#in celebration of Flufftober 2022

[justalonelyslytherin]

Secret Family Recipe - Jake 'Hangman' Seresin

Pairing: Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x female Reader

Summary: Just married, Jake's mother deems her new daughter-in-law ready to learn the families secret and special recipes. All. Jake has other some more slightly different plans.

Warnings: fluff. Slightly suggestive at the end - use of an innuendo - but otherwise pg

Wordcount: 1.3k

If you enjoyed reading this, please consider leaving a comment or reblogging. I don't allow for my content to be copied, translated, or reposted on other websites/apps. Please don't steal my work.

A/N: This is part of @flufftober's Flufftober 2022 as well as my 300 Follower Celebration. Divider's are by the lovely @/firefly-graphics

When she had met and consequently fallen in love with Jake Seresin she hadn’t expected to also fall in love with the way he loved his family, even less so with his family themselves. From the moment he had introduced her to them though, the deal had been sealed. They had welcomed her with open arms, not hesitating to make her part of the family even before Jake had officially done so.

“Now that you are a proper Seresin it’s time to introduce you to all our family recipes.” Jake's mother was excited for all she could tell. The woman had wasted no time to seize her chance and drag her into the kitchen while commandeering her son to go help on the ranch outside.

Now they were here in the huge country kitchen that the Seresin ranch had. It was the dream of every baker and cook. The kitchen island in the middle was littered with assortments of bakeware and ingredients of all sorts. It was an overwhelming amount of things she recognized and things she had no clue about.

First things first, however, they had turned towards the cups and big tea selection Mrs. Seresin curated. Standing beside her mother-in-law she nestled a big cup of steaming tea in her hands, while Jake’s mother stirred her own cup. 

“All of them?” she asked as Mrs. Seresin took a sip of her cup. Before the older woman could answer her, they were disturbed. In walked Ellie - Jake’s younger sister - causing both women to look her way.

“Jeez, mum, are we doing disaster prepping now, or are you trying to feed the entire Navy?” Ellie joked upon seeing the huge amount of things littering the workspace. 

Jake’s mother scoffed and rolled her eyes. “No. But it’s time to pass down the family recipes to your new sister-in-law.” 

Loudly gasping, Ellie turned towards her. “Really?” she asked excitedly, running over to her and bouncing back and forth on her feet. Smiling, she nodded at Ellie and asked, “Do you want to help too?” Ellie started to beam even brighter and nodded her head enthusiastically.

“Yes!” She squealed and raced to the sink to wash her hands, “Where are we starting?” But before Mrs. Seresin could answer Ellie gasped loudly once more and turned back around to eye her up and down.

“You aren’t pregnant are you?”

The question made her splutter and choke on the sip of tea she took. The droplets of sweet tea had made it down the wrong pipe and had her cough violently as she shook her head. Mrs. Seresin patted her on the back continuously.

“No!”, she managed to squeeze out in between the coughs and when the coughing had settled down she added, “Not yet. What makes you think that?” The surprise in her voice was clear. 

Jake and she had just gotten married. In fact, they had just returned from their honeymoon, spending now the last of his military leave with his family before they would fly back to where he was stationed. They wanted kids, that was no question and no secret either. But they hadn’t made any plans yet.

Ellie shrugged her shoulders, the disappointed look on her face unconcealed, “Well mum said it’s time for all of them. But going through every recipe at once seems rushed.”

“Ellie!” Jake’s mother scolded, looking rather bashful. “I am simply excited to pass along the recipes to another daughter. She is my only daughter-in-law.”

“Who says that? What if I decide to marry a woman later on?” Ellie’s quip made her mother roll her eyes.

“Fine. She is my only daughter-in-law for now.” With that, Ellie grinned triumphantly and nodded. Satisfied she turned back towards the many ingredients.

“So where do we start?” Y/N asked, eyeing all the things on the table.

In unison both Seresin women answered, “Pie,” to which Mama Seresin added: “Pumpkin pie. I just harvested these from the garden.”

Thus they started making the dough and the filling. Jake’s mother taught her all the little tricks and tips that made the recipe so special. That made the recipe a Seresin recipe. 

The first pumpkin pie was already in the oven, slowly baking and browning. The sweet fragrance of the baked good slowly spread throughout the kitchen when they heard the front door open just before the shuffling of someone removing their shoes. Just after Jake came waltzing into the kitchen barefoot. He grinned like a Cheshire cat at the look of the three women standing there together.

“Heya cowboy,” She greeted her husband - still getting used to the term - and smiled brightly up at him from the bowl she was mixing another batch of filling. Jake eyed her up and down before walking over.

He was just about to dip his pinky into the bowl when he was whacked with a wooden spoon by his mother. “Jacob Seresin you wash your filthy paws before you touch anything in my kitchen or so god will!”

Holding up his hands in defense and snickering quietly Jake obliqued. He trudged over to the sink to wash his hands with plenty of soap to get the dirt left from the work outside off of his fingers. Once he was down he came back over to her, to wrap his arms around his wife. Y/N shuddered as her shirt got soaked. Of course, he didn’t dry his hands, the cheeky little ass he was. With a groan, she elbowed him.

“Jake!” Her scolding didn’t impress him the slightest, he only chuckled into her ear and leaned his head on her shoulder.

“What are you doing?” He asked softly, pressing a kiss to her shoulder and squeezing her waist.

“Baking,” she answered with pursed lips causing him to rumble behind her - he could obviously see and smell that. His innocent kiss to her neck quickly turned less innocent as his teeth grazed over the sensitive skin. Goosebumps spread over her body, she nearly dropped the spoon she was holding from the sensation too. When he went so far as to even lightly bite her there, she shuddered against him, once more jabbing him with her elbow. He didn’t care. Of course, he didn’t.

“I can see that, sweets. But what are you baking?”

“Pumpkin pie.” 

Jake behind her hummed, “Delicious,” he whispered. The way he said it she wasn’t sure if he meant the pie or her.

Ellie groaned and shot a murderous glare towards her brother, “Shut up or I’ll dunk the bowl of pumpkin seeds on your head, Jake.”

Jake laughed once more, “You wouldn’t dare sully mum’s kitchen like that.” Ellie rolled her eyes and grumbled. He was right. Their mother would have a heart attack having pumpkin innards and seeds strewn through her kitchen.

Once Ellie had turned back to focus on her own task, Jake turned his attention back to his wife. He pressed himself against her back and rolled his hips against her behind. Lowly he murmured into her ear, “Want to sully somethin’ else later? I got some better seeds.”

His words made her feel like she was on fire. Heat crept up her neck and encompassed her cheeks and ears. Gasping, she faltered in her movement, nearly dropping the spoon in her hand into the bowl.

“Jake,” she whined quietly, huffing about his unfairness. How could he say this right now, in front of his family, and expect her to stay calm?

“Wouldn’t you like it if we had our own little pumpkin by next year?” His hands crept around her middle, one sliding under her shirt to rub against her belly. “I’d certainly enjoy seeing you as round as one.”

[yelenasdiary]

Flufftober Masterlist

Here you can find all my works for Flufftober 2022!

All these are 'X Reader'.

✨ = Fluff | 💥 = Light Angst | 🧸 = Domestic Family Life | 🥰 = Platonic | 😈 = Smut

Requests are open

Characters -

The Right Time - Natasha Romanoff | ✨

Winter Cold - Natasha Romanoff | ✨

Home of Love - Yelena Belova | 💥 | ✨

Safe & Sound - Natasha Romanoff | ✨

Safety Net - Wanda Maximoff | ✨

Secret Kisses - Alice Chambers | 💥 | ✨

Celebrities -

Mini Amy March - Florence Pugh | ✨ | 🧸

Cuddles & More - Scarlett Johansson | ✨ | 💥

Cravings - Florence Pugh | ✨ | 🧸

Shiny Surprise - Florence Pugh | ✨

Stress Relief - Florence Pugh | ✨

A Helping Hand - Elizabeth Olsen | ✨

[howtodrawyourdragon]

She Told Her Parents

Flufftober 2022 Day 2!

Summary: Written for Flufftober 2022 Day 2. Set in a Modern AU. Astrid tells Hiccup that she told her parents of what they’ve done.

Warning: /

Rating: General

Characters: Hiccup, Astrid

Pairing: Hiccstrid

Words: 557

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Prompt: “You’ve told your parents?”

Author’s Notes: I had fun writing this one!

Constructive criticism is appreciated.

Enjoy!

AO3

“You’ve told your parents?” Hiccup asks his wife, trying to sound nonchalant before he sips from his coffee.

“Uh… Yup!” Astrid shrugs, trying to sound just as nonchalant and arguably pulling it off better than her husband is, who chokes and then promptly burns his lips and tongue.

She did? She told them?! He hasn’t even told his own parents yet!

The thought of telling his dad… Well, it doesn’t send him reeling with excitement, that’s for sure.

“Have you told yours?” Of course, she asks. She can read him like a book.

“Eh,” that’s the answer she gets and it’s the only one she needs. Hiccup Haddock has not yet told his parents that they eloped.

They got engaged over two years ago, Hiccup proposed to Astrid after a sparring match that turned into a laughing fit on the floor of Astrid’s usual gym. It’s quite a while to be engaged for, but they tried to plan their wedding, emphasis on “tried.” Because you see, the Hoffersons have traditions, they wanted Astrid’s wedding to go and look a certain way. And the haddocks. Well, they had traditions as well, they wanted Hiccup’s wedding to go and look a certain way.

Astrid has a very stubborn mother, Hiccup a very stubborn father. And when her father decided to take her mothers side and his mother became a little too uncomfortable with how their wedding day was referred to as “Astrid’s day”... Well, that just made the drama all the more dramatic.

And when parents get involved, so grandparents, and Astrid’s aunts and uncles. On the complete opposite end, there were their friends and all of their opinions as well.

They wanted to listen, make everyone happy, but at some point Their Day stopped being theirs and when they realized this that’s when they decided to elope. They got married at city hall.

Astrid has a cup of coffee of her own that she’s been warming her hands with. She places it down.

“Do you regret it?”

Hiccup gives her a surprised look before smiling.

“let's see; we got to celebrate our day our way, I married the love of my life-”

“The one besides Toothless, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Hiccup laughs at her teasing.

“We had him and Stormfly there, and we had no drama besides what we have caused or are about to cause once we tell people that we’ve eloped. No, I can’t say I regret it,” he sums it all up and Astrid smiles at the amusement of it all.

No one’s going to be happy when they hear “Hiccstrid” eloped and invited nobody. Heather would be devastated, she was Astrid’s Maid of Honor. And Snotlout, who’d made himself Hiccup’s Best Man would feel scandalized.

It’s the twins who would love them for just eloping and avoiding the drama all together.

“They weren’t happy about it, by the way,” Astrid mentions. “My parents.”

“I told them over the phone, turned off my sound, and it hasn’t stopped vibrating since.”

“Is that why your phone vibrated off the nightstand last night?” Hiccup asks and she nods. They both snicker at the hilarity of it all.

Oh, they have opened a can of worms, haven’t they? Well, there’s no changing their minds now, what’s been done has been done. What matters is that neither of them regret it.

[mostlymarvelsstuff]

Happy New Year!!! 🎆

2023 is quickly approaching, and to celebrate, and welcome the new beginnings why not highlight this years best offerings.

Make a list of ten of your favorite fics to have come out in 2022; offer up five of your own (give or take), and let the rest be from your fellow writers. 🥰

Oh god, ok I can't narrow it down so have 10 others:

The One Chance series by @babbygirlblues

Peeping Kate series by @dirtyvulture

To Be series by @romanoffsbish

Birthday Baby by @kitesxromanova

Wish We Could Be Like That series by @katethewriter

Youre MY Omega by @daddynattt

I Want You by @gayerthanevertbh

Watching by @cthulhus-curse

There Is Darkness In All Of Us series by @just-a-torn-up-masterpiece

Come Home by @smalls-words

And then 5 of mine:

To Call You Mine series (R x Nat)[a/b/o fic]

Surrounded By You series (R x Nat)

A Selfless Soul series (R x Nat, eventual R x Nat x Wanda)

Flufftober Day 12 "You Kept This?" (R x Nat)

Kinktober Drabble #9 (Rx WandaNat)

[the-orion-scribe]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love❤

Here I go! It's a bit difficult picking my top five favorites

5. Birthday Surprises | Gravity Falls | G | In another exclusive peek into the Pine Tree Journal, Dipper reflects on his 40th birthday with his sister.

4. Special Delivery | Gravity Falls | G | Pacifica Northwest makes a special delivery to the Corduroy Cabin and takes a glimpse of a loving family. A Wendy-Pacifica bonding fic.

3. The Life and Lies of Stan Pines | Gravity Falls | G | On Stan’s birthday we shall review the life of the Man of Mystery. Written on June 15 2022, inspired by Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven, which is interspersed with birthdays the main character celebrated through important stages in his life. This is my first work without dialogue for the most part.

2. A Brief Return Backwards to the Past | Gravity Falls | G | In this special episode, Dipper's and Pacifica's children went back in time and caught a glimpse the past and what their mother was like, before everything changed. This is one of my earliest works I believe still holds up in quality.

Flufftober 2022 Day XXXI: A Sweet Treat | Gravity Falls | G | A long time ago, in a Mystery Shack far far away.... The grand finale of this beloved collection of 31 flufftober stories!

Thanks for the ask!

[rockingrobin69]

My year in fic 2022

Some lovely people on here tagged me to participate. In true Robin fashion, I waited till the last minute, but for a good reason. 

You see, for me, 2022 was year of the short story, year of the tumblr. And it just so happens that yesterday I’ve reached 200 shorts over the course of the year! Ranging from 50 to 2,500 words, in all flavours of fluff, h/c, angst, soft, you name it. 200 fics.

And... that calls for a bit of a celebration, I think. Of the Robin kind (some self recs, some ramblings, and a lot, a lot of love). 

Self rec - Five Fics I Still Think About Occasionally 

Opportune (100 words):  

They didn’t have any food, and the blanket in the boot was still dirty from that day on the beach, so Harry popped into Greggs for sausage rolls and transfigured his own jacket into something mat-adjacent.

as-you-wish (500 words): 

One year they went as Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. It was Draco’s idea: he kept saying how funny it’d be, how fitting. “Seeing as I am, one must admit, a hugely bad influence,” he said with a kiss to Harry’s nose. “And you’re so easily led, if the Prophet is to be believed.”

Wholeheart (500 words): 

There was nothing he didn’t allow him, to say, to do, to needlessly, extravagantly buy. As if he’s made it his life’s mission to give Harry anything he could ever want. Like he was quite content with watching Harry let loose, with letting him melt and unravel and then joyfully, purposefully tie him back together again.

The possibly grave case of madeleines (900 words): 

Lo-Mal-Draco sighed. “I’m sorry to be bothering you with this petty business so early in the morning, but I’m afraid something’s afoot. After the grand job you did at Lancashire, I thought perhaps I could use your remarkable skills once again.”

The blush came on in bits and pieces, warm on his face. “I wasn’t exactly… just happened to be… would love to be use—of use—do you really think you’re in danger?”

“Not enough to warrant further delay on the tea, no.”

Charged (2,500 words): 

By the end of October Harry knew he had a serious problem. It wasn’t so much how tiny little changes made such a transformation in the place he thought he knew. Wasn’t the scented candles, or the potted plants taking over every flat surface, or the new rug instead of the hideous carpet, the soft one. It wasn’t even the new bedsheets that appeared in his cupboard, ones that didn’t make his skin itch.

It was this: in the middle of his living room, sprawled on the sofa in socks and a house coat—where the fuck did he even get that?—hair still wet, moaning with absolutely no shame around something chocolatey and terrible.

It was this: Malfoy wouldn’t leave.

Also, cheekily: this year I participated in three month-long fests -

28 drabbles for @hdcandyheartsfest (as gentle as you can imagine)

31 drabbles for @domaystic (truly truly fluffy)

31 entries for  @flufftober (you can - I mean you can pretty much guess. it’s SOFT.)

Ramblings:

The thing is, my friends, the thing is, none of this would have happened without you. None. Not one fic would have ever been posted if it wasn’t for your encouragement, your enthusiasm, your example and your love. And so this is in fact a celebration of you!!! Thank you! thank you! thank you! for inspiring, teaching, indulging, supporting, for being here, for being you. Thank you. 

Love: YOU! 

[loveeharrington]

main masterlist <3

flufftober 2022 , little romantic gestures prompts ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

*ೃ༄ harry potter

harry potter , ron weasley , hermione granger , draco malfoy , remus lupin , sirius black , james potter

*ೃ༄ gilmore girls

rory gilmore , tristan dugray , logan huntzberger , jess mariano

*ೃ༄ the summer i turned pretty

conrad fisher , jeremiah fisher , steven conklin , taylor jewel

*ೃ༄ marvel

tasm!peter parker

*ೃ༄ the vampire diaries

caroline forbes , katherine pierce , damon salvatore , klaus mikealson , rebekah mikealson

*ೃ༄ american horror story

tate langdon , violet harmon , kit walker , lana winters

*ೃ༄ stranger things

steve harrington , robin buckley , nancy wheeler

*ೃ༄ avatar

jake sully , neytiri , neteyam , lo’ak , tsireya

— 100 follower celebration ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

[sofya-fanfics]

There Are Some Lucky Coincidences

My Flufftober 2022 contribution for the prompt : Reunion.

I’m sorry for the mistakes, English is not my native language. I hope you like it.

Summary : Suddenly Hermione saw a blond man near the exit. She frowned, thinking that she knew him. From where she was, she could not see his face. Yet, the way he held himself was familiar. For a second, she thought of Draco Malfoy. But she quickly told herself that it was impossible. It had been almost ten years since she had seen him and it would have been surprising to meet him in a muggle restaurant.

Disclaimer : Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling.

@flufftober​

AO3 / FF.NET

Hermione got out of her car and headed for the restaurant, Laurel's. The whole Granger family was getting together for her grandparents' wedding anniversary. They had decided to celebrate the event in the most prominent restaurant in London and had reserved a table for the occasion. Hermione entered the restaurant and immediately understood why the waiting list was so long. They led her to her table, where her parents, some of her cousins and her aunt were waiting. When her mother saw her arrive, she approached her and kissed her.

“I'm glad you come,” her mother said.

“I wouldn't have missed this for the world.”

Her mother smiled. It was not rare for Hermione to be unable to go to a family reunion. Her work was taking all her time and Hermione knew that if she wanted to get the promotion she hoped for, she had to work harder. The rest of her family and her grandparents arrived. Dinner began. Her grandparents seemed really happy with their party. But Hermione could not help thinking about this new client she had to defend. It was a case that could change everything in her career and she should not make any mistakes. Hermione looked at her watch, wondering if she still had time to reread her files.

“Hermione.”

Hermione snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her mother.

“Tonight, you're not thinking about work.”

“You're right, sorry.”

Hermione picked up her drink and took a sip. Suddenly she saw a blond man near the exit. She frowned, thinking that she knew him. From where she was, she could not see his face. Yet, the way he held himself was familiar. For a second, she thought of Draco Malfoy. But she quickly told herself that it was impossible. It had been almost ten years since she had seen him and it would have been surprising to meet him in a muggle restaurant. It was just a man who looked like him.

******

The next day, Hermione went to the Laurel again. She had been looking for her cellphone all morning. Whether in her apartment or at her office, she could not to find it. The only other place she had been the night before was the restaurant. She did not need her cellphone for work, she privileged wizard modes of communication, but it was the only way she had to keep in touch with her parents and the rest of her family. Hermione opened the door and a waitress approached her.

“I'm sorry,” she said softly. “But we are not open yet.”

“Excuse me, but I think I forgot my cellphone last night.”

While the waitress went to get Hermione's cellphone, she looked around the room. She had not really had time to do it the night before. She heard the door to the kitchens. Hermione expected to see the waitress coming back with her cellphone. Instead, the blond man she had seen the day before arrived from the kitchen, accompanied by the chef. Hermione let out a gasp of surprise when she recognized Draco Malfoy. It was him she had seen. But what was he doing here ? For a moment, she told herself that she should just forget about her cellphone and leave the restaurant. He had not noticed her and she did not want to see him. She considered the options she had, when the waitress returned.

“Excuse me for keeping you waiting,” she said, handing her the cellphone.

It caught the two men’s attention. Draco opened his eyes wide.

“Granger !” He exclaimed.

Hermione greeted him. What else could she do ? It was too late to run away. Besides, they were adults now and they had left Hogwarts a long time ago. The chef approached her, smiling and shook her hand. He was very tall. He had warm blue eyes, gray hair, and a big mustache. He must have been fifty-five.

“Are you Draco's friend ?” he asked.

“Just acquaintances,” Draco replied, approaching. “We were in the same school.”

Just acquaintances, Hermione thought. Before the war, he had made sure to spend part of his time making her life and her friends’, a living hell. But Hermione just nodded, not wanting to dwell on this conversation.

“I see,” the chef said.

There was a glimmer in his eyes that Hermione recognized. It was the same glimmer a wizard had when he recognized her, or recognized Harry and Ron. She wondered if this man was a wizard. Draco ended the conversation.

“It's time for me to go. Glad to see you Granger.”

He was indifferent and he gave her a polite nod of greeting.

“See you later Jo,” he told the chef.

He smiled warmly and said :

“See you later, son.”

This simple sentence surprised Hermione. Were the two men so close ? Draco greeted the waitress and left the restaurant. The chef, Jo, looked at her and said :

“It was nice to meet you miss.”

He returned to the kitchen. Hermione took her cellphone and left the restaurant. She returned to her car and waited a few minutes before driving off. She though back to this unreal encounter she had just had. What were the chances of meeting Draco Malfoy in this restaurant ? And more importantly, what was he doing in the muggle world ? When the trials had taken place after the war, Draco and his mother had avoided Azkaban, unlike Lucius, thanks to Harry's testimony. But it had been decided that Narcissa had to spend a year on probation and was forbidden to leave Malfoy Manor. As for her son, he had to live a year without magic among Muggles, without any contact with the wizarding world. Hermione had thought that once his sentence ended, Draco would have rushed into the wizarding world, not wanting to be near Muggles anymore. She started her car, telling herself that all this had nothing to do with her and that she would not see him again.

******

A week had passed and her encounter with Draco was just a memory that Hermione had quickly forgotten. She had decided to visit Ginny and spend the afternoon with her friend. She had so much work lately, that she had neglected her friends and she wanted to redeem herself. Ginny poured her another cup of tea, while James had fun coloring in a coloring book Hermione had given him. Albus, who was only five months old, was sleeping upstairs. Hermione took a sip of her tea and Ginny said :

“A friend of mine told me about this fashionable muggle restaurant. Apparently there are those restaurant all over the country. Since she went there, she only talks about that. I would love to go, I feel like it's been ages since we've spent an evening alone with Harry.”

“Which restaurant is it?” Hermione asked.

“The Laurel’s. Isn't that restaurant where your grandparents celebrated their anniversary ?”

Hermione almost choked and coughed.

“I don't think it's a good idea to go there,” she said.

“Why ?”

Hermione told her about her encounter with Draco a week ago. Ginny frowned, thinking about what her friend had just told her. Hermione continued her story.

“What was strange was that he seemed to know the staff. Maybe he works there.”

“That would be surprising from Malfoy. I don't see him working in a restaurant. Above all in a muggle restaurant.”

Ginny drank some tea and said :

“It is true that no one has heard of him since his trial. It's as if he had completely disappeared.”

After another sip of tea Ginny changed the subject and explained to her friend all the preparations she had made for James's birthday party and Hermione's encounter with Draco became an anecdote.

******

It was raining in torrents in the streets of London. Hermione tried to shield herself the best she could with her jacket. She cursed herself for not thinking to take an umbrella. She felt like she had been waiting for the bus for hours and she hoped to see it arrive soon. She knew she could apparate home. Some wizards did not understand why she bothered to take the bus, like Ron for example. But it was important for her to continue to live like muggles, even if her friends and her work were in the wizarding world, she found a balance to live between both worlds.

A shadow passed over her head and the rain no longer touched her. She looked up and saw an umbrella shielding her. Draco was next to her and he was holding the umbrella. Hermione looked at him, surprised. He smirked.

“Twice in a short time,” he said. “Looks like you follow me.”

“I could tell you the same.”

“I live in the neighborhood.”

Hermione had been taking that bus to go home for years. During all this time, they had perhaps crossed paths without knowing it.

“I'm waiting for the bus to go home,” Hermione said.

Draco gave him a funny look. The same one all the wizards gave her her when she told them she preferred to take public transport. Sometimes, she felt as if she had announced that Voldemort had just been reincarnated. The bus arrived and Hermione thanked Draco. She got on the bus and sat down. She looked out the window and saw him disappear through the London crowd.

******

It was not rare for Hermione to run into Draco on a London street in the days that followed, especially when she was waiting for the bus and he was going home. Their conversations were simple and brief. Just a sign to greet each other politely or a few words when they had time. It was strange, Hermione thought. They had known each other for years and yet it was as if all that time they had hated each other had disappeared. Time had passed and they were adults. The war had changed Hermione and so had Draco. She wondered why he had decided to live among muggles. She still had a little trouble imagining him outside of the wizarding world.

Hermione looked out the large windows of the reception room. Night had fallen. She had accepted the invitation of one of her clients who had organized a party. She had not dared to refuse, but she was beginning to regret to accept it. She did not know anyone and she had not eaten today, she was starving. She tried to satisfy her hunger with a few petit fours, but nothing helped. On the top of that, her new shoes made her live a living hell. She told herself that it was time for her to leave. She had stayed long enough to be polite and it was not like anyone would miss her. She ate a few petit fours before leaving when she heard someone calling her name. She swallowed the petit four with difficulty, ashamed that someone had seen her pounce on the buffet. She turned around and saw Draco who was amused to have surprised her in this situation. Why ? She wondered. Why did he have to be the one who surprised her ?

“I haven't eaten today,” she tried to make excuses.

Draco nodded and took some petit fours. They did not talk. Hermione felt uneasy. What could she say to him ? It was not like they were friends. She thought about what she could say. Anything that can break that silence. Eventually she said the first thing that came into her mind :

“I didn't know you knew the host.”

“Not personally. It was Jo who should have been here, but he got held up. He asked me to replace him.”

A new silence took over.

��I think we've put enough in an appearance,” Draco said. “And you need a real meal.”

“We can't leave like this!”

“Why ? Nobody pays attention to us.”

Hermione looked around and indeed, no one was looking at them.

“Come on. I invite you.”

Hermione accepted. She told herself there was nothing wrong to have dinner together. They left the building and walked in the streets of London. Hermione recognized the way to the Laurel. After a few minutes, they reached their destination. The lights inside the restaurant were off, meaning there had been no sitting that evening. Draco opened the door with the key he had. He asked Hermione in and turned on the lights. He turned a chair over that was on a table and asked Hermione to sit down. He laid the table for two. Hermione watched him and noticed that he was in his element, as if he had been doing it for years. Then, he headed for the kitchens. It was new questioning to add to the Draco Malfoy mystery. Since seeing him again, Hermione had asked herself hundreds of questions about the man he had become. He had changed a lot. But that was normal after all these years. Draco returned a few minutes later, two dishes in his hands, he put it on the table. It was a dish of spaghetti with a sauce, but it looked like like a chef's dish. The aroma was delicious, which only whetted her appetite. She tasted the dish and opened her eyes wide. She never thought it would be so good.

“Surprise ?” Draco asked.

Hermione nodded.

“I didn't know you could cook.”

“It's thanks to Jo. He taught me everything.”

They continued to eat dinner in silence, until Hermione decided to break it. She told herself that if she wanted answers to her questions, it was now or never.

“You and Jo are close, aren't you?”

“Since I know him, he has always acted like a father to me.”

Hermione hoped he would open up a bit more.

“What happened after your trial ? If I'm not indiscreet.”

Draco put down his fork and his gaze was faraway, as if he was remembering the past few years. Hermione thought she had made a mistake. She should never have asked him that question. It would not have surprised her if he started insulting her and telling her to mind her own business. But unexpectedly, Draco took a deep breath and told her his story :

“As you know it, I narrowly avoided Azkaban thanks to Potter. But I had to live a year in the muggle world with the prohibition to use magic. I had been entitled to a certain amount of money and an apartment that looked more like a closet without any comfort. The first few weeks were hell. The first days, I spent them locked up at home. I was afraid of this strange world which I knew nothing about. How ironic, isn't it ? Draco Malfoy who was afraid to be with muggles. In a short time, the money started to run out, I couldn't find a job, I almost found myself on the street. And when I thought I never would get out of it, I met Jo.”

He stopped talking for a moment. Hermione did not dare to say a word.

“Jo is a wizard. He settled into the muggle world after his wife passed away, it was a few years before Voldemort's return. Her name was Laurel. Even if he already knew what happened during the war, he listened to my story. Unexpectedly, he offered me a job in his restaurant. He taught me everything, from sitting to cooking. As the years went by, with his talent as a cook and my business sense that I inherited from my father,  we opened several restaurants all over the country.”

At the end of his story, Hermione thought about what he had just said. She never imagined that his year in the muggle world could be so difficult.

“You never went back to the wizarding world ?” Hermione asked.

“Once,” he replied. “As soon as the year was over, I went to Diagon Alley.”

He smiled, but it was not a happy smile. It was rather bitter as if he was remembering an unpleasant memory.

“The looks of hate people were giving me. Some insults I heard. No matter what I do, for them, I will always be a Death Eater. Since then, I haven't returned to the wizarding world, except to the manor to visit my mother. At least among muggles I was able to start over. My life is here now.”

Without thinking about what she was doing Hermione put her hand on Draco's. He squeezed it. Apart from Jo, he had not told anyone what had happened to him. Not even to Narcissa, whom he had not wanted to worry. He finally had the impression of being taken a weight off his mind.

******

Walking in the park, with Albus in his stroller and James in Hermione's arms, Ginny glanced at her friend. She had noticed that she looked less stressed and she was smiling more. She wondered if this sudden good mood had something to do with a former Slytherin. Hermione had told her that she had seen Draco several times since their improvise dinner at the restaurant. Even if Hermione refused to admit it to herself, Ginny knew that she was beginning to have feelings for him. Hermione said he had changed, without going into details. But Ginny had trouble trusting him. It was stronger than her. She did not want her friend to be miserable and she refused that Draco hurt her by using her. Even if Hermione said he apologized for what he did at Hogwarts, Ginny wanted to check it for herself. She had decided to go to the restaurant the next day.

Ginny observed the place. She quickly understood why this restaurant was the new fashionable place. A waiter approached her and sat her down at a table. At this time of day, the restaurant was rather full of businessmen who had a business lunch or friends who met before going back to work. She ordered and had lunch. Everything was delicious. When the bill was brought to her, she asked :

“Is Draco Malfoy here today?”

The waitress nodded.

“Could you tell him that an old friend from school would like to see him.”

The waitress said that she would fetch him. After a few minutes, Ginny saw Draco arrive from the kitchens. He had a slight movement of surprise when he saw her, but quickly pulled himself together. He walked over to the table and smiled to hide that he was feeling uncomfortable.

“Ginny Weasley. I should have known a Gryffindor would come here one day.”

“It's Ginny Potter now. But please, sit down.”

Draco sat opposite Ginny and she was enjoying his lack of confidence. It was the first time she had seen him like this.

“I guess Hermione spoke to you,” he said.

“Hermione is my best friend, she tells me everything. So listen to me. If you hurt her, if you make her cry, I will make you regret it.”

“I have no intention of hurting her.”

Ginny nodded and rose from her chair. She looked at him one last time. She could feel Draco's gaze on her until she left.

******

After spending the evening together, Draco and Hermione had decided to enjoy the streets of London. Draco could not help chuckling at the thought of Ginny. Hermione looked at him, surprised.

“It's nothing,” he said. “It's just that I was thinking about a red tornado that came to the restaurant today.”

Hermione opened her eyes wide, horrified that this red tornado could be her friend.

“Don't tell me it was Ginny ?”

Draco nodded. Hermione paled as she imagined what Ginny might have done or said. She should have known that she would have tried to meet Draco.

“What did she want?” Hermione asked almost shyly.

“Oh, you know, the usual things.”

He cleared his throat and tried to imitate the menacing look Ginny had given him.

“If you hurt my friend, you will regret it.”

He laughed lightly.

“She can be really scary when she wants to.”

Hermione cursed Ginny. Why ? Why had she done that ? Could not she trust her when she told her that Draco had changed. She apologized for Ginny's behavior.

“She cares a lot about you,” Draco said. “She worries about the relationship we may have.”

That was no need, Hermione thought. Even if she would certainly have done the same for her friend. Suddenly, Hermione realized what she was refusing to admit to herself. And Ginny had probably figured that out a long time ago. She felt something for Draco that was much stronger than friendship. She stopped walking and looked at Draco.

“And you, what do you think ? What kind of relationship do we have ?”

“I think we can say for certain that we are friends. I even think that we are becoming more than friends.”

“Really ?” Hermione smiled.

Draco nodded and took her hand. Their fingers intertwined.

“I'd also like to know where this might take us,” he said.

“I would like to know too.”

They got closer and kissed. It was just a coincidence that they met again one evening in a restaurant. But sometimes, there are some lucky coincidences.

The end

[true-blue-sonic]

🥰 I'd like something happy! Im home for two days this week because I celebrate Diwali

I looked it up and that is a Hindu holiday, is it not? I hope you have a nice holiday and enjoy the festivities!🍀

This is a story from Flufftober 2022, specifically for the prompt First Dance.

~~~~~~

“Amy never told me getting married would be so hectic.”

Espio merely hums in return, shoulders pulled up and body expertly hidden in the shadows of Tails’ workshop. With a smile that has refused to leave his face since the early afternoon, where he and Espio had exchanged three little words and a ring each, Silver leans closer against the other, his fingers fiddling with the newly-placed golden band around one such digit. “At least everyone is having fun, no?” the hedgehog cheekily adds, Espio’s tail giving a flick.

“Would you describe Charmy losing the rings as fun?”

“He got them back.” Hand drifting over to Espio’s to begin fiddling with that ring next Silver nuzzles the ninja’s face, his beloved’s arm wrapped around his back until they have all but merged into one being of love and happiness and adoration. Though, the wedding party is still in full swing outside their tiny hideaway nearby Mystic Ruins; and he’s gotta hand to Amy that planning it here was an amazing idea, Silver concedes to himself. If he leans just a bit wayward he can peek past the wooden wall of the workshop and witness their delighted friends, sharing in their joy... “When do you think they’ll notice we’re gone?” the hedgehog adds amusedly.

“Preferably later than sooner. You know Vector wants me to hold a toast,” Espio answers with a most displeased huff, and the pure, burning happiness in Silver’s chest can only rise higher.

“Not with music that loud, heh. And Vector’s been after the champagne a lot, we can just tell him you held a speech and he missed it.”

Grinning most incorrigibly at Espio’s half-scolding, half-amused, fully-happy glance his way Silver leans up on his tiptoes to press a kiss against the other’s lips- before muffling a laugh at a higher-pitched voice rising up behind the chameleon. “None of that!” Amy, designated wedding planner, pouts from where she comes racing closer. “What are you two doing, meandering around all secluded?? You can’t just sneak out at your own wedding!!”

“Come on, Amy, we’re still here!” Silver protests with a massive grin, arms lavishly wrapped around Espio’s shoulders and the chameleon’s lips twitching up in amusement also.

“But not participating,” the prompt retort comes, though Amy’s movements are nothing but tender and loving as she smooths out some of Silver’s quills and checks Espio’s clothes. “As it stands, the dances are coming up, and naturally our grooms are going to take the lead.”

“...Oh yeah, dancing.”

“Silver, for all that is good and holy in this world, tell me you two practiced.”

“...Sort of?” the hedgehog grins more sheepishly, Espio’s arms suddenly rather tense around his body. Sure, he and Espio sometimes like to share some steps around the living room... but he cannot shake the feeling psychokinetic flying and swirling is not exactly what Amy has in mind here.

If the way the pink hedgehog’s eyes narrow is any indication she knows very well what he is thinking, though before he and Espio can be forced into a solo practice run behind Tails’ workshop Silver has already grabbed his beloved’s hand and tugged him past the wall. “We can hardly embarrass ourselves,” the hedgehog mutters under his breath at Espio as the other makes a noise of surprise. “It’s not as if anyone else here can dance.”

“I mean, I do suppose,” Espio mumbles back, and that is all the two newlyweds can discuss before a cheer goes up when they’ve neared their group of friends. Leaning back into Espio’s body – all that attention is making him flustered, despite his earlier words – Silver lets it all wash over him; he is floating and life is hardly real around him but he and Espio are married and are going to spend the rest of their lives together even more than they already were now and thus he can only nod and smile at the praises and well-wishes everyone is giving to them. “Amy says we need to go to the first dance,” his beloved speaks up over the tumult, his fingers warm on Silver’s back. “So we just... uh.”

“Change the music!” Sonic, surprisingly dapper in his tuxedo jacket and bowtie despite also volunteering as DJ for the day, fills in, already bouncing off to the music boxes blasting upbeat songs in the distance. With some fiddling and fine-tuning a slower song gets put on instead, Silver’s feet nervously shuffling on the ground. With music like that, everything seems so more official...

“You’re the one who said we can hardly embarrass ourselves,” Espio mumbles into his ear, the hedgehog merely squeaking. He cannot deny that, but with everyone’s eyes on them...!

Luckily Amy seems to have mercy on them, gesturing for Sonic to grasp her hands. “Let’s all dance.”

“Your wish is my command,” the speedster smirks back... before all but swooping Amy off her feet, who yells, which is followed by the rest of the party laughing and forming couples and trios of their own, and Silver can only heave a deep sigh of relief at the attention being swept away from him and Espio.

“...Well. That is preferable.” Lips twitching up in a smile Espio looks down, and Silver’s stomach twirls and flutters just as much as that day where he realised just what he felt for the chameleon. “May I have this dance, my love?” his husband adds, palm turned up for Silver to lay his own hand into, and with a deep breath the hedgehog nods.

“I would love that. And I love you.”

“I love you, too. To us,” Espio whispers, Silver’s head sinking onto his beloved’s shoulder as his feet fall into rhythm with the other’s shuffles.

“To us,” he agrees, the ring warm around his finger and his heart overflowing with love.

[esta-elavaris]

Flufftober 2022 - Day 18 - Soulmate AU

[Also a modern AU, in this case!]

James Norrington/Theodora

It’s very long (literally like 4.5k words), I had a looot of fun writing it because I’ve always wanted to write a “what if they met in modern times” thing, I hope you enjoy! 

Theodora Byrne readied herself for that night's family get-together with a decent amount of cheer. They called it a family get together, but the word family wasn't quite literal - it was all her dad's war buddies, their kids, their families, so on. Found family get-together didn't have the same ring to it, though. Usually she never really put too much of an effort in for these things. Anybody showing up in their Sunday best would only get teased all night for it, so she often just settled for a band tee, a pair of jeans in a reasonable state, and a coat of red lipstick to pretend she'd put the effort in. Tonight, however, there was also not one but two birthdays to celebrate - so rather than the venue being somebody's front room-slash-garden, they'd rented out a hall, gotten a DJ, and made the effort, so she had to do the same, too.

In this case, making an effort looked like a silky emerald green wrap dress, sparkly gold heels, carefully curled hair, and a coat of red lipstick. As she applied the lipstick, the soul mark on the inside of her wrist went unnoticed where it barely poked out of her sleeve - save for when she secured a delicate gold bracelet over the top to obscure the three grey words written there. No, thank you. They were pretty shit words to have. Especially as somebody who had done a stint working in retail.

She'd heard right horror stories, too, of wrong'uns who specifically sought out folk with such vague marks, trying to trick them into thinking they were their match for an easy lay. As it was, she'd never fallen afoul of such people, she always kept hers covered, and her heart had stopped skipping a beat whenever she heard those words a good few years ago - easily by the time she'd turned twenty-one, at least.

"We've a new lad joining us tonight," her dad knocked a couple of times at her door before he poked his head into the room "Keep an eye out for him, will you? Fresh out - honourable discharge on a minor medical issue."

"Is he struggling?" She tilted her head.

It wasn't unusual for her dad to bring in some stray or another who was fighting a nasty dose of the horrors. If that was the case here, though, Theo wasn't sure she saw the wisdom in throwing him into the deep end like this.

"Not like that," he shook his head "He's just new, and he's very English - not that we're holding that against him - so he might need to be eased into it a bit. He's a bit serious, but he's a good lad."

"His name?"

"James. He's tall, you'll spot him easy.

"All right," she shrugged slightly "I'll keep an eye out."

The matter slipped from Theo's mind after that, right up until she arrived and she finally set eyes on the new "lad", who was less a lad and more a man. By her definition, at least. She could see how it was a fine descriptor for her dad, but he was definitely a handful of years older than her by her own reckoning. Then again, being a soldier had a way of ageing people prematurely so maybe she was wrong.

He was tall, broad-shouldered and handsome. It wasn't a word Theo often used - thinking it always sounded awkward and over-the-top from her own mouth, but it was the only one that fit the bill here, with classical features like his. His dark hair was brushed back away from his face, a shade longer than she'd expect from someone who held themselves so primly and properly - he didn't quite look like a Beatle, but the length brushes just past his ears, curling slightly at the ends.

Theo wagered there'd be a few broken-hearted women here tonight. Endearingly, though, he was also visibly…uncertain? He was friendly enough when folk spoke to him, smiling and shaking their hands and chatting, but there was a sort of tentativeness to his posture, and he never seemed to initiate those interactions. For that, she could hardly blame him - they probably looked like a right feral lot, and he was in the unfortunate position of only knowing one or two people here. He'd likely take a bit to find his bearings.

Was it weird that it made him oddly more attractive to her, though? It was a road she wasn't going to venture down. She wasn't immune to flings, but there was something depressing about getting to her mid-twenties without having met the fated one yet. Most folk by now either already had, or were just about to. There wasn't much point in getting involved in something to pass the time, only for them to find their soulmate a week, or a month later. In her opinion, at least.

She'd been there for about half an hour when she finally waded through greetings enough to reach the drink table. Taking up a bottle at random, she began to pour herself some into a clear plastic cup when she glanced up and found the newbie a little ways away to her side, considering the drinks himself. He must've felt her gaze, for he looked up and then blinked, hesitating. Offering a smile, Theo held up the bottle in question.

He glanced at it for a moment before shaking his head "No, thank you."

"Fair enough, it's an acquired taste - and it has to be acquired by force."

When her silly little joke garnered no response, she glanced up - mostly to see if he hadn't heard her, or if he was just really determined to not even pretend to be friendly - and found him staring at her wide-eyed.

"I was only kidding," she said unsurely "So long as ye steer clear of Tom, you'll manage to get out of here having safely avoided this stuff."

"I…yes. Thank you - I appreciate the offer. And the warning."

"Any time," she smiled "We've all run afoul of Tom at least once before - tends to make people go one of two ways. Either they take pity on the newcomers and charitably warn them of the danger that waits."

"Or they want others to suffer as they have and help him in his villainous endeavours?" He asked drily.

Theo laughed "Exactly. You're lucky I'm a kind and benevolent soul."

He smiled slightly - and more softly than his general demeanour so far would have suggested. Could it be that the sternness was just a front?

"I suppose I am."

It was then that they were interrupted by one of her uncles, already red faced as he approached to Theo's left, clinking through a selection of bottles as he tried to make sense of the labels so he could decide what he'd have next.

"There she is!" he greeted Theo with a grin "Risky Business herself! Are you going to be performing later, then?"

Great. That was all she needed. One of her top five embarrassing moments paraded about in front of the handsome newbie. But showing embarrassment was a kiss of death amongst this lot, so she grinned and shrugged.

"Only if yous all ask very nicely."

"We'll beg if you need us to, girl - it's tradition!" he found the bottle he'd been looking for, held it up to her and then to the new man in a sort of salute, and returned to the dance floor.

"Am I to take it your name is Risky Business? Common in these parts, is it?" he asked.

"Oh, aye, as common as Rebbeca around here," she teased "No, it's…ugh. You might as well know so they don't tell you first - on my eighteenth I made a judgement call, got absolutely hammered on all the drinks everybody was buying me, and apparently saw fit to do a rendition of the Risky Business dance when they started playing that song - you know the one, Old Time Rock and Roll? I don't remember it, but it turns out that it was so good that it demands a repeat at each and every one of these things."

"And you give in to those demands?"

"Oh, if they smell blood they'd just be even worse about it, so I might as well pretend it's not mortifying and give the people what they want. I'm benevolent like that, like we've already established."

"We have not yet established your name, though."

"Ah. Right. Theodora," she smiled, holding out her hand for him to shake.

"You're Tony's- that is, er, Mr Byrne's daughter?" he nodded slowly, accepting her hand and shaking it firmly.

"If any of this lot hear you calling him that, you'll have your own problems to live down," she teased.

It took another moment of her waiting before he seemed to realise he had not yet told her his name, flushing slightly as he smoothed a hand over his dark hair.

"I'm James - Norrington."

"The Englishman," she nodded sagely "Dad said you'd be coming. He speaks highly of you, you know."

"He speaks more highly of you."

"That's nepotism for you."

He smiled - and his resting face was so serious that the chuckle he gave was all the warmer in contrast.

"He wouldn't have brought you here if he didn't think you'd get on with everybody," she confided, and hoped her wasn't patronising him - nor overstepping "Just don't do any dances you're not willing to repeat ad nauseum for the better part of a decade. We're all a lot to get used to, but once you do you'll be just fine."

"Yes, I'm sure I will," he said "Thank you, Theodora."

There was something about the way he said her name - like he was testing out the weight of it. She wasn't unused to people being unsure about it, it wasn't very common, but with him it was different. For a second she almost opened her mouth to tell him just to call her Theo, but she stopped. She quite liked how the full thing sounded when he said it.

~~~~

Theo saw James on and off throughout the rest of the night - chatting to other former soldiers, getting to know those of her dad's pals that he didn't already know, and slowly but surely she noticed the tension easing from his shoulders and the smoothing of his brow. He even undid the top button of his shirt, although he kept his sleeves firmly rolled down and buttoned up. Sure, he didn't end up on the dance floor, but she got the impression that he would not do so unless dragged, and that was fair.

What she noticed most of all, though, was how many times she'd glance his way to find him already watching her. And how, while that sort of thing would usually creep her out from anybody else, she found that from him it made her blush.

It was later in the night, once she'd had enough drinks to make her feel exceedingly comfortable in her own skin (but not so much that she was a complete mess) that she sat down at a small abandoned table, sweaty, a little bit dishevelled, and in a lot of pain. Easing one of her heels off with a wince, she took stock of where it had cut into the back of her heel and grimaced.

"That looks painful."

His accent gave him away - his voice too, for that matter, since it was pretty distinctive - as he took the other seat at the table.

"It'll be even worse when I put 'em back on," she said sourly.

"It seems there are some things even nepotism cannot save you from."

"I'm sorry?" She blinked her confusion, tilting her head at him.

"Oh, er," he flushed "A joke - a poor one, I'm sorry, just that-"

"Oh - right, because earlier…no, I'm sorry - I'm slow on the uptake, that was my bad," she waved a hand.

"It was a very bad joke," he reiterated, brushing off her apologies "Here."

Holding out a hand, he offered her a fresh bottle of water - one that he must've gone to the bar to get, rather than the free-for-all table, judging by the condensation dripping off of it.

"For me?" Her eyebrows raised.

"You look as though you need it."

Any suaveness of the gesture was ruined when the lads at the next table over, either too drunk or simply too uncaring to keep their voices down, muttered to each other.

"Looks like our man over there's shootin' his shot with Theo."

"Very smart or very brave."

"It's very stupid or very brave, fool."

Theo was about to tell him not to pay them only mind, but when she looked to him she found him smirking.

"An ironic part to fumble, is it not?"

Breathing a laugh, she accepted the bottle "Thank you."

Cracking it open, she took a few sips and then capped it again, pressing it to her heel and hissing through her teeth as the cold plastic made contact. She refused to read too much into the gesture - outside comments aside.

Maybe he was flirting. Or maybe he was just being friendly. Or it could even be that he was trying to kiss her dad's backside by being nice to her. She sincerely doubted that last possibility, but she wasn't naive enough to rule it out. In any case, she didn't know, and it was a nice gesture - she wasn't about to spit in the face of it.

"Are you settling in okay, then?" She asked.

"I am," he nodded "Everybody here has been very kind."

"Good," she nodded "I'm glad. Tell me if that changes."

He snorted "Are you planning on fighting my battles for me? I'm not sure I need it."

"Oh I doubt you do - but it'd be funny. And half of 'em here wouldn't feel right about hitting me back, so it's a bit of a loophole, y'know?"

"Risky Business and the Englishman," he said drily "It sounds like a terrible police comedy-drama."

Theo laughed, raking her hair back from her face and smiling at him.

"Don't invoke that name - I've gotten away with not doing it so far, you're going to jinx it."

"My apologies," he said mock-solemnly, and then he tugged at the cuff of his sleeve "I…"

No sooner had he began to speak than a halting piano riff began to blare out over the speakers and Theo groaned aloud, watching as every head in the hall began turning, trying to spot her.

"See what you did?" She scolded, putting down the water bottle.

For a moment, she vaguely considered running. But then she sighed, put her big girl pants on, and took up one of the clean cloth napkins from the table.

"Here, will you give me a hand?" she asked.

He blinked his surprise and she didn't blame him, but when she pulled her hair forward to one side of her neck and began to tuck half of the napkin beneath the back of her dress, he eventually caught on and began to help her - although sparingly, like she'd tell him off if his fingers brushed her neck too much. And maybe she would - but only because of the way it gave rise to goosebumps going all the way down her spine. She hoped he didn't notice.

By the time the napkin was tucked down the back of her dress, half of it peeking up and out like some sort of bizarre backwards bib, he was staring at her like she'd gone mad. It was a pretty fair assessment.

"It's part of the bit, you'll see - but you have to promise you won't hold what you're about to see against me," she said.

She didn't pause to wait and see if he would agree to her terms - mostly because she knew if she did, she'd bottle it at the last second and not rise to the challenge. Sighing heavily, she stood and began to march towards the dance floor to raucous drunken cheers, leaving her shoes behind so she didn't snap an ankle.

~~~~

James watched, bemused and intrigued both as his unwitting soulmate strode barefoot out onto the dance floor as though this was something she very much wanted to do. The only thing that gave away her true reluctance being the bashful smile tugging at her lips as the piano intro to Bob Seger's Old Time Rock & Roll rang out so loudly that it shook the hall.

The piano riff repeated, and she struck a pose, and then tugged up the napkin to stand on end, like she was popping up a collar. It worked, for the onlookers lost it, cheering and falling into bursts of laughter. James smiled - he couldn't help it. Ordinarily he'd find displays like these juvenile. Attention seeking, perhaps. And maybe if he did not bear Theodora's first words to him on his arm, he would think so now, too. But perhaps not. She was charming, and it wasn't as though she was demanding that everybody gather around to witness her put on a show. It was a bit of good-natured ribbing, endured with a level of humour he couldn't help but smile at.

It made sense, he supposed. Were he fated to end up with one so serious as he was often accused of being, it would make for a dreary life indeed. But Theodora? Oh, Theodora was anything but dreary.

The song picked up in earnest next - all rough vocals and upbeat guitar - and she began dancing in earnest. She was a good dancer, too, swinging her hips and moving in time to the music with just enough exaggerated cheesiness to prove she wasn't taking herself too seriously. There was a level of comfort in her own skin that entranced him - like it didn't occur to her to be uncertain of her own body just as it wouldn't occur to a cat, or some other sort of feline.

By the time the second verse began, others began joining in. Content to take that as a sign that they were laughing with her and not at her (although there hadn't been much doubt on that score), and worried that if he kept watching his gaze would become less, ahem, respectful, James excused himself from the function hall and made his way outside into the night. When she learned the truth, she likely would not thank him for having witnessed her performance.

He would have to tell her soon. Tonight would be best. He already would have done, had they not been interrupted. It wasn't ideal - he was nervous, although he'd never let something so minor as nerves prevent him from doing anything - and he'd much rather have this conversation with her when she had not been drinking. But she was tipsy at most, from what he could gather, and if he put it off much longer he may be construed as hiding it from her…and he did not know when he would see her next. It almost alarmed him how distasteful he already found that last part.

There were a few smokers out here, clutching their arms about themselves to ward off the chill that bit all the more thanks to the humidity inside. They offered him nods or waves but did not approach.

What would he even say to her? How would he say it? Inside, he'd been intending simply to show her his arm, but would that be too forward? Should he leave it for another night? Drop by uninvited a few nights from now? Catch her as she was leaving tonight and ask her to get coffee with him tomorrow? No, it all seemed much too complicated.

He would go back inside, and ask for a moment of her time when she was done dancing. The song had already wound to a close, replaced by some eighties rock hit, she would not be missed if she slipped away. She would have to come back to the table for her shoes, and perhaps for her water. He would lead her outside, and he would show her. They would take things from there.

As if the mark on his arm was not sign enough, the fact that the moment his mind was made up, the old wooden double doors swung open and Theodora (now once again clad in her shoes) stepped out into the cool night air absolutely would have cemented his decision. The bottle of water he'd gotten her dangled from one hand, and her makeshift napkin collar was nowhere in sight.

Spotting him, she smiled bashfully and approached, walking stiffly - not doubt thanks to the return of the heels.

"It's too warm in there - needed a bit of air. Did you have the same idea? Or did my performance send you running for cover?"

"Not quite," he said, shifting uncomfortably and then sighing "But I think we had better discuss this."

Theodora stood in the amber light of the lamp affixed to the wall, watching in confusion, then dawning realisation, and finally shock as he unbuttoned the cuff of his shirt and rolled it up, revealing the words wrapping around his wrist.

Her eyes remained wide as she stared at them, and then finally she gently curled her fingers around his forearm, angling his wrist towards the meagre lighting as though doing so would change what was written there.

Fair enough - it's an acquired taste, and it has to be acquired by force.

She let go.

"Oh god," she said, a hand rising to her hair of its own volition as she stepped away, like that would solve things "Oh fuck."

James' head bowed "I know I may not be quite-"

"No, no, it's not that, you're lovely, you're golden, and you're criminally handsome by the way, I'm actually pretty relieved I don't have to pretend I hadn't noticed so now, but it's…oh Christ, I did my Risky Business routine in front of you," she groaned, covering her face with a hand "Jesus, this is a new low. A brand new low. This is rock bottom's basement, you know?"

"You did not spend much of the night standing on the sidelines like a Victorian footman, failing to interact with anybody unless they spoke with you first, and barely able to formulate a response if they spoke too quickly before your ears could become accustomed to their accents."

"I put a napkin down the back of my dress, James," she bemoaned.

"It was an integral part of your routine, if memory serves," he smiled - not because he was teasing her, but because she said his name.

The next groan that left her was half sobbed out, and James took pity on her.

"You were lovely. You…you are lovely."

Slowly, like he was approaching a skittish stray cat, he closed the gap between them, reaching up to pull her hand away from her face. She allowed it easily, her eyes burning into his face as he drew back the sleeve of her dress, and then pulled away the delicate gold chain bracelet. There were the words. As if he'd needed the confirmation. No, thank you.

He knew what it would say, but it still offered a concrete explanation as to why she hadn't known as he had. He could only thank the powers that be that the one on his arm was much more specific, leaving no room at all for doubt.

"A tad less unique than mine," he deadpanned.

"Sorry," she breathed a laugh - not sounding too sorry, either.

"Don't be," he shook his head.

What came next? He'd heard stories of those who had met their intended and immediately fallen into bed with them. He was not so naive as to pretend he did not understand that - although it wasn't what he wanted. Well, it was what he wanted, but not like that. Not like this. Certainly not when she was not sober. He wanted to get to know her, he wanted to make up for all of the time they'd lost, he wanted to…

Following an impulse, he lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to the words on her wrist - and bit back a smirk at the quiet intake of breath it drew from her. He couldn't be too smug for long, though, for the water bottle smacked off of the ground as she dropped it in favour of winding her arms about his neck. James dipped his head on instinct, meeting her halfway and kissing her back the moment her lips slotted against his, arms wrapping around her waist to steady her and pull her against him.

One hand slid up the smooth, silky fabric of her dress - feeling the curve of her spine, the slight jut of her shoulder blades - but before he could press his tongue between her lips, the door to the hall began to creak open and they sprang apart, suddenly aware that they very much were not in private.

Lifting a hand, he wiped the lipstick from about his mouth, and she smiled softly at him - looking up at him with a sort of admiration that threatened to steal the air from his lungs. As she tucked his hair behind his ear, he spoke.

"I'm not sure how we're supposed to go about this," he admitted, watching her keenly - he couldn't help it.

Mirroring her action, he twirled a strand of her hair around one of his fingers - it was like fire in the orange glow of the lamp.

"Me either," she admitted.

"Coffee. We could get coffee."

"When?"

"As soon as possible. Tomorrow?"

"Why not now?"

He smiled, thrilled to see his own eagerness reflected back at him "I'm not sure there's anywhere still open."

"There's a twenty-four hour McDonald's ten minutes away. It's hardly fine dining, but it'll give us a bit of time to ourselves."

James' smile widened "I'll get my coat."

He couldn't help but kiss her again before he did.

[justalonelyslytherin]

"You kept this?"

Pairing: Ransom Drysdale x female Reader

Warnings: none. fluff.

Wordcount: 1k

If you enjoyed reading this, please consider leaving a comment or reblogging. I don't allow for my content to be copied, translated, or reposted on other websites/apps. Please don't steal my work.

A/N: This is part of @flufftober's Flufftober 2022 and was suggested as part of my 300 Follower Celebration by @elle14-blog1. It's not my best work, but I don't quit things, so I have to deal with it. Dividers from @/firefly-graphics

Rustling. The clank of glass and porcelain clicking against each other. More rustling and shuffling. It felt like rustling was the only thing she could hear anymore. The constant crinkling of packing paper felt like tinnitus, a never-ending noise in the back of her head even when the movements had subsided. 

That was the plague of packing, of moving, she figured. Days spent filling moving boxes, labeling them, and then moving on to the next one. Dismantling her home and everything she owned felt weird every time. But this would be the last move for the foreseeable future. Possibly forever. 

Putting down the last over the wrapped-up plates, she listened. There was no more rustling sound which made her suspicious. Looking around she couldn’t spot Ransom anywhere anymore. Meaning he had to have gotten bored or moved to a different room.

“Ransom? Are you nearly done?” There was no answer and once more no other noises. It made her curious.

Ransom didn’t look up from the spot he was standing when his girlfriend walked into her bedroom. He was too focused on what he had found. His head shot up only when a hand landed on his shoulder,  startling him.

“Ran? What’s that?” She asked him, biting her bottom lip and staring at the photos in his hand. It made him smirk. Oh, she knew exactly what he had there. 

“Why don’t you tell me?” He asked her with a grin while he draped his arm around her. He pulled her to his side and pointed towards the small stash of things he had found hidden in one of her drawers. He’d always assumed she’d stashed out-of-season clothing in this one. But it seemed like she had hidden something entirely different. 

There was no answer from her, only a small huff and then a whine as she tried to worm out of his grip. 

“You kept this?” He asked her once more, allowing some of the surprise to lace his voice. Shyly she looked up at him and nodded. He could sense her hesitation and feel the way her fingers curled into the back of his sweater.

“Yeah, why not,” she mumbled with a shrug of her shoulders. Focusing on the pictures in Ransom’s hand she felt fondness. “They were happy memories for me-” trailing off she grabbed one of the pictures to take into her hand.

On it they were much younger, standing beside each other similar to how they stood now. Ransom had his arm thrown over her shoulder and her arm circled his waist, both grinning at the camera, behind them the buildings of their university could be seen. They had met there, at Harvard, and spent most of grad school being a pair. In Ransom’s hand were still some pictures. Particularly one picture of their last Halloween party before they had broken up, just shortly before graduation.

“Just because things did end between us doesn’t mean you weren’t one of my best friends. It was still a time I wanted to look back on with fond memories.”

Ransom grunted quietly, pulling her harder against his side as he looked at the photos. He had never regretted something more than their breakup. To him, it had been a miracle and his salvation when they had met years later. Out of pure luck and coincidence she had started working at Blood like Wine, their romance rekindled almost instantly.

Not much later, this time at Ransom’s place they were packing too. Since the size of his home was nearly double or triple that of her apartment they spent much longer collecting everything. In an effort to be a bit faster they had decided to start in different rooms, starting from two different ends of the house and working their way toward each other.

While packing up a random cabinet she stumbled upon something curious. Similar to her little memorabilia stash Ransom had just previously discovered, she found a small box that looked much familiar to her.

Carefully she took the box out of the drawer and lifted the lid. Inside she found multiple pictures, similar to the ones she had kept from their university time. What stood out to her even more however was a slightly yellowed, neatly folded paper. Her fingers grazed against the paper when a faint smell reached her nose. Her curiosity was piqued and she pulled it out. She knew that sweetly soft smell, she remembered it crystal clear. The perfume she had worn then. 

Ransom had never been the romantic type but she had been. She’d loved to write him letters for his birthday or festivities like Valentine's Day or Christmas. Every letter she had spritzed with a pump of her perfume. It surprised her that traces of the fragrance still lingered on but what surprised her, even more, was that Ransom had kept all of that.

Suddenly two arms wrapped around her and pulled her back against a sturdy chest. A small yelp left her lips following it.

“You weren’t supposed to see that,” Ransom grumbled into her ear after he leaned down and rested his chin on her shoulder. With one arm he reached out and tried to take it away from her, she however wiggled, holding it out of his reach.

“You kept this?” She asked him, teasingly using the exact same words he had asked her. Ransom behind her huffed and tried to snatch the letter from her once more.

“Yeah,” he grumbled, finally reaching it. He ignored the small whine that left her and instead tugged the letter back into the box. It was quiet between them as Ransom put the lid onto the box again. With a small huff but a fond smile on her lips, she leaned back against him.

“Want me to start writing you some more letters?” She got no answer from him safe from a teasing pinch into her side.

“Continue packing,” he murmured into her ear but not without giving her a kiss.

[42donotpanic]

WIP GAME

Uhm, Hi, this is actual content that's not just an AO3 link. (I know, I am surprised too.)

I got tagged in the WIP-Game by @foxywrites <3 (Thank you so much, I LOVE stuff like that <33)

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your wip folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it.

So, my writing folder is actually a bunch of folders sorted by Challenges and Bingos, because if my mind ain't organised, at least my computer/google drive has to be.

I'll just list everything under the corresponding Folders (excluding posted works). Some of them will (hopefully) be posted soon, others will take longer, but everything is already somewhat written. (My unwritten ideas are all collected in a spreadsheet)

Main folder:

Hawkdevil AU

Sound and Colour

Tortuga Inn 1

AUgust 2023

Domestic

Behind the Mirror

Road Trip

Celebrities

Afterlife

Copy of AUgust 2023

Bingos and Events (Folder)

Different Kinds of Love

Bad Decisions

Building a Relationship

Love of a Hero to his City

Flufftober 2023

Interference

July Break

The crossover one

The Kink One

The one with the Breakup

Recherche

(idek what that's still doing there, it doesn't belong there)

Alpträume Notizen

Das Schwarze IXI

Vorgeschichte

unposted WIPs

"Sometimes I wish I can strangle you"

Blind Hawkeye and Deaf Daredevil

Broken Heart

Coffee Shop AU

Coverup

Cutting

Drabble Collection

MRP: Amputee!Clint

Nightmares

Snow Fall

The Blind Vigilante

Vorbei

AUGust 2022 (Folder):

Two of the above (Hospital & Fresh Start?)

Flufftober 2022 (Folder):

17: Animal Shelter

Bedtime Stories

And that's it. (I had honestly forgotten some of this still exist...)

Colour index:

Blue: not Marvel

Purple: HawkDevil

Pink: Dumpsterbros

Green: Winterhawk

Yellow: Cherik

Orange: FrostHawk

Red: Fratt

And last but not least, I'm tagging @0nelittlebirdtoldme @smutconnoisseur @polizwrites @endlesstwanted and everyone else who'd like to participate. (Of course no pressure if you don't want to paticipate <3)

And yes, please ask me all the things about my WIPs, I LOVE talking about my stuff ^^

[every-marveler-ever]

Hues of Leaves

Flufftober Day 29 | @flufftober | Leaves

masterlist :: (ao3 link)

In autumn Harley and Peter always find themselves at MIT, autumn in Massachusetts is much prettier than that what Autumn in New York. | harley keener/peter parker

flufftober 2022 

In autumn Harley and Peter always find themselves at MIT, autumn in Massachusetts is much prettier then that what Autumn is in New York.

They easily find themselves at pumpkin patches, picking apples, drinking multitudes of cider, it’s just homey. Not for the first time they take trips to Target specifically looking for halloween decorations to decorate thor dorm and later on their shared apartment. 

Instead of visiting New York to see family it’s more often that Tony and Pepper would bring Morgan down for a weekend and stay for awhile. 

The best part about it is watching the tree leaves change from green to hues of oranges, red and yellows, all beautiful in their own merit. Peter takes many more photos and Harley just watches on as his boyfriend gets excited.

When they both graduate they thought that Autumns wouldn’t be celebrated as heavily again but Tony suprises them with a small house to share, calling it their get-away house. The house is placed just on the outside of central Massachusetts closer to the farms and breweries they like to spend their time at. 

It’s also in this houses backyard they get married many years later, in prime time autumn as the leaves of the trees match both of their ties.  They eventually move ou their permanently somewhere a little bit bigger with a hobby farm and extras rooms for their families. Harley is in his element planting potatoes and sweet berries and Peter is fine to take photos so they can be littered around the house. Their house.

Safe to say, Autumn is Harley and Peter’s favourite time of the year.

Cards:

[violetlou2020]

Day 4 of @flufftober 2022 — Supporting Silly Quirks/Hobbies

Title:The Tomorrow of a Parallel World

Fandom: Kamen Rider OOO

Pairing: Ankh/Hino Eiji

Summary: Despite the glaring difference among the people from Gotous world and his what he knew to be true and the one thing to remain constant was Hino Eijis love for pantsu. Set in the Parallel World Gotou got transported to.

Just as Gotou returned back to his own world, the residents of the parallel world went back to their business and treated the days event as another Tuesday. Despite Date being defeated, there were still some greeeds running around so Hinas job as a Kamen Rider wasn't over yet but due to the weird day they just had and no trouble jumping at them at the moment Eiji managed to convince her, Chiyoko-san and the rest of the greeeds occupying his siblings body to rest and celebrate at Cous Cousier to which the group happily agreed.

They rarely had any down time the past few weeks what with the uptake of greeds and yummies cropping up, discovering alternate worlds existing was a bit too much of an excitement to their already busy lives.

OOO OOO OOO

Near the end of the party the doors of the restaurant swung open with a loud thud and the gang readied themselves but dropped their stance when it was just Dr. Ankh and his creepy doll making a dramatic entrance. Hina greeted the doctor before resuming back to eating. Meanwhile Eiji, upon exiting the kitchen and seeing Dr.Ankh, immediately rushed towards the bird greeed and enveloped him in a hug.

"Ankh!" the man exclaimed, "mou~ what took you so long?" he said as he let go.

"Tsch, now that Date is gone Date Foundation is now Ankh Foundation." the Doctor said with a haughty tone. Eiji clasped his hands together and jumped in excitement.

"Ah I'm happy for you!" Dr.Ankh patted Eijis head and the man leaned closer to the touch. He pulled Eiji closer to himself as he felt eyes on him and smirked at the glare directed at him by three of his fellow greeeds.

Dr. Ankh knew that despite Uva, Mezool and Kazari are only inhibiting the Hino siblings body for the time being, the three share some fondness over Eiji and his siblings were conscious enough for their feelings of protectiveness to seep into the greeeds own who were still getting used to having and feeling human emotions.

Hina and Chiyoko just exchanged looks, head bowed together laughing at the growing ire of Hinas partners. Gamel on the other hand just continued to gorge himself up with the feast Eiji had prepared.

Dr. Ankh dragged the man that had plastered himself to his person and took a sit, seating Eiji on his lap causing the young man's face to redden and earning himself another round of glaring. Eiji noticing his siblings eyes on them, directed a pout at the three.

"You guys, cut that out." he whined.

"You can do better than that damned feathered brain doctor." Uva harrumphed.

"I don't usually agree with Uva but Eiji dear, surely there are better people out there for you. How about that old classmate of yours?" Mezool suggested and Eiji felt Ankhs hold on him tighten. He tried not to let out a giggle at Dr. Ankhs obvious possessiveness.

"Uhhg you guys are just gross," Kazari added in his two cents. Eiji rolled his eyes and was about to tell them off when Ankhs doll pulled at his sleeve. Eiji looked at the doll then to Ankh with a questioning look. Dr. Ankh cleared his throat then wordlessly pulled a package out of somewhere and gave it to the now curious human.

When Gotou somehow got transported into a parallel world things were a lot different from the ones Gotou knew to be true in his world from what Ankh had gleamed. In Gotous world Eiji was OOO, the four greeeds present in the restaurant were the enemy, Chiyoko run the Cous Cousier and Date-san was birth before Gotou. Their visitor didn't divulge what Ankh was in their world, just said that it was complicated.

It was all so confusing to the poor man from what Ankh could tell and he knew that their visitor was glad when he was able to leave this parallel world and go back to his.

For Dr. Ankh it was just better not to think of having the roles of the people he knew swapped around. However despite the glaring differences among the people from Gotous world and his what he knew to be true and the one thing to remain constant was Hino Eijis love for pantsu as Gotou managed to describe of his own Hino Eiji.

And so, when his Eiji tore open the package to a set of vibrantly colored underwear, the young mans face lit up like a Christmas tree and briefly yet tenderly gave Ankh a hug before admiring his new pair of pantsu to add to his collection. When the greeeds saw the gift they all groaned. Despite their found fondness over the young man they don't quite understand this quirk of his of collecting underwear and giving people he just met a fresh pair of the most obnoxiously colored pantsu. Even their respective hosts didn't know how their grandfather's saying of carrying a pair of underwear for tomorrow grew out of control, Eiji took the advice and just run wild with it. Yet somehow they all indulge in the young mans habit. Easy to say that Eiji was the most easiest person to shop for when buying gifts.

"Wahh this are all branded! and oh it's so soft too, you shouldn't have."

"Of course now that I'm the President of the now Ankh Foundation, I can buy you any pantsu in the world." Dr. Ankh said easily. Eiji went starry eyed at the thought of having all the pantsu he wants and hugged the doctor again. Ankh looked over the young mans shoulder to smirk at his fellow greeeds who were now standing up.

"Will be out for a short while." Mezool said sweetly.

"Don't think you can buy Eijis affection with those ugly pair, we'll have something better!" Uva remarked while Kazari stuck his tongue out at the bird. The two hurried after Mezool and Hina just blew an exasperated sigh.

"Those three are gonna be causing trouble just to upstage Dr. Ankh." Hina huffed then smiled at Eiji who was still seated on Ankhs lap.

"Thank you for the food, Me and Chiyoko already cleaned up the tables. I better catch up to those three before they cause trouble. Gamel, lets go."

"I better go as well since it's getting late, it's been nice kid." Chiyoko said. Eiji waved them goodbye.

After everyone has left, Ankh stood up causing for Eiji to wrap his arm around the bird greeed so not to fall off, carefully avoiding not to dislodge the doll seated on Ankhs shoulder.

"Ankh?"

"That's Dr. President Ankh." Eiji laughed as he shook his head and booped the new foundation president on the nose.

"Whatever you say Ankh." Eiji said pronouncing each syllable of the greeeds name. The Doctor glared and Eiji laughed some more.

"To our room?" he asked. Dr. Ankh gave him a smirk.

"To our room."

[ibovaryyou]

Flufftober 2022

Prompt number: 31 - A Sweet Treat

Fandom: mdzs

Rating: G

Tags: song lan, xue yang, cooking, apples, lots of sugar

Also on Ao3

Against all odds, after only a few months, Xue Yang has officially been adopted. He still doesn't know how or why, but he's getting caramel apples in return, so he's not complaining. 

The daozhangs —because he's still not ready to call them a-Die and Baba like Little Blind does, and it hadn't been a terrible option when she suggested it— had decided they should have a special dinner to celebrate that the four of them are now a family in the eyes of the law and let Xue Yang choose the dessert, because they're not terrible. He chose covered apples and announced he was making them on his own, but then daozhang #2, Zichen-ge, had decided 13 was "too young" to do that by himself, so he would do the fun part of melting and allow Xue Yang to do the not-so-fun part of covering. He's had worse adults in charge of him. Xue Yang has been monitoring closely his movements on the other side of the kitchen while washing the apples and the vegetables they'll be having for dinner, and mastering the art of cutting bell peppers without looking and without loosing any part of himself. So far, daozhang has not broken any of his promises, but Xue Yang is not about to let his guard down with something as important as candy on the line. Just as he's about to get started on the squash, Zichen-ge finally calls him to his side.

As soon as the cold apples are ready on the silicon baking mat, daozhang turns to look around the kitchen, to make sure Xue Yang kept his cutting area clean as he tought him, and then turns back to face him. "Hands," he says. "All ten still there, daozhang," Xue Yang answers raising both hands in front of his face and wiggling each finger. That gets him an appreciative nod. "Good. Now let's see you be as careful with the caramel. Remember, it's very hot." Despite all the safety talks he had to go through when they were looking for recipes and bargaining how many different covers they would make per apple, Xue Yang has to fight the impulse of just sticking his hand in the caramel. It's not his fault that it looks so soft! But he manages to stay strong and use an apple instead. He turns it around very slowly, making sure to cover as most of the surface as he can. He chose a small one to begin, from the batch that the daozhangs will share with their nephew on his birthday, but he still wants them all to be perfect. Once the apple is back on the mat, with only one hiccup where he tried to catch a drop of caramel with his hand, he takes a moment to inspect it closely. Not bad for a first try. Daozhang seems to agree because he just hands him a second one when he turns to look at him. With the third part of the apples covered, half of them with chocolate sprinkles on them, Xue Yang gets sent back to his squash while Zichen-ge gets started on the candy. This time he doesn't feel the need to check when it'll be ready, he knows he will call.

The candy is not yet done by the time Xue Yang is back on the stove, still whole, and he gets to melt chocolate as a reward. There's nothing like seeing how it loses it's shape in the heat, how it swirls wherever Xue Yang tells it to. It's gooey, it's bright, it's perfect. And the apples slide like a dream in it. The nuts on top look great and he's glad he managed to win that argument. The four big apples that will get all three covers still have to cool for a bit, but that's ok because the candy is almost ready and that means another batch to cover and yet another safety talk but it's worth it because of how shiny they turn out! They are so perfect that Xue Yang is afraid to even breath until they're all safe on the mat. These don't need any additions.

When he straightens, he realizes that daozhang has taken the big ones out of the fridge and Xue Yang doesn't bother to hide his grin when Zichen-ge places a hand on his shoulder and squeezes.

After that, he's back on chopping duty while Zichen-ge pours the remainder of the caramel and chocolate into molds. Xue Yang wanted to eat it all from the saucepan and bowl, but he's learning to compromise.

He's just about done when it's finally time to take the big apples out of the fridge again, ready for their final cover. Xue Yang stretches before going to the stove, he can't mess these ones, not when the rest turned out so well. As he goes to dip in the first one, he imagines he understands how the people who work de-activating bombs feel like. It comes out perfect, he deserves a medal. The second one should earn him a trophy. The third one, a Nobel Prize. By the fourth one, they should just name a country after him, or something, he's a genius.

He takes a moment to look at them while Zichen-ge disappears somewhere. They look just like in his memories, like that one that mom got him just once before. He hadn't seen one like it ever since, and now there's four in front of him, that he and Zichen-ge made, that he gets to share with his new family. He's afraid that he'll wake up any second now.

And then, Little Blind is tackling him. He has to laugh, that's right: his mind could never come up with something like this. It must be real.

Continues with a-Qing day in Leaves

[ao3feed-irondadspiderson]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/42053196

Storm Safety by Sara (ctrsara) Without lights they could see the crazy lightning off in the distance, and see the lights of the city reflecting up through the increasingly heavy rain. It was an awesome sight, but still unsettling. “Boss, Spiderman is requesting access to the building.” “What? FRI, what’s he doing out in this storm? Where is he?” “I’m sure I have no idea why, but he’s on the roof.” -------------------- NYC loses power due to a man-made weather event Tony and Pepper still have power at the Tower, thanks to the ARC reactor, but they're surprised by an unexpected visit of the arachnid variety. What made the kid come all the way to Manhattan in this storm? Part of the post-Homecoming series "Strands in the Rope," but can stand alone, also Celebrating the first day of Whumptober (A Little Out of the Ordinary) and Flufftober (Wearing Each Other's Clothes) 2022 and also incorporating a prompt by @The_woods_protects_its_own. Words: 2639, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Series: Part 17 of Strands in the Rope Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Friday (Marvel) Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark Additional Tags: Whumptober 2022, Flufftober 2022, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Tony Stark is Good With Kids, Tony Stark is a Good Mentor, heightened senses, Thunder and Lightning