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atruththatyoudeny · 3 years

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Happy 28th! A new month - so new fics for you to find and enjoy! I can’t say it enough: all the authors in this fandom are truly amazing! Thank you so much for continuously sharing your hard work with us ♥ Here are the 14 fics I read and enjoyed this month:

A Hungry Heart | jacaranda_bloom | Great British Bake Off AU - famous/not famous - cliches - pining - angst - smut - 27k Harry Styles, florist and Great British Bake Off contestant, loves many things. He loves his flower shop, he loves baking, and there’s also that little crush he has on pop star Louis Tomlinson. But when Louis arrives on set as the surprise guest judge, Harry’s worlds collide. Throw in a cup of cuteness, a teaspoon of teasing, and a pinch of pining, and there’s all the ingredients for an epic love story, or absolute chaos. Or the one where the Bake Off tent has never been so hot, and it’s got nothing to do with what’s in the ovens.

Teenage Rebellion Never Worked Out So Well | panda_bear21 | arranged marriage - friends to lovers - 55k “I’m an adult!” He glanced down at Harry, who seemed anything but at the moment, where he was definitely on the brink of a temper tantrum. “We’re both adults!” Jay glanced to Anne again, before breathing out a heavy sigh. “Yes, but you’re both adults that do not have jobs and who live off of our money… Which means, you have to do what we say… or you’ll have to find a new place to live.” “You wouldn’t do that.” Louis dared, hoping his glare was enough to guilt trip his mother into calling the whole thing off. Or to tell them that it had all just been a huge joke and they weren’t actually being forced into marrying a complete stranger. “Oh, but we would.” Or the super cliché arranged marriage fic where things escalate way too quickly.

Heartbreak Hotel | noellehenry | time travel - 1950s - historical - pining - 29k British popstar Harry Styles is thrown back in time after an unfortunate accident on stage. He wakes up in a small town in the US in the 1950's, where life is slightly different from 2015. With help from Niall and Liam he tries to adjust to his new life; without mobile phones and a world wide web to keep up with the world and where showing interest in nice cute boys with bright blue eyes is a no-no. Time travel and 1950's AU where Liam is an English teacher, Niall owns the Best Song Ever record shop, James runs Corden's Diner, Elvis fan Louis is the cute boy with the blue eyes and Harry..... just tries to survive really.

Playdate | Larry_you_know | getting together - misunderstandings - kid fic - fluff - 7k When Harry’s sister asked him to pick up her son at a kids' birthday party he sure didn’t expect to be stunned by the blue-eyed brother of the birthday twins. Using his nephew to see Louis again, he falls hard and fast. But how does one turn a playdate into a real date?

tread lightly on my ground | fairytalelights | a/b/o - mpreg - touch-starved - miscommunication - friends to lovers - touch deprivation - smut - 21k No, that's the tragic part of this, the part that makes Harry feel like the universe is playing a cruel joke on him. The father of his baby is exactly right, exactly who he always imagined himself having kids with. He just imagined them married, bonded. Happy. He didn't imagine them barely talking, tip-toeing around each other because neither of them is brave enough to talk about what happened between them. He didn't imagine the father of his child not loving him back. or, the one where Harry is having Louis' baby, but Louis doesn't know it's his.

Not Ready for This | berzerkshires | kid fic - single parents - smut - 18k Prompt for HLSummerFest2021: Louis and Harry are both single fathers and their children decide to go out on a date. The dads insist on meeting one another before they agree to let their child go out on this date.

Secret's Safe With Me | alltheselights | boss/employee relationship - secret relationship - toxic relationship (not h/l) - slow burn - smut - 59k But here’s the thing about secrets that people tend to forget—they’re deeply personal things. Tiny pieces of information about someone that they keep locked inside and only let out at certain moments, or to certain people, or not at all. Secrets have value, you see, even if only to the person holding them inside. If those secrets were to be told, if those tiny jagged pieces of someone, the parts they hold most dear, the parts they hide out of shame or fear or regret—if those pieces were exposed to someone, it would have the potential to change everything. When bad turbulence and three glasses of wine have Louis spilling all of his secrets to the man sitting next to him on the plane, it's embarrassing, sure, but it's also easy enough to shrug off and block out of his memory forever. Or at least, it was until Louis went into work on Monday morning and realized that the man from the plane is the new CEO of his company.

Marks On My Baby | thinlines | a/b/o - college/university - friends to lovers - hurt/comfort - angst - fluff - smut - 32k “What’s that?” Harry hadn’t meant for his voice to sound so sharp and even he winced at his own outburst. It was more of a hiss than an actual question, but for now, he was too surprised to care. “What’s what?” The omega asked, eyebrows raised and lips pinched. Harry knew he was probably mad at him for interrupting his rant, but the alpha was too on edge to bother pleasing the boy. “On your neck… Your bondmark spot…” His voice had grown low and deep, almost a growl. Who knew a single love bite on his omega friend's neck would trigger Harry this much? Certainly not the alpha himself.

Rogue | Laventriloque | a/b/o - werewolves - minor character death - hurt/comfort - past abuse - past rape/non-con - soulmates - smut - 95k “No, Liam! How many times do I have to… before you finally… NO WAY … a rogue in our pack?… cannot trust him … don’t care to know him … have enough members to worry about.” He hears more indistinct shouts before he hears pretty clearly: “His own pack didn’t want him!” Sitting here, his precious bag between his feet and everyone in the room looking at him, some with pity, some with disdain, some with curiosity, Louis feels like someone squeezed his heart in their hands and isn’t letting it go. He wills his head to stay up high and his posture to stay confident. He will not flee the room. He will not let that stupid lump in his throat get the better of him. He will stay here until Liam returns. He will take the rejection in stride and move on. Like he’s been doing all his life." -- Louis is a rogue Omega who's suffered through rejection and abuse for the biggest part of his life. He stumbles onto the Styles pack, quite possibly the kindest one he's ever met.

indian summer | docklands | strangers to lovers - hurt/comfort - banter - smut - 30k Harry runs a smoothie shop, which also happens to be an ever-moving caravan. He spends one week in each location and drives straight to the next, always eager for adventure. It isn't until his van breaks down and he needs to call for a mechanic that he starts to ponder his life choices. Louis, the said mechanic, is an anchor in Harry's wild sea, but his hard metal might be too much for Harry's unpredictable antics.

A Silver Lining In A Storm (You Were Lightning, I Was Born) | FallingLikeThis | arranged marriage - royalty - a/b/o - mpreg - minor character death - murder - non-graphic violence - angst - hurt/comfort - 7k Omega Prince Harry had always known that he was going to have an arranged marriage. But after the death of his first fiancé, a man who turned out far worse than Harry thought possible, his subsequent marriage to the man's brother leaves Harry finding it difficult to trust that everything will work out. Especially considering the only responsibility he’s aware of is to give his husband, the future king, an heir.

A Twist of Fate | myfearlesslou | a/b/o - strangers to lovers - soulmates - angst - 35k Since the moment Harry presented as an omega, all he's ever wanted was to have a baby. Fate had another idea in mind for him. Giving up on trying to conceive, he decides to adopt a new born baby boy. After months of loving and caring for the boy, a strange man comes into his life, taking him by surprise. Not wanting to lose the child he's loved from the moment he laid eyes on him, Harry does whatever he can to keep the boy safe and in his arms. Even if that means following the handsome stranger to a part of the woods he's never seen before.

Trust Me Tonight | 28sunflowers | historical - royalty - regency - arranged marriage - first time - mpreg - pwp - 10k After Harry’s eighteenth birthday, his father calls him into a meeting to say that he is to be married to Prince Louis of France in just over a week. Harry is excited, of course. The arrangement is better than any he could’ve hoped for, with such a young, handsome and kind husband. There is just one issue: Harry doesn’t know what happens on his nuptials, or how to get pregnant to give Louis the heir that he needs.

i got a heart (but i don't got a soul) | tempolarriefics | mythical beings Á creatures - enemies to lovers - childhood friends - famous/not famous - soulmates - angel/demon relationship - demon/human relationship - 19k “We’re soulmates.” Louis’ eyes flick from the tattoo back to Harry’s face, where his eyes are shining with excitement. Louis wonders if he is supposed to feel excited, too. He’s supposed to feel something, surely, besides his usual bitterness for Harry. He thinks back to how Lottie had described meeting Sam, how she had known in her heart that he was meant for her even before he said his phrase. He can’t help but wonder if he would be feeling differently if he hadn’t gone and sold his soul. Or, the one where louis sells his soul before meeting his soulmate, harry is a popstar with a heart of gold, niall is inadvertently responsible for harry's boners, liam is a meddling angel, and zayn is a demon who made a mistake

#28th appreciation #fic rec #my fic rec #my reads #monthly fic rec #monthly reads #larry fics #completed fics

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the-villian-i-seem-to-be · 4 years

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[Flower .3]

[2]

"Let's see... These should do nicely!" A young woman with red headed hair claps joyfully. The woman had dark red locks that curled at the tips of her hair. Her blue eyes showing excitement.

The female next to her nodded along with her friends antics. "You always have a knack for picking pretty flowers, Ms. Addington." "(Y/N)! I may about to be a married woman but I'm still your friend."

(Y/N) chuckles at the pouting girl. "I know, I know. But I still can't believe your getting married already. It seems like only yesterday you were a single woman with no thoughts on being hitched. Now look at yourself Rosette, your about to be wed and ready for a new life ahead."

The red headed woman could feel big fat tears falling down her cheeks. "(Y/N)!!!" Rosette wails loudly like a toddler. Running over and glomping the flower shop owner in a hug. With her tears staining her friends shirt in the process.

(Y/N)'s taken aback by the ssudden contact, regaining her composure she heaves out a sigh and pats the woman's back in comfort. "There, there. Dry your tears, it's alright." "No it's not. I used to be a simple middle class woman, now I'm going to marry a noble?! It's all so sudden, what if-"

(Y/N) pulls the woman away from the hug and holds her up right. "Now see here Rosette, don't second guess yourself. You met the man your betrothed too before. You keep chatting on and on about how lovely and kind he is. Have faith in yourself, hun."

"I do, but what if he never intended to marry me? My father only owns a few shops, my family has nothing to our names." (Y/N)'s eyes lower a bit, true her friend didn't have riches or power. But she didn't want her dear friend to despair, so the only thing she could was to feed her friend false hope that everything will be okay.

"Well-" "*ding!*" Once the chime of the bell was heard. Rosette quickly straightnes herself up and makes herself presentable. The shop door closes and a man steps in.

His green eyes immediately flicker to the pair of (e/c) orbs he wanted to see. "Ms. (Y/N), Madame." Albert James Moriarty tips his hat at the females then taking it off completely. "Hello Lord Moriarty." (Y/N) crusties in a polite greeting. Rosette follows her friends lead, stuttering a small hello.

"Anything I can help you with?" "Not at this particular moment, I'm just here to look around if that's alright." "It's not a problem, please go ahead." The noble nods, strolling around her little shop. (Y/N) continues her discussion with Rosette.

"Back to what I was saying, all I can do is give you this. You care for him, correct?" Rosette nods her head hurriedly, her curls bouncing up and down as her face turns warm. "Then, that's a start." Rosette stares at (Y/N) with uneasiness.

"But-" "You don't have to believe my words." The (h/c) haired female stated simply. "Yet you should at least try and let yourself decide on how you feel." (Y/N) said with evident wisdom to her words.

"I-I see.."

Rosette gratefully hugs (Y/N) once more. "Oh how I wish you would come to my wedding, truly I do!" Rosette mood seems to damper as she goes on. "But I don't think Earl Addington or my father would ever agree to my request.." (Y/N) could only give her a friend a sad smile.

"Don't worry about it, just visit my house after your honeymoon is over. We can talk over tea on how your wedding and honeymoon night went." The female responded with a rather teasing grin. Rosette turns flustered and her arms started to fly about like a bird. Chirping out barely eligible words.

(Y/N) happily laughs at Rosette's current state. Her loud melodious giggles bringing a smile to Albert's face. Rosette finally controlled herself and bids (Y/N) farewell. The (h/l) haired female almost had forgotten Lord Moriarty was in her shop if it weren't for the feeling of his eyes gaze at her back. 'How strange...'

"Is everything alright, Lord Moriarty?"

(Y/N) called out to him. Albert's eyes leave the sight of her and towards a pot of daisies. Turning to face the shop keeper with a confused smile. "Yes?" "Just checking in, you were as quiet as a mouse. I almost thought you left, but I guess I was mistaken."

(Y/N) said awkwardly, decideding to leave the conversation at that. But it seems Lord Moriarty didn't want it to end there. "It's quite alright, if I may say. I overheard you and the woman you were with talking about Earl Addington. Do you know of him?"

"I do not, personally. Rather, my friend Rosette does I believe." (Y/N) gave him a short answer, not wanting to talk about her friends personal affairs to Mr. Moriarty. Even if he was good natured fellow for a noble. Much better than the ones she's met before.

Albert drops the subject without any words needed to be spoken after. But he still wanted to converse with young woman. His ruby eyes catch sight of a humble little flower pot on her counter. Albert walks forward to get a closer look at it. "It's empty?"

(Y/N) throws a pitting glance at the pot. "I haven't found the right flowers to plant into it." Lord Moriarty gaze didn't waver as he studied it. Two small letters were carved into it, "R. A?" (Y/N) could feel a cold needle strike her heart.

Gulping a bit of saliva down her dry throat. (Y/N) gives a small explanation. "Robin Anisley, he was the man that gifted it to me." "The two of you must of been close then." The once cheerful gleam Albert had known her for, was gone in a matter of seconds. Almost like he blew out a candlelight.

"We were, he was quite a entertaining fellow to be around. But we aren't close no longer." (Y/N) pauses as her (s/c) fingers trace the top of the flower pot. "He's dead." She responded bluntly. Before Albert could apologize for his unchecked words. (Y/N) placed a smilling mask on her lips.

(Y/N) turns her attention to the clock on the wall. "It's lunch time already!? I've completely forgotten!" She yelled with surprise, quickly turning to Albert she asks him if he would like to accompany her to lunch.

"There's a small restaurant near here, they have the best bread for sandwiches and soup. Would you like to join me?" If Albert James Moriarty was like any old stuck up noble, he would of declined her offer with a disgusted glare.

Instead, he gave her a closed eye smile and a small nod. "That would be lovely." The spark in (Y/N)'s eyes ingintes as she pulls off her apron and gloves. Patting her skirt down for any crumples, she moves away from the counter and walks ahead of Albert to the door.

The brunette didn't even notice how she was already at the door. Holding it open for him with a mock bow. Albert stared at her with uneasy eyes as he steps out of her shop. (Y/N) closed the door and takes out a key and locks the door. Putting her keys in her skirt pocket.

The two head off to the little restaurant that (Y/N) had recommended. They walk inside and the customers pay no mind to then at all. Clearly focused on their lunch or colleague they came with. (Y/N) and Albert choose a both and sit down. A younger woman with dark as night hair goes to their both to ask for their order.

"I'll have a (sandwich of choice) and a glass of water." The waitress nods and asks Albert for his orders. "I'll have what she's having." "Okay then, your order will be out in a few minutes." The waitress leaves seconds after.

(Y/N) smiles at Albert, who's back straightened up once she did. Lord Moriarty starts to converse with the flower shop owner. Asking her questions about her likes and interest. The female asked him some of her own, though he only answered a few. But the two did enjoy talking with one another.

When their food arrived they ate in silence. Listening to the loud chatter of the other patrons. "Can you believe this, just imagine being that crazy to steal from a noble. And in public no less?!"

"Your right, you must have guts if you did something like that!" "Whoever did this is either stupid or asking for a death wish!" Albert stares at the men with confusion before looking back to his food. A satisfied smile was on (Y/N)'s face as she chugged down her glass of water. Already finished with her meal.

The waitress comes over and asks if they're are ready to pay. Albert was about to say yes and pull out his wallet. But (Y/N) pulls out some money and pays for the food before he could. "Ms. (Y/N), you didn't have to pay for me. I could of paid for myself-!"

"It's quite alright."

"What? At least let me pay you back."

"It's alright, my lunch break is almost over." "Then at least let me escort you back to your shop." Albert starts to get out of his seat, but a lending hand was in front of his face. He looks up to see (Y/N) stretching a hand out towards him to take. He wanted to take her hand, honest to god did he want to.

But he could feel eyes burn the back of his skull. Judging him, staring at him with curiousity, waiting for his move. Lord Moriarty clenched his fists tightly, he gets up without her help. (Y/N) pays no mind to it, she pulls her hand back.

The flower shop owner leads the way back as Albert slowly trailed after her. (Y/N) closes her eyes and hums a little tune. A nostalgic smile crossed her lips, with a day dreaming look on her face. Albert just watches her like a love stricken fool. "That's a very lovely song Ms. (Y/N)."

(Y/N) stops singing, "really? Why thank you, it's a song I remember way back when. Can't remember who sung it though." "I see. What a pity.." "Not really," (Y/N) shrugged her shoulders as she stops walking.

Lord Moriarty stood in place, confusion on his face. Turning herself around (Y/N) stares at Albert with a calm gaze. "It's merely a melody that will never will be known and will stay with me until the end of my days."

~°~

Lord Moriarty opens his house door and takes off his coat and hat. His younger brother Louis greets him once he enters. "Brother Albert, welcome back." Albert placed his hat the rack by there doorway. His eyes were clouded while his thoughts run ramped. Remembering his brothers greeting, he replies back.

"Ah, Hello Louis. Is William back yet from the college?"

Louis noticed right off the bat that his older brothers mind was elsewhere. "Is something wrong?" Louis questioned Albert, stopping his task of watering the plants immediately.

"No, I'm alright Louis. Just a little side tracked from today's earlier events." "Did something happen?" "Yes, I had a pleasant lunch with the woman who runs the flower shop down the way."

"Ms. (Y/N)?"

"Yes, she's doing quite well. She told me to say to hello to you and William. I can see why you and William are fond of her so. No wonder you visit her often when you go out for groceries." Albert chuckles lightly as Louis almost lost his footing at the mention of her name.

(Oof, I think the last installment will be part four. It will be a master piece of this so called series I hope. Thank you for reading!)

#yuukoku no moriarty x reader #albert james moriarty x reader #william james moriarty x reader #louis james moriarty x reader #x fem reader #(y/n)

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artzychic27 · 4 years

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Painbow

The artwork was made by @lizzey-13, who asked if I could write this. Thanks again for asking me to write this! :)

—

“And so, the British...”

Nathaniel was trying not to fall asleep from the boring lecture. He usually stays up by sketching, but he’s already gone through three sketchbooks in just one month, now there was nothing keeping him from dozing off in the middle of class. He did have another sketchbook with him, but that was for the Ladybug comic.

He looked up at the clock sitting above the door... Just seven minutes left, he could do this. Why couldn’t his bangs have been even? Then he could fall asleep without anyone noticing

“And the war brought...”

Gotta stay up... Five more minutes... Nathaniel turned his head slightly and looked out the window. It had just stopped raining, little droplets were running down the glass window pane, and the sky looked a little grey. The only thing that stood out from the dreariness was the bright rainbow in the sky... It reminded him of Marc. The boy’s name was literally ‘Rainbow’! If you took out the M.

Now that was keeping him awake. How could he sleep when Marc was on his mind? His smile, his gentle voice, the graceful way his pencil moves whenever he was writing. The mere through of the boy brought a faint smile to Nathaniel’s usually stoic face.

RIIIIING!

At the sound of the bell, Nathaniel snapped out of his thoughts. Class was over

“Class dismissed. Have a good day, everyone.”

Nathaniel gathered his belongings and made his way down the stairs where Alix was waiting for him, “You goin’ to art club?” She asked, but the smirk on her face meant she already knew the answer

“Yeah I’m going.”

Once they left the classroom, Alix, with a smirk still on her face, turned around and mimicked kissing someone. Her hands went up and down her back, “Oh, Marc. I love you so much.” She said in a low voice, mimicking Nathaniel “I love you so much, babe.”

Nathaniel rolled his eyes at his shorter friend’s antics and playfully slapped her arms, making her stop

“Okay! Okay! I’ll stop!” She said through her giggles, then she turned around and saw the familiar bright red hoodie coming down the hallway. “Go get him, Romeo.” She sends the redhead a wink before running off to the art classroom

Nathaniel fixed up his hair, straightened his blazer, and approached the writer. The closer he got, the more he noticed something off about Marc. His hair was a little more messier than usual, and he had a tired look in his eyes

“Marc?” The taller boy flinched, Nathaniel became worried, “Rainbow, are you okay?” Marc seemed less tense after hearing his nickname

“Y-yeah. I’m fine.” His eyes shifted as if he were looking for someone, “Let’s just go-”

“Marc, please tell me what’s wrong.” He took Marc’s hand in his, “You flinched when I said your name. What happened?”

“... Just the usual stuff.” He admitted, “They threw notes at me,” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out said notes, “telling me to die, calling me some stuff, something about conversion therapy, I look like a girl...”, He sounded so bored, like he’d done this a hundred times, “They’re not even being original anymore.” He crumpled up the notes and put them in a nearby trash can “Come on, let’s get to art club.”

Nathaniel’s mouth hung open slightly. He stayed like that for a moment until he finally found his words “Rainbow, how can you just let this go?”, he asked, “This isn’t right.”

“Nath, I’m used to it.” He admitted, “I-It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“But-”

“Please? For me?”

Nathaniel wanted to argue, but that smile made him give in, “Fine.” He grumbled, “But if this gets physical, I am getting involved.” Marc nodded sadly. Nathaniel leaned in and kissed Marc on the cheek, making his lips curl into a smile, “Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

—

The next week at school went pretty smoothly. The new Ladybug comic was published, paperback and online, and everyone really seemed to enjoy it. Nathaniel wanted to be happy right now, but he just couldn’t stop thinking about what happened to Marc. No one should have to endure that kind of treatment, and just be used to it... But, he promised that he wouldn’t do anything unless Marc showed up covered in bruises.

So far it’s been nothing but cruel notes in his locker and unoriginal insults. Marc just let it go and threw the notes away, but Nathaniel was pissed and close to being akumatized many times. Fortunately, Marc always managed to calm him down before any akumas could appear

“Nath!” Alix called out as she ran over to him with the latest issue of the comic in her hand, “I am loving this comic, man!” She wraps an arm around him and winks, “And don’t think I didn’t see those background gay couples.”

Nathaniel rolled his eyes, “Of course you would notice them.”

“Cuz I got gay-dar!” She exclaimed with a laugh, but that look soon faded when she saw the aggravated look in Nathaniel’s eye, “Are you okay? You’re looking a little ticked off.”

Nathaniel let out a sigh, “It’s Marc. Some guys have been messing with him, and he won’t let me do anything.”

Alix frowned, “What have they been doing?”

“What do you think?”

Alix kicked a wall in frustration, “God, that’s still happening?” Nathaniel nodded, “Well, we have to teach those asses a lesson! Make sure it doesn’t happen again!”

He shook his head, “No, I promised Marc that I wouldn’t do anything unless it got physical. So far it’s just been shitty notes and name-calling.”

He started walking to the classroom, Alix followed

“I-I don’t get it.” Nathaniel said, “He doesn’t even care. Or he does, but he doesn’t wanna admit it!”

“Well, why don’t you take it to Damocles?”

“I tried, but he won’t do anything unless I bring him evidence, and Marc keeps throwing the notes away!”, he exasperated, “And, I’m trying, I really am. But I can’t just sit back and watch-” Alix put a finger to his lips, “Alix?”

“Thought I heard something.”

‘Where’s your boyfriend, Anciel?’

‘Looks like he didn’t even want you.’

Nathaniel ran to the source of the cruel voices and found himself standing outside the locker room. He put his ear to the door and listened.

‘Stop it!’

That sounded like Marc

‘What are you gonna do, ya queer?’

Having heard enough, Nathaniel barged into the room and saw the scene before him. Marc was being pinned to the wall by Louis, the school bully. Nothing like Chloe though. She had the common decency to insult people out in the open while he cornered people and threatened them in private. Victor and Clement, his lackeys watched with amused looks as they vandalized Marc’s journal

“HEY!” The bullies were startled by the loud voice, but calmed down when they realized it was only Nathaniel

Louis sneered, “Look, guys. The queer’s boy toy came to save him.” he taunted

Ignoring him, Nathaniel stormed over to Louis and pushed him off of Marc, making him land on the floor. Nathaniel stormed over to Victor and Clement, and snatched Marc’s journal out of their hands. He took Marc’s hand and started pulling him out of the locker room, but he stopped on his tracks when he heard Louis mutter...

“Damn f*gs.”

“... Nath?”

Nathaniel scowled, but did nothing and proceeded to walk Marc out of the locker room while not saying a word. It was quiet up until Alix and Marinette approached them, both looking concerned

“Guys, what happened?!” Marinette asked

Neither of them said a word until...

“Nothing. I-it’s fine.” Marc said

Nathaniel sighed, handed Marc his defaced journal and walked away, leaving Marinette and Alix confused

—

“A boy who only wants to protect the one he loves, yet his lover chooses to suffer in silence.”

Hawkmoth held out his hand and beckoned for a butterfly to land in his palm. Once it perched itself, Hawkmoth covered it with his other hand and the power of the Miraculous filled the butterfly with dark magic, turning it into an Akuma

The Akuma flew out through the window

“Fly away my little Akuma! And evilize him!”

—

Nathaniel stormed down the hallway. He didn’t know where he was going, he just needed to think. He didn’t understand. Why wouldn’t Marc let him help? Why didn’t he care?... Why didn’t he knock out Louis? He knew Marc endured this kind of treatment constantly, but he wanted to help him... Protect him...

He was too wrapped up in his thoughts to hear the flapping of an Akuma’s wings. And he definitely didn’t notice the Akuma flying into his bisexual flag bracelet. The purple Akuma symbol appeared over his face. Hawkmoth spoke,

“Painbow, I am Hawkmoth. I understand the feeling of wanting to protect the one you love. Let me give you some assistant. All I ask in return is that you bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous.”

“I’ll protect you, Marc.” His whispered as dark purple magic bubbled up from the bracelet and surrounded him. Students standing in the hallway fled, not wanting to face the wrath of the newest Akuma. Some stayed, too paralyzed to move, which was a horrible mistake. Shooting from the Akuma’s hand was a multicolored energy ball. When hit, they felt something seize them, and they were suddenly puppeted by a strange force. Their irises took of the appearance of the color wheel, and they had wide smiles plastered on their faces

“Find my Rainbow, and Louis. NOW!”

—

Alix looked around the classroom, but Nathaniel was nowhere in sight. ‘He must’ve been really upset.’ She thought, and then turned her attention to Mme. Bustier

“Now, please open your books to-”

A flash of multicolored light beamed through the window, making the students shield their eyes

‘What is that?’

‘What’s going on?’

‘They got me!’

‘Sound the Akuma Alarm!’

‘Where are you my sweet Rainbow?!’

The class looked out the window but kept low so the Akuma wouldn’t see them. They watched in horror as the red-haired villain shot rainbow energy balls at random students. Each time he missed, the energy balls would cause a massive explosion. When he did hit a student, their eyes would become multicolored and they’d have alarmingly wide smiles.

“Rainbow, sweetie?!” He called out, “Come on out! We’re going to find you!”

“Rainbow?” Alix whispered to herself. Only Marc was called ‘Rainbow’. She then came to the conclusion, “That’s Nath!”

Nathaniel, now Painbow’s bangs were swooped to the side and dyed the colors of the rainbow, his eyes were blue with no iris or pupil, and they looked like crystals. He has on a white floor-length sleeveless trench coat with a rainbow sash going across the waist, a magenta tank top with blue pants, a purple belt, and black boots. He also has on white gloves, and a rainbow cuff bracelet on his left wrist

“Marc!~” He sang, “I can’t keep you safe if you’re not by my side!” With no response, he shrugged, “I’ll just destroy the whole school until I find you, or Louis!” With that, he fired another rainbow energy ball that created a hole in the wall

Mme. Bustier turned to the class, “While Nathaniel is distracted, you all need to run out of here.” Her students nodded, “And if you find Marc or Louis, make sure they get out.” She looked out the window and sees Painbow hurling lockers at panicked students who weren’t under his control

“NO ONE LEAVES UNTIL I HAVE MY RAINBOW!”

“Run!” Bustier ordered, and the class did not hesitate to run for the door, but when opened, they backed away when they saw the Akuma. The inhumanly wide smile plastered on his face was not easing their nerves

“I clearly said, no one leaves until I have my Rainbow.”

Alix cautiously approached her Akumatized friend, “Nath, whatever’s wrong, just-”

Before she could say another word, Painbow summoned several rainbow energy balls that he shot at the class. Marinette, Adrien, Alya, Nino, Mylene, and Alix managed to avoid them and run out the room, but the rest were now under his control

“Fine me Marc Anciel and Louis Kress! And if you see Ladybug and Chat Noir, take their Miraculous!”, he ordered, and the smiling multicolored eyed students ran out in search for the two

—

Looking through the window in Mme. Mendeleiev’s classroom, Marc watched in fear as the controlled students caused havoc in the school looking for him, while his akumatized boyfriend shouted his nickname and blasted rainbow energy balls from his hands

He sighed, “This is my fault.” He hid his face in his gloved hands

Aurore frowned and placed a hand on his shoulder, “Marc, don’t say that! You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“B-but he’s mad because I was getting bullied by Louis,” He explained “and I told him not to do anything.”

“It’s Louis’ fault, not yours.” Aurore said, then smirked, “And Nath’s probably only after you so he can kiss that cute face of yours.”, she joked, causing Marc’s lips to curl into a smile “Ladybug and Chat Noir will handle this. Nathaniel will be fine, and you two can talk it out, okay?” At Marc’s nod, she gives him a side hug

“Rainbow...” Painbow’s eerie voice called out

Mme. Mendeleiev signals for the students to get down so Painbow won’t see them. They crouch under the window as Painbow walks by the classroom

Marc let out a small whimper, making Mireille cover his mouth. They hear the Akuma’s footsteps fade away and let out sighs of relief

Mme. Mendeleiev stood, “Okay, he’s gone.”

Right as she said this, the door to the classroom exploded outwards in a cloud of splinters and rainbow dust, causing everyone to duck and cover. Looking up, Marc saw his villain boyfriend. His smile somehow became even more unnerving when his eyes landed on Marc

“Hello, My Rainbow.” He cooed as he approached him. Before he could get any closer, Mme. Mendeleiev stood in front of him, putting on a brave face in front of the Akuma

“You will not lay a finger on one of my students!” She said in a commanding tone

Painbow didn’t look threatened, and instead let out a laugh. Then with a flick of his wrist, an energy balls shot from his hand, hitting Mendeleiev, and putting her under his control. She stepped to the side, no longer blocking him. He looked around the classroom before honing in on Marc, who was backing into a corner with Aurore and Mireille

He gave a chilling smile, “Rainbow, please come here.” Seeing that Aurore and Mireille had no intentions of letting his love go, Painbow summoned two more energy balls that when thrown at the two weather girls, their eyes become multicolored. “Bring me my Rainbow.”, he commanded.

Aurore and Mireille complied as they dragged a struggling Marc over to the Akuma, and into his waiting arms, “I missed you!”

Marc tried to pry the Akuma’s arms off of him, but to no avail, “Nath! Stop this!” Painbow’s smile strained, “I told you, I don’t care about Louis, just-” Painbow put a finger to his lip, silencing him

“Sweetie, I don’t like your tone very much.” Instead of summoning an energy ball, Painbow kissed Marc’s forehead and the green of the writer’s irises faded and became multicolored. And instead of the creepily wide smiles the other students had, he had a look of bliss. He threw his arms around Painbow and kissed his cheeks affectionately

Seeing a crowd forming around them, Painbow summoned multiple energy balls that flew around the room, hitting each student and putting them under his control

—

Once Ladybug and Chat Noir ran out of their hiding spots after transforming, they found themselves in the courtyard being assaulted by their mind controlled school mates. The ones who weren’t under the Akuma’s control managed to evacuate with the heroes’ help. They spared a glance at Painbow, who had Marc settled in his arms before leaping out of the open roof of the school

“That’s gotta be Nathaniel!” Ladybug rounded up ten students with her yoyo before hurling, then locking them in a storage closet

“Can’t we deal with these guys later?!” Chat asked as he whacked two students away, “There’s too many of them!”

“Alright, let’s go!” Ladybug flung another student away before using her yoyo to zip out of the school, Chat followed, vaulting after her using his staff

As they leapt from roof to roof, Ladybug and Chat came across Alix, Nino, Mylene, Alya, and a few other students who have taken cover above ground. “Are you all okay?” Ladybug asked and received nods along with scattered ‘yes’ and ‘we’re okay’.

“Ladybug,” Alix said as she approached the two heroes, “Chat Noir! Nathaniel is looking for Louis Kress. I saw him running from our classmates! They’re probably still looking for him!”

Ladybug nodded before she opened up the phone setting on her yoyo and pulled up a live-stream, showing Nadja, also under Painbow’s control

“Don’t bemused! It’s just the news!” Nadja said in a cheery tone, “Louis Kress, our second in command’s offender, was recently spotted in the Louvre! Painbow’s loyal followers are doing everything in their power to find him keep him from escaping.”

Ladybug smiled then turned to the students, “Stay safe. We’ll handle this.”

“I’LL FIND YOU, KRESS! EVEN IF I HAVE TO TEAR DOWN THIS ENTIRE PLACE TO DO IT!”, Painbow yelled as he lifted a sarcophagus before throwing it away

Wake up!

He’s controlling you!

Your eyes are supposed to be green, stupid!

“Is something wrong, my Rainbow?”

Marc blinked his multicolored eyes as he looked at the Akuma punching a column. He smiled and shook his head, “I’m fine.”

Painbow gave a warm smile as he cupped Marc’s face in his hands, “Are you sure?” Marc nodded, “That’s good. You should be thrilled. Louis and everyone just like him will be out of our lives forever.”

What did he mean by the last part?!

Wake up, Anciel!

Your boyfriend is an Akuma!

He’s gonna kill Louis!

“I can’t wait.”

Painbow leaned in to give him a kiss, but then the glowing purple Akuma symbol appeared over his eyes and he clutched his head in pain.

“What is it?! What’s wrong?!”, Marc asked frantically

Hawkmoth spoke, “Don’t get distracted, Painbow! You had your chance to take the Miraculous, but didn’t seize your moment! Mess this up, or I’ll take away your powers!”

“Alright, just stop it!”, Painbow begged. The searing pain stopped, and he saw Marc looking at him with concern, “I’m fine. Someone is just a little impatient.”

Aurore ran up to the couple, “Painbow, we found him!”, she cheered

Painbow beamed at the news before gathering Marc in his arms, “Finally!”, Aurore lead them into the paintings gallery where they found Louis surrounded by a mob of controlled citizens and being restrained by Kim and Juleka, “Louis, what a pleasure.” He set Marc down and moved toward his victim, looking at him like a jungle cat that had caught its prey

“L-look man! I’ll leave Anciel alone! I swear!”, he pleaded, “I won’t bother you, o-or mess with that goth chick and her girlfriend!”

Painbow’s blue eyes widened at that last sentence, “Excuse me?”, he looked up at Juleka, “Jules, is this true?”

The goth girl nodded, the unnatural smile never leaving her face. Painbow grinded his teeth as he summoned another energy ball, only the colors were darker shades, “I’ve been DYING to use this one!” Louis closed his eye and turned away, knowing very well that this was the end for him. Suddenly, a familiar whizzing sound hit everyone’s ears as Ladybug’s yoyo wrapped around Painbow’s wrist. He lost his focus, and the energy ball bounced around the room before hitting a portrait, burning a hole in the center

Chat winced, “That would’ve been bad.”

“Nathaniel! Do you really want to do this?”, Ladybug asked, trying to reason with him, “What would Marc say?!”

Painbow folded his arms across his chest, “He doesn’t mind.”, he turns to Marc, “Do you, Rainbow?”

Yes! You just tried to murder him!

“Do whatever you think is best.”

“See? He’s fine with it.”

“LUCKY CHARM!”

What dropped in her hands was...

“A roll of tape?”

Using Marc, lead Painbow out of the museum, the others will follow

Have Chat Noir Cataclysm the security system, the bars will drop, trapping Painbow’s followers. He’ll be alone and defenseless

Deflect any of his blasts, then cause a distraction so he’s vulnerable. While vulnerable, wrap the tape around Painbow’s hands, he won’t be able to use his powers

Break his bracelet and free the Akuma

“Chat, go to the security system, and wait for my signal!” With a salute, Chat Noir made his way over to the security system. Using her yoyo, Ladybug wrapped it around Marc’s waist. With a yelp, he was pulled into her arms. “Come and get him, Painbow!”

Terror shone through his voice as he screamed, “SAVE HIM! SAVE MY RAINBOW! We’ll deal with Kress later!”

Ladybug hoisted Marc over her shoulder and ran as Painbow and his followers chased her. She was a few feet away from the gallery entrance when she yelled, “CHAT, NOW!”

“CATACLYSM!”

Chat touched the security system, making it short circuit before turning black and disintegrating into dust. Ladybug and Painbow managed to slide under the metal bars before they hit the floor. The rest were stuck in the gallery with no way out

“GIVE HIM BACK!”, Painbow yelled as he tried to blast the heroes, only to fail as they deflected each attack

“Chat! Cover me!”

“On it, M’Lady!” Chat got in front of Ladybug and blocked Painbow’s attacks by spinning his staff. While Painbow is focused on the leather-clad hero, Ladybug used the opportunity to wrap her yoyo around Painbow’s ankle, and yanked it so he’d trip

Painbow quickly got back up, but before he could attack again, he found his hands bound together by red duct-tape with black spots. He looked up and saw Ladybug reaching for his bracelet. “NO!”, she smashed the bracelet, releasing the Akuma

Catching it with her yoyo, Ladybug said, “No more evildoing for you, little Akuma. Time to de-evilize! Gotcha!” From the yoyo emerged a newly purified white butterfly, “Bye bye little butterfly.” She then tossed the tape roll into the air, “MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!”

Thousands of ladybugs burst from the tape and spread out all over the town, repairing all of the damages. The afflicted citizens returned to their normal selves, confused as to what they’re doing. The magic swept over the students who took shelter on the rooftop, and they were back at Dupont. The Akuma’s dark magic bubbled away, leaving Nathaniel Kurtzberg, confused as to what’s happening

The two heroes fist-bumped, “Pound it!”, while Nathaniel held his head, still very confused

“Nath?”

The redhead looked up as Marc ran over and threw his arms around him, whispering about how he was glad that he was okay, “... Marc, I-I’m so sorry!”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Marc murmured, “it’s okay.”

“No! I should’ve listened to you, but when I saw what Louis did, I-I just-”

Marc cupped Nathaniel’s face in his hands, then kissed his forehead, “You only wanted to protect me, Nath.”

Ladybug smiled, “Marc’s right, Nathaniel. This was Hawkmoth’s doing, not yours.” She wanted to say more, but hers’ and Chat’s Miraculous beeped. They only had three minutes left, “We gotta go now. Bug out!” She and Chat Noir ran out of the museum to find a place to detransform

—

“Well, if it isn’t Painbow.”

Don’t do anything. Don’t pay any attention to him. Nathaniel thought to himself, trying to stay calm, not wanting to become Akumatized again, “Is that supposed to upset me or something? Not the first time I’ve been Akumatized.”

“Well, look at you.” Louis said mockingly, “I guess without your precious Rainbow, you finally grew a spine.”

Don’t do anything. Don’t do anything.

“Screw off, Kress!” A familiar voice shouted. Nathaniel looked at saw Marc, standing behind Louis with his arms crossed, “Need I remind you that you’re part of the reason he got Akumatized?” He walked passed Louis, making sure to bump him with his shoulder, then he took Nathaniel’s hand in his and the two walked to art club

“Yeah, that’s right! Run away, ya pussies!”

“What do you think we’re doing?!”, Marc yelled back

“I’ll be waiting for you outside, Anciel! Your boy toy can’t protect you forever!”, he raised an eyebrow as someone tapped him on the shoulder

Ahem

He turned around, and was met with Alix’s fist nailing him in the face. He fell to the floor with a thud and held his hands over his face in pain as Alix and Marinette stood over him

Marinette glared down at him, “Next time you think about insulting someone for their preferences, remember this.”

“Totally worth the detention I’m getting.” Alix said with a smirk

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #Painbow #akuma nathaniel #Akuma #marcthaniel #marc x nathaniel #rainbow tomato #miraculous sugar #alix sugar #Alix ships it #Nathaniel calls Marc Rainbow #fanfic request #Akuma class

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woah-were-halfway-there · 5 years

Text

Good Life

Just a little something based on the song by OneRepublic that follows the course of Auston’s relationship with you. ♡

Word Count: 8.2k

A/N: The first updated rewrite with Carson 🥺

Series Masterlist

A low groan left Carson's mouth as she tried to move from where she was trapped, ending up letting out a huff of defeat because she just wasn't able to. Her boyfriend's body rippled with laughter from where he laid directly on top of her, finding humour in the way she whined and squirmed beneath him. However, he didn't let her struggle for too long because soon enough, he was mumbling sweet nothings and placing soft kisses along her exposed collarbone.

"Auston, we need to get up," Carson whispered breathlessly as his mouth came in contact with that one spot he knew drove her wild.

"Says who?" He asked while smirking against her skin, waiting for a moment before beginning to suck on the sensitive area.

Carson couldn't help the moan that left her mouth as he did this, but still, she knew she couldn't let him go too far with his antics.

"Says the entire Toronto Maple Leafs franchise."

At that, Auston paused. Staying still for a moment before slowly moving away so that he could get a good look at her, a boyish grin dancing on his lips as he did so.

Despite how hard Carson tried, she couldn't keep her eyes from roaming his naked upper body. Taking in his still wet torso from the shower he just took and how the towel he had loosely wrapped around his hips looked like it could fall right off at any second.

Carson woke up shortly after Auston and snuck into the en-suite to brush her teeth, going unnoticed as he washed up in the steam-filled shower while a Drake song played from the Bluetooth speaker. Part of her wanted to join him, but the other more logical part decided to settle on stripping down so she could wrap herself in a towel before returning to the bedroom and waiting to take her shower once he was done.

Auston was on a bit of a time crunch. He and the rest of the team were to fly out to St. Louis for a game later that night as a kickstart to an away stretch that lasted over a week. It sucked, and Carson dreaded the thought, but there wasn't much she could do. She was way too proud of him ever to let him know just how sad she was at the thought of him leaving.

However, Auston knew.

He knew Carson wasn't thrilled about him being away because he wasn't too keen on leaving her either. He wished she could just join him, but she had a life to live in Toronto whether he was there or not, and he wasn't going to make her sacrifice any of it for him regardless of how badly he wanted to just so the two of them could be close to one another.

Leaving was the most challenging part, but he knew damn well that Carson would always be there whenever he got back. That's what made it a little easier, but seeing her in nothing but a towel on their shared king-sized bed once he emerged from the washroom made the dread of going away for work that much more prominent.

"I don't want to go," he groaned and nuzzled into the crook of Carson's neck after placing a soft peck to her lips.

"Yes, you do," she chuckled and started mindlessly running her hand through his hair. "You have so much fun on the road with your team and just being out there doing what you love."

"Yeah, but I don't like when it means being away from you for a long time."

"It's just a week, Aus," she explained gently before placing a kiss on his temple. "We've been through a lot worse than this. You need to go and show the world what you're made of."

"Would be better if you were there as I did," he pouted, and Carson sighed.

"I wish I could be, but you know I'll be cheering for you as if I was there."

At that, Auston smiled. The scruff of his moustache tickled against Carson's skin slightly, causing a soft chuckle to escape her mouth before Auston sat up to look at her again. He couldn't get over how lucky he was to have found such a supportive and caring girlfriend like her. Auston's relationship with Carson contributed to some of the best years of his life thus far, and he was so thankful to have her by his side as he experienced them.

The two of them started their relationship in early 2017, some months after Carson and Auston first met on the night of his first NHL game. She was there cheering on her cousin and Auston's teammate, Mitch Marner, and after initially meeting, became friends and eventually started dating. Almost three years after they finally got together, they were still going strong, living together, and looking forward to what the future held.

"You know, I could always just fly back tonight after the game. We don't play in Vancouver until Tuesday, so I'd be away for less time."

"As much as I'd love that," Carson started while shifting so that she could get out from underneath Auston. "And believe me, I would. You're going to have a blast on this road trip with the guys, babe. You have the chance to get out of the city and do your thing before having to be out west for all of next week, so take it. Enjoy your time out of Ontario, I know I would, and I'll be here when you get back."

"I know," he replied as he rolled off of her then sat on the edge of the bed so that Carson could stand up. "Just going to miss you is all."

"And I'm going to miss you," she replied as she stood in front of him and cupped his face so that she could place another peck to his lips. "So, so much."

Auston used the position the two of them were in to his advantage as he wrapped his arms around Carson's waist and pulled her closer for a much deeper kiss.

Now, Carson wasn't one to stop a good thing once it got going. The way her hands snaked around Auston's neck and tangled themselves into his hair was a good indication of that, but she knew that he really did have to go and was the first to start pulling away.

"Nice try," she muttered against his lips before he let out a defeated sigh. "You need to get dressed, Tyson will be here soon, and then I need to get you both to the airport, so you don't miss your flight."

"Was worth a shot," he replied and playfully reached out to tug on Caron's towel as she began walking away.

"Auston!"

"Hurry, I need to spend more time with you before I leave. Please?"

"Not with that attitude. I'm going to take my time now," Carson said before sticking her tongue out at him.

He shook his head at his girlfriend before another screech left her mouth as he bolted up off the bed and rushed after her, following her inside the bathroom and making the chances of him being late much more likely.

~*~

"God, how could I be so stupid?"

"It's actually pretty entertaining if I'm honest," Steph said with a chuckle from her end of the phone. "Mitch thinks it's great."

"I think it was impulsive and idiotic," Carson pouted while leaned against the elevator wall as it took her up to the floor of her and Auston's condo.

"You were drunk. At least it's small and barely noticeable."

Carson's gaze fell to the inner part of her left wrist where the skin was irritated and now had a tiny 34 permanently inked on the once unscathed area, a sigh escaping her mouth as she took it in yet again.

It was a Sunday in late January, and the day before, Carson spent drinking wine with Steph and a few other friends for a little girls day while the boys were out of town for a game. Typically not being one to get absolutely hammered, Carson did go a little harder than intended when a few rounds of shots were bought and ended up being an absolute write-off before the game even started. Being a tad impulsive and very brave drunk, she decided she'd get a tattoo just after dinner, and no one felt like stopping her. In fact, they encouraged it.

"I know, but what if I end up extremely regretting it for some reason?" Carson asked as she glanced up to see her floor approaching.

"How so?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "What if Auston changes his jersey number?"

"I think you're being dramatic," Steph stated with another laugh.

"Ok, but what if we were to break u-."

"You can't think about it like that!" Steph cut her off immediately.

"Steph, I'd feel so much stupider than I already do."

"Well, you do not need to. That man is so head over heels in love with you, and I know that you feel the same, or else you would've never considered the tattoo in the first place. If you're that worried, just keep it hidden."

"Worst case scenario is that you're just going to inflate his ego even more," Mitch's voice blared from the background, causing Carson to laugh.

"He's got a point," Steph said while Carson shook her head just as the elevator doors opened up. "Look, if you don't want Auston to see it yet, then you don't have to show him, ok? Just do whatever makes you comfortable, although I really do think you're overthinking this."

"You're probably right," Carson groaned as she walked down the hallway and fished out her keys in the process. "I guess I'll decide once I see him."

"You're going to be fine, but please let me know how it goes if you do show him."

"Of course," she told Steph as she unlocked the door and heard shuffling around from somewhere on the other side. "I'll talk to you later."

"See ya!"

Once she was inside, Carson placed her phone back in her bag, took her shoes off and hung up her coat before creeping towards the kitchen since Auston had no idea she was home yet. Post Malone's Allergic became louder the closer Carson got, as did her boyfriend's off-key singing. When she finally reached the entryway, she peaked her head inside to see him putting away some groceries while bopping his head to the beat of the song.

He was wearing a simple grey pullover sweater, some Roots track pants, a black beanie and his glasses, looking relatively comfortable for his day off, and Carson couldn't help but just stand there and observe him for a moment. The song Enemies began playing next, and Auston went off just as hard as he did to the song prior while he finished unpacking the last bit of food he bought, causing Carson to laugh a little and for his gaze to snap towards her.

"Aus, Post's concert is still over a month away."

"Can never be too ready," Auston said with a smile before moving around the large island he stood behind to walk over and engulf her in a hug. "Missed you."

"Missed you too," Carson replied and pulled away slightly so that she could place a soft kiss on his lips. "Even though I saw you yesterday morning."

"Minor details," he winked before slithering away from Carson's grasp and back over to where he was standing before resuming his much more lowkey dancing along to the music. "Also, I missed Post the last time he was here. You were lucky enough to go without me."

"Oh, I know because you never let me live it down. Thought us spending Valentine's Day at his next concert here might be a good way to make up for that."

"It's a step in the right direction," Auston chuckled and spun around to put a carton of orange juice in the fridge. "How was your night, er-, day out with the girls yesterday?"

Carson's eyes immediately widened before she glanced down to see her tattoo wholly exposed and out in the open, not wasting a single second to pull the sleeve of her hoodie down in an attempt to keep it hidden. "Uh, great! Really fun."

"That's good. I heard you got a little wild."

"Now, who would you have heard that from?" She asked innocently as she moved around the island to help put the rest of the groceries away.

"No one in particular," he started. "But the voicemail you left saying how much you loved me but also how you may actually love our bed, even more, was a dead giveaway."

"Ah, fair enough. I really do love that bed, though."

"Believe me, I know."

The two of them laughed, and Carson shook her head at the playful smirk he looked at her with.

"You weren't here when I got home this morning. Did you stay somewhere else?"

"Yeah, I crashed on Steph and Mitch's couch. I guess I thought that'd be easier than coming home for some reason," she explained. "Not like they live very far away."

"So you're saying that Mitchy got to see you before I did?" Auston scoffed dramatically. "I'm hurt."

"You'll get over it, drama queen," Carson responded while rolling her eyes. "I'm here now, aren't I?"

"Yes, and I'm very glad."

Auston then walked towards Carson and pulled her in for another soft peck. She smiled against his lips as her arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him closer. It wasn't very often the two of them had days off together where they could chill and not worry about having to be somewhere else. It was something Carson and Auston both cherished greatly, and finally, having a day to hang out at home together made the two of them extremely happy.

"Why don't we finish putting away these groceries, and then we can put on a movie or something?"

"Deal," he responded and moved away so he could go back to what he was doing. Carson grabbed the package of spaghetti and jars of tomato sauce that laid near him on the counter and took them over to the pantry. As she was putting the items away, Auston came up behind her with a box of cereal to reach over and put on a shelf as well, but instead of moving away like one usually would, he froze, and Carson could feel him looking down at her. "What's that?"

"What's what?" She asked as she put the last jar on the shelf before turning around to face him. However, when Carson looked at him, he was looking downwards and not trying to make eye contact with her at all.

"On your wrist. Did you get a tattoo?"

At that, Carson gulped and let her gaze fall to where Auston gently reached out to grab her wrist so he could observe it better. Her sleeve still covered most of the tattoo, but the top of it was definitely out in the open and Carson was not surprised her boyfriend would've noticed such a thing.

"I-," Carson stated, entirely ready to deny everything, but then decided there was no point in lying. "Yeah. I guess you could say that."

"Can I see it?" He asked softly, looking at her for permission before he moved the sleeve out of the way entirely. While biting down on her bottom lip nervously, Carson nodded and watched as he tugged down the piece of clothing and displayed the tiny 34 that resided there, a smile lighting upon his face as he did so.

She watched Auston as he gently ran his thumb over the sensitive skin as if making sure the ink wasn't going to run away and how his smile grew even wider when it didn't.

"I was feeling pretty impulsive last night," Carson explained. "And you were on my mind. I've thought about getting a tattoo like this before. I just never thought I'd be gutsy enough to do it… even if I was not sober when it happened. Do you like it?"

"I love it," Auston said, then looked back to her. "I think you're wild for doing it, but how could I not like it?"

"I don't know, though you might think it was stupid or something."

"Cheesy, yes," he chuckled. "But not stupid. I really do love it, Carson."

"Ok good," she smiled before Auston pulled her into his embrace.

The two of them stood there for a minute, just enjoying each other's presence before Auston started laughing and ruined the moment completely.

"What's your deal?" Carson asked, pulling away so that she could look up at him.

"Nothing," he stated while trying to contain his laughter but failing miserably. "It's just that I was thinking, what if I got a tattoo for you."

"Auston," she warned, knowing exactly where he was going with this.

"What? I think it'd be really cool. Maybe I'll go all Drake style and get your face tattooed on my thigh or something."

"Your thigh?" Carson asked offendedly, causing Auston to burst out laughing this time. "First off, you are not getting my face tattooed anywhere on your body. Second, your thigh Auston? Of all places?"

"I could probably think of a worse spot. Maybe like, right here along my collarbone..."

"That's it, I'm done with you," she said and walked out of the room, leaving him to hunch over and cry laugh all alone.

~*~

With hockey being a contact sport and Carson being the girlfriend and cousin of a player for said activity, she knew well enough about how scary it could be to know someone who has gotten hurt. She's lived through it with Auston and Mitch, having witnessed the odd game where they were hit in the wrong place a little too hard and having to wait anxiously to hear whether they were ok or not, all while not trying to lose her mind in the process.

It sucked a lot. But it was never something Auston and Mitch thought they'd have to experience when it came to Carson.

It was a home game against Washington on a rainy night at the beginning of April. Usually, when the Caps were in town, Carson would tease Auston about how she used to have a crush on Tom Wilson before she met her boyfriend, and Auston would roll his eyes. She never meant it seriously, and Auston never took it to heart either, but this particular day, they were both just very short with one another, and the teasing did not go over well.

Auston was stressed over what was to come from the upcoming game, with it being near the beginning of playoff season and the Leafs winning being crucial. Meanwhile, Carson was just exhausted. Work had been kicking her ass lately. She was working towards a Public Relations Manager position in the office she was already a PR officer for, and on top of it, she was doing freelance writing and editing on the side. It had been a wild ride when it came to her career since she graduated from UofT almost a year prior. To put it simply, Carson felt so all over the place with everything else going on that she hadn't even noticed how stressed Auston was, and he didn't notice how beat she was either.

The two of them had a bit of a tiff. Just a petty little argument that wasn't necessary, and they both felt terrible about it the moment Carson stormed away from Auston to barricade herself in their shared bedroom, making sure to slam the door for extra emphasis on her frustrations. Auston left after that and headed to the arena, but not without softly knocking on the door to tell Carson how sorry he was before departing.

With it being so close to playoffs and Carson wanting to be at every game she could, supporting the man she loved regardless of stupid fights they had every once in a while, there was no way she was going to miss that game.

Auston's parents Ema and Brian, were in town, and Carson planned to sit and cheer Auston on with them like she had so many times before. But she never made it to SBA.

While glancing up into the stands during warmups, Auston noticed that Carson wasn't there with his parents. He looked at his mom questionably, and she shook her head unknowingly. Ema didn't get a text from Carson saying she was on her way like she usually would have, and when she called to make sure everything was alright, Carson didn't pick up. There was a nagging feeling eating away at Ema as the game started, and Carson still hadn't shown up, but she tried not to think of anything negative and focused on her son.

Auston thought Carson was still mad, and that's why she didn't show up. It made sense, and although he was really bummed thinking that, he had to be there for his team and knew he would be able to talk to her as soon as the game was over if she let him.

The Leafs ended up winning, having an early lead thanks to a goal Auston scored with the assistance of John and Willy. Everyone was ecstatic, they were one step closer to gaining a playoff spot, and Toronto's atmosphere was just unreal. But something felt off.

Once the initial on-ice celebrations concluded, the team made their way to the dressing room in high spirits, but as he was leaving the ice, Auston noticed something he just couldn't prevent a horrible feeling from forming because of. He glanced up towards his family one last time to see Ema looking at her phone with watering eyes and her hand covering her mouth while showing Brian whatever it was on the screen and him looking at it with pure shock.

Auston tried not to think about it. He knew that his mother would fill him in as soon as she could, and he had no need to stress until she did, so with a quick shake of his head, he headed to the dressing room.

He was the last of the team to get there, having been distracted by watching his parents. And as soon as he walked through the door, almost everyone fell silent. They all looked to him with unreadable glances, some even refusing to look him in the eyes, and he instantly knew something terrible had happened.

"What's going on?" He asked, feeling himself growing insanely anxious as he looked at his teammates and crew, noticing not one camera was rolling trying to get a post-game comment like there usually was.

"Have you heard from Carson?" Freddie was the first to speak up, causing Auston's heart to plummet.

"I- no, not since I left to come here. Why?"

"Matts, she was in a car accident," Mitch said hesitantly, visibly upset about the news as well. "Steph was calling me as soon as we got in here, I knew it had to be an emergency, but fuck, I didn't think it was that. We don't know the details, but Carson was taken to the hospital and-."

Auston went silent, shell shocked, unable to even wrap his head around the thought of Carson getting hurt in some way. Soon enough, his feet were taking him in the direction of the door before he could even comprehend what was happening. But not without being stopped first.

"Aus, you can't drive like this," Willy stated as he blocked Auston's path.

"I need to get to her."

"We know," Mo spoke up and started guiding him over to his spot next to JT, making sure he sat down before continuing. "But you just driving off after getting something like that thrown at you is not going to help the situation. One of us will take you. You're not going alone."

"Get changed, and we can go," Mitchy told Auston, shaking his head as he still tried to process it all. "I need to go and let my family know what happened. Steph just got there. She'll let us know if she hears anything. But, it's going to be ok, it has to be."

"You don't know that, though," Auston said quietly before looking at his friend. "What if she's not ok?"

"Don't think about it like that," JT said firmly while looking between Auston and Mitch. "Just hurry up, go be there for her and trust that she'll be fine. It's all the two of you can do."

"Auston, your parents are waiting for you outside," a voice called, but Auston didn't bother to look at who said it. He just nodded and quietly got changed from his hockey gear as quickly as he could before joining his parents and Mitch for an Uber ride to the hospital.

It wasn't a long drive to Toronto General Hospital, but time couldn't seemingly have gone by any slower. Auston was anxious, and so many scenarios were running through his head as he remained silent and stared out the window.

The other three didn't know what they could say to help ease his worries because they were all feeling pretty stressed themselves. Carson's family wasn't in the city when the accident happened, and that was a call that still had to be made. Her dad and sister Mya were in Vancouver, while her brother Nate was in Montreal, so they weren't necessarily close. Auston, his parents, Mitch and Steph, were all she had at the time, and they were determined to be there for when she needed them most.

Ema explained to Auston that his sister, Breyana, had texted her and said what happened, with a link to an article she saw on Twitter. Coverage about the accident was all over the news. There were pictures of two totalled cars just down the street from the arena, videos of the police redirecting traffic, and of course, the mentioning of how Auston Matthews' girlfriend was involved in the crash, but he couldn't bear to look at any of it.

From what everyone gathered, Carson was not at fault. Seeing as the crash happened before the game even started, the police had finished their investigation and released a statement. They said how the other driver ran a red light and plowed into the passenger side of another vehicle passing through the York St. and Bremner Blvd. intersection. The police then went on to say that the driver who caused the accident was intoxicated. The man and the driver of the other vehicle had been taken to the hospital with injuries. That other driver was Carson.

When they arrived and climbed out of the Uber, no one knew what they were getting into when they walked through those hospital doors, but luckily Steph was there to soften the blow.

"I just talked to the doctor," Steph stated and stood up from her seat in the waiting room once she saw everyone walking towards her. Mitch immediately engulfed her in a tight hug, which she returned, but was also quick in looking back to Auston because she knew how badly his feelings would have been eating him alive at the moment. "She's awake… she's hurt, but she's going to be ok."

Audible sighs of relief left everyone in the room as Ema reached over to gently squeeze her son's hand reassuringly. Before anything else could be said, though, a doctor entered the room and greeted everyone. The doctor explained how she was the one in charge of tending to Carson's injuries when she was brought in to the hospital and that after one more examination, she should be fine to go home with Auston.

"Do you mind telling us what's wrong? Do I need to do anything once she's home to make sure she's ok?" Auston's voice cracked as he asked his question, clearly still shaken up from the whole ordeal.

"Just make sure Carson gets some rest and takes it easy over the next few days," the doctor told him with a smile. "She's definitely got a concussion and has torn the muscle in her left shoulder. She'll probably be in a bit of pain, so I've prescribed her some medication if she needs it, but other than that, she should make a speedy recovery as long as she doesn't overwork herself. This could have been a lot worse, but the seatbelt and airbags in the vehicle sure did their jobs."

"Can we see her?"

"Of course," she replied with a nod. "She's been asking for you."

The doctor then led the five of them down a couple of hallways of the emergency room before stopping in front of a closed door and smiled once more, telling them she'd be back in about 15 minutes or so. Once she was gone, Auston slowly opened the door and walked into the room.

Carson was sitting upright in the hospital bed, her long brown hair resting in a messy bun on top of her head and still wearing her Matthews jersey while looking utterly exhausted. There was a nasty gash above her left eyebrow, but other than that and the very obvious sling her arm rested in, she looked pretty good for someone who had just gotten into a severe car accident.

As soon as the door opened, Carson snapped her gaze to see who it was coming into her room. She was quick in locking eye contact with her boyfriend once she realized it was him, and as a result of that, she immediately started sobbing.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's ok," Auston soothed as he rushed over to the side of the bed, hesitating to pull Carson into his embrace because he didn't know how much pain she was in.

"I totalled your car!"

"Carse, I don't care about the car," he assured her as he started wiping away her tears with the pads of his thumbs before leaning down to place a delicate yet firm kiss on her forehead. When he pulled away, he cupped Carson's face in his hands and looked at her with a serious gaze. "The car can be replaced. You cannot. God, babe, you scared the shit out of me."

"I'm sorry," she blubbered as she used her arm that wasn't in a sling to wrap around Auston's middle and pulled him close. He began rubbing soft circles on her back as she cried into his chest as a way to calm her down a bit, which worked wonders. "It all happened so fast. I-I didn't even see the guy coming until it was too late."

What made this an even more difficult situation than before this one, Carson had only been in one other car accident. One that unfortunately resulted in her mother passing away when Carson was just 13. Auston could only imagine what was running through his girlfriend's head at that moment but continued just focusing on her at that moment.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. All any of us care about is that you're ok, Carson. That's all that matters. Now I need you to take a few deep breaths for me, ok? How's your head?"

"It aches a bit," she told Auston as she moved away to look at him again and followed his movements of taking deep, calming breaths. "I'm more tired than anything."

"I can imagine," he responded with a smile. "As soon as the doctor comes back and gives us the ok, we'll get you home and in bed. Sounds good?"

"Sounds amazing."

Auston chuckled slightly, amazed at how even after being in a car accident, Carson tried to make light of the situation. He then leaned down to place a soft kiss on her lips before moving to the other side of the bed and sitting next to her so that everyone else could see her as well.

Auston watched as his parents greeted her with big hugs while being mindful of her injuries and expressed how glad they were that she was alright. Mitch and Steph were next, who jokingly scolded Carson for scaring them but also wasted no time in pulling her in for a hug as well.

Soon after, the doctor returned and gave Carson a final once over. She held tightly onto Auston's hand as the doctor went over what to do if Carson wasn't seeing improvements in her injuries within the next few days, as well as how to get a hold of her if something were to happen. Once she was done giving the spiel and explaining how the sling would have to stay on for a few weeks, Carson was given the ok to leave.

Afterwards, Mitch went home with Steph because Ema and Brian insisted on taking Carson and Auston back to their condo. As soon as she was home, Carson changed into some comfy clothing and crawled into bed. Auston was right there with her, making sure she was alright, before crawling in beside her and making sure he held onto her just a little bit tighter as he fell asleep.

~*~

Christmas time in Toronto was always a very festive time of year. The market was on at The Distillery District, the CN Tower always had a stunning red and green light show going on each night, and there were plenty of things to do in and around the city. However, the best part of this specific year was that Auston had a couple of days off from playing hockey.

The Leafs had won their last game before their small holiday break, and Carson was off work until the new year. She loved having time off with Auston, but every once in a while, it got to the point where they didn't know what to do.

It was Christmas Eve, and the two of them were cuddled up on the couch as a rerun of the Grinch finished playing. Although it was late, they weren't that tired; therefore, boredom ensued.

"Want to go for a walk?" Carson suggested after a few moments of contemplation.

"It's 11:30 at night," Auston chuckled.

"And what about it?"

"Nothing," he stated while shaking his head. "It's just that I have a better idea, I think."

Carson looked at him skeptically, shifting so that he could see her questioning gaze. "Go on."

"We could go skating," he proposed, and this time, Carson let out a laugh. "What? We could go to the rink at Harbourfront. It's late. I doubt anyone will be there, especially on Christmas Eve."

"Why do I have a feeling you planned this?" She asked while shaking her head. "It's too well thought out."

"So what if I did? Come on. It'll be fun. It'll kind of be like…"

"Our first date." She finished for him, watching as he nodded in agreement. "God Aus, that was so long ago."

It was true, though. During Auston's first season with the Leafs, while Carson was still in university, the two of them met and became friends. Perks of him playing on the same team as her cousin.

The two of them had been seeing each other but weren't officially a couple for almost a month, then one late night in January, Auston asked Carson to go skating with him at that same ice rink. Things were a bit weird between them after that date. They'd gotten into a bit of a fight for a couple of weeks after discussing what they were, but Auston knew he needed to fix that. After making up and officially becoming a couple, Auston invited Carson on another skating date the following evening.

It was a weekend in February, two nights before the Leafs Centennial gala, to be exact, and Carson was bored at home watching Netflix alone because her roommate Lexie wasn't there. So she hopped on the TTC and met him there, only to find that he brought two pairs of hockey gloves and two sticks so they could play some one-on-one.

Carson could tell that Auston was ready to go easy on her, but she was competitive and wanted to give him a run for his money. Auston was caught off guard, naturally, which made him competitive too, but he still made sure not to go full NHL-er on her. It was a playful match. He let her win but still got his prize when he leaned in finally kiss her, and she let him.

The rest was history.

Carson couldn't help but smile as she thought back to that night. Although it was almost four years ago, the memory still made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and Auston could tell that's exactly what she was thinking about.

Slowly, Carson looked up to see him smirking down at her and rolled her eyes. "Fine, let's go."

The two of them climbed off the couch, and once they were all bundled up, they headed to the rink. Which luckily wasn't too far at all.

Auston talked Carson into a rematch of one-on-one while on the way there. She was more than ready to make a sad attempt at destroying him in a game of hockey again, so she accepted his challenge, becoming relieved when they reached their destination and saw that there was no one else skating around.

"Told ya we'd have the place to ourselves," he told her with a smug grin as she sat down, and he helped tie up her skates.

"Whatever, Matthews," Carson replied as he grabbed her hands and pulled her up once he was done. Once she was standing upright and had balanced herself out, he began skating backward and started pulling her with him, which Carson let him do as she smiled widely at him. "Thought you wanted to play hockey?"

"We can eventually," he replied. "But I kinda like just doing this with you for now."

Carson tried to hide the blush burning its way across her cheeks as he continued guiding her around the rink, but Auston noticed and made sure to send her a wink once she made eye contact with him again.

"Good, cause I do too."

After a little bit, he let go of one hand but kept the other linked with hers as the two of them began skating side by side. They did that for 20 minutes or so, just going around the rink together as they talked and teased each other. Then they finally decided to play some hockey.

Just like the first time Auston and Carson had done something like this, she was more than aware that she was no match against Auston when it came to hockey whatsoever, but he went easy on her again. The game was never really a game, though. After two face-offs that ended in him wrapping his arms around Carson's waist and pulling her against him so that she couldn't chase after the puck, the two of them decided to just do trick shots into the little makeshift net he made between a pair of Carson's gloves and Auston's hat.

It didn't take long for him to start showing off, so Carson let him. How could she not? Auston's an incredibly talented athlete, and Carson loved watching him, even though he was a little extra at times. Plus, she was having a lot of fun.

After they grew tired and cold, the two of them headed back home to call it a night. It was well after midnight. They had to be up early to get on a flight to Arizona, seeing as they were spending a very brief holiday with Auston's family before flying to Chicago for a game on the 27th and eventually back to Toronto.

Carson was pretty exhausted by that point, and Auston could tell she was with how she leaned against him as soon as they were in the elevator of their condo building and let out a loud yawn.

"Did losing wear you out?" Auston asked jokingly before leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

"I didn't lose anything. You cheated."

"Whatever," he chuckled as the doors opened and the two of them started walking down the hall. Auston observed as Carson began fumbling with her keys so she could unlock the door and go inside when suddenly an idea sprung to his mind, and his eyes widened. "Wait, it's technically Christmas."

A laugh left Carson's mouth as she shook her head at him. "Yes, Auston, what gave it away?"

"You know what I mean," he replied while rolling his eyes at his girlfriend before following her into the condo.

"I know, I'm just messing with you. But yes, it is technically Christmas."

"So I can give you your gift, and you can't get mad at me for it."

"Auston," Carson groaned. He always did this. Forever the child her boyfriend was with, not being able to contain his excitement when it came to gift-giving and seeing her face when she opened something he put a lot of thought into. They always tried to one-up the other when it came to sentiment, too. This year was different, though. The two of them agreed to buy each other only one thing seeing as they always spoiled the other, but realistically, this year was no exception.

Carson was excited to show Auston his gift. It was something she thought about and saved for, for a long time, and she already knew how much he'd love it. So with that in mind, she agreed to exchange gifts with him before going to bed.

"Ok fine, we can do gifts now, but I'm giving you yours first."

"If you insist," Auston said with a huge smile while holding his hands up in defence. Carson didn't bother replying as she stuck her tongue out at him while they took off their coats and began guiding him towards the giant Christmas Tree that resided in the living room.

Once they were there, Carson let go of his hand and reached to the very back of the tree where an envelope resided. Auston gave her a look, noting her clever hiding place before looking down at the envelope and taking it.

Carson bit down on her bottom lip nervously and excitedly as she watched him take out the card and open it to see what was inside, a small chuckle leaving her mouth while his mouth fell open.

"Merry Christmas, babe."

"You didn't," Auston gasped as he took the picture out of the card and looked back at her. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," she told him while nodding her head and was soon engulfed in a huge hug. Once he was done almost crushing her, Carson took the picture from him then spun around in his hold so they could look at the image of the small, fluffy puppy that was printed on it together. "He's a Miniature Goldendoodle named Frank. The lady we're getting him from said he doesn't really respond to a name just yet, so we can change it."

"I love Frank," Auston stated while looking at the picture over Carson's shoulder with a goofy grin on his face.

"I do too," she replied while turning around to face her boyfriend again. "We get to pick him up during the first week of January."

"I can't believe we're getting a dog," he said while shaking his head. "Thank you so much, wow."

"You're welcome," Carson told him before standing on her tiptoes so she could peck his lips. "Good luck trying to beat that gift, Matthews."

Carson meant what she said as a joke, but with the way Auston smirked against her lips and shook his head in disagreement, she knew he took it as a challenge.

"I wouldn't be so sure," he responded and started walking out of the room.

"Babe," Carson called after him. "I was kidding-."

"Just wait there. I'll be right back," Auston responded from down the hall, leaving her to let out a huff of defeat. A pout formed on her bottom lip as she waited for him to return and started wondering what it was he could've possibly bought. Carson began to think back to their first Christmas together and how she insisted on him not buying her something because she didn't need anything. Auston argued by asking if she planned on getting him anything, which she already had so that Carson couldn't fight with him about it after that. His gifts to her were always so meaningful, whether it be something he knew she needed or an item he knew she liked but would never buy for herself. He truly was a fantastic gift-giver.

But for some reason, when Auston returned to the living room, he looked nervous. He was very obviously hiding something behind his back that Carson couldn't see, but with the way he licked his lips and was trying to look anywhere but her, she could tell he was overthinking, giving her whatever it was he held onto.

"Aus," Carson said softly, causing him to snap his gaze to her. "You ok?"

"Yeah," he replied, taking a deep breath. "Just a little nervous is all."

"You have no reason to be, it's just a gift, and I'm sure I'll love it."

"It's more than just a gift, I guess," he explained and walked towards her, making sure not to break eye contact. "Put a lot of thought into this one."

"Auston.." She started but trailed off as he reached out to link his hand with hers and pull her closer.

"I didn't wrap it, though, so you'll have to forgive me."

Carson didn't answer, just gave him a confused look as he bit down on his bottom lip and smiled. He then brought his other hand in front of him to reveal a small velvet box. However, Auston didn't miss a beat and quickly let go of her hand so that he could reach up and open the box, revealing the most stunning diamond ring Carson had ever seen.

"Oh my…" It was all she managed to say as she moved her hands to cover her mouth and look at her boyfriend with teary eyes. "Auston, it's beautiful."

"It comes with a question, too," he smiled as he plucked the ring from its holder and held it closer to her. "Carse, you have made me so insanely happy these years we've been together and continue to do so. I'd be crazy not to want to spend the rest of my life with you, so I guess my question is… will you continue making my selfish ass the happiest man he can be by marrying me?"

A sob left Carson's mouth, and the tears started flowing immensely. She shook her head, still trying to make sure the fact that the man she loved more than anything in the world just asked her to marry him wasn't a dream. Slowly, she opened her eyes to look at him and could tell how anxious he was getting while waiting for a response, so she answered. But, she needed to clarify something as she stared at the ring first.

"Is that my mom's ring?"

"It is," Auston confirmed, a small breath leaving his mouth. "I, uh, I got it from your dad a couple of months ago. The ring was pretty busted up, but I talked to Nate and Mya to see if they'd be ok with me fixing it, adding a few personal touches and using it to propose."

"Oh my god," Carson sobbed again, thinking about her dad wanting to let Auston take her late mother's wedding ring and Auston asking her brother and sister if he could use it to ask her to marry him. It meant the absolute world to her. "Of course, I'll marry you, Auston. You're crazy to think I wouldn't."

The smile that stretched its way across his mouth before he pulled her in for a deep, loving kiss was something Carson wanted to remember forever. Once he pulled away, Auston tried to play off the fact that he, too, had tears in his eyes as he slid the ring onto her finger and leaned down to kiss her again.

"I love you. So much," Auston muttered against her lips before moving away slightly just so that he could wipe away her tears with the pads of his thumbs. "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

"The feeling's mutual," Carson responded. "I love you more than words can describe."

"Well, that's good, 'cause you're stuck with me now."

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

At that, Auston smiled and pulled Carson in for one last hug before suggesting that the two of them head to bed because they'd have to be up in a few short hours. Carson didn't protest and let him lead her down the hall to their bedroom before crawling into bed so she could cuddle up against him. Soon enough, Carson was too tired even to keep her eyes open, but she still couldn't help the smile that remained on her mouth as she fell asleep next to her fiancé.

#nhl imagines #nhl writing #nhl fanfiction #auston matthews #nhl imagine #auston matthews imagines #auston matthews fanfiction #hockey imagines #toronto maple leafs imagine #hockey imagine #hockey fanfiction #auston matthews imagine #hockey rpf #nhl rpf #nhl headcanon

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papermoonloveslucy · 3 years

Text

LUCY SHUNS AUDITIONS

July 21, 1950

[In the below article, reprinted verbatim, Johnson writes using a lot of imagery and insider jargon. This sort of article was common in trade papers like Variety, but seems odd in a daily newspaper.]

Hollywood—(NEA) Lucille Ball slipped me the lowdown on her failure to pin to the canvas the dumb chick role in “Born Yesterday” and make it holler uncle. (1)

She’s got a touch of Francis the mule in her when it comes to auditions. (2)

Instead of scrimmaging for the role with Evelyn Keyes, Judy Holliday, Marie Wilson, Shelly Winters and Jan Sterling, (3) Lucille went bolting the other way.

The “let’s-see-if-you’re-it” boys pleaded and cajoled.

But Miss Anti-Auditions wasn’t having any of the competition, thank you.

“I figure if they want you, they want you,” Lucille plainspoke it. If you’ve got to read and test for it, to heck with it.’

She isn’t chronicled in Hollywood history, but once, badgered by her RKO bosses, Lucille went tripping over to David O. Selznick’s office for a whack at the Scarlett O’Hara role in “Gone With the Wind.”

That’s what curdled her in the first place.

“It was awful,’’ Lucille shudders. I was shaking all over when I hit Selznick’s office. My knees gave way. I did the whole audition in scrubwoman position. Selznick laughs and says thanks a lot. (4)

Judy Holliday landed the junkman’s doll role and Lucille grabbed a railroad ticket for a personal appearance tour with hubby Desi Arnaz. She strutted to Latin rhythms, swung a glittering purse in a manner dear to runaway girls and wisecracked for the customers. (5)

MIMICS OSCAR WINNER

At the last moment she nixed a dancing and singing routine. The star with the forest-fire hair shrugged:

“I decided it would be silly to compete with Grable.” (6)

A lot of movie queens laid in fresh supplies of smelling salts, ice beanies and copies of “Release From Nervous Tension” when word got around that Lucille was about to whoop it up on the six-a-day circuit. (7)

She’s a blister-raiser from way back and the air was shrill with ouches about a year ago when she whipped up an impression of an Academy Award winner.

But the girls can go back to worrying about other things—like shrinking from larger-than-life to television screen size.

Lucille didn’t let any “furriners” see the routine.

“It's for Hollywood only," she said. “I should take radio-active material on the road?”

Her Oscar-grabber routine is strictly for unreal anyhow, she says. and no blood relation to Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Ingrid Bergman or any other Screen Duse. (8) She insisted:

“She's any movie star, even me. This character has to go up on that stage and act surprised. She’s only been rehearsing what she's going say flor eight weeks. So she says, ‘Ye gads, me? But I’m so unprepared. Really, I didn’t dream...” Lucille is generally is as unflinching about the movie queen business as Pearl White was about onrushing trains. (9)

But her knees executed some wobbles that aren’t in Arthur Murray’s rhumba dance book when she checked into her first vaudeville dressing room. (10)

“Those stages—they’re so big.” she gasped. “Hey, I’d hate to get caught in the middle of one of those stages without bread and water.”

Lucille didn’t take any chances with out-of-town press interviews, either. “I once did a personal appearance tour with Maureen O'Hara and had to show up at a press party,” she grinned. (11)

My sinus - I just die from it - was acting up. The reporter next to me didn’t understand my puffed eyes and cold sores. He called Maureen a lady in his story. But he referred to me as a whisky tenor with red-runny eyes.”

Lucille’s brain cells work on direct current and she’s not one to make with the figure eights when a straight glide to home base would get her there quicker.

They still laugh about her exit line to Louis B. Mayer. (12) Mayer always referred to her as a thoroughbred and sometimes compared her to his famous horses. "Yes, and like your other nags, I'm leaving your stable," Lucille said when she decided to bow out of her contract.

She has high hopes for her new picture “The Fuller Brush Man.” Not that she enjoyed it: (13)

“Honey, this ones that I don t enjoy turn out be the best ones. This one put me in the hospital. My feet are still bandaged up. I’m a mess. No more physical-type pictures for me.”

# # # FOOTNOTES FROM THE FUTURE

(1) The 1946 Broadway hit comedy Born Yesterday by Garsin Kanin was bought by Columbia Pictures. Things got complicated when its stage star, Judy Holliday, swore she would not do the film version. Columbia used this as fuel for publicity about who would win the role. Naturally, Lucille Ball was considered a top contender. As the article states, she was not eager, however, to prove her worth to the ‘let’s-see-if-you’re-it’ boys (aka producers). There was talk of Lucille performing the play in London, or summer stock, but her film contracts would not allow her time off for a stage run.

(2) Mules are supposedly notoriously stubborn animals - just like Lucy. Francis the Talking Mule was the star of seven popular Universal-International film comedies. The character originated in the 1946 novel Francis by David Stern III, adapting his own script for the first entry, simply titled Francis. On “I Love Lucy” Fred Mertz sometimes called Ethel “Francis” to indicate she was being stubborn about something.

(3) These were some of the Hollywood stars looking to play the part of Billie Dawn in the film Born Yesterday. Evelyn Keyes (1916 – 2008) was best known for playing Sue Ellen, Scarlett O’Hara’s kid sister, in Gone With The Wind (1939). Judy Holliday (1921-65), changed her mind about playing the role she originated on Broadway, but by then the casting net was cast, and she was just another performer on the short list. She eventually got the role, which defined her career. Marie Wilson (1916-72) was a zany comedic actress in the style of Gracie Burns. She was widely known as the star of radio and TV’s “My Friend Irma”. Shelley Winters (1920-2006) would be nominated for an Oscar the year after this article. She was adept at playing drama and comedy, and had a long-lasting career in Hollywood. She appeared on “Here’s Lucy” in 1968; Critics raved about her Jan Sterling’s portrayal of Billie Dawn in the Chicago touring company of Born Yesterday and Columbia brought her out to the West Coast to test for the film. At one point, she was actually announced to play the part but the role ultimately went to Holliday.

(4) Lucille Ball did indeed read (not screen test) for the role of Scarlet O’Hara, just like nearly all of the women in Hollywood in 1938. Ball told the story several times on television, each time with varying details, but probably most completely on “Bob Hope’s Unrehearsed Antics of The Stars” (1984).

(5) This is a vivid description of the “Cuban Pete / Sally Sweet” portion of Lucy and Desi’s nightclub act to convince sponsors to buy them as a couple.

(6) Betty Grable (1916-73) was considered one of the most famous pin-up girls in history. In addition to her million dollar gams (legs), she could sing, dance, and act, too. She guest starred with her then-husband Harry James on “Lucy Wins A Racehorse”, an installment of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” aired on February 3, 1958.

(7) “Release from Nervous Tension” was an actual best-selling book by Dr. David Harold Fink, published in 1950. Vaudeville and Burlesque shows were often known as the ‘six-a-day circuit’ because sometimes there would be as many as six performances of the same act in a day. Naturally, this did not apply to Lucy and Desi, who were big film and radio stars at the time.

(8) These were some of Hollywood’s top-line dramatic actors. Bette Davis (1908-89) had won two Oscars, and was nominated for several others during her long career. She was supposed to guest-star on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in “The Celebrity Next Door” in 1957 but dropped out after a horse-riding accident, leaving the role to Tallulah Bankhead; Olivia de Havilland (1916-2020) had also won two Oscars, the second the year this article was published. She was best remembered for playing Melanie Wilkes in Gone With The Wind (1939); Ingrid Bergman (1915-82) was a Swedish-born actress, who, by career’s end, had scored three Academy Awards. When Johnson talks about “any other screen Duse” he is referring to Eleonor Duse (1858-1924), an Italian-born stage actress known for her grand, dramatic style.

(9) Pearl White (1889-1938) was best known as the silent film actress who was tied to the railroad tracks in “The Perils of Pauline” (1914).

(10) Arthur Murray (1895-1991) was a ballroom dancer and businessman best known for the chain of dancing schools that bear his name. Murray was often a punchline on “I Love Lucy,” especially when the subject of dancing came up. The Rhumba was a Latin dance that took America by storm in the late 1940s and 1950. Desi Arnaz often called his orchestra a ‘rhumba band.’

(11) Maureen O’Hara (1920-2015) and Lucille Ball had starred in Dance, Girl, Dance in 1940. As a result, the two went on a promotional tour that took them to several US cities, including the nation’s capitol.

(12) Louis B. Meyer (1884-1957), along with Samuel Goldwyn and Marcus Loew of Metro Pictures, had formed a new motion picture company called Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1918. Over the next 25 years, MGM was "the Tiffany of the studios," producing more films and movie stars than any other studio in the world. Mayer became the highest-paid man in America, and one of the country's most successful horse breeders. Both he and MGM reached their peaks at the end of World War II, and Mayer was forced out in 1951, just a year after this article was written.

(13) Erskine Johnson gets the title wrong. Lucille had madeThe Fuller Brush Girl, a sequel to The Fuller Brush Man (1948). The film was released in mid-September 1950.

#Lucille Ball #Erskine Johnson #Newspaper #Fuller Brush Girl #Born Yesterday #Judy Holliday #MGM #Louis B. Mayer #Pearl White #Olivia DeHavilland #Bette Davis #Ingrid Bergman #Release from Nervous Tension #Eleonor Duse #Betty Grable #Desi Arnaz #Gone With The Wind

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mcg777 · 4 years

Text

| Evening Tunes |

Pairing: Clementine x Louis

Word Count: 3170

Summary: After a couple of stressful weeks, Clementine is taken by surprise by Louis' "special" invitation. Together, they find peace underneath the gleam of the moonlight, turning an ordinary night into something so, so much more.

Read on AO3

It was the end of the afternoon. The wind twirled gracefully around the autumn leaves, inviting them to join it in its dance. Orange stained clouds embellished the sky, far apart just enough for golden waves to pierce through the ethereal veil. Distant, a lonely moon carefully revealed herself to the world below, her gentle glow somehow surfacing in the midst of the magnificent ballad of colors and lights. It was a beautiful sight to behold – one that Clementine was very thankful for.

A soft yawn interrupted the gears in her eyes, causing her to briefly look away from the window. For the past few days, she’d been working non-stop, crafting plans, securing the school’s defenses and checking in on her friends’ patrols, all in the hopes of keeping Ericson safe from the many possible threats that hid beyond its walls. Most would think that after losing a leg, one would try to spend their days in the comfort of their bed, away from the stress and chaos of the outside world. Not Clementine, though; if anything, her responsibilities had increased, with her taking up the role of leader after the events with the Delta.

Another stubborn sigh escaped the girl’s lips, but she fought through the exhaustion, refusing to stop admiring the view the heavens had gifted her with. It had been several weeks since her group had spotted any survivors, most of them not even significantly close to the school, yet Clementine stood on her toes. Their last encounter with strangers had been… tense, to say the least. If there’s anything her journey had taught her throughout the years, it’s that one should avoid taking risks at all costs – especially now that she had found a home in the boarding school, and a family in its former students.

A knock on the door made her eyes stray away from the pinkish sky, dissipating her cloud of thoughts.

“Yes?”

Clementine waited patiently for a reply from the other side, but nothing came. She turned her head to the door, expecting whoever it was to simply walk in. Instead, two more knocks echoed throughout the room, causing the girl to sigh in annoyance.

“Alright, I’m coming…”

With her crutches in hand, it didn’t take long until Clementine finally reached the door. Upon opening it, she was greeted with something rather unanticipated.

“Good evening, m’lady.”

Whatever words she’d intended to articulate lost themselves in her throat. There stood Louis, bowing before her with a warm smile spread across his face.

“My sincerest apologies for disturbing you at such a late hour. I truly hope my presence isn’t distracting you from more dire matters.”

It would take a few seconds before Clementine managed to collect herself, ultimately deciding to play along with his theatrical act. Doing her best to replicate his tone, she put on her best whimsical front.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

“Well, you see,” he said, returning to her eye level, “I’ve travelled all this way to inform you of something very important.”

“Oh, yeah?” she smirked, “And what could that possibly be?”

Louis smiled, clearing his throat after taking an imaginary letter from his pocket and holding it out in front of him.

“Your majesty is hereby invited to tonight’s special piano recital, occurring shortly after dinner in the music room.”

She rolled her eyes at his antics, unable to hold back a laugh.

“I see. May I know who else is coming to this recital?”

The freckled boy paused for a second, dropping his seamless act.

“Actually,” he said, rubbing the back of his head, “it’s just you.”

Clementine’s lips parted slightly.

“Oh.”

It was not at all what she’d foreseen. Based on what he’d been suggesting, she expected it to be one of Ruby’s famous hootenannies, where they’d all gather around in a circle in the music room, evenings spent telling each other stories of the past, laughing and savoring the music playing in the background. She missed those days.

The on-going silence between them pushed Louis to continue.

“It’s just…” he sighed, “it’s been a while since we’ve spent some time together. Just the two of us, I mean.”

He was right. With all the strategical thinking from the past weeks, the girl had barely even had the chance to thoroughly enjoy her time with AJ, let alone Louis. Unfortunately, those were the drawbacks of choosing to shield the ones you love, a path that drove her away from the people she strived to care for in the first place.

The way he pursed his lips and gradually darted his gaze away from her told her that he was considering backtracking on his offer. Without hesitation, Clementine took a step closer, making the boy instinctively place his hand on her arm, just in case she lost her balance. She always appreciated his small gestures.

“Hey,” she whispered, her own hand guiding her toward him, “I’d love that.”

Louis eyed her gently, taking in the tenderness of her smile. They stayed like this for a moment, silent, simply enjoying each other’s presence. A magnetic field trapped them in each other’s gaze, and before he realized it they were already leaning in, forgetting all about their surroundings in favor of the dazzling view standing right in front of them. Just as they were about to close the gap, the sudden sound of steps coming down the hall broke them out of their own world.

They both pulled back, traces of a rosy tint peeking behind their features.

“Right… so,” he said, hands reaching for the comfort of his coat, “it’s a date, then.”

Joy tugged at the corners of Clementine’s lips. She liked the sound of that.

“It’s a date.”

They shared one last smile before they parted ways, a soft chuckle leaving her as she watched him bow down to her yet again, only to be out of sight in a matter of seconds.

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

It was the beginning of the night. The chill in the air enveloped the school, breathing life into the still trees. The once warm tones of the sky were now mere shadows of the past, a dark blue tint brushing across the starry canvas as the moon smiled upon the Earth, casting light in the dark void below.

The halls of the admin building emulated the outside world like a mirror. Peaceful, but cold; somber, yet delicate. Clementine walked alone among lifeless silhouettes, guided solely by the flame in her heart. A soft tune emerged from the shadows, breaking the silence and making its way to her. She followed it promptly, her crutches leading her to a very familiar door. Through the gap, she could see light.

And there he was.

She smiled at the sight. He sat at the piano, his hands effortlessly gliding over its aged keys, creating the melody that beckoned her to come closer.

As she opened the door, Louis’ eyes fell upon her.

“Clem, you made it!”

Her eyes studied the music room in awe. Candles adorned the place, their warm colors accentuating the way the moon’s natural glow kissed their little sanctuary. Rose petalled flowers perfumed the air, beautifully arranged throughout the room, their essence fusing with the calming heat of the nearby flames.

It took her breath away.

“Louis, this… this is beautiful. You didn’t have to.”

“Oh, you haven’t even seen the best part!”

In a blink of an eye, the freckled boy removed a small bag of pretzels from his coat. Judging by how dusty it looked, it was safe to say the contents inside were, at best, stale. That didn’t seem to scare away the excitement in Louis’ voice, though.

“Since tonight is our first real chance at having a proper date after all this time,” he said, handing her the bag, “I figured the occasion called for a special kind of snack.”

“Oh god,” she groaned, failing to hide her amusement as she inspected the item more closely, “seriously, where do you keep finding these?”

Louis raised a brow at her question.

“And reveal where I keep my secret stash of below-average pretzels? I don’t think so.”

Clementine couldn’t help but giggle at her boyfriend’s witty nature. He smiled in return.

“Tonight’s show is about to start, and lucky for you,” he beamed, patting the seat next to him, “you were granted an exclusive seat!”

She rolled her eyes at that last part, leaving her crutches propped up against the piano as she sat next to him.

“Y’know, not many people get the chance to see the artist this close. I bet they’re jealous of you.” he added, sending a wink her way.

That earned him a smirk.

“Well, it’s not like there’s anyone else here.” she quipped.

“Hey! The squirrels are watching.”

And there it was again, the warm melody of her laughter. It was enough to make the otherwise steady drums in his chest go off beat, fluttering at a hasty rhythm. He lowered his head, a small smile blooming on his lips.

The piano shyly murmured as his fingers skimmed over its keys.

“So, any requests, your majesty?”

Clementine pursed her lips. There was a vast array of songs she could ask him to play. How was she supposed to pick? After moments of indecisiveness, she opted to hand him the reins; yet just as she was about to speak, one particular song popped up in her head, shadowing all the other ones.

“Remember the song you played when we first met?”

His eyes found hers in the comfort of the moonlight, hearts beating in unison as they ventured down the bridge guiding them to their past. Their first encounter started playing in Louis’ head like a never-ending film; it had been so long since, yet somehow he still remembered it as if it were yesterday. It brought a smile to his face.

“Of course. How could I forget?”

He let his fingers caress the piano keys ever so gently.

Oh, my darling, oh, my darling,

Oh, my darling Clementine,

His voice came in soft waves, gentle like a whisper in the wind. It was different from the first time he’d sung to her, energy dripping from his vocal chords as he performed for his small “crowd”. No, this time there was a certain peace to it, with the beautifully weaved notes swaying around the candle lights, a hint of melancholy in the way the words escaped his lips.

Clementine leaned against the boy’s shoulder, feeling her eyes succumb to the weight they’d been subject to for the past weeks. With a sigh, she allowed herself to rest at last, his voice cradling her in its soothing shroud.

You are lost and gone forever…

A chill pierced through the room, one that only Louis felt, as the weight of those words sank in. They echoed relentlessly in his head, like the silent cries of a tormented ghost. The more he tried brushing them off, the further the words entangled themselves around his throat, a tight chain binding him to a vision that made him sick to his stomach.

The girl waited for the next lyrics, but they never came. In fact, the music had stopped, too. When she opened her eyes, she found him seemingly lost, staring at the keys, his hands barely touching them. With her fingers slowly reaching for his shoulder, she expressed her worry through the gentleness of her tone.

“Is everything okay?”

A subtle frown enveloped his features, and although soon covered up, it was still noticeable enough for Clementine to know something was wrong. She opened her mouth to speak, but he was faster.

“On second thought, maybe we should try something else.”

She stared at him as his attention returned to the piano, brows knitted together in search of an answer. Why did he want to switch up the song?

All Louis could see was shapes of black and white, a tempest arising from beneath his fingertips as they blindly pressed against the ivories, determined in finding the right tune – anything that could draw him away from the bleak thoughts clouding his brain.

Clementine felt a slight sting in her chest as she watched him work his way through whatever was bothering him. Sympathetic, her gaze fell back upon him after she revisited the moment things had gone south in her head. It hadn’t taken her long to figure out why.

“Louis.”

He kept on going, refusing to give up on his seemingly impossible search. Endless attempts at stitching up a simple melody, yet despite his efforts none of the notes sounded right to his ears. The boy cursed under his breath.

A soft hand cupped his cheek.

“Louis, look at me.”

In one gentle move, their eyes met. It was all it took to break him out of the trance; a single look and he was already losing his grasp on reality, now diving into the beautiful golden ocean that was her eyes. Clementine held him in place, the warmth of her touch sending waves down his spine.

“I’m not going anywhere.” she whispered, her thumb softly brushing against his skin.

As if having life of its own, Louis’ hand gently trailed up her arm, eventually resting on her own, fitting just as perfectly as two puzzle pieces. She leaned in, resting her forehead against his in an act of reassurance.

“Sorry, I-…” he sighed, pulling away slightly, “I didn’t mean to get like this over a song, it’s just…”

The girl stopped him before he could go further.

“Hey, it’s okay.”

She didn’t blame him. After all they’d been through, all the close calls that could have gone terribly wrong, the bond they’d built … the thought of waking up in a world without one another had become unbearable. With that, what had once started as a playful song marking the beginning of their friendship, was now a reminder that everyone’s luck runs out sooner or later, including that of the ones you love.

The couple stayed quiet in each other’s embrace, watching the wax of the candles slowly melt away with every second that passed, leaving tracks of its fiery tears engraved on their honey-tinged surface. It was the perfect ambiance, giving off such tranquility and peace that it seemed nearly impossible to disturb; or at least so thought Clementine, until she was struck with something that caused her to leap out of her drowsy state.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea.”

A pair of inquisitive eyes darted in her direction.

“You know how you’re always telling me we should compose a song together…?” she began, moving her fingers along the sides of the instrument.

Louis didn’t even have to hear the rest of it; his eyes had already lit up, a pure reflection of the stars adorning the pretty night sky.

“Clementine, I… I’d love that.”

She smiled at him.

“Why don’t you start coming up with a tune?” she said, gesturing toward the piano, “I’ll help wherever I can.”

And so, he did just that.

After spending what seemed like hours carefully crafting a melody, a trial filled with lots of back and forths between the two, alongside the occasional chuckle at Clementine’s musical inexperience, the pair was finally happy with the result. It had been a tiring process, its effects arising mainly in the energy department; but at the end of the day, they’d do it again in a heartbeat.

A sigh escaped the freckled boy as he grazed his fingers over the keys he’d grown to love over the years. Clementine watched him tenderly, a simple nod encouraging him to delve once more into the path they’d walked on together.

With a soft smile on his lips, Louis started from the beginning.

It was a warm tune, one that irradiated a glow so bright that even the timid moon was drawn to its beauty. A melody so gentle and yet so passionate, a paradox proven possible with every press of a key. An aurora of emotions – bliss, melancholy, hope – all tugging at the strings in their hearts.

But there was something missing; something they hadn’t spoken a word of. Something Clementine was about to fix.

Taking a deep breath, she let herself free.

You rest inside my mind,

Since the day you came,

I knew you would be with me,

Louis’ eyes widened at the sound of her voice. Just like a soft breeze brushing against a vast field of flowers, she flew gracefully over every note. Each word rolled off her tongue with such ease, resembling a single ripple in the calm waters of an unexplored sea. It made the flame inside his chest grow wider, leaving him in awe of the girl he was eternally grateful to have met.

Oblivious to the freckled boy’s thoughts, Clementine focused only on speaking on behalf of her heart. Closing her eyes to the world, she found inner peace as her voice merged once again with the soothing melody echoing throughout the room.

All the time we spent,

What we shared was surely,

Warm enough to know you cared for me.

Louis’ hands lingered onto the ivories after her singing reached its end, her smile emerging from underneath the glimmer of the moonlight. She felt the thumping in her chest calm as the remaining notes came to life in one final stroke, bringing the song to its grand finale. As if carried to the realms of a heavenly dream, Clementine opened her eyes to find the boy staring at her so lovingly, his tenderness the reason for the sudden heat rising on her cheeks.

“Clementine, that… that was beautiful.”

She failed at suppressing a shaky laugh. It had been the first time she’d sung to him, and here she was silently telling herself that it wouldn’t be the last. Her eyes followed the trail to his own, a journey only complete after her hand had reached his, fingers intertwining in their perpetual longing for each other’s touch.

And she smiled.

“Couldn’t have done it without you.”

The warmth he felt inside his core almost took his breath away. He was mesmerized by her, lost in what seemed to be a never-ending mirage. His gaze, so intense, so loving, it spoke to her in a prose whose adoration words could barely replicate – it touched her soul.

Never had his heart screamed so loud for someone.

Just like that, Louis listened to the ballad in his chest and let his actions speak for himself. Gently pulling her in, he pressed his lips against hers, sealing that moment for eternity. The kiss was like a lullaby, soft and affectionate, fueled by the chimes wavering within them. He would have eventually pulled away had Clementine’s hand not crawled up the back of his neck, keeping him close in their little corner of the world.

And in that beautiful starry night, bathed in the warmth of the surrounding flames, they made a promise to never lose one another.

#twdg #twdg the final season #twdg tfs #louisentine #clouis #twdg clementine #twdg louis #louis x clementine #clementine x louis #louisentine fanfiction #<3

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blissfulalchemist · 4 years

Note

“You can share my jacket with me, since you’re shivering.” + dealer's choice!

Thank you Kate! Look at me posting some writing with Hypatia without formal introduction. I hope you enjoy it. X

Cities were never much my thing. Even as a kid I always felt this need to get away to find open space, so much so my mom used to joke about putting me on a rocket to the stars, then I could have all the space I wanted. So while St. Louis was no New York or Los Angeles it was still a city and so it felt like a prison, a feeling that didn’t get better by being cooped up inside a building near twenty four seven. Those of us that were recruited were only allowed outside, fully equipped with fresh air, with supervision at specific times of the day, and then confined to our rooms once night came. Those were the rules and for me….rules were made to be broken. After a few failed attempts I managed to find the one way I could always, one hundred percent guaranteed, have access to the roof in the dead of night. My small haven on nights I couldn’t sleep, the moments of peace I could cling too.

Two years, I had spent two years with the Alchemists readying myself for whatever they had in mind for me. Though they never said much about what they wanted from me specifically but it seemed so far that I was to stay at one of their biggest facilities, never to be transferred out. I had seen other witches come through the doors, get some training or teach some class, and then leave just like that. Some of the women giddy with excitement about where they were being sent too, others rolling their eyes about how their job was probably going to be desk work, but I never left. Little orphan Annie, I stayed where I was, mastering my craft and being put through so much physical training I almost wanted to ask if I was to become an assassin. Not that they’d tell me, it was a need to know and I wasn’t in the loop that needed to know. Soon though, I hoped that it would be soon I would have a chance at my first field run to show them I was more than ready to help them in their cause.

For now I’m left sitting on the edge of this building looking up to the few stars I can make out and the cityscape sounds below me. I can hear footsteps as they approach the door on the far end of the roof, panic surging in my body for only a moment. I swing my legs back over from the edge, ducking down behind some electrical boxes, peeking just over the edge, heart pounding. The door opens and a figure steps out into the low lighting, male and tall, with a medium build. His clothing is a white collared shirt and beige blazer with matching pants, typical stiff Alchemist fashion. His features become more detailed as he leaves the shadow of the door, his auburn hair is falling into his grey eyes, hands in his pockets walking in my direction. The smile he wears almost hides the golden lily on his cheek from this angle as I stand, meeting his smile with a small eye roll, “No unauthorized personnel allowed up here Caro.” I cross my arms, shifting my weight onto my left leg, “Last I checked you’re not authorized.”

I smirk cocking an eyebrow, “And last I checked, neither are you, Conner,” he chuckles pushing his hair back, the pieces falling back to where they were, “Thought you left for the day already?”

He jumps up on the electric box crossing his legs beneath him, “Went to go and check on you and the recruits.”

My eyes widened, biting my lower lip, looking to the ground, “And you didn’t find me where I was supposed to be.”

Conner taps his nose twice, “Third time this month, T,” my mouth falls open and my heart races, “Don’t worry. I haven’t told and don’t plan too.” I let out a sigh taking a seat next to him.

“Not like they could do much about it if you did,” I shrug flipping my hair behind my shoulder. It seems I need to make the illusion spell stronger.

“I don’t even get a thank you,” he shakes his head playfully, “Typical Caro move,” he turns to me, face serious, “They could punish you still if they did find out though.”

I snort, “How? By transferring me out of this place,” I bring my knees to my chest, “I’d be glad for it. I’m starting to hate everything about this place.”

“You can’t hate everything about this place,” he says softly leaning his arms on his knees, “Can you?”

I glance over to him frowning as I see his solemn face, “No. Not everything.” I nudge his shoulder gently with mine, “Don’t hate you Conner. You’re about the only best thing about this place.”

The smile returns, “I could say the same about you, Tia,” I feel the corner of my lips start to pull into a smile, “If I felt that you were the best thing about this place, but the cappuccino machine takes that spot.” I groan rolling my eyes, of course he’d never admit to it, if he did it could be seen as getting too close to the “impure” witches. The Alchemists couldn't have that, nope, not while we still used our unnatural magic. All of us that joined made a vow to forgo our magic once the mission was over allowing ourselves to be pure once more. We both look to the city below us, the passing of headlights on the freeway grabbing our attention the most, “I always loved to see cities from above like this. Highways always reminded me of a river.” I scoff, rolling my eyes, “What was that for,” he asks, a smile evident.

“What was what,” I mock looking away from him to my right, nose pointing up.

He mimics my scoffing, “That. What was that for,” Conner pokes my shoulder a few times. “You got a problem with my views on the city?”

The longer I hold back any kind of response his teasing gets worse, until I groan, pushing his hand away, “I don’t have problems with them,” he rests his chin on his hand, eyes tired fixated on me, Conner doesn’t believe me. “I don’t honestly,” my hands are held up in defense, crossing my legs like him, “Just seems typical of a city boy to say something like that.”

Conner laughs, “Oh I see how it is now,” he shakes his head, “I didn’t live in anything close to a city until I was sixteen and even then it was only a small town.”

“What did you live on a farm before that,” I clear my throat, readying a terrible southern accent, “Hey y’all, my name’s Conner and this here is ma horse.”

I laugh as he rolls his eyes, “You think you’re real cute with your antics don’t you?”

“I think I’m down right adorable.”

“You’re far from adorable.”

“You got a better word to describe me farm boy?” I lean towards him resting my chin on his shoulder, my lips near brushing his slowly reddening cheek.

“I do,” he faces me, lips close to mine, whispering, “Annoying.”

I clutch my chest pulling away from him, “You wound me, Smallville,” the back of my hand makes contact with my forehead, leaning back, “I shall never recover from such an insult.”

“You insult me all the time.”

“I do not,” I lie, mouth falling open, “How can you accuse me of such a thing, cornhusker?”

“Just this morning you said the coffee had better taste than me for hair styles,” he starts to count on his fingers, “Then there was the other day where you said I was so stiff that even a stick wouldn’t fit up my ass. Or the time you said I don’t even shop at a thrift store for my clothing but the knock off of thrift stores.”

“Those are facts not insults,” I correct.

Conner gives a smirk, the only way his dimples show, shaking his head, “Guess it’s just tomato, tomato with you isn’t it. Also are you going to keep going with the farm related nicknames now?”

“Just until something sticks, Kansas.”

He runs a hand down his face, “I didn’t even grow up on a farm you know that right? You just assumed that.”

“So you just grew up in a house in the middle of nowhere?”

“Not really,” he leans back on his hands, eyes looking to the sky, “It was a single street with some houses scattered around it. The school I went to was next to the store, which was next to the bed and breakfast, and so on.” I stare as his eyes become a little glassy with the memories, “Our house was on a few acres of land, still within walking distance, and we had a garden.”

I almost want to laugh at the idea of him tending to different flowers, hands and hair filled with the blossoms, I don’t though, not with the look of happiness in his eyes, “Your mom a florist?”

He smiles, “Yeah. I guess so when you really think about it.” His head rolls to look at me lazily, “Guess we end up craving what we never got in the end.”

I tilt my head, “What do you mean?”

“You grew up in a city your whole life and yet when we found you, you were traveling the open road,” my heart aches at the mention of my life before here and how I may never have that again, “Always seemed to stick to the big open spaces of the desert.”

I flinch, “How do you know it's the desert that I spend the most time in?” Were they watching me for a lot longer than they told me originally? If they were, the question became why?

“Whenever I ask you about your favorite places you always respond with places in the southwest,” he says matter of factly. I should have guessed, Conner’s smart and the only person I have real conversations with in this place. He looks me up and down, the wind has started to blow harder sending a chill through my body, “Your clothing also says a lot about your weather preference.” I look down to the dark purple tank top, with jean cutoff shorts, fishnet stockings, and black boots, my eyes narrowing.

He laughs as I give a light punch to his arm, “It does not. I just like dressing this way.”

“Tell me this then: Do you own anything heavier than a jean jacket?” I look away grumbling, crossing my arms, the goosebumps prominent, “Thought so. You never see yourself as needing one since you’ll never go as far north as Utah.” I hate that he’s right, even in the summers I never go much farther and the forests somehow feel just as packed as the city. I always keep saying one day, but it never came, an excuse always coming up as to why I couldn’t and shouldn’t go. I shiver again, rubbing my arms, Conner already shrugging off his blazer, “Here,” he places it on my shoulders, “You can share my jacket with me, since you’re shivering.”

I push my arms though the sleeves, the warmth spreading through me as I inhale the spearmint and fresh cut pine lingering from his aftershave. “Thanks,” I smile, my dark hair blowing in the wind hiding the small blush I can feel on my cheeks, “Don’t think that I’ll be nice to you after this though.”

Conner laughs, lying back on the box, letting his legs hang off the edge, “Wouldn’t expect anything else from you Patia.” I shoot him a glare at the near use of my full name, “It’s not your full name, so I can get away with it.”

I sigh, stretching myself next to him, “For now, but you're on thin ice buddy.” My eyes search the stars picking out the different constellations hoping to see the one on my pendant.

“Why do you like the open spaces of the desert so much, T,” I hum, my mental star map lost for a moment, “The one thing I never really understood. I mean it’s pretty but there’s always something more with you to places.”

My hands reach for the silver pendant resting at the hollow of my collar bone, tracing the black engraved stars in the connecting parallelograms of Orion, “The stars. You can see all the stars at night.”

“That why you come up here?” I can feel his grey eyes on me as he shift slightly to get a better look, “To take in the ten stars that are visible?”

My brow knits, frowning as I turn to face him, “There’s more than ten stars to be seen here.”

He shakes his head, “I have counted many times over and I only get about ten, sometimes twenty on a really good night.”

I scoot closer to him, grabbing his hand, pointer finger out, “Let me show you. I can point out three constellations and the other stars I can see.” As I make invisible lines he keeps shaking his head, the lights hard to see or not there at all he claims. “I think you need to get your eyes checked, C-man,” I declare, shaking my head sadly, “cause you might be going blind and I can’t have that happen.”

“And why is that?”

“Because your life will fall to shambles if you can’t be graced with my beauty, that's why.”

He groans covering his face, “God what am I going to do with you?”

“You should be asking what you would do without me,” I tease, laughing at his features getting more tired with each word coming out of my mouth.

“I think it’s time to send you back into your cage for the night now,” he says, sitting up.

I whine, I know he’s doing it more for my safety, I’ve already spent too much time out here and the next checks would be coming soon. “Few more minutes,” I place my hand over his, Conner’s eyes glancing between his hand and my face a few times, “Please. You get to have me all to yourself for a little while longer.”

He stiffens, silent for a few moments before he swallows, nodding, “Okay. Just a few more minutes Caro.” Conner settles next to me, gaze avoiding me, keeping to the sky. The heat from his coat vanishing, the warmth of him that replaces it is enough to make the night wind more bearable, and I just know that the smell of spearmint will linger in my hair for the rest of the night. He really needs a new aftershave, he was never going to get a date with the scent of spearmint. That’s something for me to tell him tomorrow, because for now I just want to enjoy this moment of peace I’ll cling on to.

#hypatia caro oc #opinions and feedback are much appreciated #I'm also testing out potential partner for her as I will have to make one

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thearabkhaleesi · 4 years

Photo

REVIEW: VEEP

Veep is a series from HBO following Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a fictional vice president of the United States, and her team as they attempt to make their mark and leave a legacy and all their outrageous antics in Washington, DC. Veep is a great show - given the show premiered in 2012, I’d say it was ahead of its time - as it would’ve been an easy concept to think of in recent years with the absurdity in US politics today. It was innovative & due to how brilliant it was, I doubt there will be a show like it in the near future.During its prime seasons, the show is a near-perfect depiction of subtle yet realistic political satire that didn’t rely on over-the-top gags but on the sheer talent in its writing team and cast, with witty, sharp, clever comedy and on-point delivery. - The cast members, most of which were nominated for Emmys, were outstanding. I thought Julia Louis Dreyfus couldn’t portray a character anywhere as iconic as Elaine in Seinfeld, and boy was I wrong. JLD proves that she’s a master of comedy, in a role tailor-made to her talents - no one could’ve portrayed her as well or made the extremely unlikable Selina Meyer as fun to watch as she did. Another personal favorite of mine was Gary Walsh portrayed by Tony Hale, who always ends up being my favorite in any project I see him in - he was hilarious & the only generally likable, pure character in the show. - However, I have to say I was disappointed by the show’s last two seasons, and for a multitude of reasons. Veep was never the show that had an emotional tone or ever attempted to establish an emotional connection between the characters and the audience - plus, it helped that only a select few of the show’s characters were generally “likable”. But going into the last two seasons, I expected a satisfying ending and a proper, heartfelt farewell to these crazy characters we spent so much time with, and I was let down. Not only did we not get a satisfying ending, it was almost cruel - to us & the characters. The characters were unrecongnizable, the opportunity for meaningful character development thrown out the window in favor of a depressing ending verging on cartoon-ish satire rather than the subtle, smart satire I loved about it. Veep never needed to make a “statement” about the Trump era, it already encapsulated his ridiculousness without even trying in previous seasons just by being what it was. I understand Veep was never an emotional show, I’m totally fine with that, & I actually appreciate some of the details in the finale, but overall… I still would’ve preferred a happier ending which might’ve been more powerful & satisfying.

At the end of the day though, I can’t say I didn’t have a blast watching this show or deny its greatness. It’s excellent despite it’s ending, and a week after finishing the show I value the good things about it more than the ending. I loved seasons 2-5 and will most likely rewatch them every now & then. Do I still recommend it? Yes, if this is your type of comedy you’d enjoy it as long as you keep what I said about the last couple of seasons in mind - don’t go in with the wrong expectations. - 8.5/10⭐️

#veep #review #tv review #julia louis dreyfus #selina meyer

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dinosaursmate · 5 years

Text

Okay sooo lovely @ohwaititwasharry donated to Liam’s birthday charity drive and requested a drabble! I chose this prompt and, uhhh... went off on one AS PER USUAL so this is nearly 1500 words (I feel bad for people I actually wrote drabble length drabbles for) ALSO I slightly altered the prompt as ideas formed so I hope you like it <3

Drabbles for Donations - Information

“Tickets, please.”

Louis looked left and right for anybody who was ready for him. The carriage was filled with the dull sound of people murmuring or rifling through pockets and bags for their tickets. Louis began his sweep of the carriage, checking tickets and trying his best to remember whose tickets he had checked and what stations this particular route stopped at. He was fairly new to the job, and his brain hadn’t quite adapted to retain the necessary information.

They had just left Milton Keynes Central station, with so, so long to go until they reached Glasgow. Louis preferred it, though. The idea of conducting on several shorter journeys seemed annoying. This way, he could settle into the five and a half hour journey, seeing some of the same faces as he walked through the train.

“Tickets?”

A woman chattering into her phone held out her ticket without looking at him. Louis took it, gave it a small scribble to indicate it had been checked, and handed it back. He turned to the other side of the aisle and took the ticket of a man sitting at a table, big headphones sitting round his neck and Louis could faintly hear the beat of what sounded like some kind of classic rock.

The man had long hair, shiny, brown curls past his shoulders and he was absolutely gorgeous. Louis circled on his ticket and handed it back, grinning as sweetly as he could.

“Thank you,” the man said, smiling back.

Louis reluctantly continued his way through the carriage.

After they pulled out of Coventry station, Louis did a sweep through the train again. He checked the tickets of the new passengers, bypassing the ones whose tickets he remembered checking, and accidentally checking a couple that he had already checked. When they pulled out of Birmingham International, he felt slightly disappointed because he knew it was where the gorgeous, curly-haired man’s ticket was for.

When he walked through carriage four again, he was both pleased and disappointed to see the man still sitting in his backwards table seat.

“Uh, wasn’t your ticket for Birmingham International?” he asked. Please, he thought, do not make me have to issue a fine to this cute guy. “You missed your stop, mate.”

The man just smiled, a little cheekily, Louis thought. He handed Louis a ticket - the first thing Louis noticed was that it was unmarked by himself - which read Birmingham International to Crewe.

“Ah,” Louis said with a knowing smirk. “The old split tickets tactic.”

The man just shrugged, grinning. Louis went to circle the time on the ticket, but instead decided to mark the ticket with a smiley face with crosses for eyes. The man took the ticket back, looked at it, and grinned again.

The man actually did have an accent that sounded like he might be from the vague Crewe area, so Louis didn’t expect to see him still on the train after Crewe. But there he was, smiling innocently at Louis as he came down the train to check tickets.

He handed Louis a ticket. It read Crewe to Carlisle.

“So, are you actually getting off at Carlisle?”

The man shook his head slowly, scrunching his face.

“All the way to Glasgow.”

“Well, I hope you’re happy with yourself,” Louis said cheekily as he scribbled on the ticket. “You may have saved money, but your antics are getting on my nerves.”

“I’d say I’m sorry, but it would be a lie.”

Louis narrowed his eyes as he handed the ticket back, before quickly exiting the carriage into the next one before the man noticed that he had written cute curls! On his ticket.

After they left Wigan, Louis came across the man again, who just smirked at him as he checked the tickets of newcomers. The man was wearing his headphones and looking out the window, but Louis tapped him on the shoulder anyway.

“Excuse me. I need to see your ticket.”

The man snorted in amusement and pulled his ticket out.

“You must have forgotten. You already checked my ticket.” He handed the ticket to Louis. “Remember? You wrote a personal remark on it.”

Louis tried not to grin as he took his pen to the ticket.

“I was paying you a compliment.”

“It was a personal remark.” The man was clearly trying not to smile, too. “A sweet one, yes.”

Louis nodded and wrote DIMPLE on the ticket.

“Well, this ticket seems valid.” Louis handed it back. “See you at the next stop, just in case.”

At Preston, Louis wrote nice nails for the passenger’s turquoise nail varnish, and at Oxenholme Lake District he wrote sexy shirt for the floral shirt unbuttoned to the man’s ribs. Once they reached Carlisle and the man handed a brand new ticket to take him on to Glasgow Central, he sighed as Louis snatched the ticket.

“This is your last chance,” the man said. “You gonna compliment me again or are you gonna write something worthwhile on that ticket?”

Louis’ heart stopped. Well, he probably deserved to be called out. He didn’t really know what he was going to do at this point.

“Now, I don’t think that would be very professional of me,” Louis said with an exaggerated sigh, concentrating on the ticket. “Also, this ticket is fraudulent. I’m going to have to issue you with a fine.”

Louis looked for a reaction but the man just rolled his eyes.

“Trying to get me to court so you can see me again?”

Louis glared at him and pressed the ticket onto the table.

“Enjoy sunny Glasgow.”

“It’s nighttime.” The man rolled his eyes again and picked up the ticket. Louis had just circled the time of the train on the front of the ticket, but the man was clever. He turned it over and saw Louis’ phone number written neatly along the blank strip underneath the terms and conditions. “Ah.”

Louis disappeared. This was his last train of the evening, and he had a brief stay in a Travelodge before tomorrow’s shift started with a train back to London at ten tomorrow morning. He was hoping for a text before the night was out.

Three days later, and Louis was in Glasgow Central station, grabbing a sandwich and a doughnut before boarding his next train. He had given up hope of hearing from cute train guy by now, which was disappointing because the guy seemed interested, and, just… he was so hot.

With ten minutes to go until the train left, Louis ate his sandwich and paced the length of the platform. He wasn’t one for sitting still, which was why a job walking up and down a train all day suited him. He checked his phone for the billionth time, noticing a text from his sister, which he stopped to read as he continued to chomp on his sandwich.

“Ahem.”

Louis looked up and his jaw dropped, which he quickly closed because, sandwich. Gross.

“Oh. Hello.”

Cute train guy was slightly taller than Louis, long legs encased in denim and a different but equally as revealing shirt on top. Fuck. Louis had forgotten how hot he was.

“I’m sorry,” the man said, smiling as he adjusted his bulging weekend bag on his shoulder. “I’ve been busy. And I presumed you lived somewhere on the England side of the train line, so...”

“Oh, it’s alright.”

“I’m, um… I’m Harry, by the way.”

“Louis.” Louis held his hand out and they shook, hands lingering for a second. “Nice to completely, properly, officially meet you.”

Harry nodded with a smirk. Louis walked past him and towards the rear of the train - Louis, of course, could get on anywhere and walk through the train, but he didn’t want to - turning around to face Harry whilst walking backwards. “See you in a bit. I hope you have a valid ticket.”

“Oh,” Louis said in surprise. “One ticket for your whole journey today?!”

“What can I say?” Harry said. “It was the cheapest.”

Louis went to circle the train time, but at the last second, drew a heart around it instead. Harry took the ticket back, grinning.

“Um, hey.” Harry cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows pointedly, a look of innocence on his face. “Are there, um, toilets in this carriage?”

Louis’ heart jolted in his chest. Surely he didn’t mean…

“Uh, yeah. Up the back.”

Harry stood up. “Show me?”

When Harry backed into the toilet, he stared pointedly at Louis, who looked around to check no passengers were looking. It was a quiet service so far, thank fuck and, with some difficulty, he wedged himself in the tiny toilet and let the door close.

It took fourteen minutes to get from Carlisle to Penrith, but Louis made an executive decision that tickets didn’t need to be checked again until Oxenholme Lake District.

Or maybe even Lancaster.

If you enjoyed this, you can subscribe to my ao3 here <3

#liam 26 drabbles #back on my shit of cutting it off before smut #SORRRYYYY #anyone can feel free to donate for a sequel lmfao #sorry it was TOO LONG already

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matrixaffiliate · 5 years

Text

Patient

Chapter Update! FFN and AO3

I apologize in advance if there are awful spelling or grammatical errors, I decided two days ago that I didn't like where I had taken this chapter and basically re-wrote everything. So I've only had a chance to proofread this once (normally I proofread at least five times). I hope it's still fun!

Chapter 7

Engaged… Engaged! She, Ginny Weasley, was engaged!

Ginny honestly wasn't sure how to stop smiling. She was immensely grateful that she was a very organized wedding coordinator because she had been rendered useless for the remainder of Vic and Ted's wedding after Harry's proposal. If it hadn't been Ted she was sure Harry would have simply whisked her home.

Home.

His home was going to be her home. The home he grew up in, the home she had fallen in love with when she first saw it, was going to be her home. And it would be her home in a bit more than two months.

Her lease on her flat was up soon, and she had been meaning to get the renewal paperwork to them, but now she was very happy she hadn't managed that. It was much easier to just let the lease run out than to try and break the lease partway through.

"Stay home," Harry stepped up behind her and pulled her from her musings as she plaited her hair.

"I can't love, not all of us are lucky enough to work out of our home office." Ginny laughed and turned in his arms.

Harry was persistent and went immediately for her favorite spot on her neck, just behind her ear.

"You're going to make me late," Ginny's voice was breathless.

"Now you're getting the idea," Harry's voice vibrated against her skin, making her shiver.

"Don't ruin my hair," and then she kissed him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ginny walked into work, still unsure of how to explain showing up thirty minutes late. She managed to step into her office unnoticed and tried to get set up as quickly as possible. Maybe she could play it off as though she had just been a few minutes behind schedule and not spending half an hour being ravished by her fiance before work.

The word fiance put a smile back on her face and Ginny looked down at her hand. Her engagement ring sparkled in the light from her window and she let out a happy sigh just as Josh walked in.

"There you are, I was hoping," he stopped mid-sentence and his eyes went huge. Then he rushed her and pulled Ginny into a tight hug.

"You have to tell me everything! I want details! And who are you going to pick to plan your wedding? Oh please let me do it! I've always wanted to put together a wedding for a coordinator! You'll be my solace in the sea of bridezillas, groomzillas, and wishy-washy couples who claim they don't care!"

"Slow down there, Josh," Ginny laughed as she watched Lyndi and Emily poke their heads in to see what all the shouting had been about.

"Everything alright?" Lyndi asked with a cheeky grin.

"Ginny's getting married!" Josh grabbed Ginny's hand and held it up in the air.

And then Ginny was squished between the three of them as they all spoke on top of each other.

"Slow down," Ginny laughed. "We haven't even had a chance to pick a date yet."

"Did he propose at your niece's wedding?" Emily asked as the trio released Ginny.

Ginny felt her smile grow and she nodded. "He proposed in the garden at sunset."

Lyndi sighed happily, "I'll never get tired of hearing proposal stories."

"Of course you won't, none of us will, that's why we work as wedding coordinators." Josh laughed. "Now, who are you picking to coordinate for you?"

Ginny shook her head, "I'll just handle it. It's not a problem."

The room went so quiet Ginny could hear all three of her friends blinking repeatedly.

"You do know that your wedding would be without the coordinator's fee, right?" Emily's voice was careful, like talking to a ticking bomb.

"Of course," Ginny nodded and logged into her computer.

"So, you want to destroy your sanity because…?" Josh held his arms out to each side with his hands up toward the ceiling.

Ginny laughed, "I'll be fine."

"You know," Lyndi's voice was level, like she was explaining something to her six-year-old daughter. "It was a welcome change to let Emily handle my wedding and to just sit back and enjoy it instead of worrying about every detail the way I do for all my clients' weddings."

"I'll just plan it out so that it runs on its own. I've had to do that for corporate events before, it won't be too hard to replicate for my wedding."

Josh huffed, "Ginny I want to be your wedding coordinator and you're being difficult about it. Lyndi did a great job planning my wedding and Lyndi just told you how wonderful it was to have Emily handle everything on her day. You're not a mule so let's set a time to have your Harry come in and we can start laying everything out."

Ginny laughed at her friends' antics. "I appreciate it, really, and I'll let you know if I change my mind, but I'm sure I can handle my own wedding."

"Sounds like a plan," Emily smiled and reached for Josh's arm as she gave Lyndi a shove out the door, "Congratulations, again! We're so excited for you!"

"This isn't over, Weasley!" Josh called over his shoulder.

Ginny shook her head but smiled. Josh was crazy, but she had to admit that she loved him for it. If only he had a bit more faith in her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We need to pick a date," Ginny was sprawled against Harry on the sofa as he read a draft of a cybersecurity book he was revising for a colleague.

"Whatever you want, love. I'm sure Teddy will be able to make it to anything once he and Vic get home from Provence.

Ginny bit back the sadness that still hit her now that Harry could openly speak about the fact that his only family was Ted.

And you, a little voice reminded her.

The sadness was immediately replaced with the happy smile that bordered on goofy which was more or less her resting face since Harry had asked her to marry him.

"Well, how long do you think we should wait?" Ginny tapped his nose with her finger, before quickly pulling it away when Harry tried to catch it between his teeth.

"Honestly," Harry set the book down and turned to face her. "I'd marry you the day Teddy gets back. Assuming we could pry the newlyweds out of their house for an hour."

Ginny rolled her eyes, "You really got the better end of the deal with being his godfather, you know? Bill gets squeamish if you even mention that his daughter is on her honeymoon."

Harry chuckled, "If I had a daughter, I'd be squeamish too. I imagine Fleur is comfortable with the idea of Vic on her honeymoon, but she might feel different when it's Louis."

"You might be right, but we'll have to wait and see about that one. Now back on topic, when are we getting married?"

"Whenever you want to," Harry leaned in and kissed her softly.

Ginny expected him to deepen the kiss but was surprised when he pulled back.

"Wait, are you asking because the date we pick determines who plans the wedding?"

Ginny blinked as her mind caught up with the question. "Oh! No. I'm coordinating our wedding."

It was Harry's turn to blink.

"What?" Ginny tried to push down the offending feeling that started to tighten in her chest. "You saw Vic and Ted's wedding. It was amazing!"

"It was beautiful, Gin," Harry sighed and looked down at his jeans. "But I was able to spend about 10 minutes with you until I searched you down hours into the wedding and proposed. Would you even get to enjoy our wedding or would you be running around directing everyone and everything, pausing long enough to say 'I do' and then at it again until it's time to cut the cake?"

Ginny exhaled with relief. Harry just didn't know what she was capable of. He'd only seen her at the wedding she had cared the most about.

"I micromanaged Vic's wedding, love." Ginny pulled his hand into hers. "Normally I'm not so crazy and I have time to breathe at the weddings I coordinate."

Harry looked up at her and Ginny wondered if she was ever going to stop getting lost in his emerald eyes.

"My only request is that you're present for our wedding and that you get to relax and not worry about the details."

"I can do that," Ginny pushed forward and kissed him, hoping to reassure her handsome fiance that she did have this. She would plan her wedding out so well it would run itself without any hitches and she'd spend the day enjoying herself as Mrs. Ginny Potter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ginny waited to pick a day until Ted and Vic returned from France and she'd had time to talk with her mum, who flat out told her she was crazy for planning her own wedding when she worked with three accomplished wedding coordinators.

Ultimately, Ginny decided on the end of May for her big day and began sorting through all her possible venues and photographers and florists and DJs and catering groups within the budget she and Harry had.

"Please!"

Ginny looked up from her computer to see Josh had plopped himself down across from her.

"Please, what?" Ginny sighed, this was starting to get old.

"Please, please, please let me do your wedding! Consider it a wedding gift. Consider it a welcome break from taking care of all your clients. Or consider it an act of kindness and goodness to give me a reprieve from my clients. I don't care how you play it out in your head just please let me be your coordinator!"

"Josh, for the last time, I'm fine." Ginny went back to her spreadsheets.

"Yes, I'm aware," Josh rolled his eyes. "Fine is alright, but I could make it so you're fabulous. Wouldn't you rather be fabulous than boring old fine?"

"Josh…:

"Then let me help!" Josh leaned across her desk to look at her screen. "Let me be your shadow while you plan your big day. I'll stay out of the way, I'll be completely silent, I'll simply take note of everything so that if you come to your senses and realize you jumped on the crazy train before May, I'm prepared to rescue you from yourself."

Ginny laughed in spite of how annoyed she was. "Fine, if it will shut you up then you may be my shadow."

"YES!" Josh shoved his fist in the air and then pulled the chair he'd been sitting in around to her side of the desk. Then he pulled out his tablet and pen. "Now, tell me everything you've figured out so far."

Ginny sighed and opened up her email. "Here," she attached her own wedding document to an email to Josh and hit send. "There's everything I have so far."

Josh grinned, "You put Harry's phone number on here? Don't you have that memorized."

Ginny glanced down at the template Emily had created and chuckled. "I guess I got into coordinator mode and just started filling everything out. I do have Harry's number memorized, or I wouldn't have been able to fill that in on autopilot."

"Touche," Josh smiled broadly and Ginny shook her head. He was incorrigible, but she wouldn't really have Josh any other way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I don't know how you're so on top of things," Harry chuckled as they moved her boxes down the stairs to the moving van Harry had rented for the day. "I was up late doing some last-minute things to have everything ready for today."

"What on earth were you doing?" Ginny laughed as they loaded the boxes in. The autumn breeze felt refreshing against the weight of the box of books she had carried down.

"Surprises, my dear, surprises," Harry winked at her and Ginny laughed before kissing him, it was her favorite way to try and pull information from him.

"I'm still not telling you," Harry murmured against her.

"Even if I snogged you in the back of this van?" Ginny whispered.

"Tempting," Harry chuckled, "but I think you'll like the surprises better."

Ginny grinned and pushed away from Harry, "Get a move on Potter." And she went jogging up the stairs, making sure to move in all the ways that drove him mad.

Harry caught up at her door and pinned her against it before kissing her again.

"You are a minx." He whispered in her ear and Ginny shivered.

"And you appear to like it," she nipped playfully at his earlobe. She loved the fire between them; it was intoxicating.

"So much," Harry growled and Ginny thought she might very well faint dead away.

"My parents will be here in the next half hour," Ginny fumbled behind her for the doorknob.

"That's plenty of time to tide us over until you're all moved in at home," and his hand closed over hers as she finally turned the door open.

It turned out that those thirty minutes were barely enough time as her mum knocked on the door just as Harry was, most regretfully, pulling his shirt back on.

"Oh, I'm so excited for you!" Molly beamed as she picked up a box. "I always knew you'd find someone, and now you have and now you have a chance at giving me grandchildren!"

Ginny rolled her eyes at Harry, who waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.

"Let us get through the wedding Mum," Ginny followed Molly out the door as Arthur and Harry picked up her old sofa that they were going to drop off at the Salvation Army.

"Of course, dear, maybe one of your work friends can help you with that so you can focus on the more important things." Molly nearly skipped down the hall to the stairs.

Ginny glanced back her dad and Harry, "Mum hates grandchildren, doesn't she?"

Harry shrugged but grinned, "No one's perfect."

Arthur winked at her, "Your mum isn't the only one who's looking forward to more grandchildren."

Ginny laughed and picked up the pace to be well out of the way when her two favorite men started down those stairs with her old sofa hulking between them.

Once everything was finally loaded Harry pulled Ginny aside before she climbed into her car. "You have to promise me something."

"What?" Ginny furrowed her brow.

"Do not, under any circumstance, go inside the house before me."

"Is this part of those surprises you were talking about?"

"Yes, so please, I worked hard on this and all I ask is that you let me see your face."

Ginny pretended to pout, "You ask for so much, how on earth will I survive such a demanding marriage?"

Harry laughed before bending down and kissing her. "So you'll wait?"

"Of course I'll wait," Ginny pulled back and climbed into her car before winking at him, "fifteen minutes. Then all bets are off."

Harry groaned but smiled, "I'll be right behind you, but thank you for the incentive."

"Anything for my fiance," Ginny blew him a kiss and shut her door.

True to his word, Harry stayed right behind her as she left her old flat for her new home with Harry. Apparently, he wasn't kidding about this surprise.

"Stay right there Miss," Harry jumped out of the van and ran for the front door.

"You'd make a decent cop," Ginny laughed, turning to see if her dad had caught up with them yet.

"It was a thought before everything happened," Harry chuckled and Ginny turned to see that he had opened the door and was now approaching her.

"Trust me?"

"With the majority of things, yes," Ginny teased.

"I'm going to pretend I only heard you say yes," Harry laughed and stepped behind her before covering her eyes with his hand. "I'll guide you in."

Ginny relaxed back into him, allowing Harry to guide her up the walk and steps and into their home. She knew that whatever his surprise was would be a good thing, but she still felt butterflies as he led her into the living room before his hand fell from her eyes and she saw something completely different from what she had seen just two days ago.

The furniture that had come with Harry from the home he shared with Ted was no longer present. In their place was a combination of several pieces of furniture that Ginny had been storing up on a Pinterest board for the last few years.

"Do you like it?" Harry's voice held a nervous tremor to it and Ginny realized she hadn't managed to make any sound since he had shown her the surprise.

"It's beautiful! How did you know? How did you manage this?"

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and kissed her. "Amazingly enough, I do pay attention when you're on your phone while we're on the sofa."

Ginny bit her lip and looked over at the new sofas, end tables, chairs, and kitchen table. "They're beautiful."

"And very comfortable too," Harry gave her a gentle push, "Go on, try them out."

Harry was right, everything was not only beautiful

but also lush and soft and made her want to curl up in a ball and sleep away a Sunday afternoon.

"You're a gift from all the gods," she sighed.

"Now you're just giving me a big head," Harry chuckled.

"I'm talking to the furniture," Ginny stuck her tongue out at him, "but you aren't so bad either."

"Well, fine, I guess you'd rather not see the master bedroom…"

Ginny jumped over the back of the couch and bolted for the stairs, "Race you!"

Harry laughed but was hot on her heels, catching her right before she managed to get the door open. "Damn, Gin, you're quick."

"I had six older brothers," Ginny smirked as she searched behind her for the doorknob.

"Let me help you slow down then," Harry's hand grasped hers before guiding it to the doorknob and twisting it open with her. "Ready?"

"Ready," she pushed open the door and turned around to find that Harry had completely replaced the bedroom furniture, along with the bed, and changed the paint color.

"Is it alright?" Harry ran a gentle hand along the small of her back.

"It's perfect," Ginny whispered, too overcome to manage much else. So she did what made sense, she spun around and kissed Harry for all she was worth.

On the rare occasion words failed her, Ginny Weasley could always be counted on to act. And today that action was pulling Harry down to their new bed, which was so soft she moaned when he pressed her into it.

"How far behind us do you think your parents are?" Harry asked against her neck.

A part of Ginny's brain heard him, and even knew the answer was only five to ten minutes and they really should wait for this sort of thing, but that part of her brain stood no chance at getting through the euphoria that had taken over.

Thankfully, Harry had shut the door behind them, and so her dad rang the doorbell.

Harry groaned, "To be continued?"

Ginny snuggled against the comforter once more before signing and pushing up on her elbows.

"The sooner we get my stuff in here the sooner they leave."

Harry laughed as he helped her up, "Now I know how Teddy felt while I was living with him."

Ginny pushed up and kissed him once more at the top of the stairs, relishing the way he immediately deepened the kiss.

"Thank you," she whispered as she pulled away.

"Thank you," Harry kissed her softly before smiling down at her. "I love you."

"I love you too," Ginny grinned, feeling her chest burn hot.

"Ginny!" Molly called from the other side of the door.

"Coming, Mum!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Your friendly shadow has brought gifts," Josh waltzed into Ginny's office with a bag of scones from the cafe down the street.

"Please tell me you didn't walk down there to get these," Ginny's mouth watered at the thought of a warm scone with how cold it was outside.

"Don't be stupid, I'm not walking outside more than I have to when it's 9 degrees outside and raining."

Ginny laughed, "Then I gladly accept my shadow's gift."

"Good," Josh plopped down across from her and opened the bag before handing over her share. "Now, why haven't you scheduled a dress appointment?"

Ginny frowned, "But I did."

"With which boutique?" Josh pulled out his phone, "because the one you said you liked doesn't have any appointments for you."

Ginny felt panic start to build in the pit of her stomach. "I could have sworn I called them."

"Well, I scheduled one for you so that we could at least have a spot to reschedule if needed." Josh tapped on his screen a moment before the calendar invite was sent.

Ginny breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm free then, but aren't they normally booked through to the end of January by now. How did you get me in for the beginning of December?"

Josh winked, "I told them you were the bride."

Ginny felt her cheeks grow hot. Josh seemed to not notice, or loved her enough not to say anything.

"How is everything for your venue? Need any help there?"

Ginny tried to push away the flustered feeling that was tightening in her chest.

"It's good," she pulled up her emails to make sure that she had managed to reserve the venue.

"Good to hear, and remember, I'm happy to help. Just give the word." Josh picked up the bag of scones. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to bribe the boss lady."

Ginny barely nodded at him as he left. Panic started to grip her when she couldn't find anything in her email confirming that she had sent the deposit to her venue.

Shite.

How could she have forgotten that?!

A sinking thought started to creep into her mind that maybe she was also dropping the ball with her clients' weddings. Ginny tried her best to push the awful idea from her head and called the venue. Thankfully they still had her wedding day open, and rather than risk it again, Ginny paid the deposit right there over the phone.

Then she started on the long process of making sure that every single client's wedding was exactly as it should be. It took her the entire workday, but she managed to confirm that it was just her own wedding that she had dropped the ball on.

She went home with a firm determination to keep that from happening again. She was going to make sure that her wedding received the same precision that she gave her clients.

Unfortunately, it didn't pan out that way.

Ginny forgot to put her appointment with the florist in her calendar and completely missed it. Then she was late to the cake tasting appointment because she went to the wrong bakery for who knows what reason. But with every mishap for her own wedding, Ginny consoled herself that at least her clients' weddings were still going smoothly. Every wedding she'd put on since she and Harry got engaged had been perfect and she'd handled every curve ball smoothly and skillfully.

So why on earth couldn't she take care of her own wedding?

That was the gloom hovering over her as she headed to her dress appointment, along with the heavy gray clouds that had settled over the sky. Josh insisted on driving them there to meet Luna, her mum, and Vic at the boutique. Ginny didn't argue, she owed it to him for catching and saving her mishap. Since he was the only reason she had an appointment in the first place, she could bend and let him have control for a brief moment.

"For a bride about to pick out her wedding dress, you certainly look dismal." Josh turned down his ABBA playlist and glanced at Ginny.

"I'm just thinking," Ginny forced a smile, "there's a lot of work I have to do this week."

Josh tsked, "Put it all on the back burner future, Mrs. Potter. The rest of this afternoon is about you looking fabulous while you try on wedding gowns!"

Ginny felt a tinge of excitement start to return. Josh was right. She was picking her wedding dress today! She should be excited! She shouldn't be fretting over other details (even if they were enormous details - like her inability to plan her own wedding) right now; after all, they were sure to still be there tomorrow, so they could make do without her for the afternoon.

"You're right," Ginny gave Josh a genuine smile, "this is my afternoon to feel fabulous!"

"Damn straight," Josh winked at her and Ginny laughed. This afternoon was going to be fun and exciting, just like it should be.

When they pulled up, Josh stopped her before she could get out of his car.

"Let me give you the full experience, let me treat you like a client, just for this."

Ginny shook her head, "It's fine Josh."

"Harry asked me to make sure this was a good experience for you. He said you've been a little stressed and he'd like you to have a break."

"Oh he did, did he?" Ginny made a mental note to tell her lovely finance to keep his nose out of her work.

"Look, they," Josh pointed at the boutique door, "think you are my client. So if you don't want the full experience of being my client then I have to call them and tell them I lied and have them get rid of all the perks I ask for with my brides."

Ginny glared at Josh, but she knew she couldn't jeopardize Josh's or her own professional relationship with the boutique. The sneak had played all in, and he won the gamble.

"Fine, for the purpose of this appointment and to keep our professional lives less dramatic, I am your client."

Josh's grin looked like the Cheshire cat. "I promise you won't regret this."

Ginny took a deep breath and sighed. "I suppose we'll find out."

Luna, Molly, and Vic greeted then excitedly when Ginny and Josh walked in and Vic rushed to hug Ginny.

"I'm so happy you're letting Josh plan this for you! You'll feel just like the princess you made me feel like!"

Ginny bit back her insistence that Josh was only taking care of the dress appointment and forced a smile as she turned to look meaningfully at Josh.

"Josh definitely knows how to make sure professional bridges don't get burned. I'm sure this will be lovely too."

Vic frowned, "Right…"

"Ginny you remember Marisol," Josh gave a nervous chuckle and turned to one of the associates. "Why don't we get started?"

She hated to admit it, but it only took five minutes before Ginny had relaxed into her new role as simply the bride. It actually felt good to take off the up-teen number of hats she normally wore and slip on the bride's tiara for a few hours. She had fun getting her measurements, talking about the styles she liked and trying on the samples Marisol pulled. It was sort of freeing to have Josh there taking the notes she normally took and answering all the hard questions that she would have needed to pull her tablet out to answer properly.

It was especially nice because when Ginny tried on the dress she wasn't stressing about anything to do with her wedding or any other weddings as she stood on the pedestal and stared at her reflection.

"I guess we can go home," Luna's singsong voice seemed far away as Ginny stood captivated by her image in the mirror. "I think she's found it."

"You're beautiful," her mum's near sob started to pull Ginny back to the present.

"Harry is going to die!" Vic laughed. "I can't wait to tell Ted!"

Ginny smiled, then she felt tears on her cheeks, and as her brain registered that she was crying, Ginny laughed. She laughed and when she turned and looked at her mum crying on the sofa next to her Ginny cried along with her and laughed harder.

For the first time since Harry proposed, Ginny felt nothing but excitement for her wedding, and it felt amazing!

The moment seemed to cocoon her and her little sororitas, and Ginny didn't notice as Josh consulted with Marisol, arranging the details, keeping Ginny focused on what was most important.

When the euphoric fog finally lifted, all Ginny had to do was approve the sale.

Ginny signed on the dotted line and then took a deep breath and swallowed her pride.

"I think I owe you lunch," she turned to Josh, "and a thank you."

Josh shrugged, "You didn't kill me so I say we're even."

"Really Josh," Ginny smiled, wishing her whole wedding planning experience could feel like this, "Thank you."

"Just tell that beau of yours I did my job." Josh winked at her as she climbed into Vic's car.

"I think you have a crush on my fiance but I'll tell him you did fabulously," Ginny laughed.

Josh waved as Vic started the car.

"So, what will we be telling Harry and Ted when we get back to yours?"

Ginny sighed happily, "That it was magical."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The magic seemed to fade quickly. In the midst of holiday madness and then the New Year and Valentine's Day, Ginny continued to drop the ball on her own wedding planning.

The last straw was the beginning March when she had to pay an extra 20% to get her invitations printed on a rush order because she had somehow not managed to approve the design when she read the initial email with the proof from the designer.

She came home close to tears that day.

"Hey love," Harry called from his office. "I'll be done in just a minute."

"No rush," Ginny set everything down and moved to the kitchen.

She might as well get dinner going. Maybe she was shite at planning her own wedding, but at least her mother taught her how to cook. She started pulling pans and ingredients down and setting them out on the counter, simultaneously trying to calm the cacophony inside her head.

Why, oh why was she so useless at one of the few things she desperately wanted (and her budget needed her) to be amazing at? Ginny was just grateful she was staying on top of her clients' weddings. She didn't think she could handle it if she was letting her clients down too and not just herself.

She reached into the cupboard for a jar and as she pulled it out, it slipped from her grasp and shattered against the floor.

It was an accident, her logical thinking brain tried to calm the thundering storm of emotion that threatened to spill over with the contents of the jar onto the floor. But the emotional storm only saw the jar smashing onto the floor as some sort of foreshadowing for what she was going to end up doing to her own wedding. That the whole event would be ruined because she couldn't handle planning her own wedding.

"Ginny!" Harry came into the kitchen seconds after the jar hit the floor. "Are you alright?"

Ginny nodded, staring at the mess on the floor as she willed herself to not cry.

"You're not hurt are you?" Harry wrapped a tentative hand around her fingers.

His touch was what did her in. The tears came rushing through the broken dam as she realized that she wasn't just going to ruin her big day, she was going to ruin Harry's too.

"I'm not hurt," she hiccuped as Harry immediately tensed and his face went panic-stricken. "I'm just ruining everything! And I'm going to ruin our wedding and I just want to be able to something right!"

The last words came out in heavy sobs and Ginny collapsed into Harry as he pulled her to him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he pulled her away from the kitchen and guided her to the sofa. He held her until the sobbing had receded to simply crying before talking again.

"Gin, love, why do you think you're going to ruin our wedding?"

"Because I keep screwing it up," Ginny felt the heavy sobs threatening to return and tried to swallow them back down.

"You mean the little mishaps you've had with planning it?"

Anger bubbled up at Harry's opinion that her mistakes were minor. "Right 'little mishaps' like having to pay an extra 20% on our invitations today because I'm an idiot and didn't get them approved in time. Harry, I could lose my job for doing that with a client and I'd be the one paying that 20% out of my pocket, not the client. So excuse me for feeling like these 'little mishaps' are more than just grammatical errors in my emails!"

Harry sat in stunned silence a moment before pulling Ginny against him. "I'm sorry. I belittled your feelings and I'm sorry."

Stupid Neville and his stupid psychology voodoo teaching Harry good ways to de-escalate.

"I hate your friend," Ginny muttered as she felt the fight start to go out of her.

"I'll let Nev know," Harry chuckled. "Do you want to talk more about what's wrong and how I could help?"

Ginny heaved a heavy sigh. "I don't know what to do."

"Well," Harry furrowed his brow, "When I say that to Nev, he always asks me three questions. First is how do I feel now; the second is how do I want to feel, and third is how do I think I could get there from where I am now."

Ginny huffed, "Fine, right now I feel like absolute shite. I feel like a failure."

"Alright," Harry nodded, "and how do you want to tell feel?"

A very large part of Ginny wanted to answer with some smart remark, but Harry was trying and she determined she could put that effort in too. So she really considered it, how did she want to feel? The answer hit her so fast she laughed.

"I want to feel the way I did at my dress appointment." In spite of how awful she felt, just the memory of her dress appointment brought a smile to her tear-streaked face.

Harry's grin was immediate, "So how do we get you there from here?"

That step felt a bit more like a gut punch. She would have to call Josh and admit that she couldn't do this, she couldn't plan her own wedding.

"Hey," Harry brought a gentle hand to her cheek, "where did that beautiful smile go?"

Ginny sighed, "It got swallowed up in my pride. To get myself from where I am now to where I want to be, I have to admit to my work that I wasn't cut out for planning my own wedding, that I failed and all my insistence that I could do this on my own was me having a big head."

"First of all," Harry shook his head, "I would be willing to bet our house that if your job wasn't coordinating weddings you would have handled ours just fine. Second, you have not failed, you've just made yourself miserable. Third, you had every right to be sure of yourself, every wedding you've ever planned has been amazing." Then Harry guided her eyes back up to his with caressing fingers. "But Gin, I need you to know that I'll marry you right now if that's what you want. If you want to throw the idea of a traditional wedding out the door, then I'm happy to throw the deposits away and go to the register office with your parents and Teddy and Vic and call it done. All I want is you."

And then Ginny was crying again for a whole new reason as she looked into the green, green eyes of the man she loved. He was right. They could just get married at the register office and call it done, forget the money spent and cut their losses. It was tempting, oh it was tempting. But her mother's words of regret echoed in her mind. Words of sadness that she hadn't made anyone take a picture of her and Arthur when they eloped. Regret that she had nothing to show her children from that day. Regret that there would be no wedding pictures to display at her funeral. Charlie had joked that they would just display everyone else's wedding pictures at Molly's funeral. Ginny suddenly wanted to make sure she was one of those pictures. She wanted to tell her children how wonderful it all was, and to have them sorting through wedding pictures when she was long gone.

And she wanted all of that more than she wanted to protect her pride.

"I need to call Josh," she hiccuped.

"You're sure?"

Ginny nodded as she pulled a tissue from the box before slipping her phone from her pocket.

"He's been begging for this since you proposed."

Harry chuckled, "We'll tell him he owes you a favor then."

"I honestly think he's doing me the favor, but he definitely is going to be excited."

Josh cheered so loud when she asked him to take over her wedding Harry heard it from the kitchen as he cleaned up the broken jar, and Ginny had to hold the phone away from her ear.

#hinny #hinny fanfic #harry potter fanfiction #harry x ginny #harry potter x ginny weasley #Patient #wedding coordinator au #wedding planner au #muggle AU #harry potter #ginny weasley #romance #fluff #tedoire

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taetaespeaches · 6 years

Text

“Plus, that French toast is going to taste terrible”

The Dearest Boy (Part 3: Voice)

Taehyung x Reader (or oc)

Word count: 1.7K

The Dearest Boy Masterlist

a/n: This is pretty self-explanatory. We all love Tae’s soulful voice. This is kind of about how he unknowingly comforts you with just his voice, both speaking and singing, and how he makes you feel. It’s basically just you two singing old songs in the kitchen. Enjoy!

Moodboard by: @la-vie-en-tae

As you pushed the front door of your apartment open, escaping the brisk air of the chilly night, your ears were flooded with the warmth of your boyfriend’s soothing voice singing along with “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Quietly, you shut the door and shed yourself of your shoes and jacket before tiptoeing towards the kitchen, following the sound of Taehyung’s voice. An adoring smile spread across your features as you spotted your sweet man standing over the stove, comically mimicking Louis Armstrong’s low growly voice as he sang into the spatula in his hand.

Snickering under your breath, you silently watched him, leaning against the wall with your arms crossed over your chest. Seemingly unaware of your presence, Taehyung continued to sing along. “The way your smile just beams, the way you sing off key,” he turned around, spatula still in hand, and pointed at you as he sang that line.

Feigning offense, you gasped. “Are you saying I sing off key? Me?”

“Quit spying on me and come over here and dance with me,” he smiled adoringly. Dropping the spatula onto the counter, he stepped towards you as you met him half way, pretending to be reluctant though you practically skipped over to him.

“How did you know I was there?” You asked through a bashful grin.

“I can feel your presence,” he said simply, nonchalantly even, as though his comment didn’t just make your cheeks flush pink. Pulling your form against his, he snaked one arm around your waist while his opposite hand clasped over yours, holding them between your bodies. Your other hand positioned itself on his shoulder as he began to sway you both.

As Louis continued to sing, you slid your arm down to grip Tae’s bicep, resting your head on his shoulder. As Ella’s voice joined Louis’, Tae giggled into your hair. “What’s funny?” You smiled against his shoulder.

“I’m just thinking about you standing there watching me like a weirdo,” he teased, squeezing your side in his palm and playful fingers.

“Hey, I was just stunned,” you giggled. “Who said you were allowed to enter a kitchen, much less attempt to cook?” You teased back.

“I’m cooking you dinner, Peaches. You should appreciate my effort to show you my love,” he defended with a wide grin.

Lifting your head from his shoulder, you looked at him with big eyes and an equally big smile. “I do appreciate it. Really, I do,” you told him genuinely.

Bashfully, he smiled at you as his cheeks flushed with a tint of red. “You’ve just been working so hard, I wanted to give you a break and let you relax.” Leaning in, you kissed his lips softly, showing your appreciation. Pulling away, he bit his lip.

“Thank you, Angel,” you smiled. “Do you need any help?” Tae looked around at the mess of ingredients spread out on top of the counter.

“Would it ruin everything if I said yes?” He smiled shyly, embarrassed by his poor cooking skills.

Giggling, you shook your head. “Not at all,” you told him as you leaned up to kiss him again. Tae’s hand came up to hold the back of your head, deepening the kiss a bit before pulling away and stepping back. He twirled you around as a new song started playing as he made his way back to the stove. A gasp suddenly sounded from your boyfriend. “I burnt this one,” he mumbled. Turning to look at you with wide eyes, a smile played on his lips, a giggle attempting to escape. As you laughed at his innocent eyes, he followed suit, allowing himself to laugh at his mistake.

“What are we making? French toast?” Excitement flashed across your eyes.

“Your favorite comfort food,” he said proudly, making you grin in giddiness.

Looking at him fondly, you whispered, “You’re too good to me.” Work had been stressful, and obviously, Taehyung had picked up on your negative feelings.

Laughing shyly, he shook his head as he reached for a piece of French toast. “They’re soggy though,” he pouted, wiggling a piece of the bread in front of his face, eyes slightly crossing as he watched the toast.

You shook your head as you laughed. “It’s perfect.” Tae looked at you incredulously, knowing you were lying but appreciating your effort to spare his feelings.

As you both cooked, Taehyung started singing again, holding the spatula out to you every now and then to get you to join him. “Fly Me To The Moon” by Frank Sinatra started playing through the kitchen, making Taehyung step behind you and sing into your ear, his hands placed firmly on your hips. “You are all I long for, all I worship and adore. In other words, please be true, in other words, I love you,” he sang lowly, making goosebumps appear across your skin as your body tingled.

As the brass instruments swelled into a soft jazzy instrumental, he spun you around and made you dance with him once again, resulting in you throwing your head back in laughter. He dramatically sang along with Frank to the end of the song, tapping on your nose during the final “I, love…. You”.

“Stop,” you whined, however, showing no signs of wanting him to stop.

Licking his lips, his eyebrows pulled together a bit as he prepared his next words. “We don’t have to talk about it tonight, ok?” Looking at him with wide eyes, he continued. “Actually, we shouldn’t talk about it tonight. I know you’re stuck in there,” he tapped your forehead, “but I want you to try to let it go for now.” Cocking his head, his eyes widened, taking on the sweetest expression. “What can I do to take your mind off it?”

Taehyung was unbelievably observant, and he always understood how your mind worked and what you needed. What he didn’t know was just how affected you were by the sooth of his voice. It calmed your heart, relaxed your body, and freed your mind. Especially when he spoke to you in that sweet tone that showed just how much he cared for you. And especially when he sang.

“Can you just keep singing to me?” You asked shyly, pouting a bit. A stunning smile spread across Tae’s face as he nodded happily.

Your body flooded with warmth as your ears drank in the sound of his soulful voice mixed with a childlike giggle as he sang along to George Harrison’s “What is Life” while dipping a piece of bread into the egg mixture, handing it to you so you could plop it in the frying pan. With every phrase, word, syllable he sang, his timbre calmed you.

Watching your boyfriend struggle as he over soaked yet another piece of toast in the egg mixture, cursing under his breath as he bit his lip in frustration, you couldn’t care less about the discomfort your taste buds would experience in a few minutes.

Suddenly, the combination of his silly cooking antics with his stunning resonance that never failed to make you feel something… everything… your emotions emerged to the surface. With pouted lips, you cast your gaze down to the French toast, trying to get a grip on the tears flooding your eyes. When the toast started to burn, smoke coming off it in a not-so-pleasant smell, Tae bent over to peer at your face, whispering a concerned, “Peaches?”

“I’m sorry,” you sniffled, turning to Taehyung to let him wrap you up in the safety of his embrace as your arms flung around his shoulders.

“No, Sweets, you’re ok, don’t say sorry. Don’t apologize,” he said as he briefly moved a hand from your frame to shut the stove off. “It’s ok,” he cooed into your hair, pressing light kisses to your head.

“I’m ruining French toast night,” you whined through broken sobs.

Shaking his head, he squeezed your body. “No, you’re not, you’re not ruining anything. Plus, that French toast is going to taste terrible,” he chuckled, making your lips turn up a bit.

“No, the French toast is perfect, Tae. You’re perfect,” you mumbled into his chest. He continued to assure you that you were ok as your tears lessened.

When your sobs stopped and your breathing calmed, he pulled away a bit to look into your eyes, inspecting them for answers of what to do next.

“Do you want to talk about it? We can talk,” he told you sweetly. Shaking your head firmly, you sniffled again.

“Not tonight.” Tae’s eyebrows scrunched as he studied your expression. “I’m ok—”

“Peaches, you’re not ok,” he told you gently in his charming low timbre, bringing his hands to cradle your face, his thumbs wiping away the moisture that had collected on your cheeks. “It’s ok that you’re not ok, but don’t pretend you are.”

Nodding in understanding, you sighed. “I just wish I could always feel like that,” you gestured to the stove.

Eyebrows raising, he looked at you in confusion. “Like what?”

“Like how I feel when we’re cooking shitty French toast together and you’re singing our favorite songs.” Tae’s eyes softened in understanding, pouting slightly at you.

“Unfortunately, things can’t always feel that good,” he smiled sadly. “But you know what?” Raising your eyebrows in question, he grinned wide and genuinely. “We can feel like that tonight.” Letting a small smile form on your lips, he grabbed his phone off the counter next to you. “Did you know…” he dropped off, making you look at him expectantly until the music started, Tae immediately crooning out, “Darling, you-ooh-ooh send me…”

A massive smile spread across your face, a giggle slipping out. Your sweet man leaned in to press a soft kiss to your temple as he continued to sing along to “You Send Me” by Sam Cooke. He simply held you in his arms, cradling you against his chest as you nuzzled your face into his neck pressing kisses to the sensitive skin. You could hear the smile in his voice as a reaction to your soft kisses across the expanse of his neck and throat, and that was all you needed in that moment. Just him. His voice. And his kind, gentle soul.

#taehyung #kim taehyung #BTS v #taehyung scenario #taehyung imagines #taehyung imagine #taehyung fluff #taehyung drabble #bts #bts scenario #bts scenarios #bts imagine #bts imagines #bts fluff #bts drabble #bts drabbles #the dearest boy #the dearest boy voice #thanks for reading

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the-borhap-boys · 6 years

Text

Bruises Fade: Chapter Two

Slow burn Ben!Roger Taylor X OC

Summary: Amelia Mcallen, an old friend of Freddie Mercury’s just came back from traveling abroad and she finally meets his band for the first time. She grows close with most of the band but grows to hate one man in particular. Can their hatred for each other ever change?

Note: This chapter kind of sucks but I wanted to get it out so I didn’t destroy it through over editing like I tend to do.

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of abuse

Word count: 3406

When she got the call to meet the boys at the rehearsal space and bring dinner Millie jumped to her feet. Louis and she were curled up on the couch, watching some cooking show and she felt bad to leave him but needed time out of the house. Louis offered to drive her and she accepted his offer, giving them more time to spend together.

In the car his fingers rested on her thigh and he smiled over at her as she talked about her day. Since she’d only known the band for a couple of months, she hadn’t wanted them to meet yet. She didn’t know how Freddie would react to her having a boyfriend and she also didn’t need her two separate worlds to collide.

Louis was usually peace, warm mugs of tea, early bedtimes, steady jobs, gentle classical music and studying by the fireplace. The band and Freddie were excitement, shots of vodka and drunken nights, cigarette smoke and pounding eardrums. They were the complete opposite of each other and she liked being able to cross between the worlds seamlessly.

“So when will I get to meet the infamous Freddie?” Louis questioned

She swallowed softly, trying to think of an answer that wouldn’t upset him.

“Oh, they’re pretty busy right now and since we had classes and everything….” she trailed off letting him figure the answer out for himself.

“So, you’re what? Embarrassed of me?” a hint of anger slipped through his usually calm demeanor.

Her shoulders rose to her ears at the familiar hiss.

“No, I just don’t think you would get along very well but if you want me to I can plan a dinner or something or if you want you can meet them today or,” she babbled on with anxiety until his thumb stroked the inside of her thigh.

“I didn’t mean to upset you, baby. I can meet them whenever you feel comfortable,” he soothed.

She sighed and relaxed back into her seat, entwining her fingers with his.

“But I would like to knew the men you are spending all your time with. got to make sure you aren’t cheating on me,”

She turned to him and snatched her hand back from his.

“Why should it matter who I spend time with? Shouldn’t you trust me?” she questioned angrily.

She didn’t enjoy being mistrusted and the idea that it falls on the band to make sure she didn’t cheat on her boyfriend pissed her off.

“Sure, I trust you but I don’t trust men around you. I mean, just look at how beautiful you are,”

Heat rose to her cheeks and she tucked her head against the window shyly.

He continued on “anyways women aren’t always the most trustworthy. Remember my ex? She was always cheating on me, you could be the same.”

The tinge of happiness she felt from his compliment melted away and she turned towards him again in fury.

“Because one woman cheats you think we all cheat. I love you Louis. I would never cheat on you.”

He yanked his hand off her thigh and slammed it down on the console in between our seats.

“Do not yell at me in her car,” he yelled. “What had I told you about your temper? You need to learn to control it or we can’t be together.”

Tears pricked against her eyelids and her nose began to burn as she pressed herself against the door. His eyes glared forward onto the foggy street not once looking at her.

“I’m not yelling,” she whimpered. “but I’m sorry for upsetting you,”

He wouldn’t say a word and as they rode in silence tears dripped down her cheeks. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel. Her fingers trembled and she sniffled trying to hold back sobs.

When they pulled into the parking lot of the rehearsal space, he turned to her and gently grabbed her hands in his. She kept her eyes on her jeans, picking out every flaw in the cloth and trying not to make eye contact.

“I’m sorry for making you cry but you understand her jealousy, right?” he said sweetly.

She nodded hoping to keep his anger at bay. She felt lucky it was just a small outburst and there were no true repercussions. He brought her hands to his lips kissing each knuckle softly.

“I love you my dear”

“Love you too,” she murmured before pressing a kiss to his cheek and climbing out of the car.

As he pulls out of the parking lot, she watched him, waving until he was out of sight.

“Who was that?” Rogers husky voice asked in her ear.

She jumped and grabbed her heart with her free hand. He doubled over in laughter and after she caught her breath, she glared up at him.

“That was no one and that was mean,” she grumbled.

He chuckled slightly, his chest still heaving from laughing so hard and she tried not to stare at the half opened linen shirt draped over his shoulders.

“So, is that why you wouldn’t go out with me?” he questioned before taking a drag from his cigarette.

“No, that was because you are a cocky asshole,”

His eyes narrowed and he blew his smoke directly in her face forcing her to turn away coughing and waving her hand around. She tried to walk away from him before she dropped the bags of food balanced in her arm. Before she took three steps, he grabbed her shoulder and spun her around roughly. He plucked a bag out of her arms and walked beside her into the studio.

“What was that for?”

“I am not an asshole,”

Inside the studio John and Brian were occupied with actually rehearsing while Freddie leapt to his feet the minute he saw them and swooped her into a hug. When she stepped out of his grasp, he looked at her face and scrunched his face up in confusion.

“Had you been crying?” he questioned.

She wiped her eyes quickly and felt a few tears but she can’t tell him about the fight right now.

“No, it was raining,” she said.

Roger looked up from rummaging through the bag of foods and smirked knowingly.

“it was not raining.” He said bluntly. “The tears might have something to do with the guy she kissed in the car,”

“Would you shut the fuck up Roger,” she growled.

He bit into a burger and sat back on the floor reclining on one hand, his legs spread in front of him.

“Ooh princess has a mouth on her,”

She went to take a threatening stepped towards his relaxing body but Freddie grabbed her by the shoulders and stepped in front of her.

“Since when are you kissing boys in cars?”

“Since it was my boyfriend,” she spat angrily. “does that make you happy?”

Freddie’s face lit up and he twirled her around. John’s warm chuckle rang through the room forcing her to smile slightly.

“Since when have you had a boyfriend? When can we meet him? Is he treating you right?” Freddie questioned.

“I’m sure you’ll meet him soon. Yes, he treats me fantastically,” the last bit felt almost painful but she wasn’t going to say her boyfriend yelled at her when she didn’t clean his socks the way he liked or how he accused her of cheating on him if she was even thirty minutes late anywhere.

“I’m happy for you darling,” Freddie smiled and she couldn’t help but feel peaceful.

She was with her boys eating burgers, drinking beer, arguing and laughing. No one was going to hurt her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They’d been rehearsing for a few hours and she had papers from her literature class spread across the floor as she lounged. Her entire body was spread eagle across the floor and her head laid face down on the linoleum when she felt a gentle pressure on her back. She glanced up quickly to see Roger with his boot resting on the small of her back.

“What would happen if I stepped on her,” he mused aloud. She glanced around the room to see John chuckling as Brian rolls his eyes.

“Would she just snap in half? You know fragile little bird bones and all,”

She rolled onto her back and his foot landed heavily on her stomach forcing out a heavy exhale.

“I do not have fragile bones,” she groaned.

He bent down and lifted her arm off the floor where it lied limply. As he shook it back and forth violently, she giggled and try to pull away from his grasp.

“Look at her Deaky. She’s just ever so weak.” He laughed as she finally rolled away and jumped to her feet. He began advancing towards her hands outstretched, fingers wiggling in the air.

“Who thinks our little Millie is ticklish?” he said over his shoulder to the boys. Freddie jumped to his feet, bouncing up and down.

“I know she is,” he laughed watching Rogers antics.

“Leave the poor girl alone, Roger,” Brian said as he continued plucking away on the red special

“Yeah Roger! Leave me alone,” she giggled as she tried to hide behind John. Her plan didn’t succeed when he grabbed her arm pulling her out from behind him and holding her right within Rogers grasp.

Rogers fingers crawled up and down her sides and she sucked in hiccupping gasps over her giggles. He threw his head back in delight at her reaction as she tried to wriggle away from the two men holding her hostage.

“Can someone help me?” she squealed. “Please! Freddie! Brian!”

Neither man came to her rescue and she continued thrashing around. Just when she thought he was finally done Rogers arms encircled her waist and he threw her over his shoulder. She screamed and kicked as she tried to climb off him.

“Hold still before I drop you,” he laughed but she began panicking and her thrashing stopped as anxiety seized her body.

“Roger put me down!” she yelled, her tone changing from playful to angry.

He continued laughing carrying her around the room like some kind of prize but as she slowly got quieter and quieter he grew worried. He lowered her to the ground and she walked over to her books silently. She wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone. The tone in the room changed from joyful and playful to somber in a moment.

She laid back down on the ground and began studying again as the boys picked up their instruments. No one mentioned the sudden change and she silently thanked them in her head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After hours of rehearsing Millie was half asleep on the floor with John’s sweater under her head and Brian’s jacket on top of her. The boy’s voices slip into her sleep muddled brain and she tried to understand their conversation.

“Freddie, she was sobbing when they pulled in and she wouldn’t even look in his eyes,” Roger muttered.

“Well what are we supposed to do? Attack her boyfriend because he made her cry? Roger, couples fight maybe if you stayed with a girl for more than one night you would know,” Brian said

“Oh piss off. He is not treating her right, I just knew it.”

“Maybe you should just…” John started.

Before he could finish, she rubbed her eyes sleepily and sat up.

“good morning gorgeous,” Freddie chuckled.

She groaned softly and a smile spread across Rogers lips as he stood above her, hands on his hips.

“What time is it?” she grumbled

“About 4 in the morning,” Brian answered as he helped her to her feet.

She jumped up, fully awake and began throwing her school books into her bag. All the boys stared at her in confusion but she didn’t have time for them right then.

“Fuck shit fuck! He’s going to kill me,” she said to herself.

she began to riffle through her wallet looking for change but when she didn’t find any she threw it to the side in frustration.

“Do any of you have enough for a phone call?”

Brian dug around in his pocket and pulled out a couple of coins. As she dialed the home number her hands shook not prepared for the screaming match about to ensue.

“Where are you,” he asked, deadly calm.

“I went and spent the night at a friends house, I’m so sorry I didn’t call we were watching tv and listening to music and the time just escaped me and then I..”

He interrupted her babbling “What friend?”

“Laura finch. You haven’t met her.” she held her breath expecting him to blow up. He didn’t and she exhaled slowly. “I’ll be home first thing tomorrow morning. I promise.”

Nothing.

“I love you,” she whispered.

Nothing.

The dial tone began to beep before she even took the phone away from her ear and the tears began to prickle to her eyes again. She rested her head against the phone box, letting the cold seep through her cheek.

When she turned around Roger was leaning against the wall. He frowned in contemplation and they stared at each other silently, soaking in each other’s presence.

“Can I hug you?” she asked so softly she could barely hear herself.

He didn’t respond but opened his arms and enveloped her tightly. The scent of sweat and nicotine clung to him and soft tendrils of hair brushed against her cheek as she pressed her face tight against his shoulder. His fingers nearly dug into her waist but it was a comforting tightness and she felt like she could stay there forever.

Too soon she had to step back, his fingers dragging along her waist as she pulled away.

“Do you think you could drive me to a friends house tonight?”

He stared down at her blankly.

“No,” her mouth gaped open at his answer “You can spend the night with one of us,”

She backed away slightly and stared at him in confusion as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall again.

“Roger, I’m not staying with one of you. I would get in so much trouble,”

“With your boyfriend? Millie, that’s not ok.” He said calmly stepping forwards and forcing her back. “You shouldn’t let him treat you like that,”

She turned away, not able to look at his piercing blue eyes any longer. His hand fell heavily on her shoulder and she jerked away quickly.

“You don’t get it Rog. He’s a good man. He just gets angry sometimes,”

When she glanced back up at him his face is flushed and his jaw was clenched.

“I’m not driving you to a friends house. You can stay at my place or one of the other boys,”

She stormed back into the rehearsal space and grabbed her bag off the floor. Brian jumped off the couch at her entrance and put his hands up in a calming gesture.

“Can one of you drive me to a friends house?” she asked angrily.

“Millie, its 4 in the morning just stay at Freddie’s place for the night,” Brian said stepping towards her.

Roger busted back into the room, mumbling under his breath and kicking anything he could find.

“Stubborn brat,” she heard him mutter. She glared at the back of his head as he stomped over to the drum kit. Her fingers clenched tightly on the straps of her bag and she almost bite her tongue but she just couldn’t. She’d had enough and just snapped.

“You know apparently I’m a stubborn brat because I don’t want to go back to a random man’s house,” she growled angrily towards Brian making sure she was loud enough for Roger to hear. He stood up from the drums and stormed over to her until they were inches apart.

“First of all, since when are we just random men? Second you are being stubborn because you are willing to went back to a man who is hurting you when we all want to help you,” he hissed, poking her in the shoulder with each word.

Her mouth gaped open at his accusation and she glanced around the room hoping for some sort of back up.

“Close your mouth, love. You’ll catch flies,” he sneered.

“you know nothing about her boyfriend and even if he was hurting me which he is not,” she added the last bit quickly making sure to defend Louis. “Why do you care?”

His eyes met hers for a second before he rolled them exaggeratedly and stormed away. He threw his hands in the air.

“Fine, you know what. I don’t care. I’m so sorry for caring about you Millie. What do you want me to do? Punish herself for caring about you?” he yelled sarcastically. “Why can’t you open up to us for once? We try to be nice to you and you seem like you want a friend but then you just retreat back into your little shell every time,”

“I do not retreat into a shell,” she said, her eyebrows furrowing as she wrung her hands together.

“Whatever. I don’t care anyways.” He mumbled “even if I did it doesn’t matter because you had a monopoly on who can care about you,”

She ran her hand through her hair and glanced down at the ground. When she looked back up Roger was sitting at his drums, his fingers tapping away on the rim of the snare. The other three boys all stared between the two of us accusingly.

“Fine! I’ll stay at Freddie’s. Does that make everyone happy?”

“You do know that Roger and I live together darling,” Freddie questioned.

She grabbed her bag tightly and exhaled slowly.

“Yes. Of course. But that shouldn’t matter since Roger doesn’t care about me anyways,”

“Immature children,” Brian muttered as he put the red special in its case. John nodded in agreement. Millie sat on the couch waiting for them to finish packing their stuff. Too pissed to help.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they pulled up outside the flat after dropping off Brian and John both mine and Rogers tempers had cooled but neither of them were speaking to each other. The rain had finally begun to fall and she began to shiver as soon as I climb out of the van. Freddie pulls me under his arm tightly, leading me up the steps as Roger walks ahead of us.

Inside the flat she sat on the edge of the couch tapping her foot anxiously as Freddie pulls out blankets and pillows for her. Roger retreated inside his room, too irritated to even look at her. After Freddie wished her goodnight and turned off the lights, she sat up in the dark watching the muted tv. Just before she laid down Roger walked silently back through the room, dropping a stack of clothes on her head.

“What the hell was that for?” she hissed, sitting up and glaring after his retreating body.

“Fred told me to bring you something to sleep in,

Her dreams were full of drum sticks and calloused fingers surrounded by soft blonde curls entwined with the smell of nicotine and a faint hint of cologne.

When she woke the next morning, Freddie was sitting at the table eating breakfast and she already knew she needed to hurry up and get home. She rushed to change back in her clothes and decided to walk back to her flat considering it wasn’t too far. Her fingers fumbled frantically over the buttons on the front of her shirt and she was trembling too much to fasten her necklace. She shoved it in her pocket.

When she stepped back into the kitchen Freddie yanked her into a tight hug.

“If you ever need anything don’t hesitate to call. We would all do any thing to help you darling,” he murmured.

She nodded slowly before pulling away and began the short walk home. As she got closer to her flat her feet dragged more and more, unsure of what would be waiting for her inside. Would she get a kind soft boyfriend with warm tea, ready to study for their next exam together or would she get a monster who was going to scream until she was curled in a ball. Either way she knew she just had to grin and bear it. She just shouldn’t have stayed out so late. It was her fault anyways. It was always her fault. She just needed to do better. If she did better Louis wouldn’t be angry with her and Roger wouldn’t be angry with her.

@shutup-sorry

#ben hardy! roger taylor #roger taylor imagine #roger taylor x oc #roger taylor

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disgruntledkittenface · 6 years

Photo

Hiii here’s some of the fics I’ve read and loved this month (some new, some new to me). Enjoy, and show the authors some love!

🌿 Lend Me Your Hand by @becomeawendybird

Society has long since decided that the soulmarks everyone is born with are entirely unfashionable. They're just another way for people of a lower class to scam their way into marrying above their station.

Lord Louis Tomlinson, Viscount Loring, on the other hand, has always believed that he will find his soulmate one day. Despite preparing for a match his whole life, he is entirely unprepared for the arrival of Gemma Styles' younger brother.

Harry Styles has been traveling and away from society for over a year. Coming back, he intends to spend time with his sister, and slowly reacquaint himself with life in town. He doesn't need to wait around for a soulmark to determine how his life will play out. (63k, M)

🌿 Treat Mothman With Kindness by @lesbianiconharrystyles

“Does anyone else ever think mothman is... Kinda hot?” “No?” Zayn squinted, frowning. “Louis? The fuck?”

In which Louis, Liam, Niall and Zayn are amateur cryptozoologists and Harry is the creature they find in the woods of a small north-western town. ft. lots of glitter and shrieking and a whole shed full of lesbian cats. (16k, T)

🌿 Glitter Bomb by @fullonlarrie

After a spectacularly awful date, Harry decides a little petty revenge will make him feel better. Things don't work out quite the way he plans. (7k, T)

🌿 Staring Across Barcelona by @allwaswell16

From his first day working at the New York Public Library, Louis has pushed Harry’s buttons. Now that they’re in love and living together in Harry’s tiny NYC apartment, he pushes his buttons in a much more enjoyable way. Harry is ecstatic to go on their first romantic vacation together to Barcelona to see the sights and all the amazing art. It’s also the perfect time for him to propose to Louis. However, everything may not go quite according to Harry's plans…

A sequel to Staring Across the Room from The Library Universe. (7k, E)

🌿 There’s Such a Lot of World to See by @crinkle-eyed-boo

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” Harry asks, thumbing at Louis’ hip. “Like what?” Louis asks breathlessly. “Like you’ve seen a ghost or summat,” Harry muses. “You did it all the time the other day and you did it just now.” Louis swallows hard, studying him intently. “You remind me of someone,” Louis says softly, tucking a curl behind Harry’s ear. “Someone I lost.”

Louis has seen a great many things throughout his travels in time and space, but only one he can’t explain: He keeps meeting the same boy, who says the same thing to him each time. The boy should be impossible.

Maybe he is.

A love story that defies the boundaries of space and time. Doctor Who AU. (125k, E)

🌿 Lambing Season by @helloamhere

“Shut up,” Louis says, an involuntary grin tugging at his mouth. It’s not every boy who will stand in the middle of a cold barn in a suit and play musician trivia. “I’m Louis.”

//lambing season brings sleep deprivation, noisy alarms, cold barns, demanding animals, and warm strangers. (24k, M)

🌿 All I Want is Everything by @phd-mama

As first dates go, it's a good one. (7k, E)

🌿 If I Loved You Less by @allwaswell16

Beautiful omega Louis Tomlinson is set to make his come out in London society and determined to find a mate in his first Season. With the help and protection of his oldest friend, Lord Niall Mendes, he takes Society by storm.

Being a wealthy and titled alpha means Lord Harry Styles has grown used to avoiding unmated omegas...until now. This Season he finds himself at every Society event just for a chance to speak with the omega with the flashing blue eyes.

Louis has the aristocracy at his feet and all the suitors he could hope for, but his secrets may ruin his chance at a love match. (36k, E)

🌿 (That’s Just) The Way I Am by @lululawrence

There was no way Harry would want to bring anyone out for an introductory trip like this. The fighting between himself and his father was sure to be be worse than usual and father still hadn’t accepted Harry’s pansexual identity. Harry wasn’t dating anyone at the moment, but at this point he almost wished he were dating a man just so he could incense his father.

The door jingled, pulling Harry’s attention away from the window and to the man who had just walked into the cafe.

Now that was exactly who Harry should try bringing home. The man was dressed in ratty black skinny jeans and what was obviously a self cut tank top that used to be a Stone Roses t-shirt. His black chucks had holes in the canvas, indicating exactly how old they were, and his maroon beanie wasn’t in much better shape.

The more Harry studied the man’s smoky eyeliner rimmed eyes and the lipstick he had swiped on to match his hat, the more Harry started hatching an idea. What if Harry really did bring this man home? (17k, NR)

🌿 Crystal Ball on the Table by @becomeawendybird

Harry Styles is just an ordinary witch from an old-fashioned Boston family trying to survive in her regular job as the fiction manager at a local bookstore and café. Her magic isn't exactly something she advertises when looking for potential new girlfriends, so when Louis Tomlinson arrives in her life like a breath of fresh air, she tries her best to hide how strongly her magic is reacting to Louis' presence. (12k, E)

🌿 i can’t help myself from how my heart is racing by @flicker-album

Louis is just trying to be a good friend by working out at the gym that Liam owns. He never expected to (quite literally) run into Harry, the hot boxer who sings embarrassing songs in the locker room showers. (13k, E)

🌿 A Light Illuminated (Calling You Home) by @londonfoginacup

Louis has inherited a farm from an uncle he barely knew. It's not in the best state, and he's facing the reality of having to let some of the workers go if profits don't drastically improve. It's not a nice idea.

Then Harry comes into the picture. A prince in need of a place to lay low for a while. It's a little awkward, and a lot unconventional, but he's paying well and Louis can't turn down the opportunity.

If only he didn't give Louis such conflicting feelings. (14k, T)

🌿 Chestnuts Roasting... And All That by @elsi-bee

Louis is apparently the only person at his new job who is single as can be. It’s not a big deal to just tell his new colleagues that he has a boyfriend, right? Until he has to make this imaginary boyfriend magically appear at the office holiday party. Cue fake relationship antics with a certain someone who is more than willing to play along. (46k, M)

🌿 Take Me Back to Where We Started by @amories

Harry and Louis haven't spoken since they broke up four years ago. As boarding school sweethearts they once spent every waking moment together, but now they can hardly stand to be in the same room. When their five year class reunion comes around, both boys decide against their better judgement to return and (hopefully) have a good time.

The only problem is, they're both still hopelessly in love.

Starring Harry as the petty ex, Louis as the new James Bond, Niall as a boy genius and fake boyfriend extraordinaire, and Liam and Zayn as two friends just trying to make it out of this weekend alive. (27k, NR)

🌿 The light to guide me home by @tommosgun

the one where Harry and his friends hit Vegas for post Uni blow out, he meets a bar owner called Louis who rocks his world. Pure lust overtakes them both but it's more, it's just so much more than that.. (65k, E)

#28th appreciation #fic rec #mine #i read so much this month it was great #disgruntled fic recs

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drpepperwithcream · 6 years

Text

Man’s Best Wingman (Marlontine)

I finally wrote this inspired by this drawing of Marlon and Clem done by @areallyyellowmango and it’s one of my favorites. I love your art, lass, you are amazing! So here’s the story, hope you enjoy!

The gate to Ericson’s creaked open, the hunting party was back.

“Welcome back,” Clementine greeted the three boys. She was on watch with AJ. Clem climbed down the ladder to see if they needed help with anything.

“Thanks, Clem,” Marlon said as he entered with his dog, Rosie.

“We caught some rabbits,” Aasim said as he came in.

“We’ll be eating like royalty tonight,” Louis said, being the last of the hunting party to come in. “What do you say, Omar? Another cooking show of your famous rabbit stew?”

“No,” Omar said back.

“Oh, come on! We need something entertaining around here,” Louis said as he walked off.

Clementine bent down to pet Rosie.

Marlon looked back at them as he closed the gate, seeing Rosie’s wagging tail. He smiled. “Hard to believe you were scared of her not too long ago.”

“A dog attacked me when I was eleven, I don’t think you can blame me,” Clementine said.

“I guess not, but I told you, she’s as cuddly as she comes. I think she likes you,” Marlon said as he walked over to her.

“Well, I like her, too,” Clementine smiled, giving Rosie one last scratch behind her ears before standing up.

“Hey, Clem,” Ruby came up to her. “Do you think you could help me harvest some stuff from the greenhouse for the stew?”

“Of course.” Clem looked up at AJ. “Can you can handle watch by yourself?”

“I can do it!” AJ said back.

Clem smiled up at him then back at Marlon, giving him a small wave before heading off towards the greenhouse.

Marlon untied Rosie’s leash from his belt. As he was about to take the leash off Rosie’s collar, she barked and bolted after Clementine. Marlon had the end of the leash wrapped around his hand, forcing him to be unwillingly be pulled along by Rosie.

“CLEM!”

She turned around and saw Marlon and Rosie coming straight for her. Rosie ran around Clementine’s legs as Marlon collided with her, he was thankful he didn’t knock her over. The leash behind her legs pulled her towards him then Rosie ran around Marlon’s legs, pulling him towards her.

They both panicked as they struggled to stay balanced as Rosie continued to wrap her leash around their legs. In their panic, the leash from Marlon’s hand dropped and was immediately caught by Rosie. The dog took one step back, pulling the two closer together. The scene caused everyone in Ericson’s to look at them.

They heard Louis laugh out loud. “See, this is what I call entertaining!”

“Louis!” Marlon exclaimed to shut him up.

Rosie moved again, causing both Clementine and Marlon to lose their balance momentarily as the leash tightened around their legs. They gained their balance back and they looked at each other, cheeks turning red at how close they were.

“Can someone help us?” Clementine asked, breaking eye contact with him.

“I don’t know, this is kind of funny. Rosie, come!” Louis said.

“No! No! No!” Both Clem and Marlon repeated.

They both tried to take a step backward out of instinct, but they ended up swaying back and forth, trying to find their balance again. Clementine and Marlon grabbed onto eachother’s arms to steady themselves.

“Rosie, sit!” Marlon said quickly.

Rosie followed his order.

“Stay!”

Rosie tilted her head, the end of her leash still in her mouth.

“Drop it!”

Rosie didn’t listen.

“Rosie, drop it!”

She still didn’t listen.

Marlon and Clementine wobbled again and they made eye contact, their faces were closer and redder than before.

“Hang on,” Violet said as she approached them. She unclipped the leash from Rosie’s collar and began unwrapping the two. They both let go of each other once they were free, sighing in relief.

“Thanks, Vi,” Marlon said to her.

“Yeah, thanks,” Clementine said.

They both glanced at each other, turning away as they continued to blush.

“I’m just going to- yeah...” Clementine quickly left, following Ruby to the greenhouse. Her hand tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and took the opportunity to hide her embarrassment.

Marlon grabbed Rosie’s collar and pulled her to the steps of the admin building, he needed to sit down. He was completely embarrassed about what happened.

“What the fuck, Rosie?” He muttered to her.

Rosie wagged her tail at her name being called. The end of her leash fell out of her mouth as she panted. She has never done anything like that before.

The sun began setting and it was dinner time by then. Clem and Marlon didn’t make eye contact with each other at all and sat at the diagonal ends of the table. They barely said anything all dinner.

Rosie came up to Clem under the table and pawed at her leg. Clementine glanced under the table to see the dog sit and beg. She knew Marlon already fed her, there were some remnants of the stew on her face. Clem looked down in her own bowl, she was done eating, there wasn’t enough to fill another spoon, and besides the bowl needed to be cleaned anyway.

Clementine gave in and set her bowl down on the ground for the dog. Rosie licked the last of the rabbit stew out of the bowl and it didn’t take long for her to finish. Clem picked up the bowl as soon as she was done.

Rosie smiled back up at her and Clementine gave her a good scratch behind the ear before she got up. Marlon soon finished his dinner and got up as well, Louis pulling him to the fire to play a game.

“Clem, care to join?” Louis called.

“Not tonight,” She said, escorting AJ to the dorms.

Louis asked everyone else to play as Marlon sat down on the couch, his gaze never left Clem as she walked inside. He snapped out of his stare when he felt something wet on his hand. Marlon jumped slightly but looked down to see Rosie licking him.

He smiled as Louis sat next to him.

“I guess it’s a guys night,” Louis spoke, handing the cards around. “It’s truth or dare time!”

Marlon scoffed as he drew a card. Rosie laid down by his feet. He flipped his card over, revealing the three of hearts.

Louis, on the other hand, drew a king of diamonds.

“Marlon, truth or dare.”

“Truth,” He wanted to let his dinner settle before accepting any dare.

His best friend snickered at him. “You and Clementine have been getting along pretty well the past few weeks.”

Rosie perked up at the name.

“So I must ask,” Louis continued. “Did you enjoy being tied up with her a couple hours ago?”

Marlon was silent and he decided that he hated this game.

“And at that moment, Marlon knew he fucked up,” said Louis.

It was night time. Marlon had his hands in his pockets as he walked back to his room, Rosie right beside him. She walked ahead of him, sniffing the ground as she headed towards a dorm room. Marlon noticed that it was Clem and AJ’s room and Rosie scratched at the door. He quickly went to go grab her collar and pull her off but stopped when the door opened. Clementine was standing right there.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” he said back.

AJ came to the door and he smiled. “Hi, Marlon! Hi, Rosie!”

“AJ, here.” Marlon reached into his pocket and pulled out a tennis ball and tossed it to the boy. Rosie immediately wagged her tail at the sight of the ball. “Throw it down the hall.”

AJ did so and Rosie chased after the ball. He laughed then chased after the dog. Clementine jerked her head inside the room and Marlon followed her lead. Marlon pushed the door behind him, listening to it tap on the hinge. Clem leaned up against the bunk bed.

“Sorry about earlier, with Rosie and the leash,” Marlon said, scratching the back of his neck as he walked towards her.

“It’s fine, it’s actually kind of funny,” Clementine huffed out a laugh.

“I guess it is, I just don’t know what’s gotten into her lately.”

“Has she been doing this with everyone?”

“You mean with the stunt from earlier? No, Rosie’s a good dog, she always has been, but she’s been different, you know.”

Clementine glanced at the door, hearing the bouncing of a ball get thrown.

“And by the way, I did notice you give her your leftovers,” Marlon said.

“What? I totally did not,” Clementine scoffed.

“Your bowl was spotless, kind of like how Rosie’s bowl is after she’s done eating.” He smirked.

“You have no proof.”

He chuckled. “If you did, I’m just letting you know that she’s going to think your the weak link of the group, she will beg from you at every meal.”

“Your dog is super cute when she begs, you know?”

“Oh, I know, are you admitting that you gave her food?”

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The door opened slightly, Rosie’s head poking through. They both noticed and shrugged it off.

“So, uh, Clem,” Marlon started. “I was planning on walking the perimeter of the school wall and make sure it’s safe and I was hoping you’d come with me?”

“Yeah, AJ and I would love to help out,” Clementine nodded.

“Well, actually… I was hoping it’d be…” Marlon shyly scratched his head. “This sounded a lot better in my head,” He muttered, trying to pull himself together.

Clementine raised an eyebrow. Marlon wasn’t like this, she knew that.

“Uh… I…”

Rosie nudged the back of Marlon’s knee, causing him to fall forward. His arm braced himself above her head on the bed, while Clementine put her hands on his chest, afraid he’d fall on her. They both blushed at how close they were, their faces were closer than before when Rosie pulled her stunt.

Clementine didn’t know what to say, her voice went dry, but she didn’t want to push him away. Marlon was getting annoyed by Rosie’s antics, but at that moment she was the last thing on his mind. They both inched their heads closer to each other slightly, glancing down at the other’s lips before back up into their eyes, then finally, they closed the gap and their lips met for a kiss.

Marlon’s hand moved up to the back of her head and Clem’s hands gripped onto the fabric of his shirt as they pulled each other closer, deepening their kiss for a bit longer.

They soon pulled away, smiling at what just happened. Clementine bit her lip as if to savor it and Marlon thought it was cute. They couldn’t stop blushing.

AJ burst into the room, holding the ball in his hand. Clem and Marlon jumped away from each other and turned to the kid who tossed the ball to the dresser. Rosie chased after it, chewing it in her mouth when she got it. AJ ran over to Rosie and she flopped down on her back, the ball dropping from her mouth as AJ scratched her belly.

Both Clementine and Marlon smiled at the sight. It was cute seeing the kid and the dog be so happy.

“You two seem to be having fun,” Clementine said.

“Yeah, Rosie’s cool. You should have seen her, she was running so fast when I threw the ball!” AJ exclaimed.

“I’ll bet,” Clem said back.

“Marlon, can Rosie stay with us tonight?” AJ asked.

Marlon was surprised, no one has asked that before. Clementine took a hold of his hand.

“You can stay with us too if you’d like,” She told him.

He smiled back at Clem and squeezed her hand lightly. “Yeah, we can stay.”

“Yes!”

Clementine pulled him to her bed to sit down. They watched AJ play with Rosie some more. Soon enough AJ got tired. Clementine got up to tuck him in, Rosie hopped up and curled up at the foot. She gave Rosie a goodnight scratch before climbing into her own bed with Marlon. They faced each other, admiring their facial features.

Marlon closed his eyes for a brief moment.

“Marlon?” She whispered, tapping a finger on his nose.

His blue eyes opened to meet her golden eyes.

“I’d love to go check the perimeter with you.”

Even though it was dark, he could see her smile. He smiled back. “It’s a date, then.”

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer to him. His body was so warm. Clementine wrapped an arm around him to hold him closer. It didn’t take long from cuddling each other and being in each other’s warmth for them to calmly fall asleep.

#clementine twdg #marlon twdg #marlontine #marlentine #twdg clementine #twdg marlon #rosie twdg #twdg rosie #twdg aj #aj twdg #twdg #twdg s4

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