#I don’t need a girlfriend I just need to experience a warm loving family Christmas

[sassysnowglobe]

Personal posts? On my blog? In 2022?

More likely than you’d think apparently.

[randombush3]

A Nice Christmas

florence pugh x reader

summary: you spend christmas with your girlfriend

words: 942

warnings: none

notes: it’s just short and sweet. someone asked for angst but i haven’t had a chance to actually think about what i’m writing so i decided i wouldn’t do it justice right now. i wrote this at the most god-awful christmas gala i’ve ever been to, btw, and i’m glad it kept me entertained.

merry christmas to all of you ❤️

It’s nice having a Christmas like this.

Where the weather makes you walk right back inside, where family can come and go as they please.

You experience your first Pugh countdown-to-Christmas dinner. A big affair on the 23rd, something Flo assures you that you would enjoy. You do, surprisingly; finding that talking about the woman you love to people who love her as well only strengthens how you feel about their daughter/sister/niece. They’ve come to love you too. It’s great.

Then, for Christmas Eve, you and Flo stay curled up in bed until midday, fighting off a disastrously bad hangover together, practically crawling out of her childhood room with your overnight bags to say goodbye to everyone. You drive the car from Oxford to your family home on the outskirts of London, popping round to give your mum a kiss, your dad someone to play cards with, and be a climbing frame for your nephew’s growing confidence in movement. Flo is perfect with them — of course she's perfect — and the seamless feel to the season remains safe and sound.

Once back at your flat, you watch her bake gingerbread men. They fail miserably, but you eat them anyway, picking off the charred bits and swallowing the deformed heads of the cookies with a glass of white wine.

And another.

And when your girlfriend climbs into your lap with rosy cheeks and starts kissing your neck, you aren’t ashamed to reach for the remote and switch off Arthur Christmas in favour of a bit of Christmas Eve sex.

Which leads to Christmas Day sex.

You end up getting out of bed at ten in the morning, Flo clinging to your body because she fell asleep in nothing but a shirt and your flat is freezing. The Christmas tree standing proudly in the living room is the only source of light considering neither of you can be bothered to sort out the blinds, and she grins when you make breakfast for her, leaving you only to wrap herself up in a fluffy pyjama set. She throws you a new Christmas jumper that reads ‘ho-ho-hoe for Flo’; the first present exchanged today.

“A fan sent it to me for you,” she explains while your smile morphs into a frown, laughing in a way that fills the flat better than any cheesy Christmas song could. Your annoyance turns into a shiver as you step away from the heat of the cooker to run away. “Put it on, it will keep you warm.”

“Fine,” you grumble, slipping it over your head. You take your bra off under the jumper, much to Flo’s dismay, and then you’re left with nothing but underwear and the stupid jumper and she has no choice but to corner you for a pre-presents make out session pressed up against the worktop.

You give each other the less family-friendly presents before recording anything.

Like, your parents don’t need to know about the La Perla lacy thong she got you, or the frankly-obscene, nearly-transparent slip you bought her.

But everyone on her family group chat delights to see her eyes light up as she thumbs through the pages of the year’s photo album, especially when she looks beautiful and the only thing your relatives would say is missing is a ring and two children.

She gets you another bottle of the perfume you wear, along with the shoes your eyes had lingered on a little too long the last time you went shopping together, and a necklace with her initial (“oh, so now you own me?”, “no, you just play enough Taylor Swift for me to get the hint”). You love everything. You love her.

You give Flo the aforementioned photo album, a key to the drawer you’ve been hiding snacks in for the last couple of months, a bottle of the wine she loves but can never find, and a red version of the velvet jeans you own that she always steals.

Once everything has been given out, you catch her eye. She finds you look uneasy, shifty. You’re up to something.

You pretend to have found another present under the tree, right at the back. As you squirm underneath to retrieve it, you can only think about one thing: you should have done this ages ago.

“This is so cliché,” you begin, and Flo immediately clocks what you’re holding. “My mum would only give it to me once she had you round once more, just to make sure we aren’t fake dating or anything.” Your girlfriend raises her eyebrows, and you prepare yourself to be interrogated about your past relationships later. “I love you, I want to spend my life with you.”

“I want to marry you.”

You frown. “Can you not? I have a whole thing planned out.”

Somehow, Flo has a ring in her hand as well, but this isn’t your grandmother’s engagement ring. “Yeah, so did I.”

“Florence Pugh, I love you more than I think is possible, and you’re incredible and amazing, and will you marry me?” you say quickly, charging through the words so that you get to say you asked first.

“Only if I get to plan the wedding and name the children.”

“No!” you splutter.

“Okay, I have the final decision on their names,” she amends. “But then I also get to choose the film tonight, and decide who wears what on New Year’s. Spoiler: you’re not wearing much.” She winks at you suggestively and you’re betrayed by your blush.

“Whatever, Mrs L/n-Pugh.” You slide the ring onto her finger: it’s a perfect fit.

“Pugh-L/n.”

Absolutely not.

“Merry Christmas, Florence L/n-Pugh.”

tags: @pewpughpew @ridleypugh @jeyramarie @flosbelova @kassies-take @delfiore @yelenabelovasbxtch @xsophiesx @slut4milfs69 @sunshadesnrainbowz @wandasbb @karsonromanoff

[sinner-as-saint]

Fall Apart

Bucky Barnes x Reader (Uni AU)

Run-through: While spending Christmas break with his family, your boyfriend accidentally finds out about a certain kink of yours, and he has fun with it while the two of you are all alone in his parents’ house. 

Themes: smut, explicit language, degradation kink, fluff

a/n: I woke up wanting to write something filthy today so here you go! 

“Hey baby, busy?” 

You asked, walking into his childhood bedroom. Bucky’s pretty blue eyes moved from his laptop screen to meet yours, and he gave you a soft, heart-warming smile. He looked so… delicious just sitting there, leaning against the headboard, working on a paper. Tight black t-shirt, grey sweatpants - so edible. 

“Hey, where have you been? You weren’t here when I woke up.” He asked, sliding his computer off his lap, a silent invitation for you to settle on his lap. 

You took your shoes off and jumped into bed, finding your way to his lap. Straddling him, wrapping your arms around his broad shoulders, you leaned in to press a quick kiss on his soft lips. “Well, you slept in so I went out for breakfast with your parents.” 

That made him smile, “They like you a lot, you know?” He mumbled against your chin. Then asked, “Where are they now?” 

���Out again. Running errands. Your mom said she needs more baubles for the tree, and your dad said he-,” 

Bucky cut you off by sliding his hands up your shirt and pressing his mouth to yours for a hot, steamy, filthy kiss. His mouth moved against yours urgently, like he couldn’t be patient enough to take what he wanted leisurely. He was impatient and hungry. Only when you moaned did he pull away, smirking. 

“I don’t care where they are, I just needed to know they’re out because I…” He spoke softly, slipping a hand into your pants and past the waistband of your underwear, gently stroking your sensitive lips, making you shudder and whine against his cheek, “... want to make love to my beautiful girlfriend.” 

His words made you giggle momentarily before it ended in a moan as he began tracing slow circles around your clit. “Well,” You said, almost breathless already, “No one’s home right now.” 

Bucky chuckled and pulled you in for a sweet kiss again, carefully slipping a finger inside of you. He loved the way you wiggled in his lap, trying to get his finger to touch you deeper. His other hand held you by the back of your neck, slowly making its way into your hair to grip it and he tugged on it gently. 

That made you gasp, since he very rarely did that. Bucky was always a sweet, soft lover. 

“You know,” Bucky whispered against your lips, slowly finger-fucking you, “You’ve been a really bad girlfriend lately,” He said, not missing the way your walls clenched around him at the mere comment. He kept going, “Spending all your time with my parents, barely hanging out with me, barely giving me any attention.” He said, pretending to be mad, “I’m disappointed in you, baby girl.” 

You whimpered and clenched around his finger again, hips thrusting forward into his hand at the sound of his voice telling you how bad you’ve been. You kept your face close to his, nuzzling his jaw as he spoke into your ear. 

Bucky caught the way you were getting off on what he was saying, so he smirked and experimented a little more. “I see you’re aware of how bad you’ve been, hmm?” He chuckled darkly, “I drove us all the way here. Helped you with all your shopping trips. And this is how you repay me? By ignoring me around my own family?” He spoke, thrusting his finger deeper into you. 

He went to talk some more but then he heard you mumbling something under your breath. 

He chuckled and said in that deep, smooth voice of his, “Speak up. Use your fucking words.” 

You sheepishly pulled away from his face, lips parted in pleasure and surprise at this new side of him and spoke up, coherently this time, “I said I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-,” 

He cut you off by smacking your thigh through your thick leggings, making you pout instinctively. “Shut up. You shut your pretty mouth when I’m talking, you hear me?” He said while sliding another finger inside you, stretching you a little more than before, making you moan while looking into his eyes. 

God damn, he was beautiful. You nodded and gasped as his fingers moved faster inside of you. Faster, deeper, he stroked your wet walls while looking deep into your eyes. His lips mere inches away from yours, his warm breath mingling with yours. It was overwhelming, but so, so good. 

But then, he stopped and pulled his fingers away. His hand reached up to wrap around your throat, “This isn’t enough for you, is it? Your hungry little cunt needs more. You need my cock, don’t you,” He smirked at the look of awe and pleasure on your face and added, “You little whore.” 

Like in a trance, you nodded, fisting your hands into the material of his soft t-shirt. 

He looked amused, and proud as he said, “Well then. Stand up, and take your clothes off for me. And I mean everything, I want you naked on my bed.” He growled, “Now!” 

You jumped to your feet, heart racing like it would if you were about to skydive. You took off your clothes, throwing them at the foot of the bed. Leggings, socks, then your sweater, then your t-shirt and underwear. The bedroom was all warm and toasty but you still shivered under his stare. 

“Good girl,” He said, then motioned to his lap. “Now come here, and sit on it.” 

You climbed back into bed and noticed he had just lowered the waistband of his sweats to free his erected cock. The contrast of your nudity and his lack thereof only made you whimper and climb into his lap quicker; you needed his warmth against your body. 

Once on his lap, you grabbed him at the base and aligned his tip to your entrance before sinking down on his cock, moaning and gasping as it stretched you out. Once you sank down completely, you finally opened your eyes to meet Bucky’s playful blue ones. 

He gave you a smile for a brief moment before it morphed into a dangerous smirk, his hand reaching up to squeeze the sides of your neck again. He pulled you forward by your throat and said, “Don’t just sit there waiting for me to do all the work as always. Fuck yourself on it, bounce on this cock and make me come, you understand?” He added, “Little slut?” 

You nodded again, biting your lower lip wondering where your loving, soft boyfriend went. Not that you disliked this side of him. Quite the contrary actually. You obeyed quietly, lifting your body up and sinking back down on his cock, making both of you hiss and whine in pleasure. Bucky kept a hand fisted in your hair as your trembling body moved up and down his cock as best you could. 

However, given your surprise and shaky legs and that damn look in his eyes, you were aware you were doing a poor job, unlike usual. So when Bucky chuckled in disappointment, your pulsating walls clenched around him again. 

He tugged on your hair and hissed against your lips, “Can’t even fuck yourself like you should. I have to do everything for you, don’t I, you silly little cockslut?” He held you in place, not allowing you to move an inch with his cock buried deep inside of you. He sighed, “Come on then, get off me. Lay down and spread your fucking legs.” He let go of your hair and gently pushed you off of his lap. 

You were barely off of him when he grabbed you and pinned you down under him, his eyes wild and filled with lust and burning desire. “I have to do all the work again, don’t I?” He spoke while he knelt in between your legs, looking down at your bare body, “What an ungrateful little whore you are. I do everything for you, but you can’t even ride my cock and make me come.” He said with a dangerous smirk on his face. 

You spread your legs further apart as he leaned down and hovered above you, one hand fisted beside your head as he stared deep into your eyes while he grabbed his cock with his other hand and slowly circled your clit with his tip. 

You squirmed, whining in pleasure under him, “Bucky… Bucky, please.” You begged. 

He chuckled, “Shut up. You shut the fuck up and you take it. You take whatever I give you. I don’t want to hear you make a god damn noise, understood? Nod if you understand.” 

You did. You nodded, looking up at him as you slowly slid your hands up his muscular arms, holding onto his shoulders as he slowly pushed his cock inside of you again. You whimpered as he buried his cock inside you and stayed still for a while. 

Not moving an inch, just letting you feel him inside as he relished the feeling of your walls wrapped around him. You tried to move your hips against him but he quickly placed his palm right over your stomach and pressed you down on the bed. His eyes staring deep into yours with a warning: 

“Don’t fucking move.”

You could feel him flexing and throbbing inside you and you could barely take it anymore. “Bucky, please… move. Fuck me, please.” 

He smirked, looking down at you. “Do you deserve it? Hmm? After being an ungrateful little whore, ignoring me for other people, do you really deserve it?” 

You couldn’t think. All you knew was that you needed him to fuck you however he wanted and make you come. He felt too good inside you. Overwhelmingly good. “Please, I’ll be better. I’ll be good to you, I’ll be good… just please!” 

Bucky chuckled triumphantly, “You can beg louder than that, you dumb little whore. Come on, no one can fucking hear you right now. Beg for me.” He growled, “Beg!” 

And so you did. You pleaded, begged and promised to be good. Your nails scratching his neck, his throat, his shoulders, his arms. You were squirming beneath him, panting, needy. Your voice was strained and raspy by the time he was content with your begging. 

“Alright, you little cockslut,” He said, pulling out then quickly pushing back into you, “I think you’ve earned it.” He said as he started rocking into you. His pace gradually increased as he fucked you. 

You could barely keep your eyes open, he felt too good. But each time your eyelids got droopy, he’d smack your bare thigh and hiss into your ear, “Don’t you dare close you fucking eyes! Open them, look at me. Look at me while I fuck your hungry cunt, you little slut.” 

You moaned as he fucked deeper into you, his hips moving against yours so perfectly you could cry. And you eventually felt tears escaping your eyes, sliding down your face. Then a whiny sob as he slammed deep into you. 

Bucky growled, “Are you crying? Thought I told you to shut the fuck up and take it, no?” When you whined again, he leaned down and whispered against your lips, “You asked for this, remember? You asked to be fucked like a whore.” 

You felt your body tingling under his, a familiar pressure forming in between your legs as he pounded into you relentlessly. You couldn’t form a proper word at this point, so you just bit on your lip when the pleasure got too much. 

Bucky’s hand moved up your chest until he wrapped his fingers around your throat again, “Open your fucking mouth, open it!” When you did, he leaned in and spat in it, then immediately pushed two fingers past your lips; moving his fingers against your tongue at the same pace as his cock fucked deep inside of you. “There, bet you like that, huh? Dirty, filthy little cockslut.” 

You whined, lips wrapping around his fingers as your walls clenching tightly around his cock. 

“Fuck, look at you.” He taunted, pounding deeper into you, “Such a little slut. So hungry for this cock.” When your eyes started closing again, he pulled his fingers out of your mouth, gave you a little smack on the cheek before pushing his fingers back into your mouth, “Look at me,” He said, his thrust getting harder, “Look at me when I come inside you. I want you to watch me fill that little cunt up to the brim with my cum…” 

But you were long gone by then, reaching your peak, feeling yourself getting so close to that edge that not even Bucky’s voice could keep you from falling. 

“Come on, baby. Come all over this cock,” He whispered into your ear as your walls gripped and tightened around him. 

So you fell apart; coming around his cock at the same time as he finished inside of you, filling you up like he promised. You squirmed and whimpered as he growled into your ear, filling you up so much it leaked out of you while he was still buried deep in you. 

You were gasping for air, heart racing as Bucky pulled away to look down at you. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to your forehead. “It’s okay, baby girl. I’m here. I’m here, and I love you so much. You’ve been so good, baby.” He kissed you all over your face, whispering, “So good.” 

—

“Come here, baby girl.” He whispered, watching how you snuggled into his side. Bucky pulled his comfy, pale blue blanket up to cover the two of you. “Are you okay?” He asked, a few minutes after you came down from your high. 

You nodded, then realised you should probably speak up, “Yes, I’m okay.” You placed your arm over his chest and placed a kiss on his warm skin. 

He ran his hands down your back, gently caressing you. “Are we gonna talk about it?” He asked. 

You felt your face get all hot, “About what?” 

He chuckled, “About the game we just played? About this secret little kink of yours that I had no idea existed?” He asked. You groaned, embarrassed as you tried to bury your face into his chest. Bucky grabbed your chin and made you look up at him, “Hey, don’t be shy. It’s just me, baby.” 

You whispered, “You don’t think it’s…” Your voice trailed off. 

Bucky smiled down at you, “Of course not. We had fun, didn’t we?” When you nodded he said, “I’ve got you baby, I’m gonna give you whatever you need whenever you want it.” He wrapped his arms around you and said, “Now come on, take a nap. I’ll wake you up when lunch is ready.” 

You nodded again, barely awake as he kissed your forehead. You heard him mumble an ‘I love you so much’ and then you were out, sighing in satisfaction.

[theblvckvenus]

New Years Fright

Summary: Chris gives you a scare whilst staying at his house for Christmas but you get rewarded for the trouble he caused.

Pairings: Chris Evans x Reader

Warning: *18+ only* Heavy petting, dom/sub, fluff

It had been almost two weeks since you’d arrived in Boston. You and Chris had been together since early summer, still not public to the world but your families knew. It had still been a surprise when he’d offered for you to join him and the family for Christmas. You’d planned to stay it out alone in your apartment as usual but even the idea of that sent a look of dissatisfaction on Chris’ face so troubled that you’d really not had much of a choice in the matter. It had been perfect, his family of course as wonderful as he was and the whole experience made even better by the stolen kisses and embraces he’d caught you in whilst alone for a moment or out walking Dodger. It was almost sweeter having to hide your flirtations, not that everyone hadn’t spotted them at least once. Only his brother mentioned it, lightly teasing Chris for the huge softie he was.

You’d been on zoom with your girlfriends, grabbing the glasses from both your beside tables before heading back down to seek out Chris. As you rounded the corner suddenly a huge shout made you jump out of your skin. The glasses you were holding slipped from your fingers and fell to the floor, the sudden movement shocking you into almost falling yourself. A muscled arm instantly wound round your waist catching your slender frame steadying you to your feet. Chris’ blue eyes were sheepish as he glanced around the mess at your feet.

“I’m sorry I thought it was Scott.” He admitted, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to your neck nuzzling lightly there as he did, his rough beard dragging across your skin. “Sorry baby.”

You’d almost gotten used to the two brothers pranking each other, not having grown up with such loving siblings yourself, however this was the first time you’d been subject to it yourself. Recovering from your fright quickly you squeezed his hands lightly in acceptance.

“Shh, shh let me just clean up.” You hushed him gently, returning a light kiss against his lips, the feeling of them warm against yours causing you to pause there. Before you had a chance to kneel and collect the shatters you were suddenly off your feet and lifted into his arms. Chris had you in a bridal hold now completely secure as he carried you out of the hallway.

“I don’t want you cutting your feet, I will clean up.” As he ignored your protestations you settled into his hold, the feel of his chest hard against your side through the thin material of his flannel shirt. Up in his arms you had full access to pepper light kisses along his neck and jaw. As you did you noticed Chris glance down at you, a gentle smile pushing across his lips “Here’s me trying to be a hero and you’re busy being too adorable to notice.”

It was only a few of his long strides before you were in the bedroom, hearing the click of the door shutting behind you as he manoeuvred you carefully in his arms. There was no doubt in your mind he could easily carry you with one arm if needed but the motion pushed you dangerously close to his crotch, the feeling putting ideas into your mind.

“Well you should make it up to me.” You said daringly, lifting your chin to look him squarely in the eyes. The low sound that emitted from his chest was warning enough and a second later he had thrown you down on the master bed, squarely in the centre so you had no danger of falling off either side. His green eyes were hungry with wanting you and you could almost feel the desire emitting from him now. You had only a moment to catch breath before his frame was atop yours, pressing you down against the mess of sheets beneath.

“You’ve been so good all through Christmas haven’t you. I guess you do deserve a reward.” He mused, cool fingers already slipping beneath the material of your sweater and edging lightly over your the skin at your waist. “My beautiful girl.” He muttered softly against the crook of your neck, material pushed up now to expose your midriff to a fresh onslaught of kisses.

“Chris, people are downstairs-” You could only muster a half assed protestation before the familiar feel of his other hand tangling in your braids jammed the words in your throat. In a move all to familiar he tugged lightly against the hair pulling your neck backwards and opening your neck to him. A soft sigh of release came from your lips and his hand slid up from your waist now to curve lightly around your throat. There was only a light pressure there but enough to tell you who was in control now.

His fingers were long enough that one could slip up and run lightly along your bottom lip feeling the wetness from your mouth. “Open.” Both of you were aware it was not a request, hell it wasn’t even a demand. That was an order and one you were going to oblige as he’d taught you how many nights before. As your mouth popped open it was instantly filled with his finger, the salt on his skin taking over your senses as you sucked lightly.

“Such a good girl.” He growled into your chest, causing you to shiver beneath him. The movement seemed to please him more and he sat back above you, hand still on your neck to hold you in place. He regarded your figure beneath him, clothes ruffled and a dark blush evident beneath the brown skin on your neck. You half expected him to make you beg and it wasn’t unusual, but this was your reward. Anything you wanted you got.

“Please.” You said obediently and you were rewarded with the familiar sound of his belt buckles knocking as they were pulled apart. Steeling yourself for what was about to come you both froze as a familiar whine came muffled through the same door you’d entered in moments before.

“Dodger.” You both spoke at the same time, causing a fit of stifled giggles from you and a light chuckle from Chris.

“Hold that thought babygirl.” He said, voice full of the promise of what was to come.

--

Continued: Washing Up

@afriendlyblackhottie

[cassava-49]

I Won't Say I'm In Love

Felix had always walled himself up to not love again and be fooled by it again. Not again, never again, but why? After building up this façade, why is it crumbling to his feet? Right, it's because of her.

A beacon of light and love. Her dark blue hair is as deep as the color of the depths of the ocean where one can swim too deep and drown by its beauty. Her bluebell eyes that are as light as the sky that can make anyone think that they were falling down from heaven as you stare deep into them. Her warm bubbly feeling that can make anyone cozy up with her and let their guard down without their knowledge.

Ever since she transferred here and joined his circle of friends he can't help but feel drawn to the warm sweet atmosphere. He can't have it again. He doesn't want to put his heart on the line again only to be broken into millions of tiny pieces like how she had. He doesn't want to hurt again with that knowledge of not getting his chances since she is already desperately in love with his dim witted cousin.

He then turned his attention to his friends who were chatting happily over lunch. Talking about some silly antics that had happened during class. But he couldn't help but watch her close her eyes as she laughed and cover her mouth. The sound of her sweet laughter was, how would the books describe it, music to his ears, tiny sweet bells that sounded at an hour of beauty. He watched as his friend Claude balanced an orange on the tip of his nose, as Allan subtly made it fall by accidentally jabbing his side.

He continued to watch the bluenette smile and laugh, not noticing the subtle glances Allegra was giving him. The bell rung, signalling the students that they had 30 minutes before classes began again. This made his friends get up and take their trays and brought it to the counter.

"Well, see you guys later," Marinette said to her friends as she headed to the art department wing for her lesson. As she left, she didn't notice the penetrating stare the blond had fixated on her back. But the blond didn't notice the looks his three friends were sharing as a grin crossed each of their faces. Felix turned around to be greeted by these suspicious grins as he let a scowl cross his face, knowing what the three would say.

"No," was all he said to the three as he stalked away. "Come on Fe. We know that you know that you like her," Allegra told him as she walked with him. "Allegra, stop it. You know that I will not love again nor put myself to it after how the past had ended," he said his petty reason. "This is not like you dude. The Felix I know would not let the past be the reason for fear and ignorance," Allan backed. "No one will ever be worth my time in that aspect. And it doesn't help that she looks like her," Felix replied in distaste of his words.

"You know that she's the earth and heaven to you. You can't just run away from your feelings cause your bad at hiding these kinds of feelings," Claude spoke. The four continued walking until they were outside the building for their food and lockers. "I have learned my lesson in loving Claude. I will not throw myself back into this cliche and have what is left in my heart torn into pieces," Felix replied as he tried to keep his face in pure frustration and his thoughts in denial. However, it wasn't entirely working mostly because of this conversation.

"You can't deny it bro, we can read you better than others and all that we can see is a lovesick puppy thinking that it was just the meat," Allan said as Allegra kept on rolling her eyes at Felix's answers. "Hon, we're not buying your bs right now. We all saw how you change around her. You definitely care for her and ever since she cracked you, you began to grow it," Allegra added. "Grow what?" Felix asked getting irritated at his friends persistent jabbings. "A love sickness that you obviously have bad," she continued with her banter.

"That is highly impossible. I am not interested in Marinette in a romantic way," Felix said trying to wrap his words in ice. "Oh, hi Netta, didn't see you there," Claude said which caused Felix to turn his attention to where the boy was, only to find their school mate Antoinette pass by. But Felix couldn't help but let a sigh of relief and disappointment cross his face. But when he turned he was faced with a poster of Marinette and her club's saying that they would be exhibiting their art and a small pageant for the young designers that will be held tomorrow, February 14. He couldn't help but stare at the bright eyed designer in her cute sailor outfit. He couldn't help but let his fantasies run wild until someone broke him out of it. "If you ask someone right now, they would definitely say that you have it bad," Allan commented as Felix scoffed. As he tried to deny and tell his treacherous heart to shut up and let his head think.

He then faced his friends with a glare and said, "Claude your department's that way." Claude then let out a huff and rolled his eyes at the blond and went to the direction Felix had been pointing. "But just face it and say that you're in love," he said as he continued walking. This made him roll his eyes at his friend and caught the scoffs of the other two. "You two just go before me. I need the bathroom," he stated as he made his way to the closest restroom. Once inside, he went into a cubicle, locking it and resting his back at the door as his stared at the ceiling. He sighed and dropped his head letting his thoughts run back to the past.

...

"Hey Felix~~," a bubbly voice called from behind. Irritation crossed his mind as he recognized that voice. The said owner of the voice took a seat next to him as he quietly made his research in the library. "What are researching on?" the bluenette asked as she looked over his notes. Annoyed by her antics, he closed his notebook and the other books as he began packing to leave the insistent girl. 

But this did not stop her as she stood up from her seat and went in front of him and waved two tickets directly at his eyes. "I was wondering if you don't have anything to do later, we can go to the theatres and watch this new movie, you know the one about 'The Little Prince' I saw you reading the book and I wondered if you would like to watch it. I'd even allow you to rant about it," she said in a hopeful tone. He then saw his friend at the back giving out yes signals. He let out a sigh and said, "Fine I'll go." This made the girl smile and jumped for joy as she gave him the details.

This was the start of the simple dates and happy experiences and, to his astonishment, love. Yes, after getting to know the bubbly happy girl he started developing feelings for the young girl. After about 10 dates he finally asked her to be his girlfriend. This made the girl tear up and engulf him in a tight hug after giving him a loving kiss on the cheek.

They had such a good relationship, it even got him out of his shell, slightly. He would be caught flirting in public and show a bit of PDA. He couldn't help it, he loved her deeply and wished that their relationship would last. He loved everything about her; her personality, her blue eyes, her long dark blue hair that were tied in twin tails.

Today was their second year anniversary, they were at the Ponte des Arts, just enjoying their time as they ate ice cream. He looked at the girl at his arm and smiled as he softly spoke, "Bridgette." She then gave a hum of response and looked up at him with a half smile. This made his heart drop as he realized that there was something troubling him. "Is there something bothering you?" he asked, scared of her answer. This made the girl sigh and let go off his arm as she took his hand and looked directly into his eyes. "Do you love me, Felix?" she asked, tad uncertain. This made his eyes widen and took both of her hands and kissed her knuckles and replied, "Truly, deeply, ardently and all the words that can increase the meaning of my love for you."

As he said that he notice a hint of heartbreak pass in her eyes. Just as he feared she lowered her gaze and removed her hands from his, as she stared at the ground. He then watched her eyes well up with tears as she brought her hands to her face to cry in. This caught him off guard as he put his hands on her arms wanting to hug her. But she pushed him away, this broke his heart as he watched his girlfriend cry in front of him and not wanting to be comforted by him.

After a few more sniffles she looked him in the eyes and said in between sobs. "I-I-I'm p-pre-pregnant," she said as he felt his world shatter. But slowly rebuild and a smile appeared on his face as he said, "It's alright, I know 16 isn't the ideal age to be parents, but I'd be glad to have a family with you." He then slowly placed his hands on her shoulders as he rubbed his hands up and down her arms in a comforting manner. (Side note: the age of consent in France is 15)

This didn't comfort the girl at all as she cried more. She then looked him with sad eyes and spoke, "T-t-th-that's the th-thing. T-the b-baby i-i ---." But she wasn't able to finish when someone pulled her away from him and glared at him. "What she meant to say is, the baby's not yours," he said with a smirk. This made him give a look of confusion and then realization came dropping on him. He then remembered that they had only done it twice and he was very careful, he had a condom on and made sure that it was of good quality.

He then looked at the two in front of him and asked, "I-is it true?" This made Bridgette freeze as she recalled this tone as his frightening tone from before they had been dating. She slowly nodded, afraid of meeting his gaze. "How long has this been going on?" he asked in his icy cold voice that set fear into anyone's hearts. Unable to answer the boy next to her answered for her, "Actually we had been getting it on since last Christmas and I claimed her long before you did," the Asian man said to him. He then turned his attention back to his "girlfriend" realizing that last Christmas she went back to Seoul(Let's just say that she's Korean  since  MLB was first released there. Another side note: Age of consent in South Korea is 16).

"Why?" he asked. However, she wasn't able to answer as she tried to hide in the arms of the other man. This made the shards of his earlier shattered world to break more at this action. Trying to keep his cool he then said, "Congratulations. I will back down for the both of you. I wish that you find happiness with him." With that he gave the man a killer punch and walked away, not wanting to notice the look the crowd was giving him.

...

He sighed at the awful memory not wanting it to happen again. He gave her his world, his dreams and his whole being. Thinking that she would do the same, but in the end she broke him, in the last way he thought she would. As he continued to think about it he felt tears prick his eyes, to which he immediately removed. His thoughts came rushing back to Marinette's sweet smile, comforting presence and lovable companionship. This got him sighing as he whispered to himself, "I've got it bad."

The day ended and the gang regrouped as they went straight to the bakery for final fittings. Felix walked quietly by Marinette's side as she began discussing about the adjustments she'd had to make with their clothes. Allegra began gushing about how amazing her designs are even without adjustments. Allan just told her not to worry and be confident in her talent, while Claude was just asking what treats her parents were handing out. Felix on the other hand had just been admiring her talk.

"Hey Felix, you seem out today. Are you OK?" Marinette asked him as she turned her attention to him. This caught him off guard when she turned her attention to him. He only gave her a curt nod as a light blush dusted his cheeks. They then arrived at her home and were all showered with affection by her ever doting parents who insisted that they all stayed for dinner.

The group was in her room as she made a few adjustments to the clothes she's supposed to present the next day. "Maddie this is amazing. I love it," Allegra cooed as she spun around in her white dress, which had three horizontal lines at the collar of the dress and the lower part of the skirt, close to the hem. While a navy blue jacket, sailor inspired, was matched with it, and to top it off, she wore a white sailors hat with her hair curled at the bottom part. "I'm glad you love it Allegra," Marinette replied as she beamed with pride. She then turned to the boys to find them standing with each other in a pose that they probably didn't notice. 

Claude wore a fit round neck white shirt with black horizontal stripes with white ankle length pants, and a black sheer scarf was placed around his neck, while a white hat with black lining topped off the look. "Do I look fat in this shirt? I feel that I look fat," he commented as he stared at the pattern, earning a laugh from the girls. "No, it doesn't. I mean you wear vertical stripes all the time," Mari commented. "You look fat all the time," Allegra added as the group laughed again.

Turning her attention to Allan, she could see that the denim fabric fitted him perfectly. The denim polo shirt with rolled up sleeves and tucked in his denim shorts, that was held by a brown leather belt made him look simple yet stylish, and just like the others he wore a captain's hat. "Well, if you feel fat, I feel like something's missing," Allan critiqued. This made Mari give a designer's look at it as she placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head to the left. "You're right, but what can make it look more complete?" she pondered as she eyed the clothing. After a second, she snapped her fingers and made her way to the other scarps of clothing she had sewn. "No, no, not that one. Nope. Ah! There you are," she stated as she made her way to her model and tied a handkerchief around his neck and tucked it under the collar. "Better," she stated as she looked at the finished product.

She then looked at her last piece, which was being modeled by Felix. She blushed at the sight of him in a form fitting white blazer that was open to reveal a dark navy blue color that had white horizontal stripes covering the bottom half of the shirt. His legs seemed to look more fit at the sight of the royal blue pants seemed to be showing the wonderful shape, since it was slightly fit. Although he looked a bit confused at the clothing as if uncomfortable. This caused her to be concerned at the possible mistake. "Is the fit alright?" she asked hesitantly. "The designs are fine, but like you said, it's the fit. But it's just the blazer, it's a bit tight on my shoulders," he commented as he pointed at the points to be fixed.

"Alright, I'll get it done, but I'm going to take your measurements again just to make sure," she stated as she went over to her desk to take her measuring tape. "Maddie, you wouldn't mind if we change out of this?" Allegra asked. "Sure go ahead and feel free to—," she began but was unable to finish when she saw the three race out of the room. Realizing what they had done she felt her face heat up a little bit as she faced the blond who was taking off the white blazer and folded it nicely and placed it on the chaise.

He looked up to find that they were the only people in her bedroom. He cursed his friends quietly at the betrayal as he watched her make her way to him. She began taking his measurements but found it difficult with his height. This made him chuckle slightly, surprising the young designer at the reaction. "You know you could stand on a stool considering your short stature," he said. "It doesn't mean that you're taller than me by 6 inches I'm already short," she replied with a huff. He then bent down to her level saying, "Everyone who is shorter than me, I consider short and small." 

This got him with a notebook slammed at his face as he saw an irritated Marinette. He then smirked and continued, "Considering that you are '6 inches' smaller than me, makes you seem like a cute munchkin that I can put in my pocket." He watched as she got more irritated at him as he insulted her height. He continued on bantering about her being shorter than him that he did not expect her to finally jump on him and say, "You know that fact that we only have a 6 inch gap makes it easier for me to jump on your back." The two continued roughhousing, forgetting about what they were supposed to do.

After a few more minutes of fighting, Felix got the upper hand and threw her up on her bed as he joined her and began attacking her with tickles. She began to laugh uncontrollably that she was having a difficulty to breath until she finally tapped out, which made him stop his attacks. He then got off her and laid down next to her as they began to calm down.

"Don't insult me with my height again," was all she could say before they got back to what they were supposed to be doing. "You're right, cause size doesn't matter," he jokingly replied as he turned to face her with his head propped up with his arm. This got her to roll her eyes at the blond as she also turned to face him. This was when they both became self conscious about their positions causing the two parties to blush uncontrollably.

Mari then let out a cough and said, "You should, um, y-you know, change." With that she got of the bed and began fixing the things that were out of place after their game.

...

It was the day for their clubs fashion show, and a lot of famous figures were there to watch. Well, that was to be expected from a prestigious school where most of the students were children from well off families. There they could see their parents along with their friends. But looking at the more out shining personalities in the crowd was also where they could find the Agrestes and their secretary, the Bourgeois family, Clara Nightingale, Jagged Stone and others.

Marinette can feel the excitement and the anxiety, and she can see that the rest of the club was also having the same panic. Their theme was "Summer and Beaches," with different sub themes from the designers. One designer had swimsuits, another had Hawaiin style, there was one that had a Tex-Mex theme, one was carnival themed, there was a bohemian theme, tropical, floral, animal and there was Mari's sailor theme.

She can see all of them were too anxious that they were able to dress their models to the T. There was also one of them that threw up because of the pressure. They then watched as one theme after another was called. When it came to her designs she saw the impressed looks of the audience, even from Chloe, although she probably doesn't know that it was her design. She even saw her former classmates looking at the designs as if for the first time. This pained her a bit since she made sure to incorporate her designer tag there but it doesn't seem like they noticed.

Once the show ended, the designers were called up front for their recognition. They were all trembling, nonetheless, were able to make it up front as they were applauded by their success. She could hear the excited cheers of her family and classmates and from a few personalities who seemed to be waiting for her appearance. She watched her former classmates' jaws dropped as they felt stupid not realizing that those were her designs.

After the whole exhausting show they were all dismissed as the group hugged and shook hands in congratulations. Mari was engulfed by her friends and were overly happy at her success. She hugged them backed and thanked them. They then went to their favorite cafe and celebrated. But one by one they left, leaving Marinette and Felix alone, again.

"Outstanding performance as all ways," he commented still trying to deny the rapid beating of his heart towards this girl. "Thanks, but I'd say the same for you guys, after all you guys modeled for me," she replied. This got their conversation moving and they were deeply enjoying each others company when unexpected guests came.

When they heard the door chime they didn't really mind until those people went directly to their table. Marinette froze at the sight of her former friends and classmates. She could feel Alya's glare as she stared blankly at her drink.

"Seriously Marinette, no note, no message. You just disappeared into thin air in the second semester not even telling me!" Alya exclaimed. Felix glared at the girl as he took Marinette's shaking hands into his and gave it a tight affectionate squeeze that gave her strength. Channeling her inner snarky self, she took a sip of the drink and said, "I saw no reason to tell you about it. It wasn't like I heard you all wish that I should just leave Lila for good, like transfer."

This made the rest of the class flush in guilt, except for Alya. "Really Marinette, are you going to turn yourself into the victim again. Can you stop saying that? We know that YOU wanted Lila out of school for good!" she accused. This just made Marinette look at her drink and begin tilting her cup in different directions as she answered, "Wow, you make it sound like I got Lila 'almost' expelled. It's not like I 'almost' got expelled for stealing her heirloom and taking the key to correction of our exam. Or I was the one who have that 'disease' that makes me spout out nonsense." At the end she moved her pupils to look at them to find them processing what she said.

"If that's all I think that we should go," Marinette stated as she set her finished drink down and took Felix's hand and began to leave. "Not so fast, Marinette. You are not leaving until Lila comes here and you apologize to her," Alya said as she grabbed her roughly by the arm. This infuriated Felix so he stepped in to intervene.

"Unhand her, now," he said as he glared at Alya. She in turn glared back at him and said, "Get your nose out of this." He then went fully in front of her, using his height as an advantage to intimidate her. He saw her slightly flinch but still did not comply. After showing no signs of letting go, he forcefully grabbed her wrist and tightened his grip making her let Marinette go because of the sudden pain on her wrist.

"Alya I'm here," they heard someone call. "Lila, great timing," Alya replied as she smiled and winced at the girl. She then turned back to the two and said, "Now, apologize." Marinette then asked, "For what?" This made the blogger more infuriated as she began recounting the times she had injured her, bullied her, humiliated her, insulted her, accused her and other forms of abuse. "Are you done?" she asked after she had recounted all of the 'times' she had attacked the Italian.

Before Alya could say anything, Felix cut in, "Now if you please, I would like to take my girlfriend out now. You lot have already  wasted our time and disrupted our date." "I don't give a damn about your fucking date," Alya seethed as she got more frustrated by the pair. "I know, but I'm sure you are interested in keeping your reputation," he said as he pointed at the customers who were filming and whispering about them. Nino then approached his girlfriend and tried to calm her down but it didn't help, it only made her more aggressive. Blind with rage, she threw a strong punch at Marinette making her nose bleed.

Felix then clapped his hands in sarcasm, which brought the lady blogger back to her senses. "Ma-mari, I didn't, I'm sorry," she fumbled. "Ladies and gentlemen, the blogger of the Ladyblog," was all Felix can say before wrapping and arm around Mari and helping her with her nosebleed as he took her out of the building.

...

Now, the pair was seated in her room, her on the chaise and Felix on the floor as he began tending to her. Once he patched her up neatly they settled down. Marinette shift uncomfortably in her seat as she had been replaying the scene in her head. But what she couldn't get rid of was how protective Felix was when he claimed to be her boyfriend. She blushed again at the thought.

"Are you alright?" Felix asked in concern when he saw her heat up. "Y-yep, OK me, no. Me OK. Wait, I mean, I'm OK," she stammered. Felix smiled at her as he shifted uncomfortably as well trying to forget what he said in the heat of the moment.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Mari spoke up, "So earlier at the cafe, things got out of hand didn't they." Felix only nodded not wanting this to go to that direction. Feeling his discomfort, Mari just got straight to the point. "W-when you said that I was your g-girlfriend, did you say it out of–," but before she could continue, Felix stopped her by saying, "I want you to be." This made them pause and look at each other in surprise.

This sudden realization and confession was not what Felix had in mind. So he turned his head to the other direction so to not see her face of discomfort. To his surprise, instead of rejection, he felt two arms hug his torso and a small body pressed against his side. He turned to find if it was what he think it was, Marinette hugging him tightly and resting her head on his shoulder.

"I-I'd like that," was all she could say that changed his world. Here he could see a woman who would not cheat on him for she hated liars and lying. Someone he could trust not to break his heart in the worst possible way ever. He did not see her in Marinette anymore. Now he saw the person Marinette is, a loyal friend and companion, an honest and trust worthy person who would not string him around because of guilt and displeasure.

This was all that he needed before he took her and kissed her sweetly not finding any resistance in her at all. That was all the confirmation they both needed until they found themselves sleeping next to each other, arms protectively around them and the lack of clothing was all they could think of as they relished in each other for they wanted the other more than they had wanted their pasts.

[wicked-hg]

Love, The Weasleys || g.w.

Day 12 of @jamilelucato and @whack-ed Very Harry Potter Christmas.

George Weasley x muggleborn!reader

Prompt: Writing Christmas cards

Summary: George never knew about Christmas cards until you.

A/N: This ended up being more about Christmas cards in general than writing them. Hope you all enjoy! I’m thinking about maybe writing more.

WC: 2.3k

Y/H/C- your hair color ; Y/L/N- your last name ; Y/H- your house (except Gryffindor. Sorry. I didn’t realize my mistake when writing this. You’ll understand at the end. Forgive me.)

First year George wasn’t expecting anything from you during Christmas break. You were a muggle-born he had met one day running away from Filch after getting separated from Fred. You two became friends as you became a silent partner and helped with their escape plans. George didn’t realize you had an owl. 

George opened the envelope and stared at the strange letter that had a picture on the front with reindeer pulling a fat man in red robes in a red cart. The front read “May all your wishes be granted”. George curiously opened the strange letter. A still photo of your family stared up at him. He moved it to the side. Printed inside was “Happy Christmas with lots of joy!” Signed underneath was The Y/L/N Family. On the opposite side was a note from you. 

George,

I hope you have a Happy Christmas with your family! I’m sorry I didn’t get you anything in time. I promise to have something for you on the train. Miss you lots dear friend!

Sincerely,

Y/N

“Mum, Dad,” George asked. “Do you know what this strange letter is? My muggle-born friend sent it to me.”

“That’s a Christmas card,” Charlie piped up. “We learned about muggle Christmas traditions before break. Muggles send cards out to family and friends during the holidays. Sometimes they send pictures and longer notes to catch up with people. It’s just a way to celebrate the holidays. Professor Quirrell didn’t really understand them.”

George nodded and stared at the card. He looked over at the picture of your family. You were in the middle with a giant grin and a red sweater. Peeping up from the bottom of the photo, he swore it was the beginning of a gold G. “I like these strange letters. Christmas cards you say, Charlie?”

———————

George stared out of the window in hope. Fred watched his twin while he sat on his bed and worked on pranks for their shop. “She doesn’t even know we’re here, Georgie. How can you expect Y/N to send you a Christmas card when she doesn’t know where you’re staying?”

“She will!” George argued. “She always does.”

“You didn’t tell her, did you George? It doesn’t matter that she is finally your girlfriend after you both finally got it through your thick heads.”

George shook his head. “I didn’t tell her. She knows we are not at the Burrow. She thinks we’re staying with Aunt Muriel. I told her to send the letter to the Burrow. Errol is there waiting for the trade off. Told her it was too far for Sova to fly the whole way.”

Fred shook his head. “You’re letting Errol deliver your happiness? Oh Georgie. You’re doomed.”

George stuck his tongue out at his twin before turning back to the window. Soon, he thought, Errol should be here soon. As if by magic, the shadow of Errol appeared in the distance. George scrambled to grab the owl treats he had waiting on the window sill. 

“Cmon, you stupid old owl. Come get the treat and give me that letter,” George almost shouted. Fred shushed him. The last thing either of them needed was for someone to wake up and discover what they are both up to. “Incoming, Freddie! He’s coming in hot!”

Fred quickly stumbled out of bed and grabbed a pillow as George made the window wider and grabbed another pillow to go under Fred’s. Errol blasted through the window and hit the pillow at Fred’s chest before falling onto the pillow George held underneath. George laid the treats next to the owl and snatched the letter. This year glittery snowflakes adorned the front with “May your life be full of flurries of happiness”. The inside read similar like every year with something about having a happy Christmas, the family signature, and the family picture. Just like always too, there was a note from Y/N. 

Darling George,

Give my love to your family. I do hope your father is okay and recovering well. I also hope that the hag of an aunt you call Muriel is treating you all well too. It was a bummer to end term without you, but alas I know I’ll be doing it once more. One of us has to have a diploma, even if I will end up working with you. Don’t throw a fit, my darling George. I know I can do more with my life, but this is what I want. I already made that clear to my parents. They’ve accepted my choice. Back to end of term. It was okay. It would have been better if Umbitch wasn’t there. She did leave me alone though...unwillingly. Somehow she kept getting fed your nosebleed nougats and lost quite a bit of blood. Hmmmm. Who knows how that happened. I certainly don’t, and neither do Peeves or that elf Dobby your brother knows. Mum and Dad and those idiot brothers of mine say hello. They’re all glad I finally officially have you as mine. Apparently they’ve always known too. Perhaps I should tell them the truth about our Yule Ball last Christmas and we went as much much more than best friends. I’ll give you your present on the train back. Take care, darling. Do enjoy your break. Miss you tons, but I love you more. 

Love always,

Y/N

George grinned at the card. “She’s brilliant, Freddie. Absolutely brilliant.”

——————

George was nervous as he handed Fred the card. It was still early in the morning. The Hogwarts express had gotten back the day before, which meant the holiday rush will be hitting soon. Y/N was managing the store with Verity while George and Fred were going over some inventory in the back. Fred stared at the envelope before gingerly opening it. He smiled at the card with a fireplace wishing him a warm and festive holiday. “Well finally, Georgie boy,” Fred grinned. “I was wondering how long it would take for you to tell the Y/L/N to include me in their list of Christmas card receivers.”

George didn’t say a word and just motioned for his brother to open it. Fred opened the card. Staring back at him was a muggle photo of Y/N and George. Both were grinning in the midst of pine trees. George’s arms were wrapped around Y/N and she was leaning into his chest. Fred moved the picture to be greeted with the typical Y/L/N family picture, but he very quickly noticed his twin was a part of the family photo. Moving the photos he saw the card was signed by The Weasleys, but it was in Y/N’s handwriting. On the left side of the card, Fred was greeted with the familiar sight of George’s writing. 

Forge,

Y/N told me I didn’t have to write you a note updating you on my life because we live and work together and see each other every day. But where is the fun in that? I want you to have a true Christmas card experience! We’ve been through so much this year, Freddie. I’m just glad I got to experience it with you along the way. As you can see, I’m a part of the Y/L/N Christmas cards now. Y/N is my everything. I have to thank you. Thank you for giving me the pushes to make her mine. It’s no lie written in the card, Forge. She’s gonna be a Weasley. Will you be my side as I celebrate my new life? There’s no one else I’d want. Let’s celebrate Christmas with a bang. 

Gred

Fred immediately looked up. “You serious, Gred?”

“Absolutely, Forge. There’s no one else for me, and with the war and her being a muggle-born. It’s just going to be a quick muggle ceremony. Once the war is over, we’ll do the real thing.”

“Why muggle?”

“She’s read about wizard tradition. She wants to experience that and have her family see it too. Besides, if we did a quick magic ceremony, her family wouldn’t be allowed to come. With a muggle ceremony too, if anything happens she can easily blend right in and be taken care of.”

“You sure about this, George? I’m not talking you out of it. I know she’s perfect for you, but I want you to be happy.”

George smiled and hugged his brother. “I am, Fred. I have everything I want right now. Her. You. The store. I just want to make her as permanent in my life as you are.”

Fred chuckled. “Well I am amazing. It’s only a given. But George, have you told mum and dad yet?”

“They’re getting a Christmas card from Y/N and I. All the family is. They also got one specifically from her family.”

“I meant do mum and dad know you and Y/N are getting married?” George stayed quiet. “Oh Gred. What have you gotten yourself into?

————————

George found you at the kitchen table writing a list. “Making a list and checking it twice, darling?” George joked. 

You smiled and kissed him. It was good to hear those little quips from him. When the war hit hard and Fred was killed, you worried he wouldn’t laugh again or joke. You feared the store would stay closed and layers of dust would settle over the products. It took George a few months, but they got the store up and going again. You knew he wouldn’t be the same without Fred, but it was good to see him somewhat the same again. “It’s what he’d want, Y/N,” he told you when working on cleaning up the store. “He wouldn’t want me to give up everything we’d ever hope for.”

“Very funny, George darling. I’m making a list of who we need to send Christmas cards too. My mum called and said the prints were in. Which reminds me, you need to make a list of which friends and extended relatives you want cards to go to and get their addresses.”

“We’re still doing this?”

You gave him a funny look. “Of course, darling. Why else would we have taken pictures with my family and gone to Selfridges to buy cards and some decorations?”

“Well I knew your family would still send cards out and that’s why they needed us there,” he answered. “They haven’t gone through a war.”

“But isn’t that why we should do this?” You asked. “So many people have gone through pain and sorrow this year. Let’s give them something to smile about, George darling.”

George gave another weak smile. “Fred loved the cards,” he whispered. “He always got excited when I got them and started bugging me 3rd year that he wanted to be in on it. He was so excited when I gave him his first card. I don’t know what I’ll do this year.”

You brought George closer to you. “You can still write him a Christmas card, George. The box is down stairs that you guys started your business out of. You can keep all the Christmas cards you write to him in there. It might sound weird, but I think it’ll be good for you. Include the pictures too. What do you think, darling?”

George kissed your cheek. “You’re an angel. You know that? You don’t think it’s weird?”

You shook your head. “I wouldn’t have suggested it if I thought it was. I think it’ll be good for you, George. It’ll be therapeutic in a way.” You pushed a card and envelope towards George. “This can be his. Why don’t you go grab your coat. We can go pick up the photos and then grab some lunch at the fish and chip shop down the road.”

“Maybe on the way back we can stop at that bakery by Flourish and Blotts,” he suggested. “I saw you looking at those cauldron cakes and strawberry trifles the other day.”

You grinned and kissed him. “Of course, Georgie darling.”

———————

“Y/N!” George shouted. “Where is the box? I have Fred’s card done.”

“Check the office, darling!” You answered. “I put it there so we didn’t lose it. I’m off to the station now. I’ll be back in a half hour.”

George entered his office and found the orange box he stored Fred’s Christmas cards in. A mouse wearing Christmas tree sunglasses and a Santa hat. He stuck the picture inside the card before putting it in the box. No longer was the photo of Y/N’s family included when sending out cards. Instead the photo was of George and Y/N wearing their Weasley sweaters. In front of them were two smaller red heads and a light haired Y/H/C also wearing their Weasley sweaters. 

George smiled as he put the box back on the book shelf. “Until next Christmas, Forge.”

———————

Dear Forge,

It’s been a crazy year. The last of this Weasley clan has joined Hogwarts. It’ll be interesting to see if the twins follow in our footsteps. Anya is in Gryffindor and Fred is in Y/H. Part of me is glad Fred isn’t in Gryffindor. It would’ve been cool, but this way I hope he will be able to forge his own path. Forge. Hah! Get it? Clara is studying for her OWLS this year. I found some of our old charms, defense, herbology, transfiguration, and potions notes. I let her into our little secret that we are quite smart but just never turned our assignments in. She was thankful. She’s definitely my daughter. She acts like me so much, but she’s definitely loud like you with that Gryffindor bravery. I miss you, brother. Y/N was right though; this has definitely helped me. Hopefully you get these wherever you are. Happy Christmas, Freddie!

Love, Gred and his Weasleys

[thewritewolf]

Mari Christmas And A Happy New Adrien

Summary:

Lost in the aftermath of Hawkmoth's defeat, Adrien loses complete track of time and before he knows it, the holiday season is upon him. Will a Christmas visit to his girlfriend's house be just what he needs to move on?

Hello and welcome to my piece for the @mlsecretsanta event! My giftee, @lesslinette, asked for among other things, Adrienette, family bonding, fluff and just a bit of hurt/comfort and I aimed to please!

I had to do a good amount of research into French and Chinese Christmas traditions (including interviewing my long-suffering French friend - thanks @emsylcatac!), so hopefully I didn't get anything *too* wrong.

Read on Ao3

Enjoy!

Marinette 💖: You still up?

Adrien: Yeah Still not sleeping great House was always too quiet Never thought it could get more quiet tho lol Whats up?

Marinette 💖: :( Just wondering what u were doing 4 xmas Since You know

Adrien: Since father went to jail and mom died again? Haven’t thought about it Guess ive still got time to figure it out

Marinette 💖: … ..Its the 23rd of Dec Like 2am Not a lot of time left

Adrien: oh Guess uh Stay at home?

Marinette 💖: Adrien Its been like two months Youve been going crazy in there Youll just be stuck in there all by yourself Why don’t you come over?

Adrien: I don’t know… I don’t want to bring anyone down Or ruin anyone’s christmas

Marinette 💖: Adrien ‘Kindest Boy in Paris’ Agreste

Adrien: Oh no she used my middle name

Marinette 💖: You are coming over tomorrow And letting me pamper you And letting my family - your REAL family - love you And that is the end of that ...Is that okay with you?

Adrien: Whatever you say ma’am

Marinette 💖: Good Be here no later than fifteen hundred Let me know if I need to pick you up

Adrien: Will do

Adrien laid back down, his face lit up only by the glow of his phone and the only noise in the room being Plagg’s snoring. Putting his phone to sleep, he turned over, closed his eyes, and honestly smiled for what felt like the first time in a long time.

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

Adrien reached the door to his girlfriend’s house with a gift under one arm, an envelope in his pocket, and a weak smile on his face. The latter wasn’t because of a lack of feeling on his part - the exact opposite, actually.

It had been hard to go to sleep after their conversation that night, a swirl of mixed emotions keeping him from getting the rest that he craved. Last night wasn’t much better and he was left exhausted. He’d even been half tempted to call and say that he couldn’t make it, but somehow that only made him feel worse.

So here he was. He’d shambled his way to the car, driven himself there through blurry eyes and frequent yawns, and turned the doorknob. Maybe they’d understand if he just dropped off the present and headed home.

Well, maybe not home, but just where he lived.

The instant the door opened, a wave of hot air buffeted him. Not only did it warm his freezing face, it brought all sorts of wonderful smells on it. There were the expected scents - baked potatoes, salmon, chicken. But then was something else, something a little harder to place.

After puzzling over it for a moment, he shook his head and stepped into the house. No sooner had he closed the door behind him than he heard some voices calling out from deeper inside.

“Wait, was that the door? The family wasn’t supposed to be over until tomorrow, weren’t they?”

“Tom, that has to be Adrien!”

There was excitement in Sabine’s voice that warmed his heart, but not quite as much as when he’d taken a couple steps into the house and was blindsided by Marinette bursting out of the living room to wrap him in a hug.

“Worried I might not show?” Adrien whispered after they parted from their kiss.

“Not even for a moment, chaton.” She smiled up at him before her eyes wandered down to his arms, a suspicious look on her face when she saw the one present. “Looks like you showed some restraint this year.”

“Of course!” At her continued doubting look, he added. “Come on, I’m perfectly capable of giving reasonable gifts.”

“Last year you tried to give me my favorite restaurant.”

“But I didn’t!”

“Only because I hid your checkbook and credit cards!”

Adrien snorted. “Details.”

Rolling her eyes, Marinette tugged on his coat sleeve. “Follow me, you ridiculous man. You can put your gifts under the tree, we’ll open them tomorrow.”

She led him into the living room, where their Christmas tree had been set up in all its glory. There were red paper chains wrapped all around it and a huge variety of homemade ornaments - including a few that he’d made in years past. Ever since he and Marinette had started dating, he’d been welcomed into their household with open arms. And even before that, they’d been nothing but kind to him.

His eyes poured over the tree, looking for one specific ornament. It didn’t take him long to find it - with its poor quality, it stood out among the beautiful glass orbs and painted baubles. His fingers brushed over the patches of glitter, a nostalgic smile spreading across his face as he took in the patterns of melted wax inside it. His first ornament. They’d barely been dating a few months when he’d made that one.

Had it really been four years already?

Arms wrapped around him from the side and he looked down at Marinette’s chin resting on his shoulder, peering up at him with big blue eyes.

“What’re you thinking about, hot stuff?”

“Old memories, that’s all.”

“Hmm…” She leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek. “You just about ready to make some new ones?”

“With you? Always.”

“You two want to come in and help us finish cooking dinner?” They both jumped when Sabine’s voice reached them.

Blushing, Marinette reluctantly let Adrien go and headed toward the kitchen. “Coming, maman!”

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

A few hours later and the four of them were seated around the dining room table. Some things had been moved around from what Adrien remembered from the usual arrangement, and a long table had been set up. Most of the spaces were empty - with the four of them, only about a third of the table was occupied. But while the chairs were mostly left bare, the table was not.

Even though he had helped make some of it, Adrien was still amazed at how good the food all looked when laid out on the table like this.

Most of it was pretty traditional, at least from what he knew. A lot of the time his experience with Christmas dinners were meals allowed to grow cold until he gave up on his father showing. But the roasted chicken was still steaming when they cut into it, the smoked salmon and toast still holding the heat of the oven on them. Add in the gratin dauphinois and this was just about the ideal Christmas dinner he could imagine.

Naturally, it got even better with Sabine’s contribution - spring rolls.

As Adrien shoveled them onto his plate, he asked Sabine, “Is this the only Chinese dish for today, maman?”

“Just you wait, dear.” She smiled over her plate. “Today was Tom’s turn to make dinner. Tomorrow will be mine and you’ll definitely have your fill then.”

“I can’t wait!” Adrien took some of the chestnut sauce to pour over his chicken. Which reminded him… He glanced nervously toward the oven. “I don’t suppose you made foie gras, did you?”

Marinette made a face and shivered.

Tom quickly shook his head. “Oh no, son. Back when Marinette was… what? Eight, nine? She found out how it was made and made us promise to never have it again.”

“Eleven years later and we haven’t broken that promise yet,” Sabine finished. “There are plenty of other foods in the world.”

“That’s good.” Adrien breathed a sigh of relief. “It always made me uncomfortable when my father ordered it.”

“Ordered, dear?” Sabine gave him a confused look.

“Oh, we never really cooked our own dinners.”

Tom’s jaw dropped. “Not even Christmas dinner?”

“Nope. Sometimes he’d have to order the dinner prepared the day before and then we’d reheat it the day of, since no one wanted to come into work on Christmas day, you know?”

“I see…” Tom shared a look with Sabine, but the meaning was lost on Adrien. “Well, you make sure you have your fill, son! We’ll be making more for tomorrow, so this is all for us.”

“Thanks,” Adrien said with a grateful smile.

The conversation meandered and for the most part Adrien was just content to listen in, drinking in the company after spending so much of his time recently just by himself. Well, mostly by himself. Marinette would visit whenever she could get the time between college classes and internships. Nino and Alya were more elusive, if only because they were outside the city so often these days.

But there was one person who was his constant companion, Adrien thought with a smile as he peeked into the breast pocket of his T-shirt…

...Only to see that it was empty. Maybe he’d gone to visit Tikki and the kwamis of the miracle box? Adrien was drawn out of his thoughts when Sabine directed a question at him.

“Are you ready for the pre-dessert snacks, dear?”

“Oh! Sure, yeah. What do you have?”

“You’ll love it!” Tom excitedly got up and hustled over to the kitchen, Sabine right behind him. He raised his voice to be heard as he went to the room next door. “We know how much you love camembert so…”

Adrien’s eyes widened. They didn’t…

Tom returned with a platter of cheeses in his hands and a frown on his lips.

“Something wrong, papa?” Marinette’s eyes glanced between Tom and the cheese platter.

“No, no… its just… I could have sworn I bought more cheese than this. And I was so sure that I had purchased camembert.” He rubbed his chin. “Ah well, there is more than enough for the three of us anyway.”

While Sabine set down a large bowl of salad in the middle of the table, Adrien glanced at Marinette. At his side, Marinette was biting her lips and pointedly staring into the middle distance, trying her hardest not to laugh. For his part, Adrien was frustrated that he couldn’t go anywhere without Plagg making a noticeable dent in the food supply.

His annoyance with Plagg was so great he almost didn’t enjoy the Yule Log that Tom had made for dessert. Almost, but not quite.

Once they were done with dinner, they cleared the table.

“So, how’d you like the meal?” Marinette asked as she dried off the dishes while Adrien washed them.

“Definitely better hot. And homemade.”

Marinette chuckled. “I’m glad the bar was so high for us. Really makes us feel like we accomplished something here.”

“How about…” Adrien bit down on his lips and narrowed his eyes in thought. “It was the most delicious meal I’ve had in months.”

“Ooo, now we’re getting somewhere.”

“Years even.”

“Good, good, go on.”

“I had never known food could taste so delicious until you graced me with your heavenly meals.”

Marinette’s eyes gleamed with restrained laughter, the hint of a barely contained smile ruining her deadpan. “Glad I could finally weasel how you really feel out of you.”

“Yeah you’re pretty good at that, aren’t you?” Hands still in the sink’s soapy water, he leaned over and planted a kiss on her forehead.

“No fooling around now, we still have to help put up the last decorations before we relax for the night.”

“What sort of decorations?”

“Paper lanterns and paper chains. That sort of thing.” At Adrien’s politely confused look, she added, “It’ll help make mom’s side of the family feel welcome. Plus they look pretty cool.”

“Well what are we waiting for then? Let’s kick this into overdrive!”

Adrien suddenly worked in a flurry, Marinette scream laughing as she got splashed with some of the water thrown up by his breakneck pace. Marinette could barely keep up between her giggling, but she somehow managed.

With the last fork, plate, and glass sparkling clean and put away, Marinette shook her head and dabbed at her slightly damp shirt with a fresh towel.

“You’re a dork, you know that?”

“So my girlfriend tells me.”

Adrien relished the sometimes quiet, sometimes loud evening he spent with the Dupain-Chengs. When he went upstairs and cuddled Marinette in the cozy darkness, Adrien felt only excitement for the next day

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

Morning came swiftly, but Adrien rose to meet the dawn’s first light with a smile on his lips and a spring in his step. Marinette was… a little less eager, but he managed to coax her out of the bed, eventually.

When they finally got down the stairs and made it to the kitchen, Sabine’s eyes widened and she even froze in the middle of folding one of her dumplings.

“Marinette? I’m surprised to see you up so early.”

Bleary eyed, her daughter simply jabbed a finger toward Adrien and grunted. Adrien rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled.

“I knew you’d be a good influence on her, sweetie.”  Sabine patted his cheek with a warm smile. “Now, once you’ve had some breakfast I’d really appreciate some help out here. From you especially, Marinette, since you know exactly how to do it the way I like it.”

“Can’t Tom help?” Adrien made some toast for him and Marinette, doing his best to stay out of Sabine’s way. “Not that I’m not willing to lend a hand, but he’s got to be pretty good at it after all this time, right?”

Sabine laughed and even Marinette cracked a smile. “You’d think so, but no. The man can make almost any dessert known to French mankind, but I’ve yet to see him finish one spring roll or dumpling in all our years of marriage. Just about the only thing I’m trusting him with today is the roasted pork.”

“Not even the cheese plate?” Adrien asked, tongue in cheek. To his surprise, Sabine shook her head gravely.

“We don’t make one for Christmas day. After all, everyone that is going to be here is from my side of the family and we’re all lactose intolerant.”

“Oh.” Adrien glanced at Marinette, who shrugged.

“I got lucky and got papa’s tolerance for it, I guess.”

“Huh… well, can I help?”

A few hours passed, most of which Adrien spent doing vital but unskilled cooking like stirring and kneading. Although they did let him try to fold a few dumplings. It ended up nowhere near as well done as Marinette’s, but she still gave him a kiss on the cheek for the good effort. From what he gathered, Tom had never even managed to get it to stay together.

They had just put the last batch in the oven when they heard a knock at the door, Sabine quickly taking off her apron as she rushed to answer it.

Adrien’s ears perked up when he heard a conversation in Chinese start up, but between him being a little rusty and them speaking so fast, he couldn’t pick out much.

A few moments later, Sabine walked back into the room with an older Chinese couple. Marinette pulled him towards them. Sabine put a hand on Adrien’s shoulder and introduced them.

“Adrien, these are my parents. My mother, Ling,” she said, gesturing towards the grey-haired woman currently hugging Marinette. “And my father, Zheng.”

The older man’s grey eyes sparkled with excitement as he held out a red envelope for Adrien, who just now noticed that Marinette had also been given one. He froze, eyes widening. Was he supposed to have gotten them something too? He hadn’t realized that anyone would be getting him anything, except maybe Marinette. There was a moment where he was about to decline but he took a shot in the dark and accepted.

The moment his hand touched the envelope, Zheng spoke in Mandarin, “Best wishes for the New Year!”

“Thank you very much!” Adrien replied automatically in the same language. While the finer points might escape him, Adrien was fluent in niceties.

Zheng’s eyes widened before he nodded sagely to himself. “Ahh, I see you’ve picked up some Mandarin from my daughter, yes?”

“Oh, no, sir. I’ve been studying since I was fourteen.”

Once again, Zheng’s eyes widened before he chuckled and looked knowingly at Marinette. “This one is definitely a keeper! I approve.”

Marinette’s cheeks were almost as red as the envelope, but she still smiled.

The bright, enticing red of the envelope made him want nothing more than to open it right then and there. But Adrien took a nod from Marinette, who had very pointedly left it sealed even as she refused to set it down. He chose to follow her lead as they all made their way to the living room.

While the Dupain-Cheng parents and the Cheng parents were getting settled there, Marinette volunteered them to go make some tea. Once they were in the kitchen and out of earshot of the new arrivals, Adrien held up his envelope with a raised eyebrow and curious look.

“You can go ahead and look at it now, it’s just not polite to do it right when you get it.” She carefully unsealed the envelope. “It's this Chinese tradition - good luck money for the new year, you know?”

Adrien followed her lead and found one ten, one twenty, and one fifty euro note inside. Glancing over, it seemed Marinette got the same. He was half tempted to just give her his euros since he didn’t have any need for it, but decided that might be tacky. If she would even take them at all. After stashing the envelopes away in a kitchen drawer, they came back with tea for everyone.

Over the next few hours, more and more family members funneled into the house. Adrien, used to seeing maybe four people during the holiday season, thought the room would be close to bursting after the first aunt arrived with husband and two kids in tow. But then came the uncle and his family, then the second aunt with her boyfriend and by the end of it fifteen people were packed into the living room. For some reason apples in boxes became involved? Adrien thought that was a pun but that was more his pun sense than his linguistic skill.

Before anyone could get too settled in, they finally got to opening presents. Despite his fears from the red envelope, no one else seemed to have gotten Adrien anything.

At least, none of the extended family had. The Dupain-Cheng family, however…

“Here you go, dear.” While the rest of the room was chattering among themselves, Sabine placed a package about as big as a shoebox on Adrien’s lap. Before he could react to it, Marinette had shoved a bag stuffed with packing paper.

“Let me go get your-”

Adrien felt a tug on his arm and looked down at Marinette seated beside him. “Open your gifts first and then we’ll open the ones you got us.”

“Okay, okay.” Adrien looked at the box on his lap and tore it open. He tilted his head in confusion as he lifted the fabric that he found there out of the box. His eyes widened when he realized it was an apron with ‘Kiss the Chef’ on it.

“Its for when you come over to cook with us!” Tom beamed down at him proudly. “Now you don’t need to borrow our aprons any more - you’ll have one of your very own!”

Adrien felt his eyes get misty and he bit his lips to keep himself from crying. After a few moments of pulling himself together, he managed to say, “Thank you, guys. I’m really looking forward to wearing it!”

“Speaking of…” Marinette prodded the bag she left with him.

“Right, right.”

Adrien removed the paper and pulled out what turned out to be a sweater, cream colored and decorated with mistletoes and black cats in red scarves. It felt amazingly soft as he slipped it on over his head, embraced in a warm hug that - he lifted the fabric to his nose and took a deep breath - yes, smelled exactly like Marinette. For now at least.

“Do you like it?” Instead of replying, Adrien wrapped his arms around Marinette and pulled her close to him, nuzzling his nose against her neck. Giggling, she smacked his arms lightly. “I’ll take that as a yes, now let go!”

After he pulled his arms back, he stood up and stepped between the Cheng family members and made it to the tree before heading back to the little corner of the living room that they had claimed. He passed the envelope to Tom and the box to Marinette.

“A… gift card for an appliance store?” Tom said, his brow furrowing.

“I wanted to get you an actual new stove because you’re always upset at it,” Adrien explained in a rush, feeling embarrassed that his gift felt so… impersonal compared to theirs. “But when I went to the store I had no idea what actually made a good stove and searching it up on the internet only made it more confusing and… yeah,” he finished lamely.”

He glanced up at them and felt better to see them smiling back.

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Adrien! Thank you, we’ll make good use of this.”

Beside him, Marinette began opening her gift, which Adrien was much more excited for. Not because he had spent any less for it, but because that at least he knew exactly what to get.

He knew he’d done good when she gasped as she pulled out the expensive fabric she’d once stared at longingly from the otherside of a store’s window in Paris. Which, of course, meant that he was also expecting the smack on his arm from her as well.

“Adrien! This is expensive! You definitely shouldn’t have bought this.”

“Actually, you’ll remember that I get to spoil you exactly three times a year - birthdays, Valentine’s, and Christmas.” He gave her the most innocent look he could manage. “So you like it then?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You know I absolutely love it, you cat.”

“Then that’s great!” He continued with the overly chipper and oblivious tone, knowing how much it bugged her. He rubbed his hands together. “So… when’s dinner?”

-----------

After a Christmas dinner packed with Chinese dishes, they slowly returned to the living room.

Adrien sat in a corner of the room, taking in the warm and inviting atmosphere, the excitement and energy of so many people gathered together in such a small space.

Holding Marinette close, Adrien felt like he was part of a real family for the first time in a long time.

[fruitydiaz-archived]

that’s my boy

eddie slips up after a successful rescue on a call and, while looking at buck looking beautiful and overjoyed, says “that’s my boy” to himself. except chim, hen, and bobby are all there when he says it.

buddie, pre-relationship, sweet fluff, pining

2,184 words

AO3 link

—

That’s my boy.

Eddie doesn’t mean to say it. It’s not like it’s even a phrase that he thinks often — not in regards to Buck.

Okay, so maybe, every once in a while Eddie will look at him doing something that is so whole-heartedly Buck — like performing a rope rescue when an apartment complex is on fire, or risking his life to save his ex-girlfriend’s fiance because he made a promise, because he’s always ready and willing to fall on the sword for the people he loves, even after they’ve hurt him, (Eddie wishes he wouldn’t do that so often, actually, but he understands), or organizing a Christmas party with Athena and inviting his whole family because he knew how upset they were that he wouldn’t be spending Christmas with them, or building gingerbread houses with Chris and Denny — and being happy to do it nonetheless. Just occasional things like that that make Eddie pause and make pride swell up inside him and remind him just how much he loves this man — despite all of the stress and anguish he causes him on a regular basis.

Which, is also, not something he thinks about often. The love thing, that is. The stress and anguish — that’s constant.

But when they’re on a call and Buck is ripping his helmet off, wiping the sweat from his forehead, skipping after the ambulance as it pulls away, overjoyed that his on-his-feet thinking and bull-headed determination saved yet another life, Eddie can’t help it when he smiles fondly, shakes his head, and chuckles to himself.

“That’s my boy.”

He doesn’t really process what he’s said until he looks back up and sees Hen, Chimney, and Bobby all staring at him. Chimney’s stopped chewing on his gum, mouth hanging a little open, Hen’s frozen with one perfectly manicured eyebrow raised, and Bobby’s looking at him with that look he gets when another imaginary piece of some metaphorical puzzle that only he is privy to falls into place. He tends to look at Eddie like that often, especially around Buck.

Eddie just stares back at them, tilting his head to the side a little, and pursing his lips.

“Your boy?” Hen prompts eventually, an amused grin slowly spreading on her face. Eddie feels his cheeks warm but shakes his head in confusion.

“What? I didn’t say—” Chimney starts shaking his head violently, cutting Eddie off.

“Nope, nope, you definitely did say those words.”

Eddie opens his mouth to argue that no he didn’t otherwise he would remember and also he’s never once said those words about Buck out loud so, of course, he wouldn’t — but Bobby holds his hand up, silencing all of them. Eddie tries hard to convince himself that the smirk on Bobby’s face isn’t also amused, because he likes to think that Bobby’s above all that. He’s their Captain, after all.

“Alright, you guys. Let’s wrap this up, okay?” Bobby says gently, gesturing to the scene in front of them. Eddie nods, avoiding making eye contact with either Hen or Chimney.

He does sneak a glance at Buck, eventually. He can’t really help himself. Buck’s like a magnet for him. He’s pretty sure he’d be able to spot Buck instantly, in any crowd, on any day. It’s partially this itch he has, this need to know where the people he cares about are, at all times, just to know that they’re safe. But also, there’s just a natural gravity that Buck has. Eddie always finds himself being pulled closer and closer.

It’s golden hour and Buck’s leaning against a post on the side of the street, talking to Athena and Bobby, making exaggerated gestures with his hands as he relays what just happened to them, even though they were right there with him. His hair looks soft and tousled, like it always does when he pulls his helmet off at the end of a call. The sunlight is hitting it just so, illuminating the edges of it and making it glow golden, like a halo around Buck’s head. Warmth blooms in Eddie’s chest at the sight.

That’s my boy.

When he turns back to the scene Hen and Chimney are smirking at him again. He rolls his eyes, finishes packing up, and spins to jog back to the truck.

Eddie likes to make his home in denial. It’s an island that keeps him safe, keeps him away from all of the things that could hurt him — like the reality of his feelings.

He’s known for a while that he feels something for Buck — he’s just not always sure what that feeling is. The thing about his feelings for Buck is that...not only are they absolutely terrifying to him — but they’re also confusing. He doesn’t fully understand his feelings because he’s not sure they're anything he’s ever felt before, not all at once, at least. He wasn’t expecting this — not from Buck.

Eddie doesn’t let a lot of people get close to him. It’s just a thing that he developed in his childhood that got stronger over time, the more he experienced loving and losing people. You don’t let people close, you don’t get hurt when they leave. That’s a simple fact.

But Buck hadn’t listened to that. Buck didn’t care that Eddie was scared of letting him in only for him to leave — because for Buck leaving wasn’t even an option. He had fucked up once and he spent every single moment since doing his damned best to make sure Eddie knew that he was ride or die, with him ‘till the end of the line. And he meant it, Eddie knew that.

So it could be easy for Eddie to look at Buck and be grateful that he has a friend like that, a support system that, no matter how hard either one of them tried, they couldn’t fuck up. But Eddie’s never felt the way he feels about Buck for anyone, ever. He had close friends in his childhood, and they always said they would be together forever, but none of them were around anymore. What did they have to base their loyalty off of, anyway? It was never serious when they said it, it was kid stuff.

And in his adulthood, most of his friends were from the army. They shared a lot of experiences that nobody else would understand, and came a lot closer than your average friendship, given the circumstances, but none of them made Eddie feel the way he does about Buck.

Certainly, no one looked at Christopher the way Buck did, save for his own family, and that was enough to throw Eddie’s entire body into some strange whirlpool of emotions he rarely let himself get swept up in.

Chris was Eddie’s entire world. He wanted to protect him from every hurt imaginable, even when he knew he couldn’t. Sometimes that protectiveness led to him making mistakes — but he was a parent and that was bound to happen, and he had to learn how to adjust, how to step back, and let Christopher find out things on his own. He had to let him get hurt, sometimes, and then encourage him to get back up.

But the hurt Eddie wanted to protect him from most of all was the hurt of abandonment. He never wanted to let another person into his life again, not without knowing that they would stay.

And Buck? Buck would do anything for Christopher. He never even had to say it because Eddie just knew. He said it in all of his actions, the way he walked all day after the tsunami, bleeding from his arm, collapsing in exhaustion only after he saw that Chris was safe. The way he encouraged him to never give up, to find a way to do whatever he wants. He loves Chris, and that makes Eddie love him even more.

He’s loved people before. Even if he’s not one to say it often, not in those words at least, he recognizes it when he feels it. He loves his family, his parents, his sisters, his aunt, his Abuela — even when they’re overstepping his carefully set boundaries. He loved the guys in his unit. He loved Shannon, he loves Christopher. He loves everyone at the 118, the family he chose.

But Buck is something different. Buck is something he’s never felt before.

When he realized he loved Shannon, it was like a hurricane that came out of nowhere, rushing over him, drenching him in its rains, pulling him in every direction, and leaving him entirely breathless. She was a perfect storm of love and chaos. One that he doesn’t regret, but one that he’s pretty sure he doesn’t want to experience again. He’s not sure he could survive that kind of devastation again.

But Buck wasn’t anything like that, even though Eddie’s pretty sure that he should be, with all of his fierce love and reckless abandon. Eddie realized he loved Buck like watching a sunrise, slowly, gradually, growing warmer and brighter over time. He was a sight that made your chest ache from its beauty, one of those things that made you feel lucky to be alive, one of those things that made you feel like you were blessed to witness it.

He left Eddie feeling stunned and off-balance, but warm, and comforted at the same time. The thing about sunrises was that you could always count on them to come back around the next day. No matter what storms the night before brought, the sun was always there in the morning.

Buck made Eddie feel safe.

That’s my boy.

He’s packing up his gear in the truck when he spots Buck out of the corner of his eye, jogging towards him. He pretends to ignore him, ducking his head and smiling to himself as he shuts the door on the truck.

“Hey man, did you see that?” Buck says as he approaches Eddie. His voice is light and airy, like he’s a little out of breath from the jog over, which would make sense since he’s still got at least 70 pounds of gear on him. But he doesn’t look bothered by it at all. He just clasps his hands together and smiles at Eddie with that giant, overly pleased, and just on the verge of shy smile — the one he always shares with Eddie.

Eddie leans against the truck casually, crossing his arms and nodding at Buck, smiling.

“Yeah, I saw it. You did good, kid.” His heart constricts at the way Buck lights up at the praise. It’s times like these where he wants nothing more than to reach out and touch him, card a hand through his hair and then bring him in gently, tucking Buck’s face into his neck and holding him close, whispering all the words of encouragement he never got to hear when he was younger.

But he settles for this, standing at arm's length and keeping his praise to a minimum.

“We did good,” Buck corrects, punching Eddie’s shoulder lightly. “We make a good team.”

The team, Eddie knows, consists of Bobby, Chimney, Hen, Buck, and him. But when Buck looks at him like that, when he says things like that, it makes him feel like it's about just the two of them.

Buck’s matching his position, leaning against the truck now, looking down at Eddie with his flushed face and his sweet smile. It’s like they’re the only two people in the world. It’s an intoxicating feeling, so addictive that Eddie often wishes that he could just let himself get lost in it, soak up all of the love and attention that just radiates off of Buck, stretch out in the sunlight and just let it warm him all over, be utterly and unashamedly selfish with it. To relish in that love that he’s not always sure he deserves.

He opens his mouth, not sure what exactly he’s going to say next, when Hen appears behind him, patting him on the shoulder.

“Hey, Eddie, you and your boy ready to head back home or are you just gonna stand there looking pretty all night?” She shoots him a sly grin over her shoulder as she passes by them to climb into the truck. Eddie freezes a little at the teasing, not sure what he’ll say if Buck turns to him, tilts his head, and asks what did she mean by your boy?

But he doesn’t tilt his head in question at all. His eyes lock with Eddie’s for just a second and the corners of his lips twitch like he’s fighting a smile. Eddie feels his breath get trapped somewhere in his chest and then Buck turns away and disappears into the truck.

He hangs back for a bit, struggling to catch his breath again, nodding at Chimney and Bobby as they brush past him. Bobby pauses before he rounds the truck, looking back at Eddie with an amused smile.

“You good, Diaz?” He calls. Eddie looks away before nodding, waving a hand, and pulling the door open.

“All good, Cap.”

[what-the--curtains]

In a Week

Part 1/4 - A storm blows into town

(Frankie “catfish” Morales x f!reader)

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

Summary: a drive down to a friends wedding gets complicated when you fail to head a warning.

Authors notes: Hello! Another fic cause it keeps snowing here and I’m SICK OF IT but wouldn’t mind it if I was stuck with Frankie💕. Anyways hope you enjoy as always comments are welcome but be nice!

TW: mentions of dead sibling (war related), swearing, mentions of a toxic relationship (based off of personal experience)

Tagged list: @agingerindenial

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~There was nothing worse than a February wedding, well at least one that took place in the frigid northern temperatures you were currently residing in. So you were eternally grateful that your best friend Stella had chosen to have hers down in sunny south Carolina where she had just accepted her first permanent hospital position. She was marrying her first love, a fact you’d usually cringe at but, they were extremely cute together. Stella had met Genevieve through her brothers Will and Benny, well more specifically Will, who had drunkenly run his head through a window one night. This incident resulted in two things, first a nickname that would stick with Will for the rest of his life and a late night call to Stella asking her to come down to the hospital to pick him up. The boys had put Stella down as their emergency contact in an effort to keep their antics hidden from their parents who they knew would only worry. The nurse patching up her idiot brother was none other than Genevieve who was working through her university's clinical course, and the rest? Well, the rest was history

You’d met Genevieve, as well as Will and Benny, sporadically throughout the 8 years you had roomed with Stella, first during your undergraduate degree at Boston University and then again at Stanford while attending medical school. You’d choses Stella as a roommate without much thought, but after just a few weeks together you were inseparable up until the day that you were assigned to your residency. You were slightly jealous when you found out that she would be spending the next four years in the warm embrace of Carolina (and Gen) while you would be living alone throughout the freezing Chicago winters. The pagne of jealousy didn’t last long though, Chicago med was your first choice after all. So here you were, in the last year of residency and in the middle of a brutal -20 degree winter, preparing to drive the 13 hours down to watch Stella get married. You’d considered flying but you knew how fickle airplanes could be in the winter and the last thing you wanted was a delayed flight because a door had frozen shut. Your friends had tried to convince you that driving down alone was far too dangerous a venture and none were more concerned than Santiago Garcia.

You’d known Santiago your whole life. Him being your brother's best friend resulted in him spending a lot of, some may argue too much, time at your house throughout both your childhoods. Your brother, Parker, was 8 years your senior, an age gap that often resulted in an argument over which one of you was the accident. An argument which usually ended with an agreement that in all likelihood you both were. Every summer from before you were born to the time they left for the military the two boys were a constant presence in your life. Hell, even after he left you’d watched him grow as he passed through your household over Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. One thing was for sure, if Parker was there Satiago Garcia wasn't far behind. He was also there the day you received the news that your brother had gone MIA and he was by your side at the funeral, as you watched the commanding officer hand your mother the flag your brother had died for. After the funeral, life continued to move on around you as did everyone else. You always found it funny how quickly you were supposed to recover from loss, apparently a week was long enough to get over it. At least according to the university and your employers who had started calling with empty condolences that quickly led to the real reason they were calling. Always wanting to know when you’d be coming back. After your brother's passing, Santiago took over his role of big brother to you. He read over your med school applications, scared off potential boyfriends and got all the embarrassing video footage of you at your graduations. He was a permanent fixture in your life, one you hoped you’d never lose. Even now as he continued to blow up your phone in an attempt to sway you from driving up alone, you were thankful for him. Over the past 5 days he sent you lengthy lectures in the form of voice messages and a slew of articles detailing the statistics of winter related accidents. His name pops up on your screen as does a picture you’d taken one night after he'd passed out drunk and you’d stuffed cheetos up his nostrils, an act he has yet to forgive you for. You contemplate ignoring the call, but knowing you were about to go radio silent for the next 8 hours you decide to pick it up.

"Hey Santi what’s up?" you ask, as you half heartedly spread cream cheese onto a poorly toasted bagel.

"Have I ever told you how much I value your friendship?” Even over the phone you could hear the layers of charm he was currently plastering on.

"What do you want?" you say, tossing the knife into the sink.

"Hey! Who says..." he starts, but you don't let him finish.

"Santi I've known you long enough to know your ‘please I need something’ tone by heart" you laugh.

"Okay well I still value you, but ya I absolutely need a favour" Santiago admits.

"Shoot." you say taking a bite of the bagel.

"I need you to pick up a friend of mine, his flight got cancelled. He's in Chicago at the moment, can you drive him down to the wedding?"

"Ughhh are you kidding me Santi? I’m just about to leave" you say through a half chewed mouthful.

"Please! He’s a great guy, Gen wants him at the wedding, he was in basic with us, so a frequent visitor to the hospital. He's usually pretty quiet so you won’t have to spend that much time making small talk, which I know you hate." He pleaded. For anyone else a last minute change like this would have gotten a laugh, and nothing more, but this was Garcia, and you knew he’d do anything for you, so you’d do this for him.

“Fine” you begrudgingly agree “text me his number, I'm heading out in 40 minutes so he'll have to wait at the airport for a bit" you say, finishing your breakfast.

"You’re a godsend! Seriously, what would I do without you?" He chuckles.

"Nothing good i'm sure, besides I figure I probably owe you like, 1000 favours after you

know....'' the phone goes quiet. Five years later and it still stung like it was yesterday, for you both. He was your family, but he was Santiago’s best friend, you knew the loss was equally as devastating for him. You also knew he'd been having a particularly hard time recently, after what he termed a mission gone wrong a few years back. Every time you'd ask about it he’d shut you down harshly refusing to share any details with you.

"You don’t owe me anything. We're family. Thank you for driving him. I owe you a drink at the wedding!" He responds, back to his chipper self. If it wasn’t for the silence he may just have convinced you that he really was doing fine. You toss the phone on the counter and rub your temples mentally rearranging your entire itinerary for the day. You'd already rifled through the gym bag that was constraining way more clothes than you’d need for the week. Everything you needed was there from bathing suits to your wedding outfit to the special lingerie you’d packed in case you ran into an old flame. If by in case you meant, for when you ran into him. You don’t know how but he’d gotten invited to the wedding reception. Stella hated the guy, so it must have been through Genevieve who likely would have felt bad excluding him, even if he was only a friend of a friend.

You’d met Jonathan in your undergrad and you had been together throughout various points in your life, though never in any official sense. He’d made that evidently clear to you at any opportunity he got. He kept you on a short leash, a retainer if you will. Only coming to you between relationships with women that he deemed worthy enough to be his girlfriends. You knew it was toxic, and your friends constant reminders of how unhealthy it was didn’t fall on deaf ears. The way he would use you and lose you always ended with you being an unstable and emotional wreck, only solidifying his claims of you being crazy. You hated it, the way he made you feel so small, but he held this strange power over you. A power not even you could explain. His redeeming qualities could only be found in the bedroom, he was the best you’d ever had, so you forgave his shitty personality. Always gravitating back towards him, restarting the cycle. You knew what it meant to do the same activity over and over expecting different results, but this was different. At least that's what you told yourself, as you’d traced your hands over the lingeries lace that morning, knowing it was bought for a man who would never appreciate it.

Brushing all thought of him aside for the time being you grab the duffle off the floor and sling it over your shoulder. Walking out into the cold February air you watch as your breath transforms into a small cloud in front. Your chest hurts and nose hairs freeze as you inhale, tossing your bag into the back seat before leaning into the car and starting it up. The engine sputters for a moment before breaking out into a loud rumble, maybe it was a good thing someone else would be in the car with you after all. You jog back inside to your townhouse and grab the cooler where you’d stored the snacks and sandwiches you’d prepared for the road, now realizing it likely wouldn’t be enough to feed two people. Tossing on your winter jacket you lock the door behind you and slide your sunglasses down over your eyes shielding them from the afternoon sun as you make your way into your car.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You pull up to the departure gate still cursing at the idiot who had almost smashed into you while they were going the wrong way down a one way street. You hated driving in the city and you couldn’t wait to get out on the open road, even if it was going to be with a total stranger. You find yourself second guessing your decision to drive down state with someone you’d never met. In all reality, even if Santi was vouching for him, he could be a serial killer, plenty of people had nice things to say about Ted Bundy before he got caught.

You shake off the nervous feeling taking over your body, deciding to put your faith in your friends judgment, at least for now. Worse comes to worse you had a pocket knife stowed within reach. As long as he didn’t complain about any playlists or podcasts and understood your need for complete silence from time to time, you’d get on just fine. Besides it was only a 13 hour drive, and you could put up with anything for 13 hours.

You open up your phone and pull up the conversation you and Santiago had been having, scrolling up until you see the contact he’d sent you which read “ Catfish”. You click on it hoping to get the guys real name as a result but no luck, you should have asked Garcia for more information about this “Catfish” guy. You click on the number opting to call, not wanting to waste time wondering if he’d gotten the text you’d sent. The phone rings a few times before you hear someone pick up.

"Catfish?" you say, less confident in yourself than you had been dialing.

"In the flesh, who's this?" the deep voice responds.

"Your ride, Santiago’s friend" you offer, hoping that this wasn't some elaborate prank.

"Oh shit ya, Pope told me you’d be later than you said. I'm still downstairs" he says.

"Of course he did the little shit" you mutter, causing Catfish to laugh "Im outside now, departures second floor"

“I'll be out in a second" he says, hanging up the phone before you can say anything else.

You plug your phone back into the aux setting it back to the playlist you’d made last night during another bout of insomnia. You're checking your email to see if anything came up from the hospital when a tap at the window causes you to jump. As you look over you see the man who must be “Catfish” gently tapping on the glass. You unlock the door, popping the trunk as you slide out the driver's seat.

“You can put your bags back here. Fuck!" you exclaim when you trunk won’t open, likely having frozen shut again.

"Here" he says dropping his bag on the salted pavement and heaving up on the trunk freeing it from its icy constraints with a relative ease causing him to smile down at you.

"I loosened it" you say defensively, as he tosses his bag in the back still grinning when he

slams the trunk shut.

"Fransico Morales, though most people just call me Frankie" he says as you sit back down in the driver seat rubbing your hands together to warm them and applying some chapstick.

"Y/N, nice to meet you Frankie, seat warmers are here, use as your leisure. There are snacks in the back, but no touching the phone.” you rattle off.

“Aye aye captain” he responds, saluting you.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Santiago was right, Frankie was quiet. He offered you little in conversation or any noise at all really. You’d only heard him laugh maybe twice, once while listening to a podcast episode and then again when Britney Spears made her appearance on your soundtrack. "What? She’s America's sweetheart" you say trying to sound offended, but smiling when you notice his lopsided grin. You’d attempted to open up a dialogue with him a few times, but his one worded responses told you all you needed to know, so you stopped forcing it. It wasn’t a hostile environment, it was more of a comfortable silence one that you usually only found in people you had known for years. The silence gave you an opportunity to study the man’s features, glancing away from the road every now and then to slowly piece together his profile. You had pegged him as attractive the second his face had appeared in your passenger window, but it wasn't until now that the details that made him so could be seen; relatively tall, tanned skin, soft curls, deep brown eyes. Glancing over again you notice a concerned look spread across his face.

"What?" you ask, nervous that you’d creeped him out with your excessive, and not so subtle staring.

"Storms coming our way" he says, nodding up at the darkening sky.

"We’re not supposed to get snow for another week, I checked” you reassure.

"Things change" he says

" Sky’s clear, so we don’t stop for another 3 hours" you say, definitively.

" Your funeral, well mine as well I guess" he chuckles, earning him an icy glare from you.

“It's nothing, trust me” you affirm, confident in your ability to read a weather app.

" No one likes a know-it-all" he mutters still grinning.

"Could you help me with something" you ask smiling sweetly

"Sure" he responds, eager to help.

"Pull up the map and show me when I asked for your opinion"

"Eyes on the road” he says, causing your grip to tighten around the wheel.

Well crow wasn’t your favourite food to eat, but here you were eating it. Turns out Frankie was right. A storm was heading your way and it hit hard and fast. You’d managed to make it to a hotel off the freeway just as it came into full effect. What had started as a very pleasant road trip had quickly soured when you refused to apologize for not heading his warning. This paired with the 6 hours you had already driven had left you both irritable so much so that Frankie was now refusing to be any use in respect to figuring out what your next move was going to be.

"Hi" you say to the equally tired looking receptionist. Apparently, every other person travelling through Illinois had also missed the memo about the storm and were now all stuck at the same hotel.

"Hi, so sorry for the wait" she says, forcing a smile in a way that you recognized from your retail days.

"No need to apologize! What are the odds you have any rooms available?" you ask rubbing your eyes in an attempt to keep them open.

"Let me check, we have one... suite left on the... fourth floor” she says after a few moments of typing away into the computer.

"Perfect we’ll take it." you say, tapping your credit card to the machine. You walk back over to Frankie who was sitting with the bags and hand him a room key. He exhales deeply, not looking up from his phone as he takes it from you.

"There was only one room left so we’ll have to share" you say.

"Fine," he says, standing up, grabbing his bag and heading over to the elevator not bothering to wait for you. You watch as the elevator doors open and close behind him. Sure maybe it was your fault that you were stuck in this situation, but that was pretty rude. You push your way into the room after struggling with the key for a moment. Frankie must have been eager to get to sleep, or at least eager to not converse with you as he’d wasted no time in unpacking his bag and getting ready for bed. Your eyes move from the clothes on the floor, to the suit hung up in the closet, to the closed bathroom door. You hear the toilet flush and watch the door open as you drop your bag down onto the living room floor, grabbing the toiletries out of your bag's side pocket. You were far too tired to wrestle down to your pyjamas so you opted to stay in the leggings and sports bra you’d been wearing all day. Yes it was gross, but you couldn't be bothered to change at this point. Your eyes follow Frankie as he exits the bathroom in a green cotton t-shirt and a pair of plaid boxer shorts. You continue to watch as he plugs his phone in and shifts beneath the covers. Guess you were on the floor then. The couch was far too small, and you really weren't trying to break your neck sleeping on its arm rest.

"Pass me a pillow" you huff, as you grab a glass from the nightstand, turning back around to fill it up with water from the sink.

Why?" he asks, watching you take a sip from the overfilled cup.

"So I can sleep on the floor." you state, as if it was obvious.

“No, I’ll do that, you can have the bed" he says shifting up and pushing the blankets off himself. He hadn’t realized you were so averse to sharing a bed with him, but you had just met so he guessed it was fair enough.

"I’m not the one with the bad back old man" you state, the words sounding a lot harsher than you’d intended, but you were younger and thus more likely to recover.

"Fair point, but you’re not sleeping on the floor. Santi wouldn’t allow it. We can put up a pillow barrier between us if that would make you feel more comfortable" he offers, any hostility you had felt from him earlier now turned to tenderness. In all honesty, you hadn’t realized that sharing the bed was an option.

"I need two to sleep with so no point in making a barrier" you say, begrudgingly placing the glass back down on the nightstand "Shift" you say, fanning your hand.

"No" he says looking you dead in the eye "I got here first" he’s grinning slightly, further indicating he’d gotten over his anger from earlier. You could have just walked around to the other side, but for some unknown reason you don’t. Instead, you swing your leg over him pushing yourself up onto the bed, straddling him for the briefest moment before rolling over to the other side.

"Couldn’t have just walked around?" he chuckles

"Couldn’t have just shifted over?" you parrot back, moving onto your back, closing your eyes and dozing off.

[writingsfromhome]

Winner’s Choice

A/N: I only have series-type ideas in mind, so I’m trying to write out short one-shot type fics instead just to pump the breaks a little. Any ideas are welcome but here’s my go at this: you lost a drinking contest to Harry and winner decides a tattoo for the loser...

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

"3...2...1...GO!"

I lift the mug to my face and down the beer, ignoring how it splashes over the new top I had worn today. I should've know going out with Harry & Co meant I was getting messy.

Just a second apart, I slam my mug down.

"That was Harry!" The crowd shouts. "Harry's won!"

"It was tied!" I try to shout, ignoring Harry's smug face as his ego rises with the crowd's voice.

"I say rematch!" I shout.

"Don't be a sore loser, love!" Harry shouts at me. I stick my tongue out and hold my empty mug up, declaring louder I wanted a rematch. My swimming head tries to reason with me that it may not be a good idea but I needed to redeem myself.

Harry and I were good friends, I worked as an actor in the industry he dabbled in. And when he laughed at a stupid joke I made one day a few years ago, I'd latched onto him and we'd just become part of each other's lives since.

I moved across the pond from my childhood town in Maine when I turned 21 for an acting job, and have stayed since flitting from role to role. I missed my family and friends but moving here was also the best thing I did for myself. It did get lonely...which was why meeting Harry was also one of the best things to happen to me. Over the first year of knowing him, his friends became my friends and vice versa. I called them all Harry& Co. especially when I was drunk, all their faces blurred into each other and there were too many of them. Except for Harry. His face always stood out from a crowd. Being around him usually cured the ache I had for home.

"If I go again, you've got to put something on the table." Harry finally agrees. The crowd shouts out inappropriate things I could put down and I flip them off. I catch my friend's eye and she gives me a cautious look but I shake my head. I was having fun tonight.

"Loser gets a tattoo of the winner's choice. Tonight." Harry announces and the group goes crazier. My own mouth drops. I had to win this, knowing Harry he would do something ridiculous like his face on my ass. And this was the first time I lost to Harry, I could do this.

"Deal," I shake on it.

"Wait!" My friend tries to reason with us but we pull our mugs supplied by the crowd, closer to us.

"3...2...1...Go!"

I black out downing it but somehow, Harry's mug clashes down millisecond before mine does. A silence descends the room before Harry laughs. And suddenly everyone is shouting, cheering, throwing out tattoo ideas, and one voice is just shouting long live Harry over and over.

"I...." my mouth doesn't close on it's own, I lost. I rarely lost a drinking contest. But...Harry had me beat.

"Fair and square," Harry maneuvers around the table to sit beside me.

"I lost." I say, dumbstruck.

"It happens to the best of us, eventually." Harry kisses my cheek before jumping up and taking my hand. "Celebration dance."

I let him drag me to the dancefloor, trying to bring my mind back to reality. I was going to get a tattoo. My first. "Harry-Harry!" I try to get his attention. "Nothing ridiculous?"

"No promises," he winks. The alcohol sloshes in my brain as he pulls me into him and moves from side to side.

"Harry!" I shout out.

"You'll see," he grins, enjoying my torture way too much. "Just dance now."

His voice in my ear tickles, and I feel fluttery, far away. Some part of me knows that sober me was going to be pissed at drunk me.

I dance with Harry, following his lead, eventually drifting off to my friends, some strangers, and back to him.

"Should we get that tattoo now?" Harry says in my ear then.

"Maybe..." I try to put on my best convincing voice on. "We should wait for tomorrow."

"Nope!" Harry shouts gleefully. "Let's go now!"

"Nothing's open!" I shout but I was lying and he doesn't believe me for a second. I sigh, and find my friends to say goodbye. They try to tell me I didn't have to follow through but I know Harry would get this done one way or another. I may as well get it done while I was drunk and blame it on that.

The cold outside reminds me I left my coat inside, and when I come back out Harry's jumping up and down to keep warm. It makes me laugh but he quickly tugs on my arm. We run to stay warm towards wherever he decided this was going to happen.

It's a few blocks away, a sterile looking place with crazy colours on the walls that I realise are tattoo designs. The warmth inside the studio makes me shiver and Harry wraps his arm around me as we walk through.

"Harry nothing unprofessional please? I don't want to get fired from a job I don't even have." The cold air had sobered me up a bit and I was starting to regret this even more.

"Don't you trust me?" He asks with a glint to his eye that I didn't trust. "Wait here."

I sit down while he goes to talk to the artist, showing her his phone, pointing to various parts of his body.

"Y/N! Come on!"

I drag my feet over and glare at him as I settle in.

"You'll have to take your shirt off," Harry lets me know.

"You're picking where I get it too?" I ask.

"That's part of the deal!"

"I should've read the fine print," I grumble. Harry shows the artist the side of my rib cage-my shirt was still on but his finger traces a small curve up and down where he wants to place it. It sends butterflies to my stomach.

"Okay," I grab his hand so he could stop doing that. It wasn't helping my nerves. "Let's get this over with. But you can't stay."

"Yes I can," Harry insists. "I make up the rules."

"If I have to take my shirt off, he goes." I look at the girl giving me my tattoo and she shrugs, looking over at Harry. He sighs but agrees.

I take my shirt off and have to hike my bra strap higher, ready to settle into the torture.

"Please tell me it's nothing crude? His face included? Or a stupid message like Y/N hearts Harry?"

The artist laughs, "I'm not allowed to tell you anything apparently but from one girlfriend with a crazy boyfriend to another. It's not. Don't worry, just relax."

I try to tell her Harry wasn't my boyfriend but she turns away and I decide it wasn't worth it. I'd explained that a million times to my own mom who always asked if we'd gotten together yet. It was embarassing, my family back home was convinced we were having a secret affair. I stopped wasting my breath nowadays.

"So, do you get this kind of request often?" I try to make small talk.

"More than you think," the cold of whatever she spreads on my skin makes me shiver. I sort of wish Harry was here, to keep me distracted. I pull my phone out and text him.

"I'm back," his head pops in a few minutes later. The tattoo artist looks to me to make sure I was okay.

"Just talk your usual shit so I don't have to think about what I agreed to," I call out. He sits beside me but he falls silent. When I lift my head to look at him, he's staring at me. "Hey!"

"Sorry, I was thinking about the other tattoos I'm going to beat you into getting."

I roll my eyes, but my skin warms under his gaze. "I'm never agreeing to something like this ever again. You got me while I was weak."

"I'll convince you to get another tattoo again," Harry rolls closer to me. He rests his arms on my leg and leans his head on it.

"My leg's going to fall asleep," I warn him.

"Then we'll put another tattoo there," he smiles.

And back and forth we go, he keeps me distracted, and for the most part, the tattoo process is okay. I'm barely listening as she begins to tell me about its aftercare, she'd already said she would give me a pamphlet and Harry had plenty experience, I could ask him.

"Do you want to see it before I wrap it up?" She asks me. From what I felt, it was at least a few inches long and a bigger tattoo was too scary for me to think about.

"I need something to drink before I look at it," I say. "But I know if I don't like it it's his fault not yours."

"You'll love it," Harry pulls me to him and presses a wet kiss to my cheek. I push him away aggressively and agree to be bandaged. I tell Harry he owed me a few beers before I looked at it and he agrees. He purchases some on our way back to my place along with some food. The train ride home is mostly filled with him gloating but I suffer through it, imaging the worst case scenarios.

Back at my place, I stand in front of the full length mirror in my room, deathly afraid. I had waited nervously, threw back a couple of beers and shoved excessive pizza in my mouth. Harry seems more excited than me for the reveal and finally he joins me upstairs.

"So?" He asks, eyes on me in the mirror.

"Fine." I decide. I peel my shirt off slowly and Harry helps, I try to ignore the way my knees turn into jello at the sight of him doing that. "Fine."

My bra is crooked and I act as casual as possible that Harry is still standing behind me. I slowly peel the bandaging off, Harry comes around to help. I close my eyes as he finishes and count to three in my head. When I see it, my heart stops.

"Do you like it?" Harry asks like a kid on Christmas morning. He's buzzing with nervous excitement but all I can do is stare at the simple tattoo as my heart swells.

A few inches big, covering the side of my ribcage, is a twig of wild blueberries: a symbol of home.

"How did you..." I'm at a loss for words. My first tattoo. I just got my first tattoo, and it was...perfect.

"Well, you're always taking about how you miss home. And you rarely get to go back because of your schedule. And I looked up the official things for Maine, didn't think you wanted a moose so I-"

I shut him up by kissing him; that was the only possible response to this. He'd tricked me into getting the most perfect tattoo and if I was ever unsure before I was sure now that I loved Harry Styles. He knew me. His choice of tattoo made that clear. And I loved him.

"Woah," Harry steadies my shoulders when we part.

"It's perfect," I say, feeling tears well up in my eyes. "I don't know what else to say."

"I should've got you a tattoo a long time ago," he says before kissing me again. I could do this forever, I think, as I bury my hands in his hair.

His hand brushes the open tattoo and I flinch. It didn't hurt, but it was slightly sore.

"Sorry," he apologises against my lips. "We should probably take care of that."

"Ugh, wait." I kiss him one last time. "Where's that info sheet-"

"It's okay, c'mon." He leads me into the bathroom and sits me down on the countertop. I watch as he carefully washes his hands and washes the area. He knows where everything is. His face is scrunched in concetration as he washes and dries it. I marvel at how the evening started with his chaotic public personality to this gentle version here.

"This is gonna be cold," he warns before applying jelly over the whole thing. "Don't sleep on this side."

"I won't. I don't really plan on sleeping at all," I grab his shirt and pull him back up to me. I feel him smile as I kiss him, and he pushes me as far back as I can go before I hit the mirror behind me. I can tell he wanted this as bad as I did, and if it weren't for the tattoo we would be a roughened jumble on my bed right now.

"Bad night for a tattoo," he rests his forehead on mine.

"A tattoo can't stop me," I say. "Let's go." I lead him back to my bed and unclasp my bra. "I probably shouldn't be wearing this anyway."

"Fuck," Harry's mouth hangs open but before I can grow self conscious, he strides over and crashes into me. He doesn't bother with holding back, although he avoids my right side. But it doesn't even matter as I simultaneously forget every sense I have and feel every single nerve in my body at the same time as he takes me to bed.

After, when we lay facing each other on the bed, Harry uses his finger to trace my face. When he reaches my mouth, I kiss his finger. "Thanks. Tonight was...great."

"If you think tonight was great, wait until your tattoo heals." He swipes down my nose.

"I was only talking about the tattoo," I tease. "The rest of the night was...okay."

"Okay?" He immediately perches up.

"Yeah. Like...a 6 out of 10?"

He turns on his back and laughs, "You're in so much trouble. You better watch what you say next!"

"I'm not afraid of you--you had your chance with the tattoo and you chose something lovely."

He turns back to me, pressing a kiss to my lips. "You have to trust me."

"I do...usually." I smile. Harry rests his hand on my hip and zones out, his mind elsewhere. The silence stretched out and I can't help but ask.

"So...tonight isn't like, a one time thing right?" I was going to wait to ask but my nerves needed to be soothed. I also didn't want things between Harry and I to be in a gray area. He meant too much to me.

"No, unless...you want it to be?"

"No!" I nearly shout. "Only the tattoo part. Everything else, I'd like again."

"Okay, good." He slides closer to me under the duvet. "Because I wouldn't mind putting a label on this and-"

"Done." I say, not caring how eager I sounded because the grin that splits his face shows the same eagerness.

I mentally apologise to all the people I scolded who asked when Harry and I would get together. As I nuzzle my head into his chest, and he drapes his arm around me, I just think about how right it feels and why I didn't do it sooner. Tonight was a crazy night of bad decisions but every single outcome was perfect.

"I love you Y/N," Harry says after a while, I thought he'd already fallen asleep. I peek out from my position and his eyes are closed. I wait a moment but they remain closed.

I snuggle back in and suppress the urge to squeal. This night felt too good to be real, like I would wake up tomorrow morning and realise it was all a drunk-hallucination. And on the off chance that might be true, I wrap myself tighter against him and whisper the words back, hoping that he was awake enough to hear them.

When his arms tighten around me, I fall asleep happy, knowing he knows too. Maybe tomorrow morning, I would say it again.

[we-love-imagines]

Christmas Countdown, Christmas Day: Simple Traditions

Jotaro isn’t big on holidays, but you two share a few special moments every year.

(a/n): And we’re done! Thank you all for reading! The Jotaro simp in me couldn’t resist saving him for Christmas! It does get a tad angsty. Please enjoy, and Happy Holidays!

Ao3 Link

The first Christmas you spent with Jotaro was in the middle of the Egyptian desert. As the others slept, the two of you lit a cigarette under the stars, talking about anything and everything in the chilly desert air. Both just teenagers back then, time easily slipped away from you as you saw the sun rise over the horizon. 

After all the drama and heartbreak following your trip to Egypt, you two found yourselves living near each other in Tokyo. Despite this, you never saw him much; he liked to keep busy while you tried your best to live a normal life after everything. 

However, you always made a point to see him and share a cigarette on Christmas.

It was a simple tradition that evolved over the years, starting simply with you two smoking on your apartment’s balcony. Over the years as you two matured, you started smoking fancier cigars and taking a drive around the city to look at the Christmas lights. The cigars didn’t stay long, as you both quit smoking, and were swapped with sharing an aged scotch or bourbon. 

You both lived your own lives, rarely hearing from each other during the year proper. One year after another, he would come to you on December twenty-fifth, telling you about his escapades. One year, he came to you with his college adventures, another with a steady girlfriend, then with a wife and a baby on the way.  The Christmas after that, he brought you a polaroid of his infant daughter, Jolyne. 

You remember how your heart hurt at the photo, how a man you considered to be one of your best friends had a whole life outside of you. While he was married with a baby, you couldn’t keep relationships going for more than a few dates. What occurred in Egypt still haunted you, and it felt hard to try and be with someone who couldn’t understand your experience. 

Another few Christmas’ went by, your heart swelling every time you saw Jotaro’s little smile as you two greeted each other. You flew to America to see him one year, seeing as he had to be with his real family for Christmas, and you spent a great night drinking with him in his Florida home after meeting his wife and child. However, you could tell the married couple was on the rocks; only a few words were exchanged between them before she denied your invitation to join them. The next Christmas, you noticed how he wasn’t wearing his wedding ring. The one after that, they were officially separated.

Now you were with him once again, rubbing your hands together to stave off the cold. While you would usually drive around to observe the holiday lights, his car wouldn’t start, so he insisted on walking you home himself. The evening air was crisp, no wind blowing through as the world was silent and still for the two of you. His neighbors were certainly festive, all of their houses lined with little twinkly lights and tacky blow-ups. The bright colors reflected off of his white coat nicely, you noticed, the gold accents shining at you as you two strolled down the sidewalk. Occasionally, one of you would comment on one of the houses, but this year, you two were oddly quiet. It was officially ten years since everything went down- perhaps you both weren’t in a very festive mood.

He looked over to find your sullen expression, trying to hide his own as he sighed. Wordlessly, he reached for your hand, taking you by surprise. You knew he wasn’t much for physical contact, let alone PDA- but it was nice. His warm hand tenderly squeezed yours as you turned to look up at him.

“Jotaro?” you asked him, squeezing his hand back. His eyes met yours, both of your brows knit in quiet sorrow. You had stopped crying over everything- everyone- a long time ago, but tears threatened to prick at your eyes as you knew he felt the same pain as you.

“I feel it too,” he speaks after a moment, confirming your thoughts, “I know this time of year is hard for both of us. Even the old man gets sentimental around now.”

Silently, your hands went from simply clasping one another to intertwining your fingers, rubbing your thumb along the back of his hand as you somberly nodded. Without another word, you continued down the road, your steps slowing as you tried to lock this moment in your memory forever. Secretly, you always hoped you and Jotaro would end up together. He shared your trauma and was the only person who truly understood it. Processing everything as a teenager was hard-especially knowing you had to keep it all a secret.

“Jotaro,” you halted, speaking before you could think, “I need to tell you something.” Stopping, he turned to face you as you spoke.

“I just need you to know this is my favorite day of the year.” you tell him, your face turning red despite the cold.

“It’s a lot of people’s favorite day of the year, (y/n),” he dryly replies, only deepening the blush on your face.

“It’s my favorite day because of you!” You admit, his eyes widening in surprise as you start to ramble, “I look forward to spending Christmas with you all year, all because I’m so excited to see you. Hell, I write down the most interesting things I do all year so I don’t forget to tell you! I just- I miss you so much when you’re gone. I wish I could talk to you everyday instead of just the one!”

Looking down, Jotaro’s eyes narrow as he thinks over your words. Watching him nervously, you mentally chastise yourself for being so forward with him. Despite being a very forward person, he was never good at dealing with other people. Especially when it came down to feelings. You fear that you may have overwhelmed him.

“...I didn’t know you felt the same way.”

Perking up at his response, you watch as his shoulders relax. You’re startled when he grips your hand a tad tighter, having nearly forgotten the intimate gesture shared between you two.

“I just-” you begin, as he hesitantly meets your eyes again, “I feel like you’re the only person I can really talk to. After everything that happened, we can’t lead normal lives.”

“-Trust me, I get it,” Jotaro surprisingly cuts you off, “I’ve tried having a normal life, and we both saw how that panned out.”

You both looked back at each other, the sorrowful expressions melting away as tiny smiles creeped onto your faces. Much to your surprise, a little snicker left his lips. You couldn’t remember the last time you heard his laughter, the light, low chuckle only growing as you laughed along with him. 

“We’re both hopeless, aren’t we?” you giggle out, the laughter dying down after a moment as you both caught your breath.

“Yeah,” he grinned, pausing a moment to gulp before he continued to speak, “But we can be hopeless together.”

Cautiously, you inch closer to him, releasing his hand as you go to wrap your arms around him. You watch him closely to see if he flinches, but oddly, he reciprocates. As you reach up around his neck, he pulls you closer, his large arms loosely gripping the small of your back. Melting into the embrace, you set your head against his warm chest, listening to his calm heartbeat as you heat each other from the frigid weather.

“Polnareff barely writes anymore, and the Old Man- well, he’s just getting older,” Jotaro comments, the massive man looking down over you, ”It’s so hard. Dealing with all of the grief alone.”

“We don’t have to anymore,” you nuzzle into him, smiling like a giddy schoolgirl, “I love you, Jojo. I want it to be Christmas everyday.”

You don’t see it, but he blushes at your words, raising one of his hands to pat at the back of your head. He doesn’t respond as you pull away from him, but his uncharacteristic smile and tender eyes as he takes your hand again says enough.

Little did you know, you’d be doing this in your shared home next Christmas.

[kalimagik]

As Family the First Time

Charlie Weasley x Reader

Includes storyline of “A Hogwarts Mystery” 

Word Count: ~4K

A/N: Here is the Charlie post that I promised you all! I already wrote it, so it was easy for me to edit and such just to upload. If you enjoy reading, like, reblog, comment, or give me a follow! I have a few requests that I will get to writing, but I’m away for the week, so I will write them when I get back home! (Don’t you worry! I got some good ones too!) I’m also starting to edit my long fic that will be a Harry Potter Series! So be on the look out! Happy reading, loves! <3<3 P.S. I didn’t really have time to edit this, so I apologize 😅

“Are you sure you want to do this, love? It’s always so crazy at home.” Charlie questioned as the couple prepared for their journey from Romania to England.

“Charlie, I’ve told you a million times. I can totally handle your family. I’d been there a few times during our school years. Plus, at school, I spent time like half of your siblings anyways! Bill was there for our first 5 years and one of my good friends. Percy was Percy. And I even befriended the twins! I can totally handle this. Why do you doubt me?” Y/N laughed, tossing a sweater into her suitcase.

“Okay, you got me there, but it’s gotten even crazier. Ronald’s friends are almost always there and the twins have gotten even more chaotic since their first two years at school!”

“Charlie, do you not want me to meet your family as your girlfriend or something?”

“Yes– I mean, no. I just like to have you for a little more to myself in that aspect.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. She’d been in Charlie’s house during school and they’d gone on the craziest adventures while Y/N broke all the cursed vaults. She’d been very close to following in Bill’s steps as a Curse-Breaker, but was pulled towards dragons after practically raising a Welsh Green and visiting the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary with Bill on assignment. They were magnificent creatures.

Now, she didn’t work with them like Charlie did. The boy was constantly covered in cuts, bruises, scars, and burns from working so closely with the dragons. Y/N on the other hand observed and took notes and did research surrounding all of the different ones. However, there was one dragon that both of the dragonologists shared a bond with. The dragon that Ron wrote to Charlie about, Norbert or Norbertta, adored Y/N. Maybe since she was raised by Hagrid, she was a little better with humans, but she loved Y/N.

She’d laid some eggs and Y/N got to watch the entire process close up. It was a dragonologists DREAM!

Anyways, once Y/N and Charlie found themselves at the same dragon sanctuary, they reconnected. They’d always been good friends in school and maybe, there’d been a little spark between them, but they never dated or anything. Just an intense amount of tension in their last 2 years. It drove Bill mad because he wasn’t around enough to push them together.

But, here they were. 4 years out of school and they finally started dating, but for the first year and a half, they hadn’t gotten around to telling either of the families yet, so Christmas was the best time, right? That’s why they were packing, Charlie told his family that Y/N had moved to Romania and that her family wasn’t going to be around. And seeing as how she had holiday time at Christmas as well, Molly immediately invited her to their home at the Burrow.

“It’s about 4:30. The portkey is going to leave soon, so we should get going,” Y/N smiled, zipping up her bag and pressing a kiss to Charlie’s lips to get him moving.

“Now is your last chance to stay here, love. I’d of course stay with you and we could just make a family of our own!” he beamed.

Y/N couldn’t stop the loud laugh that erupted from the back of her throat. “WOAHHH! Slow your roll there. We haven’t even thought about an engagement yet!”

“Okay, maybe not, but who says we’ve ever done things in the right order? I mean, I kissed you before you even knew if you liked me or not.”

“True, but a kiss and a baby are two very, very different things,” Y/N giggled. “Now, common, we’ve got a portkey to catch!”

The couple made it to the location of the portkey where about 7 other witches and wizards were travelling to England. Once they reached England, they would then apparate to the Burrow. Simple.

“Okay, please grab onto the boot, it will be leaving in three…two…one!”

The pulling right behind her navel was never something she could get used to, but once landing in England, she’d gotten the hang of landing on her feet.

“I will never like those things,” she shuttered, picking up her bags. “Not when Rakepick took us on one and not now!”

“Really, I think it feels like riding a dragon! It’s blood brilliant!”

Y/N rolled her eyes, preparing herself for yet another uncomfortable experience as they prepared to apparate.

Regaining her balance once again, Y/N looked down the hill to see the Burrow standing brightly in all of its glory.

“I’m telling ya, this is your absolute last chance. We can always snag a room in London and spend the holidays there.”

“Charlie, why do you not want for me not to spend time with your family?”

“Not you, I’m just slightly selfish. I know the second we walk in, my mother is going to feed us. Bill is going to want to catch up. Ginny just loves having you around more than Fleur, so she’ll be right there. Fred and George will want to show you what they’ve been working on or flirt with you because they don’t realize you’re dating their handsome older brother and couldn’t care less about any age difference. They just see you as the badass girl who mum should’ve despised for all the danger Bill and I got into, but didn’t. Ron isn’t as much of an issue because the boy is in teenage moods according to mum. Although, if Harry and Hermione are there, he should be okay.” Charlie rambled on about his family.

“We’ll be here for at least two weeks, so if they take me from you for an evening or two, it’ll be completely fine. Oh look, it seems that they have seen us. Do you want to tell them we’re dating now or what?”

Charlie took in a deep breath trying to decide, but it didn’t have a chance to respond before Arthur, Bill, Fred, and George were calling out to them.

“I’ll find the right moment, don’t you worry,” he whispered. “Dad! Brothers!” he smiled, opening his arms.

“I’ll hug Y/N first!” one of the twins yelled.

“Fred! I called the first hug!” George quickly interjected.

“I do have the capabilities of hugging two people at once,” Y/N chuckled, opening her arms for both twins, who seemed to have doubled in size since the last time she’d seen them. “When did you two double my height?”

“Oh you know, a lot changes when you move off to Romania. Freddie and I have matured,” George informed her, straightening his coat.

“That’s not what mum’s last letter said. I heard you two blew up a bathroom. I bet McGonagall had a heart attack.”

“Charlie, we used to sneak off school grounds on a regular basis for dangerous adventures. She didn’t have a heart attack because of us.”

“Good point. Also, don’t talk about all that in front of Ron and his friends. Mum would kill me if I gave them any ideas. They put themselves in regular danger too, so I hear.”

“Yes, uh, no ideas would be excellent,” Mr. Weasley echoed. “Now, Y/N, how are you doing?”

“Dad, you took my question!” Bill smiled, coming in for a hug.

“I’m doing well. Hagrid’s dragon’s eggs just hatched and Norbertta has let me get near them. It’s been SO exciting!” Y/N smiled.

“Missing curse breaking at all?” Bill asked.

“I would say that I’m enjoying the quiet life, but like with dragons isn’t exactly quiet,” she laughed.

“So are we going to stay out here talking all night or are we going to head inside? I mean, Y/N/N and I are used to camping, but I was promised a warm bed,” Charlie pointed out.

“Right you are, Charlie! Fred, George, can you take their bags please. Y/N will be going to Ginny’s room. We’ll be a tight fit, but we’ll make it work. We always do.” Arthur instructed.

“Oh, dad, Y/N can sleep in my room. She doesn’t need to sleep on a cot. I’ll bunk with Bill.”

The two lived with each other already, so it would be weird to be in a room by herself for a few weeks. Who knows though, maybe if Charlie told about them being together,

“Is Fleur here, Bill?” Charlie asked on the way down to the house. Y/N walked beside him, so Charlie had to resist the urge to take her hand in his.

“She went back to France for the holidays. Wanted me to come with her, but when I heard you were coming home, I decided to hang back. Haven’t seen my closest brother in a while, not to mention one of my best friends from school,” Bill winked at Y/N.

“I’m excited to be back in England! I just wish my parents and brother would have decided to stick around. We could’ve gone to see them too!”

“We?” Bill asked, eyebrows raised, but a smirk on his face.

Y/N bit her lip. Shit. Little did she know that Charlie had spilled the beans to Bill months ago, making him promise not to say anything to anyone.

“Brace yourselves, Mum has been looking forward to this since you wrote home, Charlie,” Bill said, keeping the door open behind Arthur.

“Y/N! Charlie!”

The pair was hit by the warmth of the Burrow and Molly making her way around the table to them.

“I’m so happy you got here safe! PERCY! RONALD! GINNY! HERMIONE! HARRY! Y/N and Charlie are here! Dinner will be on soon!” Molly called right before wrapping her arms around Charlie and then Y/N.

“We’re so happy to have you hear, dear! I cannot believe your family decided to go on holiday over Christmas. No matter, we’re happy to have you back in our house. I don’t think you’ve been here since 3rd year! It’s been far too long.”

“I think 3rd year is when Bill brought Merula and I back for Christmas, but I saw you guys when Bill graduated from Hogwarts and when Charlie and I did,” Y/N thought back.

“Still, far too long! Ah, Ginny, come say hello!” Molly motioned over.

“Y/N! You’re here!”

Y/N opened her arms wide for the young red head. She was in her 2nd  year already and Y/N couldn’t believe it. She’d always gotten along with Ginny. She saw a lot of herself and her spirit in Ginny.

“Hey squirt! How have you been! How’s school?”

“It’s fine. Been crazy all year as usual, but I’m happy you’re here!”

“Hogwarts is always unusual! Always was for Bill, Charlie, and I. Lots of adventure to be found in that place.”

“Hello, Y/N. Good to see you again.” Percy said formally.

“Hello, Percy. How is your last year at Hogwarts?”

“Busy. There’s been a lot going on!”

Before Y/N could respond, they heard Ron’s voice coming from the top of the stairs.

“Mum, did you say Charlie was home?” Ron asked, footsteps being followed by 2 other pairs.

“Yes, dear!”

“You’ll love Charlie,” Y/N heard Ron tell his friends. “And…Y/N’s here too,” he suddenly stopped at the bottom of the stairs, eyes wide.

Harry bounded down, running right into him. “Ow! Ron, why’d you stop?”

Y/N couldn’t help  but chuckle. Ron never seemed to know what to say around her.

“I’m Charlie.” He held his hand out to Harry and Hermione. “And this is Y/N. He went to school with me. She was in Y/H, not like it really matters though. She was the bloody best curse breaker Hogwarts has ever seen.”

“Hey!” Bill played offended.

Knowing what it felt like to be all anyone can talk about, Y/N did her best to remain normal around the Boy Who Lived, even though she couldn’t believe what he had been through already in his short life.

“Hi! It’s so lovely to meet you. Charlie has told me all about you two from Ron and his mum’s letters.” The two 3rd years shook her hand too.

“Dinner’s on! Everyone to the table please,” Molly said as plates flew from the cabinets to the table.

“Y/N, you can sit next to me here!” Fred hollered from down the table.

“Oi! She can sit here,” George retorted across the table.

“Knock it off.” Y/N could tell that Charlie’s voice was deepening, almost as if he was getting angry. He did say that he hadn’t wanted her to be taken away by his family. “She’s going to sit next to me, alright?”

Y/N did her best to conceal her laughter. It was always amusing when he got like this. Not to mention, Y/N then never had to do any teasing.

“I think I'd like to sit with Ginny. If anyone wanted to know what I would like,” Y/N laughed, walking towards her little friend. “We have a lot to catch up on! But, you can come sit beside me, if you’d like, Charlie.” She giggled.

Dinner went well. Ginny told Y/N all about what she’d been learning, who she hung around, which professors were her favorite, and how she loved Hogwarts. The twins went on about the best pranks that they had pulled since the last time they saw her. Y/N heard from Ron’s friend Hermione a little bit. She was as sweet as could be, but definitely a bright witch. She of course caught up with Bill. They still wrote to each other, but not as often as they had before.

But, when Molly stood up to clear the table, Y/N’s attention broke away.

“Oh, let me help you with that, Mrs. Weasley,” she offered.

“No, no! Sit down. You’ve traveled so much today. Bill and the other boys can help me. Ginny will show you her room, so you can get settled in.”

“Oh, mum, I told Y/N that she could stay in my room. I’ll bunk with Bill. There are already enough people in Ginny’s room. She should get some privacy,” Charlie responded.

“Fine, fine. Ginny, show Y/N where Charlie’s room is. Boys, will one of you get her bags?”

“No worries, Mrs. Weasley! I can get them myself! Thank you though,” Y/N smiled, picking up her two small duffle bags. “Lead the way, Squirt!” Y/N smiled at Ginny. Red spread onto her cheeks as she turned towards the stairs. What had Y/N said?

Y/N followed the red headed girl up the stairs to the 4th floor. A green dragon painted on the door.

“I’m guessing this is Charlie’s?”

“Uh huh!” Ginny beamed, her usual persona returning. “Want me to help you unpack your things?”

“Sure! Lead the way in!”

Ginny sat on the bed while Y/N took things out of her bags. She could sense that she wanted to say something, but didn’t know what to say, so Y/N started instead.

“Do you not like it when I call you ‘Squirt’ anymore, Gin?”

“Oh, no, no, no! I just uhhh….”

Y/N raised an eyebrow.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Ginny asked. “A secret that you won’t tell anyone else?”

“Of course! I promise I won’t say it to anybody,” Y/N smiled, sitting on the bed across from Ginny.

“I sort of, kind of have a crush on Harry. And when you called me squirt, I remembered that he was there and it probably made him look at me!” Ginny blurted out, like she’d been just waiting to tell someone.

“Squirt, you’re shaking! It’s okay to have a crush! Everyone has them.”

“Even you?”

“Yes, even me,” Y/N smiled, hoping she was calming the girl down.

“Who?”

Well, Y/N wasn’t expecting that.

“Can you keep a secret too?” Ginny nodded vigorously. “I have a crush on Charlie…”

Ginny’s eyes grew wide. Ugh, gossiping with a 13 year old was fun.

“Really? Charlie? I think you two could work. I mean, don’t tell him, but he’s had a crush on you for a long time.”

Y/N giggled, feeding into Ginny’s antics. “Oh really? How long?”

“I think he had one on you ever since he heard you fought the Hungarian Horntail. And then, when you went to the Dragon Sanctuary the first time, Charlie said you weren’t scared at all. I think he was mesmerized. You should tell him,” Ginny giggled.

“Wanna know another secret?” Y/N whispered.

“Another one?!”

“Well, it has to do with the same one. Want to hear it?” Ginny nodded. Hanging on to every word. “I did tell him,” Y/N smiled.

“You did? What happened?”

“We’ve been dating for a year and a half,” Y/N whispered, as though someone would be listening in.

“REALLY?!” Ginny squealed. “Why haven’t you told anyone?”

“I don’t know. We are just always in Romania and haven’t really seen anyone. It was fun being in our own little world. No one else in the world to worry about, you know?”

Ginny’s smile was huge! She was so excited she was nearly trembling. “Are you going to tell everyone? Is that why he said you could sleep in his room?” Ginny was blurting out questions left and right.

“We were going to tell everyone during this trip, but I don’t know when. I sorta left that up to Charlie.”

*Knock, knock, knock*

“How’s unpacking going?” Charlie asked, opening the door.

“Half done!” Y/N laughed, looking at her unpacked bags.

“What have you two been doing all this time?”

“Just chatting,” Y/N responded, a twinkle in her eye.

“Yeah, just chatting,” Ginny smirked, still not containing her excitement.

“Alright, Squint, what’s going on with you?”

“Y/N told me a secret and I can’t tell anyone else. She made me promise…”

“Oh, did she now?” Charlie asked, moving his focus to Y/N’s grinning figure.

“You can tell him, Gin. He’s in on the secret!”

Ginny essentially combusted. “YOU AND Y/N ARE DATING!” she yelled.

“Wooooah, Squirt. I said you could tell him, not the whole house!” Y/N laughed.

“Sorry,” Ginny blushed.

“Alright, now get outta here. I wanna talk to my girlfriend,” Charlie cooed. Ginny couldn’t stop giggling as she hopped off the bed and out the door, shutting it behind her.

“Don’t look at me like that!” Y/N laughed, picking one of her duffle bags off the ground.

“You blabbed!”

“Oh? I blabbed? How about the fact that you’ve definitely told Bill. I made the ‘we’ comment and he didn’t even question it! Don’t think I didn’t figure it out!”

“But you told Ginny. What would possess you to tell Ginny? She’s always been the blabbermouth!”

“No way she’s worse than Fred and George,” Y/N spit back.

“Okay, no, they’re worse. But you saw how she was when I walked in, she couldn’t keep it to herself.”

“Yeah, she also mentioned how you were mesmerized by me after we went to the Dragon Sanctuary for the first time,” Y/N winked. She watched as his freckles disappeared with the color of red growing on his cheeks.

“See, what did I tell ya! So, why did you tell her?”

“I can’t tell you. It’s a secret!” Y/N turned her nose up.

“She’s got a crush on Harry, doesn’t she?”

“How do you know?”

“Mum’s thought so since they first met. Ginny can barely say two words around him. It’s hilarious!”

“Don’t be mean! First crushes are hard!” Y/N slapped Charlie on the wrist.

“Tell me about it!” he rolled his eyes.

“What are you talking about?”

“I had a crush on you since 2nd year and you had no idea. So obviously, the other person can be quite oblivious,” Charlie laughed, thinking back on it.

“I was not oblivious! I just wasn’t thinking about that. I was kind of busy avoiding being killed, remember?” Y/N pointed out.

“Oh no way! You went on your first date with Barnaby in our 4th year. And everyone had a crush on you!”

“Okay, but that was in school. Look who ended up with me, huh? Huh?” Y/N tried to direct him away from school time memories.

“True. I did get pretty lucky that you didn’t follow Bill into his job. I’d be so lost now!”

“Lost? More like dead. You’d have gone and tried to tame the meanest dragon in the place. Really, your family should be thanking me!”

“I don’t know. That could be payback for putting Bill and I in so much danger during school…”

“Merlin! I don’t think your mum ever blamed me for that. She still invited me for Christmas every year, no matter how much danger we were in…”

“mhmmmmmm, you may be right.”

“Should we go back downstairs?” Y/N asked.

“Wait, but I came all the way up here and haven’t kissed you yet!” Charlie pouted.

“Fineeee,” Y/N groaned before giggling. He was still pouting when she quickly pecked his lips and pulled away.

“Woah, woah, woah! I was thinking maybe a little more, maybe?” Charlie begged.

“Charlie, we’re in your childhood bedroom with your family downstairs.” She felt bad looking into his sad chocolate eyes. Ugh, why was he so cute?

“Uh, Charlie?”

“One more?”

“Do you think Ginny’s spilled the beans yet?”

Charlie’s eyes grew double the size. “We need to go.”

Y/N tried to stifle her laughter as Charlie pulled her down the stairs, going way faster than she was.

“Charlie! I’m going to fall over!”

“We have to make sure she hasn’t told them yet! I’m not ready!” Charlie shot out.

“Not ready to tell us what, brother?”

The pair came face to face with essentially the entire Weasley family, including Harry and Ron.

“I was just preparing to give everyone dessert,” Mrs. Weasley said, putting down a plate of food.

“Mum! Don’t change the subject. What do you have to tell us, Charlie?” George pushed, following the suite of his twin.

“Yeah Charlie, what do you have to tell them?” Y/N teased, standing right beside him and grabbing onto his hand.

“No!” Ron’s mouth dropped open.

“Merlin’s beard!” Fred spat out.

“Are you two…together?” George asked, big eyed.

“And I already knew it and didn’t say anything!” Ginny added in proudly.

“I hadn’t even said yes or no, squint. Thanks for the help.”

Y/N felt the grin on her face grow as she watched the interaction between a family that she adored so much. “Want to tell them then?” she pushed.

“Fine,” Charlie groaned. “Y/N and I have been dating.”

“Have been?” Bill scoffed.

“Oh, sod off. I told you like 2 weeks after it started! Don’t give me that grief!”

“This isn’t new?” George wondered.

“It’s been about a year and a half!” Ginny stated proudly, smiling at Y/N who nodded in return.

“A YEAR AND A HALF!?” 4 voices, one being Mrs. Weasley said in unison.

“Well, how did this all happen?” Mrs. Weasley now smiling rushed forward, pulling Y/N into a second hug for the night. “You’re with my boy. Oh thank goodness. I was really starting to worry that one day he was going to bring home a dragon!”

“Gee, thanks mum.” Charlie sarcastically replied.

“Well, tell us what happened,” Mr. Weasley encouraged. “You won’t get any peace and quiet until you tell this lot the story.”

“Yeah, not even I got the full story!” Ginny giggled, pulling out a chair for Y/N.

“Wait, wait, wait. Y/N. You mean to tell me that you have kissed our brother? The brother that has been in love with dragons since I was born and that used to dress our owl up as a dragon?” Fred asked, disgusted.

“What? He’s passionate,” she giggled.

“EWWW!” the twins replied at the same time.

“Wait,” Ron piped up, “you’re saying that you two just hang out all the time in Romania, working together and seeing each other…after work?”

“Well….actually….” Y/N dragged on, looking over to Charlie.

“We live together,” he grinned broadly for the first time since his family started grilling them.

“LIVE TOGETHER! Y/N no way. He isn’t even that great!” George blurted.

“I think he’s pretty fantastic actually,” Y/N blushed as Charlie stood behind her chair, placing his hands on her shoulders.

“Oh, Fred, George, be quiet. Let them tell their story! We want to know everything! Common, common! Everyone sit down. Have some dessert. Listen to Y/N and Charlie!” Mrs. Weasley commanded.

The room quieted and all eyes were on the newly outed couple.

“Would you like to do the honors?” Y/N asked Charlie.

“I like it better when you tell it, love,” Charlie grinned, kissing Y/N’s forehead.

Ignoring the groans from the boys, Y/N began to tell the story with Charlie interrupting way too often to add in details. Y/N didn’t say anything because it was just so cute how he did it. But, it turned out to be a really wonderful first evening of an even better two weeks. It was really just a great time to be back in England.

[leiasfanaccount648]

That Look Soots You

Hitoshi Shinsou x Fem!Reader

Summary: Hitoshi tries to make the first holiday season with his new sister a memorable one, but he needs more help than he originally thought.

Warnings/Contains: Fluff for days, slight season four spoilers, Aizawa is Shinsou & Eri’s adoptive father, fluff, Shinsou has a cat, might be a bit oc but I think this concept is adorable.

Word Count: 2693

“I’m home.”

Hitoshi sighed as he closed the front door behind him, hitting the tips of his shoes against the floor to knock off the snow underneath him. He took off his coat, sighing in relief at the warm air that he was now in. The day wasn’t necessarily hard or tough on him, but it for sure was long. Thankfully, he was in the comfort of his own home and could finally relax.

“Welcome home, Hitoshi.”

The purple haired boy looked up as he began taking off his boots at the doorway, seeing his father down the hall.

Shouta stood in the doorway to the kitchen, hand on the wall as he peered around to look at his son. His hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, the flour and sugar on his clothes made it evident that he was baking something. The question was what and why.

“You seem busy.” Hitoshi chuckled, putting on his house slippers before walking towards the kitchen to take a peek as to what was going on. In the kitchen he saw numerous ingredients on the countertop along with mixing bowls filled with god knows what. He took another step into the room to see his younger sister at the dining table decorating sugar cookies with icing. Before he could ask, Shouta was already answering.

“Eri learned about Christmas cookies from Fatgum today and wanted to make some. If you wanna help you can.” After that the oven beeped, making Shouta sigh as he walked over to turn it off and pull out the last two trays of cookies. He set them atop the stove, taking the oven mits off before walking over to his daughter. “How’s the decorating coming along, Eri?”

“Good, I think.” Eri held up a star shaped cookie that had yellow icing smeared on it somewhat evenly. “Do you think Lemillion and Deku will like them?”

Shouta smiled, smoothing out Eri’s hair atop her head. “I’m sure they’ll love them, sweetie.” He knew how much the two heroes meant to her, and the fact that it was Eri’s first Christmas made it even better. Of course, Eri had something else to celebrate as well for the first time.

Shouta looked back up at the doorway to see if Hitoshi was there, watching him look through the fridge for a drink. “Hey, do you mind taking Eri to the mall tomorrow?” He walked over to his son, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the counter.

Hitoshi eyed his father briefly, trying to understand what he was getting at. “Why? Do you need me to run errands or something?” He understood needing to watch Eri, but why was he needed to take her out somewhere, especially such a crowded place during this time of year?

Shouta dropped his voice slightly. “Eri’s birthday is coming up as well on the 21st. We should try and make these holidays memorable for her. So, I want you to take her out and see if there’s anything she would like.”

Hitoshi glanced over at his sister, watching as she continued to decorate the cookies on the cooling rack in front of her. While he was looking forward to relaxing the next day, he did agree with his father on the fact that Eri deserved a good experience for her first birthday and Christmas with her new family. He nodded to Shouta, taking a sip of the bottle of water he took from the fridge.

“Yeah, I can do that.”

The next day after having lunch with his sister, Hitoshi took Eri to the mall like he promised, telling the girl that he wanted to show her more of the city that she had yet to see. He made sure to hold onto her hand practically the entire time, as he didn’t want to lose her in any of the crowds. He asked her frequent questions; if any of the stores looked interesting, if she felt overwhelmed due to the amount of people in the shopping center, and just general questions about what she'd gotten to do while he continued to go to class.

However, no matter what store they went to or what toy Eri looked at, Hitoshi couldn’t seem to find something that seemed to really pique his sister’s interests. Eventually the siblings left the mall and headed for home. As he took Eri’s coat to hang it back up in the closet, Hitoshi’s phone buzzed in his pocket, signalling that he had a text.

‘Hey! I just got home and thought I’d check in on ya :) How did window shopping with Eri go?’

Hitoshi smiled to himself as he read the message from his girlfriend, knowing that she had gone shopping for her friends and family herself today. His eyes widened at the realization that (Y/N) might have an idea for her; he messaged her back almost immediately while walking towards the living room to sit on the couch.

‘It was alright. She looked like she had a good time, but I still don’t know what to get her. You wouldn’t happen to have any ideas, would you?’

Hitoshi set his phone down on the couch as he heard footsteps enter the living room.

“‘Toshi, can I have a Christmas cookie?” Eri smiled sweetly as she gazed at her brother, as if hoping that her own version of puppy eyes would be enough to convince him to have the sweet drink before their father got home within the next hour to make them all dinner.

He shook his head, smiling back while his sister’s turned into a pout. He patted the top of her head, smoothing out her hair. “Not right now, Eri. After dinner you can have one, okay?”

Eri’s pout faltered as she nodded, clearly understanding her brother’s reasoning. “Okay.” She walked away, going to see their cat, Koda, on the other end of the couch. It was at that moment that Hitoshi’s phone buzzed once again with a text from (Y/N).

‘I might have one idea 😊 Meet me after class tomorrow, okay? 💕’

‘Is this just another excuse to see me during the day?’

‘...maybe. But I know you miss me too, don’t try to deny it 😘’

The next day, Hitoshi left his classroom and made his way towards the support course’s room. He nearly ran into Mei Hatsume as she sprinted from the classroom and towards the Development Studio. When he turned back towards the door, he smiled to himself as he saw (Y/N) walk out.

“Hey!” (Y/N) smiled at the man in front of her, happy to see him.

“Hey.” Hitoshi reached out and took hold of one of her hands. “So what was the idea you had?”

(Y/N) glanced to the side briefly before meeting his gaze again; she was obviously excited to tell him her idea. It wasn’t that extravagant, but she thought it would be perfect for Eri and that made her ecstatic. “Okay, before I tell you, you have to agree to it because I know it’s gonna be perfect.”

“Well when you word it like that it makes me not want to agree.” Hitoshi chuckled softly as his girlfriend pouted and playfully glared at him. “Alright, alright, I agree. Now what is it?”

~   ~   ~

“Why do I have to wear this again?”

“Because we should embrace the Christmas spirit for Eri.” (Y/N) adjusted her traditional red Santa hat before reaching up to fix her boyfriend’s purple one that she had bought just for the occasion. “Besides, it looks nice on you.” She giggled and quickly pecked his cheek.

It was a couple days after (Y/N) told Hitoshi of her idea, and needless to say, it was obvious that (Y/N) was happy to help her boyfriend try and make his sister’s first Christmas season memorable. It was also things like this that made (Y/N) get to see a side of him that most typically didn’t, and that made her feel like he trusted her more than he’d ever admit.

Before Hitoshi could protest about how the hat was itchy or the pom kept hitting him in the face, the front door opened and the sound of Eri asking her father if she could help with dinner rang throughout the house.

(Y/N) gasped in excitement before glancing over the table to make sure that everything was set up before giving Hitoshi another peck on the lips and quickly making her way towards the front door to greet the Aizawa family.

As the door opened, Eri walked in first and began taking her shoes off while Shouta stepped in to close the door behind him and take off his coat. (Y/N) smiled wide as she glanced at the teacher who looked surprised, and thankfully not opposed, to see her.

Eri shared the same shock as her father before breaking out into a grin as well. “(Y/N)!” She ran over to the teen, nearly slipping on the hardwood floor in her Hello Kitty socks as she reached out to hug her. (Y/N) kneeled down and accepted the hug before pulling away with the same grin etched on her face.

“Eri, do you know what holiday is coming up?”

The girl thought about it for a moment, nodding once she remembered what Fatgum and her father told her a couple days ago. “Christmas, right?”

(Y/N) nodded. “That’s right,” she reached out and picked her up before standing and resting the young girl on her left hip. “And do you know who comes to visit everyone for Christmas?”

Eri tried her best to remember, even thinking back to when she made the cookies in hopes that it would spark the answer in her head. She shook her head, feeling bad that she didn’t remember.

(Y/N) dismissed the fact that the girl didn’t know, simply turning around and walking down the hallway slowly. “It’s Santa Claus.” She kept the same smile on her face while her tone remained calm despite being really excited to see Eri’s reaction. “He visits everyone in the world while we’re asleep to give them all gifts for being good throughout the year.”

(Y/N) then turned the corner to walk through the kitchen and to the dining room table where Hitoshi sat, pens and paper along with stickers and glitter covered the table; Hitoshi knew that there was most likely going to be a mess, but he would take care of it later with (Y/N) when Eri went to go get ready for bed.

Eri smiled as she saw her brother before looking back at (Y/N), who was continuing to explain what they were all about to do.

“And in order for Santa to know what we want from him, we have to write him letters saying what it is we want.” (Y/N) set Eri down as she got to the table so she could hug her sibling after not seeing him all day.

Hitoshi saw the look in his girlfriend’s eyes, holding back a laugh since she appeared to be more excited than the girl who had never even written a letter to Santa before. He broke away from his sister’s hold to look at her. “Would you like to write letters to Santa with me and (Y/N)?”

Eri nodded, excited to get to spend time with the couple even if she was still new to everything having to do with the holiday she had just learned about just a few days ago. “Yeah! It sounds like fun.”

Hitoshi proceeded to pull out Eri��s chair while (Y/N) placed a sheet of paper in front of each of them along with a pencil. (Y/N) sat down as well, opening the pen and testing it on a separate sheet of paper to make sure it still worked.

“Once we’re done writing the letters, we can decorate them however we like, Eri!”

The young girl smiled at the idea of getting to decorate the paper to make it look pretty and picked up one of the pens. She stared at the paper before looking between the couple.

“What do I ask Santa for?”

“Well,” Hitoshi spoke up, leaning forward to rest his arms on the table. “When we went to the mall the other day, was there anything that you really liked?”

“Um,” Eri thought for a moment. “The Barbie dolls looked pretty.”

“Then you should ask for that.”

Eri nodded and began to write on the paper, ‘I would like a Barbie doll, please.’

(Y/N) held back awe-ing out loud at the way Eri decided to word her request before picking up a pen to write her own letter.

Hitoshi watched the two of them with a small on his face before pulling his phone out. He snapped a picture right as his girlfriend looked up at him. His eyes widened slightly as he was caught and looked to meet her gaze. “What?”

“Don’t you have a letter to write, too?”

Hitoshi went to say that he didn’t need anything, but stopped himself; he smirked and picked up a pen before writing on the paper as well.

Eventually, after plenty of glitter was spilled and stamps were placed on the envelopes, the letters were set on the kitchen counter ready to be brought to the mailbox in the morning. After eating dinner, Shouta took Eri upstairs to get ready for bed while Hitoshi and (Y/N) set wood in the fireplace so that they could light it.

“So what did you write in your letter?”

(Y/N) looked up at him as her boyfriend spoke up after setting the last log in the fireplace. “That’s for Santa to know and for you to find out later.” She laughed softly as Koda walked up to her and asked for attention. She picked up the cat and stood up and by the mantle as she watched her boyfriend start the fire. “Are you telling me that you forgot to get me a gift as well?”

Hitoshi stood back up and began to pet Koda as he happily laid in (Y/N)’s arms. “No, I got yours a couple weeks ago.”

“Then why do you want to know?”

“Just because.” Hitoshi chuckled and kept his gaze on his cat before finally meeting his girlfriend’s gaze. He smiled as she did the same, simply enjoying the silence; then she realized.

“Where’s your Santa hat?” (Y/N) pouted a little since she had kept hers on all night while her boyfriend had taken his off.

“I took it off. I typically don’t wear hats, you know that.” Hitoshi brought an arm to her waist to pull her close to him, his other hand still petting Koda.

(Y/N) continued to pout, glancing down at Koda. “I know, but you looked cute in it.” Her eyes lit back up and she smiled as she thought of something. “I guess you could say that it soots you.”

Hitoshi eyed her for a moment in silence, not sure how to respond to the pun that his girlfriend just made. “Did you seriously just say that?”

“You love me and you know it, ‘Toshi.” (Y/N) barely got her words out before he gently cupped her cheek and kissed her. After a moment he pulled away slowly, his smile was small but the look in his eyes read that he loved her immensely.

“That I do.”

The two of them simply enjoyed the silence once again, foreheads touching and eyes closed before (Y/N) spoke up, her voice now quiet. “You really wanna know what I asked for?”

Hitoshi shrugged, opening his eyes. “You don’t have to. I was just teasing you.”

“But now I want to tell you.” She giggled, her response making him briefly shake his head. “I asked that you would stay with me, because since I’ve been with you, I’ve truly never been happier.”

Hitoshi stared at her for a moment before breaking out into another smile. “Well, lucky for you, I wasn’t planning on letting you go anytime soon.”

tags: @yee-fxcking-haw​ 

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[mikauzoran]

Lukadrien: Your Hands Hold Home: Chapter Twenty-Nine

@lukadrien-june

Read it on AO3: Your Hands Hold Home: Chapter Twenty-Nine:  “What About Me?” “Anything for You.”

“Ah!” Rose squealed, eyes going as round as her mouth as she scooped the sparkling pink unicorn hooded scarf out of the wrapping paper she had just shredded. “Adrien, I love it!”

She launched herself over Juleka to tackle-hug her future brother-in-law. “You’re the best!”

“I’m really glad you like it,” Adrien chuckled, trying to keep himself from falling over into Luka.

“I love it!” Rose reiterated, giving Adrien a fierce nuzzle.

“It even has mittens attached,” Juleka snickered, picking up the scarf-hat combo to inspect it. She laughed, amused, as she flopped around the gloves at the end of the scarf.

“Marinette outdid herself,” Luka observed, pleased.

“She did,” Juleka agreed before turning her attention to Adrien. “So, whatcha get me?”

Adrien extracted one arm from Rose’s embrace to grab the little package off of the coffee table and hand it to Juleka. “Gloomy Bear hair clips.”

A wide, mischievous grin spread across Juleka’s lips as she tore away the paper to reveal hair clips featuring a pink cartoon bear with blood on his mouth and claws.

“I also talked to some of my industry contacts who haven’t cancelled me, and, if you want, there’s a spot for you to model in some upcoming spring line photoshoots for a couple small boutiques,” Adrien informed sheepishly. “I mean, they’re small, and you’d practically be working for free, but at least it’s getting your name out there and providing you with some experience to put on your resume.”

Juleka clambered over Rose to wrap Adrien in the most crushing hug.

“Thanks, Dri,” she whispered weakly, overcome with emotion.

“You’re welcome,” Adrien replied with a smile, resting his head against hers. “Merry Christmas, Juliet.”

Luka smiled warmly as he watched the exchange and noted how seamlessly Adrien had slipped into the Couffaine family.

“Now I want to see what my Christmas present is,” Luka hummed impishly, waggling his eyebrows.

Adrien’s face instantly flushed, and he looked away bashfully. “I’ll have to give it to you later.”

“Give it to him now,” Rose urged. “We’re not doing anything as a family until lunch. You guys have time.”

Luka arched an eyebrow. “What exactly am I getting?”

Juleka smirked. “Adrien’s got a private concert planned for you as soon as he gets you alone in your bedroom.”

A raging blush stained Luka’s pale skin crimson as he attempted to swallow and find some kind of response. “O-Oh?”

“It’s not like that!” Adrien protested, beginning to squirm. “I just… I wrote a song for you. That’s all.”

Luka inhaled sharply in surprise. “You wrote a song for me?”

With a shy smile, Adrien nodded. “It’s not very good.”

“It’s the sweetest thing,” Rose interjected.

Juleka nodded in agreement. “You’re going to love it, Luc.”

Luka turned back to Adrien. “Show me? …Please?”

Adrien gave a tentative nod. “Okay. If you’re sure you want to hear it.”

Luka slipped his hand into Adrien’s and gave it a squeeze. “P5, I’d love to hear your song.”

Slowly, a hopeful smile filtered onto Adrien’s lips. “Okay.”

“Ow-ow!” Juleka cheered as they got up and headed for Luka’s room.

Luka ignored his sister, but Adrien shot her a pouty glare.

Giggling, Rose admonished her girlfriend, smacking her playfully on the arm before climbing onto Juleka’s lap to snuggle.

That shut Juleka up.

 “Like I said, it’s not very good,” Adrien reiterated as he shut the door behind them and went over to grab the black acoustic guitar he’d been practicing on over the past six months.

Luka rolled his eyes, taking a seat on his bed. “Adrien…your self-esteem issues are as bad as ever, aren’t they?”

“No,” Adrien grumbled defensively, sitting down beside Luka. “I’m just not good at guitar or composition, so…I don’t make music like you and Zay. I just play piano, but I thought it would mean something to you if I composed something on guitar and played it.”

Luka reached out to give Adrien’s arm a reassuring squeeze. “You were absolutely right. I am ecstatic that you put the time and energy into doing this for me. That’s what really counts.”

Blushing, Adrien looked down at his fingers.

“I kind of stole the idea from Xavier-Yves,” he mumbled. “When I heard him play the song he’d written for you, I was kicking myself, wondering why I’d never thought to serenade you, so I hope you don’t mind my lack of originality when it comes to romantic gestures.”

Luka clicked his tongue. “Adrien, you’re speaking my love language. It doesn’t matter if someone else wrote a song for me too. I want to hear what you wrote. I want to hear what’s in your heart.”

Adrien gave a breathy chuckle and shook his head. “I don’t think this song does what’s in my heart justice, but…I guess it’s something, at least.”

Luka nodded in agreement. “I’m going to love it.”

Adrien’s uncertain expression morphed into a warm, affectionate grin. “Yeah. You are, aren’t you?”

“Yep,” Luka encouraged.

Adrien’s grin turned puckish. “…Could you show me how to play F?”

A tiny crease formed on Luka’s brow, but he carefully positioned Adrien’s fingers anyway. “You know where F is.”

Adrien nodded, unashamed at being caught out.

“I just wanted you to touch me,” he admitted. “After my mom disappeared, no one really touched me anymore. That’s why I’m so clingy. Sorry for deceiving you all this time.”

“You dork,” Luka sighed, ruffling Adrien’s hair. “You could have just asked for a hug.”

A bark of laughter caught Adrien by surprise. “I would have been plastered against you constantly.”

“Who says I would have minded?” Luka snorted, a flirtatious note slipping into his voice.

Adrien looked away with a giddy smile. “I did not need to be any more of a hopeless mess over you than I already was. I’m trying to be a well-adjusted, functional adult here.”

Luka gently stroked Adrien’s cheek with a knuckle, whispering, “Love you.”

Adrien chuckled, self-consciously echoing, “Love you too.”

Luka gave Adrien’s thigh a pat and scooted back to give Adrien some space. “Will you play your song for me? Please? I’d love to hear it.”

Adrien nodded and took a couple slow breaths, mentally preparing himself. “This is called Memories of You.”

He swallowed and began to play.

At first, the melody was soft and dreamlike, like skimming along the surface of a pond made of clouds. It was gentle and warm, evoking feelings of safety and reassurance.

A wide grin spread across Luka’s lips at the thought that he made Adrien feel like that.

Gradually, the beat picked up, and the melody became more energetic, bouncing along with passion like running through a field of lavender and spinning in circles with your arms flung wide to embrace life.

The notes spoke of good times full of laughter and fun, but they touched on the hard times as well. The tears and anguish and struggles were all in the music. Longing and comfort were there too.

Luka could hear the times he’d held Adrien in his arms while Adrien cried and the times Luka had calmed Adrien down after a nightmare. There were the times when they’d snuggled and the times when they’d gazed up at the stars…the times when they’d fought and the times they’d made each other crazy. The whole breadth of their relationship was there in the music.

Luka closed his eyes and let it wash over him as he relived each of the memories.

He was surprised to find that, mixed in with the rest, there was a sense of yearning. It took a while for Luka to place, but he eventually identified it as Adrien’s desire to be an equal partner in their relationship. Adrien wanted to be there for Luka, to support him just as Luka had always been there for Adrien.

It nearly took Luka’s breath away.

He wasn’t used to being cherished. People didn’t normally want to protect Luka. Usually, it was Luka taking care of everyone else, putting himself on the backburner so that he could give his all to others.

It was so touching that there was finally someone who wanted to look after Luka.

Silent tears started to stream down Luka’s cheeks as the song gently faded out into the relative silence of the bedroom.

Adrien looked searchingly at Luka, waiting for the verdict.

Luka’s expression was so full of gratitude and desire as he reached up to cup Adrien’s cheek. “I told you I was going to love it.”

Adrien drew in a sharp breath. “Yeah? You did? You liked it?”

Luka nodded. “It means so much to me how much time and hard work you put into making me feel loved. Thank you, Perfect Fifth.”

“Of course,” Adrien chuckled, setting the guitar aside. “I’d do anything to make sure you knew how much you mean to me.”

“Adrien,” Luka breathed, eyes drifting closed as he leaned in.

Adrien gulped, utterly conflicted. “Luka, I…I don’t know if I should…I’m not—”

“—Adrien,” Luka cut him off firmly, hunger in his half-lidded, dark eyes. “Kiss me.”

Adrien knew he ought to say no. He was still a mess. He was worlds better than he had been four months before when they’d last discussed dating, but Adrien wasn’t ready to be in a relationship yet. He couldn’t be there for Luka and support him the way Adrien wanted to be able to. Adrien still relied on Luka for so much, and it wasn’t fair. Adrien didn’t want to be the needy one in this relationship. He wanted to be Luka’s equal.

“Adrien,” Luka whimpered. “We’re already practically dating. What difference would it actually make?”

“A big one,” Adrien protested, pulling away.

With a sigh, he grabbed the guitar and went to put it back on its stand.

When he turned back around, Luka was gazing at him with something akin to despair.

Adrien’s heart broke for the boy he loved, and he inevitably gave in.

“Okay. Just because it’s Christmas. For one day only,” he stressed, placing one knee on the bed and lowering his face to Luka’s. “One kiss only.”

Luka knew that he was manipulating Adrien, but, for once, he decided to be selfish. He’d been good for four long months—six if you counted the time before Adrien had confessed his feelings. Luka couldn’t help but feel like one kiss wasn’t such a grave sin.

Their lips met, and it was like a jolt of electricity.

Luka didn’t hold back. His arms wrapped around Adrien, and he arched up, moaning into the kiss.

Adrien was easy to entice, and one kiss became two became four until they all blurred together and Luka and Adrien lost track.

The burning assertiveness gradually faded into curious exploration before slowly devolving into a sloppy mess of languid pleasure.

Adrien completely disheveled Luka’s hair. Meanwhile, Luka’s hands cautiously meandered down south until he finally achieved his longstanding dream of touching Adrien’s butt.

Adrien gave a little squeak of surprise but was back to kissing Luka before Luka could even ask if he needed to move his hands.

Half an hour slipped by unmarked before Adrien raised his head to look down at Luka beneath him.

“That…was more than one kiss,” Adrien observed.

“Yeah,” Luka agreed, voice husky and pupils blown wide, need evident.

Blushing furiously, Adrien scrambled off of Luka, throwing his legs over the side of the bed and pointedly not looking at Luka.

“I’m not ready for this,” Adrien informed flatly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to lead you on. I didn’t—”

Luka extracted his brain from his pants and pushed himself up onto his elbow, reaching out to run gentle fingertips up and down Adrien’s spine. “—Shhhh. Perfect Fifth, it’s fine. You weren’t leading me on. I know I guilted you into that kiss in the first place. I’m not expecting anything more from you, so just relax, okay?”

Adrien anxiously peeked back over his shoulder. “You’re not? Expecting anything? Physically, I mean?”

Luka shook his head. “The fact that I’ve slept with previous partners doesn’t have anything to do with our relationship. We go at our own speed. Whatever’s right for us. Okay?”

Adrien blew out a sigh of relief. “Okay. All right. Good.”

He bit his lip and turned to face Luka. “Because I’m not ready to be in a relationship with you yet.”

A cloudy expression drifted onto Luka’s features.

“I’m not ready,” Adrien repeated before Luka could protest. “I’m sorry. I just—Aren’t things okay as they are? I don’t want anything to change. I don’t want to mess up what we have.”

Luka took a deep breath and placed his hand over Adrien’s. “You don’t have to be afraid, P5. It’s going to be okay. Like I said before, we’re already practically dating. Not a whole lot will change once we make it official. I know you’re scared, but I promise you everything’s going to be fine.”

Adrien still didn’t look convinced.

Luka gave Adrien’s hand a squeeze. “Will you give me the chance to prove to you that everything’s going to be all right?”

Adrien worried his bottom lip between his teeth. “…Let me think about it?”

Luka nodded, willing to take whatever he could get. It was a step in the right direction at least. “Okay. Sure. Absolutely. …Thank you.”

A small smile graced Adrien’s lips as he laid down on the bed with a sigh. “Thank you. For being patient with me. I know I’m driving you crazy.”

Luka winced. “It’s not that bad.”

Adrien arched an eyebrow, calling Luka’s bluff.

Luka sighed, lying down in defeat. “Okay. Yeah. Pining like this is hard, but…I get that you want to be healthy going into a relationship. I appreciate that you’re taking this so seriously and trying to do it right.”

Adrien leaned in and pressed a grateful peck to Luka’s jaw. “Because I love you.”

“You’re killing me,” Luka groaned through a grin.

Adrien snickered. “You a masochist or something?”

“A little,” Luka chuckled. “—Oh. That reminds me.”

Adrien looked skeptical. “Of what exactly?”

“Your present.” Luka sat up and leaned over Adrien to get at the bedside table drawer. Out of it he produced a small present the size of a necklace box.

Adrien frowned as he carefully slid his finger underneath the edges of the wrapping paper and pealed back the tape.

Inside of the box he found a soft, velvety black ribbon made to look like a belt with a silver buckle, a metal tip on the end, and tiny holes to approximate a real belt.

“It’s…my Chat Noir belt…in miniature,” Adrien realized without understanding why he was receiving such a gift.

Luka smiled sheepishly. “Do you remember that one time you told me you thought you might like it if someone tied you up with your belt and chose to use that power over you to take care of you?”

Adrien’s entire face went red as he burst out laughing. “Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Are you serious?”

Luka nodded.

Adrien hugged the ribbon to his chest and laughed harder. “I can’t even… I love you so much. You have no idea. This is just… Thank you.”

“I did look into bondage after that,” Luka confessed. “I asked around a little and did some research, but I came to the conclusion that I’m never going to feel comfortable actually tying you up. I did, however, come up with a compromise. May I?”

He held out his hand for the ribbon, and Adrien readily complied.

“Hold out your wrists?” Luka requested, and Adrien did.

Luka looped the ribbon around Adrien’s wrists, tying it loosely so that it didn’t chafe and Adrien could easily slip his hands out.

“You’re on the honor system to stay tied up,” Luka informed with a wink, making Adrien giggle. “It’s more symbolic bondage than anything, but I thought maybe you’d like it.”

“I do,” Adrien verified, giving Luka’s cheek another kiss. “Thank you, Luka. I appreciate you looking into this for me and the miniature belt and—Did Marinette make this?” he thought to ask.

“I didn’t tell her what it was for,” Luka assured.

“Okay. Good,” Adrien sighed. “…Can I tie you up with my belt sometimes, or is that weird?”

Luka shrugged, holding out his wrists. “I’m good so long as you’re happy.”

Adrien transferred the ribbon from his own wrists to Luka’s and grinned at the effect.

Luka smirked. “What are you going to do to me now that you have me at your mercy?”

Adrien’s smile turned soft and warm. “Love and protect you.”

Luka’s cheeks suddenly felt unbearably hot. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Adrien confirmed, eyes all adoration.

Luka gulped. “I’d really like that, actually.”

Adrien looked at Luka hard before promising resolutely, “…I’m going to become someone who can take care of you.”

Luka shook his head. “You already are, Adrien.”

Adrien didn’t look like he believed it.

Luka slipped his hands out of the ribbon and patted Adrien on the head. “You are. I promise. …Come on. Let’s make ourselves presentable so we can help Rose and Juleka with lunch.”

Adrien pressed one last kiss to Luka’s cheek before complying.

[kaimelia]

Homage (Pt 2)

a/n: hi, super sorry for the delay with this. this ended up being more amelia/link centric than I intended it to be, but I hope you enjoy anyway

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"Hey, let's just take a moment to step back and take a deep breath." Amelia turned around to face Link, feeling his hand on her shoulder in the motion of comfort he often made. "Whatever happens, I'm going to be right here, and you don't have to worry about losing me."

"Until my Mom tells you about every mistake I've ever made in my life and scares you off," she muttered, rolling her head to each side. Link brought his fingers up to press under her jawbone, lightly massaging the skin as he worked up to her temples.

"Relax. I've seen enough of your crazy to know what I'm getting myself into." She rolled her eyes at him.

"It's not funny."

"You're really worried about this? Amelia," Link lifted up her hand to stop her from picking at her nails, "I genuinely don't think that there is anything your mother could say to make me think differently of you. You've got me pretty hooked."

"When she and I talked about her coming to visit, it seemed so far away, and I was half-convinced it would never happen, so I felt fine talking to her about it, but now she's twenty minutes away in a cab, and I feel like I'm going to throw up." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, pressing a slow kiss to her forehead. She sighed and leaned into his chest.

"If you're actually going to throw up, just let me know, so I'm not in the line of fire," he whispered, resting his head on top of hers.

"Why are you so calm? Shouldn't you be like, freaking out now that you're meeting my Mom as my boyfriend?" He pulled away and shrugged, holding her shaky hands in his.

"I don't feel much of an expectation, especially considering the relationship you have with her." She rolled her eyes again, dropping her hands from his and walking over to the table.

"Scout's asleep right now. Which means that he'll be awake just after she gets here, which means that he'll be fussing, and my mother will think that I'm incapable of calming my son down." Link raised his eyebrows and stifled a laugh, following her to where she was standing.

"Okay, can we just take a breath?" She met his eyes, inhaling deeply and exhaling as he did. "Your mother raised five children and has dozens of grandchildren; I'm sure that she has plenty of experience with babies, and she's not going to judge you if he cries."

"She might hate the apartment and think that we're raising our son in a space unfit for a baby."

"Hey, I love this apartment. It's very homey, and we have our own plans. We're not going to be living here forever; this is just a temporary space while we look at houses." She glanced around the space, eyeing the pile of toys in the corner of the living room. Link seemed to follow her gaze. "Kids play with toys. He's 16 months old; of course, he's going to have way too many toys."

"How do you manage to talk me down from every thought?" He shrugged again casually, moving over to organize the toys.

"I get used to living with you and your brain and how quickly it moves." Link held out his arm, motioning for her to come to join him. "Cleaning something will help you relax. Make you feel like you're fixing something, something you can touch and make better." She sighed dramatically and joined him, putting Scout's blocks away into the carrier neatly. Link continued to busy her for the next while, pointing out the minor things in the apartment that could be fixed. She froze at the sound of a knock on the door, her eyes widening in fear.

"She's here," Amelia muttered, straightening her appearance. "Crap, she's actually here."

"I'll get it-"

"No, I should." He watched as she stood still, and he placed his hand on her shoulder, lightly pushing her forward. "Okay, here I go." Link trailed behind her to the door, his hand settling on her back as a reminder he was there. She let out a deep breath and pulled at the door handle, straightening her posture. "Hey, Mom, oh-" The older Shepherd pulled her daughter into a tight hug, quickly muttering some complaint about her flight.

"And you too, come here," Link's body tensed as she pulled him into a hug, Amelia nearly laughing as his eyes widened comically. "Don't be shy; you're family too now, Atticus." He leaned back, nodding his head tentatively and cringing.

"Just Link. No one calls me Atticus." He offered his hand out, and Carolyn shooed it away.

"No need for formalities; where should I put my bags?" Link moved past her to grab the suitcase, groaning at the unexpected weight of it.

"Link will take you to the guest room. How about I go get Scout? He's been napping, so he might be a little grumpy-"

"Oh, don't wake him. If he's anything like you were as a baby, I'm sure he needs his nap time." Link rubbed his girlfriend's shoulder before motioning towards the guest room, leading the older woman to the space. He set the suitcase on the ground and let her know he'd leave her to unpack before exiting to join his girlfriend in the living room.

"First five minutes went well," he muttered, collapsing onto the couch. "Why am I already exhausted?" She looked back at him.

"We've got two more days of this; you can't be exhausted yet." Amelia walked over to the couch and sat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I am, too, though." The couple sat up simultaneously as their son called out. Amelia quickly pushed herself off the sofa and speed-walked down the hallway, stopping at the sight of her mother holding her son. "Oh, I can get him," she muttered, placing a hand on the doorframe.

"He's my grandson; I can handle him, Amelia." The neurosurgeon bit her lip as she watched her mother rock Scout back and forth.

"Momma," Scout muttered, holding his arm out towards where Amelia was standing. She grinned and walked over, taking him from her mother, placing a kiss on the baby's head.

"Did you finish unpacking?" Carolyn waved her hand down.

"I'm only here for two days; I didn't bring too much." She sat down in the rocking chair against the wall, watching her daughter. "You know, your sisters keep complaining that you don't talk to them enough."

"Yeah, well, when I do, they're not exactly the nicest people." Amelia placed Scout down on the ground at took his hand, helping him to gain his footing. "Let's go out into the living room; he'll find something to play with." They left the nursery, Scout immediately picking up his pace and speeding towards his father, who lifted him and hugged him tightly.

"What're you doing awake?" Scout giggled as Link tickled him, his attention soon diverting to his mother, who was pulling out blocks.

"Block!" The boy hurried over to Amelia and sat down across from her on the carpet in the living room, pulling out different colored blocks.

"So, Link, tell me about yourself. I feel like I barely know who you are; Amelia keeps hiding you away."

"Mom," she protested, placing a block down.

"I'm just being honest, Amy." Amelia rolled her eyes and turned back to her son.

"It's fine," Link laughed, clasping his hands together. "Uh, I'm from Seattle, I'm an orthopedic surgeon, my parents live in Denver, I lived in L.A. for a while before coming up to work for the Mariners, and then I ended up at Grey-Sloan, which is where Amelia and I met." Carolyn raised her eyebrows and nodded, sitting down on the loveseat beside the couch.

"So, should I be expecting a wedding sometime soon? Because I promise we will come, as long as you give us proper notice."

"Mom! Please."

"Amelia, you have a habit of not telling us things and then expecting us to show up when it's convenient for you." The neurosurgeon rubbed her forehead and made eye contact with her boyfriend, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Link, could you bring Scout to his room, please?" He raised his eyebrows, standing up slowly and lifting Scout, quickly leaving the room. Amelia looked over at her mother and sat down on the couch. "Mom, I gave you over two weeks' notice of the wedding. That was plenty of time for you to fly out and come be there for me, and now that we have Scout, I need to know that you're going to be there if you want to be involved in his life," she muttered, folding her hands over each other. "And I know I haven't made the most effort to be a part of the family; I'm still not exactly keen on the idea of spending Christmas in New York and Thanksgiving with all of my sisters, but I told you about Scout for a reason."

"Is Link the one?" Amelia smiled and nodded her head, feeling her cheeks warm at her immediate, subconscious reaction.

"He is. And we're going to get married someday, and I'll want you there."

"You realize that you're going to have to let me spend time with him, yes?" She rolled her eyes.

"I know. Just promise not to embarrass me too much, okay?" She watched as her mother nodded sternly before sighing.

"Can I hug you?" Amelia grinned and leaned forward, shocked at the unfamiliar comfort she felt in her mother's embrace. "You know, even if I don't do a great job of showing it, I am proud of you, Amy."

[pinkpetalwaterimagine]

A Christmas nightmare

A/N : Hi everyone ! here a new imagine. (english isn’t my first language, feel free to point out mistakes ❤️❤️) anyway enjoy Bonne lecture 🌈❤️

word count : 2.3K 

Summary : Charlie’s mom hates YN, she blames you of Charlie being away (angst) 

Christmas, what a beautiful time of the year. Everything about Christmas was so beautiful and it just radiates happiness from everywhere. The Christmas lights hanging around the trees outside, the thousands lights illuminating the streets. It was so enjoyable, you loved being cooped up in your apartment in a big sweatshirt most of the time belonging to your boyfriend, reading with a hot cocoa cup. 

Even if all of this was beautiful and everything, you had to focus on your work. You loved Christmas but you knew that if you wanted to enjoy your vacations you had to finish everything. Needless to say you were a little bit stressed but you could always count on Charlie to cheer you up. He was always trying his best to put a smile on your face. He would bring you cup of coffee or whatever beverages you fancied. When he wasn’t around he would sent you some goofy pictures of what he was doing. You loved all of his cute intentions he was always the one to take in your feelings and you were trying to do the same for him. Your relationship with Charlie was all about giving and being happy the two of you. 

After being with him for more than three years it was natural that you will be going celebrating Christmas with his family and you just couldn’t wait. You had met his family a couple of times because the two of you were so far away from them but you still knew them a little bit. This Christmas was going to be perfect, or so you thought. 

« Come on babe ! We need to go if you want to be in time at your parent’s house. » you yelled towards the stairs leading to your room where Charlie was getting ready. You were wanting for him to be done and oh boy does he take some time to get ready. You were loading the trunk of your car with your luggages when Charlie finally showed up. 

« I know, I know, I was a bit long in the shower. But I love you. » he said, obviously trying to coax you. 

« Get in the car pretty boy » you said laughing, and you swear you saw his cheeks turn into a crimson color. You pinched his cheeks before going behind the wheel and driving for another three hours. 

The ride was filled with laughter and singing. The two of you had always been comfortable around the other. Even at the beginning of your relationship you knew that you could trust Charlie with your life. It was a feeling you had never felt before, a feeling of complete trust, you knew that you could tell him everything and he would still be there for you. He had this soft glimpse in his eyes that makes you want to tell him your secrets and just cuddle him. And he knew that he had this power over you and sometimes he used it against you and you could never resist. This boy, this man is everything you had dreamed for. The man that you could brought home to your parents without feeling stressed because you knew that they would like him. Who could not ? He was almost perfect. He still had his quirks but still he was yours and you weren’t ready to let him go. 

Even if you had already met a part of his family you still wanted this dinner to go smoothly. You knew that Charlie’s family was everything to him. He loved them so much and was ready to drop everything if they needed him. He was the pride of his family, going off to LA, and Landing a big contract with Netflix and still being such a sweet and humble man. It was one of the many reasons that made you fall more in love with him.  

Four hours later, after being stuck in traffic jam you finally reached your destination : the family home of the Gillespie. He smiled at you, a wide and happy smile that you not so often saw. He was happy to be home. 

You had just the time to stop the car and the man child next to you was already out, running towards the door of his childhood home. It was warming your heart seeing him that way. You knew he missed being home. 

You chuckled and took the key out of the ignition before taking the suitcase you brought, containing the numerous gifts and clothes you needed for the weekend. 

You finally reached the threshold, almost falling several times due to the ice on the road. Charlie was already engulfed in his mother’s arms, laughing and talking. 

You had already met his siblings several times. More than you had met his parents and they really liked you and always included you in the family gatherings and everything. They all huge you asking how you were and everyone was making small talk in the hallway. You finally have access to Mrs Gillespie and went in for a hug like you always did with her. You felt her tense around you and you asked yourself why. Had you done something wrong in the three minutes you’ve been here ? Only Charlie’s mother was acting weird towards you. Everyone seemed cool and nice like they always had been. You decided to let it slide and move from the hallway to the dining table. 

The Gillespie household was never a calm one, every time you visited it was filled with laughter and talking. Overall, it was always a fun experience, the fire was cracking inside the chimney and everyone had tinted cheeks due to the heat and had a cup of tea or any hot beverage. You always enjoyed coming in here. 

« Before we begin our Christmas dinner I have a little something for everyone ! » Charlie’s mother said with a wide smile. She passed around her children and gifted them cute Christmas sweaters. She even gave one to the girlfriends of Charlie’s brothers. You were the only left out, everyone put their sweaters on and you seemed to stuck out so much. You felt like you weren’t a part of the family, which granted you weren’t legally but after three years of dating Charlie you thought that they considered you a part of their family. Apparently you were wrong. What hurt the most was that no-one noticed that you didn’t receive a sweatshirt. You felt excluded of their gathering, and even Charlie didn’t noticed that you were a bit taken aback. « Those sweatshirts are just amazing ! Don’t you agree babe ? » He asked you and you thought that he had nerve telling you this. However you didn’t let this show in your demeanor : « you are beautiful bae, as always » you answered quietly with a forced smile. 

Even the girlfriends that they had never met until now had one ! During dinner you couldn’t get this thought out of your mind. You were quiet during dinner, talking when asked to but never really engaging. Charlie was speaking enough for the both of you. 

When everyone was done, you got up, helping clearing out the table and loading the dishwasher. As you were doing back and forth from the dining room and the kitchen you overheard a conversation between Charlie’s mother and himself. 

« You can tell me when you want to come ! It’s been such a long time since we saw you ! I’m sure that it is because of your girlfriend ! She doesn’t want you to come here and see us ?! This is it ?! » she asked sounding angry. 

You couldn’t believe she thought like this, you never forbade anything to Charlie or anyone for that matter. You waited for Charlie’s answer, you knew he would defend you and speak the truth. 

« Mom, that’s not true, I’m just busy. » he said calmly but she went back at it again « Like I would believe this ». He said nothing and you felt your heart broke a little more. You never thought that this Christmas would turn that way. You waited for a minute before entering the kitchen with the dirty plates. It was only you and Charlie’s mother. You felt uneasy standing next to her knowing her true feelings about you. 

« Listen Y/N, I know that my son says that he is busy but I know you are the one preventing him from coming home. I think that you are with him just for his fame and money and I won’t have that under my roof or nowhere ! » she was saying all of this calmly and quietly and you didn’t know how to answer to that. You didn’t realized she was feeling that way and perceived you like that. 

« But, it’s not me ! The both of us are working hard and I’m not with him for his money ! Do you realize what you are saying ?! » you were growing mad and you won’t let this woman walk over you. The times being bullied by anyone were done. « You are just a gold digger and I know it’s a dark and complicated world out there but please let my son out of your life. » she was playing the sympathy card but that wasn’t going to cut it with you. 

« You are crazy ! There’s no other explanation » you said a bit louder. 

« What? » the voice came from behind you and before even turning around you knew it came from Charlie. You sighed before facing whatever was awaiting for you. 

« I can’t believe you would say such a thing to my mother. She welcomed you with open arms in our house and now you are insulting her ? » he said angrily. You had never saw him like that, he was always this free spirited man that was always the cool one. But seeing him so angry almost repulsed by you was the worst. You had been together for three years and you felt your relationship crumbled under your fingertips because of three words. 

« Charlie please, let me explain » he cut you mid-sentence « I don’t care, I think you should go. » you were frozen in place. He asked you to leave, in the middle of the night, during almost a snowstorm without anywhere to go. 

« That’s why you never see your family. Goodbye. » he was so cold and his words were like ice swords going through your heart. Tears began falling on your cheeks. Being this humiliated you decided to not cause a bigger scene you quickly took your coat and suitcase running towards the door. As you passed the dining room you heard the laughter of the family around the Christmas tree. Once in the safety of your car you thought about the catastrophe that just happened. You could never forget those cold eyes from either of them. His mother had a small smile but Charlie’s face was stern, his eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes oh so loving before were replacing by something you never saw, towards you or anyone. Hatred, disgust. You couldn’t believe that was the last memory you will have with him, This messy breakup. It was obviously a break up. You knew that he wouldn’t come crawling back to you, he wasn’t the type and after what he said you could never look at him again. 

Driving always had this therapeutic virtue of emptying your head. You were concentrating on the road and that was all on your mind. After two hours of driving in circle with snow covering the road, you stopped in a hotel. You couldn’t stand the look of pity from the steward and from everyone. You climbed to your room before crying and bawling your eyes out into the pillow. You don’t think that the two of you will be able to get through this. After excessive crying you finally fall asleep of pure exhaustion. 

Packing your bags was hard. You were at Charlie’s apartment. It was for the two of you but you decided it was better to leave before he came back. You weren’t ready to confront him, see him, talk to him. The memories kept coming at you like hurtful punches. The several picture of you hanging around the place, being happy, smiling and laughing. Your eyes were waterfalls. You decided to keep only one thing from him, it was a picture of the two of you on your first date. You had your head on his shoulders smiling, looking towards the camera while Charlie was looking at you with the biggest smile he could have. 

Your closet was always filled to the brim, and as you were clearing out your part one of Charlie fancy jacket fell on the ground. You put it back on the rack but you noticed something fell with the jacket. It was a black velvety small box. It couldn’t be a lot of things and your mind jumped to conclusion. Did he wanted to marry you ? Had he purchased the ring ? You opened the box and saw the most gorgeous ring, it was simple just a small diamond but you didn’t like thing too big or shiny. You couldn’t breathe. He was planning on marrying you ! You never talked much about this but of course you would have said yes. Leaving this place knowing that he was ready for a life commitment was the worst. You questioned your relationship on every aspect. What went wrong ? One morning he was ready to marry you and in just three hours he was ready to throw you out of his home. 

Your car was filled with suitcases and your belongings. It was also filled with sadness and misery. You left a note and the key as well as the black box you found, on the counter in the kitchen : « I guess we weren’t that good for each other. I was willing to give you an explanation but you didn’t care. I guess it means it’s the end for us. I was hoping that we wouldn’t end, ever. And apparently you wished for the same thing before all of this. Goodbye, Y/N ». You signed with your own name and not some silly nickname he always gave you. You didn’t make a small heart like you used to do. Nothing you would do would be like before. 

Your car was leaving the complex the both of you used to live in when on the other side of the road you recognized Owen’s car. Charlie was on the passenger seat. You tried to not look at them as if you didn’t saw them they wouldn’t saw you. This gate could not open any slower ! Finally you were able to drive down the road. 

« Wasn’t it Y/N in the car ? » Owen asked.