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crazyk-imagine · 2 years ago

Note

Hi I’m back again, I have a request for our dear Wolfman, again. Would you please write a 50 first dates ?

Thank you again for everything!

💛💛

Thinking of You

Pairing: (Henry Roth) Leonard "Wolfman" Wolfe (Henry "Wolfman" Ruth) x (Lucy Whitmore) Fem!Reader

Characters: Fem!Reader, Leonard “Wolfman” Wolfe (Henry "Wolfman" Ruth), Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, Carol Bradshaw, Bradley Bradshaw, Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, Ron “Slider” Kerner, Rick “Hollywood” Neven, Marcus “Sundown” Williams, Sam “Merlin” Wells, Charles “Chipper” Piper, Mike “Viper” Metcalf, Bill “Cougar” Cortell, Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood, Penny Benjamin

Warnings: Fluff, angst, this is cute, Leonard is adorable, reader watches out for herself, everyone is protective of the reader and it's adorable, no fisherman here, only ranchers and cowboys, small town vibes, Iceman and Viper are the best, Pete can't cook for the life of his business, few funny moments, few serious moments here and there

Word Count: 5,307

A/N: I am so so sorry for taking forever with this one. I did not forget it, I promise. It was a whole thing with trying to find inspiration and rewatching the movie for research. But it... is... done!!!

Viper still refers to Bradley as a baby because he is (in his eyes)

Charlie is the horny German lady which I find hilarious

Yes, I used the TGM Squad as the kids for everyone who had children in the movie

The guys all have a work past with Viper

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He takes a seat at the counter, minding his own business as he reads a menu.

You smile as you walk inside, you always love coming here and not just because you get to see Penny and Pete, your favorite couple at the restaurant but because you get to make your waffle buildings.

‘Maybe today I’ll build a hut. Oh, and for the steam we can use coffee.’

Penny notices there’s a little pep in your step while she hands you a menu. “How are you doing, Butterfly?”

You giggle, “I’m doing just fine.”

She smiles and tells you your table is free.

He sees you enter the restaurant, sitting down in one of the empty booths in the middle of the row.

Penny turns around filling another customer’s coffee, she notices the looks he’s sending your way and needs to stop it before things can progress, you don’t need any more heartache (even if you don’t remember it today).

It would also save him from meeting your dad, who’s in charge of the port, Viper aka Mike or your cousin, Iceman aka Tom.

“I wouldn’t,” she tells him.

He furrows his brows and turns towards the waitress. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“You’ll only find yourself heartbroken if you try to pursue her.”

“What makes you say that?”

She purses her lips; she doesn’t find it necessary to tell him of your accident. But then she realizes he’s new and must be one of the few new cowboys that came into town.

“You’re gone for more than half of the year doing what you do. You’ve never met her but if you did and it was time to leave both of you would be crushed. Imagine how much that for a second.”

“Maybe she’d come with me.”

“She-” She sighs at the wound of glass breaking. “Excuse me while I go kick my husband out of the kitchen.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose, Pen.”

“Out of the kitchen, Maverick," a new voice says.

He doesn't know it, but it was the actual cook, Marcus.

He sighs, pushing the doors open, taking a seat beside the man. “Sounds like you did good there.”

The dejected man chuckles, “yeah.”

“Hey. You happen to know that girl sitting in the booth, would you?”

Pete glances over his slumped shoulder. “What’s it to you?”

“Woah. Woah. Why is everyone so aggressive? I was just asking a question.”

“A question that shouldn’t be asked.”

“Okay. Message received.”

“You seem like the type who won’t take no for an answer?”

Leonard chuckles, “am I really that transparent?” He chuckles to himself as he takes a sip of his coffee until he turns back to look at Pete and realizes how serious this whole thing is. “Oh, shit. Sorry, I just thought-”

“She wouldn’t go for a guy like you,” a voice says sitting on the other side of the rancher.

The two men angle their bodies to hear the man better.

Pete gives him a sarcastic smile. “Yeah, thanks for that, Cougar. We don’t need to give it any more ideas.”

“First off, it has a name and oh, she’s trying to make a door.”

The two look back and focus on you trying to get the finishing touches to your waffle house done.

He debates on walking over to you after hearing everyone’s warnings.

Clearly no one here wants to see anything bad happen to you if they’re this willing to stop him before he could try anything.

He pushes himself out of the chair, grabs a toothpick before heading over to you.

“Hey,” he starts off not to startle you entirely before sticking the toothpick in place, opening and closing the door to show you how well it works. “I thought this might help you a little more.”

You glance up at him, giving him a smile. “Well, then I guess the only thing I can say is thank you. To be honest, it probably would have taken me five minutes to figure it out, so again, I thank you for saving me from any potential embarrassment.”

Leonard lifts his hat, “I always do what I can to help a beautiful lady such as yourself.”

“Ah, I bet you say that to everyone you see then.”

He chuckles. This certainly isn’t what he was expecting when he walked over, it's different, nice even. “May I,” he gestures to the empty side of the booth.

“Please, I’d like to look a little less pathetic in front of, well everyone here.”

“I don’t think that’s possible.”

“You flatter girls to get them in your bed and expect that very thing to happen, don’t you?”

“Uh- well,” he stutters.

You shrug, “doesn’t matter now. I’m just happy to have some company even if it’s just for a minute or two.”

“Well, then I’m happy to be of service.”

You dazzle him with another smile.

This is different from the other times he's gone out with girls.

You lift your watch to check the time. “Oh, looks like it's time for me to go. Sorry,” you sheepishly shrug as you reach for your bag.

“Uh- oh, okay. Yeah, I guess it’s time I went back to work.”

You get up and barely walk past him when you stop. “Is that you?”

“Is what me?”

“The farm smell?”

His mouth opens into an “o” making it obvious he now knows what you’re talking about. “Oh, yeah. Perks of being a rancher. Sorry about the smell. I didn’t realize it was so bad.”

You shake your head. “No, it’s- it’s not that. It’s just- it's more of a comfort thing. It reminds me of my family because my dad and my cousin are in the ranching business, and this is- the smell of, well the farm, is basically what I grew up with.”

He nods, “okay, good to know I don’t smell too much like shit.”

You chuckle, shaking your head. “Happy to help but I seriously have to go now.”

“Okay.”

You head over to Penny and pay her before saying bye to everyone.

Leonard shakes his head once he sees your car leave. “She sure is something else.” He then heads over to his car, sneakily watching you leave.

He spends the night talking to Rick, watching his kids. “So, you gonna ask her out?”

“Me?” Leonard shakes his head, pulling Rick’s youngest, Javy, away from the fence before his beloved (crazy) goat comes over and towards the edge to scare the kids.

The rancher isn't going to have his headbutting, crossed eyed goat injure another one of his friends' kids (even if it's on them because they didn't listen). “I- no.”

“You like her?”

The kids’ “ooh” at their dad’s comment.

“What? No. She’s just- she’s... busy?”

“Excuses.” He pushes himself off the fence, “come on kids. Your uncle needs alone time to process the fact that he’s a wimp.”

The kids mumble wimp under their breaths as they walk by.

He’s left alone with his thoughts.

“Did she get offered any drugs today?” Mike asks his nephew.

Tom shakes his head, “no and you know she wouldn’t take anything anyway.”

“She wouldn’t know.”

The blond glances over at the older man.

“Don’t give me that look boy.”

Neither of them says anything else as they go their separate ways before going out to the garage so they can repaint the wall.

Nick and Carole walk to the open space, "hey guys."

"Do you know what got her in such a happy mood today?" Mike asks.

The couple glance at one another.

"When we went to get food, Penny said that one of the new ranchers came in and talked to her, but I don't know what happened," Carole tells him.

"A new rancher?"

She nods. "Yeah, he's the only one here who wears his hat twenty-four seven."

"And you don't know anything about this?" Tom asks Nick.

The mustached man narrows his eyes at him, "if we knew anything else we would have told you."

"I'm just checking, mother Goose. No need to get your p-"

Mike smacks his nephew on the back of his head. "Stop it. Nick take another roll and again, thank you for the food, Carole. If you could just-"

"Set it on the counter for later, I'd be happy to."

"How's life been with the baby?"

"It's been great. I know it makes her sad that we can't bring him around here. All they've wanted since they were kids was for their kids to be friends and hangout all the time."

Mike sighs, "yeah."

Carole sneaks up the stairs to check on you. She barely opens the door and sees you standing there, a smile breaks across her face. She's happy to know that you're safe and sound for another day.

The next day is a weird one... for Leonard.

He had no idea what was going to happen when he made his way to the restaurant, and he most certainly wasn’t expecting you to not remember him (and mean it).

Sure, he’s had a few girls say they don’t remember him but after some persuading and mentions of certain clues, they break, this time with you though, not so much.

A few minutes passed after you ran out until someone explained to him why he shouldn’t continue doing what he’s doing.

“Everyone knows but,” Penny sighs. “She was in an accident that killed her mom and left her with what the doctors believe to be permanent brain damage.”

That is the last thing Leonard was expecting to learn about you. “All those light threats make sense now.”

“Now that you know, are you going to keep trying to date her?” Penny asks him. "Because if you’re not and you break her heart, you can just leave now. We won’t tolerate that kind of behavior.”

He nods and finishes his coffee, coming up with a few ideas.

Rick lounges on his couch, as usual, and watches as his friend jots down a few things. “You must really like this girl if you’re so willing to do just about anything for her.”

Leonard shrugs, “I don’t think that’s it.”

“Well, you’re doing something really nice for her, someone you’ve met a few times. As for me, your best friend barely gets a birthday card.”

“You’ve been giving yourself your own gift every year.”

“Oh, yeah and what’s that?”

“Your kids.”

“Damn, you’re good.”

He sits at the counter in front of the kitchen, waiting for you to come in so he can ask to eat with you.

You enter, at the same time as always, greeting Penny and Pete before sitting down to look at the menu.

He stands up and walks over to you, “hey, is this seat taken?”

You look up from the menu, “yeah, that’s my boyfriend's seat.”

“Oh, it is?”

You nod, “and he won’t be happy to know that some random guy sat there while talking to his girlfriend.”

“What if we say we’re just friends?”

“Are we though? I mean, I don’t even know your name.”

“Leonard.”

“I wasn’t asking. Look, I gotta go.”

Everyone hears the commotion outside and runs out to see what’s happening, Penny and Leonard being the fastest to get outside when they hear your voice.

“It’s not- it’s October thirteenth.”

Nick slams his car door closed before rushing over, wrapping his arms around you, wanting to give you some kind of protection.

Leonard takes a step forward, ready to tell the cop everything when Penny gets to him first.

Pete grabs the cowboy, “you and Goose are gonna take her home. She needs to be with her family right now. She needs comfort.”

He nods, taking his words into consideration.

The boys get you into the car, but the ride home is a blur, you don’t even know if you’ve responded to Leonard.

Your father and cousin are outside before you know it.

"What happened?" Mike asks, taking in your state of distress.

Nick looks up at the older man with sad eyes. "She found out again."

He closes his eyes, rubbing his chin.

Tom comes to your other side, the two men helping you inside.

The mustached man stops the rancher before he could step any further onto his front porch. "I'm gonna have to stop you right there."

Leonard furrows his brows. "What do you mean?"

"You being here isn't good for her."

"What does that mean?"

"This is something we've done before. You have never been involved."

"How would you know?"

"You don't know her, and you don't need to concern yourself with her. I'm asking you once and only once. It's time for you to go."

The man turns around, not even waiting to see if he's going to walk away.

Nick peaks through the window, whispering, "what are you doing?"

Leonard rushes closer. "He kicked me out."

"He doesn't want her to be more heartbroken than she is. Are you here for her or for you?"

"What- why are you asking?"

"If you're here because you want to date her, I'll let you in. If not, you can turn your sorry ass around."

He didn't even have to hesitate. "Open the door."

The blond smiles and lifts the windowpane higher. "You said you'd open the door."

"I'd like to not have my ass kicked too bad, thank you."

He rolls his eyes and crawls through, listening to your cries as you listen to what you went through again.

"Can we- I want to talk to the doctor." You quietly hiccup, "I'm sure I've already talked to him but let me go again. Please?" You ask your father.

He nods and you all are off to the facility you were in for some time after your accident.

"It's the same thing I've told you before," Dr. Simpson finishes.

You nod, "I'm sure you have, and I appreciate you taking the time to explain it to me again."

Leonard and Nick were stuck talking to one of the patients, (ten second) Sam.

"Hi, I'm Sam."

They nod and introduce themselves to him and continue to do so until Tom grabs them by their collars, hauling them out of the building.

"You two idiots wanted to stay. Stop getting distracted."

Once you got home, you decided to go to your room and write in your journal, needing to process everything.

"Would it- could I go talk to her?"

Mike silently nods.

"Go get 'em, tiger."

Nick averts his gaze your dad's stern look.

He knocks on the door, waiting for you to answer as he removes his hat.

The door swings open.

You stare at him through your lashes. "What do you want?"

"To talk. Check on you."

"I'm fine. Go home. I'd say I'll talk to you tomorrow, but I'll forget you by midnight." You walk back into your room, leaving the door open.

He takes that as an invitation and enters. "I- uh-"

"I don't want you to feel like you have to stay after everything you’ve learned. I would understand if you didn't want to talk anymore."

"No!" He nearly screams before realizing his mistake and sits down. "I mean, I don't mind it. This- your twenty-four-hour memory is no problem. I- I actually think you're worth getting to know, every day."

You don't give him a verbal response as you nod, unsure of how to respond.

As you two bask in the silence, the other's downstairs are preparing for the next day.

“You coming to the garage or are you going to call Carole?” Tom asks him after his uncle walks out of the room.

“What do you think?”

Your cousin rolls his eyes, “still as lazy as the day I met you.”

“Hey, I am offended.”

“Good.”

Nick shakes his head, mumbling a variety of comebacks that he would never say out loud because he values his life.

Leonard reaches around, rubbing your shoulder, not realizing the time or what’s about to happen.

You wake, opening your eyes and start screaming, alerting everyone in the house.

Tom and Mike make it to your room in no time.

The older man hauls the rancher out of your room and out of the house. “I thought I told you to stay away.”

“You might have.”

“Then why aren’t you?”

“Sir, I really care about your daughter and honestly, the thought of showing her how much I care about her everyday sounds-”

“Like you’ve got some kind of ulterior motive.”

“That hurts. No, I mean, telling her every day that I care for her and making her fall for me again and again. I can’t explain it but, I know I’m the right guy for her. Everyone here cares for her and I’d like to count myself lucky enough to be a part of that community. I know you think I’m messing with her but that’s not true and even if you push me away, I will still be here and continue to stand by her.”

Mike has a lot to think about now.

He nods, “don’t come around today. She needs time to heal and take it all in, you hear me?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m sure I'll hear from you later. Now go.”

Leonard smiles as he leaves. He spends the day making a gift, as a precaution he doesn’t come by for a couple of days.

Leonard has a lot of things to think about.

If he stays and builds a relationship with you, he’s going to be putting his dreams on the back burner; something he’s had his mind set on for a long, long time now.

Can he, do it?

Is it worth it?

As much as it hurts him to think about, he needs to. But then he thinks of you again and it is.

He makes a mental note to email his response.

He knocks on the door and Tom answers it. “You’re back? I thought you decided to leave.”

The rancher shakes his head, “nope. Can’t get rid of me that easily. I- uh- I actually made something and I want to play it for her. I don’t know if it’ll help but, you never know.”

He steps aside, giving Leonard enough room to walk by.

“Thanks.”

You and your father enter the living room, seeing him placing the tape in the VHS player.

The tape plays before either of you could ask what's going on.

Your name flashes across the screen, drawing your attention along with mentions of the accident and Bradley, Carole and Nick's son who's four now.

You touch the scar hidden by your hair.

Tom stands back, waiting for what you decide to do.

Mike rubs his hand across his face. "Did you do this?"

He nods. "I did."

You take a deep breath and grab his arm, bringing him with you.

"Where are we going?"

You don't answer him.

"Should I be worried?"

You stop in front of your car. "Do you ever shut up?"

"I could."

"Do it now."

"Stop being mean to me or I swear I'm gonna fall in love with you."

You roll your eyes. "I need to talk to you, and I don't want to do it with my guard dogs nearby."

"Oh, sure."

He opens the door for you, earning a furrowed brow look from you.

You don't say anything as you drive to the one place no one knows about.

"Are we-"

"The accident site, yeah. I didn’t know that at the time but now that I do, it doesn't change the special value it holds."

"That's good." He turns to you, seeing the way you're staring at him. "What?"

"We need to end this."

"End what?"

"You know what."

"Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Leonard-"

He cuts you off before you can continue. "You remember my name?"

"If you'd let me get a word in, you'd know that the only reason I know of you is because I have a journal. I've been keeping notes of everything, I just- I never realized it."

"And that means we need to not see each other anymore?"

"Exactly."

"Why?"

"You."

"I'm not following."

"You," you close your eyes, huffing through your nose. "You're so sweet and have been since we first met but you're going to get hurt."

"What makes you think that?"

"You've stayed longer than any guy ever has but to do this every day is just- I know it's a lot."

"It's nothing."

"See, that!" You point at him. "That right there is exactly why I'm ending this. You've got such a pure heart and I can't be the reason it breaks when you realize it's not worth it to stay."

"Who's to say that I'll stop feeling what I do?"

You avoid eye contact as your tears blur your vision. "You will, just like I know how my father and Tom are tired of it. They'll never admit it, but everyone has their breaking point and I think us meeting and seeing each other has pushed theirs. I'm really sorry, I like you. I do but I'm doing this to protect us."

You offer him a weak smile as the tears spill from your eyes and down your cheeks.

Before you leave to go back inside, you hand him your journal.

He pulls you back and kisses you.

Your first kiss with one another and it's amazing but can't last forever.

You pull away, walking inside with heavy steps; barely able to keep yourself together.

Tom nor Mike stops you, but they do make sure to call Nick and Carole, knowing you'll need a good day tomorrow even if you don't remember it.

Leonard doesn't come into the diner for a few days.

Carole sits with you at your job while Rick, Nick, and Pete drive Mike and Tom to see him off.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"We couldn't let you leave without saying goodbye," Rick tells him.

"That's nice but how do you know these guys?" Leonard points between the guys in the group.

"We used to work together before I decided to settle down," his friend explains.

"Is that what you've been telling people?" Pete asks, staring at the man with a confused expression.

Rick glances at the man, "what are you talking about? Of course, that's what I've been telling people. It's the truth."

Pete shrugs, "I just thought-"

"Thought what?"

Nick smacks the two across the back of their heads. "Alright you idiots, there's a time and a place to talk about this. Now is not it."

The two grumbled, rubbing the now sore spot.

"We came here to talk to Wolfman before he left."

"You told them?"

"We all worked for him," Rick points to Mike. "Of course, I'm going to tell them."

"Anyway," the oldest chimes in. "We're here to send you off but not before giving you this." He hands him a CD.

"Really?" The rancher asks, not understanding the sentimental thought behind it just yet.

Mike nods, "I think you'll like it. Check side B, song four. Everything will make sense after that." The older man walks away, letting the others take their time in following.

Nick pats Leonard on the back, saluting him before wishing him luck. "I wish you luck, my friend."

"I'm pretty sure you just jinxed me."

"That's for the theater and you're going to need it one way or another."

The rancher frowns.

Pete chuckles, "you really leaving?"

The blond shrugs. "What else can I do? She told me she doesn't want me, and I can't force myself into her life, you know. Whether she remembers me or not. I'm going to respect her decision."

"That's really nice of you, not everyone would do that."

"I keep telling you I'm not like everyone."

"And I understand why. You're going to do great, kid."

The man in the cowboy hat purses his lips as his brows knit together in confusion. "If I'm not mistaken, we're the same age."

"Potato, potahtoe."

"Not the same."

Pete smirks and slaps his arm before jogging to Mike's car.

"You really want to leave?" Rick asks, standing beside him, resting his arms on the fence. "Because I'm not buying this whole "I can do this" thing. I mean, from what I've heard it sounds like you love her but who am I to assume."

Leonard shakes his head, "you heard wrong."

"That's a load of bull and you know it."

"You'll never know."

"The kids are going to miss you."

"They'll find something else to occupy them."

“You know they won’t.”

“Whatever you say, man.”

Rick’s hand hovers over his friend’s shoulder, he doesn’t pat him like everyone else had (knowing he’ll be back in no time). “You’re an idiot.”

Leonard lets out a dry, “thanks.”

Tom gives him a knowing look, “you know I’m right.”

“If you’re just going to be a jerk, leave with the others. I don’t want to talk to you.”

“You said you were going to stay by her side no matter what. What happened to that guy?”

“She made the decision. She doesn’t want me around; thinks she’s going to save me from heartache or something.”

“You’re an idiot.” Tom walks away, leaving him with his thoughts.

Leonard shakes his head, not understanding half of what just happened; all he knows is that he’s offended. He hops in his truck, his heart heavy and mind full of useless thoughts; he places the CD in the car player.

Half forgetting he’s had the damn thing this whole time and never once thought to use it. He skips to the song Mike told him to play.

He’s barely on the road for ten minutes and gets out of his thoughts, his fingers stop tapping along to the beat on the steering wheel when he slams on the brakes. “Holy shit! Holy- no way. No way!”

His smile is as wide as can be. “I knew the old man liked me.”

He turns the car around and heads towards the office you visited when you were told about the accident again.

He runs through the door, trying to sneak in by the security guards before anyone can kick him out.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” He turns to face them, removing his hat.

He shrugs, not saying a word.

Maybe playing dumb would be easier?

The taller of the two stares at him with raised brows as his partner takes in Leonard’s appearance. “Go on in.”

Ron turns to Charles, “what’s wrong with you? What if he was a murderer or some psycho?”

“Did he look like a psycho to you?”

“No but-”

“But nothing. I got good vibes from him.”

“What did you smoke for breakfast?”

“I’m not answering that,” Charles says, checking the computer for today’s schedule.

“If someone gets murdered, I’m not protecting you.”

“Dick move.”

“Cya, man.”

“What?”

Ron pats his shoulder, “cover your ass. I’d remember that if I were you.”

Leonard runs into the room, eyes scanning all around and over anyone in the room, only to not find you, for the moment.

He wanders further into the room, tempted to ask around when he sees ten second Sam and decides not to, there’s too much time that could be wasted and he can’t waste a second right now.

You turn the corner, not noticing him as you help someone outline the outline of their sketch.

A voice calls out to you, and you turn, finding him.

“Hi? Do you- nevermind, stupid question. Could I- uh- could I talk to you for a minute?” He asks.

You know everyone here will be fine for a few minutes. You hesitate to answer him. “I- we can- just- just follow me.”

You two stand in your special art room. “Have we met before?”

His chin juts out. “What?” His eyes wander around the room, finally understanding.

“As you can see, I’ve seen you before. I mean, I know I’ve talked to you, but I don’t remember it. You- you haunt my dreams. I’ve seen us in my favorite restaurant, as if we were on a date and- and I don’t know if it was real or not.” He can see how it’s wracking your brain to try and remember something that won’t be there.

He nods, “we have. We’ve met a few times.”

“That’s all you’re going to say?”

He holds a journal in front of you, “if you really want to find out, read this. It’ll tell you everything.”

You stare at the cover, wondering if you should read it or not.

You hold it close to your chest and stretch your hand out for him. “Hi.”

He raises his brow but shakes your hand. “Hi?”

“We’re starting over.”

“Oh, that makes more sense.”

The door opens, “Hi, “I’m Sam.”

You purse your lips, trying to hold in your laughter.

“And our special moment has a little twist.”

“Leave Sam out?”

He nods, “we’re leaving him out.”

You nod and slowly remove your hand from his. “Hi, I’m Sam.”

“I swear to-”

You push open the door and cover your eyes when the sun hits you. Leonard turns around and smiles at the sight of you looking as beautiful as always. “Hey, you’re up.”

You nod, your eyes landing on your precious baby boy, Jake, pretending to be like his dad with ranching.

“How are you feeling this morning?”

Your daughter, Natasha, runs over to you with her arms open for a hug.

Everyone always says that a mother and her child share a special bond, in this case it’s true because you open your arms and scoop her up, holding her close to you, even if it is a little strange just finding out she’s your daughter after watching the video Leonard made for you.

“I’m okay, a little weird this morning.”

“I don’t blame you.”

You tilt your head up at him, staring at him like you’re trying to memorize his face. “I think Tom’s doing things he shouldn’t.”

He turns around, finding your cousin doing the exact opposite of what he told him to and hands Jake to your father so he can help your cousin from messing up his ranch (any more than he already has). “Son of a-”

“Language!” You and Mike shout.

“I wasn’t going to actually say it,” Leonard tells you two.

You and your dad share a look. “He’s your husband, you take care of it.” And he walks away.

“So rude,” you mumble to yourself.

“Hey guys!” Nick and Carole wave as Bradley runs towards Natasha (who hasn’t left your side until this moment).

You smile and wave back, hugging Carole tightly.

“Let's go inside and see what you have in your kitchen for breakfast.”

You lean in closer to her, whispering, “does he ever eat? I swear he is always raiding my pantry.”

“Fast metabolism.”

“I don’t buy it.”

“Can I tell you something?” She asks.

You nod.

“Neither do I.”

You, Carole, and Nick grimace at the sight of Leonard's friend and his coworker-

"Can they eat each other's faces somewhere else?" Nick mumbles. "I'm trying to eat here."

You and her share a look.

"You're still eating," his wife points out.

He shrugs. "I can't pass up when Sundown cooks. That'd be like disrespecting Penny."

Leonard walks through the door and grimaces. "You two need to stop trying to eat each other and enjoy breakfast. This is not what I imagined when I suggested you two go out."

Charlotte and Rick part from one another, offering weak apologies.

You and Carole can't help but laugh.

The rancher turns around at the sound of your laughter and knows that he wouldn’t trade this for the world.

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arriansarchive · 2 years ago

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Regular Request Rules + NSFW Request Rules

Regular (non-smut) Requests Basic Rules

Request in the ask box

I am allowed to not answer (shouldn't have to be said but it is)

Do not request the same thing twice

I might add/change more rules and characters as time goes on because I'm forgetful

Just Notes

Why is my Miles Morales shit post getting reblogged pleeease pick anything other than that

Reader Rules (non-smut)

I will preferably do male reader

I might do gn reader

I won't do female reader so don't ask

I will accept reader being a characters sibling

Character Rules (non-smut)

I will do romantic female characters

I will do romantic male characters

Reader Rules (smut)

I will do dom!top!reader

I will do sub!top!reader

I will not do sub!bottom!reader

Kink Rules (obviously smut)

I will do degradation

I will not do praise (I'm horrible at it sorry)

I will not do pet names of any kind

I might do other kinks if you specify

Character Rules (smut)

I would preferably do m/m

I will try to do gn/m

I will not do gn/f

I will do m/f

Fandoms I Will Do

Spiderman Into/Across The Spiderverse

Miles Morales

Peter B. Parker

Miguel O'Hara

Pavitr Prabhakar

Hobie Brown

Gwen Stacy

Harry Potter

Ron Weasley

Hermione Granger

Neville Longbottom

Luna Lovegood

Ginny Weasley

(depends) Draco Malfoy

Nymphadora Tonks

Harry/Ron

Hermione/Harry

Hermione/Ron

Neville/Harry

Neville/Luna

Shameless

Fiona Gallagher

Lip Gallagher

Ian Gallagher

Carl Gallagher

Mickey Milkovich

Mandy Milkovich

Veronica Fisher

Kevin Ball

Possibly others if you mention them

Young Sheldon

Georgie Cooper

Mary Cooper

IT Chapter 1/2

Richie Tozier

Eddie Kaspbrack

Bill Debsbrough

Stanley Uris

Beverly Marsh

Ben Hanscom

Mike Hanlon

Eddie/Richie (movie/book)

Ben/Bill (book)

Bill/Stan (movie/book)

Stranger Things

Mike Wheeler

Will Byers (male reader only)

Dustin Henderson

Lucas Sinclair

Eleven

Max Mayfield

Steve Harrington

Nancy Wheeler

Jonathan Byers

Jason Carver

Eddie Munson

El/Mike

Max/Lucas

Will/Mike

Nancy/Jonathan

Dustin/Lucas

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (book)

Alma LeFay Peregrine

Caul Bentham

Jacob Portman

Emma Bloom

Fiona Frauenfeld

Hugh Apiston

Noor Pradesh

Millard Nullings

Enorace

Jillard

Joor

Jemma

Nuwho

Eleventh doctor

Twelfth doctor

Clara Oswald

Amy Pond

Rory Williams

River song

12/Clara

Fear Street

Kate Schmidt

Simon Kalivoda

Josh Johnson

Ziggy Berman

Cindy Berman

Sally Face

Sal Fisher

Larry Johnson

Ashley Campell

Todd Morrison

Travis Phelps

Sal/Travis

Top Gun: Maverick

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw

Jake 'Hangman' Seresin

Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace

Heartstopper

Nick Nelson

Charlie Spring (x m!reader only)

Tao Xu

Harry Greene

Elle Argent

James McEwan (x m!reader only)

Imogen Heanley

Nick/Charlie

Elle/Tao

The Fosters

Mariana Foster

Jesus Foster

Callie Adams-Foster

Jude Adams-Foster (x m!reader only)

Brandon Foster

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Ari/Dante

Darius the Great Deserves Better

Darius/Chip

The 13th Reality

Atticus "Tick" Higginbottom

Sofia Pacini

Paul (insert last name here since I forgot)

Tick/Sofia

Tick/Paul

Sofia/Paul

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antiquitea · 1 year ago

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𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐠 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞! ･｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ.

tagged by @swifty-fox for this one!

rules: write out any fic titles you have that are based off of lyrics, list what songs they're from, and tag some writers! 😘 (if you don't have a lot of finished fics, you can include your wips, or if you have way too many to list out, pick your faves!)

fair warning, i have never come up with an original title in my life.

let's get tipsy and start a rumour - sidney crosby x evegni malkin (hockey rpf) - fashionable people by joel plaskett

you should see me in the rain - lewis nixon x richard winters (band of brothers) - never let you go by inxs

somewhere, a clock is ticking - lewis nixon x richard winters (band of brothers) - somewhere a clock is ticking by snow patrol

on scratch gravel road - chris pine x karl urban (actor rpf) - snowed in / cruisin' by joel plaskett

leave a light on - simon le bon x john taylor (musician rpf) - leave a light on by duran duran

by the fear of unrequited love - richard hendricks x jared dunn (silicon valley) - boats and trains - stornoway

the august slipped away series - jake "hangman" seresin x reader (top gun: maverick) - august by taylor swift

tell me my name - jake "hangman" seresin x reader (top gun: maverick) - my time by minus the bear

tokyo summer - jake "hangman" seresin x reader (top gun: maverick) - tokyo summer by the mounties

whiskey mouth - jake "hangman" seresin x reader (top gun: maverick) - heavy metal lover by lady gaga

come undone - bradley "rooster" bradshaw x robert bob floyd (top gun: maverick) - come undone by duran duran

ballroom blitz - jake "hangman" seresin x reader (top gun: maverick) - ballroom blitz by sweet

show me your fangs - robert "bob" floyd x you (top gun: maverick) - show me your fangs by matt nathanson / teeth by lady gaga

already on my knees - jake "hangman" seresin x reader (top gun: maverick) - bedroom hymns by florence + the machine

blue above the green - john "bucky" egan x gale "buck" cleven (masters of the air) - blue above the green by mike edel

night terror - john "bucky" egan x gale "buck" cleven (masters of the air) - night terror by laura marling

no pressure tags go to @wildbornsiren, @hederasgarden, @blue-aconite, @thyknife, @green-socks, and of course everyone else!

#tumblr tag games #antiquitea.txt

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ipseitydelrey · 1 year ago

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GUIDELINES & FANDOMS

WILL NOT WRITE* scat (coprophagia), piss (urolagnia), extreme bdsm, age gaps where one is a minor, rpf (real person fic), pedophilia/hebephilia, rape/sa, abuse/domestic violence, self-harm, suicide, incest, bestiality, aged up (if the character is a minor in canon, i will not write nsfw about them even if i age them up to be 18+), and anything else i feel uncomfortable writing about.

WILL WRITE angst, fluff, smut, x reader, character x character, headcanons/nsfw alphabets, age gaps (where both are consenting adults), dom/sub, rough themes, biting, spanking, praise/degradation kinks, bdsm themes, anything that isn't in the "will not write" section**.

PLEASE SPECIFY IF you want reader to be a specific gender/race, if you want character x reader to be platonic or romantic.

i reserve the right to decline any request that includes elements from the "will not write" section/makes me uncomfortable. this does not mean that you should be discouraged from sending requests in the future of course!

*the only elements that are included in this section that i could write about for angst or h/c purposes are: self-harm, sa, abuse. this does not mean that i endorse or encourage this behaviour and depictions will never be graphic, only discussed/implied. **in case a specific element is not included in either of the sections, feel free to ask about it in the ask box!

please do not spam my ask box! do not send your requests through dms or send in a request while they are closed; if you do, i will not take your request. please don't send in a request that you have already sent to another writer, it's incredibly rude.

if you made it to the end and agree to all of these terms, please include a potted plant emoji in with your request, thank you !!

CHARACTERS I WRITE FOR

✧ ౨ৎ ꒰ CRIMINAL MINDS ꒱ ⊹ ⁺ — currently writing for : spencer reid, aaron hotchner, jennifer jareau, derek morgan, emily prentiss, elle greenaway, penelope garcia, luke alvez

✧ ౨ৎ ꒰ MARVEL ꒱ ⊹ ⁺ — currently writing for : bucky barnes, loki laufeyson, natasha romanoff, steve rogers, wanda maximoff, miguel o'hara, miles morales (sfw only), peter parker (sfw only)

✧ ౨ৎ ꒰ BOKU NO HERO ACADEMIA ꒱ ⊹ ⁺ — currently writing for : shōta aizawa, katsuki bakugō (sfw only), izuku midoriya (sfw only), shōto todoroki (sfw only), denki kaminari (sfw only), mina ashido (sfw only), momo yaoyorozu (sfw only), ochako uraraka (sfw only)

✧ ౨ৎ ꒰ TOP GUN ꒱ ⊹ ⁺ — currently writing for: pete "maverick" mitchell, bradley "rooster" bradshaw, jake "hangman" seresin, natasha "phoenix" trace, robert "bob" floyd

✧ ౨ৎ ꒰ MISCELLANEOUS ꒱ ⊹ ⁺ — currently writing for: carmen berzatto, mike schmidt, link (botw/totk; sfw only), zelda (botw/totk; sfw only)

#✩ ⊹˖ ꒰navigation꒱ ୨🎧୧

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kolsmikaelson · 2 years ago

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a list of the fics that i’m working on / that have been requested

— in the morning mike schmidt x fem!reader

What happens when Mike gets home the morning after a rough shift at Freddy’s to see Abby’s babysitter, who he just so happens to have been obsessing over since the moment he met them, curled up asleep in his bed.

— secret admirer!eddie munson x fem!reader

y/n starts receiving almost daily letters in her locker from her so called secret admirer. she doesn’t have a clue who the letters are coming from, but she might find out sooner than she thought.

— santiago ‘pope’ garcia x fem!reader (on hold)

pope shows up on your doorstep and tries to convince you and the boys to take another stab at the money.

— soulmate au aemond targaryen x reader (on hold)

in a world where finding soulmates is either incredibly easy or incredibly hard, y/n targaryen believed she would never meet her soulmate, and even if she did, she doubted she would be allowed to be with them. but what happens when aemond loses his eye and the next day you’re sporting matching scars

— aegon targaryen x reader

the three times you flirted with prince aegon targaryen and the (shocking)one time he flirted back

— what i imagine a relationship with neteyam would be like

— dating bradley ‘rooster’ bradshaw

— dating jake ‘hangman’ seresin

— dating lo’ak sully

— scream characters when you kiss for the first time

none yet

dividers by : @cafekitsune

#works in progress #blog stuff #find easily

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sometimes-i-write-good · 2 years ago

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alma perdida - prologue

Top Gun: Maverick - original character insert

725 | "Don't you dare do anything stupid, Stinger."

Clearly whoever was shouting into the radio didn't know her very well. She'd spent years buzzing control towers, stealing jets for joyrides, and making the higher ups so miserable they almost missed Maverick.

Wouldn't dream of it. She thought. Doing, though? Now that was another story.

===

Genre: Canon Divergence, Angst, Coming of Age

CW: canon-typical violence, mentions of possible character death

Author’s note: This is my first fic for Top Gun/Top Gun: Maverick. I apologize for any and all inconsistencies, there are going to be quite a few. I know nothing of the military, and I suck at creating believable timelines that follow the movies to a precise science, so this is very much a canon divergence. || It’s also cross-posted on Ao3 with a lot more information, so please show it some love there as well <3

===

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.

It really wasn’t.

Mav had been clear. More clear than she had ever known him to be. If you did not meet the parameters, you did not come home. And she knew better than anyone, save Bradley, that Pete “Maverick” Mitchell did not just spend the past few weeks teaching them to push their limits out of the kindness of his heart. He did it to get everyone home.

And it was starting to look like that would be more wishful thinking than anything. Masters and the rest of those on the mission, her closest friends, knew there would be SAMs waiting for them after Coffin Corner. The sheer amount still managed to shock her. Screaming chaos reminded her of active-duty years ago. She was the only one to make it back that time. Who is making it back this time? She thought to herself.

“I can’t shake ‘em!” Rooster screamed into the radio. He never used to scream. When the two of them were growing up, she would push his lawful good mentality to the limits, and he only ever raised his voice once - and that was the day he stopped being her friend and became an enigma. Some weird variation of not being friends but wishing we were.

Am I cursed? Bee craned her head in all directions. Smoke in the air. All over the place and she was running out of flares and countermeasures to protect everyone with. Growing up Bradley had never been one to put himself in life-or-death situations. He’d only ever been the kind to pull her out of them, and yet here she was with his screams, “I can’t shake ‘em,” filling the cabin of her Boeing F/A 18E/18F Super Hornet. Stinger in a Hornet sent to take out a nasty hive. It had felt ironic a few hours ago.

Mav had chosen her as team leader. She got to choose who flew with her. It should have been Hangman out here. Someone who would have been fast enough, capable enough. Someone who would understand that this SAM headed for him was going to take him down and headquarters would tell the rest of them to fly back to that damn aircraft carrier. He would have had a smart-ass comment. “Don’t worry, everyone,” Masters could practically hear him croon with the slightest hitch in his voice. The voice of a man whose fate had already been signed. "Someone has to play the hero. It might as well be me.”

But it wasn’t. It was Rooster up here freaking out. It was Mav waiting for him back on the carrier. That missile would be sending two people to the grave, and you couldn’t have that on your conscience.

Fanboy glanced out his canopy at Bee. In the pandemonium - the screaming and spinning and smoke - he caught her eye and read her mind. Payback banked right to avoid a SAM. Fanboy’s gaze wasn’t there, but Masters could still feel the weight of his stare. He knew her well enough. They’d stolen kisses in between briefings and talked on the phone for hours at a time when they were stationed thousands of miles apart. He knew her well enough to know that Rooster’s screams did something to her. Activated this tiny part in her brain where abandonment turned her blood to ice.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Stinger!” But she couldn’t hear him over the sound of everyone screaming. “Don’t you dare!”

Maybe if she had locked onto Fanboy’s voice instead of Rooster’s “Holy fuck, guys!” she wouldn’t have made the split decision to do a cobra maneuver over Rooster and deploy her flares. Then there would be no need to scream Mickey’s name to beg for forgiveness of a higher power she wasn’t sure she even believed in.

Outside her F-18 everything went silent. The aftermath of a mission gone awry. Purgatory. A limbo holding her jet by the strings of fate. In an instant, all that changes. Those strings snapped. There’s nothing Bee can do but plummet down beneath everyone’s line of sight. She can listen to alarms blaring as she struggles to grab onto her eject lines, and she can hear Fanboy’s panicked shrieks.

“Stinger! Stinger! Masters, oh fuck no. Please, Bee!”

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.

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triptuckers · 5 years ago

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⋆.˚⟡ ࣪ ˖ tv shows, movies & others masterlist ⋆.˚⟡ ࣪ ˖

please do not copy, translate, plagiarise or repost my work! some of these are requested by other people and I spend a lot of time and effort on my works <3

💗 = writer’s favorite

✧˖°. brooklyn nine-nine ✧˖°.

Jake Peralta

Doubt

Song

Rosa Diaz

Sarcasm

She does care 💗

✧˖°. criminal minds ✧˖°.

Spencer Reid

Butterfly kisses

Honeymoon 💗

Something to look forward to

The Myth of Soulmates 💗

Twins

working from home

Derek Morgan

Knight in shining armour

✧˖°. criminal minds suspect behavior ✧˖°.

Mick Rawson

A flash of silver

✧˖°. stranger things ✧˖°.

Mike Wheeler

Panic

Max

Friendship

✧˖°. top gun maverick ✧˖°.

Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw

A ride 💗 (tw: mentions of swearing, alcohol, making out)

A feeling of safety (tw: mentions of alcohol, a panic attack, swearing, mention of abuse, but besides that it's all fluff)

unfamiliar (mentions of alcohol, swearing, rooster is drunk, mentions of being hungover, mentions of sex)

✧˖°. twisters ✧˖°.

Tyler Owens

feels like home 💗 (tw: some swearing, mentions of a slight panic attack, there's a tornado (surprise!), some angst, thats it I think??)

✧˖°. inhaler ✧˖°.

Bobby Skeetz

I’ll chain myself to your soul 💗 (tw: swearing (ofc), bobby being upset :(, smoking (the band & reader), mentions of sexual themes but nothing actually happens, uhhh mentions of hickeys?? mentions of alcohol. other than that nothing but my undying love for bobby)

#carliehansonwya #carliehansonwya masterlists #Jake Peralta x reader #Rosa Diaz x reader #mike wheeler x reader #st max x reader #Spencer reid x reader #criminal minds #Brooklyn nine-nine #stranger things #Derek Morgan x reader #top gun maverick #rooster x reader #bradley bradshaw x reader #Tyler owens x reader #twisters #Mick Rawson x reader #bobby skeetz x reader

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maelialuv · 3 years ago

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Can you do a one shot of Steve x fem! reader are shopping in a supermarket late at night and they’re arguing about what cookies to get and it’s just fluffff

Thank youuu xx

absolutely obsessed w this idea!! I LOVE Steve fluff. hope u enjoy! ty for the request!!

Supermarket Sweep - Steve Harrington

Summary: a late night shopping trip with Steve leads to late night confessions.

Warnings: a bit of angst! mostly fluff! slightly suggestive moments.

Word Count: 2.3K

Had you known that spending more time with a gang of pre-teens would take up so much of your free time, you would have stopped being an honorary baby sitter long before they began requesting food supply runs late into the night.

If you'd known that you'd spend your Friday evening inside Bradley's Big Buy with Steve Harrington, you most certainly would have reconsidered your choice of clothing. Untamed hair, a raggedy pair of beat up sneakers and a much too small tank top - essentially a pyjama shirt- for the blaring cool of the stores air conditioning, you stood motionless next to Steve. He was talking to you, had been for several minutes. It was white noise to your ears.

"...and Max wanted Chips Ahoy, but Dustin says they're too hard on his teeth and Will doesn't like the way they break apart when he-" Steve caught on to your blank stare. You had been looking at a pack of Oreos on the shelf for a long, glassy eyed moment. "Are you listening to me?"

You snapped out of your trance. "What? Sorry, Mike said he wanted some Oreos but I can't remember which ones."

"Oh, double stuffed." Steve said, completely sure. He knew his little nuggets like the back of his hand by now. Mike liked double stuffed Oreos, Max liked Chips Ahoy. Will preferred Milanos, Dustin underlined his Nilla Wafers four times on the list, and Lucas's usual ask of original Goldfish Crackers was so easy to remember it was impossible to get wrong. El was happy with anything.

You grabbed the double stuffed cookies and tossed them into the cart, almost over flowing with the cans of Pringles and the sodas the kids had asked for - the campaign Will and Mike had planned was extravagant, and called for a years worth of junk to keep them going.

How the kids could sit in the Wheeler's basement for hours on end in the peak of Hawkins summer was beyond you. You'd spent just about half of your time at the local pool, and by the evening when it had closed you'd migrated to the heated pool in the back yard of the Harrington residence, swimming and lounging until the sun set and Steve drove you home. The last few weeks, however, you had started hanging out with Steve alone.

It had been Robin that had introduced you to the boy, but you had known Steve 'The Hair' Harrington for years. He was one year above you in school, and how could anyone not know King Steve? You'd witnessed the rise and fall of his relationship with Nancy, and seen him mellow and relax as his focus switched from the basketball team to a team of middle schoolers. Robin had introduced you officially when they started working together at Scoops last summer. Steve recognised you from somewhere - "Did you and I fool around at Stacy's party in the fall?"- and you never confirmed it for him.

It didn't matter too much to him where he knew you from. Now you were his friend, and that was great. Friends.

The last two weeks, you and Steve had seen each other every day. Driving the kids around when the sun was up, chilling by his pool or watching movies in his living room when it was down. You'd been feeling...different. You'd seen Steve without a shirt before - victories of the Hawkins High Tigers being expressed with the swinging of a vest into a crowd of fawning girls. A year ago you would have rolled your eyes at yourself. More often than not over the last few days you had been the one gawking. The way droplets of water lingering on his toned stomach would light up with the reflection of the pool lights. The way he would smooth his hair back. You felt ridiculous, like a school girl writing all over her note book with glitter hearts.

It was like a switch had flicked for you, and suddenly it wasn't Steve, it was Steve. You'd repress it , and try your best to hide it. And then he'd pull a typical Steve stunt.

He tossed his sweatshirt at you, breaking you from another self indulgent trance filled with ice cold lemonade and hot summer nights. "Here," he said, lilt in his voice and smirk on his face, "you look cold." Did you? Sure, the store's air con was a bit much for well after midnight, the scorching heat long gone with the sun, but you weren't cold.

"What?"

He laughed to himself before the smirk returned. "You look cold." This time, his eyes darted down for a few lingering moments to your chest. "Oh." you said, dumb founded at this new side to Steve.

Oh.

In the thin material of your shirt, the cold stream of air had made certain areas more visible than others. Flushed with embarrassment, you shrugged on the sweatshirt. It was miles too big for you, the sleeves going way past your hands and swamping you. "Cute," Steve mumbled lightly, his own light blush littering his cheeks.

You felt the familiar tightness in your chest that came along with being around Steve these days. The aching desire to just , for the love of God, touch him. To have him touch you. For him to want you as you wanted him. You knew you weren't hiding it well, and somehow that made the ache worse; it meant that either Steve knew and ignored it, or was oblivious. You didn't know which option you would prefer at this point, or which would be the least painful.

Little moments- if you could even call them that- were becoming more common place. Steve would take the longer route to drive you home, playing your favourite music any time you were at his house - despite the fact that you knew he didn't always like it, letting you borrow his clothes after a long night swimming. Was it flirting? You thought so, but then he'd give a long speech on how much he valued you as a friend, and that well known pang of hurt would sit on your heart.

You stared at each other for a long few seconds. Steve had this look on his face. Anger? Confusion? He took a breath, as though he were about to say something, when the intercom sounded over the speakers. "Shoppers, the store will be closing in ten minutes."

You stepped away from one another, and Steve walked wordlessly with the cart over to the check out. You physically recoiled. It felt like you had been stung, on the precipice of maybe, just maybe, voicing the feelings. The way he had looked, eyes soft and lips parted in thought, made you shiver. You followed him with a low head.

You checked out in silence. It was awkward. It was never awkward with Steve, and now it was painfully quiet. You loaded the bags into the back of Steve's car, again in silence, and jumped in. When you both reached for the stereo, your hands brushing lightly, Steve flinched away.

You felt sick.

Something had gone terribly wrong , and the banter had blurred the line of flirty friendship and straight flirting. It felt suffocating in Steve's car. The seatbelt felt like it was digging into your stomach, amplifying your growing nausea as you noted Steve's white knuckle grip on the wheel. "Stop the car," you said. You cringed at the meekness of your voice; you sounded like a child. When Steve didn't respond, you said it again. "Steve, let me out. Stop the car."

"We're on a back road, I can't stop . It's dangerous." Steve's voice was tight, hoarse from the silence. It made your eyes sting.

Out of your control , you felt tears welling in your eyes. Why were you crying? You felt ridiculous. You felt small. You felt like you were going to throw up all over the car. "I don't care, let me out." When he ignored you again, you pleaded. "Please! I'm gonna puke!"

At that, the car screeched to a halt - of course the prospect of the car being ruined would make him stop. The second the wheel stopped moving, you ripped your seatbelt off and jumped out. You felt like your stomach was in your mouth as you stalked away from the car.

"Hey, come on, what are you doing?"

You ignored Steve as you bent by a tree - bleary eyed as you felt your heart sink. "Back up, I really don't feel good."

He continued toward you, stopping behind you and scooping up your hair. "Hey, hey, you're alright. Come on, we're almost home."

You allowed him to guide you back to the car. The remainder of the journey, you closed your eyes and rested your head on the window. When the car rolled to a stop, you realised you were at Steve's house, not yours. "We're almost home," he had said.

The steps from the car to the house, from the front door, up the stairs, and to Steve's bathroom was a blur. One moment you were strapped in and the next you were sat on the seat of the toilet, Steve between your parted knees as he rifled through the bathroom cabinet for Tylenol and a small bottle of liquid. Passing you the pill, he poured some of the liquid - which you gathered was make up remover- on to a cotton pad. He gently swiped over your smudged eyes. "There ya go," he whispered. The action made your heart thud inside your chest. You really liked Steve. Maybe more than you realised. Maybe you had more than a crush on him, you didn't know.

You let him wipe away your mascara tears, hands gentle and soft on your cheeks as he held your face. When it was over, and he removed his feather light touch, a knew wave of tears welled in your eyes. "Hey, come on," he said, crouching to your level. You wanted to scream. Wanted to yell at him how much you liked him, maybe more, and ask him to be yours. The only thing that would come out were soft sobs as you lowered your head into your hands.

Steve could feel his heart cracking at the sight before him. His friend, his best friend, breaking down in front of him and he felt helpless as to what to do. So he wrapped his arms around you, resting his head on top of yours. "What's wrong?" he whispered in to your hair. You just shook your head against him. If you told him how you felt, the friendship would end. You were sure of it. Steve would be disgusted, and never see you the same as before. "Come on, talk to me."

When you raised your head to look in his eyes, the remaining shards of Steve's heart shattered. You looked so broken. So tired. Defeated. He cupped your cheek gently. "Tell me."

You simply tilted your head, hoping the he could feel the pang of your heart against your ears and read the emotion as your eyes welled again. To emphasise, you leaned forward. Your forehead rested against his for a second before you pulled away, raising your brows.

"Oh." Steve whispered.

He was silent for a moment,

"Oh."

His tone was hard to decipher, but his confusion was evident by the small v shape forming between his brows. It was so quiet that you could hear the thrum of the pool outside the closed windows. You felt like your heart was going to burst through your chest at any moment.

It was only after you swallowed the lump in your throat that you realised that Steve's lips were on yours.

It was a soft, gentle kiss. More a brushing of the lips, testing the waters to see if what Steve thought was correct. When you didn't pull away - instead leaning into his touch- he kissed you again. This time, his lips met yours as though they were two puzzle pieces. ,Made to fit together. His lips were slightly chapped, but that didn't matter at all to you as you wrapped your arms around Steve's neck. When the two of you needed air and pulled away, Steve continued to pepper light kisses all over your face, spending extra time on the corners of your mouth. He wrapped his arms around your legs, and in one swift motion lifted you from your place on the toilet and hoisted you up.

He spun you around, cheering to himself in a laugh.

"Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to do that?" He said as he set you down on your feet. His hands lingered on your waist, not inclined to let you go anytime soon. When you shook your head, he lowered his lips to your ear. "I've wanted you since the moment you since the moment you walked into Scoops." His lips met the shell of your ear then. "Since I saw you walk into my 5th period History."

You pulled away in shock, looking at him with wide eyes. When Robin had introduced you, Steve had acted as though he didn't quite know who you were. "You remembered me? But you-"

"You thought I was gonna waltz up and introduce myself as the guy that crushed on you all of his senior year? I don't think so." He pinched your cheeks when you blushed. "Had to be cool, hard to get. Chicks dig it."

You jabbed him in the ribs lightly. "Do they now?"

"Well, you certainly did."

Another jab, this time stopped as he grabbed your hand and brought it to his lips. "You're an idiot, Steve Harrington."

He kissed your knuckled gently.

"Yeah, maybe. But I got the girl, so how much of an idiot can i really be?"

The answer was a lot. But that didn't matter. Steve liked you. Maybe even loved you, and you'd forever be grateful for the gang of middle schoolers that sent you out on late night shopping trips because of it.

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justabigassnerd · 3 years ago

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Treat You Better

Pairing - Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x reader

Word count - 4,256

Warnings - swearing, alcohol, mentions of cheating

Song - Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes

Summary - your boyfriend is a dick, and Bradley knows he'd be ten times the boyfriend he was

A/N - I legit came up with this on the walk home from the bus stop and honestly we love my brain sometimes bc I have this and then (shock horror) a Hangman fic planned which I'm super excited to write bc it features something I've loved since I was like 11/12 so that's fun! Anyways I'll stop rambling, as per y'all, please send in requests, feedback and enjoy!!!!

Entering the Hard Deck after a long day of training was one of your favourite things to do, especially when all of your friends from Dagger Squad were there too. This time, however, it was just you and your boyfriend Mike, better known by his callsign ‘Checkmate’ going to the bar for some drinks. You and Mike settle down on the stools just in front of the bar and you tuck your phone firmly into your pocket, not wanting Penny to ring the bell on you.

“Can I get you anything?” Penny asks, wiping down the bar as she smiles at you.

“Just one beer.” Mike says quickly, not even giving you a chance to say anything. You liked Mike, you’d only been dating a month and the relationship was running somewhat smoothly but you couldn’t help but have your doubts about some parts. You wouldn’t bring them up to Mike, knowing he’d get defensive and make you seem like the bad guy for bringing it up in the first place.

“Anything for you, y/n?” Penny asks, noticing that you got spoken over.

“A beer would be nice Penny. Thank you.” You say with a smile as Penny nods, grabbing two beers and placing them on the bar.

“Speak over her like that again Checkmate and that bell is ringing.” Penny warns as Mike rolls his eyes once her back is turned, taking the orders of other patrons.

“Just because she’s an Admiral’s daughter she thinks she can talk to me like that?” He scoffs, making you bite your tongue to stop yourself from snapping at him.

“Let’s just move if she’s bugging you so much.” You say, gesturing to the open tables you can sit at. Just as Mike goes to respond, his gaze wanders to be behind you.

“Didn’t know they were coming tonight.” He mutters, making you look over your shoulder to see Dagger Squad chattering amongst each other as they entered the bar, heading to their usual spot by the pool table.

“Pegasus! Checkmate!” You hear Fanboy call, and you look over at him, smiling as he waves madly, making you wave back as Payback and Coyote gesture for you to come and join them.

“Shall we?” You say, looking back at Mike who shrugs.

“Sure, I’ve been meaning to catch up with Hangman since he got back from his mission.” He replies, both of you grabbing your beers and crossing to your friends. Mike immediately approaches Hangman, striking a conversation as Phoenix greets you.

“Hey, Phoenix!” You greet her happily as you sit down; she hadn’t been at training today, so you missed out on seeing her, so you were happy she came to the Hard Deck. As you converse, Bob gets a round for those who had just entered the bar before joining yours and Phoenix’s conversation.

“No Rooster then?” You ask, glancing around for your friend who was the only member of your friend group that hadn’t shown up.

“He said he’d be coming. He’s probably just running late.” Bob says, glancing briefly at the door before turning back to you.

“’Late’ and ‘Rooster’ can’t be in the same sentence. I swear he’s never been late for anything a day in his life. He might not be up for coming and I wouldn’t blame him. Training was tough today.” You say, looking at the piano that Rooster often sat behind, playing songs for you all to sing loudly along to. You felt a pang of sadness in your heart at the realisation that Rooster most likely wasn’t coming to the bar. You and Rooster had been friends since forever and you hadn’t seen much of him since you told him you were dating Mike. You still saw him but not as much as you wished you could. You take a sip from your beer and as you place the bottle down on the table you hear Coyote dramatically call out to someone.

“Rooster, how nice of you to join us!” He says as Rooster crosses to the group, taking his aviators off and grinning at his friends.

“Hey, Roo!” You exclaim happily, leaping up from your seat and pulling him into a hug he wastes no time in returning. You couldn’t deny that you had some feelings towards Rooster, but you accepted he didn’t have the same feelings for you, so you started going on dates to try and move on from hopeless pining. That’s what led you to Mike.

“Hey, Pegasus.” He says as he hugs you tight, glancing around the room and locking eyes with Checkmate who scowls at the way Rooster is hugging you. When you begin to pull away, Rooster lets you much to his displeasure. He was harbouring feelings for you and the day you told him Checkmate asked you to be his girlfriend was the day he was going to confess how he felt to you. He knew that he’d be ten times the boyfriend Checkmate was, but he loved you too much to meddle in your relationship despite how clear it was that Checkmate didn’t give two shits about you.

“How’d you find training today?” You ask, pulling him over to sit with you, Phoenix, and Bob, unaware of Mike’s angered glare in your direction. As you discuss how Rooster found training, Mike comes over and plants himself in the seat next to you.

“Hey Pegasus, come talk to Hangman with me, his latest mission sounds like something I’d nail.” He boasts proudly, pulling you out of your seat and over to Hangman who greets you with a friendly smile.

“God he’s such an asshole.” Phoenix groans, rubbing at her face.

“I don’t understand how y/n chose him.” Rooster mutters, staring over at you as you chat with Hangman, smiling as he recounts his mission’s success. As Rooster stares at you, Phoenix and Bob exchange a glance. All of Dagger Squad had figured out Rooster’s crush on you and they had been rooting for the two of you to get together ever since.

“You know, even Hangman hates Checkmate. He thinks Pegasus could do so much better than that douchebag.” Payback says as he sits himself in the seat you were previously occupying. The group watches as Hangman laughs at whatever Checkmate had just said, although it was more of a light scoff than a laugh.

“With how much Checkmate is like Hangman I’m surprised he hates him.” Bob says, glancing over at his friends rather than staring obnoxiously at the three by the pool table.

“Give Hangman some credit. He’s not the same guy who waltzed in when we first got called back. Pegasus is one of his best friends he just wants her to be happy.” Coyote says, defending his friend quickly before taking a swig of his beer. Everyone in the group turns to chat amongst each other, seemingly done with staring at you and Checkmate while Rooster continues to watch you as Checkmate downs his beer and excuses himself to head over to the bar to seemingly get himself another drink. You continue to chat with Hangman while he’s gone and when Checkmate returns, he has two beers in hand, giving one to Hangman before taking a sip from the other. Not even a second passes and Checkmate excuses himself again, moving to talk to Fritz with Hangman coming over to join the group while Rooster crosses to you.

“Did Checkmate just buy Hangman a drink and didn’t even offer to get his girlfriend one? What a gentleman.” Rooster states sarcastically, leaning against the pool table with his arms folded.

“It’s fine. I wasn’t planning on drinking much anyway.” You mumble, clearly a little upset that Checkmate didn’t even think to offer to get you a drink.

“I’ll get you something, what do you fancy?” Rooster asks, making you shake your head and let out a breathy laugh.

“You don’t need to buy me anything Roo, I’ll get something myself in a bit.” You say, attempting to push Rooster away from walking to the bar but he simply took your hands off his shoulders, held them in his and spun the two of you around, so you’re now stood where Rooster was previously, and he was now stood where you were.

“I insist, it’s my treat.” He says, releasing your hands and slowly backing away in the direction of the bar as you fold your arms and shake your head jokingly, knowing there’s no way to convince him otherwise at this point. You felt your face flushing slightly at the contact and you glanced around to see if anyone was paying you any mind, thanking whoever was looking out for you that no one was looking your way. You watch as Rooster walks to the bar, talking to Penny before returning with two beers in hand, giving one to you with a soft smile as you take it and thank him quietly.

“So Bradshaw. How come you didn’t arrive at the same time as everyone else? You’re usually the most punctual out of all of us.” You muse after you’ve taken a sip of your beer.

“Well I, unlike everyone else, hate coming to the bar in my uniform, so I had to make a pitstop. And I may have forgotten to ask them to wait so we could all arrive together.” He admits sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand as you let out a small laugh. You took a second to look at Rooster’s usual choice of casual clothes, a trusty Hawaiian shirt on top of a white t-shirt, a pair of jeans and his aviators. He certainly had a unique fashion sense, but it was one of the things you loved that made him Rooster.

“Well, it’s always good to see you. Can we expect any performances tonight?” You ask, glancing at the piano as Rooster smiles.

“Maybe. We’ll see how I feel. And how much Hangman annoys me with his song choices.” He teases, both of you laughing as you remember how much Hangman can irritate Rooster by playing the same three songs on repeat on the jukebox the bar has. The two of you continue to chat until you finish your drinks. You excuse yourself to go to the toilet and as you wash your hands, you hear the familiar opening chords to ‘Great Balls of Fire’ and a knowing smile covers your face, making you dry your hands and exit the bathroom so you can join in with the other patrons of the bar as they sing loudly along to the song as Rooster plays the piano. You stand alongside Payback and Fanboy, laughing and singing with your teammates, all of you cheering loudly after you sing the final words. As you glance around the bar after the cheering has died down, you notice that Mike is nowhere to be seen.

“Fanboy, have you seen Mike?” You ask, continuing to look around.

“I saw him leaving not long before you came back from the bathroom. I thought you knew. I also didn’t know you were in the bathroom, so I figured you were heading home with him.” Fanboy says sympathetically when he notices your demeanour shift. You nod silently and start to head towards the doors of the Hard Deck. As you cross the bar, Rooster notices your dejected expression and he leaps up from where he was sat at the piano and following you outside.

“y/n, are you okay?” He asks cautiously as soon as you’re both outside. You stop in your tracks and take a deep breath before turning to face him, unshed tears shining in your eyes that break Rooster’s heart.

“Mike went home without letting me know so I’m just gonna head back to mine. I was supposed to spend the night at his but clearly, that’s not the plan anymore and since he was my ride, I guess I’m walking home. Finding out that he left from Fanboy kind of hurt so I’m not in the mood to hang around anymore. Tell the others I’ll see them in the morning.” You say, shrugging and turning back around to start the walk back to your house.

“I don’t think so.” Rooster mutters to himself before jogging to catch up with you, walking alongside you with a gentle smile. In this moment he’d never been happier to have not taken the Bronco to the bar so he could keep you company on your walk home.

“Bradley, you don’t need to miss out just because I’m leaving.” You say when you notice that Rooster is walking alongside you. Despite saying he didn’t need to walk with you, you were hoping he’d ignore you and continue to walk by your side. His presence was always comforting.

“You think I care about missing out on Hangman and Coyote’s millionth darts match? I’m not missing out on anything. I’d rather be making sure you’re okay because I’d be a shitty friend if I noticed that you were upset and still let you walk home alone.” Saying the word ‘friend’ out loud always stabbed at Rooster’s heart, knowing that your relationship would never transcend friendship hurt him but he’d still rather live with you as his friend than living a life without you in it. At Rooster’s affirmation that he’d stay by your side and walk you home, you felt a smile cross your face as you quickly rubbed at your eyes to rid yourself of the unshed tears. The walk home was filled with the two of you talking about everything and nothing at the same time. By the time you reach your front door, you don’t want Rooster to leave but you knew it wouldn’t be worth holding him up when he had training early in the morning.

“You going to be okay?” Rooster asks softly as you unlock your front door.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay. Mike probably just forgot about our plans. Thanks for walking me home Roo.” You reply with a smile as you wrap your arms around Rooster for a hug he returns happily.

“You take care. I’ll see you in the morning.” Rooster bids you goodnight as he releases you from the hug before turning and walking away, not before throwing one last smile over his shoulder before you close your front door, the smile not leaving your face even as you get ready for bed and bury yourself under your covers.

The next couple of weeks of training were tough, Mike had been constantly pulling away from you and spending less time with you. At first, when you first noticed it, you figured it was because of stress so you went around to his house one evening to surprise him. You were shocked, however, when Mike answered the door, a woman sticking her head over his shoulder as the door opened.

“Mike… who is this?” The girl asks, glancing from him to you when no one speaks.

“Just someone from work.” Mike says dismissively, making your jaw clench at how he discarded you so quickly.

“I wanted to see how you were doing after training, but I can see I’ve interrupted something. I’ll leave you two in peace.” You force out, fighting back your hurt tone and struggling to keep a neutral expression on your face as you take in their flushed faces and slightly swollen lips. You nod stoically with a small smile and bid the two goodbye before turning and walking away. Only when your back was turned, and you heard the door slam behind you did you allow your tears to fall. Your vision was blurred as your feet took you to the one place you knew you could be comforted.

“y/n?” Rooster is shocked when he opens his door to see you sobbing on his doorstep.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know where else to go.” You whisper through your tears, your arms wrapped around your middle as you look up at Rooster.

“No, you’re okay. Come in.” Rooster says quickly, wrapping his arm around your shoulder and ushering you inside and leading you to his sofa where he wraps you in a hug and allows you to sob into his chest. Rooster held you securely and felt his heart breaking further and further with each sob that fell from your lips.

“I got you, y/n/n. It’s okay.” Rooster whispered as he ran a hand up and down your back, continuing to whisper reassurance until you begin to calm down, pulling away when you’ve regained your breath and your tears have stopped.

“I’m so sorry Rooster. I promise I wasn’t planning on showing up sobbing.” You say, your voice hoarse as you clear your throat and wipe at your eyes, embarrassed at the state Rooster saw you in.

“Hey, I said it was okay. I don’t care. You’re upset I’d be a shitty guy to just slam the door in your face. My mum raised me better than that.” Rooster says with a cheeky smile as you let out a soft laugh.

“I went to Mike’s house. We hadn’t seen each other outside of training for a while so I figured I’d go to his place. When he opened the door, he was there with another woman. I don’t know why I wasn’t good enough for him. Did I do something wrong?” You explain after you fall into silence. You felt like you owed Rooster an explanation as to why you showed up sobbing at his house. A fresh wave of tears emerging at your explanation and Rooster pulls you back into a hug, resting his chin on top of your head.

“That dickhead. You listen to me, and you listen to me carefully. He’s not worth all these tears, okay? You did nothing wrong. He’s the one who fucked up. Anyone would be lucky to have you. You deserve better than him. There’s someone out there who’s perfect for you and when you find them this asshole will be a distant memory who won’t be worth thinking about.” Rooster says softly yet firmly, his chin gently digging into the top of your head with each word spoken. You don’t reply, just sniffling slightly and curling further into his side. Accepting your silence as an answer, Rooster reached for the tv remote and put the tv on, putting a random tv show on as background noise. You continued to cling to Rooster, not that he minded, relishing in his warmth and how safe you felt in his arms. Before you knew it, you felt yourself drifting off as exhaustion sets in. Rooster hadn’t noticed that you had fallen asleep until he noticed the time on his watch.

“y/n/n, you want to crash here for the night?” He asks and when he only receives a soft snore in response, he smiles.

“Guess you’re crashing here then.” He whispers, gently scooping you up in his arms and carrying you upstairs. He laid you down in his bed and covers you up with the duvet after taking your shoes off.

“Sleep well, sweetheart.” He mutters before grabbing a blanket and heading back downstairs to sleep on the sofa. He wanted nothing more than to storm over to Checkmate’s house and give him a piece of his mind, but he knew he wasn’t worth his time. Besides, once the rest of the team found out, Checkmate would be running for the hills.

When you woke up the next morning, you were confused when you realised you were in a bed since the last thing you remembered was sobbing in Rooster’s arms as he reassured you that what transpired last night was not your fault. As you sat up the smell of pancakes hit your nostrils and you couldn’t stop yourself from climbing out of bed and heading downstairs where you’re greeted by Rooster humming lightly to himself as he cooks breakfast.

“You know you could’ve just woken me up and sent me home?” You say teasingly, laughing as Rooster jumps and turns to face you.

“Like I said last night, my mum raised me better than that.” He replies with a shrug, plating up the pancakes and placing the two plates down on the table with cutlery as he gestures for you to sit down. You sit down opposite him and start to dig into your pancakes.

“Thanks for breakfast. And thanks for being there for me last night.” You say quietly after a mouthful of pancakes.

“I’ll always be here for you, no matter what.” Rooster assures softly, a smile gracing both of your faces as the affirmation.

“Did you mean what you said last night?” You whisper after a brief silence falls over the two of you. Rooster lifts his gaze from his plate over to you and his expression softens.

“Of course I did. Checkmate is an asshole, and you deserve so much better than him. I never liked him, even before you started dating.” Rooster says, looking down at the table at the admission that he never liked Checkmate.

“Why didn’t you say anything? You were the first person I told when he first asked me to be his girlfriend.” You question, head tilting innocently as you ask him. When Rooster stays quiet, you start to put things together in your head.

“You wanted to…” You mutter, watching as he lifts his gaze to meet yours, nodding hesitantly.

“I wanted nothing more than to tell you to say no. But you seemed happy, I couldn’t do that to you.” He admits, watching as you process the information.

“I wish you had told me to say no.” You say quietly, regretting the words the second they slipped past your lips, fearful of what Rooster’s reaction could be.

“You… what?” He whispers, his heart pounding loudly at what you said.

“I wish you had told me to say no to Mike. I would’ve if you had asked me to.” You repeat, watching as Rooster stands up, picking his chair up and moving it to sit alongside you, your knee brushing up against his as your heart pounds at the contact.

“I wish I did too. This way you wouldn’t have gone through all that.” He says, finding the courage to reach across and take your hand in his.

“I knew me, and Mike wasn’t going to last if I’m being honest. I just…” You start, struggling to find the words.

“You just…?” He prompts gently, his gentle brown eyes searching yours.

“I just thought I never had a chance with you, so I went on dates to find someone. Mike was the only guy who looked my way but when I told you he asked me out I was hoping you’d tell me I’d be stupid to say yes.” You say, dropping your head and staring at your intertwined hands instead of looking up at Rooster as you worry about what he could say. You were mentally preparing to get up and leave Rooster’s house when his grip on your hand tightened as he pulled your hand closer to him.

“God, I’m so stupid.” You hear him mutter, making you look at him with a confused expression.

“Bradley, if anyone’s stupid in this whole scenario, it’s me.” You say.

“No. I’m the stupid one. I came to your house the day you told me Checkmate asked you to be his girlfriend because I was going to tell you how I was hopelessly head over heels for you and when I had the chance to tell you how I felt I backed off. I’m the biggest idiot.” Rooster scoffs lightly as he admits what he’s been holding in for a month and a half. Your expression softens at his words, and you lift your free hand and cup his cheek gently, smiling as he ever so slightly leans into the touch.

“I wouldn’t say you’re the biggest idiot. You’re at the very least half an idiot.” You say, both of you letting a soft laugh escape your lips.

“Does that make you the other half an idiot? I need another half to be a whole idiot.” Rooster replies, pressing a quick kiss to your palm.

“Yeah, I’m definitely the other half an idiot.” You confirm, shaking your head with a laugh as you move away slightly, slipping your hand out of his and moving your hand from his cheek.

“Let me take you on a date. Let me show you I can be ten times the boyfriend Checkmate was.” Rooster says as you take your hand off his cheek, much to his disappointment. He relished the warm sensation your hand left on his cheek. You already knew Rooster would be a thousand times the boyfriend Mike was. Just being your friend he was the best person you had in your life so having him as a boyfriend would be even better.

“I guess I could give you a shot…” You muse jokingly as Rooster shoots to his feet, pulling you up with him and pulling you into his arms with a large grin. You laugh at his excitement as he buries his face in your shoulder. You remain in the embrace, almost melting at how tightly he held you. Being in Rooster’s arms felt like coming home after a long day. Rooster made you feel safe.

“I’ll treat you better than Checkmate ever could.” He says, his voice muffled by your shirt as he speaks.

You didn’t doubt his words for a second.

#justabigassnerd #justabigassnerd writes #top gun #top gun maverick #rooster top gun #rooster x y/n #rooster x reader #rooster #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley 'rooster' bradshaw x reader #bradley 'rooster' bradshaw #bradley bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw x y/n

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pasukiyo · 2 years ago

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wizarding world characters;

— SEBASTIAN SALLOW

— TOM RIDDLE

— CEDRIC DIGGORY

— OMINIS GAUNT

— REMUS LUPIN

top gun characters;

— BRADLEY “ROOSTER” BRADSHAW

stranger things characters;

— STEVE HARRINGTON

— EDDIE MUNSON

— STEDDIE X READER

star wars characters;

— DIN DJARIN

— KYLO REN/BEN SOLO

— ANAKIN SKYWALKER

pedro pascal characters;

— DIN DJARIN

— JAVIER PEÑA

— JOEL MILLER

— FRANKIE MORALES

marvel characters;

— TASM PETER PARKER

— STEVEN GRANT

— MARC SPECTOR

joe keery characters;

— STEVE HARRINGTON

— KURT KUNKLE

joseph quinn characters;

— EDDIE MUNSON

— ERIC (A QUIET PLACE)

robert pattinson characters;

— BRUCE WAYNE

— CEDRIC DIGGORY

tom holland characters;

— ARVIN RUSSELL

video game characters;

— JOEL MILLER

— LEON KENNEDY

fnaf characters;

— MIKE SCHMIDT

the hunger games characters;

— CORIOLANUS SNOW

— FINNICK ODAIR

glen powell characters;

— TYLER OWENS

#pasukiyo #masterlist

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crazyk-imagine · 2 years ago

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Don’t Fear the Beast or Inanimate Talking Objects

Pairing: Beast!Nick “Goose” Bradshaw x Belle!Reader Characters: Beast!Nick “Goose” Bradshaw. Belle!Reader, Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (brother), Rick “Hollywood” Neven (brother), Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood (sister), Penny Benjamin (Sister), Mike Viper” Metcalf (Dad), Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Lumiere), Marcus “Sundown” Williams (Cogsworth), Sam “Merlin” Wells (The enchantress), Leonard “Wolfman” Wolfe (Henry “Wolfman” Ruth) (Coatrack), Peppermint (the horse [a true icon]) Adam, Gaston, Le Fou, Carole Bradshaw (briefly mentioned), Sydney (Belle’s mother) (briefly mentioned) Warnings: Angst, fluff, mix of two versions of this movie, I have no regrets, sad times, mentions of death, Bradley adopting reader as his mother, Hollywood and Iceman are big brothers, Charlie and Penny are big sisters, chaotic family energy, this has consumed my thoughts for this entire week, Nick being depressed over losing his lovey Carole, the castle has terrible weather, this took a minute for me to write Word Count: 13,897

Top Gun: Disney AU

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You had a feeling something was wrong all day, your stomach constantly in knots your anxiety causing your heart rate to skyrocket.

It was unusual for your papa, Mike, to not return the day he is supposed to. And if he knows he won’t, he sends word, so you and your siblings won’t worry… especially with the story of the lonely beast who roams the abandoned castle somewhere in the woods.

The story has always been your brothers’ favorite and the very reason they continue to join the hunting parties the people in town have been because they “want to protect the family.”

And there’s no way Mike would ever return during the night since his eyesight isn’t the same as it used to be (no matter how much he tries to deny it).

Another thing he would never do is let your most prized possession, your family horse, Peppermint, loose.

Your siblings know never to let anything happen to her; she was the last thing ever given to any of you by your mother, even if your family say she’s yours.

You can’t reminisce long as the sound of her neighs gets you to push yourself off your knees and quickly exit your small vegetable garden.

You’re quick to grab her reins and slowly place your hand on her head in the space between where her eyes meet (her favorite spot to be pet and the only place that can calm her down). You gently shush her, never removing your hand. “It’s all right, Peppermint. You’re safe now.”

You swear she understands you because it looks like she shakes her head, deep breaths huffing out of her nose as if she disagrees. “Where is papa?”

She takes a gentle step forward, trying to burrow her head into your hand. “Oh, no.”

The sound of your name diverts your attention away from your beloved horse.

“Rick.”

He closes the front door behind him. “What happened? Where is father?”

“I- I,” you struggle to respond, not having an answer yourself. “I don’t know.”

“What are we going to do?”

You take a deep breath. “I don’t know but I will find out, okay?”

“What do you mean? What does that mean, Belle?”

You purse your lips at the nickname your family hasn’t used since you were a child. You grab his arms, looking him in the eye. “I will be back. But, if I’m not. I need you to-”

“I’m not going to think of that because it’s not going to happen. I know you and I know you will bring our father home... just give me-”

You shake your head, “no. You are not coming.”

“I am your brother-”

“You are the youngest-”

“I’m older than you.”

You click your tongue, “still the youngest, but I will return. I promise. I just,” you glance over at the garden. “I need to find someone to tend the garden.”

“The garden.” His eyes widen as he thinks about what you’ve said. “The garden!?”

You nod, “yes, the garden. Don’t- I’ll be back.” You run to town knowing who you need to talk to will be there.

You stop, taking a deep breath before entering the town; you look around to see if anyone (who could tolerate you was nearby), you’re in luck. “Oh! Oh! Yes!”

You run over to Sam, typically known Merlin by those who don’t like him.

“Sam! Sam, dear!” You take a deep breath as you run to him. “Sa- am.”

He smiles upon your arrival until he sees your hunched over, out of breath position. “Deep breaths. In… and out. Again.”

“I know how to breathe but,” you take a deep breath, “thank you nonetheless.”

“Of course.”

“Now, the reason I rushed over is to ask you for a small favor?”

“And what favor is it this time?” He asks, with a raised brow.

You tend to ask him favors a lot, most of which consist of borrowing sugar or if he could help you find a screw so your papa can fix your clock, the one gifted to you by your mama before she passed since your siblings never want to help you with these things.

You shake your head. “I need you to watch over the garden… papa has not returned, and I fear for his safety. You know of the stories.”

“Which stories? Everyone in town is fearful of the woods for many reasons,” he points out, but the expression on his face doesn’t match his words which you ignore due to your worry of your papa’s safety.

“You know,” you lean forward as if you’re sharing a secret. “The stories of the beast.” You forgo the unnecessary details of the abandoned castle seeing as he was the one who told you about it, even though hardly anyone knew this minor detail... something you don’t find to be weird.

“You think he has wandered into the castle?”

You sigh. “I would most certainly hope not but he had asked me if I wanted anything when he decided to come back from his trip. Of course, I told him no seeing as he had too many items to get from the lists my sisters left, but he wouldn’t accept that answer. I fear he had stopped somewhere dangerous to get me such the thing I asked for, when he knew we could go on a trip to the nearby town and get it there. Oh.”

The man shushes you. “Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll turn up before you can even exit the town line.”

You squeal, hugging him. “Thank you. Thank you so much, Sam. I will not forget this. The youngest of my brothers will be home but you know how none of them appreciate the love of the garden.”

He nods, “I do. Now, go home and pack a bag.” He pulls the blanket off his basket and hands you a few rolls he bought from the baker earlier along with a medical herb mix he makes for anyone who gets injured.

You shake your head, “oh, I couldn’t.”

“You can and you will. It will help you on your journey.”

“Okay. Thank you again, Sam.”

He smiles.

You run back to your home, grabbing your coat and bag with necessary items for any scenario you could think of on the spot; the book that you never take out lays at the bottom followed by some medical wrap, ointment, Sam’s “magical” herb mix as well as the rolls and a small handful of food suitable for humans and animals.

You want to pack more but there’s hardly any room for other things. “These are necessary items,” you tell yourself. “That’s all I can bring with me. It's okay. You’re okay,” you tighten the grip on the strap of your bag. “He’s okay.”

After getting Peppermint ready and grabbing the spare key for Sam, you return to where you last saw him.

Rick stands in the doorway. “I don’t like the thought of you leaving on your own.”

You nod, “yes well. If I don’t do it, we may not have a father anymore. Now move, Rick.”

He doesn’t.

“I said move.”

He gives in and takes a step back. “At least let me come with you.”

“No,” you shake your head. “I need you to stay here. Tom is working out of town so that he can have enough money to leave home while Charlotte and Penelope are out trying to find new fabric so that they can have new dresses made for them. One of us must be here.”

A heavy sigh slips past his lips. “Fine but, I’m not happy about this.”

“I know,” you smile before pulling him in for a hug. “I will be back before you know it.” You prepare Peppermint for the journey and take off back to your dearest (and only friend).

He turns to the sound of Peppermint’s hooves clopping against the dirt floor.

You reach into your bag for the key, holding it out for him to take. “I’ll be leaving now. If papa and I do not return before tomorrow…” You gulp.

He nods, pocketing the key before patting your shoulder in a comforting manner. “I will make sure you both return, if that is the case, you have my word.”

You resist the urge to smile, knowing full well that he and Rick would be the first ones to lead your search party. “I know I’ve said this before but... thank you.”

And you’re off.

You hoist yourself up on Peppermint's saddle and crack the reins, putting your faith into her to guide you to your papa’s last location.

She slows down once the two of you reach the blocked entrance of the forest where the beast has been rumored to reside.

“Is this where you came from?” You ask out loud, voice low, close to a whisper. “How did you two get in?”

As soon as those words are said, the splintered branches and thorny vines begin to retract themselves, creating a walkway for you to ride through.

Peppermint takes a step back; your hand instantly reaches her “special spot.”

“We’ve got this.” You pat her head before clutching the reins, “we can do this.”

There’s no turning back now, it’s now or never and you have your mother’s genes.

You crack the reins once more and run through, glancing over your shoulder to see the entrance return to its original state. You shake your head; you can’t focus on that and return your focus onto your current mission.

The wind continues to get harsher and colder; you lower your head to protect yourself, putting your full trust into your precious horse.

She slows her pace, but you can’t bring yourself to raise your head until she comes to a full stop.

It's even worse than you realized, the castle from all the stories is… beautiful.

The gray clouds that disturb the clear skies near the village and the fog on the lower levels may be enough for other people to turn around and leave but not you.

It fills you with a sense of nostalgia, reminding you of your older sister during childhood when Charlotte asked to hear a short story about your mother.

He couldn’t bring himself to tell you kids a lot, but he went into more detail about your mother’s hobby, painting and how her work wasn’t for everyone.

Later that night, your papa would tell you how he always admires you for finding the beauty in dark and twisted things because he couldn’t always do that himself which is why your mama’s paintings are covered and collecting dust.

It’s obvious how much it still pains him to talk about her.

You were about the age of ten when you found out what happened to her and your oldest brother, Tom, was the one to tell you. You don’t think it’s a moment you’ll ever forget and only because you found out the truth.

He tucks you in while your papa was working downstairs.

“What happened to her?”

“To whom?”

You ignore his gaze. “To mama.”

“Oh.” He doesn’t respond for a few minutes. “Do you remember when I told you of the plague that started to invade our first home?”

You nod. “As much as she tried and prevented us from getting it, she wound up getting the plague herself.”

“She did?”

He nods. “But she was never alone even in the end, she was still surrounded by those she loved... now it’s time for bed.”

You realized that night how much your father has truly done for you and your family even as he was dealing with heartache; he had whisked you all away from your first home to make you all stay healthy and safe.

And, after twenty-two years, he still loves her even as his life has changed and become darker; you still do your best to cheer him up, even if it’s only temporary... Which is why you can’t give up.

She stops a few feet away from the front steps of the castle.

You dismount from Peppermint and slowly walk towards the building, wary of where you step because of the icy grass and cracks in the ground. You hope your papa didn’t fall; you swear you hear the ground cracking as you hopped off her.

Her neighs pull you out of your thoughts, Peppermint nods towards the side of the building. You turn and walk in that direction only to find a few fallen petals, putting you on high alert.

You follow the trail and find a rose smashed into the ground due to large animal like footprint. You hold the dead rose in your hands. “Oh no.” Your head snaps up after a shingle falls, cracking on the ground, your eyes shift towards one of the many roofs to find a shadow staring.

A gasp escapes you; you push yourself up and move away from the area. Glass crunches under your foot, breaking into a million little pieces; you to look down.

You bend down, wiping away the small pile of snow (which is only on this side of the castle) that covers the item and find your father’s pocket watch. You quickly put it in your pocket before looking up, finding nothing there. “It must have been my imagination.”

You tighten your grip on your beloved Peppermint’s reins and walk back around towards the, now, open entrance of the castle. “I’ll be right back.”

Her defiant neighs and stomping of her hoof stop you.

You pet her, assuring the horse that you’ll be fine and won’t be long. You furrow your brows at the sight of the slightly ajar door, but your sense of worry overtakes your common sense. Your fingertips barely brush against the creaky door as it opens further. You take careful steps inside, not wanting to fall with the poor lighting hiding the dark floor.

The door slams shut, you jump and turn at the echoing boom!

You take a second to think about what just happened. “Don’t worry. You’re inside, you’re safe.” Your mantra doesn’t ease your anxiety or heart as you continue through the castle.

A faint echoing thump piques your interest.

‘Papa?’ You run up the stairs, searching for the noise and eventually you find yourself in a dungeon.

The thumping becomes louder and clearer than it had been before the closer you get to the staircase; you rush down the spiraling staircase, keeping one hand on the wall so you don’t fall. You pause when you notice how narrow and long the walkway is.

Even with how dark it is, you can still see the cracks wherever you step, concerning you for yours and your papa’s safety.

You carefully step forward, slow enough to apply a little pressure needing to see if it's safe enough for you to walk and once you do, you grab the source of light to your right off the shelf and continue.

The gasp escapes you before you can stop it. “Papa!”

He looks so defeated and scared.

Mike calls out your name, his hands wrapping around the cell door bars, keeping him steady. “You must leave. The- the stories-”

Your eyes bounce around all over, in search of something. “Where is the key?”

“You have to leave before he finds you.”

“What are you talking about? I’m not going to leave you here to suffer. You’re needed back home, and I will make sure that happens.”

He’s shocked. “But- but you have to.”

You shake your head, “I can’t. I will not lose another one of my parents. You have much more to teach the others, things I cannot.”

He softly says your name.

You don’t respond and ignore him until he says your nickname. “Belle. Belle. Stop.” He grabs your hand, holding it tight to get you to stop.

You stare at him with sad, tearful eyes and he only smiles in return. “It’s okay.” You lower your head.

A heavy thud against the last step gets you to flinch and snap your head over in that direction.

‘The shadow from outside.’ Your heart beats faster, filling you with worry and dread until it disappears.

The cell door opens, both of you are hesitant to move before you rush to pull him out.

“We are leaving,” you throw his arm over your shoulders. “We’re leaving and we’re not turning back.”

Your papa doesn’t fight you nor does he say anything as you two exit the castle.

“How do we get out?”

“I have to go back,” he mumbles.

“No,” you argue. “You are not going back to that dreaded place. It- the beast let you go. Why else would the door open?”

“He didn’t,” he shakes his head. “The beast told me if I leave, I will only have twenty-four hours to see my family again before I have to return.”

“Twen- twenty-four hours?! That’s not enough time to say goodbye.”

The conversation dwindles from there.

You two manage to make it back to your home before it gets dark.

“Rick!” You call out for your brother, “Rick!”

He runs out of the house, the tension leaving his shoulders at the sight of the two of you. He calls out for the two of you as he rushes over to help your father off Peppermint.

“Have the others returned yet?” As soon as you uttered those words, your other siblings rush out the door, calling out for your papa.

Once Rick, Charlotte, and Penny take your father inside, Tom turns to you. “What happened?”

You explain that he was out to get the things from the list you all had given him, and Peppermint was the one to return, leading you to an abandoned castle.

He raises a brow at the mention of the castle. “An abandoned castle?”

You nod, “yes. Why do you sound as if you don’t believe me?”

“I never said that.”

“You didn’t need to.”

He clears his throat, “let’s go inside and enjoy the fact that father is home.” He stops, “one more thing. Stop giving your key to that man.”

“Sam? He’s harmless.”

“I don’t trust him.”

“Yeah, well. I do. He’s nicer to me than everyone else in the village other than the librarian Adam or that buffoon Gaston when he’s trying to make Penny jealous.”

“Stop talking to him.” He walks ahead of you, leaving you to look back at the village.

Your shoulders sag, you know what you need to do.

You prepared dinner as you planned and enjoyed what you knew to be your last night at home.

Once everyone cleaned up and went to their rooms, you sneak downstairs, grabbing your coat and bag before mounting Peppermint’s saddle.

“This is the last time you’re going there. I promise.”

And you’re off.

She stops at the entrance once again.

“We need a way in.” You stop for a minute and think.

“I am... trading my papa’s place with me?” You tilt your head when the entrance opens again. You shake your head, knowing you can’t focus on it any longer.

You grip the reins as tight as you can before cracking them.

You hop off Peppermint and pet her one last time before trying to let her go. “Run home, Pep. It’s not safe for you to be here.”

She nudges her head in your hands.

You sigh, “you can’t fight with me on this.”

You can’t resist those eyes, “fine but you stay here until I can find a safe place for you.”

You slowly enter the castle, not expecting to see candles lit or there to be less cracks in the floor, maybe you should have paid more attention to your surroundings before you ran in search of your papa.

The door slams shut behind you, you jump turning around to look at who it was only to find a rocking coat rack. “Odd.”

“You returned?” The low, deep voice says as it echoes throughout the first floor. Your poor heart can only take so much more.

“Uh- yes,” you slowly respond, searching for him.

“You returned in place of your father?”

“I did. He needs to be in a place where he can be properly taken care of and continue to look after my family.” Your hand rests on the pillar, adjacent from the stairs, as you peek around the corner only to find nothing.

“The thief has a family.”

You furrow your brows, taking offense to his comment.

“He is not a thief!”

The beast jumps down a few feet behind you and shakes the ground, your arms circle the air as you try to keep your balance before turning around.

“He stole the one thing that is precious to me. He is a thief,” his voice lower and more menacing than it was earlier.

“He is not a thief! He was trying to get the one thing his youngest child asked for because he knew it would make her happy!” You shout at him, chest heaving, eyes full of fire, something he hasn’t seen in a very long time.

The beast scoffs, ignoring the nostalgia that tries to worm its way into his cold heart. “You are to have dinner with me every day.”

Your head jerks back. “What if I don’t want to?”

“You’ll have dinner with me, or you will starve.”

You furrow your brows not understanding where he thinks he has the right to control you and what you do. “I will do whatever I want to do. You are not the boss of me!”

“Fine!” He whirls around, “see if I care whether you live or die!”

And he runs up into one of the wings, no longer wanting to see you.

You can’t believe the nerve of the- the- your eyes widen. You gave attitude and talked back to the beast from the stories you’ve been told about for as long as you can remember (since you moved to the village). “I just- oh my,” you take a deep breath and try to calm yourself.

“You held yourself together. Better than I ever could,” a male voice says.

You whirl around, finding no one there. “Who said that?”

“I did.”

You look down and find a candelabra there. Your eyes widen and you fall back into the nearest chair. “I’ve lost my mind. I’ve lost it and it’s never coming back.”

“Don’t say that mademoiselle.”

“I’m saying it.”

An awkward silence fills the air.

“Maybe having dinner will take your mind off things?” He weakly offers.

“I think I need to sleep right now. I can’t- I still don’t believe everything I’ve seen today.”

“Follow me.”

You lay in bed, dressed in the night gown that was laid across the bed (after a long fight with your inner conflict about if you should or shouldn’t wear it).

It takes a long time until you can go to sleep and when you do, you dream of strange things such as a man dancing around with a woman in a ballroom.

The pillars look the same as the ones you saw in one of the main rooms earlier.

You don’t know who they are or why you’re dreaming about them or even how you remember them when you wake up. Sitting up in bed, looking around the room, you realize how stuffy it is.

You need to get out of this room and learn more about your new… place of residency.

You barely make it down the stairs to the main room you were in the night before when the candelabra interrupts your thoughts.

“Good morning, mademoiselle.”

You slowly turn, staring at the object. “Good morning,” you slowly say.

“Oh, forgive me. I never told you, my name. I am,” he spins around, “Pete, Maverick to others.”

A smile stretches across your lips, “it’s nice to meet you, Pete. I was going to do some exploring since this is where I’ll be... from now on.”

“Ah, you can visit any place here you’d like but- uh- don’t go to the west wing.”

“What’s in the west wing?”

“Nothing-”

“Lots of damage. It’s dangerous for you to explore.”

You furrow your brows at the sight of the clock. “And who are you?”

He stutters, not entirely sure if he should tell you or not.

“This is Marcus, also known as Sundown,” Pete says, introducing his friend.

“It’s nice to meet you, Marcus. Are there any more of you or is it just you two here?”

“Oh, no,” the candelabra shakes his head. “There are more of us, very few though. Most of them got away before they could be touched by the spell.”

“How many of you are there?”

“Too many to count.”

You fall back into the nearest chair when the tea cart bumps into your side.

“Oh, sorry dear. The young prince isn’t so good with directions,” the tea pot tells you as she offers you a kind and welcoming smile.

“Yes, yes. Sorry, miss,” the second teacup apologizes.

“It’s alright,” you smile back at him.

“You must need something to warm you right up and I know just the thing.” A cup of tea comes towards you.

“Be careful, Chip.”

“Yes, mother.” He turns back to you, “hello there.”

“He- hello. I take it you’re Chip?”

“Yes, miss.”

“Should I be drinking from him?” You turn to the tea pot. “It doesn’t seem right.”

“It’s alright,” she assures you. “It won’t hurt him if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Okay,” you take a sip and pull back when a bubble pops.

“Chip! How many times have I told you not to do that?”

“Sorry, mother.”

“Oh no. It’s okay, he’s having fun.”

“Don’t encourage the two. They’re handfuls already,” she jokes.

A coatrack hops closer to your small group.

“And that,” Pete begins. “Is our favorite of us all, the ever so silent, Leonard also known as Wolfman.”

“I take it he talked a lot?” You ask.

“Yep, you could never get him to shut up.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Leonard.”

He waves a wooden post in return.

“Sorry about them dear. Oh, I almost forgot, I’m Mrs. Potts and the boy blowing bubbles is my son Chip and this one behind me is the young prince, Bradley.”

“It’s very nice to meet you all.”

“You’re pretty,” Bradley gushes before hiding behind Mrs. Potts.

“Thank you, Bradley,” you offer a gentle smile. “And you are a handsome young boy.”

“You don’t know what I look like.”

“You have a kind personality, that makes you extra handsome,” you whisper as if it’s a secret the others shouldn’t be hearing.

He giggles and spins around the other boy.

None of you knew but the beast formerly known as King Nick (Nicholas Bradshaw the II) was in his secret passageway, listening and watching over his boy as he had begun to do after the passing of Queen Carole but more so when the curse was placed on the kingdom.

Part of him wonders if you’ll be the one to break the spell while the other part wants nothing to do with you to spare him from any future heartache.

Maybe tonight he’ll eat dinner with you, apologize for his behavior.

He shakes his head, “no, no. She is not the one. She-”

An earthquake shakes the building, small debris falls from the ceiling.

He runs through the walls, not caring if he makes any noise.

He takes careful, steady steps into the room not wanting his heavy footsteps to cause another petal to fall. He sighs at the small, broken rose.

Once the shaking stops, you glance around the room.

“What was that?” The older woman sighs.

“Another petal has fallen,” Marcus chimes in.

“What- what does that mean?”

“If the last petal falls, the curse takes place and we all become objects while my father remains a beast,” Bradley answers you.

“You’re all cursed?” Your voice comes out as a whisper.

“Sadly, yes,” the tea pot informs you.

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, dear.”

“How did-” You glance back at the two boys and decide not to ask now, you don’t want to bring up any bad memories. “When did it happen?”

“We’ve lost count over the years that have passed,” Pete tells you.

“Oh.”

“That’s enough of that,” the clock interrupts. “I think it’s time for lunch.”

“Okay. Am I going to get another dance number with all the utensils and plates?”

“You never know, mademoiselle.”

You narrow your eyes at Pete.

A few days later…

The others have things to do, and you’re left alone so you take this opportunity to venture around the castle. Nothing fun or very interesting in, what you assume, and hope is the north wing. Same thing with what you do know as the east wing (the sign was helpful).

You take careful steps as you walk into this wing since it’s more run down than any others you’ve seen so far. Your head snaps to the left, eyebrows knit together when you see nothing there.

Maybe it was nothing.

You continue and slowly open the creaky door, silently groaning to yourself as the creak echoes.

Once the door is open wide enough you walk further into the room, eyes catching the sight of the not dead rose trapped in a glass confinement.

You tilt your head trying to figure out why because the rose should be dead along with the fallen petals.

Nick’s shoulders sag as he walks up the steps, so much for taking a nap.

This time though, he woke with less heartache than the night before.

He knows he’ll never be able to forget her, his beloved wife, Carole.

She was his everything and always up for an adventure, which coincidentally is how the two found each other in the first place.

If only they had taken precautions and checked to make sure there were no bees.

They knew her family had a history of being allergic to bees, but she was lucky enough to have never come across any… until the search for the most majestic deer anyone could see came about.

Sometimes he wishes he never wanted to try and hunt the creature but then he comes to the realization that there was nothing he could do.

He shakes his head to forget his cries for her and how Bradley would never see her again.

His large body walks through the door without noticing the door was already open, not until he lifts his head to see you staring at the glass with a confused expression, he can’t focus on that for long as his nerves and heartbreak take over.

“No! Don’t touch it!” Nick rushes over towards it. “You were told to stay away from the west wing!” He growls at you, spit leaving his mouth landing on your cheeks and forehead. He takes a step closer, “you could have ruined everything! Ruined my chance to save my son!”

You step back. “I’m- I’m sorry- I-”

He stops moving and lets out everything he was feeling in that moment, what he felt when he lost Carole, when he was turned into this- damned thing, and what (he thinks) it would feel like to lose his boy.

A deep growl comes from the back of his throat. The vibration of the powerful noise is more than enough to cause the room to shake, the slashed painting on the wall rattles behind you, terrifying you to your core.

You don’t wait until he’s finished before running out of the room, down the stairs, and out the doors.

None of the cursed servants and prince can stop you even as they call out for you... not even the youngest of them all.

You hope you're close to the end of this hellish nightmare as you begin to slow your pace, unable to sprint anymore.

You’ve exerted too much of your energy to keep going and force yourself to slow down taking deep breaths as you stand hunched over with your hands on your knees.

Growling comes from your left; your head snaps up.

Your eyes widen at the wolf, and you begin to think. ‘I could outrun a wolf… can’t I? How fast are they?’

Until four more stand beside it.

You blink away your tears, taking slow steps backwards.

Maybe if you moved slowly and cautiously away from them, they wouldn’t see you as a threat, although you know better; the illogical part of you can’t help but take over during this time.

A flash tosses one of the wolves away.

You shout out, “behind you!”

As a wolf lunges at the beast, you were so terrified of before you ran out here and grab a stick, doing your best to quickly shove it off him.

All the wolves leave before the beast could harm another.

You don’t know if you should try and help him not… even if he is technically the reason you left.

“Are you going to help me?” He grumbles under his breath, and you just- you want to smack him.

A heavy sigh comes through your nose before you can stop it.

“Oh, and now she’s mad.”

You scoff through your nose.

“A thank you would be nice.”

“I wouldn’t have been out here or almost died if it wasn’t for you.”

“Ungrateful.”

“Ungrate-” You stand in front of him, one hand resting on his chest while the other latches onto his arm. “You are in no condition to walk back on your own.”

“Oh, am I not?”

You narrow your eyes to him. “And what do you suppose we do? I don’t think either of us have much of an option, right now.”

A familiar neigh stops you before you could answer him. “Perfect timing as always, Pep.” You turn back to the slumping lump of a beast.

“Now, get on.”

“I’ll crush it.”

“You won’t. She can handle it. It’s either this or you die in a blizzard... which won’t happen.”

“Why not?” He asks, lying on the back of your beloved horse with his chest on the saddle.

“I won’t be the one to tell your son his father died because of his pride.”

No other words were exchanged between the two of you that night or the following two nights as he rested.

While you comfort the young prince, your second oldest sister, Penny asks your brothers and father if she could ask Gaston for help, to which they denied her.

None of them wanted to deal with the man whose ego is so big, he can’t walk straight (they make jokes about how he always manages to walk into a mirror, even though that happened one time when he still ate three dozen eggs).

She clicks her tongue in disappointment, stopping her foot for extra flair.

“Penny,” Tom starts. “We don’t need to involve that idiot; he’s done nothing but try to ruin us. Why would we start to give into him and his demands now?”

“He is good. He will help is. He told me so himself.”

“And you truly believe him? Even after he told people of rumors about you.”

“That wasn’t him.”

“Well, it certainly wasn’t the old man that did it,” he looks off into the direction of Sam.

She stomps her foot and walks away, slamming the door to her shared room.

“Nice,” Rick comments with sarcasm.

“I didn’t see you jumping in there to help me.”

“I thought you had it handled.”

“If I had it handled our sister wouldn’t be out there with that- that beast!”

Rick takes a step back, looking at Tom, trying to get a read on him and it’s clear that he feels like it’s his fault even though none of them had control over this situation. “None of us could have ever known that this is what fathers' trip would lead to.”

“I should have known. I’m the oldest, I look out for us. I told him he didn’t need to take this trip.”

“You didn’t?”

“No.” He shakes his head, “but he was sure he did, and it made sense why he thought so.”

“Why?”

“Penny and Charlotte were out of dresses.”

Rick smacks his brother's arm, understanding that his only way to deal with this is through humor, even if it's only temporary. “What do you plan to do?”

“I’m not involving that imbecile, that’s for sure.”

“Oh, but haven’t you heard his story about how he ate three dozen eggs to help him get large and after started to go for four dozen once he was large.”

Tom narrows his eye at his younger brother, “you know I do and that’s exactly why.”

You gently wipe away the blood. “You can go to sleep you know. No one is going to hurt you.”

“I know no one would hurt me.”

“Someone’s cocky,” you mumble.

“What was that?”

You shake your head. “Nothing.”

He hisses and tries to pull his hand away.

“Hold still. I’m almost done and then you can rest some more.”

The others watch as you take care of him, wondering what’s changed for the cold-hearted king to be so… kind to you after everything that’s happened.

You place the wet rag back into the bowl, placing it on the table beside his bed. “I’m going to put this on your wounds.” You lift the bottle Sam gave you a few days earlier.

“What is it?”

“A gift from a friend.”

“And how do I know you’re not actually trying to poison me?”

“If I was, you would know and why would my friend try to poison me?”

“I don’t know.”

“That wasn’t a very good question to ask.”

He doesn’t say anything and grumbles under his breath, low enough for you to not hear what he says.

“You’re not going to complain or anything as long as you want someone to take care of yo-our wounds.” You cringe at the thought of saying “take care of you”.

You barely know him and already find yourself enamored with him.

Oh no.

He doesn’t say much else and moves when you tell him to.

“Now, that your wounds are taken care of. I’ll see myself out. Get more rest.” You rush out before he can try and argue with you.

The others follow in your footsteps, leaving their king and prince alone.

“Papa?”

“Yes, Bradley?”

“Do you think she will be the one to break the spell?”

Nick doesn’t turn to look at his son. How can he answer a question like that when he doesn’t know himself? How can he move on from Carole?

She was the love of his life.

Maybe that’s why he can’t.

He feels that if he does then he and Bradley will forget her and he could never bring himself to do that, even if he does struggle to talk about her.

“She’s a very nice person.”

Nick hums, faintly listening to his boy as he goes on about her family and the sacrifices they’ve made. He furrows his brows, “what do you mean?”

“About what?”

“The sacrifices her family has made. What do you mean by that?”

“Oh. She told me when she was a baby, her mama got sick, and her family had to leave making her papa sad. And her big brother has been working hard to make sure they can all buy things they need while her sisters search for husbands and her other brother stays to help her papa with his creations.”

“And what of her?”

“She can’t leave her family alone. They need someone to look after them.”

“Who takes care of her?”

The boy furrows his painted brows. “I don’t know.”

That’s why you chose to trade your life for his.

Nick holds back a groan thinking back to the number of times he called your father a thief. “When did you find this out?”

“Not long ago.” Nick imagines, if his boy was human again, he would have shrugged.

The boy yawns for the third time today.

It’s as though time is running out faster than he would have hoped for.

The two Bradshaw’s fall asleep, one dreaming of a time when he could have fun without worrying about breaking into pieces; the other, he dreams of dancing with the one he is to call his wife.

You, more or less, have the same dream although this one turns into a nightmare with two women dying.

You push yourself up, no longer feeling the need to sleep. You couldn’t tell who either of the women were at first.

But the more you think about it, you slowly begin to see who it is.

As you sit in bed, analyzing all that you dreamed of, you knew one was your darling mother while the other was Bradley’s mother, the beast’s first love. You still cannot wrap your mind around the fact that you keep dreaming of her.

Maybe sitting in front of the fire would help you fall back asleep.

You take the blanket off your bed and wrap it around your shoulders as you tiptoe out of your room and down the stairs until you make it to the main room.

The fireplace is already going by the time you sit in the chair.

You let your mind wander, curious as to what your family is doing.

Hardly anyone sleeps soundly in your family’s home anymore as they continue to work on a plan to bring you home.

“Why can’t we leave and try to find it?” Charlotte asks.

“Because, as I’ve said before, Char. We don’t know where it is. How many times do I have to tell you that,” Tom tells her.

“I don’t know, I didn’t hear you. Tell me again.”

Mike does his best to clear the tension between your siblings.

“Enough.”

They don’t stop, it’s like they don’t even hear him and continue to bicker at one another.

“Enough!”

They turn towards him, giving him their full attention.

“You two are adults and will act like it because you are not the only ones scared for the safety of your sister.”

They lower their heads, muttering apologies.

“We need to focus on figuring out where that damned castle is so we can bring Belle, home.”

Rick doesn’t want to ask but knows if he doesn’t, no one will. “Do you remember where it is? You said it was surrounded by the forest; how did you manage to make it through?”

“I,” your papa pauses, thinking back. “I just- there was an opening.”

“Where?”

“There was- there was just an opening.”

“We need to know where she went, we need to know how to find our sister.”

“I understand that. I know better than anyone how it is to miss someone but there wasn’t anything significant that could help us.”

“What if we talk to Gaston?”

The three men turn towards Penny.

“He might be able to help.”

“We’re not going the idiot so he can flex his muscles,” Tom explains to her.

She rolls her eyes, “he wouldn’t do that.”

“He does it all the time and it’s annoying because you get distracted and that’s not gonna help us.”

She huffs, “do you want to find her or not?”

“Of course, we do but we’re going to do it without him.”

“Have any of you told anyone anything about Belle’s current... predicament?” Rick asks. He remembers the weird looks the people in town were giving him earlier that day.

“Why do you ask?” Charlotte chimes in.

“You don’t want her to talk to Gaston about this but, I felt eyes on me as I walked through town earlier.”

“But you always have eyes on you. We all do,” Tom argues.

“I know, I know.” Rick starts, “it just- it felt like there were more eyes on me today and I feel like people are noticing that she isn’t home. I think they’re starting to talk about it.”

“Ignore anything they say. We’re bringing her home no matter what it takes, you got it?” Tom gives his siblings a stern look.

They nod, not giving him a verbal response.

Sometimes it’s better to go along with what Tom tells em rather than try and argue with him. “It’s too late for us to go out tonight but first thing when we wake up, we’re searching for her.”

Your papa and younger brother nod.

“We’ll stay here in case she comes back,” Charlotte adds.

It was agreed that this was the plan and if they couldn’t find you tomorrow- they’re not thinking about that because they won’t stop.

They’ll keep going until they can’t any longer.

You wake up to find yourself in the bed that’s been deemed as yours. You furrow your brows, knowing for a fact that you did leave this room at some point.

Part of you wonders if it was a dream or if the beast carried you back here.

You find a book on the nightstand and fight the urge to smile before dismissing the thought, not being able to imagine him doing something so kind… even if you did recently help him with his wounds.

You get dressed and don’t plan on asking him if he did or not, it’d be easier to forget your crazy thought than try and dig for information.

You don’t find anyone in the hallway or near the stairs, other than the echoing putter patter of what you assume to be the hunting dogs, remembering the brief description of how Bradley’s mother passed.

You feel for the boy, knowing how he feels especially since it happened when he was so young and why… Nick acts the way he does.

You consider yourself lucky since your papa never lashed out at any of you. You know what you’re going to do today.

You walk along the lower hallways, stopping when you spot a familiar tall figure speaking to his son.

You find yourself standing beside the doorway, unsure if you should leave or not, knowing that the floorboards would creak underneath you.

“She is a nice person.”

“So, I’ve heard,” his father mutters before setting his son down onto the table so he can search for another book. “You should smile at her.”

“Why would I do that, Brad?”

“She doesn’t have many friends and I know you would like her.”

“I don’t think anyone could befriend a beast,” he mutters under his breath. “That sounds like an interesting idea.”

“She likes to read.”

“Does she now?” He asks as if he doesn’t already know.

If the boy was human, he’d be nodding. “Yep! And she’s read a lot of the books we have here.”

“Oh.”

“I think she’d like to visit our library.”

“Interesting.”

“Her favorite is also yours.”

“Really?”

“I think she’s a good person to talk to… she would understand why you’re angry if you told her more about mama.”

Nick spins around, “what do you mean? Did you tell her of your mother?”

“Only after she told me how her mama died a few months after she was born. Her papa doesn’t talk about her.”

He sighs. “I don’t want to burden anyone else with knowing about your mother.”

“She would be happy to listen. She smiles every time I talk about her.”

“And how many times has that been?”

The boy doesn’t respond for a few seconds, trying to figure something out. “Twice.”

“And she was nice enough to take the time to listen to your ramblings?”

The teacup jumps up in happiness. “She did. She only got sad when she told me how no one from her family can speak of her without getting sad or not wanting to speak of her at all.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Tell her.”

“I’m with him.” Pete pops up out of nowhere.

Nick purses his lips, not liking when the two agree (ever, it never turns out well). “I can’t just tell her. She won’t understand and I- I wouldn’t be able to explain it to her.”

“Then take the time to explain it to her,” Pete adds with a “duh” tone.

“I’m not doing that. She doesn’t like me and I’ve- I’ve grown to accept that.”

“But-”

“Enough Bradley, it’s time for your lessons with Miss Potts and Chip.”

“He’s not wrong, you know.”

“Can it, Mav. It’s not happening.”

“But she still has it.”

“No. No one else has that loving feeling but-”

“You know it’s okay to open up your heart. She would want you to be happy, that’s all she ever wanted.”

“How can I be happy when it feels like I’m betraying her?”

“That just proves you loved her with all that you could.”

“So, that means I have nothing left to give?”

“N- No, I meant that you loved Carole with all that you could. Now, you have a chance to prove to yourself that you’re not the grumpy old man you pretend to be.”

“I’m not a grumpy old man,” Nick mumbles.

“Oh, you’re right. You’re an angry old man who pretends his heart is ice-cold and black, like he’s not worthy of finding someone new to love.”

“I’m done with this conversation.”

“Only because you know I’m right.”

Nick walks out of the room before he grabs his friend and throws him out a window (again). He huffs, debating on walking through the walls today.

‘Maybe I should try and show her kindness? Perhaps the book isn’t enough.’

He walks down the hallway, his ears twitching when Miss Potts' voice echoes through the hallway.

He steps closer, hiding behind the door, watching as the older woman talks to the kids and you.

“I wish I could help more around here. I feel like I’m not doing much.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that deary,” Miss Potts assures her.

“I can’t. At home… at my family’s home we would always be doing some kind of chore especially since our papa is getting older and can’t do a lot without getting hurt and prefers to be working on clocks as well as any other item that need to be fixed,” you smile, thinking about it.

“I hope they’re all okay.”

“I’m sure they are,” Miss Potts tries her best to reassure you.

You shrug, “perhaps.” You push yourself out of the chair. “Excuse me, you two have lessons you should be doing.”

You exit the room in search of something else to do.

The tall beast managed to scurry away before you could get closer.

Nick watches from a distance, realizing how sad you must be... away from your family. He knows what he needs to do.

You stand in the very same ballroom that continues to haunt your dreams. You hadn’t the faintest idea who the woman is in your dreams, and it makes you sad when you think about it because after learning about how Bradley’s mother passed, you believe it’s her.

You just- you don’t know why she’s haunting you in your dreams. You take a second and close your eyes, thinking back to when you would dance with your brothers and sisters.

It was a happy time; none of you had nearly as many responsibilities as you do now.

“What are you doing?”

You flinch, not expecting anyone else to be here. “Uh,” you spin around, staring at him. “Nothing?”

Nick raises a brow, “it didn’t look like nothing.”

“I was- uh- just- uh-”

He continues to stare at you, waiting for your response.

“I was… just remembering when my siblings taught me how to dance.”

“Oh.”

“We always dreamed of being grownups and dancing in such a magnificent ballroom, you know, like yours.”

“Would you…” His words become quieter making it harder for you to hear. “I was wondering if you- if you wanted to dance?”

He hasn’t been this nervous to ask someone to dance in a long time.

Maybe it was a good thing.

Your lips form into an “O” shape. “Or not, I get it-” “I would love to.”

With the way you two stare at one another, it’s clear to see how surprised both of you are.

“Tonight?” “After dinner?” You two ask at the same time, chuckling at one another’s response.

“After dinner,” you nod.

“I’ll see you then.”

You run in the direction of your room, needing to change into something more suitable for dancing.

Dinner was wonderful as always but this one seemed to be more special than any previous meals.

You slowly walk down the staircase, seeing Nick across the way. A small smile gracing your lips, your heart races at the thought of dancing with him.

It scares you, how excited you are to dance with someone who wreaked havoc into your life.

He holds his hand out, waiting for you to come down the last few steps.

You slowly place your hand into his much larger paw, guiding you down the final staircase.

He carefully steps forward, not wanting to overstep his boundaries or startle you.

You step forward, leaving the proper amount of distance between you two.

He leads, taking a step forward, you take one backwards, continuing this until he changes things and spins you around.

You’re free as you continue dancing with him, not thinking of anything else other than the fact that you’re enjoying yourself at this moment, more than you have in a long time.

Once it’s over he invites you to his library, the one place Pete and Bradley were nice enough to show you the other day.

Part of you wished you could have read something with him…

‘Maybe another time.’

“I have something I want to show you.”

You follow him without saying another word, curiosity overpowering any other thought you have.

“The one who cursed me gave me this, along with a few other things as you know.”

You reach out to touch the book but pull away before you could. “What does it do?”

“It’s a cruel joke.”

“Why?”

“It was designed to take me anywhere in the world, show the world of the beast that I am.”

“And you chose to show me, why?”

“I think it’s time I- I show you I can be the person they tell you I am.”

“And who is that?”

“Someone who can brighten someone’s mood when they’re upset.”

You smile to yourself, maybe you haven’t given him the benefit of the doubt.

Yet again, all you’ve ever come to know with him is his anger, you haven’t been given much of an opportunity to see any other side of him.

“Where to?”

You whisper, your family’s old home. Where you lived when you were only a few months old.

You look around, a sad expression on your face as you see the unfinished work, unmade bed, and the closed trunk off to the side.

“Oh, Paris? Interesting choice,” Nick comments, not paying all that much attention to you. “Should we go see the Ei-” He turns around. “What’s wrong?”

You wipe your cheek. “It’s- I- this was my home when I was- uh- when I was younger. This was the last place I ever saw my mama.”

“Why is that?”

You can’t find it in you to answer him as you find a special rose pen that you know belonged to her.

“This is a doctors mask.”

You nod, gulping down whatever spit had built up in your mouth, although you know what happened to her that doesn’t stop you from answering any questions he may have. “She was sick, and we had to leave. We- we couldn’t stay here.”

You wipe the corner of your eye. “I never knew what our first home looked like. I wanted to see the last place she was in before she passed. But I-” You take a deep breath.

“I understand. We can return, if you’d like.”

You nod, “please.”

You two return to the castle.

“I need to- I need-”

“You need to what?”

You spin around, looking at him. “I need to- to- to see my family.”

“What?” He whispers.

“I need to see my family. I- I need to see if they’re alright. I haven’t been able to see them in a long time. I’m worried about them. Please, if… if there is any compassion left in you, let me go see my family just- just this once and I will never ask you for anything again.”

He doesn’t respond nor does he make any movement.

“I- no- forget it, forget I said anything.”

He opens a drawer and pulls out a mirror. “Use this.”

“What?”

“If you wish it, you may see your family.”

“I- how does this work?”

“Another gift.”

You lift the mirror, “I wish to see my family,” you whisper.

An image of your family arguing with Gaston concerns you, more so when it pans on the man forcing your family in the back of a familiar wagon.

“No. No. No,” you mutter. “What is it?”

Nick comes to stand beside you, seeing the traumatizing scene. He knows what needs to happen, deep down, he would do the same if the tables were turned. “You need to go.”

“What?”

“You need to go help your family.”

“But I-”

He shakes his head, “it’s okay. I understand.”

“I will-”

“Don’t- don’t say anything. Your horse is going to get waiting outside.”

“I- I can’t thank you enough.” You bunch up the skirt of your dress in your hands, keeping hold of the mirror.

“Go.”

Your eyes fill with tears because of your family’s current predicament and the fact that you have to leave him.

“Thank you.” You don’t look back as you run down the hallway or down the stairs or out the doors, only when Peppermint is close to the broken forest entrance do you and it breaks your heart to watch the sad beast man hang off one of the roofs.

It reminds you of the first time you saw him.

“Faster, Peppermint,” you crack the reins.

“I was the one who had it all,” he mumbles when your figure gets further away from the castle.

He slumps down, mindlessly wandering through the castle.

“Father?”

He turns, placing one paw on the staircase railing. “Bradley?”

“Where is she going?”

“To her family.” He returns to his previous task and continues up the stairs.

“You let her go?” Pete asks, unsure if he could believe it.

“He loves her too much to keep her when she’s clearly needed elsewhere,” Miss Potts adds.

“Oh.”

“Are we ever going to become human?” Chip asks.

“I don’t know, Chip,” she responds.

You keep your attention focused in front of you.

You don't know how much further you have to go but you know that you're close, you can sense your family is near as Peppermint gallops closer towards the entrance of the village.

As soon as she makes it through the entrance of the village, you immediately hear the cries for help from your family members and the angry comments coming from the villagers (who never liked you or your family ever since you arrived).

When Peppermint swerves around the wagon you immediately hop off with no sense of the possibility of accidentally injuring yourself.

Your only concern is your family’s safety.

You swirl around to face Gaston with an expression of rage clear on your face.

He immediately ignores it, of course.

“I command that you let my family go,” you say angrily as you stare into his cold eyes.

“They've done nothing wrong. Why must you do this to us we've done nothing wrong to you or anyone else. My sister has cared for you for all this time, and you treat her like this? Have you no compassion?”

He lets out an airy chuckle, one that makes you uncomfortable. Of course, he does; he's never taken a woman seriously a day in his life and why would he start now.

His uncaring attitude earns chuckles from a few of the villagers behind you, but you don't pay attention to them. “Why would I listen to a woman like you or your sister?” He grins at you, it’s the kind to send a shiver down your spine, dare you say it appears to be a sinister smirk.

The more he talks the more it annoys you and feeds into your anger, but you stop and think, realizing you can't let this anger get the best of you because if you do, you may lose your family forever, and you will not let it happen.

“Why is it that you’ve locked up my family?” You ask him, thinking it’d be best to ask him straightforwardly instead of waiting for when he’ll throw you into the wagon, leaving you to rot with your family.

You can’t let this happen; you have to return to the one… you hold dear to you. Your heart aches, you have much more to lose than just your family here. Again, he chuckles, now it’s not nearly as evil as the first one and yet it still sends a shiver down your spine.

“You know,” he starts off, “your father- he- uh- he seems to have lost his mind. Why you ask? Well,” he pauses clearly trying to come up with a lie for the villagers to believe.

As much as you hate to admit it, the villagers would probably believe anything he says because he's a war hero, meaning they respect him too much to disagree.

Or maybe because they fear for their safety and their lives since they know what he’s capable of.

“You see,” he begins again. “Mike has begun to say some strange things which raises alarm about his mind.” He fakes sympathy when he says, “we fear for the safety of you and your family.”

You know he's lying, but how can you prove it when none of the villagers have ever liked you?

Is that why he’s saying these things because he knows none of them will believe you if you try to tell the truth?

Why would they believe you when you say it is Gaston who has lost his mind and not your papa?

You gulp down whatever saliva has built up in your mouth, your hands are sweaty, leaving marks on the mirror as you tighten your grip. “Why- why do you think my father has lost his mind?” You weakly ask, having a feeling about what he's going to say.

“Well, it’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?” Gaston starts with a knowing tone and a supercilious stance.

You hate it.

He slaps his hand on the wagon door, alarming your family.

They all look up through the tiny window to see you there with no wounds and not looking as if death is waiting for you (as few have thought a few times since you’ve been gone).

Their concerning expressions slowly diminish at the site of you and soon their brows furrow, you know it's because of the way you're dressed and the fact that you're not dead because of some beast that your father had seen.

They slowly begin to believe him more now.

You immediately rushed towards the wagon; your hands touched the wood door as if you were trying to touch your family members themselves.

You wonder if it would be wise to try and break the lock now but know that if you do then something bad will happen. And you don’t know if the villagers will try to remove you from them or if Gaston will order something else to occur; the thought of any of it happening scares you.

‘Maybe,’ you think. ‘Maybe it would be wise to “listen” to what he has to say and play along with his games until it’s over.’

You lean in whispering, “I will get you out of here, you will be free, and we will be together, but I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”

Tom and Rick glance at one another, they have some idea as to what you may ask of them, but it still raises alarms in their heads.

Maybe it would have been best for you to not ask them for help but what else can you do in this dire situation?

You turned to see your sister’s nod knowing that they’ll follow orders to get out and regain their freedom.

Poor Penny is crying along with Charlotte but the second oldest of the two is more heartbroken than any of you... which, of course, makes sense since she believed that she was in love with Gaston, and he returned those feelings. It pains her to think that he used her.

As much as she wishes to weep, she knows she cannot at this time.

She pushes all her thoughts about him aside, knowing that she needs to be focused so she can listen to what you have to say and help the rest of them get out.

For once, neither of your brothers nor your Papa say anything as you whisper to them a foolproof plan.

The man who can eat far too many eggs (for your comfort), pulls you back and away from your family, you jerk your arm within his grasp trying to get away from him.

As you struggle to remove yourself from him, he manages to grab the one thing that you brought with you from the castle.

When you see what he has in his hands, you gasp.

He’s going to figure out how to use it and show everyone the beast Nick.

You can’t let it happen, they can’t see him; if they do, they’re only going to want to hurt him, and you won’t- you don’t know if you’d survive that. You reach for it only for the irksome man to raise his arm, keeping it away from being within your reach.

“Give it back to me, Gaston. It’s not yours.”

“It doesn’t look like it’s yours either.”

“It is- give it back.”

“No.” He lowers his hand, inspecting it himself. “How do you use it?”

“I’m not going to tell you that.”

“It’ll save you and your family.”

“No.”

“You don’t care about their safety? Some daughter slash sister, you are.”

You groan, reaching for it again. “I need it. Give it to me.”

The same smirk he gave you hasn’t left his face once since you arrived, it only became worse as time went on, just like now. “Show me the beast.”

An image of the sad beast pops up.

“Look,” he spins it around, showing the others.

“Look at his fangs. Those horns. His claws. He will kill us all if we don’t do something about it first.”

“NO!” You cry out.

“Kill the beast!”

“Stop it!”

Gaston grabs your arm. “Le Fou, open the door.”

He does as the larger man tells him to.

“Stop- don’t listen- please,” you struggle to fight his grasp. “Let me go! You’re making a mistake. He is kind and- and he has a family. He wouldn’t harm any of you unless provoked.”

The man scoffs, “you’ve fallen for such a hideous beast. Have you no shame.” He snickers, glancing over at your sisters. “Good thing I didn’t bring myself down to your level and marry one of your sisters. I would die if I was intertwined with such nonsense.”

As soon as you're tossed inside, the door closes, you slam your hands onto the door, not caring about getting a splinter. “Let me out! Let me out! He’s not the beast you think he is!”

“Belle.” “Belle.” Your family calls out for you, pulling you away from the door.

“I think there are a few other things we need to worry about.” Mike holds you in his arms. “Breath, sweetheart. I need you to take deep breaths so we can help you. We can’t understand you, if all you do is scream and plead.”

“He is not who you think he is. He is a kind man who had been upset for a long time and if I don’t get back, they’ll- they’ll-” You wipe away your tears and reach into the corset of your dress, pulling out a small rod. “Use this to pick the lock.”

He gives you an impressive look. “I knew I taught you well.”

“Hurry up,” your brothers say to him.

He shrugs them off and continues to pick at the lock.

Once it clicks open, it falls to the ground.

He pushes the door open, purposefully bumping into the man that Gaston assigned to stand guard.

Your brothers push themselves out and grab the man, forcing him inside.

“Grab the lock,” Tom tells Charlotte.

She grabs it and quickly clicks it into place.

“Not all of us are going to be able to get to the castle on your horse,” says Rick.

“Not all of us have to go.”

“But-”

Numerous neighs disrupt your minor argument.

“Looks like we won’t need to worry,” Penny comments. “Come on.”

“No,” Mike pushes you towards your horse. “You go. We’ll be right behind you.”

“What?”

“I can see it, you know.”

“See what?”

“Your eyes, she had those eyes from the moment we meant up until the very end. You’ve found love within him. You can save him, but you must be quick.”

You crack the reins and take off.

“Please take care of him,” you hear as you pass through the entrance.

You know its late wife calling out to you.

There’s no other reason for her to be doing this, if she didn’t want her family to be happy and the least you could do is respect her wishes.

“I promise,” you whisper.

You arrive at the sound of angry shouts and echoing gunshots.

You look up and find it’s the beast Nick to be the target. “No,” you mumble and run up the stairs.

The cries of a young boy follow behind you, you turn to find the young prince flying, catching him before anything bad could happen to him. “Bradley. What were you doing?”

“I’m defending my home.”

“You can’t be doing things as dangerous as that. What would-”

Another echo.

Your head snaps in the direction of the forbidden west wing. You tighten your grip on the boy and run. “Gaston! Stop this!”

Nick’s head snaps in your direction, he whispers your name before pushing himself back to jump in your direction.

He grabs one of your hands, being careful not to do anything too fast to harm his son. “You returned,” he mumbles, face full of shock and awe.

You nod. “I did.”

He grunts, falling to his knees.

Your head turns to see the smug smirk hanging from his lips.

“Stop,” You place Bradley on the ground before putting yourself between the hunter and Nick.

“What are you doing?”

“I will not let you die at the hands of this man.”

Gaston throws his head back and lets out a hearty, belly aching laugh. “You’re protecting this- this beast but not those of your kind?”

“He has been kinder than you ever have!”

“I doubt that. Now, move out of the way and let me kill my latest prey so I can-” the bridge beneath him begins to crack but he pays no attention to it. “Finish him off and hang his head on my wall.”

Just as his finger touches the trigger, the bridge gives out beneath him; he couldn’t run away if he tried to.

Your eyes widen, not looking down too frightened to see him lay dead on the ground.

Although his personality was brutish and vile, it is still a human being that died today.

You spin around, checking on him.

“You're bleeding too much. We must get you medical attention.”

“I don’t- it’s time.”

“No,” you shake your head, in denial. “We can get you help and-”

He grabs your hand. “I don’t have much time now. I can feel myself slipping away.”

“N- no, you don’t- you don’t feel it. Don’t say that. What about- oh, Bradley,” you lift the teacup carefully before placing him on Nick’s abdomen.

“Bradley.”

“What about the curse?”

“It’s too,” he closes his eyes, letting out a deep and slow exhale. “We’re out of time.”

“But she can-”

“No.”

Sam walks up the stairs, not giving anyone a second glance.

He knows exactly where to go and what’s happened between the two of you, but his curse is in place and it’s up to you now to break it.

The ground shakes violently as the last petal falls.

More than half the staff have become a stiffened furniture version of who they used to be, Pete, Marcus, and Leonard were the last ones.

Leonard waves one last time before rocking side to side as he takes his final form.

Pete turns to Marcus, prepared to make a final speech but can’t find it in him to do so.

“Until we meet again,” he whispers, to the antique clock.

Nick and you begin sobbing as Bradley’s face is wiped away and he looks like a real, non-living teacup.

“Please don’t leave me,” you whisper, holding his cheek, wiping away his tears.

“Could you- could you ever find it in you to love a beast like me?”

You sniffle, “I can’t.”

“I... see.”

The life drains from his eyes after hearing those words.

You gasp, covering your mouth.

The last words he will ever hear from you are a lie.

“I already do,” you whisper as tears trickle down your cheeks, landing on one of the few blood stains of his shirt.

You continue to weep onto him until your family arrives and pulls you away. You lean onto your father and wet his shoulder with your love and grief-stricken tears.

You can’t help but think, had Gaston moved his arm a few inches to the left, he would have killed Nick instantly, forbidding you from having those last few seconds with him.

A gasp is all that enters your ears before your sisters tug on the sleeves of your dress.

“Stop tugging on-” Tom stops talking at the interesting sight.

“Tom, what- holy sh-” Rick stops when he sees what his siblings see.

“Belle,” it whispers.

“No,” you shake your head.

“The curse is fooling me,” you mutter.

“Darling, you need to look up.”

You open your eyes, glancing at your father.

He gestures for you to turn towards where the love of your life lays, dead.

You do as everyone wants you to and your jaw drops. “No.”

“It’s me.”

“No.” He whispers your name. “You’re not real.” He takes a step forward, his hand cupping your cheek.

“You saved me.”

“No- I- I didn’t.”

“You did. You saved us.”

A light tug on the skirt of your dress alerts you. You look down and find a young boy standing there. Your eyes water as you bend down, standing on your knees. “Bradley?”

He nods, a nervous smile gracing his lips. “Oh my- you- your both-” He can’t hold himself back and launches himself into your arms.

You gasp and let out an airy chuckle as you squeeze the boy.

The king kneels on one knee beside you two, petting the back of his son's head. His eyes focused on nothing but the two of you.

You lean over and let yourself fall into his embrace with Bradley since he won’t let go. “You’re here.”

“I am,” he mumbles into your hair. “We need to get up though. I need to see if everyone is all right.”

Tom and Rick help you get up, giving Bradley the ability to maneuver himself tighter onto you.

You all walk downstairs to see everyone hugging. “What happened?”

“The warlock who cursed us, erased us from the villagers' minds.”

“Oh.”

“Shouldn’t he be clinging to you instead of me?”

The man only grins in return. “He likes you.”

You narrow your eyes to him. “Don’t make him sound like a dog.”

A fake beast-like growl comes from his chest. “I’m not. I’d never do that to my boy.”

“Okay.”

He searches for someone in the crowd in front of the castle.

“Goose!”

“Mav!”

The two men run towards one another, hugging each other tightly.

Rick leans down to whisper, “shouldn’t he be embracing you like that?”

“I have Bradley to make up for it.”

“But-”

“Quiet, Rick.”

Your brother raises his arms, backing away.

They release one another and Pete walks closer towards you two. “I knew it.”

“Knew what?”

“I knew it would be you who would break the curse and get the scary beast to become a fluff ball again.”

“Ah.”

“No more talking.” Nick pushes himself between you two. “We have a celebration to plan.”

“We do?” You ask.

“Yep.”

“Like what?”

“The reunion of our people, a potential courtship, and the celebration of Bradley’s birthday.”

“What was that?”

“What was what?”

“What you just said there, you know the thing about a potential courtship?”

“Oh,” he lets out a soft chuckle, “you mean that thing? That’s a- that’s nothing,” he quickly adds trying to brush it off.

“It’s not nothing if you felt the need to mention it,” you point out.

The surprised look on his face lets you know he's been caught.

The snickers from your brothers, Pete and Leonard around you don’t help him either.

“I liked it better when you didn’t talk,” Nick tells him.

“We all know you’re lying. And you’ve missed my voice,” Leonard teases him.

Marcus shakes his head.

Part of him feels as though he shouldn’t have mentioned it now, like maybe Nick should have waited but the other part of him was just too excited to hold it in any longer.

He hasn’t felt this way in a long time and he’s going to bask in every moment for as long as he can which is probably why he quickly added the word, potential.

He glances down at you once more and the look on your face tells him otherwise.

Dare he say, you’re happy at the thought of being in a courtship with him? If not that, then he’s putting too much thought into it but, he knows you.

He can’t hold back any longer and takes a step forward, cupping your cheek before leaning in to place a gentle kiss on your lips, slowly deepening until he pulls away for air.

For you, it was more than enough in that moment… until your siblings let out fake gagging noises behind you.

Everyone takes their time returning to the village, wanting to use every moment to rekindle and rebuild relationships that have… been on hold.

The last few to take their leave is your family, only after giving you long hugs, muttering kind remarks while your second oldest brother makes jokes.

You turn to the side and find familiar faces.

Sam and Carole watch all of you with happy smiles on their faces.

The warlock guides the woman closer to the forest before they disappear.

To this day, you still don’t know if what you saw was real or not.

A few months later you and Nick are engaged, the weddings coming up faster than you realize.

Bradley runs around the hallways with Chip, their laughter bringing a sense of peace for you and your fiancé.

“Hello,” he says, reaching for your hand as he kisses your knuckles.

“It’s never going away, is it?”

He chuckles. “I happen to find that to be very rude you know. I’ve been working on this for a long time,” he pets his mustache.

“I know,” you nod. “It was there the same time I was here, maybe longer.”

“And it's here to stay.” He pauses, his lips tugging upwards into a playful smirk. “How would you feel about Bradley having one when he’s older?”

“Did that curse take away your brain too?”

He scoffs, “I’m serious.”

“So am I.” You sigh, “I don’t think he’ll follow in your footsteps.”

The boys come rushing up the stairs, coming to a halt before they could run into either of you.

“Mama, look.”

Your left eye twitches. “Oh, how fun. Please make sure your mustaches are off before dinner.”

They nod and take off.

You turn to him, narrowing your eyes at his pathetic excuse of hiding his amusement. “You are evil.”

“I am not. He got that idea all on his own.”

“He is your son.” You turn and walk away, feeling that enough was said and he would understand.

“I thought he was ours?”

“Until that mustache is off, you’re claiming him.”

He grumbles under his breath, whispering his sons name. “Bradley. Bradley.”

A few months later you and Nick are officially married and during the big dance, Pete and Penny announce their courtship (which was no surprise) before the night was over.

Tom found himself a nice young woman, Sarah, who is his current business partners sister.

They settle down in town so they’re close to family and for him to be able to continue with his business.

Rick met a nice young woman, Antoinette while he went to the neighboring village to get a new saddle for his horse, Wood (gifted to him by your husband).

Charlotte wants to go off and live the life your mother couldn’t, travel and share her art skills with the world, not quite ready to settle down yet… until a year later when she returned home engaged to a man named Adam.

By that time, you had your first daughter, Sydney-Carole (named after your mother and Bradley’s). He was so happy to hold his little sister, always careful and sitting somewhere since he was still a small child.

Pete and Penny married shortly after your second daughter; Aline was born.

Tom and Sarah moved a few towns away when she became pregnant with their second child.

Right around that time, Rick and Antoinette decided it was time to go to back to her hometown when she got word of her sick father.

Charlotte and Adam stay in the same house as your father, helping him and selling her art until he passes.

By the time Bradley and Chip were thirteen, Sydney-Carole becoming an energetic eight-year-old, and Aline barely turning five; it was a big surprise when you found out you were pregnant again, this time birthing a boy, Phillipe.

Nick was happy to hear that there was finally gonna be another Bradshaw boy in family.

Bradley was happy that he would be able to have someone he could pass off his “wisdom” too (a thought he got from his father).

As you watch the kids run around in the garden, you can’t help but wonder how different things could have been had you not asked for that rose and realize, you wouldn’t trade anything in the world to not be where you are now.

Nick exits the back and stands beside you, enjoying the sight of all the children playing together while you bask in the peace of knowing that this is what your papa would have wanted.

All his grown children still having monthly dinners so that parents could bond and chat while the children play.

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