#right after a big Official party thrown for her

[kosmosian-quills]

I commissioned this a year ago from @arrhythmiacomic and I decided that it was more appropriate to post today - her 18th birthday - because it is when this kind of party would be happening between Anjelika and her friends!

can't believe it's been a whole year my god what is the passage of time

Thank you once again for doing this art for me! It was great to see it then and it's still amazing now!

[communicationthroughlyrics]

I Just Wanna be Yours

Summer in Westview hasn't officially started until the Rogers throw their annual Memorial Day Beach Bonfire. Now the torch was passed to Y/N Rogers, the local playgirl little sister of the boy next door, Steve Rogers. Your reputation preceded you for most, but you really only had your sights on one person.

One Wanda Maximoff.

TW: Daddy kink, smut, orgasm denial if you squint? Lol

A/N: Not proofread- let me know if you find any big errors :] Enjoy!

Word Count: 9.6K

Memorial Day weekend marks a few things for most. A long weekend, the start of summer break, barbecues, parties, and a day of remembrance. For those who attend Westview High? They circle the calendar for another reason- the annual Roger’s Family Party and Bonfire. 

Your older brother Steve had restarted the tradition after finding out that your father threw the same party when he was in high school. Steve had been the All-American, the school’s Football and Baseball team captain. He was every girl’s dream high school sweetheart, kind to all, piercing stare paired with his dusky blue eyes, blonde crew-cut hair, and always clad in blue denim jeans with a t-shirt. His athletic build and confident stature paired with his boyish charm were endearing to all who attended high school with him, earning him the nickname "Captain America".

Now, it was you, in your senior year, carrying the torch that leads the who’s who of Westview High filling the Rogers family beach house for a day of barbecue (courtesy of Steve, equipped in nothing but swim trunks and his Grill Sergeant apron), music, booze, and a traditional bonfire on the beach at dusk. You had branched the family image out. You were the athletic, mysterious bad girl. Leather, ripped jeans, band shirts, tattoos, and piercings were more your speed, a stark departure from your brother’s more traditional appearance. You had recently made the switch from your long, charcoal locks to a short, spiky undercut that displayed more of the tattoos creeping up your neck.

Your upbringing was charmed, the typical "busy" American family with parents who were less than present. Your father was a hedge fund manager, your mother a successful lawyer. Both led busy careers that led them all over the country. You hardly saw them as a result, your nanny was more of a parental figure than your own. Steve was the consummate gentleman, while you ‘played the field’, having slept with most of the female population and moved to the neighboring schools. Even in Steve’s shadow, you were able to maintain a large social group, but never, really let anyone in.

That changed your sophomore year when a certain brunette walked in the front doors for her first day of school. Wanda Maximoff and her brother Pietro were star athletes in their own right. Pietro, the tall, silver-haired goofball was a track star from a rival high school, and stud midfielder on the pitch. Wanda, was a quiet, scholarly type, always in the top rankings in women’s golf and tennis. She was always willing to assist others with their academics, her affinity for science and math making her an asset for many. Her stormy, dark appearance kept most at bay, but she did have a tight-knit group of friends you never seemed to be able to penetrate. 

You never seemed to be able to corner the green-eyed woman, wanting just a chance to talk, to get to know her. You were sure that her friends had warned her that all you would try to do was add her name as a notch on your bedpost. But this feeling Wanda gave you, whenever she shot you a shy smile or her viridescent eyes found you in class or at a tennis match, the butterflies and sweaty palms feeling, was beyond what you felt with others. She seems oblivious to the flirting thrown her way, many guys and girls trying to pull back her veil of mystery.

“Hey, sis.” Steve came charging down the stairs, clad in only his swim shorts as he made his way to the fridge, grabbing a protein smoothie from the confines of the fridge. 

“Morning,” you mumbled through your mouthful of Lucky Charms.

He rolled his eyes at your antics, polishing off his drink before throwing the bottle in the trash. “What time did you tell everyone? I need to start getting the food ready.”

“12 at the earliest. Open house, people can come and go.” You respond.

"And don't forget about the bonfire. It's going to be a good one." He grinned, nodding in the direction of the backyard. "I've got everything set up. Should be ready to go by nightfall."

"How could I forget?" you fire back, shooting him a megawatt smile.

You glanced at him over your shoulder. His smile was contagious, and it was easy to see why everyone liked him. You couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy, but you pushed it aside. You had your own life, your friends. You didn't need to compete with him for attention. He winked at you as he turned away, heading out back to fire up the massive grill on the back patio and get it ready for the multitudes of burgers, steaks, bratwurst, and chicken that were about to be strewn across it.

Your thoughts drifted back to Wanda, and you wondered if she'd show up. You hadn't seen her at school yesterday, but you hoped that maybe she had plans to come. It would be a shame if she didn't make it, but you had your things to do, your people to see. You finished off your breakfast, glancing at the clock that read 10:15 am before grabbing your keys and cell phone and heading out the door to pick up the booze, sodas, and ice you needed for today.

Your car, a shiny black Maserati GranTurismo, started on the first try as you backed out of the driveway and made your way down the quiet residential street. The sun was shining, the sky a brilliant blue, and the air smelled of freshly mown grass and the sweet scent of blooming flowers. You hummed along to the radio as you drove, taking a right at the end of the block and heading towards the local liquor store.

The parking lot was mostly empty, save for a few other early birds like yourself stocking up on supplies for their parties. You grabbed a cart and wheeled it over to the back of the store where the beer and soda coolers were. You spent the next few minutes selecting just the right mix of beers and sodas, making sure to get a variety of options for everyone. As you approached the front checkout, the cashier gave you a bright smile. 

"This must be for the annual Rogers summer break kick-off,” he quipped, grabbing the scan gun and walking around the counter to begin scanning the items on your flatbed cart.

You grinned, a little embarrassed that the liquor store clerk had recognized your family's party. "Yeah, well... it's going to be a good one," you said, trying to play it cool.

He nodded, glancing up at you with a knowing look. "I'm sure it will. And don't worry, I've been to a few of these parties myself. I know how much work it is to make sure everything goes smoothly. Your family does a great job." His smile was genuine, and it made you feel a little less self-conscious about the attention your family's gatherings sometimes got. "Do you need any ice?"

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. I'll take 12 bags, please." You added, reaching into your wallet to pay for the booze and sodas. As the cashier rang everything up, you glanced at the clock on the wall. You still had plenty of time to stop by the grocery store and pick up the rest of the food and supplies you needed.

The drive to the grocery store was uneventful, and you managed to get in and out of there with all your items promptly. As you loaded your car up with bags of chips, dips, and other snacks, your mind drifted to Wanda again. You wondered if Wanda would show up today, and hopefully, you would get the chance to talk to her.

When you finally pulled into your driveway and parked the Maserati in its spot, the yard was already filling up with cars and people were starting to mill about. The smell of charcoal smoke wafted through the air, mingling with the sound of laughter and music. You had to make multiple trips inside, but luckily your best friends Natasha and Maria were already there and helped you carry everything inside. 

You had a couple of large coolers set aside for food, so Steve could keep the waiting items cold, and you could keep the typical sides like potato and macaroni salad chilled while the food was cooked. You had 2 coolers of sodas, and 5 coolers of booze to fill, which Nat and Maria quickly took over because they just wanted to throw ice at each other.

Taking the moment before more people started to arrive, you ran upstairs, getting into your black bikini, and black swim shorts and pulling a black tee shirt over your torso. There was no point in shoes, so you padded back downstairs barefoot, and out to the outdoor bar you would be manning.

As you were setting up the bar, more people began to filter in, and soon there was quite the crown milling in and out of the house. As you began making some drinks for a large group of people, you saw Wanda walk up with a couple of her friends, their laughter ringing through the yard. You couldn't help but smile as you watched her, her long brown hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, and a cover-up over her barely there red bikini. She looked stunning, but little did you know that she would be putting on a show today, and you were the sole reason.

You caught her eye as she was making small talk with her friends, and she smiled back at you before walking over to the bar. "Hey, Wanda," you said with a grin, "Glad you could make it."

She returned the smile. "Thanks, I'm glad I did too. I haven’t been able to make the last couple of Rogers Family parties, and this looks like it's going to be a good time." She glanced around, taking in the crowd of people before leaning in closer to you. You gulp as her breasts push up her bikini top, almost taunting you. "So, what can I get from the bar? You've got quite the selection here."

You chuckled. "Well, you've got a variety of beers in the coolers, the proverbial White Claws and seltzers, some sangria in the far tap, and of course, my signature tropical punch." You nodded toward a tap of punch on the counter. "That's my specialty. It's got a bit of a kick to it, but I've had plenty of people tell me they like it." You winked at her, hoping she would take the hint.

Wanda considered your offer for a moment, her eyes lingering on the punch tap. "You know, I think I'll try that. I've never had your punch before, but it sounds delicious." She flashed you a dazzling smile, and you felt a warmth spread through your chest at the compliment. "Thanks, Y/N." You grabbed her cup, poured her a cupful, and slipped some fruit slices into her drink. 

"There you go, Wanda," you turn, flashing a charming smile her way before sliding her drink over. "Have fun at the party." You wink again before turning to make some drinks for the group at the other end of the bar. You pretend to not notice the blush creep over her chest and face before she turns and saunters away, making sure to sway her hips to garner your attention.

As the day goes on, the party gets going. People are dancing, laughing, and enjoying themselves. You can't help but steal glances at Wanda now and then, watching as she lets loose and has a good time. She's enjoying your signature punch, and you're glad to see that it's helping her have a good time. Natasha took over for you after a couple of hours at the bar, and you found yourself poolside, laying on a lounge chair talking to one of your teammates from the softball team. Carol nodded at something over your shoulder, causing you to turn and almost spit out your drink. 

Wanda was now walking towards you, throwing a towel down on a lounger a few spots from you. She sent you a shy smile, before turning her back and pulling the cover-up off her body. Your mouth went dry as you raked your eyes over her body, her milky-toned thighs and athletic body driving you insane. This is when you were glad for your dark sunglasses, as she bent over, straightening her towel on her chair. You were sure you were flush, as it took all of your willpower to pull your eyes off of her. 

Carol smirked at you, slapping your shoulder as Wanda dove into the deep end of the pool.

"Looks like she's enjoying herself," your teammate chuckled.

You nodded, still trying to catch your breath. "Yeah, she is." You glanced back at Wanda as she floated on her back in the pool, her long brown hair spread out around her. The water seemed to cling to her skin, revealing every curve of her body. You couldn't help but feel a surge of arousal as the water continued to bead off her body as she swam around, talking to people who were also meandering in the pool.

You looked back at your teammate, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "I didn't realize she was this... attractive." You stammered, feeling the heat rise in your cheeks. "I mean, she's always been pretty, but... I dunno."

Carol almost choked on her drink, before looking at you bewildered. "Bullshit, Y/N. You've had a huge crush on her since she started at Westview."

You blushed even deeper at your teammate's words. You couldn't believe you hadn't realized it before. "I-I didn't mean it like that. I just... I've never really thought about her like that." You stammered, not wanting to admit your true feelings.

"Well, maybe it's time you did." Carol grinned, nudging you with her shoulder. "She's single, you're single. You two would be perfect together. And judging by the way she looks at you, I think you may have a better chance than you realize."

You shook your head, feeling even more flustered. "I-I don't know, Carol. She's drunk, she’s just being flirty. She’s made it clear since she started at school that she wasn't interested."

Carol sighed, shaking her head. "Y/N, think about it. Have you ever seen her date someone at school?"

"No...I haven't."

"Exactly." Your friend rolled her eyes. "Well, you should probably make a move before someone else does. She's been single for a while, and I think she deserves someone who appreciates her." She paused, looking over at Wanda, who was currently laughing with some of her friends. "And I think you're the perfect girl for the job. And my god, does she need to be appreciated." she smiles, nodding in Wanda’s direction, causing you to look over and see her on Pietro’s shoulders, playing a game of chicken against Steve, who had Peggy on his shoulders.

You watched as she fought to knock Peggy off Steve's shoulders, her muscles flexing, her intoxicating laughter as the pair fought for bragging rights. Both women soon fell off their partner’s shoulders in tandem, a loud shriek coming from each of them.

Wanda swam to the end of the pool by your chair, pulling herself out, and giving you an up-close view of the water dripping down her body before she made her way over to the lounger that was a few down from you. Your gaze drifted over her body again, before realizing she was watching you watch her.

Her cheeks flushed, and she cleared her throat, trying to play it cool. "So, Y/N," she started, her voice slightly deep from the exhaustion of being in the pool, "I heard you're good at beach volleyball."

You looked over at her, not sure if she was just being friendly or if there was something more to it. You smiled, deciding to go along with it. "Well, I've been playing for a while. It's not that special, though."

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she took a seat on the lounger beside you. "Oh, please. Everyone here says that, but you're really good. I've seen you play volleyball at school a few times now. You're one of the best."

You blushed, looking away from her. "Oh, I dunno about that. There's a lot of other good players too."

She chuckled, leaning in closer to you. "Well, a group of people were gonna start a match down on the beach. Care to join us?"

You hesitated for a moment, glancing over at Carol and the others. They were all busy talking and laughing with each other, and you didn't want to leave your friend alone. But the thought of spending more time with Wanda was too tempting to resist. "Sure," you finally said, standing up. "I'll meet you down there." You winked her way before going up to grab another drink.

As you made your way down to the beach, you couldn't help but feel a little nervous. You hadn't talked to Wanda like this before, outside of the occasional hello or passing comment in class. But the more you thought about it, the more you realized how much you enjoyed her company. She had a way of making you feel comfortable and at ease, even when you were around a group of people.

When you finally reached the beach, you saw Wanda standing near a group of people who were already gathering, clad in their swimwear as another crown began to flank the sides of the makeshift court to watch. She smiled brightly when she saw you approach, and her cheeks flushed slightly as she turned away to hide it. You smirked, setting the small cooler with water and Gatorades off to the side, swapping out your aviator sunglasses for the sports ones you wore out on the water. 

You couldn't shake the feeling of someone watching as you played with a volleyball in your hands as you awaited the rest of the people who would be playing. Steve was carrying down a speaker so you had music to play to. Turning ever so slightly, you saw Wanda’s gaze locked on you, rather, your hands, as you threw the ball up and down. Deciding it was time to tease her a little bit back, you threw the ball to the ground and decided it was time to lose the Van Halen tee shirt.

She blushed even harder when she realized what you had done, but she quickly regained her composure, calling out for everyone's attention. "Alright, alright, let's get this game started!" she shouted, clapping her hands together. You pretend to not notice how she bit her lip when your abs made their debut, your tattoo down your side and back on full display.

The game started well, with everyone splitting up into teams. You found yourself on the same team as Wanda, and you couldn't help but feel a little cocky. Having her on your side was the perfect way to bump her around a little bit, to get close to her.

As the game progressed, you and Wanda worked well together, communicating seamlessly and reading each other's movements like a well-oiled machine. Your team began to dominate, and the other players started to take notice. Carol shot you a warning look, but you ignored it, focusing on the game and the girl beside you.

"Alright!" Carol stopped the game, calling an audible. "Nat and Wanda, switch!" she yelled, causing the two teams to moan.

You and Wanda exchanged a look before she shrugged and jogged under the net to switch sides, putting you across from each other. As you took your place on the court, you couldn't help but feel a little bit of nervous excitement. It was one thing to be teammates, but something else entirely to be opponents. You both smiled at each other, the tension between you seeming to grow in the air. 

You shot her a sly smile, winking before Nat served the ball over the net.

You both watched the ball as it sailed through the air and then you moved into position, bending your knees as you readied yourself to spike it. The ball came down, and with a powerful swing of your arm, you sent it hurtling toward Wanda's side of the court. She jumped up, meeting the ball at the height of her reach, her fingers just managing to touch it before sending it flying back over the net. The two of you continued to volley back and forth, your movements becoming more fluid and in sync with each other.

The game progressed, and the other players began to fade into the background as you found yourself locked in a battle of wills against Wanda. Every time you sent the ball her way, she seemed to be waiting for it, her reactions sharper than ever. You couldn't help but wonder how much of this was due to the competition between you, and how much was simply her natural talent. Either way, it made for an intense match.

As the tension grew, you saw your opportunity. Wanda had just hit the ball high into the air, and you knew she would have a hard time reaching it. You took a step back, bending your knees, and then exploded forward, leaping into the air. Your hands connected with the ball, sending it flying toward her with all your might. But instead of aiming it at her side of the court, you spike it right at her feet.

"Fuck!" Wanda yells as Carol shoots you a warning glare. You fire a cocky smile back their way, before heading off the court.

She looks furious as you return to the sidelines, her face flushed and her breath coming in ragged gasps. You can't help but feel a little thrill at the power you have over her in this moment. You want nothing more than to see her lose control, to give in to her anger and frustration.

As you watch her compose herself, you can't help but admire her determination. Despite her best efforts to remain calm, you can see the fire in her eyes, the passion that drives her. It's a strange mixture of attraction and intimidation, and you find yourself drawn to it in a way you can't quite explain.

The next game starts, and you and Wanda are once again on opposing teams. This time, though, there's an undercurrent of tension that runs between you. Every time you make a move, she's there, anticipating it, blocking it with ease. It's almost as if she's reading your mind, knowing exactly what you're going to do before you even do it.

Finally, after multiple set matches, your team won the best of 7. Deciding that now was the time to get more to drink, you left the volleyball game in your brother’s capable hands as the guys began to play. You scooped up your shirt and towel, using the shirt to wipe some of the sand and sweat from your body. Now was the perfect time for a dip in the pool.

"Hey, wait up!" Wanda called after you, quickly catching up to your side. "You looked good out there," she admitted, her voice a little less sharp, but laced with a little bit more innuendo than it had been before. "I didn't expect you to be so... competitive."

You smiled over at her, feeling the heat of her gaze on your skin. "I've always been a bit of a natural athlete," you replied, trying to sound nonchalant. "Besides, it's not like I don’t play sports at school or anything, Wanda."

She pursed her lips, considering this for a moment. "Yeah, but you never really seem so competitive in school," she said, looking away for a moment before meeting your eyes again. "It's... nice to see another side of you." There was an almost wistful quality to her voice that you couldn't quite place.

You shrugged, not sure what to make of her reaction. "Well, I'm just a complex lady, you know? You never can tell what you're going to get with me." You flashed her a cocky grin, trying to lighten the mood. You had reached the pool at this point, so you threw your shirt and towel onto the closest empty chair. "I need to cool off." you smile at her, nodding to the pool.

Wanda smiled back, following your lead. "Yeah, it is pretty hot out here." She hesitated for a moment, then looked around at who was at the pool. As she looked around, you took the distraction as the perfect opportunity to sneak behind her, giving her a gentle push into the deep end of the pool. She let out a shrill shriek as she fell into the crisp water. You jumped in shortly after, wiping the water from your eyes as you surfaced.

"That was cold!" she exclaimed, splashing you playfully. "You asshole." You smiled and swam closer to her, grabbing her around the waist. "But it was worth it, wasn't it?" She struggled against you for a moment, but eventually gave in, relaxing in your grasp. You couldn’t help but feel the butterflies at the skin-on-skin contact, the electricity was palpable. You quickly realized the position you both were in and let Wanda go. She sent you a captivating smile before swimming over to some people who were calling her name. You pulled yourself out of the pool, drying yourself off before heading up to where Steve's best friend Bucky was manning the grill.

"Hey man, what's for lunch?" You asked as you approached him. He grinned, flipping a burger on the grill. "Well, if it isn't the champ herself! You guys just get done playing?"

You nodded, stretching your arms over your head. "Yeah, just now. Tough match." He chuckled, nodding in agreement. "But enough about that. I was asking what's on the menu. You got anything I can help with?"

Bucky smiled, handing you a pair of tongs. "Well, since you asked so nicely, I could use some help with these burgers. But as for the menu, we've got burgers, dogs, and some of that potato salad you brought. Oh, and don't forget the chips and salsa." You took the tongs gratefully, picking up a patty and flipping it over on the grill. The smell of sizzling meat filled the air, making your stomach rumble.

"Sounds good to me," you replied, watching the burger cook. "And thanks for having me, man. This party is shaping up to be a real blast." Bucky smiled, and you nodded his way. You glanced over at Wanda, who was still talking to some of her friends, then back at Bucky. 

"Of course, Buck. You're always welcome here, you know. Mom and Dad love you." you smile as he slips a burger onto your dressed bun, and you flip its lid over onto the meat.

The sun beats down on the grass as you take a bite of your burger, feeling the juices dribble down your chin. Wanda finally finishes talking to her friends and makes her way over to you, a towel wrapped around her hips.

"Hey," she says with a smile, "this is quite the party, Y/N. Thanks for putting it on."

"You're welcome, Wands. I'm glad you’re having a good time."

"Could you do me a favor, Y/N?" she asked shyly. You looked at her, a bit taken aback by the sudden request. "Of course, Wanda. What do you need?"

She bit her lip, seemingly lost in thought for a moment. "Well, I was wondering if you could maybe help me with something." You nodded, waiting for her to continue. She held out a bottle of sunscreen, a flush on her features.

"I, uh... forgot to put some on earlier. And now I'm kinda burnt, and it's starting to sting. Do you think you could...?" She trailed off, looking up at you with those big, green eyes.

You couldn't help but smile at her. "Of course, Wanda. Let's go find a spot where we can sit down and take care of that." You lead her over to a nearby table and pull out a couple of chairs. As she sits down, you kneel in front of her and unwrap the towel, revealing her bare hips. Her skin is indeed a light shade of pink, so putting the sunscreen on now would save her a world of hurt later.

"Okay, just lay back and relax, I'll take care of you." You say, as you gently push her back into the chair. She lets out a soft sigh and tilts her head back, exposing her neck and shoulders. You take the bottle of sunscreen from her and unscrew the cap, then begin to rub a generous amount into her skin. You start at her lower back and work your way up, massaging the lotion into her flesh as you go. You pretend not to notice the goosebumps that erupt in the wake of your hands as you rub the lotion into her skin.

As you work your way up her back, you can't help but take in the softness of her skin, the way it feels beneath your fingertips. Her shoulder blades are sharp and defined, and you find yourself tracing them with your fingers, wondering what it would be like to touch her like this under different circumstances. You snap back to reality as you finish rubbing the sunscreen into her shoulders, feeling a bit guilty for letting your mind wander.

"There you go," you say, sitting back on your heels. "All done." Wanda sits up and turns to face you, blushing a deep shade of red. "Thanks, Y/N. I appreciate it." She looks down at the floor, seemingly lost in thought. "I-I guess I should meet up with Agatha and Peggy down at the beach now." She bites her lip, glancing at you from the corner of her eye. She sends you a shy wave before getting up and running to her friends on the beach, jumping onto one of their backs. You continue to watch her from afar as you finish your food.

"Hey, Bucky. You wanna toss the frisbee around with me for a bit?" You ask your friend, trying to distract yourself from the strange feeling in your chest. Bucky nods and stands up, grabbing the frisbee from the table. The two of you make your way over to the beach, joining a group of other guys as you all start tossing the frisbee back and forth. The sun begins to set, painting the sky in a warm, orange glow. You feel your muscles loosen up and your mind begins to wander. A chill begins to set in as Steve gets ready to light the bonfire, and you are sure that a large group of people have left for the day. You glance around, disappointed when you don’t see Wanda. You decide to make your way into the house, heading upstairs to your massive bedroom, so you could change into some sweatpants and a hoodie.

As you're changing, you decide to take a quick shower, washing off the day's sweat and sand. The hot water feels good on your skin, but you can't help but feel a little off. You step out of the shower, drying off quickly and throwing on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. As you're about to step out of your bathroom, you are shocked when you walk into your room and see Wanda on your bed.

"Wanda?" You ask, confused. She looks up at you, her cheeks flushed red and her eyes glistening with mischief. "What are you doing here?"

She grins and shrugs her shoulders. "I-I just wanted to see you." Her voice is soft and hesitant, but there's a newfound confidence in her eyes that you haven't seen before. "I mean... I had fun today, and I didn't want to go home yet. All my friends have already gone home, so I went looking for you."

You're taken aback by her admission. You weren't expecting this at all. "Oh... well, uh... I'm glad you had fun. You can stay if you want." You gesture towards your bed, feeling a bit awkward now. You stand there, shocked at who is currently on your mattress. This is the first time you are unsure of what to do, or to say with an insanely attractive woman in your bed.

Wanda grins and climbs over to the other side of the bed, plopping down on the pillow. "Thanks, Y/N. I appreciate it." She looks around the room, taking in the band posters and trinkets, her eyes landing on your guitar. "So... what do you usually do when you're bored?"

You chuckle and sit down next to her on the bed. "Well, I play guitar sometimes. Or I'll watch a movie, or just hang out with my friends,” you smirk, walking over to the chair by your desk and sitting down backward on it. "But those are just fillers for my favorite pastime."

Wanda tilts her head, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. "Oh? What's that?"

You grin, feeling a thrill run through you at the thought of what's next. She fell right into your trap if you want to call it that.

"Well, Wanda..." you eye her up and down, a slight smirk on your face. "I'm hoping it's going to be you."

She blushes deeply, looking away for a moment before meeting your gaze again. There's a newfound fire in her eyes that makes your heart race. “That's quite the line, Y/N," she smirks back.  "What makes you think I'm like the other girls who have fallen into your bed?"

You chuckle, shaking your head. "Oh, I don't think you're like them. I mean, I've seen how you are with people. You're sweet and funny, and..." you trail off, looking her up and down once more. "...and you're gorgeous." You stalk over to her, placing your knee in between her legs, and leaning close enough to feel the warmth of her breath on your skin. "But most of all, I think you're honest. And that's something I appreciate. You're not like the others."

She bites her bottom lip, looking into your eyes as she nods slowly. "And what if I wanted to be?" she whispers, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Well, that would be a shame, Maximoff." you start, as her gaze darts back and forth between your eyes. 

"Oh?" she asks, inching closer to you, her lip trapped in between her teeth. 

"Yeah. That’s what I like about you. You aren't like anyone else."

You lean in slowly, feeling the warmth of her breath mingle with yours as your lips meet hers. Wanda's mouth is soft and yielding, her tongue dancing against yours in a rhythm that sends shivers down your spine. Her hands slide up your chest, over your shoulders, and around your neck, pulling you closer still.

She moans softly into the kiss, arching her back off the bed and grinding her hips against you. You can feel the heat between your legs, and you're aching to touch her, to feel her skin against yours. Your hands wander down her back, over the curve of her ass, and up underneath her shirt. You can feel the soft skin of her stomach, the warmth of her breasts pressed against your palms.

Her hands slip under your shirt, feeling the muscles in your back, before moving up to cup your neck, her thumbs brushing against your jaw. The sensation sends a shiver through you, and you deepen the kiss, wanting more. Wanda's tongue darts out, teasing your lips before delving back in, their rhythm growing faster and more intense. The tandem you made out on the volleyball court seemed to carry over to the bedroom, as you both responded to each other’s bodies. 

When you both needed to come up for air, you pulled away, resting your forehead on hers. 

"I've been waiting a while to do that," you whispered, staring at her kiss-swollen lips.

Wanda smiled, tracing a finger along your jaw. "I'm glad you finally did." She leaned in, pressing her lips against yours again, their heat melding together. Her tongue darted out, exploring your mouth as your hands tangled in her hair, holding her close.

The passion between you was palpable, and you could feel it building with each passing second. Her body was pressed tightly against yours, her hips grinding against your erection as she moved in time with your kiss. Your heart raced, and your blood pounded in your ears, drowning out everything else. You had all but forgotten the party downstairs as you pushed Wanda's bikini-clad body further onto your bed.

The arousal was obvious as you caught a glimpse of the darker spot on her bikini bottom, and the glimmer that coated the inside of her creamy thighs. You groaned as you hovered over her, trapping her beneath your body weight.

"Oh, I like you like this," you breathed, as she arched her back upwards, pressing her chest against yours. 

She tugged at your hoodie as her blown pupils found yours. "For someone who has been waiting for this for so long, you sure do have a lot of clothes on."

Your heart skipped a beat as her words sent a thrill through you. You leaned down, kissing her neck, and her collarbone, before moving back up to capture her lips once more. The taste of her, the feel of her skin, was intoxicating. You could feel the heat between your legs, and the need to be inside her growing more urgent with every passing second.

With a groan, you peeled off your hoodie, and then your bra, tossing them to the floor before pushing her bikini bottoms down her hips, revealing her smooth, toned legs. She gasped as you parted her legs, laying yourself between them. You ground your hip upwards into hers, allowing her to feel the strap-on that was hidden under your sweatpants.

Her eyes went wide, and she arched her back off the bed, her hands clawing at your shoulders. "You've got a strap-on?" she breathed. You laughed, pecking at the side of her neck, up to her ear. 

"Daddy is always packing, baby," you whisper in her ear, licking the shell.

Wanda shudders, her breath catching in her throat. She reaches down between your bodies, feeling the thick length of the strap-on, her fingers wrapping around the base. "Oh, God," she moans, grasping at the waistband of your sweats, trying to get them off as quickly as she could in her state.

Her movements only serve to further arouse you, and you lean in, nipping at her collarbone as you watch her fingers fumble with your clothes. You help her out, yanking your sweats down your legs, revealing the hard cock beneath. She gasps, her eyes going wide with desire as she takes in the sight of you.

"Fuck, Y/N," she breathes as you push her thighs further apart and position yourself between her legs. You grasp the base of the strap-on, guiding it to her entrance, you can practically feel the heat and wetness of her waiting for you. She arches her back, lifting her hips off the bed, practically begging you to enter her. With a groan, you push forward, watching the head of your cock slip inside her.

Her muscles grip you tightly, her walls milking you as you begin to thrust slowly, feeling her body stretch to accommodate your size. You look down at her, at the way her eyes are closed and her lips parted, her skin flushed and damp with sweat. You reach down between them, teasing her clit with your thumb, feeling her tense and shudder beneath you.

"Fuck, Y/N," she moans, arching her back and meeting your thrusts with her own. "So big... so good..." Her fingernails scrape down your back, leaving trails of pleasure-tinged pain as you continue to pound into her. She's so wet, so ready for you, and you can't help but lose yourself in the sensation of her greedy pussy swallowing the toy before you, her vanilla perfume mixed with sweat and the smell of the sunscreen you applied earlier invading your senses, and her whimpering, whiny sounds as you mercilessly thrust the dildo into her.

Her hips rise off the bed, her breasts heaving as she pushes herself up towards you, her expression a mix of ecstasy and agony. You can feel the tension building inside her, the telltale tightening of her muscles as she nears her peak. You slow your thrusts, savoring the feel of her body moving against yours, her body milking the cock attached to your hips with each slow, deliberate push.

"Ask for permission to cum, baby." you kiss the valley between her supple breasts, her hands running through your hair.

"Y-yes, Daddy," she stammers, her hips undulating against yours, her eyes squeezed shut in ecstasy. "I want to cum so badly..."

"Aww, baby," you tweak her nipple between your fingers, causing her to clamp her eyes shut and a pornographic moan to come from her. "You can do better than that for Daddy."

Her breath comes out in ragged gasps as you continue your slow, steady rhythm, your hips moving in perfect synchronization with hers. Her hands grasp at the sheets, her nails digging into the fabric as she fights to keep herself grounded. "I'm close, Daddy," she whimpers, her body starting to tremble beneath yours. "Please..."

"Please, what?"

Wanda's eyes snap open, her pupils dilated as she looks up at you with a pleading expression. "Please let me cum, Daddy. Please let me feel you inside me." Her voice is ragged, her body shaking with the effort of holding back. You can feel her muscles tense and release, her pussy clenching, her breath hot against your skin.

You look down at her, taking in her flushed cheeks, her parted lips, and the way her breasts heave with each ragged breath. "You're doing so good, baby," you whisper. "Just a little bit longer for me, okay?"

Her eyes closed, her head falling back against the pillow in submission. "Please Daddy," she whimpers, her body arching upward in surrender. She holding on to everything she has, you can tell she is fighting for her release. 

"Fucking beg, Wanda. Let me know how close you are."

Her eyes snap open, her pupils dilated, and her expression a mix of pain and ecstasy. "I'm so close, Daddy! I need you to make me cum! Please, Daddy, let me cum!" she whimpers and moans, burying her face into your neck as her nails rake down your back, leaving trails of fire behind them.

Her hips buck up against yours, her inner muscles gripping you tightly, her body tense with the effort of holding back. Her breath comes out in short, ragged gasps, her chest heaving with each one. You can feel the tension building inside her, the anticipation coiling tighter and tighter.

"Let go for me beautiful, let me see how I make you feel."

You watch as Wanda's eyes close, her head falling back against the pillow, her lips parting as she takes in a deep, shuddering breath. Her body tenses, every muscle in her abdomen tensing as she lets go. Her fingernails dig into your back, her hips undulating against yours, stuttering as her orgasm rips through her body.

"Oh, Y/N!" she screams, her voice muffled by your shoulder. "I'm cumming, I'm cumming!" Her inner muscles squeeze you tightly, her pussy milking your fake cock as her pleasure washes over her in waves. Her body arches upward, her breasts spilling from your grasp, her nipples hard and aching for your touch. Her eyes flutter open, looking up at you with a mixture of shock and ecstasy.

"That's it, baby," you whisper, your voice rough with desire. "Let it all out for me." Her hips buck wildly against yours, her nails raking down your back, her breath coming in ragged gasps as she tries to catch her breath. Her orgasm seems to go on forever, her body shuddering with pleasure as she clings to you, her lips parting in a silent moan.

Her pussy grips you tightly, her inner walls fluttering around your fake cock as she comes down from her peak. You watch in awe as her features soften, her eyes flutter shut and her breathing begins to steady. Her body is still trembling with aftershocks of pleasure, her nipples hard and aching for your touch. You brush your fingers over them, circling and teasing as you continue to thrust slowly inside her.

"That's it, baby. Just relax and enjoy." You whisper, your voice gentle and soothing. Her body responds to your touch, her hips moving in time with yours as she leans into the sensation. Her eyes open lazily, meeting yours with a look of contentment and gratitude.

"Oh...my...god, Y/N," she started, her breathy, husky voice making you swoon. Her body trembled beneath yours as she reveled in the afterglow of her orgasm. Her pussy clenched tightly around your fake cock, her inner walls milking you with each gentle thrust. Her eyes were half-lidded, gazing up at you with a look of pure adoration and desire. Her eyes widened as you lowered yourself down her body, the realization of what you were about to do hitting her. "Y/N, honey I don't think I can..."

"Shhhh, Wands, I've got you. Don't think. You have one more for me, I know you do."

Your words seem to have the desired effect as her body tenses, her breath catches in her throat. Her eyes closed, her expression one of concentration and determination. You gently blow a burst of air to her sodden sex, before nudging her perky clit with your nose.

"Oh fuck, Daddy!" she groans, arching her back as her hips buck wildly against your face. Her hands grab fistfuls of your hair, urging you closer, wanting more. Her inner muscles clench and release around nothing as you kiss around her lower lips. Once you dive into her, you plunge two fingers into her as you lick at her swollen clit. You alternate between lapping at her juices, sucking on her swollen clit, and twisting your fingers around to hit the spongy spot inside her, determined to make her cum harder than ever before.

Her legs tremble beneath her, her toes curl as her orgasm builds quickly. She cries out your name, her voice hoarse and desperate. Her body quakes as she holds her orgasm back. You can feel her pussy clenching tightly around your fingers and tongue as her inner walls spasm uncontrollably, her muscles relaxing and tensing in perfect rhythm with your ministrations.

Finally, with a long, drawn-out moan, she arches her back, her hands gripping your hair, her hips bucking wildly against your face. Her orgasm ripples through her, shuddering through her body as her inner muscles squeeze and release around you. Her juices coat your tongue and flow down your throat as you drink in her ecstasy. Her legs tremble, her breath comes in ragged gasps, and her eyes roll back in her head. Her legs locked you between them, and you swore that you could die then and there, and be happy.

Slowly, you pull back, watching her eyes as they refocus on you. She looks dazed, her lips swollen from your kisses and her cheeks flushed from her exertions. She reaches out, trailing her fingers down your chest, over your abs and lower, until she cups your sex that was surely dripping down your thighs. You had dreamt of this moment, of when Wanda Maximoff would end up here, and now, you wanted nothing more than to keep her here forever.

You fell next to her, a sweaty and panting mess, as she rolled over on top of you. "I am so glad I showered," you laugh, looking into her adoring eyes.

"Must be nice," she laughed, as your eyes drifted over her body once more, her breasts hanging before you as she hovered over your body. She sat back, resting on your lower abdomen, shrieking as the dildo still attached to your hips poked her ass.

"Well, now I think I need another," you laugh as you prop yourself up, pecking at her lips as her arms wrapped behind your neck.

"Yeah you do, Y/N," she smiled her million-dollar smile. "But, this time I think you should invite someone to join you."

You raise your eyebrow, gazing into the pools of sea green before you. "Oh really? Maybe I'll invite Nat. She said she needed her monthly shower."

Wanda giggles, shaking her head. "You're an ass, Y/N."

You feign offense, gasping as you rest a hand on your chest. "Wanda! Is that what you think of me?"

She laughs, shaking her head. "No, idiot. You should invite someone else. Like me. I could use a shower." she leans forward, tracing her finger between your breasts before looking back up at you, her lip caught in her teeth again.

"You keep doing that, Wanda, you're going to lose your lip," you pull it out from her teeth, before leaning in and kissing her gently and passionately. Your hands slid to her back, pulling her closer to you. She moaned into the kiss, grinding herself down onto your lap, causing you to moan when she pushed the toy into you. You shuffled her and yourself over to the edge of the bed, without breaking the kiss.

As your lips finally parted, you gazed into her eyes, seeing the lust and desire there, and knew that she wanted this as much as you did. "Well, if you insist, darling," you grinned, leaning in and taking her nipple into your mouth, sucking on it roughly. Her back arched, a quiet moan escaping her throat. "But I'm going to need you to be good."

She smiled down at you, her hands running through her hair, flinging it to one side. "Oh, Y/N," she sighed, "I'm always good." With that, she lowered herself down, taking the dildo back into her warmth, moaning at the intrusion. You groaned at the sight, watching as she began to rock her hips back and forth.

Her breasts swayed with each movement, her nipples hard and pebbled. She leaned forward, her hands on either side of your head, her hips moving faster as she began to ride you. Her skin was hot against yours, and the scent of her arousal filled the air.

"Fuck, Wanda," you rolled your head back at the feeling of her rocking against you, but her hands ran up the back of your neck and into your hair, guiding you back to her. 

"C'mon, Daddy. Take me to the shower," she smirked, knowing that this was going to be a challenge. You firmly grasped her ass, stilling her motions as you lifted her till the toy was almost fully removed, before slamming her back down onto it. You smirk at the moan that left her, as you wrapped her legs around you, standing up to walk to the bathroom.

The cool air of the bathroom hits you both as you make your way to the shower, Wanda's nails dragging down your back as she holds on tight. You can feel her dripping down the front of you, her arousal making a mess of you. You step into your shower, slamming her against the wall and thrusting into her.

She gasps, her head thrown back as you take her roughly. Her hands slide up your chest, over your shoulders, and into your hair, tugging you down so that you're looking her in the eye. She leans forward, their lips just inches apart, her breath hot against your skin. "I'm going to come, Y/N," she whispers, her hips bucking against you.

"Fuck, Wanda," you gasp as you roughly fuck her against the cool tile wall. "You drive me insane."

She whimpers, arching her back as she comes, her legs wrapping tighter around you, her nails digging into your shoulders. Her inner walls clench around you, milking your cock, sending wave after wave of pleasure through your body. Her lips part, and she gasps, her breath ragged as she tries to catch it. Her eyes close, her head thrown back against the wall as she comes down from her orgasm.

"Fuck," you groan, thrusting one final time into her, your release taking over. You grip her ass, feeling her walls clench around the toy as your orgasm drips down your thighs.

She sighs, her body still pressed against yours as she comes down from her high. You lean against the wall, watching her as she runs her hands through her hair, looking somewhat dazed.

"Well," you say with a smile, "That wasn't how I anticipated today going," You reach over and turn on the shower, letting the water wash over your bodies, helping to cool you down.

You can feel Wanda leaning against you, her breath still ragged from their exertions. "Yeah," she says softly, "I think... I think we both needed that." She presses her body closer to yours, their skin slick with sweat and sex.

You let the water rinse away the sweat and your cum, the heat from the spray adding another layer of sensation to your already overloaded senses. You idly run your fingers through the water, tracing patterns on her back, feeling the play of muscle beneath your touch.

Wanda leans in, pressing her lips to yours, her tongue darting out to greet yours, her hands slipping beneath the water to cup your ass. You moan into her mouth, feeling her strength and her desire pressing against you, the wet heat of her body. She breaks the kiss, breathlessly, her chest heaving as she looks into your eyes.

"I think we need to get down to the bonfire before Steve or Pietro come looking for us," Wanda laughs.

"You think they'd care?" you ask with a grin, as you step out of the shower and help her dry off.

Wanda laughs, shaking her head. "Probably not. But we don't want to give them an excuse to tease us, do we?" She winks, slipping on one of your loose tank tops and a pair of sweatpants. You nod in agreement, pulling on a clean pair of sweatpants and your hoodie.

"Y/N?"

You turn to face Wanda, who is leaning against the door frame of the bathroom, her expression a mix of mischief and concern. Her hair is still damp from their shower, and you can't help but smile as you take in her beauty. You swoon at the sight of her damp hair and her wearing your clothes.

"What's wrong, Max?"

Her expression softens at your use of her nickname. "Nothing, just... I don't want to go back out there and pretend that nothing happened, you know? I just want to stay with you."

You smile, feeling a warmth spread through your chest. "Me too."

Taking her hand, you lead her back out through the house, watching the shocked gazes of those who remain. You wind through the sea of people, walking down the timber steps and out to the beach. The bonfire crackles and spits, casting flickering shadows across the group of people gathered around it. You can see Steve and Pietro laughing together, sharing a drink. They look up as you approach, their expressions changing from amusement to surprise as they see Wanda's damp hair, and her wearing your clothes.

"You two been having fun?" Steve asks, the humor lacing his voice.

Wanda laughs, shrugging. "You know, just us." She leans into you, resting her head on your shoulder. You wrap an arm around her, feeling the warmth of her body through your thin sweatshirt.

Steve grins. "Well, you two should get back out there. I'm sure there's plenty of people who'd love to party with you." He winks, and you can't help but chuckle. Pietro sends you a warning glare.

"Y/N, if you hurt her, I swear..." he growls, as Wanda blushes before burying her face in your chest.

You laugh, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Don't worry, Pietro." As you say this, you glance down at Wanda, feeling a pang in your chest at the thought of her being hurt. It's been so long since you've felt this way about someone. You've been alone for so long, just surviving day by day, that the idea of losing her... it terrifies you. "I may have a reputation," you continue. "but Wanda is the last one that I would do that to."

Wanda looks up at you, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She grabs your hand, squeezing it. "Thank you, Y/N." Her voice is barely a whisper.

Pietro nods, seeming satisfied for now. "Alright, you two. Have fun." He slaps your shoulder, then takes another beer from the cooler before heading back into the crowd.

You lead Wanda back towards the fire, feeling the warmth of it on your skin. She leans into you, her body pressed against yours as if she's afraid to let go. You wrap your arms around her, holding her close. The music starts up again, and the party seems to find its rhythm once more.

[writingonleaves]

and all at once, you’re all i want (i’ll never let you go) - jack hughes

pairing: jack hughes x original female character

warnings: literally nothing. fluff! some minor worship of nina hischier (the goat), a little love letter to my alma mater

title: "king of my heart" by taylor swift

word count: 10.3k

author's note: first fic in the new year is for @wyattjohnston 's winter fic exchange 2k24!! i had the absolute pleasure of writing for @wildrangers <3 taylor, i hope you enjoy this as much as i enjoyed putting it together and demi, thank you for your endless hard work for putting this on!!

four times where jack hughes and ashley grassie showed up for each other and one time where everyone showed up for them

*****

one - two months

“Jack, are you sure about this?” Ashley asks, fiddling with the silver rings on her fingers. 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” He responds confidently, sparing a look at her from the drivers seat before turning his eyes back on the road. “Everyone’s expecting you.”

“You told them?”

“That my girlfriend was coming with me to a New Year’s party? Of course.” He squeezes her thigh lightly. “They’re excited to meet you. And not while we’re working.”

“I’m excited to meet them too.”

“You sure?” He teases lightly. “You’ve been quiet all afternoon.”

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about.” They stop at a red light, and he leans over to kiss her cheek. “Ash, baby, they’re gonna love you.”

“But you don’t know that,” she protests softly. 

“I do, actually. Because everyone loves you.”

She rolls her eyes. “You can’t promise me that everyone’s gonna even like me.”

He shrugs. “I’ll prove you wrong. You’ll see.” He tugs at her gold sweater. “Is this new?”

“Yeah. Seems fitting for the occasion. Sparkles equals New Years, right?”

“I like it a lot.”

“I know what you’re doing,” she deadpans. 

He smirks. “And what might that be?”

“Distracting me.”

“Maybe so. You’re so smart, Miss Columbia Grad.”

“Jack,” she whines, making him laugh. 

He picks up her hand and kisses the back of it. “Trust me, okay? It’ll be great. And I’ll be with you all night.”

Ashley swallows, before forcing herself to nod. 

The thing is, after two months of dating officially (she’s not counting the month beforehand when there wasn’t a label on things even though there should’ve been), there are still important parts of each other’s lives they have yet to experience together. She’s gone to a few of his games, but has never met any of his teammates (except for Luke, but he doesn’t count), choosing to meet Jack back at his place after instead of waiting for him at the rink. She also doesn’t count that one Devils game she had to fill in for, which is how she met Jack in the first place. The few times he’s invited her along when he does go out with them, she’s been busy with other things. 

New Year’s is kinda a big time to be meeting new people. People that mean a lot to Jack. But that could just also be all in Ashley’s head. She’s never really done this before. The last serious boyfriend she had was in high school where everyone knew each other. There was no need for introductions. 

Jack squeezes her hand. “Thank you.” 

“For?” 

“Coming with me to this. Taking off work early. I appreciate it a lot.” 

She shrugs casually. “It’s about time, right?” She pointedly ignores the look he shoots her, because she doesn’t want him to know how nervous she really is.

Before they know it, Jack’s pulled into the driveway of the Toffolis and her hands start sweating again. She gathers the flowers on her lap and the wine bag as Jack rounds the car and opens the door for her. He grabs the bag, presses a kiss atop her head and hand in hand, they walk to the front door. She lets Jack take the lead as he just walks in. They walk into the kitchen area, as Cat pulls her into a hug and thanks them graciously for the flowers and wine.

It turns out that Ashley really does have nothing to worry about. Getting thrown into a whirlwind of introductions and new names is a lot, but she doesn’t mind. A wave of comfort crashes over her as Luke practically hauls her into a hug. 

She finds herself besides Nico after he hands her a glass of wine. “You’re a journalist, right?” He asks.

“I am.”

“Do you ever watch Jack’s media interviews?”

Ashley giggles. “I do once in awhile. Trust me, I have my thoughts. I also met him for the first time from that. And you, technically.”

“Right, right. Will we ever see you in the locker room again?”

“Probably not. I was just filling in for Danny. On the rare chance I do sports, it’s usually for the Jets. Besides, better to watch and support you all without any stake professionally.”

“What do you usually report on?” Nico asks with genuine curiosity. 

She perks up, like anytime she gets to talk about her job. As she talks, using her hands animatedly despite one of them holding a drink, Jack looks on from a distance with a lovesick look in his eyes.

“She is way too cool for you,” Dawson says, fixing his cap.

Jack rolls his eyes. “Shut up.” But Jack knows his teammate’s right.

Jack’s not clingy, perse, but it’s hard for him to watch Ashley just…be and not be touching a part of her. Even if it’s just sliding up against her so her body is pressed alongside his, he just wants to be near her all the time. 

(Quinn once sent some random thing he found on Instagram about love languages a few years back and Jack had remembered absolutely roasting him. But maybe he had a point)

“So,” Nicole starts, refilling both their glasses up with champagne a bit later in the evening. “Why Jack?”

Ashley snorts. “Your guess is as good as mine.” From beside his girlfriend, Jesper barks out a laugh and from next to Ashley, Jack pouts. Ashley laughs, leaning into Jack’s side. “I’m kidding. Mostly. I was hesitant at first though.”

“Oh, yeah. He told me about this,” Jesper says. “Said he chased you down the hall after post-game media and asked you out?”

“Sounds about right.”

“And you said yes to that?” Jesper asks. Jack whacks his teammate in the stomach. 

“Not right away,” Ashley admits. “He gave me his number and told me to text him if I was interested. And I ended up being interested.”

“Lucky for him,” Nicole chuckles. 

Jack squeezes Ashley’s waist fondly. “Lucky for me.”

She listens on in interest as Nicole talks about how she and Jesper got together. Somewhere throughout the conversation, she can’t help but let her mind drift. They’ve been together for years now, been living together for a bit and are looking to move into a house. She literally moved away from Sweden full-time for him. 

Ashley swallows as Jack asks about how their house search is going. There’s a very little chance that Jack will be leaving Jersey anytime within the next half decade. But her mother warned her that his career could take him places in the future unexpectedly. 

And in a way, so could Ashley’s. But it’s not as easy. 

She scolds herself for even thinking this far. They’ve been dating for literally two months. That’s nothing in the grand scheme of things. They’re celebrating entering the new year today, but she has no idea if they’ll even be together for all of it.

She’s hoping they are. God, she really fucking hopes so. But she could hope until the end of the world and have it fall short. She smoothes her sweater out with her suddenly-clammy hands, chugging the whole glass of champagne before putting the flute down on a nearby table. She excuses herself politely to use the bathroom, which she does, before getting some air. 

She definitely looks a bit crazy outside on the Toffoli’s porch in the dead of winter, but she doesn’t mind the biting edge of cold. It’s grounding her, actually. 

“Was looking for you.”

Ashley doesn’t even look at Jack, humming as she hears him walking out to stand next to her. “Did my sparkle sweater give me away?”

“No, Neeks did, actually. Said he saw you walking out.” She finally looks at him with his eyebrows furrowed. “You’re not cold?”

“Don’t even think about offering me your jacket,” she warns. “I know you’re only wearing a t-shirt underneath.”

“Then come back inside so we both don’t die.”

“In a minute,” she promises. 

He huffs, rubbing his hands up and down her arms to try and generate some heat. “Everything good?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Just, you know, minorly freaking out at her boyfriend’s teammate’s place about the fact that she might be falling in love with him even though it hasn’t been that long and what a future could look like for them and how that future could fall apart in an instant.

So regular New Year’s Eve thoughts.

“Unlike you, I don’t have a college degree, much less two,” Jack grins. “I can’t read minds.”

“And you think I can?” She jokes back weakly. He just chuckles. She continues. “Your friends are nice. I like them a lot.”

He lights up anytime someone he loves gets brought up in conversation. “Yeah, they’re cool. They like you too.”

“That’s good,” she says softly. 

He taps her forehead with his pointer finger. “Countdown’s soon. Come back inside?” He laces their fingers together. 

“You gonna kiss me at midnight?”

“Think so.”

“You only think so?”

Jack smirks, kissing her deeply. “Shut up.”

Ashley is absolutely floored.

two - one year and one month

Cam’s wedding crept up on her. 

Of course, Ashley knew it was coming, but still. Though she was surprised when Jack told her that he was free of games on that particular early November weekend somehow, only having to miss an optional practice and that he would notify the coaching staff far in advance. 

It’s not the act of bringing Jack that she’s nervous about. Cam and Amanda, his fiance, came into the city a few months ago and they all grabbed lunch before heading to a game at The Rock that night. She’ll never forget how ultimately “traitor-like to the Bruins” Cam felt, Ashley and Amanda finding it hilarious. They both had a good time though, and that’s all that matters, and Cam, who has always looked out for her even before she had ever asked, subtly gave his approval. 

(“I’ll admit my assumptions about him were wrong,” Cam had said. “He’s awesome, and he really cares about you. If he’s the one, I won’t be mad about it. He’s very lucky.”)

It’s more of a particular person that’s going to be at the wedding. 

Weirdly, when she and Alex broke up way back when, one of the thoughts that circled her mind months after was exactly this. If and when the day of Cam’s wedding came, and they were both still close to him, they’d both be there. And here they are. 

She’s over him — obviously, considering she’s in a happy, long-term relationship and it’s been four years — but how do you prepare to see your ex-boyfriend when the last time you saw him you had just broken up and you were in tears?

She and Jack drive up to Cape Cod early the day of the wedding and she feels a bit bad that he’s driving after he had a game last night and has one in just two days but he doesn’t mind, happy to be driving as long as she’s in the passenger seat next to him. They’re switching off anyways, and she had driven the first half. Cam and Amanda rented out a bunch of rooms at a few inns for their guests so her and Jack will get ready there before heading to the venue. 

From a quick rundown Cam gave her a month ago when they caught up over the phone, she’ll at least be familiar with a good amount of people at the wedding. She’s excited to see them all again and catch up, those memories that were bittersweet at some point, all water under the bridge so many years later. 

It’s what you get for dating within a friend group. Ultimately, at some point, sides are chosen.

At the end of the day, it’s Cam, someone who has always been there for her since they were 16, even when she didn’t necessarily do the same. He’s given his friendship selflessly to her for over a decade. The least she can do is come to his wedding to celebrate. 

And she has Jack with her. Nothing can go wrong with Jack by her side. 

“You okay?” Jack’s voice breaks her out of her thoughts as he squeezes her thigh, sneaking a look before focusing back on the road. “You’re quiet. You’re rarely quiet in the car.”

“It’s a 5 hour drive, Jack.”

“I’ve been playing country nonstop for the last half an hour and you haven’t chirped me once.” She starts playing with his fingers and his eyebrows furrow. “Alright. What’s going on, baby? What are you thinking about?”

“You know what I’m thinking about.” She shoots back with no malice. 

He sighs, linking their hands together and bringing them up to his lips to kiss her knuckles. “Yeah. I got you though. I’ll be with you the whole day.”

“It’s dumb, really. Four years. And I haven’t thought about him in a long time.”

He shrugs. “He was your first heartbreak, and you haven’t seen him since. This is gonna be some sort of closure, even if it’s four years later.”

“You seem awfully cool about this, considering, you know, your current girlfriend is lowkey freaking out about seeing her ex again.”

“I’m not worried,” he replies easily. “You need this closure. I wasn’t smart like you back then and actually saw my exes probably way sooner than I should’ve. Besides, I’m the one on your arm now. Not him. I’m not pressed.”

She scoffs at yet another country song playing and skips it, snorting when ‘Suburban Legends’ by Taylor Swift comes on. How fitting. “I’m definitely hyping it up in my head. It’s nothing. And Cam told me that he purposefully put us at separate tables, in case Alex says some questionable shit while drunk.”

“No worries about you saying anything questionable?”

“Compared to Alex? No way.” He snorts, amused. But he knows enough about his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend to not push it. “I wonder if he’s bringing someone. God, I hope he is.”

“Why? Don’t want to rub it in his face that you’re happy and in love?”

“That’s mean,” she says airily. “No. I hope he’s bringing someone because I want to know what kind of girl can tolerate his ass. I did, but I was 20 and stupid. I wanna see what kind of girl can tolerate him at 26.”

“Does he know I’m coming?”

“Cam?”

He snorts. “No. Alex.”

“Who knows? Even if he does, he probably doesn’t care and isn’t overthinking it like I am.”

“I think you’d be surprised,” she looks at him, confused and he bites his lip. “Even if they play it off, guys are affected by that stuff more than you’d think.”

“What is there to be affected by?”

“You,” Jack says simply. “Not that I’m biased or anything, but you leave quite an impact on everyone you meet. And that lucky ass got to date you. As someone who also has had that privilege, I can relate a bit.”

Ashley chuckles before squeezing his hand. “Thanks for coming with me. I know your schedule is really busy with the season and everything-”

“You don’t need to thank me. Isn’t half of having a significant other just bringing them as plus ones to weddings?”

“Fair.” She leans her head on his shoulder momentarily as he pushes the sunglasses on top of his head to his face. “Thank you, though. I feel bad that you’re missing practice.”

He snorts. “Don’t.”

“They didn’t give you a hard time?”

“Not really. It’s an optional, anyways. Nico just told us to have fun and I think Lindy has a soft spot for you somehow. I’m excited. I like Cam. And I’m happy to be here with you.” He smirks, adding. “Come on, baby. Did you think I was gonna leave you to dry when your ex is gonna be there?”

“You don’t know anybody at the wedding. And Cam grew up in a hockey-loving family from Boston. There’s bound to be people who recognize you.”

“So I’m the arm candy for the night. That works perfectly for me.” 

They arrive at the inn just past 1, and decide to stop by a nearby cafe to grab a quick bite. Jack decides to take a short nap before they have to start getting ready and head out while she scrolls on her phone and plays with his hair since his head is on her lap. Occasionally she finds herself staring outside the window at the water with a smile. Even if not in the summer, the Cape is beautiful.

Once it hits 4:15, she figures that she should start getting ready, but she can’t move without disturbing Jack since he’s still sleeping soundly on her lap. She gently whispers his name and presses a few kisses on his forehead as his breathing changes, groaning a bit as he stretches and opens his eyes. 

“Time to go?”

“In like, an hour. I need to start getting ready.”

He hums, puckering his lips and she takes the hint, kissing him soundly twice before ushering him off her lap. She lays out the few makeup products she has, moisturizing her face before putting light foundation and concealer on. As always, she focuses more attention on her eyeshadow, deciding to add a bit of gold glitter to compliment her pink dress. She clips a matching pink bow in, liking the way it blends with the natural brown of her hair. She decides to save the lipstick for right before they leave and turns to Jack, who’s buttoning his shirt. 

“What do you think?” He looks up as he’s buttoning his cuffs. “Too much glitter?” She asks.

“Never too much glitter. You look beautiful.”

She looks at his blazer and tie that he’s laid out on the bed, looking at him with minor confusion. “Since when do you own that tie?”

“Since last week when I bought it.”

She looks at where her dress is hanging. “It matches my dress.”

“Yes it does.”

She looks towards him as he tucks his shirt in, a sudden wave of love rushing through her heart. “I love you.”

He looks up and immediately walks over to her, placing a hand on her waist and kissing her. “I love you too.”

She puts on her dress quickly, smiling when she doesn’t even have to ask Jack as he comes over to help her zip it up, pressing a chaste kiss on her shoulder. His phone ringing interrupts and she brushes her hair before she puts on her accessories. 

“Sup Quinny?”

Quinn’s voice crackles through Jack’s phone. “Where the fuck are you going all dressed up on a Saturday? I know for a fact you don’t have a game today, considering Luke just sent a snap of him playing Chel with Dawson 10 minutes ago.”

“I’m in the Cape, asshole. One of Ash’s friends is getting married.”

She peeks into the view of the camera and waves after putting in one earring. “Hi Quinn!”

“Oh! Hey Ash. You look beautiful.”

She beams. “Thank you!”

Jack scoffs. “I’m here too.”

Ashley leaves the brothers to catch up as she starts gathering her things and puts on her lip tint before sitting at the edge of the bed since they still have 15 minutes left before they have to head out and she’s mostly all ready to go. She chimes in once in awhile, always happy to talk to Quinn as Jack shrugs on his suit jacket, ties his matching pink tie and clasps on his watch.

“Looking good, you two.” Quinn says as they both stand in front of the phone. “Matching tie, eh? Good move, Jacky.”

“We look good enough to make an ex jealous?”

She just rolls her eyes as Quinn’s eyes lights up, immediately catching on. “Absolutely.”

“Don’t encourage him, Quinn.”

Quinn just laughs and bids them farewell as Jack smooths down his tie. She puts on her jacket and grabs her boots and slips them on. As she’s about to bend down and tie them, Jack ushers her to sit on the bed and kneels down. He does it too quickly for her to dwell too much on how much she loves him, but he probably knows, if him gently rubbing his thumb over her ankle and the kiss on the inside of her knee tell her anything. 

It’s only been a little over a year, but she really does think she could spend the rest of her life with him.

They end up running into Nick in the lobby and even though it’s been…four years since she’s seen him, she corrals him into a tight hug. She introduces Jack and Nick introduces Melanie, his fiancee. The only indication from Nick that he knows who Jack is is a subtle comment that’s delivered in a way that’s so Nick it makes her heart ache — “Jack Hughes. Only Ash would show up after almost five years in the flesh with a professional athlete at a wedding where her ex is gonna be at. Always gotta do some out of pocket shit.” — and makes Jack laugh as she slaps him.

The four of them walk the short seven minute walk to the venue together, with Ashley and Nick mostly leading the conversation. She can’t remember where they left their tentative friendship in their late teens and early twenties when the world was shut down and the future looked the most uncertain it had been. Even though they don’t immediately pick up where they left off, years of rust littered in their interactions and memories, she’s extremely happy to see that he’s doing well. 

(Jack’s just happy to be there, holding his girlfriend’s hand as she leads the conversation. It’s nice not having to lead for once. There’s not many situations where he’s the one tagging along) 

As they enter the ceremony space, Ashley immediately sees plenty of other people she recognizes. She chuckles to herself as she realizes many of the guys are from the soccer team. It’s touching to know they still keep in touch. Logan, one of said guys, greets Nick goodheartedly, before wrangling her into a hug. As pleasantries are exchanged and people are introduced, she does feel a bit out of place. But that’s natural, reconnecting with people after so long that clearly still hang out with each other and only hear about her through sporadic updates through Cam when they ask. 

Sides were chosen, even if not intentionally. Ashley’s learned to be okay with that. Even if she thinks it’s unfair that Alex got to keep a lot of their mutual friends and she didn’t.

As everyone settles down in their seats, she squeezes Jack’s hand, opening her mouth to apologize for…something. Not preparing him in giving the whole lore of how she knows all these people? How the only reason she knows the sport of soccer is so well is because of Alex? Not explaining clearly the mixed feelings of her coming to the Cape this weekend? 

But Jack’s enraptured in a conversation with Logan, and she smiles. Of course. Logan played hockey back in high school as well. 

(Out of instinct, Jack does squeeze her hand back though, even placing them in his lap even though he’s not looking in her direction at all)

When Alex comes into view, a pretty redhead’s hand around the crook of his elbow, Ashley starts sweating. Thank goodness she has deodorant in her bag. Jack, who’s still talking to Logan, notices, and she’s about to apologize for her clammy hands as he sends her a confused look but the nearby exclamations of Alex’s name answers his question. He just presses two kisses to her temple.

Logan, to his credit, grimaces. “You gonna be good, Ash?”

She waves his kindness away. “Of course. It’s been so long. And it’s Cam’s day.”

And it is Cam’s day, as everyone falls silent watching both sets of parents and the groomsmen and bridesmaids walk down — she chuckles when she sees Sean walking down, forgetting that he and Cam got closer in college even after going to the same high school — before grinning as Amanda walks down in her beautiful A-line, ball gown of a wedding dress. Ashley wipes a tear away watching Cam do the same and she thinks if only 16 year old them could see themselves now. 

(She has a moment when she looks at Jack where her stomach flips, thinking of the day they could be the ones at the altar. She quickly focuses her attention back to the front)

Cam and Amanda are pronounced husband and wife and she cheers as he dips her and kisses her, beaming and tearing up and laughing as she hears Nick wolf-whistle. People start dispersing, the large heated patio hosting a cocktail hour before the doors to the reception hall open back up again.

While she’s sipping on a glass of wine, she hears a familiar voice calling her name and she beams, carefully making sure she doesn’t spill any wine on Sean’s tuxedo as he towers over her and hugs her tightly. He introduces himself to Jack and she watches in slight amusement as they talk. 

Sean and her never really were friends, more friends by association. He was more in the popular crowd in the school that Ashley herself was never inclined to push her way through. Her and Sean shared plenty of classes together though, and always got along when forced to work together. And in another life, sometimes Ashley thinks that she would’ve had a crush on the blonde boy. 

Instead, she dated one of his teammates. And, well, that turned out the way it did.

(Ashley rolls her eyes when Sean makes a comment about how it “makes complete sense that you’re the one who ended up dating a professional athlete” because sure, Sean. Sure.)

Jack may be among many Massachusetts natives who live and die for the Bruins and are not hesitant in chirping him within 5 minutes of meeting him, but he smiles genuinely as his hand instinctively finds a way on her lower back. After dating Ashley for over a year, he’s used to the good-intentioned bluntness of New Englanders. She only starts rolling her eyes when high school gets brought up and stories about her start piling up. In contrast, Jack loves this and just eggs them on, eager to hear the stories. 

With a quick glance at the seating chart when they’re all starting to filter back into the reception hall, she finds that the high school crowd is split between two tables, and that Cam kept to his word and put her and Alex at different ones. The tables next to each other, but still. She won’t have to worry about making accidental awkward eye contact with him across her chicken. She’s the slightest bit surprised she hasn’t crossed direct paths with him yet. But there’s enough people that they wouldn’t ever be forced to interact. And maybe that’s for the best. 

Dinner passes by without incident, Ashley squeezing both Cam and Amanda tight as they come around to toast every table as Jack gives Cam a tight bro-hug and Amanda a polite kiss on the cheek. The dance floor starts to open up, and as usual, Ashley’s one of the first ones on, dragging Jack and practically their whole table out. She feels light on her feet and happy as she leans into Jack with a big smile. He ditches his suit jacket at the table and his pink tie is loosened and she thinks he looks so handsome. She’s happily tipsy enough where the curious glances and whispers from probably the entire fucking reception hall about why an NHL player is here don’t bother her. She knows he’s used to it. She doesn’t know how.

(Jack may not know everything of the lore and context behind Ashley’s relationship with the people she knows here, but he knows her and how deeply she feels and nostalgic she can get and how that can change her perception of her own memories and how that in turn, can make her extremely self critical. 

So this whole evening, he’s tried to make it as easy as possible, talking with her old friends and classmates — which isn’t much of an ask, they’re nice enough — and just squeezing her hand or waist or kissing her temple or cheek when he feels her focus trailing off. If she talks to Alex and wants him there, he’ll be right next to her. If not, he’ll make himself scarce. Whatever she wants)

Ashley’s resting at her chair while Jack’s in a casual conversation with Cam as Alex comes up behind Cam, tapping him on the shoulder. She swallows and sits up straight and Jack automatically places a gentle hand on her back. Cam and Alex exchange a few words she can’t hear before Cam turns his attention back to her and Jack feels a surge of gratitude towards Cam, who looks extremely apologetic. 

Jack watches as she stands up and steps towards Alex with a small smile. “Hey.”

Alex blinks. “Hi.” She gives him a quick hug before stepping back next to Jack as he stands up. “Alex, this is Jack, my boyfriend. Jack, Alex.”

“Nice to meet you, man.” Jack says with a firm, polite handshake and he doesn’t really see (or care about) Alex’s reaction before turning back to Ashley again, trying to read her. She gives him an almost imperceptible nod. Jack’s eyes flicker to Cam, who also nods behind Alex and he clears his throat. “I’m gonna get a refill. You two want anything?”

“All good, man.”

“Rum and coke, heavier on the coke?”

“You got it,” Jack presses a quick kiss to her hair before he and Cam walk to the bar. 

Jack waves to the bartender for a whiskey sour for himself as Cam gets a gin and tonic. They both lean against the counter and Jack sighs, watching Alex take Jack’s previous seat. “Was that a good idea? Leaving them alone?” Because he knows her, of course, but Cam’s known her longer. And he had a front row seat to her and Alex’s friendship before they got together, their relationship when they got together, and the fallout of their breakup. 

“Honestly? I don’t know. But they’re both 26 year old mature adults.” Cam’s eyes flit over to a redhead woman a couple seats away from the bar and waves her over. Jack’s trying to remember if he’s met her tonight

“Hi Cam,” she says lightly. 

“Hey yourself,” he nods over in the direction of her and Alex. “You initiate that?”

She snorts, “Of course I did.” She perches herself on a stool and sticks her hand out to Jack. “I don’t think we’ve met yet. I’m Francesca, but please call me Fran. I’m Alex’s girlfriend.”

Jack gives her a small smile. This is something. “Jack. Ashley’s boyfriend.”

“I’m aware,” she teases. “I grew up in Jersey and my brother’s a huge hockey fan. I’ve been to a couple of your games throughout the years.”

“Always nice to meet a fan,” He responds smoothly and genuinely. “Especially in a room filled with Bruins fans that could honestly poison my drink at any moment and I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re lucky there are no Rangers fans here.” Cam waves him off as Jack and Fran laugh. 

“What a way to meet someone for the first time,” Fran says.

“While our exes are talking for the first time in over four years?” Jack says and Fran and Cam both snort. “You could say that.”

She turns to Cam, “Cam, you can go off and mingle, you know? It’s your wedding. Jack and I will be fine here.”

Jack opens his mouth to agree but Cam just shakes his head. “It’s fine. I need a second to breathe anyways. And also make sure this doesn’t go downhill.”

“Ashley seems like a smart girl and Alex isn’t that stupid,” Fran says. “They wouldn’t make a fuss at your wedding.”

Cam sighs and Jack thinks about how thankful he is that Cam has been there for his girlfriend way before Jack even knew her. Jack then turns to Fran and asks how she and Alex met and the conversation starts there, all three of them turning to the two exes from time to time to make sure there’s no flames or glasses being thrown. 

Fran talks about how she and Alex met at work and laughs in amusement when Jack explains that it was the same with him and Ashley, talking about how Ashley had been filling in for a colleague for an interview and Jack practically fell in love with her the second he saw her and had to tell himself to not sound stupid in front of the pretty girl. 

And honestly, as Jack talks to Fran, he laughs to himself a bit ironically. She reminds him a bit of Ashley. A bit too much for him personally and harsh in a different way than his girlfriend, but decent company nonetheless. So maybe he and Alex are more alike than they think. 

Meanwhile, the conversation happening merely 20 feet away between two exes is not as casual. Not as comfortable. 

“Been a long time, huh?” Alex remarks. 

Ashley tries not to scoff. “Four years.”

Alex curses under his breath. “Yeah. How are you?”

What a loaded question. She goes along with it. “I’m good.”

“Cam mentioned you’re in New York?”

“I am. Moved out there about a year after college for work. Then went to grad school there.”

“Journalist?”

She shrugs. “More or less. The title’s changed a couple times throughout the years but all in that field.”

“That’s awesome.” He runs a hand through his hair and it looks so familiar yet unfamiliar. “I still remember when you told me you got into BU. Seems like the path was always laid out for you, huh?”

She’ll have to unpack that one later. “Guess so. How about you? I heard you were in Portland. Real estate, right?”

He nods, “Yeah.”

“That’s great. I’m really glad you’re doing well.”

“Thanks.” A moment of silence there. “For what it’s worth, it is really good to see you again.”

Ashley lets out a genuine smile. Small, but genuine. “Same.” 

The sound of his laughter kinda aches a bit, but not in a way that has her sad. Just nostalgic. There is some easy banter, and somewhere in the back of her mind, Ashley’s remembering a bit of why she loved him in the first place. 

There’s a pause in the conversation, before she continues, “I haven’t gotten a chance to meet whoever you’re here with yet, but-”

“Fran.”

“Fran, right.” she says. “But I’ve heard a bit. How long have you two been together?”

“Are we really going to do this?”

She swallows the urge to fire back, shrugging instead. “Why not? And don’t pretend like you’re not curious about Jack either. I figured I might as well just go first.”

Alex laughs. “Around three years for Fran and I.”

“You love her?”

“I do. A lot.”

She smiles. Genuinely this time. “Good. I’m glad to hear it.”

“How about you and Mr. NHL Superstar?”

Again, she swallows down her instinct to fire back. “A little over a year now.”

“You happy?”

“Very.”

Alex nods once and doesn’t quite smile but has a pleasant expression on his face. “Cam said that he likes him. Which is a lot, considering I’m pretty sure he used to think that he was a cocky asshole.”

Ashley knows it’s not meant in that way because she knows that her boyfriend has somewhat of a reputation, but she gets defensive. “People aren’t always what they seem. Even if he’s a pest on the ice sometimes, he’s a wonderful guy.” You should know, she wants to say. You were the exact same way in high school.

They’re trickling into dangerous territory. She wonders if he’ll take the bait. If he does, she wonders if she’ll be strong enough not to fall for it. She wonders if he’ll apologize, not because she needs it, but because she knows she deserved one all those years ago. 

Alex leans back casually, putting his arm over the empty chair next to him. “From me to Jack fucking Hughes. I don’t know if I should be flattered or offended.”

Ashley doesn’t know at all how she’s supposed to take that. Like everything he’s always done, he says it casually, taking a drink of water as she’s figuring out how to respond. She doesn’t. For the first time, she feels like she doesn’t have control of this conversation.

He notices she has no response and keeps going. “Hey, he’s a decent player and the money can’t hurt. I’m glad you’re happy.”

She swallows. A gold digger? Is that really what he’s hinting at?

Ashley almost sighs in relief when she catches sight of Jack, Cam and a woman who she presumes is Fran walking back towards them. Immediately she plasters on a smile and introduces herself to Fran, because it’s not her fault that her boyfriend still has the ability to get under her skin even so many years after their break-up. Jack presses a rum and coke in her hand silently and she thanks him quietly before making small talk with Fran. Just having Jack next to her has her blood pressure lowering. Soon enough, they all but shove Cam back into his own wedding and bid farewell as Fran excuses her and Alex and heads over to chat with someone she doesn’t recognize. 

Jack leads her outside of the main reception hall into one of the hallways, where there are people sporadically chatting and also getting away from the music for a second. 

Jack grabs her drink and faces her with a concerned look. “Ash? You okay? It seemed to get a little…tense at times.”

Ashley shrugs and chuckles. It’s bitter though, and he knows it, immediately placing a grounding hand on her waist. “I was how I always am to everyone.”

“Sure,” he responds skeptically. 

She sighs. “It was fine. I’m fine. It didn’t go badly. I don’t know if it was good. It just…was.” She squeezes her eyes shut. “It was fine. It’s not a big deal. It’s been four fucking years and it’s not like I love him anymore. I shouldn’t-”

“Hey. Stop. None of that,” Jack says softly but firmly, leaning in closer and kissing her forehead as she bites her bottom lip harshly. He holds her hand gently and presses it against his chest. “Open your eyes, baby. Take some breaths with me.”

She obeys, looking into blue eyes that have become another home for her and taking deep breaths. “Thanks.”

“Always. Wanna talk about it?”

She debates in her mind. “No. It’s a wedding. Let’s go back and have fun and dance.”

“You sure?”

She nods, before placing a peck on his lips. “I’ll probably be more in my feelings tomorrow about it. Or the next week. But for now, come dance with me.”

“Lead the way.”

Ashley doesn’t even look at Alex’s direction for the rest of the night, instead looking at Jack when she feels like the floor beneath her is gonna get pulled away. The stupidly romantic thing is, she knows he’ll catch her everytime.

three - one year and nine months

“What do you think?”

Jack looks up from where he’s sitting on her bed and his eyes pop open, jaw dropping with it. He tosses his phone to the side. “Ash. Holy shit.”

Ashley twirls around in the yellow ruffle dress. “I like this one the most, but I don’t think it’s fancy enough.”

She looks up to see him biting his lip, eyes scanning her body. She blushes as he beckons her to stand inbetween his legs. “Don’t care. You have to wear this one, please. It fits you perfectly.”

She smoothes down the ruffles. “Are you sure it’s fancy enough?”

“Honey, most of the guys probably won’t even be wearing ties,” she settles her hands in his hair. “Wear this one. I know you love it and you look beautiful in it.”

She lets out a breath. “Okay, yeah. I can pair it with those flower earrings and matching bracelet and I think Scarlett has white heels I could borrow and-”

“Woah there,” he chuckles, rubbing his thumbs on the fabric at her hips. “Did you have too much coffee today? You’re talking a million miles a minute.”

“No,” she drawls out. “I’m just…nervous? This is the first thing we’re going to that’s so…”

“Public?” He finishes for her. She nods. He pushes her gently so that she’s sitting next to him. “I get that. I’m a bit nervous too. But I’ll be there the whole time. And you’ll have my parents and Quinn. And Nico will be there too. Besides, you’re great with people. I’ve seen you in action.”

She shrugs modestly. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“Then what is it you’re worried about?”

She swallows at his tone, because she doesn’t think he gets it. Why would he? He’s not the one that’s going to be scrutinized by his fans. At least not to the degree she would be. “Everyone else’s thoughts.”

Jack nods slowly in realization. He leans in to kiss her lips twice. She has to admit it makes her feel a bit better. His kisses usually do. “You know no one else’s opinions mean anything. Besides, it’s very clear to anyone that I’m happily taken.”

And he has a point. She’s made an appearance on his Instagram with two photos in his annual summer dump — one was just of her in the city and the other was of the two of them by the lake in Michigan — and he hadn’t tagged her, but it was clearly a message to the world that he wasn’t a single man. Social media doesn’t matter and it never will, but it had been a decision they both had come to, Jack approaching her gently and asking if he could post them. 

But having it through a screen and having it in real life is different. 

“I know it’s stupid,” she says. “But you know me. I don’t particularly enjoy being out of my element.”

“I know, I know,” he bumps her knee with his. “It’ll be fun though. We’ll get drunk the night before and maybe I’ll be hungover the next morning and you get to tell Luke if I do anything embarrassing.”

Ashley laughs. “That does sound fun.”

“Exactly.” He cups her face in his hands. “I gotcha, baby. Always.”

She trusts in that when she lands in Boston a few days later. She trusts in that as she gets swept in a world she’s not quite comfortable in, but finds there are a lot more similarities than differences compared to environments she’s been in. She’s a journalist after all. It’s her job in a way to blend into different lives in order to get the best and most impactful stories. She trusts in that as she’s rolling her eyes fondly at Jack, who’s chatting with practically everyone at the bar. She doesn’t think she’s ever seen this many hockey players in one room. She trusts in that as Jack then always drags whoever he’s talking to so that he can introduce her. 

For someone who has always valued their privacy, Jack is making it pretty obvious that the “stunning girl in the floral shirt” is his. Ashley can’t say she hates it, even if it’s a little bold for her particular taste. 

“He looks happy, doesn’t he?” Ellen asks as they both watch Jack across the room with Auston Matthews. Ashley’s cousins in Toronto would be freaking out right now. 

Ashley snickers. “Drunk or happy?”

“Both?” Ellen raises her glass up to knock it against Ashley’s in a toast.

“I’ll drink to that.” 

“Thank you for coming. I know it means a lot to Jack that you’re here.”

“Thank you all for having me,” Ashley responds, suddenly a bit shy. “It’s, been, uh, a bit overwhelming, to be honest.”

“I can imagine,” Ellen smiles sympathetically. “All this hockey stuff, business wise, is more Jimmy’s scene than mine.”

“Really?” Ashley thinks to all that Jack’s told her about his mother and all the warmth Ellen has emitted since they’ve met, not to mention how everyone they’ve talked to — player, coach, agent — has gravitated towards Ellen.

To her credit, Ellen chuckles. “That’s fair. Jack tells me that you know how to work a room, which is something that Jimmy’s always said about me.”

Ashley traces the rim of her glass. “I think Jack gives me too much credit.”

“I’m not sure about that,” Ellen says with a knowing smile. “I read your article the other day. The one about the family who’s had to travel across the country to get care for their child. Quinn sent it to me, actually.” Quinn read it? She doesn’t remember sending it to him. Did Jack send it to him? “It’s an incredible piece of work. How long did that take you?”

“From start to finish? Around two months.”

Ellen grins, placing a motherly hand on her shoulder. “You’re so talented, honey. I try to keep up with everything you write, but you do so much that sometimes I lose track.”

"You really don’t have to do that. But thank you, Ellen. T-that means a lot to me.” 

“What does Mom not have to do?” Jack asks, squeezing himself next to his girlfriend.

“Read my articles.”

Jack grins. “Why not? They’re so good. Our family group chat is filled with them. Dad always loves your profiles.”

Ashley swallows. She’s pretty confident that the Hughes family likes her, but the fact that they all keep track of her published articles is a bit too much for her to handle right now. She downs the rest of her beer and waves Jack away when he opens his mouth to ask if she wants his. Instead, he asks the bartender for a ginger ale. Ashley’s grateful. 

The next day, Ashley smiles as Jack’s walking the carpet. He’s up for the Hart trophy this year and as he squats down to greet a little boy and sign his jersey, Ashley can’t help but let her love and pride for him soar. She’s as out of the way as she can be, trying not to get overwhelmed with all the voices and flashes around her. It helps that Ellen and Jim seem to always be nearby and she makes fast friends with Nina and Luca, who are watching Nico do similar things. 

She gets pulled out of her own world with a familiar hand on her waist. “Hey,” Jack murmurs into her ear. 

“Hi.”

“Do you wanna jump into a few pictures with me?” Jack asks softly. “It’ll only take a few minutes. No pressure if not.”

“Uh, yeah. Sure.”

He beams, offering an arm as he leads them over to where the photographers are. She tries not to blink too much as the flashes hurt her eyes and hopes she and Jack are looking in the same direction. 

“You look beautiful,” he pairs his sincere compliment with a squeeze of her waist. 

She smiles at the cameras for a few seconds before turning to him slightly. “You already said that.”

“I know. It’s worth repeating.”

Thankfully, it’s only about 30 seconds before everyone else — Quinn, Jack’s parents and Nico’s family — are being ushered in for a group photo. She finds herself inbetween Jack and Nico and giggles as Nico tries to blow his hair out of his face. She takes pity on him after a few tries and she reaches up to fix it for him quickly, Nina laughing on the other side of her brother. 

“Stop messing with it,” Ashley scolds lightly through clenched teeth, smiling for the pictures. “You’re gonna make it worse.” She giggles when Nico pokes her side a few seconds later. 

When Jack wins the Hart, Ashley leaps out of her seat in excitement. To her, he’s always going to be the best player she knows because she sees firsthand how hard he works, but it’s nice that his peers are recognizing it too. He places a quick kiss on her lips before going up on stage and Ashley’s clapping and laughing to herself. He was dreading having to make any sort of speech. 

After the ceremony, she just follows everyone to whatever swanky rooftop seemingly the entire NHL is gathering at. She finds herself flocking towards Nina for a lot of the evening as they both exchange fun stories and memories of their own lives over drinks. Ashley thinks she could keep talking to Nina for the rest of her life. She’s just so damn cool. 

The next day, she drags Jack around the BU campus and is happy pointing out buildings that she had classes in, cried in, cheered in and lived her life in. They walk from one end of Com Ave to the other, Ashley dutifully pointing out Agganis Arena (“I’m sure Trevor has some good memories in this building”), their starting point.

She stands in front of the College of Communication building and stops. Jack dutifully stops next to her. “This building kinda looks like shit.”

Ashley snorts. “Yeah, I know. Especially compared to all the science buildings.” She bites her lip. “It all started here.”

“What did?”

“The dream.”

And yeah, maybe that’s a bit dramatic. But Jack said similar things when he brought her to Toronto earlier this year, so she knows he understands. 

Almost two years together now, she’s convinced that no one will really ever understand her like Jack does. 

He nudges her hip with his, the breeze blowing comfortably through her hair and rustling the plants around them. They watch as a student walks through the front doors. “Wanna go in?” 

She shakes her head. “Nah, I’m good.” She tugs at his hand while sipping the lavender lemonade from Pavement in the other. “Come on. I’ll show you Bay State. I lived there my junior year after I came back from studying abroad in Dublin.”

Bay State Road is beautiful as always in the Boston summer, Ashley’s hand in Jack’s. She drags him out into the middle of the road and only squeals once when a car is coming and he pulls her to the sidewalk. 

Campus isn’t the same when classes aren’t in session, but she hopes Jack can still feel some of the magic in the air through her stories. 

“It suits you.”

She turns to Jack. “Hm?”

“This city. It suits you.”

“Oh,” she blushes for some reason. “Thanks.”

“Do you miss it here?”

“All the time,” Ashley admits. “New York is great, but Boston will always be home.”

“Would you think of working here? If given the option?” Jack asks. 

“Maybe,” Ashley squeezes Jack’s hand, “But I also have reasons to stay in New York.”

He smirks, but it quickly transitions into something gentler. “Yeah?”

She could throw something snarky back at him, but she looks around the brownstones and lets out a deep breath. This is home, but flashes of Hoboken and East Village flicker in her mind and that’s also home. 

She looks at Jack and feels overwhelmed. Oh. It’s Boston. It’s Hoboken. It’s East Village. It’s him. Jack is home.

four - two years

“Big day, huh?” 

Ashley just smiles at Carissa, nudging her side. “We’ve come a long way since that phone call at 2 a.m.”

Carissa just snorts. “That phone call got us here.”

“True,” Ashley squeezes her arm as they make their way to their assigned table. “Love you, girly.”

“Love you more. I’m proud of us.”

Ashley grins, looking around as everyone is mingling amongst each other. There are past award winners here and Ashley’s already done some of her internal fangirling, especially when Lynsey Addario came up to her and wanted to talk to her. 

She’s still decently new in this industry and knows she has so much to learn, but it’s comforting to see that all of her hard work has paid off. 

People are starting to take their seats and Ashley looks around at her colleagues. Everyone’s dressed up and looks so lovely and Ashley smiles, looking down at her midnight blue dress. When Jack had seen her walk out of the changing room in it a few weeks ago, his eyes had popped out. 

(“Fuck,” he had said. “Now I’m even more pissed I can’t make it to the dinner.”)

And yeah, it would be nice if he was here. But the Devils are playing the Islanders tonight. It sucks that he’s so close but so far away, but after two years now, it’s just part of the gig. And they make it work. So Ashley isn’t too upset about it, even if Jack is. 

She’s a bit confused when there is an empty seat next to her, as it seems like the ballroom is filled. There’s no nametag there either, but her attention soon drifts off to the front. She has to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling too hard. 

The Pulitzer Prize Awards Ceremony at Columbia University, also her alma mater in a way. Her 18-year-old-self who was sitting in the front row of Introduction to Journalism in Boston could’ve only dreamed about this day. 

Opening remarks start and Ashley really does try to listen, but her eyes glaze over as her mind drifts off. She claps as the first few awards are being presented. She thinks about all the hours that it took to get this piece down, but also all the hours before — in her classes, at her college paper, in her internships, during her job search. The times she wanted to throw in the towel and just do something else. Anything else.  

“I didn’t miss too much, did I?” She blinks, turning to the voice next to her. She freezes. 

“Jack?” She breathes out. She hasn’t been sleeping much this week, so this could very well be a hallucination. 

He beams and she reaches to place her hand on his cheek and she realizes as she scans her eyes up and down.  Oh. He’s in her favorite suit of his. And he’s here. 

“Oh my god,” she wraps her arms around his neck as her whole table cheers. Thankfully, there’s a lull in the ceremony where the whole room is blanketed in a low buzz. “What the f-don’t you have a game?”

“Technically,” Jack says, nodding at her coworkers with a charming smile. “Took a personal day.”

“What? You can do that?”

“Yeah,” he shrugs, like he didn’t just skip a game to be here. He rubs his thumb on her shoulder as he kisses her temple. “This is a huge deal, baby. I wasn’t gonna miss it. I’m so proud of you.”

“Lindy’s not mad? Nico’s not mad?”

Jack snorts. “The second you won, I told Lindy to count me out for the game so he can do what he wants with that. Nico’s lowkey pissed he also can’t be here.” He turns to Carissa on the other side and beams. “Hey Care. Congrats.”

“Thanks, Jack,” Carissa beams. “Surprised you pulled this off.”

“Surprised we pulled this off.”

Ashley looks at Carissa. “You knew about this?”

“Of course. Who do you think made sure he would have a seat?”

She looks between her colleague and her boyfriend. Something creeps up her throat that feels a lot like love. 

When her and Carissa are recognized and they have to go up to accept the award and give a short speech, it’s kinda a blur. All she remembers is Jack’s kiss on her cheek and receiving a standing ovation as she and Carissa walk up together. So many hours with her eyes glazed over glaring at the laptop. So many hours interviewing with people and reconfirming facts. So many hours dedicated to this one piece. 

She wouldn’t have it any other way. 

As Carissa is speaking, she locks eyes with Jack. He’s beaming and his eyes are actually sparkling. His hair tousled and he’s so handsome and he’s hers. 

(She almost trips walking back to him) 

He chuckles, pulling her into another tight hug. “You’re amazing, baby. Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” she chokes out. “Thank you for calming me down all the times I was freaking out.”

“Of course. I’m sure all those glasses of cold water helped,” he jokes. She always said the ice cold water he would place next to her laptop would wake up her brain. 

She laughs into his shoulder. “They did.”

He pulls away and just stares at her, smile still on his face. Their attention is taken away by someone who wants to congratulate Ashley and has no recognition on their face when looking at Jack. 

(Jack looks on with pride)

plus one - three years and four months

Stanley Cups are interesting. Even some of the best athletes of all time have never gotten one. And some that are only slightly above average perhaps were just placed on the right team in the right season. 

But this Stanley Cup, in Ashley’s completely unbiased opinion, this one was fully deserved. By every single person on the team. 

She doesn’t think she’ll ever forget the absolute joy in Nico’s eyes as he lifted the cup in the air to a roaring crowd at The Rock, or how long the hug between Jack and Luke was when the final whistle sounded, or seeing Ellen cry as her two sons beckoned her in for a picture with the cup, her other son and husband standing close by with pride in their eyes. 

The picture of her and Jack by the cup as he’s kissing her cheek as she smiles so widely her eyes are shut might be her favorite picture of them of all time. 

Ashley had wondered if Jack was going to bring the cup to Toronto or Michigan. He ended up bringing it to Toronto while Luke brought it to Michigan. It ended up being all the same, since they were both present at both. 

Jack winning the Cup is obviously a huge celebration. But he’s not the only one with something to celebrate.

Yesterday, when they were out to lunch with some of his extended family, Ashley had found out by phone that she was just promoted to be a director of her team. After her phone call, she had just covered her mouth in shock as she sat down on a nearby bench. It wasn’t until a few minutes later when a concerned Jack came up to her and asked what was wrong, before she told him and he smothered her face in kisses. 

The parade around his pseudo-hometown is absolutely insane. Ashley doesn’t even know how she has a voice by mid-afternoon, much less how Jack has one considering that he’s been yelling all day. At some point, she forces him to sit down and chug a giant water bottle. 

But she can’t overthink too hard. Her phone’s filled with pictures of Jack with his loved ones and she just feels proud. 

Some of Jack’s extended family who still live in the area offered their home to host a party that night with just friends and family. Ashley did all she could to help prepare, which included coming over to decorate the night before and parking herself in the kitchen the second they got there to offer a helping hand. Well, she tried, before every single person pushed her away and insisted she go join the celebrations. 

She finds herself in a long, in-depth conversation with one of Jack’s younger cousins who’s thinking about working in media when she notices it suddenly becomes quiet. Suddenly, the light flickers off and Ashley is confused.

Jack then walks in with a circular cake with candles lit paired with his beautiful smile. Ashley blinks in confusion as everyone’s eyes fall on her and before she can ask what the hell is going on, Luke bounds over to her and swings an arm around her shoulder, shaking her. 

“Congrats on your promotion, Ash!” Luke exclaims. 

Her mouth drops open and she looks around as everyone in the room cheers and shouts out their congratulations. She chuckles in shock as Jack walks closer. And then suddenly, all she can focus on is him. 

“What are you doing?” She whispers, suddenly wanting to cry. 

“Come on,” he says with the softest smile. “You didn’t think I’d just keep the news to myself, did you?”

“But this is your day,” she chokes out. 

“My day. Your day. It’s all the same, eh?” Jack nods at the candles. “Hurry up. My arms are getting tired.”

A watery laugh from her before she blows out the candles at everyone’s cheers. Jack places the cake on a nearby table before smothering her in a tight hug. Ashley’s heart could burst right now at the love she feels from the people in the room and the person in her arms. She gets a chance to really look at the cake, which is white and sage with “Congratulations Jack and Ashley!” in beautiful script at the center. The lights turn back on and Quinn’s the first one who comes up to hug her. As Ellen is giving Ashley a kiss on the cheek, she sees Jack over Ellen’s shoulder, smiling at her. 

She swallows as she pulls away, before glancing at the ring on her left finger. Ashley’s never let herself want much in her life. But if someone asked her what she wants with her life, she would just place them in this room. Right here. Right now. 

(They cut the cake together. Ashley feels a buzzing joy throughout her bones)

[imaniwriting]

Rafe x Heyward!Reader who meets at a party and go from enemies to lvrs

(I had fun writing this icl)

𝟐 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 (requests are open)

Warnings : swearing, let me know if i missed anything

Summary : it took 2 weeks for Rafe have you wrapped around his finger and it took nothing for you to have him wrapped around yours

Genre : idk

DAY 1

It was the first party of the season thrown at a kooks place and since all summer you were forced to work at the country club you figured you could treat yourself to this one time of free time and surprisingly your father agreed to let you.

The party was usual drunk kids messing around and some sane people watching over them. You yourself had some drinks but your were only tipsy nothing more nothing less.

“Well, well, well, what’s a pouge doing here all alone? You know you’re in the enemy’s territory.” Said a voice from behind you making you turn around. “Well i wont say I haven’t seen you often on my ‘territory’ Rafe” you shot back making him smirk.

“No need to get so defensive love i was just saying.” He said arms held up in surrender. He had always found you intriguing but never dared to make a move on it until now. He saw you hanging out more and more with some random touron and he wasn’t about to loose his chance to that guy.

“Well go just saying something somewhere else Rafe” you said annoyed not wanting to communicate with the guy who has been beating your brother for the longest time.

Rafe put his hand on his chest in a mockingly manner “why dont you love being in my presence?” He asked making you flip him off and walk away. “You’ll fold someday!” He yelled after you making you chuckle before raising your hand again to flip him off once again. He knew this was game on.

DAY 2

You had officially started working in the country club and it was hard to say the least. There were so many snobby rich people that were just trying to get you fired.

And there were rich teenagers which’s egos were through the roof. She was taking an order when Rafe and his friends walked into the building. “Yes sir would that be all?” She asked to which the guy just rolled his eyes and waved her away. “Okay..” you said dragging the word.

“Here you go sir your cranberry vodka with extra vodka” you said when you finished making the drink “do you want to start a tab?” You asked your eyes trained on Rafe and his friends. “No.” He said making you nod and ring him up. He the left leaving no tip making you roll your eyes. “Fucking stuck up.” You muttered while cleaning the countertop not seeing Rafe walk over to you. Without looking up you greeted him not knowing it was the Cameron boy. “Hello Sir what would you like?” You asked while picking up something up from the ground. When you looked up your face fell. “Huh, Sir? i like the sound of that” he said leaning over the counter top.

“Rafe i do not have time for this” you groaned running your fingers through your hair. “What now? Scaring costumers away?” He asked making you roll your eyes in annoyance

You saw your boss staring at you from afar which made you force a smile onto your face. “No of course not. What would you like?” You said with a big smile on your face which was obviously fake.

“Hmm how about your number?” He asked while scanning over the menu. That made you laugh “yeah right” you said making him look up into your eyes. “A glass of whiskey and 2 vodka cranberries” he said.

You nodded “ want to start a tab?” You asked while getting the cranberry juice and vodka. “No” he said getting out his wallet. You nodded and rung him up trying his eyes staring at you.

“That will be about 20 dollars” you said handing him the drinks. He grabbed an 100 dollar bill and handed it to you before walking away. “Rafe?” You yelled after him and he turned around “this is way to much you still need change.” He shook his head at that.

“I don’t love” he started “ what i need is your number.” He finished shrugging and winking at you.

DAY 5

It was now almost a week since you worked at the country club and every day Rafe came to talk to you keeping you company. He had always left a big tip making it bearable. You also gave him your number after 3 days of convincing.

“So what are you doing after this.” He asked while you fixed up another order. “Probably helping my father out by delivering groceries” you answered recalling that your father wanted some help earlier. “Damn you don’t get no break do you?” Rafe stated the obvious while finishing his drink. “Yeah thats what’s normal when your daddy ain’t rich” you said rolling your eyes you still had to get used to rafe being in your presence. Though talking with Rafe had some pros for example he naturally laid his hands off pouges.

Not long after your brother walked in with his friends. “Hey y/n!” Pope said excitedly while walking over to you. You smiled at him but his smile dropped when he saw Rafe sitting in front of you. You shook your head to signal him to let it go before getting sodas out for them.

“Hey Kiara girl how ya doin?” You asked opening the bottles for them.

Rafe let out a groan before paying and getting up. “At least he left a tip” said jj thinking it was something rare. You nodded staring at Rafe leaving. You looked at the check you had in your hand. ‘I’ll drive you home when you’re done’ it read making you slightly smile.

DAY 10

It had become a routine, waking up, leaving for work, talking to rafe the whole day, being driven home by rafe or hanging out with him and then go to sleep.

“Where to miss heyward?” Rafe asked while starting his car. “Rafe you know damn well were to.” He rolled his eyes playfully “sorry to assume that maybe you have some free time” he said making you turn to him. “You know what? To yours then I’ve been waiting for you to show me how to make that Cameron drink you’ve been talking about.”

Rafe smiled and took a turn so he could drive to tanny hill instead to your house. When you guys finally arrived you sat in the kitchen of the large mansion. “You wanna try?” Rafe asked when he was done with the drink, making you nod. “Sure.” You said while taking the Glas and taking a sip.

“This is actually not bad.” You said surprised Rafe nodded as if to say that he knew. You finished your drink and you found yourself sitting on the expensive couch watching a movie.

You didn't even care that your phone had rang a couple minutes ago. When the movie finally finished you were falling asleep but Rafe knew you would kill him if he let you spent the night.

That’s why he walked over to you and picked you up walking to his car and buckling your seat belt. He drove you home and walked up the stairs hoping that he wouldn’t have to face any of the pouges especially your brother. He was actually hoping for Hayward so that he could lie smoothly

“Hey is that rafe over there?” Pope asked making him groan into his hand. He turned around and held his hands up “look dude im not here to fight for the first time in my life” he said making JJ and pope walk over to him. “Then what are you doing here?” Pope gritted out making Rafe rub his forehead contemplating if he should throw a punch or not. “I’m here to drop of your sister.” He said making jj frown. “What’d you do with her?” He asked venom dripping from his tone.

“Nothing.” Rafe answered truthfully. But none of the pouges in front of him believed him and you got woken up by punches and shouting.

DAY 14

Since the day pope and jj fought with rafe you hadn’t heard from him. Which was hard given he had become a part of your routine. And something you didn’t expect to see this morning was Rafe knocking on your bedroom door.

“Hey” he said scratching the back of his neck. “Hi” you said back feeling a weird sensation build up in your stomach. “Your mother let me in.” He explained upon seeing your confused expression. “Oh you didn’t have to punch yourself through the door?” You asked sarcastically .

“Okay look i know what i pulled wasn’t great,” he started obviously struggling to say sorry. “But I didn’t throw the first punch.” He continued making you scoff “rafe you are 22! They are 17! Who’s the older one to be handling the situation right?” You asked making him nod slightly not wanting to make you any more mad.

“I know.” Was all he said making you look up into his eyes. “Say it.” You replied knowing it as on the tip of his tongue. “I’m.. im sorry” he said hesitantly “What? I didn't hear you.” You said to provoke him.

He caught onto what you were doing and rolled his eyes. “Shut up.” He said making you laugh. “So what are you doing here?” You asked “well firstly i wanted to apologize and secondly i wanted to ask you out.” He said bluntly

“Well you did the first part now do the second.” You said smiling up at him.

“Miss heyward you wanna go out on a date with me ?” He asked making you smile at him and nod “Sure Cameron.” You answered making him smile too.

[queenimmadolla]

hi!! i’m not so sure if you’re still doing pennyverse or not, but you should do one where she’s a teenager doing teenager things! whatever you’d like as the plot :) i love your writing so much

This one hurt ngl, this is how i know I’m not one for kids cause having penny grow up was PAINFUL. Hope you enjoy it, though!

(Dad!Eddie Munson/Rockstar!Eddie Munson x Mom!Reader)

more dad!eddie and penny adventures can be found here.

summary: Your daughter Penny is now a teenager >:| and Eddie is not happy about it. warnings: mentions of recreational drug usage, lil bit of fatherly hurt a/n: the UNBELIEVABLY HOT edit of Eddie was crafted by @eddiemunsons-missingnipple, whose edits have me in a chokehold. perfect depiction of how I see older!eddie in the penny 'verse.

“Hey, mom?”

  “Hmn?” You responded, halting the task of organizing everything for the night ahead.

  “I wanted to ask you something,” Penny stated, nervously fidgeting with her fingers as she approached the kitchen island.

  Her younger brother snickered, not bothering to glance up from his Game Boy—though he fully intended on listening to this play out—as she glared at him.

  You smirked, finger tapping against the box of popcorn you’d been about to open. It was clear from both of their mannerisms, what she wanted to ask would probably garner a no from you. You decided to humor her anyway.

  “Okay,” you nodded, gesturing for her to go on.

  She huffed, fingers reaching up to twirl around one of her curls. In the last couple of years, Penny had obviously grown significantly. She was still a little shorter than you—probably wouldn’t end up ever being taller than you—and while bits of Eddie obviously poked through her features (his eyes, his mouth and expressions), she was looking more and more like you every day. At one point, it had reached an uncanny degree and creeped you out a little. 

  Despite her physical alterations, her personality stayed the same. A big daddy’s girl, with her attitude and mischievous ways matching her father’s, it being the reason why you told her no so often.

  “Can I hang out with Maria and Shanti tonight? There’s this party and─” 

  “Ah, stop right there,” you interrupted, having heard enough to know where this was going. Over the years, the party scene had also changed. Especially since you no longer lived in Hawkins. After Corroded Coffin got picked up 10 years ago, Eddie was always traveling, on tour to open for one famous band or another. Two years after, they’d broken through mainstream heavy metal and shot to the top of the charts, starting their first official tour of their own.

  It had proved surprisingly difficult, being the wife of a rockstar who was always coming and going for work but Eddie hadn’t been about to lose you, always making sure his family came first. Eventually, it just made sense to make the move to Los Angeles—though you only agreed on the basis you’d be moving to one of the more quiet regions, away from all the millionaire mansions. While your home was definitely more than anything you could have dreamed up, it was still rather humble compared to the homes in West Hollywood; exactly what you and Eddie wanted.

  It was still LA, though, and you were wary of the parties thrown in the area. The drug scene here was a whole other ballpark. Keeping Penny away from alcohol and drugs was something you knew, realistically, you wouldn’t be able to do. Encourage her not to drink and do drugs? Sure, and you did. Actively and repeatedly. But you’d been smoking weed at her age and drinking, so you couldn’t be a hypocrite. And you didn’t want to ruin your relationship by being the domineering parent. If she was going to do these things (and, as a parent, you really hoped she wouldn’t) you wanted her to trust you, and know she could come to you about these things rather than having to sleep off a high at a strange home or wait out the alcohol until she was sober enough to see you like you had to do when you were a teenager. 

  Despite your hopes and wishes, Penny was going to be a teenager—whether you liked it or not—but above all, you wanted her to be safe.

  “You know why I don’t like these parties─”

  “Mom!” She groaned, frowning at the way this conversation was going. “You’ve got to trust me, I’m not gonna do anything. I just want to have fun with my friends. Please?”

  Dammit. She used the trust card.

  You sighed, actually mulling it over. You didn’t like it. You really didn’t like it. But you remembered asking your mom something similar once and being denied. Tired of being refused the right to be a teenager despite never being trouble for your parents, you’d snuck out that night and, ironically, considering said track record, almost got in trouble. The cops had gotten involved with the party, you hadn’t been able to drive so you ended up having to walk across town in the middle of the night to make it home.

  You didn’t want her sneaking out. You were about to cave, when suddenly you remembered exactly what you were preparing for when she interrupted you and guilt began to set in.

  “You can go─”

  “YES!”

  “—if you get your dad’s permission.”

  Penny instantly deflated, slumping down onto the island countertop. “Actually, I was hoping you’d talk to him for me.”

  You and Wayne locked eyes and snorted. 

  “Baby, I would do anything for you, but not that. Not today.”

  “What’s not today?” Eddie asked as he leaned against the doorway, scratching at the short hairs of his beard.

  “Yeah, what’s not today?” Came a little voice from his side. Maple was clinging to her daddy’s leg, her little blanket clutched in her free arm.

  Eddie reached down to stroke a palm over her buzzed head (Maple liked to watch King of the Hill with him and when she saw Luanne with no hair, she’d bugged and bugged and bugged until you finally caved and she hadn’t wanted to grow it out since), raising an eyebrow as he waited to be filled in. You and Wayne exchanged glances before you went back to pulling out snacks and he focused back on the game in his hand.

  Penny huffed again before facing her father and tried not to wince, “Dad, I wanted to hang out with my friends tonight.”

  Eddie blinked.

  “But it’s Sunday.”

  “Yeah, we’re on winter break, remember?”

  Oh, he remembered but that wasn’t what he was referring to. “Baby, it’s Sunday. New episode of The Simpsons.”

  It might have been trivial to others, but Eddie enjoyed every single second he got to spend with his family. After Corroded Coffin’s latest tour ended in the fall, Eddie had made sure his schedule was cleared for the rest of the year—save for playing two shows with Metallica, you’d threatened him if he said no to the opportunity of playing with his all time favorite band—for family time. This was a vital piece of it for him. Ever since it started airing, before Corroded Coffin was ever known and when Penny was still in diapers, it became routine to sit down and watch the show together. 

  Penny would always keep track of the time, and five minutes before it was due to start, she’d be tugging him by the hand to the couch and climbing in his lap. You’d snuggle up to his side, and when you’d had Wayne, he’d get comfy in your lap. Whenever Eddie was home from tour, it was the same thing; something that kept him sane and happy.

  And now Penny basically wanted to kill him. Hadn’t growing up been enough for her? She wanted to deprive him of his bonding time, too? 

  “I know,” came her hesitant reply as she lifted her shoulders.

  His heart was breaking. Eddie’s gaze darted from her to you and back. 

  “Did your mom say it was okay?” He knew how you felt about her going out, hopefully you’d already said no and this was one of those ‘let me ask the other parent things’.

  “Yeah.” Penny nodded, glancing over her shoulder at your back as you pretended to not hear every single word. It was like you and Eddie shared a heart, and you could very much feel his pain.

  Eddie stared at her for a couple of moments, stared right into those big beautiful brown eyes of hers, his tongue pressing against his canine tooth. 

  He knows he’s supposed to see Penny, his 15 year old daughter, but he just sees his baby girl; his tiny little toddler in her overalls with her untamable curls going in every direction and remnants of a sticky treat smeared over fat-filled baby cheeks, who always wanted to be around him, be with him. That’s who he sees staring back up at him with wide, innocent eyes. 

  But that’s not her anymore, is it? 

  Eddie blinked, glancing away from her as he cleared his throat and tried to will the moisture from his eyes away even though he knew he’d get high and cry over this later. 

  “Uh, yeah. Sure, baby. You go have fun.”

  “Thank you, daddy!” Penny rushed forward, mindful of Maple as she hugged Eddie. He held onto her for longer than was necessary but she had a feeling this was hard for him, and she still loved it when he held her so she let him.

  Then she’d almost bound out of the kitchen before she whirled around on her heels and ran to hug you from behind, pressing a kiss to your cheek. 

  “Curfew.” You reminded her and she nodded in agreement, not willing to push her luck and moved onto her next target. 

  Penny sunk her hand into Wayne’s curls, shaking his head and laughing as she bobbed away in time to escape his swipe. 

  “Later, knucklehead.”

  “Don’t touch me, beyotch.” 

  “WAYNE!” You and Eddie shouted while Penny just laughed and made a run for the front door before you and Eddie could change your minds.

  “What? I say it to her all the time.” He shrugged and got off the island stool, making his way to the living room so you couldn’t yell at him. Wayne had grown over the years, too. 

  While he had started off looking like an exact replica of Penny, his features had changed a bit. He still resembled you quite a bit but he had his dad’s nose, eyes, chin and dimple, making the similarities nearly uncanny. Unlike his dad (though Eddie had recently cut his mane), Wayne liked to keep his hair short but was alike to Penny as he also had his dad’s personality and attitude, and then some. 

  Wayne had been diagnosed with autism in the past—had nothing to do with the circumstances of his birth—and while you’d been briefly concerned about how to raise him, it was clear he’d be just fine in life, he really only interacted with the world differently than others, lacked a filter but he was still a sweetheart. To anyone except his sisters, anyways but it was always playful. On multiple occasions you’d caught them all conked out together in the living room or each other's rooms. 

  Maple detached herself from Eddie to follow him and you listened to their commentary.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Why?”

  “Because.”

  “Because why?”

  “Oh my god, Maple.”

  “Is it because you’re autistic?”

  “No, it’s not because—maybe it is, I don’t know, just—shush.”

  You rolled your eyes and abandoned your task again in favor of comforting Eddie. He sagged into you as your arms curled around his waist.

  “Honey, I’m gonna need a bowl to survive tonight.”

  “I’ll pack you one,” you cooed, pressing a kiss to his pouty lips. “I know that must have been very hard for you.”

  “The other two are gonna finish me off if they try to grow up.”

  Almost an hour and a half later, in the midst of the episode, you got up to get a refill of popcorn and encountered Penny as she walked through the front door.

  You hadn’t been expecting her back for at least another two hours. 

  “Hey, baby.” You approached her with a gentle tone, mom senses tingling. Penny looked nervous.

  You were about to ask her what was wrong when she blurted out, “I got high, mom.”

  Okay, you hadn’t been expecting that so you tried to school your shock. “Oh.”

  “They were passing around a bong and I took a hit and I just wanted to come home.”

  “Okay.” You could tell it was her first experience with it, thank fuck, and while you weren’t pleased she’d done it, you were happy she’d come back home when she was obviously freaking out and where she’d be able to sober up in a safe setting. “Why don’t you go upstairs and get into your pajamas? The episode is still going on, you can curl up on the couch with us if you want.”

  She looked relieved and nodded before running upstairs to her room. 

  By the time you’d made more popcorn and returned to the den, Penny was back downstairs, in her PJs, and curled into Eddie’s free side, the side she’d always occupied. While Eddie had gotten over the majority of his blues by the time The Simpsons started, you could tell he was still a little sad. 

  Now, there wasn’t a trace of the emotion on his face, he looked perfectly content and happy as he beckoned you over to his other side, your spot and you went willingly. 

  Eddie pressed a kiss to your head as you resettled yourself, and relaxed further into the comfortable couch. The family of yellow cartoon characters held his attention for just a moment before his eyes did one last sweep.

  Despite the open recliner and their bickering, Wayne and Maple—heads barely visible with all the blankets they were hogging—shared the love seat.

  Penny looked relaxed—she seemed anxious when she’d come in to the den to join them and surprised the fuck out of Eddie—eyelids drooping as she cuddled right up to him.

  Then his eyes fell on you. The lights from the television danced over your face, the perfect picture of peace as you rested your head on his shoulder, hand over his chest. Eddie wanted to kiss you so bad. 

  You always said that your shared life was Eddie’s doing but he knew the truth. You’d given him all of this. 

  For some strange reason, one he was very thankful for, you wanted him out of everyone in Hawkins. You’d married him, a loser who took three fucking years to graduate high school. You’d given him one child, then another and still encouraged him to pursue his dreams. He honestly hadn’t expected to play anywhere but in state. And when his band blew up, you still stayed by his side and gave him another baby. It wasn’t easy, he remembers the fights, the tears and every single trial thrown your way but the two of you had made it out on top with your family intact and stronger than ever.

  Homer’s yelp of pain followed by his family’s laughter brought Eddie out of his contemplation and he joined in.

  Yeah, this was the life. 

[conniesbae]

I trust you

Pairings: Conrad Fisher x Conklin reader

Warnings: Smut, swearing

Request: The reader is Belly's sister and has feelings Conrad. Conrad likes the reader, but is afraid of his feelings. Conrad is at a party and receives a call from the reader that she is stuck with Belly and Taylor in the middle of the street after being left stranded, with their clothes gone. Conrad and Jeremiah go to pick them up and the reader leaves with Conrad. In the car, they end up confessing their feelings for one another and this leads to them having sex.

Note: First time writing smut so I hope it's not too bad. Enjoy!

"We can not walk all the way home like this," Taylor says.

Belly, Taylor and I had been having a great night. Nicole had thrown a boat party and we ended up playing never have I ever, which led to us going skinny dipping. Everything was going great until Nicole mistook my phone as her own and read a very unfortunate text from Conrad.

The text read, "I really need to see you y/n," which even though my heart jumped at this, I knew it was wrong. Him and Nicole have a relationship. I'm not sure exactly what type of relationship, because they weren't official. But, Conrad was definitely leading her on.

There has always been feelings between Conrad and I. I have been in love with him for as long as I can remember, and I know that he feels the same way. But, if I know Conrad, I also know that he is afraid of his feelings for me. He's afraid of being so vulnerable and also of the fact that he might hurt me, unintentionally of course. He would never do something to purposely break my heart.

Conrad's text led Nicole to act on her emotion. She and the other girls ending up taking all of our clothes and leaving us stranded. I, for one, would have went about the situation differently. I understand leaving us there with no ride, but to leave us naked? I would love to know their thought process behind that.

"We don't have a choice Taylor," Belly says sounding annoyed, rightfully so.

She's probably mad at me. Nicole is her friend, and I potentially could have ruined that. Honestly though, it's not a loss for her. What friend does what Nicole did?

We probably look ridiculous; walking barefoot down the dark road, all huddled together, a singular towel wrapped around the three of us. Luckily, it was just big enough to conceal all three of us.

"One of you please call Jeremiah or Conrad," Taylor says.

Belly looks at me, "my phone died."

"I guess that leaves me then," I say, already knowing who I'm going to call.

Unlocking my phone and pulling up my contacts, I hesitantly tap on Conrad's name. The call only rings twice before he answers.

"Where are you guys?" Since he already knows why I'm calling, I'm guessing that Nicole has already confronted him at the party and told him what she had done.

After telling him our exact location, I say, "please come get us."

"I'm already on my way," the call hangs up.

We decide to sit on the curb, waiting to be rescued from this embarrassing situation. I should have just stayed home, I was hesitant to go anyways. Belly and Taylor convinced me to go though, not wanting me to be alone.

"Are you mad at me Bells?" I say to my sister, hoping that she's not.

She takes a few seconds, but looks at me and softly smiles, "I was but I know it's not your fault."

"Good," I say feeling relieved.

"Finally, I could literally feel the tension," Taylor laughs and pulls us into a group hug.

Two cars pull up, breaking us away from our hug. Conrad and Jeremiah get out of their cars and walk towards us. Conrad looks at me with apologetic eyes. I can tell that he feels bad, and knows that this is his fault.

"You guys probably need these," Jeremiah says while handing Belly a bag of our clothes, I assume.

"Can you guys like hold this up so we can get dressed," Taylor says, motioning to the towel.

"Oh yeah, right," Jeremiah laughs.

They both go on opposite sides and grab the towel, holding it up high enough for us. Conrad is on my side, Jere is on Belly's side, and Taylor is in the middle. As we put our clothes on, the boys awkwardly stare forward. I think this night wins the most embarrassing moment of the summer so far.

Finally clothed, we move from behind the towel. Jeremiah grabs it and walks back to the jeep.

"Who's riding with me?" Jeremiah asks.

Taylor and Belly both look at me, they know that I should go with Conrad. They both know my feelings for him. It used to bother Belly, because she had a crush on Conrad too, but eventually it passed. Mine never did though.

"Taylor and I will ride with Jere, you go with Conrad," Belly grabs my hand and gives me a small smile.

"I'll see you guys back at the house, tell Jere I said to drive safe," I say giving both of them a hug, then walk to Conrad's car.

He's already in there, waiting for me. He knew that I would come with him. I open the door and get in. I sit staring ahead, unable to look at him. He drives off, silence fills the car. It has never been so quiet between us, we always have things to say to each other. The circumstances leave both of us speechless though.

"I ended things with Nicole," he suddenly says.

This finally makes me look at him. His eyes don't leave the road, afraid to see my reaction.

"Pull over please," I say almost in a whisper.

He drives onto the side of the road, puts it in park and turns the car off. He stares down at his lap, not saying anything.

"Con, please tell me what you want," I grab his hand. I can feel his tension release.

Finally, he looks over at me. He stares at me for a few seconds, his eyes searching mine for any sign telling him how I feel.

"You, y/n. Fuck, I want you so bad. The thought of you consumes me. I've tried so hard to contain my feelings but I can't anymore. The feeling that you give me is unexplainable. I can't escape the thought of you y/n, but I don't want to," he says, tears forming in his eyes.

He looks away from me, not wanting me to see his vulnerable state. I sit in shock, trying to process his words. Finally. Finally Conrad admits his feelings for me. Every word that left his mouth sent goosebumps all over my body.

"I want you so bad too, Conrad. It hurt so much seeing you with Nicole, because I wanted it to be me. I was so happy that you sent me that text, that it was hard to even be mad about what happened. You're the only person who makes me feel so safe and secure," he's looking at me again, his eyes are glossed over. He's smiling, this is the happiest that I have ever seen him.

"Is it okay if I kiss you?" Conrad asks for permission.

"Please," I say, looking at his lips.

Without wasting anymore time, he pulls me closer to him. He puts his hand on my cheek, gently rubbing his thumb over it. He looks into my eyes, then they slowly travel to my lips. He gently places his own onto mine, I lean into him, deepening the kiss. Without removing my lips, I grab his shoulders so I can move myself onto his lap. As I'm straddling him, he moves his hands to the sides of hips.

He pulls away slightly, only to place his mouth on my neck. He gently sucks, not wanting to be too aggressive. The feeling allows for a small moan to escape my lips. I can feel him smile against my skin, knowing that he's the reason that I made that noise.

I run my hands through his hair, softly pulling at it. I rock my hips back and fourth on his lap, hoping to create some friction. This makes him pull away from my neck and throw his head back, his eyes shut. With his hands still on my hips, he helps me move them back and fourth.

"That feels so good," he groans.

"Let's go to the back," I say, stopping my movements.

Bringing his head back up, he says, "it's your first time y/n. It should be special."

"I want it to be with you. I trust you," I say softly.

Knowing that he can't resist my offer, he looks into my eyes, his eyes a slightly darker blue, he says, "fuck, okay."

After making our way to the backseat, ours lips find their way back to each other. The kiss never getting sloppy, only passionate. I reach my hands up to try and remove his shirt. He helps me, leaving his body uncovered. I've seen him shirtless a thousand times, but every time it amazes me. His muscles are glistening under the sunlight, I can't take my eyes off of him.

He bends down to take my shirt off, looking at me for reassurance. I nod at him. After removing my shirt and leaving my chest bare, he says, "damn, you're so beautiful."

He leaves kisses all over my chest, leading him to enclose his mouth over one of my nipples. He softly sucks on it, his finger grazing the other one. I can't stop myself from letting out moans, the feeling is indescribable. He pulls his mouth away and starts leaving kisses up my neck, until he reaches my lips. He swipes his tongue across, begging to be let in. I accept his offer; our tongues softly dance with each other.

He reaches to pull my shorts down, along with my underwear. He swipes his finger across my area, feeling my wetness. He starts to push two fingers in and out of me, while sucking on my neck. My moans are uncontrollable, I grab onto his hair.

He leans into my ear and whispers, "you're so wet for me baby."

He pulls his own pants down, positioning himself at my entrance. Wanting to make sure it was still okay, he says, "are you sure?"

"Yes, I promise."

He gives me one more kiss before slowly entering. I wince at first and dig my fingers into his back, not used to the feeling. He stops so that I can adjust to his size, not wanting to make me uncomfortable. He slowly starts to go deeper, the painful feeling is replaced with overwhelming pleasure. Finally entering all the way inside of me, he pulls out and puts it back in. He does this a few more times, getting a steady pace going. My moans are so loud, not caring if anyone hears me.

"You're doing so good for me," he says while continuing his motions.

"Please don't stop," I moan.

He lifts my leg, grabbing behind my knee to slightly bend it, making an easier angle for him.

A warm feeling arises in my lower stomach, a sign that I'm close.

"I'm so close," I moan, letting him know.

"Cum for me baby," he says.

This was enough for me to come undone, "fuck," I moan. He continues his motions, riding out my high. A few seconds later, he quickly pulls out and releases himself on my stomach.

We lay there for a moment, both out of breath. He grabs a random item of clothing and cleans me up.

"Really," I say laughing, noticing that it was my shirt.

"I have a hoodie in here that you can wear," he smiles at me.

"Do you regret it?" I question.

"No. Hell no. Do you?" He asked, worried that he made me feel uncomfortable at all.

"No Connie, it was perfect," I smile and kiss him.

"Good," he smiles, a sense of relief pours over him.

We both get dressed and head home. We ride hand in hand the whole drive home, with me smiling so hard that my face hurts as I watch out the window.

[libraryoffandomsuniverse]

you should be scared of me

masterlist part 1

Finally wrote a part 2!! This became a little bonkers. I've always thought that after 1000 years, the Originals should've been a little crazier and more ruthless. I get the MF gang had plot armour because Klaus and co were originally (ha) the season villains, but after being vampires for so long, you'd think their patience for enemies would be even less (at least, that's what I would do if I was an Original).

Warnings include: canon divergence, people dying who didn't in canon, MF gang and Klaus slander. Some Klaus feelings worked their way into this and I chose to roll with it.

You don't leave it there. Now that Klaus has completed his transformation, you 'keep the lines of communication open' as recommended by a book about nurturing and strengthening relationships that you read once.

The 90s were a weird time for you and you don't want to talk about it.

This means that you spam him with texts, calls and selfies from a number that him and his followers are unable to trace.

Partying in Cali just isn't the same without family.

It's me, Y/N. Hope you're having a nice day and when are you going to undagger our siblings?

Klaus groans every time he sees an unknown number pop up on his phone. He'd forgotten just how much of a little shit you could be and the years apart had only made you more annoying.

It doesn't help that you've rigged your number so that he can't call or text you to get the last word. He's secretly missed this kind of sibling interaction but he'll never admit it.

This combined with his hybrid problem makes him even more short tempered than normal.

You make contact with the Mystic Falls gang after Stefan steals the coffins.

You've always been careful to cultivate good relationships with witches and you've helped out enough covens and families over the centuries for them to keep an ear out for you.

Being dead doesn't stop some of them; in this case, you're contacted by a Richmond witch (descended from a very helpful ancestor you met 100 years ago), who tells you that there's Original shenanigans afoot.

You quickly reach out to the Salvatores and Elena.

The MF gang don't know what to make of you.

You're polite, but not as honourable as Elijah. Your remarks are even more cutting than Rebekah's and you have a temper, but you don't fly off the handle like Klaus. You don't even sound like you like your family, considering that you attempt to only get Kol back before Stefan refuses.

"In big families, there's always one sibling you prefer and Kol was always my favourite."

You decide to team up with them for the moment, if it's at Klaus' expense. You even suggest awakening Elijah, because of his influence on your brother.

You don't attend the dinner. Not officially. Instead you're the one to remove the daggers.

You don't trust either of your older brothers when there's an empty coffin with your name on it.

Your first words to your twin after nearly a century apart are "welcome back to the land of the living, idiot" followed by 2 blood bags being thrown at him.

When your siblings start attacking Klaus, you're right beside them recording the whole thing.

"Are you actually recording this?" "Consider it payback, Nik."

When your mother appears, you can barely look at her.

Why is she still alive with her magic to boot?

You don't trust her talk of reconciliation and, judging from the look on his face, neither does Kol.

You're proven right but you don't have the heart to gloat. Not this time.

While Damon bites Abby Bennett, you turn Bonnie.

Part of you doesn't like doing this to another witch. You still feel incomplete without your magic, even after 1000 years.

But the Bennetts went against your family and allied themselves with one of your biological creators.

And that is something you cannot, will not forgive.

You spend most of s3 with Kol helping him get used to modern society.

Both of you return to Mystic Falls when Klaus tells you about a possible cure for vampirism and some folklore about a boogeyman called Silas.

Both of you get up to mischief, especially now that Kol's no longer restricted to a spirit form.

You'd forgotten how much fun partying with Kol was when he wasn't stuck as a spirit.

You've never seen Kol look so terrified in his life. And he's not alone.

You'd helped him wipe out that coven that worshipped Silas centuries ago. You thought all mentions of the man were destroyed. Obviously not.

Despite you beheading Shane (and getting blood on your favourite jacket), it still doesn't stop the MF gang from going after the cure.

Everyone disregards your warnings and you're both getting sick of it.

The final straw comes when you narrowly save Kol from getting killed by the Gilberts.

You're furious, more than you've ever been in your life. You haven't spoken a word since the witch arrived and began to heal Kol. The look of fear on your twin's face, when you'd snatched him away from his would be killers, was utterly foreign and you never wished to see it again.

You hear footsteps come up to you and you notice Klaus out of the corner of your eye.

"They tried to kill Kol tonight," your voice is tight. "Our brother, my twin nearly died and you still think we're being dramatic about Silas?"

Your body is completely still apart from your hands, which are so tightly clenched that he can smell the blood dripping from the fingernail marks on your palms. Your gaze never leaves Kol, as his pained groans start to die down.

"I dont know why you've given that group so many chances. You've made exceptions for them that you would never do for your blood. They killed Finn and you never retaliated. But I kept silent because I thought there was a plan to lure them in. But you have allowed them to become too bold and made us look weak. We are the bloody Originals. We are the monsters people warn their children about."

You finally turn to face him. You continue to speak in such a quiet voice that Klaus feels a shiver go down his spine.

He will never admit this.

"This is what's going to happen. Apart from Elena Gilbert, I'm going to kill everyone involved in this Silas mess. I'm going to find the cure and shove it down that useless doppelganger's throat so you can continue making those hybrids you're so fond of. And then I'm going to burn this cursed town to the ground and you're not going to get in my way."

Klaus looks at you for a long time. You and Kol had always been inseparable as humans and that didn't change when you were turned.

He'd witnessed countless fights between you both during the centuries and just as many reconciliations. He'd seen you communicate without words, using a smile and a head tilt to say so much.

Part of him had always been jealous of your bond and how steadfast it was. It was an exclusive club that he felt shut out of. He's not alone in thinking this, Rebekah had complained in the past about how she felt like an outsider with you and Kol.

He is trying to let you go, trying not to hold on so tightly that you hate him. But his past actions have left scars on both you and Kol. Neither of you are quick to forgive him.

Maybe this concession could be a start.

What's the total annihilation of one town, he muses, in the face of forgiveness? What's the love of family compared to the slaughter of sheep?

"You have my blessing," he finally says. "I'll keep Rebekah and Elijah out of the way."

+++

The destruction of Mystic Falls becomes the subject of news channels and government departments for months. An entire town suddenly turning up dead is a mystery people have a hard time trying to solve.

But the supernatural community knows. Whispers spread about the Mikaelsons, about Y/ Mikaelson's revenge. And if they hold their loved ones tighter and look over their shoulder more frequently?

It isn't something that any of them will confess to.

[insidejizz]

reagan ridley headcanons!

heyyyy its me again im here to write about the girl of all time reagan - this is SO self indulgent and also a lot longer than i thought it would end up being so im putting it under the cut for ease of everything ! no nsfw here though a small amount of body talk !

once again a reminder that REQUESTS ARE OPEN FOR BOTH ART AND WRITING !

// i think that reagan had a really hard time coming to terms with the idea that she is/could be autistic and still. struggles to accept it at times

she definitely took the raads-r test at one point and got a crazy high number like 189 

(for those that dont know the raads-r goes from like 0-224, and anything over 60 constitutes reasonable autism)

and after she got such a high score on that she had a classic #reaganmoment and stayed up all night taking as many other tests as she could find to "collect more data"

i mean its. hard enough to realize youre autistic much less 1) so late in life and 2) when everyone is constantly making it a joke . like i really do think shed be adverse to the idea for so long because it was always used as a "haha reagans weird" punchline and so

(she doesn't want to prove to rand and tamiko that they were right about something being off about her)

obviously everyone around her is. very aware of her autism and has been finding ways to deal with it for years but she doesn't know what to do about it at all after her night of testing

because yeah the test results SAY that its very very likely shes autistic but maybe she answered the questions wrong or something 

ab has to listen to her pace back and forth for hours about this and he is no help mostly because hes realizing he has autism everytime she states a symptom

obviously her special interest is science and robotics, that's pretty goddamn obvious . you could even argue her job is a special interest with how much time she spends nonstop thinking about it

the amount shed have to unmask is INSANNEEEEEE im just saying . shed have to unlearn 30 years of petty comments making her cover up all her autistic traits

i dont think shes someone who would openly stim, or at least in 'classic' ways

her stimming usually is like ;

pacing

chewing on pens + pencils

tapping pens + pencils

pressing keys on her keyboard over and over

wiggling her fingers 

// also reagans basically schroedingers jew

i say this because shes not "technically" jewish as in her family is not jewish but i believe that jr made her very active in his jewishness and so she was essentially raised jewish by her godfather

like. jr would have definitely thrown her an INSNAE bat mitzvah and you can't change my mind. he wouldve insisted on it

especially because i feel like reagan wouldnt like her birthday, both bc of the memories weve Seen of them and what we know about her family i just think she/ prefers to not think about them

but she was turning 13 and jr was like no you are going to be the biggest princess for a whole day everythings going to be about you

because he definitely went ALL OUT

i dont know what passage she would choose to read bc im not super well versed in torah but

the party ???? mans spared no expense but it was also very . reagan

like idk i feel like hed pull off some crazy robot-themed bat mitzvah or whatever she wanted at age 13

like she would have just graduated MIT at that point!!!!!! i think she deserves a baller party

anyway i dont think that a lot of people. came to the party (that werent cognito employees) but that didnt really matter

because jr spent the entire night there with reagan just giving her the best night he could (JR DAD MOMENTS JR DAD MOMENTS) 

like i bet they did a goofy ass 'father'-daughter dance and he was like woah youre getting so tall now youre almost as big as me and shes like well im officially a woman now! and he just starts crying GHEOIGJSEOIES

also more casual jewishness than just that like . 

she thinks fondly on being able to ask the questions at the passover seder (though as a kid she thought they were stupid bc why ask the same questions every year we already know the answer)

and there was one point where they were observing shabbat but they werent at home so they had to like . go and buy a loaf of bread and they used jrs handkerchief as the challah cover and stuff and she used some stuff to make little robot candles because they didnt have real ones and it wasnt a kosher shabbat but it was certainly one that was from the heart and HGHhgehesughshges

having jr pick her up so she could kiss the mezuzah when they went inside his place

hgheshgiehjsg listen i could go for hours.

so like yes she is jewish. she celebrates hanukkah every year and has a collection of menorahs that jr has gotten her (and shes gotten herself) over the years

but she also wouldnt say shes jewish bc shed feel weird about it 

i think shes definitely considered converting but never gotten around to it simply on terms of No Fucking Time

at least a year of study ? taking time off for the holidays ? hahahahahahaha whos schedule would that even fit into lol

so like if someone were to ask if she was jewish she would say " i was raised jewish by my godfather" and if anyone decides to question more then it gets Complicated lmao

// CHUBBY REAGAN CHUBBY REAGAN CHUBBY REA

listen. i refuse to believe she would be self conscious about being 140 pounds theres no reason for her to think thats fat and so i think that brett was guessing (bc he can lift massively and so weight means nothing to him) and she panicked and was like "MY STATIONARY BIKE IS BROKEN." bc chubby

also she has a desk job, basically exclusively eats junk food and drinks, lounges around every chance she gets

i truly believe that reagan is pudgy. i think that she hides it under that lab coat and she should STOP hiding it <3<3<3

reagan with stretch marks? reagan with stretch marks

also she deserves bigger tits and she has them bc shes chubby<3

she would also have a bit of a tummy and bigger thighs but i dont think shes particularly well endowed in the ass department

like its not bad! but she doesnt have a Great ass

like a lot of things about herself she isnt exactly happy with it but shes so squishy and perfect to grab and shit so<3

// another tangent but reagan is. very picky about the type of music allowed around the office 

like she has approved playlists for all of the group whenever they r allowed the aux 

myc is usually not allowed the aux bc he has INSANE music taste. ykno the sounds mushrooms make when you hook them up to electricity or whatever? its essentially 4 hours of that with cupcakkke mixed in

most of the time its background noise for her, so she doesnt like music being too loud

shes essentially like a dad with the ac the way she is abt the music volume lol like WHO TURNED IT UP WE KEEP THE VOLUME AT 72. 

she doesnt listen to music in her lab really, and when she does its either the most depressing shit youve ever heard or like. music she remembers from her childhood like nsync and britney spears and shit

this means shes also not allowed the aux . too much midwest emo bums everyone else out

when it comes to CHRISTMAS MUSIC? she is like 10x as bad

she has a playlist of "reagan approved christmas music" that she made herself that is exclusively the least annoying christmas songs

except she also can only stand that playlist for like 20 minutes

overall she just fuckin hates christmas music. its all love and sunshine and family and friendship and shes essentially scrooge 

its pretty hard to find a christmas song that she can stand but there are a few! white winter hymnal and carol of the bells are her favorites if she had to choose a christmas song.

honestly i would apologize for how self indulgent this is but I dont want to because I'm proud of it <3 love her so much and PLEASE drop requests if you have any !!!!!!!!!!

[nellievances]

they like to roller skate together

eddie loves to put chrissy in his jacket bc she looks adorable as fuck

eddie sometimes putting accidentaly chrissy top part of her cheer uniform and they just laugh hard (but she finds out that he in a crop top is very pretty)

in a world with vecna, sometimes eddie wakes up in the middle of the night thinking chrissy was caught again. she has to hug him very tight and whisper i'm here, i'm right here, i'm not going anywhere

they get married in the forest

chrissy refused to dance with jason when she won prom queen and just grabs eddie to dance with her

they love going to cine drive in

oh. oh. bestie. let's break it down.

chrissy is a great roller skater. the girl is a cheerleader, so she's very coordinated, and she takes her little brother to the roller rink on weekends to hang out often enough that she can run circles even around the older boys on roller blades. i bet she can even do fun little tricks (like balancing on one foot, etc.) eddie, however, is like bambi on that ice sheet. you know the one. he has to cling to the side or both of chrissy's hands as she slowly guides him around the rink. he eats it constantly that night and often takes chrissy with him, but she lands on top of him each time, giggling with delight. eddie does get better every time they go, but chrissy never lets him forget his humble beginnings.

chrissy is a chronic clothing stealer. she has claimed several of eddie's shirt and jackets as her own and sorry eddie but you will never get them back they are hers forever now

the first time eddie accidentally wears her cheer top it's because he stayed over at chrissy's and they both accidentally slept in. chrissy's dad is knocking at the door to wake her up and chrissy is frantically throwing clothes in his direction so he can get dressed and out of her window right now and it's not until eddie is almost out the window when chrissy realizes he's wearing her cheer uniform top, accidentally mixed in with his clothes and thrown to him in the chaos. the realization from both of them almost blows their cover with them trying to cover up their laughter. there's a big football game that night, however, so chrissy has to steal it back from eddie at school that day. (also you're correct it is insanely overstretched when she wears it later and the other girls give her teasing looks all night) from then on, eddie does it to make chrissy laugh and it works every time without fail.

also, if eddie turns several of his band t-shirts into crop tops after that, no one is complaining...

oh yes!!! yes!!! yeah!! i am a slut for that good hurt/comfort and i know that they are each other's rocks, especially through nightmares and flashbacks with upside down related truama. i could talk about this for hours but i will instead just link to a fic i wrote about this specific hc #selfpromo

omg yes!! i've seen so many people speculate they'd have a tiny wedding ceremony in hawkins at hopper's cabin, which i love. i think officially they'd be married quietly, just by themselves, in city hall one day while they're living out in california. but!! they have a ceremony outside with the whole party and uncle wayne. dustin and robin totally do not cry when they exchange 'i do's thank you very much!!!

personally i think that they abandoned prom and just hung out in the trailer and smoked and danced around the trailer with chrissy stepping on eddie's feet. however!! if we live in a world where they go to prom i am so for chrissy doing this. i'm gonna assume jason is voted prom king here as well and chrissy just skips right past him and the spotlight to where eddie is hiding on the bleachers, not interested in watching his girl dance with jason even if it is tradition, and robin is trying and failing to make him smile despite the situation. that is, until chrissy comes over and then robin is practically pushing him out of his seat and toward her. chrissy still steps on his feet but she gets close enough to rest her head against his shoulder and close her eyes and eddie can feel the entire graduating class' eyes on him but he doesn't even care because chrissy in his arms :)

also yes!!! eddie loves taking her to see scary movies because she spends them with her face buried his chest and eddie thinks it's adorable each time she jumps with a little shout (but he's also very careful to pick which scary movies to show her because he doesn't want something to trigger chrissy with flashbacks) and chrissy drags him to a fair amount of romantic comedies but they spent most of those staring at each other so it all works out :)

anyways i'm gonna get off my soapbox now, thank you for sharing these and listening to me shout into the void about my love for these two

[crybbyhero]

Happy New Year

Leo invites you to a New Years party his friends are throwing to end out the year. It’s nothing too big, just a small get together where he gets to spend time with those closest to him and that includes you. However, he would have preferred something a little more quiet, maybe something a bit more intimate where it’s just you and him. But, he can’t complain about the outcome. He’s just excited to ring in the new year with you regardless if it’s just the two of you or not. 

The moment you said yes to attending the party with him, replying to his text with “I’d love to be your New Years date. ❤️” he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about what could happen when the clock strikes midnight and you are right by his side. Leo’s never cared about ringing in the new year by kissing someone, it’s honestly never appealed to him. Although he’s had his fair share of close counters. He can’t remember the last time he hasn’t had to dodge a few kisses directed towards him every year he attends a New Years party. But, this is the first time he wouldn’t mind kissing someone. As long as that kiss is with you.  

He thinks about what it would be like and finds himself musing over how the night could go. He can hear the cheers of those around him, the sound of fireworks overhead, confetti and streamers being thrown around as he turns to you and leans closer to you bit by bit as he goes in for a kiss. He can almost feel how soft and warm your lips would feel against his and it has him blushing along with the feeling of butterflies fluttering around his gut. What better way to start the new year than with a kiss from you. Leo thinks if he can go through with it, hopefully he’ll finally muster the courage to officially ask you out too. 

The weekend comes all to soon as it’s now the night of the party and Leo is a nervous wreck. He’s trying to calm himself down as he looks in the mirror one last time before he gets ready to leave. He send you a quick text “See you there 🥳” with shaky hands. He takes a deep breath after hitting send and grabbing his car keys. The whole drive to the party, he can’t help the many what ifs that flood his mind. What if someone else kisses her instead. What if she doesn’t like me in that way. What if she doesn’t show up to the party at all. The last ones not that bad he thinks. Sure he’d be sad about not getting to see you, but he hates to say that he’d suddenly feel a lot calmer.

When Leo finally arrives and is greeted by his friends, it’s the first time this week his minds not thinking about the end of the night. Not thinking about you…until he sees you walk into the room and he feels the nerves start to rise up in him again. His heart is beating so fast when you spot him, a smile on your face as you walk over to greet him. 

“You look beautiful.” are the first words that spill from his mouth. You laugh as you lean in to hug him. “Thank you Leo, you look handsome.” He thanks you, rubbing the back of his neck as his cheeks dust pink. From the corner of his eye he can see his friends all giving him thumbs up. They are all aware of his crush on you and are trying to give him the encouragement he needs to finally make a move, but it’s honestly just making him more nervous. There’s no way he can go through with it. He’s giving up, he’s going to push the thought from his mind for the rest of the night and just enjoy the party with you.

Leo spends the rest of the party by your side. His friends coming to talk with you both for a while, but ultimately try to let Leo have his alone time with you. They can tell he’s nervous so they even come over offering him the gift of  “liquid courage” before the big countdown which he declines. Alcohol would be the worst thing to help his already tense state. 

He hears someone yell “5 minutes till midnight!” and he pales. There’s no way three hours have gone by that fast?!? 

“The nights almost over.” You say.

“Yeah.” He laughs anxiously. “I can’t believe it’s almost a new year.”

“Leo, you know what my favorite part of this year has been?”

“What?” he ask curiously.

“You.” 

“Y/n…” he hides his face from you because he knows he’s blushing like crazy.

“Aww Leo, are you blushing?” you laugh. Reaching for his hands to move them away from his face.

“You are my favorite part of this year too.” He says once he regains his composure.

“I am?”

“Of course. I haven’t enjoyed spending time with anyone as much as I’ve enjoyed spending it with you.”

Now it’s your turn to blush. “Thank you Leo.”

Another yell echoes throughout the room and pulls you both out of your little moment. “Everyone gather around for the countdown!”

Leo exchanges a look with you before you both get up and walk to the center of the room where everyone has gathered. You all stare at the huge television screen showing the New Years ball drop. The countdown dwindles down faster than Leo can keep up. He’s debating on whether he should or shouldn’t go for his first New Years kiss or not. He really wants to, and with the moment you both shared a few minutes ago he thinks maybe he should muster up his courage and just go for it.

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” he hears the room yell and the clock strikes midnight.

Leo stills for half a second before finally coming to a decision. He decides he’s going to do it! He takes a deep breath before turning to you. He finds you already looking at him expectantly and his heart jumps in his chest. Were you anticipating for him to kiss you? He gives you a nervous smile as he leans closer to you. Leo watches as you turn to face him, inching closer to him before he finally closes the distance between you and kisses you. He can’t tell if the fireworks he’s hearing are real or just in his head. This is much better than he imagined. Your lips are as soft and warm as he thought they’d be but somehow so much better. 

The kiss lingers longer than he intended but when he pulls away and sees your smile, he thinks maybe it wasn’t so bad.

“Happy new year Leo.” you tell him, smiling shyly.

“Happy new year y/n.”

Leo is just about to lean forward and kiss you again, but before he does he catches sight of his friends again, silently cheering for him. Leo decides to wait to kiss again without an audience.

The night ends with Leo walking you to your car hand in hand. He kisses you once more before you drive off. This kiss lasting even longer than the first. He stands on the sidewalk for a second as he watches your car fade into the distance before walking happily to his own. Leo is already thinking about what’s in store for the new year and he’s already thinking about his first official date with you tomorrow night.

—————————————————————————————————

Yay! Another Leo fic! 💙💙💙 I really love this guy and wanted to write a New Years fic for him ever since I saw the saw the new year’s kiss ask velvetfox answered. So, here’s my little fic I wrote. I think it’s pretty darn cute ☺️

[mrfandomwars]

Last Day On Mandalore

Summary:

Everyone knows that the Grand Clan Wars officially ended on 39 BBY with a treaty signed between the Old Traditionalists and the New Mandalorians, but they also know that the Grand Clan Wars actual last fight was fought at night in 32BBY.

And the New Mandalorians lost.

Or,

Drabur Kryze's (the oldest child and only son of Late Duke and Mand'alor Adonai of Clan and House Kryze and Late Lady Emira of Clan Ordo and House Kryze, elder brother to the twins Satine and Bo-Katan of Clan and House Kryze) last day alive, spent with his son (Kartay of Clan and House Kryze) and Husband (Arasum 'Arasu' of the Clan Vencoypaan and House Kryze).

A/N:Hope you like it! I will Probably make a post about some random facts about of this fic or something related to this fic.

Words: 3503 words

[AO3]

Drabur groaned as he woke up, blinking away the sleep that he had just waken up from, wondering what had jumped unto his chest to bring him back to the land of living.

“Bu’bu! Bu’bu!” Came from above him.

And as Drabur’s vision cleared, he saw the offending party, who had decided it was the right time to wake him up from a wonderful dream involving tookas and lollipop-shaped droids.

The offending party, the one who had dared to wake him, was, in fact, his young and very adorable son.

“Good morning, ner kar’ika 1.” Drabur greeted, making sure that his ad’ika didn’t fall off the bed by accident.

“Bu’bu, can we have cake for breakfast?” Kar’ika2 asked him, straight to the point.

“We had cake for lor’vram3 yesterday, we are not eating cake again, especially when there’s no more cake in this house since ruug’tuur4.” The love of his life grumbled from his side on the bed, head hidden under the special pillow made specifically for his montral shape.

(Drabur was allowed to spoil his husband - even if said husband was sometimes too tired to use the presents properly, so leave him alone.)

“But Ara’Buir! It’s cake!” Kar’ika whined, looking at Arasu with big massiff, Kryze patented eyes (well, not really, although if he remembers right his Buir tried to jokingly patent it once and almost got it before backing out).

Not that Arasum saw it.

“Come on, Arasu, just for today.” Drabur said, also making the eyes to his husband.

“Nooooo.” Arasu said, but Drabur already knew he was won over.

“Please Buir5!” Kar’ika begged, moving, so he was on top of his other Buir.

“Pleeeeeeeease!” Kar’ika said, pulling the pillow off his Ara’buir’s face.

A bold move, Drabur noted as he shifted to better look at his son and husband, even if his Kar’ika didn’t know that taking away the pillow from his Buir would be a literal death sentence to anyone else.

(And Drabur wasn’t even kidding on that part, as there was one time when Arasu had thrown the pillow-remover out of a window once when he was awakened.

Although, to be fair, Arasu had been in the middle of a terrible nightmare and hadn’t fully come out of it when he was woken.

And they were on the ground floor.

And Bo-Katan had been fine in the end, barely any scratches even! Just a hard spook for her in the end.)

“Fineeee.” Arasu said, sighing, having become still so that he wouldn’t accidentally take away their son’s balance and make him fall.

“But,” Arasu started to add, “Your Bu’bu won’t eat cake, he needs a strong lor’vram for a mission tonight.”

“You are going away tonight?” Kar’ika asked, frowning as he turned to his other Buir.

“Just for tonight, I will be back nakar’tuur vaar’tur6.” Drabur said, sitting up just so that he could kiss his son’s head.

The almost eight-year-old, however, wasn’t pleased with that if his pout was anything to go by, as Drabur quickly noticed as soon as he pulled away.

His ad’ika always did hate whenever Drabur or Arasu went away on missions, even if only for a few hours and on the other side of Sundari or Kalevala.

Thankfully, this would be the last time that Kar’ika would be upset.

“How about, after I sleep, we can all watch the Kurs’ad Nari7 tomorrow? And we can do it at night, while eating ice cream.” Drabur tried, never being able to stand his son having anything but a happy smile on his cute little face.

“And I can stay up later today and tomorrow?” Kar’ika carefully asked.

“Only tomorrow, and only for 30 minutes after the film ends.” Arasu said from his bed side, head on top of his arms.

Probably looking at them, so to say, via his lekku and montrals.

“But Ara’Buir-!” Kar’ika had started to protest, arms uncrossing at the upsetting statement of his beloved Ara’buir.

“But nothing, that’s final. Now go and dress up, we can go to Me’suum’ika’ika8.” Arasu said.

And that’s all that Kar’ika needed, pout changing into a bright smile.

“Really!?”

“Not if you don’t hurry.” Arasu said, finally looking up and turning so that he could look his son in the eye.

“I’m going! I’m going!” Their ad’ika9 said, quickly getting off the bed and running to the door.

Fast enough that he had tripped and almost fallen, had Drabur moved fast enough.

“Be careful.” Drabur warned his ad, before letting go of the back of the shirt, his son going off in a flash barely after he had.

“You are spoiling him.” Arasu said after the door had closed, having sat up when Kar’ika had tripped, now leaning against Drabur.

“You say I’m spoiling him, yet you were the one to decided to go to Me’suum’ika’ika, the one who sneaks him candy before dinner whenever you think that no one is looking, specially he is looking sad, the one who is planning on ordering pizza for dinner tonight-” Drabur started teasing, only to shut up as Arasu quickly put a finger on his lips and kissed him on his forehead.

“Alright, Alright, we are both spoiling him. I guess then that Satine is the only one hard on him.” Arasu said, leaning back but keeping his left hand on Drabur’s shoulder as he rolled his eyes with a soft, beautiful, smile on his lips.

“Nah, Satine isn’t hard on him, or are you forgetting the time what she tried to do for Kar’ika's sixth birthday party?” Drabur asked, raising an eyebrow.

Arasu merely waved him off at that, shaking his head.

"Your sister hadn't slept in days when that happened, she can be excused for trying to buy an actual castle for Kartay's birthday, even if he still hasn't truly forgiven her for receiving a book when Satine had told him that she was giving him a party in the war castle and an armour built just for him, inspired by the warrior class he was obsessed with." He said, before moving towards the end of the bed and getting up.

"Now come on, we need to dress up quickly before our ad'ika starts complaining that we are taking too long."

And really, the way that Arasu leaning in for a kiss wasn't needed to convince Drabur, but boy he wasn't complai-

“Bu’bu! Ara’bu! I need help getting my top!”

As much as Drabur loved his son (and as much as he loved his husband’s back view), he felt like cursing at being denied a chance to kiss the most beautiful man in the galaxy as he watched Arasu go help their son get dressed (and make sure he didn’t end up looking ridiculous, what with Kar'ika having inherited Drabur’s own colour blindness - there was a reason why all of Drabur’s clothes had the colour or colours used in the pieces stitched in the back. No one wants him to go dressed as if he was mourning justice during a celebration of a bill passing, after all).

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

After a very good breakfast - which involved getting Kar'ika to agree to get a healthy drink in exchange for eating a big slice of Mibanese Mud-Slice that he had insisted on sharing with Arasu while Drabur had to eat a toast (his most hated meal), a fruit salad bowl and a sunrise caf (something necessary for his mental stability, just like Satine needed a small cup of ne’tra gal10 or a Port in a Storm every morning to deal with politicians, or how Bo-Katan before she disappeared needed a Paonga Fresca to survive the week) - the small family headed to a nearby park at Drabur’s insistence.

Part of the reason they liked going to this park was because it was there that they met, when Drabur was visiting Sundari and was trying to keep his sisters from being arrested (and/or killed/captured by House Vizsla) while Arasu was merely walking back to his small flat after the public library had politely asked him to leave, as it had been hours since closing time.

(Not Arasu’s fault that they never thought to check the office he was in, he shouldn’t have to be banned for a week because it wasn’t his fault that he got so absorbed with studying.)

Since then, the park had been a special spot for them, and they tried to visit at least once a week if they were on the planet and not on Kalevala, as they usually were.

The park was great for Kar’ika too, as it had had recent modifications to let adike11. play around in a playground just for them while their Buire or caretakers watched over them.

Which was what Drabur and Arasu were doing right now, sitting on a bench as they watched Kar'ika play with his friend from school.

“I could swear it was yesterday that we met.” Drabur softly said, putting an arm around his riduur’s waist and pulling him close.

“Change a few things, and I say we are on our first date.” Arasu said softly back, leaning against his husband as he grabbed Drabur’s free hand, intertwining theirs together.

“Though, maybe without people shooting at us.” Drabur said, leaning in on Arasu’s face, appreciating how beautiful he was as he smiled softly at his husband.

“Yes, maybe without that.” Arasu said, chuckling slightly as he leaned close, almost touching his husband’s face.

And they both leaned closer, their smiling lips almost touching-

And then Kar'ika scream made them pull away, hands instantly moving to their concealed weapons as they got up, ready to attack whoever was hurting and/or scaring their son.

Only to freeze as they realized that their son was screaming in joy, not for nothing else.

Coughing awkwardly and hiding their weapons again, the couple tried to look everywhere but the parents looking at them, who were already used to it.

“We are never telling anyone that this happened.”

“Agree.”

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

They stayed in the park for a few more hours - as they had gone there in the middle of the morning - before deciding to leave at noon for lunch.

“How about you go get Kar'ika while I call ahead Sun-Spot to save us a table?” Drabur suggested, still holding Arasu’s hand.

Arasu frowned slightly at that.

“Tranyc Taap12.? The place where we had our second date?” Arasu asked.

“Yes, why, is there a problem?” Drabur asked, slightly concerned.

Sure, it’s where they had their second date, but they had gone there often, like most recently 2 months ago to celebrate Eltern’s birthday.

“No, it’s just- … you have been very nostalgic today, talking about past things, taking us to places we have been to… is there something you want to tell me? Are you having a bad day or…?” Arasu carefully asked, as Drabur was usually not a man to look back on things unless it was on a specific day or on a bad day.

Drabur had opened his mouth to argue, to deny it, but-

-But Arasu was right, he had been nostalgic the whole morning (not even just that morning, what with the other day Satine and him having had talked about their Ado’Buir and how he had slowly stopped being estranged from his children and slowly agreed that Satine was right on how all the fighting was destroying Mandalore) and had been guiding his family through places that had a high emotional importance to them.

“I don’t… I don’t think I’m having a bad day, just that I am remembering a lot today.” Drabur settled on, after a minute of thinking how to answer that, “I promise it was just that.”

“You would tell me if it was something else, right?” Arasu asked, holding Drabur’s hand with his left and cupping his husband’s face with his right.

And suddenly Drabur was reminded of the fact that Arasu’s old best friend, Aja, had killed herself after spending the whole week reminiscing about the past.

Arasu never truly recovered, what with having found the body with Aja’s younger brother Kilan.

And Drabur hated that he reminded his husband of that.

“Of course, you would be the first to know if anything like that pops up in my mind, which I can swear to you on the Manda13. that it hasn’t, ori’haat14.” Drabur said, moving his free hand to hold the one cupping his face as he stared at his husband’s eyes.

His riduur stayed silent for a second, searching Drabur’s face for any lies - and Drabur hated that his riduur had to do that to know that, to know he wasn’t going to lose anyone else that he loved just because he didn’t see the signs soon enough - before nodding, shoulders falling from their high positions (and how did Drabur not notice that) and he let his head fall forward, letting it rest on top of Drabur’s head.

“N'eparavu takisit15.” Arasu murmured, moving his hands so he was holding Drabur close.

“No need, you were reminded of something traumatic, and I’m sorry that happened.” Drabur said, shifting so that he was looking at his husband in the eyes.

“Sti-”

“No, no apology needed, I understand why you asked that, and I’m sorry you felt like asking that, that I made you have to ask that.” Drabur said, cutting Arasu off.

Arasu just smiled at him, not sadly but close.

“What did I do to deserve you?”

“What did I say about stealing my questions?”

Arasu just snorted, shaking his head.

“How about you go and call our ad'ika over, and I'll go and check some restaurants out for us to try?” Drabur suggested, making Arasu nod, rising to his feet before stopping.

“We can go to the Sun-Spot, just call ahead to reserve a table while I call Kartay.” Arasu said, before heading towards the playground, already calling Kar’ika’s nickname (given by his friends that he insisted on everyone - minus his Buire, of course, who had ‘rights’ and could call him Kartay if they wanted to - calling him) to gain his attention.

Drabur merely smiled softly for a second before turning on his comm-unit to call the restaurant.

(And also a little something to make up for his husband after the mission, he is sure Satine wouldn’t mind having Kar’ika over for a night)

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

“-and then we fought dragons and-” Kar’ika was recounting from where he was being held up by Arasu as they walked back to their flat, after a very good lunch (and of Drabur trying to kiss his husband but failing every time, either because Kar’ika or because of something else, enough to leave him slightly - only slightly! - frustrated at having yet to receive or give a kiss on the lips from/to his husband).

“And did you fight bravely?” Drabur asked, amused at the same time, as he made sure that the leftovers he was carrying didn’t spill over.

“Of course!” His ad’ika squawked indignantly, as if the whole idea that he hadn't been insulting.

“I’m sure your Bu’bu did not mean to insult you, Kartay.” Arasu said, also amused, shifting slightly his hold on his ad’ika so that he didn’t fall off.

“Your Buir is right, ad’ika.” Drabur said, before adding, “It is no shame to fight while being afraid, after all.”

“It just means that you have to later learn to control your fear, so that you don’t run the risk of letting your fear cloud your thoughts.” Arasu added as Kar’ika ‘ahhh’ed in understanding.

“You will also have to learn how to defend yourself from the other great enemy: Tickling.” Arasu said, just as Drabur opened the door and quickly stepped aside, letting Arasu rush through - quickly taking off his and Kar’ika’s shoes with practised ease, even with an eight-year-old struggling under his arm - and throwing their ad’ika on the couch.

And immediately started to tickle him.

Drabur smiled as he closed the door and removed his shoes, having no need to worry.

“Bu’bu! Help!” Kar’ika said between laughs, extending his hand towards Drabur to try and get him closer to help him.

Of course, that was a mistake as Arasu used that to tickle him under his armpit, making their ad’ika squeak more in joy.

“I think he learned his lesson, Cyar’ika16.” Drabur said, stopping beside them on the couch, arms crossed.

“Mmm, are you sure, ner Cyare17?” Arasu said, clearly amused but stopping nevertheless.

“Yes!” Kar’ika said, out of breath after such an intense ticking season.

“But did you truly learn?” Arasu asked, tickling one of the ad’ika’s feet for a second.

The result was a squealed “Yes!” as Kar’ika moved the foot away.

But not moving away, as he was too tired to even do that.

“Mhmmmm.” Arasu said, moving back, so he was sitting on his knees, hand on his chin - a habit that Kar’ika seemed to have inherited - as if in deep thought.

“Very well, I believe you.” Arasu said, making Kar’ika sigh in relief, only to freeze at what Arasu said next.

“For now.” He said, with a slightly evil smile.

“Don’t be mean.” Drabur said, smiling at his husband and son.

“I am not, being able to withstand tickling is a Very Important lesson.” Arasu jokingly defended himself, putting a hand on his chest - right in the kar’ta symbol on his clothes - to sell it further.

“Of course, of course.” Drabur said, before leaning in and - finally! - kissing his husband for the first time on the day.

“Don’t forget to prepare the paperwork for your meeting with Fenn Rau tomorrow.” Drabur said after a long (and amazing, even though Kar’ika had said ‘Ew!’ and run off to his room after his strength returned) kiss.

“I know, I know, I prepared them yesterday in case I forgot them.” Arasu said, before patting Drabur’s shoulder, “Now go, you need your sleep, I will go make something for you later so that you have clean clothes and something to eat when you wake up.”

Drabur only smiled.

“What would I do without you?”

“Let’s pray neither of us finds out, shall we?” Arasu said, seconds before Kar’ika voice was heard from his room.

“Ara’buir, can you help me get the video-game off the shelf? It's too high!”

“Go, I will go get it for him.” Arasu said, nodding towards the door of their room.

“See you tomorrow.” Drabur promised, stealing one last kiss before heading off to their bedroom, closing the door as he heard the love of his life tell Kar’ika that he was coming.

He had to sleep before his last mission, after all.

After this, he was officially retired.

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

04:00 in the morning

“…there was nothing we could do to stop it or to recover the body, I’m sorry for your loss.” Pre Vizsla softly said, sitting on the armchair, “I came here as soon as I got back, knowing that you should hear it first hand.”

Still covered in blood.

In Drabur’s blood.

Arasum… Arasum was numb.

No, not quite numb but…something, so shocked, so horrified that he couldn’t even think.

His husband was dead.

And he hadn’t been there, he had been sleeping, not knowing what was happening.

Had his last thoughts been about their ad’ika? About Arasum himself? About his sisters?

Had he lied to Arasum earlier? Had he purposely let himself be killed because he had lost the will to live-?

Oh Manda, oh Manda, his husband was dead.

Arasum sat there in shock, stunned into silence as Satine started to sob from the other side of the couch, comforted quietly by Pre, who didn’t seem to care that he was getting blood all over the Duchess.

All over the sole leader of the Clan and House of Kryze.

Because Drabur, who had shared the title with Satine and Arasum since the civil war, was dead.

Arasum, who was now a single parent to Kar’ika and may have lost the job he had and thus had nothing to distract himself from the gaping loss he felt in his heart without Drabur or to help sustain his Aliit18.

Arasum was going to be sick.

The sound slowly faded away as Arasum felt tears run down his face.

His riduur was dead.

He was gone, body unable to be recovered.

Dead.

“Ara’Bu? Wha-What’s happening? Is Bu’bu back?” A young voice cut into his thoughts, drawing Arasum out to the real world.

Blinking and shaking Heir Vizsla’s hands (blood covered hands, blood of Drabur, oh Manda-) off, Arasum's tear stained, bloodied and shocked face slowly turned to face his ad’ika, who was holding a mythosaur plushie.

The present from Drabur on Kartay’s eight birthday.

Now the last birthday present that Kartay will ever receive from Drabur.

Because he was dead.

And now, through it all, Arasu realized he hadn’t even thought of something.

How was he going to tell Korkie that his Bu’bu was dead?

Dictionary: My Little Star/Sun/Heart Back Little Star/Sun or Little Heart, which ever you find the cutest. Back Breakfast Back Closes I could get to meaning yesterday Back Gender neutral of Parent, can be used by any gender. From what I know, you are meant to pick the first two or three letters of a person's name and then add "Buir" after, but since Drabur's name is literally Too close to "Dar'Buir" (which is basically what children or anyone calls their biological donor in a sort of 'divorce' with them, declaring them no longer related to them) I decided to go with Bu'Bu to stop anyone from having to do double takes, thinking I wrote "Dar'Buir" instead of "Dra'Buir". Back Tomorrow Morning Back Closest I could get to "Fox's Adventure", and it's meant to be a kids' film Back Closest I could get to little moon Back Affectionate name for a child Back Mandalorian Black Ale. Back Affectionate name for Children Back . Closest I Could get to Sunspot, but the actual meaning is "Sunny Location" Back 1"the collective soul or heaven - the state of being Mandalorian in mind, body and spirit - also supreme, overarching, guardian-like" - On this story, only means Mandalorian Heaven. Back "It's the truth, I swear - no bull." Back Sorry, or in it's literal meaning "I eat my insult" Back "Darling, sweetheart" Back "Beloved, loved, popular" - On this case, all of those meanings. Back Family, clan and house - On this case, all of those meanings. Back

[skrunklybf-archived]

oooo can i get ‘didn’t you hear? we’re dating! officially!’ with jean?

i’m imagining besties to lovers and you just never talked about putting a label on it. like everyone knows you’re dating but you still never introduce him as your boyfriend because technically he never asked you. gathering all your friends for the big announcement and they’re all just like.. we know :/

<33

ndjsnsjsns that's so CUTE and coincidentally one of my favorite tropes eeeee 🖤 ily and i hope you enjoy

It was hard to focus with Jean's thumb rubbing little circles into the back of your hand -- and much harder with the thrum of alcohol running under your slightly heated skin. Two different conversations were being thrown across the fire pit anyhow, and you wondered if anyone else was even paying attention.

But Armin was. Armin rarely missed anything.

He noticed you two arrive together, though that wasn't a rare sight, seeing as you'd been attached at the hip since late high school; he noticed how Jean fetched new drinks for you whenever your current can ran dry, and he definitely noticed the small kiss the brunette left behind your ear when Connie was busy telling his story not ten minutes prior.

Armin noticed it all. He stayed quiet though, sipping slowly at his drink and watching the way his friends' faces lit up behind the lively fire.

It was endearing, almost funny, how you two seemed to think you were subtle.

After a round of rolling laughter passed over the whole group, a comfortable lull took its place, accented by wood popping and embers flicking. It felt so good to be surrounded by your favorite people at the end of a busy week. Perhaps busy was an understatement -- you were running ragged, held together by pure excitement and determination. Amid all that excitement, you happened to drop the edge of a heavy dresser right over your foot, leaving you limping for the foreseeable future... but it was worth it, you reasoned to yourself, and to Jean, who continued to nag you about needing to rest and let it heal.

"So are you gonna tell us whose ass you kicked and why?" Sasha quipped suddenly, eyeballing the several layers of wrapping Jean sealed your foot in. A few curious murmurs backed up her question and you only rolled your eyes.

"No asses were kicked except mine," you mumbled over the lip of your can, "but... uh... I hurt myself moving."

"Moving? You didn't tell us you were moving." Eren arched a brow from his canvas fold-up chair.

Suddenly you felt like you were on a stage, being watched by all your friends. Jean stretched his arms up dramatically, pulling his warmth away for just a moment. He let out a loud faux yawn. With a playful grin, the man wrapped his arm around your shoulders boastfully, offering a tight squeeze on your arm. "We just signed the lease last week. Should be officially moved in by tomorrow night." Jean's bubbling energy felt contagious, passing to you through osmosis, and he pulled you into his chest as much as he could with the arms of your respective chairs in the way.

"Oh, that's cool." Eren nodded.

You blinked. A little confused, you searched the group for any sort of reaction, only finding mild amusement in Armin's calm face.

Jean scoffed slightly beside you. "Like, we're moving in. Together."

Nothing. Blank faces stared back at you both.

"... not just as roommates."

A little on the nose, you thought, but still nothing.

"Sooo, you saying there's gonna be, like, a housewarming party?" Connie popped open another white claw and casually took a sip. "Oh, can you make that really good buffalo dip again?" Sasha shot you her best puppy dog eyes, and you couldn't help but laugh. Laughing at what, really, you weren't sure, but something about the situation felt cosmically funny.

"We tell you we're dating -- like, officially dating, and none of you are surprised?" You shot back at your friends, watching how they all exchanged glances before laughing themselves. Jean sank a little in his seat, opting to hold your hand and plant a kiss across your knuckles. His pout was short-lived, as Connie kicked at his leg playfully, yelping about how it took long enough.

"I'm pretty sure we all thought you were already together, but you wanted to keep it to yourselves," Armin spoke up, that amusement still playing over his face, now slightly flushed from the seltzer he just drained. Mikasa nodded thoughtfully in agreement. The heat climbing up your neck was hard to ignore as they earnestly discussed your fresh relationship in front of you.

"Remember how pissed Jean was when Reiner tried to take her home from Porco's birthday last year?"

"Oh man, that was hilarious! Jeanbo was shakin', all like, 'cmon let's go before McDonald's closes,' knowing damn well it's twenty-four hours--"

Jean kicked Connie back, though a wry smile played over his lips. "Alright alright -- we get it."

A new warmth settled in your chest, colored in contentment, listening to the amusing yet embarrassing stories being passed around like a hot potato. Your gaze settled on your boyfriend. Jean's eyes practically sparkled. As if he felt you watching, the man looked down too, unable to mask the happiness laid over him. He leaned over and caught your grin in a sweet and simple kiss, officially sealing the deal in front of your little family, and earning a couple of faint groans but also a boisterous coo from Sasha at your other side.

[trip-tuckers-hyperspanner]

The Time Archer Found Out - 6

5 Times T'Pol Kept a Secret and 1 Time She Didn't

Once again, Jon was watching his most senior officers standing together and acting… weird. Over the past four months, they had all corrected their behavior and did their best to pretend as if nothing was going on. After all, the admiralty would never allow for interpersonal relationships on this vessel if they knew. It was a good thing he was a romantic — he hated to see lovers split up over things that could easily be curbed. Stupid relationships could be avoided for sure, but he had a good idea Hoshi and Malcolm were going to get married. The ring she wore on her finger now was pretty hard to miss even if it wasn’t made out of a titanium alloy often used in Engineering. 

Trip still hadn’t said anything about his fiancée to him. He would always say something about wedding plans and that he wasn’t sure if he wanted Archer to officiate the ceremony or if he wanted him to be his best man. Archer, of course, didn’t know whether or not he wanted to have best man rights, officiant rights, or both. Whoever this girl was, she was totally content to wait until after arriving back on Earth to marry him.

While the last time he spectated his senior staff behaving like… whatever, he had been on the Bridge. Today, he was in the mess hall and wondering when somebody was going to speak up. He hadn’t ever seen this mysterious girl around Trip, so he was starting to wonder if she even existed. Maybe it was some big prank being pulled.

But if that was the case, it was a really long and dedicated prank. 

He had a cup of coffee in his hand, trying his hardest to read lips. Malcolm had his back turned to him; Hoshi was to the side; T’Pol wasn’t talking; Trip was running his mouth and Archer couldn’t figure it out. He moved closer to listen in. 

“…and flowers! I totally forgot about flowers. What’d’you think, T’Pol? What would smell the least offensive?” the Chief Engineer asked, talking a lot with his hands. “We gotta take that into consideration before we start pickin’ stuff, right?”

“Oh! Could we have pineapple hors d’oeuvres?” Malcolm asked. He shifted on his feet. 

“Anything you guys want is good with me,” Hoshi told them. T’Pol merely lifted her chin up in agreement. 

“I would prefer lilacs and lilies of the valley, but otherwise, my nasal numbing agent will still be in effect.” She looked at all her companions. “I have no specific desires for the ceremony other than having it completed. I’m certain Ensign Sato feels similarly.”

Archer almost choked on his coffee. T’Pol was allowed to give input on Trip’s wedding? Since when? And it was a double wedding? When did that happen?

And then Jon saw it. 

He heard it, too. 

Trip set his hand on T’Pol’s shoulder. “Are ya sure, honey? This is supposed to be all our big day. When I marry you, I want all your dreams to come true.” 

She didn’t remove his touch. “Dreams are irrational when everything I desire is already happening.”

Malcolm and Hoshi blinked. “Gosh, I didn’t think you two would get so emotional over a wedding.”

“We aren’t emotional,” Trip scoffed. 

Archer couldn’t help himself from laughing as he walked away. He had to process all of this! It was insane! It couldn’t have been real!

The next time he thought he should have said something to Trip and T’Pol was during a debriefing in the situation room. For the first time in weeks, he noticed they weren’t bickering or arguing. In fact, they hadn’t been bickering or arguing. They were totally civil and like-minded! 

They were almost… silently talking. Not like telepathy (although it wouldn’t surprise him at this point) but more like an old married couple trying to explain something to an outer party. T’Pol would barely move, then Trip would roll his eyes and gesture vaguely. An occasional word would be thrown in, like “Subatomic?” or “diplomacy” or something.

Archer wondered how he hadn’t caught onto this before. 

Finally, Trip and T’Pol walked into Archer’s dining room side-by-side, both looking pleased with themselves. Trip was his usual, golden-retriever-like self, beaming brightly. T’Pol was slightly more relaxed than regular, but it was still a huge indication of how she was doing. They stood closer together than normal, too, and Archer was coming to an understanding he felt like he should have reached a long time ago.

It was very obvious, actually.

How stupid had he been?

“So, what have you two been up to, then? You guys seem pretty close nowadays,” he said, careful not to jump right into the accusations. The last time he did, he had incorrectly assumed that Trip was engaged to Hoshi.

“Well, Captain,” Tucker grinned, putting his arm up against the table, “it’s another day in the life. Me and my fiancée are on the right track plannin’ our wedding.”

“Oh? That’s wonderful,” he said, amused by the vague nature of his words. “What do you think, T’Pol?”

T’Pol picked her eyes up and precisely said, “I think I am satisfied with the Commander’s choices; he has promised to share our ceremony with Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Sato should they desire it. I am quite looking forward to their decision.”

Jon went still for a second, then couldn’t help but smile. “No way,” he said, beaming. “I knew it!”

“I thought she told you,” Trip said, laughing. “Didn’t she?”

“No! I’ve been trying to get it out of you guys for weeks!”

“Would you like to officiate our wedding, then?” T’Pol asked as she sipped her drink. A sparkle shimmered in her eyes. That was probably the closest thing he would see to a blushing bride in her.

“I was going to anyway, but now that you asked…” 

He and Trip laughed. 

“We figured it was best to wait until the last minute so the admiralty couldn’t flip their lids,” Trip went on. “We just didn’t want to get split up. That’s kinda the opposite of marriage.”

“But I am not technically Starfleet,” T’Pol added. “The admiralty won’t affect me. If I need to ‘lose my commission,’ we have already discussed possible plans.”

“We could make an argument for it. It would be hard to keep romance out of long missions like this one,” Archer said, a little shocked at his own lack of obedience. “…How long have you two been engaged?”

“’Bout four months. Hoshi ’n’ Malcolm have been engaged for two. We’ve got into all sorts of crap durin’ that and I think we’ve had our best work since.” Trip chuckled as he sat on his hands.

“Four months? And I never figured it out until today?”

“We are quite unlike other couples, Captain. It’s hardly your fault,” said T’Pol. “The only ones who know are Lieutenant Reed, Ensign Sato, and Doctor Phlox.”

“What about Lieutenant Briggs? Does she know? She submitted a transference application citing an uncomfortable work environment.”

“I turned her down is all.”

“Weird, but I won’t force her to stay.”

“So you’ll officiate a wedding for both us and Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Sato?” T’Pol asked.

Archer leaned on his elbow. “You’ll have to court martial me to stop me.”

[tonopahfallshq]

Name: Maeve Celeste MacNally Age: 34 Occupation: Bartender at License to Grill Time living in Tonopah: Native Neighborhood: Downtown Gang Affiliation: Sons of Silence Hangaround Face Claim: Lyndsy Fonseca

Biography:

Dean and Allison MacNally had always wanted a big family. After officially adopting Riley, Maeve Celest MacNally was born only two years later. It was long after that their youngest sister had been born, and the MacNally family was complete. All three of the siblings grew up close, as their parents did whatever they could to provide them a normal childhood, despite Dean being a part of the Sons of Silence.

As Maeve got older, she began to find herself, and before she knew it, she began hanging around a tough crowd. She began getting arrested for fights, and underage drinking. Dean MacNally had grown up in Dublin, as a devout Catholic – a religion that Maeve could never find her footing in. Ally nor Dean forced it onto her, assuming that if the time was right, she would find God on her own. The Sons of Silence had been a force in their home for as long as she could remember. They were always welcomed inside the clubhouse and auto shop. It was something that she had known her entire life. It was seen as part of their family. She had accepted the fact that it would always be a part of her life very early on.

The partying didn’t stop in high school, and it followed her after graduation. Maeve had attended a party thrown by a few of her friends, when she met Chase McCoy, not realizing she would fall head over heels in love with him. Chase and Maeve’s relationship was passionate and toxic. They had extremely high highs and extremely low lows. They constantly fought about everything, though Maeve partly blamed that on her stubbornness, and a short fuse. It came as a surprise to Maeve when Chase proposed, and she said yes.  Maeve had always wanted the life and love that was shared between her parents, and she was ready to share that with Chase – Until he got arrested and sent to prison.

Maeve broke off the engagement after Chase was sentenced and moved out of their shared home – into a small townhouse downtown. Now she is mostly found at either the clubhouse or bartending at License to Grill.

Headcannons:

Maeve can probably out drink anyone. It's in her blood as she says.

Maeve likes to swindle people out of money, by playing pool or poker against them.

She struggles with addiction, but tries to hide it

Her Irish accent usually comes out when she gets pissed

She has a short fuse, and is described as a fire cracker

Is a gorls gorl at all times

[back-and-totheleft]

"America's on a road to war"

Brainy political lightning rod Oliver Stone isn’t making feature films anymore. Sure, he’d love to add a 21st to his 20 films to date; he just can’t find backers. His alternate route, like many other directors today, from fellow Cannes entrant Ron Howard (“Jim Henson: Idea Man”) to Martin Scorsese, is documentaries.

Stone has churned out a career total of ten, including recent 2021 Cannes entry “JFK Revisited” (Showtime) and 2022 eco-doc “Nuclear” (Abramorama). His latest, “Lula,” marks a move to the left from his much-criticized recent portraits of right-wing leaders such as Cuba’s Fidel Castro (HBO’s “Comandante”) and Russia’s Vladimir Putin (Showtime’s four-part “The Putin Interviews“).

Since his start as a filmmaker in the 1970s, the Yale-grad-turned-Vietnam-vet, now 77, has leaned into political fiction, from “Salvador,” “Wall Street,” and “W.,” to Best Director Oscar-winners “Platoon” and “Born on the Fourth of July.” His last Oscar nomination came in 1996, for “Nixon,” after earning three Oscar nominations including Best Picture in 1992 for the controversial global smash “JFK.”

More informed than most, historian Stone’s complex global viewpoint is more nuanced than the current polarized American political landscape will tolerate. He has alienated folks on every side of the political debate. He has been criticized for promoting violence with “Natural Born Killers,” celebrating a whistleblower in “Snowden,” and conducting affable documentary interviews with Castro and Putin. “My main causes are America and keeping peace in the world,” said Stone at the Hotel du Cap outside Cannes. “And America plays a fundamental role there. And unfortunately, we’ve been bad boys.”

Now he’s taking a walk on the Left side with “Lula,” co-directed with frequent collaborator Rob Wilson, a friendly portrait of Brazil’s working-class hero president Lula da Silva, who never finished school, learned to read at ten, built a labor movement, commanded an 83 percent approval rating when he left office in 2011, and then was thrown in jail on a trumped up charge by the right-leaning courts, abetted by the corporate-owned right-wing media, opening up a path for controversial right-wing Jair Bolsonaro to win the office of president.

Stone got help from Brazilian Oscar-nominated filmmaker Petra Costa, whose 2019 “Edge of Democracy” covered the way the right wing took over the elections in Brazil. “Her film is definitely worth seeing and we’re not trying to go into that depth because her film is directed at her country,” he said. “This one is directed more at the rest of the world. I wouldn’t say news is being broken, but the story is unknown to the U.S..”

Stone again is in the Cannes Official Selection hoping to make a sale in a challenging market for non-fiction fare. Showtime is no more. “Like Francis [Coppola], we’re out there,” said Stone. “I saw him. He’s quite ballsy. And it’s his own money.”

He also relies on reporting from controversial journalist Glenn Greenwald, who helped to break the Edward Snowden NSA whistleblower scandal. “Glenn Greenwald is the Donald Sutherland figure from ‘JFK’ in this movie,” said Stone, “who’s giving all of the background to the audience in a quick and concise manner.”

When Stone went on a South American tour, he interviewed seven leftist presidents for documentary “South of the Border” (2009), including Lula during his first term in office. “Lula is a beautiful, extraordinary story,” said Stone. “It’s just to give credit to a man who has been around a long time. It’s a movie, if you think about it: working class hero emerges out of nowhere. He’s got no education. I don’t think he even learned how to read until he was about ten. It’s from the bootstraps up and dire poverty. He worked his way up to the trade union ladder. And he got into union leadership, which is unbelievable, because the Workers Party was not a big deal back then. And he made the Workers Party over time, into one of the leading power centers in Brazil, which, given how the [country] was stacked against lower classes, is an amazing story. As if Eugene Debs became president of the United States.”

More viewers in the U.S. would likely recognize the flamboyant Bolsonaro, who is constantly in the news, more than Lula. “I didn’t realize until looking at all the news reports recently,” said Stone, “how blunt Bolsonaro has been about calling for a coup everywhere.”

What got Bolsonaro into office after Brazil’s most popular president ever was lawfare. “[Lula] leaves office in 2011 with an approval rating of 83 percent,” said Stone. “How often do you get that when you’re a president of any country? It goes to show that there was a huge, almost unanimous approval of him after eight years, where all the media is controlled by rich people. And they’re definitely to the right over there in South America. He goes, they vote for his favorite candidate, Dilma Rousseff, who’s an important, extraordinary woman. She turns and becomes president and in her second term, they start to revolt. The right wing begins to activate strongly. And they impeached her on the basis of bookkeeping bullshit. So they got rid of her very happily. And then they came for Lula.”

The former president is tried and convicted on trumped up charges — that were completely unsubstantiated — by the politically motivated court. Stone starts filming after Lula comes out of the jail after 19 months. “Lawfare is a way to get rid of somebody who’s legitimate by the media and the judiciary,” said Stone. “And they have an independent judiciary in Brazil.”

The question is whether this could happen in the United States. “This guy Bolsonaro came along,” said Stone. “And he was in Congress since the early ’90s. And he’s been calling for a coup since the early ’90s. You can do that in Brazil. In America, they would throw you in jail. You’re not allowed [by law] to call for the overthrow of a government. Trump didn’t cross that line. He never said that. He may have implied it. But no, he was careful about that. Trump keeps saying, ‘I’m a Democrat. People will put me in if you just let me fucking get a little election.’ So there’s similarities to Brazil, for sure. Because look how close Bolsonaro came once Lula got to jail.”

The nailbiter scene in the movie is the 2022 election, as Bolsonaro and Lula watch the numbers come in over a long, long night. “The mentality in Brazil is that we need law and order,” said Stone. “Law and order is a big deal. People get that it’s a stock phrase, think of Nixon: ‘Law and order, law and order.’ It seems to work. It registers with the poor, it registers with the rich, it registers with the middle class especially. And that’s what Bolsonaro has been saying all along: ‘We need a cleaning out of the government, we need to have military people running the show. They know what they’re doing.'”

The vote among the Brazilians was close. In the end, Lula wins. “In this whole thing, Lula has been very cool,” said Stone. “And let this thing play out. But Lula is interested in a bigger picture of running the country and making it work. So that the people’s party, the Workers Party will stay in power, or at least be close to the levers of power.”

One reason Lula stayed in power so long was that the economy was flourishing. “So even the people that wouldn’t support him later, were supporting him then because they benefited. Lula is instructive for audiences in the US. It’s good to know that a person can get elected, serve two terms, deliver for people and leave office.”

President Biden is doing measurably well in terms of the economy and helping people get the things that they need to lead a decent life. But his approval rating remains low, at 38 percent, because of the right wing media’s dominant alternate narratives. Stone is a Democrat who voted twice for Barack Obama, but disapproves of Biden’s stance on Ukraine. “I don’t like Trump,” he said. “Maybe I like Kennedy. You have to allow for that choice. Because I don’t read the media religiously. I do not buy their line. America’s on a road to war, and I don’t think it’s a good one. Just today we raised the number of our commitment to Ukraine, so we have to be careful. This is how you get to a War World War I situation. I’ve been a fan of peace.”

Next up: Stone has been writing a second book, the follow up to “Chasing the Light,” “which is a bitch,” he said. “The whole thing has been hard to do; 40 years telling a long story short.”

Stone’s long-gestating memoir film “White Lies” is not getting made: “It doesn’t deserve the fate it would get in studio hands. I am pursuing something. I’ve got one more. Fernando Sulichin is producing it. And Rob [Wilson] is involved. But I’m old. I’m not as independently wealthy as Francis [Ford Coppola]. Like everybody else, I’m subject to market conditions and actors. Getting the right elements together and the budget and by God, by the time you make a movie, you’re dead. Even when you start, you’re dead, right?”

-Anne Thompson, "Oliver Stone: ‘America’s on a Road to War, and I Don’t Think It’s a Good One," IndieWire, May 24 2024

[queenimmadolla]

SOMETHING I’VE BEEN MEANING TO SAY

(Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader) — PART ONE

summary: . . . tired of waiting around for something that’s never gonna happen, you head to the last rager of your high school career to get back together with your ex-boyfriend before graduation. Eddie heads to that very same party to stop you.

warnings: angst, 18+ (mature content in later part), drug usage, mentions of throwing up. a/n: inspired by this song by the 1975 along with Some Kind of Wonderful (film) and Can't Hardly Wait (film) everyone lives in Hawkins once more because i said so. not beta'd so mistakes will be fixed later. **tumblr update seems to have broken the ability to link stuff for me, apologies.

series info/masterlist | author's main masterlist . *• + . * . * . *• + . * . * . *• + . * . * . *• + . * .

It was official. High school; the last four years of your life, was over. 

All the tests had been graded, all the graduation requirements had been met, and the actual graduation ceremony was set to take place tomorrow evening. Once the last bell had rang, the school had filled with cheers and the halls had filled with chaos. People were going crazy everywhere, relieved to have made it out alive, weeping for those hadn’t (and you were certain there’d be more of that at the ceremony). Silly string seemed to float through the air along with water balloons and the sound of airhorns. You’d shoved everything out of your locker and into a box you’d snagged from the front office after having all your teachers sign off on your class performance slip, ensuring your graduation. The box itself was hastily thrown into the back of your car, along with your backpack before you were running into the woods behind school, waving at people you knew who were exiting the high school as you passed. Sure, you hadn’t been buddies with everyone but they were just trying to make it through like you.

Thankfully used to the brisk walk by now, you weren’t out of breath when you reached the old picnic table Eddie was perched on, waiting for you. He grinned the second you were in sight, and you’d beamed right back, running over to throw your arms around his neck to pull him into a tight hug. “You made it, Eddie! You made ’86 your bitch, your year!” His arms snaked around your middle, hoisting you off the ground to spin you around as he laughed. “We made it! This is our year.” He corrected as he put you down but you just rolled your eyes.

Yeah, it was a pretty big deal for you to be done with high school, but like the majority of the high school population, you’d be attending Hawkins Community College—despite having been accepted into most of the UCs in California—until you were positive about what you wanted to do career wise. You’d known your whole high school career that you’d be graduating. Eddie hadn’t. That’s why it was such a big deal to you.

“How shocked did Mrs. O’Donnell look when she signed your performance slip?”  Eddie mimicked the face she’d made as she scrawled the ‘D’ and her signature on the little yellow piece of paper, eyes bugging out comically. You both burst out laughing at the expression. “God, I still can’t fucking believe it. I can’t fucking believe it!” Eddie slapped his palm down on the bench before he jumped on top of it and shrieked out into the trees, “’86, BABY! WOOOOOOOOO!” You could hear the sounds of various birds taking flight, but you couldn’t do anything but smile like an idiot at him. Happiness looked so good on him, it was criminal considering how little he got to express it. You sat down at the bench, your elbows perched on the table top as you rested your chin over your intertwined fingers and waited for Eddie to settle. Once he’d climbed down, plopping himself across from you with a lazy smile, he produced a plastic baggie from the pocket of his leather jacket—which you thought he looked stupid hot in but was completely inappropriate in the already too hot weather— which contained two rolled up joints. “Our final high school smoke session,” He sighed out, hyping up his sadness to be extra dramatic. “I don’t know if I’m ready for those to be over.” “We can still smoke,” And you were positive you would, “We just won’t be in high school when we do.” “It’s not the same!” He argued, pulling one of the joints out of the plastic baggie to hand to you. He was giving you the honors of starting it. Flashing him a grin, you produced a pretty pink lighter he’d gotten you for you birthday last year. He’d always teased you by telling you he’d gotten it engraved for you, but you’d taken your little brother’s magnifying glass to it and still couldn’t see any sort of engraving so you were pretty sure he was pulling your leg. You flipped the cap open and sparked the flame to life, inhaling to ensure the end would burn. “I mean, we are never gonna have another school day so shitty that we’re forced to come out here and light one up.” Eddie continued, taking the joint when you passed it over. “Don’t you do that anyways? Since you meet most of your clientele out here?” Your knuckles rapped over the table top.

His lips pursed for a second as he held in the smoke. Once he’d breathed it out, he shrugged. “It’s not as fun without you.” You ignored the bristling feeling washing over your skin, refusing to preen at his sweet words. “No more talking about petty high school crap, no more homework—for me anyways, you’re stuck with that—no more waking up at six in the fucking morning, god, okay maybe it really isn’t all that bad.” He handed the joint back to you, but you didn’t take a pull right away. You were getting a bit in your head, mind replaying over random conversations you’d had at this very table over the years. While you and Eddie hadn’t been best friends throughout high school, you’d still been friends. Your friendship had deepened at the beginning of your junior year. He’d gone from being your friend to your dealer, then essentially your therapist before he’d finally forced you to just call him your best friend already—despite Eden’s insistence that that role had already been filled in your life by her. Most of your emotional maturing had happened in those two years, and he’d been there for you through thick and thin. He’d seen you at your best and your worse, you’d been in countless fights that always ended with tight hugs and promises. He’d even seen you ugly cry over your ex-boyfriend. Which is why you suddenly became nervous, fingernail scratching into the wood of the table.

Eddie noticed immediately, head tilting as he waited for you to work up the nerve to say whatever it is you were struggling with.

“So, Lew—’’ Eddie didn’t even let you finish before he was groaning and slumping over the table. He knew where you were going with that, or he feared he knew he did. You clicked your tongue, sighing as you shook his shoulder. “C’mon, you have to at least hear me out!”

Eddie let you shake him for a few moments before he sat back up, giving you the look. You were familiar with that look. He’d given it to you every other time you’d brought up your ex-boyfriend since the mention of him normally meant a reconciliation was on the way. It wasn’t that Eddie didn’t like the guy, he definitely did not, but he only cared about what you wanted, and it was obvious it couldn’t be Mike freaking Lewinski, especially if you were breaking up every other month. Truthfully, Eddie didn’t know him all that well, and he didn’t want to. All he knew was that he’d had you multiple times, you’d given him so many chances and he’d blown every single one, probably. Of course, if asked, you’d argue that wasn’t the case because it really wasn’t. Lew had been your first ever, and also your only boyfriend. You’d started dating freshman year, and you’d been off and on since, with the last break up occurring just after winter break.

“Fine, please. Continue.” He spoke through barred teeth, but you didn’t let that stop you. You kind of needed his response to this, your whole future depended on it.

“He wants to get back together—stop rolling your eyes, Eddie, I’m getting there—and he doesn’t want to break up anymore.”

“You said you were done when you broke up with him last time. What the hell happened to that?” He was upset, but not in the way you wanted. You frowned. “I broke up with him because I wanted something permanent, something stable, something that would. . .” You trailed off, getting a far away look in your eyes. “Be a little more on the forever side and not on the ‘right now’ side.”

Lew hadn’t been ready for that then and he’d told you as much, so despite the fact that he had wanted to be with you, you’d broken up because he couldn’t promise you anything longer than a ‘right now’. While part of you was sad about the break up, the other half that was completely and utterly in love with Eddie was ecstatic. You’d been in love with Eddie since you became best friends. In fact, you had figured you’d only become just best friends because of your relationship, and that was why you two hadn’t gotten together. But every time you and Lew broke up, Eddie never made a move. No matter how obviously you hinted at your feelings by being at his beck and call, and just trying to be around him as often as you could, nothing ever changed. Then came spring break. He’d gone MIA on you the whole week, only to turn up back at school hand in hand with Chrissy Cunningham. It explained why the whole Basketball Team seemed to be searching for them throughout town that week. You couldn’t even dislike her, she was an angel and disgustingly sweet to you. It shouldn’t have hurt as much as it did, considering you knew he’d had a crush on her since middle school but that was no comfort to your broken heart. They didn’t even last long, anyways. They’d started dating during the end of March and broke up at the end of April, though they were still quite chummy with each other. The pang in your chest you got when you’d see them together annoyed the crap out of you. Like a stupid idiot, however, part of you had hoped they weren’t able to make it work because he had feelings for you. It was now the beginning of June, and he still hadn’t made a move so it was becoming quite clear to the realist in you that it was never going to happen, despite how he took up just about every single nook and cranny of your thoughts, how you dreamed of him, and always imagined what it would be like to kiss him, to hold his hand. All of it was meant to stay firmly in your head as nothing more than your imagination.  Another failed hope. It had weighed heavy on you these last few months, especially with the whole Chrissy thing. You had never felt so low, so unwanted before. You knew it wasn’t his fault, you couldn’t force Eddie to love you and you didn’t want to but goddamn, why did you have to fall for him in the first place then? Anytime you tried to distance yourself, he’d catch on and be so hurt that you couldn’t go through with it anymore despite how it seemed to be slowly sucking the life out of you. Why couldn’t he just want what was right in front of him? You shook your head, forcing those thoughts away. It was those exact thoughts that got you in this position. You’d been drowning in your misery, despite your approaching freedom when Lew had scaled your roof for a late night talk at your window—which you wouldn’t ever be telling Eddie about, he’d lose his shit if he found out your ex-boyfriend did the same thing he did—and told you he was ready for it, ready for a future with you. He wanted a future with you. Not with anyone else. You could tell by the look in those emerald eyes of his that he was serious.  You’d been too invested in Eddie during your break ups with Lew to consider dating anyone else, but he’d seen other girls during those times. He was always honest with you when you got back together, and despite your slight annoyance, the part of you that desperately needed validation was touched that he’d gone out with those beautiful girls, and still came back to you because it was you he wanted to be with. He’d chosen you over them. You didn’t think Eddie would have chosen you over Chrissy, and you couldn’t blame him. It had simply been her he wanted, not you.

“He wants forever, now.” You continued once you’d come back from your daze. “I knew very well back then that we wouldn’t be long lasting but this time…it feels different. I know he means it. I know he’s serious.” While you weren’t expecting to marry the guy within the next year, the idea of dating people you had no plans on being with for long didn’t excite you. It seemed more bothersome than anything.

Eddie stared at you, his expression unreadable and unnerving. 

“And you’re telling me this, because…?”  Because I want you to tell me not to do it. I want you to tell me I’m making a big mistake because we are so clearly meant for each other and you’re done wasting time we could be using to be together. I want you to love me.  Please. But you don’t beg, not aloud. You don’t say any of that. Your mother taught you to value yourself more.

Instead, you ask. “What do you think?”

Please, please, please, Eddie.

Please.

You watched him with bated breath, heart pounding against your ribcage so hard you thought it was beginning to physically hurt. He licked his lips and then pursed them again as he shrugged off your broken heart. “Seems like you’ve already made up your mind. Now, you gonna smoke that or what?” You felt sick. You were gonna throw up. It was really all in your head, you were so gonna puke. You shook your head as you gave it back to him, looking anywhere but at Eddie as you tried to put yourself back together without giving away your state of mind. Despite his lack of love for you, he’d notice if anything was off. You had used to love it, by right then, it was a trait of his you despised.  You needed to get out of there. “I gotta go get ready to meet up with him, anyways, so I can’t get too high. I’ll see you later, ‘kay?” You didn’t wait for him to respond, just got up and started making your way back to the field. You were proud of yourself for managing to keep your eyes from shining with wetness as you got into your car and pulled out of the school parking lot for the last time. What a way to end your session, you thought bitterly. You’d thrown up as soon as you got home, though it had been more so from the emotional pain than anything. After brushing your teeth, and taking a shower, you paced the floor of your bedroom as you thought about where you could go from there. You could spend the whole night crying over Eddie Munson and the intense love you had for him that you’d never be able to properly express. Hah, this time Chrissy hadn’t even been part of the reason he didn’t want you, Eddie Munson just genuinely didn’t want you.

But you knew someone who did. And he happened to also mention he would be throwing the last party of the school year, a farewell to the rest of the senior class and rest of the school when he’d stopped you to talk to you earlier on in the week.

That party was on the last day of school; tonight. You could tell Lew you wanted to be with him at his party and be loved again by the midnight. Still, was it rational? You grabbed your backpack from the chair you’d thrown it on, ripping a paper out of one your notebooks. You set to work creating a pros and cons list of getting back together with your ex-boyfriend. To your surprise, the pros greatly outweighed the cons. He was sweet, considerate as in he hadn’t wasted your time when he knew he couldn’t give you what you wanted, honest, handsome, etc. In fact, there was only one con on the list you were able to rake you brain for. Scrawled in your penmanship under the Con section was the name ‘Eddie.’ And he was right, your mind was made up. You crumbled the list into a ball and threw it away in the waste bin near your desk before you made your way to your closet and yanked it open. You were planning on looking killer when you got your boyfriend back. — Eddie tossed the joint away from him the moment you were out of sight. His mood had been soured, so much that he didn’t give a fuck about wasting good weed. He wouldn’t be able to have a good high anyways, not with thoughts of you and your stupid fucking ex-boyfriend—who you didn’t ever even refer to by first name—plaguing his mind. No, Eddie changed his mind. He definitely knew Mike Lewinski enough to hate him. Hate his stupid shiny hair, his stupid face, and his stupid habit of having terrible fucking timing for Eddie. Every time, every time Eddie finally thought it was safe enough to mentally entertain the idea of telling you he was in love with you, the jerk swooped in and took you. Every damn time!

Fuck it, it was probably for the best. You were way out of his league anyways, always had been. The little crush he’d had on you hadn’t expanded into a genuine love for you until you’d started actually talking to him—and not just pleasantries, genuine talking—during your junior year, the start of his second attempt at graduating. You’d been in two very different social circles, but you’d always been pleasant to him. Always made small talk when you approached him to buy weed, always seemed to care about his responses, even stopped him at his locker or in the halls a couple of times and then that first day of school, you’d ended up sharing a class with him. Despite the plenty of open seats around, you’d gone and sat in the one directly next to him and began chatting him up about how he spent his summer. He wasn’t used to people being that nice to him. From then on, your friendship skyrocketed. Suddenly you were talking to him about more than just his summer activities when you were buying weed and when you weren’t. Wasn’t long before you weren’t even paying for the weed. Unfortunately, because he was Eddie Munson, you had a boyfriend during his AHA moment, not that he would’ve been able to tell you even if you hadn’t. The idea of losing your friendship, especially since it was beginning to get really good, scared the living shit out of him. He couldn’t lose you to some dumb break up. He’d already grown used to you forcing him to watch Gremlins a concerning amount of times during the Christmas season, and he kind of needed you to do that for every single Christmas from then on, he grew accustomed to crashing at your place on nights when life seemed to be beating his ass—which was most nights—by sneaking in through your bedroom window and Eddie couldn’t fathom the idea of you never jumping straight on his bed the second you step into his messy room or how you always seemed to be taking in every single detail of it, like you couldn’t get enough of seeing his stuff because you were getting a good glimpse at who he was by doing so. So, he settled into the dutiful role as your best friend—he would happily throw down with Eden for that title if it was all he was gonna be able to get—and tried to live his life. Look where that got him. He rubbed his hands over his face, trying to scrub away the last half of your conversation. When that didn’t worked, he pushed off from the table and headed back to the school to prepare for his last Hellfire Club session, which was appropriately depressing.  Luckily, it hadn’t ended that way. The Sinclair siblings carried the party once again, but it had been Will that rolled the critical hit. Eddie had been pleased, happy the little shits made his last campaign as their Dungeon Master a good one.

Dustin needed a ride, so he stayed back to help Eddie pack up. Once everything was cleared for the rest of the summer, he drove him over to his girlfriend’s house to watch some biblical movie with her family.

Eddie had completely forgotten Dustin’s girlfriend was related to Eden until she came out of the house as Dustin passed her to get in.

Jesus, you gave him a hard time about wearing his leather jacket in the heat, but she was dressed head to toe in heavy layers of dark clothing and she didn’t look like she was even breaking a sweat. “Eddie, is that you?” She called as she shielded her eyes from the sunlight, moving towards the end of the driveway where he was currently parked.

“The one and only, ‘O Garden of Holiness.” He smirked, reaching over to crank the window handle to lower the passenger seat window so she could talk to him.

Eden rolled her eyes but leaned into the open window, her own lips curling into a smirk to mirror his own. “So, I’m guessing you’re not going to Lewinski’s party tonight?”

His smirk dropped and so did his stomach, if you’d told Eden about your plan on getting back together with Lewinski then it probably was serious. The special K he had tucked somewhere in the trailer flashed to the forefront of his mind. He didn’t like to ever reach for it, but he knew it was the only way he was going to survive tonight, regardless of the fact that he wouldn’t actually be witnessing your reunion with your ex-boyfriend because his ass was not leaving that fucking trailer as soon as he got home.

“No.” Was all he could croak out, willing his voice to not sound as pained as he felt. That just opened the floodgates for chatter apparently because Eden relaxed further into the window, leaning her shoulder up against the door. “Dude,” She was so Argyle’s girlfriend. “I have been waiting for you two to get your shit together forlikeever. When she told me she was gonna tell you about Lewinski coming up to her and how she’s in love with you, I totally thought she’d— “What?” Eden paused as Eddie stared at her with wide eyes, his mouth still open as he waited for her to repeat herself.

She sucked her lower lip into her mouth, gnawing on it as she realized she’d just made a very big, crucial mistake. “She uh-she didn’t tell you that last part, about being in love with you…did she?” Eddie slowly shook his head, still trapped in a daze as he tried to process every single word that had come out of Eden’s mouth. 

“Well, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Oh my god, she is gonna kill me. Fuck!” “She loves me?” He whispered out as she put her face in her hands. “Yes, Eddie, you wing nut. She loves you. God, I cannot believe I blew this! Fuck no—wait.” She paused, lowering her hands only to point one finger aggressively into the van. “I cannot believe you let her go with Lewinski!” Eddie scowled, gripping the steering wheel. “What the fuck was I supposed to do, Eden?” “You were supposed to tell her you love her, moron! You were supposed to fight for her or something! Jesus, men are so stupid, I was rooting for you, Eddie.” She threw her hands up as she stomped back inside her house, leaving Eddie still dumbfounded. He drove to the trailer on autopilot, completely unaware of anything he did until he was laying on his bed and staring up at his ceiling. 

You loved him.

You loved him. Holy shit. You loved him!

He felt like his whole world was shifting, in the best fucking way possible. Like everything had been just out of place and the revelation that you were in love with him, that his love for you wasn’t one-sided just righted everything. The world made sense to him again, the future no longer daunting because you loved him. Through all the uncertainty, he could be sure of the most precious thing to him, his relationship with you. Except, you might have been in love with him but you weren’t actually in a relationship with him. In fact, you were about to get back into one with someone who wasn’t him. Eddie shot up up in bed, eyebrows pinching together in horror as he realized the girl he was in love with was about to become someone else’s girl. God, he couldn’t let that happen! No—wait, He couldn’t do this to you. If you wanted to be with Lewinski, who was he to stop you? You hadn’t stepped in when he was with Chrissy—fuck, had you been in love with him then, too?—so what right did he have to ruin this for you? But what Eden said came rushing to his mind. She’d sounded so thrilled when she thought the two of you had finally gotten together, that you had finally confessed your feelings.

Had that been what set you off during the very brief smoke session? Was it just a giant fucking hint he’d missed? Well, he was gonna hope like hell it was. Eddie grabbed his keys and made his way back outside to the van. He had a party, he probably wasn’t invited to, to crash.

──

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