#whereas my mom was ecstatic for me because she knows it means a lot that i got this | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

readyplayerhobi · 4 years

Text

Flower | 40 | End

; Hoseok x Reader

; Genre: Fluff, angst

; Word Count: 6.9k

; Warnings: Slight anxiety attack, mentions of panic, slight body issues

; Synopsis: You finally decide to take a dip into the world of online dating and find the Flower dating app. One of the top matches for you proves to be a guy who looks to be your complete opposite; tattooed, pierced, a metalhead and oh…incredibly handsome. What happens when you throw caution to the wind and reach out to him?

; A/N: So...this is it 😢 Flower is officially over! I started writing this on November 15th, 2019. Almost a year later, here we are with 40 chapters, 3 drabbles and 180k of words. Can you believe I actually finished it? I hope you’ve all enjoyed reading it and the journey of the MC finding herself and falling in love with Hoseok. It’s been so fun to write and it’s sad to let it go. If you’ve enjoyed reading this, please let me know with a comment or an ask! I’ve loved reading how much you’ve all felt seen or embraced by the MC with her struggles and I’d love to hear your thoughts on not only this chapter but the whole fic! Feedback is what keeps authors going and I came very close to leaving writing once Flower was finished but I’m still going to carry on. I’m not sure if this chapter is good or not, but I hope you enjoy it anyway and think it a fitting end to the story!

; Flower Masterpost

“Okay...okay. Let’s do this...you can do this. It’s easy. Just...walk down the aisle. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? Well, Hoseok could not be there or I could have a heart attack and drop down dead. That would suck. But it would resolve a lot of my issues, I wouldn’t have to worry about everyone watching me. On the other hand...I’m going to marry the love of my life. As long as he turns up” The soft sounds of your muttering are probably barely heard over the soft playing music through the speakers in the room, YouTube playing mindlessly to itself.

It was a good job, as it meant that no one else in the room could hear your panicked thoughts that were being verbalised. Hoseok and you had decided to get married at an exquisite mansion hotel with the ceremony itself being in the elegant gardens outside. There was a full-sized maze alongside a stunning fountain, the centrepiece being a marble depiction of Aphrodite rising from the shallows.

You’d taken a walk around the perfectly groomed gardens the night before, taking in all the decorations that you’d painstakingly picked out over the months that had been artfully arranged by the staff. The flowers in the gardens were beautiful, a smorgasbord of pinks, oranges, violets, reds and yellows that brought the whole area to life. Alongside it looking visually perfect, it also smelled amazing as well with the soft scent of different flowers mixing.

At night, the tiny fairy lights that had been strung up around the building front and the metal trellises that were organised in the garden gave off a soft, golden glow. It made the whole place look ethereal and you were excited for everyone else to get to see it during the reception tonight.

The actual wedding ceremony was scheduled to start at two in the afternoon, with only friends and family invited for that. It would be outside as well, with Hoseok and you standing at the end of a make-shift aisle on the lawn section of the hotel’s garden. Temporary chairs had been arranged on both sides for your guests, dark wood with ivory silk draped over everyone. At the end of the aisle, each chair had a silk bow in ivory and deep purple alongside a bouquet of specially arranged flowers.

It all looked perfect and you’d marvelled at it yesterday, amazed that they’d managed to bring your vision to life. Now all you had to do was walk down it and get married, which was where you were a little panicked.

The room that had been assigned to the bridal party was on the lower floor of the hotel, reducing the risk of you potentially killing yourself by tripping over your dress while walking down the stairs. It was technically two hotel rooms connected through a shared bathroom, which you found bizarre.

Your mom and Hoseok’s mom had taken the other room for their use to get changed, the hairdresser and makeup artist they’d hired working there to make them look their best for the ceremony. Even now, you could hear them chattering and laughing away with each other. Even through your anxiety, you can’t help but smile as you hear them get on so well.

Any fears you’d had about them not liking each other had quickly disappeared. Instead, they’d become good friends and liked to meet up now and then to have a talk over coffee or something. It pleased you to see your mom getting to have more friends.

Eden and Amelia had also chosen to get ready in that room, not wanting to crowd the one you were in too much. It was already full of dresses and a ridiculous amount of makeup and hair product with only four of you so you couldn’t even imagine the chaos with five of you.

In your room was Soyeon, Chungha and Dahyun alongside you. Dahyun was currently three months pregnant, having successfully been inseminated with Jungkook’s sperm. He’d agreed to their request and after a few months of getting prepared for the attempts, Dahyun had undergone the procedure. What it had been exactly, you didn’t know because you hadn’t felt it was your business to pry into something like that.

It was a privilege to even know they were trying before anyone else. Their announcement had come at your bachelorette party when Dahyun had refused alcohol, immediately leading Soyeon and you to be suspicious. You’d never seen Chungha’s beloved ever turn down a drink so it had been a clear sign of something at least.

Needless to say, your party had happily become a celebration of their impending baby. Thankfully, you weren’t one of those people who got overly annoyed at others announcing things at events. Or at least, not big events. Your bachelorette party had been a perfect time to find out, whereas you might not have been so amenable if they’d told everyone today instead.

That was normal though, right? Today was your day. Yours and Hoseok’s. People who felt the need to co-opt special days like that were a special type of self-absorbed in your opinion.

Given it was so early into her pregnancy, Dahyun isn't showing that much. Which meant her bridesmaid dress hadn’t needed to be altered too much. None of them has gotten into their dresses just yet, instead currently in the process of getting their face and hair done. Chungha’s hair has already been done, elegantly styled into a beautiful updo with a few tendrils curled around her face.

The makeup for the girls was a smokey eye with subtle blush and contour, alongside a neutral lip. It wasn’t anything flashy, but you’d loved the concept of it all. Particularly with the small and delicate crystals that dotted along their waterline, adding a little sparkle to match the tiny crystals on their deep violet dresses.

As a present to each of them, you’d bought them a gift set from Pandora. In each one was a pair of dainty stud earrings with a heart design alongside a matching heart-shaped pendant necklace. All the hearts were encrusted with brilliant-cut stones, making the perfect gift that could be used again in the future for casual use.

They’d all been in awe of it and surprised at being given presents as well. You hadn’t even known it was a thing until you’d looked up wedding preparation online, discovering that you should also buy something for Hoseok. Which had led to you buying him the fancy watch he’d been drooling over for months now. It had been eye-watering expensive, but it had been worth it for his excited text this morning.

Along with the watch, you’d also written him a letter. It was meant to be light-hearted and fun, but you’d ended up writing way too much as you’d poured out your love to him alongside everything you felt for him. To your eternal embarrassment, you’d ended up crying while writing it as you’d told him everything you’d never been able to vocalise, including writing possibly a million times that you love him.

He’d been instructed to not read that until just before the ceremony.

His present to you was a gaming table, which might not seem to be very sentimental to anyone else but you’d been ecstatic over it. For years now, you’d been saying that you wanted to buy a proper table that was designed for board games and that could then be used as a normal table when converted. They were super expensive so you’d resigned yourself to never getting one, but he’d printed out the receipt of what he’d ordered and put it into an envelope for you to open tonight.

Neither of you had ever been a traditional couple, and that certainly wasn’t about to change with marriage.

“Hey, you okay?” Amelia asks, interrupting your intense thought process as she sits down next to you. As usual, her aura is warm and reassuring as she reaches over to gently squeeze at your hand. You don’t spend a huge amount of time around her, but you knew both Eden and her enough to want them in your bridal party.

“Yes? No? Maybe? I don’t know. I’m just…” Trailing off, you struggle to find the right words and instead gesture towards the air. It makes no sense but you can’t quite figure out what you’re trying to say. Mainly because you can’t figure out what your mind is thinking.

“It’s okay to be worried, don’t feel like you shouldn’t be. If you’re anxious or nervous then that’s okay as well. Don’t let anyone tell you how you should be feeling, just feel what you are. Trust Hoseok, trust yourself and all your family and friends. We’re all here for you and we want you to have the best day possible. Tell us if anything is wrong, okay? I have no doubt that Chungha and Soyeon would strong-arm everyone into whatever was necessary to make you feel comfortable.” She says, smirking as she nods over to the two women who are chattering away in their respective chairs.

“I know, I know. I’m trying. It’s just...god, everyone is going to be staring at me and I hate being the centre of attention,” Looking down at your hands, you chew at your lips. “What if I mess up the vows? Or I freeze or drop the ring?”

“Hey, it’s normal to feel that. I doubt there’s anyone who’s gotten married who wasn’t at least a little bit anxious about messing something up. Yes, everyone is here to watch you, but they’re for Hoseok too. I’m sure he’s just as worried that he might make a mistake, and if you do then, so what? It’s not going to ruin anything, it just means your human. If anything, people will probably find it endearing. The only person you should concern yourself with is Hoseok, and I doubt there’s anything you could do today to ruin the day for him. Unless you don’t go.” Amelia laughs when you give a shocked gasp, jaw-dropping open and eyes wide.

“I would never do that! But what if he decides he doesn’t want to get married anymore?” Now the worry that had wiggled itself deep inside your mind comes to the fore and you find yourself almost whispering the words. It feels like a betrayal to Hoseok for even thinking he’d do that, but you can’t help the fear.

You must not have been quite enough though as Chungha speaks up, facing you in her chair with a stern expression on her face as she wags her finger. “Lady, do not think that. I don’t want that thought to even enter your head. As if Jung Hoseok is ever going to back out now. I think that man would’ve eloped with you if you’d asked instead. He’s going to be standing at the end of that aisle, probably bawling like a baby.”

“Maybe not that far.” This is from Eden, who’s laid out on the bed in the centre of the room, playing Zelda on her Switch. She’d had her makeup done earlier and is now waiting for the hairdresser to be free while Amelia is waiting for her makeup. All of you had decided that you’d be last to get ready to make sure that everything looked as fresh as possible.

“Want to bet? That man is gonna be sobbing.” This starts up a whole ten-minute discussion about whether or not Hoseok was going to cry at seeing you. Namjoon hadn’t cried but Jimin had during their weddings, surprising no one. But Namjoon had cried at the birth of his daughter.

You weren’t sure, to be honest. Hoseok didn’t cry all that often and you could probably count on one hand how many times you’d seen it over four years. On top of that, you weren’t entirely sure that you wanted to see him crying. It made your chest hurt when he did and you always ended up crying too.

Something about seeing strong and proud men cry was just heartbreaking to you.

For a while, you just sit back and let the conversation wash over you as they all debate and borderline argue, intensely amongst themselves. They’d all switched around now and they’ll soon start getting into their bridesmaid’s dresses, which meant you’d be finally getting ready.

Your nails had been done the night before with a beautiful design in the same colour scheme as the wedding. They looked so pretty and elegant, which was a surprise to you every time you looked at them as you never really bothered doing your nails. While you liked to do fancy makeup looks now and then to post onto social media, nails were not something you were interested in.

Maybe you should reassess that thought.

“Anyway, what we’re all trying, and failing, to say is that Hoseok loves you and if he doesn’t cry then he’s crying inside at how beautiful you are.” Soyeon states firmly, sitting next to you and admiring your nails as well. All the bridesmaids had the same style to keep the theme going and she wiggled her fingers with a bright smile.

“I’m not even ready yet, you don’t know if I’ll be beautiful.”

There’s dead silence in the room after the comment, with even the hairdresser and makeup artist turning to stare at you. Between the six other women in the room, you’re pretty sure that they’ve got every emotion from shock to annoyance to incredulity covered. Feeling yourself get warm at their attention, you look down to your lap in embarrassment.

Obviously, the wrong thing to say.

“Okay, we’re going to ignore that you just said that. You don’t need to be dolled up and in a wedding dress to be beautiful, it’s just going to enhance what you already have. And I don’t want any arguments on that.” Poking your side lightly, you playfully wince at Soyeon as she scolds you. Everyone else is nodding along solemnly before they carry on with whatever they’d been doing.

“Seriously though, I overheard your conversation with Amelia. She’s right. Embrace your feelings but don’t let them overwhelm you. Standing in front of a crowd is nerve-wracking for anyone, but you’ve got the love of your life standing there with you. Just focus on Hoseok, he’ll get you through it. He always has, right?” Soyeon said.

Giving her a half-smile, you nod and do a remarkably good job of looking like a scolded child or something. You know it’s just because she loves you that she doesn’t want you to berate yourself, along with the fact that she knows what you’re like. If someone doesn’t verbally acknowledge your problems then you’ll just obsess over them.

Your phone screen lights up in your lap before it begins to vibrate suddenly, Hoseok’s name visible on the screen. Frowning down at it, you wonder why he’s calling before a multitude of emotions and thoughts runs through your mind.

“Go take it in the bathroom.” Pulling you up, Soyeon practically pushes you into the bathroom before giving you a smile and a thumbs-up as she closes the door.

Seeing the other door is also open, you peek out and let everyone in that room know that you’d be using the bathroom for a few minutes and to not come in. Once you get the acknowledgement, you close and lock it as well before pushing up to sit on the counter.

“Hobi! Why are you calling?” Leaning back against the mirror, you frown deeply as you question him. The first response is just his familiar deep chuckle, the sound already helping to soothe some of your frayed nerves.

“Amelia texted Joon, who told me. I don’t want you to stress yourself out! Not today, today’s meant to be a happy day. No stress. Or anxiety.” Snorting, you roll your eyes as you trace an invisible design onto your thigh.

“Sure, like that’s gonna happen. You know me. And why are you calling? We’re not meant to see each other until the wedding, it’s bad luck!” There’s a brief pause and you can practically hear him rolling his eyes, the deep sigh he lets out telling you all you need to know.

“Meeps, I’m pretty sure that only counts for physically seeing each other. I can’t see you right now. I don’t recall anything about not being allowed to hear you, or talk to you. Besides, we make our luck.” He sounds so nonchalant and now it’s your turn to sigh at him.

“You’re going to get us hit by lightning or something.”

“Impossible, the weather schedule for today is meant to be sunny with a little bit of cloud later on. Nice warm temperatures that aren’t too hot but also not too cold. Perfect. No lightning.” His immediate rebuttal has you laughing, unable to stay mad at him for too long. Not when he’s trying so hard to take your mind off things.

“Seriously though, are you okay? What are you worried about? Talk to me.” Hoseok asks, his voice calm and steady as he stops joking around. There’s a brief moment of resistance, the thought that you don’t want to bother him with your silly thoughts or annoying emotions before you remember that you can trust him. No matter how ridiculous it sounds in your head, Hoseok will listen and he won’t make fun of you.

“I’m just...scared. Of all the people. Like, they’re going to be watching me or staring. What if I look fat or ugly? Or I fuck up saying the vows? Or I drop the ring or my dress splits or something? Or if I trip down the aisle?! Or if you decide you don’t want to marry me anymore?” As you begin to reel off the questions that have been plaguing your mind, you can feel your chest getting a little tighter and your breathing shallower.

With the practised ease of someone who’s dealt with your panic attacks over the years, Hoseok makes calming and reassuring noises over the phone until you’re silent. Just listening to him, you take in the comforting words as he lets you know that you’re okay and everything is fine. Finally, once he thinks you’re calm enough, he carries on.

“Meeps, that’s fine. Don’t be upset that you’re having those thoughts. I’ve had every one of those thoughts today as well. I mean...not the dress one. Substitute that for pants splitting or something, which is even more embarrassing because my underwear is not black today. But the point I’m trying to make here is that it’s normal to have those thoughts today. I’d probably be more worried if you weren’t having them.” He pauses to laugh before you hear shuffling noises.

There’s no doubt he’s probably not even getting into his tuxedo just yet and you curse the fact that men take far less time to get ready than women. He’ll probably only start like...an hour before the ceremony begins or something.

“But all I’ll say is, it doesn’t matter if anything goes wrong because we’ll fix it. You and me, just like always. You won’t look fat or ugly because you’re neither fat nor ugly anyway, instead, you’ll be the most beautiful woman here. Which you always are to me but don’t let my mom hear me tell you that. And I’m going to be standing at the end of the aisle, I promise you that. I’m the one who proposed to you and I will be there, waiting for you. That’s one thing I can assure you of completely.” Hoseok says this firmly, his voice perhaps more serious than you’ve ever heard it before.

You can practically feel his determination to make you understand that he’s going to be there. That he’s going to marry you today, no matter what happens. It makes your heart swell with love and emotion, causing you to press your hand against your mouth.

Hoseok takes your silence as a positive, choosing to let it carry on for a little longer before speaking once more.

“I love you, Meeps. And by the end of today, you’re going to be my wife. We’re going to have a great day with a beautiful ceremony and a fun reception before probably going to bed drunk. Or at least, I’m going to be drunk. Not entirely sure if I’ll be able to take you to Poundtown tonight-”

“Don’t ever say that again.”

“But if not tonight then definitely tomorrow. Unless you don’t want me to drink, in which case probably tonight if you’re up for it.” Shaking your head, you can’t help but smile at his stupid comments. He always knew how to cheer you up, even if it was with the most ridiculous thing you’d heard today.

“You can drink, I’m not going to make you sober throughout the entire reception. I want you to have fun with everyone, so if you end up drunk then that’s fine. Just don’t go overboard.”

“Choosing to ignore my Poundtown comments, I see.”

“Jung Hoseok, I am going to hang up now. I will see you later, okay?”

“Okay. Love you.” Feeling a little shy, you murmur your next words into the phone.

“Love you too.”

The ceremony is officially about to start and you stare at the open door, knowing that outside all your guests are waiting. Not only that, but Hoseok is at the end of the aisle. You’d been reassured by everyone there who had peeked out to make sure, quelling your fears and worries.

All the groomsmen had come inside upon finding out you were here, lining themselves up alongside their specified bridesmaid partners and chatting away happily. They all looked incredibly handsome in their suits, the colours matching the bridesmaids perfectly and you felt a little pride at having thought of a good colour scheme.

Your mom is fussing around you, making sure that your dress looks perfect and that your bouquet hasn’t fallen apart or anything. Sighing, you gently push her hands away as she tries once more to move your necklace.

All of them had given you something as part of the tradition for the bride. Dahyun had lent you a beautiful Cartier bracelet, glowing with diamonds, as part of the ‘something borrowed’ while Chungha had bought you diamond earrings for the ‘something new’. Your mom had given you the bracelet she’d worn for her wedding, now occupying your other wrist and Hoseok’s mom had provided the necklace adorning your neck.

It was a beautiful silver necklace with a dainty leaf design, leading to the main piece in the centre which was dotted with tiny diamonds. Each leaf spreading out had either amethyst or an aquamarine gem in alternating order. She’d ordered it specially made for your wedding, matching your engagement ring with the gems and fulfilling the ‘something blue’.

You’d been amazed at everything they’d given you, understanding now why they’d all told you now to buy any jewellery for the day. They’d all decided to make sure you had everything you needed anyway.

But you knew that your mom’s need to keep straightening out your dress or brushing away unseen dust was just to keep herself preoccupied. She’d already cried once when you’d come out in your wedding dress, makeup and hair all done. That had earned her an exasperated sigh from the makeup artist.

“Mom, mom, come on,” You coo to her, smiling before taking her hands and squeezing. “You gotta go out there, go get your place.”

She hesitates for a moment, unwilling to leave you before nodding. After a few words of reassurance from her to you, telling you that you’re going to do well and it’s all going to go fine, she turns and hugs your dad tightly before kissing him. You’d feel embarrassed at the sight of it, never quite being comfortable with your parents' displays of affection, but it just causes you to laugh softly.

Once she’s out the door, you hear the music begin from outside, the notes flowing through the door faintly. Everyone inside quietens and you can almost feel the excitement ramp up. It just makes you feel more nervous though, particularly when they start to head out in their pairs slowly.

“Are you ready?” Your dad asks, his eyes already going glassy with tears as his lip wobbles slightly. Giving him a concerned look, you immediately reach up to wipe the tears as they start to fall, feeling your heartbreak at the sight of your dad crying. He never cried.

“Dad! Don’t cry, oh my god. I’m sorry.” Cleaning up his face quickly, you’re stopped by the gentle way he grasps your wrists. For a moment, you think that he’s going to push you away but instead, he pulls you closer and carefully hugs you.

It’s a little awkward as you’re trying not to ruin the carefully done hair and makeup, but you can’t deny your dad a hug. Especially when you’d never really been much of a hugger growing up. You would be cruel to deny him one, especially on your wedding day. Your parents were feeling emotional that their little girl was getting married today.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s just your old dad getting sappy. You look so beautiful. Hoseok is so lucky, you better remind him of that every day.” He’s pulled back now, giving you the softest smile that is still a little watery. His hands move to your shoulders and he stands back to examine you fully, his eyes taking in everything.

Before you can respond to him, Yoongi is disappearing out of the door and heading towards the aisle. He’s alone, as you’d planned, but in one hand is the bouquet that Hoseok’s sister would’ve held had she still been alive. It had been his suggestion to hold it, symbolising the family member that Hoseok didn’t have anymore and you’d been more than willing to agree.

You wondered what Hoseok thought when he saw it as neither of you had told him that Yoongi would be holding it. Hopefully, he was happy with it, along with his parents.

Turning back to you, your dad squeezes your shoulders reassuringly before smiling at you. Ironically, all it does is make you more nervous as you realise that now you’re the one who’s going to have to walk down that aisle next.

“Come on, it’s time to make your fiancé cry.” His words in a teasing tone, your dad turns to face the door before offering you his arm. Standing there, you stare at him before looking at the door with trepidation. Nerves roil in your stomach as you hear the faint sound of music playing, knowing that everyone out there is waiting for you.

Which in turn means everyone will be staring at you.

Those nerves quickly turn to anxiety and your breath comes faster, chest feeling a little constricted by the tight bodice of the dress. Without even realising it, your hands start to shake and the bouquet in them shudders visibly.

Quickly, your dad takes the bouquet from you to make sure that you don’t accidentally deflower them or crush the stems. The last thing you needed was to ruin your perfect bouquet only minutes before you were supposed to walk down the aisle.

It frees up your hands and you find yourself flapping them as you stress, trying to shake out the negative emotions as you pant. Your dad’s eyes widen, obviously panicking himself at your obvious distress. He’s never had to deal with you struggling like this before and he doesn’t know what to do but his paternal instincts kick in quickly.

“Hey, come on, sweetheart. Breathe, breathe. Take a big breath in, come on, that’s it. Not let it out slowly. And again, that’s right.” Talking to you in his comforting voice, tone level and low, you follow his instructions and start to feel a little calmer as you force yourself to calm your breathing. It’s hard, and you still feel the anxiety but it feels a little more manageable now.

Closing your eyes, you run through all the tips your therapist had given you for how to cope with anxiety attacks. What worked for you was to sing in your head, the lyrics, whatever song you were loving lately. It probably takes longer than you’d have liked but finally you feel like you can cope with your emotions enough to carry on.

When you open your eyes again, your dad is giving you an expectant, yet worried, look. Shaking your hands once more, you reach out and take the bouquet from him before taking a deep breath. Linking your arm through his, you straighten your shoulders and lift your chin before smiling at him.

“Okay, okay. Let’s go.”

Walking down the aisle is surprisingly less stressful than you’d imagined. The famous wedding song plays through the air as you walk slowly and the whole atmosphere feels almost like a fairytale. The soft lights twinkle even in the daylight while the gentle, warm breeze makes the ribbons on the chairs flutter delicately.

Along the floor, the white and purple rose petals that Namjoon’s daughter had spread in her role as flower girl were strewn haphazardly. A few of them caught the breeze and rolled delicately to a new place, making it seem like the floor was consistently changing. You liked it, smiling at the sight of how beautiful everything looked.

Everyone was staring at you, as you’d expected, but surprisingly it wasn’t as intimidating as you’d thought. You didn’t exactly enjoy it but it wasn’t terrible. Probably because you were more focused on initially admiring how perfect everything looked. How months and months of thought and money had finally accumulated into the perfect wedding.

But mostly, you weren’t as bothered by the staring because you were focused on the end of the aisle. There was no real altar here, given that it was being held at a hotel and everything, but the metal garden arch at the end had been decorated in delicate flowers, ribbons and lights to make an even better end.

And beneath it stood Hoseok.

If you’d ever thought Hoseok looked handsome before then it paled in comparison to him today. His black tuxedo made him look tall and slim, every part of him looking perfectly put together and elegant. The deep purple waistcoat beneath his jacket contrasted with the white of his shirt perfectly; the colour combination making his skin almost glow with health and happiness.

There was only the slightest hint of tattoos at the edge of his collar, leaving to the imagination the artwork he had permanently on his body beneath his clothes but you didn’t need to imagine. You’d seen them all, traced them delicately into your memory over the years until you could point out where they were without even seeing them.

Finally reaching him, you paused to look at your dad and gave him a bright smile of gratitude before giving him a second hug. This one was a little tighter than before and when you let go of him, you saw that he was crying once more. He didn’t give your hand to Hoseok, instead just gave him a stern look while trying to surreptitiously wipe away his tears.

“You look after her, Jung Hoseok. You make sure she’s the happiest woman.” There’s iron in his voice, telling Hoseok that it wasn’t a question but more a command. But there’s also love and affection in it, something Hoseok can tell as well by the way he nods his head.

Handing your bouquet to Chungha, you take Hoseok’s proffered hand. Up close, you can take in the details of his face better and you take a moment to simply admire him and imprint him into your memory.

The sides of his head had been shaven, the undercut short and seen with the style he’d chosen to wear today. His hair had been styled back, pushed away from his forehead. It was a look that had made you weak in the knees many times over the years and you’d practically begged him to have it for the wedding, knowing that he’d blow everyone’s mind with how handsome he looked.

Hoseok had a face that looked like it had been hand-carved by the gods from the finest marble anyway and this hairstyle showed off all the highlights of his face. The high cheekbones that made his smiles so animated, his cutting jawline, the clean slope of his nose, the heart-shaped smile that lit his entire face and the dimples that made him seem so human.

His lip ring was still in, the silver shining in the sunlight. He’d been unsure whether to wear it but you’d told him to embrace himself and keep it. You’d fallen in love with him as he was, and you wanted him to show himself how you saw him. Which included his piercings and tattoos.

Your heart clenched though when you looked into his eyes finally. Hoseok’s eyes were one of your favourite things about him. The crescents they turned into when he smiled brightly, pushed into the shape by his cheeks and the way his eyes could practically dance with delight when he was happy.

Today though, those beautiful and expressive eyes were watery with tears. The wet streak on his cheek told you that he’d already had some of them fall and you frowned at the sight of them. Everyone had been right; Hoseok had cried upon seeing you down the aisle.

“Baby.” You whisper, unsure if you’re meant to talk to him. Deciding you don’t care, you reach up to wipe away the tears and smile when he kisses the palm of your hand before nuzzling into it, uncaring of everyone else.

“Meeps, you look perfect. I read your letter, I love you too.” Before you can stop him, he’s leaning forward and pressing a quick kiss to your lips. There’s a murmur in the crowd, alongside some laughter and he looks over at everyone with a raised brow.

No one says anything though and he gets a satisfied look, ignoring your shy expression as you turn away from everyone.

“You’re not supposed to do that.” Keeping your voice low, you give a hesitant smile to the official who will be taking you both through your ceremony. Hoseok lets out a snort of laughter as he squeezes your hand tight, letting his thumb run along the back of your hand lovingly.

“I don’t care. It’s our wedding, I’ll do what I want.” And before you can stop him, he turns you and gives you another kiss, this one lingering a little longer. Eyes widening, you can’t help but giggle as you hear yet more laughter.

You should be annoyed at him, but you know he’s a force of nature. Plus, you don’t care. It feels nice to know he can’t help himself.

“Okay, let’s get married, Meeps.” He grins at you before facing the officiant once more. Staring at him a moment longer, you smile at him and nod.

“Let’s get married.”

Hobi Hobi,

We’re getting married today! Are you excited? I hope you’re reading this when I told you to, if not then you’re cheating >:[ it feels weird to write a letter. I don’t even know if I’ve ever done this before, so I’m sorry if it sounds really cheesy and lame. What do people write in these normally? I’m just going to write what comes to mind so if it ends up sappy then you’re not allowed to tease me later about it.

Anyway, I want you to know that I’m sorry that I suck so much at telling you how I feel and my emotions. I wish I could be one of those people who’s telling you every moment how handsome you are and how much I love you but I can’t. I’m sorry :( I’m trying, I swear! Even if I don’t get to tell you as often as you deserve, I hope you know that I love you more than anything in the world.

Don’t ever forget that, okay? Even when we’re arguing over something silly or we go to bed mad at each other, don’t forget that. I know we’re pretty good at talking things out but there’s always that chance that we could have a big blowout. So I want you to remember that I love you.

I’m still not entirely sure what I did to deserve you, but I don’t regret sending you that message. If anything, I think I should send the Flower team a big bunch of flowers or something for creating the algorithm that brought you up as a match. Imagine if it hadn’t and I’d just deleted the app, we’d have never met and I’d still be lonely and sad.

But we did meet, and I took a chance on you by sending you that embarrassing message. And then you took a chance by actually meeting up with me and going on that date. I still remember it, and I don’t know if I ever told you but I still have the ticket for the escape room. I know you still have yours in your wallet :) Thank you for giving me your time, even if I wasn’t your type. I hope I’m your type now.

I’m not sure that I will ever be able to tell you how important you are to me. Not only myself but my life. You’ve helped me to embrace myself and learn to love myself over the years through kindness. I know my limits in terms of my mental health now and you’ve helped to support me with the medication and the therapist. Neither of those were things I’d been comfortable with doing before your encouragement. But you also gave me a safe space to break down in; somewhere that I knew I could be at my most vulnerable mentally without having to risk being hurt even more.

You held me when I cried, you comforted me when I panicked and you calmed my anxiety over the years. I can never thank you enough for helping me to understand that these aren’t deficiencies and I’m not broken. I just need a little help to get through things sometimes. At the same time, I hope that I’ve become that safe space for you as well. I know that you’re not as emotional as I am, but I feel that you’ve opened up to me about things that hurt you. I’ll keep your secrets safe and I’ll always be here for you!

I hope you’re happy with your life now. With me, and our home and our furbabies. I hope you stay happy, and if you don’t then talk to me. Please. I don’t want us to ever realise that we’re making each other unhappy and I don’t want to ever be the reason for negativity. I want to spend the rest of my life with you in our little home, growing old together as we play board games and dote on our animals while you increase your tattoo collection even more. I know that people like to say that they can’t imagine their lives with their significant other, but I really do feel like that.

My life without you would be hollow and monochrome, as you bring colour to my world and fill it with joy and happiness. I’ve never laughed as much as I have these last few years with you and I know we’ll keep that in our relationship if we try hard.

I don’t really know where this letter is going and I’m babbling now. But I guess the main thing is just that I can’t wait to marry you. It may not be very feminist of me but I can’t wait to take your name and be your wife. I can’t wait to call you my husband. I’m going to be terrified in the ceremony and so nervous but I’ll be happy too, I promise! I still can’t believe that you picked me, out of all the women you’ve seen, to be your girlfriend and then decided that you wanted to marry me.

Jung Hoseok, I solemnly swear to treasure you for the rest of your life and make sure you know how much I love you. I might not be able to tell you all that much, but I’ll show you. I’ll make you smile and laugh, I’ll buy you things that make me think of you, I’ll hug you tight and cuddle you until you’re complaining.

So in case it wasn’t obvious enough, I love you. I just want you to know because I know I suck at telling you, like I said. I’m also bad at writing letters but what’s new? I’ll finish this off quickly so you’re not spending too long reading this. Don’t want to make you late for our wedding after all.

I love you. I love you, Jung Hoseok. I love you, Hobi. I love you, I love you, I love you.

Lots and lots and lots of love, your soon to be wife <333333

427 notes · View notes

yelena-bellova · 4 years

Text

Don’t Be Afraid: Poe Dameron x Solo!Reader - Chapter Three

Chapter Three: Midnight Flight

Series Masterlist

Plot: Reader can’t sleep after the day she had, she finds her way to the hanger where she finds Poe. He decides to take her mind off of things.

Warnings: Literally two suggestive lines, a healthy dose of angst in the beginning and a whole lot of fluff.

Word Count: 3.6k

A/N: This one took a while, I’m trying to build the Reeader and Poe’s relationship with only so much time to do it. I semi hate what I wrote and I also semi like it, life of a writer lol. We’re going to jump into TFA in the next chapter so this is the last chill chapter for a while, enjoy!

——————-

Leia and Han fell in love with y/n the moment they met her. They decided to raise her as their own, no one was more ecstatic about the decision than Ben. He’d been asking his parents about a sibling for a while. He doted on y/n and stayed by her side constantly trying to help her adjust to her new life.

Y/n adjusted quickly, she became just as attached to Ben and the two became inseparable. She loved Han and Leia, though she didn’t start addressing them as ‘mom’ nd ‘dad’ until about a year after Ben found her. She still had memories of her birth parents, though very few, and she struggled with shifting those roles to other people. One random night as Leia and Han said goodnight to their children, she said it without even thinking,

“Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Dad.”

Once they were out of the room, Han and Leia blinked, looked at each other and headed to bed.

Ben and Y/n were each other’s best friend all throughout childhood. They became even closer once they both realized Y/n could use the Force. When they’d discovered it, it was a typical day on the Falcon. They were on Coruscant so Leia could attend a Senate hearing and Han was outside with Chewie doing minor repairs. Y/n and Ben had gotten into a fight (they may have been best friends, but they were still siblings) and at one point, Ben used the Force on Y/n to shove her into a wall. He’d never used his abilities on her like that, she’d felt anger towards her brother before but this was pure rage. As if she’d done it all her life, she threw her hand out towards Ben and he went backwards straight into the cockpit and fell onto the dashboard. Unfortunately, he fell on the button that powered up the ship and it roared to life. The siblings looked at each other in horror, partially at what Y/n had just done and partially at what their father was going to do to them. Ben slammed his hand down on the button and powered the ship down quickly as he heard Han and Chewie coming inside.

“What the hell are you two doing in here?!” Han yelled through the ship as he approached the cockpit.

“How many times have I told you to NEVER touch ANYTHING in this room unless I say so?” Han asked with a raised tone, Chewie roaring in support behind him. “Well?”

Y/n opened her mouth to speak and beg for her father’s forgiveness, when she was cut off by her brother.

“We were running around and I slipped and hit the button. I promise it was an accident, Dad, I’m really sorry.” Ben explained, Han looking over at him before turning to Y/n.

“But I was the one that was chasing him, so it’s really my fault.” Y/n interjected, “I’m sorry, Dad, we should have been more careful.”

Han ran a hand through his hair and grumbled something. “Alright, alright. I’ll let your mother deal with the two of you when she gets back. Now Chewie and I are gonna finish up out there,” he pointed a finger at them both, “No more running.” With that, Chewie and him left.

Y/n wrapped her arms around him and cried into his shirt, “I’m so sorry, I’m so so sorry. I swear I didn’t mean to do that!”

“Y/n, I’m not even mad anymore. How long have you known you could use the Force?” Ben asked as he pulled her away so he could see her face.

She sniffled, “I didn’t! I swear I never knew about it, I would have told you if I’d known!”

Ben let out an astonished laugh, “This is so cool! Mom’s gonna be ao excited when you show her! Dad probably won’t like it but-“  ”Whoa, whoa, whoa, Ben.” Y/n took a step back and dried her eyes, “They can’t ever know about this. EVER.”  ”Why would you not tell them?”

Y/n motioned to the dashboard, “Do you not remember what just happened? I hurt you! I’m not ever doing that again.”

Ben rolled his eyes, “Okay, yeah, and I’ll get you back for it at some point but Y/n, you can’t just keep this to yourself.”  ”Yes, I can and yes, I am. Ben,” Y/n walked towards him and held his hand, “The feeling that went through me when I pushed you, it was...scary. I felt like I didn’t have control and that’s how you ended up hurt. I don’t want to risk hurting you or anybody else.”

Ben sighed and pulled her into his arms, he didn’t agree with her at all but he couldn’t force her into using her abilities. He also didn’t understand what it was like to discover that power. He’d grown up using the Force, it was second nature to him.

Y/n pulled back after a moment, “Promise me this stays between us. Mom and Dad can’t ever find out UNLESS I decide to tell them.”

Ben nodded sadly, “I promise.”  ”I’m serious, nothing to anyone. And that includes Uncle Chewie.”  He scoffed, “Y/n, I would never betray you. I promise.”

—————-

I couldn’t sleep.

I’d hidden in my room all day, too shaken to do anything else after my training session. I’d skipped dinner, I’d ignored knocks at my door, I’d shut everyone and everything out. Come 10 o’ clock, I changed into pajamas and climbed into bed ready to put an end to the day.

Ha. Right.

I tossed and turned for two hours before I gave up and threw the covers off. I was tired, but clearly not enough to sleep. I went to my desk, grabbed the robe that hung off the chair and tied it around my body. I opened my door and left my room, pressing the lock on the datapad and watching the door close.

It was late so there were hardly any people moving through the residential part of the base. There was one pilot coming back from a mission, a tech worker who’d clearly been working all evening...

The general’s daughter who was wandering around base in her pajamas thinking about the lightsaber sitting in her room.

There were reasons for my conflicting feelings towards using the Force. The first time I’d ever used it was out of anger to hurt someone I loved. That was reason enough to be worried about it happening again one day. But over the years of secret training sessions, I’d gained better control of my emotions. I’d grown up seeing my Force-sensitive mother use it only for good, but I’d also witnessed the dark side of it in it’s purest form.

And I’d witnessed it in the person I loved the most in the galaxy.

At the thought of my brother, I leaned my head against the nearest wall and stopped walking. It didn’t matter how many years it had been, losing him still felt like a fresh wound. Maybe the wound had never closed because I was fighting a war and it wasn’t with him at my side. The rest of the galaxy saw the war as the Resistance vs. the First Order, but for me it was brother vs. sister in a fight they never should have been in.

I pushed off the wall and continued down the hallway, passing the empty cafeteria and a few offices. Reading the names of my peers on the plaques next to their doors, I felt envious. All these people knew who they were and exactly what they were doing their lives. I was Leia’s daughter, I was expected to know exactly what I was doing at all times when privately, I was a complete mess. I was fighting a war against my brother, my family had been torn apart, and there was a lightsaber sitting in my room that I simultaneously loved and hated. I wanted so badly to be as stable and steady as my fellow commamnders, the people that answered to me deserved that from me. I wanted to do my part in this war and make sure the First Order’s reign of terror across the galaxy ended.

I just wished things weren’t so complicated.

Somehow, I’d ended up on the opposite end of base outside the hanger. It made sense that my feet naturally carried me there, it’s where I spent most of my free time. Whether it was bringing Jess lunch when she was too busy to leave, watching potential recruits run test flights or helping Poe with repairs on his ship...

Speak of the devil, there he was doing just that. Only the bottom half of his body was visible as his top half was buried in the cockpit of his X-Wing. Intrigued as to his reason for not being in the cantina drinking his squad under the table, I made my way over to him.

“Someone looks surprisingly sober.”

His head popped up at the sound of my voice, turning on the ladder he was standing on to face me,

“The parts came in to fix the guidance system,” he said, wiping his hands on a dirty rag, “Shots with Snap and Jess can wait.”

I hummed in acknowledgement and came to stand below his ladder. Poe turned back around and continued working, “Why are you up so late?”  I put a hand on the ladder, “Can’t sleep, my brain and I aren’t getting along.”  Poe chuckled, “How so?”  ”Well, I wanted to sleep but my head thinks that I should evaluate every regret, problem and emotional trauma I’ve ever had.”

He stood to his full height and took a few steps down the ladder, “Well, forget the cantina, you’re having all the fun tonight.”

I laughed and pressed my forehead against the ladder, Poe took a seat on a step so we were face to face. He was dressed in his orange jumpsuit, but it was tied at his waist, and a tight grey tee shirt. He looked surprisingly awake for the time, whereas I looked like a Corellian freighter had hit me.

“You wanna talk about it?”

I shook my head gently against the cool steel of the ladder. Poe was no stranger to my family history, I’d talked to him before about my brother but I could only say so much. Poe naturally looked at Kylo Ren as pure evil, I saw my brother who’d been misled and manipulated by a dark force.

He sighed, “Well, how about we take your mind off of all these deep dark secrets you’re keeping from me?”  I had to stop mself from laughing, if only he knew...

“What’re you thinking, Dameron?”  Mischief came over his face immediately, he gestured up to the massive ship we were standing below. I connected the dots, quickly realizing his ingenious idea,

“No,” I said firmly, causing Poe to smile.

“Yes.” He replied.

“You already almost killed me once today and I’m pretty sure I said I was never flying with you again.”  Poe started zipping up his flight suit, “Yeah, and you’ve said that a hundred times yet you always get back in a ship with me.”

He had me there, Poe was reckless and impulsive yet for some reason, I still trusted him with my life.

He was already climbing the ladder and awaiting my reply expectantly. I looked to him, rolled my eyes and followed him up. Once I was at the top, he was already seated and I realized where I’d be sitting,

“How the hell are you going to fly safely with me sitting on your lap?” 

A coy smile appeared on his face, “Guess you’ll have to find out.”  Rolling my eyes, I awkwardly stepped in between Poe’s legs and looked behind to see where I was going to land. Why did this feel like it was crossing some sort of line in our friendship? One part of my mind was protesting and the other part was practically shoving my body down happily. Splitting the difference, I cautiously sunk down onto my friend’s lap. Poe placed his hands on my hips without warning to situate the both of us. The warmth of his touch sept through my thin robe and pajamas, simultaneously making me nervous and at ease.

Poe flipped a switch that turned on his beloved ship, I leaned back to look at him. He looked like he did earlier in the day; happy, content, relaxed.

“Ready?”

I smiled softly, “Let’s fly, Dameron.”

Without me realizing, he’d grabbed hold of the controls and lifted us up in the air. I’d flown all my life, but never in an X-Wing, and it moved much differently than the ships I’d piloted. Poe guided us out of the hanger and before I knew it, we were flying above D’Qar’s lush landscapes.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”  “We’re not going anywhere, just for a fly.” Poe replied as he made a slow left turn to get us further from base. “I’m also going to teach you how to fly an X-Wing.”

“Seriously?” I asked with a little too much excitement in my voice.

He smiled at my eagerness, “Well, you’re gonna learn how to steer at least. Okay, the joystick’s pretty sensitive so you’ve got to be careful. And make sure not to press any of the buttons, especally the red one or we’re going to eject right out of the ship.”

I blew out a breath, “Right, no pressure.”

“Pfft, if you’ve flown the Millenium Falcon, you can handle this.”

“I never said I flew it, you just seemed to assume that I had.” I pointed out quickly, turning my head to face him.

“Yeah, and you’ve never once denied it.” Poe said smugly as if he’d trapped me.

“Are we going to argue or are we going to fly?” I asked loudly.

“I’m sure we’ll find a way to do both,” Poe replied, while making a small turn, “Alright, grab the joystick.”  He let go with one hand and I took hold of it, once I had a grip he let go with his other. I was officially flying an X-Wing on my own.

I laughed, “This is so cool!”

Poe seemed to enjoy how enthusiastic I was, “If this is how excited you get just going straight, I can’t imagine what you’ll be like when you do something complex.”

A smirk appeared on my face, “What, you mean like this?”  Without warning, I pulled up on the joystick sending us straight up in the air. Poe let out a yelp and his arms flew to my waist, I maneuvered the stick so we’d do a loop. Once we’d straightened out, I started laughing, partially from adrenaline and partially from Poe’s reaction.

“What the hell, Y/n?!”

“Now you know what it’s like to fly with you!” I replied, stlll laughing. His arms were wrapped tightly around my waist still as if he was afraid I was going to do it again. He’d started laughing with me and had his forehead pressed between my shoulder blades. This was another one of those warm, relaxed moments that I wished we could share more often. But somehow tonight felt like...different.

“Alright, daredevil, I’m taking us back to base.” Poe said, reaching around me to take control of the ship. I found myself missing his arms as soon as they were gone from my waist.

Within a few minutes, we were landing in the hanger. Poe pressed the button that extended the ladder to the ground and I climbed down first, him following suit.

“That was pretty fun, I’ll hand it to you.” I said as we leisurely strolled out of the hanger into the halls.

“Glad I could help get your mind off of things,” Poe replied, “And, of course, I just brought up whatever you’re trying to avoid.”

He sounded dejected in his last sentence, ”It’s okay,” I put my hand on his arm, “Tonight was great but my problems were going to be waiting for me as soon as I got back to my room.”

“Then don’t go back to your room tonight.” Poe stated nonchalantly.

“So your solution is me going and snuggling with my mommy?”

He chuckled, “No, you can stay with me.”

There it was, that feeling that I’d gotten several times tonight. When I’d sat down in his lap, praying that he didn’t sense how awkward I felt. When he’d wrapped his arms around me and lingered for a few minutes. What had suddenly changed between us where Poe and I put in more intimate situations and I felt nervous?

I tried not to let the tone of my thoughts come out in my words, “Stay with you?”  “Well, yeah,” Poe said, shrugging his shoulders and stopping in our path, “You need sleep and I know you well enough to know you’re going to stay up all night worrying if you’re alone.”

I let out a small laugh, sometimes I forgot how well he knew me. That’s exactly what was going to happen. With Poe there, I’d be forced to try and get some sleep. Against my better judgement, listening to the part of my mind that loved being wrapped in his arms moments ago, I caved...

“Alright, it’s worth a shot.”

Looking victorious, we continued down the hall making a different turn towards Poe’s quarters. He wasn’t too far from my own, we were both commanders, but I was closer to my mother’s room. We arrived at his door and he entered his code into the datapad, letting me in first.

Poe’s quarters were fairly minimalistic. A few knickknacks he’d picked up during his travels stood on his desk. A picture of him and his father, Kes, was pinned to the wall while one of him and Black Squadron hung next to it. BB-8’s charging station laid in a corner, the lovable droid himself plugged in alraedy and turned off. A few jackets and clothes were strewn on chairs, and his bed that stood close to the door. I’d been here dozens of times, yet this time I felt like I was paying more attention to my surroundings.

“I’m gonna do us both a favor and wash up real quick, go ahead and make yourself comfortable.” Poe said, grabbing some clothes from his dresser amd disappearing into his bathroom.

I sat down on the edge of his bed and put my head in my hands, chuckling at my situation. I could think of a dozen girls on base who would renounce their families to spend a night with the legendary Poe Dameron. Here I was trying to slow my suddenly rapid heartbeat at the thought of sleeping next to him, my best friend. When the hell did this happen? I stood up, untied my robe and hung it off of Poe’s desk chair. Walking back to the bed, I flipped over the covers on one side and crawled under.

After a few minutes, Poe exited the bathroom and I peeked over at him. He’d changed into a pair of grey sweatpants and a black tank top that clung tightly to his torso. His eyes fell on me and he gave a soft smile, as if the sight of me in his bed made him happy. He switched off the light to the room and walked over to his side of the bed. I wasn’t sure how to position myself, standard issue beds were fairly small and we’d definitely be somewhat up against each other. He turned on his side and I did the same,

“Thank you for this...It’s just been a stressful day.” I said quietly, I didn’t have to speak very loud considering our faces were only a few inches apart.

“I get it, or maybe I don’t, we won’t know till you talk to me,” he said, his last words spoken in a singsong tone.

I laughed, “Not tonight, remember? Tonight’s about distracting me.”  Even in the dark, I could see that familiar eyebrow going up, “I can think of several things we haven’t tried yet.”

I hoped the darkness concealed my suddenly red cheeks. Usually I could dish it back out to him without a second thought, but tonight I found myself trying not to let my mind drift to the ideas Poe was alluding to.

“Yeah,” I spoke up, “Like going to sleep.”

 Poe comically rolled his eyes, “Fine, if you want to go the boring route.”

I reached over and placed a hand on his bicep, “Thanks for always being there for me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Hey, that goes both ways, sweetheart.” Poe replied, reaching up to gently run his hand up and down my arm. His touch created goosebumps I hoped he wouldn’t feel, but knew he could. For just a second as we looked into each other’s eyes, I thought I saw his flicker to my lips. But it was too quick a movement to confirm.

“C’mere,” he mumbled, opening his arms to me.

My body went into autopilot mode and I moved into his arms before giving it a second thought. I placed one of my hands on his chest and wrapped the other around his torso. I could feel his mother’s ring that hung from his neck under his tank top. One of his hands cradled my head and the other was splayed out on my back, anchoring me to him. This was the most comfortable and at ease I thought I’d ever been in my life. Poe’s skin smelled fresh from the shower, his firm grip on my back was comforting and his body was the type of warmth you could lose yourself in.

Well, if we hadn’t crossed a line already tonight, I was pretty sure we had now...

“Get some sleep, Y/n.” Poe whispered, resting his chin on top of my head. I softly hummed in agreement as I felt myself already beginning to drift off...

————

A/N: Well, that’s all she wrote. Actually, she wrote many scenes that didn’t make it in but whatever...We’re slowly starting to piece together the Reader and Ben’s history, honestly that’s one of my favorite parts to write. Next week, we jump into TFA. In the words of Anakin Skywalker, this is where the fun begins 😏 Hope you enjoy!!

Taglist: @m1rkw00dpr1ncess @springfox04 @constantdisgrace @holybatflapexpert @seninjakitey @tammythompson-singslikea-muppet @leilei-draws @eternal-fandoms

#poe dameron #poe dameron fanfiction #poe dameron fanfic #poe dameron imagine #poe dameron x reader #star wars #poe dameron x solo!reader

290 notes · View notes

stahlop · 5 years

Text

Once Upon a Time 2x17 “Welcome to Storybrooke” Review

Reviews 1x01 1x02 1x03 1x04 1x05 1x06 1x07 1x08 1x09 1x10 1x11 1x12 1x13 1x14 1x15 1x16 1x17 1x18 1x19 1x20 1x21 1x22 2x01 2x02 2x03 2x04 2x05 2x06 2x07 2x08 2x09 2x10 2x11 2x12 2x13 2x14 2x15 2x16

First off, hope everyone is holding up well during this troubling time. On the plus side, it’s given me more time with my kids. Ha, okay, couldn’t say that with a straight face. I love my kids, but being with them 24/7 is tough, okay. So let’s move onto one of my favorite episodes. I love that we get to see how Storybrooke is from the beginning, although it does raise a lot of questions. I feel like we’re in Westworld, but Regina’s the only one who can change anyone’s path. And the characters can change their clothes and tiny little details. But it’s great to see Storybrooke’s origins and how needy and unhappy Regina was even though she thought she’d won.

Summary: Mary Margaret is not doing well with her choice to kill Cora. Regina attempts to enact a spell that will make Henry love her using Mary Margaret’s heart. In 1983, Storybrooke appears and an unsuspecting father and son are caught up in its first days.

Opening: A tree falling on Kurt’s truck

New Characters:

Kurt and Owen Flynn: The father and son duo are camping out by what becomes the T(r)oll Bridge when Storybrooke literally drops on top of them. Kurt is confused about where this town came from, whereas Owen doesn’t really question it. They run into Graham who welcomes them to Storybrooke. They meet Regina in Granny’s Diner and Granny tells them she can get them a room. Kurt seems to be a little wary of this town that just popped up out of nowhere, but Owen is seeing it as an adventure. Owen is also quite precocious as he’s sitting in the seat at Granny’s (later that day?) that Regina always sits in and Owen tells her he’s already sitting there. Regina let’s them know she spoke with the mechanic and they’ll be able to leave within a week instead of two. Kurt thanks her and tells her they’re from New Jersey (home of The Boss). Owen gives Regina the lanyard he made as a gift for letting him sit in her seat. Kurt is happy that his son is so kind. Regina invites them over for dinner before they leave. Owen isn’t that happy about being there and tells Regina that he doesn’t like her lasagna. Regina asks him to pick some apples out for turnovers. Kurt tells Regina Owen’s mother passed away six months ago. They bond a little about starting over and new lives until Owen calls for Regina about making dessert. Owen asks Regina why she’s not a mom, he thinks she’d be a good one (well, Owen is really not a good judge of character, is he?). Owen talks about how he hated New Jersey and how his friends all treat him weird since his mom died. He and Regina bond over dead parents (she doesn’t tell him both her parents are dead, but Owen’s supposed to imply). Regina asks Kurt to think about moving to Storybrooke, but Kurt tells her their life is in New Jersey. He is completely polite about it and doesn’t call Regina out on her crazy whatsoever. Owen seems upset about it though. Kurt comes to thank Regina the next day before leaving town, but he catches her talking to Graham’s heart (he doesn’t know what it is), about keeping them in town by making him seem like a drunk driver. He also hears her say to bring Owen to her. Regina, of course, tries to make him think that he heard incorrectly. Kurt is freaking the fuck out so he tries to leave. Regina is still trying to convince him he heard wrong but Kurt isn’t buying it. Graham comes into Regina’s office and tries to arrest Kurt for drunk driving. Kurt tells him he’s being controlled somehow by the glowing thing shaped like a heart. Graham questions him about not being drunk. Kurt somehow realizes that however Regina is controlling Graham is in that box, so he pushes it off the desk and it makes Graham let him go. Kurt gets in his car with Owen and hightails it to the border. A high speed chase between the Flynns and the sheriff (and Regina in the passenger seat) ensue. Kurt is scared for Owen and Owen is just scared in general that the nice lady is coming after them. They almost make it to the town line when the sheriff’s car comes from a side street and blocks them. Kurt tells Owen to make a run for it and to call his uncle when he gets to another town. Owen obviously doesn’t want to leave his dad, having just lost his mother a few months earlier, but Kurt is practically begging him to get away. He tells Owen that the lanyard he gave him (when they were camping at the beginning of the episode) will mean he’s always with him no matter what. Graham pulls Kurt out of the car and they struggle. Kurt tells Regina he can never have his son. Owen stops right before the town line to see his father. Kurt tells him to run again. Owen asks Regina why she’s doing this to them. She promises she’s not going to hurt him, she just wants them to be together. She reminds him that he liked the town and wanted to stay here, but Owen tells her he didn’t want to stay like this. Regina immediately backs down and apologizes and lets Owen go. Owen runs off with Kurt in the cop car telling Owen to run. Owen comes back with two state troopers but there is nothing at the town line indicating there is a town there (Owen recognizes the boulder at the border). For some reason, they don’t go any further down the road that is there to investigate. Owen vows that he’ll find his dad and never stop looking for him.

Character Observations:

Regina: She has made the curse work and landed in 1983 Maine. She’s so happy that she has ‘won’. She obviously has also had all the knowledge of this realm’s stuff downloaded into her head, because she doesn’t find anything she is wearing or seeing strange. She goes out into the town and observes the ‘chaos’. Geppetto is always fixing the sign on the store, Rumplestiltskin is walking obliviously down the street, Red and Granny are fighting, Archie is walking Pongo. Regina is overjoyed. She goes to visit Mary Margaret at school and takes her to the hospital to visit the John Doe (David) who is there. Regina is absolutely ecstatic to see that Mary Margaret does not recognize her true love. Regina goes to Granny’s and gets apple pancakes and meets Owen and Kurt Flynn. She is understandably confused when Kurt says he needs a room for the night as she doesn’t expect to have strangers in their town the first day they are there. Regina speaks to Graham and tells him she doesn’t like surprises, they make her feel threatened and that bad things happen when she feels threatened. Later that day Regina discovers Owen sitting in ‘her’ seat when she goes to get food. She seems very confused that Owen still won’t move after she tells him she always sits there and Kurt just laughs about it. She tells them that their car will be finished by the end of the week and that she is the mayor. She’s just as subtle about wanting them to go home as Emma and Ruby were to Greg in past episodes. Before they leave Granny’s, Owen gives Regina the lanyard he’d made during their camping trip as thanks for letting him sit in her seat, and Regina honestly doesn’t know how to react to his kindness. She awakens the next morning happy again with what is happening in town. We go through the same walk she did the first day, but this time she runs into Mary Margaret who is as timid as a mouse around her. We also see that when Regina is at the hospital, Mary Margaret is now a volunteer, instead of Regina introducing her to John Doe. But her happiness quickly fades within the next few days (see Timeline Issues below). Regina is no longer getting joy out of seeing Mary Margaret unhappy and she’s upset that Mary Margaret won’t even fight back when Regina gets in her face about their run in on the street. She goes to Gold about how she isn’t happy but he can’t help her because he isn’t Rumplestiltskin. He wants to know what’s wrong with the life she has. Regina is upset because everyone does what she wants them to because they have to, not because they want to. So what was Regina expecting, that everyone would come over to this new land and treat her like the queen she thought she was and that they would just be okay with it? That she would be accepted? That she would be forgiven for all her past misdeeds? Because I have no idea how she thought this was going to work otherwise. So, Regina calls up Kurt and invites him and Owen over for dinner because they are the only two in town she can’t control. And she’s so genuinely happy when Kurt accepts her dinner invite. Owen is in a mood when they are eating dinner. He tells Regina he doesn’t like her lasagna, and she just plays it off as not being the best cook and asks him to help her make dessert. Kurt apologizes for Owen’s behavior and tells Regina that his wife died six months earlier and that the camping trip was kind of a fresh start. Regina empathizes, saying coming to Storybrooke was her attempt at a fresh start but it hasn’t worked out as she’d hoped because she has no one to share it with. Owen interrupts their tender moment by asking about dessert. She and Owen make turnovers and both of them are extremely happy. Owen says she’d make a good mother and they bond over lost loved ones. For some reason, this makes Regina ask Kurt if they’d be willing to move to Storybrooke (she does preface it by saying it’s a crazy idea). Kurt says they have a life back in NJ and can’t and Regina is obviously hurt that Kurt is ruining her plans at having a child in her life (also, if she has the knowledge of cheesy romance movies in her head, then this isn’t a complete out of left field question). The next day Regina goes into Evil Queen mode trying to sabotage Kurt from leaving town with Owen. First she attempts to have Billy keep his car longer at the mechanics, but he’s already picked it up. Then she tells Graham (through his heart) to pick up Kurt for drunk driving and bring Owen to her. Unfortunately, Kurt overhears this. Regina tries to explain that it wasn’t what it sounded like, but Kurt knows it’s exactly what it sounded like. And I kind of get Regina’s reasoning for all this; Owen said he was unhappy and she wants to make him happy by replacing his mother. She would have liked to do it with Kurt there since they kind of had a spark, but now he’s just in the way of making Owen happy. Since Regina doesn’t understand how family dynamics work, I can see why she’d think that she was ‘saving’ Owen by keeping him with her. But after she tries to have Kurt arrested and a car chase throughout town, she realizes she is hurting Owen when he tells her he didn’t want to be with her like this. And instead of letting both Kurt and Owen leave, she keeps Kurt and only lets Owen go. We last see her on the other side of the town line barrier which keeps the town invisible crying as Owen brings the authorities to try and find his dad.

Meanwhile, in the current day, Regina is very upset about losing Cora. I’m going to assume magic is what got Cora a coffin and engraved plaque already as it’s been like a day since Cora died. Gold comes by to pay his respects and Regina is pissed since it’s basically his fault Cora is dead. She admits she knows he tricked Mary Margaret into getting her to put Cora’s heart back in, and she tells Gold that Mary Margaret will die for what she’s done. Gold tells her she won’t do it because it will cost her Henry. He tells her to give up her obsession with vengeance as it will never make her happy (um, tell that to your ongoing feud with Hook). Regina thinks it will, but Gold reminds her that she wasn’t happy during the curse and that was supposed to be her ultimate vengeance. He tells her she still hasn’t learned that she can’t get everything she wants. Cora ripped out her own heart to get the power she wanted, Regina will have to either give up her vengeance or give up Henry. Regina says she’ll find a way to have everything. Oh lord, all that work she did at the beginning of the season, gone, because Cora couldn’t leave things well enough alone. Regina starts going through her mother’s things looking for something. I’m not sure if she knows what she’s looking for or just knows her mother had something to help her get Henry (because she kept telling her not to worry about getting Henry), but she gets really frustrated and combined with her grief starts tearing things up and eventually finds a spell in one of her mother’s dresses that will help her. She goes to the loft intent on taking Mary Margaret’s heart, but Gold is protecting her. While contemplating her next move, Regina receives a phone call from Greg about Henry being out in the woods by himself. She goes after him. Regina finds Henry trying to light dynamite by the well. He wants to get rid of magic. He says she’s only trying to stop him because she wants to cast the curse to make him love her on him. She magics the dynamite away and Henry tries to guilt her into not casting the curse, reminding her that it won’t be real. You’d think, after how she felt just days into the curse about everything not being real, that would be what would change her mind, but she apparently doesn’t mind that it wouldn’t be real, as long as Mary Margaret pays for what she did. She tells him they can be happy and have everything but Henry says not like this they can’t, and that reminds her of what Owen said to her 28 years ago. But Emma, David, and Neal come to stop her before she can get too far into that memory. Emma tells her to stay away from her son, but Regina gets to say Henry is her son this time, and that Emma will never see him again after she casts the spell. Emma says Regina will have to go through her to get Mary Margaret’s heart and Regina is fine with that. She gets a fireball ready but Henry gets in between her and the trio. Henry is still insisting on getting rid of magic but Regina tells him you can’t just get rid of it. Emma says getting rid of magic won’t solve anything but Henry disagrees and, besides what it did to Mary Margaret, reminds Regina what it did to her. He says it makes good people do terrible things, which gets a tiny response from Regina, but then Emma has to add in ‘and bad people’ and Regina has her murder face back. Henry begs Regina to help him get rid of magic. She can’t, but she can light the spell on fire so she can’t use it. Henry thanks her and leaves with his family, leaving Regina in the dust, again. Mary Margaret goes to Regina’s and begs her to kill her. Regina is understandably confused (especially since her family just spent the whole episode making sure Regina doesn’t kill her), and doesn’t want to because she knows Henry would never forgive her, but she doesn’t learn from her mistakes, so she takes Mary Margaret’s heart. But instead of crushing it like she’s dreamed of for years, she takes satisfaction in the fact that there is now a dark spot in it because of what she did to Cora. She insists it will only get darker once she’s had a taste. Mary Margaret begs her to crush it, but Regina is reveling in the fact that Mary Margaret is finally suffering due to her own actions. She even assumes Mary Margaret will be the reason her family ends up suffering and falling in the future. And then Henry will be hers and she will have everything she’s wanted. Regina is once again extremely happy as she listens to Mary Margaret beg Regina to kill her and hysterically cry when she puts her heart back in. Regina turns the mean back on and tells Mary Margaret to get off her porch as she slams the door in Mary Margaret’s face.

Mary Margaret: I’m not going to talk about Mary Margaret from 1983, there is no point as she is a static character who can’t change. Now, current Mary Margaret is very depressed. She won’t talk to anyone or eat anything throughout the entire episode. Even when Regina comes to take her heart and Gold protects her, she makes no move to even defend herself. All the fight has gone out of her. She finally speaks when Gold informs her Regina has destroyed the spell. She wants to know how Gold lives with himself for all the horrible things he’s done. He tells her you convince yourself you’re doing it for the right reasons. And that eventually you might believe it. Mary Margaret doesn’t look convinced. She goes to Regina to have her kill her. So, here’s where I have a problem. Look, I get that Mary Margaret did something terrible. She killed Cora, and as Henry points out earlier, Snow White doesn’t kill people. But she did it basically to save her family. While, yes, it was straight up murder, it was kind of a pre-emptive strike at self-defense as well. Is she really willing to sacrifice herself, after everything, just because she can’t live with the guilt? That doesn’t sound like the Snow White or Mary Margaret we’ve learned to love on this show. So it’s a good thing Regina won’t kill her. Regina does pull out her heart because she does plan on killing her, but when she sees that Mary Margaret now has darkness in her heart, she realizes that Mary Margaret may end up destroying her family without any help from Regina. Mary Margaret is begging and pleading for Regina to kill her, but she won’t. Regina’s too happy about Mary Margaret potentially bringing around the downfall of her family all on her own. She leaves Mary Margaret a blubbering mess on her front porch.

Gold: He does help out Regina in 1983, even if he doesn’t realize it, seeing as he was cursed. He helps give Regina some clarification about what the curse actually did. In current Storybrooke, he goes to the Mills crypt to pay his respects to Cora. Regina scoffs at this as he used Mary Margaret to kill Cora to save his own life. He tells her that desperate times call for desperate measures. Gold tries to convince Regina not to move forward on her revenge against Mary Margaret. She had a whole curse worth of vengeance and all it left her with was a gaping hole in her heart (Maleficent gave Regina this same warning in The Thing You Love Most). Gold tells Regina she can’t kill Mary Margaret and keep Henry. Cora knew this, that’s why she ripped out her heart. Regina vows she will have everything. Gold goes to the loft to warn the Charmings about what Regina is up to. David tells him he needs to find out exactly what Regina is up to. Gold doesn’t want to, but David reminds him that, not only are they now family, but Mary Margaret saved his life, so he owes her a debt. Gold doesn’t seem too happy about that, but he always pays his debts. Gold and David go to check out Regina’s crypt for clues. They notice the mess Regina made and Gold discovers that some of her potions are missing (how?). Gold figures out Regina is going to cast the curse of the Empty Hearted, which would make Henry think he loves Regina, but Regina needs the heart of the one she hates most to complete the spell (because, of course the final ingredient for a love spell would be to kill someone). Emma implores Gold to do something, but Gold points out that his debt is fulfilled by giving them the info. David and Emma don’t agree, but Gold tells them that wars have costs, and as this is a blood feud, blood is the price. Gold tells them that Cora was dangerous because she didn’t have a heart, Regina is more dangerous because she does. While David and Emma are out trying to figure out what to do about Regina, Gold is playing watchdog over Mary Margaret. Once Regina has given up her quest for Mary Margaret’s heart, Mary Margaret asks him how he can live with himself after all the horrible things he’s done. Gold tells her that you tell yourself you did it for the right reason and eventually one day you’ll believe it. It does not seem like Gold believes it yet. Maybe if Neal ever forgives him he’ll find it was worth it.

Henry: He’s kind of annoying in this episode. I get that he’s tired of everyone lying to him, but he still doesn’t believe Emma when she tells him that Mary Margaret is partially responsible for Cora’s death. He doesn’t think Snow White would do something like that. Did he not read the book? Snow and Charming had to fight a war to get their kingdom back. Does he think no blood was shed in order to do that? And Henry is still mad that Emma is lying like she did about his dad (I really wish Emma would tell Henry the truth about why she was protecting him from Neal). When Henry finds out that Regina is going to use the love spell on him, he’s obviously upset, especially when he finds out Mary Margaret’s heart is the final ingredient, and that apparently killing Regina is the only solution. Henry wonders what happened to them being the heroes (even heroes have to kill people sometimes). Also, David was always in favor of killing Regina, it’s in the damn book! Henry runs off with Emma following. Emma brings Henry to Granny’s to talk to Neal, who invites him to New York until this whole thing blows over. Henry thinks if they can just get rid of magic then all their problems will be solved (like father, like son). He pretends to go to the restroom but runs off instead. We see him running through the forest. He runs into Greg, who was taking a hike (although neither one are on an actual trail), and lies about being in the woods for a boy scout merit badge (oh, so it’s okay when Henry lies but not when anyone lies to him, got it). Regina catches up with him at the Wishing Well with dynamite he stole from the dwarf mines. He’s apparently decided the Wishing Well is the source of all the magic in Storybrooke and is going to blow it up (wouldn’t the fuse go out once it hit the water, or does dynamite not work that way?). Regina magics it away and basically tells him that even if the spell doesn’t create real love, it will be enough for her, and they can have everything. Henry says not like this, which harkens back to what Owen said, and maybe Regina would have changed her mind right then and there, but Emma, Neal, and David show up. Regina is about to fireball them when Henry gets in the middle. He’s still insistent on destroying magic, but Regina says it doesn’t work like that. It’s not until Henry says that magic is what makes people do bad things, specifically Mary Margaret and Regina, and that it’s destroying their family, that Regina finally backs down. Henry is relieved, and goes off with the Charmings. Look, I get that Regina isn’t trustworthy, but how come every time she does something to change for Henry he barely acknowledges it? It’s like ‘Thanks for not killing everyone, I’m going to leave you now so you can get so upset again that you’ll try to kill us all again soon and we can do this all over again.”

David/Emma/Neal: Most of their stories are intertwined. David is trying to save Mary Margaret from Regina and herself. Emma can’t stop lying to Henry until he calls her out on it (to be fair, no kid needs to know his grandmother was partially responsible for killing his other grandmother/step great-great grandmother). I just wish she’d tell him the truth about Neal instead of hiding that from him. Why has no one asked either Neal or Emma why they broke up and why Henry was born in jail? They all know these two things happened, why haven’t any follow up questions been asked now that Neal is in town? David and Emma discuss possibly needing to kill Regina in order to protect Henry and Mary Margaret, but this makes Henry upset so he runs off. Emma follows him and apparently calls Neal to meet them at Granny’s, as they already have a plan set up when she and Henry arrive. Neal invites Henry to come back to New York with him to wait out Regina’s plan, but Henry thinks they just need to get rid of magic (I’m sure if the situation wasn’t so dire Neal would be beaming with pride that his son hates magic as much as he does). When Emma comes back over Neal is patting himself on the back for convincing Henry to come with him, but Emma points out that his backpack is gone when he’s just gone to the bathroom, and berates Neal since Henry is their son. They realize he ran. They enlist Ruby to help them find Henry, which leads them to the mines. David figures out that Henry must have stolen some dynamite, and Neal realizes that he wants to use it to get rid of magic. Neal wonders where Henry thinks he can blow magic up. Luckily, Emma knows because that’s where she and Mary Margaret came out from their trip to the Enchanted Forest. They get to the Wishing Well and see that Regina is already there. David gets his gun out when Regina threatens them with a fireball (really David? When are these people going to learn guns don’t work against magic?), and Emma makes a lot of pointed comments about how bad of a person Regina is (not helping right now), before Henry gets in the middle and Regina finally backs down. Seriously, stop antagonizing the Evil Queen people!

Greg: He’s seemed pretty innocent up until now, with the exception of filming Regina doing magic. Here he’s eating at Granny’s and goes on a hike (although nowhere near the hiking trail). He seems like a pretty nice guy when he calls Regina about Henry being in the woods. But we find out at the end that he’s actually Owen! And he’s there to find his father! So he didn’t accidentally crash his car, he came there with a purpose and he had to have recognized Regina because she looks exactly the same.

Questions:

How can Regina already have a seat at Granny’s, they’ve been there for one day? Did she build that into the curse as well?

Why did Regina wait 17 years before adopting Henry if after interacting with Owen she realized a child was what she was missing in her life?

How did Henry learn anything at school if the teachers taught the same thing everyday? And how did Regina not think Henry wouldn’t notice this?

How did Mary Margaret leave school while her children were at recess and make it back in time for them to be back in class when Regina took her to the hospital to visit John Doe? Or did Mary Margaret just not go back to school?

Did Regina know Cora had brought the spell with her, or was she just looking for something that she could use to help her? Cora had kept telling Regina not to worry about Henry when plans started going awry. Was that always Cora’s backup and Regina knew it?

Why doesn’t Regina have a protection spell around her crypt, or even to the hidden chamber below? Why wasn’t Cora’s stuff in her secret room where no one could get to it?

I get that Gold was helping protect Mary Margaret, but why is there no other protection spell on the loft? Between Emma and Gold, Regina should not have been able to get in there.

How was Regina planning on explaining to Kurt and Owen why everything was the same every day if they stayed. I get them maybe not noticing it for the first week, especially since whomever they interacted with would have gone off their set path, but if they’d moved there what would have happened?

Does Regina know who Neal is? I’m assuming she figures he’s Gold’s son, since that’s who they went to find in NYC, but does she know he’s Henry’s real father? Does she not wonder why he is trying to protect Henry?

And on that note, did Emma ever explain to Neal about Henry being adopted by Regina and how she was the Evil Queen? I’m assuming she shared the whole convoluted story on the way back to Storybrooke, but that would’ve been nice to see.

Why did Regina only let Owen go? What was the point in keeping Kurt there, especially since no one else could see the town?

And how does not seeing the town work? Couldn’t people just continue driving through the invisible barrier on the road that you can see? Or is it like how the people of Storybrooke never had the desire to leave; for some reason people won’t go past a certain part of the road because of a bad feeling?

Also, how does Storybrooke get outside supplies if no one can see the town? Like, I get that everything resets itself every night, so I guess they normally wouldn’t need anything, but where are these car parts coming from?

If Mary Margaret got a dark spot from helping Cora die, why was Cora’s heart all red with no dark spots? Is it because she didn’t have it in her chest when committing her horrible deeds?

Observations:

Regina’s haircut in 1983 is the same as her current cut, not the cut she had in the Pilot. Although, since Regina had the capability to change, she could have had it cut, but it should have been a more 80s style.

In the school scene, Regina and Mary Margaret are wearing the exact same outfits that they wear when Emma comes to town and they’re looking for Henry after he ran away, which again, doesn’t make sense because they should have been wearing 80s style clothes in 1983.

The Daily Mirror Headline reads: Reagan: Soldiers Will Be Staying Beirut.

The accompanying headline on the dog article reads: Shelter Dog Adopted by Couple That Stole Him.

Regina moves into Owen’s seat after he leaves.

Love the juxtaposition of Gold and Regina with Emma’s glass unicorn mobile between them.

The dress Regina finds the spell in is the dress Cora was wearing when she and Hook came over on the Jolly Roger and the dress she wore when she first revealed herself to Regina.

Mary Margaret has a quill of arrows hanging near the front door of the loft.

So much for the lock August made for Mary Margaret’s loft. It doesn’t work against magic.

Regina used to keep Graham’s heart at her office instead of in her crypt.

Two Tron references made. The last name Flynn is also the last name of the main guy from Tron, and the bench with the computer ad on it is for Encom, which is the computer corporation from the film.

Greg gets Regina’s number off of Henry’s backpack tag. He apparently hasn’t changed it since moving in with Emma.

Timeline Issues:

Including the first day and the montage scene, I think that’s supposed to be 3 days. We have the first day where Regina realizes the curse worked and she observes everything going on in her new town. She also meets the Flynns on this day. Then we have the montage which shows her waking up with Graham, bringing Mary Margaret to see John Doe (although Mary Margaret is a volunteer starting the second day), and then Regina walking Main Street and running into Mary Margaret right past Granny’s. The thing is, running into Mary Margaret has to take place before going to see John Doe because it’s early morning (as evidenced by the Ruby/Granny argument), so, for some reason, we’re seeing the day out of order. Regina wakes up, she walks down Main Street and runs into Mary Margaret, and then she’s with Mary Margaret when they go see John Doe in the hospital. So, Regina starts getting bored on the third day (unless we’re missing some days), but it still has to be within a week because the Flynn’s are still there and attempt to leave after a week since Regina asked Billy the mechanic to get them out of town quickly.

So that was an intense episode! We got to see early Storybrooke, the reason Regina decided to adopt Henry, and discovered that Greg is really Owen! I really liked seeing early Storybrooke and I liked that Regina pretty much figured out that the curse still didn’t make her happy after such a short time. No wonder she’s still mad as hell, every time she thinks she’s ‘won’, something happens to take her happy ending away. I’m still not sympathizing with her, but she’s not going to change if no one believes in her. And now we have to wonder what happened to Kurt. I can’t imagine that he’d still be around, but I guess we’ll find out soon. And what is he planning on doing with all the videos he’s been taking?

Please leave comments and reblog! Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future reviews.

@searchingwardrobes @thisonesatellite @justbecauseyoubelievesomething @laschatzi @profdanglaisstuff @mariakov81

#once upon a time #once upon a time review #once upon a time rewatch #once upon a time 2x17 #once upon a time welcome to storybrooke

18 notes · View notes

thewoildis-yaerster · 5 years

Text

Abusus Non Tollit Usum

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five: Cats

Description: We get a closer look at the theatre nerds and Medda finds out about the plan.

Warnings: Mentions of fighting, swearing.

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

“Who is Miss Medda, may I ask?” David questioned as the large group of students sped to a building that was disconnected from the high school. It was decently large, but it wasn’t as big as the school building.

“Spottie and I’s foster mom. Also, the drama teacher.” Jack answered.

“Call me ‘Spottie’ again and you won’t see tomorrow.” Spot spat out an empty threat.

“Ah, you love me.” They all skidded to a stop when they reached the doors. Jack tried to open them, but they were locked. He dug around in his pockets, only to pull them out empty-handed. “Hey, uh, Spot? Do you have your key?”

Said boy groaned and softly pushed Jack out of the way. “After that, you better be glad it’s more than just you and me. If it was just us, you’d be going in through the roof.” He pulled a key on a necklace out from under his shirt and unlocked a door, then held it open for everyone.

“It was just a joke!” Jack chuckled, his voice echoing through the large auditorium.

“’Thank you, Spot. Love you, Spot. You’re the best brother in the world, Spot. I don’t know what I’d do without you, Spot.’” Spot grumbled under his breath.

“Thank you, Spot. Love you, Spot. You’re the best boyfriend in the world, Spot. I don’t know what I’d do without you, Spot.” Race repeated Spot’s words and gave him a quick peck on the lips before following the line into the auditorium.

David hadn’t been in a theatre or an auditorium in such a long time. He did a few plays when he was younger, but he always got background roles because he couldn’t grasp the concept of acting. He always enjoyed it, though. He made so many friends and they were always like a huge family, but then his family had to move away and he never got back into it.

Everyone put their bags down in the back of the auditorium and moved to sit up front. After a few seconds, Buttons and Race jumped up at nearly the same time and dashed toward the stage. Buttons jumped and flipped onstage, whereas Race cartwheeled onstage. Romeo took off after them but disappeared backstage instead of staying up front. A few moments later, he came out brandishing a sword.

“Guys, look! It’s the sword I used in Romeo & Juliet in freshman year!” He shouted, pretending to stab Race with it. It was very reassuring to see them all in a better mood, but David knew the mood was going to be brought back down as soon as they told this “Miss Medda” the news.

Buttons gasped and ran backstage, then came back out wearing tap shoes. He also had a pair in his left hand and another in his right. “Tommy Boy! Specs! Mine still fit!”

Tommy Boy and Specs raced up to the stage and took the tap shoes, immediately shucking the ones on their feet and putting the others on. They began to perform a tap number in the middle of the stage, while Race and Romeo had a sword battle around them.

“Theatre nerds?” David leaned back and asked Katherine.

“Big time. Specs and Tommy Boy aren’t, though. They mainly participate in dance-centric shows. That number they’re doing right now is from Cats.” She responded with a smile on her face.

“You guys put on Cats?”

“Barely. We were in it when we were in middle school because hardly anyone in the high school wanted to do it. I played so many roles that it took me hours to scrub off all of the layers of paint they slapped on me in between songs. I know that dance, too, but my shoes probably don’t fit anymore.” She laughed.

“Oh gosh, wow.” David laughed as well. “Buttons seems to be really into Cats.”

“Oh, yeah. He’s always been into Cats. No one knows why, though. He won’t tell anyone. All he says is that it means a lot to him. He was begging Medda to let him audition long before she turned to the middle school students. He was ecstatic when she let him, but he cried when he got the part of Mr. Mistoffelees. That’s always been his dream role.”

“Who did you and the others play?” David had seen Cats once or twice in his lifetime.

“Ah, man, let’s see. I was Grizabella, Jennyanydots, and Skimbleshanks. Like I said, we were low on casting. Tommy Boy was Rumpelteazer. It was before he came out, but he enjoyed playing the role. Specs was Munkustrap. Race had multiple roles like me. He was Rum Tum Tugger, Mungojerrie, Rumpus Cat, and Macavity. I still don’t see how he pulled it off.”

“I’m just like Mungojerrie, Kath! A quick-change comedian!” Race shouted as he and Romeo fought across the rows of seats.

“You kids haven’t changed a bit!” A cheerful voice rang out through the auditorium.

“Miss Medda!” The theatre nerds (plus Jack, Spot, Specs, and Tommy Boy) exclaimed. They all dropped what they were doing and ran to her, hugging her at the same time.

“I’ve missed you all so much!” She hugged them all back and kissed them all on their foreheads.

“You see me and Jack every day, Mama Medda.” Spot had a genuine smile on his face.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t miss you during the day! Now, as much as I enjoy seeing all of you, I don’t recall posting auditions yet, so there has to be a reason all of you are here. Is Snyder after you all again?” Her smile fell and she put her hands on her hips.

“Not this time, surprisingly. It’s Pulitzer.” Jack answered.

“Pulitzer is after you?”

“Not…necessarily. We tried to get him to let us have a GSA.”

“It didn’t go well, I take it.”

“He called us disgusting, vile, and sickening, then threatened to give us detention if we didn’t leave.” Albert got out of his seat and joined the others.

Medda gasped. “He can’t say that!”

“That’s what I said!” Finch exclaimed.

“Do I need to march up there right now and give him a piece of my mind? Because I will.” Medda didn’t wait for an answer. She started walking toward the doors, but the group of kids held her back.

“No, Ma, don’t. We have a plan.” Jack’s mischievous smile spread across his face. Medda smirked and raised an eyebrow in response, a look that told Jack to explain. “The leader of our little revolution can explain it better. Davey, c’mere.”

“Okay, whoa. I wouldn’t call myself the leader. I’d consider myself the Hamilton to your Washington, except I wouldn’t cheat on my partner.” David rose from his seat and walked up to the group.

“Ma, this is Davey. He’s the one I told you I met over the summer.”

“It’s so nice to finally meet you, David! Jack’s told me so much about you.”

“Ma,” Jack whined.

“All good things, I hope. It’s nice to meet you, too, Miss Medda.”

“Oh, definitely. Almost all he did over the summer was talk about you.”

“Ma, please, stop.” Jack crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. David could’ve sworn he saw a light blush on his cheeks.

“Alright, alright. What’s the plan?” Medda laughed, then went dead serious in a matter of seconds. David outlined the plan and soon the entire group was gathered around Medda. “I believe you kids could pull it off, I do, but are you sure you’re all up for the task? We all know there are risks.” They all looked at each other, then back at Medda and nodded. “Well, you have my full support then. You know, I don’t think I have any pride items here, but there might be a rainbow-colored thing or two in the prop room.” They all gasped and took off backstage, but Medda made two of them stay behind. “Race, baby, you stay right there. Jack and I will be right back.” They exited the auditorium and stood outside. “Jack, do you like David?”

“…Yeah? He’s a pretty cool guy.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I…”

“You do, don’t you!?” Medda smiled brightly.

“I might! I don’t know!”

“Jack, you always get the goofiest grin on your face when you talk about him and let’s not pretend you don’t say his name in your sleep.”

“Oh my god, Ma. I’m going back inside.”

“Hey, we’ll talk about this more later. I’m not letting this go.”

“La, la, la, la, la. I’m not listening!”

“Send Racetrack out here!”

A few seconds later, Race came out of the back door with fear in his eyes. Before Medda could say anything, he began to ramble. “Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me? Is Spot mad at me? Did I accidentally say something wrong? Did I-”

“Honey, no. You didn’t do anything wrong. Here, sit down.” She sat down on the back doorsteps and patted the spot beside her. He sat down and waited for her to speak this time. “Now, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, but I’m a bit worried. I’ve known you for a long enough time to know that something is wrong when you aren’t wearing eyeliner.”

“I didn’t get any sleep last night. I…I was worried about what Pulitzer would say.” He looked down and fiddled with his fingers in his lap.

“Are you sure?”

Race looked up at her and shook his head, his eyes glazed over with tears. Medda smiled sympathetically and held her arms open. He nearly threw himself into her arms and broke down. She rocked him back and forth and rubbed his back.

“They fought all night again, Miss Medda. It w-was bad. When I came out of my room, m-my Mama was gone and s-so was all of her stuff. My dad went off on a business trip today and he won’t be back until n-next week. I don’t know what I’m g-gonna do, Miss Medda. I don’t want to be alone.”

***

When the final bell rang, they all exited the prop room looking like a miniature pride parade. Romeo had gotten ahold of a rainbow boa, Elmer got her hands on fake rainbow eyelashes, and Crutchie had gotten into the glitter from the looks of himself and everyone else. Medda and Race came in from outside and he immediately ran to his boyfriend.

“Do you mind if I stay with you for a few days? Medda said I could, but I just want to make sure I’m not-”

“Of course you can stay with us, babe. You’re always welcome at Chateau Larkin.” Spot chuckled, then frowned. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, just, uh…family issues. I’ll tell you later.”

“Alright. Hey, Jack! Race is staying with us!”

“Just don’t moan too loud! Sound from your room echoes in mine and I really don’t need to hear that!” Jack laughed while trying to pick a piece of glitter off of David’s face that was dangerously close to his eye. Spot laughed mockingly in response and started to leave the auditorium with Race.

“If you aren’t at the truck within five minutes after I get there, I’m leaving without you. I have shit to do.”

“You wouldn’t.” Jack gasped.

“Oh, I would,” Spot called over his shoulder.

“Would he?” David questioned.

“He would. He’s done it before. I’ve done it to him, too, though, so it’s alright.” Jack finally got the glitter away from David’s eye.

“If you don’t make it, I could drive you. I just have to pick my little brother up first.” David offered.

“Ah, I wouldn’t want to-”

“Nonsense. I already know what you’re going to say. If Spot’s gone, you’re riding with me. No ‘buts.’”

“Alright, jeez. You know, I’m kind of excited to meet your little brother. From what you’ve said about him, he sounds like a cool little guy.”

“You two are just alike, believe me. You’ll get along perfectly.”

12 notes · View notes