#I’m sure he wouldn’t mind bec the pink looks good on her

[5uwabbit]

Researcher Kate what if indeed… She’s goddamn smart and if she worked with team dimsum I am afraid of what will happen lolz

[angelofthequeers]

Happy Holmium

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

My @mlsecretsanta gift for @wedontdeservenino! I hope you enjoy! ❤️💚

AO3 link

“Happy Holmium, Marinette!”

The mere sight of Adrien doesn’t make Marinette want to die now after months of shifting her focus to being his friend over asking him out, but he can’t just look over his shoulder and wave like that and expect her to be okay with –

Wait. What?

“Happy what?” Marinette says.

“Don’t encourage him,” Nino groans. “He’s so proud of it, like he thinks he deserves a freaking award for it.”

“Happy Holmium!” Adrien grins like the cat that got the cream. “Get it? Ho? For holmium? Ho, ho, ho? I could go with Merry Chromium if you prefer!” he adds when Marinette and Alya join Nino in groaning and thumping their heads on the desk.

“I can’t believe I want to marry you,” Marinette mumbles into the desktop.

“Huh?” Adrien says. Marinette lets out a small shriek and whips her head up.

“Nothing!” she cries, waving her hands around and praying to whoever might be listening that her face isn’t turning as scarlet as her alter-ego’s suit.

“Smooth,” Alya snickers, also lifting her head.

“Attention, class!” Ms Bustier calls. “I know it's the final class of the day and your attention may be drifting elsewhere, but I'd like it if you could at least listen to this. Then you can go back to pretending to listen while I pretend to believe you.”

Snickers are heard all around the room, especially when Ms Bustier looks at Kim and Nathaniel. Nathaniel laughs sheepishly, while Kim just gives an impish grin and crosses his arms.

“I thought that since this is your last Christmas with me before you all go to lycée, we could do something a little fun,” Ms Bustier says. “A Secret Santa!”

Excited murmuring breaks out across the room. Except for Adrien, who raises his hand and says, “Um, what’s a Secret Santa?”

“Oh, you poor, sheltered boy,” Chloé drawls, and Sabrina snickers. It’s really been quite astonishing to watch Chloé’s slow, heel-dragging progress from a horrific jerk into a jerk with a heart of gold since being given a second chance with the Bee Miraculous. Marinette suspects that it’s mostly to do with Pollen’s influence pushing her to be a better person outside the mask as well as behind it, but if a kwami’s guidance means continued respite from Chloé’s bullying, Marinette’s not exactly going to complain.

“Now, now, Chloé,” Ms Bustier chides. “Adrien, a Secret Santa is where you draw a random name and must give a gift to that person. I’m giving you all until the last day of term to finalise your gifts, in case anyone wants to get creative, but you must participate. I thought it would be a nice reminder of the bonds you’ve all forged before you leave for lycée.”

“Can we give gifts to people other than our Secret Santa?” Lila pipes up. “Even if I don’t get Adrien, I still have the perfect gift for him. I’m sure you’ll love it, Adrien!”

“Aww!” Rose coos. “That’s so thoughtful of you, Lila!”

Marinette meets Adrien’s gaze and rolls her eyes. Her cheeks grow warm when he immediately hides his mouth behind his hand, no doubt concealing the grin he can’t hold back. Meanwhile, Alya mutters something that sounds vaguely like, “Can’t believe I ever fell for her bull.”

“Of course you can, Lila,” Ms Bustier says. “But your focus must be on the recipient that you draw, otherwise it wouldn’t be fair to them.”

“Oh, of course!” Lila says. “I promise!”

“Right.” Ms Bustier picks up the small box on her desk and shakes it. The sound of rustling fills the air. “When I call on you, come and draw a name from the box. And no re-drawing! That’s not in the spirit of Christmas. Chloé, you first.”

It’s impossible to tell who Chloé had gotten, since she gives no visible reaction, so Marinette can only conclude that she hadn’t gotten Lila or Adrien, since she’d be utterly disgusted or utterly delighted respectively. Next up is Sabrina, then Adrien, and Marinette’s stomach jolts because what if Adrien draws her name? What kind of present would he get her? Oh, she’d die if she got a gift from Adrien –

“Marinette!” Ms Bustier says loudly. Marinette jumps and squeaks and stumbles to the front of the class, ignoring the way Alya’s very pointed look is scorching the back of her neck. She dips her hand into the box, rummages for a second, pulls out a neatly-folded piece of paper, and unfolds it to reveal…Adrien Agreste.

No. Way. She gets to be Adrien’s Secret Santa! Oh, this is perfect! She’ll give him the perfect gift, and he’ll declare his undying love for her, and they’ll run away to an island and get married and have three kids and a hamster –

“Is there a problem, Marinette?” Ms Bustier says.

“N-No! Sorry!” Marinette babbles and rushes back to her seat. Why is she getting so carried away? She hasn’t been like this around Adrien for ages!

“Nice!” Alya hisses with a wide grin when she returns from picking her name and they show each other who they’d drawn. Alya had gotten Rose, which should be easy enough, considering that Rose likes anything pink and flowery and nice-smelling. “What are you gonna get him?”

“I don’t know!” Marinette says. “And after that Christmas disaster last year, I don’t wanna mess this up!”

Alya pats her on the back. “You’ll think of something, girl. You always do.”

Finding the perfect gift for Adrien is all Marinette can think about for the whole afternoon, to the point where Alya eventually shakes her head in disgust and gives up on trying to engage Marinette in conversation at all. It’s not until she’s home and scribbling ideas down in one of her notebooks that she finally speaks for the first time since learning that Adrien is her recipient.

“Rubbish! Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish!” She tears the page out of her notebook and scrunches it up, then throws it across the room. “None of this is good enough for him!”

“You’re overthinking things, Marinette,” Tikki says. “Your gift doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to have love poured into it. Like the scarf you made for him!”

“Yeah and look how well that turned out.” Marinette drops her notebook and buries her face in her hands with a groan.

“It did turn out well,” Tikki says patiently. Well, if one happens to be a god of however many thousands of years, patience is probably a necessity for one’s mental survival. “Adrien loved it because it was handmade and full of love. The only reason he didn’t know it was from you was because your signature somehow got lost. But this time, you’re giving the gift to him in person, so he’ll know it’s from you!”

“True. True. Okay…” Marinette takes a deep breath and looks back down at her notebook. “I can do this. I can – no, I can’t! I’m gonna screw this up and he’ll never want to be my friend again!”

“Would you be freaking out like this if it was anyone else?” Tikki says.

“No!” Marinette says. “But Adrien is…how many good gifts does he get, Tikki? Remember last year? His father only let us go to his house after he ran away. I have to make this gift perfect for him!”

“Marinette!” Tikki rests her tiny hands on Marinette’s cheeks. “Adrien would be happy if you gave him a sock, so long as there was love put into it! Maybe you should take a break from this.”

“But I can’t! I have –”

“– three weeks to design and create your gift. One night won’t be disastrous. If you take a step back and clear your head, you can come back with fresh eyes and maybe think of something extraordinary!”

Marinette takes a deep breath and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Right. You’re right. It’s just like artist’s block when I’m designing. Tikki, if we headed for patrol a little earlier, would you mind –?”

“Not at all, Marinette! Ready when you are!”

“Tikki, spots on!”

Although it’s not snowing, the Parisian night air is freezing enough to bite as Ladybug leaps and hops across the rooftops towards the Eiffel Tower. By the time she arrives and swings up to the top, her face is chilly and stinging and her breath billows out in front of her as though she’s a ladybug-scaled dragon.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Chat Noir grins from his perch on the edge of the Tower’s tip. Ladybug just rolls her eyes and plops down next to him, ignoring the heat radiating from his damn cat body because there’s no way she’s going to give him the satisfaction of cuddling up to him for warmth.

“Ha, ha,” Ladybug drawls.

“Don’t you mean Happy Holmium?” Chat Noir says, and Ladybug freezes. “Get it? Holmium?”

“Ho, ho,” she breathes as Ladybug.exe starts to crash. Chat Noir beams – no, it’s Adrien, it’s Adrien behind that mask, how did she never see it before…but what are the chances of Adrien being Chat? Then again, what are the chances that both are spouting the exact same joke?

And it’s not like they don’t look similar. Blond hair, green eyes…she’d just always assumed that they were green because of the Miraculous, like hers had been as Lady Noire, but if they’re naturally green…

“Milady?” Chat Noir says. Ladybug jumps and squeaks.

“Fine! I’m fine!” she babbles. “I guess all I want for Christmas is yttrium, oxygen, and uranium!”

Oh my god. Did I really just say that to Adrien?

Chat Noir blinks and frowns, then snorts and slaps a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter. “Why, bugaboo, if you wanted me for Christmas, all you had to do was ask,” he says. “We have real chemistree, don’t you think?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Ladybug says. It’s Chat Noir. Adrien, yes, but it’s Chat Noir, her dorky partner. And besides, she hasn’t been a disaster around Adrien for a while now, so she’s not going to slide right back into turning into one in his presence, thank you very much. Or his presents, as he would say. “You’ll have to try harder than that to make me helium.”

“He, he. Really?” Chat Noir raises an eyebrow. “Gotta step up your game.”

Ladybug sniffs and tosses her hair. “Na. Don’t be sodium salty.”

“But milady, you make my heart undergo an exothermic reaction!” Chat Noir clasps at his heart and leans against Ladybug, who pushes him away out of sheer habit rather than because she wants to. Since he’s super warm. That’s it.

“Your heart is nothing but nitrogen, oxygen, and iridium,” Ladybug says. Chat Noir pouts.

“Don’t we have patrol, milady?” he says.

“Oh, so you can start it, but you can’t take the reaction?” Ladybug smirks, climbing to her feet. She helps Chat Noir up, winks, and says, “Well, at least I’m well-prepared for the Chemistry test on Friday.”

“If you ever need my tutoring services in future, all you have to do is ask,” Chat Noir says with his usual roguish grin. Hmm. Nice recovery.

“I’ll be sure to pass that on to the five-year-olds,” Ladybug says and reaches out to flick his bell. Then she’s off, swinging away from the Eiffel Tower before Chat Noir can recover his wits, trying not to think about the fact that she’d just done that to Adrien because if she lets her brain think about that little fact, she’ll splat on the streets below.

But hey, at least now she knows exactly what gift to give to Adrien for the Secret Santa!

.

“Alright, class!” Ms Bustier claps her hands, and everyone quiets down and turns to face the front. “I hope you’ve all got your gifts prepared, because today is Secret Santa day!”

Adrien’s classmates start to cheer, but Adrien’s too busy bouncing in his seat with anticipation to find out who his Secret Santa is. Is it Nino? Or Marinette? Or, heck, even Chloé? Just so long as it’s not Lila. Thank god she hadn’t been his Secret Santa recipient because after all the crap she’s pulled, no way could he make himself put good effort into getting her a gift.

“When I draw out your name, come to the front of the class,” Ms Bustier says, shaking her little box of names from when their recipients had been announced. “Then your Secret Santa will step forward and give their gift.” She reaches into the box, pulls out a slip of paper, unfolds it, and says, “Kim!”

“Aw, yeah!” Kim bursts out of his seat and skids to a halt next to Ms Bustier, who looks like she’s trying her best to be Teacherly Strict and not laugh at his antics. “C’mon, who got me?”

“Thankfully, not me!” Alix calls, and the class snickers at her quip. Kim beams and flips her off.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that,” Ms Bustier says. “Who was Kim’s Secret Santa?”

After a moment, there’s the sound of someone sliding out of their seat from the back of the class. Adrien tries his very hardest not to slump in relief when he turns and sees that it’s Lila making her way to the front of the class with a neatly-wrapped red present. He tries. But he’s not sure how successful he is, especially at the plastic quality of her smile when she passes him.

“Buon Natale, Kim!” Lila chirps, handing over her gift. Kim whoops and tears the paper off to reveal a shoebox. “I’m so sorry, I would’ve loved to get you an autograph from –”

“Are you kidding?” Kim crows as he yanks the lid off the box. “New sneakers! Thanks, Lila, you’re the best!”

Adrien bites down on his lip to smother his laughter when Kim pulls Lila in for what looks like a super tight one-armed hug and she’s forced to smile brightly and grit out something about it being no trouble at all. Soon enough, Kim and Lila are returning to their seats, and Adrien carefully doesn’t look at Lila so that he doesn’t lose the battle against his laughter.

“Time for our next recipient!” Ms Bustier pulls out another name. “Nathaniel!”

Nathaniel’s Secret Santa turns out to be Juleka, who gifts him a small framed painting in dark colours. Although her artistry isn’t the best, Nathaniel’s bouncing on the spot as he throws his arms around Juleka, and Adrien can’t help but smile at the sight. Both Nathaniel and Juleka understand what it means to be creative from the heart, after all, even if their mediums differ.

Nino’s up next, and his gift from Max is a track of songs that Markov had helped Max create “based on the statistics of your music preferences”. Mylène’s gift from Rose is a pretty, handmade yellow rose pin (“because yellow roses mean friendship!”), and she beams and immediately clips it to her sweater next to her Ladybug pin. Then it’s Marinette’s turn to receive her Secret Santa gift from Ivan, which turns out to be a little black cat plushie with bright green eyes, green paw pads, and a bell attached to its neck.

“I know you like Chat Noir,” Ivan mumbles, scratching the back of his head. “So, I thought…well, I’ve got a friend who makes plushies, and she agreed to make that one for you…”

“It’s perfect!” Marinette stands on her tiptoes to kiss Ivan on the cheek. “Thank you so much, Ivan! I can’t believe it’s handmade!”

Marinette…likes Chat Noir? Enough to receive a handmade plushie based on him? Well, obviously, considering the whole Weredad incident, but…Adrien wasn’t aware that she still felt so strongly about him. He swallows and looks away, otherwise the pure joy on Marinette’s face will do leave him with some very unwelcome thoughts, considering that he’s supposed to be in love with Ladybug.

Wait. Supposed to be? He is in love with Ladybug!

“Adrien!” Ms Bustier says.

“Present!” Adrien blurts out. Everyone else snickers.

“Yes, Adrien, come and receive your present,” says a clearly-amused Ms Bustier. Adrien undertakes the walk of shame with warm cheeks, but the spring is back in his step in no time because now he gets to find out who his Secret Santa is! And what they’re going to give him! Every gift except for Lila’s has been handmade so far, and his gift for Chloé is a friendship bracelet in the colours of Queen Bee, so he can only imagine what his gift will be! “Okay, who was Adrien’s Secret Santa?”

Adrien’s eyes, attuned to the slightest of movements, jump to the dark-haired girl slipping out of her seat with a lumpy red package in her hands. Marinette! His Secret Santa is Marinette! How did he get so lucky? She’s so sweet and talented and amazing, so any gift from her is going to have love poured into it to the seams!

“Happy Christmas, Adrien,” Marinette says with pink cheeks as she hands over her gift, which is soft and squishy. Adrien tries not to look too eager as he runs his finger along the tape and tears the paper off to reveal…a red jacket with black spots? A Ladybug jacket?

“How did you know I liked Ladybug?” Adrien blurts out. Marinette’s pink cheeks darken to crimson.

“Just a lucky guess!” she says. “There’s more if you unfold it!”

There’s a card nestled in the jacket, so Adrien carefully sets it on Ms Bustier’s desk and then unfolds the jacket, and his breath catches in his throat. On the back, in black lettering, is stitched Happy Holmium! with a sprig of holly berries, except that the red berries have black ladybug spots and little black cat paws have been embroidered through the green holly leaves.

“Seriously?” Nino groans when Adrien holds the jacket up. “You’re encouraging that joke?”

“It wasn’t bad,” Marinette argues.

“Finally, someone who appreciates my dashing wit!” Adrien says. He shrugs off his black designer jacket and slips on Marinette’s jacket as fast as he physically can, running his hands over the fleecy material with an undoubtedly goofy grin on his face. “You made me a jacket!”

“Yeah!” Marinette nods rapidly. “Um…you should probably read your card.”

Inside the envelope Adrien had set on Ms Bustier’s desk is a Christmas card with a photo of Ladybug on the front, no doubt from Alya’s extensive stash. But it’s what’s inside the card that makes Adrien’s breath catch in his throat:

Dear Adrien,

Happy Holmium! You’re one of my dearest friends and I’m so lucky to have you in my life, especially since I’d say we have real chemistree. You make my heart undergo an exothermic reaction and all I want for Christmas is yttrium, oxygen, and uranium, even if your heart is nitrogen, oxygen, and iridium. At least I’m not sodium salty over puns. You’ll have to try harder to make me helium next time.

Love,

Marinette

Exothermic reaction? Chemistree? Y-O-U and N-O-Ir? Sodium salty and helium? But…how? There’s only one person who knows that all those specific jokes had passed between him and…Ladybug.

“No way,” he breathes. Her cheeks now dark scarlet, Marinette looks down at the ground, twisting the toe of her boot against the wooden floor. Dark pigtails, bright blue eyes…kind, sweet, warm, amazing…she’s been in front of him the whole time! “You – I don’t –”

“Can we hurry this up?” Alix complains. “Some of us have gifts to get, y’know! And give,” she hastily adds when Ms Bustier looks at her.

Adrien reaches out, almost in a daze, and runs his fingers along Marinette’s cheek and down to her chin, giving her just enough of a nudge to raise her head. Those bluebell eyes punch him in the gut, leaving him breathless and unable to breathe, and before he knows what he’s doing, he’s cupping her face and leaning in and the class is audibly holding their breaths.

“Milady?” he murmurs against her mouth, so quiet that only the two of them can hear. Marinette gives him a soft little smile and at that moment, Adrien wonders how the hell he’s never realised that she’s Ladybug, because she’s just as radiant.

“You should be careful who you joke with, kitty,” Marinette replies. “Hearing the same joke again is old.”

Adrien huffs out a laugh, which Marinette mirrors, her eyes crinkling and lighting up as she laughs too. His eyes dart to her lips, a movement that doesn’t go unnoticed as she also chances a peek at his mouth. But just as Adrien’s leaning in –

“Excuse me, Ms Bustier, but Alix is right!” Lila’s sickly-sweet voice rings clear in the classroom, and Adrien jumps away from Marinette and scratches the back of his head with a little laugh. “We really should get through the rest of the Secret Santas!”

“Aww, come on, Lila!” Rose says. “We’ve been waiting so long for this to happen!”

“It’s okay,” Adrien says. He reaches out to take Marinette’s hand, and she flushes as red as her alter-ego’s suit and looks away while biting her lip. “We can finish this later. Right, princess?”

“Aww!” all the girls coo, apart from Lila.

“Y-Yeah,” Marinette stammers. “Sorry, we’re just holding the whole class up.”

“Don’t apologise,” Ms Bustier says with a wide grin and another name in her hand. “It’s wonderful to see such love at Christmas! Rose, you’re up next! Although I doubt anyone can outdo Adrien and Marinette here.”

Christmas card and original jacket in hand, Adrien heads back to his seat with Marinette behind him, squeezing past Rose on her way to the front. As Rose squeals over the miniature notebook of pressed flowers from Alya, Adrien turns in his seat and catches Marinette’s eye, winking when she finally looks at him. She blushes and looks down, and although Adrien wishes he could pull out the old Chat Noir charm and delight in the fact that his lady really does love him back, they can do that later. After all, they’ve got all the time in the world now.

“Happy Holmium, Adrien!” Marinette says with a little giggle that lights up his world. Adrien beams back.

“Happy Holmium, Marinette,” he says.

[justwritethatdown]

Chapter 2 of my high school AU :D

Beca finds herself wanting to know more abou Chloe, but Chloe's friends - and her social anxiety - give her a hard time about that. Also some more insights of her relationship with Jesse, Amy and her family :)

Words Count: 3K

Rating: T

Warnings: Underage smoking and language

Read it on AO3 or under the cut ↓

I don't need much of anything, but suddenly…

“How does it feel to be / Different from me      Are we the same / How does it feel?”

That night Beca fell asleep with the smell of Chloe on her pillow, which made her heart do funny things in her chest.

Maybe Chloe wasn’t that bad after all.

Nothing changed at school between them, Chloe didn’t talk to her the next day or the following couple of weeks – not that Beca tried to talk to Chloe but, you know – Beca told herself she wasn’t disappointed at that. They weren’t friends.

 __

 “Beca wait!" she heard Chloe call after her and immediately turned around to see the redhead running towards her in the schoolyard “hey! What’s up?” asked Beca unable to control her grin. Chloe offered her a pink ear bug, smiling brightly “I wanted to ask you what you think of this song, it came out yesterday I think".

Beca took the ear bug and put it in her ear, the song was already playing but she knew right away it was Airplanes by B.o.B. ft. Hayley Williams “you like Paramore, right?” Chloe checked and Beca was surprised that the girl not only recognized them from one of her playlists, but she knew them well enough to know Hayley Williams was the singer of the group.

Beca’s smile widened while she nodded “yes! And I think this song is really good" she answered looking at Chloe with surprise “what?” giggled the redhead “nothing...” said Beca looking at her feet “I didn’t think you liked this stuff" she admitted looking back at Chloe.

“And what stuff you thought I liked?” asked Chloe biting her lip “I don’t know... Britney Spears?” guessed Beca screwing up her nose and Chloe gasped “you don’t like Britney Spears?” she gasped in shock tugging at the ear bug wire to make it pop out of Beca’s ear “ouch! I didn’t say that...”

“Who else do you think I listen to? Let’s see" asked Chloe in somewhat of a teasing tone “I don’t know, I don’t want to get in worse trouble that I’m in already... just tell me you don’t listen to Mariah Carey please"

“Mariah Carey is the greatest singer of all times" stated an irritating voice interrupting them “Chloe, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Who is that?” asked the blonde girl who joined them “hey Bree, she’s Beca... family friends” dismissed Chloe, putting her iPod away. Beca didn’t know why that statement stung so much, it was the truth after all, they only knew each other because their parents – not that she’ll ever consider Sheila family – were friends.

Aubrey – Chloe’s best friend, for what Beca could understand – looked at her from head to toe in disapproval, before turning back to her friend “come on, Stacie is waiting for us” she said walking away and dragging Chloe alongside with her.

“Bye...” Beca told to no one, since the girls were already gone. She went to class wondering if maybe she was wrong about Chloe and they could be more alike than she though, but even popular girls are allowed to like good music, right?

One thing was sure, Chloe wasn’t even remotely as mean as Aubrey was.

 __

 At lunch Beca was glad Jesse decided to sit with Benji for once, instead of bothering her, so she could make a playlist of songs she thought Chloe might listen to, and one of those she thought Chloe should listen to.

Amy slept in and skipped school that day – something she did almost every Tuesday – so Beca didn’t have to worry about her either.

 __

 “sorry if I stood you up at lunch" apologised Jesse wrapping an arm around her shoulders, knowing very well that Beca would have shrugged it off and be dramatic about him touching her. He giggled when she did just that “you weren’t at my table? I didn’t notice” declared Beca in a monotone voice and Jesse pushed her gently “stop iit" she complained pushing him back “Benji was upset about his chemistry test" he explained without Beca asking “but he got B+” argued Beca and the guy shrugged “it’s the lowest he ever got".

“Where’s Amy by the way? I saw she wasn’t with you at lunch either” he asked “are you going to walk me home?” queried Beca stopping on her tracks – it was a ten minute walk between her house and the school – Jesse shrugged again “if you don’t mind. I don’t have anything better to do anyway" and before Beca could answer, he added “I know you must have missed me today, so you’re welcome" which granted him another shove from the brunette.

“How come you're not wearing your headphones?” “my iPod died at lunch" “aw, because I wasn’t there to keep you company?” he teased “you’re an idiot.”

 __

 The truth was that Beca craved more moments with Chloe, she was intrigued by her. Even if she usually was a pretty good judge of character, she was wrong about Chloe the first time and she still couldn’t completely figure her out yet. At school Chloe was a completely different person than who she was at home, she was nice to everyone and always smiling. And then there was that moment they shared in Beca’s room, that was what confused Beca the most, making her second guess all her assumptions about the redhead.

She wanted to get to know her better, but whenever Beca saw the girl in the hallways with her stupid friends she didn’t have the guts to say hi to her and just focused very hard on her steps to avoid eye contact. Beca hated to interact with that kind of people – she hated to interact with any kind of people – they acted like they owned the school and even if Beca couldn’t care less about that, she didn’t want to waste her time feeling judged by them or worse, letting them make a fool out of her. She really didn’t know why Chloe liked them, but again, she didn’t know Chloe at all.

Another month passed by. Beca never showed Chloe the playlists. It wasn’t important and Chloe probably wouldn’t care about that anyway.

 __

 “Why is this playlist called ‘Chloe'?” asked Amy making Beca’s blood freeze “that- that’s nothing, why do you always touch my stuff?” she gasped struggling to take the device from Amy, who won the fight without any effort “Jonas Brothers? These songs are so not you" added the blonde confused “It’s just... stupid songs, so I gave it a common stupid girl name” she blurred out wincing at her own words.

Amy narrowed her brows “Isn’t Chloe the name of that redhead you met at those ‘fucking lame dinners' with your father and Sheila?” she inquired making the quote marks gesture while repeating Beca’s words “maybe... I don’t know” tried Beca but she knew she was screwed “Beca...” said Amy not buying it at all.

“Yes, it’s her, okay? I made a playlist of songs I thought she lik-" “you never made me a playlist” interrupted her the blonde “that’s different, she’s- that’s different” blurred out Beca. Amy finally decided to let it go with a shrug connecting her loudspeaker to Beca’s iPod, letting the music fill her bedroom.

 __

 “Ugh! Why can’t I just stay with mom?” growled Beca “a couple of weeks at the beach are going to be good for you Bec, why do you have to fight me over everything?” asked her father “I don’t wanna come, dad I wanna work on my mixes, why don’t you understand that?” she whined and ran to her room smashing the door closed behind her.

Her father just informed her that in July they were going on a two weeks’ vacation someplace in Florida with Chloe’s and other two families the Beale used to go on vacation with every year. Beca didn’t have the time to be thrilled about it that she heard the name Posen being mentioned by Sheila. She didn’t even register the other one because she was already spiralling.

Posen like Aubrey Posen. The high bitch in charge at her school, Aubrey Posen. Chloe’s best friend Aubrey Posen. That couldn’t be a coincidence and Beca wasn’t willing to spend a single minute with her, let alone two entire weeks.

“Why is she like this Robert?” she heard Sheila question “what kind of kid doesn’t want to spend time on the beach with her friends?” at the world ‘friends’ Beca felt rage build up inside her – why was Sheila so fucking naive? – but it didn’t last long, because she heard her father sigh defeated “I don’t know honey, I’m afraid I did something wrong with her".

Beca put her headphones on trying to push back the tears that started falling from her eyes.

 __

 “She doesn’t want me, does she?” mumbled Beca sitting on her bed, knees pushed tightly against her chest. Her father looked at her sympathetic, sitting at the edge of the bed “Your mom is...” he trailed off for a moment, struggling to find the right words “she is having a hard time and needs to be alone for a while" he tried his best to explain “but she loves you! More than anything” he rushed to add and Beca rolled her eyes.

Lately her father did nothing but take her mother’s side, funny thing is that when they were married, they couldn’t agree on anything. Ever. Beca supposed he felt guilty about her ‘midlife crisis’ since it started just when he asked for a divorce because he couldn’t keep going on like that – or maybe it was the fact that he was in a relationship with stupid Sheila for about a month before that.

Beca’s blood started boiling in her veins at the thought, it was his fault after all, he gave up on their family.

“I’m gonna go at Amy’s” she spat out jumping off the bed.

“Beca, I need you to tell me you’re coming to Florida” he repeated.

“Whatever” answered the girl before leaving the room. It’s not like she had a choice anyway, her dad was just trying not to feel guilty about yet another thing.

 __

 “So, you’re going?” asked Amy passing her the joint. They were laying on Amy’s bed listening to music, as always.

“I have to" sighed Beca before smoking “I wish my dad was like yours, he lets you do everything you want" she wined “yeah he's pretty cool" laughed the blonde “or too busy to care maybe" she scoffed carelessly “dude, this pot sucks by the way" growled Beca giving the joint back to her.

Amy took another smoke before agreeing “I know, but I bought it from Luke" she explained “ugh, that dude is an idiot! He wrote ‘Meghan’ on my fake ID” complained Beca. The blonde stared lamely at her for what felt like forever, before cracking up in a loud laugh “Beca all fake IDs have fake names" she gasped trying to stop laughing. Beca looked at her blinking quickly before starting to laugh too.

“Anyway, he is an idiot yes, but he’s hot, so I don’t care" stated Amy “okay but never buy his pot again" demanded the brunette taking back the joint.

“So how are things going with Jesse?” asked Amy out of the blue “what do you mean?” “I mean you have this thing going on for a while now, when are you going to make it official? If you know what I mean...” said Amy wiggling her eyebrows, Beca felt slightly nauseous at that.

“There’s nothing between Jesse and me" she said defensively “oh come on Beca, you two are always attached to the hip!” growled the blonde “you don’t have to hide it from me" she said more softly “he's always attached to my hip I've got nothing to do with that!" spat out Beca getting up “I know you, you wouldn’t let him near you if you didn’t want to" pointed out Amy.

Beca knew her friend was right, she never let anyone get too close to her, but for some reason she allowed Jesse to do that and she had to admit she liked having his invasive ass around – not to Amy anyway, she was never going to admit that to Amy.

“That’s none of your business” she cut off rising the volume on her iPod to end the discussion.

 __

 When Beca came back home she found a brand-new soundboard to connect to her computer – the one she’s been asking for and her dad always denied her – sitting on her desk.

It was the same way she got her headphones, she got into a fight with her dad about something concerning the divorce somehow, stormed out of the house and found them at her return. Robert knew it wasn’t the best way to deal with conflict, but he really didn’t know how to deal with a teenager in full rebellion mood, so expensive gifts were his go-to in these cases.  It wasn’t enough for Beca, but she decided to take what she could from this situation. She didn’t like to deal with conflict either anyway.

The girl spent the whole night trying all the functions her new device offered while thinking about Chloe. She spent most nights thinking about Chloe recently. She thought about what it must be like being at the verge of the high school social ladder, having everyone’s eyes on you all the times – a kind of pressure Beca couldn’t be able to stand, for sure – how it felt to be respected, feared even, by the whole school and mostly how would it feel to be bossed around by Aubrey all the times.

Aubrey gave Beca chills. It wasn’t that Beca feared her – she didn’t fear anyone – but there was something about her that made her stomach clench, as if she was under examination. She knew Aubrey judged everybody from her high throne and Beca didn’t think enough of her to care about that, but what scared the brunette was that Aubrey’s stupid opinion could affect what Chloe thought of her.

By the time sun started creeping up from her window, she had decided that suffering through two weeks with Aubrey Posen was a small price to pay to get to know Chloe better. Her social anxiety will have to come to terms with that.

Beca threw herself on the bed, cursing her decision to staying up all night on a weekday. Her clock showed it was half past six and she briefly wondered if she could push it a little and try to gain a ‘you can skip school today’ too from the argument she and her father had, but she knew Professor Mitchell considered school the most important thing ever, even over the peaceful atmosphere he tried so hard to maintain in their home. She groaned and set her alarm to an hour later before falling asleep in her outside clothes.

Of course, she didn’t hear the alarm going off and now she was super late. As she fumed to gather all the things she needed for the day she jumped at the sight of Sheila’s head peeking from her not-closed-anymore bedroom door.

“You’re late" she stated with that irritating tone Beca really didn’t want to hear first thing in the morning.

“I know that, thanks” spat out the teenager.

“Let me drive you to school” offered the woman now fully standing in Beca’s room.

“Absolutely not" said Beca without looking at her, still busy looking for her maths' notes.

“You left a notebook in the kitchen the other day, maybe that’s what you’re looking for" told her Sheila before leaving the room.

After getting ready Beca went to the kitchen and found the notes. Sheila was sitting at the kitchen table, probably waiting for her. Beca groaned “okay let’s go" as if she was the one doing the woman a favour.

Beca was sure it was a trap, so she rushed to put her headphones on to avoid any unwanted discussion about her weird behaviour or whatever. Surprisingly Sheila didn’t try to talk to her at all and when she stopped in front of Beca’s school she even offered the girl a sweet smile “have a good day”.

“Yeah...” murmured Beca under her breath before leaving the car.

 __

 It was a shitty day, like if she was under a heavy cloud; she forgot to charge her phone, her head was killing her and Jesse didn’t shut up for one second all morning, not to mention math class – which was always a nightmare. Beca was about to commit murder when suddenly Chloe approached her at her locker.

“Hey" breathed out cheerfully the redhead and Beca found her breath catching in her lungs “I’ve heard you’re coming to Florida with us this year” she continued with her classic bright smile. Beca’s heart started racing and she was positive her face was red “I- yes, we- uh...” she rambled focusing, on nothing in particular, inside her locker. “I’m glad you’re coming" at that Beca forced herself to look at Chloe and try to mirror her smile.

“Hey babe" she heard Tom call from the other side of the hallway. Chloe turned towards him with heart eyes and accepted his kiss when he reached them. Beca felt nauseous watching that – she hated pda and cheesy happy couples.

When they parted Tom friendly nodded at Beca “hi, I’m Tom" “Beca" she said shaking the hand he offered her. Beca tried to smile at him, she really did, but all she could manage was a grimace. The girl was never so glad to hear Jesse’s “Beccaaawww" approaching her.

“Uhm, sorry, I have to go. It was nice meeting you Tom. Bye Chloe" se excused herself locking the metallic door and walking to Jesse. It was the first time she’d ever said Chloe’s name to her face and was still marvelling at the sensation it gave her, when Jesse started to throw a million words at her again, but she couldn’t focus on him at all. For some reason she kept replaying that stupid kiss in her brain over and over again.

“Earth to Beca?” called her Jesse snapping his fingers in front of her “what happened to you? You’ve been weird the whole day" he asked in a somewhat of a worried tone “I didn’t sleep" she told him “why not? You can talk to me you know” he assured her, but behind him Beca spot Amy in the distance shamelessly gesturing at her with her index finger entering a ring she was making with the other hand “gross...” whispered Beca glaring at her.

“What?” asked the guy confused “dude you need to leave me alone okay? You’re not my fucking boyfriend” she snapped making some students turn to look at them. Jesse was staring at her with a hurt expression and she regretted right away snapping at him – it was Amy’s fault not his.

“All right” he said raising his hands and turning no leave. Beca wanted to stop him, but she was too proud to apologise.

“Troubles in paradise?” asked Amy joining her “Amy fuck off!” “geez somebody woke up on the wrong side of life today" she exclaimed rolling her eyes and walking away, she knew it was best to leave Beca alone when she was like that.

[parkeraul]

Touring with Shawn in the US and you bring your dog along

a little bit nervous — s.m.

author’s note — i’m emptying my askbox as fast as possible so i can open requests again. i hope you’re liking all of this. 

warnings — fluff. 

words — 1,794.

“Oh, finally!” Shawn sighs, opening the door to the AirBnb apartment. As soon as there’s more space, Y/N drops the strap on the floor and the dog immediately starts sniffing the room while walking across the ground. 

He lets her in first, carrying his guitar case and bag while she makes her way to the bedroom where she can leave her stuff. As the dog maps the apartment, Shawn manages to grab the keys and closes the door with his foot soon after. His nose starts to itch a little bit and he can feel his eyes burning slightly, not to mention his heartbeat fastening and throat drying. 

Shawn decides to place his things beside the door, planning to take them to the right place some other time. The veins on his arms are already throbbing and his muscles are tired under the blue shirt he’s wearing. They had no time for breakfast or lunch, so the feeling of being exhausted seems to get heavier and heavier on him.

“Okay,” Y/N says, making her way back to the living room. “I’ll go grab something on Starbucks, ‘cause I’m starving! Do you want something?” 

“You’re going now?” Shawn watches her tucking her wallet inside the pocket of her shorts, moving discreetly to the door. 

She frowns, rolling her eyes across the room, “Yes?! Why?” 

He doesn’t need to answer with words, because she sees the way he looks at the dog kind of worriedly. 

“Nothing,” He chuckles nervously. “I’ll just catch my phone then I’m going with ya—” 

“Oh,” Y/N breathes, trying to walk forward and Shawn blocks her way. “I was thinking you could stay and make some company to Luna.” 

Shawn puts his hands together, holding tight as he bites his lip. Dramatically, he rubs his nose and eyes way more than he actually would need to. 

“I mean, we’re not gonna take too long, right? She could… Come with us, maybe?” Shawn asks. 

“Honey,” Y/N smiles softly, walking to him and placing her palm on his chest. “She walked way too much early in the morning and loud crowds stresses her so much,” Shawn closes his eyes to her words, thinking that he’s got nowhere left to run. “The streets are full and you’re tired too! You don’t have to be close to her if you don’t feel like doing it, just don’t leave her alone because she’s still very needy.” 

Luna’s been adopted by Y/N recently and being a recently rescued dog makes her feel abandoned whenever she’s alone, even if it’s for just a matter of minutes. But Y/N knows Shawn is more afraid of Luna than allergically reacting to the dog, considering that Luna is a huge pitbull who’s only 2 years–old, what makes her even more energetic. As a kid, she’s not aware of her enormous size and big heavy paws — she just wants to play, test her bite strength and how fast she can reach the toys. Shawn, on the other side, feels utterly intimidated by her force. And size. And love—bites. And sloppy, wet kisses.

“I’ll go, you can stay,” Shawn offers. 

“Oh yeah? Have you memorized my order?” Y/N challenges, arching an eyebrow. 

“Blueberry muffin and iced–caramel.” He answers. 

“Red velvet and choco–chip frappuccino,” Shaking her head, she steps ahead once again. “You’ll be okay, don’t worry! If she gets too annoying, just throw the pink ball. It’s in my bag with your anti–allergic.”

Before Shawn can complain, Y/N’s winking at him and slipping to the space between his body and the door. In seconds, she’s flicking the doorknob close and her footsteps leading to the elevator are the only thing Shawn can hear.

All across the room, there’s Luna with her ears up and tongue out. Her tail wags from side to side, making her butt sway along with it. Shawn swallows harshly, cheeks reddening and chest thumping with a tiny bit of fear mixing with admiration. She looks cute, but what if she attacks him or bite his leg? It’s his very first time meeting Luna, he doesn’t really know what to do or how to act if something happens. 

“Don’t look at me like that,” Shawn whines, making Luna tilt her head to the side as her eyes watch him talk as if she could only understand. Luna growls lowly, sitting down and huffing. “If you were Luna Lovegood I’d be less afraid, I think.”

Shawn trails his way to the couch slowly, Luna’s standing on the very center watching him step carefully onto the fluffy map. He sits on the very edge, as far as possible from the dog as he grabs the remote to turn on the TV. His hairline is sweaty and limbs shaking a little. When he puts the remote to the side, right next to his leg, Luna understands it as a ‘come here’ type of tap and runs to jump onto the couch.

The curly boy just holds his breath and presses his lips together, avoiding a scream and freezing in place. Luna senses the fear exhaling from his body, coming closer very smoothly to smell on him.

She starts sniffing along his hand and wrist still spread and holding the remote, coming up to his elbow and biceps. Her breathing tickles his skin, so he can’t help but laugh and she gets excited, thinking that he wants to play. Quickly, she prompts her body up and places her paws on his shoulder for support. Shawn squeezes his eyes shut and prays to God she’ll be nice.

Luna sniffs his hair, ear and cheek before she licks flesh only once very rapidly, just poking his cheek with the tip of her tongue to see if he likes it. When Shawn shrugs, making her frame slide towards him consequently, she goes wild. She runs to the other side of the couch, then back to where Shawn is and then back to the edge of the couch and it goes on and on. Shawn reads it at happiness, which sure is washing over her body with electric waves of energy. Her running makes his silhouette shake on the couch, because it’s flopping up and down with the weight of her fast strides and he laughs at the sight. 

“Okay, okay,” Shawn says between his giggles and Luna stops in the middle of the couch, prepared to play. “You want your ball, eh?” The dog opens her mouth, letting her tongue out to refresh as her tail wags faster. 

“‘M too lazy to grab it, not gonna lie,” He mutters. “But…” Looking around the apartment, he tries to find something closer to distract her. “What about this?” 

Shawn grabs a small cushion and throws it to the end of the couch and Luna instantly reaches for it. She takes a mouthful of it and rushes to put it next to Shawn’s thigh again. Thinking that she needs to follow the previous steps to keep on getting his attention, Luna goes to the middle of the couch again and this time she prepares herself more — upper half goes down and her wiggly butt goes up. Gradually, Shawn’s heartbeats slow down and he laughs loudly, squeezing his eyes and putting his hand on his stomach. Luna’s impatient, so she runs across the couch again and barks as delicate as possible like she’s saying ‘come on, throw it again!’. 

“Ready?” He asks, lifting the cushion and inching nearer. “Go!” 

He tosses the object and Luna is quick to get it and give it back to Shawn, pinning up her swaying bum again. 

“Your mum would die laughing if she saw you like this,” Shawn comments as he keeps on playing with the dog, predicting that Y/N had never seen Luna being this friendly before. 

After 20 minutes of playing, Luna settles down onto Shawn’s lap and he dares to rub behind her ear with his forefinger only — not putting his entire hand to the danger that’s only in his mind because he think it’s better to lose only one finger than an entire hand. Luna doesn’t mind, just blinks her eyes very lazily as she catches her breath. 

“They say you’re kind of a babysitter type of dog, right?” He says looking at the way her lungs inflate and relax under her ribcage. “I hope this is actually accurate, ‘cause if your mum wants to have a baby with me, we’d need help,” Shawn thinks out loud, imagining their life as a family of four. “You seem to be very skilled, you know? I’m very clumsy, though,” Chuckling, he vents and sighs, not noticing two more fingers easing down to pet the dog on top of his leg. “And you make a very comfortable pillow in case the baby falls asleep on the floor while we’re busy with the chores,” 

The more he confesses, the bigger his hopes get. His heart is now warm with expectations, dreams and love. Although Luna can’t understand his words, she feels the passion radiating from his body and it calms her as she gives into the cozy tone of his voice. 

“Obviously, we wouldn’t just let the baby on the floor and give you all the job,” He rolls his eyes as if she was complaining back. “But a baby needs to learn on how to crawl and… Well, nevermind.” 

He stops as the door opens again, Y/N holding two bags of food. Luna snaps her black eyes open and immediately runs to meet her. 

“Hey you,” She greets the dog, handing Shawn the bags as he lifts himself up from the couch and comes closer. “Seems like someone was having a good nap, weren’t you?” 

Shawn nearly melts to her sweet pitchy tone while she talks to the dog, bending down on her knees to caress Luna. 

“How was she?” Y/N asks, coming up as the dog goes back to the couch and searches for the cushion she was previously playing with. 

“Great, actually,” Shawn answers, stealing a peck from Y/N’s lips. “Great pal, great friend, great listener,” 

“Oh, really?” Smirking, Y/N looks at Luna then back at Shawn. “What were you guys talking about?”

“Life,” He chuckles, unboxing their improvised brunch as Y/N looks for plates and glasses to set the table. “Plans for the future, basically.” 

“Interesting,” Y/N says, still smirking at his softness. Who’d say Shawn could go all sweet for a dog like Luna? “I know she’s got talent to be a great babysitter in the near future!” 

Shawn looks at the dog — busy biting the cushion between her paws — and then smiles, looking back at the table. He just remembers about the conversation and repeats his words wholeheartedly under a whisper.

“Thank God, because we’ll need help!”

[bechloeislegit]

25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2019

DAY 18 - A VERY TOUCHY CHRISTMAS

Prompt from FanFiction Guest: Can you do one when Beca is really pregnant, and they're having family over for Christmas [full prompt at the end, because I don't like giving anything away]. I hope you like what I did with it.

Beca was lying with her back against the armrest of the sofa, while Chloe massaged her feet and legs. Beca was squirming quite a bit. She huffed, and Chloe looked at her.

"You remember that scene in Alien when they were in that diner, and one of those alien things came out of that guy's stomach?" Beca asked Chloe.

"Um, yeah?" Chloe said.

"That what it feels like your child is trying to do to me," Beca said.

Chloe bit her lip to keep from laughing. "It's not that bad, Becs."

"Oh, no?" Beca asked. She pulled her shirt up to expose her stomach. "Look at this."

Chloe looked at Beca's stomach and couldn't hold in the laugh this time. It looked as if elbows and feet were trying to push their way out through Beca's stomach.

"Stop it," Chloe said, pulling Beca's shirt back down. "I think it's beautiful."

Chloe leaned over and kissed Beca's stomach.

"It's an alien," Beca whined. "And I can't believe he or she isn't here already. Arriving a few days early is not much to ask for, is it?"

"The baby will get here when he or she is ready," Chloe said. "Plus, my family will be here tomorrow. They'll take your mind off of that little alien inside you."

"It does feel like an alien," Beca mumbled.

Chloe kissed Beca and asked her what she wanted for dinner.

~ Day 18 of 2019's 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases ~

The next day, Chloe was in the kitchen, and Beca was placing some gifts under the tree when the doorbell rang.

"I got it, Chlo!" Beca called as she walked *cough*waddled*cough* to the door.

"Beca!" Charlotte Beale squealed and immediately wrapped her hands around Beca's stomach.

Beca backed away from Charlotte. Charlotte moved with him, keeping her hands on Beca's stomach.

"Oh, I felt her kick," Charlotte said.

"Um, she might be a boy," Beca said. "We want to be surprised."

"Oh," Charlotte said, moving her hands around Beca's stomach. "It's definitely a girl. I can tell these things."

"Charlotte, leave the poor girl alone," Carl Beale said, taking his wife by the arms from behind and pulling her away.

"I can't help it," Charlotte said. "She's carrying our grandbaby."

"I know, dear," Carl said, patiently. "But, the rest of us would like to come inside."

Beca gave Carl a thankful smile and moved out of the way so the rest of the Beale clan could come in.

"Chloe, your folks are here," Beca called out as she led them into the living room.

Chloe came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishtowel, beaming Beale smile in place.

"Mom, Dad," Chloe said as she hurried to hug them both.

"What about us?" a voice said from behind Carl.

"CJ," Chloe said and ran to hug the young man. "I thought you couldn't make it."

"Change of plans," CJ said. "I hope that's okay."

"Of course it is," Chloe said. "Charlene, you get even more gorgeous every time I see you."

Charlene rolled her eyes as Chloe hugged her. "You say that every time you see me."

"Then it must be true," Chloe said with a wink.

"Um, Chloe," Beca said, causing the redhead to turn toward her.

"Everything okay, Becs?"

"Could I see you in the kitchen?"

"Sure," Chloe said. "Everyone make yourselves at home. We'll be right back."

Chloe followed Beca into the kitchen. Beca turned and glared at Chloe.

"Becs, what's wrong?"

"Your mother won't stop touching my stomach," Beca said.

Chloe laughed. "She's just excited about the baby."

"They haven't been here more than five minutes," Beca said. "And she's touched me at least five times. She doesn't even ask; she just does it. It's weird and creepy."

Chloe pulled Beca to her and hugged her. "I'll talk to her about it and ask her to stop."

"Thank you," Beca mumbled into Chloe's neck. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Chloe said.

They stood in the kitchen, holding each other when Charlotte came in, smiling.

"There she is," Charlotte said, walking over to Beca and placing her hands on Beca's stomach.

Beca looked at Chloe with raised eyebrows.

"Mom, could you cool it with touching Beca's stomach?" Chloe said, physically pulling her mother's hands away. "It makes her uncomfortable."

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear," Charlotte said, fluttering her hands as if she wanted to put them back on Beca's stomach. "It's just, you're carrying our first grandchild, and I'm so happy and excited about it. Maybe you'll go into labor while we're here."

Beca gave a little smile and said, "Maybe."

~ Day 18 of 2019's 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases ~

Beca was chatting with Charlene and CJ when Charlotte suddenly put her hands on Beca's stomach, causing Beca to jump in surprise. Charlotte looked over Beca's shoulder, and Beca turned to see what she was looking at. She smiled when she saw Chloe putting something on the dining room table.

"Um, Charlotte, could you please take your hands off my stomach?" Beca said, turning to Charlotte. "I need to help Chloe set the table."

"Charlene will help," Charlotte said. She turned to look at Charlene. "You don't mind, do you, dear?"

"Um, no, of course not," Charlene said, standing.

"Oh, no, that's alright," Beca said, gently pulling Charlotte's hands off her stomach.

"Mom," Chloe said from behind Beca, causing Beca to freeze, holding Charlotte's hands in mid-air. "I told you Beca's uncomfortable with you constantly touching her stomach."

Charlotte gently pulled her hands away from Beca.

"I'm sorry, again, Beca," Charlotte said. "I can't seem to help myself."

"I get it, I do," Beca said. "Just maybe warn me next time."

"I'll stop," Charlotte said. "I don't want to upset you. That wouldn't be good for the baby."

~ Day 18 of 2019's 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases ~

They were sitting down for Chrismas Eve dinner.

"Oh shoot," Chloe said. "I forgot the salad tongs."

"I'll get them," Beca said and moved to stand.

"You stay right where you are, young lady," Charlotte Beale ordered, putting a hand on Beca's arm to stop her.

Beca stared wide-eyed at Charlotte over her shoulder. "Um."

"Chloe Mitchell, you're wife is nine months pregnant and ready to pop that baby out any minute," Charlotte said, turning her focus to Chloe, who was sitting on the other side of Beca. "She should not be jumping up and down to get things. You should be getting things for her."

Beca sat back down, looking at Chloe with a smug smile on her face. Chloe glared at her and got up and went into the kitchen.

Chloe came back into the dining room and slammed the tongs down in front of Beca. She leaned down and whispered in Beca's ear. "Paybacks a bitch."

Beca swallowed and watched as Chloe sat back down with a tight smile.

"Let's eat before it gets cold," Chloe said.

"Sheesh, mom," Charlene said. "That was a bit harsh, don't you think?"

"A pregnant woman deserves to be waited on," Charlotte said. "Especially this late in the pregnancy."

"But, Beca's the one who offered to get the tongs," CJ said. "I think she knows what she's capable of doing and not doing."

Charlotte glared at her son. "Carl, do you hear your children?"

"I do, dear," Carl said, putting some potatoes on his plate. "You kids listen to your mother."

"But, daddy-"

Carl cut Chloe off. "It's not worth the fight. Trust me."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes at Carl; he smiled and said, "I love you, dear."

"Charlotte," Beca said, getting Charlotte's attention. "Chloe has been an angel since we found out I was pregnant. She does just about everything for me. But I like to keep active and can carry a pair of tongs without it causing any undue stress on me or the baby. Now, I appreciate that you spoke up for me, but there really isn't any need. Chloe's a great wife and will be an even better mother."

"Aww," Charlene said. "That was so romantic."

"You mean cheesy," CJ said with a laugh.

"It was perfect," Chloe said, as Beca looked at her. "Thank you, babe."

Beca leaned over and kissed Chloe. As Beca turned back to face the table, she noticed that Charlotte had put her hand on Beca's side. Beca looked down at Charlotte's hand and back up to Charlotte.

"I'm sorry," Charlotte said; she then lowered her voice to add, "I didn't plan to, but I saw a little kick and wanted to feel it."

Beca smiled and gave her a small understanding nod.

"Mom, we've talked about this," Chloe said.

"I know," Charlotte said, removing her hand. "I'm sorry."

~ Day 18 of 2019's 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases ~

After dinner, everyone was sitting in the living room, having coffee and dessert.

"So, when are you actually due?" Charlene asked.

"The day after tomorrow, according to the doctor," Beca told her. "I was hoping the baby would be a Christmas baby, but I'm not even feeling any pains or anything, so it might be a few more days."

"Hey," CJ said. "Maybe you'll have a New Year's baby."

"That would be cool, too," Beca said.

"Why don't you want to know the baby's sex?" Charlotte asked.

"We want to be surprised," Beca said with a shrug.

"But why?"

"We feel that if we know the baby's sex," Chloe said. "Everyone will expect us to have a gender-reveal party, and we don't like those."

"I love watching those on YouTube," Charlene said.

"They were cute at first," Chloe said. "But, we feel that they've gotten out of hand. We want to be surprised in the delivery room."

"I'd want to know," CJ said. Everyone looked at him. "I mean, that way, you can buy all the gender-appropriate stuff."

"What do you consider to be gender appropriate?" Beca asked, looking at him.

"You know, like pink for girls and blue for boys," CJ said. "Right?"

"We have the nursery decorated in non-gender specific colors," Beca said.

"But, all babies look like little old men," CJ said, pleading his case. "Don't you want people to know it's a boy or girl when they see them?"

Carl looked at CJ and shook his head. Charlene sat staring at him with her mouth agape.

Beca and Chloe were glaring at him. If Beca hadn't been so focused on CJ and what he was saying, she would have realized that Charlotte had put her hand on Beca's stomach again. She quickly glanced at Charlotte, who shrugged and gave her a small smile.

"Come on, Dad," CJ implored his father. "You know what I'm saying, right?"

"Don't drag me into this," Carl said, holding up his hands.

"Char?" CJ said, looking at his sister.

"Nope," Charlene said. "I firmly believe that males can wear pink and females can wear blue if they want to. The color of your clothing does not identify your gender."

"Thank you, Char," Chloe said. "That's exactly what we think as well."

"Chlo," Beca whispered, trying to get Chloe's attention.

"What?"

"She's doing it again," Beca said, looking down at Charlotte's hand on her stomach.

"Can you just let her have her moment?" Chloe asked.

"Fine," Beca said and sat back with a huff.

"Are you okay, Beca?" Charlotte asked, rubbing Beca's stomach. "Are you having pains?"

"No," Beca said. "Just a bit uncomfortable."

"Is it your back?" Charlotte asked. "Chloe, get her a pillow for her back."

"That would be so nice," Beca said, looking at Chloe with big eyes. "Babe, would you mind?"

"It's a good thing I love you," Chloe mumbled, getting up to get Beca a pillow for her back.

Beca watched and waited until she knew Chloe could hear her. She's smiling as she turns to Charlotte.

"How long do you think it will be before she cracks?" Beca asked so only Charlotte could hear.

Charlotte laughed. "I thought this would have done it."

"We have to up the game," Beca said. "Her gift will be here any minute."

"What are you two whispering about?" Charlene asked.

"Nothing," Charlotte and Beca say simultaneously.

Beca looked over her shoulder when she heard Chloe coming back.

"Get ready," Beca whispered to Charlotte.

"Here you go, Beca," Chloe said, pulling Beca forward by the shoulder and shoving the pillow behind.

Beca had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. She also noticed that Charlotte had looked away to hide her smile

"Better?" Chloe asked, wearing what Beca knew to be her fake smile.

"Much," Beca said. "Thanks."

"Chloe, you need to be more aware of Beca's discomfort," Charlotte chastised. "She's carrying your first child. She deserves to be paid attention to."

Chloe's mouth dropped open in surprise. "I do pay attention to her."

"Well, Chlo," Beca said. "You have been slacking a bit. I mean, I had to tie my own shoes this morning."

"Chloe Anne Beale," Charlotte scolded. "I am so disappointed in you. Making Beca tie her own shoes? When she's pregnant, no less."

Beca couldn't hold it in any longer when she saw the indignant look on Chloe's face and started laughing. Charlotte joined in rather quickly. They were laughing so hard they had to hold onto each other to keep from falling off the sofa.

"What the hell?" Chloe asked, looking from her wife to her mother and back again.

Charlene, Carl, and CJ sat watching with confused looks on their faces.

"I'm sorry," Beca said, still laughing. "I am. We were just yanking your chain, babe."

"What?" Chloe asked. "Why would you do that?"

"It was my idea," Charlotte said. "Beca and I were talking about your Christmas gift. She started telling me how much you've been doing for her, and she wanted to get you something to let you know how much she appreciated you. I thought it would be fun to mess with you a bit before she gave you her gift."

"And you agreed to this?" Chloe asked Beca; Beca nodded. "I hate you both right now."

Beca reached for Chloe's hand, and Chloe jerked it away. "Okay, um. I have a surprise for you, and it should be here any minute."

"You did all this to give me a present?" Chloe huffed.

"Yeah," Beca said, rethinking the whole thing. "I needed to distract you until it got here."

"I'm sorry, Chloe," Charlotte said.

Before anyone could say anything more, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Beca said as she stood.

"What? You don't want me to get it since you're sooooo pregnant?" Chloe asked petulantly.

"Well, since you're offering," Beca said and then laughed when Chloe glared at her. "It is for you, after all."

Chloe huffed and stood. Beca followed behind Chloe and waved for the Beales to follow her. They stopped a few feet behind Chloe as she opened the door.

"Surprise!" the Bellas yell as soon as they saw Chloe.

"Oh, my God!" Chloe cried as the Bellas pulled her into a group hug.

Chloe pulls back from the girls and wipes her eyes. "I thought you guys couldn't be here."

"Beca made us tell you that," Aubrey said.

"She wanted it to be a surprise," Stacie added.

"It is," Chloe said, crying and smiling.

"Beca!" Emily cried, rushing over to the ex-Captain. "Look at how big you are?"

"Emily, you don't tell a pregnant woman she looks big," Fat Amy chastised. "But, she's right, Beca. You're as big as a house."

"Thanks for looking out for me, Ames," Beca said sarcastically. Seeing the girls still standing in the doorway, she said, "So, are you girls going to come in or what?"

"Oh, right, sorry," Chloe said, stepping aside to let all the girls come in.

There was more hugging, and how are yous as the Beales greeted the Bellas.

Chloe pulled Beca to the side and kissed her. "I can't believe you were able to keep this from me for so long."

"I had a lot of help," Beca said, holding Chloe. "I called Aubrey about three months ago, and she organized everything with the girls so they could all be here."

"Thank you," Chloe said. "It's the best gift ever."

"Well, we haven't all been together since our wedding three years," Beca said. "And I know how much you miss them, especially Aubrey. So, as an extra gift, Aubrey's staying a few days after the others leave so you two can have some one-on-one best friend time."

"I love you," Chloe said.

"I love you, too," Beca said.

"Beca, you can't get any more pregnant than you already are," Fat Amy called out. "So, get over here. We have gifts to open."

Chloe laughed as Beca shook her head.

"Merry Christmas, Chlo," Beca said as she took Chloe's hand and led her back over to their family.

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

Full prompt from FanFiction Guest: Can you do one when Beca is really pregnant, and they're having family over for Christmas, and Chloe's mom is all over Beca and feeling her belly any chance she gets, that would be kind of funny. No labor or anything, just aches and pains and exhausted from holidays and being almost due. Do what you want with it. I've just been wanting a cute Bechloe story about Beca being pregnant and family coming for Christmas.

Author's Note: Since this is posting on December 25, Merry Christmas to all my readers who celebrate this day.

[charmingcentry]

GSA

Entry for Day 4 - High School

Summary: Beca has had a big crush on Chloe Beale ever since freshman year and thinks she has no chance at all with her. That is until Fat Amy and Jesse swoop in to save the day.

AO3

-

There are officially 179 school days left until Beca is out of this shithole.

Don’t be fooled by the brunette’s high marks in classes or how she frequently participates in school events, Beca Mitchell can’t tolerate dozens of people on this campus. The awful stereotypes and insignificant drama is what ruined the whole “high school experience.” Not that she expected much when entering in as a freshman, but ever since then, she dreads her school. The maintained 4.2 GPA and involvement within the school community is only kept because unlike many people at her school, Beca actually wants to attend college.

She doesn’t talk to people much other than her best friends Fat Amy and Jesse Swanson, both from completely separate friend groups. Fat Amy, is apart of what is considered the “popular” group and Jesse is categorized into “geeks and nerds,” it was luck that pushed Beca towards the two drastically different people.

Beca preferred to seclude herself from friend groups, usually sitting on the field and listening to her music which apparently deems you as a “loner freak,” just another example of why the brunette hates this school. She could’ve chosen to partake in socializing with people but conversations weren’t her thing. Sure now she sits by Fat Amy’s table or Jesse’s but she doesn’t talk much, usually studying or on her phone.

After school, the brunette doesn’t go anywhere… she’d rather stay away from home. Even after dozens of offers from Amy and Jesse for a sleepover or just to hang out, Beca would rather stay within school property, typically finding herself on the bleachers at the baseball field. Maybe not the best decision, especially after many excruciatingly prolonged conversation with a redhead, Chloe Beale.

“I like your bracelet.” Chloe compliments, pointing at a black-beaded bracelet with the colors of the rainbow on six of the beads. Beca looks up from her Calculus textbook.

“Oh, thanks… “

“What are you doing here?” The redhead asks, sitting next to Beca as she notices what she’s reading. “I’ve always had trouble with limits… especially these ones.” Chloe points to a problem in the textbook.

Without thinking Beca goes through the problem in her head. “You just factor out the numerator then it’ll cancel out in the denominator. Then you plug in this number for x in the expression you’re left with.” Her mouth became dry and could feel her stomachs doing flips when Chloe grinned at her

“You’re smart… no wonder your mister’s favorite.”

Beca raises an eyebrow. “Sure…” “Anyway, you didn’t answer my question, what’re you doing here?” The redhead asks once again, moving in closer to Beca

The brunette swallows down a lump in her throat and stutters. “I- just, need some time for myself.”

“When the softball team is practicing?”

Beca notices the blue and white school jersey. “Oh… I mean, I don’t really pay attention so. I don’t mind.”

A whistle blows and Chloe shoots up. “Oop! There’s coach, I’ll see you around Bec!”

The redhead runs back onto the field as Beca looks back at the problem Chloe pointed out and swallows another lump in her throat.

It’s not that Beca doesn’t know the girl, she does… it’s just that Chloe may be the girl Beca has been pining on ever since freshman year, the only other girl in her grade that was nice to the brunette. She wasn’t the stereotypical popular girl nor was she a stereotype in general… Chloe was, Chloe. The redhead was honest, compassionate, intelligent, and extremely friendly… and kind of hot. But Beca knew she wasn’ t gay. Yet still, the brunette couldn’t get over her.

Fat Amy and Jesse are heavily aware of Beca’s crush on popular softball player Chloe Beale, the blonde being one of Chloe’s best friends. The brunette never discusses anything related to her romantic feelings, yet her attitude and demeanor towards the redhead clearly show how she feels for her. Fat Amy noticed when their Physics teacher had people go into partners for a project.

Beca was sitting at her desk, looking around to see who doesn’t have a partner, Fat Amy paired with this kid named Bumper so the brunette was left on her own. The teenager sighs and contemplates asking their teacher if they could be individual for this project too until someone pops up.

“Hi, Bec!” Fat Amy turns her attention to her two best friends

Beca’s cheeks go pink as she shuffles around in her seat. “Uh, hey Chloe.”

“You have a partner?” Chloe asks, sitting in the seat directly in front of Beca. The brunette shakes her head. “You wanna be mine?”

Beca readjusts her sitting position once more as she twirls her pencil in her left hand. “Y-yeah that’d be cool.”

The teacher calls time for partner search. “Well, text me to see when we can meet up okay?” Beca nods. “Awes.”

The redhead smiles and winks at Beca before returning to her original seat. “Yeah! Awes.”

Fat Amy chuckles at how the brunette places her head in her hands and mutters an incoherent phrase. The blonde returns her attention to Bumper who is staring very intensely at her…

Jesse noticed during an interesting interaction between the two during the passing period…

“Okay look, I’m just saying! You’re way too smart to be at this school Beca.” The brunette rolls her eyes as she walks down the hall to their next class, World History. “Like really? You’re always receiving A’s and shit, then you still stay here?”

“Yeah, Jess because it’s nearly end of the sophomore year where am I supposed to g-

A redhead walks past the two, she smiles at Beca, along with one of her signature winks. The brunette immediately shuts up and waves awkwardly at Chloe. Beca looks behind her to see Chloe still walking until she hears Jesse clear her throat.

“Sooo… Chloe?” The male teases, nudging Beca in the shoulder.

They stop in front of their designated classroom. “Shut up Jess, never speak about that again.”

Her friends are extremely supportive of Beca, Jesse even going as far to say “I’ll be the best lesbro you’ll ever have,” which the brunette finds slightly annoying. But Beca couldn’t believe how supportive her two friends are, she found that’s why she’s always stayed with them - no matter what happened, Amy and Jesse were and are always there behind the brunette.

-

“Hey, Jesse come here for a second.” Fat Amy says, waving her hand over to Jesse during a break they had during their Economics class. Jesse immediately comes on over like a puppy and sits next to the blonde.

“What’s up?”

“You tired of the sexual tension between ginger and Beca?” Jesse lets out a laugh and notices how serious Fat Amy sounds about this question.

He clears his throat. “Yeah, kind of. Like it’s obvious Chloe likes her back… all those winks and flirty moves and crap…” Fat Amy nods.

“So I have a plan to convince the little gremlin that Chloe likes her back.” Jesse leans in to listen more.

“What is it?”

“Drag Beca to GSA.”

Jesse widens his eyes. “She wouldn’t Amy, like never.”

“Whatever, we’re gonna do it, Swanson, whether Beca likes it or not. It’s for her own good”

The teacher calls their attention back to the board and the class resumes… the two are going to have to do a lot of dragging to get Beca into the GSA classroom.

The bell rings to dismiss the fifth-period classes, signifying that lunch is starting and it is now time to drag Beca into the Gay-Straight Alliance classroom. Fat Amy and Jesse walk out of their economics classroom quickly, on their way to find wherever Beca would be. Usually, the brunette alternates between the two’s friend groups, sitting at either table throughout the school week. Some days Beca goes to her usual alone spot, so it’s usually a challenging task to locate where the brunette may be.

“Is she supposed to hang out with me or you today?” Jesse asks, the two scanning the cafeteria room for a petite brunette with headphones around her neck. Amy looks around, their friend is nowhere to be seen.

“I think she’s on her own today, come on, let’s go find that gremlin.”

The two acquaintances walk out of the cafeteria towards the quad area of the school, their heads darting around every direction to find Beca. They walk near an area with a tree and find Beca laying down under the shade, headphones covering her ears and her eyes were closed. Fat Amy storms over to the serene brunette and pulls her up by the arm.

“Dude what the fuck!” The brunette yells, trying to resist Fat Amy’s grip around her arm as her headphones fall around her neck. Jesse leans down to gather Beca’s school belongings and holds Beca’s other arm down. “Jesse you too? Okay, what the hell is going on…”

They begin walking over to the GSA classroom and unbeknownst to Beca, Chloe will be attending the meeting as well. As the two friends begin dragging Beca to what seems her inevitable doom, the brunette tries to pull away. “Beca you’re going to a GSA meeting and that’s that.” Fat Amy declares, turning left around the corner of a school building.

“What! No! Why!” Beca says, still trying to plant herself to the ground

“For your… own… good!” Fat Amy says, opening the door to the GSA classroom and shoving the brunette inside. Of course, being the good samaritans they are, stick with Beca for the meeting to make sure she won’t run away. The teacher who supervises the club, waves over at the seemingly distressed friend group and hands the three a sign-in sheet.

“Amy, what’re you doing here?” A taller female brunette asks, walking over to the three, she notices Beca. “Hey, newcomer!”

Beca turns back around after frustratedly signing herself into the club. “Uh, hey.”

“I’m Stacie, you’re in my Chemistry class.” Beca raises an eyebrow. “Oh yeah, you know that you hang out with us sometimes…”

“Yeah… these two-” Beca points at Jesse and Fat Amy. “Dragged me in here and I have no clue why…” Stacie smirks. “What?”

“Nothing. Just our president is late so the meeting isn’t starting yet.”

The group of four took their seats at a table near the front of the classroom as the rest of the club talks amongst themselves. The main ones talking were Jesse, Fat Amy, and Stacie while Beca was sitting in her seat, pouting like a 5-year-old. Just as she’s about to drape her headphones back onto her head, the door opens and someone runs in.

“So sorry I’m late guys, let’s get started.” A familiar voice rings from the side of the room, Beca turns red the minute she hears the voice and her head subconsciously focuses on the president of the club… Chloe Beale. “How’s everyone’s first we-

“Chlo! We have a new member.” Stacie intervenes as she points at Beca who is sinking slowly in her seat. The redhead looks over at notices the brunette and gives Beca an endearing grin, the two of them both blushing crazily. Beca waves awkwardly as Chloe gestures her to stand up The brunette follows and hesitantly stands, waving at all the people within the club.

“Introduce yourself Bec! Don’t worry, we don’t bite.” Chloe winks, walking closer towards the brunette.

“Okay well… I’m Beca Mitchell and uh, yeah. That’s it.” The brunette immediately sits back down as the redhead lets out a giggle of her extremely awkward demeanor.

“She’s also candidate for valedictorian guys~” The brunette tries to hide her amused grin and playfully rolls her eyes. Fat Amy and Jesse high-five one another as Stacie gives a thumbs-up to Chloe. “Glad you joined us here today Bec… okay, the topic of today’s meeting, going to middle schools and promoting GSA and support!”

A smile slips onto Beca’s face as she admires how Chloe looks when she’s in charge and leading a group.

-

The lunch bell rings and everyone begins gathering their belongings, Beca especially as she doesn’t want to go through any more of the awkward tension surrounding her. Just as she’s about to walk out, she feels a soft grip wrap around her wrist. Beca turns around and notices Chloe, smiling softly at her.

“Hey, I’m glad you came today Beca.” The redhead says as Beca begins to walk closer to her crush. Fat Amy, Jesse, and Stacie walk past the two and smirk, walking out without their friend. “I’ll keep this short but I was wondering if you would be interested in coming to my softball game? Friday? First one of the season.” Chloe entices, still holding onto Beca’s wrist. The brunette is shocked by the invite and the corners of her lips perk up.

“I- yeah sure. I mean, yes. I know a lot about… softball. My favorite sport actually.” Beca blurts out, distracted by the smile Chloe gives off. The redhead’s grin becomes wider as she slowly lets go of her wrist.

“Great! See you then Bec.” Chloe leaves the classroom as Beca follows her out as well.

As Beca makes her way to the final period of the day, she realizes what she had just said about softball during their interaction. Her face scrunches up as she pounds her fist against the palm of her other hand, knowing damn well she had just lied to her crush.

Beca sure has a lot to learn about softball.

And that GSA meeting sure won’t be the last.

[ill-skillsgard]

Patterns in the Ivy, Part 1 - Bill Skarsgård

Title: Patterns in the Ivy

Description: A continuation of Smoke & Money. Ghosts from the not-so-distant past come back to threaten her. She must choose between a lavish life of servitude or have everything she ever loved stripped away.

Warning: 18+ smut/swearing/mentions of drugs/kink & fetish themes

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12

I never thought that my life would turn out this way. One day I was on my own, living in a crappy apartment with nobody but myself to worry about and before I knew it, that had all changed. I had her now. My beautiful daughter. She was almost four years old already. I was constantly baffled by the amount of time it took for me to become the person I was meant to be; a mother to a child.

She was the most incredible human being that I had ever met. Every single day she got smarter and with each of those days, it became easier and easier to talk to her. When I had her, I named her Ivany. She was a sweet little baby with brown hair and big soul-searching eyes. I loved her immediately. All the world melted away. All my problems had been solved by the birth of just one perfect human being.

Nothing in my past meant a thing after she came around. I left my former self behind in favor of her. She made all the bad whispers go away. She warded off my loneliness and filled the silence. She occupied my ever-racing mind so that I could just feel calm when I hadn't ever known the definition of calmness. Ivany was my last strand of hope, the only one that couldn't break.

I did everything that I could to make our life together a good one. I found us a townhouse to live in and I found myself steady jobs to support us. Before Ivany, I never knew a life of selflessness. I didn't know what it was like to love another person unconditionally and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Our life together was fun and exciting with zero complications and that was the way I wanted it. But of course, life had its way of ripping apart everything I loved like a rabid dog, tearing at the seams with seemingly no effort at all. Just when I thought I had finally let my roots grow.

It all began on a day that I decided to take Ivany to the park after school.

I was sat on a bench with a book in hand, unable to really take in the words as I was too busy looking up every twenty seconds to check up on her. Sick of reading the same sentence over and over, I put the book in my purse. I preferred to watch her anyway. There were a few other children and parents around and more coming in. Off in the distance, I saw an older man with a young boy approaching and older kids walking in from school.

"Watch me, Mommy!" I heard Ivany call from the swing she had claimed as her own.

"I can see you, Ivy!" I called to her.

After a little while, the park started to get crowded. I stood up from the bench and circled around, following Ivany wherever she went. To say I was overprotective would be a grand understatement.

"Is that one yours?" A male voice from behind me asked.

I turned around to see who it was speaking to me. It was the older man I had spotted earlier with the young boy. I feigned a smile. "Yeah, she is."

"She's a real cutie pie, huh? That one's going to be a heart-breaker someday."

I laughed uneasily. "I'll teach her to break fingers before hearts."

"She looks like you, too."

I always had doubts whenever somebody told me that Ivany looked like me. I had dark hair, almost black in certain light and hazel eyes. My facial features were softer, my nose more rounded. The peaks of my top lip came up to sharp points whereas her's were fuller. Her eyes were pools of dreary green that when I looked into, I could see visions of my forgotten past. Ivany didn't look much like me at all.

"Thanks," I said to him anyway.

Suddenly, I heard a shriek and my attention perked immediately. The sounds of my daughter crying sent me running towards where she was standing next to the swing set.

"Ivany!" I called.

The boy that had come with the man was standing beside her, little fists clenched at his sides and my daughter was crunched into a ball, holding her head and crying.

"What's wrong honey? What happened?" I asked her, kneeling down to look at her face.

"That boy hurt me!"

I moved her hand from where she had been clutching at her hair and saw that her pink barrette was askew and it looked like some of her hair had been ripped out. The more my daughter cried the angrier I got. The boy stood there watching, stone-faced and unmoved by her tears. I stood up as the man approached.

"Hey buddy, your kid just ripped out a chunk of my daughter's hair!"

"Kevin, that is not very nice! You apologize to the little girl this instant!" The man said.

The little boy turned towards us despondently and mumbled a half-ass, "sorry."

I lifted Ivany up, shot the both of them a glare and marched off with her in my arms, purse swinging from my wrist. Once we were far enough away I brushed my hand through her hair and rocked her a little bit.

"Are you okay to walk to the car, Ivy?"

"Yes, mom."

I set her down on the ground and looked at her red, puffy, crying face with sympathy. Unclipping her barrette, I smoothed out her hair and clicked my tongue in contempt.

"It's going to be okay, honey. Let's go get something to eat and then we'll go home and watch a movie."

I took Ivany home and got her settled down, fed and set her up in the living room with a blanket and her favourite movie. My girlfriend from next door was going to make her way over so that I could get ready for work.

Every two weeks I had to work late nights at my job and I had nobody else to watch Ivany. I had become very close to my next door neighbor, a petite ray of sunshine by the name of Kiki who had come to live in the States from Korea when she was just a girl. She and I got along well and Ivany loved her so we naturally became a little unit. I would look after her cats and she would look after my kid. It worked out well for both of us.

"Mommy, do you have to work?" Ivany asked me as I fluttered around looking for my misplaced items.

"Yes sweetie but Kiki is going to be here with you and you guys can watch TV together."

"I don't want you to go."

I stopped what I was doing and gazed at my daughter sitting up on the sofa. The look in her eyes made my heart sink into my stomach. I didn't want to leave for the night either. I had no choice when it came to working late nights. It was the only thing keeping me on top of my bills and rent.

"I'm sorry Ivy. I'll be here in the morning so don't you worry, okay? Work is just something adults have to do so you just worry about kid stuff like what kind of ice cream you want to have later and I'll take care of grown-up business. Deal?"

A smile on her face, she nodded at me. As long as she was happy and smiling, working a night job didn't seem too bad. Even if it was a gig as hostess of a strip club.

It wasn't ideal and I didn't love the idea of being around handsy drunk men but I got paid well for what I did. I was like a top-shelf shooter girl that still got tips but didn't have to take my top off and swing around a pole. Truth be told, it was a little reminiscent of my old job, only I didn't have to suck any dicks and nobody was actually allowed to touch me. I just had to kiss ass and serve drinks to bachelor parties and horny businessmen. I received the odd slap on the ass or 'accidental' tit grab but that was nothing compared to what I used to endure for money.

I didn't plan on being a glorified cocktail waitress for long. Just long enough to save for a down payment on a real house in a nice neighborhood near a good school.

Kiki arrived just in time for me to leave so I didn't have a lot of time for chatting. I gave Ivany a kiss, grabbed my purse and took one last look in the mirror to make sure I looked strip-club presentable. I never wore my uniform around Ivany. I kept it in my purse to change into when I arrived at work. It wasn't the raciest of outfits but it required me to wear a garter belt and stockings underneath a tight pair of high-waisted booty shorts, something I didn't need her to see me in. The last thing I wanted was for my four-year-old daughter to see me all sexed up for the job that I left for at night.

It was 7 PM when I arrived at work, an hour we called 'the graveyard' because we only had a few regular patrons at the bar and the dancers had yet to come out. It wasn't until later that we drew the curtains and turned up the music.

The club I worked at was upscale and recently renovated with a brand new stage, beautiful lighting, and a state-of-the-art sound system. The types of shows we put on were a little more tasteful than the average strip joint. Some of the girls put on spectacular performances, embracing the entertainment side of stripping and burlesque with lavish stage props and expertly choreographed routines. I had made friends with the owner as a cleaner but was quickly offered a job bartending. After I got good at that, I was promoted to head hostess when the last girl got caught running game in the VIP area- offering sexual favors for extra money on the side.

As I was preparing the bar for what was promising to be a very busy Friday night, my boss, the club owner, approached me with outstretched arms and a smile.

"My favourite Miss J. I have a special super-duper opportunity for you tonight madam and you are the ONLY lady on this planet for the job!"

"Oh my God, please don't ask me to clean the bathrooms again, I thought that's what the cleaning girl got hired for."

"Oh no, no, no," he clicked his tongue at me. "Somebody has requested your service in the VIP for tonight."

"What? Somebody specifically asked for me?"

"That's right," he sang. "And I know you're going to work that sweet, sweet magic and make Louie and yourself a lot of money."

"Is it a bachelor party?" I sighed.

Large groups of drunk men were not my favourite patrons to serve because at least one of them always mistook the waitresses for strippers and got warned or thrown out by security. It got old trying to explain the no-touching policy to someone who had chugged their weight in beer in the name of love.

"It's not a big party but they did rent the entire VIP lounge. Big money. Big, big money." Louie wagged his eyebrows at me.

"Oh no... Do I have to suck a cock or something? Is that what you're getting at?"

Louie laughed and guided me by the shoulders away from the bar area and towards the back room for a little more privacy.

"You don't have to do anything weird. I already explained that you are not one of the performers. They simply requested your services and yours alone..."

"I feel like there's something you're not telling me, Louie. What is it?"

Louie held his hands up in mock-prayer. "You know I would never ask but this is a very rich customer and if a blowjob means you and I can afford steak for dinner every night for the next couple of months... Would you be totally opposed?"

"Ew, Louie!" I hit him weakly. "You know I don't eat that shit."

"Eat the steak for me, honey! For us! I mean, I have my own price and I know you do too. Everybody does! Just... Give him the best damn service you can possibly provide, you hear? Don't do anything you're not comfortable with. Maybe take a shot or two. Who knows!"

I continued to whack him playfully, the saucy fuck. "I will serve the shit out of our prestigious guest but I am NOT sucking any cocks. I am above that."

"I'm putting Serge on the VIP with you so if you get uncomfortable you'll have him, 'kay? Now be good and smile. Stick your boobs out a bit more. You're starting at nine up there after its cleaned from top to fucking bottom."

"Wait!" I caught Louie before he flitted off to be meticulous somewhere else. "Just how much money does this guy have?"

Louie's eyes widened. "Honey, you don't want to know. He paid in cash. I would have shut down this entire place for the amount he was willing to splash. Let's just say I didn't bat an eye and neither should you."

I was extremely curious to know what kind of person needed an entire floor to themselves. Maybe it was a celebrity or a professional athlete. I had heard of the place shutting down for famous football players or millionaire actors before. I hoped it was somebody that I knew.

The club was alive with music by nine o'clock and I was getting ready to enter the biggest VIP room we had with a bottle of champagne that cost more than my monthly car payments and two glass flutes. Serge, the head of security, stood between the door and the top of the staircase to make sure nobody came up and there was another huge guy posted right outside the door that I had never seen before. I leaned over to Serge and whispered, "is he one of ours?"

"Nah. Client's guard I guess. Some important guy in there."

"Just a guy?" I asked, my intrigue growing.

I wondered what the second glass was for then if there was only one person in the room.

"One guy, one guard. You let me know if you have any trouble."

"Oh, Serge." I swooned at the hulking head of security. "I feel so safe when you're around."

That safety soon faded as I was allowed into the room and saw who our high-profile customer was. I nearly choked on my own tongue. I felt my toes go numb in my heels and my hands started to shake.

"Hello, Miss J."

I suddenly felt like my stomach was about to erupt. Nausea filled me to the brim and I had to close my eyes to try to stay balanced. Once I was convinced I wouldn't fall over, I opened my eyes and saw a man sitting at the table that I never expected to see again in my life.

"Bill? What the fuck are you doing here?"

"That's how you're going to greet your patron? I was told you were the best service in town."

If I wasn't so afraid to move I would have dropped the tray I was holding along with the glasses and the bottle of champagne.

"What is going on? How did you... How did you find me?" I asked, looking behind me at the closed door, wondering if I should make a run for it.

Bill leaned back in his seat, stretching out his long legs so he could cross one over the other. I gulped as I took him in, designer shoes to his tailored suit and his fucking face. He looked so much more mature than I remembered him. He had a few more lines around his eyes and his cherub-like features had sharpened up a bit more. He still had that same painful glower, the one I could feel making my skin burn from across a room. Five years ago I had been so terrified of him and now was even worse. This older version of him looked even more threatening than when we had first met.

"Bring me a drink, please." He ignored my question.

"How...? How did you find me?"

Bill only stared at me with those huge, unforgiving eyes. He beckoned me forth with his hand and I hesitated, rooted to the floor in my heels. I only approached once his impatience became noticeable on his face.

Each step I took towards him made my insides twist more tightly. I set down the tray and placed a glass in front of him, trying to ignore the way his eyes followed like rolling marbles in a stone statue. I was now too aware of the cleavage that my top showed and the shortness of my bottoms. I started to sweat from my forehead and armpits.

"And one for you too." He said after accepting the glass stem between his thumb and index finger.

"No thanks."

"J... Pour a glass for yourself and sit down."

"I would really rather not."

"Hm." He mused, setting the glass down on the table after drinking down over half of its contents. "I don't think the owner of this establishment would be happy to hear you're refusing me service."

"I served you. Are we done here?"

"Far from it. Sit. Please. Don't make me ask you again. I just want to discuss something with you."

I sighed dramatically and plopped down on the chair furthest from him. I still couldn't believe that he was there, staring at me and demanding my audience. I wanted to leave and tell Louie too bad, that I was refusing to serve him as he was a danger to me but at the same time I couldn't believe I was in the same room as him again. It felt like the worst case of deja vu I had ever had. A ghost from my past had materialized out of nowhere to terrorize me and there was hardly a thing I could about it.

"What would you like to discuss so badly that you had to rent an entire fucking floor to lure me into?"

Bill smirked. "I'd like to discuss our daughter."

My breath stopped and I felt my face go white. I couldn't speak for a moment.

"I... I beg your fucking pardon?"

"You heard me, J." He said as he took another sip of champagne.

"No, no... I must have heard you wrong because you said something that makes absolutely no sense at all."

"Drop the act already. I know she's mine. I know you know she's mine."

I wanted to wind back and hit him but I was afraid he might call in his bodyguard and then Serge would come in too and the whole room would just explode. I'd probably lose my job and that was something I couldn't risk. If it were me from before I ever met Bill, I would have hit him. I couldn't now but fuck did I want to. I wanted to slap that smug look off his face and I think he could tell I was contemplating it too.

"How. Fucking. DARE you presume MY daughter belongs to anyone besides ME! She is not yours! You have no fucking idea what you're talking about!"

"I know that Ivany is mine."

I turned away from him to try to compose myself. I knew I was about to lose my temper in a very bad way.

"How fucking long have you been following us for?"

"Long enough. You certainly didn't try very hard to cover your tracks after a while."

"I have no tracks to cover! I'm living my own fucking life! I shouldn't have to be looking over my shoulder for your spies! This is harassment! I'll take you to court for stalking me."

"And I'll take you to court for custody of our child." He said frankly.

"Ivany is NOT yours!"

"From what I've seen, she looks just like me and the timeline certainly seems to coincide with me having fathered that child. Deny it all you want but I know that she's my daughter and I've known for a long time."

"Then why now? Huh? If you think she's yours, which she is not, why did you wait so long to snake out of the fucking shadows you sick, arrogant prick?"

"I needed to be one hundred percent certain. Who knows who could have impregnated you at the time. You certainly knew how to make your rounds back then. I'm so glad to see you have upgraded to this dignified position."

I stood up to leave but not before hissing, "I'd fucking spit at you but I know that'd get you hard so... Fuck you! Goodbye. Don't follow me or I'll call the police. You're not the only one with bodyguards now."

Before I crossed the room to the door Bill cleared his throat. "If you leave this room I will have your job and I'll make sure the court knows about your profession when they ask me why you're unfit to have custody of our child. So I suggest you sit down."

Tears welled up in my eyes instantly. I clutched at my heart, unable to process the situation before me. Fuck. This was what I was always afraid of happening; the day my past reared its hideous head to condemn me for my poor choices.

"I don't do that anymore and I haven't since I left. Fuck you. Honestly... Fuck you. I have tried so fucking hard to recover from the wreckage and here you are after all these years trying to tell me what's what. Who the fuck do you think you are, Bill?"

"There are things we need to discuss so if you please, come back to the table and sit down with me." He ignored my lamentations again.

Defeated, I went back to sit down across from him. I crossed my arms over my chest and sat there scowling at him, hating him, wishing he would drop dead, wanting to bash his pretty face into the table or something.

"Thank you," he started. "Please, have a drink with me."

Rolling my eyes, I poured myself a small glass of champagne and sipped it meekly as I waited for him to say what he wanted to say to me. I watched when he pulled a pack of cigarettes and a chrome-plated lighter from his jacket pocket. He lit one and put his lighter away. I scowled at him even harder.

"I want you to come back with me. You and Ivany. I want you both to come back to the West Coast with me."

"No," I stated simply.

"She will have everything a child could ever need. The best schools, the best care available. She will have rooms to herself. She can take music lessons, dancing lessons... Whatever. Anything she wants she will have."

"We already have everything we need. I got her into a good school."

"A public school is not where a Skarsgård should be attending."

"Well, I'm sorry but you don't have any say when it comes to MY daughter. We are staying here. We have everything we need right here." I explained, drinking down the rest of the champagne before pouring myself another much-needed glass.

"So you think this little job of yours as a cocktail waitress is going to get you further than you are right now?" Bill asked.

I pressed my teeth together hard and balled my fists, doing everything I could not to lash out and flip the table. He had this miraculous way of crushing someone beneath the sole of his designer shoe without even blinking.

"This job pays me well as I'm sure you have probably fucking noticed seeing as you flushed a shit-load of money down the toilet just to be sitting here. You think I don't make good enough money? Is that what you're really worried about? Because you didn't seem to care that much the night you e-mailed a hooker to come to do your laundry."

I tried to bring him down the way he had shot me down but Bill seemed undaunted by my venomous words. He simply sipped away at his champagne and puffed his cigarette, rarely taking his eyes off of me.

"Well look at you now, serving drinks instead of pussy. You certainly have come a long way." He pointed out, tapping the ash from his cigarette onto the serving tray.

"Bill..." I said, exhausted already by the exchange. "Why the fuck do you want us to come back with you? What purpose does it really serve you?"

He crushed out the cigarette and leaned forward as if he were going to tell me a secret. I watched him bite down on his bottom lip, taking his eyes off of me for just a moment before he relaxed back into his seat.

"I just want what's mine," He told me. "Don't you miss being mine?"

I shuddered almost violently. That nauseous feeling returned to my stomach and I felt a new wave of sweat break over my skin. A lump so hard and ruthless formed in my throat that I literally choked on my words when I tried to speak.

"This isn't fair. You can't just come out of nowhere and uproot me because you want to."

"I want you and our daughter to come live with me. Why is that wrong? I've spent so much time looking for you."

I shook my head, incapable of processing all that was happening. I couldn't believe I was sitting across a table from Bill Skarsgård, the man who had caused me to flee my past life. The turning point of myself as a person. The reason why I had dropped everything and ran.

Those big, nebulous eyes raked over me and set my heart to hammering. I could not believe I was staring at his face again. I could not believe the way he licked his lips and kept his gaze on me. I could not believe how stunning he looked in his designer suit with his longer hair and his thinner face. His cheekbones were sharp enough to light a match off of. He looked tired but refined. Five years had most definitely turned the rich boy into a wealthy man.

And I just felt the same. Looking at him, I felt exactly the same as I did when we had first met; nervous and put-off yet unable to tear my eyes from him.

"I suppose I really have no choice in this matter. If I refuse you, you'll just take me down in court anyway." I sighed.

"Worse. I will get joint custody of our daughter and I'll take her with me wherever I go. Hawaii, Mexico, Sweden... She will see the world and she will know a life full of opportunity. She will have all the things a little girl could possibly want. Then she will go home to you and she will see her Mother struggling to pay bills, disappearing at night to do God knows what. She will look at her things and she will pine for her horses, her new toys, her art studio, her beautiful bedroom. She won't want to stay with you after seeing what her Father can give to her."

Fat, hot tears rolled down my cheeks. I shook like a leaf in a storm and felt like one too. Tiny, insignificant and helpless. Bill was a monster no matter how beautiful he was. The inside of him was black as tar.

"The choice is up to you. Come home with me and live in happiness or refuse me and watch what happens. I'll give you a little while to think about it. Just know that I will not be far."

I looked up at him, mascara most certainly running down my cheeks, eyes blazing with hatred.

"Try to run and I will rain Hellfire down upon you," Bill warned.

Everything I wanted to say was flying around my head like birds rattled in a cage. There were so many things I wanted to spit at him but nothing would come out. He had me mercilessly beaten without ever having laid a finger on me.

"You can go now. Take some time to think about it all. I'll make sure to tell your boss of how professional you were with me." Bill said, changing the tone of his voice. "I'll see you very soon, J."

Without a word I stood up and left, closing the door behind me and shielding my face from Serge as I walked by but he caught me anyway.

"J, is everything alright?" Serge asked.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Serge. It's all good. Trust me. I'm fine. I have to go."

I grabbed my purse from the back and left the club without telling anybody. I got in my car and sped off to home. Kiki had fallen asleep on the couch but I didn't bother to wake her. I ascended the stairs and opened Ivany's bedroom door. More tears fell from my eyes as I climbed into bed next to her and pulled her body as close to me as possible. I pressed kisses into her hair, waking her slightly.

"Mommy?" Her little voice cracked.

"Sh, baby. It's okay. Go back to sleep."

[the--blackdahlia]

This Life Chapter 18

Title: This Life Chapter 18

Summary:  Dean Winchester is the Vice President of the motorcycle club The Hunters. After almost 7 years in prison, he's free. But things have changed and Dean has to figure out how to put things back together.

Warnings: Language, violence

AN: Thank you to my beta @sams-serialkiller-fetish. And to my “Support team”, @anathewierdo and @flamencodiva and @i-would-die-for-woodland-demars. The song for this chapter is Run Like Hell by Pink Floyd.

“Do you guys have anything?” Dean asked hours after Gordon left, walking into the office. There was a pizza on the table, separating Charlie and Ash as they worked. Charlie was biting her lip as she stared at the screen behind her glasses. And Ash was typing a mile a minute.

“Reports of Horsemen activity about…” Ash started.

“Two hours north near Waco.” Charlie finished up. Ash looked at her. “And that’s how we do it in Gielinor.”

“Wait, you play Runescape?” Ash asked.

“Damn right I play Runescape.” Charlie laughed. Dean rolled his eyes.

“Okay, okay. You can finish this out nerding later. You said Waco?” Dean asked. Charlie nodded. “Got an address?”

“No, but there’s been a string of house fires. And from what Jim told me, the Horsemen like to watch things burn.” Charlie told Dean. Dean nodded and left to go tell the others while Charlie and Ash chatted about Runescape.

****

“This is what Charlie told me.” Dean said, sitting at the table with Wayward Sons and Hunters gathered around. “There’s been a string of house fires in Waco that seem to point back to the Horsemen.”

“Stupid pyro fuckers.” Caleb growled.

“I’m assuming you have an idea.” Bobby said.

“I think a couple of us should head out there and check it out.” Dean said. Sam nodded.

“I’ll go.” Sam said, arms cross over his chest.

“Which means I’ll go to.” Gabriel said.

“Sammy…” Dean started, but the look that Sam gave him made him stop in his tracks.

“I think Caleb and I might join you.” Bobby told Sam. “I never got to hit my Horsemen piñata like I wanted to.” Bobby dismissed the meeting not too much later. Him and Caleb went out to get their guns and bikes ready. Gabriel went off with Lucifer to talk to him for a bit. Dean stopped Sam as he went to leave.

“What?” Sam asked. Dean sighed.

“You come back.” He said. Sam smirked some.

“I always come back.” He said before he left, leaving Dean standing there alone.

****

It had been hours since Dean had heard from anyone. He didn’t expect them to call or anything, but he expected them to be back by then. He was busying himself, but that could only go so far. Finally, he was too antsy to stay anymore.

“I’m going out.” He announced. Andy looked up from the car he was helping Cas with.

“Where are you going?” Cas asked, not looking up from the engine.

“Beer run.” Dean told him. “I’ll be back. I just can’t sit here and wait.”

“Sam’s not five anymore Dean. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Jim told him. Dean turned to look at the older biker.

“What makes you think this is about Sam?” Dean asked. “I just want beer is all.” Jim nodded, not believing him, but he wasn’t in the mood to argue with Dean. “I’ll be back in like an hour or so.” With that, he got on his bike and drove into town. Did he want to go to the bar or did he want to go to the liquor store and park out at Crosshurst Canyon for a little while. Watch the ducks that swim down there and all that. He pulled in front of the liquor store, decided that the second option sounded better.

He made his way inside and browsed the beer aisle. So much of it sounded good today. But he decided on Dark Star Black from a local brewery based out of Austin. He headed up to the counter to pay for his beer. It was a little expensive, but it was a craft beer and they were popular. He paid for it all and was ready to head out.

That’s when he looked up and saw Alastair sitting on his bike just down the block.

“Son of a bitch.” Dean growled. He reached for his phone, hoping to call and rally the troops, but it wasn’t there. He didn’t use it that much anyway, and he rarely kept it on him. That’s what payphones were for after all. Alastair looked right at Dean then and smiled before speeding off. Dean didn’t have time to get to a payphone and hope that someone would answer quickly. So, against all logical reasoning that was going on in his mind, Dean took off after Alastair, leaving his beer on the counter and a very confused cashier.

He followed him for awhile. He wasn’t even making an effort to shake Dean. Just a few twists and turns here and there that were really easy to figure out. Dean was getting suspicious, but he was determined to find out what was going on. He needed so many answers. And he really wanted to beat the everloving shit out of Alastair for everything the Horsemen had put his family through for most of his life.

That’s when Alastair suddenly did a U-turn so he was facing Dean. Dean braked hard, coming to a sliding halt in front of him.

“What are you doing here Dean?” Alastair asked.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Dean said. Alastair laughed and took off again, Dean giving chase once more. Alastair pulled into some old farming land and jumped off his bike, heading into an abandoned grain silo. Normally, Dean wouldn’t have willingly walked into danger like this, but being blinded by revenge would do a lot of things to people. He got off his bike and grabbed his gun. He was ready to end this once and for all.

He quietly crept into the silo, looking around for Alastair. It smelt of mildew and stale air. He didn’t see Alastair and was starting to think that he had ran out before Dean got in there. But Dean felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end then.

“That was stupid of you following me in here alone.” Alastair said before hitting Dean from behind, making him lose his balance and fall forward some. Dean spun around and pointed his gun at Alastair. “Dean, Dean, Dean.”

“I’m here to end whatever this is.” Dean said. Alastair started to laugh.

“You think I was coming here without some sort of leverage?” Alastair asked. He tossed something to Dean’s feet. “Go ahead and look at that. I won’t try anything funny.” Dean kept his gun trained on Alastair while he crouched down to pick up what was thrown. It was blood covered, but it looked familiar.

That’s when it clicked in his head.

It was Sam’s bracelet. A good luck charm from Dean to Sam after Sam gave him his amulet he wore faithfully. Sam very rarely took it off.

“Where did you get this?” Dean hissed, holding the bracelet up.

“One of my men took it off of him after he killed him.” Alastair announced proudly. “He fought hard, but even a Winchester can’t handle eight bullets to the head and chest.”

“You’re lying.” Dean said. Alastair shrugged.

“Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not. But I’m taking it you don’t have your phone on you since you came alone. So you couldn’t even call him to see if he’s okay.” Alastair told him. He had a smirk on his face that Dean would’ve normally just shot off.

Instead, Dean lowered his gun in defeat. His nightmares had finally come true. Except now, he couldn’t wake up from it. Alastair gave him a curious look.

“What are you doing?” He asked. Dean looked up at him, his green eyes showing all the pain and sadness that he was feeling.

“I give up.” Dean said. “Take your best shot.” Alastair rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles. He couldn’t believe how easy it was to bring down the mighty Dean Winchester. The smile on Alastair’s face was almost like a child at Christmas.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long, long time.” Alastair laughed before he hauled off and punched Dean square in the face.

Forever Tags: @anathewierdo @i-would-die-for-woodland-demars @dekahg @marvel-af @feelmyroarrrr @nanie5 @gemini0410 @imboredsueme @babypink224221 @aiaranradnay @mogaruke @xxwarhawk @strab0

Dean Winchester/Jensen Ackles Tags: @luciathewinchestergirl @sheris532 @bobasheebaby @bella-ca

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[deanssweetheart23]

Home

Title: Home

Summary: Dean Winchester didn’t know what having a home felt like. Not until he met her, anyway.

Author: deanssweetheart23

Characters: Dean Winchester x reader, Sam Winchester (briefly)

Word count: 1418

Warnings: This is pure, unadulterated fluff (with tiny, light references to sex because Dean can’t help himself, okay?)

Author’s Note: This is my submission for @atari-writes‘ Birthday Challenge. Amber, thank you so, so much for letting me participate and granting me an extension for this. I’m glad I took my time with it because I kind of love how it turned out.

My prompt for this were “I hate to see you leave but love to watch you go. ‘Cause of your butt.” from The Office and “You’re so cute when you’re half asleep like this…”  from Parks And Recreation. 

Enjoy <3

Dean isn’t sure he knows what having a home feels like.

He remembers he used to have one, of course, back when the monsters and the demons weren’t a part of his life, but that was ruined the moment they killed his mother and burned his childhood to the ground, and he’s certain that he wouldn’t want to go back, even if he could.

He never settled after that, never stayed in one place long enough to call it home, but that doesn’t matter anyway, because, to him, home isn’t really a place. He has heard the sayings, after all, knows that, for most people, home is where the heart is.

That’s the thing though; Dean is not most people and he doesn’t believe love’s something that can be measured. His heart, he knows, is not at one place; it’s strapped to his brother’s existence, but there are parts of it, bloody and weathered, that have stayed with his parents, and others that belong to the friends he’s come to consider family, both the ones he’s lost and the ones that are still around.

So, yeah, perhaps Dean has many homes but it never feels like it, never feels like he truly belongs somewhere other than the Impala. There, holding the steering wheel, with the scent of leather and whiskey and dry blood filling his senses and a classic rock song blasting through the speakers, he feels free.

And yet, there’s something missing.

He can feel it in moments like this, moments when he’s returning back to the bunker with his brother after a fun night out because everything around him is still and nobody needs saving, and he wants to feel happy, wants to feel content and at peace, but he can’t.

And then, he sees her.

She’s fallen asleep on the sofa, dressed in that ridiculous cable-knit cardigan of his that she seems to love, the book she’d been reading for the past few weeks still in her hand and she’s so beautiful and stunningly innocent in that moment, so vulnerable and strong all at once, that he can’t help the smile that tugs at his lips.

“You’re disgustingly in love with her.” Sam announces, barely able to contain his amusement when the tips of his brother’s ears flush pink. “You know that, right?”

“I’m not –it’s...” he scratches the back of his neck, rolling his eyes at Sam’s smirk. “Shut up.”

“Yeah, you need to work on your comebacks, dude.” The youngest Winchester mutters, a knowing gleam in his eyes. 

“I-”

“I’m going to sleep.” Sam cuts him off with a shake of his head “Please, don’t let me find you two here naked in the morning.”

“Oh, c’mon. That was one time.”

“Two. That was two times.”

“Jesus, Sam, are you gonna hold that against us forever? I already told you, we thought you’d spent the night at that chick’s place.”

“Whatever, Dean. Just, for the love of God, keep it in the bedroom.” He deadpans and leaves without even giving him the chance to reply.

“Just keep it in the bedroom.” Dean mocks with a roll of his eyes and kneels in front of Y/N to push some hair off her face, expression going soft as her mouth twitches in delight.

Her fingers clutch at his forearm.

“D,” she sighs and her face breaks into a smile, “you’re back.”

“I am.” He says, lips dancing over that spot on her neck where he’d left his mark the night before. “And you,” he whispers in faux accusation, “are wearing my sweater.”

She hums and turns to her side to face him, big, Y/E/C still hazy.

“Yeah, cause it’s soft ‘n’ warm ‘n’ smells like you.”

“Okay, you creep,” he cackles, letting one of his hands slid under her legs while the other one finds its way behind her back, “let’s get you to bed.”

“M’ not a creep.” She whines, smacking his shoulder. “And I can walk.”

A chuckle.

Soft body cradled into his chest.

“’S alright, kid. I got you.”

And he waits for her to complain, waits for her to say that he doesn’t have to fuss over her because she’s a grown ass woman, but it’s late and she’s looking at him with that softness that’s always there in lazy mornings, long-shared showers and nights spent between the sheets, in the moments she lets him all the way in, lets him see every little thing about her, armor gone and walls all ruined, and then she just smiles and stretches up to kiss his jaw and, God, it’s things like that that make him love her even more.

When they finally arrive to the bedroom, he sets her on the bed and-

“Where are you going?” she wails, gripping at his arm.

He chuckles.

“Just want to get out of these.” He kisses her forehead. “Gimme a minute.”

Nodding, she tucks some strands of hair behind her ear and rubs the sleep from her eyes.

“Mmmm,” she whistles appreciatively, “I hate to see you leave but love to watch you go.” An adorable yawn. “Cause of your butt.”

The big grin that splits across Dean’s face is uncontrollable.

“Are you seriously quoting Steve Carell right now?”

“Yep. Cause I’m sleepy and I like your butt.” She says, jutting her head forward. “And your bowlegs. And your shoulders. And your freckles. And your eyes. And-”

“Okay, okay, I get the point, sweetheart.”

“And you.” She finishes, a brilliant smile playing at the corners of her lips. “You are a kind, noble teddy bear of a man-”

“Hey-”

“-and I love you.”

She beams at him as she says it, all sweetness and honesty, and he can’t even groan about that ‘teddy bear of a man’ thing because he knows she means it, means all of it, and he’s just so stunned and grateful she can still see the good in him, she can love him after he’s laid it all out, the bad and the ugly and the monstrous, that every other thought erases itself from his mind.

He looks at her then, looks into her eyes and smiles, hoping that she can see all the awe and the adoration that’s dancing there.

“I know, kid.” He whispers, and it’s a bit scraped, gruffer than usual, and dipped into emotion.

He climbs into the bed minutes later, and pulls her to him right away, lips grazing the top of her head as she nuzzles his chest and lets out a content sigh.

They don’t talk.

They don’t have to.

Everything they want to tell each other is there, in every smile, every touch, every kiss, every time they make love, in comfortable silences and whispered promises.

So, she settles into his arms and grins a bit when his hands sneak under the hem of the sweater she’s wearing because he wants to touch her, wants to feel her next to him, just butterfly touches across her stomach and sides.

“What are you staring at?” she mumbles after a while, voice gentle.

“Nothing.” He replies, pushing away a loose strand of hair that has coiled over her cheek. “S’ just… You’re so cute when you’re half asleep like this.”

“You think?”

“Yeah. And,” he adds, so close that their lips are brushing against each other’s, “you look so damn good in my sweater.” He pecks her sweetly. “Better than I do.”

“That’s practically impossible.”

“Nope.” A glance that’s filled with adoration. “You’re beautiful, sweetheart.”

“Shut up.”

“No, that ain’t gonna happen. In fact. I think I’m gonna show you just how beautiful you are tomorrow morning.”

She laughs.

He loves that sound.

It’s the only sound he wants to hear.

“Good choice, buddy.” She slurs into his shirt. “Cause I’m gonna fall asleep any minute now.”

He lets out a chuckle, and kisses the tip of her nose.

“Better get some sleep then.” He whispers, all love and warmth.

She hums, squeezing his hand in response.

“Oh, and kid?”

“Hmmm?”

He remains quiet for a few seconds, keeps the words trapped in his mouth, tastes them in his tongue.

And then, he lets go.

“I love you, too.” He says.

He says it because the words have been etched into his hearts for years, meaningful and real, says it because he’s tired of being afraid and because he knows he has her now, knows he’ll always have her, no matter what.

Her lips crack into a serene smile.

And Dean knows.

He’s finally home.

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[unashamed-shipper]

Living With You

read on ff.net and ao3

one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten / eleven / twelve / thirteen / fourteen / fifteen / sixteen / seventeen / eighteen / nineteen

rating: t+ for sexual joking, swear words, and violence

pairings in this chapter: nalu, with mentions of gajevy and gruvia

characters in this chapter: natsu, lucy, gray, gajeel. 

Lucy sighed, smoothing her outfit in front of her mirror one more time. She didn’t know where they were going, but she dressed up in a cranberry off the shoulder dress topped with a silver necklace and black heels. She hoped that she wouldn’t be taller than Natsu, but knew that even if she was it wouldn’t be a blow to his ego. He was a confident guy that wouldn’t be shaken by something as small as his girl being taller than him.

His girl, Lucy thought with a smile. That was finally her. After months of pining and flirtation, they were finally going on their first date today.

Anxiety ripped through her as she applied her makeup and she felt the cold press into the back of her skull. What if he didn’t like her? What if he decided not to go on another date?

Lucy curled her hands into a fist at herself, realizing that this was ridiculous. Natsu would never leave her, no matter the trial or problem. He would always be by her side.

Exhaling, she unfurled her fists and turned the doorknob to exit her room with a shaking hand. Opening the door, she exited her room to find Gray and Gajeel sitting on the couch with cups of coffee between them.

Black coffee.

They only drank that when it was a serious problem, like the time that Lucy almost got a black eye at work. They were so mad then that Natsu stomped to her work with Gray and Gajeel in tow only to find that the man had already been arrested by police–and punched by Juvia, who was also detained for the night. Thankfully, Gray was able to convince the officers to let her go and succeeded, leading Juvia to vow never to leave his side.

The two men turned to face Lucy, but when she saw the looks on their faces she was shocked. Their eyes were gentle, but firm; by the look in their eyes, it seemed that they were talking about something of importance.

“Hey, Lucy,” Gray said with a soft smile, patting the couch cushion next to him and motioning her over. Confused, Lucy let him continue before she finally complied, sitting down next to him with her hands folded in her lap.

“Salamander has it in his head that he has a date with you tonight,” Gajeel interjected after a few moments of silence, smirking like the thought of it was a joke.

“He does,” Lucy replied with a smile of her own. The men’s eyes grew slowly as they shared a look. Something was going on, she just knew it.

“Natsu is our friend,” Gray began slowly, crossing his arms over his chest, “but we won’t hesitate to smack him around if needed.”

Gajeel barked out a laugh in response, covering his mouth when Lucy glared at the both of them.

“Listen, guys. I know you’re worried about me and all, but I’ve got this. Natsu’s sweet, and kind, and he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me,” Lucy said with a sigh, running her hand through her hair. Was violence the only way to solve things for these guys?

“He’s a guy,” Gajeel replied with a chuckle.

“So?”

“So,” Gray said, putting a hand on Lucy’s shoulder, “men are dogs. Even ones like Natsu who are too stupid to have their brains in their di–”

The doorbell rang, signifying the end of their conversation. Someone was at the door and neither Gajeel or Gray moved to answer it. Lucy scowled, annoyed that the men couldn’t get themselves out of their comfy seats.

Levy wasn’t due to be here for another three hours for her date with Gajeel. And Juvia was working today. So was Cana. And none of the other girls knew her address. Lucy became confused, but answered the door anyway.

“Natsu?” Lucy asked when she opened it, her brows furrowing in confusion.

“Hey, Luce! Ready for our date?” Natsu lifted up a bouquet of pink roses.

“Why’d you bring pink?” Lucy asked with a smile, accepting her roses as if she were on the Bachelor. “Not that I dislike them at all! They’re beautiful.”

“Red means love, so I’m guessing he didn’t wanna jump the fence too soon,” Gray filled in for Natsu just as he began to open his mouth.

“O-Oh. I see,” Lucy said, her anxiety beginning to rise. Concerned at the emotion on her face, Natsu rushed to her side and sat her down on the couch and handing her the blanket that had been there since the beginning. Lucy grinned when she felt its softness and warmth, and thanked Natsu once her need for stimulation was fulfilled.

“Ready to go?” he asked a moment later, holding out a hand for her to grasp. Lucy smiled at him before telling him that she was ready and they began to walk to the door.

Gray and Gajeel let out threats to Natsu as they left and Natsu grinned when he practically slammed the door in the men’s faces.

“So where are we going?” Lucy asked, and Natsu tapped a finger to his chin. He had to pretend to contemplate what he already had planned.

“You wanna go get some scones from that cafe to hold us over until dinner?” Natsu looked into her eyes, knowing that it was the right answer when they lit up.

“Sounds perfect.”

“Ah, Lucy! And Natsu! So nice to see you both!” Kinana said with a wave from behind the espresso machine where she made a drink for a customer. Once she handed it to them, she rushed to the counter with a smile. “So what can I get you both?”

Lucy stared at the menu before ordering a hot green tea with lemon and a hint of raspberry syrup. Natsu ordered a chili mocha. He had been to the shop enough times before having to bring Lucy her lunch or whatever else she needed for the day, so he had his order perfected.

“I want two raspberry scones too.” Natsu held up two fingers. Kinana walked over to where the food was being held and popped two scones in bags, handing them to Natsu.

“It’s on the house,” Kinana said, waving her hand when Natsu held out his card. “I want to make sure you both have a lovely first date!”

“Thank you, Kinana! You’re so sweet,” Lucy said with a smile, biting into her soft raspberry treat. Hopefully it really would hold her over until dinner–she could only imagine how long the wait time would be wherever they went!

Natsu put a tip in the jar that was out on the counter and Laki’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head once she joined her co-worker and saw that he had tipped twenty dollars. He had always tipped 20% or over when the service was good and since he was going to have leftover money from dinner, why not treat he and Lucy’s friends to some food of their own.

“Thank you so much, Natsu! Please take another scone for the road,” Kinana urged, pressing another confection into his hand before he could say no. Lucy giggled at Natsu’s expression when the two women practically pushed them out of the coffee shop, shouting to go have fun on their date.

“I guess they really wanted us out of there,” Lucy joked as she sipped her drink, waiting for Natsu to start drinking his. He seemed really excited about the chili mocha and had even asked for ‘extra chili’.

When he just stared into his mocha, unblinking, Lucy knew something was wrong. “Uh, Natsu?”

“Luce, is this a good date?” Natsu asked, finally blinking. Lucy sighed in relief that he wasn’t having an anxiety attack on their date.

“Of course it is! No one’s ever taken me to my favorite coffee shop before going to dinner. It’s always been going to dinner first and then a movie,” Lucy replied with a smile, taking a small bite of her scone.

“I thought since you didn’t watch movies a lot this would be better,” Natsu revealed, and little by little Lucy was seeing what a thoughtful guy he was. She already knew this, of course, but she had never been shown this much consideration on a date. Most of the time the guy picked out something that the girl had little to no interest in and Lucy was left on the sidelines while the guy laughed at stupid jokes the entire movie and ate his favorite food.

But Natsu was not like that and she was forever thankful for him being much different than anyone else she’d ever dated. Especially Dan.

Shaking her head, she remembered that she had told herself to not think about Dan while she was on her date with Natsu. Lucy was on an outing with the most handsome guy she had ever laid eyes on and to top it all off he was kind and generous and wouldn’t try to get in her pants on the first date.

Well, she thought to herself, I wouldn’t mind if it was our fifth or sixth.

Lucy reddened, shoving those thoughts away from her mind. She needed to focus on Natsu, not perverted wonderings! Taking a bite of her scone to ease her problem, she chewed until she felt a force on the back of her throat, preventing her from eating any more.

“Luce?” Natsu asked, eyes widening in concern. Worries of the date not being enough quickly abandoned, he wrapped his arms around Lucy’s stomach and pushed. Lucy coughed a few times until the food unlodged from her throat and she threw it up onto the table.

“Thanks Natsu,” Lucy said, her voice still broken and her eyes watering.

“No problem, Luce,” Natsu said, his eyes intense. Lucy’s gaze locked on his and she became increasingly reminded of his warm hands wrapping around her waist. His lips looked tantalizing as she drew closer to him, licking her own and puckering slightly. Lucy’s eyes fluttered shut and she hoped that her makeup look was alluring enough to draw him in.

Natsu’s eyes widened, but he focused on only Lucy’s beautiful face coming ever nearer. Wrapping his fingertips around her jaw, he took the plunge and ran his tongue over his mouth and closed his eyes.

Then, when the moment was at it’s peak Natsu’s phone rang.

“Ignore it,” he whispered, wanting to have her lips on his instead of talking on the phone to whoever was calling.

“I think you should answer it, Natsu,” Lucy chided, her eyes still soft but her tone firm.

“But Luce! I wanna kiss y–” Natsu began, but the ringtone became increasingly louder until he picked it up and answered it with his voice flat.

“Oh. Yeah, we’ll be there in a few minutes. Thanks,” he said sheepishly, saying goodbye before ending the call.

“Who was that?” Lucy asked and Natsu hung his head low.

“That was the restaurant. Our reservations were for seven, not seven-thirty.”

“Well what are we waiting for then? Let’s go!”

Natsu perked up a little at the adventurous look in Lucy’s eyes. She seemed to think that this was a slight change in plans rather than a mess up on his part and he was more excited to go to dinner with her than he was before.

Grinning, he took her hand in his and walked her to his car, opening the door for her like a gentleman. Lucy slid in as she thanked him with a smile. Natsu went around the car, getting in and backing out of the parking lot like he was late to a very important date.

They were silent on the way to the restaurant, dodging each other’s eyes like their lives depended on it. They had almost kissed. And Natsu had admitted that he wanted to kiss Lucy. It was a big step in their relationship, almost one that was too big for them just being roommates before.

Lucy bit her lip, her anxiety starting to pulse at the back of her neck. What if Natsu didn’t want to kiss her again after she was firm with him? What if he didn’t want to go on another date with her after this one? Was there really something there that wasn’t there before?

“Luce? You alright?” Natsu asked, using his blinker to turn left. Lucy was glad that he was a safe driver, otherwise her anxiety would have been through the roof.

She let out a sigh, grasping onto her fidget cube in her purse and rubbing the smooth side that was to help with anxiety. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you for asking.”

Natsu looked at Lucy in concern. She was a lot of things–smart, kind, beautiful, brave, intelligent–but she certainly was not fine. Her face was scrunched up and she was using her fidget cube, which she almost never did unless it was a major anxiety problem. Natsu didn’t have much time to react before they got to the restaurant, but he did something that he wouldn’t have thought was okay before.

He placed his hand on her thigh, slowly moving his thumb on it to give her stimulation. Lucy gasped and dropped the fidget cube back into her purse, mesmerized by Natsu’s warm touch on her leg. His eyes locked on hers once he parked and they stared at each other once more.

“Let’s go inside,” Lucy proposed, her voice thick. It seemed that the almost kiss from before had left her wanting more.

“Y-Yeah,” Natsu replied, looking away. Her eyes were enchanting like a summer’s night and he knew that if he followed that gaze he would be pulled in to kissing her.

But he wanted to treat her like she was special. He didn’t want her to feel like some conquest or a prize to be won. He enjoyed her company more than any of the other girls he’d dated without a doubt and he wanted to make sure that she was treated like a princess. Natsu wanted to wine and dine her and give her only the best. Lucy was a precious jewel that needed to be respected and cherished, and he knew that. But she could also kick ass and had a bunch of people that surrounded her that would not hesitate to kick his if he messed up.

That was why he was so worried about tonight. He had researched quite a few restaurants to find one that was worthy of his princess and he found Emillio’s through a quick search through the internet. Gajeel had taken Levy there for their first date and it had went over well–at least that’s what Gajeel told him. He wasn’t sure how well, but their snogging at the front door of the apartment signified that it at least went better than expected.

Brushing his fears aside, Natsu opened the door and gave himself a pep talk in his head before going over to Lucy’s side and opening the door for her. She grinned at him before she jumped out of her seat, almost paralyzing him in the process. Her smile was one of those things that made him attracted to her just a bit more.

Little by little, he was beginning to understand what love truly meant.

“Hmm…give me that one!” Natsu said to the waiter, pointing at the wine menu.

“Certainly. And for the lady?” the man asked with a smile.

“I’ll just go with what my…friend is having,” Lucy responded, her face flushing slightly.

“Absolutely. I will be right out with your beverages,” the waiter replied before leaving the duo to their appetizers.

Lucy stabbed at her salad, bringing up a crouton with her fork and eating it right away with the flush that was there before still on her face.

Natsu blushed himself, smiling softly as he watched her eat. She seemed so happy that it wasn’t because she didn’t have to do dishes later that night either. Maybe it was he that put her in such a good mood.

“What’s that look for?” Lucy questioned, skewering another crouton and placing it into her mouth lightly. It was obvious that she was trying to make herself look a little more dainty for him, but Natsu knew the truth. He had seen her fart the alphabet with Gray more than once.

But that didn’t change his opinion of her. He thought that she was beautiful even if she wasn’t in charge of the kingdom of Genovia.

“Nothing,” he said with a smirk, beginning to eat his own salad. He wasn’t going to let this awesome meal go to waste!

“C’mon, it has to mean something! What’s going on?” Lucy bent forward, revealing a bit of her generous cleavage to Natsu. He turned his head away, hoping that he didn’t see too much. He had seen her naked, obviously, but he wanted the second time he did to be special.

If he did get a second time, that is.

“You’re cute,” Natsu said and Lucy’s face burned in the glow of the candles that were lit at their table.

“W-What? You think I’m cute?” Lucy asked, and Natsu nodded as he shoved another bite of salad into his mouth. Lucy’s face darkened and she fought not to fan her face when he bent back in his chair to stretch. His suit lifted up a little and she saw a sliver of his abs and choked back a gasp. His skin was a beautiful light olive tone because he had tanned during the summer, but she definitely didn’t know he worked out that much. She thought he was behind a computer most of the day, not working on his abs all day!

“See something you like?” Natsu teased, which brought Lucy back to reality.

“Hey! That’s my line!” Lucy giggled, thankful that the date was going way more smoothly than she thought it would. She had dreamed up in her head that it would be awkward going out with someone that she technically lived with, but she was glad that everything had worked out in their favor instead.

As their wine made its way to their table, the night became a little more serene. Lucy didn’t like getting crazy drunk with her friends anymore as it lead to anxiety and fainting, so she sipped on a glass of wine and then stopped there.

Natsu had two glasses, but greatly preferred the taste of beer to the fruity wine he ordered for he and Lucy. He did not voice this, however, because he wanted to make sure she was having a good time and complaining would only make the night have more tension than it already held.

After their meal and a dessert of blueberry cheesecake, Lucy held onto Natsu’s arm as he escorted her out. Natsu enjoyed the feel of her small hands wrapped around his bicep and he made a mental note to remember exactly what this felt like for future reference when his depression hit him.

He wanted to remember this night for the rest of his life. It was the best date he had ever been on and he hoped Lucy could say the same. As he drove them both home, Natsu looked over at Lucy with his signature grin and gazed into her eyes with a softness while they were at a stoplight.

Lucy stopped for a moment to remember what he looked like with happiness in his eyes. When his depression knocked him down, his eyes often seemed that they lost their light and all of their joy. She liked staring into his eyes when he was happy; it made her feel as if she had done something right.

Placing her hand on top of his that was on the gearshift, Natsu’s grin turned into a toothy smile that was infectious. Lucy’s lips twitched when she watched him accidentally hit on the gas a little too hard and then press on the brake once he saw there was a cop nearby.

Once he slowed to a stop at the apartment, Lucy took her hand off his leg to relieve some tension in the car. Natsu was staring at her like he was when they almost kissed and she was getting worried that he expected something from her.

“Luce?” he asked, his eyebrows raised as he gazed into her eyes.

“Yes?” she answered, falling silent when his face drew closer to hers. She puckered her lips and closed her eyes like before with the hope that this time Natsu’s would finally meet hers.

But at the last second he turned her face gently with his fingers and whispered into her ear. “Thanks for a great night.”

“O-Oh,” she replied, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “Of course. Thank you, Natsu. I had a wonderful evening.”

As they entered the apartment, Lucy felt her stomach drop. She had a great evening. That was not to be debated.

But maybe…maybe she really did want a kiss after all.

Hours later, Lucy laid on her bed unable to sleep. The constant thoughts of those two almost kisses left her tossing and turning, and she hated that feeling. It had been a fantastic evening. It really had. But when push came to shove, Lucy really did want him to kiss her. Was that so wrong?

A knock at the door startled her out of her thoughts and she grumpily got out of bed to find Natsu standing at the door wearing his pajamas. He propped himself on his elbow on her door frame and wore a smile along with his boxers and white t-shirt that Lucy thought was too see-through for her own good. Clearing her throat, she stared into his eyes and began to scold him for being up this late.

“Natsu,” she chided, “it’s the middle of the night. Don’t you have to get ready for wo–”

Her words were interrupted by Natsu’s mouth on hers, rough and firm with no room for talk. She melted into his kiss, trying to keep it short and sweet, but becoming drawn in by how passionate it was. His fingertips were soft on her jaw and his other hand encircled her waist as he kissed her like it was the last one he’d ever have.

Lucy sure hoped it wasn’t the last one she’d ever have.

Natsu deepened the kiss as he grasped her bottom lip with his teeth and Lucy groaned. Exhaling through her nose, she craned her neck to entwine her hands in his hair. After a few seconds of pure snogging and holding onto each other like they were kiss-starved, Natsu broke the embrace and looked deep into her eyes.

“Have a good night, Luce,” he said, his voice a low but gentle growl.

And then, he was gone.

[neverthesamelove]

The Bet

A/N-  I’m sure this is on here somewhere, I just couldn’t find it to reblog so I thought I would repost for all of you lovelies. Enjoy Teen! Magnus and Rebecka.

The one time…the one and only time Rebecka was stupid enough to fall for one of Stina’s little games…and it was this.  She wasn’t even hearing the other girls, Stina’s friends who were all laughing and nearly drunk on canned beer.

 “You have to do it! You have to little Becka,” one of them teased.

 Rebecka had her arms crossed over her chest, though it did nothing to hide her ample bosom that was just the right size to fill out the costume.  Her stocking clad legs were crossed but the garter she was wearing could be seem peeking out of the short black skirt.

 “Shut up.  I do not.  And don’t call me that.  Only people I like can call me by a nickname,” she said as she turned her body away from the girl.  The girl stuck her tongue out at Rebecka and then laughed, both drunk and excited to see little goody two shoes Rebecka Lindahl in a French Maid’s costume.

 “Fine, you don’t have to use the accent,” he sister said, “I think the outfit is punishment enough.”

 Rebecka seethed.  It was always like this with her sister. She looked out the window of the car as they drove through the summer night, thinking her only consolation was that not many people knew her here.  They were here fro their summer holiday, and while Stina was out every night, Rebecka mostly stayed home and read and swam and took walks around the lake. The only people she really knew were Stina’s friends and the Martinsson twin’s who lived across the lake.

 Shit.  The Martinsson twins…the assertive was sure to be there. She wasn’t so worried about him oogling her as much as laughing at her… but at least, Rebecka thought, the quiet one wouldn’t be there.  He wasn’t much for parties and he certainly wouldn’t be coming to this fancy dress thing.  At least she wouldn’t have to be embarrassed in front of him.

 They had spoken…well, Rebecka had spoken to him and he had listened mostly on a number of occasions. And she sometimes ran into him when she was walking around the lake… which she did often and usually seemed to make it all the way to his house before she turned around.  But he was shy, and quiet, and he wouldn’t be interested in anyone like her.  At least he wouldn’t be there.

 So imagine how Rebecka’s heart fell when she got out or the car and there they were…BOTH Martinsson’s. Ansgar scowled when he saw Stina. And Stina scowled right back at him, but his eyes grew wide when he saw Rebecka.  He reached over and hit his brother in the stomach, causing him to nearly double over and yell angrily.

 “Hey!  What was that-“ Magnus Martinsson started.  But then he saw her, that strange girl from across the lake.  The one who he always seemed to run into, that always seemed to be walking or swimming by his house.  The one whose parents had hired him to do some work and she had walked out to him in a light summer dress that skimmed her small body, smelling like a field of flowers after a summer shower, and she  brought him lemonade.  The one whose eyes seemed to glow in the dim half light of twilight as she talked about books and school and all Magnus could do was smile and nod.  He didn’t have the words to answer the pretty girl next to him.

 And here she was, high heels, stockings,  french maid costume…and her beautiful face  a crimson color as she looked around uncomfortably.

 Magnus was trying to pull Ansgar away, trying desperately not to look at her gorgeous breasts as they spilled over the top of the lace bodice.  He couldn’t…he didn’t want…

 But Ansgar, unlike Magnus, saw exactly what was going on.  He had seen this girl with his brother, and he felt his brother’s fear and attraction to her even as they stood just outside their cars.

 Ansgar smiled at Rebecka, and then he looked at Stina and her friends, his face not so kind anymore.

 “Well, I’ll give you this. You lot are brave,” she said as he shook his head and looked down and then up in one alarmingly charming move. “Most mediocre girls wouldn’t dare bring a beautiful girl with them.  And never one dressed like that!”  He leaned toward Stina, knowing this was the doing of a malicious sister. “When they are laughing tonight, it’s at you lot being fools for thinking she was anything but stunning,” he whispered to her.  Stina seethed.

 Ansgar looked back at Rebecka and winked at her.  “Think about what you want to spend the contest prize money on darling.  You most certainly have it won.”

 Rebecka smiled at him and blushed again.  She wasn’t used to this kind of attention.

 Magnus was walking away, his ears burning.  He wouldn’t soon forget how she looked, how long her thin legs looked in stockings and a short skirt and high heels, how her chest looked, like the softest softness Magnus had ever seen.  His hands ached to feel her flesh…but she was uncomfortable, she didn’t like this attention. She was having to do this because of a bet or a dare and he shouldn’t have liked looking at her so much.

 He closed his eyes as he walked away, remembering a time when he had felt a woman’s breast in his hand. He loved the weight, and the squishiness.  He couldn’t think about it.

 It was a very short time later, when he was trying to avoid everyone, that he ran into Rebecka, literally, he ran into her and felt her body collide with his.

 “Oh god, I’m sorry, I’m…Bec, I’m so sorry.”

 His hands were on her arms as he made sure she was alright, looking right in her eyes to make sure he hadn’t hurt her.

 Rebecka was avoiding people as well.  She had won the costume contest and she had collected the money she bet Stina that she would never do this and she was just trying to get home.

 But he called her ‘Bec’. He had called her Bec before and she really liked it.

 “I’m fine, fine.  I just-“

 She had had enough. Magnus could see that she had had enough.  He was stripping off his jacket without even asking her and putting it around her shoulders. He wasn’t saying anything, he was just taking care of her, and she felt a little overwhelmed by it.  Tears welled in her eyes.

 “Hey, can I take you home? I have my truck, well, our truck but Ansgar won’t mind,” she said with a smile of reassurance.  “Let me take you home.”

 Rebecka nodded to him as she pulled his coat around her to cover her half nakedness.  It was warm and it smelled of his aftershave and it made Rebecka feel instantly better.  He put his arm around her and walked to his truck.  He drove her home, and was surprised to see her parents weren’t there.

 “They had to go to a party in Stockholm…that’s the only reason Stina tried this little stunt. Will you come in for some hot chocolate?”

 Magnus nodded and gulped.

 Alone in the house with Rebecka Lindahl in a french maid’s costume…

 But she changed while the milk was heating up and she reappeared in some black yoga pants and a pale pink t shirt.

 They talked about everything, they talked about nothing.  They tried to  watch a movie and ended up kissing on the sofa for an hour.   She read to him on her bed with only one dim light on the room and then she fell asleep on his chest, the sound of his heartbeat the most soothing sound she had ever heard.

 Magnus stayed awake for a long time, feeling her body against his.  Every moment was torture, him wanting to touch her, wanting to feel her and taste her…he had never been so happy.

 In the morning, when the sun came up, Magnus made her eggs in a basket and then he told her he had to go home.

 He passed Stina on the road, though she wouldn’t know it was him, and he smiled.

 It had been a pretty good night for not wanting to go to that stupid party.

 “All is well, brother?” Ansgar said as he cocked and eyebrow at his twin, seeing him in the same clothes from last night.  “So was she very naughty?” Ansgar said, knowing it would annoy his brother.

 Magnus pushed past him, shouldering him.

 “You don’t have a word to say about her, you hear me?,” Magnus said, fixing his brother with a determined stare.  Ansgar threw his hands up in surrender.

Magnus took a very long hot shower that morning, but his brother did not disturb him.