#4700+ words holy hell

[ladyhindsight]

It wasn’t much of a surprise that The Red Scrolls of Magic ended up being that level of a train wreck when it came to consistency and continuity. The reason for me wasn’t as much as that the inconsistency was the most consistent thing that had happened in regards to writing this couple and characters before but rather that the whole premise of the book was flawed to begin with.

I recently came up one of the older posts on the blog that briefly discussed some issues between The Red Scrolls of Magic and The Bane Chronicles. Now having City of Ashes in my refreshed memory again in more detail, there’s some things that need a bit addressing also. The core issue for which I even set my mind on this mindless task was to reason why after reading The Queen of Air and Darkness the happy ending Magnus and Alec got felt rather unearned narrative-wise when coming back to City of Ashes (and subsequently The Bane Chronicles) and having read those central moments in the beginning of their relationship again.

Love isn’t measured in time or days, for sure, but it is measured in inconsistency and disregard from the narrative.

This covers their story from City of Bones to What To Buy The Shadowhunter Who Has Everything as I’ve yet to finish groaning about City of Ashes, and City of Glass—especially as to Magnus and Alec’s relationship—is another beast entirely. This is going to be long as hell and also probably a part one in terms of covering the subject as a whole later on. Mostly because I have a lot of thoughts and feelings, so.

Alec is (or used to be, depending where we’re at) a brat at best of times, but I’ve always had strong feelings about his character being treated unfairly by the narrative. His relationship with Magnus is an immovable part of his character, but in the beginning Alec is also a character of insecurity and low self-esteem, a fact which the narrative brings forth rather consistently. For this reason it’s strange that the writing barely shows him same sympathy for his lacking qualities or tries to forgive them like it does with characters like Jace, Clary, and Simon. 

As to this, I’d like to point out that in The Voicemail of Magnus Bane both Simon and Clary bring up the fact that Alec was a jerk, no matter that Clary’s own behavior towards anyone aside from Jace was appalling in City of Bones. Also in Born to Endless Night Alec goes back to his fight with Clary when he has a talk with Simon, and Simon feels himself getting angry at Alec on behalf of Clary, but no other character ever similarly admit their faults to Alec or get angry for him.

Anyway, to discuss the problem I have with the unearned happy ending, to fully explain my point, I have to take an extremely long detour and talk about The Timeline. And then some. (By the way, there are several timetables I’ve made for illustrative purposes based on the following throughout this post, in case you want to skip through this madness to the main point in the end.)

THE TIMELINE

According to the timeline I found on the fandom wiki, City of Bones takes place in August and City of Ashes  takes place in September. Fair enough, but what do the books say about it? What is the time frame we are working with here? Do all the things in-between City of Bones and What To Buy The Shadowhunter Who Has Everything really fit into it consistently and without me raising my eyebrows?

City of Bones begins on a late August Sunday when Clary and Simon are at Pandemonium:

“It was cold in the room, despite the August heat outside.”  (Chapter 1 “Pandemonium”, p.10)

“It was long wait to get into the all-ages club, especially on a Sunday, and not much generally happened in line.” (Chapter 1 “Pandemonium”, p.1)

Clary meets the Shadowhunters in the first chapter. Clary then meets Jace again in the chapter 3 “Shadowhunter” which takes place the next day, on Monday.

“The coffee shop was crowded for a Monday, most of the…” (p. 37)

Clary is then knocked out for three days after the Ravener attack.

“”Do you think she’ll ever wake up? It’s been three days.”” (Chapter 2 “Clave and Covenant, p. 56)

I assume, considering the later events in the story and their timing, Clary wakes up on a Thursday. Later on in the same chapter Clary wakes up she tells her birthday is on Sunday (p. 68).

“”I’m not a little kid,” Clary interrupted. “I’m sixteen years old—well, I’ll be on Sunday.”

Clare once told on her twitter account, a source which is cited on the fandom wiki, that Clary’s birthday is August 23, which tells us that City of Bones takes place during later that month. It’s also interesting to note that in 2007, August 23 was on Thursday, not Sunday. Whatever the hell happened there with the calendar? There’s no point in trying to fit the events so that Clary’s birthday is on a Thursday since, for one, she herself says it’s on Sunday, and two, the time passing over the course of the book would not be enough to reach the next week for Clary and Jace to kiss on the night of her birthday.

Since the book states it is on Sunday, I’ll proceed with this magical Sunday, August 23 of 2007 and list the events based on it. It’s a pretty major error and also somewhat significant as to the timeline, although it is to be considered that the events taking place is ultimately counted with hours, days, and weeks, not specific dates and weekdays (mostly).

The attack by the Forsaken, Simon learning about the Shadow World, Luke having the talk with Valentine’s henchmen, and the conversation Jace and Clary have with Madame Dorothea all happen on Thursday, on the same day Clary wakes up in the New York Institute. Simon tags along to the Institute, lots of talking happens, then he is escorted out by Isabelle, and Clary falls asleep in the hallway after having self-pitying thoughts. Jace wakes up Clary up five in the morning (Chapter 10 “City of Bones”, p. 162). It is Friday.

Jace and Clary’s visit to the City of Bones, and the gang finding about Magnus Bane and his party happen on this day. Magnus’ party begins at midnight, meaning Magnus and Alec meet for the first time in the early hours of Saturday in late August. After Simon is rescued from the vampires, Jace and Clary kiss on Clary’s birthday on Sunday, just after midnight (Chapter 17 “Midnight Flower”, p. 317). After the kiss that Simon witnesses Clary and Simon fight and Simon leaves the Institute in the middle of the night. Sunday continues and the gang retrieves the Mortal Cup, Alec gets hurt, Magnus arrives to help Alec after Hodge sends him the fire message, and the rest of the book happens also on Sunday. We are on a tight schedule here, folks. Clary’s had quite a birthday.

In the epilogue of City of Bones, Clary visits Jocelyn in the hospital where Luke has been watching over her. By this time Clary has visited her mother several times:

“”I know,” said Clary. “I was here yesterday.” And the day before that, and the day before that.” (p. 468)

Luke has “three days’ worth of scruffy beard growth” (p. 469). Based on this high-level math, I assume there’s three days between the final chapter and the epilogue, which means it’s most likely Thursday again. Clary visits the New York Institute and bumps into Alec who still uses a pair of crutches.

“One of his legs was bandaged, his jeans rolled up to the knee, and there was another bandage on his temple, under the dark hair.” (p. 477)

On the same page as this, Alec tells Clary he won’t be needing the crutches in a few days. In terms of City of Bones there isn’t anything substantial yet as to Magnus and Alec’s relationship or any major issues considering the timeline. Alec is respectful and sympathetic towards Magnus, Magnus flirts with Alec. At the end, Magnus comes to help Alec after Alec has gotten hurt. Magnus stays the night while Alec sleeps to keep an eye on him, a fact which is told by Isabelle. What we’re looking here is this:

(Click/tap/flapjack for bigger image)

Then we proceed to The Course of True Love (And First Dates) which, by the logic of events, takes place in the end of August. Through Magnus’ narration we learn that Alec asked Magnus out on a Tuesday (The Bane Chronicles: The Course of True Love, p. 447). They have their first date on following Friday, which is most likely the next week following the epilogue in City of Bones as Alec has been completely healed—there is no crutches or bandages on him when he asks Magnus out nor when they go out. This proves to be a bit problematic later in terms of the timeline.

In The Course of True Love Magnus notes on the current situation with Alec:

“After all, Magnus had to keep reminding himself, Alec wasn’t even all that into Magnus. He was simply responding to the only male attention he’d ever had[1]. Alec was closeted, shy, obviously insecure, and obviously hung up on his blond friend Trace Wayland.” (The Bane Chronicles: The Course of True Love, p. 448)

[1] To which I say, how would Magnus know? Anyway.

Alec also expresses his hesitancy to let Jace know about his date with Magnus when he arrives to Magnus’ loft:

“”I’m sorry I’m late,” Alec panted. “Jace wanted to do some weapons training, and I didn’t know how to get away—I mean, I couldn’t tell him—” (p. 452)

He also expresses this hesitancy when they have the werewolf situation, and Alec doesn’t want to call Jace and Isabelle for help: 

“Alec blushes just as Magnus realized what he meant. Alec couldn’t call his friends because he didn’t want them to know he was on a date with Magnus. He especially did not want Jace to know. It was not particularly pleasant to think about, but it was Alec’s business.” (p. 471)

At the end of their date, they end up throwing themselves on each other and agree to meet next Friday again (the second date). The timeline of their relationship based on the previously told events looks currently like this:

Then we get to City of Ashes, which is said to take place in September.

“They were walking through McCarren Park, the grass underfoot turning wintery brown.” (Chapter 8 “The Seelie Court”, p. 134)

“..it was one those early fall days when the sky seemed impossibly blue and distant […]” (Chapter 15 “The Serpent’s Tooth”, p. 297)

City of Ashes proves itself to be very difficult to place because the writing does not mention any specific weekdays nor any specific time as to how long it has been since City of Bones. City of Ashes is also where the narrative so tenderly holds our hands through unsubtle allusions to Alec’s whereabouts when he’s not around. Not that he’d be much around anyway but the writing tries to make a different point. To go back to this post about Alec and Magnus dating, whether they are officially dating or not is more a side note here. Obviously they are seeing each other. They’ve had a date.

City of Ashes begins on Day 1 since I can only guess what weekday it is, and Maryse is incredibly unclear how long has it been since “last week”:

““And I suppose that Greater Demon you fought last week, that was nothing too?”” (Chapter 1 “Valentine’s Arrow”, p. 12)

People are flexible with the notion of time, so I’ve tried to take that into account.

On Day 1 Maryse and Max return to the New York Institute. Jace gets angsty and takes a nap until Alec comes to wake him up to see Maryse. Jace notes on the hickey on Alec’s neck (p.73) which is most likely from the previous night (The Bane Chronicles: The Course of True Love, p. 483). I say most likely because up to now I’ve had no reason to suspect it isn’t from Magnus and Alec’s first date as the narrative so far hasn’t given any reason to assume otherwise. This will be also proven somewhat difficult to determine.

Though Jace has slept, the day is still Day 1 as the scenes with Jace take place in-between the scenes where Simon and Clary are having dinner at Luke’s (City of Ashes, chapter 14 “The Cuckoo in the Nest”, p. 65-83). Jace is taken to the Silent City where he is first harassed by Valentine and then rescued post-haste by Clary, Alec, and Isabelle. They are then confronted by the Conclave, Magnus arrives to the scene when Alec calls to him, and Jace is contracted to stay with Magnus as a prisoner of the Clave (Chapter 7 “The Mortal Sword”, p. 127).

Then we jump into the next day, Day 2. Previously the Institute is left unmanned when Clary arrives after hearing about Jace. Alec tells Clary that the Conclave was called to investigate the death of a faerie child (Chapter 5 “Sins of Fathers”, p. 102). We know this is Day 2 because:

“Magnus was frowning. “Alec, last night, when the Silent Brothers called for your help, where was the Conclave? Why was no one at the Institute?”           Alec looked surprised to be asked. “There was a Downworlder murder in Central Park last night. A faerie child was killed. The boy was drained of blood.”” (Chapter 8 “The Seelie Court”, p.139)

Jace has spent the night between Day 1 and Day 2 at Magnus’, and the gang gathers to discuss some business the next day, which is Day 2. The escapade to the Seelie Court and Jace and Clary’s kiss take place on this day. After the Seelie Court Jace, Clary, and Isabelle return to the Institute. Clary thinks about her fight with Simon two weeks ago:

“Until two weeks ago, it had been years since she and Simon had had a fight. Now he seemed mad at her all the time.” (Chapter 9 “And Death Shall Have No Dominion”, p. 177-178)

Which can only refer to their fight in City of Bones when Simon witnesses Clary and Jace kissing on the night of Clary’s birthday (in chapter 17 “The Midnight Flower”). There has been no other fight between them other than the one following the kiss, sparked by Simon’s jealousy. First I was going to give it some leeway since, once again, people are pretty flexible when discussing time, but it most likely is approximately two weeks ago. Their fight and Clary’s notion of time acts as a marker as to when Jace and Clary kiss in the Seelie, meaning how long has it been since City of Bones mainly.

Clary goes to sleep, dreams, and then wakes up and talks to Jace (Chapter 9 “And Death Shall Have No Dominion”, p. 183-185). During all of this, Simon returns to Hotel Dumort, is essentially torn to shreds, and is then brought to the Institute by Raphael to be turned properly. It’s “three in the morning” (p. 187), which means it is Day 3.

Undisclosed amount of time/days pass after Simon’s turning. Clary meets Simon at Luke’s after returning from visiting Jocelyn. Simon, however, hasn’t “been out in two days” (Chapter 11 “Smoke and Steel”, p. 216). Also, Clary and Jace have this exchange later on at Luke’s:

““Actually, I’m not sorry,” he said. “That’s most emotion I have seen from you in days.”          “I haven’t seen you in days.”” (Chapter 12 “Hostility of Dreams”, p. 243)

Though the clear amount of days passed isn’t told, I assume it is more than two but less than a week. I settles for three because otherwise What To Buy The Shadowhunter Who Has Everything would fit even less than it already does. Mainly the events have to take place before Alec’s birthday as Alec is not having a birthday in City of Ashes but is already of age in City of Glass. But I’ll also get to that mess later.

So, assuming it’s around Day 6, Luke and Maia get both attacked by the demons sent by Valentine. Jace arrives with Magnus and Alec. Jace has spent this time at Magnus’ place as the contract dictates:

““He’s coming here.”           She sagged against the sink. “Now?”           “Now. Magnus and Alec will be with him.”           “Magnus?” she said dazedly, and then, “Oh, of course. Jace would have been at Magnus’s. I was thinking he was at the Institute but of course he wouldn’t have been there. I—”” (Chapter 12 “Hostility of Dreams, p. 226)

The this irksome scene takes place in the same chapter:

““No,” he said, “but you are the only warlock we know ho happens to be dating a friend of ours.”           For a moment everyone stared at him—Alec in sheer horror, Magnus in astonished anger, and Clary and Simon in surprise. It was Alec who spoke first, his voice shaking. “Why would you say something like that?”           Jace looked baffled. “Something like what?”           “That I’m dating—that we’re—it’s not true,” Alec said, his voice rising and dropping several octaves as he fought to control it.           Jace looked at him steadily. “I didn’t say he was dating you,” he said,” but funny that you knew just what I meant, isn’t it?”           “We’re not dating,” Alec said again.           “Oh?” Magnus said. “So you’re just that friendly with everybody, is that it?” (p. 241)

Jace goes to see Valentine in secret the next night, which would be the night between Day 6 and Day 7. Clary wakes up at Luke’s on the morning of Day 7. Magnus complains about showering habits of women. The Fearless rune is created and tested (Chapter 12 “Fearless”, p. 284-287). The Inquisitor imprisons Jace once more after he’s found out about meeting with Valentine. Alec helps him to break out the jail he’s put in. Maia and Simon get kidnapped by Valentine, and the final battle takes place the same day, or rather night, which is between Day 7 and Day 8. On the dawn of the Day 8, Simon is the Daylighter.

 In the epilogue of City of Ashes Clary recounts her falling ill after the battle:

“She hadn’t been surprised to wake up the next morning after the battle to find she had a pounding headache and a fever.” (p. 435)

“She’d spent the week texting him from Luke’s couch, where she’d lain wrapped up in a blanket watching CSI reruns.” (p. 436)

Once visiting Simon, Simon’s mother greets Clary and comments on her being sick the whole week:

““The same bug Simon had the week before last, I bet. He could hardly get out of bed.”” (p. 437)

Based on this, what we are looking here so far could be something akin to this: 

Which is all, like, fine. Except not really. While the timeline in City of Ashes is ambiguous at best and these timetables are built based on my uh-mazing deduction skills, I do think they are somewhat accurate based on the text available (so far).

And now we get to the very original cause of continuity mishap. The very first Story That Never Fit long before The Red Scrolls of Magic because it’s about to change a lot of stuff I’ve concluded up till now (and based on all this previous stuff Clary has written). That is to say, What To Buy The Shadowhunter Who Has Everything which takes place after City of Ashes. This short story has few curious bits that ruin my life and force me to adjust the timetable a bit, like this for one:

“It had happened a few times in the last several weeks, Magnus stumbling out into to kitchen […] and finding Alec there.” (The Bane Chronicles, p. 354)

Which is curious for the fact that this couldn’t have been the case. To begin with, the overall tone of this short story is unconcerned about the development that takes place in City of Ashes. It is strange since the timeline of Magnus and Alec’s relationship based on City of Bones, The Course of True Love and City of Ashes is this:

If I had assumed the length of the time skip between Simon turning into a vampire and Simon and Clary meeting at Luke’s days later to be longer than three days, the events of City of Ashes would’ve overlapped badly with with What To Buy The Shadowhunter Who Has Everything (n.b. Alec’s birthday is on September 12 which was stated on this exclusive sneak peek).

Other thing to note is that, as we have established, Jace has been at Magnus’ the whole week before he arrives with Magnus and Alec to Luke’s after Luke and Maia are attacked by the demons (City of Ashes, chapter 12 “Hostility of Dreams”, p. 226). Which just doesn’t coincide with the fact that Alec has been doing this:

“Alec had fallen asleep twice—on the sofa, not the bed. Once after a long slow night of kissing; and once when Alec had come over for a brief coffee, clearly exhausted after a long day of demon-hunting, and he had slid into unconsciousness almost instantly.” (The Bane Chronicles, p. 354).

The narrative so far in City of Ashes and The Course of True Love has been insistent that Alec doesn’t really want his family and especially Jace to know that he’s seeing Magnus. Why would he casually drop by, make coffee, have a slow night of kissing and whatnot while Jace is there? There is also no mention of Jace ever having been there, as the writing states that “several weeks” have passed, why would there be? Also there is to note the everlasting inconsistency of Alec’s character where he has been “mildly distressed by Magnus magicking” the coffee (The Bane Chronicles, p. 354) though showing completely opposite attitude in City of Ashes (Chapter 8 “The Seelie Court”, p. 138).

Also, as I’ve said before, the reason why the climax in City of Ashes has to happen before Alec’s birthday for this part to make any sense:

“Of course Alec wasn’t here today, because it was his birthday, and he was going to be with his family.” (The Bane Chronicles, p. 355)

Then we get to the part where I realized I have to adjust the timetable a bit, just a tad, so the narrative would make sense as to time:

“When Magnus had winked at Alec and told him to call him, it had been a reckless impulse, little more than a whim. He had certainly not expected the Shadowhunter on his doorstep a few days later, asking for a date.” (p. 366-367)

If we proceed chronologically, as we have done so far until this short story, everything seems to fit just fine. Makes sense. Wonderful! But once we get to What To Buy The Shadowhunter Who Has Everything it breaks my brain. So, I think the overall timeline, all the events on it, is supposed (intended by the author) to look something like this:

Two major conclusion to make here. Firstly, Alec and Magnus have been seeing each other two weeks at best, which means no matter how inaccurate the first timetables were, Alec having visited Magnus “a few times in the last several weeks” is still untrue. Also there is one single week between City of Bones and City of Ashes where Alec could’ve freely and casually do that, as Jace is at Magnus’ anyway the next week, no matter when City of Ashes truly begins.

Secondly, there is a major contradiction whether Alec asks Magnus out on the same week when City of Bones ends or the following week. In the epilogue of City of Bones Alec was still hurt from the fight with Abbadon, but if The Bane Chronicles is anything to go by, he goes to ask Magnus out before Clary’s visit to the Institute in the epilogue of City of Bones. As I said, there is no crutches or bandages on him when he asks Magnus out nor when they go out. Alec is also not limping in The Course of True Love as he in the beginning of City of Ashes when Isabelle lies to Maryse it’s because of the demons they were just hunting, not because they fought Abbadon and Alec got hurt. Yet in the City of Bones epilogue Alec tells Clary that he “won’t even need these in a few days” (p. 477). This would be the day before his first date with Magnus, meaning the epilogue in City of Bones would fall in-between Alec asking Magnus out and their first date.

Also, there is this inconsistency in What To Buy The Shadowhunter Who Has Everything, which is previously mentioned in the older post:

“In fact, speaking of family outings, the Lightwoods didn’t even know Alec had a boyfriend—much less one that was also a warlock—and Magnus had no idea if they ever would. It wasn’t something he pushed Alec about. He could tell by Alec’s carefulness that it was too early.” (p. 355)

You’d think base on this that after City of Ashes they’ve decided and agreed to start dating officially or be in an exclusive relationship with each other. But, again, what boyfriend is there to know about when A) the story title “What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything (And You’reNot Officially Dating Anyway)” refutes this being the case, and B) Magnus even later tells Ragnor that their “relationship is as yet undefined” (p. 370). So The Red Scrolls of Magic isn’t the first story to not really fit into the overall narrative. Also, if Magnus has accepted Alec’s situation as it is through Alec’s behaviour, additionally through Alec’s words to Jace and not directly at Magnus himself (in the scene quoted from City of Ashes somewhere above), what is the message the narrative wants to send through that, I wonder.

THE MAIN POINT

All of this FINALLY made clear and said, I’d like to focus on the dating aspect. What greatly irked me was the exchange Jace, Alec, and Magnus have at Luke’s house, and what will irk me even further is the exchange that takes place when they test out the Fearless rune.

By this time, it has been one or two weeks since their first date, give or take. Though I said love isn’t measured in time or days, fear so profound isn’t kicked in the butt so easily for another person based on such short while of knowing said other person. The very premise of Alec’s character is his low self-esteem, his insecurity, and his tangled feelings about who he really even loves. The narrative does not let anyone forget this, it recognizes this but holds Alec accountable even harder than any other character in the series. The writing never leaves me the impression that Alec is given understanding beyond meaningless thoughts in someone’s private mind or forgiven while Clary, Jace, Magnus, and even Simon get that fairly effortlessly.

Alec and Magnus have “dated” each other for two weeks at best. Yet Alec’s issues stem from prevalent prejudices of the Nephilim society. Not only homophobia but also their somewhat general tendency of thinking that Downworlders are beneath them. There’s a lot on the scale here, because on the other hand Alec doesn’t and can’t know what he would lose if he decided to pursue the relationship with Magnus openly and honestly and whether he’s ready to lose it based on one or two weeks of seeing him.

Is it really so offensive or strange that so repressed, scared, closeted, and fearful 17-year-old—who barely has any friends outside his own family or has learnt to cope with his messy emotional life—would deny the dating being true? Especially if the relationship is at the point where they don’t even privately discuss the very fundamental things that matter as to even having a real and honest relationship.

Magnus has a very particular history with the Nephilim, especially with those who only have wanted him physically but would otherwise deny him and think him beneath them. But that was never Alec’s issue, nor was Magnus a “dirty secret”. The narrative let’s never presume Alec’s core issue is Magnus being a Downworlder rather than him simply being a man. The situation is not fair to Magnus, but it is not fair to Alec either. I’m not against including these difficult turns and themes in the story. I’m against how they are not recognized as such and dealt with a manner that would give an emotional payoff, to feel the knots in their relationship have been unraveled, acknowledged, and amended so that they can move on in their relationship with clear conscience—the reason why I don’t think the happy ending is as deserved narrative-wise as it appears. There’s already so many words missing at this point.

[Here’s a newer post addressing some corrections and new conclusions.]

[elsanna-shenanigans]

February Contest Submission #14: Valentine Vesuvius

words: ca. 4700 setting: mAU with accidental time travel lemon: no cw: homelessness

“Hey, you wanna get out of here?”

I turned to look at Elsa in confusion. Wasn’t this museum date her idea? She looked mischievous, her left eyebrow arched.

I opened my mouth. Shut it. Opened it. I glanced at the other families gathered in a loose arc around the museum tour guide who was currently droning on about some old emperor or another.

“Hell yeah,” I whispered.

Moments later we were giggling as we ran through a deserted hallway like school girls skipping class. Never mind that we were two adults in our upper-twenties who chose as well as paid to be at the museum.

We rounded a corner and found ourselves suddenly immersed in a dim room void of people, filled instead with spotlights on old pottery from Ancient Rome or something. Elsa spun to face me and took my hands in hers. I dragged my gaze from a vase depicting a mountain with people at its base, and met Elsa’s eyes.

“I’m so lucky to have you as my wife,” she said, gently squeezing my hands.

“I’m the lucky one,” any more words would have been cut off as Elsa cupped my face and kissed me.

She pulled away slightly and rubbed her thumb in a soft circle on my cheek. “Anna…”

My eyes were still closed from the intimate sensation, but I blinked them open. Why did she sound so sad? “Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked.

She took a deep, slow breath and let it out in a shaky sigh.

“I just… I want kids so bad, Anna.”

My heart broke. I nodded. “I know, Els. I do too.”

“I thought this tour would be a fun valentines date. I just didn’t expect there to be so many families. So many kids. I couldn’t… I couldn’t stand to be around them another second.” She shook her head. “It hurts too much.”

We had been trying everything we could the past couple of years, but the IVF wasn’t working and every adoption had fallen through. It was all getting so expensive, and even more frustrating.

I rubbed her arm. “Why is it so easy for straight people to accidentally create life, but when a couple of lesbians want kids it costs twenty thousand dollars and two left kidneys?”

“It’s not fair,” Elsa sighed.

“It’s not,” I said. “But hey,” I touched her chin, lifting her head up from its sad slouch. “We’re strong as fuck. We’re not going to give up.”

Elsa nodded.

“And until we do become parents,” I continued, “we are still perfect, and whole, and completely the best family I could ever imagine. Just the two of us.”

She smiled. “You’re right, Anna. With you by my side, there’s nothing else I could ever need. I hope I’ve never made you feel like you aren’t enough. You’re my everything; so much more than I deserve.” Pulling me close, she started sounding more like herself again.

“Don’t be silly,” I kissed Elsa quickly. “You deserve everything good in the world.” Another kiss. “And I love you.” Another. “So much.”

The last kiss was deepened by way of Elsa’s grip on the back of my neck. She took my lower lip between her teeth and flicked the tip of her tongue across it playfully, sending a shiver up my spine and heat shooting down my stomach.

I gasped as Elsa grabbed my waist and kissed my neck while she walked us toward a wall. Throwing my head back, I was relying on her to guide us. I couldn’t function when she was sucking on my neck, my pulse point like — that, ah! Jesus!

“Oops.”

I barely registered that my back hit something wobbly, but the last thing I heard was the unmistakeable sound of pottery crashing on the floor. I felt a flash of cold air run over my skin and then - nothing.

————————————-

When I came to, the first thing I felt was a piercing headache. I hadn’t even opened my eyes yet and I wished I could close them. Gripping my skull, I rolled around in the darkness behind my eyelids, wishing the high pitched shriek in my ears would fade. Then I noticed the bumpy texture digging into my back. Uhh… Why did the museum floor feel like it was made of rocky ground?

Perhaps more pressing: why was the rocky ground …trembling?

I stopped moving altogether and sure enough, the ground I was laying on was shaking. I cracked my eyes open only to be blinded by bright sky. This was definitely not the museum exhibit. Blinking rapidly, my eyes started to adjust to the light even as my headache pounded and begged me to close them, or better yet, knock myself back out.

While I waited for my vision to make sense, I scrambled to get my feet under me. This was easier said than done, the way the ground wouldn’t stop moving beneath my legs. Finally I was at least on all fours and stable enough to look around.

“Jesus Christ.” Was that a motherfucking volcano? I arched my neck to see the top of the mountain I was extremely close to. Pluming dark clouds surrounded its peak. What the hell happened to me?

I whipped my head around, swaying from the dizzy fit the motion sent me into. I was in sort of a vast, empty field of rocky, grassy terrain. There looked to be a bustling town just down the hill. No one else was around, except —

“Elsa!” I shrieked. I scrambled to my right, getting to my feet as I gained momentum. Rocks kept shifting under my bare feet and I tripped a couple of times before I reached where she was laying. I fell to my knees by her side, and rolled her onto her back.

“Elsa?” I tapped her cheek with my palm, patting it several times. “Els! Wake up!”

She groaned.

Relief washed over me. I kept nudging her until she came to. She groaned again. “Ugh… my head.”

“Shh, I know, it sucks.” I said, more to myself than to her, as I pulled her head into my lap. “Wait. Are you wearing a fucking toga?” I looked down at myself. “Am I wearing a fucking toga?!”

We were both wearing cream colored fabric gathered at the shoulders and the waist. As if being at the base of a volcano wasn’t enough of a wake up call, for some reason the wardrobe change was what pushed me over the edge. It felt like my throat was closing up as I started struggling to breathe. My lungs couldn’t fill; I took breaths faster and faster, but too shallow to help. Perfect time for a panic attack, Anna.

Slow down. I closed my eyes, gripping Elsa tightly to me. Breathe in.

I felt the fabric under my fingers, it was thick but soft. Breathe out.

I heard birds chirping their alarms in the distance, wind sweeping past, and small rocks settling into new places all around me. Breathe in.

I smelled… fresh, salty air, tainted by something like smoke or dust. Breathe out.

“Hey lady! Is she dead?”

My eyes snapped open. There was a young girl, about eight years old approaching us from down the hill. She held a basket and wore a similar tunic, but hers had been through a lot. It was tattered and dirty. The words she spoke were so strange - I understood them in my head but at the same time, they sounded… foreign to my ears.

I cleared my throat. “No, she’s just waking up,” I responded. My own words had the same strange quality to them when I spoke to the girl.

“Oh. Who are you? My name is Cassia.” She had dark hair chopped unevenly at her shoulders.

“What a pretty name!” I said, a million thoughts racing through my head. “I’m Anna, and this is my… this is Elsa.” I didn’t know where, or when, we were so I didn’t want to get us into any unnecessary trouble. “Where are your parents?”

“I don’t have any. I was just gathering some berries when the ground shook again. Did you do it?” She squinted at me suspiciously.

So there are earthquakes here often. “No, of course not,” I laughed, hopefully convincingly, even though I had never felt less like laughing. “Elsa and I are traveling from afar, but …we got lost and hit our heads when the earth shook. Can you tell us where we are, exactly?”

Cassia gave me a strange look. “This is Pompeii, silly. What other city is at the bottom of the volcano?”

Pompeii?

….Holy fucking Vesuvius…

———————————————————

Once Elsa was fully conscious and aware of our situation, we decided to take Cassia up on her offer to show us to her home, which turned out to be more of a fort in the outskirts of town. It was about midday and the kid was generous enough to let us hang out in her home while she went back out to keep foraging, now that the tremors had slowed down enough.

We sat on the dirt floor after Cassia left, both staring off into the distance, in shock. How the fuck did this happen?

“So…” Elsa began.

“We’re in fucking Pompeii!” I exclaimed.

“What the fuck!” Elsa said.

And then we laughed, because, honestly, what else could we do at that point? We laughed uncontrollably. We laughed at our clothes. We laughed at the earthquake, at the damn volcano, at the funny way all of the words sounded.

When we couldn’t laugh anymore, I fell into Elsa’s torso and we sat, half snuggled up on the dirt floor of this impoverished orphan’s dwelling place.

“What year do you think it is?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Elsa said. “Does it matter?”

“I mean,” I glanced at her sideways, “I sure hope it’s not 79 AD.”

“Is that when it happened? How do you even know that?”

“I told you I always liked that section of art history.”

“Hmm,” Elsa sighed. “Well how do we even figure it out? We can’t just ask someone. Do they even use that system right now? Like the AD and BC stuff?”

I shrugged. “I almost don’t even need to be told though, you know? Just by the way that smoke looked above the volcano… I have a bad feeling.” Elsa looked concerned too. “Maybe we could ask around to find out if it usually does that when there’s an earthquake here. We could get a sense for how much we need to panic.”

“That’s a good idea. And if it’s the worst case scenario, then there’s the question of, do we worry about evacuating or do we figure out how to get us the fuck back home before this place is history?”

Elsa rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I wish we had a clue how it happened. I don’t know how we’re getting back if we don’t know what sent us here in the first place.”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “We should try to think back on everything that happened in those last few minutes we can remember.”

“Well, we were in that room with the… what was it? Pottery?”

“Mhmm,” I continued, “And you were kissing the life out of me until we bumped into something and it fell. Oh! I wonder if it was that vase I was looking at.”

“What vase?” Elsa asked.

I rubbed my head, “Think think think. Um, it was clay. It had people on it. Oh! And a mountain! A volcano! It had to be that vase. It must have been found in Pompeii, and when we broke it while we were making out, it sucked us into its original time. Or something like that.”

“Sure, that sounds about right for how today’s going,” Elsa said. “But then, why didn’t it come through with us? I didn’t see any clay fragments where we landed on that hill.”

“Me neither,” I frowned. “Or maybe it couldn’t come along because here in Pompeii it already exists! Maybe we just have to find where it is now and recreate what happened before.”

“There’s a thought…” Elsa said. “So we just have to search the entire city for a vase with a volcano and people on it.”

“That sounds fun! Can I help?”

Elsa and I both turned to the doorway, startled. How long had Cassia been standing there?

——————————————————————-

Too long. Cassia had been standing there too long, and she had as many questions for us as we had for her.

Before long she knew we were accidentally-time-traveling wives from almost two thousand years in the future and Pompeii was doomed; and we in turn knew it was indeed the 79th year, no the dark volcano clouds were not normal for an earthquake, and the entire city was already scrambling to evacuate. I had a terrible feeling that Elsa and I caused the earthquake through our rough landing, effectively dooming Pompeii. Also, Cassia was eight years old like I had guessed, had been living on her own since she was five and a half, and she wanted nothing more than to help us find the vase we needed.

“That’s really sweet of you,” I said, placing a hand on her arm, “But you have to promise that as soon as we find the right vase you’ll get yourself to safety.”

Cassia glanced to the side as she said, “Promise.”

I was a little concerned about the validity of that promise but decided I’d try again later. First we were off to a shop that sold souvenirs for all the rich vacationers that visited Pompeii.

It was a short walk until we made it into the more touristy, upscale part of the city. Here, everyone was running around like chickens with their heads cut off. In and out of homes, carrying personal possessions, yelling for neighbors, yelling at the sky.

We almost lost sight of Cassia several times but we managed to follow her to the shop she talked about. We ducked under the arched doorway into the small space. It was dark, and seemed to be usually lit by candles like the lonely one over to the side that hadn’t been extinguished. Elsa went to retrieve it for us.

Using the single flame to see, we wandered around the space as a little pack, checking out all kinds of little trinkets made from stone and clay. Many were volcano-related, but it all seemed so small compared to the vase I remembered.

“Cassia,” I said, “Do you think this place has any vases that are… this big?” I motioned my hands around to describe the size.

“Oh. Why didn’t you say so? This place has nothing that big, but it could be…” she tilted her head in thought. “Oh, it’s probably Oaken’s! Duh.”

More winding through the chaotic streets behind Cassia. This walk actually went very fast, and before we knew it we had arrived at another shop. This one was bigger and well-lit inside. We all walked in. I immediately noticed that there were many vases of a familiar style and size, making my heart leap in hope.

“Not open for business or looting!” A voice called from deep in the shop.

“We just have a question!” I yelled back. “It’s urgent!”

“And we mean no harm!” Elsa added.

The man grumbled as he made his way to us, accompanied by the sound of sandals crunching on clay shards. Poor guy must have lost some of his pottery to the earthquake earlier.

“What’s the question?” A very large man appeared from behind a display wall. “Oh Cassia, dear. Why didn’t you say you were here?”

Cassia was standing half behind me. Was she suddenly shy or something?

I spoke up, “Cassia led us here. We think you can help us. We’re looking for a certain vase. We… saw it on a recent vacation but didn’t buy it, and then…”

“Then later we realized we lost a ring,’ Elsa chimed in. “We think it might’ve fallen in this vase.”

The pottery man sighed, “Well that’s a long shot, but what did the vase look like?”

“It was about yay-big, and it depicted the volcano with people underneath,” I explained excitedly.

He raised an eyebrow, “That’s about half the vases I make. You know this is a tourist town at the base of a volcano.”

I thought harder. There was a chip of color I could almost see in my memory. “Um, well, it might’ve had a sort of turquoise color by the rim?”

“Oh!” The man stood up straight. “In that case, I know the exact vase. Unfortunately I sold it about six months ago. Real rich family. Their vacation home is at this address,” he scribbled onto a small stone. “I don’t think they’ve been in town the last few months. With all the chaos out there, nobody would notice if you slipped in to look for the ring. Just make it quick.”

Soon we were walking again. When we entered an empty alley I spoke up, “Hey Cassia, why were you so quiet back there?”

She turned to face us while she kept walking, backwards, “Oaken is nice, but I have to act shy and sad around the people with money, so they’ll feel bad and give me food. I learned pretty fast that they don’t care about a mouthy troublemaker as much as a helpless little girl.”

Wow. I couldn’t imagine having to learn something that depressing as a homeless five year old. Cassia was a strong kid, and she somehow managed to seem happy and nonchalant about her struggles.

Elsa looked around at the quiet homes we were walking between. “Why are some parts of the city so calm while other ones are in chaos?”

Cassia shrugged. “Only the richest people will get to evacuate in time. The rest of us have learned to stay in our homes and hope we make it through whatever comes. There’s no point in panicking around the city because we would never make it onto a ferry anyway.”

The rest of our walk was completed in silence. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for this girl. I wished there was some way we could help her before we (hopefully) escaped the city ourselves. Judging by the look on Elsa’s face, her heart was breaking for Cassia, too. I met Elsa’s eyes and we shared a look. We definitely had to do something for the girl.

Suddenly we were standing in front of a grand structure made of stone. It was no little hut; more like an ancient mansion. This was somebody’s vacation home? Jeez! These people in 79 AD sure knew how to live lavishly.

“Looks like he was right,” Elsa said. “There’s no one around.”

“Wow!” Cassia was already walking through the front door. “Check this out! They have a river in their house!”

Elsa and I stepped inside and saw what the kid meant. There was a decorative skinny pool of calm water that stretched in a line from the front room of the house to somewhere beyond the next doorway. Pompeii style skylights illuminated the open space with the ashy, dreariness of the sky above.

We passed the minimalist entry room into the next space. Here, there was a staircase to the left, a gathering area, and more doorways.

“Hey Cassia, why don’t you head upstairs and see if there’s any vases up there while we finish looking down here?”

“Okay!” the girl was excited by her solo mission and took off up the stone steps.

Once she was gone, I rushed to Elsa. “Come ‘ere, baby,” I said as we hugged each other close.

She let out a sigh of relief. “I was gonna lose it if we didn’t get to talk soon. Alone.”

“I know,” I said. “This is a lot to go through without being able to actually talk.”

She nodded. “About Cassia…” I knew exactly where she was going.

“We have to take her with us,” I finished.

“She has nowhere to run. If she’s left here she’ll be dead by tomorrow night.”

“I know, Els.” I grabbed her hands. “You don’t have to convince me. It’s what we have to do.”

Elsa continued, “And I’m not saying that we have to adopt her or anything, but I just want her to be safe. Once we’re back we can find somewhere for her to—”

“We are fucking raising that child, Elsa.” I interrupted.

“Oh thank god,” she said, as I pulled her in close once more. “Do you think we should tell her?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“What if she doesn’t want to come? We’re running out of time, so maybe we shouldn’t give her the option if she might fight it,” she explained. “This is the only way she’ll be safe but if she doesn’t want to leave Pompeii, there’s no way we could make her.”

“Given that she’ll have to hold onto us while we kiss and break the vase…” I added.

“Or we grab her at the last second.”

“Right,” I said. “Either way, you have a point. We shouldn’t give her the option in case she would choose to stay.”

Elsa’s face suddenly went pale as she pointed behind me. I turned to see Cassia standing with her arms crossed.

“If you two wanna have a kid you’re going to have to learn how to talk quieter. It’s so easy to eavesdrop on you!”

My mouth was stuck open while I tried to form words.

“What did you hear?” Elsa asked in a low voice.

Cassia’s demeanor changed from snarky to… almost shy. “Um… Well, if it helps you to know, I’d really like to go with you. Away from here. Please.”

“Of course,” I stepped forward and wrapped her up in a big hug.

“We’re going to get you out of here,” Elsa joined in. “And if you want, you never have to be lonely again.”

A soft voice came from the middle of the hug, “I’d like that.”

“Now let’s find that damn vase,” I said, pulling away from them.

“Language.” Elsa looked at me pointedly, with a glimmer in her eye.

Cassia laughed at Elsa. “I already know how to swear, weirdos.”

This kid was going to be an adventure.

——————————————-

A few minutes later, we found the vase in a bedroom. It was sitting on a side table near a window, which was actually just a square cut out of the wall. We were going to have to hurry with the way the sky was looking out there. I was not about to let us get buried in burning ash right after vowing to expand our family to include our new little Pompeii friend.

“Alrighty!” I said, clapping my hands together and rubbing my palms. “So… now what?”

“What did you do to get here?” Cassia said. “Kiss a bunch? Ew.”

Elsa cleared her throat. Yeah this was a little more awkward than I hoped.

“Um, yeah, so,” I began, “maybe you can stand right next to the vase here, Cass. And then Elsa and I will…” I glanced at my reddening wife, “do our thing, and when we bump into the vase, at the last second, you grab onto us.”

Cassia stared at me.

“Does that makes sense?” I asked. “We only have one shot at this.”

She blinked. “Oh. Yeah, that sounds easy. You just… you called me Cass.”

Shit. “Sorry, was that ok?” I grimaced.

“I like it,” she grinned. “I like it a lot.”

“Awesome!” Phew. I didn’t want to fuck things up with our kid before we even got home. “So, you stand right here and just ignore everything about what we’re doing except for where we are. Then grab us as soon as—”

“As soon as you hit the vase, yeah. Got it.” Cassia pushed us toward the doorway. “Go be gross.” Elsa and I stumbled over to the open entryway of the room. We ducked out of Cassia’s view for a moment.

We both leaned on the wall and took a second to breathe. I gazed over at Elsa. She had a lot of emotions running across her face; embarrassment, relief, worry. I took her hand, causing her to look at me. “Hey.” I said. “Whatever happens this time… we did everything in our power to fix things.”

“I know,” Elsa sighed. “There’s just so much to process. We probably caused the deaths of everybody here, but at least we could save one person - and that’s if this even works to send us all home, which if it doesn’t, means we’re all going to die the same fate, which maybe we deserve—!”

I cut her off with a kiss: short, but long enough to send my message. “Shhh babe. It won’t do any good to obsess over that right now. If we survive, we will absolutely be marching ourselves to therapy, but for right now, we gotta get in there and get our butts back home.”

She nodded, her shoulders relaxing a little as if some of the tension eased away.

“Now, you gonna kiss me or what?” I asked with a smirk.

——————————-

I flung my arm wildly about, searching for the bottle of Tylenol on my bedside table. Would that even be strong enough for the fierce pounding in my skull? Instead of my familiar nightstand, I felt cold linoleum floor. I blinked my eyes open. Dim yellow spotlights gave a soft glow in the dark space around me.

Oh.

It all came back, just like that. I rolled over and saw Elsa sprawled out next to me —why am I always the first to wake up?— and the small form of a girl just beyond her. Cassia! She was clothed in a very sensible t-shirt and leggings combo. Thank goodness she didn’t pop into the museum in her old tattered cloth.

It didn’t seem like anyone had noticed our little …blip, so I quickly slid my two girls across the floor to keep us out of view from the hallway. As I pulled Cassia by her wrists, I noticed the vase sitting on a podium, looking exactly as it had back in Pompeii. It had bright colors and no evidence that almost 2,000 years had passed, or that it had technically shattered twice. Huh. Isn’t that the weirdest thing?

I sat on the floor next to Elsa and Cass while they continued to sleep off their travels, and I wondered how the vase actually did what it did. Was it a magic vase? Did that guy Oaken know he made something so powerful? Did he make other enchanted pottery? Something told me I would never have the answers to those questions. I certainly wasn’t in any rush to go back and ask him. Nope, ancient time traveling wasn’t really my thing after all.

It wasn’t long before Elsa woke up, and Cassia wasn’t far behind. We probably should’ve prepared her a little for life in the 21st century, as the simple museum lightbulbs were freaking her out. Just you wait, little lady. You have no idea how much your world has changed!

Once we calmed her down a bit, Elsa and I held hands with Cass, and began walking out of the room that changed our lives. Well, we took a few steps anyway, before I halted.

“What’s that noise?” I asked. “That jangly noise?” It was coming from the kid. I raised my eyebrow at her.

Realization dawned on Cassia’s face as her hands found her pants pockets… and pulled out fistfuls of glittering jewelry. “Oops?” she said, nervously.

Elsa’s jaw dropped. “Did you take those from the mansion?”

“I found them upstairs,” Cassia said, looking down at her clean black tennis shoes. “It was all just laying there, and the world was ending.”

“It’s okay,” I said quickly, not wanting her to think we were upset. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

I wondered if those pieces of jewelry had ever been recovered from the archeological site. I could see the headlines now: Priceless Ancient Pompeii Artifacts Vanish from Museum! I chuckled to myself, shaking my head.

“Hmm?” Elsa prompted.

“Ah, nothing,” I said with a smile. Then I pointed to the red, glowing Exit sign above a nearby doorway. “Hey, you wanna get out of here?”

[doubletriplepowerbomb]

Speak

Drew McIntyre x OC request for anon

words: +4700

tags: @jenn0755 @zappyzoodle @disturbthepearls @lost-in-the-stories @lithesxx @racingandreigns @rocketgirl2410 @vebner37 @therianfurry46 @littlelunaticfringe @finnbalorlover21 @winged-time-criminal @mrsnegan25

Can you do a Drew McIntyre imagine in which he has a crush on Stephanie’s chubby assistant and he one day can’t take it anymore and catches her by surprise and kisses her and takes her out on a date. She’s also friends with Dolph so every time she appears to talk to Dolph he can’t help but stare at her and fall deeper for her. A lot of fluff please!

“Hey Steph, I think I figured out a way to get Raw’s ratings up.” She said as she walked through the door. “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t know you were in a meeting.” Her voice became quiet as she reached backwards to reach for the door handle. 

Stephanie was currently speaking to Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre about Dolph’s title reign. “Oh it’s okay, Val. Here, sit down I’m almost done with these gentlemen.” Stephanie said as she cleared some space off of her couch. Dolph watched his best friend sit down with a smirk and Drew kept his eyes on his shoes, a blush painted on his cheeks.

“Anyway, Dolph as unpopular my opinion is, I think this is a fitting title for you. Yes, the fans don’t love it, but it makes for some great matches.” Steph said. Dolph thanked her before he and Drew walked out of her office, leaving Stephanie alone with her assistant. “Okay Val, what did you have planned.” Stephanie asked her assistant with hope in her voice.

Stephanie McMahon hired Valentina Romano to be her assistant last year and she’s loved her new life. Val couldn’t get enough of traveling to new cities and becoming close friends with all the superstars. Especially Dolph, he was her best friend ever since her first day. She loved the girls too, they were all so talented and so sweet and so much fun.

 “Valentina, a tag match before Summerslam is a wonderful idea!” Stephanie said as she walked over to her assistant and gently clapped her shoulders. “Now as much as I’d love to stay and watch it all play out I have to go. Hunter called with an emergency. I’ll have Kurt announce the match but can I trust you to talk to them?” Stephanie usually trusted Val to act in her shoes when she couldn’t make it to the show and tonight, Stephanie trusted Val to tell the superstars that they’d be in a match tonight.

“Yeah no problem Steph, should I tell Kurt too?” Val asked. Stephanie nodded at her assistant before her phone rang and she was sucked back into her work. 

Valentina walked down the halls looking for the 4 men who’d be in the match. The match would be Seth and Dean against Drew and Dolph, to build tension before Summerslam. She saw Dean and Seth sitting with Roman in catering and walked over to them. “Oh jeez, guys it’s Val.” Roman said jokingly.

“Oh god, Val are we in trouble?” Dean asked with fake fear painted on his face. Lots of the guys loved to joke with her about her position in power, but she rarely ever delivered bad news.

“No you’re not in trouble. But Dean and Seth, tonight you two are gonna have a match against Dolph and Drew to build tension before Summerslam. Good luck you guys.” Val said with a smile before setting off to find Dolph and Drew.

She walked down the halls for a couple seconds before finding Dolph sitting with Drew in a screening room. “Hey loser. Hi Drew.” Val said loudly as she walked in, drawing Dolph and Drew’s attention to her.

“Hey, Valentina.” Drew said quietly, his eyes locked on his tag partner’s best friend.

Instantly, she felt self conscious. Drew never called her Val like everyone else and he always stared. Val knew he’d never be rude to her but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was judging her. Val wasn’t extremely short, she stood at about 5’6 but she was on the heavier side. She’d come a long way and lost a lot of weight since high school but still, she knew she was chubbier than the women she worked with.

“Jesus Valerie, you said you were gonna start losing weight.” They teased. That’s not my name and I’m working on it; Val thought. “And look at you, still fat and still ugly.” 

For Valentina Romano, that was her whole childhood and 3 years of high school. From her 5th grade to her junior year, she lived in California and got bullied constantly. She didn’t look like all the California girls she went to school with. The hair on her head, arms, and legs were dark, her skin was tinted yellow, and she weighed a lot more than them.

The summer going into her senior year she weighed around 250 pounds. Her family moved to Florida and she lost 78 pounds. The people in Florida didn’t bully her but she stayed quiet and didn’t make many friends.

Dolph’s voice snapped her from her thoughts. “What do you want from me, dork?” He asked as he stood up. Val’s attention moved from Drew’s lingering stares to Dolph.

“You two are gonna have a match tonight against Seth and Dean.” Val said, pushing her lack of self confidence to the back of her head. “Good luck you guys… you’re gonna need it.” She joked. Dolph scoffed playfully before pulling his best friend into his arms. 

“Oh please you know damn well me and Drew are gonna kick ass.” Dolph said, puffing his chest out.  Val rolled her eyes and slapped his chest. Her eyes shot to Drew quickly, his eyes were still locked on her. Drew’s blue eyes scanned up her body to her face and he knew he was caught. His cheeks turned pink and Val smiled gently at him, she smiled wider though when his cheeks got redder. 

Val shook her head and blinked hard before speaking. “Uh… ok I gotta go, but I’ll see you guys later. Bye loser. Bye Drew.”She knew Dolph said something but all Val could hear was the soft ‘Bye Valentina’ from the Scotsman. 

As soon as the door closed, Dolph turned to Drew. “Dude, that was pathetic.” Dolph said to his partner. 

“What did ah do?” Drew asked throwing his hands up. He didn’t have to ask though, he knew exactly what Dolph was going to say. 

“Nothing. That’s what you did. You stared at her and then you blushed. What the hell man?” Dolph knew about Drew’s feelings for Val. On the flip side, he knew how Val felt about Drew and he knew that Val would never make a move because of how self conscious she was. Drew had to make the move but he was too shy to do it.

“Dolph, ya think ah try ta be weird like this? Ah tell myself all tha time to make a move but every time ah see her ah just can’t stop starin at her. Ah’ve probably scared her.” Drew said, defeat in his voice.

“Come on, dude. I don’t think you scared her. Just talk to her.” Dolph said. 

Well… he didn’t talk to her. Val came to talk to Dolph later on that night and the whole time, Drew only stared. 

It’s always been like this. Ever since Val started working for Stephanie, she’s been friends with Dolph. And ever since Drew’s been back he can only stare at her in awe. 

“Hi Drew.” 

“Hi Valentina.” How can someone be so perfect? 

“Bye Drew.” 

Go idiot say something to her. 

“Bye Valentina.” Fuck. 

It happened like this every time she spoke to him. Something possessed him and he wasn’t himself. His heart raced, his face got warm, and his tongue stopped working. Every time he told himself to buck up and say something to her, but every time he saw her he lost his nerve. And every time, Dolph scolded him afterwards. 

That’s gonna change tonight, Drew thought. 

It was the raw after Summerslam, Dolph retained the title and Drew had a match against Dean tonight.

Speak ta her dumbass, Drew said to himself as he walked through the halls. Just tell her something other than hi and bye. Tell her you like her outfit, tell her her hair looks great, just say somethi- “Oh sorry, ah didn’t mean ta,” Drew started, his hands finding the shoulders of the person he just walked into. Val’s shoulders. Shit shit shit. “Ah didn’t mean ta run into ya.” 

“It’s okay, Drew.” She said sweetly, she waited for him to talk but he didn’t. 

Speak! Say something. Tell her she looks nice. 

“Valentina, ya look good... Ah mean yer outfit is nice. Well ya look good too. Ah mean… uhm.” Nice going jackass. 

Instead of running away, like Drew thought she’d do, Val looked down at her shoes and blushed. “Thanks, Drew. I gotta go though, Steph wanted me for something.” Val said. Steph didn’t actually need her, she just had to get herself away from this situation. 

“Wait.” Drew said suddenly. 

Val stopped walking and turned back to Drew. What have ah done? Dolph’s words flashed through his head; “Nothing. That’s what you did” Make a move, Drew. “Ah didn’t mean ta say that. Well ah did but ah didn’t mean for it to come out like that. Ah thought it was gonna be a lot cooler sounding, but it wasn’t.” Drew admitted, making Val giggle. Holy shit ah made her giggle. “Ah did want ta apologize fer always starin at ya.” Drew started, but Val cut him off before he could tell her the reason. 

“No I get it. I’m a lot different than the other girls you work with.” Drew stared blankly at her, unsure of what she meant. “I mean, I know I’m chubby. I just wanted to let you know I understand why you stare. I get it all the time.” Drew wrinkled his nose once he realized what Val meant. She did get it all the time and it killed her. 

“Oh you work for the WWE? I don’t mean to be rude but aren’t those girls really skinny?” Val couldn’t fathom that people would think that’s okay to say. And that they add ‘I don’t mean to be rude’ before it was said. It was rude and it killed her when people would ask that. She’d say what company she worked for and people would visibly get confused. 

‘Yes wrestlers are fit and skinny; and I, Valentina Romano, am not a fit and skinny wrestler.’ 

Val stood waiting for Drew to speak. Then he laughed. He shook his head while he chuckled and grabbed her hands. “Tha truth is ah really like ya, Valentina.” Ah said it. And she’s just looking at me like ah have two heads. What have ah done? Val was shocked. He liked her. That’s why he stared at her. 

Say something Valentina, he probably thinks you’re scared. Say something god damn it. “Drew, you don’t like me, I mean, look at me.” That wasn’t what you were supposed to say. 

“What? Are ya kiddin? Ah have been looking at ya... fer months, ah thought ya noticed.” Drew didn’t know where he was getting this from but he wasn’t gonna question it. “But ah’m serious, Valentina. Ah like ya. Why else would ah sit and stare at ya like an idiot?” 

“My weight.” That was supposed to be in my head, damn it Val. 

“Yer weight. Are ya jokin?” Drew grabbed Val’s wrist and pulled her down the hall. “Ah think yer beautiful, Valentina. Yer perfect.” She actually laughed at that, making Drew squint as he thought of what to do next. 

Without thinking, Drew let go of her hands and cradled her face. “Every time ah see ya, Valentina. Ah melt. Yer absolutely perfect.” His voice got softer and softer as he spoke until he was whispering. He stared into her brown eyes and saw the pain behind them. 

She thinks Ah’m kiddin. Prove it to her, man. 

Drew rubbed his thumb over Val’s cheek and leaned down slightly so he could press his lips to hers. Val gasped, not knowing that Drew was gonna kiss her. But it didn’t make her uncomfortable, she simply closed her eyes and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. 

After what felt like forever in the best way possible, Drew broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. “Go out with me, tomorrow night.” Drew looked into her eyes, waiting for Val to answer. Val smiled widely and only nodded against Drew’s forehead, now she was the one that couldn’t speak. Drew smiled and pecked Val’s lips once more before he stood up straight again.

“Well, ah’m upset fer havin ta leave ya here, but ah have a match… right now” He said quietly, holding onto her hands.

“Don’t worry about it, Drew. Go kick ass, I’ll be watching.” Val said with a wink, pushing all of her nerves to the back of her head. Drew nodded with a huge grin on his face before he turned around and jogged toward gorilla. Val stood still in the middle of the hall, watching him run away until he turned the corner and was out of her sight. 

She had a huge, goofy grin on her face until she snapped herself out of whatever trance Drew held her in and went running down the halls, in search of her best friend. 

“Dolph!” Val screamed as she ran down the halls searching for her best friend. Drew was in the middle of his match with Dean and both Dolph and Seth had been banned from ringside. 

“What, are you okay.” He asked, sounding panicked. 

“Drew kissed me, then he asked me out! We’re going out tomorrow night!” Val whisper yelled as she jumped up and down. 

“No fucking way. He finally did it, that son of a bitch.” Dolph said with a smile. “I’m so happy for you, Val. You’re really gonna like him. Did he tell you where you’re going?” 

Just then, Valentina realized something. Drew didn’t have her number and she never gave her number to him. “Fuck, I never gave him my number.” She said before slapping her forehead with her hand. 

“I could give it to you.” Dolph said reaching for his phone in his back pocket. Val stopped him though, she had her own idea, she shook her head and walked away, heading for gorilla. 

Drew’s music blasted through the speakers in the arena and Val could hear it backstage. She looked around for somewhere to sit and jumped onto an equipment case while she waited for Drew to come back. 

A couple moments later, Drew’s large frame came through the curtain. Val waited patiently while Drew spoke to Kurt and some other people in the viewing area. Once he finally made his way past her, Val grabbed onto his wrist. “You know Drew, you seemed to have missed something when you asked me out earlier.” Val said teasingly, still sitting on the equipment case and still holding onto his wrist. 

Drew’s eyes went wide and he searched his mind for what he forgot to do. “No, Drew. I meant you forgot to get my number.” 

“Oh. Oh ah did forget. Ah’m sorry, love.” Drew said with a boyish grin. Val felt a blush rise on her cheeks while she watched the muscles ripple in Drew’s arm as he reached up to scratch the back of his neck. “Well, ah don’ have ma phone, love. Ah can give ya mine.” Drew said after a couple seconds of silence. Val only smirked and shook her head no. 

Val’s right hand still held his left wrist and she switched hands so she could write her number in Drew’s palm. Drew watched in awe as Val wrote her number carefully on his palm, sure to make sure all the numbers were clear. 

-

“Good morningggggg, Valley girl.” Dolph sang as he opened the door to Val’s hotel room. Val groaned before rolling over in her bed, hoping Dolph would go away and let her sleep. But he didn’t. 

“Valley girl? Is that supposed to be me?” Val asked as she sat up after realizing Dolph wasn’t going away. 

“Yes. Valley girl; your name is Val and you grew up in California, get it?” He asked with a smile. 

“You’re an idiot.” Val said with a smile before she rolled over in the bed again. 

“Valentina, get up. We’re going to the gym then get you something sexy to wear on your date.” Dolph sang before he yanked the covers off of his best friend. Val rolled her eyes and groaned once more before getting out of the bed. She grabbed shorts and a sports bra before going into the bathroom to get ready. 

Valentina and Dolph bursted into Val’s hotel room after a full day. After two hours in the gym, Val and Dolph grabbed some lunch before going shopping. Drew texted Val earlier telling her what time he’d come get her. He told Dolph beforehand where they were going so he knew exactly what to tell Val to get, comfortable but cute. 

At 7 o’clock, there was a knock on Val’s door. 

“Dolph, I can’t do this. I mean look at me, he’s gonna think I look terrible.” Val said as she stared at herself in the mirror in the bathroom. 

“Val you look great, are you kidding? He’s gonna drown in his own drool.” Dolph said, standing behind his best friend in her bathroom. 

“Dolph. This shirt makes me look so fat and this skirt makes my thighs look huge!” Val said while she poked around on her body. 

“You liked it in the store.” Dolph said, confusion clear in his tone. “It looks good.” 

Because it was the middle of the summer, Val picked out a dark-wash jean skirt and a white shirt that was on the tighter side. Dolph was right, she did like her outfit in the store and she liked it now. But something about Drew seeing it made Val extremely nervous. 

Usually, when she walked around the halls, Val kept her clothes on the looser side. Now her shirt was tight and everything was visible. Instantly Val’s head filled with all the memories of her old life growing up in California. 

“Oh Val, I know you think that looks good on you but you can’t pull it off.” 

“I don’t think those maternity shirts you wear are big enough. You should try 5 XL.” 

They teased her mercilessly and it stung. Every word stung.

Drew knocked again. Ah hope she gave me tha right room number. Drew checked his phone for the text; 286. He looked up at the door; 286. As he stared at the room number, the door opened slightly, he looked down to see Val standing in the doorway. 

Drew could only see her face though, she seemed to be hiding her body from him. “Ya ready ta go, Valentina?” Drew asked as he opened the door wider. Valentina saw as Drew’s eyes landed on her body and she instantly regretted telling him she’d go out. 

Val remembered all the times the she was bullied and she covered her stomach with her arms. “Drew, I don’t-” but the Scotsman cut her off before she could finish her sentence. 

Drew held Val by her shoulders and stared into her brown eyes. “Ya look… beautiful, Valentina.” He drooled. Val felt a blush rise on her cheeks but she kept her body covered. Drew noticed the look her face and stared down at her with love in his eyes. “Valentina, what’re ya doin’? Coverin yerself up like that. Yer a beyond gorgeous girl and ah can’t wait ta take ya out.” Drew spoke honestly and it made Val’s heart swell. 

Drew bent down to press a kiss to her forehead and looked up at Dolph, who was standing in the middle of the room, nodding approvingly at Drew’s words. Val moved her arms and Drew grabbed her hand, leading her the down the long hallway. “Ya look lovely, darlin.” Drew complimented once more before he opened the door to his rental car. 

“Where are we going?” Val asked, getting some of her confidence back. Drew looked over at her and flashed her a gorgeous grin and Val felt her stomach flip. 

“Ah’m takin ya somewhere special and ah know yer gonna love it.” Drew said before starting the car and driving out of the hotel parking lot. 

The car ride was about 30 minutes long but it wasn’t an uncomfortable amount of time. Val was shocked at how comfortable he seemed with her considering he could barely speak yesterday. 

Should I not be as nervous as I am? I mean, Drew seems completely fine and my heart is practically beating out of my chest. Val had no clue what was going on when Drew turned onto a dirt road and continued to drive straight while it got darker and darker. Val fell quiet as her mind raced with horrible possibilities. 

Oh my god, relax. Drew won’t do anything bad. Dolph wouldn’t have let me go if he thought Drew was weird. And she was right because a moment later, Val knew where they were. Drew had taken her to a drive in movie, Dolph must’ve told him how much she loves movies. 

It was a big drive in theater too. There were about 4 screens spaced out across a large open area with hills so lots of cars could park. Drew reversed into a spot next to a speaker labeled with a number 2, meaning they’d be watching Incredibles 2. 

“Ya got quiet, love.” Drew started slowly, “Ya like movies right, cause if ya don’ we won’ stay.” Drew began, praying that she liked movies. This was a shot in the dark and he hoped he hadn’t missed. 

Val cut his rambling off by leaning over the center console and pressing a kiss to his lips. “Drew, this is perfect… and I love movies. Especially pixar, have you seen this yet. It’s phenomenal.” Val began, excited to see Incredibles 2 again. She was such a child and she had waited years for a sequel to her favorite pixar movie when she was growing up. 

“Oh we don’ have ta watch this if ya have already seen it, there’s three other movies if ya like.” Drew began. Val’s eyes widened before reaching over and holding his bicep. 

“No I love this movie and I’d love to see it again.” Val reassured but Drew still seemed unsure. “Drew, I promise. This is amazing and I love it.” Drew’s face finally looked satisfied and he got out of the car. Val followed suit and met him around the back.

Drew had opened the trunk to reveal an extremely comfortable looking set up. All the seats were put down and there were a bunch of blankets and pillows spread across the large space. “Oh my god, Drew this is so sweet.” Val said after grabbing Drew’s hand and lacing their fingers together. 

“Of course it is, love. Ah’ve been in ta ya forever now and ah finally worked up the courage ta ask ya out. Ah couldn’t waste it by takin ya ta do something boring.” Drew said lightheartedly. Although it was portrayed as a joke, Drew meant every single word that he spoke. Val giggled and felt a blush rise on her cheeks, thank god it’s dark and he can’t see me blushing. 

A couple seconds later, the sound started to play and Drew helped Val into the trunk before climbing in after her. They got comfortable while some short trailers played and by the time the movie started, Drew was lying on his back, his head and shoulders propped up by pillows. And Val was lying close next to him, her head rested on his chest. 

“Oh, ah brought ya somethin just in case ya got uncomfortable in that skirt.” Drew whispered while he reached behind a pillow. He pulled out a pair of her joggers and Val’s eyes widened. 

“How’d you get my pants?” Val asked playfully, before taking them and slipping them on under the skirt and taking the skirt off over them. 

“Ah asked Dolph fer a pair to have just in case ya wanted them. And ah didn’t want ta tell ya ta bring them and ruin the surprise.” 

“Well that was extremely sweet and smart of you. So thank you very much for thinking of me.” Val said, thankful again for the darkness so Drew wouldn’t see her blushing. 

“Oh ah’m always thinking of ya, love.” He sad before kissing her temple and pulling her closer to him. Now that she was wearing pants, Val was able to put her leg up on Drew’s, allowing for them to be as close as Drew wanted. 

About 2 hours later, the credits were rolling and Drew had managed to pull Val even closer than before. At some point during the movie, Drew had pulled Val practically on top of him so he could hug her against his firm chest and torso. Val felt so warm and happy in his arms she was upset that the movie ended and he’d let go soon. 

“Are ya comfortable, love.” Drew asked quietly, after the movie had ended. He was playing with Val’s think dark hair and she could barely think. 

“I’m extremely comfortable, I’m kinda upset that it’s over though. This was so much fun and I really didn’t want this movie to end.” Val admitted. 

“It doesn’t have ta end, love.” Drew whispered before he moved his hands to cradle her face. Val smiled at his touch and moved her hand to his shoulder when their lips finally touched. Drew moved slightly so that Val now laid on top of him completely and she instantly felt nervous. What if he thinks I’m heavy. Oh my god I gotta get off of him. 

“Drew am I hurting you?” Val asked after separating their lips. Drew’s hand remained on her face though, making sure their noses remained touching. The Scotsman let out a breathy laugh before kissing Val again.

“Valentina, yer not botherin’ me. Ah like havin ya on top of me like this.” Drew said while wiggling his eyebrows. This made Val giggle and tuck her head in his neck. 

After a second, Val decided to press her lips to his neck and find a sweet spot. As she peppered her lips across his soft skin, Drew let a moan slip and she knew she had found a sweet spot, underneath his jawline. Val smiled against the skin and began to suck softly, Drew moaned Val’s name this time and she realized how much she liked hearing her name like that. 

She loved that Drew still called her Valentina, but hearing Valentina spoken the way Drew just said it made Val fall in love. His gravely, deep voice mixed with his attractive Scottish accent sent the good kind of chills all throughout Val’s body and she hoped he’d say it again.

While all the other people cleared out of the lot and other people came in, Val and Drew remained where they were. They laid together in the back of the truck kissing until sound from the next set of trailers played in the car. Val jumped from the sudden change of silence to noise and she placed her hands on Drew’s shoulders so his lips were no longer on her neck. “Drew, the next movie is starting.” Val said, feeling guilty for not paying to see two different movies. “We didn’t pay.”

“Valentina, did ya see me pay fer tha first one?” Drew asked. Val gasped when she realized he didn’t. Before she could ask if he snuck them in, Drew spoke again. “Ah’m good friends with tha guy who owns this place.” Val’s guilt lifted and she instantly felt relieved. 

“Good, cause I was hoping this wouldn’t end.” Val said cradling Drew’s face in her hands. 

“Well it’s yer lucky day, Valentina. Because after ah told Tommy about tha gorgeous girl ah was takin’ out he said that we could stay fer a double feature. Only if ya like.” Drew said, his hands roaming down her curves to rest on her hips. 

Val didn’t have to answer, she simply smiled and pressed her lips to his again. “You’re amazing, Drew.” She mumbled against his lips. 

“But yer perfect, Valentina.” 

They didn’t watch much of the second movie, but Drew didn’t care, neither did Val. They spent the time kissing and talking about a bunch of different things. But no matter what they did together, Drew had a smile plastered on his face. He finally said something to Valentina Romano, and he didn’t mess it up.