire in her eyes. You gave her a smile, and as soon as you turned your attention back to Sooyoung, you started spanking her over and over again without even a break, turning her moans into screams that blended pain and pleasure into one.
That was the trigger for Sooyoung's growing orgasm; you pulled her hair even harder, and spanked her a couple more times until her skin was red hot under your fingers. At this point, the only sound that filled the room was your pelvis slamming hard against her ass, her pussy being mercilessly fucked and her screaming in pleasure.
"FUCK YES! YES! OH MY GOD I’M SO CLOSE, POUND MY FUCKING PUSSY AND MAKE ME CUM! FUUUUUUUCK!"
Her pussy walls contracted around your cock, and her body became a quivering mess that was hard for you to control as climax hit her; you slowed your thrusts, making them slow but just as aggressive as before, and then released her hair so she could rest her head on the mattress. Then, after a series of violent spasms, Sooyoung seemed to give in to exhaustion and lowered her abdomen until it was flat against the bed, pulling you out of her in the process. You moved to an empty spot on the bed, to see Wendy's smirk and flushed cheeks as she looked at you.
"That was fucking hot, darling," she admitted with a bite of her lip, "but we want your cum... on our faces."
You stood up on the bed, and immediately Wendy knelt in front of you. She turned her head to the corner of the bed where Sooyoung was still face down with her soul drained from her body, and gave her a gentle spank.
"Ihh!!" Sooyoung screeched, turning her head to look at her.
"Get your pretty ass over here or I'll take all her load to myself."
And as if her soul had returned to her body in a miraculous act, Sooyoung sat up (barely) and knelt beside Wendy. Now your cock was floating above her gorgeous faces.
Wendy made the first move, placing kisses along the bottom of your shaft, just above your balls; then Sooyoung joined, repeating the same process but higher up than her. The kisses became more and more wet and needy, and they went up until both were on each side of the tip of your cock; they looked into each other's eyes for a moment, and then began to kiss with you in the middle of their mouths.
You let out an audible moan and placed both hands on the backs of their heads to try and press them further against your tip, leading them to take you into their mouths for a few seconds each. Sooyoung noticed you were nearing the end by the way you pressed and your thighs muscles twitched, and she broke away to look at Wendy.
"Finish it for us, baby, go ahead," she gave your girlfriend one last peck on her lips, and she immediately took more than half of your cock inside her mouth, sucking you fast and hard. Sooyoung didn't sit still; she placed her mouth on your balls to suck gently, leaving both full of saliva as she caressed your right leg with her hand. You were going crazy with how good it felt, but Wendy's messy, sloppy blowjob was what pushed you over the edge.
"B-baby…" you stammered, and your girlfriend pulled you out of her mouth to jerk you off as fast as she could. Sooyoung stopped on your balls to stick her face right next to Wendy's, and when they both stuck out their tongues, you exploded.
Jets and jets of cum shot out of your cock to land right on the faces of the beauties below you, one after another, you reckoned like nine or ten, the last ones landing on their tongues. You closed your eyes for a moment to assimilate all the sensations in your body, then opened them to admire the work of art you had created. Both faces, painted with your thick and hot load.
"Ah... it feels so good, so thick... so hot," Sooyoung murmured after swallowing what had landed on her tongue and then licking her lips, "Honey, clean mommy's face, please," she said to Wendy, who didn’t hesitate at any time holding her by the neck and licking all the remaining semen on Sooyung's face. After cleaning her up, Sooyoung returned the favor, ending with a steamy kiss that made the scene the hottest thing you've ever seen in your life.
You didn't have the energy to say a single word, you landed on your butt on the bed, falling backwards like you'd run four marathons in a row. The girls joined you, Wendy on the left side, and Sooyoung on the right side. Your girlfriend put her leg on top of yours and hugged you, but Sooyoung had her back to you, her butt against your thigh; still, she made you wrap her with your arm so she could hug it.
You gave Wendy one last lazy kiss, and her face flushed with pleasure was the last thing you saw before you fell asleep.
—--------------------------------------------------------
You woke up around 4am thanks to the sound of the bathroom door; the glare of light hit your face, causing you to frown as you slowly opened your eyes. You blocked the light with one hand, so you could see the silhouette that was still as a statue under the door frame.
"I'm so sorry, honey, I didn't mean to wake you up," Wendy apologized, and she closed the door so the light wouldn't bother you.
You rubbed your eyes and then looked to your right, Sooyoung had half of her body on top of yours, clinging like a koala to her branch, your arm wrapped around her. It hadn't been a dream, after all.
"Uh... I was going to take a bath, wanna join?" your girlfriend asked sheepishly.
"Sure," you answered in the middle of a yawn. You got rid of Sooyoung as carefully as possible, and gave her a replacement pillow to hug so she wouldn't realize you weren't there so soon.
Wendy entered the bathroom and you followed her closely, you closed the door behind you and then you saw yourself in the mirror, you were all disheveled and your face was swollen from sleep. Wendy moved to your side and rested her chin on your shoulder, wrapping her arms around your abdomen.
"Aw, you look so cute." She smiled and kissed you on the back.
"I'm trying to keep my eyes open, let's get in the shower please."
Wendy gave a small giggle.
"Alright, come here, little baby."
She separated from you and took your hand to guide you to the shower; both got inside it, with the particularity that you were under the shower with her behind you, normally she was where you were.
Wendy reached a hand over you, directly towards the water handle.
"NO, WAIT!"
Too late, the cold water came out of the shower and fell over your whole body; you writhed like a worm, screeching and looking for escape.
"God, you're a crybaby. It's just cold water,” Wendy held you in place, until you finally gave up.
"No hot water?"
"Trust me, what your body needs right now is cold water," she patted your chest, and then she winked at you.
"Fair enough, but are you going to help me or not?" you raised an eyebrow, taking a small step forward so her tits brushed against your chest, and your flaccid cock against her crotch.
"Mmmm, should I?" Wendy squeezed your cock with her right hand, gave it a few strokes, then stopped when you were getting hard, “You have to wash your hair first.”
"Ugh…are you serious?" you groaned, as she took the bottle of shampoo from behind you and poured some over her hands.
"Shut up, you dominated me all night, pay me some attention now."
She had a point.
Her hands went straight to your hair, spreading all the shampoo until your head was full of foam.
"Put your head in."
"Which one?" you joked.
"I'm going to leave you here alone."
"Okay, okay, sorry," You put your head in the water, removing all the foam from your hair.
"Alright, now let's get to what you're interested in, pervert," you and Wendy had separate soaps, so she took yours, and wet it before starting to rub it on your neck, chest, arms and abdomen. Then she knelt down, her gaze on yours as she ran the soap over your thighs and then your calves, completely ignoring the erection growing in front of her, "Turn around honey," she said as she stood up.
You did as she asked, now you were facing the shower handles, which you took advantage of to turn off the water for a moment. Now Wendy lathered your shoulders, your back, and finally your butt. At the end, she began to rub her breasts against your slippery back, filled her hands with soap one last time and brought them both to your cock, stroking slowly until it was completely hard.
"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" Wendy said almost in a whisper, still moving her hands around your soapy cock. You didn't have the mental capacity to say a thing, so she just took it as a positive answer.
One of her hands left your cock to open the water again, which fell on you and cleaned any traces of soap on your body. Wendy turned you around again, and then she knelt in front of you, giving your cock a few last strokes before bringing it into her mouth.
"Fuck baby…" you gasped, as Wendy gave you a slow, sensual blowjob, in complete contrast to how she'd drained you a few hours ago. She held the base of your shaft with one hand, and with the other she began to slowly rub her clit; her mouth was just over halfway up your cock, and she expertly used her tongue to stimulate the underside of it with each suck.
You and Wendy were extremely focused and deep in your own bubble of desire, but she was disturbed by the sound of the bathroom door opening. Wendy took you out of her mouth, and looked, like you, at Sooyoung's blurred silhouette approaching you through the shower glass.
"You wanted to have fun without me, didn't you?" Sooyoung said, after sliding the shower glass and getting in with you two.
"You were peacefully asleep, I wasn't going to wake you up," you said, meeting her mischievous gaze.
"Aw, that's very nice of you, cutie," she leaned in to give you a little kiss on the lips and then knelt next to Wendy, "Okay, go on baby, pretend I'm not here," she said to her, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Wendy complied with the order, and returned to your cock with the same rhythm as before, nice and slow. This time she went more than halfway, taking inch by inch down her throat until your entire length was inside her mouth; the gags kicked in quickly as she wasn't used to deep throating you, but you knew she was only doing it to get Sooyoung's approval.
"What a good girl…" Sooyoung placed her hand on the back of your girlfriend's neck, pushing her forward against her will until her nose was resting against your pubis. You let out a groan of pain as Wendy dug her nails into your thighs, and then gave desperate signs for a break, "Theeeere you go, you did great, baby," the dark-haired woman said as she let her go.
Wendy took a deep breath, a couple of strands of saliva connecting the tip of your drooling cock with her lips. She put her hands on her thighs, awaiting further orders. It seemed that every time Sooyoung was present, she transformed into the most submissive woman in the world. And you didn't blame her.
"I think our little slut deserves to have that juicy cock inside her, don't you, darling?" Sooyoung looked at you with an eyebrow raised.
"Absolutely" you nodded.
As soon as Wendy stood up you lifted her up so she wrapped her legs around your torso; Sooyoung also stood up behind her, and Wendy clung to her with one arm and grabbed onto your shoulder with the other.
"Mommy and daddy will take good care of you, baby, just relax," Sooyoung whispered in her ear, while you rubbed the tip of your cock against her slit.
Wendy let out a sigh and squeezed your shoulder a little harder, closed her eyes and relaxed, resting her head on Sooyoung's shoulder; she looked you in the eyes, a sign you took as a "do it". And so it was, you lined up with her pussy, and with a slow and careful thrust your cock began to bury itself inch by inch inside her, which led to a loud moan from your girlfriend.
"That's it sweetie...take it all" Sooyoung slid both hands in front of Wendy's body and cupped her breasts with her hands, gently squeezing them and teasing her hard nipples. You made her unwrap her legs from your torso so you could hold them, spread them a little and started to pump in and out of her tight pussy.
Nothing else came out of your girlfriend's mouth if not small moans and gasps; she clung tighter to Sooyoung's neck, and you pressed your fingers harder into her thighs to make sure the marks would stay on her for the next few hours. Your thrusts were slow at first, but with each passing second you began to fuck her faster and faster, making the sounds of your wet bodies colliding sound even louder than the shower.
With your increase in intensity also came an increase in the pleasure-laden noises your girlfriend was making. Sooyoung was placing kisses on her neck when she slid one of her hands from her breast to her clit, beginning to rub it as fast as your thrusts. That drove Wendy crazy, who lost her grip on your shoulder for a moment to return it to your neck; you thought that Sooyoung would go deaf, since all her moans were received directly in her ear.
"Do you like that cock fucking your brains out baby? It feels amazing, I know…" Sooyoung bit her lip sensually, continuing to rub her clit while her other hand squeezed her left breast.
You thought that Wendy would melt at any moment, the strength of her grip was getting weaker and weaker, which means a bigger effort on your part to keep her in the air, but you didn't care, you just cared to keep fucking her until her legs tremble.
Sooyoung gave her a fiery kiss and placed her left hand around her neck, squeezing it tightly, causing her mouth to form an O shape and her moans to be muffled.
"Cum, baby…" she whispered into her ear, and as if by magic, your girlfriend's walls tightened around your cock, as if she wanted to trap you in there forever. Sooyoung loosened her hold on her neck, letting her release all the pleasure in loud moans; she also lost the strength of her arms, so you and Sooyoung had to hold her up in the air while you fucked her through her orgasm.
The stiflingly tight walls of her pussy were too much for you to handle, and you let out a couple of moans, thrusting harder even though you knew Wendy would be sensitive.
"Fill her with your cum honey, fill her whole tight pussy," Sooyoung said, looking at your eyes.
You hadn't realized at this point how much influence she had on both of you, until right after she said that you exploded inside Wendy with one last thrust, painting her pussy with all your hot load.
"Ah fuck... shit, shit," you gasped, with the intense pleasure electrifying your body, buried in her and releasing your last drops of semen before very slowly coming out of her pussy, and next to your cock, all the thick liquid came out, which would have fallen to the shower floor if it wasn't for Sooyoung quickly picked up as much as she could with her fingers.
"Don't think I'm going to let that go to waste honey," Sooyoung bit her lip, bringing her fingers to her mouth to swallow all of your cum.
Wendy, meanwhile, looked like a rag doll leaning against Sooyoung's body, left destroyed. Her breathing was still ragged, and it took her a few long seconds to finally open her eyes; her arms were almost hanging in the air, and you could feel her legs trembling in your fingers. You tried to put her down, but her legs were too weak to stand up.
"Wow, you can really cripple someone with that dick. I hope to be next," Sooyoung giggled, "Come on, let's dry her off," she reached in, turning off the water in the shower head.
You carried Wendy like a sleeping princess in your arms, and Sooyoung helped you out of the shower without slipping and breaking your neck. You sat her on top of the toilet seat, and took a towel from the wall to gently dry her body. Meanwhile, Sooyoung took the remaining towel to dry herself even though she wasn't as wet as you and Wendy.
"Well thanks," you complained.
"Oh come here, don't be a crybaby."
After a few minutes the three of you were finally dry, so you picked up Wendy again and walked out of the bathroom with her to lay her down on the bed, making her as comfortable as possible on her pillow and covering her with the sheet.
"Well...since the baby is asleep, shall we go to the kitchen? I'm sooooo hungry," Sooyoung said with a fake innocence in her voice, walking towards the bedroom door with a sensual sway of her hips.
You couldn't do anything but follow her.
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Spren Notes:
Damn, it really has been a while, hasn't it? I'm very sorry for the delay, it's been months full of work and adult shit, anyway, that's not the main reason. The main reason is that I'm a lazy mfcker lol.
Writing this was very fun and interesting, since it is my first time writing a threesome and it was difficult for me to make everything coherent; and well, I guess I didn't do a bad job after all. Also, this is a request from a user whose name I don't remember because my private messages got deleted :( man, if you read this, I hope you love it!
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softquietsteadylove · 2 years ago
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Soooooo uhm I wrote a Thenamesh story where their weddings vows were mentioned because they were married your honor anyway..now I wanna read about them tying the knot (eloping or an actual wedding non traditional or traditional) I don’t care too much about details. Love your work
This was starting to get out of hand. It was one thing to say they would pretend to be engaged to piss off his father (and distract him from giving Sersi a hard time about her broken engagement to Ikaris). It was another thing entirely to end up with his whole family wanting to help them plan a proper wedding around it.
Gil had said that they didn't need anything big--that they were just going to have a small thing. His family had no idea that he and Thena didn't actually have any work friends to invite. Somehow that became Thena staying with him and his mother and sisters as they planned a wedding to be held in their backyard in a week?
"What do you think?" Ajak smiled, turning to him.
"Uh," Gil shifted in his seat, barely looking up at Thena at all. "Yeah, looks great."
"Honey," Ajak huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "This is important!"
He ruffled his hair. How did they end up doing this? "W-Well...aren't I not supposed to see her in it before the wedding anyway?"
Ajak didn't bite, though. She raised a brow at her son, "really? I thought we had given up on tradition, seeing as I didn't even hear about your very sudden engagement from you yourself. I had to hear it from Sersi, remember?"
Gil winced. He really didn't like lying to his mom.
And Thena knew it. She had known Gil for years, and even then, it didn't take much to know that Gil was a big softie. He had asked her to help him with this whole thing to help out his sister to begin with. She sighed. "He's...you know how shy he can be."
Ajak saw right through the defense of Gil, as sweet as it was. She grasped Thena's hands in hers. "You mean he's quiet as a mouse, dear. But this is important! This is going to be your wedding dress! I know you didn't have anything particular in mind, but it should at least be something you like--something you feel beautiful in!"
Thena smiled. She liked Gil's mother. Ajak was exuberant, like Gil (when he was around friends), sweet natured, and the epitome of warmth. "It's a lovely dress, Ajak."
"I think so, my love," the shorter woman beamed up at her. She turned back to Gil again. "Tell me one thing you like about it and we can move on."
"Ugh," Gil sighed, but it was obviously a familiar move from both of them. He shifted in his seat again, finally letting his eyes really soak in the image of Thena in the lacy white dress his mother had found for her. "It's pretty."
"Gilgamesh!"
Thena bit back a smile as he rolled his eyes like a child. He stood from the seat, finally really truly looking at her. Thena blinked, wondering why she was suddenly much more nervous as Gil's eyes travelled over her.
"Well?" Ajak prompted him.
"Mom, I don't know if it really suits her," he shrugged, giving her his most honest opinion. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Obviously it's beautiful--it's her. But I think she'd like something, uh...smoother?"
"What do you mean?" Ajak tilted her head, ignorant to Thena trying to process his words behind her.
"Well, she wears a lot of, um, satin or silk or whatever," Gil waved his hand in the air, still able to talk about it without blinking an eye. "I don't think the floral lace is really her thing. Thena?"
"Hm?" she blinked, all but startled into reality again.
"How do you feel in it?" he asked, walking closer to her - and blocking off his very offended mother - to get her more honest opinion.
Thena looked down at herself (at least that was the excuse). "I suppose...I never pictured myself in something so...gauzy."
"There y'go!" Gil stepped away again, unshielding Thena from his mother with a sigh.
"You said she looked beautiful, though!"
"Mom," Gil cut in, "look at her. Everything looks beautiful on her."
Thena looked down at the dress again, brushing off the slightly puffy skirt of it.
"Oh," Ajak smiled, stealing Thena's fidgeting hands away from herself with a wink (which only doubled her flustered feeling). "No need for maidenly blushing, dear."
Gil's head shot up to look at Thena. She looked away in just as much of a hurry. A grin spread over his face slowly. Maybe not everything about this plan was a terrible idea.
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oikawaplssteponme · 4 years ago
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PREVIOUSLY • MASTERLIST
pairing: (prince) Sawamura Daichi x (princess) fem! reader
warnings: none
word count: 1.6k words
synopsis: A childhood lover, a perfect picture, a thoughtful risk, a dashing spark, a resurfaced fling, a beautiful mystery, and an unlikely charmer. With so many flowers in the garden, which do you pick?
a/n: hello loves! i hope you all are doing well :)) reminder that the taglist is still open, just send an ask or leave a comment to be added <3 id love to hear your thoughts and please reblog!! tags have been weird lately so id really appreciate the reblogs :) !
☾ ⋆*・゚:⋆*・゚:⠀ *⋆.*:・゚ .: ⋆*・゚: .⋆ ⋆*・゚: ☾
Nervous
“Good morning Your Grace! Rise and shine!” Anita came bursting into your room. She opened up your bedroom curtains, revealing the burning sunshine. You grabbed one of your pillows and buried your head under it.
“Oh gosh what time is it…” you groaned.
“Time to start getting ready. I’ll have your breakfast brought in momentarily.” Anita left your room just as quickly as she entered it. You removed the pillow from your head and sat up.
“Oh good you’re up.” Your mother, the queen, entered your room, followed by Anita and your breakfast tray.
“Thank you.”
“Eat up sweetheart. You’ll need your energy for today!” said your mother.
“Why must the ball be so late today?” You asked, “and why have you woken me up so early…”
“It’s the Midnight Ball Y/N! It’s tradition whenever the kingdom of Karasuno comes to visit,” she explained. You nodded.
The Prince of Karasuno would be next on your agenda. You had heard nothing but nice things about him. He was known to be responsible, kind, level headed, everything a future king would need to be.
“Your gown for tonight is getting finished up at the tailor’s. I’ll be picking it up in about an hour or so,” explained Anita.
“I’ll join you,” you said as you took a sip from your tea. Your mother shook her head.
“You have much to prepare for here, darling. Anita can take care of it herself.”
“I’ll only be gone for an hour or two. I promise I’ll be back in time,” you insisted.
“Very well… I’ll make sure your ride is prepared.” Your mother patted the top of your head before leaving your room. You looked at Anita, sighing.
“I suppose this is how things will be for a while. A ball every week, a new dress to try on, and someone new to see.”
“You’ll certainly never be bored, Your Highness. I’ll set out your garments for this morning’s trip and meet you outside.” Anita flashed you a bright smile before heading over to your closet, picking out a simple, light pink dress. She laid it on the chair of your vanity before leaving.
You finished your breakfast and got yourself ready then went to meet Anita outside.
“Ready to go, Your Majesty?” she asked. You smiled.
“Anita you know you can call me Y/N, and yes.”
The ride into town was smooth. It was an exceptionally beautiful day, birds chirping, the sun shining. You waved to whoever you saw as people eagerly noticed your arrival.
You arrived at the tailors right on time. It was a dainty shop, filled with endless piles of fabric and designs to fuel anyone's imagination.
“Good morning Your Royal Highness! Here to pick up your gown for tonight’s ball?” asked Mari, the shop owner.
“The Princess is also in need of one final fitting before we can take the gown back to the castle with us,” explained Anita. Mari nodded.
“Yes yes of course! Right this way my darling!”
She led you and Anita to where the mannequin stood, wearing the dress.
“Wow…”
It was an extravagant gown, black as the midnight sky. The sunlight peeking in from the windows bounced off of the small crystals, making it sparkle. It lastly had a matching cape, since the ball would take place at night.
“Mari you never disappoint, it is truly gorgeous,” you said.
“Oh thank you Princess. Here, let's get you laced up.”
The dress fit you perfectly as expected. It’s sweetheart neckline and floral detail looked stunning on you. Mari packaged up your dress as you waited with Anita.
“We actually have one last stop before we can head back,” she explained.
“Where?” you asked. Anita smiled.
“It seems that your prince has a gift for you.”
You and Anita walked along the streets of town until reaching the flower shop. You breathed in the scents of gardenias and lilies.
“Pick up for Y/N L/N,” explained Anita to the front desk attendant. They scurried off to the back cooler and brought out the biggest arrangement of flowers you had ever seen.
“Oh wow…”
It was a mix of orange and black roses, with a small card peaking out.
‘Until tonight Princess… -D.S.’
“D.S.?” you questioned. Anita chuckled.
“It’s from Prince Sawamura Daichi, Your Majesty.”
“He certainly knows how to make a girl smile,” you whispered.
“He’s perfect…” gushed Anita. You chuckled.
“We’ll see about that…”
~
As the day drew on, you found yourself back at home. You were finally getting ready for the ball, that started in just a few hours. You showered and wrapped yourself up in your silk robe. You walked into your room, where Anita was laying out your dress.
“Anita what do you know about Sawamura Daichi?” you asked. She chuckled nervously.
“Well I don’t know too much...but I know that he is a great leader with a kind heart. He puts others before himself and is devoted to helping others. Anyone would be lucky to have a heart like his.”
“It seems like you know more than you think,” you teased. Anita shook her head.
“Oh my apologies. Here, let's get you laced up.”
Anita cinched you up into your gown. She did your makeup and clipped on your cape.
“Stunning as always,” she smiled.
“Thank you. Shall we go?”
The garden was marvelously decorated with lights and lanterns. There was a grand fountain in the middle of it all, the floor a checkered pattern . The full moon shined above you, making the moonlight bounce off of your gown. You greeted people as they approached you, keeping one eye out for the Prince.
“Excuse me, You Grace?”
You turned around to see a man smiling at you with grey hair.
“Yes?”
“Princess Y/N L/N, I am pleased to introduce you to the marvelous, chivalrous, most handsome-”
“That’s enough Sugawara…”
“Oh right...Prince Sawamura Daichi, Your Majesty.” He moved out of the way, allowing the prince to step forward.
“My apologies, he tends to get carried away,” smiled Daichi. You chuckled.
“I actually liked your introduction,” you teased.
“I’m glad. Would you care to dance?” Sawamura pointed to the dance floor. You nodded.
“I would love to.”
You took his hand and he guided you to the floor, He bowed before you, then placed his hand onto your waist and held up your other hand.
“Thank you for the flowers,” you said. Daichi smiled.
“I’m glad they found you well. I wasn’t sure which flowers were your favorite so I decided to play it safe with roses.”
“I do love roses.”
“Do you have a favorite flower?”
“Not particularly. I love the assortment bouquets, that way I get a little of everything,” you explained.
“I see.”
Daichi spun you around the floor, keeping you close to you. His eyes almost as dark as the midnight sky, you could’ve fallen into them. As your hand rested on his bicep, you could tell just how strong he was. His strong build but gentle smile warmed your heart.
You watched as what looked to be a sweat droplet glided down the side of his forehead. You chuckled.
“Are you nervous?” you asked. Sawamura tilted his head.
“Nervous? What makes you say that?”
“It looks like you’re sweating.”
Daichi patted his forehead with the back of his hand. He smiled.
“That’s not sweat princess, that’s rain.”
The two of you looked up at the sky, seeing the clouds rolling over you. You closed your eyes, starting to feel the soft water trickle down upon you.
“Everyone inside!” shouted the king. People began to rush over to the doors, hiding under the walkway.
“Y/N, darling, you’re gonna get sick!” insisted your mother. As you soon became drenched by the rain, you looked to Daichi, who held onto your hand.
“I have a dance to finish,” you smiled. Daichi grinned, placing his hand back onto your waist and once again, guided you along the dance floor.
It was just the two of you, dazzling under the stormy moonlight. As lightning struck and thunder boomed, you kept your eyes on Sawamura. How he made you laugh, calling you reckless for proposing this idea. Even as the floor became even more slippery, you and Daichi didn’t stop. Soon, the orchestra came back, playing for you. Drums sounding along with the sound of thunder, causing goosebumps on your skin.
The two of you caught your breath, panting as water droplets dripped down your lips. You wrapped your arms around his neck, keeping you balanced. Without realizing it, yours and Sawamura’s foreheads were pressed against each other. Daichi locked eyes with you, placing his hand under your chin.
“I think it’s safe to say that you took my breath away.”
~
The two of you went inside the palace a short time later. Anita brought you both towels to dry yourselves off.
You now sat with the prince on the grand staircase. The two of you talked about all kinds of things. He told you about Karasuno, you told him about what there was to do around your kingdom. He listened happily to every word you had to say.
“You’ll have to show me around soon, I didn’t get to explore much today,” he said. You nodded.
“I would love to do that.”
“Excuse me, Your Highness, we must be going.”
You looked over to the man who entered with the prince earlier. You sighed, almost wishing he didn't have to leave.
“Very well, just one moment please.”
Daichi stood up from the steps. He helped you up as well.
“It was such a pleasure meeting you Y/N. I wish we didn’t have to part so soon,” he smiled.
“As do I. I hope you have safe travels, and the next time you’re here I will happily show you around.” Daichi smiled.
“I would love that.”
He carefully took your hand, kissing the top of it. He took his soaked suit jack and draped it over his shoulder before joining Sugawara. You sighed.
“He really is perfect.”
[ taglist OPEN : @lealofsblog @iwaisa @bakugousmymassa @evivn1 @tetsoleil @bokutory @vangoghmusings @moonlightaangel @misszenin @marajillana @asahisimpnation @sopesmin @alaina-rose13 @shotoful @koutarousangel @shoutamajiki @definitelynottrin @sullen-angel24 @thatprettybunny ]
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Happy Anniversary to me!
One year ago I asked @rain-down-knowledge to be my girlfriend and she said yes!
To celebrate (and as part of my gift) I have written this incredibly self indulgent domestic fluff. No plot, no real point, but it was fun to write, enjoy!
Yang nervously shifted the plastic wrapped bouquet in her hands as she walked up to her front door. It had been three years but she still worried Blake wouldn’t like her gifts. She took a deep breath in, reassuring herself that Blake would love it, and exhaled as she opened the door and stepped in.
The empty downstairs greeted Yang as she  placed her keys on the hook by the door, placed the flowers down as she sat on the bench by the door to take off her work boots. As she undid the laces she heard movement upstairs. Smiling, Yang stepped out of her boots, retrieved the flowers, and padded up the stairs.
 “Blake?” Yang gently called at the top of the stairs, announcing her presence. Hearing a responding hum she made her way to the master bath.
 As she walked in, Yang saw Blake, back to her, touching up her makeup in the mirror. Yang slid an arm across her shoulder and gently pulled her into an embrace, moving the flower into her field of vision.
 “Happy anniversary Love” Yang pressed a kiss to Blake’s temple.
 “Mm, happy anniversary to you too Babe. These flowers are beautiful!” Blake took the flowers from Yang and turned to give her a kiss on the lips, “I love you.”
  As Blake turned to stand, Yang took a few steps back to give her room. As they stood face to face Yang was finally able to take in Blake’s outfit.
 “Wow,” Yang’s eyebrows rose as she took her girlfriend in. Blake was wearing a loose floral button up adorned with dark purple flowers with yellow accents that draped from her chest and flared out with her hips, her dark denim pants contrasted the white background of the shirt and made the flowers pop even more. “You look-” Yang paused as she scrambled for an adjective, “so fucking good.”
 “Gee thanks babe.” Blake rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress the smile that bloomed across her face. Blake walked past Yang and across to their bedroom dresser. “I still have to choose a necklace, and do something with these,” she raised the bouquet in her hand, “ and then I’m ready to go after you get ready.” She placed the flowers down and picked up a simple gold chain. “A little help?”
 “Hm, what time are those reservations again?” Yang walked up behind Blake and draped the chain around the front of her neck and quickly closed the clasp as Blake swept her hair aside in a well practiced maneuver between the two. Instead of backing away, Yang dropped one hand to Blake’s hip, the other brushing the hair back to reveal her neck again and pressed a lingering kiss where her neck sloped into her shoulder. 
 “About an hour.” There was a hint of laughter in Blake’s voice. “Just enough time for you to shower and change out of your greasy shop clothes.” Blake felt the hand on her hip wrap around her stomach and be joined by Yang’s other hand as Yang gently rested her head on Blake’s shoulder.
 “Any way I could convince you to join me in the shower?” Yang’s voice was soft and warm in Blake’s ear. She was tempted to give in, but they had been planning to try this restaurant for weeks.
 “Yang,” Blake was gentle, firm, and a bit teasing as she turned in Yang’s arms to give her a pointed look. “I already showered and got ready. You’ll have to go this alone.” Blake pulled her in for a quick peck on the lips before stepping out of the embrace to collect the flowers from the dresser. “I’m going to go put these in some water.”
  Yang dramatically threw her head back. “Fine,” she huffed, a smile dancing on her face as she lifted her head. “Guess I’ll just have to get ready all on my lonesome,” her voice was teasing as she pulled the collar of her shirt over her head, reliably drawing Blake’s eyes to the plane of her stomach.
 Blake felt her fingers itch with the desire to feel her skin but shook herself out of it. She grinned at her girlfriend’s behavior as she watched Yang stretch exaggeratedly  and turn towards the bathroom as she began to take off her pants, twisting her head to throw Blake a wink on the way to the shower. Blake shook her head, starting down the stairs as the shower stuttered to life. 
 Having cut the flowers and retrieved Yang’s gift from behind the couch Blake settled in with her book as she waited for Yang to get ready. Yang never took too long to get ready, but a long day at the mechanic’s shop typically prompted a longer shower than usual.
  Soon enough Yang was walking down the stairs and it was Blake’s turn to struggle for words. Yang had on a crisp, tailored, white button up, sleeves cuffed to her elbows, tucked into some slim fitting black jeans. Around her neck she was wearing a simple amethyst on a chain, drawing out her beautiful lavender eyes. “Ready to go?” Yang looked up from fidgeting with the leather strap of her watch to see a breathless Blake.
 “Hm? Oh! Yes!” Blake snapped back to attention. “That shirt looks fucking fantastic on you.”
  Yang chuckled, “Thank you, I think you say that everytime I wear it.”
 “It keeps being true!” Blake countered as she stood. “You have everything?”
  Yang hummed in affirmation as she retrieved her things from the entryway. Opening the door, Yang flourished with her hand to cue Blake to go first, “M’Lady,” she did a mock bow and looked to Blake who promptly rolled her eyes.
 “Really? I’ve put up with three years of this?” Blake questioned as she walked through the door.
 “Oh, you love it.” Yang followed behind Blake, locking up behind them.
 “I do.”
  Dinner was a quiet conversation tucked into each other’s sides in a corner booth over a steaming hotpot. Stories from their days, childhood, and dreams were exchanged between bites of fish and sips of broth.
   Afterwards the couple found themselves on a bench at the beach to watch the sunset and exchange gifts.
 “Ooh, a ring box! Babe,” Yang teased as she pulled a small velvet box out of a gift bag.
 “Don’t worry, it’s not that. Not yet.” Blake said with a chuckle. Yang opened the box and immediately put a hand over her mouth. “I was talking to Tai and he mentioned Summer’s earrings and how he didn’t know what to do with them since neither you or Ruby pierced your ears,” Blake rushed through the explanation, worried when she saw tears well in Yang’s eyes. “ I saved one for Ruby too so-”
 “Blake,” Yang’s voice was heavy with the sob she was holding back, “Thank you, I love it.” The hand she was using to cover her mouth stretched out to grab the hand Blake was waving as she spoke.
 “You do?” At Yang’s nod Blake sighed in relief, “Thank the gods. I was worried I’d overstepped.” Yang quickly shook her head and Blake continued, “I know you can’t wear it to work, there’s a chain in the bottom of the box.”
 “You thought of everything, huh?” Yang wiped the tears from her eyes and pulled the ring out of the box. A small ruby was set into a simple silver band. Yang slipped it on her finger and held out her hand to admire it. “I remember these earrings,” she said softly. “I lost one playing dress up once and Mom was so upset. We made cookies when we found them. I think she felt bad about blowing up.” Yang sniffed and Blake wrapped her hand around her wrist in support. “Anywho,” Yang cleared her throat and straightened up, “Your turn! Apparently we both went the jewelry route.” She pulled a larger, more shallow, box from behind her on the bench and handed it to Blake. 
 “Ooh!” Blake hammed it up a bit to try to lighten the mood, but her genuine excitement was betrayed as she eagerly took the box from Yang. She slowly snapped it open to reveal a traditional wooden fish hook necklace from Menagerie with a yellow garnet adorning the eye of the hook. “Oh,” Blake gently ran the pads of her fingers over the intricate engravings on the surface of the wood. “Yang, this is gorgeous! Where did you find it? I’ve never seen any Menagerie shops in Vale!”
 “Um,” Yang blushed at the praise of her gift. “When we were visiting your parents for your birthday, I asked your mom about getting you something traditional.” She fidgeted with the new ring on her hand. “You’ve been doing all that research into your family history. I guess I wanted to give you something to connect you to it.”
 “It’s perfect.” Blake held the pendant in her palm and used her other hand to cup Yang’s cheek and looked her in the eyes, “Thank you.” She leaned in for a kiss, Yang meeting her halfway and bringing a hand to rest on her collarbone.
 The two shared their quiet moment alone together. The orange glow of the sky casting long shadows as the sun set on this beautiful day.
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rohad93 · 4 years ago
Text
Moonlit Masquerade: White & Red pt 2 (Final)
Ghouls and Gowns.
It was probably the nicest formal dress shop in all The Boiling Isles, and Amity had always imagined getting her wedding dress from this shop since she was a child, since before she had even met Luz. It was well known for it’s one of a kind garments, but they booked appointments for fittings out months in advance, sometimes even a year. Getting in with less than six months' notice was an impossible task, so maybe Amity had flexed her status and reputation a little to get such a short notice reservation, she wasn’t going to tell anyone about it, especially Luz.
Willow, Emira, and Viney were waiting outside the shop when they arrived.
“Hey, Mittens!” Her sister grinned at her as they approached. “Eda, Ms. Noceda.” she nodded, smiling at the older two women.
"Hello, girls." Camila smiled at them.
"Thanks for coming." Amity smiled at the three.
“As if I’d let you do this without me.” Emira smiles at her.
"Of course!" Willow smiled.
"Wouldn't miss it," Viney agreed with a grin, crossing her arms.
"Well, we gonna do this or what?" Eda asked.
"Yeah, let's go." Amity nodded, rolling her eyes at the older, wild witch as they went into the shop.
The room was large and spacious with a few white couches arranged into a semi-circle around a raised platform with a half-circle of full-length mirrors and row upon row of dresses in every size, style, and color one could imagine.
"Ahh, Miss. Blight, you're right on time.” The well-dressed clerk with long, straight black hair clapped her hands together and smiled at them. “Feel free to walk around and pick out anything you’d like and try on, and don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything.”
“Thank you.” she nodded as they split up and wandered through the aisles.
“Any preferences Amity?” Willow asked, her voice carried over the racks.
“Not really… I kind of just hope I’ll know it when I see it I suppose...”
“I don’t even remember what I was wearing when I got married…” Eda’s voice calls from somewhere behind her.
“You were married?!” The younger witches shout and Eda’s chuckle comes from somewhere in the store.
“Just for twelve hours, give or take. Sometimes you have to go that extra mile for the scam.”
Amity rolled her eyes and shook her head at the woman Luz had chosen as a second mother and would be her second mother-in-law.
“Well, why don’t we pick out some options for you to try on?” Her sister’s voice sounds from somewhere off to her left among the clothes.
“Yeah, let’s do that,” Amity called as she wandered up and down the aisles, it’s a little overwhelming, honestly.
This is, so far, the only thing she and Luz hadn’t decided on together. They’d picked a date, a place, a time, and already sent out invitations to everyone that really mattered to them as well as arranged for the food and cake at the after-party. It was all fairly simple as far as weddings went, neither had any interest in a big, extravagant event.
She felt a twinge in her chest. It had been well over two months and she still hadn’t heard from her father. She did her best to shove down the hurt feelings, she knew it was a high possibility that he might not come, but she had really hoped he would. She shook her head, she was shopping for her wedding dress, now was not the time to be sad, she should be happy, and she was, but there was still a twinge of sadness beneath, thinking that both her parents had all but abandoned her. She shook herself off and focused on the task at hand.
She picked a few dresses off the racks that she rather liked and met them back in front of the changing room and piled their suggestions into Amity’s arms. Her knees strained under the weight of the material, but she managed to get them back inside the dressing room. The first dress in the pile was a short, white, sheath dress, Amity wasn’t sure how she felt about it as she looked at herself in the mirror, but since it was on she may as well see what the others thought.
“I can’t believe it’s just two months away.” Willow clapped her hands together.
“Seems like just yesterday Luz was denying she even had a crush on Amity and having a conniption in the living room.” Eda chuckled wistfully. “Now they’re getting hitched.”
“When are you going to propose?” Emira huffed, crossing her arms and glancing sideways at her girlfriend who blinked owlishly at her.
“Uh....” Viney is saved by Amity coming out of the dressing room and quickly garnering all of Emira’s, and everyone else’s attention.
“What do you all think?” Amity asked, stepping out.
“It’s cute, but I don't think that’s really what you’re going for for your wedding.” Emira cocked her head.
“It’s pretty,” Willow agreed. “Maybe a little on the short side, you are pretty tall.” Willow smiled.
“Yeah, I don’t love how short it is…,” she mumbled, smoothing her hands over the stiff material.
“Luz might…,” Viney chuckled, and Amity pinked.
“Well, the color is fairly traditional…,” Camila threw in her own two cents, and can immediately tell by the confused faces the witches make that a white wedding dress isn’t something they do.
“Is white an important color in human weddings?” Willow looks at her curiously.
“Important? No, but in the human world many cultures have brides wear white, though it’s more of an old tradition, it was a way to signify their virginity.” The assembled witches are looking at her strangely.
“Why?” Viney’s face is scrunched up in confusion at such a strange and frankly, embarrassing concept.
Camila pauses a second, trying to figure out how to explain old cultural traditions to people who have very different traditions and values of their own.
“In most cultures, you aren’t meant to have sex before marriage and the white dress was a way of telling your future husband you hadn’t,” is the simplest way she can think to explain it.
“So white’s out then,” Emira grins wickedly, looking at Amity, who shoots her a withering look, if there is one thing she doesn’t want to talk about in front of her future mother-in-law, it’s having sex with her daughter.
“Definitely out,” Eda chimes in, looking tired at the very thought and Amity slaps a hand to her face.
“It’s really just worn more for the sake of tradition now, you should pick whatever color you like, Cariño.” Camila frowns, she also does not want to talk about this. She’ll always think of Luz as her baby and she does not want to talk about her in any kind of passionate embrace with the young woman in front of her, or anyone really.
“Moving on,” Amity snaps when her sister starts to open her mouth again, a grin on her face. Emira pouts as Amity disappears back into the changing room and sets aside all the white dresses that have been hung up. She’s not going to have this conversation again.
They go through a few more but Amity just can’t see herself getting married in them. She looks through them before deciding to try the last of her own picks but quickly spots a problem.
“Willow, can you come help me?” she calls and within a few seconds, Willow was popping her head in the dressing room.
“Whatcha need?”
A few minutes after Willow disappears into the dressing room she comes back out, smiling giddily before Amity comes out behind her, and Emira gasps, as Eda lets out a low whistle.
"Oh, wow." Viney blinks and Camila can't help but think how incredibly lucky her daughter is.
It's long, stretching down to just above her ankles and in that dark shade of magenta Amity is known for, all save the sleeves and shoulders that stretched from the back of her hands up to the sides of her neck in black lace, strewn with floral patterns. She catches sight of herself in the mirror and can’t help but smile to herself. She likes the way it feels and looks on her skin.
“What do you think?” Amity turns to look at them, doing a little spin, making the skirt flutter.
“Oh, I love it! The lacing in the back is cute too!” Emira gushes, looking at the dark lace that intricately zigzags across the small of her back, cinching it closed.
"It's beautiful." Willow clapped her hands and Viney nodded in agreement.
"You look wonderful, Cariño.”
“Yeah, the kid might just die when she sees you…,” Eda chuckled approvingly.
“But, do you like it?” Viney asks and Amity smiles brightly to herself as she looks in the mirror and everyone can see it in the reflection. It's obvious to all of them that Amity loves the dress if that smile on her lips is anything to go by.
“Yeah, I love this one.” she nods, trying not to let the stinging of her eyes turn to tears.
“Sounds like we got a winner to me.” Eda clapped her hands and stood from the couch.
“Yes, this is the one.” she smiled and turned to face them and the front of the shop. “I think…” There's a flash of white out of the corner of her eye and her head whips up and standing outside the glass are five figures in familiar off white cloaks and gray masks, gloved hands raised. She barely has enough time to whip up a hand, spell circle blazing to life and then there's a loud blast and the front windows explode in a shower of shattered glass and flames
Magic flies through the air into the street and people start screaming.
~ ~
Luz hummed to herself, quickly filling orders and trading them for snails while Calliban laid around her neck dozing, his flickering tail tickling her ear. Mochuelo had grown bored of the market and returned to his staff, holstered safely across her back.
The buzzing is still a quiet constant, but she manages to drown it out, for the most part, keeping herself busy, hocking potions to every passerby with an enthusiasm that would make a car salesman green with envy.
It was busier earlier but the market has thinned some now and Luz is leaning on her stand, chin in one hand and scratching Calliban's head with the other as he growled contentedly. She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, picking up an elixir and rolling the round bottle around in her palm, trying to still her anxious energy. The market is quiet today until it isn’t.
It was faint at first, a dull, distant noise. She didn't notice till a sudden stampede of people were running past her stand screaming and shouting that a group of loyalists were attacking the garment district of the market. Luz froze and the potion held in her hand fell from her limp grip, shattering as it hit the ground at her feet. Her whole body starts to seize up as cold dread spreads through her.
The constant, nagging anxiousness that had been whispering at the back of her mind all day comes roaring to the forefront, unable to be ignored and Luz is flooded with panic, all she could think of was the last time she had stood in this market during a similar situation; panic and bedlam erupting around her.
Suddenly she’s there again.
The market is in flames and people are screaming as they run past her, smashing into her shoulders and stampeding all over each other in their panic, trying to escape imminent death in the approaching legion of white-cloaked loyalists that are systematically making their way through the district, killing anyone who does not kneel or run.
There are at least a hundred of them marching down the main aisle of the market, tearing the stands apart and burning them down as they execute anyone who tries to stop them. They aren’t looking for anything or even stealing, they’re just destroying.
There are too many people for her to fire off any spells and more importantly, somewhere beyond the line of approaching loyalists, was Amity, she’d been meeting a contact, alone, and is now behind the enemy line, and panic wells up in her, threatening to overflow. She takes off running and jumps on her staff, flying overhead, dodging and spinning through the sky as the air fills with shots of fire and loud crackling bolts of lightning that make her hair stand on end as they strike to close for comfort through the air near her head. She manages to get past the advancing force and behind them are stragglers, still destroying the market and blasting holes in the permanent buildings and another emotion rises up to join her panic. That’s one thing about the war that Luz had never expected to bring out in her: hot, indignant, frothing rage.
Belos would rather destroy the Isles than lose his Iron grip on them, and now that they had pushed his forces back to the chest, he was doing just that. How many innocent witches, adults, and children had she seen slaughtered without a second thought by those wearing the off-white cloaks and gray masks? Too many to ever forget or to forgive, but right now, she can’t stop the bedlam going on below, to try would be suicide by herself, and it kills her inside to do nothing, but the best she can hope for is to find Amity and get out of here to muster their forces waiting to the south where they had been preparing to storm the castle for the last two weeks.
She has to find her, quickly, they were less conspicuous apart so Luz had walked around the market while Amity went to meet their contact from the castle near the entrance to the night market, now as she flew over the market, eyes desperately moving over all the people running panicked through the market, flames, and smoke obscuring her sight, she wished she had insisted that she stay with her.
Her teeth grit together as her eyes flicker from one gruesome section of the market to the next. Bodies are lying in the streets like bits of discarded trash and the stands and tents are burning like dry kindling, their crackling and popping fires fueled by spiteful magic, accompanied by a chorus of screams that thumps in her ears, a high pitched concerto in this death song. It’s not the first time she’s heard it, and it probably won’t be the last. Her eyes water from the smoke as she flies over the market, searching.
“Where are you, where are you, where are you!?” Is her one screaming thought as her heart pounds in her chest.
Suddenly, near the entrance to the night market, her eyes fall on a shakingly standing figure with bright, dual-colored hair but all Luz can see is the bright crimson staining her white cloak as a squadron of loyalists closes in on her.
She doesn’t feel her mouth open or even recognizes the screaming voice that rips out of her own throat.
“Amity!”
Luz jerks suddenly, the buzzing has turned to loud static crackling across her body, shooting in electric bursts that make her twitch with pain as tense numbness that only makes her feel more panicked spreads through her body with cold dread. She can’t even feel Calliban rubbing himself against her neck, trying to quell the sudden panic he can feel radiating off her like the heat from the flames in her memories, feels the ghost of on her skin. Her heart is hammering in her ears and she grabs her staff off her back and jumps over the counter and is flying in the direction of the dress shop she knows Amity was going to. She has to see her, has to see with her own two eyes, know that’s she’s okay, has to, has to!
~ ~ ~
Amity scowled to herself as she ducked behind the overturned couch, spinning a circle and jumping up, flinging a wind spell that sent the group of loyalists stumbling backward as the gale-force winds pushed them back out toward the street, Viney, and Emira following up with a blast of fire, while vines have burst out of the ground to create a wall between them and their attackers.
“Loyalists!” Eda spat.
“What are they doing here?” Willow frowns, throwing out another vine at an approaching loyalist, flinging them across the room like a sack of meat, before they hit the wall with a bang and fall to the floor, unmoving.
“They want me if I had to guess,” Amity grits out between her teeth.
There are only six in the shop and three already lay motionless on the floor. When Belos had finally laid dead, those who had supported him scattered to the winds, the majority of people just gave up and moved on, accepting the new order, but some splinter groups remained loyal to the tyrant emperor, even in death.
Amity jumped up, sending an abomination leaping through the air to pounce on one, crushing him beneath its weight. His comrade being crushed to death distracts the fifth long enough for Eda to send a bolt of lightning flying straight into their chest with her staff.
“Still got it!” Eda grinned as the loyalist's body lay smoking on the ground. Camila gave her a look. “What?”
The shop quieted and slowly they moved out from behind Willow's barrier to inspect the damage.
Amity frowned, looking around, frantically, the rest of the girls are looking for anymore, it seems they got them all. They cautiously move around the shop, careful of the broken glass, furniture, and turned over wracks of formal wear that lay singed or in ashes on the floor, checking to make sure the loyalists laying on the floor are really dead or unconscious. Movement out of the corner of her eye makes Eda turn to look.
“On your six!” Eda shouts from the other side of the shop and they turn to find a last masked loyalist, as he jumped out from behind a display on the sidewalk outside the doors, dark red spell circle already completed and about to fire a spell right at Amity when a scream makes them and the loyalist turn to look, and suddenly Luz flies into sight and is still airborne when she rips her staff out from under her and whips it back, still flying through the air and swinging with all her might. A sickening crunch fills the air as her staff crashes into them and the loyalists’ mask goes flying, clattering to the ground with a splatter of blood as they’re flung back from the vicious blow and hit the ground in an unmoving heap. Luz stumbles as she hits the ground but stays standing, panting heavily, staff clutched tightly in her white-knuckled grip, and face pulled back in a manic snarl.
The women are frozen as they look at Luz
Camila’s mouth hangs open in horror, as it had been nearly since the attack had started, but especially now, as she looks at her baby, panting and standing hunched over the fallen attacker, trembling, and looking crazed.
Emira actually comes out of it first and is quickly shoving Amity into the dressing room, out of her fiancée's sight.
“Wha- Em! What are you doing!?” She shouts at her as she pushes her behind the door.
“She can’t see you in that before the wedding!” Emira reminds as she locks the door behind them.
“Is that really important right now?!” Amity yells at her sister.
“Change quickly!” Emira helps her quickly start unlacing the back.
“Kid, what are you doing here?” Eda calls as she quickly walks up to Luz and the second she turns to look at her, she knows Luz is only barely there. Her pupils are blown wide and she’s looking around frantically and not seeing her fiancée, which only makes the panic in her eyes double. Eda clenches her jaw, hissing expletives under her breath; she’s having an episode.
“Where’s Amity?!” Even if everyone hadn’t immediately seen the crazed look on her face, they hear the panic and alarm in her voice the second she speaks, as does Amity in the dressing room, and after how Luz had been this morning she knows exactly what is happening outside the dressing room.
“Hurry!” Amity barks at her sister who unlaces her as fast as her fingers can manage, swearing under her breath at the complicated backing.
“Stupid fucking lace!” Emira spits.
“Calm down, she’s fine, Luz, we promise,” Viney tries, scooting closer, slowly, she too knows what is happening and Luz is liable to bolt for the changing room, and while she doesn’t care one way or the other if Luz sees Amity in her dress, they don’t need her ripping the door off the hinges to a half-dressed or undressed Amity.
“No, No! I have to see her now, I have to!” She’s shaking her head and her eyes are starting to glaze over, body quaking with visible tremors.
“Luz, relax, Amity is fine, she’s just changing.” Willow holds up her hands as she carefully approaches her friend who is clearly having a panic attack. They all had seen it happen before, just after the war, just once, but it was enough to always remember, and Willow had her own specters from the war, after all. They all did and knew what behavior to look for, and right now, Luz was a glowing beacon of distress.
Wide, brown eyes whip to the changing room, and predictably, she bolts forward, so do Viney and Willow, grabbing her in their tight grips
Luz growls, immediately trying to break free, kicking and screaming and it’s all Willow and Viney can do to keep her still as her staff clatters to the floor as she pushes at their hands.
“Let go!” she snarls, she’s past hearing anything they say until she sees Amity with her own eyes, heart pounding in her ears. Nothing else will ease the hands of panic wrapped chokingly around her throat and dipping into her chest to squeeze her heart, threatening to pop it.
“Mija, it’s okay…!” Camila starts but Eda puts a hand on her shoulder and gives her a look she can’t really describe.
“She can’t hear you, she’s having an… episode,” Eda says quietly and Camila blinks.
“Episode?” Camila asks, eyes back on Luz, she holds her hands over her mouth as Luz thrashes wildly in Willow and Viney’s grasp. Eda scowls to herself, watching Luz panic in her friend’s grip, writhing and screaming. She’s seen Luz have episodes before, exactly twice since the war had ended, they had been hard to watch, but even by those standards, this one is bad. She’d already been feeling off this morning, but the attack from one of the remaining loyalist splinter groups had triggered an epic meltdown in the human.
Eda quietly explains this quickly to Camila who comes to a startling realization, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.
“She has PTSD…,” Camila chokes, chest aching as her baby is still screaming and fighting against her closest friends who can barely contain her, they fear using magic to hold her will only make her thrash and fight harder, maybe hurt herself.
“Luz, please, it’s okay!” Willow clutches her friend tightly, she hurts for her, and Viney grimaces, arms looped through Luz’s while Willow clings to her waist as she bucks and strains against them.
“ARGHHH!” Luz threw her head back and the loud, high-pitched, wailing sound that rips out of her throat has no words, but the agony it carries is visceral and they can all feel it echo in the core of their beings. Inside the dressing room, Emira feels a cold chill go up her spine at the sound. Luz is howling as though someone has died and Amity is nearly in tears.
Finally, she turns and bursts out of the dressing room, Emira yelling back at her.
“Amity, your shirt!” she yells.
She ignores her and dashes around the corner, barefoot, and only half-dressed in her pants and bra. She was dressed enough, she couldn’t stand listening to Luz’s anguished wails that cut deep into her heart another second.
“Luz, it’s okay!” she hurried forward and the second Luz’s eyes land on her the fight drains out of her like rushing water. Viney and Willow step back as she launched herself at Amity, who grunts as her fiancée grabs her in a bone-crushing embrace. She can feel her whole body shaking
“You’re okay, you’re okay…,” Luz chokes on her gurgled words before she finally burst into tears, burying her face in Amity’s neck, wailing, her nails are digging painfully into the skin of Amity’s back but she barely notices it as she runs her fingers through Luz’s hair as her knees buckle and she carefully lowers Luz and herself both to the floor, mindful of the glass still scattered across the floor.
“I’m okay,” she whispers back softly, squeezing back. “It’s okay, love, everything is alright," she coos softly into her ear.
Emira comes out of the dressing room with the dress carefully folded and in its box and glanced worriedly at them as she walks past to the counter, the others join her, leaving the couple alone on the floor, trying hard to ignore the sounds of Luz’s muffled sobbing or Amity’s mumbled words of comfort.
“We’ll take this,” she tells the still cowering clerk behind the counter.
“You fought off the loyalists, just take it,” the witch insists, shoving it back to them.
"Amity won't want us to do that…," Willow says quietly, frowning.
"She won't complain this time," Eda decides for them, taking the box off the counter and walking out the door. "Come on, let's give the kids a few minutes."
They follow Eda out, Camila does so reluctantly, glancing over her shoulder at her daughter, curled up tightly in Amity’s arms on the floor.
“Everything is alright,” Amity mumbles, burying her face in her weeping lover’s hair, tears dripping down her own cheeks. “It's okay, Luz.” she shoves as much conviction into these words as possible, willing Luz to believe them.
It takes a good half hour before Luz can stop crying and squeezing Amity tightly against her. The panic that had choked her and clouded her mind has ebbed away, receding to the same quiet buzzing it had been before. She can feel Calliban still wrapped around her neck, his warm scaly body scrapes her neck as he moves, trying to comfort her.
She sniffles and takes a shaky breath.
“Mierda… I’m sorry,” she finally manages to say. “… people were running and screaming through the market and I...I...”
“Shhh, don’t be sorry,” Amity says, cutting her off gently as she cards her fingers through her hair, gently scratching her scalp. “I know, I understand,” she feels Luz go limp against her before she pulled back to look at her and Amity reached up to wipe away the remains of any tears still sliding down Luz's flushed cheeks. “Are you okay enough to go home?” she asks and Luz lets out a shaky breath but nods.
“Yeah” she nodded.
“Good, I still need to finish getting dressed…” Amity tells her and Luz blinks, finally really looking at Amity and noticing her less than fully dressed state.
“¡Ay Dios mio! Lo siento mucho, Amor.” Luz grimaced, pulling her cloak off her shoulders with still shaky hands and draped it over Amity, who smiled softly at her.
"It's alright, Luz," she assured her as they stood and Amity disappeared back into the dressing room for a few minutes before coming back out fully dressed and Luz's cloak in hand.
She laid it back across her shoulders before meeting the others, still standing outside the shop.
"Hey, Kid. You okay?" Eda asked once they appeared.
"I'll be okay…just… sorry…" she gives a tired shrug. Now that the panicked energy has left her she's exhausted.
"Mija, why didn't you tell me you had PTSD?" Camila asks her, and Luz blinks.
"Oh… I never thought about it, yeah… I guess I do…" Luz frowned.
"What's PTSD?" Emira blinks.
Camila spends the next hour explaining to the witches what PTSD is and by the time the day is done, several of them leave knowing a little more about themselves now than they did before.
Emira and Viney leave on Puddles and Willow makes her own goodbyes as well, before leaving for home.
Eda takes Camila and the dress back to the house with promises to start on dinner.
Amity goes with Luz to pack up her stall in the market. She can tell that Luz is drained but she's also avoiding Amity's gaze, which makes her frown. She reached over and rubbed her arm.
"I know this is a stupid question, but are you okay?" she asks.
"Yeah… I just feel like I ruined your dress thing." Luz frowned and Amity's eyes widened.
"No, Luz, those loyalists did that, you didn't ruin anything." Amity takes hold of both her arms and forces her to face her.
"I don't think my showing up and acting like a lunatic helped things,” Luz grunted, eyes trained on the ground. That wouldn’t do. Amity reached up and gently took hold of her chin. Luz didn’t resist as she lifted her head to lock eyes with her.
“Hey, I understand, you know I do. That… panic just takes hold of you and it’s all you can do to hold yourself together, I get it. I feel that way some days too. When sounds are too loud and lights are too bright, it feels like you can’t breathe…,” she lets go of her chin to gently cup one of Luz’s warm cheeks. “I know, just like I know when I’m having those days you're there for me, and I'll be there for you. Today was hard, and some days will be, but it’s okay, we’ll get through them, together.” she smiled and Luz sighed heavily through her nose as she reached up to press her hand over hers and turned her head to press a kiss to Amity’s palm.
“Together,” Luz agreed.
They make quick work of closing up her stand and head home on Amity’s staff. Luz lays her head tiredly on Amity’s shoulder the whole way, arms wrapped around her waist, drawing comfort from the warm body pressed to hers.
They have dinner with her moms and Lilith, King doing a lot to lighten the mood when he climbs on the table and tries to steal food from Eda’s plate, triggering a massive food fight before Amity takes Camila back through the portal, while Luz sits tiredly on the couch.
“You doing okay, Kid?” Eda plops down next to her and Luz sighs.
“I guess, just tired, and I feel like I made a fool of myself in front of everyone today,” she grumbled.
“Ah, don’t worry about that, everyone understands, especially after Cam explained the whole PTSD thing, honestly, I think most people that fought in the war got a little of it, I know sometimes Lily is kind of tense...er than usual anyway. You and Amity, you did a lot of fighting, saw a lot of tough stuff. I’d be more concerned if you two weren’t affected. I mean, you two were the ones that killed Belos too.”
Luz flinched at that, eyes squeezing shut
“I don’t want to talk about that today.” Luz turned her head away and Eda frowned but nodded to herself.
“Sure, Kid.”
“Also, since when did Mami become ‘Cam’?” Luz turned back to face her, brow cocked and Eda grinned.
“We've been talking.” she shrugged. Luz wasn’t sure she liked the way Eda was grinning about that. She was ecstatic they were getting along, but maybe better than she had anticipated.
“About what?”
“All kinds of stuff, mostly you, but lots of stuff, see?” she pointed to the family photo wall and for the first time, Luz noticed some new additions and groaned when her eyes fell on a slew of her baby photos that had definitely not been there before.
“She’s been coming to have tea time with me and Lily, we trade photos.” Eda grinned.
“Of course she has,” luz groaned and Eda cackled. “I’m gonna go lay down,” Luz mumbled, hauling herself to her feet. “Night.” she waved as she climbed the stairs.
“Night, Kid.”
It’s all luz can do to kick off her shoes and lay her staff and pouches on the desk before flopping back into bed with a sigh, eyes closed.
She’s not sure how long she lays there but after a while, she hears the bedroom door open and closes softly, followed by light, quiet steps she’d recognize anywhere. She listens to Amity move about their bedroom quietly for a few minutes before the bed dips and she slots herself against Luz’s side, arm draped over her waist and head on her shoulder.
“Are you awake?” is the quiet question and Luz hums affirmatively.
“Just trying to relax…,” she mumbled with a sigh.
“Maybe I can help…” is the quiet, lilted reply and Luz can’t help but laugh, eyes opening as she turned on her side to face Amity, brown meeting gold.
“Tempting, but I don’t have it in me tonight.” she grinned and Amity grins back at her and shrugs.
“Thought I’d offer.”
Luz chuckled and pulled her closer, foreheads touching.
“This is fine,” she murmurs, eyes closing again. Amity hums against her and they lay there quietly for a while. The buzzing has finally quieted, leaving her in wonderful, blissful silence, muscles finally full relaxing.
Till a quiet tapping makes her eyes pop open to stare into Amity’s, gold eyes silently telling her that she hears it too.
Luz props herself up on one arm and looks around their room, the tapping starts again and she catches a tiny shadow outside the window through the stained glass.
She growls, eyes narrowing but then Amity raises a finger and casts a spell circle, the window swings open, and sitting on the windowsill is a snake.
A dark purple and black cobra with gold eyes and Amity sat up immediately.
“A snake?” Luz blinks as it slithers into the room, a rolled-up piece of parchment held in its curled tail.
“It’s Thrasus... my dad’s palisman…,” Amity mumbled, reaching down to let the cobra slither up her arm, it looked at her expectantly and she ran a finger over his smooth, scaled head before taking the paper held in his tail.
“What’s it say?” Luz leaned in over her shoulder to see the paper.
Amity bit her lip, eyes scanning the paper quickly as her eyes glazed over.
“He’s coming…,” she mumbled after a moment. “He’s coming to the wedding.” she smiled to herself and Luz squeezed her shoulders.
“That’s great, mi amor!” Luz grinned.
“Yeah…,” Amity mumbled, still smiling to herself.
“...We should sit him next to mom..” Luz laughed after a moment and Amity snorted, turning to smack her with the paper.
“Titan, no!” she laughed.
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musedblues · 4 years ago
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We’ll Be Alright
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Summary: The heart wants what the heart wants. Roger seems to live by that motto. You're certain he has more than enough. But he's determined to prove you wrong.
w/c: 12k (oops?)
a/n: Here it is! My LOC Event Fic for the wonderful darling @brianandthemays​ 🌈 This is my first time publishing something for Roger, so I'm a bit anxious, but mostly excited! I sincerely hope you enjoy this lovie 💖 Thanks to  @dtfrogertaylor​ for hosting another fun event! Without further ado...
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Freddie escorted you through the doors of his favorite overpriced coffee shop, a Thursday afternoon tradition. Like always, you followed behind your friend and complained about the things that had gone wrong all week since the last Thursday like this one.
"...And not only did my internship get canceled, but they dropped the whole production. Now it's too late for me to sign up to any other until the fall." You fretted all the way to the back of the place, plopping down in a booth across from Freddie. He was entirely overdressed for the casual occasion, but you'd be worried if he wasn't.
"Well, you think you've got it bad, dear, we're on an actual fucking deadline for once. We have to record in two months and we have no songs, and no place to stay and rehearse for a month. All our neighbors have had enough." Freddie waved his hand and widened his eyes, only trying to relate to you by airing out his own misfortunes.
"You're kidding, right?" You narrowed your eyes as Freddie waited for you to make clear what you thought was already obvious. That's when a barista brought out your usual drinks. The staff had come to expect you and Freddie to twirl in like clockwork and order the same drinks at the same time each week. So eventually, someone started making your orders ahead of time.
"Decaf tea and a piping hot black coffee." A familiar girl placed mismatched cups between yourself and Freddie. Your feather haired friend bowed to the barista who laughed on her spin the other direction.
"Fred!" You snapped his attention back on you, wrapping your fingers around the steaming mug.
"My dad owns that countryside villa in Surrey."  You reminded. "Well, it's more of a done up farmhouse. But, still." The countryside getaway was more quaint than Romanesque, but it was big enough for a band. Freddie's obsidian eyes sparkled, maybe with remembrance, but you couldn't tell past the obvious hope that flooded his gaze.
"Oh, darling. Do you think we could come and stay for a while? We just need a place to write and rehearse before we record. Could you help?"  
"I'll see what I can do. We have a big empty barn where you could set up your instruments to practice."  You shrugged, taking a sip of your tea.
"You'd save my life darling, you'd absolutely be my queen." Freddie fawned.
"Yeah yeah, some friends we are. I've talked about spending summers in Surrey more than anything. Do you even know me?" You dramatically provoked, sticking your lip out for show.
"I know that you always order decaf tea. And that your dad owns a place in Surrey. And that I'd do anything for you if we got to stay."
"You're in luck... I haven't got anything better to do this year!" You laughed, albeit a little somberly. You had always loved wasting away summers in the countryside. But, until recently, you'd finally been an arm's length away from dipping your toes into the metaphorical waters of your dream job. You'd finally felt like the future was at your doorstep, and it was all canceled in the blink of an eye.
///
You followed Freddie home from the coffee shop, at his behest. When the sunset, he and his three best friends were scheduled to put on a show. And according to Freddie, you needed something new and fun to wear. At the foot of his bed, he tossed dresses and tops and scarves over his shoulder, digging in an old chest for something your style. You leaned against his pillows, laughing as your friend argued with himself while matching patterns.
From behind Freddies halfway shut bedroom door, you heard the front lock turn and a bright giggle you didn't recognize echo into the flat.
"Roger's home." Freddie looked up to you, holding out a dress and jacket to imagine how it might fit your form.
"That doesn't sound much like Roger." You laughed, posing in place as Freddie held up another outfit. With a look, he moved to click his bedroom door shut.
"You're right. It sounds like Ivy. Who I'm sure is a fine girl, but is entirely wrong for Roger." Freddie tossed a floral number your way as he shut the lid of the chest decidedly. You let out an "Ah," of understanding moving to change your outfit.
"Is anybody right for Roger?" You chuckled, thinking to the few long evenings you'd spent getting to know Queen's drummer. He was deadly funny, and jarringly good looking. With an overload of talent and style, you recognized Mr. Taylor as one of the most sought after bachelors in the region- using the word bachelor loosely. He always seemed to have a lady on his arm. At least one girl was hot on Rogers trail each time you'd been near him.
"Well, yes." Freddie sang, leafing through his own closet. "He needs someone driven in their own right. Someone willing to deal with all the pressures of Roger being a superstar, because you know darling, we're going to be famous one day. Someone who will be happy for him. Someone he can be just as proud of."
You halfway listened as you shimmied into the outfit your dear friend picked just for you. It fit quite nicely, even with the back still unzipped. Freddie had thrown on a yellow and black striped jacket before he sauntered over your way.
"Someone quite like you, if I'm honest." Freddie seemed to confess as he zipped you into style. He barely got the chance before you spun to face him, holding back a barking laugh.
"You can't be serious." You began, watching Freddie feign innocence. "Freddie. No. You're scheming I can tell!" You pointed as your friend spun out of your way. Where was all this coming from?
"I don't know what you're on about, love." Freddie sighed, grabbing a pair of sunglasses. "I'll leave things between you and Rog to figure out yourselves." He reached for the door with a shrug.
"There isn't anything between us to discuss!" You laughed, in a bit of shock at the prospect of this conversation you hadn't seen coming at all. You'd never had more than a few casual conversations with Roger. Freddie seemed to drop it, spinning into the main room to get the show on the road.
Roger was there, lounging with a pretty little hippie lady decked out in lace. Freddie called for the pair to get up and get going- it was time to head toward soundcheck.
"Rog, before we leave, pay some respect to the lovely y/n. She's going to save our lives this summer!" Freddie fawned, ignoring your previous discussion, trying to start a fire that you never realized had the potential to burn.
As Roger led his date out the door, he stalled to greet you for the night.
"Nice dress, love." Roger's familiar rasp was gentle past his grossly over-rehearsed line. His saucer eyes raked up your figure in a way you'd seen him do to others, but never to you, until now.
"Thank Freddie." You spoke through your teeth, turning away from Roger to hide your blush and shoot your glare to the frontman who was already biting back an "I told you so."
///
You could count the evenings you'd spent with Queen on a couple of hands. But the days you spent with Freddie were in the hundreds by now. He was your closest friend, someone you meditated with, cried with. Someone who might have known you better than you knew yourself. And on occasion, some of Fred's bandmates would join in on the fun.
John had become accustomed to accompanying you and Fred on Thursdays for coffee and tea. You liked John's ideas and the way was keen to listen to you and Freddie banter more than he joined in to do the same. When John spoke, it was decidedly. A wit filled joke, or a valuable point, John hardly uttered any passing thought; unless, of course, he was absolutely hammered.
Brian would sometimes join you and Freddie before shows for dinner, or on rainy Sunday afternoons to play Scrabble and dream of the future. You admired the things that mattered to Brian and how fiercely he protected the value of the things he spoke of, big and small.
Then there was Roger. He was always around, in the other room, at the back of the stage, at the end of the night. But he usually kept company of his own. And the times he joined in for Scrabble or lunch, he was usually too preoccupied with whoever he brought along. But there were odd exceptions- when Freddie had fallen asleep and Rogers dates would leave for the evening- when you'd share a drink in the kitchen and traded updates on your week.
Times like then, you noticed Roger's gaze was hypnotic. You didn't think it was a power he used manically. You figured it was a trait that came naturally, the inherent draw of his piercing blue eyes. It must have been what made all the girls line up like ducklings and follow Roger around for their turn at wooing him. He was always kind to them, and a few times you wondered if he might have fallen in love. But then another would follow the last and you decided that Roger must have been happiest dating around, meeting all kinds of people with all kinds of stories to share. Such was the way of a man who dreamed of touring the world, singing about it, and the lot.
///
"Do you own any wellies?" You asked, twirling your mustard yellow phone cord around your index, studying your grossly overpacked suitcase.
Freddie's response of laughter was rich and crackly through the other line.
"I'm just saying... that you're bound to muck up those ballet flats of yours when you and the boys come to stay in Surrey in a week."
"You serious? We can come and stay? Oh, how shall I ever repay you?" Freddie shrieked into your ear. You held the receiver back with a grin as you tossed a couple of sweaters on the floor in hopes your suitcase would better zip closed. Freddie promised you he was on his knees, shouting thanks into the phone. You promised you'd see him soon, gave him the last of the info he needed, and managed to seal your bag shut.
///
You swore you could smell the freshness in the air, see the vibrant hue of the trees through clearer eyes. The house in Surrey your father called a villa, was the place you spent most summers.
Until the last few summers in a row, the summer palace was a place your extended family came to stay for a month or two. You'd all get together and kick around the countryside for a while, forgetting petty worries and putting off all the responsibilities you could manage. You hadn't missed a summer yet, but each one became quieter, less action-packed. Last year it was only yourself and your parents who spent a while enjoying the quiet getaway.
But you always had Mona. The old, cheery, pale-haired woman hired to come around on the weekends to help keep order about the place. You always insisted she stay and enjoy a day or two of peace when her work was done. Mona always accepted the offer, much to your delight. When there was nothing left for her to do, she gave in to your pleas to help bake ridiculously complicated recipes or to simply keep you company in the quiet for a while. You and Mona would lose yourselves in conversation while cooking meals and enjoying days where you did nothing but track the rise and fall of the sun in the sky.
Then there was Otto. He was your only neighbor for miles, right across the road, behind his own mess of trees. Otto was only a few years older than you, and when his parents left the property, he gladly took it over with big plans of his own. After Otto had landscaped his home to his heart's content, your father hired him to come and spruce up your family's property. Even if that hadn't ever happened, you'd already made a habit of inviting Otto over for dinners and game nights. You imaged going it alone in the depths of the country had to be lonely so many months in a row.
Last summer, Otto made miraculous headway on your property's garden. He planted new trees, fixed up your old windows, and even built a chicken coop, something that provided a bit of entertainment for you, but became your neighbor's pride and joy.
He'd stop over every day, even if it was just to check on the chickens. And following close in  Otto's stride from across the road, was his pet retriever, Pepper. Otto never minded when you stole his pet for walks through the trails you'd worn between trees in the distant forest, over the years.
In fact, the golden pup was always the first one to greet you every summer. The tradition held fast even now, as you pulled into the gravel drive. You spotted her yellow form zooming from out of nowhere at all, barking to greet you.
"Hi Pepper!" You chimed after collecting your luggage. You dropped to your knees at the edge of the drive as the dog bound your way. She was nearly eight years old, or was it nine, now? Pepper pranced in time with you as you made your way to the countryside home for another year in a row.
"Your dog missed you especially, this year." Otto's familiar accent drifted from the porch, where he appeared to stand painting the entry doorway. He dropped his brush and turned to watch you ease up the steps, with a smile.
"I missed her too." You smiled, rolling your eyes at the decade-old joke. The pup belonged to Otto but she was always hot on your heels, usually leaving her owner far behind whenever you were near.
"Ah yes, she has been sneaking in and sleeping on your bed. Hope you don't mind the extra layer of fur tonight." Your mother popped her head in the doorway, careful not to touch the fresh paint. She waved you inside, insisting Otto follow along. Apparently dinner was ready.  
The home was as cozy as ever, long wooden halls and big comfy furniture. Your father was sat at the kitchen table, sorting through a stack of mail. Behind him your old, dear friend. Mona abandoned her mission to reorganize the silverware drawer to wrap you in a big warm hug. The kind woman had always been like a grandmother to you. Between the company of her and Otto, your summers here were even more special and sought after.
"Alright, sit." Your father turned his eyes toward yours, gesturing for you to rest in the empty seat at his side.
"Nice to see you too, dad." You laughed, gazing to the mail set out before him.
"I've socked up on food and essentials for all your mates coming in a week. And since they are your friends, ya think you can handle staying here while mum and I go on our own summer holiday?"
Your father figured you could handle keeping order, and he made plans with your mother seem like a long time coming.
"I can phone your uncle to come help if you don't think you can manage it."
"How hard can serving tea and keeping the place clean be? I'll have Mona's help like always. And Otto's a great human security system. remember a few years back when he wrestled a man double his size, to the ground? Made him cry."
"Oh yeah, that guy! Pretended his car broke down and tried to break in." Your mother pointed with a shiver. Otto had spotted the stranger stalking toward your home in the middle of the night, and you all woke up to the sound of the two wrestling in the gravel driveway.
"I'm just a poor gardener, but I'll do what I have to." Otto declared as you all chuckled at the distant memory. Otto took a handful of dinner plates from your mother's grasp and offered to help set the table as you moved next to Mona to help finish make the first evening meal of the summer.
///
It was early enough for you to double-check everything three times. Living room tidy? Check. Snacks on the counter? Check. Extra blankets, pillows, and beer enough for a band full of divas? Check. All that was left to do was sit on the porch with Pepper at your feet, and wait.
You'd spend endless days doing just that, but you had never had something quite like this to look forward too. You'd brought some pals to stay, growing up, but this was different. You could almost sense that Queen's stay in your family's cherished getaway would be the marking of a time you'd remember more fondly than most.
Eventually, the sound of crunching gravel disrupted your daydreams of the future.  You were quicker than Pepper at your feet, who followed behind on your bolt down the porch steps with a delighted squeal.
John was the first one to step out of the van when it pulled to a stop. You raced up to greet him with a hug, one he returned with a bit of shy reluctance, but genuine mirth all the same.
"You're here! You're here!" You cheered, noticing Brian as you broke your hug with the feather haired bass player. You couldn't be stopped from greeting the lanky guitar player with the same excitement, your hug ended when Freddie's voice called out;
"I'm here! Hug me!"
Freddie planted a kiss to your cheek as you flung yourself toward him with a smile. The band stretched their legs out onto the grass, remarking about the beauty of the countryside.
"Welcome, you." You looked to Freddie, whose brows rose high over his dark sunglasses, his smile glowing as he peered past your shoulder to take it all in.
"Don't I get a warm welcome?"
Roger's familiar rasp whined from a few paces behind. He was dressed in denim head to toe, and was wearing the most ridiculous hat you'd ever seen. It made your heart buzz with some odd adoration you hadn't expected to feel at the sight of him. Your strange sudden feelings made approaching the blonde seem newly nerve-wracking, but you were glad to see him. So you opened your arms and invited Roger into a hug, same as everybody else. But Roger wasn't everybody else, was he?
Ever expressive, Roger scooped you up and lifted your feet from the ground in gratitude as he said,
"We owe you our lives for making this happen!"
You laughed in surprise, letting out a little squeal as Roger stumbled in an attempt to spin you around.
"Rog, put her down! She's got to give us a tour of this place or we're bound to get lost. It's massive." Freddie barked.
Roger did as he was told, setting you on your feet with care. You pulled down the bill of Rogers silly hat and spun around to lead everyone inside.
As the boys entered your favorite place, you introduced them two at a time to your family and friends who hurried to greet them all the same. It was a mess of hello's and warm welcomes as you shut the door and stepped further inside.
Your father held an arm out to show the boys to their rooms, chatting away on his tour down the halls. Your mother lifted a brow and shoulder when her gaze met yours after lingering on the band as they walked away.
"You've got a fun summer ahead." She grinned as if she knew something was coming, something you couldn't see yet.
The next thing you knew, you were helping Mona finish making dinner. You were sent to find Otto in the forest of flowerbeds outside of the barn. The two of you walked up the hill after you invited him in for dinner, listening to Otto ramble about the plans your father talked him into, of starting a vegetable garden.
Your mother had already rounded up everyone else in the dining room, going on about how excited she was to get to know your friends. And to your surprise, she'd even broken out the fancy fine china.
Between Otto and Freddie, the usual security you felt in their company had only been on separate respective accounts. Your worlds colliding was something you hadn't expected to be so warmed by. As you ate, you realized all your favorite people were here in one lucky place.
Queen were ever themselves, interrupting one another to share stories with your parents and Mona who asked questions at breakneck speeds. And while the jokes and banter flew from one topic to another, you held your breath each time Roger spoke up. Because every time before now, Roger only spoke in playful tones, and daring one-liners. You expected him to say something that might have embarrassed you, even if that wasn't his goal, if he even had one. But Roger surprised you in a different way, one you hadn't expected.
He utterly charmed your mother with the way he spoke about his education and aspirations. He gained your father's respect sometime after you poured everyone a new drink. During dinner, Roger was... shy. No, not shy, respectable. Boyish. No, not boyish... forbearing in a way you'd never seen from him before. Maybe you didn't have Roger figured out after all...
///
Your room was full of things you loved, in the back of the house. You enjoyed the privacy, but seeking through the halls at odd hours was always a challenge you held your breath during. The wood creaked underfoot as you followed the beams of the rising sun through the halls, daring not to wake anyone.
You snuck toward the front door without a hitch, clicking it shut with care. When on the steps of the porch, you were surprised to find two of the boys had already risen and were sharing a smoke.
John and Roger turned their heads from the steps, smiles stretching when they saw you.
"The only time I've seen you two up this early was if you were still awake from the night before." You laughed, stretching into the new day.
"Never realized you were such an early riser, either." John spoke up, stamping out his cigarette.
"Things are different here." You shrugged, making your way down the steps between the two musicians.
"Where are you going?" Roger wondered. His hair was tangled from sleep, but the dark spots near his eyes suggested he'd only tossed and turned all night.
You found yourself searching his features for a beat too long, and only played it off by raising a brow and nodding for the boys to follow you, if they so desired.
And they did. As you rounded the back of your home, you stalled near the shed and grabbed a bucket from it's tried and true stop- then you headed for the chicken coop.
This was something you did every morning, you'd never missed one. Otto handled everything else, but he always let you help out if you pestered him enough.
"This is Otto's coop." You introduced the paint chipped structure as John and Roger chuckled in awe, the band had yet to have a proper tour of the grounds.
"He built it, and everything. But I come out here every morning, just gives me something to do." You waved for the boys to walk ahead of you, before you made it to the spot you stopped in every morning.
Chickens emerged like clockwork, and the boys went about chasing a couple around like little kids. One took a particular liking to John, flowing at the man's side, stopping when he stopped. And try as he might to bend down and reach out to a group of the birds, Roger had yet to score any over.
"Why don't they like me?" He whined while John laughed in response. And just like that one bird turned from the group and started flapping and clucking toward Roger, sick of being pestered. The blonde bolted to his feet with a yelp, skipping away until the chicken stopped chasing after him in a flurry.
"I'm scared, hold me." Roger reached out to you, wrapping his arms around your side. It was comforting, it felt like less of a joke than Roger made it seem. But when you turned your head to look at him, you wondered if Roger might have actually been a little distressed.
But he'd constricted your arms, and you couldn't hug him back. So you glanced back to the house and said,
"Come on, ya big baby."
Roger's grasp slowly loosened as you lead the way, but you could feel his eyes remain fixed on you.
"I'll keep you safe, big baby." John threw an arm around his friend's shoulders as the three of you started your trek back up the hill and around to the front porch. Roger let out a comical fake cry just before you made it inside to find Freddie and Brian reluctantly awake in the kitchen.
The boys gathered around the table while you scurried to make tea, and insisted they help themselves to anything in the cabinets. And it wasn't long before the rest of your parents emerged out into the new day, Mona popping out into the kitchen soon after.
Your father showed the band to the barn, and offered to help them unload their instruments in the big empty space. Your mother took the tea you poured for her and settled into the sunroom with Mona, where you joined the ladies to gossip about everything that happened since last summer.
Day's like today, there isn't much for Mona to do, but she still got paid for sitting around chatting with you. Though she'd likely turn down the extra cash at the end of the weekend, your dad would always sneak a few bills into her purse when she wasn't looking. You'd have to remember to do the same when you were left alone.
///
Your parents and Mona all left the next morning, and the week that followed was some kind of adventure- even with the little routine you'd found yourself in.
Brian ended up being the early bird, while the others milked every last bit of sleep they could get. When you awoke and found Brian reading in the small nook of the living room, you got to talking about something so in-depth that he followed up out to feed the chickens. And that's how most mornings all week had gone, chatting away in the early morning, meandering down the hill to the birdhouse with Bri at your side,  prattling all the way back to where you came from.
One by one the boys would collect at the table to pick at the breakfast you'd gotten in the habit of making, before they drifted off to the barn.
You'd stay in to clean up, stalling near the open windows where you could hear your friends music drifting up the hill. They'd clatter through newborn songs and riffs that came together each time you stood to listen.
All week, you shared lunch with Freddie. In the sunroom, on the porch, wherever as long as you were together to chat like you usually would once a week at the coffee shop. And throughout your newly established daily lunch meetups, Freddie began making liberal use of his drummer's name. "Roger this," "Roger that," The blonde started taking up more space in your conversations than most other topics.
"What's with all this talk about your friend, huh?" You challenged Freddie, reaching for some fruit on a plate you shared between the two of you.
"Surely you've caught on by now, love. He's quite taken with you?" Freddie nonchalantly responded, reaching for an apple slice of his own.
"And surely if that was the case, Roger would have made that clear by now. He flirts in place of breathing." You chuckled.
"Then he must really like you. I've never known him to get so tongue-tied. Even when he's talking about you, which he never stops doing." Freddie shrugged, looking off in the direction of the warm breeze. You both stayed silent for a beat, your excuse- searching for what to say next. But Freddie found more words before you could.
"I think he would be happy with you. And I think you'd be happy with him. I just want you both to be happy."
"Well, so long as we've all got you Fred, I'm sure we will be." You grinned, truly meaning it. You and Freddie clinked your apple slices together in a toast, more like a truce to drop the subject, for now anyway.
Then as the sun burned, you meandered poolside, making Otto cease digging in the dirt long enough to ask how his day was going and distract him from work just long enough to share a few laughs.
You'd always ask him to take Pepper out, and he always insisted you didn't need to ask. You'd wander toward the forest with your furry friend, enjoying a bit of quiet. You used to bring books and pencils along when you had nothing better to do than sit against a tree and dream of the future. But this year, you keep calling Pepper back the way you came at the end of the trail, in a hurry back to check in with your friends.
When night fell after long dinners full of more chatter than food, everyone decided they'd seen enough of each other. That's when you and John would steal away the sunroom, and play cards moonlight. Sometimes you wouldn't speak much at all. And sometimes you'd share secrets, wishes you thought anyone else might make fun of you for dreaming of.
And all week, when you least expected it, you kept ending up next to Roger.
The blonde would ask to sit out on the porch with you, where you curled up in a rocking chair to read. He would ease onto the wooden steps and scribble away in his notebook, crossing out lyrics and penning new ones. He'd never tell you what he was writing, and you never asked. But you heard him humming under his breath, and you missed the gentle sound when you were called back in by Freddie for one reason or another.
Roger would find you again eventually, though. He'd leaf through the books in your living room, asking about every author. He'd appear at your side at the table during every meal, even the ones everyone ate in a hurry before scurrying off to rehearse.
One afternoon he surprised you by the side of the pool, when no one else was around. Though you had started to prepare to see Roger around when you least expected it, it was always a pleasant surprise.
"How's rehearsal today?" You asked, looking up from where you sat with your feet dangling in the water. Roger squinted your way, the shadows on his face illuminated by the hot summer sun.  It wasn't until you patted the space beside you that Roger spoke up, and slowly moved to join where you sat.
"Freddie called for a break. Writer's block, or something."
You hummed in understanding, watching Roger relax at your side. And after another look your way, maybe to check if you were actually keen on listening, he went on...
"I think we've all got a hit up our sleeves. Now if we could just all agree on one thing for one minute." Roger laughed, crossing his legs, reaching in the pool to grab the stem of a leaf that floated by.
Right then, Freddie stormed around the corner. He called off practice for the rest of the afternoon and declared he planned to lock himself in his room to finish writing.
When the door shut decidedly behind Freddie, you and Roger burst into shared laughter. And for another hour at least, you stayed right where you were. Roger told you about the songs he was writing. And the songs the others were writing. He asked what you would rather be doing, because surely, staying in the middle of no place with the lads of Queen around every corner, couldn't have been at the top of your list. You assured that it was, in fact. But you still somehow started to talk about how disappointed you had been to lose out on the opportunity to live your dreams, this summer. You talked about what you wanted and why you wanted it. Roger listened and asked questions he seemed truly interested in hearing the answers too. What was the harm in sharing a few more laughs?
///
The next day at breakfast, everyone was called to order by Freddie, who relaxed at the head of the table with some announcement to make. He sat in uncharacteristic patience as his friends filled up on orange juice and yammered about what they planned to accomplish that afternoon. When Brian went off on some sorry muttering over whose songs were better or worse, you and Roger locked eyes, and dulled the same sort of snicker. You were both thinking the same thing- thinking back to the conversation you had most of yesterday.
"Alright! Listen!" Freddie demanded. "We're taking a break today. We're going to lounge poolside, and gossip about trivial things. And if anyone starts to argue about recording or writing or what you bloody want to wear on stage, you'll be swiftly excommunicated to the chicken coop. Got it?"
There was little push back and soon the lot of you abandoned your breakfast to head outback.
The boys zoomed ahead of you, tossing their things into the places they claimed as their own. John sat at the small iron table under the cool shade of the umbrella and cracked open a magazine. Brian set up his things on a beach chair and was the first to creep toward the pool. Freddie checked his hair in a small compact mirror as he kicked off his sandals. And Roger raced straight for the deep end, splashing you with water on his dive in the water.
You yelped in surprise,  shocked by the cold.
"Come in!" Roger chirped after emerging to the surface.
"It's a bit cold isn't it?" You laughed, setting your things on a chair nearby.
"There," Roger intentionally splashed water at your feet. "Now you ought to be used to it. Come in!"
You reluctantly sat on the edge to dip your feet in as Roger waded toward where you settled. You turned your eyes to the water to avoid ogling the drummer, your throat going dry at the sight of his mostly bare frame so close to yours.
"I supposed it's not as cold as I thought." You cleared your throat, more so trying to keep your own cool. He hummed, still inching his way closer, making your cheeks burn.
And then, he was pulling you in. Roger yanked you from the edge, keeping a sturdy hold around you to ensure you didn't go under. You felt strangely comfortable and secure in his arms, in all the commotion. But you were still surprised enough to splash water in Roger's direction, a pitiful attempt to get back at him.
"We're meant to be relaxing!" Brian reprimanded, dodging the water you were splattering his way on accident.
"Exactly, Bri, do calm down." Freddie teased as he walked down the steps to join the rest of you.
"Deacy! Darling! You can read later, come enjoy the sun while it's here!"
And just like that, Freddie's wishes came true. The people he loved circled around your favorite old pool, gossiping about trivial things and hardly mentioned making music at all. It was the perfect summer day.
Eventually, you decided to get out to fix lunch for everyone. On your walk toward the house, you found Otto hunched over a broken wagon wheel, skin tanned from years under the same summer sky. You demanded he took a break and joined the lot of you for a much needed day of nothing but fun. He agreed, but only if you'd let him help throw food together.
When the pair of you toted trays of bite-sized lunch foods out to the nearest shade, the band of boys casually flocked to join you, scattering about the shade and fueling up to float around some more. Otto gave everyone a lesson on the kind of trees you sat under. Brian took a beer back to the deep end, Freddie following close behind, muttering something about catching the last of the day's sun. John offered to carry the empty trays back in, where he planned to head for a much-needed nap, swearing he planned to beat you at cards later.
Then there was Roger, who sulked between you and the rest of his friends. He sat near you, keeping his mouth full of beer as you chatted with Otto about all the times you'd enjoyed the pool most, before. And when Roger eventually joined Freddie and Brian in the pool, the blonde kept casting looks your way, gazes no one missed.
"He's a bit mad about you isn't he?" Otto pointed out in a hush, sipping his own beer while you scoffed a laugh.
"That's just how Roger is. He can't help himself. There's usually a line of girls waiting around for him. I must be his last resort, out here in the middle of nowhere." You explained, shifting your weight in your seat and pretending you didn't notice the drummers glances your way.
"Oh please, if that was true he'd be trying to to make you blush, right now. He's resorted to lovestruck gazes, and the occasional glare my way. That man likes you." Otto chuckled, pointing his beer can toward the boys in the pool. "Trust me I'm a guy, I know what's happening."
"That's dumb." You shot Otto a look over the top of your sunglasses. "Roger is my friend." At least you were pretty sure he was. "And I know that's just how he is."  You knew that for a fact.
///
The next morning you'd woken to a silent house, and found the halls were still even upon your return from feeding the chickens. You shrugged into the kitchen, realized it was a little earlier than usual, and fixed yourself some decaf tea. When the kettle rang, the hallway creaked, and you cringed on your hurry to quiet things down again.
Roger appeared in the doorway, looking as if he was still trying to wake from a dream.
"Sorry if I woke you I-"
"It's okay, you're fine." Roger murmured, easing into the room, buttoning up his undone nightshirt.
"Fancy a cup? Mona should be here any minute, we usually start the day with tea." You explained, pouring your own drink and biting your lip.
"You wouldn't mind if I joined?" Roger asked, like you'd just invited him on some grand adventure.
"Course not." You chuckled, reaching for two more cups.
You and Roger were halfway through your tea before Mona showed up. You sat together in the sunroom, where you and your much older friend usually settled at the start of every weekend. Roger asked you'd had any dreams while you slept, and you prompted him to tell of any he might have conjured.  
When Mona showed up, she eased across the small table from you like always, but in place of gossip, she spoke mostly to Roger. She asked about his hobbies and he asked about her life. Roger loved getting to know people, you knew. He was always so genuinely interested in hearing what made everyone tick. When he asked Mona about her loves and losses, she'd spoke in a vulnerable way you'd never seen from her prior. Ah, of course. Roger had that way with people, like the second anyone locked eyes with his sea-blue pair, they were in trance.
And while Mona looked after Roger as he spoke, the blonde kept turning to you, asking for details of the week he couldn't quite recall, and begging you to tell a certain story he swore you had a better perspective of.
When the rest of the band showed up, they traded sweet good mornings with your guest just before pulling Roger out into the barn to pick up where they left off the day before last.
"Now what's all that about?" Mona wondered, pouring the two of you more tea, initiating a more personal one on one chat. You cast her a perplexed gaze as she settled across from you, uttering Roger's name like you should have already been thinking of it.
You knew then that Mona was curious about all the too long gazes and nervous chuckles Roger was reduced to during the quiet morning visit at your side.
"That's just how Roger is." You shrugged. "A bit of a flirt."
"Well, that's not how you are." Mona shot back with an arch of her brow. "I know you. And if you really believed he was just having a little fun you wouldn't let yourself look at him the way you've been looking at him all morning. He has the same look, too. You match."
Mona's point toward the obvious hit you like a ton of bricks. Though she was swift to move on to your usual gossip, you felt yourself floating around the same thoughts of Roger.
For the rest of the day, in fact, you struggled to accept the fact that you'd been falling for Roger. Of course, you had, everyone seemed to expect it, root for it. And Roger had the perfect pair of eyes that refused to look away from yours until you were a puddle under his gaze; ready and willing to be pieced back together by his questions about how, exactly you were made.
You took Pepper down the walking paths between ever-growing trees, and wandered between them, the long way back home. The whole time you figured there was no harm in giving in to the little advances Roger couldn't seem to stop giving. You didn't want to fall so deep your heart would shatter when you finally collided with something cold and unmoving. But you were stuck out here for another two weeks, and Roger's persistent presence was warmer than the sun.
///
The next couple of days, when you looked to Roger, your heart started up like an engine. You didn't like it one bit. You only planned to let his flirting entertain you. You couldn't become invested in it. You'd lodged yourself between wanting to spend every odd hour listening to him talk, and knowing you were better off to go about your day like usual, to save yourself the trouble.
So when Roger invited you to come and sit while the band showed off their mostly put together list of songs, you did. And when Roger sat next to you during every meal, you offered him a smile before tucking in. And when Roger woke up to share a cup of tea with you every other morning, you let him. And you liked it.
But when Roger leaned in too close, you turned your eyes to your lap, focusing on your nails digging into your palms so you couldn't feel his breath ghosting across your ear as he told a joke no one else could hear. And when Roger asked to join your walks with Pepper, you told him no, because you'd never been so alone with him before, and you couldn't let that happen now.
The week was full of conflicts between the imaginary angel and devil on either of your shoulders. You waded further from the waters of self-control, but dashed back with the tide when Rogers moonstruck gaze grew too pretty to handle.
By the end of the second week, you'd continued your normal lunches with Freddie, the occasional morning debate with Brian, and the promised game of cards with John, when everyone else went to bed.
You poured some drinks for the two of you and sat in silence while the game started up. But before too long, John eased into a conversation about how much he enjoyed your countryside getaway.
"We're all so glad you've let us come round, it's so nice to be here. Feels like home. Fred might be going a bit stir crazy but he loves it, don't let him fool you." John laughed, laying down a card. You chuckled too.
"And Bri is content out here, with all the stars." You pointed out. Every night, Brian made a show of pointing out all the things the naked eye could see when the sky started turning black.
"And somehow, Rog is happiest. Can you believe that?" John's smile remained lithe but you realized John had subtly achieved changing the subject entirely.
"No, not really." You offered an honest simper.
"He really does like you, y/n."
"Hm..."
You laid a final card down, lost the round, and stretched upright, grabbing both empty glasses to rest in the sink.
"Just because I'm the only girl around for him to attach himself to, doesn't mean he likes me." You shrugged from across the room. John stood to join you, curiously meeting your gaze, waiting to hear more of what you had to say.
"Roger just can't be alone. I'm not interested in being a placeholder." You reasoned.
"Then why haven't you told him so? You've let him follow you around like a puppy all since he got here." John pointed out unabashedly. But he wasn't wrong to wonder why you'd started giving into the small advances.
"Because I like him." You admitted with a frustrated sigh. "And all I have is the rest of this summer to pretend that I'm not just his only option. But I can't... I just can't let him break my heart. It already hurts bad enough knowing this'll all end in a week."
"I get where you're coming from..." John sighed, disgruntled. A silence weighed between the two of you, while you stood in place, mind racing too fast to focus on a single thought through the white noise.
"But, you know," John went on, raising his chin as if that would help make a clearer point. "Rog may be reckless. And he may get caught up in getting the things he wants, so much so that he'll make a bit of a mess on his mission. But when he really genuinely wants something, he gets it. And when he has it, he doesn't let it go."
"I'm a person, Deacy. Not a fucking stamp. I refuse to be collected with all the other pretty souvenirs to be left on a shelf." You spoke in a harsh, exhausted hiss. John hung his head, pursing his lips as if he'd been personally defeated. You spun to leave the room, but someone was blocking the doorway.
Roger was clutching the door frame, fingertips going white, eyes and mouth drooping pitifully. You barely looked his way as you brushed past, scurrying down the hall to take cover. And the whole time, Roger hurried after you, asking your name like a big scary question.
You managed to shut yourself in your room before the blonde rounded the corner and caught up with you. And when you heard his voice muffle past the closed door, a silly little sadness bubbled up in your throat.
You didn't want to shut him out, but you really believed you had to. A couple of frustrated tears escaped as you went on getting ready for bed, and as you tried to talk yourself down from all the mess of thoughts threatening to make you cry harder, everything turned to white noise as your eyes grew heavy.
///
When you awoke, it was as if everything that happened before you fell asleep was a fever dream. You crossed your fingers for that to have been the case and went to start your morning like every one before it.
But when you opened your door, all the dreaded feelings you'd gone to sleep with flooded back tenfold. You found Roger asleep, slumped against the wall outside your door. At his side, Pepper, comfily curled against the man with her head in his lap, asleep too. You huffed, creeping past him to do your job.
And as you hurry your practiced creep through the house and out of the door, you thought you'd made it to the porch steps without any trouble. But of course, when you reached the shed, you heard the door swing open and heavy footsteps bounding down the porch. Roger hurried toward you with wild red eyes.
"Roger I'm sorry. I didn't mean to give you the wrong impression. I guess I just got used to being around you." You let out a breath that sounded like a laugh as you grabbed your bucket of feed, and kept walking.
"Do you really feel that way?" Roger asked, voice rattling in a pitch you'd never heard him use.
"Does it matter?" You shrugged, approaching the coop.
"Do you really think I'm not mad about you? Do you really think I'm just going to go back to the city and shag the first lass I see? I want you, y/n. Isn't it dead obvious?"
"Roger!" You spun to face him, your tone starling a couple of chickens, and the blonde, who flinched away from a bird who flapped too close. "Don't do this to me!" You threatened.
If you could see up the hill you would know your voices traveled far enough to alarm John, Brian, and Freddie who were sharing tea next to the open kitchen windows. They couldn't make out what you were saying, but they could tell this wasn't going to be a morning like any other. They'd been watching things between you and Roger morph past friendly acquaintance, and they realized this must have been the breaking point. Things were boiling over, but where would they fall?
"It's worse to think you might actually be a little interested in me."
"I want to be with you y/n! Why is that bad?" Roger pointed desperately trying to make himself clear.
"For now, you might!" You shouted back. That stopped him in his tracks.
"But I want a forever, Roger. And you can't even get through breakfast without changing your plans. You can't even sign an autograph for one groupie without letting your eyes linger to meet someone else's! They might be okay with it. And if you are too, fine! But it would just break my heart."
You slammed the bucket of feed on the ground, birds hurrying toward the meal. Roger looked as though the wind had been knocked out of him. You hated it. But you had to stand your ground. It was going to hurt eventually anyway.
"Then what does it say about me that I still want you? Even if you think I'm so horrid?" Roger winced.
"I don't think you're horrid, I think you're amazing!" You shouted back with a wild gesture.
"That's the whole bloody problem!"  Wasn't it obvious? "I'll want you forever, even when you don't want me anymore!" You admitted, only realizing the weight of your statement after your words hung in the air, your heart cracking in its mold.
"What do I need to do?" Roger asked in a panic, stepping closer to you. "How can I prove that you're the only one for me? For now, and for always. Tell me what you want and I'll do anything I fucking swear." Roger's voice was thick and frantic, but you'd heard him sing and forget what he'd been wailing about the morning after.
"You don't mean that!" You cried, moving away. You heard all the times he planned one date with someone else while he toted a different girl on his arm. You didn't think it was a problem, not if that's what everyone was looking for. But you weren't that girl. You couldn't wait on the sidelines and be glad you got a kiss at the end of the day. And you couldn't expect Roger to play the part you wanted if that wasn't really him. You just didn't fit together. No matter how badly you wished you did.
So you picked up your bucket and turned to stomp up the hill.
"Y/n!" Roger plead, watching your storm away. He stood debating on letting you have a bit of space. But, he'd done enough of that. He needed to prove himself now.
You stormed inside, casually so. You'd planned to ignore the rest of the boys who still stood about the kitchen, and head straight for your room. But you hadn't out run Rogers hurry to stop you. He bolted through the entry just as you reached the doorway to the hall.
"Y/n wait," Roger begged, instead of demanded. His dejected tone was what forced your feet to stall before they reached the corner. The boys fell silent from across the room while you fixated your stare at the wall, afraid if you met anyone eye, you'd burst into tears.
"Please." Roger croaked. The room was silent. And when you slowly turned to face him, Roger was struggling to hold back tears, pools brimming in his impossibly big eyes. Everyone around seemed to hold their breath, waiting for you to say something.
After what felt like forever, Freddie ushered his two remaining bandmates out the back door while you and Roger stood, deadlocked.
You sighed, shook your head, grabbed Roger by the wrist, and pulled him toward the living room. You released him from your grasp near the sofa, where Roger slowly sat, gapping your way.
"I don't want to fight with you, Roger." You sighed after a while of staring out the window, searching for just what to say.
"I'm fighting for you, y/n. I've never wanted anything more."
"But Rog..." You implored softly. But when you turned and looked at his watery eyes, you'd forgotten what point you were busy making.
He sucked in a breath bracing for you to keep at it, but you slumped, sitting next to him sorrily. You moved both of your hands to Roger's face, and brushed your thumbs under each of his eyes, wiping away the traces of tears that happened to overflow.
"Everything is different with you. I understand just saying so isn't good enough. Give me a chance to prove it?" Roger asked in a hush, looking in your eyes his fingers slowly wrapped around your wrists. The drummer slid off the side of the couch, tangled his fingers with yours, and looked up to you from his knees, one final silent plea.
Your heart was too conflicted, too quick to cower behind the wall you'd build up. So you just gave Roger a pathetic nod, because you knew you couldn't say no.
"I'm sorry I upset you." You spoke, glancing at the way Roger's hands clutched yours, still. With that, the blonde let out a sigh and rested his head in your lap, accepting the conclusion.
You lost your fingers in his strands of hair,  accepting his display of affection, or whatever it might have been. All you knew was that you'd never felt more content and confused at the same time.
The pair of you stayed like that for a while, in shared silence. It was broken when Freddie's voice echoed through the back door. He called both of your names, and then Rogers once more. The band didn't have much more time to waste.
When Roger lifted his head from your lap, you stopped him from standing to brush his hair back into place. The two of you shared the smallest laugh, the tiniest expressions that made you believe you were on the same page. Then you walked toward the sound of Freddie's timbre, side by side.
The singer was wringing his hands in the garden doorway, casting Roger a concerned expression as the two of you approached. The blonde nodded toward Freddie as he walked outdoors and sauntered toward the barn, stretching his arms. But Freddie stalled in the doorway, turning to you once Roger was a few paces off.
"We'll figure it out, I promise." You told Freddie, before he could even ask. You knew he only stopped you to wonder what just happened. The only thing was that you weren't entirely too sure.  "We'll be alright. And you can finish your record. I'm sorry-"
Freddie raised his hand ceasing your statement. Then he looped an arm through yours and insisted you come and listen to Queen's newly perfected masterpiece that still didn't have a name.
///
The last week you continued to share most mornings with Brian, and every lunch with Freddie. You still beat John at the same old card game. But each day you spent near Roger, was different.
The silence you shared held a new weight, a ticking time bomb. The conversations you traded were gentler, but shifted around familiar topics. There was nothing you and Roger were afraid to discuss, well, everything except one thing. And when the subject of your feelings for each other threatened to come up, you and Roger shared a glance in place of any discussion.
He followed you out to the forest with Pepper, throwing sticks she'd chase after but fail to bring back. Roger sat by you at every meal, looking to you first for every open-ended question that popped up through your friend's chatter.
And during the last night of the band's stay, after they spent the morning loading up their instruments into their van, you planned a big evening in. Setting out movies and snacks and all the proper essentials for any good party.
Otto came over, with a plate of desserts and some seeds for Brian to plant. Mona stayed an extra night, exchanging recipes with John, and sharing a long chat with Freddie and Roger in the sun room. When everyone gathered to watch a film or two, most of the boys fell asleep before the second film started. Besides you and Mona, Otto was the last man standing as the credits rolled.
When Mona lifted her frame for a big comfy claw-footed chair, she brushed past you with a wink on her way to bed. Roger had fallen asleep at your side long ago. with his head on your shoulder. You gave your old friend a pursed grin, before closing your eyes and leaning into the drummer's warmth. If whatever happened between you and Roger was only meant to last for a month, this was your last chance to enjoy it. You'd already fallen. Why not give in for a second or two?
The next morning, you awoke to find you'd switched places. Your head was comfortably perched on Roger's shoulder, his body turned toward yours as if he was inviting in the comfort. You blinked to the band still passed out around the living room. But Roger was awake, and already waiting to meet your gaze.
You could tell when your eyes met then, that it was one of those moments with a dozen outcomes. Whatever either of you said or did next felt detrimental. So you stuck to what you knew, and asked Roger if he'd like one last cup of tea. He said yes.
Eventually, the boys started dragging their suitcases to the front porch, blabbering about the sunshine and the city they were headed back to. You passed around hugs, sending each boy to their ride one by one. They all thanked you in their own silly little way, all of them groggy and reluctant to leave the quiet.
When the van pulled out of the driveway, you couldn't tell if Roger was looking back or not. You bit back tears as your friends drove off, and for the first summer ever, you feel stuck in Surrey.
///
The next time you saw Queen was on stage.
You'd made it back home to the city just in time to change and race to see your friends play. Because even though you'd had the pleasure of hearing the echoes of their endless rehearsal for weeks on end, you still weren't sick of the sound. They were set up in a small club, getting back into the swing of putting on a show for more than a wandering chicken and or two.
A usual cast of friends, groupies, and followers were scattered about the crowd. You knew some of them, and a few introduced you to faces you'd never seen before then. But when Queen took the stage, the audience ceased their chatter to join in giving the band a warm welcome.
They needed no introduction. Their instruments caught fire and melded together in perfect timing, in alarming harmony. You watched on in wonder, each member using their talent to the band's advantage, showing off in each other's favor. You'd never tire of marveling over their music.
After a setlist full of head-spinning tunes, the crowd thinned out respectively. Fans meandered out front, planning to linger near the band's parked van. Friends drifted toward the stage while the boys tore down their set, shooting winks and nods toward the groupies who slipped backstage. That left you eyeing a side exit, planning your route home, wondering if you had time to stop for a bite to eat on the way home.
But your mission toward the exit was hindered when someone yanked you backward by your shirt sleeve.
"You're not leaving." Brian declared, pulling you along, past the stage, where Freddie spun, blowing you a kiss. Brian pulled you backstage, down a couple of dank halls lined with girls and guys waiting to get their hands on one of Queen.
Brian dumped you off in the doorway of the green room, you supposed. The space offered a sofa, a mirror, and a table full of half-consumed liquor bottles. And all alone stood Roger Taylor. He appeared to have changed shirts, and was screwing the lid back on to a bottle of water when he looked up and noticed you.
If you thought Rogers eyes were bright, his smile upon seeing you was blinding.
"You came! I thought you'd be sick of us by now." Roger chuckled, opening his arms as he approached to wrap you in a hug.
"I swear you get better every time." You laughed, hugging him back, surprisingly relieved and relaxed in his arms. When Roger let go of you, he searched your face as you stood, failing to hide your blush.
"You came." He smiled again, as if he was just now really realizing you were here.
"Of course I did, Rog."
With that, he grabbed your hand like he'd done it more than once. Roger pulled you alongside him, greeting every odd familiar face in the halls. Some knew your name, others learned it when Roger introduced you in passing. He led you right to the stage, where he went to take his drums apart. Freddie cornered you to spill what seemed like every thought he had since last you'd seen each other. John even circled back around to offer you a goodbye on his hurry home for the evening.
Then, the rest of the weekend went almost just like that. You stood and watched your friends warm-up the same stage in preparation to tour later on. And when the shows ended, you waited around to make sure you told each boy hello, or goodbye.
Roger seemed to wait up for you. He never sought you out, never hurried off stage to cling to your side. He simply waited near the bar or in the green room, where you found him kicking his feet until he saw you. Then, he'd dare to cling to you. To grab your hand, or lean his shoulder against yours while you both listened to some stranger tell a long boring story.
Rogered waited up for you, and that's how you knew. At the end of the weekend, you went home feeling utterly incomplete. Thoughts of Roger used to hurt your head and heart, but the ache you felt at the thought of the blonde was much different now. You were only torturing yourself, really. It was time to give in.
You told yourself that whatever happened next, was exactly what was meant to happen. On your drive to Rogers flat, you made yourself accept your fate in advance, no matter what it might have been.
On your march up the complex stairs, you figured you didn't have much to lose.
You knocked, bolts of nerves surging through each time your knuckles met the door. When it opened, Roger seemed genuinely surprised to see you.
"Oh hey," He uttered, moving back to let you in. You glanced past Roger's shoulders as you stepped inside the space he shared with Brian, though the guitarist was usually staying with his soon to be wife in the little apartment they'd started slowly moving into.
"I thought Bri left for the evening. But I suppose if you're expecting him he'll be back any minute..." Roger reasoned, shutting the door and shuffling a safe distance away from where you'd planted your feet in the kitchen.
"I'm here to see you, Roger." You bit back a grin.
"Me? I-" His saucer eyes were innocently confused. He was clad in an old sweatshirt and his hair was still a little damp from a shower at the end of a long night. Before he had time to finish asking what you were doing here, you closed the space between the two of you.
You placed a hand on Roger's jaw and kissed him in the blink of an eye. His lips were warm and soft, and even more perfect than you imagined them to be. He stalled for a moment, but when you showed no signs of pulling away, Roger gave in. He snaked an arm around your middle and kissed you back in the manor a soldier coming home from war might have. Your lips moved together for what seemed like forever, you hoped it was.
"I'm sorry I never did that sooner." You breathed after your kisses died down. Roger kept his arm around you, holding you close against his form.
"Better late than never, right?" Roger mused, curling his lip into a grin as his eyes searched yours. This was what you wanted, no questions asked. It was time to give in.
"If you want forever, I'd love to share that with you." You nodded in a whisper, holding your breath during the nanosecond it took Roger to agree.
"I want everything with you." Roger laughed a little like he shouldn't have had to state the obvious, but was glad to all the same. You let out a small laugh too, more like a sigh of relief, though. You hadn't expected to end up in the situation, but as the summer crept into autumn, you couldn't imagine your world with Roger.
///
Thursdays were still reserved for you and Freddie to share your usual order at the coffee shop. And John still sometimes joined in to share a joke or a wise old sentiment in between your gossip. You still saw Brian at every odd dinner, game night, and gig; where you rambled and argued about the workings of the universe. And in between it all, Roger was always at the back of the stage and at the end of every day, always looking to you. You rocketed into sharing beds, and breakfasts and shopping trips together. You and Roger were never too far apart.
As autumn turned to winter, you went on the hunt for another internship and found something better; a job. It was only then you realized how glad you were to have missed out on that very first opportunity. How lucky you got when everything was canceled and you were propelled into the forest with your favorite band. That must have been how things were always meant to happen. Because the production you signed on to now caused stars to form in your eyes. It was a position even dreamier than you ever hoped to score, but something that wasn't meant to start until the beginning of the next year.
So when Queen released their record and started morphing from hometown heroes to actual superstars, they each begged you to join the tour meant to promote their new music. And you didn't have a single reason to decline.
You tagged along for a couple of weeks, snapping photos of the boys on the plane, in front of shop windows, and on each new stage they took by storm.
And as the days you'd booked to ride along dwindled away, as fate threatened to keep you apart longer than you'd like to have ever been, you just kept planning for your future.
"Let's get a dog." Roger piped up one night, as he slipped into a cozy hotel bed beside you.
"What if he gets lonely? If we get one we'd have to get another." You countered, snuggling close. Roger hummed in agreeance, while you settled against him for the last night you'd get the chance to for months in a row.
"One day we'll have all the dogs we want." Roger sighed, the softness of his tone and the rattle of his chest under your ear was just as good as any of the other music he made. "A whole farm."
"Even a chicken coop?" You teased in a falsely hopeful manner, assuming he'd shiver at the thought.
"Whatever you want." You felt Roger shrug. You lifted your head to meet his eyes, waiting for the catch, because you knew he couldn't possibly care for you so much to bend at the will of all of your silly little suggestions.
"I love you. I want everything with you. Even chicken coop." Roger spoke in a hush, reaching his long fingers to brush your cheek. You stared at him in awe, completely submerged in appreciation for Roger, and this moment you shared.
"You'll have to feed them though," Roger spoke as you searched his features. With that, you both laughed until you fell asleep, together.
When morning came, you hoped packing your bags at a slow pace would stall time, in a magic moment. But in the blink of an eye, you were rushing to catch a cab, glancing over your shoulder to find Roger watching you go.
It was hard to settle back home in the quiet rainy city without the boys to keep you company, to keep you on your toes. But you settled into your dream job, finally fulfilled with all the hard work you spent getting to the place you landed in. You worked, and dreamed of Roger, and pinched yourself every time you realized just how lucky you were.
You and Roger were further apart than ever before, even when you hadn't attached at the hip. But he called, and sent letters, and promised he'd see you soon. And you answered and wrote back and promised you were counting down the days.
When he finally came home to you after months away he bound your way with arms outstretched. Roger lifted you from the ground, spinning around with ease, pleading for you to come on the next tour, and the one after that if there was one. And you knew Roger was yours, that your days were better spent dreaming together. You knew you'd be alright.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
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laprincesaelena · 4 years ago
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EOA Discord Ship Appreciation Week Day 1: Valentine’s Day
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a/n: hey guys! i’m so excited to be participating in the EOA discord server’s Ship Appreciation Week! i’m posting this a bit later in the day than i intended, but better late than never, right? this is also the first time i’ve ever posted a fic on tumblr, so bear with me here! anyways, here’s some cute gabelena fluff! don’t ask me when in the canon timeline this is supposed to take place in bc if i’m being honest, i don’t really know lol. but who cares about canon this week? take some cute gabelena fluff :)
also, very special thank you to @procrastinateland for doing some absolutely adorable art to go along with this fic!! it won’t be the last time you’ll be seeing her work this week! (but in the meantime, go check out her blog!! she has some more cute eoa art and more!! :) )
fic is below the cut!
Ever since her and Gabe had started dating, Elena had been looking forward to their very first Sweetheart's Day as a couple. She already had a few ideas in mind for the occasion, and the night before the holiday, she had stayed up until practically sunrise, making sure that everything would be ready by the time he'd be off from a shift that morning. She couldn't wait to see what Gabe had in store for her the next day. When she finally got to lay her head on her pillow that night, she smiled, hoping to dream about how wonderful the day would be.
After only a couple of hours of sleep, Elena opened her eyes and stretched out a bit. Not being a morning person, she didn't have any incentive to even sit up. As she rubbed her eyes in an effort to wake herself up, she had a realization, it was Sweetheart's Day! Now, she was definitely awake. She shot upright with a smile, and excitedly pulled off her covers, and headed over to her vanity to begin getting ready.
Elena shivered slightly as she began to brush through her hair, there was a reason she didn't like getting out of bed, she was all warm and comfortable a moment ago. But, she knew that soon enough, she'd be warmed right up, hopefully from a kiss or two from Gabe, or by being all wrapped up in his arms.
A few minutes later, she headed over to her closet to pick out what she would wear. Normally, she wouldn't have to think twice about this, her casual red dress was her usual go-to. But, since today was a pretty special occasion, she figured she'd choose something different. After a moment of going through her many articles of clothing, Elena finally made a decision. She picked out a light and airy hot pink dress with a floral lace pattern, which came to about her ankles. She paired the dress with a pair of wedge sandals, along with her favorite golden earrings.
Elena then returned to her vanity to brush through her long hair one more time. Next to the mirror was a small vase, filled with orchids, a Sweetheart's Day tradition. She picked off one of the flowers and placed it in her hair, and smiled. At some point today, she'd hopefully be receiving an orchid from Gabe, even though she had already been his sweetheart for a couple of months now. But, before that, she had to make sure everything was ready for him!
The crown princess headed down the halls of the palace with a pep in her step. Something was certainly in the air today, as there seemed to be every Sweetheart's Day. But this year was even more special to her, since this year, she had a sweetheart to be spending it with. Every once in a while, she'd come across a member of the palace staff who had already received their orchid that day, or one rehearsing exactly what they'd say to their sweetheart. Elena couldn't help but smile, and give a quick congratulations or word of reassurance to whoever she came across. But then, when she encountered one of the royal guards, she pulled them aside, and told them to inform Captain Núñez to meet her in the parlor immediately after his shift had ended, for there was a 'very important matter' to discuss.
Gabe was just about to head out of the guard barracks before he was pulled aside, and told that the crown princess requested his presence in the parlor immediately, for there was a very important matter to discuss. Of course, Gabe would head right there, though he couldn't help but sigh. He didn't have time for this! But what if something was actually wrong? He didn't want to risk that, so, as quickly as he could, he headed to the parlor.
When Gabe entered the room, he was practically blinded by an overwhelming amount of pink, red, and white. Colored streamers lined the walls, there was a heart shaped balloon tied onto practically every piece of furniture, and in the center of the room, was his lovely Elena.
Elena had a table all set up, with a bundle of balloons attached to either side. Placed on the table was a frame of a favorite picture of the two of them. Red, pink, and white napkins were arranged in a pattern on each side, along with matching plates to go with them. In the center, was a homemade tres leches cake, with "Happy Sweetheart's Day, Mi Amor!" written in pink icing. Elena's face was lit up with a smile, she looked so proud of her little arrangement.
"Surprise! Happy Sweetheart's Day!" she exclaimed.
"So, this was the 'very important matter' we needed to discuss, huh?" Gabe asked her, a smile forming on his face.
"Yup!" Elena responded with a nod. "But come on, this is a very important matter, it's our first Sweetheart's Day together!"
"I guess you're right," Gabe said, and began to take a closer look at everything Elena had out on the table. "Did you do all of this yourself?" he asked.
"I sure did!" Elena replied with a proud smile. "Well, I had a little bit of help from the staff with the streamers, and-" But before she could finish her sentence, Gabe cut her off with a second thought.
"Hold on, did you make this cake yourself too? There's no way." he said with a small laugh.
Though he was born the son of a baker, and was at one point expected to carry on his father's business, Gabe wasn't too good of a baker himself, and he knew Elena had just about the same amount of skill.
"This time, I made it to two leches, all on my own!" Elena told him. "By the third leche I did have my abuela step in, just to make sure we could actually enjoy it. But, I decorated it by myself! Which, I'm surprised wasn't a dead giveaway."
The cake was frosted with a layer of white icing, not perfectly, but it was at least completely covered. Elena had clearly underestimated the amount of room the center of the cake had, for about half of the word 'Sweetheart's' gradually dropped lower and lower. There was plenty of room for the word 'Day', but 'Mi Amor!' had to be crammed onto the right side, below a slanted 'Sweetheart's'. Even though the presentation of it may not have been perfect, Gabe was confident that it tasted better than it looked.
"Hey, it's certainly better than anything I could've done," Gabe said, and walked behind the table to be beside Elena. He pulled her in for a quick kiss as she wrapped her arms around him. "Everything looks great, I love it!" he added with a smile.
"I'm so glad you do, I wouldn't risk destroying the kitchen for anybody else." Elena joked, and leaned up to kiss him a second time. Then, she turned back towards the table, and picked up the knife that was lying beside the cake. "So, want a slice?" she asked.
"Uh..sure!" Gabe said, but mentally hit himself for hesitating. Though he was confident Elena's cake had come out great, and any other time he'd love to sit and have a slice with her, but he was on a bit of a time frame.
"No promises on how even these slices will be.." Elena said to herself as she began to cut them both a slice. She placed each slice on a plate, along with including a napkin and fork.
Elena handed the plate over to Gabe with a smile, and before she could even grab her own, he had already taken a couple of bites. She softly laughed to herself, hopefully that meant he was enjoying it!
"So, what do you think?" she asked him.
"It's really good, Elena," Gabe answered, already putting another piece in his mouth. "You should make these more often!" he added, his voice a bit muffled from the decently sized piece of cake he'd just eaten.
Elena tried a bit of her slice as well, and she had to admit, she was pretty proud of herself, it was really good! She turned to sit on the couch, and patted the space beside her for Gabe to join her.
"You can sit, if you'd like," she said, even though she wasn't giving him much choice, she was implying that she'd like him to sit beside her. "We aren't in any hurry!"
But little did she know, Gabe actually was in a hurry. He knew he didn't have time to sit with her, the two of them might lose track of time and be there for hours! But he also didn't want to let Elena know of this, or act suspicious in any way. He had to think, and fast. So, he turned to the side, and mumbled a quick, 'Captain Núñez!' in a voice slightly different than his own.
"Oh, sounds like someone's calling me!" he said, acting as if he weren't the one to call himself. "Thank you for everything, bye!" Gabe added hurriedly, before quickly finishing his slice of cake, and practically sprinting out of the room.
Elena barely had enough time to process what had just happened before Gabe was out of the room. She placed her plate on the couch before getting up to follow behind him, but by the time she poked her head out into the hallway, she sighed upon noticing that Gabe was nowhere to be found, nor was whoever 'called' him.
She sat back down on the couch to finish up her slice of cake, while thinking of what could possibly be up with him. Was he planning something special for her? If so, what could that be? Or, maybe Sweetheart's Day simply wasn't a big deal to him, and he didn't really care about everything she had done for him. Elena didn't even want to think that was the case, he seemed to love everything, and she had stayed up all night for it to be just perfect! She did know one thing for a fact, though, something was up with Gabe, and she was going to get to the bottom of this.
As Elena began to search around the palace for where Gabe could've possibly gone off to, she happened to bump into her abuela.
"Mija! Just the girl I wanted to see!" Luisa said to her granddaughter with a smile.
"Hi, abuela," Elena replied, returning the smile. "How's your Sweetheart's Day been so far? Has abuelo done anything extra special for you?" she asked.
"Funny that you mention that, because I was just headed to the kitchen to whip up a batch of empanadas for our Sweetheart's Day tradition! You know they're your abuelo's favorite!" Luisa responded. "And, I figured since you did such a wonderful job with that cake last night, you could help me out with the empanadas as well!"
Elena's eyes widened as she shook her head, thinking back to her occasional disasters when it came to cooking. "Oh, no, that's alright abuela, I'm sure they'd come out much better if only you made them, you know what you're doing much better than I do." she said.
"Oh, come on mijita, you'll do just fine! I could use an extra hand, and how could you say no to spending more time with your abuela?" Luisa asked, wrapping her arm around Elena and pulling her in close.
Though Elena was really more concerned about finding out what was up with Gabe at the moment, she knew she couldn't say no. Besides, maybe taking a little bit to get her mind off of that and just spend time with her abuela would be nice. Plus, she might pick up a few more tips and tricks for baking, maybe she could even learn to rival Gabe's parents' recipe!
"Okay, if you insist!" Elena replied with a soft laugh. "Let's go, then!"
Elena got herself dragged into the kitchen, and Luisa got her right to work on mixing the dough. Thankfully, there was no possible way Elena could create any sort of disaster with that (or so she hoped), and with their teamwork, a batch of empanadas was in the oven in record time. But, they weren't finished just yet. Luisa decided they'd start on a second batch, but with a different filling this time! So, Elena reluctantly returned to her task of preparing the dough.
As Elena began to knead the dough, she couldn't help but wonder what Gabe was up to, and her doubtful thoughts returned. If only abuela hadn't wanted to make a second batch, she could've already found out what was going on! But here she was, kneading another batch of dough, which hopefully would turn out alright for her abuelos.
While the second batch was baking, Elena couldn't help but take a look out the window, where she noticed that the sun was already beginning to set. Sweetheart's Day was almost over, and she had barely seen her own sweetheart at all that day. Not to mention that when she did see him, he was in quite the rush. She was snapped out of her thoughts by a tap on her shoulder, and turned back to face her abuela.
"You don't have to stay here while we wait, mija." Luisa said. "You've been more than enough help, and I had lots of fun, you're not as terrible at baking as you may think!"
"Thanks, abuela," Elena replied with a small smile. "Are you sure you don't need any more help? I'd be more than happy to stay."
"No, I insist, you go off and enjoy the rest of your night!" Luisa responded, and was now practically pushing Elena out of the kitchen. "Also, remember to look down on your way out." she added with a wink.
"Look down?" Elena asked, but once she reached the hallway, she understood what her abuela was talking about.
Right at her feet was a small envelope, with her name written in the center, along with a heart. She'd know that handwriting anywhere, it was Gabe's! Elena smiled as she bent down to pick up the envelope, so he hadn't just brushed her off! Now, the pieces were beginning to fall into place. He must've been planning something for her when he rushed out so suddenly, and her abuela was definitely distracting her with baking until everything was ready to go. Not wasting a moment, Elena tore open the envelope, pulling out a small letter inside.
I wanted this day to be special for you,
But most of my ideas just wouldn't do.
You made my day great, so it'd only be right,
To treat you to the very best Sweetheart's Night.
All around the palace, I've left a few things,
Maybe a new dress, bracelets, or rings.
But before you're able to find that out,
I'll give you a clue to think about.
Weekly we fence in the gardens or Castillo Park,
But I won't have you searching outside in the dark.
Where you'd find a person curled up with a book,
Is the very first place I'd suggest you'd look.
Elena smiled as she read along, this was certainly an exciting way to spend the rest of her night! Once she read her first clue, she knew exactly where to go, and she headed straight to the palace's library.
When she arrived at the library, she began to look around for where Gabe could've left something. Right under the painting of Avalor Bay, she found something that definitely wasn't always there!
Elena picked up a brand new sword for fencing and smiled, she couldn't wait to use this at their next fencing practice! She looked it over for a moment, before noticing something else on the ground. Beside the sword was yet another small envelope, her scavenger hunt wasn't over just yet! She tore open the second envelope, and began to read the small letter inside.
I want you to remember, that forever, through and through,
I'll always be living "La Vida Dulce" with you.
On your bed is a gift, that like you is so sweet,
I know you'll enjoy this little Sweetheart's Day treat. 
Elena couldn't help but smile as she read along. She completely agreed, she's always living the sweet life with Gabe by her side. But, thinking of those words gave her an idea as to what this present could be, and she excitedly headed up to her room to see if her guess was correct.
Sure enough, when Elena entered her room, she spotted a heart shaped box placed on her bed. When she opened the box, she'd recognize the contents anywhere. They were chocolates from her abuela's chocolate shop! Elena couldn't help but pick one up and pop it into her mouth. She couldn't help but wonder if this chocolate really was as sweet as she was, since she definitely had her days at some points. But, one thing she definitely agreed on was that she enjoyed this Sweetheart's Day treat, Avaloran chocolate was one of her favorites!
Elena placed the cover back onto the box, and noticed yet another small envelope resting beside it. She tore it open, excited to see where this next clue would lead her.
I hope that you've been having lots of fun,
Sorry for keeping you on the run!
But this next clue is your last, number three,
The most exciting gift you'll soon see.
I'm sure you know that what I've said is true,
That no matter what, I'm always with you.
This Sweetheart's Day was filled with surprises galore,
I hope that together, we'll be spending many more.
I have one last surprise to complete our night,
I can't wait to see your face filled with delight.
Outside on the terrace is where you'll find me and more,
Happy Sweetheart's Day, mi amor.
Elena left the letter, along with the other few things she had accumulated on her scavenger hunt on her bed, and excitedly ran out of her room. She felt like she had barely seen Gabe all day, so she couldn't wait to spend more time with him, and to see what this exciting surprise was!
Once she opened the doors to the terrace, Elena stopped for a moment, and gasped. She took a moment to just take in her surroundings, everything looked amazing!
The terrace was illuminated by strings of lights, and in the very center was Gabe, waiting for her with a loving smile. Behind him was a table, perfectly decorated for a candlelit dinner for two. Elena could've sworn she saw a few of the empanadas she had made earlier on the table as well! Everything looked so perfect and especially romantic, Elena's face was certainly filled with delight.
"Happy Sweetheart's Day!" Gabe said to her, with just as proud of a smile as she had worn earlier.
Elena ran right over and wrapped her arms tightly around him, pulling him in for a kiss. Gabe caught her in his arms, and once they broke apart, lifted her up and spun her around.
"Gabe, this is amazing!" she exclaimed, the smile on her face only growing. "This is the perfect way to end our night!"
"I'm glad you love it," Gabe responded, a similar smile lighting up his face. "And I'm glad you ended up here, hopefully my clues weren't too confusing." he joked with a small laugh.
"I figured out each place right away, it was a lot of fun." Elena replied. "Thank you for doing this all for me."
"Hey, it's our first Sweetheart's Day together, this is a very important matter." Gabe joked. "Besides, you did so much for me earlier today, I wanted to give you just as great of a day."
"Well, my day didn't start out exactly as I planned, since I was a bit concerned about as to why you were in such a rush earlier.." Elena explained. "At first I thought you didn't care about what I did this morning, which I thought seemed unlike you, but before I could ask you, you were gone! And now, I understand why you seemed to be in such a rush." she added with a smile.
"Exactly." Gabe replied. "And I'm really sorry if I made you feel like I didn't appreciate it, because I absolutely loved it! It was such a nice surprise to come back from my shift to."
"I'm glad you loved it." Elena responded with a smile. "I love this so much too! Speaking of, we should probably stop talking before the food gets cold or the candles go out." she added with a small laugh.
"Hang on, there's one more thing I'd like to give you." Gabe said, and let go of her for a moment.
Gabe stepped behind the table, and lifted up a vase, filled with purple orchids, a symbol of Sweetheart's Day. He took one out of the vase and walked back over to where Elena was standing, and held it out in front of him.
"Even though we've been together for a few months now, I still wanted to ask you this. In fact, I've been hoping for this moment for a couple of years now.." he said.
Elena smiled as he held out the orchid in front of her. She wanted to just take it from him right then and there, since of course she'd accept it! But, she also wanted to hear everything he had to say.
"So, Elena Castillo Flores, will you be my sweetheart?" Gabe asked with a smile.
Elena smiled big as she nodded her head. "Yes, of course I will!" she answered.
Gabe placed the stem in Elena's hand, as she looked down at it with a smile. She placed the flowers behind her ear, now having orchids decorating each side of her dark brown hair.
Elena wrapped her arms around him once again, and pulled him in for another kiss. Gabe wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in a bit closer. Though she thought it was a bit cliché, Elena even felt her foot slightly lift off the ground.
Their very first Sweetheart's Day together may not have been completely perfect, but neither of them minded one bit. All that mattered to these two sweethearts was that they'd be able to spend their day together, and that it would be a day filled with oh so much love. And that's exactly the day Gabe and Elena received .
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leviskokoro · 4 years ago
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summary|The espionage group consisting of Mari, Grimm, Ruggie, Leona, Kalim, and Jamil are in need of assistance in order to pull off the plan to take back the magic stone stolen from them by fairies. Fortunately, help has arrived in the form of a worldwide supermodel.
word count|3385
credit goes to @wakaoujisenhime​ for giving me the idea to write this!
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“Are you saying these guys will be performing during the fashion show? Perhaps you mistook it for a vegetable competition.” 
“Puppies, it’s time for training!” 
“You guys are…!” 
And with those words, Mari knew they were in for a ride. Then again, she did expect this to happen as soon as the Headmaster had explained the situation to her. It seemed like it’d be fun, like an espionage mission for the spy movies she used to watch in her world. How exciting! 
“Vil! And Sir Crewel!” Kalim exclaimed with a grin. 
“With our support, you guys will definitely become the stars of the fashion show,” Vil spoke as he gazed at the group with a judgemental glint in his lilac eyes. He glanced at the teacher beside him, smirking. “Right, Sir Crewel?” 
“Of course, Schoenheit.” 
The both of them chuckled. 
“The two most troublesome people are here,” Ruggie said, ears folded and eyebrows furrowed. 
“Jamil, you asshole. Do you know what you’ve done?” Leona growled, glaring daggers at him. 
“I also thought this was a tough decision.” Said boy wore his usual level-headed expression. “Top model Vil and fashionista Sir Crewel. If those two coached us, we could beat this challenge. But in order to make this show a success as amateurs, I could only seek help from them.”
“There’s no one better suited for the job than them,” Mari spoke up, shrugging. It was true. Vil was the one that had always been seen working relentlessly to maintain his beauty and Sir Crewel was known for his talent when it came to fashion. It was impossible to think of anyone else that would rival them in their fields in NRC. 
“As expected of Scarabia’s dorm head, he’d do literally anything to achieve his goal. How amazing…” The hyena muttered under his breath. 
“Distract the queen-- No, distract the entire audience then snatch the crown away in the meantime. “The title of this operation will be “Monopolize both the crown and their attention”! I will make this a success!” Vil exclaimed, a smirk of pure confidence on his handsome face. The girl often wished she had just an ounce of his self-confidence. Maybe then life would be easier for her. 
“Ugh, what a pain…” Leona grumbled.  
“Alright. First of all, you guys should have matching costumes,” Crewel told them. 
“Would that include us? Ruggie, Grimm, and I won’t really be participating in the fashion show,” Mari asked, raising her hand as if she’s in class. 
“Of course! You may not be part of it, but you still need proper clothes in order to sneak in,” he answered. “Entering a formal venue with dirty fur is unacceptable for my puppies.” 
Right. Good point. 
“Be grateful. I’ll make the most exotic and most exquisite costumes of all time.” Their teacher smirked. “I’ll be the one to make you guys stand out the most!” 
And so it had begun. The group had been subjected to wearing countless fabrics to find the perfect one to use. Crewel got to work designing their costumes. 
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Bursts of sparkles enveloped them, then dissipated to reveal them in the costumes their teacher had designed for them. Everyone was dressed in pristine white clothes with floral patterns and flowers in their hair. 
“How’s that? You could clearly see a bunch of puppies with gorgeous fur.” Crewel was satisfied with his own work, smiling at them. 
“As expected of our teacher,” Vil commented, also smiling in appreciation of the craftsmanship. “The color is not too outstanding in order to draw out their own beauty, very stoic and kinda mysterious. The endless longing for the unknown, that is the true meaning of exotic.” 
“Hmm. It’s easier to get along with someone who understands fashion like you,” the teacher said, glancing at him.
It’s nice that they were enjoying themselves, at least. Mari giggled lightly as she twirled in her dress. The light fabric was easy to move in and felt comfortable. If they ever needed to run, it wouldn’t hold her back at all. Their teacher probably considered this. She looked at the mirror to see how she looked and it’s fair to say that his work was amazing. It made her feel… otherworldly. She already was from another world but to look the part was a different matter. 
“We’ve tried on different clothes again and again…” Jamil crossed his arms, eyebrows furrowed in irritation. His lips pulled downwards. 
“I’m already tired and training hasn’t even started yet,” Ruggie sighed, closing his eyes. His ears were folded. 
“Is that right? Designing costumes is always like this. Right, Leona?” Kalim spoke up, turning to the beastman prince. 
“Kind of…” Leona crossed his arms as well, seeming disinterested in the situation. 
“I think the trouble was worth it. Sir Crewel certainly did a fantastic job,” Mari commented as she stared at the floral lacing that ran across her waistline, fingers delicately tracing over it. A small smile graced her lips. 
“It’s too early to be relieved,” Vil told her. “If the people wearing these clothes don’t act in a proper manner, the silk shirts they’re wearing might as well just be sack rags.”
“To become the center of attention on the fashion show, we must have some sort of performance.” He smiled. “A gorgeous walk with a gorgeous performance. Both of these are necessary.” 
“First, I’ll have you guys show me your style of walking.” 
Leona smirked. “All we have to do is walk? It’s so easy that I could do it in my sleep.” 
Jamil rubbed his chin, a thoughtful look on his features. “If we’re too self-conscious, we might wander off at some point.” 
Kalim gave a light laugh. It was as if he was the sun, radiating warmth. “No need to be nervous. Just relax and do it.”
Soon enough, the three were put to the test and let the model judge their skill. 
“Very unexpected. I never thought that you could walk elegantly,” Vil said. “Impressive, Jamil.” 
Said boy smirked. “It’s my honor to receive such praise from you, Vil.” 
He turned to Scarabia’s dorm leader with a smile. “Kalim had a very noble posture. The education from your hometown has been beneficial for you.” 
Kalim chuckled. “Is that so? Hehehe, I’m kinda embarrassed. Though, I only have great posture thanks to my love of dancing and not from the education I learned.” 
“It’s true. Kalim had been learning traditional dances ever since he was a kid, while I took an interest in street dancing,” Jamil said, his lips pulled upwards. Nostalgia glinted in his eyes. 
“I see. So that’s why you guys have such trained bodies.” Vil was clearly pleased with the two. Then, he frowned and turned to Leona, deciding to finally address the elephant in the room. Er, lion in the room. “Compared to that… Leona, what’s with your lame walking?” He glared at him. 
“Ah? It’s the same as those Scarabia guys.” He closed his eyes, crossing his arms. 
“It’s not the same at all. Jamil’s light step, Kalim’s nobility. You have neither of those,” he berated him, giving him an icy glare. “Your feet are dragging along the floor and you have atrocious posture. Your head was swaying as you were walking. It feels like your shoulders are cutting through the wind. It’s very boorish!”
“The title of prince sounds incredulous to me.” 
“How ironic that the feline can’t catwalk…” Mari mumbled. 
“He literally just criticized Leona.” Ruggie’s eyes widened in shock. 
“Schoenheit,” Crewel spoke up, “For a useless dog like him, shouldn’t we train him to walk on two legs first? If we let him be, it’d be like letting a newborn kitten walk on the runway.”
“Indeed,” the model agreed with him, a troubled expression on his flawless features. “Having Leona perform when he doesn’t even have the basis of walking is kinda hard. If we can’t handle both at the same time, then we should focus on walking.” 
He sighed. “I hate to admit it, but he has a commanding aura that could make him the main model. It’d be a waste if we don’t utilize that.” 
“Scarabia got 100 points for walking. So now, try challenging the dancing part.” Vil gave his underclassmen a pleasant smile. “You guys will have the role of making the festival livelier. Your performance could also make the shitty main model stand out more.”
“Ah, we must follow Schoenheit’s plan to fill the hole that Kingscholar built,” Crewel said. 
“Leona is so hopeless. I wonder if the both of us can cover him well.” Jamil rubbed his chin in thought. 
“Let’s do our best! I already promised Leona that I’m going to take care of him.” Kalim, the little cinnamon roll, had a look of determination on his face. 
“As a student from Savanaclaw, I feel so ashamed. I’m so sorry that he’s such a troublesome leader.” Ruggie sighed. 
Man, they were all roasting him so much. Mari bit her lip, trying not to laugh at the situation as she didn't wanna be mean to him. 
“I could also be your coach on teaching you how to walk on two feet,” Grimm told him, smirking. 
“You guys…” Leona growled, glaring at them. “The moment I stay quiet, you all really couldn’t shut your mouths.” 
Then, Crewel hit him with his whip. “Stop barking!” 
She flinched at the noise. Oof, that’s gotta hurt. 
The teacher smiled and placed a hand on his hip. “Listen up, puppies. Take in Schoenheit’s lesson and finish up the most perfect show ever!” He ordered them. 
“Come on. Immediately start the lesson for the Fairy Gala!” Vil smirked. 
And with that, he started coaching the three performers. In the meantime, Mari and Ruggie decided to practice their part. She sat down on a chair, wearing a plastic crown that she pinned to her hair. It took them a few attempts to get it right. 
“Wow, their performance is exquisite! I can’t help but keep my eyes on these mysterious fairies!” Mari exclaimed, doing her best to act her part as the fairy queen. It was difficult to keep herself from laughing. 
“Got it!” Ruggie grinned, holding up her plastic crown that he swapped out. “Did you notice it?” 
She shook her head. “That was perfect! I didn’t feel a thing. How long did it take?” 
“Shishishi,” he did his signature laugh, “Only 6 seconds to take out the pins. Leona really thought that I’d need 10 seconds.” 
“Great! Now all we need is for those three to get their act straight,” Grimm cheered and they decided to check on their progress, making their way to Pomefiore’s ballroom. 
“It hurts,” Kalim groaned. “Sorry for bumping into you again.” 
“Kalim, just now you were supposed to step forward. Timing is key,” Jamil told him in a calm manner. 
“You have beautiful posture but you make too many mistakes when you swing your body that way,” Vil spoke up. 
“When I get too excited, it’s hard to control my arms.” The white-haired dorm leader rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish expression on his face. 
“And Jamil, you make no mistakes with your dance but it’s too perfect to the point that it lacks the atmosphere that would make the festival livelier.” 
“Vil, thank you for your hard work. We came to see how practice is going,” Ruggie said, walking into the room with his hands resting behind his head. “Is our leader doing well?” He snickered, turning to Leona. They were greeted with a chaotic sight. Leona was balancing a couple of vases on his head and shoulders. Sounds of water sloshing around coming from inside the vases. 
His eyes widened in shock. “What’s happened?!” 
“Vil! Get these off of me!” Leona barked at the model. 
“It’s a method for correcting your posture. You must walk around the room without pouring any water from the vase,” he responded. 
“You bastard…!” Leona growled, before he got splashed with water. His clothes became soaked. 
“Restart.” Vil remained calm, crossing his arms. “Don’t worry. We have plenty of water to refill.” 
“AH I CAN’T DO THIS ANYMORE! I QUIT!” The soaked beastman cried out. “I don’t care if it going to keep snowing, I can’t keep doing these stupid things.” 
Ruggie sighed, his ears folded. He shrugged. “Leona is hopeless. Kalim and Jamil keep messing up when dancing. Can we really keep up when the day of the Fairy Gala arrives?” He wondered. 
“If they fail to capture the audience’s attention, we’ll be the ones in danger when we need to swap out the crown.” Grimm wore a fearful expression, holding onto Mari for comfort. 
Mari caressed her partner’s fur, contemplating what’s to come. “Maybe we should try a different plan…” She mumbled. But then again, it’s likely too late for that. 
“No problem,” Vil reassured them, still oddly calm as ever. “I’ll bet with my model spirit that I'll make the “Monopolize both the crown and their attention” plan successful.” 
“But how are you going to do it?” Ruggie asked. 
A smile formed on his handsome features. 
“There’s only one way to make this work.” 
Then his face broke out into a harsh glare, piercing the souls of anyone who dared look directly into his eyes. “By being stricter! If I need to force your own body to memorize the correct posture, then I will beat them into you so that you can never forget!” 
SMACK! 
The three men screamed in pain and shock. Everyone’s eyes were wide open, including the stealth group. 
“He’s using magic to slap their butts!” Ruggie exclaimed. 
Vil crossed his arms, continuing to direct his merciless glare at them. If looks could kill, they’d be sent straight to the Underworld. “Three of you, stand up. From now on, if you sit down without my permission, I’ll have you squat 500 times.”
“Leona, place the vase on your head and redo it. If you pour it, squat for an hour.” 
His expression turned into one of exasperation. “We can’t keep doing this if you don’t train your body.” 
He turned to the two Scarabia students. “Kalim and Jamil, three-legged run around the school if either one of you makes a mistake. It’s a joint responsibility.” 
“No way…!” 
Leona glared back. “Acting all bossy… Just who the fuck do you think you are?!” 
“Worldwide supermodel, Vil Schoenheit!” he shouted and used his magic to spank their butts once more. The force was so strong that it caused tears to come out of Kalim’s eyes. 
“What a demon coach…” Grimm muttered under his breath and hid behind his supervisor. 
Grueling training has begun for the three poor unfortunate souls. 
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Today was the day of the Fairy Gala. The group had been preparing, making sure that everything was perfect. Vil was applying makeup on them, his expertise in cosmetics was truly something awe-inspiring. He made sure to accentuate their best features and give them makeup looks to die for. 
“It’s your turn,” he turned to the prefect, who sat on a chair in front of him. His fingers hooked from under her chin and tilted her head up to get a better look at what he’s gotta work with. She gazed back at him with curiosity sparkling in her eyes. He hummed for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Your inner beauty revolves around your motherly heart. So, I’d like to give you a more innocent and demure, yet mature look.” 
The model got to applying the makeup. She followed whatever instructions he gave her while he did so. It was quite a pleasant experience getting her makeup done by him. As he worked, the rest of the group fixed their costumes. 
“Where do I wrap this cloth?” She could hear Kalim ask from behind Vil. 
“Give it to me. Just put it on your shoulder… Okay, done.” Jamil helped him out. 
“Wearing these expensive clothes really got me feeling nervous… And itchy,” Ruggie mumbled. 
“Just act natural and the fairies will think you’re one of them. Don’t be nervous,” Leona spoke up. 
Vil stepped back to survey his work, seeing whether he was satisfied with it or not. He leaned in and added a few more finishing touches and a small smile pulled at his lips. He took a small hand mirror and showed it to her. 
Her eyes widened in shock. She looked… ethereal. The overall style was more natural compared to the others as he didn’t want it to clash with the overall aesthetic of her costume. She had dusty rose pink strawberry-scented lip gloss that shimmered in the light and highlights only served to make her seem angelic. A delicate beauty that seemed out of this world. The true meaning of exotic. 
He took everything into account and made a masterpiece. And it was enough for Mari to see herself as gorgeous, which she believed to be an impossible feat until now. 
“I take it that you’re speechless at my skill.” Vil’s voice reached her ears. All she could do was nod in silence, mouth agape. He chuckled. “You’ve graduated from potato to beautiful fairy. At least, for today. If you worked harder, you could maintain your beauty.” 
She looked up at him with a shining grin and sparkling eyes. “Thanks, Vil!” 
After sprinkling fairy powder on her, he stepped back and allowed the rest of the group to see her. But if one were to look closer, they might’ve noticed the red dusting his ears. 
“Everyone is so sparkly...” Grimm smiled. 
“That is thanks to the needlework, but the effect mostly comes from the fairy powder,” Jamil explained. 
“It looks really good on you guys,” Mari complimented them, chuckling. 
“That’s my line,” Leona said, then turned to her. He eyed her up and down before he smirked. “Not bad for a herbivore, I guess.” 
“Yeah, you look exactly like a fairy.” Jamil smiled, crossing his arms. 
She couldn’t help but blush at the compliments, “Thank you…” 
“Are you guys ready?” Vil asked. He gave them a firm glare. “If you lose focus now, our strict lessons will be for nothing. Look at the mirror, check your makeup.” 
They all checked their appearances one last time to make sure everything was perfect. 
“We started from an unsightly situation so I wasn’t sure if this was going to work.” He sighed, before a smile creeped up on his lips. “But I guess it’s not that bad after seeing the finished look.” 
“Vil…” Kalim sniffed, before he wrapped his arms around the tall blond and embraced him. “VIL! Thanks to you, I can dance on the runway. I’ll do my best!” 
“Don’t forget about the original goal,” he reminded him. His features softened up, a gentle smile on his face. It was rare to see him like this. “The mission is to get back the stone that the fairies stole from us.”
Aw, they looked so cute like that. After that little exchange, Scarabia’s dorm leader let go of him.
Vil closed his eyes and crossed his arms. “If we lose the magic stone, the usual school life will never come back again.” 
He gave them a harsh glare. “Listen up, okay? It’s war on the runway.” 
Then, he smirked. “Grab the crown and their attention with the greatest performance of all time!” His words were encouraging, filling the girl with a sense of determination. The fire in her soul burned brightly, undying. 
“Alright!” 
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Vil looked out the window with an unreadable expression. He was confident in his ability to coach, so he shouldn’t have to worry about them messing up. At least, that’s what he told himself. However, something else was on his mind. It irked him to think that a magicless potato of a freshman would have such an effect on him. But he remembered the way she gazed at him with such genuine admiration. Her smile seemed to shine brighter than any star. 
He was no idiot, and he was certainly not the type to deny his feelings. He knew exactly what he was feeling. Rook had always blabbered to him nonstop about this sort of subject. Not only that, but he was aware that he wasn’t the only one. Other men had been vying for her attention for far longer than he has been. 
But no matter. He just had to show her why he’s the best option.
62 notes · View notes
occasionalfics · 4 years ago
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touch every star (3)
main masterlist | thor masterlist | ao3 | previous | next
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Pairing: Thor X Cinderella!Reader AU
A/N: Party time! 
Warnings: Lots of angst, a really, really shitty boss, but overall this is probably the most pure fic I’ve ever written?
Words: 3,119
//
“Hey, um. So I know you need the dress first and I’m totally on board with that,” Wanda said a week before the gala.
“Sounds like there’s a ‘but’ in there somewhere,” Y/N said, flipping through a magazine as she waited for her toenails to dry. She didn’t even look up at her roommate at first.
“There’s a party I’m going to later that night. Long story, another photographer’s trying to start some trend of middle-of-the-night parties or something. But it’s black tie and I-”
“You need the dress?” Y/N did glance at Wanda then. She put her magazine down and watched as Wanda nodded, throwing her a wince.
“I’m sorry, babe. I know the gala’s important to you-”
“Wanda, it’s fine. I don’t plan on staying past midnight anyway, so it’ll work out.” She smiled, and after hesitating a second, Wanda came into the room and sat on the edge of Y/N’s bed.
“You’re sure? It won’t be a total buzzkill or anything?”
Y/N shook her head and grabbed Wanda’s hand gently. “Hon, you helped pay for the dress. We agreed we’d share it. If your turn is literally immediately after mine, then so be it. I promise I’ll have it back with enough time for you to get comfy in it.”
Wanda reached forward and pulled Y/N into a tight hug. “You’re literally the best friend ever.”
---
Thor watched as his friends - all of them, in one place for once - drank and danced and laughed together. It truly had been too long. He’d missed each and every one of them. But especially Steve and Bucky, who were already up to no good as they poked and prodded at some of the board members that attempted to get to Tony.
Sam, the Director of Public Relations, sidled up to Thor with his signature smirk. His mask was simple - deep gold velvet to offset the golden embellishments along his maroon suit. “Come alone again, Big Man?”
He gave a sardonic laugh, as he usually did to Sam’s teasing. “It’s almost expected now. Who’m I to throw a wrench in our well-oiled machine?”
Sam laughed at that, bending forward a bit like he always did when his friends thought they were funnier than he was. As much as Tony liked to crown himself the King of Sarcasm, there was no doubt among them that Sam was the true comedian. That was part of what made him so good at his job - Sam was probably the best with outsiders from their group.
“Well, you’ve got plenty to choose from tonight, I’m sure.” Sam winked as they both headed into the group proper. They shared three tables, where they stood and laughed and drank together. Sam greeted his wife, Maria, who’s deep green and gold color scheme made the two of them look like Christmas incarnate. They’d probably planned it that way, Thor figured.
Thor moved around the tables to stand next to Bucky and his latest flame - a slender, mysterious looking woman with fire-colored hair and a gilded butterfly mask. Her dress was long and sleek, black silk that clung to her like it was made specifically for her. Bucky wore a slate gray tuxedo that enhanced the blues of his eyes, paired with a silver and black mask that only covered half of his face.
“Going for an Andrew Lloyd Webber look, Barnes?” Thor asked.
Bucky rolled his eyes but smiled, and his date smirked.
“This Phantom’s pretty bad at picking out his Christine, I’d wager,” the woman said. She held her hand out to Thor, her gaze obvious as she sized him up. “Natasha. You must be the one named for a Norse God.”
He nodded. “It’s a family tradition. I’m Thor.” They shook hands before Bucky cut in.
“He’s Stark’s head of security,” he told Natasha. She nodded, but the bend in her eyebrow told Thor she already knew that. Thor wasn’t sure how, but he wasn’t going to ask.
“And the only one in this group going stag, apparently,” Natasha responded. “Bold choice. I respect it.”
“I’ve been here all of ten minutes and you’re the second one to comment on that,” Thor told her. “But only the first not to make a joke at my expense.” He looked at Bucky and wiggled his eyebrows. “I like this one, Barnes.”
Bucky seemed to positively beam at that. He lifted his glass to his lips, finished off his drink, and kept on smiling at Natasha like she lit the entire room with her presence.
Thor didn’t know how his friend knew this woman, but for a moment, he was quite envious. He was fine with his friends poking fun at his being single, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t want to find someone he could look at that way. Someone who might look at him like that, too.
He heard Bucky mumble something about the bar before putting his hand low on Natasha’s back, but Thor pushed away from the table and shook his head.
“No, let me,” he said. “I need a beer anyway.” He smiled at the two of them, then moved away from the group. It wasn’t like he had to ask his friends what they were drinking.
He took requests from a few of the others at the tables, then started the trek across the large, grand, crowded ballroom. He nearly stepped on three people before he’d even made it halfway, and he thought to himself that no other holiday gala had been so packed. He’d never had to wait in a line to make his annual donation to whatever charity it was Tony had picked before this year, but it had taken him an extra twenty minutes to get into the ballroom. And to be honest, he was kind of proud of that.
Being as tall as he was, Thor could easily see over most of the people he passed. He didn’t even think twice about looking down, as he could find the path to the bar easier from his vantage point.
But, by not looking down, he didn’t see the blue fabric swaying beneath his foot before he stepped down on it. He heard a woman yelp and immediately stopped. His eyes widened, and he stood back and lifted his foot as fast as he could.
The woman crouched and gathered the end of the dress out from under Thor. She frantically examined the hem, pulling the fabric bits at a time to look closely. He bent down and reached for the fabric to help, but the woman pulled it closer to herself before falling back on her bottom.
“Oh my,” he mumbled to himself, straightening enough to bend toward her, one hand outstretched to her, the other curved to keep the crowd from stepping on her further. “I’m so, so sorry, ma’am. Let me help-”
She grunted and pushed herself up a bit before looking at him. The pretty lace mask hid so little of her face that he recognized her immediately, as she stopped and must have recognized him, too.
“It’s you,” he whispered.
The woman from the elevator. The one he hadn’t stopped thinking of.
And he’d stepped on her.
“Oh my god,” he mumbled. “Please, please let me help.” He shook the hand stretched toward her to remind her of its presence.
She kept looking at him, apparently stunned into silence. He thought of her exit from the elevator that night; she’d been frightened of...God only knows what. Her expression now wasn’t so far off from that, and he was suddenly a little mad at himself for such reckless trekking.
But then she looked at his hand. Then his other arm, still keeping the crowd from her. She took a deep breath and, slowly, put her soft palm in his larger one. As gently as he could, he helped her up, still guarding her from the moving crowd around them.
“I’m really sorry, miss,” he said, when she was just below his chin. “Is your dress okay?”
She looked down, and he did, too.
The gown she wore was...perfect. Flawless. The color of a cloudless winter sky, with floral lace and a plunging neckline that fit her immaculately. She moved the skirt, then smiled softly before meeting his gaze again.
“It seems fine. No tears or anything, thank God.”
Her eyes scanned his face, and for a moment, he wondered what she was looking at. But the dark, unnatural circles around his vision reminded him that he was wearing a mask, too. Unlike her dainty one, his was dark with gold spots all across it. Over one eye were silver branches that, in the right light, looked like lightning.
He’d obviously picked the mask for his namesake.
His friends were all but forgotten when he smiled back at her. Neither of them seemed to notice he was still holding her hand, still looking at her and her lovely dress, her feminine little mask that hid nothing about her at all.
“Glad to hear it. I should’ve been looking at where I was going.”
She raised her eyebrows and tipped her head, seeming to agree but with a kind of lightness that poked more fun than accused. “I’d say so,” she said in a matching tone.
He bent forward just enough that he could talk in a lower tone, close to her ear, before telling her, “Although, I must be having a bout of good luck if you’re the one I nearly ran over.” His mind freaked for a second, as he stood up again, wondering if he’d overstepped a boundary with such open flirting-
But her smile deepened, and a bashful shadow creeped across her chest and up her neck. She bit her lip, and it was the sweetest thing Thor had ever seen.
Shit he thought. It’s that easy?
“Try not to make it a habit,” she said, a coy wink following shortly.
He chuckled. “Of course not.”
He wasn’t thirsty anymore. He wasn’t even in that room with all of those people anymore. His friends weren’t waiting at their tables for him and their drinks anymore, because he was busy looking at the woman he’d all but given up on seeing again. And though he’d stepped on her a minute ago, she was smiling at him, laughing at and with him.
It was such a small thing, and he knew it, but it was monumental too. So big he didn’t have a way to tell her what it meant, other than to tune in when the song changed and an idea formed in his head.
“Would you, maybe, want to dance with me?” he asked.
Her face slowly fell, and Thor wondered if he’d asked the wrong thing. Maybe that was too far, though he’d only meant to be polite.
“I-” she started.
He couldn’t ignore how his heart skipped a beat.
“I don’t even know you,” she whispered. Wistfully. Like she was more curious than anything, wondering why he’d asked her to dance.
And that alone made him feel a little bit better. There was hope in her tone, which meant she wasn’t outrightly turning him down.
“Well I don’t know you either,” he said. “But you ran away before we could get to know each other once already. And I know I would like to keep that from happening again, if possible.”
---
You don’t know his name her head screamed. Her heart couldn’t argue against that, but the color of his eyes behind the dark mask, mixed with the gentle smile he couldn’t wipe off his face, put her at ease. He looked so fucking good in his three piece suit, all gold and dark gray but not quite black - she would hate herself if she didn’t at least dance with him.
And, more or less, he’d said she was the one that’d gotten away. Every woman wanted to hear that, right? Maybe not from a man she hardly knew, but there was something about him, something in the way he couldn’t take his eyes off her, that settled her.
Nat would say she was proud of Y/N for thinking of herself first. Y/N wondered where her friend was at that moment, though she knew her roommate had been invited by one of the execs. (Of course she had - it was hard not to notice Nat if you had eyes.)
She shook her head to center herself, but then the man wearing lightning on his mask dropped his smile. “Oh, sorry,” she muttered. “Of course. I’d love a dance.”
Lightning man led her to the dance floor by the hand he had never let go of. She wasn’t sure if he hadn’t noticed, but she certainly hadn’t until he’d already moved them. Chills ran up her arm and down her back at the thrill of this handsome semi-familiar sort-of stranger never letting her go.
When they made it to the dance floor, he pulled her around to face him. Her free hand went to his shoulder, while his took a light purchase on her side. Just as they started swaying together, she smirked up at him.
“Looks like no one else tried to stop me in my tracks by stepping on my dress,” she teased.
His head hung bashfully, but he didn’t stop their dancing. Multi-talented, I see. She liked that.
“I know, I know,” he said. “I said I was sorry!”
She laughed. He wasn’t even trying to be funny - she could tell - but he made her laugh anyway. She liked that, too.
“You did,” she agreed. “And you’re forgiven.”
“Oh, well, thank you for that. Otherwise, I’d wonder my whole life what I could do to make it better.” He looked up again, his eyes apparently being drawn to hers.
“I honestly don’t even know,” she said. “My roommate’s wearing the dress next and I wouldn’t have had time to fix it.”
She almost stopped dancing at that. Her honesty to this total stranger shocked her, and she ended up tripping over her own feet. She let out a rushed ohmygod and expected to fall, again, but Lightning Man’s hands shifted and kept her from hitting the ground. And he laughed. Really laughed. She would’ve enjoyed the sound if she wasn’t so embarrassed again.
He helped her back up, then proceeded to dance like nothing had changed. Except that he asked, “Do you have a propensity for falling?” in an equally teasing tone to her earlier one.
“Only around you, I guess.”
---
They danced for a long, long while. So long that she’d lost track of time. She was so totally engrossed in this man that she didn’t even realize she still hadn’t asked for his name. She still hadn’t given him hers.
But he was funny and genuine. He laughed loudly, even when people around them stared. It was a masquerade ball, she figured, so who would really care? She liked that he expressed himself so openly, that he continued to engage her in conversation through song after song. That he never seemed to tire of her.
He never seemed to get enough. The thought was, really, too much, so she pushed it into the recesses of her mind. This handsome man, whom she’d only met once before, couldn’t possibly be that interested in her. He felt bad, she convinced herself, for stepping on her, and then even worse for nearly tripping her.
At some point, she felt her phone vibrating from within one of the dress’s pockets. Her face fell, and she immediately pulled out of the dance. Her body went cold without his hands on her, but she ignored that as she pulled her phone out and saw the time. Then the cool of her skin turned slick as she realized how long she’d been dancing.
“Shit,” she muttered. “Oh my god, it’s so late!”
The man’s forehead wrinkled, but actual, real concerned lined his face. “What? It’s only eleven.”
“I know!” she said, suddenly panicked. “I’m so, so sorry-” She forced herself to look up at him, to take in his face once more. Only then did she realize she didn’t know what to call him. But she didn’t have time to figure that out. “So sorry. I have to go.”
“What?” he asked again. “Go where?”
She shook her head, bunching her skirt high enough to free her feet. It wouldn’t be much better if she were the one to ruin the bottom of the dress just because Lighting Man hadn’t.
“So sorry,” she murmured once more before she took off.
Leaving him was hard. This man she hardly knew, a nameless man she’d met all of twice, had such an effect on her that her breathing became labored. She choked that up to suddenly running in heels, but her heart knew the truth. Her eyes wouldn’t water over running. Her throat wouldn’t tighten unless she were really having trouble and right now, the only trouble she was having was in the distance between herself and Lightning Man.
She felt kind of stupid to regard someone so highly when she didn’t really know him. Even so, she couldn’t force herself to look back at him - partially because she was running late to get the dress back to Wanda and partially because she knew it would hurt even more if she did.
When she made it onto the street, she hailed a cab, knowing the subway was too dirty for the dress. She wiped tears away from her eyes as she slid into the back seat, then croaked out her address, thinking only of the man in the lightning mask that had treated her like the only woman in the room all night.
And she didn’t even know his name.
---
He made it out onto the street just in time to see her being hauled away in the back of a cab. She’d given him no explanation, just run off without so much as a name.
His elevator woman. The blue-clad princess he’d held in his hands all night was still nameless, and now she was gone. Again.
Thor cursed himself, kicked out a bit, but stopped when his foot collided with something. He looked down and found her dainty lace mask, the one he’d been staring at (or rather through) all night. He kneeled down to pick it up, holding the glittery metal between his fingers gently, like he was afraid of breaking it.
He wouldn’t. Couldn’t. It was his last remnant of the girl who’d gotten away. Twice.
He didn’t even have her name, just this mask and the memory of their laughter mixing while they danced.
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kryptsune · 5 years ago
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The Happiest Moment {Red X Frisk}
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(This sketch is ancient but I still think it is really cute)
🌼Howdy, everyone! I was just telling @franstastic-ideas  about how I was writing up this wedding scene. I just... I had to. I know I am kind of the angst queen but I need fluff. I love fluff and I want my precious couple to be happy. So I wrote this. This 100% is canon to WTU. I may even elaborate on it more in the future. I hope you enjoy! 💙
DO NOT REPOST MY WORK WITHOUT MY PERMISSION IT IS NOT FOR YOUR USE. IF YOU LIKE MY WORK PLEASE REBLOG INSTEAD! It helps me so much! It makes such a difference.💙If you want more of these just let me know! It’s the only way I can gauge interest!
The Happiest Moment
My name is Frisk.
No last name. I guess they didn’t think I needed one... 
I am in my twenties (or so I think), blue eyes, auburn hair, and about 5’5”
Frisk stared at herself in the floor-length mirror placing her hand gently on the reflective surface. She had never seen so much white before in her life and she was draped in it. It was all she could do, stare silently. A natural flush on those pale cheeks as vibrant sapphire eyes stared back at her. Never had she felt so pretty before. This girl that now stood opposite of her was so unfamiliar and yet over time she had become this girl entirely. 
Her hair had grown since that time, tumbling down in gentle auburn waves to brush her collarbone. Those soft bangs were neatly brushed as a veil lay nestled on the crown of her head. It was decorated with beading and white and gold flowers and lace. Small intricate patterns wove their way along the sheer fabric that fell just off the back of her cute angular bob of hair.
Soft and dainty gold and silver flower earrings dangled from her ears. One wrapped it’s blossoming vine up to curve up at the contour of her ear. She had refused to wear too much makeup but she had a light dusting of white and gold eyeshadow on her lids. A soft sweeping curve of eyeliner made her eyes pop even more than they naturally did.
Her dress was off the shoulder exposing the hollow of her throat where a simple golden flower necklace rested. In the center of the petals was a sapphire heart stone. It shifted to ruby from time to time being magically imbued. He had given it to her and said it was specially made only for her. The sentiment had been so sweet that she refused to take it off. 
Now her fingers gently traced the intricate metal work that looped and coiled around her neck. It was the breathtaking token of his love. Something she would never part with as that bright blue crystal faded to glow a soft ruby. It always meant that he was close by, thinking of her. His ring was fashioned in a similar way. Every time she thought of him it would glow that deep cobalt. 
The rest of her dress was decorated with white and silver beading, feathers and flowers. White feathers framed the top of her dress resting just on her shoulders. Her corseted bodice branched down into the skirt like dainty embroidered vines. Various amounts of beading sprinkled her entire dress and the fabric underneath looked as though a rain of petals was falling behind a soft curtain of chiffon. 
Her dress reached the ground but it was no normal hem. A series of floral embroidery and details grew up toward the bodice. It looked as though she had run through a field of golden flowers and they decided to grow upon the fabric. It was a stunning dress to look at from any angle. At the back, her laces had been dyed to slowly fade into a soft gold from the pristine white.     
It was a tradition for her dress to have golden flowers within it. The Dreemurr family had been associated with them for a very long time. Her father wanted her to uphold that tradition and she gladly did. Never did she think she would ever have a tradition to uphold. The feathers were supposed to represent the angel that had freed them from their life imprisonment underground. They all saw her as such, the angel of the prophecy.
This affair was not just a symbol of her finding true happiness with another but a unification. It had to be perfect even though she wasn’t sure if it had to be so elaborate. Mettaton jumped at the chance as soon as their engagement had been announced. The union of a monster and a human. It was unheard of but this was to show it was possible. That the past was in the past and a brighter future was on the horizon for both their people.
Their day had felt so impossible so long ago. They had been through Hell and back still intact after everything that had happened. Now as she stood there, turning to face those double doors as the music started to play softly play behind them, she went back in time. Thinking about all the events that led her to this point. 
---- 
They had not always seen eye to eye, in fact far from. She was a human falling into this dangerous world of monsters and he had always been different than the rest. At first, he blamed her for it all, those ruby eye lights glaring into her soul with a deep-seated rage. 
Over and over again the wheel continued to turn. One event after the other causing her to want absolutely nothing to do with him. He had hurt her in more ways than she could describe. Those that left physical scars but also invisible ones. He was a monster, true to the term. She used to have nightmares about him and the place she was now trapped over and over again. Months in Snowdin left her at a standstill. It was almost as if he was trying to get her attention and make her feel at home. She just had this drive to make it to the end. She had to keep moving. It was something that pushed her forward in the core of her soul. In the end, he was trying. He knew what he had done, how she saw him but no matter how hard he tried nothing could change that feeling. 
That is until their separation. She had always been forgiving, kind, compassionate but that did not mean she was invulnerable. Always hiding behind a cracked smile. The tears she shed that day had meant to be private. No one was supposed to know of her weakness but that was not what had happened. He had been spying on her. No doubt wanting to fetch her so they could continue their last leg of the journey into Hotland. 
Her broken form slumped over unable to contain the emotions she had been repressing ever since she had lost everything, her home, her family, and herself. There was nothing better for her and there never would be. He wouldn’t understand what he had put her through even resets did not come without their strings attached.
She remembered so clearly the look on his face when he saw tear stains carved into her soft porcelain cheeks. How his voice wavered trying to speak his own truth when his entire life had suppressed it. It started with a simple apology, something that he never did. His eyes no longer held that rage but rather hope. He wanted her to forgive him to look at him differently. So she gave him that chance.
It was hard, at first. She would joke with him and the more she learned the more a softness grew within her heart for him. He was damaged maybe even more than her. She brought out a different side of him and he just continued to strengthen her resolve. He became her best friend. Of course, the age-old story of boy sees girl, gets girl, and loses girl was all too prevalent. No more so fitting than the last leg of their quest. The Capital. 
There he stood as her final obstacle. The one he had warned her about cryptically for so long. A monster with immense power that had one task and one task only, kill her and bring her soul to their king. It felt as though a knife had been thrust into her back and plunged deeply into her soul. The remnants of her hope and trust lay shattered and scattered about her feet. This had been his plan all along. Kill her. Be free. 
Those were the only thoughts going through her mind as she collapsed to the warm sunset-colored tiles. He had lied to her. Even though the moment had passed so long ago she could still hear his shouts for her to get to her feet, to fight back. She never did. At least not at first. That was only the first time she had been in that place, hearing that bell chime as if she stood before the one person that would damn her or be her salvation. The Judge. 
She had snapped as she managed to dodge his attacks, one blast after the other. A knife glinted in her hand as the demon took over. In that small amount of time, it had finally pushed her consciousness from her, forcing her to see everything as a ghostly spectator. Chara had wanted to kill him from the first moment she met him and now she had her chance. 
But….
In the last moments as she raised the knife ready to thrust it down and dust him for good she managed to gain control. The metal collided to the floor and she began to weep more than she ever had before. She couldn’t kill him. Even with his betrayal, she couldn’t watch him die. That was the moment she knew how important he was. How losing him caused her to break down in his arms. 
He didn’t want this. He never had. It was why he had tried to keep her away for so long, trying to scare her back to Snowdin. Even offering her a place as a part of their family to keep her from this fate. One that rested squarely in his skeletal hands. He couldn’t do it or rather… he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t let her go. If she did. She would die all because they wanted their freedom when they were just as much to blame for the war as the humans had been. 
He had said so himself as he held her there. It would have been nice to take his offer but she knew what had to be done. His change had proven to her that they no longer deserved to be trapped like animals. That bright blue of integrity made it her truth, her purpose, her mission. Set the monsters free. It was what she was born to do. 
----         
Her hand slowly reached for a corner of her dress so that she was able to walk easily. Even if her shoes were heels, which she was far from used to. A soft smile graced her face as she continued to drift through her memories, almost feeling his hands threaded through her own once again. 
The cream-colored walls of the chapel dissolved around her leaving her on the floor of that hall once more. 
----
Her tears had come to an end but his warmth never left her. Those skeletal hands took her own before she felt them on her cheek. Those soft warm eyes were filled with regret and pain. He knew she wouldn’t just let this go no matter how much he begged. Not a single word was exchanged. All they had to do was look at each other. It was a shared understanding. 
He later told her that was the moment he knew he loved her. No one had taken priority more than himself or his brother. He would do anything to see her happiness. Even if at the time she had not quite felt the same. A later talk about soul mates would clarify the subject more but at the time she just couldn’t lose her best friend. He deserved more and she wanted to give him that. 
She had told herself over and over that she wasn’t special. That she was just another human and that anyone could have done what she had done. She had been proven wrong. The barrier had fallen and yet she was still very much alive. It was a new time. One where the monsters were finally free and she was able to see it all. 
Boss became a world-renowned chef opening restaurants all over to great success though he stayed with them all in their little town. The restaurant was booked so far in advance that is nearly took years to get a reservation. It broke 5 stars easily with its underground dining all harking back to their old home. All sections Underworld themed. 
Red found out that running his own business was easy when you had a mind like his. That, of course, did not stop him from getting into gaming. He was a pro at retro and made a good living only growing his own business. It really suited him with all his tech knowledge. 
She would sit and watch him for hours before learning to play herself. The moment she beat him at a game she lit up in excitement. She was beating a pro and all for the sake of fun. At first she thought that he would be upset by it but instead, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. 
He never did get rid of that fluffy jacket and that sweet cinnamon smell that seemed to surround it. She remembered her cheeks flushed as he held her making sure to keep his hands modest. It was Red he was not exactly known for it. He broke away from her and cleared his throat, a red flush painted over his cheekbones. In the next few minutes he tried to play it off but that image of him lingered. 
It would take him years to finally understand that he was deserving of happiness. That his past mistakes did not determine his future. Every time he saw her that guilt would eat him alive. No more so than when she ended up comforting him during his nightmares. Her father was not so keen on her living with the brothers but she was happy among them. Her room was right down the hall. 
So when she could not sleep one night she found him tossing and turning. If you wanted to consider tossing things about the room in that way. That bright crimson glow wrapped around various objects in the room, smashing into walls, and nearly taking her head off. It was how his night terrors usually went. There were even times when he called out her name. 
In the dark of the room, she would lay by his side and hold him in her arms, gently rubbing the top of his skull to ease him back into sleep. She would lay with him curled against her. His head would be tucked under her chin as she whispered soft words to him. There were times when he would dig his skeletal fingers into her causing her to whimper but he would awaken shortly after. 
This happened over and over until one night during one of his fits he woke suddenly only to stare at her. It had been months of the same and she had gotten little sleep. He begged her to get her own rest but she refused to leave so instead he held her. She didn’t think he knew what she was doing for him most nights but he mimicked the same actions.
Of course, she had terrors of her own, rife with emotional baggage she was startled awake after a rather gruesome death. Her first death. The one that haunted her waking nightmares from just how brutal it was. As he held her he noticed the fear swirling in her eyes as they met his own only for them to come to the realization that it was only a dream.  
It was only a nightmare. Both of them, broken and finding each other. Such a strange night to dwell on but that was the moment she realized she wanted to be in his arms like this, forever. Despite their past, they were there for each other and she didn’t want to lose that comfort and warmth. Even his flirtatious attitude was affecting her more and more. 
There was no feasible way that she had romantic feelings for Red. It just did not register in her mind. He was her best friend and that was all. Right? She could not have been more wrong. Everyone seemed to notice it but her and him. Someone could cut the tension they shared with a knife according to Mettaton and Blookie. 
Boss, Red’s older brother, even mentioned something offhandedly to her one time. At first, she thought that he was in fact joking. Boss, though having lightened up over the years, did not joke about such things but it wasn’t the mention that melted her heart. 
No. That was due to what he said. That she was good for him and if she ever decided that was what she wanted, he would be proud and happy to call her true family. It was a good thing that Red had not returned home yet because it caused her to start crying at the sentiment.
She tried to see if her feelings were strong. If that was her true heartfelt desire. Everyone she ever dated never seemed to bring that smile to her face like he did. No one could make her life quite like him. It was just...special. Of course, not everyone was thrilled with her feelings. 
Her father, Asgore, was extremely overprotective. He had trusted Red as the Judge of the Underworld but did he trust his daughter to the skeleton, no. She honestly wondered if he would trust anyone when it came to her but he was not the one that loathed the idea the most. No. That title went to her non-blood brother Asriel. 
That day when he grabbed her shoulders gently and confessed how he felt left her shell-shocked. Those emerald eyes held a silent plea for her to love him in a way that she never could. She had called him brother for a reason…
“Frisk… I love you. Please. Don’t you love me? I am your best friend. I have always been by your side even when I felt such emptiness.”
“Asriel...I...I do love you…” “But?” “You are my brother and I think I lov-” “Don’t say it Frisk. Don’t you DARE say it! After everything. All the deaths. All the betrayal you still say that name. How can you even want to be near him!?” “Az please...” Her whole world had frozen in that one moment as he turned his back to her and glanced over his shoulder. That simple question that fell from his mouth as he stared her down, “Do you love him?” 
At first, she didn’t know how to answer but when she didn’t say anything at all he left her. It was the moment she had confessed to herself that she wanted more. That their friendship felt far deeper than anything she had with anyone else. She had the frightening task to accept her own deeply held feelings and no longer push them away.       
And so she did. 
Red was easy to talk to about most things but for her, this was the most difficult thing she would ever talk about. Her heart beat quickly in her chest as she sat on the couch, fingers fiddling with one another in an effort to stay calm. She almost felt as though her senses were heightened. Every nerve in her body was on edge as she sat there. 
All of this during one of his typical gaming sessions. It would be easy to say if he was semi distracted. At least that was her plan. That was not how it turned out and honestly, she should have known better. 
He set the controller down after pausing the game. She couldn’t help but keep her eyes fixated on the multi-colored flashing lights of the continue button. His voice caused her nerves to skyrocket to the point that she almost got up and left the room. He, however, was not going to let her flee as he asked her if she was ok. 
Red was always good at reading her when his understanding was there. It wasn’t always. She recalled his hand rubbing at her back thinking that she might be sick. He wasn’t too far off the mark for that assumption, “I am just a little… nervous,” she replied softly finally able to see the concerned look painting his skeletal face. Those ruby eye lights wavered softly as he stared at her as if one word from her lips would destroy him, “Red… I… We need to talk.” 
She could feel her heart lodged in her throat, unable to speak as she turned to him, picking up those skeletal hands gently. Her cheeks were flushed she was sure but she had to be honest with him and herself. “Red. You and I. We haven’t always been like this. All I ever wanted was your friendship and I gained so much more. You made me believe in myself. That I was important and not just a tool like so many treated me before. I...I would never want to lose my best friend. You have always been there for me. Always loyal. I… I can’t ask for anything more.” 
Her eyes stared into his own as hers too started to waver. She always spoke from the heart and that could not be seen any more clearly than now. Her nerves were slowly eating her alive. His hand just gently slipped from her own and rested on her cheek. A skeletal thumb brushed just under her eye. He already knew, didn’t he? The warm soft smile on his face was an indication. Just looking at that expression caused her soul to pulse within her chest. Her entire being was throbbing inside her as she tried to tell him how she felt. A few soft tears slipped down her cheeks from bottling up all this strong emotion. 
“Red. I can’t ask anything more of you. I never want to lose what we have and I am going to be selfish. It has taken me a long time to understand exactly how I feel and maybe I am just naive. You are the closest person to me and I… need...you… Red I… lo-” 
He didn’t even give her the opportunity to say it as his mouth met hers. It was almost as if every pent up emotion and feeling was spilling out of him. Every thought left her. All she could think of was him. How his mouth felt against her own and the pounding of her own heart as her eyes fluttered closed. She remembered his arms pulling her to lay against him. The sound of a controller softly falling to the carpet below. It was almost as if time had frozen. His fingers tangled in her hair deepening that already passionate kiss. He pulled back slowly nearly taking her breath with him. She half expected a chuckle or a look of confusion. Not a passionate makeout session leaving her mind foggy. 
Not that she had complained. That was the moment they had been truly honest with themselves. He had felt he didn’t deserve her and she had felt that he would never see her in that way. They had both been wrong. The pure joy she felt at that moment could not be fathomed. Indescribable.
“I love ya too Sweetheart.”    
----
The memory drifted away softly as the music began to fill the room once more. Her hands lovingly held a bouquet of bright echoflowers. She was told that they were special as they held onto memories of the soul rather than just simple words. A way to preserve this moment for all time. It was a tradition for them to be held by the bride but the groom had one in his breast pocket as well. 
She had not seen him in a while. All the clamoring of the wedding party and the dresses and the cakes. It was so much. Never in her life had she been surrounded by such extravagance. She would have preferred a small wedding. One with all her close friends and family though the distinction was difficult to make. It was not every day a Princess of an entire people gets married. 
It was so strange to even think about. A princess. None of that mattered as those double door swung open with her father smiling at her from the doorway. His hand extended out to her as she took his arm. He looked so proud that his little princess had found happiness though Red was not the one he would have picked. If anyone he would have chosen Red’s older brother, Papyrus.  
Everyone stood to turn to look at her which made her nervous, of course. There were so many monsters with their attention on her and she already felt small compared to her father. Her nerves caught in her throat but that all vanished. 
The music faded away. The eyes of everyone on her seemed to vanish. 
There, standing in a black tuxedo, his hands folded gently in front of him, eye sockets widening as his eyes met hers, was Red. She could just see that faint cherry flush on his cheekbones, eyes changing into soft ruby hearts, and smile lifting on his face. That was the moment everything else disappeared leaving just the two of them. 
They didn’t need words. All they needed was each other. 
Forever and always
---
My name is Frisk Fontaine
And this is the happiest moment of my life.
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ehrhys · 4 years ago
Text
The Phoenix Court: Ch 1
Dramione Medieval Fantasy AU
Rating: M for later chapters
Summary:
A long standing tradition in the kingdom of Alban is for royal heirs to be chosen from amongst the Alban noble houses. Presumptive heirs are fostered by the king at his court and the heir is chosen at the formal event, the Declaration. Two rival princes vie for the throne, and a young woman arrives at court to seek knowledge. Will ambitions be realized and love grow while enemy kingdoms and civil war threaten to tear the kingdom of Alban apart? 
When Hermione’s father is given the position of advisor to King Albus Dumbledore, the Grangers come to court. Hermione hopes to find a teacher to help her master the magical arts, but she must balance her dreams with the ambitions her family has for her. 
Prince Draco hopes to become the heir to Alban’s royal house and spends his time honing himself to become the perfect successor to the throne. Familial pressure and his own ambitions drive himself to succeed in The Declaration, but one obstacle stands in his way, his rival Prince Harry.
LINKS: FF.NET & AO3
“Hermione, sweeting, stop fussing with your skirt! You’re going to wrinkle your dress!” Lady Granger said. Hermione’s mother swatted at her daughter’s hands in impatience. “We have finally come to court, this is your chance to impress and beguile.” Hermione didn’t stop though, if anything her mother’s word only agitated her more. Hermione had been overjoyed when her father returned home, victorious from war and with news of his promotion. The Grangers were minor nobles and her father had been given a position as an advisor to King Albus Dumbledore in thanks for his contributions to the war against the enemy kingdom of Mordurm. With that new position came many benefits, a place for the Granger’s at court, new titles, and most importantly for Hermione, the chance to find a master who could continue her training in the magical arts. 
Hermione’s initial excitement had begun to give way to nerves now that she had been at the palace for a few days and her mother’s talk of the princes and of social climbing were too much for her to bear. Tonight King Albus would be holding a banquet and ball. The thought of mixing with so many nobles and influential courtiers had Hermione’s stomach in knots. Her mother’s constant efforts to “help” her daughter prepare for the festivities only agitated Hermione further. In this moment, Lady Granger seemed to realize her efforts had gone too far and she sighed and clasped her daughter’s hands in her own. 
“My sweeting,” Lady Granger said, “Stop fussing. You have grown into a lovely and intelligent young woman.” 
At this Hermione gave her mother a ghost of a smile. Lady Granger let go of her daughters hands and lovingly smoothed over Hermione’s skirt. Once she was satisfied, she stepped back to admire her daughter, “You will be a shining star at court. No one can match you, daughter. Surely you will catch the eye of the Potter heir.”
“He’s not the heir yet, My Lady” Lord Granger said, the mention of the heir piquing his interest, “The Declaration has not yet been made. Either of the princes still have an equal chance of winning the throne.”
Lady Granger tutted with impatience, “I love you, My Lord, but you are more blind than most. Everyone knows that our king favors Prince Harry. The boy is hardly away from the King’s side.” 
“Prince Harry is a fine young man, skilled in battle and the people have much love for him, but Prince Draco is not to be put aside. The house of Malfoy is old and powerful and his abilities in the arcane arts are formidable. He is a — er — dragon on the battlefield.” Lord Granger said, proud of himself and his pun. He winked mischievously at his daughter.
Lady Granger rolled her eyes and playfully swatted her husband’s arm. “Dragon or no, skill in battle does not mean skill in governance.” 
Hermione suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, she didn’t want to hear her parents debate about the Declaration or the Princes again. She decided to quickly sideline the conversation, “Mother, I am not you. What if I don’t want to marry the heir or marry at all?”
Her mother completely froze, and squinted at her daughter in mock disgust, “I know you are saying those words to provoke me, and I will not comment.” And with those words the budding argument was forgotten as Lady Granger left the sitting room to deal with her next task elsewhere. 
Hermione felt too riled up to go back to her reading so she paced about the room, inspecting the fireplace and admiring the intricate carvings on the walls. Scenes of dancing nymphs frolicking in the sun were rendered with precise detail. Hermione admired the artistry, tracing her hands along the figure of a nymph halfway between turning from a tree into a woman. 
She thought over her mother’s words and knew her ambitions were not misplaced. The current king did not care for social status and instead chose to surround himself with advisors who impressed him with their wit, magical abilities, and prowess in war; regardless of their social standing. Minor nobles like the Grangers could find easy paths to power with such a king. 
Hermione found herself thinking of the possibilities of what could be accomplished with the new honors and titles given to her father for his achievements in the war. She had more planned for her life than simply marrying well. Her father, himself an amateur scholar, had impressed upon Hermione the value of knowledge. She eagerly devoured the books at Granger manor and her tutors had nothing but praise for her progress. Above all, Hermione was gifted in magic, the very skill the king prized, and she hoped to find a master at court to help her grow beyond the knowledge contained at the Granger home, Greenwood castle. 
She and her mother were thrilled with the idea of coming to court but for different reasons, while Lady Granger thrived on the fantasy of moving up in the world, Hermione longed to master secrets of magic. Secrets that she hoped the scholars of King Albus’s court would someday teach to her. The famed alchemist Nicholas Flamel was a patron of the crown, as well as the skilled potioneers Severus Snape and Horace Slughorn. Most impressive to Hermione was the formidable sorceress Minerva McGonagall who had mastered the ability to transfigure herself into every manner of magical and non-magical creature. 
To Hermione, the court was a place of endless possibilities where she could pursue her desires while still being an obedient daughter to her parents. She would marry well, but it would be on her terms. She would find someone smart who valued her intelligence, someone who wouldn’t control her, and of course someone whom she loved and loved her in return. Her parents had been lucky to marry for love when so many marriages were made to advance families. All she knew was a family of love and she felt she could only be true to herself if she could live in love. 
Her mother’s happy voice broke her musings as Hermione was called into her parent’s bed chamber. Her mother ushered her over to the bed where a fine gown of ocean blue silk had been laid out. Hermione had never seen a gown so beautiful. The intricate floral embroidery and lace that bordered the bodice, coupled with the delicate silver beads that trailed down the sleeves took her breath away. “A gift for you, my sweeting, to wear to tonight’s banquet.” Lady Granger said beaming. 
“Thank you, mama,” Hermione said as she embraced her mother, kissing her on the cheek. Lady Granger called for her lady’s maid to come and dress Hermione and style her hair. By the time the Granger’s were ready to join the banquet, Hermione’s nerves were long forgotten, replaced once again by the excitement of the upcoming night.
@@@@@
Hogwarts castle’s great hall was filled with a throng of nobles and warriors all dressed in their finery. Tonight marked a hard won peace deal with the neighboring kingdom of Mordurm. Their kingdom, Alban, had come out as the victor in the war, having taken several castles and fertile farming grounds from the Mordurm. King Gellert Grindlewald, the sovereign of Mordurm, had lost his nephew and heir in the most recent battle, and if the rumors were to be believed, the enemy king was so distraught that the will to fight had left him. Most people scoffed at the tale, Grindlewald was feared as a cruel ruler even amongst his own people. He craved power and certainly wouldn’t take the loss of his heir and lands quietly. Hermione felt that whatever reason for peace, it couldn’t last, but she pushed the negative thoughts from her mind at the sight of the celebration.
Hermione marveled at the artistry of the great hall. Elegant stone pillars carved into the shapes of lions, eagles, snakes, and badgers, the emblems of the founders of Alban, lined the expanse of the hall. The tables were arranged around a large hearth at the center of the hall that filled the room with smoky warmth and light. From Hermione’s position at a side table, she could see the King seated at the head table with the princes on either side of him. The king was deep in conversation with his son to the right, which Hermione assumed was Prince Harry because of his dark hair. The pair laughed merrily, seemingly unaware of the rest of the court seated around them. The other prince, Draco, spoke to a stout, ruddy faced man to his left. The stout man drank deeply from his goblet before letting out a laugh, clearly enjoying his conversation with the prince. The prince returned his companions' mirth with a polite smile.  
Dinner passed quickly. Many sumptuous dishes made their way to the banquet, pottage, venison, and a main course of an ornately arranged pheasant stuffed with apples, walnuts, and plums. An array of dessert tarts and pasties followed soon after. Hermione savored each bite, eating until she felt as stuffed as the pheasant. 
Once the banquet ended, the ball began. The court moved to a second hall as large as the first. Hermione was captivated by the enchanted ceiling that mirrored the sky outside. Tonight a full moon shone upon the revelers, not a single cloud passed by all night. 
Lively music began, and courtiers gathered in groups to participate in the dance. Hermione found herself in a dancing circle flanked by two young men, one with a pleasant round face and another with angular but handsome features. As a new song began, the group joined hands and danced around in a circle skipping and hopping to the beat. Around and around they spun, Hermione threw her head back in delighted laughter. Oh, how nice it was to come to court. She could dance under the moon forever.  
Some time during the song the circle broke to form a line that weaved around the dance floor. Hermione, the round faced boy, and a charming blonde girl made up the rear of the line. As the pace of the music quickened, the round faced boy’s foot snagged on the carpet, taking Hermione and a blonde girl tumbling down with him while the other dancers moved on. The courtiers around them laughed in amusement as the boy apologized profusely to the two women. Ignoring the snide laughter, the blonde was quick to reassure him, “Not to worry, Lord Neville, I am not harmed are you Lady—?“
 “Hermione Granger,” Hermione finished, “and I am unharmed. Maybe now is a good time to rest and get a drink seeing as our dancing group has moved on without us.” 
“Shall we all go find a refreshment then?” The blonde girl asked. 
The other two nodded in agreement and with that, the two women helped Lord Neville to his feet. Hermione noticed that he blushed when the blonde girl took his arm and she smiled shyly back. 
Hermione flagged down a server carrying goblets of spiced wine and soon the three were rosy faced and chatting amiably. Hermione learned the blonde girl was named Lady Hannah Abbot and that Neville belonged to the Longbottom clan, both old and prestigious families. Hermione could hear her mother’s voice imploring her to make an impression with these two, but Hermione was just relieved to have made new friends at court. Hannah kept laying her hands on Neville’s arm or running her fingers through his hair while the boy, happy at her attentions, kept blushing redder and redder. An idea came to Hermione as she watched the two, and she said, “I heard that the castle gardens are a work of art, that the Herbologist Pomona Sprout had a hand in creating it.” 
“She did!” Neville replied enthusiastically, ”I’ve been taken on as her apprentice, you see, and it really is amazing! Vervain, devil’s snare, mandrakes! The palace greenhouses have everything! 
“Don’t forget about the living hedge maze!” Hannah said.
“A living hedge maze?” Hermione asked.
“Oh yes! The maze is enchanted to rearrange itself every so often,” Hannah explained, “Believe me, I would have been lost for days if Neville and Madam Sprout hadn’t have found me…” 
Neville’s blush returned and he drank deeply from his goblet as if the object were something to hide behind. 
“I want to see this maze! Hannah, Neville, show me please,” Hermione said smiling as she grabbed her two companions and ushered them towards the entrance hall. 
The maze was just as incredible as Hannah and Neville said. Ten foot tall hedges reached towards the sky and the entrance was decorated with an arch made of two interlocking phoenixes, whose wings and tail feathers moved gently, as if alive. The trio entered the maze, and the heads of the phoenixes turned to follow them. Oblivious, the little group chatted about court life and how Hermione would have many future balls and banquets to look forward too. Would she even get to meet the princes? Hermione thought to herself. The court seemed like a different world where anything could happen.
The three new friends ambled around, turning this way and that, trying to find the end of the maze and the “must be seen” mermaid lake. In the middle of Neville’s harrowing story about the court fool getting drunk and fighting a violent tree, the bush to Hermione’s right began to shake. Hannah sighed in delight and stepped closer to Hermione to whisper in her ear, “it’s happening! The maze is going to move.”
But much to everyone’s disappointment, somewhere in the distance an owl hooted, and a gopher scuttled out from the bush and across the pathway, eager to avoid becoming a late night meal. Just as Hermione was about to suggest they keep on moving, the bushes began to quiver again and branches slithered out, weaving together to reform a new wall. Hermione jumped forward away from Hannah and Neville and quickly dodged a particularly large branch that could have knocked her over. Hermione’s new friends disappeared behind the newly woven hedge wall. “Hannah! Neville! We’re cut off,” Hermione said, calling out to them. 
Moments passed then Hermione heard Hannah and Neville’s voices, “Lady Hermione will you be able to find your way back? Should we call for help?” 
“No, don’t worry about me! I could use some time to cool down before I go back. Have a good night you two!” Hermione said.
The hidden pair called out their goodbyes and Hermione surged forward onto the freshly made path laughing as she went. She had been wandering this way and that, analyzing the patterns in the ground tiles that would hopefully guide her to the end of the maze. She thought she cracked the code hidden in the tiles, but a wall of hedges blocked her path. She was about to turn around and try again when the hedges shook to life and the branches started unraveling before her, exposing the end of the maze.
Hermione felt so proud, she had made it to the mermaid lake. She took in the sight of the lake with a tiered fountain near it’s edge. Bronze mermaids lounged on rocks scattered artfully around the lake. Just like the phoenixes, these statues moved, some mermaids brushed out their hair or stared at their reflections in the water. The water sparkled as it was filled with the moonlight, giving the area an ethereal glow. This truly was a sight that shouldn’t be missed. 
As Hermione moved closer to the lake’s edge, she noticed a figure laying in the grass by the shoreline. It moved to stand as she approached and Hermione came face to face with his royal majesty, Prince Draco of the house of Malfoy. 
Author’s Note: Thank you for reading this story! Let me know what you think. This is the first fanfic I’ve written in years so please be kind. 
EDIT: This is a re-upload. I changed the title from “The Declaration” to “The Phoenix Court”. 
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artificialqueens · 4 years ago
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Follow Every Rainbow ('Til You Find Your Dream), Chapter 7: 16 Going on 17 (Branjie) - Writworm42
A/N: LAST CHAPTER: Vanessa took a risk and set out for her new job as a nanny, only to find out that she’ll be working for Brooke.
THIS CHAPTER: Vanessa definitely bit off more than she can chew with the Hytes family, but she just might be up to the challenge the kids present to her.
I made a few changes to the events of the movie that this chapter is based on, but I hope you all love it nonetheless. And bonus points if you can spot the references I put in! ;)
P.S. the Zackey in the story is Zackey Lime, a Toronto drag king who is legit amazing and I highly recommend you check out ASAP.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to Holtzmanns for beta-ing this chapter, Ilysm <3 <3
“… And that’s about everything there is to see.” Brooke brought Vanessa back into the foyer from the east hallway, smiling with satisfaction. “Any questions?”
So many, Vanessa thought, but she just shook her head, smiling faintly. They’d just finished a forty-five-minute long tour of the entire house, and Vanessa’s head was still spinning trying to recall all the details and directions, every room and what it was for and how to get in and when not to enter it. It almost made Vanessa feel like she was back at the convent, trying to make sense of the grounds on her very first day there and cataloguing every room and where it was. Chapel, cell, rec room, kitchen, so on.
Here, though, the sheer amount of rooms blew the convent out of the water. oldest girl’s room, middle girls’ rooms, oldest boy’s room, living room, music room, kitchen, first bathroom, second bathroom, guest bathroom, guest rooms, servant quarters, servant kitchen, living room, mud room, dining room….the list went on and on endlessly, and it was dizzying, having to remember all the places and pathways in the house.
And then there were all the rules and routines, which were so numerous it was enough to absolutely shock Vanessa. Don’t knock on the master bedroom past 7 PM. Lights off at 9 PM. Take the children out for a brisk walk around the grounds on a set, groomed and paved path after they’ve woken up and had their uniforms inspected at 6 AM. Drill them in their studies before they go for tutoring, in order to make sure they’re in the right set of mind to pay attention. If the children step out of line, notify Brooke immediately in order for them to be punished. Dine with the family and provide a healthy sandwich lunch to the children at exactly 12 o’clock, but have breakfast during their tutoring hours. Never eat fish or drink coffee, the smells are too unpleasant. The only books the children can read are classic literature and the King James Bible, of which they’re to memorize a verse a day; if they don’t get it right, drill them until they do. Model perfect behaviour, posture, and language at all times. Absolutely no riding in cars; if the children want to go somewhere, they can bicycle with a chaperone. And don’t ever enter the art room unless it’s with Brooke’s supervision, and never take in the youngest.
No, this was worse than the convent. Definitely worse. Still, how could Vanessa say that? Brooke was looking at her with satisfaction and approval, but there was still a note of scrutinizing skepticism in her eyes that Vanessa hated to see. She couldn’t blame Brooke–Vanessa was about to be responsible for her children, after all–but it still hurt, somehow. Maybe because she was used to seeing it; used to not fitting in, used to people deciding she’d mess something up before even giving her a chance to try. It had been that way ever since she was little, after all. This was finally a fresh start–someone who didn’t know her or her reputation. Someone who had been told about how good she was. Someone who was undecided about her, rather than already filled with images of Vanessa’s childhood and youth and many attempts at success that had ended in disaster.
She couldn’t break it. She just couldn’t.
So instead, she changed the subject.
“I know the kids will still be in their lessons for a half hour, may I go and change?”
Brooke turned back to Vanessa taken aback, a faint note of surprise in her eyes, and for a minute, Vanessa doubted the question, wondering if she’d made a mistake. Brooke did want a nun, after all; was changing out of her uniform coming across as being too comfortable too soon?
But then Brooke’s face smoothed over, and though she didn’t smile, she nodded. “Of course. It’s quite respectful of you to want to change into a fresh uniform after being in what I imagine was a very dirty train station and a crammed train all day.”
This time, it was Vanessa’s turn to be surprised at the way Brooke had brushed her off, the logic she’d strained to stretch towards. The expectations she was refusing to yield from, clearly spoken in the message she was sending. And Vanessa would be happy to play along, if it weren’t for one small problem.
“Actually, um…” Vanessa chewed her lip, watching as that surprised look crept back into Brooke’s eyes.
Come on, speak up, don’t make it worse.
“This is the only convent uniform I brought, I thought it’d be better to dress casually other times. You know, so the kids feel easy with me.”
From the look in Brooke’s eyes, it was clear that her kids’ comfort wasn’t on her mind when she had requested a nun come to watch them, and she was more than likely feeling sore about it now. But just like before, the look disappeared almost as fast as it had come, and her face is—well, happy isn’t the word, but calm again.
“Of course. Please, go change.”
Vanessa hightailed it out of there almost as soon as the words were out of Brooke’s mouth, and it was only when she was out of her new boss’s view that her heart started beating again.
It was okay; it would be okay. Maybe it was a shock for Brooke, but surely it wasn’t that big a deal—it wasn’t like she would be fired for wearing a regular dress, right?
As the clocks in the hallway ticked closer to Vanessa’s deadline while she weaved her way in and out, trying to find her room, she suddenly found it hard to be sure.
Vanessa hadn’t kept many “regular” clothes at the convent, but she liked to think that the ones she did have were pretty. They weren’t silk or satin, sure, but she’d sewn them herself, and that fact alone made them beautiful in her mind. There was something about the reds and blacks and floral prints she liked to wear that made Vanessa feel special, alive, almost like she was someone else. Not Vanessa the postulant, but Vanessa the dancer in fringe and lace. Vanessa the teacher in rough, stiff linens. Vanessa the girl at the beach in flowing, light cotton, or Vanessa the sleeping beauty in plaid button-up flannel.
It was a strange feeling, but nice at the moment, to be Vanessa the nanny, confident and motivated and ready to meet her tiny new bosses.
When she emerged from her room, though, that confidence dried up when she noticed Brooke looking sour-faced at her, then looked up at the clock.
Oh, fridge. She was two minutes late.
“That’s a… colourful outfit.” Brooke’s eyebrows rose practically to her hairline as she watched Vanessa rush down the stairs to meet her in the foyer, lifting up the yellow skirt of her dress and showing off the convent’s classic white tights in the process of trying not to fall.
“Yellow’s not my favourite, but I didn’t bring much.” Vanessa shrugged. “We, ah, donate most of our clothes to the poor when we enter the convent.”
“You didn’t donate this?” Brooke frowned, and Vanessa felt her face grow hot as she looked down at the ground.
“The poor didn’t really… want it.” she admitted. “Oh, but I made the rest! Before I came, ‘cause I didn’t want to look too stiff, y’know? They’re kids, after all.” It was the truth, and it must have been satisfactory, because even though Brooke didn’t seem impressed by the answer, she didn’t say anything else.
“So…” Vanessa broke the awkward silence that had begun to force its way between them, “Are we going to meet the kids?”
“The children will be right out.” Brooke said matter-of-factly. She turned away from Vanessa and dug in her skirt pocket, striking Vanessa’s curiosity until she saw what the blonde was pulling out.
Brooke blew hard on her whistle, its high-pitched, tinny sound reverberating off the walls before it was followed by the sound of a teenage voice announcing, “ COMPANY, HUP! ”
Vanessa had to fight hard to keep her jaw from dropping as seven children decked out in identical gray uniforms came–no, marched –down the stairs, feet stomping in perfect unison before they lined up by what she assumed was age and stood tall and straight, then gave her and Brooke a quick, proud salute.
Jesus, Mary, and fudging Joseph. She’d become a nanny to a military cult.
“Children, this is your new nanny, Miss Mateo. She was a postulant at the local convent, and she came highly recommended by the reverend mother as someone who will provide you with a good example of traditional Catholic values and behaviour.”
Now that’s a laugh, Vanessa thought, but kept her lip from twitching as Brooke continued.
“Introduce yourselves, please.”
What happened next was no less than terrifying.
Brooke brought the whistle to her lips again and blew one long, particularly high-pitched note, only for a tall, teenage girl to respond by marching a step forward and coming to stand straight and tall, saluting rigidly. She didn’t introduce herself, only stepped back quickly before Brooke blew her whistle again, two short bursts. This time, a muscular boy stepped forward and saluted in the same way as his sister before stepping back.
“Are you–” Vanessa started as the realization of what Brooke was doing sunk in, but she was cut off by another whistle, three long, low tones. A girl who looked around the same age as the boy next to her stomps forward, repeated the movements of her siblings, then stepped back.
“Excuse me, Brooke–”
“Captain Hytes,” Brooke corrected, and before Vanessa could so much as gawk at the sudden coldness, Brooke had turned away and resumed her ritual. Four blows in a long-short-long-short pattern came next, and another boy with a lean, fresh face stepped forward.
“Captain–”
“Please listen to their signals, you’ll need them.” Brooke shook her head sternly, but Vanessa had had enough. This time, when Brooke brought the whistle to her lips, Vanessa snatched it straight from her hand, sliding it into her own pocket before the blonde woman could grab it back.
“I don’t need a signal.” Vanessa protested stubbornly, her heart beating fast despite the firm, even tone she forced her voice to stay in. “I’ll use the kids’ names.”
“No, you won’t,” Brooke challenged, “You’ll use this whistle right here.” she handed a second whistle to Vanessa, who held onto it tightly, squeezing it so hard her knuckles went visibly white. “I won’t have shouting in my house.”
“But you’ll have a shrill, unignorable call that gives your poor nanny and everyone else a headache?” Probably yourself too, maybe that’s why you’re always in such a bad mood , Vanessa thought, but she bit her tongue. In any case, Brooke didn’t argue this time, because she couldn’t—from the way her eyes twitched, she clearly knew that Vanessa had a point.
“Okay, kids.” Vanessa turned back to the line of children before Brooke got a chance to. “Start again, please, but can you tell me your names and ages this time? And for the love of Saint Peter, please don’t do a salute. We ain’t sailors.”
Brooke’s eyes twitched again, and Vanessa had to bite down on her lip just to suppress a smile.
“You heard Miss Mateo,” Brooke directed, “Step forward, names and ages.” she clapped her hands, and the routine began again.
“Monet, sixteen.” The first girl marched forward, her voice clear and confident.
“Landon, fourteen.” The second boy stepped forward next before marching back, not breaking his stride.
“Kameron.” The third girl stepped forward. There was a beat, Brooke opening her mouth to say something, but Vanessa cut her off, putting out an arm to signal for her to hold back.
“No, you’re not.” Vanessa shook her head, but smiled nonetheless. “I see your sister looking all shocked at you. Tell me your real name and age.”
“I’m Kameron,” A red-headed girl, the one who had cast not-Kameron a dirty look, spoke up, “I’m ten. And I like you, you’re smart.”
“So’s your sister.” Vanessa winked, and the first girl blushed.
“Asia, thirteen.” She muttered, and Vanessa was almost glad that in her embarrassment, Asia didn’t march.
“Zackey, eleven.” A fresh-faced boy stepped forward next, resuming the marching orders.
“You already know me.” Kameron shrugged, and this time, Brooke only sighed, a little bit defeated.
“Crystal.” A small girl with curly hair stepped forward next, “I’ll be seven on Tuesday.”
There was another pause before Crystal nudged the last girl in line, a small, shy little girl who held a frog in her hands.
“I’m Plastique, I’m five, and this is Bertha.”
“It’s nice to meet you all.” Vanessa smiled. “I’m Vanessa.”
The children looked at her, surprised, and Vanessa’s heart sank as she realized they’d probably never had an adult invite them to use their first name before.
“Yes, well, now that the introductions are finished, I have work to do.” Brooke nodded curtly, the tension breaking in the room as she began to walk away. But before she could disappear out of sight, a high-pitched whistle caused her to jump.
“You haven’t shown me your signal yet, Captain .” Vanessa batted her eyelashes innocently as Brooke whipped  around angrily to glare at her. The blonde reddened, but ignored the bait, instead turning right back around and continuing to retreat from the hall.
It was incredibly satisfying to note that Brooke couldn’t hide the furious stomp with which she traveled as she went.
“Alright, see y’all later.” Vanessa shrugged, “I think it’s leisure time for you anyway.”
“You’re not going to lead an activity?” Kameron frowned, but Vanessa just shook her head.
“Nah. You guys can go play.”
It hurt Vanessa’s heart to see how the children hesitated, but they marched away at last, and Vanessa was left alone to think about what she’d gotten herself into.
The first place Vanessa went after seeing the children off was the bathroom. She let the water in the sink run until it was freezing, the cold stream making her fingers red the minute it hit her skin. But she could barely feel it; could barely feel anything. It wasn’t until she’d bent down and splashed the water in her face, gasped for air and wiped the droplets from her eyes, that she truly grasped what she was dealing with, why she had been sent here.
She was in Hell; she was in a nightmare. A place where no one like her was supposed to be able to thrive. Probably could survive. And Nina had known Brooke for ages–she probably knew her parenting style. So why would she send Vanessa all people to live with seven little soldiers and their cold, overly-strict, barely-motherly mother?
She was out of her depth, completely in over her head. These kids were nothing like she had been when she was growing up; Hell, they weren’t like any kids Vanessa had ever met in her entire life. They weren’t kids at all; just tin sailors, robots following their mother’s commands.
She closed her eyes, leaned against the sink and breathed in deeply. No; she couldn’t get this overwhelmed this fast. She had to think about her surroundings, break it down and tackle it like Nina and that man on the train and said she was capable of doing. There was hope; the mischief in Kam and Asia’s shenanigans. Plastique holding Bertha and forgetting to step back. Crystal announcing when her birthday was. The small chuckle she could swear she had heard from Landon when she’d sassed back at Brooke. The way the children walked hesitantly, but quickly out of the foyer when she’d told them to go play, as if they couldn’t wait but were afraid she’d take it back.
She opened her eyes, stared herself straight in the face, watched as a glimmer of determination grew in her reflection’s eyes. She could do this; she had to do this, whether Brooke liked her or not.
She opened the bathroom door and charged towards her room, ready to spend some time there in quiet thought, maybe get changed into something a little nicer for dinner. Maybe dance like no one was watching, just like she used to in her cell at the convent on days she needed to loosen up.
She stopped dead in her tracks, though, when she saw the door to her room.
“Shhh!” she heard giggles from around the corner, but refused to acknowledge them; she didn’t look at all, didn’t change her face from the passive, relaxed smile that had been on it before. In fact, she didn’t blink at all. Only opened the door and walked into the room, bypassing the large, dripping bright-red pentagram painted on her door.
“ ALL OF YOU OUT HERE, NOW!”  
Vanessa hurried out of her room with a pounding heart, her breath already catching in her throat. As soon as she swung open the door, though, she was met with a furious, red-faced Brooke, who she could tell was foaming at the mouth to yell at someone for what she had found on the door.
“Who drew this?” Brooke hissed as the children rushed out of their room, lining up by age and standing at attention. But barely a second passed before the fear in the children’s wide eyes turned to shock, then to relief.
“I did.” Vanessa looked back at the red rose she’d painted the door over with, courtesy of the paints the butler, Mr Lurchenstein, had lent her ( “your methods certainly are unorthodox, Miss Mateo, but sure, take what you need.” ). The pentagram was completely hidden behind the flower’s red hue, the black lines outlining its petals taking care of any stray marks or drips she hadn’t been able to cover up. “I wanted to make a mark so that the children could remember where to find me.”
“You couldn’t put up a temporary sign?” Brooke snarled, but Vanessa refused to crack, only shook her head as she turned back to look at the lined-up little devils still staring at her in surprise.
“It wouldn’t speak to who I am as well as this would. Especially since a permanent reminder certainly couldn’t help.” Vanessa winked, and thank God Brooke was still so distracted being angry at her, because the way Landon and Crystal especially crumpled at the words would have been a dead giveaway otherwise.
“This isn’t your property!” Brooke spat, “You can’t just ruin things because you want to express yourself! I won’t–I can’t– Miss Mateo, you will fix this right now, or I swear to the Lord–”
“Captain!” Vanessa gasped, cutting the blonde off at the pass as she feigned shock, “Please don’t tell me that a good Catholic such as yourself is taking the good Lord’s name in vain? After you’ve chastised your children for not following the holy example our Saviour has set for us?”
“I–Well–” Brooke sputtered, deflating a bit, her tone lowering as she realized what she’d just said, what she’d been called out on. Once again, Vanessa had caught Brooke in her own trap, and once again, she couldn’t escape.
“Now, I understand that this is your door, and I’ve done a disrespectful thing by painting it,” Vanessa acquiesced, “But I really do think that becoming this enraged is teaching an unholy reverence of property that a Catholic certainly shouldn’t be espos–expos–trying to model to her children. After all, it’s not exactly unsightly, is it?”
“No, it’s pretty!” Zackey cut in, trembling a bit when Vanessa and Brooke turned to look at him in surprise.
“Me too.” Monet nodded eagerly, “It really does say exactly who Vanessa is.”
“Completely!” Landon and Asia agreed in unison. “And you know how much mama loved–”
“That’s enough.” Brooke’s face stoned over again quickly, the ride from anger to defeat to some unreadable expression practically giving Vanessa whiplash. She kept her observation quiet, though; from the way Brooke’s eyes had taken up yet another wall of defensiveness, Vanessa could tell that she didn’t want anyone to notice, or at least, to say that they had.
“Alright, Miss Mateo,” Brooke sighed, turning back to Vanessa, “Have it your way. The painting can stay. But before you do any other… modifications , you will come to me for approval first, do you understand?”
“Absolutely.” Vanessa smiled, and Brooke only nodded before turning on her heels and stomping away, leaving Vanessa and the others to breathe out a sigh of relief. The temporary peace erupted as quickly as it came, though, when the kids looked back up at Vanessa, their eyes narrowing.
“Just because you covered for us doesn’t mean we like you.” Asia warned, but Vanessa just shrugged.
“I didn’t say it did.”
After another brief stare-down, Vanessa led the children into the kitchen for their mid-afternoon snack, peeking into the fridge to see what the cook had left and immediately recoiling.
Raw broccoli. Yuck .
“Y’all want something other than these dry little trees?” Vanessa dangled one of the stalks from her fingers, wrinkling her face, and was relieved when a couple of the children laughed, all of them nodding eagerly. It was a little glimmer of hope amidst everything, seeing how they had reacted; the fastest way to the heart was through the stomach, after all. Maybe she was finally earning some brownie points with her seven little monsters.
Then she noticed the way the kids were looking at each other, and that hope dried right back up.
“Can we have peanut butter and jelly?” Plastique clapped her hands eagerly, bouncing a little in her seat. “That’s our absolute favourite, but mother–”
“Which one of you is allergic?” Vanessa crossed her arms over her chest, and Plastique’s bouncing stopped dead in its tracks as her siblings’ jaws dropped open.
“I was a kid too, once.” Vanessa rolled her eyes. “I know all the tricks in the book.”
“It’s me.” Kam sniffed, her eyes cast down at the floor. “I’m the allergic one, so mother doesn’t let us have it.”
“Mhm.” Vanessa nodded, though she couldn’t help the smile that curled at the corners of her mouth. “So we not gonna do that, then. Any other suggestions?”
The children were silent, but Vanessa didn’t expect them to say anything, anyway; imagination was hard when people tried to stamp it out of you, she knew that. No matter; she already had an idea forming in her head.
“ Why does this house smell like–”
“It’s broccoli.” Vanessa shrugged as Brooke stormed into the room, her nostrils flaring. “You did say the kids should have broccoli.”
“Yes, but not–”
“It was in the fridge.” Vanessa popped another cheese-coated stalk in her mouth, grinning when Brooke’s face took on a stricken look, as if Vanessa had just hit her in the face with a block of cheese. Which, in a way, she supposed she had.
“I said no pungent foods –”
“It was in the fridge.” Vanessa repeated, “I assumed that it would have passed your inspection if it was?”
“Well, yes, but–”
“The Lord doesn’t approve of hypocrisy, Captain, and eating cheese that your children are not allowed to indulge in really wouldn’t fall in the category of fairness, would it?”
Brooke took a deep inhale, pinching the bridge of her nose as she sighed out impatiently. “No, it doesn’t. I’ll throw the rest of it out.”
“No need to.” Vanessa shook her head. “It’s already all finished, and now I’ll spray some freshener and the children can brush their teeth. Problem solved.”
Brooke could only stare in shock as Vanessa stood up and waved for the children to follow, all of them looking like deer in headlights as they walked past their speechless mother out into the hallway.
“Okay, that was cool, but it doesn’t mean we want you here.” Monet huffed under her breath, but Vanessa wasn’t bothered; she understood, after all, so why would she have tried to tell the kids not to feel upset that yet another nanny had arrived to put even more distance between themselves and their mother?
“I wouldn’t want me here, either.” Vanessa threw up her hands in mock-surrender, “But here I am.”
She didn’t bother looking back as she flounced off to the servants’ quarters, ready to get a full list of the children’s allergies and intolerances from the cook.
Dinner in the Hytes household was at nineteen-hundred hours sharp. Brooke had made that very clear during her tour, and though throughout the day, her brood of goblins made a strong effort to confuse Vanessa by saying that it was at five o’clock, six o’clock, seven thirty, Vanessa had made sure to double-check with the other staff that nineteen-hundred was correct. So sure, in fact, that she had written it on her arm in thick permanent marker.
There was just one problem–Vanessa had no idea when nineteen-hundred hours actually was , and she certainly wasn’t about to ask the demon squad for clarification. So instead, she tried to remember the twenty-four hour clock lessons from the seventh grade, wracking her brain to remember the trick she was taught, whether it was to subtract ten, eleven, or twelve hours. And then there was the matter of actually doing that math herself…
“You’re still here?”
Vanessa looked up from her book to see Lurchenstein standing in the doorway of the servants’ quarters kitchen, looking aghast. Looking up at the clock, it blinked 6:55 PM, and suddenly, she realized her mistake.
“Nineteen-hundred hours isn’t eight?” she kept her voice calm despite the heat she could feel rising in her cheeks. She already knew the answer–if dinner was at eight, then the butler’s shock wouldn’t have been reasonable. But if it was at seven…
“And your dress is covered in paint, too…” Lurchenstein groaned, rubbing his eyes in frustration. “You need to change, quickly! If you’re even a minute late, the captain…”
He didn’t need to finish his sentence; Vanessa was already booking it through the house in a frantic attempt to get to her room, praying to God she wouldn’t get lost on the way.
She arrived in the dining room at 7:05 PM, panting and gasping as she stared at a sea of very pleased faces and one enraged one. Brooke’s expression was so grim, her lips pursed together in such a thin, resolute line that Vanessa thought the captain might implode. She needed to say something, and needed to do it fast.
“I’m sorry,” Vanessa admitted breathlessly, her heart seizing as she spoke, “It’s my fault. I haven’t used the twenty-four hour clock in a very long time, and miscalculated. If it weren’t for Mr Lurchenstein, I would have missed it entirely. I should have double-checked, and that’s on me.”
It was strange–instead of making a snippy comment or taking her to task, Brooke relaxed a little.
“I’m sorry for assuming you knew.” Brooke shook her head. “Thank you for being accountable. I don’t tolerate much imperfection, but not knowing isn’t quite the same…”
So the captain did have a heart. Thank God.
“It’s subtracting twelve.” Vanessa was unable to suppress a little smile as she began to take her seat, her heartbeat evening out and relief washing through her body. “I got it n– Oh! ”
She rocketed back up as her rear hit something soft, springy, something that jumped right back at her.
“Miss Mateo?” Brooke shot her a questioning look, but Vanessa hardly heard her; she was too busy glancing out of the corner of her eye, watching as something fat and green bounced away…
“Rheumatism.” Vanessa coughed, taking her seat.
“Right.” Brooke looked doubtful, but said nothing else. A double blessing.
“So, shall I say grace?” Vanessa changed the subject before anything else could be said, before the rude brood had a chance to call Vanessa out on her lie–not that they would, really, because what could they say that wouldn’t give them away? In fact, Plastique and Crystal were already shrinking back a little, looking awfully guilty…
“Yes, please do.” Brooke confirmed, and as if on signal, every member of the Hytes family made the sign of the cross and bowed their heads in such perfect unison that for some reason, it once again took Vanessa by surprise. Still, the alarm quickly dried up, because even though she’d been at the house for only nine hours, she already knew that if she expected anything less than this, it was her fault. She’d made her bed, that was for sure.
But that didn’t mean she had to lie in it, not necessarily. Not without a fight.
“Actually, before we pray, I thought I’d say something.”
Immediately, every child’s head snapped up, their faces seized with terror. It was pretty satisfying, Vanessa had to admit, and it was tempting not to play to their fears, to snitch or to pretend she was going to. But that wouldn’t get her anywhere, she already knew that. She had to catch these flies with honey, or she could expect something much worse than a frog on her chair next time.
“I wanted to thank all of you for making me feel so welcome here. All those precious games we played and gifts you gave me, knowing how scared and worried I must be, coming into a new place all on my own. How important it was for me to feel accepted and welcome—really, you guys have made me feel at home, and I can’t thank you enough. Now, shall we pray?”
Unfortunately, they never got to grace–because the kids had started sniffling, and then broken into tears.
“Don’t worry,” Vanessa shook her head at Brooke, who was looking around the table in confusion. “They’re just happy.”
They ate the rest of their dinner in relative silence, but towards the end, Vanessa couldn’t help but notice that the dirty looks from the kids had ceased, and every request to pass the salt or for more mashed potatoes was accompanied by a shy smile and a please . And when they finally filed out of the dining room, children first and adults following after, Brooke’s eyes didn’t carry quite the hard, furious look that Vanessa had gotten used to seeing in them.
It was about an hour later, though, that Vanessa really knew that things were turning around in her favour. Vanessa had finished her prayers, finished laying staring at the ceiling without much but passing, overlapping thoughts rushing through her head, and had decided it was time to tuck in for the night. Even if it was only around nine o’clock, she was used to early bedtimes at the convent, and from the schedule Brooke had laid out, it seemed like this house would be no different. The house was already silent, too, everyone else having gone to bed and either fallen asleep or having been smart enough to keep their late-night shenanigans very quiet.
Everyone, apparently, except for the oldest Hytes daughter, who Vanessa could see and hear out of the corner of her window scaling the wall to climb down and meet a very strapping young woman in a military uniform waiting for her on the ground below.
Oh, this was too good not to listen in on.
“Are you sure your mom–”
“I’m sixteen, going on seventeen in a month,” Monet hissed, “And you’re almost eighteen, which means you’re basically an adult. I don’t care if she treats me like a kid. Mama never used to. So mother can grow up and realize I can take care of myself.”
Vanessa had to resist letting out a snort at that, but held back, moving a little closer to the window so she could hear better.
“I don’t like sneaking around–”
“Once you’re nineteen and I’m eighteen, we won’t have to. Anyway, I have this new nanny, she’s…she’s not like the others. She’s actually kind of…well, she’s pretty chill, not like mother at all. As long as she’s around, mother won’t assume I’m up to anything bad, and if she catches us, it’ll be Vanessa’s fault.”
Oh, Hell no. Vanessa had half a mind to call out, pop her head out the window to let Monet and this other kid know who they were dealing with. But before she could, something stopped her–a tiny voice, sweet and scared, one that she wasn’t used to hearing from Monet.
“I–I love you, Monique. I wanna be with you. And I know mother would approve of you, just…you’re in the military, and…you know how that’s a sore thing here. It’s too complicated. So if we have to sneak around for now…”
“I get it.” Monique sighs. “Well, at the very least, can we stay on the property? Your garden’s so big and so nice, and it’s a lot safer than going around at night. We can still spend time together, and I’ll be gone before your mom wakes up.”
Vanessa sighed out, her heart growing warm at the confession, at how responsibly and gently this Monique had responded. It was cute, how vulnerable Monet was being, how Monique was so willing to meet her halfway. Heck, when Vanessa was that age, she certainly wasn’t that thoughtful, and definitely not nearly as careful of her parents or what other people thought as these two. She had always believed in kicking her way across boundaries, not tip-toeing around them, on making messes if she had to, not planning things out to avoid them.
Maybe, just maybe, the kids would be alright after all.
“ Shit .”
Vanessa’s head snapped up at Monique’s voice, the teen’s tone suddenly changing from gentle to fearful.
Crap. Crap, crap, crap. Vanessa had left her window open, and the two love-birds had spotted her.
“Shit, is that your mom’s–”
“No, just the nanny. Maybe she’s asleep–”
Vanessa had two options. Pretend to be asleep, never mention it, keep Monet feeling like her secret was safe.
Or, she could pop her head out, flash a thumbs up or something, let Monet and Monique know that she was on their side.
Fridge it–she might as well take a chance and do the latter.
“I won’t tell.” Vanessa whispered, popping her head out just enough so that the girls could see her, hopefully hear her enough to put their minds at ease. From the way their eyes became wide as saucers, she guessed they could.
“Seriously,” Vanessa crossed over her heart, making a crucifix, because that was how serious she was, how badly she wanted them to know she was telling the truth. “You seem like a lovely girl, Monique. Just…be careful, and don’t leave the property.”
The two teens didn’t waste any time–they scrambled away, huffing and hurrying and knotting their hands together. Good; they trusted her.
Vanessa was about to close her window, go to bed for real, when the scuff of footsteps running back under her brought her back to look outside again.
“Um,” Monet looked at her feet, chewing her lip and shifting from foot to foot. “I just wanted to say–Thanks. And, um…I like you. You’re cool. And I’m gonna tell the others to stop messing with you, ‘cause…I think I want you to stay.”
Vanessa felt her breath catch in her throat, her heart soaring as a grin spread over her face.
Monet wanted her to stay. She was going to stay. Finally, finally, she’d done something right.
“Don’t worry about it.” Vanessa shook her head, forcing a relieved breath out with the words. “I want to stay, too.”
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