#Gemma is so stinking cute (literal)

[a-gay-bloodmage]

Day 16: Grungy 

(Leliana & Gemma Brosca and Alistair x Gemma Brosca, One-Sided)

Before they leave Lothering, Leliana insists that Gemma Brosca take advantage of the modest baths in the Chantry. She learns, quickly, that the grungy little girl has never had the privilege of taking a proper bath before.

[stormtrprinstilettos]

Chameleon - Ch 7

Summary: Reader (that’s you!) moves to London, hoping to leave her past behind and find happiness. She makes friends with her new neighbors. (Guess who?) - So far we’ve established that Reader & Freddie are BFF, Reader & Roger have a thing and it probably should be more, and Reader & Brian are just a total mess. She’s done with his crap but, you know, drama has to happen. {If you’re a new reader, please know that there is no proper summary to the story. I have no idea where this is going and take my direction from comments that I get, so interact with me! I don’t bite!} 18+ please!

Word count: ~ 6.8k | Warnings: language (as always), smut (don’t have unprotected sex – it’s not cool), some angst

Tagging: @chocolatealmondmilkshake & @thisjustfantasy (& @clogwearingspacepoodle too)

Ch 1 | 2 | 3(1)(2) | 4* | 5 | 6 (*=smut) || AO3

[A/N: I don’t use a lot of physical descriptions with the characters because a) it’s unneeded and b) I want you to insert whoever you want into the story. Also, I’m sorry in advance for what happens in this chapter. It will bother some of you. Maybe. And I love the messages I’m getting. Thank you all so much for the encouragement.]

The venue was crowded, stuffy, and smelled like a mix of smoke, alcohol and a million different body odors. The stage was too small for you to take your usual spot on the side close to John, so you had to make do with standing with the rest of the concert goers. You actually preferred it this way, but the guys always insisted you sit on the stage with them so you wouldn’t get lost in the hustle of finding them when the show was over. You had company tonight – Jane. You didn’t speak, but her presence was there – she was standing right next to you, unfortunately right in front of Brian - but you didn’t let it bother you. When you walked away from him two weeks ago, you walked away completely. You were cordial, but that was it. If he was over at the flat to visit Freddie, you’d go to your room. If you passed him in the hall or outside, you’d tell him hello. Nothing more, nothing less. Jane didn’t even bother you anymore, no matter how hard she would try, and tonight was no exception. “That’s my boyfriend!” she would exclaim to anyone that would complement Brian’s guitar playing, in an over exaggerated volume to make sure you heard her.

Of course, you didn’t care, because you were too busy flirting from the audience with a certain drummer. The only thing that was irritating you tonight was that, when he would smile or flirt back, there was someone standing behind you who thought he was directing it to her. “Hey, Y/N, where is everyone going after this?” Lyla asked you with her annoying, screechy voice. “Is Roger gonna be there?”

“I’m not sure,” you told her, trying to ward her off to no avail. She was harmless enough, and you didn’t not like her, but you didn’t want her hanging around. Not tonight. Not when Roger was looking absolutely delicious. You were staring at him, unable to take your eyes off him. He noticed you looking – he noticed you looking all night – and he gave you a seductive smirk as you bit your bottom lip.

“He’s getting it all tonight,” Lyla said in your ear, still thinking he was watching her. When the song finished, she was standing behind both you and Jane. “And I can tell Brian’s going to be giving it all to you, Y/N,” she yelled out, flighty and giddy. “He hasn’t stopped looking you all night!” Of course, Jane heard, and was naturally unamused. She glared at Lyla, then at you, and stormed off. “What’s her problem?” Lyla asked.

You look at her, annoyed yet humored. “Brian’s her guy, not mine.” You couldn’t help but smirk. Not because Brian’s been watching you, but because you managed to upset Jane and didn’t have to do anything. “Hey, this is the last song. I’m going in the back,” you tell Lyla, immediately regretting doing so. She grabs the back of your shirt as you walk so she doesn’t lose you in the crowd as she follows you through the backstage doors.

You’re waiting at the side of the stage with Lyla for the guys when Jane appears out of nowhere, shoving into you and causing you to fall to the ground. “Oh, sorry!” she said with fake apologies. “I just didn’t see you there!” You wanted to hit her, and hit her hard, but instead you stood up, wiped off your pants and didn’t even acknowledge her presence. You didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing she got to you. Instead, you smiled at Lyla when you heard Freddie thanking everyone for coming to the show, knowing the guys would be joining you soon.

Brian was the first one off the stage and he was snatched up immediately by Jane. “Good job out there,” you told him as he passed, and he gave you an appreciative smile but said nothing in return. Freddie ran up to you, excited and beaming. “You were fantastic, of course,” you tell him.

He kisses you on the cheek before scurrying off. “I’ll see you at home, Princess!” You didn’t know why he was in such a rush, but it’s not like he’s never done things without reason before.

When you turn around you see Lyla, who already latched on – literally – to Roger, who was silently pleading for your help. He keeps trying to move away but she’s attracted to him like a magnet. You couldn’t help but find the whole scene amusing. “Hey, Lyla? Doesn’t he stink?” you called out. “How can you even handle it?” You walk over to them and sniff his hair. “Damn, Rog. You smell like a rotten egg.”

“Who cares about how he smells?” Lyla replies to you, but she doesn’t look at you because she can’t stop staring at Roger with gleaming eyes. “Hey, Rog?” She runs a finger up his chest. “I get some time alone with you tonight, right?” You try not to laugh. You try really hard. It just doesn’t work. He’s glaring at you, still pleading for help, but you walk away, because you hear John calling for you.

“Hey, what’s up?” you ask as you approach him. He’s standing there with a girl, which surprises you since he’s usually so timid. You knew if he had a girlfriend you’d have already met her, so you have no idea who she is. You hold our your hand and shake hers. “I’m Y/N. I guess you’ve already met Deaky here.”

“Yeah, I have,” she giggles. “I’m Gemma.” She can’t stop smiling, and neither can he.

“Everyone’s going back to yours?” he asked. “I think that’s what I heard Freddie say.”

“Of course. Everyone’s always there,” you laugh to cover up your annoyance. Just once I would like to not have to entertain everyone, you think to yourself.

“Can… can I bring…” He’s adorably stammering.

“Please do,” you look at Gemma and smile. “You’ll help bring some kind of balance to the male-female ratio.”

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

Back at your flat, the music is loud, the air is clouded with cigarette smoke, and you’re completely sober, as is Roger, which is odd for the two of you to be the only sober ones in the group. You both are sitting on the sofa, his arm behind you as you lean your head back. You look up at him as he rubs your head with his hand with his cigarette hanging out of his mouth that reach up and grab it from him. “These things will kill you, Rog,” you joke as you hold it to your mouth and take a drag. You see Freddie, Brian and Jane standing by the radio, mentally daring Freddie to touch the vinyls. You told him he’s not allowed to touch them when he drinks, and usually follow your instructions, but you still get nervous whenever he hovers too close. Then you see John and Gemma over in the corner, standing close, giggling and being nauseatingly cute. There’s even a few people here you don’t even know.

You’re exhausted, annoyed and wanting to get rid of all the people in here, especially Brian and Jane. You’re tired of watching them and you’re tired of sharing covert gazes with him. “Wasn’t Lyla here?” you ask, finally realizing you don’t see her.

“I told her to go wait for me at her place.” He was quite proud of himself as evidenced by the cheeky grin on his face. “Hey,” he slaps his hand on your thigh, pulling you away from your thoughts. He sees that Jane’s presence is bothering you, even though you’d probably never admit it. “Let’s get out of here.”

“And go where? It’s 1:00 in the morning and this stupid bitch is in my flat.” You glare over at Jane, hoping she’d get the message that she was not welcomed here anymore, but she doesn’t even notice you.

Roger wraps his arm tight around you, pulling your head into his shoulder. “Why don’t we go outside? Go for a walk?”

“It’s cold outside,” you retort, looking for any excuse not to leave.

He looks over at you with a huge grin on his face. “My room?”

You could never turn down one of those grins and he knew it. He used it to his advantage many times – getting you to the pub, to make him something to eat, to watch a certain television program or go see a movie you really didn’t want to see. He could probably even get you to rob a bank if he flashed that grin before asking you to. “I think that’s a great idea.” You reach a hand up and playfully shake it in his hair at the top of his head. “Go shower. You’re stinky,” you tell him as you squish your face, pretending to be grossed out.

“You never had a problem with my sweat before,” he playfully growls as he leans over, kissing you on your neck and tickling you.

You start to giggle and playfully slap him. “Will you stop that?” You try to push him away from you, but it just makes him pull you in tighter. You both forget other people are in the room before Freddie starts yelling at the two of you to take it to the bedroom because this wasn’t “that kind” of party.

“I’m going shower,” he whispers with a small chuckle. “Give me ten minutes.” He gives you a nudge before standing up and walking out. You look at the gaggle of people in your living room, roll your eyes with frustration, grab your glass of wine and walk to your bedroom so you can freshen up before going next door.

When you step inside, you hear the door close, startling you since you didn’t close the door yourself. “Brian, what the hell are you doing?” you yell out as you see him standing there, leaning against the door.

“Shhh…” he quiets you, with a finger up to his lips and his other hand motioning down.

You lower your voice, pleading for an answer. “What are you doing?”

“What am I doing?” he snaps. “What are you doing?” His voice is an angry irritation mixed with a little bit of shock because he can’t believe you don’t know why he’s asking you this.

“This is my flat, Brian. My room. You’re the one that doesn’t belong here.” You’re turning defensive, not knowing why he’s frustrated with you.

He stands on the opposite side of the room from you, his face with a mix of yearning and annoyance. His words are stumbling around in his head and he’s unable to form an actual sentence. “Jane is here and you’re… You’re wearing that… Fuck, Y/N. That color…”

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing? Am I now supposed to only dress like a schoolmarm when Jane’s around?” You start to get angry. “I’m tired of having to tip toe around when she’s in my space. This is my flat. If she’s uncomfortable, she can leave, as can you.”

He walks over to you and gets close, pinning you against the wall and looks down into your eyes. “I’ve always loved you in red,” he whispers in your ear. “I can’t do this. I can’t stay away from you.” He puts his hand to your face, making you look up at him.

You told yourself that you were not going to allow him to weasel his way back into your stream of consciousness. You were not going to get tied up in this game you finally quit playing with him. You push him away from you. “Stop it, Brian,” you sneer. “I’m not doing this anymore.”

You walk out and see Jane at the end of the hallway, wearing her nice, clean white shirt, snooping through your bookcase, touching your things, pissing you off more than Brian just did. You “accidentally” run into her, spilling your glass of red wine all over her clothes. “Oh, sorry! I just didn’t see you there!” you mock with intense snark, putting your hands to your face to feign surprise. Freddie and John start laughing hysterically, knowing you fully intended to do what you just did. Jane starts to scream at you, but you don’t care to pay attention to anything she’s saying. Brian comes running up when he hears. You turn to him, hand him your now-empty glass and walk out the front door.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

You and Roger lay back on his bed, his arm behind your neck, and share a cigarette. “I need to stop hanging around with you,” you joke. “That’s the only time I touch these things.” You climb out of the bed and grab a t-shirt that’s laying on his dresser, wanting to get more comfortable.

“I have something else you can touch if this is a problem,” he quips as you change your shirt. You playfully slap him as you climb back to your spot in the bed, cuddling up next to him. “I’m glad you’re here, Y/N,” he said as he squeezed you tight.

“I’m glad I’m here too,” you replied as you nuzzled your face in his neck.

“I mean here, in London, not just my bed,” he jives with a laugh.

You give him a playful nudge. “That’s what I meant, jackass.”

“You don’t seem to have much weighing on you since that night you went missing with Brian.” He noticed the change in your demeanor. You did feel a lot freer since you and Brian had your flare up.

“Let’s just say I broke free of some binds.” You needed to change the subject quickly because if you didn’t everything you were planning on doing since he was sitting on that stage behind his drum kit wouldn’t happen. “I really don’t want to talk about him,” you whisper in his ear before you give it a gentle nibble. “It kills the mood.”

His eyes light up as you start to run a hand close to his crotch and a smile draws itself across his face. “Are you sure?”

“You said I can use you whenever I want, remember?” You both start to chuckle, and he leans his head down to give you a kiss. “Don’t you ever wonder what sober sex with me is like?” you joke, since it seemed most of the time the two of you did end up sleeping together it was due to alcohol releasing you of all inhibitions. “Besides, if I wasn’t sure,” you say as you start to unbutton and unzip his pants, “then I wouldn’t do this.” You reach down into his pants and start to rub, feeling him get a little harder with every stroke.

He leans over to kiss you again. “Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t, huh?” He smirks at you as he undoes your pants and moves his hand in, using his fingers to stimulate you. The kissing intensifies, and your moans start to increase. He takes his hand out of your pants, moves your hand from his, and rolls you over to your back. He slides your pants off before taking off his shirt and leaning down to kiss you again. You scoot to sit up a little bit, your knees bent, he stands up and takes off his pants, watching you as you remove your shirt. He smirks at you again as he crawls on the bed, between your legs and starts to kiss you again, your hands through his hair and his on each side of you holding him up.

Neither one of you realizes that the door is cracked open, and Brian is standing there, looking at the two of you having noticed the two of you when he was walking to his room. You don’t hear Jane calling for him from the other end of the hallway. You don’t notice him walking away, angry. You don’t even think of the possibility that he hears every moan, every giggle – every time you say Roger’s name and he says yours – because finally he is not in your head.

He stayed out of your head until the next morning. Roger was still sleeping when you woke up and you decided to let him sleep since he looked so peaceful. You put on your pants and Roger’s shirt you were wearing because you couldn’t find yours and attempted to sneak out back to your place, but it didn’t go as planned. “Leaving so soon?” Brian asked you as you were headed out the door. “Don’t want to stay for breakfast?” His tone was sarcastic and angry. He was sitting in the chair, glaring at you.

You tuned to face him, trying to joke and lighten the stiff atmosphere. “No, I better get going if I want to make it home in time for lunch. I live so far away.”

His expression was blank, and he was clearly unamused. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going home.” You’re confused. What else would you be doing?

“No, I mean with Roger.” The sarcasm has left, but the anger is still there, and now you feel yours seeping in.

Your eyes narrow as you look at him, letting him know that you’re ticked off. “I’m doing what I want. It’s none of your concern.”

“So now you just shove it in my face?” he yells at you.

“Shove it in your face?” you yell back, absolutely furious. “I’m supposed to never look at anyone because it may hurt your feelings?” You start to walk away, but Brian isn’t finished arguing with you.

“I was in the next room!”

“With your girlfriend, Brian! Remember her?”

“So you decide that fucking my best friend is okay?”

“I’ve been fucking your best friend for months now and it never bothered you before.”

“It always bothered me…” His voice trailed off and his anger subsided, turning into regret, judging by the look on his face. But you didn’t care. You were still heated.

“Save it. I don’t want to hear it anymore. You make me feel like you and I can be something, you suck me in, and then the next day I learn about her from other people. You treat me like I’m the only girl in the entire world one day, and then I see you with her. And now you’re angry because I’m ‘fucking your best friend’ as if it just happened for the first time last night?” You knew you were being loud, but you didn’t care, thinking maybe if you yelled at him he would finally get it. “I wasn’t going to sit around and wait for you to figure out what you want, because it became quite clear that what you want isn’t me.” You turn away from him and walk to the door before turning back to say one more thing, lowering your voice. “Nothing I am doing is about you, Brian. For the first time in my life, I am doing what makes me happy.”

He calls out to you before hurrying to you, trying to keep you from walking out the door. You can find someone else! It doesn’t have to be Roger!”

“I don’t want it to be anyone else,” you tell him quietly before walking out the door.

Roger woke up, hearing everything that was going on, but he waited to show his face until after you left. He walked in room to see Brian, standing by the door, more upset than he had ever seen him before. “Close the door next time,” Brian grumbled as he walked by.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

You’re ready for this day to end – this entire week to end, and it’s only Wednesday. It’s been nothing but bullshit since the other morning when you had your latest argument with Brian. Roger went to go visit his mom for her birthday and he wouldn’t be back until Sunday. Freddie has been in a mood, causing the two of you to snip at each other for every little thing. And Brian, well, the two of you barely even spoke, and when you did speak it was to get some cheap shot in at each other. You intended to take this afternoon alone to rest, so you became really annoyed when there was a knock at the door and interrupted your reading.

It was Brian and he looked angry. “I’m surprised you’re alone,” he says with derision. “Then again, Roger is out of town.”

You glare at him, letting him know that you weren’t exactly happy to see him. “What do you want, Brian?” The anger in his face didn’t subside. He was clearly standing here looking for an argument and you were more than happy to give it to him.

He pushed his way into the flat, closing the door behind him. “I found this,” he growled as he tossed that red shirt you were wearing Saturday night to you. “Thought you’d like to have it back.” The anger in his voice was growing, as was yours. He walked into the living room and started to pace around. He noticed the book you had laying on the sofa as being one of Roger’s and picked it up. “Huh, well I guess you weren’t lying when you said it wasn’t just about sex,” he snickered.

“Imagine that,” you sarcastically replied. You couldn’t believe he had the audacity to come in your room uninvited and to start an argument with you over this again. It was none of his business. He made it none of his business when he didn’t tell you about his girlfriend after making you feel like he did. “What’s it to you, anyway?”

He shrugged. “I’m just trying to figure out if it’s his brain that keeps you around or his dick.”

You chuffed and give him a smirk. “I spend time with Roger because he’s smart. I fuck Roger because he’s good at it.” You knew you were egging him on. You wanted an argument. You wanted to fight this all out and just get it over with.

His vehemence keeps growing. Your eyes squint into an icy glare as he moves close to you. “I hear how you act with him,” he whispers in your ear. He grabs you and kisses you intensely, his tongue forcing its way into your mouth, his hand grabbing the back of your neck and the other tugging on the front of your shirt. “Maybe I’ve been doing it wrong all along,” he hissed.

You push him away and grit your teeth. “Fuck you, Brian.”

“Am I not doing this right?” He grabs you again, causing you to push him again, this time making him fall onto the sofa. None of this was your intention when you started to argue, but you couldn’t contain yourself any longer. This was so out of character of him, and you were completely turned on by his aggressiveness. You see in his eyes that he was turned on, too, and there was only one way this was going to end.

You walk in front of him, stand between his legs and take off your shirt. “You want me like he gets me, Brian?” His eyes are intense but welcoming, and you straddle his lap, grinding yourself into him. “You know you do,” you snarl as he starts to kiss you again, his hands grabbing your tits in a borderline fury. You push his hands away and climb off, leaning back on the sofa and take off your shorts as he stands in front of you as you look up at him. “You were always too scared. That’s a shame.” He’s clearly aroused – you can see it through his pants that you start to unbutton and pull down before grabbing hold of his cock with one hand. “You have to learn that sometimes you just have to take what you want,” you tell him, breathlessly, before your tongue started to work its way around, moistening it up to make it easier to slide into your mouth.

He was enjoying it, as evidenced by the way he looked at you, how his eyes would shutter with every move, which is why you were taken aback when he hurried and pulled himself out of your mouth, causing your mouth to make a pop. “No, you’re not getting off that easy.” You stood up and kissed him, your tongues dancing in a fiery passion, as he pulled his pants back up before grabbing your hand and dragging you to your bedroom.

He pushed you down to the bed while he kicked off his shoes and removed his pants before laying on top of you, his frustration radiating as he ground down, forcing your legs to open for him. He took your hands in his and moved them above your head, holding them tight as he moved in for a kiss before moving to your neck. “Is this how you want it?” he growled in your ear. You can’t reply. You aren’t even sure if you’re supposed to. All you can do is whimper as he drags his teeth down your neck to your collarbone, thrusting his pelvis against yours. “You want me to fuck you until you scream my name? Fuck you until he’s the one you forget about?” He purposely made his dick rub against your folds underneath your panties, knowingly teasing you. “How many times can he make you cum, Y/N? One?” he loudly whispers, reading on your face that he gave the wrong answer. “Two?” You shook your head no. “Three?” You smirked at him.

He released one of your hands before quickly grabbing both of your wrists with the other, continuing to pin you down so you couldn’t move. He ran his hand down your body, pulling down your panties, before watching two of his fingers make their way inside of you. You bucked against his hand and moaned his name as he feverously thrust his fingers inside of you as his thumb rubbed against your clit. “You like that, don’t you?” he snared, never taking his eyes off yours. “Just wait until you see what my dick can do to you.” The way he was talking to you, his authoritative tone, was making it impossible for you to hold out any longer. “One,” he grinned.

His hand still pinned your arms above your head, not giving you a chance to catch your breath like he instinctively knew if he wanted to make you come again he couldn’t waste a single second. He rubbed his cock against your wetness before guiding himself inside with force, making eye contact while he did, as you shared a moan as you both felt the force at the same time. He started to rage inside of you, his other hand grabbing your ass so hard you knew there would be bruises after he finished. He kept up his brutal pace, staring deep into your eyes. “Don’t fucking stop,” you commanded him. “Just like that.” You start to clinch around him, and call his name out as you reach your climax, but he hurries and pulls himself out of you, knowing he had to wait if he wanted to last long enough to give you one more orgasm.

“Two,” he growled as he released his grip on your wrists. You brought your hands to the back of his head and pulled him down for a kiss. Your eyes burned through his, and he knew he had you right where he wanted you. “Not such a big talker now, are you?” he snarled as rubbed his cock against your slit, taking great pleasure in seeing your eyes beg him for more. “Look at you,” he whispers, “laying there like you are, needing me so desperately.” He kisses you again. “Do you need me, Y/N?” You shake your head and give a pleading moan. “It’s not fun being teased, is it?”

He brings a hand down to toy with your wetness again, groaning as he feels just how wet you are. His other hand clenches tightly onto one of your breasts before he brings his mouth down to the nipple, tugging on it with his teeth. You can’t take it anymore. You need to finish, and you need to finish now, and his teasing is starting to piss you off more than you were before. “You know you want to fill me up. You know you’ve wanted to for a long time. So just fucking do it.” He raises his head, startled by your tone. You raise an eyebrow. “Unless… you can’t.”

He gives you a roguish sneer as he guides his dick back inside you. “Oh, I can,” he tells you. “And I will.” He thrusts his cock deep inside you again, his pace even more fierce than before. Your fingernails dig deep into his back as your legs wrap tightly around his waist as your thighs start to shake. You were screaming and calling out his name. “That’s right,” he grunts. “It’s me fucking you this time.” Your cunt pulses against his throbbing length as he continues to crash into you. You both start gasping for air. “You feel so fucking good, Y/N,” he says with haste. “Come one more time for me.” You both moan loudly, almost in unison, euphoria overtaking both of you at the same time.

He falls to you, breathing heavily and you feel his breathing on your neck as you run your hands up from his back to his shoulders. “Where did that come from?”

He rolls off you and lays on his back. “I don’t know,” he chuckled before running his hands over his face, quickly realizing what he’s just done. You look over to him and see his face filled with guilt, but you’re not sure if he’s upset by what just happened or because of her. “I’m a fucking asshole,” he whispered to himself.

“Hey,” you nudge him, trying to snap him out of his daze. “What’s on your mind?”

His look said it all. He was ashamed of what he just did and how he just acted. He quickly gets up from the bed and starts to get dressed. You look at him, confused by how he’s acting, but stay silent. “I’m…. I’m sorry, Y/N. I shouldn’t have…” he’s struggling to find the words he wants to say.

“Sorry for what, Brian?”

“I shouldn’t have done that. Not like that. I’m sorry…” He sits back on the bed and starts putting his shoes on. “It shouldn’t have been like that…”

“Brian,” you rub the back of his shoulder, doing anything you can to help him relax. “There was absolutely nothing wrong…” You wanted to tell him it was okay, that he didn’t do anything to hurt you – physically or emotionally, if that’s what he was worried about.

“I shouldn’t have treated you like that, Y/N,” he turned to face you, pain on his face. “I never wanted our first time to be…” He notices the questioning look on your face when he says the words “our first time,” making him stop his thought. “I’m sorry.”

You wrap yourself in the sheet and move to sit next to him. “I’m okay. I didn’t exactly stop you,” you smiled. You move a piece of hair that fell into his eyes out of the way before holding your palm against his cheek. You can see it’s much more than his aggressiveness that’s bothering him. “No one has to know,” you whisper, giving him a comforting smile. “Our secret.”

“I feel like shit,” he bemoaned.

“Hey,” you stopped him. “Our secret, alright?” You paused, trying to convince him with your smile that he had nothing to worry about. “I promise. Our secret.” He smiles and shakes his head, knowing you’re not going to tell anyone what happened.

You stand up and grab your robe when you hear Freddie calling from the other room. “I’m home, Princess! And I’m hungry come make me some food.” You start to laugh until you realize you have company.

“Oh fuck!” Brian mutters and throws his face in his hands. “Now what?”

You wave your hands down to tell him to stay calm. You walk to your bedroom door, crack it open and yell out to Freddie. “Hang on. I’m just about to jump in the shower!” You turn to Brian. “Do not leave this room. I’ll let you know when to go, ok?” He nods yes, and you walk out to take a quick shower.

Freddie notices your clothes thrown on the floor in the living room and picks them up. As he’s walking down the hall to bring them to you he starts joking. “The last time your clothes were thrown about in the living room you had Roger in there. Who the are you hiding this time?” You start to panic and hurry out of the shower, rushing to stop him from going in your room. But you’re too late. He flung open your bedroom door and saw your guest sitting on your bed. “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Freddie yelled out. “Why are you sitting here in the dark? Scared the shit out of me.”

“Sorry, Fred…” Brian doesn’t know what to say or do and looks to you for guidance.

You start laughing as you grab your clothes from Freddie. “I must have dropped them when I was folding my laundry earlier.” He gives you a suspicious look but doesn’t say anything. “Alright you two. Get out so I can get dressed. Brian? What time did you want to leave?”

“Uhh…” he stumbles but quickly recovers and plays along. “Whenever you’re ready I guess.” He jumps up and starts to walk out.

You nod your head once. “Hey Freddie? Want to come? We’re going eat.” Freddie raises an eyebrow. “Are you hungry or no?” You look over to Brian, who is relieved that you played that off. “I’ll come get you when we’re ready.” He smiles and rushes out and Freddie sits on your bed, glaring at you suspiciously. “What?” you ask, knowing you’re about to get lectured about something.

“You fucked him, didn’t you?” He smirks and chuckles. “I told you before, you can’t hide shit from me.” He looks over to the corner of your room where your full basket of dirty clothes is sitting. “Laundry, huh?”

“Freddie, please…” you start to grovel.

“I’m not going to say anything,” he’s giggling. “Soooo… was it that dirty, angry sex? The kind where you get out all of your aggression?”

“Freddie! Stop!” you’re laughing hysterically.

“I’m quite observant, in case you haven’t noticed. John and I had a bet as to whether or not this would happen.” You give Freddie a side-eyed glare. “What? We were wondering how you two were going to make up. I told him you two would eventually have a massive yelling match and probably break shit in the process. He’s the one who said you two would fuck it out.” Your expression never changed. “Don’t worry – I’m never going to tell him he was right. I’d have to pay him 10 quid.”

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

Neither one of you are hungry but you can’t exactly stay home after telling Freddie you were leaving. Instead of bothering with food, you decide to walk. Neither one of you are saying a word. You have a million things you want to say but you don’t know how to say them. He’s in the same predicament. The more you walk, the more you understand the guilt Brian was feeling because it’s starting to come over you, too.

You walk down as far as you can go, making it to the Thames where you take a seat on the wall with you back to the water. Brian stands next to you and looks in the opposite direction. “I’m letting you go, Y/N,” he tells you. You look over to him, befuddled, but he doesn’t look back. “I told you, I want you to be happy, and being happy means letting you go.” He’s starting to get choked up, which causes you to start tearing up because you always hate seeing a man get emotional. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve done, every time I’ve hurt you. You’re the last person I ever want to hurt.”

“I know, Bri,” you whisper. “I know you didn’t mean any of it.”

“But I did. I wanted you to feel the hurt I was feeling.” He’s disgusted with himself. “I was selfish. I’ll never forgive myself.”

“Well, you have to, because I forgive you.” He finally turns to you and gives you a solemn smile as he looks down at his feet. You reach out for his arm to get his attention. “I have one request,” you tell him after he looks up to you. “Okay, two – no, three requests.” You get him to laugh, and that makes you relax. “First, don’t act funny around me. We’re both adults. We don’t have to act like children because of what happened, okay?” He shook his head, understanding what you meant. “Second, be my friend. I miss your stupid jokes and your awkwardness when I pick on you.” He grabs the back of his neck like he does when he’s embarrassed. “See! That! That’s what I’m talking about.” You make him laugh more. “My last request – stop letting Jane walk all over you. This goes along with you being my friend. We both need to stop acting so elusive whenever she’s around. You’re my friend. I love you. And I’m tired of her making it hard.”

“I will honor all three requests. And I promise, she will never come between us ever again,” he says before he grabs you into a hug. “She’s just going to have to deal with the fact that Saturday night you’re coming back with me to Headley to watch the meteor shower because you’re the only person who will appreciate it.”

“Periwinkle,” you tell him. “You didn’t ask, but I know you were wondering.”

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

“Happy birthday, Princess,” Freddie called out cheerfully as he walked in your bedroom to wake you up Saturday morning. He was carrying a plate of pancakes and a present. You sat up, surprised, and before you could say anything, he answered the question he knew you were about to ask. “I didn’t make these so they’re edible. I asked Catrin downstairs for help.” You both started laughing as he sat on your bed and handed you the plate. “I know you don’t like birthdays, but I do, so you have to entertain me.”

“Thank you,” you smiled as you took a bite of your breakfast. “These are delicious.” You put some on the fork and fed it to Freddie. “How did you even know it’s my birthday?”

“I found an old calendar in my closet and figured your grams didn’t know any other Y/N’s,” he chuckled. “Go on. Open your present.” He hands it to you, giddy, as he took the plate from your hands.

You couldn’t help but scream with laughter when you looked inside of the box. “A tiara? Really?”

“Every princess needs to have one!” he laughed as he put it on your head. “Perfect.”

You hand Freddie the plate of food, rush to your closet and put on your grandma’s old fur coat. “I think this makes it even better.”

“Absolutely!” He starts laughing and jumps up to find more ways to dress you up. “Jewels. You need jewels!” He starts digging through your jewelry and pulls out an obnoxious fake rhinestone necklace. “Perfect!” You walk over to your dresser and put on some lipstick as he hooks the necklace. “Gorgeous!” The both of you can’t stop laughing. “I think you need to wear this all day.”

You and Freddie are headed to the kitchen to brew the morning’s coffee and finish your pancakes when there’s a knock at the door. You both walk over to answer it. “Umm, Miss Y/L/N?” It’s a messenger holding an envelope. You nod as he looks at you, perplexed by your ridiculous outfit. You’re keeping a straight face but Freddie is having a hard time not losing it. “I have a delivery for you from… Mark… I can’t pronounce the last name, I’m sorry.” You want to vomit. You snatch the envelope from him and walk away. Freddie can see the distressed look on your face, thanks the courier and closes the door.

“How did he find me?” you mumble, sitting on the sofa, your hands shaking and feeling numb. Freddie sits next to you, unsure what to do. “How did he know I was here?”

“Mark?” Freddie asks. “Your…” Then it dawned on him. Mark, your ex. Your abusive ex. He started to get angry.

Your eyes well up with tears and you can stop shaking. “I can’t open this.” You hand the envelope to Freddie. “You open it.”

After tearing it open and reading the note, he starts to fume. He sees on your face that you want to know what it says. “All it says is ‘happy birthday, Peanut.’” You groan. You always hated when Mark called you that.

“He found me,” you mumble. “He fucking found me.”

“I won’t let him hurt you,” Freddie assures you.

“I’m not worried about that,” you tell him. “I’ll be okay. He’s just the last person I ever wanted to see again.”

There’s another knock at the door and you freeze. “Take this ridiculous shit off,” Freddie tells you as he pulls the tiara from your head. You take off the jacket and necklace as he walks to the door. “Can I help you?” you hear him ask from across the room.

“Uh, yeah, is this Y/N’s apartment?” you hear the visitor ask.

Fuck, you think to yourself. He’s here.