#thinkin a lot about how to answer them the best way or letting the message help me reflect

[eyesthatroll]

..rice pudding? | jake seresin

pairing: jake "hangman" seresin x fem!reader

warnings: pretty much just fluff, lowercase intended not really edited.

word count: 0.8k

summary: the next morning after you spent the night at jake's apartment for the first time

"i didn't know you could cook?" you say, the smell of pancakes and bacon invading your senses as you padded into the kitchen, still clad in your night clothes.

jake is shirtless, a pair of black nike sweats hanging dangerously low on his hips, the waistband of his calvin klein boxers just barely in view.

he turns to you, the sunlight shining through the window above the kitchen sink, reflecting beautifully against his sleepy eyes and tousled hair.

memories from last night of you tugging on those dirty blonde locks flash through your mind, and you feel your cheeks warm.

"there's a lot you don't know about me, darlin'" he teases, sending a playful wink your way before turning back to the stove.

you take a seat on the middle barstool at the granite island.

it was your first time spending the night at jake's apartment, and to be honest, you had expected to wake up before him and slip out the door, just to avoid any potential awkwardness. of course, you'd shoot him a text saying that you had a great night, and create a fake excuse of why you had to leave so soon. you really did like jake, and you weren't a total asshole to leave without a word.

but to your surprise, you woke up to an empty bed. an empty bed, and the sound of jake singing along to 'so caught up' by the tuskey brothers, downstairs. you’d stayed in bed for a few minutes before getting up, just enjoying the feeling of being enveloped by the intoxicating smell of jake.

though, in hindsight, you should have accounted for the fact that jake is a navy man, and that he probably wakes up early, if not earlier than you, on a regular basis.

the clink of a plate being sat in front of you brings you out of your head.

"what'cha thinkin' about?"

"you." you answer truthfully.

his ears tinge pink, and he lets out a chuckle before speaking. "let's see if there's somethin' on that plate you like."

you look down at the full plate of food. pancakes, eggs, bacon, and.. some sort of rice pudding?

you pick up your fork and warily dip it in the rice whatever it is.

jake laughs. "you've never had grits?"

"no, what is that?"

"you are such a city girl." he teases, shaking his head. "grits are like.. i don't know how to explain it.. like.. corn porridge."

your browns furrowed in confusion.

"what does it taste like?"

"just take a bite and try it, you weirdo."

slowly, you move the fork to your mouth.

the texture is strange at first, but it surprisingly taste good. very good.

jake looks at you with anticipation. "well?"

your lips lift into a grin. "that's really fucking good, jake."

"yeah?"

you go in for another bite. "when i die, bury me in this stuff."

jake laughs, absolutely enamored by your reaction to trying grits for the first time.

"i'm serious, i want this in my casket."

"if i'm still around, i'll do my best to make sure it happens."

the two of you spend the next half hour laughing, eating, feeding off of each others energy.

despite the big ego and slight superiority complex, jake is actually really great, and you could feel yourself falling in love with him in the future.

you had offered to do this dishes, you felt it was only right since jake did the cooking, but he insisted that he would get to them later.

which made you happy, because while you would've done them without complaining, you hated doing the dishes.

"what're your plans for the day?" he asks, opening the front door for you.

"uh, i don't think i have any, maybe some laundry and cleaning?"

jake nods. "well, if you're bored later tonight, a few co-workers and i are gonna go to the bar. you should come, i'd like for you to come-if you want?"

you fought the urge to squeal like a little girl. "yeah, that sounds fun. message me the details?"

"i will."

you go in for a hug, but jake wraps his arms around you and pulls you in for a kiss.

his lips are warm and soft, almost silken against your own, and unlike last night, the kiss is slow, passionate, allowing you to live in the moment and appreciate him and the way he feels.

jake's light stubble tickles against your chin, and you smile into the kiss, breaking apart for a gasp of air. "see you later, jake."

-

a/n;

i like this for now, but i'm sure if i re-read it in the next few days i'll hate it. anyways, any constructive criticism or advice is always welcome, i'm pretty new to writing so any tips you have are greatly appreciated. thanks:)

[mochiwrites]

which dynamic do you think scarian is in the Fairy tale vers? me personally? im thinkin a bit like jerza but also not? mmmaybe gajevy (its impossible to pin their dynamic into any ship obvi but this is just a lil fun thing lol)

OHMYGOD YOU’VE JUST BECOME THE BEST PERSON EVER TO ME

ohmygod okay okay okay. I’m apologizing SO hard in advance for how nerdy I’m about to get.

jerza and gajevy are 100% valid answers!!! I can see scarian’s dynamic in both those pairs and I 🥺

if we take scarian at their CORE dynamic, ignoring the angst (we’ll get to that >:3) and with the two of them at their rawest form as characters, my answer is nalu.

and no it’s not just because they’re my favorite fairy tail ship I promise — well, maybe it does play a small part :3

let’s look at natsu and lucy first here, and then apply scarian.

SO. natsu and lucy. very much the dynamic of “a follows b around and tries to stop b from doing something Stupid” but there’s more! natsu and lucy hold a lot of respect for one another, as well as trust. there’s this bond between them that goes a lot farther than any kind of label. it’s the way they know one another like the back of their hand, and their communication doesn’t even need to be verbal for the other to pick up on the message.

natsu can read lucy like an open book. lucy can Mostly read natsu like an open book.

lucy is the One person who can pull natsu back before he goes too far. and natsu encourages lucy when she’s close to giving up.

and their banter???? the way lucy tries to keep natsu from doing something dumb but somehow gets roped into whatever he’s going to do anyways?

lucy is very much natsu’s home, as evident by the number of times he’s snuck into her apartment. and lucy is Not quiet about her complaints about natsu. but at the end of the day, they have each other’s backs and I’m going to stop before I go Any Further or else I’m going to derail this ENTIRE thing.

ahem. right. so. Scarian.

already you kinda start to see the similarities between the two pairs, yeah? grian tries to stop scar from doing stupid thing, somehow gets roped into it anyways. and he very much complains the entire time, even as he helps.

scarian trust each other a lot. and you can see that in third life and double life. I know people seem to get on scarian about their “lack of communication” but in actuality their communication in double life was just fine. they’ve done this rodeo before. they know how to trust and communicate with one another without needing to do it verbally.

they know how to trust each other.

they hold each other as equals, they joke and banter and grian knows how to read scar very well. scar can… sort of read grian? but grian is a very complex character to begin with.

also scar just…. fits as natsu so well? dorky, lovable himbo who likes to burn things. also early ft!natsu with his chest out. gestures to scitties. enough said

and grian Mostly fits in that role as lucy. he’s the one pulling scar back (or at least trying to), complaining whenever scar tries to do something dumb but still helping him anyways.

scar and grian have a mutual trust and respect for one another, much like natsu and lucy do.

and I mean. C’mon. grian killing scar in third life? natsu seeing future lucy die? OR OR OR natsu and happy disappearing for like a year without telling lucy in person because he wanted to become stronger? grian pushing scar away after third life without telling him why because he didn’t want to hurt scar again?

also !!!!! grian and scar are ALWAYS attached at the hip, much like natsu and lucy.

I think out of all the fairy tail ships, scarian most closely fits nalu, nerd rant over LMAO

god one of these days I’m going to write such a self indulgent hermitcraft fairy tail au

[gearbroth]

I’ve been curious about your space au for awhile and the characters you created with it, is it inspired or a cross over with a game of some sort or is it entirely original? Because the blips I see you create are really cool and I’m super interested in the story and art as a whole.

It's a bit of everything I guess! It was originally a "Sun & Moon" AU for Team Fortress 2, started in early January 2021 but the characters quite quickly began to change from their original intention ;w; subtly OOC to straight up different motives and desires; although I try to keep their personalities similar despite the whole different path of life, as well as create scenarios that build them into the characters they are/derive from!

October 2021 brought Gordon/Half-Life into the mix just on a whim. Since then, it's very much changed into it's own thing and become my own little passion project.

I've considered making it sorta Valve-oriented (recently have been concepting how to add Portal to the mix), but as it's become less of an AU and something I consider more of it's own story and have been adding original characters to, it's sorta inconclusive what it is right now.

I don't call it completely my own simply because the characters are derived from previously existing ones, be it in only appearance or personality too - but the story I have blocked out intended does take a completely different path, due to the inherent concept of their beings as celestial bodies in space, although I try to frame some events referencing pivotal moments to the original characters.

I'll still call it "TF2 Space AU" as was it's loose name at first! But I've also been calling the story as "Spaceau"/"Space-AU" lately :3

Whether or not I eventually break away from the original media it derives from, I’m unsure. I don’t think I’ll change their appearances/personalities however if so because they’ve been so set in stone, be it through the immense amount of art I’ve drawn, others have drawn, or sculptures even too. That’s who they are and I can’t see them differently.

There is SO much I have planned for it, my only struggle is time to commit to it ;w; but I hope to one day be able to share the whole story! Be it in little pieces, context-less and concept art, or more.

And sidenote; I tend to be a little closed off about it (mostly bc online social anxiety -u-””) because I want to have so much more already prepared to share, have all my plot notes concrete and just everything be perfect and grandiose once I think it’s ready. A lot of it is jumbled all over the place and I’m still fleshing out major plot points and middle points to be arranged all together in a concise story. But who knows! My hopeful intention is to have all the plot written together in a storyboard style final draft, so I can interpret it into a webcomic to share - as telling stories through visual art is my personal way to tell stories.

(in any case: thanks for readin’ all this if you did! And thank you everyone whose been supporting me making this and been excited to see it. I hope to have more and more to share!)

[imastrangeone98]

Love Me Tender

(A/N: goddammit I need to stop coming up with one shots I already have a ton of drafts)

No warnings, just fluff and some mild hurt/comfort. And yeaaaa his banner rerun woohoo!!!

Your interactions with the Fatui Harbinger aren't ones of great affection: he needed stress relief, you provided it. And he gave you bruising, mind-breaking, toe-curling pleasure in return.

But when you see him in the streets, his gaze always slips past you. And his message couldn't be clearer: you're nothing more than his play toy.

It hurts. A lot more than you expected it to. Especially when he brushes past you to cheerfully greet the Traveler and their floating companion, giving them an affectionate pat on the head, and a smile wider and warmer than what he gives you.

So when he stands in front of you now, eyes full of pain and a grimace on his face, you can't help but think about turning him away.

"Please..." he whispers, so quiet you almost don't believe it. "There's no one else I can turn to."

You want to tell him bullshit, that he has the radiant Traveler to help him, to patch him up, to run their hands all over his scarred body and ask how each of them came to be.

You want to. But you can't.

Even as you wordlessly let him in and grab the first-aid kit off the counter, you still don't know why you chose to help him.

But at least you don't say anything when he lets out an occasional hiss of pain. At least, in this way, you can still have a shred of dignity, no matter how small.

As you set the kit away, Childe releases a small, humorless laugh.

"You won't even ask how I got these wounds?" he asks, and you feel his eyes peering at the back of your head.

You're really not in the mood for his judgement, regardless of his wounds.

"I'll draw you a bath," you respond instead, refusing to even give him a glance as you make your way to the bathroom.

You hear him shuffle behind you, a heavy sigh escaping his lips that you choose to ignore in favor of drawing some hot water into the tub.

After scattering some scented flowers, you get ready to leave, but he grabs your hand.

"Not gonna stay?" There's a hint of wheedling in his voice, but you know it's only a facade for something else.

"I'll make you something to eat." Gently tugging your hand from his grasp, you shut the door. "Come out when you're clean."

And with that, you slide the door firmly shut, unaware of the soft disappointment in his eyes.

[...]

By the time he emerged from the bathroom, you had already set the table with some simple fried rice and jewelry soup.

As you garnish the Jueyun chili chicken, you feel strong arms wrap around your waist. His nose brushes against your hair, and he takes a deep breath.

"Smells good," he mumbled drowsily, rubbing his cheek against yours. "Your food's always the best."

"If you wanted good food, you would've gone to Wanmin."

"Maybe yours is better."

"I doubt that."

Pulling away from his embrace feels strange, but so is this entire situation. You set the chicken on the table and take a seat, deep in thought.

You realize that you've never seen him eat before. It's almost cute, how he stuffs his cheeks and eats like a squirrel. It's almost entertaining, watching him take swigs of tea while eating chicken at the same time.

It almost feels... domestic.

A warm shiver runs down your spine. Domestic.

You're so lost in thought, you don't notice how he slowly shuffles his chair closer to yours, until your shoulders brush against each other. He leans down to rest his head on your hair.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?"

You jump at his sudden closeness, and you're too shocked to even lie. "This." You gesture between the two of you. "This is... different."

His expression changes, his smile fading into a thoughtful gaze. With a hum, he drinks more tea before saying, "Maybe different isn't such a bad thing."

Your eyes go wide, and you just stare at him. And he returns it, blue eyes burning with intensity that you've never seen before.

"What... what are you saying?" you whisper, images of him with the Traveler suddenly flashing through your mind.

"Haven't you figured it out by now?" He leans over, and pushes his nose against your own, holding his stare into your eyes. "You already know the answer."

His close proximity isn't helping the wild pounding of your heart. For a moment, you just want to give in to him, to let him hold you, to let him love you, even if it wasn't real, just one more time.

His lips brush against yours, and you nearly succumb to his charm once again.

You still don't know how you found the strength to pull away. But this time, he doesn't seem as keen to let you get far.

"What's wrong?" He grips your wrist and pulls you back, and you end up stumbling right into his lap. But before you can even feel embarrassed for yourself, he's wrapped his arms tight around your waist. "Sweetheart? Why are you pulling away?"

"It's nothing," you say, a little too quickly to be reassuring. "I'm just tired."

"Then let's go to bed." His tone leaves no room for argument, as he scoops you up and heads straight to your bedroom with familiar ease.

Now this is familiar. You know how it goes next. He'll rip at your clothes, promising to buy you more as he starts clawing at his pants. He won't bother trying to prep you as he starts slamming into your cunt, bringing you both to an ungodly high. You'll end up sloppy, messy, pussy sore with the sheer force he pounds you with. Just the way he likes it.

Your hands reach for the hem of your shirt, but he pulls them away, settling for pressing them against his chest. "No. None of that."

Your eyebrows furrow in confusion. He's deviating again. Why is he deviating so much today? Why can't he just use you and leave, so you can wallow in your own self-pity like always?

His arms are tight around you, and when he pulls you down to lie beside him, you can't resist him.

With his body heat, sleep begins to tug at your eyelids. It makes you soft, makes you ask the question, "How did you get hurt?" in that quiet voice he has grown to love.

Childe smiles, and nuzzles your forehead. "Let's just say the toys my brother likes to play with aren't very... adult friendly."

You're too sleepy to decipher his words, so you just nod and lean into him, his warmth and smell covering you like a blanket.

You're so sleepy, in fact, you don't notice that you've agreed to go to Snezhnaya with him when he asks you.

And he closes his eyes, wondering how his parents would react when he introduces you to them.

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

A/N: it's finally done! Ugh why did it take so long I don't understand

[reynie-muldoons]

'The Art of Conveyance and Round-Trippery' Liveblog!

Sorry this is a few days late!! I moved across the country this weekend, we drove like 13 hours within 2 days and we did a lot of heavy lifting. I'm exhausted, but the boxes are slowly emptying and I've been wanting to watch this episode so gd bad, so LESGO

Over halfway through the season!!!! That's absolutely surreal

1:11 oooh they're getting their royal fitting

1:22 LMAOO WTF 😂😂 Princess Diaries vibes

1:42 ✨CONFIDENCE✨

1:52 Alfonse is a perfect name for that guy HAHA

2:05 Nathaniel, my guy, you've made some points

2:11 "do you feel your power?" POWER RANGERS, GO

2:24 no no hesitation just prolly thinkin bout how he was caught cheatin

2:39 "can you not allow yourselves luxury?" okay fr I feel that I get Nice Things Guilt(tm) too easily

2:52 dayummmm let's talk about Sticky being a hat stall between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, mans is brave as fuck under extreme pressure and loyal to the point of putting himself on the line

3:15 bro Sticky getting some recognition. Love to see it, he deserves it

3:19 "is that a coincidence? Or written in the stars?" IS DR. CURTAIN CATCHING ON THAT THEY KNEW EACH OTHER BEFORE OR LIKEEEE

3:49 WHAT WORD AROUND CAMPUS 😭😭😭 MY BOYS ARE NOT A MISTAKE HOW DARE YOU

4:09 why doess the action of Dr. Curtain putting the sash on them seem so nefarious

4:36 I dont really understand the whole pastel yellow, blue, and pink palette of the school but the boys both look pretty okay in their vest-sash getup

4:42 THE OPENINGGGGG. This shit slaps.

5:41 Kate and Constance look so fucking cute in that shot, dont ask me why but hnnggggg

5:54 sash rope 😂😭 kate, honey, that's a reach

6:09 it might feel buttery, but, my guy, it also looks buttery. It's literally the color of butter. Get yourself some crisco

6:24 I find it kinda interesting that they made up new riddles for the show, I'm almost positive that that one wasn't in the book. Correct me if I'm wrong though

7:03 "I'm not gonna apologize for knowing things" the sass. the ✨confidence✨. living for it

7:03 If they build on that it sets Sticky up really nicely for the arc in the second book where he starts to show off a little

7:15 tiny Constance who is constantly dressed in pink with cute little braids is the perfect medium for the most morbid comments 😂😂

7:55 Martina's hot in her uniform. Can't prove me wrong.

8:15 why does that make me sad 🥺 eat with your friendssss. iirc they only talked about eating at the Messenger table in the books

8:26 dipshits forgot their lunches. Seems Constance is holding the communal braincell atm

8:50 anyone have Guiness on speed dial? Reynie and Sticky have a submission for them

9:25 oh hello this was alluded to in the preview!!! Morse code is compromised, rip

10:05 so are Jackson and Jillson stuck with night guard duty all the time?? They've been outside at night a lot

10:18 ahhhhhh the little blinkie light, stopppp

10:25 MILLIGANNNNN!!!

10:25 so is this the point where he starts staying on the island with them????

10:39 so are they just like "fuck it we'll do it right before sundown" ???? Like Jackson and Jillson are still gonna be on the lookout, they aren't gonna chill just because it's not fully dark

10:50 did the kids.....just not tell them that Mr. Bloom was on the island 😂 nice oversight guys

11:05 MADGE TIME MADGE TIME

11:05 remind me to tell you guys a story about Madge, I may or may not have done something irl a few years ago that would make y'all proud 😂😂😂

11:16 idk why but it makes me so happy that they kept Madge as a peregrine falcon

11:37 Rhonda, my love, you have my heart in your hands

11:46 roll credits

12:05 THE HEAD SHAKE HAHAHAH

12:06 Awww man, I was so excited for Milligan to be on the island .-. He must have been scoping out the inlet

12:07 "they're quite regal" A. I read the subtitles as "legal" the first time and that's somehow really in character for him, and B. IS MILLIGAN GOING TO NAME HER???!? HER MAJESTY???? PLEASE I WOULD LOVE THAT SO MUCH

12:15 his grimace KILLS ME

12:17 the hard cut from Nicholas in a brown setting and brown suit to Nathaniel in a blue setting and blue suit was lowkey striking

12:36 are they looking up Morse code 😳 can you imagine if they wrote down the message and are now decoding it

12:41 omfg all that for a HAT 🙃 I feel stupid

12:51 two things: 1. Those walls are atrocious, and 2. Yeah, talk about Morse code in a louder voice Connie girl, you're just in a public hallway

13:03 I'm sorry but those orange pillar things are not the vibe

13:03 the golden gate bridge called, they want their arches back

13:10 please let Kate climb the tower before the end of season 1. please.

13:22 y'all are about to be flying something else 😎

13:33 cleansing breaths

13:47 OH HELLO MESSENGER DUTY ALREADY??

14:06 what the heck is that teal pole for 😭😭

14:12 blindfold timeeee

I'm so sorry but I'm exhausted, it's 11:30 pm on Sunday night right now, I'll finish this episode tomorrow morning after I get some sleepies

~~

Good morningggg lesgetatit

14:50 "vomit of metal" ashhdjdjd

15:16 a wild Martina appears!

15:36 and if you folks look to your left, you'll see a wild Constance being the voice of reason once again

15:57 "lose the bucket" "I'm not gonna do that" HELL YEAH KATE

16:07 I get not having the bucket on the court lolol, I thought Martina was telling Kate to lose the bucket in general. Like, yeah, good luck convincing her to so that

16:35 show!Kate is much angrier than book!Kate and I'm still deciding how I feel about that. The Kate we've known from the books is a sunshine baby with looots of repressed trauma.

17:03 ......what is that. why is that.

17:11 WAIT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE REYNIE AHEHDJDJD

17:15 HI MADGE

17:41 the grand swell in the music makes me think it's going to go comically wrong

17:51 she's majestic because she's a queen 🥺

18:03 LMAO CALLED IT

18:14 Rhonda and Number Two getting at each other is such a sisterly thing to do 😂😂😂

18:37 ohhhhh? Someone's approaching? Miss Perumal perhaps????

18:45 YEAHHHHH BABY

18:50 PROTECTIVE MOM COMIN IN HOT!!!

19:22 THEYRE SO PRECIOUS 😭😭😭😭 I feel like I've been subconsciously starved for her and Mr. Benedict's interactions

19:36 died at that line in the one trailer

20:00 so Miss Perumal pulled a Sherlock Holmes. Love that for her

20:20 Cheri Tupintown??? Of all the aliases they could pick, Cheri Tupintown???

20:33 "Power in Truth Inc" that HAS to be something Rhonda came up with

21:01 you can literally watch Mr. Benedict realize that this is a woman not to be fucked with and he is CORRECT

21:23 "he's fine. Perfectly fine." At this, Mr. Benedict's pants caught aflame.

21:52 something about Constance sitting in on practice!!! It scratches an itch!!!!

22:19 "incorporate the helix. Live in the helix." Lord Helix is pleased with this offering.

22:26 so what I'm hearing is Kate is going to blow up on Constance for messing with the bucket

23:13 unrelated but Jillson'a shoes are cute

23:29 why does this room give off Johnny Depp's willy wonka vibes

24:13 that looks like a chair from a doctor's office waiting room 😭

25:29 they do be egg heads tho

26:02 baby girl, I have no idea why you're crying at weird art but let me dry your tears 🥺🥺

26:50 SHE FOUND ITTTT

27:27 okay Indiana Jones, go off

27:46 why did that kinda sound like Miss Perumal

28:43 the return of everyone's favorite, "enjoyable"

29:05 not that I'm not loving the ice breaker questions and the one-sided conversation, but I'm not loving it

29:22 oh so we're getting right into it aren't we

29:54 his eyes being open again makes this infinitely creepier

30:36 "where's your proof?" Miss Perumal doesnt fuck around!!!

31:29 you're telling me Constance has been there all day?? And Kate went to find her???? 🥺

31:58 oh so we're getting right to it then?? Kate addressing her independence and trust issues arc????

33:29 NEWS!!!!

33:49 CONSTANCE RIDING PIGGYBACK!!!!!!

34:04 okay, so they opened the murder hole, what are they gonna do now

34:59 Italian? 🤨 m'sir that is so fancy

34:59 fun story I learned Italian diction in college, so I know a little bit

35:16 "take your time" the whisperer says, immediately repeating the prompt to get the answer sooner

35:31 theeeeere it is

35:46 SOMETHING ABOUT THE WHISPERER SAYING "YOU ARE HOME" 😭😭😭 the show really played up the cult shit!!

36:02 Kate being protective of Constance 🥺

36:20 ohhh shit is it time for Connie girl to have double Reynie? Double Sticky?

36:36 STICKY

36:52 "what kind of nonsense?" HAVE THEY NOT ASKED THAT BEFORE THIS?????

37:14 "and your tiny brain can somehow pick it up!!" KATE STOP 😂😂😂

37:16 "I knew you had to be special in some way." WE DONT HAVE TIME TO UNPACK ALL OF THAT

37:51 she's right, this is disregard for their safety. The show made Mr. Benedict and his team a lot more back-alley and dishonest, and Miss Perumal has every reason to be pissed

38:30 oh good they finally remembered he has narcolepsy

39:38 and the best mom award goes to:

40:38 I was gonna say that this hallway is how I imagined the KEEP in riddle of ages but then I remembered that (spoilers) the Institute is the KEEP

40:46 oh, hello propoganda

41:10 that's the other person Rhonda couldn't contact, along with Mr. Bloom. This has to be the brainsweeping process

41:22 yeppppp

41:44 this dark doctor's office theme gives me horror movie vibes

42:22 ohhhh, so that's how they replaced that scene where the four of them jump in a crate to hide and Sticky drops his glasses in the open

42:47 and so we've come to the part of the story where Sticky and Reynie become infinitely more conflicted

42:47 and since we've reached that point..... can we have the white knight scene? Pretty please? Please Disney I'm begging you-

43:12 so Reynie just figured that out without Constance? :/

44:03 love the manipulation

44:31 I'm sorry, the farm?

44:35 farm and forest????

45:16 "the Emergency has served its purpose" 😳 well okay then murder man

45:39 "one thought, one purpose" the hive mind rises once more

45:48 LOVE THE MANIPULATION

46:07 "what have you done to earn anyone's trust?" VALID

46:26 "please do!" WHY AM I EMOTIONAL

47:06 "we still have the falcon" that you do 😂

47:19 AYYY HERE WE GO!!! Time for Milligan to stay on the island??

47:49 ohhhh Constance, casual telepath strikes again

48:16 "stop it, Kate!" OOOOHHHHH

48:53 that line ("it would be nice to be unburdened") would be funny as shit if not for the fact that Constance is a telepath unbeknownst to herself and can both subconsciously perceive people's thoughts and hear the subliminal messages

49:20 HI MRS. PERUMAL!!!

49:25 wow, she's really going through with it 😳 not that I doubted her, but still, that's dedication

49:39 OH SHIT

50:17 oh, so he's an asshole to SQ too. Got it. Torches and pitchforks? Ready to kick his ass?

50:40 "for the moment, anyway" FUCKIN WHAT

This episode was really good!!! They covered a LOT. I hope Miss Perumal comes back to the group and talks about her findings, I hope Milligan goes to get the kids and they tell him no, and I hope they get that classic 4-person Society brainstorming and binding time that hits that sweet spot

[phoenix-downer]

See You Soon

~2500 words. Post-Melody of Memory. Contains spoilers. Riku POV, Kairi POV. Introspection and reflection. Implied SoKai. Mostly canon compliant. 

As the wind whistled past Riku’s ears and his Station of Awakening came into view, one thought tumbled over and over through his mind: 

Am I doing the right thing?

He wasn’t sure where that had come from. Saving Sora was the right thing to do, no doubt about it. They’d searched an entire year and finally had a clue. Of course jumping through the portal was the right thing to do. He had to bring Sora back; he owed it to everyone. To Sora himself, of course, but to all their friends as well. Especially Kairi—

Kairi. Try as he might, he couldn’t get her face out of his head. The disappointment in her eyes when he’d told her she should stay behind. 

He touched down on the platform that had his likeness etched in stained glass. Not as he was now, but as he was when he began his journey. The moment his heart awakened to the true nature of reality and of the Keyblade. Purple glass surrounded him, and next to him were the faces of friends and important people he’d met on his journeys. 

Had Kairi gotten to have her awakening yet? Or was she—

“I did the right thing,” he said as he paused to get a feel for his surroundings. “This is what Sora would want. Kairi, safe and sound in the Realm of Light. What would he say if I let anything happen to her, after everything he’s sacrificed for her?” He balled his hand into a fist. “He trusted me to look out for her, after all. And he’d want me to bring him back to her. Right?”

No one answered him; it was dark and silent here in his heart. Not even Ansem Seeker of Darkness lurked around anymore. His image had melted away from the Station after that final battle in the Keyblade Graveyard.

And yet, a small, nagging voice at the back of his mind wouldn’t leave him alone. It pointed out that missing from his reasoning was Kairi herself. What did Kairi want?

“She’s fine with this,” he said as he paced back and forth. “She needs more training, she doesn’t want to be a burden—”

He stopped. His feet were near the image of Mickey’s head, and he sighed deeply.

“I know, I know,” he said, speaking as if his friend was actually here. “It wasn’t my call to make.”

Kairi had quickly masked her true feelings with her usual cheerfulness, but she wasn’t fooling anyone. Being left behind again was hardly what she’d wanted. And yet he’d agreed to leaving her behind because he was in such a rush to save Sora. 

He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s a little too late to go back now, huh?” 

The Power of Waking was not something he could use lightly. Sora’s disappearance had really driven that lesson home. Doubling back halfway through a dive could be risky. Best to continue on to his destination.

He summoned his Keyblade. It appeared with its usual burst of light, and its steady weight in his grip helped him focus.

“Kairi, I’m sorry for leaving you behind again. I promise it won’t happen next time.” He glanced up at the endless sea of black above him. “Besides, something tells me your heart might be the key. You brought Sora and I back from the Realm of Darkness. Depending on how this goes, we might need another miracle.” 

While Riku hadn’t hesitated to dive in after Sora, he knew there was no guarantee he’d make it back. This portal probably only went one way, knowing his luck. But if anyone could light the way home, it was Kairi. 

He pointed his Keyblade at his Station of Awakening and unlocked it. As his surroundings faded away and a new path appeared before him, he had one last message for Kairi.

“See you soon. And the next time I do, I swear, Sora will be with me.”

Despite all the odds, he wanted to give her this reassurance at least. He wanted to make up for all the tears and pain, the year of her life she spent sleeping away in the hope she might find a clue about Sora. A clue they needed because he’d failed to keep her and Sora safe. This was all his fault. If he’d protected Kairi from Xehanort—if he’d offered to go after her instead of letting Sora go it alone—then maybe, just maybe, Sora would still be here.  

This was his penance; his way of making it up to them both. The debt would only be repaid when the two of them were reunited. And this time, he’d make sure he was there too. No slinking off into the darkness alone. If his journeys had taught him anything, it was that there was nothing more important than being with his friends.

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Kairi rested her chin on her hand and gazed out the window of the Gummi Ship. She’d seen this view several times now, but she still found herself staring at the sea of stars twinkling like diamonds in the sky. Wherever Sora was, could he see these stars? Did unreality have stars the way reality did?

“Kairi? Whatcha thinkin’ about?”

“Mmmm?” She broke out of her reverie and turned to her companion. Goofy was craning his neck to look at her, a concerned expression on his face.

“Do you think there are stars where Sora is?” she asked him.

He scratched his chin. “Gawrsh, that’s a good question. I’d think so, but who knows what that fiction-place is like.” He turned to Donald, who was currently driving their vessel. “Donald? Whaddya think?”

Donald carefully guided them past a lumpy asteroid before responding. “Who knows. Maybe it has stars, maybe it doesn’t. Probably depends on if the unreality has multiple worlds.” 

Kairi fiddled with her necklace. “I suppose it’s a silly question. I just… I wish I knew he was okay. I don’t want him to be somewhere strange and scary that doesn’t even have stars.”

She hadn’t imagined he’d come to her aid in that dream she’d had of Xehanort, right? One moment, she’d been sprawled on the ground, disarmed, as Xehanort prepared to strike her down again, and then the next—Sora’s Keyblade had appeared in her hand, and she’d felt his presence. He’d fought for her, too. But it was just like Xehanort said—he couldn’t speak. Not a single word to her or to anyone.

Why was he without a voice? Who had taken his voice away? And where was his heart? Why would a vanquished Xehanort who had moved on to the afterlife even care about where his heart was? Unless the person she’d met in her dream wasn’t actually Xehanort—

“Kairi?” Goofy said, breaking her out of her thoughts again.

“Sorry, I just… I dreamed about Sora, but he couldn’t speak to me. I wish I knew what he wanted to tell me—if there was anything he wanted to tell me, that is.”

It was a little presumptuous of her to assume so. He’d said what he’d needed to say before he’d disappeared. Wanting anything else—after everything he’d already done—when so many other people missed him and wanted to talk to him too—

Goofy clapped a hand on her shoulder. “Gawrsh, I’m sure he’s got lots he’d like to tell ya.”

“You really think so?” 

Donald cackled as he dodged around a meteor. “Oh, we know so. And boy do we have the stories to back it up.” 

She tilted her head. “Stories?” What did Donald mean? Stories about Sora, or—

“Gawrsh, Donald, maybe we shouldn’t tell Kairi everything, I think Sora would be kinda embarrassed—”

“You shoulda seen his face any time he saw a happy couple! He’d get all blushy and flustered and giggly because he was thinking of a certain special someone.”

Goofy clasped his hands over his mouth and giggled. His eyes were dancing, and Kairi put two and two together.

“Me? He kept thinking of me?”

Donald and Goofy both nodded, like they were two bobbleheads controlled by the same spring.

She leaned against the window and smiled. “If it’s not too much to ask… Could you tell me more? Stories about Sora, I mean. And your journeys as well. I got to talk to him about his journeys before he disappeared, but I’d like to hear your thoughts and experiences, too.”

Ever since Sora and Riku had come home from their first adventure, she’d gathered stories. Losing her memories once was awful, and she never wanted it to happen again. Chronicling her friend’s memories like this reassured her there was some record out there that didn’t rely solely on something as malleable as memory, and she now had pages and pages of notes.

“Sure thing,” Goofy said, so she dug around in her bag for her notebook and favorite gel pen. Once she was settled in, she took notes as Goofy spoke and Donald chimed in. Hearing stories about Sora helped her feel closer to him. Stories of his (mis)adventures and daring deeds, his moments of vulnerability and happiest memories, his corny jokes and hopeless romantic tendencies. And since she couldn’t go after him herself right now, this was the closest she could get to being close to him. 

Later that evening, as she was poring over her notes and reliving Donald and Goofy’s memories in the privacy of her quarters, she chewed on the end of her pen. Was it wrong to be a little upset at Riku? Upset at herself, too, for caving so easily, for not even fighting for the chance to go with him? For giving up so easily on an opportunity to save Sora? Hearing stories about him just made her want to be with him that much more. Waiting wasn’t good enough. Training wasn’t good enough. How could she even stay behind, safe and sound, while Riku was risking his life to save Sora? And after Sora had sacrificed himself for her. It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair. 

Sora, forgive me, she thought sadly. I wanted to go after you, but after facing off against Xehanort in my dream… Not even being able to handle a dream version of him without your help… I’m scared I’d just let you down again. Or worse, get you hurt or killed for real. And I can’t… I can’t bear to lose you again. So for now, I’ll train with Aqua, okay? That… feels like the right thing to do. I think.

She sighed deeply. No matter how much she tried to convince herself, she was still disappointed she wasn’t searching for Sora with Riku right now. She should be with him. Why did she have to train and train and train when Sora and Riku got to learn by experience? It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair, and she was sick of being shunted to the sidelines. 

“It’s because you’re weak,” she said with a frown as she drew an angry face in the margins of her notes. “You hold everyone else back. And Sora had to pay the price for your weakness. It’s your fault he’s gone.” 

No.

She gasped and dropped the pen. Scrawled on the page in purple ink next to her angry face was the message. N-o. Short, simple, to the point. 

The handwriting was not her own. 

“Sora?” she asked, resting a hand over her heart. But she heard nothing; felt nothing. “Oh, right. Xehanort, or whoever that really was, said you’re without a voice. I wonder what he meant by that.” 

She fumbled around for her pen, then put it to the paper. “Sora? I don’t know how this is possible, but if there’s anything you really want to tell me, um, I don’t mind if you… take over for a little while?”

That was what had happened, right? He’d taken control of her body to fight for her, and his heart had manifested. Somehow. Was a part of his heart inside her? Or had the paopu fruit really bound them together like the stories said it would? 

“Any time now, I promise I don’t mind,” she said, feeling a little silly for talking out loud like this. But if Sora really could hear her, maybe it wasn’t so silly after all.  

She waited, and waited, and waited. The little cuckoo clock in the corner went off, the little cuckoo bird popping out to announce it was past her bedtime, past her bedtime, past her bedtime. She sighed and started doodling again. Little drawings of Sora’s smile because she missed seeing the real thing. But nothing else happened; if he really was the one who’d left her that message earlier, he was either gone or unavailable now. Or maybe… maybe the connection wasn’t strong enough right now. Maybe it went in and out like her Gummiphone’s reception did when Donald drove through a particularly thick asteroid field. 

Was there a way to strengthen the connection so Sora could communicate with her more easily? She combed her brain for answers. He’d manifested the first time to protect her because she was in danger. Then that message had shown up on her notes when she’d been down on herself. 

She tapped her pen on the paper. “The common connection… The common connection… The first time, I needed help, and the second time, I was being down on myself. Maybe it’s linked to my feelings somehow? My heart?”

She flipped to a new page and jotted her thoughts down. Maybe Aqua could help her sort all of this out. Sure, a part of her still wanted to search for Sora with Riku right now, but maybe Sora wasn’t as far away as they’d thought. 

Maybe the key to finding him rested in her heart. Or at least one of the keys. That was what she and Riku and the star-girl they’d met in the Final World were, right? The girl’s key led to the unreality, Quadratum. Riku was following that clue because his key had been those dreams about Quadratum. But the other key… 

She rested her hand over her heart and smiled. For the first time since suggesting she train with Aqua, she had a clear sense of what to do next. She would train with Aqua all right, but not just in fighting and wielding a Keyblade. Aqua was a skilled mage, and if anyone could help Kairi figure this all out, she could. 

Closing the notebook, Kairi lay back on the bed and smiled. “Hang in there, Sora. Riku’s coming for you, and I’ll make my connection to you stronger, I swear.” 

The Gummi Ship would be arriving on the Land of Departure tomorrow, and then her training would begin in earnest. Someday soon Sora would come home to them, of that she was certain. Then they could finally be together like they’d promised. 

She rolled over and stared up at the stars. Whether the unreality had stars or not, she knew all worlds, all realities, shared the same sky.

“See you soon.”

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A/N: I finished Melody of Memory yesterday, and the plot bunnies soon took hold 😂I wanted to explore Riku and Kairi’s mental states after the events of the game, plus a few plot speculation/headcanon things that popped into my mind, and this was the result. I have some general thoughts on the game overall that I might put together in a separate post, but for now, this is my initial reaction. Thank you for reading! 

[anothermcytblog]

Of Theseus, Of Echo || Tommy and Tubbo Interlude

Style: One Shot Word Count: 1669 CW: None that I can think of!

Summary: The story of Theseus popular on this server, and Tommy wonders which Theseus people think of. // As he walks into New L'manberg, Tubbo wonders if Echo would have exiled her best friend. // "Besides, who wants to admit they didn't notice gods among men?"

Contrary to popular belief, Tommy was not an idiot. Impulsive, reckless, loud, childish, possessive- All true, but he isn't an idiot. He knew that perhaps his choices weren't the best- but come on! Exile seemed a bit extreme. He deliberately told Tubbo he didn't want to be vice president yet- not while Dream still had his discs- but did anyone listen? Nooo, they just continued to act like he was still vice president! And he wasn't just going to repeat himself, it would make him seem like a coward! And Tommy Watson-Innit was no coward!

Still, as he sits on the shore of the beach with a fishing rod in hand, he can't help but wonder if perhaps he really was an idiot. Why did he stick up for Ranboo? A guy he barely knew. Sure he was Nikis' old friend (Younger brother? Tommy really didn't know. Gentlemens' rule of the SMP, you don't ask about someone's past) but he didn't need to lie for him and take the sole blame. Ranboo may have stuck up for him but was it really worth it? ("Of course it was," a Wilbur- Not Ghostbur- sounding voice told him, "That's how I raised you. Always be kind unless given a reason not to be. You're not a bad person Tommy, you're just a child.")

Dream appears beside him and Tommy half wants to snarkily ask him if Dream wants to blow up his fishing rod but he holds his tongue. No use arguing with Dream now, not when Dream is his only real person to talk to outside of unreliable messages with Ranboo and an amnesiac ghost who's just a shadow of his older brother. "I wouldn't take you as a fisher," Dream says after a moment. It's hard to tell but Tommy thinks Dream is looking at him from the corner of his eyes, but it's almost impossible to know with his dumb fucking mask.

"There's a lot you don't know about me bitch," He responds, reeling in the rod and grabbing the fish, tossing it back into the ocean as he waits for another bite.

"Really?" Dream asks and Tommy knows Dream is baiting him to reveal some grand secret, a chance to 'one-up him' in something big, "Like what?"

"My real name is actually Theseus," He says, unable to hide the pleased look on his face when Dream physically turns to him in what Tommy assumes is surprise, "Techno named me and Phil just agreed to it to make him happy. Wil-" His name gets caught in his throat and he knows that Dream heard it, "He gave me the nickname Tommy and I much prefer it. Though, I can't help but wonder," Tommy says, laughing so Dream can't hear the way his voice wavers as he tries to hold off of mourning whatever he had left to feel about Techno, "Do you think he knew? That I'd grow up to my namesake? Once a hero, now exiled. All that's left is dying in disgrace."

Dream stays silent, and Tommy can't help the pride he feels to have caught Dream off guard. He half wonders what Dream is thinking right now, and he almost asks before Ghostbur interrupts and asks Tommy if he'd like some blue.

The story of Theseus popular on this server, and Tommy wonders which Theseus people think of.

--

New L'manberg is pretty at night, Tubbo has to admit. The lanterns Ghostbur made light up the sky and the paths between areas, giving Tubbo the warmth he's been slowly losing. In the back of his mind, he wonders if this is what Wilbur meant when he said he was always cold. Walking along the path, Tubbo makes his way to L'mantree and sits outside of the obsidian encasing the tree. "Ah, Mr. President!" Someone calls for him, and for a moment Tubbo believes it to be Ranboo but a flash of green next to him tells him it isn't.

"Dream!" Tubbo greets, giving the masked man a smile, "You're out late, are you on a walk?" ("He's using you kid," Schlatt whispers in his ear, voice soft in a way it hadn't for a while, "You need to open your eyes. Dream has never been on your side. He made you exile your best friend, remember? Dream isn't your friend here, just like I wasn't your friend.")

"I could say the same to you!" Dream laughs, light hearted and friendly, "Just like you said, I'm taking a walk. How about you?"

"Just thinkin'" He shrugs- because it's true! Technically, at least. The entire reason he went on a walk was to clear his head, the upcoming Green Festival weighing heavy on his mind. When Dream tilts his head, Tubbo realizes he needs to come up with something- what did Schlatt tell him? The best lies were based on truth? "About Techno," He tells Dream, turning to face him, "He used to tell me this story- an Old Myth- whenever he and Phil would come home from adventuring. I... I miss hearing about it, Wilbur did his best to tell them but he was more of a Modern Myth slash Sky God story kind of guy. He spoke so much about then you think the Sky Gods actually told them the stories themselves!" He laughs a bit, "Do you know the story he'd tell me?"

"Theseus?" Dream asks, making a confused noise when Tubbo shakes his head.

"Echo," Tubbo says, smiling a bit, "He wanted to name me Echo actually, though Wilbur put a stop to it and since Techno named Tommy, Phil let Wilbur name me. Have you heard the story of Echo?" He asks, almost perking up when Dream shakes his head no, "Right- Okay, it's been a while since I've heard it so I might get a couple things wrong but! Echo was a mountain nymph and Zeus was just in love having sex with nymphs and would visit the overworld a lot because of it! Hera naturally became suspicious and tried to catch Zeus in the act with a Nymph but Echo, under Zeus order, kept distracting Hera. Eventually, Hera found this out and took her wrath out on Echo and cursed Echo so she could only repeat the last thing she heard! Echos' misery doesn't end here though, because she fell in love with the handsome Narcissus! However, she was never able to tell Narcissus how she felt- not like Narcissus liked her anyways- and eventually Narcissus was cursed to fall in love with his own reflection and Echo was forced to watch Narcissus perish due to his own vanity! No one really knows what happened to Echo after that though, I feel bad for her. She was pretty much forced to become everyones yes man after she was punished because Zeus told her to protect him from his wife even though Zeus was in the wrong. I think Techno was trying to warn me."

"Warn you?" Dream echos back, a curious tone in his voice.

"Yeah!" Tubbo nods, "I mean..." He trails off for a moment, suddenly remembering who he is talking to and how he needs to be careful, "Like, I've always been Tommys yes man you know? I go along with what he says and does what he asks- sort of like how Echo, well, echos back whatever people say! Then with Schlatt I did everything he asked of me, even when it led to my own exe... execution- Like Echo did what Zeus said even though it got her cursed! Ooo do you think Techno can see the future?"

"Maybe," Dream says, content for now, "You should head on back though, mobs are beginning to spawn and you're not very armed. Maybe you can tell me more Old Myths later."

Tubbo nods, giving Dream a wave goodbye. As he walks into New L'manberg, Tubbo wonders if Echo would have exiled her best friend. He shakes his head, picking up his pace as he hears a Zombie groan- Of course Echo would have, only if Zeus asked her though... If Tubbo is Echo, would that make Quackity his Zeus?

--

Sitting on top of a grand tree, Wilbur looks over at his dead ram friend, the pool of water around them shimmering as the image of Tuboo walking into New L'manberg fades, "Think they'll be okay?"  He asks, although he already knew the answer to that.

"Ehhhh..." Schlatt replies, "Depends on if they listen to us or not. Though, we haven't done this in a while so who knows how effective it'll be."

WIlbur snorts, as Schlatt waves his hand over the water, switching it to a sleeping Ranboo, "You think Connor would be able to sense us, or at least you."

Schlatt shrugs, laying on his back as he looks at the sky, "He was never the most magically adapt, he was better at the human shit. Besides, Mr. Sky God, it isn't like he knows what Dreams aura is. The tricky bastard likes keeping his secrets."

"Well, Mr. Sky Champion," Wilbur responds, the familiar cocky grin on his face as he looks up from the water, "It seems like the narrative is going to get a lot more interesting from here on out. Dream seems to be preparing for something. I always have been a fan of history rhyming and the God of the End has always been a word smith."  

"Gods of old I forgot how much you talk," Schlatt groans, "I forgot how fucking cryptid and nonsensical you are as well."

Wilbur cackles, "Well, you have an eternity to remember at least. They won't figure us out for a while at least, I have zero faith in them. Besides, who wants to admit they didn't notice gods among men?"

Rain falls somewhere in the distance as TNT explodes, a pool of lava bubbling somewhere below though the god and half-god don't pay much attention to it. They've already dealt with the rhythm of betrayal from them.

[cycat4077]

Three Weeks In

So, I’m writing a series. Cute, fluffy ideas kept popping into my head and rather than making a new character/backstory for each one-shot, I decided to keep the universe I set up in Changes which is basically all the canon-SVU events but Sonny has a loving relationship behind the scenes. Let’s face it, the boy deserves happiness. It’s not necessary to read my other story first unless you want the backstory of the reader character and how they got together with Sonny. I’ll try to keep things chronological and weave in SVU events if I can. My OCD is forcing me to make sure the dates are all correct (ex: Sonny can’t be with the reader if he’s supposed to be upstate investigating a lead.) So tah-dah! I present thee with the second installment of the “Changes” series which is set immediately after 17x09, Depravity Standard, and begins on Nov 23rd 2015 (the day before Thanksgiving). It may be crap, but I hope you enjoy anyway!

Words: 2296 Warnings: none Pairing: Sonny x Reader Summary: Three weeks into dating Sonny and he already wants you to meet his family… AO3 here

Some days you actually have to pinch yourself as a reminder that your life is real. It’s been three weeks since Sonny showed up to your class. Three weeks since the two of you confessed your feelings. And three weeks of dating Sonny. While your schedules didn’t allow for a lot of one-on-one time, the two of you keep in touch and steal away for dinner whenever you can.

A steady beeping sound rouses you from your sleep and you roll over to shut off your alarm. The sun is starting to peek through the curtains, signalling a new day. Glancing at your phone screen, you smile.

Mornin’, doll. Have a great day! Talk to you later xoxo

Everyday you wake up to a text from Sonny and, though a seemingly small gesture, your heart aches in the best possible way from knowing he cares. You unplug the device and lay back in bed, phone perched on your chest.

Morning, Sonny. Hope you have a great day too and stay safe! xoxo

As you hit send, you imagine him smiling at his desk when the message comes in. You get ready for class and head out, a spring in your step while you journey to campus. Sonny texts you back around lunchtime with a message saying that he should be free tonight. He asks if you’d be up for having dinner and you eagerly accept. That evening you put on a nice outfit, fix your hair and set out to meet your date at a nearby restaurant. But SVU work can be unpredictable. You were made very aware of that during your summer there. One day could be quiet while the next could be so busy that you didn’t know whether the detectives were coming or going. So understandably, this line of work would sometimes force Sonny to be late. Nevertheless, if he was, he would apologize profusely and you would always reassure him that you understood. Tonight however, as you wait alone inside the restaurant lobby, Sonny is later than he’s ever been before. Not only that, but he hasn’t even sent you a message to confirm that he was caught up. His silence has you worried. You crane your neck towards the door once more before sending him a quick text:

Hey. Hope everything is okay.

Not a moment later your phone vibrates.

Shit. Sorry, doll. I’ll be there in 15.

You breathe a sigh of relief knowing he’s safe but then your gut knots when the alternative creeps into your mind. Restaurant patrons pass you by and the hostess keeps glaring while you’re standing there. They’ve seen it all before: a girl left waiting for a date who doesn’t show. You look up and let out a shaky sigh, hoping that Sonny hadn’t simply forgotten you. Practically 15 minutes on the nose from his text, a rather frantic looking Sonny comes barreling through the restaurant door. His winter jacket is unbuttoned and you can see his badge still clipped to his suit underneath. He hasn’t had time to change. “Hey,” he breathes out with apologetic eyes. “I’m so sorry. I shoulda texted you. It’s just Rollins -” Sonny takes a breath, chest heaving. He must have ran here. “She had a scare today. There were complications with her labor. Luckily, she made it though n’ delivered a healthy baby girl, but Lieu and I stayed there with her for a while. She’s gettin’ some rest now and Fin is gonna check up on her later.” Immediately you flood with relief. “I’m glad she and the baby are alright,” you say, “and I’m glad nothing had happened to you either.” “You dunno know how sorry I am for not lettin’ you know what was goin’ on. I shoulda texted. But things got hectic and we were all pretty worried about her…” “Sonny,” you cut off his rambling and force him to meet your eyes. “It’s okay. I’m not mad. Like I said, I’m glad Rollins is fine and I’m also glad she wasn’t alone through all this.” Sonny looks back at you and takes a breath. Your words seem to calm him right down. He smiles. “You’re amazin’.” You blush. “Back at you, but I’m starved.” He chuckles and the two of you approach the hostess. She grabs your menus but rolls her eyes as she turns to lead you to your table. She seats you at a little booth in the corner, Sonny taking your coat before you sit down. You braved wearing a knee-length dress despite the November weather and are rewarded by an expression of awe from Sonny when he sees it. “You look beautiful, doll,” he compliments, drinking you in. “And here I am, lookin’ shabby in comparison.” A little tired, yes. But shabby? Never. Sonny’s dark hair is still combed back and he’s wearing a tasteful burgundy tie over a white pinstripe shirt. You lean in and peck him on the cheek. “You always look handsome to me.” The two of you order and share a drink, happy to finally be catching up. “Shadowin’ Barba was fantastic!” exclaims Sonny through a mouthful of bread. “He’s so polished in his delivery n’ so sharp at findin’ the littlest things to drive it all home to the jury!” “Fanboy alert!” you joke. “Guilty!” he grins, raising his fork in surrender. “But I learn so much from him and it gives me new ideas for doin’ my written assignments.” “I’m happy for you, Sonny. You work so hard and you deserve every ounce of success you earn.” You truly can’t help the pride you feel for him. “Aww, thanks, doll. That means a lot.” Sonny gazes at you with the utmost affection and you nearly melt in your seat. “Say, what’s new with you? Anythin’ excitin’ in the ol’ biology class?” “Same old, same old,” you shrug. “Just gave the second midterm back to the students, so I expect a lot of office visits from them on Monday.” “You don’t have ta work or take emails over the holiday, do ya?” asks Sonny, pushing food around his plate absentmindedly. “Nope. Why?” You sense there’s something more to his inquiry. “Well, I was wonderin’…now, I know it’s short notice ‘cause I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to get off myself, but I was wonderin’ if…if you’d like to spend Thanksgiving with me at my parents’ place?” Sonny looks up. It’s the most hopeful expression you’ve ever seen on him. “I..uh…” you’re lost for words. You want to scream out ’YES!’ at the top of your lungs but at the same time it’s not that easy. “Sonny, that’s t-tomorrow. And it’s also your family time. I wouldn’t want to intrude on them.” “You wouldn’t be intrudin’! My ma’s been askin’ to meet my girlfriend n’ even said to ’make sure you bring her over for Thanksgiving’.” Your voice goes quiet. “I’m your…g-girlfriend?” The word floors you. Most guys don’t want to dive head first into labeling relationships, especially not after only three weeks. But here is Sonny Carisi, happily calling you his girlfriend and wanting you to meet his family. “Yeah, of course doll,” he answers a little perplexed. “We’re datin’ aren’t we?” Sonny fixes his gaze on you, trying to read what you’re feeling. You shake your head to snap yourself out of it. “Yes, y-yes. It’s just that…Never mind. I’d love to spend Thanksgiving with your family!” An uncontrolled smile spreads across your face and you’re pretty sure it makes you look like a complete dork. If it does, Sonny doesn’t point it out, but instead reaches across the table to hold your hand. He too is smiling from ear to ear like you’ve made him the happiest man alive. Suddenly your smile drops. “What?” questions Sonny. “What time will you be heading out tomorrow?” “Uh, well, I was thinkin’ we could get there for ‘round four o'clock. Time enough to introduce ya to everyone before we eat?” “Four?! That doesn’t give me much time to make anything!” you gulp. “Make somethin’? Doll, my mother wouldn’t want you to bring anythin’. Believe me, she cooks for a small army.” “Sonny. You can’t show up to someone’s house for dinner empty handed.” Sonny opens his mouth to argue, but you shush him instead. “How many people are gonna be there?” Conceding, he sets down his utensils, freeing his hands to count. “Well, there’s gonna be mom, dad, me, you, Bella n’ Tommy. Their little one doesn’t eat the good stuff yet, so I won’t count her.” Sonny unfolds that finger. “Then there’s Resa and Mia and Gina. Maybe a plus one for Gina, but who the hell knows with her.” Looking down at his two hands, he raises them to show you. “Should be nine altogether.” Good to know because you were going to be up early the next morning baking. -x- You don’t realize your knee is bouncing until Sonny reaches over and places a warm hand on it. “Don’t be nervous, doll. My family is gonna love you.” You turn your head towards him, flashing a weak smile. Sitting in idle traffic is only making your nerves worse. “Trust me. Besides, ya even baked fresh bread rolls on short notice. They’re gonna disown me and keep you instead.” Sonny taps your knee reassuringly before returning his hand to the steering wheel. The Carisis live in a quaint little suburban house complete with a petite yard and front porch stoop. It seems small for a family of six, yet still cozy and welcoming. You can’t imagine Sonny growing up anywhere else. Sonny leads you up the steps and knocks on the door. It instantly flies open and a short woman with grey hair greets the two of you with open arms. “Sonny!” she coos, scooping her boy in for a hug. Sonny plants his mother a kiss before introducing you. “Hellooo! Welcome, hon,” exclaims Mrs. Carisi as she ushers you into her home. The place smells delectable. If someone asked you describe the scent of Thanksgiving, you would say ‘the Carisi household’. “I’m so happy you could make it! Y'know, Sonny has told me so much about ya and I’m glad that boy finally got the nerve to - ” “Ma!” blurts Sonny, flashing his mother a warning look. Sonny must have spent those months apart dwelling over you, just as you had done over him. “What?! It’s true, honey,” defends the Carisi matriarch before turning back to you. “Whateva. You just make yourself at home dear. We’re all family here.” “Thank you, Mrs. Carisi,” you say sincerely. You’d never been so instantly accepted by another family. After sharing a hug with Sonny’s mother, you are swarmed by the rest of the Carisis. Sonny introduces you to his father first, who gives you a solid nod. Next is Bella, bouncing a tiny infant with Tommy by her side. Theresa and a shy Mia chime in a ‘hello’ before a solo Gina caps off the meet-and-greet. Mrs. Carisi is over the moon when you hand over your baking and the bread rolls end up being a major success. In true Italian fashion, the Thanksgiving spread is full of flavor with Sonny’s mother sparing no expense in variety or quantity. Everyone joins in saying grace before dinner and, though not a common practice in your house growing up, you don’t mind linking hands with Sonny and Gina while Mr. Carisi leads the family in giving thanks. Because you do have a lot to be thankful for: a great job, an incredible boyfriend and now a whole new family to spend time with. The rest of the meal is occupied by sharing in conversation, fond memories and laughter. You find it all sort of surreal. During the summer Sonny had entertained you with tales of this very family: How they could get on one another’s nerves but that at the end of the day still loved each other. And this is exactly what you see before you. Maybe it’s a light buzz from the wine, but you feel all warm and fuzzy as the chatter of the Carisis surround you. Eventually the evening winds down and everyone seems to be groaning over how full their tummies are. You know you’ve eaten too much but wouldn’t have it any other way. “The food was absolutely delicious, Mrs. Carisi. Thank you all for having me,” you say appreciatively, looking at everyone in turn. “Our pleasure, hon,” smiles Sonny’s mother sweetly. “Know that you’re welcome here anytime.” She clasps your hands in hers and gives them a few quick pats. You say your reluctant goodbyes before you and Sonny head to his car. Once inside, he looks at you. “So?” “Your family is wonderful, Sonny and I had a great time.” This makes him flush with pride. “Glad to hear it, doll. Sometimes they can be a bit much, but they mean well.” He turns the key in the ignition and his car grumbles to life. The two of you wave as he backs out of the driveway. Once you’re cruising down Arden avenue, Sonny pipes up again. “Y'don’t have any more of them rolls, do ya? I didn’t know you were such a good cook.” You let out a laugh. “I’m not that good. For every two-dozen there’s about a dozen that come out flat and ugly. But if you’re indifferent to what they look like, then I can hook you up with the rejects.” You wink just as the car passes beneath the glow of a streetlamp in hopes Sonny will catch it. He grins. “I don’t mind. Besides, it gives me a good excuse to walk ya to your door 'n steal a kiss goodnight.”

-x-

I have a bunch of ideas planned, the next being x-mas (wrong time of year, I know) but I just have to check dates from the episodes. Let me know if you’d be interested in more of these stories and any feedback would be loved!

Next part here!

[somedayonbroadway]

Man Gets Call

So here is where things are getting a bit more complicated. So far, I’ve mostly just been using dialogue and interactions very similar to the original show Boy Meets World. Starting with this scene, things start to go only slightly differently.

But I hope you guys like it!

Find the BMW Masterlist here!

The phone was ringing. David had been sitting beside his student on the couch, waiting for Jack to be done cooking up some dinner. It had become a sort of Friday night tradition. They’d watch a game on TV, Jack would cook, Race would fall asleep, and David would make fun of Jack when he covered the kid with a blanket and lifted his head up to give him a pillow.

But now he was up, walking over to the phone that was ringing for the fourth time that night. He looked to over to his best friend of ten years who was completely unfazed. “Ya gonna get that?”

Without even bothering to look up, Jack shook his head, continuing to chop up some bell peppers for the food he was preparing. “No.”

“You think it’s her again?” the boy in the couch asked, looking up at Jack who refused to look at anyone.

He’d lived with Jack for some time now. But he could honestly say, he’d never seen the man like this. Not until she started calling.

The machine beeped and a voice spoke through it. “Hey, It’s me again...”

Race rolled his eyes. “And we have an answer,” he stated, like they were on some kind of game show.

Sighing, Jack set down his knife and walked over to the phone, standing with his best friend.

“Jack, I’m not saying you’re avoiding me,” the woman said, sounding irritated. “Maybe you’re still at work, maybe you’re out of town, or maybe you and David are standing there right in front of the phone, and you’re doing that thing you do with the hand over your mouth?” Jack shifted immediately, shoving his hands in his pockets and fixing his posture, ignoring the amused look David gave him.

“She knows ya, ya gotta give her that,” David laughed. Jack wasn’t amused.

“Anyway... I’m in town until Sunday and... I just think we owe it to each other to sit down and talk. No pressure... bye...”

Davey wiggled his eyebrows at Jack who scoffed and shoved at him before deleting the message and walking back over to the kitchen area.

Race stood up from his seat. “Man gets call,” he pondered. “Hey, man gets lots of calls from what sounds to be a very attractive lady and doesn’t speak a word of it to his little buddy Racer...” he sat on the stool at the counter Jack was using to make dinner. He waited for only a moment, like he was waiting for Jack to tell him something. Jack did not. “Hm... interesting...”

“Race, there’s nothin’ ta tell or I woulda told ya,” he laughed off, glaring at Davey when he got a knowing look from him.

Race raised his eyebrows. “Man gets all squirrelly every time this girl calls,” he noted. “Makes a guy think Man’s keepin’ secrets from him.”

“Alright, wouldja knock it off with the ‘Man’ thing?” he asked, not liking that Race was so curious all of the sudden.

But Race just folded his hands in front of him. “Man seems a little irritated lately.” He spoke as if he were writing these things down for a study of some kind. Jack was amused.

But he wasn’t about to show it. “It’s just a girl I dated a long time ago! No big deal. It’s over,” Jack stated, like that was the end of the conversation. He stopped and pointed at the kid before he continued on. “Don’t you dare start the next sentence with ‘Man’.”

For a moment, Race stayed silent, though his gaze was trained on the guy in front of him. “Dude’s got a problem with the word ‘Man’,” he mumbled.

Jack glared at him. “Tony—“

David shrugged. “Oh c’mon, Jackie, give the kid something,” he urged.

So Jack glared at him. But he sighed. “Fine, alright, Racer, ya know those three words that ‘r really difficult ta say to a woman unless ya really mean ‘em?” he asked, waiting for Race to answer.

The boy was deep in though. He shrugged. “Is father home?”

Jack rolled his eyes. “No, Tony...” He let out a breath and wouldn’t meet the kid’s eyes. “I love you...”

A smile melted onto the boy’s face. “Oh, you’re just a little vulnerable right now,” he teased.

Jack shook his head and bit his lip, knowing that he couldn’t have this conversation right now. This conversation led to so many others. And he just wasn’t ready.

Race wasn’t either.

“Man needs ta take a little walk,” he stated, setting down his things and rounding the counter to get out of his apartment.

Race’s smile fell as he watched the man go. He turned back to Mr. Jacobs when the door clicked shut. “So who’s this girl?” he asked, practically begging for the story. He knew that his other teacher new. He knew how long him and Kelly had been friends.

Davey shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “You ever heard of the one that got away?”

“That was her?”

Tilting his head a bit, David thought about it. “Eh, she left him, but I think Jack’s the one that got away...”

“Got away from what?” Race asked, leaning over the counter as David rounded to where Jack had been standing so he could sneak a couple pieces of food.

The man met the kid’s eyes. “You know everything about Jack, right? Well... at least... most things?” he corrected, knowing there was no way the boy knew everything.

No one knew everything about that man.

Scoffing, the boy smirked. “Are you kidding me? I live with the guy! I’m his little buddy! We have no secrets!”

David found that hard to believe. “Oh... so you know he grew up in the system?” At that, Race’s entire expression fell. Like everything sort of fell into place. David felt a little bad. He should stop talking. But the way that kid looked at him... he just couldn’t stop himself. “Yeah... his whole life. He never got adopted.”

“He never told me that...” Race murmured, sitting up a little at the realization. Jack always made a big deal about them being very similar. Race figured he just had issues with his parents.

David nodded. “Yeah... he doesn’t like people to know... specially not his students,” he stated, knowing Jack would be pissed at him for telling the boy his stories. But the boy deserved to at least know a little bit about the man who’d taken him in. “Look, it’s not my story ta tell, but I’ll give ya the gist. Jack had the chance to get adopted when he was almost a legal adult. All he had to do was take over the ‘family business’,” David explained quickly. “He would’ve been set for the rest of his life... big house, private schools, cars, girls, anything he wanted.”

Race looked around at the crummy but perfect apartment he lived in. “Well... clearly he chose not ta do that...”

“Yeah... he did. But before he chose this, there was a girl,” Jacobs explained.

A small smile made its way back onto the boy’s face as he pointed to the phone. “The answering machine girl,” he smiled.

Nodding, the man continued. “Girl grew up in a big house. At the time, everyone thought they might get married, have some rich kids and live happily ever after.”

“Why didn’t they?”

Davey looked around at the crummy apartment too. Jack deserved a lot with all the weight he carried on his shoulders. “It’s a story that I ain’t gonna tell you... that ain’t my place. He’ll tell you, when he’s ready...”

Tony looked the man up and down. “So Jack gave up wealth and happiness to come be a teacher in Manhattan?”

David nodded.

“Wow... that’s one sad, twisted man,” he sighed, trying to play it off.

But Davey shook his head. “You don’t know the half of it, kid...”

Race wasn’t sure he wanted to.

But he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from figuring it out.

—

Jack was sitting cross legged on the couch. He had his head in his hand as he looked down at the picture in his lap. Race paused in the door.

Of all the things he knew about Jack, solemness was not one of them. For a moment he didn’t say anything. He just watched the man reminisce in silence.

But Jack knew he was there. “You can come in, kid,” he sighed as he took the picture in his hands and pat the couch beside him.

Race sat next to him without a word. “Kelly, I—“

“Davey told me that you n’ him were talkin’ last night... said he told ya a little about how I know Laura,” he stated, glancing up at the boy. “I... I ask him not ta talk about it... because that life—“

“Jack, you don’t have ta tell me,” Race insisted, leaning back into the couch and watching the man who was normally so confident and quick witted just sit there and look so sad. “Ya don’t gotta say nothin’ if ya don’t wanna...”

Jack shrugged. “Well, Race... I keep tellin’ ya things like how ya gotta trust me... that I’ve been where you are... n’ you deserve ta know I ain’t been lyin’ to ya,” he reasoned.

Tony nodded. “Okay...”

“Look... Laura and I met up for lunch today... she just wanted to know that I was doin’ okay and I should’ve just talked to her, because she’s a good person. But, she’s connected to a life that I never wanna go back to,” he explained gently, turning to the boy.

Race nodded. “Yeah... David told me ya gave up bein’ rich...”

Scoffing as a small smile made its way to his face, Jack nodded. “Yeah... guess I did...” It didn’t seem to upset him at all.

But the boy was still confused. “Why?” he asked, wincing inwardly immediately after he asked, knowing he’d just told Jack he didn’t have to talk about it.

But Jack looked up at him, more serious than Race had ever seen him. “Tony... that foster dad... the man who was tryin’ ta give me that life... he was a not a good guy... n’ I couldn’t stay with him,” his voice was quiet. He was afraid it would break if he raised it anymore. He hadn’t talked about this in a long time. And there was good reason for it.

The child in front of him resisted the urge to ask more. He wanted to know. He didn’t understand why, but he did. He wanted to know every little thing about this man.

Jack seemed to know he wanted to know more. But he shook his head. “Look... I know I don’t talk a lot about my past. It ain’t because I don’t trust you. It’s because... I don’t like thinkin’ about it. N’ I don’t like ta talk about it... who I was n’ what happened ta me back then doesn’t define me. Can ya understand that?”

Race nodded, looking a bit sad. “Yeah... I get it...”

The young man smiled. “Thank you for understanding,” he smiled. “But... I figured, you should at least get to know somethin’... so...” he looked back down at the photo in his hand and held it out towards the boy who he’d taken such a liking to.

A small smile made its way to the kid’s lips. And he took the small thing, finding a much younger Jack staring back up at him with a grin on his face. “I was your age when that picture was taken... I had a good foster Mama who use ta love forcin’ me out in front a’ cameras,” he remembered, shaking his head.

“Ya hate bein’ in front a’ cameras,” Race commented, almost laughing as he said it.

Jack snorted. “You know it, kid. But hey, at least there’s somethin’ ta remind me where I came from, right? If it weren’t f’r all a’ that, I wouldn’t a’ been who I am now...”

Race looked from Jack to the picture and back. And he nodded, truly thankful that this man had ended up here, sharing his couch with a teenager who had no one else to rely on.

But one question just kept gnawing at the back of his brain. “Jack?” Jack nodded for him to continue. “Did your foster dad... did he hit you?”

Jack heart dropped just a little, but he did his best to keep his features neutral as he sighed and nodded. “Yeah... yeah, he did...” he stated. “N’ it was wrong. Ain’t nothin’ about what he did ta me was justifiable. Understand?”

Something in Race’s chest felt a little bit empty. Something else felt whole at the words. And somewhere in the boy’s mind, something clicked.

Jack loved touch. He loved to wrap an arm around his shoulder, ruffle his hair, pull him in for the occasional hug.

It was because no one had ever done it for Jack growing up. There were no physical reminders there to tell Jack that someone was there for him, that someone cared.

He’d been dealt a bad hand. And Race didn’t understand how someone so amazing and kind had been through such horrors.

Little did he know, the same thought crossed through Jack’s mind everyday, only... about Racer.

“Hey... I need you ta listen to me, kid,” Jack asked calmly, running a hand over his blond curls. “Anyone ever lays a hand on you, you come straight ta me. You don’t ever let no one keep pushin’ you around, got it? You tell someone.”

Race nodded and looked back down at the picture. “I got it,” he promised.

Jack smiled at him. A soft smile that Race only saw on occasion. “Good.”

It was rare that Jack opened up at all, let alone this much. Race knew it must be hard for him. He didn’t exactly know where to go now. “I... I just have one more question...” Again, Jack nodded for him to continue. “What’s up with the tattoo on your arm?”

A real, genuine grin took over Jack’s face. “‘Man’ was young. And ‘man’ lost bet.”

Those blue eyes widened. “Oh no, ya gotta tell me more than that!”

Jack laughed.

He let Race keep the picture.

And he opened up a bit more.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

Also, yes Laura is based off of Laura Osnes. There is no one else it could be.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

with you [chapter 5]

Summary: Clementine pops the question, Louis has nightmares, Violet can’t let go of the past, Mitch doesn’t know how to handle gross feelings, Ruby’s a goddamn sweetheart, Willy doesn’t ever remember to knock, Aasim can’t dance, and James is here, too.

Nothing like a wedding to bring this family together.

Note: I’m home from my grandmothers. My uncle came back a little early and now I finally get to sleep in my own bed and have internet. It’s been an exhausting two weeks but at least some good came of it. I finished rewriting/editing three chapters of [with you] which is progress. Working on this is what kept my sanity in check tbh haha. I still need some time to unpack and recover before being fully back on here, so I hope you enjoy this chapter! 

Also, I’ve updated [with you] on Fanfiction.net and Wattpad, as well. I’ve pretty much given up on them but then I thought that I do have readers on those platforms who have messaged me about [with you] so I might as well update them, too. So yeah. Thanks for reading and for your support for this story. :D

Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5

Read on: AO3 | FF.net | Wattpad

---

Clementine yanks the basement doors open, only to gag when a nauseating scent of vinegar knocks her in the face. 

“What the hell?” she coughs.

“C’mon!” Willy grabs her arm and hurries down the stairs, dragging her with him. “Mitch! Clem’s here!”

Something heavy and metallic drops hard to the cement. “Shit!” Mitch curses. “Told you not to do that, Willy!”

“Sorry!”

She follows the young boy deeper into the basement and finds herself amazed at Mitch’s set up. The work desk is completely covered with drills, hammers, saws, files, batteries, a few of their solar panels, and other machines she didn’t recognize. Flashlights are wired in the air pointing directly at the anvil Mitch sits in front of. There’s a chipped bowl filled with a clear liquid sitting on top.

“Finally,” Mitch says when he sees her. Clementine’s startled by his more than usual unkempt appearance- hair standing in every direction, dirtiness staining his hands, shirt and face, and the weariness lining his eyes. 

“Uh, are you okay?” she asks him.

“Yeah, yeah,” he waves dismissively, standing from his stool, yawning heavily as he tosses a dirty rag away. 

Willy rushes to help him scoot the various tools aside so Mitch can reach something closest to the wall. It’s a small, brown box.

Clementine approaches the two boys, trying to hide her eagerness as she asks, “Well? Were you able to fix it?”

Mitch scratches at the back of his neck and turns away. “Not exactly,” he says, “It sorta got ruined when I messed around with it.”

Her heart drops. 

“Ruined how?”

“I may have broke it.”

“Broke it!?”

Mitch whips around, holding up a hand. “Now, don’t cry about it,” he says quickly, “it was a shitty ring, anyway. Louis would’ve broken it himself if you gave it to him… maybe.” He grabs a small wrench from the table and swings it around on his finger nervously. 

“Mitch,” she can’t help that her voice came out so miserably angry. “If you couldn’t fix it then you should’ve left it alone! What am I supposed to do now?”

“Woah, hey, don’t freak out! Just listen for two seconds,” he says. “I didn’t mean to break it. We started messing around with some stuff to try and reshape it but then it snapped and James came wandering down here and the whole thing was a shitshow. There was no saving that thing. Kind of a piece of shit. So,” he looks away as he shoves the brown box towards her, “We did you one better.”

Willy’s practically vibrating with excitement next to them as he motions eagerly to the box. “Open it! Open it!”

Clementine takes the box and pulls the lid off. It takes her a moment to process what she’s seeing. 

There’s a clean piece of fabric bunched up at the bottom, and within the folds rests two matching silver bands. Her head snaps up and her jaw drops. 

His exhausted, shit-eating grin is enough of a confirmation that what she’s seeing is real. 

“Oh my god!” she gasps. “Where did you get these?”

“Made ‘em.”

“What? You-” she blinks up at him in disbelief, “-you made these?”

“Super awesome, huh?” Willy laughs. “I told’ja we had it under control!”

“The smell’ll wear off, too,” Mitch says, “had to polish ‘em with vinegar.” 

Clementine carefully lifts the bigger of the two rings out of the box. “How- How did you-?”

“Quarters,” Mitch smirks. “Willy here keeps a pretty impressive coin collection. Took a while to find the right ones, but we got it.”

“Yeah, we made a shit ton of them!” Willy reaches into his pocket and pulls out various different rings, most of them scratched up or disfigured in some way. 

“It’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it,” Mitch shrugs. “Willy found this old book about sailors overseas making rings for their girlfriends back home. Just gotta hammer them then drill out the middle, do some filing and hammer some more. Once me and James knew what we were doing, we used the measurement I took of your finger and made yours. That one turned out great, so we made Louis’ to complete the set… and it only took us an entire day to do and there were, eh… complications , but they’re done.”

 Clementine runs her finger over the smooth surface, “This is-” she stops when she notices something engraved on it. She blinks, but it’s still there scratched into the shiny surface.

C + L

“That part was Mitch’s idea,” Willy points at the tiny letters, “had to use a really sharp nail to get it that clear.”

“We’ve all seen the piano,” Mitch quickly explains, rolling his eyes, “figured it’d be a good finishing touch. No big deal.”

She puts the box on the workbench. Without any warning, she throws herself at Mitch, wrapping her arms around his now tense body.

“Woah, hey, um-!” Mitch panics and sticks his arms out to avoid touching her.

“You guys have no idea what this means to me.”

“Uh-!”

He turns to Willy, bewildered. The young boy begins to laugh as he points at Mitch’s panicked face. Clementine reaches out and yanks Willy forward, pulling him into the hug as well. Even then, he’s still giggling like an amused child. 

Then, like the realization that they’re all hugging finally hits him over the head, Mitch jerks back, nearly tripping over his feet when turning back towards the work desk. He clears his throat.

“Said it’s not a big fucking deal, and it’s not like we did all the work, y’know. James helped, too, so just-” he grumbles, fumbling with the wrench, “-... consider it an early wedding present, or whatever.” 

Clementine can’t help but laugh at how weirdly cute it is that he’s embarrassed. She picks up the rings again to pull out the smaller one. It fits perfectly on her finger.

“I don’t know if I could ever thank you guys enough for doing this,” she beams, making a note to thank James in the morning. God, the ring fits so perfectly she can’t believe it. 

“Yeah, well, y’know,” Mitch nervously scratches his cheek, a rare smile betraying his lips, “whatever.”

”Mitch! Ya still down here!?” Ruby’s voice echoes from the top of the stairs. “Lou’s in the music room! Did’ja find the box of spare candles? We’re gonna need a lot to fill the whole place up!”

“Oh, shit-” Mitch hisses.

“No one’s down here!” Willy jumps into action, dashing towards the stairs and stretching his arms out. “ Do not enter !” 

“Gah, Willy, move it!”

Clementine closes the small box and shoves it into her pocket before turning to face Ruby as she pushes Willy to the side. Ruby sets her lantern on the workbench, lighting up the basement enough for Clementine to make out the thrill brightening her eyes. 

“Clementine!” she gasps. 

It’s Clementine’s turn to receive a surprise hug when Ruby practically tackles her. 

“Oh, Clem, I heard the news! Why didn’t ya tell me!? This is so excitin’! Ahh! I can’t believe ya didn’t tell me!”  Ruby pulls back to ask the boys, “Did’ja give ‘em to her yet?”

Clementine slowly turns to glare at the two boys.

Willy lowers his head in shame and Mitch fake coughs into his fist. Neither of them answers the question, nor do they dare look Clementine in the eye.

“ Mitch -”

“Before you flip the fuck out,” Mitch holds a finger up to stop her, ”she’s the one who came in here demanding to know what we were doing! She tried to wack me with one of Omar’s wooden spoons! I had to tell her!”

“Oh, no I didn’t! I said I would wack ya with one if ya didn’t explain yerself!” argues Ruby. “I thought ya were makin’ another bomb!”

“I haven’t messed with that shit for, like, weeks!”

Clementine can already see where this is going to go, and the best thing to do is stop it in its tracks.

“Okay, stop!” She raises her voice above theirs. The basement’s quiet again. She takes a deep breath. “I’m not mad.”

“You sound mad,” says Willy.

“I’m not. Ruby, you were going to find out about it anyway, though I can’t say I expected it to go down like this. Does anyone else know?”

“No,” says Ruby and Mitch. 

“Uhm, well…” Willy nervously laughs.

“Dude,” Mitch frowns down at the young boy.

“I didn’t mean to! Aasim saw me going through my coin collection earlier! Then he started asking all these questions and it just came out! But, I made him swear on his soul he wouldn’t tell anyone!”

“What?” Ruby asks. “When was this?”

“This morning.”

“And he didn’t say anything to me!”

“Yeah, because Willy asked him not to,” Mitch says. “Keep up.”

Clementine feels the beginnings of a headache coming on. 

She trusts Aasim. He's never let her down in the past, and he wouldn’t say anything to Louis, especially if he knows this is a surprise. 

“Anyone else?” Clementine asks.

Willy shakes his head.

So, of the people in their group, AJ, James, Mitch, Willy, Ruby, and Aasim all know.

That just leaves Omar, Tenn, and… 

And Violet.

She’s about to speak, but Ruby grabs her hand to admire the ring. “Wow, it’s even prettier on,” she gleams. “Gotta say, boys, ya did a real good job.”

Mitch rolls his eyes.

“Well, yeah .” 

“How’re ya gonna ask him? James and I were thinkin’ that you do it in the music room, of course, and we’ll help ya decorate it with candles and lanterns, make it real romantic.”

“Gross,” Mitch murmurs.

“Hush,” Ruby warns him. “Or, on the roof, under the pretty stars! Or, we can even decorate yer dorm! Whattya think? Omar can cook ya something special and, oh! I found some real pretty classical records fer ya to play! Ya gotta set the mood, after all.”

“We can make some cool fireworks, too!” Willy exclaims.

“Oh, no you won’t! No bombs, no fireworks!”

“Just a few sparklers? To set the mood?”

“No! Especially if it’s inside! Which I think would be best since ya never know with the damn weather.”

“Wow, Ruby,” Clementine’s astonished at the girl’s excitement. “You’ve put a lot of thought into this.”

“‘Course! I know I may be buttin’ in a little-” Mitch scoffs “-but I never thought I’d get to witness somethin’ like this after all that’s happened! I mean, a wedding ! It’s like somethin’ outta the fairytales! And, listen, ya don’t hafta take my suggestions. You can ask him any way ya want! Just know that we’re all here to help! Oh, and the wedding !”

“Oh, God,” Mitch groans.

“We’re definitely plannin’ a wedding!”

“Geez, who’s really getting married here?” Mitch asks, irritated. “You or Clem?”

“Oh, shut it! Why can’t ya just be excited?”

“Excited about what? Does nothing for me.”

“Y’know, thinkin’ about someone else fer a change wouldn't kill ya!”

“Okay, please stop arguing,” Clementine interrupts them. “At least let me get through the actual proposal before we start doing anything else.”

“Shit,” Ruby curses herself, “sorry, Clem. Guess I got a little excited.”

“So, what’s the plan?” Willy asks eagerly. “When are we going this?”

Clementine peers down at the ring on her finger, and says, “Now that I have the rings, I’m going to do it tomorrow. In the evening. I like your idea, Ruby, about the candles in the music room.”

“Thought ya would,” Ruby grins. “We keep a bunch of ‘em down here. We’ll all help ya decorate, ‘cept keepin’ Louis outta there might be a task.”

“That’s easy,” Mitch says. “Send him hunting for the day, him and Aasim.”

“My goodness, there’s an idea,” says Ruby, “that way, Aasim can keep an eye on him and make sure he don’t wander back here unannounced.”

“James, too,” Clementine adds. “Just in case Louis doesn’t listen to Aasim, or they get in a tight spot.”

“Right!” Ruby claps her hands. “Oh, I’m gettin’ excited again!”

“Geez, you’re acting more excited than she is,” Mitch jerks his thumb at Clementine.

“Believe me, I don’t think anyone’s as excited as I am,” Clementine smiles, holding up her hand to admire the ring one last time before slipping it back in the box. “It’s just a lot to take in. We just have to be careful now. Louis can’t know anything.”

They all turn to Willy, who hangs his head in shame once more.

“I said it was an accident.”

“I know,” Clementine sighs. “Maybe you should avoid him for now, Willy. Just in case. And, Mitch,” she turns to him, “don’t throw any more shoes at him.”

“Hey, you want him wandering down here? No, you don’t. Thought we established that. ‘Sides, the ring’s done. Nothing left for me to work on.”

“Right, but still, you can’t be acting all suspicious. He’s already worried about you. That’s why he tried to come down here yesterday.”

“Pfft,” Mitch scowls. “Worried…”

“Well, while we know Lou’s in the music room, I’ll gather everyone before they turn in and we can discuss the plan. Don’t worry, we’ll be discreet,” Ruby assures her. “Mitch, yer on candle and match duty. Willy, in the mornin’ I want ya ta go out and pick as many pretty flowers as ya can.”

“Aw,” Willy pouts, “how come I got flower duty?”

“It’s either that or ya gotta help Omar cook. Yer choice.”

Willy doesn’t argue. Omar’s a genuinely nice guy, but he’s also an incredibly particular cook. Willy wasn’t going to willingly put himself into that nightmare.

Soon, they have all the details worked out.

Aasim and James will take Louis far away to go hunting until evening, giving them a few hours to set up.

Ruby will work on setting up a little picnic area for them on the floor and figure out the music. Willy will go around with Tenn and AJ to pick enough flowers for a bouquet, as well as decorate an old vase to put them in. Omar will cook them something extra special, and Mitch will gather all the candles and place them in the safest places around the music room.

As for Clementine herself, she’ll help fix things up in the piano room, but there’s something else she wants to try, as well. Something that she’s been contemplating for the past week.

She hides the box in her jacket with a big, dumb grin stuck on her face. She still can’t believe that Mitch, James, and Willy actually made her a matching set of wedding rings. She tries not to show it, but the very thought of both her and Louis wearing them makes her giddy.

But, there’s still an issue pressing on her mind.

“Ruby?” Clementine’s grin is replaced with a worrying frown. “Are… are you going to tell Violet?”

And, just like that, the room becomes tense.

“Violet?” asks Willy.

“Oh, well, shoot,” Ruby mutters, “didn’t even think of Vi.”

“Don’t fucking bother,” Mitch snaps. “She’s not gonna give a shit, and if she does, she’ll just ruin the whole thing.”

Ruby looks up at Mitch with distraught eyes. “We gotta tell her, Mitch. She’ll feel left out-”

“Oh, don’t start with that bullshit. Why do you anyways try to include her?”

“Because whether you like it or not, she’s one of us. She’s family.”

“Oh, please. She’s an asshole!”

“You bite yer tongue, right now!”

“Well, it’s true!”

“The only reason she’s mean ta you is because yer a jerk ta her first! God, everyone else is decent, why can’t you be?”

A sick feeling comes over her. Clementine can’t quite place what it actually is, but it always boils within her whenever the idea of talking to Violet strikes her.

Over the past two years, she’s tried talking to Violet. Not big things. Saying, “Hello,” or “How are you?” or “Are you okay?” 

Every single time, Violet doesn’t mutter a single word. All she gives is a glare and the view of her back as she walks away.

She told Louis how much she missed Violet once.

He watched her suffer after losing Violet as a close friend. There were a few nights just after the delta that Clementine found herself crying, and he was there to hold her, to promise her that Violet would come around, she just needed time.

Louis tried to fix things between her and Violet.

She can still remember that night. He snuck into the darkness of the room. AJ was fast asleep.

Clementine can remember the rage filling her insides when she saw the bruise forming on his face and the tears slipping down his cheeks. She barely made it to the door before Louis grabbed her, begging her not to go after Violet, that she didn’t even know what happened. AJ woke up, and Louis lied about what was wrong. It was only when they were alone in the hallway that he told her what happened.

They’d gotten into an argument, Louis and Violet. An argument about her. Louis defended her and tried to understand Violet’s animosity. She refused to talk. She only cussed and shoved him away. 

Louis got too close, and like a reflex, Violet swung.

Violet didn’t come out of her room for almost two weeks after that. She spoke to no one but Tenn when he brought her food. 

She didn’t come out until Louis spoke to her again.

And it all happened because of her…

“Don’t worry about it, Ruby,” Clementine speaks up. “I’ll tell her.”

“The fuck you will!” Mitch‘s brow furrows in fury and his fists curl. 

“It’s not like she’ll try to stab me just for talking to her,” Clementine argues.

“Oh yeah? Just like how she didn’t try to stab you after the delta, right? For fuck's sake, had Louis and James not stepped in you would’ve had a nice big gash right between your eyes! She attacked you, Clem! And she’s never said sorry or even pretended that she felt guilty about it! She betrayed us! She’s a traitor!”

“Mitch!” Ruby gasps out. “Don’t talk so ugly! Vi’s no such thing! That was years ago and things have changed! Maybe if you put in some more effort-”

“Oh, fucking hell-”

“-then you wouldn’t be so damn quick to be cruel! And y’know, maybe it is time they finally sort this out.”

“Fuck that!”

Clementine straightens herself out and confidently stands up to Mitch. 

“I appreciate your concern, but-”

“My concern ?” Mitch glares. “What, my concern that I’ll have to dig your grave when that bitch snaps and puts a fucking cleaver in you?”

“She wouldn’t really do that, right?” Willy says, eyes widening.

“Of course she would! She’s-”

“Mitchell Robert Daymond!” Ruby exclaims, causing all of them to jump, startled. All eyes fall on Ruby’s small, angry form as she points right at Mitch’s face. “That is enough outta you. This ain’t yer choice, and bein’ a prick about it ain’t gonna get yer way! Gah, ya act like Vi’s some sorta- sorta monster and I’m sick of it.” 

Mitch opens his mouth to speak, only to have Ruby cut him off. 

“ No ,” she demands. “ No more .”

The air becomes uncomfortably heavy as the two glare at one another. Clementine finds herself breathing slower as if a regular breath would be too much for the tension. Glancing over at poor Willy, she finds him standing close behind Mitch, still gripping his arm and looking between the two. 

Only when Mitch tears his gaze away to scowl at the floor does Ruby turn back to Clementine.

“If this is somethin’ ya wanna do, then we’re right behind ya,” she says. “Vi’s not gonna be happy about it, that’s fer sure, but she won’t do nothin’ ta hurt ya, either. I know it.”

The tension in her shoulders relax with her sigh as Clementine nods. 

“I know, and you’re right. I’m tired of this. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life avoiding her when I can try and make things right. Maybe we won’t ever be friends again, but we can at least be on speaking terms." Clementine looks to her ring once more. “Louis will want her at the wedding, and if she isn’t there because of me…”

“Do what ya can, Clem,” Ruby smiles, placing a comforting hand on Clementine’s shoulder. “Just... promise you’ll be careful?”

“I will.”

“Fucking shit,” Mitch hisses under his breath, rubbing both hands over his face in frustration. “If you’re actually serious, then you’re not going alone. I’ll go with you and make sure she doesn’t pull anything.”

“I don’t think that’s a great idea,” Ruby objects. “Yer not exactly sensitive when it comes to stuff like this.”

“Fuck off, I can be sensitive,” Mitch snaps. “I mean- Not that I’d- ... It’s better if someone goes with her and last I checked, you’re supposed to be on watch with Aasim right now. And don’t you have a plan to share, too?”

Ruby hesitates, turning to Clementine with concern. 

Clementine can see why Mitch tagging along wouldn’t be ideal, but she had to admit that having a backup would make her feel a little bit better. Even if he merely escorted her to Violet’s room or made it known that he was only there to keep things from escalating to a boiling point- which, again, Mitch isn’t the ideal candidate for this role- it’d make her feel better.  

Then again, Violet might be doubly pissed to see Mitch, as well.  If there’s anyone she despises as much as Clementine, it’s Mitch.

“You don’t have to-” Clementine starts, only to have him raise his hand. 

“Yeah, I don’t have to do anything,” he frowns. “But, I’m gonna anyway.”

That gets a smile out of her. 

“And you won’t threaten her?”

He stares, then lowers his head in defeat. 

“I won’t say nothin’ unless I gotta.” Then, he turns to Willy. “You okay to clean this place up yourself?”

“Yeah, no problem,” Willy smiles.

“Well, ehm, guess I’ll get Aasim and James and tell ‘em ‘bout the plan,” says Ruby. “Vi should be in her room. She usually turns in early when she doesn’t have watch.”

Before leaving, Ruby turns to Mitch with one final warning, “Be nice.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The feeling’s back, twisting in Clementine’s gut and accelerating her heart.

With that, they leave the basement.

---

The music room is filthy. 

Usually, Louis doesn’t notice or even pay much attention to the cleanliness of any room within the school due to the fact this everywhere is dirty. It doesn’t matter how much Ruby pushes or how many times Aasim scolds them for leaving messes wherever they go, the school will never match the cleanly standards it had prior to the end of the world. 

They have more important things to think about anyway, right?

Or maybe they just can’t be bothered. 

Perhaps both. 

But when he sat at the piano, fingers playing the keys he knew by heart, he noticed a thick layer of dust settled on the worn wood.

Swiping a finger across the top left him absolutely disgusted. To be honest, he can’t remember the last time he actually cleaned the piano, but given that the layer of dust is thick enough to make actual dust bunnies out of, it’s been a while. 

In fact, the music room is kind of a disaster. 

And he needs a better distraction anyway.

Sorting through the records he kept, he picks a classic record to play at random and gets to work. 

Within an hour, he’s already filled an old cardboard box with the trash that once occupied the floor, the tables, and everywhere else that garbage built up over years. Old soda cans, soiled books, broken shards of glass by the windows- all gone. 

Louis wipes down the piano with an old T-shirt he oddly found beneath the couch. Pictures from what looks to be a pirate comic fill the front of the shirt and for the life of him, he can’t remember whose shirt this is. Or was. 

He knows he’s seen it before, knows someone wore it… someone not around anymore.

Shit. 

Nevermind, he doesn’t want to think about that right now. Pushing that thought out of mind, he continues wiping away the dust. While the piano would always be worn, defaced, and out of tune, he still loved it and should remember to keep better care of it. 

So many memories were made sitting here. 

Most good, some bad. 

Memories of him sitting there with clumsy fingers, young and untrained, awaiting his cue from Minnie as she finished jotting down lyrics to their song. 

“Nevermind the darkness, nevermind the storm-”

Memories of him entertaining Tenn when he was scared of a thunderstorm, or playing something silly to make Violet smile. 

Memories of him and Clementine the night of the delta attack. 

“You are super cute.”

“Cute? Wow, uhm-”

Their first kiss. 

Louis runs his finger over their initials encased in a heart, carved by Clementine’s own hand that night right before he opened up to her, thanked her for being with him despite… well, everything. 

God, it seems so far away. 

Since then, more memories have festered within these walls, here at the piano.

“For once, I don’t think you’ve thought this through.”

“Why?”

Satisfied with his work, Louis tosses the shirt away. He slips off his jacket, setting it over the arm of the couch before placing himself comfortably at the piano once more. 

“First of all, it’s going to take us a million years to build all nine-hundred floors. Second, we’re going to need so much paint, and even with all of us helping, it’s going to take us two million years to paint it all! Third, nine-hundred floors means-”

“Nine-hundred and fourteen.”

A deep breath. 

“Excuse me, nine-hundred and fourteen floors means this house is going to be high up in the stars- literally in space!- and you yourself said that you hate climbing stairs. Do you know how many sets of stairs we’re going to need to make it to the top?”

“We’ll have an elevator.”

“That goes through the whole place?”

“Yep. Up, down, and sideways.”

“That’s ridiculous. I love it.”

Eyes close. 

Clementine laughs, pushing against his shoulder as he shakes his head. Whether his chuckle is due to the madness of Clementine’s floor plan, or because her fingers continue to purposely play the wrong keys, he doesn’t know anymore. 

“Then, what about a slide?” she suggests. “A big metal slide that loops around and brings you from top to bottom in seconds.”

“I like it, I like it,” he ponders, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “Except, that won’t help us in actually getting to the top.” 

The cool air blows in through the open window, flickering the flames of his candles and kissing the warmth of his cheeks. 

“What’ll be at the top, anyway?” she asks. “What’ll be worth climbing all those stairs to see?” 

“I don’t know, but it has to be something special.” He thinks about it for a moment. “What do you want?”

“Me?” she asks.

Pulling her hand off the keys, holding it in his own, he asks, “What do you want at the top?”

Another deep breath. 

“I don’t know.”

“C’mon, Clem,” Louis urges. “Anything you want. Name it.” 

She stares down at their linked hand, eyes drift shut as she thinks. 

“Well… we have to have that skylight, right?”

“Obviously, but that’s something I wanted, remember?” 

“Well, I want one, too. If we’re going to be up in space, I want to see it. Imagine seeing the moon that up close.”

“Maybe we’ll have aliens tapping on our roof.”

“I hope so.” 

He kisses her forehead, then her cheek, whispering in her ear, “What do you really want, Clementine?”

Louis’ fingers move effortlessly. 

His soft lullaby fills the air. 

“A tree,” she says firmly. “An apple tree with bright red Honeycrisps, right in the corner, and it’s roots throughout the floor, and-” she grabs his hand, comparing it to hers by pressing their palms together, “- a piano in the center. Any kind you want.”

Their fingers lace together.

“A glossy, grand piano. Mahogany- the color of leaves in autumn,” he brushes a curl from her face, “unbreakable and always in tune.” 

“And you’ll teach me to play?”

“You willing to climb nine-hundred and fourteen floors every day for your lessons?”

“Of course.”

It’s been a long time since he’s thought of their home- rather, their outrageous dream house that was inspired by the depressing story of how his own parents didn’t get to finish building their new home. 

A royal purple, nine-hundred and fourteen floor mansion with a treehouse, a skylight, and an apple tree growing on the top floor. Several pools, movie theatres, pizza parlors, bedrooms, bathrooms with hot tubs and full body showers, aquariums, roller parks- and even with all those things, they still have plenty of room left. 

Louis knows the possibility of that mansion coming to fruition is lower than low, they both know that, but it doesn’t make it any less fun to imagine.

How many nights did they stay up in bed discussing what kind of statue they wanted for the fountain, or what shade of purple they’d paint their bedroom, or how many dogs they would adopt, or if they were going to make Mitch sleep in the treehouse rather than giving him his own room? 

Louis stops playing, chuckling to himself. 

It’s been a long time since he’s played by himself happily, or since he’s thought of composing a brand new song. Usually, when he’s down here so late by himself, it’s to calm down after an all-consuming nightmare-

No.

Don’t think about that. 

Don’t think about that.

Don’t think. 

“An apple tree with bright red Honeycrisps, right in the corner, and it’s roots throughout the floor...”

Maybe he can’t build Clementine an outrageous purple mansion, but he can write her a new song.  

As Louis becomes lost in the music, a brief thought runs through his mind.

Finally... a nice night.

[itsafanficthing]

My Sassenach - Chapter Four - A Movie

I was trying to post once a month for My Sassenach, but then I did’t have a whole lot to post.... so here you go friends.

The long await, much hated, date with Frank Randall.

A03 Link

Damn it, Jamie could kiss. As soon as his lips had touched her own, Claire was lost in him. He pulled her closer and her breath left her in a huff as their chests collided. Gathered into his arms as she was, she felt safe, secure, protected and oh so very turned on.

Large hands running up and down her back before landing on her arse.

“Christ,” Jamie breathed before he continued to kiss down her neck and back to her mouth.

“Christ was right,” Claire thought as his mouth found hers again. He had no right being this much of a good kisser.

Claire had briefly worried at dinner that they may be venturing too far into “friend” territory rather than dating territory. They got along famously, but there had been limited physical contact. Their flirting over the board game had cleared up some of that concern, but it was the way that Jamie was kissing her that definitely confirmed that they were no longer friends. This was something more. Something deeper. And Claire was about to go on a date with someone else.

Claire eventually left Jamie’s. Clothes in tact, hair thoroughly messed and panting with swollen lips. Her Uber driver has given her a smug knowing look which Claire promptly ignored before giving the directions to her apartment.

Jamie was right when he said that he would give her a kiss as something to remember him and now she couldn’t wait for the next date. She just had to get through her date with Frank Randall first.

—

“Ye dinna have to go on this date, ye ken,” Jamie stated as he leaned against his door frame.

“It’s just one date,” Claire reasoned.

“Aye, but what if ye really hit it off?” Jamie looked down at the floor, his voice somewhat gravelly.

“Are you worried?” Claire asked in surprise, taking a step closer to Jamie again trying to make him look up at her.

Jamie grunted in annoyance before answering, “Wouldn’t ye, if it were me?”

“I was,” Claire answered truthfully, “before I knew it was sister, of course. But yes I was worried. I was worried that…”

“What?” Jamie asked hopefully looking up at her.

“At the risk of laying all my cards on the table,” Claire said with a huff, “I was worried that I was reading more into… us,” she continued, indicating between them, “then what was there.”

“And do ye still feel like that?” Jamie’s voice lowered as his hands rested on her hips.

“Not so much now, no.”

“Good,” Jamie nodded confidently. “Because ye aren’t. It’s there.”

“Good.” Claire repeated the word before pausing for a moment. “I am still going on this date though.”

“Why?” Jamie groaned, “I can already tell ye how it’s going to go.”

“Oh? And how’s that?” Claire asked with a smirk.

“Ye’re seeing a film?” Jamie clarified as Claire nodded at him. “Well first he’ll compliment ye, because ye look bonnie. Ye always look bonnie.” Claire blushed at the compliment as Jamie continued, brushing an errant curl behind her ear.

“Then ye’ll get some snacks, popcorn maybe. He’ll ask ye about yer work-“

“He already knows what I do. It’s in my bio,” Claire tried to interrupt as Jamie continued.

“And ye’ll reply, probably downplayin’ what ye actually do. Ye’ll ask him about his work. Ye’ll wait in line together for yer film, what are ye seein’ by the way? It does’na matter. Ye’ll wait in line, awkwardly standing next to each other. Then ye’ll sit in yer seats and ye willna be able to hold a conversation so all ye ken about this fella is his job and maybe what he does on the weekend. Ye’ll both spend the movie not really payin’ attention. He’ll be thinking about taking yer hand in his and ye…”

“What will I be thinking about?” Claire asked, cocking her eyebrow at his explanation.

“Well Sassenach, ye’ll be wondering why ye went on this date when ye ken that I’ll be waiting to hear from ye. Ye’ll be thinking about how I dinna like ye going out with some other lad. Ye’ll be thinking about how much better yer night would have been if it were me with ye.” Jamie brushed her cheek softly with the pad of his thumb and she fought the urge to shudder at the contact.

“Confident are you?” Claire tried to ask in jest but it came out much airyer than she’d anticipated. There was something about the way that Jamie was standing with her. The way that he touched her so gently. The way that he looked at her- It turned her legs to jelly.

“Nah,” Jamie chuckled shaking his head. “I’m no’. But I ken what I’ll be thinkin’ about.”

“Oh?”

“You,” Jamie said clearly. “I’ll be counting down the hours till our next date.”

Claire felt her cheeks heat up and she shook her head.

“You know you’re well within your rights to also go on a date with someone else,” she pointed out.

“I dinna want to date anyone else, Claire,” Jamie said with a somewhat exasperated sigh. “So when ye’ve had yer date, let me know so that we can start dating, just the two of us.”

It was then that he had kissed her goodbye and Claire had rethought her plan to leave and her plan to go on a date with another man.

“Goodnight Jamie.”

“Goodnight Claire.”

It was with Jamie’s kiss lingering on her lips that 18 hours later she was getting ready for her date with Frank Randall.

Claire was at a crossroads. She didn’t particularly want to be going on this date, but she also didn’t want to stand him up. She’d lost a lot of sleep after leaving Jamie’s apartment wondering if she should cancel the date after all. It wasn’t like she was expecting it to go anywhere. It didn’t make sense for her to go on a date with another man when she had Jamie waiting (not so) patiently for her.

She didn’t like cancelling plans. She felt like she would be letting him down somehow. She’d never even met the man and she already felt like she was failing him. Not a great start.

Claire’s job meant that she ended up cancelling plans far more often than she liked. She was a perfectionist in all areas of her life and while logically Claire knew that cancelling a date wouldn’t be the end of the world and Mr Frank Randall would more than likely find another woman on the dating app, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had to follow through on her agreement to meet him.

So, there she was: standing in her underwear looking at her closet- trying to decide how to dress.

She didn’t want to go over the top and give him hope that there might be a second date or that she had put in a lot of effort trying to impress him. But she didn’t exactly want to go in house clothes and look like she’d put in no effort at all.

Claire huffed a sound of frustration as she picked up her phone and sent a text to Geillis. She always knew what to wear on these types of things, not to mention, Claire hadn’t even told her about this other date.

“Going on a movie date. What do I wear?”

Claire threw her phone back on the bed and looked helplessly back to her closet.

Jeans were casual… maybe she could wear black ones- they seemed to be more dressy over her normal blue ones. Claire pulled a pair from the hangar and threw them onto the bed just as her phone buzzed.

“With the red headed lad? Didn’t you see him last night?”

Claire read Geillis’ reply chewing on her thumbnail.

Rolling her eyes at her own hesitation to tell her best friend about the other date Claire replied, trying not to overthink it.

“Yes, but this is a different guy. We’re going to a movie.”

It felt like Claire had only just pressed the send button when the phone was vibrating in her hands, Geillis’ face smiling back at her.

“Another lad?” Her friend asked immediately, not waiting for Claire to greet her. “What happened to red-heid?”

“I told you, I saw Jamie last night,” Claire replied weerily.

“But ye did’na tell me that ye were goin’ on a date with another lad. What happened?” Geillis demanded.

“Nothing happened,” Claire sighed, “I’d just planned another date and it’s tonight, and I don’t know what to wear.”

“Somethin’ must have happened,” Geillis mumbled more to herself than to Claire. “Who’s this other lad yer goin’ out with then?”

“Does it matter? I just need to know what to wear.”

“Aye, it matters. I thought ye liked Jamie,” Geillis argued.

“I do like him.”

“Then why are ye seeing this other lad?”

“I just told you.” Claire’s eyes were running over her closet trying to find something to go with her black jeans.

“Ye planned another date,” Geillis repeated Claire’s words skeptically.

“That’s right,” Claire answered sternly, “now help me decide what to wear.”

“Is this because ye dinna like cancelling plans?” Geillis asked, ignoring Claire’s request to move on.

“Are you going to help me or just microanalyse my life choices?”

“Both,” Geillis replied confidently, earning a snort of laughter from Claire. “What have ye got picked out?”

“So far? Black jeans,” Claire answered in relief that Geillis was finally moving on.

“Good choice. What top?”

“Well that’s where I’m stuck,” Claire said with a sigh as she ran her fingers over her clothes, hoping that something would jump out at her.

“What about that green top. Ye ken, the one we bought when we were in London at Christmas?” Geillis suggested and Claire pulled it from the hangar.

“Maybe,” Claire hummed as she looked at it paired with the jeans.

“What kind of message are ye trying to send?” Geillis interrupted Claire’s assessment of the clothing.

“Uhhh.”

“Jesus,” Geillis breathed in exasperation as Claire’s non-answer. “What message were ye trying to send yer wee fox on yer first date?”

“I… I don’t know. I was trying to be more like myself and less like “Date Claire”, as you put it.”

“And who are ye trying to be tonight?”

“Myself I suppose. More casual than the date with Jamie. This is just a movie.”

“Just a movie, aye?”

“What?” Claire asked hearing the skepticism in Geillis’s voice.

“Ye dinna sound keen about the date. What does it matter what ye wear?”

“Because I want to look nice.”

“But ye dinna want to be putting in too much effort,” Geillis continued Claire’s thought. “I see. Go with the green top. It’s casual enough for a movie but ye are’na over doin’ it.”

“Shoes?”

“Does’na matter. Ye can wear heels if ye want, maybe yer white tennis shoes. Ye’ll be more comfortable,” Geillis suggested and although Claire couldn’t see her, she was sure that she had shrugged.

“Alright.” Claire nodded looking at the clothes laid out on her bed.

“Do not straighten yer hair,” Geillis said suddenly. “Ye always straighten it on dates. Let it go free.”

“Date Claire?”

“Aye, Date Claire straightens her hair. Don’t straighten it.”

“Noted,” Claire laughed. “I should get ready. Thanks for your help.”

“Nay bother. Send me a pic when yer ready and let me know when your done. I want to hear how it goes.”

“I will.”

“I also want to ken what’s happening with yer wee fox, mind.” Geillis reminded her.

“I know. I’m working tomorrow, evening shift.”

“Aye, same. Remember. Pictures and debrief,” Geillis said again.

“Yes, yes I know. Bye Geillis.”

“If ye get lucky, text me immediately.”

“Goodbye Geillis,” Claire said firmly while laughing and hanging up the phone.

—-

Claire was late. Claire was never late. Never in her life. She left early for most appointments to arrive with time to spare. She arrived to work half an hour early to each shift, just in case. But right now- she was late. She had excuses; the Uber hadn’t arrived and then the roadworks on the way to the theatre had held her up longer than she had been expecting, the Uber driver had passed the theatre twice while looking for somewhere to pull over. Then she dropped her bag while exiting the car and had to stop to pick everything up.

Claire’s heart was beating heavily in her chest with anxiety as she tried to control her breathing. She could feel herself sweating and was praying that her cheeks weren’t flushed with embarrassment.

Claire took a deep breath as her phone buzzed in her pocket. She was already late- stopping and reading a message wasn’t going to make a difference.

“Good luck on your date. Can’t wait to hear all about it.” A message from Jamie. Claire rolled her eyes at the message and was about to reply when a voice nervously called her name.

“Claire?”

Claire looked up to see her date standing shyly in front of her.

“Frank,” she greeted pocketing her phone and mentally reminding herself to reply to Jamie later. “Sorry I’m late. I was just about to message you.” She was lying but he didn’t need to know that.

“Not at all. You look lovely by the way.” Frank smiled kindly at her.

“Thank you.”

This was arguably the most awkward part of any date; how to properly greet each other. Shake hands, kiss on the cheek, awkwardly do nothing. Frank took the lead and quickly swooped forward placing a chaste kiss on her cheek, his hand briefly clasping her upper arm. Claire had to force herself to stand still and accept the greeting, rather than jump backwards away from him.

It was a normal greeting, one that she should have expected- it was a date after all, but it still surprised her.

He was clean shaven, unlike Jamie who had a small rasp of stubble on his strong jaw. Christ. She shouldn’t be comparing Frank to Jamie. They were two completely different men… Frank was older than Jamie, by a good few years. Light brown hair, very styled, gel or hairspray perhaps- brushed out of his eyes, unlike Jamie, whose hair was longer and hung messily in his eyes. Franks had soft brown eyes with laugh lines- a good sign that he was willing to live a little.

“Well, should we err, get to it?” It took Claire a moment to realise that it was Frank talking to her, and she wondered if that’s how she sounded to everyone else in Scotland.

Frank was English. Very English.

While Claire’s accent had morphed over the years (spending time in different countries had a tendency to do that to a person), Frank’s accent was clean and crisp. It was almost laughable to Claire. He sounded… well pompous. Claire could just imagine what Jamie or Geillis would say about him should they ever meet. Which they never would. Claire shut that thought down quickly.

“Claire?” Frank asked again, clearly concerned that she had some kind of handicap as she stood assessing him on the street.

“Sorry, yes of course. My mind was on other things.”

Frank held out the crook of his arm in a very old fashioned gentlemanly way, which Claire promptly ignored and strode on ahead of him into the theatre.

—

“Did you have an idea of what you wanted to see?” Claire asked looking up at the board of flashing lights advertising the available movies and times.

When Frank didn’t answer she turned to find him unabashedly staring at her. God, did she have something on her face, or in her hair? She knew she should have straightened it.

“Frank,” she called his name to get his attention, feeling stupid. Geillis was right. Frank was such an old man's name.

“Sorry,” he immediately apologised taking a step forward to be next to her and look at the movie times. “This is going to sound very cheesy but you do look very nice. I suppose I was distracted.”

Claire smiled tightly at him. She was sure that it was meant as a compliment, Jamie had done and said things to the same effect after all, but she didn’t feel as warm inside when it came from Frank. It felt a bit… what was the word… predatory. Claire shook her head. She was casting some very wide judgements on a man that she knew nothing about.

“So, the movie? Any idea?” She asked, directing the conversation to something neutral and ignoring his “compliment”.

“Oh, whatever you like, dear,” Frank replied as he squinted to read the illuminated words.

Dear. He called her Dear. On the first date. Oh no. No, that was not going to work at all.

Though, Jamie did call her Sassenach. So it wasn’t that pet names were necessarily a bad thing. It was that Frank called her a name that was specifically reserved for grandparents and people that had been married for forty years. Not people you had just met for a first date.

Though, if Jamie’s pet name was anything to go by, the English version… well Frank may as well have called her “bitch”. Claire snorted a laugh at the thought of Frank greeting her like that, as prim and proper as he was.

“Something I’m missing?” Frank asked with a grin on his face waiting to be let in on the joke.

“Oh no, it’s nothing,” Claire answered feeling her cheeks flush.

Frank arched an eyebrow at her and she almost felt like she was getting in trouble for not telling him.

“It’s just… a friend of mine… is Scottish, he calls me “Sass-en-ack”, (damn it, it sounded horrible when she didn’t have Jamie’s liquid accent) “and I was just thinking that the equivalent of that in English might as well be “bitch” and the thought of you calling me bitch… well, it just made me laugh.”

The amused smile was fixed on Franks face. Definitely fake. He nodded once as if he understood the joke (though clearly he didn’t at all) before turning back to the movie board.

“Yes well, I wouldn’t imagine that would be the best way to greet you. A friend of yours, you said? That’s not particularly respectful. I would never do such a thing.”

“Oh no-” Claire tried to explain, “no he doesn’t mean it like that. It’s just. I’m English and the Scottish don’t particularly love the English and it’s in jest, it’s not a rude thing.”

“Yes I’ve noticed,” Frank hummed as a few teenagers passed them cackling loudly at something their friend was saying.

“No it’s not that… it’s… never mind. It was a brief funny thought that I’d had,” Claire shook her head. She shouldn’t have tried to explain it. Jamie would have laughed. Claire made a mental note to tell him about it. “So, the film?”

“Perhaps “Mary Queen of Scots?” Frank suggested looking away from the board to the ticketing line.

“Why not, when in Rome… or Scotland I suppose.”

Frank did laugh at that and Claire fought the urge to roll her eyes. It wasn’t even that funny.

—

Waiting in line was almost exactly as Jamie had described.

Frank asked Claire about her work and she told him about nursing. She asked him about his job and he launched into a detailed description that Claire boiled down to one word. “Historian”.

“So then you’ll be able to judge the inaccuracies of the film.”

“Oh I believe so. Not exactly the year of my personal expertise, but I have done some reading on it of course.”

“Of course, as did I,” Claire replied (somewhat sarcastically pompously).

“Really?” Frank sounded thrilled.

“Yes, I believe it was grade ten history… or perhaps eleventh year.”

“Oh, so not recently then?” Frank sounded immediately crestfallen.

“Oh no, that was only… two years ago?” Claire answered pretending to be thoughtful. “I failed that class a lot.”

There was a brief pause between them as Frank studied her and Claire stared straight ahead waiting for her joke to land.

“Your joking,” he finally said, somewhat amused.

“I am absolutely joking,” Claire answered in relief as Frank began to laugh. “Though I have to say I am offended at how long it took you to figure that out.”

“You said it so seriously,” Fank defended still chuckling.

“That’s called sarcasm, Frank.” At least he did know how it laugh… eventually.

“Lowest form of humour, people say,” he said nudging her playfully.

“And yet the most popular.” Claire grinned as the pre-pubescent usher scanned their tickets.

—-

The movie was good. Worthy of an Oscar, Claire thought.

“Loaded with factual inaccuracies, if you ask me,” Frank said as they exited the theatre.

Claire hadn’t.

“I quite liked it. There needs to be some licence for creativity.”

“Oh of course, of course,” Frank immediately conceded. “I was merely pointing out, well Mary and Elizabeth never actually met in real life. And the scene of John Knox arguing about Mary taking another husband. The timeline is off, it would have been treason to say such a thing.”

“I don’t think that anyone watching the film would have known that,” Claire reasoned.

“I knew that,” Frank said proudly.

“Yes but you’re a historian, aren’t you? I didn’t know that, even with my very impressive and relevant eleventh year history knowledge.”

Frank chuckled lightly at Claire comment and shook his head. “No, I suppose not.”

They continued their way out of the theatre, moving slowly with the other patrons until they were standing awkwardly on the footpath where they had first met.

“Well, shall we go get a coffee or something?” Frank suggested as he smiled at Claire.

She hesitated. Before meeting Jamie Claire would have said yes in an instant. Frank was respectful, understood some of her jokes, he complimented her and he was clearly very intelligent. But there was no… spark, there was no zing. Unlike with Jamie whom she had hit it off immediately, even if she had been a bumbling embarrassing idiot.

“It’s just a cup of coffee,” Frank said reading her hesitation. “We’ve hardly spoken. I would like to get to know you.”

Claire smiled at him before nodding. It was one cup of coffee. How bad could it be?

He held his arm out to her and she ignored it once again. They weren’t there yet “dear”.

—

Despite how the earlier date had gone and the judgements that Claire had made about Frank, she actually had a good time with him. Once he had relaxed and stopped trying to impress her, he was actually quite funny. He was clearly very intelligent, an academic, but she didn’t feel like he was talking down to her. He was very passionate about his job and very obviously loved what he did.

He was currently completing research into the highland clans of the 1640’s and was travelling around Scotland on a research expedition.

He actually reminded Claire a lot of her uncle and she felt the unwelcome sting of grief pick her ribcage as she thought of him.

Lamb was- eccentric was putting it lightly, he was passionate about life, passionate about history, passionate about Claire. When he had the heart attack and was gone not even four hours later, enough time for Claire to get to the hospital and hug him once more before he slipped away, Claire was numb from the shock of it.

Lamb who had always been so full of life, now gray and lifeless on a hospital bed. It was a shock to Claire’s system and it took her a long time to be able to move on with her life. Much faster than her parents deaths, but then she was much, much younger then.

“Claire?” Frank’s voice brought her back to the present. “I’m sorry. I’m talking about this too much. My brother always tells me that I talk about my work too much.”

“You have a brother?” Claire latched back onto the conversation and pushed the memories of her uncle and her parents firmly to the back of her mind.

“Yes, two actually. I’m the middle child.”

“What’s the age difference?” Claire asked. She was always fascinated by sibling dynamics, perhaps it was the result of growing up as an only child of a single parent.

“John is four years older and Alex is six years younger,” Frank answered, smiling at her. Obviously glad that he had her full attention again.

“That’s quite a large gap between you all.”

“Well it certainly made growing up interesting. A house full of boys for my mother. I think she always wanted a girl so she is very soft with Alex.”

“I'm sure she’s soft with all of you,” Claire said with a laugh. “You just don’t see it because it’s you.”

Frank wrinkled his nose as he shook his head, “No, Alex has always been a soft spot for my mother.”

Claire smiled at him. She actually did quite like Frank Randall. Not as much as Jamie of course, but she didn’t actually regret coming out on a date with him as much as she thought that she would.

“What about your father?” Claire asked before she finished the last of her coffee.

“What about him?” Frank’s voice grew sharper, and less warm then when he spoke about his mother.

“Does he dote on your brother as well?”

“I shouldn’t think so, we haven’t seen him since just after Alex was born.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Claire reached out and touched Frank’s hand in sympathy.

Frank shrugged casually. “From what I can remember of him, it doesn’t seem worth having the memory.” Frank turned his hand so now they were… well they weren’t exactly holding hands, but they were touching.

“What about you? Parents? Siblings?” Frank asked as he looked up at Claire. She wanted to move, but it felt awkward to so anything so her hand sat limply in his.

“Orphaned and an only child, I’m afraid. Not much to tell.”

“Oh, Claire. I’m so sorry.” Frank sounded genuinely upset for her and Claire shrugged off his concern.

“My uncle raised me, essentially. So I wasn’t exactly lonely. But I would have loved a sibling.”

“You’re uncle never…?”

“No,” Claire shook her head as memories of her Uncle Lamb washed through her mind.

—

“Uncle Lamb, that lady was staring at your bottom,” a young and hardly innocent seven year old Claire had announced loudly to the entire cafe.

Lamb had shook his head, grinning at his young niece. “Perhaps I sat in something.”

“I don’t think so,” Claire continued, unaware of the peals of suppressed laughter coming from the patrons around them. “Stand up and let me see.”

“I’m sure it’s fine, Claire,” Lamb said kindly as his coffee arrived.

“But if you did sit in something, then we need to wash it in soda to get it out. That’s what Mary’s mum used when she got chocolate on her skirt. That’s what Mary said. She said that her mum used soda. And I said that it would make it all sticky. That it was probably something else. But it wasn’t Uncle Lamb. It WAS soda.”

“Well, I hardly think I am going to take of my pants in this cafe to dunk them in some soda, sweetheart.”

“No, I guess not. But you can borrow my sweater when we leave, and wrap it around your waist if you like. Then more ladies won’t look at your bottom.”

“Thank goodness I have you, little Lamb. Always protecting me.”

Claire smiled sweetly at him before she dug into the muffin and hot chocolate in front of her.

—

“No, he was never really interested in relationships,” Claire said, snapping herself back to the present. “I don’t think he was particularly keen on a family until he was landed with me.”

“How old were you?” Frank asked carefully. He was trying to entwine their fingers together but Claire moved her hands to her empty coffee cup, pretending to warm her hands on the mug. The mug was cold, but Frank didn’t need to know that.

“Six. I don’t have many memories of them. I have photos and videos of course, but it’s not quite the same. Although-” Claire paused as she wondered why she was being so open with Frank about her family history. She hadn’t told Jamie about any of this yet.

“Yes?” Frank encouraged, his hand was still lying on the table between them, waiting to trap her own again. She was sure if she even so much as reached for a napkin, he would seize the opportunity to hold her hand again.

“I don’t have many memories of us together. A few that I think my mind has just created from various hallmark movies, you know every memory that a child wants, Christmas, birthdays, those kinds of things.”

Frank nodded in understanding and Claire continued.

“But I do have these moments, like a certain smell or a sound and I’ll be transported back to when I was a child and it will be my mother’s perfume, or my father's laugh. And then it’s gone, a second later. But for a moment it’s like I can remember everything about them and they haven’t really died and I’m just waiting for them to come and pick me up from school.” Claire’s voice clogged with emotion and she had to clear her throat to continue.

“Anyway, it doesn’t happen all that often. But it’s strange, isn’t it, the things you remember.”

“Yes, yes it is.” Frank’s forehead wrinkled in thought and he was playing with his bottom lip.

“What?” Claire asked with a small smile as he looked back up at her quickly.

“Well, it’s just, you were so young, and I don’t mean to be rude, but it's truly fascinating. How can you be sure that the smell of the perfume is your mothers? Or your father's laugh? How can that be?”

“Oh,” Claire felt herself flush a little under Frank’s gaze and she wasn’t entirely sure why for a moment. She hadn’t really shared those kinds of memories with anyone before. Geillis, perhaps, but that would have been years ago. Her Uncle when he was still alive, she would have told Lamb about it. He might have confirmed it- the perfume perhaps.

Claire couldn’t quite meet Frank’s eyes. She’d shared something deeply personal with him and he was trying to pick apart the only memory she had of her parents. What did it matter that it wasn’t actually her father’s laugh or her mother’s perfume. It was the feeling that was associated with it. The feeling of family- of belonging to something.

And Frank was, what, trying to tell her that those things weren’t real?

“I suppose I don’t know. Maybe it’s buried deep in my subconscious,” Claire answer slowly, calm and measured- trying not to be emotional in front of a man she barely knew. “Maybe it’s the echo of them on earth trying to tell me that the love me? Maybe it’s just me clutching at straws to feel like I still have some connection to my parents. Who knows. Does it matter?”

Claire met his eyes as she spoke and she saw the skepticism pass over him as she spoke.

“They are good memories, why shouldn’t I try to gather what I can, while I can, when I was cheated from having the life with them that I was supposed to?”

“Don’t get me wrong, Claire. I completely agree,” Frank said quickly trying to back-track. “I simply meant that it is fascinating what your mind will retain as a memory and the feeling that you will associated with it, with no idea of its origin.”

Claire ground her back teeth together and nodded quickly. “Yes. Quite.”

It was awkward then. Claire wanted to end the date and Frank clearly wanted to continue. She thought about messaging Geillis with a code to call her and pretend there was some emergency that Claire needed to attend to. But she was an adult wasn’t she? She didn’t think that this date was going to go anywhere and now she had confirmed in in the last four minutes. Jamie would be thrilled.

Claire looked at her watch. They had been chatting in the coffee shop for well over an hour and a half. That was long enough, wasn't it? Counting in the movie, she’d been with the man for over four hours. Christ. How had it taken her four hours to realise he was an idiot?

To be fair, about three of those hours were in a silent movie theatre. Jamie was right. A movie was a terrible first date idea. You couldn’t get to know someone in a movie. And in the last four to five minutes Claire had discovered that there would be no second date or quick coffee catch up (a fact she should have realised the moment she found out that Jamie was having coffee with his sister and not another date).

“I’d like to see you again-” Frank began as Claire opened her mouth to say “I think I’d best be off.”

Claire abruptly closed her mouth and held her tongue.

“It’s not often that you meet such a… a beautiful and intelligent woman on these dating apps. It’s been very refreshing,” Frank continued unaware of Claire’s discomfort. “I’ve met a lot of very attractive women, of course, but none that are so quick, as you are.”

“Are you saying that women can only either be attractive or smart?” Claire asked as her eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh that’s just my experience,” Frank waved away her comment. “But not you, you are both.”

“How kind,” Claire answered flatly. She didn’t take kindly to a compliment that came at the expense of another woman, even a hypothetical woman she didn’t know.

“Yes.” Frank nodded enthusiastically, glad that Claire seemed to be following along with him.

“I should go,” Claire said abruptly, before standing up and tucking in her chair.

“Oh so soon?” Frank rushed to join her and bumped into the table making the mugs and saucers rattle.

“Yes I-” Claire hesitated. She has been about to make some excuse about needing to work early in the morning. In truth she had the next two days off work. She had no real obligations and no real reason to leave except that Frank Randall turned out to be a bit of a jerk.

She couldn’t say that to him, could she?

“Yes,” she repeated. Claire didn’t owe him anything, false explanation or the truth. She could just leave.

“Well, should we schedule our next date?” Frank asked eagerly as he followed her out of the cafe.

Claire called up her Uber app and quickly scheduled a ride. She could pretend she hadn’t heard him and that she was concentrating on her phone. But he would just ask again.

“Erm.” As much as she wanted to be the type of person that told the truth all the time, and was painfully blunt with people, she just wasn’t. She could be at work, but that was work. This was different.

“I am working this week, so much schedule is a little bit hectic. I haven’t received my full roster yet and I may be on call,” She hedged.

“Oh well, shall I just text you then?” Frank asked. He was disappointed. Claire could tell. But she couldn’t find it in herself to care.

“Sure.” Claire felt her phone vibrate in her hand as her Uber approached.

“Well I had a lovely time,” Frank said taking a step towards her. She nearly took a step back if it meant she wouldn’t then be standing in the pathway of oncoming traffic.

“Yes,” Claire answered lamely. She’d had… well it hadn’t been terrible, until the end there.

“May I kiss you goodbye?” He asked softly, looking at her carefully.

God no. Please no.

“This is me,” Claire breathed in relief as a black Mazda pulled up in front of her.

Frank looked even more disappointed as she opened the door. She thought that he might have tried to kiss her, regardless of her giving her permission or not and all she wanted to do was get out of there as quickly as possible.

“It was nice to meet you, Frank,” she said kindly, turning back to him once more. He was much closer than she thought and she was surprised when his lips met hers.

So much for asking.

Claire pulled back suddenly and Frank was smiling at her mischievously.

“I’ve been thinking about that all night,” he said quietly.

Claire was stunned into silence. He’d just gone from being a bit of a jerk to down right creepy.

“Goodbye Frank,” she said harshly before climbing into the car and slamming the door shut.

She fought back a shudder as she unlocked her phone and opened a new message to Jamie.

“You were right. Feel free to rub it in whenever you like.”

And then a moment later.

“Are you free tomorrow? I would like to make good on part of our bet.”

[lynneshobbydomain]

A Question For You Owamiki Week 2020 Day 6

((I’m so sorry for being so behind on this ship week. Things were very stressful this week and I do apologize for falling short. I hope you will still accept this as a token of apology. Thank you so much OwaMiki Week 2020 for hosting such a lovely event! I still have one more story to go!))

Prompt: Talentswap/Injury

Rating: T

Summary: Mondo has a question for the Ultimate Maid, but it’s not a question her talent should answer.

You can read under the cut or at my AO3

Mikan walked into the Ultimate Aikido-Master's dojo. Everything about this place spoke of pride and of accomplishment. Trophies of Mondo’s dojo was framed and placed in a glass case. Pictures of his classes throughout the years were hung on the walls, not a single year forgotten. There was also a memorial wall, where students who died tragically young for whatever reason also had a home here. Underneath those pictures, a black table rested along with candles and incense. The makeshift shrine spoke volumes about his dedication and his loyalty to his students. Mikan always felt it deep in her bones when she walked through the entrance. 

She got to the practice arena and saw to her surprise that it was devoid of people. It wasn’t just empty. The floors were already waxed and the bleaches were cleaned to sparkle. The mats were rolled up and put away against the wall, and the mirrors looked polished. The floor was swept and taken care of, there was literally not a speck of dust to be seen. Mikan knew that she could be intense with cleaning, it was her duty and her skill after all, but..she didn’t do this.

So if she didn’t do this then...had Mondo asked his students to clean up after themselves? Why? She didn’t mind the work. It was nice to spend time with him and talk. Had she been annoying and she hadn’t realized that she overstepped her place? Mondo would’ve told her that much, wouldn’t he? He was a nice guy, but he was straightforward and true. He wouldn’t have any problem telling her to back up and leave them alone. 

“Oh hey Mikan!” Mondo appeared from the other side of the dojo, his hair undone from the style and a towel around his neck. He was wearing casual jeans and a torn shirt, his feet were still bare. “Do you like it?”

“Li...like it?” Mikan questioned before the lightbulb went off in her head. “I-I told you I di-didn’t mind cl-cleaning-”

“I know.” Mondo gave her a sincere smile as he finally got to stand in front of her. Mikan felt her cheeks rise to a blush, but she stayed firmly where she was at. “I told the kids though that we couldn’t keep relying on you. There’s gonna come a day you’re gonna want to take a break.” She opened her mouth to deny it, but Mondo gently waved it off. “And I want to respect that. It’s not fair to make you do all the work.”

Mikan knew this was a fight she wasn’t going to win. “If I e-ever ask for a b-break, t-then some-something should be wrong.” She poked him in the chest before her eyes wandered to his hands. She went stock still and she gently reached down and took his hand into hers. 

His knuckles were scraped and bleeding. “D-did you forget to t-tape your hands again?” She asked, giving Mondo a slight look.

“Nope. I went a little harder than I should on the punching bag.” Mondo said, point blank. She was grateful he wasn’t the type to hide his injury, but the worry still bloomed in her stomach nonetheless. “It’s okay! It’s just a bit of a scrape.”

“I-it could ge-get infected. P-please come with m-me. S-Saihara-san sh-should be in his o-office still. He can patch you up.” 

“It’s just a scrape. We have a first aid kit here. Don’t fret so much, babe.” Mondo reached out and ruffled her hair. Mikan let out a small noise as she tried to swat his hand away. “I’ll go grab it and you can patch me up.”

“I...I can certainly do my best to. It’ll be a pleasure.” Mikan was grateful she at least could be useful doing something. “I can find it, you stay here.” She told him as she rushed away from the dojo. Her heart pounding in her chest.

He called her babe. What was she supposed to do with that information?! She liked Mondo a lot, it was probably pretty clear to everyone in their class and his class and everyone around that she had a crush on him. Why else would she go out of her way to try to be around him, and try to catch even the littlest of orders just to do something for him? 

She already had enough people poke fun at her for it too. She went into the bathroom where the showers were and found the first aid kit underneath the sink. She was grateful that Mondo at least tried to store it in a place that was cool and dark, to keep the supplies from going out. She tucked the item into her hold before getting back to her feet and going to the dojo.

Mondo was sitting on the bleachers, eyes closed. He was stiff as a board and his hands were resting on his knees. She could follow every inhale and exhale that he was making, slow and deliberate. She wondered if it was his way to relax and keep calm. Well, as calm as Mondo could be. He wouldn’t be him without some sort of brash impulsive behavior. 

She approached cautiously, sitting next to him and putting the kit in between them. She didn’t want to disturb him too much. She reached for his injured hand and noticed that it was more than just a scrape. His knuckles were bruised too. If he really did go at it with a punching bag, something must’ve disturbed him or upset him.

Mikan wracked her brain. She couldn’t recall any previous students who died today. The memorial table was too empty for it. It could be about his brother’s untimely demise not too long ago. The grief was still fresh and the wound was still healing. It was plausible, but...he would be more worked up she thought. He wouldn’t have gone out of his way to clean the dojo. He would’ve told her not to bother and locked the door. He would’ve demanded space. He would’ve canceled lessons if they were really that bad.

So if it wasn’t a death, then did a student do something after class to make Mondo’s blood boil? She doubted that too. If a student purposefully weedled him into a fight, then a fight was what he gave. He would show off his spar and his techniques and put the student back in their place with wounded pride and determination for the next round should they decide to bite again. Very rarely though did Mondo have those kinds of students. It only ever had to happen or be witnessed once for the message to come across.

Considering she didn’t walk by anyone going to Saihara’s office, she could assume that there was no students that needed to be tended to. 

So it wasn’t a fight.

“You’re thinkin’ awfully hard there.” Mondo finally spoke, bringing Mikan out of her thoughts. “I thought you were goin’ to wrap my hand?”

“Oh y-yes. I’m so-sorry.” Mikan quickly opened the first aid kit and started to rummage through it. “I go-got lost in th-thought. P-please forgive me.”

“Hey, it’s okay. I ain’t upset.” Mondo tried to assure, but Mikan couldn’t help but to feel down. “Whatcha thinkin’ about?”

“I w-was worried.” Mikan said as she started to clean the wound. To his credit, Mondo didn’t even flinch. She wondered if there was ever a time that stoic facade would just drop. He committed himself to be a leader and a teacher. He was careful to show his emotions, but not when he was injured. “Wh-why did thi-this happen?”

“I got lost in my own thoughts. Don’t sweat it.” Mondo gave her a small grin. “I got so deep in to thinkin’ I just kept goin’ and goin’. I didn’t notice till I took a shower. Stung like a bitch.”

“I b-bet.” Mikan agreed as she went back and found medical gauze. She started to wrap his hand carefully and methodically, internally grateful that Saihara was gifted and that he had been willing to show her how to do a bandage properly. For all the trips and falls she took, and all the glass she fell on, it was nice to have someone there to help put her back together, and show her how to do so. “I wo-won’t pry but, if you wanted to talk to me...I’m a good listener.”

“Are you saying that as yourself or are you saying that as a maid?” Mondo questioned.

“Eh? I-I mean if you re-requested me to li-listen then yes I w-would, but I w-was trying to say that I’ll li-listen no m-matter what.” Mikan stammered. She wasn’t sure if that was the answer that he was looking for either. As straightforward as Mondo was, he took some strange turns sometimes.

“I have a question then.” Mondo looked away, and Mikan noticed there was a faint blush on his cheeks. “For Mikan. Not the maid.”

Mikan blinked slowly.

“Do you...wanna get dinner sometime with me?”

Mikan’s lips curled as she finished her handiwork. “Y-yes!” She grinned. “I wo-would love to. I-I’m not s-saying that as a m-maid either! I’ll go out with you.”

It was the first time in a long time Mikan saw Mondo beam so boldly. It made her heart do somersaults in her chest. “Then it’s a date.” 

[whereisten]

Hero, Yuta, & Me

Summary: Your pet sitting job lands you at the doorstep of the magnetic Yuta Nakamoto, owner of the cutest Shiba Inu on the planet, Hero.

Multi-part Series: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

Part 3

Word Count: 3.2k words

Kaia, Joanna, and Taissa drove over to your house to pick you up and drive over to Jaehyun’s house. You went with a dark blue dress that hugged your curves nicely. Your heels could poke an eye out.

You arrived at Jaehyun’s Spanish villa style home. Jaehyun came from a wealthy family but because of his soccer career, his wealth multiplied tenfold. The house probably had sixteen bedrooms AND sixteen bathrooms. In order to enter to Jung estate, you and the girls had to give your names at the security gate. You raised your eyebrows at the opulence and exclusivity of it all.

Kaia parked her blue Corvette (which your dress oddly matched with) and the four of you walked through the impressive garden entrance. You knocked on the door and were greeted by a butler who reminded you very much of Alfred Pennyworth circa The Dark Knight era.

“Welcome to the Jung estate. Master Jung is expecting you. Please come in,” he said.

Of course, Jaehyun had a British butler.

“Locked Out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars was playing from some admittedly amazing speakers. You recognized a lot of your classmates. Doyoung and Johnny were in an intense round of pool. Youngjae was belting it out in the karaoke room. Senior dance captain Lisa was at the center of the dance floor. It was surreal seeing everyone again after so long.

You and the girls were served some of the most amazing frozen margaritas in existence. You clinked glasses and talked about everything and nothing for a while.

You noticed that the party playlist was a 2012 playlist, highlighting the year you graduated. “Thinkin’ About You” by Frank Ocean played as you found yourself worried about Jaehyun popping out at any second.

The beautiful song paused. Then, you heard someone clinking their glass.

At the top of the grand staircase was the ever extravagant and ever extra Jaehyun Jung.

“Hello everyone!” Jaehyun yelled to the partygoers. He was met with cheers and whoops.

He continued, “Thank you so much for coming out. I’ve missed each and every one of you since we graduated.” His eyes met yours then.

Taissa cleared her throat. “Yikes.”

“Enjoy the night! There’s plenty of booze and make all the noise you want!” Jaehyun proclaimed.

Everyone yelled then as the music changed to “I Love It” by Icona Pop. More people went to the dance floor, drinks in hand.

“You guys saw that, right?” You asked.

“Anyone who’s had two drinks or less did, Y/N,” Kaia answered.

“He’s coming this way, y’all!” Joanna whispered a little too loudly.

Jaehyun sauntered his way over to you. You felt a little smaller and you hated that.

“Hello ladies,” he said as he smiled his angelic smile.

You had to hand it to the boy. His smile was so benevolent.

The girls all muttered greetings while you said, “Hi.”

“Y/N, I’m really glad you came,” he said as he smiled.

You sighed. “Well, how could I turn down free drinks?”

He laughed. “I deserved that.”

“Among other things,” Joanna muttered.

Jaehyun acted like he hadn’t heard that. “Y/N, can I speak to you alone?”

You raised your eyebrows at that. “Sure.”

Jaehyun led you to the gorgeous gazebo in the backyard. Candles were lit all around it. Technicolor flowers and lights sprinkled all over the top. It was so beautiful you wanted to pull your camera out and take photos at every angle.

Jaehyun sat down at the bench and you sat down as well, keeping yourself three feet apart from him.

Jaehyun fiddled with his champagne flute when he started. “You look great, Y/N.”

You couldn’t help the blush. Curse your seventeen-year-old self that was rising to the surface.

You snapped out of it and met his default flirtatious gaze. “Let’s cut the crap. What did you need to say?”

At first, Jaehyun averted his gaze and stared down at his lap. But then out of respect for you, he gave you eye contact as he delivered, “I am so sorry.”

That was the first of many things you wanted him to say. He just needed to beat himself up a little more before you caved and forgave him.

“For what?” You prodded, teasing him and acting like you didn’t know what he was talking about.

Jaehyun continued, “For blowing you off at prom and being scum of the earth.”

“Oh! That,” you said as you rolled your eyes.

“I was a jerk. And you were right. I was a coward.”

“I like what I’m hearing, good sir,” you said as you downed the rest of your margarita.

“I owe you an explanation. Not that it’s an excuse but I need you to know what happened.”

Your ears perked up at that. You were interested. You thought it was because he didn’t deem you cool enough or some other bull. But deep down you always wondered if there was more to the story.

“I’m listening,” you said.

“Candice’s dad was my old soccer coach. Taught me everything I knew and helped me book deals and sponsorships. But he was manipulative and wanted more of a cut of my earnings than he was given. I got caught up with some drug dealings senior year and he threatened to out me if I didn’t increase his pay and take Candice to prom.” Jaehyun looked smaller then as he shrunk in shame.

“Drugs?” You were shocked.

“I was an idiot, Y/N. I got clean after graduation. Told my parents everything. They cut ties with Coach Lochlan because they had some dirt on him. I took the summer to go to rehab and kept training.”

“And Candice?” You added.

“Candice had no idea about the drugs or what her dad was up to. She was a family friend. She always thought we would end up together even if we fucked around. So when I asked her to go the night before prom, she thought it was because it was the real deal.”

“Oh,” you managed to say.

“And...I didn’t know how to tell you. I felt horrible. I knew if I called you, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. If I texted, I...just couldn’t do it.”

“So Facebook messenger?” You asked in disbelief.

“I know. It was stupid and selfish and everything else,” Jaehyun downed the rest of his champagne.

You both sat in silence for a minute. The partygoers came in and out of the house. The vibe of the party was euphoric and carefree. The bubble you and Jaehyun created was not.

“Y/N, you have to know I liked you a lot back then,” he said.

“I figured you didn’t find me repulsive when you asked me to prom,” you said. He really pulled out all the stops back then. He convinced the soccer team to help him perform a slightly tone-deaf version of “I Swear” by All-4-One. You remember crying from laughter that day.

“I am so sorry,” Jaehyun repeated.

“So how are you now?” You wondered aloud.

“What?” Jaehyun was confused.

“Are you clean? For real?” Even if you thought Jaehyun was an egomaniac and a coward, he was still a human being with feelings and a family and a future.

Jaehyun nodded fervently. “I’ve been clean since the summer after senior year. Soccer was my only focus after that.”

“Look, what you did to me was cruel and humiliating. But...now that you told me what happened...It’s still cruel and humiliating...What you went through was terrible and I hope you’re clean now. I don’t want you to get messed up with drugs. It’s not a life for anyone. So...I forgive you.”

Jaehyun’s smile came back full force. His prominent dimples were bigger than you’d ever seen them. “Really?”

You nodded. “It’s in the past now.”

Jaehyun said, “Y/N, thank you.”

You smiled. “I’m glad you told me the truth. It must not have been easy for you to say it.”

Which made you wonder.

“Wait a minute,” you said.

Jaehyun’s smile faded.

“Why are you telling me this? Won’t this get you in trouble?” Jaehyun’s drug use was never revealed to the public. You would’ve known. He was one of the biggest celebrities in the world so whether you liked it or not, his life was out there for you to always get updated on. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, you name it.

“I was betting on you keeping it a secret.”

Well, that was a bombshell. “And what if I’m not the decent girl you remember?”

Jaehyun lifted an eyebrow at that. “You haven’t changed that much, Y/N.”

You asked, “What makes you say that?”

“I’ve kept up with you on Instagram and Twitter,” he blurted and turned away from you.

You coughed. “I’m sorry?”

“I’ve kept up with you on-“ He said as he avoided your stare.

“How? I would’ve blocked your ass,” you said.

“messi_214 was me. On Twitter.”

Curse you for accepting any and all follows on Twitter.

This meant he had seen everything. Your One Direction phase. Your very brief 5 Seconds of Summer phase. Your descent down the anime hole. Your rants about your family and your life. Your desperate longing to go to Barcelona and meet Messi. Your crude humor with your friends.

“Oh, no,” you said as you made yourself smaller. Trying to hide.

“You are hilarious,” Jaehyun said as he laughed at your reaction.

“Oh, God, why?!” You asked yourself, Jaehyun, and the big man upstairs.

“As for Instagram, Doyoung let me scroll through your feed whenever we met up.”

“Jaehyun, that’s a little creepy.”

“I would’ve messaged directly if you didn’t hate my guts so that was the next best thing.” He shrugged.

“You lurker,” you said as you shook your head. “Tell me you didn’t see everything.”

“Believe it or not, I have a life. I’ve been pretty busy...Mrs. Irwin.” So he did see everything, including your crush on drummer Ashton Irwin.

You smacked his arm. “Son of a!”

He laughed. “Y/N, the most vile thing you’d do is trash talk Real Madrid on Twitter. So...I trust you with my secret. But...I’m letting you decide. Say something or don’t, I’ll respect it and face the consequences.”

You weren’t going to expose Jaehyun. When he told you, you knew you would take his secret to the grave.

“I won’t say anything, doofus,” you said.

He perked up at “doofus”. “Y/N, thank you.”

“I do have one favor to ask you.”

“Anything,” he said eagerly, ready to buy you a car, a dozen handbags, and a plane trip to Fiji, if you asked.

You blew out a deep breath. “Don’t lurk anymore. Just follow me on Twitter and Instagram. As yourself. Not as messi_214 or as Doyoung. I won’t block you.”

“You promise?” His eyes were hopeful.

“I promise,” you replied.

10

Yuta was on his way to pick you up from the party. He was taking you to a late drive-in movie. Hero was coming along so you were even more ecstatic. You packed a change of clothes in Kaia’s car.

You and Jaehyun parted ways after your conversation. He surprised you by asking for your number but you didn’t think too much of it. He probably just wanted to commemorate your renewed friendship. It wasn’t like he was going to call tomorrow and ask to go play air hockey at the local arcade. So you gave your number to him. You thought he was just being nice. The next time you saw him would probably be at your high school’s ten year reunion.

Kaia walked you back to her car to unlock it for you. “So how did it go with Jaehyun? I’m dying here.”

You laughed. “He explained why he blew me off and...I saw things differently. His actions aren’t excusable. But...I forgave him.” You didn’t tell Kaia about the drug use but you told her everything else.

Kaia nodded. “I see. So this means he’s probably going to ask you out soon.”

You frowned. “What?”

“Y/N, he’s been keeping tabs on you for basically a decade. I hardly think it’s because he cares about your Stranger Things updates or your song recommendations,” Kaia grabbed some chapstick from her glove compartment as you grabbed your bag.

You shook your head. Jaehyun had moved on. He probably only liked you in the most innocent way in high school, too. He probably wouldn’t have asked you out again after that. Everyone had grown up and become different people. High school was long gone. He just wanted to make amends. And you did. “Kaia, no.”

Kaia sighed. “Y/N, he likes you.”

“Kaia, he does not.”

“I saw the way he looked at you.”

You were even more confused. “When?”

“When you two were talking outside. It was obvious. When you looked away from him, I saw it in his face. He looked like it physically ached him not to touch you.”

You laughed. “Kaia, you got all that from a look?”

Kaia rolled her eyes. “If stalking you on social media isn’t proof alone, you’re hopeless.”

You leaned onto her car and looked up at the night sky. They started fireworks in the backyard. “Even If he did, it wouldn’t mean anything.”

Because Yuta captivated you. And that was that.

Kaia got back to the party as you waited in front of the security gate for Yuta. A few minutes passed and he pulled up in his Challenger. You heard barking.

Yuta pulled down the passenger side window and gave a low whistle as he looked at you in your dress. “Have mercy.”

You laughed. “Hi, baby.”

Hero jumped from the backseat to the front to lick your chin from the window. “Hi, beebs! I missed you!”

“Hey! I’m waiting for my kiss,” Yuta whined.

You opened the passenger side door and were careful not to let Hero jump out. Hero moved to the backseat. You fastened your seatbelt and looked back at Yuta, who looked like an impatient kid.

“You have to put on your seatbelt to kiss me?” He asked.

It was funny. Regardless of a car moving or not, you automatically put on your seatbelt. You blushed, about to unfasten your seatbelt when he moved over and planted his lips on your mouth. He embraced you and you felt the warmth of his skin on your bare arms.

Your heartbeat was all over the place. You loved it when he took you by surprise. Yuta was a mischievous man who liked to mess with you and reward you all at once.

He tucked your side bangs behind your ear and just smiled at you in adoration. You looked stunning and he didn’t want to share you with anyone else.

“Let’s go,” he said.

10

“So I wasn’t the first soccer player to turn your brain into mush?” Yuta was annoyed.

You told him what you told Kaia about Jaehyun because you didn’t want to keep things from him and have it blow up in your face later.

“I’m afraid not, stud,” you said. You gave Yuta all kinds of cute nicknames.

“Pisses me off,” Yuta rolled his eyes as he muttered in Japanese. Hero was sleeping in the backseat. You were at the Galaxy Drive-In Theaters. The trailers were playing before Toy Story 4 would come on.

“Are you jealous?” You loved it.

“Damn straight. You know he’s into you, don’t you? I’ll kill him.” He aggressively grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it in his mouth.

“Yuta,” you laughed. “He is not.”

“Don’t deny it, Y/N. That pisses me off even more.”

Honestly? It wasn’t that much of a stretch. But so what? Jaehyun had a life of his own away from Miami. God knows how many women he was sleeping with. He wouldn’t pursue you. Did he think you were hot? Probably. But that wasn’t enough incentive for him to go out of his way and ask you out. You would become an afterthought to him.

Maybe he just wanted to ease up on some of the guilt he carried. His drug use was enough for him to look back on. Earning your forgiveness must have helped him feel a little better.

“Fine,” you said. “Maybe he does like me but who cares? I like someone else.”

Yuta eased up a little, ready to hear you sing his praises.

“Taeyong is number one in my heart,” you said. Taeyong Lee had been your celebrity crush since his debut single “Let’s Get It (feat. A$AP Rocky)” came out in 2018.

“I hate you,” Yuta pouted as you snatched the popcorn.

“I know,” you said. You absolutely relished in messing with him.

Toy Story 4 was way better than you anticipated it to be and you found yourself tearing up at the slightly unexpected ending. You had a feeling it would end the way it did but you still cried. Yuta had his arm around you and you leaned in closer to him, enjoying the scent of him.

“You big baby,” Yuta said as he sniffled. It seemed he also had a soul.

“Hypocrite,” you muttered.

He laughed as he kissed the crown of your head. “Let’s go home.”

“Okay,” you managed to say without your voice cracking. Your first night with Yuta.

You got back to his house in record time. Hero fell back asleep in the living room, which left you and Yuta in his kitchen.

Yuta could tell you were nervous. “I can make tea. Or do you want something else to drink?”

He was so kind and considerate it killed you. “Tea’s good. I’m actually hungry. Mind if I steal a scone?” Yuta made the best blueberry scones and oddly enough, they were your favorite pastry.

He smiled. Your love of food made you all the more adorable to him. He loved feeding you. “Not at all, sweets.”

Oh yeah, he also had all sorts of cute nicknames for you, too. You two were so nauseatingly sweet that anyone who came into your vicinity needed a filling.

Once you two ate some scones and drank his favorite green tea, you walked into his bedroom.

He picked you up and sat you on his bed. His eyes were the most intense you’d ever seen them. He had his hands on your shoulders and leaned down to kiss you. You fell back on the bed and he got on top of you.

He kissed your neck and moved his way down the valley between your breasts. He looked back up at you, waiting for an answer. You nodded.

The thing about Yuta is that even though he liked to tease you and lived to make you turn red, he wanted you to feel safe and protected. He made you feel like the most precious thing in the world. Like you were above Aphrodite. So when he made love to you that night for the first time, you knew that no one could ever make you feel this good.

10

Back at Jaehyun’s party, your friends were dancing and having the time of their lives. Jaehyun surprised everyone when he halted the music once again. He stood at the top of the staircase again.

“I’ve been dying to tell you guys this all night. I was just waiting for the final confirmation from my manager. I am moving back to Miami because I am joining the Inter Miami CF team!!!!!” Jaehyun yelled at the top of his lungs.

Joanna and Taissa looked at each other and said. “Shit.”

Jaehyun looked out into the crowd and looked for you. He was so busy mingling with everyone but hoped to run into you later on so he could ask you to come see him play. But you were nowhere to be seen.

Part 4 (Coming Soon)

A/N: Thank you so much for the love for this fluff. I really appreciate it! So yes, you are correct...Someone is gonna die next chapter or get a black eye. I don’t know. But it should be fun!

[marshmallowprotection]

Cause im a slut for aus, in an Anastasia au do you think Saeyoung and Vanderwood would be the con artists, or do you think Saeyoung and Saeran would be in Anastasias place? Or somewhere else? Or Saeyoung and Judas could be the con artists and Minji could be Anastasia, but then I don't know where Saeran and Lila would fit in. Though maybe Saeyoung could be Dimitri AND "the" lost child, and he only starts to remember while teaching the fake. And then remembers his twin? What are your thoughts?

Actually, I’m a slut for this too so I had all night to think about this because I saw it right before I went to bed and I think that I managed to put together something that I think will be unique but still consistent to the original story just in a way to fit in all of these dumb kids. I did like your initial takes on it and it would be kind of hilarious to think that Saeyoung is helping someone and then he gets hit with a “Wait, no, it can’t be me!” 

I thought it would be interesting to change things up a bit from my usual form of thinking when it comes to transitioning AUs over. I’m thinkin' that Saeyoung and Saeran would be the ones to take Anastasia’s place because the theme of those boys always being separated just comes fast and hard no matter what you do for it. Alright, the boys come from the royal family and all was well as they began to grow up bit by bit. 

That was, until, the family’s healer and advisor, Rika, was not given something she wanted and they turned against her, casting her aside. She was only around as they assumed she had healed the sickly Saeran but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. So, in her fit of revenge, she comes back to destroy all of them for what they had done to herself. The castle is under siege and everyone is in harm's way. 

Saeran, having been mostly sickly as a child and unable to go out often, realized as he and his brother were trying to escape that he had forgotten a gift that he had received, the music box, of course. There’s no time but Saeyoung can’t tell him no, so they go back. The castle is quickly made worse and worse by the second and by the time they recover the item, there’s worse things than Rika to worry about, angry civilians too. 

The boys are fortunate when a servant girl steps in and shows them one of the hidden passageways. The two manage to get out of that place thanks to her but they are ultimately separated during the chaos and Saeyoung is on the way to safety while Saeran is left lying in the dirt, cursed with amnesia from the blow to the head. 

That’s right, this AU means that Lila is Dimitri and Judas is Vlad, it seems rather fitting, wouldn’t you say? Vlad was, after all, a nobleman turned con-artist and an AU where he and Lila are partners in making chaos just needs to happen for me, okay? 

Now, Ray is left alone for years trying to move on from the past that he did not know and where the hell he came from. He can’t remember a thing, all he knows is the message on the necklace that he was found with. He finds himself taking the wrong path after a dog seemingly tells him that he needs to go another way instead of to the job given to him. So, he does, and he finds himself in the big city wandering the streets with no way to travel to where he needs to go except for a hint from a shady dealer about two partners who can give him a pass. 

He finds himself wandering the castle and weird memories springing up in the back of his head. He doesn’t understand them but he knows that they feel kind of important. When Ray thinks that he may know what they are, he’s interrupted by Lila, dejected by the failed auditions that they were going to use to get rich quick. She and Ray have a bit of a back and forth, but she’s smooth and sweet in a way that feels acquired after years of putting up a front. She easily overwhelms him and his face feels hot as she inspects him closely. 

Judas appears, and the two of them comment on how Ray looks a lot like the lost prince, Saeran. “Same facial structure, same lips!” Judas comments with a warm tone. So, with a lot of reluctance, Saeran decides to go with them because it feels like he should. He learns fast that Lila knows a lot more than she’s letting on and Judas does too. As they head for Paris, he’s put through the ropes to learn about the royal family and about Saeran. 

He gets to hear story after story from Judas about how he has had flings with the prince looking for his brother, Saeyoung, often. He insists that Ray has to be the lost prince, as he’s known that face anywhere! He’s a little too touchy-feely for Ray’s taste. Lila tends to stop him if he paws at Ray too much. But, her attitude is just as strange. She’s kind to everyone they come into contact to but a lot of that has to be a con-artist front, right? 

They keep having these chance moments when they're talking to each other where it feels like there’s some kind of connection there he can’t quite put his fingers on. She’s prone to teasing him and making him work hard to learn the person he’s supposed to be. This little traveling mission is going to take some time so there’s a lot of this going on. 

Rika is after them, though. She promised to end the family and the boys are still in her way. So, there’s that to deal with as well. There are numerous close calls along the way but they manage to make it to Paris after a few weeks where they find themselves with someone close to Saeyoung, as Judas knows the prince’s partner. Much to Lila and Ray’s surprise, of course. 

It seems he’s been having a fling with more than just Saeyoung... Nobody comments on that, but there’s no denying that there’s something going on with them. It seems like, through Minji and Judas, they may be able to pull this off yet for sure. Saeyoung, however, has dealt with many fakes in the past and finds himself closed off to another chance. Minji really thinks Ray is the one so she decides that she’ll help them in spite of how closed off Saeyoung has become to this. 

Lila realizes that Ray answered question after question about things that she and Judas had never prompted. She understands that Ray really is the prince and the boy that she hopelessly had a crush on as a child... who she knew she would never have a chance with as the spoiled and kept away royal that he was compared to the others in the family. She doesn’t say anything more but it is clear that she had to really see this through now. 

For Ray. 

So, they try. Minji and Judas take Ray out to get him ready. It seems like things might work out for the best. Lila can’t deny that Ray doesn’t look the part after Judas is done with him. The two of them have gotten very close throughout this process and there’s obvious... tension until the last moment. Lila stops before they kiss when she spots Saeyoung. She tells Ray to wait there and goes to see him first. 

Lila tries to slip in to have a word with Saeyoung. Saeyoung knows who she is and what she has been doing in their home country, how she’s been training fakes for cash to get money quick. Lila knows she’s in the wrong for that, but when you’ve been a servant and a beggar, you do what you have to do. She insists up and down that he has to believe her but Saeyoung pointedly refuses. His brother is... gone, and he wants to move on. 

It would have been okay but Ray overheard everything and is upset about what Lila did. She never mentioned money. It hurts him a lot. He thought that she and he were... he stops at that thought and abruptly leaves after telling Lila that he can’t do this anymore. Lila is dejected but knows very well what she did and that she deserved that. 

Well, after a quick pep talk from Judas, she decides that she can’t just let Ray leave without seeing Saeyoung. She and Judas manage to subdue him and bring him to Ray. Judas manages to calm the situation since, to Lila’s surprise, they were having a fling. Lila is firm about this and Judas agrees, leaving Saeyoung no choice but to agree with this. They arrive at Minji’s place and she lets them know that Ray is there. 

Saeyoung goes in and he and his brother finally reunite. There is no denying their connection after al of that. Their family is finally back together and nothing is going to do that ever again. Lila quietly slips out after that as the boys are happy again and taken care of with Judas and Minji, and Ray and Saeyoung get ready to reveal that he’s been located. 

Well, it seems like everything should be well but it isn’t. Ray just doesn’t feel right without Lila around. He missed his brother and he didn’t want to lose him but at the same time, he couldn’t lose her, either. She’s very well on her way out of that place at this point, already having refused the money from Minji and the prince, despite the fact that they both realized who she was. The servant girl that had helped both of the boys escape that night. 

Saeyoung realizes Ray’s feelings when he is pacing back and forth at the gala, nervous energy ablaze. The two of them talk about it and Ray is surprised to learn what she did, and it’s that point that he and Saeyoung share a look and his brother steps aside, “Go, go and get her, okay?”

Ray rushes off to go and find Lila, but he finds himself lost in the gardens with Rika’s voice haunting him. She confronts him and you know how this goes, it is a struggle for life and death until the last minute. Ray trying to protect himself but ultimately inching closer and closer to danger. He thinks that he’s going to die after the bridge he’s on starts to collapse but low and behold, he’s saved at the last second by Lila. 

Rika made quick work of her, leaving the girl unconscious and unable to do anything. Ray decides enough is enough, and he manages to get his hands on the item that is keeping Rika alive, destroying it for good and leaving her to rot and turn to dust. Lila was only knocked out, not dead, much to his relief and they have a great reunion and express their feelings. It finally seems like their story has come full circle. 

It’s likely that they spend some time together away from the poly trio that’s been put back together, but ultimately, they will return back to Paris after a short time for just the both of them. 

[etlunainmorte]

✒ P.S. I Love You ✒

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VII

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"If there are any spirits here, say HHHOOOEEE!" Nico wailed as she tried once more to communicate with the Lancaster mansion ghost. She was holding up the voice recorder she invented just for V's paranormal mission in great hopes of picking up any sounds from beyond the grave.

"As if they will answer to that!" Griffon, who was perched on top of one of the Grecian statues, mocked. "Are ya even sure that will work?"

"Yes, I' am!" Nico shrieked at the Demonic bird, almost making him fall off the statue in surprise. "Any questions, little chicken?"

"SQUAWK!"

"If you are to do that, then you might as well do it on the second floor." V suggested as he leaned on his cane, observing her actions from a safe distance. "Maybe you'll be able to,... record something."

Just a few moments ago, his familiars showed him a single photograph they found stuck in the stool facing the grand piano. It looked like a stolen photograph of (Y/N) concealing her smile behind her fan as she offered her hand to a dark - haired gentleman whose face V could not see. And when he flipped it,...

"Do you think I should go up there, though?" Nico asked V, rubbing her arms up and down as she suddenly felt goosebumps on her skin. "The ghost might kill me up there!"

"Well, ye wanna hear ghosts on that thing, yeah? Then, go to the source and get yerself killed!" And Griffon was right.

"Say that again and I'LL COOK YOU IN A STEEL POT!"

"SQUAWK!"

V made his way through all the wires cluttered on the floor and handed Nico the photograph the familiars found. Nico stopped plucking Griffon's feathers, let him go, and pushed the rim of her glasses up her nose bridge. She, then, took the photograph and studied it, herself.

"This looked, like, super old." The tattooed woman muttered as she took a good long look at the photograph.

"Turn it." The poet told her. And as she did so, she finally saw the messages written at the back of it.

May 11, 1898

The Angels bow down to your grace and beauty, my Evening Star.

And I will forever be your humble servant.

~ V ~

"V?!" Nico practically shrieked in shock. "Is that - " she flipped the photograph once more and pointed at the man bowing down to the lady. "Is V that man or - ?"

To this question, the poet only gave her the journal. She took this and opened it. "But, there's nothing written in it, is there - ?"

The woman's eyes widened. For she could clearly see, as bright as daylight, the words that just manifested on the first page of the journal as soon as V received the old photograph from Shadow and Griffon.

At first, there was only her name and the date she wrote it. But, now,...

May 1, 1898

I could not believe what father said earlier this day:

He invited Victor Blake to our annual summer gathering! THE VICTOR BLAKE! My favorite writer, and also the best poet who ever existed in this world!

My heart...

I just could not stop the rapid beating of my own heart! I feel so excited! I wanted so much to meet him in person! For I thought for such a long time that I could only see him in my dreams, and hear his voice in my head. Now, I finally have the chance to actually talk to him!

My chest feels so painful right now, but with a happy kind of pain! ( Is there even a kind of happy pain? ) What should I wear for the month - long gathering? Would pastel suit me more, or dark palettes? What would I tell him when I finally get the chance to talk with him? I cannot just stutter in front of him! ( Which I do a lot when I'm nervous. ) What would he tell me? Would he quote some poetry for me?

I'm over thinking, I know! But, I'm just so, so excited! I could not contain it! I wanted to scream my excitement at the top of my lungs!

This is the happiest day of my life!

P.S.

I hope Victor Blake turn out to be the same man in my dreams. For if he does, then I could finally die with a large and silly smile on my face

Someone's coming!

"Victor Blake?! So that's the V who wrote on that photograph, I assume?" Nico mused out loud as she closed the journal and gave it back to V.

"Must be."

"Wait, wait, wait a second here!" The woman grabbed fistfuls of her hair as realization came down on her. And some more questions. "Did those words just pop out on that journal like a pimple or somethin'?! Because if it did, that's totally crazy!"

V didn't answer her question. Instead, he related to her every single thing that happened to him on the second floor last night, of the locked rooms on the right, of that ghost bride, of being locked in (Y/N)'s room, and of him actually seeing her in person.

"... and it only led me to believe that this lady," V pointed at the photograph on Nico's hands."... and (Y/N) are the same person. And that she, indeed, was able to meet Victor Blake that 11th of May."

"So, if this is (Y/N), then who is that woman in the portrait that Avery showed us?"

"They're the same person." V admitted with much bitterness in his voice. He just couldn't accept the fact that she changed drastically for an unknown reason.

"Damn!" Nico swore as she collapsed on a chair facing the monitor she set up earlier during the day. "Avery said (Y/N) died in 1899, right?"

"She did. Yes."

"Then," Nico went silent for a while, and when she finally gained the courage to speak out her mind, V could not help but agree to what theory she came up with. "... that tragic thing, whatever version that was, that led to her death happened a year later! The journal and that picture said 1898! And whatever tragic reason that was, it also led to that clear change she went through as a young adult! Either that, or the artist they commissioned just did a really bad painting of her."

"Seems like the former, as much as I want to deny that fact." V replied distastefully.

Nico's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the poet's clear discomfort with the topic. "Hey, ya looked bothered. Wanna spill the beans fer real? Ye looked like ye're hiding somethin' other than (Y/N)'s journal."

V chuckled as he sat on the chair next to her. "There are no beans to spill and no other secret to reveal, I assure you."

"And I assure ya that I can tell ye're lyin'!" Nico answered as she booted up the PC.

"I'm not. Well,..."

"Well?"

"The first time I met her, she looked radiant, and happy. She was clearly in love." V confessed, feeling a strange lump growing in his already dry throat. "And she was,... the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my entire existence. To see her like that - depressed, and sick,... and hopeless, it just," The poet paused as he let out a deep sigh that seemed to rattle his very core. "... it felt wrong. It felt sad. Whatever happened to her, she doesn't deserve it. That death of hers, I must know about it."

Nico hummed as V finished talking. "The most beautiful girl, eh?"

"Yes."

"Then!" Nico slammed her palms against the table and turned towards V, her face leaning uncomfortably close to his. "The reason you stayed up so late!"

"What?" V simply asked, getting more and more confused with the woman's odd behavior.

Nico smiled mischievously as she pointed a single, perfectly - polished nail at him. "Ya fantasized 'bout her!"

"I,... come again?"

"Admit it! Ya did the thing while thinkin' of her!" Nico teased even more.

"What thing?"

"Oh, come on, man! No need to be shy 'bout bein' horny for a young and beautiful gal! Just admit it!"

"Admit what?"

V truly has no idea what Nico was talking about, so Griffon flew down next to her and joined in the teasing. "My, my, V! Don't tell us ya don't know what jackin' off means!"

"Jacking,... off,..."

"Yeah, ya know!" Griffon teased even further as he cleared his throat. Making his voice sound small and ridiculous, he recited, "Ya look so good, (Y/N)! So beautiful! Hmm, hmm, hmm!"

"Such beautiful face! Such curvaceous body! I want you,... AH,... so much!" Nico joined in as she made lewd sounds and inappropriate gestures with her arms.

"Oh, my beautiful, sexy (Y/N)!" Griffon imitated Nico's moves and started caressing his own feathery body with his wings. "YE'RE M - M - MI - AAAHHH - NNNEEE!"

"AAAHHH! OOOHHH!"

"HHHRRRMMMHHH! OOOHHH, YYYEEESSS!"

All of a sudden, they heard a really huge explosion outside the house, and a few seconds later, Roman came crashing in the house.

"¡DIOS MIO!" Roman howled.

"Roman, sweetheart, what is it?! What happened?!" Avery called as she came running immediately from another room.

"THERE'S A HHHUUUGGGEEE ONE - EYED GOLEM IN THE GARDEN!" Roman screamed as he pointed at the said thing outside. "RUN! ESCAPE! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE! IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!"

"One - eyed,..." Nico muttered.

"... golem?" Griffon stuttered.

And to their complete and utter horror, they realized V's hair has turned white and his left hand was raised up, his fingers in a snapping gesture.

But, the most dangerous of all was the poet's eyes that changed from soft, emerald green to bloody, murderous red. And he was staring emotionlessly down at them,...

"Hehe, s - sorry here, Shakespeare. I mean, M - m - m - master!" Griffon cowardly apologized thirty minutes later when V's rage diminished and when Nightmare finally went back to where he came from.

"Okay, okay, I get it. You're not in love with (Y/N)." Nico cautiously said as she opened some programs on her PC.

"I' am not." The poet answered, stressing out each word.

"But, surely ya must be at least smitten by her! I mean, to think of a girl you haven't actually talked to or met like that?" The woman was right. Maybe he was infatuated with her, after all? But, then again, how could he not? How could anyone not? "Lucky for ya, though. Ye won't have to deal with her super creepy husband."

"Husband?" Griffon asked as he landed back at the Grecian statue.

"Yeah. Mr. Christopher Lancaster? Duh."

That Doctor. I almost forgot about him. V thought as he slightly glanced at the hallway where the intimidating Doctor's life - size portrait was located.

"There we go!" Nico happily announced as she finally gained access to the videos of the security cameras she set up on all corners of the entrance hallway. And as V and Griffon came closer to her to have a look, they saw themselves at that exact moment.

"Hey, that's us!" Griffon exclaimed, astounded upon seeing a live feed of himself. "Wait, why are there no sounds?"

"Duh. That's just a security cam. Call it a spy cam, if ya like." Nico answered. "Now, setting the date to yesterday!"

The woman typed some words and numbers on her keyboard, and a few seconds later, they saw V on the monitor as he was about to go up the stairs.

"That was last night." V confirmed as he saw himself call back the frightened Shadow.

"Now, let's see what else happened." Nico spoke as they all watched V ascend to the second floor.

And after staring at the screen for more than fifteen or so minutes, they realized that nothing was, indeed, happening.

"I should be back around ten or a few more minutes." V said, his confusion growing ever so strongly.

"And you came back down in the morning." Nico answered. "Let's set the time to about, hmm, seven - thirty, then." The woman did the same process, and when the video fast - forwarded to the time she set, they saw V finally going back down to the first floor and met with the frizzy - haired Nico. "See? Told ya ye're gone for a long time."

"But, that's impossible!" Griffon yelled, turning back to V. "Didn't ya say ye're only gone for a few minutes?”

"And now you believe me." The poet simply answered.

"Alright! Alright! So, the ghost could not only manipulate things, it could also stop or control time, or something like that." The tattooed woman happily declared. "How very fascinating that is!" And she was, once again, getting more and more excited.

"I need to go back up there." V told her. "But, I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. A few minutes may mean a few hours up there."

"Ye're right. Hmm,..." Nico mused as she tapped on her lips. After a few seconds, she stood up, went over to one of the speakers she set up yesterday, and opened it, letting Mister Sandman on again. "How 'bout this: V, you do yer thing and investigate the second floor, and I'll be pulling an all - nighter for ya down here to monitor yer movements. I'll even make sure ya don't get lost for too long."

"How do we do that?" The poet asked.

"Simple!" Nico answered as she gave V the radio she was holding on to yesterday. She, then, pressed something on the speaker, and when it finally went quiet, she pointed at the radio on his hand. "Can ya turn it on?"

V complied by turning the dial on the radio clockwise, and a few seconds later,...

"...then tell me that my lonesome nights are over! Sandman, I'm so alone. Don't have nobody to call my own - "

"That song runs for two minutes and thirty - six seconds." Nico said as V and Griffon listened to the music on her radio. "I'll sync that song there and play it for ya for every hour ye're up there. Kinda like an alarm clock. Ya can also turn the voice recorder on to record any sound. And lastly, if anything goes wrong, like anything at all, and ya can't call yer familiars," the woman came closer to V and pointed at the red button at the lower right corner of the radio. "... think of nothin' else and press that button. Do ya understand?"

"I do. Yes. Thank you." V answered as he nodded several times, actually grateful for his decision to let Nico tag along with him.

And when the woman was finally satisfied with his answer, she cracked a toothy smile and suddenly took Griffon off V's shoulders, hugging him and twirling him around like a stuffed animal.

"PUT ME DOWN, WOMAN!"

"Aren't we the best paranormal team around?" Nico happily asked. "Like, Red Grave's Finest Paranormal Team ever?"

"WHATEVER YA SAY! JUST PUT ME DOWN! I CAN'T BREATHE!"

"Sorry." Nico apologized as she let the bird go. "So, ready for another night?"

"Ready - " V was about to stand when he collapsed all of a sudden.

"Hey, V! You okay?" Griffon flew down and helped him to his feet by clutching onto his arm with his talons.

"Ya look like ye need some rest. Ya haven't actually slept!" Nico suggested as she came and helped him as well by grabbing his other arm.

V could not agree more. "A nap will do. Thanks."

***

✒ @la-vita and @micaelagua . ✒

***

✒✒✒

***

[levi-inthesun]

Lost and Found, Chapter 4

Summary: After losing the love of his life the same day their daughter was born, he does his best to be there for her. After his loved ones keep pestering him about trying to move on, he does something stupid, however, he has the feeling it’s one decision he will never regret.

This is for @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan​ writing challenge/follower celebration: single parent au/fake dating turns into real dating.

Series Warnings: Swearing, angst, death of spouse, spouse leaving unexpectedly, lots of sadness, anger, hopelessness, but I promise there will be a lot of fluff!!! tiny bit of sexual content!

A/N: If you would like to be tagged, please send an ask or message!! It is way easier for me to keep track.

Tags: @jennmurawski13 @linkispink1995​ 

Word Count: 2722

(gif is not mine)

Steve couldn’t sleep at all that night, his mind stuck in a loop replaying the tender looks and touches and words exchanged and suddenly there is a pit in his stomach and he might throw up. He rushes to the bathroom to kneel in front of the toilet, but nothing comes. Steve slinks backward to lean up against the wall and his arms are clutching his stomach. 

“Why,” he whispers to himself, “Why did she have to fucking die.” 

Then he erupts. A sob rips through his body and he’s shaking and god, he wishes his wife was here to comfort him. “She’s f-fucking g-gone!” he tells himself a little too loudly, chastising himself and now all he can feel is pain. Pain because he was left alone, pain because she isn’t here to see their daughter, so smart and strong and funny. 

Steve stands up, determined to be done except the pain he is feeling turns to anger and his breathing turns heavy.

He lets out a roar and rips the shower curtain from the rod, crumples it up and throws it. With the momentum, he’d built up his fist flies into the mirror and it cracks and crashes and all he see’s is shards of light and red.

“Daddy,” a small voice calls out, “Daddy, whats wong? Are you alwight?”

And just like that, the anger cracks like the mirror and the loneliness and the sadness seep back in just as the blood seeps out of his knuckles.

As quickly as he can, Steve opens the door and pulls his daughter into his chest.

“I’m so sorry,” he cries into her hair and her little arms wrap around his neck. He feels her nose nuzzle into him and he cracks again, just a bit more. “I’m so sorry Ro. I’m sorry if I scared you, baby.” He cries harder and sits back down on the ground holding his daughter.

As he cries he hears her sniffle, “You didn’t scawe me, daddy, I just worried.”

Steve wakes up surrounded by pink with a weight on his chest. His eyes squint and look down to see a small body sleeping on him, arms wrapped around him. He can feel her breath on his skin and suddenly he remembers his anger and the weight on his chest is more than just physical.

He turns to see the time on the Hello Kitty alarm clock and sighs. If they got up now they would only be a little late for school.

“Mowning, Daddy,” a small, tired voice greets him.

“Morning, ‘Ro,” Steve smiles and brushes her hair out of the way. “We should probably get up and get you to school.”

Caroline shakes her head the best she can, “No, Daddy, I want to stay with you today.”

Steve exhales and notices her eyes growing sadder and he thinks a day off would be good for them both. “Okay, baby. I just need to call the school to let them know we are having a sick day.”

Caroline nods, but instead of moving off of him, she wiggles up and wraps her arms around his neck. Steve gets the hint and wraps his own arms around his little girl and stand up to get to the phone.

After calling the school, Steve calls Ingrid.

“Hey,” Ingrid’s voice sounds rushed.

“Hey,” Steve replied, “‘Ro isn’t going to school today, we need a day together. Just so you know.”

“Okay,” Ingrid pauses. “Is everything alright? Anything I can do?”

Steve’s heart skips a beat like it always does around her and guilt sinks further into his gut. “No, I think we’re okay. Thank you, though.”

He swears he can hear her frown. “Alright,” she doesn’t sound convinced. “Just, please let me know if we can do something? Okay, Steve?”

“I will, Ingrid. Promise.”

Now they’re in fresh pj’s that don’t have bloodstains on them from his cut hand and they’re having the ‘El Special’, which consists of a stack of eggos with whipped cream and m&ms in between each one, chocolate syrup drizzled over it all.

“Daddy, what-a-we doin today?” Caroline asked, mouth full, picking m&m’s off the shared stack.

“Well, I was thinkin,” he said swallowing the too-large bite he had just taken, “If your room could be any color in the world, what color would you like it to be?”

Caroline set down her sticky fork and rested her chin in her small sticky hands. “What was momma’s favowite color?”

Steve smiled sadly, he probably could have seen this coming. “Well, ‘Ro, she loved all of them.”

“How do you know?” she asked slowly. 

The memory started to replay in his mind and he began to unfold the scene for his daughter, however, he skipped over some key events.

It was the middle of winter and Hawkins was the wonderland of every child’s dream. Snow poured out from the heavens and covered the small town in a blanket of white. He and Caroline had been dating for 8 months at that point and they were taking the snow day very well.

“Kiss me again, Steve Harrington,” she whispered into his neck, breaths labored from showering each other in as much physical affection as possible. 

A smirk spread over Steve’s lips and he waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively. “Can’t get enough of me, can you?”

She pressed her lips to his bare chest, “You know I can’t.”

Steve watched as she fluttered her eyelashes at him and he decided that this must be what heaven is like.

“Well,” He said capturing her lips in his before beginning to kiss down and across her jaw and down her neck. “I don’t have the superhuman rebound period you do,” he stopped to suck the spot where her neck met her shoulder. “But, that doesn’t mean I can’t make my girl feel good.”

As he continued his descent down her body, her head rolled back and she gasped the closer his hot mouth got to her core and she gripped the blankets that *used* to be the blanket for they had made the night before. That’s when her eye caught the blank wall behind her.

“Steve!” she said suddenly and he looked up, mouth still busy. “I want to paint the walls!”

Steve quirked his eyebrow up, “Have I gotten that bad? Are you that bored?”

She giggled, then sat up, “No way, Steve Harrington. You may continue,” She stroked his cheek softly, “But then we are trekking to the hardware store.”

By the time they were bundled up in their coats, scarves, hats, mittens, and boots Caroline was chatting excitedly about what color she should paint it. 

“Ooh! What about red?” She suggested as Steve pushed open the door and pulled her scarf up a little further over her face to protect her from the chilly air.

“It’s up to you, babe, it’s your place,” Steve replied, grabbing her mittened hand. 

“Okay, but I still want your opinion,” she responded, to which Steve nodded, and kissed her mitten. 

Then, standing in the paint aisle, boots dripping Caroline sighed loudly.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Steve asked, dropping the paint chip cards on the counter.

She leaned her head on Steve’s shoulder, “This is hopeless. I like too many colors! I can’t just pick one. Steve, we should just go home.”

Steve moved so that his hands were cupping her cheeks. “Car, no one said you have to pick just one color. You can pick as many as you want.”

Steve watched as different emotions passed over her face, landing on pure joy. “A RAINBOW!” she yelled, slamming her lips against his.  “You are a genius. I love you!” 

Steve chuckled at his girlfriend’s antics, then, at seemingly the same moment, they both froze up. 

“D-did you just-”

“Fuck, I-” “Ca-”

A content smile settled on her lips, “I really, truly love you.” 

Her voice was low and gentle and sweet and Steve wished he could pause time and live in that feeling, with that look on her face, forever.

“It was the first time we ever told each other we loved each other,” Steve told her, teary-eyed.

“Why did it take so long, Daddy?” Caroline asked, a confused look on her face.

“Well, your momma and I grew up with parents who didn’t show us they loved us, so we wanted to be completely sure before saying it.”

“But you tell me you wuv me every day,” Caroline quirked her eyebrow up and Steve felt like he was looking in a mirror- she was certainly his daughter.

“That’s because we knew we loved you the minute we found out you were in your momma’s tummy. Some love takes time to grow, and some love is planted immediately. Neither is more powerful or special than the other. Love on its own is a powerful and special thing,” he explained and knew his daughter was satisfied by the answer when she took a bite of their now cold breakfast.

“Daddy,” she said, hopping off her chair and climbing in his lap, laying a sticky hand on his scruffy face. “If momma liked rainbows, I want my room to be a rainbow,” she said, then planted an even sticker kiss on his cheek before running off to get herself in the bath.

After getting the bathwater perfect and throwing bubbles in for good measure, Steve picked up the remnants of his breakdown from the night before while ‘Ro played in the bath. After helping her wash her hair, Steve pulled the plug and wrapped her in the hooded towel that looked like a chicken. 

Holding her close, he walked them to her room and sat on the bed, giving her a squeeze and breathing in the lavender soap. “Hey, ‘Ro, I want you to know that if your momma was here, she would be so excited about your room. I am too, it’s gonna look fabulous,” he said, planting a kiss on her wet hair.

‘Ro would only wear a rainbow outfit to go pick up the paint and knew he was gonna have to get her another rainbow outfit since this one was going to get covered in paint. He was right, she wouldn’t change clothes to paint, but at least he tried.

Once everything was either moved out of her room or in the middle with a tarp over it, he used the stencil he’d gotten with the paint to draw out and tape a rainbow so big it covered three of her four walls. 

By the time the walls were painted a light blue for a backdrop and the rainbow was done, Caroline’s ponytail was purple and red, Steve had a green handprint on his face, and they were both splattered in every color. Before cleaning up, Steve ran to grab his camera and managed to get a picture of the hard work and the damage. 

Clean up took place after lunch and took way too long and the paint wasn’t coming out of Caroline’s hair, which was a good excuse to talk to a certain someone.

“Hello?” Ingrid’s voice on the other line filled him both with dread and butterflies. 

“Hey, do you know how to get paint out of hair?” He asked, getting straight to the point.

Ingrid laughed, “Yours or Ro’s?”

“Ha ha, Ro’s, of course,” he replied, “We painted her room.” Something tugged at his heart. He wanted to tell her more. Talk about everything he’d been feeling, all the memories that came up. 

“Oh?” she replied, “What color?”

Steve smiled, “Every color,” he replied and he could tell her interest was piqued. 

“That I’ve gotta see,” she responded, he could hear in her voice that she was smiling too. “Try dish soap, if not toothpaste.”

“Okay, got it. Dish soap or toothpaste,” he repeated back, grabbing the soap from the sink. 

“Hey, I know you said you were okay earlier, but I made too much food for our dinner. Would it be okay if we dropped some off later? Sarah is worried and I’m sure would love to at least check on Ro in person.”

Steve sighed as his heart clenched, he had a feeling she wasn’t just talking about their kids. He rested his forehead on the wall and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “That- that would be really nice. All we’ve eaten today is sugar and I’m positive if I were in charge of dinner tonight that wouldn’t change.”

Ingrid chuckled, “Good, I mean, thanks for accepting the help- I know how hard that can be.” She paused and for a moment a comfortable silence settled. “Um, how about we come by around 6:30, would that be alright?”

“Yes, thank you, Ingrid. I-I really mean it. You have no idea how much I appreciate you.”

Steve had meant to say that he appreciated their friendship, but it was true either way. He hadn’t had anybody to really rely on or be vulnerable with since Caroline died. He was beginning to realize that he needed Ingrid in his life and the thought made his stomach turn uncomfortably. 

Luckily, the dish soap had worked and Ro’s hair was paint-free. 

The rest of the afternoon consisted of painting nails, picking up a rainbow bedspread, and grabbing a few supplies they still needed for Sarah’s birthday party in a few days. 

By the time 6:30 rolled around, the duo was in a new set of pj’s and they were getting everything ready to watch a movie.

Steve smiled to himself when he heard the doorbell, “Hey, Ro, why don’t you go see whose here?”

She immediately ran to the door and threw it open, “SARAH!” she squealed happily, throwing her little arms around her friend. Steve got up from where he was fiddling with the VCR, to greet their friends and to his surprise, his hands were shaking slightly. 

“Hey,” he said softly, placing a kiss on Ingrid’s cheek. He took the crockpot from her hands and invited them in. 

“Have you guys eaten already?” Steve asked, and when Ingrid shook her head no, Caroline spoke up.

“You guys can eat with us,” she turned to Steve, “Right daddy?”

He smiled softly at his sunbeam of a daughter- always so warm and considerate of others. 

“Yeah, of course, baby,” he placed a kiss on her head, “That was so nice of you to think of.”

“Oh, if you’d rather have alone time, we don’t have to,” Ingrid offered, but Steve wouldn’t hear it. 

“No, please stay for dinner,” he said placing and hand on hers, “I could use some adult company.”

She smiled before his nails caught her eye, “Oh, I love your nails Steve, who did them for you?” 

“I did!” Caroline said jumping up and down.

“Well, I would love if you would paint mine just like your daddy’s sometime,” she said and Sarah asked if she’d paint her nails too. Then the girls ran off to go wreak havoc. 

Steve began getting plates and forks out and Ingrid leaned up against the counter next to him. “Steve,” she began softly, causing him to look up at her. “You’re a good dad. I don’t think that is something you hear very often, but that it’s important you know. And I mean it, I’m not just saying that.”

Steve could feel his shoulders relax and his heart felt a little lighter. “You think?” he asked, running a hand through his hair. “I swear she’s an angel and I’ve barely done anything.”

“She might be an angel, but only because you’ve put in the work. Just, remember that on hard days,” she placed a hand on his arm, “but if you need a reminder, I’m here.” 

Steve felt his heart clench in his chest, “I’ll probably need the reminders,” he told her honestly. 

“Well, like I said, I’m here,” she reiterated before grabbing the plates and setting them on the table. 

“We were gonna watch a movie over dinner if that’s alright with you?” he asked, nodding his head towards the living room. 

“Sounds great,” she replied.

And that is how Ingrid found herself falling asleep on Steve’s shoulder in the middle of the Swan Princess, Steve’s head resting on hers, their fingers intertwined.