#ok bye *walks to the sunset never to be seen again* | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

littlemessyjessi · 3 years

Text

“Tae and Jae”: Part 2 from the BTS 8th Member Series “Untamed”: Mae Jae: The Gucci Twins Have A Day: Fake Social Media + Imagine

Part Two to Tae and Jae’s day of adventure !

"Where are we going?"

Jae couldn't help but laugh at the bewildered look on Taehyung's face as he drove them further and further out into the middle of nowhere.

"Just keep going." she said. "It's not far from here."

"Where even is here?" he asked. "It's pretty but I've never been here."

"That's kinda the point." she said.

"Did you bring me out here to kill me?" he asked, widening his eyes at her and pulling on his acting skills. "Was this your equivalent of fattening up the pig? Spoil me, feed me and then just bring me out here so you can bury me where no one can find me."

"How dramatic." she laughed at his faux face of terror.

His face melted back into his iconic boxy smile and he continued on before she directed him to pull off just ahead.

"Just sit tight and keep your eyes closed." she said before hopping out of the car.

"Well, this is it, I guess. She's getting her weapon of choice out of the trunk. I knew I should've been suspicious when she wouldn't let me help her with that big suspicious lump earlier. Good bye, cruel world." he said dramatically out the open window.

Jae's laughter could be heard in the background.

Taehyung snickered a little as he could hear her moving around out there.

"Am I actually waiting for you to dig a hole?" he teased.

"Yah! Shut it! I'm working on something!"

He snickered again though he nearly hit on his head on the roof when she tapped him on the shoulder and he jumped.

"Ok, we're ready. Come on." she grinned.

He cut the engine and climbed out, only to be ordered to shut his eyes again.

Jae took his hand and began to lead him forward a bit before they came to a stop.

"Ok, you can open them now."

It took him a moment to adjust to the brightness but when he did, his jaw opened in shock before his face squished in affection.

"Awwwww!!!! Noona!!!!"

Jae laughed as he clobbered her in a hug.

Tae never called her Noona unless he was particularly emotional.

There before them were two places set up for them to paint.

"I thought we could paint and watch the sunset." she supplied. "We can go and get food afterwards and I know a place for a treat before we go home."

Tae squeezed her to him again once more before fishing his phone out of his pocket and snapping a picture of the easels and supplies.

"I love you." he said as he looked down at the picture on his phone.

"I love you too, Tae." she chuckled. "Now come on, let's make some masterpieces."

He let her yank him towards the set up and the two of them spend the next couple of hours painting the scene around them and chatting comfortably.

The both of them had missed this.

Even when living in the same home, it was still sometimes hard to get one on one time with loved ones.

People were busy and as you got older, it only got worse.

In the beginning, when they were all crammed into a tiny little place with way too many bunks in one room, there were around each other constantly.

It was true that Taehyung still ended up in Jae's room at least a couple of times a week.

The poor guy needed to hold something to sleep and he would much prefer if it was a person as a pillow.

Jae usually let him because it was him but she also pulled long hours in her studio so sometimes she didn't even get home until the early hours of the morning.

Recently, she'd been working on her own content as well and doing producer work for the company and it wasn't uncommon at all for her to come at nearly four in the morning.

Not to mention, she was planning a trip to go back home to see her parents soon and he knew first hand what a pain travel plans could be.

He felt really touched that she thought about him enough to plan ahead and spend the day with him.

It reminded him of the early days when she'd take them all out one by one for ice cream or noodles.

Her and Jin had always done that kind of thing.

The eternal big siblings.

After they finished their paintings they left them on the easels and laid back on the tarp to watch as the last few rays of sunlight dipped below the horizon.

"This has been really nice, Jae." he said, arms tucked behind his head.

"I'm glad you've had fun, Tae." she said. "We're not done yet though."

"I would've been happy just driving around with you." he shrugged. "You didn't have to do all this."

Jae turned to look at him.

"I know that, Tae." she chuckled. "I know you'd be happy cuddling up and watching a movie. But I wanted to do it. I like treating you. All of you. And I wasn't always able to do things like this but now I am. We're all in much better positions in life now, financially, emotionally, a lot of ways. And I think it's important to spoil your loved ones when you get the chance."

"You spoiled us in the beginning." he laughed. "I remember when you used to take me to the convenient store and let me pick out any candy I wanted. It felt like I'd been on a shopping spree."

"It was just candy, Tae." she said with an amused look.

"Not to me it wasn't." he said seriously. "It was a lot more than that."

Her features softened looking over at him.

While Big Hit marketed the two of them as 'the twins' he was still a few years younger than her.

He'd grown into such a good man and she was so proud of him.

Sometimes she forgot that Taehyung was younger than her though and would always look at her like his older sister.

She remembered that scrawny kid with the boxy smile and the effervescent personality.

She remembered how so many people didn't know how to handle Taehyung's personality.

What Taehyung remembered was how even when they didn't get along in the beginning, she'd still come and get him and take him for noodles or make him dumplings in the middle of the night.

"Do you remember when you got up at like three in the morning and made me dumplings because I was missing my family?" he asked suddenly, looking up into the darkening sky.

She laughed, "Yes. I remember we weren't exactly close then but I could hear you in the other room."

Taehyung laughed, "I remember you walked out and I was fully expecting you to scold me for not being in bed."

"Sounds like me." Jae snorted.

"But you didn't. You just walked into the kitchen, hair snatched into a bird's nest on your head and started cooking." he said. "I remember I just watched you for the longest time and then you just shoved me a plate and said- 'Here'."

"I wasn't that great at expressing myself back then." she shrugged. "Food was my love language."

"Kinda still is." he teased.

She shrugged, "Food is simple. You can do a lot for someone by just letting them know that you care enough about them to make sure they're well fed."

The two of them looked at each other softly.

"I didn't always say it. In fact, I never said it in the beginning. But I'm really appreciative of you being there and taking care of us. If it weren't for you and Jin, I don't know that I would've stayed. Joon made it clear that we could do it and that he'd lead us. That gave some reassurance. But without you and Jin, I just don't think I could've handled it." he admitted turning back to the blossoming stars in the sky.

"Yes you could've, Taehyung." she said, eyes focused on his profile. "Because you're far more talented than you give yourself credit for. I have no doubt that you'd have been fine without anyone else. But I'm really glad that I've gotten to be along for the ride to watch you grow. It's been a priviledge. One that I hope I can continue to have for the rest of my life."

Taehyung refused to respond and instead just rolled over to cuddle her.

She laughed, rubbing her hand up and down his back.

"Oh you big softy." she said.

They laid like that for the longest time before she pulled him to his feet.

"Come on. Let's get this loaded up and then I'm taking you for japchae." she said, smirking when his face lit up.

He didn't need to be told twice and soon they were speeding off in the direction of a little spot that sold some of the best japchae she'd ever had.

Which was saying something because she'd had a lot of it in her years in this world.

They tucked into a booth and she smiled watching Taehyung happily dig into his meal.

She snapped a picture and uploaded it before she tucked in herself.

Only a few moments and she laughed when she saw that Jungkook had already commented, whining about wanting some.

"We have to pick pizza up before we go home." she said.

Tae's eyebrows lifted, cheeks puffed and mouth full of food.

It was a comical sight.

"Kookie is hungry." she explained and his eyes creased in a smile.

"When is he not?" he asked when he finally swallowed.

"He's a growing bunny!" she defended.

"He's only two years younger than me." Taehyung said.

"He'll always be my baby bunny." she said with determination. "I don't care if he's sixty. He's bunny forever."

"You're such a mom." he laughed.

"The same goes for you." she said. "No matter how old you get, you'll always be my rambunctious little tiger cub."

Taehyung's creased in a smile.

One that he was never able to fight off when Jae referred to him as her cub.

"When are you headed back to see your family?" he asked.

"In a couple more weeks. I still have to iron out a few details and finish up a song I'm producing." she said.

"Are you excited?" he asked knowingly.

"I am." she grinned. "It's been so long since I've seen them in the flesh. And video calls just aren't the same."

He nodded knowingly.

He understood that.

He loved the BTS family that he'd come to have but it was different than actually seeing your relatives.

It was also something that none of them really got the chance to do very often.

Taehyung, himself, barely got to see his siblings and parents, and his grandparents, who had raised him, had been gone for a few years now.

"How long are you staying for?" he asked.

"Three weeks." she said, feeding her noodles into her mouth.

"Oh god." he said. "Jimin is going to be a monster."

"Not my sweet baby Jiminie." she teased knowing full well how much of an absolute demon Jimin could be sometimes.

His brat energy was off the charts at times and when he was pouty he was a menace.

Taehyung rolled his eyes, "Yeah, sweet baby Jiminie. Suuure."

"Well, you two can cuddle each other while I'm away." she said. "We both know you'll be sulky too."

"I'm offended that you would even suggest such a thing." he said. "I don't sulk."

"Mmmhmm, sure." she said, impishly looking at him over the rim of her glass as she took a drink.

He pouted at her and she nearly choked to death on the sprite.

He grinned evilly, "Karma."

"Shut it." she said, wiping the soda from her face.

"I'm gonna miss you when you're gone though." he said.

She reached out to pat his hand.

"It'll be ok, Tae." she said. "It won't be long."

"I know. And I do hope you have fun." he said but she could tell he was still fighting another pout.

"I'll call everyone all the time." she offered. "You can even sleep in my bed while I'm gone."

"Well, thank you for the permission but Tannie and I have already made plans to temporarily move in anyway. And I will be raiding your closet while you're gone."

"I expected nothing less." she said. "Although, you act like you don't just walk in and do that anyway."

He grinned in response before leaning back and patting his stomach.

"My grandma would be proud." he said.

Jae laughed in response.

"Alright, come on, tiger cub. I got one last treat, then we'll pick up some pizza for the heathens and head home." she said sliding out and pulling him to his feet.

He stretched and reached for his back pocket.

"Touch your wallet and you die tonight, Kim Taehyung." she said. "I already told you. The next time, you will actually get a spanking right here in public."

Taehyung didn't say anything else.

He just hugged her from behind, chin on her shoulder while she paid the cashier and left a tip for the waiter.

He snatched her hand as soon as they were outside and swung them together like a child.

"You happy, Tae?" she asked.

"Very." he said.

"Alright, come on." she said.

He didn't fight her when she took the keys from him.

She could tell he was getting sleepy by this time.

He watched her while she drove them, weaving through the streets until they came to another stop.

Taehyung had nearly fallen asleep to the hum of the car and the feeling of the cool air conditioning on his skin.

"Come on, cub." she said tapping his nose. "Let's go."

He grinned when he noticed that she'd taken him to a hot chocolate bar.

The spent the next hour indulging in the delicious chocolatey treat, adding cream and marshmallows.

Even a few odd combinations here and there that Jae claimed were an abomination and that they should never speak about.

Tae had posted it to his social media and Jin had lectured Jae about giving him chocolate at this time of night as if Taehyung were four and then proceeded to call her and further assert his point.

"Kim Seokjin, you watch your tone or I'll sneak into your room while you're sleeping and lick your face." she said.

The fast and comical angry response that she recieved had Tae rolling with laughter when she put Jin on speaker phone.

"Jesus Christ." she said when she finally hung up. "I can only imagine his blood pressure right now."

"That vein in his neck is probably popping out right now." Tae said.

"He's getting a little red in the face." she continued.

"Hair whipping back and forth as he shakes his head." Tae laughed.

"Fastest rapper in the world." she giggled.

"Activated when angry." he said before the two of them dissolved into a fit of giggles.

Eventually, they piled back into the car and after having stopped for pizza for the rest of the members, they sped away towards their home.

Taehyung was sleeping when they got there, all but laid out over the console to throw his arm around Jae while she was driving.

She poked his cheek until he stirred.

"Come on, big guy." she said. "Help me take everything in."

His face was pinched as he struggled to wake up but he slowly helped her take everything inside anyway.

Jungkook, who had heard her car pull in, met them half way and snatched the pizza boxes out of her arms.

"You're welcome!" she yelled after him with a laugh.

"Thank you!" he called back before he disappeared from view.

When they finally made it in, the whole lot of them had surrounded the table like a pack of wild hyenas.

There was a mumble of greetings and thank yous.

The two of them parted ways to go and shower and change.

Jae was laying on her bed, scrolling through the pictures of the day when her door opened and Tae stood there.

Hair a fluffy mess and white tee shirt and pajama bottoms hanging on his frame.

He grinned before running and jumping on her.

"Oh god, Tae! Some warning would've been nice!" she laughed as he snuggled into her.

He looked the picture of innocence, head nestled in the blankets, eyes sparkling at her like a little boy up to no good.

She snapped another picture of him because it was just too good.

"Can I sleep in here tonight?" he asked.

She tapped her finger to her chin, pretending to be thinking before she smirked at him.

"I guess." she said, laughing when he grinned that boxy smile at her and called out for Tannie.

The pomeranian came bounding in and jumped on the bed, fully preparing to nest for the night.

They half watched something on Netflix for a while, half played on their phones, hands scratching idly at Tannie's fur.

She snickered as she watched him tuck his arm behind his head and take a selfie.

"Ooooh, Kim Taehyung and his selcas!" she teased and he almost shoved her off the bed.

However, a few moments later when she recieved a notification she couldn't help but aww.

'I have had the best day ever. Thank you for spending time with me and spoiling me today, Twinkie. I love you so much. @BTSJae #VXBFFL'

He hid his face when he could see her reading the caption.

Jae smirked, typing out her own response.

'I'm glad you had a good day, pumpkin. I always love spending time with you, baby bear.'

Taehyung peeked at his phone at the notification and shoved his face into the pillow with a groan of happiness.

She just chuckled and turned her attention back to the flat screen, just very thankful to be where she was in life.

--------- Part one is HERE if you missed it Bonus Content including a slightly jealous Jimin coming soon! ------

–

Hey loves! I hope you enjoy this! I’m trying out something new with writing for a while since I hit a major road block while I’m here in the hospital. I hope you enjoy these! If you’re interested in reading Jae’s full profile and the masterlist for this series you can find it HERE

I would love to know your thoughts and if you have any suggestions for other things to happen with Jae and the boys, just let me know!

I love you and I hope you have a good day, my loves.

Love,

Kenny

—–————————-@thickemadame@frankie2902@pleasantdreamqueen @becrazy–beyou@littledeadrottinghood @blackirisposts@therealmrshale @woodworthti666@thegreatirene@fanfictionandjunk@angelus320@alanlizzingtonshore@buriednurbckyrd@disneymarina@tubbypeachwriting@sullybot @georgiagrl1990 @whenallsaidanddone@mischiefnevermanaged94 @inumorph@congurl@centerhabit@bubblymusiclover13@qtmeryr@thisismysecrethappyplace@tnupsweetpie@alisoncdariel@hannahloveslife@wormyboi@blackirisposts@maggyme13@amethyst09@ibenkastberg@fanfics1717 @mrscasnovak@thickemadame @babygirl-barnes@theladyofmasks @aengsty@kalliravenne@witchygagirl@gruffle1@writtenbywolfie@kribbydahhufflepuff@leah-halliwell92@thelastwildangel@silent-browser@simplymagical@simplymagicalwritings@lilacflicker@malulucifer@minxyvixen@moncheriemoony@queenlexusloverofbts@criminalyetminimal@plus-size-reader@owenniasstars @adventuresofnight@tuutifruuti@ tb-ctn@halobaby@tacobacoyeet@thickemadame@glassesandthunderthighs@accioxtina@sunnyoongles@valiantobservationkitty@poopypantsmc@memissbee@teenagesublimefan@lyn-g@milkshakelol@rubyroscoe1@abbyvonschweetz@1975weasley@lanoreeblake@rosaline-black@abbott27@aldu-p@sxturn-stars@oliviashea05@emilianamason@reallykosborne@dracosbabymama@ main-feetoffthetablefloatyflowersbumpinbillowinboobieskyralupinfloatyflowersselfhatedmika@thickemadame hermione-grangers-wifezievyimas@gigit712101killerokaylovirbutterfly-o-liesclementines-x@streets-in-paradisestitchattacksofmiceandnita03

dreadwolfxoxo pottahishotasf

glassesandthunderthighs

potter-head-phanatic

——- Also, just a reminder that I am open for commissions! Additionally, the only tag list I have is my permanent tag list but if you ever want to be added all you have to do is just go to the ask box and request to be added! It’s that simple and you’re in! I love you all!

#bts #bts 8th member #bts eight member #bts ff #bts imagine #kim taehyung #platonic kim taehyung #vxbffl #mae jae #jae and tae #gucci twins jae and tae #platonic bts

37 notes · View notes

hyperion-moonbabe-art3mis · 3 years

Text

Sleepover!

Request: Hey I loved your songwriting fic and wanted to ask if you could write something mainly platonic julie and reader? Maybe them just supporting each other or just like movie nights/sleep overs and also with the guys? Lol idk of that makes any sense but I tried. If you don’t want to that’s totally fine! :)

Alive!Sunset Curve x Reader

Word Count: 1.3k

You had always loved hearing Julie sing and play the piano. But since her mom had died she stopped playing and singing. You’ve been supporting her since but you hadn’t been able to get her to sing again. Even your friend Flynn couldn’t get her to sing again.

You were walking down the halls of your high school when all of a sudden you were tackled by the boys in Sunset Curve.

“You guys are so annoying,” You chuckle.

“It’s our job,” Luke says.

“Well you guys are great at it,” You say.

“Hey, Y/N,” Julie says walking up to you guys.

“Hey, how are you?” You ask.

“I’m good. My dad is taking pictures today for the realtor,” She says.

“Do you really have to move?” You ask.

“Are you gonna introduce us?” Reggie asks.

“Fine. Julie these are my friends Luke, Reggie, and Alex. Guys this is Julie,” You say as they greet each other. “I’ll catch up with you guys later,” You tell the boys and walk off.

“I mean I understand why you want to move but you know Flynn and I don’t want you to,” You say.

“I know but I think it’ll help me move on,” Julie says as the bell rings.

“I get that but it doesn’t mean I won’t give up on keeping you here,” You say and head to class.

You slug through your classes as the day went on. When lunch finally came around. You invited Julie and Flynn to sit with you and the boys, hopefully convincing her to stay.

“Hey, you guys have band practice today right?” You ask the boys. They all nod with mouths full of food. “You guys are disgusting. I always watch them play because they trust my judgment on songs. Why don’t you guys join us, Julie and Flynn? I mean if Sunset Curve doesn’t mind,” You say. The boys don’t disapprove so you assume the offer was ok.

“I’m down,” Flynn says.

“I have to clean out my mom’s studio today,” Julie says.

“I’ll make you a deal. I’ll help you clean out the studio and you come to practice. Deal?” You ask.

“Deal,” Julie says after you give her a look telling her you won’t take no for an answer.

Once school was over you head to Julie’s house to help her clean the studio out. The two of you pull out some items and sort them into boxes. You pull off the cloth laying on top of the grand piano, “Wow, I’ve never seen this. It’s beautiful,” You say.

“Yeah, my mom and I used to write songs with it,” Julie says as you notice some sheets of music.

“Hey, this looks like a song your mom wrote,” You say picking up the papers.

“She must’ve left it there,” Julie says.

“It’s really well written,” You say after reading a few lines. You set it back on the piano as your phone starts to ring.

“Hello?” You say picking it up.

“Hey. The guys and I finally cleaned the garage up. You guys can head over whenever,” Luke says.

“Alright, we’ll be there soon. We’re picking Flynn up on the way,” You say.

“Cool, see you all soon,” Luke says before hanging up.

“Hey, Luke just called. Practice s starting soon, we should head over,” You say to Julie.

“Ok, let’s get Flynn on the way,” Julie says. The two of you head out to Reggie’s house, picking Flynn up along the way.

“So where did you meet these guys and why did you hide these cute guys from us? Flynn asks.

“First off gross...these guys are like my brothers. I’ve known Luke since I was little and I met the others through him. And I guess I never really felt like it was important enough to tell you guys? Do I really have to have a reason?” You question.

“Either way they’re cute and maybe you’ll get inspired to play again Julie,” Flynn says nudging Julie.

As you arrive at Reggie’s you head straight to the garage where all the guys were hanging out. You all spent the next few hours listening to Sunset Curve play. Surprisingly both the girls and guys got along well.

“My dad’s here. I gotta head out,” Julie says.

“Alright see you tomorrow,” You say hugging her.

“Flynn, you need a ride home?” Julie asks.

“No. You can give me a ride right, Y/N?” Flynn says.

“Always,” You say.

“Bye,” The boys say almost in sync.

“Hey, guys. I have an idea for Julie,” You say after Julie had left.

“Ooooh, what is it?” Flynn says excitedly. She has always loved your ideas.

“I know the guys have just met Julie and you but I was thinking we could put together like a going away sleepover thing,” You say.

“I!” Reggie says shooting his hand up.

“I love it,” Flynn says.

“So boys? I mean besides Reggie who is already clearly interested,” You ask. Alex and Luke nod their heads thinking it was a great idea.

“Although I don’t think our parents would be too keen on having boys and girls sleeping over,” Flynn says.

“Oh...I already ran this by my parents. The boys are over all the time plus my parents really don’t care,” You say.

“So it’s settled! Sleepoverrrrrr,” Flynn says flinging herself at you.

“I already have some ideas planned but I still need help setting everything up,” You say.

“Leave it to us!” Luke says pulling the guys towards him.

“No offense...love you guys. But you’re not setting it up, it’d be chaos. Flynn and I got it. Just. Bring some snacks maybe?” You say as the boys make a sad face at you.

The next few days you guys secretly spent time planning the night, movies, games, and music. You had already set everything up since you needed to set up a projector and a comfy place for everyone.

“Hey Julie,” You say while you and Flynn run after her in the hall.

“What’s up?” She asks.

“So Flynn, the boys, and I—“ You start.

“The boys? We just met them a few days ago,” Julie says pointing to Flynn.

“Shush let her giver her spiel,” Flynn says.

“So all of us planned a little going away sleepover for tomorrow. And before you say anything I talked to your dad and he said it’s ok,” You say.

“Which means you have no choice,” Flynn adds.

“Wellllll we’re actually staying,” Julie says surprisingly you and Flynn.

“And you’re just telling us now?!” You say.

“I decided last night,” Julie responds.

“You have a phone right?” Flynn asks as we chuckle.

“This still doesn’t get you out of the sleepover. I put in way too much work to just cancel it,” You say.

“She did,” Flynn confirms.

“Fine...I’ll come,” Julie says.

“Great. Be at mine at 5,” You say.

~The next day~

You spent the afternoon after school setting everything up. You had asked Flynn to pick Julie up and, surprisingly, the boys to help with the finishing touches.

“Hey! We brought snacks and didn’t mess it up,” Luke says scarring you.

“You know you could honestly be a little quieter,” You say annoyed.

“Oh sorry,” Reggie says.

“I’m kidding. Just set the snacks on the table. Can you guys help me set up the floor couch area thing?” You ask.

They nod and help you set up blankets on the air mattress and floor. You all scatter the pillows along the area and set the projector and screen up. Luckily you finished just in time to for Julie and Flynn to arrive.

“Surprise! Not going away sleepover,” You say as they walk in.

“Thanks for doing this guys. Even though I decided not to leave,” Julie says. You all spend the night jamming out and watching all of Julie’s favorite movies.

A/N: I hope this is what you were looking for. I’m sorry this took so long to get out. Thanks for reading!

#julie and the phantoms #julie and the phantoms imagine #julie and the phantoms fic #jatp x reader #jatp #julie molina #reggie peters #alex mercer #luke patterson #flynn jatp #jatp imagine #jatp fanfic #julie and the phantoms xreader

34 notes · View notes

bugabash · 3 years

Text

Hold me while we Fall

Miraculous x Attack on Titan au

Fear was a complex that almost everyone within the walls grew to have as second nature. No one had seen a titan besides the scouts since the walls were erected, and the schools taught the children about the monsters beyond the wall in few details. But to Marinette it wasn’t the creatures that fascinated her, it was the world beyond. She had studied books on the wonders outside. But they never taught it in school, and she was chastised for bringing it up. So, the young girl kept it to herself, only sharing it with her sister. She feared the titans beyond the walls, everyone did, it was drilled into them from birth that they were the cattle to the wolves outside, but her family always made sure it was the furthest thing from her mind.

But that was before, and now everything has changed.

AO3

Chapter 1: Marinette Dupain-Cheng

The year was 845 withing the walls of the Shiganshina district. Marinette Dupain-Cheng stood in her room that resided in her home above her father’s small bakery. She was eleven and a half, the half especially important to her when she defended her size to others. She was small, always hiding under her long dark hair that fell to her waist. But despite this her personality always shone through, making her extremely well liked with her peers. And with this came a very protective nature from them over her, feeling the need to shield her from everything, even from some of the stories of the Titans. But no one protected her more than her older sister, Tikki.

Tikki was fifteen, tall, beautiful, her long dark hair constantly in perfectly placed high pigtails, never a strand out of place, reaching down to her waist. She had bluebell eyes just like Marinette, freckles decorating her nose like an artist had painted them on her. She carried their mother’s feature more prominently than Marinette did which she embraced with pride. She was the definition of beauty. She was loved by all, known for her cheerful spirit and, well, being good at almost everything really. She was smart, charitable and all together a good person. She protected her sister from everything, determined to let Marinette grow up without the fear she had grown up with.

Marinette stood in front of her small homemade mannequin with her mauve dress she had been working on for a month now resting on it. Tikki was draped on her bed across their shared room, chattering away about her latest teachings from one of their father��s friends. Marinette was so used to it now, she just focused on her fingers as they threaded the needle through the fabric, counting the last few stitches in her head.

Four, three, two, one.

“It’s done!” She squeaked, interrupting her sister and causing her to jump and sit up, staring at Marinette with a confused expression. “It’s done! It’s d4one! It’s done!” She pulled it off the mannequin and spun around, her hair fanning out around her. Tikki laughed and stood up, jumping around excitedly and ran over. Marinette held it up to show it off to her big sister proudly, this was her first dress she did completely by herself.

“Wow! That’s so pretty, Nettie!” Tikki complimented, smiling proudly at her, “wanna try it on? You can show it off while we go to the market later!”

Marinette gasped and nodded, wriggling out of her current dress and threw it aside, standing in just her thin, white petty coat. Tikki helped her and soon she was in her dress. It was knee length, the red stitches standing out delicately against the mauve fabric. It was long sleeve with white ruffled at the cuffs, a lace like pattern around the neck and a tied up back. She spun around and squeaked with joy, it wasn’t perfect, but it was hers.

“Oh, Miss Marinette, you are the most beautiful ladybug in the land!” Tikki exclaimed with a playful curtsey, using her pet name for Marinette with a cheeky smile.

“I’m the prettiest Ladybug in the world!” Marinette giggled, jumping up and down, “let’s go show Papa!” She grabbed her sister’s hand and pulled her along, running downstairs into their home, she knew he would be downstairs in the bakery. She opened the door leading to the bakery and skipped down.

“Papa!” She called out excitedly, her father turning and smiling at her, “I finished my dress!” She spun around showing it off before running and jumping into her fathers strong arms. He laughed and picked her up with ease, hugging her tight.

“You look exquisite my little love bug!” Her father praised, beaming happily at both of them, “it looks amazing! Did Tikki help at all?”

“Nope, she did it all by herself!” Tikki replied with a smile, “little Ladybug, I need to go into the market, do you want to show off your new dress around town?” Marinette smiled broadly and jumped out of her father’s arms. “Ok good, go put on your boots and a coat.”

“Okay, now you be careful girls, okay? Please be home before the sun starts to set.” Their father warned as he turned back to his work. “You know the rules.”

“Yes Papa, we will be back soon, promise.” Tikki nodded, walking over and kissing his cheek before putting her own coat on.

“Papa, can we have the special bread with dinner? To celebrate my dress?” Marinette asked as she hopped around, trying to put her one boot on.

Their father chuckled heartedly, “of course, anything for my main girls. Now, could you please pick up this today.” He handed Tikki a small list and some money, giving her the same look he did whenever they went out, Marinette never knew what it was but it looked like a serious look. She was still too young to be told much, which she hated. She felt old enough.

“Yes Papa, we will be back soon.” Tikki smiled and pocketed the note in her thin fabric bag slung over her shoulder.

“Bye papa!” Marinette yelled and hugged him tight, kissing his cheek too before letting go.

He waved them off, laughing at how Marinette did one last twirl around a customer before leaving. They stepped out of the bakery and Marinette smiled, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth on her face, the wind blowing through her hair and the sound of the birds chirping around them. She opened her eyes and looked around at the world around her. Everyone was busy, children playing with others, mothers working with their babes on their backs, men working hard for their families. Life was hard, but it was happy, simple, peaceful. She loved her town, loved her life really. She had amazing friends and an amazing family. She looked up at her chatting sister, smiling.

As they walked Marinette looked out at the huge walls that protected them. She wondered if the monsters would ever get in, or if one day she could go beyond the wall. She knew it wasn’t possible for humans to live outside, but she still wondered. As her father and Tikki liked to tell her she was destined to meet someone and raise a family. Contribute to the town and survive. She wasn’t too sure on it all, but she did as she was told.

They reached the market soon enough, and something caught their eye, Tikki grabbing Marinette and pulling her off the road into the crowds. Marinette gasped, eyes wide.

The scouts, she had seen them many times before, saw their wounded and saw the families that grieved. Their neighbour lost three sons just last month. She remembered the blood curdling scream, her father had told her that the sons were most likely eaten by the Titans, explaining that that was why she must stay within the walls and stay away from the military.

Today they looked exhausted, almost defeated, the blood standing out on their clothes. Tikki gripped her tight, pulling Marinette against her body.

“Those poor men and women,” She whispered, Marinette looking up at her then back at the soldiers, “Marinette, always respect anyone who wears that uniform. They have given up everything to protect us. Do you understand?” Marinette nodded, looking back at them.

She caught the eye of one young man who was on horseback. His hair was pure black, the top of his hair long and in a bun, shorter pieced falling out here and there, while the underside was shaved to a fade with what seemed to be a haphazardly shaved pawprint on the side. He looked over at them, he must have spotted Tikki, she always caught peoples’ eye. He had green eyes with small pupils, he was handsome but looked young to be in the scouts. His jaw was covered in blood, his cape missing and his uniform stained, though it didn’t stand out much against his black t-shirt. He raised a brow, and tilted his head curiously, examining them. Marinette blinked before she waved, smiling pleasantly. This caught him by surprise, blinking a few times before he smiled and waved back. He had a peculiar smile, his canines looked almost catlike with the small extra length of them and it made her smile more. He was different, just like her and her sister were. Not to the extend but still. He seemed to find it amusing and winked at Marinette, laughing to himself before he turned his attention back to the front.

They watched them leave, the crowds whispering between themselves, Tikki’s grip never letting go of Marinette. Tikki quickly herded Marinette away, “let’s go.” She whispered.

“Did you see that scout?” Marinette asked as she walked, looking down at the stone she had started kicking. “He looked different, like us.”

“What?” Tikki asked, taken aback with a raised brow.

“His smile, I think he looks like he has teeth like a cat.”

“A cat?”

“Yeah, didn’t you see? I like his smile, its unique like us.”

Tikki stayed silent and eyed Marinette before looking forward again, “you know why we are unique, don’t you? Papa said he discussed it with you.”

“Yeah, because we are half Chinese, or oriental as he said.” She answered honestly, “he said we are rare and that there aren’t many of us left. That’s what makes us so special.”

“Well yes, but that is also why we must be extra careful and why we must not be out after sunset.” Tikki explained, her brows furrowed. “You know about the people that could harm us?”

“Yeah, I know, but I don’t think everyone is bad.” Marinette replied with a shrug, she hated these conversations, she didn’t like to think about all of that… of mama…

“I know, but there are bad people out there.” Tikki said before stopping and looking around. The world had almost gone quiet, the wind dropped, and the birds stopped singing. Marinette blinked and looked around too.

“Marinette…” Tikki whispered, grabbing her sister’s shoulder.

Marinette bit her lip and looked around, “what is it?”

Tikki looked like she was starting to panic and pulled Marientte aside. She crouched in front of her and held her shoulders, looking her in the eye. “Okay, I need you to listen to me. Never put yourself in danger, got it?” Tikki stopped and held onto Marinette’s shoulders tighter. Tikki’s blue eyes looked scared. “There are more scary things than the people who could take us. I have done everything to protect you from the reality of this life, but please, if anything happens, ever, you run, you hide, and you do whatever you can to survive.”

“Tikki… What- what are you talking about?” Marinette asked in confusion. She may not know much but she wasn’t an idiot, she knew there were dangers beyond and within the wall. But what was she talking about?

“Trust me, okay? Just listen to my words.” Tikki cupped Marinette’s face, “you are the most important thing to me, and I promised mama and papa that I would protect you from everything, let you grow up but something… something about those soldiers. I can’t lie to you anymore.” She sighed, Marinette felt tears in her eyes at the mention of her mama, “listen to me, if ever something goes wrong, you look after yourself before anyone else, okay? I know it sounds awful, but I need you to survive.” Marinette shook her head, that was an awful thing to say. “Life is survival, it’s not survival of the fittest anymore, its survival of the smartest. You are small, but strong, you’re smart, you use that big brain of yours, and you survive.”

“I-I don’t understand.” Marinette said with a frown, “why are you telling me this? Why can’t I help people if there is danger?”

“I…I….” Tikki looked away, biting her lip, Marinette felt her pulse through the hands on her cheeks. “I just… Promise me!” Tikki looked more serious than she ever had.

Marinette looked at her in confusion, where had this come from? This was so out of the blue, it was like Tikki knew something she didn’t. But what? “Tikki, I don’t understand.”

Tikki opened her mouth but she was interrupted when a crack of thunder echoed, a yellow strike of lightning appearing just beyond the wall. Everyone froze and watched, she had never heard silence like that. Tikki stood up and grabbed Marinette.

What was happening? She saw the huge hand on the wall and gasped. No… It couldn’t be… The wall was over fifty metres tall, no titan was ever that big.

“Oh god… no…” Tikki gasped, Marinette looked around, everyone was still, eyes on the wall. She turned her eyes to the wall and covered her mouth, her blood ran cold. A sweat overtook her body and she started shaking. That was when she saw the face appear. It was all muscle, even from this distance she could make out the eyes and teeth. “Marinette, run!” She heard her sister scream before a gust of hot wind overtook them, rubble flying everywhere then a loud bang. They were flung back into the air, her grip on Tikki gone as she screamed. She didn’t know how long they were in the air but when they landed it was hard and Marinette landed on someone who wrapped their arms around her. She had hit her head, she knew that much from the pain and the wetness trickling down her face.

She had the wind knocked out of her, her vision going white and a pain in her side stifled her scream. She heard screaming around her, and when her vision returned, she was on her back lying on another person who had their arms tightly around her. Dust was everywhere, people running around them and she could hear someone screaming her name. Wait, she wasn’t on Tikki?

“Hey, are you okay?” She heard a young boy’s voice ask under her in a yell, “Hey, can you hear me? Listen to me!” She coughed and struggled against the arms, he let go of her and she rolled off. She rolled onto her knees, her dress was torn slightly over her left side from their impact and blood was dripping onto the white lace around her neck She felt hands on her face and looked up, meeting green eyes. Time stood still and she stared at him in silence. He looked around her age, big green eyes, a cut under his left eye and short blonde hair. He looked so groomed he could be from the inner walls. He looked her over before grabbing her under her arms and pulled her up to standing, grasping her hand and pulling her away from the chaos towards who was screaming her name.

She let him pull her along, her body moving on its own as she stared back from where they came from. Boulders lay on top of people, blood everywhere, limbs lying across the road. Marinette gasped and her eyes widened. She felt her innocence shatter, felt everything of her being shatter. She had been so sheltered, and now…

“Hey, come on, you need to run, I cant carry you, please!” She heard the raspy voice yell in a panic, turning her attention to him with wide eyes. He saw them and gasped, looking past her and saw what she had just seen, pulling her behind a wall and hiding her against the cold stone. Realisation had hit him on what she had just seen, and so he pulled his cloak off and wrapped it around her, pulling up the hood. “Don’t look, I have you, I promise!” He grabbed her hand again and they were running again. Marinette gripped onto the boy for dear life, tears streaming down her face.

They’re dead… The titans, they were in. She didn’t know what was going to happen! Where was Tikki?

“Where are we going? Where is my sister?” Marinette screamed, she was half running half being dragged, but then she tripped up on her skirt with a scream and caused them both to fall, scraping her knee in the process as they rolled away, hitting a wall and stopped. The boy had his arms around her again as he kept her close to his chest as them stampede of people flew past, panting heavily.

“Are you okay? Can you still run?” He asked softly as he looked down at her, blinking when he saw her wide, terrified eyes. He frowned and tilted his head back, looking to where she was looking and froze, 50 feet away from them stood… a titan.

“No… How is that possible.” The boy whispered, sitting them up and pulling her back against his chest, being held close to him as she sobbed quietly. They were frozen, his grip on her tight around her, ruffling her dress between his fists. “A Titan…” Before them stood a huge humanoid creature, his grin ear from ear filled with large teeth, his hair long and black, his tall body muscled. Marinette started kicking her legs, trying to get away and grabbed at the arms around her, screaming for help. “I got you!” He cried as she struggled in his arm before lifting her up with a grunt, shifting her onto his back and began running as Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck, gripping onto his shirt for dear life as he hooked his hands under her knees.

Marinette looked ahead and saw Tikki between the terrified crowds, she was with the scout from earlier, he had Tikki over his shoulder and was looking around as if he was looking for someone. She was kicking and screaming, eyes falling on Marinette and she stopped struggling, screaming for her with her hand outreached, causing the scout to look back, his eyes widening.

Marinette screamed out, “Tikki!” She gripped onto the boy tighter who had a determined look on his face, his eyes focused on the scout. “Tikki! Help-” before she could finish her sentence a titan grabbed them out of no where, causing them both to scream and grab onto each other, the boy twisting and pulling her against his chest. The boy started punching the giant fingers around them, his other arm holding her tight against him, Marinette never let her eyes look away from the toothy grinned giant staring at them in hunger. “Tikki!” Marinette screamed.

“Marinette! NO!” Tikki screamed, Marinette looked over at her to see her fighting the scout who was yelling something at her. He didn’t have his gear, Marinette noticed, her heart sinking as she turned her attention back to the monster in front of them. He was raising them up, the grip getting stronger, the air being squeezed from them. The boy yelped and looked at her in fear. She looked back, tears streaming down her face. They stared at each other before he smiled at her small, lacing their fingers together and keeping their eyes locked.

“Just keep looking at me, okay?” He said softly, she nodded and gripped onto his hand, sniffing and wiping her nose on her arm as she cried. “It’ll be okay, what’s your name by the way?”

“M-Marinette.” She whispered in reply, shaking and stifling a scream as a big hand started to reach for them, the boy squeezing her hand more, the other arm around her tightening, pulling her so her face was against his chest, resting his head on hers.

“I’m Adrien.” He replied, he was shaking as well, tears falling. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.” She shook her head, eyes starting to turn towards the hand that was so close now she could feel the warmth, her eyes widening. But Adrien wasn’t having it, tightening his arm again and making her look back up at him. “Keep looking at me or hide, just don’t look. I got you.” He whispered.

The grip on them tightened and her eyes shot open as fingers grabbed the cloak fastened around her, lifting her out of the hand, she screamed for dear life as Adrien tried desperately to keep his strong grip on her. “Adrien!” She screeched, gripping his hands for dear life. He was screaming for her, desperate to get her back. “NO! NO! ADRIEN! TIKKI! PAPA!!!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, her grip being pulled from Adrien’s her heart stopping and her eyes widening. She locked eyes with the terrified boy, he looked like he was about to be sick.

She wasn’t sure if it was because he had lost her, or because he was next but the boy started screaming and hitting at the hand again. She looked at the titan as it held her up to his face, staring at her with empty, dead, hungry eyes. She was hanging from the cloak, it was slowly pressing against her neck, making it harder and harder to breath. She was sure she had wet herself, feeling warmth go down her legs. This was it; this was the end. She watched as he opened his mouth, the stench was rancid, making her gag and cover her mouth with her trembling hands. She started screaming for help again, kicking at the Titan, she didn’t want to die.

She felt time move in slow motion as she was lifted up higher, closing her eyes and hugging herself. She heard Adrien screaming for her desperately, but her hearing left her, a soft hum taking over. Was her body getting her ready to die? She had read something about it, a fight or flight within the body, protects you from the trauma or the pain to come so to speak. Adrenaline, was it? But she wasn’t sure it was true until now.

Then suddenly she wasn’t being held up as air filled her lung from the loss of pressure on her neck, feeling the air from falling overwhelming her. It’s over… It’s over… But instead of being bitten in half or feeling the wetness of a tongue, she was hit by another body, eyes flying open to see the ends of blonde hair as she was suddenly going another direction. Reality set in and the haze faded quickly, she wrapped her arms and legs around him as he did to her, burying her head in his neck as she braced for impact. And boy was it a hard one.

They hit a corner of a wall, spinning in the air and slamming into the floor, both gasping and coughing for air. She opened her eyes wide as she took a deep breath and gripped the boy that lay on top of her, covering her from danger. She looked back at the Titan to see it was missing his hands, swiping at the soldier who had appeared. She saw the roses and knew exactly why they were there. She didn’t have much time to think after that as the boy got up and pulled her up, grabbing her and flinging her on his back, running as fast as he could. He was limping as he ran, his groans while he panted telling her that he was injured just like she was.

By the time Marinette could register what was going on fully she was pulled off his back despite her screams of protest to be met by a tight hug. She blinked and looked up, “Marinette!” Tikki… She found her! Marinette broke down and hugged her tight, her sister hitched her up and held her close to her body, and they were running again, Marinette clung on for dear life. She opened her eyes and saw the dark-haired scout behind her, the boy draped over his back. He looked exhausted but still clung to the young man, Adrien’s head hung over his shoulder.

They ran in the screaming crowds, avoiding the many titans that were eating everyone they could. But Marinette kept her eyes on the boy, he had risked his life for her, a stranger. Why did he do that? After what her sister had said to her earlier, she was confused to why he had risked his life to save her?

After what seemed like ages they suddenly stopped, the older teens panting heavily. Tikki shifted Marinette with a grunt and she could feel that Tikki was wet from sweat. “Marinette, I need you to run, okay?” She whispered, placing the girl down who stood on shaking legs, nodding and looking back at the scout who didn’t look like he was struggling as much, but the boy on his back fought against him and jumped to his feet, running to Marinette and took her hand, eyes fixed on her and full of something Marinette had never seen before. She gulped and looked at their clasped hands before she looked around fearfully.

The scout didn’t look pleased but grunted, Tikki looked at the scout who just frowned and started running. The boy pulled Marinette with him, Tikki running behind them. Marinette looked around as she was pulled along, people were being eaten, trampled, crushed, there was nothing but death and despair. How could they survive this?

After not too long they were approaching the main gate in wall Maria, Marinette looked around desperately for her father, but never saw him. They all slowed down, gaining their breath back slowly. They joined the crowd, heading slowly towards the arch. The one flaw of the districts that lay outside the wall was there was only one exit. She remembered her father complaining about it constantly. She looked back at her sister, seeing Tikki was next to the scout who Marinette had figured out his name was Plagg. They were arguing in hushed voices, she wanted to ask Adrien what was going on but she didn’t know if she could speak yet.

Did they know each other? The way they were arguing and their body language spoke a thousand words. But she had never seen this man until today. But then again here she was clinging to the boy next to her, their fingers interlocked and her other hand gripping onto his arm for dear life. He didn’t seem to mind, looking up at him and saw he was looking around with a serious expression. Now that things had slowed down, she got a proper look at him.

He was taller than her by maybe a few inches, his face young and his green eyes bright. The right side of his face was covered in blood, his cut dirty and deep under his eye, another cut on his forehead. She didn’t think she looked any better, feeling the dried blood on her face and the pain from her cuts. She looked down at his dark green shirt and saw red over the side they had hit the corner of the wall on, her brows furrowing. He was injured, and he still managed to carry her out of there.

“He’s my brother.” Adrien spoke softly, turning her gaze back up to his face, he was looking down at her now, smiling small, “Plagg, the one talking with your sister, Tikki was it?” Marinette nodded, looking at the two arguing teens, “he’s a scout, the only reason he’s in Shiganshina is because of me.” He looked down darkly, his eyes looked sad for some reason. “But, hey, that meant I was there to catch you.” He looked at her and smiled sadly.

She blinked up at him, she didn’t know what to say, her whole mind felt shattered. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. Why couldn’t she speak? Was she really that weak?

He seemed to understand and nodded, “hey, it’s okay. We have been through a lot today, you don’t have to talk. I’m just glad I could help even one person.” She again blinked, he was so kind, probably the kindest person she had ever met. Why save her?

They both looked up when Tikki turned to them, “stay close, we need to get onto the boats, but there are a lot of people in front of us. You stay by us no matter what, okay?” They both nodded and she sighed, eyeing their clasped hands before turning back, Plagg whispered a comment that caused Tikki to hit his arm, telling him off again.

“Plagg, we need to get them away from here.” Marinette heard her sister say, eyeing her curiously. Tikki’s hair was ruffled, her pigtails messed and some hair had fallen out, framing her face. She had a small cut on her cheek. But what stood out the most was that she looked terrified.

“Yeah, yeah, I know that, sugarcube.” The scout replied with a scowl, “what do you think I’m doing exactly?”

“Well, so far my sister was almost eaten, let snot even bring up the state of them, and my dad is probably dead!” Tikki yelled back at him, pouting as she glared.

Suddenly they heard the footsteps, freezing and spinning around. Their eyes wide. Adrien gasped and pulled Marinette close, his eyes wide and his jaw clenched. In the distance they saw a huge titan sprinting towards them, his arms flinging around him, his jaw slack. Marinette screamed and was suddenly pulled to running by Adrien, turning her gaze forward the saw Tikki being pulled along by Plagg.

They had got out! How were they in danger again! This couldn’t be happening! She looked back just as the titan hit the ground, gasping as she saw the rubble heading towards them she looked at Adrien and saw he hadn’t seen it, his eyes focused on the road ahead. HE had saved her all this time, and if that debris hit them he would be hurt or possibly die. She looked back and gasped, she had to do something! She let go of his hand, causing him to gasp and look at her. She didn’t hesitate and shoved him hard, causing him to yell her name and fall to the side just as the debris hit her. She was hit hard, being smacked back, tumbling until she skidded to a halt, her body limp.

All she felt was pain, her vision went white, and she felt her dress suddenly getting wet. She tried breathing but it was laboured, and she heard gargling a bit. Her body was shaking, the pain coming from her left side of her face down to her shoulder. What was wrong with her? Was she dead? Was she dying? What about Adrien?

Suddenly she felt hands on her neck, she heard her sister far in the distance and then strong arms were carrying her and she was bouncing in them, the wind blowing over her. She heard others yelling and the whiteness started to fade. She was staring up at the sky, her mouth hanging open slightly, gasping for breath. Why did it feel like she was drowning? Was she drowning? No that was silly, she was in someone’s arms.

She felt someone had her hand, a soft voice speaking to her until they finally stopped. She felt hardness under her and suddenly her sister’s face was above her and she felt pressure on her neck, cheek and shoulder. She looked around without moving her head, Tikki’s tears catching her attention. Tikki? Why was she crying? What was wrong with her?

“Marinette? Oh god, oh shit, please, don’t die, no, please don’t die!” Tikki was saying, crying softly. “Plagg, do something!”

“Do what exactly? Do I look like a doctor? I’m doing everything I can!” The young man hissed back, he tore the bottom of Tikki’s skirt and started wrapping it around Marinette’s neck. “Just keep pressure! She’s lucky she’s even fucking alive!”

“Why did she do that?” She heard Adrien, he sounded distressed.

“She was saving you, if she didn’t do that you would be just as bad, possibly worse. She has some guts, I will give her that.” Plagg replied, leaning over her and looking into her eyes. She looked back, examining the dark green eyes, his small pupils getting even smaller as he frowned. “Just shut up and keep her calm!” She must have looked like she was panicking because suddenly Adrien’s face appeared as Plagg’s disappeared and looked down at her.

Marinette tried to speak but it sounded gargled, she felt him take her hand and her eyes darted toward him, seeing the dark faced boy. She should have spoken up earlier, now she can’t speak. She can’t thank this boy. A complete stranger who risked his life, who was covered in both his and her blood, banged up from protecting her. And she couldn’t even thank him. Adrien… He saw her panic and smiled sweetly, kissing her knuckles. She suddenly felt tired, darkness taking over quickly. “It’s okay, we got you, we are on the boat heading to Wall Rose, we are-“ Before he could finish his sentence there was an explosion and Plagg dove over Marinette, shielding her.

“Fuck!” He cursed and sat back up as Adrien took over his place, shielding Marinette, turning towards the wall and they all stared in silence. Marinette wanted to see but the pain was too bad so she gripped onto Adrien’s shirt. He looked down at her with an expression that scared her. She felt her eyelids flutter and darkness slowly took over, the last thing she see was Adrien’s face, his hands suddenly flying to her neck as he started yelling something. And then… nothing.

oOo

When Marinette first awoke she felt groggy and sore, her eyes barely opening. She groaned, lifting her hand and felt the rough bandaging from below her nose down to her breasts. Her mouth was covered so she couldn’t speak. She blinked a few times and looked up, expecting her sister or even Adrien’s face, but she was met by golden eyes under big, framed glasses. She blinked in surprise and stared at the dark-skinned girl standing over her, she had a heart shaped face and had fiery, long hair in a high pony, pieces framing her face. She was in a nurses uniform, but she looked the same age as Marinette.

“Hey girl.” The girl spoke chipperly, “you’re okay, don’t try to speak though. You’re in Troste district. You got badly banged up, but you’re safe now!” She smiled at her and picked up a clip board examining the paper.

Marinette felt the sheets under her hands, they were rough and they smelt funny. She realised she wasn’t on a bed but the floor, a sheet between her and the hard wood. What happened with the titans? Why was she in Troste?

“Marinette, is it?” She hummed and walked around Marinette, Marinette watched her with a raised brow. “You have internal damage, a big nasty cut from your cheek to your shoulder, some cuts on your face and torso, and some bruising. You really fought for your life, didn’t you?” She looked at Marinette with… admiration? “You’re like those scouts, you’re a superhero!” She dropped to her knees and grabbed Marinette’s hand, Marinette’s eyes widening. “That’s so cool!”

Cool? Marinette didn’t think it was cool. She had just experienced the worst day of her life and she couldn’t do anything right, needing others to save her. She felt like a fool, she felt like a dumb child. Why did no one ever tell her how bad they really were? She felt so naive. She looked away from Alya and pulled her hand away. Alya blinked and looked at her with a concerned look, her smile falling. Marinette didn’t have the energy to help the girl with her feelings, she was dealing with her own. Her eyes were empty, the sparkle gone, her innocence gone. Hell, everything she thought she was now seemed pathetic. She noticed she wasn’t in that stupid dress she had spent a month or so on, how frivolous it seemed now. She was glad she wasn’t in it, she didn’t want any reminders. Reminders of them, of the death, of how she was useless.

She couldn’t even protect herself, she had to have others save her, protect her, carry her. She was weak. She was worthless. She needed to get stronger, she had to. She would never let anyone suffer because of her again. The only good thing she did today was push that boy out of the way.

“Hey,” Alya dragged her from her thoughts, looking back at the girl. She looked concerned, “you’re safe now. I promise.” She placed her hand on Marinette’s. Marinette wanted to believe her, but she didn’t know what the truth was anymore. “I’m going to stay here with you tonight, okay? Your sister isn’t far, she will be here soon. But I promise, I will stay with you.”

Marinette blinked up and her, tears filling her eyes. She realised then she had been trying so hard to keep it together. Alya smiled and did a quick examination on Marinette, chatting away about how she was helping her mom who was the head nurse here. After she was done, she shuffled under the sheet with Marinette, lying on her back and staring up at the roof. Marinette felt comfort in it. She couldn’t speak but that didn’t matter right now.

Alya stayed with her that night, describing her childhood, telling her everything about herself. Marinette hung on every word, by the time she passed out from exhaustion and pain she felt like she had known Alya since she was a child. She felt at peace in a way, but she felt different. She felt like she was changed forever, the girl she was the day before was gone now.

---

It took Marinette a long time to heal, Tikki hardly leaving her side and eventually becoming a nurse herself so that she was close to Marinette. Alya spent every night with Marinette, making sure Marinette felt alone and comforted her whenever she was sad. The worst night was when she climbed into the sheets and hugged her friend while she sobbed after finding out her father was dead, and soon every night she slept next to Marinette. She didn’t care that they slept on the floor, she refused to sleep anywhere else without Marinette. They were inseparable.

It was a few months before Marinette was asked to speak, the bandages finally removed and the deep sensitive scar standing red and angry against her pale skin. She was used to the dull pain in her jaw, the now scar didn’t hurt as much as when it was a cut, but the pain was still there.

“Okay Marinette, we need you to try to speak.” Tikki said softly, Alya was next to her, she had stolen a mattress from her home and had made herself comfortable next to Marinette, concerned eyes on her best friend.

Marinette gulped, it felt weird not having her mouth covered, She had only had her mouth uncovered to eat or drink, so it felt weird to be completely exposed. So she felt naked sitting there without the bandage, in the baggy green shirt she had found at the bottom of her bed months ago, a small cut on the side. It was Adrien’s, he had washed it and brought it for her. She knew it was, no one knew for sure but she knew in her heart it was his. She chewed her lip and looked at her sister. It took some time but finally the words left her mouth, “where is Adrien?”

Tikki blinked in surprised and furrowed her brows, “Who?” She asked, “wait, the boy?” Marinette nodded, Alya watched her in confusion, “He’s okay, he isn’t here anymore, he’s with his brother with the survey corps, I think. He’s okay.”

Marinette nodded and looked down at her hands in her lap, she had thought of him almost every night but even now his face was blurry. She tried so hard but she couldn’t make out his face clearly. All she saw was the blood, the titan ready to eat her, felt the warmth down her leg as she pissed herself, the chaffing after as she ran for her life. She was destroyed by the experience, but maybe she could do some good from it. She lay back down, rolling over, pulling the blanket over her mouth as comfort. The others looked at her sadly, knowing she needed space. Alya sighed and lay down next to her, hugging her tight.

"Marinette, I promise he is okay. He was here for a little while and he visited you a few times when you were asleep." Tikki said softly, stroking her sister's face. Marinette hid her face, Tikki knew this side of Marinette too well now. She sighed and got up, "okay... I will come back later."

Alya stayed silent as Tikki left before she whispered, "Marinette?"

Marinette looked back at Alya, "yeah?" She replied in a whisper, it felt amazing to be able to speak again.

"Who's Adrien?" Marinette realised her best friend had no clue about what happened to her, she had been silent for months and now it was her turn to use her voice to let Alya know her.

"He's a boy that... He saved me." She croaked, rolling over so they were facing each other. "He gave me this shirt, I know it. He was wearing it." She covered her mouth with the neck of her shirt, looking down. "Do you want to hear about what happened?" And with that Marinette spoke about the worst day of her life for the first time since it happened. The words fell from her lips and a pressure lifted off her chest. By the end she was sobbing, Alya's eyes were wide in horror, her mouth open in shock. That night they fell asleep holding onto each other, Marinette having her first night without any nightmares, and she could make out Adrien's eyes. So she focused on them, holding onto the image for dear life.

---

More months passed and Marinette was now fully healed, or as healed as she was going to get. It had been over a year since the break of wall Maria, Tikki and Marinette were now living with Alya and her family. Marinette’s wounds had healed but she now wore a pale pink, jagged scar from the far left of her cheek down her neck all the way to her collar bone. Because of this she was stared at constantly and they whispered about how she was a survivor. Her hair had grown longer since the fall of Shiganshina so she used her hair to her advantage, hiding under it yet again, and rarely speaking. Tikki constantly told her she was worried about Marinette, but Marinette ignored her. She didn’t want to talk about this stuff with Tikki, she knew she had her own problems and Marinette didn't want to put more on her.

The person she was, the cheerful, talkative girl was completely erased, as if she never existed. She now was quiet, subdued and emotionless. Alya was the only one who got anything out of Marinette, she even managed to make Marinette laugh, a sound Tikki hadn’t heard since the day of the attack. It wasn't that she had no personality anymore or anything, she just didn't have a reason to be cheerful or talk much anymore. Especially with her giant, ugly scar that she hated. Her scar was like a giant sign that read 'I survived the fall of Shiganshina, stare at me please'. She hated the stares but she was used to it now.

The only person she spoke to was Alya, they lay in bed together at night and whispered to each other. Marinette told her of her plans to join the military the coming weeks. Alya argued with her, saying that it was suicide, stating Marinette has only just recovered from her last experience with the titans. Alya wasn’t impressed but eventually promised to come with her to Marinette’s surprise, stating they were in it forever now.

“Alya, we could die.” Marinette whispered, lying on her side looking at her best friend who mimicked her, a frown on her face.

“I don’t care, look at you, I am not letting you go anywhere without me.” Alya retorted.

Marinette frowned, “I don’t need protection. Don't join the military just to keep an eye out for me, you could die!"

“I’m not coming to protect you, I’m coming to support you.” Alya sighed.

“I can do it alone.” Marinette frowned, looking away. She didn’t need anyone else getting hurt for her. "I don't want you to get hurt or end up like me."

“I know that, girl.” Alya replied softly, “but there is nothing wrong with others helping you. And we are in this till death, right?”

Marinette looked at Alya and sighed at their promise, linking their pinky fingers, “Till we die.”

“Till we die.” Alya repeated, grinning. “So when are you going to tell your sister?”

Marinette sighed and played with the string of her shirt, her mind drifting to Adrien again. “I don’t know, but she isn’t going to be exactly happy.”

“That’s the biggest understatement of the year.” Alya snorted, taking her glasses off and placed them aside. “All I will say is good luck, girl.”

Marinette sighed, watching as Alya blew out the candle, she knew she was right, telling Tikki was going to be hell. "You say that but you're the crazy woman following me to our deaths."

"Nah, it's only being crazy if I thought we would die." Alya replied, "which we wont, we are gonna be badasses."

Marinette chuckled and shook her head, "sure."

“Don’t worry about it tonight though, okay? Let’s just focus on getting some sleep tonight.” Alya smiled and got comfy, Marinette smiled, feeling the tug of her scar. She never smiled now because of it, but she never felt shy or like she had to hide from Alya. She could be herself.

"Yeah... Let's see what happens." She said before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

---

Tikki stared at Marinette like she had grown two more heads, her blue eyes wide with fear. “You… no, I… You WHAT!?” She screamed. They were sitting at the dining table in Alya’s house, the two girls sat on one side while Tikki and Mrs Césaire were on the other side. Tikki was standing up, her hands in fists. She looked like she could jump across the table and bundle Marinette up and hide her forever. She was in her nurse’s uniform, they had chosen to tell them now before their shift happened so that they could pack their bags. “You are barely twelve years old!”

“I’m thirteen soon, I am old enough, I’m joining.” Marinette said calmly. She watched her seventeen year old sister look shocked at her words. Marinette looked at her emotionlessly, being stuck in a bed for months not being able to speak and being stuck inside your own head makes you extremely good at handling emotions and stay in control.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Tikki slammed her fists on the table, “it’s a suicide mission joining the military! Do you want to die?”

“No, I don’t. I want to make a difference. I almost died because I was weak, I don’t want to be weak anymore.” Marinette didn’t flinch as Tikki slammed her fist down again, her eyes fixed on Tikki.

“You can’t even comprehend or understand enough to join the military!” Alya gulped next to her, chewing her lip, her own mother staring her down but not saying a word. Tikki wasn’t staying silent.

“Respect anyone who wears that uniform, Marinette.” Marinette said softly, “Remember you said that to me?” Tikki blinked in surprise, stepping back. “I remember you said that minutes before we ran for our lives,” Tikki’s eyes widened and she gasped, “before I was almost eaten by a titan, before I got this.” She pointed at her scar, her brows furrowing. “So don’t tell me that I don’t understand or that I cannot comprehend death or what being a soldier means. I am well aware. I have the scar as a souvenir.” Her eyes darkened, leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest.

Tikki stared at her in shock, holding the same look she always had when looking at Marinette recently. The look of not knowing who Marinette was anymore. Tikki turned to Mrs Césaire, “Marlena!” She cried, “say something! I can’t be the only one who doesn’t want this to happen!”

Mrs Césaire sighed and dropped the hand that was covering her mouth. “Alya, have you thought this through?”

“Yes mom,” Alya replied, straightening her back with confidence.

“You aren’t doing this to follow Marinette?”

“No ma’am.” Alya insisted, shaking her head, “I want to bring honour and pride to our family. I want to help with the war on the titans and get our world back.”

Mrs Césaire nodded, thinking for a minute before she stood up, wiping her eyes and walking over to Alya, pulling her to standing and engulfed her in a huge hug. She hugged her back, burying her face in her mothers chest. “We are already so proud of you, and you have already brought us honour by joining. I know you will be amazing.”

“What!?” Tikki was shocked, Marinette looked back at her with a raised brow, Tikki looked bewildered. “You are allowing this? They’re children!”

Mrs Césaire let go of Alya and frowned at Tikki, “they have experienced more than most adults. Especially Marinette.” She replied calmly, “if they want to join the military to make a difference we should be proud of them and their sacrifice! The men and women who are fighting this war against the titans are giving up their lives for us!”

“Exactly, giving up their lives!” Tikki yelled back, “I don’t want my sister dying at the ripe old age of 17 when she graduates!”

“I won’t die, and if I do it would be for the greater good!” Marinette stood up and yelled back.

“No it wont! You will die with your guts hanging out, piss down your leg and you will be crying out for a loved one begging not to die! I forbid this!” Tikki walked over and grabbed Marinette’s shoulders. “You are too weak!” Marinette gasped and stared at her sister in shock. “You will die!”

“Marinette isn’t weak!” Alya yelled, she looked ready to attack. “She is the strongest person I know!”

“The last time you saw a titan you almost died! You are too small, you won’t make it!” Tikki shook her shoulders angrily. Marinette frowned and pushed her sister off her, glaring at her.

“You can’t tell me what to do! You aren’t my mother and you aren’t my guardian.” She growled, “I can do whatever I like, and if anything Mrs Césaire is in charge of me.” Tikki looked surprised. “And I am not weak. If you don’t like it that’s not my problem. You can either support me or you can stay out of my business.”

Tikki glared at her sister before she grabbed her head scarf off the table and stormed out, slamming the door behind her. Marinette sighed and sat down, dropping her head on the table with a grunt.

You are too weak… you will die…

Her sister’s words echoed in her head, she was expecting the words to hurt her but they didn’t, they made her more determined. She was going to make it, she just needed to prove everyone wrong.

“Ignore her, Marinette. She doesn’t know who you are, who you really are. You will prove her wrong.” Alya reassured her, resting a hand on Marinette’s back.

Marinette sighed and stood up, pushing the chair back and walked through to their bedroom, walking to the window and looked out. She saw the garrison soldiers on the wall, they were running drills today, she watched them swinging across the wall and felt a pang in her chest. She wanted to be up there, she needed to be up there.

She sighed and turned away, leaning against the wall and slid down to the floor, dropping her head against the wall. Her mind went to Adrien again, looking over at the green shirt draped on the bed. It was a year and a half since the fall of the walls, and his face was almost all but blurred. She remembers how he held her like she was the only thing that mattered. She remembered his voice, and all she could see were those green eyes. She felt her scar with her fingers, drawing her knees to her chest, staring at the crinkles in her skirt.

Where was he? Was he safe? Did he get badly injured? She had so many questions that were most likely never going to be answered. And that sucked. He was the reason she was joining the military, she was spared and he saved her life, a stranger’s life. She had a debt to pay, and she wanted to be good. Not just a good person but a good soldier. But that wasn’t the important thing now. In a few weeks she will be a recruit and will start her training. She needed to focus on that and get through. Her eyes travelled to the shirt again, sadness taking over and the tears came. She had been through so much, yet these moments came very rarely, and when they did she embraced them with open arms. Just happy to feel something.

---

“Tikki I will be fine.” Marinette stared at the uniform in front of her. The cadet badge standing out against the tanned jacket. Her last conversation with her sister the night before echoing in her head. “Just… don’t die, okay?” Tikki had helped her cut her hair and gave Marinette her red ribbons much to her surprise. Now they were tied in her short, low pigtails, the ribbons floating down her back. Something of her sister to keep her safe.

She gulped and started to strip, pulling her new uniform on proudly. She wore her dark green top underneath her jacket, her dark brown sash around her waist fit perfectly and then her white trousers. Everything was custom made for her she figured, because it fit perfectly. She sat down and pulled on her knee-high boots, determination filling her.

Soon they were on the courtyard, in their formation at attention. Marinette looked around, she hadn’t met anyone yet, Alya standing next to her. She finally made it, she was finally here. She clenched her fists and looking to the side at her friend, smiling small at her before her face went hard. She was going to prove everyone wrong; she was going to join the survey regiment and she was going to make a difference. She looked forward, the horrors she saw flashing in front of her eyes, taking a deep breath and relaxed her fists. She had made it, now she had to actually do it.

15 notes · View notes

buckyscrystalqueen · 4 years

Text

Managed: Part 2

Pairings: Clark Kent x Reader (Henry Cavill Clark)

Warnings: Maybe swearing

Word Count: 2,411

A/N: Doesn’t have a completed end yet, but just giving you more content to try to get myself out of a writing funk.

Part 1

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

~~~~ 1 year later ~~~~~~

“So there’s a first for everything, I guess.” You sighed as you walked across the setting sun lit parking area toward the familiar black truck you had spent most nights sitting on, watching the sunset over the Blue Ridge mountains with your boyfriend.

“What, first time peeing in the woods?” Clark asked as you jumped up on the truck bed beside him with a sigh.

“First time taking a pregnancy test in the woods.” You breathed as you looked down at the napkin wrapped stick in your hand before setting it down beside you to wash your hands with hand sanitizer. He nodded his head in agreement, torn like you on what you wanted that stick to say. The two of you, the couple of love sick puppies, fresh out of a Disney movie, were dying to see the two pink lines. Both of your mothers, would absolutely support you if you were, but your jobs? You had some how managed to go an entire year without anyone at your job figuring out you were dating which, in and of itself was a complete miracle. But growing a child was bound to be noticeable at some point. There would be questions, and knowing Clark, there would be more concern for your well being than there already was…

“Baby…” Clark said softly as he reached over and gently touched the small of your back, knowing your ‘spiraling out’ expression better than anyone. “We’re going to figure it out.”

“It’s gunna be too late for me to switch departments…”

“Let me figure that out…”

“How are you going to just figure that out, Clark?” You snapped a little harshly with a slight glare. “You already do so much every day to try to make my work load as light as possible and it’ll just look like favoritism.”

“And I can forever spin that off as the way I was raised.” He countered quickly to try to cut off the full tail spin before you drowned in it. “I also know for a fact that Margret in windows is retiring at the end of the month. I know you’ve moon-lit in that department so much, that you’d know how to take over no problem and I know the pay is better than flooring because it’d just be you taking the commissions.”

“You’d still be my manager…”

“I’m only flooring’s department manager.” He said with a shake of his head. “Erica is the ASM of windows, and Paul is the supervisor. Windows doesn’t have a department manager because it’s always been just Margret.” You nodded your head slowly and looked out at the valley.

“Can you keep it a secret?” You asked him as you turned to look over at him. “Just at work I mean. Can you stop yourself from shouting from the roof tops that you’re going to be a dad to your friends…”

“Even if I don’t.” He countered with a shake of his head. “And I lose my job because of this, or even if for some stupid, totally illegal reason, we both do, I will find another one and I won’t let you or this baby go without. I love you, (Y/N). You are my world, and together, we will make it through anything, OK?”

“Promise?” You whispered with a small, teary catch in your throat. His smile grew as he nodded his head and moved his hand from your back to hold your hand.

“I swear.” With a nod back, you glanced down at your beeping watch, turned the timer off and picked up the pregnancy test from the truck bed. You pulled back the paper and held it out in front of both of you with slightly shaky hands.

“OK.” Clark said through a giant smile as you stared at the parallel lines. “We’re going to be OK. Sweetheart, don’t cry, come here.” He chuckled as he carefully tossed the stick into the trash bag from dinner and easily picked you up and into his lap. He shushed you softly, knowing exactly where your mind was taking you before you could even figure it out yourself, and nodded his head against your temple. “Small bites, (Y/N). Little bit at a time. We’re pregnant. That’s all we need to focus on today. Just being pregnant.”

“But what about…?”

“Just being pregnant.” He repeated with a smile as he scooted you both back in the truck bed so he could lean against the side. “One step at a time. We can do this, right?” You shook your head before a huffed laugh escaped through your tears.

“You’re counseling.”

“You need it.” He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around you with a content sigh.

“I love you.” You whispered softly as you laid your head down on his shoulder.

“I love you, too, baby. Both of you. Don’t you ever forget it.”

——

“Hey, (Y/N). How do you feel about home decor?” Erica asked before you had even clocked in to work the next day. You cocked your eyebrow at her and wondered briefly if Clark had said something to her when he came in, but he was off that morning so he wouldn’t have seen her since the day before.

“It’s pretty?” You said almost questioningly. “Why?”

“Well, you’ve been there most of the week.” She started as she showed you the stores list of details for the week. “And you have managed to keep all of your flooring and the window details you have active off my list of lates for the last four months, easily.”

“OK…”

“So if you’re OK with it, I’m gunna talk to Lauren and have you moved over to home decor because I know you will be able to handle the influx of details since Margret retired earlier than we expected and I know Dave can handle flooring by himself for a while. Does that sound like something you’d be interested in?”

“Umm…”

“I can even try to get you a slight pay raise, too. Your track record this past year since you started with us shows you absolutely deserve it.”

“OK…”

“OK.” She said with a nod as she handed you the dailies for home decor. “Makes working with Clark a little less suspect…”

“Wait, I’m sorry?” You said as your head whipped up to look at her. She smirked and shook her head.

“Sweetie, I’ve known that man for almost ten years. He may be all midwest class, but he’s never taken a shine to someone the way he has you. I was just guessing that y’all were a couple, which is just another reason I wanted to move you out of flooring. You’re both great employees, and I didn’t want to lose either of you if you were and if this is how I can save you, then this is what I will do.” She shrugged her shoulder and leaned against the counter with her hip. “Honey, I may be old, but I’m not blind…”

“We didn’t…” You tried, but she shook her head again and held up her hand.

“I know nothing, and I ain’t sayin’ nothing.” She said as she pushed off the counter. “But you may wanna consider being a little more sneaky about getting rides to and from work. And those good bye kisses…” Your face turned bright red and your hands flew to cover your cheeks as she turned and walked away. “Go to work, (Y/N). The DSHR won’t do themselves. You’re back in windows again.” With a mortified nod, you turned and quickly walked toward the break room to grab your apron and a mobile phone. You shot Clark a text to call you in windows as soon as possible, and you grabbed the ringing phone as you made it to your new desk.

“Windows…”

“Everything OK?”

“Erica knows.” You hissed as you sat down at the only chair on the sales floor. “She’s moving me to home decor to keep us both and I guess she caught us kissing good bye when you drop me off when I stay over…”

“What’d she say?” You huffed and pulled up the DSHR app on your mobile and started answering the questions from what you could see of your small section while on the phone.

“That she may be old but she’s not blind. That she knows nothing and isn’t saying anything to anyone. That we need to be more sneaky.”

“Did you tell her you’re pregnant?”

“No, honestly, I actually forgot I was until just now. Kinda more concerned about losing our jobs…”

“OK, you’re not going to lose your job, sweetheart.” Clark interrupted gently. “Look, I know Erica. I’ve known her a long time. I’ll talk to her when I come in and explain the situation, OK? She’s an understanding woman. And if it was something we needed to be concerned about, I would have gotten talked to before you as your superior. They wouldn’t bother moving you first. So you gotta stop worrying, baby. That’s my job, remember? With the manly man muscles…”

“OK.” You breathed with a nod as a smile finally pulled at your cheeks.

“OK. Now get to work. I’ll see you later.”

“Bye sweets.” You said softly before hanging up the phone. You sighed to yourself and glanced down at your stomach before going over to finish the DSHR. Your morning flew by as you tried to catch all Margret’s details up to date along with making sure all of yours were still on track, and before you knew it, Clark was standing at your desk, waiting for you to get off the phone, with an unreadable look on his face.

“Lauren needs to see us.” He sighed when you hung up, making your stomach turn. “Apparently, Erica isn’t the only one who has noticed…”

“Oh, Jesus.” You groaned as you got out of your chair and flipped over your paperwork to keep your clients information concealed. You swallowed back bile and followed him toward the back where the store manager’s office was across from the break room. Lauren glanced up at you and gestured you both to sit as she ended the phone call she was on.

“So I have to commend both of you.” She started as Erica slipped into the room as well and closed the door behind herself. “Usually, when I have to talk to employees for partaking in romantic relationships, it’s because it’s become a disruption to their work output. Personally, I met my wife here at Blue Ridge, so I understand it happens and can work out for the best. And fortunately, there is wiggle room in the company policy.”

“Lauren…” Clark tried, but she shook her head with a smile.

“Clark, I’ve known for months.” She laughed. “The installed sales office has security cameras, remember.” Your face turned bright red and you quickly tried to hide behind your hands while Clark simply cleared his throat as both of you thought about the stolen kisses at the end of your shifts before one of you left for the day when the other still had work to do. “Now, I’ve bit my tongue, because it hasn’t affect the company yet. And as long as it continues to not affect the company or your jobs, I see no problem with it. But we will be moving you, (Y/N), over to windows so that you are not working under Clark so that you are actually abiding by the personal relationships policy, which both of you should have done months ago.”

“I’m sorry that’s…”

“That was my call.” Clark interrupted but you shook your head.

“Our call.” You said, meekly.

“It doesn’t matter.” Erica added with a shake of her head. “It really doesn’t. It’s out now, and it’s OK. Just don’t let it affect your jobs and it will keep being OK. OK?”

“Think you guys can do that?” Lauren asked as she sat back in her chair. You and Clark both nodded and exchanged a look, and you nodded your head to answer his unspoken question.

“We um…” He started as he looked back at the two women. “We actually found out last night that we are pregnant…”

“Awww!” Erica cooed as Lauren’s smile grew even more.

“It’s a good thing we’re moving you over to home decor, then. Heavy lifting when you’re pregnant isn’t good for the baby. Let Kate know when you have appointments as soon as you can and we can work your schedules out as best as we can so you both can go…”

“Kate knows?” Clark asked, incredulously.

“Kate was the one who saw you get dropped off a couple times for work.” Erica said as she ignored a call on her mobile phone. “Beth in outside garden did as well.”

“And Mark and Sam in security as they brought the ISO footage to my attention.” Laura finished. “Look, this doesn’t need to be drawn out from here. You don’t need to tell anyone you don’t want to. The people who need to know, know. And moving forward, you no longer work in the same department so there’s no issue. Just don’t let this affect your jobs. I can’t say that enough. Please. You’re both hard workers, and you’re great fits here. I don’t wanna lose either of you.”

“Well…” Clark said with a relieved sigh. “Thank you. I’m sorry we didn’t come to you sooner…”

“Don’t worry about it.” Lauren said with a smile. “Now, I have a whole list of of phone calls I still have to make and I know you guys have work to do.”

“We’re going.” Clark said as he stood up and habitually pulled you up from your chair as well. “Don’t wanna push our luck too much.”

“Congratulations, you two.” Lauren said as she sat forward and hit the speaker button to make her next call. “A baby… I’m jealous.”

“Enjoy your sleep while you can.” Erica laughed as she hesitated in front of the training room door.

“Did that just happen?” You hissed as you and Clark headed back onto the floor to go back to work.

“Told you not to worry.” You scowled at him and stuck your tongue out as he stopped at the flooring desk.

“Pain.” You muttered as you headed almost directly across the center aisle to your desk to finish your last two calls before you went to lunch.

Part 3

#clark kent x reader #clark x reader #Managed

50 notes · View notes

rxsie-the-demon · 4 years

Text

Brooklyn Baby | JJ Maybank

SERIES MASTERLIST | chapter one

chapter summary: Nikki goes out of her comfort zone and bonds with Kie, while still remaining curious about what happened last summer. At a party, Topper gets a little too touchy, and Nikki (surprisingly) befriends Rafe and Wheezie.

warnings: drinking, smoking, HARD DRUGS, swearing (oops), HARRASSMENT (topper gets VERY touchy) so if that makes u uncomfy just skim over that, and a conversation about addiction/rehab and therapy

word count: 5029

Chapter 2: Cinnamon Girl

If I had to choose, B Days would be my least favorite. On B days, I have no classes with anyone I know, except English with Kelce at the end of the day.

And no one to sit with at lunch.

On my second day of school, when I realized I had no one to sit with, I ate in the library. You’re allowed to, so long as you clean up after yourself and stuff.

Walking into the huge cafeteria, with clean white titles and those long foldable school tables, I decided to do the same thing today; just sit in the library by myself, and maybe read or shop online, The tall walls of the cafeteria were decorated with motivational quotes and the school’s athletic accomplishments.

But when I was walking towards the lunch line, I saw Kiara sitting by herself out of the corner of my eye, head down on the table. Which made me feel really, really sad for her.

I stood in line quietly, AirPods in my ears, scrolling through Instagram when I found Kiara’s page. I didn’t want to seem like a stalker, but my curiosity got the best of me and I clicked on it.

Her page reminded me of this social activist that I follow that of a social activist I follow, the difference being that Kiara’s page was mostly environment-focused, with the occasional selfie and pics of her friends.

Clicking on one of her them, a selfie with her and her four friends on a boat during sunset, I saw a slightly sunburned brunet with his arm wrapped around one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen. She’s probably a TikToker, I thought. Sunburn had a dark blue bandana wrapped around his neck and had his shirt unbuttoned. Major surfer boy vibes.

Next to Tiktok, was Kiara, with bright eyes and a bright smile. Completely different from the girl who sits behind me in APUSH. The boy next to Kiara had dark skin and curly hair. He was wearing a hat, like Sunburn and the other boy next to him. And judging from the way his arm was around her waist, Hat totally had a thing for Kiara.

But the last boy, holy shit, if I thought Sunburn was cute, Hot Blonde Boy was another level. He was the one taking the picture, with one arm stretched out to hold the phone and the other one, covered shiny rings, was posing with, like, the rock hand sign? I think that’s what it’s called: with his index and pink fingers up, and the rest like they’d be balled in a fist. His messy blonde hair was being held together by a red snapback, and he was shirtless except for his shark tooth necklace. His tan went well with his bright, energetic eyes and big smile but...oh my gosh. His hands. They were big, with long fingers, and his arms were a little veiny and-

I put my phone away. Nuh-uh, I’m not going to be thirsting over a random guy’s hands, especially when that guy could literally be dead, or worse, the crazy dude who tried to shoot Topper.

Not that I don’t understand why someone would want to shoot Topper.

I grabbed my tray, putting a Chicken Caesar salad bowl (yum), a bowl of grapes (double yum), and a water bottle onto my tray. Remembering that Kiara didn’t have any food with her, I grabbed a hamburger, too.

I paid for my food and walked towards the utensil holder, debating whether or not I should just go to the library or sit with Kiara. I mean, I should sit with her, she’s by herself and is going through a hard time, but then again, I hardly know her. Besides exchanging numbers with her yesterday and not even texting her, I never interacted with the girl. She’ll probably think I’m just talking to her to get tea for Topper and Scarlet.

But then again, I already bought her a hamburger.

I walked over to her table. She was wearing a similar outfit as she was yesterday, the only difference being she was wearing light blue jeans. So, yay? A bit of color?

I sat down across from her and put my tray down quietly, not wanting to scare her. “Hey.”

Her head shot up immediately. Her soft brown eyes looked so tired, her light brown skin looking ashy and dull. Her dark brown hair, with it’s nice, defined beach wave curls, was tied back in a bun in her hood. When she saw who it was, her face softened. “Oh, hi.”

“I hope it’s ok I’m sitting with you, I don’t know anyone else in this lunch and I thought it’d be good to discuss our project.” I waved my hands around a bit before opening the plastic lid of my salad.

She nodded, eyeing my food for a second.

My heart hurt. Of course, she has the money to buy food, that’s not the issue. She probably hasn’t been eating out of grief.

“So I’m Indian, duh,” I waved my hand in front of my face and she smiled softly, “and I thought this was a chicken burger, but it’s beef. And I can’t eat beef, because, ya know, Hindus don’t eat beef. So, like, could you do me a solid and eat this for me? I hate wasting food and I’d feel awful if I threw it out.” I slid the burger towards her.

She nodded, pulling it towards her and taking a small bite.

I poured my croutons into my salad and started quietly eating when I heard Kiara mumble, “Thank you.”

I glanced up at her for a second, only to look back down. “Don’t thank me. I bought that on accident.”

“I saw you staring at me in line. And...I haven’t eaten in the past two days.”

I looked back at Kiara, who was looking everywhere but me. I decided to just ask.

“It’s because of what happened to your friends, right? You’re mourning?”

She nodded, still not looking at me.

“I understand. Grief isn’t something that has, like, a definitive answer. You just gotta let it run its course,” I said, putting my hand in front of my mouth because I was chewing.

Kiara nodded again and took another bite, a bigger one this time. I mentally high-fived myself for getting her to eat. I didn’t think it’d work.

“So, what do you want to do for the project?” I asked.

Kiara shrugged. “We could do current events. Maybe something environment related?”

“Like, an advertisement? We make a video talking about pollution or something?”

“Yeah! Or maybe we could organize something and get a bunch of people to come together and, like, clean up the beach?”

“Or we could go out on boats and find trash in the ocean?”

“That too!” Kiara’s eyes were shining now, and she was smiling. Wide. Much like the girl whose Instagram I was stalking.

“Sweet. Ok, so, the environment is one thing, do we have any other ideas? Like, isn’t the Outer Banks also famous for shipwrecks or something? I heard The Royal Merchant sank here. Maybe we could do a project on that?”

Kiara stiffened up when I mentioned shipwrecks. Did I say something wrong?

Shit. Her friends died at sea, how could I be so stupid?

“That’s...not a bad idea, actually. I happen to know a lot about The Royal Merchant. More than I want to know, actually,” She chuckled. She looked down at her hands, and then looked back up. “John B, my friend who died at sea over the summer, he and his dad were obsessed with finding it. We actually-,” she leaned closer to me. “We actually found it. But, uh, the gold isn’t there.”

My eyes went wide. I leaned forward, too. “Well, where is the gold then? Do you know?”

Kiara nodded. “In the Bahamas.”

“How the f- How did it get there, if the shipwreck happened here and no one knew where it was until you and your Pogue friends found it?”

She sighed. “Long story. I’ll tell you another day.”

“Wait-”

The lunch bell rang. I sighed as we stood up and grabbed our bags, walking towards the doors to leave for class. I really want to know how the gold ended up in the Bahamas.

“Well, thanks for lunch, Nikki!”

“Of course, Kiara, that’s what friends are for,” I smiled.

Kiara beamed. “Call me Kie.”

I was overjoyed. A friend. A real, actual friend. “Kie. Fantastic. Hey, Kie, do you know anyone named Rafe by any chance?”

Kie narrowed her eyes. “Yea, why?”

“Oh, nothing, I was just invited to his birthday party this Saturday.”

Kie rolled her eyes. “Be careful around him, ok? Talk to you later!”

“Uh, bye!”

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

Yellow, or blue?

I held both dresses up to myself, looking in the mirror.

Saturday came, and it was time for Rafe’s party.

The party starts at 9 and was gonna last all night, but Topper wanted to take me out to eat, so at 7:30, I’m still deciding which dress to wear.

Both dresses are sundresses, short, flowy with shirred backs and knotted straps. They are literally the same dress, down to the little polka dots, just in different colors. I could wear either one, because I kept my makeup simple: concealer, nude eye shadow, mascara, and clear lip gloss.

I texted Kiara, asking her to choose a color, to which she responded yellow. We managed to get really close in just three days, which made me happy, because I felt that she was my only real friend at school, and, well, I was her only friend there.

I slipped the dress on and matched it with my white Birkenstocks. I went over to my dresser table (yes I have two mirrors in my room, sue me) and put on my white tassel fringe earrings. I kept my ‘Om’ necklace on.

I admired myself. My light brown skin looks good with the yellow and white, and my jet black hair, which I decided to not straighten, had slight waves, and reached my shoulders. I look like a rich, beach girl. A Kook, I suppose.

I grabbed my phone, taking a quick mirror selfie and snapping it to Topper, captioned ‘i’m readyyy’. He opened it immediately.

‘Damnn u look hot,’ he typed out. Ew.

‘aw ty,’ I typed back. ‘where r u?’

‘I’m omw. U have ur bag? The party’s on a yacht and there’ll be a pool.’

‘swim suit’s packed’

‘Fantastic. I’ll be there soon.’

I locked my phone, putting it into my purple and black NYU drawstring bag that also held my black bikini and a towel. I grabbed the bag hopped down the stairs.

Mallory and Krish, my sister-in-law and brother, were sitting on the couch, watching TV.

“Hey losers. My friend’s gonna be here any minute to pick me up.”

Mallory turned to face me, smiling. “Aw, you look cute! Have fun, and be safe, ok?”

“If you’re gonna be coming in, like, super late,” Krish added, not taking his eyes off the TV, “try to be as quiet as possible. Diya is a really light sleeper.”

Diya, my 5-month-old niece, made baby sounds. I took a couple steps forward and saw she was spread out on the floor, in her fluffy pink blanket, chewing on her gloved hands. I waved at her.

“Don’t worry, if I wake her up, I’ll take care of her. I don’t plan on drinking or smoking or anything tonight. Well, maybe drinking, but that’s it.”

They laughed. “Ok, ok, just have fun,” Mal said.

I sat on the floor, playing with Diya, until 7:50, when the doorbell rang, revealing Topper, wearing a black button-down shirt that was rolled up to his elbows (bless), Air Force 1s, ripped jeans, and a Gucci belt.

He smiled. “Ready to go?”

I smiled back. “Yep.” I turned to face Krish and Mal. “Bye Mom, bye Dad!”

“Bye, hun!” Mallory called out. They smiled and Top, too, and waved.

I closed the door and left, and Topper grabbed my hand to lead me to the car. “Sorry, I’d have introduced you to my parents, but they were too busy, like, ogling at my baby sister,” I half lied.

Topper laughed, “No worries. I’ll have plenty of chances to meet them, I hope?”

I smiled. “Yep, I hope so too.”

A complete lie.

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

Dinner with Topper was...interesting. Instead of taking me to some fancy restaurant or whatever, he took me to this cute little diner closer to the beach, but not close to The Cut, according to him. “There are a bunch of restaurants here in the Banks,” he had said. “But not a lot of people know about this one. That’s why it’s my favorite.” He winked, and I nearly vomited in my mouth.

The place was real old-timey, with the little booths and a jukebox. We had burgers and shared a plate of fries and a milkshake. And honestly? It would’ve been really romantic if I actually liked Topper like that.

Don’t get me wrong, Topper is hot. He’s sweet to me, like cotton candy sweet, and really affectionate. I love touchy boys (consensual, of course, or they get their shit rocked), but he’s always grabbing my hand and playing with my hair. Which would be fine, but I barely know him.

And ever since he admitted to drowning that John B kid, whatever potential feelings I had just...disappeared. That paired with his Holier-than-thou attitude and his blatant classism makes him everything I would hate in a person, let alone a potential boyfriend.

Besides, I know the real reason he’s flirting with me. The Kook King of High School needs a Queen, and with his ex gone, everyone wants me to step into that role. Any other time, I’d be happy to be That Girl. But something just feels wrong about this.

Lots of people have told me I remind them of Sarah, apparently because she, too, was a bit of a social activist and an environmental freak (no wonder her and Kie were friends) which just confirms the fact that I’m just a replacement.

But, besides Kie, I have no other friends at OBX High. I have no choice but to go with it.

Driving close to the dock, I could hear loud music playing from somewhere. Leaning forward, I saw the yachts, one of them in particular already pretty full of people and neon lights.

“Yeah, Rafe tends to go all out on parties,” Topper remarked, gesturing towards the boats as he parked. “But they’re always fun.”

I nodded, plastering on a smile. I grabbed his hand. “Fantastic. Lead the way.”

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

Ok, I have to hand it to OBX kids. They know how to get turnt.

At 9:30, the yacht left the dock and headed towards the sea. By 10, the party was in full form, with kids dancing, singing, swimming, smoking, drinking, everything!

It was a glorious mess.

Right now it’s 10:30, and I’d been dancing with Top when we decided to go get something to drink.

We went to the bar and I told Topper to just one of whatever he was drinking for me, so he got two Mai Tais. The bartender looked really worried, because, you know, more than half the kids at this party are underaged, so I slipped him a 50 for his troubles.

Top and I walked away, laughing at the bartender’s confused face. The familiar feeling of alcohol started to wash

We walked around and talked about life and the universe, and when we finished our drinks, we went to the deck.

I leaned onto the railing, staring into the ocean.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I asked softly. Growing up in Brooklyn Heights, I was never one for the ocean. I mean, sure, there were beaches an hour or two away from my old home that I visited often, but I was always a city girl. But this, this was something else entirely. The way the pale, white moonlight shined on the dark blue ocean, it was comforting, almost.

“Yeah,” Topper whispered back, wrapping his arm around my cold body, “really is beautiful.” I turned and saw him staring at me, smiling just a tiny bit. I shoved him lightly.

“You’re so corny,” I laughed.

“Maybe, but I made you smile, didn’t I?”

“...Shut up.”

We laughed, and he wrapped both arms around me and pulled me close to him. I stiffened a bit. Calm down, Nikki. It’s not that big a deal. But it is. I hate leading people on and I hated that he was always touching me.

I snuck my arms around his waist and rested my head on his chest. I’m short, I’ll admit it, standing at a towering five foot four with my two-inch platforms. Topper, on the other hand, is six feet tall, so my head tucked in just underneath his.

We stayed like that for a bit, swaying softly to some pop song. I felt myself relaxing, but I knew it wouldn’t last long.

“Hey, Nikki?”

“Yeah?”

“I, uh, I really like you.”

I pulled back and looked at Topper, who was fidgeting with my hair, and I narrowed my eyes “Wait, actually?”.

I hope he’s joking. He’s known me for less than a week! I mean, sure, you can have an instinct attraction to someone, yadda yadda, and maybe he wants to get to know me better, or whatever. Fine.

Maybe it’s because I don’t like him that, but I find his declaration of feelings a little ridiculous.

“Yea, I do. I know we just met, but I really want to get to know you more. No, I’m not asking you out...unless you want to date, that is, but I feel insanely attracted to you.” He brushed his hair back nervously.

I could reject Topper, and risk my popularity and social standing. It could end up well, it could end up terribly. But if I say I like him back, which is a lie, I guarantee my place as the most popular girl in the Outer Banks.

I place my right hand on his shoulder and my left hand on his cheek. Standing on my toes, I gently guide his face to mine.

As I close my eyes, I imagine that I’m not about to kiss Topper, but Hot Blonde Boy from Kie’s Instagram.

His lips are soft, really soft, and Top’s hands drop to my waist to pull me closer to him.

After we pull away, he tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear and gently kisses my forehead.

“I like you too, Top,” I lied, “but I don’t want to rush into anything. We just met, and I’ve rushed into things before, and they never ended well, and-”

“Hey, hey, I get it,” he takes his hand to my chin and lifts it up so that I’m looking at him instead of the floor. “We can go as slow as you like, all right?”

I smile and nod. Top cups my face in his hands, and right before he can kiss me, I pull away and say, “Let’s go swimming! I’m going to go change, ok?”

He nods, ruffling his hair. I turn, pulling my phone out from my duffel bag and sending a text to Kie.

‘sos i just kissed topper.’

I walk into one of the changing rooms and change into my bikini. As I’m stuffing my dress into my bag, I see I get a text back.

‘dumbass!!’

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

Apparently, when I said I wanted to go swimming, it translated to yeeting me into the pool and then jumping in after, and then us splashing each other, non-stop. I mean, I guess that is what you do at a pool party, but I have no idea. Usually, I just stand around and eat food and, you know, don’t actually go into the water.

It was fun and all, yea, but I was uncomfortable the entire time because he couldn’t- no, wouldn’t- keep his hands off of me.

After it became too much, I jumped out of the pool and sat down on one of the chairs, wrapped my towel around myself and feeling really uncomfortable. Topper climbed out after me and sat down at my feet. “Did I, uh, do something?”

Yeah, you won’t stop touching me, bro.

“No, no, it’s fine, I just got a bit claustrophobic, that’s all.” I checked the time on my phone. I had an idea. “Hey, I’m going to go find Kelce and Scarlet, ok?”

“Uh, sure, do you want me to come with you?”

Not really, no. “Uh, if you want, but I was just gonna have, like, a girl’s talk with Scarlet?”

Topper nodded and smiled. I stood up, shoved my towel into my bag, slipped my shoes on, and ran off.

I felt a little weird just walking around in a bikini, especially since I don’t know anyone here, but remembering that everyone else was just as scantily clad as I was made me feel a little better.

I went to the highest deck, where the eldest kids (and by kids I mean like seniors and 20-year-olds), hoping to find Kelce or Scarlet there because I hadn’t seen them anywhere else. But I couldn’t see them on the deck.

I walked around a bit and then decided to text Scarlet.

‘where are you?’

I got a text back immediately. ‘Top deck, near the front. I’m with the little kid.’

Little kid? I walked towards the front side of the ship and indeed saw Scarlet, wearing a dark red colored bikini, sitting in a lounging chair with a girl who looks like she’s in middle school. The kid was pale, with freckles, dark hair, and glasses. She was the only one at this point not wearing a bathing suit.

Why is there a kid here?

I sat down in the seat next to Scarlet and gave her a hug. “Hey!” I slipped my bag off my shoulders and leaned forward to face the young girl. “Hi. What’s your name?”

She smiled. “I’m Wheezie. My brother’s the birthday boy.”

“Wheezie?”

“It’s a nickname, my real name is- Oh, hey, Topper!”

I spun around. Topper was standing in front of me, arms angrily crossed over his bare chest. “Hey, Wheezie. Nikki, can I talk to you?”

“I’m enjoying the company of my new friend.” I gestured over to Wheezie.

“Yeah, well, I want to talk.” He roughly grabbed my wrist and yanked me up.

“Ok, jeez, lemme grab my bag.” I pulled myself from his grasp and turned around to grab my bag. Scarlet mouthed the words be careful, to me. I nodded.

“Bye, Nikki, it was nice to meet you!” Wheezie called out. I shouted pleasantries back. Topper grabbed my wrist again.

After dragging me halfway across the deck, he let go of me and turned around. “What’s wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with me?! What’s wrong with you?! You’re the one who, one, won’t stop touching even though we’re not dating and we barely know each other, and two, literally dragged me away from my friends when I was having a conversation with them! Are you like this with all the girls you like? Huh? Maybe that’s why your girlfriend left you for some Pogue, not because Pogues steal things, but because you-” I stepped forward and shoved Topper, “-don’t know how to treat a girl, no, a person, with respect!”

I stopped talking and realized that a lot of people had gone quiet. My face flushed with embarrassment until I heard someone shout.

“WOO! You tell him, Nikki!”

I turned and saw Scarlet and Wheezie jumping up and down and clapping. Soon, all the girls (and some of the boys) around me were clapping and cheering for me, congratulating me and telling Topper that he’s a dick.

I stepped towards Topper. “You and me, whatever thing you think we had going on, it’s done.”

I turned around and beckoned Wheezie and Scarlet to sit back down with me on the deck. The partying resumed, and I went off chatting with the two girls, but I saw out of the corner of my eye that Topper was getting all huffy and puffy.

I pointed that out to the girls. “Should I be worried?”

Wheezie wheezed laughed. “He’s probably just going to call Rafe and get him to tell you off.”

“...He’s gonna get the host of the party, who I don’t know and never met, to yell at me? Fantastic. Good thing he’s your brother.”

“Technically half brother, but yes, a good thing. Oh look, there he is right now!”

I turned around and saw Topper marching towards me with another equally tall, equally blonde boy right behind him. The difference is, this boy didn’t have as much of a hostile aura as Topper has right now.

“So, which one of you embarrassed my boy Top?”

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

The boy, who introduced himself as Rafe, the host, beckoned Scarlet, Topper, and I inside of his suite. He closed the door on Wheezie, though. Bummer. I liked her.

Inside his suite were a bunch of twenty-year-olds, drinking hard liquor, dancing, and sitting around this big table. Rafe took his seat in the middle, told everyone else around him to fuck off, and had us, except Topper, sit across from him. Topper took the seat to his right.

He offered us a bag of white powder, to which Scarlet and I declined. Topper took it, though, and started setting it up to use.

“You use coke?” I asked Topper in disgust. I have nothing against most drugs, like weed or psychedelics, which can be fun to use sparingly at parties or whatever, but not hard drugs like opioids.

Topper shrugged at my question. “It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal. What the fuck is wrong with y-?!”

“Ok, no fighting at my party, please?” Rafe sighed, rubbing his temples. “I brought you guys inside so that everyone else can enjoy the party while you guys have your little marital dispute-”

“WE’RE NOT DATING!” I shouted.

“Whatever,” Rafe sighed.

I stood up. “I’m gonna go hang with Wheezie. Scarlet, you coming?”

She was about to respond when Rafe stood up and said, “I’ll join you.”

I shot a confused look at Scarlet, who just shrugged.

I slipped my bag over my shoulder and walked towards the door, which Rafe held open for me, and we stepped outside, the air making me shiver.

Rafe pulled a pack of Dunhill cigarettes out of his pocket, put one to his mouth, and lights it. He gestured the box towards me and I take one, leaning forward a bit so that he could light it for me.

I rest my arms on the railing and close my eyes, breathing in the burning smoke and exhaling it slowly, being submerged in the light-headed haze of nicotine.

“How old are you?” Rafe’s voice interrupts my zen. I open my eyes and look at the boy, who’s very obviously checking out my bikini covered body.

I laughed and took another drag. “Sixteen,” I exhaled the smoke from my mouth.

Rafe’s eyes went wide, and he turned back to the sea. “Oh shit. My bad. Uh...how’re you liking the party?”

“It’s pretty good. Besides, you know, Topper being Topper, and you forcing me to talk to him.”

Rafe laughed. “Yea, I didn’t mean anything by it. I have a reputation of being a prick, and I’m trying to be better but, you know, not a lot of people respect you when you go from being a douche to a nice guy.”

I nodded, understanding what he meant by that. “Reputation with friends?”

He laughed. “Just,” he waved his hand free hand around, “Everyone. I wasn’t a good person. I’m trying to be better, but it’s hard when everyone already expects me to act a certain way and don’t give me a chance to change.”

I noticed the rings on his hands, like that boy from Kie’s Instagram. But unlike Hot Blondie, Rafe’s too old for me.

Which leads me to wonder…

“Did you know Sarah Cameron, by any chance?” I asked.

Rafe’s eyes went wide, and then he started coughing up smoke.

“W-Why do you ask?” He stammers, still coughing.

I gave him a weird look and just shrugged. “Curious, I guess.” I looked back at the ocean. “I’m the new girl, and everyone keeps telling me about all this stuff, but won’t tell me what actually happened, and I dunno, I’m just so confused.”

I turned to face Rafe, who was looking away, and I think I saw tears forming in his eyes. “Yea, Sarah’s my sister.”

Now it was my turn to cough up smoke. “W-”-cough cough- “Wait”-cough cough- “a minute.” I gasp for air and continue coughing. And after I finally manage to get some oxygen into my lungs, I say, “Sarah Cameron’s your sister? Shit, I’m so sorry, Topper never told me.”

Rafe shrugged, fiddling around with his rings. “It’s alright, I was just...surprised. No one asks me about Sarah or the Pogues anymore. After I came back from rehab-” He stopped, probably because he didn’t mean to say that, but he continued, “After I came back from rehab, I just...stopped beefing with the Pogues, especially JJ, Kie, and Pope. You know them?”

I nodded. “I know Kie, we’re friends. But not JJ and Pope. Never met ‘em, don’t even know what they look like, yet I’ve heard so many things about them.”

Rafe nodded. “They’re not bad kids, really. My time away made me realize how much of a prick I’ve been to them. Like, I caused them a lot of pain, and for what? For nothing. Literally just because I thought that, because they were poorer than us, they weren’t as good as us.”

I nodded. Then I turned and smiled, and stretched out my hand. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Rafe Cameron.”

He smiled and shook back.

_______________________________

chapter three

#obx fic #obx #obx fanfic #outerbanks #jj maybank #jj fluff #jj angst #jj x reader #john b #john b x sarah #obx kiara #obx pope #rafe cameron #topper obx

20 notes · View notes

theres-no-protocol-for-this · 3 years

Text

Kitties Afoot

At some point, this started a discussion about Murderbot in the present as a cat. It has since become something else entirely, and I don’t regret a thing. So, I guess, stary kitty meets almost-stray human.

There’s more written, but I haven’t edited the rest and I’m not sure I trust Tumblr with anything longer.

I came home to find a giant, scrawny feline curled up on my front porch. The black and gray creature lay on top of the welcome mat with its paws tucked under its shivering body. It looked huge for a cat but not big enough for a mountain lion, and it didn’t look like a kitten. The strange animal was malnourished; as I approached, I could count the poor baby’s ribs with each shuddering breath it took.

“Shit,” I whispered and checked my phone.

It was well into the evening and getting colder outside with each passing moment. The kitty looked up when I got to my front steps. Bright blue eyes stared at me as the creature scrunched up, making itself as small as possible.

“Hey, it’s all right,” I said as soothingly as I could. “I won’t hurt you. Let me get you inside before the weather turns nasty.”

Not that I thought the cat would understand me, but I was used to talking to animals. Before Tasha had passed away earlier that year, I had always had pets at home. I’d spoken to the family dog as a child and to my ex-boyfriend’s two ferrets. And, of course, Tasha the Princess never shut up. Most days, I still woke up expecting to find her dozing on my head.

I set my backpack on the ground, slipped out of my sweater, and wrapped the warm clothing around the shivering kitty. It tried to claw me through the thick fabric but didn’t get very far, though I caught a good look at its sharp talons. I held it in my arms and did my best to navigate the front door. The cat must’ve weighed twenty pounds, but it was probably all muscle and grump.

Inside, I set it down on a folded blanket on the couch and went looking for a heating pad. September was a little early to be getting out the winter stuff. Still, the kitty wouldn’t stop shivering, and I wanted to warm it up as quickly as possible.

The furball stayed put and watched me from its new comfortable perch. Its sleek fur was pitch black, the color of raven wings, but its paws were gray, as was its stomach. I couldn’t tell if the cat was male or female, and I wasn’t going to peek between its legs to find out.

Once I had the heating pad in place, I put a couple of Tasha’s bowls on the coffee table and scooted the table right up to the couch. From here, the kitty had to only shift its weight to reach the water and wet cat food. Everything about the situation was weird, from the cat’s knowing glances to the constant reminders that Tasha was gone.

I scrolled through my contacts and found the phone number of a family veterinarian. It was too late to call Dr. Hopkins now, but I sent him a quick message and asked for an urgent appointment. If the kitty survived the night, and I had a sneaking suspicion the grumpy monster wasn’t going down without a fight, it would need medical attention.

The cat shifted restlessly on its pile of blankets, so I turned on the television. Tasha had loved those stupidly endless videos on YouTube where the camera was trained on a tree stump where birds came to feed. This cast couldn’t care less. It didn’t even notice the TV until I turned on a food documentary episode on Netflix.

I went to make myself a snack in the kitchen and noticed the cat half watching me and half paying attention to whatever it saw on the television. Like I said, weird cat.

My home is tiny, a two-story townhome with an unfinished basement that occasionally floods. I’d gotten lucky with the place; I’d been sharing it with a roommate who suddenly had to move cross-country, and she paid for her share of the mortgage for three months. And then I’d found a decent manager job at a local cafe that let me keep the place.

I hummed while puttering around the kitchen. It was too late for a proper dinner, and I wasn’t hungry anyway. And I couldn’t drink coffee that late in the evening, not if I planned to get any sleep. The kitty drank some water from the closest bowl and then closed its eyes.

Asleep, it could almost pass for a house cat.

Up close, though, there was no mistaking that it was a wild creature. Its ears followed my motions even while it dozed. I turned up the heater for the night and then sat on the other side of the couch, giving the strange feline plenty of space. To my surprise, it stretched out a bit once I was sitting down like it didn’t mind the company so long as said company kept a respectable distance.

***

I don’t remember falling asleep on the couch, but that’s where I woke up the following morning. I sat pressed against one of the couch’s plush arms, legs tucked under me. There was a blanket draped over me that I didn’t remember grabbing. The strange cat lay curled up a few inches from my left foot; I could swear it was purring slightly.

As soon as I moved, uncurling my stiff legs, it got up and jumped off the couch. Standing next to the coffee table, it was apparent just how big it was for a feline. It trotted over to the front door like it owned the place. Standing on its back paws, the cat had no trouble reaching the handle, though it didn’t have the thumbs needed to operate it.

I stood up, followed it, and opened the door for it. “You’re pretty smart for a kitty,” I said as it jumped out onto the front porch. “You gonna be OK, little guy?”

“Meow,” said the cat and vanished into the bushes next to the porch steps.

“Bye, kitty!”

I went back inside but didn’t close the front door. It seemed stupid in retrospect. What kind of person leaves the door open for anyone to stroll inside? But it was Friday and my one day off, so I made coffee in the kitchen and texted with my mother. And maybe hoped that my feline companion might return.

My mother lives halfway across the country in a memory care facility. I can’t say I love my mother — that would be a bald faced lie — but we still text occasionally. I know that my stepfather is taking good care of her, and I love him dearly.

That morning, she was showing off a watercolor painting that she’d created that week. She told me she’d never been to the beach before, and I had to put the phone down for ten minutes before I could answer. Mom and I had vacationed at the beach every year while Dad was still alive. She’d painted a sunset over those turbulent waters.

Sniffling, I cradled my mug and tried not to let the tears fall. I should’ve known better by then, but it still stung every time.

I was still struggling to keep my composure when I heard the sound of claws on the linoleum. Tasha had loathed coming into the kitchen because it wasn’t carpeted, and the drama queen just hadn’t liked the feel of it under her little kitty feet.

Giant Cat had no such compunctions. It stood a few feet out of reach, watching me with those soulful eyes until I had to look away. Sniffling, I rubbed at my face and forced myself to smile.

“Hey there, furball. Back for more food?”

“Meow.”

I opened a can of wet food — if I was going to feed this beast, I would need to get more immediately — and poured the contents into a bowl. After setting the bowl on the floor, I stepped away from it and perched on a counter, watching the cat.

I walked over to the bowl, sniffed at it a few times, and then devoured the food like it was starving. When it was done, it licked its lips and, in one mighty leap, jumped onto the counter. Where it sat down and nuzzled the toaster.

Tasha had never mastered the art of climbing on the furniture. Anything taller than a couch had warranted a loud, obnoxious mew until I came over and picked her up. Not this cat. It seemed perfectly capable of getting up to wherever the fuck it wanted.

“How about a trip to the vet?” I asked. “Just to make you’re not all scratched up inside.”

“Hiss,” said the cat.

I rolled my eyes and giggled. “Not a fan of vets, huh?”

“Hiss.”

“Right.” I finished my coffee in three big gulps. “Of course not. Though, to be honest, I’m not a huge fan of doctors, either.” Mom had seen so many doctors after she’d first gotten sick that I loathed the smell of disinfectant now.

Kitty jumped off the counter after sniffing at the coffee maker and my box of tea samples and went exploring. Like it owned the place, it wandered into the laundry room and then up the stairs into my bedroom. I rinsed out my coffee mug and followed it, curious to see what it might do next.

About half an hour later, the cat decided that it had sniffed at those things it deemed essential and returned to the living room. Hopping onto the couch, it settled on top of the blanket pile and stared between me and the television.

“Seriously?” I asked, choking back laughter.

I’d never heard of a cat that liked watching Netflix. Tasha had mostly enjoyed shows with bird noises or where things moved. Sometimes, the princess would randomly attack the TV like she hoped to catch whatever she was looking at. Meanwhile, this cat meowed at me unhappily when I turned on a bird video and didn’t stop until it saw the Netflix logo. Then, it focused on whatever action flick began playing and snuggled further into the warm blankets.

“Seriously,” I muttered again, quietly, and stood there by the banister, shaking my head.

My weird companion spent the next few hours chilling in front of the TV. Its ears would occasionally perk up when a truck passed by, but mostly it watched the show. Have you ever seen a cat watch television? Because, up until this point, I hadn’t. And I wasn’t sure what to think.

Doing chores proved somewhat tricky when I kept casting furtive glances toward the strange creature. It paid me no heed, but somehow, it seemed to know when I watched it with blatant curiosity. Like, my previous pets had been… pets. This hissy weirdo, meanwhile, was something else entirely.

Eventually, I decided that I needed to get groceries and more cat food, and generally get out of the house for a little while. During a nice, long shower, I convinced myself that I was crazy, and there was nothing weird about the kitty in my living room. Then, I came back downstairs and found the kitty nuzzling the TV remote and decided that I didn’t care.

“Wanna watch something else?” I asked.

The cat looked up at me. “Meow.”

It took me a moment to actually look at the TV and realize that the action movie had ended while I was upstairs. Kitty apparently just wanted something else to start playing. Right. Totally normal right there.

“I need to go out for a while,” I said while scrolling through the Netflix menus. The rest came out before I could think too hard about speaking to a wild animal. “I need to pick up groceries. And cat food. And honestly, I’ve worked twelve-hour shifts for the last week and a half, and I’m ready to see something other than more walls.

“So, let’s get something nice and long started, OK? So you don’t get bored while I’m out. I’m not too keen on leaving the front door open, but the back door’s not locked — I know, I know, bad habit — and you can probably just reach the handle. It’s the pull-down kind.”

“Meow.”

I turned on some kind of drama that promised at least fifteen hours of episodes. “Well, anyway. I’ll be back in a while. Tuna or chicken?”

“Meow meow.”

“Chicken it is.” I was still talking to a cat. Maybe I missed Tasha more than I’d thought. “See you later, kitty.”

#fanfic #of what i don't know #kitties afoot

5 notes · View notes

blurry-fics · 5 years

Text

Chapter Twelve

Prove Me Wrong | Series Masterlist

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1796

Author’s Note: As always, I wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who has been showing support for this series! It means the world to me :) Also, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

I dumped my mug into the sink and rinsed it out, but left it to sit until I decided to do dishes later that night. There were other, more pressing, matters on my mind.

Like the beach trip with Y/N yesterday.

Everything had felt so natural, from her taking dorky pictures of us at sunset to carrying her around when her shoe broke. For the first time in a long time, I hadn’t been thinking about how she deserved someone better than me. Or how I would never be good enough.

All that mattered was us.

And yet, I was still too scared to tell her how I felt.

I grabbed a clean t-shirt from my closet and pulled it on over my sweatpants. There was still a couple hours until I had to meet Josh for practice, but I didn’t really want to spend the entire morning shirtless. My apartment was too cold for that, even after drinking a steaming cup of coffee.

My phone started to ring as I was in the middle of brushing my teeth. Normally, I would have made whoever it was wait until I was done, but this was Y/N.

“Hello?” I answered. My voice sounded weird, considering my mouth was full of toothpaste.

“Tyler!” she huffed. “I need your help settling a debate… again.”

“Is it Mario Kart related?”

“Always.”

“What’s the debate?”

“Ok, so this morning Carter and I were having a tournament using characters that we don’t normally use. I won’t tell you who chose who for sake of avoiding a biased answer, but the debate is about if Princess Peach or Baby Bowser is a better character.”

“Better for what?”

“Just in general.”

I spit out my toothpaste and rinsed my mouth before answering, taking the time to really contemplate my answer.

“Ok, I have an answer.”

“And?”

“Peach is better.”

“No, Tyler! Wrong answer!” she groaned.

“What do you mean wrong answer?” I laughed. “You asked for my opinion, so that’s what I gave you.”

“Yes, but you were supposed to read my mind, determine that Baby Bowser was the correct answer, and then tell me that so that I could beat Carter in this stupid debate.”

“He said Peach was better?” Carter asked from the background.

“Yes!” Y/N answered. “Because he’s dumb.”

“Hey! You’ve said yourself that I’m the Mario Kart expert.”

“Yeah, well maybe that only applies in some areas.”

“Sorry, Y/N. I’m sure I’ll be on your side next time.”

“Yeah, right,” she laughed.

“Is that all you needed?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Ty.”

“No problem.”

“Wait!” she said suddenly.

“Yeah?”

“The weather tomorrow is supposed to be really nice, and I was wondering if you wanted to go stargazing at our favorite spot? There shouldn’t be that many clouds and you know there’s no light pollution up there, so I think we’ll be able to see a lot of stuff.”

“Yeah, that would be super fun.”

“Awesome. I think we can borrow my brother’s truck too. Right, Car?”

I couldn’t hear Carter’s answer over the phone, but based on Y/N’s response, it seemed like he had confirmed what she said.

“Make sure to bring blankets!”

“Will do.”

“Ok, I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too.”

“Bye.”

“Bye, Y/N.”

I hung up the call and set my phone on the counter so that I could finish getting ready, unable to keep the smile off my face.

* * *

“Good afternoon,” Josh announced as he walked into the practice space.

“Hey,” I answered from my spot behind the piano. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been ok. It feels like forever since we were last practicing.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ve been busy.”

“And by busy do you mean hanging out with Y/N every day?”

“We have big stuff coming up soon! I want to spend time with her before we end up getting super busy.”

“Nothing is set in stone yet, Tyler.”

“You’re right. We need to get more work done on this album before that happens.”

“Exactly.”

Josh finally set his bag down against the wall and got himself adjusted behind his drums. There was a ton of work to be done today and not much time to do it.

“Have you come up with anything new since last practice?” he asked.

“A few things here and there, but nothing solid. We can take a look at it today and see if you have any suggestions about what to add. I’m open to anything, at this point.”

“Are we getting close to filling an entire album?”

“I think so, if we end up reworking the older songs.”

“Awesome.”

“Yeah.”

“So, start from the top?” Josh asked, giving his drums a light tap.

“Let’s do it.”

* * *

“Alright, I need a break,” Josh said, grabbing a nearby towel and wiping his forehead down with it.

“Agreed.”

I got up and grabbed my water bottle from my backpack, chugging about half the bottle in one go. My throat was dry from singing and I could tell that my vocal cords were starting to get tired, so a break would be good for the both of us.

“So, you and Y/N went to the beach yesterday, right?”

I smiled, “Yeah, it was super fun.”

“What did you do?”

“We walked around town for awhile once we got there, until Y/N decided that she wanted to go in the water. I just hung out on the beach while she did that, but then she convinced me to join her so I did. Um, and then we got pizza and ate it on the beach next to a fire that I built and I played some of the new songs for her. Oh, and I had to carry her around for a bit because her shoe broke.”

Josh’s eyebrows were raised, “Sounds like a pretty nice date.”

“It wasn’t a date,” I snapped back, probably too quickly.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes, we were just hanging out.”

“Tyler, man, you carried her around.”

“Her shoe broke!” I huffed. “She’s just my best friend, ok? I didn’t want to make her walk around the pavement because there could have been broken glass or something and we’re comfortable enough with one another to do things like that.”

“Yeah?”

I cast my eyes down towards the floor as I continued to speak, “She’s just like - I don’t know how to describe it. I never have to worry about anything when I’m with her, you know? She knows how to make me laugh even at the dumbest things. I don’t think I could ever get tired of being around her. She’s just-”

Too good for you.

“Sorry, I’m rambling. I’ll shut up,” I mumbled.

“And you’re sure that you don’t have feelings for her?”

“Yes.”

Stop lying, Tyler.

“Well. Um, actually no.”

“So you do like her?”

I rubbed my nose, “Yes.”

“Why are you blushing, man?” Josh laughed. “That’s awesome!”

“Sorry, it’s just - that’s the first time that I’ve ever said that out loud.”

“Are you going to tell her?”

“Not yet.”

“Why not? Doesn’t she have feelings for you?”

“Um, yeah. But it’s complicated,” I said, reaching up to rub at the back of my neck.

Josh nodded, “That’s cool. You have to do what’s right for you.”

“Yeah.”

I took another long drink of water, tossed it down next to my stuff, and sat back down behind my piano. Josh remained where he was sitting against the wall, eating some crackers that he had brought with him.

“What about you, Josh? What’s been going on with you?” I asked, hoping to get the conversation off of me for awhile.

He shrugged, “Not much, really.”

“There has to be something.”

“Not really. Still single. The band is my primary focus. I see my family every now and again. Things are pretty straightforward.”

I nodded, “That’s cool.”

“I guess. I’m hoping the band stuff starts to pick up soon, that way we can actually start traveling and playing outside of Ohio.”

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to being able to do that. It won’t be long now, with all the music we have in the works.”

“For sure. Speaking of which, have you come up with a title for that song yet?” Josh asked.

“Which one?”

“You know-” Josh paused upon realizing that he didn’t have anything to call said unnamed song. Instead, he decided to make his best attempt at singing one of the verses, “The sun will rise and we will try again.”

“Oh, right,” I said, playing the correct melody on the piano. “No, not yet. I was going to ask Y/N since she was the one that made me keep that lyric in the first place, but I forgot.”

“Well, I - um - had a few ideas.”

“Sure, let’s hear them.”

“Sunrise.”

I shook my head, “It doesn’t feel right.”

“That’s ok, that’s not my best suggestion.”

“What else you got?”

“White Flag.”

“What?”

“You know, like you’re kinda giving in for now. A surrender. A white flag.”

“Still not right,” I shook my head again.

“Ok, this is my last suggestion.”

“Ok.”

“But I think it’s my best one.”

I raised my eyebrows at him.

“Truce.”

“Truce,” I repeated, then slowly began to nod. “Yeah, I think that’s it.”

“You like it?”

“Definitely. It fits the song, but it isn’t obvious.”

“And I think it should be the last song on the album.”

“Agreed.”

“Speaking of Truce,” Josh smiled. “We should get through the second half of the songs.”

“Let’s do it.”

Y/N was on my mind as we played the rest of the songs. It felt weird to finally have my feelings out in the open after so many years of keeping it to myself. I had expected it to feel bad when I finally told someone, but instead I felt good. Really good.

Hopeful, even.

* * *

“Hey, hey, hold the music,” Josh said, holding a hand out towards me.

“What? Why?”

Josh didn’t answer. He was busy frantically pulling his phone out of his pocket and reading over the number.

“I have to take this.”

Oh. Oh.

“Hello?” was all I heard before the door closed behind him and the conversation became muffled. My hands were already shaking from nerves, despite the fact that I wasn’t even the one on the phone. To distract myself, I began to play some notes on the piano.

Josh walked back into the room a few minutes later, his phone still in hand. His lips were pursed as he turned to look at me. I simply raised an eyebrow at him, and his mouth curled up into the biggest smile I had ever seen. He took a deep breath before speaking.

“We got it.”

* * * * *

Taglist

@faceofcontvsions @ohprettyweeper @spookyjiimfanfiction @addictoftwentyone @svintsandghosts @gaiatheroyalrabbit @iamnotawasteofspace @patdsinner33 @merandlune @addictwithaheavydirtycheetah @schrodingersjustine @ccfffee @frappeitea @gayy-pilotss @coolcxt @donttellaweirdweakling @a-stumpsexuals-world @5secondsofmoxley @breadbinishigh @summer-wasteland @topownsmyheart @wearebxnditos @littlerachelbee

47 notes · View notes

babyboy-cody · 5 years

Note

hiya if your still doing your promt list, i was wondering if you could do a 3 in one for Duncan. I know it's a lot to ask, but I think it would be funny! But it's all up to you my lady so the numbers are 24,31, and 51! OK BYE ALSO I LOVE YOUR BLOG !!!

A/N: AAWW THANK YOU BABES ❤️❤️ and i don’t mind a lot of prompts,,,i love them sm. i made this a little longer than usual OOPS but i hope you love it!!

Duncan/Fem!Reader

24) Chin up, princess, or the crown slips.

31) Life is not a fairytale. If you lose your shoe at midnight, you’re drunk.

51) This stops now.

WARNINGS: slight angst, brief sadness, fluffy ending

“Are you coming tonight? I heard you bought two tickets. One for you, obviously. And I suppose the other is for your mystery man,” Duncan says into his phone, a wide smile spreading as he hears your angelic laugh on the other line.

“Yes, you big oaf. I live up to my promise,” you grin and laugh softly. “I’m excited for you to meet him. My best friend and my potential boyfriend finally seeing each other.”

“Don’t get too excited, sweetheart. I’ve only seen him through the media. And from what you’ve told me, he seems really…nice,” Duncan says with slight hesitation.

The truth is, Duncan despises Carter Bailey. The arrogant blonde tool has always tried to one up Duncan ever since his app has been the new “thing” in the industry. He just hopes Carter isn’t what he seems.

“I’ll see you tonight, okay? I’ll be surprising you with my dashing looks,” you say with a blushing smile as you hear Duncan chuckle deeply.

“Don’t you always,” he tells you and hangs up.

The night finally came for the banquet Duncan’s mother is throwing. It’s an annual event that occurs to say a speech about the country and the ways it’s improving over the past few months. You always dreaded the after parties when you have to mingle with snotty rich people who frown upon you for being lower class. But you always go to them for Duncan. You know how uncomfortable it can be to always greet people he doesn’t know and fill them in on his work.

You fix the velvet dress that hugs your curves perfectly and slips on your sheer shawl that loosely hangs around your back and around your arms. You grab her clutch and walk down the steps to meet Carter. He’s standing on the porch with a look of disdain on his face as he pokes at the paint chippings of her door.

“Ready?” You ask him with a smile.

He barely glances your way and takes your hand. You both get inside the large white limousine. The partition in the vehicle was rolled up, and you try to swallow down your growing nerves.

“Do you like my dress?” You asked Carter. “Duncan bought it for me on my 22nd birthday.”

“Mhm, it looks nice,” he tells you withtout looking up from his phone, fingers furiously tapping on the screen.

Your smile falters. You turns in your seat to look out the window. You let out a shaky sigh and drum your well manicured nails on your exposed knees. The drive to the banquet hall was an agonizingly long 45 minutes. Carter barely spoke to you, and when he did, his words were usually short and bland. Your heart leaped out of your chest as the limo slowed to a stop in front of the entrance. Paparazzi hung around, all shouting and clicking their cameras. Carter exited first and held out his hand to you, his charming smile suddenly onto his lips.

It’s all for show.

You give him a small smile and move closer to his side. Carter places his hand at the dip of your exposed back and led you inside. Your eyes were briefly blinded by the constant flashes from the cameras in your face. When you both entered, you were immediately met with the sounds of classical music and light chatters. The marble structures and paintings were exceptionally exquisite. The details of every curvature made you gasp in awe. Carter pushes you forward, and you both walk to your assigned table. You took a seat first without Carter sliding your chair out, as a gentleman would; as Duncan would.

“Can you–”

“I’ll be right back,” Carter tells you and hurriedly walks away to envelope a woman, whom you’ve never seen before, in his arms.

You feel your heart break just a bit. But that all goes away when you feel those familiar hands on your bare shoulders, palms and fingers rough and warm.

“It’s about damn time you showed up,” Duncan tells you and takes a seat in Carter’s spot. “I was about to lose my damn mind.”

You let out a soft giggle and lowered your head slightly, a strand of hair falling across your cheekbone. Duncan quickly swoops in to tuck it back behind your ear, his fingers lightly brushing across your glowing skin.

“You look…incredibly,” he quietly tells you. “Like a princess fit for her crown.”

“Shut up,” you giggle quietly and look over at him, a warm blush coating your cheeks. “You look devastatingly handsome as always.”

Duncan’s dressed in his fitting black dress shirt, the buttons closed up to his neck with his collar neat and straight, not one wrinkle in sight. His hair is in its usual sleek swoop, no strand of hair out of place. He looks like a dark prince.

“So, where is your mystery man?” Duncan questions and looks around the crowded hall.

“He’s…” you look around as your shoulders slump. “Somewhere.”

Duncan hums and sends you a look as he takes a sip of his whiskey on the rocks. Suddenly, his jaw tenses as he looks behind your shoulder. You feel a hand rest on her shoulder. She fights to recoil from the touch, as it’s too soft and too cold for her skin.

“Shepherd,” Carter says with his usual smirk.

“Bailey,” Duncan says with no smirk. “Hope you’re treating my girl with the respect she deserves.”

“Your girl?” Carter laughs. “Looks like she’s not yours anymore, Shepherd.”

You squirm in your seat uncomfortably as both men enter a stare down. Duncan stands from his seat, hand wrapped too tightly around his glass. He breaks the stare at looks down at you with a soft smile. He glares at Carter one last time before walking away. Carter scoffs and takes his assigned seat.

“I can’t believe you’re friends with that douchebag,” Carter spits out with disgust. “You and him clearly don’t go together.”

The laugh he lets out is condescending as he takes a sip of his own whiskey. The way he drinks it made your lips curl slightly in distaste. It’s so uncoordinated. When Duncan drinks, it’s like a slow dance. His lips would curl around the edge, tongue peeking out just enough. His eyes would close as his head tilts back, the hot whiskey sliding down his throat.

“Y/N,” you feel a hand shaking you from your thoughts. “Did you hear a word I just said?”

“Um, no,” your cheeks flush with embarrassment. “I’m sorry.”

Carter scoffs and rolls his eyes. He mumbles intangibly and quiets down when everyone begins to go to their own seats. The lights dimmed and the spotlights are turned onto the stage that contains a glass podium. It’s time for the annual speech.

Time has ticked by agonizingly slow. You tried to make conversation with Carter, but all you get is a glare or a harsh hush. You leaned against your chair and crossed her legs, desperately wanting to see Duncan. Carter suddenly looks over your shoulder, his eyes widening slightly as he bites his bottom lip.

“I’ll be right back,” he halfheartedly tells you and leaps up from his seat without drawing any attention.

Your brows furrow with confusion. You look over her shoulder and see Carter disappearing around the corner in a hurry. You assumed he needed to use the bathroom and thought nothing of it. But when the speech ends and a round of applause fills the room, you get up from her seat carefully and made your way to the bathroom. You walk down the long hallway, your heels clicking against the marbled floor. When you turned the corner, you pushed the bathroom door open and let out a loud gasp. But you soon realize that the two people didn’t hear you over their hushed moans and low grunts.

It’s Carter and that woman from earlier. And by the looks of it, they seem really happy with each other. You move back slowly and slip out the door without them noticing. You couldn’t stop the heavy feeling of your heart sinking into the pit of your stomach: it’s painful and punches through. You couldn’t stop the trembling in your lips or the burning tears in your eyes. You made your way around back into the garden where no one ever bothers to see. You walk down the steps and take a seat at the large angel fountain. You sniffle and wipe your tears away, shaking your head at herself for getting hurt over Carter, of all people.

“Stupid,” your whispered to yourself as a new wave of tears rolls down your flushed cheeks. “Stupid.”

“I second guess that,” your hear from a distance.

You don’t bother to look up when you hear his footsteps crunching into the rocks, followed by the munch of soft grass under his heels. Duncan takes a seat on the stone bench and nudges your shoulder with his.

“Chin up, princess, or the crown slips,” he tells you.

You let out a soft laugh and sniffled again. You wiped under your eyes with your back knuckles and sigh softly.

“I know what happened. You don’t have to explain it to me,” Duncan quietly says to you. “I saw them sneak out.”

You stay quiet and stare down at your hands. Duncan looks over at you and brings your hand into his. His thumb strokes over the delicate bones of your knuckles.

“I always thought my life would be like a fairytale. I’d get swept off my feet by some charming prince and we’d ride away into the sunset. I figured I’d lose a shoe at midnight or something so he can be desperate to find me again,” You say and lean your head on his shoulder.

“Life is not a fairytale. If you lose your shoe at midnight, you’re drunk,” Duncan says seriously.

That makes you laugh louder than the last. Duncan couldn’t help the grin form on his lips at the sweet sound filling his ears. You picked your head up and look over at him, your own grin spreading on your ruby lips. Duncan looks at them for a brief second before gazing into your sparkly eyes.

“You deserve better, if not more,” he sincerely tells you. “You don’t need to have such a perfect life. I mean, look at me. Am I perfect?”

“Yes,” you say without hesitation, your smile never faltering as Duncan rolls his eyes. “I’m serious, Dunc. You’re perfect. And I’m…not.”

“Who said that?” He asks you.

“Everyone. And what they say is true. I’m not cut out for this. I can’t afford certain things, I live in a goddamn one story house. I can’t even leave without there being a breaking and entering in my neighborhood. I’m nothing compared to you,” You confesse, a fresh wave of tears forming in your eyes.

“This stops now,” he sternly tells you, large hands grabbing your cheeks to look into your beautifully teary eyes. “You are more than perfect, Y/N Y/L/N. There’s not enough words to describe how perfect you are to me.”

You release a shaky exhale and stare deep into Duncan’s ocean eyes. You don’t see an ounce of dishonesty. Your heart stutters as a heat forms on your cheeks under his large palms.

“Do you mean that?” You asked, your voice small and hesitant.

“Have I ever lied to you?” He asks you, brows furrowing as his thumb wipe away your warm tears. “I mean everything I say, Y/N. I love you.”

Your heart plummets to the pit of your stomach. Your eyes widen for a brief moment and you wait for Duncan to catch himself from his words. But he doesn’t. He stays still with his eyes locked on yours. Is this a dream? Is this really happening? This can’t be real.

“I love you too, Duncan,” you whisper and rest your forehead on his, hands gently holding his wrists. “Thank you for this.”

“For what?” He whispers, eyes closed as he breathes in the sweet scent of you.

“For being there,” You tell him softly.

“Always,” he says.

#duncan shepherd #prompt #prompt list #duncan shepherd x reader

40 notes · View notes

nuggets-and-french-fries · 4 years

Text

Sunsets & Whiskey Kisses: Chapter Forty Four.

Over the course of the next few days, Anna had started feeling more resentment toward her sister. She wasn’t getting as much attention as she was used to and the real kick in the teeth came when Jack called Parker sweet pea in front of her. Anna felt like she no longer mattered and that her parents loved her sister more than they did her. Like they had replaced her and were happier with Parker.

Just after breakfast on Monday morning, Ryleigh was feeding Parker and Anna sat next to her mother and was reading her farm animal book.

“Good book?” Ryleigh asked. Anna looked up at her mother and nodded.

“Yeah.” She answered around her soother.

“That’s good.” Ryleigh said as she went back to looking at Parker, to make sure she was ok and was still nursing.

Anna watched her mother and closed her book, setting it down beside her. The little girl then got up on her knees to rub the baby’s head.

Ryleigh smiled. “Do you want to hold her?” She asked. Anna nodded. “Ok, sit down and then you can hold her.” Ryleigh said.

Anna did as she was asked and sat down with her arms out like Jack had shown her at the hospital.

“Support her head.” Ryleigh said as she helped the toddler hold her sister.

“Her cute.” Anna said as she stared at her sister’s tiny face.

Jack smiled as he walked into the living room from doing the laundry.

“What are you ladies doing?” Jack asked.

“Baby.” Anna said, briefly lifting her gaze from Parker.

“Are you enjoying holding her?” Jack asked as he walked over to his girls.

“It otay.” Anna replied as she looked back at the infant.

“Why don’t you give her a kiss.” Ryleigh suggested.

Anna thought for a second. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, would it? Deciding that one kiss wouldn’t hurt, Anna leaned in slowly. Just before her lips touched the baby’s nose, Parker sneezed in Anna’s face. Anna pulled back quickly and frowned.

Jack and Ryleigh tried so hard not to laugh at Anna’s reaction.

“No baby. Bad.” Anna said as she tried to push Parker away from her. Ryleigh took the baby into her arms again and tried to calm the now fussy baby down.

“It was an accident Anna.” Jack said and Anna looked at him with hurt in her eyes. He didn’t call her sweet pea like he always does.

Anna slid off the sofa and walked over to her toys.

“What’s wrong with you?” Jack asked but Anna ignored him and started building a tower with her blocks.

“Anna, dada’s talking to you.” Ryleigh tried.

“Mama dress.” Anna said as she stopped playing, stood up and walked to her mother.

Ryleigh looked at her husband with surprise and handed Parker to him.

“We’ll be back in a second.” Ryleigh said as she followed her oldest to the stairs.

Anna and her mother walked to the nursery and picked out an outfit, shoes and a hairstyle together.

“I pretty.” Anna said once she was all dressed.

“You certainly are very beautiful, just like your dada.” Ryleigh replied as she helped Anna with the shoes she insisted on wearing.

“Dada pretty too.” Anna agreed, making her mother chuckle.

“Let’s go down and you can show dada how pretty you are.” Ryleigh said.

Ryleigh and Anna made their way back downstairs where Jack was burping Parker.

“Has she burped yet? I need to feed her on the other side.” Ryleigh questioned as she and an excited Anna walked toward him.

“She spat up if that helps.” Jack replied with a slight grimace. Ryleigh cooed and kissed him.

“Thank you for watching her.” Ryleigh said once she broke the kiss. Jack smiled and handed Parker to her mother.

“You’re welcome babe.” Jack replied as he helped Ryleigh situate the baby better in her arms.

“Dada, I pretty.” Anna said, hoping to get her father’s attention.

“Hold on kiddo, I’m helping mama.” Jack said and Anna hung her head woefully. She then walked away feeling defeated.

Ryleigh saw Anna walk off with tears in her eyes and looked at her husband.

“I think you hurt her feelings.” Ryleigh whispered.

“How, she’s not very old.” Jack replied, thinking Ryleigh was referring to PJ.

“Jackson, Anna’s crying.” Ryleigh said just as softly as before. Jack looked over his shoulder and saw the toddler wipe at her eyes.

“Shit.” He muttered and Ryleigh smiled in sympathy.

“I got this. Go take her for a drive and get some ice-cream or something along those lines.” Ryleigh said and Jack nodded.

He walked over to the forlorn toddler and sat down beside her.

“I’m sorry sweet pea.” Jack said as he rubbed Anna’s back. The toddler looked up at him and the unshed tears in her eyes broke his heart.

“Dada mad?” Anna asked through her sniffles, breaking his heart even more.

“I’m not mad, honey. I promise.” Jack replied as he scooped her into his arms. “If it’s ok with you, can I take you for some ice-cream?” The father asked.

Anna sniffled again and cuddled into Jack.

“I pretty?” Anna questioned.

“You’re the most beautiful little girl I’ve ever seen.” Jack answered before he kissed her forehead.

Anna smiled happily, despite the tears running down her cheeks.

“Shall we go for that ice-cream now?” Jack asked. Anna nodded.

“Otay.” The little girl replied before moving from her father’s grasp.

The tot ran toward the front door and Ryleigh handed her a jacket as it was a bit windy out.

“Tata mama.” Anna said as she took the jacket from her mother.

“You’re welcome, cutie. Have fun with dada.” Ryleigh said.

“I will.” Anna responded.

“Good girl but make sure you get the biggest ice-cream on the menu.” Ryleigh said with a giggle. Anna giggled as well and nodded.

“Otay mama.” Anna said as Jack came up behind his daughter.

“I don’t think so little lady. You don’t need that much sugar.” Jack said as he put his own jacket on.

“You make sure that you guilt him into it. Get the biggest that you can.” Ryleigh said and Jack glared at his wife.

“Peas?” Anna asked with her big puppy eyes.

“Don’t give me that look.” Jack warned as he removed the hat he was wearing and placed it on Anna’s head.

(This is just supposed to just show the hat he puts on Anna’s head but I couldn’t crop the photo for just the hat. Enjoy!)

“Peas dada.” She tried again but Jack rolled his eyes.

“Let’s go sweet pea.” He said as he picked her up.

“Bye bye mama.” Anna said as she waved to her mother.

“Bye baby. Have fun.” Ryleigh called out.

Later that night, Anna was back to having little to no attention on her and that really bugged her. It seemed like her mama and dada were more interested in fussing over the baby than they were her.

Anna had spent the good part of an hour building a little town with her lego and when she was done and wanted to show her parents, they told her that they were busy or that she should go and play while they dealt with Parker.

Needless to say, Anna went to bed that night with a wounded heart. Maybe it was true and her parents preferred the baby to her and maybe her dada only took her for ice-cream because he had to and not because he wanted to.

She really felt betrayed.

The next morning Anna woke up and decided to remove her pull up and decorate her bedroom walls with it’s dirty contents.

She had never done this before but she thought that maybe this would be a good way to get her parents attention. She just didn’t realize that it would be the wrong attention.

“Good job.” Anna said when she was happy with how her ‘art’ looked displayed all over the wall.

It wasn’t long before Jack opened the bedroom door and poked his head around the corner.

“Anna Grace, what did you do?” He asked sternly when his eyes landed on the wall.

“Paint.” Anna said proudly.

“No, that’s naughty. You don’t do that.” Jack reprimanded.

Anna’s smile faltered and her bottom jutted out sadly.

“Don’t start crying. What you did was wrong and very gross. Dada has to clean that now.” Jack warned but of course that only made Anna cry.

The toddler wailed as her father walked over to her crib and pulled her out of it.

Jack then removed the pull up from the crib and threw it out before taking Anna to the bathroom to give her a bath.

“Why did you do that? You know that poop is supposed to stay in your pull up.” Jack asked, just as sternly as before.

“Sorry dada.” Anna said through her sobs.

“I don’t think so little lady. You know better than that.” Jack replied, not wanting to hear her excuses.

He continued to wash her and made sure that she was completely clean before he took her out and wrapped her in her towel.

The little girl didn’t think she would be in trouble. All she really wanted was for her parents to notice her and not ignore her.

“I’m going to get you dressed and then you can help me clean it up.” Jack said as he walked to her room. Anna simply nodded while trying to keep her tears at bay.

True to his word, Jack got the girl dressed and then got the cleaning supplies. Anna however felt so bad that she walked to the corner of her room, holding her ducky close and started crying again.

“Come on, you made the mess so now you have to help clean it.” Jack said as he stopped what he was doing and looked at his daughter. He had gotten everything off the wall and was now up to disinfecting the surface that she covered.

It was breaking his heart having to be so stern with her but Jack knew that she had to learn that doing things like this wasn’t ok.

Anna put her ducky back in her crib and toddled over to her father who handed her a cloth.

“Wipe it like this.” Jack said as he showed her.

“Otay.” She said. She attempted to do as she was shown. When she was done, Anna looked at her father and saw the annoyance on his face.

“Sorry dada.” Anna tried again but he still wasn’t having it.

“Look, ducky needs a bath now.” Jack grumbled as he picked up the toy and noticed a spot on the back of his head.

Anna ran toward the baby gate at the top of the stairs so that her and Jack could give ducky his bath.

“I wash him.” Anna said when Jack walked toward her and opened the gate for her.

“Dada will help you.” Jack replied as Anna grabbed his hand and walked down with him.

They walked to the laundry room where Jack helped the little girl put ducky in the wash.

“Do you want to help me make breakfast?” Jack asked as he looked down at Anna.

“Peas.” Anna said as she reached her arms up so that her father would pick her up.

“If I pick you up, will you promise to keep the poop in your pull up?” Jack questioned and Anna stretched even more.

“Peas.” Anna whined. Jack smiled and scooped her up.

“Do you promise dada?” Jack said with a tone of sterness.

“Yes dada. I sorry.” Anna replied and Jack kissed the top of her head as he held her close.

“Thank you sweet pea but you can’t keep doing that, ok?” He answered.

The father and daughter continued on with their morning plans and made breakfast. While he was cooking and Anna was playing with her blocks, Jack decided that he didn’t need to tell Ryleigh what had happened because he knew it would be the last time that Anna would pull a stunt like she did. At least he hoped she wouldn’t. Boy was he wrong.

One week later, Anna struck again.

Grace had surprised her daughter with an afternoon out. The mother had book appointments for her and Ryleigh to get their nails done.

“Are you sure you have this under control?” Ryleigh asked with reservation.

“Yes babe, I have everything taken care of. Anna is painting downstairs and Parker is sleeping.” Jack replied and Ryleigh nodded.

Both her and Jack walked into the kitchen where Jack continued to clean the counters like he was when Ryleigh called for him

“Dada, look.” Anna called as she held her painting up for him to see. Of course he wasn’t listening. Why would he be?

“When was the last time she was fed?” The father asked as Ryleigh was putting her shoes on.

“Before she was put down for her nap so probably 15 minutes ago at most.” Ryleigh replied as she stood back up again.

“Dada.” Anna tried again. Jack huffed.

“I’m speaking with mama, wait your turn please.” He said and Anna frowned. ‘Stupid baby’ Anna thought.

“Come say bye to mama.” Ryleigh said as she held her arms out for Anna to run into.

Anna grabbed her picture and ran to her mother. At this point, Jack had walked into the laundry really quick.

“Look mama.” Anna said as she held her picture up.

“That’s beautiful, baby. Well done.” Ryleigh said as she walked over to the table with her daughter leading her.

“It fun.” Anna said as she put the painting back on her work surface.

“I’m so glad you’re having fun. Promise me that you keep it on the paper, ok.” Ryleigh said, making sure Anna was listening.

“Otay mama.” Anna answered with seriousness. It wasn’t going to last long though.

“Good girl. You be a good girl for dada and help him with PJ.” The mother instructed. Anna nodded. Again, it wasn’t going to last long.

“I’ll see you three later. I love you.” Ryleigh said as she waved goodbye to her daughter and husband.

“Love you too.” Jack called from the front door.

Once Ryleigh’s car disappeared down the road, Anna went back to her painting and Jack went back to cleaning.

Since it had been a few minutes, Anna decided to try and get her father’s attention again.

“I paint dada.” Anna called as he walked out of the room to get the laundry from the dryer, completely ignoring the fact that his daughter wanted his attention.

Anna grumbled and frowned.

“Dada!” Anna shouted.

Jack walked back into the living room so that he could fold the laundry and still keep an eye on Anna.

“Stop screaming or you’ll wake PJ.” He warned, making Anna scowl at him.

Despite having paint on her hands from her painting them and putting her handprints on the paper, Anna walked over to her father and patted his right leg with both hands. Essentially covering his grey sweatpants with a mix of blue and yellow paint.

She knew that the paint belonged on the paper only but she still walked up to him and placed her hands on his leg.

“Oops” Anna started to say with a pseudo innocent tone before her father looked down and saw her hands.

“Anna!” He bellowed when he saw that she had decorated him. The little girl tore her hands away from him.

He knew that by the look in her eye, she had done it on purpose.

“What have I told you about the paint?” He said with anger.

“On paper.” She answered sassily.

To say that Jack was mad, that was the understatement of the century.

“That's right. Get your little butt to the kitchen." Jack said as he pointed in the direction he wanted his daughter to go.

Anna ran toward the sink and waited for her father.

Jack appeared behind her a second later. He picked her up and helped her wash her hands.

"All done dada." Anna announced and he placed her down.

"Good." Jack said as he walked to the bottom step.

"Upstairs?" She asked and he shook his head.

"Nope, you're going to sit here and think about what you did. I told you that the paint stays on

the paper, you didn't listen." Jack explained sternly and Anna frowned at him.

"No." Anna grumbled.

"Yes. No arguing." Jack replied and walked back to finishing the laundry before he went to

change and put his sweatpants in the wash.

Anna made sure that his back was turned and she made her escape. Jack wasn't stupid though, he could hear the pitter patter of little feet on the floor. The father turned around and scooped the toddler up as she tried to run past him.

"I said sit." He said as he placed her back on the step.

"No." Anna grumbled again. Jack ignored her this time and went to pack up her paints and put them away.

Anna watched again and made sure he was out of the room before she made another escape attempt.

Again, Jack could hear her feet hitting the floor as she ran. He knew that she'd run to her toys and sure enough, that's where he found her.

"You are really testing my patience little lady." He said as he picked her up and walked toward the stairs again.

The whole way to the stairs, Anna whined and reached for her toys.

"Play!" Anna shouted.

"Not a chance." He said as he placed her back on the step. "Now you sit there for three minutes and think about what you did." Jack concluded as he walked away.

As he went to sit on the sofa and watch tv, Anna stood up again and stepped down and tried to make another break for it.

Jack chased after her and managed to catch her.

"You need to listen please. You can't do naughty things and expect to get away with it." He said as she slumped against him in protest. "Four minutes." He said as he placed her back down.

"Sorry dada." Anna said, hoping that guilting him would work, it didn't though. Jack just walked away.

He made himself a snack before resuming his previous tv watching.

Anna tried to move again but Jack saw her.

"You move from that step again and I'll take ducky away." He warned and Anna's jaw dropped before she glared at him.

"Meanie." She muttered as she sat back down.

The little girl crossed her arms over her chest and plastered her famous pout on her small features. She hoped that it would actually work and guilt her father into letting her play with her toys. The more she pouted though, the more Jack ignored her, or at least tried to.

Jack hated that he had to punish her but he knew that she knew what she was doing. He knew that she was trying to test his patience but he really wasn't sure why.

By the time the four minutes were up, Anna was sound asleep on the bottom step. Jack sighed to himself and carried the toddler up to her room where she could sleep more comfortably.

He tucked his daughter in and kissed her forehead before he left the room and went to check on

Parker.

"Hello pretty girl, did you have a good nap?" He asked when he saw that she was looking at him and blinking slowly, while slightly smacking and sticking her tongue out.

Jack chuckled softly and picked her up.

"Let's get you some food." He said as he placed a thin blanket on her back before walking downstairs to get a bottle ready.

Just as he sat down to feed the baby, Ryleigh walked through the door.

"Aren't you a sight for tired eyes." Ryliegh joked, making her husband smile.

"Should I give her this or do you want to nurse her?" He asked as he watched Ryleigh remove her shoes and jacket.

"You can feed her, since you have the bottle all ready." Ryleigh replied as she walked over to Jack and PJ.

Jack went ahead and fed the baby. Parker suckled from the bottle and watched her father, who smiled at her.

"Where's Anna?" Ryleigh asked as she flipped through the tv channels.

"I wanted to talk to you about the monkey." Jack said through a sigh.

"Uh oh, that doesn't sound good. Did she not want to nap or something?" She answered. Jack shook his head.

"Oh no, she went for her nap alright but she fell asleep on the bottom step during her time out." He explained. Ryleigh looked at him with surprise.

"Time out? Isn't she too young for that?" Ryleigh asked.

"Not when she purposely put her blue and yellow paint covered hands on my sweatpants." He

somewhat scoffed.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it Jacks." The woman said and he shook his head again.

"She knew what she was doing, I saw the look in her eyes." He said with annoyance. "Then when i put her in time out, she kept running away and I had to finally threaten to take ducky away. It was then that she listened but decided to pout at me from the stairs with her arms crossed." He explained as he looked down at PJ.

"Wow. I'm sorry baby." Ryleigh said as she turned his face toward her. She placed her lips on his and kissed him deeply.

"Thank you. I needed that." Jack said once Ryleigh had pulled away.

"You're welcome." Ryleigh replied as she laid her head on his shoulder and watched the baby finish her bottle.

"I think we need to stick with this and put Anna in time out when she acts up." He said after a couple seconds. Ryleigh nodded, still not feeling fully convinced that Anna did anything on

purpose.

"And if she doesn't listen and keeps escaping from time out?" The mother asked as Jack passed the full baby to her mother. Ryleigh started to burp the baby.

"We take ducky away and she won't get him back until we see fit, no matter how much she begs and whines." Jack responded and Ryleigh nodded again.

"Ok." She said.

"You don't believe me do you?" He questioned. Ryleigh shrugged.

"I wasn't here to see it." She said and Jack smirked.

"Just wait, she'll act up again." Jack said with a knowing in his voice.

Sure enough, three days later, Jack had gone to help Chase on the farm and Ryleigh was home for the first time by herself.

Jack felt bad leaving his wife at home with two kids, especially since Anna had been moodier than normal. Ryleigh insisted on him going, claiming that she would be fine and that he had nothing to worry about.

Boy was she wrong.

Anna had spent the morning building things with her blocks at the dining table.

“Annie honey, please put your blocks away. Lunch is almost ready.” Ryleigh said as she dished up the grilled chicken fingers, watermelon and steamed carrots.

“No!” Anna yelled, taking her mother by surprise.

“Yes. You can play with them again after lunch.” Ryleigh countered sternly.

Anna growled at her mother and Ryleigh looked at her in warning.

“That’s enough little lady. Do what you're told, please.” Ryleigh said, just as the one year old started throwing her blocks off the table.

Ryleigh sighed to herself. She tried to keep it together and be strong but with only one hours sleep under her belt, a screaming baby who just wouldn’t settle down and a defiant toddler who was now throwing her blocks, Ryleigh was at breaking point.

When a block hurdled toward Ryleigh’s arm as she put Anna’s lunch on the table.

“Knock it off. Get out of your funk.” Ryleigh said.

Anna stuck her tongue out at her mother.

“No more blocks. That hurt mama.” Ryleigh said as Anna shoveled her food in her mouth. The little girl shrugged and ignored her mother.

While Anna was eating, PJ let out an almighty scream and started crying bloody murder. Ryleigh rushed over to the rocker where the baby was and picked her up.

“You’re ok honey.” Ryleigh attempted but Parker wasn’t having it. The baby screamed even more and Ryleigh knew by the pitch that the baby was distressed somehow.

“Sut up!” Anna screamed, trying to get her sister to stop screaming.

“Be nice.” Ryleigh warned and Anna rolled her eyes, burping loudly to show she didn’t care.

Anna went back to eating and Ryleigh tried to calm Parker down.

The mother tried to nurse the baby, gave PJ a new diaper, rocked and sang to her but nothing she did worked. Then as a last resort, she patted the baby on her back and bounced her for a few minutes. Thankfully Parker fell asleep not long after that.

Ryleigh set the baby back in the rocker and made sure that she was happy before going back over to Anna.

“Are you done your food, little monkey.” Ryleigh asked with slight annoyance.

“Yes. I play now?” Anna asked and Ryleigh sighed, debating on what she should do.

“No. You threw your blocks after I told you to clear them and then you hurt mama.” Ryleigh explained and Anna started crying loudly.

“None of that thank you.” Ryleigh said as she washed up the plate Anna ate from.

Anna put her head in her arms and cried even louder.

“Quit it, you’re going to wake your sister.” Ryeligh said, trying to wipe her daughter’s hands and mouth.

Anna slid off of her chair and ran to where her blocks were. Just as she picked up a block, Ryleigh took it from her.

“I told you no. You need to listen.” Ryleigh said as she took the container of blocks away.

Anna stood up and followed her mother to the laundry room where she hid them.

“Mama, I be good.” Anna screeched as she tried to reach for her blocks.

“No.” Ryleigh said as she walked back to the living room. Anna screamed and cried again.

“Peas mama.” Anna wailed. Ryleigh put a cushion over her face and tried to keep her own tears at bay.

“Enough, I’m not giving in. You can’t do that and expect to get away with it.” Ryleigh snapped.

Anna stopped crying and stared at her mother incredulously. She wasn’t used to her mother snapping.

“Peas. I sorry.” Anna asked, making her mother glance at her.

“What did I just say.” Ryleigh said firmly. Anna plopped down on the ground and wailed again. This time though, Ryleigh joined in.

The mother was over tired and putting up with two fussy kids was hard, especially on your own. She knew Jack should’ve stayed home but she also didn’t want him to feel bad.

By the time Anna’s cries became screams, Jack was walking through the door. His heart dropped when he saw that his wife and daughter were in tears.

“What’s happened here?” He asked and all Ryleigh did was shove a cushion in front of her face.

He walked over to Anna after removing his shoes and scooped her into his arms, before walking over to his wife, sitting down next to her and wrapped his left arm around Ryleigh.

“Wanna tell me why mama’s crying?” Jack asked, knowing that something must have happened for Ryleigh to cry.

“Her mean.” Anna sniffled. Jack looked at her disapprovingly.

Ryleigh knew Anna wasn’t going to talk, so she showed Jack the red mark on her arm.

“What did you do, you little monkey?” Jack questioned with disappointment.

Anna hid her face in the crook of her father’s neck.

“She’d been playing with her blocks and when I asked her to clear them off the table, she told me no. I asked her again and she started throwing them and one of them hit my arm when I handed her a plate of food.” Ryleigh explained and Jack looked at his daughter with disappointment.

“That wasn’t nice. I think you owe mama an apology.” Jack said. Anna shook her head and stuck her tongue out at Jack.

“She did the same thing to me when I told her to stop throwing her blocks.” Ryleigh mumbled through her tears.

“I think ducky needs to sleep downstairs for naptime.” Jack said.

“No, peas.” Anna begged.

“Sorry little lady. You have to learn that if you’re mean, ducky sleeps somewhere else.” Ryleigh said, making Anna cry again.

The toddler slid off her father’s lap and ran to the stairs.

“I’ll put her down and bring ducky down. You go and have a shower.” Jack said as he stood up.

Ryleigh smiled to herself and watched as her husband went to deal with their defiant toddler. When Jack and Anna were out of sight, Ryleigh picked Parker up and thankfully she stayed sleeping.

The mother walked up the stairs and into her and Jack’s room. She laid the baby down in her bassinet before grabbing the monitor and went into the bathroom to shower.

While she was in there, she felt her husband’s arms snake around her waist.

“Before you ask, both girls are asleep and ducky is on our bed.” Jack muttered against the skin of her neck.

Ryleigh closed her eyes and leaned back against him, sighing in contentment.

“Why are you so amazing?” Ryleigh said as she turned to face him.

Jack smiled and shrugged.

“I love you so much Jackson.” Ryleigh whispered before placing her lips on his in a deep and meaningful kiss.

She needed to be in her husband’s arms and to be kissing him in the privacy of their bathroom made her feel that much more special.

Tag List: @sarahegerton96 @softeggsy @dogmom2014 @rocknrollmadden @aberystwythboy @jobanan23 @superthiccthighssavelives @hauntedflamingo @holdmeclosertinytaron @stronglyobsessed

#Sunsets&WhiskeyKisses #taronegerton #Richard Madden

1 note · View note