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whatanoof · 3 years

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Luck Be the Lady Tonight

Rating: Mature

Pairing: Maxwell Lord x Reader

Word Count: ~4.4k

Content: blood, violence, fluff, death, gods who like to fuck around with peoples' minds, oh did I mention swearing yet?

Prequel to I Wished For Your Happiness

Dawn filters across the sky like the coming of the tide. It pushes into the inky twilight gradually, so slowly that one doesn’t notice the changing colors until it’s in full swing. Reds and oranges and yellows and the slightest hint of pink streak across the clouds and chase away every memory of the previous night.

Not that you were awake to see it of course, Max made sure of that last night when he exhausted you with… um… certain activities. But shortly after the dawn, the door to the bedroom creaks, waking you from peaceful sleep to the drowsy world of the waking. The creak is the only warning you get before the seven-year-old boy equivalent of a mortar shell drops onto the covers, bouncing the bed violently and bringing weak protests from the man under the covers to your left.

You thank every star in the faded night sky that Max had the awareness to redress both you and him last night before falling asleep. Good luck.

“Good morning!”

Max groans sleepily and pulls the covers over his head, “Alistair…”

You smile and blink blearily, “Good morning, Alistair.” You stretch under the covers luxuriously, rubbing the sleep from your eyes.

“Come on, come on! We have to go soon!” Every other word is accompanied with another bounce on the sheets, and you wince. Ali is pretty much situated completely on top of the Max-sized lump under the blankets, and that can’t feel good.

“Okay,” You laugh, sneaking out from under the sheets. “Come on, let your dad sleep in just a little bit more. What do you want for breakfast?”

“Silvia usually makes eggs,” You nod. Silvia is Alistair’s nanny that accompanies him back and forth between his parents, but you had given her the weekend off. It was her twenty first birthday, and you only turn twenty-one in America once.

So you decided to take time off too, and to take Alistair for a day on the town. Max had been more reluctant to take the day off, but you’d pestered him until he’d given in. And you’d promised him a weekend of nighttime fun in return, so who was he to deny you? “But I want pancakes!”

You laugh, “Pancakes it is! Chocolate chip, or strawberry?” You don’t even have to ask, you already know that Alistair is going to pick chocolate. That child is just like his father: a ridiculous sweet tooth and too adorable for you to say no to.

You’re halfway through the mixed pancake batter, and Alistair is most of the way through his second pancake by the time Max stumbles into the kitchen, hair mussed and eyes half-open without coffee. It’s a struggle to hide the giggle that threatens to burst from your throat, but you manage and pass him the steaming mug that’s been sitting by the stove to keep warm.

“Woman, you are a true goddess.”

“I know. No need to feed my complex.” You smile as Max hugs you from behind and buries his nose into the crook of your neck before going to sit beside his son.

“Big day planned?”

“Yep.” You flip the last pancake onto the plate. It’s a little crooked, but passable considering your normal amount of cooking talent. “Sight-seeing, museums, walking around…”

“And parks!” Alistair interjects, “And the airplane museum!”

“Of course the airplane museum!” You place the dishes in the sink and pick up your own plate, “You coming, Lorrie?”

“Have some work to do, but I’ll be done before noon.” His shoulders hunch even as you stare him down. “Promise, baby. Something came up right before I left the office last night. It’s urgent.” You raise a single eyebrow at him, and he raises his hands in mock surrender, “I didn’t plan on it. Bad luck, that’s all.”

“I--” You level the dirty spatula at him, “--will take your word for it, Lorrie.”

He grins and stands, taking the kitchen tool from you and gently placing it in the sink. “Thank you, my love.” He folds your hand into both of his and kisses the tip of your nose, and you giggle as he nuzzles into your neck.

“Gross!” Alistair claps both of his hands over his eyes. You and Max laugh together as he detangles himself from you.

“I am going to get dressed.” Max grins at you rakishly before walking over to his son, who still has his hands covering his face. “And you--” He taps Alistair on the nose, and Ali giggles as Max leans in and gives him a hug. “--have a good day at the airplane museums.”

---

The minute you step into the Metropolis Space Museum, Alistair is heads over heels in love. You truly can’t believe that it took the kid seven years to get to the most iconic airplane museum in the city that he grew up in, but his childhood wasn’t exactly normal. You understand Max’s work ethic and schedule all too well, having parents who were workaholics as well. So when you’d first met the starry eyed little kid, you’d silently promised yourself that he was going to have a better childhood than you. You’re not his mother or his nanny, but Max is a dedicated father. And you’ll be dedicated to this kid too.

Alistair sprints through the museum with all of the speed of The Flash himself, and it’s all you can do to keep up with the little ball of energy. You wonder how he’s able to even take in the aircraft with the combination of the speed and his small stature, but this is his day, and you’re just the chauffeur.

He finally hits a wall when he reaches the astronaut exhibit. You’re walking among the space shuttles when you find Alistair gazing up at the Artemis I craft.

“See something you like?” You stop beside Ali and grin down at him. He hasn’t ripped his eyes away from the craft, and you can see the fluorescent lighting reflecting in his dark eyes. You turn to admire the shuttle again.

“That.” Alistair only speaks the one word, and you raise an eyebrow down at him. He’s pointing, “I want to be able to fly in that when I grow up.”

You chuckle, “It’s possible. You work hard, and you can be an astronaut when you grow up.”

“Work hard like Daddy?”

“Yes. Just like your Daddy.” Your gaze softens as you look down at the boy, seeing shades of his father in his determined expression. You check the time on your phone, “Speaking of, he should be meeting us soon. Wanna grab a snack, then we can go see him?”

You can see Ali’s obvious reluctance to leave the exhibit. “Alistair, ice cream…” You trail off with a teasing grin as Alistair turns.

“Yes please!”

You grin, “Alright! Come on.”

Alistair speeds ahead yet again, and your phone buzzes. You take it out, and it’s from work. You send a text off to your partner as you reach the stairs.

Your heel hits the edge of the step wrong. Your heart drops in your chest as you pitch forward, your arms wheeling in the air. A scream lodges in your throat as you fall forwards down the steps.

You land hard on your chest and you feel a stabbing pain in your chest as the air is knocked clean out of your body. Alistair screams your name, and you roll over to find the gazes of dozens of concerned strangers fixated on you as Alistair rushes to you.

“Are you okay?” A woman crouches over you.

You chuckle dryly, the air coming back to your body in small increments. Embarrassment floods your cheeks with heat, “Yeah, missed that last step. Bad luck, huh?”

“Good luck that it was the last flight. Could have been much worse.” She straightens and extends a hand to help you to your feet. “Anything hurt?”

“Besides my pride? No, I’m fine. Just got the wind knocked out of me.” You accept her help and stand, wincing at the residual pain in your chest. You remember what you’d distracted with that led to the misstep, “Where’s my phone?”

Alistair holds his hand out with a solemn look on his face. He’s holding your shattered phone, “I think it’s broken.”

You sigh. Bad luck. “Thank you Alistair. And thank yo--” You turn, but the woman is gone. Huh. Interesting. You look all around you at the bustling crowd, but no one looks familiar, and all of the gapers have gone back to their business. You prop your hands on your hips, “Well. How about some ice cream now?”

---

Max’s brow furrows as he stares down at the glinting ring. A twenty-four karat gold band, platinum setting with tiny obsidian studs and a diamond the size of a pistachio. The ring is exactly his style, and it’s the ring that he always imagined himself buying for the hypothetical girl that he would have if he ever got his work done. But ever since meeting you, he’s been learning to remember that his likes aren’t necessarily the likes of the others.

For example, you don’t like flashy. Which is ridiculous, because his entire existence is flashy, so he can’t begin to imagine how you ever were attracted to him. The memory of your first meeting draws a grin to his lips. But now he knows better after a couple of botched Valentines and anniversary gifts. Your look of horror at the massive bouquet of flowers and yards of chocolate will be forever seared into his mind. Flashy and gaudy is a big no no, though maybe he can make the proposal a little more to his tastes. His gaze is drawn to another ring to his right.

“Excuse me?” The sales associate comes over to him. “Can I see that one?”

---

“Alright, you don’t tell your dad, and I won’t tell either.” You plop the massive ice cream cone into Alistair’s hand before settling down next to him with a cone of similar size.

Alistair grins mischievously at you, “This is a lot of sweets for one day.”

“Ah!” You hold up your free hand, effectively silencing the kid, “Snitches…?”

“Get stitches!” With that, Ali digs into his chocolate fudge cone with sprinkles, and you start with yours, gazing at the city across the water. The beach is empty on an early spring day that is much too cold for swimming. Seagulls screech across the sky, and the sand looks fun and inviting, but Ali seems content to sit beside you on a bench and look across the water at Gotham City.

The sun is shining, the water is glowing in the afternoon sun, and it’s a perfect afternoon. Until an explosion rocks the building that you’d been admiring in Gotham City across the bay and the miniscule figure of a supervillain appears as a shadow in the dust. You sigh. Bad luck. “View ruined.”

Alistair shrugs, “Pretty. Big booms are cool.”

“Since when do you like explosions?”

Alistair looks up at you, and makes a zooming motion with his hand before mimicking a takeoff with massive engine explosions. Oh. Right.

You finish your ice cream and reach for your phone to check the time before remembering that it’s broken. “Hey, Ali. What time is it?”

He shows you with his little digital watch, and it’s half past noon. Max is probably looking for you. You rummage in your pocket for some change, and pull out the coins to count them. Oh good, you have a quarter left over from the ice cream cones.

“Come on, we’re going to find a pay phone.” Alistair stands and follows you off of the beach and towards the street.

Only, I shit you not, a chunk of building hits the water with a boom near shore, and water explodes into the sky like a geyser. Debris scatters the beach, and you wince as you see the amount of rocks that hit the bench where you had been sitting not five minutes before. You stare for a split second, then over at Gotham, where you can see the supervillain hefting cement chunks over his head and lobbing them at a speck in the sky. That’s an interesting combination of luck that you’re not sure you want to dissect mentally at the moment.

Alistair whines, “How did we miss Superman in the sky?!”

---

Max walks out of the museum, squinting in the sun as he fumbles in his pocket for his phone. You’d said that you would be at the museum until afternoon, but he’d waited at the entrance for an hour and you and Ali never came out. He calls you, but the line rings to voicemail.

The little velvet box weighs heavy in his breast pocket. It almost feels like it is burning a hole in his chest with how hyper aware he is of the promise pressing on his chest. He can’t even remember when he woke up feeling like this. Well, of course he only recognized the feeling today, but he’s been feeling it for sometime now. That swelling in his chest when he looks at you, the one that seems to increase everytime he sees you with Alistair, or when you’re laughing, or when you raise that single infuriating eyebrow that communicates every feeling of skepticism within your body. It’s been building over the past years, it’s not new. The label is new, it’s the one that he realized this morning after you got up and promised Alistair pancakes for breakfast.

He’s ready to make this promise. He’s ready to swear to spend the rest of his life with you. Now, if only he could find you. Bad luck, it would seem.

His phone rings right as he pulls it out of his pocket, and he glances at the caller ID. It’s you, and he swipes the ‘answer’ icon excitedly and raises the phone to his ear.

“Hey, I’m at the museum, where are you?”

You sound a little harried, “A payphone near Stryker Beach. Sorry, my phone’s busted up, so I couldn’t tell you that we left the museum.”

“No, no it’s fine. I’ll come get you. Give me an address.” He swipes around on his phone until he gets to his maps, but he’s interrupted by a resounding boom on the other end of the line. “What was that?”

“Nothing. There’s another Gotham villain, and Superman is fighting him over the bay. On second thought, you probably shouldn’t come here.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you two could be in danger.” He already has the car keys in his hand when you cut him off.

“Lorrie.” Your voice is every bit as intimidating over the phone as it is in real life. “Stay there. Traffic is awful over here anyway, we could walk to the museum and back twice by the time you get through it. See you in a few.” He can’t wait, excitement thrilling in his chest even as worry tamps it down a little.

---

His palms are sweating. Why are his palms sweating? He hasn’t been this nervous since his first kickstarter campaign for Black Gold Corporations. He’s scanning the crowd for any sign of you and Alistair, though he’s simultaneously dreading your appearance as much as he’s anticipating it.

There! He sees a flash of your hair through the mass of people, and then you’re standing on the other side of the major street, gorgeous and windswept and smiling at him while holding Alistair’s hand. Cars whizz through the intersection, but even the minor interruptions in his line of sight to you can’t detract from your beauty. Fuck, he’s nervous,

So nervous, apparently, that he fumbles his phone and drops it on the sidewalk. As he bends over to pick it up, the velvet box slips out of his pocket and falls to the ground with a small thunk that may as well have been the impact sound of a meteor.

His gaze darts up nervously at you, and your eyes are glued to the small black box. They flick back to his, and read the nerves as clear as the day. Understanding floods through your face, then shock, then your mouth falls open and he can hear your joyful laugh from where he crouches twenty feet away.

Shit. He had wanted to do it differently. Maybe by the massive fountain, or on the Ferris Wheel by the bay. Something that brings a little bit of pizzazz and flash and romance, something that is distinctly him. But he sees the giddy look in your eye and everything else falls away.

The pedestrian sign flicks on, and the rest of the crowd starts moving across the street, pushing you and Alistair with the flow of people. Your hand still firmly grasps Ali’s as you move across the street, and his heart fills at the sight of your love for his son and steadies his hand as he picks up the box and opens it towards you. His knees bend, and he sinks to the hard concrete, awaiting your approach.

His knee is centimeters away from the sidewalk when a swoosh echoes overhead and Superman rips through the intersection. The crowd tracks him with a rush of murmurs, but you’re still watching Max and walking forward with a spark in your eye.

Then the gunfire starts. Everyone ducks as Lex Luthor’s latest mech suit flies overhead in pursuit of the flying hero. Bullets whizz through the air, pinging off of telephone poles and shattering windows. You’re only a fraction behind the crowd, your eyes widening in panic as you finally notice your surroundings. Max is frozen in time, watching you cover Alistair with your own body. Bad luck.

Then the spell breaks, and everyone is running and screaming, and Max’s heart rises into his throat. He loses sight of you in the middle of the road, and he stumbles to his feet and begins shoving through the crowd.

“Alistair!” He screams your name too, but his voice is lost in the surrounding noise.

Finally, finally, he catches sight of your hunched form in the middle of the road. Right as he sees you, your head raises and begins scanning around you, and he allows himself to breathe. Good luck.

He grabs your arm and yanks you to your feet, his other hand securing around Alistair’s upper arm. Then he’s moving and dragging you to the other side of the street. You’re almost there, you’re almost safe when the explosion happens.

It’s small, a stray thermal charge that’s miniscule compared to the previously witnessed destruction. But a shudder passes through your group. Max’s heart sinks in his chest and he turns to look. Alistair is staring up at you with a look of complete horror on his face. Your hand lets go of Max’s, drifting up to your chest where a bloodstain is rapidly spreading over your chest. Your eyes meet Max’s, and then your eyes roll back in your head and you pass out.

---

The ambulance ride is a blur. Alistair is crying into his chest, and it’s all Max can do to keep it together while he holds your hand. You’re still unconscious, but the ambulance had gotten there fast, and you’d been one of the only casualties in the intersection. Hope. He has to hope, because he has to hold it together for Ali.

Words float around his head from the paramedics, words like random, ricochet, shrapnel, and bad luck. Bad luck. Fury swells in him. Your life is worth more to him than simple bad luck. Villain or hero, how can it matter? Who gave them the right to leave charges in public places, to scatter bullets like rice on a wedding day?

But what can he do about simple bad luck? What can he do about super-powered people who hold the power of gods in their hands? The answer is nothing, not right now anyway, because Alistair needs him, and you need him, and he will bide his time.

---

You wake up when the ambulance gets to the hospital. The gurney jostles as they lift you down from the ambulance and he wants to yell at the paramedics. But he holds himself back. Your voice echoes in his head, ‘They’re just trying to do their jobs, Lorrie. Leave them alone.”

So he does, clinging to you as your eyelids flutter. “Lorrie?” Your voice is a painful rasp that hurts in his own chest. You tighten your grip, bringing your interlocked hands up against your chest, slightly to the right of the roughly bandaged wound.

“I’m here.” He grips your hand all the more tightly, pressing a kiss to your knuckle. You murmur something, and he doesn’t catch it the first time. He leans in, “What? Say it again, baby.”

“Yes.” You whisper into his ear. With shaking hands, Max takes out the little black box and puts the ring on your bloody finger. It’s a simple gold band, curling around a teardrop onyx gem. Perfectly you and him. You only have time to lift your hand to gaze at the ring before you're whisked away to surgery. Max is left standing there with empty hands, feeling like the world has been yanked from his grasp.

---

When you wake up again, the world is sterile and cold and Max is gone. Your hand instantly flies to your chest, where the phantom wound throbs. But your hand grazes over nothing but your own skin and clothes. A glance downwards confirms your suspicions. The wound is gone, the ugly shrapnel vaporized as if it never existed.

But the glance down confirms another suspicion that only just started brewing in the back of your mind, one that you hadn’t dared to confront.

“Am I dead?” Your eyes widen in shock, and you reach to touch your lips. They hadn’t moved, and yet you had heard your own voice echoing into the void. You whip around, your toes hovering above the surgical table where your body rests. Surgical tools scatter around the trays, and the monitor emits a continuous, flat tone. Doctors lay down their tools, taking off their masks and caps with an air of exhausted defeat. Your body is still, covered in tubes and sheets so that you can barely see a hint of gray skin. Fuck, Max is going to be devastated.

“In a way.” The voice is wonderfully melodic, and you look to find that one of the doctors is staring at you while the rest look right through you. Her mask is still up, but there is a familiar air about her that you can’t place. “You are caught in-between right now, unable to move on, but unable to return.”

“So, purgatory?” Again, your disembodied voice speaks the words directly from your mind.

She laughs, and the tinkle settles somewhere deep in your soul. “No. Powers of another sort, past the Catholic tradition.”

You work your jaw, testing it before mouthing the words along with your voice. It just feels right, more natural. “I don’t understand. I’m trapped here?”

“Not trapped. Suspended, perhaps.” Her eyes are a piercing gray. “The Lords’ refuse to let you go. One might say that it’s luck. Good or bad, depending on if you are scared of what’s after. I hear you and Maxwell like to keep count.”

You blink. She’s right. You and Lorrie had a running joke that bad luck seemed to follow the both of you wherever you went. Today had been especially heavy with bad luck. “And if I’m not scared?”

“Luck is entirely dependent on perspective, child. But, I will admit, your death was more accident than anything.” There’s a cold, callous tone in her voice as she remarks about your death as no more than a minor inconvenience. “Couldn’t have been avoided, and that’s true bad luck.” Her brow furrows, then it lightens and she claps her hands, “But, good luck now! You get to go back!”

Your spirits lift. Back to Earth. Back to Alistair and Max. Max. You bring your right hand up in front of you. The ring is gone.

“Missing something?”

Your gaze darts back up to the woman, and she’s holding the ring to the false light, examining it closely. You try to keep the tremor out of your voice, “That’s mine. Give it back.”

She gives you a long side-eye, “You do not command me, girl.” You shudder at the tone of her voice, vibrating through your non-existent body and threatening to dissipate it. You grit your teeth, and continue to stare her down. She raises an eyebrow, and you think that it’s a look of approval in her eyes. “But, I suppose it is yours. Catch.” She tosses the band back to you, and you snatch it from the air. She continues, “Consider that my token to you. A favor from luck itself. Not many mortals ever gain such an item.”

“I don’t care what it is to you.” You only care about what it means to you and Max. It’s a promise. There had been a shared understanding in the emergency room, that you probably wouldn’t make it. And that understanding had been correct. But he promised anyway, and you’d promised him right back. “Who are you?”

“Lady Luck, at your service.” She winks, pulling her mask down finally. It’s the woman from the museum, but there’s a different air about her. An air of power that didn’t exist back on Earth hovers in her every word and motion.

A chime echoes through the air, and Lady Luck straightens. “That’s my cue. Don’t worry, you won’t remember this encounter when you wake up on Earth.”

“What was the point of this conversation if I’m not going to remember it?”

She looks back at you with a hint of humor in her eyes. “There wasn’t one. Just me testing out my wisdom on a mortal. Don’t get much chance for that anymore.”

“Any last wisdom then?” Your lips twist in a wry grin.

Lady Luck regards you, “Luck isn’t everything. But it isn’t nothing. Remind your Lorrie of that for me.” Then she turns and waves her hand, and the world filters to blackness around you.

A/N: This made me sad, but it was actually pretty fun to write and play around in the DC universe. I don't get over there much, it's mostly Marvel over in Oofville these days. But yes, now I'm expanding this universe as well too, because it's not like I don't already have enough WIP yet. It's fine, it's all going to be fine.

But Max's planning for the engagement?! Gave me life, it made me so happy.

Taglist: @alliterative-albatross

#maxwell lord x reader #death #angst #sad feels #fluff #gods are kinda bitches in fake universes

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agentmarymargaretskitz · 3 years

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Mixen + 29. Proposal

(Not your average proposal, but the angst muse attacked me so this comes with a dose of pain)

Mick passed over a cup of tea to Amaya before sitting down with his own coffee. A smile and a soft thanks were offered in return before comfortable silence settled over them. As she sipped her tea, Mick studied her. It had been a few years for him, but over a decade for her. There were some more smile lines and a heavier look in her eyes, but she was still the Amaya he cared about.

"I'm so sorry," she finally whispered, pushing the cup away slightly. "You don't deserve that...no one does."

Mick wanted to nod but couldn't bring himself to do so. He wanted it not to be real, but he still remembered everything when he closed his eyes each night. Lita's screams begging him to protect Mike before they stopped. The sneer on Bishop's face as he let go of the knife. His pleas and tears before the white hot rage set in. A stench of flame and burning cloth and flesh.

"She was too young," he grunted, shivering despite the layer he wore.

"I know. I'm sorry I never got the chance to meet her."

"You'd have liked her," Mick chuckled, imagining how his daughter meeting Amaya would have gone. Probably too well, all things considered.

Amaya smiled again. "From what I've heard, Lita took after you a lot."

"Yeah, in the good and bad."

"So what's next?"

Mick shrugged. He truly had no idea what was going to happen next, but leaving the ship was the most likely outcome. Bishop had gotten to Ali before Lita, so Mike didn't even have a grandmother. It was just the two of them, and a timeship was no place to raise a child. He knew a few things from popping in and out of Lita's childhood, but now he was going to be full time in raising his grandson.

"I don't know, but can't stay here," Mick sighed. "Don't have a place back in the present."

Amaya pressed her lips together and straightened up. "I have a proposal. Come back with me."

Okay, maybe he'd spiked his coffee too much. "What?"

"Come back with me to Zambezi," she repeated, proving he didn't mishear her. "You would like it."

"Your husband..."

She shook her head. "Gone."

"Sorry to hear," he mutters. And he is sorry. Because Amaya deserves the happiest life can provide.

"When you leave this ship, the adjustment is hard," she went on. "I didn't have anyone to talk to about it because no one understands. If you came, I could be that person. But it's your choice at the end of the day."

There's a lot to think about now. And he needs to sort through it all not just as himself, but with Mike too.

But his choice is made in his mind. He just needs to be sure that it's the right one.

#firesoulstuff #ask box #legends of tomorrow #mixen #ship prompt #cw death

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julemmaes · 4 years

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PP Feysand drabble 3.5

A/N: I fucking hate Tamlin so much I swear.

Rhysand struggles upon seeing Feyre and Tamlin arguing and is left with a shit ton of questions when she leaves him on the sidewalk and he notices he didn’t look at her hand.

Enjoy!:)

Fic masterlist

Word count: 1,997

They were fighting.

He hadn't immediately realized who the two people in the car in the opposite lane were, but when the girl turned to the man, Rhysand's breath stuck in his throat.

A half thought of getting off his car in the middle of the crossroad while the traffic light was still red, just so he could throw a punch at Tamlin, crossed his mind.

How could they fight so often?

Feyre was waving her hands in the air and he could hear the screams, but he didn't understand what they were talking about. Tamlin looked livid with rage and was gripping the steering wheel so tightly with his fingers that Rhysand feared for a second that he would rip it off the trunk and throw it through the windshield glass.

Suddenly he screamed and although Rhys was on the other side of the road, he could still see Feyre wince and carry her arms to her chest. Tamlin had turned towards her and was screaming so loud that even the people on the sidewalk had stopped to see what was going on.

Someone behind him honked and he had to take a deep breath to get away from that scene and drive to his house.

He hadn't stopped thinking for a second about the terrified air that Feyre had taken on when Tamlin blew up with her and he really wanted to go back and carry her along. He would have never hit her boyfriend.

The desire for such an act was there, always persistent, but out of respect for Feyre he would never intrude so much into her relationship.

At the sixth red light that he found he swore out loud, cursing himself for not taking the freeway. He had stayed in school until dark, hoping to focus more on work and not on the fact that the girl he loved had told him that there was not even a friendship between them.

Rhysand knew she had been wrong. She knew that when things got really bad, she could always go to him and he would welcome her with open arms. Not because he could take advantage of the opportunity, but because that's what friends did. And he himself had turned to her when his father died and he didn't know how to feel.

She had helped him so much.

Seeing another traffic light that was about to go red, he turned left, deciding to take another road. He was just a short distance from his home when he got stuck in traffic again.

"I can't believe it," he murmured, resting his forehead on the steering wheel.

The cars in front of him all started honking and it wasn't long before the one behind him joined in the mess. Someone must have had an accident further down the road because it was unlikely that there was a traffic jam at this point in the city.

He turned on the radio in an attempt to distract himself from the image of Tamlin screaming in Feyre's face.

This proved rather pointless when a flicker of blond hair caught his attention.

The couple was walking hand in hand on the sidewalk, both smiling as if they had just discovered the solution to world peace. She leaned completely on him, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

He bent down and whispered something to her ear and Rhysand felt the world collapse beneath his feet.

That was not normal.

Rhysand frowned, puffing irritated before he opened his eyes wide to the blinding beauty of Feyre. He blinked a couple of times, not believing what he was seeing.

She was wearing a long, elegant, dark-colored dress with glitter and sparkling diamonds that shone every time they passed under a streetlight. He didn't know how she could stay with her upper half so exposed, considering the low temperature and the frost that entered your veins, but he assumed that after a fight like theirs, the cold was the least of her thoughts. The loose hair on her shoulders had to provide at least a little warmth.

Her corset was completely wrapped, leaving little to the imagination, and the long sleeves embraced her arms perfectly. She was perfect.

Perfect, and yet...

She looked so thin next to Tamlin's massive figure.

They had stopped in front of a fancy restaurant and now he was holding her by the waist, squeezing her against him. Feyre smiled at him and Rhysand could hear the sound of his heart ripping a little more.

He saw him mouth "I love you" and then they kissed.

Rhysand had to look away.

When the line of cars started to flow forward, he didn't know if it relieved him or angered him even more. He wanted to admire Feyre for a few more minutes, but he couldn't stand the sight of Tamlin hugging and kissing her when he wasn't even supposed to be by her side.

He got to his house in a few minutes and never thought he would find Nesta standing in their kitchen. He had tried to tell them that he could go out again and find something else to do, but the girl had been more than clear that she no longer wanted to be in the same room with Cassian.

He had looked at his brother, wondering how he could live with himself.

How could he be so blind that he didn't realize that already having the woman of your dreams being yours, in every possible way, was the most precious thing a man could ask for?

Nesta, despite their rocky relationship, didn't deserve this situation.

***

When he woke up that morning to go for a run, he didn't think he'd meet anyone. Being a Sunday morning, all his friends and colleagues were certainly enjoying the day off to rest and his brothers were still sleeping when he had left.

He wouldn't risk bumping into any of his students' parents because he knew perfectly well that they didn't live in that neighborhood and had decided to go out without his "antisocial-headphones". He only ran with music when he was terrified of running into someone and that he would be forced to engage in a conversation.

And maybe today it wouldn't have been a bad idea because Feyre was standing in front of a store window with such a concentrated gaze that if he hadn't known her, he would have thought she was one of those fools in town.

The other issue, the bigger one, was that Rhysand knew exactly what store that was. He would pass by it every day on his way to work. Every step that brought him closer to her felt more challenging than the previous one and he noticed with no small disappointment that she was not looking at the bridesmaid's dresses.

The bridal gowns shone in the sunlight of Velaris.

Closing his eyes and hoping that she wouldn't notice him, Rhysand passed behind her slowing down a bit, trying not to swat her.

He was about to thank whoever was watching over him when he heard her voice calling out to him.

He stopped abruptly, cursing under his voice and turning slowly.

She was smiling at him as she had smiled at Tamlin the night before and he gasped for breath.

He took two steps forward and then they found themselves standing next to each other, both looking at the wedding dresses displayed in the window.

"Hey." she whispered.

Rhys felt the urge to laugh, "Hey."

She turned to him a little bit, "How's it going?"

"The usual, I went out for a run." he shrugged, wheezing.

Feyre nodded, looking thoughtful.

He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to ask her why the hell she was looking at stupid gowns, because his question would be just as stupid and he was terrified to look down at her left hand and see a shiny ring with a diamond.

He wanted her to tell him that she was just checking them for a friend, that Alis or Ressina had been proposed by their respective guys and that she was waiting for them.

He wanted her to tell him anything except that Tamlin had asked her to marry him.

"I have to apologize for the other night," she suddenly said.

He took one hand forward, stepping back, "No, you don't," he replied, "I should have minded my own business and left you alone when you said you wanted to be alone. I'm sorry for invading your privacy."

Feyre looked at him, blinking a couple of times, looking like she couldn't grab his words. She opened her mouth to talk, but no sound came out.

Rhysand scratched the back of his head and smiled, noticing only at that moment the gray overalls, stained with paint and the oversized jacket. She was impeccable even after a night out, dressed so casually. Thinking about the night before and how stunning she had looked, he decided to tempt fate and say, "I saw you last night, in the car."

She stiffened and her eyes snapped to him. He saw the panic imprinted in her features and immediately understood what she was thinking. The one time she had openly told him about her relationship, in a drunken haze, she confessed to him that she hated it when others saw them arguing.

"I mean, I was in the car, you were on the sidewalk with Tamlin." he hurried to clarify.

He saw her visibly relax and release a trembling breath.

She nodded, smiling shyly, still shaken at the idea that he had seen them fight, "Yes, Tam decided to celebrate his birthday a few days earlier and last night we went out with friends." she explained, looking back at the white dresses.

He didn't know what he was doing when, glancing at her face, he murmured, "You looked beautiful."

She blushed, bowing her head a little, "Thank you," she hesitantly said.

She didn't look him in the eye and Rhysand just wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her until she realized she deserved better.

He looked at his watch on his wrist and shook his head. He had to go home and print things for his children. He didn't want to leave her there, though.

Feyre interrupted his thoughts, turning to him and taking a few steps back, "I really have to go," she said, grimacing, "see you tonight at Mor." she quipped.

Rhys nodded, throwing a smile at her.

He had just taken a step in the opposite direction when he heard her call again.

Feyre was staring at him agitated, "I am sorry. I didn't mean any of the things I said to you the other night."

He was shocked.

"You-" she seemed to choke on her words, "You and I are friends. I hope you know that."

He knew it.

She didn't give him the time to reply that she had already crossed the street.

***

Feyre bit her lip swearing at herself.

"You look hot as fuck." Tamlin had told her as soon as he saw her, "Seriously, sexiest thing you've ever worn, baby girl."

She had thanked him, sincerely happy to hear a compliment instead of the usual passive aggressive comments he always made about her loose, sporty clothes. The ones she normally used when she was painting or studying.

Rhysand had called her beautiful instead.

Beautiful.

She repeated the word out loud as she ran her eyes over the various shades of purple on the shelf, rolling her tongue around each letter.

Tamlin hadn't called her beautiful for years now.

She smiled when she found the perfect shade in the dark blues to paint the sky of a starry night in one of her paintings, and as she paid, it was almost as if she hadn't noticed that that color was the exact twin of the eyes of the man she had just left on the sidewalk.

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#pinky promise drabble #feysand #pinky promise #feyre archeron #tamlin #rhysand #feyre x rhysand #rhysand x feyre #nessian fic

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theladyofdeath · 4 years

Text

Rags & Riches {7}

Summary: An A Court of Thorns and Roses Fanfiction. 19th century AU. Based on the prompt sent in by @cat5313 All characters belong to SJM, I am just a fan with a plot.

Warning: Mature content strung throughout.

A/N: And so it begins.

Leave a comment to be tagged & tell me what you think! :)

The last thing Feyre wanted to do was sit through supper with her sisters, Elain’s future fiance, and the pain in the ass that was Lord Rhysand of Velaris.

It was just past six-thirty and their guests were soon to arrive. Nesta had received return letters from both of the gentlemen as the afternoon went on, accepting her invitation.

Suddenly, Feyre wished that her father hadn’t had to leave town. When he did, Nesta always assumed she was to replace the role of head of the family, because she was the eldest.

Which was shit, because she was the only one among the three that was yet to have a suitor. There was a time when Feyre believed Tomas Mandray had taken an interest in Nesta. They all believed he would one day propose marriage...until he showed up with his betrothed to their last ball.

Perhaps that is why Nesta had arranged the supper, Feyre thought. To distract her from her own boring loneliness.

With one last look in the mirror, Feyre jumped off her vanity stool and exited her bedroom. She wore a floor length, dusty blue evening gown and new, polished boots. Her hair was down in long curls, one side pinned back. She told Alis she would have no makeup, for she preferred her natural appearance.

Besides, she surely wasn’t trying to impress anybody.

Especially not Rhysand, even if the memories of the night before had her heart lightning at the thought of him.

“Well, don’t you look lovely.”

The moment Feyre shut her door behind her, she was joined by her sister, looking beautiful, but terrified.

Feyre instantly softened at the sight of Elain becoming uneasy. “What is it?”

“What?” Elain asked, caught off guard by the question.

“You look as if you may faint,” Feyre began, cautiously. “Or vomit.”

Elain chuckled, hesitantly. “I’m quite alright. And you? Excited to see Lord Rhysand?”

“I’d much rather pluck my eyes out,” Feyre mumbled.

She looped her arm through her sister’s as they walked the halls, then down the main staircase, where Nesta was waiting at the bottom.

Her navy blue gown hugged her hips tightly. Her hair was braided into a crown, and her hands were on her hips as she ordered the servants around.

“Is this truly such a big occasion?” Feyre asked, brows raised. “Seems to me like you’re overdoing it a bit.”

Indeed, Nesta had gone a bit overboard. Flowers were everywhere, a string quartet was playing softly in the corner. Feyre couldn’t even imagine how the dining room looked.

“Truly, Nesta,” Elain began, looking around, “it’s lovely, but is it necessary?”

Nesta turned to face her sisters. “Of course, it is. I am trying to find my sisters eligible suitors.”

Feyre groaned as Elain cleared her throat.

“Oh, stop looking so nervous,” Nesta said. “They’ll be here at any moment. Chins up, shoulders back.”

Feyre and Elain shared a look, and she instantly knew what her sister was thinking. Nesta was sounding just like their mother.

“May as well do what we’re told or all hell will break loose,” Feyre muttered.

Still arm in arm, Feyre and Elain made their way into the grand entrance to await the fate of their evening.

Feyre couldn’t help but notice the hesitant steps Elain was taking. It was almost as if Feyre was the one dragging her along.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Feyre whispered.

Elain nodded, quickly, but her hands were shaking as they took their place in front of Nesta’s carefully placed bouquets.

~~~~~

Nesta hurried into the dining room to make sure the table was set like she had asked.

To her surprise, it was, down to the very last detail. The blush lace runner was placed over the ivory tablecloth, and the centerpiece of tulips and baby’s breath fit perfectly. Their finest china was placed about, their finest silverware laid beside it. Floral wine glasses were set by each place, shining brightly as if they were scrubbed more than once.

Nesta was satisfied.

Sweeping through the threshold of the dining room was Cassian, although Nesta had to glance at him twice to realize it.

His typical stableboy wear was replaced with a fine, tailored suit and white gloves. His shoulder-length hair was brushed neatly and tied back at the nape of his neck.

The moment he saw Nesta, he froze.

As did she.

“Stableboy,” she greeted him.

Cassian bowed his head. “Lady Nesta.”

“I didn’t realize you were still needed to fill Oliver’s position. Is he still unwell?”

They stood on opposite ends of the room, but Nesta felt as if she were standing much closer to him. Details of their night together at the tavern were still blurry, but as the days went by, the more she remembered.

“He’s feeling better, but still has a bit of a cough and such,” Cassian confirmed. “He should be back soon. Until then, here I am.”

“Are you filling both positions?” Nesta asked. “Edward went with my father, did he not?”

“Yes,” Cassian said, quietly. “He did. I tend to the stables, as I usually do, until they tell me that they need me in here. I am grateful to fill both positions.”

Nesta’s eyes narrowed, unsure if he was telling the truth or not. Yet, he seemed genuine. “Very well. Did they train you properly?”

Cassian blinked. “I...believe so?”

“Hmmm.” Nesta eyed him suspiciously. “Very well.” She looked behind him, through the doorway, and when she saw no one was coming, she asked, “Do you recall me wearing a silver bracelet the other night? When we...when I...was...out? If not, it’s quite alright. I just thought I had it on but it was gone when I awoke the next morning. My mother gifted it to me.”

Cassian cleared his throat. “Oh, I...I’m not sure, Lady Nesta. I was focused more on keeping you upright than your apparel.”

Nesta’s scowl deepened. “Very well. If you find it anywhere, please let me know.”

There was no use, though. Nesta knew she wasn’t the classiest of drunks. It had most likely fallen off at some point, between here and there.

Cassian bowed his head once more before leaving the room. Nesta watched him leave, surprised at how well he looked when he wasn’t dressed in dirty trousers.

She looked around to admire the work, once more, before returning to her sisters.

~~~~~

Elain felt uneasy. With every second that passed, her heart beat faster.

With every second that passed, she longed to take Azriel’s hand and run into the woods, damning the consequences.

But she knew that was nothing more than a dream.

Elain felt like an eternity had passed before the front doors opened and their footman had announced that Lord Rhysand had arrived. Letting out a breath, Elain felt a burden lifted off her as Lucien was not the first to arrive.

Lord Rhysand entered and politely greeted Nesta and Elain before pausing before Feyre and taking her hand, kissing the backside of her palm softly.

Feyre said nothing. She simply snatched her hand away and put it back at her side.

If Lord Rhysand was surprised by this, he surely didn’t show it. His smile widened as Feyre resisted, and he did not push himself any further. Instead, he began to look around the foyer, at the art and the flowers and the quartet in the corner.

Meanwhile, Feyre’s lips were tight in a straight line as she resisted the urge to follow Lord Rhysand with her curious gaze.

Elain knew she wanted to.

She could tell by her mannerisms.

She could tell by the way her fingers were curled into fists at her aides, by the way her eyes darted across the room every other second.

But Elain did not dwell much on Feyre, because as the clock continued ticking, her time ran out.

Lucien would be arriving soon.

“At least look as if you’re pleased,” Nesta mumbled.

Elain cleared her throat. She could do this. She could.

Lucien was the perfect match.

Azriel was nothing but….

No, Azriel was everything. He-

The thought was cut off short as the front doors opened and Lord Lucien stepped through. His shoulders were relaxed, his eyes bright - the complete opposite of Elain.

Nesta greeted him, then stepped aside, leave Elain in the spotlight.

“My Lord,” she said and curtsied.

“Lady Elain,” he smiled, bowing. “A pleasure to see you again so soon.”

“And you,” Elain agreed.

He was just as handsome as the last time she had seen him. His russet eyes were shining, his auburn hair tied back and neat. He wore a dark green waistcoat that suited him well.

“I am glad you were able to join us,” Elain said, hoping her voice was much more confident than she felt.

“As am I,” he smiled, then held out his hand.

Elain took it, graciously, although her fingers shook as Lucien pressed his mouth to the back of her palm, and Nesta announced, “Let us make way to the dining room.”

No one protested, although Feyre looked as if she wanted to, as Nesta led them from the foyer to the dining hall.

Although there were only five of them, the long table was set extravagantly. They each took their places, Nesta at the head, before the first course appeared.

Lucien helped Elain into her seat before sitting beside her, the pair sitting across from Lord Rhysand and Feyre - the latter looking as if she may set the whole manor on fire.

~~~~~

Rhysand handled new places and situations quite well.

Thus far, he had gathered that Nesta thought far too highly of herself. She could not have been but a year or two older than the middle sister; yet, she acted as if she was the rich, snooty aunt that expected everyone to fall at her feet and kiss her ass.

The middle sister - Elain - looked paler than Rhysand had seen her at the ball. She must have been unwell, Rhysand thought. Hopefully she was not vomit all over the grand place setting.

Her betrothed - or, soon to be betrothed, rather - did not seem to notice. He simply kept smiling her way and gifting her compliments.

Rhysand swore the butler standing closest to the table holding the water and the wine kept looking at Lord Lucien with a murderous gleam in his hazel eyes. But, then again, he was known to imagine such things.

However, he surely was not imagining the scowl that had contorted Feyre’s own face.

He had to admit. He rather liked the scowl. He knew that she wasn’t trying to be humorous, but he couldn’t help but laugh at the expression.

Even if he kept that laughter within the boundaries of his mind.

“You haven’t touched your soup,” Rhysand began, taking a bite of his own.

Feyre did not meet his gaze. “It’s hot.”

“Is not,” Rhysand murmured, before taking yet another bite.

“Truly, Feyre, do not be rude,” Nesta scorned, although she paid little attention to the bowl before her. “Lucien, how is your father?”

“He’s well.” Lucien smiled politely.

“And your brothers? All married now, I presume.”

A strangled noise left Elain’s throat.

“Yes,” Lucien confirmed, smiling at the eldest Archeron sister. “All married.”

Nesta gave him a smile that confirmed what they were all thinking, although Rhysand had to admit that he didn’t care.

All he cared about was the woman beside him, looking at her soup as if it was her greatest enemy.

“We know plenty about Lucien,” Elain began, clearing her throat, voice quiet. “He’s lived here always, and father is good friends with his.” Lucien smiled at that. “But, we do not know much about you, Lord Rhysand.”

Rhysand lifted a brow, spoon still in his hand. “Is that so? Okay. What do you wish to know?”

Elain hesitated. Apparently she hadn’t thought past her statement.

“What keeps you in town?” Nesta asked. “We are glad you are here, of course, but we all thought you had gone back to Velaris.”

Rhysand hesitated, although his sly smile gave nothing away. He could tell them the truth, of course, but that all seemed too private. He was surely into Feyre, obviously, but he did not trust Nesta whatsoever and Elain seemed concerned with her own internal matters.

“Family matters,” he said, keeping it simple. “Nothing too serious.”

“Ready to go back to Velaris?” Nesta asked.

“Hopefully,” Feyre mumbled.

“I hear it’s lovely there,” Elain said, having yet to take a bite of her soup. “We’ve never been.”

“It is,” Rhysand confirmed. “Velaris has the most beautiful of nights. The starlight is unique, unlike anywhere else.”

Elain’s gentle smile somehow made him feel homesick as he talked about his beloved Velaris.

“I hope to take Feyre there,” Rhysand began, “soon.”

“She would love that,” Nesta said, allowing the butler to remove her bowl and make way for the main course.

“She can speak for herself, thank you,” Feyre announced, for the first time in quite some time. “And no, she certainly would not love that.”

Rhysand chuckled as a broad-shouldered butler appeared beside him, hair tied back, and took his bowl.

“Pardon me, my Lord,” he said.

“No need,” Rhysand smiled. “If you need me to move, please say so.”

Before the butler could reply, Nesta rolled her eyes. “Please excuse our stableboy. He’s helping while our butler is sick.”

“I’m sorry to hear that he’s unwell,” Rhysand said, “but it’s nice to know you have such great help in the stables.”

Nesta looked annoyed at his comment, and the table fell into an uncomfortable silence.

“Well,” Lucien said, from across the table, seemingly nervous. “I am excited for this meal. It smells delicious.”

No one said a word for the remainder of the meal.

~~~~~

After supper, Elain gave Lucien a tour of the manor, both inside and out. As they walked around Elain’s garden, he found himself smiling.

Elain had been attempting to avoid eye contact at all times. During supper, Azriel had not even looked at her, not once. It was all she could think about.

“You have a lovely garden,” Lucien said, breaking her out of her thoughts. “You’ve done this all on your own?”

“I have,” she said, gently. “It’s one of my greatest passions. I love watching beauty appear from nowhere.”

His smile widened. “That’s beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she said, fully aware that he had taken a step nearer to her.

“Lady Elain-”

“Please, you may call me Elain.”

Lucien nodded. “Then you may call me Lucien.”

Elain, despite her nerves and paranoia, smiled. “Very well.”

He cleared his throat, and for the first time in a long while, Elain met his eyes. “You know that our fathers intend us to be married.”

“Yes,” Elain breathed.

“I know we do not know each other all that well, but I know you are a beautiful, respectable woman,” Lucien began. Elain thought she may faint. “I would like to ask for your hand in marriage, Elain. We can start planning and be wed within the year. And, as that time approaches, I hope to spend each day getting to know you, and proving that I will do all I can to be the greatest husband.”

Elain felt her eyes well up with tears. The man in her mind, in her heart, and the man before her were not the same man. And she hated herself for it, because the man in front of her deserved to be married to someone who adored him in every way.

“You are a good man,” Elain said, words flooding out. “I am honored that you have asked.”

Lucien’s smile widened, reaching up to brush away a tear that fell. Then, his smile wavered. The touch of his skin against hers was warm. “I surely do hope these are tears of joy...Have I done something to offend you, La- sorry. Elain.”

Elain huffed a laugh at his hesitation with her title. No, the tears were not tears of joy, but it was not because of him. He was lovely. He was a Lord. He was who she had to marry, or her father would never forgive her, would never speak to her again. She would be disowned.

“Of course,” she said, voice so quiet it could barely be heard above the pounding of her heart. “It would be an honor to be your wife.”

~~~~~

Nesta had abandoned them moments before, leaving Feyre and Rhysand to a sitting room full of uncomfortable silence.

“Is this it?” Rhysand asked.

Feyre shot him a glare from where she sat across from him. “Pardon?”

“Typically there should be some grand romantic gesture to end an evening such as this,” Rhysand said. “This is just awkward.”

“Then perhaps you should be going home,” Feyre suggested, rising to her feet. “Well, I should walk you out.”

Rhysand’s deep laugh followed her as she hurried out of the room. “Well, Feyre, darling, I had a lovely evening.”

“That makes one of us,” Feyre said.

They reached the front doors, then the front walk.

“Allow me to tell Cassian to bring your carriage around,” Feyre said.

Rhysand laughed. “I am perfectly capable of going to the stables and fetching my own horse. No carriage.”

“You rode your horse to supper?” Feyre asked, stopping in her tracks. “In your fine clothes?”

Rhysand raised a brow, meeting her gaze. “Does that surprise you?”

It did, but Feyre wasn’t sure why. “Well, then I’ll leave you be. Good night.”

She didn’t step away.

“Is that all?” Rhysand asked.

Feyre’s eyes narrowed. “Yes.”

This time, she did turn to leave, but that familiar hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her back to him. She fell close to his body, and did not dare to move.

“This is inappropriate,” Feyre whispered, although there was no hostility in it. “You are a Lord, and I am a Lady.”

“Almost as inappropriate as being alone together at an inn?” Rhysand asked. For once, he wore no stupid grin.

“Almost,” Feyre confirmed.

He was standing close enough that she could feel the warmth of his breath against her forehead, could smell the oaky scent of his cologne.

“I think I have proven that I have no ill intentions toward you,” he said, his hand brushing along her own. “Yet, all night, you seem to have wanted me gone. Do you truly hate me that much? I thought, perhaps, after the other night, I had grown on you.”

His words were light, but his stare was intent. Dangerous. His stare made Feyre’s thoughts run wild with thoughts that a Lady should not think.

“You are cocky and rude,” Feyre said, words shaking.

Rhysand bit his lip to keep from smiling. “Perhaps. But, so are you.”

Feyre thought that he may kiss her then, and she knew that she shouldn’t but she did, she wanted him so badly to close the distance between them and press his mouth against hers.

But he didn’t.

He stepped away, and bowed, before meeting her gaze, once more. “Goodnight, Feyre. Until next time.”

Feyre turned to watch him as he strode past her, down the path toward the stables. She hated him for not looking back.

~~~~~

Cassian mounted Marigold the moment Lord Rhysand walked into the stables.

Cassian opened his mouth to speak, but Rhysand just smiled. “No need to explain. I’m just here for my horse. Going out?”

Cassian cleared his throat. “Just to the tavern, my Lord.”

Hoping that barmaid is there. He hadn’t realized Nesta’s bracelet had been a gift from her mother. It was all he had thought of the entire evening.

Guilt. He was filled with guilt.

“Please, call me Rhysand,” he laughed, charmingly, taking his own mare out of her stall. “Mind if I join you?”

Cassian blinked. “You want to join me? At the tavern? You do realize I’m the help, right?”

Rhysand grinned as he pulled his horse into the open. “I do. I also realize I could go for a drink.”

He’s serious, Cassian realized, as Rhysand hopped onto his horse and looked over his shoulder at the stableboy.

“Coming, then?” Rhysand asked, digging his heels into his horse’s side.

“Apparently so,” Cassian muttered, still in disbelief as he followed the Lord of Velaris into the village.

~~~~~

@throne-of-ashes-and-beauty @mariamuses @a-happybird @amusicalbookworm @manoncrochanblackbeak @alifletcher2012 @candid-confetti @fandoms-everywhere-united @mis-lil-red @littlehoneyybee @abillionlittlepieces @impossiblescissorspeachpaper @awesomelena555 @theoverlyenthusiasticwriter @tswaney17 @jemma-nessian-and-elriel @rhysandsrightknee @gendryaforthemasses @dayanna-hatter @thebluemartini @welcometothespeaknowworldtour @julemmaes @christiashadows @sleeping-and-books @itsme-malin @agnez312 @cat5313 @amren-courtofdreams @chemica @empress-ofbloodshed @islamonna @illyrianbeauty @sleeping-and-books @queenofxhearts @sleeping-and-books @aedionashryver-wolfofthenorth @queenofillea1 @mynewdreamwasyou @levivlio @hellolenas @burritowithfeels @that-other-pineapple @girl-who-reads-the-books @raghad-50725 @musicmaam @rowaelinforeverworld @negativenesta @welcometothespeaknowworldtour @gloriouspaintercreatorbandit

#r&r #tacmc r&r #fanfic #fanfiction #sjm #feysand #feyre #rhysand #elriel #elain #azur lane #nessian #nesta #cassian #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas

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miraculous-rewrite · 3 years

Text

Miraculous Rewrite- The Christmas Special

What makes it special? Nine hours of straight work and a metric mountain of potato chips and classical music for focus

Paris is lighting up for the holidays, lights along shops and snow on the ground, the air is cold but the world is warm. Minor characters and classmates are seen getting into the spirit all over the city, It’s Marc getting roped into singing with Mylene and Ivan in a street corner choir, Mme Dubois coming home to her husband before getting warm by the fire, Just to see wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas. A cup of kindness split between Aurore and Mirielle, A reunion between friends and brothers, among Paris wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas.

Out of the classmates the first to be feathered for more than a moment is Lila, She and her mother are celebrating the Italian way, in church. Despite being just faces in the crowd the two of them look surprisingly content.

We then shift to the Raincomprix household, Sabrina and Roger together in the kitchen cooking, a feminine voice asks if they need any help, to which Sabrina cheerily responds that they’re not letting her burn the house down again, Mama!

Max has put together a Christmas upgrade for Markov, Kaalki resting on his shoulder happily, but just as he’s about to present it to his robot the doorbell rings, He seems excited, asking aloud if his mom got off work early for the holiday, but as he opens the door, Kim and Alix greet him. “Hey bud! Heard Capitalism fucked over your Christmas, so since Alix and I don’t celebrate, WE’RE HERE!”

Juleka and Anarka are stringing lights up along the houseboat’s exterior, Juleka wondering aloud if they should have trusted the kitchenette to Rose, Ankara laughs and states heartily that Rose’s controlled chaos will be a welcome addition this year! Meanwhile inside, Rose is grumbling to herself in a surprising display of un-Rose-Like behavior, flour covering most of her front, and worriedly peeking over her shoulder is Prince Ali. “Do Parisian dishes all have such high mess probability?” “No This thing is just stubborn!” She chirps and continues struggling. Watching the display is, of course, Luka, he’s strumming a (Public domain) christmas song on his guitar, Sass hiding in the space between his guitar and his stomach, the two of them make eye contact and Luka’s grip tightens, face pinched. There’s a quick flashback to Scorpion, just a shot through Luka’s POV, his hands shaking as he activates Second Chance. Rose yelps as another cloud of flour kicks up in her face and he puts the guitar down to assist.

Next comes the Bourgeois family, obviously, nobody here is a cook in any stretch of the imagination, so Andre, Chloe, and Amber are celebrating in a mostly chill way, combining the french traditions with a few of the American ones Amber grew up with. There’s a sound of thumping footsteps nearing the room the three of them are in, and Amber freezes, Chloe reaches over and takes her hand (both of them are covered in frosting from the gingerbread houses they’re making) And Andre stands, he takes a breath and Pats Amber’s head before leaving the room, you can hear Audrey’s voice shouting indistinctly.

Before we continue that trainwreck in the making we shift to Alya, chasing around Ella and Etta what else is new, The twins eagerly shouting about their proposed gifts from Santa this year. Alya is tiredTM but before she can try to catch up with the little terrors, Nino’s voice comes booming in, the two girls getting cut off by Nino and scooped up into his arms. Alya thanks him for coming over, that she knows it must be weird to be at a Christmas thing when his family doesn’t even celebrate. Nino shrugs, says that he might as well get used to it, knowing this country, besides, it’s not like they don’t do ANYTHING, they still get presents for Noel so the blabbermouth wouldn’t ruin the ‘Santa’ illusion for his friends.

Marinette is working in the bakery, it’s crunch time, and people are coming in for last minute pastries and desserts. She’s on the register, her parents in the kitchen. A lot of adult cameos come through here, Nadja picking up a cake, Pigeon Man getting the best oat pastries for his bird friends, etc etc, a lot of people we haven’t seen in awhile. Penny picking up an American style gingerbread for Jagged, Most of the College teachers, haven’t seen them in awhile have we? Bustier asks with genuine interest how Lycee’s been treating her, it’s pretty cute, even as she leaves after getting her moonpies. Marinette’s hand hesitates over the macaron’s she was about to pack up for M. Damocles. For a moment flashing back to Fu telling them he’d have to go back into hiding, That at this juncture it’ll be safer to keep the Miraculous’ spread out.

She remembers Marianne admitting that she still has some business in Versailles before she could move back to Paris properly, the idea of Fu going into hiding is far less ‘living with the love of his life quietly’ and more ‘a man nearly two hundred alone in the Paris winter’ Marinette’s expression tightens. And luckily the Bakery closes right then. The last person to arrive in through the business doors being, surprisingly Roland. He’s wearing an ancient looking christmas sweater, and asks if he’s the first to arrive. Sabine responds that Gina’s and Wang are already upstairs, and her parents are due to fly in at around four. Roland answers that at least the lot of them know how to celebrate proper holidays, to which Sabine and Tom exchange a look, Marinette suppresses a laugh. Sabine tells him to head on up, that her Uncle will fill him in.

“So you’re gonna let Uncle Wang tell him we don’t actually celebrate Christmas, huh?” Marinette teases, to which Sabine huffs and flips her hair.

“We split the burden where we can!” She responds. Marinette’s grin fades, and she asks, quietly, if the house would be too packed for her to invite someone else over for the holiday. He’s Adrien’s Mandarin teacher, she met him during her time interning for Gabriel Agreste, and they’d bonded since he grew up just outside of Shanghai, where Sabine grew up. He doesn’t have any family left and he’s really old so she worries about what the weather’s doing to him. Marinette keeps babbling about this before Sabine puts her hands on her shoulders. She tells her to get going, and if she has anyone else that may end up coming along (wink wink) to tell THEM that it's a potluck so they won’t run out of food; Marinette smiles and rushes upstairs to get her snow gear, just as You can hear Roland shout “What do you MEAN THIS ISN’T A CHRISTMAS GATHERING?!”

We then reach Agreste Manor, barren of decoration or company, Adrien, who's been doing his best this whole time to try and keep upbeat, is tired of this. Fidde and Plagg shoot him a look from their hiding spot in his scarf, and he knocks on his father’s door. No answer, he grumbles and pushes the door open anyway. Adrien’s aggravation fades when he sees his father, slumped over his desk, arms folded and staring into nothing, he doesn’t even seem to be aware Adrien was there for a moment. But Adrien speaks and startles him out of his trance, he quickly puts himself back together and, tersely, asks Adrien why he’s deigned to interrupt him while he’d been explicitly looking for privacy.

Adrien, fire gone, is nervous now, asking if maybe he’d like to Do something? For the holiday? They missed All Souls’ Day back at the beginning of November, and Adrien really misses spending time together. Gabriel, still looking a bit out of it, bags prominent under his eyes and hair slightly mussed, seems unable to keep his usual stony facade up, seems to seriously consider this. Trying to be encouraging, Adrien offers a hand to his father. “We can try to make dinner ourselves and nerely blow up the kitchen?” he offers.

For like a full moment it seems like this is what's about to happen, but his computer chimes with a voice that reads ‘Urgent message from: Nathalie’, Gabriel’s expression hardens over, and he tells Adrien maybe tomorrow.

Adrien’s hand drops and he looks away, brow furrowed. But he sighs and accepts, though his voice is still venomous “Okay, can I go over to Kagami’s then? Since this isn’t an important day or a holiday of any kind, I just happen to have the whole day off for no reason so why not visit my shinto girlfriend who doesn’t celebrate any western holidays?”

Gabriel’s jaw clenches but he sighs, for just a moment seeming equally distraught that this is what their families Christmases have become, before waving a hand and letting him go.

As Adrien leaves he not-so subtly undoes his scarf to let his leather choker be seen as he slips out. Fiddle and Plagg stay hidden of course, but just as a “subtle” thing. Before we cut away he places a hand to Valdamir’s chest and tells him to go home Early, he just… REALLY needs to cool off. It's Christmas, barely anybody’s out in the snow; just go home, spend some time Early with his family. Vladamir smiles and pats Adrien’s head affectionately.

Finally we cut to Fu, The massage shop long since abandoned as he only has a backpack about as big as he is tall and a suitcase, and of course, the Miracle box. He’s got a little campsite underneath a bridge, to any onlooker appearing as any Vagabond. Orikko is cuddled up to his chin and Fu remarks that it’s been too long since he did this last, a thick jacket is wrapped around his shoulders, but he still looks cold.

A shadow passes overhead, but when Fu Looks up there’s nothing. He huffs and his phone begins to ring. He smiles and when he answers the caller with ‘Darling’ we know it’s Marianne. Dire straights does not mean misery after all.

The shadow in question is, who else, but Tsering Wan, but he’s not attacking, not just yet, just keeping an eye on Fu, keeping tabs. He skitters from his hiding spot, the scorpion’s dark suit standing out against the snow, but remains unnoticed. And just as Adrien is seen Marching away from Agreste Manor, Vladimir trailing behind him before they part ways, Tsering Wan slips in.

“Anything?” Nathalie’s voice greets him.

“He hides like a coward. Under bridges, separated from the greatest powers of the box.” Tsering Wan sneers “Clever coward he is, he knew better than to keep as many Miraculous as possible where we could find him.”

“But we do know where he’s currently set up base.” Nathalie responds easily. “So we can track him from there should he decide to change locations.”

“Indeed.” Wan destransforms, and strides forward to sit across from Nathalie where she’s puzzling over the Grimoire. “Give that to me, it’s useless without guardian training.” Nathalie grumbles as the book is ripped from her, but Wan pages through the book easily.

“Knowing Fu he’s already given the heroes the Potions. Those forms with tails or wings that aid them in survival in more severe straits Though there are other uses.” he explains.

“We’ve seen a few of them, the Aqua forms and the Space forms. Are there more?”

“The Sea Potion and the Star Potion. There are five more. The Tundra Potion for Severe cold, The Flame Potion for Severe heat, The Sky potion for flight too close for the Star Potion to be useful. The Light potion for increased power output in exchange for a halved time limit, and the Dark potion for a doubled time limit in exchange for a weaker power output.”

Nathalie humms in thought. “That explains quite a lot. Do… do you think if one combined the light and dark potions something could-”

“Nothing would happen, the two balance eachother out.” Wan cuts her off. “The Seven potions are not unlike the seven Miraculous at the top of the Miracle Box you’re used to seeing. Light and Dark are Yin and Yang, always balanced, always evening eachother out, and the other five are not as strong as either of the two.”

“Do any of the potions, or perhaps a poorly assembled one, have some sort of negative affect on the Miraculous unless cured?”

“You wonder why Duusuu is slowly killing you.” Leave it to a revenge fueled old man to cut to the core. “That, I cannot tell you. The best I can surmise is that she is severely low on energy and cannot create Projections on her own. Thus she’s taking from your life force to use her magic.” He shakes his head. “Only an Order Healer would be able to help her, so you must hold on until my family reaches Paris.”

“Is that really the only way?” Gabriel of course interrupts, he still looks…. In a really bad way somehow he looks worse than when Adrien found him. “Isn’t this False Guardian Fu trained as a healer? If you know where he is, couldn’t we find him and Force him to help us?”

Wan seems barely able to restrain himself from rolling his eyes at Gabriel. “Even through force I would never allow myself to look for that traitor’s assistance, even if we were able to subdue him he’d simply refuse to partake, and Miss Nathalie would remain ill. Surely you have better sense than that, Hawkmoth?”

Nathalie suppresses a church giggle or two.

Gabriel stiffens, and snaps back that he doesn’t care about either of their stupid pride, he just doesn’t want his sister in law to DIE because they’d rather wait on a healer to travel all the way from Tibet to France than just swallow their pride for the HOUR TOPS it would take to ask someone who already lives here. A bit on the mean side, going on to Say that Emilie would be calling Nathalie a prideful idiot if she was here.

“Don’t speak for her like that!” Nathalie jumps to her feet, her point undermined by another painful throb to her head.

“Then don’t undermine what she was trying to accomplish by letting that thing KILL YOU FASTER!”

“You know what?! You ALWAYS get like this around the holidays! It’s like you just start GIVING UP once the snow starts falling! You did it last year and I had to take up the butterfly before you got your shit together and here you are now! ‘Ooohhh Emilie loves Christmas I’m so sad that she’s still in a coma’ like what do you think we’re DOING here?!”

“Honestly at this point I don’t know! This was supposed to be about our family, About bringing Emilie back and letting our world be whole again, but that’s not what THIS is! This is revenge and warring factions and You JOINED this whole thing because it was for Adrien, but have you even spoken to him at all today?”

“He has my gift! It’ll come out when he needs it! More than you’ve done for him this year!”

Gabriel’s face turns scarlet, and he pivots on his heel and marches away.

We match cut to Adrien marching through the snow, eyes trained on the ground, and Plagg and Fidde hovering over him.

“Kid, Your old man’s ALWAYS been a disappointment”

“Yule is what you make of it! It’s the midpoint of the year, halfway out of the dark, we shouldn’t hold ourselves to the darkness just because it's easier.”

“Besides, like half of your friends don’t even CELEBRATE why treat it like a big deal?”

Adrien rounds the corner and is taken a bit aback, it turned out his feet had taken him to the Dupain-Cheng Patisserie, not Kagami’s house. He looks at Plagg who shrugs.

“Miss Marinette doesn’t Celebrate Yule, does she?” Fidde pipes up “Mayhaps we should drop in and say hello!”

Adrien sighs and smiles slightly at the building. “Sure, might be better than going to Kagami's all pissed off and snappy.”

But just as he’s approaching, the door opens up in front of him, marinette all ready in winter gear and with a small duffel bag packed full of warm things. They both yelp as they merely collide with one another.

“Adrien! What are you doing around here?”

Adrien, taken aback for just a moment longer than her, blinks and just directly says “I couldn’t stay in that house with things like that, needed to see a friendly face.”

Marinette smiles, half sympathetic, but honestly happy.

“Well I literally just turned into a woman on a mission, I convinced Maman to let Fu join us for the family reunion… potluck. He shouldn’t have to be alone in winter like this. Not with Marianne all the way in Versailles.”

Adrien, seemingly on instinct, offers to help her look for him. That it’d be easier with more than one of them about. Marinette agrees, and pauses for a second before handing him the duffel bag. With a ‘Wait right here!’ she darts back inside and comes back out with a black and green wrapped gift.

“I was gonna save this for patrols, but you know, just ‘cuz I don’t celebrate doesn’t mean you don’t. Merry Christmas Adrien.” She offers him the gift, her cheeks lightly flushed from her dash to get the gift, her eyes seemingly sparkling against the snow.

Adrien’s breath catches when he accepts the gift and puts it in his bag beside Plagg and Fidde.

Marinette takes the Duffel Bag back and walks past him saying out loud that they might have a better chance in the sky than on the ground, but since he’s the one having a rough night it’s his call.

She looks back at Adrien to get his opinion, but he’s unfocused, Adrien.exe has stopped responding.

“Really has been that rough of a day, huh?” She gently shakes his shoulder to snap him out of it and repeats herself. Adrien’s face is beet red when he says he’ll just transform and take the south side.

They both transform when convenient and part ways.

Fiddle is still out when Chat races across the skyline. He wonders aloud what’s got Adrien so spooked, Miss Marinette was just being her lovely charming self!

To which Chat, the slightest bit hysterically, says that that’s the problem! He thought back when he was Aspik that’s all that he’d needed to do, to just admit to himself that he hadn’t been able to shut down his stupid feelings and properly internalize he didn’t have a chance. Marinette has a boyfriend, Maybe he’d had a chance long ago, maybe if he’d known she was Ladybug before, or, or just had been less of a punk obsessed with ‘true love’ and gone for her as Marinette, maybe, but he’d missed the boat and He DOES like Kagami.

He stops in the middle of a rooftop. Re asserts that he does like Kagami. He does get all the telltale signs of liking someone. When she smirks at him over their fencing foils, or when she’d actually let herself laugh around him, or that time he had tea with her brother and she was so embarrassed her whole face turned red! He got the butterflies, and the feeling of his whole brain turning into goo, and everything that would indicate that he’s not faking it for her!

So why can’t it go away when it comes to Marinette?! Why can’t he just focus on Kagami and let it be, does that mean he really IS leading her on? Has he been toying with her this whole time? Ohhhh fuck. He turns heel and books it over to the Tsurugi household.

Answering the door is, of course, Kenji. He smiles with a face full of mischief and asks Adrien what dastardly holiday indoctrination plans he has for his sister, but after a beat Realizes that Adrien is… not okay. So instead of insisting on playing around more, Kenji just kinda hums a quick ‘oh it's been THAT bad huh?’ and leads him inside, shouting in Japanese something to Kagami, which is quickly shouted in response.

Quickly Kagami darts into the hall the boys were in, her normal everyday outfit on, and her expression tightens before she grabs Adrien and leads him to her bedroom.

“Alright, what happened?” Kagami is no nonsense as usual, but she puts her hand on Adrien’s shoulder and seems legit tender.

Adrien looks even worse at that, eyes filling with tears for a moment before he looks down, eyes squeezed shut. “I’m a terrible boyfriend and you should break up with me.”

Kagami blinks. “What?”

“Actually no- you know, that’s cruel to put that on you- I shouldn’t be- I’m the one who’s the problem so I… I’ll just leave. I can’t treat you like you deserve to be treated and you should have someone way less gross than-”

Kagami’s grip on his shoulder tightens, her expression severe. “You’re not making any sense. Why are you being so disparaging? Who told you these things?”

“Nobody told me, they didn’t have to! You deserve way better than me and I can’t treat you-”

“Adrien i’m not breaking up with you on your word alone-”

“I have feelings for someone else! I don’t want to, but they’re not stopping and I don’t want to lead you on or leave you out to dry!”

A pause, Kagami actually seems shocked for a moment.

“You stupid boy-”

“IKNOWIMSTUPIDIMSORRYILLLEAVEYOUALONEFOREVERNOWBYE” Adrien cuts her off and darts out of her room. Leaving Kagami alone.

Well… not alone.

“Well that was certainly something.” Longg hums “Viperion and Ladybug seemed sure that things were going to get more dangerous from here on, perhaps it's a good thing that he gave you a path out.”

Kagami’s silent as she pulls out her phone. “I’ll just bring up Adrien’s name when we’re considering whom the rabbit should go to.”

“He has feelings for another.” Longg restates.

“...I already knew that. He never really got over whomever he was chasing before.” She smiles ruefully “If anything this is my own fault for going against my standards in not allowing myself to be an ‘Option’ But it seems I’m not ready to let him go just yet.”

She dials the phone and holds it up to her ear ‘Hi! This is Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Please leave a message!’

Damn.

Speaking of Marinette though, we’re back with her. Picking up where Adrien last saw her, she first starts at the Massage parlor, empty, figures. She huffs and for a moment the first real meeting the two of them had played back. The Grimoire heavy in her hands and Tikki’s encouraging voice in her ear, the massage parlor is of course empty, but it’s sad to see it so barren. The architecture emulating a chinese home but with nothing homey inside. She huffs.

“Obviously he’s not here. Stupid…”

Callid peeks their head out of Marinette’s pigtail, chirping that it was still worth it to check, he may have left a clue. No dice, but that doesn’t mean it was a bad idea.

So Ladybug keeps looking, paging through parks and alleyways, benches outside of zoos and aquariums, and even at the assisted living home. Nothing.

Until, eventually, she ducks underneath a certain bridge to gather her thoughts. And lo and behold, on a complete accident- “Master!” He looks different than he used to when presenting in front of her. Back bent not in age but weariness. The thin trail of smoke from a pipe curling around him. The Miracle box rested against his hip, but she realizes with a shock that he didn’t even bring the gramophone he would hide the box in.

“Ladybug, how kind to visit even the loneliest of Paris at a time like this.”

He’s acting like he doesn’t know her, but Ladybug sits down beside him anyway and makes her offer.

“Thank you for your hospitality Marinette, but I don’t celebrate Christmas.”

“Neither do we.” Fu Pauses, and Marinette continues. “Ba wasn’t interested in celebrating after he and Grandpa had their falling out, so we just used the day as an excuse to shut down the bakery for a few days and have a family reunion with my mom’s side. Grandma shows up every so often for a Christmas thing or two, and this the first year that Grandpa is going to be here. It’s still not a Christmas thing though. My maternal grandparents and my great Uncle will be there too.”

“Marinette, I would hate to intrude on your family’s reunion simply because I must go into hiding.”

“I already asked Maman and she said it was alright!”

“Your mother is very generous, but I cannot accept such kindness when I should be keeping anyone from harm should Tsering Wan-”

“Master I understand! You’re afraid of Tsering Wan hurting somebody, but I’m afraid of him finding you alone and hurting YOU! You can’t tell me that you’ll be okay with so little to your name! You can barely hold a transformation anymore, let alone handle homelessness. Let us at least get you some better supplies.”

Fu sighs, and finally relents.

Marinette takes a second to open her Yoyo into the phone feature, saying aloud that she’s just gonna need a sec to sync up with her civilian phone. One secooonnnddddd ah! There it is!

She realizes then that she’s got two voicemails waiting. From Kagami?

“Hello Marinette, it’s Kagami. I’m not entirely sure why, but there’s something the matter with Adrien, he’s being very erratic and attempted to convince me to break up with him, insisting he was somehow being a ‘bad boyfriend’ and running away. I fear if I attempt to pursue him that stubborn streak of his will act up and he’ll try to run from me again. I hate to ask this of you, but your family doesn’t celebrate Christmas either so i don’t feel too bad. Do you think you could see what-BEEP”

“What’s Wrong with him. Apologies, your voicemail cut me off. Please keep me updated if you do so, but it’s alright if you chose not to. Call me back when you receive this. Goodbye”

There’s a small silence between Marinette and Fu as the voicemails end. “Well, that’s timing. Would you like to come with and help out our poor tormented cat or Should i escort you to my house first?”

“I’d hate to impose on your family without your presence, perhaps I'll wait here and you may come retrieve me afterward?”

“You won’t run off while I’m gone and make me track you down all over again will you?”

“I’m old Ladybug, not senile.”

Adrien is of course, on the Eiffel tower, where else would he be? He’s transformed, jittery. “Come on… Calm in the storm… silence in the mayhem or whatever….” He grumbles eyes squeezed shut. “Just tune it all out. Nothing past this exterior….” He growls, before flopping backward. “Man Screw meditating.”

His staff beeps. He’s got a call from Ladybug. Ignored. “Sorry Mari, don’t take it personally.”

There’s a pause, he gets another call from Ladybug. Ignored. “Look, I just can’t be around you right now! I should be far away from this.” He looks away, eyes downcast “Stupid terrible boyfriend that can’t even get his head on straight on what girl he wants.”

He gets a call from Carapace, which he answers. “What’s up bro? Thought you were with Rena.”

“Chat Noir you better have a GOOD explanation for ignoring me like that!”

“You got Carapace to call me for you?”

“Why are you ignoring my calls? We were looking for the guardian together, what if something happened to him? Or there was an Akuma? Chat I know you’re going through stuff right now but you have-BEEP-”

We cut back to Ladybug as Chat hangs up. “DAMMIT. Why is he always Like This? Just once, just ONCE can he talk about his problems like a big boy?!”

We zoom out to see Ladybug Carapace and Rena atop of Alya’s house.

Rena: “So we’re going to get him?”

Ladybug: “Oh obviously, He’s at the Eiffel Tower, I could tell from the wind.”

Before she could hop off though, Ladybug gets another call waiting, this time with a little cartoon tiger claw on it.

“Jungle Queen?”

“....okay first off, I picked a real name, it’s Cheshire, can we stop with the Jungle Queen? It sounds SO much lamer than Queen Bee.”

“Okay….?”

“And Second, Please tell me there’s an akuma about. PLEASE.”

“....Chloe are you okay?”

“No, Mom strong armed her way past the guard Father had at our suite and Amber had to lock herself in the bathroom to hide from her.”

“Oh!... well uh… Adrien’s having some Issues at the Eiffel Tower, if you guys would like to come help a friend?”

“Perfect!”

Adrien has detransformed now, sitting with his legs dangling over the side of the tower, he’s scrolling through his phone, photos one after another illuminating his screen. We see some candids of Team Miraculous, a selfie here or there with himself and Nino, a small barrage of selfies of him and Kagami on the few dates they’d been able to actually have, his expression tightens.

He reaches a picture of Ladybug, one of the old ones in her old suit. Then is a candid of Marinette, getting ready for that fake date with Evillistrator all that time ago, Chloe had just finished putting up her hair and She was nervously double checking that her dress was in order.

His finger hovers over the ‘delete’ button for a moment, his expression hard, before he huffs and swipes away to rest on a photo of his mother. “You’re such a coward, Agreste…”

“CACOPHONY! CHAT NOIR YOU LITTLE PUNK YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN GHOST US LIKE THAT?!” Chloe’s voice shakes the air around him and he transforms more out of reflex than anything else.

A glowing swarm of bees starts zipping through the air and Chat turns, about to Haul ass out of there, but right behind him is, of course Rena. Looking not impressed.

“Going off to Angst as Chat is one thing, but stop being a little punk for like three seconds Adrien, jeez…”

There’s a playful scuffle, Chat still trying to avoid anyone and everyone, but eventually he’s pinned between Cheshire and Carapace. “Promise you won’t run.”

Adrien sighs and relents. He’s released of course, but seems about to go back on his own promise when Ladybug crouches in front of him and asks him to explain.

But he does.

Not everything. But he explains the beginning of it all. Two years since Mom died and they’re still not celebrating anything, Dad’s getting worse, and he keeps SAYING things about how he wants to get better and wants to repair things with him but he keeps pulling away. Nathalie used to be on his side but she’s been pulling away too, and it feels like he’s fighting a losing battle. It’s like Vlad is the only one who’s still in his corner but he can only do so much. No one in the house other than him seems to even be willing to ACKNOWLEDGE Mom’s death, so he can’t even be allowed to move on without two of the three other people in the house not-so-subtly implying that it’s a betrayal to Mom to do so.

Sure Dad’s DOING more, he’s getting out of the house, but he still won’t even say that she’s dead, he keeps saying ‘gone’ like she’ll walk through the damn door any minute, and he’s starting to get really tired of it. And also, he’s a terrible boyfriend and Kagami deserves way better than him. (the last part sounding tacked on and rushed, like he REALLY doesn’t want to get into it)

There’s a pause, Chloe and Amber’s transformations fade, timers running out. Marinette turns back as well, this time on purpose and pulls out her phone. “Hey Kagami, it’s Marinette, yeah we found Adrien-....oh Me, Nino, Alya, Chloe, and Amber. Yeah it goes a little deeper than whatever he told you. Really? Thank you! We’ll be there shortly.”

When she turns back to Adrien he avoids her eye. Her lips pinch in frustration. “Kagami says we should all head over to her place. She’ll have some tea ready for everybody.”

We cut quickly to the Tsurugi house, Kagami, Marinette, Alya and Amber in a pain sitting room, the four of them with cups of tea (though Marinette’s is untouched) and Chloe, Nino, and Adrien are in an adjoining room, able to hear, but whenever either glances at Adrien he curls tighter in on himself.

Kagami tells her part of what happened, what Adrien had told her before running off. Her expression is unreadable, but her gaze is fixated on her cup and away from anyone else.

Marinette doesn’t hesitate though and takes her into her arms, holding her tight.

“I’ll be fine Marinette.”

“Shush. Just hug.” Kagami hesitates, but eventually leans into it.

After that, it seems as though a lightbulb strikes Alya. “Ohhhhh…. Hey Marinette, remember valentines day back in College?”

“Huh? Uhhhh kinda? Kim turned into an Akuma? Chat Noir got hit with one of his arrows and was all grouchy and uncooperative…. So I saw on the Ladyblog at least! Hahah I wasn’t there!” Nervous laughter. “And-oh….” Realization passes over Marinette’s face. “The Valentine.”

“The Valentine.” Alya nods. “And he did always seem… hung up over it afterward too. Remember Glaciator?”

“Crap.”

“Wait-” Amber Chimes in. “What’s going on?”

“It’s Marinette.” Alya answers, uneasily. “Adrien’s still into Marinette.”

Kagami stiffens, Marinette pales, then flusters. Adrien Eavesdrops.

We cut then back to Agreste Manor. Nathalie and Wan are still talking, the sun has nearly set by now.

“Perhaps you should check in on your brother.” Wan offers. Nathalie shakes her head, expression still bitter.

“He’s not a baby. He doesn’t need me everywhere to make sure he doesn’t do something stupid.”

“However, it is a holiday, and perhaps he does need his sister in the absence of his wife.”

“She was my sister before she was his wife.”

“Even so.”

Nathalie huffs “Fine. I’ll go check on him.”

She stands and makes her way toward Gabriel’s office.

Gabriel is… not okay. His Miraculous is flashing, implying strong emotions that could become an akuma, he doesn’t seem interested at first, chatting idly with Nooroo about Adrien.

That he’s hiding something… That dog wielder they’d fought on occasion… do you think…? No. That would be ridiculous. That his Son had had a Miraculous under his roof and Gabriel had not immediately known. How ridiculous.

Nooroo is normally sassy or quietly sad, but right now he’s on edge, and it’s clear why; Gabriel Agreste is starting to spiral, and that could lead to something very bad.

Nathalie enters right then, at first asking if he’s alright, but at his sudden silence makes a jab at his inability to communicate.

“Well if you would like to see what has me so stressed maybe you should take Nooroo and see for yourself!” he snaps. “There’s a possible Akuma about.” he finally settles on.

“And?”

“It’s… It’s Adrien.”

It’s not really a debate, it’s not even a conversation, as Nathalie simply stands there, half in shock, as Gabriel begins to pace.

We begin to clip back and forth now, from Agreste Manor to the Tsurugi Estate.

Nino asks Adrien if it's true, if he’s kept that kinda thing from everyone-from Kagami; Nathalie asks Gabriel if he’s really considering this

Adrien says it's not like that; Gabriel insists he’d never do so.

Plagg and Fidde chime in, saying that he really has been trying, he just sucks at it; Nooroo insisting that Gabriel isn’t Past the point of no return yet, that there’s always a chance to do better.

“Can you guys leave me alone please?”; “Leave me be.”

“Just because I can’t stop liking someone it doesn’t mean I’m FAKING liking someone else! You can like more than one person at a time!”; “We are a family first and foremost!”

Marinette peeks in, Kagami behind her “Adrien…?”; Wan approaches behind Nathalie and idly remarks “You were right he DOES lack conviction.”

Adrien reaches into his bag and pulls out a red and white box, throwing it to the ground in an attempt to make a loud noise “I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE”; “I SAID LEAVE ME BE!”

The box barely makes more than a ‘thump’ as it hits the ground, something makes a rattling noise.

“What IS that?” Nino asks, the tension thankfully broken. “Dude did you just throw someone’s christmas present to the ground to make us leave?”

Chloe laughs “Hope it wasn’t mine.”

“Huh…? I thought it was the one Marinette made for me-”

“Rude.” Marinette answers “But incorrect, your gift from me was black and green.”

“Well now I just feel gross…” Adrien chuckles wryly “I mean I already did but..”

“Who is it from?” Alya asks after a beat, but before Adrien can answer she crouches down and picks it up herself “Your dad’s assistant?”

We cut back to Gabriel, he’s mumbling to himself, in the elevator to the Lair. his voice is indistinct, but you can hear ‘family’ being stated every so often if you listen closely, his eyes are distant, foggy, and the broach is clutched tightly in his fist, the purple flash of light barely visible. But once he reaches the lair, gazes upon Amilie’s pod, he states, steadily, that Family supports each other when they’re struggling.

Nathalie is quick behind him, but she gets there only after he’s transformed, but the purple suit and silver cowl are not what greets her. No, the internal barrier has been broken, the threshold has been passed. Hawkmoth gets an outfit upgrade.

“We started this as a family, and that’s how we’ll end it.”

He’s done it, finally hit rock bottom.

The VHS gets put into an old dusty player in some unknown room in the Tsurugi estate, granny and staticky, the feed crackles to life.

There’s at first an empty living room, transposed with a ‘this was made in the 1980’s type quality, A little cardboard sign is held over the sight in a shaky marker decrying what one is about to see is ‘The greatest movie ever!’��

A head of long blonde hair runs away from the camera and when the little girl turns Adrien splutters, pauses the video, and gets up to look in closely. She’s maybe 7 or 8, but it’s clear, obvious. It’s his mother.

The little video continues, a space opera through a child’s eyes, and She pulls out a rocketship, nestled in the cardboard is a little girl with dark hair and blue eyes.

“Nathalie! That’s your cue!”

Adrien chokes in surprise, exclaiming out loud, as Nathalie looks around confused, she’s maybe 3 or 4 in the video but says something that ‘sounds like an alien’ the video continues until Emilie knocks the camera over during her dramatic fight scene, the tennis ball covered in tissue paper she exclaims is a hand grenade bouncing off the camera and sending it crashing.

“Oh no! Is the camera-”

The film continues playing, little snapshots of childhood, Emilie and Nathalie Sancour, growing up over the years. Emilie’s first role in a school play, Nathalie’s debate when she ran for student council, the last clip is Emilie going to a dance, his maternal grandparents exclaiming at her cute dress. Nathalie remarks from above her book that this Gabriel guy seems like a total weiner. She’s SO out of his league.

The video ends.

There’s quiet for a moment. And then chaos ensues. Not from the others, the others were only a little stunned, but all eyes turned to Adrien.

He’s entirely in shock, and he starts muttering.

“Nathalie… and my mom are… sisters? They… they never told me, why didn’t they tell me? Why did they always say Nathalie was Father’s assistant? I'd never asked my own mother’s maiden name, why did I never ask that? Why was it KEPT from me?! Why was that a secret in the first place?! Who hides a family relationship like that? Like it’s some dark ugly secret but the two of them still see eachother every day?!” He stands up and begins to pace, he’s still talking though.

“And Father wouldn’t have kept that from me, I KNOW I have an Uncle that father doesn’t talk to, if it was anyone’s decision it wasn’t fathers. MY MOTHER and NATHALIE hid this from me. I thought they were on my Side and they HID this from me?! I- I can’t believe this, this is BULLSHIT i-”

His hands are shaking but he quickly removes his ring and thrusts it in Nino’s general direction.

It’s a good thing he does, because just as the ring drops into Nino’s hand Amber yelps in alarm, and sure enough a black butterfly had phased through the wall and was making a beeline for Adrien.

Adrien scurries back, more out of instinct, eyes still far away. Chloe, taking action and flashing back to Ex Friend, removes the fake bee comb from her hair and tries to intercept the Akuma herself, but it clearly does not want her. Narrowly avoiding being taken in by Chloe.

Meanwhile everyone else has quickly closed rank around Adrien. Nino shouting about how Adrien’s an awesome dude and he cannot and WILL NOT let this thing shake him. Alya insisting that he can handle anything that she believes in him and if CHLOE can fight off an Akuma he should be able to too!

Kagami is saying nothing, but she’s wrapped her arms tight around Adrien’s shoulders. Marinette says quietly that He’s one of the best friends she’s ever had, and that they’re there for him, but her eyes are focused entirely on the Akuma. Her teeth are grit, and she’s clearly trying not to panic.

The voices all blur together into one horrible din, and Adrien’s hands clamp over his ears. Muttering ‘Calm in the storm’ over and over, trying to find his center.

His eyes squeeze shut and tears begin to bud. We see in his thoughts for a moment. His father spiralling further and further, The venom in his voice whenever he says his mother isn’t dead, she’s just gone. His mother and Aunt’s home video, then Maman and Nathalie speaking like coworkers. Marinette, Kagami, Ladybug, Ryuuko, Kagami’s shy blush on their first real date, Marinette on Luka’s arm looking perfectly content. The Scorpion with his wicked looking spear, the fear on Master Fu’s face when they saw him alive, Hawkmoth and Le Paon.

The Grimoire in his father’s safe.

The Butterfly on the Gabriel Designs logo.

Adrien’s breath hitches, he starts to sob.

The Akuma is a hair’s breadth away.

“TIKKI TRANSFORM ME”

A yoyo swipes through the air and catches the Akuma a split second before it hits his scarf.

Everyone is huffing for breath and Ladybug releases the purified butterfly, muttering a quick ‘No evildoing for you today little akuma.’

Ladybug collapses to the ground in front of Adrien and detransforms, still huffing for breath.

“Marinette what the fuck.” Kagami’s voice is the first to ring in the silence.

Marinette’s eyes widen and she jumps back to her feet, her face pale as a ghost. She nervously, a bit hysterically, begins to chuckle. “Okay so uh… yeah I’m Ladybug, and I’m really sorry that ALL SIX OF YOU had to find out like this! At once right this moment with no foreknowledge about me being ladybug whatsoever”

“Not a single other person in this room is surprised but me.” Kagami cuts her off, clearly a bit overwhelmed at everything that has happened in one afternoon. “I have a headache.”

“....Welcome to the Order of Miraculous?” Nino tries

“Fu’s gonna kill us.” Alya adds in.

Hard cut to the bridge Fu had been staying under, Sure enough he was still there.

Adrien is sandwiched between Chloe and Nino again, Chloe’s showing him cat videos on her phone, Nino’s apologizing for not seeing the signs that he was still hung up on Marinette, he could have DONE something about it before it got this bad.

Fu, in specific, is sitting with Marinette, Alya, Amber and Kagami, as an explanation is given. He hums, is clearly none too pleased.

“It would have been incredibly dire circumstances if Chat Noir had been Akumatized, even if he only had the dog on hand at the time. While it was thoughtless of you Marinette, I can acknowledge that this was the lesser of two dire outcomes. Thankfully Miss Tsurugi was already trusted with the Dragon, so we do not have to worry quite as much about the reveal than if she’d been untested.” Fu pauses. “Miss Tsurugi, we have two avenues for you. While you made your decision to fight alongside your fellow wielders, that decision didn’t at the time mean all of… this. If you wish to leave, we can arrange your parting from the order, Or if you desire to stay, and continue to fight alongside us, then you must take an oath.”

“What is this Oath?”

“A powerful magic. A promise sworn on the Miracle Box in that you will do all in your power to protect the Miraculous and your teammates from those who may cause harm. If this oath were to be broken, your Kwami will then be under strict orders to return themself to the guardian at all costs.”

“I see…” She hums. “Well I have no plans in backing out at this point. It would be dishonorable to leave now simply because things are becoming… difficult. So I will take this oath.” She looks down at her hand for a moment. “Is there a ceremonial knife with which to make this blood oath or should I provide my own?”

Fu splutters and Marinette seems to choke on air.

“It- It’s not a blood pact Miss Tsurugi… Place your hand over the Miracle Box. That- that’s all.”

Kagami does so. “Kagami Tsurugi, do you swear, on your life and your immortal spirit, to protect the Miraculous you guard with all of your strength?”

“I swear it on my life, spirit, and heart. The Dragon will never be abused by the forces of darkness for all that i still have Longg’s wind in my lungs, his water in my blood, and his lightning in my heart.”

Marinette has her face in her hands, but her grin is wide and a bit wobbly. She’s so gd chuffed rn. She REALLY picked right with Kagami.

“I’m sorry Kagami.” Adrien’s voice finally chimes in, he’s pulled away from Chloe and Nino, arms folded and eyes to the ground. Her expression tightens for a moment before it settles into her natural cool look.

“I always knew, you know.” She responds. “It was clear that you still had feelings for another; For Marinette.” She ignored Marinette’s sudden shrinking into herself as she stood and approached Adrien. “I told myself that I'd never be anyone’s rebound.” Adrien flinches “And I don’t think that’s what happened. I know you weren’t lying to me, not after what’s already happened. You may have feelings for another but you also have them for me as well.”

Adrien looks up at Kagami and seems so relieved, Kagami can’t help but smile back. “However, I feel at this juncture, both with the darkening battle and new revelations, I feel as though it may be prudent if we focus more on our friendship and relationship as teammates over our relationship as a couple. If romantic entanglements are causing you this much distress, perhaps it's for the best to take a break from them entirely.”

“It will make my own and Marinette’s friendship easier as well, that our friendship may be strengthened without the pressure of being pointedly aware that my own boyfriend has romantic feelings for my friend.”

“YES THANK YOU KAGAMI WE’RE ALL AWARE OF THAT FACTOID NOW CAN WE STOP MENTIONING IT PLEASE?” Poor Marinette

“God am I glad Adrien turned me down back in college so I don’t have to deal with this bullshit.” And somehow, just like that, things are okay again.

Adrien sighs and though he looks like he’s more relieved than sad, it's probably because he’s been through the emotional wringer today.

But the day isn’t over yet.

“Master, I have some concerns.”

The lot of them are now packing up Fu’s little setup, Kagami being caught up on what they know so far by Alya, Nino and Chloe are wrestling the blankets and cloth that Fu had been using to keep out the elements into his big overstuffed backpack, Amber putting out the fire (it’s being stubborn with her) And Marinette has the Miracle Box, taking double and triple inventory.

“Yes Adrien?”

“My mother died of illness two years ago, and uh… how do I say this… Nathalie’s her sister and she started showing the same symptoms mom had at the start of it. I don’t know if its genetic or not, but she didn’t start showing symptoms until Hawkmoth had her take the peacock and had her be Mayura way back during Catalyst. Can Miraculouses… accelerate illness? Is there something wrong with the peacock? Is there any way to cure it?

“And-I… I know that’s a LOT of conjecture on my part, it’s a bunch of HUGE ‘if’s all strung together, but if Father really does have some sort of connection to Hawkmoth like we’ve all been thinking… then...any man exposed to that would be desperate enough to make a deal with someone terrible in exchange for a wish… Nathalie might be working with them too.”

Fu looks down for a moment, hand resting on his chin before nodding. “We have no way to tell for sure if Miss Sancour’s heath was in any way related to her use of the peacock while Akumatized, nor can we tell how close your father is to Hawkmoth. But with what little evidence they hold, it’s enough to get them just close enough to the truth, if we are very clever in the coming times.”

“However it works out, we’ll work it out together.” Kagami speaks up. “Hawkmoth, Le Paon, and this Scorpion fellow have no dignity to treat themselves and the world as they do. They’ll collapse in on themselves the second we put too much pressure on them.”

“And it’s not like we haven’t been through the wringer ourselves.” Marinette walks up and places a hand on Kagami’s shoulder, smiling slightly at her. Kagami, a bit hesitant, returns the grin.

One by one the others affirm their confidence in themselves and each other. And Adrien finishes it off with a small smile and a nod. “And I’ll convince Father and Nathalie to leave those three mad men to their quests. So when we confront the three of them, we’ll truly have numbers on our side.”

“So…” Nino speaks up “What do we do now? My folks think I’m spending the night with Alya.”

“I just have to get home before Curfew.” Alya adds on “I don’t think anyone even NOTICED I left.”

“Dad wants us home before it’s too late” Amber comments, to which Chloe adds on “Unlike you dweebs WE told the truth. Our friend needed us because his father was being awful about his dead mother.” Chloe’s blunt remark leaves everyone cringing a bit, but Adrien chuckles.

“You always were more pragmatic than most people expected of you Chlo.”

“WHAT’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!”

And now, and only now, we return to the Agreste mansion. More specifically to Gabriel’s office. Much like how we found him at the beginning of the special, head down on the desk, staring into nothing, but now his eyes are glassy, an empty glass that probably held an alcoholic drink at some point loosely grasped in his hand.The door opens, and in comes Adrien, followed closely by Marinette. He stands, stumbles just a moment, before approaching Adrien, apologizing profusely for what happened earlier, Adrien smiles slightly, clearly thinking it's about him brushing off his attempts to make things okay for once.

It is not, but Adrien doesn’t know that. So he simply trades a look with Marinette and carefully steps away, letting Marinette get in front of Gabriel instead. He’s confused, but doesn’t stop her as she reaches up and gently taps either of his shoulders with the side of her hand.

“Gabriel Agreste, I hereby dub you, and your kin as Honorary Dupains for the rest of the Holiday season. And as such, I hereby cordially invite you, your son, and your sister in law, to the Dupian-Cheng family reunion potluck!”

Gabriel, still confused and more than a little tipsy, just kinda lets Adrien grab his wrist and drag him into the hallway in the direction of the kitchen.

“Come on Dad, We can’t go to our first potluck and NOT bring a dish! What kinda extended family would that make us?”

Marinette of course is easily keeping pace as Adrien starts rattling off quick yet decent dishes they could probably make without burning the kitchen down.

“What on Earth is happening right now.”

Marinette chuckles. “Well, the entire Chinese half of my family doesn’t celebrate, and on my dad’s side the only living relatives we’ve got are my grandparents, so we just kinda decided to use the holiday season as an excuse to be closed and just invite everyone over to catch up. So be ready to deal with a small chinese woman in her seventies tapping your chin and telling you you’re way too skinny.” The look on Marinette’s face implies she’s been the subject of said ‘you’re too skinny’s for years now. “But anyway, a bunch of mine and Adrien’s friends don’t celebrate either, so we’re all in this together. And This year will be great because my paternal grandfather is finally starting to join in the festivities which means Nonna’s probably going to literally go insane and it’ll be HILARIOUS to watch.”

“MARINETTE WE NEED HELP IN HERE”

“....At this point I’m starting to grow afraid to ask…. But who is ‘We’?”

Cut to the two of them in the kitchen doorway, chaos surrounding.

The rest of team Miraculous are in the kitchen, the majority trying (and failing) to whip up several potluck dishes at once. Fu (“My Uncle” is Marinette’s only explanation) is sitting at the island in the middle of the room with Nathalie. Nathalie takes a long drink of some nondescript clear liquid, right before Alya shouts for everyone to shut the fuck up so she can make this goddamn food.

Gabriel blinks once, then twice, before sighing. Marinette, meanwhile, rolls up her sleeves, and as we follow her walking forward, the camera is covered by her, and then uncovered to show everyone at the Dupain-Cheng apartment. Marinette is in the kitchen proper with her paternal grandpa and maternal uncle as they all try to make food amidst yelling and shouting from all parties.

“Is that how you fold dumplings? Sloppy! How could anything be held once it hits the steamer?”

“M. Dupain, believe me, I've been doing this longer than you, You’re pressing them too tight, they’ll end up too dense packed that tightly.”

“Preposterous!”

“Grandpa, remember what we talked about?” Roland grumbles but quiets down a bit. Marinette shoots her uncle a small smile.

At the counter sits Nathalie, Sabine, and Sabine’s mother, the three chatting about nothing in particular but clearly enjoying each other’s company well enough. Mama Cheng leans forward and taps Nathalie’s chin with a thumb.

“You’re too skinny missy! What do you get paid at that fancy assistant job? Can’t be near enough if you’re this underfed!”

In the living room Nonna is entertaining the rest of Team Miraculous with some story from her time traveling abroad, everyone clearly enthralled by it.

“And then I JUMPED OFF THE MOTORCYCLE! Over the side and into the ravine below! If that water had been rushing just a breath faster I would have been a splatter on the rocks!”

And the rest of the men in the family, Tom, Marinette’s grandfather, Fu, and Gabriel are all coalesced at a fold up table in the foyer, Papa Cheng is lining up three shot glasses per man here.

“Simple rules French boys, first two to finish their drinks get in an arm wrestling match, the winner gets the first cut of the duck in the oven.”

Tom leans over to Gabriel and stage whispers “He pretends it’s this big traditional contest, but really he just likes arm wrestling and can’t think of a way to challenge someone naturally.”

“I HEARD THAT BOY”

Unsurprisingly Papa cheng is the first of the first round, Fu coming in close second. And from there the wrestling match is unseen, but you can hear a cry of defeat, so one can ASSUME the ancient guardian of the Miraculous whipped Marinette’s grandpa’s butt.

There’s laughter, some shrieks of rage courtesy of Roland, some whoops of excitement as Gina gets into a REALLY good part of a story, at one point Tom leans in to Gabriel again “You want to Arm wrestle anyway? Been awhile since you partied with the working class, hasn’t it?”

“I grew up working class, and I have an older brother, so… sure, if you’re willing to lose.”

“Oh it is ON”

We pan upward, up in Marinette’s loft, all of the Kwami present are gathered, including two that they never expected to be present.

Tears are shed as everyone hugs Nooroo and Duusu, scared to let either go, fearful that if they do the two will vanish like ghosts. Everyone is aware of what this means, but also aware that none of them can give this information because of the rules in place on Kwamis. But it is a reunion for them all, a promise that they will help them both somehow.

And at least, for the moment, they are all together again. The Seven are whole. And a few Zodiac are there to watch it unfold.

Finally, the sun has been set for hours, the dark is long fallen, the snow reflecting the lights outside, the stars bright. Gina has moved along, Roland has headed home, Chengs with hotel rooms have returned to their hotels. The group of kids are sprawled along the couch, all asleep. The only lingering adult guests are Fu, Gabriel, and Nathalie.

Fu and Sabine are speaking quietly, as he helps her clean up a bit, the two are doing dishes together. Sabine tells him that Marinette said he was Adrien’s Mandarin teacher, that the two have been bonding during Marinette’s internship. Fu confirms this, states that he’d lost his chance to have children with the woman he loved, and maybe that was why he’d bonded to Marinette, but she’s a brilliant girl and he’s glad to know she has an equally brilliant family at her back. Sabine huffs, the cheery exterior she normally has dropping.

“I’m hardly brilliant, I let my own daughter know the bare minimum of her own culture, I could have taught her more, I chose not to. I spent so long thinking to myself ‘She should be as French as possible, people will leave her alone if she’s as french as possible.’ She’s been through so much already” her eyes look far away “she has the weight of the world on her shoulders, that girl.”

“You’ve done your best with what you had.” Fu responds “You didn’t want her to suffer as you or I did upon coming here. We can’t prepare for everything, we can only do what we believe to be best.”

“I wish I could do more.”

“We all do.”

Sabine looks over at him and smiles, maybe a touch too knowingly.

But we then cut down into the bakery, dim light with only one lamp, right over the coffee pot. Tom’s pouring a pair of cups for the still exhausted Nathalie and the probably still a bit buzzed Gabriel.

“Not that I’m not always proud of my daughter trying to take care of people, but… I never really got much of an explanation as to why you guys went along with this.”

It’s a quiet moment, Nathalie looks aside, not wanting to put voice to it. So Gabriel does.

“My wife… died two years ago, and for a time it was… easier to pretend that the world stopped turning than it was to move on. We didn’t celebrate last year, but it’s… unfair to Adrien… to keep doing that to him. It was your daughter’s idea to…allow us to meet halfway.”

“She’s not dead.” Nathalie cuts in. “She’s just gone.”

Gabriel glances over at Nathalie, a frown just barely forming, but he doesn’t get a chance to speak, as Adrien meets them, wraps his arms around Nathalie, and whispers a “Thank you for your gift, Aunt Nathalie.”

The Agrestes take then to make their leave, Tom reminding them that now that they were here for Christmas eve, they were expected to show up tomorrow as well for Christmas day. Adrien happily returns that they’ll be there! Marinette gave him his gift Early but he didn’t open it yet! Nathalie’s already on her way into the snow, and for just a moment longer, Gabriel lingers in the doorway.

“Thank you for your hospitality Tom...Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas Gabriel.”

Adrien grabs his father’s arm and gently leads him into the snow.

“I think we might be okay this year.” Adrien says as they walk off. “A bit crowded at the Dupain-Cheng’s though, maybe next year we should host!”

“I’m not sure if we’ll be invited along next year Adrien.”

“Pssh! Marinette and I are gonna be friends forever, if I know her, this is a standing invitation… she’s… she’s great like that.”

There’s a short time jump, assumed to be a few days later, Marinette’s got an armful of the same duffle she brought out for Fu, but now she’s bringing the bag inside. Fu has the rest of his bags in hand and seems nervous.

“I would hate to impose upon your kindness any longer Mme Dupain-Cheng.”

“Nonsense. People like us have to stick together.” Sabine waves him off and gently takes the suitcase in his hand from him. “Don’t tell her, but I’m glad my daughter has someone looking out for her while she’s off saving Paris.”

“Welcome Home Mr. Wang.”

#Miraculous Ladybug #Miraculous Rewrite #The Christmas special rewrite #Mod vega #Mod Aimee #rewrite

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maylovexhs · 4 years

Text

everytime - LOVE ME WRONG(Chp. 38)

Author’s Note: Miss Allie X and Troye Sivan is who to thank for this chapter. They really got me in my emotions. Enjoy this chapter loves! - May

Catch up on everytime here

November 27, 2019. 1 PM.

*Y/N’S POV*

I thought about it and no, I still have decided. It’s only been a week. I couldn’t possibly decide in a week. I wanted to be with Ashton. He was much better to me than Harry has been. I’ve only been with Ashton for three months. I barely gave him a chance compared to Harry. I loved Ashton. But if I loved Ashton so much, why did a part of me wish I was with Harry instead?

“Don’t you have one of those already?” Ashton asked me.

I held the guitar in my hand as I played a few strings on it.

“No” I said. “I have a blue color of it. Not an orange”

“You’re really going to pay for something you already have?” Ashton asked me.

I shook my head, putting the guitar back.

I was Ashton’s work. I surprised him with lunch and decided to stay around for another hour at his job. I wasn’t spending Thanksgiving with him so I decided to try and spend the day before with him. Ashton actually had invited me to spend Thanksgiving with his family but I refused. Firstly, I didn’t want to rub the sight of us in Billie’s. Secondly, I didn’t want to give Ashton’s parents hope that he and I will stay together because I had no idea of who to pick still. And thirdly, I would just be thinking of Harry the whole time there.

We heard the store’s door chime as a customer came in. Ashton and I looked to each other.

“Can I meet you after work?” Ashton asked me.

I nodded.

“Yeah” I said. “Your place. What time do you get off?”

“I close at 7” Ashton said. “So, 8:30 latest?”

I reached up and kissed his cheek.

“I’ll be there” I said.

Ashton smiled at me.

“See you soon” I said to him.

I turned away from him. I started to walk away before I Ashton call me.

“Y/N” Ashton said.

I turned around to him.

“Yeah?” I asked him.

Ashton opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it.

“Ash,” I said. “What is it?”

“It’s nothing important” Ashton said. “I’ll tell you about it later”

“You’re sure?” I asked him. “I can stay another minute. I don’t have nothing to do for the rest of the day”

“Yeah, I’m sure” Ashton said. “Besides, I don’t want Ron thinking I’m not doing my job and fire me if he sees one more second of us”

I nodded at him.

“Okay” I told him. “But you’re telling me it later”

“I will” Ashton said.

I smiled at him. I turned away. I walked over to the door. I stopped to turn around and look at Ashton before I left. He was already talking to the customers who just walked in.

My smile slowly faded.

I exited out of the shop, beginning to walk down the block.

God, I hope Ashton won’t say he loves me. Not that I didn’t want him to say it or know he loves me, it’s just . . . I didn’t want to hear it now.

I knew Ashton loved me. He may have not admitted it directly but it was obvious ever since he flew to Paris for me. I knew Ashton loved me. I just didn’t want him to say it to me because if he does . . . I’ll have to say it back. Listen, of course I loved Ashton. He makes me so happy and I wouldn’t be with him if I did not love him a little. It’s just I am not quite ready to tell him I loved him, mainly because I was still thinking of Harry.

How could I tell Ashton I loved him when every time I looked at him I immediately think of Ashton? It was not enough I felt guilty for not telling Ashton about what happened last week. How could I even tell him? Ashton immediately suspected Harry was jealous of us after that night at dinner. I managed to quickly dismiss that possibility to Ashton since I thought Harry would never think of me in that way again. But now? If I told Ashton, I would just be confirming his suspicion and slightly be defending Harry.

I turned the corner of the block, walking towards my car.

I should have just told Ashton the day after Harry kissed me. I should have told him and I wouldn’t feel so guilty now. I told Ali I was going to tell him but I needed some days to think about what I was going to do with Harry. What was I going to do about Harry? I couldn’t tell Ashton about it and still be friends with Harry. That would be unfair to both of them. Ashton is my boyfriend. I’m supposed to be loyal to him and choose him above any other man. But Harry was my friend. I’ve known him longer than Ashton. How could I choose only one?

I took my car keys out of my bag. I unlocked my car, getting into the driver’s seat and closing the door.

I knew I had to tell Ashton at some point. I knew I had to do something about Harry too. I also knew I had to do both before it was too late.

I plugged my key into the ignition, the car turning on.

I just hope I would know soon or I would lose Ashton and Harry.

10 PM.

So far, nothing. I expected Ashton to tell me he loved me right away when I met him at his apartment but he didn’t. I was a little happy he did not mention it to me yet. I would have no idea how to react if he did. All I had was Harry on my head. I couldn’t properly think of what to say if Ashton did say he loved me. But, on the other hand, I was surprised. If Ashton wanted to tell me he loved me, why didn’t he yet? Did he change his mind about telling me? If that was the case, did something happen that changed his mind? Did he know something about Harry and I?

Ashton entered his room, holding a bag of chips and a coke.

“As requested” Ashton said, smiling at me.

“I didn’t ask” I said. “But you know your way to my heart”

Ashton handed me the coke and the bag of chips. I sat on Ashton’s bed, watching the television. Ashton sat down next to me. I opened the can of coke and started to drink it.

No. Ashton couldn’t know about Harry and I. The only people I told were Ali and Izzy. Both didn’t have his numbers so there was no way he could know about Harry kissing me. But what about everything else between Harry and I? I didn’t tell Ashton that I dated Harry for a month before. I didn’t tell Ashton I wrote songs about Harry before. I didn’t tell Ashton anything apart that Harry was a very close friend of mine and I knew him for forever. Did Ashton know I had a history with Harry? I’ve always made it clear in the media that Harry and I were friends only but anyone could suspect more.

No, no, no. There was no possibility Ashton knew about my history with Harry. It wasn’t like he knew someone who wrote songs with me about Harry. . . OH MY GOD. BILLIE.

I choked on my coke. I coughed, clearing my throat. Ashton looked worried at me.

“Are you okay?” Ashton asked me.

“Yeah” I said, between coughs. “Drank too fast”

Ashton took the coke from my hand and put it on his bedside table.

“You’re almost done with the can” Ashton said. “Did you chug it?”

I shook my head, regaining my breath.

“Just thirsty” I said.

“I can see . . .” Ashton said.

I bit my lip, knowing how stupid I just was. I looked to television.

Billie, his sister. How could I forget about Billie? Billie - who practically knows everything about my love life just from my songs. Billie could have told him. She could have. But then again, Billie gave us her blessing. Why would she want to ruin something she wants to happen? It didn’t make sense.

I looked to Ashton.

Should I just ask him about it? Should I just mention to him about earlier? What’s the worst he could say? That he loves me? That Billie told him about Harry and I? He was going to find out anyway. Should I really just tell him now? It’s been a week. Maybe I should wait until after Thanksgiving. I don’t want to ruin this holiday for him. I could wait another week. I would know what to do about Harry by then-

“What?” Ashton asked me.

“What?” I said.

“You’re giving me that look” Ashton said.

I immediately perked up, smiling.

“What look?” I asked. “There’s nothing to worry about”

Ashton blinked at me, clearly not believing in me.

“Y/N,” Ashton said. “You just admitted something is wrong”

I frowned.

I’ll just ask him about earlier. I’ll just ask that and nothing else.

“Fine” I said. “Before I left . . . what were you going to say?”

Ashton smiled at me.

“Oh, that.” Ashton said. “I was going to ask you if you wanted to spend Christmas with my family”

I let out a little sigh, relieved.

Christmas? He wanted to ask me about Christmas?

“Oh,” I said. “Why didn’t you just ask me that?”

“I was going to but since you’re not coming to Thanksgiving, I didn’t want to make any false promises to my parents” Ashton said.

I smiled at him.

“Yeah . . . it’s good that you didn’t” I said.

Especially since I have no idea what to do about Harry or you yet . . .

“I mean, I would love to” I told him. “Anything could happen in a month and I usually spend it with my friends but I wouldn’t mind spending it with you and your family. Just thought you would ask me the week before”

“I was planning to” Ashton said. “Wanted it to be a surprise when I asked you”

“Oh” I said, looking down.

I scratched my neck, realizing I ruined Ashton’s romantic proposal. I looked up to him.

“Well, it could still be a surprise. . .” I said. “I’ll just forget about it and you can ask me a week before”

Ashton smiled at me.

“I will” Ashton said. “And not in my room”

I still smiled, looking back to the television.

I knew he couldn’t have known. If he did, he wouldn’t have asked me to spend Christmas with his family. I’m pretty sure if he did know, he would have broken up with me already and I wouldn’t be in his bedroom. But Christmas. . . he wanted to spend it with me. I never had a boyfriend invite me to spend Christmas with them. The closest I have ever received was Anne invited me to spend Christmas with her and Harry. But Harry’s my friend. He was when Anne asked me.

Ashton imagined a future with me. A future that I could actually share with him. A future where I could actually be happy.

I looked to Ashton.

If Ashton imagined spending his future with me, he deserved the truth at least. It was the right thing to do. Ashton would understand. Ashton knows I would never want to hurt him. He would know I never planned to kiss Harry back that night. I was with him. Not Harry.

“I need to tell you something” I said.

Ashton turned to me.

“You realized you can’t come to Christmas?” Ashton asked me.

“No, no” I shook my head. “It’s . . .”

How the hell do I tell him without making him upset?

“It’s what?” Ashton asked me.

I bit my bottom lip.

Well, here it goes . . .

“Harry and I kissed” I said.

“What?” Ashton asked me.

“We kissed” I said. “Well, he kissed me and I wanted to slap him for it. I ran away to my room from him but then he apologized and the next thing I knew was that I kissed him back”

Ashton didn’t say anything. He just stared at me.

“Ashton, say something” I told him. “Please”

“I knew it all along” Ashton said, looking down. “I knew he was jealous that night”

“Listen, I know how it sounds” I began to explain. “I told you he was a friend and I really thought we were because I never thought he would kiss me. Then he did and I wanted to tell you sooner but-“

“It’s okay” Ashton said.

“What?” I asked him, surprised.

“Harry kissed you” Ashton looked up to me. “And he’s your friend. You were confused and kissed him back”

“You’re not mad?” I asked him.

“Well, a little. . .” Ashton said. “This happened a week ago, right?”

I nodded.

“I wanted to tell you sooner but I’m still trying to think what to do about Harry” I said. “I didn’t want to tell you until I knew”

“And do you know?” Ashton asked me. “About what to do with Harry?”

I looked down, shaking my head.

“He’s one of my best friends” I said. “I know it’s wrong if I’m still friends with him after that while I’m with you but . . .”

“You can’t do that to him” Ashton said.

I nodded.

“Ever since he kissed me, all I ever think about is him” I told Ashton. “I swear I can’t even look at you because I just think of him. That’s why I didn’t want to spend Thanksgiving with your family. It would be torture. I’ve been trying to forget him but I can’t. . .”

“Do you think of him more than a friend now?” Ashton asked me.

I looked to Ashton. I knew the answer but didn’t want to say it.

“If I said yes, would that mean I’m horrible?” I asked him.

Ashton looked down. He sighed.

I immediately felt a wave of guilt hit me. I just admitted I had feelings for Harry. And to my boyfriend.

“You should talk to him” Ashton said under his breath.

“What?” I asked him. “I can’t. He kissed me. I shouldn’t even step a foot next to him-“

“Y/N” Ashton said. “Harry’s your best friend. I can’t force you to pick between me and him”

I stayed silent.

I knew how kind Ashton was but I never expected him to be this kind to me. He was putting my happiness above his. He was willing to give up me as long as I was with the right person. I knew he had to be hurt underneath his kindness.

“You need to do whatever is best for you” Ashton said. “If you need time, you should take it”

I felt my eyes water up. I hugged him.

“Why do you have to be so nice?” I asked him. “It just makes it worse”

“It’s part of my job” Ashton said. “I’m your boyfriend. I’m supposed to be”

“I don’t know if you will be anymore” I said. “I want you to be. I wish I just knew”

“It’s okay, Y/N” Ashton said. “I’ll be happy if you choose Harry. I just care if you are happy”

I cried into Ashton’s chest.

I wish I knew.

I wish I just knew.

#hs au #hs fanfic #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #hs fanfiction #harry styles imagines #harry styles imagine #hs imagines #hs imagine #harry styles fic #harry styles au #harry styles one shot #hs one shot #everytime HS #everytime chapters

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morningfears · 4 years

Text

Television Romance [Chapter Two]

Rating: PG-13 (a little suggestive, a little swearing)

Summary: Luke and Natalia go on their first date and they’re surprised at how well they get along. Natalia is also surprised at how well she’s able to ruin a moment.

Word Count: 6.7k

Chapter One

The conference room was empty as Natalia settled into one of the oversized office chairs situated around the long wooden table. She still had twenty minutes until colloquium, a meeting that took place every other Friday and served as a way for students to get to know their professors’ and colleagues’ research interests, began but she had just gotten out of a meeting with her advisor and didn’t feel like walking the extra few steps to the grad office. She knew that it would be full of students, each of them expressing how pointless they found colloquium or how annoyed they were to be on campus on a Friday, and though she usually felt compelled to agree (colloquium was, for the most part, pointless and her Fridays suffered greatly for it), she was in too good a mood to complain.

Although her workload had felt overwhelming, she’d managed to finish it all in far less time than she anticipated. She’d worked harder than she had in months and her sleep schedule suffered dearly for it but her advisor had the first draft of her thesis proposal, her conference paper had been submitted with nearly twelve hours to spare, and her co-author had the revisions necessary to resubmit their journal article. Her students had their first grades of the semester and every unread email in her inbox was answered.

She was exhausted, mentally and physically, but she’d managed to free her schedule completely so that she would have nothing to worry about when she went to dinner with Luke.

As if he could sense her thinking about him, Natalia’s phone vibrated in her hand and a message from Luke appeared on the screen. “Is it too cheesy to tell you that I’ve been looking forward to this all week?”

Natalia grinned at the message, a goofy smile that made her cheeks hurt, and bit back an uncharacteristic giggle as she replied, “Only if it’s cheesy to tell you that I’ve been looking forward to it, too.”

Though she had been somewhat excited when she met him - he was gorgeous - her excitement only grew the more they interacted. Throughout the week, she and Luke had exchanged dozens of messages. Most of them were superficial, wishes for good days and texts meant to plan their evening, but a few had been more fun and inquisitive. They’d wanted to save the traditional questions for the date itself - what do you do, where are you from, what brings you to LA? - so they’d had to get creative in getting to know one another.

Luke had taken to sending her cheesy jokes, stupid puns and ridiculous questions - her favorite of which was whether she would fight one horse sized duck or a dozen duck sized horses - in an effort to get to know her and it made her giddy with anticipation. She thought he was cute and he seemed charming. He was fun, silly, and sweet and she found herself starting to like him more than she thought she would. She wasn’t attached, not yet, but she could feel herself growing more comfortable with the idea of him becoming a part of her life and she only hoped that that would extend to their in-person meeting.

As she grinned at Luke’s latest joke, a cheese pun that made her groan in delight, she failed to notice the door of the conference room open or the bag drop onto the table beside her. She was too engrossed in typing out her reply, a string of emojis and a half-hearted plea for him to find a new hobby, to notice Nicole take a seat. Only when she spoke did Natalia look away from her phone.

“Okay, so, I was thinking about ordering pizza for tonight. We have some money in the grad association account and free food is the only thing I can think of that will convince people to spend their Friday night locked in the grad office. We can’t buy their alcohol but I promised everyone we would go out for drinks once the last person hit submit.”

Natalia blinked, confused as to what Nicole was talking about, before her eyes widened and her heart dropped in realization. “The writing party, fuck,” she groaned, her head falling back as she huffed a sigh of annoyance at her mistake. She wasn’t normally one to forget things - she was the first person anyone turned to when they needed to know a deadline - but it had completely slipped her mind. She’d been so caught up in wanting to see Luke that anything nonessential had completely fallen off her radar. “I’m so sorry, Ni. I totally forgot all about it.”

“It’s no big deal,” Nicole assured her as she watched Natalia spin in her chair to face her. “It really didn’t need any planning. I just sent out an email. I was hoping you could bring some of those method books of yours, though. I don’t have anything to submit so I wanted to work on my proposal. I’m having trouble wording the coding section.”

Natalia grimaced and shook her head. “No, Ni, I forgot and, uh, sort of made other plans?”

She tried her hardest not to look guilty - it was an informal writing group that likely wouldn’t get much writing done, anyway - but Natalia felt bad. She knew that Nicole was struggling to get her proposal done and there weren’t many other people she could turn to for help. Their program was small, one of the smallest on campus, and of the current cohort, only she, Nicole, and one doctoral student had chosen the same methodology. They hadn’t had a formal class on the method yet - they’d been thrown to the wolves, not unlike the rest of their graduate career - and relied on one another to make the best of their situation.

This would have been an opportunity for them to sit down, uninterrupted by life, and work out the roadblocks she’d been hitting. However, Natalia had forgotten and committed to dinner with Luke.

“I can reschedule,” she offered, before Nicole could speak, “I feel like he wouldn’t mind.”

At the mention of a ‘he’, Nicole raised her eyebrows and shook her head. “No, seriously, it’s not a big deal. We can meet during office hours next week or something. But, that’s beside the point.” She dropped her cellphone onto the table and turned her full attention to Natalia as she asked, “He? Who is he?”

Natalia knew that Nicole was expecting her to say that the aforementioned he was her father, who she had dinner with once a week, or the new TA that followed her around like a lost puppy. But she wasn’t expecting her to say, “The guy from the coffee shop, Luke.”

“The one that destroyed your dress?” Nicole did look surprised, her eyebrows remained raised and her mouth dropped open, but she looked almost amused at the sheepish grin that graced Natalia’s face. “Let me guess, he asked you out as a way to make up for it?”

“…yes. He’s so cute, Ni, I couldn’t say no,” Natalia gushed with a grin as she shifted in her chair and reached for her phone. Nicole rolled her eyes good-naturedly and rolled her chair a little closer to lean over and take a look at the text thread Natalia pulled up. “Look, he’s been sending me stupid jokes all week and he’s excited about the date and so am I.”

“Wait, date? Holy shit, Nat, get laid!”

Natalia and Nicole glanced up from her phone and watched as Ali, the third member of their cohort - the only other master’s student that started the program at the same time as them - stepped into the conference room and took a seat across from them. “D’you finally agree to meet a Tinder match in person?” she asked as she grabbed a notebook and pen from her backpack.

“No, they met the old fashioned way; he destroyed her dress by spilling coffee on her,” Nicole answered for her as she grabbed her own notebook out of her backpack.

“Oh, retro vibes, cute. Is he hot?” Natalia rolled her eyes fondly as Ali leaned forward, her eyebrows raised as she waited for a response.

Although the three of them had grown as close as sisters and looked quite similar to one another, they couldn’t be more different. Nicole was the oldest - she’d taken two years off between undergrad and grad school - and acted like it. She was the voice of reason, the calming presence that kept Natalia from overreacting and Ali from under-reacting. She was the heart of the group, the one who provided a shoulder to cry on and a kind word of advice when things got tough, and neither Natalia nor Ali could imagine getting through grad school without her. Nicole was also married and had been for three years. She and her husband had been together since their freshman year of college - they met in a class - and she was very happy to be in a committed, long term relationship.

Ali was the wildcard of their group. She was a free spirit, only acting according to her own desires, and was unapologetic in how she lived her life. She was the group’s sense of courage, pushing Natalia out of her comfort zone by taking her out to bars and helping her fill her closet with clothes she never would’ve imagined herself wearing as well as helping Nicole get through the semester without bowing to the pressures of the administration. Like Natalia, Ali was technically single. Unlike Natalia, however, Ali dated around and kept her options open. She had a string of ‘boyfriends’ and decided that she would wait until after she received her doctorate to settle down.

Their biggest similarities were their looks. Each of them had long dark hair, though Ali’s was a shade lighter than Nicole and Natalia’s, and stood at a little over five feet. Nicole and Natalia stayed out of the sun, both of them burned quite easily and went red instead of tanning, while Ali remained a beautiful olive all year round. Nicole and Ali were both curvier, each with natural assets that Natalia longed for, while Natalia fell somewhere in an annoying gap between petite and average.

Natalia loved the differences in her friends, she appreciated seeing the way they all complemented one another, but she couldn’t help but laugh at the almost predictable reactions she’d gotten from both of them upon learning that she had a date.

“He’s gorgeous,” she finally answered, grinning at Ali when she nodded in appreciation and gave her a thumbs up.

“That’s my girl! Have you got condoms? You can stop by my place and grab some after colloquium if you want. Oh, do you need help getting ready? I can do your makeup!” Ali looked to be almost more excited than Natalia was about the date. She was giddy, grinning at the possibilities, and Natalia hated to rain on her parade but she didn’t plan on sleeping with Luke on their first date.

“I appreciate the offer, Al, but I don’t think I’ll need the condoms just yet. I would love for you to do my makeup, though. We’re going to Oak and I know it’s kind of dark in there but it’s also a little nicer than the dives we go to so I should make an effort,” she reasoned as she watched the door swing open and a few of their classmates enter the room. She waved at them, as did Nicole and Ali, before she added, “We can talk about it after colloquium.”

Throughout the hour long meeting, Natalia’s phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. Luke texted her, a photo of himself and his dog that made her heart melt, and joked that he had the best help in getting ready for their night. Nicole and Ali filled their group chat - appropriately titled ‘why are we here?’ - with suggestions for conversation topics (although Natalia sincerely hoped ‘do you have any hot, single friends?’ was a joke) as well as gentle teasing about how their baby was growing up.

Natalia took it all in stride, shaking her head at Nicole and Ali’s teasing and gushing over Luke’s dog, but she felt just as excited as they all seemed to. It was nice, having plans and feeling something she hadn’t felt in a long while, and she only grew more excited as colloquium ended and they all began to file out of the conference room.

“Send me a text when you guys choose where you’re going for drinks,” she told Nicole as the three of them stepped out of the building, her and Ali heading toward her car while Nicole was off to her own, “I might stop by and get a drink after my date.”

“If you do, let me know. I want all the details. If not, we can all get breakfast or something and you can tell us everything.” Ali wasn’t the type to turn down a drink or gossip so it came as no surprise that she wanted to be included in the conversation.

“Have fun, Nat,” Nicole bid, a genuinely happy smile on her face as she began walking down the sidewalk. “See you later!”

Natalia and Ali waved off Nicole before they began the trek to Natalia’s car. She and Luke planned to meet at eight and it was already four. She knew that she had time - she would likely only show up a few minutes early - but she was anxious to get ready. She had no idea what she wanted to wear, how she wanted her makeup done, or how to wear her hair. She hadn’t been on a date in years - she’d been too busy worrying about school to worry about much else - so this was new territory for her.

Natalia was glad that Ali was there to help her get ready. She was glad that she had a friend who was willing to pick through her closet and help her find something that was cute enough to make a good impression but comfortable enough to wear for a few hours. She was nervous, a good kind of anxious that filled her stomach with butterflies and had her pacing her bedroom as Ali pulled the final piece of clothing from her closet.

“It’s going to be fine,” Ali laughed as she watched Natalia glance in the mirror at her makeup once more. She’d gone simple, opted for a natural look that only enhanced Natalia’s looks, and reached out to slap her shoulder to keep her from touching her eyebrow. “You’re going to wipe off my hard work. Here, get dressed. Would you mind dropping me off at my place on your way?”

“No, of course not,” Natalia assured her as she grabbed the garments from Ali’s hand and stepped into her bathroom to change. “It’s on my way. That’ll keep me from being too early, too.”

“I was at least a little strategic in getting you ready,” Ali pointed out as she waited for Natalia to exit the bathroom. “Have you warned him that you’re a chronic overachiever who can’t be late and has, like, forty calendars to make sure you don’t miss any deadlines yet?”

“I only have three,” Natalia defended as she emerged from the bathroom, smoothing the top she wore. “I keep them in different places so I always know what I need to be doing. How does this look?”

Ali brought her hand to her chest and faked a sniffle as she caught sight of Natalia. She had gone for simple here, too, and pulled a high-waisted black, button down mini-skirt, a white short sleeve top, and a distressed denim jacket. She handed her a necklace, one of the few pieces of jewelry Natalia owned, as well as a bracelet before she glanced at the two options for shoes she’d pulled out of the closet.

“How tall is he?” Ali asked as she looked between the pair of ankle boots and flats on the floor in front of her.

“Uh, very.” Natalia tried not to sound too excited at that - she’d always been fond of taller men - and Ali nodded in appreciation.

“Boots it is, then. Okay, I think you’re ready. Do you have any pictures of this guy? I’m curious as fuck now,” Ali hummed as she watched Natalia slip her feet into the boots.

“Mm, yeah, he sent me a picture of him and his dog earlier.” She reached for her cellphone, unplugging it from the charger, and opened her text thread with Luke to show Ali the photo he’d sent her. He had the same unique smile he’d shown her the day they met and his clear blue eyes were on display as he’d pulled his hair away from his face. He was cute, far cuter than anyone she’d ever dated, and she felt a small amount of pride at the impressed look on Ali’s face.

“He looks familiar,” she mumbled, after agreeing that he was gorgeous, “I don’t know where I’d know him from, though.”

“Maybe you saw him on Tinder or something,” Natalia offered with a shrug as she locked her phone and dropped it into her bag. “Or maybe he’s friends with one of your boyfriends.”

“Maybe,” Ali shrugged as she grabbed her bag and led the way out of Natalia’s apartment. “I don’t even keep track anymore. Did I tell you about Jason? I would drop out and become a trophy wife for that man any day.”

Natalia listened to Ali share a story about her latest boyfriend - one she agreed was gorgeous and seemed sweeter and a little more put together than the guys Ali usually went for - as she drove her back to her apartment. She realized, as they waited at a red light, that she would get to join the conversation about dates the next time they interacted and felt a small thrill at the idea. She usually had very little to contribute when Ali and Nicole spoke about their partners - other than the occasional, “I’m glad I’m single,” when they discussed the follies of man - and couldn’t wait to tell them all about her date.

As Natalia pulled into the parking lot of Ali’s apartment complex, Ali reached into her bag and pulled a few foil squares from one of the pockets. She took Natalia’s hand off the steering wheel as soon as she’d put the car in park and placed the condoms in her hand before she patted it and grinned. “You never know what you’ll need, so, just in case.”

With that and a grin that made Natalia roll her eyes, Ali climbed out of the car and sent a wave in her direction before bounding up the stairs. Natalia remained in the parking spot for a second, pausing to collect her thoughts and take a deep breath, before she shoved the condoms into her bag, pulled out of the parking lot and made her way to Oak.

When Luke asked if she had any preferences for their date, her first thought was of Oak. It was a bar that couldn’t be considered a dive but was also a far cry from the swanky clubs in other parts of the city. It was nice but not too nice. Like Molly’s, the bar was Instagrammable - a key factor in its popularity with college students as the drinks were a little pricier than two dollar beer but not unreasonable for an every now and again sort of thing - and encouraged patrons to dress a little nicer than the go-to athleisure look. Everything about it read 1920s speakeasy, except the patio. Natalia loved the patio, hidden off to the side with little wooden benches and cool metal tables surrounded by walls covered in ivy, and she was glad the weather was nice enough that she could request they sit out there.

The interior was always a little dark but Natalia thought it was kind of romantic as the lighting was supplemented by tea candles on the tables. However, the music - an array of jazz - was usually a little too loud for conversation. Because of that, she hoped that Luke wouldn’t mind if they ordered their drinks and took them outside so they could talk.

When Natalia arrived (only five minutes early, a rare feat for her as she usually arrived with twenty minutes to spare), she was pleasantly surprised to see Luke waiting for her near the front steps. Although she’d found him attractive upon first meeting him, dressed in basketball shorts and looking like he’d just woken up, he looked even better dressed up.

He had also opted for simple and wore plain black jeans and a wine red button down. He left the first few buttons undone and Natalia imagined that if she were a cartoon character, her eyes would be hearts by now. She wanted to stare at him for a moment longer but she didn’t want to keep him waiting. She took another moment, another deep breath, before she climbed out of the car and crossed the parking lot to join him.

“Hi.”

Luke lifted his head, turning his attention away from his cellphone, and grinned at the sight of Natalia. He quickly locked the device and shoved it into his pocket as he returned her greeting. “Hi.” He paused, his eyes raking over her body and taking in the sight of her, before he added, “You look beautiful.”

Without thinking, with only a giddy nervousness filling her mind, Natalia grinned and returned, “So do you.”

She and Luke stood there, taking one another in with pink cheeks and silly smiles, for far too long. It wasn’t awkward, the silence was appreciative and punctuated by shy grins and quiet giggles, and Natalia would have been content to spend the evening sharing heart-eyed looks with Luke had another couple not walked by, breaking the spell.

“Do you want to head in?” Luke asked, glancing at the door a few feet to his left before returning his gaze to Natalia. “I’ve never been here before.”

Natalia glanced up at him - the height difference was still noticeable, even with her heeled boots - and smiled as they entered the main room. “It’s nice. I’ve been here a few times but, I’ll be honest, I usually go to this place called The Door.”

“The Door? Why here, then, and not there?” Luke asked as they approached the bar and and each reached for a drink menu.

“I didn’t want to run into every professor in my department.” When Luke raised an eyebrow at that, Natalia shook her head and quickly added, “Everyone in the department goes there for drinks and I didn’t think it would fun to have my advisor a few tables over as we tried to talk. I chose this place because I don’t really venture too far from campus. LA is… overwhelming.”

“That’s fair,” Luke acknowledged as they waited for the bartender to make his way to them. He turned to look at Natalia, an easy smile on his lips and blue eyes alight with intrigue, as he asked, “You’re not from here?”

“Is anyone?” Luke laughed at Natalia’s quip and she offered him a smile in return. “No, I grew up in Oakland. It was a different vibe. What about you? You’re not from LA.”

“I’m not,” he confirmed with a shake of his head as he moved to stand a little closer to her to let another couple access the bar, “I’m from Australia. I’ve been here for a really long time, though.”

Natalia could smell Luke’s cologne and bit back a sigh as he met her eyes once again. It was hard to keep her train of thought with him looking directly at her, the longer she stared at him, the more beautiful she found him, but she managed to ask, “Yeah? What brought you to LA?”

As Luke opened his mouth to answer, the bartender approached the pair of them to take their drink orders. Luke gestured for her to order first and she chose the only thing on the menu with vodka - the only liquor she didn’t really hate - while Luke opted for the drink with rum. They started a tab - on Luke’s card, despite Natalia’s resistance - before she gestured for him to follow her to the patio with their drinks.

“Okay, so, what brought you to LA?” Natalia repeated as they each took a seat at one of the small metal tables The lighting was better outside, a little brighter than the candlelit interior, and she had to remind herself not to stare as she waited for Luke’s answer.

“I’m in a band. We came out here to follow our dreams.” Natalia wasn’t exactly surprised to hear that Luke was a musician. He looked the part, with shaggy blonde curls and chipped nail polish on a few fingers as well as a sort of confidence about him that she’d only seen in the wannabe rockstars she knew from home, so she nodded.

“Would I know your music?”

Luke smiled at her, a sparkle of mischief in his eyes, and shrugged. The look on his face suggested there was a joke that Natalia wasn’t in on and she scrunched her eyebrows in mild confusion as he asked, “I don’t know. What kind of music do you listen to?”

“A little punk - I’m from Oakland, we have a killer punk scene,” she defended when Luke blinked in surprise. He held his hands up in surrender, a laugh falling from his lips, and gestured for her to continue. “Um, a lot of stuff that was released before I was born? My dad was in a punk band in high school and a grunge band in college and my mom was a riot grrrl. I grew up listening to whatever they were listening to and whatever their bands played and it’s still pretty prominent in my playlists. So, punk and grunge and a lot of classic rock.”

Luke looked mildly impressed by Natalia’s taste and nodded appreciatively. “Yeah, you probably wouldn’t know any of our stuff.” Luke laughed, again looking like he knew something she didn’t, before he took a sip of his drink. She shrugged, a playful smile of her own on her lips, and he shook his head. “I wouldn’t have expected that but that’s way cooler than me. I listen to a lot of pop punk, a little more alternative. And classic rock.”

“Nothing wrong with pop punk. I love blink. And I was super into All Time Low in high school.”

The conversation hit a short lull, both Luke and Natalia glancing at one another over the tops of their drinks, but it wasn’t truly awkward. They had yet to figure out how to interact with one another, which was to be expected, so Natalia offered a suggestion to break the ice. “Want to play twenty questions?”

Luke perked up, the full toothed grin returning, and nodded as he leaned on his elbows and met her gaze across the table. “That sounds like the perfect idea. You want to start?”

Natalia nodded and scrutinized Luke as she thought up her first question. She knew that he was from Australia and that he was in a band she probably hadn’t heard of. She knew that he had a dog and that he liked pop punk. “Do you have any siblings?”

“Two brothers, Ben and Jack. You’re in school, what are you studying?” Luke had an adorable habit of tilting his head to show his engagement in the conversation and Natalia bit back a dreamy sigh as she watched him tap his glass to the beat of the song - the patio had a stream of top 40 hits playing and she didn’t recognize any of them but, judging by the way his eyes lit up when this one came on, he did.

“Health communication. Basically, my line of research is that everyone defines health differently and you can’t expect all people to react the same way to the same messages. There is no universal definition of health.” Again, Luke looked surprised and impressed. He nodded, thankful that she’d given a bit of clarification on what she meant by health communication, and waited for her to ask her question. “What’s the best thing about being in a band?”

Luke lit up at her question, his smile growing into the tongue-pressed-to-teeth grin she was growing to adore. “Is it a cop out if I say everything?” When she nodded, Luke made a show of groaning and pouted for a moment before laughing and shaking his head. “This is going to sound really cheesy but being able to spend my time with my best friends. I love the guys, they’re my brothers at this point, and getting to work with them is all I ever could��ve asked for.”

Natalia felt her heart melt at Luke’s answer. She cooed and when Luke’s cheeks went pink, she reassured him, “That’s the sweetest answer you could’ve given. That’s really awesome. I barely know you but I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks.” Luke laughed, cheeks still flushed and eyes crinkling as he watched Natalia take another sip of her drink. “What are your friends like?” He was curious, as they were on the subject, and he wanted to know if the people Natalia surrounded herself with were as interesting as she was.

“Strange. I have my cohort, the two girls I started my master’s program with, and then I have a few friends from home but it’s a pretty small group of very different people and I don’t know where I would be without them.” It was Luke’s turn to coo, his smile soft and his cheeks still pink from a combination of the heat, the alcohol, and his affection, and Natalia dipped her head to get away from his gaze. “In your band, what’s your job? Guitarist, vocalist…?”

“Both of those, actually. I play guitar and sing. Ash, the guy that was with me in the coffee shop, is our drummer.”

“You know, I could’ve guessed that. You’ve got the lead singer look,” Natalia teased. She grinned at Luke’s raised eyebrows and shrugged. “I think it’s the hair, rockstar. But it looks good on you.”

Luke rolled his eyes, a playful gesture accompanied by laughter, and stuck his chin out indignantly. “Looks can be deceiving,” he reminded her, a playful glare on his face as he added, “You keep surprising me at every turn.” When she titled her head, curious as to what he meant, Luke smiled and gestured to Natalia’s empty glass. “That’s a good thing, I promise. And this isn’t my question,” he clarified, a playfully pointed look accompanying his statement, "but would you like another drink?”

“I’d love one. Using that time to think up another question?” Her accusation was playful, her grin gave her away, but Luke played along but giving her a pout.

“How can you think so little of me? I’m not,” Luke denied, his grin bright as he stood to grab another round of drinks. “But I’ll give you that time to think about your answer. Thoughts on social media? I’ll be back.”

Natalia watched Luke disappear through the side door, a bright grin on her lips. Luke was cute, sweet, and fun. The conversation was flowing better than she imagined it would. She was glad that the hope she’d gleaned from her text conversations with him wasn’t misplaced and found herself itching to continue the conversation as she listened to a song she vaguely recognized as one of Dua Lipa’s filter through the patio area.

True to his word, Luke returned in a matter of minutes with fresh drinks in hand and an expectant look on his face. “So, thoughts?”

“I think it’s a useful tool in some cases and utterly useless and damaging in others. It’s helpful in emergencies, getting the word out quickly, but it’s creating a weird culture and I don’t like it. I don’t have any social media profiles aside from Facebook - my mom likes to video chat and doesn’t have an iPhone so, no FaceTime, I just use it for Messenger - and LinkedIn.” Natalia was used to the looks she got from others when she divulged her lack of social media and Luke was no different. He looked shocked but almost impressed.

“That’s really awesome. I don’t use mine much but I think it’d feel weird if I didn’t have them.”

“I mean, you’re a musician. It probably helps get the word out there, build a fanbase, all the marketing stuff. I’m an academic. The only thing I could post on Instagram is a bad selfie taken under florescent library lighting,” Natalia joked as she reached for her drink.

“No faking your life for the ‘Gram?” Luke asked, genuinely curious and interested in hearing her take on social media. It wasn’t often that he ran into people like her, not in his life, so he felt compelled to hear more.

“No, it doesn’t seem worth it. It seems like too much work and, honestly, I don’t want the attention. You have these kids that are, like, twelve blowing up online and that just seems so stressful. I don’t want the world watching my every move. I’m fine in the shadows.”

An odd look crossed Luke’s face at Natalia’s reluctance to be seen and she almost asked him about it. She didn’t understand what the issue was with her not wanting notoriety or her face to be plastered all over Instagram but the look was gone so quickly that she felt like she must have imagined it. So, instead of dwelling, she turned to her next question. “If you were stuck on an island, what three things would you bring with you?”

The conversation continued well past twenty questions. Luke was genuinely interested in her research, asking questions about her reasons for choosing such an emotionally taxing topic and what she planned to do with her research when she finished, and it was nice to just explain rather than defend her choices. She was interested in his music, curious about the songwriting process and the way he dealt with writer’s block from a creative standpoint, and it was nice to talk to someone who had no idea what his life was really like.

They found themselves talking until one of the staff members stuck their head out the door and informed them that it was last call. They’d each only had two drinks, the last was sipped over a matter of hours as they’d been talking too much to really pay attention to anything other than one another, and Natalia was slightly disappointed that it was time to say goodnight as they headed in to close out the tab.

Luke, like Natalia, dragged his feet as they left the bar and lingered near the front steps. He looked just as crestfallen as she did, not ready for their night to be over but not wanting to give her the wrong impression by asking her to come home with him. They liked one another, really and truly, and neither wanted to rush into things. It felt nice, just getting to know one another without the pressure of their lives closing in on them, and they wanted to keep it that way for as long as they could.

“I know this might be too soon,” Luke began, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he met Natalia’s gaze with a shy smile, “but would you want to go out again tomorrow? Maybe for dinner? I have rehearsal tomorrow afternoon but we could do something after that.”

Natalia grinned, a giddy smile that was contagious as Luke matched her grin with one of his own, and nodded. “Definitely. I need to spend the day writing but I’m totally free tomorrow night,” she agreed readily, not caring if she looked eager as Luke looked just as giddy as she did.

“Good, awesome. I, uh, I’ll let you know what time we’re supposed to finish tomorrow.” Luke paused, his grin softening as he realized that Natalia looked gorgeous even in the harsh glow of unflattering streetlights, before he added, “I had a really good time tonight. I’m still sorry for spilling coffee on you but I don’t regret it. Not if it gets me a date like this.”

“I really liked that dress,” Natalia teased, her cheeks flaring pink beneath the foundation she wore as she tried not to coo at Luke’s compliment, “but I’m kind of glad you spilled coffee on me. I think this date more than made up for it.”

Luke and Natalia stared at one another, grinning like lovesick fools and happy that the date had gone better than either of them hoped, before Luke stepped a little closer and asked, “Do you mind if I… can I…?”

Natalia didn’t have a rule against kissing on the first date, she didn’t have any first date rules as she decided she would just see where life took her, but if she did, she would’ve broken it for Luke. As his hand brushed her cheek, she melted into his embrace and breathed a quiet sigh as she nodded just enough for him to feel.

Luke placed a barely there peck to her lips, a soft kiss that felt more like something being taken from her than given, and she wanted to reach out and pull him back into her as he straightened up and smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Natalia.”

“See you tomorrow.”

They both lingered for a second, staring at one another, before Natalia gave him a final shy smile and turned to head to her car. Her head was so far in the clouds that she didn’t notice the small dip in the ground and felt her knees hit pavement before she realized what had happened.

She wasn’t sure if she was glad that Luke was there or embarrassed he’d seen her fall as he rushed over and kneeled beside her. The contents of her bag had spilled across the parking lot and she dropped her head in embarrassment as she groaned. “Fun fact about me, I’m great at destroying the mood.”

“I tripped and dumped coffee on you during our first meeting, a little clumsiness isn’t going to destroy anything. Here, let me help you,” he assured her as he began reaching for the little things that had fallen out of her bag. Chapstick, hand sanitizer, gum, a pencil bag; all things she didn’t mind Luke seeing. However, when he grabbed the few condoms Ali left her with, Natalia groaned again.

“I wasn’t… I didn’t intend for anything to happen. My friend Ali just… threw them at me,” she explained as she shoved the items back into her bag and took Luke’s hand for him to help her back onto her feet. “Not that there’s anything wrong with sex on a first date, do whatever you want, I just… Don’t want?”

Luke bit back a laugh at Natalia’s defeated expression and shook his head. “It’s okay, you don’t have to explain. Better to be safe than sorry. And, I get it. Tonight was nice. I enjoyed it as it was. And I’m still really looking forward to seeing you again tomorrow night.”

“I’m glad. And I am looking forward to seeing you again, too. Hopefully neither of us will trip and we’ll be leaving injury and coffee stain free,” she joked as she brushed some stray gravel from her knees. “I’ll see you then. Have fun at rehearsal.”

“I would say have fun writing but, I’m not gonna lie, I don’t know if that’s appropriate to wish you?”

“Probably not, no one enjoys writing for academia, but I appreciate the thought. Bye, Luke.”

Luke waved Natalia off and waited until she’d gotten safely into her car before heading for his own. She still felt a little embarrassed - she knew that her cheeks were neon red beneath her foundation - but his handling of the situation made her feel that much better about him. He was a good guy, solid and sweet, and Natalia couldn’t wait to see him again.

___________________________________________________________

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harryissuchalittleshit · 3 years

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Reflections sounds great. I hope you do figure out how to edit it because I’d love to read it. Why does Padma leave Theo? Also, I’d lii ok ve some headcanons on the kids.

I might look into it this week and just post the whole thing on Ao3, we’ll see.

Also I have to keep some thing secret, it just makes the stories more fun!

Devansh “Devon” Theodore:

Born August 30, 2000

He pushes Padma and Theodore together

Padma moved in with Theodore when she was about halfway through her pregnancy

Devansh is a really clingy baby and Padma adores him, he is a complete Amma’s boy

Dean and Parvati are his godparents

He’s really upset when Padma and Theodore break up, he doesn’t like his parents fighting

When they get back together and he finds out about Anamika, he is so excited

He didn’t think he would get anymore younger siblings and he loves being an older brother

He’s really close to Hajari and also Anamika and Minali

They were all born before he went to Hogwarts

He’s sorted into Ravenclaw at Hogwarts and Padma is so proud

He feels a bit disjointed from his three younger siblings because he was at school when they were born, also because he’s so much older than them

He has a great relationship with his older cousin Naveen and his too younger cousins Sasha (same age as Hajari) and Anika (three years younger than Hajari)

The five of them get along really well and make time to hang out while at Hogwarts

Devansh is really worried when Anamika starts at Hogwarts, but he keeps an eye on her as Head Boy

He decided when he was fourteen that he wanted to be an Auror after Harry and Ron came to speak in his DADA class that year

Hajari “Jared” Raavi:

Born January 19, 2002

Padma and Theodore were barely talking when he was born, but it changed how the co-parented Devansh

He’s their troublemaker

Pansy and Gregory are his godparents and it honestly adds into his chaotic nature

They all kind of expected Sam and Hajari to get together, so it was a bit of a shock when it was Devansh and Sam

He is very easy going and part of that is growing up between homes for his first five years or so of life

His best friends are Sam and Sasha, they keep him from causing too much trouble

He loves being an older brother, especially to his baby sisters, he loves them soooo much

He’s sorted into Gryffindor and it’s a bit conflicting to Theodore, but he knows that Hajari will do well there

He starts up a rivalry between himself and Veronica Finnigan, though it’s sort of half rivalry/half friendship depending on how much they annoy each other

Seventh year they’re made Head Boy and Girl and they hook up quite a bit

Mutual attraction, stress of being heads and leaving that year, and the added family pressure

Hajari has always loved visiting St. Mungo’s, and having so many younger siblings becomes very familiar with the maternity ward

He becomes an OBGYN/Pediatrician Healer after graduating

He helps deliver Ernika!! His goddaughter!!

After a few years he sees Veronica in a pub and they drink and have some fun and hook up again

Veronica gets pregnant

With triplets

TRIPLETS!!!!

Hajari doesn’t even know what to do or say, and he just shuts down

Luckily he can’t be her Healer

He’s always known that he loved Veronica, but more in a friendship way, not in a really romantic way (denial at its finest)

They both mature though and Hajari realizes that she is what he wants in life

They get married when the triplets are four and their next daughter is two

They have one more baby, a little boy when the triplets are eleven and their daughter is nine (they are not happy about it, but grow to love him)

Anamika “Mia” Parvati:

Born July 29, 2007

The first Nott daughter to be born (and survive) in seven(?) generations

Theodore cries so much when he holds her for the first time, he never imagined that he would get to have a daughter

She looks just like Padma and Parvati when she’s older, she could pass off as their triplet if they were the same age, but she has Theodore’s green eyes

She’s exactly 22 days older than her best friend (and godsister) Lyla Zabini

Their godparents are Draco and Astoria

Because Anamika and Lyla are so close, they count Lyla as their second daughter and she is the first honorary Nott child

She is the oldest of the younger five and the one who always bridges the gap between the older brothers and the younger siblings

She and Lyla are sorted into Slytherin and share a dormitory room together

She’s very shy around new people and it makes most think that she’s standoffish or judge mental, but she’s really not

She starts writing for the health and beauty section of the the school paper her first year and is welcomed back the next year

Her seventh year, she and Louis Weasley are asked to be co-head Editors and it’s not what either wants, but they are a great team

They both have strengths the other doesn’t have

Anamika kisses him one night while their working and Louis is just shocked that she felt the same way he did

They get very close after that (they have “relations” on the Editor’s desk)

When they graduate, they move into a little cottage in the middle of nowhere by the water

Louis stays home and works on his art while Anamika works at the Prophet as an editor on the health and beauty section

They elope when their nineteen and have their first baby about a year later

They have three kids and then twins nine years after their youngest

Louis actually becomes quite successful after doing a few portraits of different Ministry officials, but landscapes are his real speciality

Anamika though, is always his favorite subject and he never tires of drawing or painting her

Minali “Ali” Theresa:

Born February 3, 2011

She is born nine months after Padma and Theodore get married

Millie is her godmother and she makes sure this kid is independent

All three of her older siblings couldn’t wait for her to be born!!

Devansh cried when he left for Hogwarts because he knew he would miss so many of her firsts

But Padma and Theodore take so many photos to send to him (and you know, to keep for themselves)

She an Appa’s girl, she loves Theodore and follows after him everywhere (and he loves it)

She is his first child to actually look like him (like it’s eerily similar, more than either of the boys) and he loves seeing himself reflected in someone

She grows up very independent, but she also loves and adores her family and falls on them when she needs too

She’s sorted into Slytherin and doesn’t take shit from anyone

When Anamika graduates and moves out, Minali takes Vee under her wing as Anamika did for her at school

She is Navya (Anamika and Louis’ first daughter) godmother

When she graduates, she goes to the Ministry and floats from department to department

She meets a man named Adrian Pucey at the Christmas Eve party and gets knocked up by him

He’s eleven years older than her, married, and wants her baby

She’s hounded by a lot of powerful men who tried to get her to give up her baby and Adrain decides to propose to her to get her under his control and Minali says no

She doesn’t want a life like that

She has her daughter in secret and moves to a cottage on the Nott family manor property

(They don’t live in the manor, in fact it’s rented out to visitors for weddings)

Minali takes over managing the property while raising her daughter and helping with the Society

It’s simple, but she feels like she has a purpose and Adrian can’t find her there

Vinanti “Vee” Padma:

Born May 1, 2013

The day after she’s born is the first time that Theodore goes back to Hogwarts after the war

He just wants to tell his sons about their new baby sister

It causes a lot of stress and anxiety for him, so he brings along Anamika and he feels a little better

Seeing his sons thrive does also

Daphne and Blaise are her godparents, and they’re very hands off with their own daughter so it’s the same with Vee

They show their love in weird ways and with over the top gifts

She’s very shy and loves the protection of her older siblings, especially Hajari and Anamika

Anamika is in her seventh year when Vee starts school and it reminds Anamika of when she was eleven and Devansh was seventeen

She’s sorted into Ravenclaw!

Her best friend going into school is Ellie Davies, Cho Chang and Rodger Davies only daughter

Vee can’t imagine havin her parents be her teachers (Cho teaches Charms and Rodger is the flying instructor) or her parents divorced

But she is there for Ellie through everything

The summer between her sixth and seventh year is very complicated, mostly as she realizes she might be gay (she is)

She has a long talk with her cousin Sasha (who is out) and comes to realize that she’s very attracted to girls, more than she could pretend to be to boys

She comes out to her family in stages, first to Minali who she’s closest too, then her younger siblings, then all of her three oldest siblings (she had been most scared of what Devansh and Anamika would think of her, not so much Hajari) and finally her parents (they knew)

It’s such a relief to finally admit this to herself

You know who has known that they were gay since they were thirteen and was in love with Vee?? Ellie Davies!

She’s not out to her parents, but Cho catches them snogging in a broom cupboard and Ellie cries while Vee comforts her

Cho makes sure that her daughter knows that she loves her, Rodger kicks her out of his life, so does her oldest brother Conrad, her other brother Mason showers her in love

Ellie gets signed on to play for the Tornadoes!! Her favorite team!! And Vee becomes a writer for Quidditch Weekly and follows the Tornadoes everywhere

Vee has both of their daughters (thanks to Mason) and they just live a happy little life

Tarika “Taylor” Millicent:

Born February 9, 2016

She is the older twin!!

Padma and Theodore were not prepared to have another baby let alone TWO

Her godfather is Marcus Flint and he teaches her how to lie and she runs after it

She is very close to her twin brother, even if she teases him all the time

She loves her older sisters and thinks they are all so glamorous and cool

She is really close to Hajari though, especially when he has the triplets, even if she’s at school for the first few months of their life

She’s sorted into Gryffindor just like Hajari and writes to him often about it

When she graduates, she gets a job writing about new/up and coming Quidditch players

It’s how she meets Ollie Jay

He’s the new Keeper for the Magpies and the attraction is instant

About five months into the relationship, Tarika decides that she wants a baby, and Ollie Jay is so for it

Exactly a year after they meet, they get married while Tarika is six months pregnant

They’re really happy together, despite both of their families concerns

And the bridge the Nott and Wood families, which means that their kids have soooo many cousins

Rishi “Ray” Terrance:

The younger twin!!

He is the absolute baby of the family and hates it!

Padma gets postpartum depression after having the twins and it takes a few months (and some therapy) to break out of it

She had been so happy to have them, but knowing that they were her last babies (after accepting that Vee would be her last baby) was really difficult for her to accept

Theodore is really supportive, but it’s not easy to care for the four youngest kids by himself

Rishi’s godfather is Cassius Warrington and he is so happy to even be considered let alone actually a godfather

Rishi struggles a little being the youngest and with such a big age difference between him and his brothers

Theodore sees this and they often go out just the pair of them, and it’s really good for both of them to not only get time together but also away from all the girls

He is so happy when Ernika is born because he thinks that makes him not the baby of the family, but it’s not how that works

He’s sorted into Hufflepuff at Hogwarts and he likes that he’s completely by himself and none of his siblings

When he’s fourteen, a new family moves into their building, and Rishi meets Eliza Russ

She’s a year younger than him and they start as friends, but they are so in love within hours of meeting each other

Padma and Theodore know that something is up within two days and they’re happy to meet Eliza

(It was not complaining when Tarika teased him about being the baby, the usual bait)

When he graduates, he starts his training at St. Mungo’s and it’s interesting working with his Appa and brother (at least in the same building)

He goes into Oncology (cancer treatment)

When Eliza graduates he proposes and they move in together

They get pregnant within a year with triplets

Eliza wasn’t very happy at her job at the Ministry and is just happy to be home with their kids

They adopt a little girl after struggling to get pregnant again, and a month later Eliza finds out she’s pregnant

They have three more kids

I just love Padma and Theodore and their big happy family!!

#head canons #harry potter #family #theodore nott #padma patil #Nott children #ask game

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