#tumblr can handle a little treasur trail yes?

[infin-8-morphosis]

Hey look its the worst character ever

[theroomofreq]

“Are we on a date right now?” Chapter 2

So I had planned on this being a one-time tumblr prompt, but @whiffingbooks left me a kind comment that gave me the creative love I needed to keep going. Thank you so much!! This isn’t exactly what I planned it to be, but I ended up really liking where it went, I hope you do too. 

And a special shout out to @narukoibito who is a treasure trove of writing advice, and was so kind to give me some guidance on this fic. I couldn’t have done it without you :’) 

AO3

Ginny held the door open for Harry, a small smile on her lips as she looked back at him. As he walked through the door he wrapped his scarf tighter around his face, whether he did so because of the January cold or to hide his excessive grin was up for debate.

It isn’t like he could help it really, he’d just spent the entire afternoon with Ginny. The thought of her brought his eyes to her form, she was keeping a steady pace beside him while Demelza, Luna, and Adeline walked ahead laughing. 

They fell into a steady rhythm together, hanging back from the others as they walked to the castle. It felt so natural to be alongside her and their silence felt comfortable. There was something about her quiet confidence that made him feel at ease, maybe even made him feel -

“You know Harry, I would’ve thought that the boy who lived would be better at getting out of a tight spot.” Ginny started to dig into him with her signature smirk. 

“Well Voldemort’s usually casting spells at me, not giving me cheek.” Harry retorted quickly, “Honestly, Gin. I didn’t think you were going to give me a break back there.” 

“Actually, I went pretty easy on you. I could’ve been a lot worse.” She sent a wink his way, and Harry felt something flip inside his stomach. 

“Merlin,” his voice came out choked, “Remind me to always stay in your good graces then.” 

Ginny laughed, “Aye aye Cap’n.” She said as they started up the castle steps. 

Harry followed closely behind her as she reached the doors and made her way into the entrance hall. They’d made it back to the castle a bit too quickly for his liking, he wondered if he should invite her to sit with him at dinner or if she would just follow him anyway. 

“Oi! Harry, Ginny!” Ron’s yelling pulled Harry back to reality. Ron was walking toward the two of them with Hermione in tow. 

“You two get everything sorted then?” Harry asked as the four gryffindors converged in the center of the hall. 

Ron scoffed as Hermione began to explain, “Well, it all seemed to be in order until we got back to the castle, and then Jacobsen tore off running-”

“And Hermione wouldn’t let me levicorpus his arse-” 

“Ronald!” 

“Would an offendo trip jinx have been more appropriate?” Harry tried to phrase it as an honest question, but Hermione still sent him a look that made him wither. 

“You two are incorrigible children, I don’t know how-”

“See you three around then,” Ginny cut in on Hermione's tirade, for which Harry felt grateful for, he didn’t exactly feel in the mood to be lectured before dinner. Then, Ginny turned her sparkling eyes on him, “And do let me know when our next date is Harry.” 

As Harry felt the color drain from his face he decided he wasn’t so grateful she’d cut in any longer. 

“What did she just say?” Ron’s words rushed out all too quickly.

Harry turned ever so slowly to his best friends, he had only moments to look at them before the assault started. Hermione had what seemed to be a mix of smugness and surprise across her face, while Ron’s mouth was just a gaping hole . 

“It’s about time honestly.” Hermione seemed to recover quicker than Ron did, “Although I thought it would be another couple of months, still I am very-”

“A date? With Ginny?” Ron looked positively gobsmacked. 

“Err, not really,” Harry ruffled his hair, “See the thing is, after you lot deserted me-”

“We were doing our civic duty, Harry!”

“Yes, that. Well when you left me to fend for myself,” Harry chose to ignore Hermione’s scoff and just continue on, “Romilda found me and I panicked. But well Ginny was there, So I err, pretended to be on a date with her to get Romilda off my back.”

Hermione’s eyes narrowed, “And what exactly did Ginny do?” 

Harry thought back to the way Ginny’s eyebrows flew up as he begged her to save him. The way she smirked as he struggled to find an excuse and the way her lips- 

“Harry! This is crucial information here.” 

“Sorry right, She err didn’t let me get off that easy. Shot down every excuse I lined up, and even went so far as to say we snogged. And that’s what really buggered Romilda-”

“SNOGGING. If I catch you with your hands on her like Dean-”

“Oh finally Harry! Did the two of you really kiss?”

Ron and Hermione had both reacted very differently but with equal enthusiasm and at the same time. The two of them whipped their heads around to glare at the other, Harry felt the storm coming before it even started. 

“What do you mean finally?” Ron said fiercely, “Ginny gave up on Harry ages ago.”

“I wasn’t talking about Ginny,” Hermione rolled her eyes, “I was talking about Harry.”

Ron’s eyes grew large, “Harry? Harry doesn’t fancy Ginny? Are you daft?”

Hermione’s laugh was nothing compared to the pitiful look she sent at Harry. “I’m daft? Ron, don’t tell me you haven’t seen it.” She pointed a finger and Harry, “He has been pining after her for months now.

So this was his life now? He, Harry Potter, the chosen one, who was tasked with recovering important information about Voldemort, and uncovering Draco’s secret plot, was standing here watching his best mates bicker over his feelings. Surely this could not be happening, but indeed, it was. 

“I would’ve noticed if my best mate had taken a fancy to my little sister.” Ron barked. 

“You’re about 7 months late! Haven’t you noticed the way his eyes follow her, or how he perks up when she walks into the room?” 

Perked up? Was he really perky around Ginny, that didn’t seem the right word.

“They are friends ‘Mione.” Ron rolled his eyes, “Don’t you think I know Harry well enough to know when he’s after a girl?”

“Friends don’t get hit by bludgers at quidditch practice because they are too busy staring at one another, and friends don’t sit nearly on one another’s laps at your mother’s house over the Holidays.”

Alright that was a step too far. “OI” Harry shouted, pushing between his friends who had been standing awfully close during their bickering, “Do we really need to have a round table about my love life?” 

His outburst seemed to snap the two back to their senses. Ron’s ears burned red, and Hermione started to twirl a section of her hair. The two muttered their apologies while Harry shook his head at them. 

“Excellent, now that’s over with can we eat now?” Harry gestured toward the doors to the Great Hall and the three of them set off. 

Unbelievable, he was hit one time by a bludger during practice, and it was only because he was coaching. He was meant to be watching Ginny’s play, he wasn’t distracted by her. And there were a lot of people at the Burrow this Christmas, he had to sit close to Ginny so there was enough room for everyone else. And what was Hermione talking about, 7 months? He shook his head at himself as he sat down on the bench next to Ron, had he truly been so obvious?

“Harry?” 

“Yeah, mate?”

“If you need to ogle Ginny at all, she’s just up there.” Ron pointed directly at Ginny before dissolving into a cackling fit. 

“Oh bugger off” Harry muttered while shoving Ron. 

----

Harry assumed that his days would get back to normal rather quickly after the previous day, true to form, it did not. It seemed Ron and Hermione’s reaction was a direct indication of how the rest of the school would behave. 

Despite having broken up with Ginny 2 months prior, Dean was now sending him glares every chance he could. A pair of younger gryffindor boys asked him if Ginny was a better kisser than Cho on his way to breakfast, while Ron buckled over laughing. As he walked to potions a charmed note informed him that he was leaving a trail of broken hearts by taking Ginny as his lover. 

It was at dinner, around the fifth time someone congratulated him on finally asking Ginny out, that the the grin on Hermione’s face was just too much for Harry to handle. 

“That’s it.” Harry slammed his fist on the table, “I’ve got to find her.”

“At least give us the map!” Ron shouted, “We’d hate to walk in on the two of you!”

Harry threw him a rude gesture over his shoulder as he marched out, which only seemed to make Ron laugh harder. 

As he stormed away from the Great Hall, Harry whipped out the Marauders Map to locate Ginny walking out of potions. Harry increased his pace, only focused on Ginny as he made his way to the lower levels of the castle. Finally, he rounded a corner and came face to face with the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor 5th years. 

Immediately his eyes zeroed in on Ginny and her glinting copper hair, he pushed through the crowd and stopped in front of her. She had been in the middle of a conversation with Demelza, before quirking an eyebrow at his sudden appearance. 

And dammit, he was really starting to like that look on her. 

“We need to talk,” Harry’s voice came out heavy and low, which pulled Ginny’s eyebrow up higher on her freckled face. 

A chorus of wolf whistles sounded as her peers walked around them. 

“Go easy on her Cap.” Demelza said, patting his shoulder as she walked away with the crowd. 

Harry gestured to an empty classroom on his left, Ginny gave a small bow and headed through the door. Once Harry walked through the door he flicked his wand and the door slammed shut. 

“A bit eager this evening, aren’t we Mr. Potter?” Ginny was leaning up against a desk with a smirk and that damn eyebrow up again. 

“Now is not the time, Gin.” Harry shook his head, they were in a right mess. 

“Can we reschedule then?” 

Harry felt his jaw slacken at her words, did she just? He searched her face and found her eyes dark and deep on him, his mouth fell a little further. A bit of a strangled noise came from his throat, Harry quickly shook his head again. 

“Ginny, I..

“What is it you wanted to talk about?” Her arms crossed over her chest as her eyes took on a guarded glint. 

Harry looked at the floor before willing the courage to talk to her again. “The whole school is gone barmy! I’ve been accosted all day, blokes want to know what it’s like to kiss you. I’ve been asked maybe a hundred times how I asked you to be my girlfriend, and the whole team is on me about it too. I feel like I’m going mad.” 

Ginny laughed, an actual laugh that started deep in her stomach and radiated out through her lungs and mouth. Harry felt like he missed the joke. 

“Sorry, It’s just” Ginny said between fits of laughter, “You’ve gotten yourself into a real predicament Harry.” 

“Me? You’re the one who told her we’d snogged for ages” Harry felt his neck flush as he alluded to kissing Ginny.

“True, but you are the one nearly knocked me over for a fake date.” Her eyes were still full of mirth as she turned the blame on him again. 

“Okay fine, it’s both of us. But what are we going to do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I just,” Harry rubbed the back of his neck, “I dunno, haven’t people been asking you things to?” She nodded. “What did you tell them?”

“I haven’t told anyone anything, have you?” She asked him, Harry shook his head in response. “Well then, what is there to do?”

Harry looked at her for a moment, his head spinning. The whole school thought he was dating Ginny Weasley, which on the one hand was brilliant. Wasn’t this what he’d wanted? To be closer to her, to have someone mention their names together, to be someone she would want to snog? 

“What if we just carried on,” He began tentatively, “Just let them think we are together, and we could act the part?” 

“Are you saying we should pretend to be in a relationship?” Her brows furrowed and her arms came to rest at her sides. 

“Well what’s the other option? Just ignore them? Come on they’re relentless.” Harry pleaded with his brain to not let any true feelings slip. “Stage a break up? They would talk about it for ages, it would be almost worse?” 

Ginny watched him explain with a collected expression on her face, Harry felt nervous all over again under her gaze. She took a step closer to him, bringing her close enough to embrace.

 “Maybe it’s the only way, to erm, pretend?”

Ginny’s eyes roved along his face, but her expression was completely blank, the moment began to last too long. Harry shifted uncomfortably on his feet. 

“Could you really do that?” Her eyes pierced him as she posed the question. “Do you really think you could fake being in a relationship with me?” 

Harry opened his mouth to reply but stopped at the sight of Ginny shaking her head. “You couldn’t, it’s not like you.” 

Harry felt his brow furrow, of course he could, it’s what he wanted? To be around her constantly, to be the one went to Hogsmeade with, to walk hand in hand around the castle, and run his fingers through her deep red locks. 

She took a half a step forward before looking him carefully in the eyes. “The Harry I know, would never. He is either all in or all out. This fake dating scheme? That's only half in, it would kill you.” He felt her eyes scan his face again.

“You know that right? You have to know that it wouldn’t be good,” her eyes fell quickly to her hands before coming back up to his eyes, “not for either of us.” 

Harry took in her gaze, the way she was staring at him was paralyzing his body. He could barely breathe with her this close to him, her flowery scent was overpowering as she continued to search his face. He knew she was right, he couldn’t do it. How could he be with her unless it was 100% Ginny? Putting on a face in front of everyone else, and then what? Nothing probably, it would be torture. How was it she knew him better than he knew himself?

He must have taken too long to respond because she started to back away from him, her eyes down cast. 

“Ginny, wait.” Harry took three large strides toward her again, easily bringing them back to their previous closeness. “Could you do it? Would you be able to pretend to be with me?” It was his turn to survey her face for anything, any semblance of emotion. 

Her face was calm and cool as she looked back at him, ever so slightly she shook her head. “No, I couldn’t. You mean too much to me to even, It’s just, you’re one of my best friends, I can’t…” Her words slowly drifted off. 

Harry nodded slowly too, now hyper aware of how close they were to each other. Ginny’s eyes took on a steely glint as she turned around and walked to the door. Her hand touched the door before she turned around.

“If anyone asks, I’ll tell them it was just a one time thing. We’re friends.” Her words were calculated. 

Harry nodded, “Friends” he murmured as the door closed softly behind her. 

[novannna]

Write Our Story in the Stars

so for school we did nanowrimo and i actually like the story I wrote so i’m posting it to tumblr :)   

This story is about a girl and a princess who grow up together, closer than sisters.  The girl wants only to be the princess’s guard so they can stay together forever.  When she gets a chance to prove herself worthy to be the princess’s sole protector, she jumps on the oppurtunity.  She and the princess leave on a journey to find a stolen treasure.  While on the journey, the girl finds out a dark secret about her past....(cliche, ik)

tw: blood, death, violence, mentions of abuse in later chapters

wc: 2589

Chapter 1

This story starts like most fairy tales. It starts with a princess. But she is not the main character. No, our story is about the little girl who was raised in her shadow. This girl has never had an easy life. She was orphaned at an early age, and sent to live with an abusive family. At only ten years of age, she escaped her home and went to live in the great capital city. She found work in the palace, and quickly befriended the princess. You may think that being overshadowed in such a way would anger the young girl. It did the opposite. She never liked attention. All she wanted was the princess’s love as they were the closest of friends.

As time passed the princess grew older and had other duties to tend to. And the young girl was now no longer so young. She had a new goal in her life. She wanted to be the princess’s protector. The royal guards laughed and scorned her for wanting to become a warrior, but that did not stop the girl. She trained night and day, waiting for a chance to prove her worth. She was still ignored, but not by the one who mattered most. The princess saw everything her friend did. She watched, and her heart hurt for the girl whose life was so different than her own. The princess never knew the hardships the girl faced. She knew she would never face anything as hard as the girl. She could never suffer an equal amount of pain. And so, when a chance came for the girl to earn her place, the princess jumped on it.

Chapter 1

“Mallory, come on!” Talia laughed. “You’ve been out here for hours. Aren’t you hungry?”

“No.” Mallory gritted her teeth, and pulled another arrow out of her quiver. “I have to keep training. You know that.”

“Mal, come on. You have to eat sometimes,” Talia begged. “You can keep training tomorrow, but it's almost nine.”

Mallory ignored her. She let her arrow fly, and it hit the center of the target, running right through an arrow already there.

Talia groaned. “This is for your own good.” She pushed up her sleeves, and marched over towards the girl. “If you won’t come willingly, I’ll have to drag you in. And do you really want that?”

Mallory scoffed. “Will you?”

Talia bobbed her head up and down. “Yes. I will, thank you very much.”

Mallory sighed. “Listen, Tal, I have to train. I have to be the best if you and I want to be together forever. This is the only way we have a chance to stay together.”

“You are already the best. You’ve beaten every single person who’s fought you. You're the strongest person I know. Come in for the night. Please.”

“Fine,” Mallory groaned. “But I still have to train tomorrow. No exceptions.”

“Yeah yeah. Come on!” Talia tugged Mallory towards the door.

“Don’t you have boring princess duties to take care of?”

“They can wait. I feel like I never see you anymore. So… tonight we’re hanging out, just the two of us!”

“Yay,” Mallory replied with little enthusiasm.

“That’s the spirit. Race you to my bedroom!” Talia shot off, her hair billowing out from behind her. “Last one there’s a rotten egg.”

Mallory shook her head and chuckled. She started to sprint after her best friend.

---

“I won,” Mallory said breathlessly.

Talia pouted. “No fair, you took the servants path. That’s cheating.”

“No, I just thought smarter than you. We never said it wasn’t allowed.”

“Fine. But I’ll get you next time. Just you wait.” Talia pretended to glare at Mallory.

“I’m terrified,” Mallory dead-panned.

“Oh! I have something for you!” Talia grinned wildly, and reached under her bed.

Mallory smiled from Talia’s infectious joy. “Do you?” She held out her hands to grab the long parcel Talia dropped into them.

She started to unwrap it, but Talia stopped her. “Wait! Open this first.” She handed a heavy looking large bundle that clanked suspiciously.

“What is it?” Mallory asked nervously.

“Just open it!”

Mallory carefully tore away the paper. Gleaming metal and fabric shone up at her. A uniform. But, not just any uniform.

“Is this…”

“The uniform of the princess’s guard? Yes, yes it is.”

Mallory’s mouth fell open. She couldn’t believe it. Everything she had ever worked for. A chance to stay with her friend forever. A chance to be together till they died. This was her dream. Her dream ever since she had laid eyes on the princess. She knew it was silly. Who would ever let her, a nobody, guard the princess? But the gleaming armor was right in front of her.

“How?” Mallory asked, her face shining with joy. “This… this is incredible!”

“I pulled a few strings. But, you have to prove yourself first. It’s not a solid position yet, but you have a chance.” Talia said. “A chance for us to stick together, no matter what.”

Mallory’s heart fell. She did not get this because she had dedicated her life to this, she had gotten this opportunity because Talia had asked for her to get this. She didn’t earn this. But, it didn’t matter, she told herself. You and Talia both know you deserve this. Yes, it would have been nicer if she had earned it on her own, but she still had a chance. And she would not waste it.

“Talia, this is amazing. What did you mean by prove myself? Is there some sort of test or…” she trailed off.

“Nope.” Talia’s face brightened. “They have a job of sorts for you to complete. A weapon that was stolen from the treasury long ago. The jewel of Asno. And they want you to get it.”

“I’ll be away for a long time then. So why do you look so happy?” She asked. Talia was smiling ear to ear.

“Because… only someone of royal blood can touch it. Which means I’m going with you.” She slung her hands over Mallory’s shoulders. “It’s going to be so fun! You and me, on an adventure. It’s a chance for you to prove yourself, and a chance for you and me to go on a trip together.”

Mallory squirmed away. “Your dad is letting this happen?”

“That’s the beauty of it! He doesn't have a choice. The princess can choose her guard, and they can prove themselves in a task of her choice. So he has to let me do this.”

Mallory smiled slightly. “Thank you for this.”

“Of course! You’re my best friend. I’d do anything for you.” Her eyes brightened. “Oh, wait. Don’t forget this!” She nearly shoved the long parcel into Mallory.

“...okay.” Mallory pulled out a beautiful sword from the parcel. “Oh,” she said quietly. “It’s beautiful.” The blade was made of an odd black metal, and the handle had pearl and gold inlaid in a criss-crossing pattern. Mallory drew her thumb across the blade, and hissed as red blood welled up.

“I thought you’d like it. It is really beautiful isn’t it.”

Mallory nodded mutely. “And deadly.” She jumped to her feet, and swiped the blade through the hair. It cut without a sound. A smile split her face. “Thank you Tal. Thank you so much. For everything.”

“Of course Mal. This is your dream. And you’ve earned it.”

“Not alone. I’d still be stuck as some lowly servant if you hadn’t seen me. I’d probably be dead. You encouraged me, and never let me down. Thank you so much for that Tal.”

“Well, of course I’d do that. You’re like my sister. I love you. Now,” She shoved Mallory lightly. “Go try it on. I want to see how my trusted protector looks!”

Mallory rolled her eyes. “If you insist.”

“I do.” She turned around. “I’m not looking, I promise.”

Mallory laughed and started to put the uniform on. It fit perfectly. She walked towards the mirror once she had finished, the metal barely making a sound. The uniform was beautiful as well.

Black pants with shining metal greaves, similar to the sword, tucked into black boots. A red shirt underneath a black chest plate. She tucked her hair up into a helmet with a vibrant red plume. Finally, she strapped her sword over her back.

“It’s beautiful,” Mallory whispered. “I- I can’t thank you enough, Tal. You’ve given me everything.”

“Can I turn around now?” Talia asked.

“Oh,” Mallory laughed. “Yes, you can.”

Talia leapt to her feet and squealed. “Oh, it’s perfect. You’re perfect.” She clasped Mallory’s hands tightly in her own, and spun around the room. “You did it Mal. You’ll be my guard, and wherever I go, you can follow.”

“Inseparable till the end.” Mallory took her helmet off, and set it down. It was far too hot to wear it there. “When do we leave?”

“A week’s time.” Talia sighed dreamily. “Oh, it’ll be amazing. Can’t you imagine.” She leaned her head on Mallory’s shoulder. “Green hills, and mountains, and deep blue lakes.  It’ll be everything I dreamed of.”

“You’ve never really been out of Asnon have you?”

“Well… I’ve been to other palaces. But I’ve never been to the real world.” She spun around, her arms wide. “Isn’t it so exciting.”

Mallory laughed. “The real world isn’t a paradise princess. It’s got ugly parts too. Asnon is beautiful compared to other places. This isn’t going to be easy. We’ll be in danger the whole time. From the moment we leave the borders assume everyone hates you, and wants to kill you.”

“But I don’t have to worry about it. Because you’ll be there to protect me.”She returned to Mallory, and clasped their hands together. They leaned forward as one, and pressed their foreheads together.

“I’m so proud of you, Mal,” Talia whispered, her words warm on Mallory’s face. “You’ve deserved to get this from the second I met you. I love you so much.”

“Thank you for getting me a chance. I promise, I’ll never leave you. I swear, my life belongs to you, and I am yours to command.”

Talia giggled. “Well, I command you to come with me to the kitchen. I’m starving, and you must be too.”

“Your word is my command, princess,” Mallory replied with a bow. She extended an elbow, and the princess looped her own through it. “Shall we?”

“We shall.” They turned, and walked out the doors as one.

---

Back in the safety of her own room, Mallory began to take off her uniform. She had everything she had ever wanted, so why was she so disappointed.

She knew Talia loved her like a sister, and just wanted the best for her, but it still stung to get things only because the princess had helped. She had always wanted to be the princess’s protector, but she had wanted to get there on her own. She did not want the princess calling in favors or asking nicely. She wanted the captain of the guard to look at her and realize that Mallory was perfect for the job. She was hard working, and fierce, and tough. She was a better fighter than anyone in Asnon. But they still looked down on her. Because she was born a nobody. An orphan, sent to live with   a family that didn’t want her. A family that hurt her, and told her she was worthless. Mallory had fought tooth and nail to live, and she wanted to earn her place in the world. She didn’t want it to be handed to her. Then people would question her right. No, Mallory wanted to fight for it. She wanted everyone to watch, and see she was the only person, woman or man, who was worthy enough to protect the princess. She sighed and flopped down, onto her bed.

She should not be complaining. Her life was perfect. She had a chance to win everything. She should not be disappointed. But she was.

Mallory was furious that the princess didn’t understand. She’d never understand.

And that was not her fault. Talia didn’t understand how much it hurt to know that everything Mallory had achieved was because of her. She didn’t understand, and she was just trying to help.

Mallory groaned and rolled over. She pressed her face into her pillow.

A knock sounded on her door.

Mallory grimaced, and slowly got up. She opened the door to find the captain of the guard and the king standing in her doorway.

Mallory dropped into a low curtsy.

“Your highness. What do I owe this… visit?” She asked uncertaintly.

“Good evening Mallory. My daughter has told me she wishes to make you her personal guard,” the king said in his deep voice.

“Yes. It is an incredible honor. I hope to serve her as best as possible.”

“I wanted you to know that I do not approve of her choice. I know that you two are close, but you have not proved yourself.”

Mallory bit her lip. She knew that most people would not approve of Talia���s choice.

“I understand sir…” She started.

“-However,” he continued. “I will give you the benefit of doubt. Talia and you are to travel across the land, to Monopya, to find a stolen weapon. That is your chance to prove yourself. In order for you to gain my trust, I’m sending the captain the captainwith you to ensure the princess’s safety, and observe your progress.”

The captain straightened, and nodded his head sharply at Mallory.

“Is this understood? This is your one chance to prove to me I can trust my daughter’s life in your hands.”

Mallory nodded. “I’d die for her your highness.”

“I am happy to hear this. I wish you luck on your journey.” The king nodded sharply, and spun on his heel. He marched off, the captain close on his heels.

Mallory shut the door, and slid down to the floor. Great. This was just great.

Her every move was going to be watched. And if she messed up, she’d never have a chance again. She’d probably have to leave the palace.

And the captain of the guard was coming. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the man, he had helped her train when she was younger. He never treated her like a kid. He had let her use his weapons and swords. He had helped her learn complicated moves. But he never offered her a chance to become something. And she was still hurt from that. He knew how much it meant to her, but he never said anything. And now he was going on a journey that was supposed to be just her and Talia.

“This is your dream Mallory. You can’t change it now, so go with it,” she said to herself.

Mallory sat on her bed and hugged her knees to her chest. She had gotten so far already.  What was one more mountain? She’d conquer it the way she always did.

Still. The sting of knowing it wasn’t her skill that had gotten her there still hurt. But not enough. Not enough to make her turn away.

Besides. Mallory did not trust anyone else with Talia’s life.

Mallory lay down on her bed, and shut her eyes. “This will work,” her mind whispered. “It has too. If it doesn’t, then you're out of luck.” Everything was on stake. Her very life could be. She would not fail Talia. She would not fail. She could not fail.

[go-events]

GO Rom Com Spotlight: @antikate​

The utterly splendid @antikate​ (Anti_kate on AO3) has claimed Romancing the Stone to adapt for Good Omens in the Good Omens Rom Com Event.

For reference, here’s a little background about the source material!

About Romancing the Stone: A romantic-adventure writer is hurled into a real-life adventure in the Colombian jungle in order to save her sister, who will be killed if a treasure map is not delivered to her captors. She is helped out by a brash mercenary, and together they search for the priceless gem located in the map.

We spent some time chatting about how the adaptation is coming so far, as well as future plans for it! Now, get to know @antikate​ a little better!

* * *

goromcom: Let’s start off with something about you. So, you know how if you open a Tumblr chat with someone you haven't chatted to before, Tumblr tells you two things they post about? I wanted to tell you that yours reports that you post "about #the good place and #ineffable husbands" Boy, are you gonna love my last question! :D

antikate: Yes, I am trash for The Good Place and The Ineffable Husbands (apparently semi-satirical explorations of What It Means To Be Good and the Power Of Love and It Was the Friends We Made Along The Way are a thing for me.)

goromcom: (Also guilty of that, myself over here!) But now, on to talking about your rom com. You chose to adapt Romancing The Stone. Is this movie a favorite of yours, or is there some other reason you chose it?

antikate: I grew up watching 80s action-adventure movies like ROTS, Indiana Jones and The Princess Bride, and I think the mix of action, romance and cheese really seared itself into my brain. ROTS is specifically riffing on the romance novels of the 1970s, such as The Flame and the Flower. These novels were hella problematic, and usually involve a heroine being thrust into terrible circumstances only to be rescued and ravished (problematic!!!!) by a handsome hero. I could go on at length about these novels and also the importance of “romance” as a genre to people who don’t necessarily see themselves in the media, but I won’t.

Anyway, the heroine of these narratives usually begins as very prim and proper, but discovers herself through the course of the story, and usually ends up taking charge of herself and her destiny and her sex life. Joan, the heroine of ROTS, goes on this journey, from being a shy romance writer who lives in her stories, to becoming a character with strength and agency who has an exciting story of her own. 

That made me think of Aziraphale (and the headcanon that I share with lots of other people that he thinks of himself as a damsel in distress with Crowley as the handsome hero, and also that he has a stash of romance novels in the bookshop, and that he’s a bookish person who needs ‘help’ being in the world).

As with a lot of older movies, ROTS hasn’t necessarily aged well, but it does have a really fun, over-the-top ridiculousness we don’t seem to get in that many action movies any more. I also decided I wanted to challenge myself to write something frothy and rompy and fun, as I can be a bit of an angst monster.

goromcom: What's your favorite moment of Romancing The Stone, and are you looking forward to presenting it in your adaptation? Any loose plans for that scene that you can share?

antikate: I think my favourite bit is the ridiculous “sliding down the hill in the mud and rain and landing on top of each other” scene because it’s so daft and silly.

However, I have really struggled to think about how to adapt that for a written fic and to fit my writing style. So I have adapted that part quite heavily, to focus more on the key element of that scene, which is our main characters getting very wet. There’s nothing more romantic than getting utterly drenched with a person you’ve just met!

goromcom: Oh my! (fans self)

Other than that scene making it in (albeit modified from the original), do you plan to stick very closely to the beats of the original story, or make bigger changes?

antikate: I’ve... gone really off the trail. I’m so far off it, I don’t know where I am on the map anymore. In fact I may have crossed international borders.The movie has A LOT of action and while I do enjoy writing action, multiple car crashes/chase scenes/shoot outs are not something I think I can handle writing. So I’ve simplified the plot, and giving myself more time for the important bits, which involves Two Morons Falling In Love. I’ve also been inspired by certain people (they know who they are) to up the thirst, significantly. And it’s hard to be thirsty in a car chase.

goromcom: One would think that thirst while driving would be the catalyst for accidents rather than being a fun little side benefit, indeed!! 

What's an interesting decision you've made in your planning so far--a notable casting decision, a changing of venue, or some other plan you have to paint Good Omens all over your rom com?

antikate: The original movie is set in Colombia, and I have decided instead to set my story in the tropical rainforests of Scotland. (Please don’t @ me.) Not just because Good Omens is Very British but also because the “exotic adventures in strange foreign climes” trope is, well, racist. Whereas Scotland is just far enough outside of the realm of the show that It feels a bit different. And it’s also isolated enough that some of the tropes I’m using make more sense. (Huddling for warmth! There’s only one sleeping bad/bed! Sexy hiking!)

This is also my first AU so it’s an interesting exercise in making my characters their own people without totally throwing away book/show characterization.

goromcom: If sexy hiking became your brand, I’m pretty sure that could only be a good thing. ;)

But let’s not give too much away about the story, and move on to the final question. I am blatantly stealing this from The Good Place: The Podcast, but here goes: Tell me something "good". It can be something big or small. It can be a charity you think is doing good work, or you can talk about how great your pet is.

antikate: I am an Australian expat and things in my homeland this summer have been ... not great. So I’d really like to say to everyone, please find a local Climate Change advocacy and activism group and get involved! 350.org does really good work.

goromcom: Such an important issue, and unfortunately, only going to get more relevant for us as time goes on. (But on a happier note, please remember to keep an eye open for the GO adaptation of Romancing the Stone, coming very soon!)

[chiyoumen]

Two Faced | Chapter 3: Inseparable

Angst | Hurt, no comfort | Jealousy | Denial 

I wasn’t able to get to my computer to post chapter 3 here on tumblr, but here it is now (for anyone who is past meeting Ren and hasn’t read this chapter on Ao3 yet lmao)

Summary:

Neither of them expected their reunion to be so... Bleak. Distance had given them both false expectations and changes in perception. The contact high had faded, and so had their victories.

Ren keeps his stead fast desire for treasure, and Ryo keeps his desire for justice, and peace. The conflict lay in their want for one another... Of which they both further deny.

But, Ren knows he needs Ryo to reach his goals, whether he cared about him or not... Their disappointing reunion left them both feeling raw.

What happens when he eavesdrops, and finds how Ryo speaks about him to other people?

What happens when he hears him flirting with another man?

Notes:

There is, of course, major spoilers for Shenmue III from this point on. Future chapters are planned, and will hopefully make it out as I replay the game again. 

This chapter is based on the meeting with Ren in Niaowu, which was far more mundane than I expected. But it gave me something to work with, so here we are. It also involved the scene after they meet, where Ryo talks to Shenhua about him, and then calling some people, since I had the international calling card. 

Major thanks to everyone who's commented, left kudos, and sent asks to me about this, or generally read this and supported in any way. Your support keeps this alive and I greatly appreciate it!

Hope you enjoy!

[Inseparable]

"He really liked you, didn't he?"

Honestly, he wasn't so sure about Joy's observation. Whenever he was around Ren, there was a palpable tension. The kiss they shared, the memories... The moment he felt strongest was at the top of the yellow head building, Ren's hand upon his shoulder, staring off into the sunset sky as Lan Di got away. He felt nearly defeated when Lan Di had escaped. But there was much more in that moment. He felt so close - like he could truly accomplish finding his father's killer.

And now... He was beginning to feel more alone than ever. While his relationship with Shenhua had grown, and he felt safe with her, she was... Comfortable. He didn't know how else to put that. She was innocent, and he was scared of her seeing more of the world than necessary - but she'd made her choice to follow him. He couldn't blame her for wanting to save her father... And he absolutely wanted to help. She was by no means weak, but she was quite naive.

Ren following him to China was something he'd anticipated, but he hadn't allowed himself to think on it too much. What if he hadn't shown up? He couldn't let himself feel that disappointment.

But he had shown up.

"Is that really all I get!?"

Ryo's heart practically punched through his chest when he heard that abrasive voice slice through the crowds and busy vendors. Ryo saw him the moment he turned the corner and did not hesitate to approach.

"THIS much." Ryo watched him gesture a large amount, "I want THIIIS much."

"Ren-" He tried to push through Ren's argument with the vendor.

Finally, he was here again. But he didn't turn around. He was just shouting about noodles and how stingy the vendor was being... This wasn't surprising.

"Ren!" Ryo needed to be heard.

Ren turned and face him, his heart leaping in frustration over the situation, words slipping from his lips because he did not want this to happen now, "Oh, for crying out loud!"

Play it cool, play it cool. You didn't follow him across China only out of worry. Right, money. That was the main reason, duh. Screw any other reason, honestly. It was the truth, just... Not the whole truth.

"What are you doing here?" Ryo asked, as if he hadn't known Ren would follow him all along.

"What's it look like I'm doing?" Ren gestured to the stand multiple times, "I'm buying some chow mein!"

Ryo glared, "This is no time for jokes."

Ren drew his hands up, taking a step back, that scowl always made his heart skip, "Oh, there you go with that scary face again."

Ryo stepped closer, grabbing Ren's full attention, at least for a moment, "What the hell are you doing in Niaowu?"

'Say it,' Ryo plead internally, 'say you actually care for once, damn it.'

Ren stared at him for a moment, and the smirk that grew on Ren's face made Ryo scared to hear what he was about to say.

"You remember hearing Zhu Yuanda's story back in Kowloon?" Ren wagged his finger upward, and as he finished his statement, he couldn't bear to keep looking at Ryo, and darted his eyes away. Focus on anything else.

Ryo glared instantly, "About what?"

'Please don't say treasure.' Ryo thought, but it was cut off by exactly what he didn't want.

"Treasure!"

'Bastard.' he internally replied, glaring a little.

"I'm talking about treasure!" Ren hissed, briefly raising his fist to him to prove his sure, rock-steady stance on exactly what he was after. But he couldn't look at Ryo anymore, or that rock wall of a facade may crumble. So he turned away, unable to avoid the tension when Ryo lingered closer despite his move away, "The scent is so strong I can practically smell it..."

Ryo sighed, turning his head to stare at the ground. Ren really wasn't as good as he'd built him up to be. In the end, Ryo didn't give a damn about treasure. He wanted vengeance, justice, and eventually peace, and while he had thought Ren cared about that - he very clearly didn't.

"You..." Ryo's voice dropped, trailing off.

He shouldn't have been surprised.

Ren looked back to him, brow raising at Ryo's sudden downcast appearance. Damn. It worked. Ryo couldn't see through anything.

Ren stretched his arms back in the most nonchalant manner he could, deciding that he really didn't want to deal with the aftermath of this encounter. It wasn't his fault that Ryo showed up unexpectedly, he wasn't prepared! And now the kid was upset. Whatever. Ryo could handle himself.

"I'm gonna walk around some more." He flashed a fake, crooked smile at Ryo as he backed away, waving, abrupt and awkward, completely disregarding why he had been at the noodle stand in the first place, "See ya."

As Ryo glared at his back, he hadn't the faintest idea that Ren could be cursing himself mentally the entire time he walked away. Instead, Ryo was wondering how the Hell they'd gotten so close - only for it to be torn away to shreds and crumble so quickly... They'd only been apart a few weeks, but perhaps that was enough to put all their pain and differences in perspective. Or at least remind Ren what his real goal was.

"That Ren could easily pass for a red snake..." He sighed, mumbling to himself, "Guess I should head back to the bustling diner I go." He'd said it loudly in a last ditch effort to tell Ren where he'd be. But the man didn't even acknowledge him.

Ryo's heart had sunk into his stomach, any attempt at staying positive was gone, and he hadn't moved away from their meeting spot right away. He had a feeling that they both knew they'd see one another again - but this was not what he'd been anticipating... And Ren felt as cold as ever. That smirk of his was the same yet it felt so false and hollow. He felt more like the man he met the tried to stab him right off the bat... He felt like that same broken thug he distrusted, and needed to go to for help. He no longer felt the man who spoke up against his cool demeanor, the man who helped him when he didn't need to... the man he'd kissed.

He felt used.

Ryo's fists clenched tightly with his anger, rage brimming his eyes with tears. He'd tried to avoid disappointing himself with thoughts of their reunion - yet this was worse than he'd tried not to imagine. This hurt.

"Damn it..." He muttered inaudibly through gritted teeth, watching Ren's pony tail lightly chase him in the air as he walked away, "Damn you!"

Ren was thinking the same words.

There was nothing about their reunion that felt good - aside from the initial excitement of hearing Ryo call his name. But he was hungry and cranky, not only that, he hadn't expected Ryo to find him in the middle of a vendor's market. This was not going right. This was awful. He couldn't have possibly played it off any worse. Whatever, he really was there to find treasure! Not that he thought Ryo believed that anymore.

Did he care? Sure. Should he? Absolutely not. He had a job to do, and his number one goal was to become rich beyond his wildest dreams. It wasn't his fault that some dumb, passionate kid made him feel a thing or two. It's not like he hadn't slept with people or had brief flings without a second thought before. This was just like that. This was only that...

Being in an actual, public relationship with another man would be a scary prospect at best. Ren had a fondness for women too, but was by no means traditional, nor did he really care about the public opinion. He liked who he liked, despite sexual activity between men being illegal in his hometown. But fuck staying there, anyway, how boring. And since when did he care about any law he didn't want to follow? Boom, problem solved. But only the gods knew how Ryo might feel about that sort of thing. He had no idea how Japanese culture worked when it came to... All of that.

Gods, he was thinking too much. Headache central.

Although... None of it meant he had to be so cold to Ryo.

Maybe he should try again...? He already knew where Ryo was staying, perhaps he could try and stop by, change things. He didn't have to, and he had shit to do, but what good was any of this if Ryo remained pissed at him? There wasn't going to be any treasure, and there wasn't gonna be any glory if he couldn't tail it off the damn kid.

Yeah, that was his rationale.

Ren sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose as he walked along the riverside. Yes, he fucked up. He had to do something. Like fixing a business partnership, right? Damn.

Not too long after their fleeting reunion, Ren made the decision to find Ryo in the Niaowu hotel. He'd been waiting for a while, and it was nearly nine. With a disgruntled groan, he headed into the lobby bathroom, annoyed at Ryo for making him wait so damn long...

Now, he wasn't usually the type to hype himself up, and he felt like an idiot doing so, mumbling under his breath. 'You can do this, he's just a dumb kid, he'll forgive you, this isn't a big deal. You don't even need to ask the idiot.' That was good enough right?

He stared at his hands for a moment, releasing a slow sigh. Gods, he was tired. Getting here hadn't been easy, and now, being here wasn't easy.

Adjusting his bandanna, he moved to leave the restroom.

He froze briefly when he heard Ryo's voice out front. Ren was about ready to push himself ahead, go catch him, talk to him, but he changed his mind the instant he heard a woman respond to him. He snaked against the wall, keeping himself pressed against it as he neared the corner, briefly peeking out to see Ryo sit down with a young, beautiful girl. How strange was that? A girl? Really?

Ren scowled, and moved back against the wall. He was in no way above eavesdropping. He hadn't heard the beginning of their conversation clearly.

Ryo was always awkward, but even more so when he spoke to women.

"Have you found anything?" The woman asked, a delicate, sweet voice reaching their ears.

"Hm. Nothing... New." Ryo replied.

She seemed disappointed, but resigned to patience, "Okay..."

"I..." Ryo paused on and off, as if he wasn't sure he wanted to tell her this, "Met someone... Unexpected, though."

Unexpected in the way he ran into him, not entirely unexpected, as he knew he'd see him eventually.

"Oh, who?" The woman replied.

"A man I met in Hong Kong, named Ren."

Ren's heart skipped, cold sweat beading throughout his skin.

"Ren, huh?" The girl seemed curious, "Is he a friend of yours?"

Neither of them knew the answer to that. But Ryo's response forced Ren into a state of anger that he had to swallow like a dry rock.

"Not... exactly.

Excuse you, kid?

"I keep my guard up when he's around."

'Seriously?' Ren glowered internally, 'After all I've done?'

"So..." She pushed for clarification, "He's a bad guy?"

"Uhm..."

Ren's entire body was washed over in a cold ice.

"Yeah, actually. He is."

Ren's hands balled into fists as he attempted to slow down his rapid breaths. He wasn't going to disagree when he was called a thug, or a jerk, or a snake. But he wasn't a bad guy! ...Was he? No! He was just trying to make a damn living in this harsh environment. One that he was born into and wasn't his fault to begin with!

Yet, his anger was lightly soothed, softened a little upon hearing, "But... We can trust him?"

"Well, yeah... We just have to watch our backs is all."

It was something. But not enough to completely quell the heaviness and heat weighing on him now.

"O...Kay?" She seemed just as confused about the two's relationship as they did.

So... Was that really how Ryo felt about him...?

Ren felt lost in a dizzying heart palpitation. He couldn't find his breath anymore, until he somehow forced a shaky one into his lungs. His nails were digging into his palms, only protected by the fabric of his gloves. He really was a bad guy, wasn't he? He's a thug, a villain, and Ryo had only needed him for help. Never took him for the using people sort, but maybe Ryo wasn't as innocent as anyone liked to believe...

With a start, Ren realized he needed to hide better as the girl passed by, toward the stairs. He slid down the hall, cautious, quick, and careful. He pushed himself off the wall to hide behind the corner in front of the bathroom door, still hidden.

He listened to Ryo and the girl bid each other a good night, and he peeked out very carefully to see if Ryo followed her. He felt some sense of relief when Ryo didn't tail her - but panicked when he almost turned his way. He hid again, and he wasn't spotted. All Ren ended up hearing was the sound of a phone being picked up - and Ryo beginning to dial a number.

Well, he certainly didn't want to apologize now anyway. If he wanted a bag guy, he was going to see one. Bad guys don't apologize, bad guys don't do rescue missions. But Ren had to stay put, there was no way he was going to sneak past Ryo while he was on the phone - Lords knew the damn hotel woman might say something.

But again... Ren was not above eaves dropping. Slowly, he lowered himself to the floor, closing his eyes as he sat on the ground and listened.

"Joy?"

Joy. Joy!? Why of all people would he call Joy? Either way, at first it was a typical greeting, boring the crap out of Ren already. He leaned his head back against the wall, and waited.

But his head shot up when Ryo began talking about him, yet again.

"I ran into Ren here..."

Yeesh, don't say it so dryly.

"Yeah..." He paused, "Play nice? With Ren?"

Ren grimaced to himself. But hey, he wasn't much one for playing nice either. Fair. But the next statement wasn't.

"Don't make me laugh. Nobody would make a great team with him."

'Wow, thanks.' Ren bit back that sarcastic statement, by literally biting his lip, 'Least I'm a leader. I've got people waiting for orders. Tsk.'

"He's only interested in treasure! Treasure is about the last thing I'm after."

Ren's hand hesitantly met his face, rubbing his temples with his thumb and forefinger. This was a nightmare. Ryo was both completely right and wrong at the same time. Ren's desperation for power and riches completely conflicted with the way his heart was beating right then, with the way he wanted to yell at him for being such a damn idiot, for disregarding his actions and taking priory over his words... Not that he was about to admit a damn thing.

Though the way Ryo spoke next put a dent in his lost thoughts, "A... blast? With Ren? Really?"

Ren peeked out again, nearly crawling to look that annoyingly far around the corner, too quickly, almost making a sound. It was difficult to see him, but he'd stepped back enough. Either the lighting had changed, or Ryo's face had become flushed with red... Ren knew his face matched.

But Ryo scowled, "Give me a break."

Oh, what Ren wouldn't do to hear Joy's side of the conversation. She knew him, she knew him more than he liked to admit... She was gonna weasel his feelings out without being blunt, wasn't she? But Ryo was convinced that he didn't care now, and Joy may have made him flustered, but that didn't change anything!

They shared a kiss! How the hell was he so damn convinced he didn't care? Gods, what kind of a mess had he gotten himself into... Sure, he was the type to run off and do reckless things... But chasing a boy across China? What the fuck was he thinking? At least his friends didn't seem surprised. Wong and Joy may have been able to read him like an open book, but any of his men? Nah. They expected him to chase the scent of money, hell, they trusted him to do so. Of course he'd go running off at the statement 'treasures of the Qing dynasty.' It was a priority to him... Ryo was merely a benefit to the chase. Yeah. That was all. It was better to look at a pretty boy (and potentially a pretty girl now, too) on the trail to gold than fight along side a ton of old geezers. Uhg.

Ren had been lost in thought, and he hadn't realized that Ryo was talking to someone else already. They had been talking for a moment already, and Ren hadn't caught on until he heard...

"Naturally, I didn't do it alone. I was with a few friends I made back in Hong Kong."

Ren peeked up a little again. But scowled, were they friends or not? And who was he talking to!? Yeesh. And he thought he was the hot and cold one.  

Ren stood again, moving a little bit further in when he realized Ryo had moved closer to the phone, his voice more on a hush-hush level. Whoever was on the other end of the line must have been someone who knew of Ryo's path and all that was going on... He wanted to keep it private.

"They were at least trustworthy, but they couldn't hold a candle to you..."

Ren froze in place, staring at Ryo's profile with wide eyes and a sneer. Ohhh no. No, no. Ren knew that tone. That extremely subtle flirting. That damn tease - so similar to the way he spoke his name, the very thing that drove him up a damn wall. Ren gritted his teeth, knowing he was going to get a headache after all of this. There was no way he was talking to a girl, either. He could never be that suave with a woman.

"There were so many times when I wondered, what if I'd brought you with me to Hong Kong..."

Ren felt his stomach drop, every part of him washed with cold again...

That smile in Ryo's voice, that genuine care, who the hell was it on the other line!?

"Yeah, why?" Ryo muttered, a gentle lull to his tone.

No, no, maybe it was just a friend. Maybe he just knew that person really well. Maybe it was a brother or something? That had to be it. Ryo couldn't possibly talk to someone like that in a flirtatious manner... But he did hear a masculine tone on the other line as he stepped closer, pressed back against the wall.

"Are you blushing, Guizhang?"

Guizhang!? Who the fuck is Guizhang!? If he'd been told, he'd completely forgotten. But now, whoever he was, he had his scorn.

Ren thought he'd already heard the worst crap he could possibly hear while eavesdropping. He was wrong. This took the cake, and the presents, and the house. His ears were ringing, vision tunnelling, and his heart felt like it was about to give. All the fury he'd ever felt seemed to rise back into every single fiber of his being all at once. All over a stupid kid and a stupid mystery phone man and a stupid treasure! It was all stupid, worthless, useless crap!

It took all of his willpower not to stomp up to Ryo right then and there to confront him. Who the hell did he think he was!? How could this possibly get any worse!? He knew confronting him would be far worse than keeping his mouth shut, and pretending he heard nothing inside the wall of Niaowu Hotel... And that's what he would do. Erase this night, erase the ideals he had, erase any promises in a devil's heart.

But he wasn't going to leave Niaowu empty handed, and that meant shoving his heart as far down as it could go, deep into the crevices of his own personal hell in hopes that no one would ever find it again.

It was only a matter of time before Ryo would need him, and Ren was going to make it as clear as possible - he wanted treasure. Nothing more, nothing less.

[gaycrouton]

Nebraska Nice - 50 States of Sex

Author’s Note: Hey! This is my submission for the “50 States of Sex Challange” created by @viceversawrites and @softnow on Tumblr. My state was Nebraska and I hope I did it justice! 

He felt bad, he really did. What was supposed to be a simple stakeout turned into him and Scully sitting outside for hours in record breaking heat. They were posing as a couple on a picnic; weapons, handcuffs, and IDs loaded in the basket as they waited for someone suspicious to emerge from the cornfield. It had been reported that a man was walking through the fields under the guise of detasseling, but was actually injecting the corn with harmful pesticides.

He figured it’d be simple enough, the detasseling crew usually got out at noon, so he and Scully would be waiting there to get him away from the prying eyes of the crowd, hopefully catching him in the act. He told her to wear what would appear to be ‘casual date’ clothes in case he saw them before it was time to catch him. So she wore a spaghetti strap sundress as he wore one of his button ups while they sat on a hill overlooking the field.

It was fun at first, this impromptu date with Scully, she even teased him that this was more romantic than their normal dates. They caught sight of the man almost immediately, but then they lost him. He was adamant he’d emerge, so they sat there and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

After the first hour Scully put her hair up as sweat beaded along her forehead and neck, Mulder had no doubts his shirt was probably damp in a few places. As he watched her raise her arms to tuck auburn hair into a rubber band, he noticed an unusual flush to her skin. That should have given it away, but he was too busy enjoying seeing so much casual Scully-skin to realize. Even an hour later when he watched her scan the field, admiring her newly revealed freckles adorning the bridge of her nose, he didn’t notice.

It finally struck him when she itched her back, shifting her spaghetti strap and revealing a sliver of pale, porcelain skin; Scully was getting an atrociously bad sunburn. He didn’t really know what to say. There wasn’t really anything they could do about it in that moment, and he didn’t really want her to be mad at him in that moment, they were having such a good time. Retrospectively, he wanted to smack himself, but he just continued flirting with her as they watched the cornfield. They stayed out in the sun for another hour, practically pouring sweat, and that wasn’t even the worst part.

Around three thirty, they finally saw a shady man appear. They slowly made there way to him as he packed up his bag, “Excuse me, are you Jeremiah Morgan?”

The man whipped around, revealing all the pesticides in his bag, before throwing it at them and running into the field. They both grabbed their guns and ran into the field, not immediately realizing that wasn’t the brightest thing to do. Mulder had the advantage of being a bit taller than the corn was at this stage of growth, so he could see the man’s trail as he ran. Eventually, he caught up with him when they burst out the other side of the field, tackling him to the ground.

He eased up on his knees and got his handcuffs out of his back pockets. “Jeremiah Morgan, you are under arrest for damaging private property and endangering public health. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in-” Mulder trailed off as he noticed red lashes along his forearms. He pulled Morgan up to his feet and saw the man was untouched, being he was covered in detasseling gear.

The man caught him as he examined the other part of his arm, “What? Ya run full force through a corn field with no protective gear on, and ya didn’t expect ta git corn rash?” the man drawled.

“What’s corn rash?” Mulder asked curiously, seeing that some areas looked like a rash whereas others looked like little cuts and abrasions.

Morgan shook his head as if he just asked the dumbest question in the world, “It’s a rash of sorts that happen when bare skin rubs against the harsh corn leaves. Or if yer an idiot and run through the field. Count yer blessin’s, at least you weren’t the short lil thang wearing a purty little dress.”

Fuck, Scully.

He followed Morgan’s amused gaze and saw her standing at the outer edge of the cornfield, embellished with a vicious sunburn and corn rash covering every area of her body. Her sundress left her arms and a good portion of her neck, chest, and back bare and it only came down to mid thigh, leaving her sandal-clad legs completely exposed. She must’ve seen Mulder had it handled, because she was focused on looking at the full situation of her condition, not yet seeing she had a few cuts on her face. God, he really felt horrible.

After everything was said and done- Morgan handed off to the local P.D, a trip to a local Farm and Fleet for Aloe Vera and Benadryl Itch Cream, a thousand apologies tumbled out of Mulder’s mouth- they were finally stumbling into their motel room hours later. They always rented two hotel rooms, just to avoid suspicion, but they’d been sharing a room ever since they got together and nothing made him happier.

“The Corn State can kiss my ass,” Scully grumbled, kicking her shoes off begrudgingly.

“Actually, Iowa’s the corn state,” at her glare he added, “But yeah, fuck Nebraska.”

She laughed lightly at his willingness to please her. “Thank god it’s not Iowa, remember that broken shower? We were dirty the whole trip,” she recalled, grimacing as she tried to raise the dress over her sore body.

“Hey,” he cooed, making his way around the bed to help her. She dropped her arms and was pliant to his touch as he slowly unzipped the back of her dress, inching close to her ear to murmur, “I happen to remember just how dirty we got in that motel. As I recall, you seemed to really enjoy it.”

He eased her straps gently down her shoulders and lowered the dress to her ankles, helping her step out of it so she was left in just her little cotton underwear. Only Scully could make Fruit of the Loom look sexy. “While that may be true, if I can’t take a bath in the next two minutes I’m seriously going to cry,” he chuckled, stepping out of her underwear. “Ah, Mulder!” she cried, giggling as he cradled her in his arms and walked to the bathroom.

“I simply can’t let that happen,” he exclaimed in mock gallantry, bending down so he could snag a plastic bag from the bed.

He discarded the bag in the sink and set Scully down on the lip of the bathtub, bending down to adjust the water and let it fill up a bit. “Mulder,” she laughed, “I’m sunburned, not incapacitated. I think I can manage.”

He pivoted on his knees so he was looking up at her cherry red face, holding back a frown when he saw a lash on her cheekbone and on her forehead. He grabbed her hands in his and kissed them gently, resing them on her bent knees as he pled, “Scully, I feel really guilty. Because of my poor planning, you look like a lobster. An attractive one, but a lobster nonetheless. Not only that, but you got some hellish Midwestern corn lashing. Please let me take care of you. You’re always so strong, please let me help you for once.”

Scully regarded him with a sweet smile as he spoke and, when he was finished, she leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. “Mulder,” she whispered as she broke away. “You help me more than you could possibly imagine, and for the thousandth time, I don’t blame you. In fact, aside from the pain, I had a really nice time today. But, yes, you can take care of me in whatever way you see fit,” she added suggestively.

He scooped her up in his arms again before slowly lowering her into the tub, ignoring the jolt of arousal her throaty moan of relief caused. He stood up and watched her snuggle down into the water with closed eyes, a content smile playing on her lips. She looked beautiful as ever, but he had to admit, she looked pretty funny with her pale torso and flaming appendages.

He turned around and got some surprises out of the bag. “What’s that?” Scully murmured from behind him, her voice echoing off the tiled walls.

He pulled out a bag of Epsom salts and poured them into the bath, swishing his hand around in the water until it became milky and bubbly. “Well, while you were in the pharmacy, I picked up a few other essentials.”

“Pray tell.”

“I got some Epsom salts, for your bath,” he said, holding up the empty bag before tossing it in the corner.

“Mmm,” she hummed appreciatively, swishing her arms in the water so the bubbles danced over her creamy breasts.

He dragged his eyes away from the erotic sight, clearing his throat as he pulled his next suprise out. “I bought some honey vanilla candles,” he informed as he lit them, placing them on various ledges along the bathroom until her skin was illuminated by the candles glow and the faint aroma permeated the air.

“Very nice,” she cooed appreciatively.

“Aaaand, last but not least,” there was a loud pop and Scully raised her head a little bit to see what he was doing. “A mini bottle of champagne to help you relax,” he laughed as he poured it into a ninety-nine cent, plastic champagne flute he bought.

“Mulder, you really didn’t have to do all this,” she smiled, accepting the champagne from him.

He leaned in over the bath and kissed her, “I know, but you deserve it.” A shy smile tugged on her lips and she looked away, taking a drink of her champagne. He did that to her all the time now, showing her love and telling her it was what she deserved. Scully was so hard on herself, and, to him, she deserved the world. Especially after all it had put her through. She was better at accepting it now, and he wasn’t sure if it was her realizing she deserved the best, or her being comfortable enough with him to know she didn’t have to put up her strong defenses and allowing him to treasure her. He hoped it was both.

She relaxed into the tub and he walked out to grab her toiletry bag. He grabbed her body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and a towel before returning to her. He got on his knees behind her head, grabbed a plastic cup from the counter, and started pouring water through her hair, getting it wet before he started washing her hair, smiling at the little sounds of pleasure she made as his fingernails scraped against her scalp.

After half an hour, the champagne was gone, his clothes were soaked, and Scully was squeaky-clean, happy as can be. He stood up and discarded his pants and shirt, leaving him in just his boxers as he grabbed a towel. He offered her his hand to help her stand up before wrapping the terry cloth gently around her, picking her up once more. This time she simply relaxed in his arm and placed little kisses on his throat, nipping playfully at his adams apple.

He was insanely hard from giving her a bath and they both damn well knew it.

He sat her down gently on the bed and he reached into the other bag to grab the various ointments. He looked between them both before realizing he’d have to consult Dr. Scully. “Hey, do you want the Aloe Vera or the itch cream? Do I put them both on?”

She let the towel flutter open on the bed, revealing her shining supple skin. From the way her nipples were protruding and the glisten that was only present on her inner thighs, she was equally as affected from their bathroom endeavour. She leaned back on the bed, resting her weight on her palms, “Aloe Vera on the burns, that hurts worst, just put the itch cream on top of my arms additionally, that’s the only area that itches uncomfortably.”

He smiled and took the plastic cap off the green bottle. He decided he’s go top to bottom and he put a small little glob on his fingers. She was looking at him with adoration as he brought the dollop to her face, rubbing it in with gentle circles across the taut red skin of her face.

He continued the same pattern on her neck, her upper chest, upper back, arms, and legs. Everywhere that was red, adding some to his own reddened face and forearms for good measure. He set the half empty bottle on the nightstand and poured a dollop of Benadryl into his palms, rubbing it between his hands before spreading it over her arms.

She watched him like a hawk the whole time, he felt her eyes on him and it didn’t help lessen his throbbing arousal. Though, neither did caressing almost every inch of her body. He took a step back and looked her over. “Did I miss anything?”

She reached her arms out in an attempt to grab him. He gave her his hand and let out a surprised yelp as she unexpectedly tugged him down, his body falling clumsily on her. Before he could say anything she wrapped her legs around him and playfully rubbed her nose against his. “Yes you did. You missed some very important areas,” she rasped huskily.

He bit back a moan as she ground her bare crotch into the tent of his pants. He could feel how hot and wet she was from the way she instantly dampened his boxers. “S-Scully,” he stammered, trying to regain a semblance of composure. “I don’t want to hurt you, you’re so burned.”

He was so focused on having an ounce of control, that it was easy for her to shift their weight so she was resting on top of him. She leaned over him and grabbed his hands, pinning them above his head and giving him a fantastic view of her tits. “Muhlder,” she moaned, drawing out his name as she rocked against him. He was so fucking hard right now, he swore all his blood was in his cock.

She leaned down so her head was a few inches away from his, so close that her breath tickled his lips, “You’ve been so good to me,” another roll of her hips. “I want to make you feel as good as you’ve made me feel.” God, he loved it when she used that tone on him. Her voice dropped lower than he imagined it could and she sounded like audible sex. She was such a seductress. He was so lucky.

She released his hands temporarily and reached between them to tug his boxers down, he knew she loved feeling his skin slap against her. He raised his hips to help her and, in a flash, his boxers were gone and she resumed her previous position. She ghosted her lips over hers in a tease, puckering them slightly but backing away when he tried to meet her, playfully darting her tongue out to lick his lips instead. “I promise, nothing will make me feel better than you fucking me.” She bent down again and spoke into his parted lips, “Can you do that for me?”

He imperceivably nodded before crashing his mouth against hers, lavishing her with a passionate kiss. His cock was trapped against her throbbing center and his abdomen. Everytime her tongue ran against his, she’d thrust her body, raking her wetness along his shaft. She lifted her head to break the kiss and she beamed down at him with swollen lips. “I love you so much,” she panted seriously. She went from temptress to adoring in a matter of moments and he felt like his heart could burst from how much he loves her.

He raised his hands to cup her face and gave her another chaste kiss on the lips, “Scully, I love you. You’re my everything.” This is another thing they did all the time; express love to each other like they were in a melodrama. What could they say? So many years of hiding meant they had a lot of affection to catch up on.

Scully smiled as she reached down in between them, grabbing his shaft and running it along her opening. He was practically writhing on the bed to keep himself from bucking inside her. In one sudden motion, she sank down on him and they both groaned in pleasure. This had been building up for hours and it was a sweet reunion.

He was glad he could at least grab her waist safely because not touching her was torture. He gripped her sides, lavishing the way her soft skin felt against his palms as her body slid up and down. She rested her hands on his chest as she used her knees to rock up and down, impaling herself on his engorged cock. She would raise herself up, so that only his head was in her, and she would gyrated her hips all the way down, continuing that several times as he panted under her.

“You have no idea how much seeing you like this turns me on,” she whimpered, trying not to lose her rhythm as she became desperate.

“Seeing me like what? Cock deep in you?” he asked wanting to hear her voice, to hear her talk more about what turns her on.

She grabbed his hands from her hips and dragged them up to her breasts, where they could be put to better use. He tweaked and pinched her nipples as she continued, “Y-yes,” her words already breaking up from their momentum, “I love see-ing your face when you’re f-fucking me. I love the way y-your muscles tense and your face contort in-ah, fuck,” she stopped as he added more pressure on her nipples, “-pleasure,” she moaned.

When you’re fucking me. Hearing her talk like that would forever be one of his favorite things and it made his cock ache even more than before. He couldn’t resist anymore and he started thrusting upwards into her. “God, yes Mulder, just like that, agh,” her tone was high pitched and breathy now, laced with desperation, and he knew she was close already.

They were thrusting against each other like their lives depended on it and all the stress of the day was worth it, being it brought them to this beautiful moment of release. He started rotating his hips and she screamed his name, her whole body quivering and shaking above his as she came. “Yeah, that’s it baby, cum for me,” he growled, holding her so she wouldn’t fall off him.

Pet names were new to them, the first time one slipped he thought he’d get a bullet in the leg, but instead got a blushing girlfriend and shy smile. “N-no. I like it,” she’d admitted in embarrassment. He didn’t realize until later that it turned her on. A badge of honor, a stake of claim. She was his and he was hers.

She was still pulsating around him when he started rubbing her clit. A whine of excitement left her lips as she continued bucking against him. He quickened up the pace, both of his hand and his dick and she was quickly chasing a second orgasm. God bless the non-existent refractory period of women. She reached a hand between them and kneaded his balls, making his eyes roll to the back of his head as he cried her name.

He flicked her clit just right and she gasped, spasming once more, only this time she wasn’t alone. She collapsed on him as their bodies were wracked with ecstasy, trembling slightly against one another as they came. She nuzzled her face against his neck and kissed his thudding pulse point. Enjoying the rhythm she was responsible for creating inside his body.

She fell on her side, his cock sliding out of her, and cuddled him with sleepy enthusiasm. He hooked his foot on his boxers laying forgotten on the bed and he brought them up high enough for him to grab. He leaned away from her for a moment so he could wipe away the semen leaking out of her and onto her thighs. When she was cleaned up, he wiped their mixed arousal from his shrinking cock and abdomen, throwing the boxers in the corner when he was done.

He reached down and grabbed the blankets, bringing them up around them before turning off the bedside lamp, trying not to awaken the human tomato laying on his arm. He nuzzled closer to her and whispered, “How does your body feel?” he asked, still concerned about the toll today took on her.

“Thoroughly fucked, sated, sleepy, relaxed, and surprisingly, not painful,” she murmured against the skin of his arm, not opening her eyes. She placed a lazy kiss on his arm before mumbling, “I love you,” the last word breaking a bit as she fell into sleeps embrace.

He leaned closer and kissed her forehead, “I love you too.”

Maybe Nebraska wasn’t so bad after all.

Footnote: Detassling is a shit ass job in the midwest where you literally go out in the fields and de-tassle the corn stalks. It’s torture. Also, “Nebraska Nice” used to be one of their slogans. Hope you enjoyed!!

[thorkidumpster]

top 5/bottom 5

Rules: tag the person who tagged you, always post the rules, answer the questions, and add the date!  

I was tagged by @raven-brings-light.

What are your five most popular works? (starting with the most kudos)

Because I tend to post my stories on tumblr more, I’m going by notes, too.

mouth full of white lies with 222 kudos

"No," Loki insists. "No. I'm not meeting him again. He's got two kids, for fuck's sake! He fucked me into the bed, then called them right as I was leaving to say goodnight!"

"Sounds like..." Sigyn mutters off-hand, flipping through her texts with a pink-painted nail. "That he's looking to be a daddy of three."

bruises on your thighs like my fingerprints with 188 kudos

Look at me, Loki says without words. Want me.

Yes, this little baby boy has been trained well.

Loki's tight shorts are his last bastion of modesty. He squirms for his Daddy as Thor trails a hand down his slender torso and over his soft belly. Thor rests for a moment there, feeling the sinuous pull of Loki's abdominal muscles and the flexing of his billowing breaths. It's an unguarded, intimate feeling, too much so, and Thor moves on with due haste.

Besides, there are greater treasures waiting to be uncovered.

detail your sin with 148 kudos

Thor licks his dry lips, then licks them again. The plug inside him burns, but not as much as the humiliation that churns in his stomach at the thought of anyone finding out—his co-workers, his friends, his students…

He’s a respected teacher at Shield High, well loved for his easy-going nature and tendency to forgo homework when the mood strikes him. He works out five times a week and volunteers at a food bank, always gives generously without strings, and loves when his brother fucks him in the ass and stuffs him with cum.

“will you marry me” with 85 notes

“Marry me,” Thor whispers against Loki velvet, open lips. “Marry me, Loki, marry me–”

Loki chuckles, the sound trailing into a groan as Thor presses hard. They are a tangle of sweat and limbs—Loki’s ankles locked firmly around Thor’s hips, his nails digging into the shifting muscles of Thor’s back. A position of intimacy, of love, not often used by Loki, but Thor insisted and, in fairness, Loki is as impressionable as new fallen snow before Thor.

No one else but Thor.

The stone table under Loki scratches; he’ll have marks from this, cuts in his skin to overlay the pattern of scars that circles his body. “Our fathers would murder us,” Loki says.

“unbreakable kiss” with 80 notes

Loki’s lips feel sweet against his own.

The dusty, humid corner they’d found themselves in—less so. But this is the last night that he might have Loki; the last night that a discovered tryst between the two would garner only outrage instead of war.

“Thor,” Loki breathes. His chilly hands start their path at the base of Thor’s neck, but wind up into his hair, black nails scratching. “Thor.”

What are your five least popular works? (starting with the least kudos)

“breathtaking kiss” with 13 notes

Loki is shaking.

It’s a tremble that runs through his whole body, from his overexcited heart to the curling toes in leather shoes. He feels like a teenager again, even as an alarming amount of grey has started to thread through his hair.

“Loki,” Thor murmurs, nuzzling their noses together. “How do you do that?”

Loki gives an airy laugh and cards a hand through Thor’s hair. The sunset turns his hair golden again, but Loki treasures every line around Thor’s lips; proof of all the smiles they’ve shared over the course of their lives together.

“day 2: sticky” with 26 notes

Vacation.

God knows they’ve need it—there’s a mania humming in the bloated city air, a tensing of shoulders and thinning of lips when calendars divulge that summer is nearly half over. Convincing their parents to let them come to the lakehouse by themselves took a week and thousands of promises of good behaviour.

No mom, no parties. Yes dad, we’ll make sure not to blow the grill up.

But it’s worth it.

untitled with 28 notes

Latin cities keep late nights.

It’s supposed to be winter here, buried in the heart of Buenos Aires, but no one has told the weather that—through the open window of Loki’s hostel room, a muggy, heated breeze sweeps in. Crickets sing their lonely songs, but they can barely be heard over the bustle of the city.

Bracing himself on the window sill, Loki breathes in and listens.

The burr of Spanish whirs along the neat gridline streets, and Loki can measure his heartbeat by the rise and fall of laughter. A low rumble of music plays from somewhere, something low and fast, perfect for dancing to, or kissing to, or fucking to. Even from here, six floors up, Loki can hear the tinkle of dinnerware and glasses; he can smell the rich, meaty scents of their food.

“day 3: summer” with 30 notes

“What do you love about me?”

Thor looks down at his brother, laying with his sleek, black head in his lap. His book is resting, open, on his chest, and Loki’s got a determined tilt to his lips that Thor doesn’t like—that’s the same look of concentration he has right before he starts slinging magic around.

“Why?” Thor says, hesitant.

“Because I want to know.”

“Ahh…” Thor isn’t sure how to respond. He just… loves Loki. Asking him to list all the reasons why he loves his brother would be like asking him to name every star in the sky. “You’re a good brother?” Sometimes. When he wasn’t practicing a new spell on his favorite test dummy: one Thor Odinson.

“day 1: dirt” with 37 notes

‘This town’, Frigga thinks, bleary, as she mops the sweat from her brow, 'has the most disorganized weather in the world.’

Just yesterday, the weather was pleasant, but bright blue skies and plump little clouds, and a healthy breeze that cooled her heated body. Now the thermostat creeps up and up until it tops out; it is just too hot for it to read. The radio buzzes with staticy warnings about heat strokes, hydration, and staying indoors.

Frigga heeded that religiously. She was born in Norway—this heat has to be unnatural. Like the whole planet has a fever. The air conditioning unit putters out, weak, but it’s too old to handle the workload and needs to be replaced. Odin is out at the hardware store looking for a replacement and she wishes now she had joined—at least the car and store would be cool.

Are you surprised? Why?

Not particularly. Smut gets notes lmao that’s just the way things work. But even with smut, my writing doesn’t tend to garner a whole helluva lot of attention. There are infinitely better writers than me in the fandom and I just sort of bob along back here.

Optional: If you want to calculate this, what are your works’ average number of notes?

Just based on this list -- 85.7 notes/kudos. Ouch...

Today’s date, so you can see how your results might change if you do this again in a year.

August 6th, 2017

Tag six people to do this next!

I’m kinda having a brain-fart tbh. But if you want to do this, just pretend I tagged you! I won’t tell.

[5hfanfiction]

Falling Over - Chapter 32

“How’ve you been taking care of my little girl so far? No trouble too bad yet I’m assuming?” He asks and Lauren sees Camila flush behind him but judging by his voice he isn’t implying anything. “Sinu has updated me after every call that I haven’t been there for and I know things are getting tough so let me know if you need anything at all okay? And call me Ale okay? I feel weird going by sir,” he chuckles and Lauren forces a laugh back still nervous.

“Yes, yes of course Ale right, and I don’t think we need anything really, I’m doing my best to keep her safe and things are inevitably getting more serious but it’s nothing we can’t handle,” she promises and he smiles at her, Camila nodding to her over his shoulder and aiming her eyes towards the stairs.

“Papa I’m going to bring Lauren to unpack okay? We’ll be down in a few?” Camila explains turning around and grabbing Lauren’s hand easily and with an “of course” from Alejandro she pulls Lauren towards the stairs and up to her room, the older girl carrying both of their duffle bags because Camila claimed she tore a muscle and couldn’t lift.

It’s been almost week since the ruined date and almost a week since the two finally made things official between them. Things have been good for them as a couple. Meaning they’ve had zero disagreements and a million cuddles. Things with Dorothy on the other hand have been shaky to say the least. The nightmares hadn’t occurred the night after her mirror incident, but that was because she had barely slept. Camila had been so restless that her mind didn’t settle down enough to go through the nightmare.

However it had been more than one night and since then the nightmares have increased to a point that both girls are living on a few hours of sleep a night. Lauren hated it. Not because she was tired but because seeing the bags under Camila’s eyes made her feel extremely guilty despite her inability to do anything.

“So you’ve been in here once before I think?” Camila asks as she pushes her bedroom door open and holds it for Lauren before shutting it so they have some privacy. “Luckily the bed is a queen now and not a twin, I had one for most of high school and as much as I love cuddling with you, I prefer cuddling on a bigger space,” Camila explains and Lauren blushes slightly as she drops her duffel bag onto the ground by the bed and sits down.

“Good, we need room to cuddle with how we’ve been sleeping lately,” Lauren comments, eyes scanning over the room before falling back to meet Camila’s tired face. She still looks beautiful, more beautiful than anyone Lauren’s seen before and the fact that she’s hers makes Lauren giddy. “C’mere,” she instructs, sitting on the edge of the bed and reaching a hand out to summon Camila over to her like she does often when they get a chance to cuddle.

Camila smiles as big as she can and makes her way over to Lauren who guides Camila to straddle her lap and hug onto her as tight as her arms can. There’s nothing sexual about it, lately they’d found themselves in this position more often than before. Camila had reblogged something about it on her tumblr, about being held and secure and just hugged in this position and Lauren wants Camila to feel as safe as she can possibly make her, so as soon as Lauren noticed the reblog she initiated the position. It was also a good way to be as comfortable as possible even when not sleeping. Camila was tiny so Lauren didn’t have to struggle to hold her and she was warm and she smelled really good all the time so this position wasn’t bad for Lauren either. She was the one who was supposed to be protecting Camila but with the girl in her arms Lauren felt just as protected as she knew Camila did. Everything about Camila’s presence was intoxicating in the best of ways.

“How are you holding up right now Camz?” Lauren mumbles into her girlfriend’s hair after a few moments of silence in which they just hold each other passes. They’re content in the feel of each other and small moments like this that aren’t forced are a treasure in any relationship, but especially in one that relies so much on comfort and trust in one another.

They don’t talk while they sit and that may be one of the most refreshing things. It just proves that not only do they not have to talk to feel secure with each other, but also that they can be with each other and still feel as comfortable as they do when they’re alone. Both girls had always been more introverted than not. Probably because of how much they’d had to go through together with their ghosts and pasts but also because of other random factors that have added up.

The point is that both Lauren and Camila had never thought they’d find somebody that they love enough to replace their alone time with them. It wasn’t that they were against finding somebody but there isn’t anything wrong with enjoying your own company and both girls did. They had always preferred to be reading or sleeping or writing or anything alone really, but now that there is an option to be with each other they don’t have to think twice before choosing that. The two have a good time together no matter what, from cuddling like this, to watching netflix and joking around, to making out, to getting food and marathoning Grey’s, they can spend unmeasurable amounts of time together without getting bored of the other, and if they get bored of the topic they move on.

“Hmm,” Camila hums into Lauren’s neck after a moment of silence between them and moves so her legs are wrapped more tightly around Lauren’s waist. “I’m ehh,” she mumbles and Lauren smiles because Camila is so adorable but then stops because she remembers that she’s asking the girl if she’s okay based on her lack of sleep.

“You wanna try to nap or anything? We have about…” Lauren trails looking across the room for Camila’s alarm clock, “two hours before your other family and the girls get here so maybe we can put on some netflix and cuddle?” she suggests and Camila is still burrowed into her like a puppy but she knows the other girl is listening, “I’m sure your parents will understand that you need some more rest, okay?”

Camila thinks about it for a minute, kind of wanting to spend time catching up with her parents but knowing she has the rest of the week for that and that Lauren is right and rest is needed. Plus even if she wasn’t tired, who was Camila to turn down cuddling with Lauren Jauregui and watching Netflix? Especially since Lauren was whipped and would let her pick the show.

“Yeah that sounds good,” Camila replies after her thoughts are clear and then pulls away from Lauren slightly so she can lock eyes with the raven haired beauty. “I’ll go tell my mom, you set up the shows okay?” Camila says and reluctantly stands from her girlfriend’s lap turning to grab the remote to hand to Lauren, knowing Lauren knows what show Camila wants.

“You want any food while I’m down there?” she asks once she reaches the door, turning to face Lauren who’s in the middle of stripping her jeans because who the fuck cuddles in jeans? “Damn it maybe I should just let my mom wonder where I am,” Camila continues as she lets her eyes rake over Lauren’s legs shamelessly and shoots the girl a wink playfully.

“Ha ha. Very funny Camz,” Lauren dead pans as she throws her jeans at Camila who catches the in one hand with a smug smirk. “I’m good on food, maybe a drink though?”

“Okay babe, I’ll be right back then.”

They spend the next few hours curled up together watching Friends of course, hot cocoa mugs drained after three refills from an overly friendly Sinu. Camila knew that Sinu was just continuously coming back in to make sure Lauren wasn’t defiling her daughter, especially after the teasing her mother had done when she told her that her and Lauren were planning to stay in bed until company came over.

They don’t sleep for obvious reasons but just lying together with Netflix on was enough to get both of the girls a little more rested than they had been after the awful nightmare Camila had had the night prior. So by the time they hear the commotion downstairs and know that their peace is ending, they’re happy they’ve managed to do this before eating Thanksgiving dinner.

“There my two favorite Cuban girls are!” Dinah shouts barging into the room and smiling brightly at the two girls that hadn’t yet had a chance to get out of each other’s embrace. “Oh god we’re walking in on something Mani fall back!”

“Dinah chill out, you’re not,” Camila groans out as she rolls to face the girls who had burst into her room unannounced, happy that they hadn’t walked in on anything like they would’ve had they come ten minutes ago. She’s about to scold Dinah more but is pleasantly surprised to see a familiar face behind the tall girl and squeals as she shoots out of bed and launches herself to hug the new member. “Ally!” she screams and the small girl is grinning back as she envelopes her in her arms.

Lauren recognizes the name immediately and smiles as she watches the interaction, knowing that Camila had missed her other old friend since she reconnected with Normani and Dinah.

Camila had told her already so she was unsure of what to expect, but so far Ally definitely fit the physical description of short and adorable. Of course Camila’s description was probably about from when they were like eleven but it still works because Ally looks like a little ball of sunshine.

Camila had been asked last minute if Ally could come down for Thanksgiving with her family since Normani and Dinah had already decided that’s what they’re doing and Ally was hoping to just follow their lead. Camila had taken a total of zero seconds to respond an enthusiastic definitely and continued to vent about how excited she was to catch up with Ally in person since the constant texting they had been doing clearly wasn’t working. Lauren thought it was adorable that Camila was so enthusiastic about her friendships and loved that her girl was getting to spend time with people she cared about, especially after missing them for years of her life.

After a few moments of squealing from both smaller girls and laughing from the others, Camila pulls back with a huge grin and turns to face Lauren who had been patiently waiting with a cute smile covering her perfect face.

“Lo, this is Ally, you know that by now though I’m assuming,” Camila says as she gestures to Ally and Lauren switches her eyes and sits up to offer the girl a wave (still not wearing pants so Lauren decides to stay under the covers until she has to move). “And Ally, this is my girlfriend Lauren, the ghosty one I talk about,” Camila finishes with a bright smile on her face at being able to introduce Lauren that way. Lauren mirrors the smile at Camila once she greets Ally whose face brightened in shock but satisfaction at hearing that they’re dating.

“Wait hold up - girlfriend?” Dinah finally breaks the two smiling girls gaze with her words and Lauren can’t help but let out a laugh at Dinah’s tone, “well damn I know my ship didn’t set sail without their captain knowing.”