#I always wear jeans but river’s legs don’t fit them too well had to roll them up

[sofiasfanartcollection]

prompts are: “as a mutant/human/yokai” and “wearing one of your outfits”

here are the last pieces for this Draw Your Rise OC Challenge by @angellustrates ! <3

(previous)

It’s been such a fun challenge, so happy angellustrates put it together :] thank you!

[beautiful-and-terrible]

little things

Rating: Gen

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, SoftBoi!Rodrick, Insecure!Reader

Ship: Rodrick Heffley x Reader

Warnings: Body Image, Eating Disorders / Body Dysmorphia, Insecurity 

A/N: this is. SO shmoopy and cheesy lmaoooo but this was an anon request and i live to please :) enjoy!

---

You dragged yourself through your front door, kicking off your shoes in the foyer. The house was dark - your parents were probably asleep already.

You had just spent the day with Rodrick at Six Flags, and you were exhausted from spending all day in the hot sun, running around with your boyfriend like children. You smiled to yourself thinking about the events of the day, the thrill of the rollercoasters you went on.

You clutched the teddy bear Rodrick had won you close to your chest as you slowly ascended the stairs, trying not to make too much noise.

You entered your room and tenderly placed the bear on the bed, giving it a little kiss on the head as you did so before starting your night routine. Change into pajamas, brush teeth, wash face. As you were putting on your final face cream, your phone vibrated on the bathroom counter. You knew who it was from the specific rhythm of the vibration - two short bursts, like a heartbeat.

Rodrick had sent pictures of you two from today - a lot of selfies, but also a couple of far away shots that Rodrick had harassed people into taking for you. People rarely were able to say no to Rodrick once he had gotten an idea into his head - even if that idea was wrapping himself around a street lamp like a stripper for a good picture.

You finally, blissfully laid down in bed, letting out a giant groan as you cracked your back. You browsed the photos, feeling your heart-rate pick up as you gazed at Rodrick in the pictures. He looked so cute today - he had been wearing cut off black jeans, black high-top vans, and a loose button down Hawaiian shirt, half-way unbuttoned to show off his tanned chest and the multiple layers of silver necklaces he was wearing. His nails were painted black, but his eyes were free of makeup, simply accented by his naturally long eye-lashes and the smile-lines around his eyes.

After admiring Rodrick, you turned your gaze to yourself in the pictures. You felt your heart sink into your stomach. When you had left the house this morning, you had felt pretty confident in your outfit - just ripped jean shorts and a crop-top with converse. But as you looked closer, you couldn’t stop thinking about how unsatisfied you felt with the way you looked in the pictures.

As you continued to scroll through, the more faults you found in your appearance. Your thighs being squeezed by your shorts, which didn’t feel too tight but apparently were not as flattering as you thought. In one picture, you were sitting down on a bench, your legs over Rodrick’s lap, but you couldn’t stop staring at the roll of your stomach that came over the waistband of your shorts. You felt tears pricking your eyes, but you stubbornly refused to cry. You spent a long time trying to feel confident in yourself - you weren’t going to let that hard work be ruined by a few unflattering photos.

However, you couldn’t stop thinking about the way your body looked in those pictures. You got up to stand in front of your full length mirror, looking at the reflection critically. You were craning your neck to look at your butt when you heard a soft tap-tap-tap at the window. You jumped about 2 feet in the air before you realized it was just Rodrick, grinning from outside the window and placing a wet kiss on the glass, making you laugh. He made a grossed-out expression when he realized the glass was not as clean as he thought it was, wiping his tongue on the back of his hand.

“I swear to God, you’re like a toddler. Didn’t your mom ever tell you not to lick random surfaces?” you asked as you opened the window to let him in. He folded himself gracefully through the window, all long limbs and messy hair. You felt both comforted and electrified in his presence.

“Since when have I ever listened to any authority figure?” Rodrick asked, grinning wolfishly and leaning down to kiss you softly, juxtaposing his rebellious tone. For someone with such a seemingly hard exterior, Rodrick was always very gentle and sweet with you. It was one of the things you loved most about him - he seemed to hate everyone but you. It made you feel special and appreciated. 

As he pulled back from the kiss, he frowned, stroking his thumb over your cheek. “Have you been crying? Your eyes are red,” he said, making a pouty face. You shrugged, turning away and shaking your head.

“No, just allergies probably.”

Rodrick scoffed, “Sure, allergies. You’re a bad liar, you know that?”

You refused to look at him, instead going to your record player and flipping through the vinyls you had stacked in a black milk-crate. “I’m not a bad liar,” you said half-heartedly, not really able to come up with any other excuse.

“You totally are, you avoided eye contact and everything. Seriously, what's wrong? Do you not like the bear?” Rodrick asked. You felt his arms wrap around your waist, his chest pressed against your back, his nose tucked into the crook of your neck. You felt yourself smile despite your bad mood.

“No, I love the bear. I named him Sasha Bear-on Cohen. Get it?” you said, turning your head to place a kiss on his cheek.

“Ahh, a-very nice,” Rodrick replied in his best Borat impression. You giggled. He gave you a squeeze, hands warm on your waist, but the sensation made you self-conscious about your body again, and you wiggled away. You couldn’t understand how Rodrick could bear to touch you. You had no idea why he was attracted to you in the first place. It made tears spring to your eyes again, and you sniffled.

“Y/n”, Rodrick said softly, looking genuinely concerned. “I know you. You don’t get sad for no reason - unless you’re on your period, or you start thinking too much about the Mars Curiosity Rover.”

You sighed, but you knew he had a point. It took you a minute to get your thoughts into words before you spoke.

“I just... I know its silly. But those pictures - you look like a Hot Topic wet dream and I look... I don’t know. I just don’t like the way I look. And most of the time I don’t let it bother me - at least, I try - but I hate having my picture taken because whenever I see them, all I can see is the things I hate about myself. So. Yeah.”

You feel the tears making steady rivers down your cheeks, and your voice shakes as you speak. Rodrick listens attentively, sitting on the foot of your bed. He pats the space next to him, and you sit down. His hand rests on your leg - not constraining you or placating you with a hug, just letting you know he’s there.

“Y/n, I don’t know how to tell you this without sounding like a giant cheese-ball, but... holy fuck. You are so beautiful. I - every time I look at you all I can think is goddamn, I can’t believe she’s into a loser like me. And don’t argue, it’s just a fact,” he says quickly as you try to defend him from his own self-deprecation. 

“I’m not good with words... I’m more of a man of action, y’know?” he says, raising his eyebrows suggestively. You smack him on the arm, but his silly expression still makes you smile.

“But, I can still tell you - and don’t repeat this to anyone ever because I’ll never live it down - you give me butterflies. Every time. No matter if you’re in pajamas or a ballgown. You make me feel like a stack of pancakes with warm butter and syrup,” he pauses as you laugh, his warm brown eyes gazing into yours. “Just... I don’t even know what I’m saying at this point. You make my bones feel funny. That’s how beautiful you are.”

Rodrick finally wraps his arms around you. You let yourself be folded into the embrace, feeling content and more than a little overwhelmed by his confession.

“Thank you,” you murmur, unable to find any other words at the moment. You want to say all of that back to him, ten-fold. You want to tell him he makes you feel like flashing concert lights and Fourth of July fireworks. But your mouth can’t make the words, so you just wrap your arms around him tighter.

“Do you want me to spend the night?” he asks, pressing a kiss to your temple. You simply nod, already moving up the bed and pulling back the covers as Rodrick goes to turn out the lights.

In the dark of the room, only illuminated by the street-lamp outside your house, Rodrick looks very alien - all long lines and lean angles. It makes your heart-rate kick up again, and you feel a blush form on your cheeks. It’s not as though this is the first time you’ve slept in the same bed, or even been intimate, but this feels... different. 

Rodrick tucks himself in next to you on your bed - it’s a queen size, so it fits both of you well enough that you could sleep together not touching if you wanted to. But Rodrick is a big cuddler at heart, even if he would deny it to his grave. He wraps his arms around your waist as you lay your head on his chest, already being lulled to sleep by the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

You feel like it’s important to tell him before you both lose the tenderness of the moment, so you finally open your mouth to speak.

“I’m so lucky. I know you think you’re... a loser, or whatever but, Rodrick. You aren’t. You are so beyond cool, and brave, and courageous. Thinking about you makes my head spin. And whenever I see you... I’m home.” You trail off, feeling awkward, but Rodrick simply tightens his arms around you, stroking your back with his fingers.

“If I knew we were getting this sentimental I wouldn’t have brought lube... and maybe a few tissues,” he snickers, and you pinch his nipple, causing him to squeal.

“Jerk.”

“Bitch,” he teases back, and you sigh softly, feeling your body and mind relax. You had almost completely forgotten about the pictures - and at this point, you didn’t really care. The pictures didn’t speak. The only voice telling you that you weren’t beautiful was the one inside your head, and it could definitely be a bitch sometimes.

You could’ve imagined it, but as your brain was finally shutting down, you could’ve sworn you heard Rodrick start to sing, “you are my sunshine... my only sunshine...”

“you make me happy... when skies are gray...”

“you’ll never know, dear, how much i love you...”

“please don’t take my sunshine away...”

[rainandhotchocolate]

Black Dog

A/N So this is literally just pure fluff - I was sick af this week and wanted some sirius black comforting me as a dog so I wrote it I HOPE OTHER PEOPLE ALSO LIKE THIS cause this is totally self indulgent lelel 

Enjoy! 

(8k, Sirius Fluffffff, descriptions of an injury & depression)

A large black dog sat on Y/N’s leg, leaning against her knee. A lot of students had seen it around lately, someone’s rogue and prohibited pet roaming Gryffindor tower at night. For many it was a comfort, wandering around to cheer people up as it seemed to sense when someone was sad or extremely stressed, but Y/N had also heard that it would lead you down to kitchens in the dead of the night and help bring back extra treacle tarts.

A tear had found its way down and into Y/N’s mouth, salty and hot against her skin, her breathing hitching slightly as she tried to calm herself down. She hated crying. Well, crying in front of others anyway. She knew there was a different kind of bravery in being able to show your emotions to others but there was always something pulling her back, telling her to hide at all costs.

The dog nuzzled itself against her leg, and she moved on the couch to make room for it to sit up next to her and lay its head in her lap.

“I don’t know why I’m crying,” She laughed at the dog, tears still making tracks down her face, “I hate crying for no reason, it’s like I’m constantly searching for a reason, I should have some terrible illness or problem that means I’m allowed to be upset. But no, my brain has decided I’m just sad.”

Y/N dug her hands into the fur along the dog’s neck and head, scratching lightly. She’d found herself getting more tired lately, wanting to do nothing but sleep and sleep. But now, in the middle of the night, of course, she couldn’t.

The big black dog had been joining her most nights this week, curling up against her leg or in front of the fire, listening to her talk or watching her move around her watercolours across a page, swirls of colour and water dripping onto the carpet. Sometimes they just lay across the carpet in front of the fire, the dog sleeping on her stomach or legs as she drifted in and out of sleep.

This night seemed different, however, the dog had refused to stay still, moving around every few minutes as if to make sure she stayed awake.

“Ok, what’s up, puppy?” The dog growled at that and Y/N laughed, “Ok, large giant manly dog, what are you doing?”

The dog finally jumped up and off the couch, nudging its head into the back of her knee so that she had to stand up as well. She groaned, joining him and watching a little exasperatedly as it ran towards the portrait hole and then looked back at her expectantly.

“Ok, ok,” Y/N shook her head but followed anyway, grabbing her jumper and pushing open the door, hiding quickly in the dark so that the Fat Lady didn’t spot her. Y/N could hear her yelling whose there! in her scariest voice as she slipped out of sight.

They moved carefully through the darkness, the dog led her down hallways Y/N wasn’t sure she’d ever been down before, behind small paintings and passageways that seemed to come into focus when the dog moved across the floor in a certain way. After what felt like an hour, Y/N started to feel a cool breeze trickle down her neck and she realised that they were just beside the small courtyard. The dog slipped through a small dog and Y/N followed him out into the stone covered the courtyard that was beginning to sprout small flowers in between the cracks and along the walls.

Y/N silently thanked herself for bringing a jumper, pulling it over herself as the dog seemed to prance across the stone floor and towards the grounds.

“Slow down, not all of us are completely awake right now.”

The dog huffed but slowed to an almost comical pace… no, just slowed. Y/N shook her head, she was reading human emotions into a fucking dog. She followed the dog out into a clearing, a little way down from the Whomping Willow, that overlooked the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The black dog pawed at the bottom of a tree to Y/N’s right before curling up underneath it. Y/N joined him, letting him rest his head on her lap once more.

The night breeze had faded, leaving just the warm air that smelt like flowers and Hagrid’s cabbage patch wafting over towards them.

“Well this is very pretty,” Y/N murmured, scratching the dog behind his ears and grinning as it pushed its head back involuntarily into her hand, “I was brought here before you know? In first year, I completely forgot.”

A memory had pushed itself forward, of a boy with dark hair gripping her hand tightly and dragging her along the river and towards the large oak tree they were now sitting under.

“Sirius Black brought me here, he was sure that there was going to be a comet shower and we had to go see it.”

The dog seemed to jump at the name, looking up at her before shaking its head and lowering back down and onto her lap.

“You know that name huh? I hope he’s not your owner, that would be supremely awkward. Though to be fair it would be like him to bring in a prohibited animal into school,” Y/N snorted, rolling her eyes.

Sirius and herself had been friends back in first and second year before he’d grown into himself, his hair curling down the nape of his neck as he rebelled against haircuts from his parents, wearing tight flare jeans and leather jackets to Hogsmeade weekends in third year. They’d drifted apart, Sirius spending more time with his guy friends, wanting to talk about girls and dung bombs, and Y/N’s little crush had faded into the background as she became friendly with the other girls in her dorm room.

She couldn’t help hating how her heart jumped a little bit every time he caught her eye, smiling and always being the first to look away.

“Well if he is your owner tell him he’s a dolt for dousing the common room in snow, I know it was him.”

The dog seemed to look amused. No, not amused, it was just looking at her. Y/N desperately needed some sleep.

“Ok, come on doggo, I need to actually go to sleep for once,” She felt herself yawning, and grinned down at the dog, “Thanks for the adventure, it seems to have made me tired.”

They wandered back up and into the castle, the dog again leading her down small passageways and hidden corridors to avoid any teachers or Filch prowling the hallways. The dog ran ahead when they were at the corridor leading onto the Gryffindor Tower, and somehow made the Fat Lady open the Portrait Hole before Y/N had edged towards her point of sight, grumbling loudly about insubordination.

She crept into the common room, praying that it had remained empty, and letting out a deep sigh when she saw that it was.

“Well, goodnight lil fluff,” Y/N grinned as it growled lightly at her again but nuzzled his head along her leg all the same. She gave him a final scratch on the head and neck before walking towards the girl’s dorm room, falling asleep almost instantly.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N woke up to a startled shriek, jumping up quickly and pulling open the curtains surrounding her bed. She was surprised to find that the sun was streaming through the windows and the rest of the girls in her room already dressed and pulling on sandals.

“Ok who on earth screamed,” Y/N groaned, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and slipping on her the soft slippers sitting under her bed.

“Yeah sorry I just spilt coffee on my date outfit and I have nothing else planned out and I’m currently panicking,” Dorcas sighed, still staring at the large brown stain dripping down her white blouse.

“You have a million clothes,” Marlene rolled her eyes, already picking through her clothes, “And a million white tops, I honestly think you have an inability to buy colour.”

“I look good in shades, leave me be.”

“Wear the white dress!” Marlene pulled out a mini dress that had been stuck underneath the piles of winter clothes Dorcas had packed away months ago.

“Ughhhh, no.”

“Yes!” Lily came over to Marlene, grinning widely, and picking the dress out of Marlene’s hands to hold it up to the rest of the dorm.

“Strong yes, also who are you going out with?” Y/N rummaged through her drawers to pull out a pair of linen shorts and t-shirt.

“Eloise, that Ravenclaw girl who Dorcas stares at every morning,” Marlene threw the dress at Dorcas who scowled and held it up to herself in the mirror.

“On the Quidditch team, yeah?”

“Yep, smart and fit, the dream combo,” Dorcas waggled her eyebrows at Y/N through the mirror before turning around and sighing loudly, “Ok, but no one is allowed to comment on the dress all day.”

“Cross my heart,” Lily acted out her words in mid-air, turning back to lacing up her docs. Eventually, the girls filed out of their dorm room and made their way to the Hogwarts exit point. Filch was standing and growling at everyone who past, aggressively poking a dark magic detector towards each person before they were allowed to get through.

“I don’t know who would be dumb enough to carry dark objects into Hogsmeade,” Marlene rolled her eyes, lining up for Filch to glare her down.

“I’d say it would be more of a worry what they are getting in town,” Lily muttered under her breath, eyeing a dark-haired Slytherin who had hissed back at Filch as he tried to pat him down.

“Filch is checking us going back in too,” Y/N watched as Filch finally let Snape through, begrudgingly, and he joined the group of Slytherins waiting for him. Lily’s attitude didn’t seem to lift, so Y/N took another angle, “So are we meeting James?”

“In the Three Broomsticks,” Lily said, as casually as possible, but a slight tinge of red had crept up onto her cheeks and ears.

“What is this, date number 10?” Dorcas grinned at her, “And all you’ve done is kiss, huh?”

“We’re taking it slow.”

“Or you’re just not telling us all the juicy details.”

“You know that you would be the first to know if I had any juicy details to tell,” Lily knocked Dorcas’ elbow, smiling at her, “Anyway, I don’t want to be making a big deal out of it.”

“But it’s a bloody huge deal!”

“Exactly my point.”

“You’re no fun,” Marlene poked her tongue out at her, and looped her arm around Y/N, “I guess us lone wolves will have to make our own fun.”

“Yes, please find me something fun to do,” Y/N leaned into Marlene’s shoulder, watching the line slowly trickly forwards.

“Well there are plenty of pretty boys around for that,” Marlene winked at her, scanning the crowd forming with Filch’s very slow process, “Even some that seem to be staring at you.”

“What?” Y/N followed her gaze to see none other than Sirius Black turning quickly away to face Remus and Peter. Y/N frowned, perhaps that dog was his. Did he see them last night?

“I highly doubt staring is the word to be used there,” Y/N rolled her eyes, “We haven’t exactly spoken recently.”

“Ahh, the heart is a fickle thing,” Marlene said sagely, stepping up to Filch who poked her aggressively and then waved her through. Once Filch had seen that they weren’t carrying anything that would potentially curse or kill anyone in Hogsmeade, they made their way down the hill towards the small village.

Y/N had always loved Hogsmeade, in all weather, but there was something about it in Summer when everyone was wandering the streets and a light summer breeze would rustle its way through the main road in a way that felt like she was being wrapped in a blanket. It somehow felt more magical to her.

The girls made their way towards The Three Broomsticks, Marlene whispering the names of all the cute boys they passed who might be very available for Y/N. Y/N couldn’t help but snigger along with her, even though her mind had drifted back to Sirius’ grey-blue eyes watching her in the courtyard moments before.

The Three Broomsticks was crowded, as expected, with the end of exams and most teachers finishing up their work. Rosmerta was almost slinging butterbeer at anyone who managed to reach the bar, and had three extra waitstaff sliding through the tables across the pub.

“Can anyone see a table?” Marlene scowled at a boy who had shoved passed her to find a table himself and he backed off.

“I’m going to melt into the floor if there isn’t, I am not going to Madame Puddifoots, that place is a hellhole,” Dorcas groaned, searching the floor for empty chairs lying about.

“James has one!” Lily was already walking towards them, waving at James with a giddy kind of smile on her face. The rest of them trudged after her, avoiding the patrons holding steaming mugs of butterbeer and other assorted drinks, towards the large back table where James and his friends were sitting.

“How on earth did you get this table?” Dorcas looked both amazed and relieved, sitting down on the edge of the table so that she could continue to look out for Eloise.

“Got here hours ago, it’s the last trip into Hogsmeade it’s always hectic,” James was grinning, clearly very proud of himself, and slung an arm around Lily, giving her shoulder a little squeeze, “I grabbed you a pint already but I wasn’t aware we’d be graced by your friends as well, sorry!”

“Well I guess you had to officially meet them at some point,” Lily smiled up at him, and Y/N felt a pang in her stomach. It would be nice to look at someone with that much happiness.

“We’ve known them for seven years,” Marlene laughed, still standing and holding onto Y/N’s arm, “We’ll get the rest of the pints, come on.”

She dragged Y/N away quickly, expertly pulling her through the crowd and up to the bar.

“Why did you and Sirius drift apart anyway?” She turned to Y/N, head crooked to one side.

“I told you, we just got older and stopped having the same interests,” Y/N shrugged, “Why?”

“I don’t know, I just always think there was more too it,” She held her hands out and pulled three mugs of butterbeer towards her as Rosemerta began sliding them across the bar, “you know he’s like always staring at you.”

“Well now I know you’re lying,” Y/N rolled her eyes, grabbing her own pint of butterbeer as they began to walk back, trying not to spill anything.

“You can’t not have noticed! If anything I can’t see why you drifted apart if you both clearly care for each other, even just a little bit,” Marlene gave her a look, the one the gave when she was making sure that you actually listened to her and stopped being a prat.

“I honestly don’t know what to tell you, Marls,” Y/N lowered her voice as they got to the table, “We just stopped hanging out.”

“Mmmmm,” Marlene hummed but said nothing further. She passed a mug to Dorcas and sat down next to Peter and Remus.

“Has Eloise arrived yet?” Y/N ignored Marlene’s continued watchful eyes, sitting down in the only place left, between Remus and Sirius. She took a big sip of her drink.

“Her friend just came over, she’s running a bit late but will be here soon,” Dorcas beamed, her nerves getting the better of her as she began tapping the edge of her butterbeer mug. Sirius had leaned back into his chair, and Y/N could feel his eyes on her shoulder but she continued to ignore him. She wasn’t really sure why she was ignoring him, it’s not like he’d done anything to hurt her, but it felt like if she turned to face him her face might become a ripe tomato.

“Have you planned out your afternoon then?”

“Of course, drink here, then walk over to the shrieking shack, see if I can’t get her a little scared and a little in need of a hug,” Dorcas winked, earning a laugh from James and Sirius.

“That’s very sly, I like it,” James nodded in approval, “Might try that on you sometimes.”

He turned to Lily, grinning wickedly.

“I’m very sure it would be you who’d need a hug.”

“That works fine for me too, Lils,” His grin widened and Lily seemed to be unable to do anything but smile back at him.

“What about you, Y/N, any big plans for the afternoon?” Y/N felt like she could hear his voice separately from the others, as if they were somewhere else, alone. She cleared her throat, steeling herself before looking at him with a cool expression plastered across her face.

“No plans, though Marlene wants to find something fun to do that doesn’t require us watching James and Lily snog all afternoon,” Y/N gave an innocent smile to Lily who growled at her.

“Perhaps you’d want to join us?” Marlene chimed in, a similar smile on her face, eyebrows raised at Sirius, “You two as well of course.”

She nodded to Remus and Peter.

“I never really enjoy seeing James’ tongue,” Remus’ face remained blank but his eyes were twinkling as he looked over at Lily who was blushing furiously.

“I actually hate all of you,” Lily buried her head behind James who looked thoroughly pleased with her reaction.

“Well I’m definitely in, I need to stop by Zonko’s though,” Sirius responded, eyes darting over to Remus’ who returned a knowing smile.

They finished their drinks and bid goodbye to Lily, James, and Dorcas who barely looked up from watching the door intently. Y/N took in a deep breath as the summer breeze wafted across her face, feeling it warm up her skin.

“Nothing like the Scottish sun,” Sirius grinned at Y/N, “I honestly think the sun feels the best here, because we get so little of it across the year.”

“Definitely,” Y/N smiled a little giddily back, feeling the sun warm the back of her head as they made their way towards Zonkos.

“So what do you need in Zonkos huh?” Marlene gave Remus and Sirius a sidelong glance, “I would have thought you’d be banned from bringing things back by now.”

“We have our ways,” chirped Peter from behind them, sticking his head through from behind Remus with what he must think was a mischievous smirk.

“Why does that sound worse than the idea of being pranked on our last few days of school?”

“Because it is,” Remus shook his head at the two boys who were now whispering, heads bent together.

“I thought you would have taught them better Mr prefect,” Y/N teased him, holding open the door for the group to pile into the already very crowded Zonko’s.

“There’s a reason I had the head boy badge taken from me,” He winked, nodding in thanks as he passed her and wandered towards what Y/N was sure was fireworks. The boys hid their purchases from Marlene and Y/N who decidedly ignored them, wandering the aisles in search of anything that could be fun for the summer holidays.

“Never know when you might need one of these,” Marlene elbowed Y/N repeatedly as she held up a love potion, making Y/N giggle.

“I definitely, don’t need one of those.”

“Oooh, a confident Y/N, I like her,” Marlene put it down, trailing her fingers across the shelves. Y/N felt someone’s eyes on her back but refused to turn around until the boys called their names to get them to leave.

“Anyone keen to sneak up on Dorcas?” Marlene linked arms with Y/N again.

“You just want to see the haunted shrieking shack,” Sirius cooed, moving his hands in front of her as if he was a ghost, “It is really haunted you know, I’ve heard the screams.”

“So, have I,” Peter grinned, following Sirius’ actions as Marlene began to lead the way. They trudged up the hill and towards the clearing where there was the best view of the derelict house. It always seemed to look worse and worse every time Y/N came to see it like it would fall over at any moment.

“Want a closer look?” Sirius winked at Y/N, “Or are you a bit too scared something might come out of the dark.”

“Don’t need you goading me Mr Black,” Y/N smiled at him, “You know I can’t handle scary stories, let alone a giant haunted house.”

“Ahhh come on, I’ll protect you,” He grabbed her shoulders quickly, “If I can.”

“Stop it, you dork!”

“You two are killing me,” Marlene rolled her eyes, snorting at them, “And anyway, Dumbledore said specifically that someone nearly died down there. I’m all for an adventure, but I’d like to graduate and you know, maybe fight in a war rather than die from a loose floorboard.”

“Smart girl you are,” Remus nodded at her, but Y/N swore she saw a flash of anger cross his eyes, “I for one am perfectly happy staying up here, not dead.”

“Hear hear!” Y/N grinned up at Remus, “the prefect is back.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon mucking around the area around the Shrieking Shack, Sirius taking them up to this giant hill that overlooked almost all of Hogsmeade and the castle. On the way down, Y/N felt herself slip, catching herself on a rock that jutted out beside her.

“Fuuuuuuuuuucckk,” Y/N moaned, feeling her hand cut open with the force of her landing, her but likely covered in dirt and also aching.

“Shit, are you ok?” Sirius had come up behind her, grabbing her by the waist and swiftly picking her up and off the ground. The rest of them had already trekked farther down the hill and hadn’t heard her swear.

“Yeah, I am, it's bloody typical of me. The one day I bring out the sandals we go on a small hike,” Y/N snorted, shaking her head and trying to stand on her feet. Her knee buckled and she fell back into Sirius who gripped her tightly, his arms wrapped around her torso.

“Thanks, sorry,” Y/N winced, both from the pain and a little out of embarrassment.

“Don’t stress at all,” He smiled at her, “Lean on me, for the rest of the way down ok? I don’t want you toppling over and breaking your leg again.”

“Oh my god I can’t believe you would bring that up,” Y/N shook her head in amazement, “that was completely your fault!”

“Hardly!” Sirius hooked his arm around her back and hoisted her upright so that Y/N could test her leg whilst they continued the walk down. Y/N couldn’t help but lean into him, feeling his chest pressed up against her shoulder blades and… shut up, you idiot.

“You decided it would be a great idea to make the final staircase to the Great Hall a waterslide.”

“Oh yeah… that was kind of my fault wasn’t it,” He grimaced, chuckling, “Sorry about that.”

“It’s ok, you carried me around for a week. And I think you got me a bouquet of chocolate frogs! Fuck, I forgot about that.”

“Has been a while hasn’t it,” Sirius became slightly quieter, Y/N itching to turn and see his expression but she was too worried about making sure she didn’t bleed across her white shorts. They continued the rest of the journey in silence, Y/N slowly taking her weight off Sirius as she stretched out her leg and the muscle began to take on more pressure.,

“You lot took ages, doing anything fun?” Marlene was picking at her nails, sitting on a large rock and leaning against Remus who had pulled out a book.

“If you call gashing open your hand and bruising your sit bones fun, then yes, I had a wild time.”

“You cut your hand?” Sirius glared at Y/N, “Show me.”

“Alright, calm down,” Y/N barked a laugh at his concerned expression, “I’m sure it’s fine.”

“Yeah that’s not fine,” Peter had come up to them, watching as Sirius opened her fist revealing a large gaping hole in her hand.

“Ok I think I might faint,” Y/N felt a rush of blood coming up to her head as she took in the pain and visual all at once, “I’d been clenching it the whole way down the hill so I didn’t bleed on myself, I didn’t think to look at it.”

“I’ve got something to calm you down,” Peter smiled at her, grabbing his large rucksack and pulling out a small dropper, “open your mouth, two drops of this and you’ll be fine till we get you to Madame Pomfrey.”

“Do you just carry this stuff around with you?” Marlene peeked her head into his bag, frowning.

“He’s obsessed with potions,” Remus smiled at Peter warmly, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he was best in the year,”

“I’m not that good, I just find them interesting,” Peter blushed a bright red colour as he put the stopper back into the bottle and pocketed it, “Let me know if you feel like fainting again.”

“Will do,” Y/N felt a wave of calm come over her, her knees buckling again as every muscle in her body seemed to relax.

“Yeah it might do that if she’s never had it before,” Peter winced, “Sorry I forgot to mention.”

“No worries,” Sirius leaned down and picked Y/N up, bridal style, “This is much more fun anyways.”

“Sorry, Y/N!” Peter squeaked again, looking like he accidentally poisoned her.

“It’s fine,” Y/N smiled giddily, “I wish I could have you around more often with your little potions bag.”

Y/N curled herself into Sirius’ body, slightly aware that her inhibitions had likely been lowered given her lack of care for revelling in the closeness of their bodies but she didn’t care, or more likely she probably couldn’t care. He brought her back up to the castle and straight to the hospital wing, calling loudly to Madame Pomfrey as he laid her on the closest bed to the exit.

“Yes, what is it, Black,” Pomfrey snapped, and Y/N got the impression that she didn’t enjoy seeing Sirius in the Hospital Wing, “oh!”

“Yes not me this time I promise, Y/N fell in Hogsmeade, she’s opened up her hand,”

Sirius curled open Y/N’s hand slowly, and Y/N winced as the nerves around the gash seemed to fizzle.

“Mmmmm, that’s a nasty cut, I’m glad you brought her to me instead of trying to heal it yourself, she’d have a hell of a lot more nerve damage,” Madame Pomfrey pulled out her wand and sat beside Y/N who looked at her nervously.

“I’ve learnt from my mistakes,” Sirius winked at her, sitting on the other side, his hand still on her shoulder. Y/N concentrated on that as Pomfrey began hovering her wand around the wound, muttering softly, and suddenly could feel the entirety of her hand moving, the nerves reattaching around the tendons. Y/N wanted to puke.

“Not very comfortable, but you should be fine in a few hours, you’ll just need to wear a small brace for a day to make sure nothing else happens to it.”

“Ok,” Y/N gritted her teeth, wishing she’d asked for something for the pain from Peter as well as her wound began to close slowly.

“There! All done, just wait here whilst I grab you a brace, and no leaning on it today or tomorrow, ok?” She gave Y/N and Sirius a stern look before standing up and heading to a large cupboard next to her office.

“Feeling ok?” Sirius asked, his thumb rubbing circles against her shoulder blade.

“Now that she’s stopped pulling my skin together, yes,” laughed Y/N, smiling at him, “Thanks for bringing me by the way, I hope I didn’t stop you getting your Zonko’s stuff back into the castle.”

“Oh don’t worry, Peter was in charge of all that,” He gave her a smirk but said nothing more as Madame Pomfrey returned with a rigid looking brace. She put it place for Y/N, showing her how to re-do it in the morning and bid them goodbye.

Sirius and Y/N walked back up to the Gryffindor Common Room in relative silence, Y/N feeling the calm slowly wear off her and the embarrassment of being carried into the castle by Sirius Black settle back in.

“Well, I’m going to read and avoid using my hand for the next 24 hours,” Y/N smiled a little awkwardly at him as they stepped through the Portrait hole and into the common room. He smiled at her, standing still momentarily as they both seemed to panic over how to say goodbye. Eventually, Y/N held out her hand as Sirius went to hug her.

“Wow, we really are out of sync,” Sirius laughed loudly, shaking his head.

“Why don’t we just nod curtly and leave,” Y/N grinned but felt like she was actually just baring her teeth at him.

“Deal.”

They nodded at each other and walked in the opposite direction, Y/N to her dorm and Sirius to the large window that overlooked the grounds.

That evening, once the sun had finally gone down around 10pm, Y/N made her way out into the common room, wanting to be by the fire as she read. She wasn’t surprised to see the large black dog had taken up residence by the fire already, curled up in a ball. He looked up when he heard her, wagging his tail.

“How are you doing, pup?” Y/N smiled at the large dog that had come across the common room and lay down on the carpet in front of the fire.

“I had a good day today,” She hummed lying down on the couch, leaning her head against the edge, curling herself up into the cushions so that she could keep her feet warm.

“I saw your owner today, Sirius,” She watched the fire flicker, placing her book underneath the couch as she began to feel tired, “Haven’t actually spoken to him in a long while. It was nice, felt like old times.”

The dog jumped up and curled himself against her stomach. Y/N felt herself begin to drift off, one arm curled to her side and the other draped lazily across the black dogs’ torso.

“In fact, I even got him to carry me the whole way home,” Y/N snorted, “You should have seen me, I think I was as red as a tomato. I’m very glad he didn’t say anything. Or perhaps if I’m lucky he didn’t notice me mortifying myself as I drooled over him.”

She felt herself wake, without opening her eyes, wanting to curl into the warmth of the couch and the sun shining on her skin. Y/N moved slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position for her arm that had seemed to have remained unmoving whilst curled into her side, and had begun to ache. She went to pull it out from under her and stretch it out towards the fire but instead, she hit something solid and warm in front of her.

Y/N flung her eyes open and saw a large figure covering her view and shrieked, jumping upwards, pushing the figure off the couch along with the couch cushions. She landed a little painfully on planks of wood and springs that made up the inside of the couch.

The figure yelped as they landed on the floor in a heap, rolling over and groaning in pain. Y/N struggled to pull herself out of the couch’s grips, hopping up to face whoever was lying on the floor in front of her.

“What on earth,” The heap groaned again, wincing lightly as they sat upright, rubbing the places where Y/N presumed they had landed moments ago. Y/N caught herself before she let out a gasp.

“Sirius?” Her eyes were wide, staring down at him. He winced again, sitting on his hip and heaving himself upright.

“Yes, what’s – oh, shit,” Realisation dawned on his face as he looked down at himself and Y/N looked immediately up towards the ceiling.

“So why on earth were you naked and lying with me on the couch?” Y/N continued to stare at the ceiling as Sirius searched for something to cover himself with, settling on a small cushion that had also gone flying in Y/N’s panic.

“I uh, fell asleep with you…” His eyes tried to meet hers but moved to the window behind her when she stared back in confusion.

“You, but,” No fucking way, “YOU are the dog?”

“Well, yes,” He smiled very sheepishly at her, eyes apologetic.

“You’re an animagus?” Y/N hissed at him, both shocked and a little frustrated. How long had she been hanging out with this dog, with Sirius? What had she said to him?

“Not so loud, I don’t know if you noticed that no one else knows this,” He looked around carefully, taking a step forward as if to put a finger across her mouth but thought better of it.

“For how long?”

“About three years.”

“You’ve been an illegal animagus for THREE YEARS?” Y/N couldn’t stop her voice from increasing in volume and Sirius gave her another pleading look.

“Why, why didn’t you tell me? Why… why?” Y/N stuttered, feeling her cheeks flush as she remembered talking to him about… himself.

“Well it’s a little lame,” Sirius rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, “I saw you here like two months ago, reading a letter from your parents. I remember you used to talk about them being a little uptight about being a witch and well anyway I wanted to say something or do something to make you feel better but… I don’t know we hadn’t spoken for so long and I just…”

“I just didn’t know how you would react if I just came up and asked you what was wrong, I mean if it was me I probably would have told you I was fine and ran away as fast as I could,” He laughed, a little nervously, still avoiding her gaze, “I didn’t even really think about it, I just turned, and then you looked so happy to see me and I don’t know, it felt like I cheered you up…”

He faded off, giving her a sheepish smile.

“And then you just decided to hang out like that every evening?” Y/N felt like she was processing a thousand bits of information at once.

“Oh uh, well, I didn’t always know your schedule. So I sort of just hung around like that. It turned out kinda nice though, getting to cheer people up during their exams. One girl tried to feed me birdseed though, that was disgusting,” His face grimaced from the memory, but Y/N was still stuck on what he had first said.

“You were waiting for me?” Y/N replied slowly, feeling her stomach begin to churn.

“Right, uh, I mean I wasn’t trying to stalk you or anything! You just haven’t seemed yourself lately, I wanted to help in some way.”

“You know you could have just come up and asked me what was wrong,” Y/N laughed at him, but it came out significantly more high-pitched than she’d anticipated.

“Honestly I thought you might still hate me a little.”

“What?” Y/N tried to rack her brain back to anything that he could have done that would have meant she’d hate him, “Why would I hate you?”

Sirius narrowed his eyes, looking genuinely confused, staring at her silently for a minute.

“Because of third year? Your date with Richard Ankleman?”

“Richard? What?” Y/N hadn’t thought about him for years, “the guy who stood me up?”

“He never told you, did he,” Sirius’ face contorted to one of complete embarrassment. For a moment, Y/N thought that he might hit himself with the pillow, but was grateful that he kept it where it was.

“Told me what, Sirius.”

“Ok, uh, well I wasn’t totally thrilled about him asking you out so I, you know in classic idiot Sirius style, hexed him into the Hospital wing so he wouldn’t make it. I mean I did tell him not to tell you, but I didn’t think he was scared enough of me to take me seriously,” He looked, if possible, even more sheepish. Y/N stared at him, eyes wide. How did I not know this?

“You were so furious after you spoke to him the next day, I just presumed he’d told you. You ruined my weeks’ essays, remember?”

Y/N did remember. It was all coming back to her, storming into Gryffindor Common Room in a rage and, with a flick of her wand, opening all the windows and letting in a huge gust of air that swung through the room and knocked over all of Sirius’ ink bottles that were scattered across the desk he was using the finalise his essays.

Y/N hadn’t bothered to stay and watch the aftermath. She had gone to apologise the next day, but he hadn’t been waiting for her in the common room like he always was so they could go down for breakfast together.

“Yeah, I was mad at him! He went on and on about how he was sick and I shouldn’t blame him for standing me up and to not slag him off to any of my other girlfriends in case he asked them out,” Y/N rolled her eyes at the memory, “I went to apologise to you the next day but you kept avoiding me.”

“I thought you’d want to talk about what I did!” Sirius stepped forward, letting out a huge breath he seemed to have been holding, and began gushing, his words falling off his tongue without a second thought, “I’d have to explain why and then you’d realise I was madly in love with you.”

He breathed out a laugh, significantly calmer. Y/N, on the other hand, felt like he’d just punched her in the throat.

“You what?”

“Merlin’s beard, I’m doing terribly today,” He muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair, “Please don’t freak, it was a while ago I promise, it just made me a little crazy back then. We haven’t really spoken properly in ages anyway,” He tried to laugh it off, but Y/N still felt like it was hard to breathe. A silence fell across them, broken only by the sound of Sirius adjusting his pillow awkwardly. Y/N’s heart was beating hard.

“I…” Y/N tried to laugh as well, as if this was a casual thing to say, “I had a bit of a thing for you as well.”

“Oh,”

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me!” Y/N scoffed at him, lifting her arms up in exasperation.

“I thought you knew!”

“How on earth would I know that! I’m not a mind reader.”

“I literally spent every waking hour with you, I asked you out!”

“I think I would have noticed if you asked me out you idiot,” Y/N shook her head at him, “Please, tell me when you asked me out.”

“I asked you to Hogsmeade and you invited James to get to know him better, so I kind of got the hint,” Sirius watched Y/N open and close her mouth a couple of times, unsure how to reply, “You didn’t think it was a date.”

“Not really…” Y/N was unsure if she could feel more like an absolute twat, “I thought you were just seeing if I wanted to go, and I wanted to hang out with James cause you guys were hanging out so much!”

“Wow,” Sirius started laughing, shaking his head, “This is actually changing my life.”

Y/N couldn’t help but join in, feeling her nervous energy emanate in awkward laughter.

“I can’t believe how stupid we were,” Y/N snorted, her face still red but breaking out into a large smile that matched Sirius’.

“Merlin, imagine if we hadn’t been so idiotic, things would be very different,” Sirius laughed, but Y/N felt her smile fade a little as she thought about his words. Holding his hand as they snuck around the back of the Herbology classrooms, where they’d previously made fun of couples for hiding. Sirius taking her to his favourite hiding spots around the castle. Y/N actually being there for him when he’d left home, instead of hearing about it through Remus and leaving a bag of Honeydukes sweets on his bed when he wasn’t there.

“Yeah, really different.”

Sirius’ eyes lifted to meet Y/N’s, his eyes darkening slightly. Y/N had forgotten momentarily that he was completely naked and that the light was getting brighter and brighter in the Common Room.

“Y/N, I –“ Sirius started but there was a sudden noise that made him jump backwards and turn his head towards the stairs, “Shit.”

Sirius grimaced, opening his mouth to say something before shaking his head and making a mad dash back up the stairs to the boy's dorm room before anyone came out of the girl's dormitory to find him stark naked and covered by a pillow.

Y/N stood, a little dazed, in the same spot momentarily, staring out the window opposite her until she heard her name getting called.

“Hmmm, what?” She turned to find Lily watching her, an odd expression on her face.

“Did I hear you talking to someone?”

“No, wait yes, Sirius was down here a second ago, he just went upstairs to get dressed.”

“Right…” Lily still seemed to stare at Y/N, whose expression was likely just as confusing.

“Um, why are you up so early?” Y/N changed the subject quickly, moving to sit back on the couch where the cushions had been hastily thrown earlier.

“Have a meeting with Professor McGonagall about getting a reference for my internship at St Mungo’s,” Lily grinned, “I’m hoping she’ll forgive me dating James.”

“Ahh, she secretly loves James’ shenanigans.”

“Let’s hope so,” Lily sighed, “You coming down for breakfast?”

“Yes – no wait, I’m not dressed am I?” Y/N looked down at herself, still wearing her clothes from the day before, “Oh.”

“Are you ok?” Lily looked concerned, “You didn’t get a concussion yesterday did you?”

“No, I’m fine, sorry, still a little tired obviously. You go ahead, I’ll meet you in the Great Hall,” Y/N gave what she hoped was a convincing smile and moved quickly down towards the girls’ dorm rooms.

Y/N felt like the whole day moved in a kind of daze. Many people went back to Hogsmeade but Y/N opted to join Marlene and Dorcas down by the lake as Dorcas debriefed them on her date the day before.

“Should I have kissed her? I feel like I should have and I just fucked up big time,” Dorcas groaned, throwing her bag down and joining it in a heap on the grass.

“You definitely should have kissed her,” Marlene replied solemnly, “Y/N, what do you think? I reckon she was giving off vibes big time.”

“What?” Y/N looked up at the two girls, both of whom glared at her.

“Were you even listening to me?” Dorcas huffed, “This is an important life or death situation, Y/N. I may have just ruined my first date with the love of my life.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“What’s going on with you, you’ve been out of it all day,” Marlene probed, joining Dorcas on the grass, letting her legs sit out in the sun.

“Nothing, I’m just distracted, sorry,” Y/N dipped her toe in the lake, “You definitely should have kissed her, D.”

“Don’t change the subject!” Dorcas poked her shin with her toe, “or depress me more.”

“Tell usssssss,” Marlene whined at Y/N, “Come on, it’s nearly graduation, we might never ever see each other again and you’ll regret having never shared this precious information with us.”

“Ha ha ha,” Y/N poked her tongue out at Marlene who was pouting, “I just… ugh. Ok, well I sort of spoke to Sirius this morning.”

“I’m excited already,” Marlene grinned, leaning forwards, “Did he profess his love for you yet?”

“I actually hate you,” Y/N bit her lip, “But also like kinda?”

“WHAT,” The two girls had wide eyes, Dorcas’ mouth hanging open slightly.

“Ok well, that’s an over-exaggeration, it was more like he had a crush on me years ago.”

“Less interesting, pretty obvious,” Marlene huffed, leaning back into her arms.

“How!” Y/N glared at her, “how on earth could you know this.”

“Ooooo Y/N, I’m just going to stare at you longingly from across the table all subtle-like,” Marlene put on a terrible deep male voice, staring longingly at Y/N.

“This is why I didn’t tell you,” warned Y/N, but her cheeks twitched as Marlene began to pout in an eerily accurate impression of a brooding Sirius.

“Soooo did he ask you out?”

“Did you make out?”

“We did nothing, at all.”

“You’re as bad as Dorcas,” Marlene shook her head, earning a shove from Dorcas.

“We were interrupted by Lily,” Y/N threw her hands up, “It kind of sounded like… he might have been saying something important…”

“Oooooooo Y/N’s got a date!” Marlene giggled, grinning widely at her. Y/N couldn’t help but grin back at her, Marlene’s enthusiasm was infectious.

“I do not,” said Y/N, but her smile was still giving her away. Marlene reached out and grabbed her arms, pulling her down into the grass with Dorcas.

“You will be a positive human even if I have to punch it into you. Now, sit down and get all brown and tan with me.”

They stayed by the lake until Dorcas’ stomach started rumbling and they made their way to lunch in the Great Hall. It was almost empty, most people having grabbed some food to eat outside or were still in Hogsmeade for the afternoon. Y/N spent most of her meal ignoring Marlene nudging her once Sirius and James had walked in and sat a few seats along the table from them. She also tried to ignore the sound of chairs moving and someone moving quickly behind her once they’d finished and stood up to leave the Great Hall, but her heart had begun beating hard in her chest again, and she cursed her cheeks for refusing to let her hide any kind of emotion from the outside world.

“Oi, Y/N!” Y/N spun around to see Sirius chasing her down the hallway.

“I’ll catch up to you guys,” Y/N tried to smile casually at Marlene and Dorcas, who were winking at her continuously, Marlene blowing kisses in between, “Fuck off, please.”

“Have fun!”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

“She can’t even kiss a girl, please do everything she wouldn’t do.”

“Shoo!” Y/N hissed, turning back to see Sirius smirking at her, “Please excuse my two idiotic friends.”

“They are highly entertaining.”

“I stand by idiotic,” Y/N looked up at Sirius expectantly, “What’s up?”

“Well I feel like we didn’t quite finish our conversation earlier.”

“Is that so?”

“Well I mean, I was half-naked and had to sprint up the stairs to avoid being seen.”

“Completely naked if I remember correctly.”

“Ahhh so you were checking me out huh?” Sirius winked at her, stepping closer to her in the hallway. Y/N had the urge to step back, her brain telling her to abort mission, but she stood her ground, watching him closely.

“So what was it you needed to tell me?” said Y/N as calmly as possible, though her voice broke slightly at the end.

“Well I was going to – uh, I mean I wanted to ask – “ Sirius’ stuttered slightly, his face getting flustered. Y/N couldn’t help but smile at him, was he nervous to talk to her?

His nervousness seemed to give Y/N a new bout of confidence, and she stepped forward to meet him.

“You were going to…”

“Ask you…”

“Out?” Y/N finished for him, feeling a little ill, but excited all the same. Sirius laughed at her, shaking his head.

“Jeez, we already finish each other’s senten-“ Y/N leaned in and interrupted him by placing a soft kiss on his lips.

“ences…” Sirius finished, his eyes glazing over as they pulled apart slowly.

“The day after graduation, I’ll meet you in London,” Y/N felt the words spill out, as if her confidence was a ticking bomb and if she didn’t get everything out quickly it would all blow up and float away.

“Deal,” replied Sirius, cupping her cheek lightly in one hand, “And thanks.”

“For what?”

“For asking you out for me.”

“What can I say, I just know what you want,” and with that, she turned on her heels and walked away, her heartbeat loud in her ears. Only took seven years she thought, exhaling deeply, but I guess we’ve got endless time to make up for it.

Taglist

@averytruerayofsunshine @siriuslyjanhvi @blushingskywalker @blackpinkdolan @thebabblingbookworm @cherrie511 @imlukesnirvana​ @avengersassemblee​ @maraudersandco​ @sly-vixen-up2nogood​ @katbernoulli @sirius-lysad​ @evyiione​ @minerva26love​ @aikeia​ @gollyderek​ @greatwombatblaze​  @songforhema​  @your-typical-giggle @myownviperroom 

[jaspers-levis]

Continuation Two: Dusk

TW: Self-image, allusion to eating disorders, abuse mention

PSA: The point of this story is not that the reader has value as a woman because of Paul’s attention. Everyone has value. Period. Size, shape, orientation, identification, race, religion, etc are all things that make us who we are but do not define our value as a human being. You don’t need a significant other to believe you have value before you suddenly have value. The point is, sometimes we as humans struggle to see the truth already in front of our own eyes. Our loved ones are there to remind us that no matter what the voices in your head say, you are perfect just the way you are.

Continuation Two: Dusk

Paul Lahote x female reader

“Ugh!” you grunted, your hand slipping from your waistband as you tried desperately to shimmy into a too-tight pair of shorts from last summer. The jean material would barely fit over your hips, shockingly snug despite the fact you were sure you hadn’t gained that much weight over the last year. You tugged one last time, only to hear the material rip. “Damn it!” Sighing, you slid the shorts down your legs and pulled them free, falling back onto the bed in defeat. It hadn’t been that long since you’d been able to fit into those shorts easily, and the size was already on the larger side in your mind. How could you possibly have gained so much weight in such a short time?

Nothing would fit you beside your largest pair of athletic shorts and even those were snug; you took a deep breath to hold back tears and failed. For years your ex had ridiculed you over your size until you obsessed over every calorie, every crumb on your plate. You’d prided yourself on dropping sizes every few months, until you’d gotten to your ‘goal size’. It was an incredibly unhealthy point in your life, both mentally and physically, but if it was possible for you to make your ex happy in some small way it meant one less way he could hurt you. Now it was a hard to break habit to value your appearance by the number on the tag, a habit you’d thought you’d dropped until now. Hot tears slipped down your cheeks and dripped into your hair, sticking it to your face.

Your phone buzzed beside your head, despairingly you smacked the covers until you found it.

hey babe, be home in a few. dont forget the bonfire 2nite!

You groaned, smacking your forehead lightly. The first bonfire of the summer with the entire pack celebrating the official start to the season was this evening; the weather was supposed to be warmer than it had been in the last few months so you’d pulled out your summer wardrobe in the hopes that everything still fit. This was the last pair of shorts you tried on and everything else was similarly too small… your heart sunk. You wanted to wear something cute to the bonfire, but nothing seemed to fit. 

It normally wouldn’t be such a big deal, but Emily and Kim were both small and athletic and always wore clothes that highlighted their form. Quil’s new imprint Hannah was tall and slim, with a river of striking black hair and a fondness for crop tops and short shorts that showed off her endless legs. It felt like every other female you knew was fit and perfect--besides you. You knew it wasn’t a good idea to compare yourself to others but it was hard when you were constantly surrounded by supernaturally attractive men and their similarly attractive significant others. Why couldn’t you be slim and perfect too? You felt like a chubby little frog next to them… 

“Babe, I’m home!” Paul called from the kitchen, the front screen door slapping shut behind him. Hastily you sat up and swiped at the embarrassing tears dripping down your cheeks but it was too late. “Honey, what’s wrong?” Paul was at your side in an instant, his warm hand sweeping your hair over your shoulder and resting against your neck.

“Nothing, it’s fine,” you muttered, turning your face away. “My dumb shorts don’t fit.”

“Oh,” you heard the frown in his voice and he picked up the offending garment from the floor. “These ones? Well baby, these are tiny! No wonder they don’t fit, they’re practically a children’s size.”

“But I used to fit in them just last summer!” you cried, turning to him and grabbing the shorts. “How did I get so fat??” You thrust yourself up from the bed and went to stand in front of the full length mirror. “I used to be so tiny, I never had a problem fitting into anything. Now I’m just a chunky little gremlin…”

“I’m sorry, what?” Paul asked incredulously, coming up behind you and yanking the shorts from your hands and chucking them forcefully into the corner of the bedroom. He slid his hands under your shirt and wrapped them around your waist. “Honey, no. For one, you’re tiny still, especially compared to me,” he chuckled and gently kissed your neck. “And secondly, who the fuck cares? We’ll  buy new shorts.”

“It’s not that, I should be able to fit into them still! How could I have let myself gain so much weight?!” you sniffed again, glaring at your shape in the mirror and seeing every slice of pizza, every spoonful of ice cream, every piece of bread…

“Seriously? You’re not overweight!” he retorted, his dark eyebrows pushing together.

“Compared to Kim, and Hannah, and, and, and everyone else I am!” you sobbed, trying to pull away from him to hide your shame.

Angrily he spun you around and cupped your cheeks to look into your eyes. His hands trembled slightly, the only betrayal of his weakened control. “Y/N. You are NOT overweight. You are HEALTHY. You’ve gained weight because when I met you, all you had in your fridge was a bag of salad and a carton of eggs. Do you know how happy I am to see you fill out? Do you know how much it made me nervous that you would forget to eat for a day? I look at you and I see someone who is happy and healthy now. Every inch of you is perfect.”

Startled at the raw emotion in his voice, you hiccuped. Paul’s eyes were serious and dark in above his russet cheekbones, but not without love. Tenderly he wiped away tears with his thumbs. “I love you for better or for worse, no matter what you look like, no matter how much you weigh or what size you are, no matter what you do with your hair or if you wear makeup or not, or if you wear nice clothes or sweats,” he whispered, pressing his lips to yours in the barest imitation of a kiss. He pulled away and smirked suddenly. “But luckily, you’re exactly my type, and I think you’re hot as fuck.”

You giggled at that, leaning into his touch. “So you don’t think I’m fat?”

Paul rolled his eyes and pressed his face into your neck, nipping delicately at the sensitive skin there. “No, you’re delectable,” he growled, pulling the two of you back onto the bed with you on top and slipping his hands under the ragged t shirt you wore to caress your back. “And tempting,” he kissed your collarbone. “And perfect,” he pressed his lips to the hollow of your throat. Planting hot kisses across your skin, he began to lift your shirt, his eagerness abruptly making itself known against your stomach.

“Thank you,” you whispered shyly, ducking your head against his shoulder. 

He growled softly and paused in his attempts to undress you. “For what?”

“For helping me remember my value, even when I struggle with it. I… haven’t always been good at remembering that my size shouldn’t matter.”

“I know, sweetheart,” he smoothed the hair over the back of your head. 

“What do you mean, ‘you know’?” you leaned back and frowned.

“Honey, I’ve seen photos of you from the time that you were with your ex, and you’ve mentioned he’d abused you. It’s not hard to make the leap,” he pushed himself up on his elbows and swallowed a shudder. “I swear to everything that is holy, if I see that fuckwad ever again I will rip his fucking teeth out one by one and make him eat them like candy.”

“Okay, well we’re not going to let that happen, for legal reasons,” you laughed and smacked his chest.

“Mm, well, you better hope he doesn’t show up again because I can’t make any promises,” Paul shrugged unremorsefully, but calmed enough to stroke his fingers down your bare thighs straddling his waist. “All I can do for now is make sure you know how loved you are, how smart and funny and strong you are, and remind you that I love every piece and part of you just the way you are.”

Your heart squeezed in your chest, suddenly overfull of adoration for this fierce, wise cracking, temper-losing, enormous giant of a man who had a tenderness to him that belied everything his friends and family knew about him. Looking down at him, all you saw was the love in his eyes, the truth in everything he said. Paul had fought hard and earned every bit of the trust you placed in him, trust you had always had difficulty in placing in another person. While you believed in the imprinting mechanics having seen it first hand, it had taken you months to trust Paul in spite of your supernatural bond. Now, for the first time, you felt yourself truly letting your guard down, having shared your last and most shameful weakness. And he loved you, despite that. “I love you so much,” you smiled shyly and bent to kiss him lightly.

“I love you more, honey,” he returned your smile before deepening the kiss into something smoldering and languorous. Paul kissed you like it was the first time, the last time, and every other time in between, worshipping every inch of your skin with his lips and hands until you were burning up with desire. No matter that you didn't have anything to wear to the bonfire, it was likely you wouldn’t make it there before dusk anyways...

[e-of-west-glendia]

The Tunnel Of Love

“You dragged me all the way out here…to get on this?”

Remus stared at Sirius incredulously.

“Yep,” Sirius nodded.

Remus groaned and took another look at the ride. It was a massive boat ride that dipped into a large tunnel. The whole thing was adorned in hearts and roses and the words Tunnel Of Love were printed on an archway at the front in swooping cursive letters. The whole thing was oddly intimidating and mildly sickening.

Remus shook his head. “No. No way. I’m not getting on that thing.”

Sirius flashed him a wide smile, his grey eyes brimming with joy. Slipping an arm around Remus’ waist he said, “The way I see it there’s no real downside to you getting on it.”

Remus raised an eyebrow and peered down at his boyfriend. “Oh? And how do you figure that one?”

Sirius shrugged. “Well we’re already here and you wouldn’t want to waste a trip.”

Remus scoffed. He could think of plenty of times when Sirius had opted out of an activity once they’d gotten to the venue.

“You can’t be serious. I can think of plenty of times when you’ve done just that.”

Sirius laughed, he knew Remus was right. Still, not one to admit defeat he said, “I’m always Sirius.”

Remus narrowed his eyes at him. That joke had gotten old the first time they’d used it.

“Ha ha. You’re not clever.”

“I think I am. Besides, Lily and James are getting on it and I refuse to let them “out-couple” us on Valentines Day.”

———————————

The ride looks even worse up close, Remus thought. The shades of pink and red that the ride was decorated in were brighter and clashed even more horribly. Remus was honestly quite surprised that Sirius had talked him into this. Normally he’d have run away from this type of ride as fast as possible. He’d been on something like this before, and well, let’s just say that singing plastic animals would haunt his subconscious forever.

Lily seemed even more surprised that he was here than Remus did himself. She had raised her eyebrows so high Remus had begun to wonder if they’d just float away. Twisting away from James to get a better look at her friends who were making their way towards them. Sirius, not even remotely bothered by the death glares they received as he elbowed and shoved people out of their way. Leaving Remus to quickly apologize before being tugged forward.

“Remus?” Lily had asked. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m not quite sure myself, actually.”

“He’s here to experience the wonders of love!” James exclaimed wrapping an arm around Remus’ shoulder. Remus frowned at him and quickly extracted himself.

Lily rolled her eyes at him. “I would’ve thought this wasn’t your cup of tea, for lack of better phrasing.”

“It isn’t,” Remus assured her. “Unfortunately this idiot over here managed to convince me.” He flicked his head towards Sirius.

“In the end, love always wins,” Sirius chirped.

Remus snorted. “Oh please. He lured me here under the promise of buying me chocolate once we got off this hell ride.”

Lily laughed at the wounded look on Sirius’ face. “Sounds about right.”

They shuffled forward a bit as the line progressed. Remus could now see the small two person boats disappear around the bend of the makeshift lake and into the tunnel. They looked rather small. He wasn’t sure how he was going to fit himself into one of those boats. He also knew that there was no backing out of this now and he’d have to make it work somehow. Remus let out a long suffering sigh.

“Cheer up, Remus!” James said. “It’s Valentine's Day! Be happy and experience the joys of young love.”

“I think you mean it’s Single People Appreciation Day,” Remus corrected, ducking to avoid a rather awkwardly placed wooden beam.

“But you’re not single,” Sirius pointed out.

“No,” Remus agreed. He cast the ride another venomous look. “But sometimes I wish I was.”

Sirius pouted. “Ouch, Remus. Just ouch.”

They’d finally reached the front of the line, watching as Lily and James drifted away in their own boat. The operator pulled on a lever and Remus watched as another boat pulled up to the side of the ride. The man motioned for someone to come forward and it took Remus a solid second to realize that he meant them.

Lucky for Remus (or unlucky depending on how you look at it) Sirius was there to pull Remus down the stairs and keep him from looking like an idiot. Sirius stepped into the boat first, water sloshing over the sides and into the bottom. He looked expectantly up at Remus who after a moment climbed into the boat.

Remus has been right, it was cramped. And with his and Sirius’ combined weight he’d been afraid the little boat might capsize. It had titled precariously to one side and dripped water into Remus’ jeans. He already hated this thing.

A boy who couldn’t have been much older than they were slumped over to their boat. He was holding a smoothie in one hand while he rested his other on the stair railing.

“Welcome to The Tunnel of Love,” he said dispassionately. He continued on in his monotonous tone, each word sounding more dead than the last.

“Where Love is born and happiness thrives. May our soothing waters relax your souls and let you fall in sync with the rhythm of love.”

Remus blinked. Rhythm of Love?? He was pretty sure he’d heard that in a song somewhere. Judging from the look on the guys face, this place looked more like where happiness came to die.

“Enjoy your ride,” the boy said boredly. He signaled to a guy in a booth, near the opposite side of the ride. Remus was jolted forward as the ride was carried away on the converybelt. His legs bent at an awkward angle. He was willing to bet that at least one of his legs would fall asleep by the end of this ride.

Sirius latched onto his arm and smiled happily at him. His eyes bubbling like champagne.

“This is going to be great!”

“Yeah,” Remus said, uncertain “Great.”

————————

The ride was most decidedly not great. As a matter of fact it had been just as awful as Remus had expected and somehow, amazingly, even worse.

Lily giggled when she saw the two of them exit the ride. Remus was soaking wet, dripping water from where he’d taken a dip in the water. The look he was giving Sirius could’ve killed. On the contrary, Sirius was exuberant. He all but skipped over to Lily and James.

“That. Was. Fantastic!!” Sirius said, drawing out each syllable.

“Agree to disagree,” Remus said bitterly.

“What on earth happened?” Lily asked, not even trying to hide her laughter.

“Remus took a dip in the river of love,” Sirius said cheerfully. “It was rather funny.”

Lily laughed while Remus scowled at his boyfriend. Remus was wearing wet jeans and a sweater that felt more like a sponge at this point. He couldn’t see any humor in this situation.

James just shrugged. “I guess he just wasn’t feeling the rhythm of love.”

“Oh I was definitely feeling the rhythm of something,” Remus said casting another evil glance at the so-called river. “But it definitely wasn’t love.”

James snorted and allowed himself to be tugged along to a gift shop by Lily.

“Come on, let's get the prints!”

“Yes,” Sirius said. “Let’s definitely do that.”

Remus groaned. He’d forgotten about the cameras. He most certainly didn’t want this moment immortalized in the form of a crappy photograph. There wasn’t much he could do, though. So he followed the others towards the shop.

He’d just finished wringing out most of the water from his sweater, when Lily, James, and Sirius finally emerged from the shop.

James and Lily started off in another direction — Lily pointing around something in the distance — while Sirius walked over to Remus.

“Y’know, I think these are some great pictures,” Sirius said, looking fondly at the pictures in his hand.

The cameras had managed to capture the exact moment Remus had fallen out of the boat and the exact moment he’d come back up from the water, looking like an extremely disgruntled and out of place fish. While Sirius, as usual, looked flawless. Dark hair curled in a halo around his face, head tilted upwards frozen in silent laughter. It had even captured the singing Cupid in the background, belting out some horrible robotic version of Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely.”

“I don’t know if I’d call them ‘great’, Padfoot.”

Sirius laughed, that loud, happy, sound that made fireworks go off inside Remus. Warming him to his core despite being sopping wet.

Sirius smiled down at the photos again. “Well, you definitely look lovely, and wonderful.” He looked up at Remus, his smile widening. “And night I add, very pretty too.”

Remus made an inarticulate sound of despair. “That song has been permanently ruined for me,” he grumbled.

Sirius grabbed Remus’ elbow and dragged Remus closer to him.

“Nah, I think it’s infinitely better now.”

“You would,” Remus said, allowing himself to be pulled closer to Sirius. His arms resting on his hips.

Sirius reached his arms around his neck. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Moony.”

Remus smiled softly at him. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Then Sirius pressed their lips together, wrapping his arms around his back and tugging him closer. When they broke apart Remus was slightly breathless, and Sirius was beaming.

“Now,” Remus said. “Let’s go get my chocolate.”

[downwiththeficness]

In the Blood-Part 2

Pairing: Brasa/ Female OC

Words: ~2,000

Warnings: None

Part One

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

Part Eight  Part Nine  Part Ten Part Eleven Part Twelve

She’d been feeling odd all day, an itch under her skin that, no matter how many times she scratched, wouldn’t go away.  It feeling sat petulantly, reminding her that there was something undone. Needing a distraction, Lilah shifted as she glanced down at her phone.  Beside her, Chewie rolled his eyes.  

Lilah didn’t know what Chewie’s real name was, and she didn’t much care.  He was three hundred and fifty pounds of wrecking ball and he always came through. Reliability wasn’t always something she found in people with her line of work.  She appreciated it where she could get it.

“How’s Barb?” she asked, to pass the time, her thumb running along the edge of her phone.

Chewie smiled wide, “She’s good.  Joined this Zumba group on Thursday nights.  Gives me time with Joey.”

Lilah nodded, “He still playing baseball?”

“Nah,” Chewed replied, one hand lifting and falling with a heavy thud onto the steering wheel. “Tell you the truth, he’s not going to be a sporty kid.  He said last week he wanted to learn to play the piano.  Where the fuck am I going to get a piano that’ll fit in our apartment?”

“Could do one of those electric ones.”

He jabbed a finger at her, “That’s a good point.  Maybe for his birthday.”

Lilah glanced at her phone again, “When is that?”

“About two months out.  He’ll be ten.”

“Ah, double digits.”

Chewie scoffed, “He’ll be claiming he’s a man soon.”

She gave a soft sound of assent and turned her attention outside of the car. They were parked outside of a warehouse.  Lilah had stopped counting the number of times she’d sat outside of warehouses, waiting for some schmuck to show up.  This particular schmuck was half an hour late.  

Said schmuck pulled up in a bright, shiny sports car that had Lilah rubbing at her temples.  She looked at Chewie and then ambled out of the sensible Ford compact she’d rented for the occasion.  With a shrug, she pulled her hoodie closer, her hands falling naturally into the pockets.  Mr. Schmuck exited his too expensive car, pulling on his leather jacket to display a nice watch.  Lilah made a mental bet that it was a Rolex. These kinds of guys always wore a Rolex.

“I got a call that I’m supposed to meet somebody,” Schmuck said with a sniff.  “What the fuck am I doing here?”

Lilah stood a little ahead of Chewie.  Although she was a little above average in height, she knew what she looked like next to him.  Weak. Small. That was her intention and always was when she asked Chewie to come along with her on messenger duty.

“You owe a debt,” she announced.  “I’m here to make sure you pay up.”

Schmuck had taken a loan against the house in a casino-slash-strip club-slash-whore house.  She’d never been inside, but she’d heard things.  It was just over the border, situated in the sweet spot where regulation didn’t quite have jurisdiction.  It was the kind of place where people like her and Chewie made good money and people like the smirking schmuck in front of her got killed and dumped in a river.

“I don’t think I owe anything.  I think I squared up when I left.”

Lilah shook her head, “I can assure you, you did not.”

He eyes twinkled, “You gonna prove that, honey?”

Honey. Baby. Sweetheart. Doll. They all called her a nickname that they thought would be demeaning. She’d heard it all in one way or another.  A fixer didn’t get to the ripe old age of thirty five in this line of work without being insulted at every turn—especially a woman.  She fought the urge to laugh.

“Listen, I’ve been authorized to broker a deal for you.  I’m going to encourage you to take it.”

“Or what?”

God, did the script ever change?

“Or, you’ll end up with your legs broken.  For starters.”

Schmuck looked from her to Chewie and back.  He seemed to take a moment to contemplate his position. Then, as Lilah thought he might, he pulled a gun from the waistband of his jeans and pointed it at her. One handed, turned to the side like every gangster movie he’d probably binged as a child. She sighed.

One hand rubbing at her temple, the other lifted and made a sharp arc in the air.  From a rooftop somewhere, a sniper took aim.  Schmuck hadn’t yet noticed.  The little red dot flashed at her, she smiled.

“You got a little something...just there,” she urged, gesturing to Schmuck’s chest.

He looked down, flinching as his free hand pressed ineffectively at his chest.

“I came prepared,” she pronounced evenly.  “Now, I want you to drop your gun, then your car keys, followed by your watch, and that nice little ring on your pinky.”

Schmuck looked at her with wild eyes.

“Or, I can go ahead and shoot you and take those things, anyways.  Your choice.”

He paused and she could see him weighing his options.  He could fire at her, but he’d probably die as well.  She didn’t have to know anything about him to know he was a coward.  It took about ten seconds before the gun dropped and he followed her directives.

“Now, start walking.  Don’t come back.”

She hoped this was enough to keep him from coming back to the bar.  People who got in too deep didn’t get this kind of opportunity.  A couple thousand in loans would turn into hundreds of thousands and nothing solved that but a body in the dirt.  

Lilah watched him wander off for a moment before leaning over to Chewie, “You think he learned his lesson?”

He shrugged, “I doubt it. Looks like a trust fund baby to me.”

“Yeah,” Lilah agreed with a nod, “They never learn.”

And they didn’t.  No matter how many times someone like Chewie beat the shit out of them, they just kept coming back.  She didn’t understand why.  They could get tits and ass anywhere.  What was it about this place that made them make such shit-tastic decisions?  

Lilah leaned into the car, looking for anything of worth.  They’d have to drive it back to Chewie’s parts shop.  His cousin did most of the work, but Chewie kept people from looking to closely at the books.  He’d been laundering money since age twelve, when he’d first started brokering in stolen merchandise.   Lilah had him do her, admittedly fake, taxes every year.

“Hey, Chewie?” She called out, looking over the open door of the coupe.  

He turned and gave a little shrug that meant ‘what?’

“You know how to drive stick?”

Later, after pulling into the garage to trade in her rental, Lilah stabbed the elevator button and turned to survey the empty lot.  She hoisted her backpack higher on her shoulders while she waited.  The evening was hot and dry.  She wanted a shower and a drink, possibly at the same time.  It had taken little to no effort to get the day’s haul completed, but she was tired.  

It was easy money, guaranteed to her bank account.  Her handler had given her at least a dozen or so of these a month for several years.  Still, she didn’t really know who was financing her.  Her brain automatically cautioned her against this line of thought.  It didn’t matter where the money came from. What mattered was that she got paid.

Movement caught her peripheral and she turned her head.  Had the lights dimmed?  It felt like the area to her right was somehow...darker.  Without taking her eyes off the shadows, Lilah reached out and pressed the elevator button again. She squinted, trying to parse the objects in the shadows.

More movement.  This time closer. She flicked her gaze to the stairs, wondering if she needed to run. Perhaps Mr. Schmuck had gotten pissed and followed her.  Wouldn’t be the first time.  Warily, she unzipped the side pocket of her pack and palmed the small pistol she kept on her for just such an occasion.

It was as if a dark fog had cleared, her vision focused on a figure standing in profile maybe twenty feet away.  He was dressed head to toe in black.  A dark leather coat hung over the broadest set of shoulders she ever seen on a man of his build.  Her heart began to beat wildly in her chest, and she suddenly felt herself transport to a dream she’d deemed the result of too much late night snacking.

As if he could hear her panic, he turned.  He was wearing a pair of gold rimmed aviators despite the fact that the sun had already set.  She took a step back, nearly falling into the open carriage of the elevator.  The doors closed and she desperately pressed the button for her floor.  From outside, a roar built, shaking the metal beneath her palms.  

Lilah alternated between watching the floors light up above her and the doors, half thinking that she’d see fingers wiggle through the tiny opening and pull them apart.  The elevator moved without preamble, jerking upwards.  She stepped back and gripped the handrail, metal biting into the meat of her palm.

When she reached her floor, she ran.  Full sprint.  Pulling her keys from her pocket, she headed for her car.  Once inside, she sped it all the way back to the hotel. Every few miles, she looked behind her, as if he might be following her.  It took until the moment when she was slamming the extra sliding lock of her room into place for her shoulders to relax just a bit.  Still, she stared at the door, half thinking he’d slam through it.

It was quiet, only the sound of the air conditioning keeping her company.  She let out the breath she was holding and pressed her hand to her forehead in relief.  It wasn’t real.  She was seeing things.  Too much stress.

Sitting on the bed, Lilah ran her hands through her hair and tried to calm herself.  It was the same man, though.  She knew it without a shadow of a doubt.  Even though the last time she’d seen him,  he’d been covered in blood, she could recognize that proud posture, the sharp nose, anywhere.  

“Get it together, McNamara,” she gritted through clenched teeth.  “You’re tired.  You’re just tired.”

Sliding to her knees, she opened the tiny fridge and pulled out a bottle of bourbon, yanking out the stopper and drinking from it.  For a long time, she just stared at the blue patterned carpet, drinking periodically.  Then, when her heart finally slowed, she picked herself up and headed for the bathroom.  

Setting the bottle on the counter, Lilah pulled off her shoes and socks, leaving them on the floor and starting the water.  While she waited for the shower to heat up, she looked at herself in the mirror.  Her makeup was a little smeared from tears she hadn’t known she had cried, her cheeks dry with them.  Irritably, she wiped away the smudges, taking another swig.  

For a moment, she continued to look at herself, her stick straight hair falling limply to her shoulders.  A bad bleach job had made her cut it short, a look she didn’t know if she liked.  She was glad it wasn’t orange, anymore—now a box brown that was a little green in certain lights.

With a huff, she pushed that strands back and started to pull at her t-shirt.  

“Querida.”

Lilah screamed and flung her body towards the closed door, another little whimper bursting forth when she was bodily pressed against it.  

He was looking at her in disbelief again, gloved hands holding her hips.  Her face was reflected clearly in the lenses of his glasses.  She looked terrified.  She felt terrified.

“Who the fuck are you?”

Before she got an answer, the lights flickered and he was gone.

[nothingeverlost]

Thanksgiving Henry Gold "What's for dessert?"

Emma tried to remember the last time she shared Thanksgiving dinner with anyone.  There had been foster care homes, of course, but the last time she could think of was the prison cafeteria when she’d been pregnant.  Not her favorite memory, or one she ever wanted to share with the kid who currently slept across the hall from her.  She’d offered to find something to do for the day and let father and son celebrate the holiday as a family, but Henry had asked her to stay and Gold had nodded at the table where a place was already set for her.  

“Thanksgiving is for family and you’re part of Henry’s family.  Our family.”  The only thing that kept Emma from tearing up at the matter of fact statement what that Gold was wearing an apron that said ‘This is how I roll’ above a picture of a rolling pin.

“Can I help at least?”  She wasn’t a wiz in the kitchen but she managed to make herself food without burning too much.

“You could chop up the onion and celery from the dressing.”  He was peeling apples with a small but sharp looking knife that was curved.  It seemed like it got close to his thumb often but there was no blood so apparently he knew what he was doing.  

“What’s for dessert?” she asked, figuring the apples didn’t fit into any of the traditional sides.

“Henry and I both have a fondness for apple pie.  I hope that’s acceptable.”  He picked up a regular knife to start cutting up the apples; he certainly was more competent than she was with the cutlery, but she got the onions and celery cut up well enough.

“You’re the one making me dinner, I’m not going to complain.”  He’d been making a lot of her meals, claiming that it wasn’t any harder to cook for two than for three.  More than a month of family meals was more than she’d had in her adult life. Then again family meals wasn’t how she’d describe most of her childhood either.

“They need to be cooked in oil, if you would.  Not too hot, you’re just softening them.”  He continued to give her the occasional task until the dressing was in the oven below the turkey and the potatoes were in the pot waiting until it was time to turn on the heat.

“Anything else?”  It was strangely easy to work in the kitchen in tandem.

“Not for an hour at least.  I was just going to open a bottle of zin and put my feet up.  You’re welcome to a glass, but Henry would appreciate a chance to stretch his legs a bit if you’d rather take a walk.”  They walked occasionally, all three of them, but just as often she and Henry would set out.  At first he played tour guide and answered questions, but now it was usually just a walk.  Sometimes they borrowed Pongo from Archie.

“I’m not much of a wine drinker, thanks.”  She was just about to leave the kitchen when Henry ran down the stairs.

“Is it ready yet?  I’m starving.”

“Breakfast was just a couple of hours ago, kid.”  Emma was amused at how much the kid could eat.  Then again he did a lot of running and walking around town.  “How about a walk before dinner; your dad says we have an hour at least.”

“Can we go to the river?  I call dibs on a turkey leg when it’s ready.”  He was gone in an instant, sounding like far more than a single kid when he thudded up the stairs.

“Turkey makes kids sleepy too, right?” she joked.

“The end of the Thanksgiving meal means the start of the Christmas holiday, according to Henry.  He’ll want to start making plans to go get a tree and bring down the decorations.  I’m afraid sleepy is the last thing that happens until he crashes at bedtime.”  Gold spoke with the familiar affectionate bemusement that was often heard when speaking of his son’s quirks and habits.

“I really should…” 

“Emma, are we ready to go?”  Henry appeared again wearing shoes and his coat alone with the familiar scarf she’d first seen him in.  

“Just give me a minute.”  She’d have to wait before she talked to Gold about apartments and finding a place of her own.  He and Henry needed their own space back, especially with the holiday season and their traditions.  

“Maybe next year the curse will be broken and we can have a really big dinner with your parents and the dwarves and my dad and everybody.”  It had been a couple of days since Henry had brought up the curse and his book. 

“How about we focus on this Thanksgiving,” she answered vaguely.  Archie had said he needed to believe in his stories right now and it wouldn’t help to make him face that they were just stories in a book.  They didn’t need to encourage him either.  “I think we’ll be eating that turkey for a week.”

“Dad always makes a lot so we can have sandwiches.  Tomorrow we’ll have turkey sandwiches and pie when we put up the lights.  Sometimes he even lets me have a piece of pie for breakfast.”  Henry grinned at the idea.  “You could have a piece too.  He makes really good pie.”

“Looking forward to it.”  The hairs on the back of her neck told her to turn around.  She didn’t hear any footsteps but she knew they weren’t alone.  She turned and found Graham, surprisingly dressed in jeans and a sweater.  She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him so casual.  “Hey.”

“Hey Graham.  Emma and me are taking a walk before dinner.  Are you making a turkey today?”  

“Didn’t have time to go hunting yesterday.  Too late today so I’m just going for a walk,” he shrugged.  

“You hunt?”  She had a hard time picturing it.  “Like with a gun?”

“Bow and arrow, actually.  Guns aren’t playing fair..”  He looked at the woods on the other side of the river.  “They deserve a fighting chance and respect.”

“All my meat come from the store.”  She tried not to think about it too much.

“Can I learn how to shoot a bow and arrow?”  Henry spoke up, excited.

“You’d have to ask your dad.”  Graham beat her to an answer, the same one she would have given.  She kind of hoped that he said yes, because she wouldn’t mind crashing the lesson, but she wasn’t sure she loved the idea of Henry hunting.

“He taught me how to use a sword.  I bet he says yes.”  He mimed releasing an arrow from a bow.  “Since you don’t have a turnkey you could come home with us for dinner.  Dad makes a lot of food.”

“Kid, I don’t think…”

“Thanks, Henry, but I made other plans already.”  Graham tousled Henry’s hair.  Emma wondered if he really had plans, or if he was being polite.  She hadn’t seen him with anyone that she could think of that might have invited him over. Then again it was her first holiday in town.  He probably had traditions.  For all she knew he had a girlfriend.  Or a boyfriend.  Just because he teased her occasionally didn’t mean anything.

“We should head back, it’s probably getting close to time to eat.”  If they walked too much farther with Graham she’d lay pretty good money on Henry trying to convince him to come over for dinner, and knowing Henry they’d probably come home with a guest in tow.  He seemed pretty good at adopting strays, though rarely kids his own age.  

“Have a nice Thanksgiving, Emma.  And Henry, of course.”  Graham slipped his hands into his pockets.  

“I’m gonna ask dad about lessons with Graham.”  

Emma glanced behind them to where Graham was walking in the opposite direction.  She tried not to notice how nice his ass looked in the jeans.  “Could be fun.”

They walked back to the house mostly in silence.  When they opened the front door they could smell the apple pie baking.  Gold was in the kitchen stirring something in a pot.  “Perfect timing, you two.  Dinner is ready.”

[wayward-river]

Hoodies and Cheerleaders

Sweet Pea x Plus!Size Reader 

AN: This was requested hope you like it! All mistakes are my own, I do not own the gif. Thanks to @xserpentlife for reading to make sure I didn’t miss anything! 

Warnings: Self doubt, Angst, bullying (slightly) 

You and Sweet Pea had been dating for a few months now. After years of pinning after something you thought you could never have, that tall leather jacket wearing bad boy was all yours. You never thought you stood a chance, you always thought Sweet Peas type was, well thinner. You weren’t a serpent, but never quite felt like a normal northsider. Sweet Pea always made you feel like you were home, the place you belonged. You both had issues his temper and your self doubt about things but that’s normal right? It took him a couple of months to convince you that it wasn’t some sort of sick dare to take you out on a date.

A smile graced your face as you remembered that night.

                      FLASHBACK

Sweet Pea had shown up to the front door of your house holding a few sunflowers in his hand and a nervous smile on his face. He had taken you to Pops. You both shared a milkshake and talked about everything. Your lives, how he was liking Riverdale High briefly that being a sore subject. He told you about being a serpent and you told him your dream of being a River Vixen but Cheryl would never allow it.

After that first date many more followed. He took you out to Sweetwater, places in Greendale, late night rides in his truck one hand on the steering wheel the other resting on your leg. He took you everywhere it seemed but avoided the Southside. You questioned him about it. Telling him you wanted to meet his family, wanted to see what makes him well him. You will never forget the look on his face. The pure happiness of you wanting to know his family. He took you to the Whyte Wyrm the next day. He introduced you to Fangs and Toni and tried to teach you how to play pool, he kissed you for the first time outside standing next to his truck asking you to be his when he pulled away and it’s been the two of you ever since.  

                 END FLASHBACK

You smiled at Toni as you walked over to the table at the Wyrm sitting down across from her as Sweet Pea and Fangs played a round of pool. You smiled as you watched them Sweet Pea looking a little weird being in a hoodie instead of his jacket. Though it wasn’t so different as the angry snake still glared at everyone from the back of it.

Sweet Pea caught you staring giving you that sly smirk of his making your knees go weak. How it was possible when you were sitting down? You’d never know.

The Wyrm always seemed to be cold and with it being winter outside it seemed the cold was seeping in wherever it could. You cursed silently to yourself for leaving your jacket in your car.

You shivered the goosebumps apparent on your arms just as Sweet Pea walked over.

“Hey baby” He bent over placing a chaste kiss against your lips.

You gave a small smile and a soft hi quickly.

“Hey Ton, do they have like coffee or hot chocolate here?”

Sweet Pea gave you a weird look as Toni laughed. “I keep some in the back I’ll go make you a cup”

“Thanks girl” You flashed a wide smile to her as she left the booth.

Your attention turned back to Sweet Pea, his hoodie being pulled over his head. Once completely off he held it out to you. “Here baby, take this to warm up too”

“I’m good Pea” Hopefully he would just drop it.

“Babe, c’mon it’s not a big deal. I’m hot moving around in it anyway.”

“I said I’m good Pea.” You tried again.

“Y/N just take the damn hoodie. It won’t bite you.” He replied his tone filled with annoyance.

You rolled your eyes. “I know it won’t bite me Sweet Pea I just don’t want it.”

Sweet Pea huffed out a breath ready to respond to you again. You were done having this conversation. Sure maybe his other girlfriends could wear his hoodie and look cute in it but you? Let’s be honest you would not look cute. It probably wouldn’t even fit, and it would for sure not come down past your thighs making it look even more cute and giving off certain vibes.

You moved trying to get out of the booth to walk away. Sweet Pea moved to block the exit.

“You aren’t walking away from this Y/N” he paused looking at you. “Just take it please”

“No Pea, you just don’t get it. Let me leave please.” You looked up at him your Y/E/C glossed over.

Sweet Pea let out a deep sigh.

“Baby, just trust me okay?” Sweet Pea looked around. Fangs setting up another game after losing to someone else. Calling Sweet Pea over. “Just a minute man” Sweet Pea hollered over his shoulder before bringing his attention back to you.

He slid into the booth next to you. Making your exit near impossible. Unless you were to just crawl over the table. You probably shouldn’t do that, and Sweet Pea with his damn quick reflexes would have you in his embrace within seconds.

His voice lowered as he looked around again. “I know your issue with this even if you tell me different, I know you. I’m a tall person Y/N.”

You rolled your eyes. “Tall isn’t the same as .. me.”

Sweet Pea placed the hoodie on top of the table his hands coming to rest on your thighs.

“You are beautiful, don’t ever doubt that just can you please just do this for me?” He pleaded his annoyed tone going away as he understood.

You let out an annoyed huff. “Fine, but you have to do that thing with me if I do this.”

Sweet Pea groaned. “Really? You are going to make me do that?”

You giggled softly. “Yup, if I have to put on this hoodie. You have to do that.”

Sweet Pea contemplated it for a moment. You silently prayed he would say no. There was no he would actually do it. “Fine I’ll do that.”

Your mouth dropped open. You were speechless. You thought for sure you had won this round.

“C’mon babe I agreed. Get to putting that hoodie on” Sweet Pea smirked at you grabbing his hoodie and once again handing it to you.

You grumbled out a low protest before grabbing the hoodie out of his hands with a small “fine.”

You pulled the hoodie on over your head. It stopped where it was supposed to, didn’t go past to hide your thighs, the arms hid your hands Sweet Peas arms being longer than yours. You sighed happily at the warmth and smell that embraced you.

Sweet Pea leaned in and kissed your cheek. “I told you baby, you look so good in my clothes too.”

“Mhmmm. Thanks Pea.” You smiled at him glad he had won this round.

“You do have to wear this to that thing you know” Sweet Pea smiled at you.

You gave a small nod not caring just happy that it fit and thankful for the warmth.

Toni came back as Sweet Pea walked back towards Fangs and the pool table and set the mug of hot chocolate in front of you.

“I’m glad he gave up his hoodie for you” She chuckled.

“Yeah me too. We will be supporting you at tomorrow nights football game.” You informed her.

She looked at you disbelief in her eyes. “You got Sweet Pea to go to a bulldogs football game?”

You nodded at her as you continued to sip the hot chocolate.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” She laughed.

                                  -The next night -

“Pea you said you would go! So let’s go we won’t get good spots if we are late!” You stood in the small trailer a pair of faded ripped jeans and Sweet Peas hoodie on waiting to leave.

You could hear the grumbling of your boyfriend as he walked out his Serpent jacket on.

“I can’t believe I agreed to this.”

“You did it to yourself babe” You laughed.

“I know, but I’d do it all over again to see you in my hoodie” Sweet Pea winked at you.

You rolled your eyes. “Sure Pea, lets go”

He grabbed the truck keys and you both headed to Riverdale High.

You got there early enough to be in the first row of the bleachers. Sweet Pea wouldn’t sit in the student section so you settled on to the side of it. He reluctantly agreed. You waved to Toni as you both sat down her smile wide at the sight of you both.

You watched the game, happily cheering for your school as Sweet Pea watched you. When half time came around and the River Vixens performed. He watched the sadness in your eyes, the longing of wanting to be out on the field.

“You happy Y/N/N?” Sweet Pea asked pulling you out of your thoughts.

“Hmmm? Oh yeah, yeah I am” You replied quickly not taking your eyes off the field as halftime ended and the River Vixens came back to the side of the field.

You watched some of them walk away to grab drinks or catch their breaths as the marching band took the field. Toni walked up to the front of your section and you watched Cheryl leave the field.

“Hey babe, I’m going to grab something from the truck. Want anything on my way back, popcorn a drink?” Sweet Pea asked kissing the side of your head.

“No Pea I’m good”  

You watched Sweet Pea walk up the stairs to exit towards the parking lot once out of sight you turned back to Toni.

“I can’t believe you got him to come to a game”

You laughed. “I told you we were coming. Plus he wanted me to wear the damn hoodie so bad last night and I didn’t want to so we made a deal. Plus he can come to one game to support you.”

Toni laughed at that and you fell into a short conversation about some of the classes you had together. Her leaving as the band stopped playing and the River Vixens returned to the side of the field.

It was a few minutes before Sweet Pea returned to your side. You looked to him confused, nothing was in his hands or on him. What did he leave for if he was only going to return with nothing? You wondered.

“What did you need to get?” You questioned him.

“Oh, I realized it wasn’t in the truck no big deal. Let’s finish the game yeah?”

He was being super weird but you ignored it for now as you both watched the rest of the game. In the end the bulldogs won, you both waited in the parking lot for Toni to come out to join you both at the Wyrm.

You tensed as she walked out with Cheryl. Sure Cheryl was her girlfriend and now a serpent but you could never get her laugh and the “are you serious” she spat at you freshman year when you showed up to River Vixen tryouts out of your head every time you looked at her. 

“Hey guys I’m really glad you guys came” Toni stated as her hand was linked with Cheryl's.

“Yeah we are too” You smiled at her.

“Hey Y/N, tryouts are coming up soon and we need to fill a spot .. I was thinking you’d be perfect.”

You went silent at Cheryl's words. This was a sick joke even for her. The tears quickly came to your eyes as you took off towards Sweet Peas truck climbing in and slamming the door.

“I’ll talk to her, we will just meet you guys at the Wyrm” Sweet Pea watched as Toni nodded and he walked to his truck.

You heard the driver door open and felt Sweet Peas hand on your arm. You couldn’t stop the tears even if you wanted to now. Your sniffles being the only sound in the truck until Sweet Pea spoke.

“Baby, its not a joke, she really wants you on the squad.”

You looked up at his words the tears still flowing. Sweet Pea cupped your face using his thumbs to wipe away the tears.

“There is no way that it’s not some cruel joke Pea” Your voice shook.

“I promise it’s not, don’t you trust me?”

“You know I do, I just don’t trust her. You weren’t here when I actually showed up to try outs. She was so mean Pea”

Sweet Pea kissed you softly. “I know baby, I know I wasn’t, but I’m here now and … now don’t get mad .. I talked to her, I didn’t need anything from the truck. I just want to see you happy” He confessed to you.

Your eyes went wide. “Why? I’m okay just being me, just being your girlfriend.”

“I know you are but I also know you’ve wanted this for a long time.”

You nodded as you brought your hands up covering Sweet Peas hands on your cheeks as you closed your eyes. “Okay… I’ll try out, but if it is some sick joke I’ll kick her ass.”

Sweet Pea chuckled. “Alright Y/N/N, ready to get out of here?”

You nodded as he pulled out of the parking lot heading to the Wyrm. You had a serious one on one conversation with Cheryl.

“I am really sorry Y/N, I was mean back then and I do want you on the squad.”

You nodded a small smile on your face. “Okay I’ll tryout but when?”

Cheryl smiled. “It just so happens that a girl has to quit so how about Monday?”

You nodded again at her as Toni and Sweet Pea joined you both at the table all of you talking about the game.

When Monday came around you put on your best brave face and tried out for the River Vixens. Laughing as both Cheryl and Toni smushed you in a hug telling you were on the squad.

That Saturday you nervously fidgeted with the end of your Vixen Skirt. Nervous for your first game, the first time anyone would see you in this uniform besides Toni and Cheryl.

You ran onto the field with the girls taking your stance in front of the student section. Your eyes caught a tall leather clad serpent in the first row of the student section cheering for the girls. You laughed as Sweet Pea sent you a wink and a huge smile, Fangs beside him giving you a thumbs up. He would always be there front and center at any event cheering not for the bulldogs but for you the love of his life.

[trashcanband4]

Father Duo Ch. 3

  Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6

Chapter Title: The Arrival. Pairing: Eventual Daryl x Reader. Setting: The Prison. Word Count: 2,138. Warnings: Rape, non-customary situations.

We were sitting in the truck looking at the prison. "Dad this place is perfect!" I said excitedly turning in my seat to look at him and he looked at me like I was crazy. "What?" I asked looking playfully offended.

"This isn't a joke Bay." He said giving me a scolding look.

"I know. I wasn't jokin’."

He sighed at me like I was the most ridiculous person in the world. "Look at the amount of walkers in that prison yard. Do ya really think just the two of us can clear that? Even if ya were the best shot in the county, which yer not, we wouldn't have enough ammo to take them all down."

"So we'll find a different way." I suggested with a shrug and he rolled his eyes. "This is the safest place we've found so far. Are we just going to let the walkers have it?" I might have always been a bit quiet back in the old world, but I always spoke up when I had something to say. My gut was telling me that we should at least try to clear it out.

My dad rolled his eyes when I gave him puppy dog eyes, something I hadn't done since I was five. But it still had the same effect because he huffed out another breath. "Err fine we'll give it a try." He pushed the squeaky truck door open and I followed him around to the bed where he started digging through the hunting bag. "Use this." He handed me a knife then pulled his out of the sheath on his hip. "We'll see if we can take them out through the fence." The lid of the big silver toolbox creaked when Dad opened it and pulled out some bolt cutters and an old wire dog leash. I was wondering what he needed these things for, but I quickly found out when we got to the fence of the prison. He cut a hole in the fence with the bolt cutters that was big enough for us to duck through then laced it shut with the wire. We were relieved to find that there were no walkers between the two fences.

The ones in the prison yard quickly caught our sent and were soon scratching at the barrier eager to eat us. Dad started stabbing the walkers in the head with his knife and I followed his lead as always. I tried not to think about who these people were before they changed, and succeeded. My mind was mostly numb to the things I killed, but every once in a while my eyes would catch something, a pierced ear or a unique tattoo, little things like that that would reanimate my mind and make it wonder.

I switched the knife to my left hand often to keep from wearing myself out too fast, but eventually I lost all feeling, emotionally and physically, and had to stop. "Dad I can't do this anymore. My arms feel like jelly." I wiggled my shoulders making my arms flop at my sides for emphasis. He smirked at me before we stood back to examine what we had accomplished. We hadn't even taken down half of them and I quickly figured out that this might take a while. Since gas in the truck was running low we couldn't drive back to the house. So we would be sleeping in Old Red again.

After all that walker killing I just wanted to kick back in the truck and get some rest. Problem was that we were both covered in blood that had splattered from the walkers as we took them down. Funny, I hadn't noticed it when we were killing them, I guess I was too busy concentrating on getting the horrible job done and over with. "You look disgusting." I said to Dad with my hands on my hips. He just laughed at me and said that I did too. "Is there anywhere around here that we could wash off? I'm not eating or sleeping with this much blood on me." He nodded and made a follow me motion. He led me to a wide river that I eagerly jumped into, clothes and all. I didn't have any soap so I just did my best with out it. I used the sand that I could grab with my toes to scrub the blood off of me then did the same to my clothes. Dad and I switched places, he took a dip in the river and washed his clothes while I watched for walkers.

We walked back to the truck not caring that we were fully clothed and soaking wet. When we got back to the truck Dad changed clothes not bothering to dry off. Since it wasn't much longer until sundown he started a fire then went to hunt. I grabbed a towel and stepped around to the driver's side of the truck to change into something dry. Most of the clothes I had brought from home were too big on me since I had lost even more weight. Not that I minded, I liked my new body, but I feared that if there wasn't any food left in the prison then I would become one of those girls that were so skinny you could see their hip bones poking out. So far I didn't have to worry about that. I still had a little pooch, but having weighed 195 lb at one point I figured this would never go away. So I dug through one of the bags that I had packed with scavenged clothes until I found a set that fit me.

I had just put on clean under things when a hand went around my mouth and I felt the cold metal of a knife blade at my throat. My back was pressed tightly to a muscular chest. "One peep and yer dead." A rough, unfamiliar voice whispered in my ear and I cringed from his hot breath on my skin. "Ya hear me?" my nod was jerky and my whole body was trembling but I couldn't make it stop.

The nasty smelling hand that was on my mouth slid down to my chest and into my bra. I gritted my teeth and hot tears ran down my face. The man made a quiet sound of enjoyment making my insides twist. I wanted so bad to scream out for my dad, but I knew if I did that this man would have no problem slitting my throat open. That's just how most men were now days. The man kept the blade at my throat as he slid his hand down my stomach and around to my rear. I couldn't help the suppressed cry that came from me when his rough hand hit my butt. I regretted it the second it happened, because he pressed the knife tighter to my throat. The thin skin split open and I felt sticky blood run down my chest.

His calloused hand stung like hot embers as it ran over every inch of me. All of a sudden the knife was gone and replaced by his hand around my neck as he shoved me to the back of the truck and made me lean over the side of the bed. My hands were free, and gripped the side of the truck. I could see the ammo bag sitting in the corner closets to me and while the guy was distracted with my body I slowly slipped my hand into the truck bed and into the bag. My fingers shakily curled around the handle of the first weapon I felt, a large knife.

I can't even begin to tell you what I was thinking as I crossed my legs at the ankles, which pissed off the man, because I cut off his access to my body. This worked to my advantage, because as soon as he stood up straight with his fist reared back to punch me I quickly spun my body around uncrossing my ankles as I did. My arms were flung out to the side as I spun and I used the momentum to slam the knife into his side. I watched his face contort in pain before I pulled it out and he yelled out as he collapsed to the ground. I took that as my opportunity to run.

I mostly tripped over my own feet as I ran to the prison, undid the cable on the hole, slipped in, quickly retied it and I ran to the closest watch tower. I didn't even feel the effect that the gravel was having on my bare feet. I flung the door open and stabbed a walker that was inside before I ran up the stairs and to the top. The moon was bright and I could see the man still on the ground writhing in pain.

He didn't get up and soon I saw Dad coming out of the woods with a rabbit and a squirrel. I called out to him and I could see his head as it turned in my direction. "Watch out!" I didn't know if he caught what I had said, but I saw him run around to the other side of the truck and struggle with the man. My dad ended up tying the man's hands together then his feet. When I saw that Dad had the man immobilized I made myself leave the tower. As soon as I got to Old Red my dad started checking me over for wounds, I was completely unharmed other than the small, shallow scratches that the gravel path left on the balls of my feet and the thin cut on my neck. After that he let me go to the truck to change into the jeans and t-shirt that I had laid out.

"Wanna tell me exactly what happened?" Dad asked when I joined him at the fire and I told him everything. "Well ya did good, ya protected yerself, but from now on ya need to be on guard all the time." I nodded at him not wanting to talk. "And yer telling the truth? He didn't…?"

"No. He just…", I cringed inwardly and outwardly, "touched." I explained letting a shiver run down my spine. He nodded looking almost as pissed as I felt. We sat there for a while both just staring into the fire before my father asked a question that I was going to grow to hate with a passion.

"Are ya okay?"

"No, yes, I don't know." Dad just looked at me. "I hate him." I sat there with my knees pulled to my chest as Dad focused on the meat over the fire. "Is…is that bad?" He shook his head and swallowed hard before he looked at me.

"No sweetie it's not. Its normal to feel anger at someone for doing something like that. But you have to remember, do unto others…"

"As you would have them do unto you." I said with a nod, but I never really understood that phrase. It could be looked at two ways. Option one, I should treat him with kindness and respect, because that's how I would like to be treated. Or option two, he treated me like crap so that meant he wanted me to treat him like crap back. Now that I think about it if he wanted me to do option two, shouldn't I do option one just to piss him off? Jeez this stuff was annoying to think about. I decided that I would do the first choice because it seemed to be the more moral of the two. "What are we going to do with him?" I asked as we sat eating by the fire.

"Don't know, what do ya think we should do with him?"

"I don't know, that's why I asked you." That comment pulled a small smile out of him.

"We'll figure it out in the mornin'. For now he can stay there. Ya can go to the truck when yer done eatin'. I'll take watch." I put my plate on the ground then walked around the truck to climb into the back seat, but a movement at the edge of the woods caught my eye.

The man was illuminated by the light inside the truck and it was the first time I had looked at him since the attack. From what I could see he was an older, blond headed man and wore only an old black vest and loose fitting jeans. "What ya lookin' at sugar tits?" he asked not even trying to get out of the ropes. I just ignored his question and climbed into the truck to try and get some much needed rest.

Daryl Tags: @jodiereedus22 @mtngirlforever @zzeacat @winchester-angel@moodygrip @beegnc @hells-mistress @lighthope08 @sapphire1727@luisadontcurr @chloebabyboo @ilkaeliseb @twdeadfanfic @ravengalaxia@1lluminaticonfirmed @my-current-fandom-is @nikkiloves-bailey @coffeebooksandfandom @lonewolf471 @gruffle1 @mblaqgi @calumstuffs@beltzboys2015-blog @neontiger007  @lonewolf471 @sourwolf-sterek32 @dixonluvv @dotslabyrinth @kayln97 @art-flirt @beltzboys2015-blog

[bbaba-yagaa]

Pleasure Before Business

A/N: I wrote this last Thursday but finished it too late to post. It was another one of those days.... a thirsty Thursday.

Summary: Post ILB, Pine Springs is at peace, but trouble is brewing elsewhere. What does that mean? Road trip!

Pairings: Danni x Harper (M!MC)

Rating: 18+ NS*W!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I'm only borrowing them.

Word Count: 1650

Tagging: @brightpinkpeppercorn @queerchoicesblog @edgydepressedchoicesthot @sceptilemasterr @bhavf

A newer model, compact sedan steadily navigates the narrow winding road just outside of Hood River, Oregon. In the driver's seat is Danni Asturias whose eyes are fixed in concentration on the path ahead. Beside her, Harper Vance is quietly mulling over information the two of them had been collecting from local newspapers. Events similar to the ones that transpired in Westchester and Pine Springs had begun to make headlines in news articles originating from the relatively small town. The Pine Springs group had fully expected the power to resurface at some point, but they had hoped it wouldn't happen so soon. Now on their way to turn over a few rocks and see what they can dig up from the local happenings, the tense, young couple share a nervous anticipation of what they may find. These events always centered around a group of people shared a mutual fascination with a power they could never hope to understand or control.

Harper scratches his head in frustration, rolls down the passenger side window and sticks his head out to enjoy the cool mountain air.

“You alright over there, Vance?” Danni casts a sideways glance at her companion while keeping full attention on the road ahead.

“Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit wound up.” He pulls his head back inside and runs a hand through his windblown hair.

As Harper rolls up the window, a sign reading: Welcome to Hood River, Oregon! Population 7,000, comes into view. When they drive past it, the idyllic little town begins to materialize off in the distance.

As they enter town and begin to make their way down a main street, Danni takes notice of her companion’s growing anxiety. “Hey, there's a cute local shop that I saw online that has great reviews and I think it really fits my m.o. Do you want to check it out and unwind a bit before we get into full blown, monster hunter mode?”

Harper smiles at her enthusiasm and nods in agreement. He knows that if Danni is interested in something, then it's sure to be good for laughs and possibly a fun conversation topic later.

********

As Danni brings the small sedan to a halt, Harper looks around in confusion. The two of them are parked curbside, in front of what appears to be a house. On the front most eve is the name: ‘Duddy Ruck.

“What the hell is this? It looks like a house.” Harper laughs aloud and turns to his girlfriend who is wearing a huge smile.

“Right? Wait till you see the inside, you'll hardly believe your eyes.” Danni throws open her car door and hops out, prompting Harper to follow suit. Together, the couple descends the stairs from street level and heads inside. Once inside, Danni stands back and relishes the look of amazement on her boyfriend's face as he takes in the large interior of the store. On the outside, the Duddy Ruck appeared small and quaint, but on the inside, it was indeed a full blown clothing store. Every shelf, rack and display is filled to the brim with flannel shirts, denim jeans; along with an array of brightly colored spring attire and activewear.

“Wow, you weren't kidding. This store totally oozes the same energy you do.” Harper flinches reflexively as Danni playfully slugs his shoulder before pulling him toward the first rack of clothes. Unsurprisingly, the first thing that catches her attention is a circular rack of assorted flannel shirts.

Harper chuckles as his girlfriend excitedly flips through them while searching for her size and a color she likes. “You could at least try to be unpredictable once in a while.” He quickly ducks around the opposite side of the rack as Danni shoots an angry glare his way.

“What's wrong with flannels?! You know they are my favorite.” She hangs a shirt back on the rack before circling around to confront her boyfriend.

“Nothing, nothing at all! I only meant I saw that coming a mile away.” Slowly, Harper lowers his hands from their defensive position as Danni mulls over his words. A wide grin crosses her face as she catches sight of a particularly inviting shelf of clothes.

“Predictable, huh? How about these?” Practically bouncing over to a table of bright colored sundresses, she reaches for the mannequin standing nearby. After snatching the broad, flat brimmed hat from its head, Danni twirls it between her fingers and puts it on.

“What do you think, Vance: is this predictable?”

“Yeah, but only a little bit. Now I'm getting the vibe that you are putting some effort into it.” Harper ducks away laughing just in time to avoid another playful slap from his flustered girlfriend.

Before Danni can give chase, her eyes land on a bright yellow sundress. She picks it up tenderly, checks the tag and giggles happily upon seeing that it's just her size. While Harper hovers just on the other side of a circular clothing rack, Danni folds up the garment quickly and heads toward the changing room nearby. Her boyfriend notices the dress in his girlfriend's hands just as she steps inside the booth and closes the door behind her. The young man plops down into a chair nearby and waits anxiously to see what Danni has in store.

Harper's jaw drops in disbelief when Danni reemerges a few minutes later. The bright yellow sundress perfectly complements her curvy figure as she struts out of the small booth toward her boyfriend. Atop her head sits the bleached white hat from earlier, but now she's pulled the brim down low over her eyes. As she comes to a stop in front of Harper, the mid thigh length hem of the dress catches his eye. Never before has he seen Danni show off so much of those long tan legs without them being hidden under the thin veil of her usual tights; in public at least.

“Well, don't leave me in suspense, Harper. How's this for predictable? Should I make a duck face too?” Danni puckers her lips and pops a hip out to one side before placing an open palm on it.

As Harper runs his eyes along every sensual curve of Danni's body, a familiar tightness begins to grow in his pants. He quickly checks to see if anyone is watching him and his girlfriend before standing up and pulling her back into the changing booth. The brunette doesn't have time to utter a single word before her boyfriend brings his lips crashing into hers. Quiet moans escape from the two of them as Harper picks her up, wraps those long legs around his waist and sits her on a small ledge in the back of the changing room.

“I just want… to say… that I totally expected this.” Danni's words come between kisses as her hands quickly undo Harpers pants. She slips her hand into his boxers and begins to stroke his hard length. While working him just the way he likes, Harper’s hands work their way up her dress and quickly do away with the panties beneath. As their kisses grow in passion and desperation, the young man slips a hand between her thighs. He then begins to gently run his fingers through her slick folds; spreading her growing excitement through them before starting to tease her clit. An approving moan escapes the brunette’s lips and Harper instinctively cups a hand over her mouth. While trembling in excitement, Danni pulls her boyfriend's pants down to knee high height and starts to massage the entirety of his manhood as she continues to stroke him. When the anticipation between them reaches a fever pitch when Harper slips a finger inside his girlfriend while the circles he traces around her clit grow smaller and faster. Teetering on the verge of release, Danni pulls Harper close and positions the tip of his erection at her entrance. He enters her with one, single thrust and the brunette claps a hand over his mouth as he hisses in satisfaction. The two of them begin to rock their hips together aggressively: both of them desperate for the sweet release only they could provide for each other. Muffled breathes and stifled moans slip from the couple's cupped mouths as the thrusting grows more aggressive and erratic. As Danni's walls tighten around Harper's length, signaling her release, he withdraws and finishes on the yellow sundress unintentionally. While the two of them catch their breath and struggle to redress, the brunette once again slaps her boyfriend on the arm.

“Way to go, Vance,” Danni's voice comes out as a semi angry whisper, “Now I have to buy this dress.”

“Hey, I'm not complaining. It looks really good on you. Come to think of it, you should get the hat too.” Harper grins in satisfaction as his girlfriend's cheeks redden at the barrage of compliments.

*******

After the two of them manage to exit the dressing room and pay for their clothes without drawing suspicion, Danni and Harper leave the shop. When they sit down and close the doors of the car, a fit of uncontrollable laughed breaks out between them. The couple tries and fails to recompose themselves several times before finally succeeding.

“That was great Harper; we should do this more often.” Danni wipes away a stray tear of joy as her boyfriend rubs his aching sides.

“We could totally make a thing out of finding random clothing stores to have sex in.” Another chuckle escapes the young man as he rubs his face with both hands.

After a quiet moment of relishing their daring feat, Danni turns to her boyfriend with determination. “So, are we ready to go monster hunting now?”

“Hell yeah, let's do this.” Harper grabs his seatbelt and clicks it into place as Danni starts the car, throws it in gear and quickly speeds off toward their destination.

[monabela]

@eternal-night-owl! hello! this is your gift in the @aphgenficexchange, ft the Baltic trio as childhood friends, and, vaguely, a high school AU... and I guess this counts as historical but proBABLY not in the way you’d expect. for some reason, I decided this had to be set in the nineties. in 1997, to be exact. the setting in terms of location is a nonexistent Generically European location. but uhh expect a lot of denim, and the macarena. and a title referencing friends, because of course :) I hope you like it!

No One Told You

characters: Lithuania (Tolys), Latvia (Raivis), Estonia (Eduard), mentioned Poland (Feliks) and Finland (Tuomi)

word count: 4436 summary: Before Eduard and Tolys graduate from high school and leave their hometown for brighter places, they and their best friend Raivis decide to take a road trip together. It’s not like they’ll never see each other again, but it feels like the end of an age all the same.

“This is a bad idea.”

Tolys receives an unconcerned grin from Eduard over the roof of his mother’s old Škoda. He pulls a pained face back.

“Don’t worry, Tolys, it’ll be fine. Besides, look at it like this; it can’t be worse than when you and Feliks went hitchhiking.”

He promised not to mention that. Tolys groans. Feliks has refused to come with them this time, and he suspects it’s in part because of the hitchhiking disaster, which he’s been trying to forget happened since the minute they were picked up by a truck transporting geese.

“Geese,” he groans out loud. Eduard just grins more, pushing his glasses up. “And anyway, that’s honestly not much of a reassurance. I don’t think it can get worse.”

“Don’t jinx it,” says Raivis, walking out of the garage of Tolys house holding a duffel bag. “Where can I put this?”

Tolys gestures him over to the car so he can put it in the trunk while Eduard ducks into the passenger seat to start fiddling with his eternal cassette tapes. As outraged as he was to find out that the Škoda doesn’t have a cassette deck, he seems to have circumvented it with his own equipment easily. Raivis, meanwhile, has been wearing his Discman headphones around his neck everywhere, generally without the Discman actually attached, because it doesn’t fit in any of his pockets.

They may be Tolys’s first and best friends, but that doesn’t mean he understands them.

His mother comes out of the house after a minute and fusses over them for a while—especially Eduard, who hits his head on the roof of the car for the umpteenth time when he gets out—until Tolys can convince her that they’ll be fine and they’ll call if anything does happen. Here, Eduard proudly shows off his mobile phone, also for the umpteenth time.

He hits his head again when he gets back into the passenger seat and starts to curse before he realizes Tolys’s mother is still watching from the front doorway. Raivis snorts as he climbs into the backseat.

Well, here they go.

He’s certain they prepared their little road trip as well as they could have, but Tolys still feels a little nervous as he takes his place behind the wheel, buckles his seatbelt, and starts the car. For one, he’s never actually driven so far before—and he will have to do all the driving, because neither of his friends have their license yet—and for another, they’ll have to be back in time for his and Eduard’s official graduation from high school, and he knows the three of them. They’re bound to get distracted on the way.

“Relax, Tolys,” Eduard says. “No need the break the wheel.”

Taking a deep breath, he tries to ease his death grip. He’s looking forward to it, so he’s going to have fun.

They drive past Eduard’s house, where his brother and half-sister are waving a little too enthusiastically in the garden, with Tuomi clutching his chest dramatically like Eduard might never return. Eduard ducks his head and starts fiddling with his cassettes.

As they pass Raivis’s house on the corner of the street, where it’s silent, he presses play, and the Rembrandts start blaring through the car.

“I made a mixtape,” Eduard announces. Tolys grins. Raivis claps along from the backseat. Ironically.

There isn’t a set itinerary, but it’s May and all the campsites along the river are open for business, so as long as the weather stays mild, the three of them have nothing to worry about.

Tolys relaxes quickly after they leave town, sings along to Eduard’s mixtape while Raivis pretends to hate the pop songs but can clearly be heard humming along. He pulls his pointy knees up to his chest, where they poke through the holes in his jeans. Eduard, who is presently wearing a multicolored Nirvana shirt underneath a denim jacket, rolls his eyes fondly and reaches over to poke him.

“No sulking over the Backstreet Boys, Raivis.”

“Maybe I’m sulking because you’re here, Eduard. You ever think about that?”

Tolys can’t help but snort.

They’ve been friends practically their entire lives, the three of them, having grown up on the same street, and although they’re steadily growing more and more into vastly different people, they’ve remained close through all of high school. Tolys would trust Raivis and Eduard with his life, if not necessarily with his possessions. They’re like brothers to him in many ways, and as someone who grew up alone with his mother, that’s more than he could have asked for.

The first stop they have to make is a department store off the highway, because Raivis realizes he forgot to pack his hay fever medicine.

They tour through the store as if that’s their entire road trip. Eduard pokes an electronic thing in the toy section that starts singing at him, and he nearly falls over. Tolys wishes he had a camera with him. Well, he did pack the video camera, promising his mother to be very careful with it, but it’s in the car right now.

Somewhere between the medicine aisle and the clothing department, they lose sight of Eduard. When they find him, he’s holding up two graphic T-shirts and looking contemplative, the TL lights reflecting in his glasses.

“Hey guys, what do—”

“No,” says Raivis. “You don’t even watch MTV, Ed.”

Sticking his tongue out, Eduard obediently puts one of the shirts back on the rack. Tolys liked it, really, even if it said ‘Yo! Raps!’ in bright pink letters. The rest of it was a nice blue color. Nevertheless, he’s pretty sure Raivis is right and Eduard doesn’t like hip-hop. At least, not as much as he likes other kinds of music.

The second shirt has the Jurassic Park logo on it, and Tolys has the feeling he’s seen Eduard wearing one exactly like it before, but alright. He puts his hands deep into the pockets of his own overalls.

“We’re not here for you to be a nerd,” Raivis teases.

“We’re not here for you to be an unsupportive friend either,” Eduard shoots back. Raivis smiles.

They go to pay. In the queue for the cash register, after pulling his wallet out of his jeans pocket by the chain attached to it, Eduard picks up a candy bar.

“Hey,” he says, “we should do something reckless like they always do in movies.”

“Dude, you’re not thinking of stealing a candy bar. That’s a terrible idea,” Raivis says, and Tolys is on the verge of protesting the idea as well when he realizes that he doesn’t always have to be the voice of reason.

“I agree, it’s a bad idea. Raivis should do it.” He relishes the incredulous looks he receives. “Ed and I are adults, but if you get caught, you’ll be tried as a minor.”

“I turn eighteen this year,” Raivis grumbles, while Eduard snorts and puts the candy bar on the conveyor belt.

“Maybe we should stick with something reckless that’s less illegal,” he says, and the cashier gives him a withering look that has him pulling a guilty grimace at Tolys and Raivis.

When they finally make it back to the car, Raivis gives it a considering look and starts to say something, but Tolys forestalls him.

“No, neither of you is driving my mother’s car. That’s definitely illegal.”

“Spoilsport. Can I at least have shotgun?”

They both look at Eduard, who is putting the new supplies in the trunk, ducking a little to avoid hitting his head. It’s so strange. He used to be the shortest of the three of them until they were about thirteen, when he suddenly shot up like a weed and started hitting his head on everything. He hasn’t stopped in the five years since.

“Well,” Tolys says, “if you want to talk reckless, that’s definitely it.”

Raivis grins and shoots into the car at top speed.

“Booyah!” he shouts, and Eduard knocks against the roof when he jumps.

“Oh, no, Raivis,” he whines, but Raivis just grins smugly and stretches his legs out, so Eduard is forced to fold his gangly legs into the Škoda’s backseat, from where he digs out a bag of Bugles and starts throwing them at Raivis. Raivis eats them.

“At least put some music on,” Tolys says, so Raivis hands Eduard his cassette deck, and he carefully selects a new tape.

They arrive at a campsite to the Macarena, which even Raivis has given up on pretending he doesn’t know the dance to.

When Tolys has confirmed that they can stay there that night, Eduard leafs through flyers for local attractions in the reception area, happy to stretch his legs, while Raivis searches through the car for the tent.

“Hey,” he says when Tolys walks over to him. “Look, they’ve got geese here.”

“I hate you.”

Chuckling, Raivis turns back to the car and continues dragging the tent out, the poles rattling in the bag. Tolys hopes the thing is complete; last he heard, Eduard’s sister had taken it to some festival, and the music taste in that family sure is… Something. It’s just another way the three of them are completely different. He pulls a hair elastic out of his pocket, pulls his hair away from his face, and sets to work helping the tent get set up.

By the time Eduard saunters over, holding several flyers that he’s probably going to put in one of his scrapbooks, they’re nearly done with the tent, which thankfully isn’t missing anything and looks clean. The last time all three of them slept in it was several years ago, but it was after Eduard’s growth spurt, so Tolys feels pretty confident that they’ll still fit.

“Looks good,” Eduard says.

“You’re going to be the one to break it up tomorrow,” Tolys tells him. He’s not going to get away with hiding at the reception so easily.

“Alright, fine. Look, there’s a pizza place by the river!” He holds one of the flyers up.

They go to the pizza place.

As always, Tolys finds himself in a heated debate with Eduard about whether pineapple is a good topping for pizzas or not—Eduard claims it’s ‘so eighties’, which apparently makes it a bad thing, like he didn’t grow up during the eighties. Raivis gleefully steals slices of their pizzas during this argument, as always.

It’s going to be weird, not being around them so much anymore from next year on. They’ll be on opposite ends of the country, just about, with Eduard going to his fancy university to learn all kinds of nerdy things about computers and whatnot, Tolys hopefully studying to be a nurse, and Raivis finishing high school. Even after that, he probably won’t come either of their ways again, because Raivis has a curious mind and boundless creativity and will be… Who knows, writing a book?

Maybe Tolys should get a mobile phone as well, to stay in touch.

“What are you thinking about?” Eduard asks as they walk back to the campsite. The sun is setting, glinting off the plastic frame of his glasses and the pale hair that covers his forehead.

“Mobile phones,” he replies distractedly, and so he spends the next twenty minutes listening to Eduard raving about technology, not understanding about half the words he says but happy that he’s so passionate about something.

The tent is a nice temperature to sleep in, but it takes some time before they get to it, because Raivis has commandeered Eduard’s cassettes and insists on playing and replaying Wonderwall when he finds it on a tape, while Eduard protests halfheartedly. Tolys, caught in the middle of it, tries to ignore them and read a book. It’s a good thing there are no other campers nearby—it’s too early in the season for that—or he’s sure someone would have come to complain by the seventh rewind. It’s the first time Raivis has managed to stop the cassette exactly at the beginning of the song, preventing them from having to listen to the ending of a No Doubt song again.

“You have to admit Gwen Stefani is hot,” Eduard says.

“I don’t have to admit anything,” Raivis returns. “Tolys, what do you think?”

“I think you two should shut up, is what I think. Didn’t you want to go to that aquarium a few towns over tomorrow? I’m not driving you there if you wake up after noon.”

“Alright, mom,” he says. There’s a lot of shuffling, Oasis clicks off—“rewind the tape!” Eduard hisses—and then, eventually, they settle down.

“Goodnight, guys,” Eduard says.

Raivis pretends to snore demonstratively, and Tolys smiles at the canvas ceiling.

In the morning—barely still in the morning—Eduard manfully drinks coffee, which Tolys knows he hates, Raivis finds out that he also forgot his hair gel after he takes a shower so he makes a detour to the camp site’s little shop, and Tolys finds a sad, flattened candy bar underneath the air mattresses in the tent.

“Eduard can put that in his scrapbook,” Raivis comments, walking by with his hair parted neatly down the middle again.

That doesn’t sound like a very smart idea. Tolys puts it in his pocket and helps Eduard break down the tent despite his threat from yesterday.

They make it to the aquarium by noon. Raivis, again in his ripped jeans and wearing combat boots that seem too warm for the May weather, is suddenly not so concerned about appearing aloof anymore and takes pictures of fish so enthusiastically that his camera roll is full halfway through, but that’s alright, because Eduard apparently carries new ones around in his deep pockets.

“Come on, Raivis, I’ve known you longer than today.”

To be fair, Tolys also spends a long time staring up at the animals in the underwater tunnel, especially the squid sort of hovering by a rock, staring back at him.

Silently, Raivis sits beside him and draws the thing in a sketchbook Eduard was apparently also carrying around. Tolys bets he also has bandages and painkillers and pens rattling around in those pockets. Eduard is like that.

“Man,” says the boy in question, over their heads, “that thing is giving me the wiggins. Oh, hey, that’s a good drawing, it’s just as creepy.”

“Thanks,” Raivis says. He catches Tolys’s eye and shrugs, obviously amused.

“Are you guys hungry? I’m really hungry.”

“Yeah.” Raivis closes the sketchbook and looks up at Eduard. “Fish, I think?”

Fish, of course. But first, Tolys buys a mood ring shaped like a dolphin from the aquarium’s gift shop and watches it indicate that he’s… Somewhere between angry and sad, he thinks. Oh well.

“They don’t even have dolphins,” Eduard says, inspecting the ring. “Oh, this is like those shirts we all wore when we were like twelve. You know, the ones that changed color?”

“You were the only one who wore those, Ed,” Raivis replies. He’s rolled the sleeves of his plaid shirt up to his elbows, but looks quite warm all the same. From experience, Tolys knows he won’t take the shirt off, so he leaves it alone.

After they eat fish, they realize they don’t have a place to spend the night yet, and Tolys had enough of camping out in the wild with Feliks last year, so they pile back into the Škoda and drive around for a while looking for a campsite. He refuses to drive back to where they came from—because then what’s the point of a road trip?—and eventually, they end up quite a lot further up the river, where the landscape already starts to get more hilly as it leads up to the mountains in the north.

“We should go skiing sometime,” Eduard says, looking out over the campsite they choose as if he can see the mountains. It’s a beautiful spot, on the banks of a brook leading to the river, the grass blindingly green in the evening sun. Raivis huffs.

“You know we can’t afford that, Ed.”

He smiles softly. “Maybe not now.”

“Can you guys help me with this tent?” Tolys shouts.

The next day, with Eduard somehow having woken up at the crack of dawn and freaking Tolys and Raivis out by being unfindable for a good two hours, Raivis really gets stuck on the idea of doing something reckless.

“I should get a piercing,” he says, and Tolys says, “No, you shouldn’t,” and Eduard says, “Oh, I kinda want a tongue piercing.”

“You what?” Tolys swivels his head around to stare at him from where he’s eating the bread rolls his friend was buying at the local bakery while he was still asleep.

“Yeah.” He grins, showing teeth. “Tuomi got a tattoo, you know, when he turned eighteen.”

“Yes, but Tuomi is…” He waves his hand around, throwing crumbs everywhere on the grass. Something catches his eye, and he thrusts his hand in his friends’ direction. “Look, the ring says it’s a bad idea. I’m upset.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess we have to listen to what your ring says. Not!”

“Well, I’m not driving you there.”

After a fight for the car keys when both Raivis and Eduard insist they’ll drive themselves, thank you very much—which ends with Tolys shoving the keys into his overalls—the two of them grumpily decide to walk into town, leaving Tolys to clean up the tent. He hopes they don’t actually get holes poked into themselves, but you never know with them. They’re somehow always bringing out the most recalcitrant side of each other, egging each other on. No one ever believes Tolys when he tells them this, because everyone knows Raivis and Eduard as quiet, polite guys.

They are, but they’re also teenage boys and trying to be cool in their own ways.

This is nice, too. Quiet. No Spice Girls or No Doubt blaring. Just the water and the birds.

Tolys���s mood ring tells him he’s still upset.

What a great buy.

Raivis comes back a few hours later without a piercing but with his hair dyed black. It’s still styled the same way, but now paints a stark contrast with his light eyebrows, and there are smudges of dye all along his hairline and on his ears.

“Oh, this is way worse.” Tolys pushes his hands through his own shoulder-length hair.

“No, it’s not; your ring says you’re happy.”

“My ring says you’re an idiot, is what is says.”

Raivis just grins. “Wait till you see Ed.”

Tolys groans. They should have done this last year, before he and Eduard turned eighteen, because he swears being a legal adult has made his friend more childish somehow.

“Come on, Tolys,” Raivis says, softer. “You don’t always have to be the responsible one. Everybody already knows you’re a great guy, including us. We’re not going to stop thinking that if you do something dumb every once in a while.”

Smiling slightly, Tolys leans against the hood of the car. He’s going to miss Raivis. Underneath all the plaid and combat boots and black hair, he’s the most sensitive one out of the three of them, and also the one who’s been through the most trouble in his life. He’s the silent little boy that brought them together in the first place, alone on his front stoop and looking decidedly lost there.

“Was the mood ring not dumb enough?”

Raivis laughs, sits on the hood next to him. The smell of hair dye wafts over.

“Behold!” comes Eduard’s voice from up the slope. Tolys closes his eyes for a second, bracing himself. “Does anyone have some ice water?”

Oh, god.

“Stop sticking your tongue out, Ed,” Tolys says when they finally get on the road again, having recovered a little from the fact that he actually went and got his tongue pierced. “People are going to think you’re being rude to them.”

From the passenger seat, Eduard sticks his tongue out at him.

“It feels weird.”

“I could’ve predicted that.”

“Are we there yet?” Raivis asks from behind him, mock-whiny.

“The ring says no,” Eduard replies. They don’t even know where they’re going other than further north.

Tolys snorts. “The ring says you’re both idiots and I don’t know why you’re my friends.”

That earns him a chorus of booing and some Bugles thrown at his head from where they were lying on the floor under the passenger seat.

They stop at a gas station, because Eduard is hungry again and because the car needs gas, and find a flyer advertising a nearby hiking trail, which they decide to take a look at. It’s good weather for hiking, and at least Raivis’s boots are suitable for it.

The area is beautiful, too, and Raivis takes lots of pictures again. Tolys hauls the video camera up into the hills, checks that there’s tape in it at Eduard’s insistence—“we don’t have any footage of my sister’s band because we forgot once”—and captures some of the hike, including the view over a brook they find as Eduard splashes through it with his Converses in hand, getting even his Crystal Pepsi shirt wet but grinning, and himself and Raivis belting out Barbie Girl at top volume.

Tolys is Barbie, because he has long hair, apparently.

“And a mood ring,” Eduard adds sagely.

And a mood ring. Tolys suspects that’s going to be what he’ll always remember of this trip. Eduard’s piercing, Raivis’s dye job, and his mood ring.

He loves it.

That night, Tolys wakes up when it’s still dark outside, and blinks blearily at his nearly invisible surroundings.

Raivis is gone.

There is shuffling outside, the stones on the path leading up to their new campsite scrunching. Eduard breathes deeply and steadily on the other side of Raivis’s mattress.

After a minute, Tolys goes outside, wrapping his sleeping bag around his shoulder to ward off the chill of the night. It’s not really summer yet.

“Hey,” Raivis says from where he’s sitting on the hood of the Škoda, knees pulled up to his chest and bare feet against the yellow paint. His hair looks like an ink stain in the darkness.

“Hey. Be careful with that car, hm?” Tolys sits next to him. “It’s almost an antique.”

Raivis lets out a puff of air. “So are you.”

“Don’t be rude to senior citizens, young man.” He nudges his shoulder against Raivis’s. “What’s up?”

For a while, it’s silent, and the two of them just look out over the hills, at the shadows of the mountains in the distance and the vast garden of stars overhead, brighter here than even in their small town. Eduard snorts in the tent.

“Just a dream,” Raivis eventually says. “Could’ve been worse.”

Tolys hums. “It’s gotten better, hasn’t it? The past years?”

“Yeah, definitely.”  A pause. “I’m going to miss you. You and Eduard.”

He glances at Raivis, who’s now tilting his head back and looking at the sky, his skin very pale in contrast with his newly dark hair. He’s wearing an overlarge sweater Eduard got him for his birthday ages ago—his fourteenth, maybe?—that has Mariah Carey’s face on it. For some reason. Tolys can’t even see it; he knows it’s there.

“I’m going to miss you two as well. It’ll be weird.” He sighs, drags his fingers through the dust on the car. “You guys are like brothers to me.”

“Yeah. Yeah, me too. I mean, I’ve got other friends, but it’s…”

“It’s different.”

The zipper of the tent.

“What’s going on here?” Eduard asks, sounding extra bleary because of his thick tongue. Out of the corner of his eye, Tolys sees Raivis smile as his friend lies back, resting his head against the windshield, which is probably a bad idea, but it doesn’t matter all of a sudden.

“A party,” he tells Eduard, “for cool people.”

“Guess you should come back inside, then.”

Raivis laughs, sounding carefree.

On his way back into the tent, grumbling about the cold, Eduard trips over a guy-line, and Tolys starts laughing as well. He lies down on the hood of the Škoda and looks at the stars.

They try to prank call Eduard’s brother from a payphone the next day, but they run out of money to throw into the thing halfway through, and anyway Eduard keeps giggling in the background, so he probably didn’t fall for it.

A while later, when his mobile phone rings, Eduard pulls a face at it and doesn’t pick up.

“Tolys’s ring says you’re a coward,” Raivis says, sounding dead serious.

“Tolys’s ring should know that Tuomi is kind of scary when he wants to be.”

That’s true.

Somehow, Eduard still hasn’t run out of mixtapes. Tolys’s favorite is the one he’s titled ‘That’s So Pizza Hawaii’, which apparently refers to songs from their childhood, and also the Rembrandts, who are on every single cassette. When asked why, Eduard just grins.

“Is it ‘cause we’re friends?” Raivis asks from the backseat, grabbing Eduard’s baseball cap off his head.

“I don’t know, what does the ring say? Give that back.”

“The ring is withholding comment,” Tolys tells them. And, “Ed, don’t— Keep your seatbelt on. Come on, I’m not your mother.”

Eduard sticks his tongue out again. It’s probably good Tolys isn’t his mother, because the poor woman is going to freak when she sees that piercing.

They barely make it back in time for the official graduation, in the end, going to their high school without stopping by any of their houses first, so Eduard is wearing an Aerosmith shirt and baggy jeans with one leg rolled up and Tolys had to borrow Raivis’s Mariah Carey sweater because someone spilled their energy drink on his own clothes—thanks, Raivis.

As Tolys drives through the town, Eduard fumbles with his cassettes until he finds the last one, forwards through another round of I’ll Be There For You, and grins when the second song starts playing, obviously proud that he captured no talking from the radio show host.

“So deep,” Raivis says, smiling, and he doesn’t even pretend he doesn’t know how it goes as they pull up to their high school.

“Mmmbop!” Eduard shouts.

“Du ba dop, ba du bop,” Tolys and Raivis chorus, and then all three of them are singing through laughter, startling several passersby.

“Du ba dop, ba du bop, du ba dop, ba du, yeah!”

They’ll never forget them in this town.

[rickstexaschick]

Road Trip

Here’s the full edition of this 3 chapter little off-shoot of “Rick’s Texas Chick”, based on a request from an anon.  I’m reposting all three chapters here, as well.  This is also posted on A03 at:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16741282?view_full_work=true

Chapter 1

They had been living together for several weeks when Harley suggested taking her on a motorcycle road trip.  Growing up, road trips had been the only kind of vacation her family took — mostly just to visit her grandparents out of state — apart from the odd day trip down to the beach on The Gulf.  It was her favorite kind of vacation.  Just driving along, enjoying the scenery, talking as a family.  Fast food restaurants weren’t as prolific then, so her mother would pack sandwiches, chips, and cokes.

Entertainment was pretty elementary.  Video games didn’t exist yet, neither did the internet, of course.   So they played the old fashioned car games — making a competition of counting things like cows, horses, windmills, and barns…Played “slug bug” during the day, and “Popeye car,” if they were still on the road after dark.  Radio stations were few and far between — usually her dad kept the radio tuned to one of the larger AM news/talk stations which broadcast its signal for hundreds of miles in all directions.

Before he went down to the shop to get his bike, Harley had told her to pack light — which made her roll her eyes, telling him, “Thanks, Captain Obvious.”

Even so, when he returned to the bedroom a little while later he immediately opened her small duffel bag, which was sitting on the bed.  She watched while he wordlessly rooted around in it briefly before he took out a pair of her panties and a t-shirt.  He opened her small toiletries bag and extracted her toothpaste, toothbrush, and hairbrush, laying them on top of her underwear and shirt.

“There.  Now you’re all packed.”

“But...you took out, like, my basic things.”

“Because, ding dong, that’s basically all you’re taking.  I told you to pack light…”

He went to the dresser and pulled out a pair of black boxer-briefs and another blue t-shirt for himself and tossed them onto her small pile.  Then he went into the bathroom and returned with his toothbrush, a hand towel, and the bottle of his shampoo.

She watched, dismayed.  Words like “hair conditioner” and “skin moisturizer” were on the tip of her tongue.  Instead, she opted for her old standby:  sarcasm and irony.

“You know, I don’t know why you’re being all squeamish about it — we could just share a toothbrush…  And we’re probably going to sleep naked, anyways, right?  So we could just hand wash our underwear and shirts each night, and then we won’t need a change of clothes at all…”

She took the clothes and her toothbrush away from the small pile.  “And who needs shampoo when we can just stand in a river and rub ourselves clean with sand and gravel?  And then, afterwards, we can sit in the sun, to dry.  So, that takes care of having to pack a towel, too…”

She had her hands on the shampoo and towel, when he came up behind her, sliding his hands around her waist.

“You little sassy ass…”  He pulled her against him, pressing his lips into the side of her neck, sending tingles of pleasure down her spine.

She giggled, shivering, then turned around in his arms, looking up at him with a cheeky grin.  “Well, make up your mind.  Am I a sassy ass or a ding dong?”

“If I’m ‘Captain Obvious’ then you’re definitely ‘Sergeant Sassy Ass.’  But I may have to demote you to ‘Corporal Ding Dong’ if you keep this shit up.”

She laughed up at him.  He kissed her, briefly turning it into a deeper kiss, holding her up against him and massaging her ass before reluctantly pulling away.

“Come on.  We need to hit the road if we’re gonna get where I want to be before sundown.”

He dug around in the back of the closet before emerging with a worn, black leather jacket, which was much too big for her.

“Rick’s,” was he laconic reply to the unspoken question on her face.

The leather was soft and it did indeed smell of Rick.  She slipped it on and pulled it around herself and inhaled deeply, closing her eyes with a look of pleasure.  Harley watched her with a small smile.

Rick’s scent had that effect on him, too.

He refused to tell her where they were going.   He did make her wear a helmet, donning one himself, as well.  He had to adjust the straps and use her spare T-shirt as packing to make it fit her small head.  The helmet must be Rick’s, too, she mused silently, looking up at Harley’s face as he adjusted the straps under her chin and checked the helmet’s fit.

She found a pair of gloves in one of the pockets of Rick’s jacket, stuffed them back in.  In the other pocket was a small baggie with what looked like a couple of joints.  Harley was busy loading their remaining things into the two saddle bags, so she just put the baggie back in the pocket without saying anything.

She’d smoked pot only a handful of times in her life — could literally count the number of times on one hand.  Almost of all them were back when she was in college.  After that, there was always the fear of surprise drug testing by her employers, and she didn’t want to risk losing her job or, worse, her nursing license.

But now, who knew when she’d be going back to work?  So...fuck it.  Maybe they could smoke these on this trip.  She couldn’t tell how old the joints were.  Did pot go bad?  She had no idea…  She wondered when was the last time Rick had worn the jacket.  Fingering the baggie inside the pocket absentmindedly, she thought about all the facets of Rick’s and Harley’s relationship that she didn’t know about, and wondered when she’d have the courage to ask more questions...

“Hey.  Space Cadet.  Are you ready?”  Harley had finished loading the saddle bags and was watching her as her mind wandered off to God-knows-where.

She nodded and smiled up at him, her head swamped by Rick’s helmet.  Harley checked the fit one more time, then, satisfied, he lifted her onto the motorcycle’s pillion seat.

“You know,” she said to him as he mounted in front of her, “I really do think I could manage to get up here on my own…”

“Sure you could, honey.  With a good running start and a pole…”  He switched on the ignition then kick-started the engine with a powerful thrust of his body, before settling back down in the seat.

Since he wouldn’t be able to hear her retort over the sound of the engine, she just reached under his jacket and gave him a little pinch in his side as her response, then she slid her hands around his waist and folded them across his flat stomach.  She pulled herself up against him snuggly.  In reply, he reached down and squeezed one of her hands with a lingering caress, then they set off.

Chapter 2

They’d been riding north for a little over an hour when Harley noticed the storm clouds forming over the mountain range.  

Well, fuck, he thought.

It wasn’t supposed to rain for the next few days, although mountains were notorious for creating their own weather.  They still had a couple more hours to go before they’d get to their destination.  Clearly the storm was going to cross their path along the way.

He scanned his memory for any towns or rest stops in between, where they could hole up while the storm passed.  The nearest place he could think of was a truck stop in a small town, twenty miles away...

Ten minutes later they crossed over a mountain pass and were descending a winding road into a long, narrow valley when the rain overtook them, falling lightly at first, but he could tell that it would soon become a downpour.  Fuck.  Up ahead he saw the overpass of a small road crossing over the highway, and breathed a sigh of relief.  It was better than nothing.  And it would have to do.

They pulled underneath the protection of the overpass just as the rain really started to come down.  He parked the bike beyond the shoulder, to keep them away from the spray of passing vehicles, then rolled it backwards onto its kickstand.  She pulled her helmet off, laughing.

“Woo, doggie!  You sure know how to show a girl a good time!  What’s next?  A flat tire?”

He scowled at her as he got off the bike.  “Bite your tongue — or better yet, let me do it for you.”

Harley never joked about shit happening when he was on the road — it just invited all sorts of bad karma, as far as he was concerned.  Rick always laughed at him and his penchant for being superstitious.

But he did have some good data points.  Based on past personal experience, unfortunately...

She couldn’t know that, of course…

He took her helmet from her, hooking the straps back together and using them to hang the helmet from one side of the handlebars.  Then he did the same with his, hanging it from the other side.  He sat back down on the seat, facing her.  She was shaking her hair out, combing her fingers through it.  He took her hands in his.

“D-Don’t make jokes like that, honey.”  He searched her eyes, his expression serious.

“Oh...OK.  I’m sorry...”  The smile melted off her lips when she caught his dark mood, and she felt sincerely sorry.  And chastised.  Then she realized how dumb she’d been.

It was the same as making a comment about how quiet things were on the hospital unit during the shift — as soon as the words were out of your mouth, you wanted to take them back, knowing you’d just asked for something bad to go down.  She didn’t know a single nurse or doctor who wasn’t superstitious about that.

“S’ok, honey.  Just — it’s just a little rule I have…”  He reached down below her leg and unzipped the saddle bag, taking out a flask.

She watched him take a very large drink, then he handed it to her, his expression still dark and remote.  She took the flask from him and drank a small sip, desperately searching her mind for a way to recover the happy mood from earlier.

“So, how long do you think this rain will last?”  She shivered a little, unintentionally.  Her torso was toasty and dry, thanks to Rick’s jacket.  But her jeans were damp.  Soaked through, actually.   Fortunately her feet were fairly dry inside her boots.

“Hard to say, being stuck down in this valley.”  He stuffed the flask into an outer pocket of his jacket and pulled her down the pillion seat into him, resting his hands on her waist.  “We’ll just have to wait it out.”  He still looked a little grumpy.

“That’s ok.  I’m happy being here with you.”  She smiled up at him, reaching up to brush his hair off his face.  “I’ve got my love to keep me warm.”  She sang the last sentence to the tune of the old 1930s song by the same name.

He smiled down at her, his mood lifting a little.  “Well, look who can carry a tune...”

She smiled a little coquettishly.  “Maybe I could have been one of your back-up singers…”

He gave a small laugh.  “Hardly.”

“Oh?  I wouldn’t have been good enough for The Great Motherfuckers?”  She leaned away from him, a look of mock outrage on her face.

“No, honey,” he laughed, “I just meant that you would have been about ten when we were touring…”

She didn’t think he had the age difference right, but at least he was smiling and laughing again.  And that’s all that mattered.

She leaned into him, slipping her arms around his waist, underneath his jacket.  She wriggled herself closer until she was up against his chest and buried her face in the warmth of his shirt, sighing with contentment.  His hands slid down around her butt, pulling her hips in closer and lifting her thighs so that they draped over his and she was basically sitting on his lap.  He kissed the top of her head and held her close, his large, warm hands cupping and caressing her ass.

The rain intensified and it was quite dark underneath the overpass.  There wasn’t any traffic to speak of.  Lightning flashed in the distance, followed by a slow, rolling boom of thunder which traveled across the valley, echoing loudly in the cavernous space around them as it moved overhead.

“This could be really fun and romantic…”  She trailed off, not knowing what to say next.

“If we weren’t out in the middle of it, you mean?”  He tipped her chin up to him, his mouth turned up in a lopsided grin.  “We’re still safe and dry, hon.  What else do you need?”

A nice warm bed, some candles, and a bottle of —

He interrupted her train of thought with a kiss which quickly deepened, slipping his tongue into her mouth, teasing against hers.  He reached up and held her face with one hand while he kissed and tongued her mouth, until she was quivering and sighing in his arms.

“Oh, Rick…”  She wanted him to drop his lips lower and nip and suck…As if he were reading her mind, he slipped his free hand underneath her shirt and bra to pinch and roll her nipples, which had already tightened into stiff peaks.  His other hand slid around the back of her head and he buried his fingers in her hair, gripping her scalp while he continued kissing her.

She clutched his shirt, moaning.  He wanted to ravage her mouth, but since they were limited to what they could do, he took his time and held her close while he gave her long, sweet, soft kisses that made her melt in his arms.  Sitting together on the bike in the dim shadows of the overpass, they made out like they were teenagers in the backseat of a car.

He kissed her until her lips were swollen, then he trailed his mouth down her neck and settled in that ultra sensitive spot just at the base of her jaw.  She shivered, giggling, and he nipped her lightly in response.  He breathed into her ear.

“God, I wanna make love to you…”

In reply, she rubbed her crotch against his, making him groan and he pulled her down onto him.  They kissed and ground against each other, panting and moaning into each other’s mouth.  He kissed down her neck, biting and sucking her skin, leaving a trail of light red marks that made her shiver and sigh.  He was on the verge of throwing caution to the wind and fucking her up against the bike when a pickup truck drove by, honking loud and long.

The vehicular equivalent of being told to “get a room, assholes,” she thought to herself, bitterly.

“Jealous asshole,” muttered Harley.

“At least he didn’t splash us as he drove by,” she said.  There was a time when she would have been too afraid to make out in public like this, it would have embarrassed the crap out of her, but being with Rick and now Harley, with their highly active libidos and “don’t give a fuck” attitudes, she was slowly turning around.

“The rain’s mostly stopped at any rate.  What say we get started?  You ok with a little roadspray?”

“Sure!  My jeans are still wet, anyway.  What’s a little more?  How much further do we have to go?”

“A bit,” he answered, still refusing to give her any idea of where they were going.  He reseated himself, facing front on the bike.  Soon they were on their way again.  The lightness of the rain and their speed kept them from getting too wet.  The lack of traffic also helped.  They were out of the rain by the time they got to the end of the valley.  It would have been chilly sitting in the wind with her wet jeans, but Rick’s jacket kept her warm and the sun soon dried their clothes.

The sun was setting behind the mountains when they exited the highway onto a narrow blacktopped forest road.  She just managed to catch the first part of the street sign:  Ketchican.  She wondered if it was this dimension’s equivalent of a Native American tribal name.  It certainly sounded like it could have been one in her dimension.

The road wound slowly up the side of the heavily forested mountain, sometimes hugging uncomfortably close to the edge.  She closed her eyes a few times to avoid looking at the drop-off, and held onto Harley more tightly.  Eventually, thankfully, they pulled off the road into a small, gravel parking lot with a log cabin style building.  A wooden sign hung from the eaves of the front porch.

Ketchican Hot Springs.

Hmmmm, she thought, this sounds like fun!

“Come on.”  Harley got off and removed his helmet, then waited for her to get off the bike.  She’d allowed as how she could do it without any help, so here was her chance to prove it... Her feet were so far above the ground that she almost fell off while sliding off the seat, barely catching herself in time.  He smirked and coughed like he was clearing his throat in a very poor show of hiding his laugh.  She scowled up at him, taking off her helmet.

“Don’t you say a word…”  She glared at him.

He just smiled knowingly, shaking his head while he hung their helmets on the handlebars.  Taking her hand and squeezing it, he led her up the steps of the cabin.

Chapter 3

The interior of the cabin was part office, part living space.  It was basically a front desk, like a check-in desk at a motel, with the area behind it converted into a private den, complete with tv, an easy chair turned to face the tv, and a pot-bellied wood burning stove with a small cooking surface on top.  The cabin smelled like greasy, old food, and she immediately remembered her mother’s advice to her about staying in hotels or motels with lobbies that smelled of old, cooked food.

“Don’t.”

An elderly gentleman got up somewhat slowly from the depths of the easy chair, disturbing a large orange tabby cat which had been sleeping in his lap.

“Hey, Pete,” began Harley.

The man put on a pair of glasses and suspiciously peered at them for a moment, then his eyes brightened with recognition.

“Harley!  Well, I’ll be…  Sandra told me that you’d called earlier this week.  She didn’t tell me you were headed up here, though.”

“Yeah, Pete.  I told her not to tell you.  Wanted to keep it a surprise.  She should have the cabin ready for us, though.  Reservation’s under Katherine Sanchez.”

She'd only been half-listening to the two men talking while she looked around, inspecting the cabin as unobtrusively as possible.  Her mother’s advice was still echoing in her head, making her feel a little leery about staying there.  But when she heard her middle name coupled with “Sanchez” her breath caught in her lungs and a huge wave of mixed emotions shot through her.  Her heart started racing, making her lightheaded.  Her mouth dropped open and she made a small sound of surprise as she reached out and grasped the counter to steady herself.

She’d resumed her maiden name long before the divorce with Ricardo was final, hoping to put that whole sordid chapter of her married life well behind her.  She never expected to hear, much less go by, her married name again.

She’d completely forgotten that it was Rick and Harley’s last name, too.

Harley silently wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she sagged into him slightly.

“You okay, young lady?”  Pete peered down at her through his glasses, his face full of fatherly concern.  She smiled at him weakly.

“We’ve had a long ride, got delayed by the weather.  You think we could head on up to our cabin, Pete?  Sandra said she’d give me the usual one and have it ready.”

“Oh, sure, sure.  Right away, Harley.  Just sign the ledger, here, while I get your key for you…”

Harley completed the registration for their cabin and took the key from Pete.  He steered her out of the cabin and onto the porch.  It was full dark out now, the parking lot lit by the orange glow of a single sodium light off to the side.

“You ok, Kat?  What — what happened in there?”  He had walked a few steps ahead of her down off the porch then turned around to look at her so that they were a little closer to eye level.

She had a far-off look in her eyes and looked pale and vulnerable in the orange lighting.

“Yeah,” with an effort she put a smile on her face and tried to snap out of it.  “I’m just still not used to going by that name.”

Which was true in both the case of her middle name and with ‘Sanchez’, but with luck he wouldn’t ask her to elaborate.  She was sure he hadn’t realized the effect it may have on her.  Maybe he thought she’d like the idea of them being presented as a couple.  A married couple.  The thought did sound nice, and made her smile more reassuringly at him.

He studied her for a moment then took her hand.  It was cold and he squeezed it.  “Come on, hon, you’ll like this…”

They rode the bike about a quarter mile further up the road before pulling into a small clearing.  The bike’s headlight swung around the trees and illuminated a log cabin nestled in the forest, its small porch light turned on in invitation.  Low lights shone from behind the two curtained windows flanking the front door.  Once inside they were greeted by a charming, cozy scene.

A fire crackled away in the large fireplace which took up one wall.  Across the room on the opposite wall was a large rustic style wood-framed bed covered in a “wedding ring” design quilt.  The lamp standing on the bedside table was switched on, providing additional soft lighting.  A sofa, coffee table, small recliner, and a floor lamp occupied the space in between.  Along the back wall was a small galley kitchen, with a bar style counter separating it from the rest of the cabin.

“Wow,” was all she could muster.

He grinned.  He knew she would like it.  This place was special to him.  He and Rick had been coming here together quite often over the years.  He would never tell her that, of course.  Not right away, at least.

She was the only other person he’s brought there.

“They call this the Honeymoon Cabin…”

She threw a look at him, blushing.  He just winked at her in reply.

She wanted to pee and freshen up, and he said he’d unload their things in the meantime.  Behind the closed bathroom door, the running water camouflaged the sounds from the den.  She couldn’t hear the distinctive whirring or see the flash of green light while she washed the road off of her face and hands.  When she came out she saw her duffel bag sitting on the bed and a large cardboard box was on the kitchen counter.  Harley was partially blocked from view by the open refrigerator door as he put things inside.  The light from the refrigerator illuminated him with a soft glow.

“What...When did you...How…”. She’d stopped in her tracks.

He turned and looked at her, grinning.  “You forgot ‘who’, ‘why’ and ‘where’…”. He shut the refrigerator and strolled over to her and took her in his arms.  He loved the look of surprise and delight on her face.  And at how well his little joke had pulled off.  She was so fun to tease.

“I-I knew you wanted all that stuff. I had more shit, too.  Plus some food and booze.  There’s no way to pack all that on the bike.  So...I portalled back and got it.”

She grinned at him.  It’s something Rick would have done, for sure, but Harley didn’t use his portal gun as much.  At least, not in front of her.  Rick, she was certain, would just portal back and forth from the house to the shop, instead of walking back and forth through the field, like Harley did.  Same as how he portalled back and forth across the street between their two houses.  She wouldn’t say he was lazy.  More like, Rick doing what he thought was more efficient.

Or more Rick-like.

She put away the rest of the food while Harley fixed them drinks inside a couple of heavy duty plastic tumblers.

“So, the owner knows you, and I get the feeling that you’ve come here before.  A lot…”  She didn’t know how to go on, ask the questions she wanted to ask.  She kept her head in the refrigerator, pretending to sort and organize the food, in an effort to avoid looking at him.

“Uh-huh.”  He waited for her to continue, knowing where this was going.  He kept his face blank and leaned against the counter, sipping his whiskey while he watched her.

“And you said that this was the...ummm...Honeymoon Cabin…”

“Yeah…”  Now he wanted to grin at her but managed to suppress it.

She straightened up and looked at him.  “Well, have you been on a lot of honeymoons, or what?”

“Nope.”  He paused and took a sip of whiskey, still keeping his face neutral.  “Rick and I have been coming here a lot over the years, though.”

“Oh.”  Her eyes grew wide and her voice was small.  Her face immediately turned cherry red with embarrassment before she dove back into the refrigerator.  She’d completely forgotten about that.  Them.

“You gonna just hide in the fridge all night now?”  He walked over to her with her drink and set it down on top of the refrigerator.  “Honey, you’re just gonna have to accept -- face the fact of Rick’s and my relationship sooner or later…”  He pulled her away from the refrigerator and shut the door, then turned her to face him while he held her hands.

She couldn’t meet his eyes.  “I know...I just wasn’t expecting you to say that.”

“Well what, then?”  He tried to tip her chin up to look at him but she turned her face aside.

“I thought you were going to say that you’ve come here on honeymoons, or...or had been here a lot in the past, with other women, or something…”  Finally she looked up at him.  Her eyes were bright with unshed tears and she blinked to keep them back.

He huffed out a small laugh.  “You’re the only other person I’ve brought here, come here with.  Just you and Rick.  OK?”  He gave her a brief hug of reassurance, then handed her drink to her.  “Drink up.  You look like you need it.”

She took several large sips along with some calming breaths.  Knowing that he’d just been coming here with Rick wasn’t so bad.  In fact, it made her feel a whole lot better.  She watched him silently while he took off his jacket then sat down on the bed and took off his boots.

“Are you getting ready for bed?”  It was still early.  Too early to go to sleep, at least, she thought.

“No.  I’m gonna take you to the hot springs outside and we’re gonna sit and soak.  Are you trying to get yourself demoted again?”  He stripped his clothes off, leaving them in a heap on the floor and straightened up, looking at her, smirking.  “Well, what are you waiting for?  Pete to come give you an invitation?”

“But...I don’t have a bathing suit.  I don’t want to sit in front of a bunch of strangers butt naked!”

“First of all, it’s dark out and we’re out in the middle of the woods, and in case you didn’t notice, Corporal Ding Dong, this place ain’t exactly a beehive of activity.  And, secondly, this cabin has its own private hot spring and pool.  That’s why your birthday suit will be juuust fine.”  He bent down and picked up his clothes and dropped them on the foot of the bed.

He went into her duffle bag and took out a pair of her flip flops, the ones she liked to wear around the house, to keep her bare feet off the cold floor.  He pulled out a pair of men’s old, leather flip flop-style sandals which she’d never seen him wear.  He must have put both shoes in the bag before he portalled back with it.  She didn’t think he was gone that long -- or that she was in the bathroom that long, whichever.  He tossed both pairs of shoes onto the floor and started to step into his but paused when he realized she hadn’t moved.

“You gonna stand there all night, or were you wanting some help gettin’ your clothes off?”

He smirked at her, then it changed to a leering grin and his eyes darkened.  They did have some unfinished business from their hiatus beneath the underpass, during the storm.   He moved towards her, the idea of stripping her down and fucking her, first, suddenly held greater appeal to him at that moment.  He put his hands on her waist and slid his fingers underneath the waistband of her jeans and panties, sending tingles up and down her spine.  He undid the button of her jeans and opened the zipper, kissing her all the while, then he pushed her jeans and panties down to the floor.

“What are you doing?” she giggled, hanging onto his shoulders.

“Need to give your birthday suit a test drive…”  Was all he whispered in her ear before he pulled her top over her head, then undid her bra and slipped it off her arms, dropping everything to the floor.  His voice had become deep and rough with need.

His lips returned to her mouth and he kissed her hungrily, all the pent up sexual tension and desire from before was now returning with full force.  Her giggles changed to sighs and moans.  His cock was rock hard and erect between them and she reached down and started stroking it.  He groaned and lifted her up and laid her on the bed, crawling on top of her, grinding himself against her belly while pushing her further up the bed towards the pillows.

“God, you make me horny as fuck, baby girl,” he growled into her ear.  “I just want to drive myself into you and screw your brains out until you scream.”

“Then why don’t you?” she said breathlessly, looking up at him and getting more and more excited as he loomed over her.  The whiskey had made her tipsy and bold.

She reached down and guided his head so that it was up against her entrance.  Then before he could say or do anything she wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed him into her while she pulled his hips in close with her legs.

As if his body was on auto-pilot, he lost all self-control as soon as he felt her warm, slick folds around him.  With one hard thrust he drove himself all the way inside her, closing his eyes and groaning with pleasure at the feel of her tight walls along his length.  For whatever reason, maybe it was because they hadn’t done any of their usual foreplay, but her sex wasn’t ready for him, and she gasped loudly, crying out in shock and pain.  She squeezed her eyes shut and tears of pain leaked out from the corners.  She shrank away from him on the bed, her fingers clawing into his arms and back on their own volition as she struggled to hold back whimpers of pain.

His eyes popped open when he heard her cry out, realizing her distress, and he held still inside her.

“Sshhh, baby.  I’m sorry, I’m sorry...”

He murmured softly in her ear, kissing the tears on her cheeks as he pushed himself off her, supporting his weight on his elbows, and gathered her in his arms.  He held her close, inwardly cursing himself for acting like an inexperienced kid without any self-control and forcing himself into her.

“You weren’t ready for me.  I’m sorry, baby girl... I’m sorry...I’ll make this good for you, I promise…I’ll take care of you...Just relax...Ssshhhh...Baby girl, ssshhh...”

He continued to soothe and whisper to her while he kissed her cheeks, her eyes, then moved to her lips.  Gradually she began to relax in his arms as he kissed and tongued her mouth, slow and soft.  He deepened his kiss and flexed his cock slightly.  She sighed, mewling, and her fingers relaxed their death grip.  He flexed his cock inside her again, this time rolling his hips slightly, and she moaned into his mouth.  It hitched into a whimper, now one of pleasure, when he flexed his cock inside her again.

He pulled his mouth away and whispered in her ear.  “I would never hurt you, honey, you know that, right?  I love you too much…I love you, so much...”  They both knew he was talking about more than just sex...

A sob hitched in her throat and she tightened her hold on him, this time in a hug, no claws of pain.  Slowly, he began to rock against her, his pelvis rubbing up against her clit.  She moaned into his mouth as he ground against her, gently rolling his hips.  Her voice rose in pitch as her orgasm grew close and he increased the pressure against her clit, steadily rocking against her.  Her body shuddered and she whimpered and made small mewls of pleasure.  He held her tight while her orgasm washed over her in waves and she spasmed around his cock.

“That’s it, baby girl.  That’s my sweet girl…. Now you’re ready for me…”

He buried his face in her neck, kissing her softly and sucking on her skin, whispering encouragement as he slowly stroked himself in and out, going deeper each time and gradually built up his rhythm.  

“Wait, stop…” she gasped in his ear.

“What?  What’s wrong, honey?  Am I hurting you?”  With great effort he forced himself to stop moving inside her.  Now he was practically panting with his sexual needs as he fought to hold himself back.  He looked down at her.

“I...I still want you to...to…” she couldn’t bring herself to say it, but it was written on her face, in her eyes.

He grinned down at her.  “You want what, honey?”  He moved inside her, slow and deep, rolling his hips.

She moaned and closed her eyes.  He did it again, sliding one arm up behind her neck for better purchase and to hold her in place.  He leaned down and kissed her, sliding his tongue over hers while he slowly drove himself in and out of her hot, wet folds.  She groaned into his mouth, clenching herself around him.  Every beat of his heart sent a thrumming jolt straight into his aching cock.  He dropped his head down into the pillow, breathing hard with the effort to go slowly.  Then she whispered in his ear.

“Make me...make me scream, Papi.”

“Fuck, baby…”  It came out as a near-strangled groan.

“Do it.  Just like you said…. Just screw me senseless and don’t stop until you make me scream…”

“Christ…”. He still hesitated.  He didn’t want to hurt her.

“Please, just fuck me and make me scream.  Don’t stop until you’re done.”  She squeezed around him as hard as she could and lifted her hips up against him to make her point.

He sat up and moved away from her, wincing as he pulled himself out.  “Come — come here, baby girl…”

He moved off the bed and motioned to her to come closer to him.  She scooted down to the edge of the bed, smiling with anticipation and spreading her legs.  His breath hitched at the sight and his cock jumped.  He slowly stroked himself, precum dripping over his hand, as he stood there looking down at her.

“Roll over, baby, on your knees for me…”

Suddenly, unwanted images of her ex flashed into her mind, completely out of the blue.  Her smile faltered slightly and a trace of fear showed in her eyes.

“I won’t hurt you, baby…. Come on.”

He leaned down and kissed her, slid his hand up to gently run his fingers between her slick folds and slowly stroked in and out while his thumb circled on her clit.  She mewled into his mouth and spasmed around his fingers.

“Christ, honey…”. His voice was hoarse with restrained need.  His rock hard cock throbbed and had turned deep red, the head almost purple, and the veins ran prominently down the shaft.  He was going to have a severe case of blue balls at this rate.

Maybe it was the almost desperate tone in his voice, or the fact that she trusted him, utterly and completely.  She cast aside her nervousness and rolled over and got on her hands and knees, spreading her thighs wide and presenting herself to him.

“Fuck, baby.  You’re so fucking gorgeous…”

He cupped her ass with one large hand, stroking it then sliding his hand down her cheek and softly caressing her, before slipping two fingers inside her and slowly stroking in and out.  He reached forward with his other hand, running it up her back to her shoulders.  

“Down in front…”  He whispered hoarsely, as he gently pushed her shoulders down until she was resting on her forearms.

He stepped forward and rubbed the head of his cock against her wet opening.   She trembled in anticipation.  Then she felt his velvety soft head press against her slick folds and he slowly pushed himself in.  He was hot and hard and she dropped her head, moaning softly.

“OK, baby girl?”  

He slowly moved in and out with shallow thrusts of his hard cock, waiting for her to protest or pull away.  She nodded her head and moaned again while she pushed herself against him and squeezed her walls around him.  That was all the response he needed.  He took a firm hold of her hips and started thrusting in and out, deep and slow.  The angle had his hot cock immediately stroking across her sensitive bundle of nerves and she cried out with pleasure.  He drove deeper and harder, gripping her firmly and pulling her against him with each thrust of his hips.

“You like that, honey?  You like my cock nice and deep in you like this?”

She couldn’t answer him.  Instead she dropped her head down between her arms onto the bed and moaned and sobbed.  The sounds came out of her of their own volition.   She couldn’t help it, couldn’t hold any of it back.  It felt so good, what he was doing to her.  As he picked up his rhythm, driving deeper into her with each thrust, her moans became keening wails that went on and on, occasionally punctuated by a sob whenever he thrust into her particularly deep and hard.   It was like her body had taken control of her and was now operating on instinct and the primal need for pure sexual pleasure.  Her back was arched, every muscle in her body growing taut as her orgasm built.  She couldn’t even move against him, she was almost paralyzed with how good he felt, as his hot cock thrust deep and hard into her.

She felt the nerves in her body concentrating down in the depths of her belly, tensing up like a tightly coiled spring.  Then they suddenly exploded outward, sending wave after wave of the most intense feelings of sexual pleasure she’d ever had.  She did scream.  She wailed and cried out Harley’s name.  Hot liquid gushed out of her, coating his cock and pelvis, and her walls gripped his cock with tight spasms.  Her orgasm went on and on as he continued to pound into her, chasing his own release.  

His thrusts became choppy and his breathing more harsh.  Then with a hoarse cry he came, calling her name and cursing.  He reached down and wrapped his arms around her belly to hold her more tightly as he thrust one last time inside her then stayed there.  His cock throbbed as he shot hot spurts of cum deep inside her.  He continued to hold her up against him as his body shuddered with one of the most intense orgams he’d had in a long time.  She keened and sobbed beneath him, shaking as another orgasm rippled through her body, making her tremble in his arms.

He pulled out of her then laid down on the bed next to her, barely able to keep himself from actually collapsing on top of her.  He pulled her into his arms.

“Oh my fucking God…”  She was limp as a noodle and sweaty and breathless.  Her thighs were slick with his cum and her juices and she felt more seeping out of her.  “I don’t want to mess up this nice quilt…”  She tried to push herself up, but Harley tightened his hold on her.

“It’s...It’s ok, honey.  Don’t worry about it.  They don’t call this the Honeymoon Cabin for nothing.  It’ll get washed…”

Harley eventually did move them all the way to the top of the bed where the pillows were.  He pulled the covers back and she crawled underneath them gratefully.  The cool, smooth sheets felt good against her skin.  He climbed in next to her and gathered her into his arms, then he pulled the covers over them.

“What about the hot springs?”  She asked him sleepily.

“They can wait.  They’re not goin’ anywhere.”  He mumbled his reply.  He was barely conscious and was ready to take a nice long nap with her in his arms.  He didn’t want to get up, and he didn’t want her to leave his side.

They both fell asleep, but not for long.  Practically every light in the cabin had been left on and it penetrated Harley’s brain.  He blinked his eyes open and stretched slightly, feeling relaxed and refreshed.  She lay draped across him, an unmoving warm body cuddled up against his.  Her head was cradled on his chest, one hand curled around his waist and her leg across his muscled thigh.  She always seemed to cling to him in her sleep, as if her subconscious was on alert for some hidden danger and needed him beside her while she let her defenses down in order to sleep.

“Wake up, love…”. He stroked her back and kissed the top of her head.  She mumbled and stirred briefly before settling back against him with a soft sigh.  He slid out from beneath her, pushing the covers off them both of them.  The chilly air would help wake her up.

“Man…” she made a whining grumble as she blindly reached down for the blankets while keeping her eyes squeezed shut against the lights.

He smirked down at her and smacked her lightly on her ass, making her sit upright, gasping and blinking irritably.

“Come on, honey.  Let’s go take a soak.  You’ll love it, I promise.”  He pulled the sheets and blankets down to the bottom of the bed as a deterrent to her going back to sleep, then he went into the bathroom to take a leak.

She came in while he was finishing up and wordlessly stepped into the bathtub, pulling the curtain around and turning on the water.

“You’re taking a shower before you go soak?”

“I’m washing off all our sex...stuff,” she called out to him.  “So it won’t go in the water.  Haven’t you ever heard of hot tub folliculitis?”

He pushed the curtain aside and reached down and turned off the water.  “You’re a prime example of too much knowledge isn’t always a good thing.  Come on.”  He held his hand out to her so she could step out, then handed her a large folded bath towel.

They slipped into their shoes and he handed her drink to her, then grabbed a flashlight from a cabinet and his own drink.  Clutching the towel and her drink, she followed him out the door leading off the kitchen.  He led her down a narrow path that went through the woods and down the mountain.  The path had steps made of old timbers, worn smooth by the weather and years of foot traffic.  A handrail made of rough hewn fence rails followed it down.

It was intriguing, walking down the mountain path in the dark with just Harley’s flashlight for light.  All her other senses were heightened to make up for it, and she could hear and smell the springs before they came upon them.  The faint but familiar scent of sulfur wafted up through the trees.  She could even feel the damp heat in the air as it was born up on the wind currents.  But the roiling and churning sound of water echoing up to them sounded much louder than any hot springs she’d visited before.  She wasn’t sure what to expect.  

Finally they turned a corner around a low, rocky outcrop and Harley’s flashlight shone upon a small pool nestled partly inside a shallow cave.  A pile of rocks at the back covered the source of the spring.  The water bubbled out over and through the rocks with occasional hissing bursts of steam which reverberated noisily off the walls of the cave, amplifying them, creating the sounds she’d heard.

“This way, hon, watch your feet.”  He aimed the flashlight along the edge of the pool, a natural depression in the rocks surrounded by a low wall of flat stones.  “They damned up this spring years ago, turned it into a pool.  The bottom’s all sand.  Step down in it.”  He went in first then turned around and helped her step in where small boulders were laid out like steps, leading down into the water.

The water was hot, but not too hot.  The night air was chilly, so this was nice.  There were large, flat rocks placed on the bottom along the wall, for them to sit on.  He guided her over to where a couple of large, flat rocks placed on the bottom were at a good height for the two of them to sit.  The water was still a little high on her, coming just above her shoulders.

Soon they were settled in, drinking their whiskeys.  He put his arm around her and she nestled into him, sighing with contentment.  It had been a long day, and while riding the motorcycle was fun, she wasn’t used to being on it for such a long stretch of time.  Her body was sore and tired from hours of sitting upright, her legs straddling the seat.

“Not too bad, huh?”  He kissed her cheek.  She hummed in response, her eyes closed.

“I’m not carrying your ass back up that trail, just so you know.”

“M’kay.”

In the end he did carry her back, piggy-back style, with the towel draped over her while she clutched the two empty tumblers in one hand and had the other arm wrapped around his shoulder.  She lost a flip flop along the way but he refused to stop and look for it.  When they got to the cabin he dumped her down on the bed then took the glasses and towel from her.

“Get under the covers, love.  I’ll join you in a minute.”

Without arguing, she pulled everything back up to the pillows and buried herself beneath them.  If she was a limp noodle before, now she was completely boneless.  Harley moved quietly around the cabin, closing things up for the night.  He banked up the fire with a few pieces of the split hardwood logs, then turned off all the lights before finally climbing into bed beside her.  She moved towards him, draping herself across his body almost exactly like before.

“Thank you, Papi.  This was a wonderful day.  I love you…and...I’m not a ding dong...”  Her words were drowsy and quiet, softly spoken into his chest.

“I know you’re not, honey.  And I love you, too, Kat…”. He kissed her head, then slowly stroked her back as she drifted off to sleep.

On the other side of the cabin the fire had taken purchase of the fresh logs, and now it crackled and popped quietly with new life, sending soft flickers of light onto the walls and ceiling.  He shifted slightly, turning partially onto his side and holding her against his chest while slipping one long thigh between hers.  Then he fell into a deep sleep.

***********

“Kn- Knew I’d find you two here…”

To be continued in Rick’s Texas Chick...

[dirtyjiminblr]

fame

part 1

word count; 2217

no warnings

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You had been working in the music industry for 5 years now with little success. You recorded some back-up vocals here en there but apart from that there wasn’t much. This was certainly not the big pop star life you had been dreaming off. You posted frequently on social media, uploaded music covers and attended events. The biggest thing that had happened to you was that one of the producers of Ariana Grande mistook you for a back-up dancer. Way to go. You decide to see what the world has to offer and pack up your bags to go to Seoul. This might start of your career. Everything changes when you get an email from a company called Big Hit Entertainment and they ask you to visit.

  02:43

The last few days have been rough. I got the email on Wednesday and was told that they wanted to see me on Monday. But that wasn’t all, I had to prepare three selfwritten songs to perform for them and they had to be written while I was here in Korea. So here I am, Sunday night still finishing the second song. I haven’t even started the third. I look out the window of my appartment and see the city fast asleep. Two songs to go, only a few hours left before I have to perform them. I can’t screw this up, this might as well be the biggest chance I’ll ever get. After a few minutes I can feel myself dozing off. No! These songs aren’t going to write themselves.

 04:01

Song number two is done after a huge writers block. The melodies just didn’t seem to work together and my lyrics sounded horrific. I tried to make it better but this was all I got. Now for te third song. I was tired and my brain was drained. How am I ever going to write a song in an hour that is going to sound good enough for a music company. I slam my head on my desk and pull my hair. I can feel my eyes tearing up.

“Pull it together, girl. You can do this.”

I look at my phone; 04:36. I have to be there at 11. If I finish this last song in two hours I can still get some sleep and look presentable enough. My loud sigh fills the room. Two hours for a three minute song with lyrics and instruments is far too short. But who says that it as to be three minutes long? I can write a short song, about two minutes maybe a bit more. I don’t need layers of melodies and multiple instruments. Just the piano and my voice. I stand up and walk to my old and crusty piano. Just one song left.

 05:16

Another piece of paper makes its way to the bin. I look at my notebook and see two full sentences, a few words and one melody. Might was well give them a call and give up because this is never going to work. I stand up and walk over to my window, a habit that I have gained during songwriting. The city calms me wit hall its beautiful glory. I think about the last few days. The first song took me the longest, about 3 days. It was a good song if it were to be edited by a professional or if I had the resources. But under these circumstances I was impressed by myself. I started the second song on Friday. This one caused me a lot of trouble. Things just didn’t seem to add up and in the end I threw it all out to start over. That’s why I’m now sitting here at 5 in the morning finishing these last songs. I see the bakery down the street light up. Wait, how long haven’t I eaten? The last two days were filled with music and I haven’t taken care of myself. I walk up tot he front door, put on a coat en get my bag. Time to get out of this appartment.

 05:48

The city feels cold. That might be because it’s early or because I’m wearing a legging with a coat in the middle of december. It’s probably that. I walk past the bakery and see a tiny woman kneading dough. She looks exhausted. I see my reflection in the window and think the same of myself. I put on my hood and stick my hands into my pockets. It’s a three minute walk to the banks of the river. I start humming the third song to myself and keep getting stuck at the chorus. I try again but the same thing repeats its self. I arrive at the river banks and take a seat on the concrete. I wrap my legs underneath me and take a deep breath in. Let’s think of something other than music for a second. I see a young man walking on the other side of the banks. He’s wearing a pair of jeans with just a jacket and has a cigarette inbetween his lips. He walks rapidly and turns into an alley. Seeing the cigarette made my eyes widen. I dropped the habbit ever since I left the States but seeing him makes me realise how much I miss it. I stand up and walk tot he nearest kiosk. I buy one pack of cigarettes and a lighter. As I make my way back to the river I look at the pack. The concrete is cold and harsh underneath my legs. I open the pack and take a cigarette out. I put it between my lips and light it. As the smoke hits my lungs I start to cough. After that my lungs embrace the smoke and my body welcomes it. I stay seated on the concrete and I finish my cigarette. I take out my phone.

“Fuck.”

06:30. I have to wake up in two and a half hours but I still haven’t finished this goddamn song. I jump up and speed back to my home. The city fills itself with its inhabitants. Seoul during rush hour is a nightmare that you’ll always want to avoid. But now that I had forgotten about the time it is unavoidable. You walk past the bakery once again and see that it is packed. The exhausted women looks better this time and is smilin while she is helping here customers. I, on the other hand, look even worse than before. I quicken my pace and arrive home. I trow off my coat and sit behind the piano. Just like that the song rolls out of my fingertips.

 10:30

I have my third cup of coffee in my hands as I wait for my cab. I woke up at 09:30, after only two hours of sleep. I hope the concealer under my eyes will hide the tiredness and that the coffee will pull me through. Suprisingly I am feeling very confident about my music. The last song is my absolute favourite. The soft vocals with the powerfull piano sells it completely. I look to my left and see that my cab has arrived. It’s all or nothing from now on.

 10:50

I thank the cab driver and open the car door. Here we are, Big Hit Entertainment. Big breath in, big breath out. Let’s do this. I enter the lobby and walk up to the women behind a big white desk.

“Goodmorning, my name is y/n and I have an appointment.”

She nods at me.

“Do you know with whom you have this appointment, dear?”

Before I can answer a man walks up to us.

“That must be me! It’s a pleasure to meet you, y/n. My name is Adam and I am a CEO here at Big Hit. ”

“Pleasure to meet you too, sir” He is a tall man with a very warm smile. Judging from his appearance, name and accent he wasn’t born here.

“Follow me. I have a room for you on the fourth floor.” Adam turns around and heads tot he elevator.

I mouth a thank you to the woman behind the desk and follow him. He doesn’t speak to me until we are at the fourth floor.

“I’m sorry if I appeared rude by not speaking to you, but I have a terrible fear of elevators. I’m a bit claustrophobic I might say.”

I smile to him. “None taken. I know what you’re talking about.”

“And this is where we’ll be seated. Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea, water?”

“A glass of water would be fine, Adam.”

“Coming up!”

He speeds out the room. It almost seems like he is more nervous than me. I sit down and cross my legs. It is a beautiful office with wooden floors and white walls all around. I take out my lyrics and sheet music and lay them down on the desk. I hope they have a piano here somewhere. I take out the USB with the recordings on them and put that right in front of me. Adam enters the room and leaves the door open. He is more like very claustrophobic. He puts the water in front of me and takes a seat behind the desk.

“I need to tell you, y/n, that this is the first time I’m doing one of these interviews. Can I tell you a secret? I am very nervous about it.” He starts to chuckle like a ten year old boy who just confessed his love to his girlfriend. “As I told you my name is Adam and I am a CEO here. I originally come from the UK but decided to move here after I met my wife, who is from Seoul.” Adam continues talking nonesense about his personal life and doesn’t seem to care if I am listening or not. I get distracted by shouts in the corridor so I turn my head. Adam doesn’t seem to notice. I occasionally nod and hum to make it seem like I have some sort of interest in his story. I look out the door and see a man shooting down the corridor in a shopping cart. I frown as I see more shopping carts following the first one, all containing men. I give a confused look to Adam and he excuses himself. I hear some more shouting now with Adam’s voice in the mix. He comes back and apologises.

“I’m sorry , this tends to happen sometimes. But now on to you. I watched some of your covers online and really enjoyed them. I looked up your blog and saw that you were coming to Seoul so I immediately sent you an email. We are looking for hardworking singers and songwriters to help produce or even produce their own music. That is why I think I work so well with this company. ”

Adam really loves to talk about himself. I do the polite nod and hum once again and look out the door. I see a face coming through the frame mockingly mimicking Adam. I have to hold my laughter in.

11:30

“Adam, I really love your stories but I would also love to do what I came here to do.” I cut him off and smile.

“Oh ofcourse! Could you show me the songs?” I hand him the lyrics and sheet music of all three songs. He pretends to read them but then confesses.

“Y/n, I have now idea what this sheet music means or in what way these lyrics fit in. I would like to hear it.” I chuckle. I don’t know if this man is really dumb or that he stopped caring a long time ago.

“It’s fine. I just need a piano and an USB port.”

Adam nods and tells me to follow him. I pack my stuff and walk in the corridor. In the back is see the man standing that made those faces when Adam was talking. He winks at me and I point at Adam and roll my eyes. He laughs out loud. Adam looks at him.

“Can I help you with anything Seokjin?” The man smirks at Adam and shakes his head.

Adam turns around and the man who I now know is named Seokjin rolls his eyes at him. This time it’s me who can’t contain my laughter. Adam looks at me and i raise my eyebrows. He turns around and acts like nothing happened. We arrive at a huge room. This time with withe floors and white walls. On the biggest wall hangs a sign that says; Big Hit Entertainment. In the middle of the room is a beautiful shiny black piano.

“Or sound system is on the side and the microphones are there as well.” Adam takes a seat on a chair.

I grab a mic and plug the USB in. I secure the mic on the piano and take a seat.

“Could you press play Adam?” Adam sighs.

“I’ll do it.” A tall man with purple hair walks in the room. “Adam needs his rest these days.” He chuckles. “Just press play?” He looks at me now.

“Yeah, that will do.” I crack my knuckles and warm my voice. I look at the purple haired man and nod. He presses play.

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ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE

I’m sorry if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes, I tried my hardest

This is part one of idk and it will feature all the boys but will be more jimin based

Hope you enjoy

Lots of love,

V

[cedarmoons]

Prompt: Saige and Haley take Chester on a walk and Haley takes photos and Saige is Tol and Buff.

didn’t quite fit the prompt but uhhh have lots of haley/fem farmer fluff and smooching!! and tubby doggo! :) sdv fic readers if ur out there… show me a sign

Back in Denver, Chester had been known among your friends as “the fattest, cutest corgi in the world.” You’d taken him for walks whenever possible—which was rather often, since Joja only gave you 39.5 hours a week to avoid giving you the benefits they’d boasted about in orientation. You’d explored most of Denver while walking Chester; it was how you’d learned your way around. So he isn’t fat because of lack of exercise: he is fat because his body is, inexplicably, always prepared for the apparent inevitability of winter hibernation.

Haley calls him tubby. 

It’s #16 on the list of reasons you love her with all your heart. Not that you’ve gotten around to telling her that, yet, but, you know. That sort of thing comes with time.

You wake up at 6:00 to a rooster’s crowing, even though you know for a fact that there are no roosters on your farm (or Marnie’s, or in the surrounding wilderness, or even in Stardew Valley). Haley is under the blankets and Chester is a breadloaf, draped over her hip and the middle of the bed, watching you with sad bright eyes.

He wants breakfast. He’ll start flopping around if you don’t feed him soon.

Your words stir Haley; she rolls onto her back, faintly smiling, one of her hands lifting to rub at her blue eyes. Sunshine-blonde hair spreads out over the pillow. “Morning, honey,” she says, and you lean over Chester to kiss her cheek before rolling out of bed to pad toward the bathroom.

Haley comes in too, smiling sleepily at your reflection. Chester toddles in after both of you, panting happily, tongue lolling. He sits down, watching both of you stand in front of the tiny bathroom sink. You’re brushing your teeth, and she bumps her hip against yours, plucking her toothbrush from the neon cup on the sink rim. Before she wets it, though, she nabs your phone and starts scrolling, putting on a song with a wink.

You groan around your toothbrush as the gentle guitar starts playing. It’s Dad’s ringtone for you, and the namesake of your middle name. Haley grins at you.

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Joleeeene, Dolly Parton croons.

Saige Jolene Holland does have a certain ring to it, you’ve come to realize, but that doesn’t mean you have to like it. Could’ve been worse, though; it could’ve been Nellie Jolene as Mom wanted. That is way more faux-southern-girl and about a thousand times worse.

“I hate you sometimes,” you gargle, then spit. Haley laughs, unrepentant, and starts humming around her toothbrush to the tune. After she spits, you duck in to kiss her cheek. She catches your chin and kisses you properly, lips wet from the water and breath scented of artificial mint.

“I’m gonna do my makeup,” she says after you part. “And then I think I’m gonna take Chester out, with my camera. It’s so beautiful outside today.”

After you’d shown Haley Instagram, she’d made an account specifically for her selfies and pictures of Chester. Sometimes you’re a cameo, but mostly it’s Haley and Chester, who everyone following her thinks is her corgi, not yours. Her most liked photo is not of herself or of you two or of Stardew Valley’s scenery. It is a picture of Chester’s butt as he was in the process of scrambling onto the shipping crate for whatever reason. 

Haley had only taken it because she thought you’d find it hilarious. (She was absolutely 100% right. That same picture is framed on your nightstand.)

You smile at it as you pad back to the bedroom and get dressed. Haley ends Jolene and switches to Defying Gravity. You’d introduced her to your various collection of Broadway musicals, and Wicked is her new favorite.

Chester follows you out of the bathroom and flops onto the floor. “I’m going,” you chide, “be patient.”

He scrambles up at once, bouncing on his front paws, smiling at you as he barks once, twice. You click your tongue and he follows you downstairs as Haley tries to sing both Glinda and Elphaba’s parts. You feed him, kneeling down to run your fingers through his fur. “My beautiful tubby son,” you croon, lowering your head to kiss the top of his silken sand-colored head.

Chester keeps eating. You don’t blame him. You’d keep eating, too.

“So if you care to find me, look to the western skyyy!” Haley belts from the bathroom. She has a beautiful mezzo-soprano, even when she’s not trying. You pop your head inside to see her rubbing in her foundation. She stops at once, flushing in embarrassment, but you only grin and flash her a thumbs-up sign before pulling back to get dressed. The alarm clock that never goes off reads 7:10, even though you feel you’ve only woken up a little while ago.

Time moves differently in Stardew Valley. But it doesn’t seem to go so quickly, now. You think a lot of that has to do with your and Haley’s work, and the Junimos’ help.

You pull on a T-shirt that reads Smooch Your Local Farmer and jeans, and boots. It’d rained last night, and it’s spring, so you’re certain there are still puddles outside. The river will still be beautiful, though.

“And nobody, in all of Oz, no wizard that there is or was—”

Oh, God, you can’t miss the best part.

You rush into the bathroom, only to see Haley leaning against the sink instead of doing her makeup, using her toothbrush as an imaginary mic. She sees you and turns, not missing a beat. You blow her a kiss and flash her two thumbs up, and she grins, closing her eyes, nailing the last note of the verse. You sing Glinda’s part and then the chorus’s, all while Haley holds that final “DOWN!” note, the instruments backing both of you up.

When she finishes, she bows, and you whistle, clapping so hard your hands hurt. Reason #23 you love Haley with all your heart: she has a killer mezzo-soprano.

She grins at you, makeup still limited to foundation and primer, and butterflies erupt in your stomach. You still remember the days she’d locked herself in the bathroom and refused to come out until she had a face full of makeup. Which, not to lie, she looks great while wearing makeup (especially when she wears bright red lipstick, hell yeah)—but she looks great without it, too.

“Shoo,” she says, “I’m naked.”

“I happen to like you naked,” you reply, and she laughs, cheeks dimpling. The music shifts to Hey Soul Sister and she turns back to the mirror, cocking her hip and smirking at you with a sidelong glance.

That doesn’t stop you from walking up to Haley and bending down, wrapping your arms around her and lifting her up onto the sink’s counter. It knocks off some toothpaste, but that’s okay. Haley giggles, wrapping her arms around your neck, pulling you close and kissing you, long and deep. She is soft and warm in your arms, full-figured, not a hard edge to her. You brush back long blonde hair and break the kiss. She looks a little dazed, a blush darkening her cheeks as she looks at you in a way that makes your heart flip.

Reason #2 you love Haley with all your heart: that look.

“I’m gonna walk Chester with you,” you tell her, running your hands up the insides of her bare thighs, stroking her stretch marks. “We can visit Penelope and Leah.”

The whole farm should be ready for harvesting today, but you don’t mind. The crops never die no matter how long you ignore them, except at the end of season. It’d stopped being a concern years ago, because money had stopped being a concern years ago.

“Okay,” Haley agrees, easily. Hozier is singing about Eden when she kisses you again, hands smoothing down your shoulders. When she breaks the kiss, she says, “I love your shirt, by the way.”

You grin at her, and she grins back, dimpling. Reason #4 you love Haley with your whole heart: those dimples. Damn. “Well, I’d hope so, since, you know. You got it for me.”

(Again, another thing she’d thought you’d love. Again, another thing you absolutely love with your whole heart.)

You brush her hair over her shoulder, revealing a stretch of pale, freckle-dotted skin where her neck and shoulder meet quite nicely. Haley breathes out laughter, tilting her head back, and you lean in to kiss each freckle, squeezing the soft skin behind her knees.

Chester barks, and you pull back to see he’s sitting at the door, his leash in his mouth, ears cocked as he watches you both. Haley starts laughing and you pull away, shaking your head. “You’re lucky you’re so cute and also the love of my life,” you tell him. “No offense, Hal.”

“None taken. He’s the love of my life, too.”

“You have excellent taste,” you say.

“I sure do,” she says. Hozier is still singing. Haley turns to the side and fiddles with your phone, turning him off a moment later. Which, honestly, you think is a crime, somewhere. Probably Ireland. She turns back to you and leans forward, resting her palms on the countertop. “Hey, Saige, honey, before we go. Come here.”

Chester flops, the leash still in his mouth. “Be patient,” you tell him. His eyebrow bones lift, making him look impossibly, unfairly sad. You turn back to Haley, going to stand between her splayed legs once more. “What is it?” 

Haley smirks again. “I need to smooch my local farmer.”

“God, that’s so corny.”

“You love it.”

“I absolutely do,” you agree, and lean in to kiss her.

[awkwardplant]

•Title: Grow Towards Light, chapter 1

•Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy (fantasy is later on)

•Summary: When spoiled Albin Lofgren is sent to Italy for his bad behavior, he is cursed by faeries and gains magical powers that he can’t use properly. (This chapter shows what he did to get sent to Italy)

•Words: 2629

•Work: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Og0Av9Qcc6YfcloU0hn9EdoyFwogmFtKd5WiE5vpZAk/edit?usp=sharing

•Note: this is my first draft, and I haven't written in a while

I’ll put the chapter under a cut in case the link doesn’t work. Please leave some constructive criticism! I’d love to know what you think :)

Grow Towards Light (Chapter 1)

“Hi Youtube, my name is Albin and- Wait, no, no. I can’t start with an introduction. I should play at the beginning, right?” Setting down his violin on a nearby chair, he walked over to the camera. He stopped the video, then started the recording again.

Albin returned to his previous position. He nestled onto the chinboard, hands on the bow and fingerboard, and began to play. Was his timing off? Did it sound right? His mind ran rampant with worries. So much so, that Albin came back to reality with a jolt upon hearing a wince-worthy shriek of notes.

He stared into space and groaned like one does upon waking up far too early. Then played a random selection of notes in quick succession and stopped. Again, he restarted the video.

Albin sighed as he returned to his position. “The world hates me but I hate it more.”

Sometimes you need to power through life with sheer spite. That’s the advice most people would take. For Albin, it was every second of every day. Because teenagers have that much bitterness. And for good reason! He’d been awake since 9am (what an early time) during summer vacation. And now he was attempting to upload another hit single to his Youtube account. If by “hit single” you meant a song with less than 20 views, like his many other videos. One day he’d make it big! But until then…

Beginning his 470th recording of the day, he heard it sounded better than the past attempts. It gave him the confidence to put his soul into the music, sway as he played, and ignore the worries that swept his mind. A warm glow of happiness began to bloom in his chest-

“Albin! You’ve been playing all morning. Dad says it’s MY turn to use the music room!” His older sister barged into the room and he balked. Because sure, that interruption at a crucial time was fine. Totally fine!

Grinding his teeth, Albin once again walked over to the camera and turned it off for the final time that day. Another day of wasted practice. He made sure to glare at his sister. But she was too busy destroying his eardrums with terrible saxophone music. Well, he always thought it was terrible, but her music awards… possibly said otherwise.

“Hm.” Alice paused and tilted her head in thought. “You know, I’d rather play my flute today. Is it here? Have the housekeepers unpacked it yet?”

“I don’t know..? I don’t play flute so generally I don’t keep an eye out for it when I go in here. To practice my violin.” Albin raised his instrument and eyebrow. “Sorry your search has turned out fluteless.”

Alice and the rest of his siblings had recently moved back into the mansion. There were still plenty of boxes that needed unpacked. Alice left the room. (Terrible audience, a waste of a pun.) Albin couldn’t stay in there any longer, so he returned his violin to the instrument shelf and went to the garden.

He passed under the arch of purple clematis and tiptoed over the river stepping stones. When he reached the tiered fountain he noticed: someone was in his gazebo. They were on the bench and reading a book, wearing close-fitting dungarees and a white t-shirt. A gardener? They were on duty and they had the nerve to laze around?! Albin knew his dad didn’t pay his workers cheap, he was a nice guy like that. He was going to confront the stranger! But... his mum called his name from the mansion.

That person could wait to get their scolding until Albin had a full stomach of food. But now was the time he’d been dreading: sitting down at the table for a family dinner.

Albin was not a fan of the recent increase of people at the dinner table. 8 people in total. 5 siblings was far too many. The good thing though, was that Lax med Västerbottensost was on the menu. The chef served the dish with a lemon slice each time. He remembered when it was just him and his dad, and he would eat the lemon with a straight face to shock his dad. He bit into a forkful of salmon, savouring the cheese sauce drizzled on the fish.

Silver cutlery clinked and the others around him made conversation. Albin noticed that his older brother was showing his dad a video on his phone. Tch. What happened to “no phones at the dinner-table”? Worst of all, his dad was… smiling. Quite a lot. He focused his gaze on the table’s decorative topiary tree. In the metal vase his reflection frowned back at him.

“And coach says if we make it to the finals, we’ll get to go to America!” Noel beamed.

His dad clapped Noel on the back and gulped down a spoonful of peas. “That’s great, son! What a super match, so intense. You’ve got to teach me some of those tricks. What’s the one where you kick the ball behind you and get it into the goal?”

“Oh, the Scissor Kick! You’ve got good taste Pa.” they laughed together.

Pa. More like: Pathetic. What a suck up! He couldn’t believe his dad was so easy to impress. Football? Anyone could kick a ball. Albin didn’t know what the Scissor Kick was, but it most likely looked cooler than it actually was. Sneaking a glance at his phone, Albin remembered he hadn’t been able to get a good recording of his violin that day. Damn Alice and her saxophone/flute nonsense.

Now all he had to do was sit there and eat. That was no fun. He could show his dad one of his older videos, one he hadn’t seen... But his dad was listening to Juni talk about some science fair she was going to attend.

Albin shrugged, pulling his iphone out anyway and laid it on the table so it played his song. It was a cover of his favourite TV series’ intro song. You couldn’t tell it was an anime song since it was being played in violin. (And everyone knows that a violin lead makes any song sound socially acceptable.) He continued eating as the song played, glancing at his busy dad every few moments.

But the song played the entire way through, and his dad hadn’t even looked at him, let alone spoken to him about his music. He turned the volume up and skipped to another song.

“Albin,” he perked up at the sound of his name. “What have I said about phones at the table?”

Albin’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “But Noel was showing you something on his phone-”

“Don’t give me cheek young man.” His dad chided.

He rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine.”

Turning the music off and slumping in his seat, he put his phone back into his pocket. Half a salmon left on his plate. And two spoonfuls of peas. Eh. Albin wasn’t hungry anymore. He excused himself from the table and slipped outside. Telling off that do-nothing gardener would cheer him up.

The stranger was exactly where Albin had left them. One leg off the bench and swinging it, as if they were in a hammock on a Hawaiian beach. Albin marched closer with a speech about hard work on his tongue. The person slapped their book shut and turned to face Albin: it was a boy who looked a little older than him.

“The youngest one from the mansion, huh?”

His surprise at the voice had Albin stop in his tracks. He slowed to a walk and peered at the boy. The dungarees he was wearing weren’t even dirty, they were a spotless blue denim. This guy hadn’t been working at all today!

“And you’re the lazy gardener, I suppose?” he challenged.

“What? No.” The boy turned away, reopening his book. Black, wavy hair rustled as he moved. “I don’t work here, my mum does. She couldn’t find me a decent ‘babysitter’ so I have to hang out here this summer.”

“You dress like a gardener though.”

The boy smoothed down his front and clicked his tongue. “That’s just my aesthetic. Bohemian, hipster, or something like that.”

“Sure, okay. Anyway. How did you know who I am if you don’t work here? Did your mum tell you about me?” Albin asked.

He felt like he was falling behind with every word the boy said; it was a race to see who was the coolest. Albin didn’t have an aesthetic. A denim hoodie and tan-brown skinny jeans didn’t fit into an aesthetic. His style was preppy or casual at best; and that was terrible.

“Sure did. A right goody two shoes with all the staff, even if you do have an attitude with ‘lazy’ people. You baked them all cookies last Christmas and gave a dreidel to someone, or something.” He clicked his tongue again.

Albin shrugged, not accepting that description of himself. “It’s an act. I can be rebellious when I want to. Like a few minutes ago at dinner, I had my phone out at the table. There’s a no phone rule.”

The boy walked out of the gazebo and stood in front of Albin. His blue eyes bore into Albin’s brown ones. “My name’s Elias. Been kicked out of every high-school in the county. I can teach you how to actually be rebellious. You in?”

Albin glanced away for a few moments. Could he really teach Albin how to be rebellious? Elias sure did seem the type to know. Albin wanted to learn: what was more rebellious than disobeying your dad? So he nodded.

Elias smirked and his eyes gleamed as though ice had glazed them. Albin knew that he had already lost whatever race he’d been imagining.

A few minutes later, Elias was opening the door to the music room and gesturing for Albin to go in. The dim light from beyond the two windows was the only light-source. Guitars lined the walls and the grand piano stood at the far end of the room like a silhouette. Despite everything he could see, the room looked empty.

Albin continued the conversation from their walk to the mansion. “It was so much better when it was me and my dad, you know?”

“Can’t relate.” Elias mumbled.

Then he picked up Alice’s flute, taking it out from its case. “This is your sister’s right? The one you said kicked you out the music room?” Albin nodded.

Elias handed him the instrument. “Break it.” He said.

“... What? Are you insane?”

“Nope, I've seen several psychologists. I’m mentally well, thank you for asking.”

Albin shook his head, running fingers through his hair, and he tripped over his own feet into a music stand. “You can’t be serious.” The stand rattled as he steadied it.

“Trust me. You’ll feel so much better. You won’t get caught, promise. Besides, you’re rich enough to replace a little flute. Right?” He circled around Albin and rested his hands on Albin’s shoulders.

“All those years with your dad, forgotten by him like it was nothing.” Elias whispered down into his ear. “Brothers and sisters, walking around here like they’ve always lived here. Treating you like a nuisance. A mother you can't stand for bringing all this chaos into your life, for turning you into a ghost in your own home.” He stood at full height. “Break the flute.”

The flute seemed to buzz under his fingertips, he was crushing it in his hands. The blood wasn’t reaching his fingers. His heart echoed in his chest.

“What if,” he breathed, “What if they hear it?”

“That’s why-” Elias’s hands left a swish of cold air on his shoulders as he left his side, searching the room. “We use a cushion in these kinds of situations.”

He began to walk, not quite aware of what he was doing. “The chair, at the back of the room. It’s cushioned.”

“Go then.”

“But-”

“Stop making excuses. That’s how you prevent yourself from living.” Elias clicked his tongue. “I’m only telling you to do this because there’s a lot of built up emotions in you. Gotta get them out somehow. And what better way is there than this to also get revenge on your family?”

Albin’s eyes widened.That’s what this is? Revenge... The word repeated itself, cascading down the walls of his mind. He lifted the flute up into the air, no backing out now, it hurtled towards the chair and crashed down with a thwack-

It didn’t break.

“Well, it’s dented, but we want it broken beyond repair.” Elias grabbed the flute from him. “Good try though.” he brought his knee to the instrument and snapped it in half. Just like that.

Then he began to tear off the valves, one by one. Albin could only watch in dull shock. His mind was still surging with the word revenge and a million other thoughts. What would Alice’s reaction be? How would everyone find out? What if someone had heard them? Albin glanced around, no-one but Elias was in the dark music room with him.

“There, that’s it done.” Elias dropped the instrument onto the floor. “Now let’s get out of here, through the window.”

“B-but this is the second floor!”

“I’ll catch you.”

Albin stumbled after Elias as he walked towards the window. “Are you serious?!”

“Always serious, kiddo.” Elias said. “Make sure you roll or you’ll break an arm!”

The next day, everyone in the mansion knew of Alice’s broken flute. She’d been sobbing and wailing through the corridors for hours on end. She refused her dad’s -Albin’s dad- offer to shop for a new flute. She missed every meal. When the butler was bringing her dinner to her room, Albin asked if he could do it instead. He wandered from the kitchen to her room, knocking on her door. His arm twinged in pain from the previous night’s fall.

“Alice? It’s Albin, do you mind if I come in?” He opened the door when there was no reply.

Alice was laying face down on her bed. She looked so small, in comparison to the white walls and high ceiling that made the room feel endless. Everything was displayed on shelves or tucked away in drawers. You could say it was Instagram ready. A small sob teared through her again, greeting him in the saddest way possible. He set her plate of comfort food on the nightstand.

“My instrument… they broke my instrument!” Alice cried into her pillow. “She was my lucky charm, i-if I had her I would always win my competitions...” She sat up to face him, glittering streaks of tears running down reddened cheeks. “There’s no flute that could replace her!”

“...Her?”

“My flute! Georgia!” Albin didn’t understand the point in naming an object, but he didn’t say this out loud. “It’s not fair. Who the hell would do this to her?!”

“I don’t know… I’m so sorry this happened.” Albin coughed away the lump growing in his throat.

Alice began to talk about the awards she’d won, told him stories about the competitions she’d been to. She hugged him, trying to pull him in as tight as possible. But he tapped her back and kindly pushed her away by the shoulders. Yeah, he wasn’t a fan of hugging people he barely knew. Alice returned to hugging her pillow.

But the best part: she had no idea it had been him and Elias. And she’d wallow in sadness long enough for him to catch up, and win some awards of his own!

That night he found Elias in Albin’s gazebo once again. He ran towards him in exhilaration, and shone a troublesome smile when Elias waved at him.

“What’s next?” Albin asked.

[breadhyunn]

Bend Heaven, Raise Hell - 2

Characters: Yongguk, Himchan, Daehyun, Youngjae, Jongup, Zelo (OT6)+Side Characters

Setting/Genre: Gods!AU, Heaven and Hell!AU, Chapters

Length: 2061 words

Warnings: None

Summary: One Single Law can change how three realms work.

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 2: Wind, Water and Serenity.

He stood still on an elevated rock.

The air around him was calming, but his insides were tense. Though he’d been through this process a thousand times, it still made him nervous. All the associates standing there watching him didn’t help either. He patiently waited for the signal, constantly reminding himself that he’s a God, is gifted, and has been successful almost every time. A demure woman took her stand in front of him. Her jacket’s collar was embellished with the golden pin of a primary associate. Jiha’s fingers were tightly wound around the cell phone, simply waiting for it to buzz.

And it did.

She flung it across to the river bank, and that was Jongup’s signal. All his tension seemed to evaporate at once, as his legs twisted into position. He raised his left arm, bending his body forward, and his fox like eyes turned white. He held that position for a few seconds, till water droplets emerged from his fingers. Jiha bent down, raising her arms like the wings of a swan, and as the water came gushing, she directed its flow. Jongup’s body made smooth, effortless movements, and with every second the river was filled more.

In 5 minutes, Mato’s stream had been restored. The associates erupted in cheers as Jiha turned around beaming, but she received no smile from him. Jongup was breathing heavily; he simply gave her a nod, pursed his lips and walked away. He gently stepped on the water and made his way to the river bank, awkwardly acknowledging his ecstatic associates. Jiha sighed, and followed him, but his quick legs carried him faster. Before she knew it, he had mounted his bike and was driving back to Heaven.

Jongup reached home quicker than he expected. He kicked of his shoes and ruffled through his pile of laundry, picking up light azure shorts that matched his hair. He quickly shed his leather pants and changed. His insides weren’t tense anymore. He was alone.

Soon enough, he was lying on the bed with his legs spread out. A laptop rested on his stomach was the sole focus of his attention. The God of Water and Angels was in a little bubble, full of giggles and comfort. Completely absorbed, the young man was oblivious to Jiha entering.

Jiha stood leaning against the door. “You did well today.” She said, interrupting his little self-gala after a minute of contemplation. Jongup’s water bubble spontaneously burst and evaporated, as he turned to where the voice came from. “Oh wow you didn’t get wet! The trick’s getting better!” Jiha marveled at the mist the bubble had left behind. Jongup lifted the laptop off his stomach and slowly got up, the edges of his lips curving into a sheepish smile. Jiha smiled too; glad to see that expression on his face. She went and sat down next to him.

He looked at her hesitantly, an expression of guilt forming on his face. “You’re sorry you left like that? I know. I understand. It’s alright.” Jiha had watched Jongup grow up, and she was familiar with his ways. She didn’t need words to understand him. She was tender, with a tremendously high moral compass. If you wanted her to be there for you, she would. Jongup held a lot respect for her.

He looked at her gratefully and sighed. “I appreciate the associates cheering me on with my whole heart, I really do. I just wish I could express it better.” She remained silent, simply placing a comforting hand on his back. This was a silence Jongup didn’t mind at all. He was comfortable around her, and that meant he could be who he wanted to be. Only a small, but important set of people knew how animated he was, how much he enjoyed living life. Out in the world, in front of his people: The Rewarded, and even with his associates, he felt a pressure he couldn’t explain.

This silence didn’t last very long.

It was, as a matter of fact, interrupted by a very long boy: youthful, happy yet uncertain. He rushed in screaming the name ‘Jongup’ like his life depended on it. His entry was met with confused albeit unsurprised looks from the two seated on the bed. The confusion was directed at his ‘clothing’, if you could call it that. It comprised of a very thin silk sash draped over his sculpted chest, like something a Miss Mato would wear, and ripped jeans. An olive wreath adorned his jet-black hair.

Jongup’s eyes narrowed, significantly. “Junhong-ah, what…what are you wearing? Is that-?”

“Yes, that’s my sash from when I won 2 years ago,” interrupted a deadpan female voice endowed with a thick accent. The owner of the voice was breathtaking, but utterly exhausted in the present moment. She was tall, and her unashamedly 6-inch heeled boots clanked on the floor as she entered, frowning at Junhong.

“……Why,” said Jiha, who looked thoroughly entertained at this point.

“It would appear that my ever-so-experimental superior wanted to assume the persona of a Greek God but, unfortunately found no fitting substitute for a Toga, and simply decided he’s going to rip off some doozy from a carnival,“ Areum said, still intently frowning. “I tried to stop him, I really did. But a Primary Associate can only do so much to convince a God.”

Junhong gave her a why-do-you-always-do-this look. “Just let me do my thing please.”

“If I let you do your thing, you probably wouldn’t even be wearing the sash. The Rewarded aren’t here to be blinded Junhong, trust me I’m doing this realm a favour.” She turned to the others, her voice remaining deadpan. “The other day I walked in on him trying to wear a banana costume. I had to lie down in a dark room for quite a while. I’m not sure I’ve recovered yet.”

Junhong looked entirely offended. “Areum, I TOLD YOU WHAT THE BANANA COSTUME WAS ABOUT.” He was pretty much whining at this point.

Jongup laughed, a full laugh, a sound which occurred as frequently as the full Moon. Junhong always cheered him up. “What do you want to show me?”

Junhong winked at Areum (her expression changed to disgust) before turning to face his friend. His eyes were sparkling. “I learnt something new, I practiced quite a bit, and now finally I can demonstrate! Watch!”

He took two steps back and composed himself.  He slowly rubbed his hands together until small sparks started emerging from them. Soon, there was a fire burning on his right palm. He lifted his left hand up, the same way Jongup had previously, and a mist emerged which encircled the fire and put it out. The mist continued to persist. He stretched his arms out and sedately moved them around, spurring the mist. The droplets began to move faster and faster and a full gust of wind was created.

Both the girls had to hold on to their hair as the wind blew. Jongup just stared in amazement. Junhong was very aware of the space he occupied and how to use it. His large frame made some movements a little harder for him but his tireless efforts had made it all easy and effective. He had transitioned from fire, to water, to wind seamlessly. He was incredibly well rounded. While his talents for water and wind were a gift of nature, creating fire was something he had learnt. He could only learn to create it though, and not control it. Junhong had realized that the hard way.

Junhong made the wind subside and stared expectantly at the three people in the room. Jongup and Jiha burst into applause and Areum stood there gazing fondly at him. He smiled wide and did a dramatic bow for his audience. His dimples were wonderfully on display. “Was it good? Did you like it?”

“It was like watching a painting come to life. The kind of painting you’d make to immortalize memories. Isn’t that what life is about? Making memories? That’s how I want to live.” Jongup took his time with those sentences. Jiha chuckled, Jongup made these philosophical statements at the most odd yet weirdly appropriate times. Junhong was beaming too, almost blushing. He turned to Areum.

She rolled her eyes, “FINE. YOU WIN.” She reached into her jacket, took out two gold coins and flung them at Junhong. He caught them and happily stuffed them into his pocket. Areum had bet him that the water to wind transition wouldn’t work. Junhong was ambitious. She knew very well that he’d pull it off, he just needed a push and that came in the form of such bets. 

Jongup and Jiha smiled. In fact, everyone was smiling, at each other, at themselves.

Suddenly, two message pings were heard. The girls scrambled for their phones; both had the same text, from the same person.

Hara @ ‘We’re tired of Gods’: Prep your boys. I’m bringing one of mine. 2 hours.

They gave each other a look. They knew it would happen soon. “Excuse us for a minute boys,” said Jiha, following Areum out of the room.

Junhong shrugged and plopped himself down on the bed, with his head resting on Jongup’s lap. This was a regular occurrence: the two relied on each other in more ways than one. They had been through quite literally Heaven and Hell together. Both had heavy responsibilities thrust on them at a very early age, and it was as if they were forced to grow up. That’s why he decided Heaven would have two Primary Associates instead of one. They needed the help: accepting their duties, developing a sense of maturity far quicker than most people their age. But with each other, they could be as young and immature as they wanted to be.

-

“How are we going to break it to them? I don’t want to spark a violent fire here.” Jiha exhaled, once she was certain they were out of the boys’ earshot. She was nervous, she didn’t like fighting.

“Now that’s a question more suited to Hara than it is to me.”  Areum said, very obviously trying not to smile. Her situationally inappropriate humour gave her phenomenal pleasure. This was something she and Hara bonded over, much to Jiha’s distaste.

“Ha-ha very funny. But seriously, I’m worried. Himchan is busy right now, going to meet The Supreme I presume. Who’ll calm them down if something happens?”

“Well, I can throw a good punch, knock ‘em all out?”

“Why am I having this discussion with you again? Let’s just break it to them.”

The girls returned to see Jongup passionately explaining to a very carefully listening Junhong the true significance of his favourite character’s blue socks.

“We’re having visitors.” Areum remarked, after clearing her throat to attract their attention.

“If it’s Himchan, please tell him I don’t want to talk to him till he returns my shirt. I’m going to walk around all day like this otherwise. ” Junhong quipped.

Jiha, practically holding back Areum from throwing a punch, said, “it’s about the law.”

“Oh,” Jongup’s face became devoid of expression. “Why?” His voice quivered. He hoped it wouldn’t be brought up.

Jiha’s forehead tensed. “Because it’s unfair. Would you be this happy if you were in Hell or Mato when the law was declared? I’m sure you both have heard what happened everywhere aside from here. Riots, rebellions. That’s why you had to fill the stream before the due date, Jongup.” She paused. “My brother’s in Hell right now, things are bad. We need to sort this out.”

“Hey, my sister’s in Hell too, you don’t see me complaining.” Junhong said, sitting up. “Besides, isn’t this good for our people? The Rewarded will remain happy. Isn’t ensuring that our job?”

“They have families spread across the three realms, Junhong. Your ‘job’ isn’t limited to just this realm.” Areum said. “And about your sister, she won’t be in Hell for long…”

Junhong looked confused for a bit, before understanding what she meant. He buried his head into his hands with a groan. Jongup stood up. “I’m with him on this. The Rewarded are the most important to me.”

Both the girls sighed. 2 hours. 2 hours before chaos would start again. The Primary Associates’ group chat name was never more relevant.

We’re tired of Gods.

A/N: Aaaah it’s been too long. I have to put in quite a bit of thinking into this so it takes time. I know this chapter doesn’t do much in furtherance of story plot, it’s more of an instrument to introduce the primary characters. As always, I’d love to hear what you think! Constructive criticsm is always appreciated! (Also plis appreciate what I did with jongup’s bubble making it an actual bubble that was kinda cute ok) I struggled a bit with this chapter because I was so nervous about writing JongLo, so I’m hoping it turned out fine! 

A big thank you to my mom @foxjae for all her help ^.^

More will come soon!

-sudi