#SHE WAS GOING TO THROW 'RUBY ROSE' AWAY AND REPLACE HERSELF WITH SOMEONE 'BETTER'

[mentalmeles]

Watched the new RWBY ep and OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW

[elizabethemerald]

The Nein, The Sapphire and The Ruby

The tower of the Xhorhaus echoed with the sounds of laughing and splashing. At the base of the tower the Mighty Nein relaxed in their hot tub, after their long stint in the frozen north, they relished the warmth. 

Beau, Caleb, Jester, Fjord and Yasha all soaked in heat, the water up to their chests. Veth sat on the steps into the hot tub, the water only up to her hips. Caduceus walked around the others, his pants rolled up to his knees while he served them sandwiches and tea. Beau was laughing loudly, as Fjord regaled them all with a story when Caleb suddenly sat bolt upright. 

"Everyone shut up!" He said, then stared off into space. The rest of the Nein recognized the look of someone receiving a magical message. The voice of Yussa, their Archmage friend from Nicodranas filled Caleb's head. 

"Mister Widogast, your party's presence is urgently required. Madame Lavoure requires your assistance at the Chateau. Awaiting your arrival at Tide Peak Tower. Arrive ready."

Caleb's eyes widened, he snapped his fingers at the others, and rose from the water as he responded to the sending. 

"We will teleport directly to the Chateau." He didn't bother to count his words or to add more than that. 

The rest of the Nein were already rising to their feet and exiting the hot tub, though at Caleb’s words they froze and multiple eyes flicked to Jester. 

"Your mother is in danger." Caleb said to her, then to the rest, "Grab your things and meet me in the entrance way." 

Fjord and Veth immediately dashed up the stairs to their rooms to grab their things. Caduceus set down the tea things and followed at a slower but still brisk pace. Yasha’s sword was never far from her, even when she was relaxing, but she still hurried to her room to grab her armor. Beau watched the frozen Jester for a moment before putting on a burst of speed with a shout that she would grab Jester’s armor and weapons from their room. 

The shout startled Jester into motion. She threw her clothes on as she wove her hands in the air, pink sigils following her fingers as she wove the spell for her own sending. 

"Momma? Are you ok? Are you in danger?" For once she didn't try to fill the word count. She waited desperately for a few seconds before looking in a panic to Caleb who was throwing on his own clothes, fortunately he carried his spell books with him always. "She's not responding!"

Jester grabbed her symbol to the Traveler and began weaving another spell. Caleb finished putting on his jacket in time to watch her finish the spell. For a second he thought she was trying to send another message, but this spell was longer, more intense than a simple sending spell. He gasped in horror as she blinked out of existence right before his eyes. 

“Nein! Jester!” He shouted, far too late, then dashed into the entrance hall and shouted into the rest of the house. “Jester cast Sanctuary! We need to go! Now!”

He watched as Beau jumped on one foot trying to put her other boot on, her other hand full of Jester’s weapons and armor. Fjord and Yasha were working to buckle their armor in place. They were taking too long. Jester was there now! By herself, facing who only knew what. Caleb squeezed the clay turtle in his hands for a moment, before making a snap decision. 

Caleb gave the turtle another squeeze, then felt the jerk in his stomach as the Xhorhaus disappeared from view, a second later to be replaced with the dining room of the Lavish Chateau, and utter chaos. The tables were flipped and chairs strewn around the room. The servants were screaming and running there was a small fire burning in one corner. He took all of this in with a glance as he looked for any foes, when a scream dragged his attention up the stairs. 

“Bluud!!” Jester screamed. Her Sanctuary was her bedroom upstairs, right next to where the Ruby lived. 

Caleb didn’t hesitate, casting Fly on himself and immediately soaring up to upper floor where the scream had come from. If the lower floor had been chaotic, then he wasn’t sure he had an appropriate word to describe what was happening here. The landing was packed to the rails with armed and masked men, each carried short swords or bows. Some were already laying wounded or dying on the ground. 

Bluud, Marian’s minotaur body guard roared in pain, more than a dozen slash marks covered his hide, while as many arrows stuck out from his body. He had a small stack of bodies around him, but was quickly being overwhelmed. 

Floating in the air above him was Jester’s spectral lollipop. This one was jagged and serrated and already coated in gore. Caleb took only a moment to spot Jester. She grabbed one of the men’s face and screamed at him, inflicting wounds. The man’s blood vessels in his neck and chest burst open then blackened and shriveled from the necrotic energy. 

Her scream sharpened in pain and rage as one of the sellswords slashed her. She tried to block the attack, but without her shield or armor, it carved across her arm. Frost and ice coalesced across her body before rocketing off and burying themselves in her assailant. He fell with a gurgle, but immediately another man was in his place. 

Caleb quickly ran through his spell repertoire. Most of his go-to offensive spells, polymorph, fireball, or wall of fire were too dangerous in the close quarters. Especially with Jester and Bluud in the fray. Instead he waved one hand over the other and multiple scorching rays flew from his hand blasting into the armed men. He specifically targeted those closest to Jester and Bluud to try and give them some breathing room. 

Before the smoke had even cleared the air was filled with hamster unicorns, as Jester cast Spiritual Guardians. The unicorns had sharp teeth and massive claws as they began tearing into the surrounding men. Her lollipop bashed into another sending him flying over the rail to the lobby below. 

Caleb barely noticed an arrow fired in his direction and cast shield on reflex. The arrow bounced off the armor and he unleashed another wave of scorching rays. As the cinders of men fell to the ground, he struggled to overcome the memories that tried to flood his mind. He knew he was falling, when suddenly the screaming in his head was drowned out by a scream from the door behind Bluud. 

"Momma!" Jester screamed. 

Jester’s scream tore through Caleb's mind, bringing the world back to a laser focus. Jester dashed past Bluud, tapping him on the shoulder, green energy closing some of his wounds. Caleb landed right behind her and flung some iron filings into the air and the minotaur suddenly towered over the few remaining men even more. Caleb pushed into Marion's room as Bluud roared, then froze bumping into Jester. 

"Take another step and the Ruby dies!"

Marion Lavorre stood in the center of the room,  her eyes wide with fear. Behind her stood a man, better dressed than any of the others, with a knife held to her throat. He was clearly the leader, if anyone knew who had hired them to attack the Chateau it would be him. 

Caleb mentally ran through his spell list again. Magic missile would be able to avoid hitting Jester’s mother, but disintegrate would ensure this scum died and never threatened Marion again. 

"We're just here for the blue tiefling." The man snarled. "Surrender and no one else needs to get hurt." 

Jester stiffened. Caleb stepped up behind her, trying to reassure her with his presence.  This wasn't her fault he wanted to say, but this wasn't the time. He didn't let his eyes leave the man using her mother as a shield. 

A single drop of blood, dripped down Marion’s scarlet skin from the knife at her throat. Jester bared her fangs in rage, but before she could do anything Marion growled in what Caleb recognized as Infernal. The man was suddenly engulfed in crimson flames, he fell back shouting and patting at the flames. 

Jester raised her hand immediately and a bell sounded, a deep resonate clang, and blood poured out of his ears and eyes. Before he could recover Caleb pulled a cricket from his pocket and waved it in the air and the man collapsed to the ground snoring. 

Marion slumped to the ground away from the man, a sob rocking her form. Jester flew to her side, wrapping her in her arms.

"Its ok momma. Its ok. Your Jester is here." Jester whispered softly into her mother's red hair. 

Caleb pulled some string from his pocket and tied the sleeping man's wrists, then quickly cleared the rest of the Ruby's apartment. When he was sure there were no more threats within her quarters he jerked the front door open fire whirling at his fingertips. However it appeared the giant sized Bluud had taken care of the rest of the assailants. 

Before too long the rest of the Nein arrived. Caduceus had used his sanctuary spell to bring the rest of them to the lighthouse. Beau got there first, putting on a quite frankly inhuman display of speed as she raced to the Chateau. The rest weren't far behind her. 

With the Nein around them and Jester’s mother in her arms Caleb breathed out for what felt like the first time since he had received Yussa's message. 

* * *

With the full power of the Mighty Nein gathered together, the first priority was ensuring Marion’s safety. She was escorted by the Nein to Tide Peak Tower. All of them had their weapons drawn and ready, spells sparking at their finger tips. When she and Bluud were safe in the tower a few things immediately became apparent. 

First off, it was obvious that the local Zhelezo had been paid off or distracted so that no one would respond to the attack at the Chateau. They encountered no guards as they walked her to Yussa’s tower, and the wizard himself had to message the local division into investigating the attack and protecting the staff of the Chateau. 

Secondly they found that Yeza and Luc had been visiting with Marion when the attack had started. Marion had snuck the two of them down a servant’s stair and told them to run to the Open Quay, after all of Jester’s stories she knew Yussa was an ally. He was able to protect the two halflings and message Caleb. He then sealed his tower and prepared for further assault just in case. 

Finally, who ever had orchestrated this was filthy rich. The amount of money it would cost to pay off that many guards, to start fires around the city to draw even more of their attention, and to pay for the sellswords to attack a well known establishment in the middle of the day, was more than the Nein had seen in all their days of adventuring. 

Eventually they had Marion safe in the tower. Bluud, after a significant healing from Caduceus, insisted on staying by her side while she rested from her ordeal. Caleb had, at Jester’s insistence cast his own magical mansion, so she was double protected by magical barriers and could rest comfortably in Jester’s bedroom. Yeza and Luc stayed in Caleb’s tower as well. Partially to be near Marion if she needed any assistance. Partially to keep Luc out of the way for what would come after. 

* * *

The mercenary captain woke up, bound to a chair, and surrounded by grim faces. Yasha gently rested Skin Gorger against his shoulder. Fjord had the Star Razer against his other side. Small flesh eating beetles crawled all over him from Caduceus’ staff and Veth kept her cross bow aimed at him the whole time. Beau cracked her knuckles and Caleb allowed fire to dance across his fingers. As the mercenary awoke, the room quickly filled with the stench of fear and urine. 

“Let me make our position very clear.” Caleb said stepping forward now that he was awake. “You have attacked someone who is very dear to us. In doing so you have committed an unspeakable mistake.”

Beau stepped up next. “We have a lot of different ways to make you talk. Truth spells, my Cobalt knuckles. Pain. We’ve got a lot of pain we can bring against  you. So how about you spare us all of that, and just tell us. Who paid you?”

The man was sweating, his eyes wide. Yet still he clamped his jaw shut. Beau shrugged. 

“Have it your way.” She cocked her fist back, but froze as a blue hand hand fell onto her shoulder. She stepped back as Jester stepped forward. 

Unlike the stern looks on the face of the rest of them, Jester wore a bright smile. If Caleb didn’t know her, he would say she was completely at ease. However he could see the cold fury, raging in her eyes underneath her mask. The man pulled back as she stepped up to him, unnerved by his quarry smiling at him like that. 

“You hurt my momma.” Jester said. Her voice was soft as she dragged a finger along his chin. Green magic healed his wounds, and he took a deep breath, even more surprised. “I don’t like it when people hurt my momma.”

Jester dug her nails into the man’s chest and the veins around her fingers blackened and burst, and the skin withered and died. He screamed in pain, Jester’s smile never left her face, now looking more demented then truly joyful. 

“Lord Sharpe!” The man gasped out, agony heavy on his words. “We were paid by Lord Sharpe.”

Please reblog!!

[cursed-ice-spirits]

Unique First Impressions Part 2

When one turns 17, a young pureblood of a noble house will be eased into society through a party held by the Head. Rebecca Lord is no exception.... but perhaps, she has something up her sleeve.

MC Featured: Aleksia Aries @aleksia-aries-hogwartsmystery, Aisling Baskerville @elefseija, Garrett Avery @thecursedvaultchild

Previous.

Next

The first of the guests trickled in and already Rebecca buzzed with unrestrained energy. 

Standing still for so long without something to fidget with has always been an issue. All she’s been able to do is curtsey to any purebloods who came through, shake their hands, maybe let the young men and Heads kiss her hand, and wave at them as they come in. It’s been the most physical contact she had with strangers in one night and it’s far more than what she’s comfortable with. 

Her hands twitched as she nodded another guest in, but one look at her uncle’s glare had her gritting her teeth and curling her hands into fists to try to still them. This is revenge for that warning, she told herself, taking deep breaths so she won’t lash out at him. He's a petty bastard and I’m not apologizing.

But by god, that is hard.

“Rebecca!”

A sharp tap prodded the back of her head. She sent a quick scowl at her uncle, before realizing it wasn’t her uncle who called out her name, and looked to see who it is, because if someone’s calling out her first name explicitly, then it must be a friend.

Two friends actually. Aleksia Aries and Aisling Baskerville strolled eagerly up, warm smiles on their faces as they waved, their parents trailing behind them. 

Aleksia was dressed in blue, a deep royal blue that suited her perfectly. It’s made out of floral lace from the texture, creating an interesting layer. It has a V-neck with spaghetti straps. The back of the skirt skims her ankles, while the front merely covers her knees, and is cut in an A-line style. She had smokey eye makeup, with gold and silver mixed in, and her hair was loose, with several smaller parts sectioned off to twist into braids. 

Aisling’s dress is one of red and reaches down to her ankles, and the top is of floral lace as well, with butterfly sleeves and a sweetheart neckline. The lower half had black lace layered over it, matching her heels, with vines and flowers covering the dress. At a closer look, the flowers were glittering roses, with little leaves sticking out. It was laced up at the sides with a wide black waistband. Her hair was braided into a side mermaid braid and tossed over her shoulder, two smaller braids tugged into the main tail, and red highlighted her eyes and lips.  

 Rebecca barely caught glimpses of their parents’ elegant attire before rushing to greet them — it was one thing to hear that they’re coming, it’s another to actually see them — but a soft cough stopped her in her tracks, and reminded her exactly who she was standing next to. 

She quickly smothered her grin with a stiff smile, dipping down into a curtsey as they approached. “Hello to you both as well.”

Aleksia gave a wary glance at her Uncle, no doubt seeing the tension between her and her uncle and connecting it to her own father, before settling on Rebecca and she smiled brightly. "It's so good to see you, my friend. It's been too long!" she grasped her hands and gave a gentle but reassuring squeeze. Her eyes shone with an unnoticed promise of support, something that reassured her greatly.

Rebecca couldn’t help it. Her smile softens and she squeezes back. “It has only been a month since we've seen each other, Aleksia.”

“Oh, but a month nonetheless!”

Nicknames are fragile here. Her uncle must not know how close she is to Aleksia and Aisling. It is enough he knows she cares deeply for Summer and Garrett. Aleksia knows enough about this to understand why.

She turns her attention to her other friend. Aisling scans Giddeon with the same amount of caution, something she’s not too surprised about, but once her eyes land on Rebecca, she smiles too. Then she does something odd. 

She flicks her eyes to her parents then to Giddeon. They glance at her, then at each other, then smile. 

Her father murmurs something into Aleksia’s mother’s, Leanna, ear, while Aisling’s own steps forward. Immediately Rebecca sees the resemblance. Both seem soft, but just like Aisling, Brighid Baskerville can be fierce.

 “A good evening, Giddeon.”

Giddeon raises an eyebrow. “I’m surprised you came. When my niece persuaded me to send an invite, I didn’t think you’d exactly come.”

The corner of Brighid’s lip twitches into a smile. “We Irish are full of surprises.”

She pulls him into a deep conversation, the other two adults joining in. With Giddeon’s eyes away from her, Rebecca blinks, and realizes just what Aisling was planning.

That sneaky girl.

She lets out a laugh, then pulls the other into a hug. “You know you didn’t have to do that.”

Aisling smiles and hugs back, Aleksia quickly joining the hug. “Oh, but I wanted to.” She says as they pull away. “You were so tense until now.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you’ve spent the last hour greeting arrogant purebloods.”

They laugh, quietly so they won’t catch her uncle’s attention, and she smiles too, her shoulders easing up.

“I didn’t think you both would come. I know I convinced my uncle to invite your family, but I thought Irish purebloods don’t trust purebloods from Great Britain.” She glances at Aleksia. “And you don’t go to these parties either.”

Aisling shrugged. “We saw it was about you, so of course we’ll come. Why wouldn’t we?”

“And well,” Aleksia folds her arms and takes a look inside the ballroom, “my father and cousin aren’t here, right?”

Rebecca laughed. “No, we’re a lesser family. Maybe some families come to see who they’ll be working with but with the kind of people your father and cousin are, there’s no way they’re going to a party belonging to us.”

Aleksia beamed. “Then I’m safe here and we’re coming to support a friend. It’s a win win.”

Gods, she really does have wonderful friends, huh. Her smile widens. “Thank you both.”

 She takes a few moments to converse with them for a while, before complimenting their attire.

“You both look wonderful by the way.”

“You too!” Aleksia beamed. “Is that Andre’s work?’

Rebecca nodded. “It is. I wanted to pay him but he refused. Said it was an honor to do my dress.”

“Well, he did a wonderful job.” AIsling smiled. “I’ll give kudos once we’re back in school.” She glanced toward the adults. “We better get going. Our parents can’t distract him forever.” She squeezes her hand. “See you inside?”

“Of course.”

They gave her one last hug, then grabbed their parents and disappeared into the ballroom. She watched them go, then sighed and let herself get a breather for a moment. Her hands itched to do something…

“Heads up,” Giddeon said simply, not looking at her. Her smile falls. She’s not so lucky now. She was only allowed one chance to relax and she won’t get it again. She shot him a glare and straightened, eyes flickering to the persons approaching and forcing a smile on her face despite how much she wanted to throw hands with her uncle and scream at him to get her out of here, but she knew how that would go. 

So instead, she watched as two ladies, one older and one her age, approached the archway, both dressed in black. She went to blend down to greet them… until she saw the orange patch in one of the ladies’ hair.

You have got to be shitting me.

Merula stood in front of her, lavender eyes glowering. Her hair hung over her face, uncombed and wild as always although this time it seemed like someone took the liberty of styling it so it looked more natural. Her lips were painted a ruby red and they were pressed into a firm line, likely in disdain at the sight of her. She wore a black dress with specks of green that admittedly looked very beautiful, and she sported black heels at her feet. As the light flickered on her, the black fabric shimmered with delicate embroidery. 

If Ethren was here, Rebecca is sure he’ll be struck by her beauty, but to Rebecca, Merula is decidedly not a welcomed sight. 

Rebecca folded her arms, a deep frown replacing her fake fake fake smile. “Snyde,” she said, a layer of ice coating her voice. 

“Lord,” Merula said through gritted teeth. 

“Girls,” Giddeon said sharply as he greeted the woman with Merula (who Rebecca suspected was her very absent aunt). “Behave.”

The last sentence was directed at her, which annoyed her, considering she’s not the only one involved. 

“Yes Merula,” Merula’s aunt said airily. “Behave. This is the young Caldwell’s introduction party after all. We came here for a reason.”

As Rebecca turned to look at her, she finally took her in. Dark hair fell in curls and framed her face, which held elegant features and dark eyes. Pearls decorated her dark attire and looped around her neck, and crystals decorated her ears and hair. Several rings were set on her fingers.

She was the very description of beauty and Rebecca would have mistaken her for someone close to Merula due to her rich background if it weren’t for the emotional distance between the two.

Merula shot her a glare, but pulled herself together and dipped into a curtsey. Not too deep, but not too short either. A show of respect, something that surprised her coming from the Slytherin. Rebecca followed suit, jerking her chin up proudly as she straightened. Her eyes flickered to the adults, who went back to conversing, before flickering back to her enemy. 

“I’m surprised you bothered to come. We are known for our… mutual dislike,” Rebecca said lowly, eyes narrowed in suspicion, wary of any sabotage. Maybe she wasn’t as bad as their first few years but she’ll still keep an eye out. 

Just in case.

Merula let out a soft ‘hmph’ and folded her arms over her chest. “Of course I came. Your uncle invited us. It’d be a great offence if I didn’t come.”

“In other words, your aunt forced you to come.”

Merula glared at her. “Watch your mouth, Lord,” she warned her. “The only reason I’m not bad mouthing you right now is because my aunt told me to behave.”

“As if you don’t find an excuse to insult me anyway.” Rebecca gave her a sweet but sharp smile, just for appearances. “Be thankful Ethren likes you.”

“Be thankful Caplan likes you.”

“Come along Merula,” Merula’s aunt said suddenly before Rebecca can say something she will surely regret (in the face of her uncle). “I must see who came to this party.”

In other words, flirt with them. Giddeon tilted his head, giving the woman a firm smile. 

“It was a pleasure to meet you both.”

Merula eyed him, an odd look flashing over her face, as if she didn’t know what to think of him, but she turned her face away and followed her aunt inside the ballroom.

Giddeon folded his arms behind his back. “You weren’t joking when you say you and Miss Snyde don’t get along.”

Rebecca let the smile fall off her face and rolled her eyes. “Like cats and dogs, sir. And what use would I have to lie about that?”

“Point taken. Ah, Lord Avery. A pleasure to see you here. I am surprised you came.”

If it was possible, her heart lifted and shrunk at the same time. Quickly snapping a polite smile in place, she straightened her shoulders and glanced at the direction of the men approaching. 

The first of them was of medium stature but carried himself as if he was the tallest in the room. His hazel eyes were dark and intimidating, neatly framed by gelled dark hair. The rings on his fingers indicated he was one of high standing and large wealth. Black robes flowed around him, making his sons behind him seem smaller.

Immediately behind him was a man slightly taller than the first. His dark hair was long and pulled back in a neat ponytail. His identical hazel gaze swept critically over Rebecca and Giddeon, a faint sneer as he observed the party.

And trailing behind was Garrett, taller than his father and brother by a few inches, and nicely dressed in dark blue. His dark hair was swept to the side, handsome as ever. His green eyes were tired but quickly brightened as he met Rebecca’s gaze. Her own smile widened as well.

And noticeably absent was Lady Avery, having been dead for some years now.

"Thank you, Caldwell. Yes, well, you can thank Garrett for that. He said he'd come without me but that simply wouldn't do. After all, this is certainly a party to evaluate Miss Lord's entrance to society." He took her hand and kissed it, barely grazing it, just enough to be polite. She fought the urge to pull away. This is the man who hired us to kill his own son after his graduation. And you can’t do anything about it.

Garrett's roll of the eyes did not go unnoticed. His brother, Gerald, elbowed him. She fought back a smile, then, as she gazed at her friend, she got an idea.

Perfect.

"It is much appreciated to have you all to witness her entrance," Giddeon said, a half smile on his face as he took a half bow. Making sure he wasn’t looking, she flicked her eyes to the ballroom, then to Garrett, the corner of her mouth twitching, and hoping he'll get the message.

He did.

Once Lord Avery pulled away, she took the corner of her dress and dipped into a curtsey.

"Thank you for coming nonetheless."

Lord Avery nodded and swept away, Gerald following close behind. Garrett lingered longer, more subtly winking then slowly walked after his family.

Rebecca glanced at her uncle, who was keeping an eye on who's coming next and was thankfully distracted, then murmured through the corner of her mouth, low enough that only Garrett can hear. 

"Mind dancing with me for the first dance?" Her words were normal, but her eyes shone with excitement. 

Translation: Sum and I got a surprise. Mind helping me out?

His eyes gleamed and his mouth curled mischievously. "I'd be honored to."

She kept her reaction neutral, but her lip twitched into the faintest of smirks as she turned her face away. "I'll see you then."

He looked as though he was suppressing a growing smirk, but he nodded. "Catch you around." He swept into the ballroom, looking around, most likely for Summer.

With nobody as a witness, she allowed herself a smile, the smile she usually wears when she’s planning something. 

Step one complete.

[artificialqueens]

Undone, Chapter 26 (Bitney) - Stephanie/Veronica

A/N: Hey guys. To anyone who’s still reading this story, thank you for your patience between chapters, I know it’s been slow. Here’s a link to the previous chapters.

Thank you so much to @aqalbatross for beta-ing this chapter, and to @missdandee for helping to murder all the worst babies.

Summary: Slow burn? *Pours lighter fluid, strikes match*

TW: Past emotional abuse

***

“Check it out…” Courtney sings, setting a plant on the table near Bianca’s sewing machine. It’s full and lush and covered in little bright red peppers. She’d spent an hour at the nursery this morning carefully learning about every kind of pepper they had, and ended up with something she knew would make Bianca happy.

“Cool. I don’t think I’m allowed to eat chili peppers though,” Bianca sighs. “The doctor says it’ll make my heartburn worse.”

“No, I know. And I know you’ve been missing them. These are paprika peppers. Apparently they still have a tiny zing, but shouldn’t affect you the way the hotter ones did. Plus it’s cute, like you.”

Dimples deepen in Bianca’s cheek as she lets out an uncharacteristically girlish giggle, reaching for Courtney’s hand.

“Are you sure they aren’t spicy?” she asks.

“Pretty sure. I mean, obviously we’ll be careful. But yeah. You and Ruby Rose Del Rio should both be fine with this one,” says Courtney.

“...huh.” Bianca tilts her head thoughtfully.

“What?”

“Well...it might be because I’ve been staring at this dress all day...but I don’t hate the name ‘Ruby.’”

“Seriously? I love it. Let’s put it on the list!” Courtney exclaims.

“We have a list?”

“Yeah, you didn’t cringe when I said ‘Liam’ either.” Courtney places a kiss against Bianca’s forehead, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Liam’s okay. Ruby is cool,” Bianca says. She pulls the dress out of the sewing machine and holds it up. “Anyway...what do you think?”

Courtney glances down at the garment in her hands, a glittering red gown, and gasps softly. She reaches out to touch it.

“It’s so beautiful…”

“It’s for you.”

“Really?!” Courtney’s eyes light up.

“Mmhmm. It’s for episode 9.”

Of course, Courtney knows that this is Bianca’s job. To design glamorous dresses for the show, and especially for her character (well, Farrah’s character). But she can't help but think that maybe, just maybe, a little more thought had gone into this gown. She smiles at the thought, the unspoken premise that Bianca might be playing favorites.

“Can I try it on?” Courtney asks, batting her lashes sweetly.

“Yeah!” Thrilled with her enthusiasm, Bianca jumps up to help her change into the dress. As usual, almost out of habit, she averts her eyes when Courtney pulls off her top, trying to avoid direct eye contact with her perfect, perky tits. She swallows, pulling the straps up over Courtney’s shoulders.

“We haven’t done this in awhile…” Bianca comments, pinning the straps. Dimples pierce her cheeks as Courtney gazes at her.

“I know. You’ve been pawning me off on Jamie.” Courtney fingers a lock of Bianca’s dark hair. It’s only been a few days when she’s suspected that Bianca was intentionally avoiding her at work - not as much as during the dark days this summer, but definitely enough to notice. She wonders why, and misses those moments that they used to have together, just the two of them, Bianca’s fingers grazing her skin, eyes wandering over her body. As silly as it sometimes seems, that wardrobe trailer was a huge part of their evolving relationship. Courtney looks into Bianca’s eyes, waiting for an explanation.

“Well, I’m trying to stay focused. Especially lately, with all the lingerie we’ve got you in. It’s...distracting.”

Courtney licks her lips, moving closer, enough to feel Bianca’s heartbeat, a delightful shiver running through her body. “Yeah?”

It wasn’t ever Courtney’s intention to wait this long. She’s been craving Bianca’s touch since the day they met, and if anyone told her a couple of months ago that she’d be the one afraid to take their relationship to the next level, she’d have laughed in their face.

But it was difficult to separate sex from the sting of rejection. It was why, as much as she defended their relationship to her friends, she still had that uneasiness in her chest whenever things got too heated. It was why she kept up a wall, tried to protect herself.

Now though, she’s feeling a shift. Seeing Bianca’s eyes go dark, feeling her pounding heart beat--it no longer makes her feel nervous. It no longer reminds her of pain. Instead, the butterflies in her chest are from excitement, the anticipation of what’s to come. What would happen if she lunged forward, pushed Bianca onto the table? It’s what she wanted all along--Bianca’s hair clutched in her fists, hips arching up to meet her. Courtney can’t help imagining how beautiful she’ll look when she’s glistening with sweat, trembling, mouth open in a silent cry.

Courtney was fine with the waiting, in theory. But now, it’s been almost a month and she’s wondering when the waiting will end. What she can do to make it end. She inches forward some more, fingertips resting lightly on Bianca’s shoulders.

The hair is standing up on the back of Bianca’s neck, and desire pools in her abdomen, so much it’s causing her physical pain. She clears her throat and takes a step backwards.

“You look good.”

“B…” Courtney’s voice is soft, pleading. She leans in, lips parted.

“I think I need a minute…” Bianca dashes from the room, and Courtney turns to watch her, brow furrowed, wondering what went wrong.  

*

Bianca splashes her face with cold water. She does not want to be someone who makes their partner feel pressured to have sex. She was married to that person--the idea of making Courtney feel even a fraction of the anxiety she felt with Jared is unbearable.

But sometimes when they touch, Bianca can feel her resolve melting, feel her body betray her higher consciousness. And today, Courtney’s silky voice and warm skin are just too much. Maybe it’s the hormones rampaging through her body, but she feels closer than ever to losing control, lust threatening to overtake her completely. She doesn’t want to break her promise to wait, so her only choice in that moment was to remove herself from the situation.

She pats her face dry with a towel, breathing deeply, when a knock sounds on the door.

“It’s open.”  

Courtney pushes the door in slightly.

“Are you okay?”  

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Courtney nods, head against the door frame, eyes soft and achingly inviting. Bianca clears her throat, looking away.

“Don’t worry about the dress. I hung it up, safe and sound.”

“I wasn’t worried,” Bianca tells her.

“Liar,” Courtney says.

Bianca can’t help but chuckle at that. It’s a true testament to how emotionally volatile she feels that she hadn’t thought about the dress. Under normal circumstances, Courtney’s right--it would have been her first concern.

“Anyway, um…” Courtney hesitates, nails picking at a chip in the paint. “I was wondering if you maybe want to take the dogs for a walk? It’s a really nice day. We could take them to the beach...then swing by that new bougie ice cream place on Abbot Kinney on the way back…?”

“Wow, you know me.”

“Yeah.” Courtney smiles, and Bianca nods.

“Okay. Yeah, let’s do it.”

***

Bianca wishes that she were a better person. She wishes that she was brave enough to tell Courtney how she’s really feeling - the physical longing that seems to be clouding her judgment, the need just to be close to her, to feel the warmth of her skin, taste her. Or maybe, what she really wishes is that she had enough self control that it would be a non issue. That her patience with the pace of their relationship was deeper and that she didn’t feel tortured merely by knuckles brushing against hers in line at the ice cream shop. That she could enjoy a moment of light flirting without an irrepressible desire to grasp her by the wrist and throw her up against the counter. That she didn’t misconstrue every touch as an invitation, a dare.

Sitting at a little table outside, she avoids watching Courtney, unable to handle the way she twirls the cone on her tongue without filthy, sordid thoughts racing through her mind. She looks straight ahead, muscles tensing up when Courtney’s knee presses into her bare thigh.

“Is it good?” Courtney asks, gesturing to the salted peanut dark chocolate in Bianca’s hands. Trying and failing to catch her eye again. She wonders if she’s being too subtle - not a usual problem for her, but something isn’t connecting.  

“Yeah…” It is good. And thank god. Because if she’s going to replace sex with food, it better be fucking delicious. Bianca tastes it again, adding, “...perfection.”

“Wow, high praise. I might have to call this a cheat day so I can taste it.” Courtney purses her lips in a sinful smirk, brow arched in a silent challenge.

“Go ahead. Cheat away,” Bianca murmurs as she holds out the cone.

Instead of taking it from her, Courtney guides Bianca’s hand closer to her mouth, licking slowly around the rim of the cone, eyes catching Bianca’s as she chases a drip down the side, taking Bianca’s thumb into her mouth. She traps it with her teeth, swirling her tongue around the tip as Bianca watches, slack-jawed and glassy eyed. Mesmerized by the whole performance, the heat of her mouth. Bianca feels her heart in her throat as Courtney finally releases her thumb, letting it slide slowly from her mouth, leaving a wet print on her bottom lip.

“Drips,” Courtney explains hoarsely, and it takes all of Bianca’s strength not to leap across the table right then and there.

Especially when Courtney goes back to her own cone, eyes still locked on Bianca’s, and it suddenly occurs to Bianca that her vulgar thoughts haven’t been an accident.

“Right,” Bianca breathes.

“Do you...wanna get out of here?” Courtney then asks, eyes raking over Bianca’s body in a way that makes her skin prickle.

It’s incredibly rare these days for Bianca not to finish her food, especially something as delicious as the melting ice cream in her hands. But she realizes that there’s only one thing she wants to taste right now, and it’s not something purchased from an artisan shop in Venice.

Bianca only nods, taking Courtney’s offered hand. She pulls her onto unsteady feet and wraps an arm around her. Every step along the way home, Bianca feels her heart beat faster. By the time they get through the door, she’s lightheaded, leaning on the wall for support while Courtney unhooks the dogs from their leashes.

Courtney straightens up, stepping closer to her. Her face is bathed in golden light from the setting sun. Green eyes looking almost amber as she slides her hands around Bianca’s waist. Bianca swallows hard, chest rising and falling rapidly, intoxicated by the space closing between them.

“You are...beautiful…” Courtney whispers.

A whimper has barely escaped Bianca’s lips before Courtney swallows it up with a kiss, pressing her against the wall, hands roaming over her body. Bianca deepens the kiss, tongue slipping into her mouth. When Courtney’s fingers brush up against her nipples, she lets out a low moan, wrapping a leg around her to pull her closer.

“You really that sensitive, baby?” Courtney smiles against her and pushes a thigh up between her legs.

“Uh huh…” Bianca’s hips are arching forward, rutting against her frantically. If she were capable of feeling any sort of shame right now, she might be embarrassed at what a mess she is, but her body is on auto, responding only to touch. Every coherent thought slips through her fingers like sand before it even has the chance to form.

Courtney lifts the cotton shift dress over her head and steps back, tossing the dress to the ground and taking her in.

She’d insisted about a hundred times over the past few weeks that Bianca’s body was exactly the same, but the truth is, Courtney can see the differences. Her breasts are fuller, belly just barely swollen, thighs thicker...and it’s all working. It’s like everything she was attracted to from the beginning has been exaggerated to a point that’s almost obscene--just curves for days, and Bianca’s heavy-lidded eyes giving her that signature smirk.

She feels a bit weird that she’s so into it, but when Bianca tangles into her hair and pulls her in for another heated kiss, the concern begins to dissolve. Her mouth trails down to Bianca’s jaw, tasting her hungrily. That’s when she realizes the true difference, the real change--unrestrained hunger now replaces the months and months of repression.

Bianca’s nipples are painfully hard against her lace bra, and when Courtney begins to toy with them again, she feels a rush of heat to her abdomen, throwing her head back with such force that she bangs it against the wall.

“Shit!”

“Are you okay?” Courtney cradles Bianca’s face in both of her hands.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” Bianca reassures her, laughing. She knows that she won’t be able to stay upright much longer, and musters up the strength to push Courtney down the hall to the bedroom, tearing her clothes off as they go. Even though she stumbles twice, she doesn’t let it slow her down.

Her head is spinning as they crash through the door onto the bed in a tangled heap. Bianca’s whole body is tense like a coiled spring, desire an urgent need as Courtney’s hands grip her waist, pull her closer.

She arches up, trembling, head tilting back as Courtney’s mouth finds her neck, murmuring softly against her skin. It takes Bianca a moment to realize that she’s asking a question.

“What?” Bianca’s mind is absolute mush. Her skin is burning, and Courtney’s hands are the only thing keeping her from bursting into flames.

“I just wanted to check, before we get too deep...um...is there anything I need to know?” Courtney finds her eyes, fingers pausing, hooked into the side of her panties.

“I...what?” Bianca repeats, panting.

“I mean...is there anything off limits? I don’t want to hurt you, or the baby.”

“No. No, everything is fine. Take them off,” Bianca orders impatiently, raising her hips to help speed things along.

Courtney complies, sliding her panties down her legs, which immediately fall open. Courtney kisses her, just below her belly button, and Bianca’s hips jolt upwards.

“You’re sure?” Courtney is just as anxious as Bianca for this to happen, but she knows that she’ll never be able to forgive herself if she does something to endanger the baby.

“Omigod, yes! As long as you’re not going in there with a wire hanger, we’re fine! Just…”

Courtney’s eyes widen, followed by a giggle, cheek pressed to Bianca’s belly. Realizing how utterly desperate she sounded, Bianca laughs too.

“Shit. Sorry.”

“Nothing to help the mood like a back-alley abortion reference,” Courtney chuckles.

“I really am sorry,” Bianca says, shaking her head with a self-deprecating groan. “I didn’t mean to rush you. I’ll be romantic, I swear.”

“Nahh,” Courtney flashes her a sunny smile. “Just be yourself.”

“Fuck you!” Bianca barks, taking the opportunity to unhook her bra and fling it aside, laying back and gazing at Courtney with a smug expression. “So, we doin’ this or what?”

“Your impatience is sexy,” Courtney says. She crawls forward, trailing her fingers up Bianca’s thigh, watching her face until she visibly shivers. She lowers her mouth to her hard nipple, licking her first with the tip of her tongue, then sucking hard, summoning a moan deep from Bianca’s throat.

Silky blonde hair is clutched in Bianca’s hands, knuckles turning white as Courtney continues to suck, circling the other nipple with her fingers. Bianca’s hips buck faster and faster in a desperate attempt for friction until she can’t take it anymore, a strangled sound coming from the back of her throat as the fingers circling her nipples start to pinch them, sending sparks through her body.

And then Courtney’s mouth is traveling lower, and Bianca bites her lip in anticipation, so hard she can taste blood. She waits breathlessly for Courtney to put her out of her misery, head thrown back, hands tangled into her hair. Finally, Courtney’s tongue rolls against her clit, and she lets out a moan of relief.

Courtney glances up, tongue circling her clit slowly, watching her fall apart. It’s shockingly fast, and seeing her so utterly needy is beautiful. She runs the back of her hand against her, and Bianca thrusts forward to grind against her knuckles.

Bianca flings a leg over Courtney’s shoulder, heel digging into her spine. Her hips jerk, body in overdrive, as Courtney continues to suck on her clit.

“Fuck, fuck!” Cursing soon turns to incoherent moans as she comes, writhing beneath Courtney’s hands, grinding against her tongue.

At first, Bianca is self-conscious about losing it so quickly, but the feeling soon evaporates, warmth spreading through her limbs as she sinks into the mattress.

Courtney trails soft kisses up her torso to her throat. And this is Bianca’s favorite part, the feel of her lips dancing over her skin. The warmth of her hands, wrapped around Bianca’s waist, sliding to her back. Bianca realizes how much she’s been craving this connection. This touch. A moan catches in her chest, coming out as almost a sob.

“Is something wrong?” Courtney asks, head lifting sharply, arms tightening around her.

Bianca says nothing, but pulls back to look at her. Her breath is shallow and she brushes Courtney’s hair back, hands resting on her cheeks. Her eyes are all over Courtney, as if she’s asking a question, silent and searching.

“Nothing’s wrong, I just...” she whispers, a thumb grazing Courtney’s bottom lip. She can’t put it into words, so she doesn’t. She places a kiss to the corner of her mouth, so light and so featherlike that it’s hardly even there.

Courtney’s heart smashes against her ribs when Bianca looks at her.

There’s something about the quiet that makes her feel unsure of herself, but Courtney can’t pull any quips or pleasantries from her brain. She’s so captured in this moment, so very present that she can’t think of anything other than the way Bianca looks under her, eyes glassy and lips parted. The way that she holds her from the bottom. Courtney realizes that it isn’t just a bed they’re sharing, and it scares her. Maybe scares her more than the idea of fucking it up. Because relationships ending, that’s familiar territory. But this...they’ve worked so hard for this. They’ve made the choice to lean into love, to trust each other completely, and now there’s no turning back.

A lump forms in Courtney’s throat as she tries to find words.

“B-“

She’s kissed quiet as Bianca sits up under them, raking her fingers up Courtney’s neck and into her hair. It’s not until they’re both gasping for air that Bianca finally breaks the kiss, stroking Courtney’s hair and gazing up into her eyes. There’s still something unresolved, something plaguing her, and Courtney waits anxiously to find out what that is. Finally, Bianca speaks.

“This is our first time,” she proclaims hoarsely, eyes misty. “Okay?”

Courtney caresses her cheek, nodding. There’s something so pure and innocent about Bianca’s simple solution for a fresh start, and it makes Courtney’s heart melt a little.

“Okay.”

Bianca’s eyes instantly glow brighter, dimples appearing under Courtney’s fingers. She raises her head again, finding Courtney’s lips and gently coaxing them open with her own.

There have been so many false starts. So many near misses. So many that Courtney has convinced herself that her fantasies are just that: a figment of her overactive imagination. But now, as everything falls into place, she finally allows herself to accept that it’s real. It’s real, and it’s happening, and it’s better than Courtney’s dared to dream it would be, even in her most ecstatic fantasies.

Feeling Bianca’s skin against hers, what strikes Courtney the most is how right it all feels. She’s so warm and soft, so responsive to every touch. Courtney parts her thighs, settling between them firmly. Her lips find the tenderest part of Bianca’s neck, sucking gently while she bears down against her.

Bianca thrusts up against her, clutching Courtney’s ass in her hands.

Courtney presses down harder, rocking against her, quickly finding the angle that makes her whimper breathlessly. “You like that?”

“Uh huh…” Bianca closes her eyes, succumbing to the gentle rhythm, the perfect pressure of Courtney rubbing against her clit. She knows that she’s embarrassingly wet, but can’t bring herself to care. “Jesus christ, fuck…”

Courtney’s been craving this contact for so long, and having Bianca fall apart in her arms makes it better than she anticipated. She’s on the brink herself when she sees Bianca start to unravel, feels the nails dig into her skin. It’s not going to take much for her to follow. She raises herself onto her elbows, hips rolling harder and slower now, Bianca’s moans the last thing to push her over the edge.

Waves of pleasure radiate through her body as her muscles strain, then turn to jelly.

“Oh god, fuck…keep going...please...”

It takes all the strength Courtney has not to simply melt into her once she comes, but she knows that Bianca wants more. So she reaches a hand down, wedging her fingers between their bodies to circle her swollen clit gently. A string of pained whimpers falls from Bianca’s lips as a reward, spurring her on. Bianca arches against her hand, clutching desperately at her arm. Courtney takes the hint and pushes the tip of a finger inside her.

“Is this okay?” she whispers, palm brushing against her wet, heated skin.

With a gasp and a nod, Bianca arches upward, uttering a strained, “More…”

Courtney can’t help but be impressed at Bianca’s appetite, thrilled by her endurance. She slides two fingers in, curling them just so, thumb still gently rubbing her clit.

“Oh god, don’t stop…” Bianca moans.

“I got you,” Courtney tells her. With her lips pressed to Bianca’s temple, she continues working her from the inside, speed increasing to match Bianca’s hips, ignoring the growing ache in her forearm.  

“Court…” Bianca says, gripping her shoulder, body still moving at a frenzied pace.

“Yes?”

“I love you,” she says, in between breathless gasps.

“I know, baby.” Courtney can feel her trembling, and presses the heel of her hand against her. It’s enough to ground her for a moment, allowing her to take in a deep breath before letting go.

Bianca’s having an almost out-of-body experience. In this moment, the only thing she knows is Courtney: her sure hands and her tender words, making her feel both secure and precious. Guiding her through wave after wave until she’s so weak and dizzy that she can barely remember her name.

She shudders, her whole body feeling like a raw nerve. It’s almost painful when Courtney eases her slick fingers out, trailing them lightly up her body.

“Shit…” Bianca buries her face into Courtney’s hair, still breathless. “I really needed that.”

“You and me both.”

After a few moments, she blinks open her eyes just in time to see Courtney sucking her fingers into her mouth, punctuated by a naughty wink. She chuckles slightly and brings a hand up to Courtney’s face.

“So...then you’re glad we did it?” Bianca’s chest feels tight as she waits for Courtney’s answer.

“I’m always glad to have sex,” she says with another wink.  

“Courtney-” In spite of Courtney’s playful, happy attitude, insecurity still gnaws at Bianca’s insides. She can’t help remembering the pain in her eyes when they spoke in Bob’s office. How knowing that she’d caused that pain made her hate herself more than she ever had.

“Yes.” Courtney presses a lingering kiss to Bianca’s forehead. “Yes, I’m glad. More than glad...it felt right. Didn’t it?”

“Even though Bob said to wait?”

“We did wait,” Courtney insists. She reaches up to run her finger along Bianca’s cheek.

“That’s true…” Bianca sighs, relieved, finally sure that they made the right decision. Especially when Courtney continues to caress her face, the gentle rhythm of her breathing changing ever so slightly as her heart picks up speed.

Bianca kisses her deeply, capturing her lower lip and tugging gently with her teeth. She hears the faintest whimper, and it empowers her to deepen the kiss, to pull her close. Slow, lazy kisses soon turn passionate, and then they’re rolling around on the bed again, unable to get enough of each other.

“I have a confession to make…” Bianca pants against her mouth.

“Yeah?” Courtney’s eyes open quickly, intrigued in spite of the slightly dizzy state she’s in.

“Mmhmm…” Bianca trails her lips along Courtney’s jaw. “When I was sleeping here alone...I may have sort of...snooped a little?”

One of Courtney’s eyebrows lifts, waiting for Bianca to explain further.

“I found your stash...” Bianca’s eyes shift down towards Courtney’s night table. That drawer full of toys, the one that’s been taunting her.

“Oh yeah?” Courtney bites her lip. “See anything you like?”

“Maybe?”

Courtney slides her hands into Bianca’s hair, tangling her fingers into her thick locks. She tugs gently, pulling her in closer. “Show me.”

A rush of butterflies fills Bianca’s belly. She smiles slightly, eyes boring into Courtney’s, before opening the drawer and pulling out a harness and smooth purple dildo.

“The big guns, huh?” Courtney heart pounds, reaching for the objects in Bianca’s hands. She begins to slip the harness on when Bianca stops her.

“I wanna wear it,” she says, gripping Courtney’s wrist and looking deep into her eyes.

Courtney’s mouth forms a surprised ‘oh,’ stomach dropping a bit.  

“I mean, if that’s something you’d want.” Bianca clears her throat, eyes now lowering. Almost bashful.    

“Um…it’s not really my...favorite thing?” Courtney feels a little bad. Bianca seems so enthusiastic, and she hates to be the one to burst her bubble. But she’s just never been into that kind of deep penetration.

“Shit.” Regret floods Bianca’s chest, burns on her cheeks. Of course it’s not her thing. She feels like an idiot for assuming otherwise. Her only defense is that her mind must be addled from a year of pent-up desires. “I just thought, cause it’s hands-free, that it would be...I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Courtney lifts her chin and places a soft kiss on her mouth. “I mean, I know that a lot of people like it. That’s why I have it. But I’ve just never really liked-”

“Right. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Courtney tells her.

Bianca groans, shaking her head. “I just hate that I killed the vibe.”

“No, you didn’t,” Courtney says, pushing her onto her back.

“Oh no? Then why are we talking and not fucking right now?” Bianca challenges.

Courtney giggles softly, hands sliding around her waist.

“Talking is a pretty important part of fucking,” Courtney murmurs. “How else do you know if you’re doing it right?”

It’s a fair question, one that catches Bianca off guard. She takes a moment to think before answering.

“Um...you’re supposed to have a psychic connection. You just...know,” Bianca says this with a hint of sarcasm, like she’s fooling around, but part of her might believe it. At this point, she’s not totally sure.

“Right.” Courtney nods. “Or, I could just shake you and see if answers appear like a magic 8-ball. That would probably be about as accurate.”

Bianca narrows her eyes. She can tell when she’s being mocked. And while she would like to object, she has to admit that Courtney makes a little sense. Plus, her green eyes sparkle with mischief, grasping Bianca’s shoulders as if she’s really going to try shaking her. So instead, Bianca just smirks up at her.

“Very funny.”

Courtney gives her a lopsided grin, lashes fluttering, and lays her head against the pillow.

“I just...wanna take care of you,” Bianca says. “I want to make you come.”

Courtney bites her lip. Her hands wander over Bianca’s body, dancing over her skin.

“You don’t need a dildo for that. Everything you need is right here.” Her knuckles brush against Bianca’s full, parted lips.

“Oh yeah?”

“Mmhmm…so I’m just gonna put this little lady away for now…”

Courtney pushes the purple dildo back into the drawer, and Bianca takes her lapse in attention as an opportunity to throw her unceremoniously onto her back, earning a delighted shriek.

Courtney relaxes, fully surrendering to the moment as she lets Bianca take the reigns, surprised at how easily it’s happening. Bianca smiles again, victorious.

She’s hungry. She craves the taste of Courtney’s skin on her tongue. Kissing her over and over, deep and messy. Finally free to explore every inch of her, discover what makes her whimper and moan, what makes her arch and clench her fists and buck her hips. What makes her cry out and beg for more.

She’s between Courtney’s legs, fingers resting delicately on her knees. Holding her in place with the lightest pressure. Trailing butterfly kisses up her inner thighs until there’s a desperate tug at her hair.

“Please-” comes the choked whimper.

“Please what?” Bianca’s eyes glitter.

Courtney raises up onto her elbows, chest heaving, cheeks flushed a dark red. Bianca lays a cheek against her thigh, wondering how she’s so impossibly beautiful, why they’ve denied themselves so long.

“You’re sadistic…” Courtney’s playful tone betrays her words, fingers twirling in Bianca’s hair.

“Is that a problem?” Bianca nibbles on her tender skin, feels her tremble, muscles tightening. She knows that this isn’t quite fair, but she loves every reaction, every subtle shift in her body. She meets Courtney’s eyes again, leveling a challenging gaze at her.  

A shiver runs through Courtney’s body as she tilts her head, trying to stop her hips from thrusting forward against her will.

“No. Do your worst.”

Bianca smiles, fully prepared to comply with this dare. She runs the tip of her tongue up Courtney’s thigh, then stops, moving to the other side, watching through a dark fringe of lashes as Courtney’s head falls backwards again.

She pushes against her knees, legs spreading more, watching her muscles tense and flutter. The scent is intoxicating as Bianca leans forward, breathing her in.

“Every part of you is so fucking beautiful,” Bianca says, as fingers tighten in her hair.

Courtney bites back another whimper, waiting in delicious agony, Bianca’s warm breath and the low vibrations of her voice all part of the torture.

After another tug to her hair, Bianca lets Courtney guide her head forward, exactly where she wants it, before pressing an open-mouthed kiss to her.

She arches up, Bianca’s name falling from her lips like a prayer, and all Bianca wants is to make her say it again, say it louder, never stop saying it. She swirls her tongue, relishing the taste of her. Loving the firm and gentle way she directs her with a fist wrapped in her hair.

“Higher, higher. Yeah, right there,” Courtney mumbles. “Now talk to me…”

“Talk to you?” Bianca lifts her eyes.

“Yeah like...talk into me,” Courtney explains breathlessly.

“Dirty talk?” Bianca asks.

“No. Just…” The right words are eluding Courtney at the moment, so she finishes with, “...Anything. Just speak against my pussy. Please.”

“Um…” Bianca leans forward again, racking her brain, lips brushing against Courtney’s clit. She’s drawing a total blank. Finally, something pops into her head. “I pledge allegiance to the cunt...”

Courtney lets out a noise in between an aggrieved sigh and a chuckle.

“Bianca!”

“You said anything,” Bianca points out.

“Maybe just...sing instead.”

“Sing?!”

“Yeah.” Courtney nods emphatically. “The alphabet song. Happy Birthday. Whatever. Just don’t make me laugh.”

“Mmm...okay.” Bianca pauses, then tries again. “Jesus loves me, this I know…”

Courtney starts giggling again, and Bianca raises her head.

“No good?”

“I’ll make it work. Keep going…” Courtney says, relaxing against the pillows, pressing the back of her head down.

Before she buries her face into her again, Bianca takes one moment for her eyes to meet Courtney’s, glittering mischievously.

“What can I say? I’m having a religious experience.”

“Tell it to my clit.”

Bianca bends down, humming slightly, feeling the muscles in her thighs flutter. Suddenly, she has no trouble finding words. A litany of praise tumbles from her mouth. She feels intoxicated by her scent, by the way she’s getting wetter and wetter. She gets bolder, flicking her tongue.  

“Bianca, oh god,” Courtney moans.  

Bianca’s licks get deeper, faster, lapping her up with such enthusiasm that Courtney can no longer hold it together. She arches upwards, crying out, toes curled. Hands tangled so deep into Bianca’s hair that she couldn’t remove them now if she wanted to. She feels her whole body shuddering with pleasure.

Finally, Courtney stops shaking to find Bianca sliding over her, pressing kisses along her jaw. A shiver runs through her, goosebumps prickling her skin under Bianca’s touch. The weight of her body bearing down is comforting, helping her breathing return to normal. When she finally rolls onto her back, Courtney immediately misses the warmth of her skin. She’s still too spent to move much, but she manages to find Bianca’s hand, clutch it to her chest. When she turns her head, she finds Bianca’s clear blue eyes looking back at her.

“Hi.”

“Hey,” Courtney answers, head tilted girlishly at her.  

Bianca edges closer, licking her lips.

The room is quiet and still. The only thing Courtney hears is the dogs out in the hallway, nails skittering on the wood floors. It’s a perfect moment, everything Courtney’s wanted for so long. She brings Bianca’s hand to her lips and brushes a kiss against the inside of her wrist.

“So...that was fun,” Bianca whispers, rubbing a cheek against Courtney’s shoulder.

“I’ll say…” Courtney bites her lip, snuggling closer.

“Was it okay? You kinda threw me for a loop there.”

“Mmhmm. Better than okay. Much better.”

The dimples deepen in Bianca’s cheeks as she meets Courtney’s bright eyes.

“Yeah?

“Your amateur status is officially revoked,” Courtney says, pressing a soft kiss to her mouth.

A satisfied smile spreads across Bianca’s face. It seems like a shallow thing to be concerned with, but she can’t help it. She knows that her experience with women is limited, and knowing that she can please Courtney somehow makes her confidence go up exponentially. She sighs contentedly, limbs feeling relaxed and heavy…

“Shit!” Courtney suddenly says.

Bianca’s eyes fly open. “What?! What’s wrong?”

“I never made you dinner.”

Courtney looks so distressed that Bianca has to laugh.

“Honey. I can feed myself; I’m not a puppy. Shit!” Bianca sits up, realizing that the dogs haven’t been fed either.

“I’ll take care of them,” Courtney says, pulling on a jersey, clearly understanding exactly why Bianca is distressed. “You can relax.”

Bianca rubs her eyes, wondering for the millionth time how she will ever possibly deserve someone this generous, this loving. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’m just gonna heat up the leftover Thai. I can handle it.”

“I don’t know if the dogs like Thai,” Bianca jokes, and Courtney giggles, tossing her a kiss before sailing through the door. Bianca settles backwards.  

***

Later, they snuggle in bed, empty take-out containers piled on the nightstand. Bianca’s arms are wrapped around Courtney from behind, face buried in the crook of her neck as Courtney plays gently with her fingers. Bianca breathes in her heavenly scent, sighing.

“Sometimes I wish I could just...make myself super tiny and live…” She kisses Courtney’s neck. “...right here…” After another kiss, she adds, “All the time.”

Courtney glances behind her, grinning.

“Sometimes I forget how weird you are.” She twists around in order to plant a kiss directly on Bianca’s mouth. “Don’t ever lose that.”

“...’Kay…” Bianca chuckles, head heavy on the pillow. She can feel her eyelids begin to droop, and she fights it, stifling a yawn.

“Are you sleepy?” Courtney kisses her nose sweetly.

“No.”

“Liar…” Courtney grins at her, a hand stroking her cheek.

“I don’t want tonight to end,” Bianca whispers.

“Yeah. I know.” Courtney presses a cheek against hers. She does know how Bianca feels. She feels it too, in a way. Afraid to break the spell. Knowing that tomorrow could very easily bring a whole host of problems and complications. Wanting to live in this warm bliss for as long as possible.

Instead of letting that fear take hold, she breathes into it, letting it wash over her and then fall away. After another deep breath, she suggests, “Maybe tomorrow will be even better.”  

Bianca swallows, wrapping her arms tighter around Courtney’s waist.

“Maybe it will.”

[heyyyharry]

My Girl Series: Chapter 13 - Ghosts

…in which Y/N returns to Holmes Chapel, and Harry is a little too late.

Series description: Y/N falls in love with the older boy next door who doesn’t feel the same, years later they meet again at a funeral.

AU: actor!harry, older!harry, younger!y/n; (4-year age gap)

Chapter 12: I Love You - Y/N wants to face her past, but Harry wants to leave his behind.

Warning: EXTREME angst. 

Idk why I decided to break my own heart and everyone else’s but let’s bear with me for a better future for our babies lmao. Btw, if you guys want a cute happy song to cheer you up, Taylor Swift’s new song ME! fits their relationship very well.

OC version

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1:45 AM.

Most of the bad decisions in Harry's life by far had been made at this time of the day, when his brain was numb and his defenses were down. It started with teenage Harry throwing pebbles at his crush's window and getting chased by her father, to 24-year-old Harry picking up the call from the person he'd been avoiding for months.

Though his number one advice to himself had always been: 'if you're awake at two in the morning, just go to sleep', it was still something he'd never learned.

Sitting in the swivel chair by the floor-to-ceiling window, Harry looked out at the city, one hand gripping the phone at his ear, the other subconsciously tapping on his knee. The woman on the phone was waiting for his reply, but what she wanted to hear wasn't what he could give.

"H, say something."

A little part of him wanted to end the call and go back to bed where his present and possible future was expecting him, yet there he was, clinging onto the ghost of his past by prolonging that unnecessary conversation that was heading nowhere.

"Can I—" Ruby spoke again when all she could hear was his ragged breathing. "Can I just come over? I need to see you."

"I don't want to see you," he finally said. Judging by the sudden pause, he knew she was taken aback by that stone cold answer.

"I broke things off with him. It's true this time." Her voice trembled just like how she'd told him she would never leave him the night before she left. This might be another one of her easy lies. But why did he keep on listening instead of hanging up?

"We're gonna make an official announcement soon. But I wanted you to hear it from me," she went on to fill in his silence. "Baby, I-I know you won't believe me when I tell you this, but I love you. I still do. As much as I did before. I'm sorry I waited until now to finally end things with James. I guess I was just scared, but I'm not scared anymore. Now I know what I want. And I want us."

That was exactly what Harry had wanted to hear a couple months ago. But everything was different now.

"Rubes," he whispered, eyes squeezed shut as his brows furrowed harder. The sound of her laugh used to take him to heaven, now it only dragged him to hell.

"I missed your voice," Ruby said, funny how a smile could be heard through the phone. "I miss you. Terribly."

He shook his head slowly, afterward smiling to himself as he remembered she couldn't see him.

"Please say something, H. Anything. Let me see you."

His face contorted as she begged him in the most tragic tone he'd ever heard. It was like cleaning your closet and trying to debate if you should throw away the t-shirt you used to love that didn't fit anymore. He wanted her to shut up, but at the same time, didn't have the heart to end the conversation.

"I loved you a lot," he said at last, trying to steady his breathing when he heard her do the same. "I guess...you're always gonna mean something to me."

Ruby released a slight laugh as he took a pause. "But?"

He sighed in response to her voice crack, praying that she wouldn't burst into tears, for he wouldn't know how to cope with it. "I can't do this again, Rubes. Go back to your fiancé. We're over."

"I can't go back to the man I don't love."

"You did once before. Sure you can do it again." He chuckled wryly. "I-I'm very sorry."

She wasn't the woman he loved anymore. She was Ruby Ellis — his co-star, an actress, a stranger. That was who she was to him from now on. And he knew better than to go back to her. However, his heart ached to the thought of never hearing from her again after this call. Now he was so confused. What was it that he wanted?

Ruby didn't say anything, yet he could hear her quiet sobs which were slowly killing him. He pinched the bridge of his nose, holding his breath while waiting impatiently for her reply, which, sadly, never came.

The loud noise at the living room entrance caused his head to spin just in time Y/N caught the vase before it collided with the floor. Her big eyes stared straight at him, and his heart broke in reaction to her expression. Without reluctance, he ended the call with his ex-lover and rose from the chair, keeping eye-contact with Y/N as she took a few steps forward, eyes already filled with tears.

"Ruby?" Her voice was strained. "Ruby Ellis? The actress?"

Harry nodded, eyes glued to the floor. Y/N held her head with both hands, trying to fight the battle of emotions inside her chest as she put two and two together.

"But she'd been with her fiancé for three years." It was more like her talking to herself than to him. "Did she...cheat on him with you?"

Hurt and disbelief was etched on her face, but she still had to ask, expecting a different answer from the truth. However, Harry picked the worst time to finally be honest. He sucked in a breath, nodding his head and finally looking up to meet her eyes.

"We had an affair, but...it was more than that, at least for me. I was in love with her." Harry swallowed hard as he broke their eye-contact. "I couldn't walk away even though we'd tried to call it quit endless of times. She told me she wasn't happy and that she was gonna leave him soon, and I was stupid enough to believe her...until she left me."

Y/N's face fell fast. In that instant her skin became pale, her mouth hung with lips slightly parted and her eyes stretched wide.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She almost choked on her own words, but he wasn't looking at her to see how broken she was. "I told you everything about Blake. I trusted you!"

"You're overreacting," he mumbled and turned away. Immediately, she marched straight towards him and clutched his elbow to force him to look at her.

"What else are you hiding from me, Harry?"

"Are you serious?" He scoffed. "The past is the past. Why are you digging into mine now?"

"Because you can't seem to let it go!" Y/N shook her head fast. "We won't have a healthy relationship if you keep things like this from me."

"But we're not in a relationship, are we?"

Those words which got out on spur of the moment shocked her to the point that she let go of his arm and stumbled two steps back. Harry wasn't even thinking when he blurted out that sentence. He should've stopped there. If only he'd stopped.

"You're not my girlfriend, I don't have to tell you everything. Even if I'd told you, you would've judged me like you do now, just like everyone else!" Harry raised his voice, apparently too out of his mind to even notice the fear in her glistened eyes. "You had one boyfriend and the break up wasn't even that bad. You don't fucking know how awful it feels to give someone everything you’ve got, and still cannot compete with the person who doesn’t love them."

Y/N stared into those green eyes burning with anger. Her heart fell silent.

"Then how do you think I'm feeling right now?"

That question struck Harry like lighting. It was only then that warmth flooded back to his features. Once he saw tears streaming down her pretty face, his entire body went limp and the rapid beating of his heart echoed within his brain. The red mark on her cheek was there to remind him she'd been hurt before, now it was him who caused her more damage. The second lesson that he had never learned, was never to let anger do the talking.

“Blake left me just a week before my mother died, then you came back, you kissed me and left me too...Now put yourself in my shoes, H. Just because your pain was different from mine, it doesn’t mean you had it worse. I hurt too. I was depressed and starved myself for weeks...Is that what you want to hear?”

Trembling and afraid, Harry shook his head fast as he reached for her hands, but she shrugged him off to cover her face and muffle the heartbreaking sobs that were tearing him apart. Although she was standing right there, he couldn't help but feel like she was slipping through his fingers. He quickly clutched her arms, tears shone in his eyes yet she refused to look at him now.

"I’m so sorry...I shouldn’t...I-I don't love her anymore...You have to trust me," he pleaded, tilting his head to catch a glimpse of her face. He watched her shoulders tremble with despair. Finally, she looked up, both pairs of tear-filled eyes staring at one another.

"You don't love me either."

Y/N could see that Harry was taken aback by those words so she gave him a nod to confirm the truth.

"Yes, I knew what I said, Harry. I love you. I thought you just needed more time," she whispered, her brows drew closer together. "But now I know...I can never compete with her."

Harry's heart sank to the pit of his stomach as he heard those words. Y/N stood still, arms glued to her sides. She should feel affection when he held her face, not this, not the discomfort of his cold palms against her skin. She wanted to push him away, but she didn't have any energy left to even flinch.

He shook his head fast, pressing their foreheads together. "Bambi, look at me...You're not here to replace her. I don't love her anymore."

When he repeated those words, she almost believed him. Almost. But she couldn't. Not after what he'd said on the phone. Not after what he'd said to her when he lost his temper.

"But that's not what you meant." She exhaled sharply. "She still has a place in your heart."

"She...I...I don't...I just—" He tried to explain, though the words that got out made absolutely no sense.

"Did she leave you right before you came back for my mother's funeral?" She cut him off, not wanting to be fed with more of his meaningless words. She just wanted solid proofs that she wasn't his rebound, yet there he was, looking startled and hesitating before nodding his head to confirm her fear was real.

"Was she the one who called you after we kissed in the treehouse? The reason you were so eager to leave?"

"It's—"

"Yes or no, Harry."

"Y-Yes."

Now both of them were crying in front of one another. Y/N soon forgot about the mark on her cheek. Not a single slap could compare to this pain she must endure from hearing his confessions.

"One last question. And please be honest with me," she spoke with a breathy voice. "Do you love me?"

Silence.

Utter silence.

He could've said no, and it would've felt less insulting than him giving her silence and reluctance instead. She loved him so much that she wanted to justify for his reaction by saying he'd been hurt before and was terrified by the idea of love, that she could understand. But weren't they both the same? She'd been hurt too. She had every single reason to believe love didn't exist until she looked into his eyes. She had fought all that fear within her just to say those words to him, and meant it. If he couldn't fight for her, if he must have a second thought to decide how he should feel about her, then what was she still doing here?

Harry sucked in a breath when Y/N grabbed both of his hands and removed them from her face.

"Don't be like my dad." Her voice became as fragile as glass. "I love you...but if you don't love me back, you have to let me go."

When Y/N said those words, she did hope that he would change his mind. She did wait. But he didn't speak. And when her time for him had run out, she quietly went back to the bedroom. As for Harry, he was rooted to the spot, still trying to get grip on reality.

It didn't take too long until Y/N returned, now dressed in her own clothes and holding her handbag. He was still standing there, waiting for her to leave him instead of saying those words she'd shrugged off all of her pride to say to him. His face was paler than her ever recalled it being, as if his blood was all shrinking away.

In the blink of an eye, the door fell shut. And she was gone.

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.

.

When Y/N stumbled out on the street, her eyes flooded with tears and the first person she called was Celine. She just needed to talk to someone or else her heart might combust any minute now. She bit her nails while waiting for her best friend to pick up the phone. Though it took a bit longer than usual, she knew Celine would never miss any of her calls.

"Hey, baby! Wow, I was just about to call you. Talk about being soulmates!"

"Cece, I—"

"I hope you're sitting down right now because your girl has an announcement to make!"

Y/N literally held her breath for that one-second pause.

"I'm engaged!"

When Celine screamed the big news into the phone, her best friend from across the ocean was so shocked she couldn't make a sound. She stood like a corpse on the side of the road, tears in her eyes but she was too afraid her heartbreak would ruin her best friend's happy day.

"Y/N, are you still there?"

"Yeah...I'm here."

"Are you crying?"

Y/N faked a laugh. The last thing she wanted was to make this about herself.

"I can't help it. I'm just so happy for you two," she said, trying to sound as cheerful as she could pretend.

"Aww, my love! Gosh, I wish you were here with us." Celine giggled. "Oh, why did you call by the way?"

"I just missed you, that's all." Y/N pressed her lips together, taking a deep breath. "Hey, something just came up, I gotta go now. I'll call you another time, yeah? Then we can spend hours talking about this."

"Oh, we certainly will! Love you, baby."

"Love you too, baby."

When that phone call came to an end, Y/N sank even deeper into depression.

How could it be?

In less than twelve hours, everything had been taken away from her. She had prided herself on being independent and laughed in the faces of the ones who needed the company of another to feel fulfilled. Here she was, completely lost with no one to turn to, not even herself. So she kept on walking, letting her tears fall and her feet lead the way. Maybe when the sun rose in a few hours, everything would be alright.

If only it'd been that easy.

The rain came without warning. It started out with little droplets, and the next second it was a torrential downpour, washing over her skin so strongly that it felt as if she was standing under a giant waterfall. Y/N didn't have an umbrella with her, so the only thing she could do was cover her head with the handbag and attempt to call a taxi on the phone. Due to unfortunate carelessness, the device slipped out of her grip and fell right into the puddle on the pavement, causing Y/N to literally scream out a curse word. There wasn't anyone around to think she was insane anyway.

The phone was dripping in rainwater when she picked it up, thus only magic could get it to work again. This time, instead of risking her life to run home, she dashed to find cover under a roof nearby, just in time two headlights appeared through the thick water curtain.

A car pulled over in front of Y/N. The familiar voice grabbed her attention right before she could recognize the person in the driver seat.

"Get in!" Marcy shouted as she tapped on the window.

This woman would be the last person Y/N wanted to be around at a moment like this, but she was given no other choice. It was either being safe in the car with the crazy person who'd slapped her, or risking standing there and getting swept away by the thunderstorm. Any sane person would've chosen the former in a heartbeat.

Immediately, Y/N got into the passenger seat and heaved a heavy sigh as she slammed the door shut, trying to catch her breath with her head back tossed back and eyes shut. Marcy quickly turned back to grab something from the backseat.

"Here." She wrapped the huge blanket around Y/N's body, stroking both of her arms to keep her warm.

"Why do you have a huge ass blanket in your car?"

"I get cold easily." Marcy rolled her eyes, although she did find it amusing how Y/N was more shocked by the blanket, than the fact that she'd showed up just in time to rescue her from the storm.

"Better?" Asked the blonde as she drove away in the rain, taking a quick glance at her future stepdaughter whose eyes were still shut, too lost in her own head to even hear that one-word question.

"How did you find me?" Y/N asked once she'd calmed down.

"It was pure luck I guess," replied Marcy. "I was driving around the city looking for you, and when it began to rain I was about to give up, then I saw you on the side of the road."

Y/N didn't say anything, instead, she turned her head to the left. Water droplets hit the car window as they drove onwards. She watched those raindrops race down, somehow finding a little bit of peace and calmness in the loud and chaotic storm.

Now that the heavy shower had washed away his scent on her body, she didn't want to go back anymore. She didn't even want to return to her flat where everywhere she looked reminded her of him. Now she had no other place to go but one.

"Are you heading back to Holmes Chapel?" She asked Marcy, who was taken aback by the sudden question.

"Uh...yeah, but I can drop you off—"

"No." She shook her head, staring at the road ahead instead of the woman in the driver seat. "Just keep on driving."

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.

.

Harry completely lost track of time, which seemed to fly faster as he was lost in his own thoughts. Maybe he would've continued sitting there on his sofa and replaying Y/N's words over and over again in his head until he passed out from exhaustion, if the sound of thunder hadn't dragged him back to reality.

His head turned to the glass window when the rain started to pour. All that he could see was a thick curtain of water and the hazy city light hidden underneath it. His heart stopped for a second when he recalled the accident which left Y/N with a sprained ankle. He couldn't show up to help her then, now she was out in the rain because of him.

If something bad happened to her...

Harry quickly rose up as the thought briefly crossed his mind, just in time his phone began to ring. The name Ruby appeared on the screen again, but this time, he didn't even care. It was funny and sad at the same time, how the moment of realization always came a bit too late.

What had he done?

Not until then did it occur to Harry that his Bambi had left him for good. He'd officially lost her.

Now that she was gone, he missed her, he needed her, he worried about her. Now that he knew there was a high chance that he could never get her back, it felt as if he was bleeding internally. The pain couldn't compare to when Ruby left him, no, it was much worse. It tore his chest opened. If something bad happened to her tonight, how could he possibly live with himself?

What had he done?

Harry ran fast to his bedroom to throw on a pair of jeans and the t-shirt she'd left on his bed, which still smelt like her. He returned to the living room and grabbed an umbrella before heading out as fast as possible. He rushed to the street, gasping for air as the raindrops hit his cold skin. Even with an umbrella above his head, Harry couldn't save his clothes from getting soaked just in less than a minute. But it was the least of his concerns now. He turned left, then right, mouth agape, eyebrows knitted together. There was not a single person or car in sight. Where was she? Where was his Bambi?

He dialed her number but he couldn't reach her. She either had him blocked or her phone turned off, whichever it was, he wasn't sure if she was safe, and he couldn't rest knowing she was somewhere out there in this pouring rain, all on her own.

He must go find her now.

What had he done?

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.

It was a long drive back to Holmes Chapel, for no vehicle could go fast in this kind of weather. The more time it took the more uncomfortable it got for the two young women in this car.

Marcy inhaled deeply as she stole another glance at Y/N, who had been so quiet that Marcy felt like it would be a crime if she breathed a bit too loud. She thought it might be for the best if she just kept silent and her eyes on the road. However, it was hard to ignore the mark on Y/N's cheek. Although it looked better now than before, it reminded Marcy of what she'd done. And she'd been tormenting herself over it from the night before.

After a couple seconds of contemplating, she finally spoke up, "About what happened in the store..." She paused to clear her throat. "I-I'm very sorry. I shouldn't have—"

"Don't bother," Y/N cut her off, speaking in a monotone. The girl couldn't sound any less indifferent, not her usual aggressive and sarcastic tone. That was how Marcy knew it had a lot to do with the big reason behind her wanting to go back to Holmes Chapel. Marcy was just too afraid to ask.

"After all," Y/N went on, this time sounding breathless. "My father was the one who took the ring from my mother, not you."

"But..." Marcy sucked in a deep breath. "But he didn't take the ring back."

This time, Y/N finally turned to look at her, eyes broadened at once. Marcy kept her focus on the road, yet her expression hardened as if what she was about to say was going to be very brutal to the young girl sitting next to her.

"On the night of the accident, before your mother left, she gave it back to him."

"W-What?"

"Your father asked me not to tell you this but...I think you deserve to know the truth." Marcy sighed, tightening her grip on the steering wheel. "Your parents had planned on getting divorced two months prior to Tam's death. I-I had nothing to do with it, I don't even know the reason. It wasn't until after she'd left that Brad and I began to grow feelings for each other. But everyone blames me for their fight, for her accident. I guess that was why I got so fed up with your attitude and—" Marcy blinked fast, shaking her head in guilt. "I'm not trying to justify my action, because I know it was wrong. But I didn't mean to hurt you on purpose."

Y/N didn't expect any of that. Besides the divorce, nothing else seemed to make sense. Why did her mother take off the ring that she loved more than herself? What was it that they were arguing about that night?

She had hoped that Marcy was just lying, yet for someone with such a troubled past, she would be able to tell if someone was spilling out lies. Therefore she was sure Marcy had said exactly what she knew. Now Y/N felt like she knew nothing at all, not even her mother, the one she loved most.

"You should take a nap. I'll wake you up when we're almost home," Marcy said with a smile.

Now that the rain was over, the sky glowed like a summer peach and the sun slowly emerged from the skyline as tall buildings rose out of the darkness. Y/N's heart was at peace once again, knowing she would be home soon.

But as she closed her eyes to get some rest, all that she could see was him.

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"Bambi! Please, open the door if you're in there!" Harry knocked more urgently this time as he tried to catch his breath and fight back the tears. His voice was hoarse from pleading for her to let him in. It had been a while, and now he began to think she wasn't there.

The first golden light of the new day snuck through the little window near the ceiling into the hallway, blinding Harry for a second as if to let him know that the sun had come once again. How often we saw the dawn and took it for granted, that when darkness took over we suddenly craved for the light and the life it brought to our world? Same as Y/N. Now that she was gone, he finally realized what he'd lost.

Harry sat down on the floor with his back against her front door, head in his hands. Their last conversation soon came back to haunt him, and so was the look on her face when he let her go. He knew he deserved that. He was unworthy of her love. But now that he'd lost his ray of sunshine, how could he live with this cold?

In just a minute, Harry's eyes dripped with tears as he gazed toward the window above, as if the light could soothe him. His face twisted and his fists clenched so tight he could feel the sweat trapped inside them. He looked like the same distressed little boy who'd lost the stuffed bunny and the girl he loved. It would take more than a black eye and losing his captain armband to win her back this time.

But right now, he just wanted to know if she was safe. He wiped his tears and pulled out his phone, quickly making a call to the only person he knew would be able to help.

"Hello?" Isaac answered after five seconds. His sleepy voice was evident that he was barely awake.

"Mate...did Y/N come to you, or at least contact you?"

"No. What's wrong? Did something happen to her?" Just like him, his best friend sounded overly distraught.

"We had a fight and she ran off in the rain and...I'm right outside her place right now but she's not home yet."

"She didn't answer your calls?"

"No." Harry sighed, combing his fingers through his hair. "Maybe if you call her, she'll pick up."

"Alright. I'll text you if I know where she is."

"Thank you. I-I appreciate that."

Isaac hummed as a reply and hung up the phone. Harry sat there with his head tossed back, resting against the door, his eyes on the ceiling. Now he was too stressed to even get on with his day and act like nothing was wrong when everything was. But if he continued to sit there for too long, one of Y/N's neighbors might report him, or even worse, someone could start a false rumor that might damage her reputation. Sighing, he pushed himself off the floor to stand up straight, one palm pressed against the wall to keep his balance.

"Hey, you!"

When Harry heard that voice, his head jerked in its direction where he found an old lady walking up the stairs.

"Hi, ma'am," he mumbled, pressing his lips into a small smile as she approached him. But the woman couldn't look more irritated.

"You're dating the girl in that flat, right?"

Harry parted his lips, not knowing how to answer, but he assumed the old woman must be Mrs. Huang, the angry neighbor who kept complaining about him and Y/N having sex a bit too loud. She didn't even need a response from him, and just went straight into the point, handing him the pink notebook which he hadn't noticed that she'd been holding until now.

"She dropped this yesterday. Maybe you can give it back to her."

"Oh...thank you."

Mrs. Huang eyed at the young man from head to toes, making him think she might begin to lecture him on how to not disturb the neighbors. However, what she said to him was this.

"Ever since you came around, I've seen her sing a different song every day when she leaves the building. As annoying as she might be sometimes, that girl seems to be head over heels for you." Then the woman sighed happily, her wrinkles became more visible now that she was smiling at him. "I miss being young and in love with someone. Hold onto it while you still can, alright?"

When Mrs. Huang patted him on the arm and returned to her home, Harry looked down at the pink notebook in his hand. And in a few seconds, all the memories flooded back and the different images of her beautiful smile flashed right through his mind. At that moment, he realized, the goodbye wasn't supposed to be the hardest part, it was the flashbacks that followed right after.

Every single day he'd spent with Ruby had been filled with fear and anxiety, which he'd mistook for passion. But Y/N was his medicine. When he was with her, the pain stopped. She made him feel safe even though their relationship had never been solid, and with her, he could get away from the chaotic of his world to find real peace.

After getting soaked in the rain, his old t-shirt no longer smelt like his Bambi, which meant he had nothing left of her to keep, not even her scent. Now he missed her with a pain in his guts like a fire burning slow.

Had he been brave enough to just face his fear and accept the fact that it was love. It wasn't anything like the love he'd had for Ruby, but it was love. Otherwise, he wouldn't have trembled every time she called his name, his knees wouldn't have gone weak every time he caught her smiling at him, he wouldn't have spent most of the time during a day thinking, fantasizing, daydreaming about her.

If it wasn't love, what else could it be?

In his heart, he retracted all the terrible things he had said to her. He'd learned his lessons the hard way, but not soon enough for the two of them.

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.

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"Your sim card is okay, but I'm gonna have to take your phone to the repair store. Meanwhile, you can use my old Blackberry, it still works pretty damn fine."

Y/N pressed her lips into a small smile as she took the phone from her dad, sitting down on the edge of her bed with a blanket wrapped around her now dry and warm body. Bradford stood there for a moment to make sure his daughter didn't need anything else. He was debating with himself whether or not he should ask about why she'd come back. But once he saw the look on her face as she acted busy with the device, he took it as a cue to leave her alone for now.

Once her bedroom door was shut, Y/N finally lifted her eyes as sadness clouded her features at once. She carefully looked around the room. There was a strange melancholy feeling in her heart to be back in her childhood home after two years. Everything looked almost the same as the day she left for college, but it didn't feel the same because she was the one who'd changed.

Through that window, she used to secretly watch Harry return home from school every day. In this bed, he used to hold her as they both fell asleep on nights when her parents were both out of town, and her irresponsible aunt didn't care if there was a boy in her room. On that desk, she'd written countless pages about him, for him, that he might never get to read. She looked around this room and all she could see were their ghosts lurking in every single corner.

After all those years, the boy next door was still so far out of reach. And she was still the same fourteen-year-old pining over her older neighbor who didn't love her in return. That bitter truth made her eyes well up, but she was too old to live in Wonderland anymore. It was time for her to go back.

The new ringtone blasted from the old phone shocked Y/N to the point that she almost tossed her dad's Blackberry across the room. Fortunately, she didn't. She sighed in relief the second the name Isey appeared on the screen. Wiping away her tears, she pressed answer immediately.

"H-Hi..." Y/N exhaled a nervous laugh, hoping he wasn't able to tell what a wreck she was. But he already knew that when he decided to call.

"Smiley, are you okay? Where are you? Are you safe? Are you with someone?"

"I'm fine. What's going on?" Then the answer just appeared in her head on its own. Her smile faded soon as realization sank in. Her voice was soft and careful as she questioned, "what did Harry tell you?"

"That you two got into a fight and you ran off in the storm."

Y/N scoffed, looking down and shaking her head slightly. "It's no big deal really."

"What happened?"

"Well..." She pursed her lips, trying to come up with a white lie good enough to convince him she was okay. "We just had a small disagreement and, yeah, like we always do. It's not that big of a deal."

"I still think you should call him back," Isaac said. She could imagine the frown upon his face. "He was so worried."

"Hmm," she hummed, pressing her lips to form a straight line, not knowing what else to say.

"Where are you now?"

"I'm...in Holmes Chapel."

"What are you doing there?"

Hiding.

"I'm back for my father's wedding in two days." She chuckled nervously, eyes glancing at the spinning fan above her head. "Don't you worry about me."

There was a long pause from Isaac's side when all she could hear was his soft yet heavy breathing. She wished she could tell him what had happened, but neither her heart nor her head agreed it was a good idea to confide in Harry's best friend. So she just sat in silence and waited for him to speak. Eventually, he did.

"If you're sad, just say so."

Y/N nodded in response to those words, yet she soon realized that he couldn't see her so she quietly reassured him that she was fine. Though Isaac could probably tell she only said that so he would stop worrying about her, he was nice enough to not call her out for being a terrible liar.

"Look, I gotta go now..." She said fast, her brows pinched together as her eyes squeezed shut. "Talk to you another time?"

"Alright." He let out a short breath. "Have a great day, Smiley."

"Wait! One more thing!"

"Yeah?" His light chuckle caused her to smile a bit.

"Please don't tell Harry I'm here...I'm gonna talk to him myself when I'm ready."

"Okay."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Knowing that Isaac always kept his words, Y/N trusted him entirely as she muttered a goodbye and waited for him to hang up first.

She put her phone down, staring at the window where came the new daylight welcoming her back to the small town of Holmes Chapel. The girl smiled sadly as she curled up in a ball on her childhood bed, her eyes fell shut in an instant. The exhaustion caused her body to hang limp like wet laundry on a winter day, now every one of her muscles was giving into gravity.

Taking a deep breath, she could feel the sorrow in her chest waiting to take over, yet the fear didn't seem to exist like many times before. She knew the feeling of losing someone she loved, physically, emotionally, or both; and knowing it probably made it less scary. But what was worse than fear was the emptiness that followed when that someone was gone. She was learning how to deal with it, but slowly.

[branwenblake]

Imagine Me and You (Bees Ver.)

((Yep, you read that right. Happy Day 4, y’all!))

---

"You're late, Rubs."

Yang manages to shoot a glare towards her sister while hauling flowers to the back of her SUV.

"I'm only late because you expected me to be on time," Ruby chimes, "What's the job?"

"Wedding."

Just as she thought, her sister starts getting too excited. "Nice couple?"

Yang shrugs, "Haven't met them."

"Do you want to come to Weiss' with me later? Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Oscar are coming." Ruby asks. Yang felt the eagerness oozing off of Ruby. She kept going with the flowers.

"Sure."

Ruby gasps, "You will?"

"Absolutely."

"Great! We'll go together!"

"I'll meet you there."

Ruby's hopeful outlook is replaced by a frown. "You're not coming."

"I'd rather watch the Pumpkin Pete's commercial a hundred times," Yang replies as she grabs the last batch, trying to organize the flowers a bit more.

Ruby scoffs, "You need a love life."

Yang kisses Ruby on top of her head, "I have a beer and a couch. They suit me fine. Text me when you leave if I'm not home yet. Say hello to Weiss for me."

It wasn't that Yang had been heartbroken or anything like that. She's just really busy with work. She loves her flowers, and just hasn't found the motivation to actively look for someone. It all started when her dad married Ruby's mom, Summer. She thought she was going to hate her so much, but it ended up being the exact opposite. She let Ruby and her explore just about anything. She'd take them to trips outside the city just because, and she showed Yang how to really appreciate life. Their mom loved flowers when she was still alive. She would always tell them that flowers deserve love too, because it's easy to spot when a flower isn't where it's supposed to be.

Setting up at events like these gives her the space she needs to miss their mom without having to cry about it. She knew that her mom would be happy if she had seen what she's been doing.

As people filled the church, she gave herself a pat in the back as she sees a couple of them amazed by her work before looking for the groom party. She needed to help them with their corsages.

She spots them just by the front. There's two waiting for her at the front, and the groom is welcoming the guests. She helps the two, waits a moment before approaching him.

"Hi," Yang says.

He turns around along with a friend. "Hey."

"You're Sun, right? The groom?"

Sun smiles at her, "Yeah, yeah, I am."

Yang shakes his hand, "Well, I did your flowers."

"Oh! Well they look amazing. Yeah, they're great, aren' they, Neptune? He's my best man."

The blue haired guy flicks his fair with a free hand and says, "Not as great as you, pretty lady." Then, he winks at Yang.

"Easy there, lady killer." Yang says with a chuckle, as she passes on the corsages to them both. She looks at Neptune, "You want some help with this thing?"

"Yes. I work out, that's right."

Yang laughs.

"But just saying I don't have a six-pack though."

"No?" Yang plays along.

"No, got a twelve pack on this puppy."

Yang laughs more, "I don't really like men with muscles."

When Yang finishes up helping Neptune, a young boy named Mata approaches Sun accompanied by a woman named Kali, the bride's mom, and tells him he has a question for him.

Mata asks, "What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?"

Sun looked absolutely clueless, and the boy was about to walk away defeated when Yang stepped in, offering an answer. "It never happens." She pauses for a bit, "If there's a thing that can't be stopped... it's not possible for there to be something else which can't be moved, and vice versa. They can't both exist."

"You see, it's a trick question...," Yang looks up, meeting Kali's gaze, "..is the answer."

The young boy also looks at his mom, "Can she sit with me?"

That's how she found herself staying a bit before the ceremony starts, babysitting Mata. She strikes up a conversation with him once more, enough to keep him entertained until Kali comes back.

She looks at her, "Okay, you're good? I have to go set up the reception." Kali mouths, 'great', and Yang starts walking off the sides when the bridal march song starts playing. Usually she's out of there before anything starts, trying to save time because the reception is a much more hands on job, but since she was already here, she decides to take a glimpse of the bride.

That was her biggest mistake.

It really was because the bride looked her way, and it was like time stood absolutely still for a second just for them. The bride had her hair up, wearing a very simple dress, but she is without a doubt, the most beautiful woman Yang has ever seen. She sees the bride panic a little since she wasn't looking ahead instead, and it makes Yang smile as she continues to head out to the reception.

What she didn't know was that the bride looked back her way right after, disappointed that Yang was gone.

---

Everyone made their way to the reception, and it was everything Blake pictured it to be. This is supposed to be the best day of her life, but it's just been above average so far. Her dad talked about how tough marriage is the whole ride to the church, and how he's still not Sun's biggest fan, but he loves Blake nonetheless.

One interesting happened though, and it was that woman from the church. Okay, getting married was interesting too, it's just, it felt so right. She couldn't stop staring at her when she should have been staring at Sun. She couldn't stop thinking about it, and now, she lost her ring in the punch bowl because she's been so spaced out.

"Hi."

She turns around, and she lets out a small smile. It was the woman from the church. She fixes her dress, and says hi back.

"We haven't really met, I'm Yang."

Blake couldn't help but stare a bit. Yang is so beautiful. "I'm Blake."

"Well, Blake, I did your flowers."

Blake's smile gets bigger, "Really? Oh, they're beautiful. Thank you."

Yang returns her smile, "Anyway, I was just going to get...," She must have noticed that Blake was being partiularly protective of the bowl, "...a drink."

"Uh... I really wouldn't."

"What? Is there something wrong?" Yang asks.

Blake didn't know what to say. She just met Yang, and she doesn't want her to think that she was already a sloppy wife. For crying out loud, she lost her ring just hours after getting married.

Yang must have realized that she was hesitating, "I'm here to help," she says.

It's not like she knows anyone here enough to tell them about it. Whatever, she decides. "M-my ring. I was trying to get some punch and.. well.."

Yang places herself beside Blake by the punch, "Your wedding ring?!"

Blake puts her hand on her mouth, "Not so loud!" She realizes she's too close to Yang, so she jumps back a bit, "It fell off! I don't know how, but it's in there."

"And please tell me you tried the ladle?"

"N-Nothing."

"You also can't just empty..."

Blake throws her a defeated look, "I can't."

Yang looks at her, then the punch, and puts on this determined look, "Right, well, there's only one thing left to do. Cover me."

"What?"

"Use your dress or charm, I'm going in." She says as she pulls Blake by the waist as a wall between the people and her.

Startled, Blake says, "You can't just..."

Neptune comes from the right, "Hey, Blake, don't tell me you've had enough of Sun already?"

Blake moves to cover Yang, and it was a mistake because now she could feel her warmth too. It's so weird because it feels so right again.

"Ha, am I now?"

"Well, you're here, and he's there, so just let me know and I'd be happy to step in."

She feels Yang reaching for her left hand, and slipping the ring on her finger. Why is it that the way she did that felt much better than when Sun did it earlier?

"Hi!" She hears Yang say.

"Hey, you were that flower girl."

Blake intervenes, "This is Yang, our florist."

Neptune disregarging what Blake was saying and was just looking at Yang, "Name's Neptune, but you already know that so you can just call me anything you'd like." He reaches for the punch.

Blake and Yang share a look. Yang laughs, "And I'm sure I will."

---

"I need help. I messed up. I need a flower, but not just any flower, I need the best flower."

There goes Yang's peaceful morning. Once in a while, guys like these come, and it makes her question why she's a florist, but they're part of the fun of the job.

"Okay, anything in particular?"

"What about a rose? What would that say?"

Yang picks one up, "Love.."

"Love's good, I like love. That works."

"...and fidelity."

"We can't have a rose then."

Yang chuckles, "No. It's too common. There are other beauties out here, we'll find you something."

Yang buries herself with the flowers when someone comes in knocking the door to let her know. If she knew it's going to be busy, she would have at least had lunch.

"Be right with you," Yang yells.

They replied with, "That's fine," and Yang recognized the voice instantly so she turned around.

"Blake, hi."

"Hey."

Yang didn't know what to think except how this is such a nice surprise. "How are you?"

"Good, great."

They stare at each other after that. Yang didn't know what to say because she was so sure she wasn't going to see Blake again, but there she was at her doorstep, looking just as beautiful in jeans as she did in a dress. It would be a crime not to stare.

Their moment was interrupted by the guy asking Blake what her favourite flower was, and Blake said, "Lillies. I like lilies."

The guy pauses for a bit, mumbles to himself, and walks away to the other flowers outside.

"He was--"

"Would you like to come over?"

That took Yang by surprise. "Pardon me?"

Blake must have realized how that sounded, "Dinner. You. With Us. Sun and me."

It was brief, but Yang couldn't help but think how adorable that was. She could see Blake's cheeks brightening up a little bit.

"I mean, you don't have to-"

"I'd love to."

Blake gives her the warmest smile, "Great, see you Friday?"

"Sure, I'll just write down my number so you can text me the address."

"Perfect. See you, Yang."

Yang stares until her figure was too far to see. She's smitten over someone married, and it's not okay.

She still showed up to dinner though, flower at hand and everything. Their apartment was cute, big enough for two. First of all, Sun asked her if she believed in reincarnation mainly because Blake told him that she felt as though they've met before. Yang got so happy, finally getting some kind of statement of what Blake thinks of her. Then, they got into the conversation on whether or not she was thinking of getting married. She stole a glance at Blake, and with a dim smile she said, "Maybe now that the laws have changed."

Sun looked at her confused after that, and she had to clarify, "Well, I'm gay."

The rest of the night ended up a bit awkward because the couple had invited Neptune over hoping to play matchmaker.

Her relationship with Blake gets complicated after that. Wherever she goes, it's like she manages to see her no matter what. To make matters worse, Sun keeps putting them in the same situation. Yang is a good person. She would never be the one to ruin a marriage, especially a marriage between two good people. She's happy admiring Blake from afar through it all, it's just getting harder lately.

One day, she receives a call from Sun, asking her if she could take Blake out for the night. Her first instinct was to say no and resist, but Sun kept pushing that she didn't want Blake to be alone and that she's Blake's soulmate thing, so she had no choice but to say yes.

---

Blake knew it was a bad idea. First it was the dinner, now this. She found herself in a soccer game with Yang. It was a bad idea because she knew very little about basically any sport, so Yang's up close and personal, telling her just about anything that's going on.

It was a bad idea because she was loving every second of it.

Then, Yang comments on the way she shouts. It was funny, because she was just pretending to be so into the game.

Feeling so bold, she told her, "Teach me then."

"First off, tighten your stomach muscles."

Blake chuckles, "I don't think I've got any."

Next thing she knows, Yang is positioning herself closer, "Yeah you do," She puts a hand on her stomach, "They're right here."

Blake's breath hitches, "There.."

Yang smiles, "Tighten.. Yeah, tense them."

"They're pretty tense."

Without taking her hand off her stomach, Yang then says, "Okay, so next, broaden your diaphragm."

Blake looks at her confused, "My what now?"

Yang moves her hand higher, just a bit under her breasts. Blake definitely loses a breath or two, "It's here."

"O-oh."

"Okay, push it out against my hand."

Blake tries.

"You feel my hand?"

Her mouth ran without thinking when she said, "Maybe put them both there."

Yang places herself behind her, "Okay," instantly wrapping her arms around Blake.

It was a bad idea, because Blake couldn't even focus on anything else anymore. She closed her eyes for a second, feeling Yang's arms around her. Then she smiles at her, lost, when she starts talking about thinking about how your mouth is some kind of cathedral, and what not. She misses the warmth when Yang moved away, trying to explain it more, so instead, she just told her to demonstrate it.

She saw Yang hesitate for a bit before she said, "Like this."

"You're a wanker, Number 9!"

Yang's voice echoed through the stadium, and all Blake could do was stare at her. She thought about how much she had loved every second of being here.

They spend the rest of the night at the arcade, dancing, playing games, winning stuffed toys, laughing. Blake could not remember how long it had been since she had this much fun. That's why tonight was a bad idea, she knew she was falling for the wrong blonde.

On the way home, they pass by a couple of people celebrating with a karaoke machine. Suddenly, the air between them became a lot heavier, and it wasn't just the pollution.

"Tell me about the lily." Blake says.

Imagine me and you, I do I think about you day and night, it's only right

Yang chuckles, "You don't want to know about the lily."

"It's my favourite!"

To think about the girl you love and hold her tight So happy together

"Ask me about the.. azalea."

Blake sighs, "All right. What about the azalea?"

"The azalea means, 'May you achieve financial security.'" Yang states.

Blake scoffs first before looking at Yang, ready to mock her about that, but once she looks into those eyes, she forgot everything she had to say. Honestly, Yang's knowledge about flowers is really impressive.

I can't see me lovin' nobody but you For all my life

Blake looks away, "Lovely. Now, tell me about the lily."

Yang was silent for a bit, which makes Blake look at her. She was hesitant, not meeting her gaze at all. "The lily means..."

Yang smiles at the ground before meeting her gaze. "The lily means 'I dare you to love me.'"

It took Blake a second to process.

When you're with me, baby the skies'll be blue For all my life

What Yang didn't know was that she just might.

[pixelatedrose]

A Rose For A Valentine

Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/???

Word Count: 1504

Cast:

Lochesis Lodgick (logic). Lo, Lochy, Sisi for nicknames

Pandora Morralitie (morality) Panda, Pan, Dora, Pancake for nicknames

Rose Kreativve (creativity) Ro, Princess for nicknames

Valentine Anxxiatie (anxiety) Val, Valen for nicknames

Dahlia Desceat (deceit) Dahl, Di, Dahli for nicknames

Ruby Kreativve (Remus/intrusive thoughts) Ru, Ruru for nicknames

Riley Sleapp (Sleep) Riy, Lili for nicknames

Emily Picani (Emile) Em, Emmy for nicknames

Trigger warnings: Verbally fighting, Breakdowns, mentions of sex, uncensored swearing, fake friends

Chapter 3

  Rose walked out of the classroom, knowing Pandora would be calling her later to ask why she'd lied.

  Rose didn't ride the bus home.

  She never had.

  She just didn't want that stupid emo nightmare trying to talk to her, no matter what the reason.

  "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid…!" Rose muttered to herself as she stormed out of the building. So much for a good first day of school…

  What had happened at lunch was a nightmare that wouldn't be easily forgiven, regardless of the fact that Valentine wouldn't have had any way of knowing.

~~•~~

  "It's none of your business who Pandora is friends with!" Valentine shouted. "And who's to say that maybe she'd rather be friends with someone who's deeper than a puddle on the sidewalk!"

  Rose's mind jumped into action. This emo was starting to cross over the line of things Rose was willing to put up with.

  "Are you calling me shallow?!" Rose yelled, holding a hand up to her chest dramatically on instinct, having her friend's joke and tease with her about the subject in the past. This was different.

  "If by shallow you mean that I wouldn't get my feet wet if I stepped in you with no shoes on then yes."

  Rose was furious now. "Bitch!! Who the hell are you to tell me who I am?!"

  "I don't have to; it's written all over your everything!"

  "At least I try and be friendly instead of hiding in the back of the classroom and sulking like someone just killed my dog!!"

  "Well at least I know my friends want to be my friends!!!"

  Rose stopped and fell back on her fears.

  They're just sticking around out of pity.

  They're not real friends.

  They'll all leave eventually.

  They don't really want to be around you.

  Rose didn't hear the emo try and keep the fight going, she just turned and walked off, unable to get a grip on her emotions. She clenched her fists and held her breath, fighting down her bitter thoughts.

  Lochesis finally caught Rose's shoulder, snapping the redhead back to reality.

  "Rose, hold on-" Lochesis started but was cut off when she saw Rose fighting back her tears.

  "What if she's right though…!" Rose finally choked out, her voice just barely a squeak.

  Lochesis didn't hesitate in embracing the golden eyed girl, letting her friend take a few shaky and choked sobs into her shirt. The tall girl lead Rose over to the stairwell a few steps away and say her friend down on the bottom steps, soothing her long-time childhood friend with coos and quiet shushs.

  Pandora jogged up to the pair and struck Rose with a soft and tight hug, comforting the girl back into reality.

  "I'm okay now…" Rose said, swallowing down her tears.

  As her distress fell away, anger quickly rose to replace it.

  Rose clenched her fists again. "That stupid bitch is gonna get what's coming to her, just you wait. I'll-"

  Pandora quickly jumped up. "NO!!" She shouted. Seeing Rose and Lochesis startle, she calmed her voice. "No. Listen I know Val hurt your feelings, but she didn't know that, A, you have self esteem issues, and, B, that it would hurt you that much." Pandora's big blue eyes pleaded from behind her glasses. "Please give her at least a chance? She's been my best friend since I was like two years old and she's got no other friends. And if you two ended up fighting, well…" Pandora paused, thinking about the situation and shook her head as if clearing it of unkind thoughts. "It'd be sad!!" She stated plainly.

  Rose slouched her shoulders. "Did you even hear what she said?" Her eyes glared down at the tiled floor. "And I don't think she'd be one to actually even want to make up with me." Rose gestured down the hallway back to the cafeteria. "I mean look at her!! She looks like Tim Burton hand crafted her and through some satanic experiment brought her to life!!"

  Lochesis looked at Rose curiously. "Didn't you mention this morning how much you love Nightmare Before Christmas?"

  Rose waved a hand at her friend. "Shut up, just...shuuu."

  Pandora pouted. "You're not even gonna try?" She asked dejectedly.

  Rose looked down and picked at the holes in her jeans. She finally stood up, throwing her hands over her head. "Fine!" She huffed. Pandora started clapping her hands before Rose pointed at her. "But I'm still not talking to her today! It'll have to wait till tomorrow or something."

  Pandora still bounced a little. "Yay~!! I'm glad you're not giving up on my strange dark daughter!!"

  "What even-" Lochesis started to question before Rose's huffing interrupted her.

  "God what a shitty day this is turning out to be…" Rose groaned.

  Pandora gasped and stood on her tiptoes to cover her girlfriend's ears. "GASP!! Watch your language, Rose! We don't want the human computer learning it, you don't know WHO she'll start repeating it to!"

  Lochesis pulled the honey haired girl's hands off the side of her head, settling for them draping over her shoulders. "I'm not a child, Pandora, I know swear words," she leaned her head back to smile at the short girl. "But thank you for worrying, darling." She winked and Pandora nearly fell over herself.

  Rose rolled her eyes, smiling widely. "You two are sickeningly adorable." They laughed together as the bell rung and they parted ways.

  As soon as her friend's were out of sight, the bright smile faded from Rose's face entirely.

  "Well at least I know my friends want to be my friends!!!"

  Was Valentine right?

  Rose couldn't help but feel that maybe she was.

~~•~~

  Rose waited outside the school thinking about the day. Rose had only grown more upset when she'd found out that the emo was in her chemistry class as well.

  Rose shook herself and stood straighter. C'mon, I bet she's not that bad. She's just a little prickly, that’s all. We can make up tomorrow and then everything will be fine! She told herself.

  "Ro-ro!!" A girl that looked strikingly similar to Rose ran up to her. "Guess What?!"

  Rose have an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes. "Please don't tell me you damaged my reputation again, Ruby…"

  Ruby giggled and shook her head. "Oh no, I do that on the daily, I don't have to try to do that!" Rose made an offended noise before Ruby had to dodge a playful battering from her sister. "I got a GIRLFRIEND!!" She shouted gleefully.

  Rose stood shocked in the middle of the walkway as she watched her sister. "You What?!" She nearly shrieked.

  Ruby nodded up and down. "Yep!! You heard me right! Duchess Trash-Bitch landed herself a date with only the most suave girl in school!!"

  Rose snorted. "Pah-lease, Ruby, I don't think that's possible seeing as we're sisters, so go check your facts."

  Ruby pushed Rose so hard she fell into a bush. "You think you're so high and mighty but whatever. Besides, Dahlia is way cuter than you'd ever hope to be, loser."

  Rose stopped. "Dahlia? As in stage director Dahlia?" Rose thought to their student director for last year's winter play. She had known that Ruby and her had become good friends after that year, but she didn't know they'd become that close.

  Ruby nodded happily. "Yep!! That's my girl!!" Ruby sighed happily. "Heheh...Imma fuck her so-"

  "GROSS, RUBY!!!" Rose shouted, shoving her sister. "I don't wanna hear about your gross fantasies!! Keep them to yourself, will ya?!"

  Ruby cackled maniacally. "I was kidding!! Mostly…" She added the last part a bit quieter.

  "In any case I still don't want to hear about your gross sex fantasies! Keep those and whatever other disgusting thoughts you have to your self!" Rose said.

  Rose and Ruby were twin sisters, the only thing telling them apart being a small mole under Ruby's left eye and Ruby's slight height difference, Rose being just a tad shorter. They were best friends- partners in crime! Ruby was always the one to mature up and console Rose after failed auditions and fights, and Rose would always sit there listening to Ruby’s bad days and grievances. They were as close as two sisters could be. A team.

  As Ruby went on and on about how wonderful Dahlia was, Rose was finding it harder and harder to keep up her smile.

  First Lochy and Panda, now Ruby and Dahlia… Rose thought. Everyone seems to have someone in their lives but me...I wonder who else will beat me to the stage of romance…

  The two girls finally got home where Ruby very excitedly and loudly announced her new girlfriend to their parents, who delightfully listened to her rant about her day till dinner was done.

  Rose picked at her food and got up before it was finished. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

  "Don't drown!!" Ruby called after her sister.

  Rose turned on the water and stepped inside before curling up and hugging her knees to her chest.

  She thought of the entire day and what Valentine had said.

  And Rose began to cry, letting the sound of the water mask her sobs as she let the day wash over her and down the drain.

  Hey y’all, sorry this is so late! It’s a short chapter I know, but I hope you liked it! I don’t really have much of an excuse for having this out so late, I just kinda had life catch up to me and lost a ton of motivation. despite that, I had fun writing this in the last hour-ish or so! Hope you liked it!!

  Okay so I just edited this and wow there were a lot of things I messed up. In my defense, I wrote and posted this at like midnight. In any case I fixed it, so I hope you find this version a bit better!

  And one last thing before I go; I drew all of the main cast for A Rose For A Valentine (Valentine, Rose, Pandora, Lochesis) Would all of you like to see them all?

  Okay that’s it, love you all byyee~!!

[texanredrose]

Communication is Key

A commission for @psychicrebelartisan! Based on a joke.

Ruby narrowed her eyes, flipping her pencil around to erase the last line she’d written. Blake laid on her best, entirely engrossed in her latest book while Yang did push-ups between their expertly crafted- if she did say so herself- bunk beds. A nice, calm weekend filled with some quality downtime that each of them spent in their own way.

Well, honestly, she’d rather not be spending her morning studying for their upcoming test in Grimm Studies, but her partner had them on a bit of a schedule. Seeing as Weiss had gone off to the combat rooms two hours ago, Ruby either had to study now or get an earful and then study, which always kinda put a damper on the whole thing.

“Did you know that Creepers can congregate into colonies of more than two hundred?”

“I thought it was one-fifty?” Yang paused, pushing out a breath. “Or was that how many push-ups I was on? Crap.”

“You were on one hundred and fifteen; you’ve been counting under your breath the whole time.” Blake flicked one of her feline ears, the ribbon she used for her bow set aside for the moment. “And they just recently discovered the colony size; one-fifty was the old estimate.”

“Oh, cool.”

Ruby chuckled. “Sorry, Sis, didn’t mean to throw you off.”

“Hey, you probably helped me ace the test!”

“Yes, because missing that perfect score would be oh so tragic.”

“Ah, c’mon, Blakey, don’t be a-”

“Finish that sentence and I’m throwing my book at you.”

Ruby smiled, trying hard not to laugh out loud. No doubt Yang was about to make a very specific pun, one she’d made countless times before but got shot down before it could even come out this time. A quick glance over proved that Blake wasn’t actually mad about it and probably wouldn’t throw her book- she usually at least grabbed her bookmark if it was going to leave her hands- but her sister relented anyway with a chuckle before returning to her exercise.

Then, the door opened and Weiss drug herself inside, obviously worn out from her practicing. “The next time Pyrrha suggests we spar together, someone please remind me of this moment.”

Ruby winced, collecting up her papers and setting them in her book- as close to a bookmark as she ever came- and turning around in her chair. “Oh, she didn’t go easy on ya, did she?”

“Unfortunately, I’m quite certain she did.” The heiress groused, her combat outfit showing worse for wear and Myrtenaster still in hand. Which, odd- usually, Weiss secured her weapon in the assigned locker near the combat practice arenas; she only brought it back to the room for maintenance. “Apparently, my skills are still in need of some refinement.”

“What happened to Myrtenaster?”

“Hm?” She raised a brow at Blake before looking down, the pinch to her brows indicating annoyance. “Dust damnit.”

“You didn’t even realize you’d carried it all the way up here, did ya?” Yang chuckled, pausing in her exercise to sit back on her heels with a grin. “Yeah, sparring against Pyrrha kinda wipes your mind blank. She’s really good.”

“That’s one way of putting it.” She turned around. “I’ll be back-”

“Hey, wait.” Although she couldn’t really tell at that distance, she thought the dust rapier sported a few new knicks along the guard. “I have to go down to check on Crescent Rose anyway. I’ll take it back for you.”

Briefly, a war raged, between a chiding remark on weapons not needing daily maintenance and her exhaustion from the spar. Ultimately, the latter won out. “Fine. I’m in dire need of a shower and a fresh change of clothes anyway.” She walked over, handing off Myrtenaster before heading to collect up her small armada of hair care products- put to shame only by Yang’s- and other essential shower supplies before heading out the door. “If I’m not back in two hours, assume I’ve expired and let me rest in peace.”

Once the door closed, Yang clicked her tongue. “She’s always so hard on herself. Girl’s gotta lighten up.”

“Good luck with that,” Blake said, almost returning to her book but catching something out of the corner of her eye. “Ruby? Are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” She held up Myrtenaster, which she’d been inspecting thoroughly for the past few minutes. “Weiss was so tired, she didn’t notice the damage, and I’m not sure if I can fix it.”

“Whoa, back up, damage?” Yang got to her feet and came over, whistling low.

As far as weapons went, Myrtenaster had a fairly straight forward design. The chambers that housed the dust were probably the most complicated part; as luck would have it, the plating that covered them was the part that was damaged, bent at such an angle that it probably wouldn’t cause any functional issues but it definitely looked like changing out the dust would be a bit more difficult than it should be. Add to that a few scratches in the otherwise durable metal and Ruby had to sigh, shaking her head.

“These plates need to be replaced and I don’t have the spare materials to do it.” She winced. “At least, not in white. I have an extra casing for Crescent Rose’s headpiece but-”

“Well, hold on; there’s machines down in the shop garage that could easily cut a new plate. We just need to pick up some Hunter grade metal.” Yang went over to where her scroll sat on the dresser, smiling as she tapped on an icon. “Yeah, I should have enough to grade some raw metal. How much would we need?”

Without hesitation, she pulled a fresh piece of paper out and started scribbling away, rounding up to make sure they’d have enough; she could eyeball it pretty well but definitely wanted to err on the safe side. While she was at it, she did a rough blueprint so she could visualize how they’d need to machine it in order to make a seamless replacement.

After a few more calculations, she circled the ending number with a smile. “There.”

“Sweet, I can afford that.” Then, Yang winced. “Not sure how we’re going to get the detailing down, though.”

“I can do that part.” Blake offered, setting her bookmark between the pages and getting off the bed, amber eyes tracing along the undamaged plate before she nodded. “It’s not too different from calligraphy.”

“You know calligraphy?”

“It’s a hobby.”

“Great!” Ruby quickly wrote down the weight and specifications of the metal they’d need on a separate paper, handing it off to her sister. “While you’re grabbing the materials, I’ll get to work on a better schematic.”

“We can hide Myrtenaster under my bed until it’s done.” At the curious looks she received, Blake merely shrugged. “It’s not like we can put it under your beds.”

“Point.” Yang snatched up the paper. “Back in an hour!”

“I’ll meet you down in the garage!” She called out as her sister threw on her jacket, shaking her head. “Not sure what to tell Weiss about where Yang and I went, though.”

“Leave that part to me and send me a text when it’s my turn.” Blake patted her shoulder. “Trust me, I know how to keep a secret.”

Ruby laughed, bending over the desk to start working in earnest on the dimensions.

Later that night, they’d managed to successfully keep their teammate in the dark about the location of her weapon, Ruby somehow managing to convince her that she’d put it in Weiss’ locker, just as she said she would. While Blake slipped off to put the finishing touches on the new plates that Yang had machined out, her sister used jokes to thoroughly distract Weiss from all thoughts regarding Myrtenaster, eventually leading to a pun war that had almost made Ruby bang her head against her desk.

One would think she’d be used to it by now but one would be wrong, in fact.

“Ya know what, I gotta be honest, you’re starting to get pretty good at this!” Yang laughed, lounging on her bunk while watching Weiss, glaring up at the blonde from hers. “A few more years and they might even be funny.”

“Forgive me if I’ve only had the past few months to indulge in bad habits,” Weiss replied, though she couldn’t hide the way she preened at that bit of praise. Ruby didn’t exactly get it but somehow the heiress responded better to teasing compliments that flat out ones and Yang had picked up on it first. “Now, where is Blake? We should be heading to dinner sometime soon.”

“Oh, uh, I’m sure she’ll be right here!” She’d pulled the ‘team leader’ card earlier to keep her partner from sending a text earlier but now found herself running out of excuses. “She said she was on her way!”

“That was thirty minutes ago.”

“C’mon, Princess.” Yang hopped down from her bunk. “Let’s go down and grab ourselves a table. You know how Blakey is; I’m sure she just got lost in another book. Ruby can wait for her to get back.”

A huff. “Fine.” Getting to her feet, the two started for the door. “And you’d better come down soon, Ruby Rose! You’re not having another dinner that’s only comprised of dessert because the main line’s closed!”

“Okay, okay! We’ll be down as soon as Blake gets here!” She ducked her head, letting out a sigh of relief the moment the door closed. Now, she could retrieve her scroll, hoping she wouldn’t disturb the Faunus. She’d actually never sent the message earlier, for exactly that reason.

A moment later, the door opened and Blake stepped through, letting out her own sigh of relief and leaning back against the door, holding Myrtenaster in her off hand. “That was close.”

“But she didn’t see you, right?”

“No.” A small smile. “I thought you two would’ve gotten her to go down for dinner already. Thankfully, Yang’s loud.”

“No kidding.” Bounding to her feet, she quickly closed the distance. “Can I see?”

Wordlessly, Blake handed over the weapon, and she hadn’t been kidding about her skills with the engraving. Ruby wouldn’t have noticed the swap between the busted plate and the new one, were it not for one slight addition.

Property of Weiss Schnee A Great Friend and Teammate

“I… couldn’t help but make the addition.” Blake shrugged. “It’s like Yang said. She needs to lighten up.”

“Oh, man, she’s going to love this!” Ruby couldn’t help but giggle, though she immediately jumped and hid Myrtenaster behind her back- a bad plan, in hindsight- as the door opened and Yang slipped in with a grin.

“Ah, good, that was you in the hall.” She made a motion with her hand. “Well, c’mon, don’t keep me in the dark! Let’s see it!”

She showed Yang Blake’s handiwork, all three of them beaming that they’d pulled it off- until they heard a certain someone stomping up the hall.

“Quick!” Amber eyes flicked. “My bed!”

In a flurry of rose petals, Ruby stashed Myrtenaster away, knowing better than to try presenting the repaired weapon now. A few things one did not keep from Weiss Schnee: her beauty rest, her favorite chocolate, or her dinner.

“WOULD YOU-” The door burst open, blue eyes scanning the interior of the room before she continued. “THREE HURRY UP?”

“Yep!”

“Right.”

“Coming Weiss!” Ruby hurried to the door, smiling wide.

Yeah, she could be a little demanding from time to time, but Weiss was a great friend! She really couldn’t wait to see her expression!

Although she tried to play it off as best she could, Ruby could hardly sit still. Last night hadn’t provided a good opportunity to present Myrtenaster- Weiss went straight to bed after dinner and, again, one did not mess with her beauty sleep- so she sat on her bed, pretending to be engrossed in playing a game on her scroll against Yang, across the room on her own bunk. Blake had dived straight back into her book while Weiss did some studying of her own, though she abruptly stood up after about an hour.

“I’m going for a walk.” She grimaced, putting a hand to her lower back. “I’m afraid I’m still sore after yesterday’s spar.”

“Don’t let Pyrrha catch you limping; she’ll offer to carry you back to the room.” Yang warned with a chuckle. “She takes that stuff hard.”

“Duly noted.” She scanned around the room. “You three could do with some exercise as well.”

The blonde shrugged. “I went for a run this morning.”

“I did pull ups!”

“Pulling yourself out of bed doesn’t count.”

“I will do pull ups!” She amended. Really, Ruby didn’t mind a little exercise- it took a fair bit of muscle to swing Crescent Rose around- but she didn’t keep as strict a regime for a number of reasons. The first being: she liked to enjoy her time off.

Blake merely looked up from her book, ears canting back briefly.

“Right, well, then, I’m off.”

Weiss left the room, allowing her teammates to spring together, all wearing smiles.

“Oh, man, this is going to be great!”

“Yeah, I can’t wait for her to open her locker.” Yang laughed. “She’s going to be so floored!”

“I do hope we’ll be around when she sees it.” Blake tilted her head slightly. “You know we’re not going to hear the end of it for a while.”

“It’s not like she’s going to be mad.” Ruby reasoned, though she didn’t doubt the veracity of the Faunus’ claims. “She’s just going to try to one up us or something.”

“Oh, I can hear it already.” Her sister adjusted her posture and raised her voice. “How dare you three keep a secret like this from me, really, are we not teammates, we’re not supposed to keep secrets!”

The three of them laughed.

This was going to be good.

The weekend came to an end and they returned to classes with anticipation. However, after a few days, Weiss didn’t seem to act like anything had happened. Which, okay, they had some tests and bookwork on Monday and Tuesday, but surely she checked her weapon locker at some point, right? Ruby couldn’t help it; she’d started to get discouraged.

Did Weiss not like the new plate? Did she even notice?

A hand smacked her shoulder, startling her away from staring blankly at her textbook while supposedly studying. “Hey!”

“Ruby.” Weiss crossed her arms over her chest, starting down at her with just a hint of fury. “What did you do with it?”

She frowned. “With what?”

“With Myrtenaster!” Throwing her hands into the air, the heiress immediately launched into a rant. “When I noticed it wasn’t in my locker on Monday, I didn’t mention it, because maybe you’d put it in yours for some reason, but it’s Wednesday and we have a combat exam in two days! I need to practice!”

“Wait- Yang!” Leaning around her partner, she looked over at her sister. “Did you not put Weiss’ weapon in her locker?”

“What?” The blonde blinked. “I didn’t- you were supposed to put Myrtenaster back!”

“Hold on.” Blake sat up in her bed. “Neither of you put it back?” Then she leaned over, reaching under her bed and pulling the rapier in question out. “Are you two serious?”

“Hey, it was under your bed!” Yang snapped her fingers. “And you were the last one to work on it!”

“I brought it up here so you two could see it! Ruby should’ve put it back!”

“Yang said she was excited about Weiss’ reaction and she’d already gone out on a run!” She defended herself. “I thought she put it back!”

“What are you absolute dolts screaming about?” With a huff, the heiress marched over, finally retrieving her weapon.

“WE DID SOMETHING NICE BUT SHE FORGOT TO GIVE IT TO YOU!” All three of them spoke in tandem and-

Okay. Granted, they probably should’ve talked about who put Myrtenaster where. It wasn’t any one, single person’s fault.

But also, Ruby thought, it wasn’t hers.

She couldn’t really see Weiss’ face but she could see the slight shake in her shoulders as she stared down at Myrtenaster’s guard.

“How dare you,” she said, and for a moment the three exchanged worried glances because they could hear the warble in her voice, but then she snapped her head up to look at them, and they could very clearly see the tears she just barely held back. “How dare you three do something nice for me with absolutely no warning!”

“Wait, Weiss, don’t cry!” Ruby rushed over, throwing her arms around her teammate.

She wasn’t the only one, quickly joined by Blake and Yang as they surrounding the heiress while she clutched her weapon to her chest. “Yeah, c’mon, no tears!”

“We thought you would like it?” Blake offered, ears twitching.

“Of course I like it!” Despite a tear or two slipping out, she cleared her throat and tried glaring at them, though it… wasn’t very effective. “But here you three are, engraving my rapier, and I have no idea how to repay you! I don’t know enough about engraving-”

“Actually.” Yang smiled, reaching up to run a hand through her hair. “Ruby noticed one of the guard plates was damaged, so we wanted to replace it for you. The engraving was all Blake.”

“It was Ruby’s idea.” The Faunus shrugged slightly. “I just… added a few touches.”

“Yang machined the parts though and bought the materials!” She smiled, catching her partner’s expression as she obviously fought back even more tears. “You deserve it, Weiss!”

“Not yet,” she replied, before carefully tossing Myrtenaster on her bed and doing her absolutely best to return their hugs. “But I’m going to.”

Ruby smiled, happy that it all turned out for the best and enjoying the group hug with her team.

She just hoped Weiss didn’t go overboard with her ‘payback’; there were a terrifying number of things the heiress to the SDC could buy and they only had a dorm room.

[wendynerdwrites]

An Evening of Passion

Summary: The dragon queen, seeking to rekindle the passion between herself and the King in the North, decides to surprise him. It does not go as intended.

Daenerys Stormborn waits for Jon the White Wolf in his royal bedchamber, naked, hoping to rekindle whatever it was they found on the ship.

She’s been waiting for a while. And Daenerys Targaryen is not the sort of woman to be kept waiting. She reclines atop his bed, atop the silvery furs, staring up at the canopy of his four-poster, growing impatient.

It’s not that she expected this to be easy, given the row they’d had when he returned from Beyond the Wall. But she’s now confident that tonight will end the animosity. A good thing, too. It will make unifying the North and the South that much easier.

He had left dinner to take council with his cousin, Lady Stark, who served as his regent while he was gone. Of course Daenerys expected it to take a while, but it had been pitch-black outside for hours now, and they’d been meeting for over a week now. What else is there to go over?

At least his solar has some good wine stocked. Better vintage than she would have expected of his humble tastes, stored in a cabinet by the solar window. She’s poured them both cups. His sits on the bedside table.

If that wasn’t enough to convince her that Jon Snow is every bit as eager to rekindle their passion for each other as she was, there was the other thing she found in the cabinet. A velvet-lined box, in which sat a wreath of twinkling diamonds and moonstones set in white gold to look like snowflakes. A little on-the-nose, but if letting him think his fiery aunt could be tempered by snow, then she is more than happy to greet him in bed wearing only this impressive new gift.

Honestly, she’s surprised he’d indulge like this, with the war still not won. But she’s not one to turn down a fine gift.

He’s a good man, and, beneath that gruff, dour exterior, a romantic at heart. She may not love him yet, but she’s sure she can learn to.

At one point, she thinks she hears someone in the solar. But when she peers through the keyhole, she finds it’s some maids, giggling and assembling something. It seems Jon Snow has arranged a romantic night as well. She smirks and amuses herself with thoughts of him searching all of Winterfell for her, only to return to his chambers and find her here. She likes to keep men on their toes.

But it doesn’t take long for her to grow bored again. She’s almost ready to go searching for him herself. But no, she wants to surprise him, and not come off too eager. Daenerys is a queen, and a queen must have her dignity.

Finally, at long last, when she’s nearly fallen asleep herself, she’s jolted awake by the sound of the door opening. And…. yes! Unmistakable, that’s Jon’s voice. Eager, Daenerys arranges herself to her best advantage.

And she waits. Some more. And waits.

What in all the Seven Hells is he doing? At one point, she hears what sounds like…. Singing? Is he singing? And quick footsteps around the solar. Gods, she hopes he’s not like this normally. Apparently, he does odd things when alone. But with all this, she’s confused. Has he been planning a romantic evening or not? Was he waiting for her? Had he sent someone to her chambers?

He’d better bloody well do that thing with his tongue again. Twice, she thinks furiously as she slides beneath his furs. It’s too cold. She’ll slip out when she hears him approach. She almost thinks she hears a woman’s voice. One of the maids, perhaps?

Daenerys barely has time, as it turns out. Because she hears him cry out, “Seven Hells! It’s gone!” And she knows. But he hurries toward the bedchamber door so fast she barely has time to get out from under the furs, and no time to arrange herself in a particularly becoming position. Whatever, she’s naked, what does it matter?

As it turns out, a lot.

There was no way this situation was going to be anything less than utterly humiliating. But not having her legs spread and her arms awkwardly above her head, one hand desperately trying to keep her goblet of wine level, her chin tucked down against her neck, would have been slightly better?

No, she decides, as she takes in the wide eyes and gapes that greet her through the doorway, it wouldn’t have. A further, deliberate attempt at being seductive would have been more embarrassing in its own way.

There are no ways to improve upon this situation.

If the woman had been a maid, here to make sure everything was in place for a romantic evening her king planned for the dragon queen, this would be nothing. What does she care for a servant seeing her? Especially one who would be forewarned of the intended activities of the night?

But the woman is not a maid. The woman couldn’t be less of a maid if she were Daenerys herself.

Oh no, the woman standing behind Jon, mouth and eyes wide with shock, is the Lady of Winterfell herself, Sansa Stark. Wearing a gown of ivory and forget-me-not blue that is far, far more becoming than the dark, practical wools Daenerys has seen her wear thus far. Indeed, with its short sleeves, scooped neckline, and the blue satin roses, it looked like a summer gown. There was a blue rose tucked behind her ear as well.

That the Lady of Winterfell is a beauty is hardly a secret. There was never any question as to why Robert Baratheon wanted her to be the next queen. It was known that at the very first tourney at court that the Starks attended, the overblown Tourney of the Hand, that the champion, Loras Tyrell, honored her with his rose, though she was only a girl of three-and-ten at the time. People said Cersei Lannister especially hated the daughter of Winterfell because she feared that the girl’s looks rivaled her own. The fits of rage that the King in the North famously went in when approached about her hand still didn’t deter would-be suitors. And everyone knew that Petyr Baelish, so infamously calculating and ruthless that even Varys feared him, went mad with his desire for her.

She’s perhaps the only woman whose beauty Dany has heard about as much as her own. When the two women met, the Dragon Queen felt some relief, thinking that the Lady of Winterfell, though lovely, didn’t quite rival her.

Even in her drab dayclothes Sansa’s very striking, but at this moment, she’s downright stunning. Like a rosebud that has finally reached full bloom. Even with her mouth hanging open and her face going red. Daenerys sees it. She understands.

That’s just a fraction of all of this, though.

Certain aspects of Jon’s reaction to learning of his true origins suddenly make a devastating amount of sense.

Daenerys is naked in Jon’s bed, and he doesn’t want her here. He looks downright horrified at the sight of her naked. That’s never happened to her before.

More realization creeps in. Jon has certainly planned a romantic evening. But not for her. Not at all. None of tonight, or any of his nights, in fact, are for her. None of his days, perhaps, either.

But also…

Daenerys’s free hand flies to her neck. To the gems gleaming at her throat. The other hand, the one holding the wine, loses its grip and the cup tips. Ruby liquid spills atop the furs, some on her shoulder, a bit splashes in her hair. The cup clatters to the floor.

Not her cup. Not her wine. Not her necklace. Not her man.

The lady turns away, covering her face modestly. Jon’s eyes drop to the wood beneath his feet. He walks backward wordlessly and shuts the door.

Mortified, Daenerys scrambles off the bed, near tears. She throws on her robe.

How, how was this possible? It was weeks since she and Jon last coupled, yes, and sure, they’d had a vicious row. But… She is the Mother of Dragons! She is not so easily or quickly forgotten and replaced! She haunts the dreams of every man she meets! She always has! Men laid armies, sacked cities, showered her in gold for her favor. And this… this dour-faced bastard from a frozen hellhole, who came to her offering nothing, hand open, he… He goes from bedding her to romancing some frigid ginger?!

Men committed massacres to try to enjoy the very thing she’s freely offered this man. Only for her to somehow be humiliated. She’s the unwanted one. She can’t believe it.

What does Sansa Stark have, anyway? Beauty, yes, but so does Dany. And the woman is nearly as dull and dour as Jon, save for the fact that she seems a bit smug. And so bloody formal and practiced, not a hint of passion in her. Intelligent, sure, but in that uninspired, utilitarian way that made her indistinguishable from the castle’s maester. She clearly thinks well of herself, that one, but she’s withdrawn with all but her closest family. Not to mention, for all her fussing over grain and textiles and roads, Dany is certain she’d go to pieces in the face of true danger. A know-it-all, a martyr with a stick up her arse, Sansa Stark. A prig.

Her sister, at least, had character and true ferocity. Sansa was just cold. Like a limp fish.

What is this woman to the Mother of Dragons?

Daenerys realizes what it was she heard earlier. Jon wasn’t just singing, he was singing for Lady Stark. And those footsteps… They were dancing. Before tonight, Daenerys didn’t think the man capable of singing or dancing, let alone both simultaneously.

But he is when Sansa Stark’s in the room, apparently. Daenerys has never been asked to dance by anyone, ever. Her encounters with Jon in particular had always been aggressive, wordless trysts. She’d taken that for unbridled passion. But perhaps not.

One of the things that attracted her to Jon Snow in the first place was that he didn’t fall to his feet and worship her like so many others. She thought him too much of a man to fall down and worship anyone. 

Apparently, that’s not the case. It was just that he preferred another goddess the whole time. 

How? How can this be?

She tightens the robe about herself, outraged, and storms out. When she enters the solar, that stupid woman actually curtseys. The King in the North has his arm about her waist.

Daenerys ignores them and holds her head high. She’s at the door when he speaks.

“Your Grace!”

“What?!” She spits, barely turning to face him.

He swallows nervously. “The… the jewels?”

Ready to burst into flame, Daenerys goes to unclasp it quickly, then flings it onto the floor. She slams the door as hard as she can behind her.

[lotus0kid]

OUaT: Red on White

((Who’d’ve thought pure spite would make me finally write 4,000+ words of Emma/Ruby fic?  Warning: something happens to Hook, and it’s real bad.

#EmmaSwanDeservesBetter))

The wedding ceremony takes place in the forest.  Family and close friends are seated within a ring of red and white bunting.  Since it is technically a royal wedding, nearly the entire remaining population of Storybrooke looks on curiously from outside.

One bride walks down the aisle with her father.  Emma wears a brilliant scarlet gown, and there is a white ribbon laced through her blonde braid.  Despite the hundreds of eyes on her, she shines with happiness.  After she’s taken her place, the other bride comes, arm-in-arm with her grandmother.  Ruby wears an ivory gown, and a silk ribbon matching the red streaks in her brunette braid. She also radiates ecstatic joy. At the altar, both brides pass bouquets of white and red-striped roses to Belle and Mary Margaret, their respective matrons of honor.

 Archie clasps his hands together, exchanges bright glances with the brides, and announces, “Dearly beloved, we’re gathered here today to celebrate the marriage of Emma Swan and Ruby Lucas...”

 Afterwards, the people within the ring of bunting retire to a private reception.  The brides change into simpler dresses, though still in their chosen colors.  There’s good food, and sentimental toasts, and awful dancing.  Everyone is happy, but for a scattering of significant glances darting across the room as the evening wears on.  It’s fine, it really is.  No one was left out of the decision-making process.  They all got to say their peace, and it’s fine now.  They’ll get used to it.

 Ruby leans in to kiss her grandmother on the cheek before turning to go.  Granny catches her hand and fixes her with a steady gaze.  “Come home safe now.”

 “That’s the plan.”

 Their hands part and Ruby vanishes into the shadows.  Within seconds, Emma looks up from the Electric Slide lesson she’s attempting to give Henry, smile fading as she scans the room and doesn’t see her new wife. She catches Granny’s eye and receives a steady gaze of her own.  She throws a nod and returns her attention to Henry.

 Emma leaves with the last of the wedding guests.  She goes to her car and pulls out a leather jacket, thick socks, sturdy boots, and a flashlight.  Once she’s dressed with the flashlight in hand, she walks into the black forest.  She soon hears a wolf’s howl on the wind.

 ^^^

 THREE MONTHS EARLIER

 “Hey, babe, you’re home early,” Ruby calls as she enters her and Emma’s apartment, “Was it- oh!”

 There’s a wolf in the living room. Small, by her standards.  With a pale coat, almost... blonde.

 Ruby sniffs at the air with a furrowed brow.  “... Emma?”

 The wolf looks at her with bright amber eyes and a lolling tongue.  Then, she hunches in on herself and a shiver of magic rolls over her.  The wolf is replaced by Emma kneeling on the carpet.  “Hey,” she says with a smile.

 “Hey.  Uh, explain please?”

 She shrugs, “I was taking four legs out for a spin.  How’d I look? Like a werewolf?  I wasn’t working from one of Gold’s books or anything. Just kind of going with what felt right.”

 Ruby squints, “Eh, you looked more like a big husky-golden mix, if I’m honest.”

 She wags her head.  “Yeah, well, you don’t learn to drive in a Formula One car, right?”

 “True... Wait, what?”

 Now anxiety breaks the surface of Emma’s good humor.  She climbs to her feet while saying, “I could use some hot cocoa.  Do you feel like hot cocoa?”

 “Oh great, we’re having a hot cocoa discussion,” Ruby says flatly.  She waves a hand, “Yeah, might as well.  I’ll probably need it before we’re through.”

 “Come on, it’s nothing bad,” Emma cajoles her from the kitchen, “At least, I don’t think so.  I hope you won’t.  But, y’know, that’s why we’re talking.  With cocoa.”

 Ruby’s guts are in a cold knot by the time she and Emma sit on the sofa with steaming mugs.

 “The wedding’s coming up soon,” Emma says, “Still excited?”

 A smile creeps onto Ruby’s face despite her current dread.  “Yeah, still excited.”

 “I’ve been thinking maybe... that would be a good time to do more than tie the knot, you know?”

 Ruby suspects she does, but at the slimmest chance she’s wrong, she replies, “I don’t know.  What are you saying, Emma?”

 She blows out a noisy breath. “I think... you should bite me.”

 Ruby gapes at Emma’s cautiously hopeful face until she has to look away.  “I... wow, um...  Emma...”

 A hand curls into the crook of Ruby’s arm, drawing her to focus on Emma again.  “Look, just think about it for a sec, okay?  You know I’m not afraid of you.  And I’m not afraid of being like you.  Do you know what I’m really afraid of?”

 Ruby’s voice is tiny as she asks, “What?”

 “That something will happen one day and the choice will be taken from us.  And we won’t be ready, and you’ll feel guilty, and it’ll just be the worst.  But if we do this on our own terms, we’ll be ready, and you won’t have anything to feel guilty about, and we won’t have to be scared anymore.  Doesn’t that sound nice?”

 It does sound nice.  Almost as nice as the idea of having another wolf in Storybrooke, aside from Granny.  It’s never as fun to run alone.  And if she had to choose, she wouldn’t want to run with anyone but Emma.  She shuts her eyes and shakes her head to dispel the beautiful dream.  “No- I mean, yes, but...  This isn’t like getting matching tattoos, okay?  You wouldn’t be human anymore.”

 Emma nods, face turning somber. “Yeah, I know.  But...  Well, it’s not like I feel all that human now, with this light magic, child of True Love stuff.  Normal humans don’t have to deal with prophecies and curses and world-ending catastrophes, you know that.  I might as well pile on some more weird stuff.  At least I’d get to share this with you.”

 Emma sets aside her mug and her other hand comes to Ruby’s arm.  The ring on her finger glints in the afternoon sun.

 “I know you’d help me.  Bet you’d be a way better teacher than Gold. I wouldn’t get out of control.  I wouldn’t...”

 “Eat someone?” Ruby spits out.  A torrent of bloody memories flow through her head, the most recent from not long ago at all.  Emma knows how brutal she can be.  And yet, a soft cheek comes to rest on her shoulder.

 “I know it still hurts, what happened.  But I’m still grateful.  Nothing will change that.”

 It felt like barely half a day after the curse broke that the first adversary came roaring into the harbor, teams of chained mermaids carrying his warships across worlds.  A town still struggling with their newly regained identities was suddenly confronted with cannonballs blasting holes in the cannery.  Davy Jones had come to Storybrooke, and he wasn’t leaving until he got what he was after- a little trinket in Gold’s shop that was in fact a magic doubloon that allowed its owner to control the seas.  No one liked the thought of the maniac Jones wreaking havoc from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and so battle commenced.

 Emma’s powers were burgeoning almost too fast for her to handle.  Gold did his best to help, but he was somewhat distracted by Belle coming back into his life.  Ruby was certainly happy for them- if only so she and Emma wouldn’t have to hide an amnesiac fugitive from Regina anymore.  Her ex-Majesty still has a hell of a lot to answer for, in Ruby’s humble opinion.  In any case, they were running out of ideas to defeat Davy Jones when one of his greasy crew snuck into town and swore he was defecting, that Jones had cursed him into servitude, but he’d do anything to be a free man.  He spoke of a flaw in the shielding spells that protected Jones’ ships that only the most powerful light magic could exploit.

 Emma saw through the lie immediately, but she went with the smirking pirate anyway, just to see if she could exploit him instead.  However, he was more devious than they thought.  Ruby doesn’t really want to know the details, but he somehow got Emma trapped in an enchanted rack that suppressed her magic and held her prisoner. At nightfall when she hadn’t returned, Ruby followed her scent to a warehouse on the docks.  The rest... she wishes the memory was blurrier than it is. But she didn’t lose control, not entirely.  That’s the worst part.  She could’ve stopped, if she wanted to.  But she didn’t.  She didn’t stop until there was nothing left but bloody chunks and scraps of leather and scalp.  And a shiny silver hook.

 Emma could only watch.  She was scared.  Ruby smelled it coming off her in waves as she padded closer.  The rage had subsided at this point, now that it was so well fed.  She pressed her sticky, dripping head against Emma’s hip, and listened to the music of her heartbeat.  Eventually, she had to get Gold to break the rack’s locks and free Emma.  By then, guilt and self-disgust swarmed in her like flies and she ran as deep into the forest as she could.  Granny managed to get her back into town, but nothing made her feel better until Emma showed up at the inn with movies and snacks.  They talked all night, about big things and little things and nothing at all.  And it ended with a soft, sweet kiss.

 Throughout all the crap that’s been thrown at them since, swan princesses and goblin warlords and talking lions that one time, Ruby’s never used her fangs on another living thing.  It makes her gums itch to think of Emma being next, even at her own request.  But still, she’s not wrong about the fear of an accident that’s always hanging over them. Ruby well knows that choice is a luxury that can be stolen in an instant.

 “I think...”  She draws in and releases a breath.  “I think you need to talk to your family about this.”

 “They won’t understand,” Emma mutters, head ducked.

 “Exactly.  If you can get them on board... then we’ll see.  But we’re definitely not doing this on our own. It’ll affect everyone.  They deserve to have a say, because they care about us.  That’s what it means to be a family.”

 Emma’s gaze doesn’t rise from her lap, but she still replies, “Yeah.  You’re right.”

 ^^^

 PRESENT

 After the incident with the manticore clan, Emma did an intensive study on tracking large, four-legged predators through heavy forest.  Perhaps in the back of her mind, she was also anticipating something like this.  She prefers not to imagine what could happen that would be bad enough for Ruby to literally turn tail and run into the forest again, but it always pays to be prepared.  She feels a small burst of joy and something like relief for the far happier circumstances that have brought her here tonight.

 Another howl comes to her from the east.  She smiles, and wishes she could howl back.  Soon she will.

 ^^^

 TWO MONTHS EARLIER

 When Emma can work up the nerve, she goes to her parents, and they have a talk.  A long talk where she presses her points again and again, and even comes up with new ones she didn’t think of at first.  

 In the end, Mary Margaret clasps David’s hand and says, “We just don’t want to lose you.”

 “You won’t,” Emma replies earnestly, “I know you were there when Red found out what she was, what the wolf had done.  This isn’t gonna be anything like that.  She’ll be there to help me.  Just like Gold did.”

 “Well, we’ll help too,” David says with a firm nod, “If you choose to do this, you’ll have our support. Whatever you need.”

 “Yes,” Mary Margaret says with a nod of her own.

 Emma’s heart swells as she looks at the two people she never expected to find, who she loves beyond words. It gives her the strength later on to make a phone call to the Gold residence in Manhattan.

 Davy Jones’ fatal mistake was enslaving Triton’s daughters to tow his boats.  Once Emma freed the mermaids, they swiftly summoned their powerful father to dispatch the pirates.  In the calm that followed, after Gold had taught Emma what she needed to know to control her magic, he revealed his plan to find his long-lost son.  Emma was happy to help, up until the moment she discovered his son and Henry’s father were the same man.  Everything turned on its head then.  When the dust settled, it was decided that Gold and Belle would go to New York, where he and his son could get reacquainted.  It was also decided that Henry would go with them. As much as it pained them both, Emma and Regina had to admit Storybrooke was far too volatile for a ten-year-old. While they needed to stay and clean up the mess, Henry needed safety and structure, and to get to know his father.

 “I can’t say for sure how your magic will react to the wolf curse,” Gold tells her, “I’ve never known a child of True Love who took it on.  That said, I doubt you’ll end up an unstoppable killing machine.  In fact, it might not take at all.  True Love breaks curses, as we know.”

 “Yeah, but, I mean- who decided it was a curse anyway?  It was a curse for Red because it was hidden from her, and that made her scared and confused and out of control.  But she told me what it was like in her mother’s pack.  They weren’t cursed.  They understood and accepted themselves.  It was part of them.  Does that sound like a curse?”

 There’s a pensive silence.  “I’m the wrong person to ask.”

 Emma’s sure he’s right. Belle’s mentioned his frequent phone sessions with Archie, processing three centuries of the Dark One’s trauma. “Okay, so, if it doesn’t work, then that’s fine too.  At least we’ll know, either way.  Which is what I want.”

 “Well I certainly know better than to stand between you and something you want, Miss Swan,” he quips, “Shall I get Henry now?”

 Emma swallows, “Yeah.”

 The kid takes it in stride of course, because he’s accepted his life is really only going to get weirder. They end up mostly talking about his friends at school and his trip with Neal to Central Park last Saturday.

 Perhaps the most uncomfortable conversation is the one she has with Neal, where she mumbles out her plan and he’s mostly just glad she’s figuring things out ahead of time and not leaping in blindly. “I’m calling your mom and dad, though. If they say you’re rampaging through the streets, y’know, don’t expect to see Henry at winter break.”

 “Understood,” she replies with a tiny grin.

 “Okay.  Guess I’ll see you at the wedding then.”

 “Yeah, see you.”

 ^^^

 PRESENT

 The forest has been silent for a while.  Emma’s been following paw prints in a muddy river bank which now veer back into the underbrush.  She holds in a sigh.  She didn’t think Ruby would make this easy, nor did she want her to, but she didn’t expect to work quite this hard.

 It doesn’t matter.  She’ll keep going.  This is for their future.

 ^^^

 ONE MONTH EARLIER

 “You know you’re just supposed to take a walk on the wild side.  Not live in a cave there.”

 Emma valiantly refrains from rolling her eyes at Regina.  Still she can’t help retorting, “You must’ve been hanging onto that line for a while, considering we’re already engaged.”  She can see the wall of petulant anger rising, and so tries to soften up.  “Look, Regina, I’m talking to you because this affects our whole family, which means you have a say in it too.  So, lay it on me, I’m listening.”

 Regina draws herself up to her full height and gives Emma the full-throttle slit-eyed imperious stare. Then she says, “I want you to talk to Dr. Hopper about this.”

 Emma’s eyebrows jump.  “You want me to see Archie?  You think I’ve lost my mind?”

 “No, I don’t, and you’re welcome for that.  But the cricket is... fairly good at making you think things through.  You need an objective opinion.  Once you get it, if you decide to go ahead, you won’t hear a peep out of me.”

 Like Gold, Regina is regularly squeezed into Archie’s very busy schedule.  Emma wouldn’t have guessed the former Evil Queen had made this much progress already.  All she can do is nod.  “That’s... a good idea.  You’re right. I’ll do it.”

 “Fine.  If there’s anything else...”

 “No.  See you around.”

 Regina nods, and glides away.

 It takes almost a week, but Archie finds time for a sit-down with Emma.  He gives her a warm smile from his armchair and says, “So I assume wedding prep is in full swing.  Are you feeling any jitters you’d like to work out?”

 “Uh, no, there’s... there’s something else.”

 “I’m all ears.”

 His smile dims as she talks, rolling out her by now rote points one after another.  He doesn’t interrupt, and it feels like hours have passed by the time Emma says, “And that’s about it.  Do I sound nuts?”

 “Nobody’s ‘nuts,’ Emma,” he chides her gently, “And I certainly can’t judge you for choosing to turn into an animal.  It sounds like you’ve given this some deep consideration.  You’ve identified as many potential consequences as you can.  Do you think the good outweighs the bad?”

 “I think so.  I mean... I love Ruby, I want to be with her, but this possibility is always there.  It’s this loaded gun we never talk about.  I don’t want to start our married life with it still there.  I want us to be comfortable, and... together, I don’t know how else to say it.  I want to be...”

 “A wolf?”

 Emma lets out a soft, helpless laugh and throws up her hands.  “Yeah! I want to be... a werewolf, oh god...” Her flash of joy fades as the absurdity of her life rushes back.  She lays a hand over her eyes and murmurs, “And I thought marrying a woman would be complicated.”

 “It’s a- rare relationship issue,” Archie concedes, “But both of you are strong.  And stronger together.”

 “Thanks.”

 Emma leaves soon after, going home and starting on dinner for her and Ruby, who returns from work at the Storybrooke Mirror a little later.  When their relationship started, they decided Ruby should stop working at the police station to avoid conflicts of interest. She’s fit in very well at the Mirror.  Curse-memories of sniffing out the latest gossip in the diner have given her a nose for news, and she likes being able to keep her fellow citizens informed of impending doom.

 “Hey, how’d it go with Archie?” she inquires, leaning over to give Emma a one-armed hug and a kiss on the temple while she stirs noodles at the stove.

 “Good.  He really is a pretty great listener, that cricket.”

 “And?” she asks softly.

 “And... I still want to do this, if you do.”  Emma forces herself to look up from the pot and meet Ruby’s gaze.

 “Okay.  You know I’ve been thinking about it too.  Talking with Granny a lot.  And, so, I had this idea, do you want to hear it?”

 Emma turns to her, leaning a hip against the stove.  “Of course I do.”

 Ruby heaves a breath, and says, “If you’re really, totally sure, then we can do it.  After the wedding, I’ll leave the reception, and go into the forest.  And... you have to come find me.  If you find me, then it’s done.”

 “Oh.  Uh, okay, if that’s how...  Sure.”  Emma hasn’t let herself imagine the actual step-by-step logistics of what they’re going to do, but somehow this feels right.

 ^^^

 PRESENT

 The full moon is high by the time Emma emerges from the forest onto the shore of a lake.  It’s been a while since she heard a howl, but all the signs have been leading her this way.  The water shimmers silver in the moonlight, allowing Emma to see more easily than in the near pitch darkness of the forest.  She scans the area and her breath catches when she spots Ruby, standing several steps away, wearing her white dress and red cloak.

 Ruby walks forward, pale eyes focused on Emma.  When she reaches her, she cups Emma’s cheek and presses a kiss to her lips- firm, warm, searching, apologizing, loving.  Emma’s head feels light when they part, pulse thrumming in her veins.

 “Sit down,” Ruby says.

 Emma lowers herself onto the sandy shore, her gaze staying locked with Ruby’s.

 Ruby kneels beside her and takes off her cloak in a long sweep.  By the time it settles, the wolf has taken her place.  Emma now locks gazes with the wolf’s glowing yellow eyes as she inches forward, nostrils flaring to sniff at her.  The wolf’s head trails down along her body until she reaches Emma’s lower left leg.  The massive jaws part, and Emma grips the cuffs of her jacket just before they close again, fangs sinking into her flesh.

 “Ah, god!” she gasps as burning pain shoots up from her leg.  The wolf holds her, one eye staring, for three seconds.  Then she lets go and steps away.  Emma trembles as she gapes at the rows of punctures in her calf and shin that ooze streams of blood.

 The wolf grabs the cloak in her jaws and throws it over her back.  An instant later, Ruby is up and running for some nearby bushes.  She returns with a duffel bag she rips open, revealing medical supplies and a bundle of cream-colored velvet.  She disinfects Emma’s wounds, tapes gauze pads over them, and wraps her leg in a bandage.  Only when it’s done does she sit back on her heels and take a breath.  “How do you feel?” she asks, face filled with worry.

 “My fucking leg hurts,” Emma replies honestly.

 Ruby’s eyes gain a wet shine, even as she rolls them and grins.  “You’ll get over it... Mrs. Swan-Lucas.”

 That’s more than enough to make Emma smile as well.  She nods at the last of the duffel bag’s contents, “What’s that?”

 “Rumpelstiltskin’s wedding present.”  Ruby takes it out and unfurls a white cloak with a swirling design that echoes her own. “With this, you’ll always have a choice,” she says as she drapes it over Emma’s shoulders.

 Emma can feel its magic settling on her, making the cloak a bit heavier than it should be.  She pulls it close around her.

 “You’ll keep it on tonight,” Ruby says, “And next month... we’ll see what happens.”

 “Okay.”

 “Do you wanna go home?  I can turn again and you can ride on my back.”

 “Let’s wait a minute.  It’s nice out here.”  She turns her gaze to the moon.  Does it look different than before?  Brighter and wider and more beautiful than it’s ever been?  It just might.

 Ruby settles against Emma’s side and wraps an arm around her, head resting against hers.  “I love you, Emma.”

 “I love you too, Red.”

 ^^^

 ONE MONTH LATER

 A wolf runs in the forest. Her black coat makes her nearly invisible, just a hint of movement racing through the gloom.  She darts over streams, jumps logs, ducks under branches. On and on, never slowing, never pausing. The moon is rising and it calls to her, commands her to run, to rejoice in the strength and speed and grace it’s given her.

 There’s a sharp bark up ahead, and Ruby sets aside her reverie to put on more speed and pick up the trail of that most precious scent.  In a clearing she spots a flash of gray-streaked white between the trees. She leaps through the foliage to land heavily in the grass.

 Emma’s head jerks up from the stump she was sniffing.  She lets out a yip and bursts into motion, barreling into Ruby like a battering ram. They tumble together in a nipping, growling storm of fur.  Ruby pins Emma down quickly and rests her head on Emma’s chest, where her heart thumps strong and true.

 At a whine from Emma, Ruby rolls off of her.  Emma butts her head against Ruby in an affectionate nuzzle, pausing as she looks into the sky to see the moon riding over the tree tops.  She sits up straight, casts her head back, and howls, her voice a sweet, pure note of freedom.  Ruby howls with her in a deeper tone.  Their harmony rings through the forest.

[elanorjane]

Vigilante Rose [Ch 5/20]

Summary: The small business owners in Hyperion Heights are the targets of a major crime wave. When the police, especially a particularly irritating detective, refuse to do anything about it, Belle decides to save her bookstore and the city she loves herself. With help from her costumer friend, Jefferson, Belle develops a secret alter ego to defend Hyperion Heights from those who mean it harm.

Detective Weaver has a pile of unsolved break-ins on his desk and a vigilante who thinks she can take the law into her own hands. Now, he not only has to catch the vandals but uncover the identity of a mysterious masked woman who manages to get to every crime scene before he does. All while fighting his growing attraction to the latest victim, a local bookstore owner.When their two trails begin to converge, revealing something even more sinister than they imagined, their mutual desire becomes the least of their problems.

Based on this Rumbelle Prompt: http://rumbelleprompts.tumblr.com/post/173724656640/belle-is-a-librarian-who-works-at-dodgsons-books

AO3 Link

Belle curled up in the corner of her couch and hugged a pillow to herself. The adrenaline of the day had worn off and she felt tired and violated and alone. After the cops had left she’d spent a long afternoon sweeping up glass and putting the store back to rights as much as she could with a big hole in it. She’d made some calls and she didn’t know if she’d be able to afford getting the window replaced before the insurance check came through, which could be months. So for now a blue tarp and a wooden frame had to be good enough.  

If her store had been outright robbed she could almost understand. Someone was desperate and felt they needed the money more than her. But to just destroy something that belonged to someone else for no reason. That seemed particularly heinous to her. Nothing anyone had said to her, including the cops, had been comforting.

She thought of Detective Weaver so flippant and cocksure with his upturned collar. He’d studied her with such cool disinterest.    

Stop reading so many fairy tales.

She glared at the space in front of her. The way he’d drawn out the ‘Miss,’ like he’d meant to offend her. Like it was a character flaw she was single! The nerve! He was the law. He was supposed to be helpful!

Which reminded her of all the ways the proper channels had failed her lately. The government, the police, her fellow business owners. No wonder people were giving up and moving out of Hyperion Heights.

Maybe she should finally take the hint and follow suit.

No, she shook herself. She’d pitied herself long enough for today. The money and the insurance she had limited control over. But if her store went down it will be through no fault of her own. She focused on the most pressing issue she could do something about. Maybe a neighborhood watch would help with the crime problem? She thought of the lackluster response to her petition. She didn’t expect more enthusiasm from her neighbors over a nightly watch than she had gotten from her fellow store owners with an attempted rebellion against Victoria.   Belle worried for her books. There was so little standing between someone pushing past the tarp and further vandalizing her store. She could put real security cameras in, but that wouldn’t stop people from committing crimes, that would just give the police a little more evidence after the fact. Also, it would only protect her store - what about everyone else’s? What could she do to help her neighborhood now? The neighborhood watch idea wouldn’t leave her. Even if it was just a small, dedicated group of them. Even if it was just her.

Yes. If no one else was going to do anything about the rising crime in Hyperion Heights - she would! Even if she just went down to the store and looked around to make sure no one was messing with Dodgson’s or any of the surrounding businesses. She could scare anyone with nefarious purposes off by her presence alone. She wouldn’t stay downtown all night, just wait around and see if anyone came by. Like a patrol, the kind the police refused to do. Before she registered what she was doing she was on her feet and standing in front of her bedroom closet.  

She looked at the contents critically. Bright knits and loud patterns stared back at her. On the floor at her feet was an impressive array of heels. What does one wear to an anti-burglary? Nothing in her entire wardrobe was appropriate for the kickboxing class her friend Ruby kept insisting she take with her, let alone an anti-theft adventure. She could go to the Goodwill and pick up some black jeans and a hoodie, but that wasn’t her style. That wouldn’t give her confidence. This was a special excursion. It called for a special outfit.  

The answer was, of course, The Mad Hatter, a costume rental shop run by her friend, Jefferson. In any other town, he’d be a couture designer. It seemed like Hyperion Heights didn’t allow for anyone to reach their potential.  

She found him in the back behind heavy velour curtains. He was hunched over a tattered Batman costume, a needle and thread in his teeth. She thought again how Jefferson should be spending his time making clothes for the Governor’s Ball. Not scrambling to make ends meet for him and his sweet daughter, Grace, through Halloween parties. This just steeled her determination further. She wasn’t doing this for just herself but for all of Hyperion Heights.  

Upon noticing her, the needle and thread dropped out of his mouth and he let the costume fall to the floor.

“Belle of the ball!” He greeted in his hyperbolic manner. “Did you get everything with the insurance figured out? Do you need me to march down there and give someone a strict talking to?” That’s what was great about Jefferson. He was always willing to go to war with you. Not that she would ever ask him to. He was a single father. Putting his name on a petition was one thing, leaving his young daughter to prowl the streets at night with her was another.

“Actually, I was wondering if you could make me something.” The walls surrounding them were covered floor to ceiling with shelves of fabric, ribbons, and jewels obsessively organized by type.  

“For you? Anything!” he clapped.  

She wandered the shelves, searching for inspiration. “This isn’t really a heels thing. More athletic.” She tilted her head to better admire a pair of brown scuffed knee high boots that looked like they belonged to an Annie Oakley costume. “But no sneakers,” she added hastily.

He mock gasped, “I wouldn’t dream of it!”  

“I need a whole outfit,” she continued, warming up to the idea she’d hatched at the apartment.  

She stopped at the row of leather and faux fabrics, admiring the different shades from black to burgundy to brown. “Something strong. Something sturdy that won’t rip when I stretch and move around.”

“Have you met someone?”

“What?” Belle’s mind automatically went to the detective she’d met earlier that day. His face creased and crinkled with intensity and intelligence. Intrigue and something akin to attraction flared in her. But then she remembered how rude he’d been to her and she forced it all down.  

“A little BDSM?” Jefferson wagged his eyebrows.

“Oh!” she jerked away from the leathers. “No,” she stammered, “I mean, this isn’t about him.”

“But you have met somebody?” he drawled.

“No, I mean yes, but it’s not like that,” she closed her eyes to compose her thoughts. “He came by the shop today to ask questions about the window.”

“Oh, a cop!” Despite her efforts to the contrary, Jefferson was growing more and more intrigued.

“Detective,” she corrected automatically.  

“Even sexier.” He looked impressed and vastly too emotionally invested in her story.  

She ignored his comment. “You should have heard him today, Jefferson,” she complained, “he was so…” she searched for the right word to encapsulate his overwhelming masculinity, the very definition of a rogue, “impertinent!”

Jefferson nodded, deep in thought. “I always thought you needed someone more your opposite. Two nice people together is just...blah,” he made a face.

She couldn’t let him go down this path. Next thing she knew he’d be designing and sending her lingerie for this imaginary love affair. “But this isn’t about him, not like that,” she insisted again, pushing astute brown eyes and soft hair out of her mind. “I’m doing something for the neighborhood. But you can’t tell anybody!”

“Not nearly as interesting, but,” Jefferson mimed zipping his lips and throwing away an imaginary key.

Belle took a deep breath. She hadn’t spoken her idea aloud to anyone yet. Was she crazy? Could her idea actually work? Would she make any difference at all? “I’m going to catch whoever has been breaking into our stores.”

She was met by complete silence.

Then, “How?”

Well, she hadn’t thought that part all the way through yet. “A stakeout,” she decided on the spot. “I’ll catch them red-handed. I’ll call the police to come immediately, or take their picture or a video, and turn it in,” her speech grew impassioned. “The police can’t be everywhere at once and security footage hasn’t helped them catch anyone yet. Maybe I can make a difference. Even if I prevent one vandalism it will be one less reason for people to give up on Hyperion Heights.”  

Jefferson considered her soliloquy. Would he shoot her idea down? Try to stop her? She really felt she could do this, she could make a difference, she felt it in her bones.  

“This detective really got you riled up, didn’t he?”

She deflated on the spot.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” he assured her. He stood in front of her, taking her shoulders in his hands and gently shaking them until he got a small smile out of her. “Well, if you’re going to save the world,” he said finally. “You better look fabulous doing it.”

[play-read-write]

The Space Between

Fandom: RWBY Characters: Ruby Rose, Taiyang Xiao Long, Yang Xiao Long Words: 1414 Description: Ruby discovers her true fate when she’s saved by a mysterious scythe wielder. Based on This prompt

The first time it happened she was just a child. Playing by the ocean not far from their home. A grimm, not a large one, had come out. A child didn’t stand a chance and she didn’t even notice it until it was too late anyway. Then all of a sudden it was gone. She should have been dead, but she was fine. Her mind must have played tricks on her, so she ran along to play with her sister, unaware of the truth.

It happened again later, when she was older. Training to defend herself, though without a weapon yet. No weapons until she got her aura, that was the rule. Too risky that she would hurt herself. Still, she could exercise some, practice a few moves here and there to try and get ready for when she was ready. The problem was that she still needed to work on her coordination and balance. Trying to throw out a kick a bit too high put her off balance and she fell. Normally that wouldn’t mean anything, but coming down right on the sharp edge of her desk could be fatal. The human body was just so frail without aura.

As it turns out though, that didn’t matter. What should have ended in her unconscious and bleeding ended instead with her a bit confused and laying on the floor beside her desk. This time she was sure she saw something. A brief rustle of black cloth and a scythe for just a moment before it disappeared. She had to be seeing things. Even so, that was enough for today.

The third time it happened was with her weapon. They’d been confused about her choice, scythes weren’t common after all, but she had her reasons. It just felt right, like she was drawn to them. Something tickling her memory. Whatever it was, she was happy with it.

She’d designed Crescent Rose herself, but that still didn’t make it any easier to use. The blade would hit her legs, the back would hit her head. More than once she toppled over from the weight. It didn’t take long for her to lose her aura when training with it, especially since she was still working on that too.

When it happened again, her aura breaking from a hit to the forehead that knocked her down she got frustrated and stood back up, shouting as she threw the weapon. Of course, she knew better than that. It could be a fatal mistake, like now. The gun fired after she threw it, sending it right back at her, the blade set into the handle heading right at her face.

And then it was gone. It should have hit her, but instead ended up imbedded into the ground at her feet. It definitely hadn’t been headed in that direction. Spinning around she caught sight for sure this time. A figure in black, with a splash of red and a scythe. A whisper reached her ears as they vanished. “Not today.”

…

“And you’re sure?” Tai asks, sitting across from his daughters, who were both on the couch.

“Totally.” Ruby says, “Wearing black and had a scythe.”

“They saved you?”

“Yeah.” She says, looking down. “I… I messed up and it almost ended bad. Then suddenly it was fine and I just managed to see them vanish. They said ‘not today’ as they left.”

Tai sighs and hangs his head, running his fingers through his hair. “Well, I’m just glad you’re safe.” He says, looking at her, “Maybe no more training without someone to watch.”

“Yeah, alright.” Ruby says, then after a pause. “It’s… it’s not the first time.”

“What?”

“There was once before, I was training in my room. Just doing some exercises and practices. I fell and almost hit my head bad, but then I was lying on the floor just fine. I thought I saw them, but figured I imagined it from being dizzy.”

“Qrow.” He says under his breath.

“Dad.” Yang says, “What’s going on? Is Ruby in danger?”

“No.” He says, staring far off. “She’s probably safer than anyone else right now.”

“So… what’s wrong? What is that thing?” Ruby asks.

“It’s… It’s Qrow.” He says.

“Like the bird?”

“No.” He shakes his head, “Qrow is, was a friend.”

“Was?” Yang asks, “What’s he doing around Ruby?”

“And how is he doing it?” Ruby asks.

“Qrow is different.” He says, “He’s a Reaper.”

“A what?” Ruby asks.

“A Reaper. They’re special hunters. Different than everyone else. I don’t know how many there are, but they’re rare.”

“Special how?”

“They don’t hunt grimm.” Tai says, “They hunt souls.”

Both girls’ faces pale. “Souls?” Yang asks.

“When people die they don’t dissolve like grimm. They’re aura, their souls, they have to go somewhere. Reapers take care of that. When it comes time for a person to die they make sure that person goes where they belong, by force if necessary.”

“So, what does this have to do with Ruby?” Yang asks.

“Reapers are special. You can’t just train and become one. There’s a special quality to it that only certain people have.” Tai explains, “When one is found, that person is protected by another reaper  until the right time to make sure their numbers can stay high and handle deaths.”

“So, I’m going to be one of them?” Ruby asks, “That doesn’t seem so bad. Cool powers and all.”

“That’s not all.” Tai says, “Reapers are basically immortal to most things. At least on this plane. Once someone dies their soul, ghost, spirit, whatever, can sometimes do damage. Apparently it’s rare for one to die that way either though. The way they die is by passing their spirit into another. When they’re replaced, they pass on.”

“How do you know all this?” Yang asks.

“When I was in Beacon, Qrow was on our team. He was… He was your uncle. They told us everything.”

“We have an uncle?” Ruby asks.

“Had.” Tai says, “Reapers aren’t alive.”

“Wait.” Yang says, “Then that means when Ruby becomes one…”

“They get caught, between life and death. Never truly one or the other until they’re replaced.”

“That’s not too bad.” Ruby says, “I’m pretty much immortal until my job is done, and I get to help the world.”

“That’s, it’s not like that Ruby. Reapers are caught in a void, neither dead nor alive.”

“When did he get turned?” Yang asks.

“He was about thirty.”

“So I’ve got time.” Ruby says, “Maybe even more. I get to grow up and stuff. It’s a long way away.”

“Can we do anything?” Yang asks.

“No.” Tai says, “It’s not a fate that can be fought. I saw.”

“It’ll be okay.” Ruby says, causing him to look at her as she smiled. “I always wanted to be a huntress, now I get to be a special huntress, one who helps people move on. That actually sounds even better.”

He takes a deep breath and gives a soft, shallow smile, “Sure. You always did want to help people.” Despite the words he was hollow inside. First his friend, now his own daughter doomed to a fate on the edge. He just hoped his soul wasn’t one on her list.

…

Yang looked down at the claws in her chest. Blood ran from the wound, pouring out far too fast. Looking up she saw the evaporating body of the grimm, and behind her the girl who was cowering in the corner. “Least I took him out with me.” She says and coughs, red staining her lips and chin. “Damn I hope you’re there Sis.” She says as her eyes fall shut.

“Right here.” Yang hears and opens her eyes. As she looks around she’s in a strange place, as if everything was made of light and yet not blinding. Turning she sets her eyes on a red cloak, a large scythe, and silver eyes. “Ruby.” She whispers.

“It’s good to see you again.” Ruby says with a smile. A moment later she’s in a far too strong hug. “Ugh, Yang, can’t breathe.” When Yang relaxes a bit she returns the hug, her scythe seemingly gone to nowhere.

“I’ve missed you.” She says, leaning back.

“I’ve missed you too.” Ruby says.

“So where are we?” Yang asks, looking around.

“The space between.” Ruby says. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.” She says as she turns and starts walking, “We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”