#<- i say that as if I didn't fully do a road trip fic one and just never acknowledged it again

[cataclysmictide]

I Love You, That's All

The Louvre - Lorde/Edgar Degas/The Creation of Adam - Michelangelo/Art Heist, Baby! - @otrtbs /The Gathering Storm - Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky/The Last Great American Dynasty - Taylor Swift/The Louvre - Lorde/Unknown/Art Heist, Baby! - Otrtbs/New Year's Day - Taylor Swift/Margaret - Lana Del Rey/Unknown/Art Heist, Baby! - Otrtbs/New Year's Day - Taylor Swift/Ships in a Storm - Ludolf Bakhuizen/Interior with the Artist's Wife Emilie Heise -  Carl Holsøe/Art Heist, Baby! - Otrtbs/Half Return - Adrianne Lenker/Art Heist, Baby! - Otrtbs/My Tears Ricochet - Taylor Swift/Art Heist, Baby! - Otrtbs/Fourth of July - Sufjan Stevens/Unknown/Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss -  Antonio Canova/Bigger Than The Whole Sky - Taylor Swift/Love in the Heart of Everything; The Correspondence between Vladimir Mayakovsky & Lili Brik/Art Heist, Baby! - Otrtbs

[jadeylovesmarvelxo]

The Trouble With Love

Part One 🌸❤️

Based on an idea I had a couple of days ago ❤️🌸

Steve Harrington x Reader fic where he's married to Nancy but the fantasy he had in his head many years ago doesn't transpire and he's deeply unhappy as is she.

Both are too stubborn to admit anything is wrong. He's fine Dustin stop being a butthead okay?

Jonathan is around all the time and so are you... His next-door neighbour and his goddaughter's (Robin and Vickie's kid) preschool teacher who he can't stop running into, arguing with or thinking about.

Steve is 33, reader is in her 20's

Warnings; Angst, trouble in paradise, a bucket load of sexual tension.

Part one, possible series ☺️💕

Lmk if you want to be tagged x

I don't give anyone permission to copy, repost my work.

If you enjoyed this pls consider liking or reblogging.

💕

It was quiet this morning, too quiet, Steve didn't like when it got too quiet because the thoughts he so easily pushed aside came rushing to the surface.

Thoughts about Nancy and their marriage and the hopeless sense of despair he had been feeling for months maybe even longer now.

After a few years away from Hawkins with Nancy becoming a well-known journalist and Steve staying in Hawkins with Robin to help rebuild the town after its destruction by Vecna and The Upside Down's defeat, he and Nancy met again and took a second chance at dating.

This time things worked out at least for the first few years. Nancy's ambition grew bigger and bigger while Steve did his best to support her even though his dreams of discussing starting a family were out on hold again.

He had that fantasy, the perfect fantasy of him and Nancy with six lil nuggets in the summertime, on a road trip in a Winnebago.

He told Nancy that years ago and he was still hopeful that could happen. He was thirty-three and they had time to do it.

Well, maybe not six lil nuggets but even a few would be nice because Steve had always envisioned a big family for himself.

It's just he wished Nancy took his dreams seriously such as he did for her.

He grew up as an only child with a mother and father who thought throwing money his way for several years constituted as them being attentive.

The truth was he spent more time with nanny's and his grandmother than his parents and he knew that when he had kids he wanted to make sure they knew how loved and treasured they were.

He never wanted them to feel lonely as he did, in truth the only decent thing his father did for him now was get him a great job in his company, flex hours, benefits, amazing pay.

When a child did finally come along then he would be able to stay at home as much as he possibly could.

The thoughts of how he was going to broach the subject again to Nancy was fully in his mind once more but the phone ringing caught his attention.

It was Robin "Hey dingus, can you pick up Anna for me? Have to take Vickie to an emergency dentist appointment and she's fteaking out incase we're late to pick Anna up"

This brightens his mood considerably, he adored his goddaughter.

"Yeah, sure Rob, I'll pick her up" Robin briefs a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Steve, I owe you one" With a click she's gone and he heads to Hawkins Preschool to pick up Anna.

His good mood lasts until he sees you, Anna's teacher and his next-door neighbour who drove him crazy.

Anna adored you and called you Miss Smiley because you were always happy, smiling and saccharine sweet to everyone in Steve's opinion.

It irritated Steve to no end because you weren't sweet as pie to him, you called him out on his bullshit all the time, and he had never known anyone to get under his skin quite like you did.

He reaches the preschool with time to spare and finds you and Anna waiting outside, she's holding your hand and babbling excitedly to you, there's a big grin on your face as you listen to Anna indulgently.

"Good afternoon, Mr Harrington," you say sweetly and he scowls because being called Mr Harrington makes him feel like his dad or some shit.

"It's Steve" he reminds you for the umpteenth time and you look all innocent and sweet but he's sure you're doing it to annoy him.

"Uncle Steve" Anna beams giving him a toothy smile and hugging his legs, his heart melts and the ache for a child of his own grows even more.

"Hi, Anna Banana, how's my best girl?" she shows him the drawing he did. A picture of him, Robin and Robin.

"See Mama, mama, and you" She beams and he picks her up and hugs her close, all his stress melting away for a second due to the picture.

It's all squiggles mostly but there are two figures holding hands, Robin and Vickie and then there's Steve, he identifies himself through the vast amount of hair that Anna has drawn.

"I love it, sweetheart" he assures her and he catches your eye surprised to see you smiling at him, genuinely.

"She got a gold star today for that drawing, well all the kids did but Anna's was a personal favourite" he cocks his eyebrow curious.

"Oh yeah?" you nod and gesture to the picture.

"Captured your hair and pose perfectly" pose?

"Mama!" Anna squeals and he sees Robin coming out of her car. She beams at him gratefully and takes Anna from him.

"Vickie said to catch up with you and invite you to dinner tomorrow. It's pizza night" That goes down well with Anna who claps excitedly.

"Yay! Pizza" He nods confirming this with Robin then turns back to you annoyed.

"What pose? I don't pose" you chuckle and Robin watches the both of you amused as Vickie comes to get Anna to take her to the car.

"Oh you know it's kinda like a scolding dad, hands-on-hips, I'm so over this shit look" His eyes widen and he hears Robin stifle her laughter.

"I do not... He realises he's doing the very same pose she was talking about and rolls his eyes. Great.

Robin realising that the two of them could argue for hours wisely decides to head to the car and go home.

She will hear all about it from Steve later, she always does.

Can you believe that yn said this? She's such a brat? Do you all believe this Miss Smiley shit? I can't stand her.

Lather rinse repeat. Blah blah blah. For someone he couldn't stand, he talked about you enough.

It did take his mind off him and Nancy though and while Nancy was her friend Steve was her platonic soulmate and she knew that his and Nancy's marriage wasn't as perfect as they tried to portray.

There were too stubborn to admit any problems and it didn't help that Jonathan was back in Hawkins again.

Dustin had tried to get through to Steve as well but Steve would insist nothing was wrong.

"I'm fine Dustin don't be a butthead" is all he would say, she wishes she could help but until Steve admitted there was a problem what could she do?

💕

"You need to relax a little you know Mr Harrington, stress isn't good for you, plus the kids pick up on it" you tell him.

He looks at you like you've grown two heads and counts to three to tame his irritation but it doesn't work.

"I am relaxed. It's you that drives me crazy, just cut the shithead antics yeah?" You're quiet and he turns away then you speak again.

"Yes, sir" It's a little taunt, teasing and he freezes at the sir. Freezes because the sir goes straight to his cock and he feels a wave of guilt wash over him.

What was this? You were irritating and nosey and he couldn't stand you and he had Nancy! He storms away from you and vows to stay far away from your annoying sweet smile.

💕💕

Nancy is back once he gets in from work, also Jonathan Byers's car is parked in their driveway and he puts a smile on his face not wanting to fight.

Jonathan is showing Nancy some of his photos of his various trips around America, and the two of them are laughing and drinking wine.

Jonathan gets up and picks up his jacket giving him a small smile.

"I better go, I'll see you later" Nancy nods and see him out, when she comes back inside she gives him a quick kiss.

"I've got some papers to write. Do you want takeout for dinner?" he nods and pulls off his jacket.

"Just spent some time with Anna, she drew the cutest picture, Nance" Nancy smiles at this and he feels his heart thump nervously as he broaches the subject of kids.

It's been a long time since they talked about it.

"Hey, Nance? It would be nice if we could think about having a little nugget huh?" she sighs and runs her hand through her hair.

"Not now Steve, I'm getting really far with this new story and I don't have any time to take off for maternity or even think about the amount of childcare we would need to think of" his heart sinks because it's the same thing she said almost a year ago.

"Right okay" He nods and she rolls her eyes.

"Don't do that okay, don't make me feel bad about it okay? I don't need you pressuring me" he gapes.

"Pressure you? We talked about it last year Nance! I barely bring it up because you get like this. You know having kids is a big dream of mine, you've always known that.

"I support every dream of yours 110% but mine? You just dismiss them." she shakes her head.

"You know what? This is bullshit. You're bullshit and I don't have time for this" she picks up her jacket and storms out.

"Nance wait!" she's gone before he can apologise or say anything to stop her.

💕

He heads into the garden just to take a minute, the argument with Nancy firmly in his mind.

The pain he's feeling is intense and he's so tired of the arguments, he massages his head feeling sick to his stomach.

"Are you okay?" he looks up and finds you standing near his fence. Your eyes are full of concern and he nods.

"I'm fine" He pinches the bridge of his nose to stop the tears from coming, a minute or so later he hears his gate open.

When he looks up you're beside him, and the alarm is written all over your face, you gently place an arm on his shoulder.

"Steve" your voice is kind and he's startled that you've called his name and not Mr Harrington.

"It's uh, just Nance and I have been arguing a lot, it's nothing" but that wasn't true when they were getting to the point that they argued frequently, that something was breaking between them.

"I'm sorry, really I am," you tell him sincerely and he is grateful. It's nice to have someone with him, it's nice not to feel this crushing heartache alone.

It feels like his whole life is falling apart and he doesn't know what to do. He would never ask Nancy to give up her dreams but would she want him to give up his?

Why couldn't they find some compromise?

"I want kids and Nancy is really focused on work which is amazing, I'm so proud of her it's just... She knows how I feel about having a family and yet when I bring it up she shuts down like there's no hope of a compromise or anything"

You don't say anything you just stay with him and after a minute or so passes you gently tug on his shirt.

"You look like you could use a hug and I've been known to give good ones" you suggest and Steve thinks that sounds pretty great, he could use a friend right now.

Your arms wrap around him and he finds comfort in your embrace for a moment, there's a weird tension in the air though and it makes him nervous and he pulls away giving you a soft smile.

"Thanks" He squeezes your shoulder and he heads back inside confusion racing through his mind.

💕💕

When you head inside your house your heartbeat is just returning to normal.

This couldn't happen you couldn't focus on these feelings for Steve. It was so stupid and reckless and for goodness sake, he was married!!

Nothing could happen between the two of you, you really needed to get over this stupid crush.

It wasn't like he liked you anyway. Even if he wasn't married he found you annoying, he said so himself.

Why did you have to be attracted to someone who was completely unavailable? It made you feel like an idiot and just very low.

It was imperative that you needed to get over this crush before you ended up very hurt.

💕💕

[warcorrespondence]

@ceeturnalia/traveller wrote this fic called aftermath, usa. I read it a little while back, and then I proceeded to think about it for a long time. It's about love, and about trauma, and the ways we love and the ways we trauma, and how maybe none of them look great from the outside, but we are on the outside, so maybe we should all shut up.

(Shocking no one, @ep6bastogne recommended it to me, but I'm stealing a march on writing the review)

fandom: generation kill

pairing: bradnate

explicit, 24616 words

I started this while sitting on a beach, a calm and idyllic setting if ever there was one, with my heart racing and my jaw clenched.

A month or two before, I said to @screwby, "I really just want an angsty road trip fic, is that so much to ask?"

And behold! The angsty road trip fic of my dreams! Only this particular road trip is precipitated by Nate getting shot.

He stops a couple of bullets intended for the President of the United States (no, he’s not Secret Service, just in the right place at the right time, standing there being Nate Fick). He recovers enough to call Brad to come pick him up from the hospital.

They drive across the country, from DC to San Diego, and it becomes clear that whatever their feelings for each other, they haven’t spoken in 10 years. And yet Brad dropped everything to come get him.

It’s a trip of recovery, of Nate’s health both emotional and physical, of their relationship, of what they meant and could mean, and what they decide they do and will mean to each other.

It's by turns rough and moving, gentle and brutal. It's sexy and sweet and funny all at once.

Is this a long quote? Yes. Yes it is. But it also, for me, fully encapsulates what this fic does, like a punch in the gut (or a weak, post-gunshot attempt at violence).

"I'm asking you for help," Nate says. "You fucking retard." Nate's weak left hand lands on Brad's arm, fist closed. "Was that… was that a punch?" Brad stares, swallowing the rest of the wash of emotion. "Because what I saw was the most limp-wristed pussy faggot attempt at violence since that time Person got in a catfight with a fucking Laker girl." "Fuck you," Nate says, hitting Brad again, a little harder this time, but the effort shows on his face. "Brad." Brad takes his hand, gives the fingers a squeeze. "You're serious." He looks back to the road, the white lines and the blue sky flying by. "Sooner or later, whether or not I want to go back will cease to be an issue." Nate's voice drops, shaking a little. "They'll fuck around for a while longer, probably months, maybe even years, but I'm going to have to. And I'm going to need. Help." Ten years where Nate didn't call, where the emails tapered off and finally stopped altogether. Nate graduated, Nate got married to some Back Bay princess, Nate wrote a book that barely mentioned Brad at all. Nate moved on. And Nate somehow knows, when Brad meets his eyes again, and he shakes his head. "I tried. But I missed you every fucking day," he husks. Brad bites down on the inside of his cheek. He's thirty-nine years old, he's a man, he's a Marine. He's not going to break down like some screaming teenage girl, pissing herself and crying at the latest Disney Channel dicksuck's concert. "You too," he says. Nate leans back in his seat, his whole body going slack. "Wake me when we hit Utah," he says, and closes his eyes.

[dnfao3tags]

Monthly Fic Roundup - April 2023

hello there again :] dont forget to give all these amazing people a kudos and heartwarming comment !

also !!!! very pleased by the slight increase in fem!dnf fics this month .... i know there was a fem!dnf week going on for artists but if anyone would like then i could hold one for writers too .... tell me your thoughts !!!!

— apricity by fifishy (teen | comp. | 3k)

5 times George loves his best friend, and 1 time it's reciprocated.

— midpoints by nervouswaltz (teen | comp. | 3k)

George didn't so much fall in love with Dream more than he tripped, stumbled, and landed on the ground after a long slide down a hill. Falling in love with George, Dream thinks, was like tripping over the edge of the Grand Canyon and hitting the ground with a splat.

— afterglow by twostorms (teen | comp. | 16k)

Dream, George, and the next chapter of their lives.

— crystal clear by womanhunt (mature | comp. | 3k)

Dream comes home from Los Angeles.

— need you closer by 21questions (mature | comp. | 15k)

Dream and George are famous, and with that, stuck keeping their relationship secret. Their big reveal doesn't quite go as planned.

— sweetness (heart's content) by heartinhands (expl. | comp. | 3k)

Dream is incredibly weak for her girlfriend in an oversized hoodie. And her girlfriend's tits. Her girlfriend's everything really. Georgie wants her just as much though.

— soft by alisonsomething (teen | comp. | 1k)

George finally edits a video. After working on it all day, he asks Dream for a hand massage as his reward.

— craving your soft touch by Anonymous (expl. | comp. | 2k)

"Take a picture," Georgie says dryly, "will last longer. Or better, do something."

— Separate Poles Of Gravity by ivegivenuponyou (expl. | comp. | 6k)

He wonders at one point, with his hand around his cock, when it starts to count as an addiction, if you can even get addicted to masturbating, and then he thinks of Dream bending him over the weight bench and cums across the shower floor.

— you are the future (and the future looks good) by deathlytireddan (gen | comp. | 2k)

Patches' pov of her life with Dream.

— love me fully by next spring by brokenlikeastitch (teen | wip | 50k+)

George has never been one for blind optimism. His world has always existed in shades of grey. Shit happens sometimes and you put your head down and fucking deal with it. This time, though, this time he’s hopeful.

— beamish by findingahome (teen | comp. | 3k)

stargazing in a McDonald's parking lot.

— bury ourselves (reach for the sun) by wooowriter (gen | comp. | 8k)

In London, in a boring bedroom with boring walls, George realizes he loves Dream for the first time. Three years later, in LA, he tells him.

— Vis-à-Vis by Scoops (teen | comp. | 21k)

While they’re staying in Los Angeles, Dream’s Uber gets into an accident. Secrets are revealed, a road trip gets underway, and George finds out that maybe he likes taking care of people sometimes. Well, if that person is Dream, at least.

— somethin' stupid (like i love you) by snakeinaboyband (teen | comp. | 19k)

spending Christmas with Dream's family forces them both to struggle with the dynamic they'd settled into when George arrived in Florida. Maybe it's time they stopped pretending their friendship is normal.

— hands, knees, please by demonstars (expl. | comp. | 2k)

“I haven’t even touched you,” George is delighted. “You say you’re not obsessed with me, but you literally are. Look at you.”

— There Might Be by BirbWatcher, jestbee (teen | comp. | 6k)

George implies there's some truth to DNF on a live broadcast, all hell breaks loose

— living our life thru the stars by charoo (teen | comp. | 12k)

prince george makes friends with two boys that teach him how to have fun and be himself– happiness, pain, apologizies, laughter, and love follow.

— Give and Take by copperfic (expl. | comp. | 4k)

George laughs, glancing down. “They were with my stuff and I didn’t feel like digging through the laundry for another pair. He’s so short. Like can you believe how short these are?” “Yeah,” he manages weakly. “Crazy.”

— your house looks like it's heaven by preytall (expl. | comp. | 2k)

"It's the truth, though. You're a slut, George."

— Fool Me Once by VicIsWriting (teen | comp. | 2k)

April Fools day is the perfect time to ask your best friend out, right?

— you open like a flower by tippysleeps (expl. | comp. | 5k)

Dream takes off her shirt and George feels her brain white out. To see Dream in this context, all coy and expectant, with freckles and acne scars on her shoulders, makes her feel like the first person to discover desire.

remember that you're always free to send in any fics you'd like to see on the next roundup and i'll make sure to include it :]

[exhuastedpigeon]

WAIT NO ONE ASKED YOU QUESTIONS!?

Okay. Every single odd number on that list.

I reblogged that post last night and fell asleep almost immediately after 😂😂! Thanks for asking Tanis!!

1. Share a song that makes you think of [fic title] Afraid of Heights by boygenius always makes me think about it hurts to hope for more. I listened to that song on repeat while writing it that no whenever I heart it I think about that fic.

3. What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written? That's like asking me for my favourite child (not that I have kids). I'm sticking with buddie fics here since I have almost 150 fics on Ao3 and that's way too many to think about.

Honestly, there ain't no turning back might be my favourite even though it isn't fully published!

Or I really love gold when you see me too.

5. What’s a fic idea you’ve had that you will never write? Answered here :)

7. How many ideas for fics do you have right now? Uhhh too many?? I have 5 'active' wips (meaning I'm actually working on them a little bit) and like 20 other ideas. I tend to get an idea, work on it like my hair is on fire, and then when I lose the beans half the time the wip goes to collect dust.

9. Do you write every day? If you wrote today, share a sentence of what you’ve written! I try to write every day, even if it's just one sentence! Here's something I updated from the NHL AU today!

Buck’s much less self destructive now, thank you team mandated therapy and a bit of heartbreak, but he still has a big personality. He’s got the kind of personality that used to land him on Don Cherry’s shit list before he was finally kicked off Hockey Night in Canada for being a racist old fuck. But, that personality of his means he’s the kind of guy who the Kings marketing team loves because he’s down for basically anything they throw at him. 

11. Do you have specific playlists for writing fics? I tend to find a couple of songs that match the vibe I'm going for or that really inspire me and then listen to those on repeat.

13. How much planning do you do before writing? Answered here

15. How do you come up with titles for your fics/chapters? Usually song lyrics! Sometimes a title comes into my head out of nowhere, but usually I end up searching for a lyric that feels right.

17. What’s something you’ve learned about while doing research for a fic? I learned all about the best sunrise views at the southern rim of the Grand Canyon for there ain't no turning back! It made me really want to go to see the sunrise there, even more than I already wanted to before!

19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs. This is from my NHL AU! In the fic Buck is Canadian and when they go to Canada on a road trip Buck has to scope out a Tim Hortons immediately.

It would be a lie to say that as soon as they landed in Ottawa Buck went to Tim Hortons, because they landed at 11:45, only a couple of hours after a win in Buffalo. It’s been a long and cold east coast trip - they’re on the road for almost 10 days for this one and Ottawa is the third to last stop.  It wouldn’t be a lie to say that the first thing Buck did when he woke up in their hotel was to jump out of bed, wake Eddie up in the bed next to him, and drag him to the Tim Hortons next to the hotel.  And listen, Buck knows that objectively Timmies is just fine. It isn’t bad, it’s just not actually good either. But he’s a Canadian boy, he grew up on Timbits after practice with Maddie and hanging out in the Tim Hortons parking lots during high school, at least for the couple years he was around before moving to Kitchner to play juniors. Tim Hortons will always have a special place in his heart.

21. Have you ever deleted an entire scene after spending hours laboring over it? If so, why? Yeah, it was a scene that I wrote really early in the writing process and by the time I finished the fic the scene just didn't fit the vibe. I ended up using bits of it in another fic though, so it wasn't all a waste!

23. How do you choose where to end a chapter (if you have multi-chapter works)? I try to find a natural stopping point, but typically I don't write chaptered fics. I think of my 149 on Ao3 only like 15 of them are chaptered, maybe less.

25. Have you ever upset yourself with your own writing? I've made myself WEEP while writing and weep again while rereading later.

27. Is there a fic you were nervous to post/share? Why? I was a little nervous to share it hurts to hope for more because it was a really important fic to me (and really personal to me in some ways). I didn't want people to hate it because it felt so close to my heart.

29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic. (If you don’t have either, just share a random fic idea you have that you don’t plan on getting to.) I don't think I'll ever finish this fic so I'll share a bit here. When I saw on the fandom wiki that Eddie and Buck were actually probably the same age (1991/1992) I started a fic that's a snippet of each of their lives at the same time period. This is from the Eddie - 18 section.

There was a little plus sign on three separate pregnancy tests. Eddie rests his head on the bathroom counter, hunching over from where he’s sitting on the edge of the bathtub in Shannon’s bathroom. To her credit, Shannon looks like she’s holding it together more than he is. He was leaving for basic in a month and a half, she was supposed to be moving out of state for college in two.  Eddie took a deep breath, then another, before looking up at Shannon again. Her eyes were red rimmed, but otherwise she looked composed. He pushed down the fear that was threatening to crawl out of his chest, up his throat, and out of his mouth and instead said, “Whatever you want to do, I’ve got your back.” “I want to keep it,” Shannon said after a beat.  “Okay, then we keep it,” Eddie reached out and took her hand, squeezing it gently. “What do we do now?” “I have no fucking idea,” Shannon half laughed, half sobbed. Eddie stood up and wrapped her in a hug, holding her to his chest. 

Fan Fic Writer Asks

[boojangs]

Hi! I just want to say that I’ve legitimately read all of your works. I’ve commented on To Dance With Wolves and Home and Away. Just really do enjoy your writing. The newest hockey one, two for tripping is highly exciting, can’t wait to see where that takes us all! All the different versions of Wednesday and Enid yet somehow it’s always them.

On that note. I’m actually super inspired by you, I write myself, well im getting back into it more like after a few years of just not. I always found myself struggling with writing a whole chapter fic. I have the idea or the arcs. Outlining just makes me feel like I can’t be free with ideas when I write chapters.

I was wondering if your comfortable sharing, can you share any tips that you may have? Or anything that you do that may help process along? It just sucks have ideas and not being able to see them fully through.

Thank you!! I try to take a facet of their personalities to focus on when writing the new stories but still stick with what I know. Enid is a sweetheart with a temper, and Wednesday is the demon with a sweet heart. Total opposites.

So I'm fixating on the "outline" part, do you actually write a detailed description of every chapter, or do you have points?

What I do, is that I have my key scenes, key points, that I want to hit on, and then everything else in between is up in the air. Several times I've sat down and things have happened I didn't plan on, so then I just follow the road. (That's why my shit is so long). I find that it let's me have fun, while also keeping me on track.

You can always DM me and I can help you further, too. Sorry, this ask got fucking buried, I don't know if you'll even see this. 🩷🖤

[dweetwise]

[Ace X Jeff X Élodie X Felix X Zarina] Birthday blues

I may be writing for an audience of one (myself) but I just love all of these idiots and think they should kiss. Continuation of this fic set in the same AU, this time starring a very disgruntled Ace. Rated M | 3.8k words | ao3 link

"¡Che, boludo! Are you fucking stupid!?" Ace yelled. "It says forty kilometers, not 'slam the brakes and drive in first gear'! Christ, my abuela was a better driver than you and she was blind!"

Predictably, the Toyota in front just kept trucking along at a snail’s pace as the idiot behind its wheel remained oblivious to Ace’s tantrum.

Ace huffed and sagged back against the car seat, barely resisting the urge to blast the horn to make his displeasure known. Instead, he busied himself with adjusting the rear view mirror, because it was Jeff’s car and he and Ace were very much not the same size. Ace usually couldn't be assed since the only time he used the mirrors was to check himself out rather than look at traffic—probably one of the reasons people were reluctant to let him drive—but he felt a petty sense of glee when he noticed a line of cars forming because of the stupid Toyota.

Ace didn't normally get road rage; in fact, he was usually the one laughing at Felix’s German insults and Zarina’s swearing behind the wheel. But today was his birthday, and it was a special kind of torture to be stuck in rush hour behind some Sunday driver when he just wanted to get home.

Not that there was anything there waiting for him. Felix was at work and would run late because of some seminar, Élodie was sleeping off the jet lag after her trip to Indonesia, Zarina was nose-deep in editing her latest documentary and had barely left her room for days, and Jeff was finishing up his latest painting for some art collector.

All things which were evidently more important than Ace.

At least Jeff was going to cook for him—which wasn't really saying much, since it was his turn to make dinner regardless, but Ace felt better if he didn’t think about that. Of course, grocery shopping had also been on Jeff’s to-do list, but he'd emerged from his studio looking so frazzled and asked Ace with his puppy eyes if Ace could possibly make the trip for him.

And because Ace loved Jeff, and had pretty much been lounging on the couch in his PJs doing absolutely nothing anyway—definitely not moping after he'd gotten up early to see Felix off for work and Felix not only didn't bring up his birthday, but asked Ace to make him coffee and then fucked off without even a goodbye kiss—he'd agreed.

Part of Ace had still been hoping the grocery run would reveal some sneaky plans Jeff had for his birthday. He'd patiently waited for Jeff to write a shopping list and then immediately read it as soon as he got into the car. But there was nothing: no birthday candles, no ingredients for any of Ace's favorite foods, no wine, no flavored lube…

Clearly, nothing indicating Ace's birthday at all.

Ace might have conducted himself a little aggressively once he arrived at the supermarket, flinging things into his shopping cart and purposefully ramming it into the cart of a blond guy in a suit. He also decided to get a bunch of extra items outside of the list and use their joint account to pay for all of it, because it was his birthday, dammit, and seeing as none of his partners bothered getting him any gifts he'd get them himself.

Except a grocery store at rush hour wasn't exactly the best setting for meaningful birthday gifts. Still, Ace vindictively piled on a couple gift cards, the most expensive bottle of wine he could find, one single cupcake and birthday candles, and a can of condensed milk he fully planned to eat straight out of the tin because fucking stupid Germany didn't have dulce de leche.

Ace was already feeling a little better as he made his way to the checkout: nothing like some good ol' retail therapy to fill the void of being ignored by the people he loved.

And then, of course, the card of their joint account declined. Because Zarina was responsible for it, and she'd barely remembered what day it was when Ace last saw her in the middle of her editing frenzy.

So Ace had to pay for the groceries with his own card and leave out all the extras, because he absolutely refused to pay for his own gifts out of principle. And definitely not because he couldn't afford them.

That turned out to be a blessing in disguise because Ace was barely able to carry the bags to the car as it was. And leaving the nice wine bottle at the store was somewhat preferable to trying to juggle it with the bags and having it smash into pieces on the parking lot pavement.

After all of that, a little road rage felt pretty deserved.

Ace's hands were still shaking on the steering wheel. He couldn't remember when he'd last been this angry; it wasn't like he'd expected much for his birthday, because he knew how busy everyone would be. But just some acknowledgement—or maybe a guarantee that they'd celebrate together at a later date when everyone had more time—would have gone a long way.

Ace didn't need brunch and champagne in bed like they'd done for Felix's birthday, or the seven-course dinner at that fancy restaurant they went to for Élodie's. Sure, Ace had planned those months in advance, but he knew the others weren’t as sentimental—even if he already knew what he was getting Zarina and Jeff even though it was half a year until their birthdays. 

But that was what you did, wasn’t it? Admittedly Ace had always been a little materialistic, but if you liked someone, you gave them something nice, even if it was just a bouquet of wildflowers you'd picked off the side of the road or a half-burnt omelet that didn’t quite turn out like the recipe promised. Ace would have been happy with birthday kisses and a cheap gift and ordering takeout from the shitty kebab place with free delivery, and that really wasn't unreasonable to ask of his partners; no matter how busy they were.

Maybe they just didn't like him enough to bother.

Ace let out a half-hysteric, half-pathetic laugh. If he somehow ended up getting dumped by four people on his birthday, he really didn't know what he'd do.

…Except piss in Felix's koi pond in revenge, but after that.

So he just wouldn't think about it. And besides, everyone acted like this was just a normal day, and not a let's-finally-kick-Ace-to-the-curb day. Ace just had to act like it too, because it wasn't like he could bring up the birthday thing now. If they genuinely forgot, it would make them feel bad and nobody would have time to throw anything together on such short notice anyway, and then everyone would be miserable. And if they actually were ignoring it on purpose, well, then Ace would feel even more awful than he did now.

Ace would just go home and unload the groceries, and then call his sister, because she'd sent him a happy birthday text earlier, because someone actually cared. By that time, Jeff would probably have finished dinner but he'd eat in his studio like he always did when he was busy, so Ace would eat alone and likely end up doing the dishes like some pathetic Cinderella without a fairy godmother.

Then he'd steal a couple of Élodie's expensive French chocolates for dessert, go upstairs and have a sad wank alone, and come back down to get a drink—probably trying and failing to find anything but the gross boxed Merlot they kept under the sink and nobody wanted to drink. Nonetheless, he'd take the garbage wine to the living room and spite-watch the new episode of Zarina's favorite show without her, and if he was lucky it would be late enough that Élodie was up and maybe joined him for some cuddles. 

Or yelled at him for eating the chocolates. Whatever.

In any case, Ace had no illusions that he wasn't sleeping alone tonight. Jeff and Zarina would work to well after midnight, Élodie would only start eating breakfast once Ace went to bed, and Felix would be in his don't-touch-me-or-talk-to-me mood after his work event inevitably ran long.

Lost in his thoughts, Ace managed the rest of the drive home without further meltdowns, but he was still seething once he pulled up in the driveway to the Richter manor. He didn't even bother to park the car in the garage—Felix would probably have nagged at him for parking wrong anyway—and just pulled to a stop by the front door.

He hefted out the ridiculously heavy grocery bags, silently complained that he was getting way too old for this shit, and left Jeff's car right there in the middle of the driveway to annoy anyone who tried to leave or enter the property. Hopefully it would get shat on by some birds.

Ace walked up the steps to the house and prayed that the handles of the bags didn’t snap. He managed to maneuver the bags into one hand without catastrophe striking, and unlocked the door with the other…

And the door got jammed. Fantastic.

"Fucking…piece of shit!" Ace cursed, violently jiggling the key in the lock.

Finally, the door unlocked and Ace shouldered it open. Once inside, he turned to face it and, hands still occupied, kicked it shut with as much force as he could.

The whole wall shook and rattled from the impact and Ace glared at the door some more.

“That’ll teach you,” he said smugly.

“Mon Dieu, what did the poor door do to you?”

“Very funny,” Ace said, still annoyed. He turned around to face Élodie, already complaining, “You gonna give me a hand or—”

And that was when he very nearly dropped the bags he’d worked so hard to get home in one piece.

Élodie was not wearing the comfy reindeer one-piece she usually lived in after a long business trip. Neither was she wearing her regular silk pajamas or one of Jeff’s oversized band shirts she was prone to stealing.

No, Élodie stood there in the Richter manor’s foyer on an unassuming Tuesday afternoon, dressed in nothing but a sinfully flattering bustier and lacy stockings.

“Welcome home, m'amour.” She strutted up to Ace and gave him a kiss on the cheek, which was probably good considering Ace’s mouth was occupied with gaping like a fish. “Do you like my new outfit?” she asked, stepping back and doing a little twirl.

"I, uh…" Ace floundered as he greedily drank in the sight of her, his previous anger all but forgotten.

The mint color of the lingerie contrasted Élodie’s skin tone beautifully. White lace framed the swell of her breasts and the tiny hem of a skirt was barely enough to cover her panties. Ace’s eyes followed the garter straps down her thick thighs and he had to swallow a groan once they reached the lace edge of the stockings.

Élodie really wasn’t playing fair; she knew how weak Ace was for the thigh-highs.

"You’re stunning,” Ace said, a little breathlessly. His fingers itched to touch and he realized he was still holding the stupid bags.

Not one to be deterred, he eagerly continued, “That bustier is gorgeous. Did you buy it on your trip? You look even more beautiful than usual, if that’s possible.”

Élodie smiled, clearly pleased. "Flatterer."

"Wait, how are you up already?" Ace remembered, reluctantly tearing his gaze away from her figure. “Were you waiting for me?"

"Of course I was,” Élodie said. “We had to send you away for some errands to not ruin the surprise.”

"What surprise?"

A low chuckle sounded to his left. "Don’t tell me you forgot your own birthday,” Jeff said, stepping out of the kitchen. “Oh, let me get those for you.”

Jeff grabbed the shopping bags from Ace, but he barely registered the action—a small part of his brain was celebrating that somebody had remembered his birthday, another was relieved to finally be rid of the heavy bags, but the rest chose to focus on…

"Are you wearing flannel?" Ace exclaimed. It couldn’t be: Jeff hated flannel. Jeff didn’t even own flannel, and Felix sure as hell didn’t either, so—

Jeff shrugged, his cheeks pinking. "You keep calling me a lumberjack, so…"

"A sexy lumberjack," Ace corrected. Then, his expression softened as he realized, "You dressed up as a sexy lumberjack for my birthday."

Jeff gave him a tentative smile. "Do you like it?"

Like it? Jeff looked like something straight out of a gay porno, with his luscious beard and messy man bun and red and black checkered shirt that hugged his massive shoulders and soft belly.

"I'm gonna climb you like a tree," Ace concluded.

Jeff laughed, then stepped back into the kitchen with an, “I’ll go put these away.”

"What’s with the dress-up party?" Ace asked, turning back to Élodie. "Did you two conspire some birthday shenanigans while I was gone?"

"Two?" Élodie quirked an eyebrow. "Your turn, mon coeur."

And that was when Felix stepped out from around a corner where he'd apparently been eavesdropping.

"You got me a Felix?" Ace joked. "I love it."

Élodie chuckled. "Your actual gifts are in the kitchen. I just thought this was more urgent."

"And that's why you're the brains of this household," Ace’s mouth ran on autopilot while he ogled Felix.

Felix fidgeted under his gaze, crossing and uncrossing his arms over his chest where he was wearing a gold-trimmed white vest over a black dress shirt. He looked unfairly good—he always did, but these clothes somehow only highlighted it.

Ace cocked his head. "Is the vest new?"

"No, but it's the first time I've convinced him to wear it." Élodie pushed at Felix's shoulder. "Turn around, mon chéri."

"I feel like a Barbie doll," Felix muttered but still did as he was told.

"You look like one too," Élodie shot back.

Ace was about to add his own witty comment but proceeded to choke on his own spit instead as soon as Felix turned around.

Felix's vest had criss-crossed lace down the entirety of the back, and suddenly it became clear why he looked even better than usual today. He wasn’t wearing just any old vest Élodie had dug out from his overflowing closet of designer suits: he was wearing a corset vest. 

Ace stepped closer like hypnotized, running his fingers over the X-pattern of the lace. The vest made Felix’s already drool-worthy shoulder to waist ratio even more pronounced, cinching his middle and highlighting both his broad shoulders and the curve of his ass. 

Ace had never seen a man in a corset before and his brain was more than a little scrambled. He simultaneously wanted to grab Felix's tiny waist and cling to his defined shoulders and pull on the lace while Felix laid on his front and squirmed and—

"Doesn't he look adorable?" Élodie asked once Felix turned back to face them.

Adorable definitely wasn’t the word Ace would use. "Uh…" he looked stupidly up at Felix, silently wondering how much he’d have to beg to get him to wear only the vest in bed.

Felix winced. "I told you this was a stupid idea. He doesn’t even like it—"

"I want to eat you," was what finally came out of Ace’s mouth.

Élodie laughed and Felix sputtered, his face flushing with pink blotches.

"But, wait.” Ace shook his head, trying to refocus. “I thought you had that seminar today? I wasn’t expecting you home before…"

"I took the afternoon off." Felix looked at him with a small smile. "I didn’t want to miss your birthday."

Élodie cleared her throat and Felix grimaced.

"...Which I only remember once Élodie called me," Felix said. “I forgot, I'm sorry. I must have seemed like an ass this morning."

"I'm suddenly having a lot of trouble even remembering this morning," Ace said, then smirked when an idea formed in his head. "But I do remember you still owe me a kiss."

Felix chuckled and leaned down to kiss him, wrapping an arm around Ace's waist and pulling him close the way that always made Ace weak in the knees. His mouth was hot and insistent and Ace did his best to kiss back while eagerly pawing at Felix’s muscular chest over the vest.

“I got you flowers,” Felix said when pulling away, much sooner than Ace would have liked. “They’re in the kitchen. Did you want to…?”

“Mm, no, that’s okay.” Ace stepped back and looked at both Élodie and Felix in turn; they really made quite a picture. “I bet they’re beautiful, but I’m enjoying the view right here. Though I feel very underdressed,” he added with a grin and self-conscious shrug.

Élodie smiled knowingly. "Do you need some help getting out of your clothes?"

Ace perked up and certain other parts of him did too. "Yes, absolutely. I am completely helpless and exhausted from carrying groceries and require at least four extra—" He saw Jeff exit the kitchen. "—six extra hands to take off my pants."

Jeff chuckled and leaned in for a quick kiss, his lips warm and a little chapped against Ace’s.

“Here,” Jeff said, handing him a drink.

The cocktail was bright red and had a small orange slice on top. When Ace sipped it, the strong tastes of Campari and vermouth mingled on his tongue—ah, an Americano.

Ace sighed indulgently and leaned into Jeff. “Oh, this is so much better than that under the sink wine.”

“Ugh, I keep forgetting to throw that away,” Felix muttered to himself.

“Why don’t we head upstairs?” Jeff asked, his voice a deep rumble in Ace’s ear.

Ace shivered from the pleasant scratch of Jeff’s beard against his hair and the warmth of his big hand splaying over Ace’s lower back. It was a small miracle he managed to resist throwing himself at Jeff and ask him to carry him to bed.

“Are you sure? What about dinner?” Ace asked instead, managing to summon the last of his brain cells. “And shouldn’t we wait for Zarina?”

Yes, he might have been getting a little greedy, as he already had three of his partners right here who seemed very eager to celebrate his birthday. But it wouldn’t be the same without Zarina, because Ace loved them all very much and was sentimental like that.

He also really, really wanted a fivesome if he could get it.

Fortunately, Élodie informed him, “Zarina finished her editing earlier. Who do you think laced Felix up?”

Élodie laughed and Ace did too, because Zarina was freakishly strong for her size. He could vividly picture her aggressively pulling on Felix's corset with one foot braced on his ass.

"I'm actually sad I missed that," Ace said.

"The screaming was a little funny," Jeff admitted.

Felix’s face reddened even more. "It wasn't supposed to be that tight, and I was staying still even if she claims otherwise!"

Ace barked out another laugh, then suddenly felt silly, standing there laughing with the people he’d been so annoyed with earlier.

"I can’t believe I thought you guys actually forgot.” Ace said. He took a sip of liquid courage and sheepishly admitted, “I, well… I kind of had a tantrum at the supermarket. And on the drive home."

Jeff rubbed soothingly up and down Ace’s back and Felix just nodded, like road rage was perfectly acceptable. Élodie however pouted and stepped closer, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry we made you think we didn't care," Élodie said, then kissed his jaw sweetly. "We love you, mon chéri. You are so precious to us."

Ace’s face heated and even Jeff and Felix shuffled their feet awkwardly. Talking about feelings wasn't really something any of them were particularly good at—Zarina included—but for Élodie, it always seemed to come easy. They'd somewhat accepted that sometimes, she had to speak for all of them.

"Thank you, mi corazon." Ace clasped Élodie's hand with his spare one and kissed her knuckles, before looking up with a smirk. "I feel a little bad about planning to eat all your fancy chocolates now."

Élodie patted his cheek. "Trust me, I would have done much worse if you forgot my birthday.”

Ace laughed. "Noted." There was a muted crash from upstairs. "Um…is Zarina okay?"

Élodie cocked her hip and smiled suggestively. "Yes, she's just making the master bedroom a little…cozier."

“I’ve never seen that many candles in my life,” Jeff huffed.

Felix's brows pinched together. “If she starts a fire…”

"Oh, relax, m'amour," Élodie said. "This evening is all about romance—"

"Has anyone seen my strap-on!?" Zarina’s voice echoed from upstairs.

"It’s still in Felix’s room from last time!" Élodie yelled back, not missing a beat. 

Ace nearly choked on his drink and Felix gave Élodie a look of absolute betrayal.

“Thank you!” Zarina shouted before a door slammed shut upstairs.

Élodie sighed. "Ah, and there goes that surprise."

Ace’s stomach did an excited little flip-flop. With the way things were looking, he probably wouldn’t be able to walk properly tomorrow.

But man, would it be worth it.

"We should check on Zarina," Felix said, when Ace knew what he really meant was, “I need to make sure Zarina doesn’t burn my house down or reveal any more embarrassing aspects of my sex life.”

Maybe Ace could convince him to demonstrate his previous encounter with Zarina and her strap.

“We should check on her,” Élodie agreed, then looked at Jeff and asked, "If everything with the order went okay?”

Ace craned his neck to peer up at Jeff over his shoulder. "Order?"

“I took the liberty of ordering in from that Ethiopian place you like,” Jeff said, still petting Ace’s back and making warmth spread though his whole body. “They're gonna deliver it in a few hours, since I figured we might be busy for a while.”

Ace frowned. “But they don't deliver this far out.”

"They do if you tip them well enough," Felix said in his I-threw-money-at-the-problem-until-it-went-away voice.

"More time for us to spend with the birthday boy," Élodie crooned, stroking Ace's beard. "Ready to celebrate, mon amour?"

Ace looked at his partners and felt unbelievably fond. To think that he was so sure they'd forgotten, when all this time they had all gone through so much trouble for him—Élodie masterminding the whole thing and even getting Jeff and Felix to play dress-up, Felix canceling his important work event, Jeff ordering his favorite food, and Zarina risking Felix's ire with the fire hazard…

Ace downed the rest of his cocktail in one go and grinned. "Lead the way!"

Élodie grabbed Ace’s hand and he locked elbows with Felix as she tugged him along. Jeff followed a step after them, his hand snaking around Ace’s hips and already undoing his belt buckle before they’d even reached the top of the stairs.

Best. Birthday. Ever.

[enchantedflameandflower]

Glimmer 16/? Billy Butcher fic!

NOTES! - This chapter was written before Season 3. Please reblog or comment if you like ♥

Tag List: @2dead2function

Billy Butcher Master list

*

As soon as they were on the road, Addison saw MM look over at her out of the corner of her eye. It was the look he had when he was checking to see if you could handle what he was about to say.

Before he said anything, though, he turned again to focus on the road stretching out in front of them, but she knew she had passed his test when he spoke in the next moment. "You know why we're on this little trip, don't you?"

Addison pursed her lips. "Yep."

"Just makin' sure," MM said, glancing at her again.

It was a gorgeous, sunny day and Addison was grateful for her big dark sunglasses. Of course she knew, but she wasn't going to worry about it right now. She was safe, especially with MM, and she always appreciated getting out of the city. Beyond that...she decided she'd talk to Mallory when they got back. No point in fretting right now.

Halfway to Rochester they stopped at a diner for a quick bite to eat and a big cup of coffee. They sat at the booth across from each other and Addison watched affectionately amused as MM carefully mixed in one packet of sugar, stirring three times, then set the stir stick aside on a napkin. She added cream to hers and made a tremendous effort not to splash any as she did.

MM spoke up unexpectedly as soon as they both had their first sip. "We need to talk about your abilities."

With her sunglasses pushed up on top of her head there was nowhere left to hide. "My abilities?" Addison paused, searching his face. This wasn't the conversation she was anticipating and curiosity swelled inside. He'd never given her the impression he was unilaterally against supes like Butcher, but... "What about them? I barely have any," she joked.

"That's what," he gave her his signature pointed look. "You don't even fully know what they are."

Addison shrugged, then looked down into her coffee. "It's not my favorite subject, I guess. Besides I'm fine how I am."

"But think of what you could do at your full potential, if you worked toward it? You're already fantastic in the field but we need to know everything you're going in with. I've been doing this a long time Addison. I think you're capable of a lot more than you give yourself credit for."

Addison stared out the window of the little diner for a moment, sifting through all the thoughts and emotions that this conversation caused to swirl in her head. Maybe he had a point but she honestly didn't know what to say. Being a supe had never come without a lot of baggage for her.

MM waited for a minute before he spoke again. "Have you ever known any other supes? Worked with any, had friends, anything?"

Addison shook her head. "No. No one. For the most part I ignored it. Until I needed money. Then I just did what I had to. I don't know, MM."

He sighed softly. "It's okay. You can say it."

"Say what," she murmured, but he just gave her another look.

Addison turned to face out the window again before she could meet his eyes. "I only just found this thing with Billy." She shook her head, having to summon some major force of strength to find the words to admit this. "I've never had anyone. Do you know what that's like to be so utterly alone for so long? It's too important to me. If I started parading my powers around now, it would just be absolutely obnoxious to him, and I wouldn't blame him."

But then maybe she was already making more of this thing with Billy than it was. Maybe he just wanted a friends with benefits thing. She caught her lower lip between her teeth then let go quickly before MM noticed.

"Don't you accept him exactly how he is?" MM answered. "The heartless bastard he is with all the rough edges and the bad attitude to boot?"

"Well I don't think he's completely heartless," Addison laughed softly, "but yeah. Of course I do."

"Then he should do the same for you. And if he doesn't want you to be the best you can be he's a fucking idiot and he doesn't deserve you."

Addison smiled. "Thank you. I worry it's just more complicated than that, though."

"Promise me you'll think about it. Even if your healing abilities alone improved, think of what that could mean for you?"

Addison took a long sip of coffee and they were quiet for a minute. "So what do you think about this mess I'm in now? Believe I'm the fink?"

MM snorted at her deft change of topic but he went with it anyway.

"Nope. You're straight as an arrow, Addison. I think someone wants to get to you but I can't figure why."

"Makes you wonder how long they've known there's a leak and haven't said anything..."

MM nodded his head. "It's always been that way. But I can't give it up. Mallory told me to once, you know. But I couldn't do it."

Addison smiled softly. "Your wife is a lovely, amazing woman."

"I'm lucky she still puts up with my ass."

"She's lucky too, in some ways. I can't imagine how hard it must be for her. But you're a good man. And not bad to look at either," she teased. "And you're a wonderful father."

"Do you ever think about having kids?"

Addison nearly groaned but looked away instead, her eyes losing focus before she brought herself back. She met his gaze, sighing. He seemed to always be determined to see how much he could get her to open up. "I used to." She shrugged. "When I was very, very young. My parents were so horribly awful though I definitely shouldn't continue that cycle. And I'm too old now anyway," she smiled as if she were joking but knew it probably came off wrong. MM didn't say anything else and she was grateful when he left it at that. It had seemed quite clear to her a long time again that it was a ridiculous thing to want.

This time MM magnanimously changed the subject himself after he finished his coffee and they headed back out to the car. As soon as they were both sitting he turned to her with a smirk and a wet wipe. "Wanna go through all the dirt we can remember on every possible agent we can think of?"

Addison grinned back. "Oh yes."

After they arrived at the location, Addison and MM did surveillance for hours without much to report. They didn't give up until around 2am and went to their separate rooms agreeing to meet early the next morning.

When she crawled into bed she couldn't help wishing that Billy were there, warm and strong and naked and... She sighed softly to herself. Had it really only been 24 hours ago that she had been in his arms?

She scrolled the news on her phone until it got too depressing and was just about to set her phone aside when the notification popped up.

Night, sunshine.

She couldn't help it. Her heart soared.

Goodnight, Billy. Wish you were beer, she replied with a heart emoji.

The thought of his warm, seldom shown, smile helped her fall into a peaceful sleep.

Their mission was predictably uneventful and went by quickly, though Addison thought of Billy often. They texted a few more times, and he asked if he should meet her when she was done with the job.

When she and MM got back to the city, MM dropped her off at the apartment in Brooklyn before he went home to his family. The place was empty, so Addison searched the fridge for something to eat after the long drive they'd made, both just wanting to get home as soon as possible.

Billy came into the basement apartment a few minutes later as Addison was standing at the counter making a turkey sandwich. The sight of him made her heart flip, and for a second, all she could think was that the entire thing must've been in her head, because here he was, looking as fierce and as Billy Butcher as he always did, and there was no way he cared a lick that she was here or about what she was doing. But then he met her eyes and spoke.

"How'd it go, sunshine?"

Addison smiled;  when he focused on her she could feel the warmth emanating from him from across the room. Whatever it was between them, it was real. "Perfectly fine. No bullets. No knives. No new holes in me."

"Well that's a fuckin' weird thing to say, but all right,' he teased, his dimple showing.

Addison shrugged, grinning back. "Maybe you're rubbing off on me."

"Now, that sounds more like it..." He came around the counter and took the final steps between them. Billy slid his hands around her waist and moved forward until she was pressed between him and the counter, his eyes blazing. "I hate to admit it, but that was a long fuckin' two days, sweetheart."

Addison slid her hands over his chest, fiddling with the collar of his colorful shirt, her smile growing wider. "I missed you too," she teased him. Maybe he wasn't saying it explicitly but she could see it in his eyes.

"You did? What'd ya think about?"

"You." She pressed closer. "Naked. A lot."

By the time she spoke the last word, his mouth was touching hers and when she finished he captured hers completely. The heady kiss was instant fire. Addison whimpered as he took control. His hands slipped down to her hips, pulling her against his body as he swept his tongue over hers.

She slid one hand into the lush, dark hair at the nape of his neck, holding him close, and ran her other hand over his chest, her fingertips dipping into the v of his open shirt to touch bare skin. She moaned at the feeling but it wasn't enough, so she undid the next button and the next, smoothing her palm over the tickle of hair and his heated skin.

"Mon chèrie!" Frenchie's voice suddenly came out of nowhere as he came in with Hughie and slammed the door behind him. It startled Addison, making her jump apart from Billy and break the kiss.

"You 'ave something on your face, chèrie..." Frenchie grinned, pointing at them.

Butcher groaned, moving his hands from her to lean on the counter behind her. "Fuck me," he grumbled.

Hughie, on the other hand, beamed like it was Christmas. "Wow. This is a full thing now?" he gestured between the two of them. "When did that happen?"

"I guess it's been in the works," Addison answered playfully, smiling at Billy. "But he was especially moved after the last attempt on my life. Butcher doesn't like it when someone tries to take his toys away."

Butcher put his hand over his heart, giving her an accusatory look. "I would never..."

Addison lifted her brow.

"...never," he continued, "call you my toy in front of other people."

Addison laughed and slipped out of his way to finish making her sandwich on the counter.

"Oi," he protested, "we were in the middle of somethin', love."

"I'm hungry," she picked up the plate with her sandwich and went over to sit at the table.

"So am I," he argued.

Addison laughed, and smiled, taking a bite. "Five minutes," she held up her hand, her eyes sparkling.

"What happens in 5 minutes?" Hughie asked, coming around to stand next to the table. "The two of you are just going to go at it right here on the counter?"

"Wouldn't you just love that," Butcher smirked at him.

"No actually not at all," Hughie held his hand up. "Is there a - do we need to have a rule? Wait, you haven't actually done it on the counter have you..." Hughie looked over at the counter as if expecting to suddenly see any number of germs crawling over the surface.

"That would be a whole lot of none of your fuckin' business," Butcher said pointedly and Hughie made a face.

"No, we have not," Addison rolled her eyes from the table in between bites.

"Okay, well I think that's a rule now," Hughie crossed his arms.

"Can't make any promises, son."

"I agree with Monsieur Charcutier. No rules," Frenchie interjected.

Addison rolled her eyes again but she was smiling. "Let's go." She stuffed the last bite of sandwich in her mouth and stood from the table, taking her plate into the kitchen and putting it in the dishwasher.

"You always know just what gets me engine running, sunshine," he teased her as she finished chewing the enormous bite and swallowed, but she ignored him, and took his hand, pulling him toward the door.

"I promise Hughie," she called out over her shoulder as she opened the door. "We will not have sex on the counter. On this counter, I mean," she corrected.

"Now that sounds like a challenge..." Billy grinned wickedly and they disappeared out the door.

Chapter 17

[thelordofgifs]

absolutely loved the new part of tfs!! sorry for not sending the ask earlier <3

maedhros!! beloved!! am i imagining the paralles with one of earlier installments? where thingol had him chained?? with maglor wounded?? but now there's no maglor because maedhros IS what wounded him and aaaahhhhhh WHY are you doing this to me

fingon actively avoiding executing curufin is hilarious. the house of feanor will go lenghts to fulfill their oath and meanwhile fingon is like "if i ignore it it didn't happen"

also love the potential for further fingon and maedhros development - will maedhros be angry with fingon not telling him? will there be "what other secrets are you keeping from me" scene? because wouldn't that be the perfect opportunity to say "i promised thingol to execute your other brother"

curufin... baby... he changed so much over the course of the fic. i hate him a lot but someone please give it a hug. also love how he and maglor are now on a roadtrip. roadtrips are a thing in this fic i see

and also. do it. kill maglor. i'll watch. you've been dragging him half alive for like 10 chapters of the fic. do you really think it would be satisfying to let him die?

and love mandos in this one. he's just. regretting the revival for elves isn't mandatory. regretting all of his life choices actually.

anyways i love this fic a lot, and your writing is amazing as always <3

Ahhh you are the sweetest and I love you to pieces!! You don’t need to apologise for not sending the ask earlier don’t be silly – this is such a lovely ask to see ❤️❤️

You are very much Not imagining the parallels with the chaining! Also of course he was rather famously shackled on Thangorodrim and Fingon is very unhappy about having to chain him up now :(

ok so the thing with Fingon is. he is Fully Convinced that he is the only sensible guy in Himring atm and he’s… he’s so wrong about this?? And he doesn’t even realise?? Now that we’re coming to the end of arc 2 (one more part!!) it’s easier to look back over it and say that the main focus of the last nine parts has been Fëanorian Melodrama, but that doesn’t mean Fingon doesn’t have plenty of character stuff he will need to work out.

and yes Plans coming up for Curufin and Maglor hehe!! Poor Curufin keeps having to go on road trips. He is so sick of road trips.

bestie wdym “ten chapters” Maglor has been badly injured in some way or another since part ONE. I might kill him. I might not. It depends. (It doesn’t actually I already know what I’m going to do.) he’s such a pincushion!! Why does he keep doing that!!

hehe am very glad you liked Mandos here! Between Lúthien and Finrod he’s just kind of like “you can’t… you can’t DO that…” The whole “Finrod refuses to leave Mandos” was something I pondered for a while before I actually decided to go down that route. Firstly I am always very scared of writing Finrod: he’s such a complicated and intimidating character!! And secondly I didn’t want to give him an edgy anti-Valar arc because that’s not what he’s doing exactly. He is (kind of) grateful for the chance to be re-embodied. But I need Celegorm’s death to have continuing ripple effects and once Finrod jumped into the story I realised this might be a good and thematically relevant way of doing it. And at some point I want to start digging into politics in Aman too, which makes the canon divergence important! (Hint hint who do you think might be showing up eventually 👀)

[regalityandcoffee]

Jade Doesn't Drink (Jade Au)

Summary: Weeks after he betrays Mox, a drunken Jade shows up at William's hotel room, demanding answers. I just needed to get this one out of my head.

Warnings: a ton of cursing, alcohol use, basically a vent fic? I dunno.

°•°•°•°○●○●○●○●°•°•°•°

2:15 am.

He laid atop his sheets, tired and yet unable to sleep, staring at the alarm clock in the dark hotel room. He had long ago turned off the TV and for the past thirty nineties or so rolled over restlessly over and over, able to shut his eyes but not quite drift off. As frustrating as it was it was far too familiar, decades of being on the road having given him a rather broken sleeping schedule. But he knew deep down that wasn't why he wasn't able to sleep.

Guilt was a feeling William had struggled to become accustomed to, having shoving and fighting his shame back down for years. And yet here it was, keeping him awake at night yet again.

His hand reached towards the remote…Maybe he could fund something boring to lull him to sleep, like a drama of some sort. Or maybe he should try one of those videos Jade told him-

Jade. 

The name stabbed his chest like a blade. His Jade. Jade who wouldn't look him in the eye anymore. His Jade, who wouldn't speak to him, who's husband wouldn't even let him near her anymore. 

Not after all he's done. Not after hurting her and her brothers.

BANG BANG BANG

"What the hell?" He sat up, looking towards the door. Peeping through the crack from under the door he could see the shadow of someone's feet.

He turned on one of the lights and walked to the door, looking through the peephole. "Oh my god…"

"Open up, you old sack of shit! I know you're in there!"

That couldn't be her. She would never say something like that! And yet when he opened the door, there Jade stood. Except it was immediately apparent this was not the Jade he was used to. No…something was wrong. Terribly wrong. She slumped against the door frame. She looked a total sight, sweat beading on her forehead, jacket slipping off her shoulder. In her hand was a bottle, a small airplane bottle of alcohol. This was wrong. If there was one fact every person who knew Jade could immediately recite it was this: Jade Prescott did not drink.

So what was she doing so intoxicated in his doorway in the middle of the night?

"Sweet- Jade, are you alright? Why-"

"There you are, you bastard," She got her footing back, standing upright. She glared at him, pushing her hair back from in front of her face. The look in her eyes was indescribable. Though he had been around many a drunk he couldn't quite figure it out until her hand was pressing against his chest, pushing him unto the room.

Rage. That was the look in her eye. Unfiltered rage.

"Adam was right. I should have stayed away from you!"

"I know," William mumbled as she shut the door behind her. He was walking backwards, before tripping over his own shoes and ending up falling onto his butt on the edge of the bed, her standing over him."I d-"

"No, shut the fuck up!" She poked him in the chest with the (thankfully plastic) bottle in her hand. It was still half way full. What else had she been drinking before this? "What the fuck, Regal? What the fuck! He worked hard! And you stabbed Mox in the back, you stabbed us all in the fucking backs?"

"I don't expect you to understand, I myself don't fully-"

"Shut the fuck up! For once in your life, shut the fuck up!" Never had the look on her face, a look of pure anger and digusted, been directed towards him, until right now. Her eyes were red, she was baring her teeth. And it was all because of him.

William bit his tongue. It had been far too long since she'd talk to him, and now here they were, and this is what she had to say to him? Still, he kept quiet. He should have known this was coming, he just didn't expect for her to come to him…like this.

Sit and take it, Regal. Sit and take it.

"I always hated people like you, you know that? Creeps who just lie in wait having a fucking ball trickog people into thinking they're on their side, then- Mox! For fucks sake, he trusted you! And then you fucked him over? For that dickhead? Are you serious? What? Was he not good enough? Huh? You think Max is better than Mo? You think you're better than Mo, huh? Well guess what? You're not shit! You're just an insecure, gutless bitch in an overpriced suit!" She poked him in the chest again, before turning back to pace back and forth. He took in a breath, watching as she continued on.

"Five fucking years. I let you into my life for five fucking years because I was stupid enough to trust you for that long! Well done, asshole. Fantastic show, you fooled us all!" She laughed, clapping her hands before continuing to pace the floor. "You even got me to join your stupid group! Got me to trust you…embarrassed myself on tv. Fucking Jericho, man. You just had to pick a fucking fight- and I backed you up!"

Jade stopped, slapping the bottle in her hand against her other palm. "Everybody knows I'm- and he got me to cry. That bitch got me to cry on national tv. Goddamn it." She kicked over his pair of shoes, shaking her head.

"I guess this means you're done playing daddy right? You're done pretending like you give a fuck about me? The hospital and the wedding and all that really didn't mean anything, huh? Fine, I get it. Daddy issues strikes again! That was part of the act too, huh?"

"No, I-" 

 "Guess what? You're not my daddy, Regal! My daddy's back home, probably in his office working while my mom's probably still sleeping around on him! My daddy hates me! And he has every right to. I'm just another fuck up, another mistake. And you know that! That's why you did it, right? Ditched us like he- cause we weren't good enough?"

He covered his hand with his mouth, watching as she ran a hand through her hair before trying to speak. "Jade, you are not a-"

"Did I fucking say you could talk?!" Jade grabbed the front of his shirt, balling it up in her fist. He swallowed hard. She wasn't looking at him, somewhere past him. At the desk. She let go of him and walked towards it.

"I mean, fuck. I kind of get it, if we're being honest. You gotta watch us fuck up day in and day out, hell, I'd get sick of it too if I were you." She chuckled darkly. She brought her fist to her mouth, closing her eyes before hiccuping into her hand. "Couldn't have fucking just told us the truth, told us we weren't good enough." 

"...what?"

She picked up a piece of clothing off the desk. His Lordship jacket. She examined it, letting out a snort before dropping it unceremoniously into the waste basket next to the desk. She paused, one hand balling into a fist before turning back around. "Why weren't we good enough for you?!" She yelled, throwing the bottle. She was obviously aiming for him, and yet it flew past him, bouncing off the headboard instead, before landing somewhere on the floor. 

"All that training, all that blood shed just for it to be a waste of time! We did everything right!! We won the belts! We won the fueds! We bled for you, fucker! We were never going to be good enough for you and you couldn't just come out and fucking say it! You goddamn coward!"

Coward. Yes, he definitely deserved that one. Still, he stood up, carefully making his way around the bed to walk to her. "Jade, none of this-"

She pushed past him, slowly, before stumbling, almost falling to the floor. He caught her in his arms and slowly he brought them to the floor, her in his arms as they sat down by the bed.

"Let me go- you stupid-"

"Please, Jade, just calm down…"

"Never should have left Ring Of-should have never joined the group…" she mumbled, her breathing uneven as she struggled to break free from his embrace.

"Jade..."

"Then you wouldn't have figured out I'm not good enough, I was never good enough…" his heart twisted as he heard her sniffle, as the liquid bravery finally ran out in her. She was practically shaking now, as she pushed against his chest, against his shoulder. He held her tighter. He took in a deep breath. "Not even for you…"

"Don't you ever say something like that again." He looked down at her. "I've always thought you were more than good, you're one of the best-"

"Liar!"

"Jade, please-"

"Liar! Liar, liar liar liar liar-" She cried as she desperately tried to push him away. He couldn't reach her like this, not in her current state. All he could do was hold her closer as she broke down, still trying to speak through her tears, sobbing against his chest. He rocked her back and forth, tucking her head under his chin as he did, tears of his own beginning to trickle down his cheek. Yet she kept repeating the word through her attempts at escaping, which were steadily growing weaker.

"I'm not lying, I swear on everything I care about, I'm not lying to you. You're my… you're my star, Jade."

"Liar, liar…"

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. For ever making you doubt how I care about you. Even for a second. For turning my back on you. On Jon. On everyone."

"Liar…"

They sat like that for what felt like hours, her mumbling his while he rocked her, until he watched her arms grow limp against him, until her breathing steadied more. She had tired herself out.

He wiped his eyes with his sleeve, wondering what to do now.

How on earth did she even get to him in this state? All he knew was that she and Adam were on the floor above his. As much as he wanted to keep an eye on Jade, heer current condition worrying him,, he couldn't let her stay overnight. Other wise he'd be worried. And he couldn't just carry her back to her room; the blonde cowboy was already furious with him. If he saw her carrying his drunken wife there was no telling what would happen-

A flash from her coat pocket interrupted his thoughts. He reached down, slipping the phone out and turning it on. 

Four missed calls, and a few texts were on the lockscreen from an hour ago. All from Adam, the most recent one from a few seconds ago.

Sheriff Adam: baby, please I'm worried. Where are you? Call me when you get this

William cursed under his breath, putting the phone back. How was he gonna get her upstairs without getting caught? He could sit her by the door knock, and then run before he opened it, but as tired as he was there's no way he'd get far enough. Unless…he asked someone else to do it…

He reached for his phone, careful not to jostle the young woman in his arms as he grabbed it, and scrolled through his contacts. Jon would kill him…Wheeler and Bryan would probably let the phone go to voice-mail before maybe answering it… he took a breath, looking away before he pressed "call" on Claudio's name.

Beep….beep…

"C'mon, please, c'mon…" 

A yawn answered his prayers. "Hello? Mr. Regal?"

"Claudio, I know this is going to sound bad, or like a trick, but I need you to come to my room it's-"

"Slow down, slow down!" The man yawned again. "You know it's really late to be antagonizing people, right? Couldn't this have waited until morning?"

"I swear to god, this isn't a joke. Jade's asleep in my room right now-"

"What?"

"She's drunk and passed out and-"

"Bullshit, she doesn't drink!"

"She did tonight, okay!" He hissed into the receiver,  before taking a breath, collecting himself. "Please, I just need your help. Can you come here and take her back to her room for me?"

"Why can't you do it?"

"Because Mr. Page would lose his mind, that's why."

"Maybe you should…a good ass kicking might be what you-" Claudio sighed before continuing on. "Give me like three minutes I'll be there." He hung up.

William stared at the phone, watching at the screen went black.

"Mmmmphh," he looked down at Jade, her eyelashes fluttering. Gently, he moved her head to his shoulder.

"Help is on the way, flower. You'll be in bed before you know it." Gently, he laid her down on the floor and he stood up, legs wobbling a bit almost asleep. He walked to the door, jumping g a bit as he heard a knock. Once again, he looked through the peephole before opening it.

"This better not be a fucking trick." The tall Swiss man glared at him, his hands in the front pocket of his hoodie as he looked past him into the room.

"It's not." William lead him into the room, and the tall man immediately went to kneel next to the woman who now laid curled into a ball.

"...son of a bitch. She really…" Shaking his head, Claudio carefully moved his hands underneath her maneuvering until he had her over his shoulder and stood up. He walked towards the door with her, still asleep.

"Thank you, Claudio. I mean it."

"I know." The man looked past him at the wall, then at the door. "I've never seen her like this. I wondered where she went off to, Adam even texted me and we hardly ever talk."

William nodded, moving his hands behind his back. 

"Do you think she did it because…you know…"

"Most likely. She's under a lot of stress."

"Yeah, no shit."the man turned around and walked to the door.

"Claudio!"

"Yeah?" He looked over his shoulder as he entered the hallway.

"I'm sorry."

"I know." the man walked down the hallway. William moved outside, watching as the two of them made it to the elevator before Claudio climbed in, the door shutting behind him. He walked back into his room, shutting the door behind him. He rested his head against it, a throbbing in the front of his skull making itself known.

He meant it. He was sorry. 

But he knew deep down… it might already be too late. He might never be forgiven. Not by Claudio, not by Jon, not even by Jade.

Not by anyone.

-fin-

[keerysquinn]

Do you headcanon Chrissy and Steve as family friends from childhood or more meeting for the first time in hs from their basketball/cheer circles?

It fully depends on the story I'm writing if I'm being honest.

Specifically in the wyptif universe, Chrissy and Steve knew of each other in high school, and their paths crossed on occasion, but they didn't really interact with each other until the road trip.

On the flip side, I have a different story planned where their families had been close since before either of them were born, and they were childhood best friends leading up to them staying close in high school when they ended up in the same social circles.

And then there's another little fic I eventually want to write where they meet for the first time at a high school party.

For me, there's no one correct way to headcanon how long they've known each other or when they first met. Every single option has so much potential and would be so cool to explore.

However, if we're going strictly with the canon universe and everything else I headcanon about them and their families, I would say that they probably met for the first time in high school via the basketball team and cheer squad overlap.

[sebstanaddict]

Love Song

Chapter 4 - Passenger Seat

Summary : A romantic comedy story between Sebastian Stan and female reader where we witness their journey after they said I do.

After quite a rough start, Sebastian and reader finally arrived in Europe for their honeymoon fully expecting a smooth and enjoyable trip to give them a wonderful memory to last a lifetime. But believe it or not, things get even worse for them as they started they trip in Cologne, Germany. How will they survive the chaotic events? Will they still be able to enjoy their honeymoon? Or will they ended up wishing to be back home already.

Pairings : Sebastian Stan x Female!Reader

Chapters: 4/18 (Might add more)

Chapter List >

Warning : fluff, sexual references

Word count : 10,2k

This is a sequel to my first Sebastian Stan fic Always You. If you want to understand more about Sebastian's and reader's relationship, please read it first. But it's not necessary to understand this story. Check it out here.

I look at her and have to smile

As we go driving for a while

Her hair blowing in the open window of my car

And as we go, the traffic lights

I watch them glimmer in her eyes

In the darkness of the evening

And I've got all that I need

Right here in the passenger seat

Oh, and I can't keep my eyes on the road

Knowing that she's inches from me

We stop to get something to drink

My mind clouds and I can't think

Scared to death to say I love her

Then the moon peeks from the clouds

I hear my heart, it beats so loud

Try to tell her simply

That I've got all that I need

Right here in the passenger seat

Oh, and I can't keep my eyes on the road

Knowing that she's inches from me

Oh, and I know

That this love will grow

And I've got all that I need

Right here in the passenger seat

Oh, and I can't keep my eyes on the road

Knowing that she's inches from me

Passenger Seat - Stephen Speaks

-----

Cologne-Bonn Airport, Cologne, Germany, May 8th 2023 - 9.00 am

It was a sunny morning in Cologne, Germany. Barely a cloud could be seen in the sky leaving only light blue clear sky up above the city. At the Cologne-Bonn Airport, loud sounds of jet planes taking off to the sky could be heard as one after the other planes took off to the sky, alternating with the screeching sound of brakes from landing planes. The Airport was already busy that morning with people bustling about. At the terminal people could be seen hurriedly getting into the departure area trying to catch their flights, dragging and carrying their luggage. While people getting out of the arrivals area were looking for transportation to get them out of the airport, queueing on taxi lanes and bus lanes. Among all the passengers, a couple with a baby stood on the sidewalk in front of the arrivals terminal. Their jaws dropped as they stared at the car parked in front of them.

Sebastian and Y/n stared at the mini black car in front of them, the Fiat 500, literally the smallest car in the world. Sebastian doubted they could all fit inside it, but Y/n already paid the car rental company in full and they refused to refund them even though it was the company's fault that they didn't have the correct car ready for Sebastian and Y/n. There seemed to be a glitch in their system so that Y/n was able to book an SUV that was actually already booked for someone else. They didn't have other alternatives than to take the mini car. Sebastian thought of maybe taking a taxi too to make sure all of their things could be brought to the castle where they were going to stay that night. However, the queue for the taxi was so long and it discouraged them from taking the taxi. Eventually they decided to just try and fit everything into the mini car.

Miraculously, all their luggage, Starlene's stroller and car seat were all able to be put inside the car. But they had to put some luggage on one of the passenger seat next to Starlene. And her stroller had to be put on the passenger area as well. Y/n also had to sacrifice some leg area because she had nowhere else to put Starlene's diaper bag except on the floor by her legs.

"Okay! Thank you god of luggage and baggages for letting us all fit inside this amazingly small car!" Sebastian raised his hands up to the sky, pretending to thank a non-existent god of luggage, making Y/n chuckle.

They were sitting in the car, Sebastian on the driver's seat, Y/n next to him and Starlene on her car seat right behind Sebastian, ready to go to the castle where they were going to spend their first night in Europe. Sebastian turned the ignition of the car on, switched the transmission and stepped on the gas. The car lurched forward slowly. It was not as fast as Sebastian would have liked, but he swallowed his disappointment and focused on the road.

"Iubirea mea, could you step on the gas a little bit more?" Y/n asked as they reached the highway. Their car was running slow compared to other cars on the road.

"My feet is already stepping on the gas since we got out of the airport, honey. This is as far as my feet can go! If I go any further my feet would bust through the floor!" Sebastian responded with an annoyed tone, but Y/n just laughed back in response.

Her laughter triggered Sebastian to laugh too. All of the crazy things that had happened to them since their wedding finally dawned on him and he couldn't stop laughing.

"This is gonna be one h**l of a memorable honeymoon.. I can feel it!" Sebastian exclaimed and Y/n laughed again. She continued to laugh as she stared at him.

"What's so funny, sweetheart?" Sebastian asked, glancing at her, raising his eyebrow.

"You look so funny driving this car. Like an adult driving a toy car." Y/n giggled.

Sebastian's tall body barely fit behind the steering wheel. His head almost reached the ceiling. His knees bumped onto the bottom of the steering wheel. He really looked silly.

Y/n whipped out her cellphone and took a picture of Sebastian. He stuck out his tongue at her, making her laugh again. She then recorded a video of him. He turned to her and opened his mouth wide and pretended to scream, making her chuckle again.

"Do you mind if I post your pics and video to Instagram?" Y/n asked.

"Not at all, honey. Go for it." Sebastian said, winking at her.

She smiled and turned her attention to her cellphone. Moments later a song came out of the car's speaker. Apparently Y/n had connected her phone to the car's speaker using bluetooth and she played a song from Spotify. The song was Passenger Seat by Stephen Speaks. Sebastian smiled listening to the song. It was the perfect song to play during a road trip like this.

Having some music on changed their mood immensely. They spent the journey to the castle singing along to the songs. Even Starlene was laughing and giggling as they both sang.

"And I've got all that I need.. right here in the passenger seat.." Sebastian sang as he took Y/n's hand and kissed her hand softly, making her blush.

Despite every bad thing that had happened to them so far, Sebastian couldn't help but still feel grateful for having Y/n by his side. The universe could throw anything his way and he was certain he could handle it as long as he had her by his side.

"I love you, sweetheart." Sebastian said gently and smiled at her.

"I love you too, Iubirea mea." Y/n smiled back at him, making his heart skip a beat. She leaned across to him and kissed his cheek, making him blush in return.

For the first time in 48 hours, Sebastian felt like things were finally getting their way. Even though he was driving a much smaller car than he used to that ran on a snail's pace, there were nothing else that were wrong. He had Y/n by his side and Starlene at the back seat. They were all more or less healthy. They were on time on their honeymoon, heading towards their first stop. And they were finally laughing and enjoying their time with each other. Little did he know that things were going to get even more interesting.

-----

SchlossDrachenburg, Königswinter, Germany, May 8th 2023 - 10.00 am

For their first two nights in Europe they had booked accommodation at Schloss Drachenburg, which meant The Dragon Castle in English. The castle was located on Drachenfels hill in a town called Königswinter on the east bank of the Rhine river, about half an hour away from Cologne. It was actually a private villa styled like a palace, constructed only in two years from the year 1882-1884. It was built by Baron Stephan von Sarter, a broker and a banker. He planned to live there but never did. After the Baron died, the ownership of the castle changed from hand to hand. For over a century, the castle functioned as many different things, a tourist attraction, Catholic boarding school, nursing home, even Adolf Hitler school. Eventually the castle was acquired by the state of North-Rhine, Westphalia Foundation and they returned it back into a villa, museum and tourist attraction.

Schloss Drachenburg was located in the Siebengebirge nature reserve, so it was usually not accessible by car, unless to guests staying at the castle. So when they arrived there, their car was the only one on the steep road leading to the castle. All other visitors could reach the castle on foot or using Drachenfelsbahn which was a historic train running on Germany's oldest cog railway.

Y/n opened her side of the window and put her head out as they passed the winding road. The road was surrounded by tall, lush ancient trees, and the air felt so fresh, clear from city pollution. Sebastian opened his side of the window too and breathed in the fresh air and felt relaxed and calm immediately. In the distance they could hear the sound of the Drachenfelsbahn and the sound of birds singing and chirping.

The moment they finally reached the castle, their eyes widened in awe. Sebastian felt they were transported back to the 19th century. The castle was large, had a combination of coral and cream brick walls and light blue roof on the turrets and towers. The design of the castle made him feel like they just entered a fairytale land. He parked their car on a parking lot near the entrance to the castle and took a moment to just stop and admire the whole atmosphere of the castle before finally getting out of the car.

They were welcomed by two large golden statues of stags on the terrace in front of a large staircase leading to the castle. After checking in at the admission hall, they took their bags and luggage to their room with the help from one of the castle's staff. The castle only provided two areas in the castle for accommodation, one located on the south tower and the other one on the north tower. Y/n booked the south tower suite for them which was a 90 square meter suite with one bedroom, a living room with two seating areas, a bathroom and kitchen.

The whole suite was laid out with real wood parquet except the bathroom, giving a homy yet elegant feel. The suite had furnitures from the Wilhelminian period combined with modern elegance. It also had many accessories from the castle stock. Some of which Sebastian felt they had to put away for fear that Starlene could break them. Sebastian loved the fact that the room still had a classic feel yet completed with modern facilities like flat screen TV, stereo system, blu-ray player, dishwasher, large fridge even a coffee capsule machine. The best thing about the suite was the panoramic view of the Rhine valley and the snaking Rhine river, which could be seen from the windows of the bedroom and living room. From the windows they could even see Cologne cathedral in the distance.

There was only one complaint about the suite. The suite was located on the third floor on the south side of the castle and was only accessible through a spiral staircase. So it was a chore to get in and out of it. With so many luggage to bring, Sebastian and the castle staff had to go up and down several times. By the time all their luggage had been brought up, Sebastian felt so exhausted and out of breath. He immediately laid down on the bed, face down and closed his eyes, his whole body ached and he wanted nothing more than to sleep.

"Iubirea mea.. are you okay?" Y/n asked as she sat down on the bed next to him. She put Starlene on the bed too and Starlene immediately crawled onto Sebastian's back, thinking he was a horse that she could ride on.

Sebastian turned his head to face Y/n and gave her a small smile.

"I'm just exhausted. That's all. But I'm happy we're finally here." He mumbled.

"Okay. Why don't you get some rest. It's only 11 am. I'll wake you up in a couple of hours for lunch." Y/n said, picking Starlene up from Sebastian's back and stood up.

"Thanks honey." Sebastian smiled at her and turned his body to lay on his back. It didn't take long for him to finally fall asleep.

He woke up three hours later after hearing a baby's cries. He opened his eyes and sat up immediately. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was 2 pm. Still feeling tired, he walked out of the bedroom to search for Y/n and Starlene. He found them in the living room. Starlene was carried by Y/n who looked tired and disheveled. She was standing in front of a glass vintage cabinet while Starlene was crying and screaming in her arms, Starlene's hands outstretched towards the cabinet.

"Y/n.. what's wrong?" Sebastian asked.

"Oh Seb.. you're awake." Y/n turned to him, relieved to see him.

"What's wrong baby girl?" Sebastian cooed as he picked Starlene up from Y/n's arms.

"She wanted to play with those ceramic dolls." Y/n replied, pointing to a set of ceramic castle miniatures complete with mini ceramic dolls standing in front of it. The miniatures were inside the vintage glass cabinet along with other accessories like ceramic plates, crystal glasses, golden goblets and the like.

"I don't want her to break them or anything so I didn't allow her to touch them and she started crying." Y/n sighed.

"Aaawww.. didn't you bring toys for her?" Sebastian asked as he patted Starlene's back and rocked her back and forth, trying to calm her down.

"I did! She didn't want to play with them." Y/n said as she went down on the floor and started picking up said toys.

"Well okay, maybe we can go down to the restaurant now and get some lunch. She's probably bored." Sebastian suggested.

"Yeah. I'm hungry too. Do you want to take a shower first? I already did earlier." Y/n asked as she finished tidying Starlene's toys from the floor.

Sebastian sniffed his arm pit and grimaced.

"Yeah.. I need to take a shower first." He said and returned Starlene back to Y/n's arms.

Feeling refreshed after he took a shower, Sebastian carried Starlene down the stairs as they head towards a bistro at the ground floor of the castle to grab some lunch. The bistro had a terrace area where they could sit and enjoy the view of the Rhine river and Cologne city in the distance. They sat on the terrace and enjoyed the view while munching on bratwurst and schnitzel.

After they finished their meal they went down to the castle grounds and took a stroll. The castle grounds was immaculate. The landscaping was lush and whimsical, with perfectly-groomed topiaries and rhododendrons. It truly felt like they were transported to a different time. They took plenty of pictures on the grounds with the majestic castle as the background.

Y/n looked so beautiful and happy as they strolled through the grounds. Starlene also seemed to enjoy their stroll. She loved looking at the butterflies and birds flying all around the garden. Sebastian was glad they chose the castle to be their first stop. It was a perfect place to enjoy a spring afternoon, just being with his new family, basked under the warm sunlight and light breeze ruffling through the trees.

"How do you feel, sweetheart?" Sebastian asked as they walked hand in hand under a tree with Starlene in his arms.

"I feel great, Iubirea mea." She turned to him and smiled.

"Do you love it here?" He asked.

"Are you kidding me? This is like a dream come true for me. I mean.. having a honeymoon in a literal castle is like almost every girl's fantasy." She enthused, making him smile wide.

"So glad you love it here, honey. Although.. I'm sure you'll love more the hotel I've picked in Paris for us. I bet that will top this castle." He winked at her.

"Oh I've seen it.. Pictures of it anyway. I know it's gonna be amazing too." She smiled.

Sebastian stopped as they reached the furthest area of the grounds. He looked around swiftly and after he made sure that no one was around, he pulled her by the waist and leaned closer to her. Heart beating fast in his chest, he closed the gap between them and kissed her lips gently, surprising her.

"Seb.. Starlene is here.. in case you forgot." Y/n laughed as she pushed Sebastian away from her.

"I know she's here.. I'm carrying her, honey. I want her to see how much her parents love each other. And I want us to be an example so that she'll never settle for less than true love." He said, giving Starlene a kiss on the cheek and a peck on Y/n's lips.

"Aaawww.. that's so sweet of you." Y/n smiled as she put her arms around his waist.

"I love you both so much." He said, giving both of them a loving look.

"I love you so much too, Iubirea mea.." She smiled as she put her palm on his cheek.

"And your baby girl here loves you so much too.. right Starlene dear?" She said, turning her attention to Starlene and Starlene just giggled in response, making them both laugh.

Feeling satisfied on their stroll on the grounds, they decided to go inside the castle and take a tour of the interior of the castle.

Similar to the outside of the castle, the inside of the castle was also beautiful, well maintained and elegant. After entering the castle through the main entrance, their eyes widened as they saw the main staircase. Made from red, green and white marble, it was wide and invited them to go up towards the immaculate rooms. The ceiling on top of the staircase was high and painted like the sky outside with deep blue colors and dots of gold stars. Glass stained windows adorned the east wall of the staircase and illuminated it. There used to be 24 monumental historical paintings decorating the walls along the staircase, but only 13 paintings  survived the eventful history of the castle and they could all be seen on the walls as they climbed up towards the upper levels of the castle.

Each room in the castle depicted what it was like to live in the 19th century. With furniture and accessories styled like the Wilhelminian period, anyone who entered the castle couldn't help but feel like they were peering back through time. There were many different rooms in the castle. Comfortable classic bedrooms decorated with rugs from bear skin, a study room with mahogany work desks and a wall sized bookcase filled with countless classic books, a large and airy music room with a grand piano, an interesting game room with a pool table, a large dining room with elegant china on the dining table and many more.

Each room were roped off so that visitors weren't allowed to go further into a room and touch properties in the room. Starlene, being a curious baby that she was, extended her hand in every room, wanting to touch the properties, such as the tall cupid statue in front of a window between two rooms, or the the big globe of earth on a desk in the study room, but of course she couldn't. Every time she almost touched something, Y/n, who was carrying her, immediately pulled her hand back so she couldn't touch anything. They were admiring the dining room when Y/n suddenly turned to Sebastian and asked him to hold Starlene. Y/n wanted to go to the restroom, which was located not that far from the dining room.

Sebastian continued to carry Starlene while Y/n went to the restroom, leaving him to look at all the details in the dining room by himself. Suddenly his cellphone buzzed, someone was calling him. He pulled out his cellphone and looked at the screen. A producer from his recent project, A Different Man, was calling him. He wondered what she wanted calling him while everyone knew he was away on his honeymoon. He thought there must be something urgent going on that she couldn't wait until he got back from Europe to call him. So he pressed the green button and accepted the call.

"Hi Christie.. how are you?" He greeted Christie, the producer.

"Hi Sebastian. I'm good thank you. So sorry to bother you on your honeymoon." Christie replied.

"Oh it's okay, Christie. What's up?" He asked.

"I have good news to share and it really can't wait." Christie said, excitement could be heard in her voice.

"What good news?" Sebastian asked, his curiousity peaked.

"We've been accepted at Cannes Film Festival!" Christie said enthusiastically.

"Oh my God! Christie! Are you kidding me?!" Sebastian shouted with joy, smiling from ear to ear.

They had submitted the movie to Cannes Film Festival a couple of days after the deadline so he didn't think they would be accepted at all. It was a miracle that the committee of the festival decided to still accept it.

Suddenly it dawned on him that the festival was a week away. It started on May 16th the day he was supposed to be in Paris for his honeymoon. His heart plummeted as the realization hit him. He really wanted to be there, he needed to be there. He was the lead actor after all. But.. he was also on his honeymoon. Would Y/n give him the permission to go?

"Sebastian.. are you there?" Christie's voice could be heard, jolting him back to reality.

"Yeah Christie. Sorry, I was just thinking. When will our movie be screened?" He asked.

"Believe it or not, they've picked it as the opening movie. So they'll screen it on May 16th." Christie replied.

Oh no. They would still be in Paris then, he thought. But then again, maybe he could persuade Y/n to go to Cannes. After the festival was over they could continue to Rome as planned. Yes, he was going to ask her to come with him to Cannes. He was sure she would agree to come.

"Wow, that's amazing Christie." Sebastian responded.

"Yeah, it is. So will you be there?" Christie asked.

"I'll try. I have to ask Y/n first. But I'm sure she'll agree to go there." Sebastian said.

"Oh Sebastian, I'm sorry but.. only industry professionals and those involved in the movie can come. So I'm afraid you can't take her." Christie reminded him.

"Oh.. yeah.. that's right." Sebastian's heart plummeted again.

"Well, I still have to ask her first. We'll figure something out but I'll try my best to be there." Sebastian said.

"Okay. Let me know once you've decided so I can arrange everything." Christie said.

"Yeah, of course. Thank you so much, Christie." Sebastian said.

"No problem, Sebastian. Have a good day." Christie said.

"You too, Christie." Sebastian said.

He hung up and put his cellphone back in his pocket. Just then a loud crashing sound could be heard. His heart dropped to his stomach and he turned around to the source of the sound only to find Starlene inside the roped area of the dining room. She was sitting on the floor by the dining table, her hand holding the edges of the tablecloth. Several pieces of china had fallen from the dining table down to the floor. In his excitement receiving the call from Christie, he had absent-mindedly put Starlene down on the floor when she continuously extended her hand towards the dining room, wanting to go inside the roped area. He had turned around when he was focused on the call, his back facing the dining room so he didn't see when Starlene crawled towards the dining table and pulled down the tablecloth in an attempt to stand up.

"Starlene!" He heard Y/n's voice yelling from his right.

Y/n walked over the roped area and immediately picked Starlene up from the floor. Starlene's hand still held on to the tablecloth tightly so when Y/n picked her up, the tablecloth was dragged up as well and the rest of the ceramic plates, bowls and crystal glasses fell down to the floor, leaving nothing on the table. Starlene was shocked and started crying and finally let go of the tablecloth. Y/n froze on the spot but started rocking gently in order to calm Starlene down. Sebastian was still shocked so he could only stare at them. Just then two staff from the castle came in and started talking angrily to Y/n. One of them pulled Y/n's arms harshly, away from the roped area.

"Don't touch her!" Sebastian shouted as he saw them pulled on Y/n's arms.

"It was all my fault, okay! Don't touch her!" Sebastian pulled the staff's hand away from Y/n's arms and shielded her behind his back.

The staff continued talking to him in German but Sebastian didn't understand a word.

"Y/n.. can you tell me what they're saying?" Sebastian finally asked, turning to Y/n. The staff was gesturing for them to go away it seemed from the dining room area.

"Seb.. they want us to leave. They're kicking us out." Y/n replied dejectedly.

"What?! They can't do that! We paid to stay here!" Sebastian protested.

"Seb, calm down. They're asking us to go and see their supervisor. But they told me that the things that are broken are rare china imported directly from China way back in the 18th century and they're worth 10 thousand euros.." Y/n said in distress.

"What the h**l.." Sebastian cursed.

"Come on, Seb. Let's just go and follow them." Y/n beckoned her head towards the staff.

Feeling extremely guilty yet annoyed, Sebastian followed the staff out of the dining room and back towards the admission hall with Y/n and Starlene by his side.

"How could you let her get inside the roped area?" Y/n asked in disbelief as they walked.

Sebastian sighed. "I was accepting a call. I was too focused on the call and I didn't realize that I had put her on the floor."

"What?! Who was calling you?" Y/n asked, her tone a little high.

"Christie.. it's a long story. I'll tell you later." Sebastian said, realizing that if he told her about his plans on going to the Cannes Film Festival now, she would most likely say no.

"Well.. didn't you see when she crawled towards the dining table?" She asked.

"I didn't.. I turned around as I was focusing on the call." Sebastian answered dejectedly.

Y/n didn't say anything but just shot him a murderous glare. It seemed she was really angry and he was scared of her. She rarely got angry at him but when she did, well, he would rather die on the spot than be the receiver of her wrath.

Moments later they arrived at the admission hall. It was almost time for the castle to be closed so it was empty of people. An old man walked out of the room behind the reception counter and approached them.

"Hello sir, I'm really sorry about what happened. I swear it was an accident." Sebastian immediately said to the man.

The man just stared at him, he didn't seem to understand what he said, so Y/n translated the words for him. They continued talking in German, which annoyed Sebastian. A tourist attraction like this should have staff able to speak in English, it was common sense, he thought.

"Seb, the man kindly asked us to leave. I told the man to charge us for all the damages and he said he was thankful that we were able to cover the damages but seeing that we're with a baby, he was afraid something similar would happen again if we continue to stay here. So.. he's kicking us out." Y/n explained dejectedly.

"What?! But we paid to stay here! You even told him we'll pay for the damages and they're still kicking us out?!" He yelled in frustration.

"Yeah.. I tried to persuade him to let us stay. I told him we'll just stay in our room and not come out. But he insisted that we leave." Y/n said.

"Alright.. fine! Who needs to stay at a stuck up place like this anyway?! Let's go Y/n!" Sebastian said and he turned on his heel and left, dragging Y/n with him.

It took awhile for Sebastian to take all their luggage downstairs from their suite. A staff was sent to help him but he was so angry and in his anger he rejected their help. He'd rather die than accept help from the stuck up people working in the castle, he thought.

"So long suckers!" Sebastian shouted from inside his rented car at the staff of the castle and the supervisor who were watching him and Y/n leave from the terrace of the castle. Sebastian wanted to give them the 'bird' but decided against it. Cursing was enough, he thought.

He stepped on the gas and their car lurched forward slowly, taking them away from the castle to God knows where.

"Seb.. would you please stop with the cursing! It's not their fault. It's your fault that we got kicked out." Y/n said matter-of-factly.

"Oh.. oh.. you're siding with them?! I paid 10 thousand euros already to replace their broken china and they still kicked us out! That doesn't make any sense. You know what I'll do? I'll write a very bad review of them on Google and TripAdvisor and they can kiss their income good bye! No one would want to come again! Or.. better yet.. I'll post a bad review on my Instagram! Yes! That'll show them!" He said, punching his fist in the air.

Y/n sighed and stared at him, giving him a death stare.

"What?!" Sebastian asked as he saw Y/n was not impressed at all at what he had to say.

"You do realize that if you write a bad review on Instagram people would instead laugh at you? Because clearly.. it was your fault, Seb. Who in their right mind would put a baby down on the floor among all those fragile things. I mean.. I wouldn't.. and I didn't.. it was you who did it!" Y/n said in frustration.

"Y/n.. I said I was too focused on the call. It was an honest mistake. I'm sorry." Sebastian pleaded.

"Yeah.. what was so important anyway? Don't people know you're on your honeymoon? What news could  possibly can't wait until you get back?" Y/n asked still in an annoyed tone.

"Well.. if you must know.." Sebastian started but he was cut off.

"Yes.. as a matter of fact.. I must know!

What could be soo important that it cost us 10 thousand euros and nowhere to stay for the night." Y/n snickered.

"Would you let me finish.." Sebastian said in frustration.

"Go ahead, Seb. Enlighten me." Y/n shrugged.

Sebastian took a deep breath, released it and finally said. "Christie called to tell me that A Different Man got accepted at the Cannes Film Festival. They're screening it next week as an opening movie."

"What?! Wow! Congratulations, Iubirea mea! I'm so proud of you!" Y/n smiled and her anger seemed to dissipate as she digested the news.

"Thank you, honey." Sebastian smiled and sighed in relief.

"Wait.. next week? We'll still be in Paris next week.." Y/n trailed as the realization dawned on her.

"Umm.. yeah.. I was going to ask you about that." Sebastian said nervously.

"Oh. So, are you asking me to go there instead of Rome?" Y/n asked.

"Yeah.. we can still go to Rome after the festival is over. But the thing is.. they don't allow anyone outside of industry professionals or those involved in the movie to attend the festival. So, even if you and Starlene come you can't come to the festival." Sebastian said in regret.

Y/n stayed silent listening to him speak. Sebastian would give anything to be able to know what was in her mind. He hated to disappoint her. But this was a big deal for him. He really needed to attend the festival. He wasn't just a lead actor in it, he was also the executive producer. It wouldn't make sense if he was absent from the event.

"Sweetheart.. I'm really sorry. I know you're upset about this whole thing. But you know how much of a big deal this is for me. I need to be there." Sebastian pleaded. He reached his hand out and slowly picked up Y/n's hand and kissed it gently. Y/n glanced at him and he gave her the most adorable puppy dog eyes he ever made. Y/n finally sighed and a small smile escaped her lips.

"Fine.. you can go." Y/n finally said.

"Thank you so much, honey! You're the best! I swear I'll make it up to you." He said as he continued kissing her hand. He eventually stopped the car on the side of the road, reached over and gave her a tight hug then kissed her passionately.

"I love you, sweetheart. You're the best wife in the world." He smiled as he gazed into her eyes and stroked her cheek gently with his thumb.

"I love you too, Iubirea mea." She smiled back, her anger seemed to be gone completely from her and Sebastian felt really grateful for that.

"You can still come to Cannes you know, you're just not allowed in the festival. You and Starlene can go out and do some sightseeing while I go to the festival." Sebastian said.

"Yeah, that's a good idea, Iubirea mea." Y/n smiled.

"That settles it then." Sebastian smiled and he finally released her.

"So, any idea on where we can stay tonight?" Sebastian asked as he started the car again.

"I thought we can just go to Cologne city and find a hotel there. I'm sure we can find an available room somewhere in the city. Then tomorrow we can do a city tour and see the cathedral." Y/n said.

"Alright, good idea." Sebastian nodded.

"Do you want to turn the sat-nav on?" Y/n asked as they continued their journey.

"No, I'm good. We'll turn it on nearer to the city." Sebastian said.

"Okay. Do you mind if I close my eyes for a bit? I'm so exhausted. You know I haven't slept at all since we were on the airplane." Y/n said and yawned.

"Sure, honey. Get some rest." Sebastian said, patting her thigh and smiled at her.

"Thank you, Iubirea mea." Y/n smiled back at him, leaned back on her seat and closed her eyes.

Sebastian felt tired himself, but he needed to focus on the road. His family needed him. He had disappointed them so badly, he didn't want to disappoint them again. It didn't take long for Y/n to fall asleep. Starlene also fell asleep not long after Y/n did.

About an hour after they started their journey Sebastian started to feel that something was wrong. He didn't remember passing through the road they were on before. He suspected that they were lost. Cologne was supposed to be about half an hour away from Schloss Drachenburg. They were supposed to have arrived in Cologne but instead of seeing the city's skyline and the cathedral, he only saw empty fields and trees around them.

He sighed and stopped the car on the side of the road and turned the sat-nav on. After several moments of studying the map he realized he had taken the wrong turn and instead of going straight on A59 towards the north he had taken a left turn towards the west and ended up on A565. And they were now on A1, exactly the opposite of where Cologne was. He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. How could he be so stupid. Lack of sleep and exhaustion really affected him it seemed. He decided to wake Y/n up and asked her opinion on what they should do next. It was already 7 pm. He felt tired, hungry and slightly sleepy. He needed a fresh mind to help him decide on what to do.

"Y/n, honey, wake up." Sebastian said, shaking Y/n's arms gently.

"Hmm.." Y/n slowly opened her eyes. "Are we there yet?"

"Umm.. no.. I'm sorry, honey. I think we're lost." Sebastian replied, bracing himself in case Y/n got angry at him.

"What?" Y/n asked, rubbing her eyes and sat up straighter.

"Yeah, we're lost. I took a wrong turn and we're now exactly the opposite of where Cologne is." Sebastian said.

"Oh.. okay." Y/n said, finally woken up fully.

"Can't we just turn around? Based on the map we're only an hour away from Cologne." Y/n said after she studied the sat-nav.

"Yeah but I'm exhausted, and hungry. Could you help me find a place around here where we can at least rest for a bit?" Sebastian asked.

"Okay." Y/n said and she pulled out her cellphone to browse for options.

Sebastian leaned back on his seat and closed his eyes. He hoped they didn't have to go far to find a place to rest.

"Iubirea mea, there's a castle hotel not far from here, about 3 miles from here. It's called Burg Satzvey. It looks quite interesting. Do you want to maybe stay there tonight? We can continue back to Cologne tomorrow. And it's a castle too! We'll still get to stay in a castle tonight even though it's a different one. What do you think?" Y/n asked.

"Oh, that sounds good." Sebastian opened his eyes.

Y/n showed him her cellphone. On the screen he could see a picture of a small moated castle with a small lake surrounding it. It did look quite interesting.

"Okay. Could you give them a call and see whether they have rooms available?" Sebastian asked.

"Sure." Y/n responded.

Thankfully the castle had an available room. So Sebastian set the sat-nav to the direct them to the castle. The area was so quiet and they almost didn't meet any other car or people on the way there. After passing through a small road with empty fields on the sides of the road and small houses located far from each other, they finally arrived at the castle.

-----

BurgSatzvey, Mechernich, Germany, May 8th - 7.30 pm

Burg Satzvey was a beautiful castle located in a small German town called Mechernich. It was smaller than Schloss Drachenburg but was much older as it was built in the 1300s. We could see from the walls that it was a more ancient castle. It was built on an island with a moat surrounding it.

Sebastian drove their car slowly over the bridge leading to the entrance of the castle, passing a statue of a lion that guarded the bridge. Their eyes widened in awe as they entered the castle and found themselves in the inner courtyard of the castle. He felt like they just entered a movie set for a medieval era movie. He could imagine seeing knights jousting in the inner courtyard with princesses, kings and queens cheering them on the balcony on top of the castle.

He parked the car near a souvenir shop and immediately got out of the car. His body ached and felt stiff so he took some time to stretch. An old man with white hair, beard and moustache came out of the souvenir shop and approached him.

"Hello, welcome to Burg Satzvey." the old man greeted him with a thick German accent. The man then smiled and extended his hand to Sebastian.

"Oh hello. Thank you." Sebastian shook the man's hand and smiled. He was glad the staff at this castle could speak English.

"My name is Friedrich. I'm guessing you are Mr and Mrs. Stan?" he guessed.

"Yes, that's right." Y/n chimed in as he stood next to Sebastian, carrying a sleepy Starlene in her arms.

"Excellent! I will be your host for tonight. Please follow me and I'll show you to your room." the man said.

They decided to just take one of their large suitcases and Starlene's diaper bag because they didn't need everything for just staying one night at the castle. Sebastian dragged the suitcase and took Starlene's diaper bag and followed the man towards the castle with Y/n and Starlene following him close by.

Their eyes widened as they entered the castle. The interior of the castle was impressive yet felt cozy and homy with classic vintage furnitures. They entered the living room where they could see large paintings of the old owners of the castle hung all around the walls. Photographs of the descendants of the original owner of the castle could be seen placed on top of ornate tables and cabinets. Beautiful vintage glass cabinets were placed around the room with ancient china displayed in them and other accessories. A large grandfather clock could be seen on the corner of the room and on the other side of the room they could see a grand piano.

Friedrich guided them into a long hallway, the entrance to which was guarded by a statue of a medieval armored knight. A huge painting of a woman wearing a black dress hung on the wall next to the statue of the knight. Starlene closed her eyes with her hands as they passed the statue. It seemed she was scared of it.

"It's okay, Starlene, it's just a statue." Y/n said but Starlene kept her hands on her eyes.

The long hallway had yet more paintings of people on the walls. It also had wall-sized bookcases full of books. Friedrich guided them to a room at the furthest end of the hallway. The room was like a small apartment. It had a sitting room, a bedroom with a four poster bed and a bathroom with a vintage bathtub. There was also a small pantry in it. The furniture was all vintage and classic mostly made from darkly varnished mahogany, with classic floral wallpapers and beautifully patterned carpets. The lighting was somewhat minimal so the room was a little dark. But the sitting room had a large window facing the beautiful lake outside.

"There you go, your room for the night." Friedrich said as he gave Sebastian the key to the room.

"Thank you, Friedrich. Is there a restaurant here by the way?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes, we have a restaurant and a bakery. But the bakery is closed already. If you want to have dinner, feel free to come to the restaurant. And you're in luck because we serve sauerbraten tonight." Friedrich winked. Sebastian just smiled, not knowing exactly what sauerbraten was.

"That sounds delicious. We will definitely come to the restaurant. I'm starving." Sebastian smiled.

"Excellent! Well, I will leave you to enjoy the room. If you need me, I will be in the souvenir shop." Friedrich said.

"Thank you, Friedrich." Sebastian said and Friedrich left, leaving them to enjoy the room by themselves.

Starlene was still closing her eyes with her hands as they toured the room, making Sebastian feel a little suspicious. After putting the large suitcase and Starlene's diaper bag in the bedroom, he picked Starlene from Y/n's arms and walked to the large window in the sitting room. He could see several ducks swimming on the lake.

"Starlene, look! Ducks! Quack quack.. " Sebastian said as he gently pulled Starlene's hands away from her eyes.

Starlene opened her eyes and smiled as she noticed the ducks.

"See.. there's nothing to be afraid of here. The knight statue is outside. We're safe here." Sebastian said as he kissed Starlene's cheek gently.

Y/n approached them and stood next to them, putting her arms around Sebastian's waist.

"The lake looks beautiful." Y/n smiled.

"Yeah.. not as beautiful as two of my favourite girls, though." Sebastian winked, making Y/n chuckle.

"I'm so glad we ended up finding this castle. If you didn't take that wrong turn we wouldn't end up here." Y/n pointed out.

"I know. The universe has a mysterious way of giving us what we want, doesn't it? I mean, this castle is what you wanted, right? A true European experience." Sebastian smiled.

"Yeah, you're right. I wish we had come in June though. They usually have a knights festival with jousting, jugglers and a medieval market." Y/n said.

"Oh they do? That's really interesting. Maybe we can come here again next year." Sebastian suggested.

"Yeah.. or we can spend Christmas here. They usually have winter wonderland themed festival during Christmas season. I'm sure it will be beautiful at that time of the year with snow all around." Y/n smiled.

"Oh wow, well, if you really want to we can come back for Christmas this year." Sebastian said.

"That sounds amazing, Iubirea mea. Maybe we can go after visiting my dad. I want to spend this year's Christmas with my dad if you don't mind." Y/n said.

"Oh of course, honey. We can come here after that then." he said.

"Yeah, that sounds great." Y/n smiled and gave him a squeeze around his waist.

"I love you, sweetheart." Sebastian said, gazing at her with a soft adoring look in his eyes.

"I love you too, Iubirea mea." she smiled.

He leaned down and kissed her gently, then he whispered in her ear. "Do you think we'll be able to do it tonight?"

Y/n blushed as he listened to him. "We'll see.. there's no crib here so.."

"We can do it on the sofa." Sebastian winked and Y/n chuckled.

"Or on the floor.. there's carpet on the floor. That's enough for me." Sebastian teased.

"Well, we'll see.." Y/n winked at him and kissed him again gently on his lips. Their kiss was disrupted by the sound of a rumbling stomach. Apparently Sebastian really was hungry. They laughed and broke apart and decided to go out to the restaurant to have dinner.

The restaurant was called Mustard Mill and was located on the ground floor of the castle, facing the inner courtyard. When they arrived, there were only four other guests there. Because there was no event at the castle in May, it didn't have many visitors.

Just like what Friedrich said, the restaurant served a special menu that night which was sauerbraten. Sauerbraten is a traditional German roast of heavily marinated meat. It can be prepared from a variety of meat but most often prepared from beef, and that was what the restaurant served that night. The sauerbraten was served with German cabbage and mashed potatoes, with a side of dinner rolls. Sebastian rarely ate meat nowadays, but he was in Germany where most dishes seemed to be made from meat, so he decided to forget his diet and just enjoy them. The sauerbraten was served with sweet and sour gravy. The meat was marinated up to 10 days before cooking. So the meat was so tender and juicy and he loved it.

Friedrich came by as they enjoyed their dinner. He told them all about the history of the castle. The castle was built by Heinrich von Krauthausen but was named after his father-in-law Otto von Vey, which was appointed bailiff of the manor. The von Krauthausen family didn't keep hold of the castle for long. Over several centuries, the castle was ruled by a series of different noble families. In the end it was sold to the Gymnich family in 1737 and had remained in the family ever since. The current owners, Countess and Count Biessel of Gymnich were so active and creative in promoting the castle's rich historical heritage. It was their idea to organize medieval festivals and other events at the castle, making it one of the most famous castles in Rhineland where people flock from all over the country to attend its festive and historical events.

Listening to Friedrich talk was so interesting that by the time they were finished, it was already 10 pm. Starlene started to get cranky and Sebastian also started to feel sleepy. So they bid good bye to Friedrich and went back to their room.

Sebastian expected Starlene to fall asleep quickly seeing how she must be tired and had not had enough sleep throughout the day. But boy was he wrong. Starlene kept on crying and was so hard to be calmed down. An hour of listening to her cries made Sebastian wonder if something was wrong with her. Sebastian and Y/n were lying down on the bed with Starlene between them. Y/n tried to nurse Starlene to calm her down but she didn't want to. She kept putting her hands in front of her eyes. Sometimes she opened her eyes and put her hands down, but once she did she started crying again and put her hands on her eyes again. Sebastian was so exhausted that he had no idea on what to do. He just laid down on the bed, closed his eyes and gently patted Starlene's thigh, trying to comfort her, but to no avail, she kept on crying. Y/n was also exhausted but she stood up and carried Starlene and started to walk around the room in an attempt to calm Starlene down.

Suddenly Sebastian could feel the hair behind his neck prickled. Starlene had stopped crying and he could hear the bed squeak as Y/n sat on the bed next to him.

"Seb.. wake up.." Y/n whispered with a scared voice.

"What is it, honey?" Sebastian asked and he opened his eyes.

Y/n stood up from the bed, Starlene in her arms and she looked straight to a mirror hanging on the wall behind the bed, her eyes wide in fear.

"Honey.. what's.." Sebastian didn't manage to finish his sentence. He sat up and followed Y/n's gaze and looked back towards the mirror and see a figure there. A figure of a woman wearing a black dress could be seen in the mirror. Sebastian looked to the front of the bed and saw no one there, but when he turned to the mirror he could see the figure of the woman again. The woman had her hair pulled up in a bun, her face.. wait.. she didn't have a face..

"Aaaaaargh...!!!" Sebastian screamed out loud and jumped out from the bed. Without waiting any longer, they grabbed their belongings and sprinted out from the room.

Haunted! The castle was haunted! That was why Starlene kept on crying and closing her eyes. She was scared of the ghost in the room. And she probably had seen it from earlier in the day. She wasn't scared of the knight statue, she was scared of the ghost!

They ran out of the castle towards their car and got into it immediately. Once inside the car Sebastian realized he hadn't returned the key of the room to Friedrich and he hadn't paid him yet for the room. So he took a deep breath and bravely went out of the car and went to the souvenir shop to try to find Friedrich.

As it was already 11 pm, the souvenir shop was closed, the inside of it was dark. Sebastian knocked on the door loudly but no one came out. Suddenly he saw a fleeting movement from inside the souvenir shop. The ghost of the woman with no face appeared inside the shop, right behind the glass door, making his heart jumped out from his chest. He threw the room key onto the door step and left some money with it. He then quickly turned around and got into the safety of the car. Without looking back, he stepped on the gas and drove the car quickly away from the castle, his heart pounding hard in his chest.

"Iubirea mea.. where are we going?" Y/n asked after awhile. She still seemed shock. Starlene on the other hand, had fallen asleep peacefully in her car seat while her parents were still in shock.

"I don't know, honey. I just want to get as far away from that castle as possible." Sebastian said as he continued to focus on the dark road.

The small road that they passed by earlier didn't have street lamps on the sides, so it was completely dark safe from the light from the car's headlight, making the atmosphere felt even creepier to Sebastian. He glanced at the rear view mirror, prepared to see the ghost floating behind them, following them, but thankfully he didn't see a thing.

After several minutes of silence, Y/n chimed up. "I guess we're not coming back there for Christmas."

Sebastian laughed out loud and Y/n laughed along with him. He couldn't believe the things that they had experienced so far in their honeymoon. He expected it to be memorable, but never as memorable as it turned out to be.

"Yeah, we're never coming back there, ever." Sebastian chuckled and they continued laughing for several moments as the absurdity of the situation dawned on them.

"I guess we're going back to Cologne after all." Y/n said.

"Yeah, we should just go there, away from castles." Sebastian said.

"I guess I'm now traumatized with castles.." Y/n said, making Sebastian laugh.

"Oh honey. I'm sure not all castles are haunted." Sebastian said.

"Yeah.. maybe. But I've had enough experience in a castle to last me a lifetime." Y/n commented.

"I know. Me too." Sebastian said and they laughed again.

"Don't forget to use the sat-nav, Iubirea mea." Y/n reminded him after their laughter subsided. She turned the sat-nav on and set their destination to Cologne.

"Yeah, thanks honey." Sebastian said, glancing at the sat-nav.

Cologne was about an hour away from where they were, but Sebastian was so exhausted that after driving the car for fifteen minutes, his eyes felt heavy. He blacked out for a moment and the car swerved to the right.

"Seb!" Y/n yelled as she picked the steering wheel and turn it back to the left.

Sebastian opened his eyes immediately and tried to focus back on the road.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I blacked out." He sighed.

"Iubirea mea.. you're exhausted. We should just stop here so you can rest." Y/n suggested.

They were still on a regular road and not the highway. There were nothing but empty fields and trees on the sides of the road. Sebastian decided to stop there and rest. It would be dangerous if he blacked out again.

He wished Y/n could drive so they could still make some progress in their journey while he rested awhile. But Y/n never had a car in her life so she didn't feel the need to learn how to drive. Maybe someday he could persuade her to learn, he thought.

"Yeah.. okay. We'll stop here. Give me an hour to sleep. Okay?" Sebastian said as he parked the car on the side of the road.

"Okay." Y/n nodded and patted Sebastian's thigh. He closed his eyes and fell asleep immediately.

-----

Somewhere between Cologne and Mechernich, Germany, May 9th - 3 am

Sebastian smiled as he saw Y/n lying down on the bed completely naked.  He had waited for this moment for three months now and it was finally happening. She was lying down on the bed, ready for him to make love to her, and he did just that. He made love to her as if it was their first time together. He was so gentle yet passionate with her. It didn't take long for her to climax. He was so happy and aroused when he saw her face as she climaxed, he felt himself getting harder.

Suddenly he opened his eyes and found himself staring at the ceiling of a car. Da***t! He cursed. It was just a dream. He sighed in disappointment.

He turned to see Y/n sleeping next to him on her seat. He turned around and saw Starlene, also sleeping soundly in her car seat.

He glanced at the clock on the display of the car and saw that it was 3 am already. Y/n was supposed to wake him up by midnight. But she seemed to be exhausted herself and had fallen asleep.

Sebastian sighed. Never in a million years he thought he would end up spending his honeymoon sleeping in a car on the side of the road. He felt disappointed at the turn of events so far. But he still had hope that after this they would be able to enjoy their honeymoon. They were only on their second day. There were still twelve days left. Surely they could enjoy the rest of the honeymoon like a normal couple.

He turned his attention back to his manhood. It was still hard and he wondered if maybe he could relieve himself. But he decided against it and tried to just ignore it.

He leaned back and tried to go back to sleep. He decided to continue their journey later on, waiting until the sun came out. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't go back to sleep. The dream he just had kept flashing by in his mind. He really was desperate to make love to her.

He sat up straighter and picked up his cellphone. He decided to spend some time on his phone to distract himself. But what he saw on his phone did not help. He was fully aroused and nothing but her could relieve him, it seemed.

He waited for about a half hour as his mind went to war with himself. He knew he had to try to stop the naughty thoughts from forming in his mind, but he couldn't.

He glanced at Y/n. She was wearing a night gown underneath the denim jacket she had put over herself. She didn't have time to change as they ran out of the castle earlier. He himself only managed to wear his trousers before running out of the castle. He did have his under shirt and boxer shorts on as they were his usual sleeping attire.

Seeing Y/n wearing a night gown made him even more aroused. He decided to just f**k it and wake her up. He was a normal man and three months without sex was just way too much for him.

"Y/n.. sweetheart.. wake up, honey." He said as he shook her arm gently.

"Hmm.. Seb? What's going on?" Y/n asked as her eyes fluttered open slowly.

"I.. umm.. you fell asleep. It's 3.30 am already." Sebastian said, glancing at the clock.

"Oh no! I'm sorry Iubirea mea. I was so tired too." She said as she sat up straighter.

"It's okay, honey. I.. umm.. I had this sexy dream just now.." he trailed nervously and Y/n stared at him with a knowing look on her face.

"I.. woke up and felt really aroused. I couldn't go back to sleep. I tried but I just couldn't. I.. umm.. I need to make love to you, sweetheart. Three months without making love to you is just too much for me." Sebastian said, blushing furiously.

"Oh, poor baby." Y/n said, teasing him as she put her palm on the side of his face.

"So.. umm.. what do you say? Would you let me make love to you, sweetheart? Please?" Sebastian asked, hope filled his voice.

"Iubirea mea, I'm sorry, as much as I'd love to, where do you propose we do it? We can't do it in the back seat. We can't do it in the front seat. There's no space!" Y/n said, regret filled her voice.

"I know. I thought we could do it outside. On the field nearby." Sebastian said, beckoning his head towards the empty field right on the side of the car.

"Seriously?" Y/n asked as she looked out the window towards the field.

"What if someone sees us?" Y/n asked, doubt filled her voice.

"Sweetheart, it's 4 am. I haven't seen a single car passing by. Don't worry. It's dark anyway, no one can see us." Sebastian pleaded and he took both Y/n's hands in his and started kissing her fingers softly, making her sigh.

Sebastian leaned closer to her and whispered softly in her ear. "I'll do that 'thing' you love."

She trembled as she listened to his voice. He then put both his hands on the sides of her face and gently kissed her. Their kisses became more and more passionate as time went on and Y/n finally broke the kiss and said. "Okay, come on."

Sebastian smiled wide and went out of the car. He opened the windows of the car a little so that fresh air could still get inside the car. Y/n opened her side of the door and followed him, carrying Starlene's baby blanket in her hands.

"Honey, what's that for?" Sebastian asked as he grabbed her hand and guided her further onto the field.

"I wanna be comfortable. You know having sex on the ground is not as sexy and comfortable as they make it out to be in movies." She said matter-of-factly.

Sebastian chuckled as they reached some bushes and a cluster of trees on the field. The bushes would cover them so they wouldn't be easily seen from the road. The trees would cover them from the other side of the field. It was the perfect spot for them.

He picked the baby blanket off from her hand, opened it and spread it on the ground under the tree. He then pulled her down gently and laid her on top of the blanket.

"Are you comfortable enough, sweetheart?" He asked, a twinkle in his eyes as he propped himself on top of her.

"Yes.." Y/n said, her voice slightly hoarse. He could see desire in her eyes too and seeing her spurred him into action.

They made love under the tree as if it was their first time together. Kissing and caressing each other with so much love and tenderness yet with a sense of urgency. Sebastian felt it with her, as he always felt, the completeness she made him feel as he entered her. There was no better feeling in the world than to be inside her. He was home. He was complete. She was the love of his life and no one compared to her. Absolutely no one.

"I love you so much Y/n my love." Sebastian said breathlessly, right after he climaxed inside her.

"I love you so much too, Iubirea mea." Y/n smiled, putting her palm on his cheek.

She pulled him down closer to her by his neck and kissed him gently, making butterflies flew around in his stomach. He loved the fact that she could still make him feel like that. He vowed to never ever leave her. She was his and he was hers. No one in the world could break them apart. He was sure of it.

Feeling extremely satisfied and elated, they laid down side by side on the ground, arms around each other as they slowly drifted off to sleep, not knowing that local police would patrol the area in a couple of hours time.

Chapter 5 >

Taglist

@sebsgirl71479

[tortoisesshells]

Behind the scenes lore for "a little more comprehension than a machine, and still feeling like a lost soul" and vintage gold "there is no unreturn'd love", please!

"a little more comprehension than a machine, and still feeling like a lost soul" - first and foremost, there was an alternate ending, where it did not, you know, close with Maura and Eyk realizing that there's something wrong that they don't fully comprehend yet, and implying that they would see each other again, somehow. Ultimately, it didn't fit with the rest of the fic, but I was fond of it, so here it is, in its incomplete and uninspiring glory:

“I think it unlikely I will see you again, Captain Larsen. But until I do – I hope you find what you are looking for.”

She offers him her hand to shake; he does, but does not let go, immediately. Maura does not blame him for it. There has not been much comfort on this voyage, but what little she’s found has mostly been on his account.

“I will hope so, Miss Franklin.”

They're so cute when they think they're going to see New York City alive. But like I said, thematically inconsistent with The Horrors. Season one spoilers and speculations under the cut.

I had the vague idea to start that I wanted to write a pre-history of what we saw in season one, and had read a few theories about whether or not things had or had not been getting worse over the course of multiple time loops - and whether or not characters who instaconnect in season one do so because they're together in some way outside of the loop/simulation, or because they've been together across multiple loops and that's become it's own kind of muscle memory. I'm not sold on one idea or the other, but I'm leaning towards Maura and Eyk not being an item out of 1899/ in 2099 - that they very gradually learned to like and trust each other over dozens of successive loops, and now they're just. Like That.

(that, and I'm deeply entertained by the idea that when Maura wakes up in 2099 and sees Eyk, that it's no so much a reaction of "oh shit you were dead last time I saw you!" so much as "holy fuck I wanted to climb that fucking guy like a tree?".)

There's eight sections for the eight days that Daniel Solace says each run of the simulation is supposed to take up; one for each day, but I don't have any ideas about how many loops are between one section and the next. Choose your own adventure there, I'm afraid!

Lastly, for a fic title, I think it's one of my better ones - and I was pleased (and a little surprised) to find such a perfect title in The Awakening - in a section where Edna Pontillier and another woman are talking about working/sewing with a machine - pedal-powered, of course, and the other woman is not even driving it herself put having a servant power it for her. The narration is aware of the irony, even if the other woman isn't aware that her words are a little hypocritical. This is getting away from me. *

Full disclosure: I had not reread "there is no unreturn'd love" in years, which is sad but predictable, and the scrap file for that fic didn't get salvaged from my old laptop, so this is partly from memory.

I'm deeply entertained by my note (his is Extremely Dodgy in terms of historical accuracy - Emma in the field, again - and it pains me to say it, but look! A story without tiresome context and footnotes! What year is it? Where are we? Who knows! mirabile visu.) which then ... segued into me talking about looking through antiquarian genealogies of the IRL Hopkins family to figure out how many siblings Fictional Henry Hopkins might have. god I'm a loser. In my defense, I have no idea WHAT the context for this is and I didn't then. is it 1863? 1864? 1865? I guess maybe this is the Overland Campaign of '64. If Emma and Henry are on the outskirts of The Wilderness, I'm not surprised Emma's traumatized for life. When I wrote this - I'd been planning to take a road trip to see FredSpot (Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park) and I still haven't ever seen it, but I know I had the maps out in front of me when I was writing it.

I never finished reading The Minister's Wooing, but I picked it up again recently - regrettably, I know more now about Hopkinsianism and Puritan theology than I did then, so perhaps some of the theology that's so amusing to Henry (evidently) will make sense to me now - but it DOES make me think a lot about changes in American Protestantism, and the Second Great Awakening, and how that all might affect Our Chaplain, Patron Saint of Rolled Sleeves and Rage Issues. Maybe, after I finish reading The Minister's Wooing (for realsies this time) I'll revisit my thoughts on Henry and Emma and the book?

[seyaryminamoto]

1. Oh, I also think it was a great idea to make Sokka and Azula agents of white lotus. I think my favorite trope for sokfics is Zuko sending Azula on a mission so she can do something helpful to protect the world and atone for her evil actions. And she accepts it, because anything is better than being locked up in the asylum. And Sokka begrudgingly agrees to go with her, because they’re still distrustful of her and someone has to make sure she won’t cause more problems.

Yeah, I've seen this trope many times, though while I started several fics that versed around Zuko doing that, I can't say I remember seeing a fully finished one x'D Maybe they do exist these days, I don't know, maybe they did get finished and I just haven't checked, I dunno.

But yeah, I do think Azula's redemption can take many shapes. Missions to fix the world subtly, direct hard work of the sort, is a good way of going about it. I definitely went with a darker take for it in my last story in Leap of Faith, because they're basically assassins, the ones who have to clean up the world from the very worst of the worst, the people who will absolutely jeopardize the tenuous balance the world is striving for right now. Obviously, Zuko didn't send them this time (not intentionally anyway :'D), but in principle it's largely the same thing.

Azula's redemption would be strongly benefited from letting her see more of the world. She saw some of it, yes, in Book 2... but she didn't seriously see it, I'd say. Traveling in a train-tank doesn't really feel like she would get to see lifestyles and ways of existence that are completely different from everything she knows. I just feel like Azula is such a fundamentally intellectual person and that means she'd be intrigued by experiencing life in different ways once she grows out of the misery of losing the lifestyle she clung to before. Learning that there's more to life than Ozai-sanctioned success would be such a good thing for her, and I feel like that's something she'd be better off experiencing away from the Fire Nation. The fact that this girl isn't shown or treated by the show as a firebending supremacist, that she will genuinely value the combat potential of two non-benders and an earthbending army, tells you that the firebending supremacy doesn't run as deeply with her as it does in many other Fire Nation characters. Starting from that point and expanding it in a positive direction could really yield results, with Azula learning to appreciate things that aren't what her father wanted her to appreciate.

Which, of course, is one of the fun things about Sokka being her love interest. The Water Tribe non-bender who, even while being a chief's son, was raised as a commoner and not as royalty...? He's everything Ozai would deem unworthy of his daughter. Ozai would absolutely underestimate him, treat him with disgust and disdain... and that's exactly why I find it so beautiful if Azula grows to love someone who's everything her father taught her to destroy. Nothing says more clearly that she has grown out of his toxic teachings than her willingness to spend her life with someone Ozai would never want to approve of :'D

Anyway. I digressed xD point in case being, yes, Azula and Sokka being on a long road trip together is a loooot of fun. There's a lot of room to work with, so much development possible for them... their potential as traveling buddies/partners in the White Lotus is just incredible. Even if someone didn't want to ship them romantically, their potential as allies and as teammates would be amazing to witness.

[mrs-theirin]

6 15 26 for the road, the hidden truth, and you!! <3

6 (what do you need to write? is there anything special you need to do/have to help your creative flow?) - first off hiiii alex i love you second off i usually don't need anything super specific, but if i'm having trouble focusing i will put on instrumental music to fill the silence, because usually, lyrical music will distract me lmfao although i have been known to also put on eden's playlist when writing about her, those songs i can blur the lyrics out because i've listened to them a lot

15 (was there anything you had to research for this fic? do you usually do a lot of research?) - lmfao YES i had to look up how long it would take to drive from las cruces, new mexico (now actual kirkwall in the rewrite, but it's still where las cruces is) to new york city and then i had to split that up evenly during the road trip, and i had to make sure the time zones were right (i did not have to do that. to be clear. but i did).

live 2020 reaction when i realized i was not thinking about the time zones

then (if you count this as research) i had to find songs that correlated to the state that they were in to put lyrics at the beginning of each chapter. other than that, no. everything else was pretty simple i think. i DID do some research on how to hijack a car without pulling out the wires but my research led me to "you can't" so i just pretended like i didn't see that and went with the good ol "omg wow eden doesn't know how these kids did it and also it is never ever explained" akdhsskhdn

26 (wild card! i'll tell you a fun fact about this fic) - ummmm lemme think. my first thought always goes to the screenrant article that shit is so so cool but that's a tired fun fact lmao i say as much in the beginning of both fics, but the idea was given to me by @merrybandofmurderers and i just ran with it, so really, if you like it, you should all be thanking scottie. OOH a good one is um.

found out most hotel beds are pretty far apart. but we're ignoring it again <3 yayyyyy for ignoring things. anyway that's it i think. wait also fun fact this fic inspired the idea of modern au + band au eden/anders but i never fully fledged that out. maybe someday

[exhuastedpigeon]

director's commentary for your buddie healing road trip? i love that fic so much ❤️

ANON THIS FIC IS SO NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART!!! Here's some 'director's commentary' for there ain't no turning back! I'm going to just give you 10 random facts about it because I could talk about it for hours and it would be as long as the fic itself.

The idea for this fic appeared in my head fully formed at like 1am on a random Tuesday.

I created a playlist for the fic and listened to certain songs on repeat while writing scenes where the songs were playing.

An example of that is when they listened to Lay All Your Love On Me in the car and Eddie sang along I listened to Lay All Your Love On Me probably twenty times.

All the Buck facts are actual facts. The Great Lake facts were pulled directly from my brain because I am a Great Lakes Kid™ and remember way too many facts from grade 3 social studies apparently.

There's a cut scene where Buck made Eddie listen to The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald during the Great Lakes section.

I had a full map of their trip and was really careful to make sure they could actually do the drive in the time I was saying they could. I know it's fiction, but it was really important to me to be accurate on this fic for some reason.

In that same vein - I really wanted to have them fuck on the trip, but realistically they just didn't have the time/energy/supplies and one of them would have probably been uncomfortable driving the next day.

The first scene I wrote was actually the four corners kissing scene and it was inspired by me making my friend high five me in all 4 states when we road tripped across the country.

At first I had them skipping the Grand Canyon to get married in Vegas but they wouldn't do that without Chris.

Writing 'adult' Chris was so fun. I love trying to figure out how a character will act a few years down the road.

Send me a fic, scene, line, etc about a certain fic and I'll give you director's commentary!