#it's got aubrey showing up late & stealing things

[lilac-gold]

sorry it's been a while, i've been self-isolating for fear of spreading the trope disease. anyway guess who's got that omori tangled au swag now 😎

[the-bugs-under-ur-skin]

Yandere Kel, Aubrey, Sunny, Hero and Basil jealousy HCs - Omori

the whole gang is here. i honestly love writing jealousy hcs, they’re very fun! thanks for all of the requests, i’m glad you guys like my blog! :)

[yandere Kel x reader]

-Kel is so bad at reading the room, it’s crazy

-if someone was flirting with you, he wouldn’t be able to immediately tell

-but when he does he’s completely ready to throw hands

-he’s more vocal about it when you both are actually dating, straight up threatening the guy in front of you

-he’ll also act overly loving towards you

-of course, some things would change if you’re relationship were still platonic

-mostly just less kissing, though

-other than that, it’s still a lot of flirting and arms around shoulders

-also hands around necks if the guy flirting with you doesn’t take the hint

-he’d also feel bad if he got jealous because he thinks that if he got jealous that means he wasn’t being romantic enough

-Kel is still very childish, but he does make an effort by going on more dates and being more clingy

-but other than someone explicitly trying to steal you away, he probably wouldn’t get jealous very often

-he mostly just focuses on what you’re doing, not what the people around you are doing

-but he would never hesitate to sock someone for you

[yandere Aubrey x reader]

-definitely gets jealous very easily, all you have to do is get along with someone else

-she doesn’t even trust her own posy

-Aubrey constantly fears that you’ll leave, but would always try to hide it

-but when she gets jealous she won’t hesitate to scream and shout at whoever she’s irritated at

-it doesn’t matter who is making her jealous she’ll always swear and threaten them

-and of course,, you know,,,

-*spiked bat noises*

-yeah, she’ll definitely beat whoever into oblivion

-if she’s jealous of someone you’re close with, she’ll tell them to scram but will go after them once you’re gone they’ll be dead

-hopefully you don’t connect the death of your friend to the jealous rage of your gf

-or if you do, don’t call her out for it

-she’s one of the worst when jealous, not only will she be ruthless to the person she’s jealous of, she’ll also keep you away from others for awhile

-she’ll start to invite you to hang out once it’s late out or go out to more secluded areas of the park

-you don’t mind, right? i mean, you are all hers after all...

[yandere Sunny x reader]

-*silent yet intense glaring*

-he also gets jealous often since he’s very lonely and your attention was one of the most (if not the most) amazing things to ever happen to him

-so when you give that to someone else, he’ll take it as a challenge 

-Sunny is probably the most unhinged when jealous

-he’s very willing to use weapons in broad daylight and he’ll also get the messiest

-also a bit of verbal fighting will be mixed in

-he’ll probably taunt them just to make them try and initiate the fight

-but one thing’s for certain, he’s not backing down

-he won’t really speak to you directly about his jealousy, but will hold your hand for the rest of the day

-hold him please, it’s all he needs right now

-also help him hide the body because you don’t want your boy going to jail

-he’s also the one to get jealous the most, hands down

-like, he isn’t the most insecure of the group, but he’s the most insecure of the group who lets you talk to others

-it’s kind of funny, he always tries his best to let you have friends but he ends up scaring them all away (on purpose, too. no way he just accidentally cut you’re friends with his knife)

-but believe me, he isn’t trying to scare you away

-he’s actually doing the opposite! he’s getting rid of people who want to ruin your relationship

-so please don’t leave him... please?

[yandere Hero x reader]

-Hero will absolutely shove in their face how close you both are

-”hi, i’m s/o boyfriend/best friend” and then continue the conversation like that didn’t even happen

-Hero will also try to act like he’s the cool and charming one, just casually sliding in and showing that he’s yours and you won’t take anyone else

-but he really does just come across like an insecure maniac

-if they’re some sort of catcaller or flirt, you better believe they’re about to get a few punches thrown their way

-he’s one of the more protective of the group even if he isn’t as intense as Sunny or Aubrey

-but he would appreciate it greatly if you bandaged up his fists afterwards

-he always tries to get you out of there, not wanting any negative attention on you

-he’s also the most embarrassed about getting jealous and will apologize to you after for getting so worked up

-it doesn’t really change too much though because he’s definitely just going to jealous again and then he’ll act the same way again

-but he’s also the best at holding it in, he’s always so close to not getting in a fight every time he gets jealous

-he’s probably the best to deal with though, because he’ll try to make up for his jealousy by pampering you and giving you some of his home baked food

-he really does just adore you more than he’s ever adored anything in his life, so it’s only natural that he’s going to think that everyone is just trying to take you away and keep you all to themselves

-but don’t worry darling! you know Hero would never let anyone take you away from him

[yandere Basil x reader]

-Basil is the most insecure but i’m sure y’all already knew

-he also definitely doesn’t have the guts to confront whoever is making him jealous so he just has to sit back and watch in horror

-and it’s even worse if he isn’t dating you!

-he can’t even run up to you and get you’re comfort because you wouldn’t even understand why he’s jealous

-but if you are dating, he’ll give you such a tight hug that you can’t breathe

-he’s absolutely terrified that you’re going to leave him forever and that he can’t do anything about it

-sometimes when he gets jealous from someone and he’s right next to you, he’ll hold you’re hand very tightly to try and hint that he wants you and him to get out of there as quickly as possible

-sometimes you’ll even get a quiet “...can we go please?”

-but that’s usually if you’ve been out for so long that he’s basically drowning in jealousy

-Basil does frequently get jealous, the only thing is that he basically always keeps you inside

-and if there’s no one to get jealous of than there’s no problem, right? :)

-i bet you that he sometimes will get himself jealous with his own thoughts though, so i guess you’re never safe :/

-probably the worst for you to deal with honestly 

-like, with everyone else, they’ll usually bother the person that’s making them jealous the most

-but since Basil is so scared of confronting them, he’ll just focus all of his jealousy on you

-that means you have to sit through all of Basil’s crying and begging for you to never leave every time you try to get up from wherever you and him are sitting

-and honestly, it’ll probably stay like that for awhile

-just him clinging onto you for dear life, acting as if you’ll disappear at any moment

-and it’ll stay that way until he feels better, and then you both can go outside again!

-and then of course he’ll get jealous again, because this whole thing is just one never ending cycle

[chelleztjs18]

Lost in Assistance - Ch. 10

Elizabeth Olsen x Fem!Reader.

GIF: I do not own this GIF.

Summary: Y/n is a professional celebrity's personal assistant in Hollywood got hired with two years contract to be the assistant of the famous and talented Elizabeth Olsen / Lizzie by her manager. Both Y/n and Lizzie hate each other since day one, and they have mutual friend. One is as stubborn as the other, will Y/n stay when Lizzie gives attitudes and tries her best to make her quit before the contract ends?

Warning: fluff, angst, smut (in future chapters), swearing words ( +18 only)

I do not own any pictures, name, brand, song titles or anything that I used in this story.

All chapters

The three of you are finally back at the hotel. As soon as you got there, you went to your room to get ready. So is Lizzie in hers. When you are ready, you go right away to the girls’ room. You knocked on the door, and for some reason you slightly wish that Lizzie’s face would slowly show up as the door is opening but like usual it was Aubrey’s smile the first thing you see. “Hey.” Aubrey moves to the side as she opens the door wider for you to come in. “Hey Aubrey.” You unconsciously smiled in slight disappointment.

You do not mind at all that it's always Aubrey who opens the door for you. She is your good friend, really. You just start to think why is it always Aubrey? Is it just a coincidence or not really? Does she hate you so much that she is avoiding you at all cost? Oh well, why does it matter anyway? Why did you wish it was Lizzie who opens the door for you just now? There’s nothing special to it. The hatred is mutual. You were probably just concerned about her anyway after seeing her cry, you think it’s just a normal nice gesture if you are wondering how she was doing.  but again it’s none of your business. Your mind juggling all of those thoughts in such a short time triggers a quick rush in your mind.

Your eyes secretly look for Lizzie. You try to do it in the most subtle way so Aubrey won’t notice while both of you walk to the living room and sit down on the couch. “She is inside, still getting ready, Y/n.” Aubrey told you as if she can read your mind. “Huh?” Surprised with her statement just now, you got caught off guard and that was all you can say. You curse yourself in your mind for being too obvious.

“I know those eyes,y/n. You can’t lie to me. Your eyes’ movement. You were searching for her.” Aubrey teased with a knowing smile. “No, I wasn’t!” You denied instantly. “Yes you were, Y/n.” She convinced you in a playful tone. “No,I wasn’t!” You shout in a whisper. You feel warm on your cheeks and ears. “Okay, y/n. You were not.” She agreed in a playful sarcasm. “Tell that to your blushing cheeks.” She mumbles under her breath and rolls her eyes at the same time.

“What Aubrey?” You asked. “Oh nothing.” She smiled.

Aubrey slouch on the couch yet you sit next to her awkwardly straight up with your hands keep tapping your knees like they are a set of percussion. “So, how is she doing? Do you think she already feels better?” Your voice is almost like a whisper when you ask her as you don’t want Lizzie to hear it.

“Hmm. Care much, are you Ms. Y/L/N?” Once again, She always finds the chance to tease you about Lizzie. “Seriously? I asked just because that’s the right thing to do as a human being towards another.” You lifted an eyebrow as you tackled her tease once more. “You know what? Just forget I asked.” You added with a discomfort tone.

Aubrey giggled. “Geez, I was just joking. I think she’s feeling better but she still hates you.” She answered as she tried to hold a laugh teasing you. “Well, that, I don’t need to ask you, I already know. The whole world knows how much she hates me.” You shook your head. She giggles.

“So you are coming with us right?” You asked the girl next to you. “Nuh-uh. I’m not coming. I need to take a break from both of you and your arguments.” the brunette answers while her eyes locked on the TV. “Ouch. Are we that annoying?” You put your hand on your chest and act like you are hurt by what she said. “You guys are not annoying, I love both of you. You guys are just too funny for me to watch but I can’t say anything yet because both of you are too stubborn to listen to me and that’s annoying.” She said nonchalantly with a small smirk.

“What’s too funny about it? And what can’t you say yet? Tell me.” You jokingly push her shoulder. “Oh nothing. I have my own theory, you’ll know it next time.” She patched a meaningful smile. “Oh yeah? Probably a stupid theory?” You jokingly make fun of her. “Whatever y/n.” She giggles.

“Hey, y/n. I just want to say sorry. Honestly, I was the one who gave Lizzie the idea of giving you hell when you are working with her but I didn’t know it was you until she told me your name. Please don’t hate me.” Aubrey’s face showed remorse. “So, you are the one that makes my life a hell? Wow Aubrey. Thanks.” You said it in a playful tone.

“So you are not mad at me?” Aubrey looks relieved. “Nah,it’s okay. I figured anyway. You are forgiven.” You winked at her. “Gosh, y/n I thought you were serious.” She giggles. 

Lizzie comes out to the living room. “What are you giggling about Aubrey?” Then she notices you are there. “Oh.” That was all she said before she went back into the bedroom. A few minutes later, you notice that both of you need to leave not to be late. “Ms. Olsen, we have to go now. We can’t be late.” You told her from the living room. “Gosh y/n, Okay! Okay!.” She let out a harsh breath as she came out. “Bye Aubrey, I’ll see you later.” Lizzie yells as she walks out the suite room. You stand up, wave goodbye at Aubrey, and follow her .

_____

Both sitting on each side of the back seat, the car ride without Aubrey was silent. Just pure silence but you both taking turns on getting caught stealing glances at each other. You really don’t know why you have the urge to ask how she is doing while you know she for sure is not comfortable if you ask her that. You are just her assistant and her personal life is definitely none of your business.  Luckily, you both finally arrived at the location.

The photoshoot starts right away after her make up and wardrobe is ready. Everything is going well with the photoshoot until the last session with the last wardrobe, Sophie who is incharge of makeup and wardrobe had to leave early for a family emergency. Thank goodness, it is the last session, Lizzie just has to change to the last dress, do some shots and they can call it a day. Sophie asked if you can help with the last dress as she showed you which one and said you can just hang the dress once Lizzie’s done and you have no problem with it.

You wait for Lizzie outside the changing room to make sure everything is okay. You heard her softly grunts and curse under her breath. “Ms. Olsen, are you okay?” You heard other soft grunts. “I’m okay. Can you call Sophie please?” Lizzie asked, not knowing that the french lady already left. “Um, she left. She’s not here. Do you need help?”

“What do you mean she left?” She asked in surprise and confusion. “Yeah, she has a family emergency.” You explained. “I need help with the dress.” She asked from the other side of the wall. “I can help you.”

“No, not you. Is there somebody else who can help me?” She asked in a slightly irritated tone. “Yes, there’s Stefan, Andre, Antoine, Oh and there’s Claude.” You named all the crews that’s there who happen to be all males. “I meant a female one, y/n.” She opened the door a little, peek through the small open space and asked in annoyance.

“Yes, Her name is y/n. The only female here besides you.” You answered in a flat sarcastic tone, in emotionless face expression. “Like it or not, I'm the only one to help you.” You shrugged your shoulders. “Fine.” She groans and lets you in while trying her best to cover her body shyly. 

“Y/n, look the other way. Don't look over here.” She demanded. “How am I gonna help you if I have to look away?” You furrowed your eyebrows. She is in this red see-through sheer dress with some floral laces on some body parts that need to be covered with it but on the upper body part it looks like a beautiful corset. She turned around, her back facing you with the dress unzipped leaving her bareback exposed. You can see from the mirror in front of her, both of her hands crossed in front of her dress covered breast to hold the dress so as not to fall. She lowered her head, her face facing down.

The curve line from the back of her neck to her bareback with no bra straps whatsoever yet slightly covered with some strains of her long blonde hair was visible to you, the zipper slider body was way low on her lowest back, almost to her natural perfect size buttocks with the line of her g-string peeking out a little bit. Her peach-cream with a light hint of tanned skin colors look so flawless. Too perfect that no pores are visible.

You swallow your nervous feeling down, try hard to stop staring before she pulls her head up. No, you definitely don’t want her to notice that. “Okay,so you just need me to zip this up right?” You clear your throat. “Uh y-yeah.” You notice that she sounds nervous. 

“Okay. I’ll zip it up. Just pull the rest of your hair up so it won’t get caught in the zipper.” “She nodded, and her right hand grabbed the rest of her hair. The dress is slim-fitted, perfectly designed for her heavenly figure. You tried to pull the zip up by the pull tab but it was a little difficult to do, so you pulled it by the slider body. You tried to get a grip of it, your index finger is between her body and the dress. The tightness of the dress makes the tip of your finger slightly touch her skin. Both of you were surprised by it. You noticed her body jolted even in the very slightest movements when she felt the tip of your finger touch her skin.

You try to ignore the awkward feelings in the air, and you pull the zipper up slowly because you are afraid to ruin the dress. The room fell silent. The silence breaks down all barriers and makes you able to hear her breath hitch softly right when the tip of your finger lands on her bareskin slowly brushes her skin from the lowest part of her back slide up to the bottom of her back neck between her shoulders along her spine. Your eyes follow the zipper up and you lift your head higher to find her reflection in the mirror, her eyes closed and her lips slightly open as she slowly exhales.

“Uh-It’s all zipped up now.” You see her in the mirror standing there beautifully in the dress. She lifts up her head but as soon as her gaze locks with yours, she awkwardly turns her head sideways instantly. Meanwhile you are still hypnotized with the beauty in front of you.

“Take a picture. It will last longer.” Her voice brought you back to your consciousness. “I’m sorry?” You asked as you tried to recall what she was saying, unfortunately you didn’t pay attention at all. “I said, take a picture. It will last longer.” She repeated in annoyance.

“Oh. Uh, N-No, thank you. I’m good.” You answered quickly to hide your nervousness then you realized you picked the worst answer. You internally screamed at yourself for choosing such an answer but oh well, it is what it is. She was chagrined when you answered nonchalantly. She then walked out of the changing room and continued with the photoshoot.

As luck would have it, someone came to cover Sophie and help with the rest so both of you won’t have to deal with another insanely awkward encounter like earlier in the changing room.

______

Both of you are on the way back to the hotel now. After what happened in the changing room, it’s even more awkward to sit with her in the back seat even though there’s enough space in the middle space between you two. You tried to get busy to distract yourself, checking out work related things in your phone or notes and also answered a work call. You are talking french on the phone, Lizzie figured it’s from the magazine company. Lizzie took the chance that was laid in front of her to give yet another glance at you while you weren’t paying attention. 

Every single glance she threw seems to move up slowly. From your crossed leg then to your thigh and she noticed you are wearing ripped distressed jeans that show some part of your skin with your right hand on it. She glances again at your slender fingers with your polished short but not too short nails. She then realized she might glance too long (or more like staring). Mercifully, you still don’t notice what she’s doing.

She finally regains control of herself and stops herself from stealing glances at you then turns her head to watch the street of Paris through the window but that doesn’t stop her wondering what is happening with her at this moment. The more she wonders the more she gets irritated because she can’t figure it out.

Ch. 11

Taglist: @madamevirgo , @musicinourlips​ (Let me know if you want to be added in the tag list.)

[thiswasinevitableid]

For the meet Ugly- 13 with Danbrey?

Here you go! I went SFW on this one

13: we make contact before trying to steal the last seat on the subway/bus/train and I end up in your lap and fuck you, I’m going to stay here because I’ve had a really long day and this seat was mine

The bus is not as fun as she remembers.

When Aubrey was a little kid, her mom would use the bus to take her to the museum or the movies or, on the best days, the magic store. Yes, the Little’s had a nice car, but her mom believed that not only was the bus better for the environment, it was a way to remember that there was nothing scary about being around people who come from all sorts of circumstances (Aubrey later learned this was due to her mom once being at a PTA meeting where hands were rung over children using public transportation being exposed to “unsavory” people).

“The world is full of all kinds of people, firebug. That’s not something to be scared of.”

She wipes her eye surreptitiously under the West Virginia sun. You’d think she’d have learned not to think about mom in public by now.

The bus line she’s using for her tour is inexplicably crowded; half these towns are on their way to being ghosts but somehow she’s always fighting for a seat. She doesn’t like her chances for this leg of the ride, since she got distracted reading about the history of Doc Martens and ended up towards the back of the line.

By some luck, there’s one seat left as she squeezes onto the bus, using her body to keep people from elbowing the fabric carrier containing Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD. But in the time she takes to turn to sit, someone else slips into the spot, so fast it’s almost inhuman.

“Um, excuse me, but this was my seat.” She turns to confront the thief and finds herself looking at a young woman about her age, with honey-blonde hair and hazel eyes which, were she not tired and grumpy, Aubrey would have lots of compliments for.

“No, it wasn’t. I got here first. You’ll just have to stand.”

“That’d be fine if it were just me.” The bus pulls away from the curb, “but it’s bad for Dr. Harris Bonkers to be suspended for too long.” She adjusts the bunny bag, hoping his big brown eyes and wiggly nose will make her case for her.

“Awww” the blonde coos, booping him through the mesh, “don’t worry little guy, you aren’t going too far. You’ll be fine if your person stands for a little bit.”

“It’s not a little bit, it’s twelve hour trip to my next stop!”

A smile full of understated charm and triumph, “It’s thirteen to mine.”

“Aw beans.”

“......are you going to get out of my lap at any point?”

“No” Aubrey turns her head to look out the window, “this is a good seat, even if there’s someone in it. I’m staying.”

It’s not her finest moment, to be sure. But she’s tired and heartsick so she is staying in this seat, damn it. The other woman grumbles something and slumps back against the black seat.

They hit the next stop, but not enough people get off, so she stays in her mystery lady’s lap. Her seat(mate) pulls a baggie of granola from the pocket of her definitely-not-cute-at-all overalls and crunches it louder than necessary by her ear.

“Uh, your rabbit is trying to get out.”

Aubrey glances down to see the mesh front straining as Dr. Harris Bonkers attempts to reach the granola.

“Don’t beg, young man, it’s rude.”

“Can he have a piece?” She holds up a dried strawberry.

“Um, sure.” Aubrey watches as she unzips the top of the carrier and let’s the rabbit nibble the treat from her hand. Aubrey’s a little jealous.

They don’t say anything to each other, but the rabbit gets two more treats before they reach the next stop. The person who’s spent the whole trip asleep in the window seat next to them jerks awake and hurries off the bus. Aubrey scoots into it before anyone can dare challenge her.

They’ve just turned onto the highway when she says, “Thanks. For, um, for sharing your granola.”

“You’re welcome.”

“And I’m, um, I’m sorry for sitting on you.”

“Yeah that wasn’t great, but if someone was going to sit on me I’m glad it’s the cutest passenger on the bus.” She points at Dr. Harris Bonkers, but keeps her eyes on Aubrey.

“We’re both kinda tired. We had a show late last night and we’re nervous for the one tomorrow.”

“Show?”

“I’m a magician and he’s my assistant. I’m known as the Lady Flame” she snaps and finger-guns, setting off a flashpaper, “but you can call me Aubrey.”

“Ma’am, no smoking on the bus!”

“Sorry!” She calls to the driver.

“I’m Dani” the blond boops Dr. Harris Bonkers again, “whose this guy?”

“Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD.”

“Nice to meet you, doctor.”

“Are, um, are you just traveling for fun?” She unzips the carrier enough for them both to pet him.

“Not really. I was running an, uh, an errand. I’ll be glad to get back to Kepler.” She fiddles with something in her pocket, “could I see more of your act?”

“I think that might get me thrown off the bus.”

“Don’t you have pictures?” Dani smiles.

“Oh duh, right, here, I even got someone to take some videos.” She scooches closer, Dani closing the remaining distance to rest their shoulders together. As they move through the videos, Dani is noticeably excited, even claps a few times. When Aubrey’s battery dies, they say “fuck” in sync.

“...want to play ‘I Spy?”

“Hell yeah.”

The next three hours pass in a flash, the two of them laughing and trading stories, all the while both cuddling closer to the window (to better play the game, of course).

They reach a travel hub, the driver informing everyone that they’ll leave in an hour on the dot. The two of them select a Dennys, since in Aubrey’s experience they tend to ignore her bringing in an eighteen pound rabbit.

She charges her phone while they eat, Dani getting corned beef hash, (“not as good as the one my friend makes back home”) while Aubrey has pancakes. She gets a little syrup on her cheek and nearly asks Dani to clean it off for her. With her tongue.

It’s dark when they get back to their seats, but the driver keeps the A.C cranked to the point that Aubrey is shivering. Dani pulls a shawl from her backpack, draping it around them both like a blanket as the trees become nothing more than vague shapes in the dark.

They talk about Aubrey’s tattoos, about the garden Dani has back home (“lots of veggies, you’d like that, wouldn’t you buddy?”). Last night starts catching up with Aubrey, yawns threatening to steal her attention from the way the light catches in Dani’s hair.

“Wanna see more videos?” That’s low energy flirtation, right?

“Of course.”

As she opens the videos, she hits an older album and an image of her and her mom fills the screen. She freezes, like the highbeams of the past are barrelling towards her and all she can do is watch.

“Aubrey?” Dani touches her cheek.

“Um, sorry.” She shoves the phone in the pocket of her jacket, “I, my, my mom died a little while ago. That was her. Um. I guess that was obvious. Sorry.”

Dani’s fingers find hers, interlacing them gently, “I’m so sorry, Aubrey. I...I get it. My family is, well I made some choices that mean I’ll never get to see them again. I, the reason I went on this trip was because I heard one of my brothers might have, uh, done the same thing. He hadn’t.” She sighs, “I don’t even know if they’re all still alive.”

“That sucks. This all. Fucking. Sucks.”

Dani nods, rests their heads together, “You know what doesn’t suck? Meeting you.”

“Pfffft” Aubrey smiles through her tears, hoping the joking noise will hide her blush.

Dani cups her cheeks, “I’m serious. Getting to know you feels like, like rounding a corner and seeing your house after years away. I, this is going to sound silly but please tell me you’re stopping in Kepler for a show?”

“I’m not but I, um, I guess I could still stop off there? If you really wanted me to.” Something about Dani’s smile, the warmth in her eyes, soothes her grief to sleep for now.

“I do, fireblossom, so much.”

Aubrey blushes, “Think you might be my first fan; no one else ever requests a show.”

Dani kisses her cheek, “I might even request one in private.”

“I could get into that” she yawns, “damn it, I don’t wanna sleep. I wanna keep flirting with you, cutie pie.”

Dani shifts their luggage, scoots sideways and guides Aubrey’s head down into her lap, “Get some rest, Aubrey. Just being able to look at you is enough for me.”

“Awww” Aubrey nestles against her stomach, “you’re so cute...just a...cutie...pie...zzz”

The last thing she feels is a kiss on the forehead and Dani tucking the shawl around her.

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

Aubrey does not want to get off this bus; Dani is cuddled up next to her, telling her about what kind of flowers she’d grow her, when he stops come up.

“Whelp….this is me.”

Dani helps her off the bus, passing her the carrier containing a sleeping Dr. Harris Bonkers. Then she smirks, “is your balance pretty good.”

“Yeah? Wh-mmphhoh” She holds tight as Dani nearly knocks her off her feet in a kiss. She tastes like the strawberry poptart they split for breakfast and is not making it any easier to say goodbye.

“Promise you’ll come see me in Kepler?’ Dani murmurs against her lips.

“Promise.”

A kiss on the nose, then a longer one on the mouth that makes Aubrey feel like she’s going to go up flashpaper. Then Dani is gone, off towards Kepler. A town Aubrey has no knowledge of and no idea how to navigate. And she didn’t get Dani’s last name.

“Fuck.” She says to the rabbit.

The rabbit simply snuffles in reply.

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

A few hours after her most catastrophic show to date and getting a gun pointed at her, Aubrey walks into Amnesty Lodge and finds a certain face, haloed with golden hair, waiting for her by the fireplace.

[startanewdream]

Teenage behaviour

For @sweeethinny​ ‘s amazing prompt: ‘Instead of Harry seeing Molly's boggart, he sees Lily's, and faces him and his father dead on the floor, while his mother panics’.

Thanks again for this prompt! I always love to explore Lily and Harry’s relationship!

Read on AO3 or below the cut:

______________________________

Harry's smile doesn't reach his eyes.

Lily has been stealing glances in his direction all night, ever since she got home from her shift, and even though he is talking and eating and acting normal, she can see there is something restrained about him.

She looks around, trying to understand what is dampening his mood - not that it would need much lately, but still, he should be more thrilled about returning to Hogwarts tomorrow, especially considering their fear that he would be expelled. Everything seems normal, though. The kitchen is full of people talking and drinking, enjoying that last-minute party, and everyone's mood seems better than usual. She sees Ron listing the qualities of his new broom to Tonks, while Hermione is talking with Remus about her project of rights for house-elves. Both Ron and Hermione are still beaming because of today’s news.

She raises her eyes to the banner Molly hanged over the dinner table. That brings a warm smile to her lips; Molly had sounded more cheerful than Lily had seen her all summer when she had told proudly of Ron being made a prefect.

Then her eyes fall on Harry again. He is looking wistfully at the banner, with just a hint of guilt shining in his eyes.

Understanding hits her.

He wanted to be a prefect.

That doesn't make much sense for her, considering how Harry always inspired himself in James and how much Harry doesn’t seem to particularly care for authority figures, but there is disappointment and hurt in his eyes, no matter how much he tries to hide it.

Maybe it was some expectation that Dumbledore would choose him? Or he feels that people don’t trust him anymore? Or maybe he is feeling like he let his parents down for not being a prefect?

Whatever it is, she will have to do something about it. This would be easier if James was there that night - Harry does have a tendency to always hear whatever his dad says -, but since he is away on Order duty tonight, Lily will handle it alone. 

She looks around once more before locating Sirius and Ginny talking animatedly to each other; they are close enough to Harry so he will be able to hear them talking, so she approaches them.

‘Aubrey’s head was twice the normal size’, Sirius is saying, opening his hands to emphasize it, almost hitting Lily. ‘Oh, sorry, Lily’.

‘No harm done’, she says lightly. ‘Are you telling the infamous balloon head prank?’

‘I will let you know it’s one of the best Marauders pranks to date’, Sirius replies, seeming very proud of himself.

‘Don’t believe him, they originally wanted Aubrey’s head to shrink’, she tells Ginny conspiringly, making Ginny smirk. ‘And they didn’t even try to hide it, it led them directly into detention. No wonder you never made prefect’.

She knows Harry is looking in their direction, but she pretends to not notice.

‘Can you imagine, you and James as prefects?’

Sirius shudders, putting his hands over his heart and looking properly scandalous, just as Lily knew he would be.

‘We would never! Plus we would have to give ourselves detentions on a daily basis’.

‘Like Remus ever gave you any’, she scoffs playfully.

‘Well, he could turn a blind eye on us sometimes. Ok, most of the time’, Sirius concedes when Lily just raises her eyebrows. ‘But I remember a certain Head Girl doing the same’.

Lily laughs shamelessly.

‘If I didn’t catch you, how could I do anything? And with James as Head Boy, you certainly learned to avoid being caught’.

‘It sure helps when your best friend is Head Boy and decides the patrolling routes’, Sirius agrees, grinning.

‘Hang on’, Ginny says, frowning. ‘James was a Head Boy? Your James?’

Lily sees Harry joining their circle and she smiles to herself.

‘Yeah, we were as shocked as you when we found out’, says Sirius dramatically.

‘But he wasn’t a prefect -’

‘Head Boy and Head Girl may have been prefects, but if the headmaster thinks someone else should be, he can choose’, Lily explains. ‘It doesn’t matter whether you were a prefect or not, as long as you are responsible and trusting, really’.

‘You know, that was the only time I really considered telling Dumbledore we were animagi - we couldn’t let him think James was responsible -’

‘Come on’, Lily says fairly. ‘He had improved a lot by our seventh year, it made sense he would be a Head Boy’.

‘Oh, don’t tell my mum that’, Ginny pleads in a hushed whisper. ‘There is no way I will be a prefect next year, but then she might hope I get sense enough to be a Head Girl’. Ginny turns to Harry, shaking her head in fake panic, and Harry lets out an amused laugh.

They all laugh then, and Lily feels good when she sees Harry is more relaxed now as if remembering his father wasn’t prefect either is enough to raise his spirits.

She doesn’t say it and she doesn’t really mind, but she thinks Harry could be a Head Boy in a couple of years. Harry does have the leadership she saw in James in their last year at Hogwarts, even if he doesn’t mind breaking the rules now and then. But if he is not chosen, that will be fine for her too.

Lily hopes Harry understands this.

She shares a drink with Sirius, who is still telling adventures of the Marauders to Ginny, while keeping an eye on Harry. He drifts off to talk with Fred and George and Mundungus - a trio that speaks of trouble for her -, then he leaves them to sit on a chair, pretending to be busy drinking a butterbeer. His face is troubled once more and Lily resists the urge to sigh.

Harry’s changes of mood are more erratic than she can deal with these days. She always thought Death Eaters and bigotry would be the biggest challenges in her life, but now she thinks understanding teenage behaviour is much more difficult.

She throws a sympathetic look at Molly, who is yawning now, admiring the fact that Molly dealt with that seven times.

‘Oh, sorry, Lily’, Molly says, flushing. ‘I just woke up so early today…’

Lily smiles.

‘Go get some rest, Molly. I patch things up here later’. And when Molly opens her mouth, looking worried, Lily smiles. ‘I won’t let them stay up late, I promise’.

‘Thank you, dear. I am really tired… I’ll just sort out that boggart before I turn in -’

‘No, no, let me’, Lily offers. ‘Is that thing shaking the cabinet in the drawing room?’

‘Yes, Alastor confirmed to me tonight it’s a boggart’.

‘That’s on me then. Go rest’, Lily insists. ‘You already made too much today - helping to sort out that last-minute shopping list, this nice dinner. I’ll handle the boggart later, I will have to wait for James to come home anyway’.

Molly looks at her with a knowing expression.

‘I can never sleep before Arthur returns too’, she murmurs, and Lily is familiar with the fear shining in Molly’s brown eyes.

‘Everything is going to be okay’, she says calmly, even though they both know it is an empty promise. 

Molly bides her good night and Lily watches her go.

It really must be more difficult for her, Lily thinks. Seven children, one of them not talking with the family, and Molly already lost her two brothers in the first war. That makes the Weasley braver than her and James, she ponders; they aren’t hunted. They are choosing to be part of this war.

They really are the best family. She thanks silently the day Harry decided to sit together with Ron on the Hogwarts Express.

Speaking of her son, Mad-Eye is talking to him, showing him something, and even though Alastor looks as delighted as he can be, Harry seems to be sick.

Lily turns in his direction, determined to fix the situation again, but before she can reach them, Sirius distracts Mad-Eye and Harry escapes, crossing the kitchen in quick steps and slipping through the door before anyone can talk to him.

Great.

She walks to Mad-Eye and sees he is showing around an old photograph of the first Order of the Phoenix, that finally comes to her hand. Lily looks at herself, smiling hand-in-hand with James, and is startled to see how young they both look. Well, not just them. Everyone.

And those who are not here anymore look even younger.

She sees Marlene’s grin and Dorcas’s wistful smile and longing burns inside her for those evenings talking in the Common Room, for their girl’s night out after ending Hogwarts, for all the plans they made. They are so happy and hopeful in her memories, blissful to the fact Dorcas would face Voldemort alone, or that Marlene and all her family would perish in a fire.

She never said goodbye to any of them.

‘What were you talking about with Harry, Alastor?’, she asks in a quiet voice, returning the photo to him as if the distance can lessen the pain that photograph brings to her. She feels a little bit mad at him for bringing this photo to a party.

It’s not like she can or wants to forget all of those who died - it’s just she did not expect to see the reminder of all they lost so suddenly...

‘Just showing the boy the original group. Thought he might like it - so many stories to tell’.

Lily wonders if he told Harry the tragic end of most of those stories and she grimaces at the thought.

Harry doesn’t return so, after a while, Lily leaves the kitchen too. People are still talking animatedly and there are still a few minutes before she will have to break the party. But Lily doesn’t feel like chatting right now, so she may as well get things done. She considers going to see Harry, to check if his things are all packed for tomorrow, but he probably doesn’t want company. He is like her in that sense; prefers to be left alone to brood.

She enters the drawing room, looking around with mild interest. The children did make a good job cleaning everything up, but Grimmauld Place will never seem a happy place. Too many bad memories and dark thoughts, she thinks, as Kreacher passes behind herself, mumbling to himself and glaring at her.

Sirius forbade him of saying mudblood, but she only needs to look him in the eyes to feel the word.

There is nothing she can do about it and Lily prefers to fix on the problems she can solve anyway.

The cabinet close to the window is giving small jumps as if it’s alive. She walks to it, her mind already fixed on the remembrance of Aubrey with that big balloon head (he had really been a jerk and James and Sirius had pranked him for harassing first years muggle-borns, so she hadn’t mind laughing that time), and takes out her wand.

‘Alohomora!’

The cabinet opens and, appearing out of thin air, she sees James holding Harry as a baby, both lying in the ground, with eyes closed, pale and still. Dead.

They are dead.

Her heart beats faster and her mouth is suddenly dry, even as Lily knows this is just the boggart. It feels more like a dream, though, so she stays still for a few seconds, watching her husband and son’s corpses with a strange detachment. She really thought it would be just a dementor - and she would be ready for it this time.

But Lily supposes the memories that the dementor had arisen activated the true fear she had felt that night - that James and Harry would die while everything she could do was to watch hopelessly. Like she is doing now.

The fear creeps through her mind like smoke she can’t help but inhale, and that smoke makes her head light and dizzy, creating images in her head. She pictures how her life would be if that had happened, if Lily had taken Voldemort’s offer to stand aside while he murdered her husband and son and she was left alone. 

And lost. 

She wonders what she would have done and it’s surprisingly easy to answer. Find and kill Pettigrew, for starters, because there would be no James to hate him more than her and no son to give her other priorities. Then she would go after Voldemort; she would not rest until he was dead, no matter the cost. The boy-who-lived would be replaced by the mother-who-killed.

But then - and that is the scariest part - there would be nothing. No reason to live for. Her days would be empty and pointless, forever missing the two people she had most loved and knowing no vengeance would ever fill that hole…

‘Mum?’, she hears a voice asking, and for a moment Lily can’t really match the voice to anyone, certain she had never heard it before, that he died when he was just a baby -

She turns slowly to find Harry - her living son - at the door, looking at the dead bodies on the floor, then at her.

‘It’s a boggart’, Harry realizes. ‘Don’t - get out of here - let someone else -’

Harry looks worried for her. Somehow, this clears the smoke in her head. Lily steadies her hand and looks back at the corpses lying on the floor with nothing but determination.

‘Riddikulus!’, she says loud and clear, and the boggart turns into a man with a big blue balloon in the place of his head. Lily lets out a nervous laugh and the boggart vanishes in a puff of smoke.

Her heart is still beating faster, so Lily takes a moment to calm herself, to let all those bad feelings slip out of her; she almost jumps when she feels Harry’s hand on her shoulder. She had not heard him walking to her. 

'Mum?’, he calls very quietly. ‘Are you ok?’

'It was just a stupid boggart, Harry', she says, forcing herself to smile at him. Harry is frowning, seeing through her empty smile just as she sees through his. 'Just go to bed, tomorrow is -'

'Do you always see us?', he asks in a hushed whisper, ignoring her dismissal. 'I mean - that -'

He stops, unable to continue, and Lily feels a sudden urge to just tell him it was nothing and to let it go. She knows Harry would hate it, but he also would respect her desire to be left alone with her thoughts and fears.

But since all she’s been asking of her son lately is that he talks to her, Lily supposes she has to set the example.

'Sometimes, yes’, she admits in a low voice. ‘At other times it’s a dementor. But it’s all related to the same thing, really’.

Harry looks deep in thought and he stares at the point where the bodies were.

'It was me as a baby', he says, and Lily nods. 'But - why? I mean, I lived’.

She sighs once more and sits on the couch.

'Come here', she asks, and Harry sits opposite to her on the same couch, his legs crossed just like he used to do when he was young and was listening to one of her bedtime stories, except this time most of his leg is out of the couch. That makes her feel strangely comforted, even if she feels her eyes tearing up a little. ‘You grew up so fast’.

‘Mum -’, he starts, looking half-embarrassed as he always does when James or Lily start remembering him as a kid.

‘I am saying it like a good thing’, she promises. ‘I just feel so lucky to have witnessed it all’.

Harry seems confused.

‘Lucky?’

She looks away to where the boggart was on the floor.

‘When I think about that night - the one where you got your scar - I always remember how close we were to lose everything. How you were almost… you and James…’

‘But it didn’t happen’, he says forcefully. ‘We all survived’.

‘Yes, but back then, at the time - I didn’t think we would make it. I really thought… I really lost hope for a moment. Sometimes I still dream of that night, but my worst nightmares are… of that’. She points to the floor. ‘If somehow you and James were gone and I was left alone -’

She can’t continue. Harry breathes heavily.

‘You wouldn’t be alone, I mean, you would still have Remus and Sirius, they -’

‘Harry’, she interrupts him softly, looking back at him. He already seems distraught, but she has to make him understand. ‘I love them, of course, but how would it be if I and your father had died then? If you were raised by Remus and Sirius?’

He stays silent for a moment and Lily can see him picturing all that alternative life. Lily supposes Sirius as a figure parent is an amusing idea, but Harry doesn’t smile for a second.

‘It would never be enough’, he whispers at least. ‘They would never replace you’.

‘They would never try to, I am sure, but... This is it. A life without you and your father would be just - just empty for me. And that’s what I fear the most. That I would be too weak that night and that I had to watch you both dying’.

‘You are strong’, Harry says resolutely, grabbing her hand and squeezing it, though Lily can’t tell if he is doing that for her sake or his own, to also confirm to him that everything is alright. ‘I - I heard what happened’.

‘What do you mean?’

Harry looks abashed, and he lowers his eyes.

'That’s why dementors hit me so hard. The thing I hear when they are near… It’s that night. Bits of it, but I hear... You and Voldemort. You plead for me, and he - he laughs and tells you to stand aside, but you refuse. You always refuse’.

Lily blinks, feeling the blood leaving her face.

'You never said anything’.

'I didn't want to upset you', Harry whispers. 'I know you don't like remembering it'.

She gives him a tiny smile despite everything. She never told him about her own worries, but Harry probably noticed how even though she didn't have any problem explaining about Voldemort, only James would talk to him about that Halloween night.

Harry sees more than people give him credit for.

'You could have told me', she says softly. 'It is not your job to worry about me, Harry'.

'But I do', he admits. 'I don't want anything to happen to you'.

There is a desperation in his voice now, like if he is really afraid something could happen with her and, with a jolt, Lily realizes they never really talked about what happened earlier that month, about how Harry drew away the dementors from her.

About how he needed to do it because she had frozen.

'I am sorry to have scared you', she says tenderly.

'It's not - I wasn't really scared with that boggart'.

Lily believes him. Harry seems to think his father is invincible and he is too selfless to regard his own death as something to be afraid of.

'I meant about the dementors a few weeks ago. And if somehow you thought I couldn't handle that boggart right now'.

Harry blinks.

'I didn't think that', he says slowly, and Lily knows he is considering his own feelings on the matter. 'I mean - I know what you are capable of'.

'I just don't want you thinking that you need to take care of me. I am the parent here. That's my job'.

'I don’t want to lose you’, he whispers guiltily, as if somehow even thinking about it should be wrong. ‘I wouldn’t - I don’t know how I could cope if -’

Harry looks so fragile right now that she does the simplest thing. She stretches her legs, in an offer, and Harry lies down, placing his head on her lap, allowing her to caress his hair like she used to do when he was young, until he would fall asleep.

‘I won’t live forever, Harry’, she says softly. ‘Someday you will be without me - and really, that’s what I hope for’. When he looks startled, she adds with a smile: ‘That you get to live longer than me. That you get a full happy life’.

‘It will only be happy if you are there’, he insists. ‘You and dad. You -’, he stops, closing his eyes as if he doesn’t want her to see more of his emotions than he is already letting it show on his voice. ‘You need to be careful. I know you are good, but - sometimes people are just in the wrong place in the wrong time’.

She knows what he is talking about and she remembers seeing Harry and Cedric Diggory leaving together for the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament, both looking thrilled that it would be over soon and that one of them might win the Tournament.

And she remembers when they all noticed something was off, when there were whispers of a dead champion and how she had feared so much that it would be Harry… And the guilt she’d felt later when she was just relieved that it wasn’t him.

The good die young, her mother used to say somberly when she saw news of a tragedy.

Lily thinks about the photograph of the old Order, of hope and dreams that mattered none when the people were dead, and she finally understands what upset Harry enough to make him leave the dining party.

‘Moody told you what happened with people from the first Order of the Phoenix’, she says.

Harry bits his lips, looking away from her.

‘I can’t promise you me and your father will make it through this war, Harry’, she says slowly, wishing she could lie to him about it. ‘But I can assure you that we will make everything we can to live… and if not, we will always be with you, you do know that, right?’

She touches his chest, right above his heart, and Harry trembles.

‘I know’, he concedes at least, but there is sorrow in his eyes. Then he looks back at her. ‘Moody told me about the Prewetts and Benjy and the Longbottoms and… I recognized Marlene from that photo in your office. You never told me her whole family had died too’.

‘It was just too painful’, Lily sighs. ‘It was just after your first birthday, when we were already hiding and I remember thinking... maybe I should have done something, I should have protected her -’

‘It was not your fault!’, Harry cries, looking appalled that she feels like that.

Lily refrains herself of pointing out the irony there.

‘I know. It’s Voldemort’s fault’, she pauses, looking at the eyes that are a mirror to hers. ‘Everything that happened. Blame him, blame the people who think like him and allow him to ascend to power, but never blame anyone else’.

Harry blinks and doesn’t answer her. 

‘We are better prepared this time’, she tells him, still playing with his hair gently. ‘It will not be like in the First War - we started too late then and we were too few. Now - now we have a better idea of what we need to do, of what he’s after -’

‘The weapon’, he says, and Lily remembers their first night in Grimmauld Place and what little they had told Harry. They never really said it was a weapon, but if Harry thought so, it was for the better.

He didn’t need to hear about that prophecy, not yet. It would give him the wrong ideas probably.

‘Among other things’, she says vaguely. 

He sits again, looking rather upset at her.

‘You really won’t tell me?’

‘That’s not your burden to care, Harry. Not now. I know you don’t like to hear that and I know you don’t think it’s fair, but… when you are older. Of age, at least. After school. If there is still a war going on then… then we can talk about you joining the Order and knowing things’.

Harry doesn’t look like he believes her. ‘You would just not care if I joined the Order? Simple as that?’

‘I will care’, she guarantees, running a hand nervously through her hair as James would have done. ‘But I won’t forbid you. No one forbade me, it wouldn’t be fair if I tried to stop you’.

He still looks suspiciously, but Lily just returns his gaze without blinking. She is telling him the truth; sure, she will do everything she can so that Voldemort can be finished before he is of age, but if he is seventeen and the war is still happening, she knows she won’t be able to stop him.

Like her, Harry never refrains from doing the right thing and she taught him to never stand for prejudice.

‘And until then? What do I do? Just sit here waiting?’, he asks, but for once he doesn’t sound like he is fighting with her.

‘Of course not. You can study’. When Harry grimaces, she smiles. ‘Everything you do in school is important. Every lesson - yeah, even Potions, don’t give me that look. You study and you use it to prepare yourself. Not just you, but Ron and Hermione too. All of you must be ready for what happens outside. Life won’t be like in school all the time, where you know when a spell will hit you or that when the bell rings you are safe’.

Harry bits his lips, looking thoughtful.

‘I know it’s not. I mean - for the Triwizard Tournament I learned a lot of spells and how to cast them, but - when it comes to the real thing, when -’, he takes a deep breath. ‘- when I was in the graveyard with Voldemort, it’s not like in school. It’s just your guts and instinct and - and trying to survive’.

This is the most Harry has said about the night of Voldemort’s resurrection to her and, for the first time, Lily wonders if she really wants to know. Just thinking about the desperation he must have felt fighting for his life…

He survived, she tells herself. You won’t be able to keep him under your wings forever, so you give him all the skills you can. You make sure he will be ready.

‘That is it, Harry. Promise you will take your studies seriously this year. Not just because of the OWLs, but because you know what’s happening out here, even if everyone else is denying it’.

He looks solemnly as he gives a tiny nod to her.

‘I will. And I will make sure others are prepared too. I - I don’t want - what happened to Cedric - to ever happen again’.

She smiles serenely to him, even as she remembers Amos Diggory’s cries and thinks darkly he won’t be the last parent to despair for his child in this war.

The good die young.

‘Are you going to stay here?’, he asks, distracting her from her grim thoughts. Lily sighs.

‘No, I promised Molly I would make sure everyone is in their bed not too late. You know how chaotic September 1st can be. And then -’

‘Then?’

‘I will just stay up a little bit longer’.

Harry looks at her as if he can see all that she is not telling him.

‘Dad will be home late?’ he asks, though it doesn’t really seem a question. Lily just sighs, confirming it. ‘I could keep you company’.

Lily smiles more warmly now.

‘You can go rest, Harry, it’s no problem. I’ll just make myself a tea and wait in the kitchen’.

‘I’m not sleepy’, he assures her. ‘I haven’t been sleeping much. I keep having the weirdest dream, really… And, well, I thought we could make some hot chocolate’.

That brings a warmth to her that has nothing to do with the beverage. She thinks of late nights with James and Harry, especially in winter, when they would make hot chocolate and share it in front of the fireplace in their house.

That kind of silly small moments that never seem important as you are living them, but somehow they turn into your favourite memories.

‘With whipped cream?’, she asks, her voice lighter now, and Harry smirks, making his resemblance to James more evident.

‘You can even put a little bit of brandy and I won’t tell anyone’.

She blushes, getting up. ‘I have no idea what you are talking about’.

‘I’m fifteen, mum, I get it now what was the medicine in your chocolate’.

‘When did you get so smart?’, she asks playfully, taking his arm so they can descend the stairs together to the kitchen. ‘Anyway, no alcohol for you’.

‘Spoilsport’, he complains without any real malice. ‘When will I get to drink?’

‘If you are still asking me, Harry, then you are still too young, trust me’, Lily answers grinning.

Harry shakes his head, mumbling to himself almost indignantly but this is such a normal teenage behaviour that Lily will take it without complaining. That’s the kind of thing she wants him to be worried about.

She kisses him softly on the cheek before they enter the kitchen, knowing Harry would be too embarrassed to be seen receiving a kiss from his mother in front of everyone - another very usual teenage behaviour -, and smiles to herself.

‘Thanks for the company’, she says later, when they are alone in the kitchen after sending everyone to bed.

‘Anytime, mum’, he promises, filling his cup with whipped cream, while they accommodate themselves to wait for James to come home.

[invisibleinorange]

Swelter Weather  | 7/?

Chapters: 7/? Fandom: Bridgerton Rating: M Warnings: None at this point. Relationships: Colin Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington,  Eloise Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington(besties),  Bridgerton Family Dynamics, Marina Thompson/Phillip Crane, Eloise Bridgerton/Phillip Crane, Kate Sheffield/Anthony Bridgerton, Daphne Bridgerton/Simon Hastings Characters: Colin Bridgerton,  Penelope Featherington, Eloise Bridgerton, Phillip Crane, Benedict Bridgerton, Daphne Bridgerton, Additional Tags:  Bridgerton, Polin

Summary: Colin Bridgerton is weary from travel and decides to spend the summer at the Aubrey Hall. While his initial plans were to avoid his perfect family, he ends up sharing the house with Eloise and Penelope. This is a Modern AU!

If it weren’t for the fact it would have disturbed the warm, soft body curled into to him, Colin wouldn’t have hesitated to get up and shut the curtains to stop the sun from filling his room.  He had zero interest in leaving his room or her though.

It was the strangest thing.  He’d never really craved someone’s company as much as hers. There had been people who had inspired less than gentlemanly thoughts in him.  There were many times he’d considered giving into those desires but not once had he wanted more than those things with those other women.

He wanted everything with Penelope and that was why he’d forced himself to take a step back, to make sure that he was doing things the right way with her.  He couldn’t possibly be happier than he was to hold her tight or listen to the little sounds she made in her sleep.

He’d always thought she was beautiful but seeing her at peace, lost in dreams only made him think her more beautiful. He dare say she was the most beautiful person in the world and she was his.  The novelty of the thought of it hadn’t worn off nor did he think that it ever would.

He was admittedly a little nervous about how Eloise might react to the news that they were together but he knew things would be okay. Eloise would come around. She always did.

He pushed all thoughts of his sister from his mind as he buried his face into Penelope’s messy red curls, closing his eyes as if to push away the morning and extend this bliss a little longer.

He smiled when he saw her eyes flicker open and her own tired smile form across her face.  Penelope wasn’t shy about snuggling into him all the more.  It was funny how intimate they could be despite the fact he hadn’t let them complete intimacy.

“Do you think Eloise would buy me still feeling ill and us needing to stay in here all day?” she murmured quietly.

“Not a chance,” he told her with a laugh.  Eloise definitely wouldn’t just leave them be unless she was explicitly told to.

Neither of them were any particular hurry to get up.  Colin knew his stomach would eventually betray him and demand breakfast would strike but for now, he just wanted to savor the moment.

In fact, he was pretty sure he could smell bacon permeating from the kitchen. Normally that would have sent him wandering down to try and get first dibs but times were changing.  His desire to keep cuddling Penelope trumped any food craving.

“I can’t believe she’s already up,” Penelope murmured, apparently smelling the bacon too. She sighed at the thought they were probably going to have to get up and show their face downstairs. “She’s not even a morning person.”

“I could always go down and make a big plate,” Colin said after a moment.  “Breakfast in bed?... All day in bed with me.”

“I’d be crazy to say no to that,”  she murmured leaning to steal a kiss before he could get up, which honestly made him not want to get up. He pushed himself up and out from under the comforter with a sigh.

Eloise was going to have to deal with him coming down in pajama bottoms and no shirt.  This was as dressed as he was going to get.

“You just stay right there,” he said with a grin. “I’ll deal with Eloise.”

--

Colin fully intended to grab a plate of food and tell Eloise to find something else to do today.  He had the whole thing prepared in his head, carefully crafted to deal and then escape back to his blissful little bubble.

His mind went blank when he made it down the kitchen and didn’t just fine his sister.  His eyes widened slightly at the sight of Phillip helping her make breakfast.

He watched for a long moment, trying to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating things. Phillip was a little bit too comfortable for his liking and the protective older brother in him debated whether he ought to punch his friend or start asking questions.

He cleared his throat loudly, an act he hoped to split up whatever was happening.  Eloise didn’t even have the modesty to look embarrassed by this whole thing though.

“How’s Pen?” she asked a little too casually. “Still feeling under the weather?”

The mention of Penelope did bring his mission back to mind. He was supposed to be grabbing plates and heading back up stairs.  His mind was flailing trying to figure out what exactly he was supposed to be doing at this point.

“- I was coming to get her a plate,”  Colin said, eyeing Eloise and Phillip suspiciously.  “Clearly it was too late last night and you offered Phillip one of the other guest rooms.”

“Not exactly,”  Eloise said sheepishly.

Colin knew that look. He’d seen it on their older brothers plenty of times after they’d brought random girls back in the past.  He clenched his fist. He was going to murder Phillip Crane.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked despite the fact he had zero business doing it.

“Well, you could say that he was ill and I took care of him,” Eloise said crossing her arms. She definitely knew that Penelope hadn’t been ill and she definitely knew Penelope was in his bed at the moment.

“I didn’t -  we literally slept,” Colin said defensive over his own actions.

“I really should get going,” Phillip said clearly not wanting to get in the middle of family drama.  “It seems like you two have things to talk about.”

Both Bridgerton heads turned and said ‘no’ in unison. This really did have to stop becoming a thing.  They didn’t wait to see that he was staying though as they were busy squaring off.

“You invited him to distract me so you could fuck my best friend,” Eloise said in an accusatory voice.

“I’m still here,” Phillip felt a need to interject.

“Oh dear,” a fourth voice said from the doorway. Penelope had apparently heard the voices and decided to come mediate. She raised an eyebrow at the presence of Phillip.  That was a turn.

She moved closer to Phillip and shook her head, giving a consolatory smile.  “There is really no getting in the middle of these things. You just have to let them fight it out. You’ll learn.”

“I didn’t fuck her,” Colin argued. “We are together though, no thanks to you and your constant need to get in the middle.”

“You’re a liar and a hypocrite,” Eloise said right back.

“I’m neither. But you have no business sleeping with people that you don’t even know, especially not when you’re –“

“I wasn’t,”  Eloise said shaking her head. “I’m not a child.  I have just as much right as you do to invite whoever I want here. I like Phillip.”

“He’s literally years older than you and he has kids,” Colin argued.

Phillip wasn’t sure whether he should be offended or not but Penelope gave him a sympathetic glance,  reached to grab a filled plate handing him one so they could at least eat breakfast while watching and making sure blood wasn’t drawn in this fight.

“You’re a few years older than Penelope,” Eloise argued.

“That’s different.”

“How is it different?”

“Because I love her,” he said talking with his hands. “I’ve literally been in denial for years and you’re really going to falsely equate hooking up with some guy you’ve known all of two seconds to me wanting to be with Penelope.”

“You what?” Penelope interjected, nearly choking on her bacon. Phillip had to give her a pat on the back to stop the coughing.

“I thought you said we weren’t to interject,” Phillip murmured.

“Well when people say they love you get to interject,” Penelope murmured.

Eloise shook her head, narrowed her eyes.  “I don’t need to travel the world to figure out what I want,” she said pointedly.  “Don’t try to get in the middle of it with this big brother nonsense and I’ll get out of your way.”

“Really?” Colin asked after a long moment, slightly unsure whether he’d won this argument or not, especially since Eloise was going to let him be with Penelope without trying to stop it, if he got out of her way.

“I mean, she’s still my best friend and I will hurt you if you hurt her but she’s also an adult and clearly she is a willing victim.”

“I wouldn’t really go with victim,” Colin said after a moment, remembering there was food now that things were at least semi-decided. His gaze finally moved over to where Penelope and Phillip had been standing, eating and watching.  He offered a small smile. “Girlfriend is the term we’re going with these days. Speaking of which, we’re going back upstairs.”

Eloise made a face at that.

“At least me and Phillip will be able to keep our breakfast down,” she said to their retreating backs as they disappeared just as easily as they’d interrupted her morning.

[missperfectlyfine13]

A Bandaid For Your Bullet Hole (8/?)

Read Below or on AO3

For the next couple days, Chloe floats through life lightly, happily. Blissfully content with the fact that Beca is going to break up with Jesse…sometime. There’s a nagging doubt in the back of her head, that crawls up like bile into the back of her throat every now and then. She’s choosing to look at the positive though. Beca will be hers soon. Beca is choosing her.

After the third day since their conversation, she starts to get antsy again. It’s only been three days though. Maybe Beca hasn’t had a chance to see him yet? She doesn’t know his schedule, she does know Beca’s though, and she’s had ample opportunity to take the leap. She chooses to stay blissfully unaware of the situation.

When it hits the week mark, Chloe finally is realizing that Beca might not actually do it. She has a hard time understanding why, when a week ago they sat on Beca’s bed, confessing that they both still have feelings for each other. Beca told her that she wanted to break up with Jesse. They almost kissed…again. So to say she’s a little confused would be an understatement. She has noticed that there’s been something a little off about Beca for the past couple weeks. There’s something wrong, something that she’s not telling Chloe.

She knows she’s pulling a cheap card by doing it this way, but it’s the only way she can think to get Beca alone for a few minutes, “Beca?” she calls out into the auditorium during Bella’s rehearsal.

Beca’s head snaps up from the conversation she was holding with Fat Amy.

“Can you stay after for a few minutes, I need to speak with you?” Chloe says it as professionally as she can, she doesn’t want to raise any suspicion amongst the girls that this is for something more personal.

“OOO, someone’s in trouble,” Amy immediately taunts and Beca’s face turns red.

“Shut up Amy,” the brunette quips before meeting Chloe’s eyes and responding, “yea, I can stay.”

Aubrey gives Chloe a suspicious side eye, obviously she’s the only Bella who knows what’s going on between the two. She wants this conversation to take place almost as much as Chloe does, “that was bold.”

“She’s still avoiding me,” Chloe explains herself quietly as she watches the girls fumble through their tired choreography for the 20th time today, “I had to.”

“I just hope she’s finally honest with you,” Aubrey says almost solemnly, “you need to move on.”

Chloe didn’t want to think it, but she’s right. She does need to move on if this “thing” she has with Beca isn’t going anywhere.

“You know, that little hobbit has done nothing but cause trouble since she showed up,” Aubrey huffs, crossing her arms over her chest, “she’s constantly trying to undermine me in practice and competitions and now she’s stringing you along like a sad, leashed puppy.”

Chloe tries her hardest not to say something she’ll regret to the blonde standing next to her, but there’s a hair of truth to what she’s saying , it does feel like she’s stringing her along, but Chloe finds herself standing up for the freshman anyways, “Don’t Bree. Beca has been SO good to me this year, she’s been there for me through it all.”

Aubrey spins to look at Chloe, and Chloe carefully meets her gaze.

She looks hurt and it makes Chloe instantly regret her words, “I would have been there for you if you let me. You chose her over and over again Chloe. You didn’t give me a chance to be there for you.”

“You’ve been out of your mind this year Aubrey!” Chloe does snap at that one, “You’re so obsessed with winning that I barely recognize you most days! Excuse me for thinking you wouldn’t be available.”

Chloe may have said it a little louder than she had intended, the two best friends have garnered the attention of all the girls, who are all standing with their mouths hanging open at the little display.

Aubrey brings a hand for her forehead, rubbing her temples vigorously, “Practice is over. Don’t expect me to give you another free pass like this,” she waves her hand dismissively at the girls, who are already starting to file out. Except for Beca.

Beca approaches the two older girls carefully, like she’s not sure if there will be a repeat explosion, “I know this is probably none of my business…”

Aubrey gives Beca a sharp look, “Actually Beca, this is your problem. You two need to fix your shit.”

The blonde grabs her bag and starts heading for the door.

“Wait Bree,” Chloe puts out a hand to stop her.

“We’ll talk later,” Aubrey doesn’t even stop for a second, she’s already halfway to the door.

Chloe’s eyes finally meet Beca’s. The younger girl looks confused, but at the same time, completely aware of what the problem is.

“I owe you an explanation,” Beca says softly.

Chloe shakes her head, “I can’t do this anymore Beca. I don’t need an explanation. When you are serious about this, come and find me, but don’t expect me to wait around for you.”

Now it’s Chloe’s turn to grab her things and leave. She can already feel hot tears stinging her eyes. That wasn’t what she was planning to say, but her little blow out with Aubrey changed her plan entirely. Chloe wants to be patient and kind and talk to Beca to figure out where the hesitation is coming from, but at the same time, she’s tired. A part of her regrets not sticking around to hear her out though.

She can hear Beca faintly behind her, “Chloe wait…”

It takes all her willpower to push the door open and leave, instead of staying and hearing the brunette out. When the cool air hits her face, she finally lets her emotions go. Angry tears stream down her cheeks. She’s mad at Aubrey, mad at Beca, mad that nothing has ever seemed to go her way. The only good thing that’s happened lately was her mom checking into rehab. That in itself is a whole other topic that she’s barely let herself think about…

************

When Chloe got back to the house she went right up to her room, hoping to avoid her angry best friend. They have their issues to work out but she’s too upset about Beca at the moment to think about it.

This whole situation is a mess. It makes her wish that she had just kept her mouth shut, just continued to quietly pine over Beca. Instead she had to tell the freshman and look at the mess it got her in.

Chloe’s currently in a large Barden hoodie and sweatpants, wrapped up in a blanket on her bed. She’s been trying to sleep but her mind just won’t shut off. At first she doesn’t hear it, but the second time there’s a faint knock at her door, her head pops out from under the covers.

Presuming it’s Aubrey, she sits up and quietly answers, “Come in.”

When the door opens, it’s definitely not Aubrey. The site of Beca in her doorway steals her breath out of her throat, she’s the last person she expected to be on the other side of that door.

“What are you doing here?” Chloe asks in disbelief, as she shoves the blankets completely away from herself and fully sits up.

“Aubrey let me in, she said you were up here,” Beca replies so softly Chloe can scarcely hear her.

That barely answered her question, “But why Beca? Why are you here?”

“I did it. I broke up with him,” she can tell now, from Beca’s face, that she has indeed been crying, her eyes puffy and cheeks red and blotchy.

“What?” she hardly believes it’s true, after all the time it’s taken.

“I broke up with Jesse,” Beca closes to door behind her and slowly makes her way into the room.

Chloe’s not quite sure what to say, she wasn’t expecting Beca to break up with her boyfriend any time soon. She wasn’t expecting her to do it at all.

“Do you really want to be with me Bec?” she’s not able to filter herself before the question is out, but she needs to know, with how hesitant the other girl has been and how upset she looks standing in Chloe’s room right now.

Beca’s eyes meet hers as she answers in a truly genuine tone, “Yes.”

“Then why did it take so long?” Chloe swings her legs over so her feet are dangling off the side of the bed.

Beca takes the move as her invitation and sits down next to the red head, “I guess I have some more explaining to do.”

Chloe nods, “Tell me what’s wrong Bec.”

Beca sighs deeply before talking, “When I came out to you, when you came home with me for Christmas, I wasn’t entirely truthful.”

“Ok…” Chloe can’t really tell where this conversation is going, but she assumes it will lead to some sort of an answer.

“I said I dated girls in high school,” Beca’s eyes fall to the floor and she takes another deep breath, “well, it was actually more like one girl and it was a mess. She was great…it was everyone else. We were public about it and the people in our school weren’t exactly accepting. We had mean notes slipped in our lockers, name calling through the hallways, anything you can think of that’s hateful, it probably happened to us. My mom and stepdad were supportive of us, but my dad wasn’t. He and the step-monster damn nearly disowned me. I’m still not sure if my dad was ever ok with it, or if she just brainwashed him.”

Chloe reaches a hand out to lay on top of Beca’s, she meets Beca’s glassy gaze with sympathy, “I’m so sorry that happened to you Bec.”

Beca nods slightly and continues with her story, “We broke up my senior year because I couldn’t do it anymore, I couldn’t take the judgement. When I started dating Jesse, it seemed like my redemption with my dad, not that I would ever do anything just to please him, but things felt a little less strained. When I graduated and started college, it was my chance to scrub everything clean. I would no longer be Beca the dyke.”

Beca takes a long, deep, shaky breath. She lets a few stray tears fall, they land on Chloe’s lavender blanket, leaving a dark, salty purple mark behind. Maybe Chloe shouldn’t have been so pushy…she hopes she hasn’t made Beca do anything that was uncomfortable for her.

“Then I met you,” Beca smiles slightly, at the mention of the red head sitting next to her, “and everything changed. I knew I liked you from the moment we started talking. I just wasn’t sure if I could do it again. Could I handle the name calling, the judgment and the strain on my relationship with my dad, especially because he’s the sole reason I’m at Barden.”

“I had no clue Beca,” Chloe mutters in disbelief.

Beca shakes her head, “I didn’t tell you anything, I should have. You deserved to know why I’ve hesitated.”

“This isn’t high school anymore though Bec,” Chloe’s not sure if it’s the right thing to say, but she has to let the younger girl know that she won’t face the same thing here at Barden, “no one is going to be slipping hateful notes in your locker. You are free to be yourself…all the Bellas have your back…our back, even Aubrey.”

“I know that, now. It took me a while to figure out if I could do it,” Beca seems to have perked up at Chloe’s encouraging words, “but I knew I had to, because I want to be with you Chlo, so much.”

“What about your dad?”

“Screw my dad,” she shakes her head, “our relationship is already bad right now, might as well put the icing on the cake. He hates that I want to be a music producer…plus he’s still pissed at me for shattering that window at the semis.”

Chloe can’t help but smirk, remembering the night Beca went to “jail”, “So this was a pretty big decision for you…you really do want this?”

“More than anything,” Beca replies simply, now a smile on her face, the remainder of her tears already dried on her cheeks.

“And Jesse is definitely no longer in the picture?” Chloe can’t help but ask one more time.

“Not at all.”

“Well in that case,” Chloe smirks and slides in closer to the brunette.

Beca meets her halfway, and their lips are on each other’s in a matter of seconds. Somehow this kiss is better than their first one. This time Chloe can feel how genuine it all is, the way Beca’s lips move so freely and passionately against hers. They pull away quicker than she’d like. Beca’s cheeks are a slight shade of red, but this time it’s not because she’s been crying.

“I really want to keep kissing you,” Beca says sweetly, but in a way that makes Chloe’s insides melt, “but I have to ask you this first…will you go out with me tonight?”

She’s not sure what she thought Beca was going to ask, but she wasn’t exactly expecting that question for some reason, “Yes, of course.”

“Ok cool,” Beca replies softly before leaning in again.

Chloe reconnects their lips quickly, and this time there’s a new feeling she can’t quite put her finger on. Maybe it’s desperation, neediness…dare she say love? All she knows right now is that she could spend the rest of her life kissing Beca Mitchell. The way the other girl is kissing her back, Chloe has a suspicion she feels the same way.

[anotherdndblog]

Fictober Day 14 But Late Tho: 28- “do I have to do everything here?”

Title: Coffee Beans and Silver Strings

Chapter 3: The Gaps In Our Hearts

Words: 1309

Fandom: TAZ Amnesty

Characters/Pairing: Sternclay

Rating: T

Tags: Canon divergence, coffee shop AU, mall AU, Barclay is still bigfoot tho, idiots to lovers

Summary: Barclay continues to pine, Stern works at a certain well-known clothing store

Author's note: I’m obsessed with Sternclay at the moment. 

Link to AO3 

____________________________________

Barclay listened to Stern. Oh, boy, did he listen. He listened for literally his entire lunch break, and then he listened while there were no customers in the shop. But never once did he tire. It was a little strange, listening to Stern’s wild outlandish theories on cryptids and why they stay hidden--but it was almost comforting knowing that people were so far off. If people still thought Bigfoot lived in the woods of California, Barclay was doing a pretty damn good job not being as reckless and stupid as he was in his youth. 

After a while, Stern got embarrassed and started tripping over his words as he stumbled to a halt, realizing that Barclay hadn’t said a thing the whole time--and Barclay found the gesture rather adorable. “Sorry, once I start I really can’t stop…” Stern looked down bashfully, his cheeks growing pink. 

Barclay laughed, but it wasn’t directed at Stern, it was awkward and a little forced, trying to make Stern feel a little more comfortable. “Don’t worry about it. I think it’s pretty cool that you have something you’re so passionate about. The only thing I’m passionate about is coffee,” he joked lightly, a shy smile on his face. 

Stern folded his arms on the table and leaned forward, finding an opportunity to change the subject. He was sitting at the table nearest to the cash register, so he could continue to talk to Barclay when there was the opportunity to do so. It was nearing closing, and Barclay was wiping down the countertops with Aubrey. “Really? Just coffee? There’s gotta be something else.” 

Barclay shrugged. “I mean, I guess I really like cooking, but-” 

“Cooking? That’s awesome! Do you want to be a cook?” 

Barclay laughed slightly. ‘I mean, I kind of am. I make some of the pastries and things we sell here. It’s really just a hobby, though.” 

“Just a hobby? You don’t want to be a cook?” 

Barclay shook his head. “Not really. I like the job I have here.” It’s comfortable, like a safe space, but Barclay didn’t add that. It would be too hard to explain why he didn’t want to work somewhere else, where his bracelet could get damaged or break and his secret would be blasted to all his coworkers. It was nicer to work in a place where people already knew. 

Stern raised an eyebrow. “You don’t dream of working somewhere, I don’t know, not the mall?” Stern leaned back in his chair, fidgeting idly with the strings of his hoodie, and Barclay realized he had never really seen Stern in casual clothing before. He always wore a nicely pressed button-up and slacks, with his hair perfectly gelled. But today, he was wearing a simple grey hoodie and jeans. It was nice to see him more relaxed. Based on Stern’s usual attire, Barclay assumed he worked at somewhere fancy, like the Men’s Warehouse on the east end of the mall. 

And it was then that Barclay realized he didn’t really know where Stern worked. It had never really come up in conversation, and Barclay never asked. Barclay bit his lip and looked away. “Not really. I like it here. And working for Mama is great.” 

Stern blinked several times. “You call your boss Mama?” 

“Yeah, it’s kind of what everyone calls her.” 

“Oh. Ok…” Stern’s face twisted in confusion, and he absolutely had no idea what to say to that. 

Barclay paused in wiping down the counters and leaned over the edge. “Where do you work? Do you like it there?”

“Oh, I’m a manager at a clothing store on the east side of the mall,” Stern said cryptically, but Barclay was just happy that he was correct. Those Men’s Warehouse people were always overdressed--and also incredibly pretentious, not like Stern, but Barclay still got the sense that Stern would fit in with that crowd. Stern looked at his watch. ‘Speaking of work, I have it tomorrow. And I should probably get out of your hair-” 

“Can I steal my coworker for a moment?” Aubrey cut Stern off, grabbing Barclay’s arm from behind and pulling it close. Barclay looked at Aubrey in surprise, but all she did was smile in response. 

Stern blinked in surprise. “Oh, uh, yeah, sure. I’ll just… wait to say my goodbyes?” 

“Yeah, perfect, do that.” Aubrey pulled Barclay away and began whispering to him. “You have to get his phone number! This is your chance!” 

“What? No! I don’t want to ambush him,” Barclay whispered back in a rough tone. 

“Do I have to do everything around here? Barclay! You’ve been pining for this man for months. If you don’t get his number, I will, don’t test me.” Aubrey gestured to Stern, which made it so obvious what they were whispering about. Barclay felt his cheeks warm as Stern looked up from his bag and the two made eye contact before quickly looking away. 

“Ok, ok, alright, I’ll do it. I’ll ask.” Barclay gently pushed Aubrey away, who was grinning profusely. 

“Good boy. I’m going to go to the back for… I don’t know, coffee beans. Good luck!” Aubrey winked and disappeared to the back of the store. 

Barclay took a deep breath and turned his attention back to Stern. “Sorry about that. Uh… it was about tomorrow’s menu…?” 

“You had to whisper about the menu?” 

“It’s very secret. So, uh, listen, I’d really like to hear more about your blog sometime. Is there…” Barclay cleared his throat “...is there somewhere I can contact you, or?” 

There was a twinkle in Stern’s eyes, and his lips parted into a smile. “Are you asking for my phone number?” 

Barclay shrugged, trying to be nonchalant about it. “I suppose I am.” 

“Well, then, it’s your lucky day.” 

Barclay and Stern messaged for the rest of the night after that. Literally, Barclay was glued to his phone. Aubrey teased him mercilessly for it, but Barclay didn’t mind. He felt like his useless flirting was actually getting him somewhere--like maybe he really did deserve to be in a happy, healthy relationship. Even Bigfoot can love, right?

The next morning quickly arrived, and Barclay got to work bright and early to serve Stern his coffee--er, serve coffee to all his customers, who he definitely cared about equally. But at his lunch break, he decided to do something a little out of his comfort zone. 

He decided to go find Stern at work. 

Normally, he wouldn’t be so awkwardly aggressive. He didn’t want to scare Stern off. But the two were really hitting it off, and he wanted to maybe ask Stern to get something other than coffee with him. Like a date. But he didn’t want to do that over the phone. 

So, Men’s Warehouse. He took a deep breath as he stood outside, psyching himself up before going in. This was ok. The worst Stern could say was no, right? And if he said no, Barclay would just leave it alone. It wasn’t like he was a creep or something, right? Barclay took one more deep breath for good measure and stepped inside the store. 

One quick sweep around showed no Stern. So Barclay walked around the store. No Stern. Several other people tried to help him, but he refused. Until he realized that this was a lost cause, and maybe Stern was in the back or something, so he stopped someone. “Hi, um, I’m looking for a Joseph Stern, I think he works here?” 

The employee gave Barclay a confused expression and looked him up and now. “Um, no one like that works here, sorry.” And with that, the employee just walked away. 

Oh. 

Barclay had to collect himself before exiting the store, a million thoughts in his head, but only one was nagging and persistent. 

Why would Stern lie about where he worked?

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book Four: War (Gladiolus x Reader) Chapter Fourteen

After riding a gondola across Altissia, the royal retinue arrived at Maagho all thanks to Famine. They stepped off the boat and Ignis expresses his gratitude. "We do appreciate your guidance, Famine."

"It was my pleasure," she giggled. "I would've made War do it, but she's still a little cranky."

"Gee, I wonder why..." Noctis mumbled, casting his glance towards Gladio.

"So, about that personal tour," Prompto fiddled with his thumbs.

She smiled at him. "Meet me in front of the Leville once you're done here, okay?"

"Will do!"

Famine waved farewell before vanishing in a cloud of smoke. Prompto couldn't stop staring at the spot she once stood and sighed dreamily. Gladio elbowed him in the side, smirking, "You've got hearts in your eyes, loverboy."

"W-Well, I mean she's great! She actually gives me a chance and we've a lot in common! I don't care that she's some immortal being. It's kinda cool, in my opinion." Prompto crossed his arms and stared at the brute. "What about you, huh?"

"What about me?" He asked.

"You've been mopey ever since (Y/n) disappeared. You've got the hots for her!"

"What's your point here, Blondie?"

"At least I'm honest with my feelings. Maybe if you were honest with yours, (Y/n) wouldn't have stormed off." He turned his back to him.

Before Gladio could retort, Ignis intervened. "Please, gentlemen, not in front of the establishment. Wait 'til after our discussion with Weskham."

"Fine..." Prompto pouted childishly.

The group enter the bar after the small dispute between Gladio and Prompto. They noticed only one other patron present as they strolled up to the counter. The man behind the counter, who was cleaning glasses, greeted them. "Welcome to Accordo, lads. Cid mentioned you'd be dropping in. Weskham Armaugh, as you've gathered." He placed the glass down and eyed Noctis. "My word, you've grown, little Prince."

Noctis hummed in confusion, unfamiliar with the man. Hearing his faint hum, Weskham added, "Ah, but of course-you were only a babe at the time."

The raven-haired boy sat the bar and the man gave him his full attention. "So, this is your maiden visit. Enjoying it so far? You doubtless have many questions, so ask away."

Noctis was unsure of the bartender and kept on his guard. "This country is a part of the empire, isn't it?"

Weskham chuckles. "You're wary, I understand. But there's no need to jump at every shadow. Just be aware that the terms of our independence grant the empire free reign to come and go as they please."

Ignis joined Noctis at the bar. "We'll bear that in mind."

"It's admittedly a one-sided arrangement. Most everything we do requires Niflheim's permission, and they wouldn't knowingly permit the Oracle to appear before the public. How our government spun that is quite a mystery. Is there anything else?"

The prince decided to ask about the Oracle. "You really think Luna will make an address?"

"If every recent radio broadcast is to be trusted, absolutely," Weskham answered.

"Where is Lady Lunafreya?" Ignis inquired.

"In the city somewhere, but no one has caught so much as a glimpse of her. The media has been conspicuous in its silence on the matter, which speaks volumes of government intervention. That'd certainly explain the rumors of disgruntled imperial officers leaving the city."

Next, Noctis asked about the empire. "So you see lots of Niffs around here?"

"We do. Sometimes even at my place. Theirs is a familiar presence, and the citizens don't think much of it. Though, the high commander did cause a stir when he showed up the other day."

"Ravus..." the boy mumbled.

"So soon after they felled the Archaean in Lucis, his arrival fuels rumors that they will next come to Altissia. The empire's not content ruling all the land-they want the heavens as well," the bartender said. "Another thing about the high commander: people saw him walking around with a strange object when he first arrived."

The boy's eyes narrowed in puzzlement. "What object?"

"Some people claimed it was a head, but that's absurd."

Gladio was now more interested in the conversation that ever. "A head?"

"Yes. Of course, we've no proof of the accusations."

Suddenly, Gladio turned to exit Maagho. However, he was stopped by Noctis. "Where're you going?"

"Back to the hotel. I need to try and contact (Y/n)," he answered before leaving. He rode the gondola back to where the Leville was located and headed up to the room. Once there, he yanked the summoning orb out of his pocket and called War's true name numerous of times. Pacing back and forth, he waited for her for what felt like hours. Trying again, he called her name multiple times. "C'mon, dammit...!"

After an hour of trying, Gladio was tempted to toss the summoning orb out the window. Instead, he put it back into his pocket and sat on the edge of one of the beds. He trailed his hands through his hair, hanging his head with a heavy sigh.

Out of the blue, a cloud of crimson smoke manifested in the room. From it, (Y/n) emerged. She glared daggers at him, poking his exposed chest repeatedly. "Stop. Doing. That! It's getting annoying!"

Hearing her voice, Gladio lifted his head and flew to his feet. He towered over her shorter form. "You could at least spare me five minutes."

She placed a hand on her hip, her scowl growing sharper by the second. "I could, but I won't. You've got two minutes starting now. Better make it quick, Gladiolus."

"Two minutes is enough." Gladio cleared his throat and decided to make his explanation short. He told her about what Weskham said about the high commander and the possible head he had in his possession.

The redhead's eyes widen at the revelation. "The dullahan's head. How did...?" She shook her head. "That doesn't matter. What does is what that pompous ass plans on doing with it. There's only two possibilities. One is Ravus has managed to gain the dullahan's cooperation by threatening to kill it. The second is he plans on using the head to lure the dullahan out during the rite. Either way, that damned monster is going to be here soon."

War turned on her heels to leave, but she was immediately pulled back when Gladio grabbed her wrist. She nearly lost her balance when he yanked her back towards him. She tried to free herself from him without injuring him. "Let go of me," she growled.

"You didn't give me my two minutes," he declared, staring straight into her (e/c) eyes.

"Fine," she spat. "You've got one minute left. You better hurry and make it worthwhile."

"Then I better speak with action."

"Speak with action? What're you-?"

Her question was abruptly interrupted when Gladio pushed her down on to the bed. She tried to get up as fast as she could, but it was too late. He climbed on top of her, never breaking eye contact even for a second, and trapping her underneath him. She placed her hands against his chest and tried to push him off. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Gladio didn't say a word as he leant down, closing the distance between them. He pressed his lips against hers, fervently kissing her.

(Y/n)'s eyes widen in pure shock, her struggling ceasing as she tried to comprehend what was happening. She didn't kiss back, too shocked to even lift a finger. She remained petrified under the man, losing track of time.

When Gladio pulled away, he kept her pinned to the bed in fear she'd vanish again. His expression was serious as he spoke. "Listen, I'm not the best at apologies. I'm the worst, if I'm being honest, but I want to apologize for what I said that day. I wasn't thinking."

"Great. You apologized. Now explain the damn kiss," she retorted.

"Can't a man express his feelings?" He asked with a chuckle.

"There's no way you're in love with me," she denied vehemently. "No one could love me, especially if they knew my past."

"Sorry to break it to you, sweetheart, but I know everything," he stated. "I know about all the people you killed all because of how much you trusted Gaius. You think you're a monster, but you're not. You were manipulated by that bastard every step of the way and in the end, he stabbed you in the back. You used Leviathan's power to sink all of Vanaheim so the empire couldn't get their grubby hands on the kingdom and its Crystal."

"Oh, please," she scoffed. "I told you most of that myself."

"The last person you killed was Lady Aubrey, one of the ladies of the castle during your father's rule. Before you killed her, she tried to tell you how Gaius was using you, but you didn't listen."

She couldn't believe what he said. "H-How did you know that...?"

"That morning I was acting weird was the day after the nightmare changed. I was able to change everything except for Vanaheim's fate," he confessed.

"You...manipulated the nightmare?"

"Looks that way. It had a happy ending so I guess it isn't a nightmare anymore."

"Oh, really? And how did it end?" She asked more out of curiosity than anything else.

"I'm making it a reality right now," he said before stealing another kiss.

This time, (Y/n) kissed back. As the kiss continued, she felt the sturdy walls she built around her heart come crumbling down one by one. She was able to regain control of her body and placed her hands on Gladio's cheeks, turning his head slightly to deepen the kiss.

After another minute passes, they break the kiss. Gladio leaned his forehead against hers, enjoying her gentle touch as her thumbs caressed his cheeks. "So, does this mean...?"

She smirked at his hopeful expression. "If you don't mind having a broken, bitchy immortal by your side."

"Hey, you're not as bitchy as when we first met. You still have your moments, but to be honest, who doesn't? And whatever is broken can always be fixed."

"You're the reason I've changed, Gladio," she said. "You're the only other person I've opened up to besides my sisters. Never in a million years did I believe I would ever trust another person with my past. But when you asked me that question in Lestallum, my heart broke. Nice to know that you do trust me, though."

"I was being an ass," he sighed.

"Yeah, you were."

"You still want the orb back?"

She shook her head. "You keep it. I doubt that nightmare will be an issue anymore." She traces the outline of his jaw with her fingers. "Now then, are you gonna let me up?"

"I don't think so." Gladio adjusted their position so he now laid beside the girl. He pulled her into his arms, her head resting against his chest. "As payback for spilling those cup noodles, you're gonna stay right here until I say so."

"All this for a cup of noodles?" She asked. "I mean, it's really not a punishment."

"You desecrated my favorite food."

"It was just noodles in a cup."

"They aren't just noodles in a cup," he stated. "I'll make sure you appreciate them soon enough."

Just then, the door to the room opened. Noctis, Prompto, and Ignis walked into the room, freezing in place when they saw Gladio snuggled up next to War. The blonde was the first to react and grabbed his camera. Before he could take a single picture, the shield threatened him with a glare. "Don't even think about it, Blondie."

"B-But..." Prompto whined.

"Don't you have a date, anyway?"

"Oh, that's right! See ya!" The sharpshooter dashes out of the room.

Noctis glanced at Gladio and (Y/n) with a slightly disgusted look. "You two have no shame..."

War grabbed one of the pillows and threw it at the boy. "Oh, shut it. We know you'd do the same with Lady Lunafreya. And it's not like we were doing something dirty."

Noctis blushes slightly at the mention of his wife-to-be, grabbing the same pillow the girl threw at him to throw it back. "W-Whatever..." He cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Anyway, we need to head to the first secretary's estate tomorrow. What should we do until then?"

"Prompto is preoccupied with his outing with Famine," Ignis stated. "I suggest a leisurely stroll around the city to gain our bearings before the rite."

"Sounds good to me." He raised a brow as he eyed the couple. "You two coming or not?"

"May as well," Gladio said. He freed (Y/n) and they climbed off the bed. The group left the hotel and ventured around Altissia.

<------------<<<<<

Hours passed and the sun was finally beginning to set. Ignis and Noctis returned to the Leville while Gladio and (Y/n) continued to roam the streets of Altissia. They boarded a gondola just as the sun set to enjoy the nighttime scenery the city had to offer.

War crossed her legs as she sat across from the shield. "So tell me, what else happened in the nightmare?"

"You really that interested?" He asked.

"I would like the know the "what-if" version of my past. Try not to leave any interesting details out."

Gladio smirked in amusement before divulging all the details about the nightmare. He told her how he saved her from Gaius and how they escaped the castle. When he told her about how she stabbed Gaius in the back, she laughed before allowing him to continue. He then mentioned how she was able to unite her soldiers one final time to evacuate all of Vanaheim. Finally, he got to the part where they escaped on a boat and he tried to kiss her, but he woke up before he could.

"As much as that sounds better than reality, I am happy it didn't happen that way. Except for the part where I stabbed Gaius in the back. If I could resurrect the dead, I would resurrect him and stab him in the back."

Gladio was taken aback at her words. "I thought you'd prefer that than reality."

"If it played out like the nightmare, I wouldn't be here right now. Some other soul could've been chosen as the Horseman of War instead of me."

The brute leans forward with a grin on his face. "Is that a back-handed way of saying you're happy we met?"

She twirled a stand of her hair around her finger. "If that's how you want to interpret it, go right ahead."

Gladio leaned back. "Now I know what we need to work on next for you."

"Lemme guess, you want me to be more honest about my feelings."

"Bingo."

(Y/n) thought for a few seconds before sighing. "Aren't I already honest with my feelings?"

"Only the negative ones."

She went to protest, but realized he was telling the truth. "Welp, you got me there. Well played, Gladio."

He chortled triumphantly. "'Bout damn time I won."

"Don't get used to it."

They hopped off the gondola and continued to walk around the city. When the Horseman heard Gladio's stomach grumble, she suggested heading to Maagho for a bite to eat. They traveled to the bar and the shield gladly ordered him and (Y/n) some Maagho Lasanga.

After they ate their meal, they remained at the bar for a little while. They listened to the pianist as his fingers danced across the keys and created a lovely tune.

"Hey," Gladio shattered the silence between him and the redhead. "There's something I wanted to ask you about the Vanaheim Crystal."

"What is it?" She asked.

"How are you able to use its power?"

Unconsciously, she placed a hand over her chest. She lowered her hand before hopping off the stool. "Let's head back to the hotel. It'd be easier to show you."

The two head back to the Leville, but Gladio stopped them in the lobby. He decided to buy a second room for him and her so they could have some privacy. Walking up the stairs, they walk to their room.

Gladio locked the door behind them before giving his full attention to (Y/n). However, his eyes were drawn to her chest when he noticed she was unzipping the front of her outfit. He quickly grabbed her hand before she could expose herself. "Whoa there, firecracker. Don't-"

"Hey, get your head out of the gutter," she said. "Like I said, it's easier to show you." War continued unzipping her outfit once he removed his hand. She released the zipper just as it reached the crevice of her breasts.

Gladio's eyes widened when seeing a crimson shard embedded in her chest just below her collarbone. The Horseman looked up from the shard and noticed his flabbergasted expression. "At birth, the heirs and heiresses of Vanaheim had a shard of the Crystal embedded into their flesh. From this single shard, all of Vanaheim royalty was able to wield the power of the Crystal."

Unconsciously, Gladio reached out to touch the shard but stopped halfway. His actions didn't go unnoticed by (Y/n) and she grabbed his hand before he could retract it. Gently, she placed his hand over the shard to show him he had her permission to touch her. "Whenever a king or queen perished, the shard was removed from their body and returned to the Crystal. But as you know, mine remained."

Gladio traces the shard with his fingers, admiring its beauty. "Guess a fancy ring isn't necessary when you're directly connected to the Crystal."

"It would be safer with a fancy ring, though," she sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"Because the shard is directly infused in one's body, it's more difficult to control the flow of power. Because of that, many kings and queens became ill and died young. My father was one of them. But that's not a problem for me since I'm basically a walking corpse."

She went to zip up her outfit when Gladio removed his hand from the shard, but she was interrupted when he scooped her up into his arms and placed her on the bed. Before she could even react, he wound one arm around her back and lifted her upper body off the bed. He placed his lips on the shard, causing a shiver to creep down her spine. A gasp slipped from her lips. "H-Hold on a second, Gladio...!"

"Sorry, but no can do. We have this room all to ourselves and you bet I'm not gonna let it go to waste. You better prepare yourself for a long night."

She grinned at him. "I don't need sleep like you. You'll crash before me, I bet."

"You're on, firecracker."

[rhetoricalrogue]

31 Days of Wayhaven, Day 17

Prompt: AU Rating: PG for Nicky’s language Words: 2,222 Characters: Unit Charlie, brief mention of Units Alpha and Bravo, as well as Detective Aubrey Miller. Summary: What happens when the coffee shop co-worker and the University co-worker get tired of their partners sighing over the other and decide to take matters into their own hands.  

For the @31daysofwayhaven event.

Penny rolled her eyes as she came into work, hanging her coat on the nearby staff coat rack.  Nicky had gotten there earlier than she had, which meant that he got to pick the music for the day, which also meant that she was going to be in for a day of listening to him sing along with Dean Martin.  Not that it was a bad thing, but they’d done an entire shift of the Rat Pack the other day already.

“You’re late.”

She grimaced as she pulled on a dark brown apron and quickly pulled the strings around her waist to make a tidy bow at her hip.  “Yeah, car trouble.”

Nicky shook his head.  “You really ought to sell that thing, get you a new one.”

“With what money?  No, the car trouble was because my brother decided to borrow it without asking me.  I woke up to a note and had to grab the bus.  Then the bus wasn’t on time, so I walked the rest of the way.”

He poured her a drink, a smooth hazelnut latte with a dusting of chocolate on top that he made perfectly to her tastes.  At least that was something to cheer her up on a rainy morning, especially since he was practicing his foam art and made her a graceful looking swan on top.  She caught a glimpse of herself in the stainless steel overhead countertops and winced.  The soft, drizzling rain wasn’t  enough to soak her or anything, but it had played hell with her long, silvery blonde hair.  The sleek braided bun she had put it in earlier was now a frizzed out mess and her cheeks were unnaturally red from practically running to the cafe in order to be there on time.

Penny hated being late to anything.

“You’re too soft on Lars,” Nicky told her, pushing half a toasted bagel loaded with cream cheese her way while eating the other half.  “He needs to have some responsibility, especially if he’s couch surfing at your place.”

Penny chewed on her bagel.  “You don’t understand, he’s my baby brother.  It’s my job to look out for him.  Besides,” she took a sip of her drink.  “He was going out for a job interview.  Hopefully this one takes.”  She adored her youngest brother to pieces, and she understood that he was in a rough patch, but at the same time, she was quietly frustrated that he showed up at her doorstep without calling first, ate all her food without shopping for replacements, and left his dirty laundry on the bathroom floor.  She was going to have to have a talk with him once they were home to set some boundaries down.  If not, then she would happily call their eldest brother Andreas to see if he could help out before calling the big guns in and contacting their mother.

She hated to jump around in the family pecking order, but enough was enough. 

“I can relate, seeing as I have a little sister, but I still say you’re being too soft on him.  There’s a fine line between older sibling responsibility and being a doormat.”

“I know, and you’re right.  Taking my car without my permission and making me late for work is definitely something I’m going to talk with him about.”

Nicky made a mmhm noise as if he didn’t quite believe her.  “Don’t worry, Pen.” Nicky told her, changing the subject as he made his own cortado and leaned against the counter to sip on it.  “You didn’t miss him.”

She was glad that her red cheeks could hide the sudden blush that she felt rush up from her throat to her face.  “Miss who?”

“Oh, don’t play coy with me, donna forte!”  He elbowed her in the side.  “The Tall London Fog with the soft Scottish accent.  The one who looks like a golden retriever if a golden retriever was over six feet tall and had dimples when he smiled.”

“Careful, you make me think you’re the one with the crush on him,”  Penny muttered as she sipped on her drink.

“Please, I know I’m handsome and charming, but I’m not an asshole.  I wouldn’t steal anyone from my dearest friend and co-worker.”

“You’re not stealing anyone from anybody,” she grumped.

“Maybe if you actually got off your ass and asked him out.”

“He’s a customer!” 

“Like that’s ever stopped anyone that works here!  I mean, have you seen what the Bravo shift is up to lately?  There’s good money on when Adam’ll get the courage up to ask Miss Grande Half-Caff Nonfat Latte with Caramel Drizzle out before the end of the month.”

Penny rolled her eyes.  “Adam?  Admitting he has feelings for anyone?  I give him a year, minimum.”

“Hello, Pot.  I’d like to introduce you to Kettle.”  He turned to wash out the things he’d used to make their drinks and kicked at her calf.  “Speaking of not admitting feelings, here comes London Fog and Dirty Chai.”

Penny masked the sudden lurch in her pulse by twirling around and grabbing the loose leaf tea from an overhead shelf and measured enough into a French Press, adding a spice mix and a little bit of fresh ginger before pouring in hot water to steep.  She grabbed the canister of lavender Earl Grey she knew he liked and did the same in a separate French Press while Nicky called out a greeting, confirming that they both wanted their usuals.

“Actually,” London Fog said, coming up to the counter.  “Could I add something a little more substantial?  Perhaps one of those sausage rolls and a slice of pumpkin loaf?  I fear today is going to be a long one, seeing as it’s grading season.”

“Oh?  You’re a teacher then?”

“He’s a professor,” Dirty Chai interjected, already setting up her laptop.  She’d moved from their usual two-person table to a larger four-person one so the both of them could spread out.  “Don’t let him get modest; he’s brilliant in his field.”

Penny looked over her shoulder as she brewed a double shot espresso to add to the chai.  “Where do you lecture at?”

The soft question had him looking up at her with an equally soft smile before he quickly looked down, suddenly very interested in the counter’s bakery display.  “Wayhaven University.  I’m one of the Professors in the Folklore and Ethnomusicology department.”

Nicky took over building their order when another person came in and distracted Penny.  “What a coincidence,” he all but purred.  “Our dearest Penelope is studying on that campus!”  He caught the sudden interest London Fog gave and leaned conspiratorially against the counter. “She’s going back for her master’s degree, if I remember correctly.”

“Oh?  What study?”

“You know, for the life of me, I can’t recall.  Sounds like an interesting question to ask her though, Professor…?” Nicky trailed off, realizing that neither he or Penny knew their regulars by name, only by order.

“Buchanan.  Cameron.”

“Call him Cam,” Dirty Chai said, taking her order and sipping with a happy sigh.  “I’m Winona.”

“Nice to finally meet you both.  I’ll go warm up that sausage roll for you.”  On his way to the back kitchen, Nicky nudged Penny with his shoulder, silently winking at her.  She turned her face so Cam and Winona wouldn’t be able to see her expression and narrowed her eyes at her partner before going back to helping the short line of customers that had already started to form for the morning, shaking her head as the first heartfelt strings of Come Back to Sorrento could be heard coming out of the kitchen, Nicky’s smooth baritone making one of the ladies in line sigh dreamily.

Penny transitioned from building orders to taking payment while Nicky bustled in behind her on cleanup and prep duty, the two of them working well.  Every so often, her eyes would stray to Cameron and Winona’s table, the two of them with their heads down and fingers clacking over their laptops. Two hours later, Cameron was looking at his watch and cursing under his breath while quickly packing his things away.

“Thanks for letting us stay so long,” he said, sticking money in the tip jar.

“It was nothing,” she told him, fiercely hoping he didn’t catch the way the tips of her ears were a bright pink.  “I’m glad you could stay with me - us long enough to get some grading done.”

He smiled and she couldn’t help but mirror the same smile back.  “I’d have loved to spend more time, but my office hours are going to be starting soon and I usually have a few students wanting to talk around this time of the year.”

“We’re always here in the mornings!”  Oh, smooth one, Fisher, she thought, mentally kicking herself for forgetting how to talk to people when the person in question was one she had a silly crush on.  Don’t flirt with customers, it’s just an awkward experience for everyone involved!

Cameron nodded.  “And stopping by is always a great start to my day.  Your partner mentioned you were studying at the university?”

“I am.”

Cameron shouldered his laptop bag and smiled again.  “Maybe we’ll run into the other on campus then.”

“I’d like that.”

“I would too.”  He blinked, as if he had been reluctant to break eye contact.  “Well, I’d better get going, or else I’m going to miss some student appointments.  I’ll see you tomorrow?” 

“Bright and early!”  Or so she hoped.  She really was going to have to speak with Lars about him getting his own transportation.  Penny sighed as the bell over the door chimed and tried - and failed - to not watch as Cameron walked down the street.

“He’s not that old.”  

Penny jumped at the sudden appearance of Winona at the counter.  “Pardon?”

“Cam.  He’s not that old, just in case you were worried he was some stuffy professor with a really good skin regimen.”

She let out a nervous laugh.  “I wasn’t…” Penny nervously tucked a stray bit of hair behind her ear.  “I mean, I didn’t want to presume…”

“Like I said, Cam’s brilliant in his field and made career moves way before the usual timeline.  I’m guessing he’s around your age.”  She put more money in the tip jar.  “You know, if that was a deal-breaker for you.”  Before Penny could say anything in response, Winona waved and left.

Penny ran a hand down her face before frowning.  There was something other than money in the tip jar.  Curiosity getting the best of her, she fished it out, finding it was a business card with all of Cameron’s information on it.

FYI, a woman’s loopy handwriting in bright red ink read at the bottom, your partner wrote down your phone number on a napkin when he gave Cam his order.  Thought I should even the playing field and give you his too.

Penny’s eyes widened as she flipped the card over.  And BTW, he thinks you’re cute too.

“Whatcha got?”  Penny all but jumped out of her skin at the sound of Nicky’s voice unexpectedly at her ear as he tried to look at the card in her hands.

“Nothing!” she yelped, clutching it close to her chest before sticking it into her apron’s pocket.  Turning around, she grabbed Nicky by the ear.  “And what are you doing, giving strange men my phone number!”

Nicky winced, leaning down as he tried to wiggle away from her grasp.  “He’s not strange, Pen!  He’s a regular!  Practically family!  Ow, fuck!”

She let his ear go.  “You could have asked me if it was okay first!”

Nicky rubbed at his ear and rolled his eyes.  “Yeah, and at the glacier pace that either of you were moving, you may have gone out for drinks when you were both eighty.”  

She washed her hands at the prep sink and started making sure that everything they’d used was washed and ready for a new order.  Lunchtime was a sort of quiet lull, they got a few regular orders in, but it wasn’t anywhere near the morning rush.  She checked the schedule.  The Alpha shift was coming in for the afternoon to evening times, which meant that she needed to come in a little earlier tomorrow morning to make sure that things had been properly cleaned and organized and that the morning breakfast items were fully stocked.  She loved them to pieces, but Tane and Maaka weren’t the most organized of duos.  She made a mental note to check the to-go cups as well: Tane had a habit of using a marker to black out the Warning, your contents are extremely hot and make it read Warning, you are extremely hot instead.

The good thing is that on dead nights, the brothers would come up with some interesting off the menu recipes and leave notes for her and Nicky to try in the morning.  Maaka was more organized than his brother and the notes were always fun to read, especially when he added his own commentary.

“You never know,” she told Nicky, the business card in her pocket weighing far heavier than it ought to.  “I just may surprise you.”

Cha cha cha d'amour

Take this song to my lover

Shoo shoo little bird

Go and find my love

[becasbelt]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Pitch Perfect (Movies) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell, Beca Mitchell/Jesse Swanson, Stacie Conrad/Aubrey Posen (mentioned), Benji Applebaum/Emily Junk, Bumper Allen/Fat Amy Characters: Emily Junk, Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale, Benji Applebaum, Jesse Swanson, Fat Amy (Pitch Perfect), Cynthia-Rose Adams, Stacie Conrad Additional Tags: confused emily is my favorite emily, Emily POV Summary:

Emily is smart, so why is it that she can’t seem to figure out the relationships going on in the a cappella world at Barden University?

In which Emily tries to figure out who each of the Bellas are dating.

* * *

Here’s the thing: Emily Junk is smart. She knows she’s smart. Not everyone can go through high school with an almost perfect 4.0 (stupid biology) like Emily did, which she could do because she’s smart. Book-smart, at least. She may still have some work to do in the street smarts category.

Still. SMART.

But if she’s so smart, why is it that she can’t seem to figure out the relationships going on in the a cappella world at Barden University?

There are the obvious ones where she doesn’t even have to know the two people involved to know that they’re an item: the one guy from the Trebles and the one girl from the Harmonics, the two girls from the High Notes, and those two guys from the Harmonics. There are obvious couples at Barden, but Emily isn’t concerned with any of them.

Emily wants to know who the Bellas are dating. She needs to know who her family loves, so she can love them, too… only, in a different way. She doesn’t want to love love who her family loves, because that would be so wrong. She doesn’t want to get in the way of anyone’s relationship.

The only problem is, no one tells her anything. Granted, she doesn’t ask, but still. No one tells her “This is my boyfriend,” or “This is my girlfriend,” or even “This is the person I slept with last night but we’re not going to date or anything because I don’t really like them all that much.”

No one tells her any of that, and it’s driving her crazy.

So Emily makes it her self-appointed secret mission to find out who each of the Bellas are dating.

She finds out that Flo isn’t dating anyone pretty quick. When Emily asks her, casually, totally not suspiciously, one day if she was seeing anyone, Flo’s answer is, “Men are dogs. They will take away all that you have worked hard for and sell you to their worthless brother without batting an eye, forcing you to escape under the cover of night after crushing sleeping pills in their dinner.”

Emily had just stared at her, wide-eyed and scared, and Flo concluded by saying, “So no, I will not willingly give myself up for a man again until he has rightfully earned his way into my presence.”

Emily tries not to have too many conversations with Flo after that.

She assumes Lilly isn’t dating anyone. Emily doesn’t think she’ll ever actually find a way to confirm this assumption, because when Emily asked if she liked anyone, Lilly had whispered something about crystal martini glasses and shampoo bottles and walked away.

Emily tries to avoid Lilly, too.

Jessica and Ashley are probably dating each other. Emily doesn’t know for sure, though, because anytime she tries talking to one or both of them, Fat Amy or Stacie or somebody else starts shouting about something, demanding the attention of the entire room. Emily’s confused about how that happens every time, but Jessica and Ashley don’t seem too surprised.

The two of them cuddle in the armchair during movie nights, and do each other’s hair when they’re hanging out in the living room. Jessica likes to steal Ashley’s high school letterman jacket when it gets chilly outside, and Ashley will always steal food from Jessica’s plate when they all go out to eat together. Emily doesn’t know for sure if they’re dating or not, but she fully supports it if they are.

She finds out about Amy’s… intimate partner in a way that she really wishes she hadn’t. Really, if she could forget it, she would. Unfortunately, it seems that the scene that played out is now burned into her long-term memory.

Emily’s last class of the day (biology, ugh) had gotten cancelled one seemingly innocent Tuesday. With glee, Emily had rushed across campus towards the Bella house to see if any of the Bellas were home already. Chloe had said that she was free to come and go at the house however she pleased, so Emily tended to just head over anytime she didn’t have anywhere else to be. Plus, her roommate, Drusilla (Drusilla?), was weird- like, painted her half of the room black the first day they got there, only sleeps for about two hours a night because she’s up writing poetry all night weird.

So Emily tended to spend less time at her own dorm and more time at the Bella house.

When Emily made it up to the front door, she could already hear noises coming from inside. Loud noises. Excited, Emily figured that there was already a few girls home and pushed the door open. She stepped into the living room, already talking about how her class got cancelled, looked up and-

There on the kitchen table, visible from the living room, lay Fat Amy, in the nude, with Bumper doing something involving whipped cream and oh gosh what was that-

Emily had clamped both her hands over her eyes, spun on her heel, and marched- no, ran- out the door. She didn’t uncover her eyes until she’d made it all the way down the driveway and accidentally bumped into someone walking by. Cheeks burning, Emily had walked back to her dorm, ready to rub her eyeballs with soap if that’s what it took to get that image out of her head.

Emily always texted Chloe or Beca or any of the other Bellas before heading to the Bella house now. Even Drusilla and her poems about the beauty of moths were better than the risk of seeing Fat Amy’s baby shoot for a third time.

So Emily knew about Amy and Bumper, even if she wished she’d found out in literally any other way. She didn’t know how public that information was to the rest of the world, though, so she kept it to herself. She also didn’t think Amy knew she knew, because she seemed pretty occupied when the whole terrible event transpired.

At first, Emily thought Cynthia Rose and Stacie were dating, but a closer look at the pair quickly shut down that theory. It was an easy mistake to make, really. Those two flirted with each other so much that Emily wasn’t sure they had ever had a conversation that wasn’t filled with winks and sexual innuendos.

After one late night conversation with Cynthia Rose, though, Emily learned the truth. All the other Bellas had either gone to bed, were out partying, or locked away studying, but Cynthia Rose had been up watching some TV show Emily didn’t recognize. So, she and Emily started talking and pretty soon Emily was sharing her fears about college and the real world, and Cynthia Rose had turned out to be a really great person to confide in.

Towards the end of their late night therapy session, Cynthia Rose’s phone had lit up with some notification. Emily happened to glance down and she saw that her phone background featured her kissing the cheek of a cute blonde girl.

“Who’s that in your background?” Emily had asked, pointing at the device. Cynthia Rose picked up her phone and looked at the picture, smiling.

“That’s my girl,” she had said fondly, eyes softening and smile widening. “Amber.”

Emily had squealed and immediately launched into question after question about Amber, all of which Cynthia Rose patiently answered with a twinkle in her eye.

When it came to Stacie, Emily was honestly too scared to ask her what her dating life was like. She knew that she slept with many different people on a fairly regular basis (anyone that had ever had a two-minute conversation with Stacie would know that), but she didn’t know if any of them had ever been anything serious, or if Stacie had ever had real feelings for anyone ever. She was nervous to ask Stacie these things herself, because she didn’t know how in depth her answers would be if asked, and Emily had already been scarred enough for one school year (thanks, Amy).

So Emily goes with a safer option: she asks Chloe.

“I’m sure Stacie’s had real relationships before,” Chloe says, sliding a veggie tray across the kitchen island to Emily. It’s a Saturday afternoon. Most of the Bellas are out buying clothes, food for the next week, or doing who-knows-what with who-knows-who. The only people home at the moment are Emily, Chloe, and Beca.

Chloe flits about the kitchen; throwing out old food, wiping down countertops, putting stray dishes in the sink. Beca sits on one of the barstools at the island, laptop in front of her opened up to her mixing program. She’s got her big headphones on, though one of the cups is pushed back to expose one of her ears to the conversation.

Emily sits next to Beca, trying to be casual about her curiosity towards Stacie’s love life. “Anybody you know?” She asks Chloe, reaching for a carrot to munch on. “Has she been with anyone since she joined the Bellas?”

Chloe wipes her hands with a dish towel and leans her hip against the edge of the sink, contemplating Emily’s questions. Beca’s eyes dart up to watch Chloe think for a second before focusing back on her computer. “Not that I can recall,” Chloe decides after a moment. “But that’s not to say she’s never been in a real relationship before.”

“Or a secret one,” Beca suddenly interjects, earning herself squinted look from Chloe. Beca holds eye contact with Chloe, seemingly challenging her.

“For the last time, Beca, Stacie was not in a secret relationship with Aubrey,” Chloe says, sounding slightly exasperated. Emily’s head whips around to stare at Chloe with wide eyes. She was not expecting that. “You have no actual evidence to back that claim up.”

Beca narrows her eyes. “Then why did she go easier on Stacie for cardio than the rest of us?”

“Beca, you can’t use that as proof, because Aubrey was easier on everyone compared to you.”

“Aubrey always blushed when Stacie would talk to her.”

“Aubrey is easily flustered when it comes to sex talk because of how she was raised and Stacie always talks about sex.”

“You just don’t want to admit that Aubrey would keep a secret from you.”

“No, it’s just that I know that she wouldn’t.”

Emily’s head switches back and forth between the two captains like she’s watching a tennis match. They debate the issue for a while before dropping it all together, changing conversation topics easily and seeming to forget that Emily is still sitting there.

Emily bites into another carrot. Her questions about Stacie may not be completely answered, but she doesn’t mind because she’s observing something much more complex.

* * *

By far the most confusing relationship on Barden University’s campus was Chloe Beale and Beca Mitchell’s. Because Emily didn’t even know if it was a relationship between Beca and Chloe or Beca and Jesse. Or were Jesse and Benji a thing? They were really close, and seemed to know way too many details about each other’s lives…

Gosh, Emily hoped Jesse and Benji weren’t together. That would make Benji asking Emily out a dozen times really awkward. Plus, she was actually starting to kind of like that sweet magician.

But this wasn’t about Jesse and Benji. This was about Beca and Chloe… and Jesse, maybe. But definitely not Benji.

Moving on.

Emily has thought that Beca and Chloe were together ever since she first saw them interact with each other. It was at the Treble’s party at the beginning of the year, about halfway through the night. Emily had been talking with Jessica and Flo while avoiding accepting any drinks anyone tried to give her because her mom warned her not to take drinks from strangers unless she wanted to wake up in her underwear on the side of some road in Oklahoma 10 hours later.

Anyways.

It had been about halfway through the party when Emily saw Beca and Chloe together. She had met both of them separately earlier in the night but had yet to see them interact. Jessica and Flo’s chatter became white noise to Emily as she focused her attention on the two captains on the other side of the Treble’s pool.

When Chloe spotted Beca, she squealed loud enough to be heard over the sound of the party, making Beca flinch violently and say something that Emily thought was close to, “Jesus, woman. You’ll make me deaf one of these days.”

Nevertheless, Beca had smiled at Chloe and accepted the tight hug that the redhead bestowed upon her. The two stayed wrapped up in each other’s arms longer than was strictly necessary, Emily thought, before Beca turned her head to say something in Chloe’s ear. Chloe started giggling at whatever Beca told her, and pulled away from the hug to place a kiss on Beca’s cheek. Beca had just rolled her eyes with affection and let Chloe lead her by the hand to the dance floor, where the two of them proceeded to spend the rest of the night dancing with each other.

Throughout the entire night Beca only really interacted with Chloe. Her and Jesse did talk here and there, but from what Emily heard from them it was mostly banter and sarcastic comments towards one another. Emily truly thought they were just ‘bros’.

Then Beca kissed Jesse goodnight before leaving to go home and Emily’s world shifted in confusion.

Since that night, Emily hasn’t been able to truly tell who Beca was dating. She had compiled mental lists on evidence for both possible pairings.

Beca and Jesse: Emily has seen them kiss a total of four times. They held hands at the weird basement riff-off thing. Jesse always calls Beca “my girl” and will sometimes swat her butt when she walks away from him. Beca goes out with Jesse a lot, at least according to Chloe (“Where’s Beca?” “I don’t know,” Chloe grumbles. “Probably out with Jesse.”).

Beca and Chloe: Always touching in some way; heads on shoulders, feet on laps, hand in hand. Beca likes to play with Chloe’s fingers whenever she’s bored, like during movie nights. Chloe likes to kiss Beca’s forehead and cheeks, especially when Beca’s grumpy. They fall asleep cuddled up on the couch late at night when Emily’s doing homework in the kitchen. Beca steals glances at Chloe all the time. They always know what the other one is going to say before they say it.

All this is just based on Emily’s personal observations, of course. Nothing that she’s noticed is hard, condemning evidence one way or another.

After months of careful observations and deliberating, Emily still has yet to come to a solid conclusion. She decides to enlist in some outside help, but she’ll have to be real sly about it.

“Who’s Beca dating?” The question bursts from Emily’s mouth before she’s had time to figure out a clever way to ask it.

Darn it.

Benji looks up from his noodles, surprised. When he asked Emily if she wanted to go get Chinese earlier that night, surely he had not been expecting to talk about Beca’s dating life.

(It wasn’t a date. Emily still wasn’t really ready to jump into anything; she was only 18, after all. This was just… getting dinner with a friend. And that friend just happened to be paying for both of them. And none of their other friends were with them. It wasn’t a date.)

“What do you mean?” Benji asks, swallowing his food and scrunching up his eyebrows.

Emily pokes at her own food with her fork (she never could figure out how to use chopsticks). “It’s just… Beca seems really close with… specific people…. And she’s not super open about her life with me, because I don’t think she likes me very much, and she probably thinks that I’d tell everyone her secrets- even though I totally wouldn’t- and I just want to know who she’s dating because there’s a couple people that she could be with and it’s killing me that I don’t know an-“

“Whoa, breathe, Emily,” Benji interrupts her, looking slightly apologetic for doing so. Emily smiles at him sheepishly. “First of all, Beca doesn’t hate you. If she hated you, you would know, trust me.” He chuckles, and then continues. “And to answer your question: Beca’s dating Jesse.”

Emily’s eyes widen in excitement. “Really? FINALLY some answers!” Benji looks a bit shocked by her outburst, but doesn’t say anything. Emily sits there basking in her triumph for a second, and then fully registers Benji’s answer. She deflates a little. “Oh, then that means…”

Benji looks at her curiously. “You… okay?” He asks, head dipping a little to try to catch her eyes.

Emily shakes her head a little. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” She says, not so convincingly, she’s afraid. She smiles at Benji instead. “Thanks.”

Benji’s eyes soften at her smile, and he just shrugs a little before going back to his noodles.

That night, Emily lays awake pondering her new knowledge. Beca was dating Jesse, not Chloe. Emily’s shocked, honestly. Sure, she’d had evidence for whoever Beca was with, but deep down she’d always thought it was Chloe.

Emily huffs and rolls to her other side. If Beca and Chloe weren’t dating, then what were they?

The question weighs heavily on her mind until she sees Beca and Chloe next, a couple days later. Emily watches the two captains at rehearsal very closely. Watches the way Beca will look up from her computer every so often and just look at Chloe with a small smile on her face. Watches the way Chloe’s eyes crinkle at the corners when Beca calls her “Chlo” and how she blushes slightly when Beca compliments her. Understanding starts to dawn in Emily’s mind.

Later that evening when all the Bellas pile into the TV room for a movie night, Emily’s understanding starts to really take shape. As she watches Chloe pull Beca down into the spot next to her, blanket falling over both their laps, and Beca smile shyly at Chloe as she plays with her fingers, Emily knows for sure what they are.

Beca and Chloe are just two dummies who don’t know how in love with each other they are. They don’t know yet, but they will someday. Emily’s sure of it.

Emily smiles and turns her attention away from the two fools in love and towards the movie, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth. She can’t wait until they figure it out.

See? Smart.

[ladyreapermc]

Fic: A Wish Your Heart Makes (Keanu x Reader) 3/3

Author's notes: cinderella AU requested by @ringa-starr​ Check it out part 1 and part 2 Thank you everyone for all the feedback and loving words on this. Hope you all enjoy this wrap up!

Word count: 2584

Warnings: a tiny bit of angst, but still so fluffy

As an employee of the hotel, you had could have all of your meals at the restaurant. Not the entire menu, of course, but enough so that you barely ever ate at your own place anymore. Especially not breakfast, that in your opinion was the time of the day the restaurant served their best meals. It was just easier to have it here before heading home after a night shift.

So as usual, you took your table a little after seven. It was still pretty empty at that time of the morning so as soon as you were seated, one of the waiters came to see you, a friendly smile on his face as he took your order.

You took out your book and managed half a page before someone dropped on the seat across from you. When you lowered your book to see, you felt your cheeks warm at the sight of a freshly showered Keanu in front of you.

“Morning, Christie,” he greeted you. His dark hair was still wet and combed back, the tips curling by his nape. His skin had a slightly flushed tone and the scent of his aftershave was wafting in your direction.

“Good morning, Mr.-Keanu,” you caught yourself, earning a wide smile from him, that made you smile too, your heart speeding up in your chest.

Your plan had been to put the entire masquerade ball behind you, forget it had even happened, but apparently, fate was very keen on making that impossible.

Keanu seemed to be everywhere you went and you were starting to see a side of him that was completely different from what the tabloids and gossip suggested. He was kind and funny and understanding that if you hadn’t been already infatuated with him after the ball, you would certainly by now.

And you know it was so stupid to fall for your boss, but it was hard not to when Keanu kept smiling at you like that, searching you out and giving you stupid nicknames.

“Sam’s already in,” you said, remembering what he had asked you yesterday. “If you still want to talk to him.”

“No need,” he grinned as he placed his order. “What I needed from him I ended finding out on my own.”

You set your book aside and watched him with expectation, your stomach suddenly heavy because you had a feeling it was about the masquerade ball.

After a moment of silence, Keanu told her everything, the gala, his mystery woman, finding her dress by chance at the laundry and discovering the woman’s room. He searched for her and she admitted everything.

“Long story short, Aubrey and I have a date tonight,” he finished, his eyes glinting with excitement as he sipped his coffee.

You wanted to scream that he found the wrong woman, that she was lying to him and had never set foot at the masquerade ball. But if you did that, how were you going to explain it? You couldn’t exactly confess everything to him, could you?

“I’m happy,” he declared, his smile taking a softer note. “I haven’t really been able to open up to anyone in a while. Maybe I’m finally ready to move on.”

“That’s good,” you managed, nearly choking on your words. “I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks… Rowling,” Keanu flashed you a teasing smile and all you felt like throwing up.

“I have to get going,” you said, standing up. “Good luck on your date tonight, Keanu.”

“Wait. You haven’t even finished…”

You didn’t stay to hear the rest. You were dangerously close to crying and you didn’t want him to see you like that. Not again.

Why did those things keep happening to you? Why couldn’t you just catch a break?

---

His heart was thundering in his chest, his palms were sweating and there was a knot in his throat. Keanu hadn’t felt like this in ages. Not even when he broke ground on his first hotel, but tonight he was a pile of nerves. He just wanted for this to go well between him and Aubrey, as well as it had gone at the party.

He tried to fix his tie again, but it stubbornly sat crooked around his neck. With a frustrated sigh, Keanu combed his fingers through his hair one last time, before grabbing his jacket and pocketing his phone. If he didn’t leave now, he would be late.

The elevator’s ride felt like it was taking forever and when it finally opened in the lobby, Keanu felt his stomach twisting into knots. He looked around, before checking his watch, but Aubrey still hadn’t come down.

“Your tie is crooked,” she said, and he looked up to see Y/N behind him.

“Never been great with bow ties.”

She snorted and gestured him to come closer and lift his chin as she undid the tie. Her nimble fingers brushing against his Adam’s apple and making him swallow hard.

“There. That’s better,” she said, taking a step away from him. “You look very handsome, Keanu.”

“Thanks.” He smiled as she held his gaze, the knots in his stomach shifting into butterflies. “Brontë.” Her lips quirked into a grin.

“You’ve used that one before.”

“There are four of them, so I still have two more.”

Her chuckle made him laugh too, his heart slowing down in a way like only familiarity and comfort could do. But before she could answer, someone cleared their throat beside them and Keanu turned to see at Aubrey. She looked stunning in blue, though he still preferred the red.

“Hey. You look amazing,” he greeted, moving to take her hand in his elbow and press a kiss on her cheek. “Shall we?”

Aubrey nodded, and Keanu took a step towards the restaurant. He looked over his shoulder at Y/N one last time, smiling at the way she mouthed good luck to him, before heading back to the front desk.

“I thought the restaurant was that way,” Aubrey gestured when Keanu took a left instead of the usual right.

“It is, but I have a surprise.”

She smiled wide at him and let him lead her across the ballroom and to the balcony where he had asked for a table to be set.

“What do you think?”

“It’s beautiful.” Aubrey kissed his cheek before taking her seat, one of the waiters pulling the chair out for her.

Keanu expected a better reaction if he was being honest. This was the balcony they had spent their first night after all. He did his best to shake his disappointment as he watched her sip her wine, nose wrinkling in distaste.

“Can I get a rosé?” she asked, snapping her fingers at the waiter. He hurried to exchange her glass, while Aubrey turned her focus back on Keanu as they lapsed in a long, awkward silence.

“So, uh, you never told me what you do,” he asked, trying to break strangeness of all.

Aubrey smiled and launched herself in a long explanation about her career as a digital influencer, her several contracts with different brands that she advertised on her Instagram and YouTube channel. Everything she described felt so jarringly opposed to what Keanu had thought he had seen when they first met that he didn’t know what to think. Could he have been that wrong?

“…and that was how I got a contract with Dior at Paris Fashion Week, last year.” she completed with a smug grin, pulling Keanu back from his musings.

“I’m sorry, did you say Paris?” he asked, and Aubrey just nodded, distractedly checking her phone as the waiter came over with the menus.

“I think I’m going with the seabass a provençal,” Aubrey said, glancing up at Keanu when he chuckled humorlessly.

“It was never you, was it?” he asked, partly disappointed, partly relieved. “The other night.” Aubrey froze, surprise shining in her eyes. “Why did you lie?”

“Keanu Reeves shows up at your door thinking you two hooked up at a party? Who would be crazy enough to say no to that?”

There was a derisive tone in her voice and that’s what sealed the deal. Keanu stood up, setting his napkin on the table.

­“Have a good night, Aubrey.”

He didn’t wait for her protest or reply. Keanu just needed to get out of there, forget this entire mess had happened to begin with. Preferably over some whiskey and Lawrence’s company.

Keanu headed straight for his friend’s office, pausing outside the door as he heard muffled voices arguing. One male, two females. Before he could reach for the handle, the door was pushed open and Y/N ran straight onto his chest.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing the angsted expression in her face.

Her eyes went wide when she recognized him and she pulled back from his embrace, her eyes welling up. Keanu could see she was fighting tears as she shook her head and ran off.

Keanu watched her go in confusion, before stepping inside the room to find Lawrence sitting behind his desk, looking tired and disappointed and Adrianne with a smug smirk on her lips.

“What just happened? Why was she crying?”

“I had to let her go,” Lawrence replied with a sigh. “Weren’t supposed to be on a date?”

“She wasn’t the one,” Keanu said with a frown, noticing the cashmere scarf Lawrence was holding. His scarf. “Where did you get that?”

Lawrence looked at the garment and sighed again.

“It was found in her bag,” Adrianne declared almost preening and Keanu just knew she had gone through Y/N’s things to find it. “It’s probably from one of the guests and she stole it. I’ve always known she was a bad fit for this hotel.”

“It’s mine,” Keanu said, taking the scarf, his heart hitting his throat as the puzzle was finally complete.

It was there all along, staring him in the face. No wonder he felt such a connection to her from the second they met. How he felt so comfortable with her without knowing why. How the banter and conversation with her felt so natural to him like he already knew her. It was her. She was the one.

“She didn’t steal this. I gave it to her.”

---

You were still battling your tears when you got home after clearing your locker. This was really it. You had lost everything you ever cared about in only four months.

You lost your family, you lost your writing, you lost your job, you lost your friends. You even lost Keanu. Not that you ever had him, in the first place, but your heart didn’t seem to care with such details. It just hurt.

You dropped your backpack by the door, moving to the couch and curling into a fetal. You knew you should probably start to make a plan, figure out what you were gonna do from now on, but your brain seemed unable to focus enough for you to gather your thoughts. All you managed was to relive everything that had happened in the last hour.

The knock on your door made you jump startled, finally breaking through your depressed musings. You knew it was probably Trina, having learned of what happened. Or maybe Sam. Part of you wanted to ignore it. Seeing them would make everything worse.

But another part of you knew you needed someone tonight, otherwise, you’d drive yourself crazy thinking on what-ifs or dwelling on everything. So you dragged yourself from the couch and pulled the door open, coming face to face with Keanu.

“Wha…?” it was all you managed before Keanu sidestepped you and moved into the apartment.

“It was you. At the ball. It was you.” It wasn’t a question and panic squeezed your lungs, making you unable to talk. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was afraid,” you said, hugging yourself as you looked away from him. “I borrowed a dress from a guest of the hotel without their knowledge, crashed a party during my work shift... Lawrence was right in firing me.”

“I don’t care about any of that!” Keanu exclaimed. “I can’t believe you watched me go out with another woman, thinking it was you.” A hint of anger bled into his tone. “And you just stood there and wished me good luck.”

“What was I supposed to do?” you shouted back, fear shifting into anger. “Just come around and say: hey, I know you’re my boss, but we shared the best kiss of my life the other night and I think I might be in love with you?”

“What did you say?” Keanu asked and you could see the shock in his eyes.

“Nothing. Forget it.”

You shook her head, turning away from him. What the hell were you thinking? Did you really blurt that out?

“Say it again,” Keanu asked, hand resting on your arm, warm and comforting as he slowly made you turn around again to face him. “Please.”

He was towering over you and your heart thundered against your chest as you looked up at him. There it was it again, the intense gaze you had seen at the ball, but there was also hope and hesitation.

“I think I’m in love with you,” you whispered.

Keanu smiled, hand moving from your arm to wrap around your back and pull you flush against his body as his lips met yours.

There weren’t any fireworks or sparks or any of the other clichés. There was instead a certain sense of belonging. Like this was something you were supposed to be doing all along. It felt almost like coming home.

“I’m in love with you too,” Keanu whispered against your lips as the two of your part, forehead resting against yours.

“Really?” You smiled at him, arms coming around his neck.

“Really.” Keanu smiled too before catching your lips in a new kiss.

---

Your throat felt dry and a little sore as you finished reading the manuscript and as soon as the words ‘the end’ passed your lips, a cool glass of lemonade appeared in front of you as Keanu brushed a kiss against the top of your head.

“So what do you think?” you asked, after taking a long sip of the drink and looking up at him from where you laid resting against his chest, legs stretched over the couch.

“I love it,” he said with a big grin. “Though I don’t remember being that clueless.”

“Honey, please!” you snorted. “You went on a date with the wrong girl.”

“You could’ve stopped me!” he complained with a pout that never failed to make you laugh and kiss him.

“It doesn’t matter now, does it?” you asked settling the glass and your manuscript on the coffee table, before climbing on his lap. “It worked out in the end.”

“Yeah, it did,” Keanu smiled softly and kissed the tip of your nose. “It’s a great book, babe. And it deserves to be published.”

You grinned at him before kissing him, his lips parting under yours almost immediately, welcoming you in.

“You know what that means, right?” you said as you broke away from the kiss. “I’ll be a published author so you’re gonna have to find other nicknames for me.”

“You’re right,” Keanu said with a small frown, that quickly broke into a smile as he took your hand and brought it to his lips, kissing over the golden band around your ring finger. “How does Mrs. Reeves, sound?”

“It sounds really, really good.”

xxx

Taglist (give me a shout if you want to added.)

@poisonedjoinery @ringa-starr @curly-minnie @i-cant-remember-my-old-login

@caryled @beyond-antares @kathorax @krazycags01 @meetmeinthematinee

@red-pill-blue-pill @baphometwolf666 @soarocks @imagine-the-fanfics @moonlit-raven-haven @cumberbatchbaps @coolbreezeinkeanureeves

[lizzieparker]

you will find him next to me || maxie.

tagging: @westonmax​ & @lizzieporter​

location: max’s apartment. 

time frame: april 17, night.

notes: slight nsfw? very short and a lot of fluff. also, first time me and alex finish a para in four years so. 

Even after the amazing night out with the view to the beach and the incredibly good sex, Lizzie's mind was still on. She knew why and, while a part of her wanted to just rest against Max's chest for the rest of the night, Lizzie knew that in the long run, she would have to talk with him. So, with the sheet wrapped around her, the girl sat on the bed and turned her head to the man beside her. Instantly, her hand reached for his hair, moving her fingers slowly on it. "I'm sorry, about sunday night. And monday night and tuesday night" She shrugged lightly, trying to keep the smile on her face. "I'm just sorry"

No one had really gone this much out of their way for him to make him feel good for his birthday. Lizzie had planned a whole thing for him and he couldn't have been more grateful, in awe that she cared so much about him. It was, quite frankly, pretty romantic. They'd been laying there covered in nothing but the bed sheets, quiet, enjoying one another's company when Lizzie turned to him and apologized as she played with his hair. "Stop it" he whispered, shaking his head, "don't apologize." Max leaned in and kissed her softly, whispering against her lips, "you have nothing to apologize for. We're good, I promise."

Lizzie got closer easily, pressing her lips against his and for a moment, she thought that maybe that was enough talking. That it would be incredibly easier to put a bit more of pressure and forget all about conversations, but Aubrey's words were still stuck on her head. "I don't want you to think you did anything wrong" Moving slightly, eyes searching for his, Lizzie frowned lightly. "Not on the talks we had or about her". It was impossible not to look down at that, because even when her words were saying something, and she meant it, it still hurt. "This was all on me and I'm sorry if I made you feel like I thought less of you for anything, because I don't. I still think the world of you, more than ever"

A sigh escaped his lips at her words, unsure of what to feel regarding the situation. They were here, together, wearing nothing but loose bedsheets. And yet, she was talking about her - but the last thing Max wanted was to talk about her or the situation. All he wanted was to focus on Lizzie, if he was being honest. "Look at me" he murmured softly as he cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs caressing her cheek, "we're okay. We're more than okay. It's all in the past and I'm here, in the present, with you. I wanna focus on you, on this right now. Let's forget about those talks and focus on you and me, here, together."

There was no denying that his words and his eyes and absolutely everything about him were sending a pleasant warm around her body. Just like that, her smile softened around the edges. "You get all mushy when I dress up for sex" The joke was light, giving her plenty of time to steal another kiss and let her grin appeared fully on his face. Just because she could, Lizzie moved them a bit until she was able to rest her head on his chest, happily sighing once she was there. "I'm just glad I didn't lose you, or this because of me not being honest". Just like that, Aubrey was again too inside her mind and Lizzie decided that it wouldn't be a bad thing to say what she wanted to say. "It's all... happy and easy between us, but that doesn't..." She shook her head a bit. "It doesn't mean is not special for me. Just that, it is so natural that it almost cost me losing it all together to realize what I had"

"I get all mushy when you go out of your way to make my pre-birthday weekend an unforgettable one." Even then, Max couldn't put into words how much that had meant to him. No one had put in this much effort for him and in some ways, he'd believed no one really cared. Lizzie did, though. She did this for him because she cared and wanted him to be happy; he couldn't ask for more. "Wanna know something?" he said softly as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him, "You're never gonna lose me. I don't care what happens, when it happens, how it happens... you're never gonna lose me." This was good. This was easy. This was him being happy. "You're not gonna lose me or this. You're stuck with me and my messy ass, okay?"

"You are making this a big deal" Even when she was saying something, Lizzie couldn't help but feel completely pleased by the fact he had seemed to be enjoying himself this much. Not that she was worried that he wouldn't like any of the activities she picked out, but because the praise soothe every single part of her that was still worried about what happeneed between them. There, laying in his chest and feeling his arms around her, she really believed they were going to be alright. And if her cheeks went pink for his words, well, no one could blame her. She wasn't used to be picked this way, so easily, and to feel so happy without the guilt eating some part of her happiness. This was how it was supposed to be, always. "It's a great ass to be stuck with" Lizzie giggled softly, pressing a light kiss above his heart. "You are the only person int he entire world who makes me wish I didn't have to go work. At least for like, half a second" Still, it was more than anyone else had archived. "But having sex with you doesn't pay that well so, what am I gonna do?" Her voice was soft, full of fondness and a lot other things that felt unnecessary to name in that moment. They were there and knowing Max, she knew he felt them too. At least in that moment, he was entirely hers.

A smile pulled at his lips, realizing how much her words made sense to him; he'd never really thought about it, but he immediately knew that the feeling was mutual. If it was up to him, he'd stay in bed with her, forgetting about the outside world. This worked because he didn't have to be someone other than himself, flaws and all. He had something easy and good with Lizzie. "You're that for me too." Max admitted quietly, pressing a kiss to her blonde hair and closing his eyes as he did so, content to be like this with her and hoping they wouldn't have to go anywhere else for the rest of the day. "You do know that it could pay well, right?" He chuckled, only half-joking. They both knew if he wanted, he could own at least half of Doveport. That was something else that he realized made sense with her - she knew his family history, knew of his failures to meet expectations, the money he was refusing because of his frosty relationship with his parents. Everything. Between late nights of sex or calming each other down after a nightmare, he'd opened up to her and that meant something to him. Lizzie meant something to him and he was now realizing just how much.

Lizzie couldn't help but giggle, moving her body so she could turn to look at him, half lying above him. "Of course I know I'm fucking a white old rich man. I'm smart like that" The fact that Max had, for what she knew, insane amount of money made her slight uneasy sometimes, mostly because it came with his bad relationship with his parents. She got it, the disappointment that came with not being the best student or the best kid in general by your parent's standard, but still, she couldn't imagine her life without her mom and dad. Yes, they made mistakes but they were human and if she ever had a kid, Lizzie would like that they gave her a second chance. Or at least a second try. "Maybe we can go away next year for your birthday. Without the wedding and all, we will have more time. Maybe you can take me to North Carolina and show me everything I'm gonna get once I make you sign everything to me"

"A white old rich man?" Max laughed in earnest but nodded nonetheless, amused by her accurate description of him - he really was just that in a nutshell. There was something he loved though, about the fact that she knew about his past, understood it and never judged him for his bad decisions. Then again, all those bad decisions led him to this moment. Had he been the perfect son, he never would've ended up in Doveport. "I'd love to go somewhere else for my birthday next year. Not just all of North Carolina. We can go to Europe. We can go to South America. We can go to a private island." He paused, but nodded. "That can be after I show you all the properties I own, okay? Everything that's obviously gonna be yours once you become a Weston."

Okay, maybe she lied that the rich thing wasn't weird all the time, cause it was. She and her family had never struggled but now when she heard him, it was strange to know he could actually take her to all those places if he wanted to. Lizzie wanted to say no, but the idea of traveling with him was just too exiting. Her body turned completely, moving her knees to each side of his body so she was seated above him. "We can go wherever you want. It's your birthday" The laugh that came out of her was natural and she reached to his face, hiding it completely under her open palm. "Can't wait for your first wife to die, idiot"

[thiswasinevitableid]

I have a suggestion for the Meet Ugly Prompts! Can you do 36, Sternclay, NSFW? Thanks so much! :)

Here you go!

36.  it’s mid-apocalypse and you break into my secret shelter and I swear I’ll kill you if you don’t give me three damn good reasons why I shouldn’t

Barclay is running out of daylight. It was worth it, he found two flocks of survivors, waited with them until Ned was able to get the car down and pick them up (the Lincoln is remarkably immune to hoards of undead/possessed humans). They’d told him there was another group further East, that they’d passed them the evening before and tried to link up for greater safety. So Barclay took his chances, just like everyone does these days, and gone to find them.

He’s found them; eight people, all prone on the ground, all with white ooze seeping from their mouths and the wounds on their bodies. Too late. He’s almost immune to being too late. Almost.

It’s not worth trying to dispatch all of them, he’ll lose what time he has left to find shelter if he does. He turns into the woods, trying to remember if he can make it to the cave up the rock-face or if he’ll be spending the night on the move.

His Sylph sense of smells picks up something human and he pauses, tilts his head and listens for footsteps. What he gets is the crunch of leaf litter behind him, from the clearing where he found the newly minted undead. 

Maybe the person nearby has shelter. Maybe they’re vulnerable and need help.

Cautiously, he takes off his bracelet, and the scent becomes much stronger. He follows it, finds its source at a log. Kneeling down, he feels along the ground and finds metal beneath a full foot of dirt and leaves. 

The sun goes down, and he shoves the log, sliding the hidden door open enough to drop down into the darkness and slide the door shut over him. A human couldn't manage the weight, but a Bigfoot certainly can. 

Once in the holding room, he keeps the bracelet off long enough to spot a door to his right. He turns human, considers his options, and then politely knocks on the solid metal. No answer, but not moaning voices either. 

He could probably manage the night in this holding area. But just to be safe…

He pulls out one of the last things they got from Heathcliffe prior to blowing the gate closed (for now. He hopes) to at least foil part of Reconciliation’s plan. A universal lock pick. Holding it against the metal, gears whir and tumblers fall until the door swings open. He steps through into a well lit bunker and is immediately greeted by the barrel of a handgun. 

“Shut the door.”

Barclay shuts the door, keeps his hands up in surrender. 

“Give me three good reasons why I shouldn’t shoot you.” The man, tall and lean and clearly comfortable with the weapon in his hand stares him down with steel in his blue eyes.

“I, uh, I’m on a rescue team, see?” He indicates the torn red patch on his jacket, the one volunteer rescuers got when this all went down. 

“How do I know you didn’t steal that from someone who was?”

“Why the fuck would I do that?”

“I’ve run across no fewer than three groups of people claiming to be ‘helpers’ or to offer shelter who then, on all three occasions, tried to kill and eat me.”

“What the fuck, there’s still plenty of food places?”

A huff, “you seem genuinely indignant, so fine; one reason. You need two more.”

“I, I honestly didn’t know if anyone was down here, I just came down because it got dark. There was a party I, uh,” he swallows, ashamed, “I didn’t get to in time. They’re infected now and I didn’t want to get bit.”

“Shit, they’re close and you opened the main door?”

“And closed it!” Barclay says hurriedly, “but if they or anything else does get in, I swear I’ll help you. And I’m damn good in a fight.”

“One reason left.”

“I, I, uh, I’m a good cook?”

“How does that help us in this situation?”

“You still gotta eat, right?”

His walky talky crackles with Mama’s voice, “Barclay, you somewhere safe? Over.”

He doesn’t move.

“Bud, if you’re in trouble gimme your best guess at coordinates and I’ll come. Over.”

“Reason number four: if you kill me, you’ll be dealing with her, and I cannot stress how terrifying she is when someone she loves is hurt.”

The man hesitates, then lowers the gun, nodding. Barclay picks up the walky-talky.

“Found a bunker, staying the night, over and out.”

“Come on, then.” The man waves for Barclay to follow him into the main room, “but if you try anything, know I’m not a man of empty threats.”

“Clearly.” Barclay mutters, taking in the bunker; it’s well supplied, like a miniature house, and if one did not know what was going on outside, it would seem cozy. No longer with terror tunnel vision, he gets a better look at his reluctant host. Short, black hair that’s been combed back, sharp cheekbones and a clean-shaven, handsome face. He’s almost Barclay’s height, which is novel. 

“So, uh, how’d you get such a sweet hiding spot?”

“I am, or was, an FBI agent. I knew where many of the apocalypse fallout shelters were, and was lucky enough to be near one when this all started. I was en route to a town called Kepler.”

“No shit.” Barclay sits down at the tiny kitchen table, “that’s where I’m from. Where we’ve been running the rescue missions out of.”

“I’ll admit I’m not up on how things are going outside. I lost contact with my superiors three days into the epidemic. They were my last tie to what was happening. As I said, the last times I went out to search for others, to try and help if I could, other people posed an issue.” He sighs, sits down across from Barclay, “I guess it’s nice knowing I rid the coming world of three groups of people who would eat others for fun.”

The implications of that statement take a moment to sink in and Barclay is torn between feeling sorry for how frightened the man must have been and understanding just how close he was to dying a few minutes ago.

“I’m sorry you’ve had such shit luck. Maybe the nice digs balance it out?”

A polite laugh, “they do. I was worried at first about getting lonely, but that’s not all that different from how my work life used to be. Most people don’t want to pal around with a man in black on a mission.”

“That does explain the suit.” Barclay points to the slacks and dress shirt the man is wearing and the jacket hung over a nearby chair.

The man blushes, “I, uh, I’ve only had my work clothes, most of which were suits. Plus, they make me feel a bit more like...well, like myself I guess. That’s always been my fear of apocalyptic scenarios; that’d I’d stop being me and become some faceless creature bent on survival.”

Barclay shudders, “yeah, I get that.”

A hand extends, blue eyes taking on a bit of warmth, “I’m Joseph. Joseph Stern.”

“Barclay.” Barclay shakes his hand, noting the way Joseph inhales sharply at the touch.

“Are you hungry? The food in here is about what you’d expect, but it’s still food.”

“Here, lemme see what I can do.”

Joseph shows him the shelves of canned food, instant ramen, and MREs, and Barclay sets to work in the weird little kitchen. The bunker must have a generator running of some non-electrical source of power, because he’s able to get a hotplate working. Cooking soothes him, a familiar rhythm in an alien space. Joseph sits nearby, sometimes talking with him and sometimes inventorying his supplies. It’s been awhile since he spoke this easily with someone; he loves his friends, but they can talk over him very easily. 

When he presents the two bowls, Joseph’s face lights up.

“This, this looks amazing! How did you do this from all that? Wait, is that Spam?”

“Yep.” Barclay twirls some ramen on his fork, “adds a hell of a lot of salt and it’s actually pretty nice deep fried.”

Joseph takes a bite and moans, “lord, I’ve missed food. Er” he clears his throat, “that came out wrong.”

“Bit of a foodie are we?” Barclay teases, bumping Joseph’s shin with his toe.

“Yes, actually. I traveled a lot for work, and food is a great way to get to know a place. Plus, people always talk easier in restaurants, so it’s an excellent way to do recon.”

“What’s your favorite thing you’ve ever eaten?”

“Hmmmmmm. Is it tacky to say foie gras fries I had once?”

“No and holy shit that sounds good.”

“Oh, it was. I do love a good fried rice though; like, the kind you get from some hole in the wall place that just sells every kind of Asian cuisine mushed together.”

“Mmm, I haven’t made fried rice in awhile. Maybe I should do that when I get back.”

“Oh, right. How far is-”

The walky talky squeaks and Barclay grabs it in a flash.

“Mama, that you? Over.”

“Yep, it’s me. Indrid got a word to Aubrey through the ol’ third eye and says to stay indoors all through tomorrow and into the next day. Gonna rain buckets, make the roads rough for anyone who’s human but not that dangerous for an oozer. You feel me? Over.”

“Copy that. I’ll stay put here. Over.”

“We’ll let you know when it’s clear. Over and out.”

“Looks like I’m staying here a little longer.”

“That’s absolutely fine. Did she say third eye?”

“Uh, hey, you wanna grab dessert? I saw some Twinkies on those shelves and haven’t had them in ages.”

Joseph raises his eyebrow in a way that indicates he knows exactly what Barclay is doing, but follows him all the same. They spend the evening eating baked goods of dubious quality and talking on the couch. At some point Barclay adjusts, bumping against Joseph, but rather than pull away the agent just lays his legs across his lap. When the time comes to sleep, Joseph shows him to a bedroom behind yet another heavily fortified door. 

“This is kinda…”

‘Grim? I agree.” They stand between the two small beds in the grey room, the lamp buzzing above them. Joseph’s is on the right, somehow more tidily made than the one that hasn’t been touched. 

“We could, um, push them together. If that’s something you’re comfortable with. Might feel less like a prison and be warmer too.”

“Works for me.” Barclay pushes his bed away from the wall. Were it safe to do so, he’d show off, by lifting it over his head. He bets Joseph would like that.

Barclay waits until Joseph is changing into pajamas to strip down to his boxers and slide under the covers, not wanting to presume his comfort with Barclay’s mostly naked body. Judging by the appreciative look he gets when Joseph lifts the covers and stares, he didn’t need to be so concerned. 

“Y’know, you can just ask for a hug.” He chuckles when he notices Joseph hesitantly inching closer. 

“I didn’t want to make you uncomfortableAH.” He laughs as Barclay pulls him into a hug, smoothing his hands along his soft pajamas. 

“Ohhhh” the sigh is soft, chaste, but still dripping with want, “this feels nice.” His fingers trail up and down Barclay’s chest.

“Mmm, but we both gotta rest up. Been a long day. Get some sleep, agent.” 

Ever since the Reconciliation-generated illness broke the perimeter, the other Lodge residents have had trouble sleeping. Barclay’s gotten into the habit of kissing their foreheads; for his kind on Sylvain, it was always a gesture of protection. So when he kisses the top of Joseph’s head, it’s purely out of habit. 

Joseph just sighs again and murmurs, “goodnight, Barclay.”

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

He wakes up before Joseph, gives him a much more deliberate kiss on the cheek and heads out into the main bunker. Makes coffee and a simple breakfast, revels in the delight on Joseph’s face when he walks out and sees the meal waiting for him.

They play cards after breakfast, Joseph better at BlackJack and Barclay better at poker. Try their hands at a chess match, though Barclay is rusty (but more than happy to let a handsome guy show off for him). Joseph digs out what books are available, so they can read now and then. But mostly, they just talk. Joseph talks about his work, about his interest in the paranormal. Barclay talks about the Lodge, his friends, offers a carefully edited series of stories from his traveling days. 

They’re laid out on the couch, Barclay functionally spooning the smaller man as they read. He doesn’t notice he’s running his hand up and down his side until Joseph moans.

“Will, um, will you keep doing that? I, it’s been awhile since I’ve been touched like that. But, um, more to the point, I like it when you touch me. So, please?”

“Course.” Barclay grins, sets his book down so he can loop his other arm under Joseph’s head. He slows his strokes, takes time to savor the muscle he feels under the dress shirt. Even in his human form, he can smell that the agent is aroused. Then again, the fact he’s twitching his hips is kind of a give away.

Barclay rumbles out a laugh, leans forward and nuzzles the back of his neck, kissing it when Joseph gasps. 

“Barclay, will you--that is, I want, unnnnfhcuck” He moans when Barclay gently nips the base of his neck, trailing little lovebites all over his throat. 

“What is it babe? What do you want?” Barclay bites his ear just as he’s trying to answer, causing another whimper in place of a reply.

“Oh fuck you.” Joseph snickers, turning his head to kiss him, the awkward angle doing nothing to dampen the hunger in it.

“Can if you want to.”

“Good lord yes” Both Joseph’s hands find his arm, clinging to him as he wiggles his ass backwards to grind against him. Barclay’s cock eagerly responds, and Joseph groans, excited, “oh yes I like that very much.”

“Not sure you’re ready for that yet, babe. Much as I like the idea of cumming in you until you’re fucking dripping, rather be on the safe side and use a condom the first time I fuck you into the ground.”

“Figures that’s one of the things I haven’t found in this place.” Joseph grumbles as Barclay unbuttons his slacks.

“Think I got something you’ll like just as well.”

“Okay, oh, ohOkay.” Joseph tips inelegantly backwards as Barclay yanks off his pants and underwear. Barclay growls, hooks his legs over his shoulders and dives forward.

“FUCK” Joseph grips his head, pulling him closer as he laps at him, “ohlord, oh thank you, fuck.” 

Barclay growls, does it again when the noise makes the agent tense and moan. Chuckles with each new sound of pleasure, drinking them in as he relishes Joseph filling his senses. 

“Fuck, shit, Barclay you’re going positively wild and I love itGAHhhnnnyes.” Slick coats Barclay’s bear as he drags his face up so he can suck Joseph’s dick. God almighty does he want to be inside him, want to make him scream as he fucks him open in both forms, want to watch his body bounce and strain to take his Sylph form while those blue eyes go teary with pleasure.

He cups Joseph’s ass with both hands, pressing him as hard against him as he can manage, his focus stripped down to doing whatever it takes to make him cum.

“Fuck, fuck, Barclay, ohlordohfuckme, like that, please just like that.” His ass tenses under his hands and Barclay flicks his tongue out one last time as he cums, panting and still pleading for more. 

Taking care not to actually hurt him, Barclay hauls Joseph so he’s laying on the couch before pouncing on him, kissing him until he’s gasping, growling and rumbling praise as Joseph manages to get his jeans open.

“That’s it babe, jack me off, lemme cum all over you, oh fucking-A that’s good.”

Joseph moans a little at the compliment, then smirks, “you have a thing for marking me, big guy?”

“Fuck yeah I do.” Barclay sinks his teeth into his shoulder, nearly howls when that makes Joseph speed up. 

The agent swiftly undoes the buttons on his dress shirt, running his hands across his chest as he grins teasingly up at Barclay, “you want to cum on this, want me to let you make a mess of me?”

“Uhhuh, fuck, Joseph, you’re all mine babe, all mine.” He drops down to kiss him, pumping his hips so his cock fuck’s Joseph’s fist over and over again. He’s growling uncontrollably, kisses turning messy feral as he licks and nips at the human’s lips and neck.

When he cums he buries the sound against Joseph’s throat, praying he can’t notice how non-human it is. Glancing down gives him a perfect look at the last of his cum dripping onto the agent’s stomach, and he whines, low and animal, with affectionate want.

“That, that was, ha” Joseph kisses his cheek, “good lord I can’t remember the last time a hook up felt that good.”

“Glad you liked it.” Barclay smiles at him, kisses his nose.

“I did. I like you too, Barclay. So much.”

The come down on the couch together, cuddled up and trading innocent kisses between whispers of affection. 

As they’re cleaning up, Barclay picks up the walky-talky, intending to call Mama for an update, “y’know, I meant to ask last night; what were you going to Kepler for?”

“My work with the UP. I was investigating a string of disappearances tied to Bigfoot.”

Barclay drops the device.

“I know, it sounds silly in the face of what happened next.”

“Uh huh, right, I mean, it’s good to have a goal-”

“Barclay, this is Mama, we got the all clear to pick you up. Over.”

Joseph looks at the radio, visibly sad but clearly resolve to the fact Barclay will leave him. 

He could do just that. Leave him here to keep fending for himself. Pretend this never happened. Pretend he doesn’t matter. 

Keeping an eye on Joseph, he gives Mama the nearest spot on the road to pick him up.

“And, uh, Mama? Tell Ned he’ll be picking up two people. I found someone I can’t bear to leave behind. Over.” He holds out his hand. Joseph looks at it, then around the room, then at his face. 

Then he smiles, and takes his hand.

Barclay knows they’ll be explaining to do down the road. Bu right now, that doesn’t scare him. Right now, Joseph’s hand is in his, and that’s all that matters.

[bechloeislegit]

BeChloe Week 2019 - DAY 8

SOFTBALL

Aubrey Posen and her best friend, Chloe Beale, stood outside Bellas staring at the new bar that was built right across the street from theirs. Fat Amy's had only been open for two months and Bellas had already lost several really good customers. It was starting to hit Aubrey's bottom line.

"I can't believe the city allowed them to build their bar across the street from ours," Aubrey said, seething. "And, they've got a line of people waiting to get in. What's so great about that bar?"

"I think we need to go on a recon mission," Chloe said. "I'll take Jessica and we'll go see why everyone is lining up to get in."

"That's not a bad idea," Aubrey said. "Get Jessica and go over there now. You can be back before we get too busy."

"Okay," Chloe said and went back inside to get Jessica.

Aubrey stood outside glaring at the bar across the street until Chloe and Jessica came back out. They had changed out of their uniforms and into their street clothes.

"We got this, boss," Jessica told Aubrey.

"Wait," Chloe said and unbuttoned two buttons on Jessica's blouse. She pulled them slightly to the side so more of Jessica's cleavage could be seen.

"Good idea," Aubrey said.

Chloe smiled and took her hair tie out and ran her hands through her hair, fluffing it up a bit. She untucked her shirt and unbuttoned all the buttons. She then pulled the ends together and tied it in a knot, allowing her sports bra to show.

"Looking sexy, Chloe," Jessica said.

"Look at the people in line," Chloe said. "We have to stand out and get noticed. Let's do this."

Aubrey grabbed Choe's arm as they started to walk off.

"If you can, take pictures," Aubrey said. "And, have a drink. I want to see if their bartenders are any good."

"Anything else?" Chloe asked.

"I'll text you if I think of anything," Aubrey said. "Keep your phones on."

"Got it," Chloe said. "Come on, Jess."

Chloe and Jessica hurried across the street and headed for the back of the line.

"Hey, Red!" Chloe turned to see if someone was shouting at her. "Over here."

Chloe saw the bouncer waving her over. She grabbed Jessica's arm and they made their way to the bouncer.

"You don't think he knows we work for Bellas, do you?" Chloe asked Jessica.

"I don't think so," Jessica said.

Both girls were now nervous. The reached the bouncer and stood nervously in front of him.

"You ladies want to get into Fat Amy's?" He asked with a smile as he looked them up and down.

"Um, yeah, we do," Chloe said, striking a pose with her chest out and a hand on her hip.

"Ever been here before?" he asked.

"No, this is our first time," Jessica responded.

"Well, my orders are let only the prettiest people in," the bouncer said. He moved the rope out of the way and smiled. "Welcome to Fat Amy's," the bouncer said as he waved them in. "Enjoy yourselves."

The crowd starting yelling because they had been waiting a while to get in, but Chloe and Jessica didn't care.

"Thank you," they said as they entered Fat Amy's.

"No cover charge," Chloe said. "We'll have to tell Brey about that. No wonder people are lining up to get in."

"Wow," Jessica said. "The music is good. Really good."

"I know," Chloe said, chewing her bottom lip nervously. "Let's get a drink."

Jessica followed Chloe to the bar and ordered their drinks. Chloe took a sip of hers and said, "Oh, my God! That is so good."

"Mine, too," Jessica said. "I'm worried. This place is awesome and modern. Aubrey's going to have a lot of trouble keeping customers if she keeps playing the same old jukebox music and doesn't hire some real bartenders."

"This is bad," Chloe said as she continued to look around.

"What's bad?" A blonde woman with an Australian accent asked. "Is it your drink? Who made it? I'll fire them on the spot."

"No, no," Chloe reassured her. "The drink is great. I was just saying this is bad, because, um, it wouldn't take much to get me drunk off of these. They are sooooo good."

"So, you run the place?" Jessica asked.

"I own the place," the woman said. "Fat Amy's the name."

"You call yourself Fat Amy?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah," Amy said. "So twig bitches like you don't say it behind my back."

"I'll drink to that," Jessica said, holding up her glass. Amy clinked their glasses and took a healthy gulp from hers.

"So, do either of you ladies need a job?" Amy asked.

"What?" Chloe asked, wide-eyed.

"I only hire pretty people to work here at Fat Amy's," Amy said. "You two are pretty people. I pay well and we are like a family here."

Jessica and Chloe just looked at her. "Think about it and come by during the day sometime if you're interested. Hey, Ashley!"

"Yeah, Amy?" Ashley, the bartender, called back.

"The next two drinks for these girls are on me," Amy said. "Have fun, ladies!"

With that, Amy was off and mixing into the crowd.

"What can I get you, ladies?" Ashley asked.

Jessica smiled and said, "Surprise me."

"I'll have whatever you make her," Chloe said.

Ashley grabbed a glass and started tossing bottles around while she made their drinks. Jessica and Chloe watched, mesmerized as Ashley performed a show. Ashley finished with a flourish and pushed the drinks toward Chloe and Jessica.

"Wow," was all Jessica could say. She took a sip of the drink and actually moaned at how good it was. "This is amazing!"

Chloe took a sip and was nodding her head in appreciation. The drink truly was amazing. "How did you learn how to do all that?"

"I went to school to become a mixologist," Ashley said. "Every bartender here is a certified mixologist." Another customer got Ashley's attention. "I have to go. Come see me when you're ready for another surprise."

Ashley winked at Jessica and moved farther down the bar.

"This is trouble," Chloe said. "We should probably go to tell Brey."

"We need to get pictures," Jessica said as she sipped at her drink. "Let's go dance and pretend to take pictures of each other so we can get everything."

"Good idea," Chloe said and led Jessica to the dance floor.

The two danced and took pictures of the club. Chloe was startled when a voice came through the speakers.

"Okay, ladies and gents," a somewhat sultry voice said. "I'm gonna slow it down a bit, so grab a partner and get to it."

"There's a DJ?" Chloe asked as she looked around. "Where are they?"

Jessica moved back and noticed a platform suspended above the dance floor.

"Up there," Jessica said and pointed up.

Chloe stepped back and looked up. "Whoa! No wonder the music is so good. They have a live DJ."

"Add the music to the list of awesome things about this place," Jessica said.

Chloe looked at Jessica with a frown. "We should go. Brey is going flip out when we tell her about all this."

Jessica sighed and nodded. The two girls left Fat Amy's and went back to Bellas.

~ SOFTBALL ~

Aubrey sat with her head in her hands. "Is that it?"

"Yeah," Chloe said, sitting in a chair across from Aubrey.

"How can we compete with that?" Aubrey asked. "We don't have the money to make drastic changes or upgrades"

"Maybe we start slow," Chloe said. "Train our bartenders to become mixologists. Or hire certified mixologists."

"That's still going to cost us money," Aubrey said.

"You're going to have to spend money to make money," Jessica said.

"Why don't we add karaoke?" Chloe suggested. "People like karaoke."

"That's not a bad idea," Jessica said. "Live music is great, but letting people get up and sing will bring in a bigger crowd."

Aubrey nodded. "That is a good idea. Chloe, can you find someone to run it for us?"

"I'll start making calls tomorrow," Chloe said. "It's really late. Come on, Brey. We should go home. We can worry about this tomorrow."

~ SOFTBALL ~

Two months later, Bellas was giving Fat Amy's some serious competition. Karaoke became a nightly thing and Bellas was filled to capacity four out of seven nights a week. Aubrey trained the bartenders and now all were certified mixologists. People loved the throwback feel when the jukebox played during breaks in between karaoke sets.

Aubrey was smiling as she made her way around the bar. She looked up when she saw a leggy brunette enter with a blonde.

"Brey, that's Fat Amy," Chloe said as she ran up to her. "She owns Fat Amy's. What is she doing here?"

"Probably came to check on the competition," Aubrey said with a smug smile.

The blonde and the brunette walked over to the bar and ordered shots. The bartender tossed a few bottles and made a big show of pouring the shots.

"They stole our moves, Stacie," Amy said.

Stacie and Amy downed their shots and started looking around. "Hey, that redhead was at the club not too long ago. I bet she was there to spy on us."

"Come on, Amy," Stacie said. "Every bar has bartenders who do fancy moves to mix drinks. Plus, we're doing the same thing you claim the redhead did."

"Hey, bartender," Amy called out.

"The name's Emily," the bartender said. "Want another shot?"

"No, thanks," Stacie said. "We're looking for the owner."

Emily stretched her neck and looked around. "See that redhead over there," Emily said, pointing at Chloe. "She and the blonde next to her are the owners."

"Thanks," Stacie said, winking at the girl.

Stacie grabbed Amy's arm and made their way over to Aubrey and Chloe.

"Are you two the owners?" Stacie asked.

"We are," Aubrey responded.

"You stole my ideas," Amy said, waving her arms around.

"Excuse me?" Aubrey said, looking down her nose at Amy. "We didn't steal anything."

"I know Red here was in my bar a few months ago," Amy said. "And now you're suddenly flush with customers. My customers."

"You own these people?" Aubrey asked with a laugh. "They come here because we have karaoke and great drinks. Plus, dancing."

"Why can't we both share in the wealth?" Chloe asked. "You have your regulars and we have ours. Sometimes they go to your place for a change of pace. Sometimes they come here. We can both keep doing what we're doing and get along."

"Look, Pollyanna," Amy said. "This town isn't big enough for both of us. You need to peddle your wares elsewhere."

Aubrey laughed. "Are we in a bad western? Look, we were here first. If you can't stand the heat, then you should be the one to get out of the kitchen."

Amy and Aubrey glared at each other. Chloe finally spoke up.

"Let's have a competition," Chloe said. "No one has to shut down or anything. Instead, we make a promise that we won't enter the other's establishment without an invitation. That way, whatever new thing one of us does, the other cannot copy."

"That sounds reasonable, Amy," Stacie said. She looked at Chloe. "What kind of competition were you thinking?"

"Nothing that has to do with the bar or music," Chloe said and thought for a minute. Her face lit up as she asked, "How about softball?"

"Softball is good," Aubrey said with a sly smile. "I'll accept that."

Amy narrowed her eyes and glared at Aubrey. Something didn't feel right and she felt like she was being played.

"Could you give us a minute?" Stacie asked and grabbed Amy's arm and walked a few feet away. "You know Beca's a great softball player. And Ashley, Lily, and CR played in college. We can do this and win."

"Okay," Amy said.

Amy and Stacie went back over to Aubrey and Chloe. "We're in. What are the rules or conditions for this?"

The four women sat down and hashed out the details. After a bit of back and forth, they were ready.

"Okay," Aubrey said. "The game will be held one month from today. There will be no more than three men on either team on the field at one time. We will play five innings. If at the end of those five innings we are tied, we will continue playing until there is a winner. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Amy said.

Amy and Stacie left Bellas and Aubrey sat back with a smile. "Playing softball was a great idea, Chlo. They don't know what they're in for."

~ SOFTBALL ~

"Alright, Beca," Amy said, holding the brunette by the shoulders. "We're counting on you to help bring us home the win."

Beca looked over at the other team. "You do know that the tall blonde and the redhead standing next to her are former State All-Stars, right?"

"What?" Amy said and turned to look at Aubrey and Chloe. "No wonder they suggested softball. They're ringers."

"Um, didn't you do the same thing?" Beca asked. "You have me, Lily, Ashley, and Emily who've all played at both the High School and college level."

"That's different," Amy said and picked up her clipboard. She pulled off a page and handed it to Beca.

"What's this?"

"That's our roster," Amy said. "Take it over to blondie and get theirs."

"Okay," Beca said and made her way to the other dugout.

Aubrey and Chloe had their backs to Beca when she walked up.

"Brey, I'm telling you that is Beca Mitchell," Chloe said. "I'd recognize her anywhere."

Beca smiled as she stood behind Aubrey and Chloe.

"How can you be so sure?" Aubrey said. "It's been seven years."

"You know I had a major crush on her," Chloe said. "I'd recognize her anywhere. Except I think she's even hotter now."

"Keep it in your pants, Chloe," Aubrey said. "We can still win this. We have us, Jessica, and Tom. We were all State All-Stars."

"But, Beca was a National All-Star," Chloe said. "For four years straight. She was so good. And I so wanted to ask her out."

"So, why didn't you?" Beca asked.

Aubrey and Chloe both whipped around to see Beca standing there, smiling at them. "I would have said yes," she added and winked at Chloe.

"Be-Beca Mitchell?" Chloe stammered. "What are you doing here?"

"Same as you, Beale," Beca said. "Playing softball. I have our roster here. And I need yours."

"I'll get it," Aubrey said and hurried away.

"So, you had a crush on me," Beca said. "I wish I'd known because I had a major crush on you, too."

"You did?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, I did," Beca said. "Maybe still do."

"Here you go," Aubrey said, handing the roster to Beca.

"Thanks," Beca said. "See you on the field." Beca started to walk away but stopped and turned to face Chloe. "Maybe you should ask me out after the game. I'll probably say yes."

Beca winked at Chloe again and turned and walked away. All Chloe could do was watch her.

"Chloe, come on," Aubrey said. "Get your head in the game. She's trying to fluster you."

"It's working," Chloe mumbled.

~ SOFTBALL ~

The game was in its third inning and the score was tied 1-1. Beca was pitching and Aubrey was in the batter's box looking at a 3-2 count. There was a runner on second and one out.

Beca pitched the ball and Aubrey swung. The ball was a line drive straight at Beca. Beca threw her left hand up and caught the ball barehanded. She turned and tossed the ball to Ashley at second base easily getting the third out as the runner was already halfway to third when Beca caught the ball.

The inning was over and Amy and Stacie ran to Beca to make sure she was okay.

"I'm fine," Beca said. "My hand stings a bit, but I'm fine. Don't worry."

The inning was moving along slowly. Beca's hand started to hurt and was throbbing, but she kept it hidden from the others. It was beginning to swell and she's afraid it may be broken. She looked down at her hand and shook her head.

"DJ Mitch, you're on deck," Stacie called out.

Beca looked up and grabbed a bat in her right hand. She made her way to the deck circle and tried to take a few swings. Her hand was definitely injured and she could not continue.

Beca stepped out of the circle and called out, "Amy, Stacie." They both looked over to her and she waved them over.

Stacie and Amy hurried over. "What's up, shortstuff?" Amy asked.

"I, uh, think my hand's broken," Beca said, holding her left arm up with her right hand.

"Jesus, Beca," Stacie said, looking at her hand. She gently held Beca's wrist as she examined her hand. "We need to get you to the hospital."

"Ump, we need a time out," Amy shouted to the umpire.

"You got two minutes," the umpire shouted back and called time on the field.

Chloe and Jessica ran over to Aubrey on the pitcher's mound.

"What's going on?" Chloe asked.

"I don't know," Aubrey said. "But it looks like it has something to do with Beca."

Chloe looked over and saw Stacie examining Beca's hand. "Oh, my gosh. Do you think her hand is broken?"

"I, uh, I don't know," Aubrey said. "She did catch my hit barehanded. It was a line drive so it had to hurt."

"But, she threw Lisa out at second," Jessica said.

"Probably didn't feel anything because of the adrenalin," Chloe said.

"Let's go, ladies," the umpire called out.

"We can't," Stacie said and the umpire walked over to see what was going on.

"Oh, wow," the umpire said. "You need to get her to the hospital."

"We know," Beca said through gritted teeth. "We don't have anyone to substitute in for me."

"Then you'll have to forfeit," the umpire said.

"No," Amy whined.

"Amy, Beca's got a broken hand," Stacie said. "There's no way she can continue. We have to forfeit. Come on, Beca, I'll drive you to the hospital."

"Fine," Amy said. "I'll inform Aubrey."

Stacie gathered up her and Beca's stuff while Amy waved her team out of the dugout and made their way to Aubrey and Chloe on the pitcher's mound. The rest of Aubrey's team ran in to stand behind their bosses, unsure of what was happening.

"Um, we have to forfeit," Amy said as she stood in front of Aubrey and Chloe. "It appears that Beca broke her hand."

Stacie was leading Beca toward the parking lot.

"Oh," Chloe said and looked over to see Beca walking with Stacie.

Chloe chewed her bottom lip and made a decision. She pushed away from Aubrey and went running over to Beca and Stacie.

"Beca, wait," Chloe called out.

Beca and Stacie stopped and turned around.

"I'll meet you at the car," Stacie said. "Don't take too long."

"I won't," Beca said as Stacie walked away. She turned to face Chloe, holding her hand to her chest. "What's up, Chloe?"

"The game is over," Chloe said.

"I'm aware," Beca said, holding her hand up a bit. "Are you here to gloat because we had to forfeit?"

"No, I'm here to ask you out because the game is over," Chloe said, smiling. "You said I should."

Beca smiled. "I also said I'd probably say yes."

"Well? Are you?" Chloe asked, stepping closer to Beca. "Saying yes?"

Beca looked back to see both teams watching them. She turned back to Chloe. "Yes, I'm saying yes."

Chloe squealed and grabbed Beca to her. "Ow, ow, ow!"

"Oh, sorry," Chloe said, quickly releasing Beca.

"It's okay," Beca said, grimacing slightly. "We can talk later because my hand hurts like a bitch and I need to get to the hospital."

"Can I go to the hospital with you?" Chloe asked.

"I'd like that," Beca said. "We can talk about what you're planning for our date."

"Okay," Chloe said. "I'm just going to grab my stuff and be right back."

Chloe kissed Beca on the cheek and rushed back toward the ballfield. Beca shook her head and walked toward Stacie's car. She got in and Stacie helped buckle her seat belt.

"What was that all about?" Stacie asked.

"Chloe wants to ride with us to the hospital," Beca said, blushing and trying to hide her smile.

"You lady-killer," Stacie said and laughed when Beca’s blush deepened.

Chloe ran past the teams and into the dugout. She grabbed her stuff and yelled over her shoulder as she ran past Aubrey, "I'm going to the hospital with Beca."

"Go get your girl, Chloe," Jessica yelled and the others cheered.

Chloe was smiling when she got to Stacie's car. She threw her stuff in the back and jumped in. Stacie drove off.

~ SOFTBALL ~

Two years later, the team from Bellas was playing the team from Fat Amy's in their second annual charity softball game. They sold tickets to the game at twenty dollars each. Each ticketholder got to see the game, and food and drinks were provided. One-hundred percent of the profits went to a local charity.

The first year was a little disappointing, but this year they did rather well. Beca was talking to Aubrey and Stacie before the game started.

"You ready for this?" Stacie asked.

"I'm nervous, but, yeah, I'm ready," Beca said with a smile.

"Don't worry, Beca," Aubrey said. "She'll say yes."

Beca smiled when she saw Chloe running toward her. She braced herself for the inevitable crash of Chloe's body into hers.

"Oomph!" Beca said as she caught Chloe.

Chloe laughed and kissed Beca. "Hey, babe."

"Hey, gorgeous," Beca said and kissed Chloe. "Hey, can I talk to you before the game starts."

"Sure," Chloe said. She turned to Stacie and Aubrey. "Excuse us, we'll be right back."

Beca took Chloe's hand and walked to the Bellas' dugout. Beca stopped and turned to face Chloe.

"It was two years ago, almost to the day, that I saw you again after seven years," Beca said. "You were standing right here, talking to Aubrey."

"Becs, what are you doing?" Chloe asked, totally confused.

"I realized the minute I saw you standing there, that I had fallen in love with you back when we were seventeen and played softball against each other. When I overheard you tell Aubrey that you wish you had asked me out back then, my heart skipped a beat. After the game was over, you did ask me out and also went to the hospital with me. I think it was the moment I saw you sitting by the bed while my hand was being put in a cast that I knew falling in love with you was easy and it was happening all over again."

Beca reached into her pocket and got down on one knee, causing Chloe to let out a small gasp.

"I love you and I thought it only fitting that I asked you this most important question in the same spot where we reconnected. So, Chloe Beale, will you marry me?"

Both teams stood around the couple and waited for Chloe to answer. Chloe looked down at Beca with tears in her eyes. Beca was getting nervous and looked around.

"Um," Beca said, turning to face Chloe. "Chlo?"

"Yes," Chloe said, suddenly realizing she hadn't answered. "Oh, my God, yes!"

Beca let out the breath she had been holding and stood to place the ring on Chloe's finger. She pulled Chloe to her and whispered, "I love you" before capturing her lips in a kiss.

The teams cheered, the crowd cheered, and everyone applauded for the newly engaged couple.

Beca and Chloe were smiling as they accepted everyone's congratulations.

"Come on, girls," Aubrey called out. "We have a game to play!"

Beca kissed Chloe and turned to go to her dugout. Chloe grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Don't be a hero and make any barehanded catches," Chloe said and then leaned in to whisper in Beca's ear. "I have plans for that hand later."

Chloe kissed Beca and turned to walk away, thinking she had flustered Beca. She was surprised when she felt Beca pull her back and hold Chloe close to her.

"Don't worry," Beca said with a smirk. "I plan on hitting a home run later so don't tire yourself out."

Beca winked at Chloe and Chloe giggled. Chloe turned to walk back to the dugout. Beca laughed when she saw Chloe put a little more wiggle in her hips as she walked away.

"I love you, Chloe Beale," Beca yelled after Chloe.

"I love you, too, Beca Mitchell," Chloe yelled from the dugout.

[bechloe-are-acadorable]

Beca walked into her apartment smiling like she had for the past couple of weeks. It was really starting to freak Fat Amy out “Seriously Beca what is wrong with you?” She asked sitting up, Beca frowned at Amy “What are you talking about?” Fat Amy rolled her eyes “You seem so happy all the time, you’re even smiling, are you feeling okay?” Beca scowled at this “See that’s my scrappy little friend I’ve grown to love” she added.

“Sorry I forgot happiness was a crime” Beca scowled, she couldn’t however keep the smile off her face for long. Fat Amy looked at her curiously. “Shit I get it now!” She yelped causing Beca to wince at the volume “Do you love them?” Fat Amy asked curiously.

Beca immediately flushed red at the question “Amy for the last time Chloe and I aren’t together!” She sighed out as Fat Amy’s grin widened. “I never mentioned their name ya know” Beca cursed internally.

Maybe she’d been crushing on Chloe for a long time. And maybe she was so happy to be home lately because it meant spending time with her favourite person. And maybe just maybe the fact that Chloe and Beca had recently begun spooning in bed due to the cold weather, further contributed to Becas upbeat mood.

“I... I don’t know what you’re insinuating but stop it” Beca spluttered as Amy’s shit eating grin remained. “Beca loves Chloe! Beca loves Chloe! Chloe and Beca sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” The door began to open and Beca kicked Amy in the shin, quickly silencing her.

Chloe’s smile was the first thing Beca saw and she melted slightly ‘I’m going to tell her’ Fat Amy mouthed and Beca went into to full blown panic mode. Her eyes flew wide open and she stopped breathing.

Chloe glanced over to her friends “Becs are you okay?” She asked the younger girl. “Me? I’m fine” Beca squeaked out sounding similar to Ross from friends. Chloe frowned before taking her coat off, Beca took this chance to glare at Amy and mouth ‘don’t you dare’ Chloe turned and Beca smiled widely at her.

“Okay, now I know something’s up, why are you doing that?” Chloe questioned, her eyes flicking from Beca to Fat Amy and back again. “Doing what?” Beca said entirely too defensively “Smiling like that” Beca relaxed her face. “What I’m not allowed to smile now?” She laughed awkwardly “Not like that no, it’s creepy” Fat Amy couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips.

Chloe turned and focussed on Amy “What were you two up to before I came in?” She asked the Australian as panic set in her eyes “Ummm... uhhhhhhhhhh” Beca quickly jumped in “Fat Amy and Bumper broke up!” Beca yelled out the first thing that came into her head.

Chloe’s mouth dropped open, Beca mouthed a ‘sorry’ over Chloe’s shoulder as Chloe leant down to hug Amy. “Amy I’m so sorry, are you okay?” ‘You owe me one’ Amy mouthed over Chloe’s shoulder, whilst Chloe was still hugging her and Beca nodded a thank you to her.

“Me? I’m good, you should see Bumper though, like a koala that’s had its nards bitten off” Chloe pulled back and shared a confused look with Beca. “Okaaaaaay... Well then how about a girls night? We can go out and drink until we black out!” Chloe exclaimed enthusiastically.

Beca groaned “Fuck yeah! I haven’t been out in sooooo long!” Fat Amy shouted. “You literally went out three night ago” Beca reminded her “Yeah, practically a lifetime ago” Fat Amy said matter of factly. “Oooh! I’ll put it in the Bellas chat and see if anyone else wants to come!” Chloe quickly sent a message into the chat before going to have a shower.

“That was close” Beca breathed out “Why didn’t you just tell her?” Beca laughed at the mere suggestion “You know why Amy, a girl like her would never go out with someone like me” Amy frowned at this, she was 110% sure that the ginger had a crush on Beca. “I think she would, I mean she flirts with you enough” she shrugged back.

Beca sighed, this was true but Chloe was just a flirt. She flirted with every single Bella, it wasn’t like Beca was given any special treatment. “Beca sweetie?” Chloe called from inside the bathroom, Becas cheeks grew rosy at the pet name Chloe had started a couple of weeks ago.

“Yeah?” She called back “Can you go to the shop and get us some alcohol pretty please” Beca groaned loudly “Why me?” “Because I take forever to get ready and you don’t take long to get ready because you’re so naturally pretty” Beca felt her blush deepen “Fine but you know you look gorgeous 24/7” Beca called back, throwing her jacket on.

Fat Amy made whipping noises and Beca rolled her eyes “Do you want me to get you anything or not?” Fat Amy nodded “Bottle of wine and a bottle of vodka” Beca nodded back, not bothering to ask Chloe what she wanted, she already knew.

Beca checked the group chat as she walked to the shop. So far Emily said she was in as were Flo and Aubrey. Beca picked up multiple bottles of wine along with vodka and coke and began to walk back to the apartment, thankful for living close to it. She set the alcohol down before jumping in the shower and getting ready herself.

Beca lay on her and Chloe’s shared bed as the other two girls finished getting ready, it turns out most of the Bellas could make it. Beca got up as she heard the first person knocking on the door and let in an excited looking Emily who immediately hugged her “Hey Em” Beca said wriggling out of her grasp.

“The others are finishing getting ready, want a drink?” She led her to get a drink and soon after Amy joined them, half a bottle of wine in her hand “Started early I see” Beca noted “Hey legacy” Fat Amy said chugging the wine “When are the adults joining?”

Half an hour later and the Bellas were in the crammed apartment. Most had brought a drink with them and they were all drinking quickly, much like they had done during college. “Let’s play a game!” Fat Amy announced “Oooh yay! I love games!” Emily said enthusiastically as Amy rolled her eyes “I’m not talking about monopoly legacy, how about...” she seemed to ponder it for a second “Mr and Mrs?”

There were a couple of murmurs and nods of agreement “Cool so Chloe and Beca let’s go” Beca glared at Amy as she fetched the two whiteboards and pens off the fridge. “So every time you get it right we all have to drink, every time you get it wrong you two drink got it?” Chloe nodded enthusiastically.

“First question, what is Chloe’s worst habit?” Beca thought for a second before scrawling down an answer as Chloe did the same. Beca showed her answer ‘She hogs the covers at night’ Chloe smiled as she turned her board around ‘Stealing the quilt’ it read. The two girls high fived as everyone else drank.

The next round - Becas pet peeve revealed matching answers also ‘People getting in her personal space’. “She doesn’t seem to mind it when it’s Chloe though” Cynthia Rose mumbled as Chloe rested her head on Becas shoulder and she went bright red.

“Chloe’s best feature” Beca thought about this, Chloe had a million things about her that could be classed as her best feature. “Hurry up Beca!” One of the girls called, pulling her out of her trance as she shot them the finger. She quickly wrote down her answer.

“Okay Chloe what did you put?” Chloe showed her board ‘My eyes?’ They all looked at Beca expectantly. She gulped and turned her board around to show the one word she’d written ‘Everything.’ Becas eyes stayed glued to the floor, “Awwww” she heard Chloe sigh as she slipped her hand into Becas.

“That’s so gay!” Cynthia Rose yelled as the rest of the girls laughed. “Don’t be mean! She’s cute” Chloe defended Beca, kissing her quickly on the cheek, only contributing to Becas blush. “Shots?” Fat Amy suggested to a roar of approval from the other girls.

Fat Amy lead the Bellas to the kitchen area to line up shots, Beca remained where she was still extremely embarrassed. Why had she written that? Idiot. “Hey?” Beca looked up at Chloe’s soft tone “I think everything about you is pretty perfect too” a small smile appeared on Becas lips. “Now come on let’s get drunk!”

Shortly after the girls arrived at a club and some of the girls -Flo, Jessica and Ashley- were already pretty drunk but Emily was by far the least sober. She had only just turned 21 and the excitement of drinking and clubbing was almost too much for her.

Beca strode up to the much taller girl, a glass of water in her hand “Hey Em, drink this” Emily smiled widely and began to drink the drink, thinking it was alcohol. “This tastes like water” she commented after downing half the drink.

Beca laughed “It is, you need to slow down okay?” Emily pulled her into a hug and Beca patted her back clumsily “You’re Aca-awesome Beca! Thanks for always looking after me!” Beca shrugged, she normally wasn’t one to look after people but Emily was like a little kid she and Chloe had somehow adopted. She smiled at the thought of one day having real kids with Chloe before shaking the thoughts free from her head.

She smiled at Emily before turning and looking for Chloe, she wasn’t hard to spot with the gorgeous signature hair colour. Beca went to join her but was stopped by Amy “Shawshank, hows it hanging?” Fat Amy had drunk at least twice as much as any other Bella yet was still only tipsy.

“Yeah it’s not horrible actually” she confessed “You spoken to Chloe yet?” She asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively “What? No!” She yelled “Well here’s your chance” Beca glanced round to see Chloe bounding over towards her. Her face immediately split into the smile that only Chloe could coax out of her.

Chloe pulled Beca into a hug before putting her arms around her neck and dancing with her. Becas breath caught in her throat and her heart skipped a beat, Chloe was dancing with her tonight of all nights!

Beca cautiously moved her hands to Chloe’s hips as Chloe leant in and her lips brushed against Becas ear. One of Chloe’s hands snaked up to cup Becas cheek, Becas eyes immediately finding Chloe’s bright blue ones. She inadvertently licked her lips and glanced down at Chloe’s lips before her eyes returned to Chloe’s.

Holy shit was Chloe leaning in? Becas eyes fluttered shut the second Chloe’s soft lips touched her own, she pulled Chloe in closer as the pair shared a slow, soft kiss. Altogether too quickly for Becas liking, Chloe pulled away. Becas eyes opened and she looked up breathlessly at her best friend.

“Thanks there was a creepy dude and I told him I was with you” Chloe mumbled. Beca felt her heart sink but she nodded back, trying not to let her true feelings show before subtly glancing around and searching the crowd for the threat.

Chloe pulled herself slightly out of Becas grip “Anyway Aubrey will be wondering where I am, you coming?” She asked sweetly. “Nah I’m good” Beca managed before Chloe kissed her cheek and walked off in search of Aubrey. Beca stood there on her own, her feelings swirling around inside her before deciding to go get something strong to drink.

She turned around to go to the bar “Hey dyke, go kiss your girlfriend again it was hot!” Some douchebag frat bro leaning down against the bar said as soon as she turned around. Beca didn’t know what came over her but her hand balled into a fist and she let it fly, punching him square in the face.

He recoiled in pain as Beca shook her own hand in pain. “Out!” One of the barstaff yelled before signalling security. Beca raised her hands in surrender and skulked off to the exit.

Crouching down in the alleyway, she let the tears come out. Yes her hand hurt and yes she was annoyed for getting kicked out of the bar, but most of all she was sad about Chloe. Devastated really. For a second there she thought Chloe was kissing her. That she might actually have a chance with her. She was so fucking stupid!

She wasn’t sure how long she was there before she heard Chloe’s bubbly laughter and Aubrey’s sharper one. She sniffed and dried her eyes, quickly standing up “Hey Becs!” Chloe took one look at Beca and knew something was wrong. “Bree, I’ll be in in a minute” Aubrey shrugged and left the pair alone.

“What are you doing outside alone?” She questioned, walking closer to her best friend. Beca shrugged “I may or may not have got chucked out” Chloe’s eyes flew open in shock “How did you manage that?” Beca laughed humourlessly “I punched a guy” Chloe’s mouth dropped open “Again? Beca what have I told you about punching guys?” Beca laughed at this “He was a dick” she shrugged again.

“Are you okay?” Beca nodded “My hand hurts a bit but I’m fine” Chloe quickly picked up Becas hand. “Shit Beca that’s bruising and swelling already, it might be broken” Beca shrugged once again. “I should get you home” she murmured “No don’t ruin your night out for me” Beca protested.

“I was going to go home anyway, Em needs to be taken home and I thought she could crash at ours” Beca nodded “Okay then” Chloe smiled widely and kissed Becas cheek. “I’ll go grab her, be two minutes, you stay here” the brunette nodded in agreement and waited for Chloe.

About ten minutes later the door swung open and Chloe staggered out, propping a very drunk Emily up, Beca immediately rushed over to help Chloe keep the younger girl upright. “Beca!” Emily exclaimed loudly “Come on kid let’s get you home” Beca sighed.

The girls managed to get a taxi relatively quickly and bundled inside, Emily propped up in the middle of them. Emily put one arm around each of them “I’m so lucky to have you guys as my aca-moms” Tears slowly trailed down Emily’s cheeks and Beca looked over to Chloe panicking slightly, she really didn’t know how to handle tears.

“Hey Emily we’ll always be here for you, we’re family now” Chloe said sweetly, this made Emily cry even more “You guys are the best” she sniffed slightly before leaning her head on Beca. Becas eyes became wide with panic, seeing this Chloe gently reached over and guided Emily’s head to rest on Chloe’s shoulder instead.

Emily was flat out asleep by the time the taxi stopped at their little flat. The girls just about managed to wake the youngest girl up and half dragged half carried her up the stairs before plonking her on the makeshift bed on the floor. She was out like a light.

The two best friends laughed at Emily’s state before deciding to go to bed. “Beca?” Chloe called as Beca looked up from a drooling Emily. “Yeah?” “Can you help me with my zip?” She asked innocently, Beca nodded and tried to undo her zipper. Her hands shook with nerves and she cursed herself internally.

She eventually got there “God you’d make a shit lesbian! It’d take you about 3 years to undress a woman” Beca bristled at this “I’d make a great lesbian!” She shot back as Chloe arched an eyebrow. “Well you’re a pretty good kisser I suppose so you’d have that going for you” Beca smiled at this.

“Pretty good?” Beca cocked an eyebrow at Chloe, a cocky grin emerging on her face. “Well I didn’t have long enough to properly assess you so I’d have to stick with pretty good” Beca scoffed at this. “That was your fault, you pulled away! And I’ll have you know that I’m a great kisser!” Chloe sucked in a deep breath “Prove it”

Beca didn’t give herself enough time to even think about it, knowing that she’d talk herself out of it if she did. Grabbing her firmly by the waist, Beca pulled her closer and kissed her. Chloe’s hands shot up, one resting on Becas neck and the other tangling in her hair.

The kiss remained at a soft, slow pace for a while, both of the girls enjoying the intimacy of the moment. It was Chloe who grew impatient, wanting more from the kiss, she tentatively brushed her tongue against Becas bottom lip. Beca smiled slightly before parting her lips and sliding her tongue into Chloe’s mouth.

Chloe moaned - yes actually moaned - into Becas mouth, Beca couldn’t help but smirk at this as she kissed Chloe with a renewed passion. She was totally in control of the kiss, in control of Chloe and she loved it.

One of Becas hands moved down to rest on Chloe’s ass and she squeezed it, causing a sharp intake of breath from Chloe. Beca didn’t know where her new confidence had come from all of a sudden, but could tell that Chloe was enjoying it.

Beca walked Chloe backwards until Chloe’s legs hit the mattress of their shared bed. Beca pushed her onto it and sat in the girls lap, straddling her before kissing her deeply.

Emily made a noise from behind the pair causing Beca to break away and glance at the still sleeping girl before she realised what was happening. She grinned down at Chloe and stood up leaving the older girl staring at her from her position sat on their bed.

“Better than pretty good huh?” Beca smirked as Chloe nodded mutely. Beca could see her swallowing before saying anything “Yeah, that was... amazing” The smirk remained on Becas face. “Yeah it was”

Chloe’s eyes raked all over Becas body “I take it back, you’d be a great lesbian” Beca was oddly proud of this statement “I know” Chloe looked up at her with hooded eyes, darker than Beca had ever seen her usually bright blue eyes.

“If you think I’m a good kisser, you should see what else I’m good at” Beca said flirtily “Show me” Chloe whispered before reaching out and pulling Beca back into her lap for another passionate kiss.