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rookthorne · 2 years ago

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CHRISTMAS SHOPPING IS MY FAVOURITE

Is she just going to pretend that last night didn’t happen?

nope. nope, we’re not beginning a rift here. nope.

You hopped off the counter. “Not we; I’ve got to go Christmas shopping for you.”

I have a weird feeling about this and I DON’ WIKE IT

He sat at the table and turned the tv on for noise��his thoughts were too loud in the silence. You had made it clear that you weren't ready to be completely open with him, but he needed to do something. You were drinking—in secret, you weren't sleeping, you were anxious and secretive.

I hate that his doubts are creeping up on him 😭

He stared at the Christmas tree, his one gift sitting under it, and got an idea.

Christmas shopping it is.

OH NOOOOO

I can predict it, he runs into her and the tracksuits are involved and it’s CHAOS

The wall of purses in every shape, size, and color had Bucky utterly overwhelmed.

fucking same, Bucky.

“Yelena, you told me to get her a vest with pockets—I’m sorry if I want a second opinion.”

Bucky ended the phone call. “Sorry about that,” he awkwardly gave Nicki a side hug when she went in for a real one.

FUCKING WHAT?!

OH NO

Bucky turned around. His eyes swept the store. “Did you hear that?”

You dived into a clothes rack and tried to catch your breath. Things were not going as planned—you had not planned on running through Macy’s trying to hide from the Tracksuit Mafia. Ivan was supposed to be alone—an easy target. But when you separated him from the crowd, a knife pressed to his back, you were blindsided by the rest of his gang. You had barely been able to escape—running into Macy’s to evade them.

FUCKING SHIT! NO! Please don’t BUCKY IS WITH NICKI

Clint bent over and retrieved the trick arrow off the ground.

CLINT!!!!!!!

You started to turn around but did a double-take when you heard a familiar voice from down below.

Was that–?

OH NO

You scrambled to your feet, ducking behind one of the perfume counters. “Excuse me, sorry!” You pushed the employees out of the way as you ran, throwing expensive glass bottles at the assailants behind you.

one way to throw them off your… scent.

SORRY I’LL SEE MYSELF OUT

He looked over the bright yellow, floral handbag one more time before reluctantly handing over his debit card.

“Trust me, she’s gonna love it.”

I have a feeling she will not.

You skidded to a stop in front of a shiny black motorcycle, the keys and helmet sitting on the seat as if left there just for you.

👀👀👀

You hung up and pulled your compact out of your purse–your face was a mess. You’d have to explain the cut on your cheek, and as you relaxed into the seat and felt how sore you were, you knew there would be bruises to explain.

I don’t like this one bit.

Bucky took a deep breath, he looked like he wanted to say something, but he swallowed it and led you into the bathroom.

…

That’s why he bought the excuse so quickly. He thinks I’m a drunk.

🥺

“Did you think I hadn’t noticed? Your hands shaking? The smell of alcohol on your breath? Did you even go Christmas shopping, or were you out drinking?”

don’t fight 🥺

You shoved the bag into his hands. “Leave.”

NO! DON’T YOU DARE!

Bucky shut down completely, stalking past you and slamming the door without saying anything else.

BUCKY NO! 😭

“You could hang out here until she cools down–if you want.”

GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE YOU BUZZARD BITCH!

Bucky relaxed, happy that you weren't mad at him anymore. Maybe you didn’t have a problem–perhaps he was just being too overprotective. He trusted you to make smart decisions–he just needed to leave it alone.

I wanna slap her. I really do.

Your Eyes Outshine The Town...Chapter 5

Bucky Barnes x Black Female Reader

18+ ONLY

Summary: After a rough night, you and Bucky spend some time a part Christmas shopping for each other. You can Christmas shop while tracking down the Tracksuit Mafia, right?

Warnings: Reader's alcohol problem, drug mention (Xanax), angst, sitcom level ridiculousness. Note: Sam and Yelena are friends in this series, and right now Yelena is living with Sam and Sarah. Bucky and Reader are also friends with Yelena. Reader was best friends with Natasha before she died.

*Tumblr is not letting me add links to the prev or next chapters. Please see the masterlist pinned to my page for the rest of the story!*

12 Days Before Christmas

“Guess what!” You bounded into the kitchen and wrapped your arms around Bucky’s waist.

Bucky was taken aback by your chipper voice.

Is she just going to pretend that last night didn’t happen?

When you kissed his cheek, he smelt it—your breath was minty with a faint twinge of alcohol underneath.

He watched as you moved to the fridge for a water bottle and then placed yourself on the counter next to him.

“Hello? I said, guess what.”

“Sorry, uh, what’s up?” Bucky turned off the oven and pulled a tray of bacon out.

“I just got off the phone with Sam. Both of you have been invited to the opening night of Rogers.”

Bucky frowned at you. “And?”

You rolled your eyes. “All of you remaining Avengers are invited as special guests. Don’t you want to go?”

“Hard pass,” Bucky laughed as he put bread in the toaster. “Do you want a breakfast sandwich?”

You were already picking a piece of hot bacon off the tray. “No,” you said with your mouth full. “I’ll probably pick up a smoothie when I’m out.”

“Out? Where are we going?”

Bucky piled his toast with the whole pan of eggs and six slices of bacon.

You hopped off the counter. “Not we; I’ve got to go Christmas shopping for you.”

“I’ll close my eyes, promise.”

You smiled at him as you put your shoes on. “Bucky, to be honest, I just need some alone time too. Is that okay?”

“Oh–is something wrong? Did I do something last night?”

You slipped on your jacket and wrapped a scarf around your neck. “Nothing is wrong. We’ve been together every second of the day for like two weeks. I’m sure you need a break too.”

“Yeah, sure.” Bucky turned back to the stove, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Oh, don’t look so sad,” you grabbed your purse, grumbling about how much you hated the old ratty thing and went to kiss his cheek. “I’ll be back before you know it. We’re still going to see Christmas lights tonight, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Bucky pulled you closer. “Be careful. Love you.”

“Love you more,” you said with a smile. “Think about the musical!”

Bucky watched you leave, his apartment way too quiet without you in it.

Jesus–I can survive one day on my own.

He sat at the table and turned the tv on for noise—his thoughts were too loud in the silence. You had made it clear that you weren't ready to be completely open with him, but he needed to do something. You were drinking—in secret, you weren't sleeping, you were anxious and secretive.

Maybe I should call Sam….

Bucky tapped his greasy fingers on his phone but decided against it.

I’ll just talk to her tonight. That’s what partners are supposed to do–talk to each other.

As he finished his breakfast, he refocused on figuring out how to spend his day.

Lunch with Nakajima–no, bad idea.

I could check in with Sam about the Power Broker..but I’m not supposed to be working.

He stared at the Christmas tree, his one gift sitting under it, and got an idea.

Christmas shopping it is.

The wall of purses in every shape, size, and color had Bucky utterly overwhelmed. A sales attendant had already tried to help him, but he didn’t even know what to ask for. Sensing an easy sale, she showed him the most expensive options and finally moved on to a new target when a wealthy-looking older couple approached.

He knew he was probably overthinking this, but he wanted the gift to be perfect. He tried calling Yelena, who knew less about purses than Bucky did.

“Is Sam there?” Bucky sighed.

“No, he’s out with his nephews. And I’m offended you want his opinion over mine.”

“Yelena, you told me to get her a vest with pockets—I’m sorry if I want a second opinion.”

“You’re making a mistake but whatever. Hey, are you going to the musical thing? Sam wants to know if we can crash at your place.”

“Absolutely not,” Bucky scoffed. “You’re going?”

“Sounded fun, so is that a yes on the apartment?”

Bucky felt a gentle tap on his shoulder and turned around. “Hey, I gotta go–real help has arrived. And no, you two can not stay here–my apartment is tiny, and I don’t even have a couch.”

“Fine–go with the vest.”

“I’m hanging up now.”

Bucky ended the phone call. “Sorry about that,” he awkwardly gave Nicki a side hug when she went in for a real one.

“So, what am I here to help with?” Nicki asked with an excited smile.

“Yeah, I’m sorry for bothering you–you didn’t have to come all the way down here; I could have just sent you pictures.”

“I was already in the area,” she lied. “Plus, I love Macy’s. What’s up?”

“I’m trying to pick a purse for my girlfriend, and I am totally lost.”

Bucky looked away, distracted by noise only he could hear, and missed Nicki’s face fall.

“Oh, sure, I can help with that. What does she like?”

Bucky turned around. His eyes swept the store. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“I thought I heard–never mind. Um, I don’t know, she likes black?”

“Black is a bit boring for a gift–you want it to make an impression.”

Bucky refocused as Nicki walked through the aisles of dark-colored purses, making a beeline for the bright hues ahead.

“Gotcha!”

Ivan’s hand reached into the clothes rack, but you were too quick. You grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm behind his back as you jumped out of your hiding spot.

“What the hell happened to your hand?” You twisted his arm further as you looked at the round wound in the middle of his palm.

“Fuckin’ arrows,” he spat.

“Arrows?” You ducked just as one whizzed past your head and landed at the feet of another Tracksuit approaching. Orange goo gushed out of the arrow and cemented his feet to the floor.

“What the fuck?” You whipped around and caught a glimpse of a young woman dressed in purple and black running away.

“Sorry!” She yelled over her shoulder.

While still staring after the dark-haired woman, you powered on your taser bracelet and gave a quick shot to the back of your victim’s neck, knocking him out.

“I wouldn’t stick around here if I were you.”

You turned back around, on your feet, ready to attack.

Clint bent over and retrieved the trick arrow off the ground.

“Clint? What are you doing here?” You relaxed your posture.

You had only met Clint Barton a couple of times. Nat, your late best friend, liked to keep her Avenger life separate from her friendship with you, but Clint had been the one exception.

“Disappointing my family. You?”

You followed him as he jogged away.

“I was trying to get these assholes off my back. Care to help?”

“I’m a bit busy with my own thing right now,” Clint fired an arrow up to the level above them, setting off a cloud of smoke. “I suggest you get out of here before that wears off, and they can see again.”

“Wait, do you know who they’re working for?”

“No idea–German, I think.”

You threw your arms up in frustration as Clint leaped over the railing and left you alone.

You looked around, smiling sheepishly at the stunned patrons. You were in the clear right now–you looked over the railing; the lower level was empty too. You started to turn around but did a double-take when you heard a familiar voice from down below.

Was that–?

“Shit!” Your thought was cut off when your feet were swept from underneath you. You rolled out of the way as one of the Tracksuits aimed his foot at your face.

“Are you sure this is the one?”

“Yes!” Nicki nudged Bucky’s elbow.

He looked over the bright yellow, floral handbag one more time before reluctantly handing over his debit card.

“Trust me, she’s gonna love it.” Nicki looked up to the floor above them. “I think something is going on up there.”

Bucky followed her gaze; there was a weird cloud of smoke and–was that Clint Barton?

He watched Clint run out of the store with a young woman and then looked back to the second level. He couldn’t see anything, but he could hear people yelling and glass shattering.

“We need to go,” Bucky grabbed the gift bag from the saleswoman and pulled Nicki out of the store.

He searched the streets for Clint, but he was already gone.

“Is everything okay?” Nicki barely got the words out before Bucky was shoving her into a cab.

“Yeah,” Bucky said, distracted as he dialed your number.

“Um, okay—are you getting in?”

Bucky shut the door, barely looking at her as she stuck her head out the window. “No—thanks for your help, though.”

Come on, pick up, pick up.

Dammit, doll, where are you?

Bucky kept calling, walking as fast as he could back toward home.

You slid down the escalator and ran toward an emergency exit as fast as possible.

How many of these assholes are there?!

For every Tracksuit you took down, two more took his place. Three of them were on your heels—you needed to lose them outside.

Can I get into a cab before they catch up to me?

You turned over your shoulder—there were five of them now—you had no choice but to keep running. You pushed through the emergency exit, setting off the alarm, and ran around the building toward the street. You skidded to a stop in front of a shiny black motorcycle, the keys and helmet sitting on the seat as if left there just for you.

Another lucky break, I must have a guardian angel.

You stuffed the helmet over your curly hair and took off, leaving the Tracksuits behind. You abandoned the bike a few blocks away and hailed a cab.

You sat in the stiff seat–exhausted, and pulled out your vibrating phone. Bucky had already called six times.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear my phone,” you sighed, already dreading the panic you knew you would hear in his voice.

“Are you okay?” Bucky tried not to sound as exasperated as he felt.

“Yes, I’m on my way home. What’s wrong?”

“I saw Clint today. At Macy’s—he was fighting someone.”

“Oh?” You bit your lip.

“Yeah, I just needed to know where you were.”

“All good, no excitement on my end.” you felt a trickle of blood on your cheek and cursed under your breath.

“Thank god, I’ll see you soon.”

You needed to be more careful.

Excited to show you the dinner he had prepared, Bucky opened the door before you even knocked.

His face dropped when he saw you. “What happened?” Bucky pulled you into the kitchen to look at you better. His eyes were wide as he examined your cuts and bruises.

“I um–” you fumbled, trying to find an excuse he would accept. “I wasn’t paying attention, and I fell in the subway station. It’s not a big deal.”

Bucky took a deep breath, he looked like he wanted to say something, but he swallowed it and led you into the bathroom.

“Wait!” You cringed when Bucky opened the cabinet to get the first aid kit.

He stood up and turned around slowly with your bottle of vodka in his hand.

“Doll–”

“Don’t make a big deal out of this; it’s nothing.”

“Nothing? Look at you!”

You frowned and looked at your reflection in the mirror.

Oh.

That’s why he bought the excuse so quickly. He thinks I’m a drunk.

“Did you think I hadn’t noticed? Your hands shaking? The smell of alcohol on your breath? Did you even go Christmas shopping, or were you out drinking?”

Bucky opened the bottle and poured it down the bathroom sink.

Your face flushed as you watched him—you were too mortified to do or say anything. How had you forgotten to get him a gift?

“Doll–you’ve got to stop this. It’s not healthy.”

Embarrassment quickly turned to rage, and you pushed him away when he tried to touch you. “Nothing is wrong with me!”

“I didn’t say that–” Bucky followed you back to the kitchen.

“Yes, you did. You don’t get to tell me what to do, Barnes!” You grabbed his backpack and scarf.

“What are you doing?”

You shoved the bag into his hands. “Leave.”

“What?” Bucky scoffed. “I’m not leaving.” He stood still as you opened the apartment door. “I’m just trying to protect you!”

You rolled your eyes. “God, you sound just like Stephan. I don’t need your protection. Please–I just need some space.”

Bucky shut down completely, stalking past you and slamming the door without saying anything else.

He heard you lock the door behind him and his fist clenched. He was about to leave the building when Nicki’s door opened, her head popping out.

“Everything okay?”

Bucky gave her the best smile he could muster. “Great.”

Nicki stood in her doorway, eyeing him. “You know I can hear through these walls, right?”

Bucky nodded and avoided her eyes. “Sorry.” He started to walk toward the elevators.

“You could hang out here until she cools down–if you want.”

Bucky didn’t think about it; he nodded his head and went in. He would rather wait next door than wander around in the cold New York streets.

You sank into the warm water of your bath and sighed. Your body was sore, and your mind was racing. With no more alcohol left in the apartment, you had taken a Xanax, and it was finally starting to kick in.

Maybe I was too hard on him.

Balancing everything was clearly not working. The only reason you were keeping secrets from him was to make him happy. Yet, you had spent most of the past 24 hours fighting.

Stephan was so easy to distract. I could give Bucky the best sex of his life and he’d be back to quizzing me right after. Why can’t he just be oblivious like most men?

You closed your eyes and let the pill relax you from head to toe.

I just need to do better; wrap this up. Clint said the boss was German…

Your thoughts started to get jumbled as your eyelids got heavy. Bucky’s hurt face took a front seat.

I’ll apologize after a nap. Everything is better after a nap.

Bucky sat on Nicki’s couch, fidgeting, waiting for you to call.

Growing frustrated with Bucky staring at his phone, Nicki cleared her throat and moved closer to him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Bucky shrugged. “We’ve never had a fight like this before. Should I just go back? Should I call her? It’s been an hour! Waiting seems like the wrong move.”

“It’s just your first fight; it’s not a big deal. Give her space—you’re welcome to stay here as long as you want.”

Bucky looked back at his phone. “I was just trying to help her, but maybe I was too nosy.”

Bucky didn’t know how much Nicki had heard, but he didn’t want to give her too many details. He hated seeing you struggle, but he hated you being angry with him just as much, maybe more.

“How about some wine?” Nicki didn’t wait for an answer, quickly hopping up to grab a bottle and glasses.

“I’m gonna go; I can’t just keep sitting here.”

Bucky abruptly stood up and left just as you opened his apartment door.

“Doll–I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“So sorry that the first place you go when I kick you out is her apartment?” You rolled your eyes and tried to shut the door on him.

Bucky forced his way in and followed you into the living room. He grabbed your waist, pulling you down with him as he sat in the living room chair.

“You’re being ridiculous,” he muttered in your ear. “I love you, and I’m sorry.”

You crossed your arms but didn’t get out of his lap.

He pulled you closer against his chest, one hand roaming over your thigh. “You know I just don’t like seeing you in pain. I want you to be happy. I want to be there to get rid of anything that makes you unhappy, to kiss all your wounds and put a smile on your pretty face.”

You turned around, resting your forehead against his. “I’m sorry,” you whispered. “I’m sorry I said you were like Stephan. You’re nothing like him, and I love you so much.”

“I know, doll. I know.”

“Can I make it up to you?”

Bucky gently pushed your lips away from his neck and held your face in his hands. “You don’t need to make anything up. But, we will be late for the Christmas lights tour if we don’t leave now.”

“Okay,” you gave him a quick kiss on the nose before jumping up to find your shoes. “Ready?”

“Yeah,” Bucky smiled and led you out the door.

Don't forget to reblog! 😉

*Tumblr is not letting me add links to the prev or next chapters. Please see the masterlist pinned to my page for the rest of the story!*

Taglist: @delaber @mannien @raindrcpsangel @cjand10

#rookthorne's reactions #Lana's loves #YEOTT

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sourwolfstories · 6 years ago

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fluffy christmas sterek fics

hooked on (dangling by a yarn) by extantecstasy

One hundred days, ten scarves, one Christmas, and Stiles' dormant magic has to ruin everything.

All I Want for Christmas (Is You) by blindinglights

Derek meets Stiles in a department store while shopping for his family, after seeing a little girl crying for her Dad on the floor. They part ways and Derek doesn’t think he’ll see Stiles again. Beacon Hills may not be that big, but it still doesn’t mean he’ll ever run into Stiles, because that’s just not how Derek’s life works. Despite what Erica tries to tell him whenever she can, that sometimes fate can happen, Christmas miracles, whatever, it won’t.

(Or, the one where Stiles is a single dad, Derek falls for him, and Christmas ends up better than Derek expected.)

Secret Santa by rainbowninja167

Derek is already thoroughly sick of Christmas by the time Erica bullies him into dressing up as Santa for a holiday charity. It was only supposed to take a couple hours. Until some kid starts accosting him all over Beacon Hills, insisting that Derek is the real Santa.

That’ll Be $4.20 (But You Can Have My Heart For Free) by stilinski_wolf

Stiles is the barista at the coffee shop Derek frequents, and after they start talking via messages on Derek's coffee cups, Stiles gets the courage to tell Derek he likes him, and Derek asks him out.

Stiles' Christmas that year just got a whole lot better.

Glad Tidings by stilinskisparkles

“Eight people are going to be descending on our home in a mere matter of days, Derek.” Stiles grabs the pizza box, uses it to gesture at the pile of books and papers under the table, away and towards Derek’s sneaker collection. “You want them to think we live like this all the time?”

“We do live like this all the time,” Derek huffs, stretching lazily.

You put a Hallmark on my Heart by giantteenwolforgy

Stiles is funny and smart and kind and is also his daughter's teacher and his boss's son. On the list of people who are off-limits, Stiles has held the top spot for as long as Derek has known him.

Since Derek is Derek, Stiles also happens to rank number one on the list of people Derek is in love with. Seriously. His life is like a bad Hallmark movie.

I Just Want You For My Own (More Than You Could Ever Know) by yodasyoyo

“What is with that sweater, dude?”

Derek ducks his head to look at it, abashed. “Uh- Mrs Hernandez knitted it for me. It’s an early Christmas gift.” He smooths it down self-consciously.

Stiles cocks an eyebrow.

“What? She’s my neighbor and sometimes I-” Derek trails off. Stiles’ other eyebrow rises to join the first, and Derek sighs. “Sometimes I help her carry her groceries."

Of course he does. One day maybe Stiles will stop being in love with Derek Hale, but today is not that day.

Please Come Home for Christmas by littlefrog1025

Derek spends the Christmas season with Stiles, but the last time he checked they weren't married with kids...

It’s A Christmas Thing by SnackerJack

Okay, Stiles knows that he’s part of the pack. He does. He is. It just... doesn’t feel like it at the moment. But it’s Christmas, so he sucks it up and proceeds to drown his feelings in sugar cookies. Or, five times Stiles got kissed under the mistletoe, and one time where it actually mattered.

Layover by dr_girlfriend

Excerpt:

Big, serious brown eyes were staring right into his from only a few inches away. The child had clambered half over the arm of Derek’s chair to study him at close range, her little rosebud mouth pursed in concentration.

“Uh.” Derek couldn’t look away as the girl reached out one pudgy hand and patted him gently on the cheek. Her scent was soft and sweet and somehow a bit familiar, just enough to keep Derek from shying away. Derek didn’t know too much about kids but he guessed this one was probably three years old or so, head still oversized in proportion to the short limbs and round little belly.

She seemed fascinated with Derek’s beard, eyes widening further under incredibly thick lashes as she petted Derek’s cheek some more, smoothing down the short stubble. Finally she grinned widely. “Good wuff.”

Derek jerked upright, hands clenching on the edge of his seat. Did she just say?...

“CJ!” The child was suddenly gone, lifted up by a strong, tattooed forearm around her little potbelly. “You scared the he— heck out of me! What have I told you about wandering — Derek?”

i wish i had a river by thepsychicclam

Derek is the editor of a successful publishing firm, and is horrible to all his employees, including Stiles. On Christmas Eve night, he gets visited by three spirits and has to take a look at his life.

aka A Sterek Christmas Carol

Christmas Kisses by Dexterous_Sinistrous

Stiles loves Christmas; he always had and always will. He tries hard to bring Christmas cheer to all the students and their families. There is one student's parent, in particular, who he is trying to impress the most.

Letters to Santa, baking, and mistletoe kisses couldn't prepare Stiles for the Christmas party he knew he'd never forget.

Because Stiles' mom was right: Christmas kisses are a mighty powerful thing.

A Christmas Hale by Captain_Loki

His mouth began forming the word 'no' in a knee jerk reaction, but it died on his lips when he actually looked at Stiles. There was no pity in his face, no sense of moral obligation or charitable intent, he looked...earnest and nervous and so much the sixteen that he was. He realized with a jolt that had his stomach twisting into something that felt nothing like anger that Stiles wasn't asking for Derek's sake.

The boys spend Christmas together. There's copious amounts of sarcasm, some sharing of emotions and somewhere along the lines feelings develop.

The Twenty-Five Gifts of Stiles Stilinski by knw

Everyone knows Stiles only starts stockpiling gifts when he has it bad; now he's started getting gifts for Derek.

A Christmas Retail Story by rlnerdgirl

Derek likes to spend his downtime between book contracts doing something calming, relaxing, and just for him. Unfortunately, this holiday season his sister has other things in mind, which is how he finds himself working in the women's department at Macy's. He might, just a little bit (or maybe a lot), want to kill himself. Or Laura.

The one reprieve he gets is Stiles, the only customer who knows exactly what he wants each and every time he pops in, complete with item number and size. Derek may or may not be developing a crush on him. So it's too bad all Stiles buys are ridiculously expensive things that are, most likely, for his extremely lucky girlfriend.

You Got Us An Ornament by TheRealNightTempest

With the Pack out of town for Christmas and his dad and Melissa on the honeymoon they never had, Stiles plans to craft his way through the holidays to distract himself from being alone. When he realizes his plan isn't as fun by himself, Stiles turns to Derek Hale to help him out as the only other miserable guy left in Beacon Hills at Christmas.

Or the one where Stiles loves Pinterest and forces Derek to help him bake ten different cookies and break out his hot gluing skills. There might be heaping amounts of feels. You have been warned.

With a Little Christmas Magic by Ashabadash

AU: Stiles is jobless this Christmas and as a last resort, is stuck playing one of Santa’s elves at the mall. The job is a bust, and Stiles isn’t really in the Christmas mood, until he finds salvation in the Starbucks at the food court, not only in hiding from kids, but in one very sexy barista named Derek. ((Or: In Wich Stiles in an Elf and Derek is a Christmas Coffee Magician))

Last Christmas by Hepzheba

Last Christmas I gave you my heart, but the very next day you gave it away.

The song is oddly fitting, Stiles thinks as he steps inside the Hale house and sees Derek talking to a dark girl. He's laughing and they're standing way too close to the mistletoe that hangs in the doorway. Derek is wearing a dorky sweater with a red-nosed reindeer. With a pang Stiles remembers last year's sweater with the Santa on it. He feels a churn of jealousy when the girl touches Derek's arm. Stiles has no right to be jealous though, Derek isn't his and never was. They had one (incredible, hot) make out session last year but that was it.

#sterek #sterek fic rec #sterek fanfic #sterek fanfiction #fic rec list #christmas #holidays #fluff #christmas fluff

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shermerclassclown · 2 years ago

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Thanksgiving HC

Thanksgiving for Sheila was often small and simplistic.

As a child, she grew up in the poorest part of Detroit in a crappy apartment. Darcy, her mother, would be working at the hotel (better yet, hiding from her family--most likely cheating on her husband). Marcus saved up what little money he made (he worked at a deli during the colder seasons since no one hired him as a children’s entertainer) so they could have a Thanksgiving dinner. Marcus would buy a rotisserie chicken (turkey was too expensive), use instant mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli and canned cranberry sauce. Sometimes they would watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV (provided if the bills were paid). If the bill wasn’t paid, Sheila and Marcus would go over to Mrs McCaffrey’s apartment--she was an old lady who lived two doors down and she had four cats. The house smelled horrible and the furniture was covered in cat hair, but Sheila was glad to spend the time with her father. If Marcus couldn’t afford a proper Thanksgiving dinner, he’d use the scraps of turkey meat and heels from bread from the deli to make sandwiches. Sheila was always grateful to have something to eat.

After her parents got divorced, Thanksgiving was often lonely for her. Sheila was at a private school called Dewey Academy where often kids went home for the holidays. While she would watch the other kids’ parents pick them up, she would feel envious of them. Sheila’s mother, Darcy, and stepfather, Chris, would go off to a retreat for Thanksgiving, leaving their child behind--and what’s worse, Darcy said they didn’t want her coming along. That it was an adult vacation. Sheila often went to Zoey Marsh’s house for Thanksgiving, feeling like she could have a normal family. Zoey’s mother was loving and always welcomed her to stay for the holiday.

When Sheila moved in with her grandfather as a teenager and while attending college, things were more simple. They ate a small turkey together along with the fixings of a Thanksgiving meal. Sheila helped a little with some of the things since she wasn’t really skilled in cooking. Sometimes she’d watch Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on VHS after her grandfather fell asleep during the football game.

During her adult years, Sheila doesn’t really have time to cook since she’s an ER nurse and often she was scheduled to work holidays. The hospital would order food trays so that employees who couldn’t be home for Thanksgiving could at least enjoy one. She’d take some of the leftovers home she could have something to eat for a few days (and of course, her shitty roommate always ate it all). Sheila often works on Thanksgiving as she doesn’t really have family to celebrate it with. She might do so with friends (if they invited her).

#well if it isn’t Miss Comedian [headcanons]#Merry Thanksgiving! [Thanksgiving Special]#Cinnamon Sugar And Pumpkin Spice And Fall Things Nice [Fall Special]

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theconservativebrief · 6 years ago

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Millions of American workers have given up their right to go to court just to earn a paycheck. They can’t sue their employer for sexual harassment, or for racial discrimination, or for stealing their wages, or for nearly anything else.

That’s because these employees signed so-called mandatory arbitration agreements that are the new normal in American workplaces. These agreements are often buried in a stack of hiring documents that managers require new employees to sign. They usually have a legalese name, such as “Alternative Dispute Resolution Agreement.”

In signing these clauses, employees agree to take whatever claims they might have to private arbitration, a quasi-legal forum with no judge, no jury, and nearly zero government oversight. Under this process, workers are less likely to win their cases, and when they do win, they tend to get much less money than they would in court.

Chances are if you’re reading this article and you work for a private company, you probably signed one too (check our interactive tool below to see if your employer has one). About half of non-unionized workers at US companies are subject to these agreements — more than double the share in the early 2000s. America’s most well-known companies, including Walmart, Starbucks, Macy’s, Uber, Google, and McDonald’s, now require all their workers, or some of them, to sign them. (Full disclosure: Vox Media does too.)

The rise of mandatory arbitration has made it nearly impossible for workers to seek legal justice for wage theft, overtime violations, and job discrimination. This secretive system also has the potential to hamper the #MeToo movement. Women are coming forward, often for the first time, with stories of widespread sexual harassment at work, only to discover that they’ve been shut out of the court system because they signed an arbitration agreement. The practice is particularly harmful to women and black employees, as they are more likely to be subjected to arbitration agreements because they make up a large share of workers in the industries that require arbitration the most: education and health care.

“What’s really happening is that our judicial system is getting privatized,” said David Gottlieb, an employment attorney in New York who often represents workers in arbitration. “It’s being privatized in a way that really only favors one side, the employer.”

But it’s not just hospitals and universities that have gone this route. Silicon Valley tech companies are also fans of mandatory arbitration clauses. And in the wake of a recent Supreme Court ruling that allows employers to prohibit class-action claims from workers in arbitration, companies have even more incentive to add arbitration clauses to their employment contracts. Unless Congress does something to stop this practice, it won’t be long before the vast majority of American workers are forced to give up their day in court.

The remarkable rise of mandatory arbitration in the workplace is the result of multiple Supreme Court rulings that have allowed businesses to expand its use.

Arbitration, which was once limited to contract disputes between businesses, now extends to legal disputes with consumers and employees. Companies argue that it’s a quicker, less expensive forum to resolve employment conflicts, and that’s true. But there are other incentives for businesses too: Private arbitration allows companies to hide misconduct that would otherwise be made public in court; arbitrators are much more likely than jurors to rule in favor of employers; and arbitrators are far less likely than jurors to give multimillion-dollar awards to workers when they find a company at fault for breaking the law.

Information about arbitration cases is scarce because they all take place outside the court system. But in 2015, California began requiring arbitration firms with clients in the state to publish limited data about all their cases in the United States.

A Vox analysis of the data published by the American Arbitration Association, the largest arbitration firm in the US, handling about 50 percent of all employment cases, showed that it handled 8,209 complaints filed by employees bound by mandatory arbitration agreements between 2013 and 2017. Data shows that arbitrators awarded monetary damages to the workers in only 1.8 percent of those cases. The vast majority — 78 percent — were settled through an unspecified mutual resolution.

Vox’s Alvin Chang created this interactive tool for you to see if your employer requires workers to sign arbitration clauses. The data only includes companies that hired one of the four largest arbitration firms to handle disputes with employees subject to arbitration between 2013 and 2017. (If your company is not listed here, it’s possible it still requires arbitration, but it might work with a different firm or didn’t use arbitration during this time frame, as is the case with Vox Media. Ask your human resources department.)

The “heavy veil of secrecy” surrounding arbitration is one of biggest problems with the process, says Cynthia Estlund, an employment law professor at New York University.

“The private and contractual nature of arbitration makes it relatively easy for firms to prevent disclosure of just about anything concerning allegations, evidence, disposition, or settlement of the disputes, not just by parties but by the tribunals themselves. … That means that firms have less to worry about if they violate the law,” she wrote in a white paper published last October.

In the case of sexual harassment, an employee at a company would have a difficult time finding out if a manager had a history of preying on female workers, based on the limited information that arbitration firms have to report. Moreover, the workers who take part in arbitration are often required to sign nondisclosure agreements as part of the settlement process, so they are forbidden by law from talking publicly about the case. If an arbitrator decided that a boss did illegally harass an employee, that boss could theoretically continue to harass women in the same company, or at another job, without his behavior coming to light.

The first thing to keep in mind is that no arbitration proceeding is the same, as there are essentially no rules that arbitrators have to follow under the law. That’s because arbitration isn’t bound by court rules and has nearly no legal oversight. The process can vary from one arbitration firm to another, or even from arbitrator to arbitrator.

“It’s a bit like the Wild West,” says David Lichter, a Florida arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association.

That said, the most well-known arbitration firms require their arbitrators to follow certain rules, which they make public, and they tend to have some things in common.

To see how arbitration is stacked against employees, it’s important to understand how the process works. Let’s use the example of two female workers who believe they were fired for reporting sexual harassment to human resources.

The first woman — let’s call her Susan — was not asked to sign an arbitration agreement when she was hired. The other woman, Ana, was required to sign one.

Susan would first have to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency tasked with enforcing civil rights laws in the workplace. EEOC staff would attempt to mediate some sort of solution between Susan and her employer.

If they can’t reach an agreement, the EEOC will investigate the facts of the case to see if there is enough evidence to show that Susan was the victim of sexual harassment and retaliation. If there is solid evidence, the EEOC lawyers will try to negotiate a settlement on her behalf. During this entire process, which usually takes six months, Susan can reject all the proposed solutions — at any point, she can ask the EEOC to give her permission to take her case to court. Sometimes EEOC lawyers will decide to sue the employer on the worker’s behalf, though this happens in only a small percentage of complaints filed.

Now consider Ana’s situation. She signed an arbitration agreement. She can still file a complaint with the EEOC, but it’s almost pointless to do so because she signed the agreement, she cannot sue. The only logical reason for Ana to file a complaint with the EEOC is in the hope that her case may be one of the very few complaints the commission decides to take to court on behalf of a worker or group of workers. (The EEOC is not restricted by arbitration agreements, so it can sue on behalf of workers who signed them.)

The only other option for Ana is to take her claim to arbitration. As in most arbitration agreements, the employer picks the arbitration firm that will hear the case, and will pay the cost to hire the arbitrator or panel of arbitrators — creating a potential conflict of interest. (This 2015 investigation by the New York Times describes the often cozy relationship between arbitrators and the companies that hire them.)

After filing the complaint with the arbitration firm, Ana’s attorney and the lawyers representing her former boss are given a list of arbitrators to choose from. They are usually lawyers or former judges, but they don’t need to have any legal training; there are no laws that regulate arbitration proceedings.

Then the two sides schedule a conference call with the arbitrator to discuss what laws may have been broken, what kinds of evidence will be allowed, how many witnesses each side can call, and the burden of proof that Maria needs to meet to prove that her employer illegally harassed and retaliated against her. The individual arbitrator makes the final decision on all of this.

In the court system, Susan would have months to collect evidence, could compel her boss to share certain documents, and could include as many depositions and witnesses as she would like. She would also be required to prove to a jury, by a preponderance of evidence, that her boss violated the law. She would need to show that the harassment was “severe or pervasive” enough to create a hostile work environment for her, and that complaining about the alleged harassment was a motivating factor in why she was fired.

None of that is guaranteed for Ana in arbitration. She will likely have a few weeks to gather evidence and will be limited to one or two witnesses and one or two depositions. She also can’t force her employer to share evidence through a court subpoena, and the arbitrator can decide what standard of proof she has to meet — it could be a higher burden or a lower burden.

While Susan will probably go to public court hearings with her attorney, Ana will probably meet only once with everyone at her arbitration hearing. It will probably be in a hotel conference room, and lawyers from both sides will make opening and closing statements, just like a court trial. They will introduce evidence and witnesses, but unlike the court system, there is no jury weighing the evidence, just the arbitrator or panel of arbitrators.

Susan, in court, would wait for jurors to decide if she proved her case by a preponderance of evidence, and if so, what her award will be. Ana would go home and probably wait 30 to 60 days to find out the arbitrator’s decision, and the potential award, by mail.

Ana’s chances of winning her case in arbitration are much slimmer than Susan’s in the court system.

If you ask employers why they require workers to use arbitration, they often say it’s a faster and less expensive process than the courts. They’re not wrong. But legal research, surveys, and employment attorneys point to the largest incentive of all: keeping employment claims from reaching a jury.

Juries are considered more sympathetic to workers’ claims, and more willing to award millions of dollars in damages to workers in these cases. The threat of a high jury award also gives workers leverage in negotiating larger settlements because businesses want to avoid trial.

“Juries tend to be more generous than arbitrators, so keeping a case in the courts means a [worker] is more likely to get an award,” Lichter, the arbitrator, told me.

Research shows that arbitrators can be biased toward employers who repeatedly pick them to handle their cases. This is known as the “repeat player effect,” a term coined in 1997 by Lisa Blomgren Amsler, a public affairs professor at Indiana University Bloomington whose research showed that workers were nearly five times less likely to win their case if the arbitrator had handled past disputes involving her employer. Her research involved a small sample of cases, but later studies have backed up her claim.

Alexander Colvin, a labor relations researcher at Cornell University, published a research paper in 2011 that found another level of potential bias: Not only were arbitrators more likely to rule in favor of businesses that were repeat customers, they were also more likely to award less money to their clients’ employees when they found the business at fault.

Colvin analyzed the outcome of 3,945 employment arbitration cases handled through the American Arbitration Association between 2003 and 2007. His research showed that workers were less likely to win in arbitration than in the court system, and in cases where they did win, their monetary awards tended to be smaller in arbitration.

For example, the median award amount for employees who won in arbitration was $36,500 during the time period that Colvin analyzed, but the median award for employees who won in court was about 10 times larger.

Lichter said there is an unspoken pressure for arbitrators to limit the size of awards for workers who were wronged. That’s largely because most arbitrators get paid based on the hours and the number of cases they handle. If an arbitrator gives a large award against a company, it will impact his or her ability to get picked by businesses to arbitrate future cases, Lichter said. But many arbitrators ignore that unspoken pressure, he said, and do the best they can to decide cases fairly.

“At the end of the day, I have to make sure I can sleep at night,” he said.

While arbitration might seem similar to the court process, it’s not really the same thing. Arbitrators are not required to be neutral, their opinions do not need to be written, and there are few options for appeal, argues Elizabeth Roma, an employment attorney.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the courts would only overturn an arbitrator’s decision based on a “manifest disregard of the law,” something most courts have interpreted as an intentional misapplication of the law. That means most federal appeals courts will only overturn an arbitrator’s decision if it involved fraud, evident partiality, misconduct, or exceeding of powers. There’s no way for a worker like Ana to appeal an arbitrator’s decision by arguing that it was an incorrect interpretation of the law and facts.

Arbitration is not at all like the court system, but the Supreme Court seems okay with that. The nation’s highest court is largely responsible for the rise of this shadow court.

The widespread use of arbitration clauses in the workplace came after a crucial 2001 Supreme Court ruling involving sexual harassment.

In that case, Circuit City Stores Inc. v. Adams, a salesperson working at a California Circuit City store sued the company for sexual harassment. The employee, a man named Saint Clair Adams, said his co-workers harassed him because he was gay. But Adams, like all other Circuit City employees, had signed an agreement to resolve all disputes with the company through private arbitration. Circuit City argued in federal court that Adams had to move his claim to arbitration.

The judge sided with Adams, arguing that the Federal Arbitration Act — which allows businesses to resolve contract disputes through arbitration — has a provision excluding employment contracts. The ruling was upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

But Circuit City took the case to the Supreme Court, where the justices overturned the lower court’s ruling, allowing businesses to extend arbitration to nearly all employment contracts.

The justices, in their 5-4 opinion, created a very narrow interpretation of the employment exclusion in the Federal Arbitration Act. It came down to this line of the act: “but nothing herein contained shall apply to contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in interstate or foreign commerce.” The justices decided that this clause limited the exemption “to transportation workers.” In other words, only workers in the transportation industry were exempt from these mandatory agreements; all other workers could be forced to take their claims to arbitration.

In May, the Supreme Court handed businesses another win in a 5-4 decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis. The Court said it’s legal for US employers to prohibit workers from joining together to sue the company over discrimination, wage theft, and other workplace violations.

The opinion delivered by Justice Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s conservative pick to replace Antonin Scalia, involved three cases, in which workers who signed arbitration agreements tried to sue their employers as a group through the court system, as part of a class-action lawsuit, for alleged wage theft and overtime violations.

The workers’ attorneys argued that the Federal Arbitration Act does not apply to class-action claims, because these lawsuits are protected under the National Labor Relations Act, which includes a provision protecting workers from an employer’s attempt to interfere with “concerted activity” related to their “mutual aid or protection.” The law has generally been applied related to efforts to unionize, but workers argue that filing a class-action lawsuit to improve their working conditions also fits into this category.

The Court’s five conservative justices disagreed and ruled in favor of the businesses. In the majority opinion, Gorsuch wrote that federal labor law does not include protection for class-action claims:

The NLRA secures to employees rights to organize unions and bargain collectively, but it says nothing about how judges and arbitrators must try legal disputes that leave the workplace and enter the courtroom or arbitral forum.

From now on, workers who sign arbitration clauses with class-action waivers can only file claims individually through private arbitration. That means that a US worker’s effort to seek legal justice, or to force a company to change working conditions, just got a lot harder.

The ruling could have a direct impact on Chipotle workers suing for wage theft and female Google employees suing for sexual harassment. It also means other women working at Google, which is under investigation for claims of gender pay discrimination, may not be able to join together to sue the company — their best chance to change the company’s pay practices.

When women began to come forward to describe rampant sexual harassment at companies like Fox News and the Weinstein Company, many realized that they could not seek legal justice in the courts because they had signed mandatory arbitration agreements.

Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson was one of them. She ended up suing Roger Ailes for sexual harassment, and they settled for an undisclosed amount. But Carlson could not sue Fox News for the company’s role in allowing the sexual harassment to persist, and neither could dozens of other women who accused the media company of tolerating sexual harassment, had they decided they wanted to sue.

As more women speak up about sexual harassment in the workplace, many of them are pressuring members of Congress to restrict or abolish arbitration clauses from US workplaces.

In October, Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) introduced the Mandatory Arbitration Transparency Act, which prohibits businesses from including a confidentiality clause in their arbitration agreements related to discrimination claims.

In December, a bipartisan group of senators and representatives introduced the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act, which exempts sexual harassment cases from required arbitration.

On February 12, all 56 state attorneys general (including those in five US territories) weighed in, urging congressional leaders to vote on the bills. In their letter, they said that forcing sexual harassment cases to go to arbitration perpetuates the “culture of silence that protects perpetrators at the cost of their victims.” They also questioned the process itself:

While there may be benefits to arbitration provisions in other contexts, they do not extend to sexual harassment claims. Victims of such serious misconduct should not be constrained to pursue relief from decision makers who are not trained as judges, are not qualified to act as courts of law, and are not positioned to ensure that such victims are accorded both procedural and substantive due process.

Then in March, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and a group of Senate Democrats proposed an even better idea: Don’t let businesses force employees and consumers to take their claims to arbitration.

Their bill, the Arbitration Fairness Act, would let workers and consumers decide where to pursue their legal claims.

“Mandatory arbitration undermines the development of public law because there is inadequate transparency and inadequate judicial review of arbitrators’ decisions,” they wrote.

So far, Republican leaders in Congress have ignored these proposals.

Original Source -> Why you probably can’t sue your employer for sexual harassment

via The Conservative Brief

#IFTTT #The Conservative Brief

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postharveyresources · 7 years ago

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Hey OP... I used to be the guy who worked for insurance companies, and determined the value of every little thing in your house. The guy who would go head-to-head with those fire-truck-chasing professional loss adjusters. I may be able to help you not get screwed when filing your claim.

Our goal was to use the information you provided, and give the lowest damn value we can possibly justify for your item.

For instance, if all you say was "toaster" -- we would come up with a cheap-as-fuck $4.88 toaster from Walmart, meant to toast one side of one piece of bread at a time. And we would do that for every thing you have ever owned. We had private master lists of the most commonly used descriptions, and what the cheapest viable replacements were. We also had wholesale pricing on almost everything out there, so really scored cheap prices to quote. To further that example:

If you said "toaster - $25" , we would have to be within -20% of that... so, we would find something that's pretty much dead-on $20.01.

If you said "toaster- $200" , we'd kick it back and say NEED MORE INFO, because that's a ridiculous price for a toaster (with no other information given.)

If you said "toaster, from Walmart" , you're getting that $4.88 one.

If you said "toaster, from Macys" , you'd be more likely to get a $25-35 one.

If you said "toaster", and all your other kitchen appliances were Jenn Air / Kitchenaid / etc., you would probably get a matching one.

If you said "Proctor Silex 42888 2-Slice Toaster from Wamart, $9", you just got yourself $9.

If you said "High-end Toaster, Stainless Steel, Blue glowing power button" ... you might get $35-50 instead. We had to match all features that were listed.

I'm not telling you to lie on your claim. Not at all. That would be illegal, and could cause much bigger issues (i.e., invalidating the entire claim). But on the flip side, it's not always advantageous to tell the whole truth every time. Pay attention to those last two examples.

I remember one specific customer... he had some old, piece of shit projector (from mid-late 90s) that could stream a equally piece of shit consumer camcorder. Worth like $5 at a scrap yard. It had some oddball fucking resolution it could record at, though -- and the guy strongly insisted that we replace with "Like Kind And Quality" (trigger words). Ended up being a $65k replacement, because the only camera on the market happened to be a high-end professional video camera (as in, for shooting actual movies). $65-goddam-thousand-dollars because he knew that loophole, and researched his shit.

Remember to list fucking every -- even the most mundane fucking bullshit you can think of. For example, if I was writing up the shower in my bathroom:

Designer Shower Curtain - $35

Matching Shower Curtain Liner for Designer Shower Curtain - $15

Shower Curtain Rings x20 - $15

Stainless Steel Soap Dispenser for Shower - $35

Natural Sponge Loofah - from Whole Foods - $15

Natural Sponge Loofah for Back - from Whole Foods - $19

Holder for Loofahs - $20

Bars of soap - from Lush - $12 each (qty: 4)

Bath bomb - from Lush - $12

High end shampoo - from salon - $40

High end conditioner - from salon - $40

Refining pore mask - from salon - $55

I could probably keep thinking, and bring it up to about $400 for the contents of my shower. Nothing there is "unreasonable" , nothing there is clearly out of place, nothing seems obviously fake. The prices are a little on the high-end, but the reality is, some people have expensive shit -- it won't actually get questioned. No claims adjuster is going to bother nitpicking over the cost of fucking Lush bath bombs, when there is a 20,000 item file to go through. The adjuster has other shit to do, too.

Most people writing claims for a total loss wouldn't even bother with the shower (it's just some used soap and sponges..) -- and those people would be losing out on $400.

Some things require documentation & ages. If you say "tv - $2,000" -- you're getting a 32" LCD, unless you can provide it was from the last year or two w/ receipts. Hopefully you have a good paper trail from credit/debit card expenditure / product registrations / etc.

If you're missing paper trails for things that were legitimately expensive -- go through every photo you can find that was taken in your house. Any parties you may have thrown, and guests put pics up on Facebook. Maybe an Imgur photo of your cat, hiding under a coffee table you think you purchased from Restoration Hardware. Like... seriously... come up with any evidence you possibly can, for anything that could possibly be deemed expensive.

The fire-truck chasing loss adjusters are evil sons of bitches, but, they actually do provide some value. You will definitely get more money, even if they take a cut. But all they're really doing, is just nitpicking the ever-living-shit out of everything you possibly owned, and writing them all up "creatively" for the insurance company to process.

Sometimes people would come back to us with "updated* claims. They tried it on their own, and listed stuff like "toaster", "microwave", "tv" .. and weren't happy with what they got back. So they hired a fire-truck chaser, and re-submitted with "more information." I have absolutely seen claims go from under $7k calculated, to over $100k calculated. (It's amazing what can happen when people suddenly "remember" their entire wardrobe came from Nordstrom.)

(reddit, other tips here)

#important #insurance #personal finance

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