#I’ve spent 5 hours decorating for Christmas

[frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe]

@steddiemas Day 5 - Grumpy vs. Sunshine

pairing: pre-steddie | word count: 830 | rated: T

“Ugh this is the worst, why is everyone playing Christmas music already? First Melvald’s, then Johnston’s record store, now even the damn arcade is playing this god-awful music.” Eddie grouses, flinging a hand toward the ceiling in general.

“Oh, I see,” Steve laughs, following slowly behind their herd of nerds at Eddie’s side, “It’s fine if I decorate my whole house already, but god forbid anyone else start celebrating?”

“Duh.”

“And why’s that?”

“‘Cause I actually like you, obviously.”

Steve’s heart squeezes in his chest, but he continues to rile up the other man. “Got it, got it; so you don’t like the record store anymore? Don’t like the arcade anymore?”

“I see where you’re going with this and I’m not falling for it. Yes Stevie, Johnston’s and Hawkins’ only arcade have fallen completely out of favor with I, Eddie Munson, for the rest of my days.”

“Okay, so leave.” Steve deadpans, having expected this outcome.

“Also, a declaration like that only works with your full name, Eddie.” Dustin calls back to them.

“Yeah, yeah, shut up you dork.” Eddie waves him off, then changes gears, “So, Steven, what frivolities shall we partake in whilst our hellions engage in their own chaos?”

Steve huffs a laugh, “Okay, okay, hold on, give me a second to try and figure that one out.” he says, pretending to sort through Eddie’s words as if he hasn’t spent enough time around the lot of them to understand what he’d said immediately... “I was going to hit the pinball machine, how about you?” “Ooh perfect!” Eddie rubs his hands together as if that’s something he should be mischievous about. “That SOB S.O.H. is going down today, Stevie. I can feel it.”

So, Steve watches Eddie cajole and smack and tilt and praise the Star Wars branded machine in one of the far corners of the place for the next hour, never getting close to his “sworn arch nemesis” S.O.H.’s high score on the machine. 

“Damn that jerkward!” Eddie complains, kicking one leg of the machine in frustration after his last quarter is gone.

“Jerkwad?” Steve splutters, “No ‘Terrible Archduke bent on World Domination’? ‘Hellbound scum of the earth’? ‘Rancid-breath-having Satan’s-asscrack-smelling bitch of the highest degree’? C’mon man, Eddie Munson can hurl better insults than ‘jerkwad’.”

Eddie just stares at him, mouth agape.

“What? You act like I’ve never spent time around you, Eds. Now get out of the way,” he nudges Eddie out of the way of his machine, and drops a new quarter into the slot. “It’s my turn.”

For the next four hours, Eddie stands rooted to the spot as he watches Steve use a whole three quarters on the machine. The first two times, he beats Eddie’s score, then his own again, stealing the second place spot first from him, then from himself, entering E.M. into the machine each time. 

The last quarter however, the longest game he’s seen yet, Steve manages to beat S.O.H.’s high score. 

“Holy shit!! Steve, you did it! Take that you sonofabitch!” he exclaims, pointing accusatively at the small display scrolling “NEW HIGH SCORE!” in orange letters across it. “You gotta actually put in your initials this time, Stevie.”

Steve just gives him a crooked smile, then shrugs, turning back to the machine to enter an S, an O, and a H into the field.

“No..No, Steve! You can’t let that asshole take the credit! That was your win, Harrington! That wa—” Eddie cuts himself off in realization.

Steve’s still smirking at him. “Yeah, Eds?”

Asshole.

“Hey Steve?”

“Yeah, Eds?” he repeats.

“What’s your middle name?”

Steve grins wider. “Otis. Why? What’s your middle name, Eddie?”

The bastard.

“I…hate you.”

“Aw c’mon Eddie, don’t be like that!” Steve laughs, following him back through the arcade and out the front door.

“I don’t wanna talk to you, I don’t wanna look at you, I don’t wanna—oh gOD fucking damn it!!”

There’s snow falling softly to the wet cement at his feet.

“It’s snowing.”

“Yeah, Steve, thanks for pointing that out.”

“You’re welcome, Eddie.”

Eddie shoots him a glare, only to find the smug bastard smiling at him still. His cheeks are flushed, there’s big clumps of snow in his hair, and he looks so goddamn pretty it hurts.

“Awe, sweet! Snow!” Lucas’ exclamation from behind them breaks Eddie’s reverie of Steve’s unfairly attractive face.

The rest of the party troops out from behind him, each expressing their own excitement about the weather. 

“Oh gross, it’s snowing.”

“Thank you, Mike,” Eddie agrees, pointing at the teen, “At least someone here has some sense.”

There’s a sudden warmth over his shoulder as Steve leans close, “I’ll get you to like Christmas somehow, Eds.” The warmth is gone just as soon as it arrives, Steve peeling away nonchalantly to give him a quick wink before starting to herd the cats.

As improbable as that is, Eddie can’t help but believe him.

steve being a whiz at pinball comes from this post by @findafight

other parts! Pt. 1 (Day 1) | Pt. 2 (Day 2) | Pt. 3 (Day 5) [YOU ARE HERE] | Pt. 4 (Day 6) | Pt. 5 (Day 7) | Pt. 6 (Day 11) | Pt. 7 (Day 13) | Pt. 8 (Day 18) | Pt. 9 (Day 21) | Pt. 10 (Day 25) also on AO3! this year

[drippinpeachesnhoney]

Vent non Ana related

I’ve spent this entire month decorating, planning, and preparing for our first real Christmas as a family and my in laws invited my BIL. Who I use to think was a great friend.

He’s actually an asshole. His core he’s a good person but he doesn’t think of others at all. We were super close when he was fat. Then he lost a bunch of weight (proud of him) but he just changed. He doesn’t check in on a single one of us. His dad is literally going for open heart surgery in a month and he wants him to take him and his gf hiking in a huge national park because he’s too scared to drive up there in the snow. Although we live close to it my FIL will either have to hike around with them or sit in the car alone for hours…fun.

They moved in with us for a little bit last year, completely trashed the living room we had no where to sit. It was just treadmills. Then when they moved out he left it that way. Knowing I’d have to clean it because I take care of the house and I cleaned his bedroom when he left the first time. Idk if he just doesn’t think of things like that? He’s literally in his 30s. I would think he’d be more considerate. (We live with my in laws btw)

Now he’s coming here for Christmas because he doesn’t want to be alone while his gf is with her fam. Which I get but he doesn’t contribute anything at all to anything. We had so much planned and I was going to cook so much because I enjoy it but I will not cook for him. He’s so ungrateful. So to not make things awkward I’m just not cooking. I’m not even being sarcastic when I say this but I’d have more interaction with a fake plant that’s how little he contributes to just life, with us at least.

We had a convo with my in laws telling them how we felt and that we just don’t want to be around him. We told them that if they invite him that’s totally fine and we will leave for the holiday. They said they understood and would reach out to plan for him to come around new years instead of Christmas. I’ve been telling my MIL to call him for the last 2 weeks. She finally did tonight and came and told us the news that he’s coming. After I’ve literally planned everything for just the 5 of us because she told me he was for sure not coming.

I just hate that she waited until last minute when we could’ve known this weeks ago and I wouldn’t have gone so hardcore in all my planning. It feels like she waited so it was like “too late it has to happen”. So tonight I moved all the decorations I put up in the living room into our room. I know it sounds petty but I (alone) put so much work into it and planned so much just for it to go to shit idc.

I’m usually down for being fake nice with distant family but I don’t even talk to my own mother anymore for not giving my little family the same effort we gave her. I’m sure as hell not gonna do that with a brother in law.

This is long and probably makes me sound horrible. I do feel bad about it. I hope he succeeds in every single thing he does but I don’t want to be apart of any of it. He was what I considered to be one of my best friends. We went through an insane amount of shit together. My alcoholism, some seizures (I’m epileptic fun fact), a huge move back into the in laws place. He was just nice to have around and the three of us did so much together. So to watch him use my partner for money to get back into college and then just dip and never ask us how we are after starting our own family hurt. My partner and I have the same birthday so it’s not easy to forget lol and we heard from everyone except him. When it was his birthday we reached out. When he graduated college we congratulated him. He never wrote back. We had our daughter and didn’t hear a thing from him. We heard from everyone in the family. I even heard from his gf. I had only met her once before! So I’m just a little annoyed and I feel like I wasted a lot of time. Okay that’s it. If you made it this far you’re an mvp. Goodnight! 💜

[silverhallow]

sorry to bother you, but I can't stop thinking about au, where Eloise find out about benophie in Joey's way, while Sophie was working at Number 5

Okay so I had something like this planned but not about number 5…

Anyone remember the Busy Beens Cafe… cause if so… here’s a little Drabble about the coffee shop AU and how Eloise found out about why her brother loved the coffee shop so much…

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Busy Beens was Eloise’s favourite place on campus. It was owned by Sophie Beckett and Eloise had grown close to the blonde woman and her step-sister Posy who helped her run it.

It was in the middle of campus and it had the best coffee and the best pastries.

Eloise had heard about it from her brother Benedict who had gone to the University before her and so Eloise had gone in and she’d immediately hit it off with the two girls who ran the shop.

Little did Eloise know the reason why Benedict was such a frequent visitor to the little cafe…

Benedict had fallen in love with Sophie the first time he had gone into the cafe, getting away from a thunderstorm… it had been his last year of his masters when he discovered it.

Sophie had been lovely and kind and let him stop in the cafe for two hours and they had talked and he had helped her clean the place as a thank you for the refuge from the rain.

Once it was clean she gave him a lift back to his dorm. He had found out that she owned the cafe as it used to be her mothers and she’d spent years renovating it as all she’d ever wanted to be was a baker and after that, he went back every day.

Desperately trying to work up the courage to ask Sophie out.

In the end it was Sophie who made the first move. It had been Christmas and she’d decorated the place and as Benedict helped her put something on a shelf out of her reach he realised it was under mistletoe.

Sophie went onto her tip toes and kissed him “sorry I’ve just… wanted to do that for a while now…”

Benedict wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back, more deeply and passionately before saying “same”

Sophie blushed as they broke apart and from that moment, they were inseparable but only Posy knew about them.

They wanted to keep it a secret for a little bit, them it wasn’t that they were ashamed or scared but Benedict’s family were Nosy enough and Anthony had a budding career as a politician and Benedict was becoming a well known fashion photographer and Sophie’s father was famous in his own right and they didn’t want the pressure on them.

They managed to keep their secret for 6 months, 6 blissful months of just them and their own little bubble…

Until one morning when Benedict had stopped at Sophie’s and brought her to the cafe and she’d insisted on cooking him breakfast before he went to work whilst her morning bakes were on.

Sophie had completely forgotten that Eloise had left her computer the night before and was coming for it first thing before her lecture and she’d been saying goodbye to Benedict, perched on the serving bar, her legs wrapped around his waist as they kissed when Eloise walked in.

The very loud gasp broke them apart… “you!! And you…. And what?!??!” She said pointing between Benedict and Sophie “you… No!!! No you can’t!!! You can’t ruin this for me… no Ben you… just…”

“El calm down.” Benedict said

“I can’t calm down!!! This.. you… no!!! You don’t do relationships!!! No!!! I can’t have you ruining this!!”

“El… it’s…” Sophie tried to say but Eloise was off at a million miles an hour and neither of them could understand a word she was saying.

“Eloise Sybilla Bridgerton will you just SHUT UP!!?” Benedict roared

“Sybilla?” Sophie Giggled and Benedict smiled

“I… what?!?” Eloise snapped realising she has been full named by her brother

“Look I get that this is a shock but I’m not just fucking about with Sophie… it’s why I started coming here. Why I told you all about this place… we’ve been seeing each other since Christmas.”

“CHRISTMAS?!?!” Eloise yelled

“Eloise please!” Sophie said getting down off the counter.

“I can’t… this is… He messes about with women… Gen… Tessa it’s never serious!” Eloise said

“I love her El… i…” Benedict announced

“What?!” Sophie squeaked

“Oh shit….”

“You love me?!” sophie asked

“You love her???” Eloise echoed

Benedict blushed “yes. Soph I love you, I loved you from the moment I met you. I just… have been waiting for the right moment to tell you… and apparently in front of my panicking sister is that moment…” he groaned

“I love You too” Sophie said as she wrapped her arms around Benedict and he kissed her softly.

Eloise cleared her throat.

“Sorry” they both said blushing

“Does anyone else know?” Eloise asked

“Only Posy… we weren’t quite ready to tell everyone yet…” Sophie said

“So please don’t say anything until we are ready El…” Benedict begged

“What’s in it for me?” Eloise asked

“Two free coffees a week and a pastry with each one” Sophie said immediately

“Make it three and you have a deal” Eloise said

“Done” Sophie said having been prepared to go to four…

Eloise smiled “good, Ben you’ve got great taste in girlfriends… Sophie… not so sure l. you could do so much better than him” she grinned as Benedict scowled “but I’ll take my first coffee, a cinnamon swirl and laptop please, lecture is in half an hour and I don’t want to be late”

Sophie hurried off to make the coffee and Benedict smiled said “see you tonight?” And Sophie nodded and blew him a kiss before he left.

It took a week after Eloise found out before they ended up telling everyone…

All because Colin found out Eloise was getting free food and wanted to know why and had only been told Eloise had walked in on Sophie with her boyfriend… and he’d started turning up at all hours trying to catch her… and having ended up seeing Posy with her boyfriend and mortifying her…

Sophie realised it was probably time…

[likeapray3r]

Yesterday we went to the museum together. On the drive there we debriefed on how our holiday had went and then the long list of kids we went to school with who are now popping out children. Of course got lunch before, we went to a Cuban restaurant around the corner. Talked for 2 hours while we sat in this loud restaurant—both of us unaffected by the noise. There is no way else for me to say it but I love talking to her…it hasn’t always been easy for me to keep the ball rolling as a conversationalist but with her I love to be there and engage for hours and I think she does too. It’s almost scary how the 5-6 years of no contact between each other never caused a true separation. I think, if anything, we’re more alike than ever now. It is almost scary how many coincidences we share between us. She feels like home to me. I have never met anyone else I’ve ever felt this particular way about. At the museum, we explored separately and together, and I couldn’t help but always find her in a crowded room without even trying. Sometimes it’d feel like a movie scene— a couple in between us holding hands and kissing in front of a hand made quilt with inscriptions all over it, suddenly leaving and all that was left is ourselves. “Hi” is all I heard from her once they left. I can feel her following near and I know when I’m near she can sense the same. To be connected with freedom. We spent hours at the museum of course looking at all of the art until the screws on our heads go loose. After we sat in a tiny theater watching a thinkpiece from a Puerto Rican artist we headed off to the gift shop —a man who was in the theater with us followed to tell me I was beautiful and that he’d seen me in the theater…I was aware of someone in the room with us but I never saw a face until then. I wished she’d say it to me instead. Though he was kind. She pointed out the narwhal children’s book to me—when we had met in 8th grade I had an obsession with those unicorn whales and I guess she remembers it still. I purchased two books on Puerto Rico, a photography book from a Puerto Rican artist and a book on the history of Puerto Ricans in Chicago. She told me in the elevator that she’d been having weird dreams, I said the same, but without her knowing of the fact that she’s come to me in my dreams fairly often for the past weeks. I wonder what she dreams of. In the car ride home we talked about the Palestinian conflict. Turns out we’ve both sobbed to ourselves about devastation and loss ever since October —we hadn’t connected till mid November. She makes me feel less alone. We proceeded to talk for two more hours in my car parked outside of her mom’s house, where Star Wars Christmas decorations lay in the front yard (I love Star Wars). We’ve even read the same book on self care for adult children of emotionally immature parents. I love her passion. I love to look into her eyes when I talk. I love to see every expression that comes across her face. My connection to her has never been the surface. She gets me and I get her. I think we surprise each other in that way. If I could I would spend the rest of my life making sure she’s safe and taken care of. She’s so capable within herself, I know, she’s done it this entire time without any major cracks in the foundation. I just have this innate desire to be a rock in her life—one that is there with good reason. My love and admiration ascends this plane of existence. Can she feel it? I’ve kept it all to myself—I wonder what she keeps to herself.

[thedaveandkimmershow]

Much like a movie that's a Christmas movie even though it's not specifically a Christmas movie, our trip to the Midwest to celebrate a friend's graduation in the middle of December was a Christmas trip without specifically being a Christmas trip.

It was a graduation taking place amidst lights and trees and decorations and gift shopping and music and advent calendars and chocolates and peppermint and bible stories.

So no. Not specifically a Christmas trip. But certainly bathed in all the colors of the season.

It was also a trip wrapped in community. Formed of a large group of individuals committed to the well-being of each other as well as strangers who cross their paths. Which is probably why I have people who are struggling even more on the brain this week.

Since my last Holiday Report, we managed an unbroken string of evenings spent with Christmas movies and classic shows...

Santa Claus is coming to town The Year Without a Santa Claus The Family Man Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Little Women (1994) Call the Midwife Christmas Episode (Season 4) How The Grinch Stole Christmas Call the Midwife Christmas Episode (Season 5, part 1) Call the Midwife Christmas Episode (Season 5, part 2) The Holiday The Santa Clause The Santa Clause 2 Ghosts, BBC Episode "The Ghost of Christmas" Ghosts, BBC Episode "The Ghost of Christmas"

In the meantime, I managed to finish all the Christmas cards and letters we’re sending out... and actually sent them out. Huzzah!

We’re also both done with our Christmas shopping (although I’ve got a thing or two still on the way). Me, I’m done with the Christmas shopping I’m doing for Kimmer. Kimmer, she’s done with the Christmas shopping she’s doing for me as well as everyone else.

So there’s that.

Now, we don’t count stockings as part of the Christmas shopping gig. Most of that’s because whatever you get for the stocking is super low maintenance. You just stuff it in the stocking once you have it. So that kind of shopping goes all the way through when the stores close on Christmas Eve. 

As far as our plans?

Got my birthday going on tomorrow so we’re prefunctioning tonight a little with Avatar: The Way of Water at the Majestic Bay Theatres in Ballard followed up, hopefully if there’s still time because the movie’s more than three hours long... followed up by a stop at Pub70 on the waterfront.

Then tomorrow Linzy’ll join us and we’ll improvise a bit. Maybe a return visit to Paint The Town in U-Village. Maybe some miniature golf at Flatstick Pub in Pioneer Square. Maybe some photography at the nearest Fireworks Gallery. Maybe Trader Joe’s appetizers and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery streaming on Netflex.

Who knows? We’ll figure it out as we go.

After that, Christmas Eve Day, it looks like we’ve got a full day ending with St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle for a musical prelude and midnight mass.

For Christmas Day we’re still looking to follow our family tradition of a mid-day movie... although we’re still figuring out which movie it’ll be.

And all the details in-between we’ll fill in as we go. Hopefully, with enough peace and rest and sleep...

So we’re enjoying our experiences every step of the way.

Fingers crossed!

😊

[stem-femme1]

It’s been a festive day wow

[mochegato]

Dicking Around With Christmas

Chapter 5

Chapter 1     Chapter 4

Dick couldn’t stop the dazzling grin that seemed permanently settled on his face.  The morning had been one of the most fun times in his life.  The Marché was absolutely adorable and nothing like anything in Gotham.  There were small pop up stands everywhere filled with crafts of every possible kind.  And all of them were decorated to the nines with Christmas cheer.  He had somehow managed to find presents for all of his family and even a few for Marinette, Adrien, and Evelyn.

Even the people wandering around the Marché were adding to the holiday feeling.  You couldn’t help but feel festive as you made your way through the crowd. Everybody was smiling and actually happy, more than a few were humming Christmas carols and all more than willing to help one another.  Honestly, it couldn’t be farther from what he was used to in Gotham.  They seemed to actually enjoy being around each other and positively feed off of each other’s energy.

But by far, the best part of the morning had been his company.  He and Marinette had spent the last several hours constantly smiling and joking and laughing, at least once hard enough to accidentally knock into a display, almost knocking all the crystal ornaments over, which of course caused more laughter after they had apologized profusely and run away.  He couldn’t imagine a more enjoyable way to spend a morning… without needing some privacy for them.

He glanced over fondly at Marinette as she looked at some decorated cutting boards for her parents.  She looked up at him with a brilliant smile and held up a cutting board for him to see.  It had ‘The only way I’ll ever cut carbs’ seared into it.  She was almost vibrating with excitement.  “Isn’t it amazing?  My papa will love it.”

Dick barked out a laugh.  He grinned cheekily and leaned closer to Marinette.  “He sounds like a fungi.”  His grin widened at the groan she let out as she buried her head in her hands.  “I’m sure he’ll love it a waffle lot.”

Marinette glared at him playfully and turned away to pay, refusing to reward him with the laugh that was bubbling up inside.  She could tell he knew though by the amused glint in his eyes and the small smirk on his face.  As soon as she paid, she bounded back to him and beamed up at him. “Are you hungry?”

Dick pursed his lips for a second before nodding.  “I could definitely eat.”  He looked around at the booths around them.  “I’ve seen quite a few things that looked amazing, but do you have any recommendations?”

She gave him a sly look, her eyes flashing with a mischievous glint.  “It just so happens I do.”  She grabbed his hand and pulled him through the crowd.  She glanced back at him with a reassuring, bright smile every so often as she dodged between booths and people and past quite a few booths that smelled and looked amazing, a destination clearly in mind.  He was enjoying the feeling of her hand in his, the way it fit, the warmth it held, the pressure she applied to make sure they stayed together.  She finally stopped at the end of a booth’s long line.

Dick looked around at the other booths and back at her doubtfully.  “Are you sure this is the one we want?  It’s a long wait.”

Marinette bounced in front of him.  “I’m positive.  There’s a reason the line is so long.  It’ll be worth it; I promise you it will be.”

Dick smiled at the excited look in her eyes.  “Okay, I’ll trust you.”  He caught her gaze and couldn’t look away, his smile softening the longer he stared.  He finally looked away with a shake of the head when the people behind them in line cleared their throats to prompt them to move.  He closed the gap and looked back at her with a playfully threatening look. “But if you’re wrong, you owe me.”

Marinette failed to suppress a snort and plastered on a serious look.  “And what will I owe you?  What payment do you take to clear my debt?”

He looked at her for a few moments, his mind suddenly going blank, because the first place his mind went was definitely not appropriate.   He blinked a few times and opened his mouth to respond but was saved by the people behind them clearing their throats again.  Dick looked back in front of them, noting the new gap.  The line might be long, but at least it was moving quickly.  He looked back at her calculatingly.  “Let me pay for lunch,” he answered.

Marinette blinked a few times.  “What?”

“You can let me pay for lunch,” he repeated more firmly, stepping forward in line.

“That really isn’t necessary,” she assured him.

“Nope,” he grinned.  “You asked what you could do.  That’s what you can do.”

“If I’m wrong,” she pointed out with a laugh. “You won’t know until you try it. It’s like you’re betting against me.” She took a few steps forward to close the gap.

Dick looked down at her earnestly and followed after her. “I would never.”

Marinette turned toward the front of the line to hide her blush but turned a little too quickly and tripped over her foot.  She braced herself for a fall but before she could fall, she felt one of Dick’s strong arms wrap around her waist and pull her tight against his chest.  Marinette buried her head in his chest to hide her face in embarrassment.  Dick rested his face on her hair.  “It’s okay,” he assured her quietly.

Marinette groaned.  “I’m such a klutz.  I’m so sorry,” she looked up at him sheepishly.

Dick shook his head with a comforting smile.  “I’m just glad I was here to rescue you.”  He raised his hand to brush the hair away from her face but put it back down when he remembered he was carrying bags. Instead, he squeezed her closer for a second.  His smile shifted to charming.  “Now you’ll have to let me pay.”

Marinette giggled and shook her head.  “You don’t understand, you really don’t have to do that.”

Dick sighed heavily.  “Just let me do this for you, please?  I owe you for taking me around and making breakfast and hosting me.”

“Dick,” she groaned with exasperation, “you really don’t owe me for…”

“Please?” he asked again giving wide eyes.

Marinette shook her head and shrugged.  “You can try.”

“Next!”

The people in front of them stepped to the side allowing the cashier to see her and Dick with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smirk. Marinette looked down and jumped away with a squeak, realizing Dick’s arm was still around her waist, but not quickly enough to lessen the smirk.

“Well, hello,” she grinned.  “Looks like you two are having a good morning.”

Marinette sent her a flat look.  “Two tourtieres and two of the tarts please, Manon.”

Manon giggled and put the tourteires and tarts on plates for them.  “Of course, for the two lovebirds.”

“Manon…” Marinette started warningly.

Dick stepped up and pulled out his credit card.  His eyes widened slightly at the monster of a man who stepped up to the counter with an angry expression.  His eyes flitted between the two of them and Dick’s card.  He crossed his arms and glared at him.  “What is this?” he demanded.

Marinette closed her eyes with a groan.  “Could you not, please?”

“I asked ‘what is this’” he repeated.  “Just who do you think you are?” he demanded, towering over Dick.  Dick tensed almost imperceptibly, preparing to protect Marinette if needed.  He looked over at Marinette for a cue on how to react.

Marinette could feel him tensing and placed a calming hand on his arm.  “Papa! Please stop embarrassing me,” she whined.  “He thinks you’re threatening us.”

Her father’s stern expression cracked into a bright smile that very much reminded him of Marinette’s.  Dick let out a relived breath and could feel his muscles relaxing with the giant man’s smile.  “How am I supposed to have fun then?  It’s my right as a father to embarrass you.”

“Really, you’re getting off easy,” Manon nodded. “You should see what he’s done to me already, and I’m not even related.”  She shook her head and widened her eyes in mortification.  “I can never show my face at school again.”

“Papa, this is the American I mentioned before. Papa, Manon, this is M. Grayson. M. Grayson, Manon and my papa.”

Dick gave them a brilliant smile and held his hand out to shake them.  “It’s nice to meet you both.”

“And you, son.”  Manon shook his hand but Marinette’s father brushed the hand aside and pulled him into an awkward over the counter hug.  Marinette fought the groan that pushed out, but a light sound still made it out, garnering the attention of the other three.  “It looks like you two have been very busy this morning.”

Dick looked down at his bags and back up with a shrug. “Marinette has been showing me around the Marché.  It’s beautiful.  Very different from what I’m used to.  I love it.”

“It is definitely a lovely experience.  I’m glad you’re able to experience it,” he nodded in agreement.  “But it can get overwhelming if you don’t know where to go.”

Dick beamed at Marinette.  “I can definitely see that.  I’m lucky to have Marinette.”

Tom’s eyes sparkled as he looked back and forth between the two of them.  “I’m sure Marinette feels lucky to have you as well.”

“Papa,” Marinette begged.  She grabbed the plates and nodded to them both.  “And with that, we’re going to leave.  Love you, Papa.  Good luck, Manon.”  She pushed Dick away from the booth.

Dick chuckled and waved to them.  “Bye!  It was good to meet you.”

“I look forward to seeing you again, son,” Tom called after them.

Marinette groaned and pushed Dick to move faster. They found a bench to sit on next to the Seine and collapsed on it.  Marinette took a deep breath and closed her eyes.  “Sorry about him.  He can be a bit much.”

Dick shook his head fondly.  “He seems like he loves you very much.”

“He does,” she agreed.  “Almost as much as he loves embarrassing me.”

Dick snorted.  “That’s just part of being a family isn’t it?”  He grabbed one of the tourteires.

“No!” Marinette insisted dramatically.  Dick burst out laughing just before taking a bite. “Not necessary part of being a family. A family can function perfectly well without the teasing.”

Dick spread on a mock analytical look and stroked his chin. “That doesn’t sound right at all. I’m pretty sure that’s wrong.  That’s like ninety percent of my relationship with my brothers.”

Marinette groaned again and shook her head.  “You’re the big brother, aren’t you?”  Dick’s widened smile and glimmering eyes were answer enough for her.  She snorted and watched him tenderly.  “You’ll make an amazing dad.”

Dick’s smile froze and his eyes widened incidentally. He paled slightly and looked away, his eyes flicking between the river and his food.  He picked at his food, finally pulling off a small piece.  “Thank you,” he said, his eyes much more reserved than he had been any other time during the day.  He held up the tourteires.  These are really, good.”

Marinette nodded, still focusing on his face, trying to figure out the change in atmosphere.  “Thank you.  I’ve always thought so.”  They sat in silence for quite a while, the only sounds coming from the river and the crowd behind them.

Dick finally spoke up when they were almost done eating. “I’ve always wanted to be a father.” A bittersweet smile spread across his face and his eyes flicked over to her for a moment and away.  “But every time I meet a woman I can picture that with, she’s already taken.”

Marinette stared at him in surprise for several minutes, her lips turned down in a frown.  It couldn’t hurt, could it?  If he knew? If she told him?  There would be time before he would see M. Dubois again, so he wouldn’t have to know, not for a while anyway, and she would have time to figure out what to tell him.  And until then she and Dick could figure out what all these moments meant, all these stolen glances and accidental touches, if they meant anything.

“Dick I…” she started, unsure of where to go or how to phrase it.  Dick turned to her, his eyes sincere yet sad.  “You should know, I’m not…”  Her eyes darted away.  “Adrien and I…” she stopped when her phone rang.  She glanced at it, fully prepared to ignore it until she saw the caller ID. “Sorry, it’s M. Dubois.  I have to take this.”  She turned away slightly as she answered it.  “Good morning, M. Dubois.  How are you doing?”

“I’m doing well, my dear.  Doing well.  Things going well with Mr. Grayson?  I trust you are making him feel welcome,” he said cheerfully.

Marinette gave Dick a strained smile and nodded, despite M. Dubois not being able to see her.  “I hope so, sir.  Right now we’re walking around the Marché de Noël.”

“Excellent.  Excellent. That’s a wonderful Parisian site. I knew I could place my trust in you. I always trust my instincts and my instincts told me that you are someone trustworthy.  A family woman such as yourself, how could you be anything else?”

Marinette swallowed heavily and pasted on a strained smile.  “How is Scotland?” she asked anxiously, trying to change the topic, eyes flicking over to Dick and away quickly.

“I wouldn’t know,” he sighed.  “I made it as far as London.  My granddaughter tested positive for COVID, so the visit is delayed a few weeks until she’s out of quarantine.  I’m back in Paris already.”  Marinette could hear shuffling around, which for some reason, caused her more anxiety. “I won’t lie, I am glad for a few more days with French food.  Scottish food is hardly the pinnacle of cuisine.  I assume you are making sure Mr. Grayson experiences proper French cuisine.”

“Y…yes, of course.  I’m trying…” she stuttered out.

“Of course you are.  Of course you are, my dear,” he assured her.  “With the amazing baking skills you grew up with, I’m sure you are introducing him to the most amazing homemade French food.”

“Evelyn and I have been baking, yes…” she faltered.

“Ahh, a family affair.  Wonderful.  Wonderful. And I’m sure your dinners are just as amazing,” he continued on.  It was almost like he hadn’t heard her at all.  Or rather he heard the words but not the tone or emotion behind it.

“Amazing is a little strong…” she started weakly.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” he scoffed in a very self-assured tone.

“You… you, sir?” she asked carefully, her face scrunching in confusion.  “You’ll judge my dinner?”

“That is very generous of you!” M. Dubois declared so loudly Marinette had to remove the phone from her ear.  “I’d love to join you for dinner.”

Marinette blinked, her face paling.  “What?”

“Don’t worry, my dear.  Don’t worry.”  His tone was calming but his words were making her heart race.  “I’m sure I’ll love whatever you create.  I’m not a harsh critic.  I’ll be there at seven tonight.  I can’t wait to meet your daughter and husband finally.”

Marinette stared ahead blankly, her heart sinking at a rapid pace.  “Me either, sir.  Can’t wait. See you tonight at seven.”

Chapter 6

Tags:

@jayjayspixiepop @corporeal-terrestrial @certainmuffinbagelcalzone @redscarlet95 @iloontjeboontje

[theydontknowaboutusimagines]

I Love You, This Christmas - Harry Styles Christmas Series (#11)

Both Y/N and Harry have spent the majority of the year on tour, which means they’ve hardly been able to see one another except for a few days here and there. This of course has put a bit of a strain on their relationship, despite being together for over three years. Their love is still there, but sometimes that isn’t enough. So, with the holidays coming around and their  tours coming to end, they hope to use this time to reconnect and see if their relationship can make it through.

#1   #2 #3 #4  #5  #6 #7 #8 #9 #10

**

T’was the night before Christmas and all the through the house it was fucking on! Everyone had arrived and it was time for a little competition. There were several Christmas themed games planned starting with a Gingerbread House competition, Christmas Charades, Christmas Movie Trivia, and Christmas Karaoke.

“Okay, but how fair is the karaoke going to be when we have two Grammy winning singers here?” Gemma laughed.

“Especially when one of them has 6?” You smirked, flipping your hair back.

“Really?” Harry laughed, looking over at you.

“What? It’s true,” you said.

He shook his head with a laugh, “We’ll opt out of that one.”

“But that’s my favorite!” You groaned.

“Because you know you’ll win,” Harry laughed, wrapping his arms around you.

“Well, I mean,” you said, sipping on your drink.

“Y/N! Shall I get you a slice of humble pie!” Your mother called from the kitchen.

“Rude!” You laughed.

“Anyway, all the supplies are set up,” Anne said, coming into the living area. “What are the teams?”

“I call, Y/N!” Gemma said.

“What?” Harry said. “No way.”

“Sorry, baby bro,” she smirked.

“Why aren’t you teaming up with your boyfriend?” Harry groaned.

“Because I think a little battle of the sexes will be interesting,” Gemma said.

Harry rolled his eyes, “Y/N, come on, you know you want to be with me.”

“Sorry, babe, I’ve seen your icing skills and they’re not great,” you said.

“Ouch,” Gemma laughed.

Everyone heads into the kitchen where the supplies are all laid out. There’s gingerbread house pieces, icing, gumdrops and other various candies to add to the house.

“Teams will have an hour to build and decorate your houses,” Anne said. “All houses must stay upright to count as complete once the time is up.”

“Geez, someone’s been watching too many baking competition shows,” Harry mumbled.

“Hush,” Anne laughed.

“Are you ready?” your mom asked.

“Ready!” Everyone said.

“On the count of three… one … two… three,” she said, starting the timer.

Both you and Gemma quickly start grabbing your supplies and head to your workspace. You start by outlining the house pieces with the icing while Gemma starts building the house. Once she gets it all built, she holds the pieces together to help it stay, while you start grabbing different candies to decorate with. You glance over at the boys’ and Harry throws a gumdrop at you.

“Hey!” You laughed.

“That’s for trying to sneak a peek!” He said.

You rolled your eyes before heading back over to your workspace. You started putting icing on the outside of the house while Gemma placed the candies on.

“15 Minutes!” Anne called out.

“Oh shit, mate, what are you doing,” Harry groaned.

“Taking these off,” Michal said. “You put too much on the roof. It’s going to cave.”

“But now it looks plain,” Harry said.

“Better to look plain than falling apart,” Michal said.

“Having trouble over there boys?” you smirked.

“Fuck off,” Harry laughed.

“Language!” Anne called out.

Gemma snickered.

“TIME!” Your mom said.

“Alright, hands ups!” Anne said.

All of you held your hands up and you looked over at Harry’s house which was all slanted and covered in icing and candies.

“Yeah, so glad I went with Gemma,” you joked.

“Hey!” Harry whined. “We did our best.”

“Yes, you did,” Anne patted his cheek. “But sorry, the girls win this one.”

“Whoo hoo!” You both cheered.

“Always knew she was your favorite,” Harry mumbled.

“Oh stop it,” Anne said.

“Anyway, you’re going down in charades!” Harry said.

“We’ll see,” you smirked.

**

The next hour was spent acting out different Christmas characters, Christmas song titles and pretty much anything else involving Christmas. Even the parents joined in on this one and it was so fun. There was a lot of laughing and cheering. The teams were tied going into the last round. Of course, it was you and Harry going head to head.

“You’re going down, baby,” he smirked.

“You wish,” you rolled your eyes.

“Actually, I do,” he whispered in your ear.

“Harry!” You laughed, pushing him away. “Our parents are here.”

“Well, obviously not here in front of them,” he said. “Our bedroom has a door.”

You just shook your head, “You’re trying to distract me. We have a game to play.”

You reached into the bowl picking your slip of paper and then Harry grabbed his own. You both open the slip to see what you each have to act out.

“This is for all the marbles!” your mom said. “Go baby!”

“Mum,” you laughed.

“Sorry, you know how I get after a few glasses of wine,” she said.

You giggled and prepared to act out “The Grinch.” Lovely, you thought.

“Ready and go!” Gemma said.

You started walking around mimicking like you were trying on stuff. Then you pretended to look at the phone book. Next you made a small heart with your hands and started pumping it to make it bigger.

“What the hell?” Gemma mumbled.  

There was so much shouting going on, you had no clue who was close to guessing, but you were determined to beat Harry. You tried repeating everything again, but then you added a scowl look with your hand on your hip and used the other to point your nose into a “who-nose”

“GRINCH!” Your mom shouted.

“YES!” You pointed out.

“For fuck’s sake!” Harry groaned. “How did none of you get Little Drummer boy!”

“Oh, that’s what you were doing? Playing the drums?” Your Dad. “I thought you were just marching.”

“Looks like I won again,” you smirked at Harry. “Girl Power!”

**

It was time for a break from all the Christmas games for dinner. You were catching up with your parents while Harry was talking with Gemma. They were over in the corner, away from everyone.

“So, have you decided when you’re going to ask her?” Gemma whispered.

“Yeah, I’ve got it all planned out,” he said. “But I need your help.”

“Okay, what do you need me to do?” she asked.

“Well, there’s a trail out back that leads to this amazing view. I was hoping to do it there tomorrow, but I was hoping you and Mum could decorate it a bit. I bought some battery operated lights and some flowers,” he said. “So, maybe before we head out that way, you two could head there and text me when it’s ready.”

“Sure thing,” she smiled. “And you’re ready for this right? Cause once you ask there’s no take backs.”

Harry laughed, “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I love her. She makes me happy and when I look in my future, she’s there right beside me.”

“Wow, I can’t believe my baby brother is about to get engaged,” she whispered.

“Shhh,” Harry whispered. “I’d really love for her not to find out before I ask her.”

“Sorry, I’m just so excited,” she smiled.

“Yeah, me too,” Harry smiled, looking over at you.

You caught his eye and saw him staring at you. You gave him a smile, “I love you,” you mouthed to him.

“I love you, too,” he mouthed back.

**

And just like that, it was the Girl’s team that won for the night. It was so fun and you really wanted to add this to the tradition. Everyone had already headed to bed with excitement of Christmas morning approaching. However, you and Harry were still awake looking out the window as tiny flurries of snow fell in the night sky.

“Hm, tonight was fun,” you smiled. “I love that everyone in our families get along.”

“Me too,” he said. “But next year, I refuse to be with anyone other than you.”

You giggled, “You’re just a sore loser.”

“Am not,” he whined.

“Oh, but you are,” you said, patting his cheek. “It’s okay though, I’d be a little bitter too if you had won.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled.

You laughed, lacing your hand with his as his arms were around your waist, “We should probably head to bed soon. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

“Hm, we do,” he nodded. “I’m sure Santa will be here soon.”

“Oooh, maybe I’ll catch him under the mistletoe,” you said.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “The only one you’ll be catching under the mistletoe is me.”

You turned around in his arms, wrapping yours around his shoulders as he tightened his around you, “Good, because you’re the only one that I want,” you whispered before pressing your lips against his.

**

Merry Christmas Eve! One more post! 

[psychedelic-ink]

A/N: This is a gift for the lovely @elliemehl and she wanted a reader x Katakuri with a dash of sin (tho I might’ve accidentally spilled more then intended) also this is my first time writing for him so hopefully I did him justice! 

This is also a modern AU so Katakuri’s still tall but he’s not like 5 meters xD I hope you enjoy this and wishing you a merry early Christmas! <3

Pairing: fem!reader x Charlotte Katakuri 

Genre: Romance / Lemon

Word Count: 1358k

Warnings: NS.FW , oral (receiving) 

Prompt: Can’t make it for Christmas

Your hands shaking, you closed the phone. A series of emotions befell upon you, sadness, disappointment, anger. Sitting on the couch, you gazed upon the livingroom to witness the hours worth of preparation that you've done. The tree was beautifully decorated, scented candles everywhere and the creme de la creme a table full of Katakuri’s favorite dishes and that wasn’t all, in the oven there were gingerbread cookies baking as you mourned. 

Sighing, you kicked off your slippers and laid on the couch. Of course his mother had to give him an assignment on Christmas, you weren’t surprised at all. That woman never had her children’s good intention in mind, it always had to be about her and the family business. 

Katakuri sounded so hurt too when he told you that he wasn’t going to make it. He knew well that you’ve been working hard to make today perfect.  You stared at the white ceiling, you just wanted him to have a good christmas, eat some delicious food and relax. Why did it always have to be so hard ?

Slowly, your mind started to drift off. After a whole day spent, finally the tiredness of your body reached your brain. 

“I guess a quick nap won’t hurt.” you mumbled as you closed your eyes 

Breathe. Breathe. 

You couldn’t. But you had to. Breathe. 

Heaving, you ran, you saw a glimpse of crimson hair and a tall silhouette. You followed it as you held your chest, you still couldn’t breathe, coughing you fell to the ground. The silhouette disappeared, your surroundings now drowning in complete darkness. Tears stung your eyes, you were scared you wanted to leave. Where were you? 

You felt yourself starting to shake along with the ground you were kneeling on. An earthquake? Light shined upon you, looking up you were blinded by it but fresh air followed and you found that you could finally breathe. You extended your arm, was this an exit? Were you saved? 

“Wake up y/n!” 

“...what?” your voice groggy, you peeled your eyes open. 

Continuing to lay on the couch you tilted your head to the side and squinted your eyes. Katakuri was hovering over you, looking down at you with a worried expression. Before you could ask anything you coughed, noticing a certain smell in the air your eyes widened with realization. 

“The cookies!”

You jolted up but Katakuri held you in place as he kneeled in front of you, his worried expression shifted into one of relief. 

“Don’t worry I turned off the oven,” then he frowned. “What were you thinking taking a nap while baking?” 

“I...I forgot.” your gaze was fixated on him, still feeling a bit hazy you pinched the bridge of your nose. “What time is it? When did you get here?”

“I managed to finish up early and rushed here to be with you,” he chuckled. “And good thing that I did.” 

A wide smile spread across your face, Katakuri was here and he was in time for christmas. The cookies might’ve been burnt but there was still so much you had prepared for him. Butterflies flew in your stomach and your pulse quickened, jumping forward you wrapped your arms around his neck. His arms came around your waist and he pulled you in closer. You could feel him inhaling your scent as the two of you embraced. 

“I’m so happy that you’re here.” you said your voice shaking a bit at the end. 

“So am I.” 

Pulling back you placed your hand ever so tenderly on his cheek, your fingertips danced along his lips and followed the scar that formed an arc up to his cheek bone. Katakuri pressed his cheek further into your palm with closed eyes and sighed. Smiling you leaned in and pressed your lips against his, a supposedly innocent action on your part. But it was quick to shift into an act of passion as Katakuri slid his tongue eagerly between your lips. 

His tongue explored your mouth, your tongue dancing along his, he sucked on your warm muscle. You moaned into the kiss as you pressed your body further against him, it felt warm and secure. Your insides quivered. 

As Katakuri parted away from you he pulled your tongue along with him, he sucked on it, earning a mewl from you. You stared at him between half lidded eyes, your cheeks a vibrant red. With a smile Katakuri placed his forehead against yours. 

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, his breath smelling of coffee. “I’ve missed you so much.” 

Before you could reply Katakuri scooped you up and placed your back to the couch, you were expecting him to join  but instead he kneeled in front of you spreading your legs apart. You watched him with awe as he tugged your sweatpants down with ease, he smirked when he saw the wet stain on your underwear. 

“Someone’s eager.” 

You blushed and averted your eyes. The way his gaze was fixated on your arousal made you feel nervous, and it wasn’t like it was the first time he was looking at it but you still weren’t used to it. 

Katakuri peeled your underwear to the side and you gasped when the cold air  hit your heat. He had a strong grip on your thighs, dipping down he trailed your skin with open mouthed kisses only to stop when he reached your inner thigh. He grazed his teeth against the sensitive skin and gently took a bite out of it. A loud moan escaped your as you felt his teeth on your skin, instinctevely you placed your hand on the top of his hair, playing with his short hair as he continued to kiss,lick and nibble on you.

Your skin was burning with every kiss he placed on you, your mind felt numb with the pleasure he was inflicting on you. Katakuri’s hand went up from your thigh and to your pussy, he slid his forefinger between your folds, you whined when the noise of your wetness reached your ears. But despite your flushed state, the noises managed to stir you on further and you could feel yourself getting slicker around his finger. 

When Katakuri was done with your thigh, he made his way towards your arousal. It throbbed as you felt his warm breath ghosting over you. Licking his lips Katakuti hummed happily as he dipped down into your cunt. His tongue delved between your folds and found your aching hole. Pushing his tongue between the tight muscle, a loud mewl escaped your lips. He wiggled his tongue as he pushed it further into you. Your grip on his hair tightened and you threw your head back. 

Enjoying that you were coming undone, Katakuri eagerly started to thrust his tongue in and out of you, loving the way your insides twitched around his warm muscle. You shouted his name over and over again when he started to play with your clit with his free hand. He pinched, pulled and rubbed the sensitive nub. You couldn’t even think anymore the only thing you could concentrate on was how good he was making you feel. 

“Kata,” you managed to moan out. “I’m close.” 

He replied with a hum and his thrusts became faster along with his strokes against your clit. You started to match his pacing with your hips, it wasn’t much but you couldn’t contain yourself anymore. You could almost taste the bliss, a little bit more…

With one last pinch on your clit you were seeing stars. Your body spasming and nails digging into his scalp you screamed his name over and over again as you came. Katakuri didn’t stop until you came down from your orgasm high, heavily breathing your grip on his hair loosened. He looked up to you with a smug grin on his face. 

“Merry Christmas.”

“Ho ho ho,” you replied, still trying to catch your breath. “I hope you’re not full yeti there’s still plenty to eat.” 

“Don’t worry,” he said getting up. “I’m insatiable.” 

[unnecessarywriting]

Loneliness is Not an Option - Remus Lupin

A/N: Here is my last Christmas fic for this year. I hope you all enjoyed all of them that I uploaded. This is one that I’ve had on my mind for a week now. It’s short and sweet, although it starts a little angsty. It came from the song “Please Come Home for Christmas” and I couldn’t help but give a little love to Remus. Thank you all and I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Loneliness is Not an Option

How do we define loneliness? Such an existential question comes with a backstory, so here it is. It was Christmas night. Yes, you had spent the holiday completely on your own, but it wasn’t Remus’ fault. It also wasn’t the fault of any of your friends. It was quite depressing how you had no one to comfort you, or send you fun Christmas cards, or even just wish you a Happy Christmas. They all had duties to the Order. You tried to join, but Remus was insistent that he keep you safe. You still participated in certain activities, but he had wanted at least one person from the friend group to live their dreams. That’s what you were supposed to be doing, except it wasn’t going as planned.

You and Remus had bought a house right out of school. You were excited to start living with the love of your life, but you hadn’t anticipated how often he would not be home. You knew it wasn’t his fault. You honestly thought that he wanted to be home with you more than you wanted him home with you. In the beginning of the holiday season, you thought that you would be lucky, but when he walked into the living with a sunken look on his face, you knew he wasn’t going to be around often. You were rightfully disappointed that you wouldn’t be able to celebrate your first Christmas outside of Hogwarts with Remus, but you understood that the war was a bit more pressing. 

The sadness didn’t really sink in until you decorated the tree. You had always dreamed of the situation being filled with laughter, playful kisses, and new memories, but that isn’t how it happened. You were alone, drunk, and singing along to muggle Christmas songs that came on the radio. It was about a week before Christmas when you put the tree up. You tried to put it off so you could decorate it with Remus, but when a letter came from him telling you that he might not be back until after the holiday, you stopped waiting and pulled out the firewhiskey. When everything was on the tree except for the star on top, you sat down on the ground. Your eyes traced over the outline of the tree, but the Christmas spirit avoided your soul. You sighed to yourself.

“This next one is a new release from the Eagles. Here is “Please Come Home for Christmas,” you heard the radio spit out. You laughed at the irony, but listened anyway. As the lyrics flowed through your ear, you felt the first tears of the holiday season start their journey down your face. You were completely alone. 

The following days, it seemed like the world was playing some sort of prank on you. Everytime you turned on the radio, you heard that song’s melody flow through your body. It was catchy, you were not going to lie, but the words haunted you as you dreamed of being reunited with your love. Christmas Eve, you sat alone in your home, thinking about Remus. You hoped he was safe, but you wanted to be selfish. Just this once. You wanted him home with you. You stared into the fire and thought back to the last Christmas you spent with him.

“Moony, stop eating all of the chocolate. Share some with me at least.” He smiled with a bit of guilt. He was like a puppy who just got caught tearing up someone’s slippers. He was absolutely adorable. You fell into his embrace on the couch.

“I can’t wait until next Christmas,” he spoke earnestly. “It will be just the two of us, in our home. We will decorate the place to be the most comforting and joyful place. And, we will have plenty of chocolate on standby. Then, we will exchange gifts, and just spend the day with each other. No one to interrupt us.” You giggled at his plans. He was simple, but he meant the best. He wanted the both of you to just have each other. You knew that it was likely that a certain group of boys would ultimately crash your day, but you weren’t complaining. You were just excited to have a future with the man who was holding you.

How naïve you two were. If only you could see yourself and tell you to not get your hopes up. Your bitterness was ruining the holiday. You wanted to turn it all off, and you did. You unplugged the lights, and took down the stockings. The tree remained in its place, but you took off the star. You would take care of the tree the following day. You then went to bed.

The following morning, you slept in. You had no reason to get up early. The rest of the day was filled with moping around the house. You looked at some of the photos that rested above your fireplace. One in particular caught your eye,

“James! Sirius! I swear, if you break anything, I will make your life a living hell. Remus, stop them. I don’t want to have to clean up after them. Thank you for being a good guest Peter, I just wish the other two would learn.” You face palmed as Lily handed you a glass of wine. 

“I would try to stop James, but he is truly impossible.” You looked at her with misery written on your face. She laughed at your expression. “On a different note, I love this place Y/N. It is absolutely gorgeous and perfect for the two of you.” 

“Thank you Lily, although I don’t think it is going to remain in one piece so long as those two are still here.” You giggled as you heard Remus try to lecture them on what it means to be a respectful guest.

“Do you think you’re gonna have everyone over for the holidays?” You thought for a moment. 

“Maybe, although I think Remus might just want it to be the two of us. I will say that if you did decide to just pop by for dinner or something, I certainly wouldn’t object,” you hinted at her. She caught on and nodded as if she was already making plans. 

“Darling, those two are impossible. I don’t know what to do.” Remus looked exhausted from trying to stop the other two. You laughed at him and pulled him in for a hug.

“Aww, did the two children break you? What was it, two hours? Lily, I think you owe me 5 galleons,” you joked. She laughed with you as Remus rolled his eyes.

Lily looked at the counter and saw a camera sitting there.

“Hey, let’s get a picture of you two to commemorate your moving in here.” You both agreed with her idea, and got ready for a cute pose. What you didn’t see was the two troublemakers sharing a knowing look. 

That photo was one of your favorites. You and Remus looked so happy. That looked changed to one of both fear and confusion as Padfoot and Prongs entered. Yes, the deer and dog made their way into one of your favorite photos. You still hadn’t fully forgiven James for almost denting your walls with his antlers. 

You walked into the kitchen that night to start cooking dinner. It wasn’t going to be anything given that you were alone, but you needed to eat something. You reluctantly turned on the radio to hear that dreaded song. At this point, you just sang along to the song that defined your Christmas. Alone, and hoping that the love of your life would return in time to end all of your sorrow and fill it with happiness. 

“You know, I think I can make the sorrow, grief, and pain disappear.” You whipped around at the sound of his voice.

“You’re home,” you said as more of a statement than a question.

“I’m home.”

“For real?”

“Yes, for real. We finished earlier than expected, and I rushed home to be with you. I promised you a Christmas featuring me, and well, chocolate. I brought both.” He had an awkward smile as he held up some chocolate.

You ran over to him and practically jumped into his arms. He held onto you as you quietly sobbed into his sweater. You had never been happier. The only sounds in the house were your quiet sobs, and the sounds of muggle Christmas music.

“Dance with me,” he muttered. You pulled away and adjusted your body as you two silently danced to the tunes. It was a peaceful bliss. Some time passed as you two enjoyed each other’s company like he promised the year before.

“You know, I told Lily that she could invade our Christmas, but now I kind of hope she doesn’t.”

“Why is that, my dear?” You looked into his eyes, and then looked at what was left of the Christmas decorations in the living room.

“Well, as you can see, there isn’t a whole lot of joy left in this room.” You were feeling a little guilty for taking down everything.

“I guess it’s a good thing that none of us really care. We just wanted to be together anyway!” Sirius was standing with the rest of the group. Everyone looked happy to be safe in the same room. You smiled and got up to hug all of them. 

Was it late? Yes, but none of you cared. You had enough room for everyone, and you weren’t about to kick out the people you desired to see most. Your night was filled with tears from the constant laughter that the group brought, firewhiskey to loosen everyone up, joyful memories that came from the dumb things you all began, and passionate kisses with Remus as the muggle tunes continued to play from the radio.

“You know, as long as I have you, loneliness is not an option. I promise that when this war is finally over, you will never spend another Christmas alone, or any holiday for that matter. I love you so much Y/N. Happy Christmas!” 

“Happy Christmas Remus. I love you too, more than you’ll ever know.” You smiled as you kissed him with all of the love in the world to power it.

[xlostinobsessionsx]

An Unforgettable New Year’s Eve | Charlie Gillespie - 1/3

Pairing: Charlie Gillespie x fem! Reader

Warning: none

Word Count: 2,213

Plot: (Y/N) doesn’t want to go to the new years eve party where her ex would be with his new girlfriend. Sadly, she promised her best friend she’d go. But instead of letting her wallow in self pity, Charlie makes it his mission to give her a new years eve she will never forget, which makes her ask herself one question: Can you fall in love in just one night?

A/N: A big thanks goes to @bass-ic-deaky and @a-tomb-with-a-view for proof-reading this part. I don’t know what I would do without you!

I wish you all the best for the next year! May 2021 be better than this year.

Masterlist

Normally (Y/N) loved the holidays. She loved dressing up for Halloween and going to parties with her friends. She loved seeing her family on Thanksgiving, eating turkey and telling them what made her feel thankful. She loved decorating the Christmas tree and singing christmas carols. She loved celebrating the beginning of each new year...well, normally she did. This New Year’s Eve was going to be quite different. Her friend Colin was throwing a party in his big loft like he did every year, and normally that would be alright. (Y/N) loved traditions, and celebrating New Years Eve at Colin's place felt like a tradition by now. A tradition she had always attended with Noah. But this year she would go by herself. Of course (best friend's name Maya, her best friend, would come with her but it wasn’t the same. Once they got the party Maya would probably disappear into the celebrating crowd, leaving (Y/N) to fend for herself. In any case, her friends decided that it would be better for (Y/N) not to drink during this New Years Eve Party. “It just ends messy when you drink and already feel miserable.” Maya tried to explain to her. (Y/N) would’ve preferred to just stay at home all by herself in all honesty but her best friend was against her plans.“The company will do you good.” Maya argued until (Y/N) had agreed to go with her. 

“Someone will also have to make sure that you get home safely.” (Y/N) shrugged, trying to persuade herself that going to the party might be a good idea. She would just go to keep an eye on Maya all night long. That alone would be enough for a distraction.

However, it turned out that was easier said than done. Her friend immediately grabbed herself a drink and joined the crowd on the packed dance floor. (Y/N), on the other hand, got herself some water. Her gaze drifted through the crowd from each drunk partygoer to the next. She spotted Colin who was standing in front of one of the big big paintings, which decorated his loft. He seemed to be chatting animatedly about it to a couple standing next to him, who, even from across the room, were obviously sloshed from how they swayed from side to side, and it was only 7:23pm. A laugh cut through the music, pounding from the large DJ speakers. It didn’t ever matter how loud a room could be, she’d always hear that laugh no matter what. That’s when her gaze landed on him, wearing one of those silly New Year’s Eve party hats. The shirt he was wearing, that had been a gift from her for their last anniversary. He had broken it off with her a few weeks later, right before Thanksgiving, leaving his seat empty during family dinner. 

(Y/N) could still remember their conversation. It seemed like it was forever embedded in her mind. “I can’t do this anymore!” He had said while packing his belongings he had left at her place. 

“Why?” She sobbed, trying to get a hold of him, trying to get him to look at her, but he had shrugged her off. 

“It just won’t work between us. Not for the long run at least, we’re too different.” He had said nonchalantly. 

“But...how? Why?!” She whimpered “A few weeks ago you talked about us moving in together for god’s sake!” She had grabbed him by his arm forcing him to turn around to look at her. The look on his face had changed. 

He looked sorry for her. Why was he taking pity on her? “I met someone else.”

And this particular ‘someone else’ was standing next to him, with Noah’s strong arm wrapped around her waist pulling her close. Her golden wavy hair fell elegantly over her shoulders as she stood there with her stupid perfect makeup and stupid perfect dress. The tears began to form in (Y/N) eyes again. Not here, she told herself and took a deep breath, trying desperately to steady herself. (Y/N) had promised to herself that they would not ruin this party for her, she had promised Maya she’d have fun and that would try to do that now. Like trying to keep an eye on Maya, that turned out to be easier said than done. That’s why (Y/N) found herself in a corner of the room, sitting on a bench and staring at her cup with a blank expression on her face.

“Either you just really hate New Years Eve parties or someone’s here you don’t like that much.” (Y/N) turned her head to look at the brunette guy who had sat down next to her a few minutes prior. She hadn’t paid him any mind, she went about her business and he with his. Like most of the guests, he was wearing funny glasses and a party hat. His curly brunette hair hung to his shoulders and his hazel eyes sparkled happily at her. She was grateful to him for trying to save her evening, but her desire for company was waning by the second. 

(Y/N) sighed looking back down at her lap. “It’s alright, don’t worry about it.” She tried to shrug him off to wallow in her self-pity once again. 

“Doesn’t look like it’s alright. Maybe you need a drink?” He suggested. 

She slowly shook her head “I can’t. I promised my friend I’d bring her home safely.” (Y/N) pointed to her best friend, who at the moment tried to drink as much as she could out of a beer funnel. 

Charlie chuckled at the sight. “Well she’s a messy drunk, isn’t she.” 

“Also...I’ve heard you only should drink when you’re in a good mood.” She mumbled, not knowing if the guy next to her was even able to hear her over the loud music. 

“And you aren’t in a good mood because…?” He treaded carefully. 

(Y/N) sighed as she looked up to the guy next to her. His eyes were gazing at her, a friendly look glinting in them, not intrusive like she had expected it would’ve been. More honest and seemingly genuinely interested in making her feel better. “I don’t wanna pull you down with me.” She answered truthfully. 

The guy chuckled “You won’t, I promise. It’s gonna be my mission to pull your mood up no matter what.” 

This made her smile. “I’m sure you’d have a better night if you spent it with someone else.” 

“Well, I know most people here but I like to make new friends. It’s like this saying: Always start a new year with new friends.” He smiled brightly. 

(Y/N) chuckled “I’m pretty sure it’s not a saying.” 

He laughed slightly “Well it might not be one but it made you smile. So one step closer to making this a better night for you….uh…” He looked at her expectantly. 

“(Y/N).” She replied with a wide smile. 

“One step closer to make this night better for you, (Y/N), way better.” He said as he held his hand towards (Y/N) for her to shake. 

“I’m Charlie, by the way.” He introduced himself. She took his hand and slightly shook it. His hand nearly entirely engulfed hers and felt warm around hers. “Now that we’re on a first name basis, you should really tell me who put you in such a foul mood.” He took a sip from his cup and looked at her curiously. 

(Y/N) sighed. Her gaze fell to a tall guy standing in a group of people. “You see him?” She pointed slightly at the guy. “That’s my ex. We were both invited to this party when we were still a couple.” she explained “But then he broke up with me for the blonde girl standing next to him. Obviously, for whatever reason I still thought it would be an excellent idea to come here because we’re in the same circle of friends. I didn’t think for a second he would bring her.” She spat with a bitter look on her face. 

“And now instead of partying you’re just sitting here all sad?” Charlie asked. 

(Y/N) nodded “As I said, I promised my friend I’d bring her home safely and I wouldn’t be able to if I were drunk. Also I promised before I knew how the night would turn out for me. Believe me whenI say I really regret this choice.”

Charlie frowned. Suddenly an idea came to mind. “What if I told you I have a plan for how this night could turn out good for you?” 

(Y/N) snorted. “How?” 

“Let’s get out of here. I know some really good places. They’re incredible on New Year’s Eve!” He suggested, smiling and his eyes shining brightly. 

“I can’t. I promised Maya...” She started but Charlie interrupted her.

“...That you get her home safely. I know, I know. We’ll be back by midnight. That could be at least 4-5 hours full of adventures!” He emptied his cup with one big sip and stood up. “Come on!” he rose from his spot holding his hand out towards her.

She eyed him suspiciously. “For all I know you could pull me into an alley once we leave this building, stab me and run away while I bleed to death” 

The guy next to her chuckled. “Nah, don’t worry about that. I only do that on the first tuesday of the month. Come on, it’ll be fun!” He looked at her with his best puppy dog eyes, which behind the glasses made him look ridiculous. 

(Y/N) playfully rolled her eyes “Fine! But we have to be back by midnight.” She took his hand and stood up. They wove their way through the crowd before (Y/N) pulled on his arm. “Wait, I should tell my friend that I’m coming back.” She made her way towards her friend, who was rocking her soul out to ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ on the dance floor. (Y/N) slightly touched her shoulder to get her attention 

“(Y/N)!” Her friend screamed her name. “There you are! Let’s party!” 

(Y/N) chuckled “I’m going to leave for a few hours but I promise I’ll be back before midnight.” 

Maya’s eyes went wide when her gaze landed on the guy behind her best friend. “Oh, oh I get it. Of course. Don’t worry about me.” She pushed (Y/N) towards Charlie “Just you know...stay safe, if you know what I mean.” She winked at both of them. 

(Y/N) felt her cheeks heating up. She chuckled slightly and nodded “Alright fine, and you my dear don’t drink too much!”

“You know I’m really bad at keeping promises.” Maya winked at her. 

(Y/N) laughed and nodded as she turned to Charlie. “Shall we?” She asked him. 

Charlie took her hand again and gave it a light squeeze. “Yeah, let’s go!” The cold December air hit them like a bus as soon as they made their way outside. (Y/N) expected them to go to the subway station but instead Charlie pulled her towards a red motorcycle. “Have you ever been on a motorcycle?” He asked her as he fetched a second helmet out from under the seat holding it out for her. 

Hesitantly, she took the helmet from him as she shook her head “No, and you might’ve also had a little too much to drink to still be able to drive.” 

Charlie laughed “Well, honestly I was looking out for one of my friends too, so I wasn’t drinking either.” (Y/N) looked at him suspiciously as he put on the other helmet. He held his hands up in defense. “I swear, you can even smell my breath if-” 

“That won’t be necessary!” (Y/N) exclaimed, which made the guy in front of her chuckle. She eyed the helmet before she put it on. “Is this how it goes on?” She asked him with a brow raised in confusion. 

“Wait, let me help you.” Charlie took a step towards her. Slowly, he pulled her hair away, which had fallen into her sight. “Can’t have your helmet falling off.” 

Her eyes drifted up to meet his, which sparkled brightly in the moonlight. She felt her hands getting a little bit sweaty. It must’ve been because of the thought of riding a motorcycle for the first time and not because of this cute guy in front of her, she tried to tell herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by his soft voice, “Now it’s good.” He smiled at her. “All secure and ready for an adventure. Shall we?” He asked and made an invitational gesture towards his bike.

(Y/N) took a deep breath and nodded. Charlie climbed onto the bike putting up the kick stand before nodding at her to get on behind her. “Hold onto my waist. Tightly. I promise I’ll drive carefully.”

She nodded and nervously put his arms around his torso. She could feel the heat radiating from his body in front of her, it was quite soothing actually. She pressed into him a bit more….for safety, she told herself. Charlie started the engine. “Ready?” 

“As I’ll ever be.” 

He chuckled softly. “Excellent, hold on tight now.” Slowly, the wheels underneath them started to move and brought them away from the party. From stupid ex-boyfriends. From a dull new years eve party. “We’re going on an adventure.”

[errorpeachy]

Killua and #5 eurbeiufb #5 alone made me cackle bc i too get tangled in tinsel- thank you bb :')

It’s nice to see you in my inbox instead of me in yours for once lmao! I gotchu homie joe, lemme hook you up ~🍑💞

Pairing: Killua x gn! reader

Tags: @crispycrimebrulee @kenmakozumeswifey @juiceboxesheadcanons @mxuzu @gloom-imagines @to-move-on-means-to-grow @dukinaxael @chxcolxtemilk @teel-dinosaur

Prompt(s): #5, “How the hell did you get tangled in the tinsel?”

Tw: none!

Christmas was always an enjoyable thing for you. The baking of your favorite cookies and the carols that played outside warmed your heart in a way nothing else could. The past few years, you had spent Christmas with your closest friends, the same ones you met when you had first started out on your journey as a hunter. Usually, the routine was that Killua would be stuck baking with Alluka, Gon would be hanging up house decorations, and you’d be doing the tree. But today, Alluka told her brother that “You need to spend time with Y/N! They’re your significant other, after all!” Before pushing him out of the kitchen.

That’s how you ended up where you were now.

“Killua, don’t tell me you’ve never decorated a Christmas tree before...” you said, watching him struggle to get the lights around the branches. He huffed, looking at you. “Of course I haven’t! My family didn’t celebrate Christmas, and I’ve always baked with Alluka instead of doing this!” He whined, going back to fighting with the tree. You sighed, patting his head before taking the lights from him and explaining how to weave them around the Christmas tree. He had an exasperated look plastered on his face, pine needles stuck in his fluffy white locks as he tried to help you string up the lights. Finally, it was over, and he flopped back on the floor with a sigh. You pulled him up, shaking all the pine out of his hair and laughing.

“We still aren’t done. There’s ornaments and tinsel. Gon likes to put on the star, since he’s the tallest.” You explained. He whined, pulling himself up and reluctantly starting to hang ornaments. He dug around, not realizing his own strength a few times and accidentally smashing a few ornaments in his hand. An hour and a couple bandages later, the two of you finally managed to get all the ornaments on the tree. Smiling to yourself, you popped the lid open to the bin containing the tinsel before pausing as your nose caught the scent of smoke. Killua noticed it too, immediately standing up to go to the kitchen. You waved him aside, pointing to the tinsel. “Put this on the tree like how we did the lights. I’ll go check on Allu.” You said, making him pause to think before nodding and doing as you said.

Walking into the kitchen, you saw your little sister in tears, burnt cookies in front of her. You smiled softly, going over and stroking her hair. “Allu, what happened?” You asked, causing her to look up at you. “The cookies burnt when I was getting out other baking supplies. I usually have Onii-Chan do it for me, but he wasn’t around....” she muttered. You smiled, taking the cookies and tossing them before helping her roll out new balls of batter. “I’ll keep a timer, you relax. ‘Kay, Allu? Sound good?” You asked, patting her head as you stuck the cookies back in the oven. She nodded, hugging you before skipping out of the kitchen. You cleaned up a little before you hear Alluka burst out laughing.

You raised a brow, walking into the living room and snorting. Killua was struggling, the silver tinsel tangled around his arms and legs. He growled, whining for his sister. “It’s not funnyyyy! Get me outta this thing!” He said, continuing to struggle before finally making eye contact with you. Covering your mouth, you stifled your giggles.

“How- how the hell did you get tangled in the tinsel?”

“Just get me out of it!”

He was never going to live this one down.

[something-tofightfor]

Christmas in July #5: Just One Thing I Need

Pairing: Ezra x Female Reader (’Starlight’ / NSFW Alphabet Ezra and Reader)

Word Count: 2,748

Rating: Slight NSFW; It’s kinda smutty. Language. Sexual content. Mentions of canon-typical violence and events that took place during the movie. Ezra’s remaining hand and his mouth deserve warnings of their own. 

I am SO SAD to not include this entire gif within the post, but this screenshot still gets the point across. Thank you for this request, @cannedsoupsucks - I need to get back to Ezra and this Reader at some point VERY SOON because they’ve been waiting patiently ... so here’s a glimpse. Had to include a little bit of angst, becuase it’s so close to when Ezra returned from the Green ... but it’s still decidedly fluffy... and kinda sorta smutty, too. For a minute. 

Lifting his mouth from where it had been previously - the patch of skin just above your hip that drove you wild - Ezra’s voice filled the room. “Do you realize, Starlight, that this is the first Christmas I’ve been on the Ephrate with just you since -” “Since the first year we were together.” You interrupted him, your mumbled words ending with a sharp intake of breath as he lowered his lips again, a damp trail left behind as he moved them. “Ezra, you … I’m not stupid. Kevva, what are you doing?” You knew exactly what the man was doing; he was trying to distract you, to keep you from getting out of bed and leaving him alone in the chilly morning air. “Ezra.” With a quiet laugh, you used both hands to reach for his head, the man’s cheek pressed against your bare stomach, breath fanning out over the dampened, exposed skin. “Come on, look at me.” 

He did, turning over so that he was laying on his back, dark eyes finding yours in the mid-morning light as his head turned to the side again. “I’m looking at you, just as you requested.” He raised an eyebrow and you were happy to see that his cheeks were fuller than they had been only a few months earlier, his eyes bright and warm again. He’s getting there. “Was there something that you wanted to discuss?” “When’s Cee coming back?” You ran your fingers through his hair, head cocked to one side. “I know it was supposed to be before Christmas, but …” But that storm’s headed in, and … “She won’t be here until after, will she?” “She will not.” Ezra only sounded slightly disappointed, sadness briefly flashing in his eyes before he spoke again. “There’s no time to switch her transport, nor are there earlier tickets available to do so. With this snowstorm, it’s safer for her to say at school, with her friends until the second half of her holiday break commences.” That’s what I thought. “She’s going to spend Christmas with Dyna and her family, right?” Ezra nodded, the rasp of his beard against your skin making you shiver. He knows he’s doing that, too. “Good.” Ezra reached out with his hand, fingers closing around your elbow and squeezing. “As much as I love having her here, Ezra … I…” Trailing off, you bit your lip and looked away. I’m being selfish. I … she’s just a kid, and she’s important to him, which means she’s important to me, too. 

“I understand, Starlight.” With only a little difficulty, Ezra lifted himself into a sitting position, his hold on you tightening and your arm helping to stabilize him as he rose. “You can say it.” “It’s been too many holidays apart, Ezra. Too many birthdays and Christmases and Harvests and New Turns. For both of us. I want to celebrate things with her - with both of you, but …” You shrugged. “Right now, for this Christmas? The first one back? I’m happy it’s just the two of us.” “She’ll celebrate with Dyna and Aric and their parents. She’ll get to see real snow for the first time, since they’re out in the flats.” You nodded, eyes still on the man. “You and I will spend the day together, and when we pick her up from the docking station?” He leaned closer, sliding his legs over the sheets and moving up so that he was closer to your face. “We’ll have a second Christmas a few days late, with Cee.” 

“Does that make me a terrible person, though?” Frowning, you reached out, fingertips finding and moving over the silvery scar on his cheek. “She’s just a kid, and it’s Christmas.” He said your name, lowering his face toward yours and pressing a kiss to your lips, the action much gentler than you were used to from him. No, it’s much gentler than it was before. Now … this is normal. 

“Think of it this way.” Rubbing the tip of your nose with his, you felt him smile. “A half turn ago, she was on the Green with Damon. Had those unfortunate circumstances not occurred, she likely wouldn’t be celebrating one Christmas, and if she did? It wouldn’t be anything like either of the ones she’ll have with us.” He brushed your hair away from your face with his large hand, staring into your eyes. “Now? She’ll get two days to spend with those she cares about. Two days of feeling safe and warm and happy, with no expectations placed upon her except that she enjoy them.” 

It still astounded you - the way he’d come to care about the girl so quickly, despite everything that had occurred since they’d met. You knew that he felt guilty about inadvertently causing Damon’s death, but Ezra spent his days trying to make up for that - with himself and with the girl, and she’d long since forgiven him. And he’ll forgive himself, too. Eventually.  “You’re right.” Sighing, you gave him a lopsided smile. “You’re always right, Ezra.” “I am far from always right, Starlight.” He kissed you again, this one more heated than the first, lips insistently pressed to yours. “We both know that.” You reached for him, mindful of the end of his arm, hidden beneath the short sleeve of the dark shirt he wore, and made contact with his side, fingers pressed to his ribs - which weren’t as prominent anymore. “But if you’re being selfish, I must confess that I am selfish, too.” What? “You’re not the only one that counted those missed holidays. With each one that passed, I also marked them into the volume of my life, though it was in very different ways than you.” 

He’d had very little with him when he and Cee finally fled the Green on the stolen rock jumper, but one of the things that he’d managed to conceal safely in his suit along with a modest stash of aurelac was a small journal, pages covered front to back in Ezra’s tiny, neat handwriting. It was one of the first things he’d shown to you when you were reunited, and so you knew what he was referring to. He kept track of the days he’d spent on the desolate moon in there - circling the important ones, making notes about others that held significance in shorthand that only he understood. Because he wanted to remember, even when it was hopeless. “We did what we could, Ezra.” 

You could feel him beginning to withdraw, his thoughts turning back to the extended period of time on the Green, and so you chose not to let him, placing the hand that wasn’t on his side on his cheek to turn his head back toward you. Look at me, Ezra. You’re here. “We did.” He smiled then, warmth returning to his eyes and his expression coming back to life. “The same way we will now, when my feet and heart are firmly back upon the Ephrate’s surface.” Ezra stared at you for a few seconds without speaking, and you waited, knowing that he had more to say. He always does. “Now. We should get dressed and go to get that tree you promised me before the snow hits here.” 

--- 

You had to go to three different locations and it took a few hours, but you and Ezra finally found the perfect tree for your living room, a kind man helping Ezra carry it to your vehicle and the two of them lashing it to the top. You could tell that he was frustrated - before, you and Ezra would have handled it yourself, the man doing most of the knot-tying and heavy lifting, but with only one arm, there were new limitations that he was still getting used to. And, you thought as you both settled into your seats to go home, he’s going to need all of his strength to help me carry it inside. 

That was less of a struggle than you imagined it to be, with Ezra holding onto the trunk end and you using both hands to stabilize the needled top as you carried it up the few steps and through your front door. Once it was securely in the stand - and only leaning slightly to one side, the two of you stood back to admire your work, Ezra using his arm to pull you back and into his chest, fingers wrapped around the front of your shoulder. “It may be hubris on my part, but I … believe that we did well, Starlight.” You laughed at that, the silhouette of the tree in front of the window making you feel giddy. 

“It’s not. It looks damn good, Ezra.” He kissed the side of your head, rocking slightly back and forth. “I’ll dig the lights out later tonight, and then the ornaments tomorrow. We’ll have it done in no time.” He’d never helped you decorate for the holiday before, but in the weeks he’d spent recovering from his injuries on the Green in your house, the two of you had agreed to hold nothing back while moving forward, sharing every experience possible. Christmas is no different. “Plenty of time to wrap the presents and get them under there before Cee gets home.”

His arm tightened around you at that, Ezra pulling you even closer. “In the spirit of Christmas, there’s something else I need to admit to you.” He spoke quietly, murmuring into your ear. “Cee being delayed is … fortuitous.” Is it? How? He urged you to turn and face him, and when you did, you were met with the full strength of Ezra’s gaze, the man unblinking as he watched you. “It gives me the only gift I truly want.” 

“W… what do you want, Ezra?” You felt heat creeping through your body at the way he was staring at you. Though you’d craved it while he was gone, you were still getting used to the intensity of Ezra’s full attention, to the way him watching you as if he could see inside of you still made you feel the same way it had when you’d first met him in your lecture hall. I thought he’d want to spend this holiday with her … with all three of us together, but he … this seems like … he wants something else. 

“You.” He leaned in, lips tracing over your temple and then down, his hand following the same path on the other side of your face. “All I want this Christmas is you, and for the two of us to have a chance to -” You kissed him hard as an interruption, both hands coming up to the sides of his face to keep him from moving, but Ezra wasn’t going anywhere. And he won’t again. “You like hearing that, don’t you?” You could tell that he was smiling as he spoke, but all you could do was nod, both eyes closed as you leaned your forehead against his. I do. “Incredible.” He kissed you again, your lower lip fit perfectly between both of his. “I’ve rendered you speechless, Starlight, with a simple -” “Ezra.” You breathed out his name, relief flooding your body again at the fact that he felt the same as you - that as much as he wanted Cee to have normal holidays, he was just as thankful as you were to have more time together, just the two of you. There was plenty of time to talk - to continue rehashing the years you’d spent apart, the months you’d worried about him, the things that he’d endured during his trip. Now’s not the time. Now isn’t… “Up, Ezra.” Taking a half step back, you moved both hands to the hem of his shirt, taking the fabric between both hands. “Lift your arms up.” 

It had taken the man over a month to show you the extent of his injuries; not only the healing wound on the arm he’d had amputated, but the scarring on his chest, along with the other marks on his body that hadn’t been there the last time you’d seen him. But they’re a part of him now, and he has to… understand that I want to see them. “What are you … we have a tree to…” But you could hear in his voice that he didn’t want you to stop, one arm raised high above his head and the other extended upward as far as it would go to match.

“The tree can wait.” You pulled the long-sleeved shirt off, letting it drop to the floor with a quiet thunk as the knotted sleeve hit. “There’s a snowstorm coming, right? That means we’re gonna be stuck for a while.” He grinned, the expression genuine, and you let your gaze roam over his exposed skin before you met his eyes again. “I just wanted you back too, Ezra.” You nodded once. “And now I’ve got you.” Without warning, you dropped to your knees, looking up at him. “It’s the best gift I could have asked for. So I’m going to make it count. All of it.” 

“Starlight, I…” But he didn’t stop you, even as your hands undid the button on his pants followed by the zipper. More often than not since he’d been back in your life, you’d been the one to initiate intimacy, but you didn’t mind. Not with him. Ezra’s fingers wrapped around your chin, his thumb tracing over your lower lip. Yeah? Silently questioning him with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, you felt the seconds tick by, hearing the quiet but constant tick-tick-tick as the ice pellets began to hit the windows. It starts. “What are you waiting for?” His voice was thick with desire, but he didn’t look away, even as your hand found the slit in the front of his underwear, fingers wrapping around him and tugging his length free. 

From the moment that you wrapped your lips around the tip, you knew that you had him; Ezra’s eyes snapping shut and his mouth flying open, a string of words reaching your ears that you’d never grow tired of hearing him say. There was no need for him to be quiet, and so he wasn’t, the hand dropping from your chin to your shoulder, bracing himself on your body. When you finally pulled back to take a deep breath, you glanced up, noticing that Ezra had fallen silent. “What?” Clearing your throat, you swallowed, slowly stroking him with one hand. “Got real quiet, Ezra. Do you want me to stop?” “No, I want to get back into that Kevva-damned bed with you right now, Starlight.” He rasped the words out, voice thick and slightly hoarse. “Get up.” You loved that you could do that to him, loved hearing the change in his voice, the drop as he told you what he wanted and needed from you. “We’ll finish this there, where I can fulfil my obligation and show you thoroughly just how much I appreciate being alone with you.” 

Pulling your hand away from him, you held both of them up, palms facing out as you rose to your feet, taking a step back. “I’m an obligation to you now, Ezra?” But you were joking and he knew it, even as he bent down to remove his pants one leg at a time after tucking himself back behind the fabric of his underwear, though it did little to hide his excitement from you. It never did. He groaned as he straightened up, standing in front of you wearing only the one article of clothing, lean body on full display. Oh, I missed you, Ezra. “I don’t mean it like that.”  

“I know.” He took a step toward you, forcing you backward, and even though there was no malice in his posture or expression, Ezra stayed silent until you reached the doorway of the bedroom, his eyes landing on the window and causing you to turn away from him to look. “It’s really coming down, isn’t it?” In the minutes that you’d spent on your knees in front of him, the ice had changed to snow, fat flakes swirling outside of the window. “Good.” He stepped behind you, arm snaking around your waist and his palm sliding beneath your shirt and up, settling just beneath the bottom of your bra as he held you close again. “Looks like I’ll have to ensure that you’re well taken care of until it lets up.”

---

Ezra (Prospect) Tag List: (Add yourself HERE)

@the-blind-assassin-12 @jynrumbly @cannedsoupsucks @misguidedandbeguiled @raspberrymama @missminkylove @gracie7209 @iamskyereads @jupiters--moonxx @spideysimpossiblegirl @pretty-brown-eyess @csigeoblue @bport76​ @krissology​ 

[theladyofdeath]

Date Night {Nessian}

31 Days of Halloween: Day 5.

All installments co-written with @snelbz​

Based on a prompt sent in by anon: “Nessian - Nesta loves Halloween like it’s the only holiday she gets so so excited about and Cassian loves her for it - via anon + PUMPKIN CARVING “

It was date night, and Nesta had just decorated her apartment.

She felt no shame as she decorated, felt no shame in the magic that was Halloween. It was her favorite holiday, by far, the only one she had ever really gotten into. Thanksgiving and Christmas were okay. She enjoyed getting together with her family - but only for an hour or so. The more time she spent around her father, the more frustrated she got. The same could be said for Easter.

Although, the mall Easter bunny terrified her as a child.

But Halloween?

It was perfect, amazing, mesmerizing.

She loved the horror stories, loved the thrill of it all. Loved dressing up as something bloody and gorey every year. When she was six, she went as Beetlejuice and scared the shit out of everyone in her kindergarten class.

It was a great year.

It was the year she began loving Halloween.

She was in her bedroom, pulling a cozy cardigan on, when she heard her front door open and then—

A low whistle.

Smirking, she made her way back up towards the living room and found Cassian looking around, his eyes never settling on one thing. “Hi.”

He was still looking around the room, not even pausing to glance at his girlfriend. “Hi.”

It was their first Halloween together, and although Nesta had told Cassian Halloween was her favorite, she didn’t think he really understood before this moment.

“Wow,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “You really do like Halloween.”

“I love it,” she said. “Obviously.”

There were spiderwebs and skulls and creepy candles, already lit, spread across her living room and kitchen. Cassian was currently, and hesitantly, touching one of the webs.

“I like Halloween, too,” Cassian began, nodding absently. “But, I mean….you really like Halloween.”

“Is that a problem?” Nesta crooned.

Cassian turned to her, at last, and grinned. “No, no it’s not. Hi.”

“Hi,” she whispered, and he met her in the middle of the floor with a kiss. “So, where are we going?”

“What?” Cassian asked, his brow raised. “No, no. This was your date night. You planned it all, I’m just tagging along.”

Nesta hesitated. “I did what?”

Cassian laughed, breathlessly. “You said you were gonna plan tonight.”

Nesta blinked. “After how many shots of what?”

Cassian’s grin widened. “Six. Tequila.”

“There’s the problem,” she muttered. “Okay.” A deep breath. “Well...dinner first?”

“I can always start with food,” Cassian crooned. “And after food?”

He asked, knowing full well that she didn’t have an answer.

“Let’s just start with dinner,” Nesta said, rolling her eyes.

She slipped on her shoes, got ready, and then they were out. Nesta racked her brain with a thousand different ideas, and considering it was the night before Halloween, Nesta wanted to do something festive.

After a delicious meal — and probably a few too many glasses of wine — they were walking down the front stairs of the restaurant, hand in hand, when inspiration struck.

“I know what we’re doing,” she announced, and with raised eyebrows, Cassian looked over at her.

“Okay?” He asked.

“We need to run by the supermarket on the way home,” she said, nodding.

He smirked, surely thinking her shopping list was more on the whipped cream and strawberries side, but when she returned to the truck with two massive pumpkins, he laughed. “We’re carving pumpkins?”

She smiled. “We’re carving pumpkins.”

“I’ve never carved a pumpkin,” Cassian admitted.

Nesta froze, just after she shut the bed’s gate. “Sorry, what?”

He chuckled, shrugging. “I’ve never carved a pumpkin.”

“What?” Nesta repeated. “How? Why?”

Cassian cocked his head to the side as he watched her. “My mom hated messes. Carving pumpkins equals messes. Therefore, we didn’t do it.”

“It’s sexy where you use therefore,” Nesta appreciated.

“I know.”

“Well,” Nesta began, climbing into the passenger seat. “I think you’ll like it.”

“Carving pumpkins?” Cassian asked, as he started up his truck.

Nesta nodded, leaning back against the seat as they began down the road, back to her apartment.

“What’s not to like about endless goo and the ungodly smell?” he mumbled.

Nesta nudged him in the ribs and he laughed. The radio played quietly as they drove back to Nesta’s place, and when they made it there, they hauled everything up the stairs, through Nesta’s apartment, and onto her balcony.

“Roll up your sleeves,” Nesta crooned.

Cassian sighed and watched as Nesta expertly used a large knife to cut the top off of both pumpkins and shave the dangling guts directly into the waiting trash can. She slid a pumpkin across to where Cassian sat and handed him a large metal serving spoon.

“What? Are we having a casserole?”

She rolled her eyes. “You want to use your hands?”

“Nope,” he said, nodding and shutting up. “Spoon sounds good.”

He watched as Nesta scooped out the pumpkin guts, shamelessly, and plopped them into the garbage. “Come on, Nazari. Keep up.”

Cassian cleared his throat before digging his spoon into the pumpkin.

He hated it.

He hated the feeling of the guts on his hands, wanted so desperately to cringe from the slimey horror that was coating his fingers. He didn’t, though. Was careful about everything he did, careful not to offend Nesta, who was having the time of her life.

“What are you going to carve?” Nesta asked, focused on her pumpkin.

“Hmmm?” Cassian asked, dropping a spoonful of guts into the garbage.

“Into your pumpkin,” Nesta clarified. “What are you going to carve?”

“A smile?” He said, glancing up at her. It sounded more like a question than a statement.

Nesta scoffed. “A smiley face?”

Cassian’s brows furrowed. “I mean, an angry face?”

“That’s so boring, babe,” she chuckled, pulling the last of the loose goop and seeds and dropping it into the trash can.

“Fine then, Princess Spooky Pants, what are you carving?” He said, lifting the pumpkin up and shaking its remains into the trash can.

Using the wet towel she’d brought out with them, Nesta wiped off her hands and grabbed her phone, showing him an intricate cat with a moon and—

“How do you carve the witch in there without cutting all the way through?” He asked, amazed by the detail in the vegetable carving.

“I’m very skilled,” she crooned, getting to work. “So, what are you going to carve?”

Cassian hesitated. “I don’t know, I’ve suddenly second guessed every thought I’ve ever had about pumpkins.”

Nesta chuckled. “Carve a witch.”

“I can’t carve a witch,” he said.

“Then do a cat,” she suggested.

“I can’t do a cat,” he said.

Nesta looked at him, exasperated. “Then do your best.”

Cassian grinned. “Alright. Fine.”

They worked, Nesta much harder than Cassian, and after about an hour, Cassian was lying back on the balcony, his arms crossed behind his head, staring up at the starlight.

“Okay,” Nesta finally beamed. “I’m ready. It’s done.”

Cassian yawned. “Are you sure?”

She nudged him in the leg with her foot and laughed. “Yes. Care to take a look?”

Cassian pushed himself up on his elbows and took a look at Nesta’s pumpkin. As to be expected, it was an intricate portrait of a cat and the moon and swirls and other lacey-like shit. Cassian stared, amazed at it. Feyre was known as the painter of the family, but maybe the artist-genes had made it to more than one Archeron sister.

“Are you kidding me?” Cassian breathed. “That’s amazing.”

Nesta beamed. “Let me see yours.”

Cassian stilled. “What?”

“Let me see it.”

His pumpkin was behind him, the backside facing them. After seeing Nesta’s, showing her his pumpkin was the last thing that Cassian wanted to do.

“No,” he mumbled.

Nesta rolled her eyes. “Let me see.”

“No.”

“Yes!”

“Fine, but-.”

Nesta reached past him and turned his pumpkin around, only to be greeted by the simplest, ugliest jack-o-lantern.

She pressed her lips tightly together to suppress her grin.

Cassian snorted. “Don’t be rude.”

Nesta gaped. “I’m not being rude. It’s...I love it.”

“Uh, huh,” Cassian said, but he was grinning and Nesta tossed her leg over his abdomen and straddled his waist.

She was still laughing quietly when she promised, “I do love it, it’s perfect.” She leaned down with her palms resting flat against his chest as she kissed him, softly.

“So, what do we do now?” Cassian asked, his breath warm against her lips. “Put candles inside and light them up?”

“Yeah,” Nesta responded, longingly. “But, first, we do this...”

After another kiss, and another, and another, the carvings were long forgotten.

And, for Cassian, so was the mess.

[allfandomxreader]

Home for the Holidays (1)

Pairings: Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

Summary: Everything looks just about the same, minus the few stop signs that were added to the town’s main street or houses that got renovated. It never fails to amaze you how quickly things can change around here, even if you’ve only been gone a few months. Either way, it still feels like home.

Warnings: Language, very minor anxiety mention. It’s a clusterfuck, brace yourselves. 

Words: 2.3k

Part: 1/5? 6? idk yet

A/N: I’ve been thinking about doing this mini series for a few days and I'm absolutely in love. Also thank you so much @harringtown​ for letting me ramble about my ideas. As always, feedback is loved and appreciated :) Not my gif!

Series Masterlist // Stranger Things Masterlist

With a week before Christmas, to say your apartment had any sort of holiday cheer would be an understatement. There’s not a wreath on the door, a lit tree in the corner, or stockings hanging on the wall. You don’t mind this, neither does your roommate, Luke. Buying gaudy ornaments that would just shatter on the hardwood didn’t sound appealing. So, the two of you agreed the home would remain free of decor this season.

Luke sits across from you, delicately tying a bow around the present you asked him to wrap. Between work and finals, you saved preparing for the journey home until the very last second. This resulted in the living room floor being covered paper scraps, mismatched ribbons, and somehow glitter. Turns out, keeping your apartment ridden of Christmas is harder than you thought.

“Jesus, do you think you bought enough?” Luke gestures towards the pile of presents that remain untouched.

“Well, most of them are for Dustin, and I wanted to get The Party something they could all use together,” You try to explain, “They’re all just growing up so fast I don’t know what interests them anymore.” You say with a huff, grabbing another present to begin wrapping.

“And this all has to be done tonight?”

“Unless you want to wake up early tomorrow morning before we leave to do it, yes.” Luke doesn’t say anything after that, seemingly content with staying up late.

Two weeks ago, he let it slip he wasn’t visiting his family over the holidays while your mother was on FaceTime. To her, that was just simply unacceptable and insisted he’d join the Henderson household for break. To this day, you aren’t sure how spending time in Hawkins is more enjoyable than with his family in Colorado, but nevertheless, he agreed.

Of course, it took some convincing from you and your mother. He didn’t want to impose on any of the silly traditions that your friends and family have taken up over years. But your mother had no problem setting out an extra placemat for her Christmas Eve feast. Honestly, having Luke come put your nerves at ease. It’s always a little overwhelming to return to Hawkins.

The two of you don’t talk for nearly an hour, engrossed in perfecting box corners. “Wait,” He says breaking the silence, looking around the floor. You don’t look up, you’re too busy googling how to wrap a mug. “All of these are for the kids–” He points to the still growing pile of presents beside you.

“Teens,” You correct, knowing they’d have your head on a stick for being called anything else.

“Right, teens. These are for your mom,” He gestures towards only a cluster of gifts, “Then these are Robbin, Nancy and her boyfriend…”

“Johnathon,” You fill in the name for him.

“Yes, Johnathon,” He trails off again, still looking at the remaining presents behind you. “What’d you get Steve?”

You look up at him then, the worries of the unwrapped gift lost somewhere in the back of your mind. “It’s back home.” You shrug simply, hoping he’ll drop the subject.

“You haven’t been home since the summer, how is that even possible?”

“If I tell you, you can’t laugh,” You warn. He only raises his pinky as a silent promise. “When we were younger, we made this time capsule thing and said we’d open it once we were in college. When it felt right. I don’t know it… It feels right.”

“Oh,” He sings, “Is this how you’re finally going break the news you’ve been in love with him for the past ten years? Very Hallmark-y.”

“Don’t be a dick about it!” You laugh, throwing an empty tape roll at him.

“I’m not!” He quickly stifles his laughter, trying his best not to smile. “How were you even planning on giving that to him, dig it up yourself?”

“I don’t know, shovel with a bow? We always said we’d do it together.” Luke laughs at this, not even trying to hide it anymore.

“You cannot give him a shovel and a bow!” He practically screeches.

“I thought it was cute and sentimental!” You try your best to sound angry but fail between laughs, “Fuck it, now I’m insecure. He’s getting something else.”

“No, no, it’s really cute. Also, Christmas is literally in a week.”

“We’ll just go get something with Robin, easy.” You say, unlocking your phone to attempt wrapping the mug again.

“Suit yourself. Either way, I think you should tell him. I could even be your wingman.” He says, going back to whatever present that held his attention before.

“Fuck off,” You chuck a wad of discarded wrapping paper towards his head, settling into quiet once more.

The drive to Hawkins took longer than expected. You never realized how often Luke peed even with him living across the hall. By the time you make it past city limits, you’re exhausted.

Everything looks just about the same, minus the few stop signs that were added to the town’s main street or houses that got renovated. It never fails to amaze you how quickly things can change around here, even if you’ve only been gone a few months. Either way, it still feels like home.

Unlike main street, your house looks exactly the same as you pull into the driveway, under all the Christmas lights that is. They don’t look the best, you aren’t sure how your mother tricked Dustin and the others to hang them, but it was a good effort.

You don’t need to be inside to know the obnoxious wallpaper hasn’t been removed and the green paint is still chipped. No matter how many times you’ve told your mother the house is screaming for a makeover, a part of you has missed the outdated abode. Not that you’d ever say it out loud.  

Your mother screeches as she opens the door, sprinting down the steps before you can even get out of your car. “Dustin! Y/N’s home!” She calls, pulling you into a tight hug.

“Hi, Mom.” You manage to say. “Hey, nerd!” You call towards your brother standing on the porch, refusing to step into the cold air. Even from here you can tell his hair is a little longer and he stands a little taller since the last time you saw him.

“You must be Luke,” Your mother exclaims, throwing her arms around him as well. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person.”

“You too, Ms. Henderson.”

“Oh, please, call me Claudia.” She waves her hands in dismissal. “Dustin, come help grab some bags!” With a groan and a single eyeroll, he obeys. You ruffle his hair as he passes you.

The four of you take separate trips unloading bags until finally it’s just the presents left. Dustin’s retreated back into his usual spot in the living room and your mother puts finishing touches on dinner. You and Luke, however, are bent over the trunk, trying your best to organize the boxes into piles.

Somewhere behind you, a car door opens and closes. You don’t pay much attention, too focused on separating Dustin’s gifts from everyone else’s.

“Well, well, well, look who it is,” You don’t need to turn around to know the voice belongs to Steve. By the time you turn around to face him, you’re already grinning.

“Steve!” You squeal, running into his open arms. You breathe him in for as long as time allows, his scent almost foreign from months spent apart. When he holds you, as cliché and Hallmark-y as it sounds, it feels right. “I thought you weren’t getting in until tomorrow.” You say, reluctantly pulling away from this warmth.

“I finished finals early, thought I’d stop by to see if you were home yet.” He shrugs, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Wow, Steve on top of his shit? Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”

“Maybe the thought of seeing you made me want to finish early,” He says coolly. You roll your eyes out of habit, despite the butterflies erupting within your stomach.

“Keep it in your pants, Harrington.” You’re about to ask him a list of questions, how’d your finals go? Did you pass sociology? How’d your economics professor like your project? You wanted to know everything, to tell him how much you’ve missed him and talking on FaceTime doesn’t do it justice.

But the conversation was cut short at the arrival of a stranger beside him. She had long, black hair, rosy cheeks from the cold, and an award-winning smile. She was absolutely stunning.

“Oh shit, sorry,” Steve laughs, throwing an arm over her shoulders. “Y/N, this is my girlfriend, Margot.”

And there it was.

For a moment you swear the world stopped turning. A range of emotions wash over you, jealousy, anger, sadness. You can’t tell which one you feel the most. The butterflies you felt moments ago slowly died, you’re afraid if you say a word, you’ll cough wings onto the pavement.

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Steve never shuts up about you.” She giggles, cuddling closer into his side to shield herself from the cold.

The irony, Steve never mentioned you once.

“Wow, hi!” You sound overly cheerful once you break from your trance. “Luke?” You choke, desperate to find a way out of the conversation. It feels like an eternity as he makes his way towards you. “This is my boyfriend, Luke.” He freezes for a moment, cocking his head slightly to the side, something he always does when he’s stunned. you don’t think the couple notices “Luke, this is Steve and his girlfriend, Margot.”

“I thought you were just roommates,” Steve looks between the two of you, quizzingly.

“We didn’t know how to tell everyone, especially our parents.” Luke says, snaking his arm around your waist.

“Yeah,” You cough, “We didn’t want the judgement of moving in together so quickly, you know how Claudia is.” You force a chuckle, leaning into Luke’s side more. Steve only laughs, nodding in agreement, seemingly buying the story. There’s an awkward silence that follows.

“Well, we’ll let you get situated and spend time with your mom and brother. He misses you a lot, but you didn’t hear that from me.” Steve says finally, smiling down at the girl wrapped around him. “Good meeting you, Luke. We’ll see you both tomorrow?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” You stretch your lips into what hopefully looks like a smile towards the two of them. Margot offers a shy wave before they turn to leave.

The two of you walk quickly inside, neither of you speaking. You tell your mother the two of you need to freshen up before dinner, an excuse to get her off your back for more than five minutes. You beeline towards your bedroom, Luke following closely behind.

“What the fuck was that?” He whispers, once safely inside your bedroom.

“I don’t know, okay? I panicked. I was completely ambushed with his girlfriend. Since when does Steve have a girlfriend? And why didn’t he tell me?” You say, your pacing is muffled by the carpeted floor. “This is fine, right? Yeah, this is totally fine. We can pretend we’re dating for a while. And when we get back home, we can just say we’re better off as friends. No harm done –and nobody has to know.”

“I’m sorry, you do know that I’m gay, right?” This made you freeze. You had assumptions, he never outright told you, you never asked.

“Yes? No? Maybe? I don’t know –I mean I thought so but you never told me!” You scramble for an answer to his question.

“I thought you knew, I figured you heard my Grindr notifications!” He whispers, flailing his arms as he speaks.

“That’s what that sound is?” You start pacing again, mind reeling with ways to get you out of the mess you created. “I could just say I meant to say roommate instead of boyfriend, yeah?” You nod, as if that was the solution to your problem. “Fuck, no, we can’t even do that –you went along with it!” You tug at your hair in frustration, “What are we going to do?” You sigh, running your hands over your face. Despite it being freezing outside, your face is hot to the touch. “You know what, I’ll just tell the truth. I’ll say I panicked and you were just being a good friend.” You say with a sigh.

“No, don’t do that you’ll look desperate and make us both look stupid.” The two of you stare at each other for a moment. You feel as though you could burst into tears, from embarrassment or anxiety, you can’t be sure. “Hey, hey, hey. It’s okay,” His voice is calmer now, it’s the one he uses when you’ve had a bad day at work or when you got stood up on a date. Just the sound almost makes you sick. “I pretended to be straight all of high school, I’m pretty sure I can do it again.”

“Did everyone believe you?” He opens his mouth as if he’s going to agree but quickly shuts it once more. “Oh my god, we’re screwed.”

“Hey, I was in theater, how hard can this be?” You let out a laugh, a sad one, but a laugh nevertheless.

“And on the bright side, we’ll never fall in love with each other like they do in the movies.” You try your best to find light in this newfound situation, mainly for yourself.

“Even if I were straight, you’d be the last person I’d want to date. You’re a nightmare to live with.” Luke admits dryly.

“Okay, ouch.” You grumble, taking a seat on the edge of your bed.

Happy Holidays, everyone. You think to yourself as you fall back onto your childhood sheets. But by now you should know, Christmas never goes as planned in Hawkins.

Forevertags: @superfrankie111​ // @rueinn // @lemonadeorange73​ // @simplechicwithacrazedheart​ // @youshutthefuckupville​ // @captainpeggy40 // @alexdamereysmith // @llatpdnmm​ // @dummiesshort​ // @quaksonhehe​

Steve Tags: @empathetic-vibrations // @loulouloueh​

[everybodyscupoftea]

under the mistletoe

ole miss rafe x reader

the beginning of your relationship with some misunderstandings along the way (ft. the first kiss)

yes i will continue to use the same gif of this man :)

(warnings: cursing, drinking, light editing)

Rafe texted you for the first time about a date the weekend after the Egg Bowl. You weren’t overly enthused at the prospect, he’d been a huge dick, but you couldn’t help but be intrigued by him.

Dinner and a movie.

It wasn’t even a question. It was a demand, like he knew you’d say yes so there was no point in actually asking. To be fair you did plan on saying yes, but he didn’t need to know that. So, after 30 minutes, you had to make him sweat it out, you responded.

First of all, you should ask. Demanding is not the way to get a date. Second of all, if you think I’m voluntarily stepping foot in Oxford for a boy, you’re sorely mistaken.

Rafe responded almost immediately which made you feel a bit vindicated.

You’re right. I’m sorry. Meet in Jackson?

Which you could absolutely do. The two of you made plans for the following weekend to meet at the Cultivation Food Hall, and then you wanted to check out a science museum they had there. It was the inner vet major in you. And shockingly, Rafe agreed without much of a fight.

Of course it was almost too much to ask. What more could you expect from an Oxford frat douche bag, really there was no one to blame but yourself. The science museum was maybe a little bit childish, but you thoroughly enjoyed it while Rafe made it very clear he was bored.

You weren’t entirely sure what his major was, but clearly it wasn’t very sciency. There were easy hikes which cheered him up a bit, so you were glad for that, but when the two of you got in your cars to go your separate ways, you expected that to be the end.

It wasn’t, and he texted you again.

Did you make it back okay?

And when you didn’t answer, ready to leave him on read despite the warm feeling in your chest, he texted again.

I hope you had fun, I did. Can I see you again?

You walked over to your roommate’s room and dropped onto her bed with a loud, dramatic groan. She looked up from her desk where she was reading for one of her classes with an amused look, “Something wrong?”

“Rafe texted me,” you told her. She’d heard all about the date, you called her on the drive home so she had Thai takeout waiting for you when you got there, so she understood for the most part.

“And? Leave him on read if he made you that miserable today that you had to eat your weight in Thai food.” 

“But, part of me wants to text him back. Like a big part of me. I don’t- explain to me.” 

She snorted, “You’ve always liked toxic men.” 

Your jaw dropped, but you couldn’t really argue with her there. There was nothing but the truth in her words, “Um, you didn’t have to come for me like that.”

“You needed honesty. I know you’re going to text him back, so what do you plan on saying?” 

“What should I say?”

“I don’t know. I barely met him. Have your texts been super flirty?”

“Not really.”

“Do you want them to be?”

And that you had to think about. Did you really want to pursue things with this guy when you were both about to graduate in a semester. 

“Maybe, I don’t know. I mean it might not go anywhere or get, like, super serious.”

She made a face, “But is that the guy you really want to pass the time with? Like you could definitely meet a nice boy here.” 

You scoffed, “I’ve been here for three and a half years and haven’t managed that. May as well go for a hotty toddy.” 

She sighed and gave you an amused look, “I’m a little embarrassed for you. This should be against everything you stand for.”

“It is,” you told her, slightly ashamed, “but he’s also cute.” 

“Like I said, toxic men as long as they come in a pretty package.”

So, after a few hours you texted him back.

Yeah I made it, thanks. I’d like that. Maybe we can catch that movie. But no way in hell I’m going to Oxford.

His response was a little delayed, which you didn’t expect one back that night anyway, you sent it late. But just as you were almost asleep, your phone buzzed.

Fair enough. But don’t expect me to show up in Starkville anyway

-

Some people in your major were throwing a Christmas party a week before Christmas, and you really were debating going. Most of them had significant others and you knew it would be pretty painful being one of the only singles drinking alone.

“So bring Rafe,” your roommate suggested when you were yet again laying on her bed to complain.

You sat up fast, head spinning a bit, “I can’t just ask him. We haven’t even been seeing each other that long. Like he hasn’t even kissed me or anything. No relationship definition at all.” 

She joined you on the bed and wrapped an arm around your shoulder, “Okay, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but you actually really like this guy, right?” 

“Yeah,” you sighed, “I’m such a hypocrite, but I really do.”

“Then ask him. You said the dates were getting better with each one. You’ve seen him every weekend for a month and some weeknights since you don’t have Friday classes.” 

“What if he says no,” you whispered, “I think that’s why I’m most worried. It’ll really really hurt if he says no.”

She bit her lip, thinking, “Okay, if he asked you to be his date at some event in Oxford, would you go?”

You answered without hesitation, “I would.” 

“Then ask. If he says no, I’ll go as your date and we’ll drink and have fun. But all you can assume is that he likes you as much as you like him, and he’ll say yes.” 

“You’re right,” you admitted, standing from her bed, resolved, “I’m going to ask him.” 

Hey Cameron, got a minute?

He answered quickly.

Sure, what’s up?

So you called him, and he answered on the second ring. Deep down you were very pleased about that.

“Hey,” he answered, “something wrong?”

“Not really, I just had a question for you.” 

In hindsight, maybe you should’ve done it over text so if he did reject you, it wouldn’t be where he could actually hear your response. But the reasoning you called is so that if you got a no it wouldn’t be in a text where you could reread and over analyze that night.

“Fire away,” he cut off your spiral.

You sighed, “Okay so a few people in my major that I’ve done group projects with before are throwing a Christmas party. We all get plus ones, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me.”

He hummed, “What’s the date?”

“Um, I think December 18th. If you’re going home before then, that’s totally fine. I just wanted to ask.”

“You’re willing to bring a hotty toddy to a bulldog Christmas party,” he teased, “I’m honored.”

You snorted, “Unfortunately, I am. If you want to at least, please don’t feel pressured.”

“I don’t. And I’m not going home for Christmas. I haven’t since freshman year. The reason I asked was because some of the guys in my pledge class are having a get together of our own. We did Secret Santa and it’s on the 21st so I didn’t want to miss it.”

“Oh,” you paused, “so you’ll come with me?”

“Of course,” his voice was soft, “you sound surprised.”

Your cheeks heated up, “I mean, I was kind of expecting you to say no.”

Rafe went silent, you could almost hear the gears in his head spinning as he tried to come up with a response. You were about to ask if he was okay before he responded, “You know that I like spending time with you, right?”

You tried to play your anxiety off, “I mean, I’d hope so the amount of weekends we’ve spent together so far.” 

“Good. So then why do you think I’d say no?” 

“I don’t know,” you chewed on your lip, “I guess we just haven’t really talked about what this is and I wasn’t sure where you are or how you feel.”

He hummed, “Okay, I understand. I’m sorry for not communicating better.” 

“It’s okay, I should’ve done better too.”

“Well, now that we’re on the same page. Tell me exactly when the party is and I’ll be there.” 

You hesitated, “Do you want to come the night before and stay?”

His voice was warm, when he answered, “Absolutely.”

-

“Thank god,” your roommate had said when you told her, “now I can go home early.”

Her partner was from her hometown, and they didn’t get to see each other often. She’d come to visit a few times since you and your roommate had lived together, so you had at least met her before.

“Tell her I said hey. Do you need a ride to the airport?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“I need to pick up dessert for the party anyway, so I’ll drive you to Jackson and go to Target there.”

The two of you woke up at 3 a.m. to get her to the airport by 5:30. She talked a little about her Christmas plans and then the two of you rode mostly in silence. It was kind of calming, despite being super tired.

Before she got out of the car, your roommate pulled something out of her backpack and held it out to you. You took it, frown on your face, “Is this mistletoe?” 

“It is. You said Rafe hadn’t kissed you yet, put this to use.”

You shook your head, huffing out a laugh, “I don’t know about that one.”

“He’ll be at the apartment all weekend, just hang it up in the kitchen or like in the hallway leading to your room.”

“It seems cheesy.”

“It is, but that’s what makes it fun,” she insisted.

Taking the mistletoe, you set it in the cupholder, “Fine. I’ll think about it.” 

She nodded, pleased enough, “Thank you.”

-

You didn’t hang the mistletoe up, but to be fair you got totally distracted by stress cleaning and baking the desserts for the party you decided to make from scratch instead of buying store bought.

Rafe wasn’t supposed to show up until that night, but there was a knock at your apartment door at 2:30, startling you. He was smiling sheepishly on the other side, “I know I’m early, but I didn’t see any point in waiting longer.”

Grinning, you stepped aside to let him in. He looked around, taking in the decorations you and your roommate set up the day after Thanksgiving. You pointed toward the hallway your room was down, “If you want to set your stuff down, my room is at the end of that hall.” 

“Thanks,” he answered, bending down to kiss you on the cheeks, something he’d been doing since date three.

Walking back to the kitchen you immediately picked the stress baking back up where you’d left it to answer the door. Rafe was gone for a while, using the bathroom you assumed, and when he came back, he was changed, and you couldn’t help but stare.

“What?” he asked, a weird look on his face.

“Nothing, I’ve just never seen you out of like jeans or slacks.” 

He glanced down at himself, sweatshirt with his frat letters on them and grey sweatpants, before looking up at you, “I figured since we were staying in I could get comfy.” 

“Yeah definitely,” you reassured, “I like it, just was surprised, that’s all.”

“You like it, huh?” he teased and stepped fully into the kitchen, wrapping one arm around your shoulders, “That’s noted.”

-

Rafe did dress back up for the party, which you were expecting. Jeans and a nice sweater. You smiled at him and tugged gently at the sweater, “This is cute.”

“Bought it just for the party. It’s even maroon, see?” 

“I do see. Didn’t know if it was a coincidence or not.”

“Nope, fully intentional.” 

It felt like a good time to kiss him, mistletoe or not, but before you got up the courage, he was stepping away to grab one of the desserts off the counter. You sighed internally and grabbed the other with the hand not holding your keys.

“Alright, I’m parked in the back lot, opposite direction of visitor parking.”

“Cool, after you.”

Sitting in the car, you plugged your phone into the aux. Rafe buckled up and got comfy in the passenger’s seat. You smiled at him, it felt natural for him to be invading your space the way he was. But he was giving you a bit of a complex with the whole not interested in kissing thing.

He glanced down at the cupholder and did a double take. You cursed yourself for forgetting to take the mistletoe out of your car when he asked, “Is that mistletoe.”

“Um, yep.”

“Why do you have it?”

“I meant to give it to my roommate when she flew out, but it was so early it totally slipped my mind,” you lied smoothly.

Rafe nodded, totally believing it, and you sighed. Maybe you should bring it in, hang it up when he’s in the shower or something. But deep down you knew you wouldn’t. You didn’t want Rafe to kiss you out of obligation for some stupid tradition. You wanted him to mean it.

The drive went by quickly, the boy hosting lived at an apartment complex just up the road, and you found parking easily, recognizing a few cars in the visitors' spaces meaning you weren’t the first ones to show up. 

Rafe got out and took in all the MSU merch hanging from balconies and on cars with a grimace, “Y’all have almost too much spirit.”

“We aren’t snobby enough to think it’s tacky and above us,” you responded, taking a clear shot at Ole Miss.

“Fair enough. It’s just a lot of talk for a school who’s so bad at sports.” 

Your jaw dropped, “I know an Ole Miss football fan isn’t speaking right now. Are you aboard the Lane Train?” you asked, mockingly.

Rafe rolled his eyes and shook his head, reaching down to ruffle your hair playfully, “With that record? Absolutely not.”

“And not because  he’s a piece of shit?”

“Well, that too.”

He grabbed both containers in one hand and your hand in the other, lacing your fingers together as you led the two of you to the right building. His palms were sweating a little, and you squeezed gently, “All good?”

“A bit nervous, just don’t want to look stupid in front of your friends.”

“Why would you,” you were confused, unsure how he’d reached that conclusion.

“I mean, you’re all like STEM majors, right?”

“Yeah?”

“And I am not.”

There was so much to unpack there, so you tried to go for a joke, “I mean we aren’t going to just talk about like anatomy and biology all night, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

He snorted, “Maybe a little. I just feel out of my depth.”

“I promise, it’s going to be okay. You’re really smart too, just in a different way. But we aren’t really here to show off our intelligence. It’s more to drink and eat and bitch about our professors.”

“See, that’s super specific,” he complained.

“Well, yeah, I guess. But most of us are dating out of our majors, just hop on the bandwagon like they do and you’ll win ‘em over in no time.”

By the time you’d finished reassuring him, the two of you had arrived at his door. You squeezed one last time and he smiled, seeming more at ease. Reaching up to knock, it swung open before you could, a guy named Justin grinning widely, “Welcome welcome to the annual Bitchmas Party.”

Rafe snorted and let you step in first. Justin set his drink down on the table by the door and held his hands out, I’ll take your coats and your keys please.”

Handing them over, he escorted you through the entranceway to the living room, stopping you right as the tile changed to carpet. You squinted at him, “What?”

Wordlessly, he pointed up and you saw mistletoe, your blood running cold. Rafe made a noise and bent down to kiss your cheek, close to the corner of your mouth but not quite.

“Boo,” Justin jeered, “but close enough, come on through.”

Your stomach sank. Again. And Rafe leaned down, “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. I mean, you could’ve kissed me.” Your words came out a lot sharper than you intended, but before Rafe could question you, Ashton was stepping in to ask the two of you about drinks. Rafe asked for a soda and you got spiked eggnog. May as well to sort through the mess of feelings in your stomach.

Someone spread out the food and everyone lined up to get plates before settling in the assortment of chairs all over the room. You sat on the couch and Rafe sat on the floor, leaned back next to your legs. Justin gave him a weird look and offered a chair, but Rafe declined, saying he was fine.

At some point, he wrapped an arm around your closest leg and leaned his head on your thigh, nodding along to the conversation. You brushed your hand through his hair that you’d convinced him to leave ungelled, and complained about your animal sciences professor who’d made the tests way harder than necessary and not offered bonus opportunities.

Rafe actually interrupted, “Okay wait, she put questions on information not taught in class and not readily available in your textbook?”

“Correct.”

“So how were you supposed to know you were going to be tested on it.”

“You weren’t,” Justin answered him, drily, “That was her whole point. Be prepared for anything.”

“She should’ve just given us papers on those topics.”

“Agreed,” a girl named Emily chipped in, “I would’ve so much preferred that than literally guessing on a test.”

Rafe made a face, “I mean, for my history courses we were expected to do the readings and then like additional research, but she told us the topics beforehand so we’d know what to research.”

Ashton’s girlfriend leaned forward at his words, “You’re a history major?”

“Yeah,” Rafe answered, his grip on your leg tightening.

“Me too,” she looked excited, “what do you want to do?”

He leaned forward eagerly, “I want to teach, European if possible. I haven’t decided if I want to do like Advanced Placement courses in high school or just go get a masters and be a professor. What do you want to do?”

“I want to do research so I’ll definitely be going after a PhD. But I figure at least that way, I’ll be doing something while Ash is in vet school.”

Rafe looked around, “Is everyone here going to vet school?”

Mostly everyone in your group was, so they all nodded, including you. Justin spoke up, “Buncha nerds in this bunch. We all grouped together pretty much since day one since we all had the same plans. We’ve lost a few along the way.”

“Rest in peace Jasmine and Brady,” you added, solemnly.

“Do you all want to stay here?” Rafe asked, clearly curious about everyone’s plans.

A few people around the group nodded, but some shook their heads. Rafe hummed, taking in the information before looking over his shoulder at you. You nodded, “Yeah, I like MSU’s vet school, I want to stay.”

He nodded thoughtfully, “Good to know.”

Justin gave you a weird look and you shrugged, just as confused.

-

Four cups of eggnog later, the party was winding down, and you were happily tipsy. Rafe, still sober, had an arm around your waist to keep you steady. He led you toward the door, passing under the mistletoe again without stopping and you sighed.

Glancing down at you, he made a face, “Clearly something is on your mind.”

“Clearly,” you muttered back sarcastically. He opened the passenger door for you to climb in and you asked, “You know how to get back?”

“It’s just up the road, I don’t think it’s that hard.”

You rolled your eyes, “Just a question, no need to get so offended.”

The ride back was in uncomfortable silence, so unlike the drive there that you were squirming in the passenger seat. Rafe glanced over at a red light, “Are you about to puke?”

Offended, you answered, “No, I can handle my fucking alcohol.”

“Okay,” he muttered, “no need to get defensive.”

You hated how weird it felt between the two of you, but you weren’t sure how to fix it. Unless he just magically decided you were kissable, but you didn’t foresee that happening in the near future, so instead, you pouted.

Rafe parked and turned the car off but stayed seated, so you did too, feeling uneasy. He looked over at you, “What’s up. Why have you been so weird tonight?”

“I haven’t.”

“You have. And I think it actually started yesterday when I got here. Is it just me being in your space? Like am I invading it or something? I can go home tonight if I need to.”

Maybe you weren’t in the ideal state to have this conversation, but you also figured this was probably the state you were most likely to let the honest truth slip.

“No. The problem is you aren’t taking up enough space.”

Which in hindsight didn’t make much sense, you couldn’t blame him for the confused, “What does that mean?”

“It means that you won’t kiss me and I’m not sure why.”

“I-” and for once, for once in your whole goddamn relationship (or whatever you were calling it) Rafe was speechless, “I thought you didn’t want me to.”

Then it was your turn to be shocked, “What? When did I say that?”

“On our first date, you talked about only kissing when it got serious.”

“Yes.”

“And when I brought up the Christmas party in Oxford, you didn’t ask about a plus one. Hell, you still won’t come to Oxford at all.”

“How was I supposed to know I’m supposed to invite myself to a Christmas party with the boys? And sure, I was opposed to Oxford at first, but I think we’ve been seeing each other long enough for me to actually make that trip,” you answered incredulously, startled at all the assumptions he’d jumped to.

He squinted, “You never said.”

“You never said,” you fired back, “I invited you to a party with my friends, I thought that would be hint enough that I think this is serious.”

“I need it outright said,” he mumbled.

“Clearly.”

“Hey,” he protested, “it’s not just me. In fact, you never brought it up either.”

“Okay, Cameron, to be fair, you never brought up anything about that party other than that it was Secret Santa for some guys in your pledge class. Not only do I not want to be the only girl there, I especially don’t want to be an MSU girl there with a bunch of drunk Ole Miss frat boys.” 

Rafe snorted, “Fair, that’s totally fair. So, I guess I should ask, do you want to come? There will be girlfriends and boyfriends. Secret Santa is just a small part.”

“Sure, I need to come see your apartment anyway, I should know what I’m getting into.”

He laughed loudly, “I’m not sure if I’m okay with that.”

You poked him teasingly, “Hey, you can’t take it back now, buddy.”

“I’d never.”

And with that, he got out of the car. You felt significantly better as he jogged around to grab the door for you. His arm went around your shoulders immediately, and you weren’t sure if it was an attempt to keep you standing straight or not.

“I’m not that drunk,” you told him.

He raised his eyebrows, “Okay four cups. I could smell the booze in that eggnog, it was strong.”

“Well you hurt my feelings, what else was I supposed to do besides drink?”

Rafe snorted, “Talk to me.”

“In front of everyone? At a party?”

“Bathroom.”

“So Justin could think we were hooking up in his bathroom.”

He squinted at you a few seconds, “Okay so it wasn’t the most conducive situation for a serious talk.” 

“Mhmm.” 

The two of you climbed the stairs to your third floor apartment. Rafe behind you so you wouldn’t fall and hurt yourself. He was a little offended when you muttered that you’d just take him down with you, “I could definitely catch you.” 

“Okay buddy,” you patted his shoulder. 

He made you drink four glasses of water in the kitchen and by the time the two of you were walking to the bathroom to get ready for bed, you were significantly sobered up. You tried to get to the sink first and Rafe playfully hip checked you out of the way to get his toothbrush.

“Nooo,” you complained, “my skincare routine is so much longer than yours, you can wait.”

“Guests first,” he argued, successfully keeping you away from the sink.

You gave up pushing against him to pout, “At least pass me my makeup remover.”

“Fine,” he grabbed the bottle from the sink and passed it over, “I guess you can at least start.” 

“Oh thanks for your permission,” you responded sarcastically.

The next five minutes of him washing his face and getting ready, you kept trying to nudge him out of the way, but he wasn’t budging. Finally, you dug your fingers into his side and he yelped, twisting away enough for you to get some space in front of the mirror.

Your eyes lit up, “Are you ticklish?”

“No,” he denied, just a little too fast.

“Liar.”

You reached out to him again and he grabbed your hand pulling you into his chest. So caught off guard, you didn’t register him tilting your chin up or lowering his head to kiss you. And then his lips were on yours for the first time, and you made a noise, leaning into it.

He smiled and you could feel his heart racing where your hand was pressed against his chest. In the proximity, you couldn’t help but dig your fingers into his side again. He jerked away, joking glare on his face, “Watch it, mamas. I’ll make you pay for it.”

“Promise?” you teased, finally catching him off guard enough to get mirror space.

Rafe stepped over to sit on the closed toilet lid to wait his turn again and laughed. You turned to look at him, mid-washing your face, and gave him a questioning look.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the squashed mistletoe, “Guess I don’t need this.”

“You were going to use the mistletoe to kiss me?”

“I figured if your roommate wasn’t going to use it, we could.”

“Oh I lied,” you admitted, turning back to rinse your face.

“What?” he asked while you were drying.

You nodded, “She gave it to me to get you to kiss me.”

“Oh,” he perked up, “well I guess it kinda worked. Make sure to thank her for me.”

“No, absolutely not,” you insisted, “she does not need that ego boost.”

He laughed, holding his hands up, “Fine, we’ll do it your way.”

“As we should always.”

He laughed again and hip checked you over toward the wall so he could get back closer to the sink. You couldn’t help but think to yourself that you could get used to this.

~

day 3 of @obxmermaid​‘s holiday challenge: mistletoe