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chibi-tsukiko · 3 years

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Thinking of him always

A fic for @carstairgray Parabatai Week : Day 2 Will & Jem

I hope you like it 🙈

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Tag List : @legendofconsullightwood @themostawesomehuman @littleturtle95 @justaburningpile @morgnstern @zfoxdraws @bookworm-jedi @magnus-the-maqnificent @pleasechokemekeith @fair-but-wilde-child @beclynn-herondale @khaleesiofalicante @my-archerboy @youngreckless @runecarstairs @high-warlock-of-brooklyn @ninacarstairss

It’s nearly noon by the time Tessa wakes to an empty bed. The sheets beside her, still perfectly pressed. She sighs quietly, reaching for her robe to draw it over her nightgown. She ties her hair into a low bun and washes her face in the basin before creeping out into the hallway.

As she makes her way down, a noise from the living room catches her attention, she peaks around the corner and is met with a happy squeal.

“There’s my sweet boy!” Tessa coos, reaching down to pick up the crawling baby.

“Ah ah! No bending!” A voice calls out.

Tessa looks up just as Sophie crosses the floor and scoops James up into her arms. “You remember what the doctor said, no bending or heavy lifting.”

“I hardly call him heavy lifting.” Tessa tuts as Sophie passes James to her. “Huh? Are you too heavy for me? Is my Jamie too strong for me?” Tessa half-sings, bouncing James lightly in her arms while he giggles.

“Even so, you should be careful.” Sophie scolds.

“I am careful,” Tessa says, “Will hardly allows me lift a finger. You know how he was with James.”

Sophie nods in agreement, “I do, but I also know how stubborn you are.”

Tessa shrugs, poking James’ nose softly while rocking him. “Speaking of Will, have you seen him?” She asks.

Sophie shakes her head. “Not since this morning. I came to drop off more scones, and he asked if I had a moment to look after James.”

“Oh dear, I’m sorry to have kept you for so long. You should have come to wake me.”

“I don’t mind! And besides, Will said to leave you sleep. The little one keeping you up again?”

“All night long” Tessa sighs, rubbing her tummy with her free hand “this one has quite the kick.”

Sophie laughs, “Euginia was the same way. And always at all hours of the night.”

“How are the girls doing?” Tessa asks.

“Very well.”

“And little Thomas?”

“Just fine. Barbra has taken it upon herself to tend to him. She’s always carrying around an extra blanket to wrap him in or asking to check when he needs fed.”

“Such a good big sister,” Tessa smiles, shifting James in her arms as he wiggles. “Would you mind terribly if I handed this wiggle worm back to you while I see if I can find Will?”

“Not at all” Sophie grins, taking James back over to the couch.

Tessa finds Will in the study sitting with a book in hand, only when she follows his gaze she sees that it falls on an instrument case in the corner and not the page.

She’s careful not to startle him as she comes to stand beside the chair. Will, of course, notices her presence before she can speak and lays the book in his lap so he can take her hand.

“Good morning, my beloved,” he smiles, pressing a quick kiss to her knuckles.

“Afternoon,” Tessa corrects. “I see Sophie is here. She mentioned she hasn’t seen you since this morning.” As Will releases her hand, she moves to card through the curls atop his head.

“Oh damn. Sorry, I must have” he glances at the instrument case and then quickly to the book in his lap. “I got lost in the pages.”

Tessa hums still petting his head, “thinking of him again?”

Will leans into her, “always” he whispers.

She gives his arm a squeeze and kisses the top of his head, “you know”, but before she can finish, there is a knock at the door.

Tessa and Will turn to the door, “Charlotte,” Will says getting to his feet.

“I hope you don’t mind the intrusion, Sophie let me in.”

“Not at all,” Tessa says. “Would you like some tea?”

Charlotte shakes her head, “No thank you, I was just passing by, and I wanted to ask you something.”

“Has something happened?” Will asks.

“Well, I’ve just gone through Gideon’s report. Seems he’s found a nest of Ravnor demons just pass the square. I was hoping you and Gabriel could have a look at.”

“Of course,” Will says, turning to Tessa, who nods.

“I’ll be fine,” she says and smiles when she notices that familiar glint in Will’s eye.

“You know,” he says, turning back to Charlotte, “it’s quite out of season for Ravnor demons to be nesting…perhaps we should send word to the Silent Brothers. For their records.” He glances at Tessa hopefully.

“I’m not sure that,” Charlotte starts, but gets cut off by Tessa.

“We could also give them an update on the pregnancy and how James is doing.”

“A SPLENDID IDEA!” Will rejoices, nearly jumping in the air “I shall send for a carriage immediately! Tessa, my wife, you are brilliant.” He kisses her cheek, “brilliant!” He turns to Charlotte, “Thank you Charlotte, I’ll meet with Lightwor- Gabriel, tonight at the square. See to it, he isn’t late this time.” He rushes past her down the hallway, his voice echoing through the house, “Sophie! Here, let me! Jamie my boy! Come! We need a carriage!”

Charlotte, dumbfounded, turns to Tessa, who smiles sweetly, looking down at her stomach, rubbing it. “Come on, little one. Let’s get dressed.”

~ over 100 years later ~

“That’s what I’ve been saying tho. Movies are better than books!” Kit exclaims, as he shuts the car door and walks through the garage.

“You lose all the details and composition. Hardly any movie can truly do the book it’s based on justice.” Tessa mentions, following Kit into the house.

“All that stuff is just fluff. Besides, you get plenty of details through the visual effects,” Kit retorts, setting the grocery bags onto the counter.

“Fluff,” Tessa chuckles, setting her own bag down on the kitchen table. “I would imagine that” she stops suddenly when she hears it.

Kit perks his head up from the paper bag.

Soft strings float through the house. And their playful discourse quiets at the ambivalent tune.

“Kit honey, would you mind putting these away for me?” Tessa asks.

Kit nods in understanding.

Tessa checks the baby monitor before heading down the hall. Mina is just stirring from her nap, but won’t be fully awake for a few minutes.

Tessa finds Jem in the office. The violin tucked delicately between his arm and his cheek as he plays. The case lays open on the desk next to an old blade stained with a past. Tessa leans against the doorframe, watching, smiling as she recognizes the song.

Jem stops when he catches sight of her, “Wǒ de àirén” he says, “I did not hear you get in.” He sets the violin back in its case, running his fingers over the strings.

Tessa hums, coming to stand beside him. She places her hand atop his and rests her head against his arm. “Thinking of him again?”

“Always,” Jem answers, lacing his fingers with hers.

“wŏ yĕ shì” she whispers.

Jem gives her hand a squeeze and presses a kiss to her temple. He closes the violin case and sets it on the desk.

“Mina mine should be up from her nap by now,” he says.

Tessa nods, “you should get her, then you can join Kit and I in the kitchen. Kit picked Bagel bites for dinner.”

“Bagel bites?”

“Mhm. Little mini pizzas on bagels. Kit’s very excited to see you try them.”

Jem quirks an eyebrow, “I best hurry and get the silly melon then.”

“See that you do Jem Carstairs. It isn’t right to keep a lady waiting.” Tessa teases, sending Jem a wink before heading back to the kitchen.

Jem smiles, turning back to the small dagger on the desk. “I’ll be keeping you waiting a bit longer, my brother,” he whispers, before leaving. “For now, I follow where she goes.”

It may have been a trick. A mix of the voices in the kitchen and the closing of the door. But for a brief moment, Jem hears the whisper of an old friend.

Go on my Parabatai. I can wait.

For both of you.

#always in my herongraystairs feels #parabatai week #my writing #will herondale #jem carstairs #tessa gray #herongraystairs #tsc #shadowhunters #the shadowhunter chronicles #emsfic #emsfics

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moldisgoodforyou · 3 years

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bahamas (v)

wordcount: 6.2k

warnings: hinting at sexual content

______

Rafe found Colin the next morning, lanky limbs sprawled out on the couch with a blanket haphazardly tossed on top of him, his arm hanging off the edge of the couch as he slept. “Yo.”

“Mmph.” Colin grumbled in reply, stirring. He blinked a few times as he realized Rafe was standing in front of him, looking confused. “Hey.”

“Hey. You got kicked out?”

“James and Julia, they…” Colin trailed off, gesturing toward their rooms. “So I let Allie have my bed, and I’m out here.” A small scowl settled onto his face as a wide grin grew on Rafe’s. “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say a thing.” Rafe laughed. “You are down bad, brother. Down bad.”

“Do not breathe a word of this to anyone, or I’ll tell Sophie you’ve been pining after her since high school.” Colin sat up, stretching. “I mean it.”

“Oh, she already knew that.” Rafe shook his head, grinning. “But don’t worry. Secret’s safe with me. You think Allie will remember? Did anything happen?”

“Nothing. Literally nothing.” Colin shrugged. “Does Sophie know about Julia and James?”

“What about us?” Julia asked, James and Allie trailing right behind her as they came down the hall for breakfast. “That we fucked?”

Rafe winced. “Can you not?”

“She doesn’t know?”

“No. And I’d like to keep it that way.” Rafe pointed at everyone, serious. “If any of you tell before we leave tomorrow, I’ll strangle you and leave your body here. I swear.”

“Dibs on telling her when we leave.” Colin said quickly, grinning.

“Be my guest.” James shrugged.

“Okay. Now. You two need to promise to not hook up again, I swear, you’re aging me by years. I’m tired of navigating your sex lives and you both know you’re not good together.” Rafe instructed, arms crossed.

“That’s fair.” Julia nodded, turning to shake hands with James. He nodded too, shaking her hand then kissed the back of her hand just to make her grin. She rolled her eyes, tugging her hand away.

“Thank you. Now. Breakfast?” Rafe gestured toward the kitchen.

“Where’s Sophie?” Allie yawned, stretching as she followed them all in.

“Definitely hungover and she was definitely drooling on the pillow.” He smiled fondly as Sophie came into the kitchen, hair in a messy bun and pillow marks still pressed into her cheek. “Morning, sleeping beauty!”

“You talkin shit on me?” She asked, leaning into his side as he looped his arm around her.

“He said you looked like shit.” James grinned. “He was right.”

“Shut the fuck up, James, I’m still mad at you -”

“Just because your boyfriend prefers my kisses -” He stepped around the kitchen counter, trying to avoid as she came closer.

“Oh my god! I forgot about that! I can’t believe you -”

“Look, he technically kissed me first -“ James gasped, looking way too delighted with himself. “Oh my god! Sophie! We’re spit sisters!”

As she grabbed the wooden spoon from off the counter, Rafe plucked it out of her hand from behind just as quickly. “Whoa! Hey. Can you two please be civil? James, stop antagonizing. Soph, quit arguing with someone that isn’t me.”

Colin wrinkled his nose. “Really? That makes you jealous?”

“It’s our thing.” He frowned, pulling Sophie into his arms again from behind, satisfied when she leaned back against him.

She tilted her head up to catch her lips on the underside of his jaw. “You’re too possessive.”

“Bold of you to talk.” Julia snorted.

“Whatever. What’d I miss?”

Everyone shared a look, Rafe glaring at everyone behind Sophie’s back, until Allie shook her head. “Nothing, we all just woke up too. I think we should go surfing today, it’s our last full day.”

“Only you three can surf.” Julia replied, pointing at Allie and Rafe and Sophie.

“We can teach you.” Rafe suggested, only for Sophie to snort.

“You can’t surf for shit, Rafe.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re excused. I haven’t gone in years, but yeah, we can try.” Sophie pulled out her phone, starting to google board rentals until Rafe poked her in the side.

“I know how to surf.”

“Okay, so your concussion sophomore year of high school wasn’t from a wipeout? Because I’m pretty sure I can still find the video on YouTube, actually, thanks to Wheezie uploading it -”

“Hey, Sophie, no -” He grabbed at her phone, scrambling to get it away, but she just tossed it to James who caught it easily with a grin and pulled up the Youtube app immediately.

“Is it saved? Under...oh, here.” He laughed as Rafe struggled against Sophie’s arms.

“Everyone knows Kooks can’t surf, baby.” She murmured to him, grinning when he scowled and bumped his forehead against hers.

“What’s a Kook?” Colin asked.

“The kind of people Rafe grew up with.” Sophie let him go, moving to his side.

“Didn’t you grow up with them too?”

She laughed, shaking her head right away. “Ha. No. I only went to school with them starting in eighth grade. I’m not...no. That’s not me.”

“It’s not a bad thing.” Rafe interjected, careful. He’d never directly told James and Colin about the environment he grew up in, but they picked up on a lot of things - they didn’t have to go through etiquette classes, or own mansions or attend literal balls every year. He also hadn’t told them about how Sophie wasn’t like that at all, figuring if she wanted to share more, then she could do so on her own terms.

“So you’re a pog?” James cocked his head and Rafe winced, hating the direction the conversation was going in.

“Um...it’s pogue, but no? Not quite?” Sophie answered with a shrug. She’d never found herself fitting in with the rest of the kids on the Cut, especially once she started going to the private academy, but then again, the kooks weren’t exactly her world either. She lived in a weird in-between, working side by side through high school with the pogues, serving all the kook kids, then partying with the kooks on the weekend. It was a strange balance. “I don’t know, it’s hard to explain.”

“I thought there were just two. Rafe, when we came to visit summer after freshman year, didn’t your dad say that we needed to stay away from that one side of the island with the pogues -”

“I don’t remember.” Rafe interrupted quickly, then spared a glance at Sophie and hated the way her face fell. “I don’t think he said that. Can we figure out what to do today?”

Oblivious as ever, Colin furrowed his brow. “No, I think I remember that too, he was joking a lot about it -”

“He wasn’t joking.” Sophie muttered, suddenly sullen as she felt a pit form in her stomach.

“It doesn’t matter.” Rafe replied, firm, and shot both the boys a pointed look.

Julia and Allie had been subjected to Sophie’s worries about money and fitting in with Rafe time and time again, and knew exactly how she felt at the moment. Allie took Sophie’s phone back from James, pulled up the browser, and cleared her throat. “Alright. Three board rentals for $30, I figure we can all pair off? Pick them up at eleven so we have time to eat breakfast?”

“Yeah, I’m starving.” Julia chimed in, slipping past Sophie and squeezed her shoulders in a reassuring gesture before opening the fridge. “James, can we do omelets again? Colin, you’re on toast duty?”

“But I -”

“Colin.” Julia sent him a glare and threw the loaf of bread toward him, narrowly missing his head. “Toast.”

“She gets one embroidered apron in a PR package and suddenly she’s queen of the kitchen.” James quipped, bumping Rafe out of the way with his hip and pulled out the pan, spatula, and whisk, prepared.

“Exactly, I’m glad you understand.” Julia grinned.

Rafe moved closer to Sophie’s side, leaning down to murmur in her ear. “You good?”

“M’ fine.”

He rolled his eyes and took her hand, pulling her out of the kitchen and down the hall to the foyer. “Soph. Talk to me.”

“I said, I’m fine -”

“And I know damn well that means you’re not actually fine -”

She huffed and caught a glimpse of the giant chandelier behind him as she looked up to meet his gaze, and was finding it harder and harder to conceptualize the place as his house rather than just a vacation home of a friend’s. “You haven’t told the boys about The Cut? Pogues, kooks, all that? That I’m not like you?”

“Of course not, Sophie, that doesn’t matter to me.” He frowned, taking both her hands in his. “Besides, I didn’t think it was my place to share.”

“Oh.” She sighed, stepping forward and dropping her head to his chest. “Sorry, I just - I’m trying to be chill.”

“You have been. We’ve been good.” He nudged her chin up, catching her eye. “Haven’t we?”

“Yeah, yeah, just - I took a wrong turn this morning, found myself down some hallway and in some office, and there was this giant painted portrait of your family behind the desk, and -” She forced herself to take a breath. “It’s a lot. You looked like fucking royalty.”

He nodded slowly in understanding. “Oh. Yeah. That’s my dad’s office, uh...there’s a reason I didn’t give everyone the full house tour.” He rubbed the back of his neck, giving her a sheepish smile. “The guys would give me so much shit for that.”

“You’re not, like...embarrassed of me, right? Like how I grew up?” She asked before she could think, uneasy as her stomach twisted in knots.

“Sophie.” He frowned, stroking his thumb over her cheekbone. “You really have to ask that?”

“No, sorry, no. I know you’re not. Just - agh.” She screwed up her face in concentration, frustrated. “It’s me. I’m sorry.”

“Just try not to stress so much about it, okay? You’re the only one worried about it.”

“Oh, that’s easy. Thanks, Rafe, I’m cured.”

He rolled his eyes and pushed at her shoulder gently, making her smile a little. “I want you to be comfortable with me, angel.”

“I am!” She flexed her hands, frustrated. “That’s the thing. I am, with you. Not...you.”

He furrowed his brow. “Now I’m confused.”

“I don’t know how to explain it.”

James rounded the corner, yelling out before he reached them. “Yo! You two done making out yet?”

Sophie sent Rafe an exasperated look before crossing her arms, turning to James. “We weren’t -”

“Yeah, yeah, I don’t care. C’mon, your breakfast is ready and I know Rafe throws up if he has to eat cold eggs.”

“It was one time -”

“One time is enough.” James shuddered, thinking back to freshman year. Rafe had gotten a little too cocky with the pledge masters during their hazing and was forced to eat five cold scrambled eggs in front of the whole pledge class, after he’d already had his fair share of alcohol to drink, and it didn’t end well. He extended his hand to Sophie, grinning. “Sophie, doll, breakfast awaits.”

“I hate you.” She replied with a straight face, but took his hand anyway and let him pull her back to the kitchen.

He laughed, glancing back at Rafe following them and winked at him before kissing the top of Sophie’s head. “Love you too. I need a wingman tonight at the bars, you got me?”

“I thought that was Colin’s position.” She shoved him away, taking her plate and sitting at the bar with the rest of the group.

“Yeah, well, Allie’s the only one that’s been getting some this entire trip, so -”

“But -” Colin started, only for Julia to stomp on his foot under the table, hard. She forced a grin, thankful Sophie was oblivious.

Sophie furrowed her brow but nodded, pouring herself a glass of juice. “Yeah. I got you.”

“Excellent. You know what, everyone should get laid tonight. If they want to.” James declared, shooting a meaningful glance at Colin.

“If you lay a finger on Julia again, I’m cutting off your balls in the middle of the night.” Sophie replied calmly, staring James down over the top of her glass as she took a sip.

Julia pretended not to hear, keeping her eyes intently trained on her plate. She’d considered Sophie’s feelings for the briefest of seconds last night, but then James was kissing down her neck and his fingers were slipping under the waistband of her shorts and - yeah. It may have slipped her mind. She was a little preoccupied.

“Sophie.” Rafe reprimanded, affronted. “Be nice.”

“Yeah, be nice or you’ll be the only one not getting some tonight.” James teased, smirking when Sophie gave him the death glare across the table.

“Jesus Christ, you guys fight like siblings.” Allie mumbled, rolling her eyes. “Let it go already.”

“Thank you.” Rafe affirmed, shaking his head. “I need everyone to be packed tonight, we’ll need to be on the plane tomorrow by 9am.”

“I thought the beauty of having your own plane meant we didn’t have a schedule.” Colin asked.

“...No. You can’t just fly it whenever, you have to tell people. And my dad needs it later tonight, he’s going to New York.”

“I didn’t realize he went there that often. That’s kind of nice though, right? You’ll be able to see him more when you and Sophie move?” Julia asked unknowingly. Sophie had told both the girls that Ward was an asshole, but didn’t say much more, just that Rafe still worked for him a lot. (She figured anything more was Rafe’s business and he could tell them if he wanted.)

Everyone else stayed quiet and Sophie froze, halfway to shoveling a forkful of omelet into her mouth. Rafe was stiff and his smile was forced as he nodded, not daring to look in Sophie’s direction. “Yeah. He does business there sometimes, so. I’ll see him around.”

James pushed away from the table, making everyone wince as the chair squeaked against the floor. “Okay, I’ll dry if someone else washes the dishes. Then I vote we hang out at the beach, last chance before we get to go back to Ohio - and I’m pretty sure it’s only forty-five degrees today back home.”

Julia looked around, confused at the abrupt topic change, and mouthed to Allie - did I say something wrong? - only for Allie to shake her head surreptitiously, glancing toward Sophie.

“Beach sounds good.” Colin nodded, standing and taking everyone’s plates to the sink. “Allie, can you confirm those board rentals?”

“Yeah, I got them.” She stood too, getting up to help with the dishes.

Julia frowned, lowering her voice so only Rafe and Sophie could hear. “Rafe, I didn’t mean to -”

“No, it’s cool. Don’t worry about it.” Rafe shrugged it off easily. “Seriously.”

Sophie exhaled, nudging her knee against Rafe’s under the table before she got up and pressed a kiss to the top of his head, then ruffled his hair. “Love you.” She murmured as she grabbed his plate.

He smiled back, tugging gently at the hem of her (his) t-shirt before she busied herself in the kitchen with the rest of the group.

Julia watched the exchange with a furrowed brow. “Is she good?”

“Hm?” He replied absentmindedly, moving his gaze from Sophie to Julia.

“She’s okay? Earlier, with James and Colin asking…”

“Oh. Yeah, we’re good, I think. Probably just ready to go home to normalcy, you know?” He paused. “Are you gonna tell her about last night?”

“I probably have to...right?”

“Yeah. I think it’s better coming from you, rather than the boys.” He offered a teasing smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll talk her down from homicide.”

Julia groaned, covering her face with her hands. “She’s gonna hate me.”

“She won’t.” He promised. “You two are consenting adults, it’s maybe not the smartest decision you two have ever had, but. She can’t be that mad.”

“Have you met your girlfriend?” She raised her eyebrows back. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her let go of a grudge.”

Rafe smiled, pointing to himself as he shook his head. “Ever?”

“You don’t count. None of those arguments were real.”

“Uh huh.”

“I’m serious. You’d know.” She shook her head, smiling fondly. “Freshman year, this guy was being a little too touchy with me, hanging around a little too much at a frat party - she went and found his big brother and when he didn’t do anything, she threw a drink in the guy’s face.”

Rafe laughed, shaking his head. “She what?!”

“Yeah. I know way too many incriminating details about her.” Julia nodded with a grin.

Sophie came back to the table, curious. “What are you two gossiping about?”

“Nothing.” He dismissed, waving his hand and got up, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “C’mon, let’s go get ready.” He mumbled something in her ear, making her blush.

Julia raised her eyebrows, watching as Rafe tugged her down the hall, hand in hand. “Don’t be late, you two!”

“Never!” Sophie called back, giggling.

______

After an attempt at surfing and hours of lounging in the sun, the group finally made it to dinner. Rafe had insisted they go to the nicer restaurant for their last day, making everyone dress up just a little more, and was happy everyone complied with the dress code he suggested when they had all packed.

When his phone pinged, again, he huffed and fished it out of his pocket. His dad had texted him five times within the last hour, making sure he would remember to be on the runway at a certain time, and that the airport security needed to be paid in cash, like usual, and that he left enough of a tip for the maids before they left, and - yeah. It was a lot. He was surprised when he saw a text from his screenwriting professor from the previous semester instead, with three words - check your email.

“Your dad again?” Sophie murmured quietly, resting her hand on his knee.

“No…” He trailed off as he opened his email and found that his screenplay had been one of two chosen to be produced for their final semester. He had a meeting next week with his professor to start working out logistics, casting and choosing a production team. “Oh. Wow.”

“What is it?”

He smiled, hesitant, and tilted his phone toward Sophie. “Um, the screenplay thing. Mine got picked.” He shook his head, in disbelief as he smiled wider. “Holy shit, mine got picked.”

“Rafe!” She exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and smacking a kiss to his cheek.

James perked up, leaning next to Sophie to read the phone too. “You got it? For real?”

“I got it.” He confirmed, now grinning ear to ear. The phone was passed around the table so everyone could read the email and everyone congratulated him, making his cheeks turn red as he beamed. Julia ordered a round of shots almost immediately. He had made the boys read it over at least five times each, for proofreading before he submitted it, then once he gave a copy to Sophie, she’d made the girls read it too because she was so proud.

“This is the one where you confess your love to her like twelve times over?” Colin asked.

“Yeah, remember, Rafe, the characters hated each other in the first draft? And then you changed the girl’s name to Sloane one day, wherever the fuck that came from -” James added, oblivious to the growing smirk on Sophie’s face.

She leaned closer, raising her eyebrows. “When was that changed?”

Rafe’s blush spread to his ears now, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t remember. It’s not important, anyways -”

“I think it was barely September -“ James supplied helpfully, yelping when Rafe kicked him under the table. “Hey!”

Julia grinned. “You changed it to her middle name in only September? Weren’t you still fighting then?”

“I didn’t know -” He started to defend himself, only for Allie to roll her eyes.

“Oh, okay, you just happened to change it to that of all names. Sure, we believe that.”

Julia laughed once she caught Sophie’s eye and her extremely pleased expression. “She’s had a crush on you since high school, anyways -”

“I did not -” Sophie instantly retorted, ignoring the smug grin Rafe wore. “She’s lying.”

“I’m not. Jesus, Sophie, you two could have saved yourself all that arguing and just been together, you two are dumb.”

“Wait, you’ve liked me for that long?” Rafe cocked his head, oblivious.

“Oh my god, you two are blind.” Allie giggled, accepting the tray of shots from their waitress and passed them around. “Here, everyone - congrats, Rafe.” She lifted her shot and everyone else clinked theirs together, then took it at once.

The rest of the night was a blur for everyone, but especially Rafe. He kept taking other people’s shots on accident and sucked down any drink presented to him with a straw, but absolutely refused to hydrate normally (Sophie resorted to giving him vodka waters at the end of the night just so she could keep him upright). He kept an arm slung around her shoulders or waist the entire night, not letting her out of his sight for a single second.

“Baby, please stop leaning.” Sophie told him with an exasperated tone, pushing at his shoulder for the fifth time that night.

“I love you so much.” He replied, bright-eyed with a grin. “So damn much.”

“Okay. Stand up straight.”

“I am.”

James ambled back to the two of them and ducked in between them so Rafe’s arm was around his shoulders instead, taking the weight off of her for a moment. “Jesus, Cameron, lay off the drinks.”

“He’s fine, he’s celebrating.” Sophie smiled, patting Rafe’s cheek affectionately.

“Enabler.”

She shrugged. “So be it. Where have you been?”

“Trying to talk with some girls.” He supplied, nodding his head toward Colin with the same group. “Apparently they’re more into nerds.”

“The one time in your life you’ve failed to score.” She teased, batting his hand away as he went to flick her.

Rafe leaned into James, resting his head against his. He had a few inches on him, making it just comfortable enough. “James. Guess what.”

“What, bud.”

“I’m gonna marry Sophie.”

“Yeah, dude, we know.”

“No. Tonight.”

James snorted. “Yeah, okay. I feel like you’re gonna be out within the hour.”

Rafe ignored him, eyes scanning across the crowd. “Where are our girls?”

Sophie beamed, loving how he’d adopted her friends as his own. “I think Julia’s just getting guys to buy her drinks and Allie’s hovering around so she can benefit.”

“Julia definitely had some guy’s tongue down her throat earlier.” James confirmed. “I told him to fuck off.”

“Does she need help?” Rafe frowned, handing his drink to Sophie and straightening up like he was going to go hunt for her.

“No, she’s fine.” James nodded toward Colin, Julia and Allie all coming back toward them.

Sophie looped her arm back around Rafe’s waist, taking his weight again, and intercepted a drink that Allie offered to him. “No more. You guys having fun?”

“Yeah, a couple guys might be coming over to join us later.” Julia informed them casually. “Rafe, you good with that? I won’t show them any of your fancy shit.”

“Uh...yeah. That’s fine.” He cocked his head. “Wait, a couple? Just for you?”

“No, me and Al.” At Colin’s affronted look, she shook her head quickly. “Not at the same time!”

“Wait, no, we’re busy tonight.” Rafe shook his head and smacked a kiss to Sophie’s temple. “We’re getting married.”

Colin widened his eyes. “You’re what?”

“We’re not!” Sophie amended quickly, pinching Rafe’s side. “We’re not. He’s hammered.”

“She doesn’t wanna marry me ‘cause she’s scared of my dad.” Rafe informed them, his expression a little too serious for it to be a joke. “It’s true.”

“Okay. I think you need to go home.” She pursed her lips. “Are you guys staying, or…?”

“Family sticks together!” Rafe exclaimed, looping his arm around Colin. “We’re all going home. Did someone pack a white dress?”

“Rafe, we are not getting married.” Sophie sighed, exasperated. “Not tonight.”

“But I have the ring.” He protested, making the whole group stop in their tracks.

Julia nearly choked on her drink, mid-sip. “You what?!”

Rafe held up his hand and slid his pinky ring off his finger, the only one that barely fit Sophie’s thumb. “See? I have a ring.”

“Oh my god.” Allie breathed out, shaking her head. She stepped around him and strode forward out of the club, knowing he’d follow. “Hey! Come on. We’re going home.”

Sophie just stared at Rafe blankly, not following the rest of the group until James gave her a little shove from behind. “Chill out, Flint, I’m not gonna let him propose like that.”

She shook her head to get herself to snap out of it, laughing weakly. “Yeah. Yeah, of course.”

“No panicking.”

“I’m not - just. Jesus. Okay. He says that so easily.” She mumbled, walking out with James behind the group.

He laughed, nodding. “Of course he does. It’s Rafe. He loves hard.”

“Yeah.” She smiled to herself, twisting her ring on her finger. “He does.”

Once they all made it home, after some convincing on Allie’s part with the taxi driver and a little extra cash thrown in from Rafe, James and Colin helped wrestle Rafe into their bedroom. (They made the mistake of looking the other way once and he took off across multiple lanes of traffic, convinced he needed to go rescue the kitten that was on the other side of the road - it was actually a crumpled paper bag.)

“Okay. He’s your problem now.” Colin brushed off his hands for emphasis, swatting Rafe’s hand away as he went to tug on Colin’s shirt. “There’s no way he’s getting anything up, so sleep is probably your best option.”

Sophie blushed, running her hands over her face. “Great, I needed to hear that. Helpful.”

“Fuck you, Colin.” Rafe slurred, flipping him off.

“Mature.” James commented, kissing the top of Rafe’s head, then Sophie’s, before turning to leave. Any other time it would be weird, but she’d gotten used to his drunk affectionate state. “Night buddies!”

“Night! Love you!” Rafe called after him and Colin as they left and shut the door behind them. He turned his gaze to Sophie, smiling goofily at her. “Hi, sweetheart.”

“Hi, baby.” She replied, glad he was compliant as she tugged off his shoes and socks, and shirt too. “Can you take off your shorts for me?”

“You can take ‘em off.” He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She rolled her eyes, having to shove a little, but finally succeeded to strip him down to his boxers. “Okay. Will you come brush your teeth?”

Without a warning, he grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap, meeting her in a full-force kiss, hands roaming.

“Hey!” She squealed, shoving at his chest out of instinct. “Watch the hands, Rafe.”

He immediately dropped them to her sides, nudging his nose against hers. “I love you.”

“Love you too. I’d love you more if you would brush your teeth.”

“Dental hygiene is that important to you?” He skimmed his palm up her back, teasing his fingers along the zipper down the back of her crop top. “You should be naked right now.”

“Cameron.” She warned.

“Not my name.”

“Rafael.”

“Sophieeeee.” He whined, pouting. “Say my name for real.”

She rolled her eyes and kissed along his neck, resisting a laugh when he so easily melted to putty beneath her. “Rafe. Asher. Clifford. Cameron.”

“Sounds like I’m in trouble.” He mumbled, unzipping her crop top and hummed in satisfaction when she slipped her arms out of the skinny straps, letting him toss it aside. “I don’t like that.”

“Baby?” She murmured, sucking a small spot at the base of his neck before returning to kiss his lips.

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

“That’s not nice.” He frowned. “Be nice to me.”

“No.”

“You have to be nice to your boyfriend, angel, it’s the rules.”

“I’ve never heard these rules.” She countered, pushing him back against the bed. “I don’t think I got the rulebook when we started dating.”

“Because you hated me when we started dating.” He argued, flopping back against the mattress. “Are we gonna have sex?”

“Can you stay awake long enough?”

He nodded enthusiastically, reaching up to palm her breast. “Yeah. I got you. I’ll make you come, like, five times.”

She snorted, tugging off her skirt and pushed it aside. “I don’t think you’ve ever made me come five times. Maybe three, but that’s it.”

“What? No. That’s not right. You definitely have - like, in Nice or something -”

“Nope. I would remember.” She rolled off of him to pull off her underwear and toss it on the floor, then laughed as he rolled on top of her, frowning.

“I totally have, Sophie, come on. You’re lying. I can get you off.”

“Yeah, but not five times. That’s so long, Rafe.” She argued, grinning as he ran his hands down both her arms before pushing them above her head, one large hand encircling both her wrists.

“I’ll show you five times.” He argued, glancing around the room, unfocused. “Where’s some string?”

“You are not tying me up with string, Rafe, pay attention.” She arched her back a little, practically shoving her chest in his face to get him back on track. He nodded, dropping his hand down to her hip and skated his teeth across her nipple, loving the moan it elicited from her. She curled her fingers into his hair, sighing when he left open-mouthed kisses across her chest.

He hummed, his head bobbing a little and his eyelids fluttered as he felt her nails rake across his scalp. “More.” He mumbled.

“Yeah?” She replied, scratching his head a little more and had to bite back a laugh when he rested his head on her chest for a moment, then pressed lazy kisses against her skin. “Don’t you dare fall asleep on me.”

“M’not, just...resting.” His breathing slowed and he reached one hand up to cup her breast, though the way he did it felt more like he was holding it for emotional support than to turn her on.

“Rafe.” She whispered, squirming underneath him. “Get off.”

“Shh.” He nuzzled a little closer, relaxing his full body weight into hers. “Nappin.’”

“Are you fucking -” She sighed, pushing him just enough so he rolled onto his back. “I’m gonna go brush my teeth.”

“No, no, I’m ready.” He mumbled without opening his eyes, gesturing loosely to his lap. “See.”

She rolled her eyes and tugged on a pair of underwear and a big shirt of his that she’d packed, then leaned over to kiss his cheek. “You’re not even close to hard.”

“No...what’sit you say?” He squinted one eye open to look at her. “Have at me?”

She just laughed, shaking her head. “I’ll be back.”

“Sophie, baby, Sophie.” Rafe repeated, grabbing at her arm. “You gotta stay.”

“I’m just getting you water, Cameron, I’ll be right back. Promise.” She slipped her arm out of his loose grip and pressed a kiss to his forehead, smiling at the way his lips turned up in a dopey smile back. “Stay here.”

“Okay. Be safe!” He called out.

She shook her head and went out to the kitchen, grabbed two water bottles and returned to the room not five minutes later to see him fast asleep, snoring softly with his phone in his hand, screen still shining bright. She rolled her eyes and pried his phone away, then paused as she saw the screen - he’d just donated $5,000 to the local animal shelter in Columbus. This wasn’t an entire unusual occurrence - she’d seen a couple emails in his inbox here and there thanking him for a donation, but never this much. “Holy shit. Rafe.” She nudged him, trying to wake him up. “Rafe.”

“Mm?” He grumbled, rolling back over.

“Did you mean to do this?” She showed him his phone screen. “Five thousand?”

“Uh huh.” He reached over and wrapped his arms around her waist, trying to pull her into bed. “Come sleep.”

“You’re sure? You didn’t mean, like, $50? Or even $500?”

He pouted, lip wobbling a little as his eyes began to water. “Baby, all those animals are in there on the cold floor, and they don’t have homes -”

“Oh, honey -”

“No, no, listen. They don’t have homes, and it’s not fair, but if they get more money they take away their adoption fee, and then they can have a home.” He stared her down seriously as a couple tears slipped down his cheeks. “They need homes, Sophie.”

She nodded, taking a seat at the edge of the bed and stroked her thumbs over his wet cheeks. “Yeah, sweet boy. They need homes.”

“I hope Josie’s okay.” He yawned, moving to rest his head on her lap.

“Josie?”

“She’s five, and she’s a very sweet yellow lab, and good with other dogs and people, and she’s been at the shelter since July,” he recited from memory. Rafe had checked the website at least every two weeks and had found himself attached to this one dog for reasons he couldn’t explain, even going as far as buying her toys from the shelter’s Amazon wishlist. He absolutely knew he couldn’t visit, because he’d be taking her home in an instant. When he’d been looking for apartments in New York for them, he found himself selecting pet friendly as a search option - just in case.

“Oh. Okay.” She murmured, a little confused as she stroked his hair. “I’m sure she’s alright, Rafe. Will you drink some water for me? Or at least take your contacts out?”

He blinked hard, rubbing his eyes until his contacts popped out, and set them on the nightstand. Sophie resisted a scowl. He slipped his hand under her shirt and held her tight, palm splayed flat against her ribcage. “G’night.”

“Night, baby. I love you.”

“Sophie.”

“Yeah, Rafe?” She settled in against him, pulling the covers over them both.

“Marry me.”

She laughed, rolling back over to nudge her nose against his. “No.”

He yawned, not bothering to open his eyes. “Please?”

“Later. Now we’re sleeping.” She kissed him softly, smiling as she whispered. “Sweet dreams, favorite boy.”

“Love you.” He mumbled back, barely coherent before falling asleep.

____

The next morning, he was all too smug as he woke Sophie up, blindly reaching for her in bed and pulled her close against his chest. “Baby.”

“No.” She grumbled, pulling the pillow over her head as she tried to wriggle away.

“Soph.” He tried again, holding her tight as he pressed kisses against her hair. “Sophieee.”

“I’m tired, Rafe, fuck off.” She sighed, frowning up at him as he grabbed the pillow and tossed it to the floor. “Hey.”

“Tired from last night, huh?” He smirked, trailing a finger down the center of her chest, down her stomach. “Sore?”

Sophie rolled over to look him in the eye, eyebrows raised. “Sore from what?”

“You know.”

“I don’t.”

“C’mon.”

She furrowed her brow at him, confused. “Rafe, you fell asleep holding my boob. You weren’t even hard.”

“Huh?” He cocked his head, sitting up a little. “But we...did I dream that? The navy lace?”

She laughed, loud. “I don’t own navy lace anything.”

“Well, shit, we gotta buy you something.” He ran his hand through his hair, still a little confused as Sophie smiled up at him and fixed his messy hair, sitting up to straddle him. “Really? We didn’t do a thing? I swore, you were, like, having the time of your life.”

Sophie shook her head, placing both hands on his chest as she shifted forward a little. “No. You left me high and dry. Glad dream-me could get something though.”

Rafe quickly picked up on her cues, his hands going to her hips to steady her. “I think I can help fix that.”

“I think you can too.”

Just as she leaned down to kiss him, James pounded on their door, thankfully being smart enough to not barge in. “Yo! We’re leaving in an hour! Do you want breakfast?”

“Fuck off!” Sophie yelled, rocking her hips against Rafe’s. “We’re busy!”

“Busy packing, I hope!” James called back.

“He’s packing!” She replied with a giggle, laughing harder when Rafe quickly clasped his hand over her mouth and shushed her.

“We’re not hungry!” Rafe yelled, pinching Sophie’s side. “Leave us alone!”

She squealed, batting his hand away and couldn’t help but laugh as James’s footsteps faded away. “What, I’m not allowed to brag about you?”

“We don’t have time for you to brag.” He replied, wrapping a strong hand around the back of her neck to pull her into a bruising kiss. “C’mere.”

“How much do you remember of last night?” She asked in between kisses, leaning back just enough to pull off her shirt.

“Not much.” He flipped them over, then leaned down to graze his teeth over her nipple.

“You asked me to marry you.” She breathed out, a little wary of his reaction. “Multiple times.”

“I did? I’m a smart man.” He replied with a smirk, trailing his fingers up her inner thighs.

“You are.” Sophie moaned quietly, then pressed her hips up. “Just get inside me.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive, Rafe, please, I gotta shower and pack.”

He laughed, loud. “Sure we have time?”

“Rafe Cameron, I swear to fucking god -”

He laughed, cutting her off with a kiss. “I got you, baby. Always got you.”

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#rafe cameron #rafe cameron fanfiction #rafe cameron fanfic #outer banks #outer banks fanfic #obx fanfic #rafe x sophie #mine #college rafe #frat rafe

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canyouhearthelight · 3 years

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The Miys, Ch. 146

Whew, on a roll with queuing these up! Kind of proud of myself.

Speaking of proud... So many familiar names in the notes this week! Y’all are giving me a huge smile during a super busy week/month. Work has been bananas, weekends have been insane, and knowing that all of you are reading and enjoying the story gives me the encouragement I need to keep writing and to make the effort to keep the quality as consistent as possible.

All of you literally encourage me to take care of myself :) Thank you so much.

And, always, thank you to @baelpenrose, @charlylimph-blog, and @the-raven-fae, for everything you do, from beta-reading, to giving me stuff to read, to just keeping me reasonably sane.

I huffed as I put down the box of blankets in our new quarters. With our expected drop from hyperspace getting closer, we had finally been assigned quarters closer to the Archives. Xiomara and Tyche had both told me I was being ‘too nice’ by having Maverick put in the transfer request rather than doing it myself, but I still didn’t think it was fair to use my unwilling position on the Council as leverage to get bumped to the front of the line. After all, we had a few months to go, and with everything else going on, it wasn’t like I was in a hurry.

“Conor, be careful!” Maverick scolded as a box of dishes landed on the regrettably-smaller counter. “You’ll break them!”

“Mav, I love you to pieces,” Conor grunted and stretched his back. “But I want to point out again that we can just recycle broken ones and request new ones.” Completely contradictory to his own words, he wrapped the other man in a crushing hug and whispered something in his ear.

When Maverick gave him a skeptical look, Conor opened the box and pulled out a chipped plate. “The ones on the bottom are the ones with no chips, cracks, or stains. Promise.”

Hang on. “You let Conor pack the dishes, but you only let me pack the blankets?!” I was honestly hurt.

Maverick kicked the floor gently, his way of showing embarrassment. “I was worried I would break them, and you know how attached I am to the chipped plates, and I knew he wouldn’t get rid of them….”

“Baby,” I whispered. “Babe. It’s okay. I like the chipped ones, too. I would never get rid of those…” I held out a hand to see if he was receptive to a hug. When he tugged my hand, I squished his waist the best I could.

“You’re so particular with the clothes, though…”

“Because I despise pills against my skin.” I shuddered at the thought. “They feel… dirty.”

I could feel him shudder in agreement. “They do, don’t they?”

Conor gave us both a squish and shook his head, chin rubbing against us both. “Just leave my shirts alone, yeah?”

Maverick’s agreement with my philosophy nearly vibrated my soul. He never notices when we replace the pit-stained ones, it’s all okay. We both casually replaced the never-ceasing rotation of Conor’s white shirts when they were dirty past the point of laundering, but made a point to leave the permanently grungy coveralls until they either gained enough sentience to run away or fell apart in despair.

“Your shirts and Brenda, promise,” I tried to swear as solemnly as possible. ‘Brenda’ was the tilandsia xerographica that he had gifted me that first Insert Winter Holiday. She was currently twelve inches, and was the third love of Conor’s life.

He nodded before releasing us. “Mav, the silverware is still by the door so you can make sure everything is in the right place. Sophia, I’ll put up the clothes if you’ll sort where you want the blankets.” Without another word, he palmed the thermostat control and adjusted it to the agreed-upon settings we had maintained for years in our shared quarters. “Head’s up, once I get the clothes sorted, I gotta go help Sam and Derek move.”

My neck cramped from the speed I whipped around to look at him. “Derek and Sam are moving?”

Maverick nodded, his chin against my scalp. “They mutually requested relocation to stay in similar proximity to our quarters… specifically to Mac.”

I rolled my eyes. “It is absolutely to be close to Mac. Not my blanket, not soup on tap, not Conor’s plants - “

“They’re your plants, love.”

“Tell the plants that,” I joked. “You keep them alive.”

He muttered something that sounded distinctly like ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’ as he gently set a box under Brenda’s stand and started unpacking spritz bottles, fertilizers, and the world’s tiniest pruning shears.

I can honestly say I did not laugh. With the exception of the shears, all six spray bottles, the soaking tub, and the three different fertilizers had actually lived with me longer than he had. “The point is that I’m sure they aren’t just moving to be closer to Mac… he roams the entire Ark, so it’s a pretty lame excuse.”

Maverick and Conor both shrugged before the former spoke. “Sam likes how you cook his produce. And it’s a long walk from our previous quarters.”

“I am not going to apologize that his strawberries go better in ketchup, or that his tomatoes make amazing ice cream,” I waved off. “I know it’s a side effect of using the known composition of Von’s soil and light, but… the strawberries are orange. Like a bell pepper.”

“But the tomato soup from his tomatoes is amazing,” Conor granted. “None of us even like tomato soup.” I opened my mouth to argue, but he cut me off. “The one recipe you like, Sophie, proves my point, it’s not an argument. It’s the only recipe you don’t….” He gestured vaguely. “You know.”

“Zhuzh,” I provided. “I don’t zhuzh it.”

Somewhat out of nowhere, Maverick sat down in the new but familiar armchair and asked, “Is it expected to have a housewarming when you live in the same… building… ship… thingie… but moved quarters?”

“I - “ Gaping, I turned to them both. “I’m not sure. I mean… we celebrated when you two moved into my quarters, but that was more a… wedding-slash-engagement thing. Have we been invited to any for just moving?”

Conor shrugged. “All the moves were done in the first few years to settle down. Nothing like this.”

I tapped my chin before pulling up my datapad. “I’m seeing that a total of fifty people - fifty, really? - have been relocated, just to be closer to the Archives.” I took a couple of deep breaths. “I know it’s the furthest Protection Zone from the rest of the ship, but there are only fifteen people sheltering there, not counting Tyche and Alistair.”

Maverick gaped at me before waving both hands widely. “You moved, so a total of five people relocated down here, which we were just discussing, and you don’t understand how fifteen people turned into fifty?” He scowled. “Sophie, I know you can do math.”

I glared at him. “Given the nature of relationships on the Ark, I thought it would be higher, smartass.” I leaned over to kiss his chin. “But that also makes me think… block party? Take the pressure off of us?”

Conor looked thoughtfully at both of us. “I think we should put up curtains, or - you know, soft barriers, something visible but easy to navigate - for the apartments where folks can duck and cover from being wound up too much?”

He had a good point. “Just to be clear,” I ventured, “you just mean the apartments that people already know they can duck into?”

Conor’s enthusiastic nod dropped mine and Mav’s shoulders by a solid two inches. “Yeah, color code them or put proximity alerts on them, something. I don’t think anyone overstimmed wants to wander into a room full of strangers, right? Derek would know he can walk in here, straight to our bed, pile up under the blankets, and he’s fine, but… what if he walks into another person’s bedroom? Fuck all, I’ll kill someone.”

He had a point. I hated that he had a point, but he was right.

“We’re purple, right?”

Conor and Maverick collectively rolled their eyes hard enough to make my head cramp. “Duh,” was the only response Maverick gave, while Conor just shook his head.

It was only a week later that they had the door to our old quarters repainted and retextured, and had the doors to our new quarters painted screaming purple with green and black stripes. Just to be clear, apparently.

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some-days-we-get-sundays · 3 years

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It’s A Wildmoore holiday wish list🍂🍎🎃🦃❄️🎄

Picture this:

Wildmoore going to a pumpkin farm and picking apples and getting pumpkins and drinking warm cozy drinks together and snuggling under a blanket. They’re just friends at this point but the flirting and closeness has amped up. Mary suggested that her Luke, Ryan and Sophie all go out for some pg-rated fun to get to know each other better since they will all be part of The Bat Team. There are new dynamics now with Sophie having quit the crows and looking to work with The Bat Team officially. Ryan is in her second year of being The Bat and feeling like she finally isn’t flying in Kate’s shadow, and Luke is now Batwing. Mary says it’s like a professional development meeting. So they go to the pumpkin farm and cute autumn shenanigans ensue. Cue Ryan trying to show off by grabbing a huge pumpkin, only for the stem to come off of it as she is carrying it and for the pumpkin to fall onto the ground and burst. Sophie can’t stop laughing. Cue Ryan and Sophie finding a bench and sitting on it, huddling together under a flannel blanket sipping hot ciders and hot chocolates. Even though Luke and Mary tell them it’s not that cold. Sophie and Ryan roll their eyes at Luke and Mary. They all go back to Ryan and Mary’s shared place and they bake pumpkin seeds and make apple pie.

Deeper into the month of October they all go to a haunted house. Ryan is terrified of haunted houses, she claims that Black folks and horror don’t mix. Both Sophie and Luke try to lecture her about Black folks and horror and how they do mix until she says FINE I WILL GO IF YOU BOTH SHUT UP! They go to the haunted house and there is also a maze. Ryan see’s the maze and says there is absolutely no freakin’ way she is going in a maze. Sophie whispers into her ear that she’ll protect her and Ryan gets goosebumps along her entire body. They go through the haunted house and Ryan jumps into Sophie’s arms at every single sound. Even the times when there was no sound Ryan grabs Sophie’s hand or her arm because the lack of sound is also scary. Sophie pretends to be annoyed but she secretly loves protecting Ryan and she thinks Ryan being Batwoman but also being a scaredy cat is just plain adorable. They all go through the maze next and Ryan in the crisp and biting October air and eerie full moon night discreetly never lets go of Sophie’s hand. Sophie runs her thumb over Ryan’s thumb and she thinks that their hands fit perfectly together.

Thanksgiving rolls around and they all decide to have a Bat Team feast. On account of none of them having good relationships with their parents, and half of them not having parents who are alive and well, they decide to start their own tradition. Sophie invites Jordan and Jordan takes every chance she gets to elbow Sophie or wiggle her eyebrows at Sophie any time that Ryan is mentioned or any time Ryan comes over to Sophie to speak to her or any time the group laughs at something mindless and Ryan and Sophie glance at each other while laughing. Jordan regards the situation with a smirk. Sophie constantly kicks Jordan under the table. Luke and Sophie are the ones who make most of the food. Turns out Luke is a very good cook and Sophie while she doesn’t like to cook she decides to help out with most of the food. Ryan makes vegan mac and cheese that she found an amazing recipe for on youtube. Mary says she doesn’t trust herself to make food that won’t get them all sick. They thank her for not risking their lives. They all watch football even though none of them know much about football. Sophie and Ryan snuggle into each other and everyone but Jordan pretends not to notice. They all share what they are thankful for and they are all thankful for a lot of different things but one of the most important things that they are all thankful for is each other.

It’s December and Ryan loves the holidays. Nobody else is as into it as she is so she has to beg everyone to come look at Christmas lights. She begs them to put lights and a tree up in the bat cave. They all go sledding a couple of times and Joran tags along. Mostly because she loves her big sister and is happy that they are spending more time together, but also so that she can watch Ryan and Sophie pretend they don’t have feelings for each other. Jordan thinks Ryan is sexy and she’s never seen Sophie more happy than when she is around Ryan and The Bat Team. Jordan thinks about trying to get them to kiss by hanging mistletoe. They go to a ski lodge even though Luke and Mary are the only decent skiers in the group. Ryan wants to go for the ambiance. Jordan wants to learn to ski so Mary and Luke take her out for lessons while Sophie and Ryan chill in the loft near the fire place. They snuggle under the same flannel blanket that they shared in the fall. They lean against each other and share inside jokes and hushed conversation. They sip hot tea and soul soothing warm coffee. Ryan gets sleepy and she puts her head on Sophie. Sophie sees Jordan, Luke, and Mary all come back from skiing. Jordan is about to say something about how Ryan is asleep on Sophie’s shoulder but Mary puts her hand theatrically across Jordan's mouth and drags her away from Ryan and Sophie and back to their rooms.

Christmas is getting closer and Ryan tries to get them all to do Secret Santa. That is where they draw the line and Ryan pouts. Sophie later on texts Ryan and tells her that they can just get gifts for each other and not tell the others. Ryan likes this idea. Everyone is out and about and Ryan asks Sophie to come to the loft so that they can do their gift exchange. Ryan gets Sophie a beautiful gold necklace with a bat symbol on it. Sophie eyes it curiously with a twinkle in her eye. She asks Ryan if this is to remember her by. Ryan laughs and says maybe but it is also a gift to welcome her to the Bat team. Ryan tells Sophie that she is happy to have her here. Sophie asks Ryan to help her put it on and when Ryan stands behind Sophie to put the necklace around her neck her hands linger on Sophie’s collarbones and breathing from both women hitches. Sophie pulls out a small book from the large red bag she has. It’s a book about the symbolism of plants. Ryan smiles wide when she reads the cover of it. Then Sophie reaches into the bag and pulls out a small succulent plant. She tells Ryan that the succulent represents loyalty and endurance. She tells Ryan that it represents someone who is trustworthy and always there for you. She tells Ryan that she sees her in that way and that she hopes one day Ryan can see her as trustworthy and always there for her. Ryan tells her she always sees Sophie in that way. Next Sophie pulls out a small cactus plant. She tells Ryan that the cactus represents protection and endurance, it’s good for someone who is going through a hard time but is a determined person. Sophie tells Ryan that she sees her as a protector but that she always will also do her best to protect Ryan as well. Lastly she takes out a ficus plant. She tells Ryan that the ficus represents abundance and peace. It is a great plant for someone who is a leader and symbolizes unity and success. Ryan has tears in her eyes and she walks over to Sophie. She places her hand out for Sophie to take it. Sophie does and now Sophie is standing too. Ryan wraps her arms around Sophie holding her in a deep and meaningful embrace. They chat and have tea, hot chocolate and cookies and then Ryan walks Sophie to the door.

It is only a week before Christmas and the Bat team are holed up at Mary and Ryan’s loft. It’s a snow day across Gotham and thankfully Batwoman is off tonight and so is Batwing. They figure if something major goes down they will hear about it. They just want a few days where they don’t have to be superheroes. It is the holiday’s after all. Ryan has made them all watch tons of Christmas movies. They all groan about it but secretly they enjoy feeling like a family. Ryan says they should all get matching Christmas pajamas and someone throws a pillow at her. Ryan squeezes onto the couch between Sophie and Mary so that she can be close to Sophie; she is practically in her lap. Everyone regards each other with knowing looks that Ryan and Sophie don’t seem to notice. Jordan decides this is a good moment to sneak up behind them on the couch and dangle mistletoe above Ryan and Sophie’s heads. Everyone laughs nervously but Ryan leans over just the few inches and places a soft kiss on Sophie’s lips. Sophie deepens the kiss and then Jordan shouts HAPPY HOLIDAYS GOD BLESS US EVERYONE! Everyone laughs and gets into their own conversations or back into the movie playing on screen. Ryan snuggles into Sophie once again. Sophie whispers in Ryan’s ear; never failing to send shivers down Ryan’s spine, and she tells Ryan that she can’t wait for what the New Year is going to bring.

#i just wrote this so randomly yall just literally typed it up now #wildmoore #ryan wilder #cw batwoman #sophie moore #i just really love the holidays and they are almost here #i had to write a little sum for these two #it's not really a fic more like a snapshot #idk #enjoy it tho #havent written wildmoore anything in a minute #the new wildmoore ao3s inspired me

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gabbysdawsons · 3 years

Note

not being able to let go when you have them in your arms — sophie and mason

This got very long…

and very off topic…

there are also probably a ton of spelling mistakes cause I finished this at like 3am, but it’s chill

The first mistake Sophie Marshall made was trying to get out of bed in the first place.

She had turned the alarm off—so far slamming it on the bedside table until it ceased its incessant ringing had worked pretty well for her. She had managed to snag a mostly clean t-shirt—the LAFD crest emblazoned on it signalling that it was, in fact, not hers—from the various articles of clothing scattered about her bedroom. She had just pulled it over her head, freeing her hair from the collar when a pair of arms wrapped loosely around her waist.

Sophie tilted her head back ever so slightly, and glanced at Mason, noticing he had sat up as well. He was still blinking sleep from his eyes, and his hair was ruffled in a way she wished she found less attractive. They really did not have time to be late today. His chest was solid against her back, his arms comfortably warm around her torso. She leaned back to press a quick kiss on his cheek. His face was bristly with stubble, she noted, probably a side effect of him not having any of his belongings at her place. Though not an unwelcome one, she mused, recalling the beard he had grown in the early days of the pandemic.

“Nice shirt,” he mumbled. The bleariness of sleep had gone from his eyes, replaced with a glimmer of humour that made Sophie’s heart skip a beat. Sophie rolled her eyes at him as she pulled her hair into a loose ponytail.

“Thanks. My boyfriend gave it to me,” she replied, as an impish smile tugged at her lips. It didn’t cross her mind that up until this moment, the boyfriend vocabulary hadn’t been tossed around, even in conversation. It didn’t occur to her because in the moment—with his arms around her, taking a moment to bask in the undisturbed Austin morning—it felt right. She did, of course, notice when Mason’s body tensed against hers. Then the reality of what she had just said crashed into her like a kick to the chest.

Sophie twisted around, a feat not easily accomplished with Mason’s arms still secure around her waist. She wondered desperately if the fact that he hadn’t moved as a good sign, or maybe she had simply sent him into paralyzing shock.

When she finally managed to get a good look at his face, Mason had a grin on his face. The kind of dopey schoolboy grin she wouldn’t ordinarily have associated with him. Her eyes locked with his and his smile only grew.

“Boyfriend, huh?” Sophie shook her head and slumped back into her original position with a huff.

“You are unbelievable,” she muttered. Her eyes scanned her bedroom now that she knew she hadn’t frightened Mason—her boyfriend, she thought with a wave of giddiness—into cardiac arrest. Her eyes landed on the clock, and a bolt of panic shot through her—they were behind schedule.

She squirmed, attempting to pry herself free from Mason’s grip. She had almost done it too; she had planted her feet squarely on the cold hardwood floor, when Mason snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her back into the bed.

Sophie shrieked, the sound mingling with the echoes of her laughter. They were a flurry of flailing limbs and rustling blankets, but after a moment of struggle Sophie managed to at least sit up. Her hair was dishevelled, and her ponytail had slipped loose during the tussle. Mason wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, pulling her closer to him as he did. Oh, they so did it have time for that this morning.

“C’mon, we have to get to work,” she protested through her bouts of laughter. He pressed a quick kiss behind her ear, and she could feel the corners of his lips as they quirked with the beginnings of a smile.

“Or we could just stay in,” he suggested. “I would love to spend some time with my girlfriend.”

He kissed her neck again, and Sophie weakly considered swatting at his shoulder.

“I don’t wanna let you go just yet,” he breathed out after a moment. His breath is warm against the back of her neck and Sophie fought the urge to melt into his touch—to blow off work like he so clearly wanted to do. Thankfully, before she had a chance to make the decision, he pulled away and rested his chin on her shoulder. He blinked up at her, still grinning like a fool. Sophie tried to ignore the blush creeping up her neck and blooming across her cheeks—the blush she only seemed to get whenever Mason was involved. She tried to focus on the necessity of their timing, on how late they were going to be if they weren’t out of her apartment in the next five minutes.

“C’mon, Soph—“ Sophie exhaled, the rest of his words becoming an unintelligible stream as she came to terms with what she was going to do next. She twisted around again, coming face to face with Mason’s only mildly surprised expression. His smile had a touch of smugness to it; he had managed to distract her like this at least four times in the last two weeks alone.

She leaned forward the slightest bit and slung her arms loosely around his neck. Mason opened his mouth, presumably to speak, but Sophie shushed him.

“Don’t say anything else, okay?” Sophie said. He nodded once, though the smug smile was still fixed firmly in place. She pulled him in for a kiss, which he returned immediately.

“Soph—“

“You win,” she mumbled, “we can be late. Hell , we can stay in all day if we want.”

He didn’t react for a moment, and she wondered vaguely if she’d frozen him again, but moments later he leaned back on the bed, bringing Sophie with him. Her hair fell like a golden curtain around her face, and Mason took a moment to blow a lock of her hair away. Sophie laughed softly at him, before leaning in to kiss him once more.

If either of them had bothered to check their phones, they surely would have noticed the dozens of texts asking where they were; and a handful more, asking what could possibly be keeping them.

Sophie Marshall’s second mistake had in fact been believing that she would make it to work that day at all.

#my writing #mason x sophie #ask: mason #ask: sophie #911 ocs #fic: going home #mason buckley #sophie marshall #they are… everything to me

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annabethy · 4 years

Text

under the mistletoe, watching the fire glow day 16: cookies

Character A makes too many cookies and shares them with Character B,, percabeth

Percy looks at the table before him that is littered with endless trays of cookies. It’s overwhelming, really, staring so much sugar in the eyes. There’s chocolate chip, and sugar cookies, red and green sprinkles, and everything in between, and it has Percy wondering if he’s going to be able to eat them all.

He blames his mother. She’s always baked during Christmas, and he thinks a part of that has been instilled inside of him. So it’s really his mom’s fault that he’s staring what could very well be bordering five-hundred cookies in his painfully sugared eyes.

“Daddy?”

Percy’s eyes flick down to the counter where he spots his three-year-old peeking over the table on the tips of her toes. Her hair is a mess of blonde curls, and she reminds him so much of her mother. He smiles gently. “You’re supposed to be asleep, baby.”

She rubs her eyes tiredly, coming around the counter to raise her arms up at him. He obliges, picking her up, before turning back to the counter.

“Cookies?”

Percy kisses the top of her head as she rests her head on his shoulder. “Lots of cookies for Santa Claus.”

“Is Santa Claus coming?”

“Not net, princess,” he tells her. “Santa Claus comes tomorrow night.”

“I think that’s too much cookies for Santa Claus to eat,” she whispers quietly. It makes his heart melt. He can tell she’s very sleepy, and she must have just woken up. Percy glances to the clock that reads two in the morning before he turns his attention back to his daughter in his arms. He rocks her back and forth.

“Why are you awake?” he asks softly.

She just shrugs, and he figures he’s not going to be getting much information from her when she’s in that state. He picks up a cookie with sprinkles and taps his daughter’s shoulder with it to get her attention. She grabs it silently, bringing it to her mouth and nibbling the corner tiredly, her mouth coating with crumbs.

“Yummy?” he asks.

“Mh-hm.”

Percy chuckles, letting her have a moment to finish the treat. Her mom would probably murder him if she found out that he let her have sugar at bedtime, but he’s also sure that she’s sleeping right now. He could probably outrun her if she decided to chase after him too.

The thought brings a smile to his face. His wife waddling around the house with her protruding stomach is too cute of a thought for him to handle. She’d run out of breath so easily, and he’d feel bad that she couldn’t catch and bully him, so he’ll slow down and let her get to him just to keep her happy. And then she would pretend to be mad, but he’d bait her with another cookie, and she’d kiss him, and he’ll fall in love with her all over again.

“Santa Claus is going to eat all of the cookies?”

Percy smiles, picking up a cookie for himself. “Not all of them.”

“What about the rest?”

“I don’t know,” he admits. “I guess we just have to eat them all ourselves.”

His daughter picks up her head to look at the piles upon piles of cookies. She looks so concerned, so much like her mother, that he chuckles. “I can’t eat all that.”

An idea pops into his head, and he’s probably going to regret this later, but he sets his daughter down and pulls a plate of cookies off the counter. “Let’s go share some with mommy then.”

She follows him down the wall, taking many more steps than him in order to keep up with his larger strides. He reaches the door of his bedroom, slowly creaking the door open. It’s pitch black in the room, and he can just barely make out her figure on the bed, herself turned on her side with one leg kicked up and a blanket already sliding off of her.

Percy bends down to his daughter, handing her the plate. “Go give this to mommy.”

She does as she’s told, quietly pattering over to her mother’s side. Percy watches as she struggles onto the bed, setting the plate on the mattress so she can kick one leg over the edge and try to pull herself up. Percy goes to her side to make sure she doesn’t fall off, and he helps give her the last boost so she can crawl onto the bed.

His wife’s back is to Percy so as their daughter crawls closer to them, she doesn’t even stir. Sophia sets the plate onto her mom’s stomach and her tiny hands come to try and shake her awake.

“Mommy,” she whispers, fingers brushing up and down his wife’s arms. “We brought you cookies.”

Annabeth shifts slightly, and Percy knows that she’s awake even though her eyes are closed.

“Wake up,” she whispers loudly.

“What is it, Sophie?” Annabeth stretches a leg out, her eyes still closed.

“I have cookies for you.”

Annabeth blinks open one eye now and meets Sophia’s eyes that are peering at her in the dark. “Why do you have cookies for me right now?”

“Daddy told me to give them to you,” she says, and Percy can’t believe his own kid just sold him out.

It’s like she can sense another person in the room now because she turns onto her other side and locks eyes with him in the dark. “Daddy told you to bring me cookies in the middle of the night?”

“They’re super yummy. Daddy gave me one too.”

Annabeth shakes her head at him, but she’s smothering a smile into the comforter. “Did he?”

“Daddy said I can have another one,” she says, fingers trying to pick up another cookie. Annabeth’s hand wraps around her daughter’s wrist, stopping her.

“Daddy did not,” he defends, humored. He joins them on the bed, sitting cross-legged next to Annabeth. He takes the plate from Annabeth, handing her one cookie. “Daddy just made too many cookies. Santa Claus can’t eat them all.”

Their daughter nods seriously.

Annabeth smiles and rolls her eyes, taking it from his fingers. “Mrs. Claus can’t eat them all either, Percy.”

“I heard Mrs. Claus has a little buddy that might be able to help,” he teases. When his daughter isn’t looking, he moves his hand to rest over her stomach, and he smiles at the reminder of what they’ve created.

Annabeth takes a small bite. “How many did you make?”

“I think I counted five-hundred something.”

She chokes. “Percy.”

“It wasn’t my fault. I couldn’t sleep, so I made cookies, then I made more, and some more, and it just happened.”

“So now you woke me up to eat all of the cookies you made when I already don’t sleep?” “Yes.”

Sophia bounces excitedly. “Can we make some more cookies?”

“You’re supposed to be asleep,” Annabeth says.

“I’m not tired,” she whines.

“Not now that daddy gave you a cookie,” she mutters pointedly to Percy. He just smiles and kisses her forehead.

“Can we watch a movie?” she pleads.

Annabeth pinches Percy’s side, and he pulls her close. She molds into his side, her stomach resting on his, and whispers, “This is your fault,” before telling Sophie, “One movie and then sleep.”

Sophia excitedly settles into her parents’ bed. She steals Percy’s pillow right out from under his head which has him insulted but also endeared, but he just uses Annabeth’s pillow instead. He throws on a random movie, and it’s not long before their daughter is asleep beside them, leaving the two of them alone in each other’s arms.

“I can’t believe that you woke me up to eat cookies at two in the morning,” she whispers, flicking his nose. “Naughty boy.”

“Baby, you haven’t seen naughty,” he tells her, nipping her nose lightly in retaliation. “I’d show you what naughty is, but our baby is in the bed.”

“Two babies in bed,” she reminds him, pointedly dragging his hand away from where it had started to travel up her thigh.

“Don’t remind me,” he says. “I can’t believe we’re going to have two kids.”

She laughs quietly. “It’s insane.”

“It is,” he agrees, “but it’s also amazing. I love you two so much, and I don’t know how that love could possibly get bigger, but it does every single day, and when this baby comes — I don’t know how I’m going to survive. I think the overwhelming love may give me a heart attack.”

“Don’t do that. I need you to change diapers while I sleep.”

“I need to change diapers?”

“You change diapers and do laundry and dishes and cleaning, and I’ll snuggle the baby.”

“So nothing changes, then?” he teases.

“Oh, shut up.”

Percy laughs into her neck. He kisses the warm skin before saying, “I’ll change the diapers and do the laundry and dishes. You just make sure our baby is nice and safe inside there.”

“Your baby is not very happy inside there right now.”

Percy pouts. “Why not?”

“Baby wants another cookie.”

“The baby wants a cookie? Not you? The baby?”

“Of course it’s the baby. How dare you insinuate that I would ever eat something so toxic otherwise.”

“Oh, my bad.”

Annabeth snorts, pressing her face into his chest. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

She’s really warm against him, and it feels good in the cool air of the house. They fall into a silence as the movie plays in the room, the only source of light. Her breathing begins to even out, and he can tell that she’s falling asleep. He lets her, rubbing up and down her back.

To his side, his daughter is out like a light. She’s so small to him, barely taking up any space on the bed, and it’s difficult to imagine when she was first born. It feels like forever ago, but it was really only three years. So much has changed since then. Him and Annabeth have been up and down and left and right trying to figure this parenting thing out. They managed to survive, if just barely, but they did it by each other’s side.

He doesn’t think he could have done this without her. She’s his best friend, his rock in the middle of a storm. It was hard, but they did it.

And now there’s another baby on the way. They don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet, but Percy has a feeling it’s another daughter. He wouldn’t mind another daughter. He didn’t know he could love someone as much as he loves Sophia, and if he can feel that love with another daughter, then he wants to. He knows that things are going to fall apart again, though not in a bad way.

Him and Annabeth are probably going to be running around like headless chickens with the new baby all while Sophia sits back and watches, but he wouldn’t change it for the world. They’ll figure it out as long as they have each other.

Besides. What’s life is not a journey?

Annabeth shifts against him again, and he pulls a blanket up the both of them. This is a life he will never get tired of. He is so thankful for moments like this. They don’t come often, but he cherishes these midnight shenanigans. It’s a different thing to just lay with your family at night and forget the rest of the world. It’s a breath of fresh air, a moment where nothing matters except the people he loves.

He’s glad that he ended up making way too many cookies. It was surely a chunk of his paycheck to buy so many different ingredients, but it brought him to where he is now. It’s a beautiful, fleeting moment, and money does not matter to him. No price can be put on this, he thinks.

Percy presses a kiss to Annabeth’s forehead again before he closes his eyes. As he drifts off to sleep, he’s thinking of Annabeth and the perfect world they’ve created.

#percabeth #percy jackson #annabeth chase #pjo #percy jackson and the olympians #my writing

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rawmeanderson · 4 years

Text

pretty please ― thursday.

ft. Kevin Hayes.

plot: with Kevin, Brady, and Jimmy all gone from New York and the new season about to start, everyone gets together for a long weekend. warnings: swearing, drinking, mentions of anxiety/depression. word count: 4.9k notes: this is a slight AU I suppose, in the sense that the pandemic doesn’t exist here bc escapism, y’know? basically, this takes place in August 2020, where there was no pause and the season ended normally. also, this is kind of forgetting the fact that Kevin, Brady, and Jimmy didn’t live together during the last season they were all together in New York but whatever. Y/N is also plus sized!! title is from Pretty Please by Dua Lipa. there’s also more notes at the end!

Rain was hitting the windshield, the sky gloomy and grey as leaves on the trees outside the car. At least the weather was playing into your mood.

“Last time I checked, this was the only rain we’re supposed to get all weekend thankfully,” Sophie said from the driver’s seat as she adjusted the speed of the wiper blades. When she glances at you, you force a slight smile, nodding in acknowledgement. She looks like she wants to say something else but doesn’t, and you turn your head to look out the window.

The dread and disinterest swimming in your stomach, the car ride that seemed to go on endlessly reminded you of all the times your mother had driven you to your dad’s during the summers. You’d sat in the passenger seat then just like you are now, anxious, irritated, and on the verge of begging her to turn around.

You hadn’t wanted to come on this trip, knowing it was meant to be a last hurrah of sorts. Thursday to Sunday at a lake with friends sounded great in theory, but the changes that would be happening in the weeks that followed were what scared you. The finality of it all.

“I’m glad you decided to come, Y/N,” Sophie told you, and you could feel her glance at you again. She had been your roommate for almost 10 years now, since the start of college, and she knew you were doing your best not to spiral.

You opened your mouth, then closed it again, opting to nod like you had earlier as your gaze drifted to your lap. Running your tongue along your teeth, you tried to think of something to say that would ease the tension in the vehicle. Un-crossing your legs, you shift in your seat slightly as you hear Sophie exhale a quiet sigh through her nose.

She knows your feelings aren’t personal, that you’re not blaming her for moving on with her life, but your general sadness about all of it weighed on her either way. She was right there, but that didn’t stop the preemptive pangs of loneliness that hit your stomach.

In the last two years, every person you’d spent most of your time with had left New York, until Sophie was the last one. And in two weeks, you’d be the only one left, leaving you feeling as grey and sad as the weather outside.

After chewing on the inside of your cheek for a while, you pick a piece of invisible lint off the fabric of your shorts. You’d meant to buy new ones before the trip since most of your pants cut into your waist anymore, fueling your self-consciousness. “I’ll...I’m sure I’ll feel a little better once we’re there and I’ve been able to take a nap,” you tell her, trying your best to sound optimistic about it. Blaming your bad mood and distantness on being tired, classic.

Sophie glanced at you and nodded, accepting what you’d said despite knowing you as well as she does.

It would’ve been hard to argue about it, considering you’d both been up before 5am to make this 4 hour drive. You’d left the city around 6, the car packed with the bags for the weekend, plus a good number of totes of Sophie’s stuff for Jimmy to take back to Buffalo with him. There was still about an hour left in the drive, and the iced coffee you’d chugged at the start of the drive had done nothing but make your heart race soar as you fidgeted in your seat.

Sophie had always been the early bird, with the two of you poised to be some of the first people to arrive at the lake. Jimmy and one of his buddies had gotten there last night, with everyone else slated to show up in the early afternoon. The only reason you’d agreed to leave so early was because Sophie promised to let you nap as long as you wanted once you got there. You were grateful that would allow you to avoid people for a while.

For what was left of the drive, Sophie didn’t speak, letting you sit there in your tired sadness as music hummed through the speakers.

When you parked at the massive cabin overlooking a lake that stretched as far as you could see, it was still raining. The sky was just as grey, and it gnawed at you, the perfect cinematic backdrop for what felt like the beginning of the end.

Your mood was sour, and as you unfastened your seatbelt to exit the car, you felt goosebumps rise along your skin even though it was warm out despite the rain. The same worry you’d had the whole drive was still swirling through your head, that your mood and your emotions would put a damper on the trip. You hoped that a nap would help calm those fears.

Jimmy was already on his way out to greet you and Sophie, his smile fixed on your roommate as you open the back door to grab your bag. He approaches with a grin as you’re already making your way toward the cabin.

“Take any room you want,” he tells you, like he already knows that you’re going for a nap. You salute him in acknowledgement, deciding to greet him better later as he continues on to greet his girlfriend.

Your shirt is covered in raindrops by the time you get inside, glancing around curiously. There’s a couple of people hanging out on the sofas that you don’t recognize, but they wave to you either way then go back to their conversation.

After wandering down the hall, you nudge open a door and decide that the room is good enough. There’s a window looking out over the lake, and even as grouchy and sad as you’re feeling, you know it’ll be a gorgeous view when it’s not so gloomy outside. You close the door behind you and unceremoniously drop your bag on the floor while kicking off your shoes. Collapsing into the middle of the bed, you sigh, running on auto pilot as you pull the blankets over yourself.

Shifting around slightly, you’re aware of how the shorts are cutting into your waist and your bra is pinching somewhere, but you’re too settled to do anything about it as you stare up at the wood paneled ceiling. The sound of the rain hitting the roof is soothing, and you let out a breath that seemed to have been held since the moment you got in the car.

Your eyes trace the woodgrain, remembering when Sophie told you about Jimmy’s roommates shortly after she got with him, that they were funny, cool guys that she knew you’d get along with. You’d partied with them first, but it turned into movie nights, casual dinners, enjoying the group of newfound friends that you saw several times a week. With how often you ended up hanging out late or bar hopping in their area, the guest room had practically been designated as yours.

Then Kevin was traded to Winnipeg. Then Jimmy was traded to Buffalo. Then Brady was traded to Carolina. Your found family in the city had practically dissolved within a year, and now Sophie was two weeks away from moving to Buffalo.

You knew there was little choice in the matter for anyone really, that it wasn’t their fault, that it was just how worked, but it still hurt, remembering you’d be the last one of the group in New York. You had other friends that you saw every so often, but it didn’t stop how lonely it all made you feel. Being sad about it made you feel selfish, so you buried it behind frequent naps and iced coffee.

Your internal monologue continued until tears stung in your eyes, and you blinked them away, turning on your side as you willed yourself to get some rest.

By the time you woke up, it was mid-afternoon, and you stayed curled up on your side for a moment. Sun was streaming in through the window as you took a deep breath. You could hear people outside, along with splashing from the lake, and when you rolled over, you saw somebody zip past in a jet ski. After a taking a few minutes to scroll through your phone, you finally get up, stretching as you smooth your hair down.

You came out of your room and found Jimmy and Sophie in the kitchen. Yawning as you approached, Sophie smiled.

“Good nap?” she asked knowingly, and you nodded once you were close enough to hug her.

“Yeah, definitely,” you said, arms wrapped around her. She hugged back tightly, rubbing a hand between your shoulder blades before you pulled away.

You felt better. The nap and the better weather helped kick the sadness out of you. You hated this part, feeling better and realizing how cynical you’d been earlier.

“Good to see you, Slim Jim,” you told Jimmy, hugging him quickly as well. You were happy to see him, deciding to focus on enjoying and savoring the long weekend with everyone instead of being miserable with sadness. Leaning back against the edge of the counter, feeling content, you smile. “Who all showed up when I was out?”

“Uh, some friends of mine, Derek and Amy, showed up, Kev too, and he brought a friend,” he said, glancing down at the water like he couldn’t even remember who was there. “Brady’s about an hour or so out.”

The three of you chat for a while, catching up since it had been awhile since you’d seen Jimmy. He introduces you to the friends of his that were splitting the cabin for the weekend when they come through, and a moment later, you promise to catch up more later, deciding to head outside for a bit.

Outside, the sun beats down on you but you lift your chin to greet the warmth as you walk. It felt particularly good after the heavy rain of the drive in, the humidity from it clinging to the air still.

Making your way to the dock, someone you hadn’t met is standing there, football in hand. Kevin’s on the back of a jet ski with someone else driving, and it didn’t surprise you at all to see him jump off for the football when the man on the dock through it. No surprise, he missed the ball and landed in the water with a splash, and was already laughing when he resurfaced a moment later.

That’s when he spots you, hand shooting up in a wave with a wide smile. “Heyo!” he yells, already swimming toward the dock. You could hear the excitement in his voice, and nervousness pangs in your stomach.

You had only seen him once since he’d been traded a year and a half ago, when he’d been in town for a game and you hadn’t even realized it. Sophie had invited you out, and there he was, happy as ever to see you. You were grateful that the bar had been loud and that Brady had been occupying most of Kevin’s attention. After a drink and a half and a quick conversation with Sophie, you’d taken off, managing to avoid Kevin other than the hug he’d given you as a greeting.

Since Jimmy and Sophie were together and Brady had Gracia, you and Kevin had been the odd couple out, paired together during group activities. It worked out at least, considering the two of you got along great.u seldom hung out once When all three of the guys lived together, the two of you always seemed to be the last two up, chatting or finishing a movie even after the others had gone to bed.

It had felt so natural to hook up with Kevin the handful of times it had happened in the months leading up to when he was traded. Each time had been when you were both the last two awake, lingering on the sofa, usually at least a little drunk. It had always been casual, and you told yourself the only reason it happened (and kept happening) were out of convenience. You’d certainly never seemed like his type, considering almost every girl you’d ever seen him talk to at a bar had the same slender build and the confidence that came with it.

You snapped yourself out of the thoughts, and tug at the fabric of your shirt self-consciously, feeling like it’s clinging to all the wrong parts of your body. Kevin’s eyes are on you still as he climbed the ladder to meet you on the dock, making you feel even more aware of yourself. He paused to grab a towel off the rail, rubbing it over his hair, then settling it over his shoulders. His swim shorts hung low on his hips and you force yourself to meet his eye, happy to see that he was smiling widely at you as he approached.

“It’s so good to see you,” he said, sounding as sincere as you could ever imagine. It felt like his smile had grown, and it made it impossible for you not to mirror the expression right back to him. “I’d hug you, but in case you didn’t notice, I was just in the lake.” You had forgotten how deep his voice was, and you tell yourself that it’s the sun that’s making you feel hot all over.

“I’m good with a rain check,” you responded, nodding at him. From the golden tone of his skin, you can tell he’s been outside a lot this summer. He looked great, as always, and you hadn’t expected anything less.

“Good by me,” he told you with a laugh, bringing a hand out to ruffle your hair in lieu of a hug. You laugh with him, not quick enough to stop him. “How’s life been? Man, I feel like I haven’t seen or heard from you in forever.” You don’t let yourself think about his tone, how he almost sounds a little sad about it.

You shrug quickly in response to his question, still grinning. “Things are okay. Nothing’s really been going on, I guess. I miss you guys though.” Your hand comes up to shield the sun from your eyes, tilting your head up to see him better. He’s so tall that looking at him heads on would have you staring at the bit of hair that covers his chest, at how broad his shoulders are, and you were worried that you’d never stop if you started. “What about you? How’s Philly?”

“I miss New York, but damn, Philly’s been great, I can’t even lie about it,” he admitted with a bit of a laugh. It was good to know that he’s happy, and you can feel it radiating off of him. “It’s a good city, and a good group of dudes. And this guy, over here,” he paused, voice a little louder as he motions behind him to the guy who’d thrown the football, “is Nolan. We lived together this year.”

Nolan looked at the two of you, holding up a hand to wave before turning his attention back to talking to one of Jimmy’s friends that’s floating in an inner-tube close to the dock. You were both silent for a moment then before whoever was on the jet ski yelled Kevin’s name, waving for him to come back out.

“You should come swim,” Kevin told you, motioning to whoever it was that he’d be there in a minute.

Your eyebrows rose and you were quick to shake your head, even before self-consciousness dug its claws into you. “Nah, not right now at least,” you said, dismissing the idea with a wave of your hand. “I just came down to say hey, I’m actually going to go chill on the deck and read for a while, I think.”

For a short second, Kevin looked a little disappointed, but he doesn’t say anything about it. He instead nodded, smiling again already as his hand came up to your shoulder. “Yeah, gotcha.” It’s hard to ignore how large his hand is on you, the way he squeezes just slightly, his thumb brushing against your collarbone. “We’ll catch up more later.”

“Yeah, of course,” you told him, doing your best not to lean into his hand. Thankfully, he stepped away before your willpower went out, and you watched as he damn near sprinted back to the edge of the dock, jumping into the water in an effort to splash a friend.

You stopped in the cabin to grab your iPad, and on your way out to the back deck, a girl who introduced herself as Amy put a margarita in your hand and hugged you like she’d known you for years. It was a damn good margarita too, you realized as you settled on a lounge chair, stretching your legs out in front of you.

The rest of the afternoon ticks by easily. The margarita is rather strong, relaxing you into the chair as you read for the next hour and a half until Brady showed up. You’d been able to hear laughter and the occasional shouting from the water every so often, Kevin’s voice usually the loudest. Brady, Sophie, and Jimmy joined you on the deck a while later, and the four of you take the time to catch up a little more and figure out how to spend the next few days.

The sun had just stating to set when pizza arrived for dinner. The air is still warm, and someone was already working on starting a bonfire. Sophie was to your right at the picnic table, a little tipsy as she munched on some garlic bread.

Across the table, Brady was talking about his upcoming nuptials. Gracia hadn’t been able to make it for the trip, but you were glad he’d decided to come. Next to him, Kevin interjected with a dumb comment at one point, making Jimmy snicker.

“By the way, Kev, do you need a plus one? Have you been seeing anybody?” Brady asked, turning his head to look at him rather pointedly. It takes everything you have not to snicker a bit, lifting a slice a pizza to your mouth.

“Naah, I’m not seeing anyone,” Kevin responded, lifting his shoulders in a shrug. “I’m sure I could find someone to go with, but I haven’t really dated much since Y/N.”

You freeze when he says your name, your mouth already half open to take a bite. What the fuck is he talking about?

“We never dated,” you said, the words more sharp than you’d meant them to be. Your eyebrows have practically shot up, and you look away from him as an awkward silence hangs over the table for a beat until Sophie exhales a laugh.

Jimmy really came to the rescue by changing the subject, and your cheeks were burning by the time you met Kevin’s eye again. He actually looked a little amused, but rather than making you feel relieved, it makes heat curl down your spine.

By the time it was completely dark, part of the group had settled on the sofa and chairs in the living room to watch a movie, while others decided to go on late ride on the lake. It was still plenty warm out, and you’d really hit a stride in the book you’d been working on, so you ended up back in the same chair you’d spent most afternoon in. The line of string lights gives the deck a nice glow to it, and you can hear the buzz of the TV in the living room.

The sliding glass door opens then closes, at you look up to see Kevin walking towards you.

“Is the movie no good?” you asked, tilting your head as you look at him. He had a beer in one hand and a hard cider in the other that he offered to you. The fact that he recognized your favorite brand in the fridge made you smile as you thanked him quietly for it.

“Movie’s fine, just thought I’d come see if you wanted to go for a walk or go hang by the water,” he responded, shrugging as he took a sip from the beer still in his hand.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” You shrugged back at him, flashing a grin as you got to your feet. Leaving your iPad on the seat for the time being, you follow him to the stairs, then down the trail to the dock.

“How are things in New York?” Kevin asked after a moment’s silence, and you glance up at him with a skeptical look.

“I thought we talked about this earlier,” you counter, taking a sip of your drink. He scoffed, shrugging beside you as the pair of you started down the dock.

“Yeah, I guess we did, really, how are things?” Kevin’s voice was lower this time, making your back straighten when he looked at you again. “How are you?”

You weren’t expecting such a direct question, and you’re grateful to deflect it for even a moment longer as you take the time kick off your shoes and sit on the edge of the dock. An answer still hasn’t found you, so you take a drink instead of speaking. Kevin watched you all the while as he sat next to you, making self-awareness prickle at the base of your neck.

“Life’s fucking weird right now,” you admit finally, looking at the reflection of the moon on the water. “And it actually kind of fucking sucks too.” Kevin doesn’t respond right away, but when you took a deep breath, his elbow nudged yours lightly.

“You’ll get through it,” he assured you, with such sureness in his voice that you looked at him with a warm smile.

“I know I will. It’s just hard, but I’m dramatic, so of course it feels like the end of an era or something.” Your shoulders rise then fall in a shrug, still looking at him. “And then I feel selfish for even feeling that way to begin with. I know it wasn’t your choice to leave, or Brady’s, or Jimmy’s. I’m trying not to let myself be too sad about it.” You were surprised that your voice remained even as you spoke.

The words hang in the air and Kevin nodded, bring a hand up to touch the back of your shoulder. You feel warm all over as his fingers splay over your upper back, and you find yourself biting the edge of your tongue when tears sting in your eyes.

“I was sad about leaving too. I knew I’d miss the guys, that I’d miss you, but that’s what makes trips like these nice, getting to catch up and just hang out for a few days,” he said finally, his hand still on your shoulder when he met your eye. “I’m honestly surprised you’re not following Sophie to Buffalo.”

Your nose scrunched at the thought and you shook your head, exhaling a quick laugh. “I honestly thought about it, but I know she’s excited to be moving in with him, and I don’t want her to feel like she has to always keep me company or something,” you explained, peeling at the edge of the label on your bottle with your thumbnail. You weren’t sad enough about being alone in New York to justify moving upstate, you knew that much.

“Philly’s not far from New York, y’know. You can always come hang with me and Nolan, and I know there’s a few other guys on the team you’d have a good time with,” Kevin offered, taking a long swig of his beer as his hand finally fell from your shoulder. “Or I could visit you. We could go to that one bakery you like so much, watch movie or TV all day, just kind of chill.”

A wide smile spread across your face. “Yeah, I’d like that,” you said, taking the chance to nudge him with your elbow. Kevin nodded, still grinning as he nudged you right back. It felt good to be talking to him, to have him close enough to smell his cologne for the first time in a year and a half.

There was another pause, and you both took a drink, the sound of frogs and crickets hanging around you.

“Sorry for putting you on the spot like that at dinner. It was meant to be a joke,” he said finally, taking another drink to finish off the bottle. You glance up at him and it almost looked like he was blushing a bit over it.

Scoffing, you shake your head. “Don’t worry about it, but Kev, you know we never dated,” you told him, laughing as you finish off your own drink.

“We kind of did!” he responded, laughing with you. “We went out plenty of times!”

“Dude, texting me ‘hey, are you hungry?’ at 11pm, then going to a 24 hour diner does not count as a date.” You snorted, shaking your head. When he caught your eye, he was smiling almost bashfully.

“Okay, fine,” he conceded, holding your gaze. “The next time we go on a date, I’ll make sure you’re aware of it, deal?”

Your response is to laugh again, nodding and looking away this time. The way he’s looking at you makes you feel like you’re back on the sofa in their old apartment at 2am. A chill ran down you and you exhaled a breathe, watching the way the water rippled as a breeze swept through.

“I’m really did miss you,” Kevin told you, and from the corner of your eye, you know he was watching you again. Nervousness plucked along the back of your neck, and you kept your eyes on the water. “Like, way more than I miss Jimmy and Brady, honestly.” You don’t fully believe him, but either way, the sentiment makes your heart ache.

With your jaw clenched, you exhaled a breath as your eyes burned with the threat of tears. “I missed you most too,” you assured him, swallowing the lump in your throat.

“Good.” He paused, tilting his head up to look at the stars for a moment. “Can we watch season two of Fleabag sometime this weekend?” Kevin looked at you a second later and blinked as you laughed.

“Yeah, of course. That’s an oddly specific request,” you said, letting your eyes move over the lines of his face as he shrugged.

“I haven’t watched it yet, I was waiting until I could watch it with you.” His words made you blink, and your throat swelled, hating this rush of emotions now that you’d felt happier for most of the day. You didn’t really know what to say, so you just nodded again, suddenly feeling the urge to lean into him to bury your face in his neck comfortably.

A few months before he had been traded, you’d started the first season at 1:30am after a night of drinking. Brady had been at Gracia’s, and Jimmy and Sophie hadn’t even made it through the first episode. Considering the season consisted of six 25 minute episodes, it was easy for you and Kevin to stay up and watch the entire first season, curled up together on the couch.

You and Kevin had spent the following half hour making out like teenagers until he absolutely begged you to come to bed with him. Feeling heat beside your thighs, you now wish you had said yes, just to have that extra memory.

The two of you spend the next several minutes in silence, sitting side by side on the dock in the dark. You can hear music playing from the cabin behind you and the murmur of voices surrounding the fire pit that was a dozen feet away. Your heart was racing as you fidgeted after a while, trying to ignore the feelings for him that you had buried when he was traded that were now bubble at the surface.

Eventually, Kevin mentioned going up to the house for more drinks, and you agreed, getting to your feet with a sigh. You looked up at him briefly, then toward the house behind you.

“Before we head up, can I cash in my rain check for that hug from earlier?” he asked, running a hand over his hair as he watched you.

“Yeah, of course,” you responded, smiling widely as you walked into the arms he held open for you.

You let out a breathe as he hugged you tightly, your face pressed into his chest. He smelled as good as he always did, and warmth of his hand rubbing over your back had you relaxing into him. Your fingers curl in the fabric of his shirt when he kissed the side of your head once, then a second time.

“It’s gonna be a good weekend, yeah?” he murmured, the words muffled against your hair. It took everything you had not to shiver against him, and you nodded, happy to keep yourself nuzzled securely against him for a while longer.

A FEW MORE NOTES: Well, this fic feels a lot more emotional than I’m used to writing, and it’s one of those things that I really like where I’m heading with this, but I worry about it seeming whiny or wishy-washy, but here it is anyway. How typical of me to vanish for months, then show up with a new story when everyone’s been waiting for Bring You Back to Me’s next chapter 😂 I love whoever of you are still reading at this point, and I hope you enjoy this fic. I loved the first part, but I’m so not used to writing anymore and that, paired with my ever present self-doubt, I’m like “is this fic good at all??? let’s fucking see!!!” and here we are 🤷🏻‍♀️

FRIDAY

#kevin hayes #kevin hayes fic #kevin hayes imagine #hockey imagine #forever terrible at tagging these whoops #pretty please

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theunmappedstar · 4 years

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sokeefitz day 6: cozy @sokeefitz-week-2020

a/n: deciding i had to get in on this one because i’m in a cuddly mood... also i added ts!sophie because i love her.

“Can you stop moving so much?”

Keefe huffs at Fitz’s request and Sophie chuckles, snuggling farther under the blankets.

“I need to get comfy,” Keefe protests in a whine, squirming some more in search of the perfect position. The sheets rustle with each movement and Fitz sighs into Sophie’s hair from behind.

Sophie blinks hard. Her shoulders tense with every sharp flutter and squeeze of her eyes, before she’s released and stops spasming.

“I’m moving less than you are,” Sophie teases, curling her legs closer to her torso. It’s how she likes to sleep - like she’s curled into a ball, or the fetal position. Sometimes it gets achy and she has to stretch or tic, but most of the time it makes her feel warm and safe under the covers. There’s something the feels exposing to her about laying with her legs straight out. She’s always had the irational fear that she’s going to wake up to someone at the end of her bed, and the last thing she wants is her feet down there. (Or, maybe it’s not so irrational, with her past with the Neverseen and Black Swan).

Behind her, Fitz reaches over and starts tucking the blankets closer to her and Keefe’s bodies. It only takes Keefe a second after Fitz pulls away before he’s moving again. Fitz sighs - his ten second attempt at cocooning Keefe in a comfortable burrito is destroyed.

Keefe sends a smile to Fitz as a shy apology before focusing on replying to Sophie. “You took your meds, so that’s not fair.”

“They haven’t kicked in all the way,” she argues, and Keefe rolls his eyes. Sophie laughs and blinks hard again, mouth making a quick popping sound while her eyes are screwed shut. She continues to laugh once her muscles relax and her eyes open again.

“All meds aside, Keefe needs to pick a spot and stick with it.”

Keefe sighs dramatically before choosing to nuzzle up closer to Sophie, making her chuckle. She’s smashed between two bodies and she can’t help feeling like some fluffy-blanket taco. Her shoulders shoot up again, ticcing repeatedly for numerous seconds, but Fitz doesn’t flinch away from where his head is nestled near her hair.

Once the fit calms, Fitz kisses her head. He then takes Keefe’s hand in his, which is followed by him inhaling sharply. “You guys are so cold,” Fitz observes, laying their intertwined hands on Sophie’s hip.

“I’ll have you know I find myself rather hot.”

Fitz grumbles beside Sophie, meanwhile she laughs and pokes him. It’s not by choice, and Keefe knows she’s just ticcing, but he pokes her back with the same jackhammer motion of his finger. Sophie swats at him as she tries not to flinch or kick Fitz, who’s helplessly trying to separate his girlfriend and boyfriend’s flailing hands.

“We are not getting to sleep if you guys keep doing this!”

“She started it,” Keefe defended, shooting his hands out to tickle Sophie in the sides. Before he can sink his fingers in, Sophie’s hand wrenches one of Keefe’s off from her, while Fitz seizes Keefe’s opposite wrist.

Keefe’s eyes widen. His lips brim with a smile. “Whoa, okay. Teaming up against me?”

“No, we’re going to sleep,” Fitz insists.

“Aw, are you going to get grumpy without your beauty sleep, Avery?” Keefe purrs, tugging his hand out of Fitz’s grasp. Keefe props himself up on his elbow so that he can run his fingers through Fitz’s hair as he leans over and pecks his boyfriend’s forehead. Sophie assumes Fitz probably looks bristly from the way Keefe chuckles when he pulls back so that he can settle in beside Sophie again.

“Alright, alright,” he murmurs, grunting as he tucks Sophie’s head under his chin. “I got it, it’s nap time.”

Sophie’s laugh is interrupted by one of her popping tics. Fitz makes a small huff of a laugh through his nose behind her, and soon she hears a “pop!” noise errupt beside her ear.

“Shush,” is how she playfully responds to the imitation. Fitz and Keefe like to teasingly parrot her tics, sometimes. Sophie doesn’t mind it — she knows it’s good-hearted and they do it because they admire her.

She pops three more times and jabs Keefe in the ribs twice before she starts to feel herself settling down. The urge to run through a tic is starting to slow, and she’s waiting for that familiar embrace of darkness that drifts her into sleep.

Her mind dulls, and her focus lasers to the hand Fitz is swirling on her back, and the slow feeling of Keefe’s breathing on her skin. The last thing Sophie is aware of is a “goodnight” mumbled into her hair.

#sokeefitz week 2020 #sokeefitz week #sokeefitz #sophie foster #keefe sencen #fitz vacker #kotlc

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livia-dovehallow · 4 years

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shooting stars - gabriel lightwood & cecily herondale

A Gabrily Valentine’s Day! Set in a Modern AU. Read on AO3

Cecily had forced herself to remain cool and collected.

She shouldn’t be surprised that Gabriel, whom she’d been dating for a few months now, had asked her to join him at the football team’s starlight picnic on Valentine’s Day. There was to be a meteor shower that night; a very unique and romantic night for valentine’s indeed. She may or may not have totally enjoyed arriving to campus the week before to find Gabriel waiting by her first class with a small bouquet of flowers and her morning coffee and asked her to be his valentine. And she may or may not have smiled like an idiot for the rest of the day.

But she most definitely found herself now struggling to keep her racing heart under control. She’d never had a valentine before. Will had always scared off the admirers she had when they were children, much to her annoyance. It was only when she finally became an adult, and joined him at university, that she made it a point to blatantly ignore his protests whenever she went on a date. Not that any of those dates mattered until Gabriel Lightwood came along.

“You don’t have to go, you know,” said Will across from her at the dining room table. She sighed inwardly. If only she hadn’t been forced to live with her brother at university. Her life would be so much simpler. “You can watch the shower with us instead. Much more enjoyable.”

Cecily gave her brother an annoyed look. “Why would I voluntarily subject myself to hanging out with the three of you on Valentine’s Day when I have a perfectly good boyfriend who has asked me to spend it with him?”

Will grumbled over his dinner. “I wouldn’t describe him as ‘perfectly good’—“

“Will,” Tessa sighed, holding her head as if his voice had given her a massive headache. Cecily was sure it had. “Leave her alone. Gabriel is a perfectly nice boy who is taking her to a school event. I hardly think this is grounds for you to be ridiculous.”

“Everything is grounds for me to be ridiculous,” countered Will.

“Save yourself,” added Jem, looking at Cecily. “Get out while you can.”

There was a knock on the door. Cecily shot out of her seat and grabbed her bag. “I will do just that, Jem,” she said and gave a cheeky grin to her brother, who squinted his eyes at her over his fork. “Don’t wait up for me!” .

For the thousandth time that night, Gabriel made sure his hair was neat, there nothing in his teeth, and his clothes were acceptable.

He’d never had a valentine before, but he was excited for Cecily to be his. He was excited that she was his girlfriend at all. He was sure he had destroyed all his chances with his poorly developed flirting ability.

He blamed Gideon.

The door opened and Cecily stood in the light of the doorway. Gabriel’s breath went out of him. She was always incredibly beautiful, but it was obvious she had spent extra time on her look that evening. She smiled brightly at him. “Shall we go?”

Gabriel blinked himself back into the mortal plane. “We shall,” he answered, returning her smile. He held out his arm to her, like a proper gentleman. “You look particularly beautiful today,” he said. He had absolutely no idea where it came from.

Cecily closed the door behind her, effectively cutting off her brother in mid shout. Something about having her home early. “Do I not look particularly beautiful everyday?” she asked, a tease in her voice.

“I should just never speak again, shouldn’t I?”

“I rather enjoy it.” .

The field was spotted with blankets and couples, flowers and chocolates, and quite a few bottles of cheap champagne. Gabriel had ordered Cecily’s favorite dish from the best restaurant in town and carefully tucked it away in the picnic basket Sophie lent him. He swore that his soon-to-be sister-in-law was much more help in the relationship department than his brother was.

He’d also gotten her a box of her favorite chocolates from a small shop in town, owned by the Branwells, who’d always smiled knowingly at him since the first time Cecily dragged him in, gushing about the treats. He’d become a regular patron after that.

Gabriel lifted everything out of the picnic basket and glanced up to find Cecily holding out a box wrapped neatly with a perfectly tied bow. He blinked at her several times until she laughed. “Well, are you going to open it or stare at me until my arms get tired?”

“You got me something?” he asked in awe. Cecily only laughed again.

“Of course I did. I am not a freeloading girlfriend, you know.”

Gabriel smiled brightly and took the box from her, eagerly opening it as if he was a child at Christmas. He froze once he realized what it was. “Cecily, you didn’t.”

She grinned. “Oh yes, I did.”

Gabriel lifted the brand new cleats out of the box, perfectly sized and exactly the ones he’d had his eye on for weeks. He’d never even mentioned to Cecily that he’d wanted to get a new pair, let alone this exact one. He gaped at her, his eyes flickering between her and the shoes. “How—“

“I am a fantastic girlfriend,” she stated, her eyes shining. “That is how.”

“Fantastic is an understatement!” He threw the box aside and immediately kicked his sneakers off to try on the cleats. He could hear Cecily laughing beside him as he hurried to tie the laces. “This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten.”

Cecily playfully shoved his arm. “Are you saying you didn’t like my Christmas present?”

Gabriel turned to her with a shy smile. “I was too nervous to tell you that I don’t like seafood.”

“Gabriel!” Cecily gasped. “Then why did you eat that whole plate?”

“Because you bought it for me.”

Cecily dropped her shoulders and smiled at him. “You’re sweet.”

Heat filled Gabriel’s face but the stupid grin on his face remained. “Now I feel silly with what I got you.”

Cecily looked down at the picnic, with their plates and chocolates and flowers neatly arranged. She looked back up at him. “If this is silly, then please, keep being silly.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, making the heat in his face grow warmer. “It’s romantic that you remembered my favorites and brought me to a starlight picnic to watch a meteor shower.”

Until he met Cecily, no one had ever called him a romantic before. He quite liked it, actually. And he found that he didn’t care if everyone else knew about it, too. .

“Look at this!” Will exclaimed, shoving his phone at Tessa and Jem. “I don’t want to see this!”

Tessa rolled her eyes. On his screen was his Instagram feed, of which the most recent post was from Cecily, smiling brightly at the camera while Gabriel kissed her forehead, captioned simply with a heart emoji. She thought it was rather sweet.

Jem had another idea. He turned his own phone toward Will, showing Gabriel’s post. It was of Cecily, surrounded by dinner, chocolates, and flowers, the same bright smile on her face as if she had been in mid laugh. It was a rather good picture of Cecily, indeed. Will scowled.

“This—This is why I don’t follow him!”

“’Isn’t she lovely,’” Jem quoted from the caption. Tessa awed.

“That’s so sweet!” She exclaimed.

Will’s scowl deepened. “I don’t want to see that either.”

“What?” Jem teased. “You don’t think your sister is lovely?”

Will huffed. “Of course she is,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I want to see him saying it. I may vomit.”

A dull roar of chatter settled across the football field. Cecily, after happily consuming every last drop of her plate and chocolates, made herself comfortable in Gabriel’s arms. She liked the feeling; his arms were long and well-muscled, engulfing her relatively small body in warmth and comfort. She was a strong, independent lady, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t allowed to enjoy a bit of cuddling.

She thought about how jealous she’d been of Will for the longest time, having not one but two people he could be with. They were kind to her, of course, but it was not the same as having someone like them for herself. She’d always been a romantic.

It was only an added bonus that being with Gabriel made Will short circuit.

“Do you believe in soulmates?” Cecily asked suddenly after a long but comforting silence.

Gabriel paused. “Do you?”

“Yes.” He lifted her head gently and slid his arm and a pillow underneath it before laying it back down. “Soulmates need not always be romantic. They can be platonic as well. Some people are lucky enough to find both in their lives. But I think the luckiest ones are the ones who find both in the same person.”

She bit her lip. She was definitely being obvious about her thoughts, but she hoped it wasn’t too forward. Gabriel brushed his thumb against her arm, which was reassuring. “I’ve never thought about it that way,” he answered. “Platonic soulmates, I mean. It makes sense, though. What made you believe?”

Cecily smiled gently toward the stars. “My parents. I’ve always believed in soulmates because of them.” A star shot across the sky, growing closer to the impending shower. “I don’t think anyone else on earth could have been better suited for them than each other.”

Gabriel’s chest rose and fell beneath her shoulder, his arm warm around her. “I admire your parents,” he said, vibrating her body with this voice; and not just because she was laying partially on top of him. “I guess I didn’t think I believed in soulmates until I met you.”

Cecily’s breath hitched in her throat. Of course she had wanted him to say that, but she didn’t expect that he would. “You’re only saying that,” she whispered.

“Am not,” he retorted. She could hear the smile in his voice. Cecily bit her lip again. A nervous habit. “So many things have changed in my life in the past year that have entirely changed my outlook on the world. It wasn’t easy to learn that my father had cheated on my mom before she died and still be open enough to believe in soulmates. But you…” His arm tightened around her. “I met you. And Gideon proposed to Sophie. And I met your parents.”

“Gideon is quite lucky to have Sophie,” said Cecily. “Sophie is a very lovely person.”

“I know,” Gabriel laughed. “That bastard better not screw it up.”

Cecily smiled and moved closer to him, pressing her body as close to him as she could get while they lay on their backs looking up at the sky. Gabriel shifted beneath her to pull her pillow closer. “Are you cold?” he asked her.

“Ella, Will, and I used to lay out in the fields in Wales and watch the stars at night,” Cecily whispered instead of answering him. Gabriel fell silent, but she knew very well he was listening. “We lived so far out in the country that the city lights never blocked out the stars. It was my favorite time; just the three of us.” A tear streaked down Cecily’s cheek involuntarily. “I haven’t watched the stars since she died.”

“Cecy—“

“I am glad to watch them again,” she continued. She felt around the blanket until she found his hand and squeezed it tight. “With you.”

“She must have been an incredible person. You and your family only ever speak highly of her.”

Cecily nodded. “She was definitely much less of a pain in the ass than Will was.” She imagined her brother now, laying on the roof of their apartment building with Tessa and Jem, watching the same stars she was; both of them sharing the same memory of Ella. “No one will ever replace Ella for me, but I must admit it was nice to meet Tessa when Will first brought her home. She was kind to me. She even helped me prank Will the first holiday she was with us and helped me clean my bathroom when my period came early.” Gabriel’s hands engulfed hers and slowly played with her fingers as she spoke, calming her. “She knew that Will and I were close and made an effort to get to know me; I had forgotten what it felt like to have a sister. I am grateful to Tessa.”

“It seems that even Will is capable of making good decisions on occasion,” Gabriel commented, making Cecily laugh. He shifted again beneath her and suddenly Cecily was engulfed in a large blanket. She craned her neck upward to look at Gabriel, who was only smiling and rolling her into the blanket.

“Are you trying to make me into a burrito?” Cecily asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Of course not,” he answered, bringing his arms about her once more. “Obviously you are a taquito.”

Cecily called him a not-so-romantic name in Welsh, but her heart was happy. She did feel much warmer under the blanket with her head on his shoulder. She felt at peace. “I understand how you feel, though,” he added after a moment. “Granted, Tatiana is younger, but we were never truly close. And I lost my mother so young, I didn’t understand what having genuine affection was like. I thought all fathers were like mine. I only ever had him and Gideon show me how to be. Gideon was not the same person he is now before he studied abroad.”

“He changed,” Cecily whispered, digging her arm out from beneath the blankets to lay her hand over his heart. “As did you. There isn’t anything wrong with that.”

Gabriel looked down at her; his eyes, his green, green eyes making her heart skip a beat. “Spain and Sophie helped Gideon feel comfortable being his actual self. For me, it was Gideon and you.��

“I like this Gabriel,” she whispered, her eyes flickering between his eyes and his lips. “You’re happier. I like that.”

Gabriel inhaled deeply, his eyes never leaving hers. “I love you,” he breathed.

Cecily’s heart raced, her eyes widening. She’d imagined him saying those words to her in the privacy and comfort of her own mind. She’d known, perhaps all along, that she loved him. He made her feel special, beautiful, and strong. He never once made her feel inferior or small—his jokes about her height excluded. Being with him made the rough seas of her life calm. She was happy. She loved him.

And he just told her he loved her.

He had begun to grow nervous at her silence, clearing his throat in attempt to clear the tension. Tell him you love him, idiot! Cecily screamed at herself, but her throat had closed, thick with emotion. She did what she needed to do. She pulled his head down to her and kissed him.

There was no hesitation from him in his response. He kissed her back, his hands pressed gently against her back, holding her to him. Cecily hadn’t even noticed she was crying until their kiss began to taste salty and Gabriel pulled away, his forehead still pressed against hers. “Cecy?” he asked, worried. “I’m—“

“I love you,” she said, cutting him off before he could apologize to her for doing nothing wrong. He stared at her. “I love you, too.”

A brilliant smile grew across his face, erasing his anxious expression. He released a long breath and laughed. “Oh, god, I thought I had scared you off. It came out of me, I’m sorry, I wanted to tell you for so long—“

Cecily shook her head. “Do stop apologizing for telling me you love me,” she teased. “I’ll start to believe you regret it.”

Gabriel’s eyes widened, the panic back. “No!” he said quickly. “No, I don’t regret it! Not one bit. I do love you. I love you. A lot, actually.”

She buried her face against his neck and ran her fingers through his ever-tousled hair. “Then don’t let me go,” she whispered. His grip tightened.

“I don’t plan on it,” he said.

A wave of awes and cheers rose from the crowd around them on the field. The meteor shower had begun, lighting up the sky. Cecily kept her eyes locked with Gabriel’s. He smiled at her. “I do hope this means your sister approves of me.”

Cecily laughed, the pain of missing Ella and the joy that she had Gabriel in her life to share her thoughts. She turned to look at the stars. “You know, I think she just might.”

The porch light was bright when Gabriel walked Cecily to the door of her and Will’s apartment. She was draped in his jacket, despite her protests. “You’re smaller. Less mass. You get colder than I do,” had been Gabriel’s response. She was stubborn, but he could be too. Even now he was refusing to take it back. Secretly, Cecily was glad.

“I had fun,” she told him, smiling happily. “This was a very nice Valentine’s Day.”

Gabriel looked relieved. “I had fun, too.” He hesitated then, which told Cecily exactly what he wanted to do.

“Kiss me,” she said, not as a request but a stern demand. Gabriel’s smile morphed into a small laugh.

“Yes, ma’am,” he nodded and dipped low. The moment his lips met hers, the porch light began flickering.

Cecily ignored it but Gabriel pulled back, amused. “I wager we have peeping Toms.”

“More like a single peeping Will,” she muttered. She lifted her hand toward the door and flipped off her brother. “I suppose I should see you off now, before Will comes out here with empty threats.”

Gabriel laughed. “All right,” he said. “I’ll leave when you’re inside.”

“The door is two feet away.”

“It will make me feel better,” he answered assuredly. “Please indulge my masculinity.”

Cecily would never admit it, but her heart fluttered. She knew Gabriel didn’t care much for keeping masculine appearances anymore, but it set butterflies in her stomach to know he wanted to make sure she was truly home before leaving. Her father would like that.

“All right,” she agreed. She pressed her key into the lock and turned it, but paused before opening the door. She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Goodnight,” she said. “Do tell me when you’re home.”

His eyes brightened. “I will,” he said. “Goodnight, Cecy.”

The door swung open and Cecily yelped. She was yanked in the doorway before she could swear. “Take care then!” her brother called before shutting the door. Cecily twisted her arm out of his grip before unleashing a sea of curses and swears at him, a mix of English and Welsh, all angry and annoyed.

“Can I not have my own life, Will?” she shouted. “You parade Tessa and Jem around here as if they live here but I can’t even wish Gabriel a goodnight on the porch without you ruining it?” She turned to Tessa and Jem, who remained seated at the kitchen table. “No offense.”

“None taken,” they both replied, lifting their mugs to their lips.

She turned back to Will, who looked a bit surprised. “Mam and Dad like Gabriel, and Ella would have, too. What is your problem? Gabriel has tried to make amends with you and treats me well. Better than well, actually. Not once has he ever made me feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Quite the opposite actually. You’re lucky Mam and Dad help us pay rent because otherwise I would have never moved in with you.”

At that, she threw her keys onto the counter and marched to her bedroom. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of slamming her door, so instead she left it wide open.

Fifteen minutes later, she received her text from Gabriel assuring her he was home, safe and sound, being interrogated by his brother and Sophie. She smiled at her phone. She thought about telling him about her blow up at Will when a soft knock sounded at the door. She glanced up to see Tessa standing there, holding her mug, smiling gently. “May I come in?”

Cecily nodded, shooting Gabriel a quick I love you before tossing her phone to the side. She hoped she’d wake to a similar message in the morning.

Tessa came and sat beside her on the bed. “I’m sorry about Will,” she started. “We tried to convince him to to go bed earlier but he refused.”

“Thanks for trying,” Cecily grumbled, kicking her blanket with her feet.

Tessa set down her mug and turned to face Cecily. “I am not Will,” she said happily. “And I, for one, would love to hear how the picnic went. Did you enjoy it?”

Cecily turned to her and released the tension in her muscles. Tessa really was like a sister. “I did,” she said, a smile growing. “It was everything I’d hoped it would be.”

Tessa’s eyes widened. “I see that smile,” she said, bouncing. “Tell me, Cecily, or I swear I will force it out of you!”

“Shh!” Cecily hissed, glancing at the doorway. “The last thing I need or want is my brother barging in here demanding to know as well.”

Tessa nodded, but her smile and eyes were eager. “Tell me.”

Cecily bit her lip, supressing an idiot smile. “He told me he loves me.”

Tessa grabbed a pillow and began smacking Cecily with it, whispering-screaming in excitement. “Cecy!” Whack. “I’m so—“ Whack. “—happy for you!”

“Wait,” Cecily said, and Tessa paused, holding the pillow in mid-whack. “There’s more. I told him I love him, too.”

WHACK.

Gabriel waltzed through the front door feeling on top of the world. The moment the door shut, Gideon and Sophie’s heads popped up over the sofa. “How did it go?” Sophie asked eagerly.

“Did you tell her?” Gideon added.

Gabriel grinned. “Yes, I told her. And she said it back.”

Sophie screamed and jumped over the couch, crushing Gabriel in a hug. “Look at you! A new man in love!”

Gideon smiled at him, amused. “Proud of you,” he said. “Didn’t think you had the guts to actually do it.”

“Thank you for your faith in me, brother,” Gabriel answered. “At least Sophie believed in me.”

Sophie let go of him and nodded, smiling happily at him. She’d always been quite supportive of him ever since he apologized to her for being an ass for so long. “Well, I knew that you would tell her intentionally or not. The two of you are much alike.”

Gabriel and Gideon both protested this statement. Then, Gabriel remembered. “Shit,” he said under his breath, digging his phone out. “I promised her I’d tell her when I got home.”

Gideon pointed at him accusingly. “You’re whipped!”

“And you’re engaged,” Gabriel retorted, retreating to his bedroom, his eyes glued to the screen, typing his message to Cecily.

Ding.

I love you, she replied.

Gabriel immediately updated his phone screen to the new photo of her he’d taken that night and stared at it before writing out his response.

Gideon told me I’m whipped. He isn’t wrong. Goodnight, Cecy. I love you.

I take requests! Shoot me a message and I’ll be happy to indulge.

@tsccreatorsnet || Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future fic posts.

#gabriel lightwood #cecily herondale #gabrily #the infernal devices #tsc #tid #clockwork princess #modern au #gabriel and cecily #will herondale #tessa gray #jem carstairs #gideon lightwood #sophie collins #cecily lightwood #shadowhunters #gabriel and cecily lightwood #maggie writes

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kookicat · 4 years

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When You've Walked My Road

None of the others have been to this safe house, and if he has his way, it'll stay like that, because it's less safe house and more medic station, with cupboards packed with every supply that they might need. There's a sturdy wooden table that he keeps scrubbed, and five camp beds, because if they ever have to retreat to the place, he's making sure the whole team is there and locking the place down.

He pulls out the big medical bag and dumps it on the table, flipping it open to inspect what's left inside. It's still almost full, missing just a few bandages and dressing packs from their last job, but they're going up against Damien Moreau -Damien fucking Moreau- and while Nate seems blissfully unconcerned about the potential for danger, Eliot can't let himself fall under such illusions. He knows intimately just how dangerous the other man is, and if he can't stop Nate running them up against him, at least he can make sure they're as ready as they can be. Mitigate some of the damage when things go bad, because he honestly can't see how this ends without bloodshed. God, I hope I can keep them all safe, he thinks, and rubs the back of his neck, feeling the tension there. Let me be the one bloody, if it comes to that.

The thought brings him neatly back to the medical supplies and he grabs an empty tub, pulling everything out before he wipes the inside of the bag with sanitiser spray and spools up his mental checklist of what needs to be inside. Dressings, band aids and bandages are a simple staple, along with tape, and he adds in two more packs than he hopes they'll ever need, following them with wound cream and wipes, because it's an easy first step in avoiding an infection. He pauses, then tucks another tube in, because between him and the minor injuries Parker gets, they go through the stuff with frightening speed sometimes. He drops in a couple of slings and splints, rubbing his wrist in reflex, because he'd picked up a nasty sprain a few jobs ago and a splint would have made the drive home a lot more comfortable.

He knows it surprises people that he knows how to heal as well as how to bust heads, a dichotomy they can't quite reckon, but it makes perfect sense to him. His whole unit had learned basic medical skills, because if the guy next to you is shot in the gut, you don't have time to wait for help. And anyway, in his line of work, knowing how to patch yourself up can be the difference between life and death, because bullet holes and stab wounds tend to attract the wrong kind of attention at an ER.

He flips open the trauma shears, checking they still work and tucks them in, next to a smaller kit that includes single use scalpels and suture packs. On a whim, he adds a couple of disposable tweezers, because Parker had got a nasty metal splinter climbing through a duct on their last job and Sophie's still moaning about them using her expensive tweezers to get it out three months later. It makes him smile, just for a second, before the tension in his gut takes over again. Some jobs just feel wrong, and this is one of them, doubly so because of Moreau's involvement. Eliot's no coward, but you don't take down a guy like Moreau; you either put a bullet in his skull, preferably from a distance, or you keep the fuck out of his way.

He pokes his mental checklist and digs through the tub, pulling out a handful of hemostatic dressings and elastic bandages. The items are on the list of things he carries but hopes never to have to use, because uncontrollable bleeding isn't something he can fix in the field and anyway, the damn stuff burns like fuck. There's a neat round scar on his bicep to attest to the fact, and he can still remember the terror of watching his blood pour out of him like water from a tap. He tucks the items in the bag, because if his life had taught him anything, it's that it's better to be over prepared than under prepared.

Rain lashes against the windows, and the sky is filled with dark and looming clouds that match Eliot's mood perfectly. He adds a bag of IV supplies, the plastic catheters incongruously cheerful in the dim light. He's pretty sure his arms are still bruised from teaching Sophie and Parker how to place them, but it'll be worth it, if this goes down how he thinks it will. Three bags each of normal saline and Lactated Ringers solution go in next, along with a couple of banana bags. If they need more fluids, they're in hospital territory, and the thought sends a weird little shiver through him. It's not exactly a premonition, but it still reinforces just how bad an idea this job is.

Maybe I can get Nate to listen, he thinks as he packs the drug case back in the medical bag, adding Zofran as an afterthought, because he knows he'll puke his guts up with a bad enough concussion and going through that once was awful enough that he never wants to do it again. There's a couple of types of broad spectrum antibiotics in there, just in case, too. He knows Nate, knows that now he's got the scent, nothing will stop him, but Nate isn't the only stubborn one on the team and maybe, for once, they can get him to listen to reason. The rest of them have the choice of going along for the ride or getting out of the way, but the thought of leaving Nate to handle Moreau alone makes well hidden anxiety worm through his gut. He's committed and that means being prepared, so he heaves a sigh and tucks a couple of tourniquets under the webbing on the outside of the bag, where they're easy to get at quickly. If they have any luck left, they won't need them, but anything involving Moreau feels like a curse.

Just the sound of his name makes Eliot's hands feel sticky, coated in drying blood, because God knows he'd shed enough of the stuff in the man's employment. He flips the bag back open and adds in a box of gloves, then walks around the table to drop heavily on the seat there, exhaustion hitting him suddenly. It's well down in the AM and he's been awake this best part of twenty four hours. It's not the longest he's ever been awake, but that doesn't mean he doesn't feel the drag of tired muscles, the dull throb of a headache that's been with him since Nate announced the plan. The safe house is chilly, because he hasn't bothered to kick the furnace one, and he shivers, forcing himself to his feet because the job's not done yet and he wants the bag finished before he sleeps.

Silver foil emergency blankets go in next, along with heat and cold packs. He runs warm, but Parker and Hardison both tend to get cold easily and that's bad if they're also nursing an injury. Shock is no joke and he's run that gauntlet enough times to respect it. He adds burn gel and dressings, just in case, because Parker has no fear of climbing through steam vents that any sane person would avoid. The bag is bulging and he runs through his checklist one more time, satisfied that he's got everything he might need.

A quick glance at his watch tells him that he has three hours to grab some sleep and he heads to the ratty but comfortable couch in the small living area, dropping down onto it with a sigh and bending to unfastened his boots before he swings his jean clad legs up and tugs the ugly knitted throw down over himself. He blinks, yawning, and knows if he wants to function properly in the morning, he needs to sleep, but his mind is buzzing with what if's that he just can't shake. He forces a breath out through his nose and shifts a little, getting more comfortable. Every time he closes his eyes, all he can see is his team, broken and battered and bloody on the floor. After what seems like an eternity, he gives in and reaches under the table next to the couch for the bottle there, lip curling in self disgust as he downs a good mouthful. It's a crutch, and a crude one at that but any port in a storm and he's facing a big one. The booze takes the sharpness off everything and he settles back down, eyes closing, and finally lets himself rest.

#leverage #eliot spencer #team as family #the big bang job #Eliot prepares for battle #fanfic #fan fiction #episode tag

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phoenix-manga · 4 years

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DCA Dorm Leaders + Sophie turns into Kids?!

It happened at different times but the experience was shocking nonetheless. Everything odd just happens when you interact with NRC students. For some reason, the one time the ten dorm leaders of DCA visited or interacted with NRC something unexpected happened...

Evonie

She was spilled with a potion that a student was carrying but accidentally dropped it from the window of the alchemy class. Her form shrank in the puff of purple smoke and when it was gone she was suddenly a toddler.

Epel who was escorting her around the campus grounds started to panic and decided that in cases like these he must go to the dorm leader. As soon as he brings her to Vil, she's going to be dolled up in little frilly dresses and ribbons while an antidote was being made.

Evonie's two dads always dress her up in cute clothes which shouldn't be a problem… But she was used to cotton and animal onesies, Vil was making her wear silk and a bit of lace that are kind of itchy.

Epel just feels odd with the entire scene he is witnessing. Evonie looks very displeased, he can only look back with a look of understanding her ire. He hates lace too…

When Epel has to look after Evonie, she'd sit in his room chewing on apples and rolling around the blanket. She wasn't very active but she never made a fuss, Epel thinks that the Evonie right now and the older Evonie barely has any difference, which puzzles him.

Ella

A lot of students are dropping potions from the window nowadays, Ella is the latest victim to the falling chemical and this time Rook was with her.

There she was, a toddler who looked up at Rook with her big eyes, he almost forgot what he was going to do since he got distracted by her cuteness.

Of course, he reports the incident to Vil who reports to Divus. While waiting for the antidote, the Pomefiore dorm is blessed with the image of a cute doll-like toddler waddling around following Vil. The first moment Ella's eyes saw Vil she immediately points to him and says, "Pwince".

It was so endearing and it got a chuckle out of Rook and Vil. If Vil was too busy to look after her, she was left in Rook and Epel's care, she'd busy herself playing princess with Rook and clumsily doing curtsy, Rook laments on how he wished he had a sister as charming as her.

Ella would assume Epel was a princess but he can't be mad at her because she's a kid. He'll just tell himself repeatedly that she's a kid and doesn't know any better.

Allison

Well, the incident happened in the alchemy lab in DCA this time. She got turned into a toddler and while the students were busy trying to calm down and prepare an antidote, Allison sneaks off through her door and onto Heartslabyul grounds.

She starts looking around and sees Trey and Cater, she rushes towards Trey and grabs onto his leg, startling him. They were shocked to see a child here of all places and at first, they thought it was a little sister of one of the students.

Until Allison used her doors to get away from Cater who was trying to grab her that they realized that it was indeed, Allison.

The game of tag starts, at first it was Trey and Cater chasing her around the garden but she kept on using her doors to transport into various spots in the dorm area, she ended up in the lounge than the kitchen, and so on, the entire dorm was on high alert for a pink-haired toddler and magic doors.

What about Riddle? He was already informed when he saw students crouching around trying to find something or someone…

He tries to be calm and order the students to get her out quickly, but as soon as she sees him and calls him a "The Grumpy Tomato" he forgets that she's a kid and chases after her only to have her use a door and he nearly crashes into the wall. Allison is definitely going to get an earful from Riddle after this fiasco.

Briar

It happened during the time she visited NRC, she was hit with stray magic in the main building and it turned her into a toddler. Everyone in the area was panicking while Briar was confused and startled by the yelling from the students.

The one who found her was Lilia and the moment he sees that gold hair he rushes towards her only to find her… very small and very young. This was amusing for the old fae and it brings back memories of nostalgia. He can easily remove the spell cast on her but he allows himself to be a bit selfish and bring her over to Diasomnia.

Lucky for him, Malleus and his two guards are in the lounge chatting. The three of them froze when Lilia plopped Briar on the coffee table. Her big blue eyes scanning the faces of the people in front of her.

Briar first went for Sebek and he was clumsily trying to carry her as she poked around his cheeks because his fangs caught her attention.

Then when Silver got a hold of her, he fell asleep after a few minutes and Lilia had to catch her.

Lastly, she sees Malleus and approaches him. Malleus was a bit lost on what to do, this child is Briar but at the same time, he doesn't know what she's like as a child. Briar raises her arms to him asking to be carried, when he did she gently put her small hands on his horns, marveling at the texture. Lilia has a picture he sneakily took to preserve the memory of a stunned Malleus and a baby Briar.

Cerule

Cerule got toddlerized when she tagged along with Floyd making a potion in his room. Of course, Floyd being… Floyd, he put in something weird cause he was curious then a puff of purple smoke turned Cerule into her little mer-serpent self.

Floyd was now preoccupied with a small oarfish child who was chewing on the black strand of his hair. "Ce-chibi, does my hair look like seaweed?".

Jade came in the room some time to witness this scene, he doesn't need any explaining to know what happened. But, he takes the opportunity to see how Azul would react so the twins went to show the dorm leader.

Needless to say, Azul dropped his pen when he spots that familiar red and white hair.

Cerule as a child was… filled with a lot of chewing, she doesn't have sharp teeth due to her natural diet consisting of seaweed. She also tends to wrap her tail around someone's arm or leg so as not to fall off, Floyd put her tail around his neck and made her a scarf.

Azul was planning on making the antidote… but Cerule's doe-eyes and cute habits sparked the instinct of a businessman. He decided against it because he'd rather not worry the students at DCA.

Rozeline

It was a book she saw in the NRC library that just happened to be cursed and reading out a spell turned her into a toddler. Luckily for her, the one who was showing her around was Jack.

He may have been a bit startled but he has little siblings, he knows how to handle children.

Though he is quite worried about how nervous Rozeline is… she never lets go of his hand and even hides from the other students behind him. She doesn't seem to like crowds and it makes one wonder what happened to her to make her like this? He just carries her towards Divus's office to get the problem sorted right away.

Vidya

It was during her visits to Scarabia that she ended up getting hit with a stray magic beam and she was turned into a toddler. The students who were sparring went pale because they hit a royal who happens to be friends with Kalim.

Speaking of which, Kalim just happens to witness this incident and immediately runs over to pick up a tiny Vidya into his arms. Then Jamil runs into this scenario and is told of what happened, now he has to make sure Kalim didn't get her hurt from giving her a piggyback ride.

Vidya as a child is no different from her older self, she has proper manners and Kalim gets flustered when Vidya calls out on decisions that could lead to disasters. She sticks to Jamil a lot though, mostly supervising the magic training of the students.

Her mature temperament just made them realize how she molded herself to be a perfect ruler at an early age which made Kalim feel bad since he thought Vidya smiling at parties meant she had a carefree childhood. Jamil is reminded of how his childhood was like when he sees Vidya's attitude and habits. They try to coax her into acting more childish, even for a little bit.

Jinlong

Jinlong was toddlerized after one of the Savannaclaw students were having an argument and they struck each other with magic, only problem was that the magic hit Jinlong.

Now she was a kid in the middle of a dorm filled with beasts, most of them didn't bother with the kid and went to go tell Ruggie about it. But the ones who do bother her are met with a shocking surprise kick. Jinlong studied under an outcast master in secret, she was put through a tough training regimen.

Jack who witnessed the event along with Ruggie, was shocked and amazed. Ruggie goes to inform professor Divus. Jack follows Jinlong to make sure she doesn't get lost but she's just standing there wanting to try out a training dummy.

But being a child with the mentality brought up in her hometown she isn't comfortable around the male students.

Until Jack takes her somewhere isolated and prepares a dummy for her that she starts to lose her nervousness and get hyped up.

Elu

It happens during the time she was sparring against Leona during the DCA festival. Both were close to hitting each other when a puff of purple smoke hit Elu and Leona was thrown off balance when he didn't hit anything solid.

When the smoke dispersed he saw Elu but smaller and younger. Turns out that smoke was a miss from one of the game booths. She was still feisty as a cub, so seeing this big lion man made her raise her paws and starts to hit him.

Her punches weren't that strong and it felt like he was getting a massage. He found this amusing and just continued to tease the poor cub, by holding her back with his tail, and when she tries to do any semblance of damage he just sits there with a smirk.

The entire image is just so amusing to everyone that the girls from Sagamore weren't mad at Leona, it just looks like typical siblings being siblings situation.

Perrine

Perrine wanted to try out Allison's recipe for mystery cookies then she contacted Trey if he wanted to taste test it with her.

Allison mentioned that the effects vary but none that is harmful to the person, it’s a recipe full of whimsy so it makes sense. When they both ate a cookie, a puff of purple smoke and Trey had four-leaf clovers growing out of his head which made him chuckle a bit but when he looked to Perrine he nearly had his glasses knocked off from surprise.

She was a toddler now! Luckily for Trey he was skilled with handling kids because of his younger siblings.

Perrine was adorably diligent, while waiting for the effects to wear off she would always be behind Trey ready to assist.

While he was on rose painting duty she was already putting newspaper around the bush to make sure the grass didn't get paint.

And when he was cooking, she was zooming about the kitchen handing him the ingredients he needed. It was endearing for him and it was almost a shame that it was only for a moment, he's going to miss his little assistant for a while.

Sophie

Sophie was given the role of a tour guide for the first-year squad, and they stopped by the Futterwacken tea party to try out some of the mystery cookies.

After consuming the cookies, Ace had sparkling eyes, Deuce could see in grayscale, Jack's wolf-like features turned into a poodle's with the ears and the fluffy hair, Epel had a deep voice which he thought was manly, and Sebek was speaking in gibberish.

Sophie was turned into a toddler and the first-year squad is in a panic to who has to make sure she's turned back. It's a hilarious scenario but the Futterwacken students have seen their fair share of oddities so they shrug and walk off.

It didn't help that Sophie was curious about everything, she starts crawling about and climbing around. It was chaotic until they handed her over to Sebek, she started to put her hands in his mouth curious about his fangs, and Sebek just speaking nonsense but still held onto Sophie.

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