#I visited my family and ate like a PIG! It was nice.. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

angelamajiki · 4 years ago

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[ a father’s love ]

PARING: StepFather! Aizawa x StepDaughter! Reader

SYNOPSIS: Your stepfather took you in with open arms after the death of your mother. Depression gets the better of you and Shouta promises to take care of you. But just how far is he willing to go to see it through?

CW: yandere, pseudo-incest, mentions of stalkers, mentions of death, depression, mental health issues, pregnancy, noncon, somnophilia, bondage, daddy kink, praise kink, afab reader

AN: my first collab with the bnharem server!! the theme was roommates (i ran with the term loosely) read the other member’s takes here! mind the tags as usual and enjoy!! :)

The death of your mother shattered you. A freak accident with a villain attack had her crushed under rubble from a collapsed building. Your stepfather, Shouta, suggested that you move back home with him after her funeral. As tempting as the offer was, you were determined to make it through University and handle yourself like a big girl, an adult ready to take on the world. You had only moved out a few months before her death, independence calling to you after you received your college acceptance letter.

A few months and an eviction notice later, you crawled back to him, the only remnants of your family. Open arms enveloped you, bringing you solace and comfort in your dire time of need. You felt like a child, bundled up in his arms as you sobbed, screaming at the cruelty of the world. Depression hit you hard and deep, flunking you out of your classes and preventing the bills from being paid. You had no other alternative but to accept his offer.

“You time and space to grieve properly, kitty. The most logical thing to do is take a breather.”

Ah, kitty. He always knew that was your favorite nickname, calling you that ever since you were a little girl. He also always knew just what to say. Patting your thigh, he stood up and extended his hand to help you up as well.

“Let’s go step up your room. I'm sure you need a nap after that cry.”

He gave a wrinkly smile before disappearing down the hall.

Skeptical at first, you were unsure if it was the right move to return home. You needed time to figure out what you wanted, what you needed. A break from life would give you a chance to sort things out, right? And Shouta was more than prepared to use this opportunity to show you he would be all that you needed and more.

The man was nothing short of doting and generous. A shoulder to cry on, a good laugh, a friend, a father. He helped you piece your broken soul back together. Whenever he wasn’t patrolling, he was at home with you. When your depression seemed to drown you, Shouta was there to pull you out of the water. He made sure you ate, helped brush your hair when it was matted, and got you into clean clothes daily. It was the small things that he did for you that helped your demeanor change.

—

“Up and at ‘em, kitty. Breakfast is on the table.”

You grunted, burrowing deeper into your bedding. A chuckle reverberated in his throat as he rubbed your lower back soothingly.

“C’mon, I know you haven't been eating lately. Let's get some food in you. I made your favorite.”

—

But as time passed, his help could only do so much. Your mental health continued to dwindle, plummeting into the ground when her first anniversary passed.

—

Gentle strokes of a brush smoothed through your tangled hair. Shouta was kind enough to help you when your head got matted into a rat’s nest, being incredibly tender and gentle with you. Tears streamed down your face, broken hiccups and sobs bubbling from your chest. You were trying to hold it in, he could tell. A sweet kiss was placed on the back of your head as he enveloped you in a comforting embrace, letting his hands sip down to your hips to rub circles in.

“Let it out, kitty. I'm here for you.”

He was the only one that was.

—

The domestic dynamic the two of you fell into hardly felt like one of parent and child, but more as two lovers sharing a home they built together. The pair of you even adopted a new cat together in hopes of cheering you up. You can't say that you disliked it. It felt...nice to have your presence matter when it was a struggle even to be alive. Shouta always checked in on you; whether he sent you an update from work or shared a cat video. He really was the best father anyone could hope for, even when your depression got the worst of you.

Your depression started to manifest itself in many forms. Lately, you’d been having vicious nightmares, only to wake up with an unknown stickiness on your thighs. Recalling the night terrors was something that evaded you, but you knew you were being violated. Perhaps your body wet itself from the fear of the dream? It was the only logical answer you and Shouta could come up with. Depression sure had funny ways of physically manifesting itself. You thought that would be the end of it, putting the situation behind you.

It was until it started happening nightly. The nightmares only seemed to prolong themselves, worsening to the point where you could vividly dream of being assaulted. Your underwear was now soiled too, and it definitely wasn’t your doing. Fearing you had a stalker, Shouta installed brand new locks on your windows and doors, hoping to soothe you. He was a Pro-Hero, so he certainly had the means and know-how to protect you. It put you at some ease, but it continued to the point where your stepfather decided sleeping in the same room would help you feel safer.

It didn't.

The nightmares themselves only seemed to get worse, but Shouta was right there to comfort you as soon as you woke up shouting in a panic. He would take you into his arms and hold you until you fell back asleep. You felt like a child. But he didn't judge you.

After a month of strange behavior, the stress caused you to gain some weight. Visiting a doctor was your best bet to get an answer. He took you to your appointment, letting you hold onto his arm for comfort as his hand rested comfortably on your thigh. The two of you were mistaken for a couple by a nurse. What a strange, intimate relationship the pair of your tangled yourselves in.

The doctor ran some tests and had your blood drawn. The results were to be emailed to you in a few days. Shouta calmed your nerves with a tender kiss to the forehead, reassuring you that everything would work itself out.

The notification for the email came in a few days later while Shouta was at work and you were lounging in the living room. Patience was never your strong suit, so you took his laptop from the coffee table, only to open up to a camera feed. Coming from your room.

The blood in your veins ran cold as you looked into the memory drive of the feed. Maybe he set up a camera to see what was happening during your nightmares? That had to be it; how could you assume the worst of your sweet dad? The only saved footage to be found was him fucking himself deep inside of your sleeping body.

“I see the results are in.”

You nearly jumped out of your skin at the sound of his voice. He always had a habit of sneaking up on you.

“What-” You couldn’t find the words to describe your anger. “What the fuck is this!”

Disgust. Rage. Dispair.

Your only family left had turned against you.

“You were upset at the loss of your family, kitty. So I decided to give you a new one.”

He couldn't possibly mean…

“You’re pregnant.”

Bile rose to your throat as you gagged at the mere thought of his words. Pregnant? With your father’s child? His betrayal cut you more profoundly than your mother’s death ever could have. But it couldn't have made more sense—his touches, his comfort, sleeping in your room, the nightmares that plagued you.

“You’re sick!”

You shouted, tears streaming down your face as you continued to pummel insults and nasty spats at him. You lost your voice by the end of your rant, panting and heaving while sweat beaded your brow. He just stood there, taking everything in with a grain of salt.

“I understand, kitty. I really do. I should have been straightforward with my intentions.” He confessed.

The capture weapon around his neck snagged you the second you moved on the couch.

“Let daddy make it up to you. I'll make everything better for my pretty little kitty.”

It secured you to the sofa, keeping your legs spread and your hands behind your torso. On his knees in front of you, Shouta was ready to serve his apology with his tongue. Panties and sweatpants were ripped at the seams before being tossed aside.

He caressed your thigh with a delicate touch, pressing his lips to the other side. A kiss was pressed to your clit before long slow strokes of a hot tongue lavished it in attention. He kneaded your thighs gently all the while, humming as he began to alternate between licking and suckling on your sensitive nub.

Your head thrashed about in your binds as you shouted in protest.

“S-Stop it right now! Get off of me, dad!”

In a desperate plea, you hoped that hearing you call him dad would force him back into reality. Instead, he groaned and took a breath.

“Call me that again, kitty.”

A hot mouth sealed over your wet cunt as he dove his tongue between your folds while sucking with his lips. The pleasure was undeniable; his tongue was too experienced to ignore how his ministrations made you feel. Toes flexing and curling, you cried out of a mix of frustration, disgust, and humiliation as he continued to work at your dripping hole. This pig was getting off on the fact that he was fucking his daughter. It made your soul shatter all over again, the one he worked so hard to rebuild.

You continued to sob, moans now added to the mix, as he worked a finger inside of you. He made a curling motion after plunging in knuckle deep. A pleasured shout broke between your cries.

“I'll take it that’s your sweet spot, pretty girl? Good to know.”

He continued to abuse that spot, slowing down just a touch with his tongue to drag out the ride to the peak. Can't have you coming too fast, now can we? Your moans and whimpers spurred him on even more as he wiggled another finger inside you.

Removing his mouth, he focused on stretching and loosening up your tense body. You were lax when sleeping, so sliding in was a pinch with his size. But now he has to deal with you thrashing and struggling against his bonds. Disgust and pleasure churned together in your gut, feeling the incoming orgasm approaching hard and fast. Shouta felt you clench around his fingers and added a third, using his thumb to swipe your clit back and forth. With a final cry, you came on his fingers with a shout as your body convulsed in the capture weapon. You found what little peace you could in your short-lived post-nut clarity, taking a moment to breathe and center yourself.

Your father gave you no such chance to do so, immediately springing his cock free and rubbing the tip against your clit to gather your wetness. A chuckle sounded in his throat as he watched you twitch even more from the stimulation that was starting to border on being painful.

“Relax, kitty. Being tense won't do you any good.”

He slowly nudged his cock into your hole, groaning as he took his time bottoming out inside you. Praise spilled from his lips as he let you adjust, feeling your pussy clench tight around him. Good girl, good kitty. He shushed your sobs, smoothing the tears off of your face with the pads of his thumb. Murmurs of good girl and taking me so well slipped your senses. The pace he set was slow and deep, letting you feel every agonizing inch of his rather impressive dick.

Your flowing tears were kissed away as he proceeded to thrust faster and deeper. The sound of skin slapping against one another filled the room, even above your now weakened crying and whimpers. Sweat beaded on your brow plastered your hair to your forehead. His breath was warm against your cheek, his moans of pleasure so close to your ear forced you to stay in the moment.

Shouta swallowed your cute noises with a kiss, cupping and stroking your cheek with his right hand while his left pinned your hips down into the cushions. He did his best to stop your tears, pushing the hair off of your sweaty face. A few minutes passed filled with kisses, cries, and deep thrusts before he maneuvered you to be seated in his lap. Back pressed into the cushions, he lazily thrust up into you, hands grabbing your now bouncing ass. His thumb made its way back to your clit as he rubbed it in small circles, grinning at your cries of pleasure that you couldn't hold back. Dark brown eyes fluttered shut as he groaned and moaned proudly, increasing the speed of his thrusts as he felt himself getting closer and closer.

He usually lasted longer while you were sleeping; he does have quite a bit of stamina from his hero work. But something about seeing your flushed, torn face, hearing your whimpers and cries, he can't help but cum rather quickly for his own record. The pleasure was manifesting itself within you again, a second orgasm hitting you like a speeding truck as you gasped and choked for air at its intensity. Shouta was soon to follow, grunting and moaning loudly as he filled your cunt with his spend. He rode out both your orgasms, relishing in the silence between the two of you. It was better than hearing your broken, choked up wails.

It was wrong; he knew that. Breaking your trust, violating you, sabotaging your personal life, he couldn't help but be selfish with you. But he always knew what was best for you, always knew how to take care of you when you couldn't.

Foreheads pressed together, he caught your sagging body against him in a warm hug, stroking your hair when you started to sob uncontrollably.

“Let it out, kitty. I'm here for you.”

#yandere shouta aizawa #yandere shouta aizawa x reader #yandere aizawa #yandere aizawa x reader #shouta aizawa x reader #shouta aizawa #aizawa x reader #aizawa #yandere my hero academia #yandere boku no hero academia #yandere mha #yandere bnha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #mha #bnha #yandere x reader #yandere

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tossawary · 4 years ago

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I was thinking about Wedding Planning AUs again because I love them, and also because I saw someone talking about Florist & Baker AUs. I’ve already talked about an AU in which Shang Qinghua and/or Luo Binghe are wedding planners and Mobei-Jun is their baker, so now I’m thinking about an adjustment to that in which Luo Binghe is the undisputed wedding planning emperor of their city (a minimum of 600 deliriously happy brides under his belt), Mobei-Jun is his right-hand man baker (insert frost/frosting pun for the bakery name here), and Shang Qinghua is the florist.

Because, like, I’ve seen people talk about flower languages and then florists complaining that flower languages are not really a thing or a part of their work, like, at all. But, tbh, I would not put it past Shang Qinghua to come up with a whole lot of bullshit on the spot about “flower meanings” to wow picky clients or persuade them to pick more reasonable flower choices.

(This is why Shang Qinghua and Luo Binghe’s working relationship actually works. They do not actually like each other, but they’re both kind of asshole visionaries who are lowkey like, “The client is an idiot who doesn’t know what they want; I know what they want. I am a master of extremely indulgent wish-fulfillment prepared to manipulate my way to success.”)

Now, Shang Qinghua and Mobei-Jun actually met before Luo Binghe took over the business (possibly from Shen Jiu | Shen Qingqiu? Possibly from Tianlang-Jun? Oh, no, Shen Jiu and Tianlang-Jun as business partners? It’s a miracle the business didn’t burn down). It’s a long story, but Shang Qinghua was 95% convinced that Mobei-Jun’s family bakery was a front for organized crime (he still hasn’t ruled it out). They’ve run into each other in the industry many times over the years, but Luo Binghe’s takeover of the business means that they’re finally meeting regularly and working together more closely.

Shang Qinghua at some point, early in Luo Binghe’s takeover, gives Mobei-Jun a flower. Maybe it’s a leftover? Maybe it’s a flower that Shang Qinghua absentmindedly brought with him because it reminded him of Mobei-Jun? Because it matched the frosting of the cake Mobei-Jun made? Mobei-Jun is just there and incredibly handsome and Shang Qinghua has this extra flower, so why not? Haha, a little gesture between work colleagues!

He does it the next time that they see each other too, when he’s providing fresh flowers for some floral cake that Mobei-Jun is making. It can be an inside joke! Shang Qinghua keeps up this “inside joke” with pretty much whatever he’s got on hand that day and can spare.

This one time, he didn’t have a flower ready for Mobei-Jun, and Mobei-Jun gave him such a terrifying look that Shang Qinghua nearly fainted. Shang Qinghua cracked a nervous joke about maybe just not liking Mobei-Jun anymore, but then Mobei-Jun stomped off and Luo Binghe texted the next morning, like, “Shang Qinghua, do you have a problem with my baker? I prefer it when we can work together in harmony. I’m disappointed to hear that you think differently.” Terrifying! Shang Qinghua delivered a full bouquet to the bakery the next day and fortunately, Mobei-Jun forgave him the unintentional insult.

Unfortunately, Mobei-Jun has somehow overheard at least a handful of Shang Qinghua’s bullshit spiels about flower meanings and bouquets being secret messages to brides who ate that shit up with a spoon. Mobei-Jun knows nothing about flowers. Mobei-Jun is going fucking nuts trying to decipher meanings out of the totally random flowers that Shang Qinghua is giving him.

Sha Hualing (who works in a wedding dress store, maybe?) is totally not helping Mobei-Jun unravel this code of Shang Qinghua’s affections. Luo Binghe wants to be like, “It’s not that deep, you fucking idiot,” but by this point, Luo Binghe is presumably embroiled in some SY-shaped drama and is having his own “Does he like me or does he want me dead?” crisis. No time to help!

Shang Qinghua is just glad that Mobei-Jun hasn’t called a hit on him or something (still kind of convinced that the Mobei bakery is a front for organized crime, but that’s not his business). He has made nothing of the fact that Mobei-Jun always has food ready when he visits. Oh, this box of custom chocolates personally delivered? Mobei-Jun is just experimenting with new recipes again and Shang Qinghua is his loyal taste-tester / guinea pig! It doesn’t mean anything! Oh, shit, Mobei-Jun totally thinks he’s a pig, huh...

Anyway, who wouldn’t give the man of their dreams a nice flower if they had the chance? Handsome men deserve pretty flower bouquets too!

#tossawary svsss #fic ideas #shang qinghua #mobei jun #luo binghe #demon trio #moshang wedding planning modern au #bingqiu wedding planning modern au #moshang

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specialagentlokitty · 2 years ago

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Hey friend :) how are you?

I hope you don’t mind if I come to you for some advice. I’ve been dating my boyfriend for a few months and while cautious I haven’t found anything I don’t like about him he’s nice, a hard worker, supportive like give up his weekend to help me help my aunt renovate the house my aunts fixing for nothing in return, but now I have found something that really I mean really annoys me. I’m very invested in my pets not overly invested but I take care of them like part of the family. If ones sick I take them to the vet immediately and find out what’s wrong.

But in the past couple of weeks my boyfriends older cat got sick and I gave him recommendations for good vets. But he decided to wait a few days to see if she improved (the cats health did not) then he spent 300 dollars on a check up and blood tests which had no result. So he was calling after the vet visit and I recommended trying to have the cat get an x-ray. He ended up getting nutrient cat food to hand feed her and give her water. A week goes by and the cats still getting sick so I say maybe you should get a second opinion so he takes her back and gets other tests done the total spent on the cat is now up to 700 but he doesn’t get an x-ray. Then yesterday he tells me one of the times the cat gets sick there’s a piece of string he found so he thinks the cat got ahold of string or something it wasn’t supposed to. So I say maybe the cat needs to go the the vet and get an x-ray. But he is waiting because he thinks the cat who is still getting sick daily will pass whatever it ate. But he still texted me that he feels bad the cat has gotten sick twice today and he’s had to clean it up. I don’t want to start a fight but honestly I feel like kicking his a** because I am very much an animal lover. I mean when my guinea pig got sick and her regular vet didn’t give her medicine that was effective I drove an hour to find another exotic pet vet and had them treat her. I even paid 1,000 combined over night care in an oxygenated tank and combined anti-inflammatory meds and antibiotics that worked.

Hey so I’ll try give the best advice I can!!

Firstly, I hope the cat is doing okay and I do agree it should definitely be taken for an X-ray, and an animal management student when I was in college, believing an animal has eaten anything it shouldn’t especially of that sort is a huge red flag as it can tangle itself in the and cause damage which if untreated can be dangerous

It doesn’t make much sense to me why he wouldn’t get it checked out, but I know things are different in America from England and it does sound very expensive, so could it be he just can’t afford it and may not want to say?

The main thing is to keep an eye on the cat and keep gently encouraging him to take it to the vet and stress how important this is

He sound like he is a very sweet guy, so I don’t believe he doesn’t care for his cat, I personally am more leaning towards money issues, especially if the cat has to be kept in overnight and such

Just keep gently urging him, and offer to maybe go with him if it’ll make him feel more comfortable

Other than this I’m not sure what else I can suggest, it definitely is an issue that should be looked at by a vet I agree fully

I hope the cat is okay and he does take it for treatment!

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sandnin19 · 4 years ago

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Gaara Week 2021- Day 6 Memories

“Like a scene from the past

Where we look back and laugh

With love, love

A thought like a flash

Black and white hope it lasts

With love, love”

-Love, American Authors

A young boy raised his fist, ready to knock at the door of the Kazekage’s temporary room. He hesitated a but, unsure of how to address the man behind the door. He still found it...odd to call him “father” instead of “Kazekage-sama.” It hadn’t been long since the Kazekage adopted him, but as soon as Gaara-sama’s sister heard her little brother adopted a child, she immediately wanted to meet her new nephew. Hence how Shinki ended up at the Nara estate in Konoha, meeting the rest of his new family.His new aunt was kind enough to give them their own private rooms, but also scary enough to enforce some family bonding at certain times throughout the day.

Right now was one of those times. He had been in his room reading scrolls about various jutsus when his aunt barged in, muttering, amusedly, something about him being like his father before telling him she had a surprise she wanted to show everyone. Not wanting to seem impolite, Shinki nodded his head and offered to fetch his father much to Temari’s appreciation.

Taking a deep breath, Shinki finally allowed himself to knock on his father’s door while softly speaking, “Father.”

He heard quiet footsteps approaching before the door opened to reveal the crimson-clad Kazekage who smiled adoringly at his son, “Yes?’

Shinki ducked his head at the look on his father’s face, hiding the blush that was becoming rather apparent on his face. He still wasn’t used to the affection his father gave him, but valued it greatly after being on his own for so long.

“Aunt Temari said she has a surprise and would like for us to join her in the living room.”

A quick look of suspicion crossed the Kazekage’s face before switching back to the small smile reserved for his family. Shinki was confused as to why his father would be suspicious about his sister having a surprise for them, they were a close-knit family after all, it shouldn’t be that ominous. Shaken from his thoughts as his father began to walk past him, he quickly followed his lead into the living room where his cousin and Uncle Kankuro were sitting on the couch arguing about which village has the best Yakiniku.

“Listen, brat, before you go off spouting nonsense, you should keep in mind you never had Yakiniku in Suna before,” Kankuro teasingly scolded Shikadai.

Said boy yawned lazily, not at all intimidated by his uncle’s remarks, “I don’t have to go to know the best one is here, my friend Chocho can attest to that, she’s got the ‘most refined pallet ever’ as she says.”

“Has she ever been to Suna? I bet she’d think again once she tri-”

“Still picking fights with children, brother?” Gaara asked with a small smirk as he took a seat on the other end of the couch.

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about! Tell him, Gaara, tell him we have the best Yakiniku there is! Tell him we’ve spent so much time and money at that one close to that bookstore you always dragged us to!”

Gaara’s smirk faded and turned to a frowned that belonged to an annoyed little brother, “I never dragged you there, you were the ones that followed me after we ate.”

“Whatever! You know what I mean, just tell this brat who has the best Yakiniku,” the hooded man folded his arms out of playful irritation waiting for his younger brother to assist him in this argument.

However, before Gaara could open his mouth to speak, Temari came back into the room with a book in her hands. “Why talk about it when we can show them,” she said, holding the book up for everyone to see it was a photo album.

Groans from her younger brothers were met with her declaration. So this is why Shinki’s father looked so suspicious when he heard Temari had a surprise.

“C’mon, Tem, don’t make us sit here and look at all those old photos, no one wants that,” Kankuro tried to persuade his sister.

“I do! And I bet Shinki and Shikadai do too! They should learn about their family!”

Shikadai snickered as he took the album from his mom’s hand, “Mom’s right, this is important for us to see, right, Shinki?”

The other boy was still standing in the entryway of the room, not knowing exactly what to do. His cousin waved his hand, signaling him to sit between him and his father. Gaara noticed Shinki’s hesitance and, against his better judgement, nodded and made room for his son to see the photo album. He would regret this, but he thought it would be worth it for Shinki to bond with his aunt and cousin, even if it was at the redhead’s expense.

Shikadai opened the album to the first page once his cousin seated himself comfortably. On that page were a few pictures of teenaged Sand Siblings. Immediate regret hit Gaara when his nephew laughed, “Uncle Gaara! Your hair! It’s so different!”

“Yeah, your uncle was a real punk back in the day, and his hair reflected it,” Kankuro said, reaching over to mess up Gaara’s now neatly combed hair.

The redhead grabbed his brother’s arm before he could touch his hair, “Yours was styled almost exactly like mine, you just covered it with cat ears!”

This earned another laugh from Shikadai in addition to a red faced Kankuro, “They are not cat ears! Ow!”

Kankuro began to rub his head where his sister had just hit him, “Why are you hitting me?! He’s,” he pointed an accusatory finger toward Gaara, “the one who said I had cat ears!”

“You both looked ridiculous,” she said with a mischievous smirk. Both brothers were not amused.

“Says the girl who has had the same hairstyle since she was a child,” Gaara muttered under his breath.

Now it was Temari’s turn to grow red while Kankuro and her son cackled. Unamused herself, she took both her hands and lightly hit the two laughing in front of her.

“Ow! Again, why me? Gaara’s the one who said it! Is it because he’s the youngest? That’s not fair, Tem.”

“How do you think I feel,” Shikadai chimed in, “All I did was laugh, I didn’t say anything!”

“And yet, Gaara sits there, not a scratch on him,” Kankuro whined.

“I physically cannot hit Gaara, so I gotta hit you hard enough for the both of you!”

“That’s bull and you know it, Gaara can control his sand well enough to not block an attack like that from you!”

The older siblings continued to bicker as the youngest looked on, fully amused at the scene before him. He glanced at his son who was sitting quietly beside him, watching his aunt and uncle’s antics before his eyes wandered back toward the photo album.

“May I see this, Shikadai?”

“Sure, Uncle Gaara,” he began to hand the book to his uncle when Temari stopped fighting with Kankuro to notice the exchange, “No! He’ll put it away!” She made a dive to grab the book before her brother’s hand could touch it.

“I was not going to put it away,” Gaara pouted, “Kankuro wanted to show Shikadai that Yakiniku place, remember?”

“Fine! But I’ll find it! I don’t trust you not to hide it away!” She flipped through the pages until she came across one of the many they had taken at that restaurant. This particular picture included a stoic Gaara sitting next to an equally stoic Baki with Temari and Kankuro on the other side behaving much like they were a few seconds ago.

“Why are you two always fighting?” Shikadai asked his mother and Uncle Kankuro.

“You live with her, you should know how annoying she can get it...Ow! Again, really?”

“That one seemed to have been on you, Kankuro,” his brother said, a breathy chuckle escaping his lips.

“He asked…,” the puppeteer mumbled.

“It just so happens, I remember what that fight was about,” Temari said as she handed the book back to her son. “We ran into my friend, remember? Sen? And you were being a total pig!”

“Who? I don’t think I remember her,” Kankuro said honestly.

“She was one of Shira’s teammates, Kankuro,” Gaara added.

The lightbulb went off in the older man’s mind as he exclaimed, “Oh! Sen! I remember her, the one with the nice a-ah personality.”

His nephews looked at him, not totally buying what he said while his siblings both gave him an irritated stare.

“Anyway, next picture!” Kankuro turned the page to reveal another photo at the same restaurant, but this time the two older siblings wearing their jonin jackets while the youngest was in his Kazekage robes. There wasn’t any evidence of fighting going on here, only what seemed to be a celebration.

“Aw, Gaara! This was after you became Kazekage, remember?” Temari said with joyous pride as she recalled the day her little brother was announced the Fifth Kazekage.

Gaara nodded his head as he continued to look at the picture with his son staring intently and his nephew with a confused look on his face, “You went to a Yakiniku restaurant to celebrate that, didn’t you have like, a formal celebration?”

Kankuro laughed, “Yeah, we had some formal dinner with the old geezers from the council, but this was more of a private celebration, family only.”

“We went straight from that dinner to this one!” Temari chuckled.

Gaara let out his own small chuckle, remembering how foolish he thought it would be, but in the end was grateful they had their own celebration. He glanced over all the pictures on the two pages in front of him, thinking back to the times they were taken. Like a lot of teenaged boys, he hated having his picture taken, but after looking through this album with his siblings, nephew, and son, he was happy his sister made him take the photos.

“You know,” he started in his deep, authoritative voice, “pictures of the restaurant aren't exactly the same as eating there.” He looked at his nephew, “You’ll just have to visit and see it for yourself.”

Shikadai looked at his mom, “Can we?”

Temari smiled affectionately at her son, “Of course, the next time we visit your uncles and cousin we’ll go there instead of eating at the places we usually go to when we visit.”

Shikadai grinned, “Sweet, maybe you can show me more good places too, Shinki.”

Shinki only nodded, trying to wrap his head around them visiting Suna. He was a bit curious and excited for it to happen, leaving a small upward turn of his lips.

Gaara noticed his son’s small smile, making his own grow even bigger. He wanted Shinki to be able to have photos like these with Shikadai for them to look back on when they were older. He wanted them both to look back at their childhood with nothing but love.

#gaaraweek #gaaraweek2021 #gaara #temari #kankuro #shinki #shikadai #american authors #ignoring my responsibilities for Gaara😔

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fangirlyah · 4 years ago

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✦ pumpkin pie - Edmund Pevensie x Reader

summary: MODERN!AU secondary school starts, and your life is completely different from the pevensies’...would it be possible for them to connect in some point?

warnings: none

word count: 2k

a/n: present / past

the rain was pouring outside of the apartment on a sunday afternoon. even from your bed you could hear the soft sound of the bonfire in the fireplace burning out and smell the scent of the coffee you did a few minutes ago.

being in college wasn't easy, not just because of all the work and study you had to do, but also because it meant being apart of your family for a lot of time. you were lucky though, edmund was by your side.

you met at secondary school and hate each other right away. he was this bad boy wannabe with the perfect life and you were the girl who always wore a smile on her face, even in the darkest times.

there’s a saying that the adviser and helpful friend was the most hurt one, and in this case it was true. an empty home and a cold meal waited for you every day after school; you were the few people in school who didn't live there, you weren't a pupil because of the fact that you lived only five minutes away from school, so no one walked you to your house or make you company for a few streets. sometimes you thank that, because you knew no one would appear at the door to welcome you home and it embarrassed you a little.

at the age of eleven, you already had a key to your front door and you knew how to make a meal from scratch, your mother said it would help you in the future, but sometimes you just wished to watch your mom make dinner and help her with it, like all the other kids. but you were mature enough to know that, since your dad left you, your mom had to work double shifts to pay food and expenses.

a thing you liked to do when you ate at the kitchen counter alone, was to close your eyes and imagine the pevensies sitting beside you. a large table and exquisite food in it, everyone laughing and having a good time.

being an only child wasn't easy, so when you watched the two brothers and sisters being so close you usually felt jealousy, you were so alone and so scared to admit it. you had friends who never came to your house nor knew your situation. one of your friends was susan pevensie, although she was older, you two had made an incredible bond when a school assembly took place and you two ended up sitting beside one another.

for someone would be weird to hear that you hated edmund pevensie when you held such an admiration for the closeness of the family. but there was an encounter once that made you burn that feeling in your skin.

it was in the first week of school, you were still a little girl and he hurted you some much and edmund didn't even know. you remembered that it was lunchtime and you sat beside the first person in sight, no one was friends with anyone yet. that morning your mom had put you into a taxi cab and sent you to secondary school like a package, she put the ingredients of a sandwich in a lunch box and you put it together on the way to school.

if you think very hard, you could still feel the embarrassment you felt when you took your badly done sandwich.

“who made that foulness?! does your mother doesn't cook for you?” edmund was still a kid when he said that, so he didn't know that not everyone had a mother who cooked fancy meals every day. he was still a kid to notice how much you started hating him after that. in fact it took years for him to find out your dislike. he realized one day you greet peter, susan and lucy but not him; edmund didn't think too much of it, a lot of people didn't find him dearing.

“christmas eve is in two weeks! this few months passed in a rush” one of your classmates said, she had always been fond of any holiday celebration.

“what are you guys going to do?” every girl at the table started talking, the only thing that you could hear over all of the crashing voices was that katie was planning on visiting her grandparents at yorkshire.

“and you, y/n? you didn't say anything” of course susan would notice, you slapped yourself in your thought; it would have been more simple to say some nonsense while everyone was speaking. now the attention was on you and you only had a few minutes to think of a movie scene you had watched, and make it yours. what did blair waldorf do for christmas eve in season three?

“I think my grandma it's coming..” lie, she was dead “she makes this amazing ginger cookies every year” lie, she sucked at cooking while alive.

everyone seemed convinced, you weren't an open book so that simple false details of your life left them satisfied. but again, not everyone. susan pevensie had stopped you by the stairs and invited you to her home for christmas eve’s lunch. you accepted right away, saying that your grandma had texted you saying she wasn't coming; you knew she didn't believe but she left you alone, so it was enough.

when the day came around, you stood in front of a mirror. your sixteen year old self adorned by a delicate dress, nothing special just an a-line dark purple dress. you opened the clutch bag on your hand and counted the pounds inside, it was enough for the train you just had to resist the urge to buy a snack from the trolley.

the pevenises’s house was thirty minutes away from yours, so before you stood in front of the principal door, you had time to rehearse what you would say or how you would act. the idea that susan may have told her family about your solitary christmas situation, put you more nervous. you decided to push the thought away, but when you saw her mom open the door with such a pity face, you realized you were right. you knew that the woman didn't do it with any bad intentions but you felt bad when she grabbed the pumpkin pie you had made and watched you with even more sorrow.

nevertheless, the night was pretty good. better of what you had experienced if you had stayed and ate spaghetti freshly thawed.

“we are really glad you made it, y/n” peter said while he served more potatoes on his plate.

“I'm actually the delighted one, this food is really appetizing” lucy smiled beside you, proud that she had helped her mom do all the food.

“what would have eaten at home? I know you are a great cook!” your friend susan said “she makes the best cinnamon cookies ever!”

“emm...probably i would have made some pigs in blankets and some brussel sprouts for my mom” it was the first time you talked sincerely with someone about what happened inside of your home.

“is your mom not such a great cook as you?” mister pevensie asked.

“she doesn't have the time to, so... i learned how to do it and now I’m better than her” while his family laughed, edmund realized why you hate him so much. it was years ago, but still to that day he wondered why the pretty and nice girl was softhearted to everyone but him. now he knew, edmund had hurt her feelings in first year and it seemed that she didn't forget.

the classes returned to normal, after the holidays, he tried his best to like you. edmund had tried carrying your books, helping you with chemistry when you struggled and even checking that you are not forgetting anything in the classroom when you went home. you kindly rejected his offers; a part of you still had resentment but the other one told you it was stupid to keep umbrage to something that happedns years ago.

it wasn't still a friday afternoon, it was raining and you hadn't brought a coat to school. it was the only evening they had free, and edmund decided to ask if you wanted him to walk you home, even if it meant wasting his entire afternoon.

for the first time you accepted.

the first two streets were a complete silence. in the third you talked.

“i know i already thank your sister, but...i just...i had a great time at your house before the holidays, so thanks...again” the freckled boy giggled at your adorable shyness, making you smile. you always knew he was a handsome young man, but..since when the school blue hat suited him so well?

that phrase started what would be a nonstoping conversation until you reached your house. turns out edmund liked your pumpkin pie a lot, and he wanted to ask you if you would do some for him but he didn have the courage; you told him he didn't have to be shy around you, but you were around him. your house wasn't as big as the pevensie’s, but it was big enough for three two people.

“thank you for coming with me, I know this cost you your free afternoon” no one was home, as always, so you had no rush for coming inside but you supposed that he wanted to go back already.

“it’s the least I can do after what I did…” you were facing each other, for the first time ever.

“we were children, edmund” you tried to pretend you didn't care.

“i didn't knew anything about you, that was why-”

“you don't have to pity me” you interrupted him, that's why anyone knew about your mom, because the first thing people did when they found out was to pity.

“I'm not, I'm admiring you” it was true, he thought he couldn't survive in your place; a scramble egg was science for him, imagine making a whole meal. you smiled at him while he did the same.

“goodbye, edmund pevensie” as you walked to your porch you heard him go:

“goodbye, y/n y/l”

the entire weekend your head concocted thousands of ideas of how to talk to him again, what would you be your excuse? after hours of thinking you got the perfect plan.

monday morning you entered the school gate with a little paper bag in your hands. you would be lying if you said that your hands didn't start shaking slightly, when you saw him go down the stairs with a sleepy face. he saw you immediately as your gaze was in the thing you were holding.

“hey edmund” he stepped in front of you, ready to go to the canteen and grab breakfast.

“hello, y/n” kids passed beside you, but neither of you were popular enough to catch the attention.

“I...emm, I cooked some pumpkin pie and… I did too much so I decided to bring you some” lie, you did it just for him, you just ate a bite to taste it. he grabbed the package from your hands with a smile.

“would you eat it with me?”

“hey honey!” edmund’s head appeared at your bedroom’s door “is there any pumpkin pie in the fridge?”

“ed, you are going to get sick of it if you keep eating it like a maniac” you left the book, that was in your hands, at your bedside table as you saw him get inside the room and head to you. he laid down gently on you, giving you a kiss.

“I won’t, I promise” his smell always gets to you, how he smelled so good all the time. you shared an apartment near your collage, and one of its good things was the scent that came out of the bathroom every time he showered.

“you have been eating the same dessert since we were sixteen, and now we are twenty-one, how did you not get tired of it?” that day had been a long one, full of study and stress. so when the night came and the rain started, the first thing you did was to make a nice dinner for you two. he was finishing his coffee and started starving pumpkin pie.

“that pie started everything between us, I can't get tired of it” he kissed your lips and you let his tongue go into your mouth. how was it possible that you ever hated him?

#edmund pevensie #edmund pevensie x reader #edmund pevensie fanfic #edmund pevensie x y/n #fanfic #fanfiction #one shots #y/n #the cronicles of narnia #prince caspian #modern!au #pevensiees

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effiethebookworm · 3 years ago

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TSE Appreciation Week Day Two!

*tiny wave* Hi again! Just wanted to say thank you to all of the kind people who commented on/liked my fanfic for day one. Y’all are awesome. Anyhoo, on with the story! This one is called Tiny Hands, and I LOVED writing it. I hope you love reading it!!

Tiny Hands

“King Avidan! Where are you?” Avidan sighed. The reason that he had gone to hide in the head was so that people wouldn't notice that he was gone. They would see the door closed and think, Oh, the king is relieving himself. It sure worked for Eglon and Ehud in the Bible. Avidan stood up and opened the door. His manservant, Jer, stood in front of the door. His dark brown hair with a few traces of gray sat crisply on his head, and his uniform fit perfectly on his wiry frame.

“What is it, Jer?” Jer bowed deeply and said,

“I am so sorry, Your Majesty. I did not realize that you were...” Avidan blushed.

“I was done. What did you want to tell me?”

“We recently received a letter from your adviser. It requires an urgent response.”

“Thank you, Jer.” Avidan didn't know what he'd do without Jer. He probably would have died from exhaustion if it hadn't been for Jer, who always made sure that he ate and slept and occasionally took breaks. Jer was sort of like a father to him now, and easily old enough to be his father, if not grandfather. Since Velvare had forfeited his position of regent five years ago so that he could go home to his family in Levant, Avidan had been ruling Gallitan. He had an adviser, of course, because he was still underage, but after hearing the tragic story of how Velvare had left his family fourteen years ago, the kingdom unanimously voted to let Avidan take the crown at only seventeen. It had been almost constant stress since then, so he had escaped on a vacation to Levant. Jer insisted that he come along too. Avidan told his adviser that he wanted to visit his friend Enel, but he was really going to visit his cousin Noah. He had heard that Noah was married now, and wanted to see if it was true. Also, he just missed Noah. After all, they had been very close when Avidan was a child, and he hadn't seen Noah since before he had taken the crown. Avidan was back to his cabin now, and saw two birds on his desk. One was his, a raven that one of Velvare's friends had given him at his coronation. He could carry letters in his beak, and Avidan had named him Postmaster. Next to Postmaster was a dove with a small slip of paper between her talons. Is that...

“Pigeondove?” Avidan said with amazement. The bird perked up her head at hearing her name, and jumped up onto Avidan's shoulder. She nestled up against his ear, and made a small cooing noise.

“Nice to see you too, girl. What's your message?” Avidan murmured. Pigeondove hopped off of his shoulder and flapped over his open hands. She dropped the paper onto his hands, and flew up to his other shoulder. Avidan opened the paper, trembling with excitement.

Letter from I said you were coming. True? -N

Avidan and Noah had developed their own kind of code for letters by bird. Since Pigeondove could only carry small slips of paper, and Postmaster was still being trained up until quite recently, a message had to be quite short. This one meant something like I got a letter from Idony that said that you were coming to visit. Is that true? Love, Noah. Avidan pulled a piece of note paper out of his bag, ripped off a tiny slip, and scrawled: Yes. OK? -A. He gave the paper to Pigeondove and threw her out of his porthole window. She quickly disappeared over the waves. Suddenly, Avidan had an idea. He wrote on the rest of the paper, This is my bird Postmaster. Let him inspect you, and say “Noah” while he does. He can carry more than Pig, and is new. -A.

He shoved the paper into an envelope, gave it to Postmaster, and told him,

“Follow that bird. Her name is Pigeondove. Give the letter to the man. His name is Noah. Go.” Avidan had managed to train Postmaster to understand around 75 words. He was a very smart bird, and he flew out of the window. Avidan watched him grow smaller and smaller on the horizon, there was a green flash, and he disappeared. By now, Avidan had figured out that both Pigeondove and Postmaster had been magically enchanted. They had to be, how else could they fly thousands of miles in a single day? Avidan suddenly realized that he had forgotten about the letter from his adviser. He broke the seal and opened it.

Your Majesty,

The kingdom has now realized that you are gone. I have made an official announcement that you have gone to visit your childhood friend Enel Lanum in Bellingrath. I hope your journey is going as planned. Please give King Bhatair my greetings.

King Bhatair? Avidan was confused for a moment, but then remembered that Velvare had revealed his real name to be Bhatair Hollingsworth.

I do hope that you remember what we talked about before you left. Remember, you are the KING now. You are no longer just a prince who may gallivant

ant around as he pleases. You still have responsibility, even though you are on “vacation.” You are now the face of Gallitan. Whatever you say or do reflects the character of the country, for better or worse. Oh, that reminds me, you should probably start looking for a candidate for queen. You are twenty-one years old, after all.

Sincerely,

Sir Kishon Fitzpeter

Avidan muttered an obscenity under his breath. Candidate for queen? Yes, Velvare got married when he was sixteen, but Velvare is not a good role model for life! Plus, I have a kingdom to rule, I don't have time for dating! Avidan slumped onto his bunk, internally screaming. He could not function. Life was too challenging. He checked his pocket watch. A quarter to ten. I could sleep now! He stood up and went to the door of his cabin.

“I AM TIRED! I AM GOING TO BED!” He yelled, to no one in particular. He laid on his bed, just bothering to change into his night-tunic, and fell asleep fairly quickly.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

He awoke with a start. He saw a black figure sitting on his chest, and almost screamed before he realized that it was Postmaster. He had a letter in his beak, and he dropped it onto Avidan's face. Avidan opened it.

Avidan,

Glad to hear that you have a bird now. Who did you get it from? I am really glad you're coming to visit!

Avidan was shocked. That sounds nothing like Noah.

I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your coronation, but Idony and Marcus told me all about it. I hope you're doing well and the ruling the kingdom isn't too taxing. Where are you in the Deadwaters? If you don't know, ask a sailor how many outposts you are from Cedulan Port. Hope to see you soon.

-Noah

PS. I have a family now. Can't wait for you to meet Ruya!

So the rumor was true. Avidan rolled out of bed and quietly crept up to the deck. The stars were brilliant, brighter than they ever were in Greenway with all its streetlamps. He walked over to the man at the helm. He was quite rotund, and had blond curls that fell into his eyes.

“Excuse me, sir, how many outposts are we from Cedulan Port?”

“Yi're King Avidan, ain't ye?” The sailor asked. He had a strange accent. “Well, I'd reckin 'bout a half, Yer Majisty. That'il take us 'bout foir dais.

“Thank you. What's your name?”

“Me, sir? Erialc. Haon Erialc.”

“Thank you, Haon.”

Avidan returned to his cabin, and quickly wrote a response to Noah.

Noah-

I got Postmaster from a man at my coronation. He had green eyes and brown hair. He told me that the bird was trained to carry letters. Then he congratulated me, and disappeared into the crowd. The sailor said that we are half an outpost away, and it would be about four days.

-Avidan

He put the letter in the bird's beak, and went back to bed. About an hour and a half later, he was awakened by squawking. Postmaster was already back, and had a hastily folder paper in his beak. Avidan took it, and read.

Look for a windmill by the coast. That is ours. Stop the ship there. If you are about half an outpost away from the city, you are only a few hours away.

-Noah

Avidan jumped out of bed and quickly changed clothes into a simple tunic and linen pants. Jer made him pack mostly royal robes, but he hid more simple clothes under them. He ran out of the cabin and took the ladder two rungs at a time. On deck, a beautiful sunrise was starting.

“Haon?” Avidan yelled.

“Yessear?” Haon answered.

“Do you know if we've passed a large windmill yet?”

“Nosear. That'll come in abeaut twenty minits.”

“Will you stop the ship there?”

“Whatevear for, yer Highniss?”

“My cousin lives there. I wish to visit him.”

“Yer cousin is Noah St. Clar?” Avidan was surprised.

“Yes. How do you know him?”

“Nay, sir, I don't know heem, but 'is wife, Ruya Lewis. We used to be on a ship's crew together. She's a kind, kind woman. Very sweet, very gintle. You'll love'er, ever'one does. The capteen was a 'orrible man, but she made us all heppy.”

“That's good to hear.” Haon and Avidan stood on the deck in silence for a few minutes, watching the sun rise in a brilliant array of colors. Haon finally cleared his throat.

“Beggin' yer pardon, sir, but shouldn't ye get your bags ready to get off?” Avidan snapped out of his daze.

“Oh, yes. I suppose I should. Thank you, Haon.”

“Any time, sir.

Avidan rushed back down the ladder, and knocked on Jer's door.

“Come in.” Avidan walked in. Jer was writing in a small leather-bound book, but quickly turned around.

“Yes, King Avidan?”

“There's uh... been a small change of plans. We're getting off at a different port in a few minutes.”

“Oh dear.” Jer wrung his hands. “Has there been an assassination? An accident? A rebellion? Oh dear, maybe we should just turn back-”

“No, Jer. I just want to visit my cousin.”

“Oh. I suppose that's alright.” Jer's concern visibly diminished.

“Great. Get ready to land.” Avidan went back to his cabin, and threw everything into his bags. Postmaster flew up onto Avidan's shoulder, and he went up on deck. By the time he got up there, the windmill was in sight. He could see hills of farmland stretching on beyond the windmill. A few workers were in the fields, picking and planting and doing whatever farmers do. Avidan sure didn't know. He had only left Gallitan once, for Enel's wedding to a Gallitanian farmer's daughter. Enel would have become king, since his brother committed suicide when he was captured by Cedulanian forces and his father forfeited, he was next in line. However, he and King Apen Shephard of Cedulan decided to get rid of the law that kept women from ruling Levantine countries, and Enel let his sister Delaney become queen of Bellingrath. Avidan respected Enel for this decision. I don't think that I would have the self-control to step down like that, although self-control is certainly not the word that most describes Enel Alvarado. As an show of how Enel had no plans to retake the thrown from his sister, he took his wife's last name, an unheard-of practice in Levant, though quite common in Preble.

“DROP ANCHOR!” Avidan heard from the helm.

Haon waddled over to him and announced, “We're 'ere, Yer 'ighness. You 'n yer sarvant will go out to share on a rowb't.”

“Thank you, Haon. You have been very helpful.”

Haon ducked his head and smiled bashfully.

“Well, Sir, 't's not evry dee y'get to help the Keeng.” A loud horn sounded, and Avidan and Jer were helped into a large rowboat by a sailor. He tossed their luggage in, and then climbed in himself. They dropped into the water, and the sailor started rowing them to the shore. They were silent, listening to the plop, whish, plop, whish of the oars. Soon, they reached land. The sailor threw all of the luggage onto the shore. He bowed to Avidan, and Avidan nodded in thanks. The sailor started rowing back to the ship, but turned around after a few rows.

“Your Highness, Captain Haon told me to let you know that when you are ready to go, send him a message by bird? He said you would know what that means.” Avidan nodded. “Yes, I do. Thank you.” The sailor rowed away. Avidan and Jer grabbed their bags and turned towards the fields and mill.

“So, King Avidan, this is where Noah lives.”

“It is. And Jer, please drop the 'King.' Just Avidan would suit me better.” Jer winked.

“Alright, Just Avidan.” Avidan almost chuckled.

“I suppose that your cousin is working in the fields.” Jer wiped his forehead with his sleeve. It was already warm out, even though it was still fairly early, about two hours after sunrise. Avidan took a deep breath of sea air and freshly turned dirt.

“No, he's a doctor. I doubt that he would become a farmhand.”

They started walking towards the mill. As they got close, they saw a large sign hanging over the doors.

ST. CLAIRE FAMILY FARM

Maybe he is a farmer. Avidan wondered. Suddenly, a little girl with small blonde curls hurtled out of the door of the house behind the mill.

“You will never catch me, Evil Dragon!” A man ran out after her, roaring. He was carrying a little boy on his back.

“Forward, Dragon!” the boy yelled. He was holding a small sword. The little girl noticed Avidan and jogged over to him.

“Hello. What's your name?” she said. The man noticed Avidan a second later.

“Hey! Are you looking for a job-” the man stopped abruptly. “Avidan? Is that you?” “Noah?” Avidan said incredulously. The man standing before him looked nothing like how he remembered his cousin. The angry, scruffy man had transformed into a happy, well-groomed, kind-looking man with children clinging to him. Instead of stubble, he had a small beard. Instead of a bloody bandage covering his right forearm, a few deep scars were visible. Noah put the boy down and enveloped Avidan in a sweaty hug. Avidan was shocked. It had been months since anyone had hugged him, maybe longer. He wasn't sure what to do with his hands. Noah pulled away, and looked over Avidan from head to foot.

“Man, it's been a long time. You're twenty now, right?”

“Twenty-one.” Avidan said.

“Twenty-one. Man, it's been forever. Listen, I'm so sorry that we couldn't come to your coronation, Dan. Ah, we have so much to catch up on!” The little girl asked,

“Daddy, who's he?” Noah swooped her up onto his hip.

“Olive, this is Avidan. He's my cousin, which means he's your cousin once-removed.” He turned to Avidan. “Avidan, this is my daughter Olive.” Olive smiled. She had three missing teeth.

“I'm six and a half!”

“Nice.” Avidan smiled. He didn't really know how to talk to kids. Sure, he had been a kid himself once, but he had been unusually mature. An “old soul,” people called it.

Noah turned to his son.

“Laban, this is your cousin Avidan.” Laban stood up and walked over to Avidan. He firmly shook Avidan's hand.

“Nice to meet you, Avidan.” He said in a small, quiet voice. Avidan could hardly keep himself from laughing. This boy was no more than five, and he already acted like a businessman.

“Nice to meet you too, Laban.”

Noah smiled again. Avidan had never seen Noah smile this much in the twenty-one years he had known him, combined.

“Laban here is the reason why we couldn't come to your coronation. He was a week old, and it would have been too long of a journey. Ru didn't want to leave him, and I didn't want to leave her.” A look of confusion settled on Olive's face.

“Da, what's coronation?” “It's when someone becomes king or queen.” Olive's eyes widened. She dropped into a low curtsy.

“Your Highness.” Noah chuckled and shook his head.

“Olive, you've been reading too many fairy tales.” Olive rose, and asked,

“If you're a king, then where's your crown?”

“All my circlets are in my bags.” Just then, Avidan remembered Jer.

“Jer! This is my cousin Noah. Noah, this is my manservant Jer.”

They shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

“C'mon, let's go inside so you can meet Ru.” Noah put his arm around Avidan's shoulders and led him inside a farmhouse next to the mill. As soon as Avidan stepped inside, he knew that it was a home. The smell of baking bread wafted through the air, along with the sound of laughter. There were messy drawings in wooden frames on the walls, along with beautiful paintings of the children, Noah and his wife in their wedding clothes, and a painting of Pigeondove that looked like it was done by the children. They went through a hall, and into the kitchen, where there was a woman singing softly to a baby while folding laundry. She turned around.

“Noah, where did you put the...” she noticed Avidan and stopped what she was doing.

“Hello. You must be Avidan. I'm Ruya.” She walked over and gave him a light embrace. “Please, have a seat. Would you like some bread?” Avidan realized that he was ravenously hungry.

“That would be very nice,” he replied. She walked over to the counter and started slicing a loaf. Avidan sat down at the kitchen table. Noah left the room and came back carrying a little girl.

“This is Ruth. She's three.” Her chocolate skin was in sharp contrast with the peach skin of her father and warm tan of her mother.

“Is she adopted?” Avidan asked, already knowing the answer. Ruya answered.

“Yes. Her mother was one of our patients, we're both doctors, you know, met in medical school. The mother died in childbirth, and we haven't been able to locate the father.” Ruth gurgled happily. Avidan noticed that her tongue stuck out a bit, and her eyes were a bit uneven. Practically reading his thoughts, Noah said,

“We think she has a brain disability. She can't speak yet, and she learned to walk, with help, only last month.” Almost defensively, Ruya said, “She learned to laugh at one and a half months, though. Babies usually laugh around four months, but Ruth does things on her own schedule.” Avidan walked over to Ruth. “Nice to meet you, Ruth. I'm Avidan.” Ruth smiled at him. He smiled back. That girl lives up to her name, Avidan thought. She can light up a room with joy. Noah sat Ruth down on a cushion, and picked up a baby from a blanket on the floor.

“This, Avidan, is your cousin Peter Avidan St. Claire.”

Avidan?

“You named him after me?”

“Yes.” Ruya said, while placing a plate with a small stack of bread before him. “Olive is Olive Idony, Laban is Laban Edwin, after my father, Ruth is Ruth Lorene, after my mother, and then there's little Peter Avidan.”

“But... why me?” Avidan was still shocked.

Ruya sat down next to him.

“I have no siblings, and Noah” she side-eyed Noah “refused to let his middle name be Thoth. So you were the next choice.”

“But I'm no-” Avidan started to choke on the lump in his throat, but quickly regained himself. “I'm not that important.” Suddenly all of the feelings that he had suppressed over the last five years, and his whole life, came flooding out. Shock, denial, anger, sadness, hurt, even hints of despair. He started crying and talking at the same time.

“Noah, I've always idolized you. You were my hero when I was little, always strong and brave, always helping me. I was so proud when you started telling me Velvare's secrets, and about the east. I felt like you and I were special secret-friends, and th-that we would always be best friends. Then Velvare had his accident, and he hugged Enel and ignored me, and I know that it was a trivial thing and he was sick, but it hurt so, so much. Then he started ignoring me and spending so much more time with Enel. Enel left, and then I learned that Velvare only adopted me for power, and that Enel was his real son. Then the war, and Velvare went back to his family, and I was king all of a sudden. Everyone trusted me so much, and I couldn't ever let them down, and it was too much and I just couldn't anymore but I kept going and going and- and I'm sorry I'm upset. I shouldn't be making such a big deal out of this.” Avidan put his head down on the counter, his body convulsing with silent sobs.

“Avidan, I am so sorry. I am sorry I put you through all that. If I hadn't told you about- If you hadn't known-” Noah stopped speaking, crying as well. Avidan raised his head.

“I'm sorry, Noah. I shouldn't have said anything.” Noah was sitting next to him now, with Ruya on Avidan's other side. They both had an arm on his back. Ruya's face was concerned, Noah's was twisted with guilt.

“No, Dan. It is not your fault. Velvare was a horrible person, and he hurt you. Not physically, but emotional hurt lasts longer. Trust me. I know.” Noah turned away. Ruya patted Avidan's back comfortingly.

“Avidan Leto, you are one of the most important people in my husband's life. He told me about you before he told me about his parents.” Avidan snorted.

“He won't tell you this, but he loves you. Almost as much as he loves Idony.” Avidan looked at Ruya. She was telling the truth. Noah turned back toward him.

“No, Ru's wrong. I will tell you. Avidan, I love you. You are, and always have been, like a brother to me. If you didn't know that yet, I am so sorry. Please forgive me.” Olive hopped up onto the table.

“Uncle Danny, you don't have to be sad. Mommy and Daddy and me and Laban and Ruth and Peter all love you and maybe Peter doesn't yet because he's too young but he will someday, I know it.” Olive scooted over to Avidan and wrapped her arms around his neck. (Author's note: I was listening to the Avidan Leto playlist while writing this, and Everybody Needs A Hug came on right as I started writing Olive's dialogue!)

Avidan was shocked. He had just met this child, and she already loved him? How was this possible? Practically answering his question, Ruya said,

“Avidan, you're family. We love you, and you are welcome to stay here as long as you want.”

Laban grabbed his leg from under the table, and Noah scooped up both Ruth and Peter and crouched next to Avidan.

“We're here for you, okay? Is there anything we can do for you?” Jer cleared his throat from the corner. Avidan had again forgotten about his presence.

“Avidan, I am also here to help you, whenever and wherever you need it.”

“Thank you, Noah, Jer, Ruya, Olive, Laban.” Avidan managed to choke out. “I think I'm a little better now.” They all stood there for a while, no one talking. Avidan felt like a huge hole had been filled in his soul. I have a family now. They are my family. Not Velvare, not Enel, not the country of Gallitan. The people in this house are my family. Two hands slipped into his, balled up on the table. He looked at them, and saw a tiny peach hand and a tiny chocolate hand in his large ones.

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The fields were beautiful, full of perfectly ripe black and red berries, small stalks of corn, huge onions ripe for the pulling, and almost every other fruit and vegetable imaginable. Avidan was having the time of his life working, actually working, at the farm. He was sweaty and tired and sore all over, but happy. Jer had protested when Avidan had first asked Noah, but in the evening when Avidan came back rosy-checked and hungry, Jer had bought some fabric to make him a set of laboring clothes. It turned out that Jer had been apprenticed to a tailor as a boy, and he was very good at sewing. Avidan had been working for eleven days now, and it was doing him a lot of good. His appetite was better, he slept more soundly, and he was more joyful. He had even made a few friends among the other workers. Sometimes Noah worked with him, although usually he was helping the kids. He home-schooled Olive and Laban while Ruya worked in town. She ran a small hospital with a few other doctors. They had inherited the farm from Ruya's parents when they died a few years ago. They used it as a sort of ministry, hiring beggars from all over the continent, paying them fare wages, and eventually, a small share in the farm. They sold much of the produce at the local market, and investing the extra money back into the farm instead of keeping it. In return, they had loyal workers, many friends, and an almost endless supply of fresh food.

BONG. The lunch gong sounded, and the workers started to the village. Avidan went the opposite direction, to the farmhouse, where the smell of stew beckoned him to the kitchen.

Noah stirred the stew, humming. He wore an apron with the word Da painted on it.

“Did Olive make you that apron?” Avidan said. Noah jumped.

“You startled me, Dan. Don't walk so quietly!” Noah chuckled.

Olive was sitting on the counter next to Noah.

“Hi Uncle Danny! Daddy's teaching me how to make stew. Do you wanna come help?”

“No thanks, Olive. I need to go wash up. Maybe next time, though.” Avidan headed for the stairs, and almost tripped over Laban, who was hurtling through the hallway, a tiny wooden wagon in each hand.

“Whoa, buddy! You're fast.” Laban smiled at him, but kept playing.

Avidan washed his hands and went back downstairs. Noah was serving the stew into bowls, and Olive was pouring iced tea into tin cups. Avidan watched them for a moment, taking in the beauty of the St. Claires' simple life.

The End.

#tse appreciation week #day two #avidan leto #noah st claire #ruya st claire #the silver eye #fanfiction

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thephantomofthe-internet · 6 years ago

Text

Not Your Type

Steve Harrington x Reader

Read part 2 HERE

Word Count: 6,669

Warnings: Swearing, Smoking, Drinking, Sexual Assault mention

Tag List: @carolimedanvers @moonstruckhargrove @denimjacketkisses @hotstuffhargrove @thechickvic @alex--awesome--22 @hipsmcgee @lilmissperfectlyimperfect @so-not-hotmess @balladblood @ashescilev

“You’re not her type, Steve.”

“You can’t say that till she meets me.”

The two had been arguing for days on the subject, without a clear answer in sight. Robin had promised, after weeks of watching Steve fail at getting girls, first at Scoops Ahoy and now at Family Video, to introduce him to a girl. Not just any girl, a girl like her. Steve had finally admitted that Dustin was right and he needed to go after girls who could make him genuinely happy, not just a girl who fit his popular mindset. He had tried his luck with Robin, and easily accepted the loss due to her own sexuality, and now he was set to try again. And Robin had been hyping up this friend of hers for weeks. She was cool and funny and smart like her and she was straight. That was all he was looking for. Whoever she was, she sounded perfect.

But Robin was holding out on him.

His turned halfway to look at her, leaning his elbows on the counter to watch her shelf VHS tapes of music videos by the checkout line. She kept her back to him, rolling her eyes at his last comment. He was so pig headed most of the time, it was honestly annoying.

“Robin, you made this big deal about her, you said she was perfect, that I’d want to marry her on sight, and now you’re holding out. You gonna tell me what the deal is or not?” he asked with a brutal sigh.

Robin didn’t turn around “Look, I might have...overhyped her a bit...like she’s amazing but she might...not be interested.” she said, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes, turning to look at him with an embarrassed grimace.

“What?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Look...she likes Billy Idol types. She probably would’ve gotten along with Billy Hargrove if...well, you know.” Robin said, trailing off at the end. Both nodded softly, Robin swallowing as if her throat was dry. Maybe it was, the memory was certainly hard to swallow and even harder to forget.

“Right...so?”

Robin scoffed “You’re too squeaky clean for her.”

Steve slapped his hand on the counter, his hair bouncing excitedly with the quick movement “Oh come on! Do you remember me? I’m Steve ‘Hair’ Harrington! I was the coolest guy at Hawkins High.” he puffed up his chest proudly, like a peacock.

“And the most modest.” Robin stood up, dusting off her knees from grim from the carpets sticking to her bare skin. The only perk of working at Family Video was the lax dress code. The store’s air conditioning had broken in June and had turned the place into an oven with its big windows that couldn’t be shaded to hide the marquees and cardboard cutouts in the windows. Keeping the front door open and wearing as little as possible helped.

“But seriously, Steve, I don’t want you to get your hopes up about her. She might not be interested.” Robin replied, planting her hands on her hips.

“I got it, now when can I meet her?” Steve asked.

Luckily for him, you were already on your way.

You had no idea why Robin had been so insistent on you visiting her at work. She never had been before, she’d made you promise not to visit her at Scoops, which was strange since you only worked a floor above at Claire’s, piercing children’s ears with ugly silver butterflies and flowers, only for them to buy big plastic hoops and balls to shove into the unprepared holes and get them totally infected. It was fun, you got to use a piercing gun. You’d almost gotten fired for trying to pierce your nose with the gun. You were glad that you didn’t, it would’ve totally ruined your nostril, but you wouldn’t pretend that it wasn’t totally worth it to see the look on your fat manager, Marge’s face. She was such a bitch, you were glad when that damn mall burned down. The one in Carmel was better anyway.

When Robin insisted on you coming to Family Video to meet her for her lunch break, you weren’t insanely apprehensive about it. It wasn’t until her tone changed when she mentioned meeting her coworker and friend that you started getting that sickening feeling in the pit of your stomach. She was trying to set you up with someone. Again. She always did this when she wanted something. Last time she did it, it was with that awful Keith to try to get him to give her his poster from The Godfather, which he’d nicked from the back storage at The Hawke while it was still open. Whatever she wanted, you weren’t going to be used to get it.

Still, you showed up. You promised that you would after all, and you were a person of your word. Parking your car in front of the store, you saw the almost empty parking lot and the wide open door signaling the open store. You sighed softly to yourself, grabbing your purse off the seat next to you and stringing it over your shoulder, popping the door and climbing out.

“Robin? You here?” you called as you walked in.” the store was empty and far too quiet for your liking.

“Welcome to Family Video, where we bring movie magic to you! Can I help you with anything today?” Steve asked from the counter, startling you. You practically jumped out of your skin, your hand coming to clutch at your heart as you whipped around to meet the soft expression of Steve Harrington. He looked slightly bemused, clearly trying to not laugh at your over the top reaction. You rolled your eyes, walking up to the desk.

“Is Robin here? Robin Walker.” you asked, looking him over with a calculating eye.

“Yeah, she’s just in the back, wait here.” Steve stepped out from behind the desk, pulling at his stiff, polyester golf shirt. The shirt was so white and blindingly bright that it hurt to look at, but the large black logo for the store broke it up enough to make it easier to watch Steve leave as it was to watch him walk away.

Steve didn’t even make it all the way to the stockroom before Robin emerged, already changed out of her uniform and was grinning like an idiot. “Hey! You made it just in time!” she said, tossing you her purse and sweater. You caught them easily, relieved to see your friend and get out of there.

“Steve, this is my friend Y/N. Y/N, you know Steve, right?” Robin said, gesturing between them with her now free hands.

“What up, Harrington?” you asked boredly, crossing your arms over your chest.

Robin gritted her teeth, squeezing her eyes shut and pulling her lips into a straight line. This is exactly what she thought would happen. Every time she’d introduced you to someone, no matter how genuine she was being, you turned into a brick fortress, completely impenetrable. Gone was your bubbly, snarky personality and quick wit, replaced by sneers and eye rolls and sarcasm. You weren’t nice or warm or open when you met the boys Robin decided you’d like. You weren’t yourself.

This wasn’t you. Robin knew it, she was certain that deep down you knew it. But Steve didn’t know it. Robin was certain that he had no idea who you were. And that made it worse. He had no background to you other than her own descriptions. And that wasn’t enough. This was not going to end well.

“You ready to grab food?” you asked, drawing Robin out of her mind.

“Huh? Oh yeah definitely. Burger in a Basket cool?” she replied, her eyes darting strangely between the pair of you.

“Sure, I’m not vegetarian this month. Accidently ate a fish stick last weekend while babysitting Todd Carther again. Total shit head but his parents pay me so much money to do it.” you replied, handing Robin’s things back to her.

“Hasn’t he scared you off yet?” Robin asked, tying her grey sweatshirt around her hips.

“Nope, almost got me by dumping a whole jar of electric blue paint on my head. But the stuff is non-toxic so it didn’t mess up my eyes or skin and it let me know that dying my whole head blue isn’t going to be a good look for me.” you replied with a giggle, flashing a strand of faded blue hair to her. “The stupid paint did dye some of the bleach though, which totally sucks.”

“You babysit Todd Carther?” Steve asked, drawing your attention back to him and indented a hard frown onto your face. Robin caught the look and wrapped an arm tightly around your shoulders, squeezing them too hard.

“Oh yeah, Y/N is utterly fearless.” Robin announced with a grin.

“I know his older brother Matt; wicked dude, total party animal. He threw the best parties at the end of the basketball season. Totally rad…” he trailed off with a doofy grin, clearly imagining the fun times he’d had at some shitty house party.

“I know Matt too. He groped Sylvia Newman in the middle of freshman English for a stripe of Fruit Stripe gum. He assaulted her and didn’t even get detention for it.” you replied stonily, narrowing your eyes at him.

“Oh… bummer.” Steve tried. You scoffed, rolling your eyes. “No, I’m serious. I didn’t know about that, that’s really fucked up. I don’t hang out with him anymore, but if I did I’d stop.”Steve said more confidently this time, running a hand through his overstyled hair.

That...wasn’t the answer you were expecting. It knocked you out of your senses and you took a moment to respond. “Yeah...well I take money from his parents so I mean nobody’s perfect. And that whole family’s fucked up anyway.” Steve smiled slightly and you tried not to notice it. He just looked so proud of himself. It was almost endearing. But not enough to make you want to care.

“So, anyway, Steve? You go on break yet?” Robin asked.

Steve furrowed his brow, looking at Robin as though she’d grown a third head. Robin nodded her head towards you strangely and suddenly Steve blurted “That’s the girl? Really?”

You whipped around to look at Robin, utterly appalled. You had a sinking feeling that the whole reason you’d been invited out today was to be introduced to some guy, but you had no idea it would be so quick and for the guy to be Steve motherfucking Harrington. You couldn’t believe it. I mean he was the dumbest, more generic guy at Hawkins High. You swore he’d won the metal for stupidest questions in your Home Economics class in freshman year. He was just…such a dork! How he’d gotten so popular, you had no idea. Maybe this town was such so void of charm and charisma that even the most empty, callus boy could become a god with a wink and a smile.

“What does he mean that’s the girl?” you asked, your face pulling into a look of sheer anger that could stop a man in his tracks.

“Oh great work, Harrington, now you’ve done it.” Robin sighed, pulling her purse across her chest, smacking his arm roughly.

“Robin, what does he mean? What did you do?” you snapped, forcing her to look at you. Her face pulled into a look that you knew too well. Regret, embarrassment, and just a little bit of fear.

“I might have promised Steve that I’d introduce you to him.” You groaned loudly, your head falling back to look at the white tiled ceiling. Robin pressed on, her face turning into a look of sympathy, her smile made of rubber. “Because you’re so great! He doesn’t have many friends his own age anymore and I just thought-”

“Oh I know what you thought.” You bit out.

“Well, are you coming or not?” Robin turned to Steve, completely ignoring you.

Steve’s face turned sour and surprised and he looked between the two of you and then to the clock above you. “I mean…I kind of have some stuff to finish up here and I should really wait until Keith gets here before I go on my break…don’t want Mr. Mueller mad at me again.” He scratched the back of his neck, shrugging awkwardly.

Robin clicked her tongue “Since when do you care?” Steve simply shrugged again. “Y/N, can you wait for me outside?”

You nodded, turning on your heel and heading out just far enough to be out of sight. You wanted to hear whatever they had to say.

“Dude what the fuck? You wanted this!” Robin whispered violently.

“Yeah but I didn’t want her!” Steve replied. You didn’t see the smack, but you sure heard the sound of skin hitting skin and the embarrassing yelp Steve let out.

“Yeah well, you’re going to come with us and you’re going to be nice. Because I did this for you. And now you have to accept it.” Steve didn’t respond, which must have been a good sign for Robin.

“Remind me to never do anything nice for you ever again…” Robin muttered as their footsteps charged closer to you and you scurried out the open door, choosing to lean against the burning hot glass, crossing your arms over your chest and knocking the sunglasses from the top of your head to your face again.

“You ready to head out?” You asked, standing up straight, smiling at Robin.

“Yeah, just waiting for Harrington to put the sign.” Behind her, Steve was hanging the tiny clock shaped sign on the door, trying to figure out what time it would be when they got back.

“Just put four fifteen, Steve, Keith will be back by then and your shift will be over like immediately anyway. You clocked out, right?” Robin said quickly, turning to you to add “Keith is a menace; he doesn’t like to work with anyone and kicks everyone off the floor whenever he can.” You nodded boredly, you’d heard this when she worked with him at the arcade; she quit whereas he got fired, it was a point of bragging for her.

“Yes, Robin. I did what you said. I don’t like this idea, I need this job more than you do.” He muttered bitterly. You raised an eyebrow curiously. Bitter looked decent on him.

“Oh, will you relax? Let your hair down a bit, dingus.” Robin grinned, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. The three of you headed down the street to the cheesy diner Burger in a Basket. The whole place was themed after a fifties diner, complete with neon and pastel colours and fifties nostalgia on the walls. Bikes, hoola hoops, records, pictures of dead icons like Elvis and Marilyn Monroe, movie posters-the whole shebang. You didn’t go there for atmosphere, no, you went for the food. Robin insisted that it was the best burger she’d ever had and you’d be hard pressed to find one better in Hawkins. You didn’t know if Steve had been initiated into the burger ritual yet, but you didn’t really care.

Entering the teal and pink dining room, you nodded to the poor young thing in the giant black beehive wig and roller skates, you and Robin heading towards your normal booth. Steve followed behind, wide eyed and a little bit horror struck. You slid into the booth and grabbed the menus out of the rack at the table, handing them out wordlessly. Robin pushed Steve towards your side of the booth and he begrudgingly slid in, much to your dismay.

“You dragged me out of work…to go to a cheesy themed diner?” Steve asked incredulously.

“Just wait till you try it, Steve, it’ll change your life.” Robin said with a grin, flipping open the menu. You knew that she always ordered something different each time you came. You always ordered the same thing so you didn’t bother to open yours. Steve cautiously followed Robin’s example, flipping around with a wide eyed, innocent expression.

“Alright, welcome to Burger in a Basket, I’m Sylvia, how are you guys doing today?” the voice above you asked. You grinned as you saw Sylvia standing there in the stupid uniform. It was a comfort to know that her life was a little worse than yours. After all, she was such a bitch to you most of the time. That Matt Carther thing gave her plenty of room to get away with being a complete bitch, and it gave you something to use as a tester with guys in town. If they didn’t know who she was or they laughed, then they weren’t worth your time. Sure, you felt bad for her, but she treated you like dog shit for a year before dumping your ass to hang out with Macy Clarke and Nancy Wheeler.

“Hey Sylvia, we’re doing alright.” You said with a slight smirk, resting your head on your palms. Sylvia cringed slightly, but her eyes landed on Steve’s and her whole expression changed.

“Hey, Steve…” she murmured, pulling her lip into her teeth, grinning slightly.

“Hey, Sylvia, how’s it going?” he replied. Of course he’d go for her, you thought to yourself, she’s exactly his type. Just dumb enough to be cute but just pretty enough to hold your attention, with the slightest stink of desperation. You wanted so desperately to roll your eyes, but Robin was watching you with the knowing look, so you maintained your composure.

“I’m good! Can I get you a drink? Or are you ready to order? Do you need a minute?” you wanted to laugh; this was the best service you’d ever gotten at the restaurant. And it was all thanks to Steve.

“I mean…are you guys ready? I think I’ve got it figured out.” Steve said, gesturing to Robin with a nervous expression.

“Yeah, I’ll get the Fourth of July burger with mushrooms and can I get no mustard? Oh, and a diet coke.” Robin said, smiling confidently at Sylvia, who took down the order boredly.

“Sure, and for you, Steve?” she asked sweetly, fluttering her lashes.

“Um…I need a second more, Y/N can you order?” he muttered, leaning over to you. You nodded, surprised that him being closer to you didn’t upset you. It was almost…nice.

“Yeah sure…I’ll get the double hula burger with extra cheese, no pickles, no ketchup, and a triple thick chocolate shake.” You rattled off quickly, enjoying watching her struggle to get everything down.

“Alright, you ready, Stevie?” Sylvia asked and you noted the distinctive blush forming on his cheeks. Sylvia seemed too proud of her work and you wanted to wipe that look off her face. Pride was a bad look for her.

“Can I just get classic burger with mayo and extra tomato? And a coke?” he asked awkwardly, still clearly very unsure of himself.

Sylvia nodded “Perfect! I’ll be back with your drinks in a moment.” She said, turning and skating off, waving coyly to Steve as she headed back into the kitchen. You and Robin snickered, Robin rolling her eyes as soon as Sylvia disappeared.

“Oh my god we should have been bringing you since day one, they never give us that much attention!” you cried with a loud laugh.

“Dude, she wants you so bad oh my god!” Robin added, reaching out to slap his shoulder. Steve lowered his head, shaking his head.

“I totally remember her now…she had a thing for me in junior year, covered my locker in paper hearts. I wasn’t supposed to find out but I did. It was very uncool.” He muttered, shaking his head. You remembered that too, how she’d planned it for weeks, forcing you to help cut out pink, purple, and red hearts. You thought the whole thing was so cringy and weird, but she was dead set that he’d be intrigued by the mystery and sweetness of the action. She thought it was so cute. Barbra Holland unintentionally started the rumor that it was her, but you wished it was you to tell the world. Watching her slink home was worth the afternoons in the library with her calling you stupid for not cutting the heart out perfectly.

“She was just trying to put her feelings out there!” Robin replied incredulously.

“No, Rob, she was being weird. She could’ve shoved a note in his locker, send him a candy gram and Valentine, they do that every year for lacrosse team. She did something unnecessary and creepy to get attention. You’re just a hopeless romantic.” You grinned, reaching out to touch the bright red heart drawn in permanent marker on her wrist. You knew she had a thing for Jennifer Buffet, who worked at the now defunct Starcourt movie theatre. She always drew that little heart on everything whenever she had a crush, it was like she was trying to get caught, you didn’t get that; you always wanted to hide your crushes until the other person showed any interest in you. You wouldn’t usually agree or defend Steve Harrington, but he was right for once. You didn’t mind agreeing if he was correct for once.

“I am not!” Robin cried, crossing her arms over her chest.

You leaned in to whisper to her “Tell that to Tammy Turner.” Robin turned bright red and she leaned back into the vinyl seat, looking away from you.

“Oh was it bad?” Steve asked with a wide, doofy grin. You were surprised to know that he knew about Tammy, but you didn’t question it. Asking questions could reveal something that Robin didn’t want known. You were used to being careful with her.

“Ohhhh yeah, it was a rough year with her pine after that muppet.” Watching Robin pine after Tammy Turner was so embarrassing, since the girl was so straight. I mean the Steve thing was one thing, but the girl dated Tommy H for two weeks between his forty-second break-up with Carol. That’s the epitome of straight bullshit: finding Tommy H’ s awful, crass, and downright sexist attitude and sense of humor attractive and desirable. How Robin didn’t see that was beyond you.

“That’s what I said! She sounds like a damn muppet! Like Kermit the frog or something!” Steve cried, smacking the vinyl and turning to look at you fully. When he wasn’t trying so hard, he was actually pretty cute. His eyes blew wide and his smile reached its fullest capacity, straining to not split his face in half.

“I thought more Ms. Piggy, like when she sang with Elton John. She always like pinching up her mouth at the end of her words, she looks like a wrinkly old apple.” You said, giggling slightly. “Don’t go breaking my heart…” you imitated, pursing and squeezing your lips together, making a tiny ‘O’ with your lips. Steve’s eyes grew impossibly wider and he laughed far too loudly, his head tossing back. You turned to Robin, who was blushing crimson, fully turned away from the scene you were making. Sylvia skated over with your food and drinks, smiling far too much. She placed each order in front of you, angling herself so her chest landed in Steve’s face when she handed his order over to him. He didn’t seem to notice, he was too busy laughing.

“What’re you guys talking about?” she asked, tossing your order in front of you.

“That time you made Steve’s locker look like the Valentine’s Day massacre.” You grinned back spitefully.

Sylvia paled significantly and she reached up to adjust her wig, looking away. “That…that wasn’t me…” she replied softly.

“Yeah…yeah it was…” Steve said between breathes, wiping tears away from his eyes. Sylvia opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. She turned away quickly, skating out fast. You laughed hard when she ran off, hunching over in your seat.

“That was so mean!” Robin cried, looking between the pair of you with a stern look.

“She…she deserved it! After everything I dealt with from her, I get to have one!” you replied, shrugging softly as you recovered. Steve offered you a high five, which you took happily. You never thought in your life that you’d be laughing with Steve Harrington. Today was a weird day.

“Eat, both of you.” Robin snapped and you complied equally happily. You loved this place-everything was fresh and made to order. Sure, it was greasy and unhealthy, but you deserved a bit of comfort food once and awhile. Steve took his first bite and let out a very loud moan. You giggled, it was so stupid. And a little cute, you wouldn’t pretend that it wasn’t. And maybe a little hot. But you wouldn’t admit that.

“This is so good!” he said, muffled by his mouthful of food.

“It’s even better when you’re high.” You whispered, nudging his arm. Steve nodded in approval, clearly into the idea.

The three of you ate in silence, wolfing down your burgers without much of a hum save for the sounds of ice clinking in glasses and small slurps from straws. Burger in a Basket still had glass bottle of coke, the rumor was that they filled them up with every drink and washed them after, since they didn’t really make glass bottles of soda for retail sale anymore.

With only their fries left, the group returned to each other’s attention. To your surprise, Steve spoke first.

“Can I be like honest here?” he said, turning to face you once again. You nodded shortly, shoving a fry into your mouth. “I have like, no idea who you are. I really don’t.” you raised an eyebrow at him, unsure of how you were supposed to react to that news. You swallowed your mouthful, nodding to yourself.

“Yeah, I figured as much.” You replied “I remember you though.”

“Oh yeah, what for?” Steve leaned back in the booth, putting his arms over the seat. He looked to be ready to take in praise.

“I remember how shit you were on the basketball team. How shit that whole team was.” You replied with a chuckle, watching Steve deflate immediately.

“I was, like, the best player on the team!” he replied indignantly.

“That’s not saying much.” That line made Robin laugh and Steve curl further into himself.

“You really should’ve joined the track and field team. You were much better at that anyway.” You added softly.

“On what planet? I’ve never even done track and field.” Steve cracked bitterly.

“Yes you have, we all had to do it in middle school.” You said. Both Robin and Steve looked at you like you were crazy, so without any remaining shame, you pressed on.

“At the end of the year, every year of middle school, we had the grade-wide track and field meet. We all trained on basic stuff-long jump, cross country, shot put for the older kids, and high jump. Then, each grade would compete and the best of those kids would go onto the main competition. We all got a day off to watch and there were free freezies. It was one of the best days of the year.” You explained.

“Yeah, so what? I never competed.” Steve replied, watching you closely.

“Yes, you did.” Steve raised an eyebrow at you. You rolled your eyes and continued.

“You were in eighth grade and I was in seventh. You had won the long jump in your grade level because Jude Armstrong broke his ankle and I had won the high jump. So we both competed. I remember three things about that day: one; that I won the high jump against all the older kids and Tina tried to push me into the mud after I got my medal; that you and Tommy snuck off to smoke cigarettes during the high jump. You both pretended that you’d done it before, and maybe you had, but Tommy was coughing so hard even after that it was so obvious that he’d never even touch a cigarette before. And three, that that was the year we were all forced to run the cross country race. Nobody had wanted to compete in the race, so they forced us to do it to set an example. I didn’t want to run it, I’m not a distance runner, but you were so confident. You didn’t look nervous at all. And when the whistle blew and everyone bolted, you held back. You came in third in the cross country race and second at long jump, against the odds on both. It was the coolest thing I’d ever seen.”

Steve nodded. You looked so pretty when you explained the memory, your whole face lit up and your smiled so softly. You looked angelic, it was truly a sight. But the memory itself turned his stomach.

“I remember that…” he muttered “What I remember about that day was my dad telling me that no other place matter except first and that I was absolute shit.”

You felt so bad, bringing it up at all. He looked so sad now, you regretting even commenting on it. “Oh…I’m sorry…” you said softly. Steve shrugged as if it meant nothing, as if he felt nothing. “God, what a dick and you were good too!” you cried.

“Nah, I kind of sucked.” Steve replied, pushing away the compliment with his hands.

“No seriously! We could have used you on the team, Jude Armstrong sucked ass after like freshman year! You showed real aptitude. And you’re built for it, strong legs and a good core. Let guys like Chuck Bronson stomp around the court, you should’ve came and competed with us, you would’ve won something.” You joked, kicking his shoe with your own.

Steve huffed “We got into the county semi-finals last year…”

“Yeah? We won country finals and got fifth in state. Half my team got into state colleges on scholarship based on that alone.” You replied haughtily.

“You gonna get one?” he asked.

“I might, I got a scout watching me. Don’t know if I’m gonna take it.”

“Oh yeah, why not?”

You grinned proudly “I’m hoping to follow in Emma Lancaster’s footsteps.”

“What she do?” Robin rolled her eyes at that comment.

“She got a full ride to NYU for fashion design.”

“You sew?”

You rolled your eyes “I’m the head of the costume department for the drama club.”

“It’s how we met.” Robin added proudly.

“Emma Lancaster founded and headed up the fashion club at Hawkins High and ran the sewing club. She wants to work for designer labels and head up her own one day. I just want to make costumes for plays. I’d work anywhere that paid and go to any school that offered money.” You explained.

“That’s cool, I hope you get it.” Steve said and you noted the slightest hint of sadness in his tone.

“How’s your planning going, Steve, got any ideas yet?” Robin asked, clearly catching onto the tone Steve had in his voice.

“Well…” he looked a little embarrassed as he spoke, but did so anyway “I was thinking about applying to the police academy in Carmel…it’s not a clear shot, but I’d like it more than working for my dad.”

“My uncle works there, I can put in a good word with him if you want.” Robin said cheerily.

“That would be cool. I just don’t know if I’d be any good.” Steve muttered to himself.

“I’d think you’d be pretty good, I mean you’ve got strong morals.” You turned to Robin “Remember when he broke freak Byers camera? He deserved that fucking shit.” Robin nodded in agreement.

“I mean yeah, Steve, you care about people. Like you take care of Dustin like he’s your brother. It takes guts to be genuine and unafraid about hanging out with literal children.” Robin added.

“You hang out with Dustin Henderson?” you asked curiously.

“You know Dustin?” Steve asked, equally confused.

“Yeah, my sister Stacy made fun of him for like a week last year after the snow ball for asking her to dance. I wanted to smack the shit out of her for it, it takes guts to ask somebody out, especially at that age.” You explained, slamming your tall milkshake glass on the table, having just slurped up the last drops of chocolate milk and whipped cream.

“Yeah well he’s got a girlfriend now named Suzie.” Robin said. Steve’s attention had turned to the window and you heard a small gasp.

“Shit, Keith’s here, I gotta run.” He pulled out his wallet and slapped a twenty dollar bill on the table before sliding out of the booth.

“Don’t get in shit, dingus!” Robin called after him.

He spun around quickly, jogging backwards “If you get me fired, I’ll kill you.” He looked you over slowly, a lopsided grin pulling at the corner of his mouth “I’ll see you around, Y/N?”

“Yeah, sure.” You smiled. Steve nodded happily and his back slammed into the poor dish boy, stumbling slightly before scampering off.

As soon as he was gone, Robin turned to you with a devilish grin “He likes you.” She giggled, reaching out to poke your shoulder.

“Good for him.” You replied, trying to seem confident and uncaring about the whole situation. Internally, you were utterly rocked. He’d gotten to you. You’d drunk the Steve Harrington kool-aid. He was deeper, more genuine, honest, and cooler than you’d ever expected him to be. You were utterly intrigued and now you had to know more. But you weren’t going to admit it now, not when Robin was being so cocky about it.

“I think you like him toooo!” she said in a sing-song tone.

You scoffed “No, not really.”

Robin saw right through you. But there was no sense in arguing when you were like this. You had too much pride to admit it now, especially with Sylvia floating around, looking for any excuse to rip the rug out from under you. But she had an idea.

“So, listen, I’m not working tomorrow and we haven’t hung out in forever. Wanna have a sleepover tonight?” Robin asked, pulling out cash from her wallet to cover herself and you, since she owed you money from the last time you’d gone out to eat.

“Sure, I’m not babysitting the brat tomorrow.”

“Great! You want to rent a movie or something? I get a discount at Family Video.”

You knew what she was doing, but you went along with it. No sense in calling her out now when she had a plan, it wouldn’t stop her anyway.

“Eh, whatever. I’m good either way.” You replied breezily.

“I wanna rewatch Carrie so let’s head over. Maybe grabbed some snacks too, I want some sour belts.” Robin said, climbing out of the booth and grabbing your hand, pulling you out. You didn’t really like horror movies and you really hated sour belts, they weren’t even sour, so you knew Robin was milking your ambivalence for all it was worth. What she didn’t know is that you actually kind of liked Carrie and you had a new dress that needed fitting and Robin would be the perfect model for it. Karma was a bitch.

Robin dragged you all the way to Family Video and inside, grinning at Keith and watching him blush as you passed by. He’d told you that he loved you the first and only time you hung out. You never called him back and Robin had to explain to him that saying I love you on a date that wasn’t even a date is the wrong move. Now, he wouldn’t even speak to you, which you didn’t mind.

“Y/N! Go gather as many packs of sour belts as you can get your hands on! I’m gonna find Carrie in the back!” Robin instructed.

“Get something fun too! Like the Princess Bride or something! Something I’ll actually watch!” you called after her. Robin flashed you a thumbs up and you sighed, turning on your heel and heading to the checkout line, grabbing lime green packs of rainbow striped, sugar coated candies off the rack and clutching them to your chest.

Robin found Steve in the back and, with very little pushing, sent him out onto the floor to talk to you. It only took two tries from him to get the courage to go and talk to you.

And again, he scared the shit out of you. He tapped you on the shoulder and you jumped a foot in the air, dropping all the sugary treats.

“Shit sorry!” Steve cried, dropping to his knees to clean up the mess.

“It’s okay!” you replied quickly, following suit. He shouldn’t have to clean up your mess after all. Your hands both rushed to grab the packages and when they brushed one another over the last packet, you couldn’t pretend that it wasn’t nice. The briefest chance of touch set your heart aflutter. You felt like you were ten years old again. He handed the packages over quickly, standing up just as fast. He offered you a hand up, which you took, if only to hold his hand for the briefest of moments. God, who even were you? You pulled it away fast.

“So…what’s with all the sour strips?” he asked, looking over the armful of candy you had.

“They’re Robin’s favourite. She told me to grab a shit ton, so I did. She’s grabbing the movies for tonight.” You explained.

“What movies?”

“Robin wants to watch Carrie. I’m hoping she gets something fun too, like Fast Times at Ridgemount High or The Princess Bride. Something funny.” You replied. You’d never smiled so much in a day, your face was starting to hurt but with Steve you couldn’t help it!

“Oh yeah? Having a sleepover or something?” that cocky Steve Harrington attitude was coming out, but it wasn’t making you as nauseous as it usually would, which was very odd.

“Yeah kind of. Which means Robin’s gonna wanna watch horror movies, eat so many of these until she pukes, and sneak malt whiskey from her father’s liquor cabinet.” You said, not hiding the slight disdain in your voice.

“Yeah? What’re you gonna do?”

“I’m gonna hem the dress I made for the Roenke County theatre’s production of Romeo and Juliet, sip vodka from my flask, and take away the sour belts when Robin gets sick.”

“Sounds fun?” Steve questioned.

“It probably won’t be,” you chuckled “But it’s not the worst way to spend a night.”

“How’d you think an evening with me would chalk up? In comparison I mean.” Steve asked, his hand coming to the top of the low black shelf to lean into you.

“Well I guess it would depend, what’s your plan?” you asked with a grin.

“Whatever you want.” He murmured softly, smirking far too confidently. You didn’t mind though, you knew what was underneath it all.

“Well, I’d have to think about it…how about you call me sometimes and we’ll talk about it.” You replied slowly, looking him up and down.

“Anytime, you got a pen?” Steve said. You nodded, pulling one out of your purse and grabbing his arm. You scribbled out your number on his palm, trying to make it as legible as possible and ignore how big and warm his hands were.

“I’ll call you tomorrow, that cool?” he said as you watched Robin saunter up too confidently, too proud of herself and of what she’d done.

“Sounds good.” You smiled, ignoring Robin’s cocky leer. “You ready to pay for this shit?” you asked as she walked up, wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

“Gimme the belts, I got this.” Robin said, eyeing up Keith like she was going to beat him up. Maybe she was. “Wait in the car, okay? I didn’t bring mine, so you’re driving me home.”

You nodded “Got it.” You turned to Steve, smiling softly “I’ll see you around, Harrington.”

“Definitely.”

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surveys-at-your-service · 4 years ago

Text

Survey #408

“tied to the rat race / a big bird in a small cage”

Who, whether a person or company, emails you the most? I really don't check my email enough to even know. If you were given an assignment to draw anything besides stick figures or just doodles, what would you draw? A meerkat of course, ha ha. Do you play the games on MySpace/Facebook? I never did. Well no, I did play "Dragons of Atlantis" when Facebook bought it or whatever, but now that it's a mobile game, I don't play anything on there. When was the last time you were sunburnt? Ha, actually now. It's from riding an hour to and an hour back from the TMS office every weekday; the sun coming in through the window got my arm. Who all do you live with? My mom and my two pets. Has a guy ever let you wear his jacket? Yeah. It was so comforting when Jason gave me his leather jacket to wear if I was cold; it was pretty big on me at that time and just really cozy. Thanks survey, now I feel like crying. :^) How many friends do you have of the opposite sex? Like, one. Do you have bird feeders hanging up outside? What about any hanging plants? No. Does your house have sliding glass doors? No. Was the last food item you ate part of a meal or a snack? A snack. What color is your hair brush? I don't use a brush, but a white comb. Would you rather it be sunny or rainy? I think I prefer sunny for the sake of helping keep my depression at bay, but sometimes I really do enjoy some nice steady rainfall at the window. Who’s the last person that you hugged, not family? I have no idea. What will your next piercing be? Probably getting my nostril re-pierced. How many people have you kissed, that you can HONESTLY say you loved? Two. Can you recall the last time you liked someone a lot? uhhhhhhhhhh now What’s scarier: spiders or worms? Worms gross me out, but a spider is more likely to actually scare me, but at the same time fascinate me. Do you play poker for real money? No. If you were pregnant, how long would you wait to tell the dad? I'd tell him immediately. Would you ever date out of your own race? I have in the past, and I would again. Do you still watch movies intended for children? Yeah. Hell, more than half the time they're better than "grown up" movies. What’s your favorite movie trilogy? Uhhhh does TLK count? ha ha What would you like to take lessons in? German. Whose Facebook password do you have? Just my own. Have you ever been suspended or expelled from school? No. Have you ever crawled through a window? Yes. Are you too forgiving? Yuuuup. Ever have a sleepover with the opposite sex? Well, we were dating. Have you ever gotten someone suspended? No. Have you ever wanted to be a teacher? No. Would you live with someone without marrying them? Yes; I believe you really probably should before getting married so you see if you "fit" as far as household habits and such go. Have you ever wanted to strip naked in front of someone? Yeah no. I'd feel way too awkward. What are you listening to? A John Wolfe video. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital? My mom. Did anyone watch you the last time you kissed someone? I mean possibly, it was a public place, and some people are definitely caught off-guard by seeing two girls kiss. Do either of your parents have any tattoos or piercings? No. Mom wants a tattoo, though, dedicated to all of us kids and her grandkids. Are you desperate for anyone’s approval, in particular? -_- Would you ever stalk a celebrity? Um, no???? You don't stalk ANYBODY. It's a violation of space, privacy, basic respect... Do you have any National Geographic magazines lying around? No. Have you ever been mistaken for the opposite gender? No. Do you use liquid foundation, mousse, or just powder? None. Have you ever picked out a song to listen to on a juke box? Maybe? I don't remember. Have you ever eaten 3 meals from 3 different fast food places in one day? Oh god, I hope not. I don't remember ever having done that. Have you ever ridden in a limo? No. I always wanted to as a kid. Have you ever tried to put a huge puzzle together? Yeah, I have. I used to like to do that with my mom especially. Ever wake up early on Saturdays to go garage sale shopping? Yes, actually. My family used to love to do that. Do you keep magazines by your toilet? No. Ya better just bring your phone. What did you last take a picture of with your camera? On my actual camera, a hydrangea bush. On the camera on my phone, I believe my cat. Are you proud of who you are? Not... really. If you were a waiter/waitress, would you make good tips? Nope. I'm too awkward and I would NEVER write the orders down quickly enough. I write so slow. What are the best kind of Girl Scout cookies? The chocolate and peanut butter ones. If you hit an animal while driving, would you stop to see if it was okay? Well I doubt it's okay, but I would absolutely stop to move it away from the road and sob my eyes out. I'd probably try to find some flowers to rest on it. What's your favorite kind of pasta? Spaghetti. Have you ever played computer solitaire for hours on end? I don't even know how to play solitaire. What's the dumbest thing you've heard of that supposedly causes cancer? Who the hell knows, everything does apparently. If you saw wet cement, would you place your handprint in it? No. Can you honestly tell the difference between DiGiorno and delivery pizza? Absolutely. Do you own a lava lamp? No, but I would looove one. What charity or cause would you donate $1,000 to if possible? Off the top of my head, the Trevor Project. I'd probably research before actually donating, though. What would you say is your greatest strength? I guess that I care a lot about people. What's one food that you find too disgusting to eat? Things like clams, es cargot, sashimi... just ew. What's something that will never bore you? Uhhhh good question. Pizza Hut or Domino's? Domino's, by a long shot. What's something that always, no matter what, makes you laugh? Stupid Vines, lol. Have you ever been in a canoe? No. How many vehicles does your family own? Just one, my mom's. Are you generally afraid of taking risks? Yes. Have you ever caught/swatted a fly in/with your hand? Ew, no. Would you ever dye your hair bubblegum pink? Yeah. What was the last thing to happen that you really weren't expecting? The woman whose wedding I shot TWO YEARS ago finally reaching out to me about buying some pictures. What does it mean when you start eating less? What does it mean when you start eating more? If I'm eating less, odds are I'm extremely serious about losing weight. If I'm eating more than usual, high odds are I'm depressed or bored. Or I'm on my period. What’s the strangest named pet you’ve ever had? Harry Potter, ha ha. He was a guinea pig. What are some defense mechanisms you find yourself using when in an argument with someone? I'm very likely to just metaphorically flee from it because I fear confrontation so much. Do you know if there is anyone who was once important to you that you will never talk to again, even though you could? If I have any say in it, I'm never talking to Colleen again. List the initials of every person you have ever kissed, from first kiss to most recent kiss. (Put “?”s in the place of initials you don’t know.) I'm not listing their last initial, but anyway: J, T, G, S. Does your face break out right before your period? Not "break out," no. I'll just get a pimple or two. What did you dream about last night? All I remember was that it focused on Jason and his late mother. I miss her so much. I hope so much that whatever exists beyond death, she found the peace she was so worthy of. Do you think the United States health care system needs reform? FUCK yes I do. Our health care system is a disgusting fucking nightmare. Who was the last person you cried over? Jason. My PTSD has been doing quite well, but I had an emotional episode recently nonetheless. Do you prefer ceiling fans or fans that stand up on the floor and you plug in? I use both, but I think my preference is ceiling ones. What would you do if your son was at home, crying all alone on the bedroom floor because he’s hungry, and the only way to feed him was to sleep with a man for a little bit of money? Hypothetically, if I had a child, if I'm totally honest, I probably would. I would hate it, but I'm not letting my child starve to death if I can do something about it. Why do you think evolution is true/false? Because there is substantial evidence for it and imo is the most logical theory we've thought up. Some things about it seem kinda far-fetched, but I still have faith in it. I trust scientists and the evolution we see firsthand, such as caterpillars to cocoons, tadpoles to frogs, etc. Who came through for you at a time when you really, really needed it? Colleen. She let me live with her when I was technically homeless. What turned out better than you thought? Good question. What object did you used to, or do you still, keep hidden? My drawings. I've flipped my shit when Mom's found them in the past, even though she went on and on about how "amazing" they were. I don't draw anything "bad" at all, but still, I don't like people seeing my creativity. Who can’t you figure out? My damn self. What are you hoping for? The most recent thing would be hoping Shonda buys a lot, if not all, the wedding photos I took. I desperately want to use the money along with what I have left from Christmas to buy Venus' terrarium and proper supplies all by myself. What’s the best physical object that you kept from a previous relationship? Idk, there's a few things. What is the most socially unacceptable thing that you have no problem with? Maybe women not shaving. Like I couldn't care less. What have you done that you surprised yourself by doing? *shrug* What used to be a secret about you? Hm. Anything that used to be a secret probably still is one. What is the most stalky thing you’ve ever done? Just Facebook digging, and that's not something I've done a lot off. What did you wind up liking that you didn’t want anything to do with at first? The only thing that comes to mind at the moment is something sexual, so let's not go into that. Who do you owe your life that you can never pay back? Mom and Jason have both saved me from what would've been suicide attempts.

#survey #surveys #random questions #lyrics: ''monkey tree'' by mother mother

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thetriggeredhappy · 5 years ago

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angst&hurt/comfort, where scout is anxious and doubts his skills, so he tries to calm himself by holding/hugging/whatever his plushie (or something else, idk), whilst someone is trying to get to him, to make him confess what is bothering him? idk if you wanna make it a ship ir maybe dad spy, ily -🦂

oh dude you already KNOW dad!spy hours are 24/7 up in here. welcome to “projecting RSD onto Scout TF2 episode 85″

Stupid summer, stupid break, stupid losing streak. Stupid everything.

Usually Scout was excited about breaks. A week or so of getting to be off work, heading home to visit family or going on a road trip or whatever was happening. It was nice, he loved it. But this time they had explicit orders from their boss not to go anywhere or do anything. To stay on base or to go specifically exclusively to the store in the nearest town for food or whatever. He hated it. The base was too small to hang out in for more than a few days at a time. He hated it.

And not to mention that they’d finished off work on a bad note. A day of losses turning into a week of losses, half the team scrambling to try and pull together enough to get one last good push in before the break and the other half deciding to just accept the loss and do better once they got back.

And every day after battle Soldier would single out someone who wasn’t on top of their game and lecture them. And all week, instead of going for the people who were largely slacking off and not breaking their necks to try and get them some actual wins, he went after Scout, who was so frantic that he kept making stupid mistakes.

And he just... usually he argued about it, and got in a fight with Soldier, but he just... didn’t have the energy for it. The day was over. They’d lost. And Scout knew it wasn’t entirely his fault, but it kind of felt like it. Maybe if he’d tried just a little bit harder, pushed himself just a little further, he could’ve gotten the rest of the team motivated. Maybe they all would’ve picked things back up and tried too. But he couldn’t do it.

It was frustrating. He knew his job, beyond what he did on the field, was trying to keep morale up. He kept music playing, he was always up for hanging out or playing a few hands of poker or headed into town with someone to get shitty fast food. And he tried really hard to be funny and to keep things lighthearted, tried so fucking hard to keep spirits up. And he knew if he said anything about it, pointed out how literally like all of his time was spent trying to make sure everyone was feeling okay, it would...

He didn’t know. Maybe they’d just tell him off for being whiny or whatever. Maybe it would stop working so well, if they knew he was always doing it so extremely on purpose, so intentionally. He didn’t know.

But at that moment, he was feeling so much like utter garbage that he knew he had to just avoid the team so he didn’t drag the mood down further. Usually they didn’t really miss him anyways, other than idly asking if he’d gotten into any trouble while he was off doing “whatever he did”. All he knew was that him feeling like shit around everyone else would just make them feel bad too. And it was break anyways—maybe they’d just end up feeling better on their own. Especially since he wasn’t around to interrupt them.

He had plenty of food in his room, mostly chips and candy bars and stuff like that, stuff he didn’t want the guys stealing. And he’d totally share if they asked, for sure, but for that moment he was mostly just digging through the hoard for himself and doing not much of anything else.

He felt like kind of an idiot, sitting alone and eating his feelings like some kind of angsty teen in a movie or the chick in the romcom who just got broken up with. But there was nobody there to ridicule him except himself. And he did, but... the point stood.

A few days passed like that. He had food, he had the little bathroom connected to his room, he had comics to entertain himself. He slept a lot, mostly. Felt like garbage. Read some comics. Ate chocolate about it. Slept some more. He left a few times to do a few assorted things—called home like he did every week, went into the common room late one night to grab some of his records back so he could listen to them.

At one point, he got a knock on his door. He didn’t answer, couldn’t seem to find the energy to. A second knock when the first was unanswered after about twenty seconds. He still didn’t move.

The next day, another knock. This one was accompanied by words. “Scout? I know you’re in there,” Spy called, sounding annoyed.

To be honest, Scout was pretty sure he didn’t have the energy to deal with whatever Spy was about to lecture him about. So he just rolled over.

“You’ve missed every team meal for almost four days. You’re being rude,” Spy declared.

Scout reached off the side of the bed and picked up a plushie that had fallen down. It was a big, chunky pig, and he’d won it when he and Pyro had gone out to a fair and he’d knocked the ball toss game out of the park. Pyro had taken three of the plushies he’d won, and insisted he keep the fourth for himself.

He felt like even more of a dumb baby, sitting there cradling a stuffed animal like he was scared to head off to his first day of kindergarten, but he was already too tired and filled with vague unrest for it to get to him much.

At some point he heard a heavy sigh and the clack of fancy shoes moving away down the hallway, and Scout relaxed.

Twenty minutes later, a knock.

“Scout, let me in,” Spy said firmly.

“Fuck off, Spy,” Scout snapped.

“Scout, if you don’t open the door, I’m going to,” Spy declared.

“Bullshit.”

A heavy sigh, and then a few moments later the door swung open.

“What the fuck?” Scout asked, lifting his head to glare towards the door as Spy stepped inside.

“I know how to pick locks, Scout. You know this.” Spy squinted to try to get used to the light, the blinds having been drawn. “I’m turning a light on.”

Scout just grumbled, dropping his head back into the plush pig. In his periphery, the light was indeed turned on. There was a beat of silence.

“I brought a plate from dinner. I was concerned you would get scurvy, since you now apparently have the diet of an eight year old child who was given a hundred dollars and left unsupervised at the grocery store,” Spy said dryly.

“I don’t want your fuckin’ handouts, Spy,” Scout muttered, muffled.

“It’s not a handout, it’s the fact that I refuse to have anyone on the team besides me whose teeth are falling out. Take the food.”

“Fuck off.”

Spy sighed again, and after a moment he moved to put the plate on the bedside table. Scout prickled at the proximity, but didn’t give him the satisfaction of looking up.

“I noticed that while you haven’t been at dinner, you still took the time to leave a thumb tack on my chair. Usually when you do that it’s because you’re angry with me. What exactly have I done?”

“I’m not mad at you, I’m just mad,” Scout grumbled.

“You know, it’s very childish to refuse to look at someone when they are trying to talk to you.”

“Guess I’ll just keep being the dumb idiot kid of the team then, huh?” Scout snapped.

Silence for a moment. “Scout. You’ve locked yourself away in your room and refused to come out again for several days. I know that something is wrong. The team does too—they’re starting to worry.”

“That might just be the most obvious lie you’ve ever fuckin’ told me, Spy,” Scout practically spat, and was glad to have his voice muffled, because suddenly it went a little tight.

“Is it that hard to believe that perhaps your teammates care about you?” Spy asked, a little sharply.

“It’s me, in case you haven’t noticed,” Scout said next, getting his voice back under control. “People don’t hang around me on purpose. They put up with me. And then they stop putting up with me at some point.”

“That’s not true,” Spy said, tone leaving no room for argument, but Scout elbowed some argument in anyways.

“All seven of my brothers, every fuckin’ date I’ve ever been on, the standing ban sayin’ I can’t go in Engie’s workshop or in Heavy’s workspace down by the boiler or the infirmary unless I’m actually seriously injured—“ Scout listed off, ticking off on his fingers, keeping his face hidden. “My own fucking dad decided he couldn’t fucking stand me and I was two years old, Spy, what the hell does that tell you? I’m an annoying little piece of shit and that’s all I’m ever gonna be and then one of these days I’m gonna die for real out in this hellhole desert and ain’t a single damn person out here will have ever even bothered to learn the name that’s supposed to go on my gravestone.”

Dead silence in the room. Scout’s arm fell back down by his side. His voice was shaky when he spoke again.

“Nobody’s ever even asked,” he managed. “Demo’s real name is Tavish, Heavy’s real name is Mikhal but his sisters call him Misha. And plenty of you guys get asked about it all the time but you don’t wanna say. And nobody’s ever even fuckin’ asked me.”

Silence for a few more seconds.

“I’m a whole person,” Scout said next. “I’m really into sci-fi. I’ve read every mainline issue comic book ever published after ‘35. I know how to cook and draw and I know the all the stats of every person on every major league baseball team. I was in theater in high school between track and baseball season in the winters and I and got a lead role on some Shakespearicles thing before it got cancelled because of budget cuts. I bet you didn’t even know that.”

“I didn’t,” Spy admitted.

“And why would you? Who the fuck cares? It’s just dumb scrawny idiot Scout, who the fuck cares what his deal is? He can barely do his job and read any word that’s over four syllables, who cares what he does? He ain’t nothin’ today, he must never have been somethin’ in the first place.”

“Scout—“

“Tell me I’m wrong, Spy,” he snapped, voice cracking down the middle.

“You’re wrong. Scout, what’s going on?” Spy asked, and his voice sounded closer, like he’d taken a knee. “What happened?”

He understood, logically, that telling Spy damn near anything was a bad idea. He sold information for a living. But logic hadn’t ever been much help to him, and anyways, he was pretty sure he was about to break down either way, and he could either cry like a dumb little baby and Spy could go to the rest of the team and tell them about stupid Scout and his crying for no reason, or he could at least sort of maybe a little bit sound justified and a little bit less completely unhinged.

“We lost all week because I fuckin’ suck at my job, and we don’t get to go off base for some goddamn reason, and I miss my family, and I—“ God damn it, he hoped to at least get to a second sentence before he broke, but here came the waterworks. “—and I know the team doesn’t give a shit, and if they even noticed they probably think I’m being some idiot baby, and I’m just so fuckin’ tired of all of this, alright? I’m just so goddamn exhausted, all the time, and no matter what I do I can’t make my own stupid, shitty, broken-ass brain shut up, and I...”

There was a hand on his shoulder, now. For some reason that’s what unstuck the sob in his throat.

“And I just miss my mom,” he managed, and sobbed again. “And I know that just makes me a stupid fucking baby—“

“Scout, it doesn’t,” Spy said firmly.

“Bullshit.”

A sigh, less exasperated than the others. “Scout, I miss my own parents. Often. Heavy writes to his mother, the Bushman calls home once a week and stays on the phone for an hour at a time. Do you think they would do that if they didn’t miss them?”

Scout couldn’t seem to find his voice, and just sniffled a little.

“If anything, it’s good that you miss your mother. You are appreciating her now, while she’s still part of your life, rather than later on when she’s gone. That’s a good thing.”

“Here I am cryin’ over dumb shit—“

“The fact that you’re even capable of tears shows that you haven’t completely sealed yourself off from your emotions like several of our testosterone-puppet teammates. I’m fairly certain that Medic surgically removed his own tear ducts. I think Soldier is so dehydrated that he’s incapable of it. And rather than sweat he needs to cover himself in liquid-like food products or else he’ll die of heat stroke.”

Despite everything, that made Scout laugh, just a little. More of a hiccup than anything else.

“Admittedly, you have greater social needs than several of our team, and they need to take breaks. Not just from you, but from everyone. It’s part of being human, everyone requires some amount of time alone or else they start losing their minds. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t care about you—value the things you do for this team, even. Every time someone would like company when going in to town for any reason, they always ask me where you are. And you’ve given good film recommendations to everyone except for the Sniper.”

“Guy hates movies,” Scout defended weakly.

“You keep recommending horror films. As it turns out, he is a fan of romantic comedies.”

“Fuckin’ what? Seriously?”

“I was shocked too. His complete lack of taste in all areas of his life continues to amaze me.”

Scout scoffed at that. A beat of silence.

“What I am saying is that the team doesn’t simply put up with you. You’re impossible to simply put up with, you take up too big a part of everyone’s life here. Instead, they must like and respect you.” A pause. “And your father must have truly been an idiot. Anyone with two eyes would be proud of the challenges you’ve faced and overcome with all of the disadvantages you’ve been dealt over your lifetime.”

Scout sniffled, wiped his eyes with his forearm, finally managed to look up at Spy. “Anyone with two eyes? You sayin’ you’re proud of me, then?” he asked, even if it was a little shaky.

“I feel no strong emotions,” Spy deadpanned.

“Alright, nevermind about earlier. That’s the most obvious lie you’ve ever told me.”

Spy rolled his eyes, standing, brushing off the knee of his suit.

Scout looked at the plate, made a face. “Aw man, what the fuck, is that asparagus? Is Medic back on trying to make us eat healthy again?”

“The Engineer cooked it, stop complaining and just eat it,” Spy said, quickly falling back into his role of naggy just on the near side of patronizing.

“C’mon, it couldn’t have been like, mashed potatoes or broccoli or somethin’?”

“You always douse those things in salt and butter. That combined with the energy drinks means you’re going to get a heart condition before I do.”

“Just get the fuck outta my room, Spy,” Scout huffed, putting the stuffed animal aside and moving to pick up the plate and utensils.

“Very well. And go talk to Demoman at some point, he’s been whining about nobody wanting to go get fast food with him for two days,” Spy said as he walked to the door. “And you can’t borrow my car to go.”

“Fuck you, Spy,” Scout said flippantly, waving him off.

“Fuck you too,” Spy said just as casually, and made sure to close the door behind him.

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #dad!spy #shut up me #my fanfiction #everybody talks #unrelated to this fic but requests might be a little slow for the next few days. life just got real busy for me

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evermoreholland · 5 years ago

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Questions (Peter Parker x Jewish!Reader)

Title: Questions

Pairing: Peter Parker x Jewish!Reader

Summary: Peter has lived in a Jewish neighborhood the majority of his life, but he has never once tried to learn more about the people living there. That was until he met you.

Requested: No.

Word Count: 1.9k!

Author’s Note: This story is more of a platonic pairing. The reader teaches Peter about her religion because he’s curious. He watches the reader do certain things that she wouldn’t question, but he did because it was different for him.

I am Jewish but some of my facts could still possibly be incorrect. Feel free to correct me and leave feedback.

It was your first day at Midtown High and you were nervous. All of your life you have lived in a small town, but you’re family decided to move to a larger community. Your father was appointed to be the new Rabbi at the Modern-Orthodox synagogue in Queens. Although you were happy for him, it was hard to move to a big city.

It seemed weird to your father at first that you were even going to Midtown. There were many Jewish schools in New York that you could go to. You had a love for science and your mother didn’t mind sending you. You planned study lessons with your father after school so you could still learn Judaic studies.

Your family was Modern-Orthodox. You kept Kosher and Shabbat, which are laws directly from the Torah. However, you didn’t keep all of the typical Orthodox customs. Your mother didn’t wear a sheitel (wig for hair covering), but instead, she would wear scarves or baseball caps. Sometimes she didn’t cover her hair at all. You did participate in all of the Jewish holidays, not just Hanukkah and Passover.

You got ready for school like you normally would. You woke up, you got dressed in your skirt and long sleeve top, and then you prayed. After that, you went to the kitchen to make breakfast for yourself and then prepared your lunch. You saw that your sister, Gilah, hadn’t packed her lunch yet.

“Gilah, do you need me to help you pack your lunch?” you asked your younger sister.

“Yes, please. Ima (Hebrew for mom) told me to ask you before we went to school,” she replied. Your sister was 8 and she didn’t know how to pack herself a well-balanced lunch, so you would usually have to help her out.

You had 3 older brothers and one younger sister. Your brothers were in yeshiva (post high school program for Torah study) and they were out of the house so you took on the job of helping out your younger sister.

You packed lunches for the two of you, grabbed breakfast, and then made your way out the door to walk Gilah and yourself to school.

“Y/N, don’t forget that we need to call Bubbe after school to tell her about our day!” your sister said on your walk. Every day after school you would visit your grandmother and talk to her about your day. Since you moved, you would have to call her instead.

“I could never forget, Gilah,” you said. You dropped Gilah off at school and then made your way to Midtown. When you approached the building your first thought was: This school is huge. Typically, Jewish day schools are much smaller in size.

You made your way in and honestly, you were a bit overwhelmed by the size of the school. You got your schedule and made your way to your locker. You looked to your right and saw that your locker neighbors with a brown-haired boy. A very cute boy. At least that’s what you saw from his side profile.

“Hi, excuse me?” you asked. Then the boy turned around and you definitely confirmed to yourself that he was cute.

“Y-yeah?” he stuttered.

“I’m Y/N L/N. Ummm, I’m a junior and I’m new here. I was wondering if you could show me where the lab is?” you asked him. You were here a few minutes early. Doesn’t hurt to ask.

“Sure. I’m actually going there too. I’m Peter by the way. Peter Parker,” he said with a smile. You both then made your way to the lab for your first period class.

“So what made you move here?” Peter asked.

“My dad got a new job,” you said simply.

“What does your dad do?” Peter asked.

“He’s a Rabbi,” you said.

“So you’re Jewish? That’s so cool! Do you happen to live in Forest Hills?” Peter asked. Peter lived in Forest Hills which was mostly a Jewish neighborhood.

“I do actually,” you said.

“I live there too, but I’m not Jewish. I love my neighbors though. I even went to my neighbors Hanukkah party this year!” Peter rambled. “Sorry for rambling.”

“Don’t apologize,” you said and finally you were in the lab.

You were enjoyed Midtown. You liked the classes you were in and the students were really nice.

It was lunch and you made your way to the cafeteria. You spot Peter at a table with his friends. He locked eyes with you and waved.

“Can I sit with you?” you asked as you approached his table.

“Sure,” he said as patted the seat next to him.

You pulled out your lunch bag and then pulled out your salad. Before taking a bite, you said a quick prayer and then ate. Peter noticed you mumbling to yourself.

“Did you say something Y/N?” Peter asked curiously.

“I was just saying a quick prayer. No biggie,” you said as you kept eating. Peter was curious as to why you packed your own lunch. School lunch at Midtown came for free with tuition.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you pack your own lunch?” Peter said.

“Oh, I don’t mind the question. I keep Kosher,” you said. Peter settled for that answer. He didn’t know anything about keeping Kosher, but he didn’t want to pry. He would just look it up later.

“What is Kosher exactly?” Peter’s friend said.

“Ned! Can we not bother her about every little detail please?” Peter asked Ned.

“It’s okay to ask questions, Peter. In Judaism, people encourage us to ask. We are all about asking questions and learning more,” you said and then Peter urged you to go on.

“The word ‘kosher’ is Hebrew for ‘fit’ or ‘appropriate’, and kosher foods are those foods that are deemed fit by the regulations of kashrut, the Jewish dietary law,” you said.

“Is it really important?” Peter asked. He didn’t want to come off as rude, he genuinely wanted to know.

“It’s actually one of the most important aspects of our religion. It’s a way to uphold the fundamentals of our beliefs,” you said. “There are specific foods that are deemed appropriate by kashrut such as land animals that have cloven hooves and chew their cud. We’re allowed to eat most birds. And also no shellfish,” you continued.

“So you can’t eat bacon?” Peter asked.

“Correct, pigs don’t chew their cud. Also, they’re super cute,” you said with a giggle. “There are many more laws involving Kosher, such as symbols on snacks and stuff, but I don’t want to bore you.”

“That’s really interesting. Some of my Jewish neighbors don’t do that though,” Peter said.

“That’s because everyone’s on their own level. Not all Jews are the same. Some can be completely secular and only celebrate traditional holidays like Hanukkah, others keep the Sabbath and Kosher and follow all of the laws and customs, and some are in between,” you said.

“What are some of the key fundamentals of Judaism?” Peter said. He wanted to know more.

“Lunch break isn’t long enough for that, Peter. You could come over one day and we can have a discussion about it, if you want. Don’t feel pressured though. It’s a lot of information,” you said.

“You free today?” Peter asked. That questioned made you smile. This was all new to you too. All of your life you had Jewish friends so some of this stuff was hard to explain.

“Yeah. I just need to text my parents to see if they’ll be home,” you said as you began to text your parents. They texted you back and they didn’t really want you bringing a boy home, but you convinced them.

“They gave the okay. I just have to pick up my sister from school, call my grandmother, and then you can come over,” you said.

Peter, Ned, and you exchanged numbers. Ned decided on not coming this time around, which was fine.

Peter was nervous about coming to your house. What if he said something offensive by accident? He also didn’t want to come to your house empty-handed but he didn’t know which Kosher symbols your family held. He decided on shooting you a quick text before going to the store.

Peter: Hey. I don’t want to come to your house empty-handed. What Kosher symbols do you follow?

You read the text and smiled. He’s so sweet.

Y/N: That’s so sweet of you Peter. We usually get snacks with CRC, OU, and the k with the star around it :)

Peter: Ok thanks. I’ll be there soon.

You were excited that Peter was interested in your religion, but did he actually want to be your friend? Well, maybe he did. You didn’t really know.

He came to your house, treats in hand, and gave a light knock on your front door. He was met with what he assumes to be your mother.

“Hello. You must be Peter, come in,” she said with a welcoming smile.

“I brought you some coffee cake,” Peter said as he handed your mother the treat.

“I love this brand. Thank you, Peter. Y/N, come to the living room. Your friend is here!” your mom said.

“Hey Peter,” you said as you made your way to the living room.

“Hey,” he said.

“My dad should be home soon. He just had to go to prayer services at the synagogue,” you said.

Your father came home about five minutes later and he was eager to learn with you.

“Y/N, what books did you pick out for today’s session?” He asked as he made his way to sit by the two of you.

“Abba, I didn’t pick out any books today,” you said.

“Why not?” He asked.

“Well Mr. L/N... wait, or is it Rabbi L/N?” Peter asked.

“It’s usually Rabbi but whatever you’re comfortable with,” your father said.

“Well anyway, I came over because Y/N was teaching me about Judaism during school because I wanted to know more. We didn’t really finish talking about it,” Peter said.

“Why do you want to know more, Peter?” Your father questioned.

“Ummmm, maybe it’s because I lived all my life in this neighborhood and I never once acknowledged their religion,” Peter said.

“Maybe that’s because you don’t care about the religion someone’s affiliated with, you just care about the person that they are,” you chi med.

“I guess so,” Peter said simply.

“Why do you want to know more now?” your father asked.

“Because I met your daughter and I knew that I was going to be friends with the minute I saw her. I want to know more because it’s a part of who she is. I may not be religious but I want to know what makes Y/N the way she is,” Peter said. He was proud of his answer. You were proud of his answer.

Peter and you got along pretty well after that. You didn’t only talk about your religion. You talked about each other. You realized you liked a lot of the things that Peter liked as well. You’ve been hanging out ever since the first day of school. You really fit in with Peter and his friends. Peter would come over twice a week to hang out with you and to do homework. Peter kept asking questions about Judaism. You were happy to answer. He stopped asking as much because Peter knew that your religion wasn’t the only thing that made you who you are. It is a big part of your identity, but not the only part. He then started more questions about you. You were definitely happy to answer those questions.

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Masterlist

#abby writes #peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker imagine #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker fluff #spiderman #spiderman far from home #spiderman x reader #spiderman fanfiction #tom holland #peter parker x jewish!reader #jewish #jumblr

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bookocd · 4 years ago

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Velaris University

So this is my first try at a college AU and while it was super fun to write, I would love for some feedback if anyone has any! Also please let me know if you want to be tagged in future updates or have prompts for this series (I will def need them)

Thanks for reading! I hope you like it :)

Here is my masterlist of fanfics is anyone wants it!

Chapter 1:

“I just think it’s stupid.” The entire car trip had been the same conversation playing on repeat. I was getting a headache.

“I know exactly what you think Nesta. You’ve only said it about twenty times.”

“I don’t understand why anyone would go to college with a boyfriend.”

“You don’t actually think that, you just hate Tamlin.” I was rubbing temples fiercely, and let out a sigh of relief as the Velaris University sign came into focus ahead of us.

“He lost my respect when he threatened to break up with you if you didn’t follow him to SCC.” The moment I told her, I regretted it and I couldn’t help my frown from deepening.

“Nes you need to let that go, he obviously didn’t mean it. He was just upset. We were both upset.”

The fight I had with my boyfriend flashed in my mind, and I had to stop myself from physically cringing.

I was hugging myself with tears running down my face.

“Feyre, did you really think that I would be happy?” His voice was quiet, like it was also waiting for the inevitable explosion. We were standing in the greenhouse that was connected to his families mansion. This was the place they had shared their first kiss, their first time having sex, and also their first I love you’s. A thought crossed my mind that this would also be the space we had out first breakup.

“This-s program is m-my dream Tam. It’s what I want to do with my l-life.” It was hard to get the words out through the sobs.

It was apparently the wrong thing to say. Suddenly there were plants on the ground and one of the tables was on its side. I backed up, the sobs increasing. He turned to me with a feral look on his face, and yelled, “I thought this was our life! You’re being so fucking selfish.”

I tried to stammer out an apology, but he put his hand out to silence me, a command.

“If you do this, we are over.” The glow from the greenhouse light made him look angelic, with his long golden hair and perfectly angled face. This would have been the perfect picture if he wasn’t glowering. He waited for a minute with his chest moving up and down with his quick breaths. He was waiting for me to change my mind, but I wasn’t going to.

He finally realized what my silence meant, and kicked over another table of flowers. A pot landed right at my feet and shattered instantly. It reminded me of my heart. He retreated into his house, slamming the door behind him.

“Being upset is not an excuse to be a dick.” Her comment brought me back to the present. “And it scares me that you think it does” she continued. I wasn’t going to tell her that it scared me too. I also wasn’t going to tell her, or anyone else, about his more violent reactions. I just kept telling myself that those responses were not directed toward me.

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I love him, we are together, and that’s all I have to say.” She turned her blue Chevy into the parking lot of Apartment Hall D, which was where I would be living for the next year. I could see the whites of her knuckles as she gripped the steering wheel, readying herself for another round. Before she could start again, I asked. “Can we just unpack the car please?”

Her glaring eyes and stiff posture showed how hard it was for her to drop the topic, but she ended up shaking her head, parking the truck, and opening the car door.

—

Nesta and I climbed the three flights of stairs to apartment 304, and I wondered if there was roof access.

“Feyre the key,” Nesta’s labored breath and arms full of boxes, had me reaching into my purse and digging for my keys. Finally finding them and feeling a glare on the back of my neck, I opened the door to my new home.

Walking into the open concept apartment, I was very happy over my decision to not live in a dorm. The only reason I could afford this was because of my scholarship, but I wanted space to paint and I wanted Tamlin to have the ability to visit whenever he wanted. The kitchen was directly to the left of the door, with yellow cabinets, a large oven and fridge, and a large white granite island. The apartment was furnished, so the room beyond the kitchen had a medium sized couch with blue cushions with a navy armchair next to it. Both the couch and chair were facing a white wall where a wooden TV stand sat, which was empty if the occupants couldn’t afford one. This occupant could not. Past the living area, a glass door led out to a small deck that had a view of the whole campus. I pushed open the door and felt the morning breeze hit my face. The sun was rising and the light reflected off all the windows, which ate every shadow in sight. The University was almost golden.

Reluctantly I tore myself from the beautiful sight.

Turning back I went looking for my bedroom. A small laundry room and pantry directly next to the kitchen. A small hallway showed three more doors, two on the far side and one on the closest side. One was an empty bed room, with a spacious closet, a bed frame with a mattress, a small dresser, and a worn wooden desk and chair in the corner. The room was small and the furniture was old, but the view from the window was worth it. It was the opposite side from the deck, so I was looking out onto the city of Velaris. The ocean was visible and so were the mountains that surrounded the north side of the city. The morning sun was illuminating the water making it sparkle, and I knew that I would live in a shoe if it had this view.

My randomly assigned roommate was no where to be seen, but the next room was already filled to the brink with clothing, makeup, and jewelry. I was excited to hopefully have a friend I could borrow some clothes from, even though half of it I could never pull off. Nesta, however, took one look at the dresser, which was overflowing with lingerie, and scoffed. Her scoff was covering the embarrassed look and blush now covering her face. I had to hide my snort with a cough. My sister being uncomfortable was very rare, so the fact that underwear is what caused it was fucking hilarious. I immediately got out my phone and sent a text to Tam.

NESTA IS SCARED OF UNDERWEAR!!

haha mens or womens?

Apparently women’s

knew she had to be afraid of something

maybe you should change your wardrobe to just underwear just to make her uncomfortable

i would fully support that

Pig lol

I smiled at my phone, at the semblance of normalcy between us.

I glanced into the small bathroom across the hall. There was a shower, toilet, and a nice double sink. One half of said sink was covered by perfumes, curling irons, and other hair products. The colors were so vivid and varied that they stood out from the dull white bathroom, like paint splatter on a white canvas.

After our tour of the apartment, my sister was silent as we carried up bags and boxes from the bed of her truck to my room. After everything was pilled into my small room, and a box of kitchen supplies was left sitting on the island, Nesta made a gesture for me to follow her back downstairs. She lived in a small single bedroom apartment across campus. She had told me that she needed her own space as a third year, so we couldn’t save money and just live together. I didn’t humor myself into thinking that her answer wasn’t utter bullshit.

When we stepped out of the building and into the warm day, I found myself saying, “Thank you… for driving me and helping me bring up all my stuff.”

As she was climbing back into her truck, she hesitated. The hard look she pinned me with over her shoulder, had me bracing for the impact of her inevitable words.

“Don’t come crying to me Feyre when he finally does something that being upset doesn’t excuse.”

Nesta always was the worst at goodbyes.

—

Even though classes didn’t start for another 3 days, I started unpacking my art supplies and organizing them into my desk drawers. I had only just started when I heard the front door open.

“Dude I can’t believe you got a rando.” The low voice was scratchy, sexy, and loud enough to hear, even with my door closed.

“I’m getting bored with you guys, so I need new friends.” I heard at least 3 different sets of laughter, all of them male. The female, who was my new roommate, had such a soft song like voice and I knew she was probably beautiful. I suddenly became self conscious of myself with my brown hair tied back in a low bun and no makeup on.

“What if she’s insane?”

“What if she doesn’t like you?”

“What if she doesn’t like us?”

“Can all of you guys just shut up?”

The bickering continued until my roommate must have seen one of my boxes, because then she started to kick them out.

“Get out. Get out!” Laughing started and ended abruptly with the slamming of the door. I heard the door open once more.

“Mor you know we are just screwing with you. I really do want you to have a friend here, especially after everything that happened last year. Bring her over at some point so we can meet her. Love you cuz.” I had never thought a voice could be beautiful, but that was the only word the would do it justice. That voice would haunt my dreams.

I tried to forget the voice and focus on meeting my new roommate.

A small knock had me jumping up and running across the room. As I was reaching to open the door, it was opened for me and hit me in the face.

“Shit,” I huffed as I stumbled back holding my nose.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry.” I uncovered my hands to look at the girl who had just nailed me in the face. She was gorgeous. Her long golden hair was in loose ringlets, striking against her perfectly tanned skin. She was wearing a skin-tight red tank top with a very low v-neck paired with leather pants. Her eyes were big, brown, and beautiful, which matched the rest of her symmetrical face and gold jewelry adorned her neck, ears, and fingers.

“Well you’re hot,” I breathed. Her responding smile was so genuine I was sure that anyone who saw it would have to smile too.

She stood straight, hands on her hips, and asked, “How hard did I hit you?” I laughed at her response, because there was so no way she was oblivious to her attractiveness.

I finally stood up, the pain in my face fading, and extended my hand to her.

“My name is Feyre. It’s really nice to meet you.” Her soft manicured hand felt near fragile in my paint stained and blistered one.

“I’m Morrigan, but everyone calls me Mor. I’m gonna guess that you’re an art major?” She sent a pointed look toward my mountain of art supplies.

“Good guess. What about you?”

“I’m a second year phycology major. So be honest, how is your face?”

I laughed and shook my head. “It’s fine. I think I was shocked more than actually hurt.”

“I swear that will be the only time I physically hurt you. I’ve been told that I get on people’s nerves, so I can’t say anything about the your sanity.” We had only known each other for a couple of minutes, but I knew that I liked this girl. This was the type of girl I never got to be friends with growing up. For many many reasons.

She continued, “My friends will literally die when they hear this story.”

“Well if our relationship works out than it’ll also be a great story to tell the grandkids,” I said trying not to think of her cousins voice at the mention of her friends.

“Ha ha very funny. Actually we were all going out to—” She was cut off by my phone. I apologized and turned toward the sounds and found it lying on my bed.

Incoming Call from Tamlin

I looked at her with a cringe and explained, “It’s my boyfriend. I have nothing going on tomorrow. Would you maybe want to…” Her growing smile had me continuing. “Hang out with me?”

“Yes yes! I can show you around campus, the best shops in Velaris, and introduce you to my friends.” My face was hurting from my own smile. I nodded at her and my phone stopped going off. Even the fight I knew that would be inevitable from me not answering his phone call, wasn’t enough to stop me from smiling at my new roommate.

She turned and headed toward the door, but turned back before going through it.

“I’m really excited for tomorrow,” she said with a curt nod. Then she was out the door before I could return the sentiment.

I picked up my phone to redial my boyfriends number, but Mor poked her head in again.

“Oh and I think you’re hot too.” With a wink she was gone. I laughed out loud and all of a sudden I felt ready for the incoming year, because I now had a friend to help me through it.

—

After all of my research on Velaris, I came to one final conclusion: the nights were supposedly epic. And in the wake of a day spent unpacking, I was ready to see it for myself.

While I was tired from my non-fight with Tamlin, I also found myself restless. The whole conversation was Tam forcing himself to not be mad and instead just making our talk draining and fake. I finally told him that I needed to go and get some books for school so I could get off the phone.

Things would get better.

I forced the phone call out of my head and focused on something exciting and new.

Mor was gone before I could ask about the roof access in the building, but I decided to go and find out for myself. I walked into the stairwell and headed up. This building had ten floors, so I was breathless when I finally reached the top. An unmarked door came into my view and as I pushed it open a rush of fresh air filled my lungs.

The roof was bare, except for an air unit, two beach chairs, and a railing around the edge, but I found myself not looking at the roof at all.

The sky was incredible. The stars were brighter than I had ever seen, and the city was alive in front of me. I instantly found myself at the railing. The apartment building was on the edge of campus, so from one side all you could see was the school, but on the other side the city and ocean was the only thing in view. I couldn’t peel my eyes from the sight.

People were laughing and strolling through the cobblestone streets and lights of all different colors were coming out of windows and doors throughout the city.

The city was alive.

Throughout my life I had never felt at home or even wanting to be part of one, but I had this feeling that Velaris was made for me. Or maybe I was made for it.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” I jumped at the voice behind me. I somehow lost my footing and my feet flew forward. I landed on my butt with a thud.

“Holy fuck! You scared the shit out of me.” I started to turn toward the stranger while on the ground, ready to be livid. My heartbeat increased to unhealthy levels as my eyes met ones of violet. The man in front of me was something forged from my dreams. His black hair was made of the night sky above us and his chiseled features looked carved out of stone. He was wearing blue jeans and a grey crewneck, which seemed plain, but nothing on this man could ever be plain. While I couldn’t see his body, I knew that he was fit, he filled out his jeans like they were tailored for him.

He had slowly moved forward, like he was going toward a cornered animal, and when he was directly in front of me, he held a hand out to help me up. The laughter in his eyes and the smirk on his face took my focus away from his attractiveness and kick started my anger again.

“Don’t look so upset love, most girls fall head over heels for me.”

“Are you sure they aren’t falling while trying to run away?” His eyes lit up in challenge, but I dismissed him by jumping up and turning toward the city again.

He did not get the message and I felt him lounging on the rail next to me. I glanced to my left and he wasn’t staring toward the ocean, he was staring at me.

“Could you stop that,” I snapped. It was apparently the wrong thing to say. His eyes shone brighter than the stars above us.

“What is your name love?”

I put my elbows on the rail and leaned forward as I sighed out, “Feyre.”

“And why are you up here all alone Feyre?”

“That kinda sounded a little creepy.”

His laugh filled my soul and I smiled slightly. “I’ve never been called creepy.”

“And what do people usually call you?”

“Sexy, amazing, smart, endowed—”

“You’re certainly full of yourself,” I cut him off.

An ocean kissed wind blew my hair backwards. Closing my eyes, I breathed in the salty air. We fell into a comfortable silence. I’m not sure how long we stood there, watching the city from afar. I was unsure why I felt so safe, standing on a roof with a complete stranger.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw that I had a message from Tamlin.

i’m sorry for earlier baby. i love you and ill talk to you in the morning.

His apology made me think I was doing something wrong. I started to retreat and walk backwards toward the roof door. Purple eyes followed my movements with an unreadable expression.

“Are you running from me Feyre.” The smirk was gone and I felt a pang in my gut.

“No. It’s just getting late and I should probably get back downstairs.”

“I can walk you—”

“No!” I realized how loud it came out when his mouth turned downwards. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around…”

Oh my god I never asked his name. I grimaced, and inwardly smacked my palm on my forehead. I looked to him for assistance. He made long strides until he was inches from me, my back hitting the door. It was then I realized just how tall this man was, I was almost looking straight up.

“Rhysand,” was all he said.

“Okay nice to meet you. I have to go. Not that I’m scared. Or nervous.” Cringing as I rambled, I felt behind me for the door handle. When I found it, I pulled it. This backfired on me by pushing me forward into Rhysand.

Chest to chest, I hoped he couldn’t feel my heart beating. His breath caressed my cheek, I couldn’t help but shutter. Seeing his eyes widen and flash with desire, I awkwardly squeaked out a goodbye and all but sprinted down the stairs.

I didn’t stop running until I got to my apartment and then into my own room. I fell down onto the bed ready for this whole night to be over. I answered Tamlin’s text with a simple I love you, turned my phone off, and then I threw it on the ground.

You did nothing wrong. You did nothing wrong.

I found myself repeating the sentence over and over again. I knew I had done nothing wrong, but I couldn’t help the feeling that I did. Moving to the ground, I sat below my window, opening it slightly, letting the sounds of the ocean lull me to sleep. The only thing calming enough to do so. That and the name of the man who I couldn’t stop thinking about.

Rhysand

Thanks for reading!!! xoxo

#sarah j maas #rhysand #feyre x rhysand #acotar #acowar #acomaf #Morrigan #au fanfiction #college au #velaris

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blu-joons · 5 years ago

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BTS Reaction: Your Pet Dies

Jin:

As soon as he received the text from you, he was on his way to your flat, he couldn’t get there quick enough, opening the door seeing you laid out in tears.

“Jagi, I’m so sorry,” he whispered, running his hand along your back. “It’s going to be alright; you’re just grieving right now.”

“It hurts.” You cried out. He scooped you up, pulling you into his chest. Your sobs grew as your eyes landed on the dog bed still in the living room.

Jin moved across, moving out of your vision in the hope it would calm you down. “Don’t touch it.”

He sighed, putting it back in place, even though he knew how upset it was making you. “Alright, I’m sorry. Let’s just face the other way for a bit, you’re getting yourself more worked up and it’s not good for you.”

“He was my best friend,” you whimpered, feeling Jin shift you around so you stared away from the dog dedicated area of your room.

“I know, and we won’t forget him. We’ll do something nice to remember him by, we won’t let him be forgotten, how does that sound?”

“Really good, thank you.”

Yoongi:

His heart broke too when you told him your cat had died, despite being a dog person, he’d grown close to the feline whenever he came over to visit you.

“I made a little something,” he smiled, showing up a few days after her unfortunate death. “Here.” He handed you a wrapped package.

“What is it?” You unwrapped it to reveal a photo frame, inside a photo of the three of you together. “Yoongi, that’s so cute.”

He walked over and took it, placing it as the centrepiece on the unit in your bedroom. “Fits perfectly.”

A soft smile grew on your cheeks as you tried to hold back a few tears. “That’s so thoughtful of you, now she’s still with me. Thank you so much,” you spoke, softly pressing a kiss to his cheek, taking a hold of your hand.

“She was a big part of our little family, and I know she can’t be replaced, but maybe one day we’ll get another cat, or maybe several.”

“I didn’t think you liked cats?” You teased, pointing another photo of his dog that he made you put up so you treated them equally.

“I can make exceptions.”

Hoseok:

The vets had told you that you could bury your rabbit in your garden if you wished, so as Hobi went to collect her, you dug a small hole at the bottom of your garden.

“Here she is.” You ran over as soon as you saw the box, pressing it against your chest. “Back where you belong.”

“Can we open it?” You asked, but Hobi shook his head. He placed it on the floor, taking a hold of your hands as tears threatened to spill.

“I think it’s best we remember her alive, you don’t want your last image of her to be this one.”

You sighed, knowing he was right, carrying the box over to the burial site you’d made, a bouquet of flowers just above the ground. “I didn’t really know what to do to make it special so I just kind of threw a few things together and hope she would like it.”

“This is perfect jagi,” he encouraged, “exactly what she would have wanted. Are you ready to say goodbye?” He asked.

Words failed you, as you nodded your head, taking a step away. “Goodbye,” you whispered, unable to hide your tears anymore.

“She’s still here in our hearts, it’s not goodbye.”

Namjoon:

It had taken a while for you to be able to talk about your dog without getting upset, Namjoon supported you through it all, waiting until you were ready.

“Do you remember that one time she ran away and we found her next door?” You chuckled, remembering how panicked you were when you thought you’d lost her.

“In all fairness, it was the neighbour’s fault, they kept him for hours before finally telling us they had him,” he smiled, softly kissing the top of your head.

Your dog was a character to say the least, always getting into mischief and trouble.

“I always remember the time that he ate all the food that I’d cooked for date night, I don’t know how he did it, but we had a very sick doggie the following day,” he reminisced, laughing to himself as he remembered the scene once again.

“I don’t think we’ll ever find another one like him,” you sighed, staring at a photo of him you had on the wall.

“No two dogs are ever the same, maybe one day we’ll find something similar, but nothing will ever compare to him.”

“Maybe we could get one again, one day.”

Jimin:

Losing your pet took the energy out of both of you, your guinea pig had been ill for quite some time until she inevitably passed.

“She’s in a better place now,” Jimin smiled as for the final time the two of you emptied her cage. “She was in a lot of pain, and now her suffering has ended.

“I just wish I could have said a proper goodbye,” you sighed, taking the toys out, twirling them around in your hands with a small smile.

His arms wrapped around you; a soft kiss pressed to your shoulder as you both fought back tears.

He did the bulk of the work whilst you messed with the toys. “It was never going to be easy losing her but knowing that she’s somewhere happy and that she hasn’t got any pain anymore brings me a lot of comfort right now.”

“Me too.” You sighed, “it wasn’t nice seeing her suffer, if I could have taken some of the pain away from her than I would have.”

“We all would have,” he encouraged, “she’ll still be a part of our lives, just enjoying her time somewhere else with all her other guinea pig friends.”

“I’d like that for her.”

Taehyung:

The death of your dog took its toll on you both, all the appointments at the vet had knackered you both to the point where you just couldn’t cope anymore.

“I wish he was still here; the house seems so quiet without his bark. All the floors are tidy where there’s no spilt food anymore either.”

Tae chuckled, scanning around the house. “Part of me wants to knock the water bowl over just to make me feel like he’s still here.”

Quickly, the two of you learnt that talking to each other was the biggest support that you needed.

Everywhere you looked there was a reminder of your dog where you had spoiled him over the years. “He was incredibly lucky to have us as parents, we spoilt that dog rotten, and he knew it, those eyes could get away with murder if they really needed to.”

“No, you were just a pushover who couldn’t say no to a dog,” he chuckled, “he was harmless, but you would give in to anything.”

“I didn’t!” You protested, despite knowing Taehyung was right. “He was just a cute dog, and I loved him, where’s the harm in that?”

“There isn’t jagi, there’s no harm at all.”

Jungkook:

He was your absolute rock when your cat died, he knew that she meant the world to you, having had her since you were a little girl still living at home.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, struggling to know how to handle the situation. “It breaks my heart to see you crying, it’s all going to be alright.”

“Is it?” You sobbed. It was like losing a best friend, you’d had a longer friendship with your cat than anyone else. “It’s not like she’s ever going to come back.”

Having never lost a pet Jungkook struggled to find a way to comfort you whilst you grieved.

He pulled you into his chest closely. “I know it hurts now, but it will get easier. We’ll be able to think back fondly over the memories and talk about the good times. Give it time and you’ll be feeling better soon, I promise.”

“I don’t want to feel better; I just want her back.” His heart broke as your sobs continued, struggling for breath.

“She wouldn’t want you to cry, would she?” Those words hit hard as you stopped, looking up at him, nodding your head solemnly.

“I guess you’re right, this wouldn’t be what she wanted.”

---

Masterlist

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varietywritings · 5 years ago

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SOLACE

Draco Malfoy x OC!Esme Prewett

Solace Summary

CHAPTER ONE: THE SUNSET IS THE SAME FROM BRISTOL TO LONDON

Esme Prewett sat at her desk; the wood color was unknown even to her as it was covered in spare parchment, books, quills, and some liquorice wands—these were her favorite wizarding candies. Her audacious tabby, Sebastian, tried to fit his massive body between a pile of muggle books and an open bottle of ink. The ink tipped, spilling all over Esme’s notes from the wizarding book, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts. Though this would be her third time reading the book and the notes weren’t for anyone but herself as it was summer, she cursed at the cat; Sebastian looked satisfied by his accomplishment.

A loud peck on the window startled Esme, causing her to forget all about her desecrated notes. Ron’s fiery owl, Pigwidgeon, stood on her window sill, staring at Esme with his gleaming amber eyes. She smiled, sliding the window open so the small bird could enter her room. Esme untied the letter and small parcel from his leg and he began to bounce around impatiently as she read it.

Dear Essie,

We miss you over here. Mum has been intense, making us clean all the time. We’re so bored. I don’t know if they’ve written to you, but Fred and George have created loads of new joke products and we’re the test subjects. Professor Lupin nearly ate a fainting fancy. Luckily, George smacked it out of his hand. Mum was furious; it was truly hilarious.

Professor Lupin? She thought. Why would he be at The Burrow? Why is Molly making them clean? Her house cleans itself. She shrugged her confusion away and continued reading. Pigwidgeon began rapidly flying around her room; Sebastian followed him with his eyes.

Oh, Dad and Percy got into it the other day. He was promoted at the Ministry. He’s so far up Fudge’s arse that he neglects his own family. What a load of bollocks. Have you heard from him? Mum and Dad are very upset. Dad’s broken countless muggle artifacts and mum will not stop crying. He said some really awful things about not accepting us as his family anymore.

Bill is back home by the way. He took a desk job at Gringotts. I think he misses Egypt more than he lets on. You remember Fleur Delacour, right? He’s been giving her English lessons. I think he fancies her, but he won’t admit it.

Why on earth would Bill have taken a desk job? He loved the tombs. He loved Egypt. Things weren’t adding up to Esme; nevertheless, she kept reading.

It’s weird not having you spend the summer with us. I’m guessing you’ve got a lot of reading done. Hermione has too. How has your mum been? Is she even home?

I’ve attached a bag of liquorice wands. I figured you were running out. Tell Seb I miss him and I wish he were here in place of Crookshanks. Are you packed and ready for Hogwarts?

Can’t wait to hear from you,

Ron

PS: Pig couldn’t wait to visit. I’m sure he’d love it if you let him stay for a bit.

Esme sighed as she looked around her messy room. She wasn’t leaving for Hogwarts for a couple weeks, so she didn’t feel a need to pack just yet. She added Ron’s letter to the immense stack of letters she had received since her mother cut her off from the Weasley’s. There were several from Bill and Charlie, Ron sent her one weekly, Fred and George sent a couple, and Ginny sent almost as many as Ron. Esme loved receiving letters from her cousins as she was used to practically living with them until reports of Voldemort’s return surfaced via Harry. Esme believed him even though it pained her to admit. Sadly, her muggle mother believed him too and refused to let her interact with the wizarding world. As a result, Esme carefully hid the letters in her sock drawer.

She had been trapped in Bristol all summer while her mother traveled on business. As nice as the silent—apart from the occasional meow from a hungry Sebastian—house was when she was trying to get work done, she was lonely. She missed the terrible pranks Fred and George played, helping them plan those pranks, talking with Ginny, chess with Ron.

Esme laughed to herself at the sprightly little owl who had now landed back on her nightstand. Sebastian, still on her desk, was starting to drool on the parchment. Esme snarled her nose slightly, but she refused to bother him. She grabbed a clean piece of parchment and some fresh ink and began thinking of her response to Ron. She took her time so Pig was well rested.

Dear Ron,

I miss you guys too! I’m sorry you’re bored. I am too. Can only read so much. Fred and George haven’t written to me in a few weeks. Are they still apparating everywhere? They told me they were using each other as testers and Aunt Molly thought they had been fighting.

Why was Professor Lupin at the Burrow? Is everything okay? And Bill? Why did he move back? Egypt was his favorite place on Earth. I’m happy for him and Fleur. He hasn’t written to me in a bit.

Percy has written to me, but he didn’t mention the promotion or his quarrels with Uncle Arthur. I can’t believe Percy would say things like that.

I wish I didn’t tell me mum about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. She freaked out. I get it, but she has to let me live. She’s not even here, and if she was, how could she possibly protect me?

I can’t wait to get out of this gloomy house and out of this town. Sebastian misses you guys. He is restless without you and the twins torturing him. He misses watching me destroy you in wizard’s chess and frankly I do too. Tell everyone I love and miss them. Tell Gin I’m awaiting her next letter.

Pig was a delight to have today. Thank you so much for the liquorice! Also, of course I am packed for Hogwarts. You know me, always prepared.

See you soon,

Esme

Esme threw the quill down on her desk and quickly rolled up the smudge-free parchment. She reused the leather strip Ron had sent to tie her letter to Pigwidgeon’s thin leg. His excitement heightened as she tightened the knot. He almost looked as if he was smiling. She petted his grey and white feathers before he took flight out the window and back to 12 Grimmauld Place—or the Burrow as Esme thought.

✶✶✶

Esme was up rather late redoing the notes Sebastian so gracefully destroyed. She didn’t mind though; it gave her a chance to make them neater. Esme could swear she heard the front door creak open, but decided ultimately that she had just stayed up entirely too late and was incapable of proper cognitive functioning. She closed the newest ink bottle she was using and got up from her desk. She saw a sleeping Sebastian on her bed and decided to join him until she heard a loud thud from the living room downstairs. She quietly ran to her desk and pulled the middle drawer open, grabbing her spruce wand with a white-knuckle grip.

It’s probably just your mother home early from her trip. She thought. She checked the time: 1:34 A.M. Her flight could not have landed this late. She was hesitant to open her bedroom door. It could definitely be your mother, but it could also be a murderer or two. It’s probably fine, right? How often do bad things truly happen? But Voldemort is back. Bollocks. She reaches for the door knob, but then pulls her hand away and backs up. The staircase creaks as if multiple people were walking up it.

“It’s going to be less dangerous to take her than Harry.” An unfamiliar female whisper came from the hallway.

Esme furrowed her brows and adjusted her ever-tightening grip on her wand. Less dangerous? Where exactly do they think they’re taking me?

Esme’s bedroom door flew open and a gust of wind disturbed Sebastian. The light from the hall made it difficult for Esme to see because her room was dark. Once her eyes adjusted, they met with the eyes of an unfamiliar face. She was a witch with violet hair. Esme froze before her, her heart beating at an unnatural pace.

“Ron said you’d packed already.” This violet-haired witch sighed, leaning against the door frame.

“I’m so—who are—” Esme tried to gather her thoughts to speak.

“Ms. Prewett.” A familiar voice came from a tall wizard standing behind the witch.

“Professor Lupin?” Esme smiled. Her shoulders relaxed; she didn’t even notice they were tense. Lupin was her favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts professor to date. “What are you do—”

“No time to explain, sweetheart.” Arden, tenacious auror, Harry’s godmother, and Esme’s hero stood beside Remus Lupin reaching his chin. The Arden Walker is in my home. Esme was ecstatic as she hadn’t seen her idol since she visited Lupin’s class as a guest speaker in her third year.

“I’m Tonks.” The violet-haired witch smiled. “We have to get you packed.”

Esme smiled back at her. “Where are we going?”

“London,” Lupin chimed.

“London? Where are my aunt and uncle?”

“London.”

Esme gave the three an incredulous look. “Why?”

“Again, no time. Let’s get you packed,” Tonks declared impatiently.

Esme motioned for Tonks to enter her bedroom. Lupin and Arden went downstairs to get the brooms. Esme opened her brown trunk and began shoving clothes and parchment into it. Tonks waved her wand and everything Esme needed—books, parchment, dozens of ink bottles, her cauldron, scales, clothes, and even her postcards from her mother—chucked themselves into her trunk.

“That works.” Esme shrugged. “Thanks.”

Tonks nodded. Esme picked Sebastian up and shoved him in his blue carrier. He was less than excited, so she placed a few treats with him.

“Locomotor trunk.” Tonks said with her wand in hand. The trunk hovered and followed her wand motions downstairs.

“Ready to go?” Lupin questioned.

“I need to leave a note for my mother. She’d figure out how to contact the ministry just to spite me if I didn’t.”

“Nonsense, I already left one explaining the situation,” Lupin reassured.

“Well, then I’m ready!”

“Can you fly?” Arden asked.

“Uh—”

“No, she’s terrible,” Lupin teased.

“Hey!” Esme yelled in defense.

“Well, can you?” Tonks questioned.

“Well, no. Not well. I don’t even have a broom. I—er—borrowed George’s for class my first year and nearly snapped it in two only three feet off the ground.” Esme looked to the floor.

“You can ride with Arden. Tonks will take your trunk and Sebastian can come with me.”

Esme was elated to ride with her idol. The trunk stayed just behind Tonks as she led it outside into the streets of Bristol. The Hogwarts Crest on the lid beautifully reflected the moonlight. She used her wand to place it in the harness hanging from her broom. Lupin started to put Sebastian’s carrier into the harness below his broom.

“I’m not sure he’s going to be okay with that.”

“It’s a straight shot. Less than an hour,” Lupin reasoned.

“Your point? He’s a cat. A very pretentious cat I might add.” The three aurors looked at her with blank expressions. “He’ll be screaming the entire way there.”

“He’ll be okay.” Arden placed her hand on Esme’s shoulder. Esme relaxed and gave in.

Remus carefully placed Sebastian’s carrier in the harness. Everyone mounted their brooms. The night was warm, but windy making the flight a little rough. Arden was amazing at controlling the broom. She landed it serenely and methodically in front of a row of houses not so different from the one Esme and her mother lived in.

“I forgot to get Dumbledore’s deluminator from Moody.” Lupin grumbled.

“It’s almost three. I’m sure there aren’t any muggles looking out the window.” Tonks justified.

“Plus, they’re the least of our worries at this point.” Arden maundered.

Esme and Tonks removed her trunk from the harness while Arden grabbed Sebastian and his carrier.

Lupin moved his head back and forth to ensure there was no one around. He leaned closer to Esme and whispered, “12 Grimmauld Place. Where would it be?”

Esme, confused at first, looked to the house numbers in front of her. She found they were labeled as 11 Grimmauld Place and 13 Grimmauld Place. She blinked and all of a sudden, houses eleven and thirteen parted and an identical—except for the dirt and grime—one appeared in the middle labeled 12 Grimmauld Place. The dark night was as silent as ever before. The muggles didn’t seem to notice the sudden movement.

Lupin swiftly walked to the front door, holding it open for Tonks and Esme to carry the trunk in and Arden to carry the large cat in. Lupin checked his surroundings before joining them and quietly closing the door behind him. The hallway was dim and empty. The house was silent. Arden sat Sebastian’s carrier down and opened it. He quickly darted out of the carrier and across the room.

“Let me show you to your room. I can imagine you’re just yearning to get to sleep,” Arden said in a hushed tone; her Southern American accent almost disappearing into a more plain American accent. “Hope you don’t mind sharing a room with Ron until Harry gets here.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Esme whispered following Arden upstairs. Arden placed her trunk and the now-deserted cat carrier in the hall outside the room. Why does Harry get to take my bed? Where am I going to sleep when he gets here? Esme was too tired to figure that out. She snuck into Ron’s room as best as she could—he was snoring lightly, but she didn’t mind as she was used to sharing a room with Sebastian. She didn’t bother to change and plopped down on the bed which had what seemed like a centimeter of dust garnered on top. She suppressed a cough. I thought they were cleaning all summer.

✶✶✶

After breakfast, Esme found Bill in the lounge going over some parchment.

“What’s that?” She asked hopeful to get some information from him. No one had explained why they were in a dingy old house in London.

“Jus’ some stuff for The Order.” He quickly rolled the parchment up and sat it in his lap.

“The Order?” Esme questioned.

“They haven’t explained everything to you?”

“Nope. Just arrived early this morning.” Esme sat on the couch diagonally from Bill.

“The Order of the Phoenix: they’re a group of retentive witches and wizards fighting against You-Know-Who’s cause. They were active during the Wizarding War.”

“Who was in this group?”

“Well, Remus, Sirius and Arden, James and Lily Potter, The Longbottom’s, and—erm—your father and Gideon. Of course, there were others too, but their names are escaping me.”

Esme’s olive-green eyes widened and her mouth fell open slightly; she was nearly the spitting image of her father, Fabian Prewett; she had a long, thin face accompanied by a long, protruding nose. “My—my father?”

“Yep.” Bill smiled proudly thinking of his uncle’s accomplishments.

“Is that why death eaters killed him?”

His smile quickly faded and he dolefully looked at his cousin. “Yeah.”

Esme looked to the floor. “And now you’re a member?”

Bill nodded realizing Esme wasn’t looking at him. “Er—yeah. Along with mum, dad, Charlie, Tonks, and a bunch more. Charlie’s staying in Romania trying to recruit witches and wizards.”

Esme looked at Bill again. “And Percy?”

He hardly winced at the mention of his name. “Don’t bring him up in front of mum and dad.”

“I know. Ron mentioned the promotion and his fight with Uncle Arthur in his last letter.”

“It was horrible. Mum hasn’t been in a good mood since. Percy doesn’t believe Harry saw You-Know-Who because Fudge doesn’t believe it. Dad tried talking sense into him, but it was no use.”

“That’a a shame. So, how do I join?”

“The Order?”

Esme nodded.

“You don’t. Mum won’t let you; you’re too young. Besides, we’ve got this handled.”

“Do you? You had to leave your job—one that you absolutely love—to join this Order. I want to help.”

“Es, you can’t help. Maybe when you’re of age, but hopefully by then this will all be over.”

Esme wanted to continue arguing but decided it was best to bite her tongue as she still had information to get from him. “So, Fleur Delacour, hm?” She smirked.

Bill was surprised Esme didn’t debate him more on joining the Order but ultimately didn’t want to question this refreshing turn of events. “And who told you about her?”

“Ron. He told me you’ve been giving her English lessons.”

“She just wants to improve at her English and I’m fluent, so what’s the big deal?” His cheeks were an almost unnoticeable shade of pink, but Esme noticed.

“Do you like her?”

“Of course I like her. She’s extremely kind, really smart too.” Bill was looking off into the distance, daydreaming of Fleur.

Esme started to further inquire about her, but a loud crack interrupted her thoughts and made her jump out of her seat. The twins appeared in front of the couch. Fred was holding Sebastian.

“You arseholes.” Esme’s voice quavered. Her heart was beating rapidly. “You apparated with my cat?”

“He was fine,” George said calmly.

“He rather enjoyed it actually,” Fred reasoned. “Jumped right into me arms.”

Esme’s blinks were slow as she was trying to comprehend what exactly went through Fred and George’s minds. “I’m going to take my cat now, if you don’t mind.” She didn’t wait for a response and reached out for her traumatized tabby who gladly snuggled into her chest.

“So, what have you two been talking about?” George asked.

“Sod off.” Esme sat back down on the couch; Sebastian curled up in her lap and started purring.

“Woah, Esmie. That’s a bit harsh don’t you think?” Fred smiled.

Esme playfully rolled her eyes at the two who sat on the couch on either side of her. “Congrats on passing your apparition test!”

“Thanks,” the twin boys sang in unison.

“Is it freeing to practice magic whenever you want?” Esme asked longingly.

“Not when mum yells at us for doing it.” Fred forced a laugh.

“Speaking of unbearable, how’s Margot?” George sneered.

“Don’t know. She’s been gone on a business trip the past week, s’posed to come home tomorrow.”

“We’ll see about that.” Bill laughed through his nose causing Esme to smile.

✶✶✶

The next couple of days were monotonous; this made Esme a tad anxious. She was almost joyed by Harry’s arrival as it was something that didn’t have to do with dusting every surface on every floor of 12 Grimmauld Place. Sebastian rapturously greeted Harry at dinner evoking a groan out of Esme.

Esme sat in the center of the table between Ron and Fred. Molly droned on and on about them all, especially Harry, being too young to be a part of the Order. She could tell Harry felt it was a load of rubbish as she did too.

Sebastian jumped into Harry’s lap, prompting Harry to shift to the left side of his seat to make room for the pudgy tabby. Sebastian sat in the empty space of the chair facing the table as if he were trying to join the conversations.

“He doesn’t need to be at the table.” Molly ordered.

“Sorry.” Harry mumbled.

“What is he harming?” Esme questioned.

“We’re trying to eat here.” Molly’s tone was stern.

Sebastian seemed to be offended as he glared at Molly.

“He hasn’t seen Harry in a while. They missed each other.” Fred chimed in.

“Yes, well, we’ve all missed Harry, but he needs to get down.”

Harry carefully picked Sebastian up and placed him on the cold floor. Feeling defeated, he curled up underneath Harry’s chair.

Esme carried on with Ron and Arthur throughout dinner. The conversation in the kitchen was trifling and whimsical until Sirius told Harry it was okay to ask questions. Molly blew up causing Esme to jump slightly.

“He’s too young.”

Esme rolled her eyes as Molly always used the same argument. Sebastian didn’t even want to be a part of it; he ran off to disturb Crookshanks.

Molly started to give in and decided Harry could stay for a bit and learn a minimal amount of information about just what the Order and Lord Voldemort have been doing.

Arthur convinced Molly to let the twins stay and Ron convinced Molly to let him and Hermione stay with, “Harry will tell us anyway.”

“Fine. Ginny, Esme go to your rooms now.”

Esme knew she could do better than Ron. “I don’t have a room. Harry took it. Besides, I was stuck at my house this entire summer because you made me tell my mother about You-Know-Who, so the least you could do is let me stay.” Molly’s face was an unmistakable shade of red. “Let me just add that I spent my summer researching legilimency.”

“Fine. Ginny, bed now.”

Esme regretted staying for the conversation because they weren’t given any information the Extendable Ears didn’t already hear for them.

She went to Ron and Harry’s room to gather her belongings, but found that they were already neatly placed in the hall. She exhaled deeply and turned around to find Arden walking up the steps.

“I can make you a bed.” Arden offered.

“Really?” Esme asked hopefully.

“Yep. Come on.” Arden’s accent, though subtle, was especially discernible in the last two words. She led her downstairs to Ginny and Hermione’s room where Hermione was telling Ginny everything that occurred in the kitchen.

“I’m going to make Esme a bed in here, if that’s okay with y’all.”

“Of course it is,” Ginny said.

With a wave of her wand, Ginny’s bed turned into a bunk bed. The top bunk, with white sheets and a comforter perfectly made, was for Esme.

“Thank you.” Esme smiled.

“Anytime.” Arden returned the smile.

She left the three girls to converse until they heard the creak of the floorboards that meant Molly was coming to check on them. They all dove under their covers and didn’t make a peep until they heard her heading upstairs.

✶✶✶

“Esme, you’re going to help me wash the dishes tonight.” Molly ordered.

Esme looked to Fred and George with pleading eyes, but they laughed and then vanished with a loud crack. She groaned quietly so Molly wouldn’t hear.

Esme stayed silent with every plate she washed. Finally, Molly was concerned as Esme was usually a garrulous young witch.

“Have something on your mind?”

“Hm?” Esme’s mind had trailed off to random things, such as which Ravenclaws would make prefect, which books she would need for this year, who Dumbledore would have hired for Defense Against the Dark Arts which brought her back to Harry not being allowed in the Order of the Phoenix.

Molly repeated herself.

“Oh, um just thinking about things.”

“Such as?”

“Just Hogwarts and stuff.”

“Stuff?”

Esme knew she was going to regret the next thing she said, but she couldn’t not confront her aunt. “Harry deserves to be a member of the Order of—”

“This is not up for discussion.” Molly almost dropped the rag she was holding to give Esme a flinty stare which was ignored. Molly began vehemently scrubbing the dining table.

“You-Know-Who does everything in his power to spite Harry. That’s all he wants: world domination and Harry dead. It’s inhumane to keep him in the dark about it.” Esme continued to scrub a bowl riddled with leftover food particles.

“Esme, I am warning you.” Molly nearly had steam coming from her ears.

“The ‘you’re too young’ excuse is a load of bollocks—”

“ESME JOANNA.” Molly had stopped cleaning altogether.

Esme didn’t flinch and continued, “—and you and I both know it. He’s the best at Defense Against the Dark Arts in our year, besides me of course.” She knew Harry exceeded her talents at the subject but couldn’t pass up the chance to rag on him.

Molly took a deep breath before speaking. “It doesn’t matter how good he is; I have a right to protect him.”

“You don’t have a right to control him and his every move. He’s not your chess piece. He’s not your son.” Esme put the sponge and the bowl into the sink and turned to her aunt.

“Well, I am the closest thing that poor boy has to a mother. I will not continue this conversation with you.”

“He has Arden.”

“Who didn’t take him in after they died.”

Esme rubbed her brow. “—and Sirius—”

“Who was gone for twelve years.”

“Locked away in Azkaban against his will, framed for thirteen murders. And Arden was told by your beloved Dumbledore that she wasn’t allowed to have him because she was a target.”

“That’s not the point.”

“That’s exactly the point. He has both of them now. His parents named Sirius and Arden his godparents because they wanted them looking after him.”

“I’ve been looking after him for five years. I can’t stop now.”

“I’m not saying you have to stop caring for him. He just deserves to know what is happening. You can’t keep that from him.”

“He needs to be protected.”

“How is he to be protected when the Order isn’t around and he knows nothing?”

Molly didn’t have an answer for this and Esme knew she had struck a nerve.

“Enough. I’m done having this conversation.”

“Because you know I’m right. Harry needs to be in the know, so he can be safe.”

“Esme.”

“If you keep him isolated from all of this, not only will he resent you, but he won’t ever be able to handle You-Know-Who.”

“Go to bed.” Molly pointed toward the kitchen door. Esme stayed silent and headed for the door. “Why must you argue me on every little thing?” Molly lowered her voice as Esme was leaving.

A/N:

Sorry this took so long, but the wait is over. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter!

-Ghost

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@virgiill @yourfriendly-neighborhoodfuckup

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