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sevikasmainwhore · 3 years ago

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hi! i love your writing style and how cute you make the themes on your posts! i was just going to humbly request (every arcane woman you do)

to react to a reader that is 6’7 and how they would feel!

again, i know you’re swamped with requests so no need to get to this ask ;) thank you for taking the time to read this and know that you’re loved by many on here

i wish i knew who you were so i could kiss you 💖

Arcane Women w/ Tall!S/o

Requested ⇢ Yes/No

Type ⇢ Headcanons ❥

❤️ Vi felt small. Like really small. It never stopped her from trying to be the bigger person though. Always trying her hardest to protect you or even doing the simplest things for you. She doesn’t ask for you to reach for anything for her because she thinks it’s disrespectful. If she can’t reach it then she’ll either climb to get it or she just won’t get it. “If it was really important then I wouldn’t have to struggle” She’d say like it was her quote or something. But overall she finds you absolutely stunning. Often wonders how someone like you could find some like her attractive and would want to spend the rest of your life with. If you ever feel insecure about your height she’d either ask who’s making you feel like that so she could call Jinx and they tag team the person or she’d give you the most beautiful compliments ever.

💙 Caitlyn felt a mix of emotions. One hand she didn’t mind feeling like she was tallest in the world. On the other hand feeling small was a new feeling she’d have to get used to. But either way it went she loved you. When Caitlyn did her little case things when she laid them out on the floor she’d ask for your help in spotting anything she couldn’t see. If you ever felt insecure about your height Caitlyn always did her best to make you feel better. She’s had her moments too so you’d both just remind each other how your both beautiful no matter how tall or small and no one should ever make you feel like you’re less than. Caitlyn has never done it before but everyone once in a while she’ll ask “How’s the weather up there” just cause she can. It’s annoying but she’d be so proud of herself.

💛 Mel felt no different about your height. If anything it gave her more teasing room. Hates asking for help from you because it makes her feel less than but you always remind her it’s ok and that you don’t mind. Doesn’t really see any difference in the relationship really. But of course there are times when height is required. Mel’s favorite part of anything is when she’s exposing something to you and you’ll be gazing off somewhere, she’d pull you by your shirt collar to her height to get you to pay attention. It always gets you where she needs you and Mel would have this prideful smirk on her face everytime. All was well really especially if you ever felt insecure, Mel would remind you of how beautiful you’re height is and how she couldn’t have asked for a better partner. But don’t tell her who made you feel this way. She’s calling a whole lockdown until someone fesses up or apologize to you.

🧡 Grayson never felt any different. She’d laugh off if you ever had to reach up to something for her. Always lets you be the small spoon just so she could whisper sweet words in your ear. You may be taller but Grayson always had a way of making you feel small. It was probably how she talked or her voice in general but something about her always made you want to drop to your knees for her. You used to visit her at her office but stopped when you heard a coworker of hers say something about you. Grayson noticed and asked why you stopped and when you told her it was like all hell broke lose. After maybe a few days Grayson wanted to come walk with her to her office. When you did everyone had there heads down, quivering in fear, not daring to look up at you both until Graysons office door was shut. You had know clue what she did but it must’ve been horrible. You couldn’t help but laugh.

🤎 Ambessa was just about up there with your height, so things were smooth, you had nothing to worry about. Looking her in the eyes was nerve wrecking though. Her gaze was powerful it always made you shrink. To her your height made her loving you easy. How she’d always caress your cheek while complimenting you for the smallest thing, how she give you neck kisses that always lead to something else. It was always pure bliss. You’d only ever be reminded of your height if someone made you feel bad. Only then that’s when she’d step in. Nothing ever escalated though because she’s so intimidating they wouldn’t dare say anything else.

💜 Sevika felt weird. She’s always been the bigger person. So having someone, especially her s/o, taller than her was a new feeling. It took a bit of getting used to but as soon as she did Sevika was all over you. Sevika always liked showing everyone how no matter how tall you were she was always top dog. She’d grab you by your shirt collar down to her height, motion for you to bend down so she could tell you something or anything to make you feel small. But behind closed doors she’s asking you through gritted teeth to get something from someplace she can’t reach. Small spoon from time because feeling vulnerable and just small was a comfortable feeling to her. Don’t tell her someone made you feel bad about your height though. She’s threatening the whole Undercity and topside to confess or she’s taking matters into her own hands. She loved you no matter what or how she felt.

💟 Renata was just an inch shorter than you. She felt a bit conflicted at first because sometimes she’d have to look up to you but that feeling didn’t last long. Likes having you sit her in lap because how flustered you get and if it’s difficult to fit all of you on her lap she’d just sit you on her desk. Doesn’t mind looking up at you from that pov because you look so beautiful. Really once Renata got used to being slightly shorter than you loving you never felt different. She always treated you like you were more which you were. Neck kisses were her favorite because of how easy you’d let her in. You were always at a perfect angle for her. Would wonder how someone as beautiful as you could ever want someone like her. Like everyone else if you ever felt insecure, no amount of money could calm her down. You’d feel bad for everyone in the office building because they’d usually be the victim of this. At least until someone fessed up about who said something to you. Renata loved you no matter what and she would give you the whole world if she could.

🤍 Cassandra was used to having a partner taller than her so nothing ever changed. But Cassandra was the type of women to make you feel inferior to her anyway so…yea. Anytime she’d have a gala or ball she’d always get asked silly questions of “Who’s the man of the relationship??” or something along those lines. Always ignored them because they made both of you uncomfortable but mainly because she didn’t want you to feel like your height was a bad thing or a masculine thing if you ever felt it was or if you were uncomfortable about it. Didn’t want to make you feel like your bad or anything so she never paid any mind to your height. Always made you feel like everyone else but special treatment because your her lover. Cassandra would be an amazing lover.

note: listening to Flight 22 while writing also I FOUND OUT HOW TO DO THE READING THING AHHHHHHHH IM SO HAPPY!!!!! also does anyone even read these???? 😭

#☞shhhhh #arcane #vi x reader #arcane caitlyn x reader #mel x reader #sevika x reader #arcane grayson x reader #ambessa x reader #renata glasc x reader #cassandra x reader #arcane x reader

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pleasantanathema · 4 years ago

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Pleasant’s Writer Recs!

I’ve gotten a few asks in my inbox over the past few weeks asking me for writer recs, so I thought the best way to do this was to compile a list of my fav authors on tumblr and rec my favorite fic of theirs! A lot of these amazing authors are moots—I’m very lucky to call many of them close friends. This list could be much longer, and I could go on for days about every single author, but I’ll try to keep it brief. Most all of these authors, like myself, write 18+ only content. Hopefully this can be a useful tool for authors and readers alike looking for amazing fanfic 💕

@bakatenshii | Angel is so phenomenal with her writing that I almost can’t put her style and amazing ability into words (but I’ll try). Angel’s work is beautiful, masterful, full of poetry, elegance, and smut that will all leave you gasping. Fav Fic: Blitz [Ushijima x Reader]

@blahkugo | Sunnt, Thunnth, Sunny, whatever you call her, she is brilliant. No one writes Tsukishima quite like she does. She is beyond creative and her writing style flows like the sexiest water, it’ll make you thirsty and quench your aches. Fav Fic: Tower [Tsukishima x Reader]

@deathcab4daddy | Tay is all about details, details, details. She fills in every gap and paints gorgeous, sexy pictures and situations for the reader to feel immersed in. Fav Fic: Cerulean Blue [Akaashi x Reader]

@dymphnasprose | Dymphna is all about fun, sex, and slowly filling out her holy bible of smut. She’s amazing at creating realistic sub/dom relationships and her smut almost always comes with a healthy dose of build-up. Fav Fic: Green Scrunchies [Ukai x Reader]

@enjifuckersupreme | Ketsl reigns supreme over pure, unadulterated porn. They are phenomenal at making me the reader wet, and every fic is crafted with so much care. Enji fuckers should bow down at their feet, no one loves and writes Enji like Ketsl. Fav Fic: Attitude Adjustment [Enji x Reader]

@hisoknen | Raph is one of the first dark blogs I ever started reading, and she never, ever disappoints. She writes pieces that chill you to the bone, but warms your sex- her writing is casual, smooth, and realistic, always giving you everything you need, but leaving you wanting a little more. Fav Fic: Sleeping Beauty [Dabi x Reader]

@hoe-doroki | Ana is one of the sweetest writers I know. Every time I talk to her, she’s working on comfort requests or beta-reading for other people. Her writing is such a pleasure to read, as you can tell she pours love and consideration into every fic for her readers. Fav Fic: Can’t Find My Breath [Bakugou x Reader]

@joyousandverywarlike | Zo...holy fucking shit. Zo is a writer who consistently blows me out of the water with her skill. This woman is a novelist blessing us with juicy, rich smut and love stories like no one else can. She is incredibly poetic and her writing is an absolute joy to read; she also writes amazing fics for black readers and has an amazing voice that she uses for asmr audios! Fav Fic: How We Met [Ushijima x Reader]

@lemonlordleah-shinzawa-kitten | Leah is an author who takes immense care with her work. She works incredibly hard to craft sexy, healthy bdsm fics for bnha. She is a great blog to go to for bdsm education, and she’s also got a side blog @lemonlordleah-extra-sour for all you extra naughty readers who like the darker side of fanfic. You should also check out her Patreon! Fav Fic: Between the Evergreen [Aizawa x Reader]

@linestrider | Nyki’s work is like smooth water, it’s calming, refreshing, but she also adds a nice, chill bite to it as well with her darker style. Nyki puts such an impressive amount of care into her work; a word is never out of place, every sentence has meaning, every paragraph gives you something new. It was very hard to choose just one fic to recommend. Fav Fic: What’s Said is Said [Hawks x Reader]

@lookslikeleese | Leese is one of the most fun writers on Tumblr, and by that I mean you just have a shitload of fun reading her fics. They are like little, sexy treats to take in right before bed and feel a little more full than you were before. She is also the Cucking Queen. Fav Fic: Cola [Enji x Reader]

@messwriting | Lee is also another fun writer! Her writing is exhilarating to read, and you’d never guess she’s a sexy Brazilian whose second language is English based on how well she writes. She’s a little sex goddess who will give you everything you want and more in every fic. Fav Fic: What We Could’ve Been [Tsukishima x Reader]

@mindninjax | Marquie is a full on sweetie with a sexy side. She. Is. So. Creative. Every fic of hers is so unique and her masterlist is a whole reading experience. She writes Bakugou Katsuki so damn well, she’s a master at characterization, even in au’s. She also writes beautiful fics for black readers. Fav Fic: Bound to You [Bakugou x Reader]

@nekokoafanfictions | I first found Ai on Ao3, and then was fortunate enough to come across their blog here on Tumblr! I’ve said this before in previous rec lists, and I’ll say it again, I still read their fics some nights to fall asleep to, they are just that good, every fic will have you coming back at some point to read it again. Fav Fic: City Lights [Enji x Reader]

@present-mel | The. Queen. Of. Dialogue. Mel is a master at making her fanfic feel real, gritty, sexy, and beautiful all at the same time. This woman pours her heart and soul into fanfic, especially into her Erwin series Fragments of Memories. I was so captivated by her work that I just had to become her friend, her work is enchanting and thrilling. Fav Fic: Until the Fire Played [Enji x Reader]

@rat-suki | Annie makes me horny. Like, real horny. Her smut is fantastic and are often little thrill rides within themselves. Fuck rollercoasters, just go to Annie’s masterlist to find a joy ride. Fav Fic: Hell Fire [Enji x Reader]

@rivendell101 | I’m such a big fan of Alisha, that I sent her a request months ago before we even became friends. This author knows how to craft a story, her work is very meticulous with details and her plots are always so spot on. Fav Fic: Sweet Thing [Natsuo x Reader]

@smutbardpeach | Smutbard is the most accurate title for Peach, as her fics read like poetry and song, filled with beautiful language, imagery, and allusions to the brim. If you’re ever looking for something romantic, sensual, delightful, and just overall magnificent to read, this is the blog to go to. Peach’s work is like reading poetry and classics right off the shelf. Fav Fic: Truth in Wine [Hizashi x Reader]

@spicyness | Are you thirsty? Do you like fun, sexy headcanons? Ness is the author for you. Ness is so, so fun and sweet, and is active with her followers and is always posting something new and creative for us to nibble at. Her blog is full of fun thirsts and she’s always a joy to see pop-up on my dash. Fav Fic: Pride [Bakugou x Reader]

@sugardaddykenma | Lin has the most amazing brain. I wish I could just...see and understand how she thinks. Her blog is full to the brim with hilarious, iconic, and down right fucking true headcanons for haikyuu characters. Many nights I have stayed up laughing my ass off and saying “why is that so true?” while reading through her astonishingly creative work. Fav Fic: Haikyuu on Drugs

@thewheezingwyvern | Wyv is a writer who gets straight to the point; her words are poignant, meaningful, and always paint a very clear picture. She is a Shinsou and Aizawa lover/fucker all the way to her core, and she’s amazing at bringing those characters to life in her work. Fav Fic: Salt Lines [Aizawa & Shinsou x Reader]

@thisisthehardestthing | Claudia is one of the most talented writers I have ever met. Period. She has a vocabulary, a depth, an ability to craft the most intense, alluring, and magnificent fanfic you’ve ever read. Most of her work doesn’t even seem like fanfic, it reads like love letters stuffed into the pages of a book that stand the test of time with her marvelous writing abilities. She always awes me, as every single fic is unique and powerful it its own way. Fav Fic: Tocka [Tanaka x Reader]

@tomurasprincess | The Queen of Darkness herself, Mari is amazing at fulfilling all of your dark desires. I’ve never met anyone else who is as active as she is with her followers, as she’s constantly pushing herself to answer requests and give people exactly what they want to see. She has such an expansive masterlist, any dark fic lover can find something worthwhile from her! She’s almost made a Shigaraki fucker out of me, almost. Fav Fic: Wraith’s Touch [Shigaraki x Reader]

@undermattsun | Miki taught me what a skate rat is. Do I understand it yet? Not really, but I fucking like it. Miki is so much fun and is always active with her followers, giving out awesome thirsts, visuals, and headcanons for her fav haikyuu characters. Fav Fic: Flavor of the Month [Matsukawa x Reader]

@vixen-scribbles | Vixen is someone who cares about everyone around her, and her blog reflects that. Amongst all her amazing writing, you’ll always find her recommending her friends and supporting other writers. Her writing is fucking sexy, she knows her way around the bedroom when it comes to fics, and she’s got a lengthy masterlist to fawn over. Fav Fic: Take All of Me [Ushijima x Reader]

@whats-her-quirk | Truly, the best has been saved for last. June’s work is the heart and soul of classic, fucking amazing fanfic. I can’t even explain how much I love her fics, like they will put the biggest smile on your face and have your thighs rubbing together in anticipation. June is writing her fantasies and having fun, and we are privileged to enjoy the ride with her. She knocked kinktober out of the fucking park, with each fic being a new, fresh delight. Fav Fic: Once in a Blue Moon [Karasuno x Reader Gangbang]

This list could honestly be twice as long, and perhaps in the future I’ll make a companion to it as I meet new authors and read more amazing fanfic. Please give all these authors a follow or at least check out their blogs. 💖

#writer recs #bnha #haikyuu #attack on titan #fanfiction #bnha fanfic #hq fanfic #aot fanfiction #bnha x reader #haikyuu x reader #aot x reader #amazing writers #pleasant speaks #my hero academia #haikyuu!!#my hero academia fanfic

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kittyt-hexxed · 2 years ago

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Book Two of Hexed - The Fury of Zaun (Vi/POC!Reader) - Ch. 1

Next Upload Date: June 16th

Act 1: Chapter One - Welcome Home

Warnings: Death, Explosions, War Talk, Cultural Differences, Sevika cries, Post-Silco

Summary: The night of the explosion, Zaun celebrates the death of Silco and the impending war to come. The Council of Heads summons you to have a discussion before you take Sevika and Jinx to their new home. A few surprises appear while you’re there.

Author’s Note: If you have not read Hexed, please go do so as this spoils the ending! You can find the series masterlist pinned to my page! I was originally going to post this on Post+ but it feels wrong to charge my readers. I enjoy writing and sharing it, so this story won’t be for subscribers only. Tips are on if you ever feel like tipping. Writing is currently all I do right now. Check out the Spotify playlist I made for the story! You can search for it by “The Fury of Zaun” made by Kittyt! So, without further ado, here you go!

The ceaseless screaming match from all of the councilors soured Viktor’s already low opinions of them. They weren’t great opinions, but he had some respect for them at one point. That vanished the moment they flew into outrage about Jayce’s proposal. ‘Peace in exchange for Zaun’s independence.’ He couldn’t lie to himself and say that he wholeheartedly agreed as well, but that was because he knew who Silco was. He wasn’t an industrialist. Not in the way Piltover sees him, at least. Yet, despite the outrage, Mel raised her hand in support of the proposal. ‘At least Jayce’s relationship with her is paying off.’ The other council members were slow to follow, but one by one, they raised their hands. They were voting for a man who didn’t have his people’s best interest at heart. Viktor wished he could speak up, but he couldn’t jeopardize Jayce’s position. He was truly caught between his position as a Zaunite and as Jayce’s partner. ‘Am I still Jayce’s partner after what he said to me? I am a Zaunite, and that class division is getting to him as well. How far would he go because of it? Would he kick me off the project?’ He frowns.

Viktor flinches and clutches his chest as pain flairs from his heart and into the rest of his body. His head snaps to the window behind Mel as Cassandra raises her hand in support. This feeling is too familiar. It feels like his body is screaming out about whatever is heading this way. ‘How do I know that something is heading this way?’ His brow furrows as an instinct to run flares through him. His mind flashes to the pain he felt only last night. ‘Hexxit’s magic? Why? Why would I be feeling this now?’ He doesn’t miss the way Mel jerks forward in alarm as a golden glow appears around her. Before he knows it, Viktor is throwing himself up out of the chair and stumbling away from the table. There’s a bright flash of light, followed shortly by the ear-piercing sound of an explosion and Viktor feels his body get flung backwards.

Fire. Blue fire is the first thing Viktor sees when he opens his eyes. His vision is spotty, blurred, but he couldn’t mistake the flickering of a fire. When did he close his eyes? He can’t hear anything except for the intense ringing in his ears. He lets out a groan, his body feeling too heavy as he forces himself to turn over. The memories from earlier were blurry, but he could vaguely remember jumping out of his chair before… an explosion? Painfully, Viktor uses the column to help him stand up and leans heavily against it. A wave of dizziness washes over him as he tries to steady himself.

Viktor blinks, shakily raising his hand to his ear and feeling wetness. ‘Blood.’ He looks forward, vision briefly blurring before his eyes widen in shock. The whole side - and half of the ceiling - of the counselor's room was destroyed. He can feel the vibrations beneath his feet and from the shoulder braced against the column as more chunks of the wall crumble. They hit the edge of what was once the floor and plummet over the side. There’s a flickering, iridescent, golden dome covering some of the room. He can make out a few of the council members underneath it, including Jayce. There’s rubble on the floor and Viktor sees a sizable pile where he once sat. ‘I would have been crushed if I didn’t get thrown back.’ His eyes widen in horror.

Against his better judgment, Viktor pushes off of the column and staggers to the crumbling floor. The dome disappears as he does, but he pays no mind to it. He peers over the edge, seeing miniature figures racing towards the building, before stumbling back as a wave of dizziness washes over him. He didn’t know how to feel about this. He felt vibrations through the floor and looked around him. Enforcers were pouring in from the door, along with healers and Sky. Their mouths open in silent screams and yells that reminds him of his ears.

Sky immediately runs towards him saying something but the ringing hasn’t gone away. A healer is close on her heels doing the same thing. Viktor gives them a regretful smile and taps his ear before crossing his fingers in an x motion. This makes them pause before nodding. Sky and the healer carefully support him as they guide him out of the crumbling chamber.

Viktor glances back, seeing the flames being put out, and the others getting lifted onto stretchers. Enforcers were trying to dig through rubble for the missing members. He couldn’t help but wince seeing Bolbok’s crushed body being put on a stretcher. Blood pours out of the metal exoskeleton and Viktor briefly wonders what he looks like inside. Zaun was close to peace, but that would go out the door now. Strangely, Viktor didn’t mind that. In fact, he felt relieved. ‘I was sure I felt Hexxit’s magic. There’s one more day until I can go look for her, and I have many questions.’

The Undercity was buzzing with activity all night long. Children ran through the streets giggling and screaming with their friends. The food stalls were working overtime to meet the demands of hungry customers. The food was free like it always was during this holiday. Even the tattoo artists were chatting away with their customers. The price heavily discounted.

The Heads of the Undercity called for a meeting with you, so you were gathering in The Last Drop. It was the unofficial meeting place in Zaun. Almost every deal was done underneath its roof. At least, before Silco took over.

“Hey, Chuck!” Jinx chirps, “We need drinks for everyone, pronto!” She slaps her hand onto the countertop and makes the man flinch. You raise an eyebrow as he hurriedly nods and gets to mixing drinks. With a chuckle, you take a seat at one of the tables. You pushed them all together so everyone could sit comfortably. One by one, they filed in and took a seat. You gave Babette a smile that she happily returned.

“I know you all heard my speech, but I want to say that your opinions matter to me. I want to hear what you have to say about my declaration of war.” You say sincerely.

“Vander wouldn’t have wanted this.” Babette says, “…but I do. It’s time for us to step forward and show Piltover that we won’t be messed with any longer. They disrespect my workers for choosing to use their bodies when there’s no law against it. Some of them sneak down using fake names in the dead of night and still have the audacity to pretend it’s beneath them!” She spits angrily. ‘The Red Light District does not turn away anyone unless they are dangerous to the workers. Even though it’s obvious to those of us working there, we pretend not to notice any Piltovens, especially when their names are clearly fake. It’s stupid to hate on something you partake in secretly.’

“I agree. Silco was a fool. He helped us move forward quickly, but we lost a lot in the process.” Flit, the Headmaster of Zaun’s College of Techmaturgy grumbles, “So many brilliant minds succumbed to the allure of shimmer and making quick money.”

“War is the only answer, and you have us behind you.” Zealot, the Head of the Miner’s Guild states. She fiddles with her artificial hand with a scowl, “I’ve lost so many miners to preventable conditions. Including your parents, little bird.” She sighs in frustration. Flit places his hand on her shoulder in sympathy. ‘If it wasn’t the shimmer, it would have been anything else in the mines. A cave-in, the toxic gases or overworking to meet material demands. The mines are a horrible place to work.’ The bartender comes around with everyone’s drinks and places them down before disappearing back behind the counter. There’s a pause in the conversation as you sip on your drinks.

“…It was impressive… you calling Janna forward. To know that our guardian spirit has been here all along…” The High Priestess of Janna’s faithful trails off wistfully, “She answered to you and went as far as announcing her support. The coven is behind you.” She pats your hand. You give her a thankful smile in return.

“Yes. It brought a feeling of hope I haven’t had in a while. Not since Vander’s attempted revolt.” Jir chuckles in bitter remembrance, “We have to make sure this venture succeeds.” You roll your eyes at the vastaya.

“Jir, I understand that you’re the Monster of the Pits, but must you be so violence-forward?” The High Priestess scoffs.

“Jir’s right, Priestess. What do you need from us for this to be successful, Hexxit?” Babette questions you.

“I need your cooperation. We must work together to make this possible. If one of us pushes forward when the rest isn’t ready, it will cause problems. We don’t want Piltover to know what we’re planning until it’s too late.” You say firmly, “The rocket that was launched tonight will be seen as something Jinx did. They will only be going after her, so I need everyone to cooperate with the Enforcers. If they ask you where she is, you tell them. They think we’ll sell each other out, so… let’s stroke their egos.”

“Business as usual.” Jinx grins as she sits on the table, “Keep things as normal as possible.”

“That won’t be difficult.” Sevika snorts, “If Zaunites are good at one thing, it’s being a Zaunite.” Her words make everyone chuckle. She had been quietly observing everyone and adding to your notes when she thought it was necessary.

“Everything will be handled behind the scenes. I have people already working on it. Piltover won’t see us coming.” You smirk, “We’ll have six months to prepare. Now as to what else I’ll need from all of you...” You fall into a discussion about what else you need from them. The most important thing is keeping your identity a secret from the topsiders until it is time. Everyone is eager to contribute to the conversation. The last time you saw everyone so animated was when Vander told them to wait out the Enforcers.

While they did that, you were also reading through some papers Jinx took from Silco’s office. The man took meticulous notes about everything he did. Every page has various details about who in Piltover was under his thumb, trade routes, things he did, and even his future plans. ‘Some of this stuff is outdated or the wrong information. My spies did an amazing job keeping his power within the twin cities.’ You smile to yourself. ‘I’ll have to reward them.’

After the meeting, you told Sevika and Jinx to go pack up their things. You were having them move into the Rapids so that they’d have a place to permanently call home. Sevika lived in a run-down apartment that Silco had supplied to his workers. From what she told you, it wasn’t any better than living in the streets. Then, there was the fact that you didn’t want to leave Jinx alone anymore. Whatever Silco did to her ended up fucking with her mind more. You wanted her close by so you could work on it with her, but you also thought it was time for her to stop living alone. The next few days would be busy with people moving into the hideout, so you wanted these two settled first.

You open your eyes at the sound of footsteps and smile at the two women. With one last glance around the club, you walk them into a rift. The sound of running water is the first thing that you hear as you exit. A mixture of surprised and shocked gasps sounds from behind you as the others step through. You walk towards the opening of the cavern and smile at the view in front of you. The grand tree looms above you as the waterfall forms ripples in the crystal clear lake. There were various buildings and platforms suspended over the water. The only things hanging over the grass areas were practice targets. Everything had been created using the tree itself and the things around it. You were proud of this place. This was your home.

“Welcome home.” You smile at Jinx as she stops next to you.

“This… This is home?” Jinx breathes out in shock. Dozens of lights bathe the area in a warm glow.

“Wow… Is this even in the Undercity?” Sevika mutters to herself.

“It is, but you can’t get in here without going through one of my rifts. Once everyone is settled, I’m going to cut through the top of the cliff. The only way in and out will be to fly… or use my rifts.” You grin excitedly.

“Fly? Like the hoverboards the Firelights use?” Sevika raises an eyebrow.

“Oooh, can I get one?!” Jinx gasps.

“Something like that.” You smile secretively before clapping your hands, “Let’s head across!” You grin and start walking across the rope bridge. Jinx whines that you didn’t answer her question, making you giggle at her. The bridge swings slightly, but you had reinforced it so it was safe to jump on or bear heavy loads. You tested it yourself, much to Janna’s chagrin who watched you bounce around on all of them.

“IS THAT A ZIP LINE?!” Jinx screams and points to your right. You laugh and nod your head as she continues to ramble on about everything she sees. You can see the annoyed look on Sevika’s face that was very poorly hiding a smile. Even Jinx’s antics weren’t enough to distract her from this.

“This is the main area. From here, you can access everywhere else in the Rapids. All of the houses are built into the cliff walls and should be able to withstand explosions. I borrowed a few of Jinx’s chompers to test it out.” You grin, “My place is at the top of the tree. I’m a bit partial to it. So, you’re free to choose whichever place you want. The outer wall will be decorated so people know it’s yours.” At the end of your sentence, Jinx takes off sprinting down one of the bridges. A few seconds pass before Sevika turns and walks in the complete opposite direction of the blue-haired menace. You laugh and tag along with her. ‘I’m hoping I can get these two to get along, at least.’

In the light, Sevika’s new metal arm glints a dark greyish color. Most of it is covered by her red cape, so you can only guess what the actual color is. You and Sevika walk downstairs in silence until you stop in front of one of the homes. You glance at her to see a nervous expression on her face. You grab her hand and gently tug her towards the inviting door.

“I know this probably feels like a lot, but you’ll love it here. I can adjust things to make it more comfortable for you. This will… hopefully feel like a home for you.” You give her a tentative smile. Sevika stares at you for a moment before she opens the door and walks in. You pause in the doorway as she observes her new apartment. Everything was powered by chemtech which you hid in the walls and was accessible if it needed to be fixed. The apartment is a simple one-bedroom, one-bathroom place with its own kitchen and living room. You wanted people to be comfortable and not feel forced to interact with others.

“You… made this place?”

“I did. I learned I can manipulate things with my magic. Pretty sweet, huh? Except, I had to create these… five at a time because I’m a perfectionist. I could have tried doing it all at once but each apartment is about 1000 square feet.” Sevika whipped around so fast you thought she might fall over.

“1000 square feet?! The average apartment size in the Undercity is 500 square feet for a one-bedroom!” She shouts at you. You blink.

“As I said, I want people to live comfortably. We deserve that. That means no leaky roofs, no mold or mildew on our bedsheets and clothes, and reliable appliances.” You place your hand on her shoulder, “This place is yours. You didn’t have to earn it, you didn’t have to fight for it, and you don’t have to pay me. It’s yours as long as you want it.” You say softly. Unshed tears glitter in Sevika’s eyes as you gaze at each other. It made you sad to see because you could tell what she was thinking. ‘There’s no catch. Every bronze she makes goes to her.’

“Oh! You’ll love this!” You drag her over to the bathroom, “You have hot water! I set it up so the pipes get warmed by the sun during the day, and the hot water gets stored in a special tank. There’s a water gauge on your shower head that shows you how much time you have left for your shower. It took a while to set up but-!” You pause in the middle of your rambling when you realize she hasn’t said a thing. ‘This is overwhelming for her… It’ll be overwhelming for every Zaunite that comes here. I need to give her some time to process this.’ Your eyes soften and you pat her shoulder.

“I’ll let you get settled in. When you’re done, you can find me in the center and we’ll eat dinner together.” You wait for acknowledgment, receiving a delayed nod after a minute, before walking to the front door. You had just opened it when you hear a sob come from behind you with a low “What the fuck?!” following it. You sigh and close the door quietly before heading across to Jinx. On her side of the cliff, you notice the lights are on in one of the top apartments. ‘I knew she would choose one up high. I think that’s where she feels more comfortable, like me.’

You leisurely walk up the stairs as the sound of music gets louder. You giggle to yourself knowing that Jinx was enjoying herself. You knock on her door, which was already spray painted with her name and little doodles. The music stops and a few seconds later, Jinx opens the door with a wide grin.

“This place is amazing, Hex! Did you know there’s hot water?! Hot water!” Jinx squeals and throws her arms around you, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!!” You grunt as she squeezes you but you hug her back.

“I hope you know that there’s-”

“-No catch to living here?! I know! It’s not like you to do that to others when they’re in need. I completely understand it!” Jinx cuts you off. You blink and give her a fond smile.

“Do you need help with anything?”

“Nope! I’m adding some art to the walls because it was BORING! So, I’m okay by myself, but I’ll meet you at the center for dinner! Byyye!” Jinx giggles before twirling back inside and closing the door. You shake your head and decide to make your way back to the center. You transported your things to your room while you waited for them, so you didn’t have anything to do.

“Berry?” An unfamiliar voice carried to you on the wind, making you pause midstep. Nervous butterflies instantly swarm your stomach at the sound. ‘Thank you, Janna. You didn’t have to alert me, though, I appreciate it.’ You take a deep breath and reappear at the fissure. In front of you is a group of girls illuminated by the flashlights they carry. They shift around nervously and you conjure a flame to light the area. The blue flame bathes the rocks in a comforting glow but the girls shriek as they startle.

“Hello, Chrissy… It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.” You say softly as the girls’ eyes land on you.

“Berry…” Chrissy breathes out in shock.

“I hope you don’t mind, but we must take this conversation elsewhere.” You smile as a rift opens beneath them and they fall in. Their screams are cut off as it closes and you follow them in a rift of your own. You snort when you see them in a pile on the floor.

“You’re brave coming down here not dressed like a Piltie.” You muse, looking at their outfits now that they are fully lit, “It could use some work, but for Piltovens who have never been down here… it’s… passable.” The girls scramble to their feet and you gesture to the chairs. They hesitate until you sit in one and cross your legs.

“There was an explosion at the councilors building, so we decided to sneak out before security got too tight.” Ves starts, “It’s… what? 1 am? I didn’t expect the Undercity to be so active.”

“It’s the city that never sleeps.” You shrug, “Except, most people will be passed out in the morning, so maybe it will be asleep. It’s a local holiday today and we haven’t celebrated in years, so people are partying hard.”

“Where are we? How did we get here?” Chrissy questions, “Was that similar to what happened with the cards? Where have you been all of these years?!”

“One question at a time.” You laugh, “You’re in my meeting room at my home base. I used my magic to rift you here, and yes, it’s similar to what happened with the cards… As to where I’ve been for six years? I’ve been here in Zaun.”

“Here?!” The girls chime together.

“I’ve been looking for you for years, Berry! You’ve been here this whole time?” Chrissy groans.

“I thought you were from Noxus? Like your uncle?” Niki furrows her brow.

“No… I think I should tell you the truth, but I need to know your stances on the Piltover and Zaun power difference.” You narrow your eyes.

“I’ve been studying it since I got my job.” Chrissy scoffs, “It’s disgusting what my people are doing. It goes back for hundreds of years!”

“It’s true. I’ve heard things from working with the Kirammans.” Megan sighs.

“We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t concerned about you and everything going on, Berry.” Niki frowns.

“Well, then…” You hear shouts of pain come from the girls as they grab their hands. “Sorry, that’s a sigil to protect anything shared between us. I forgot you’d feel it more than us Zaunites.” You sigh and rub the back of your neck, “Listen, Professor Uley is not my uncle. He’s not related to me at all. I’m from Zaun. I was trying to steal something from him and got caught.” You chuckle at the memory.

“Turns out that he is a Zaunite too, but left when he was young and got adopted by a Noxian couple. We bonded over being older siblings, and he offered to teach me how to fight. So, he said that I was his niece to get me in.”

“That’s why you didn’t leave with him that day!” Chrissy gasps, “I knew you couldn’t have disappeared! He didn’t mention you to the Enforcers after the explosion.” Your hand twitches before you clench it and take a deep breath. You lean forward and tell them a modified version of the truth. They didn’t need to know the personal details, only the important ones. You’d need people on the inside and they’re willing to help you without even knowing you. At the end of your explanation, a knock sounds at the door and you look over. Jinx waves at you with Sevika scowling behind her. You motion them in and they sit in the available seats next to you.

“Hey!” You grin, “These girls are old friends of mine who will be helping us.”

“They’re Pilties.” Sevika grunts.

“Do you trust them?” Jinx scoffs, “Remember what happened with my sister.”

“Don’t worry ladies, they’ve been tagged like you were.” You roll your eyes, and that makes them calm down slightly.

“I’m watching you.” Jinx narrows her eyes at them.

“Likewise.” Lacie glares back.

“Now that introductions are out of the way, let’s eat!” You chirp as food appears on the table. You were still trying to get a hang of storing things in rifts. You were curious about what would happen if you kept something suspended in a rift. Food was the easiest so far, so you’d be moving up to plants soon.

“You’re eating at 2:30 in the morning?” Jin blinks as the three of you dig into the meal.

“Yeah, why not? I’m hungry! A snack wouldn’t be enough after today.” You snort, “Want to try some? It’s one of Zaun’s cultural dishes. Pickled fish and fried rice.”

“Pickled… fish?” Megan questions skeptically.

“Fried rice? What’s that?” Jin tilts her head. You freeze mid-bite and put your fork down.

“You’ve seriously never heard of this?” Sevika raises an eyebrow.

“Fried rice is like… the best dish ever!” Jinx gasps, “You don’t know what it is?!” The girls shake their heads making the three of you groan in disappointment. You had hoped the dishes would have been shared regardless of the class system. ‘I guess these dishes are below them since they’re made by the sewer rats.’ You scowl bitterly.

“Fried rice is made in many different ways, but it takes regular rice and adds vegetables, eggs, meat, or seafood to it.” Sevika explains, “Pickled fish is cured in a mixture of vinegar, salt, and spices. It lasts a long time as long as it’s sealed.”

“I-I’d like to try some if you don’t mind?” Lacie says shyly, “It looks tasty.”

“Here!” Jinx slides the large container towards her, along with a plate and a fork, “You’ll love it!” Lacie served herself and took a tentative bite of the rice. She let out a happy squeal and excitedly motioned to the plate before scarfing down more.

“Try it! Try it!” Lacie encouraged the other girls and they all followed her lead. Soon, everyone was gushing over the meal and sharing stories with each other. ‘Food always has a way of bringing people together.’ You listen as Sevika and Jinx agree that pickled eggs are disgusting. You smile to yourself. That was the first time you’ve witnessed them agreeing on something. ‘This war will be good for Zaun.’

After eating, the Piltoven girls were allowed to choose where they wanted to sleep for the night. By the time everyone went to bed, it was around 3 am, but the party in Zaun was still ongoing with no sign of stopping just yet. You put out the candle on your bedside table, get comfortable in bed, and close your eyes. The tears you’ve been holding back start falling. The smell of mint surrounds you even after washing the sheets and it makes your heart ache. ‘Why would you choose her, Vi? Why?’

#vi x reader #poc reader #vi arcane #ekko's older sister #arcane #genius reader #arcane netflix #arcane reader insert #the fury of zaun #jinx arcane #sevika arcane #post arcane season 1 #ekko arcane

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luluwiie · 4 years ago

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My writers academia

My readings full masterlist

Or: just Lulu-stan praising her fav writers (❤ = My dearest ones) + Masterlist links + my very fav work from them ❤ The "ranking" logic goes crescendo, from growing writers to the "greatest" and most experienced ones, aka my favs ♥!

✏ Aspiring - Promising pencils ~

Aspiring heroes - Some writers I recently discovered or who just started creating some really great works. Show them some love, they deserve it !

@matts-writing - How you got together -

@thesweetestkimberry - Mlist - Chocolate

@daenqyu - Masterlist - Promise me

@veenxys - Masterlist - Todoroki & Bakugo falling for you - Mel is honestly such an adorable person, and a really funny one too ! I just love her Hcs, and the way she mixes humor with angst in her stuff. Honestly, I'm a fan :')

@shinsorokiri - Masterlist - Losing memory - Their hcs are just soooo deeply touching my heart. I wish I could read more ! Good angst content 😳

@bkgmaid - Masterlist - Shinso falling in love - New Tumblr I just discovered an fell in love with ! The slow burn process depicted there are.the.best ❤ Love the way growing feelings are depicted ! Touches my soul ❤

@yaomomvs - Masterlist - Ten duel commandments - I just love this girl's writings. I dunno what to say I JUST WANT MOOORE FIZNEKC (Shouto lover High five)

@atsumiyass - Masterlist - Simphony - Mars and Venus are new in BnHA fandom but are just So. Talented. I just love their writings. Simple yet very touching. Just go check their art ♡

@shotos-noodles - Masterlist - If we tried - There are definitely some sweet poetical vibes in this adorable person writings. Cue some adorable Shoto moments and I'm melting. I just love this cutie works ❤

🖋 Pro writers - plumes ~

Pro heroes - Some more or less famous yet very talented and experienced writers, whose works are undeniably qualitative.

@sam-writs- Masterlist - Candles - I want to read more touching poetry like this ! ♡

@tsuhika - Masterlist - Saturdays are for the boys -

@fruggykitty - Masterlist - Trying to confess - BEST TAMAKI CONTENT. LUV IT.

@lovers-liability - Masterlist - I keep my promises - FF + The Beauty of it all - Ongoing FF - Lu' is such an adorable person and an incredibly gifted writer. She really has a thing with words; her own special way of depicting emotions and mental / physical states. She writes some of the deepest angst drabbles I've ever read, like you can feel the intense emotions she depicted. And considering her FF prologue, I can tell you she's as good in Fluff ! She deserves SO much love, recognition an fame for her art. I just can't wait to read more of her works! In two words, I highly recommend her Tumblr and whole great person ❤

@duskjelly - Masterlist - Lovestruck - This adorable jelly has such a good appreciation of BnHA characters. Every single thing I read there was full of small yet very significant details that make their work unique. I just love falling in their lovely / lively hcs !

@lovely-angst - Masterlist - This whole account is just what I ADORE reading on Tumblr. Intertwined Angst + Fluff moments. LOVE-IT.

🖌 Top 10 artists - brushes ~

Top heroes- The very best writers I know so far. I absolutely worship their works. Their art never fail giving me chills and emotions. I highly recommend ♥

@katimagines - Masterlist - Kat is just the author responsible for my BnHA fandom adoration. Her works made me fall in the fandom, and for that I'll be eternally gratefull !

@songbirdsingingthings - Masterlist - Ice Skating + Polka-dotted Bandages - This writer is honestly underrated, she deserves SO MUCH love and fame. I just love the way she writes for my fav characters (aka Shoto, for BnHa). I'm just in love with her writings and details, that's all ❤

@izukulus - Navigation - Do you want some tea ? - There is something in Izukulus writings. A mix between psychological writings and pure fluff / soft moments. I just love their sweet writing. ❤

@meliorist-midoriya - Navi- the meaning of “i love you” + sing me to sleep - Kelley's whole masterlist was in my reading list since quite some weeks now... And I recently literally FELL in her whole ART. 'Cause honestly, it's about art (and a lot of emotions, too). First, just look at her tumblr theme ? It screams ART. Then read her psychological works ? it screams FEELS, EFHGRGIH I just love how she writes, I discovered this way too late and now that I've fallen for this, I'll never stop supporting her and reading her work è.é LUV

@blkladyelle - Masterlist - Unforgettable -Ongoing FF - One of my very favorite Dabi / Hawks fanfic. Honestly, with Midnight, these are the two Fanfics who made me fall in Dabi and Hawks works. I'm just in love with these two Fanfics. Just read it, it worths the journey! ❤

@elysianseraph - Masterlist - How they say I love you / Arrythmia - Poetry. Just emotional poetry. Nothing more to say, these works are often masterpieces. Deserves fame!

@oikawaplssteponme - Masterlist - 7 signs you're in love - I only discovered this Tumblr recently, yet I'm already sooo deeply invested in it. Willow is just the cutest person on earth. She deserves all the support and love ♥ The little Fanfiction with Todoroki learning what love is.. is just a blessing for our feels. Honestly, it's so well written, so sweet, so full of good vibes, I just love it 💕❤ -

@thelawofmixingcolors - Princess and Hero + Midnight - Ongoing FF - ❤ Realllly one of my top favs. A really sweet person and an amazing author. Their work never fails moving me, they do really have a gift for writing. I highly recommend ❤❤

* ******************** *** ******************* *

Wherever you're on this crescendo list, regardless of the number of followers and interactions of your tumblr, it doesn't matter : just know that your art helps people. I'll quote @melloyellobeth post, 'cause it encapsulates my thoughts and feelings about Fandom writings :

“There will always be someone who enjoys your writing [and I’m one of them]. Remember that every like, reblog, and comment is one person who enjoyed what you wrote and i can assure you they (and I) want more! and remember, not everyone remembers to leave evidence that they liked your writing or they might just be too nervous to interact with you. invisible fans exist, and you’ve got them.

Going along with that last one, your writing has the potential to help others! you could write about a minority, or maybe you could publish a little something comforting at the exact time someone else needs it. ”

This is what your writings gave me. Comfort. Feels. A perfect exit from reality / anxiety / any bad moment in my life. Honestly, I would never have thought I’d become addict to the whole fandom’ universe, and yet here I am, unable to sleep correctly if I didn’t have my bed-time FF reading.

To put it shortly : your writings move, comfort, help, bring bliss, feels and amazing moments to people. So thank you for that. Thank you for everything. ♥

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redinkrain · 3 years ago

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Come home.

For a second, Abigael stayed still like a marble statue while Mel’s arms took place around her neck and sobs started to make themselves heard. Unsure of how to be a good friend, the hybrid delicately placed her own arms around the Charmed One’s waist. Posing her chin on top of the Latina’s head, she tightened her embrace and spoke with a gentle voice.

“Let it all go, Love.” Closing her eyes and inhaling a scent that she deeply missed during those few months. “It’s okay. You’re safe.”

The British Lady then stroked the witch’s back slowly, up and down, with the tip of her fingers. And Mel cried, cried for minutes, hours maybe. None of the two women were putting their attention on the time passing by. The Vera sister calmed down eventually with the soothing movement of Abby’s hand anchoring her. She took a deep breath and without letting go of Abigael’s neck, she looked into those hazel eyes that haunted her some nights. Most nights, when sleep did came. That damn expression tracing the woman’s gaze. That fucking same expression that always left Mel with the wish to be wholly swallowed. So much words unspoken. But the witch exhausted couldn’t brought herself to have this conversation with the half-demon half-witch, not right now.

Abigael used one of her hand and brought it up to the Latina’s cheek, wiping some tears that kept escaping the witch’s eyes. Mel leaned into her touch but her eyes stayed glued to her guest’s ones.

“I didn’t even say “hi”.” The witch whispered with a smile.

“Good evening, Love.” The woman answered with a small smile of her own and with that accent Mel liked so much.

Mel couldn’t stopped herself and so she put her friend in a new embrace, but this time, she hugged her tighter. Abigael responded to this act of affection with as much will and tenderness. Listening to the beating heart of the hybrid, Mel felt a tiny bit better. In her head and in her heart at list, because her legs? Well, it seemed that her two legs had her own agenda. The witch almost fell but Abby firmly kept a grip on her. She helped the Vera sister to sit back.

“You should rest, Mel. You’re exhausted. Have you eat anything today?” the hybrid asked, worries clear in her tone.

“No.” The Latina simply answered.

“Then rest here. I will go out and buy something for you to eat.”

The half-demon half-witch turned around and was about to leave when fingers gripped at her wrist.

“Wait!” Mel stated. “Can you stay a bit longer? We can grab something to eat on our way home, right?”

Home, what a strange choice of word Abby thought. She never had a home. Not really. What was a home anyway? Was it the same thing for everyone? Or did its definition changed depending on who you were asking? But then Waverly’s voice resonated in her mind “You do love her”. And Abby wondered: what if a home wasn’t a place, what if home and love were just parts of the same coin?

She gazed at Mel, and got down on one knee so the witch didn’t have to look up.

“Allow me to at least bring you something to drink. Tea maybe?” The British Lady asked.

Melanie’s eyes softened even more at that sentence.

“A tea would be great. Thank you.” She smiled at her guest.

“I’ll be back shortly.” Abby said while standing up.

She disappeared in a dark smoke before coming back five minutes later with a cup of tea. The hybrid gave it to the witch. Then, she went to take a stool and placed it in front of Mel. She sat on it and observed the Latina who was sipping her tea.

“So… Why are you here?” The Vera sister questioned quietly.

“Well, because your sister called me and silently asked for assistance regarding your current hunt on demons!” The ex-Demon Overlord said with a little scowl to make a point then it disappeared. “But honestly Melanie, I was worried about you and it was just the perfect excuse to come and do my best to help you in anyway I can… If you want of course.” She continued a little worried about Mel’s reaction.

“I’m sorry Abby…” The witch whispered.

“Why would you be sorry?” Now the hybrid was confused.

“Sorry for not texting you back, for not telling you about what happened. You deserve better than that.” The Latina looked away.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she kept her tone light with maybe a little bit of… hurt?

“I-, I don’t know Abby. I guess I-…” Mel was looking for the right words, but she wasn’t even sure to know what she wanted to say.

“You do not have to answer if you don’t want to.” The British Lady tried to be supportive of her friend.

“It’s just, I guess that seeing to pictures of you with your niece, reading your texts. I felt your happiness and I didn’t want to bother you with my pain.” She blurted out looking at the concrete floor.

Abigael took one of her hand and placed it between hers, tugging a little, sign for the Charmed One to look at her.

“Look at me, Mel.” That damn tenderness enveloping her voice again. “You will never trouble me with your sorrow. What you gave me... I will never be able to repay you. That happiness you mentioned? I am learning what it means, what if feels like and… Truthfully you are a part of its meaning. So, I want to be here for you, but only if you’ll have me…?”

The witch was speechless hearing this confession from the half-demon half-witch, but then again, it wasn’t the first time Abigael was being honest about what she was feeling for her.

“I’ve missed you…” she simply whispered.

The British Lady kept her mouth shut, knowing her friend had more to say, but the corner of her mouth curled in a smile. Her hands continued to envelop Mel’s one.

“Abby, I feel like I’ve lost a part of myself since she’s gone. And I know it’s stupid because present me is her past. But I can’t stop thinking of the future. What if changing the present will affect her in the future like you know... she won’t even exist…?” Tears started to flow again, and a river of it made its way on the Charmed One’s cheeks.

“Nothing of what you feel is stupid, Mel. You gave birth to your child, present or future, Eva was, is and always will be your daughter. She’s gone, Love, not lost. You said “goodbye”, not “farewell”. You will see her when the time is right. And of course, changing the present will affect her, but not the way you are thinking.” Abby posed. “Mel, you gave her everything she needed, providing her with security and healthiness. Her future will be bright, and if there is any shadow to come on her path? I have no doubt nor worry that you will be there to protect her once again. You have been an incredible mother to her in a past that she won’t remember and you will be, as I said, a fantastic mother in the future.” The hybrid finished her sentence with so much conviction that the Latina couldn’t disagree with her.

They stared at each other once more, and again Abby wiped away the tears that were still on the Vera sister’s cheek. Something in Mel’s heart burnt at the way Abby was acting right now. She thought about the half witch’s lips, about the taste of her tongue, and all she wanted to do was to lean in and kiss her. When she was about to do exactly just that, Abigael cleared her throat.

“Shall I take you home?” the hybrid questioned gently.

Melanie observed Abby’s eyes, then lowered her gazed to her lips, then her eyes again. A little smirk marked the half demon’s lips. Even though all she wanted to do was to erase this smirk from Abigael with her own lips, the Charmed One stood up straight. Her hand preciously locked up between the British Lady’s ones.

“Yes, please.” looking down at Abby, who was searching something in the witch’s eyes.

Abigael raised in one smooth movement and helped out Mel to do the same. They were so close that their nose almost touched the other's face. Their eyes locked and their lips were about to connect when Mel’s stomach growled.

Abby laughed at the sound, and placed a kiss on her friend’s forehead.

“Come on now Miss Walking Stomach, I think you need to be fed.” the hybrid said giddily.

Mel rolled her eyes at that nickname, and had to hide her smile while Abby turned around. They walked to the stairs and took the direction of the Vera-Vaughn-Greenwood’s Manor, hand in hand without even realizing it...

#abimel #abigael x mel #abigael jameson caine #abigael caine #mel vera #charmed #charmed cw #cw charmed #charmed 2018 #2018 charmed #reboot charmed #charmed reboot #sorry it took so long #i'm really busy at work and got a lot to do on weekends so...#i do hope you'll like this chapter

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hoodoo12 · 3 years ago

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The Ties That Bind (And How to Follow Them) 4/?

@bunnys-beetlejuice-blog @werwulfy @turtlepated @strange-n-unbluusual @mel-time @fireflower1015 @go-whovian-universe @sweetcat-666 @genderless-cryptid @monsterlovinghours @heresathreebee @rainingpaint @infptarius

Pate was at a loss. She’d never seen Beetlejuice like this. His hair, already lightened to a pale green shot through with red and yellow and purple in his distress, blanched even further when she mentioned going to Lillian. That alone was enough to convince her that her mentor had somehow trapped him in this mirror-verse where he could see and hear but not be heard.

His increasing upset hurt her deeply, and when he suddenly disappeared from view her heart plummeted and she pressed herself to the glass, hoping to see what he was doing but without him in front of her her own reflection blocked her view. She wished she could reach him, hold him, soothe him, hating her own helplessness.

At length he came back, his pale face even more pale than normal, his ash colored hair still streaked to show his frustration and fear. He looked close to tears, and Pate wasn’t even sure he was capable of tears. His lips moved softly and though she couldn’t hear him the message was clear.

Pate offered him a thin smile and shook her head, pressing her palm to the glass again.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she assured him. “Just give me one second to get my phone and I’m gonna call Lillian. She has to fix this. We’ll make her fix this.”

Keeping her eyes locked on his until the doorway and bedroom wall came between them, Pate dashed to the living room to retrieve her phone, hurrying back to the bathroom where Beetlejuice looked visibly relieved to see her return.

She thumbed through her contacts and smashed Lillian’s name, raising the phone to her ear. It was late, but Pate didn’t care if she woke Lillian up. The phone rang several times before it picked up.

“Hello? Pate? What are you doing calling this time of night?” Lillian asked.

“What did you do to him?” Pate demanded without preamble.

Lillian didn’t answer at first, and Pate heard what sounded like bedclothes being swept aside and a lamp being flicked on.

“I take it you mean the creature that invaded my kitchen,” Lillian finally drawled distastefully. “I did what you should have done, I sent him where he can’t harm anybody.”

“Beetlejuice wouldn’t hurt anybody anyway!” Pate insisted hotly. “He’s my . . . ” she trailed off, glancing at him in the mirror, knowing he could hear what she said. “He’s special. He’s important to me and I care about him,” she said. “You have to let him out. Or at least tell me how to and I’ll do it myself.”

Lillian sighed tiredly, as if she were dealing with a particularly exhausting situation. “Pate, whatever you think he means to you, the bottom line is he’s not human. He’s a demon, a wraith, a trickster. You’re better off without him.”

“I don’t care, tell me what to do to let him out.”

“No.”

The blunt refusal startled her. “You have to! You can’t leave him like this, stuck in my bathroom mirror!”

Speaking mostly to herself, Lillian said, “I should’ve figured he’d worm his way out. Should’ve sealed the mirror, too. Pate, nothing good can come of you having a live-in demon, I don’t care what feelings you might have about it. I’m going back to bed and that entity is staying right where he is. Good night.”

The line went dead. Angry, frustrated and panicked Pate immediately dialed again but it went straight to voicemail. Lillian had turned off her phone.

With a huff she slung her phone onto the counter, fixing Beetlejuice with a desperate expression.

“We’re gonna figure this out,” she said. “We’re gonna go over there and make her let you out.”

An idea struck her, and Pate crossed the room to the cabinets set into the wall, rifling through for what she was looking for. She turned back to Beetlejuice with a hand mirror.

“Do you think you can crawl into this mirror?” she asked. “Then I can take you with me.”

⁂

Out of all the crazy things they'd done together, crawling into a mirror that his lover held was barely a blip on the radar, even if she held it out in front of her or to her side as she walked. He wasn't incredibly excited about being shoved in a purse--or to see Ms. Lillian Borden again, truthfully--but he had no idea what else to do.

Beej heard the one-sided conversation Pate had had, had seen the quick look she’d sent his way before saying he was "special", and could only imagine what her mentor's response to that had been. He doubted anything Pate was going to tell her would make a difference. Still, it would be worth a shot to try and talk reason to the woman. He lifted his shoulder in a shrug as Pate displayed the mirror. He had no clue if her suggestion would work but was willing to try. Motioning her closer, she read what he meant and brought the mirror in her hand up to press against the glass of the bathroom counterpart. For a moment, all he could see was his own reflection. With deeper shadows under his eyes than normal and hair that was washed out more than colored, he looked worse than he thought.

Raising a hand as if to touch the mirror image, the interior surface of the mirror was tacky instead of smooth. It took a bit of effort to actually pull his hand back, and threads of what looked like spun glass, growing thinner the further away he pulled his hand, trailed from his fingertips. It seemed reluctant to let him go. If he was ruining Pate’s bathroom mirror, well, she mentioned in passing updating it anyway. Beej heard her asking what he was doing, if it was working, and decided it was better to just go for it and deal with consequences as they fell. With that determined spirit, he shoved his hand back through the glass. It felt as though he was pushing into molten, but cold, lava, all thick and clinging. Good thing he didn’t need to breathe, because it was going to take a moment to get through it and then get clean of it. Tentacles had to assist carrying him through the two layers of glass. Beetlejuice could only imagine what Lillian would think of those, chuckling to himself, then liquidish glass got in his mouth. There was nothing to do about it at the moment; trying to wipe it away would result in an arm moving backwards and that was not what he wanted right now! Finally, after more effort than he put into a lot of things, he managed to push himself into another endless white space. It didn’t look any smaller than the previous ones, and now he wondered how many compacts or other small mirrors he’d crawled through. The second his feet hit the ground and were free of the glass he found it was gone. There was no residue of any sort. Were all mirrors magic and just needed the right person to activate them? A question for Lillian, if she was willing to take questions from a pupil she seemed to like and a ghost she most definitely did not. Beetlejuice went to pound on the glass to alert Pate he’d moved, but the thought of getting snared by the inside of the new mirror gave him pause. He had to wait until she grew impatient and looked for herself.

⁂

Pate couldn’t help feeling a little foolish, standing with the small, round makeup mirror pressed against her medicine cabinet. Whatever Beetlejuice was doing, his reflection disappeared from the cabinet mirror to be replaced with her own.

Turning the smaller mirror around to face her, Pate beamed to see that the idea had worked, Beetlejuice looked out at her from the handheld mirror.

Wasting no more time she went back through into the bedroom, grabbed her wallet with her license inside from her purse, as well as her car keys.

“Let’s go see Ms. I-Know-What’s-Best-For-You Borden and get you back in the flesh,” she said, addressing Beetlejuice in the mirror as she locked her apartment door behind her.

What would it look like, she wondered, if someone saw her talking to the mirror?

Simple, she told herself. They’ll think you’re crazy. And maybe you are.

This time of night traffic was minimal and it didn’t take long to drive straight to Lillian’s downtown shop/apartment. Pate parked in a spot on the street, closing her door with perhaps a little more force than necessary, locking the car and cradling Beetlejuice’s mirror in her other hand.

There were internal steps up to Lillian’s apartment, but the shop was locked up at this hour. Pate rounded the building, heading for the fire escape. She had to set Beetlejuice down and climb up on a dumpster to reach the ladder, but after a few failed attempts she managed to pull it down with an earsplitting creak of protesting metal.

Retrieving the mirror that held her demon lover, Pate raced up the rickety steel steps as quickly as she dared, finding herself at Lillian’s sitting room window. She tried to open the window, finding it thankfully unlocked. She wouldn’t put it past Lillian to have some otherworldly impediments in place, designed to keep out apparitions but not people. Sliding the window open, Pate swung herself in one leg at a time.

“Lillian?” she called into the apartment, making no pretense at stealth. “Lillian, come out here and undo this.”

Pate didn’t hear that?! Maybe it was just spectral, maybe it was just something only people snared in tiny mirrors could hear, but the cries from inside the antique store from the various beings on the first floor were unnerving. Even the shriek of rusty metal joints on the fire escape moving after years of neglect was melodious compared to them. Something had happened. He didn’t know what, but Beej didn’t like it one tiny bit. He yelled at Pate to stop. Even at the top of his lungs she couldn’t hear him. Dredging up the deepest, most demonic voice he could had no effect. He was mute and helpless.

The television was on, I Love Lucy reruns flickering black and white with the volume low. Pate could see the top of Lillian’s head over the back of her recliner, facing away towards the TV. Angered by being ignored, Pate strode across the room, repeating her demand.

“Lillian, you tell me how to fix this. I don’t want Beetlejuice locked away, he’s -”

Pate cut off abruptly as she rounded the chair and saw the figure seated there.

Lillian Borden’s face was almost blue in the light from her TV, her eyes opened but staring unseeing at the ceiling, hands resting peacefully on the arms of her chair.

She was dead.

⁂ The scene inside the old woman’s apartment was nothing short of a horror movie set up. The lights were off, the room lit only by flickering from the television. Pate was demanding an answer and then a response. She stepped around the chair, and her hand dropped to her side as she choked her own sentence off, and her hand mirror slipped from her fingers, giving Beej a roller coaster ride as it fell, then a great view of the ceiling of the room when it hit the floor. If it was good or bad the glass didn’t break he’d never know, because Pate scooped him up almost as quickly as he’d fallen. Her apology he waved away as no worries, and she turned him towards her mentor in the chair. “Oh,” Beej said quietly at the sight of the dead woman. Now that posed something interesting. Never mind there was no way for her to undo the spell that trapped him in his current state, he didn’t sense her spirit or any evidence she drew a door and left the earthly plane. Of course, his view was limited to wherever Pate pointed his mirror. Or he’d been restricted by Lillian’s hasty capture of him somehow. Whatever it was, it warranted looking into once he was free again.

That was low on the priority list, however. He still needed out, and the woman who’d put him here was well past helping.

tbc . . .

#writing #fanfiction #Beetlejuice #Ties that Bind

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ilovebeing-weird · 4 years ago

Text

Have a Coffee

Chapter-3

Chapter-1 Chapter-2

So, people who like angst. There won't be much angst here. I hate it! There would be hurt/comfort at best. This is going to be a fluffy story. And if I get anything wrong in the airport scenes, it's because idk how they work. Never been to an airport.

"Flight 204, to New York, from Air France will leave soon. Passengers please board the plane. Flight 204....." The voice was heard from the speakers

"Queenie, it's our flight. Let's go." Marinette called Chloe, who was busy fighting with a person, because he didn't recognise her and it's 'ridiculous, utterly ridiculous'

"Hmph, you better keep up with the celebrities. I am the Chloe Bourgeois. The only daughter of Style Queen, Audrey Bourgeois. The person who has her own amazing business. The best friend of cocci-"

"Chlo!" Mari put her hand to prevent her from speaking more than necessary. "Our flight, let's go."

"Oh"

"Je suis désolée Monsieur." (I am sorry sir)

"C'est bon." (It's okay)

"Let's go Chloe."

"I can't wait to go to New York! It's gonna be sooo much fun! I am so excited" Adrien squealed heading towards his seat

"When are you not excited?" Kagami asked rolling her eyes at her boyfriend's behavior

"Don't put your cloudy shade over my sunlight." Adrien said dramatically, in response Kagami again rolled her eyes.

"If you think I am such a rain cloud, why are you dating me?"

"Because I love you, Duh!"

Kagami's face went as red as a tomato.

"Aww, you're blushing!"

"No, I am not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I am not."

"Yes-"

"Guys as cute as you are, can we just please move." Luka said moving to his seat

"Sorry Lukes."

"Luka-bear, window seat is mine."

"I know Bee."

"Mari, you get the aisle seat. And Lu you'll have to sit in the middle." Chloe pointed to everyone's seat

"Yes Queenie!" Marinette saluted

"Perfect, now I will sleep for hours, I need my beauty sleep after all. If I will get dark circles it will be ridi-"

"RIDICULOUS, UTTERLY RIDICULOUS" All of them yelled

"Melody, your soul mark is in English, right. Maybe you'll find your soulmate here."

"Oooooh"

"Yeah, probably. My luck is not that good though."

"Don't lose hope yet Marinette, who knows maybe something good will happen."

"Maybe"

"The flight is ready to take off, passengers please wear their seatbelts. The flight is ready to…"

"I think we should get seated." Kagami took her seat "And Mars, don't worry, you will find your soulmate soon. It's destiny."

"You're right. It's destiny."

They all got seated, and Marinette was dying from lack of her coffee.

"I need my coooooffeeeee."

"No, sleep."

"Coffeeeee."

"Mel, for the last time, Sleeeeep!! Please."

"But I don't wanna. I have work-"

"That can wait. I am sure your clients will understand. And even if they won't I am sure you're ahead of your schedule." Marinette opened her mouth to say something but closed it again, it happened for a good three minutes before she gave in.

"......fine."

"Good"

"but you are working as my mannequin later."

"If it gets you to sleep."

"Why are you obsessed with making me sleep?"

"Because I care." Came his soft reply.

~After 5 hours~

"Marinette~ Where are you?~" A maniacal voice was heard

"Marinette! Answer me before I come there! Guess I will have to teach you another lesson!"

"Why don't you just die, you stupid piece of shit?" A punch

"Why are you even alive?" A kick

"You're nothing more than a waste of space." A push and marinette fell to the ground

"Nobody ever loved you, and nobody ever will! You don't even have a soulmate!" Marinette tried to say something, deny it, tell them that she had one, but she couldn't "And your "friends" they just hang out with you for pity!"

"I can't even believe I was friends with you!"

"You're nothing more than a jealous bully!"

She tried to do something, anything! But she wasn't able to, it was almost like she was bound by an invisible force.

"I hate you! I can't believe I was besties with you! You are just a liar and a bully!" Another kick, it didn't hurt. Not more than their betrayal.

"Asshole!"

"Bitch!"

"Slut"

"Waste of time!"

She sat there, listening to them. All of their insults, she didn't care. Not anymore.

"Guess I will have to put an end to it all, huh? I feel sad, you were a good playtoy." Her da-, no Mr.Dupain said, and the knife came down, she was screaming but no sound came out

"Marinette!" Huh? She didn't die?

"Marinette!" Adrien, she recognized the voice

"Marinette!" Marinette woke up with a shock

"What happened?"

"You were screaming and thrashing in your sleep."

"Oh, I had a nightmare." Adrien wiped her tears, she'd been crying? She didn't know.

"Wanna talk about it?" No she didn't, it will make it all real. It would bring flashbacks and she would have a panic attack.

"Not really." It was good that Adrien respected her wishes and didn't push it. "How long till we reach?"

"Uh, it's been five hours, so I am guessing three hours more. You wanna eat something?"

"N-" Adrien cut her off

"You know what? You do want to. You will obviously deny it, but I am not gonna let you starve."

"Why are you all like this?"

"Like what? So caring and such good friends? You deserve it."

"I hate you, each one of you."

"Aww, you know you love us! You looove us"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Mari rolled her eyes. She knew she loved them, they knew she loved them. They all loved each other, platonically obviously. But, there was a part of her which always wondered if they hung out with her just because they pitied her. They wouldn't do that, right?

Would they?

Finally almost eight hours passed, she had eaten and now she was working on some new designs while her friends slept peacefully.

"There has been a technical issue, the flight would land right here, in Gotham. Passengers are required to please wear their seatbelts and not panic."

WHAT!? The flight had to make an abrupt stop at Gotham at all of places, the fucking CRIME CAPITAL!! Oh no, oh no, OH HELL NO! This is a disaster, this is a disaster, a disaster. Wasn't luck supposed to be on her side? Did the miraculous mean nothing?

She quickly wore her seatbelt and checked all of her friends' too before waking them up.

"Umm, guys, there has been a technical issue, the flight's gonna land now, so you may wanna wake up." It didn't work, the formal and polite option didn't work "GUYS WAKE UP! THE FLIGHT'S GONNA LAND RIGHT NOW IN GOTHAM!" That worked! It jolted awake all of them.

"Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!!"

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"In the fucking crime capital?!"

"Maybe it is destiny." Marinette gave Luka a weird look that said 'are you crazy or something?'

"Maybe you will find your soulmate here."

"Of fucking course. In the crime capital. Maybe my soulmate is a criminal too, huh?"

"Don't be such a pessimist Mari, there are good people too in Gotham."

"So any idea what we wanna do?" Marinette asked once they were out of the plane.

"Let's order a cab to New York?"

"Yeah, let's do that. Let me check the cabs… There's no cab available for where you wanna go….. " Blood drained from Adrien's face as he read that.

"So, we are forced to stay in Gotham?"

"Kinda"

"Well what should we do now?" Luka gained their attention

"Let's go shopping!!" Chloe, obviously, cheered "Before either of you deny, Kags, you need new clothes, no offense, but you really have a bad fashion sense. Luka-bae, I need you to carry my bags. Adri-kins, Kags need you. And Mari-bear, you have a good fashion choice." Luka and Adrien sighed, guess they have to carry their bags forever.

"I don't know Chlo, I really need some coffee and have to do some work. I guess I will go to a café instead." Marinette said sheepishly

"Hmm, if you say so." Marinette was genuinely surprised that she let her off the hook. Usually she would be dragged with them. "You can send us your location and we'll meet you there in two hours?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Okay, bye, don't have a overdose~"

"Bye queenie!"

"Now let's find a café with an internet connection and quiet environment." She quickly searched all the café near her, fortunately the nearest café was within walking distance.

She walked for ten minutes before she reached the café "coffee and joy" apparently this café has amazing coffee and the batfam, mostly Red Robin, always comes here. The atmosphere was good, not too crowded but enough for it to be good.

She walked inside, it was good. As soon as she walked in she was greeted by the fragrance of coffee. The circular tables had plants on the side, couples were talking and chattering. There were families enjoying themselves, and a person who was typing away on his computer, huh, he almost looks dead. Well, who was she to judge, she was sure she looked the same while she was working.

She went to order. The workers there were happy and cheery. Weird, this is Gotham. Aren't people supposed to be gloomy and annoyed here? Well, Paris, the supposedly city of love, the people there are--the ones she knows the rest she is sure are good--are evil. She is not even exaggerating.

"Hi! How can I help you today?" The worker, she learnt the name was Sam, asked her.

"Hey can I get a black coffee with…..eight espresso shots? thank you!" The worker looked shocked, obviously anyone would be shocked if someone ordered this much caffeine. She muttered something that she couldn't quite make out but it sounded like 'there's three of them' . What did she mean by three of them? Eh, whatever.

"What name should I write on the cup?"

"Marinette." Marinette, the only reminder of her fam- the people she lived with. The name that was given to her by her grandma that she loves dearly. At Least her grandparents are good people.

"Okay, why don't you wait and I will call you?"

"Sure" She went to the table in the corner. So she would not grab any attention but will be able to go to the counter easily when called.

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

Tim was having a sucky day. Firstly, he was almost late to the meeting because Bruce thought it was good to let him sleep in. Fuck you Bruce! I don't need to sleep. Then Alfred banned coffee. Why? Because apparently he had a little too much coffee. Thirdly, his brothers were still obsessed with making him sleep, he already slept last night!

"Ughhh" Tim groaned, luckily his favourite café was just around the corner. He would go and grab some coffee there and work in peace.

Upon entering the café he was greeted by the sweet fragrance of coffee. Oh, how much he loved it. If he didn't find his soulmate he would marry coffee. Bruce wouldn't have a problem, right?

"Hey Sam!" Tim greeted the always cheerful barista

"Hey Mr. Drake. Your usual?"

"Yep."

"It will be ready soon!"

Thanking her Tim made his way to his usual table and took out his laptop to go over the meeting details. After a minute or so grabbing his coffee and feeling alive again Tim started working on the documents. He was so lost in his world that he didn't realise someone coming in. Only when her name was called did he realise that.

Out of curiosity, Tim looked at her, and what he saw was something he would remember forever. That woman was beautiful. He knew that it was wrong, he knew that he had a soulmate, he knew he should wait for them wherever they are, but he also knew that he felt a connection with her, he also knew that he had to take his chance. So that's what he'll do.

Waiting for a while to gather some courage and thinking about what to say. He started to make his way to her. Only to be stopped by her sad expression, she was angry, mostly sad looking at her laptop. Huh, looks like she's not having a great day. He decided that he will go to her with coffee, after all what was something that coffee couldn't solve. He ordered two coffees for them, he knew that her order was the same as his.

He took a deep breath and made his way across the café to her and offered her the beverage in his hand. "Having a rough day?"

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

Marinette was relieved that she got her coffee. She hasn't had any since morning. Why does the world have to be sooo unfair to her!? Opening her laptop she found some new commissions…..and some emails from her old class. Can they just suck it and move on? How childish can anyone be.

She knows that she shouldn't be but she was sad looking at it. She was just about to delete them when a voice startled her.

"Having a rough day? Have a coffee, It will make it better." Marinette being Marinette jumped at the voice.

"Ahh! You scared me! Wait a second….. You are my soulmate! Thanks for the coffee by the way." As soon as their hands touched there was a golden glow around them, a welcoming glow.

"Hey, soulmate. I am Timothy Drake-Wayne please call me Tim."

"Hey Tim, I am Marinette. Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine, Marinette." Tim kissed her knuckles to which she responded by blushing.

@legodetectivemalsblog

#have a coffee #timinette #timari #soulmate au #maribat #marinette dupain cheng #tim drake #weird writings

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kissinginkitchens · 4 years ago

Text

You Bring Me Home—Chapter Three: Chasing Waterfalls

a/n: Welcome back!! Another huge thank you for the sweet words and love you have shown to part 2! I'm so glad to hear from those of you who are enjoying the story so far :') Things are starting to get interesting, so I hope you'll stay tuned! As always, my inbox is open, so feel free to come chat with me after you have finished reading! Much love, Mel <3

Pairing: Hawai'i!Harry x Original Character

Warnings: swearing, drug/alcohol mention

Word Count: 5.3k

catch up on parts one and two

Alani watches the stream of salt descend gracefully into the salt-shaker like a mini waterfall, her mind still replaying the events of the past couple of weeks. It has been fourteen days, 336 hours, and 20,160 minutes since the last time she saw Harry, not that she was counting. The image of him getting smaller in her rearview mirror as she drove away from the recording studio is still fresh in her mind. Two weeks and all she has to show for it is three sentences in her notebook, most of which is material she had already known prior to the interview. Alani supposes that this fact should trouble her more than it does, with her future at Rolling Stone depending on much more than the smoothie preferences of Harry Styles; but all she can dwell on at the moment is the serene image of them standing side by side, pinkies nearly touching, making a wish on the most vibrant rainbow she had ever seen. What does concern her, however, are the events that immediately followed their arrival back at Napua.

“Maybe next time we should do this in a neutral location,” Harry had offered, stepping out of the Range Rover. “Less distractions,”

Alani’s brows shot up at the words, not quite believing that she had heard him right. “Next time?”

“You can’t possibly have gotten everything you needed from that,” he scoffed, leaning against the passenger door. Alani had fully prepared to butter him up in order to extend their time beyond the initial one interview agreement, but she hadn’t expected it to be this easy, especially after his dismissal of her attempted humor and begrudging lunch invitation.

“Well, no, but I thought-”

“Okay, so we’ll do this again,” he shrugged, “No biggie,”

Alani felt a wave of relief, and a twinge of excitement, rush over her at the prospect of securing another interview with Harry. Offering him a grateful smile, she nodded and agreed.

“Yeah, okay. Thank you, again, for agreeing to this,”

Harry’s furrowed brow didn’t budge, nor did his set jaw and pouted lips. He simply offered a small bow of his head and a ringed finger through his dark locks.

“Sure. Wouldn’t wanna be the reason you fail,”

“Thanks,” she replied through a forced laugh.

Alani had almost forgotten about the cover she devised to get Harry to agree to the exclusive. A part of her wondered how willing he would have been to participate had he known her true intentions of submitting the final piece to Rolling Stone, but the better part of her judgement knew there was too much at stake to fold her cards now. Besides, Harry had to have known that any work linked to his name would get some sort of public attention, regardless of the original intentions. At least, that was what Alani planned to say if things went south.

“So you can just... text me, I guess,” she proposed cautiously. “When you’re free?”

“Will do,” Harry nodded. “But I think that requires us to exchange phone numbers first,”

“Right,”

Alani pulled her phone from the back pocket of her shorts and opened the contacts app before holding it out to Harry. Carefully, he punched his digits and handed it back, smirking when he was greeted by the image of irresistible watery eyes and floppy ears beneath the time.

“Cute dog,” he remarked while Alani finished typing her own number into his phone.

A soft smile spread across her lips as the image of her furry companion drifted into her mind.

“Oh, thanks. His name’s Freddie,”

“D’you name all your belongings after 70s rock stars?” Harry teased, flashing a dimpled grin.

“As a matter of fact,” Alani played along. “I’m about to go take a sip from Mick Jagger in my car,”

Immediately, Alani regretted her choice of words, though the bright ringing of Harry’s laughter soothed some of the embarrassment.

She winced, nose scrunched. “I guess there’s no taking that one back, huh?”

“Not a chance,”

Clutching her bag closer and sliding her sunglasses back onto the bridge of her nose, Alani took a step back and sighed.

“And with that, I bid you adieu.”

“Au revoir.”

Two weeks and still radio silence from Harry. Alani had begun to wonder whether she had input her phone number correctly in the first place, or if her penchant for embarrassing herself had ruined all chances of Harry making good on his promises.

“I’m sorry, sir, but if you want salted fries you’re gonna have to wait for your turn at the salt mound, just like everyone else,” the voice of Alani’s sister breaks through her thoughts. Somewhere between reliving her last interaction with Harry and anticipating their impending reunion, Alani’s hand had drifted slightly off course of the salt shaker, resulting in a rather impressive mountain of salt forming on the countertop.

“Why didn’t you stop me?” Alani retorts, annoyed at the mess she’ll have to clean up.

“Seemed like you were in the zone, or possibly sleepwalking—and you know what they say about disturbing sleepwalkers,” Pua says simply, unaffected by her sister’s irritation. “Plus, I thought it would be funny, and I was right,”

Alani sweeps the salt into a garbage can below, her mind already drifting back to her afternoon with Harry, when her sister speaks up again.

“He hasn’t called yet?”

This catches Alani’s attention, but she only shakes her head dejectedly in response.

“I thought your date went well,” Pua muses, thinking back to the way her sister had practically floated through the house upon her return.

“It wasn’t a date,” Alani corrects firmly, perhaps trying to convince herself, as well.

Pua scoffs, lifting herself to sit on the countertop. “So you made me cover a four hour shift for nothing?”

“It’s strictly professional and he’s busy,” Alani sighs. “That’s just how these things go,”

“Did he let you listen to his new music?” the younger sister asks, eyes widening.

Alani rolls her eyes and resumes twisting the caps back onto the filled salt shakers. “No,”

“Did you ask him why he left One Direction?”

“No,”

“Is he single?”

“I don’t know,” Alani huffs, turning to face her smug little sister. “Why don’t you ask him?”

“Ask him what?” a familiar accented voice cuts in behind her.

Alani whips around to face Harry, a familiar dent between his brows and dark sunglasses shielding her from the intensity of his stare.

“Ask my dad if I can go to the..movies—tonight,” Pua chimes in. “With my friends. I have those,”

Harry smirks, lifting his sunglasses up to address her. “S’that so?”

“Yup,” she confirms, popping the “p” and crossing her arms. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Curiosity runs in the family, I see,” he remarks with amusement. “Shoot,”

“Is your phone working?”

“Why don’t you go call dad and ask him about the movies? I’ll cover the register,” Alani interrupts, shooting a glare over her shoulder as her sister saunters into the kitchen with a satisfied grin on her round face.

“Ignore her, she’s fifteen,”

“The most honest age in my experience,” Harry observes with a twinge of guilt settling in the pit of his stomach.

Alani pushes any thoughts about Harry, beyond the fact that he’s standing in front of her, to the side and puts on her best customer service voice. “What can I get started for you today?”

“A green smoothie, please,” he says, searching for her eyes that are occupied with the register buttons. “And the rest of your afternoon, if you’re free,”

Alani pauses and allows her gaze to meet his. She senses a hint of apology behind his emerald eyes, a welcome change to the storminess that often clouds them.

“I don’t know,” she starts slowly, despite the fact that every bone in her body is screaming at her to go. “I gotta finish up here,”

“What time are you off?”

Alani mulls his question over, silently deciding whether to tell the truth or not. Ultimately, retribution for her bruised ego is the only reason she can come up with for lying. She knows that it isn’t logical to be upset with him due to the fact that their relationship is strictly professional. Harry owes her nothing; in fact, him agreeing to meet with her the first time was, as she pointed out on several occasions, entirely a favor on his end. Despite this fact, Alani couldn’t help the disappointment she had felt the very next day when he hadn’t even texted his name to make sure that he had the right number. And she can’t help how she feels now, two weeks later, looking into his big, dumb eyes that are begging for her forgiveness. She missed him. Against her better judgment, and for reasons she can’t explain, Alani misses Harry, so she chooses honesty.

“Four,”

“Great,” he perks up, victoriously. “Then I’ll have the green smoothie, and keep ‘em coming,”

“You’re gonna stay here that long?” Alani asks, eyes darting to the 1:11 displayed on her watch.

Harry holds up a teal paperback with cassette tapes stacked on the cover. “Got some reading material to keep me company,”

“Love is a Mix Tape,” she reads the yellow cursive looped at the bottom of the cover aloud with a nod.

“Ever read it?” he questions, flipping through the pages.

“Can’t say that I have,”

“Well then you can borrow it sometime.” Harry says finally, turning on his heel in the direction of a table near the window.

Alani half expects him to leave and come back closer to their allotted time, but he simply sits near the window with the book in front of him and the straw of his drink resting against his pouted bottom lip. Customers come and go, tables are cleared, and the sunlight spills into different corners of the room, but Harry remains perfectly unchanged as if he were a fixture of the room itself. His presence is both comforting and unnerving to Alani, who glides around the room taking orders and serving food. Meanwhile, Harry does his very best to focus on the words in front of him, but the letters jumble together like alphabet soup amidst his wandering thoughts. Out of the corner of his eye, he follows Alani as she gracefully moves from one table to the next, flashing a warm smile at each guest who enters. He notices the tapping of her pen to whatever Beach Boys song plays over the stereo and the way she bites the inside of her cheek when making change at the register. The more details he stores in his mind, the deeper the sinking feeling burrows into his stomach. It had taken every ounce of willpower and over twenty unsent text messages to stay away, but Harry needed to put space between them for both of their sakes. He didn’t dare flatter himself with the thought of her having feelings for him, but he didn’t mind her company and that hadn’t done him much good these days. Harry knew that eventually he would have to bite the bullet and keep his word, and he decided that a temporary writer’s block was as good a time as any to do so.

“What ever happened to that girl?” Jeff had asked the evening prior, responding to an email from the recording label.

Harry feigned ignorance and continued to doodle something in his notebook, though he knew exactly who his manager was referring to. “What girl?”

“Dark hair, pretty, made you blush like a 12 year old,”

“I did not,'' Harry defended, scribbling a little more harshly. “‘S nothing. Was just helpin’ her out,”

Jeff snorted with an accusational brow raised.

“How romantic,”

“Jesus, not like that!”

“All I’m saying,” Jeff conceded. “Is that you seem a little uptight these days, and the music shows,”

Harry pondered this for a minute, his pen stilling to look over the lyrics, or lack thereof, on the page.

“You should be having a little fun, that’s literally what we came here for,” Jeff continued. “Get out of this fuckin’ studio and be a normal 22 year-old. You deserve it.”

So Harry had decided to go out, telling himself that he was merely listening to a friend’s advice for the sake of his music and sanity. But a part of him also desperately wanted to see Alani, even if he didn’t really know why.

As the clock strikes four, Alani sucks in a deep breath and turns to her sister slicing bananas in the kitchen.

“I’m going out,”

“Figured,” Pua responds, unphased. “I’ll cover for you,”

“I owe you.”

“Get me tickets to his next concert and we’ll call it even.”

Alani rolls her eyes, amused, and presses a chaste kiss to her sister’s temple before grabbing her bag off the hook and heading out. When she emerges in the dining area, Harry is already waiting at the counter with his broad shoulders turned away from her. She taps him gently and feels dizzy when he turns to her with a faint dimpled smile.

“Ready to roll?” he asks.

“Ready.”

When the two are comfortably situated in the Range Rover, Harry scans the parking lot and pulls away onto Mamalahoa Highway.

“Where’s Stevie?” he questions, his lower lip pinched between his index finger and thumb in concentration.

“Oh I walk to the restaurant,” Alani explains. “Don’t live too far,”

“Explains why you ditched your sister,”

“I did not ditch her!” Alani defends with a light laugh.

“Kinda did,”

She shakes her head in mock offense as the corners of Harry’s lips turn up. “My dad will pick her up after work, she’ll be fine,”

“Not to accuse you of nepotism,” he hesitates. “But I thought maybe your dad worked at the café. Family business?”

“He owns it, yeah, but he also works as the head chef at Honu. It’s a resort,” Alani continues. “But I’ll have you know that my waitressing skills are highly qualified, regardless of the nepotism,”

“And your mum?”

“She’s a doctor—pediatric surgeon,”

“That’s amazing,” Harry comments, glancing down at the GPS.

“Yeah, she is,” Alani agrees, her own eyes darting to the screen before attempting to analyze her surroundings. ��Hey, where are we going?”

The rings on Harry’s right hand tap gently on the steering wheel as he responds carefully, withholding any hints.

“To the best interview spot I could think of. Go there sometimes to work on the album,”

“So there is an album,” Alani wiggles her brows.

“Off the record,” he clarifies. “But.. potentially,”

She scoffs at his insistence to maintain secrecy.

“Really?”

“We’re almost there.” Harry consoles, referring primarily to their destination, but perhaps speaking personally, as well. Alani doesn’t miss the double meaning and chooses to nod silently in acceptance.

The next few minutes of their drive are filled by humming along to whatever song drifts through the stereo, most notably Paul McCartney and George Harrison, which inspires a lively back and forth about the ranking of ex-Beatles members.

“It goes Paul, George, Ringo, and John,” Alani states matter-of-factly. “There’s no other answer,”

Harry shoots her an incredulous look before responding. “Are you seriously putting Ringo Starr before John Lennon?”

“John Lennon was an abusive asshole,” Alani defends. “Plus he wrote, like, one good song-”

“More than one song—”

“I said a good song. ‘Good’ being the keyword,”

Harry can’t hold back his endearment at her reasoning, so he shakes his head with a wide grin plastered on his face and decides to take one last swing at the hornet’s nest.“He’s still a legend,”

“Isn’t it weird,” Alani muses with a far-away look in her eyes. “That someday, someone’s gonna have this conversation about you?”

Harry doesn’t respond right away, weighing her words and how they settle in his bones. It doesn’t offend him in the slightest, he’s heard far worse, but there is still something strange about comparing himself to musicians he considers to be his icons. Despite all the hard work and sacrifices he’s made over the past five years, he still sees himself as the lucky little kid from Holmes Chapel underneath it all.

“I’m sorry,” Alani speaks up when Harry doesn’t respond. “I didn’t mean—”

“Oh, no it’s okay,” He reassures her. “I was just thinking... ‘bout what you said. I guess I don’t really think about it like that,”

“Oh,” is all she says, still waiting for him to elaborate. After a beat, Harry begins again in his characteristically slow way of speaking that Alani finds charming.

“It’s just that,” he begins, tugging on his lower lip. “Obviously I can’t ignore, you know, the impact that all of it had. But to me it was just… I don’t know. In my head it’s not really on the same level,”

Alani nods, though she can’t say it’s with complete understanding. In this moment, she truly feels the weight of their completely different worlds and how she may never be able to fully sympathize with that part of Harry’s life. She certainly hadn’t been under any impression that she would, but she still feels a bit embarrassed for the closeness she had begun to feel to him in their moments spent together. A sinking feeling settles into Alani’s stomach at the thought that maybe she was making a mistake, despite the constant self-reminders that everything they were doing was completely professional. Don’t get too close, she writes on a mental post-it note, sticking it to the forefront of her mind.

“We’re here,” Harry pipes up.

Too wrapped up in her own thoughts, Alani hadn’t noticed when they pulled into the parking lot at ‘Akaka Falls and it took her a moment to adjust.

“This is the place?” she questions hesitantly.

“Yeah,”

“This is where you come to write?”

“I didn’t realize I was supposed to stay chained to the studio,” Harry teases with his hands raised in mock surrender.

“No,” Alani breathes out a light laugh, rolling her eyes. “I just mean… I don’t know what I expected.”

“That was the point.” he explains with a devious smile that makes her let out a proper laugh.

************

“Did you know,” Alani starts, the tips of her fingers reaching out to stroke the petal of an especially vibrant red flower. “That Georgia O'Keeffe had a show in New York City during the 40s with twenty paintings of different flowers that she observed right in this very park?”

“I didn’t,” Harry admits. “Who needs a tour guide when we’ve got you?”

“I have a copy of the waterfall one she did in my room,” Alani continues. “But I’d love to see the real thing some day,”

Harry scans the landscape, eyes settling over the winding stairs that lead them further to the falls and the rest area where he frequently hides away. “Is it still on display?”

“Last I checked, yes,” she nods. “At the New York Botanical Garden,”

“How are you not even a bit winded?” he chuckles, hands on his hips as he pauses and takes a moment to breathe.

Alani stops in her tracks and turns back to face Harry with a teasing glint already present in her deep brown eyes.

“I thought you came here all the time to write,” she says with a raised brow.

“And I thought it was against the journalist code to berate your subjects,” he shoots back. “But here we are,”

“Touché,” Alani concedes. “But I’m not a journalist yet so I guess the rules don’t apply to me,”

Harry thanks his lucky stars that she turns on her heel back down the steps before she can witness the fond grin tugging at the corners of his lips. He savors the image of the greenery that complements her olive skin and how the gentle breeze dances through her curls before following behind.

Alani takes a deep breath once they reach the lookout and soaks in the familiar view. No matter how many times she visits the national park, the first sight of the 442 feet of cascading water always leaves her eyes a little misty.

“What brings you here?” she asks, turning to Harry whose sunglasses are perched at the crown of his head to leave the view unobstructed.

His jaw clenches and his Adam’s apple bobs, but he doesn’t respond right away. Instead, he turns his head to Alani and searches her face with a crease between his brows.

“That,” he responds, pointing to the glossy sheen over her eyes. “That feeling. Felt it the first time I came here, still do,”

He turns back to face the roaring water before them and Alani takes this moment to study the sharp angles of his profile. She takes note of the sunlight peering through his sea glass irises and waits patiently for him to continue.

“Makes you feel lucky to be alive,” Harry says finally. “And a little small, but in a good way. Like everything bad that ever happened to you doesn’t matter because none of it’s real, is it? But this… this is real,”

Alani feels like the air has been sucked from her chest and her eyes burn a hole straight through Harry’s temple. He doesn’t budge, despite the overwhelming urge to face her again, because he knows that if he does, he’ll lose his nerve.

“Damn,” is all Alani croaks out when she finally catches her breath.

Harry’s stony expression falters as he cracks a small, relenting smile. “D’reckon that’s what TLC were on about when they wrote that song?”

“I think you’re on the right track, yeah,” Alani agrees with a light laugh. “Though I think they were talking a little bit more about drugs, but I like your thing too,”

“Thanks,” Harry smirks. “Now you see why I come here to write,”

“Yeah, I’ll give you that one,” she concedes.

“Speaking of writing,” he starts, walking away from the lookout and over to a rest area with a few tables and benches. “I think we were here to help you write,”

Alani follows and takes a seat on the bench across from him, the setting sun beating against her back and outlining her in golden light that Harry feels couldn’t be more poetic.

She retrieves a notebook, her phone, and a pen from her bag and sprawls them out across the table top. Harry notices that each item is colored a varying shade of pink, but he decides to keep that detail filed at the back of his mind instead of investigating further.

“Same deal as last time, voice notes for quotational accuracy,” Alani reminds him. She looks over her list of questions to pick a starting point, but suddenly none of them seem relevant, so she takes a moment to collect her thoughts and says the first thing that comes to mind.

“Earlier when I said this wasn’t what I was expecting,” she begins. “You said ‘that was the point’. Why?”

Harry turns this question over in his mind, caught off guard by the seemingly trivial detail. “I dunno. I guess.. Maybe I just like the surprise,”

“To be surprised, or to surprise others?”

“Both,”

“Why do you like to surprise others?”

He ponders this for a second and takes a deep breath. “I think it’s because it doesn’t happen that often,”

“What do you mean?” Alani prys.

“Well,” Harry begins carefully, sifting through his brain for the right words. “Ever since the whole band thing blew up, I’ve had this strange feeling that everyone knows everything about me, like there’s nothing left to discover,”

Alani watches as he twirls the ring around his wedding finger, a silver rose that has always caught her eye.

“Maybe that sounds self absorbed,” he simpers.

“It’s not,” Alani reassures him.

Harry meets her eyes appreciatively before resuming. “I still remember the first time someone recognized me,”

“What was that like?”

“Bizarre,” he chuckles to himself. “She was very nice, but the entire time I couldn’t stop thinking about how strange it all was. It’s like, you know when someone you met once or twice comes up to you and you don’t remember their name at all? S’bit awkward ‘cos you feel like you should know something about them, too— level the playing field. ‘Cept no matter how hard you wrack your brain, the information’s never gonna come, even though they know everything about you,”

“But they don’t,” Alani cuts in. “Not really,”

“Yeah,” Harry agrees, his eyes narrowed. “But sometimes they feel like they do, which might be worse,”

Alani taps her pen against her bottom lip and nods, a gentle hum leaving her throat as she registers his words.

“Didn’t think about it like that,”

“S’not so much about the fans,” Harry continues. “Because I feel like there’s lots of things I wanna share with them through the music. It’s… everyone else, I guess,”

“I don’t think it’s abnormal to want your privacy,” Alani comments. “To want to share things on your own terms. It’s human,”

“But isn’t that what it means to be loved?” he asks, chin resting in his palm. “To be known?”

Alani picks up on a glimmer of challenge behind Harry’s eyes, as if he is the one conducting the interview and trying to extract information from her.

“There’s a difference between knowing something about someone,” she argues. “And knowing someone,”

“It’s like Prince,” Harry says suddenly, an excited fire behind his emerald eyes. “Who knows anything about Prince besides the fact that he’s a fuckin’ great musician? I sure as hell don’t, but all you wanna do is know more, and that’s what makes him so magical. It’s mysterious… I like that,”

Alani snorts and looks up from her notes scrawled on the page. “Did you just describe Prince like your manic-pixie dream girl?”

“No,” Harry defends with an amused laugh. “Well, not intentionally anyway,”

“I’m sorry,” she apologizes with a wave of her hand. “No, I know what you mean. It’s like keeping the rock-star persona separate from your real life, makes it all more alluring,”

Harry nods, running a hand through his hair and shaking it out before securing his sunglasses back at the top of his head. “Yeah,”

“But earlier you also said you wanted to share some things with the fans,” Alani begins again, going back to her chicken scratch notes. “What kinds of things were you referring to?”

“Real life stuff,” he offers. “Mostly the not-so-great things. ‘Cos I mean no one wants to hear me sing about going to bars and how great everything is. The champagne popping,”

Harry trails off as his fingers smooth over the cross pendant hanging around his neck.

“I mean, I don’t wanna hear my favorite musicians talk about that, at least. I wanna know ‘how did you feel when you were alone in that hotel room, because you chose to be alone?’”

The wind begins to pick up more noticeably and the pages of Alani’s notebook flutter wildly, threatening to escape. Too wrapped up in their conversation, the pair hadn’t noticed the dwindling tourists or the cumulonimbus clouds hovering above. Harry squints up at the darkening sky and it peers back at him with equal contempt . He springs to his feet, quickly gathering some of Alani’s things for her.

“We gotta go,”

They quickly scurry and the sound of thunder rumbling in the distance quickens their pace up the steps. The adrenaline coursing through Alani’s veins masks the burning in her quads and calves, but Harry’s steady panting gives away his exertion. They’re almost halfway up the long trail of steps when another thunderclap pierces through the sky above them and sends a jolt through their bodies. One speckle of rain hits the pavement in front of Alani’s quick feet, and then another, and another, until the sky opens up and they are caught in the downpour. Alani shrieks and the sound makes Harry belly laugh, a hand instinctively reaching out to the middle of her back to brace her.

“Careful,” He calls out above the deafening rain. “Watch your step!”

Somehow over the sound of the rain and her own heavy breathing, Alani still manages to come up with a witty remark.

“Imagine the headlines!” she shouts over her shoulder. “‘Popstar Lures Innocent Civilian to Her Untimely Demise’,”

Alani doesn’t say anything about his palm still pressed securely against the small of her back, but the warmth of it spreads through her fingers and toes. They continue up the steps, each breathing a sigh of relief when the top is in sight. Harry reaches out for her hand when they make it to the landing, and she accepts it gladly, before they bolt to the parking lot where the lone Range Rover is parked. Once inside, a fit of laughter erupts from the both of them.

“What a cliché,” Harry comments. “Getting caught in the rain,”

Alani sighs. “Too bad we don’t have piña coladas,”

“We could maybe do something about that,” he shrugs.

Alani reaches for her phone and queues up the next song, which brings a cheshire grin to Harry’s face when he hears the familiar drums.

“Wasn’t what I meant, but okay,” he rolls his eyes, turning up the car’s heater before heading back out onto the highway.

“This song’s kinda fucked up when you think about it,” Alani muses, swaying in her seat. “But the chorus is fun,”

“S’all that matters when you’re sloshed,”

“Sorry about your seats, they’re gonna be soaked,” Alani apologizes as her wet socks squelch around in her shoes.

“Don’t worry about it,” he waves the concern away. “Occupational hazard.”

The drive to Alani’s house from ‘Akaka Falls is only 25 minutes and the two of them spend most of the time lost in their own thoughts, letting the car heater soothe their chilly bones. Alani watches the rain droplets race down the window pane and turns over some of Harry’s words in her mind. His comment about the waterfalls sticks out like a shell emerging from the sand. She begins to think that it perfectly captures this time in his life as he searches for something real amidst the chaos of fame. It’s an angle she’s keen to run with once she has the time to sort through her notes and write, but her thoughts also drift towards the waterfalls in her own life that she’s been chasing. Naturally, she thinks about Rolling Stone and what she hopes New York City will bring her. Adventure, she thinks at first, digging deeper when that doesn’t quite suffice. Success, getting warmer. Purpose, bingo. Alani sinks into her seat with a contented sigh.

“Piña coladas,” Harry hums once they’ve pulled up to Alani’s driveway. “Next time, we’re definitely getting piña coladas,”

Alani isn’t as surprised by his suggestion of meeting up for a third time, though it still sends her heartbeat through the roof. She tries not to think too hard about the implications.

“On you,” she teases.

“Of course,”

“Thanks again,” Alani says, turning to face him. “We covered a lot of material today,”

Harry flashes a shy smile in response. “Sorry ‘bout...your clothes. I should’ve checked the weather,”

“Occupational hazard,” she shrugs, mirroring his words from earlier. “So I guess I’ll just see you around then?”

“Yeah,” he swallows, suddenly aware of her proximity. “I mean are we still doing this—the interviews?”

Alani stops smoothing out her damp waves, feeling as if she had overstepped. “If that’s okay. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed—”

“No, it’s okay,” Harry reassures her. “I’m available—I mean for your writing I’m—”

He stumbles over his words and Alani eases the slightest bit knowing that he’s nervous, too.

“Just let me know, whenever.” he says finally, regaining his composure.

“Will do.” she nods slowly.

Alani’s eyes dart to Harry’s lips briefly, lingering just long enough that Harry notices, but too quick for him to justify closing the gap. Before he knows it, he’s missed his chance and she’s slipping out of the car, closing the door with a sense of finality that makes his stomach drop.

Alani makes her way up to the house, gravel crunching under her feet and head pounding.

Don’t get too close, she reminds herself. Don’t go chasing waterfalls.

Next Chapter

#harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #harry styles writing #solo harry #harry styles fluff #harry styles x oc #one direction #harry styles fic #harry fic #ybmh #it's getting real smirk emoji

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heyitsani · 4 years ago

Text

Loving You is a Losing Game Chapter 2

Word Count: 4909

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Major Character Death (but not until the last chapter)

Pairing: Jason Todd/Dick Grayson

Summary: Dick is forced to face his situation and discovers that perhaps his initial assumptions weren't as accurate as he had thought.

Notes: Thanks to Mel for helping me sort out some of the logistics of this chapter and helping me to decide to cut it in half and make the story four chapters instead of three. Next chapter is mostly written, so I'll probably update in the next week or so.

You can also read it on AO3 here

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

Dick couldn’t be sure how long he had been sitting on the bed when a knock came on the door and he found himself debating if he should answer it or not. He wasn’t sure he wanted to deal with the man who had basically imprisoned him here. Though imprisoned was a bit of a stretch since Dick had technically volunteered to be here in place of Bruce. But it wasn’t like he wanted to be here. He had just been trying to save Bruce.

The knock sounded again, breaking his musings.

“Sir?” A quiet voice came through the door, uncertain and definitely not the man who had caused all of this. Frowning at the thought of there being others possibly in the same position, Dick slipped off the bed and hurried over to open the door. The man standing there wasn’t really what he was expecting. Although, if he were honest, he wasn’t sure what he was expecting. But a tall, bean pole skinny man with windswept brown hair and an almost golden tone to his skin was not it. “Ah, there you are!”

Dick stepped aside as the man pushed his way into the room, a pile of various clothing items hanging over one arm and a woman with shiny black curls and beautiful sepia colored skin trailing close behind him. She spared Dick a glance with a shy smile before hurrying over to place the tray she was carrying down on one of the end tables.

“I’m sorry, who are you both?” Dick questioned, looking between the two people from his spot still near the open door. They didn’t seem to be in distress and that confused him even more. They wanted to be here? Did they know what here was?

The pair exchanged a glance before the woman stepped forward and held out a hand. “Kassandra,” she offered, an almost familiar smile on her face. There was something he recognized, but he couldn’t place his finger on it. Even still, he reached forward and shook her offered hand before doing the same with the man. “That’s Wade and we’re here to help you with getting ready for dinner and acclimated to the castle.”

Castle. Someone had actually said the word and Dick just didn’t know what to make of that. Or make of the two people standing in front of him. They were…staff? He wasn’t sure he was getting this right.

“You’re staff?”

Wade laughed and went abut sorting through the clothes, Kassandra just shook her head at the man before looking at Dick. “We are here because we have to be,” she said. But that didn’t make anymore sense to him. “You won’t find the answers you’re seeking from anyone within these walls. What holds you here, holds all of us here.”

So the magic had trapped them. But was he really trapped? He hadn’t tried to leave but maybe only the shadow man had the power to say who could go. He had let Bruce leave after all. “This situation is a bit out of my paygrade,” he admitted, glancing over at Wade as he muttered to himself over a shirt and pant combo. “You won’t need those. I’m not going to dinner.”

“What?” Wade gasped, wide eyes looking at Dick in surprise. “But…you have to.”

“No, I don’t. He may be keeping me prisoner here, but he doesn’t own me.” He didn’t miss the concerned look Wade sent in Kassandra’s direction, but he didn’t bother looking over at her. He wasn’t going to change his mind. The man, thing, whatever he was, was keeping him here against his will. Why on earth would he willingly join him for a meal?

A knock on the door interrupted anything that might have been said between the three of them and Kassandra opened the door to reveal a man with black hair, pale skin, and wise eyes the color of whiskey. It was almost unnerving to look him directly in the eye, as if he had lived through more life than anyone had any right to. “Dinner is ready,” the man said, looking over Dick with a frown. “But you’re obviously not. Wade?”

“Don’t blame me, Ryan! I’m trying.”

“It doesn’t fucking look like it. He’s still in the suit.”

“I’m not the problem here. He is!”

The man, Ryan apparently, looked over at Dick and raised an eyebrow so Dick shrugged and crossed his arms defiantly over his chest. “He’s waiting.”

“He can keep waiting. I’m not going.” That didn’t seem to be the right thing to say because Ryan started glowering at him and Dick almost wanted to shrink away from the man. But he held his ground. “He doesn’t own me; I don’t have to do what he demands. Not when I’m being held here against my will.”

Ryan stared at him for another moment before he left the room without saying anything else. Dick frowned and looked over to see Kassandra and Wade exchanging a look he didn’t recognize. But after a moment, Wade turned to him with a smile but grave eyes. He saw Kassandra leave the room out of the corner of his eye and wondered who would break the news to the shadow man.

“At least get out of the suit, Nightwing,” Wade gestured to a few items laid out on the bed that were more casual than he had been looking at for the actual dinner.

“Dick,” he said, giving Wade a shrug when he looked over surprised. “You’ve already seen my face. I don’t know if I’ll ever get out of here so there’s no point in hiding my real name.” The man nodded and gestured over to the changing partition in the corner of the room. So Dick grabbed the clothes and headed over, quickly removing the suit and changing into the soft, grey joggers and black t-shirt. He took a few extra moments to fold up his suit before he reemerged, trying to reconcile himself with his current situation.

Everything felt so surreal, and he was struggling to accept that he wasn’t going to be leaving this place any time soon. But he had to have faith that Bruce would get him out. He would call on Damian and Tim and they would find a way. He had to trust them. They wouldn’t stop until they managed it.

Taking a deep breath, Dick finally emerged from behind the screen and set his suit and escrimas on the bed. When Wade went to pick them up, Dick held up a hand to stop him. “I’d feel better keeping them near.” Wade nodded silently before gathering the other items and hanging them in the wardrobe off to the side. “So-” Dick started, but was cut off by a harsh knock to the door.

“I thought I said I expected you to join me for dinner?!” It was only because of his years of training that Dick managed not to flinch and step back at the banging and the angry sound of the man’s voice coming through the door.

Glancing at Wade, who was watching him with a closed-off expression, Dick tried to think of what to do. Did he try and diffuse the situation or did he ignore it? But wasn’t it enough that this man had imprisoned him? Wasn’t it enough that Dick had given up his whole life to save his mentor and father figure? He wanted to ask him as much. “I’m not eating with you,” he called out instead. His fucking temper, it really would be the death of him one day.

And from the almost feral sounding growl on the other side of the door, that day might be today. “He could hear some muffled talking on the other side but he couldn’t quite make it out. It sounded feminine but not melodic in the way Kassandra’s voice had sounded.

“Please try to control your temper.” Now that voice he recognized as Ryan’s. Curious.

There was another growl before a moment of silence and Dick could practically see the shadow man trying to reign himself in. It just served to piss Dick off more. Crossing his arms over his chest, he glared over at Wade who was still watching him. “Will you come out and join me for dinner?” The voice growled out, low and barely controlled.

“No.”

“Please.”

“No.” Dick knew his stubbornness was hard to compete with, but he had a feeling that this man’s own will could hold its own.

But apparently the man’s temper was stronger because there was another loud bang, as if a fist hit the door with more power than it should have, making Dick actually step back this time. “FINE!” The man yelled; anger palpable through the door. “If he doesn’t eat with me, then he doesn’t leave the room at all! You want this to be a prison? You got your wish!”

There was another growled comment that Dick couldn’t make out before silence. And dread. If there was one thing Dick couldn’t handle well, it was confinement. He needed space, freedom to move and fly. Glancing around the room, he did his best to control the bubbling panic of being confined to this room despite its spacious size.

“Dick?” Looking over at Wade, he saw the man looking at him almost concerned. “Would it be so bad to eat a meal with him? He’s really not as bad as this is making him seem. You should get to know him like we have.”

But the panic flared back up to anger and Dick clenched his fists. “I don’t want to get to know him. I don’t want anything to do with him.” He watched Wade sigh, shoulders drooping before he nodded and headed for the door.

“I’ll see about getting you a tray of food.” Dick clenched his jaw to keep from snapping at Wade, since it wasn’t exactly his fault, and watched the man leave.

Once again leaving Dick alone in his lavish cell.

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

It had been a few weeks of the most boring routine Dick had ever been exposed to and he was honestly unsure of how he was going to keep this up. He would wake, chat with whoever brought his breakfast to him for a bit before he was left alone until it was time for lunch. Then he would get some company for longer than just a meal before he was left to eat dinner alone and spend the remainder of the night either reading whatever book he found lying around or doing some basic workouts to try and keep his mind sane.

Sighing at the knock on his door, Dick knew it was his dinner tray and another round of loneliness. He briefly wondered if he could convince whoever it was to stay. But he knew it would be folly since Wade had made it clear everyone trapped there ate dinner together.

So unless he wanted to give into the man’s demands, Dick was stuck alone yet again.

Pulling open the door, Dick gave a half smile to Dana. He had met her the day after his arrival and had immediately felt something. Bits of each person he had come into contact with had felt familiar. Kassandra’s smile, Ryan’s eyes, and Wade’s energy. But Dana, there was too much to pinpoint the exact familiarity. It reminded him so much of Donna, he had struggled to think of her as anyone else.

But the blonde hair and sea green eyes were far from the Donna he knew and missed, so he had pushed that thought from his mind.

“You can still join us,” Dana said as she set the tray down and turned to face him, hands on her hips. But Dick was too stubborn to give in now. He wouldn’t let the shadow man win. Not when this was the last thing in his control. He watched Dana sigh in resignation as Dick refused to respond. “I’ll send Wade to keep you company after dinner. You seem like you could use it.”

“Thank you,” he replied, ignoring the painful ache in his chest as she looked at him in a way Donna had so many times. Like she could see straight through to his very core. With a shake of her head and another sigh, she slipped out of the room and left Dick to his own devices again.

Glancing over at the familiar tray sitting on the bed, he dropped down next to it, falling backwards so he could look up at the canopy of the bed as he kicked his legs against the bedframe. He could just leave the room on his own. He had been thinking about it since the very first week and he knew that while the door was unlocked, he was probably pushing his luck if he just left.

But what made the shadow man aspire such loyalty from everyone stuck there? Especially when he treated Dick like a prisoner and all of them were allowed to wander around freely? What was special about Dick? Or what was special about them?

“Ugh,” he groaned, sitting up and grabbing a piece of fruit to chew on as he hopped off the bed and moved over to the window seat. But the view wasn’t anything special. The same wall of magic sizzling in the distance, old trees swaying in the wind that Dick was pretty certain was artificial given the wall of magic.

But he hadn’t been outside since the day he had arrived, he wouldn’t know if it were real or fake. One thing he did know, the weather seemed to mostly emulate what he knew Gotham would be experiencing this time of year. Except there was no thick layer of smog and haze resting over the grounds. It was as though the magic had shielded them all from the fumes of Gotham.

He pictured Damian and Tim on the other side of the wall, trying to find a way to bring it down while they bickered as they always did. Despite Dick’s best efforts, he couldn’t get the pair to get along, not even begging them had helped. And Bruce had given up long before Dick had realized it was a pointless effort. But right then, Dick would give anything to see them again, to listen to them insult each other and eventually come to blows. What he wouldn’t give to have to separate them before Bruce used that tone on them, bringing his soldiers to heel.

Dick hated that voice.

He missed that voice.

Turning away from the window, he went back to the waiting tray of food and began working his way through the various items that had been placed on it. He was about halfway through when a knock came on the door, but the person didn’t bother waiting for him and opened it without invitation.

“I heard you are in desperate need of some company,” Wade teased as he walked in, closely followed by Ryan. Dick watched Wade bound in casually, but Ryan’s eyes scanned the room as if he wanted to be sure everything was in order before landing on Dick with a critical glance as he entered. “We have come to entertain. Do a dance, Ryan.”

The black-haired man gave Wade a flat look before dropping into the armchair in the corner of the room. He kept a penetrating look on Dick and Dick almost squirmed under it. Almost. Instead, he looked back to Wade and tried to ignore the man in the corner.

“Actually…” Dick started, leaning forward to really look at Wade. He was the one Dick knew he could probably convince to let him wander around. “You said the warden of my prison keeps to himself after dinner, right?” Wade narrowed his eyes but nodded and Dick flashed a charming smile. “So it’d be safe for you to show me around then, right? No chance of him running into us?”

“No.” Ryan’s voice was flat and final, but Dick didn’t even look at him.

“What do you say? Show me all the places that make this place less of a prison and more of a home you all seem to have made it.” Wade looked hesitant, glancing over at Ryan with a look Dick couldn’t read.

But he knew he was winning. He knew that Ryan would give in and join them

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

Dick watched Wade and Ryan keep moving forward, completely oblivious to the fact that he was no longer following behind them. He shouldn’t have been too surprised, considering the bickering the pair of them seemed intent on doing any time they were near each other.

But Dick took advantage of it and used all his stealth skills to head up the stairs toward the forbidden wing of the castle. His curiosity burning brightly, thanks to all the training Bruce had put him through. The need to know always burned through him when people refused to tell him things. And usually, he could mind his own business, ignoring the instinct, but he couldn’t this time. He needed to know. Especially since it might have an answer as to what was happening within the magical barrier.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Dick looked both directions down the hall to figure out which way he should go. Noticing the rug to the right seemed to have a bit more of a worn look to it, he headed that direction. The hall was lined with the similar statues and pictures that the previous areas he had seen were, but the mood of the wing seemed to get darker and darker the further he went down it.

And when he finally reached the end where a single door stood closed, Dick gave one last glance behind him before testing the knob to see if it was unlocked. He was a little surprised with how adamant everyone was about staying away that he found the door unlocked.

And for the first time since he had decided to do this, Dick found himself hesitating.

Everything about this decision felt wrong but he could practically hear Bruce in his mind telling him to assess the situation fully, leave no corner unsearched. He had to know. He had to be aware.

So he took a deep breath and carefully entered the dark room. The air was cold thanks to an open pair of French doors that led to a balcony, but Dick felt chilled by more than the night air. The room was in complete shambles, various pieces of furniture strewn about the room in different states of destruction.

Running his hand along a old writing desk that had been cracked down the middle, Dick frowned and tried to piece what he was seeing with a need to keep it secret. There had to be something there. There had to be.

Then a glowing green light caught his attention.

Just to the side of the open French doors was a table with a basin full of green liquid that had an ethereal glow to it. The glow pulled Dick closer, drawing him like a moth to the flame. And when he reached the table, he saw that next to the bowl was a curious object.

A watch resting on a stand, covered by a glass case.

A watch that reminded him of something he had seen before.

Removing the glass case from around the watch, Dick set it aside and looked at the watch more closely. “Impossible,” Dick whispered, thinking how much it reminded him of Thomas Wayne’s watch that he had seen Bruce with so many times growing up. But as far as Dick knew, that watch had been lost.

Reaching out a hand to pick up the watch a shadow formed in front of him, startling him into jerking back and away from the table.

“Why did you come here?” The shadow growled as he lifted the case to cover the watch again, glaring at Dick as he stepped between him and the table holding the watch and basin.

“I’m sorry,” Dick said, holding his hands up to placate the man. “I didn’t mean any harm.” But that didn’t seem to be the right thing to say because the shadow shifted and the man revealed himself, glare fierce, glowing green like the liquid in the basin, and hatred burning bright.

“I warned you never to come here!” He stalked toward Dick, who backed up pace for pace. He might be trained, but he wasn’t prepared to fight someone who could shift from a shadow to a corporal form. “Do you realize what you could have done?!” The man shouted, picking up a random end table and throwing against the wall before cornering Dick and gripping his throat.

“Please, stop,” Dick gasped, gripping the hand at his throat. Something shifted in the man’s eyes and suddenly Dick could breathe again.

Gasping he flinched when the man yelled, “Get out!” But he didn’t hesitate to follow the order, stumbling out of the room and down the hall as quickly as he could.

He was barely out of the room when he heard the man yell one last “GET OUT!”

Without a backwards glance, Dick stumbled down the stairs and ran straight toward the main doors of the castle.

“Dick!” He heard Wade call out to him. “Wait! What happened?!”

Dick paused to look at the man before shaking his head and continued his rush to the doors. “Promise or not, I can’t stay here,” he said, tugging the door open and rushing into the cold Gotham winter air. He wasn’t prepared for the cold, but he didn’t let it stop him. Instead, he ran straight for the magical barrier that held everyone in this insane fantasy.

He had almost reached it when the first person wearing an all too familiar uniform dropped in front of him. The League of Assassins. Of course they were involved. It was another piece of the puzzle, but it wasn’t one he could focus on right then. He needed to get to that barrier.

But as he fought the assassin, without his usual weapons and armor, more of them seemed to appear out of thin air and Dick started to doubt his chances of getting through that barrier in one piece. He went down with a particularly hard hit to his ribs, one knee connecting to the ground with a crack and a grunt of pain. But he knew he couldn’t quit. This wasn’t how he would go down.

So he raised a hand and blocked the bo staff sailing his direction, performing a move that he had used on Tim too many times to count, and effectively gaining a weapon from his enemy. But a staff would only get him so far once they started pulling out their swords. It would have to do for now thought.

Spinning on his knee, he kicked one assassin’s feet out from under them before blocking another staff’s descent to his head as he got both his feet back under him. Immediately he jumped to avoid being knocked down the same way he had just served, using the momentum to land a kick to one chest and block another blow aimed at him. But with each assassin he knocked down, another appeared, and Dick wasn’t any closer to the barrier.

Then something surprising happened.

Suddenly he found himself surrounded by a black shadow that dealt more damage in a matter of seconds than he had been able to in the minutes he had been fighting the assassins. And each time Dick tried to get back into the fight, he found the shadow wall around him standing firm. There was a pained grunt that had to be from the shadow man but he didn’t stop until all of the assassins were on the ground or on the run.

The shadow around Dick faded into the man kneeling on the ground, blood seeping through his shirt between his fingers where he had pressed his hand. Looking back to the barrier, Dick debated whether or not he should still run for it. But even before he decided he knew. He couldn’t just leave the man responsible for saving his life out there on his own.

So he did what he always did, he sacrificed his own needs for those of someone else.

Ducking down, Dick pulled the man’s free arm around his shoulders and looked at him. He saw the surprise in the other man’s eyes, but just gave a small smile before helping him stand. Slowly and carefully, Dick guided him back toward the doors to the castle.

“Thank you,” Dick said softly, sparing another glance to the man who seemed almost stunned at the words. It was almost as if no one had ever thanked him before. And maybe that was true. The others there seemed close, but he seemed to hold himself apart. But something Kassandra had said about everyone being under the magic’s hold made him think that maybe it wasn’t the shadow man’s fault after all.

The instant they were inside again, Wade and Ryan rushed forward and took the man from Dick’s hold, guiding him to a side room with a chair placed in front of a fire. Dick was spun around to face a determined looking Kassandra, who began running her hands over his body to check for injuries. “I’m fine,” he waved her off. “Just bruises. Let me go help him.” He tried to walk over to where the men had gone but Kassandra held onto his arm.

“They can help him just fine,” she told Dick.

But he shook his head and pulled his arm out of her surprisingly strong hold. “I want to help him. He saved my life. It’s the least I can do,” he admitted before heading toward the room. Pushing the cracked door open fully, he paused just inside the door at the sight of the shadow man without his shirt on, illuminated by the firelight.

He was beautiful.

Dick hadn’t noticed thanks to his anger and suspicion distracting him, but he couldn’t deny it in that moment. This man was strength personified. From the firm tone of his back to the clear lines of muscle in his arms. And Dick knew the front was probably just was glorious as this angle.

“Dick,” Wade called out when he had been spotted, but Dick kept his eyes on the shadow man as he turned and locked gazes with Dick. “Are you hurt at all?” Dick shook his head and moved over to the man he couldn’t tear his eyes away from.

Pausing to look down at the wound on his side, Dick frowned as he looked back to the man’s face. “Can I?” Dick asked, gesturing to the tools that Ryan was laying out, preparing to use to stitch up the wound. The man seemed to be considering him for a moment before giving a silent nod and sending Ryan a look, who huffed and rolled his eyes before walking way. Taking a protesting Wade with him.

Left alone, Dick got to work cleaning the wound with the basin of water and clean towel that had been set on the side table. Kneeling so he could be eye to eye with the wound, Dick only glanced upward when the man hissed as the disinfectant likely burned the wound. “I’m sorry,” Dick apologized, keeping his eyes on the task. “I should not have gone into that room like I did.”

“I understand why you would,” the man muttered, and Dick frowned. “But I appreciate the apology. That watch is…” Dick paused his threading of the needle to look up. “It is very precious.” It made Dick want to know more, but he knew he had pushed enough limits for the time being. So he went back to work on the wound and began the process of stitching it closed with neat sutures. “I don’t want you to feel as though you are a prisoner, but the…magic will not let you leave. Not yet.”

“Why? Why is it holding all of you here?”

The man frowned down at him, considering his words. “How do you know I am not the wielder of the magic?”

“Because that magic feels malicious.” Dick didn’t know how he knew, but he just did. He had felt it when he had pushed his way through. He had experienced enough magic through the years to know what bad magic felt like.

“And how do you know I am not?”

Tying off the thread, Dick sat back on his feet and looked up at the man. “You could have let them have me. You could have sat back and let them kill me. But you didn’t,” Dick gave a small, genuine smile. “You saved me. You got hurt saving me.” Breaking the intense gaze, Dick grabbed a gauze pad and medical tape to cover the wound so it could heal cleanly.

“My name is Jace,” the man offered after a few more moments of silence.

Standing and setting the medical tape on the tray, Dick smiled and held out a hand to the other man. “It’s nice to meet you Jace, my friends call me Dick.” He ignored the spark in his chest when Jace’s larger hand encased his and squeezed lightly.

#jaydick #jason todd #dick grayson #beauty and the beast au #anikah writes

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ladecena · 3 years ago

Text

A Mother's Love🤍

It was lunchtime, but Alliah was not in the school's cafeteria. It was always too crowded and noisy, and the food wasn't the best anyways.

Instead she preferred playing intruments to her heart's content in one of the empty music rooms. Today it was one of her favourites, an acoustic violin. It was one of the school's few undamaged ones, so she handled it with care and hoped no other student would accidentally break it.

Her stomach growled, but she knew the money she had on her wouldn't be enough to buy even a cheese sandwich. To make matters worse tommorrow would be the last day of school before the one week of school holidays, she had no idea how she would be able to survive being home with her mother for the entire time.

She would just go to the library for the entire day or something, was what she concluded.

Maybe she could read up on other types of guitars like last time, or just indulge herself in a random story.

For now, she made the best use of time by practicing a difficult piece she memorised on the piano in preparation for a competition in a few months time. It was being hosted at some rich private school, but she was easily able to enter.

After all she was considered a musical genius. If she was able to at least place in the event then she would win a large amount of money as well as being sponsored by a famous musician who was to attend to be a judge. That would mean she could finally helped her mother for their needs

A ringing in her pocket distracted her from her thoughts, and Alliah rushed to pick up without even checking who it was.

"Hello?"

"Hey...Are you Alliah De Guzman by any chance?"

"Yes? Who are you?"

"I'm Officer Dela Cruz, I'm very sorry to inform you of your mother's death."

"W-what? How?!"

"A hit and run case I'm afraid."

So it what’s happened to me now.

"Am I... going to an orphanage then?"

"Well that hasn't been decided yet. My team found out you have other existing relatives, so we'll contact them to ask if they're willing to adopt you."

She had other family? Her mum had never told her that.

"I-I see..."

"You'll be picked up after school by me, and once again, I'm very sorry for your loss."

Officer Dela Cruz then hung up, Alliah feel very upset after hearing about her mother's death. Because all this time she’s only have is her mother

Alliah’s thought she would come home to a woman who would huged her when she arrived, and the mother who loved her for the rest of her life.

For now, her only worry were these so called relatives. Alliah knew she had a biological father, but had been told once that he had died years ago.

A few hours later...

After school had ended, Alliah waited by the school gates before getting in a police car which pulled up, she was glad it was late since she didn't want to attract attention.

The driver was a petite female who seemed to be in her early thirties and wore a blank face; Alliah assumed she was Officer Dela Cruz.

"Hello again Alliah, I have some more news to tell you, positive this time."

Her other family decided not to adopt her and she could stay by herself?

"Your brother agreed to adopt you immediately, and even paid for your flight ticket to the city he lives in for tommorow!"

Dang it. Wait a second...

"I have a brother?"

"Yes, six older brothers to be precise, I just contacted the eldest one." After seeing Alliah De Guzman she added, "I'm sure it won't be bad."

You try having lots of older brothers you've never met before and see if you like it, lady.

"Anyways, for now, let's go to where you live and you can take what you need as quickly as you can."

Alliah wanted to tell her that it wouldn't take her long since she didn't have much, but then decided against it and helped the officer with directions to the block of flats where she lived.

As soon as they arrived, Alliah could feel the woman's concerned look on her. Let's just say the girl didn't live in the best neighbourhood, and the building was pretty old and run-down.

She quickly got out and ran to the flat she lived in. She found that the door was left open, by none other than her beloved mother.

Upon entering, Alliah was so upset and starting to cry out loud, and instantly hit with the usual stench of cannabis, but ignored that and went to her tiny bedroom. She pulled out a small suitcase from under her bed, and filled it with the few possessions she had. In her schoolbag, she put in her books, music notes and pieces and their pictures with her mom, as well as her sleeping pills.

Once she was done, she dragged her stuff back to the car and finally sat back down into the front seat while crying.

"Before we leave for the airport, are there any friends or places you want to visit Alliah?"

She shook her head, of course she didn't have any friends! It was safer that way, no one could risk finding out about the conditions she had lived in.

The Officer simply nodded and drove them away, and Alliah plugged in her earphones and listened to some Music.

Going through the airport was a bit long, but she didn't mind since it was her first time and she was quite to board the plane. Once she reached the waiting area, Alliah was sipping on a cola Officer Dela Cruz had brought her, and began to stress over meeting her new family.

What if they don't like her? Or they think she's not good enough?

For all people, why does my mother die? And then what happened to me now.. Alliahs thought.

"Officer...Can I ask you something?"

The woman glanced up from her phone and nodded.

"What if I don't like it at my brothers' home? Can I come back here instead?"

Officer Dela Cruz frowned before saying, "Well it's not as simple as that. I'll come in a week or two's time to see how you're finding it and if it really isn't working out- by that I mean things like if there's signs of abuse or the financial situation is bad- then you can come back."

"Ok..." The response hadn't been quite what Alliah expected, she thought a simple 'I don't like it here' would be enough for her to avoid living with these people, but there was more to it than it seemed.

"But hey, once you're 18 there's no stopping you from going or doing what you want, right?"

"I guess. Thanks Officer."

With that Officer Dela Cruz continued scrolling through her phone.

An hour or so later, it was time for Alliah’s flight. It was quite late at night and the plane was due to land in the morning. She shared an awkward but warm hug with Officer Dela Cruz before pulling back.

"See you, and thanks for the cola Officer."

"Goodbye Alliah, and just call me Mel."

Alliah changed her mind, Mel was not as bad as she had initially thought.

While alliah’s in her way to her new family they start to think about her last conversation with her mother.

Alliah’s Conversation with her mother ..

'I really like the sound of your voice everytime you say you love me, baby.'

Alliah smiled softly and stared at her mother eyes, the eyes of the woman whom She have loved for years. She still looks beautiful even with the wrinkles on her face, or with her hair turning into gray.

Alliah’s smiled even more as She reminisce their memories back to the good old days, the days when their still young and strong, the days when their still fully able to get along.

Alliah bent down and searched for a black pen and a paper to write on inside her backpack. While she sits still, silently, calmly taking in its beautiful scenery.

When Alliah finally found the things She needed, She placed it on her lap. Then, She waved her hand which got her mother attention.

"I love you," She uttered and waited for her mother response, wishing she would respond. After all, she has always loved to hear they say these words since She was a kid.

But maybe, She got her hopes too high again because she just stared at her with a knotted forehead, as if she's confused.

Alliah gulped down the longing that She felt, trying so hard to stop her self by crying even when her chest aches too damn much. She still can't understand what I'm saying, she can no longer understand. I've been trying, I've been wishing, I've been praying every single day, begging Him to make her understand me again. Nothing happened.

I held the pen and wrote something on the paper. Then, I handed it to her, now with a big smile plastered on my face. For this queen should not see any signs of weakness from me.

She took it immediately and looked at the paper for a while. And suddenly, tears started to fall from her eyes. I almost panicked, thinking that I made her feel upset. Maybe she sensed it, or maybe she knows me this much that she shook her head before I could even ask her what's wrong.

Without a word, she hugged me. She hugged me really, really tight, making sure that I'd feel her unconditional love with this simple act.

"I love you."

I've been telling her these words for years and I'd still say it over and over again, even if she couldn't understand what she hears anymore.

"I love you, Mama. I will never get tired of loving you. I love you. I love you. I love you."

While thinking of it Alliah’s started to cry again and thinking what happened next with him without her beloved mother.

- MariaGrasya🍃

June 11, 2021

#inspiration #love cinema movie movies art entertainment life fantasy story #short story #motherslove #love

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pixie88 · 4 years ago

Text

Charlie

Chapter 11 - Together - Adam & Ellie.

A/N: This chapter is from both M!MC & F!MC POV. I cried at this chapter, you would think for someone who’s given birth 4 times I shouldn’t have to Google what labour is like but my only “normal” labour was over 10 years ago now and the other 3 have been very very fast labours. It is a fast forward chapter sorry but I like doing this series like this but this is also why I haven’t added a DOB because of the fast forward timeline haha. I hope you like it! 😘

If you like it let me know or if you don’t still tell me why I won’t be offended!

I am only tagging those who have asked to be tagged in this series from now on as I don’t want to annoying people with tags. So Let me know if you would like to be tagged and if I missed anyone sorry just let me know!

Find previous chapters HERE under Together - Adam & Ellie.

Word count: 1803

WARNINGS: ⚠️ Fluffy fluff, Mild NSFW & adult language.

Pairings: Adam x Ellie.

Enjoy!

M!MC POV

15 Weeks later.

"You can do this Ellie"

Tears are streaming down her face "I can't! It hurts..AHHHHHH!"

"Ellie, look at me, you can do this just breathe. You got this beautiful"

She takes deep breaths on the gas and air, "Now Ellie, I just need to check if we are there yet so after this contraction I'll see how we are doing" April the midwife tells her.

(Her water broke at half 7 this morning just as I got up for work. The contractions started lunch time. It's 2 days until Charlie's due date. I wish I could take the pain away)

I move out the way for April "Has that one gone?" she nods.

"Right, let's have a look" the midwife checks Ellie over "Well, good news you've hit 10 centimeters"

"Another one is com.....Ahhhh!"

I take her hand "Right, now Ellie. I need you to put all your energy into pushing. With your next contraction can you give me a small gentle push. Put your chin to your chest as you push"

She pants while she waits for the next contraction, it isn't long before it's here. Instead of screaming Ellie puts all her effort into pushing "Ellie, that is brilliant! Remember to breathe, small, gentle pushes"

Her grip on my hand tightens, she gasps "That one has gone. How much longer until he's here"

"I think with a few more pushes we'll have the head"

I kiss her knuckles "You're doing amazing beautiful"

"What? Even though I'm nearly breaking your hand?" she smiles.

"Break it! Squeeze as hard as you can if that's what you need"

"Here com..."

"That's it! That's it Ellie, small pushes. I can see the head"April tells her.

A few more pushes later "That's the head out Ellie" She started panting "Next contraction and he'll be here!"

"Oh god here it..." she starts pushing again.

"Here he is" April looks up at the clock "8:05 PM"

"Ellie, You did it, he's here!!" I well up.

"Would you like skin to skin contact?" Ellie nods tears streaming down her face as April places him against her chest under her hospital grown.

"Adam, he's here. He's really here!"

I kiss her forehead "He is!! I'm so proud of you beautiful"

"Would Daddy like to cut the cord?"

"Yeah, I'll give it ago" lifting the grown she turns Charlie (He's so tiny! He's sucking his fingers. He's gorgeous)

"Right, just cut here" the scissors cut through the cord.

Ellie's smiling at me, my heart has never felt so full.

A little while later, after Ellie delivers the afterbirth, vitamin K, stitches, April places Charlie on the weighing scales "Lets see how much you weigh you little beaut.....7lbs 7oz. Now let's give you daddy, so he can dress you, then is mummy breast feeding?"

"I think I'm going to do a bit of both?"

"Great while daddy is getting him dressed why don't you grab a shower or bath and I'll grab you a hot drink and some toast"

Later we are taken up to the neonatal unit where, I get up onto the bed with her, I pull her to me, kiss the top of her head "Ellie, Thank you" I whisper.

She looks up at me, she looks absolutely shattered "Thank you? For what?" she whispers back.

"For giving me a baby. Making me a dad"

She lets out small laugh "I think you'll find you gave me him first. So, thank you!"

I laugh, "True, but you grew him and did the hardest part"

"And I couldn't have done it without you! Adam, we're parents!!"

We both drift off.

1:38 AM

I hear Charlie stirring I pick him up out of the cot bed, I look over to Ellie who is still asleep.

"Hey little man, we need to be quiet. Mummy needs her rest" not wanting to wake her, I give Charlie a bottle, burp him and change his nappy.

Luckily April helped me do it downstairs "Right, we need to remember, we wipe what we see. That's what she told us, isn't it?" after I've changed him, place him on my chest he soon asleep again, I place him in his cot again.

~*~*~*~

4:23 AM

"Such a good boy! Well done!" I hear Ellie whisper. I wake to see her breastfeeding Charlie, she spots me "Hey, go back to sleep. We have this don't we!"

"I didn't hear him stir"

She smiles "I got up to use the toilet when I came back, he was just starting to wake. His nappy isn't full. It's weird!"

I laugh, sit up to kiss her cheek "Weird!" I pull out my phone.

*9 New Messages*

The first one is from Mum.

11:47 PM

[Oh, Adam he's beautiful. My first grandchild 😍 Congratulations to you both and well done to that superstar daughter inlaw. We are at the airport our flight leaves in 20 minutes. We'll see you when you all get home. Well done Adam! We are proud of you both. We love you x]

The next is from Mel.

11:48 PM

[Congratulations!! He is absolutely gorgeous! I can't wait for cuddles with my new grandson 🥰 Well done both of you. Saving that photo as my screen saver. I can't believe I'm a nanna. Thank you so much for sending that. Tell Ellie I've been shopping for you guys all packed and put away. See you guys soon 😊]

Tom.

11:49 PM

[Well done El's and well done Adam....do you have an x-ray booked to make sure she hasn't broken any bones in your hand! Haha. Seriously I'm so happy for you two! Congratulations. My nephew is going to be a little heart breaker that's for sure. Can't wait to meet him]

Nan.

11:50 PM

[How much does he look like you as a baby Adam. He's beautiful. Congratulations mummy and daddy and well done mummy! I saw Mel at yours earlier so I popped in a lasagna in the fridge for you both. You just need to heat it in the oven. I've also done a few batch meals and stuck them in the freezer, there is chilli which Mel got a couple of packets of that ping rice for. There is also bolognese in there you will have to cook the spaghetti and there's a few other bits all labelled for you. So no need cook for a while. Xxx]

There is a few more from other friends.

F!MC POV

"Are you ready beautiful?"

I look up at him "This is it! We get to go home"

"As a family of 3" he places a soft kiss on my lips.

I go to pick up my bag "Don't even think about it Ellie," I hear Adam over my shoulder, I roll my eyes.

"OK, hulk but you can't carry Charlie in his car seat and this bag"

He takes it off me "I can! Now let's get you two home"

We walk down to the car Adam clips Charlie's seat onto the Isofix, I get into the passengers seat.

20 Minutes later we pull up to the house once inside Adam ushers me upstairs to have a bath. I hear Charlie and my breast start to leak "Adam! I'll be down in a second" I quickly brush my hair and head down.

In the living room Adam is on the sofa with Charlie, he passes him over, but Charlie doesn't want to latch on. "Here I got one of the formula ready made bottles out for him" Adam hands me a bottle.

I look at the coffee table and spot them, there are flowers and chocolates on the table. "Who's that from?"

I look at him confused "have a look," he smirks.

He picks up the card out of the flowers. The front of the card reads BEAUTIFUL!

"They are from you!" I melt.

"I got Lisa to make them up for me and Nan to bring them round early this morning"

"They are beautiful! Thank you"

He leans in, his lips brush against mine "No! Thank you!" Adam kisses the top of Charlies head "I love his smell"

"New baby smell"

"I had a text from Mum and your mum they wanted to come round today, but I've told them maybe it best to leave it until tomorrow"

"Give us a chance to settle in first" I smile.

"Yeah, that and I wanted my little family to myself a little while longer" he grins.

~*~*~*~

The next day

Mum, Tom, Nina, Al and Elaine are over for lunch.

Elaine made a platter of sandwiches and snacky bits, "He has your nose Ellie" Nina is cuddling Charlie.

"I hope his eyes change to Adams" Adam squeezes my hand.

"They can change up to a year old" mum says.

"How did he sleep last night?" Tom asks.

"He only woke once!"

I hear a low chuckle coming from Adam, I turn, and he's smiling "Twice actually"

"He did? Why didn't you wake me?"

He smiles, "You looked so peace sleeping. Plus that's what I'm here for"

"Adam & Ellie, your dad and I got something for Charlie. Al go and grab it" Al gets up and walks to the hallway before bringing in a big box.

"I know you have a cot and a moses basket but Sophie's daughter had one for her little boy and swears by it"

"What is it?" Adam asks.

"Next to you crib"

"Oh, wow thank you both" I smile.

~*~*~*~

4 Weeks later I've finished Charlies night feed and put him back down.

I slip back into bed Adams arms come around me, pulling me tight against him "Did someone have a naughty dream?" I whisper as I feel his hard member against the curves of my arse.

"Maybe...its torture not doing anything about it"

I laugh "Just because we can't do that doesn't mean I can't do anything!"

I feel his body tease up "What?" he whispers against my neck.

I turn to face him "There are other ways I can help you scratch a certain itch" I start kissing his neck and push him onto his back.

I trail down his chest until I reach his inner thigh "Ellie, you don't have to"

I smile against him "I want to," I pull down his boxer springing him free, he gasps as I wet the tip.

"Fuck!"

"Shhh! You'll wake Charlie!"

~*~*~*~

The next morning "Ellie, your mum is here!" Adam calls up from downstairs.

"OK, I'll be down in a bit" I make my way downstairs, Adam is at the bottom.

"She in the living room cuddling up to Charlie. Are you excited?"

"Aww, bless her! Super excited!" I smile.

"I find it funny you own a bridal shop but you're going to another to get your wedding dress!"

Continue reading this story here - Chapter 12.

@lem-20 @aussieez @khoicesbyk @shewillreadyou @txemrn @irisofpurple

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writeraquamarinara · 4 years ago

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as with everything else in life, I’m late to making this post. I tend to make one around Jan 1st every year, but it’s now a few days after that, and all i can say for myself is that time is non-consequential during a pandemic, right? right.

anywho, this is my usual “thank you for keeping me going this year” post, but with even more fervor. 2020 would not have been nearly as tolerable without you all in it. and when i say all i really do mean all. thank you to anyone who follows me here or has read and supported my work on AO3 or has sent me a message or an ask or even just likes my posts. you can never know how many people’s hearts you’ve touched, lives you’ve made better, but i’m telling you now: you made me smile and laugh and feel love in a year that could have easily stolen all that. thank you for sticking around.

a few more specific shoutouts are under the cut to keep from flooding your dashes. i hope you’re all having a wonderful start to the new year.

much love, mari

to @anniemurphys: ria, i cannot thank you enough, for so many things. you played such a vital role in turning this year around for me. your friendship, and the friendships you’ve helped me make through book club, kept me smiling from week to week. i never wanted to leave our meetings, no matter how long they’d already gone. I could listen to your literary analyses and life advice for days on end. you’re such a kind, patient, loving person, and I’m so lucky to have you in my life. here’s to another year of freaking out over taylor swift albums and the power inherent in voluntarily turning oneself into vegetation.

to @bigdsgirl: heidi, you’re one of the sweetest, most hard-working people i know. you amaze me, and you graciously humor my latest hyper fixations—somehow always knowing, always reblogging content related to what i’m obsessing over at the moment. you give such great advice and have such a calming presence that i love being in chats and on calls with you. i cannot wait for more zoom movie nights in 2021.

to @hellodinoflower: raptor, you’ve supported me for so many years now, and whenever i feel down about my writing i’ll go back through the comments on some of my old fics and yours always make me tear up. you’re so thoughtful and kind and excited about my work that i cannot help but be the same. i hope you enjoyed the little dino reference in pride & publishing—i tried my best, i really did—and i hope you’re doing well. sending you so much love.

to @soyforramen: soy, i promise i’ll get to your head canon asks some day. i promise i haven’t forgotten them; i’m just uncreative and uninspired, but what else is new. you, however, are brilliant and kind and thoughtful, and your guidance in making both life and fic-writing decisions has been so important to me this year. wishing you so much luck with school this year, and even more happiness.

to @ithoughtyoulikedmereckless: rach, where to even begin? you’re the person i talk to when i’m feeling happy or sad or annoyed or angry or pretty much anything, really. our FaceTime convos are my favourite, no matter what time of day we have them at (somehow, the ones at 10pm are just as crazy as the ones at 3am, and i don’t really understand how or why, but i love that for us). i’ve learned so much about myself through my conversations with you, and you keep me level headed when i start doubting myself too much. you understand me on such an amazing level and i’m so lucky that you reached out to me so many years ago. i’m so lucky that we just happened to find each other on here and just so happened to move near each other this year. i still cannot believe i get to see you in person and go on walks in the woods with you. you’re such a talented photographer, writer, painter, baker, and all around artist; an incredibly kind and funny person; and i aspire to be you. i’m rambling now, but just know that i love you.

to @catthecoder: lav, my light, my love. seeing your icon and username on my dash makes me smile so hard. you just give off the best vibes and chatting with you always leaves me feeling like i’ve been basking in the sunlight for the past few hours. we need to make a resolution to sprint with each other more often this year, even if 2021 is going to be as hectic as ever, as i find so much joy in reading your snippets as we go along. you’re such a wonderful writer, and i often read your gift to me from years ago for inspiration and comfort. i hope you’re doing well and am sending so much love.

to @stirringsofconsciousness: stirrings!! i know you’ve had a super busy year, but you still made time to chat with me and i’ll be forever grateful. i often think about the advice you’ve left for me and the thoughtful responses you’ve given to my personal posts and find so much inspiration in your own words and actions. i also still cannot get over the time when you sent me a post of artful vases because you thought of me when you saw them. mortifying ordeal of being known who? anyways lol, i just wanted to thank you for being in my life and wish you a happy 2021.

to @heavy-lies-the-crown: alex, i just wanted to thank you for putting your time and energy towards answering my incessant questions this year. you’ve been an inspiration to me as a writer ever since i first found your work, but you’re also an inspiration to me as a person, and i’m always thinking about the advice you’ve given me. i hope you had a wonderful end to 2020, and that 2021 brings you even more joy than seeing your posts on my dash brings me. much love.

to @stonerbughead: maria, you brought so much happiness to my 2020. your support for my work took my breath away every time, and I swear I nearly cried when I saw your latest comments on pride and publishing. you put so much time and energy into this fandom, and into supporting the people in it, and I hope you know that it doesn’t go unnoticed. we all love you, and we’re so lucky to have you; your fics are brilliant, your podcast highlights are a joy to read, and your disdain for ras is hilarious. thank you for being you. sending lots of love.

to @sullypants: sully, it’s been years and i still marvel at how lucky i am to know you. you’ve taught me so much, from how to be more thoughtful to how to navigate therapy and self-love to how to be a kinder person in the world. you introduced me to ask polly and you send me really nice asks and you’re one of like four people who interacts with my posts on a consistent basis, which makes me feel a little less alone in the world, if that makes any sense. i’m going to stop myself from rambling on or else i might cry, but i just wanted to thank you for—here comes the cliche—changing my life (doesn’t everyone we meet change our lives, in some way or another? but you’ve changed mine considerably, and for the better). sending you so much love (in the form of both yellow and blue heart emojis)

to @justcourbeau: mel, our paths cross less frequently now than they used to, but that doesn’t mean i don’t think about you and the conversations we’ve had, or smile when i come across your posts on my dash, or when i happen to open up instagram once in a blue moon and see you’ve posted on your story. please never stop sending me sparknotes memes—especially cask of amontillado ones. your words of advice from the night i called you, distraught, a few years ago live in my brain rent free, and i will continue to carry them into 2021 with me. i hope 2021 treats you well, and that you achieve all you want and more. sending you an immense amount of love.

to @protectorofthesmoll: your string of comments on pride and publishing made me cry multiple times, i swear. i still read them back every so often, when i’m trying to muster the courage to start up on the new chapter. your support means so much to me, and it amazes me how far back it goes: I’m pretty sure I have at least two asks of yours sitting in my inbox, from back in 2018 when I had barely any followers or supporters, both of them writing prompts that I never filled. i promise i’ll get to them one day. anywho, i just wanted to thank you for your support this year, and every year before that. wishing you so much love and happiness in 2021.

to @panalegs27: 2020 was the year of figuring out that we have so much in common: a hatred of dating apps, confusion over tumblr’s obsession with the raven cycle, and an attraction to logan lerman with gray hair. thank you for chatting about all of these things, and more, with me; seeing that you’ve sent me a post always makes me smile, and our conversations make me laugh. wishing you even more love and laughter in 2021.

to @indiebughead: maria, it’s been so lovely getting to know you more over the course of this year. i love listening to your stories and living vicariously through you, lol. (i want updates on new neighbor boy, asap!) thank you for listening to my petty rants and for encouraging me to make bad decisions and be salty on main when i want to be. i couldn’t have asked for a more supportive conspirer ;) sending lots of love.

to @redundantoxymorons: iz, you’re one of the smartest, most eloquent, most supportive people i know. i know 2021 will be both stressful and exciting in many ways, and i wish you all the best. i know you’re going to thrive wherever you end up, and i’ll cheer you on as you navigate this new world, just as you’ve done for me all these years. i’m so lucky to have you as a friend, supporter, and beta, and all of our conversations bring me so much joy. pls continue to gush about taylor swift and rec books and send uquizzes with results that make me feel Known in 2021. i love you very much <3

to @cracklr: leda, i’ve missed your passive aggressive smiley faces, but your gushing insta comment more than made up for that, i promise :) sending you so much love and happiness in this new year <3

to @dottie-wan-kenobi: dottie, the posts we send each other make me so upset, but in a good way—the “if i just had to see this nasty shit then so do you” kind of way—and i love that about our relationship. who else would understand how disgustingly hilarious something is other than my wife? no one, that’s who. i often think about how you were the first friend i made in fandom, and i’ll be forever grateful for that: i couldn’t have found a better person. i love you so much, and am sending you all my love.

this list of shoutouts is really much shorter than it should be, but my brain is currently friend and i cannot seem to think properly anymore. therefore, i’m going to call it a day and reiterate my above statements that I love you all, and I hope you have a fucking amazing 2021.

#i can't find my 2019 one of these so i've decided i need to start tagging them with something so i can read them back #so for posterity:#end of the year appresh #anywho #none of this is edited or read over #so if it's embarrassingly cheesy or there are typos... welp

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twoidiotwriters1 · 4 years ago

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Written In The Stars CX (Harry Potter xF!Oc)

A/N: I just hope you guys are actually enjoying this book bc you’ve been extremely quiet and it’s making me worry jfdg -Danny

Words: 4,785

Series’ Masterlist

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Listen to: ‘Lemon To A Knife Fight -by The Wombats

Chapter Eight: Arguments.

"Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation..."

Mel discovered that pouring all her attention into the classes was an excellent way to keep Harry and his stupid ogling towards Cho away from her thoughts. She wasn't going to bury herself in homework and miss the fun, but for the first time in her life, she was going to put herself first.

"A light silver vapour should now be rising from your potion," called Snape.

As on queue, the surface of Hermione and Mel's started to create a mist, Snape barely looked at them without saying anything.

"Potter, what is this supposed to be?" She heard the Professor ask in quite a nasty voice.

"The Draught of Peace," said Harry shortly.

"Tell me, Potter, can you read?" "Yes, I can."

"Read the third line of the instructions for me, Potter."

" 'Add powdered moonstone, stir three times counterclockwise, allow to simmer for seven minutes, then add two drops of syrup of hellebore.' "

Mel noticed Harry's face shift slightly at the last line.

"Did you do everything on the third line, Potter?"

"No."

"I beg your pardon?"

"No. I forgot the hellebore..."

"I know you did, Potter, which means that this mess is utterly worthless. Evanesco. Those of you who have managed to read the instructions, fill one flagon with a sample of your potion, label it clearly with your name, and bring it up to my desk for testing. Homework: twelve inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion-making, to be handed in on Thursday."

She knew it had been unfair to vanish Harry's potion, but she picked up her things, delivered her own, and left the classroom in silence.

"That was really unfair. Your potion wasn't nearly as bad as Goyle's, when he put it in his flagon the whole thing shattered and set his robes on fire," Hermione commented during lunch.

"Yeah, well, since when has Snape ever been fair to me?"

"I did think he might be a bit better this year. I mean... you know... Now he's in the Order and everything."

"Poisonous toadstools don't change their spots. Anyway, I've always thought Dumbledore was cracked trusting Snape, where's the evidence he ever really stopped working for You-Know-Who?"

"I think Dumbledore's probably got plenty of evidence, even if he doesn't share it with you, Ron," snapped Hermione.

"Oh, shut up, the pair of you," said Harry. "Can't you give it a rest? You're always having a go at each other, it's driving me mad..." He turned and left.

Ron and Hermione looked at her in search for an explanation.

"I think he was pretty clear, wasn't he?" Mel raised a brow. "You two fight a lot."

"Look who's talking!" Ron said heatedly. "You and Harry have been arguing all the time!"

"We don't even talk!"

"You do! But you only fight!" Hermione pointed out. "It's strange, you barely speak and when you do, you end up yelling."

"We still fight less than you two."

"Fine," Hermione replied irritatedly. "We'll stop fighting, but Harry has to stop lashing out on us, we're not the ones he should be treating like this."

"Well then, you tell him that," Mel scowled.

Hermione looked like she wanted to keep arguing, but Ron stopped her and mumbled something Mel couldn't hear.

"D'you realize how much homework we've got already? Binns set us a foot-and-a-half-long essay on giant wars, Snape wants a foot on the use of moonstones, and now we've got a month's dream diary from Trelawney! Fred and George weren't wrong about O.W.L. year, were they? That Umbridge woman had better not give us any..."

"I reckon I can handle it, but if you got any problems I'll help you, you just have to pay me five knuts per essay!" The girl joked.

"I think I rather fail everything, thank you..." Ron pouted.

"Well, good afternoon!" Umbridge greeted them in that unnerving voice.

"Good afternoon," said a few.

"Tut, tut– That won't do, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge.' One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!"

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," Everyone replied. Mel and Ron shared an amused grin.

"There, now. That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please. Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it? The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the standard we would expect to see in your O.W.L. year. You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory-centred, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please."

"Theory-centred?" Mel looked at Hermione. "I'm hating this already..."

"Has everybody got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?" A few replied humorlessly, the woman interrupted them. "I think we'll try that again. When I ask you a question, I should like you to reply 'Yes, Professor Umbridge,' or 'No, Professor Umbridge.' So, has everyone got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

"Yes, Professor Umbridge."

"Good. I should like you to turn to page five and read chapter one, 'Basics for Beginners.' There will be no need to talk."

Everyone listened. Everyone except for Hermione, who kept her book closed and raised a hand in the air, waiting for Umbridge to notice her. An awful lot of time passed before Umbridge finally decided to address the girl.

"Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?"

"Not about the chapter, no."

"Well, we're reading just now. If you have other queries we can deal with them at the end of class."

"I've got a query about your course aims."

"And your name is — ?"

"Hermione Granger."

"Well, Miss Granger, I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully."

"Well, I don't. There's nothing written up there about using defensive spells."

"Using defensive spells? Why, I can't imagine any situation arising in my classroom that would require you to use a defensive spell, Miss Granger. You surely aren't expecting to be attacked during class?" The woman laughed, Mel found it extremely irritating.

"We're not going to use magic?" Ron asked in surprise.

"Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class, Mr — ?"

"Weasley."

Hermione raised her hand again.

"Yes, Miss Granger? You wanted to ask something else?"

"Yes. Surely the whole point of Defense Against the Dark Arts is to practice defensive spells?"

"Are you a Ministry-trained educational expert, Miss Granger?"

"No, but —"

"Well then, I'm afraid you are not qualified to decide what the 'whole point' of any class is. Wizards much older and cleverer than you have devised our new program of study. You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way —"

"What use is that?" said Harry. "If we're going to be attacked it won't be in a —"

"Hand, Mr Potter!"

Several students now had their hands up.

"And your name is?" Professor Umbridge asked to one.

"Dean Thomas."

"Well, Mr Thomas?"

"Well, it's like Harry said, isn't it?" said Dean. "If we're going to be attacked, it won't be risk-free —"

"I repeat, do you expect to be attacked during my classes?"

"No, but —"

"I do not wish to criticize the way things have been run in this school, but you have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed — not to mention, extremely dangerous half-breeds."

Mel gasped quite loudly. Several of her classmates stared at her in anxious anticipation.

"If you mean Professor Lupin," piped up Dean Thomas, who was as upset as her, "he was the best we ever —"

"Hand, Mr Thomas! As I was saying — you have been introduced to spells that have been complex, inappropriate to your age group, and potentially lethal. You have been frightened into believing that you are likely to meet Dark attacks every other day —"

"No we haven't," Hermione said, "we just —"

"Your hand is not up, Miss Granger!"

"How can self-defense be inappropriate at any age?" Mel asked, her hand up without waiting for the teacher to giver her permission. "Why does it matter? Isn't it better if we manage to learn it while still young? It makes room for more knowledge–"

"More knowledge?" Umbridge's eyes had a dangerous glint. "What kind of knowledge, Miss Dumbledore?"

Mel opened her mouth but she did not speak. Umbridge knew her name without needing to ask for it.

"Just..." The girl hesitated, measuring her words, "general..."

"It is my understanding that my predecessor not only performed illegal curses in front of you, he actually performed them on you — Did that help you, Miss Dumbledore?"

"Well, he turned out to be a maniac, didn't he? Mind you, we still learned loads —" Dean commented.

Mel was starting to like Dean better than other years, she made a mental note to buy him a few sweets on their next visit to Hogsmeade.

"Your hand is not up, Mr Thomas! Now, it is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your examination, which, after all, is what school is all about. And your name is?"

"Parvati Patil, and isn't there a practical bit in our Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.? Aren't we supposed to show that we can actually do the countercurses and things?"

"As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there is no reason why you should not be able to perform the spells under carefully controlled examination conditions."

"Without ever practising them before? Are you telling us that the first time we'll get to do the spells will be during our exam?"

"I repeat, as long as you have studied the theory hard enough —"

"And what good's theory going to be in the real world?" Harry blurted out.

"This is school, Mr Potter, not the real world."

"So we're not supposed to be prepared for what's waiting out there?"

"There is nothing waiting out there, Mr Potter."

"Oh yeah?" Everyone stared at him in expectation.

"Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?"

"Hmm, let's think... maybe Lord Voldemort?"

Mel swore under her breath, this was exactly the kind of stuff they were supposed to be avoiding, and Harry had run straight into the trap.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr Potter. Now, let me make a few things quite plain. You have been told that a certain Dark wizard has returned from the dead —"

"He wasn't dead– but yeah, he's returned!"

"Mr-Potter-you-have-already-lost-your-House-ten-points-do-not-make-matters-worse-for-yourself," said Professor Umbridge, her demeanour changing, but barely. "As I was saying, you have been informed that a certain Dark Wizard is at large once again. This is a lie."

"It is NOT a lie! I saw him, I fought him!"

"Shut up!" Mel hissed, but Umbridge spoke louder.

"Detention, Mr Potter! Tomorrow evening. Five o'clock. My office," She looked like she'd just been granted her biggest wish, which Mel didn't like at all. "I repeat, this is a lie. The Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in danger from any Dark wizard. If you are still worried, by all means, come and see me outside class hours. If someone is alarming you with fibs about reborn Dark wizards, I would like to hear about it. I am here to help. I am your friend. And now, you will kindly continue your reading. Page five, 'Basics for Beginners.' "

Harry stood up.

"Harry, no!" Hermione cried quietly, she turned to Mel with a pleading look, but she crossed her arms and looked ahead. He handles his own stuff, she convinced herself, too pissed about his careless behaviour.

"So, according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord, did he?"

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident," she said without missing a beat.

"It was murder. Voldemort killed him, and you know it."

"Come here, Mr Potter, dear." She said sweetly.

Professor Umbridge pulled a small roll of pink parchment out of her handbag, stretched it out on the desk, dipped her quill into a bottle of ink, and started scribbling, hunched over so that Harry could not see what she was writing. Nobody spoke. After a minute or so she rolled up the parchment and tapped it with her wand; it sealed itself seamlessly so that he could not open it.

"Take this to Professor McGonagall, dear," said Professor Umbridge, holding out the note to him.

Mel was wondering what was going to happen to Harry when she walked out of the classroom and a younger student stood in front of her, handing her a note. Mel opened it quickly knowing from whom it was, she read it with a new sense of purpose.

'Sugar quills. Tonight after dinner.'

Mel sat down in front of the Headmaster and stared at him, waiting. Dumbledore seemed unimpressed.

"You've got your first class with Professor Umbridge."

"That woman is as close to being a Professor than I am to being a mermaid."

"Professor McGonagall told me Harry had an outburst in the middle of her class."

"He did."

"Why didn't you step in?"

Mel frowned.

"Was I supposed to, sir?"

"You're certainly not obliged, but after all these years I assumed you knew better than to let him speak about Voldemort in front of a member of the Ministry."

He didn't sound upset, but there was an edge on his voice that made her feel uncomfortable about her indifference.

"I tried to get my point across, but she knew who I was and after that, I didn't dare to speak. I didn't want to give her a reason to believe my lessons are more than what they are..."

"I'm afraid Fudge is not entirely wrong about your lessons, Mel."

The girl looked up at the man in confusion.

"What?"

"After the events of last June, I've decided to advance your classes to N.E.W.T levels," Dumbledore replied calmly. "I beg you forgive me, but your studies to become an animagus will have to wait. You'll be learning legilimency and occlumency, and nonverbal spells that you will try to do wandless."

"That's..." Mel started, taken by surprise. "That's okay... why?"

"Professor Umbridge will refuse to teach you in practice because Fudge doesn't want you to learn more than what you already know," Dumbledore explained. "I can't allow that to be your case. I need you to be ready."

"Ready for what? You're not... you're not saying I'm bound to take your place?"

Dumbledore fell silent for a moment before continuing.

"I don't want you to be my replacement. I want you to cover all the aspects that I cannot. I understand, thanks to Emily's letters, that you and Harry have grown apart during this summer, is that true?"

Mel thought about it for a moment before speaking.

"You need me to stay close, don't you?" She said in resignation. "Want me to become Harry's guard? You'll find that hard to achieve, as soon as he found out about the lifeline he cut all ties... He's convinced that this way is safer."

"What we're doing is important and we can't afford to fight in times like this. If you don't stick together, then we already lost."

"It's not that I don't care," Mel started, getting a bit irritated. "I just that he's been acting up on everyone–"

"Have you stopped to think that maybe he's acting this way because he's been cast out?" Dumbledore asked carefully. "He pushed you away, and you decided to push even further. He felt guilty of the pain you went through. I'm not saying you owe him kindness, but I surely expected more of you, Mel. You've always been understanding. What's different about this time?"

'What's different is that he broke my heart', Mel thought bitterly. However, his words did cause her to reflect on her actions.

"We'll start next week then, with the new lessons?" She asked weakly.

"Indeed," He stood up. "I must ask you to keep them in utter secrecy this time. No one must know."

"Umbridge could be listening," Mel nodded.

"Keep a low profile," The man told her once they were standing at the door. "Don't give Professor Umbridge a reason to punish you."

"I believe He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back, and I believe you fought him and escaped from him," Luna approached them in their way to Herbology. She said all this quickly and without blinking.

"Er — right," said Harry.

"I also believe you and your grandfather are misunderstood geniuses."

"The Headmaster's not my grandad, Luna," Mel replied politely.

"I know," She said like it was obvious. "You can laugh!" Luna exclaimed, unaware that the laughter coming from Parvati and Lavender had nothing to do with her words. "But people used to believe there were no such things as the Blibbering Humdinger or the Crumple-Horned Snorkack!"

"Well, they were right, weren't they? There weren't any such things as the Blibbering Humdinger or the Crumple-Horned Snorkack," Hermione mentioned.

"D'you mind not offending the only people who believe me?" Harry asked after Luna left.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Harry, you can do better than her! Ginny's told me all about her, apparently, she'll only believe in things as long as there's no proof at all. Well, I wouldn't expect anything else from someone whose father runs The Quibbler."

"I don't think Luna's a bad person," Mel defended. "Just because she chose to believe in something you don't, it doesn't make her stupid or crazy."

"I know that," Hermione rolled her eyes. "But c'mon, Mel..."

"I don't want to hear another word about Luna's 'madness'– she's all right. I don't want to hear any of you calling anyone crazy- I'm sick of that bloody word..."

"I want you to know," Ernie approached them the same way Luna did, "that it's not only weirdos who support you. I personally believe you one hundred percent. My family have always stood firm behind Dumbledore, and so do I."

"Luna's not a weirdo–!" Mel started, put Harry stoped her.

"Thanks very much, Ernie," He stared at her expectantly.

If she was supposed to prove her point on uniting the houses with good manners and a kind attitude, she had to start now.

"We appreciate it," She kept a smile firmly on.

"Oy, Potter!"

"What now?"

"I'll tell you what now," Angelina stormed towards them. "How come you've landed yourself in detention for five o'clock on Friday?"

"What? Why... oh yeah, Keeper tryouts!"

"Now he remembers! Didn't I tell you I wanted to do a tryout with the whole team, and find someone who fitted in with everyone? Didn't I tell you I'd booked the Quidditch pitch especially? And now you've decided you're not going to be there!"

"I didn't decide not to be there! I got detention from that Umbridge woman, just because I told her the truth about You-Know-Who —"

"Well, you can just go straight to her and ask her to let you off on Friday and I don't care how you do it, tell her You-Know-Who's a figment of your imagination if you like, just make sure you're there!"

"You know what?" Harry grumbled, looking over his shoulder to make sure Angelina was gone. "I think we'd better check with Puddlemere United whether Oliver Wood's been killed during a training session, because she seems to be channelling his spirit."

"What d'you reckon are the odds of Umbridge letting you off on Friday?" said Ron as they entered the Great Hall.

"Less than zero. Better try, though, hadn't I? I'll offer to do two more detentions or something, I dunno... I hope she doesn't keep me too long this evening. You realize we've got to write three essays, practice Vanishing Spells for McGonagall, work out a countercharm for Flitwick, finish the bowtruckle drawing, and start that stupid dream diary for Trelawney?"

"I already finished half of all that," Mel said with a pleased smile. "If you didn't spend half of your time moping about homework, you would've done so as well."

"I don't remember asking to be lectured," He replied.

"If it weren't because the teachers are pushing schoolwork down your throat, you wouldn't be learning at all."

"Does it look like it's going to rain?" Ron asked, trying to break their argument and looking at the sky reflected on the ceiling with mild worry.

"What's that got to do with our homework?" said Hermione.

"Nothing," Ron blushed.

"So, dear ol' Ronnie," Mel sat down next to him in the common room, putting an arm around his shoulders. "Trying out for the Quidditch team, are we?"

Ron let out a choked squeak.

"How d'you know?"

"Oh, please," The girl rolled her eyes. "You asked for a new broom! You brought it with you, and you want Harry to be there on Friday because it'd make you feel better. Am I wrong?"

Ron's ears turned scarlet, which was enough confirmation.

"I think it's a great idea," She continued. "I mean, I've seen you fly and I've seen you play... sort of– I could help you if you want?"

Ron hesitated.

"Would you? I don't want to ask Fred and George because they'd laugh at me."

"They probably would," Mel agreed. "I would try out myself but I don't own a broom, so better you than someone else."

Ron let out a heavy sigh.

"I could really use some help, Mellow."

"No worries, mate. We got this."

Mel was having the worst cramps on her right hand ever since the start of the evening. She thought it was thanks to writing more than she was used to, but after a specially sharp pain, she hissed and grimaced, when she looked down she saw a hand that wasn't hers with the words 'I must not tell lies' carved into the skin.

"Mel, you're all right?" Someone nudged her shoulder and Mel blinked coming back to her senses.

She held onto her hand tightly, breathing unevenly she examined it only to see her skin untouched, her anxiety shot up at a dangerous speed.

"Yes," the girl stood up, leaving her stuff abandoned as she walked to the portrait. "I forgot something in the library..."

She rushed out the door not knowing where to go.

'Look for Harry', She urged herself, running towards Umbridge's office.

Ten minutes later she came face to face with Harry, who stopped abruptly at the sight. Mel stopped too, examining his face carefully and picking on the way he was sweating.

"Hi," She said tensely.

"Mel," Harry frowned. "What're you..."

She looked down at his right hand, Harry was quick to hide it.

"What are you doing here?" He asked with a straight face.

Mel wanted to say what she'd seen, but then she remembered what Dumbledore told her, and she was certain that telling Harry the truth would only cause him to push her away, so she lied.

"I was studying with Neville in the library and I forgot my books there, I was on my way to pick them up."

Harry nodded shortly.

"See you later, then."

Mel frowned, last year he would've offered to go with her, but it was clear that he was adamant to keep his distance. She felt stupid, running out of the tower like that after such a minor inconvenience. Harry was clearly okay! It didn't matter what she'd seen, he could handle it on his own.

"Yeah, see you..." She walked past him, her eyes fixed on the back of her hand, rubbing the skin in circles.

In the middle of her training session with Ron, a cramp pulled all the way to her elbow and she closed her eyes for a moment. It had happened every evening since Tuesday, normally she would just drown the pain and focus on her surroundings, but she was especially tired that night.

"I think we should call it a day, Ron," She sighed. "C'mon, it's getting dark..."

They walked in silence until Ron pulled her behind a statue at the same time the twins walked past them followed by a bunch of first years.

"Ron, you have more dignity than this," She whispered. "You need to stop acting like a baby around your brothers! How're they going to take you seriously if you don't give them a good reason?"

Ron was about to reply when a voice called for them.

"Guys? What are you doing?"

"Er — nothing. What are you doing?"

Harry frowned at them.

"Come on, you can tell me! What are you hiding here for?"

"We're– We're hiding from Fred and George, if you must know," said Ron. "They just went past with a bunch of first years, I bet they're testing stuff on them again, I mean, they can't do it in the common room now, can they, not with Hermione there."

"You're a terrible liar," Mel mumbled beside him. He elbowed her arm roughly, causing her to grunt.

"But what have you got your broom for, you haven't been flying, have you?" Harry asked.

"Have you, Ron?" Mel pressed.

"I — well — well, okay, I'll tell you, but don't laugh, all right? I-I thought I'd try out for Gryffindor Keeper now I've got a decent broom and Mel's helping me train. There. Go on. Laugh."

"I'm not laughing," said Harry, glancing briefly at her. "It's a brilliant idea! It'd be really cool if you got on the team! I've never seen you play Keeper, are you good?"

"I'm not bad, according to Mel," said Ron, smiling a bit. "Charlie, Fred, and George always made me Keep for them when they were training during the holidays."

"So you've been practicing tonight? With Mel?"

"Every evening since Tuesday... Fred and George are going to laugh themselves stupid when I turn up for the tryouts. They haven't stopped taking the mickey out of me since I got made a prefect."

"You'll do fine, and if they try to mock you, I'll make sure to hex them afterwards," She replied.

"I wish I was going to be there," said Harry.

"Yeah, so do — Harry, what's that on the back of your hand?"

Harry froze, attempting to hide his hand away.

"It's just a cut — it's nothing — it's —"

Ron grabbed Harry's forearm and pulled. There, exactly the same place she'd been feeling pain all week, were the words she'd seen on her vision. Ron let go of his hand.

"I thought you said she was giving you lines?" He asked coldly.

Harry stared at the both of them, suddenly looking smaller than before.

"She's... she's been making me use this quill... she says it doesn't need ink and I think that's because, well, it's using my blood."

Mel felt her mouth dry. Harry might have been acting up, but he certainly didn't deserve that.

"...I've been writing the whole week with it– and it's been cutting deeper each time," Harry concluded as the reached the Fat lady portrait.

"The old hag! She's sick! Go to McGonagall, say something!"

"No. I'm not giving her the satisfaction of knowing she's got to me."

"Got to you? You can't let her get away with this!"

"I don't know how much power McGonagall's got over her."

"Dumbledore, then, tell Dumbledore!"

"No," said Harry.

"Why not?"

"He's got enough on his mind," said Harry.

"Well, here's a different solution," Mel started. "You go to her office tomorrow, you finish your detention, and then you keep your mouth shut for the rest of the year."

"You can't be serious..."

"I talked to Dumbledore the other day and–"

"And of course you're telling me this just now. What did he say? Surely he asked you to stay out of trouble–"

"He asked me to step in," Mel replied over his voice. "I should've stopped you from getting detention in the first place. I find it funny that exactly the same year I decide I don't give a flying troll about you, suddenly everyone wants me to defend you–"

"Well, I reckon you should —" Ron started, but the Fat Lady interrupted their chat.

"Are you going to give me the password or will I have to stay awake all night waiting for you to finish your conversation?"

Next Chapter —>

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#twoidiots writing #hp fanfic #Harry Potter #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter xoc #WITT fic

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