#I mean I guess I had a similar reaction when it came to Cookie Run and food

[quibbs126]

At this point I'm genuinely considering borrowing books on automobiles/cars/planes/military vehicles from my library now, just so I can understand that half of the Transformers and maybe better make OCs or alt modes for characters if I so felt like it

I have never once had an interest in cars prior

Transformers is taking over my brain

[shadow-assassin-blix]

How do you like me now

William ‘Ironhead’ Miller x reader

Another song fic. Warnings: dumb ex, shitty parents. 

So, I’ve had this one on my mind for a long while, and I may actually write more about this one, like a mini series maybe. I also just like the thought of Will having a kid and the shenanigans. 

Everything: @mikeisthricedeceased 

Triple Frontier Boys: @artsymaddie @mcrmarvelloki​ 

Yeah, I was always the crazy one broke into the stadium

And I wrote your number on the 50-yard line

Will wouldn’t have admitted openly but when he was younger, he was a lot like Santi in that he slept around a lot. Broke many hearts when he was a teenager. To put it simply? He was an ass.

Time in the army changed that, especially when he met the men who would become his brothers. Between Pope, Catfish, and Redfly he was nowhere near the same person he was when he left high school. Benny liked to tease him a lot, whenever they came home to visit their parents.

In fact, that was what he was currently doing. He, and Benny, were driving home with Santi and Frankie in the back. His parents needed furniture moved out; they were downsizing to a smaller home.  So, the four of them were going to be their muscles for it.

Benny was exaggerating many parts of several stories, that caused Will to roll his eyes constantly before correcting him.

He pulled into the driveway of his parent’s home, quietly wondering whose car was parked in front of their house. He shrugged it off not thinking too hard on it. The four of them walked up to the door and knocked.

Their mother, Winnie Miller, opened the door with a smile, “My boys! You’re early!”

She greeted Santi and Frankie as they all came inside with hugs and cheek kisses.

“Figured we may as well get here as soon as possible to start moving stuff out,” Will explained as his mother fretted over him and Benny, stating ‘we were too skinny.’

“Well, I do have some company but that shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Come into the kitchen, we just made some cookies,” Winnie said as she led them forward.

Benny bounded forward excitedly rushing past their mother to the kitchen. As they caught up to him, Will noticed he had stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the person sitting at the island.

“Benny, what the hell are y-…” Will started to ask but stopped as he took her in as well.

He muttered her name as he watched her straightened up.

You were always the perfect one and a valedictorian

So under your number I wrote "Call for a good time"

“You mean She-Devil?” Benny grumbled glaring at her.

She waved awkwardly, and said, “Benny. Hey, Will.”

“What are you doing here, Venus?” Will asked her, using her old nickname from high school.

“Just uh… talking…” She answered biting her lip, looking uncomfortable at the attention she was receiving.

“Hm. Talking? Planning on running someone else over?” Benny asked mockingly.

“It was an accident,” She mumbled shaking her head.

“Is that another exaggeration?” Santi asked as he and Frankie moved to stand to the side.

“Nope. She jumped the curb and broke Will’s leg in 3 places!” Benny exclaimed, waving his arms.

Will winced slightly at that and scratched the back of his neck.

“Can you not?” Venus threw back crossing her arms.

“Benny. Chill. Just… go outside with the guys, please,” Will commanded him gently not wanting a fight to start.

Just then a small voice could be heard behind him, “Mommy?”

Venus tensed, taking a deep breath, before passing by him to walk into the living room. On the couch was a little girl, who had been taking a nap.

Will gazed at the girl noting she was about 3 years old, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Blue eyes that looked eerily similar to his own.

“Benny. Seriously, go outside. Calm down,” Will called over his shoulder, his eyes never leaving Venus and her daughter.

He heard Benny huff and storm outside.

“I’ll go… talk to him,” Came Santi’s voice as he followed Benny.

Frankie looked at the two people in the living room, and then at Will. He could very easily connect the dots that was going on within Will’s brain.

Will stepped forward and glanced between her and the child.

“Something you want to tell me?” Will questioned her softly.

She sighed, picking her daughter up, who immediately clung to her neck.

“Her name is Charlotte,” She said quietly.

“…. After my grandmother?” Will murmured lowly.

She nodded once, not making eye contact.

Will nodded, rubbing his hand over his face, exasperated.

He walked back into the kitchen, giving his mother a pointed look.

“Give her a chance to explain,” Winnie pleaded.

He sighed heavily, before turning back around. However, she wasn’t there. He could hear doors closing and the sound of an engine starting up.

“Seems you got some splainin’ to do, brother,” Frankie stated as he snagged a cookie.

Will turned to his mother, and inquired, “How long have you known?”

“A couple of months. She… she was going through some things and came home to deal with some shit with her parents. I saw her at the grocery store with Lottie and knew immediately. Course, she tried to deny it at first, but Lottie looks exactly like you. Can’t fool me,” Winnie explained as Benny and Santi came back in.

“What are we talking about?” Benny was confused as to what he just walked into.

“Nothing,” Will said shortly, turning and walking out of the house.

He knew where she was heading. Same place she always did when she was stressed.

I only wanted to get your attention

But you overlooked me somehow

It was a 15-minute drive to the nearby park, and another 10 minutes following an old hiking path that led to a beautiful pond.

That was where she was, with her… their… daughter who was happily chasing after butterflies.

“Figured you’d be here,” He announced his arrival as he stood near her.

“You always did know me best,” She replied, not looking at him.

Will sat next to her on the worn bench that had been there since they were in high school. He fondly watched their daughter as she began to make flower crowns.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He softly asked her.

“Because it was a one-night stand, after far too many shots. Figured you didn’t want to see me ever again. When I found out I was pregnant… I wanted to tell you but…” She started but her voice faltered at the end.

“But you thought I would reject you?” He supplied as he stared at her, noting her teary eyes.

She nodded in response, “Yeah. Plus, there was… a lot of drama with my parents and I didn’t want to involve you.”

“My mother mentioned that. What happened?” Will wanted answers.

“You remember how I told you about my last ex, when we… were last together?” She began, waiting for his nod. “Imagine their reaction when they found out I was pregnant.”

He rolled his eyes up to the high heavens, “Let me guess? They threw a conniption?”

“…Sorta…” She said softly. “They disowned me.”

Will raised an eyebrow at that, “They what? Seriously?’

“Yep. No inheritance for me. We don’t even really talk anymore. They keep trying to say they’ll forgive me and give it back if I marry someone that they approve. Too bad I am not 16 anymore, desperate for their attention,” She said bitterly.

He snorted at that, “So, my mom discovered your secret. What’s been happening there?”

“She keeps insisting that I come over to eat. Says I’m too skinny. I think she also just likes being a grandma,” She replied with a shake of her head. “I have my own place, I just… go over there to keep her company. Don’t… don’t exactly have any friends here. At least not anymore.”

“Mh. She says that about everyone,” Will smiled. “You still have me.”

She looked over at him surprised, but appreciative. She gently scooted closer to him, giving him a side hug. He returned it, kissing the top of her head.

“Mommy? Who this?” Came Lottie’s voice.

They parted, and looked toward her, and her handful of flowers.

“Lottie. This is Will…your daddy,” She introduced her pulling her in close.

She looked at Will with wide eyes, before making grabby hands toward him. Will chuckled as he picked her up, letting her stand on his legs.

“Hi sweetheart,” He said sweetly to her.

She smiled shyly, looking down at her feet for a moment.

“May I hug you?” Her voice softly asked.

Will nodded with a smile, holding his arms out accepting the hug that she gave him. Her grip tightened after a moment and she collapsed against him. He held her in his arms, glancing over at Venus who was watching them fondly.

Besides you had too many boyfriends to mention

And I played my guitar too loud

An hour later, he was returning home alone. Venus took Charlotte home to finish her nap; they had made plans to have dinner together tonight.

He stepped inside the house with a heavy sigh, tossing his keys onto the side table near the door. He made his way back into the kitchen, where the guys and his parents were gathered drinking lemonade and eating cookies.

He snatched a glass from the cabinet and poured out some lemonade. He took a drink from it as his parents excused themselves to the living room.

“What the hell is going on Will?” Benny asked crossing his arms.

“Better question, who was the babe that apparently ran you over?” Santi chimed in looking at the two of them.

Will walked over to the table, taking a seat, waiting for the guys to join him.

“Venus… was the head cheerleader who I dated for several months. I broke up with her…. a week after we finally slept together… Needless to say…. She didn’t take it well,” Will began to explain.

“‘Didn’t take it well.’ Sure. That’s putting it lightly,” Benny rolled his eyes.

“She really ran you over?” Santi asked incredulously.

Will nodded once, wincing at the memory.

“So, yeah. She did that. Then we never really spoke to one another…until about 4 years ago,” Will continued.

“You saw her 4 years ago? Why? What the hell prompted you to talk to the She-Devil?” Benny questioned angrily.

“Hey, enough with the ‘She devil’ stuff alright? It…. Was some time after Jessica called off our engagement. Was at a bar… so was she… we talked,” Will explained vaguely.

“You mean the two of you got shit faced and slept together?” Santi laughed.

Will shrugged somewhat, avoiding eye contact with Benny.

“She had been engaged herself… and… the guy was killed in a hit and run incident… 3 days before their wedding. Apparently, her parents didn’t approve of him because he was an artist, not something fancy like a lawyer. Her parents had no sympathy for her,” Will cleared his throat briefly. “So, yeah. We drank. We slept together….”

“…made a kid…” Frankie coughed quietly.

Benny’s face became one of pure disbelief before he stood up, shaking his head, and leaving the room.

“The little tyke we saw earlier?” Santi clarified.

Will and Frankie both nodded, with Frankie adding with a tease, “Looked just like Will too. Frown and all.”

Will rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face as he thought about how much Charlotte looked like him.

When I took off to Tennessee

I heard that you made fun of me

Approximately 2 hours later, Will had cleaned up and stood in front of Venus’ apartment. He knocked firmly and heard a small set of feet run to the door. He heard the doorknob jiggle a few times before it finally turned, and the door swung open.

He looked down, spotting his mini me, shyly looking around the door.

“Hi,” She quietly said, opening the door a little wider for him.

“Hey sweetie,” Will greeted her with a smile, stepping inside. “Where’s your mom at?”

“In here!” Came Venus’ voice from further in the apartment.

Charlotte grabbed his pants leg, tugging on it slightly. Will squatted down near her, closing and locking the door as he did.

“Mommy’s trying to impress you, but she’s not the best cook,” Charlotte whispered to him.

Will snorted softly, nodding his head, “She wasn’t a good cook when we were younger either. Let me go see if I can save dinner yeah?”

Charlotte giggled at that, and the two of them made their way toward the kitchen.

Will came up beside Venus and asked, “So, what are you making?”

“It… it was supposed to be chicken alfredo but… apparently the kitchen still hates me when I try to cook because nothing turned out right,” She answered biting her lip, looking dejected as she tried turned off the stove.

Will looked at it and noted that she had burned a great deal of it, and not much could be rescued.

“So… Pizza?” Will suggested looking back at her.

She shrugged, grabbing the takeout menus and setting them out. Will watched as she walked down the hallway, mumbling she was going to clean up a bit. Will ordered the food, and then cleaned the pans, tossing out the inedible food. When the pans were clean, he told Charlotte to go clean up as well, while he checked on Venus.

He walked toward her bedroom, noting the light coming from it. He took a step knocking lightly on the door looking around for her. She wasn’t in the bedroom, so he moved over to the ensuite bathroom.

“Venus? You okay?” He quietly asked her.

He didn’t hear a response, so he gently pushed open the door. She was standing at the sink, glaring down at it. He leaned against the counter, his hand gently resting on top of hers.

She glanced at it, her gaze slowly moving up to meet his.

“Sorry for ruining dinner. Guess I should stick to baking, never have a problem there,” She said to him with a small shrug.

“Sweetie… I knew the second we decided to have dinner, that it would probably be takeout. I don’t mind. Maybe, I need to teach you how to cook…or at least see where you keep going wrong,” Will lightly teased her.

She weakly chuckled, “I might take you up on that. Does… does that mean you may stick around?”

“Probably… We’ll talk more later,” Will promised. “Now, let’s go watch a movie while we wait for pizza.”

She nodded, and without letting go of her hand, he walked with her back to the living room. Charlotte was on the floor in front of the movie case, trying to pick out a movie.

She eventually chose Big Hero Six, the three of them settling onto the couch to watch it. Will got up about 30 mins in to grab and pay for the pizza. Once everyone had a slice, and drinks, they resumed. Charlotte fell asleep after a slice and a half, toward the end of the movie.

Will easily picked her up, following Venus to her room. He tucked her into bed, Venus placing a large polka dot elephant in with her.

When they stepped back out, Venus whispered, “That elephant is her favorite, she will not sleep through the night if it’s not with her.”

“Good to know,” Will whispered back, looking down at her fondly.

Venus could feel her face warm at the look Will was giving her, and felt her breath hitch slightly, as Will leaned down. He paused, waiting to see if she objected to him making a move. When he saw none, he continued, pressing his lips lightly to hers.

Venus froze for a moment, before responding, kissing back more firmly. Will’s hand came to cup her cheek, his thumb brushing against it softly. His other arm, wrapped around her waist, pulling her in close. Her hands clenched at the fabric of his shirt, wrinkling it.

They kissed for what felt like hours but was really only minutes. When they parted, they were breathless.

“Think we should have that talk,” Venus murmured her head resting against his chest.

She felt him nod and the two of them walked back into the living room, sitting on the couch.

For a moment it was quiet, as both of them worked up the courage to speak.

“I want the both of you in my life,” Will started eventually.

“You do?” Venus was surprised.

“Yeah… Not going to lie… seeing you 4 years ago… made me realize just how much I regretted what I did in high school…” Will admitted.

“….Why did you break up with me? Because… you said it was for a bet, but… Andrew didn’t recall such a bet when we dated,” Venus said with a raised eyebrow.

“Can’t believe you dated him. Andrew was such a dick…” Will shook his head. “I broke up with you… because… I was terrified. It was our senior year… I had no plans for college, but you did… Felt like I was going to… hold you back or disappoint you.”

Venus stare at him with wide eyes before smacking him on the arm.

When she heard the satisfying ‘ow�� in response, she spoke, “You were never a disappointment… nor did I think you would hold me back. When I heard you left for the army, I was extremely proud of you. Worried as hell, but proud.”

Never imagined I'd make it this far

Then you married into the money girl

“You were worried for me?” Will asked curiously.

“Yeah. I was. Just because we weren’t together didn’t mean I stopped caring about you. I always wanted to ask your mom about you, but I figured she hated me for the whole… broken leg thing,” she said with a wince.

He laughed at that, “No. She told me I had it coming. Was surprised you didn’t try to hit me twice.”

Venus giggled a little at that.

“Can I ask you something? Why the hell are you still here, in this town with your shit parents?” Will asked her seriously.

“Rent agreement is 6 months. I have another month to get through. Don’t know what I’ll do after that,” Venus said simply.

Will thought for a few minutes, before proposing, “There’s… there’s several houses for rent in Castle Rock… in my neighborhood. You… you and Charlotte could come live near me?”

“Think you could handle us being that close to you? You know Lottie will want to come see you a lot. She… She gets attached quickly. Please don��t break her heart,” Venus requested firmly.

“I understand. I have no plans of hurting either of you, but you and I both know you need to get out of this town. It’s not good for you nor her to be around your parents,” Will said concerned, his hand brushing against her cheek.

“I know… You’re right. I only came back because apparently my grandparents left me everything, and my parents… were not happy. Tough shit,” Venus scoffed. “They keep dragging in lawyers to try and dispute the will. It’s been such a pain in the ass.”

“What exactly is there to dispute? Didn’t your grandparents change their will when we graduated high school?” Will questioned.

She nodded, “Though… most people assumed it was them trying to spoil me. In reality, my parents didn’t approve of me going into architecture. So, they put limits on my accounts, thinking that if they made it difficult for me to pay for things that I would suddenly change my major and do something I had no interest in.”

Will rolled his eyes, thinking back to when they had dated, how her parents never approved him. He wasn’t on the football team, with straight A’s or a plan for college. He played lacrosse, made decent grades and the only thing he look forward to was riding his Harley.

“I guess… the next thing we should talk about is us,” Venus said after a moment.

“Yeah… when… when we last saw each other we were both going through some intense shit. However, I don’t regret it. Or the result of it. Maybe we could… try dating again, not... start over necessarily but…” Will said with a sigh.

“Fresh page sort of thing?” Venus supplied biting her lip for a moment.

“Yeah. That sounds good. Um. So, I going to be here for a few days helping my parent’s move…” Will began.

“Yeah. Your mother has roped me into helping pack up the glassware and such. So… we will be seeing each other a lot… How pissed is Benny?” She asked with a small wince.

“He’ll get over it. But I figured you could meet my best friends and we could go out on more relaxed dates for a time?” Will offered reaching over to take her hand in his.

She smiled and nodded enthusiastically at the suggestion.

Ain't it a cruel and funny world?

He took your dreams, and he tore them apart

The next day rolled around, and as he woke up at 5am exactly like the others, he figured he and Benny needed to talk. He motioned for Benny to step outside with him, and with a frown, he does so.

“Look… I know you don’t like her for the shit she did when we were in high school. However, we were both just as bad. I forgave her for that shit years ago and so did she. I’m going to need you to try and tolerate her. Especially when her daughter is also your niece. Please, do not start a fight,” Will begged him.

Benny stared at him for a few minutes, before finally looking away, mumbling something under his breath.

He sighed heavily, turning to look back at Will who stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Sure. I’ll…try…I make no promises,” Benny grumbled after a moment.

“I’ll take it. She should be here in a bit, to help mom pack up,” He warned Benny.

“Why does this matter so much to you? I get wanting to be civil for the kid’s sake, but you always said that you didn’t care about her after y’all broke up,” Benny was trying to understand what was going through his brother’s head.

“… I lied. I… I never her told her this but her parents made sure to let me know that I was just going to hold her back and be a disappointment to her. Well. She knows the latter half… she doesn’t know it came from her parents. I let them get into my head and I broke her heart to make it easier,” Will explained as he tucked his hands into pants pockets.

“Shit… You let those freaks into your head? Explains why you were so miserable for so long,” Benny replied, scoffing.

Will did a half shrug as they walked back inside to see Frankie serving breakfast, waffles and bacon. The four of them ate making plans on which rooms they should work on first. After creating a plan of attack, it was almost 7am and there was a quiet knock at the door.

Benny was the one who went and answered it. Will closed his eyes, tensing, expecting raised voices and fists landing.

Benny answered the door, finding Venus standing there with Charlotte in her arms. Venus straightened up as she realized who stood there.

“Morning,” Benny greeted first.

“Mornin’. Lottie. This is Benny, he’s your uncle. He’s a bit silly,” Venus introduced Charlotte to him, softly.

Charlotte looked at him, shyly waving at him.

“Hi,” She said with a small wave.

“Hey. C’mon in. Frankie made waffles if you’re hungry?” Benny offered waving them in.

“Oooh. Waffles? Waffles are your favorite, isn’t that right sweetie?” Venus cooed to her.

Lottie nodded with a small yawn.

Benny escorted them back into the kitchen where Frankie was cleaning up the mess he made after serving breakfast, and Santi & Will were sitting at the table still. Lottie upon seeing Will, wiggled down in her Venus’ arms, wanting to be set down. Venus placed her on the ground, straightening out her clothes for a moment before letting Lottie run over to Will.

When she stood near him, he immediately picked her up and placed her in his lap, and she curled up into his arms.

Frankie quietly called for Venus’ attention, asking her, “Would she like a full waffle or half?”

“Half. She never finishes a full. Thank you,” Venus said appreciating him as he took a waffle and cut it in half.

He cut a slice of bacon in half as well, before coming over to Will with the food and syrup. Venus quietly grabbed from the fridge a small container of fresh mixed fruit, grabbing a small plastic bowl to scoop some into it. She served the fruit alongside the waffles that Lottie was currently devouring.

“Slow down sweetie, the food isnt going anywhere. You are going to make yourself sick eating that fast,” Venus lightly warned her.

Charlotte slowed down after that, mumbling a quiet sorry.

She finished eating about 20 minutes later, and thanked Frankie for the food, stating, “It was really good.”

Frankie smiled brightly and told her, “You are very welcome, honey.”

By then Will’s parents had woken up and were dressed for the day. They made their own plates and were eating as Benny told them the plan.

Will noticed Venus hadn’t made herself anything and was simply leaning against one of the counters in the kitchen, waiting.

Will stood up, placing Charlotte in his seat with a quick kiss on the head.

Will stood next to her, and said lowly, “There’s plenty of food for you to eat as well.”

Venus sighed softly, “I know. Not really hungry. Never am when my parents call.”

“What did they say this time?” Will asked looking at her with slight concern.

“The usual. I’m a disappointment. We didn’t raise you to be like this. If you just did what we asked, things would be easier for the both of you. We want to know our granddaughter and you are depriving us. Blah Blah Blah,” Venus said in a monotoned voice.

“Tch. They had plenty of opportunities to get to know her. Don’t let them ruin your day, simply because they want to be manipulative and guilt trip you,” Will stated matter-of-factly.

Venus nodded, understanding him, but it was still difficult to do. She had heard the same lines long before she left high school. In fact, she started hearing them when she dated Will because he wasn’t on their approved list of suitors. Honestly, that fact alone made her like Will even more, because it meant she didn’t have to put on a façade.

They didn’t get to say much more as his parents finished up, and his mother wandered over to her to start wrapping and packing up the fragile items. It was quiet work as the guys moved out furniture onto a truck, some furniture was going to their new place in Denver, but many others were being donated to other families in town who needed them.

Charlotte helped by dispensing tape for a while before growing bored and running to go supervise the guys. Venus shook her head, chuckling.

“It seems things are going pretty well with you and Will…” Winnie’s teased her. “I notice he didn’t come home until late last night.”

Venus cleared her throat, as she felt her face warm up.  After their talk, they had spent a great deal of time… getting reacquainted with one another.

“I have no idea what you are talking about Winnie,” She replied her voice cracking halfway through.

“I haven’t seen him happy in a long time. Or that relaxed. He is usually always tense when he comes home, no matter who is with him or what is going on. I assume he knows what’s going on?” Winnie asked her as they taped up some boxes.

“Yeah. He knows. Told me that uhh… there are some houses up for rent around his neighborhood. I might… see into that,” She informed Winnie, her movements slowing down as she thought about it.

“What’s that big ol’ brain of yours thinking now? I can see you getting lost in your thoughts. Or should I say your insecurities,” Winnie was always able to see right through her.

“Just… worried he’s going to change his mind… about us… about Charlotte. I don’t want to live closer to him just to have my heart broken again,” Venus confessed quietly.

“I understand. You cannot tell him I ever told you this but… when you were teenagers your father said a lot of things to him. Made him feel like this relationship was only going to end in misery. He left because he thought it was best despite the fact that he was miserable without you,” Winnie’s voice dropped as well.

Venus stared at her surprised. Everything made so much more sense now. She never understood why the breakup and even though Will had told her last night that he felt like he would be disappointment, she still didn’t understand where that came from. Now she did. Her father planted seeds of doubt and the both of them suffered because of it.

He never comes home, and you're always alone

And your kids hear you cry down the hall

A few hours had passed, and they had moved furniture out of at least 3 rooms and moved them to their new homes. Will chuckled as he watched Charlotte, or Charlie as Benny has taken to calling her, played with Benny in the front yard.

Benny and Frankie had stripped off their over shirts, Benny in a tank and Frankie in a simple white tee. Will and Santi had taken their shirts off completely, all four of them trying to cool off as they rested.

Venus stepped outside at that point with an armful of water bottles. She passed one out to everyone, checking on Charlotte.

“Sweetie, why don’t you come sit in the shade for a bit,” She said bringing her over to the porch.

Charlotte got onto the porch swing, drinking from her small water bottle, with a sigh. Venus quietly looked her over, noting she looked like she had a bit of sunburn on her shoulders.

Venus looked over at the guys who were sprawled out all over the yard.

“Ya know… there’s this thing called air conditioning inside the house. If ya’ll want to crawl back inside. Drink your water… there’s also cold beer,” She tempted the four of them.

At the mention of cold beer, Benny and Santi popped up immediately, making their way inside. Frankie got up as well, but not as quickly. He chugged down his water, muttering a thanks to Venus as he joined the guys inside. Charlotte after a moment, followed them in as well, wanting to cool off.

Will, who was sitting on the steps, simply patted the spot next to him. Venus joined him with a smile, leaning against him lightly.

“So, your mom doesn’t want the four of you to strain yourselves. She wants you to take it easy tomorrow. I was thinking… maybe… we could go check out those rent houses if you were up for it,” Venus proposed, her chin resting against his bicep as she stared at him.

“Yeah. Yeah, we can do that. Charlotte can come with or she can stay here and be doted on by her grandparents,” Will said with a small chuckle.

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll want to stay here since Grandma Winnie plans to make more cookies tomorrow,” Venus said a smile on her face.

They spoke a little while longer, making plans for tomorrow, when a car pulled up to the house. A very nice and expensive car.

Venus stared at it with narrow eyes as she watched Andrew McIntosh step out.

“What are you doing here Andrew?” She asked him not bothering to stand up.

“Well. Your dear ole mother said you were refusing to answer her calls and wanted to know if you were okay. So, she asked me to come check on you,” Andrew answered looing at the house with disinterest.

“Well. I’m fine as you can see. Now leave. I don’t want to see or speak to you ever again,” Venus growled her body tensing with anger.

Will quietly placed his hand on her shoulder, before standing up.

He squared up in front of Andrew and said, “You’ve done your task, now get off my property.”

Andrew scoffed at him, “Can’t believe you. You were so desperate to get away from her. Kept claiming she was so damn clingy and needy.”

“No. That was you. I vaguely remember knocking you on your ass for it too. Seriously, get off my property before I remind you of all the times I kicked your ass when we were younger,” Will promised him.

Andrew shook his head, but even Venus could see that he was nervous, as he backed away. Andrew walked away and got back into his car, driving away.

Venus stood up as Will turned around, he took a deep breath to calm himself down.

“You really need to block your parents,” Will said after a moment.

“I know. She called once and then sent that shithead to come “check on me.” Most likely he’s going to go back to my mother and tell her I’m here and then I’ll get yet another phone call today. Such fun for me,” Venus said with a roll of her eyes.

Venus stared at him for a moment, before slowly wrapping her arms around his neck. His arms went to her waist, instinctively.

“Thank you for defending my honor. I appreciate it. I regret ever dating him,” She muttered to him.

She stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips. He kissed her back, deepening the kiss. They kissed for a good minute before parting. The two of them smiled at each other before heading inside, holding hands.

As the guys drank and cooled off, Venus took the opportunity to bring Charlotte to the spare bedroom and apply some soothing lotion to her shoulders before putting her down for a nap. Once she was asleep, which didn’t take long, Venus stepped back out into the living room, and took a seat next to Will as they all talked.

About 30 minutes had passed when her phone began to ring. She glanced at the screen noticing the name was Horrid Woman aka her mother. Will noticed it and motioned for her to answer it. She does so, staring at him curiously. When it connected, he hit the speaker button.

“Young lady. You have so much explaining to do. Why in the world are you with that… that… hoodlum? You are going to send me to an early grave I swear. Enough is enough. It is time for you to come home and stop this nonsense. We’ve allowed you to have your rebellious phase, but it is now time for you to grow up and act like an adult. I swear I don’t know where I went wrong with you,” Her mother’s shrill voice ranted.

“‘That hoodlum?’ Seriously mom? Can you sound more like an 80s sitcom? I am not coming home. I am not going through a phase. Stop calling. Stop sending people to check on me. I don’t want anything to do with you, or dad,” Venus spoke calmly but her rage was stirring.

“Why I never… He is no good for you. All he will do is disappoint you and break your heart again. He’s done it once before,” Her mother continued.

“Yeah. about that… tell me mother… how much shit were you and dad spewing to him when we were together? Hmm? The way I see it, I was happy, and you couldn’t control me anymore. So, you two did what you do best: destroyed everything. Got me back under your thumb for a time. Sadly, for you, I am not a teenager desperate for your love and attention. I’m blocking this number, do not call me ever again,” Venus ended the call, blocking it immediately.

Venus tossed her phone onto the coffee table, standing up and walking down the hallway needing to be alone for a minute.

Benny was the first to react, “How are her parents still that much of a nightmare?”

Will shrugged, standing up as well, searching for her. He eventually found her in the laundry room, small sniffles filling the room. He gently pulled her into his arms, holding her as she cried quietly. He often found her in a similar state when they were younger, hidden away somewhere to cry in private after an argument with her parents. He knew from past experiences, to just be there for her and let her cry.

Alarm clock starts ringin' who could that be singin'

It's me baby, with your wake up call

The rest of the evening went smoother, the guys crashed in the bedroom they had been in last night. Will and Venus crashed on the couch, curled around each other. They fell asleep together, enjoying one another’s company.

Venus woke up, with her back to Will’s chest. She opened her eyes, feeling something nudging her. She looked down to see Lottie trying to join them. She checked the time, noting it was still early morning. She repositioned herself to lie on her back and pulled Lottie onto her chest, tossing the blanket over her.

“Bad dream sweetie?” Venus quietly asked her.

Charlotte nodded once, burying her face into her chest. Will, who woke up slightly, wrapped his arms around the both of them. The 3 of them fell back to sleep for a few more hours.

Winnie woke up a bit early, getting dressed, and making her way downstairs. She stopped short when she spotted the scene that was before her on the couch. She pulled out her phone to take a photo of it. Some time in the night they had shifted to where Will was on his back, Venus tucked under one arm, and Charlotte sprawled out on his chest.

Winnie made her way into the kitchen, finding the boys in the kitchen making breakfast.

“Good morning my boys. Ready to be my packing helpers today?” Winnie asked them, making herself a cup of coffee.

“Yes ma’am,” Santi answered, handing her a plate of food.

“One second, let me go and get my grandbaby. She’s an inch away from rolling off them and onto to the floor,” Winnie said setting her cup down next to the plate.

Winnie made her way over to them, gently waking Charlotte up as she picked her up off of Will’s chest. Charlotte grumbled a moment before rubbing at her eyes, slowly waking up.

“Good morning my sweet. Let’s go get dressed and have breakfast, hmm” Winnie cooed to her taking her to the spare bedroom.

Will woke up when he heard his mother, opening his eyes eventually. He looked down at Venus, gently waking her up too. Venus stretched gently, slowly sitting up. The two of them quietly got up and got ready for the day, parting briefly to go to separate rooms.

Will stepped out, watching with some surprise as Venus and Benny talked at the island, and were actually being civil with one another. Charlotte was with his mom, eating quietly, and his dad was talking to Santi and Frankie over coffee. He took in the moment, sighing softly.

How do like me now? Yeah

How do you like me now?

Eventually, later on that morning, Venus and Will were in his neighborhood meeting with the realtor that had been working with his parents. The realtor was an older woman named Susan, who gave off mom vibes.

Susan had about 4 houses for Venus to look at. The first two were no’s due to the amount of work that they needed to be done for both of them. The third one was small and not in the best location. The fourth one was alright, not too terrible and was down two streets from his.

“This one has 3 beds, 2 baths. Open floor space for the kitchen and living room. And of course, a nice backyard for any little ones,” Susan said as she showed them the house.

Then one appeared to be the winner; an hour later she had signed all of the necessary documents and was given the key to her new home. By the time everything was said and done, it was late in the afternoon. Will had a small idea, and instead of driving out of the neighborhood, drove her to his place.

He parked the car, and led her inside telling her, “Figured you and I could have dinner together. Catch up. Have… have some alone time.”

She smiled brightly at that, nodding her head.

Now that I'm on my way

Do you still think I'm crazy

They spent the evening together, enjoying one another’s presence. That night they slept together, exploring each other’s bodies. Since they were alone, they could be as loud as they wanted to. They fell asleep in each other’s arm, content.

When they woke up, Venus felt oddly on edge. It took her a few minutes to fully realize why she felt strange.

“As much as I like this… can we head back to your parent’s? I’m not used to being away from Charlotte for so long,” Venus requested once she thought about it.

Will nodded, understanding, “I get it. Let’s get dressed and we can head back to the house.”

They do just that, and when they pull up to the house, and make their way up to the door, Will threw his arm around her shoulders, kissing her cheek.

They stepped inside, and immediately were ambushed by a small child who rapidly spoke about her day.

“Honey, you gotta slow down a bit there,” Venus laughed picking her up.

“Uncle Benny let me watch movies until midnight and we ate popcorn and candy. Uncle Santi and Frankie went to bed early, but they helped me build a blanket fort in the living room,” She repeated going slightly slower.

“Oh? Uncle Benny gave you sugar after 10pm? Oh no. That means my little gremlin will appear soon, doesn’t it?” Venus said somewhat joking but also with a hint of dread.

Charlotte had a tendency to have a sugar rush and crash, but she gets extremely grumpy when she is about to crash.

“Well. You are about to experience a potential temper tantrum,” She warned Will as Lottie wanted to go back to Benny, running.

“I’m sure I can handle it, doll. Dealt with these 3 children for the past 10 years. Trust me, nothing she does will compare to them,” Will said softly.

An hour into moving more furniture out, the dreaded crash began to take hold. Charlotte was refusing to do anything that she was asked. She would either ignore the person talking to her or she would stomp away. Venus sighed heavily as she walked after her, after Venus told her to go sit somewhere safe while the guys were lifting heavy furniture.

She finds her on the staircases, arms crossed, frowning, and staring at the floor.

“Lottie. C’mon. Let’s go sit somewhere,” Venus held out her hand for her to take.

Charlotte just shakes her head, pushing her hand away.

“Charlotte,” Venus said more firmly.

“NO!” Came her voice loudly.

Will, who was helping clear out a nearby room, heard the shout. Will walked toward the sound, spotting Venus standing there with her eyes closed as she tried to calm herself down. Venus knew it was because Charlotte was tired, but her refusing to listen to her was frustrating.

“Lottie. Can you come here sweetie?” Will asked squatting down.

Charlotte slowly walked over to him, frown still in place.

“What’s the matter? Hm? Are you tired?” Will questioned, his voice soft.

Lottie, after a moment, nodded.

“Then why don’t we go take a nap hm?” Will proposed, moving to pick her up.

“But I don’t wanna nap!” She said as she squirmed in his grip.

“Then how about we just lay down for a moment?” Will countered as they stepped into her room.

He laid her down, and even joined her on the tiny bed.

“Sweetie. You can’t be yelling at your mom, okay? She was just wanting to keep you safe. We are moving a lot of really heavy stuff. If we didn’t see you or if we lost our grip on something and you were nearby, it would really hurt you, okay?” His voice stayed soft as he spoke to her.

She nodded her head, “I’m sorry daddy.”

Will still wasn’t used to hearing her call him that. Hell, he doubted he ever will. Hearing her call him ‘dad/daddy’ made his heart swell with so much emotion.

“It’s not me you need to say that to,” He tells her.

Lottie yawned loudly, her eyes drifting she shut as she mumbled an ‘okay.’

He waited a few minutes, to make sure she was asleep, before standing up. He tucked her polka dot elephant in with her, before closing the door behind as he stepped out.

He made his way back to Venus who stared at him with wide eyes.

“Magic. You are magic. I’ve… I’ve never been able to get her to go down for a nap that easily when she’s upset,” Venus stated in disbelief.

“Told you. Dealt with grumpier children. And all 3 of them are my brothers,” Will said with a shrug.

A chorus of “hey’s” came from the other room, causing them to laugh.

Standing here today?

I couldn't make you love me

That had been about 5 months ago. In that time, Venus and Charlotte had moved into the new house and Will practically lived there. They had gone on several dates, some with Charlotte and some without.  On those dates, Grandma Winnie was more than happy to spoil her “favorite grandchild.”

When Will wasn’t with them, he was still doing his lectures and meets at the VA offices. Or working with Benny during his tournaments. It felt strange to say it, but Will found himself enjoying life more. It didn’t feel like a monotonous routine; it wasn’t boring anymore.

Will was currently on his way back from a tournament that Benny came in second place. Benny was bummed out and had planned to meet up with Santiago to go drinking. Will was tired, having been up since 3 am and wanting nothing more than to just collapse into a bed. He had planned on going to his home but found himself turning onto Venus’ street.

He pulled up to the house, parking with a heavy sigh. He got out of his car, walking up to the door and knocking twice. A minute passed and the door swung opened revealing Venus who was in just a silk nightgown.

“Hey, I heard about the tournament. How’s Benny doing?” She asked as she let him inside.

“Upset but that’s nothing new. He’ll be fine by morning. Is Lottie asleep?” Will questioned noting how quiet the house was despite it being 8pm.

“Grandma Winnie decided she wanted to steal her for the night. Something about a Disney movie marathon? So… It’s just us,” She explained softly, biting her lip.

“Oh… is that so?” Will smirked as he slid his hands around her waist.

He swiftly picked her up and carried her to her room, wanting to take advantage of this time. Her giggles sounded down the hallway before turning into moans as they landed on her bed.

Despite the fact that they’ve been dating almost 5 months, they haven’t been able to do anything too salacious without something interrupting them.

Tonight, apparently would be no different. Will had just tossed off his shirt and was working her nightgown off when a phone rang. Will collapsed with a groan, Venus growling loudly in annoyance.

Venus reached over to grab her phone and answered it with a sigh, “Hello?”

“Hey honey, I am so sorry to interrupt but I wanted you to know that Charlotte is running a fever. I gave her some children’s Tylenol, but she keeps asking for you and Will. He wouldn’t happen to be there with you, would he?” Came Winnie’s worried voice.

“Shit. Yeah. He’s with me. We’ll be over in a little bit,” Venus replied sitting up with Will.

“No need. I am on my way already. She was very adamant that only your chicken noodle soup would help,” Winnie said with a weak laugh.

“Okay. We’ll be here,” Venus said as she hung up. “Lottie has a fever. Your mom is bringing her back.”

“Was she feeling bad when she left?” Will asked as he threw his shirt back on.

“She had said she felt like her nose was stuffed but I figured it was just allergies. She didn’t say anything else was wrong,” Venus answered, concern lacing her features.

“Well, we will make her some soup and go from there. C’mon,” Will nodded, kissing her cheek trying to assure her.

The two of them got up, and made their way into the kitchen, fixing themselves up as they moved. It didn’t take long for a knock to sound on the door. Will, leaving Venus to heat up soup, answered it.

“Hey ma,” He greeted before turning his attention to Lottie in her arms. “Hey lil bug. What’s wrong my sweet girl?”

He gently took her from his mother’s arms and held her close as she sniffled.

“Don’t feel good,” Charlotte whispered, her voice sounding scratchy.

“Ohno. Well. Momma’s making soup and then you are going to bed,” Will told her as he walked into the kitchen.

His mother came in and told Venus when she gave Charlotte medicine and symptoms and such. Once she was done with that, she made her way back home.

Charlotte quietly ate her soup when it was done, coughing once or twice. She finished about 20 minutes later before turning to Venus, holding her arms out to her. Venus, with a soft smile, picked her up and carried her to Lottie’s room, tucking her in softly.  

Will was waiting for Venus in her room when she stepped inside.

“You know she’s going to be in here in like 20 minutes, right?” Will joked as the both of them crawled under the covers.

“I know. Habit to just tuck her into her own bed. Plus, she might not, she was practically asleep when I laid her down,” Venus said as she laid down on her side, curling up to Will who was on his back.

Will hummed quietly in response as the two of them laid there in comfortable silence.

15 minutes later, Venus was asleep, and Will was almost there too when he felt a small tug on his side of the blanket. He looked down to see Charlotte quietly staring up at him. He leaned down slightly, picking her up and letting her crawl under the covers. She collapsed onto his chest, one arm firmly holding her polka dot elephant.

She was out in seconds, and as Will wrapped his other arm around her, he looked at the both of them. His beautiful daughter and the woman he was falling back in love with.

He never imagined this. He never thought he would have this: a family to call his own. He loved it far more than he would ever admit.

But I always dreamed about living in your radio

How do you like me now?

It has been a year since Venus re-entered his life with Charlotte. Since then, Will had moved into her house and sold his old place.

The three of them were currently getting ready to go out to dinner with the guys. It didn’t take very long for them to get dressed and on the road.

They arrived at the restaurant, joining the guys with smiles. Frankie had Isabella with him, who was giggling happily when she saw Charlotte. The two of them became fast friends and had play dates often.

Charlotte sat in Will’s lap and gently played with Isabella who was in a highchair. Venus and Will ordered their drinks before looking over the menu.

The guys chatted happily with them, ordering their meals as they talked.

Lottie gently tugged at Venus’s hand, quietly telling her she needed to go potty. Venus took Lottie to the bathroom, swiftly.

“So… when you going to propose to her?” Frankie asked casually as he took a sip of his beer.

“Soon. I got the ring earlier today,” Will said with a small smile.

“Real question is which one of us is going to be the best man?” Benny asked with a smirk.

“She’s gotta say yes, first, dumbass. Then I’ll decide which of you asses will be my best man,” Will laughed.

Charlotte popped up next to him a second later.

“Daddy. Mommy looks mad,” Charlotte tells him, looking over at her.

Will’s head whipped over to look at Venus who had been stopped by Andrew McIntosh, his hand gripping her arm tightly. Will sat Charlotte on Benny’s lap, muttering for her to stay there.

Will strolled over to them, his fists clenching.

“Andrew. Get your hands off of her,” Will commanded him, his rage brewing.

Venus held a hand up to him, gently telling him to stop.

Venus looked at Andrew and said, “Stop bothering me. Stop reporting to my mother. Leave me alone.”

Venus ripped his hand off of her arm. When Andrew tried to reach for her again, Venus threw a punch out at him, a sickening crack sounding as she broke his nose. Andrew groaned as he held his nose, blood oozing from it. Andrew glared at her, moving to go after her, but Will stepped in between them.

“You put your hands on her again and a broken nose will be the least of your concerns,” Will warned him.

Andrew huffed, walking away with a glare.

Will turned to her and checked her over really quickly.

“You okay?” He asked her, his eyes examining her arm.

“Yeah. I’m good. Been wanting to do that since we were 7,” Venus said with a laugh as they walked back over to the table.

Will shook his head, smirking.

Dinner went without any further incident and they made their way back home. Charlotte wanted to watch a movie, so Will put on Beauty and the Beast for her.

As she watched it, Will and Venus stood in the kitchen quietly talking.

“What did he say to you?” Will asked her.

“Same old bullshit. I’ve learned to not care about it anymore. I have you and Lottie. That’s all I want and need,” Venus answered with an eyeroll.

Will looked at her for a moment before reaching into his pocket, pulling out the small velvet box he had hidden in there.

He gently opened it, presenting the ring inside.

“I was planning on doing this more romantically but… I don’t want to wait any longer. I want to call the both of you mine. That is… if you’re up for that,” He began, hesitating.

Venus stared at him in surprise, not expecting this.

She gently pulled the ring out of its box, looking at it for a moment, before slipping it onto her left hand.

“Yeah. I’m up for that. Shall we go tell our daughter?” Venus asked smiling brightly.

“In a moment,” Will muttered pulling her in close, kissing her softly.

If someone had told him a few years ago that he would be proposing to the girl he was in love with from high school, he would’ve thought they were insane. However, he wouldn’t have traded this for the world. He had his daughter and the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Tell me, baby

I will preach on

[outerbankspreferences]

50 Wordless Ways to say I love you

Word Count: 1683

MASTERLIST SERIES MASTERLIST

A/N: Every time I sit down to write a shirt blurb it always turns out long. Every time I sit down to write a long blurb it always turns out long. I can’t seem to win. I’m always taking request, and message me if you wanted to get added to the tag list :)

#14. Singing and dancing to their favorite song.

  It was Madison Bailey’s birthday coming up and you had started a tradition last season on everyone birthday to make them a cake of their choice. You always loved baking and found it therapeutic and soothing. You and Madison were roommates while filming season two of the show, and you kicked her out of the apartment so you could surprise her.

You asked Drew to come over and help considering him, and Austin lived in the same building. In all honest, the two living in the same apartment worked out great for you because you had a huge crush on Drew. You had since you meet him at the beginning of filming season one. Your characters were love interest, and at first you didn’t know if the lines of acting were getting hazy, but you soon realized it wasn’t. You had some serious feelings for him, but you were too nervous he didn’t like you back.

 You were greasing the pans for the cake when you heard a knock on your door, and then was greeted by Drew. “What’s cooking good looking?” He laughed kissing the top of your head, giving you butterflies. “Only the best birthday cake in the entire world.” You said in a half serious tone, “where’s your partner in crime?” You asked looking for Austin. “Uh-he went to play basketball with JD, so just me and you are today. Is that okay?” He asked walking over to your speaker. A whole afternoon just to two of you, of course you were okay with that. “Yeah sure, did you download that playlist I showed you?” You asked, the two of you having similar taste in music.

 “Of course, I did, I don’t know how you find such good playlist.” He said turning on the music, “so how can I help?” “Well, do you know how to bake Drew?” You asked, have never done this with him before. “I would rate myself like a seven and a half out of ten” He said confident. “Okay, well why don’t you measure all the ingredients, and put them into these little bowls so I can post something cute to my Instagram and then we’ll get started.” You said handing him the recipe with the measurements.

 You preheated the oven and got the stuff together for the frosting. You prepped all the pipping bags and sprinkles in Madison favorite colors. “Did you get Madison something for her birthday?” Drew was the first to break the comfortable silence. “I did, I got her a gift certificate for a spa place for her and Mariah this weekend.” You told him proud of your gift. “Shit, I forgot to her something, I’ve so busy filming, do you know what she wants?” He asked. “Um- she broke her Bluetooth speaker last week, maybe get her that? That’s why we’ve been stuck using my crappy one.” You said laughing finishing get your stuff together. “Okay, are you done with the measuring?” You asked, looking over his shoulder. “You know that’s a good idea, do you want to come with me when we’re done this?” He asked moving out the way so you could see he finished.

 “I would love that.” You say grabbing your phone and taking a picture of Drew’s hard work, adding a cute filter before posting it to your Instagram. “You know she’s going to see your “Why are you posting that your IG story, she’ll know that’s what you’re making.” Drew said not understanding why you were taking a picture. “I know she’ll see it, that’s why I made cookies earlier. She’ll think I was making those and not her birthday cake.” You explained, grabbing some bowls to mix the stuff in. “Okay, you mix the wet ingredients together, and I’ll mix the dry and then we combine them together in the end.” You explained handing him bowl. “Why can’t we just mix everything in one bowl, you’re making more of mess.” He asked looking down at you, “uh-I don’t know, you just can’t. Those are the rules Andrew.” You responded sarcastically. “Oh god, not the full name. Remind me not to question your authority again.” He said shoving you shoulder playful.

 Drew loved to hear you say his full name, normally it was something he despised but not with you. He was excited when you offered for him and Austin to come over and help bake the cake. When you asked him the day before you told him the Austin was welcome too. Normally Madison would help you, but you didn’t want to ruin the surprise. He didn’t invite Austin though, wanting to spend as much time alone together as you could. He would take any chance he could whether it be running lines, watching a movie, carpooling to work.

 Everyone in the cast knew you guys had a thing for each other and encouraged the both of you to make a move, but nether of you did. Drew nor you ever thought you guys would have chance with each other. So, you guys would just spend time together, dancing around feelings, and awkward moments.

 As you guys finished mixing the ingredients together you poured the batter and put it into the oven. “Okay, that should take about twenty minutes to bake and then we can make the frosting while it’s cooling.” You said grabbing some of the dishes putting them in the dishwasher. “Who taught you how to bake?” Drew asked, curious on how the habit started. You smile thinking about your childhood. You turned around to face him, leaning against the counter. “My mom taught me. When I was kid, she used to bake all the time. If it weren’t someone’s birthday, she would say they’re ‘I love you’ cakes. I guess after that I always found joy in it. I know it’s kind of cliche girl thing, but”- “No I like that you do stuff like this, it’s not cliché.” Drew said cutting you off before you could bad mouth your favorite pass time.

 That’s when your favorite song on the playlist came on. Drew looked over at you, knowing it was your favorite. He loved seeing the light in eyes when ever it came on. “Ugh, I love this song” you say humming along to the words while looing at your phone. Drew got up from the chair he was sitting on, and grabbed your hand pulling you close to dance with him. “I know, that’s why I added it to the queue, come dance with me.” The two of you danced like idiots while you sang to the song. Drew spun you around, and you almost tripped and fell but he caught you, the two of you giggling. You looked into his eyes, the two of you close enough you could feel his breath on your face. ‘Just do it, kiss him’ you thought to yourself, and the next thing you know, you’re closing the small gap between you two.

 Drew was shocked at first, not believing he was kissing you. Your lips were softer than he had expected, and they tasted like raspberries, most likely from your lip balm. He placed his hands on your hips, pulling you closer kissing you back. You guys made out for a couple more minutes before you pulled away from lack of air. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me”- you started to stumble over your words when Drew leaned down and kissed you again. “it’s okay Y/N/N, I’ve been wanting to kiss you for while I just didn’t think you felt the same way for me.” He said with a little grin.

 You couldn’t believe you waited that long to show him how you felt, and now that you had you were glad, he felt the same way. “I was worried that you didn’t feel the same way, I didn’t want to make things awkward between us.” You said almost in whisper, a blush creeping on your cheeks. Drew leaned down and kissed you again, “of course I feel the same about you. How could I not? You’re such an amazing person.” His kind words causing a blush to form again. You hid you face in his chest, making him laugh.

 The two of you were pulled away from your conversation when the timer went off for the cake. “Oh, it’s ready!” Drew said rushing over to the oven taking the cakes out. “I’ll grab the stuff to start making the frost, and you can take the cakes out of the oven.” You directed. “Yes chef.” Drew saluted you in joking matter. Once he took the cakes out, you tested it with a knife to make sure it was cooked all the way through. You cut a bit off the top to make sure it tasted okay, giving a piece to Drew.

 Once you took a bit you immediately made a face, the cake tasted terrible. You looked at Drew trying to judge his reaction, laughing when he made the same face you did. “I don’t mean to be an asshole, but this taste terrible Y/N/N.” You grabbed the recipe off the counter and read the instruction. “I don’t understand I made this recipe a hundred times, it always turns out good. Three cups of flour, a teaspoon of vanilla, two teaspoons of salt, a”- “did you just say two teaspoons of salt?” Drew asked with wide eyes. “Yeah, why how much did you put in?” “Uh, well I though it meant tablespoon, so I put two tablespoons of salt.” He said rubbing the back of his neck cheeks turning red.

 You start to laugh at him, finding his embarrassment hilarious. “Oh, come on love it’s not that funny.” He says wrapping his arms around you from behind. “Don’t worry I can bake.” You say mocking him. “I guess Madison is getting a store-bought cake this year.” You say turning around kissing him. “At least I can kiss better then I can bake.” He said making the both of you laugh.

TAGLIST:

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[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 108

And we are somewhat caught up!  My queue has run out at least, and I’m astoundingly glad it has, because now I get to thank a bunch of people who have just detonated my inbox with love, and kept me going.

Before I get into the gratitude: If, at any point, a comment a character makes does not make sense, please let me know. Send an ask, even on anon, because I am well aware that everything in my brain does not get a chance to make it in the story (example: Charly’s triangle comment here, and the fact that Noah’s dialogue in the beginning has an actual translation…)

First, shoutouts to @charlylimph-blog​, @baelpenrose​, and @quantumizedinsanity​ for the characters in this chapter and for being very, VERY dear friends to me.  A global pandemic and nationwide protests, along with a job change and a major move, have done nothing to hurt friendships that are already cross-country from each other.

Annnnd to everyone who has been blowing up my notes with likes and reblogs: @dierotenixe(hang in there! i PROMISE!), @iamverypotato​,@itscryptifssil, @steadynightninja​, @thepalemarcher, @feral-possums-in-the-bog​, @26fancyraptors​(MISSED YOU!), @werewolf2578​ (we don’t talk enough, how are you!?), @experimentalspades​, @odd-dream-worlds​, @duchess-katala03​, @pineapplewitchboi​, @dark-choclat-cupcake, @littleshydragon​, and all the others. 

I held my breath, bracing for what I knew was coming. Nothing came after several minutes, to my surprise.  I slowly lifted my head and opened my eyes, focusing on drawing deep, even breaths. Maybe he got bored and wandered off.  Maybe he had mercy on me….

Yeah. And maybe Grey is making genetically modified fish that fly.

Slowly, carefully, I grabbed my fork and lifted a bite of pie to my mouth.  A glance at Charly showed a serious expression, nothing given away. Damnit. I knew she could see Arthur behind me, I was hoping for a telltale giggle, or a warning glance, something.  Right when a traitorous voice of reason spoke up belatedly to point out that Charly was never serious…

“You really will adopt anyone, won’t you?” Arthur asked as he came around to take the chair Jokul had just vacated.

Fuuuuuck…. Busted. “I didn’t adopt him!” I tried to argue. “I actually made a very concerted effort to avoid that!”

Unceremoniously, he snagged Charly’s pot pie, only to have his hand held at fork-point until he let go.  Without even acknowledging the lunch-standoff, he leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms. “You tried to ‘avoid’ it by foisting him off on Zach Khan, your… nephew, thing, and his girlfriend. Still adoption-adjacent.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to interact with him.”

“Uh huh. And how will you explain to poor Hannah that dear Ivan’s partner isn’t invited to Insert Winter Holiday dinner, hmmm?”

“I hate you.”

“Lies and deceit,” he rebutted calmly. “You adopted me first. Before anyyyyone on this ship. I daresay you’re quite fond of me.”

I scowled at him, shoving my remaining lunch in his direction. “Here, before you start poaching this direction.”

An eyebrow arched in the general direction of my fish pie. “That looks suspiciously like dairy.  You wound me.” Grabbing my fork, he poked at the lumps of meat. “I would have thought you would be at least a little subtle in any assassination attempts. Have I taught you nothing?”

“Of course you taught me something,” I cooed, jokingly, while I patted his arm. “The fastest way to a man’s heart is six inches of steel through the ribs, slight upward angle.  Cyanide smells like bitter almonds, so always use shortbread cookies to administer it. Three pounds of pressure will tear off a human ear, and even a three year old can bite through fingers,” I recited. “Also, the pie is dairy-free, surprisingly. The ‘cream’ is silken tofu and aquafaba, turns out.”

Charly was choking with laughter, while Arthur finally smiled at me. “See, I told you that you love me,” he gloated before scooping up a scallop and some crust. As soon as he started chewing, his expression changed from one of amusement to something strikingly similar to Mac when I flick water in his face.

“Scallops,” I explained. “I had the same reaction.”

“Heathens,” he managed around the mouthful.  After he swallowed it, he gave the dish a considering look. “Not bad per se, but… There is no fish in this fish pie. What is aquafaba?”

“Chicpea juice.  Usually it’s used as an egg substitute.  I guess they used it for consistency here.”

Charly leaned forward, narrowly avoiding landing an elbow in her lunch. “And how can you tell that’s what’s in there?”

Glancing over at his student, Arthur shrugged. “She has a point. This,” he poked at the sauce, “looks like heavy cream.”

“Tastes kind of nutty, though,” I explained. “Anyway, enough about food. What brings you down here?”

“Galactic Core Curriculum,” he explained. “That’s the excuse anyway. Alistair - Cthulu damn his soul - told me you were eating lunch here after fifteen minutes of questioning. Tyche told me Charly was with you, so I figured lunch with you, lunch with one of my favorite students, plus I can kill two errands with one meal.” Charly stared at him like he had lost his mind, but he ignored her. “When I arrived - lo! What to my wondering eyes should appear, than a certain former cult leader harassing said friend and student! What person could resist such a temptation.” Deflating dramatically, he scowled at me. “Imagine my delight to hear you giving him relationship advice,” he intoned flatly.

“I got him to go away,” I pointed out.

“Before I managed even one strike in a highly one-sided battle of wits.“

“Mr. Farro,” Charly cut off, glaring for all she was worth. “Jokull came in peace, he leaves in peace.”

“Oh, he would have left in pieces. His ego anyway.”

“Fucking triangles, I swear,” Charly muttered, attacking her lunch with renewed violence.

“Anyway,” I forged ahead. “Jokul was here for fifteen, twenty minutes. You had your chance.”

He glanced away with a cough. “I… may have been resisting the urge to vomit.”

“Arthur.”

“Relationship advice is… not in my skillset,” he admitted. “Tell you your partner is abusive? Can spot a mile a way.  Great for getting people out of bad relationships, with concierge crowbar service if necessary. Not great for saving them.”

“Crowbar? Really?”

“You know, for prying people out of bad situations?” He genuinely looked confused, so I left that one alone.

“For what it’s worth, Jokull wanted to talk to you about what he’s going through right now,” Charly added.

“Why in any galaxy…”

I had to laugh at that one. “Everyone treats him poorly,” I shrugged before giving Arthur a pointed look. “He’s having a rough time right now, feels like he has no one to talk to except Ivan, and thought you would have some insight into that kind of thing.”

“What part of this,” he gestured to himself with a fork, “implies anything remotely close to wanting people to like me and therefore actually knowing how to accomplish that.”

“I’m not even going to dignify that with an answer,” I muttered. 

Giving me a hard, thoughtful look, Arthur’s entire demeanor changed. “Ah… On a more serious note, though… yeah.  I don’t get why people not liking you is a problem, but you’ve told me before it’s something that bothers you, so it’s feasible it bothers other people.  I’ll make a point not to make it worse.”

Clearing my throat, I pushed the conversation on to the next topic. “You mentioned two errands earlier. One for me, one for Charly?”

“Right.” The relief to be changing topics was palpable. “For you, Councillor, Galactic Core is almost finished. Eino is already considering other ongoing-education programs, and you’re going to need to start scouting educators again.  That late-twentieth through contemporary Terran history course? Big support-base, turns out.”

“You wouldn’t tell me this without a reason,” I pointed out. “And you’re a History teacher. Volunteering?”

“I want it done right,” he admitted. “The idea being bounced around isn’t for a requirement that everyone take the course. Not at the same time, anyway.  History-focused educators only, approved curriculum.”

“Approved?” I asked. “By whom?”

“A committee,” he shrugged. “Eino, obviously. Xiomara, with her background - which, by the way, is ridiculous - “

“We know, we know,” Charly and I groaned.

After glancing between us for a moment, Arthur continued. “And me.”

“Why you?” I asked. “No offense, just trying to understand.”

“No offense taken, I’ll explain that part later, but I promise it’s for a legitimate reason. The point is, Eino and his committee approve the curriculum and number of slots. You and Tyche make the decisions for who is allotted where.”

“Fair point,” I conceded.

“Fine. The area of history I focused on for my Master’s degree has an important component that ties a lot together and makes revisionism harder - wait. What?” I could almost hear the gears squealing as they ground to a halt. “Did you just say yes?”

“Basically, yeah.”

“That was… disturbingly easy,” he gave me a skeptical look.  When all I did was grin, he slowly turned to Charly. “As for you, I wanted to talk to you about the assignment that’s due next Friday.”

“I already turned it in,” she pointed out.

“Which is what I wanted to talk to you about. It’s a week and a half early.”

“Right….” she nodded slowly. “And I made sure it met all the criteria on the syllabus.  Plus I had three different people proofread it.”

“All of which is admirable, and it would be considered a very well-done assignment,” he admitted. “If you didn’t have an extra week and a half left to make it even better.”

“Mr. Farro….”

“You aren’t in trouble, in any way shape or form,” he reassured her. “But I know you are capable of doing better than the assignment you already gave me.  I wanted to offer you a deal.”

“What kind of deal?” Charly asked suspiciously. “This isn’t illegal, is it?”

“What? No…” he sputtered. “Illegal!?”

“Gotta be sure,” she nodded sincerely.  I was reasonably certain she was giving him a hard time, but it was still hilarious to watch.

Shaking his head, Arthur did his best to recover. “The deal is this: if you stick with the assignment you already sent me, I’ll grade it as it stands. But. If you re-do it and hand it in on the original due date, you’ll be eligible for extra credit for your extra effort.”

“But I still get the grade on the one you already have, either way?” she asked skeptically.

“I’ve already graded it, and you won’t get a worse grade if you re-do it,” he promised. 

“I’ll think about it,” she hedged carefully. “That paper was a lot of work.”

“That’s fair,” he nodded. “What if you sent me an audio recording, instead? No extra writing.”

“I can do that,” she agreed, sticking out her hand. After Arthur shook it, she glanced at the time. “Shit. I gotta go. Sophia, don’t be late back to work, okay? Tyche won’t care, but Alistair may stop letting me have extra marshmallows in my cocoa when I come by your office.”

After she left, I gave Arthur a very serious look.  He tried to ignore it, but after about five solid minutes of The Squint, he caved. “For the love of… She’s smart, okay? You know, I know it. The paper she handed in a week and a half early was much more insightful than anyone else in the class.  They were assigned a research paper on the underlying causes of the breakdown in relations between the Ekomari and Shalt-kri’i.  Everyone focused on political ideologies, trade resources, navigational route control.  Standard causes for war, from a Terran perspective. Do you know what Charly Harper wrote her paper about?”

“Food?” I asked, going out on a limb.

“So close! Cultural differences, plain and simple. Ekomari are vaguely mammalian, and their diet consists of native arthropods. Guess what Shalt-kri’i look like?”

“You’re kidding me…”

“Not even slightly.  And! To add insult to injury, in a very close to literal sense, Shalt-kri’i greet each other as friends by spreading their appendages, a lot like a hug.  Whereas Ekomari show aggression by… standing up on their hindmost appendages and spreading the rest to look bigger.”

“And no one caught this before?”

“Not on the Ark, no.” He spread his arms wide. “No one even considered it.  Sure, the rest are good points, and they did make everything worse, more than likely, but the start?  She nailed it.”

“Then why have her re-write the assignment?” I was honestly confused at this point.

“The way she wrote it, I could tell she wasn’t confident about the answer at all.” He looked about as frustrated as I had ever seen him. “You get her talking about engineering, or pranks, she knows she knows what she is talking about. I want her to know that she is just as right about this as she was about that.”

Hard to believe that this was the same man whose office I had marched into, out for a pound of flesh and the blood besides, because the same woman we were discussing left his class in tears and begged me not to make her go back.  However…

“Honestly?” I ventured. “I want to hear this recording when she hands it in. I’m really curious about this.”

“You think she’ll write it?”

“Pfft,” I scoffed. “I know she will. You gave her a challenge where she can’t lose, but stands a lot to gain. I just hope you’re ready for that sound file.”

“I honestly can’t wait,” he smirked.

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[cuddlepilefics]

8.    The Grinch

Fandom: Stray Kids

Littles: Minho (4), Hyunjin (5), Felix (3)

Caregiver: Jeongin (M.), Seungmin (H.), Chan & Changbin (F.)

 Chan’s POV.:

Having a week off to relax after the stress of producing our Christmas album, the three littles in our group decided to have a few days of little time. They tried to play by themselves as much as possible, not wanting to burden their caregivers as they were just as run down as the littles themselves. But as a caregiver myself, I didn‘t mind caring for them even though I was tired. Changbin and I have been Felix main caregivers ever since he came out as a little a few months ago. Although Jeongin was Minho‘s main caregiver and Seungmin took care of a regressed Hyunjin, we‘d all take care of the other littles as well, should they need us to.

The littles had regressed yesterday, immediately distancing themselves from us no matter how much we assured them that they weren‘t being a burden to us and that we‘d love to spend time with them. At the moment, the three had locked themselves in Minho‘s and Hyunjin‘s room and I could hear them talk in slightly higher voices than usual, muffled by the door. I sighed walking back to the living room where I found Changbin on the couch sipping his coffee. “Lixxie still doesn‘t want to see us?“, he guessed as he saw me returning alone. I gave him a sad smile while shaking my head and sat down next to him, running a hand through my hair. “Guys, has anyone seen Minho? We were cuddling last night but now he‘s gone as well as his teddy, that means he‘s little but I can‘t find him. What if he got lost or os in trouble?“, a clearly stressed Jeongin skidded into the living room, almost knocking over Seungmin who just wanted to grab himself some coffee. “Relax, Innie. All three are in Minho‘s and Hyunjin‘s room. Nobody got lost but I can‘t tell you whether they are in trouble or not because they won‘t open the door“, Changbin explained irritably, before getting up to dispose of his empty cup. He might not look like it on first sight but Changbin is a very caring and protective friend with a huge heart and he is especially soft for Felix. Not being able to be with our little was putting him on edge. “Yeah, I couldn‘t get back in when I returned from my shower earlier“, Seungmin stated taking a sip of his coffee, flinching as he burned his tongue. “Why don‘t they want to see us though?“, he frowned as he sat down next to me. “The way Lixxie put it, they feel like being egoistic for regressing. Saying it‘s our time off as well and we shouldn‘t have to spend it by taking care of them“, I rolled my eyes. “But that‘s stupid. There is no other way I‘d prefer to spend my time than by playing and cuddling my Minmin“, the maknae pouted biting into an apple afterwards.

“Good morning lovely family, did y’all miss me?“, Jisung yelled with a huge smile before plopping down at the table and shoving a heating spoonful of cereal into his mouth, making him look even more like a squirrel while he was chewing. “Not really, it was quiet for once“, Seungmin sassed earning a glare. “Chan-hyung, I‘m being bullied“, he whined with his mouth still full. “Sorry, I didn‘t understand a word like that, mind repeating after you swallowed?“, I teased before grabbing myself something to eat as well. I was worried our littles were missing their meal if they wouldn‘t come out of their room so I grabbed three strawberry yoghurts as well as three spoons and prepared a plate with apple slices which I all carried to their door placing it on the ground before knocking. “Lixxie, I brought the three of you some breakfast. It‘s right at the door so please eat something if you don‘t want to eat with the rest of us. There was no answer and I sighed, turning around to leave. When I was halfway down the hallway I could hear a quiet clicking noise. At least they had taken the food and were hopefully eating now. I wasn‘t as obvious as Changbin but being away from Felix, especially when he was little, stressed me out too.

When I returned to the living room I found the rest of my members in a dull mood, Jisung‘s smile having disappeared too, as the caregivers had told him what was going on right now. Jisung wasn‘t a caregiver to any of the littles but he was a very caring older brother who constantly showered them with love, watching them from time to time when one of us caregivers where busy. He didn‘t like them holing up and avoiding us so he immediately started brainstorming how we could lure them out of their room. The option to wait for them to become hungry was gone now that I had supplied them with food so we had to search for a new approach. “Hm, what do littles like…?“, he hummed more to himself than to us. “Oh, oh, I know, pillow forts and movies and cocoa and cookies and plushies“, he listed, getting more and more excited. Jeongin‘s face lit up immediately as he ran off to gather all the pillows and blankets from his and Jisung‘s shared room. I smirked at Changbin as we went to collect our pillows and blankets as well as a few plushies and coloring books Feilx had forgotten when dragging his little stuff to the other room. For the lack of access to his own room, Seungmin went to the kitchen to heat up a pot of milk, stirring in some chocolate and a dash of cinnamon.

Jisung had already started to turn the couch into a pillow fort, snatching the blankets from us right as we walked into the living room. If there was something Jisung was exceptionally good at besides rapping and singing, it was setting up pillow forts. It was a skill all the littles loved him for dearly. I went back to the locked door, knocking gently and listening to the hushed voices inside, debating whether they should answer me or not. “Cuties, I know that you heard me. Just wanted to tell you we‘re all hanging out in one of Jisung‘s pillow forts to watch a Christmas movie. We also have hot cocoa and cookies, so if you wanna join us you‘re very welcome. You know, a movie is always better with cuddles but I guess we could somehow survive without“, I informed them, making sure to sound as sad as I possibly could towards the end. I got no reaction so I went back to the living room, where Seungmin placed a few plates with different cookies onto the coffee table in the center of the pillow fort. The others looked at me expectantly as I returned alone and I smirked at them: “Just wait. They won’t be able to resist for too long.“

True to my words, we soon heard shuffling steps in the hall way but decided to pretend we didn‘t till I felt a shy tap on my shoulder. “Well hello there baby“, I whispered, gently pulling Felix into my lap. He giggled quietly, hiding his face in the crook of my neck. “Aww, I missed my sunshine sooo much“, Changbin smiled, wrapping his arms around Felix and me. When I looked up, I watched Hyunjin dig his toes into the carpet, facing the ground with a guilty expression. “Sorry, daddy for locking you out“, the oldest little mumbled, not daring to meet his caregiver‘s and roommate‘s eyes. Seungmin sighed tucking the messy strands of Hyunjin‘s long hair behind his ears. “I‘m not mad, sweetie. I was just sad and lonely because I missed you and you didn‘t want me there“ – “I-I want you. Was lonely too but daddy should have fun too. Don‘t want daddy be stuck with me“, the sensitive Hyunjin teared up a bit. “Shh, it‘s ok. We‘re both not lonely anymore now, are we? You know I always have fun when I‘m with you so I‘d be the luckiest person if you‘d stick by my side, princess“, he assured the little. Minho was shy about approaching his caregiver too but one look at the maknae‘s wide smile told him that he didn‘t have to be.

Finally being reunited, we got settled in the pillow fort. Jisung went to the kitchen to fill the littles‘ sippycups with hot cocoa before setting up his laptop to turn on Netflix. Changbin grabbed a cookie holding it next to Felix head and finally getting the youngest little to look up from my neck. Blushing a little, he took a bite of the cookie and giggled to himself before eating the rest. Hyunjin was munching on the treats as well while Minho lay with his head in Jeongin‘s lap, letting the maknae hold the sippy to his lips. I took a small plastic bowl, adding a few of each cookies so we wouldn‘t have to get up from our seated position. Felix was quick to take one of the cookies, choosing my favorite kind and holding it up to my mouth while giving me huge puppy-eyes. I thanked him smiling before opening my mouth so he could feed me. Changbin next to me cooed at the adorable action and the little craned his neck to find the source of the sound, giggling happily as he also picked up a cookie for the older rapper. I heard the quiet clicking of a camera and glared at Jisung who just replied: “We need some Christmas-pictures for the family foto-collection.“

The littles were all still in their pajamas but for a lazy-day like today that was a perfectly suitable outfit. After scrolling through Netflix, we settled for watching The Grinch (2000). Felix had moved from my lap to Changbin‘s stretching his legs over mine while happily sucking on the sippy, Changbin held out for him. The first few minutes of the movie were absolute bliss, till the grinch appeared for the first part, causing Felix to squeal and hide his face in Changbin‘s chest. I rubbed his leg comfortingly and looked over at the other littles‘ reactions. Minho was pressed against Jeongin, covering his eyes and Hyunjin was clutching Seungmin‘s arm tightly while pretending not to be scared. We offered to turn off the movie and try to find something else to watch multiple times but the littles were insistent that they are big boys and want to finish the movie, though we could all tell they were scared.

After having lunch, we continued the rest of the day in a similar fashion, afraid the littles would hide away again if we didn‘t. The three of them got tired pretty early in the evening, probably because the fought so hard to finish the movie, clinging as tightly to their caregivers as physically possible. We all said good night as we went to tuck our babies in. When I carried Felix to our room, Changbin had already pushed our beds together so Felix could lay between us. We often did this when Felix regressed. He was an adorable cuddlebug when he was big and even more so when he was little. Not wanting to miss out on cuddles, we too decided to call it a night early and just go to bed at Felix‘ bedtime. The three of us huddled together in bed seemed like utter bliss and despite not being tired, the warmth lulled me to sleep quickly.

The peace wasn’t to last for long though and I startled awake at the sounds of my baby‘s cries. Changbin as awake already, rocking the little in his arms and mouthing nightmare when our eyes met. I ran my hand over Felix‘ back, shushing him: “What‘s wrong, sweetie?“ – “B-bad dweam. L-Lixxie scawed“, he choked, clinging to Changbin‘s shirt. I sighed, knowing it was a bad idea to let them finish The Grinch. “It‘s ok, bub. You‘re save, we‘ll protect you“, I cooed. “Lixxie, sit with Dada for a while, ok? Binnie will make you some warm milk with honey to calm down“, the rapper promised, shifting the little into my arms and getting up after kissing his forehead. While Changbin went to the kitchen to fill Felix‘ bottle, I gently talked him down, making my Australian accent more prominent. When he had calmed down a bit, I picked him up and followed Changbin to the kitchen. There we found Seungmin, fixing Hyunjin a sippycup of vanilla milk while the little sat on the counter watching him. Hyunjin felt to big to use a bottle but wanted the comfort of warm milk so that‘s why they settled for a sippycup. I lifted Felix onto the counter next to him and the dancer quickly wrapped his arm around the younger. “Let me guess, nightmare?“, I asked. Seungmin nodded rubbing his face tiredly. “Don‘t be scared, Lixxie. Nothing can happen when we all stay together“, the dancer assured putting on his brave face in front of the younger. “Thanks Jinnie“, the freckled boy yawned.

When both drinks for the littles were heated up, Changbin carried Felix to the living room while Hyunjin being the big boy he is, walked himself, holding Seungmin‘s hand. Upon entering the living room, our eyes fell onto the couple laying in the pillow fort. Minho was curled up in Jeongin‘s arms, drinking from the bottle the maknae held to his lips, keeping his eyes closed. Jisung was the first to notice us, while he strung up fairylights all across the living room. “Seems like we‘re having a sleepover“, he laughed, plucking in the last fairylight, filling the room with dim, warm light as we all settled back into the pillow fort where we had already spent all day. While we fed the exhausted littles their bottles, stroking their backs soothingly, Jisung quietly hummed his version of Me after you. The first little to nod off was Minho, after mumbling a quiet “I love you, Innie“ into the maknae‘s shirt. Felix followed suit, having finished about two thirds of his bottle. Hyunjing was the last to go to sleep, placing his sippy down, he curled into Seungmin, telling his daddy he loved him and receiving kiss on the cheek in return. We caregivers wished each other and Jisung good night before we closed our eyes as well.

[quietest-rebellion]

Christmas Party (Stefano/Reader)

I finally did something for Stefano for his birthday! (/ ﾟ▽ﾟ)/

This is set in a happy post-stem world where Stefano lived and the reader is friends with Sebastian. Of course in my mind this is the reader from His Last Masterpiece but I tried to make them as gender neutral as possible. Happy holidays!

Find it on AO3 here!

“Stefano, please.” You pleaded. “It's just going to be the five of us.” You had been arguing with him all morning. Apparently the man had some grudge against Christmas. Or at least the idea of a Christmas party. Honestly he was probably just against being in the same room as Sebastian for more than five minutes.

“I'm not going and this is final.” Stefano stood at your dining room table and continued to look through his most recent batch of photos spread out. You rolled your eyes. At least by this point in your relationship, you were proud to admit, you practically had the man wrapped around your finger. You wrapped your arms around his waist and laid your head against his back. 

“Pleeaassee.” You begged again. “If you go, maybe I would be willing to give you your Christmas present a little early.” You moved his scarf slightly to the side to nip at his neck. He paused and looked up from his work, sighing. 

“How long is this event again?” You smiled and pulled away from him to grab your coat and your gift for the exchange.

“It's only until five.” You explained as Stefano adjusted his scarf and put on his suit jacket. “Sebastian said he has plans to watch Polar Express with Lily after that.” Stefano nodded and grabbed his keys as the two of you walked out the door.

~*~*~*~

It was about a ten minute drive from your apartment to Sebastian's house, and you had planned on annoying Stefano with Christmas carols the entire way. Unfortunately his car only acknowledged his phone and he changed the lock on it again. The photographer played Tchaikovsky's entire Serenade for Strings in C major instead. Wow. You totally weren't tired of that one. He could have at least played something from the Nutcracker if he wanted to listen to Tchaikovsky. 

Stefano pulled into the driveway of the large home and stopped the car. You could see that Juli was already here, which wasn't surprising considering how long you had argued with Stefano about your attendance. Stefano looked as though he might offer up another complaint but it seemed it had finally gotten into his head how stubborn you were. By the time he shut off the car you were already climbing out and Lily was running to meet you guys in the driveway. Sebastian chased after her with a coat and you couldn't help but laugh.

“Lily, how many times have I-” Sebastian scolded as you gave Lily a hug.

“Yes, Dad.” Lily sighed and put on her coat. Man, she was growing up so fast. She was already twelve, you could hardly believe it.

“If she freezes then maybe she'll learn.” Stefano suggested, getting out of the car. Lily rolled her eyes and Sebastian gave him as death glare. You laughed and grabbed your present out of the back. The four of you went into the house and you set your present on the coffee table by the others for the exchange. Sebastian took your coat and hung it up as Lily ran to the kitchen.

“Hey, Juli.” You greeted the brunette who sat on the couch half-watching whatever hallmark movie was on. Juli took another sip of her coffee, gave you a nod of her head and a small smile. Stefano and Juli just sort of glanced at each other as a form of acknowledgement. The two never really talked. When they did, it seemed to consist of Stefano bragging and Juli saying, “Yeah, I know.” Which annoyed him to no end, meaning she achieved her goal. 

“Y/N, we were gonna make some Christmas cookies!” Lily told you, showing you a bowl of dough in the kitchen. You nudged Stefano. He gave you a questioning look.

“Come on,” you pulled him to the kitchen and forced him to actually take off his gloves. 

“Stefano, making Christmas cookies?” Juli joked. Everyone except Stefano laughed. 

“Well, baking is another form of art so I just figured-” You defended yourself.

“That doesn't mean he'll be any good at it.” Sebastian joked, giving Stefano a small smile. Stefano took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. He was now determined to make the most beautiful damn Christmas cookies the world had ever seen.

And thus the competition began. Sebastian and Lily versus Stefano. (You offered to help but he wasn’t having it). The challenge was who could make the prettiest and best tasting cookies. You and Juli were the judges. While Lily was involved in the competition, she didn’t seem too worried about whether or not she’d win, she was just having fun and making them look however she wanted. Sebastian and Stefano on the other hand… The two glared at each other any chance they got, and you worried you may have to dock points soon for one of them trying to sabotage the other. 

~*~*~*~

After covering the kitchen in sprinkles and icing, the competition had ended. Now was time for judging. Looking over Team Castellano’s cookies, they were adorable. Snowmen, christmas trees, gingerbread men, however their work was a little messy. 3 out of 5 from you, on appearance. Juli agreed. So, 6 out of 10 so far for Team Castellanos. 

Moving on to look at Stefano’s, they were gorgeous. Presents, ornaments, snowflakes. Every bit of icing cleanly spread, every sprinkle placed exactly where it needed to be. Seeing as the man was a perfectionist, this came as no surprise. So, as much as Juli hated to admit it, Stefano got 5 out of 5 from her, obviously you gave the same. Team Valentini currently leading with 10 out of 10.

Stefano crossed his arms and smirked at Sebastian who was giving him a look cold enough you could swear you could see frost forming in his hair. 

Time to taste test. Juli took a bite of a Castellanos cookie.

“Wow, it’s really sweet. It tastes like one you would get at a store. And it’s not too crumbly. 5 out of 5 from me.” She smiled. You tried one. Wow. It really was as good as she described, you felt like you had just spent a bunch of money to get this from a bakery. 10 out of 10 Team Castellanos. Now leading with 16 points. 

You could see Stefano getting a little anxious as he adjusted his scarf and clenched and unclenched his hands in his gloves. You picked up one of his cookies to try and it broke. Not a great sign. Upon taking a bite you discovered that it tasted… alright. Not the best, not the worst. Juli tried one and gave them 2 out of 5. You gave them 3 out of 5. Meaning Team Valentini lost by one point. Oh no. 

Stefano seemed to still be processing as Sebastian and Lily high fived and celebrated by having some of their cookies. Juli laughed and had another one of the Castellanos cookies. Stefano left the room and you followed.

“Hey...” You put your hand on his shoulder only to have it swatted away. After a second he took a deep breath and turned to look at you, he was obviously angry but he didn’t seem to know what to say. “Sorry, I should have given you an extra point so you’d at least be tie--” He held up a hand to silence you.

“I will not take a win that was not fairly earned.” The artist sighed, then smiled at you. “Come on, there is still a gift exchange to do.” You smiled back at him, surprised that he let it go so quickly. He’d probably bring it up again later.

“You know Sebastian is never gonna let you live this down.” You reminded him. Stefano chuckled.

“So I’ll beat him next year.” You smiled at thought of having a party like this every year.

The two of you walked into the living room and the rest of your group soon joined you. Stefano counted the presents. 

“But there are only four gifts and there are five of us, how are we going to do a gift exchange?” He asked. You smiled at Sebastian who pulled something from behind his back and set it next to the gifts. It was a small cake, with a camera made out of icing on it and the words ‘Happy Birthday’ on it.

“Surprise!” You and Lily shouted in unison. Stefano looked bewildered at the cake in front of him. 

“What is this..?” He asked.

“We knew your birthday was really close to Christmas, so I could trick you into thinking it was a Christmas party.” You replied.

“It was Y/N’s idea. I just agreed to host.” Sebastian explained, trying to keep up the ‘I really don’t like you’ appearance.

“I made him do it!” Lily joked. “Happy birthday, Uncle Stefano!”

“I was invited, and thought ‘Hey why not.’” Juli shrugged.

Stefano still seemed in shock. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a birthday party. Lily handed him a gift with a big bow on it. 

“This one is from me, open it!” Stefano offered her a small smile and pulled the ribbon off. The wrapping paper fell away to reveal a painting she did of the two of them. 

“It’s beautiful, topolina.” Stefano smiled and hugged her. She handed him another gift, a small box.

“This one’s from dad.” Stefano took it and opened it. It was a just a gift card, but it was for Stefano’s favorite coffee shop, so it was obvious he tried a little. The artist laughed a bit to himself at the thought of Sebastian trying to think of a gift for him.

“Thank you.” Stefano wouldn’t say his name, but he would thank him, since he was polite like that. Lily handed him another box. This one wasn’t wrapped the best.

“This is from Aunt Juli.” Stefano nodded and pulled off the paper, and opened the box. Inside was an intricate knife, similar to the one he had used in STEM. He picked it up to see what it felt like in his hand. 

“Where did you get this?” He raised an eyebrow at Juli. She shrugged and smiled.

“I have my ways.” Sebastian gave her a look, but she didn’t seem concerned.

“This is the last one, I’m sure you can guess who it’s from.” Lily handed Stefano the gift bag that you had carried in with you when you had arrived. You couldn’t wait to see his reaction. He started to open it then paused.

“Should I be opening this in front of Lily?” He whispered to you, you hit him.

“Just open it.” You rolled your eyes, but he did as he was told and pulled out a photo album. He gave you a questioning look and you encouraged him to open it. The album was filled with pictures of the two of you, pictures that he had no idea you had taken. In the back was a note that read “I’m thinking we should do a location shoot.” Next to the note were two plane tickets for Italy, next week. Stefano calmly set the album down and Lily picked it up to look at what the note said. Stefano grabbed you and pulled you into a tight hug. You wondered if he might cry. 

Sebastian cleared his throat to get your attention. Stefano pulled away a little. 

“So, are we going to eat this cake?” Sebastian asked.

~*~*~*~

“Was it all that bad?” You asked as you climbed into your car after saying goodbye to Lily and Sebastian. Stefano seemed like he was going to roll his eyes, but he didn’t. 

“I suppose not.” He replied, putting on his seat belt. “I can’t believe you managed to surprise me.” 

“Well, that’s part of why I had Sebastian host it. You would have known if I suddenly bought a cake and stuff.” 

“But you had the photo album at home the whole time!” 

“Well that was easy, I just put it with my work papers. You never look at those.” You laughed.

When you arrived at home, Stefano’s first thought was to spend some time playing around with the knife he had gotten from Juli.  

“Excuse me but, Mr. Valentini…” You turned Stefano to look at you and took the knife from his hands, beginning to spin it in your own. “I believe I still have to give you one more birthday present.” Stefano raised an eyebrow and smirked, and you pulled him down the hall by his scarf. 

[shirewalker]

Mamma Mia! - A Nikolina Fic

Nikolina Appreciation Week 2020 ♛ Day 9: Free Day

Summary: While Alina's travelling through Ireland, she ends up sharing a bedroom with the handsome and charming Nikolai. After a night with the best sex in her life, Alina has a choice to run off or stick with the hazel-eyed charmer for a little longer. Her mind says one thing, her body another.

Eventually, her heart will also have a say in the matter.

Pairing: Alina/Nikolai

One-shot

Rating: Explicit

Also on AO3

Mamma Mia!

Ireland was a paradise. Green lands as far as the eye could see, beautiful architecture, country side roads to get lost in, rainstorms… But Alina was a bit tired after three long days of hiking through the Irish lands. Resting at a local b&b would be perfect…

“Did you say Starkov?” The teenager at the front desk asked.

Alina looked back at him and felt a little uneasy as she noticed his barely hidden panic. “Yes…?”

He gulped visibly and nodded. “I’ll… There’s a problem with the system. Can you… can you wait in the restaurant area while I talk with my supervisor?”

She nodded slowly, wanting whatever was happening to be taken care of, and fast. She wanted nothing more than to sleep tonight. “All right, I’ll sample the food.”

The boy was off before she had finished her sentence.

--

The restaurant was small, but cosy. Alina sat by the fire, happily enjoying a cup of hot chocolate as she kept an eye on the door to the front hall. It had been nearly twenty minutes since she’d been practically abandoned by the young teen without as much as a room key. Her body was beginning to grow antsy, the hot chocolate and the fireplace keeping her a little relaxed.

“What the hell is taking them so long?” She mumbled under her breath.

A familiar mop of brown hair walked in and she instantly stood straighter. But the teen didn’t walk towards her. Instead, he made a beeline for a young man sitting at the far corner, his golden hair shinning under the warm lights of the room.

Alina frowned in confusion as the teen whispered something to the stranger before the two walked out of the room.

She was ready to get up and demand her room when the stranger was back. And walking straight towards her. Another stranger walked not too far behind, sporting an expression of panic similar to that of the teenager.

“Miss Starkov, I presume?” The blonde stranger greeted her with a dazzling grin that had Alina momentarily losing her footing.

“Ye-Yes…? And you are?”

The stranger winked as his grin turned mischievous, as though he was privy to Alina’s reaction to his smile. Well, that was enough for her to scoff at him.

“Name’s Nikolai, my lady. And it seems we have a conundrum in regards to our sleeping quarters for the night.”

Alina blinked fast at him, caught by surprise with his elegant but effortless speech. And that’s when the other stranger approached them at last and bowed a little with his head, “A thousand apologies, miss. It seems there was a glitch in our system after last night’s storm.”

“Okay… What does that mean?” She asked, already feeling a knot of dread forming in her stomach. How was that related to her reservation and this Nikolai dude?

The stranger wrung their hands, “I’m the manager of this place and we’ve never had this happening. We pride ourselves in a service of high quality!”

“Please, tell me what’s going on.” Alina said, desperate for any word that made any sense.

“Well…” The manager started.

But Nikolai stepped in when silence began to stretch, “It seems we both got assigned the same room, miss Starkov.” He flashed a sheepish smile, “And the place is entirely booked.”

Her mouth hanged open. This couldn’t be happening. She’d made a reservation especially to avoid this kind of situation! “But… How?”

The manager shook his head, “We don’t know miss. It’s a grave mistake we didn’t notice until you arrived. Since we already had given mister Sturmhond his key… The system…” He trailed off.

“Point is, we got the same room.” Nikolai offered.

“And there’s no spare?” Alina asked, wishing the answer had changed in the last few seconds.

The manager shook his head, “I’m afraid not. And I checked in with the closest b&b and they’re booked too. There’s a festival happening this weekend and many patrons already arrived…”

“Where am I supposed to sleep? But… wait! Who made the reservation first? Shouldn’t they get the room then?” She demanded, hoping she was the winner.

Nikolai shrugged, “They can’t see. The glitch erased some files, including the ones that could tell us that.” He paused, watching the manager for a moment, “Will you give us a moment, please?”

The manager nodded and left with a quick apology and an offer of paying for all of Alina’s expenses.

“I have a suggestion.” Nikolai said without waiting a beat. He touched the chair in front of her and waited until Alina had nodded before sitting down. And snatching a butter cookie from her plate. “Delicious…”

Alina cleared her throat, annoyance rising as the man continued eating the stolen cookie. “You were saying?”

“Ah!” He dusted his hands and leaned forward, “How about we share the room?”

Her stomach somersaulted upon hearing those words. “What?”

Nikolai raised his hands and chuckled, “I have no ulterior motives, Miss Starkov. I swear I am only suggesting us sharing the room for the night. I was told you were planning on staying just one night. Unless that was incorrect?”

Alina huffed a breath, crossed her arms and leaned back, “Yes, one night. And call me… Alina. Miss Starkov is so… formal.” She said with a grimace. Only her teachers had ever called her that.

A pleased grin stretched on his face before Nikolai spoke again, “Alina. A beautiful name…” He paused for a moment, his eyes – hazel, she noticed – watching her for the duration of his silence. Then, “Like I was suggesting, it would be just a platonic share of the bedroom. In fact, I wouldn’t mind sleeping on the floor, so long I’m provided with enough blankets.”

Alina opened her mouth several times to speak, but no words came out. It was a ridiculous situation and it just kept getting crazier and crazier. She stood in a flash and grabbed her phone, “I have to make a call. Excuse me.”

“Of course. I’ll order seconds.”

--

“So… is he hot?” Genya’s voice came through the phone, metallic and a bit distant with the bad reception.

Alina rolled her eyes, pinched her nose and let out a long, slow sigh. “Genya…”

“Come on. Answer me this. Then I’ll tell you what you should do.”

“I know what you’re going to say.”

“Oh? So does that mean he is hot?”

Alina looked over her shoulder, as though Nikolai could hear her from the other side of the b&b. “Genya, be serious.”

“He’s either drop dead gorgeous to the point your panties are soaked already, or he’s an ugly troll and you don’t want to be rude. Either way, I’ll need your honest opinion ASAP.”

She let out a tired sigh, “Fine. I guess he is… attractive. If you’re into that look.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere. What does he look like? Describe like one of your rejected calendar photos. The ones that are too good for the projects.”

“Really?”

“Go!”

“He’s tall. And blonde.”

“Wow, and to think you’ve made a business out of making unique and beautiful calendars…”

“He’s so tall I could rest my head on his chest, ok? His hair is thick and blonde. It looks like liquid gold, I swear.” She finally relented, still keeping her nicest, most poetic words to herself. Her friend didn’t need to know his hair glowed in the firelight.

“Mhmm… I’m liking the view. More. Muscles, voice, eyes. Jaw!”

“Genya…”

“Alina…!”

“I guess he is well defined. Looks like it. A deep voice, could narrate books. Hazel eyes.”

Genya started to hoot from the other side of the line and Alina regretted, for the umpteenth time, having called this best friend. Maybe Zoya would have been a better choice.

“Girl, you better bang that. He sounds like your dream man.”

“He’s not my dream man.” She grumbled through gritted teeth, “He’s insufferable and full of himself.”

“Looking like that? I’d be surprised if he wasn’t. Go on, take the offer and take things to the upper level. Have fun! You did go on that trip to have fun and adventures, and fun adventures fit the bill.”

“I’ll take the room, but everything else isn’t happening. You… Go kiss David.”

“Love you! Bye! And please have hot great sex with your hot stranger!”

Alina sighed and put her phone away, reading herself for this next conversation.

--

“I can’t tell you how happy I am that you accepted this deal, because if I did it would sound wrong and you would probably kick me between the legs.” Nikolai flashed what Alina was beginning to suspect to be his signature grin, and unlocked their door. He signalled for her to enter, with a little bow and an extended hand, “After you, my lady.”

She rolled her eyes and entered, only to stop short at the sight of the bedroom. The photos didn’t do it justice. Sure, it was a small room, but it was comfortably luxurious. A four-post bed, a small wardrobe and a vanity to one side, a couple of large and comfy looking armchairs to the other side, next to a table. Which sat next to a window and… “A window seat!” She let out in surprise, excited to see one in person.

Nikolai closed the door and smiled at her, “A fan?”

She tried to control her excitement with a roll of her eyes, “I just… Always wanted to see one in person. Movies make them look so… interesting.”

He nodded and took off his coat before moving to the bed. He sat on it and bounced a couple of times, chuckling to himself in delight at a seemingly positive result. “I bet you’ll have a fantastic sleep on this mattress, Alina.”

She narrowed her eyes, “Yes. Me.”

Nikolai feigned a shot to his heart and collapsed onto the bed, “Oh, you wound me!”

“Good. Now get up and find your blankets.”

Nikolai stood with a playful grin and booped her nose on his way to the wardrobe, “Pure sunshine, aren’t you?”

She swatted at him and moved away from his magnetic field. It had… unwanted effects. “I’m not here to be sweet to you.”

“No, and I wouldn’t expect you to. Still, sunshine fits you.” And he left it at that, starting to whistle some off-tune melody as he found thick blankets and stacked them on the floor.

Alina searched for her pyjama and rushed to the bathroom, “I’ll go change, don’t you dare walk in on me or peek through my stuff!”

“I wouldn’t dare doing such a wretched thing.” He called back, his tone serious for a change.

--

Alina took her time changing, hoping Nikolai would take the hint and get changed in the meantime as well. She brushed her hair and then her teeth, she stared at her reflection and paced around. She peed. She washed her hands. And when she had no more excuses to stay locked in the bathroom, she walked out.

And straight into a hard chest, wrapped in teal.

“Woah there!” Nikolai caught her in his embrace just as she was tilting backwards with the momentum.

She blinked at the threadbare t-shirt that hugged his chest, barely hiding the very well-toned muscles, and realised with a start that he was holding her in his arms.

“Off!” She jumped away and tried to hide the blush on her cheeks, “A bit handsy, no?”

Nikolai chuckled and raked a hand through his hair, the movement drawing Alina’s attention to the sliver of toned muscle that peeked through the crack between his shirt and pants. “I was merely making sure you didn’t hurt yourself, sunshine. I was going to knock to check if you were well when you suddenly barge out and nearly barrel through me.”

Alina shook her head, ignoring the way her body got excited at the sight of Nikolai’s, and climbed onto the large bed, “Whatever, try to keep them to yourself next time.”

“I swear I’ll only touch you with your permission, Alina.” He said, his tone almost reverent. “Goodnight, sunshine.”

She almost demanded he stop using that word, but that would involve a longer conversation. So she just mumbled a reply and laid down, her back turned to him.

--

Sleeping was impossible.

Genya’s words kept Alina awake. And knowing Nikolai was lying right next to her didn’t help her case at all.

She wasn’t going to sleep with him! She simply wasn’t! That would be… That would… be… Alina tossed and turned, cursing her luck for this position she had been forced into.

All she’d wanted was a nice adventure by herself through the Irish lands. And to sleep in a comfy bed at night, wherever she stopped. None of her plans had involved any sort of sexual endeavours.

And yet…

Nikolai showed up.

And Genya dropped that bomb of an idea on Alina’s lap.

If only she could put the entire blame on her friend. But if she were being honest with herself, she had… flirted with the idea of having mind-blowing sex with a hot stranger at some point. If only to cleanse herself from her terrible ex. Plus, she often wondered what proper sex would be like.

And Nikolai looked like he knew his stuff.

“Nikolai…” She whispered into the darkness, torn between wishing him asleep, and hoping him to be awake.

A stir, then, “Yes?”

“Are you awake?”

A low chuckle, rough with sleep, “I am now. What is it?”

“I…” She started, only to quiet a moment later. What was she doing? And what was she going to say?!

Fabric rustled as Nikolai sat up, “Alina?”

She took a deep breath and looked his way, finding his hazel eyes even in the darkness of the room. “I don’t know how to do this.” She admitted.

He frowned a little and cocked his head, “Do what?”

A sudden heat took over her body and she bit her lip, wishing this impossible man would make the suggestion first. But silence stretched on, and he kept his distance. She tossed her blankets away and sat on the bed, facing him with a sudden braveness that she hoped would last long enough. “Ask you to sleep with me.” She finally let out in a tiny voice, her heart hammering faster and faster.

Nikolai parted his lips for a moment, eyes wide at her words. Then his face softened a little before a playful grin curved his lips, “I think you just did, sunshine. Although I’m sure you were very against us touching just a couple of hours ago.”

She groaned and looked away, suddenly embarrassed she’d asked at all. “If you’re going to mock me, I’ll have you sleeping in the bathtub. And it’s a tiny one.”

He chuckled, the sound huskier than before and quickly sending her heart into cardiac arrest. “My apologies, sunshine. I was just…” He stood with a grunt and walked towards her. “Lightening the mood. You sounded a little… Nervous.” He looked down at her with a strange look, his eyes taking in her flushed cheeks first, then her parted lips, and lingering there for a long moment. “If you want, I’ll do whatever you wish. But if you’re not sure and you feel like you have to…” He lifted his hand, but it dropped away before touching her, “I don’t want you doing anything you don’t want to do, Alina.”

She straightened and stood as well, her chest grazing his as there was little space left between them. “I want to do this. I just didn’t know how to propose it. It’s not as easy as asking if you want to have a drink. Like, ‘Hey! Want to have sex tonight?’” She tskd and crossed her arms, or tried to, as his proximity made it impossible for Alina to do so.

He touched her chin with his finger and tipped her head a little, his eyes boring into hers with a spark of amusement and… desire. “If you do want this… Then yes, I’d very much like to have sex with you tonight, sunshine.” The words echoed all around them, hanging in the air for one lingering moment.

And then he was kissing her, his lips crashing into hers as the two finally gave in to the mutual attraction that sizzled between them.

Nikolai tasted of stolen goods in the middle of a kitchen raid. Delicious and sinful. His mouth was soft and warm against hers, nipping and pulling and massaging her lips until she was trembling from head to toe and clinging to his shoulders as though her very life depended on it. She kissed him back with as much passion, pouring into him a kind of lust she hadn’t felt until now, her body aching to know his with utter intimacy. Their tongues teased each other, tasted each other, explored each other.

She moaned into the kiss and Nikolai eagerly drunk all the sounds she made, his hands holding her so close she could hardly breathe. Saints above, Alina had never been kissed like this. It was… like heaven. A sinful kind of heaven, if she were being honest.

The kiss was broken into a million of kisses that Nikolai trailed across her jaw and down her neck, peppering her feverish skin with promises of a long, long night. Alina moaned his name as she raked her hands through his hair and his mouth travelled lower, tasting all that he could of her exposed skin.

“I adore your pyjama, sunshine… But…” He rasped against her collarbone, giving it a playful bite as his hands sneaked under her shirt and slowly climbed up, up, up.

“It would look better on the floor?” She replied, eyes rolling in their sockets when he brushed his thumbs over her nipples, instantly making them pinch and ache for more.

He hummed in agreement and quickly freed her of the pesky layer. A bite of cold air teased her skin, only to be quickly smothered when Nikolai leaned down to kiss her breasts.

“God…!” She moaned louder, fingers digging into his scalp, toes curling into the carpet.

His chuckle teased her nipple, “You really think so, sunshine?”

“Oh… shut up.” She managed to let out. Then she was tugging on his shirt, pulling it up in the blind, demanding it to be gone. “I need you to strip. Make this even. Now.”

Nikolai chuckled again and silently answered her request, tossing his shirt away without a glance. “Better?”

Alina took in the sight of his toned torso, lean muscles and softly tanned skin greeting her, making her mouth water. She nodded dumbstruck before leaning in to kiss his chest, and trail down, savouring each bump of soft skin and the way all of this had her panties soaked through and through.

Nikolai let out a surprised gasp when Alina reached his pants and pulled everything down. “Alina…?”

She peeked up and licked her lips, “I want to taste you.” And that was all she said before taking him in her mouth.

She played him at length, licking and sucking until Nikolai was trembling all over and begging for her. His hand was knotted in her hair, carefully guiding her through his wishes as she moved and savoured him until he was close to breaking point. “God… Alina…” He let out, his voice strained, “And you… and you didn’t know how… how… OH!” He let out a loud groan and bucked his hips against her, shuddering hard as Alina finally broke him.

They were breathing heavily by the time Nikolai had pulled Alina back to her feet, his eyes darker than the night sky as he watched her lick her lips clean. “That was amazing.” She said, reaching out to touch him with a finger. She trailed it up and down his length, savouring the way Nikolai shuddered under her touch.

Nikolai cupped her cheek and let his hand wander to the nape of her neck, tilting her head just a little bit, just enough for him to lean down and brush his lips against hers, “You are a wicked vixen, sunshine. I can’t wait to taste you.”

Then he had her on her back, hair splayed all over the sheets as he slowly kissed her torso, sucking on her nipples at length until her voice was nothing but a pained sound. “Please…” She begged only to have him travel lower and lower, freeing her of the rest of her clothes and parting her legs. Oh saints… This was it. He was going for revenge. Sweet, sweet revenge. “Nikolai…” She let out in a gasp when he began kissing her ankle.

“I’ll make you feel so good, sunshine. So incredible… No one else will ever, ever compare…” He breathed against her skin as his mouth travelled up her leg, closer and closer to her pounding centre. “And I bet you taste divinely, don’t you?”

She nodded, even though at that moment she wasn’t sure about what, as her mind was nothing but a puddle, every rational thought destroyed by the simple anticipation of Nikolai’s tongue inside of her.

A gasp escaped her lips at the first touch. It was a soft, playful swirl, just enough to have her heart pounding hard against her chest. She clawed at the sheets when he did it again, this time slower and deeper. A longer taste, a longer tease.

“Nikolai… Please… God…!” Her moans answered each and every lick of his tongue, her hips arching with him, her body begging for release.

But Nikolai wanted to stretch her thin, and so his teasing was slow and torturous, pushing her close enough to the edge, but never over it. Oh, no… Never over it. And Alina hated it. And she loved it. She swore sex had never felt this good, not to her and to no one else.

Then, at last, Nikolai was pushing over the edge, and Alina was crying out for him, coming undone with the force of a thousand stars exploding at once.

--

“I knew you’d taste divinely, Alina…” Nikolai rasped against her lips once she was rational enough for them to continue their little rendezvous. He pulled her under the sheets and braced himself over her, his hazel eyes shining brighter than ever.

Alina took in the dark swirls of brown and the wisps of green, their shade reminding her of crushed emeralds. God, were his eyes even real? Who had eyes like his?

“Speechless?” He teased her and placed a soft kiss on her cheek, “Already? And here I was hoping…” He kissed her other cheek and reached between her legs, “To hear you call my name again, and again…” He dipped a finger and teased her for a moment, long enough to have her wet and ready.

Her breathing laboured, Alina licked her lips and reached for his hair, fingers playing with the luscious locks, “You wish, Nikolai. I’m just getting ready.”

He hummed and leaned in to kiss her with a long kiss, hot enough to set fire to the sheets around them. Then it was over and he was sinking into her with a satisfied groan, “Saints… You feel… Heavenly.”

Alina bit her lip and wrapped her arms around his neck with a nod, “You too. God… You feel… So good. So… good.” She mumbled compliments after compliments as he adjusted himself, his touch teasing her body in the best of ways. “That better not be your only condom, Nikolai. I want more.”

“Already?” He chuckled, “Then I better make sure you’ll still want it after we’re done.” Then he started to move, and the whole world faded to nothing.

Nikola’s rhythm was slow and steady at first as he drew in and out with painstakingly patient strokes, making Alina feel every little second of it. She held onto him hard with laboured breathing and hooded eyes, gasping and moaning yesses and mores and his name. Oh, his name…! Alina had never experienced sex so good she wanted to say nothing but her partner’s name. But here she was now, being banged so thoroughly by this man that her tongue knew nothing but his name.

“God!” She cried out when he picked up speed, his hips rolling harder with each thrust. He went deep and hard, and Alina swore she saw stars every time. Every. Single. Time.

“Goddess…” Nikolai replied with a chuckle and a kiss to her lips, its softness a paradox to his dirty, dirty moves. “You are… a goddess, Alina… So incredible, I can’t believe you’re real…” He rasped against her cheek, his forehead pressed to hers, effort drawing a deep line between his eyes, “I think I’ll die tonight.” He added just before delivering a stronger and harder thrust.

Alina’s moan was loud and echoed all around them, her blood so close to igniting all it would take was a spark. “Please, Nikolai… Please…!” She begged, wanting him to destroy her. She’d never wanted an orgasm to ruin her existence as much as she wanted one now.

“Your wish is my command, sunshine…” Then he was rocking his hips harder and faster than ever, the bed groaning under their heated encounter, and then… at last…

Alina was crying out a moan, his name, something in between. And Nikolai cried out as well, shuddering hard as the two rode the remnants of their orgasm, their bodies so spent for now that they were mere husks of themselves.

--

“Well… I guess it was worth it going with your idea.” She said after a while, wrapped in Nikolai’s embrace as they rested before their next round.

He hummed, “I always say that anything worth doing always starts as a bad idea, sunshine.”

“So you agree it was a bad idea?” She asked over her shoulder, arching an eyebrow at the impossible man.

His chuckle was warm and earnest, “You thought it was, Alina.”

She rolled her eyes and settled back, “You’re so cocky.”

“Yes, you complimented me quite a lot just now, thank you once more.”

Alina pushed her elbow back and grinned satisfied as Nikolai let out a grunt. Then, he rolled her over and began kissing her neck with only a wink as a warning, and Alina soon forgot all about his insufferable streak.

“I don’t want tonight to end, sunshine…” He whispered, his breath teasing her pulse as he planted slow and hot kisses up the column of her neck, “I want to stay in this bed forever, with you.”

Her eyes fluttered closed and her hands blindly searched for his hair, her fingers playing with the soft locks as his kisses drew closer to her mouth. “The night is still young…” She whispered back, putting aside any thoughts about the next day. Tonight was about tonight. The future had to wait.

“What do you want me to do now, sunshine? Tell me and I’ll do it.” His breath was on her lips now, warm and teasing, holding a kiss just out of reach.

“I want you to kiss me right now…” She said, “Then I want to be on top. I want to ride you, Nikolai, slow and hard.”

“Hm, slow and hard? And here I thought you’d want it hard and fast…” He chuckled and pecked her lips, “But I’ll grant you your wish, Alina. Anything to hear you make those sweet, sweet sounds.”

Then he was kissing her slowly, his mouth speaking in a language that ignited her blood bit by bit. He massaged moan after moan out of her, their bodies pressed together as lust slowly built up between them. Nikolai broke the kiss just to trail a line straight to the hollow below her jaw, where he grazed her skin with this teeth before pressing a long, slow kiss that had her gasping for air. Saints above, this was pure, delightful sin. And Alina wanted more.

“Nikolai…” She rasped, “Come on, you insufferable man…” His chuckle only made her more eager, “I think it’s time I’m on top.”

Without a word, Nikolai hooked a hand around her knee and flipped them over. Alina let out a yelp before putting her hands against his chest to keep balance. Nikolai flashed a grin at her, “That… Was adorable.”

She slapped him lightly, “Shut up.”

“I’ll sit up instead, hum?”

Alina blinked in surprise but she didn’t stop him as he adjusted himself under her, their bodies barely touching each other. She eyed him, already hard and ready for the taking, and warmth pooled between her legs, her body desperate to ride him.

“You look ravenous, sunshine…” He said, “Ready to risk any… Accidents.”

Alina blushed in spite of herself and awkwardly reached for his pants, from where she’d seen him withdraw his previous condom. “You’re so full of yourself…” She muttered as she offered the item, “Two?”

Nikolai shrugged and readied himself, “I admit I grabbed just one, the second must have tagged along.”

“Haha, yes, of course. They just couldn’t be separated.”

A mischievous glint burned in his eyes. He circled her waist and pulled her closer, his voice dropping to a husky whisper, “Much like us, Alina.” His gaze dropped to her breasts, which were right in front of him, should he just angle his head a little lower, “I wonder what sounds you’ll make when I suck those…”

Alina let out a shuddered breath and watched him lean in, his eyes flicking to hers just before he took one nipple in his mouth. She held onto his shoulders, a moan on her lips, when his tongue circled the tender flesh. Then she clung harder when he gave her a playful bite. And then she let out a shuddered cry when he sucked hard, his mouth playing her like a master musician. “Nikolai…” She let out, “Please…”

“Your call, Alina… When you want…” He rasped, his tongue teasing her nipple endlessly, “But I’ll take my time with this, sunshine. You make the most beautiful sounds.”

Her hand shakier than ever, Alina reached down and sank into him, her body happily taking in his hard length as she slowly adjusted her position. A grateful sound came out and she wasn’t sure just who had it belonged to. Then she started to ride him, rolling her hips slowly, sinking her body deep.

Nikolai kept playing with her breasts, teasing her with his tongue, giving her a rhythm to move to, driving her mad with pure, raw lust.

“Oh…!” She dropped her head back and rode faster when he sucked hard on her other nipple. His hold tightened and he let out a groan. “Yes…!”

“Alina… Oh… Alina…!” His hot breath fanned her skin, goosebumps following suit.

And Alina moved. Going down hard, feeling every second of it, relishing in every touch and sound. Her skin could be glowing for all she knew. This truly was the best sex she’d ever had in her life, and frankly… Nothing would ever surpass it.

“Nikolai…!” She gasped, feeling the edge so close, so close… And then she was falling hard, crying out a wordless sound as she clung hard to him and rode her high to the very last drop, taking extra satisfaction in the way Nikolai fell apart under her, his growl like music to her ears.

Saints be blessed. She would have to be carried out of the bed after this.

--

Rain fell at a lazy pace all around her. Alina eyed the street, nerves making her foot tap endlessly as she waited for the next bus. It was early in the morning and she’d been told one would arrive in the next half hour. Still, she wanted it here faster.

If not, she might be tempted to go back to that room.

“Damn it!” She cursed under her breath. Last night had been, quite possibly, the best night of her life. Nikolai had put to shame anyone that claimed to be great in bed. Which meant Alina wouldn’t be able to leave his arms if he had woken up before her.

So, when she woke up first… She snuck out.

Better to be the jerk that leaves without a word than be the stupid one that wasted their trip in bed with some guy. Even if that guy had her body singing with great sex.

She eyed her watch and groaned. If that bus didn’t arrive soon…

“You missed breakfast.”

She let out a yelp and whirled on the spot, eyes widening as she came face to face with Nikolai. Who, much to her chagrin, was beginning to be rather soaked. And was here. Before she could leave for good.

She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

A corner of his mouth curled up a little, “I meant actual breakfast, but the other kind could be in the menu as well.” He paused, cocked his head and eyed her bags, “Though I suspect that’s exactly why you’re up so early.”

“I… Look… I have a trip plan.” She explained, as though those few words were enough.

He nodded and passed a hand through his hair, pushing dripping locks away from his face. Alina felt her breath falter at the gesture. God, could this man stop being so attractive?

“Does that mean you don’t want to repeat last night?”

Alina looked away, her cheeks burning hotter than the sun, “We can’t repeat it. We just happened to share a room. You’re going your way and I’m going mine.”

“What if we aligned our trips?” He stepped closer, “We’d have company, we’d save in lodgings, etcetera…”

“And we’d repeat last night over and over again?” She arched an eyebrow, hoping her nonchalance masked the way his words had her body shivering with anticipation.

His voice dropped an octave, “Come back to bed, sunshine. I assure you it’ll be worth it.” He reached for a lock of her hair and took in a slow breath, “We’re both traveling aimlessly through Ireland… Why not share the journey?” He chuckled, “And yes, sex would be included in the package. I’m certain one night wasn’t enough. It wasn’t for me. God… You were…” He trailed off as he finally let go of her hair. “What do you say, sunshine?”

She blinked like a startled deer, “Why do you keep calling me that?”

He shrugged, “It suits you.”

“Oh.” She paused, “That’s it?”

“Well,” He winked, “You were a ray of sunshine from the moment we met, hard to avoid calling you that.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, “Of course.”

“I mean it with all my heart, Alina. Sunshine… Suits you.” It seemed there was no way to have him stop using the nickname.

“How long are you going to be here?”

Nikolai shrugged again, “Don’t know. However long I wish. And you?”

She frowned, who the hell went on a trip without planning an ending date? “I… Well, a month. Give or take.”

“Wonderful!” He smiled a smile brighter than sunlight and Alina found herself struggling for a reason to be angry at his outburst. “So… What do you say, Alina?”

“What if I refuse?”

“I’ll be disappointed, of course. But you are free to go your way. I just… Hoped we could continue what we started.”

Alina looked away and chewed on her lip. She barely knew him. Not that this fact had stopped her from banging him thoroughly. And saints… It was so damn good!

Oh god. She was going to regret this.

“Fine, we can… Stick together.”

--

Alina chewed on the inside of her cheek as she looked at the packages in front of her. Why the hell were there so many options? She looked at the hasty scribble on her palm and then at the prices. Whatever, she’d pick the averagely priced and leave.

“Hmm… Afraid we’ll run out of condoms, sunshine?” Nikolai’s breath tickled her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist, and placed a soft kiss on her neck.

Her stomach flipped on its head at the softness of this gesture. Then she took a shaky breath and looked over her shoulder, their noses brushing ever so slightly, “Doesn’t hurt to be prepared, does it? Plus, you…” She dropped her voice to the tiniest of whispers, “Well, we spent a lot of them last night. And this morning. So, unless you have an endless supply in your bags, we’re taking these.”

He arched an eyebrow and a corner of his mouth curled up in a playful grin, “We?”

She pushed him off and then placed the package of condoms and another of pills in his hands and gestured towards the register, “Actually, you pay. I’ll be waiting.”

Nikolai chuckled and, with that insufferable grin of his, leaned down to peck her lips before walking away to pay for their things.

“Ah, I remember when my sweetheart would look at me that way.” An old voice spoke from the entrance to the next aisle.

Alina turned towards it and saw an elderly woman dressed in a classic outfit, the demure aspect of it clashing with the bright blue of her hair. “Huh… Like what?” She asked, her stomach flipping like crazy once more.

“Like I’d put the sun in the sky.” Then she chuckled, “And like I was the sole reason he ever got a boner, the rascal.”

Alina’s eyes widened as those words came out, “I…”

The elderly woman chuckled, “Oh, we did some naughty things…”

“Right…” Alina didn’t know what to say. The lady seemed nice enough, but Alina really didn’t want to stand there, listening to the woman’s sexcapades. “I’ll just…” She gestured to Nikolai, who was walking back.

“Of course, go one and have fun with your man.”

“He’s not…” She started, but then she gave up and shook her head. There was no point in telling the lady she and Nikolai were just sex partners. Nothing more. Even if he was rather… tender and sweet with her. Which wasn’t a thing she’d expect from a colourful friend.

“Ready?” Nikolai arrived and took her hand before turning to the lady and greeting her with a dazzling grin, “Good morning, madam.”

“Madam? Oh, he’s a keeper.” The woman smiled and winked before finally leaving Alina alone.

--

“Nice lady.”

“Huh?” Alina’s mind had been somewhere far away, distracted with the old lady’s misinformed opinion on her and Nikolai’s relationship.

“That old lady.”

“Ah, yes. She thought we were a couple. Almost told me details of her own sexual life.”

Nikolai shuddered visibly, though rather dramatically for it to be more than him poking fun at Alina’s face. “Wouldn’t want that, would we?”

“Stop! Do you really want to hear about old people’s sexual lives?”

He paused then made a face, “No, you’re right. No one wants that.” Then he looked at her from the corner of his eye and a wolfish grin grew on his lips, “A couple, huh?”

Alina felt a blush heat up her face, “She probably saw what we were buying and you teasing me and made assumptions.”

Nikolai didn’t answer. Instead he brushed his thumb across her knuckles, the soft gesture distracting Alina from literally everything else. He always did this. Somehow, Nikolai knew exactly how to put Alina’s mind at such an ease, the world could collapse on itself and she wouldn’t even notice.

They’d been together for two weeks now, their original travel plans having been aligned so far. And in that time, Nikolai had been an unexpected force of nature in Alina’s life. He wasn’t just really, really good in bed. He was also a great company overall. Talking with him was a paradox of rolling her eyes and feeling like there wasn’t a thing in the world she couldn’t talk about. But it wasn’t just that, it was the comfortable silence they fell into as well. Past relationships… One in particular, had been riddled with heavy silences that threatened to suffocate her.

Nikolai was a breath of fresh air.

And it scared her.

“You’re awfully distracted, sunshine. Something on your mind?” Nikolai’s voice interrupted her wandering thoughts, a tinge of worry underlining is otherwise nonchalant tone.

She shrugged, “Just thinking.”

“Hmm…” He looked at her, “Nothing’s wrong, is it?”

She shook her head and rolled her eyes, “Stop worrying so much, Nikolai. Nothing’s wrong.”

His voice softened, “Can you blame me for worrying?”

No, she couldn’t. The first time he’d caught her this distracted, Alina had accidentally stumbled on a memory post from her old facebook. Somehow, she’d gotten an email and in her early morning drowsiness, Alina hadn’t realised what she was clicking and ended up staring at a post she’d made on the day she’d broken up with her high-school-the-university boyfriend, Mal. It was about her planning a surprise, a very cryptic but excited post about big plans. Plans that never came to happen as she stumbled on him cheating on her in some orgy-like frat party. He wasn’t even sorry. In fact, he’d blamed his cheating on her, for neglecting his needs.

Nikolai had returned from grocery shopping to find her curled up in bed, her phone thrown on the floor, tears dried on her face.

She hadn’t planned on letting him see her like this or letting him know of what had happened, but Nikolai had been so worried about her that Alina couldn’t lie to him.

“Tell you this…” He started, his voice a little more cheery, “How about we have a picnic by that lake we saw over the hill with the ruins? It’s very secluded and rather beautiful. We could spend the rest of the afternoon lost in there.” He added a wink for good measure.

Just like that, Alina’s mood shifted. She rolled her eyes but smiled nevertheless, “Are you really suggesting sex by the lake?”

“Well…” He drawled, “If we get in the mood…” With a tug, Alina was in his embrace and Nikolai was brushing his nose up her neck, his hot breath teasing her skin and blood, “I won’t deny your wishes, sunshine.”

Her eyes rolled in their sockets as a soft moan escaped her mouth, “What if someone sees?”

“That’s the bonus of a secluded spot, it’s not easy to be seen.”

She pondered the idea, her mind fighting her body and heart’s will. Then, “I guess a picnic sounds fun.”

--

“A calendar maker, huh?” Nikolai asked, his voice riddled with awe and wonder. “Do you just handle the photos or do you do everything?”

Alina rolled onto her side and shrugged a little, “Mostly everything, though I have a friend that helps with the grid designs. But I don’t do just photos for the calendars, sometimes I paint too.”

“Hmm, what a talented woman you are, Alina…” He said with a smile, his hazel eyes locked on the path his hand was drawing up her torso, his fingertips drawing invisible shapes that had goose bumps trailing all over her skin, right through the layers of fabric she was wearing.

Alina felt a shudder break through her control. Nikolai had this effect on her, even when the steamiest thing they had done all afternoon was kissing, he managed to turn her on with just one look.

“Hum…” She cleared her throat, “I just work hard on what I do.”

Nikolai arched an eyebrow and leaned in, close enough for his breath to tickle her lips, “But you can’t cultivate talent with just hard work, sunshine.” He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, thumb lingering on her skin, “You need…” His thumb moved to her lower lip to trace it, “Passion.”

“I thought…” She let out, feeling a little breathless, “You said you wouldn’t seduce me into sex here…”

“I love it when you quote me…” He brushed his lips over her cheek and pressed a soft kiss, “But I was going to suggest us returning to our room and getting… cosy.”

She took a hold of his collar and pulled him down for a heated kiss, “I like that.”

--

A few days later, and with most of the trip being divided between exploring the land and sleeping together, Alina and Nikolai were holed up in their room. A blessed storm had given them the perfect excuse to stay in bed all day, and Alina couldn’t have been happier about it.

Although she would rather die before admitting such a thing.

Before admitting she loved being wrapped in Nikolai’s embrace and just stay there. Saints help her, she wasn’t in love but by all the stars… She was growing dangerously fond of him. Maybe even… falling for him.

A soft kiss was pressed to the back of her neck. “Should I order food?” Nikolai asked, his voice groggy from sleep and sex.

She nodded and looked over her shoulder, “Please do. You spent the hell out of me.”

His chuckle was equal parts delight and mischievous, “And we can’t go for the next round if we don’t get some food in your system, can we? And may I add… I love knowing I’m the one responsible for your current state.”

She rolled her eyes and elbowed him lightly, “Of course you do, with that ego…!”

With another chuckle, Nikolai got up and ordered some food. During that time, Alina thought of the impending end of her trip and how it felt too… short. She was terrified of the possibility of falling for his man but… She also wanted to see where it could go. If… If he wanted to see it too.

“You know…” She waited to until he looked over his shoulder, his eyes catching hers in the room’s dim light, “I could extend my trip. You’ve helped with the money part, so my trip budget still has room for extra days…”

Her heart soared as she saw Nikolai’s eyes light up with something akin to pure bliss.

Then it sunk when that bliss shuttered and he looked away, his mouth forming an ominous straight line.

“Alina… There’s…” He cleared his throat and raked a hand through his hair, “I… There’s something I should have told you sooner. About me.”

Dread wrapped a cold hand around her throat, “What are you talking about?”

He set his jaw and looked away before taking a deep breath, “My name isn’t Nikolai Sturmhond. That's an alias I use when I want to go incognito.”

She frowned, “Why? Who are you then?”

His hazel eyes flickered to hers, something akin to pain burning in them, “My name is Nikolai Lantsov, sunshine. I’m the crown prince of Ravka.”

Alina felt the world slow down to a lazy crawl. He was… And she’d been… She’d been having hot, dirty sex with the prince? And in all their conversations to… to get to know each other… He’d never…

She was about to ask him why he’d hidden the truth like that when he spoke again, “And there’s something else, Alina… I’m… Well, this trip… It was sort of my last hurrah.” He focused his gaze on the floor, “As per agreement with my mother.”

“Agreement on what?” She let out in a whisper, anger and pain and confusing dripping from each word.

His gaze flickered to hers again for once brief moment, “On me accepting an engagement to a woman of her choice.”

That meant… That meant he was engaged. To someone else. All this time… All this time he’d been involved with her, he’d also been engaged to marry someone else. She felt sick. And hurt. And betrayed.

“Sunshine…” His voice trembled. But she wasn’t about to let his vulnerability win her over, not anymore.

“Go away.”

“Sunshine, please…”

“And stop calling me that!” She snapped at him and aimed a pillow at his head, “Sleep somewhere else and call pet names to someone else, you bastard!” Her voice broke and she looked away, “Sleep in the bathtub or the floor, for all I care. But I don’t want to see you ever again, Nikolai.”

Silence, heavy and unbreathable, settled between them.

Then Nikolai took a shuddered breath and nodded, “I’ll… I’ll go. I’ll see if I can find another room.

And then he grabbed his clothes and left the room with one final glance that Alina refused to acknowledge. She was too busy trying not to cry.

The sound of the door locking softly behind him felt like a canon going off in her ears. Shattering her to pieces.

And then she cried.

--

A few days later…

She sat in Genya’s couch, nursing a mug of hot tea as her friend bustled about the kitchen, looking for some special cookies. “I swear I had them here! Bought them just for you! Aha! Here we go.” She sang the last word and sat down next to Alina, offering a box of cinnamon cookies shaped like stars and moons and even foxes.

Alina grabbed one and bit on it half-heartedly, her mind far away from this room.

“Alina… What’s the matter?”

She frowned in feigned confusion, “What are you talking about?”

Genya rolled her eyes and pursed her lips to one side, worry marring her features, “You’re a bit off. You’re not paying attention to much. And you came back from your trip a week earlier. Not to mention this is all such a stark opposite to how you sounded during your calls from Ireland. You seemed so happy you could barely contain it. Like…” Genya gestured at the air, “I could hear the smile in your voice! Then you return early… Like this. Something’s wrong. Tell me, Alina… I can’t help you feel better if you don’t tell me.”

Alina shrugged and looked away, “Turns out the trip wasn’t as fun as I thought.”

“Really? That’s it?”

“That’s it.” She said. And then the TV betrayed her with news on… him.

Alina took in a sharp breath as his smiling face took centre stage with the headline about his...

“The prince is finally getting engaged?” Genya asked aloud, “I honestly thought he’d avoid that for as long as possible… Alina?”

Alina couldn’t take her eyes off of him. Those words. The beautiful woman in his arm. Her eyes grew blurry and she quickly wiped them. She wasn’t going to cry over him again, never again.

“Alina…” Genya touched her arm gently and slowly managed to get her attention back, “Tell me.”

She swallowed down and took in a shuddered breath, “He lied, Genya. He pretended to be just some guy when he was…” A sob surprised her, “When he was the prince! And engaged!” Her voice cut through the air, her heartache too strong for an even voice.

Understanding dawned on Genya. The next moment the TV was off, and she was pulling Alina into a tight hug and whispering comforting words to her friend. It’ll be all right. It would be all alright…

--

Six months later

Alina’s laptop was rudely snapped closed, and she barely had time to take her hands away or risk losing fingers.

She looked up offended, her eyes turning to slits at her red-headed friend, “Genya! What the hell?”

Genya placed both hands on her hips and shrugged off Alina’s anger, “You need a break, Alina. You’ve been drowning yourself in work, work, work!”

Alina looked away with a huff and crossed her arms, “I’ve been working, that’s all. You know it’s a busy time.”

“Ridiculous excuse that we both know is weak as heck. You’ve been drowning yourself in your work ever since you can back from that trip. And you need a break. A serious one, not just a prolonged lunch with the girls.”

She rolled her eyes and tried to reach for her laptop. But Genya snatched it away in a blink. “Hey! That’s mine! And I don’t need any break, Genya. I’m doing perfectly fine.”

“Yeah right, and I’m the queen of Ravka.” Genya sighed and her eyes saddened a little, “Alina, you’re one of my best friends and I hate seeing you like this.” Then she snapped her fingers and winked at her, “Which is why you’re coming with me, Zoya, Tamar and Nadia to Scotland!”

Alina blinked twice, fast and confused, “Scotland? Are you kidding me?”

“Nope. And you better pack fast and well because we leave tomorrow.”

Alina watched in horror as Genya walked away with her laptop in hand, “Really? And you’re kidnapping my laptop to make sure I go?”

“I’m putting it back in your study and locking the door. You’re not taking it with you. Now go,” She looked over her shoulder with a grin, “Pack your things, we’re going on a trip!”

--

Alina eyed the cottage Zoya had rented for their trip. It was… fantastic, if she were being honest. It made her want to stay there forever. But for consistency sake, she kept her frown on for a little longer, grumbling at Genya once more on how she didn’t need to be coerced into leaving her home.

“You needed a change of air. Like we all did. And it’s been a while since we’ve had some girl time anyways.” Genya offered with a wink and walked through the front door.

Immediately they were greeted with warmth. The fireplace in the living room was running at a lazy pace and heating up the place quite nicely. To their left an arch in the wall led to the kitchen, where a round dinner table sat. Right in front of the door was a set of stairs that led to the first floor, where the girls found four small rooms. The ideal amount, as Tamar mentioned with a wink in Nadia’s direction.

“Wait until you see the beds, then you can decide if it’s great or not.” Zoya said with an arched eyebrow. She entered through one door and made a non-committal sound, “If they’re all like this one, we’re not bad. I’d prefer a larger bed but…”

“Why? You can’t sleep if it’s not in starfish position?” Genya bumped her shoulder and moved to the next room with a chuckle.

Zoya pursed her lips, “I like to have space, Genya. And I don’t sleep in starfish position.”

“Of course. You sleep in vampire queen position.” Alina let out, finally letting go of her frown as the warmth of the place and the company of her friends finally melted away her mood.

Nadia snorted behind Tamar as Zoya settled her cold blue eyes on Alina. Then, a corner of her mouth tilted up and she nodded once, “Touché.” She paused, “This one’s mine.” Then she was putting her things on the bed.

Before long the girls had all picked their rooms and were settling downstairs with a batch of freshly made coffee.

A bird chirp startled Genya just as she was reaching for a cookie. She reached for her phone and in a blink her face lit up.

“What’s gotten you so happy?” Alina asked.

“I bet it’s David.” Zoya replied with a wicked grin, “Ever since Genya got his number they keep trading actual letter-length messages every day. You know, the whole reason she stops listening to us for five minutes straight during our lunches.”

“I do not!” Genya complained. But Alina grinned nevertheless, very aware of Genya’s new beau and constant distraction. Tamar and Nadia chuckled into their mugs. Genya frowned at everyone’s reaction for a moment before continuing to read her message. Then her bright smile returned, “David invited us to stop by!”

Stop… by? Alina frowned, confused with this statement. Wasn’t David back in Ravka?

“Stop by?” Nadia voiced Alina’s question.

Genya nodded, “Yes! He’s staying in the area with his friends as well. He invited us to stop by this afternoon!”

Alina cut a glare to her friend, “So… Girl time, huh? When were you going to tell us about this?”

Genya flashed a sheepish smile, “I swear I didn’t plan this trip with him in mind. But when I said I was going away for a couple of weeks… Well, he said he too was coming here.” She shrugged, “I swear!”

A long pause followed. And the Zoya put her mug away and sighed, “I guess we’ll be visiting David.” She eyed Genya, “Why on earth did he invite us all if you’re probably looking for some makeout time?”

Genya’s freckled disappeared in the blush that coloured her cheeks, “We’re not, Zoya! And he specifically mention all of us. He wants to show us the place he’s staying in.”

“I take it it’s not a cute cottage like ours.” Tamar offered.

Genya shook her head, “It’s like an old mansion. He says it’s exciting!”

Zoya snorted, “David’s exciting can be very different from my exciting, Gen.”

“Shut up! And go get ready. And bring your boots, I don’t think we’ll need to take the car.”

--

All right, David had friends in high places.

That was all Alina could conclude upon seeing the ancient house, a mansion that looked more like a castle than anything else. And it was in pristine condition. The gardens were exquisite, not a leaf out of place. The windows looked freshly refurnished and the main door looked like it could handle two wars.

The hall was… breathtaking. Two tall windows from the stairs offered a rainbow of coloured lights as the morning sun filtered through the sainted glass in almost magically places beams of light. The carpet lining the floor and the stairs was old, but it seemed to be in better condition than half of her towels back home.

David took the girls through a quick tour around the ground floor before settling with them in the kitchen, where he started to make tea. His eyes seemed to constantly find Genya, no matter where he stood, and Genya… Well, she couldn’t keep her own eyes off of him. Even if he was having a conversation about types of weapons with Tamar.

“Really, the amount of metal wielding techniques is staggering. I swear…” He chuckled and double checked the water, “It’s an adventure to study them all. At least those that we have information on.”

Tamar nodded, “Yeah, I know what you mean. Those swords…” she let out a breath and laced her fingers through Nadia’s, “I hope you let me take a closer look at them, David. I want to pry them open. Metaphorically speaking.”

“Of course. I’ll just have to ask Nikolai about it.”

In that moment, Alina looked back from the scenery sprawled outside and focused back in the conversation, “Did you say…?”

And just then, another voice carried through the corridor, “David! Can you tell me where you left those reports on…” Hazel eyes. Beautiful as the last day she’d seen them. “Alina…?”

She stood there frozen. “Nikolai…”

--

“ALINA!! Please stop!” Genya rushed after her, carrying a large, black umbrella after Alina had run off with their own. “Alina!”

Alina stopped and whirled on the spot, clutching her umbrella so hard her knuckles turned white, “Did you plan this?! Did you know he was here?!”

Genya halted, her face distorted with pain and regret, “No! I swear! I told you the truth about David’s trip and invitation, Alina.”

“Then what about Nikolai?! You must have known, since you’ve been dating David for a while now!”

“I…” Genya started and looked away, “I knew of him. But I’d asked David if he’d be around. He said Nikolai was busy in his study and wasn’t about to leave any time soon.”

Alina set her jaw, “Well, he did. And you still kept this fact from me. What were you hoping to achieve, Genya?”

Genya bristled, “Nothing, Alina! I just wanted you to get out of your head and take a breather! When I found out he was here I… I couldn’t just cancel our trip. Not after we were settled in!” She breathed hard, then a spark came to life in her eyes, “But maybe it’s good!”

Alina dropped her voice to a cold whisper, “Good?”

“Yes. Maybe this is the chance you two have to clear the air! You two broke things off so fast, without any closure… Maybe this is your chance to get it, Alina.”

She shook her head and looked away, tired of seeing that place in the backdrop. Tired of that tiny hope that Nikolai would too follow her… “He had his chance, Genya. He ruined it. I… I want to go back to our cottage. Please.”

Genya seemed keen on saying more, but then she nodded, “Ok, let’s go home. I’ll… I’ll plan another visit with David.”

--

That night Alina barely talked at dinner, letting her friends talk among themselves. Then she left for bed early, hoping a good night sleep would help her feel better.

“So… He’s not as impressive as the magazines make him out to be.” Zoya said after Alina’s door was closed.

“That’s your takeaway from today?” Genya said.

Zoya shrugged, “What? I’m just saying. He’s good looking, but I wouldn’t take him for a spin unless I was desperate.” She paused, “Not that I’m saying Alina made a bad choice. They clearly have sizzling chemistry.”

“Should I let Harshaw know that meeting the prince in person has only strengthened your relationship or…?” Tamar asked as she arrived from the kitchen, a bottle of scotch in her hand, a tray with glasses in the other.

Zoya scoffed and crossed her arms, “We’re just…”

“Sex buddies.” Nadia finished, “Oh Zoya, you know we know that’s not the truth.”

Zoya scoffed again, “We’re not talking about me.”

“No, we’re talking about how Alina and the prince looked as though struck by lightning.” Tamar poured the scotch and passed the glasses around. “I know you didn’t plan this far ahead, Genya, but now that the pieces are in place… What’s your plan?”

Genya chewed on her lip, “I don’t know. I don’t want to force Alina to do anything she doesn’t want to do, but they clearly need to talk it out. We’ll be here for a couple of weeks, maybe we can look for chances and let them happen?”

“You’re not scheming? Are you ill?” Zoya barked a laugh, “Seriously, Genya?”

Genya flinched, “You saw how angry she was when she thought I’d tricked her. I can’t actually do it now.” She sipped on her scotch and made a face, “Eugh, can’t believe you guys like this…” she set it down and looked up with a grin, “But that doesn’t mean I won’t nudge them together if I get the chance.”

“That’s the Genya we know.” Zoya chuckled.

“Let’s just hope things work out, I hate seeing Alina like this.” Nadia said.

The girls agreed and silence settled for a moment. Then conversation started again and they talked until the late evening, about anything and everything.

--

A couple of days later, the girls were invited for a dinner at the castle. It would have been extremely rude to refuse, so Alina found herself sitting at a long table of dark wood and eating food she suspected had been made by Nikolai himself.

The man that haunted her sleep sat at the head of the table. Alina, thankfully, had people between them at the right angle that she could easily pretend the hazel eyed bastard wasn’t even in that room.

Of course, all good things must come to an end, and soon she found herself wandering around the house, doing her best to avoid accidentally mingling with him.

Her wandering feet took her to a study on the first floor. Three walls were covered in shelves, which were full to the brim with books and all kinds of trinkets. She peered at the spines. There were old books, worn out books, barely read books, tiny books and massive books. The collection was a kaleidoscope, a far cry from the kind of shelves Alina would have expected to find in a study like this one. Especially one belonging to a royal.

And then there were the trinkets. Old spyglasses and pocket watches. Hand painted mugs full of cliché tourist souvenirs from around the world. Dried flowers in glass bells. And…

“It can’t be…” She gasped. With a trembling hand, Alina reached for a small pebble sitting in front of an old Irish atlas. Its surface was rough, made of a myriad of colours. But that wasn’t what was so special about it. What was so special were the figures painted on its surface.

One side had a bright yellow sun. The other had a grinning fox.

She’d painted it by the lake that day… Nikolai still had it?

“I was wondering if you’d left early…”

Alina whirled on the spot, her heart jumping through hoops at the sound of Nikolai’s voice. And then at the sight of him.

“I���” She cleared her throat and put away the stone. “I needed a moment alone.”

He nodded and stepped into the study, hands in his pockets, eyes guarded. “I can see that.” A pause. His gaze roamed her face, her body, back to her face. As if he was making sure she was real. “How are you?”

She worked her jaw and looked away, “Fine.”

“Alina… I’m sorry.” His voice broke a little, “I did it all wrong and I hurt you… Please…”

She shook her head, “No. Stop. There’s nothing you can say that will change what happened.” Then she stormed out of the room, making sure to avoid touching or looking at him. She would be a fool to give him a chance, a fool! There was no way she’d let him slither his way into her life again, no matter how hard her heart wanted it.

--

Their first week of vacations passed in a blur. The girls went hiking and exploring and visiting nearby towns, having all the fun that Genya had promised back in Ravka.

Alina could almost forget Nikolai’s presence so near, her attention distracted with fun adventures spent with her closest friends.

But of course, even her friends had separate plans sometimes.

“Oh, I hope David doesn’t arrive late. I booked us a spot and really don’t want to miss it.” Genya chewed on her thumb, worry all over her face.

Zoya scoffed, “Relax, you have plenty of time to arrive at the museum.” She looked at her phone, “And I have to leave if I want that spa exclusive…”

Tamar and Nadia had left for a romantic date. Which left Alina.

“Are you sure you don’t mind walking back home?” Genya frowned again.

Alina nodded, “I’ll be fine. I have the boots and the umbrella. And Zoya will take the groceries back home with her.”

Zoya nodded, “Yes, I will. Still, I could drop you off…”

Alina shook her head, “I could use the walk. Go on, have fun. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Her friends nodded and hugged her goodbye before Alina set out towards their cottage, a long walk ahead of her. She eyed the stormy clouds rolling in. Maybe a brisk pace would be better than the original idea of a calm stroll…

--

Maybe running would have been better.

Alina clutched the handle of her umbrella and hopped over a large puddle, skidding on the muddy road for one horrifying moment. Saints, what was she thinking? This was Scotland! It rained like crazy, just like in Ireland. Yet she’d thought she could outrun the storm and get home in one piece.

Hilarious.

A car honked, nearly startling her into another puddle. Then it rolled by her. She turned to it, tossing aside any fears of being caught by a mass murderer. Right now, a ride would be wonderful.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” She hissed at the rolled window, staring straight at Nikolai’s beaming face.

“Good morning to you too, sunshine!” He said, his mouth parted in a perfect smile. “Want a ride? It’s a terrible storm out there.”

She ground her teeth for a moment. Was it worth it? No, it wasn’t.

“Fine.” Then she quickly hoped into the car and demanded him to drive. In silence.

“How are you, Alina?” His voice broke the silence after a few minutes.

She looked outside and worked her jaw, “Fine.”

“Is that your favourite word of the moment?” He said, sparing her a quick glance before he turned into a side road.

“I’m doing just fine, Nikolai. Do you want me to whip out a thesaurus to give you a different word with the same meaning?”

He nodded, “All right, I believe you.” Silence settled as Nikolai drove slowly through the storm, the downpour so heavy they could hardly see anything in front of them. “I…” He started but his voice died out. He tried again a couple more times before shaking his head, clearing his throat and tightening his grip on the wheel, “I’m sorry, Alina.”

Her heart stuttered. She swallowed down thickly, but still refused to give him an answer.

It didn’t seem to bother him much, as Nikolai started again after another moment, “I did it all wrong. I should have… I—I shouldn’t have kept the truth from you like that. Yet I did, and I hurt you and I can never forgive myself for hurting you so much.” He shook his head again and passed a wild hand through his hair, “I’d wanted to tell you but how could I? Was there a right time? A right way? And how could I tell you who I was without jeopardizing the little heaven we’d made for each other?”

“I deserved the truth, Nikolai…” She finally replied, her voice little more than a whisper, hoarse with the effort of holding back unexpected tears.

He nodded, “You did, Alina. You did… And I knew that. I just… I didn’t know how to tell you. Everything would change once I did. Every single relationship I’ve had, no matter how short or long it was… It was always ruled by my blood. My heritage. My inheritance. I never knew for certain if the person I was with actually cared for me or for my crown. Then I met you…” His voice gained a lightness that had Alina’s poor heart swelling a little, “You didn’t recognize me. And you had no problem in calling me out whenever and wherever. You…” He chuckled, “You were a force of nature that had waltzed into my life. And you were so brilliant and beautiful and I…” A woosh of air escaped him, “I was dazzled. Stunned beyond words.”

Alina swallowed down slowly and dared a glimpse towards him. Nikolai was staring straight ahead, keeping his eye on the road, but a nostalgic smile tugged on his lips, making her wistful for those days they shared together.

“Of course, I didn’t expect anything to happen that night. Yes, I had hopes we could share a meal the next day, maybe suggest we stay together a little longer but…” he bit his lip, “Well, nevertheless, something did happen. You rocked my world.” A pause, “The next days we spent together were a dream. Though my identity hung over my head I couldn’t… I didn’t want to lose you. What we had. I know it’s silly, but with you I could be myself entirely. No roles, no secrets. Myself.” He took in a breath, “But then that night you said you could stay longer… And I knew I couldn’t keep it up. I had to tell you.”

Finally, Alina looked away, unable to ignore the pain that night still provoked in her. “I get you wanting to be normal for once but… You’re engaged, Nikolai. You shouldn’t have gotten involved with me in the first place!”

He let out a bitter laugh, “It was hardly an engagement, Alina. It was an arrangement my mother had been working on for months. It wasn’t even agreed on officially during my trip. It would become official once I returned. It became official.” He added in a small voice, “I barely knew her, it was barely a relationship what I had with her… But you…” He looked her way, she could feel the weight of his gaze, “What I had with you was something. It was a relationship. It had meaning.”

“Whatever you’re trying to get at… You’re engaged, so stop it.”

“I’m not engaged, Alina.” Her heart stopped beating, “I broke it off over a month ago.”

She looked at him, shock and distrust making it hard to breathe normally, “But just before I left the news were all over it. Some venue or something.”

He shrugged, “It’s not official yet, but we parted ways and I told my mother how I felt. She isn’t happy, but she accepts that I’m my own person and I deserve to choose my wife on my own terms.” He sighed, “This trip was a getaway trip. I wanted time for myself, to plan what to do next. I brought my friends along because I didn’t want to be alone. Then one day you show up…” He stopped the car.

Alina could see the cottage just ahead.

Her heart raced wilder and faster than a tropical storm tearing down the world. Nikolai’s apology and revelation… It was too much. How could she…?

“Alina?” He called after her as she suddenly fled the car, not caring for the storm that hailed down on her. “ALINA!”

Much to her chagrin, Nikolai left the car as well and raced after her, his voice almost drowning in the storm raging around them. He caught her hand and she whirled on him, “I can’t do this! I don’t know how!” She screamed.

Confusion marred his face, “Do what?”

“I can’t…! I don’t know how to hate you anymore! I don’t know how to hate you when you apologised like that, when you said you weren’t engaged anymore!” She punched his chest and let her tears fall freely at last, “You wormed your way into my heart then broke it, you bastard! And I was happy with hating you when you were a lying, cheating royal ass.” A sob shook her body and Nikolai gingerly held her closer, “I liked the way you called me sunshine. The way you made me smile so easily. I liked it so much when you held me close…” She let the words come out after keeping them locked up for so long, “The way you made me feel so good whether we were having mind blowing sex or just hiking through the wilderness. I let myself feel safe with you…” Her voice died a little, “I thought you were different.”

“Alina…” His eyes shinned with a thousand emotions, regret and pain and something warm shining brighter than the rest, “Sunshine…” He added, much to her stupid heart’s delight, “I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to…”

She shook her head and punched him again, with less effort put into the punch, as if her body had already forgotten how to hate him, “I don’t know…” She looked up at him, hardly noticing the downpour drenching her every belonging, “Why didn’t you try to find me?” She finally said, her voice tiny and lost.

Nikolai’s mouth curled up in a sad smile, “You didn’t want me around, Alina. As much as I wanted to fix things, to make it up to you…” He sighed and pushed away the hair that was dripping to his eyes, “I owed you that much. To… To let you go.”

She stared up at him, unable to form any coherent thought. A million things raced through her mind, a million thoughts, a million dreams and wishes and memories. It was a confusing storm raging inside her heart, in sync with the storm raging outside. Yet one thing stood out amidst it all. Nikolai.

The way he made her feel, the way he looked at her… She wished nothing had happened that day. That they were still on that trip, living a dream together.

“What now?” She said.

A hopeful smile danced on Nikolai’s lips as he stepped forward and pulled her closer. “I’d like another chance, sunshine. A chance to make it up to you, to…” He lifted a hand and brushed his knuckles over her cheek, “To have something special with you again. I know it was short lived, but we had something special, Alina. We could… We could try again.”

Maybe it was naïve of her, maybe it was stupid… But maybe it was also the kind of leap of faith one had to take once in a while to live a full life.

She nodded, “I’d like that.”

Nikolai smiled a smile that rivalled the sun. Her heart lurched. And then he was kissing her and her heart forgot how to beat normally.

--

They stumbled into the cottage amidst kisses and laughter, the two of them drenched to the bones. Nikolai pulled her in for another heart stopping kiss before closing the door behind them and tugging her towards the living room, his hands and lips never straying too far from her body.

“How about I get the fire started?” He said between kisses, a hand releasing Alina from her coat.

“Is that… Oh…” She lost track of her thought when Nikolai kissed her neck, right where her blood pulsed hard. God, he hadn’t forgotten. She let out a breathy moan as he kept teasing the sweet spot, and after a while, she finally managed to finish her sentence, “Right… Was… Was that an innuendo?”

Nikolai’s chuckle warmed her skin before he stood straighter, a smile lingering on his lips. He reached for her hair and pushed it away from her face with a tenderness that stole her breath away. Then he poked her nose and winked, “I meant the fireplace, sunshine. And I certainly hope that other fire is already started, considering the way you just reacted to my kisses.”

She rolled her eyes, “You’re such an idiot.”

He hummed, “Yes, I know. About that fire…” He wiggled his eyebrows and tugged on her sweater, “We need to get rid of these soaking things before you catch a cold.”

She bit on her lip and let him take away another layer of clothes. Then she grabbed his hand and towed him up the stairs, “My room, Nikolai. I don’t know when the girls will come back, but I really don’t want to risk them catching us in inappropriate positions.”

“Inappropriate?” Nikolai gasped, though Alina could hear the grin in his voice, “Everything I do with you and to you is appropriate by miles, sunshine.”

They reached her room and she shut the door quickly before turning back to him, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I missed your ridiculous speech so much.”

Nikolai’s mischievous grin softened as he cupped her face between his hands and leaned in to press a soft, lingering kiss on her lips, “I missed you.”

Her heart threatened to melt at the way his voice softened just then. “I missed you too.” She whispered back, letting out a breath when he trailed a line of hot kisses down her neck.

Then he was gone, making a beeline to the small fireplace that stood at the corner of her room. Within seconds, Nikolai had lit up a fire, a feature that always took Alina at least one minute of several failed smoky attempts.

“How the hell did you get it to start so fast?” She asked dumbly, slightly offended at the wood and kindle.

Nikolai stood with a playful grin, “I’m just that good at starting fires, sunshine.” He leaned in to poke her nose when she rolled her eyes, “Really good. Fantastic, even.” He eyed the rest of their clothes and tsked, “We should take care of these.” Then, before she could say another thing, he was undressing himself.

She watched in lustful awe as he revealed his body bit by bit. Holy saints, he was still a vision. And she had missed it very, very much.

“Need help?” He asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes, as if he knew exactly how dumbstruck his naked self drove Alina. She dumbly nodded, not caring for one moment if he had to do all the work. She loved being undressed by the insufferable idiot. Especially when he was naked already.

Soon Nikolai had left Alina in nothing but her panties, his fingers trailing playfully along their waistband. He’d undressed her clinically, barely teasing her until this point. His hazel eyes were dark with unguarded desire, his luxurious lips flushed with all the times he gnawed them.

Alina felt every single cell in her body shimmer with the way he watched her. The way he took his time observing her body, as if this could be the last time he got to see her. Then he leaned in and kissed her slowly, a hand cupping the nape of her neck while the other pulled her flush against him. “You’re so beautiful, Alina…” He rasped against the kiss and slowly tugged her towards the bed, “So incredible…” He laid her down and slowly trailed along her jaw, each kiss placed with extra care.

All along, Alina fought for breath, her heart hammering so fast and so hard it was a wonder it had even time between beats. “Nikolai… please…” She rasped, eyes shuttered as his hands and mouth took their time mapping her body, touching her, teasing her, tasting her.

She let out a gasp when Nikolai took a nipple between his teeth and sucked on it at length, licking and teasing it until all Alina could let out were moans after moans. Then he did the same to the other, a hand slowly snaking between her thighs to tease her pounding centre. It didn’t take long before Alina was crying out for him, his name holy on her lips as her body combusted with raw pleasure.

“My sunshine…” He said in a whisper as he braced over her and leaned in to kiss her cheek, “My beautiful, wonderful, magnificent sunshine…” He brushed his nose against hers, the touch so soft and tender it had her heart overflowing, “I love you so much, Alina… So much…”

Oh.

That was… That was almost too much. Almost.

She dragged her hands through his hair and pulled him closer for a kiss, “I… I love you too, Nikolai. I…” she let out a surprised chuckle, “I guess I hadn’t realised it until now.”

He pulled away for a moment, a smile full of wonder lighting up his face, “I cannot put into words how happy that makes me, sunshine. To hear you say those words, to know you feel the same…” He shook his head and kissed her again, a smile on his lips, stuck forever as it seemed. “I want to kiss you forever, sunshine. Forever…” Then, without waiting another second, he sank into her and Alina lost herself in the moment.

They moved together slowly, languidly. Remembering each other’s body, each other’s likes and needs and desires. They kissed at length and whispered little nothings, moving a little faster little by little. Soon their rhythm had gained speed, the two giving in to their mutual desire, to that need to come undone together at last.

Alina moaned loud with each thrust of Nikolai’s, her hands dragging through his hair and down his back, her hips meeting his movements with enthusiasm. It felt so good, to be with him like this. So… good…

“Yes... Yes… Oh… God…!” Alina cried out a wordless sound when at last she rolled over the edge, the orgasm crashing into her in full force as Nikolai thrust hard into her with his own undoing, her name a prayer on his lips.

They rode their high together, holding fast to each other. This was, without a doubt, the best night in Alina’s life.

--

Later that day, the storm had lost some of its strength, though the wind still howled through the trees and the rain still battered against the windows.

Alina laid in Nikolai’s arms, her heart full to the brim with happiness. She’d just returned from the bathroom to find Nikolai carefully setting their clothes over her chairs so they’d dry a little faster. She didn’t know what about the scene made her so emotional, but something about the way he took extra care with the task had her heart swelling twice its size.

Then there was the sight of him butt naked, of course.

He’d sensed her, flashed his trademark grin and led her back to bed.

“I don’t want to fall asleep yet.” She mumbled, eyes trained on the fireplace, her heart beating happily as Nikolai passed his fingers through her hair, the gesture so soft it took her breath away.

“Why not?”

She shrugged, “I don’t know. I’m afraid I’ll wake up and find out this was a dream.”

Nikolai remained silent for a too long moment. Then he kissed her crown and held her closer, “How about a dream come true, sunshine?”

She looked up. Those eyes of his were beautifully illuminated by the firelight, yet there was another fire burning in their depths, adding an extra shine to those unforgettable shades of green and brown and golden. It was though he was daring reality itself to ruin their moment, their happiness. He would fight it barehanded, just to prove Alina this wasn’t a dream. That in fact, it was a dream come to life, at last.

“That sounds… perfect.” She finally said.

A soft smile unfurled on his lips as he leaned in to kiss her forehead first, then her lips, “Indeed.” He kissed her again, “So, now that I’ve thwarted your fears… how about a little nap?”

Just on cue, a yawn broke through. Nikolai chuckled while Alina groaned a little, but still allowed him to tuck her in, “I’ll be needing seconds.” She said.

Nikolai’s eyes earned a lewd sparkle, “And thirds, I bet.” He brushed his thumb over her lower lip and kissed her cheek, “Not to worry, my sunshine, I will satisfy every need of yours. After we rest.”

She nodded. And anything he might have said after was lost, as sleep quickly took over.

--

The sun had just set by the time Alina emerged from her bedroom, hair in a tangled mess, cheeks permanently blushed. She padded down the stairs and straight to the kitchen where she hear Nikolai buzzing about.

He beamed at her the moment Alina came into view, “Hello, sunshine. Sleep well?”

Alina nodded, “Yeah, like a rock.”

“Guess those seconds and thirds will have to wait a little longer,” He said with a chuckle. Then his eyes travelled down her body and a look of recognition illuminated his face. God, how could someone be this gorgeous? “Is that my old shirt?” He nodded at her outfit of choice.

Alina shifted her feet and played with the hem of her makeshift pyjamas. It was his shirt. That old, threadbare teal t-shirt he’d worn so many times and that Alina had ended up stealing whenever she didn’t feel like looking for anything else. “Yeah,” She said, keeping her eyes down as embarrassment took over, “I found it in my things when I got home and I…” She shrugged, “I couldn’t throw it away.”

Nikolai settled down the spatula he’d been holding and pulled her in with a soft tug. Alina stumbled into his embrace and settled her hands on his chest, feeling his warmth and the way his heart drummed so happily under her touch. “I always thought it looked better on you.” He nuzzled his nose against hers, “I’m glad you kept it.”

“Me too,” she admitted in a soft voice.

He dropped his head to the crook of her neck and pulled her in for a hug, wrapping his arms tightly around her small frame. “I want to ask you something, sunshine…” His voice was muffled against her skin, and he sounded very… nervous.

“What?”

“Will you go out with me? On a real, official date?”

Saints. He was nervous!

“Didn’t we basically do that back in Ireland?” She said with a chuckle.

“We’re rekindling,” He mumbled, “I have to ask you out like a proper lover.”

Lover… The word send chills up her body, made her heart skitter and her lady bits shiver in excitement. God, she was weak for him, wasn’t she?

“Not boyfriend?” She heard herself say.

Nikolai looked up, eyes wide with surprise, “I was thinking of asking that after a date, sunshine.” His lips trembled with a nervous smile that threatened to burst through, “Unless you want to make that decision already?”

She chewed on her lip, “I…” A pause, and his smile dimmed a little, “It’s such a big decision…”

Confusion replaced his guarded hope, “What do you mean?”

“Well… If we make this official… Everyone will know. Your mother, the kingdom, the media… It’s basically a prelude to marriage.”

Nikolai looked on at her for a moment longer, and then he beamed at her, “Thinking of marriage already, sunshine? Was I that good earlier today?”

Alina smacked him, “You’re so insufferable, Nikolai!”

“Yes, it’s part of my charm.” He winked for good measure.

“I meant…” She fumbled with her words. What did she mean? Her mind was a mess of confusion. “I… Ugh. I meant that… What if we do date? But then it ends? It’s not like an ordinary relationship, Nikolai. Everyone will keep tabs on us. On you. You’re their future ruler. And they’ll be waiting to see if I… if I…” Her voice trailed off as the future towered over her. God. If things worked out perfectly between them… She’d be queen.

Nikolai tilted her chin up and bored his big eyes into hers, “Yes, sunshine. That’s all true. But I don’t want you to worry so much over what ifs and a distant future.” He stroked her cheek and trailed his hand to the nape of her head, “I love you, Alina. I… I hoped we could see where this could go.”

“But what about…”

“I know. It’s all… overwhelming. But what if we think on it together? As a couple? Instead of ending things before they start?” He looked down, deep golden eyelashes fanning over his skin, “I don’t want you to leave my life again, Alina. Call me selfish, but I want to know. I want to be with you, give you the love you deserve or die trying.”

His voice was full of intent. As if he could carve it all into the fabric of time itself.

Alina couldn’t help a chuckle, “Die trying? This isn’t some high fantasy tale, Nikolai. No one has to die for anything.” She leaned in and pressed her forehead to his chest, “You’re right. I’m scared of trying. I’m scared of getting hurt again…”

“I won’t hurt you again, my love. I’d rather…”

“Die?” She finished for him and Nikolai let out a breathy chuckle.

“Yes.”

“You’re so dramatic.” She paused, then… “All right. I… We can go on a date. See where this goes.”

She looked up to find Nikolai beaming brighter than the sun. Saints, he was too beautiful! They leaned into a kiss when suddenly the front door burst open.

“We’re home!” Genya yelled into the house, only to stop short upon finding Alina and Nikolai in a tight embrace, both wearing very little. “Oh saints! Forget that! We’ll be in our rooms! Quickly!”

Before Alina could utter a word, her friends rushed up the stairs, with Nadia carefully avoiding looking their way when she closed the door, and just like that they were all alone once more.

Alina blinked twice. Then she hid her face in Nikolai’s chest and groaned, “This is so embarrassing!”

His laughter was light and full of happiness, “For whom?”

“Me!”

“I think your friends were happier to see us together than anything else, sunshine.”

“They still caught us ready to pound!”

“Pound?” Nikolai leaned back and arched an eyebrow, “Were you about to… pound me, Alina?”

She groaned and tried to hide again, “Don’t get any ideas! There’ll be no… such thing now that they’re home.”

Nikolai nodded and placed a chaste kiss on her blazing cheek, “But there’ll be breakfast. Up you go, I’ll follow you with the tray. Go on!”

--

Another night, another dinner at Nikolai’s.

This time Alina had wandered back to his study not out of a need to get away from his watchful gaze but because she would miss this place.

Her eyes found that painted rock once more and she was reaching for it when a voice sounded from the door.

“Hiding from me, sunshine?”

She could hear the smile in his voice. She rolled her eyes and turned to him, “I was just… reminiscing.”

His gaze fell on the rock and he walked towards her, “I remember that day. You couldn’t get enough of me.”

She scoffed, “You sound as if I was all over you.”

Nikolai poked her nose then kissed its tip, “If I remember it correctly, you were.” He said with a lewd smile. Then he sobered up and laced their hands together, “What’s on your mind? You looked far away just now.”

Alina shrugged, “I was just thinking how we got here.” She chewed on the words, “We were just… just having sex.”

“Surely you remember the rest?” Nikolai added with a dramatic gasp.

“Sure, I mean, yeah there was a little more. But it was mostly just…” Alina trailed off, slightly distracted with the thumb Nikolai kept tracing over her knuckles.

“Sexual activities?” He offered with a grin.

Alina rolled her eyes and pushed him lightly, “Come on, Nikolai. Be serious.”

“I’m always serious.”

She cut him a glare, “Really?”

Nikolai’s grin grew into a small beatific smile.

Alina groaned, “You are, without a doubt, the most insufferable man I’ve ever met.”

His smile lit up.

“What? No more clever replies?”

Nikolai leaned in, “Why? Do you want me to? Because I can easily—”

“No!” She hurried to smother his mouth with her free hand, “I’m good. Just… Let me finish this, ok?”

Nikolai captured her hand and placed a soft kiss on her palm, “Of course, sunshine.”

She shook her head, “You’re really one of a kind…” Before he could say anything else, she added, “I’m just… I can’t believe where we started and where we are now, ok? It all feels… Too fantastic. Like a dream.”

“A good one, I hope?”

She bit her lip and nodded slightly, “A really good one. I…” Oh, words failed her so much right now… Alina took a deep breath, “I loved these last few days. I had fun in our dates. And I love you…” She said, the words coming as easy as air with every ticking second, “I guess… I guess I’m trying to say I want to face it all when we get back. I don’t know how it will go but I don’t want to miss out on us.”

“Oh, Alina…” Nikolai cupped her face and leaned in to press the softest tender kiss on her lips. He leaned back a little, letting her see his eyes, how they shined with love and unshed happy tears, “I love you so much, my sunshine. I promise you I will stand by your side through it all. I will never leave you alone, in a metaphorical way of course.” He added with a wink, to which Alina couldn’t hold back an eye roll of her own. Then Nikolai was wrapping his arms around her and pulling her deeper into his embrace and he added, his voice rough with emotion, “I will fight for us, Alina. For you, always.”

She swallowed down thickly and played with a button of his shirt, “Wow… If this is your ‘Let’s be boyfriend and girlfriend officially’ speech, I think I’ll need a chair if we ever take the next step.”

Nikolai beamed at her, “I’m glad you love my speeches so much, they all come from the heart.”

“You seriously expect me to believe you don’t rehearse them?” She asked with an arched eyebrow.

He winked and hugged her tighter, “Now that’s a secret you’ll have to earn, my beloved Alina. And I have a few ideas on how you can do it.”

She laughed, “We can’t skip dessert!”

“Are you certain?”

She shook her head, “Fine, I guess we can.”

Nikolai flashed his trademark grin and pulled on a book at random, quickly opening a secret passage Alina hadn’t seen yet.

She gaped at it, “Seriously?”

“Come on, sunshine. We can’t miss any second.” He took her hand and led her through the house, her heart stomach doing never-ending somersaults in anticipation of what would come next.

Nikolai looked over his shoulder, a blissful smile on his face, and she couldn’t help but smile back at him. They were doing this. Seriously doing this. Together. Officially.

Saints, she couldn’t wait for this adventure.

[nerdiests]

the moments in between

guess who’s back (back again) with new writing for the first time in months

it’s me, back with the domestic fluff no one asked for, but i wrote anyways - for the @linkeduniverse weekly prompt over on the discord! now! here we go!

check it out on ao3 under the same name!

In all honesty, there’s nothing better in the world than waking up next to the person you love most in your life. Sure, some people might say that other things rate higher (like an entire room filled with chocolate chip cookies, for example), but to Warriors? Waking up in his home with his boyfriend curled up in bed next to him was nirvana. With a content sigh, Warriors snuggled a bit more into the blankets as Thom snored next to him, arms sprawled out like a starfish. It was cute, and Warriors had never been happier that Thom had closed the bakery for the morning.

“Mmmm… Today’s going to be great,” Warriors murmured to himself, looking up at the ceiling before his eyes fluttered shut again and he drifted off. It felt like only a moment passed before he felt someone lightly shaking his shoulder. Groggily, Warriors groaned as he attempted to blink the sleep out of his eyes. There was a light chuckle to his left, and an arm snuck around his waist. 

“...Thom?” Warriors said sleepily, looking over his shoulder to see Thom’s soft smile. 

“Morning, pumpkin,” Thom replied, voice just as sleep-laced as Warriors’ own was. His hair was a bit messy, falling down one of his shoulders as Thom squinted slightly, vision impaired without his glasses. Warriors grinned dopily, rolling onto his other side and tucking Thom’s hair behind his ear. 

“Mornin’,” Warriors said, before giving Thom a quick peck on the lips. Thom laughed, shoving him away slightly. 

“You have morning breath,” Thom complained. Warriors laughed at that, as Thom unraveled himself from their blankets and started to go through the motions of getting ready in the morning. 

The two weaved around one another as they went through with their respective routines - Thom was picking out his outfit for the day while Warriors got ready in the bathroom. It wasn’t long before Warriors walked out of the bathroom in his chosen outfit for the day with perfectly done hair. Thom grinned at him as Warriors peered over his shoulder at the three shirts laid out on the bed. 

“I’m not sure which one to wear today,” Thom said half to himself. Warriors hummed appraisingly, giving each shirt a glance. All three were vaguely similar, but Warriors gestured at the second shirt - a light blue button-up - after a moment of thought. Thom nodded back, grabbing a pair of pants from where they laid on the bed and headed into the bathroom to get ready himself. In the quiet of their shared bedroom, Warriors took a few moments to situate his scarf and make any last minute adjustments to his current ensemble. Even if Warriors wasn’t doing anything particularly fancy today, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t look nice. 

“Well, now I feel underdressed,” Thom commented. Warriors spun around and locked eyes with Thom, who was leaning on the bathroom door frame. 

“You’re dressed just right. All we’re doing is having breakfast with the others before the nine of us go on our way,” Warriors replied as Thom walked over to him, putting his chin on Warriors’ head and wrapping his arms around him in a hug. 

“And how do I hate that you can’t stay longer,” Thom said as Warriors grumbled halfheartedly about his hair. His boyfriend was more important than being presentable. 

“You know I do too, hon. But Zelda had something I needed to deliver the next time I was in Hyrule, so we need to do that before we switch to someone else���s,” Warriors said, sighing as he spoke. Both of them wished they had more time with the other. At least it was better than the war had been.

“I know, I know. At least we have now. And until breakfast is done,” Thom replied, squeezing Warriors for a second before letting go and heading to the door. 

“But for now… I’ll get started on breakfast, and you can go and retrieve the other Links, yes?” Warriors nodded as Thom opened the door, Warriors following quickly behind him. 

While Warriors made for where he’d left his boots the previous evening, Thom looked at the ingredients in his personal pantry with a calculating eye. There were a multitude of options - bacon was a must-have, but there were so many other things he could add to breakfast. Warriors glanced over at Thom as he opened up the door leading to the staircase. 

“I’d go for muffins!” Warriors called out, hearing Thom’s considering hum as Warriors closed the door behind him. Oh, he really was hoping for muffins. 

-

The walk over to the town’s inn wasn’t long at all, thankfully. Warriors waved at his neighbors as he passed, giving a few scattered hellos and how-do-you-dos as he made his way to the inn, picking up an apple from one of the scattered stalls in the street for a few rupees to munch on while he walked. And his walk was finished just as his apple was, and after tossing the apple core into a nearby bin, Warriors opened the inn door to a ruckus. 

The innkeep gave Warriors a tired grin, before letting out a heavy sigh. Without so much as a word, he pointed at one of the corner tables, where the rest of the Links were seated. He could very clearly see the grin on Twilight’s face as cards flew through the air and Legend screamed in frustration. Raising a curious eyebrow, Warriors walked over, with only Time and Hyrule noticing his approach. 

“You’re a filthy cheater, Twilight!” Legend cried, slamming his hands onto the table. Twilight’s grin only grew wider. Warriors locked eyes with Time, who only sighed heavily at Warriors’ inquiring eyebrow. 

“Maybe you’re just no good at go fish,” Twilight replied, trying and failing at keeping his laughter quiet. Legend opened his mouth to speak again when Hyrule nudged him. 

“I think we need to wrap the game up anyways,” Hyrule said, pointing at Warriors. He waved as the six people that hadn’t noticed him standing there took a double-take. 

“When did you get here?” Wind asked, hopping out of his chair as he spoke. 

“A few minutes ago. Thom’s getting started on breakfast, so I wanted to come and get y’all so we could eat before we head out,” Warriors replied. He gave it a few moments as what he said sunk in, before all eight of them had varying degrees of reactions. Wind, Wild, and Hyrule all immediately stood up and started walking quickly (or running, in Wild’s case) back to their rooms. Four reached for his pack at his side, while Sky sat up straighter in his seat. Legend’s fuming decreased while Twilight put up his cards and Time headed over to the innkeep, presumably to pay for their lodgings and apologize for the ruckus they’d caused during their game of go fish. Warriors chuckled to himself as Wind raced back in, pack thrown haphazardly over one shoulder. 

“I’m ready to go let’s go!” he cheered, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Warriors chuckled to himself as Wild and Hyrule filed in not long after Wind did, and the others grabbed their bags from where they’d left them at their table. The perks of travelling with a group of heroes? They were almost always ready to go at a moment’s notice. It paid to be prepared. 

In no time at all, the group of nine was leaving the inn - Warriors noticed the apologetic looks that both Time and Sky gave the innkeep as they left - and headed back to his and Thom’s home. Hopefully the muffins were done at this point. Wind chattered excitedly about the card games he’d stayed up late playing with Wild, Four, and Hyrule the night before as they walked, with the occasional comments from Twilight about the book he’d been reading or the embroidery project Legend had made some progress on. To be fair, Warriors might’ve spent most of his evening talking with Thom after the rest of the Links had left, keeping his hands busy with his newest knitting project. But they didn’t need to know that. 

Either way, they arrived at the bakery in short order, and they filed up the stairs to the apartment quickly. All of them were excited to get to eat - they’d stayed in Warriors and Thom’s small town enough times to get excited to have any of Thom’s treats. It really was a pity that Thom couldn’t send any baked goods with his letters. 

“We’re here, hon!” Warriors called as he opened the door. From the kitchen, Thom hummed his acknowledgement as their group filed inside and started heading for the dining room. At least they’d set out the extra chairs last night and forgot to put them up when they had retreated to their bedroom for the night. 

“Muffins’re in the oven, the eggs’ll be done soon. Go ahead and sit down,” Thom said absentmindedly, not taking his eyes off the stovetop. A wise decision. 

“Muffins?” A chorus of voices spoke up, some more excited than others. Wild looked over at the oven with clear interest, while Wind’s head poked out from the dining room with a grin on his face. 

“My idea,” Warriors spoke up. Twilight slung an arm around his shoulders with a bright grin. 

“And a wonderful one at that,” he said. Legend came up on his other side and nudged him with an elbow to the side. 

“I knew we kept you around for a reason,” Legend joked, getting both Hyrule and Wind to start laughing.

“I thought it was my battle skills or my roguishly good looks, not my boyfriend’s fantastic baking,” Warriors replied in an equally joking tone. The laughs grew louder. 

“Just for the baking, Warriors,” Legend said. Wild and Twilight joined the laughing as Thom turned around, holding a pan filled with scrambled eggs. 

“If you’ve got any kind of looks, it’s the scruffy type,” Thom cut in teasingly. At that, Four choked on the air as the rest of the group practically howled with laughter and Warriors pouted. The remaining Links that weren’t in the dining room made their way over there, but Warriors hung around in the kitchen, just in case Thom needed a second set of hands.

“I thought you loved me,” Warriors said jokingly. Thom laughed as he moved the eggs from the pan to the platter filled with eggs and put the pan in the sink to be washed later that day. Not wanting to be in the way, Warriors took a few steps left as Thom ducked by before putting a stack of plates in his outstretched arms. 

“The silverware is already out, I just forgot to set out the plates. Do you mind, pumpkin?” Thom asked, already whirling around to grab the platter of eggs to make room for the almost-done muffins. 

“Got it, hon,” Warriors replied, heading out into the dining room with the stack of plates balanced carefully in his arms. Ten plates in one stack would be a recipe for disaster if he didn’t carry them with care - plus most of their tableware had been a housewarming gift from his Zelda, so Warriors would be extremely upset if he dropped any of them. Based on the way that Twilight’s eyes boggled when he walked into the dining room, though, he wouldn’t be carrying all of them much longer.

“Farore, why are you carrying all the plates? Lemme help with that,” Twilight said as he stood up and took half the stack in almost one motion. Warriors laughed a bit, letting himself relax a bit. Five plates is nothing compared to ten. 

“Thanks, Twilight - these were part of a housewarming gift, and I’d hate to break them,” Warriors said, walking over to the table and starting to set out plates in front of the set out chairs. Twilight joined him after a moment, and the chatter around them was very welcome. Wind’s excitement over muffins was contagious, it seemed. So the cheer that went up when Thom walked in with a platter covered in muffins wasn’t a surprise. 

“Heh, didn’t think my chocolate muffins would get this many cheers,” Thom chuckled, setting the muffins down before going and getting the other platter of eggs and bacon. Miraculously, the group of heroes held off from eating any of the muffins until the other platter of food had been set down and Thom had taken his seat next to Warriors. The moment that Thom sat down, the heroes descended on the food like a committee of vultures, with nothing but scraps remaining once each hero had grabbed their fill of food for the morning. Thom gave Warriors a meaningful glance as Warriors shrugged. What? Thom’s food was good and they were all hungry.

Unsurprisingly, the people that talked the most while they ate were Thom, Time, Four, and Warriors - and Warriors was only talking because they were discussing their plans for the delivery they were going to be making relatively soon. The other six people at their dining table were fully invested in their meals, not the light conversation going on. Thom found it highly amusing. To Warriors, it was just another Tuesday.  

The meal was over too quickly, in Warriors’ expert opinion. He wanted to spend more time with his boyfriend, but alas. The duties of a hero are never really over. Thankfully, everyone’s bags were already packed up, so the walk out of their apartment and to the entrance to the bakery was a short one filled with thank yous and assurances of shared recipes the next time the group came to town. Standing just outside the front door of the bakery, Warriors gave Thom a tight hug as the rest of the Links stood behind him and some of their neighbors watched on curiously.

“I’ll miss you,” Warriors murmured, arms slung around Thom’s neck. Thom squeezed his arms around Warriors’ waist a bit tighter as he hummed his reply. A quiet “aww” could be heard somewhere on the street, but Warriors couldn’t care less at the moment. He wished that this moment could last forever, that he didn’t have to leave. But he did, and so he let go. Right as he was about to turn around, though, Thom caught his wrist. 

“Wait a second…” Thom said, catching Warriors off-guard. 

“Yeah?” Warriors asked, tilting his head ever so slightly. To his surprise, Thom’s hand moved to cup one of Warriors’ cheeks in his hand as Thom brushed a thumb over his cheek. Almost humming to himself, Thom smiled a bit. 

“There’s a little something on your face,” he said, leaning forward. Warriors’ brow furrowed, but it wasn’t visible very long as Thom kissed him soundly. There were a few cheers around the street, one of which sounded remarkably like Twilight, and as Thom moved away, Warriors was left with a very red face and an inability to think straight. With a very soft shove, Thom pushed him towards the group of heroes with a smile on his face. 

“Now get going, my hero. You’ve got a job to do, and I’ll be here when you get back,” Thom said. Wordlessly, Warriors nodded, before making some sort of shapeless gesture for the rest of the group to follow after him. 

“You’re going the wrong way,” Thom called after a second or two of walking. Warriors immediately turned around, and then the heroes were on their way. 

[the-friendly-struggling-writer]

The Wandering Sides - Chapter 1

Read on Ao3

Sanders Sides (Web Series)          

                                 Characters:                                             

Logic | Logan Sanders

Anxiety | Virgil Sanders

Morality | Patton Sanders

Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders

Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders

Deceit Sanders

Original Side(s) (Sanders Sides)          

                                 Additional Tags:                                        

Sympathetic Dark Sides (Sanders Sides)

My First Fanfic

fluff i hope

My First Work in This Fandom

Domestic Fluff

remus gives gifts to everyone

Disney References

Movie Night

Sympathetic Deceit Sanders

Panic Attacks

Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders

A new side has appeared and the sides, both light and dark are going to need to figure out how to manage this new challenge. 

Blinking away the darkness from my vision, my eyes focusing on the person in front of me. Yellow gloves immediately startled me from my gaze. "I've never not seen you before?" He asked after reaching out a hand. I expected his help up to a standing position.

"Hi," I said unsure, looking around the surrounding area. "What is this place? And how did I get here? Who are you?" I started to panic because I didn't have the answers that I was looking for immediately.

“Hey, hey calm down. It’s gonna be ok. My name is deceit, what’s your name?” he calmly asked as not to scare me.

“I, um. I don’t know. I’m not sure.” I answered stumbling over my words. Fidgeting with my hands.

“Ok, that’s ok. Let's go and find the others around here then. Follow me then.” Then he started walking down a path that was behind him. The path was mostly white with flecks of colours though it, such as a deep green or purple. Apart from the path, all I could see were patches of colours like the path but bigger and like clouds that you could touch.

Walking only took a few minutes which was not as long as I thought the journey was going to take. Soon we came up to a dark brown, wooden door with panels carved into it. Deceit knocked a tune on it, going knock, knock, space and then another knock. Slowly the door opened, and a man with green and black outfit stood there waiting for Deceit to say something. “Hi Remus,” Deceit spoke as he pushed past Remus. “This is my new friend, I don’t know where they came from but they are here.” Smiling and waiting for Remus’ response.

“Hi,” I say quietly unsure of what I was doing. This man Remus, I had a strange feeling about him. Well, I had a strange feeling about both of them but they are the only people that I know of.

Stepping into the room I soon saw what the room was composed of. The room was painted a dark grey and the floor was a light brown carpet. Two beds were over to one side of the room with each bed matching each person that I had met so far. The other side had another bed but it was clear that whoever it belonged to hadn’t used it in a long time. “Could you please be a deer and sit over on that bed,” pointing to the unused bed, “while I and Deceit talk about this,” Remus said. As I did sit down a large toy deer with what looked like bloodstains on it appeared next to me. While watching the two of them I petted the deer’s head with my hand. I was super soft.

“Who are they Deceit?” Remus asked in a hushed voice. Walking over to the other side of the room.

“I don’t know,” Deceit replied, “They just appeared when I was out for a walk.”

“Do you at least know which side they belong to?” Remus said. His patience running short. “No, I don’t,” Deceit snapped back. After taking a moment to calm down Deceit spoke up again,” So I guess we will need to go to the others then.”

“We might as well go to Virgil first. They will maybe be the best to talk to about this.” Remus suggested hoping to find out where they came from.

“Ok then” Deceit replied.

The two of them walked back to me. Remus was the one to say to me “could you follow us.” I stood up taking the deer toy with me wrapped in my arms. There now was a similar door on the other side of the room that I hadn’t seen earlier. This door opened out to a corridor with a light forest green paint on the walls and a rich brown skirting board. The floor was a matching carpet that was soft in between my toes.

Following the corridor, we came to a new room. Deceit carefully opened the door so as not to disturb something. The room seemed nice. It was dark and a cool temperature in it. Spiderwebs covered the room with spider curtains. “Virgil,” Remus called out. For a moment I was confused, no one was here. Then it happened.

“WHAT ARE YOU GOING IN MY ROOM?” the new voice shouted. I squeaked in response to the loud noise.

“Never the same reaction when this happens Virgil,” Deceit sarcastically responds to the question. I got from this new information that Virgil was the one shouting and he always did this anytime that someone was in his room.

“So, like we,” Deceit was interrupted by Remus elbowing him in the ribs. “Fine, I found them when I was walking about, and we can’t figure out who they are or where they belong.”

Virgil took a few breaths to calm down. “When, why did you bring them to my room?” He asked. Trying to actually figure out the pair’s thought process.

“Well, you are on better terms with the others. So, we thought that you could at least not get us kicked out of the main room, long enough for us to explain what happened.” Remus answered.

I was confused about what they were meaning. Why wouldn't the others that they were talking about didn’t like Remus and Deceit. They seemed nice to me but I was also curious about what the other people are like.

“Ok, fine. I will go and get them, and then you can bring them into the living room and explain.” Virgil said.

“Ok,” the three of us replied at the same time. Virgil then disappeared through the doorway to find the others. ------------------- ���How did this happen’ Virgil asked himself as he went to find Patton first. ‘How did another side appear’. Walking into the kitchen. Virgil was surprised to find all three of the sides that he was looking for in the room.

Patton was just taking a fresh batch of cookies out of the oven to leave to cool. Logan and Roman having a discussion at the table on the topic of realistic dragons like in how to train your dragon. It was at this time that the pair looked up to see Virgil at the doorway to the room. “Virgil I thought that you would be in your room right now,” Logan stated.

“Well I would be but, um.” Virgil stopped to think. ‘How was he going to explain this enough to get them to go to the living room.’

“What is it kiddo?” Patton asked, sounding concerned.

“Well basically,” what was next said by Virgil was too fast for the others to understand what he was saying. “So Remus and Deceit found another side and they don’t know where they came from. So they need you guys to help figure it out.”

“What.” Was all that Roman could say confused by the situation.

Taking a second to slow down his talking, Virgil repeated. “So Remus and Deceit found another side and they don’t know where they came from.”

“So you are going to trust them that easily.” Roman just about shouted.

“No Roman, but I’ve met this new person and I've never seen them before. They also wanted me to partly explain before you all go to shout at them” Virgil explained while looking especially at Roman.

“That does explain the way that they have gone about doing this.” Logan chimed in.

“So what are we going to do then?” Patton asked unsure of what was going to happen next.

“Well, it would be best if we hear what you have to say and find out who this person is. Even if Deceit and Remus cause trouble, I don’t think that this person will be part of it.” Logan said.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Roman said quite confidently. The four of them then filed out of the kitchen towards the living room. Soon three of the four were standing awkwardly in the middle of the room waiting for something to happen. “I’ll go get them,” said Virgil. He then walked out of the room into the hall to meet back up with Remus, Deceit and the new side.

“So what did the others say?” Deceit asked hopefully that they will at least get to be listened to.

“They’re waiting in the living room but please try and not do anything too extreme.” As Virgil said the second part he looked over to Remus.

“Ok, fine,” Remus said exasperated.

“Let's go in then,” Virgil said as he walked back through the door again.

Chapter 2

[mystarmyangel]

[TRANS] YoonA – L’Officiel Spring/Summer 2020 YK Edition Interview

You tried both feminine and masculine styles for today’s photoshoot. Which style do you like more? Especially when you wore a wig, I felt that it fits the YoonA I know. Is it? While discussing the pictorial concept, I was also asked if I will be okay to wear a wig. I thought it is a great idea, so I accepted the suggestion readily. Its feel fun trying something for the first time. And when I really tried it, I saw ‘a face that I don’t even know myself’ so I felt that the decision to go ahead is right. I also tried two different styles of outfits, as I have always been wearing more feminine outfits, I felt that masculine concept is more charming. But when I wore feminine outfits, I will have thoughts like ‘ah, as expected I look better in lovely outfits.’ Thus, I feel that both concepts are good, I have always been doing similar concepts so I would like to try different concepts in the future.

It has been 13 years since you debut. Is there any split moment where you feel like you have grown up as compared to before? Like how I do not find it tiring filming like this the whole day? As time passes, more ‘free time’ came out (laughs) and I naturally become more relaxed. Looking back to my debut days where I have many things that I don’t know about, everything feels dim and tough. But right now, I have accumulated a lot of experiences so I know what fits me more and I can do even better. Just like shooting for a photoshoot like now, I also actively voice out many opinions, seeing how I am showing more initiatives, it seems that I have mature a lot too.

How is YoonA like as a child? Did you already show ‘a born celebrity’ personality back then where you were not afraid to be in front of many people? I remembered that I like talent shows, I will not hesitate to participate whenever I get the chance. I do not feel shy standing in front of many people. But I have always been the careful type so thinking back I am not sure how I managed to do that, I am amazed too. Right now, because of the nature of my job I met a lot of people, so my personality has changed, and I am able to chat comfortably with people who I meet for the first time. To me, it is a huge change.

So, you went for the audition like this? The audition video of you singing with your kiddy face has been a hot topic for a long time. My situation is like the famous scenario of ‘accompanying friend to go for audition but I end up being the only one getting in’. (Laughs) My friend said to go audition together and I agreed thinking that ‘even I didn’t get in, it will still be a good experience’. In the end my friend did not get in, but I got in. And from then I became a trainee for 5 years and all the way until my debut, I have not missed a single day of practice. Looking back like this I guess this is indeed something I really enjoyed doing.

You debut as a singer and actress at about the same time. Up til now which of your works are the most memorable ones for you? I thought of the project that allows many people to come to know me and also my first leading role, ‘You Are My Destiny’. Although people in their 10s and 20s might have know me while promoting as a SNSD member but people who are of the higher age groups would not know me then. Through this project, I receive love from all the different age groups. My first movie ‘Confidential Assignment’ and my first leading movie ‘EXIT’ are all precious works too.

Your first leading movie ‘EXIT’ is one of the biggest hits of the year. The movie indeed received more love than what was initially expected. If I had a rich experience of filming movies, I would have known then that more than 9 million moviegoers is an alarming figure, but I didn’t realize it at the initial stage. As I see more and more moviegoers, I gradually became very excited. I began to wonder if I will be able to see a number (of moviegoers) like this again in the future. Because it is a disaster action movie, I have been running throughout and there are many actions scenes that require me to use body acting, but the result turns out well, so I felt it is even more meaningful. While experiencing a disaster indirectly (through acting in a disaster action movie), I learned a lot on how to deal with situations should they happen in reality, because disasters are situations that anyone may and can experience.

From my personal point of view, I feel that the concept and the role in the drama series ‘The K2’ are very memorable. Before that, there were a lot of candy-like roles that ‘do not cry no matter how lonely and sad’, but the gazes of Go Anna played by YoonA are completely different from before. In ‘The K2’, Anna is a very complex role that has been living a secret life of solitude, it was a new challenge for me. The location where we filmed the overseas scenes is Barcelona. When I do not have any shooting schedules, I strolled around the city and created really good memories there.

It is not easy to break an existing image. I realized that wanting to break the image or stereotype that people have of me is not something that is achievable just by with words. I used to be very mindful of what the public thinks. I will foremost consider what the public’s reaction will be if I act in a role like this. ‘The K2’ is the first project that I decided to do without considering factors like that. After that, I opened my mind a lot on showing more different sides of me as an actress.

Is there any roles you would like to challenge in the future? I wanted to try a character that is different from what I have shown so far. People only see a fragment of me, but I have many different sides of myself that only I know about. However, it is really hard to meet the right character at the right time, I guess all actors and actresses out there share the same feeling too.

Can you tell us more of the scheduled work you have for this year? Fortunately, the work I liked has appeared, but I think its better to share more of the details after everything becomes more certain. After all, there are always all sort of changes when It comes to work related matters.

Is there any plans as a musician? The special album ‘A Walk To Remember’ that you released last year was a surprise thankful gift to fans. I do not have any plans right now but the desire to sing is always there. Of course, I will continue doing music to express my gratefulness to fans.

The genres featured in the special album are calm music such as folk and acoustic ballads which are the opposite of SNSD’s usual upbeat and fast dance tracks. Was your personal taste of music originally that way? I listen to all types of music, regardless of its genre. I basically will browse songs that are on music charts, be it dance track or a classical song. My favourite genres change often too. Perhaps it is because I listen to a lot of songs of such genres during the preparation of the special album, so I was influenced (Laughs). My music playlist is mainly based on the weather or mood of that day. It rained yesterday so I was suddenly reminded by a song in the movie ‘About Time’ called ‘II Mondo’ so I looked it up and listen to it. I think it is because it is a background music of the famous wedding scene in the movie where it suddenly rained, and everyone was seeking shelter.  Recently I also like to listen to old pop songs. Not long ago while driving, Roy Orbison’s ‘In Dreams’ was played in the radio, and it was so good. Matching the weather, atmosphere of that day, everything seems to fit perfectly together.

Speaking of old pop songs, I recalled that you posted photos taken with a film camera on your Instagram, it seems to have similar vibes with your preference in music. 6 months ago, I went to Paris for vacation with the thought of taking photos with a film camera. Although it is a disposable camera, the exterior design of the camera is really pretty, and the results turn out unexpectedly good too, so I was really satisfied. These days you can check the photos as soon as you took it, but for film cameras you would not know how it turn out until the photos are developed. I really enjoy the time and anticipation I have while waiting for the photos to be developed. It is a fun experience.

When we talk about YoonA, it is hard not to think of SNSD. What does SNSD means to you? To me, they are always the most special and comfortable people. We spent our 10s and 20s together even closer than we do with our own families, so right now even just looking into each another eyes we will know what the other party is thinking. Even now we still keep in touch often with one another.

YoonA started donating since 2010, and you become a member of ‘Honor Society’ in 2015. What are your thoughts with regards to donations? When I was about 20 years old, I started donating through a relay donation program. From then on, I will participate in donations whenever I got the opportunity. Regardless of the amount, I think it is most important to want to share. My consistency with donation is also largely influenced by my parents. They often told me ‘how much you receive, how much you share, this way you will receive a bigger blessing’. It is not easy to continue donation consistently, but I will do my best to continue doing it.

How do you de-stress whenever you feel mentally exhausted? For example, through exercise? Although I do Pilates to unwind myself, but it seems just doing Pilates is not enough to relieve my stress (Laughs). I am also trying hard to find things to do at home so as not to have feeling of tiredness. Sometimes I bake cookies, shift the positions of my furniture or I go for a drive. Today I brought the cookies I made myself and shared them with the staffs. In the past, I relieved my stress by meeting and chatting with people around me, but now I am finding my own way to relieve stress. That’s because no matter how much fun I have when I met with my friends, there is always a sense of emptiness when I went home. I think that I can’t always depend on others, so I am trying hard to look for ways to manage my mood better.

What is the thing that is the most ‘YoonA-like’? Hmm, my personality is always changing bit by bit, so that are times that I don’t even understand myself. Aren’t everyone like this, there are many people that think I have a bright personality, although generally it is so but there are times where I am not. In a sense, I think the realest me is shown most through ‘Hyori’s Homestay 2’. The cameras were rolling for 24 hours, so it is unbelievable to say I didn’t have moments that I was relaxing. Through this reality show, I was surprised to know that there are many people who saw a complete different me.

How do you feel about getting older? I am not afraid of getting older, on the contrary, I am actually looking forward to how I will be like as I gradually get older. Occasionally, there will be interviews where I was asked how I think I will be 5 or 10 years down the road, these are things that I can’t be certain of since they are still far in the future. However, regarding next year when I can think and plan for, I can promise that ‘this time next year, I will be even better’.

It is this positive mindset that made YoonA who she is today. What are the happiest memories you have so far? There are too many. Like when SNSD went on concert tours, when SNSD received daesang, the time when my first leading movie opened in theatres, when I received a rookie award as an actress… now that I say it, it seems like the list can goes on and on.  I have so many happy memories in my 20s, but perhaps after going through my 30s I can say I am the happiest in my 30s. My philosophy is that ‘compared to setting big goals, lets achieve the small goals right in front, enjoy today and have fun every moment’. I am thinking, if I spend today happily, won’t the ‘today’ of each day come together and eventually my whole life will become enjoyable.

Cr: Chinese Trans by Limyoonabar (木白) & YOONYA (奶瓶, 麦麦,小土狗) Eng Trans: mystarmyangel

[writinginstardust]

Tradition

Pairing: Tyler Jones x reader

Prompt: “Is that Mistletoe?”

Warnings: Nada, they don’t even swear 😲

A/N: Editing this was weird because I wrote it like a month ago and totally forgot the whole thing. Thanks to @writingbychelle for requesting this prompt. It’s like really cute so enjoy!

Word Count:  1799

*

“Okay,” Scarlett started as she flopped down on the couch next to Finian and Zila. “Tell me I’m not the only one who is sick to death of those two pining idiots.”

“Trust me, it’s not just you,” Cat replied with a sigh as she shifted in her armchair to face the others. Zila and Fin both murmured agreements.

Usually the cutesy awkwardness between Tyler and (Y/N) and their pining was bearable but for the past week it had been absolute hell. For one reason or another, no one had family plans for the holidays and thanks to a brilliant suggestion from Scarlett - that she was now starting to regret - everyone was spending Christmas at the apartment she, Tyler, and Cat shared. And since most of them lived all over the place, they were staying here. With the exception of Auri who lived close by and was giving Kal a home for the month. It had seemed like a great idea until it became apparent that Tyler and (Y/N)’s level of pining would go through the roof if they spent constant time together. It had been a week out of a 3 week stay and everyone had finally had enough.

“We need to do something,” Scarlett decided.

“Finally.” The relieved sigh came from Fin. “I’ve been sick of them since day one.”

“Didn’t (Y/N) arrive after most of us were already asleep?” 

“Yes. I got up to use the toilet though and unfortunately had to bear witness to the sickening heart eyes Tyler was giving her before they went to sleep.”

“Yikes,” Cat agreed, having seen something similar herself on several occasions. They were somehow even worse when tired. “What finally did it for you?” She asked Scarlett.

“They just ran into each other while (Y/N) was coming out of the bathroom and he was going in.” Everyone gave her a quizzical look. That didn’t seem particularly dramatic. “She was only in a towel.”

“Oh.” They got it now. “I am so sorry.” Fin patted her on the shoulder in a feeble attempt at comfort.

“So what do you want to do about it?” Cat asked.

“Okay,” Scarlett sat forward with a new purpose in her movements. She’d thought about this. “So the way I see it, they get together, the awkwardness stops. Right?” Three nods. “They’re only awkward because it’s awkward to have a crush on your best friend and they somehow have no idea the feeling is mutual. We just have to make it obvious to them. And what’s the best way of telling if someone likes you?” 

“Asking them,” Zila helpfully supplied.

“Well yes…”

“Almost dying and seeing what kind of reaction you get?” Cat tried, only half joking.

“What? No!”

“Get them drunk and flirt until they either kiss or punch you?” Was Fin’s suggestion

“Is that seriously your go-to, Fin?” He shrugged, grinning.

“It has about a 50% success rate.”

“That seems unlikely,” Zila frowned at him. “I’ve seen you get punched far more than I’ve seen someone kiss you.”

“Ouch.”

“Okay we’re getting really off-topic here. Fin was closest anyway. I was talking about kissing someone. You can tell a lot from a kiss. If someone isn’t into it, it’s not hard to tell.”

“So the plan is to get them to kiss?” Cat asked. “And how exactly are we meant to do that?”

“Catherine,” Scarlett received a murderous glare for that, “my dear, have you forgotten what time of year it is?”

“...It’s Christmas...oh. Mistletoe.”

“Bingo!”

“Okay. How do we do this?”

*

It had been a weird day to say the least. I’d been called to help with various innocuous tasks all over the apartment all day and now received a text from Tyler saying he’d been locked out and asking if I’d let him in. How? The apartment door was never locked if people were in. 

I finished putting the cookies Scarlett and I had been making in the oven and wiped my hands. The rest of me was still a mess, flour and cookie dough on my face, up my arms, in my hair and on my clothes despite my best efforts to avoid such a fate for them with an apron and hair tie that apparently refused to do its job. Hopefully I wouldn’t cover the carpet in flour as I wandered through the living room.

“How…?” I asked as I opened the door to Tyler’s exasperated face. 

“I have no idea.” He paused, looking me over. “Did you blow up a cake factory while I was gone?” I blushed and resisted the urge to nervously brush some of the flour from myself. Don’t ruin the carpet, I reminded myself.

“Uh, Scarlett dropped the flour and Fin…”

“Say no more.” Tyler said with a slightly shy grin. I wasn’t really sure why we were still standing in the doorway but neither of us made any move to go inside. It was a little awkward. Like most of my interactions with Tyler had been for months now. I looked around at anything that wasn’t his gorgeous face and my eyes landed on something green and plantlike hanging above the door frame. I frowned up at it.

“Is that mistletoe?” Tyler followed my gaze and I felt him still in front of me, balancing out the nervous shifting I’d begun.

“Uh, yeah...I think it is…” He trailed off and his eyes slid back down to me. God, as if things weren’t awkward enough between us as it was. We just had to get caught under mistletoe like we were in some cheesy romcom. That’s not to say part of me wasn’t jumping for joy at this situation. It would be the perfect excuse to kiss him, to finally get to find out if his lips were as soft as they were in my dreams. But even through that thought, I knew it could be a terrible idea and just make things even more uncomfortable between us. There was no one around though so we had an out.

“We, uh, we don’t have to…” 

“I mean, it is tradition. But if you don’t want to…” Before I could even think about what to say to that, to the fact that he’d at least be okay with it, Scarlett’s voice interrupted.

“Hey guys. ...Is that mistletoe?” She was acting surprised but it wasn’t fooling me and she’d noticed it far too quickly to not have known it was there somehow. “Well, looks like you have to kiss now.” She perched on the arm of the sofa and it was obvious she wasn’t going to let us get out of it. I turned back to Tyler, nervously tucking some loose, flour-covered strands of hair behind my ears.

“Uh, so…” This was far more scary than it had any right to be. Tyler smiled softly though and it went some way to putting me at ease.

“Relax.” Easy for him to say. His hand came to rest on my cheek and tilt my head up and I just about melted. I don’t know how I didn’t when his lips touched mine. They were even softer than I’d dreamed.

The kiss was gentle and loving and so so perfect. And it was real. I wanted it to last forever. He stepped a bit closer to me and slid his other hand to my waist where it felt like it belonged. My own hands somehow ended up tracing his jaw and I was probably getting flour all over him but I didn’t care. He didn’t seem to either. 

Dimly I was aware that it was going on much longer than tradition dictated but I wasn’t going to be the one to stop it. I didn’t think Tyler would either because tradition certainly didn’t require the truly amazing things he was doing with his tongue that were making my knees weak.

“Well, I guess my work here is done.” Scarlett���s voice brought me back to reality, though I didn’t really register what she said. I pulled away from Tyler as slowly as was socially acceptable and turned to Scarlett who was no longer alone it seemed. A moment later her words finally computed and they seemed to hit Tyler at the same time. I frowned.

“Wait, what?” Scarlett, Cat, Fin, and Zila exchanged glances before shrugging and motioning for Scarlett to explain.

“We might have put mistletoe up all over the apartment to get you two to kiss.”

“You did what?” Tyler looked absolutely shocked but everything started to make sense.

“So that’s why you kept asking me to come do stuff and I kept running into Tyler on the way?” They all nodded.

“Wait. Did you lock me out of the apartment? For this.” Again they nodded. “Was that really necessary?” Cat and Fin scoffed while Scarlett fixed her brother with a hard look.

“Yes. It absolutely was. You two were unbearable so we did something about it.”

“And you somehow kept ruining our attempts all day so we had to take more drastic measures,” Cat added.

“If it helps,” Scarlett said, softening a little. “It was at least partly done out of love. You’re both so obviously in love so we thought we’d help make it happen.”

“It was 90% because we were all going mad though.” Fin had to go and ruin it and received an elbow in the ribs from Scarlett for his comment.

“Uh, thanks...I guess?” I wasn’t entirely sure what to say and was starting to feel incredibly awkward again, now all too aware that Tyler’s hand was still resting on my waist.

“We should leave them alone now,” Zila said, matter of fact as always, before turning on her heal and walking to the kitchen. The others followed quickly, Fin throwing a parting wink our way and Scarlett giving us a thumbs up. I felt my cheeks heating embarrassingly.

Tyler cleared his throat quietly and I turned back to him, trying not to look as embarrassed and unsure as I felt. I managed to meet his eyes for all of a second before I was distracted by a white smudge on his cheek. I couldn’t help giggling and the little bit of tension that had slipped between us disappeared just like that.

“What is it?” Tyler asked, furrowing his brow but still smiling.

“You’ve got flour on your face.” His smile stretched into a grin and he chuckled a little before his eyes flicked up.

“You know, we’re still under the mistletoe…” I smiled back at him and twined my arms around his shoulders.

“We are...and it is tradition…” I didn’t finish my sentence as Tyler’s mouth covered my own again. Why not after all? It was Christmas and tradition is tradition.

*

Tag Lists: (send an ask if you want to be added!)

Everything: @wonderfilledness @writingbychelle @ad-astraaaa @moderngenius94

Aurora Cycle: @aurising

[franthehorsegir]

The Wandering Side chapter 1

Blinking away the darkness from my vision, my eyes focusing on the person in front of me. Yellow gloves immediately startled me from my gaze. "I've never not seen you before?" He asked after reaching out a hand. I expected his help up to a standing position.

"Hi," I said unsure, looking around the surrounding area. "What is this place? And how did I get here? Who are you?" I started to panic because I didn't have the answers that I was looking for immediately.

“Hey, hey calm down. It’s gonna be ok. My name is deceit, what’s your name?” he calmly asked as not to scare me.

“I, um. I don’t know. I’m not sure.” I answered stumbling over my words. Fidgeting with my hands.

“Ok, that’s ok. Let's go and find the others around here then. Follow me then.” Then he started walking down a path that was behind him. The path was mostly white with flecks of colours though it, such as a deep green or purple. Apart from the path, all I could see were patches of colours like the path but bigger and like clouds that you could touch.

Walking only took a few minutes which was not as long as I thought the journey was going to take. Soon we came up to a dark brown, wooden door with panels carved into it. Deceit knocked a tune on it, going knock, knock, space and then another knock. Slowly the door opened, and a man with green and black outfit stood there waiting for Deceit to say something. “Hi Remus,” Deceit spoke as he pushed past Remus. “This is my new friend, I don’t know where they came from but they are here.” Smiling and waiting for Remus’ response.

 “Hi,” I say quietly unsure of what I was doing. This man Remus, I had a strange feeling about him. Well, I had a strange feeling about both of them but they are the only people that I know of.  

Stepping into the room I soon saw what the room was composed of. The room was painted a dark grey and the floor was a light brown carpet. Two beds were over to one side of the room with each bed matching each person that I had met so far. The other side had another bed but it was clear that whoever it belonged to hadn’t used it in a long time. “Could you please be a deer and sit over on that bed,” pointing to the unused bed, “while I and Deceit talk about this,” Remus said. As I did sit down a large toy deer with what looked like bloodstains on it appeared next to me. While watching the two of them I petted the deer’s head with my hand. I was super soft.

“Who are they Deceit?” Remus asked in a hushed voice. Walking over to the other side of the room.

“I don’t know,” Deceit replied, “They just appeared when I was out for a walk.”

“Do you at least know which side they belong to?” Remus said. His patience running short.

“No, I don’t,” Deceit snapped back. After taking a moment to calm down Deceit spoke up again,” So I guess we will need to go to the others then.”

“We might as well go to Virgil first. They will maybe be the best to talk to about this.” Remus suggested hoping to find out where they came from.

“Ok then” Deceit replied.

The two of them walked back to me. Remus was the one to say to me “could you follow us.” I stood up taking the deer toy with me wrapped in my arms. There now was a similar door on the other side of the room that I hadn’t seen earlier. This door opened out to a corridor with a light forest green paint on the walls and a rich brown skirting board. The floor was a matching carpet that was soft in between my toes.

Following the corridor, we came to a new room. Deceit carefully opened the door so as not to disturb something. The room seemed nice. It was dark and a cool temperature in it. Spiderwebs covered the room with spider curtains. “Virgil,” Remus called out. For a moment I was confused, no one was here. Then it happened.

“WHAT ARE YOU GOING IN MY ROOM?” the new voice shouted. I squeaked in response to the loud noise.

“Never the same reaction when this happens Virgil,” Deceit sarcastically responds to the question. I got from this new information that Virgil was the one shouting and he always did this anytime that someone was in his room.

“So, like we,” Deceit was interrupted by Remus elbowing him in the ribs. “Fine, I found them when I was walking about, and we can’t figure out who they are or where they belong.”

Virgil took a few breaths to calm down. “When, why did you bring them to my room?” He asked. Trying to actually figure out the pair’s thought process.

“Well, you are on better terms with the others. So, we thought that you could at least not get us kicked out of the main room, long enough for us to explain what happened.” Remus answered.

I was confused about what they were meaning. Why wouldn't the others that they were talking about didn’t like Remus and Deceit. They seemed nice to me but I was also curious about what the other people are like.

“Ok, fine. I will go and get them, and then you can bring them into the living room and explain.” Virgil said.

“Ok,” the three of us replied at the same time. Virgil then disappeared through the doorway to find the others.

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

‘How did this happen’ Virgil asked himself as he went to find Patton first. ‘How did another side appear’. Walking into the kitchen. Virgil was surprised to find all three of the sides that he was looking for in the room.

Patton was just taking a fresh batch of cookies out of the oven to leave to cool. Logan and Roman having a discussion at the table on the topic of realistic dragons like in how to train your dragon. It was at this time that the pair looked up to see Virgil at the doorway to the room. “Virgil I thought that you would be in your room right now,” Logan stated.

“Well I would be but, um.” Virgil stopped to think. ‘How was he going to explain this enough to get them to go to the living room.’

“What is it kiddo?” Patton asked, sounding concerned. 

“Well basically,” what was next said by Virgil was too fast for the others to understand what he was saying. “So Remus and Deceit found another side and they don’t know where they came from. So they need you guys to help figure it out.”

“What.” Was all that Roman could say confused by the situation. 

Taking a second to slow down his talking, Virgil repeated. “So Remus and Deceit found another side and they don’t know where they came from.”

“So you are going to trust them that easily.” Roman just about shouted.

“No Roman, but I’ve met this new person and I've never seen them before. They also wanted me to partly explain before you all go to shout at them” Virgil explained while looking especially at Roman.

“That does explain the way that they have gone about doing this.” Logan chimed in.

“So what are we going to do then?” Patton asked unsure of what was going to happen next.

“Well, it would be best if we hear what you have to say and find out who this person is. Even if Deceit and Remus cause trouble, I don’t think that this person will be part of it.” Logan said.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Roman said quite confidently.

The four of them then filed out of the kitchen towards the living room. Soon three of the four were standing awkwardly in the middle of the room waiting for something to happen. “I’ll go get them,” said Virgil. He then walked out of the room into the hall to meet back up with Remus, Deceit and the new side.

“So what did the others say?” Deceit asked hopefully that they will at least get to be listened to.

“They’re waiting in the living room but please try and not do anything too extreme.” As Virgil said the second part he looked over to Remus.

“Ok, fine,” Remus said exasperated.

“Let's go in then,” Virgil said as he walked back through the door again.

[starunicornmoon]

Biggest Fan

A/N: So this idea came to me while I was watching England play on Tuesday. What. A. Game! I always say to my husband I’m not watching it, it’s not my thing. But I always find myself watching at least the second half and getting into it, exactly like Amy does here. Hubby always comments that it’s funny listening to me and it sparked an idea. So here it is in all it’s unpolished, rushed glory. Because I needed to get it out and posted before England play again on Saturday. Thanks for reading! Love. x

Biggest Fan

Football on Mobius is very similar to any other planet. Where players kick a ball around a large amount of space, occasionally throwing themselves to the floor dramatically and running around like a crazed chicken when the small contraption lands in the back of a net. And Sonic, Knuckles and Tails are just like any other male enamoured by the sport that generally has them fixed to the couch, chips and dips in front of them and an inordinate amount of yelling at the television for ninety plus minutes.

“Ah, c'mon ref!” Sonic the Hedgehog shouted, throwing his arm out towards the television in disbelief. Continued grumbles rumbled under his breath as he threw himself back into his seat, scowling at the lone figure on the screen flashing a coloured card at the player in red.

Tails and Knuckles shook their head, both equally glued to the screen and in agreement with Sonics distaste for the ref giving a yellow card to one of their players for reasons they deemed unfair. The air was thick with annoyance.

Amy Rose poked her head around the kitchen doorframe at the shout and rolled her eyes seeing the males in various forms of unrest as they watched the football. Slipping back into the kitchen she removed the frilly apron from her body and hooked it back to its spot on the wall. Picking up the plate of freshly baked cookies, she leaned forward and took in an appreciative sniff of chocolate doughy goodness. But the, ‘Ohhhs!’ from the living room soon snapped her out of her baked heaven daydreams.

Sighing she prepared herself to step back out into the lions den.

The guys didn’t even look up as she strolled into the living room. “Cookies are ready.” she told them as she placed the plate on the coffee table in front of them, being careful to not block anyones view of the TV as she did so.

Tails fell on the cookies first, very closely followed by Sonic and Knuckles. Not one of them graceful about the way they shoved the cookies in their mouths. She watched with pride as their expressions melted into baked goods heaven as they slowed their chewing and appreciated what they were eating.

“Amazing cookies, Ames.” Sonic grinned, winking at her as he reached for another one.

“Better than the last lot,” Tails chorused, another two sitting in his lap while he started on the one in his hand. “Swo good.” he tried saying, spraying crumbs.

Amy giggled and cocked her hip to the side sassily. “That’s what you said the last two times, Tails.”

“It bears repeating,” the two tailed Kitsune grinned back at her.

Shaking her head at the way all three turned their attentions back to the TV, Amy made a move back to the kitchen to box up the left over cookies that would definitely not last the rest of the day. “Not sticking around for the game, Amy?” Knuckles called over his shoulder, his eyes not moving from watching the red players of their team running clear across the pitch with the ball.

“It’s not really my thing,” Amy answered on her way out of the room. She knew he wasn’t paying attention to her anyway as he’d shifted to the edge of his seat, preparing to throw himself in the air if their team scored.

It didn’t take Amy long to clean up the last bits in Sonic’s kitchen and she was back in the living room before she knew it. She stopped behind the couch, watching the screen for an opening to be able to say goodbye to the guys. But the more she stood there the more she became engrossed in the game. After all, it’s the Mobian World Cup! Not just any old football game. This was her country fighting to keep the ball and score against the other team. Amy has only followed the World Cup a few times in her life, the previous years their team not being as good as they could’ve been.

But this year was different. Whether it’s their new manager, the younger players or just the general high intense support from their fellow countrymen, they were doing well. Really well! So it’s been hard for her to avoid knowing what’s been happening as they progress through the tournment.

Wincing, Amy shook her head at the opposing team being too harsh with their dirty tactics. “Where’s his free kick?” she asked no-one as she frowned, throwing her arm out at the TV much like Sonic had done previously. “Yes, great control with the ball. Did you see that move?!” she cheered, unconsciously moving from behind the couch to the free arm chair beside it. She wasn’t aware of the guys watching her as she became fixated on the screen.

It was her eyes lighting up, combined with her sitting forward that had them quickly turn back to the screen as Amy jumped up from her seat and punched the air. “Yes! That was a beautiful goal!” she cheered, over-powering the guys’ reaction to their team scoring a very well executed intention.

Once it calmed back down and the game played on, Sonic found himself flitting his attention between the game and Amy, more and more.

“Come on, come on - no! Ohhh, so close. That could’ve been amazing.”

“Ref! Why’s he getting a yellow card? He didn’t do anything!”

“Aw come on, that was barely a touch.”

“He loves his headers, doesn’t he?”

“Uh-oh, they’re getting desperate now! They’re trying hard to score.”

“Yes! What a save!”

“They’re working well together aren’t they?” she asked at one point, not really looking for an answer as Sonic tried not to laugh as Amy got more and more into the game. Knuckles and Tails didn’t seem bothered by their pink companions running ad-lib. “I think Southgates doing a great job of leading them. I wouldn’t want to be him though. The pressure on them all must be intense right now.”

Sonic sat back and watched Amy where she sat upright in her seat, her hands twisting in her lap the closer the final whistle came. They’re team were winning, but it didn’t mean it was over yet. For now though, he was more interested in seeing the transformation in his Rose. Although it was a little distracting listening to her running commentary as she watched the game - her terminology was wrong and she got more irate than the guys did at the opposing teams dirty tricks - deep down, it just made his fondness for her grow more and more.

He could see the passion shining through as she got caught up in cheering on their team to go all the way.

The same passion he’s seen in her eyes when she’s fighting by his side. Or when she’s focusing on making his favourite meal and dessert. The same sparkle that she gets in her eye when he leans in for a goodnight kiss after one of their dates. She wasn’t sitting there - oblivious to Sonic, Knuckles and Tails watching the same game - and fake cheering because she thought it’s what Sonic would want in a girlfriend. She was doing it because she genuinely cared about what was happening for their home team. Even if it wasn’t really, ‘her thing.’

Amy joined in when the guys all cheered as the final whistle was blown and their team were declared the victors. Knuckles was jumping around the room, shouting, “It’s coming home! It’s coming home!”

Once the energy had started to calm Amy blinked and looked around her like she had just realised what she was doing. Blushing slightly, she stood up to surreptitiously get her coat and make a quiet exit. But Sonic’s arms wrapping around her waist from behind caught her before she could sneak out.

“Thanks for the cookies, Ames,” he whispered in her ear, kissing her gently on the cheek as she stroked his arms encircling her waist. “I should’ve known you’d make a great football fan. After-all, you’ve always been my biggest fan.”

Feeling Amy laugh made Sonic grin as she spun in his arms to face him. She reached up and laid her hand on his cheek gently.

“I’ll always be your biggest fan, Sonic. But I think that will be taking a backseat if we continue to do well in the World Cup. I guess you’ll have to learn a little patience for the next couple of weeks.” Amy grinned, kissing him lightly on the lips.

“So long as you watch the rest of our games with me, I’m sure I’ll manage. They’ll be boring without your commentary.” he teased, winking at her playfully.

She swatted him lightly on his chest and pushed out of his arms, waving to him as she strolled down his path and headed for home. Sonic stood watching her until she disappeared from view, remembering her enthusiasm and fury as she watched the game. Chuckling he acknowledged to himself that he was looking forward to the next one, even if it’s just to watch Amy get het up over the smallest fouls and cheer like they’ve just won the World Cup each time they even try to score a goal.

He laughed ruefully to himself and stepped back in the house to Knuckles shouting in his face.

“It’S COMING HOME!”

[onebourbon-oneshot-onetear]

Aquatica

Chapter 9- Christmas Eve

I do not own D.C Comics, and I only own my OC and my versions of the plots.

Christmas used to be my favorite time of year. When I was really young I always loved coming home after school, backpack full of Christmas crafts that I had made during recess. Mom used to hang them up all over the house, saying that they made our house feel like home. My sister never really got into the Christmas spirit like I did. I always helped my mom decorate the house and made sure that cookies were made, a tree was decorated, and everything was ready for when Santa came. My sister helped a little, but she was never as enthusiastic as I was. My dad used to call me his little Christmas elf, because I helped so much with everything.

After they died, I couldn't find it in me to celebrate it anymore. The warmth that the holiday used to fill me with was replaced with a chill that I couldn't make go away. I usually spent Christmas with a different foster family, and was never the same as being with my actual family. Seeing all the warm lights that decorated people's houses reminded me that my parent's house now had a different family in it, and it probably looked completely different. The smell of cookies baking gave me flashbacks of my mom and I in the kitchen, and it always made me sad. The entire holiday season just reminded me of how alone I was. That's how, on this Christmas Eve, I found myself wandering around the empty streets of Gotham.

At first I was sitting in my apartment reading, but I couldn't focus on the words. My mind was wandering to a past that I didn't want to remember. I decided to bundle myself up and go for a walk. Sure, it was freezing, but because of my powers the cold didn't bother me as much as it did other people. I put my dark blue pea coat over my tan sweater, threw on a pair of low heeled boots, and headed outside.

I wasn't really paying that much attention to where I was going, and soon I found myself in one of the sketchier parts of downtown. Even some of the run down houses had a few Christmas lights up. I ignored them and kept walking. I stopped at a corner and looked across the street and noticed a small bar that was open.

It may not have been the most responsible decision, but I decided that I might as well try and drown some of my sorrows in alcohol. I walked into the bar and let the heat wash over me, a nice contrast to the freezing cold that was outside. I shrugged my jacket off and hung it up on a hook by the door. Scanning the bar I realized that it was mostly empty, the only exception being a few people sitting at a table in the corner, and a broad shouldered, dark haired man sitting at the bar.

I made my way over to the bar and sat on a stool a few seats down from the dark haired man, not really caring enough to spare him a glance. The bartender walked over and asked what I wanted. "Bourbon on the rocks, please," I replied, running my hand through my wavy hair.

"Bad day?" he asked.

"Something like that," I said.

He put the glass of ice in front of me and poured the bourbon in. "Thanks," I said, raising the glass up in a small toast. I took a sip of the brown liquid and shivered a bit as it burned going down.

"I didn't take you for a bourbon kind of girl."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. I turned, about to tell this guy that he didn't know a thing about me, when I finally noticed the familiar black hair and really strong jaw line. "Bruce?" I asked, my jaw falling open in shock.

Bruce Wayne chuckled and sent me a smirk. "Hello Evie," He said, holding up his own glass of brown liquid.

"W-what are you doing here?" I stuttered still in complete shock that of all places in Gotham on Christmas Eve, Bruce Wayne would be sitting next to me in some crappy bar.

He stood up from his barstool and walked over next to mine. "Do you mind if I sit down?"

"Um, no. Of course not," I said, pulling the stool out for him.

"Thanks," He said sending a small smirk my way. He sat down and downed the rest of his glass. "I think the question here is, what are you doing here on Christmas Eve?"

I could see that he was avoiding the question and I sent him a smirk of my own. "I believe that I asked you first."

He chuckled, and shook his head. "Yes. Yes you did." The bartender came over and refilled his glass. Bruce swirled the brown liquid around in his glass and stared down at the counter. "The holidays aren't necessarily my favorite time of year," he said quietly. The atmosphere between us suddenly seemed a lot sadder. I felt a little guilty asking him about it. Everyone knew that Bruce's parents were killed when he was younger. He was probably here for the same reason I was.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," I said, taking another sip of my drink. He glanced up at me, his brows were furrowed and I knew he was silently asking what I meant. I took a deep breath and blew the air through my nose. "My parents and sister died when I was twelve. We were in a car accident. Christmas isn't easy for me either."

Bruce was silent for a minute. "I'm sorry," he finally said. I couldn't help but snort into my glass.

"I should probably apologize too. I shouldn't have pushed the subject for you either." I looked up at him to see a small smile on his face.

"It's fine. It isn't like you don't know my history anyway. Everyone does. I figured you would since you grew up in Gotham." He must have seen my face fall because his eyes widened and he quickly said, "Don't worry, it's okay. I've had a long time to get used to it."

I relaxed a bit, relieved that I wasn't offending him any. I thought about how he knew that I was from Gotham. I took another sip of my drink and figured that I had mentioned it the last time that we had met.

I decided to change the subject away from our dead families. "Okay, I can understand wanting a drink, but that doesn't explain why you are in a crappy place like this. You could afford anywhere in Gotham, and I'm sure there are other places open that are much better than this."

Bruce merely shrugged. "I know the owner. He keeps the photographers away and in return I get him some of the good stuff," He said, holding up his glass.

"Hm, that's pretty smart."

Bruce smirked again, "Yeah, I have my moments." We sat in silence for a few moments before the clock in the corner of the room chimed 11. I hadn't realized just how late it was.

"Well, I should probably go," I said, setting my money on the counter and standing up. "Who knows when I'll need to be up tomorrow."

Bruce stood up and put a fifty dollar bill on the counter. "Here, let me walk you home."

"You don't have to. It's only a twenty minute walk. Besides, I'm a superhero. I don't think there is anything here that I can't handle," I joked. Bruce shrugged his jacket on and gave me a look that said he wasn't going to let me go alone. "Alright, whatever."

After putting on my coat, we walked out of the bar and headed in the direction of my apartment. "I meant to ask you something," I said.

"Go ahead."

"Do you remember when we first met? At the bookstore?" I asked, looking up at him.

He chuckled, "Yes, you ran into me and then fell."

I felt my cheeks go red and I cleared my throat. "Yeah, anyway. You started calling me Evie that day, but I never told you that I went by that. I only told you my name was Evelyn."

He faltered in his steps for a second and sent me a wide eyed glance. He cleared his throat and looked up the street. "Oh, well, I guess I just heard it from somewhere. That's all."

I quirked an eyebrow, not quite believing the billionaire walking next to me. "Mhmm, sure…"

Bruce looked over at me, "I swear!" I studied his super handsome face for a few seconds before deciding to drop the conversation. If he didn't want to tell me than I certainly wasn't going to be able to make him.

I thought of both instances where Bruce and I had been together. He seemed to have popped up out of nowhere and he has quite a good bit of knowledge about me. I remembered the night that Batman had put me to bed in the Watchtower. At the time I had thought that the two men had been similar, though I believed it was due to the concussion I had that I made that connection. Now, after spending enough time with both of them I could see even more similarities.

No way, Bats isn't Bruce Wayne, I thought. I mean, Bruce is a loaded billionaire, and Bats is a superhero…who probably needs a lot of money for his equipment…and their smirks are similar…and Bruce does know a lot about me…

"You know, I have a friend that reminds me of you," I said, shoving my hands in my pockets, figuring that I would see if I could get a reaction out of Bruce. "He likes to answer questions with other questions, he is always soo mysterious, and you two have quite a similar smirk."

Bruce completely stopped walking this time and he turned to look at me. "Really? Does this friend have a name?"

"I'm sure he does, but I don't actually know it. I only know his, well, I guess you could call it a nickname," I said, looking up at his really dark eyes. Something seemed to flash in them, but it quickly disappeared.

"Well, if he's like me then he must be a really great guy," Bruce said, giving me another of his famous smirks.

I hesitated before smiling and nodding. "Yeah, he really is." We walked in silence for a few more minutes and I tried sorting my thoughts. Okay, look Evelyn. Just because both men have similar characteristics does not mean that they are the same person. And if they are the same person then they will tell you when they want to, so stop being a bother.

I shook myself out of my thoughts when I noticed we were at my building. "Oh, we're here," I said as I stopped walking. Bruce seemed to have come out of his thoughts as well, because he looked a bit startled.

"Oh, so we are. Well, I guess this is goodnight," He said, stopping in front of the steps of my building.

"I guess it is," I replied as I turned around on the first step. Now I was at the same height as Bruce. "Thanks for walking me home," I quietly said while tucking some of my hair behind my ear. I could feel a heat creeping up on my cheeks and I bashfully looked down at my boots.

Before I could react I felt something soft on my cheek, and I realized that Bruce had leaned over and gave me a quick peck on it. "Merry Christmas, Evie." He said, stepping off my stairs and onto the sidewalk.

My blush felt like it was on fire as I tried to fight the giant grin that was making my way onto my face. "Merry Christmas, Bruce." I said. He started walking away when I called out to him. "Are you okay walking by yourself?"

He let out an actual laugh this time and turned around. "Don't worry, I think I'll be fine." I let out a quiet laugh and gave him a small wave, which he returned. I turned around and went into my building, up the stairs, and unlocked my front door. I made my way through the dark room and changed into my pajamas. Then I climbed into bed, and laid awake for a few hours, thinking about what I thought I had found out; Bruce Wayne could be Batman.

[howaminotinthestrokesyet]

Second Impressions: GNR 30 Years Later

Below I have written reviews of how I feel about each major album by the band now.

Chinese Democracy

Upon its release, I had tried listening to it, but never really committed to the whole thing. I remember a friend saying that this album was the greatest thing ever, and he meant it not as an exaggeration. Some things stood out as I went through some of the tracks that I had merely glanced over 12 years ago. This is an album that is filled with moments, where it is really good. Yet, the problem is that there are also many more moments, where the album is not so good. There seems to be an overriding sense of rambling. I have never made such a comparison before, but the songs seem to go nowhere again and again. There is an apparent lack of structure to the songs making their lyrics quite an issue because you are just waiting for something to happen, but it never does. Many of the tracks almost feel like they belong in a musical, where the singer is also pushing the plot along as he speaks to the audience. Some songs you do not even have any sort of chorus as the only thing comes in the mere mention of the name of the song in passing in a couple of lines. The beginning and ending of certain tracks are very good, but the middle part, which should be a great hook almost never delivers that catchy middle part like in the song “Rocket Queen.” You never get that great middle part to sing along with, which is also very disappointing. As for the comparison to industrial rock or Nine Inch Nails, I can see no such similarity. I would probably put this music closer to early 2000’s generic, cookie cutter, corporate rock along the lines of maybe Blink-182 or something like that. Finally, I do see where people criticize the production or the sound of the record because you can tell that it is slightly less than professional throughout the record.

The Spaghetti Incident

I never really listened to this album when it first came out. Finally, I gave the entire record my full attention a couple of days ago. One thing people may or may not realize was that this album represented no original material, but only covers. Yet, the selections do seem a bit odd since only a couple of the tracks are instantly recognizable. One of the faults of The Spaghetti Incident comes in the fact that band members most likely Slash and Duff chose the most obscure deep cut punk tracks for it. My guess would be that “Since I Don’t Have You” and “Hair of the Dog” were selected by Axl Rose. Some of the covers are very good like Johnny Thunders, but unfortunately the album seems dominated by punk tracks that are boring, repetitive, and not very catchy. I will say that the album should not be ignored completely because “Since I Don’t Have You” stands out as a very accomplished cover song. You should probably check it out anyway just to hear more songs with Duff singing. Now, another reason for possibly including so many punk covers came in the fact that Axl only sang on a couple of the tracks. In an interview, Slash spoke about how enjoyable it was to make this album. His statement seems to run counter to what has been noted as a very contentious band relationship following the Use Your Illusion Tour. I am thinking that Rose did not spend too much time in the studio working with the other band members for this record.

Use Your Illusion

This album came out when I was in high school. During that time, I could only afford one of the albums, so I chose II because it had more songs on it that I wanted to listen to at the time. Upon listening to the two albums once again, my initial reaction to the albums had been correct. The problem with much of these two albums comes in the fact that there really exists a lot of filler meaning songs that one could possibly press the skip button. II did have a couple of songs that I never really considered as ones to remember previously including “14 Years” and “Get in the Ring.” This new insight goes to show you that as a listener it is never a good idea to completely pass on tracks that did not find their way to the radio. One interesting observation that I could make about a majority of the tracks was that you can slowly see the shift from what we had heard on Appetite For Destruction and what people will eventually hear on Chinese Democracy. The songs on Use Your Illusion do start to become a bit more pop-centric and nontraditional as the lyric structure began to completely change itself. One of the words that best describes those other songs that did not quite hit the mark was that they tended to ramble without any kind of true chorus or a proper bridge. The song simply does not go anywhere. “14 Years” for me seems to hit the mark, where you can hear the influence of Izzy Stradlin in that particular song. He is listed on other tracks as contributing, but I truly believe that this is the only one that he actually plays a large part in its creation. The other band members are listed as writers on a lot of other songs, but I think Rose had much more to do with the direction of those tracks. I have said this before that Stradlin probably had mentally checked out of the band by this time thinking something had to change soon.

GN’R Lies

As I listen to GN’R Lies once again, I began to realize that back in the early 1990’s when I first heard it I never knew the first four tracks were covers. In a way, this changes one’s outlook on an album when you do realize that half the album does not represent new songs. As I think on this album, I am reminded that some journalists called the band out for being too sentimental on this album. I find that very hard to believe since one track made people believe that Axl was singing about killing his girlfriend, while another one is highlighted with racial and homophobic slurs. The song “Patience” simply took on a life of its own with this album because it is the only thing that people remember about it. The presence of the track is no surprise because the band included on the first album, “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” I had always considered this more of an EP instead of a regular album, even back in high school. The band had never really intended for this to be a full-fledged release like Appetite For Destruction. Over the years, GNR may have gotten a little more credit for this album then probably they deserved since four of the songs had actually been released previously. This fact is something to keep in mind when you start to go through the entire catalog of the band. if you look at every record up to Chinese Democracy, they had one really creative period. They had one really good period that seems to really dominate everything they did for at least 10 years. If you look at anything that was written after that the songs either take on the quality of being average or do not exist at all. The reason for this probably had to do with Axel or being addicted to drugs, or both.

Appetite For Destruction

Finally, we come to the grand opus, which I also go into detail in my next article reassessing the musical legacy of the band. After listening to it again, my love and admiration for this album back in six grade seemed spot on. Listening to it again, I am reminded that perhaps people have undersold how good this album actually is from beginning to end. There does not exist a dud of a song anywhere on this album. I thought it would be “Anything Goes,” but that song represents good quality as well. Back in the day, I never listened to “Rocket Queen,” but now it has emerged as one of my favorite songs on the album. We have seen this before with other bands, where they tend to struggle in what is labeled a sophomore slump in creating a similar album to the first one. Here, I am not talking in terms of sound, but in terms of quality. Alan McGee of Creation Records once said that most decent songwriters can make one good album, but the truly great ones can only make two. Perhaps, there was a bit of truth to that statement. The problem became for Guns N’ Roses and their fans was how in the hell did they make such a great album, then spent the rest of the time with nothing but drama, average music, and silence. Once one gets past the sense of disappointment that the band could never replicate the excellence of this album, you are caught up in this dumbfounding question on how the hell a mentally unhinged singer and three heroin addicts, and an alcoholic made the greatest debut rock album ever? I guess when looking back upon the legacy of this album you have to thank the Heavenly Father above for its very existence because they should have never been able to make this album. Yet, they did, and when it comes to GNR that will have to be enough.

[starryfictionalgirl]

Partners in (Fighting) Crime Chapter 8: Only You

Masterlist Partner’s in (Fighting) Crime

Relationships: Peter Parker x fem!hero!reader, Michelle x Reader (best friends).

Warnings: Violence, and fluff. Little bit of cursing and occasional dirty joke.

Summary: You and Peter have conflicting feelings about each other. But that gets put on hold once the weapons sellers strike again. 

Peter was nervous about seeing you in school today. He only realized after Dragonfly had left him on top of that building that he had totally flaked on you guys hanging out after work. You probably hated him now for ditching you. "What should I tell her?" Peter asks Ned as they make their way to their lockers. 

"Just tell her the truth." Ned says and Peter furrows his eyebrows at his friend. "You were at the 'Stark Internship'." Peter rolled his eyes. 

"I can't keep using that excuse Ned." Peter says. 

"Why not? It's perfect." He tells him. 

"Because eventually it'll wear off it's charm and she's going to think I care more about Tony Stark than I do her." Peter explains. 

"Do you care about the 'internship' more than her?" Ned asks and Peter gets a thoughtful look on his face. 

"That's a real hard question to answer Ned." Peter tells his friend. "At this point since I don't know her that well I'd say the 'internship' is but who knows if that could change in the future, especially since I've been feelings for Dragonfly too." He says. 

He looks down the hall and notices you and Michelle talking. You seemed upset about something and Michelle looked like she was trying to give you advice. 

"Do you think Peter will be mad that I flaked on hanging out with him last night?" You ask Michelle. 

"I don't think so. I mean you do have a good excuse." She points out. 

"Yeah but I can't tell him that." You remind her. "I mean I could say that I was just busy studying but I can't always use that excuse. And there's going to be times where I have to lie to him a lot to go and fight. I'm starting to realize that as much as I want to be with him, keeping a relationship with him might not really be practical. Especially since I feel the same way about Spiderman that I do for him." 

"I guess you've got a point there." Michelle says and you gasp when you see him. 

"Crap here he is what do I say?" You ask her and she shrugs. 

"Crap it's her what do I say?" Peter asks Ned. You came up to him and he blushed and smiled nervously. "Hey Y/N." 

"Hey Peter." You say, surprised by how nervous he looked. "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah I'm fine it's just that I thought you might be mad that I sort of flaked on hanging out last night..." He says. "I hope you didn't come over and expect me to be there or something or feel bad that-" He was rambling and as adorable as it was to watch you didn't want to make the poor boy suffer more. You grabbed his hand to stop him and he immediately shuts up and his cheeks turn a soft rose color. 

"Peter it's fine. I got busy last night too. I get it you have an internship, and I have to study. It's fine if you're busy sometimes." You explain to him and Peter just stares at you in shock until Ned punches him in the back to unfreeze him and get the boy to speak. 

"R-really?" He asks and smiles brightly. "You're okay with me having to cancel stuff last minute sometimes because of my internship?" 

"Of course! Believe me I understand that you can't always control when people need you." You tell him and Ned arches an eyebrow. 

"Oh my God you have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that." Peter says and lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. You giggled at how cute he was being. The bell rang. "Well I'll see you guys later." Peter says and leaves with Ned who waved goodbye to you and Michelle before following Peter. 

"So what happened to telling him you're not interested?" Michelle asks you and you groan and bury your face  in your hands. 

"I couldn't say no to that cute little face! And he was so happy to hear that I wasn't upset with him, and if this internship does take a lot of time out of his schedule then that's ideal because then he won't get upset when I have to go...you know." You tell her and she nods. 

"But if you do go for Peter then what will you do about Spiderman? I mean technically you could date them both. He doesn't know about your little 'side job'." Michelle decides to call it. 

"I know but it would still be cheating. And I mean I'm going to tell him at some point once I know I can trust him." You tell her. 

"You know...I have a little theory that might help you out." Michelle says and smirks. 

"What is it?" You ask her eagerly. She motions for you to come closer then whisper in your ear. 

"What if Peter is Spiderman?" She asks you. You roll your eyes. 

"MJ I thought we already went over this. He can't be Spiderman." You tell her. 

"Well how do you know?" She asks you. "I mean I've noticed that every time he gets called in to do his internship is the same time that Spiderman goes and fights crime. And I've never seen the two of them together in one place." 

"It's probably just a coincidence." You tell Michelle. "I mean you know how Peter is. He's so shy. Spiderman is a more confident guy than him. As much evidence as there is that connects them, the odds of him being Spiderman are pretty small." 

"Come on dude Y/N has to be Dragonfly!" Ned whisper shouts to Peter and he rolls his eyes. "They're so similar and you heard what she said about understanding when people need you-" 

"Ned just stop!" Peter begs him. "I mean I get where you're coming from and yeah there are  a lot of similarities between them but I don't want to get my hopes up and think that they could both be her because the odds of that are pretty small." He sighs. "Besides, eventually Y/N's probably going to learn how boring I am pretty soon and not want to hang out anymore." He says and walks away before Ned can say anything against what Peter had just said. 

That afternoon Peter decided to go over to your house. He was going to tell you the truth. That there was someone else he was starting to have feelings for. And that he was just too busy with the Stark Internship to be with you. He knocked on the door, his heart pounding as it creaked open and then he surprisingly saw Happy. 

"Happy?" Peter asks. 

"Peter?" Happy asks him. "Oh crap did Tony tell you where I live, great now you're going to come bugging me at my house all the time-" 

"No no no I didn't know that you lived here too, I guess you weren't here las time I-" Happy cuts him off. 

"You've been here before!" He exclaims. 

"Yeah I wanted to give Y/N and MJ some pastries from my Aunt's new bakery..." Peter starts then shuts up when he sees who else is there. 

"Your Aunt has a new bakery?" Tony asks the shocked teen and Peter's mouth just opens and closes. "Wait oh yeah I helped her get that place. Paid the other guy that wanted it to drop their offer. Anyway how's the bakery business going? I'd love to stop by and get a sample of her cookies." He jokes and Peter's shoulders slump and he narrows his eyes at Tony. 

"Aren't you engaged now?" Peter asks him. Tony checks his hand. 

"Oh wait yeah I am. Thanks to you by the way actually. Forgot to thank you for that..." Tony says. 

"Wait are you the guy that Y/N's been crushing on?" Happy asks. 

"Crushing on?" Peter asks and slowly smiles. "She likes me?!" 

"Oh shit it is you." Happy groans and face palms. "As if I didn't have enough things with you to annoy me-" 

"Oh my God. That's amazing she likes me!" Peter says and bounces. Tony smiled, amused by Peter's reaction. 

"Is she here?" Peter asks. "I need to go tell her I like her too!" 

"No she's out with MJ." Happy says. His wife came running down the stairs. 

"Oh my God there you two are have you guys seen the news!" She exclaims. 

"News?" Tony asks. 

"Those guys that escaped SHIELD and Spiderman that those dangerous weapons have now taken an entire ferry of people hostage." She says and Peter's eyes widen. "And Dragonfly is out there fighting them off but this might be her biggest challenge yet." 

"Peter you probably know how powerful she is right?" Tony asks. 

"Y-yeah but I don't know the full extent of her power. I want to believe she can but I'm not sure if she can handle this on her own." Peter says. 

"Then what are you still doing here?" Happy asks him. Peter looks confused. 

"Go thwip off and help your sword-fighting girlfriend!" Tony exclaims. 

"Well I wouldn't say she's my girlfriend-" Peter laughs nervously and blushes. 

"GO!" Both Tony and Happy shout at him and he runs off. 

You flew around the ferry, trying to find a good way to get on it. Those bad guys kept shooting lasers at you and you couldn't find a good spot to get on board. Eventually you just gave up on finding an opening. 

"Fuck it!" You say and use your speed to shoot down at one of the guys and take him out. 

Another one shot at you and you got sent into a wall, leaving a dent in it. You groaned and stood up. Another one prepared to shoot at you and you held your sword in front of you and it hit it. It shielded you from the blast but still pushed you back a few feet. You flew up to him and took him out, as well as his partner, then flew around the top deck knocking all the others on that floor overboard. The hostages on that deck cheered for you. 

"Yeah Dragonfly!" A guy in the corner clapped. 

Then a few more bad guys came running up onto the deck with their guns. They all pointed their guns at you and were ready to fire. Just as they did a web shot out from your right and stuck to your back and you felt yourself get pulled out of the way just as the blast fired. You were face to face, or mask to mask with Spiderman and he had you pressed up against his chest and his arm wrapped around your waist.

"Yeah Spiderman!" The same guy cheers and claps. 

You were pretty sure he just saved your life and you should thank him. But your heart was pounding because of the close position you were in. And you could feel that he was tense as well. You felt your love for him start to bubble up inside you. You should say thank you, or say something along the lines of how much you appreciate him. But instead you just said "It's about time you showed up."

His robotic eyes squinted a bit and you could tell that meant he was smiling. He pressed you a bit closer to him and used his free hand to web up the bad guys who had just tried to shoot at you, stick them to the deck before letting you go and you both make your way downstairs. 

"You're late you know!" You tell him before you both reach the door. 

"Really? Because I came right on time to save you." He says and winks and you playfully scoff at him. 

The two of you bust down the door and he starts shooting webs at the bad guys and you use your sword, and strength to disarm them. 

"I didn't need saving!" You yell at him as you blocked a blast with your sword and kicked a guy in the jaw to knock him out before ducking to the floor to dodge another blast and sweep your legs across the floor to knock him down. "I've got this under control!" 

"Then why did I have to come save you!" Peter yells back, laughing. 

He kicked two guys back and launched a web grenade at them, then a few more webs at the others that you took out to make sure they stayed down and he walked over to where you were with your hands on your hips. 

"Just admit it you need my help for this one." He says and crosses his arms. 

"I don't need your help, I just appreciate your effort." You say simply.

"Okay I see what's happening here." He says in a bit of a singing tone and you arch an eyebrow. "You're mask to mask with greatness and it's strange-"

"Oh my God you are not singing that song from Moana!" You exclaim and laugh as he continues his song. 

"I know it's a lot the webs the bod!" He gestures to himself and his robotic eyes open and widen. "When you're staring at a Spider-God!" You laugh and he shoots some webs and starts fighting some guys that had come up from below. "What can I say except you're welcome!" He sings as you both fight. "For the webs I shoot from the sky! There's no need for praise it's okay you're welcome, I'm just an ordinary Spider-guy!" 

"Your boyfriend's a dork." One of the bad guys says. 

"Shut up!" You tell him and elbow him in the jaw to knock him out. 

"You're welcome! You're welcome!" He sings to you as the rest of them were taken out and you fly over his shoulder and take out a guy who was getting up and about to shoot Spiderman.

"And thank you!" You yell back at him and his eyes widen and his heart pounds in his chest as you confidently swung your hips and walked up to stand by his side. 

You could hear the footsteps thundering up the stairs and you knew more would be coming soon. You two both looked at each other and you held up your sword and he got his web shooter ready. Everything felt like slow motion as you both charged your attackers, taking down the front line swiftly and then finding yourselves surrounded as the others moved to circle around you. You pressed yourself up against Spiderman's back and gripped his shoulders for support as you kicked their guns out of their hands and then flipped over him as you two switched sides to disarm the others, which wasn't very easy considering your sword couldn't slice this alien tech stuff. Peter webbed them up and did flips and tried hand to hand combat a few times, then one of them trapped him in some sort of weird beam. 

"Oh crap not this again!" He exclaims and you fly over and knock over the guy that had Peter and knocked him out, slamming Peter on the ground. "Ow." He groans into the floor and you pick him up back on his feet before grabbing  a guy behind him and with a roar of anger you toss the man back into his friends and take them all down. 

"It seems like she's angry that these men hurt you." Karen tells Peter and he just sighs dreamily and watches you fight. 

"I know, she's great...." He says then gets slammed into a wall. "Aah! Eyes on the prize Spiderman!" He pep talks himself and fights the guy holding him against the wall. 

"More like eyes off the prize." Karen comments to the teen. 

You went over to one of the parked cars on the boat and ducked behind it. All of the remaining bad guys gathered around it, preparing to blow it up, but then you roared again and flipped it at them, making their blast bounce back into themselves and blow them off the boat. All the hostages stared at you with their jaws hanging. You turned behind you to look at Spiderman, who had his robotic eyes blown wide open, and then a small web shot on the ground from one of his wrists. 

"I expected that." You giggled as he quickly went to cover his wrist in embarrassment. Everyone cheered for the two of you and rescue boats soon came to get everyone off the ship. "Come on Spider-boy our work here is done." You tell him and his breath hitches as you hug him and you blush, hearing it and you take off with him. 

You both landed on top of a building somewhere far from the river so that no one could spot you or notice you. As soon as you set Spiderman down he immediately hugged you and spun you around. 

"Spidey what are you doing!" You laugh as he spins you around. 

"You were incredible! That was amazing! I couldn't have imagined any better way of taking those guys down!" He exclaims and then sets you down. 

"Thanks. You weren't so bad yourself." You tell him and blush, gently resting your hand on his bicep. "Those webs are pretty neat." 

"Your sword is pretty cool too!" He says. "All of you is honestly." Your breath hitched and you looked away from him. "You're so strong, powerful and...beautiful." 

"You haven't even seen my face." You tell him. 

"I don't need to see it." He says. "I've seen all I need to see to know your true beauty." There's a pause. 

"Peter, now's your chance." Karen tells him. "Take off the mask, show her who you really are." Peter lets go of you and turns his back towards you. 

"And I mean that's probably for the best. If one of us ever got captured or something and they tried to read our minds or torture us to figure out who each other is then they wouldn't be able to." Peter says. 

"I guess you're right." You say and turn your back to him as well.

There's another uncomfortable silence. You didn't fly away, and Peter didn't swing off. You thought about what to do. And Peter did too. With his heart pounding, he slowly reached his hand up to his neck and started to slip off the mask. You had come to the same conclusion, and lifted your hand up to do the same. Peter peeled the mask off of his face and held it in his hand. You did the same to yours. Both of you stood there, backs facing each other. You heard Spiderman walking away from you. He had turned back to look at you, but only saw the back of your head that he had seen before. He turned away and held out his arm to shoot a web to swing off when suddenly he heard you turning around. His heart was pounding. He started to turn as well and then....

You took a sharp intake of breath and so did he. He couldn't believe it, and neither could you. All this time, the boy you had been falling for had been right in front of you. He smiled, his conflicted heart now resolved and soaring. But despite the smile on your face, you weren't speaking. Perhaps his worst fear had come true and you found him boring. He looked down at the ground, his heart once soaring with happiness now crashing to the ground and ready to break. He heard you running and tears started to fall down his face as you moved away, but then his eyes snapped wide open as you threw your arms around him and held him tight. You pulled back to look at him and had tears streaming down your face. But they were tears of happiness. 

"I was hoping it was you." You choked out to him and let out a short laugh. 

"I wanted it to be you too." He says and smiles, the tears in his eyes making them sparkle. "I felt so conflicted because I thought I was falling for two different people." You laughed. 

"Me too. Isn't it funny?" You ask him. "Even though we didn't know who the other person was, we still ended up falling for each other anyway. That says something doesn't it?" 

"I guess it does." Peter says and takes a deep breath, calming down after he's had time to process this. 

"The whole time, it's been you. Only you." You say to him and he laughs. 

"You sure there's not a third guy I should be worried about?" He asks and you laugh and hug him again, tightly and he hugs you back just as tightly. 

"I guess those rumors on the news are true now then." You say and he turns to look at you. 

"What rumors?" He asks. 

"The ones about me being your girlfriend." You say and the adorable smile on his face is priceless. 

"Y-you mean y-you want to... be.... my... girlfriend?" He asks, that last word barely a whisper. 

"Yeah." You tell him and his face lights up. 

"Yay! Wow oh my God this might be the greatest day of my life!" He exclaims and you laugh. "I mean are you sure you want to date me? I'm a huge dork and I might be smart intellectually but I still do really stupid stuff and I've never dated a girl before and-" He rambles until you cut him off. 

You grabbed him by his suit collar and crashed his lips against yours. His eyes were wide open and he didn't know what to do. Then his heart rate slowly slowed down, and he closed his eyes and melted into your lips, and started moving them against yours. You were both blushing and you lifted your foot off the ground a bit. When you both pulled apart he was smiling. 

"That was my first kiss..." Peter says and you smile. 

"Mine too." You say and he smiles at the ground.

"Can I get a second?" He asks shyly and you giggle and peck his lips.

"Of course you adorkable spider!" You tell him and plant one on him again, both of you kissing on that rooftop for God knows how long before the sun sets. 

A/N: Whoo hoo! They're finally together! But the story doesn't end there...Stay tuned for more soon!

Tags:  @johnsonxstilinski @emilyinwonderland3 @dailyavenging@slythergirlimagines @purplekitten30 @wizardinthewrongplace @gogoca @gerardwayisapotato @a-typical-antisocial-fangirl