#in fact the walking Christmas Tree from last chapter was ripped straight from one of the times Io and I were stuck there...

[diedraechin]

Anybody want a sneak peek of the next chapter???

So we just got back from vacation, and I sat down and read through the next chapter, and I think that I'm just about ready to send it to Io to edit. I have two small sections that I have highlighted for reworking, but nothing major and I'm feeling pretty good about it! Which means I should probably let Io have at it before I change my mind...

And whenever I get to this point, is usually when I decide it's time to give you all a little taste of what's coming... :D This is a little longer than usual, but I think it's deserved for all your patience sticking with me!

Where did we leave off? Oh, right, Yuuri got called up as alternate for the GPF and is stuck in the Netherlands because his flight was delayed/cancelled/wtf????

Viktor turned back to Chris. “Going to call it a night?”

Chris nodded. “It’s been busy and that’s not even with all the drama caused by that delay in Amsterdam for our third musketeer.” He paused. “Never fly through Schiphol; it’s a horrible idea. I’ve always had bad luck with that airport. I don’t care how nice it is on the inside, it still sucks getting stuck there.”  He stood up. “I’m going for a walk around the block to get some air and then coming back and calling it a night.”

“Bonne nuit.”

Chris patted his shoulder and headed out the door.

Viktor returned to his staring contest with Yakov. Ultimately, he knew that Yakov was going to win, but he wasn’t going to make it easy for the coach. 

“Ok. So he’s definitely in the air. Someone needs to wait for him, though.” Celestino’s booming voice broke Viktor’s staring contest and he turned his head to look at Celestino who was talking with Kai and the Team Japan Leader -- the Japanese and French officials having left -- Phichit still dancing around the edge, neither included nor separate from the group. Never had Viktor been happier that Celestino didn't know how to speak at normal speaking volume.

It was the Team Japan Leader that spoke. “I will be here when he gets in. I have his paperwork and schedules.” He paused. “I don’t know Katsuki-san at all, though, he’s never competed at a competition I’ve been Leader at before.” He looked down at the watch on his wrist. "It's too late to call Japan." 

“I don’t have a problem with waiting, Celestino.” Kai said.

Celestino shook his head. “He’s my skater and it was a bad delay and we both know that he was panicking earlier when the flight showed as cancelled for five minutes before returning to being just delayed. I’ll stay. Go bring Phichit to his room.”

“But, Celestino!” Phichit interjected.

Celestino shook his head. “No. You’re going to bed. You have early practice and press and a lot of other things to get through. If Yuuri was already here he’d be telling you the same thing. You’ll see Yuuri tomorrow; we both know that he’ll make sure of that.  Besides, aren't you the one who hates dealing with him when he’s cranky? And he’s going to be.”

Phichit stopped moving and nodded. “Point. He gets very cranky.”

Viktor bit his lip to stop from laughing and glanced at Yakov who was just shaking his head. “He’s not wrong. Yura can be very grumpy at times.” 

Yakov stood up. “Bed soon, Vitya. I mean it.”

“I know. I will. I promise. Just thirty more minutes? By then Chris will have finished his walk and I’ll be out of people to entertain me.”

Yakov sighed and patted his shoulder. “He’ll be here and he’ll skate. On the positive side, he’ll likely be so tired from being anxious over his flights he’ll sleep.” Yakov went to the elevator.

Kai had started arguing with Phichit, but seemed to be winning and was aiming the Thai skater toward the elevators.

“Kai, just one second.” Viktor made to stand up but she just looked over at him and shook her head.

“I’ll text her. Don’t want to hear it. I need to get this one up to his room.” She pushed him into the elevator with Yakov and then all of them were gone.

So Viktor was left with the Japanese Team Leader and Celestino just sitting in the lobby in a tense, uncomfortable silence, none of them saying anything and neither of the other two even acknowledging Viktor.  While the minutes dragged on, Viktor idly looked through instagram trying to pass the time, but nothing caught his interest.

He really needed to figure out Yuuri's secret instagram. No doubt he'd been posting things while stranded in the Netherlands. That would have been entertaining. Oh! Maybe he even used that layoverinams hashtag! Viktor started typing the hashtag into the search bar, but stopped midway when Celestino coughed loudly. He dropped his phone from in front of his face to look at Yuuri’s coach and smiled.

“Shouldn’t you go to bed?” Celestino looked at him, his annoyance clear.  Seemingly their temporary truce for getting Yuuri to nap at Skate America had come to an end.

Viktor shrugged. “Probably. But I’m waiting for Chris to finish his walk. Can’t be more well rested than the competition. Have to give them a sporting chance.”

Celestino visibly bristled. “You’re full of yourself, Nikiforov, and one of these days a skater is going to come around and knock you down a peg or three.”

Grinning, Viktor wondered if Celestino even knew that he was a coach to such a skater because he was pretty sure that Yuuri’s coach was the king of underestimating Yuuri.

[cuddlesslut]

Part FOUR : Chance Encounters

Atsumu x fem reader, Suna x fem reader, Hinata x fem reader

Tags: slight NSFW, Heavy Angst.

A/N: so this will NOT be the last chapter there will be more. Just like there are more choices now lol, don’t be shy to tell me who you route for. Also let me know if y’all want more NSFW I’m chill with writing it . ALSO slight canon divergence the timing on when Hinata comes back from Brazil is different, obviously in the Manga he’s only gone for two years. In this story it is longer. Hinata isn’t on MSBY yet. Also we are only caught up on 5 months since the dreaded birthday.

Part Three: Memories

Part Five: Friends

You spent your birthday in some hotel room. Sitting on the plush bed still in your dress not bothering to change your curl in to a fetal position as sobs raked through you. Your whole world crashed down on you everything you knew was a lie. Your phone lit up with one last birthday message from some distant relative. You see the time it’s now one in the morning you’ve been laying here for hours you can’t understand how you have any liquid in your body left to cry but still tears trail down your cheeks as you look at your lock screen. It’s a photo from three Christmas’s ago. Atsumu held you close from behind as you pose in front of a festive Christmas tree. Your eyes are shut tight from laughter as the setter places a kiss to your cheek bone, his arms wrapped tightly around your waist. This was your favorite photo of the two of you, it always showed the realness in this candid shot. You remember laughing so hard from some cheesy joke he had just whispered in your ear. Your heart twists at the photo, a moment of anger slices through you. Was any of it real? You fling your phone at the wall effectively shattering the screen. You scream into the pillow. You wish you could feel numb to all of the emotions. But no ones that lucky. You aren’t sure when you feel asleep but you wake to find the remnants of tears stuck to your face. You move to the bathroom. You look like death. Your face is pale and eyes swollen and red. Your body aches from the fitful sleep you had. You grab a quick shower before putting on your comfiest pajamas and lay back down. All the energy is drained you look for your phone before remembering your fit of rage last night groan. You switch on the TV for some form of distraction but the gods must really hate you as it opens to a sports channel and you see him in all of his intensity standing on the volleyball court. Part of your brain pleads to change the channel but you must be a masochist as you watch him in all his usual glory. He commands the stadium as he goes up to serve. He looks perfectly fine like you hadn’t just walked out of his life. Like he hadn’t just ripped your world to shreds. You're finally turning the television off sitting in the silence thinking of the memories of your home. You ordered some takeout trying to settle the ache in your stomach. The food tasted bland, everything has lost its edge. The bed offers no comfort. The sunlight offers no warmth. It’s not long before you fall into another depression nap.

Waking up late in the evening you can’t stop your mind from making a stupid decision. But you miss him. You just want to see him. That’s how you end up outside of the door that leads to the home you shared with him. Trying to work up the courage to enter. His car was in his usual spot so you know he's here. A bitter thought run through you at the thought that while you were here he couldn’t be bothered to be home before two am at the earliest, yet the first night gone and here he is at home at ten o’clock. Silently you open the door. It was a mistake. You don’t make it even completely through the threshold before you hear the obnoxious moan and grunts, the sound of skin slapping. It makes you sick “OH Miya-San!” You hear some woman bellow out. You feel nauseous. You hurry out the door trying you best not to cause any noise to interrupt the activities in the house. You bend over you feel as though you’ll throw up right there on the spot. After calming yourself you make a way to a convenience store picking up a bottle of wine before heading back to you hotel room. There’s no way you’ll make it through the night sober.

The next morning you clean your self up before heading to the bank and clear out your joint account. Normally you’d feel bad taking the money but this cash was saved for your wedding and that would never happen now. You stopped by the phone store getting your own account not wanting anymore strings attached to the player. You spend the rest of your morning looking for a small affordable apartment. Luckily you were able to find one with in distance of your school and a reasonable price. It’s now the afternoon and you have to rush not wanting to be late for your class. Although it probably wouldn’t have made a difference if you had missed today, you barely pay attention. You find yourself back with the hotel walls.

You feel completely and utterly alone. You want nothing more to call your best friend or stop by Samu’s shop and cry on his shoulder while you eat some comfort food. But there is hesitation Suna was Atsumu's friend before he was yours, and you'll probably break down in tears just looking at Osamu he was his damn twin for heavens sake. What were you to them you wonder. You only got close to them because of the setter. Part of you wanted to believe that they cared about you and all of those friendships would still be there but you couldn’t. How could they want you around. You really question your place in their lives. It’s hard to trust in anything you had also believed Atsumu loved you and would never hurt you, yet that much was proven untrue. It's hard to trust in anything you feel or know. Another reason is your afraid of all of the memories you shared with them Atsumu ever present in those moments. You don’t want to think about him any more. You don’t want any remnants of that man In your life. While you want to believe Suna would be there for you, that he’d choose you. It was not a risk you were ready to take. You don’t think you could survive another heartbreak. It’s better to leave things as is, to cherish the good memories and not risk tainting them with pain.

It’s been two months since your birthday. You’ve moved into a quaint apartment. You got a job working at a little cafe to pay for rent. Between work and studying for your degree you try to keep yourself busy. It’s hard being on your own. You try to distract yourself with the things that brought you joy. Some days are better than others but all in all everything still hurts. Graduation is only a couple of months away so at least there’s something to look forward too. There are moments that come quite often that you miss your friends but you can’t bring yourself to reach out still untrusting. You look back sometimes and wonder where the lies stopped. You avoid everything that has to do his Atsumu Miya. Even the sight of a simple volleyball brings distress.

Three and half months later the cosmos played another prank on you. It was just another Friday afternoon and you were working in the cafe. You had just helped a young beautiful woman at the counter. She seemed so familiar but you couldn’t quit place it. You could see a puzzled look on her face. Then it hit you. You knew exactly who this woman was. She was the one with your ex fiancé at the restaurant that fateful night. The realization must have struck her too. Her eyes grew wide with worry. Although you weren’t expecting what she did next.

“I AM SO SORRY,” she basically yelling as she bows in front of you. “ I’m so sorry for the part I played in your pain.” She continues. You can tell she is really distressed. You coworkers and a few costumers look at the spectacle. Hating all of the attention now directed toward the both, you beg her to please stand.

“I need you to understand I had no idea, I would never have gone for a taken man.”

You sighed and sent a look to your coworker that you were going to take a quick break. “Would you like a cup of coffee,” you ask her. You never thought That you’d be sitting having coffee with the mistress of the only man you ever loved yet here you are. There’s an awkward silence for a moment. You don’t rush things you can see she’s also having a hard time trying to figure out where to start. You take a sip of your coffee as she finally speaks.

“My names Yuki,” she states.

“YN ,” you offer back.

“Well, umm YN I just want to say I am so sorry for wh-” you cut her off holding up your hand.

“You said you didn’t know, correct?” You send a glance at her raising your eyebrow. She nods.

“Are you still with him?” She sits up straight.

“Absolutely not,” she states with conviction “after you left I asked him what just happed and he explained who you were and I left.. well not with out dumping my drink in face" she gave a little giggle.

“Ha! Oh I wish I could have seen that,” you laughed picturing him drenched in the restaurant. “In that case you have nothing to apologize for, you are a victim of Atsumu’s selfishness as well. I’m sorry he put you through that.” She gave a sad smile you could see she was hurt too. The two of you spent a few more moments in each other’s comfort discussing the facts of his affair. It hurts to know that he had a legitimate relationship with Yuki but a part of you was glad to know. It was a small piece of closure to know how deep his transgressions ran, knowing it wasn’t just sex hurt even more. But it furthered your stance that he didn’t love you and if he had at one point the love had faded on his part some time ago. You spent the rest of your shift plagued with thoughts of you past.

After your shift you went home to change before heading out to your local bar. In your time alone you had taken solace in drinking with strangers. After dressing in an appealing yet comfortable outfit you headed out. You wanted to feel comfy and relaxed but that didn’t stop you from wanting to look nice. In your past visits it wasn’t uncommon for men to try and talk you up and while you did indulge in the compliments none had succeeded in getting you to return home with them. There had yet to be a guy who fully kept your attention away from your former lover.

You found your favorite spot at the bar, just far enough from the blaring music and smokers. You smiled at the bartender before ordering your usual. You sat there letting the liquor relax you as you listened to what music the DJ was playing tonight. Normally you stick to just drinks but after the day you had you need something to take the edge off. After downing a shot of tequila you notice a presence next to you.

“Is this seat taken,” the man smiled at you. You had never seen him here before and you know damn well you would have noticed him before. Although he wasn’t a giant like most of the men you knew in your life, he wasn’t excessively short either you could tell he’d still stand taller than you. You couldn’t lie the man was extremely defined and muscular, you swear his tanned thighs that you saw peeking from under his khaki shorts were bigger than your face. His skin was tanned you can tell from pleanty of time in the sun. He had strong jaw line but his most prominent feature was this bright mop of orange hair he tried to hide under a ball cap. He had a bright smile that reached his alluring brown eyes. It was safe to say he was very handsome. He tilts his head to the side a little smirk reaching his lips. It then you realized you had never responded and just been sitting here gawking.

“Um no it’s not uhh go ahead,” you stammered out feeling a blush creep on to your cheeks at your response. What is this feeling why are you acting like a school girl.

He takes the seat next to you ordering a beer then turning to you reaching out his hand. “ Shoyo Hinata,” he states.

You accept his hand giving it a light shake. “ YN LN,” you responded. “ I’ve never seen you here before Hinata-San,” you prod wanting to know about the stranger.

“Just Shoyo is fine,”he gives you another dazzling smile. “I actually just moved back to Japan,” he states “this is my first time at this bar , but with customers as beautiful as you I’ll definitely have to come more often.” Ohh hes smooth you think. You let out a light chuckle at his compliment although it’s fairly simple compared to some of lines you’ve heard it definitely has the desired affect on you.

“Well then Shoyo where are you traveling from?” Question not wanting the convo to stop.

“I just got back from Brazil,” he mused that signature smile never far from his face.

“Wow Brazil! That’s so far was it hard to be so far from home?”you questioned.

The conversation with Hinata flowed effortlessly. Pleanty of laughes shared as he told you countless stories of his time in South America. Being in conversation with him is like talking to the sun it’s so bright and happy. He does eventually mention playing beach volleyball and for a moment you mind thinks of your ex but it then you realized it was the first time since Sho made his appearance that you had thought of the setter. It felt nice to finally have your mind clearing from the twin. As of recent at any mention of volleyball you would have ended the convo making an excuse to leave, yet you didn’t want to, plus beach volleyball is completely different than regular volleyball you reason.

Time passes by as well do several drinks. You are by no means drunk just a little tipsy. Over the course of your talking the space between Hinata started to narrow. Right now you were so close you could smell his cologne and the slight minty scent of his breath. His hand caressed your elbow. Your breath hitched when he finally leaned in “do wanna get out of here?,” you can see his iris’s darken ever so slightly. “We can go back to my place,” he continued.

Several thoughts ran threw your mind in that moment. One, you were nervous, you hadnt been with anyone other than Atsumu. Two, you were sure you weren’t ready for a relationship but it was just sex it’s not like he’s asking on a romantic vacation. And three you wanted nothing more than to feel his lips against yours. “Absolutely.”

That’s how you got to where you are now. You barely made it through the threshold before Hinata had you pinned to the door. You were locked in a searing kiss. It was like he was stealing the air from your lungs. His hands roamed your figure before slipping under your blouse. “You are absolutely gorgeous,” he breaths before pressing a kiss under your jaw trailing down you neck. You place you hands on his shoulders trying to ground yourself. You let out a loud moan as he gives a bite to your shoulder while grabbing a hand full of you breast. He smiled into you neck with pleasure from the sounds you made. The two of you stumbled a bit as you started making your way to his room shedding clothes left and right. The door closed to the bedroom and you were ready for a mindblowing night.

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[outlawsworld]

Trusting Strangers - Chapter 12

Arthur Morgan x Female reader

Summary: Reader and Arthur's relationship in now not so secret. She spends one on one time with Dutch and also some alone time with Arthur.

Warning: robbing, mentions of smut but nothing too bad!

Notes: sorry it's taken me so long with this chapter. I've taken a bit of time off over Christmas. Please let me know what you think....can't wait to write the next chapter after this ending 🤤

You can also read my work on my ao3 account Outlaws_world !!

Chapter 1

--

You had been tossing and turning all night. Each time you were drifting off back to sleep your memories reminded you of the events of last night. As it started to get lighter outside you decided to go check on Dallas. Sleep wasn't coming easy and you decided to make yourself useful instead of just laying in your tent. The cut around Dallas' limb had started to scab over and there was no sign of infection. You reapplied some of the herbs that Charles had given you and fed the horses. It must have been early as everyone was still fast asleep in camp and the morning birds had only just started chirping in the trees. You made yourself a coffee and stood at the end of the dock looking out over the lake. The sun was rising over the hills which filled the sky with a burnt orange. You took in a deep breath which filled your lungs with the freshness of the air before taking a sip from your coffee. There were a couple of birds floating on the water and you watched as they sat there, still and silent. You were so lost in focusing on the stillness of the morning that you didn't hear the footsteps behind you.

''Mornin' Miss (Y/L/N)'' you spun round quickly to see Dutch had walked up behind you. He was smoking on a cigar and smiling at you.

''Mornin' Dutch'' you spoke hesitantly after you caught your breath.

''Sorry dear, I didn't mean to frighten you'' he smirked. Even though it was first thing in the morning, Dutch didn't have a hair out of place and he dressed so smartly. You must have looked scruffy in comparison as you had the same clothes on from yesterday and hadn't combed your hair yet. He came to stand next to you as you both looked over the water. ''You alright after last night?'' he questioned, not taking his eyes away from the view.

''Yeah'' you paused. ''I didn't mean for it to escalate the way it did'' you tried to defend yourself. Dutch sighed as he looked at you.

''It ain't your fault Miss (Y/L/N)'' his voice was hushed as the camp was starting to stir behind you. ''Arthur has taken quite a shine to you. I realise you two seem to be gettin' on rather well'' he scanned your face waiting for your reaction. You continued to look out over the lake hoping that he would avert his gaze. ''I hope this ain't gonna be a problem''. You look at him slightly taken aback by what he had just said.

''I don't know what you mean?'' you question, looking directly into his gaze now.

''You have settled in well here (Y/N). You have also pulled your weight and done well on jobs'' he paused taking a drag from his cigar and blowing it out over the lake. ''I want to see this for myself. What are you doing today?’’ he questioned ignoring your confusion.

‘’I was going to see about those horses with John this mornin’.’’ You scanned the camp trying to find him.

‘’That can wait’’ he protested. ‘’ Ride with me to Rhodes. I’ll let you get on with your morning chores and then come find me’’ he eyed you up and down before adding ‘’ I’ll inform John of the change of plan, the horses can wait for tomorrow’’.

''Of course Dutch'' you said shyly. He patted you on the shoulder before walking back into camp and leaving you standing on the dock by yourself.

You thought about Dutch's words as you sipped on the rest of your coffee. Gaining Dutch's trust was a hard task when you first joined the gang and the last thing you wanted was to jeopardise that. You hoped that your time spent with him would allow you to finally prove your full worth to him. ‘I hope this ain’t gonna be a problem’, what did he mean by that? There was a slight nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach as you thought he might not approve of your relationship with Arthur. Was that what this trip to Rhodes was going to be about? 

You tried to ignore the feeling as you made your way back into camp. Most people had started to stir and were getting on with their chores. Although you knew Dutch would let John know about the change of plan, you wanted to tell John yourself and to clear the air from last night. When you couldn’t find him anywhere around camp you made your way over to the dirty dishes and began cleaning. You had only just gotten settled into your work when Tilly and Karen both decided to settle down next to you. As you glanced up, you saw the huge grins plastered across their faces and automatically rolled your eyes.

''Awwh come on now, don't be like that'' Karen giggled. You looked into the wash bucked and concentrated on the dish in your hand. Trying to block out the eager girls stares.

''You can't hide from us in a pile of dirty dishes, ya know'' Tilly smirked at you. You looked up and sighed. She was right, no matter what you did, you couldn't avoid them forever. ''You gonna tell us then?''.

''Tell you what?'' you smirked.

''Don't play dumb. Tell us about what happened last night'' Karen scoffed. She sat next to you with a ripped shirt in hand as she tried to sew the seam back together.

''With Micah?'' you questioned.

''No you idiot. With Arthur'' Karen tutted. ''He was clearly protective over ya, never seen him so riled up. Micah must have struck a nerve talkin' bout you like that'' she giggled as she spoke. You knew that being cooped up in the camp all day can be boring, so the girls lived for any gossip or drama. You shook your head and sighed looking over to see Arthur was sat on his cot writing something in his journal. He looked so fixated on what he was jotting down, you couldn’t help but wish he was by your side right now to answer the questions that were being thrown at you.

''Would you just leave the poor girl alone'' Sadie interrupted, she was standing over the three of you with her hands on her hips.

''We were only asking'' Tilly spoke shyly.

''Yeah, well I'm tellin'. Can't you see she has enough to do without you two at her'' she gestured for the two girls to move which they did with a grunt and a couple wise remarks. Sadie came to sit beside you and grabbed a dish to clean. ''Told you they would find out'' she giggled. You couldn't help but smirk at her comment but you stayed silent. The two of you continued to wash the dishes. Your eyes scanned the camp to try find John but instead landed on Arthur walking towards you.

''Mornin' Ladies'' he tipped his hat to the both of you.

''Arthur'' Sadie greeted him as she carried on scrubbing one of the dishes.

‘’(Y/N), can I have a word?’’ his voice was hushed as if to try and not draw too much attention to us. You glanced at Sadie who gave you an approving nod before you dried your hands on your trousers and stood up to follow Arthur. The giggling coming from the other girls behind you were more then obvious, but you ignored them. You followed Arthur back towards the dock where you had been standing not too long ago.

‘’You alright?’’ Arthur asked as you reached the dock. He placed a hand softly on your lower arm, almost taking your hand whilst looking straight into your eyes. His touch suddenly warmed your whole body and your cheeks flushed red. You were slightly embarrassed to how easily this man could change your whole mood with a simple touch. His bright blue eyes were unavoidable, you could see the corner of his mouth was upturned as he looked at you which only made your heart race faster.

‘’I am now’’ you smiled up at him. He smiled sweetly back at you as he intertwined his fingers in yours. Quickly, you glanced back towards the camp to see if anyone was watching. Before you could let go of his hand and pull away, Arthur’s free hand reached your cheek to move your face back to focus on him.

‘’Cat’s outta the bag (Y/N)’’ he smirked at your panicked reaction. ‘’I guess I’m to blame for that’’ his hand cupped your cheek still as he looked from your eyes to your lips. He was right, everyone in camp knew by now that something was going on. There was no point in hiding it. ‘’I just wanted to make sure that you were alright with it all?’’ he lowered his voice slightly as you dropped your eyes to look down at the floor.

You wanted to say how much you hated that people were already trying to know all your business, you hated that the attention was focused on the two of you because you were the biggest news in camp. Being on your own for so long you had gotten used to no one paying you any attention and you liked it that way, you never had to explain yourself to anyone. The words couldn’t form in your mouth and as you looked back up to meet Arthur’s eyes all of your worries seemed to fade away. If the whole camp knowing meant that the both of you could stop sneaking around and be together then you didn’t seem to care. All that mattered to you was Arthur.

‘’I’m alright. Though you owe me’’ you smirked at him. ‘’You don’t have to deal with the girls wanting to know every detail’’. Arthur laughed shyly as he pulled you closer to him. He leaned down and kissed you softly. It didn’t feel like your previous kisses, you were very aware that anyone could be watching but it felt more meaningful somehow. You didn’t have to hide your affection for one another. You felt a warm feeling at the fact that Arthur was happy for the camp to know about his feeling towards you.

‘’How about I take you outta camp for the night?’’ Arthur smiled leaning his forehead against yours.

‘’Deal’’ you smiled before placing a soft kiss on his cheek. The two of you slowly made your way back into camp before Mrs Grimshaw came over to tell you both to stop slacking. As you walked into the heart of camp you noticed everyone’s attention was on the both of you and you could feel a hot flush run through your body.

‘’I better finish my chores’’ you gestured back towards Sadie who was still busy washing dishes. Arthur smiled before leaning down and kissing your cheek in front of the whole camp. The gesture produced a gasp and whispers that could be heard from the girls who were watching the both of you. You bit your lip and your cheeks flushed once more before heading back towards Sadie. You sat down next to her and continued with your work, you couldn’t help the smile that graced your face.

‘’I hope you know that I can’t save you from the oncomin’ questions now’’ Sadie giggled. It was as if the other girls had heard Sadie’s comment because almost instantly they had all gathered round you.

‘’When did it happen?’’

‘’Is he a good kisser?’’

‘’Is he romantic?’’

Their questions came thick and fast and you did your best at answering as Sadie sat smirking at you. You must have looked like a rabbit when face to face with a cougar as the questions piled in. Once you washed the last dish you stood up and held your hands up in surrender.

‘’Alright, alright. Enough questions for one day’’ the girls all sighed with the loss of excitement. ‘’I’ll see y'all later’’ you took no time in waiting for their response as you strode across camp to find Dutch. As you crossed camp you scanned it to see if John had made an appearance. He was still nowhere to be seen so you shrugged it off. Dutch was sat in his tent reading one of his novels when you approached him.

‘’Ahh (Y/N)’’ he closed the book as he saw you stood in the opening of his tent. ‘’You ready to go?’’.

‘’Yeah’’ you nodded as he put his book down on his cot and gestured for you to lead the way to the horses. Dallas favouring his leg still so you took one of the spare horses for the day. You both mounted up and you followed closely behind Dutch as he led the way out of camp and onto the main road to town. The both of you rode in silence which only made you more nervous. Dutch had always been kind to you and impressed with your work but you had never had to prove yourself to him before or spent any time with him alone. Luckily Rhodes wasn’t too far from camp and you both hitched your horses outside of the saloon before making your way inside. Dutch ordered you both a beer and you took a seat at a free table in the corner of the room. The saloon was quiet as it was only midday but there was a piano player which filled the empty atmosphere.

‘’So, I want to see first hand what you can do Miss’’ Dutch broke the silence as you took a sip from your beer. ‘’I’ve heard a lot of great things but never seen it for myself’’ he smirked at you before joining you in a drink. You didn’t exactly know what Dutch was expecting. All the jobs that you have done for the gang had been planned by someone else and you just did as you were told.

‘’What’s the plan?’’ you asked, slightly confused.

‘’No plan’’ Dutch raised his eyebrows. ‘’Just do what you do best’’ he leant back in his chair with his arms folded over his chest, expecting to watch a show. You took a deep breath and glanced around the bar trying to find a target. Rhodes wasn’t too far away from the city of Saint Denis which meant many rich folk passed through regularly. You spotted a couple of men sat at the bar, both well dressed and merrily drinking. They looked like they were celebrating something as they toasted to one another’s success. You quickly gulped the rest of your drink before giving Dutch a nod in their direction. Dutch glanced over at the two men and the corner of his mouth tugged upwards in a mischievous smile before he nodded at you. You straightened out your clothing and fixed your hair before making your way over to the bar to stand next to the two men.

You gestured for the bartender before ordering another beer. Once, you had been served your drink you stood, leaning on the bar in a way that would attract a man’s eye to the curve of your bum. One of the men took the bait straight away and turned his attention to you as you began to drink your beer.

‘’What is a beautiful woman such as yourself doing in a town like this?’’ he leaned towards you. His breath stank of alcohol and his eyes were slightly glazed over indicating he was a lot more drunk then you had first thought.

‘’Just passin’ through’’ you smiled sweetly placing a hand on his forearm. ‘’How about yourself?’’. Before you knew it, you were standing in between the two men drinking your beer and creating convocation. They both had closed some sort of business deal that you paid no interest too and were celebrating. You hummed along whilst congratulating them. They were both quite young, handsome men so you acted as though you were falling for their charms. After your second beer that they had bought you, you decided to take your leave and go back to Dutch. Both the men were slightly disappointed that you were leaving however, they let you go without any complaints.

‘’I think it’s best we leave now’’ you smiled at Dutch who sat watching you with a confused expression. He didn’t question you and followed you out of the saloon and to your horses.

‘’(Y/N), I think you missed the point of this trip’’ he finally turned to you before you mounted your horse. You grinned at him, before he could say another word you produced 2 watches, $20, a golden ring, a packet of cigarettes and what seemed to be an engagement ring from your pockets. You placed all the items in Dutch’s hand.

‘’Pretty sure we can sell this stuff at the general store. Plus, I found out that they have a bunch of deeds back at their house which isn’t too far from here. Turns out they will both be out of town on business next week. Might be worth a look’’ you smirked feeling pretty pleased with yourself.

‘’Well I must say, I am impressed’’ Dutch nodded at you, you couldn't help but hear the slight shock in his voice. This only made you more smug about doing a good job. ‘’Let’s go see what we can get for these’’ Dutch chuckled as he stuffed the items into his pockets. The both of you mounted up and began to head to the main street. As you were riding down the street you passed by Hosea and Arthur. They were on their way to the saloon with a wagon full of moonshine. Hosea had dressed Arthur up in a hat and a pipe sticking out of his mouth and you couldn’t help but giggle at the sight. They both tipped their hats to you as you passed one another but no words were exchanged. Arthur rolled his eyes as he saw the amusement on both yours and Dutch's faces.

"He's never been one for playing dress up" Dutch remarked. "No doubt we will get an earful later" he bellowed whilst laughing.

Dutch and yourself entered the general store and sold the items for $40 altogether. He decided to buy you a broach of a horse’s head cast in bronze that you had taken a shine too. You thanked him on the way out before pinning the broach to your shirt. The two of you began your journey back to camp ignoring the noises coming from the saloon. Clearly whatever Hosea and Arthur was up to was working in their favour.

‘’Good work today Miss (Y/L/N)’’ he smiled at you as you rode side by side. ‘’I’m glad we found you’’. This made you light up. You knew Dutch was hard to please and to hear him say these things only made you feel more at home in the gang. Although, you couldn't help but think of your convocation that you had by the dock that morning. You hadn't spoken about your relationship with Arthur this whole trip, which you originally though that's what this was about.

‘’Thanks Dutch’’ you smiled at him. ‘’Can I ask you a question?’’ he nodded at you to continue. You cleared your throat and gathered up the courage before speaking up. ‘’Earlier, you said that you hope that me and Arthur don’t become a problem, what did you mean?’’ you asked so shyly that you thought he might not have even been able to hear you. You heard him take a deep breath in as you looked at the road in front of you, avoiding his gaze. The silence was deafening, the only sound was your heart racing as Dutch thought about your question.

‘’I meant no offence’’ he cleared his throat before carrying on. ‘’Things like relationships can be a hard thing with the way we live. They can get in the way and distract us from our responsibilities. As long as you know the gang comes above anything else, it shouldn’t be a problem. Keep up the hard work’’ Dutch scanned your face for your reaction. You looked up to catch his gaze before nodding. "And Miss (Y/L/N), I won't tolerate any more fighting in camp" he warned looking straight into you.

‘’I understand. It won’t get in the way’’ you promised Dutch. Although you knew he meant well you couldn’t help but feel he thought you might take Arthur away from his work or even the gang. You had no intension of doing so as you knew how much the gang meant to him, and how much it was starting to mean to you as well. It was like a family, one that you have been needing for so long.

Once you were back in camp Dutch left you to tend to the horses. You brushed the borrowed horse and the Count before feeding them some carrots as a treat. It wasn’t long before the sun began to set on another day and you helped yourself to some of Pearson’s stew. Lenny came to keep you company and sat on the log next to you by the fire. It was nice to talk to someone who wasn't interested enough to ask about your and Arthur's relationship. Lenny was the youngest in the gang but he talked as though he was the oldest. He was incredibly smart and always good company.

‘’You seen John today?’’ you asked as you scanned the camp still unable to locate John.

‘’Yeah, he has been on guard most of the day, didn’t want anyone to relieve him of his post’’ Lenny shrugged. You turned your nose up at the thought of John wanting to be on guard all day. He hated that job, he always complained that it was boring. Maybe something had happened between him and Abigail which made him want to be by himself for a while. You were about to go and check on him when you saw Arthur ride back into camp. He dismounted Siego and marched over to speak to Dutch and Micah. You and Lenny both tried to overhear their conversation without any luck. Whatever they were taking about, you could tell Arthur wasn't too pleased about it. You turned your attention back to the remainders of your stew and scraped the bowl clean.

‘’Ma’am’’ Arthur drew your attention from your bowl. He held his hand out for you to take which you did gladly. He pulled you onto your feet before taking your bowl from you and placing it in the wash tub. ‘’You ready to go?’’ he questioned, his tone was slightly irritated still by his convocation with Dutch. You had completely forgotten about going out of camp with Arthur tonight but you nodded to not irritate him further. You said your goodbyes to Lenny before grabbing a couple of spare clothes from your tent and meeting Arthur by the horses.

You rode together back into Rhodes. Arthur remained quiet for the ride, you could tell something had angered him but you didn’t want to pry just yet. Instead you decided to let him calm down. Arthur led you up to the Rhodes hotel, you glanced at him slightly shocked. You had expected to go back to the open field that you had slept the other night. You followed sheepishly behind him, trying to remember the last time you had slept in a real bed. Arthur paid for a room and for a bath each before grabbing the key and guiding you to the room.

The room was spacious, with a double bed in the middle of the back wall and a wardrobe to the side. There was a draw at each bedside with a lantern placed on each one. As it was already dark outside so the room was slightly dim lit but that didn't faze you. You gingerly walked around the room and placed your things to one side. As you passed each draw, you automatically searched through them to see if there were any leftover belongings.

‘’We ain’t robbin’ the place’’ Arthur smirked as he watched you open and close all the empty draws.

‘’I know’’ you giggled slightly embarrassed. ‘’I don’t remember the last time I stayed inside that’s all’’ you felt the softness of the bed and took a deep breath in.

‘’Well we needed to get away from camp. Thought this would be better then a cold night outside" he watched you with a smile.

"You alright?" you finally asked. "Ya seem irritated".

"Nahh it's just Micah. Thinks it's a good idea to rob both the Grey's and the Braithwight's" he shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't think it's the best idea but Dutch seems to take his side" he placed his things in the same pile as yours before walking over to you and placing both his hands on your waist. You place your arms around his neck and pull him close to you for a full enbrace.

"Doesn't seem smart but I'm sure Dutch knows what he's doin'." You tried to reassure him. The truth was you thought it was dumb too. It was a small town and people talk, even with a family feud they would still know it was us that robbed from them. You let go of him just enough so that you could see his face. His jaw was tense and his eyes were looking over your shoulder, deep in thought. You place your hand on his cheek to bring his eyes round to focus back on you, just like he had done earlier. His jaw relaxed as his eyes met yours. You kissed him gently, you could feel his whole body relax when your lips met. He wrapped his arms tighter around you, as if not wanting to ever let you go. You broke the kiss and smiled up at him.

"I'm sorry, let's not talk about the gang tonight" he smirked. ‘’Why don’t ya go get a bath, I’ll get mine after’’. You nodded at him before grabbing some clothes and walking out of your room and down the hall to the bath.

You submerged yourself in the warm water hesitantly. The water felt lovely against your skin, better then washing yourself in the cold lake. You took your time in scrubbing your body head to toe, using the soap provided. It smelt of lavender and filled the room with it’s relaxing scent. Once you had finished you sat in the bath for a couple moments, embracing the last of the warm water before climbing out and drying yourself. You pulled on the clean clothes you had packed before tip toeing your way back to the room. When you walked back in you were surprised to find Arthur was not there. He must have gone to the second bathroom that you had noticed. You perched on the edge of the bed, feeling it dip from your weight. It was so soft and you couldn't wait to have a comfy night sleep. You sat there for a while before deciding to get ready for bed, it was getting late and you were begining to tire. As you rummaged through your things you realised you had forgotten your nightwear. You rolled your eyes and breathed out an irritated sigh at your forgetfulness. Instead you decided to slip on Arthur's shirt that he had given you weeks ago on your hunting trip and remove your trousers. Once, to were comfortable you climbed onto the bed laying down with your head placed on the plump pillow.

There was a knock at the door before Arthur crept back inside the room. He closed the door behind himself before finally letting his eyes find you. His mouth dropped slightly before he took a large gulp finding you in this slight state of undress. The shirt you had borrowed fell down to the middle of your thighs but both your legs were on show to him. You sat up slightly leaning on both elbows and you let yourself look over him. He was standing at the door with just his jeans on, his suspenders left to hang by his legs. You couldn’t help but gaze over him, his upper body was toned with hair gracing his chest leading a path down his stomach into his jeans. The both of you were silent as you allowed yourself to explore with your eyes. Your heart was racing in your chest and a new warm feeling began aching between your legs. You had both seen each other like this when you spent the night away from camp hunting but at that point you avoided looking over each other. This time you both welcomed each other to look. You could feel your heart begining to race as you felt his eyes wonder down your body.

‘’I wondered where my shirt had gotten too’’ Arthur said in a low tone as he slowly made his way over to you. His voice seemed to vibrate through you, making the ache between your legs worsen. This feeling was foreign to you and you began to think something was wrong with you.

‘’I may have forgotten to give it back’’ you admitted shyly, watching every step he made towards you. His shoulders were broad leading to his muscled arms that you longed to warp around you. You couldn't hide the slight shaking in your breath as he got closer. Arthur slowly sat down on the bed beside you and licked his lips. Your chest felt like it was going to burst open as he rested a hand on the bare skin of your leg, just below your knee. The sensation of just his touch sent shivers throught your body. The heat between your legs was intensifying with every passing moment and a knot in the bottom of your stomach started to grow. You slowly looked over his body and back up to meet his striking blue eyes. He didn't shy his gaze away once you met his. There was a look on his face you had never seen before. It was hungry but weary at the same time. You suddenly had a growing awareness of your need for him. You needed him to kiss you. You needed him to touch you and you needed him to relieve this unfamiliar burning feeling between your legs.

--

Chapter 13

@kashasenpai

[strangest-loser]

Twilight Rewrite

Fire in my Blood ~ Jasper Hale X OC ~ Book Two - Chapter Two

Book One // Chapter One 

This chapter is for @whattheheckisevengoingon​ because babe gets all my references. Also there is smut so if that makes you uncomfortable then read down to the barrier, skipping that part of the story wont affect the rest of the plot.

── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Contrary to what the government wants you to believe faking your death and moving across the country with a new identity is not as hard as you might think, especially when you are an immortal vampire and your new adoptive father knows a guy. Alessia had always wanted to live in New York, and even though it wasn’t the city... Ithaca was beautiful.

Ever since she was a little girl she had wanted to audition for the New York City Ballet and even though she couldn’t live out that dream anymore the view from the small house she found with Jasper still made her extremely happy every time she saw it. As much as the two of them loved their family the decision to move into their own place was an obvious one. The only place the two wanted to be was in each others arms.  Beams of sunlight crept up the bedsheets and reflected thousands of shimmering flecks around the room when it met the bare skin peeking out from the covers. Quiet strings of conversation laced the air as the two talked about anything that came to mind. Jasper would often spend afternoons reading to Alessia, or sometimes Alessia would softly sing to him, and sometimes the only sounds to be heard in the room were the songs playing through the small speaker on the windowsill accompanied with the sighs and laughs that came from a night full of love. It was like they had managed to construct their own piece of heaven for their own damned souls. This is how every day has been spent since the two moved into their small house that was more like a cottage, with one attic/loft bedroom a small kitchen and living room, a study and a big garden and mini greenhouse. It was far removed, on the edge of the woodland, and if you followed the path far enough you would find the much bigger home where the rest of the Cullens resided. To be completely honest it was perfect.

It took about a month before the two were able to pull themselves away from their nest enough to throw on Jackets and boots and step out into the crisp November air. Walking the trail towards the Cullen home Alessia kept her hand tightly laced in Jasper’s own, recounting Halloween night a few days ago when she managed to convince Jasper to wear a cloak and travel into the town square to see the decorations and children's costumes. While being around so many mortals wasn't the easiest thing in the world it was easier when she was there, and he wanted so desperately to get used to it. Having Alessia around made withholding his own urges much easier on Jasper and the two actually managed to enjoy their night. 

One of the harder things about her new life was trying to get used to her new name. Keeping Alessia Cullen would have been too obvious and anyone who knew her in her past life would immediately recognize the two names and her cover would be blown. And so the obvious choice was made and Alessia was shortened to Aleah, that’s the name that was printed on a stack of documents in a folder handed to Carlisle by a family friend the day they left Forks, Alessia didn’t know much about him only that Jasper had worked with him before. By far the best thing about the move however, in Alessia’s opinion, was that Edward Cullen was no where to be found.

Nightfall was quickly approaching but the forest was already dark, the trees blocking out any light the sunset was still casting over the town. Alessia smiled dragging a laughing Jasper behind her as she pulled him deeper down the trail that lead to the patch of meadow on the Cullen’s land that Alice told her was the location of the small celebration that she was forcing everyone to attend to spend time as a family. Clingy didn’t even begin to sum up how Jasper and Alessia had been acting since she woke up in her new state, it was so bad they almost didn’t make it but the tree-line gave way to the beautiful sight of candle jars hanging in the surrounding trees and littering the ground to bask the clearing in a beautiful glow, illuminating the wildflowers that laid under their feet.

“Subtle really isn’t in your vocabulary is it”, Jasper called to his sister as the mates walked to the group of the rest of the Cullens standing next to a fire pit, they were clearly the last to arrive. His comment didn’t go unnoticed by his love who elbowed him in the side and gave him a warning gaze to behave, and although he knew it was all playful he found himself following her command without hesitation.

The night was wonderful and it slowly bled into the morning, filled with stories and laughter and love. Alessia began to really feel like she was becoming one of the family. Day broke to Japer and Emmet roughhousing while Carlisle spoke in hushed tones to Esme, loving smiles etches onto both of their porcelain faces, and all three Cullen girls lay in the grass chatting about funny things that they had noticed about their new home, well Alice and Rosalie were talking, Alessia was staring at her man and making it extremely obvious much to the partial awe and mostly disgust of the two girls sitting with her, but she couldn’t help it, her soldier boy had a nice ass.

Later into the morning the family decided to retreat up to the larger house at the end of the trail, far away from the hiking trails and further still from the nearby town. the sunlight reflected Alessia’s cheeks as she stepped onto the front porch swiveling around to wrap her arms around the column of the front steps, letting the sun illuminate her face the warmth soaking into her stone cold skin. It felt amazing and it comforted her when her racing mind brought her thoughts back to home. Letting her feet carry her into the living room she fell onto the couch and into Jaspers arms as Emmet and Rosalie fought over weather to watch Psycho or Pride and Prejudice, they both lost when Alice slid Dead Poets Society into the DVD player and all arguments ceased as the Cullen children settled down to exhaust their movie collection.

That’s how the winter months drifted by for Alessia, any time spent away from the cottage where she lived with Jasper was spent with the Cullens. By the time Christmas time rolled around Alessia managed to get everyone to get into the spirit. Emmet and Carlisle opened the front door lugging a christmas tree into the living room where Esme and Alice were sitting watching Home Alone. An hour later Emmet’s jeep pulled up to the house and Rosalie, Alessia and Jasper began unloading boxes upon boxes of decorations into the room, they made an early morning trip into the city to get enough decorations to properly fill the house with christmas cheer. That night everyone in the family had fun wrapping their tree in white lights with red and gold baubles. Alessia couldn’t keep the massive smile off her lips when she was hoisted onto Jaspers shoulders to place the star on top of the tree. As soon as her feet hit the floor she spun in his arms and kissed him hard. Christmas was special to Alessia because it was a time for family and friends, her Christmases as a child with Charlie were some of the happiest times of her life. She wanted to cry when Carlisle switched on the lights and their golden glow twinkled in her amber eyes. Their happy moment was interrupted when a chime sounded from Alice’s laptop  in the corner making Alessia stiffen and pull away from her mate, heartbreak staining her happy emotions as she faded from the room, walking out into the woods ignoring the sympathetic stares from her family. Emails from Bella were extremely painful for Alessia because knowing that her sister was in pain and constantly trying to reach out to them trying to know where they were or if they were ok. The empty woods allowed Alessia’s temper to flare and before she could stop herself she began to lay into a steady old tree, punches splintering the bark until eventually the tall tree was ripped from its stump and thrown across the meadow landing fifty feet away with a crash. She sank to her knees dry heaving and sobs began to wrack her small body while her eyes remained stubbornly bone dry. The fact that Alessia had her family and mortality ripped away from her hit her like a train and she mourned the loss of her old life for the first time since she woke up. An hour passed and snow began to fall catching in her doll like lashes and her chocolate curls as the crunching sound approaching her creeped to a halt. Alessia let Jasper lift her body into his arms and carry her to their small cottage.

The couple laid together while Jasper waited for Alessia to speak, she didn’t. She seemed to deflate before letting her body gravitate towards her love, slotting her body perfectly against his own. Jaspers fingers immediately carded through her hair sending a shiver straight down her spine, no matter how many times they found themselves wrapped around each other the position they were in only got comfier and more natural every time. The stress melted from Alessia’s body with every stroke of Jaspers hand down her back, snuggling her face into her boyfriends neck and locking her arms around his waist fully content to stay where she was until January 30th. Hours past with the couple laying in each others hold before anything was said, Alessia’s soft voice sent soft vibrations against Jaspers neck, “Never leave me... I don’t think my heart could take it.” Her voice was small letting the small 18 year old girl shine through the front of a confident, self assured vampire. Jasper laid small kisses on her head before sliding two fingers under her chin to meet her sad gaze. 

“Even death cant take you away from me Darling.”

─ ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─ Smut Ahead ─ ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─

Warmth flooded Alessia’s un-beating heart as she crashed her lips onto Jaspers, the soft cold skin of her fingers sliding along his scar covered arms while Jasper pulled her effortlessly into his lap. The lack of oxygen needed by their lungs allowed them to get completely lost in each other, their lips only separating to allow Jasper to pull her shirt over her head, his lips immediately latching onto her neck forcing a moan to bubble out of her lips. A lot of the first few months of their relationship was spent just like this, mapping out each others bodies and branding every single inch of skin into their minds. Jaspers lips trailed to nip just behind Alessia’s ear, abusing the spot before slowly letting his mouth trail its way down her neck and littering her collarbones with hickeys that would disappear in minutes. Purely pleasured sounds were ripped out of Alessia while she tried to focus long enough to rid herself of the bra that was way too expensive for her liking. Inches of perfect pale skin exposed were soon met with feral kisses from the ex soldier before he slid a hand up to cradle the back of her head and flipped her on her back, leaving her at his mercy before resuming his mission to cover her chest with imperfections, painting his mate with his mark.

This wasn’t how it always went, nothing was ever routine for the two of them. Whenever Jasper stressed himself with nightmares and memories of a past that haunted him nothing felt better to him than handing complete control over to his love and letting her play with him until his muscles felt like jelly and his brain was pumped full of endorphins without having any responsibilities in the moment that didn’t involve following Alessia’s orders, something in his base instincts made it easy to follow her commands, his body following her words without his minds input. “Shit” fell from Alessia’s lips as Jaspers lips closed around her breast, arching her back into his hold while her mind began to cloud over with pleasure. Jasper took over her senses, he was all she could register at that moment, nothing existed outside that bedroom door and nothing else mattered other than the two of them and whatever the hell Jasper was doing with his tongue because sweet jesus!

Alessia’s fingers screwed up in the cotton of the bedsheets beneath her the sensation of her nails scratching the cotton was loud in her overwhelmed mind and her involuntary mewls turned to whimpers as her mate dragged his teeth against the bruises littering her tummy, his fingers fighting with the buttons of her jeans and a frustrated growl escaped his throat when he couldn’t get them open fast enough. Giggles filled the room at his struggle and with Alessia’s assistance and a few more stolen kisses Jasper moved his assault to the bottom of her legs, his kisses following the decent of her jeans before they were tossed into the void. “Jasper I swear of you don’t get a move on-” Alessia’s breathy protest was cut off by a loud moan. Jaspers lips abandoned her legs to lick a stripe up her core through her lacy panties. Golden eyes rolled into the back of Alessia’s head as strong fingers ripped through blood red lace and Jasper launched into his feast like a man starved. Not even able to conjure words in her mushy brain anymore the symphony of sounds that escaped Alessia’s lips was answered with Jaspers own groans of pleasure, sending vibrations rocketing through her core. The cotton bedspread was released from Alessia’s iron grip and her slim fingers entangled themselves in the blonde locks pulling them impossibly closer to her heat, her soul may be damned now but by god if this wasn’t what heaven felt like. The ever familiar knot began to tighten in her core and Alessia knew if the was still human tears would be falling from her eyes as Jasper’s skilled lips wrapped around her clit and sucked, she fell from her high legs shaking and mind foggy pulling herself up to slam Jasper to her previous position attacking his lips tasting herself. Alessia climbed into his lap watching the awe on his face as she lowered herself onto his length, her eyes rolling slightly before kissing Jasper again trying to ground her overstimulated mind. The pace was punishing and had she still been human her mind would be broken and fuck drunk and she probably would have passed out from just how perfectly he filled her. Her hands roamed the bed searching for his own, their fingers interlocking like puzzle pieces and nothing could have been more perfect than in the next few moments, ecstacy filling their minds and bodies as the look of complete adoration filled their faces. Alessia thought soulmates was a bullshit concept and for the longest time she just couldn’t grasp the idea that there was a person in the world who was your other half but everything about the love between Alessia and Jasper didn’t need explanation, it was biological obsession, psychological adoration, they clicked and their vampiric instincts saw the other and screamed ‘MINE’. 

Love didn’t even begin to explain what they felt, but they had eternity to find as many words as they could.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Phew! Sorry this is out much later than I expected it to be but here we are the filler episode we were all looking for.

The official movie storyline will continue next chapter and we will see more feisty Alessia because she’s hot when she’s angry.

Have any of you guessed her power yet??

Aoife xx  

TAGLIST

@treestarrrrrrrr​

@whattheheckisevengoingon

@fangirl1029​

@iliveforthefandom04​

@frozenhuntress67​

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@jessabellaswan​

@geekysimmerthings​

@payourdebts​

@theroyalbrownbarbie​

[merlins-tits]

Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Characters: Alex Claremont-Diaz, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Nora Holleran, Percy “Pez” Okonjo, June Claremont-Diaz, Shaan Srivastava
Additional Tags: Boys In Love, minor pez/june, past nora/alex, henry is jealous, Alex is stupid, POV Henry
Summary: The New Year’s Eve party but from Henry’s point of view. UM so I might have wrote the one New Year’s Eve party scene from Henry’s point of view because I couldn’t get it out of my head. The link is there but I’ll also just post it here, too. This is my first writing piece ever. Also I used most of the same dialogue from the actual scene but all credit goes to the wonderful Casey McQustion. These are their characters and they have all rights! A strong, deep bass rumbled from the speakers as Henry stumbled through the crowd searching for Alex. It had gotten to the point where he was on the verge of giving up when he spotted him. Alex was with two girls: Nora at his back with her arms wrapped around a small girl who looked vaguely familiar. Alex, though, had his head thrown back, laughing like someone had just told him the world’s best joke, his whole body alive with movement. It was intoxicating enough that Henry took a deep breath before sidling up next to him. He looked around to see people with their hands in the air, hands on someone’s waist, around someone’s neck, wrapped around a drink. Looking down at his own hands, he tried to copy those around him without looking completely prattish. Spoiler. It didn’t work. “You don’t dance?” Alex says, watching him. “No, I do,” Henry says. “It’s just, the family-mandated ballroom dancing lessons didn’t exactly cover this?” The last few words of his sentence come off as more of a question than a statement. “C’mon, it’s, like, in the hips. You have to loosen up.” Alex replies. He then does the unthinkable: he puts his hands on Henry’s hips and it’s all Henry can do to not tense up. By the look on Alex’s face, he thinks he’s failed. “That’s the opposite of what I said.” “Alex, I don’t–” “Here,” Alex says, moving his own hips, “watch me.” Henry feels the warmth creeping up the back of his neck, takes a gulp of his champagne, and says in what he hopes to be a level tone, “I am.” The song crossfades into another buh-duh dum-dum-dum, dum-duh-dum duh-duh-dum– “Shut up,” Alex yells, looking as though Christmas had come early. “Shut your dumb face, this is my shit!” He throws his hands up in the air as Henry stares at him blankly, and around them, people start cheering too, hundreds of shoulders shimmying to what Henry later learns to be “Get Low” by Lil Jon. “Did you seriously never go to an awkward middle school dance and watch a bunch of teenagers dry hump to this song?” Alex looks up at Henry as he stares back with wide eyes, clutching his champagne glass like a lifeline. “You absolutely must know I did not.” Alex turns to where Nora was standing a few feet away and snatches her away from the girl she was flirting with. Absently, Henry realizes that he recognizes this girl from the recent Spider-Man movie. “Nora!” Alex shouts, bringing Henry’s focus back to him. But honestly, when is he not focused on Alex? “Nora! Henry has never watched a bunch of teenagers dry hump to this song!” Nora stumbles and her face becomes so shocked that Henry fears that he’s done something wrong. “What?” she exclaims. “Please tell me nobody is going to dry hump me,” Henry says, bewilderment written all over his face. “Oh my God, Henry,” Alex yells, seizing Henry by one lapel as the music pounds on, “you have to dance. You have to dance. You need to understand this formative American coming-of-age experience.” Henry feels his willpower dwindling when he realizes just how close Alex has pulled them together. He doesn’t even think that Alex meant to, but suddenly, Henry is all too aware of the feeling of Alex’s body pressed against his. He thinks he might do something extremely stupid when Nora grabs Alex, pulling him away from Henry and spinning him around, her hands on his waist, and starts grinding with abandon. Alex woops and Nora cackles and the crowd jumps around and Henry just gawks at them. He lets out an indignant snort when he hears the lyrics for the first time. “Did that man just say ‘sweat drop down my balls’?” Alex is breathtaking, sweat on his brow, laughing hysterically, bent over grinding his ass against Nora’s front. She starts thrusting against Alex, smacking his ass on time with the beat of the song and Henry is sure he’s only seen this happening in movies. Henry rips his eyes away from the scene in front of him only to see Pez a few feet away bending over to the front and touching his toes. Alex sees it too and laughs even harder at Henry’s face. He accepts a shot from a passing tray, throwing it back and getting back to his dancing. He pouts his lips and shakes his ass, and even though Henry cannot fathom why his body starts reacting without him telling it to, his head starts to bop. "Fuck it up, vato!” Alex yells, and Henry laughs despite himself and hips start to move in a little baby shake. “I thought you weren’t going to babysit him all night,” June whispers to Alex as she twirls by, though it comes off as more of a shout. “I thought you were too busy for guys,” Alex says, nodding behind her. Henry looks over his shoulder and sees Pez watching June with a little grin on his face. He turns back around in time to see June throw Alex a wink before she’s off again. From there, Henry can’t find it in himself to care about how ridiculous he might look. He’s had too much to drink and there’s music he vaguely recognizes as early 2000s blasting from the speakers. He’s drinking champagne directly from the bottle and his willingness to dance likely has to do with how close Alex is and the fact that he can’t quite keep his hands to himself. Henry thinks he might explode. He watches Alex continue to grind against Nora and in the back of his head he hears a whisper that sounds a little bit like Pez saying “you wish that was you, huh?” The staring contest he seems to have started with Alex lasts well up until midnight, laughter bubbling out at random, wide smiles that they both can’t quite keep off of their faces. The countdown to the new year starts as they huddle up in their own little group, arms wrapped around each other, swaying slightly due to how much they’ve all had to drink. Henry thinks everything is going well until the countdown hits one, everyone screams “Happy New Year” and he sees Nora sling her arm around Alex’s neck and kiss him sloppily on the mouth. As they pull out of the kiss, Nora bites Alex’s lip and messes up his hair as he laughs. He opens his eyes and looks straight at Henry. Henry fights to keep his emotions off his face, he’s trained in it. It’s hard considering the jealousy rising up and he’s certain he must be green with it. Alex’s smile grows wider when he registers Henry’s expression, so Henry lifts the bottle of champagne up to his mouth, takes a hearty gulp, turns and walks through the crowd away from two-thirds of the White House Trio. Henry finds himself in the Garden without even registering how he got there and how long he’s been there. He slowly walks up to a tree and looks up into the sky. He’s so numb from the alcohol that he doesn’t care how cold it is. The only way he knows that he maybe should be wearing a jacket is when he breathes out and sees little puffs of steam in front of his face. He’s been out there for God knows how long when he hears a curse as someone stumbles over a bench behind him. “What’re you doing back here?” Alex says, trudging up to stand next to him under the tree. Henry squints down at him trying to focus on Alex’s face. It doesn’t work. It’s still blurry. Still beautiful. Whatever. “Looking for Orion,” he settles on saying. Alex huffs a laugh, looking up into the sky. Henry realizes his excuse must sound silly when he looks up as well and sees Alex fighting back a smile. The sky is not clear. It’s full of fluffy white clouds. “You must be really bored with the commoners to come stand out here and stare at the clouds.” “‘m not bored,” Henry mumbles. “What are you doing out here? Doesn’t America’s golden boy have some swooning crowds to beguile?” He means for it to come out harsher than it sounds. He hopes Alex doesn’t recognize the fondness in his voice. “Says Prince fucking Charming,” Alex answers, smirking. Henry frowns up at the clouds. He’s not sure if he likes that Alex compared him to a beautiful prince or if he’s disappointed that he is anything but. “Hardly.” His knuckle brushes the back of Alex’s hand at their sides, a little zip of warmth in the cold night. Henry feels it in his whole body. From the corner of his eye he can see Alex looking at him. The garden is quiet. It makes Henry uncomfortable. “You really didn’t answer my question, though,” Alex notes. Henry groans, rubbing a hand across his face. “You can’t leave well enough alone, can you?” He leans his head back. It thumps gently against the trunk of the tree. “Sometimes it gets a bit…much.” Alex keeps looking at him. He shifts, leaning back against the tree too. He nudges their shoulders together and Henry feels the corner of his mouth twitch at the contact. He tries to keep his smile down. He’s probably failing. “D’you ever wonder,” he says slowly, “what it’s like to be some anonymous person out in the world?” Alex frowns. “What do you mean?” “Just, you know,” Henry says, trying to find the right words. “If your mom weren’t the president and you were just a normal bloke living a normal life, what things might be like? What you’d be doing instead?” “Ah,” Alex says. He stretches out one arm out in front of him, makes a dismissive gesture with a flick of his wrist. “Well, I mean, obviously I’d be a model. I’ve been on the cover of Teen Vogue twice. These genetics transcend all circumstance.” Henry rolls his eyes, fighting to keep a fond smile off of his face. “What about you?” Henry shakes his head ruefully. “I’d be a writer.” Alex gives a little laugh. “Can’t you do that?” “Not exactly seen as a worthwhile pursuit from a man in line for the throne, scribbling verses about quarter-life angst,” Henry says dryly. “Besides, the traditional family career track is military, so that’s about it, isn’t it?” He bites his lip, and his brain supplies the words I’d date more, probably, as well. It takes him a moment to realize he’s voiced his thoughts when Alex starts laughing. “Right, because it’s so hard to get a date when you’re a prince.” Henry looks down at Alex. “You’d be surprised.” “How? You’re not exactly lacking for options.” Henry looks at him. He thinks there’s a twinge of jealousy in Alex’s voice and he hopes it’s not wishful thinking. It’s probably what gives him the courage to say, “The options I’d like…” dragging the words out, trying to hint at what he’s trying to say. “They don’t quite seem to be options at all.” Alex blinks. “What?” And Henry’s infatuated with him even more. “I’m saying that I have…people…who interest me,” Henry says, turning his body toward Alex now, speaking with a fumbling pointedness. Alex still looks entirely too confused and it’s endearing. “But I shouldn’t pursue them. At least not in my position.” “I still don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Alex says. Henry wants to punch him. “You don’t?” “No.” “You really don’t?” “I really, really don’t.” Henry grimaces in frustration, looking up to the sky wishing there was something up there to please knock some sense into Alex. He straightens. “Christ, you’re about as thick as it gets,” he says, and he grabs Alex’s face in both hands and kisses him. Alex freezes, and for a split second, Henry wonders if he’s read Alex all wrong. Then he feels Alex lean into him and Henry almost sighs in relief. His mouth slides against Alex’s, opens, and his tongue brushes against Alex’s. It’s wonderful and warm and everything Henry had hoped for. Probably even better. Oh. Definitely better. One of Henry’s hands finds its way into Alex’s hair and grabs it at the roots at the back of his head. Alex makes a small noise in the back of his throat and that’s when Henry realizes just what he’s done. He pulls away roughly, enough that Alex staggers back, eyes glazed over, the beginnings of bewilderment etching across his face. Henry mumbles a curse and a series of apologies, holding up his hands as he backs away. Eyes wide and heart in his throat, he turns on his heel and rushes out of the garden, leaving Alex standing in the snow. When he reaches the portico, he looks back and sees Alex start to come back to himself, touching his lips and beginning to make his way toward the White House. Henry slips inside, pushes through the crowd where he finds Pez. Even in his drunkenness, Pez takes one look at Henry and he must know. It’s probably written all over his face. “Please,” Henry hears himself say. There’s a roaring sound in his ears. “I can’t–Pez, I need to leave. I can’t be here.” Pez grabs his hand and leads him to where the PPOs are waiting by the wall. He leans over to Shaan and the next thing he knows is he’s being shuttled to the SUVs parked around the side of the White House. Henry can’t breathe and he doesn’t remember walking to the SUV. Henry can’t breathe and he sees a flash of betrayal and confusion on Alex’s face in the back of his mind. Henry can’t breathe and suddenly he’s in the private jet. Pez doesn’t even ask him what happened. He looks at Henry with sympathy and keeps a worried eye on him the entire flight. He doesn’t fall asleep, he won’t when Henry can’t breathe. Pez takes a deep breath and grabs Henry’s hand. “It’s gonna be okay, Henry. Just wait. I promise everything will be okay.” He was right, like always, Henry thinks. He runs his fingers down Alex’s naked back in the brownstone they share. Henry takes a deep breath.

[vmheadquarters]

Welcome to… 

We're going to play a game of written hot potato! Dozens of your favorite authors will take turns telling this story. Each writer will craft a chapter (with no prior planning) and then "toss" the story to the next person to continue the tale. No one knows what will happen, so expect the unexpected! Follow the “vmhq presents” and “murder we wrote” tags for all the installments, or read the story as it develops on AO3. — Chapter One of MURDER, WE WROTE is written by @susanmichelin​ (a/k/a CMackenzie). 

And stay tuned next week for Ch.2 from @nearfantastica​ - tag, you’re it! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER ONE by CMackenzie

“Welcome aboard!” The captain of the luxury trawler, ominously named Irish Wake, greeted them on the dock with individual thermoses of hot cocoa, and dire predictions about the weather. “There’s a snow squall coming so we best be on our way– you’re my last two passengers for the night.”

Veronica managed to contain her eye roll- barely. This was going to be a very long weekend if all she had to look forward to were predictable ‘it was a dark and stormy night’ cliches. How Wallace had convinced her to make this trip North was still unclear. “Why are we doing this again?”

“Because I’m tired of watching you mope.” Wallace, following the captain’s orders, headed below deck to the saloon. It was paneled in teak and outfitted with leather banquettes and an actual, working fireplace. Wallace dropped onto the bench, leaving the seat closest to the fire for Veronica, and tugged off his gloves.

“I’ve only been home for THREE days,” Veronica said, reluctantly joining him on the sofa. She loosened her jacket and stared morosely through the windows at the gray water.

“Exactly. Three days of unwashed you walking around in a robe, wearing a sad face, and acting more pathetic than Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree. I will not spend the rest of winter break listening to you sing Unbreak My Heart.”

“As if.” She leveled Wallace with a hard look. “And for the record, my heart’s NOT broken.”

“Sure, V.” Unfazed, he pulled out the multi-page invitation for this party and started reading. “The island has its own pond for ice skating, and there are--”

“Hello? Grew up in Southern California, I don’t skate.”

“You don’t surf either, so what’s your point?” He waved the expensive vellum invite at her. “They have snowmobiles, a heated pool, an extensive library, a wine cellar--”

“What no conservatory and billiard room?”

“Plus,” he continued, undeterred. “There’s a murder mystery for you to solve. You can show off your detective prowess, while I play your devastatingly handsome side--”

“Devastatingly handsome?”

“The Watson to your Holmes.”

“This is more Christie than Doyle-- And Then There Were None ring any bells? Do you even know who owns this mansion?” Her best friend was being VERY cagey about this entire weekend. “And why were we invited?”

“WE weren’t invited, I was, and you’re my plus-one.”

“So why were YOU invited? Since when do you have rich friends who can throw Gatsby-like part—” Veronica’s eyes widened as realization dawned. “NO, absolutely not, I’m not going to be trapped on an island with HIM.”

“Totally over him, my ass,” Wallace muttered, shaking his head. “You know Logan Echolls isn’t the only rich guy in the world, right?”

Veronica humphed. She could count on one hand—on one FINGER—the amount of wealthy people Wallace knew well enough he’d consider traveling to this desolate place, and risk incurring Veronica’s wrath. 

There was NO WAY she was staying. She rebuttoned her jacket, and folded her arms across her chest. As soon as they docked, she’d make the captain return her to the mainland. If Logan…  Veronica frowned. “Let me see that invitation.”

“I thought you weren’t interested?”

“I’m not.” But her curiosity was getting the better of her. There was just no way Logan Echolls would throw a lame THEME party. 

She held out her hand, and Wallace hesitated, staring at the card like he was trying to come up with a good reason to say no; but when none materialized, he relented, and passed it to her. 

This time Veronica didn’t hold back the eye roll. The first line read: ‘Mistress X’ (Seriously? What is she, a porn star?) ‘cordially invites you to a mysterious good time.’ As far as Veronica could tell, the only ‘mystery’ was the identity of their hostess (and why she loved stale cliches). And maybe-- “Who else will be there?”

Wallace shrugged. “It’s a party, Veronica. Did you forget how those work? We eat, drink, and have fun- the only mystery for you to solve is a fake one.”

Sorry, BFF, but you’re wrong-- there was NO mystery solving in her future, fake or otherwise. Even if her curiosity was demanding to be satisfied, she would NOT be staying on this island, which is exactly what she told the captain after he docked the boat, and she scrambled topside.

“We need to go back to the mainland.”

The man continued to wind the dock line around a cleat in a tight, figure-eight pattern, ignoring her demand. Or maybe he just didn’t hear it? Frigid January air howled around them and buffeted the sides of the boat, making it thump against the wood pilings. Veronica tried again, a little louder. “You have to take me back to shore.”

“Sorry miss, no can do,” he said, shaking his head. “They’ve upgraded the storm to include white-out conditions and at least a foot of heavy snow.” He stopped adjusting the boat fenders long enough to squint uphill at the imposing limestone mansion. “I just hope you kids will be safe up there all alone.”

Veronica followed his gaze. Copper-trimmed windows glowed from inside, and several chimneys dotted the black slate roof, all of them puffing billows of gray smoke into the night sky. It was both inviting and foreboding. She shook off the ridiculous thought, stomping the cold from her feet and shoving gloved hands into her parka. “Aren’t you returning to Rollins?”

“‘fraid not; I’m gonna have to hunker down in the caretaker’s cottage till the storm passes. ”  The captain glanced at Wallace who was still standing on the boat, luggage at his feet. “Let me help you with those bags, son.”

“We good, V?”

“It’s not like I have a choice.” Too bad she hadn’t paid more attention to Duncan when he’d tried to teach her how to sail, then she could take the—skiff? Scow? Sloop?—berthed next to Irish Wake, and make her own way home. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Without waiting, she left him to carry both duffels, and marched toward the house. Wallace stopped her at the front door. “Uh, Veronica, before we go in, you should know there’s a story to follow.”

“Say what now? A story?”

“Yeah, for the mystery. It’s called Murder at the High School Reunion.” He dropped the bags, and withdrew a blood-red envelope from his coat pocket. “You’re supposed to be Enid Curtis,” he added, handing her the sealed letter.

Veronica groaned. As if this wasn’t bad enough, now she had to be called Enid AND attend a pretend reunion. She ripped open the character summary. 

Enid Curtis was the high school outcast. She couldn’t wait for senior year to be over so she could escape her hometown. Immediately after graduating, she fled to New York and became a successful lawyer, but she never got over her one true love, Mason. Enid is attending this weekend in the hopes of rekindling their relationship, but a dark secret—

“You are so going to owe me for doing this,” Veronica said, skimming the rest of the contents to confirm she wasn’t the killer. “I’m thinking YOU will be the one driving to Stanford every single weekend from now until the time I graduate.” 

“Haven’t I been doing that?” 

“Yes, but now you’ll do it without complaint.” She shoved the red card into her messenger bag. Depending on how many guests and bedrooms, she could have this solved in under an hour. All she needed was to search everyone’s things to read their dossiers. “So which high-school stereotype are you? Wait, let me guess-- class president? Teacher’s pet? No, no, I’ve got it, you’re the new transfer student!”

“You disappoint me,” Wallace said with a sad head shake. “Obviously, I’m the lovable jock- Brady Huddle.”

“Bad puns too? Could this weekend get any worse?” She entered the house and got her answer-- yes, it could. In fact, the party completely bypassed ‘worse’ and went straight to intolerable as she crossed the threshold into the living room. Dick Casablancas was behind the bar (natch), pouring a liberal amount of vodka in a collins glass. A probably-tipsy Gia, who was draped over Luke Haldeman, giggled at Dick, and Veronica’s eye twitched. Hell. I’m in hell.

She scanned the rest of the room, searching faces. Very familiar faces. 

Cole was lounging on a leather Chesterfield the color of old parchment, his arms spread across its back like he was trying to redeem the lost souls of Rio, and blathering on about the Ivy Club at Princeton. Listening to him with rapt attention was Kimmy, who looked eerily like a dead Meg. Obviously she was still going to Fantastic Sam’s with Meg’s picture (and maybe even a trip, or ten, to Dr. Griffith’s office).

Floor-to-ceiling windows lined the far wall and in front of them stood Carrie Bishop, sipping a white frothy confection from a punch cup.  Her bored expression was reflected in the darkened panes as she absently nodded at Susan Knight.

“Who’s the girl about to be swallowed by the fireplace?” The carved-limestone monster was massive. Its mantle towered over the unknown brunette’s head and the firebox was tall enough for a man to stand inside.  

“That’s Alexis Link,” Wallace said, wearing the same moony expression from senior year when he pined after the perky cheerleader.  His sudden interest in this party now made sense. 

“Don’t even think about leav—” The warning was too late. Wallace was already on the move. She sighed. If the weather wasn’t clear by tomorrow morning, she was going to need a new escape plan.  

Someone playfully bumped her elbow, and a frisson of excitement shot down her spine. Please let it be, Logan. Her eyes flew to the window to see the person behind her, and she had to fight to control her disappointment when she identified Casey Gant.

“Welcome to Whispering Rock, Veronica.” He jutted his chin toward the non-existent view. “It’s not much to look at right now, but during the day it’s pretty impressive-- a pond, trees, mountains.”

“Is this your house?”

“God no, it’s way too rural for my parents. I think my mother might literally die if she was this far away from civilization… and a Starbucks.” He smiled. “I got here early and went skating with Susan.”

Veronica nodded, then schooled her features into a mask of disinterest. “So is this everybody?”

“You and…”—not remembering Wallace’s name, he skipped right over it—“...were the last to arrive.”

“Oh.” Any interest she may have had completely evaporated. What was the point without Logan? Could she swim back to shore? Throw herself into the freezing water and hope for the sweet escape of death by exposure? “Guess I’ll go find my room.”

“Do you want me to get one of the maids to bring your stuff up?” Casey glanced at the lone duffel at her feet. “Or did the butler already take your bags?”

“Veronica travels light.”

Logan. She whirled around to face him. It had been over seven months since she’d seen him last (seven months, nine days, and five hours, give or take) and she deserved a little ogling time. She drank in the visual. His hair was shorter, his shoulders a little broader, and his arms… woof. 

Her head tilted. “Hey.”

His smile was slow. “Hey.”

Her fingers itched to touch him. To reassure herself he was actually here. Missing him these past months at Stanford had been a physical thing. Before she did something foolish, she tore her eyes away, and leaned down to grab her bag. Straightening, she blurted, “Are you Mason?”

“Echolls. Logan Echolls.” He pulled a mock-sad face. “Have you forgotten me already?”

As if. She was never going to forget him. Or get over him. Or move past him. She knew this. Even if she’d never tell him. “I meant your character.”

“Shouldn’t you know? I mean I am your great love.” 

“True love.” She frowned. “And Mason is Enid’s true love.”

“Tomato, to-mah-to.... But I am surprised you had to ask. Haven’t you already searched everyone’s rooms, or were you going to do that next?”

She flushed at how quickly he’d guessed her strategy. Was there such a thing as knowing someone too well? “Says the original snoop.”

“Takes one to know one.” His hand closed over hers and he took hold of her bag. “I’ll show you to your room-- it’s right next to mine-- and I can tell you about the other players.”

Logan took a step toward the stairs and the lights went out. A scream pierced the sudden silence. Veronica identified the direction of the ear-splitting sound (near the windows) and her head swiveled in that direction. It was too dark to identify the person (her guess was Susan), but the cause of her fright was plain to see. 

With the darkness inside the house equal to the night sky, the view through the windows had changed. Moonlight and a battery-powered lantern illuminated the pond. A body lay in the center of the ice, still and unmoving.  

“The game is afoot,” Logan whispered near her ear.

“Who’s the dead dude?” Dick asked, as he passed in front of the dim-glow of the dying fire to move closer to the windows. “We’re all in here.”

“Maybe it’s one of the staff?” The suggestion came from the vicinity of the bar; Veronica guessed the speaker as Gia. 

“That’s lame.”

Veronica was forced to agree with Dick. It was lame. Why bother to set up all the backstories and character histories if you weren’t going to use them for the plot? She unsnapped the front pocket of her messenger bag and withdrew two LED flashlights. After clicking on hers, she passed the other to Logan.  “Guess we’d better go take a look.”

A smile flirted across his lips as he took the Maglite and tipped his head towards the door. “Lead the way.”

Wind whipped through the entrance, tearing the knob from Veronica’s grip and pushing the door wide. Logan caught it mid-swing before it hit the wall and held it for her. Obviously the captain’s weather report wasn’t just part of the story. Heavy snow was beginning to fall and a thin shroud of white already covered the ground. 

Veronica slowed her pace, taking tiny steps across the slick flagstone to the lawn. Icy flakes pelted her face, stinging her cheeks and making her eyes tear. A wide path was cut through the center of the grass leading directly to the water’s edge. 

They trudged along. Each slippery step treacherous as the snow continued to build. Veronica kept her eyes focused ahead. The body on the pond had yet to move. Its stillness rang warning bells in her brain. It was too cold out here for a partygoer, or even an actor, to remain that motionless. 

She stopped on the berm and glanced over her shoulder. Everyone had grabbed coats to follow her and Logan outside. All of them still believed this was a game. “I think you need to stay here,” she shouted over the wind. “And I’ll go—”

“Steal all the clues?” Cole scoffed. “We should all go examine the body.” He moved around her and took a step onto the ice.

Logan angled the light to see Veronica’s face and frowned. His gaze slid toward the body. “Let me go first,” he said, brandishing the flashlight in Cole’s direction. “No sense for us to be wandering around in the dark.” He enveloped Veronica’s hand in his. “Ready?”

Together they started across the frozen pond, inching closer to the body.  It was bathed in light from a camping lantern. The green lamp was on its side in a puddle of red. 

Blood. 

Veronica tightened her grip on Logan’s fingers when she saw the face of the corpse. A bloodied ice skate was near the top of his head, and a deep gash ran across his neck.

“Nice makeup job, dude.”

“I don’t think that’s makeup, Dick.” Logan played his flashlight over the scene. There wasn’t much to see. 

“Hey, that’s my stalker from senior year- Leo somebody,” Gia gushed. “Well, he wasn’t like, you know, an actual stalker, stalker, but he followed me around, and I definitely think I was his type.”

“Young?” Carrie said, without any trace of humor. 

Veronica didn’t have any doubt, but she needed to be sure. She let go of Logan’s hand and used her teeth to pull off her glove. Gingerly, she stepped closer to the body. Careful to avoid the blood, she bent down and felt Leo’s wrist for a pulse. “He’s dead.”

[artino1987]

Chapter Three- Call the Rebels

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Hugh walked down the stairs, his hand holding onto the wood railing. The smell of sizzling bacon filled him the closer he got downstairs. He heard the rustling on pots and pans, and the sound of the faucet running. On the last step of the stairs, his old lion slippers awaited him. After slipping them on, he trudged to the kitchen.

His mom was there, her arms elbow deep in the bubble filled sink. She turned back for a second and looked at Hugh. Except it felt more like she was looking through him. She turned back around and continued washing the dishes. "I made breakfast. It's on the table."

A plate of French toast and bacon sat by itself at the table in the kitchen. Hugh guessed his mom already ate without him.

Recently his mom was doing a lot more things without him. Telling her that he had been hiding superpowers from her was a lot more challenging than coming out as gay, but he did both only two months ago. She was supportive of him for being gay, but Hugh can remember the look of terror she wore when he lifted the car right above his head like it was nothing. She said nothing and walked back inside the house. His mom had never said anything towards his face, but he noticed every time she'd scoot away from him on the couch or when she stared at him a little too long when he created things out of chromium.

Hugh knew she still loved him, but there are just some things a parent has to learn to accept when it comes to their child. It's hard for her, but he appreciates that she tries.

Hugh sat down at the table, reaching for the fork and knife laid out right next to the plate. He ate his food quietly while his mother kept washing the dishes. There was this awkward eerie silence that Hugh knew would take time to disappear. He just wishes it'd disappear faster. And at that moment, it did.

"Your father's coming into town to visit you, " his mom said, still facing away from him, "Did you tell him yet?"

Hugh quickly chewed his food before speaking. "Uh, no. I haven't told him- about either things." He turned and looked at her. She had fawn brown hair that was either braided and draped over her left shoulder, never the left, or it was messily tied up into a ponytail. Only at special events like parties or weddings had Hugh ever seen her hair down, straight or curled.  This time it was braided.

She always said he looked like his dad, from the hair to the height to the personality. There was no way you couldn't tell they were related.

"I think you should tell him while he's here. It's up to you, but I don't know when you'll get to see him again."

His parents got divorced when he was three years old. It was simple, there was no cheating or fighting. They simply just fell out of love. In fact, the two were still close even after they separated. Now, his father lived in a small city outside of Galton with his new wife and new kids. Hugh nodded, even though she couldn't see him. "Okay."

Hugh quickly finished his food, giving the plate to his mom before walking to the living room.

***

Hugh kicked a pine cone as he walked down the neighborhood. With his mom pulling away, Hugh decided to pull away too. Maybe it wasn't the best choice, but it seemed easier this way. It was still early in the morning and there was an hour or two before the area came alive with people. But up ahead, Hugh saw a little girl looking up at a tall tree. She turned her head and gasped when she saw him.

The girl ran up to him.

"Hey, Max."

She smiled at him. "Hi, Captain!" She raised her right hand up to salute him, the left holding the arm of a stuffed pig toy. Their parents were friends and Hugh often had to watch her when Maxine's parents were called into work or just needed time off.

"I'm really glad you're here!"

Hugh crouched down to get closer to her height. "Yeah? Why's that?"

She turned and used her free hand to point at the tree she had been staring at earlier. "Emily ran up the tree, again. She's really high up this time."

Hugh groaned. Emily was an off-white cat that Maxine had gotten for Christmas two years ago. She was so cute and cuddly, but whenever Hugh tried to pet her, she always attacked him. He had a couple of scars on his hands because of her, but he was still determined to win her over. Eventually.

"Can you please go get her?"

He didn't want to. He really didn't want to. But Max lowered her head, squeezing the stuffed pig in both arms as she pouted, and Hugh found himself walking to the tree. The closer he got, the easier he could see the fluffy tail swaying back and forth on a branch. A really really high branch. He stood right where Maxine had a few moments ago.

"I could ask someone else if you don't want to," she mumbled.

"It's alright. I can go get her."

Hugh sighed grabbing onto the closest branch he could reach. This wasn't the first time Emily had gotten herself stuck in the tree, but this was the first time she had ever gone higher than halfway up the tree. He held tightly onto the branch and pulled his feet up against the tree. He continued grabbing more branches, slowly climbing up the tree. He pulled and stepped on the same branches he always had before. Hugh looked down and Max smiled up at him nodding, encouraging him to keep going. When he looked back up, Emily had been watching him. She yawned and laid her hand down on the branch she rested on. Hugh began to question if this cat really had any other purpose other than giving him hell.

Hugh was close enough up the tree that if he reached out, he could just barely place his hand on Emily's back. There was no way he was going to be able to grab her, so he brought his right leg up on a branch that was a little too high for him. Hugh was holding an awkward lung stretch against the tree. He pushed off on his left leg as hard as he could, grunting as he crouched down on the single branch. It felt weak under his body, but if he carefully leaned forward, he'd be able to get Emily. And so that's what he tried to do.

Emily meowed and continued to sway her tail as if instead of laying on a branch, she was resting on Maxine's pillow. It didn't help Hugh to know that even after this, Emily would hiss and bite whenever he tried to pet her.

Hugh grabbed her carefully with both of his hands, lifting her up slowly. Once the lifter her body off the branch, he pulled her close to his chest. Hugh smiled, placing his hand on top of her head. This time, she didn't move. Instead, she purred, welcoming the touch. Hugh almost could have enjoyed this moment, but he heard small cracks coming from the branch underneath him and Emily. It dipped, slowly breaking away from the tree.

Hugh cursed as he looked around. There wasn't a branch the looked sturdy enough for him to grab onto, and he was too scared to stretch his leg onto one underneath him.

"Are you alright, Captain?" Max yelled.

"Uh, yeah! I'm alright!" He yelled back, still looked at the branches around him. "Hey, Max?"

"Yes?"

"Doesn't your dad have a ladder?"

"He does! But it wasn't tall enough for me to reach Emily!"

Hugh wished he had asked about the ladder before he went climbing the tree. He felt stupid for realizing that not just now could he have used it, but he could have used every other time Emily had climbed up.  He was really starting to hate this cat.                                            

"Can you still come bring it?"

"I can! I'll be right back!" she yelled, running off to her house. But before she walked onto her porch, she ran back to Hugh.

Maxine set down her stuffed big, so it sat facing the tree. "I'm leaving Beni to watch you, okay?"

Hugh smiled, "Okay!" He didn't really know how the toy would help him, but it was still cute.

The branch was just barely holding on, but every now and then it would slip down as more of it broke. Hugh took a deep breath in, looking back to Emily. "I hope you know that this is all your fault." She only meowed back at him.

His body jolted as the branch dropped dramatically. It looked as if it could snap at any second. Felt like it too.

"Crap, crap, crap."

There was nothing he could support himself on. He heard loud sounds of metal scraping along the pavement. Max was pulling the ladder along behind her slowly. But as she continued getting closer to the tree, the branch got closer to breaking off.

"I'm almost there, Captain!" she yelled.

But before she could take another step, a loud snap erupted from under Hugh. He screamed as the branch broke completely. He shut his eyes tight and held Emily close. He fell from the tree, and as he braced himself to hit the pavement, someone shoved themselves into his side.

The person hugged him tight as they both rolled forward on the sidewalk. Hugh felt pain in his side from where the person crashed into him. He felt like his breath had been ripped straight from his lungs. When the stopped rolling, his head hit against the top step of the ladder that had been dropped.

"Are you alright?"

Hugh felt groggy and the voice was muffled, but he could tell it wasn't Max's. He slowly opened his eyes and it took a while for him to clearly see. The earth was spinning.

"Can you hear me? Are you alright?"

A girl with dark skin and dark brown hair hovered over him. she got closer to him and put her hand on the back of his head.

"Hello? Are you okay?"

Hugh groaned, "I think so?"

"Can you get up?"

"No. You're sitting on me."

She gasped, pushing herself to stand up. "Oh, I'm sorry." She reached her hand, which Hugh grabbed, and she lifted him up. Hugh turned back and saw Max holding her toy in one hand, Emily in the other.

"My name is Georgia," she said, smiling.

"I'm Hugh."

"Well Hugh, what were you doing in that tree?"

He turned and pointed at Max. "Cat."

She nodded and laughed. "Okay, then. But maybe use the ladder from the start next time, okay?"

He laughed with her. "Let's hope there isn't the next time."

Georgia turned to leave but stopped. "You're not gonna tell anyone about me, are you?"

"What?"

"You're not gonna tell anyone that I flew and catches you?"

Hugh didn't even realize that she flew. At that moment, all he could think about was how much he hated Emily.

"No. I won't say anything."

She continued walking again. "Thanks. Goodbye, Hugh."

He watched her walk down the street, before looking back at Maxine. She looked down.

"I'm sorry you fell, Captain," she mumbled.

He crouched down and hugged her. "It's alright. Now go make sure Emily gets back home safe."

She smiled and ran back to her house. Hugh picked up the ladder and followed her.

[caroline18mars]

A Man On Fire - Chapter 17

“So, I guess that means I've still got a job?”, he rolled his eyes and took a deep breath “getting me on the next plane to New York is still part of your notice, which is still a couple of weeks by the way! I'll be gone a couple of days, so use them to think really hard and long about what you've done, and try not to destroy anything else, is that clear?”, stupid, stupid, arrogant girl! “I just don't understand why you're following her to New York, I mean..”, what? Really?. “That's none of your fuckin' business, Shayla! Besides who said I'm following anyone? I need a break and I'm gonna spend some time with a friend, that's all you need to know! Just make sure my room at The Bowery is booked” he disconnected the call and had to stop himself from throwing his phone out of the window, that's how frustrated he was, PA my ass, godawful tormentor more like. Anyway, he was on his way to New York, he bit his thumb, she had a point though, was he going for Harper or for Coco, did it matter? Why not kill two birds with one stone? he needed to find out Harper's address, a last name would be nice too, but first Coco, he would deal with the rest later. His phone vibrated in his pocket, she never disappointed, did she? Whaaaatttt??? oh it's so on, girl! So fuckin' ON! Get me on that plane right now! He had another day to recover from the jetlag and then...oh he had so much to look forward to all of a sudden, I'm on my way, Coco, I'm on my way! And just like that the thought of Harper was being pushed to the back of his mind, how much longer to that goddamn airport?

8 hours by yourself in a metal tube in the sky, with nothing else to do than overthink stuff was a long time..didn't matter, she was home, or at least closer to home than she was hours ago, come on, grab your bag, look forward to your own, warm and comfy bed and sleep off this horrendous jetlag that was already kicking in. Waiting for customs, she switched her phone back on that lit up like a christmas tree with notifications of Sean..Sean again,and more Sean..and of course, the one she had been waiting for, Joe, don't cancel on me, Joe, don't you fuckin dare!

From: BJLCubbins

To: HCDeRobiano

Subject: Re: re: Trouble? Who? Me?

Coco, sweet, funny, magical Coco,

1PM, I would tattoo it on my body straight away if I could, but I can't as I'm on my way to New York right now and needles and liquids are still prohibited on a plane last time I checked. Talking about tattoos, the best idea just popped up in my head, I want to get a tattoo of one of your paintings, like you could draw something and I'll get it tattooed? Just imagine, I would walk around with a real Coco De Robiano on my body, who else gets to say that?

I gotta run too, I'm on my way, Coco, on my way to...YOU!!!

Excited much? I am!

Joe

Oh thank god, he wasn't cancelling, she just couldn't handle any more disappointment right now, “thank you, Miss..Countess De Robiano..” the customs officer checked the name on her passport and raised his eyebrows checking her rock 'n roll attire with heavy combat boots, her khaki army pants, ripped Slayer T-shirt and her eternal leather jacket. Yeah, take a good look, not everyone with a noble title lives like a queen or is a stuffy old fuddy duddy, “ok..if you could just stand on the right for me?” the officer looked at her and before she could move, two gorillas walked up to her “right this way, Miss” and steered her towards another custom's desk where her bag was thoroughly searched while being questioned about the title on her passport, don't you think I would erase that stupid hereditary title on my passport if I could?

Helllooooo home! She nearly wanted to kneel and kiss the ground as the door slammed shut behind her, for a second there at the airport she thought they were never gonna allow her into the country again. She shuffled the bag off her shoulder and let it fall wherever it wanted as she stomped over to her fridge, and poured herself a glass of wine before she dropped down on her couch, hmmm, how good it was to be home again, just her, everything that could be fucked up safely out of reach. The silence, that incredible silence here..was gonna drive her crazy soon enough so she was going to enjoy it as long as she could, sipping her wine she looked at her painting, she should be checking her bank account, hopefully he had deposited the money, because she was running low on paint, and something good had to come from all that stupid mess. Her stare drifted further to the picture of her and Sean that she kept on the huge fireplace, did she miss him? In a funky way, yeah, he was always good company, and he was the only one who knew most of her secrets, but now after what he had done..she just couldn't forgive him, part of her wished he didn't come back, that once he got off the road, he would stay in LA with Shayla. On the other side of the ocean, Sean was finishing up securing the rods for the lights after the last test run of the day, finally he was alone, no Shayla who kept constantly nagging him to dump Harper as a friend, ok he had crossed a line and yes he regretted doing it, he had called her countless times to apologize..he could only hope she would find it in her heart to forgive him because he missed her..and knowing he fucked up a close friendship was..unbearable, that and the fact that Jared was now flying home to look for her..urhggg, so what if he was jealous? With a little bit of luck, he wouldn't find her or if he did she would just tell him to get lost.

And..touchdown..in this amazing city that was a home away from home, he so needed to start looking for an actual house here, imagine things going really good with Coco, then he could go out for breakfast or dinner with her, clubbing, shopping..didn't matter, as long as he was close to her..he unclicked his seatbelt, stop thinking about her, there's Harper to consider as well, torn between two women..typical! Right, pull your hood up and get your ass off this plane, the most amazing woman was waiting! He switched his phone back on that melodically overflowed his screen with notifications, but none from Coco..hmm..please don't try to get back at me, not now, not ever, I need to see you, woman!

Huh!? What? Where was she? Couch, NY, phone..right..message..she rummaged, oh there it was, sighing she pulled the phone from behind her back

From: BJLCubbins

To: HCDeRobiano

Subject: Hellooooo???

Coco,

Is everything ok? I guess I'm not used to not getting a quick reply from you..Please tell me you're in New York and you're looking forward to us meeting up, as much as I am? I've just landed and I was about to sleep off this gruelling jetlag, so I'm going to bed thinking that you might be right across the street from my hotel, or two blocks down and that is a happy thought.

Let me know you're ok, yeah?

Regards

Joe (who can barely oontain himself anymore)

Yeah, yeah, he could write whatever he wanted, but was what he said really true? Was he actually here or was he just in need of attention? What if she stood him up this time and gave him a cookie from his own dough? Nooo, no, of course not, she couldn't do that, but what she was gonna do was protect herself, this time she wasn't gonna stand around and wait for him, no she would wait at a safe distance, because then if he didn't show up she wasn't gonna look like such a fool. She snuggled back into the couch while on the other side of the city, a man did exactly the same, two hearts and two souls staring at a ceiling, hoping not to get their hopes and heart smashed to pieces, because without realizing it, each other was all they had right now.

After a couple of hours of tossing and turning and a mind that was spinning out of control, she got up and jumped back on her scaffolding, painting would take her mind off things, but crawling up there, she heard a loud 'crack', and just when she looked around, the scaffolding started swaying dangerously, what the...? oohhh, this wasn't good, not good at all, but before she could jump off again, one of the boards dissapeared from under her feet and with a bloodcurdling scream she crashed a few metres down to the floor, together with the scaffolding, landing flat on her back. AAAWWWWW, oooooh, my back..my back..she could hardly breathe, stay calm, how could someone stay calm with what felt like a broken back and being buried under steel and wooden boards? Slowly she tried to move her hand, she needed to call someone, him..she..but the pain overpowered her and everything around her went black. Ok, this wasn't normal anymore, still no mail from her, did he fly all the way down here to be stood up by her? Or maybe something had happened? “earth to Jared, something on your mind?” his friend who he met up with each time he was in New York, asked him. “What? no..yes..it's complicated” he came back to reality and nodded and shook his head at the same time, “what isn't these days?..so, come on, out with it, who is she?” his friend asked, coyly sipping his coffee, wait, how did he know this was about a woman? “she's a painter..she's..just amazing..look” he quickly scrolled through his pictures and showed him one of her paintings. “Oh-kay!! how come I've never seen this? First this Harper who's so talented with light? And now this one? Who the hell is she? She could be the next big thing in my galery” he nearly drooled over the picture. “Her name is Coco..and we're meeting up tomorrow” or at least he was hoping they were, with the current radio silence he wasn't so sure. A dull ringing penetrated her thumping skull, what happened? It was really difficult reaching for her phone with the collapsed scaffolding still on top of her “Harper? Oh thank god, listen..I'm sorry and..” Sean launched right into a series of apologies but she couldn't care less about who she was talking to right now. “Sean..I fell..I can't move” he heard her say and he felt his blood run cold when he heard her stutter and stammer about what had happened, “you can't move at all? Just try, Harper, try and move your leg, come on, you can do it”. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus and with a deep groan she was finally able to pull her leg from under the boards, “aww, ohh, awawawaw” oh thank god, she wasn't paralyzed, but her back, oh, her back was killing her. “Who are you talking to?” Shayla came walking out of the bathroom, raising her eyebrows when she noticed the distressed phonecall her lover seemed wrapped up in, why did she even bother? It was painfully clear that he was talking to Harper, the one and only reason her job was hanging in the scales right now, oh no there was no way that vixen was getting her claws back into her man. Sean felt the phone being yanked out of his hand and turned in shock towards Shayla who barked “you leave my man alone, I'm not telling you again, you little piece of shit” and disconnected the call.

[marklineson]

RED THREADS (ACT III)

Park Chanyeol × Park Sooyoung

Park Chanyeol loved his wife enough to think she’d be blinded by love as much as he was when he took her for granted and started meeting another woman behind her back. He thought he, as a respected police officer, would be strong enough to take any damage given to his heart and mind-

The less was he prepared for the day his wife, Sooyoung, ended up leaving him. The day he had asked her out. The day he had proposed to her.

Christmas Eve.

Chapter Song:

Word Count: 1.8k

ACT III - INTERLUDE

“I’m glad you’re starting to embrace the mistakes you made, now.”

27th of December, 2016

Surprisingly, Park Chanyeol was still alive.

The morning after his emotional breakdown, Chanyeol had been waiting for a sign of his in-laws- no raging father who cursed at him for cheating on his daughter, no crying mother who was dissappointed in him, not even a simple phone call- had Sooyoung even told them? Where had she been if she wasn't at her parents' house? Was she staying with Seulgi?

He sighed deeply and made an attempt to comb his tousled hair and then made preparations to brush his teeth- both activities had been pretty much ignored ever since Sooyoung had left him on the 24th. Chanyeol groaned at the memory of waking up in the middle of their sompletely destroyed living room- glass shards everywhere, the christmas tree had been tossed out of the window into ther backyard, the sofa and table had been turned... and Chanyeol himself had woken up with one of the greatest headaches in history. He had drowned the pity and pain he felt for himself in alcohol that night- and he still was disgusted of himself.

Stop acting like a loser. You deserved it all.

Chanyeol went back to his now way too empty bedroom (and he really missed tripping over Sooyoung's shoes and nagging at her for her untidiness) to put on something decent and neat- today's task demanded some class and backbones.

Closing the buttons of his blazer, he made his way downstairs and grabbed the neat leather case on the kitchen counter. It was light, someone else possibly would have mistaken it for being empty- yet the meaning of the one single sheet inside weighed heavier than anything he'd ever carried.

The way to Seulgi's office was a long one- ten minutes could feel like a whole day when you were busy considering whether you did the right thing or not.

The moment he got out of his car, he saw Seulgi already waiting at the entrance of her office, right foot tapping eagerly as she was obviously waiting for him.

No turning back now.

"Good morning", he exclaimed, trying to force a smile onto his face while Seulgi just stared at him blankly, right hand extended. "Did you enjoy your Christmas-"

"I've got no time for someone like you, Park", she snarled at him and raised her eyebrows, "I hope you signed the papers correctly." It pained him to hear the eager undertone in her voice- after all, they had been friends until a few days ago- yet it wasn't like he couldn't understand that she held on to her best friend. Sooyoung.

"I guess I did, I followed all of your little notes on the sticky note on top." Chanyeol ruffled his hair a bit, suddenly looking like a little lost boy. Seulgi felt thrown back in time for a second, seeing the eighteen-yeared high school senior who asked her to give Sooyoung his love letter. She huffed, ripping the papers out of his hand.

"What is it, Chanyeol?"

"I..." He hesitated for a bit, wondering how she'd noticed his inner conflict, but then again, she was as good at reading people as her boyfriend, who also happened to be Chanyeol's best friend. "About Sooyoung-"

"I'm not telling you where she went to, Chanyeol." 

"It- no, it's not that." He hurriedly waved the question off, looking at her like a puppy she'd kicked out of the house. "I just... wanted to ask you a small favour", and at her eyebrows raising themselves painfully fast and her grip on the doorknob strengthening, he added-"Just tell her I broke up with Minri that night." He noticed his breath had picked up it's pace, his chest now heaving from the sudden rush of emotions inside his body. "Please tell her that I still love her, and-"

"-It's enough. You better stop here, before you start making an even bigger fool out of yourself." Seulgi's voice grew even colder with every single word, forcing themselves into Chanyeol's brain without giving him a chance to unhear them. "Listen, I will tell her you broke up with that... affair of yours", her face carried a hint of disgust and dissapprovement,"even though I know she won't even be interested. She moved on, Chanyeol. Sooyoung has things to worry about, much greater than a man who wasn’t satisfied with what he had."

Her gaze softened with a deep sigh, and in a lower voice, she added "I am glad you can at least embrace the mistakes you made now." With that, she made an attempt on closing the door, only stopping in mid-action to quickly exclaim "I'll send you the following papers around New Year's", and finally left him to stand alone at the entrance.

14th of January, 2017

Everyone in division 3 of Seoul's police departement had wanted to make it a calm, relaxing day. Some collegues had returned from a family vacation, others had been out drinking last night and had hoped for a few silent minutes to sit and close their eyes, unseen in their office- yet none of these were supposed to happen.

Instead, there was an uproar when the door to the division's main office was thrown open.

"Boss, you can't be serious! Chanyeol's been our partner for three years now, and-"

"Stop it, Kim. Park has been misusing his power as a part of our division. He-" Jongdae huffed at that, while his other partner, Byun Baekhyun, couldn't withstand stomping with his right foot. 

"Oh, come on, Boss, He's searching for his wife! You're married as well, wouldn't you miss your wife and try to find her if she had vanished from the scene-" This time, it was Kim Junmyeon's snort that filled the room.

"Can't really say that I miss her, when I was the one sending her divorce papers last week."

Baekhyun's mouth opened to form an irregular shape of disbelieve, while Jongdae simply raised his eyebrows and couldn't hold in a surprised "Oh!".

"Anyways, I had to-"

"It's okay, Boss. I understand." 

Everyone's gaze shifted to the seemingly shrunken person in the middle of the room, the actual theme of the day- Park Chanyeol. Deep down, he thanked his two friends and partners for taking action in this, but... it wasn't like he was innocent in this case.

"Listen, guys. I perfectly knew what I was doing when I sneaked into this office to use the main computer and get access to our gps search programm. I knew what I was doing when I found the adress and immediately made my way there last night. I misused my work for my personal matters, and Sooyoung... she wasn't even there anymore." He got up, his head hanging, and bowed to his boss. "I will pack up my stuff and move to division five immediately. Thank you for everything, Boss."

After another bow, he turned around  and went straight to his own office, ignoring the bunch of collegues coming at him and begging him for more information on this whole situation, yet he waved all of them off and shoved himself through the group of people, only to open his door to the empty office and close it behind him right away. 

He didn't even take some time to sit and calm down, knowing he couldn't push away what was launching at him- the consequences for his inappropriate actions.

He raised his head when the door to his office was thrown open and then shut again with a loud bang, but went on with packing when he saw his two partners had walked in. 

"Hey man, stop packing, I'm sure we can convince the boss to give you a milder-"

"Stop." Chanyeol looked up and gazed at Baekhyun, who still didn't want to understand what was going on, while Jongdae went over to his own desk and fell into his chair casually, raising his feet up onto his working table. 

"Baek, he's right. We shouldn't try to get our hands into the matter any further." He took a sip of the coffee he brought along for himself, but then pulled a face and put the plastic cup away because... this instant coffee wasn't really his taste. Wondering how Baekhyun could be so fond of something that tasted like dishwater, he went on.

"Junmyeon has faith in Chanyeol, that's why he's giving him the chance to work himself up the latter again. Remember that he could have also been expelled for such a huge matter."

Baekhyun sneered at that. He wasn't really happy about the fact that they'd get a new partner until Chanyeol was back with them, and he didn't even want to imagine the time it would take for the three of them to be reunited. He gulped down his own coffee and then oggled Jongdae's, who simply signaled him to go on and drink it. 

The scene made Chanyeol snicker, before he finally pulled his name tag off of his black shirt and put it on the table. "I think I've got everything... tell Kyungsoo to keep my desk as untidy as possible while I'm away."

"I'm sure it'll feel naked without all of your bonbon wrappers scattered everywhere", Jongdae grinned, and stood up to ruffle Chanyeol's hair. 

"I'll make sure that chaos lives on in this office", Baekhyun muttered between two sips and then threw the empty cup onto Chanyeol's table. 

"Hey, I'm sure he's coming in-"

"I won't accept anyone else sitting across from me, Yeol. Especially not... him." Again, Baekhyun pulled a face and his friends immediately remembered their training period, that had been plastered with the arguments of Byun Baekhyun and Do Kyungsoo. They'd known each other since middle school, and while Kyungsoo actually didn't hold any grudges against Baekhyun, latter had always been jealous of the other's gains and professional manner. "I was furious enough about him using our division as a break time from his oh-so-superior work at division one, only because he wants to spend more time with his family? Why can't he simply hit vacation status for a while, I wasn't the one who caused his wife to give birth and-"

"Hey, you better mind your words, buddy! She's my sister, after all!" Jongdae withstood the urge to throw Baek's empty coffee cups at him, remembering how crushed he'd been when his sister announced her engagement to Kyungsoo in the middle of a garden party of Jongdae's parents that his friends had attended as well. He was sure that Baekhyun's feud with Kyungsoo had only started to manifest itself that evening. Jongdae knew only too well about the feelings his friend had harbored for his sister back then, even if Baekhyun had played them off as “attraction” most of the time.

Chanyeol laughed whole-heartedly before finally finding his voice again and pulled both of them in for one last group hug. "I'll miss you two. Make sure to visit me down there, okay?"

His friends both sighed in agreement and also threw their arms around him, patting his back and ruffling his hair before they accompanied him to the elevator that would bring him 15 floors downward. Baekhyun threw a last snappy remark at Chanyeol for leaving him like that, while Chen crossed his arms and went over to the beverage dispensor to get himself some nice green tea, wondering if a woman one had cheated on himself was truly worth giving up his job and reputation just like that.

Back to the Read Threads Minipost | ACT 4

[hipsofsteel]

Find Out For Yourself

A RusCan fic written during FemSlash February 2015 (FrUk and eventual AmeBel as well)

Prompt: Person A goes by an alias, to the annoyance of B. The only way B will learn A’s name is to “find that out for yourself.”

Anya Braginsky has been using an underground social site for years to speak to other members of the LGBTQ community. Her best friend is a user named MapleBabe, who was her first friend online. Two years after their first online meeting, they both agree to go to Hetalia University, and MapleBabe challenges Anya to discover who she really is. While trying to figure out the mystery, Anya meets Madeline Bonnefoy, a fellow member of the school's women hockey team, and develops a close friendship, all while still trying to discover and meet MapleBabe. She might be a bit closer than she thinks.

PS This work features Trans Girl America

[Chapter Masterpost Here]

Chapter Five: Hope

When I got to the Bonnefoy-Kirkland house, I opened the door to find Sofia standing in the living room.

“Anya!”

“Sofia! What are you doing here?”

“Natalia called and wanted some company, so here I am! You’re just in time for dinner. I made something we could all agree on.”

We ate the meal, and despite my internal worries, I was able to relax a little. Sofia and Natalia laughed with each other and even I had to chuckle a few times.

Finally, we sent Natalia to bed, because she had school tomorrow.

“Hey, you have school too!”

“It’s college. I have a little more naptime than you do. Now go on!”

She complied, and then Sofia and I spoke alone.

“How’s it been going?”

“Okay. The stress has been reduced now that Natalia’s living here instead of at home.”

“Yeah, I think we can both agree that was good for all of us.”

We sipped at tea.

“Sofia?”

“Yeah?”

“What happened that night?”

She paused, and then spoke.

“You and Nat were asleep upstairs when he came in. I’d been watching TV. I didn’t have school tomorrow. At first I didn’t think anything off it. Told him mom and dad weren’t home, and he should come back later.”

“He said he wanted to talk to me, and he offered me a drink. I’d watched him take a sip earlier, so I figured it was fine. But there’s a big difference between a sip and the whole glass he poured for me.”

“Next thing I knew, I was trying to push him away, but I couldn’t. Didn’t even use a condom. He just said that I was his now, and that I should just live with that fact.”

“Woke up the next morning to mom and dad over me. Dad said he’d sign the parental consent for marriage, but I told him I wouldn’t marry the guy. He said if I wouldn’t marry him, I couldn’t live there anymore. He gave me a week to decide.”

“In the end, as you know, I got thrown out. That man tried to rape me again in the street about two months later, but I stabbed him and… I ran. And except to talk to you and Nat, I never looked back.”

I sat in the silence before asking. “Did he die?”

“No, but it was enough. He never came after me again. After that, I found some shelters, and met Elizabeta and Roderich. And as you know, I’ve been living with them as well as Ludwig and Feliciano for a while now.”

She stood. “I should probably go home now.”

I nodded, and then we walked out to her car together.

“Hey, Sofia?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m a lesbian.”

She paused, and then smiled. “I’m glad that you felt you could tell me. I love you, Anya, in every aspect that is you.”

My sister left and I went back inside.

Natalia had came down the steps. I knew she hadn’t been asleep.

“Hey, let’s go sleep.”

“Okay.”

After three weeks at the hospital/psych ward, Amelia came home.

I sat and watched her. She looked kinda stunned, and also worried.

Then, in a move that surprised me most of all, Natalia went over and began to talk to Amelia. They talked back and forth, and soon you couldn’t even pull them apart from each other, they were too engrossed in their conversation.

I went into the kitchen. Arthur was talking to Francis in a whisper, and Francis was either listening or correcting him depending on what was needed.

“Where’s Maddie?”

Francis looked up and smiled. “She’s out back under the maple tree.”

I headed out into the backyard and went over to her. She was sitting at the base of the tree, writing in a notebook.

“Hey.”

“How’s everything inside?”

“Nat and Amelia are getting along pretty well. Your dads are in the kitchen cooking… well, Francis is cooking, and Arthur is standing nearby.”

“Good. We don’t need a repeat of the last time he cooked.”

I sat next to her. “How is it inside your head?”

“I’m fine. Told Arthur I was a lesbian yesterday. He had an internal freak out, and then hugged me, so I guess it’s cool.”

I nodded, and then leaned over, nestling my head into Maddie’s shoulder.

I felt her pause, and then she turned. “Hey, Anya?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

I didn’t respond for a moment, and then I looked up at her.  “Madeline, I love you too.”

She smiled a little, in that small quiet way of hers. She set her notebook down and then looking at me, whispered. “I think an apology is long overdue.”

“You don’t need to apologize…” I started, but she put a finger to my lips, and then tilted my head up. I meet her gaze, a deep violet as compared to my light lavender.

She leaned in, and then, only inches from my face, spoke. “May I?”

I nodded.

We kissed under that maple tree, our hearts young, happy, and finally able to rest.

Epilogue

“Natalia, remember to breath!” Amelia shouted as she ran down the hall after Natalia.

I laughed a little. They’d finally decided Natalia needed to be moved to the delivery room, and now Amelia had to rush to keep up.

Maddie came back with a cup of coffee. “Sofia’s on her way, and dad and papa are headed back as well.”

I nodded.

“Oh, and I’m sure papa took the liberty of calling Antonio and Gilbert.”

“Let the parade of insanity begin.”

Amelia and Natalia ended up getting married in the end. Kiku was still Amelia’s best friend, however. And now Natalia was about to give Maddie and me a niece or nephew.

Francis burst into the room in a colored blur. “Where are they? Did we miss it?!”

“They just took her in for delivery, papa. Calm down.”

Arthur came in behind him, panting a little. “Can you restrain him for five minutes? Or else I’m going to be the one in the hospital bed.”

I leaned back in my chair, reading a book. On my hand a gold ring glinted with a dark purple stone. Maddie’s wedding ring was silver with a paler purple stone.

“Maddie, when am I going to get grandchildren from you?”

Madeline picked up a magazine. “When you convince Anya to get pregnant.”

“Not today, Francis.” I responded before he could beg me. “I don’t think flying into space is all that great for pregnant ladies.”

I was supposed to go up in two months to the ISS. Maddie and I had agreed it was an opportunity I shouldn’t miss. But we’d already decided something that would make Francis incredibly happy. When I got back, Maddie and I were going to start looking around for donors.

And the baby was going to be Maddie’s. I might give birth to it, but I wasn’t wanting to pass on the alcoholic genes that were incredibly strong in my family.

Finally Amelia came running in. She was beautiful in her right body now. “It’s a boy!”

Francis stood up grinning, as did Arthur. Maddie smiled, and I grinned.

Half an hour later, we crowded around Natalia’s bed as she looked at the little bassinet. Amelia grinned, the proud father/mother of this child.

“So what’s his name?” Francis asked.

“For now, his name is Nicholas Andrew Jones.” Amelia said, grinning. When she’d changed her name to Amelia, she’d also changed her last name to Jones. Apparently it had been her mother’s maiden name. Arthur didn’t seem too upset by it. Apparently Amelia had always wanted to do it, even when she was still little.

Natalia smiled. “Little Nick.”

“Should we dress him up in red for Christmas?” I asked jokingly.

A sudden shout from outside heralded the arrival of Antonio and Lovino. Lovino rushed into the room. He scowled as he shoved his way through the onlookers, and then cooed. “He’s so fucking cute.”

Well, coming from Lovino, that was a coo.

Antonio joked with Francis about something, and I noticed the glint of metal on Antonio’s hand. Finally…

For the next hour, people arrived to simply look at this new addition. Amelia proudly grinned and Natalia seemed happier than she had been in a long time. Gilbert came in with a lot of awesomes to be said, and then invited the new dad-mom out for a drink. Amelia politely told him that if he ever called her that again, she’d rip his throat out, and then accepted, although at a later date than that night.

Sofia arrived last, and then she pulled something out from a package.

“I left the name section blank. I only put his birthday. One day, when he’s older, he can tell me what his name is and I’ll add it on.”

It was a huge quilt, for when he was older, with animals and plants and more. Natalia smiled. “Once he’s big enough, he’ll sleep with this every night.”

We all looked down at the tiny blue bundle fast asleep, and I felt something well up inside me. Something that I’d never been sure I’d be able to feel around a child.

I whispered it under my breath, and Maddie looked at me. “Huh?”

“You’re blessed, Nicky. You’ve got a family who will let you be whatever you want to be, whether that be boy or girl, gay or straight, we’ll love you just the same.”

Maddie smiled and took my hand. “Let’s go, the room is getting crowded.”

We said goodbye, and before I left, I looked down at Nicholas one last time.

It was a big feeling, with only one name.

Hope.