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softieekayy · 3 years ago

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Pretty girl

Will Graham x fem!reader

Word count:1099

Requested by: @shawty-writes-a-little

Warnings: smut, fingering, oral m receiving, usage of slut, facefucking?? Probably some other things too. No proof reading , I'm sorry for the mistakes.

NSFW!! Minors, do not interact please!!

Will was a simple man who liked simple things really, you knew that, Alana knew that and even Beverly knew that. What you didn’t expect was for him to have pushed you up against the door of his lecture hall as soon as you entered. His knee lodged between your legs, brushing lightly against your cunt. His breath was hot against your neck as he spoke “Told Beverly and Alana you thought I was a sub didn't you?” His nose trailing the expanse of your neck and he licked a thick stripe over your pulse, your hands found their place in his chocolate locks as he replaced the licking in favour of sloppy kisses on your neck.

The hand that previously rested on your waist now crawled up under your shit and you shivered at the touch, goosebumps erupting where he touched you. His hand kept crawling up until it took your right breast out of the bra cup. Will chuckled as you grinded on his thigh and pulled on your already hardened nipple. The action made you let out a breathy moan eight Into Will’s ear, in return he bit you. You looked like a needy mess, hair tousled and Will could feel the heat that radiated off of you.

Will pulled back to admire his work, he had left hickies on your neck, violent purple hickies. You could see that he was hard, nearly painful as he hissed when you reached forward and brushed your hand against his cock. Without warning Will kissed you, it wasn;t like the kiss you’d expected from him, no this was a bruising kiss. It was urgent and needy. His hand stuck between your thighs and brushed up against your painties slightly, making you let out a gasp. He took the opportunity of your parted lips to push his tongue into your mouth, both of you fighting for dominance.

He won when he pushed your painties asideand dipped two fingers into your hot and very slick cunt. “Look at you, you whore, you're already so wet. I bet that if i tried i could just slip my fingers right in.” Will’s words were a warning enough but it still didn’t prepare you when he slipped two of his fingers into your tight hole. You leaned your head back against the door and moaned, the moan was quickly silenced by Will when he put his hand on your throat, choking you slightly. “We wouldn’t want anyone to hear us now would we, pretty girl?” Will hummed against your lips.

Will started to pump his fingers in and your moans were still silenced by the grip Will had on your throat. Will sped up and his thumb found your clit, circling it as he continued fingering you at a lighting speed. The once quiet room was not filled with the obscene sound of your wetness. It was when he hit that spot that made you squeal,Will figured that out and continued fingering you. This time scissoring his fingers inside of you. Your walls clenched around his finger and Will could tell that you were close. “Don’t come yet.” His voice held a warning tone as you were finally able to whine now, the hand that was once on your throat moved to your breast, pulling and tugging your nipple.

His mouth was hot and warm when he took your hardened bud into his mouth and bit slightly. your mouth opened in a silent scream and eyes rolled back when he did that, “Cum for me.” His words were more than enough to push you over the edge as you convulsed against the door, coming hard and your eyes rolled into the back of your head. Will pulled his fingers out, stepping back and shoving them straight into his mouth, he moaned. “Pretty girl, you have to let me taste you next time.” His words made your thighs clench and Will noticed that. He took in your disheveled form, shirt pulled up over your breasts, skirt hunched up on your waist and the beads of sweat dripping down your neck and chest.

The sight was enough to make him groan, his own hard on hard to ignore. Will looked at you and cooed “C’mon pretty girl, show me what that mouth can do.” Your knees buckled at his words and you slowly inched over to the man, when you reached him, you got down on your knees, hands reaching for his belt. Will didn’t stop you, you undid his pants and pulled them down along with his boxers. You had no time to tease him today. As soon as you pulled his pants down his thighs, his cock sprung up, hot and heavy, riddled with viens and dripping with pre-cum from the tip. Your mouth watered at the sight and you wasted no time in licking him from the base to the tip. Will moaned at the feeling of your tongue on him. He leaned back on the wall and his hand found its place in your hair.

You put him in your mouth and took your sweet time, sucking the tip like a lollipop then deep throating him, Will was tired of your shenanigans and took things into his own hands. “You’ve teased me enough sweet girl, now I get to use you.” his voice was breathy and both of his hands tugged on your hair. Will wasn’t gentle when he began facefucking you, his balls slapping your chin everytime and you tagged on his length, not being used to someone as big as him. He continued to use you for a while until his thrusts grew sloppy and moans got breathy.

Will was close, so close, you raised your hand from his thigh to his balls and began to play with them, this pushed him over the edge as he came down your throat, hot and sticky with a slightly salty taste. He moaned, loud and needy when he came. Will pulled himself out of your mouth, hand once again on your throat as his voice commanded you to swallow. You did and he rewarded you by saying that you’re his pretty girl.

He looked down at you again, even more disheveled and out of place. Lips swollen hickies covering your neck and chest. It was when Will pulled you up and placed you on his desk that you knew you were in for a hell of a ride.

#hannibal nbc #will graham x reader #will graham smut #Hannibal #Will graham x reader imagine #Will graham x reader smut #Will graham x reader one shot #will graham Drabble #will Graham smut

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vulnerastti · 2 years ago

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x || @murderousbitch || ♡ ‘d

The echoing of kitten heels striking poorly bleached linoleum floors is the most prominent sound, they way it bounces off concrete walls and ping-pongs down the hall almost cancel out the whistles and warbles of other inmates. ‘You’re like catnip for killers, Doctor Bloom.’ She knows, she knows, she knows.

She reaches the holding room, head nodding and a polite smile spreading, a gesture she exchanged with the same guard once a week to relieve him of his post. Most wardens required all conversations between outside entities and incarcerated individuals to be recorded, for interactions to be monitored. But Alana Bloom doesn’t work like that.

Door opens and closes behind her before taking her usual seat across from Faith. “Hi.” Always ‘hi.’ Never ‘hello’ or ‘hey.’ Always accompanied by a sincere curl of lips. It’s the welcome mat rolling out, come in or stay outside, your choice.

Hands glide over her own lap to smooth out any wrinkles of her quarter-sleeved, low-cut, multipatterned wrap-dress as she gets situated. “How are you?”

#[x] filed under: starter #[x] verse: aperitif #murderousbitch

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monsterslament · 3 years ago

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They tried to get the paint off of the garage door. They really did. Not that it would really matter, though. It's not like I was still living there.

There's no way they'd let me live there anymore. Not if Dr. Lecter and Dr. Bloom had something to say about it.

I still have dreams about that house. Dreams I don't tell them about. About digging that shallow spot in the snow, and hushed whispers of keeping secrets. About.. about me helping Dad make breakfast. About honoring every part of a meal.

I don't remember most of their names. S. Olsen, L. Sorenson, R. Winn. The rest are fuzzy in my memory. I hope I honored them in a way my father would've wanted. I tried to. To honor them. To speak their names with respect.

How could I not? Being the bait on the hook of a lure, you learn a lot about interacting with others. I wish I didn't have to learn all of it. To learn his definition of love and honor.

And yet, here I sit in an almost empty room, thinking of a cabin in the woods. Blue walls, white stool, white window frame, looking out into the outside world.

Sometimes I try to wander. Trying to find a way to stop thinking about a body in the snow, or it's sister, resting on antlers. To stop thinking about digging a knife so deep into a carcass; human, or animal.

That, I do tell Dr. Lecter. He says I can trust him, so I do.

He swears nothing's out to get me. I want to believe him. The woman who comes and goes, the one with red hair and an impatient smile, says otherwise.

He told me to trust him, so I did. He took me into the kitchen of my first home. He told me something's out to get me. Told me things I didn't want to hear.

He hurt me.

My ear rings. Even with only one left, I can hear the sound of my heart beating. It hurts.

He puts the bleeding flesh in a clear bag. He doesn't tell me why. He never does. What he does say, is to stay here until he calls for me. "Let some of the blood spill," he tells me. It hurts.

I can barely hear his voice when he calls my name, a name I barely recognize at this point. He tells me to leave with him. To run away with him, and Mr. Graham. I don't know if I want to. He says it might take time for Will to find the two of us. I say that's okay.

I have a meal with Dr. Lecter, in the deep cobalt blue of his dining room. He tells me, "Will Graham and Jack Crawford will be here tomorrow night." He tells me to stay hidden. "I want to see them again." I say. He says I will.

I leave from behind a shelf in the hall at the sound of a door locking. I don't want to do this. Not again.

I look Alana Bloom in her eyes. She cries for me, but I can't hear her over the ringing.

"I'm so sorry." I tell her.

She tries to embrace me, to hug me. I want to hug her back. I'll die if I do, and die if I don't. The glass behind her shatters. I don't hear her scream.

I'm so sorry.

I enter the kitchen, unseen. Will Graham points a gun at Hannibal Lecter. I do end up seeing Jack Crawford again, or at least I think that's his blood.

Will Graham is in pain. He crumples to the floor, falling back against the counter. I don't want him to hurt. Hannibal Lecter looks to me, bloodstained face and shirt in all his horrid glory.

He holds out his hand. He tells me, in this motion, to trust him. So I do. Will sees me from the floor. I wish he didn't see me like this.

Bleeding out in a kitchen. I can't believe this is the second time. Me and a father figure, bleeding in the kitchen. Will Graham and I cry. We try not to force more blood from already open wounds.

"You be Mom, you be my Dad, and you the man on the phone."

#So. I finished it.#How do we feel.#Comments concerns all that #positive feedback and all that is also Very welcome #tw blood #tw character death #tw murder #ask to tag #abigail hobbs #will graham #hannibal lecter #not gonna tag Jack n Alana since their appearances are very brief #nbc hannibal #hannibal fanfiction #Hannibal #writing tag

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from-red-string · 4 years ago

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Before the Storm

It's finally here!! The first day of 2021 Soy Luna fic week!!

It's been a few years since I last wrote a Soy Luna fic, so I took this chance to look for characters and interactions I didn't explore before.

I hope you enjoy reading it!

Day 1

Prompt: “Hey, I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve turned your entire living room into a blanket fort and I have no plan in taking it down any time soon.”

Summary: Matteo told them he never had a blanket fort since he kept moving and his parents were too strict to let him have friends at home. Gastón and Ámbar decided to surprise him.

Warning: probably not canon accurate, they're 14

Genre: fluff

Pairing: Matteo Balsano x Ámbar Smith, Gastón

Matteo got home feeling strange, it became unusual for him to be alone after school. Ever since he came to Buenos Aires, Gastón would never leave him alone, and even when Gastón wasn't around Ámbar was, there's not a lot of time to feel lonely with them. Gastón spent so much time in his house, that Matteo's dad once questioned if Gastón didn't have a home while Alana, the housekeeper, knew Gastón better than her boss' likes.

But today, he couldn't find them anywhere, not in school, not in the Jam & Roller, even Delfi and Jazmín didn't know where exactly Ámbar was. They only know each other for 4 months, he didn't want to go to their houses.

Opening the door, he was surprised to see white shapes moving in the center of his living.

"This won't stay up. You need to fix that end on the couch." He recognized that voice as Ámbar, immediately felt puzzled about what she was doing. Gastón stepped out of the white cover.

"I think I know how to build a fort, Ámbar. I did that all the time when we were younger, you always did the inside." Matteo had no idea what he was talking about but giggled what the image of younger Gastón and Ámbar in a tent his mind created, the sound got Gastón's attention. “Hey, I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve turned your entire living room into a blanket fort and I have no plan in taking it down any time soon.”

"I don't, but did you kidnap Alana? She would never allow this." Matteo set his backpack beside the couch taking his shoes off while Ámbar came out of the blanket fort.

"She'd when she learned about a certain 14 years old sad Italian who never had a friend’s sleepover." She stated but didn't look at him, Ámbar's eyes analyzed the fort making sure it wouldn't fall.

"Plus, she loves me." Gastón gave a smug grin and Matteo laughed. He couldn't believe they were in his house making a blanket fort. When he was a kid, he always wanted to have friends around and build a blanket fort, but his parent never let his friends stay over, he never had close friends since he was moving around. Matteo gave up on having a blanket fort with friends when he was 10. It's not like he's an adult at 14, but at some point, he accepted it wouldn't happen, he got used to getting friends quickly but also letting go of them as fast. Now he felt silly for being happy at such childish desires.

"Are you Matteo or Gastón? I can't tell the difference anymore, you need to spend less time with Matteo." Ámbar teased waving her hand in Gastón face while he pouted at her then smiled.

"I don't want to… Unless that's your way of saying you want him to yoursel..." Ámbar interrupted Gastón by throwing a cushion on him. Matteo noticed she was getting closer to him in the last months, he wasn't aware Gastón knew it too.

"Are you okay?" Ámbar asked Matteo who was quiet for too long. Before he could answer her she continued. "We said we hope you don't mind but you don't have an option, it's already so just enjoy it." She said that but started walking toward the door with her bag.

"You're leaving?" Matteo followed her confused. "Can't you stay? You made all this." Ámbar's step slowed down, he could see her hesitance. "Is it about your aunt?" Matteo worried, he didn't want to trouble her relationship with Sharon. For the little he could get even though they weren't too close, the aunt is Ámbar's only family. Deeper he could see that everything she did was to get Sharon's attention, although her aunt didn't seem to know it, Ámbar minded her opinions. He saw once how broken she looked after she made a mistake at the school's lab which made their class evacuate the room, the first thing she told him by the time is how disappointed her aunt would be, Ámbar did everything she could to cover it from her aunt, she volunteered to help their science teacher for a month. He wondered how far she would go for Sharon, he feared for Ámbar.

"No, she wouldn't care..." Her feet stopped and she turned around. That answered pain Matteo, she felt alone in her family just like he felt so many times before and it was eating her alive.

"Defli and Jazmín?" Gastón's head appeared at the door. "I told you could call them here, the more the merrier." Matteo wondered how his friend could've known his feelings for Ámbar if he couldn't see Delfi's feelings for himself. Ámbar shook her head.

"They wouldn't like it. Blanket fort is not their thing."

"You can't leave. This was your idea, Ámbar." Gastón insisted surprising Matteo once again. "You said it would be nice for Matteo." He went to the room, leaving the couple in the hall.

"Is it your thing?" Matteo couldn't help but be genuinely curious about Ámbar, she never seemed to step out of her way and always plan her steps. Just like in her skating, she knew all her moves, training them day by day until they were perfect, if her partner fell she'd ask for another one, no hard feeling just her way.

"Blanket fort? No, never." He knew she got what he meant. Is it your thing surprising people for the sake of making them feel better? Being soft for someone else? She began to walk again.

"Ámbar, please..." Matteo said one last time. "I won't tell if you don't." Ámbar froze, her hair whipped around her head, she opened her mouth and Matteo tried to read her but it's impossible to know what was going on in her mind. Was it keeping from Delfi and Jazmín they built a blanket fort? Was it her loneliness beyond the school halls? Was it her soft side from the world? Whatever she got from his question, Ámbar nodded roaming back to his living room.

During that day, Ámbar seemed a bit freer than outside those walls, Matteo wondered if she felt safe with them, they've already seen her celebrating acing an English test as much as yell frustrated at a failed move when skating, her best and worst.

Later that same year, Matteo and Ámbar started dating but he remembers that day as the major proof of Ámbar's care. Maybe it was the last time he saw a glimpse of who Ámbar was before high schoolbefore she became La Reina de la Pista. He held on to this for as long as he could, believing this Ámbar still lived inside of her somewhere, but the new Ámbar took over and there's not much for him to expect, not when they love each other anymore.

#sorry for any mistake #soy luna fic week #matteo balsano #��mbar smith #gastón perida

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uths-ethnol-spam · 4 years ago

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thoughts about Hannibal S1

(okey so... I am discovering the series - like the actual episodes in order and entirely - so I have few thoughts about it so this post is going to be a mess of what I want to talk about (and I did not mentioned all of what I wanted to talk about, maybe I will update the post later (maybe))

(also: I am not a native speaker. I apologise for the mistakes I have left, though I hope it will not be so unpleasant!)

I have the feeling that the actual story starts in Sorbet and since then it is Hannibal, the series - or perhaps it starts in Entrée? in French it refers to the first course but also to an hall as well - literally and figuratively, so a beginning. it must not be a coincidence

before and except the elements of the first and partly of the others episodes about Abigail, the Copycat killer, Hobbs... it doesn’t really matter and are more stereotypes of the basic crime tv show (specially Oeufs and Coquilles, so the mother killing families and the Angel Maker)

(well no, it does matter, but the flavour of the series is revealed in the 5th/6th episodes - or I felt it that way: I just felt glimpses before, like things were happening but the audience can not entirely catch what’s going on, and I have the feeling that I could finally reach the characters and the material of the show in the 5th or 6th episode)

(the flashback with Miriam really marked me) (and the moment when Hannibal knocked Alana unconscious and went to Abigail after she killed the brother as well)

(but all the episodes are interesting regarding characterisation, obviously)

Abigail is sweet somehow. I was left breathless when she had bumped into Hannibal at the end of the 11th episode, as she is afraid of Will - until she understands that she had left a unstable man to run right into the arms of and actual apex monster. it was quite well-done I thought

I am really feeling heartbroken for Will a part of the season, and actually saying out loud “shut up” every time Hannibal talks

it is so well directed. we all know it, we all see the gifs and beautiful shots of the series. but I had to say it. it is absolutely sublime. and the tension and fear and power balance between the characters are magnified and shown by the way it is filmed.

besides, I realised how gorgeous and protective Alana is - even though her character is flawed (like everyone in this show really) I can’t help liking her and well- maybe it is a tiny crush (her eyes and smile)

talking about good-looking actors: Will ?? I saw a lot of persons pointing that his “slutty arc” starts in season 2 when he changes the way he is dressed - but it is not true: on the crime scenes he is a bloody mess, sometimes literally, but with Hannibal in therapy (when he feels good, or at least not that bad) his hair is not in his eyes, he is open and not trying to be absorbed by a wall or the floor (not talking about the ladder scene here)

and also: when he “becomes” Gideon in the 11th episode after the man escaped, his hair changes to show how Will looks like when he is confident. I like how they managed to be subtle and carry these images, because it is helpful to know when Will is self-assured - he has the same style in season 2 when he seduces Hannibal

(I am not sure it is understandable)

I was aware of Hannibal looking a bit- let us say affected, when Will says he is about to profile the Copycat in Relevés - but Hannibal is actually aroused, and it is so well balanced and played - I want to analyse scenes rn (talking about arousing, the ambulance scene?)

THE STAG. I love how the series imply that Will knows - unconsciously - about Hannibal being the Copycat Killer since almost the beginning: Will saw the stag statue in Hannibal’s office and since then he represents the killer that way

and it is not even an easter egg, it is underscore in Relevés with the statue behind Hannibal (and it does say a lot about Will and his possible denial and/or effects of the “therapy” he had passed through (Hannibal’s manipulation))

ok, let us talk about Hannibal. I know the major parts of the following seasons so I know how he acts towards Will and how he will actually change, so perhaps that’s why I do not hate him despite of the horrors he does to Will, but also how he manipulates the other characters. but the fact is that he is simply brilliant and thus I can’t help but being amazed by his schemes

the way he presents subtlety himself as a threat to some characters (when he implies that he detected Bella’s cancer right in front of Jack at their dinner or when he talks with his colleague about Will’s encephalitis), the way he switches of persona depending on the people he interacts with, it is quite stunning

but it is also funny sometimes - I really bursted into laughter when Jack asks him in Relevés if Hannibal knows where Will had gone, and although Will had said him about it few hours ago, he takes his most innocent, bewildered and mildly worried face and says: “no” - what an liar, rather marvellous to watch I must say

the two last episodes are great honestly. and the way Hannibal orchestrated everything, it is so captivating! even though I knew how the first season ended, witnessing Hannibal’s carefully crafted trap closing on Will, aaah, brilliant.

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larryssunflower · 5 years ago

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The Non-Royal Romance, season two, part one

last part of season 1 teaser trailer masterlist

(really bad) summary: TRR AU where MC (Alana Rhys) is the now queen of Cordonia, and Liam was part of the suitors in line to marry her. Drake Walker is Alana’s personal bodyguard, and as the season goes on, their feelings for each other only get stronger. After an assassination attempt during the coronation ball, Alana’s mother announces without her consent that she will marry Liam, to both Drake and Alana’s dismay. This season is dedicated to Alana’s and Liams engagement tour, and what will happen as it goes on

pairing: Drake Walker x MC x Liam (kinda)

tagging- @ravenpuff02 @simplyaiden-blog @msjr0119 @butindeed @mfackenthal @axwalker @choices-lurker @american-duchess @drakelover78 @monosodiumglutamateme @crookedslimecreatorpasta @mrsdrakewalkerblog @traeumerinwitzhelden @gardeningourmet @speedyoperarascalparty @agent-zephyrkah @liam-rhys-x-mc-x-constantine @snyggflicka @texaskitten30 @annekebbphotography @irishwhiskys-blog @nomadics-stuff @catlady0911 @twinkle-320 @i-bloody-love-drake-walker @drakewalker04 @bigmemesplz @jovialyouthmusic @sleepwalkingelite @pintobomb @moneyfordiamonds @mskaneko @lauzales @princessleac1 @kingliam2019

----

*six months after the coronation ball*

These past few months have been difficult, I’m not going to lie. I’ve spent the majority of my time living in the Beaumont manor, recovering my shoulder and having well deserved space from my mother. Luckily the interactions I have had with Liam have been brief, I can’t bring myself to act like I’m in love with him because he thinks I actually chose him and I don’t have the balls to tell him he wasn’t my choice. No one knows that it was my mother’s decision and I’m in love with my former bodyguard. The perfect Queen huh?

I haven’t seen Drake since the incident. It was so perfect for that short span of time where he loved me back and we were finally together. But that changed... thanks to my mother. My memory is still hazy due to the pain medication and all I remember is the incident on tv, falling asleep at one point with Drake by my side, and waking up and he was gone. My mom said he just up and left.

I don’t blame him if I’m being honest. Who would want to be with this train wreck? I sigh, running my hands through my dirty hair. I know it’s pathetic, but I haven’t really been taking care of myself recently. I started getting night terrors, every time I’m in that ballroom, my friends and family being slaughtered around me, time and time again and I can’t do anything to help them. Maxwell always wakes me up with a hug, holding me as I sob in his arms.

We still haven’t found who orchestrated the assassination attempt. It’s not easy when your country is relatively peaceful with very few enemies.

I trace my fingers over my scar on my shoulder. My doctor said it could take up to a year to function normally again. Thank god it’s not fatal, but the psychological toll hasn’t been easy. I can’t help this horrible feeling of guilt every time I think about the ball. They were there to kill me, and harmed my friends to get there. Who knows what else they will do to get to me or my friends the second time?

I let out a breath shakily, looking out the window. Theres no point thinking like that. That’s all I have been doing, stressing over things I can’t control.

All I know is that the engagement tour is starting tonight, and I have to speak to people again. I have to spend time with Liam, try to pretend to be in love, try to pretend that I’m not falling apart. I have to do this without Drake by my side. A horrible feeling pangs in my stomach anytime I think about him. I lost the one person I have ever felt this way about and maybe its a good thing. It wasn’t fair to him, our whole relationship- if you could call it that.

I eventually drag myself into a well-needed shower, letting the hot water melt away the tension in my back. I don’t have a choice anymore, all I can do is try to do my best tonight. That’s all I can do.

—-

I wake up, and immediately look to my left. Drake isn’t there. I frown, sitting up in my uncomfortable hospital bed, ignoring the pain in my shoulder and looking around. “Drake?” I ask, hoping he’s just in the other room. The door opens and my mom walks in, looking somber. A wave of anger flows over my body as I remember what she did. “Where is he.” I demand, my chest tight. She looks at me for a moment, not saying anything. “Where. is. he.” I demand harshly, making her sigh as I stare at her, my heart pounding.

“I didn’t want to tell you this way, but he’s gone.” My mother says much too simply, her everlasting sense of disapproval emulating from her gaze. Tears spring to my eyes as I digest what she said. “G-Gone?” I ask, swallowing thickly. My mother nods, walking over and sitting delicately on my bed. “Once you had fallen asleep, He left the room. I tried to ask him where he was going but he just said ‘I can’t do it anymore’ and walked away without a second glance.” She explains, making my heart break. Tears pool and spill onto my cheeks. I look down at my blurry hands which have began shaking.

“I’m so sorry honey,” My mother says, trying to hold my hand. I yank it away from her, fuming. “Don’t touch me.” I grit through my teeth, my conflicting feelings of anger, abandonment, loss, and love waging a war inside of me. “I can’t believe you! how could you do this to my life? Leave! please,” I beg, my voice shaking embarrassingly. My mother closes her mouth, pressing her lips together. “So be it.” She says, monotone. She gets up, and walks out the door.

I fall back against my pillow, tears pouring out of my eyes.

He’s gone.

—-

I brush my now soft, clean hair, and watch as it falls gently on my shoulders. My baby pink dress is form fitting, the straps thick enough to hide the scar on my shoulder. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

Not sure if that’s really true, because I haven’t seen Drake in six months but... he is not out of my mind. It hurts more knowing that he probably doesn’t even care about me, especially since he walked out when it got rough and has probably moved on when all i do is think about him.

I watch my door open in the reflection of my mirror, my mother walking in. “You clean up well hon,” My mother says, her hopeful smile on that face. She has been trying really hard to make it up to me. “Thanks,” I say quietly, looking down at my clasped hands, my heavy, expensive ring on my left hand. The ornate gold ring pairs with a large crystal clear diamond, surrounded by smaller diamonds in a teardrop shape. Its beautiful, but feels foreign. Liam brought it to me in the hospital a couple weeks after Drake left. My mother was watching carefully as I smiled and accepted the ring, giving Liam a kiss in thanks. The next day, a picture of me in my hospital bed and Liam presenting his ring to me was all over the gossip news and magazines. My mother pretended to be outraged but I knew she set it up. She’s a smart diplomat, I’ll give her that. She always knows what she’s doing.

“Tonight’s the big night! Your first event as Queen!” My mother says enthusiastically, and I nod absentmindedly, fiddling with the ring. I haven’t worn it since the day in the hospital, and it’s just been sitting on my bedside table, collecting dust and eating away at my stomach. My mother sighs. “Why can’t you be happy? Will you ever forgive me?” She asks, and I look up at her in the mirror, my expression unchanged. “I’ve told you many times how you could earn my forgiveness and respect back.” I say, referencing a past conversation we had, keeping my voice flat and even. My mother purses her lips. “Well then. I’ll see you tonight at the party. Stay presentable,” My mother orders, before swiftly turning away, stalking out the door. I scoff, shaking my head.

—-

(Drake’s p.o.v)

I clench my jaw, punching the bag in front of me repeatedly. All my anger, regret, and frustration pouring out as I beat the punching bag, making it shake violently back and forth, it’s chain groaning.

I eventually stop, breathing heavily. I sigh, wiping the sheen of sweat off my forehead. All I can think about is her. As pathetic as that is. “You okay man?” the gym manager, Greg, asks. I nod, without looking up. “Yeah thanks, I’m fine,” I breathe, sitting down on the bench behind me, looking down as I unwrap my knuckles.

For a brief moment I’m back in that room, watching as she treats my fresh wounds, the light from the windows softly framing her beautiful face, whiskey flowing through my veins because that was the only way I could attempt to calm my nerves, being so close to her. I sigh, trying to push her from my mind.

She doesn’t want you anymore.

“Hey uh, someone’s here to see you,” Greg says, his tone shifted. I look up in confusion and see Alana’s mother standing behind him, clearly uncomfortable in the dingy gym. I stand up quickly, suddenly feeing self conscious about my sweaty gym clothes.

Greg senses the tension and tentatively walks away, giving us a strange look. I guess it’s not every day that one of his patrons is visited by the recently former Queen. I look back at Regina, anger building back up within me. “How can I help you, Your Majesty?” I ask turning my head to the side, my nose flaring angrily. She blinks. “I deserve that,” she admits, looking down at the dingy floor. “I came here with a proposition for you,” She says, looking back up at me, making me furrow my brow in confusion.

—-

(Alana’s p.o.v)

“You got this Al, I know you do.” Maxwell reassures me, his eyes kind. I smile, “Thanks Max,” I say, taking a deep breath. “I know you’ve had a tough couple months, but you may as well try to have a good time tonight,” Maxwell says, and I nod. We start to walk out of my room and down the hall, Maxwell’s arm slung around my shoulders. “We can get drunk just like old times,” Maxwell laughs in my ear, making me laugh. “Oh those were the days,” I sigh contently, my good friend making me smile.

We laugh as we make our way to the main entryway, separating as we walk down the stairs. I look up at the sound of the front doors opening and stop in my tracks. In walks in my mother and...Drake?

A wall of emotion hits me so hard, I feel as though I could fall over. The man I love, the man I swear to at night, the man who broke my heart, standing just a few feet away from me, in a frustratingly handsome navy suit, avoiding my eye contact.

“I got your bodyguard back, now, let’s leave before we are late to your engagement party,” My mother says, a satisfied smile on her face. I snap back to reality, nodding wordlessly. I walk down the stairs, not being able to look Drake in the eyes. As I pass him through the doorway, I feel his hand on my lower back, guiding me through. Chills spread over my arms and I keep walking, my face burning in embarrassment. I feel like a spoiled child whose parent forced some child to be my friend. I can’t believe she remembered.

Five months ago my mother asked how she could earn my forgiveness, and I simply said ‘bring him back’.

I step into the back of our black SUV, Maxwell following behind me. My mother gets into her own car with her bodyguard, and Drake sits up front with the driver. I can feel Max’s gaze on mine, but I don’t look at him, my stomach fluttering unpleasantly. I’m not eager to see the expression of my good friend’s face. I’m torn between being overjoyed that the man I love is so close to me again, and angry because that same man broke my heart six months ago. How can he just sit there, no emotion, after what he did? How much is my mother paying him? I cringe, looking out the window, waiting until we arrive.

—-

Our cars pull up onto the gravel drive, the Amaranth Manor glittering in the warm night. Home to one of the Cordonia most notable noble family, their daughter being Madeline. I only met on her on a couple of occasions- she’s... not my taste.

The cars roll to a stop just in front of the large doors, my nerves fluttering. I haven’t been in public like this in so long. My car door opens, and for the fist time in six months, I make direct eye contact with Drake. Just like that, all my reservations and cautiousness is out the window, replaced with the familiar feeling of overwhelming love and longing for Drake. A feeling I’ve tried to ignore for these past months that I just can’t hold it back anymore.

I get lost in those warm, brown, beautiful eyes, butterflies erupting in my stomach. I force myself to look away, gulping nervously. I take a deep breath, take his hand, and step down off the SUV. The manor is lit up with warm lights, music playing loudly through the french doors which are open wide for the warm summer air. I look over and see two men waiting for me one of whom is Liam, the other, I don’t recognize. Liam grins, walking over and enveloping me in an embrace. I smile, hugging him back. He kisses my cheek as he pulls away, his eyes twinkling in the moonlight. “So nice to see you again babe,” He says, and I grin. “Yes it is,” I smile. Liam turns, gesturing for the other man to walk over.

“This is my brother, Leo. He’s joining us on our tour,” Liam explains. “Ah, so nice to meet you!” I exclaim, holding out my hand. Leo takes it, placing a kiss on my knuckles. “It’s my pleasure Your Majesty,” Leo says in a smooth voice. I smile politely, and we head over to the entrance. I glance over my shoulder, spotting Maxwell throwing his arm over Liam, talking pleasantly with his friend, and Drake, following behind.

We enter the main ballroom, where many of the suitors form last season are, now with women of nobility. I feel slightly intimidated as we walk in, and they go nearly quiet. We are announced and the voices start up again, louder this time. Liam and I start getting bombarded by nobles, ready to congratulate us on our engagement. We maneuver through the party, my jeweled hand resting on Liam’s arm, in clear view. Drake trails behind us, but I try not to think or look at him, not sure how I will react. I get many compliments on my ring from noble women, many of whom will be my bridesmaids, even though I barely know any of them.

Hours into the party and a couple noble women stand out, like the extremely nice woman Hana Lee, the bubbly Penelope Ebrim, the cultured french woman Kiara Theron, and of course, Madeline. “Step-Cousin! So nice to see you,” Madeline says in a hard-to-tell but definitely fake smile. “Lovely to see you as well! Thank you for hosting,” I smile back. She studies me for a moment, before turning to Liam. “Liam. It’s been a while, you look well,” Madeline says, a slight blush forming on her cheeks. “You too Madeline,” Liam grins. She looks at him for a moment, before turning to me.

“Looking forward to the wedding? I bet it will be just lovely,” Madeline says, an edge to her voice. What is her problem? “Yeah definitely! Um- would you two excuse me for a moment? I think I just need some fresh air,” I say, and they both nod. “Are you okay?” Liam asks quietly, his hand on my forearm. I nod with a smile, gently releasing myself from his grip. “Yes! I’ll be right back,” I say cheerfully, kissing his cheek quickly, before turning and making my way through the ballroom and out one of the open doors, into the secluded garden. I walk for a bit in the quiet, until I’m far enough to be out of sight from the party, and sit down on a stone bench outside. I sigh, a feeling of relief washing over me, happy to finally be alone again.

I honestly forgot the stress of being a noble - and now I’m Queen. god, what have I gotten myself into?

I suddenly hear a branch break, and whip my head to see Drake, standing just a bit away from me. I sigh. “Why did you follow me?” I ask, feeling an overwhelming sense of exhaustion from the situation. He sighs. “I’m just trying to do my job.” Drake says, shifting uncomfortably. I nod slightly, looking down.

After a moment, Drake talks again, “I don’t know why you wanted me back as your bodyguard, you seemed like you were done with us.” He says quietly. I scoff, standing up indignantly, facing him. “Excuse me? I was the one who was done? Last time I checked, you were the one who walked out,” I say angrily, glad I walked far enough from the crowded party to have privacy.

Drake looks at me, clear confusion in his face. “You didn’t want me with you. Your mother made me leave when- when it happened. After you fell asleep she told me that you were done with us, that you couldn’t take it anymore. You forced me out of your life, I didn’t walk out.” Drake explains, his annoyingly calm voice just making me more confused.

“But my mom told me...” I stop, my heart pounding. I look up at Drake, who is staring back at me, his eyes wide. It starts to click. Why did I just trust what my mom said after what she did? His Adam’s apple bobs up and back down. “You didn’t want me to leave did you?” He asks quietly. I shake my head. “You didn’t give up on me?” I ask, gulping. He nears me. “No. never. You have no idea how much I fought. I was at the hospital every day, trying to find a way to see you, to change your mind. Eventually they threatened me with arrest. The next day, you were moved to another hospital. I kept trying, I didn’t stop, as much as I probably should have. You have no idea how many stupid gossip magazines I bought just to get any information about you, to see if you were okay,” Drake says with a chuckle, making me snort at the picture of Drake buying gossip magazines, my stomach fluttering with happiness. He didn’t give up on us.

We look at each other for a moment, just staring. “I missed you,” I say softly, my voice cracking. Something breaks within Drake and he pulls me towards him, embracing me tightly. I sigh, melting into his familiar arms, clinging onto his shoulders. He buries his face into my neck, making me sigh with content. Something I haven’t felt for months. I curl my fingers in his hair, pulling gently. After a moment, he pulls away from the embrace, his eyes scanning my face.

In a second, our lips are connected. It’s hesitant at first, still unsure, our mutual feelings of hurt still lingering between us. I let out a small moan, the feeling of his lips on mine intoxicating after months of feeling nothing. I clearly did something right, because Drake groans, pulling me closer than imagined, his hands roaming up and down my sides. All these months of to re-living our kisses in the middle of the night could not have prepared me for how I feel in this moment. My heart soaring, my nerves on fire, wanting- no begging- for more contact.

Once my lungs are burning for air, we break apart, breathing heavily. “God, I missed you too,” Drake says, his voice an octave lower than usual, making my heart swoop into my stomach. God, how does he have such an impact on me? Just his deep voice makes me want to jump his bones. I gulp, looking up at him. “What now?” I ask, and he looks down. “Honestly? I’m not sure,” He says quietly.

I bring my hand up, caressing his cheek, making him look up at me. He blinks, looking deeply into my eyes. “All I know is that I can’t lose you again. I’m not sure how I’m going to deal with this engagement situation, but I will never give up on us.” I say with every fiber in my being, hoping he understands my sincerity. He nods, a strange look in his eyes. Before I can question him, my phone goes off. I look down to see a text from Liam, asking me where I am.

I sigh, a feeling of guilt creeping up on me. Just because I don’t want to be with Liam doesn’t mean I want to hurt him. “What is it?” Drake asks, and I sigh. “I have to get back in there, as much as I wish I could stay out here with you,” I say, longing to stay forever with Drake, never having to leave his side again. His face falls slightly, before he smiles. “Hey, at least we figured this out. It was hard thinking that you didn’t want me for six months,” Drake says, making me smile. “Yeah, I’m glad we figured this out,” I say, and He looks at me for a moment, before swooping in, giving me a sweet kiss. I happily kiss back, before we both pull away.

“Time to go back in I guess,” I say, and He nods. We walk through the garden, back into the crowded party, my stomach still fluttering with butterflies after that kiss. Drake stays a good distance behind me, which is probably smart because if I could, I would never stop trying to touch or kiss him, which would be a bit concerning for the nobles, as they are at the engagement party for me and a different man. Leo, Liam’s brother pulls me aside gently. “Oh hi Leo,” I say, and he looks at me for a moment. “Did you enjoy your breath of fresh air?” He asks, making my stomach drop. He didn’t see did he? “Yeah, sometimes parties like this are suffocating and I just need a break,” I say, keeping my voice level.

Leo studies me for a mother moment, a sly smirk creeping onto his face. “hmm, I like you,” He says in a thoughtful way as I smile back, my heart pounding. Did he see me and Drake? “Thank you, I’m glad my future brother in law approves,” I say with a slightly nervous chuckle. I can’t figure Leo out, is he threatening me?

“Hey what’s up babe?” Liam asks, coming over to us, sliding a hand around my waist. I glance over to see Drake staring daggers at Liam’s hand. Funny how things never change. It makes me blush knowing Drake is protective over me. “Oh, nothing, just talking to your lovely brother,” I smile, clearly making Liam happy. “I’m glad! You two are very important to me,” He says, and we start a perfectly pleasant conversation.

The night moves on, we dance for a while, eat some appetizers, drink some champagne and before I know it, the party is over. I say goodbye to Liam, making my way to my assigned room away from him, which may have been orchestrated by my step-cousin, little does she know that’s my ideal scenario. Honestly she can try to steal Liam away, I’m not going to stop her.

Drake and I stop outside my door. “I guess I should try to get some sleep,” I say, and he nods. My tongue darts out to wet my lips nervously. “Do you want to come in?” I ask, my stomach bubbling with nerves. Drake looks down at me, a heat in his eyes. “I really shouldn’t Alana,” He says, and I nod. I bite my lip, thinking about how out-of-hand we could get. Probably not the best idea. “Okay then, goodnight,” I say, giving him a quick hug. He hugs back, kissing my cheek lightly, making my face heat up. He makes me feel like a schoolgirl, blushing over my crush kissing my cheek. So stupid. “Goodnight Your Highness,” he whispers, making me take in a sharp breath. He is really making this hard for me.

He releases me from the hug, leaning back, a satisfied grin on his face. I huff. “G-Goodnight,” I say, turning and going into my room, the stupid blush never leaving my face.

I change out of my dress and into pajamas and flop onto my bed, thinking about earlier. I‘m so frustrated that I actually believed my manipulative mother for so long. I feel like I betrayed him by believing her, but he believed her too I guess. I stare at the pale blue ceiling above me, thinking about the kiss. God, the way he pulled me closer. He has to know what he does to me. It’s honestly unfair at this point.

I naw at my bottom lip, butterflies fluttering inside me. I glance over to the door and see the edge of his shadow outside my door. My heart warms at the thought of being so close to him again. Before long, I drift off to sleep.

—-

I glance around, watching as everyone dances. The warm lights glow pleasantly, the music muffled, but nice. I smile as I see Max and Allie together, laughing. A feeling of warmth radiates through my body. I glance over and see Drake, smiling over at me. A strange feeling of familiarity falls over me slowly. Wait... This is the coronation ball, oh no.Suddenly, the warm lights go out. The ball is dark and suddenly a horrible cold feeling washes over me. I know what’s coming. No! I have to warn them! I try to scream, try to warn everyone to get down, but nothing will come out. I look down and see myself chained to a post, and feel the duck tape on my mouth.

The lights turn on again, and the assassins don’t hesitate opening fire on everyone. I scream as their bodies fall over, fighting with everything in me to be free, to help them. One near me turns, and aims and Drake. “No!” I try to say, nothing coming out. Drake just looks over at me in fear and then the assassin shoots him, making him collapse. I scream, thrashing against the binds, and suddenly, I’m in my room, and Drake is by my side, holding onto my shoulders, clearly concerned. I let out the largest sigh of relief, throwing my arms around him tightly. Tears fall out of my eyes and my shoulders shake as I sob in his arms. He holds me tightly, His body warmth calming me down. He just keeps whispering softly “it’s okay, you’ll be alright,” as I cry.

As soon as I start to calm down, I let go of my death grip on him, leaning back. “Are you alright?” He asks, deeply concerned. I sigh, calming my nerves. “Y-yes, I am now. Sorry since the ball I’ve had these horrible dreams...” I trail off, stopping before I cry again. He reaches out, brushing my hair from my face. “It’s okay, you don’t need to apologize to me, I know nightmares better than anyone,” He says, and I nod, remembering that night when I found him in his bed, screaming in his sleep. “I had no idea you had them now,” He says sadly, looking into my eyes. “Yeah, um- if I’m being honest, I’ve been a hot mess since the ball and then my ‘surprise engagement’,” I say bitterly, fumbling with my hands in my lap.

Drake rests his hand on mine, making me stop, looking up at him. “That makes two of us,” He says gently. My heart breaks thinking about Drake being just as heart-broken as me. “At least we’re in this together, right?” I say, and he nods, a small smile on his face. “Always.”

He stays by my side until I fall asleep.

--------------

-end-

I’m back! I know there’s a lot of crazy thing going on in the world right now which is horrible, but hopefully it will bring change with it! How did you guys like the first part? I love to hear your feedback ;) Thank you all for your support over the years now (crazy!) for this fic! It’s honesty hard for me to read earlier chapters, I feel like I’ve changed so much since the beginning haha. Anyway, I know this wasn’t the best part, but there are so many more exciting things I have planned! Again, thank you all for your support, if it wasn’t for all your kind words I would not have gotten so far! Love you all!

-Ella xx

#tnrr #The Non-Royal Romance #season two #part one #trr #the royal romance #choices #choices fanfiction #choices trr #mc x drake #drake walker #alana rhys #sorry liam #the non royal romance #playchoices fics #choices stories you play

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youarejesting · 4 years ago

Text

Curse.12 Again

[First] [Masterlist] [Next] Beta: N/A Rating: PG Pairing: Prince!Jin x Reader Genre: fantasy, romance, comedy, drama, mystery, and more good stuff Words: 2.4k

Summary: A modern-day fairy tale whereby seven young princes born under King Bang’s greed cannot find true love. Unless they break a special spell, called the ‘Bang curse’. In order to break the curse, Prince Seokjin must be loved by a ‘Blue’ blood, by a royal. That seems almost impossible when you have a pig nose. (based off the movie Penelope)

You left rushing out of the palace and throwing the coat to the van and jumping on the first bus towards your work. In such a rush, barely taking a moment to check your phone, hoping you would make it on time.

You arrive and the boss is sitting there looking at the clock, “you're eight-minutes late.” He growled and you frowned looking at him and checking your phone.

“I’m only three minutes late, that clock is slow”

“You should be arriving at least ten minutes before your shift and leave ten minutes after”

“Only if you pay for the extra twenty minutes, I legally won’t step foot onto this premises before my shift starts for insurance reasons”

“Listen don’t think about being late tomorrow or you will be fired” he breathed leaving you to run the store and you frowned taking a deep breath and getting to work.

Once your shift was over you headed home for a quick shower before you had to go to the bakery. You saw the landlady walking the hall, you sighed this wasn’t going to work out. You grabbed your things and packed your suitcase with everything you owned in it. It was sad really that your whole life fit into one suitcase.

You showered and changed leaving with everything and thanking the landlady for everything and apologizing that she had to put up with everything. You handed her an envelope. “This is everything I can give you right now”

“I wish you luck,” she said pushing the envelope back towards you. “I won’t take what you have left”

“Thank you I will definitely repay you one day,” you said looking at the floor “I will, I promise”

You took your suitcase and headed to work, it was a perfectly normal day at work. Everything was amazing and you were excited to see Seokjin again.

After work, you dragged your suitcase to the palace and handed it to the van waiting outside while slipping on the pink blazer equipped with the tiny camera.

Waking into the palace you were let inside and you walked the halls expertly. You located the room and in the middle of the room was a drum kit. You laughed, staring at it as you laid back on the couch closing your eyes for some sort of rest before Seokjin arrived.

It didn’t take long before his beautiful voice filled the room, “You are back” With all the joys of a child seeing their favorite person return after a long absence. “How long have you been waiting?”

“Not long enough to nap,” the yawn that cut through would definitely be a prelude to many more.

He laughed, “I have decided you must play the drums you have excellent timing and you are spontaneous and very impactful and loud and wild like a drum”

You nodded and tried to play the song ‘Epiphany’ you had tried to play every day for him but you were too busy laughing and banging the drums. “Okay, I get it, you don’t play the drums.” He was hysterical and it was a type of boyish flair you didn’t hear from him often. A pure sound, unlike his melancholy tones you were used to.

“You sound happy today?” You grinned walking closer to the mirror and smiling up at him “Why don’t we go out, we can get food and drink. You are losing your twenties in a tower, my prince”

“I can’t” his voice dwindled again and you pushed further you were wanting more and more of him every day, whether it be his voice, memories, time or physical presence you wanted it all and you didn’t know how much longer you could sit and be happy with these interactions.

You placed your hand flat against the glass and gave it a tap. “Jin?”

“You don’t have to leave yet do you?” His voice seemed disappointed, a return tap against the mirror signaled his hand was pressed against the reverse side, lined up with yours.

“I want to see you?” You whispered; eyes searching the glass and starring fixed where you could only guess he was watching.

“You really don’t?” He sighed, sounding distant like he had stepped away, “once you see me you will leave, they always do.”

“Not me.” There was truth in your words, he could honestly be the most hideous man on the planet and you would still feel this way. “If I left, I think I would miss you too much to stay away”

“I just can’t” his voice seemed distant and all you could feel was the cold glass reflecting your desperate eyes. This was just supposed to be work but you were getting attached to him. It was a dangerous game and you knew you had already lost.

He was witty, his puns were lame but they made you laugh wholeheartedly, the way he spoke genuinely about his interests and his love for food and cooking. The way he spoke about his brothers you could feel how much he cared for them. Everything he gave you made you want more, it was an unquenchable thirst.

“Jin, are you still there?” You were scared it had dawned on you how much you longed for him and you couldn’t imagine a day without coming to the palace for one of your chats.

“I am still here?” He said quietly. You thought to give him some space and you sat on the couch when your phone alerted you to a text from your manager at the bakery. Apparently, some money had gone missing earlier that day during your shift and everyone was called to a meeting in half an hour.

“I really can’t handle this now” You threw your phone onto the next cushion and hung your head in your hands.

“What is wrong?” Seokjin’s voice called and you didn’t move a muscle or even make a sound as you were running through the shift in your head.

“I have to go?” You whispered, standing and picking up your phone. You were close to tears the water that you had always waded in had gotten deeper and you used to be able to come up for air but now you were struggling trying to catch a break so you would have a chance to breathe. “Can, I come back later?”

“Of course, is something wrong?” He asked quietly and you nodded adjusting your handbag and looking back at the mirror.

“Only everything in my entire life” You turned to leave and he spoke three sad words that made your throat constrict.

“Is it me?” You strode back across the room and pressed your hands to the mirror.

“It is many things, but it could never be you” pausing for a moment you breathed. “I am sure you have enough beds in the palace, how about I stay the night and we can talk as long as you want”

“Really” He was excited by the prospect of spending more time with you, “I will get you a pretty room?”

“I want this one so I can be near you”

“I will arrange a bed”

“As long as the bathroom is private, I don’t want anyone looking at me shower”

“I promise that there are no rooms that look into the bathrooms”

“I will be back after this meeting and then it’s you and me for dinner” You pressed a kiss to the glass and ran out of the room and the palace passing Adora and another young man and you threw the jacket at Jay park and Alana and told the two to drive to the bakery.

You jumped out and told them to wait, walking into the so-called meeting you saw the bakery was closed. Besides you, there were only two other people in the shop and they were the couple who owned it.

“Please take a seat,” the wife said looking rather cold and you walked over slowly and hesitantly.

“Where is everyone?” You asked

“We only invited you,” they said and it dawned on you, they believed it was you.

“Ah you think it was me, well isn’t this swell?” you didn’t even bother taking a seat, instead you grabbed your handbag and began searching for your wallet “I get kicked out of my home this morning and now this, how much was taken from the till?”

The two seemed almost frightened by the sheer force with which you spoke. The woman seemed to try to match your fierce demeanor failing as she told you it was a few hundred. You counted out your money and threw it onto the table. Before turning from the shop and walking out. You leaned your head back in. “Oh, your husband has been sneaking off to the storage room with some of the young women who work here. You should leave him, he is a sleaze.”

You were throwing caution to the wind because what else was there to do, sit and cry about it, no you were not. You could sink to the bottom all you wanted and you weren’t going to struggle, because once you hit the ocean floor the only way was up.

The whole way back to the palace Alana and Mr. Park were nagging, “Listen we are running out of time, we need this photo” Mr. Park said as he drove away from your previous workplace.

“Why, Why do you need this photo?” You snapped

“Because he is a beast,” Alana said, causing you to roll your eyes, she was delusional obviously.

“Funny he seems nice enough, nice broad shoulders?” You thought back on Seokjin and your troubles seemed to melt away for a moment.

“Hello, Suryeon?” Adora asked “Right this way, Prince Seokjin has prepared dinner for you if you will follow me”

You were deep in thought about what the reporter had said, something about it didn’t sit right with you but the more you thought about it the more it gave you a headache. You were trying to push it away, so you could concentrate on your evening with Seokjin.

Outside the sitting room, Adora stopped you. “What do you think of the prince?”

“He is beautiful” You smiled “He is charming and his shoulders are so broad and he makes these dumb jokes that make me laugh. I feel like everything is okay when I am with him.”

She grinned, opening her mouth to press for more information when the door opened. And two young men stepped out. “Ah, you must be Miss Suryeon, I am Pddog the butler and this is Prince Taehyung”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, my brother speaks of you often these days” He smiled shaking your hand, “Please grow to love him.”

Almost offended by this statement, there was nothing wrong with Seokjin in your opinion that warranted some sort of plea. “Who says I don’t already?”

“He is waiting,” Pddog said and you pushed open the door heart racing. Only to see that there was a table pressed up to the mirror. The laugh that escaped you was a humorless one, figures he wouldn’t really be eating with you.

Dinner was pleasant you almost choked at one point from laughter. After a sweet dessert, Seokjin told you to open the small box on the bed. Looking inside you saw there was a bath bomb, a pink leaf shape with the scent of coconut.

“I thought we could use bath bombs together,” cheeks turning a bright red he laughed, “we would be in two different bathrooms but perhaps we could message or call and relax together.”

“Of course, that sounds lovely.” You were given directions to the guest bathroom and you were told everything was in there for you, you nodded scooping up some clothes and heading to the bathroom.

You sat on the side of the tub amusedly watching the bath bomb fizz, before submerging yourself into the warm water. You took your phone and rang Seokjin placing your phone in a little holder so it wouldn’t fall into the water.

“Hello?” He answered

“Hello” you giggled “This bath is huge”

“Or, are you just small?”

“There was no need to attack me like that”

“I am sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you”

“Jin, it is a joke”

“Oh, okay, I’m sorry.” He spoke a little distantly “I saw my brother on the way here and he seems to like you, you must truly be an angel. My brother rarely trusts anyone with me.”

“I am honored he seems to approve of me” You heard a noise that sounded like a packet. “Are you eating chips in the bath?”

“No, I just opened a face mask?” His laugh was beautiful and loud echoing just right around the bathroom. “They will be on the left, you can use one as well if you like”

You were dressed and you entered back into the room your hair mostly dry. You curled up into the blankets and soft pillows and spoke with Seokjin until you couldn’t keep your eyes open any longer. You kept thinking back to what Mr. Park had said.

“Listen, I need this photo as much as you need the money. Okay, we all got a past, I wasn’t always an old cynical guy. I was humiliated as a young reporter. I was shunned and my pictures were torn apart in front of me. No one believed the apprentice and no one would listen if you said the king got into a car accident that orphaned a little girl. I was there I had the pictures. Now I won’t let those royals get away with anything.”

It was snowing and there were kids slightly older than you, they were teasing you.

Your parents were smiling at you from the front seat of the car, you remember the red light and the stopped taking a moment to turn and ask you if you wanted a hot chocolate.

They through your pig plush toy over the fence.

Tires could be heard screeching in the background and the shattering of glass.

You were crying, cold, upset, and in pain.

“You dropped this?” His voice echoed as did the glass breaking. “I’m Jin”

He was fading away, and all you could hear was crying. As his image faded you saw his face with a pig nose.

You jolted awake and held your head in your hands.

“Are you okay?” Seokjin’s voice called and you felt your body relaxing “You were crying, I thought you might have been hurt”

“I am sorry I woke you, I just had a bad dream”

“Would you like to tell me about it?”

“I think I remember how my parents died, I think it might have been a car accident”

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liaromancewriter · 4 years ago

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Happy Ever After: Chapter 16

It was late when Alana drove back to the city. Mimi had insisted she stay for dinner and spend the night. Alana said yes to dinner, but no to staying over. She had a meeting at the bank tomorrow, but more importantly, it would just be strange knowing that Tommy and Mimi were sleeping together down the hall.

Over dinner she had an opportunity to see them interacting and Alana was surprised when Mimi blushed after some gentle teasing from Tommy. Mimi, who loved to shock people with her colorful past and former lovers, was actually blushing.

Gentle was the word, decided Alana, that best described Tommy. He was a giant of a man with a gentle voice, unprepossessing demeanor, and a quiet way of doing things. He did the dishes while she and Mimi had put away the leftovers and set-up coffee in the living room. He stepped out to give them privacy, and for a smoke according to Mimi.

"I've told him I don't mind if he wants to smoke his pipe in the house," Mimi told her. "But the man is stubborn and insists on going outside every time."

Alana thought it was sweet the way Tommy doted on Mimi, and also the way Mimi watched him when he came into the room. It was clear this wasn't a new relationship, but Alana didn't think it was her place to ask.

She pulled into the underground garage of her building, grabbed her tote and overnight bag from the trunk and took the elevator up. She found a sticky note on her door that said, "24 cc choc, 15c" and took that inside with the rest of her things. She called down to her neighbor in 15C, Shawna, who'd left the message.

"It's for Thursday," Shawna said as Alana asked her when the two dozen chocolate cupcakes were needed. "Billy's school is having a bake sale and you know I can't bake to save my life."

Alana laughed at the exaggeration but knew from experience that Shawna wasn't too far from the truth. A firm believer in being able to do anything by actually trying, Alana had given Shawna some basic baking lessons. Shawna had messed up the simplest recipe in the book, pound cake, and try as she might she just couldn't get it. When it came to baking, Shawna was better off buying or having Alana make it. An arrangement that worked well for both of them.

Alana rang off with a promise to have the cupcakes ready by Wednesday night. She called Matt next and left him a voicemail saying she was back and that all was okay. It looked like she would finally have a quiet night at home. She could catch up on pending chores and do some research for the event next month.

First, she took a shower, and then dressed in a tee shirt and boxers she stretched out on the carpet with her laptop. She updated her Facebook status, answered her flagged emails, bought a snazzy pair of blue boots from Amazon and saved some recipes in her documents that she could play around with later. There was an interesting one for petit fours that might be worth deconstructing.

Soon she was knee deep in research on Austrian customs and Viennese desserts. The Punschkrapfen was a variation of petit fours and she wondered how she could switch it up. She had been asked to prepare a wedding cake that was representative of modern Vienna, not just traditional. Alana wanted to bring together modern and old, incorporating ingredients traditionally found in Viennese desserts with their French counterparts. Her brain was a processing a recipe of the Dobos Torte she'd found on a French website when her phone rang. She answered without checking caller ID and realized she had spoken in French when Matt responded in kind.

"Hey," she said switching to English. "Where are you? You sound tired."

"I'm at the First Class lounge at JFK waiting for my flight to London to be called. There was a problem in our UK office. Tony and I are flying there tonight for a meeting with the division head tomorrow."

"When are you back?"

"Hopefully in a couple of days, but I'll let you know my ETA."

"Is this the Ronan thing?" She bookmarked the page to view later.

"How do you know about that?" he asked surprised.

"I heard you talking on the phone when we were flying back from LA."

"Yeah, it's the Ronan thing."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really. It's complicated and I want to put it aside for a while. Tell me, what are you up to?"

"Just catching up on stuff online, doing research on Viennese cuisine."

"Planning a trip?"

"Next month. I'm commissioned for a wedding party just outside Vienna. Minor title. Second marriage for both, but they're going all out." She briefly explained who it was and what she was thinking. She didn't have a lot of details, but the idea was beginning to formulate in her mind.

"Do you think you'll have time to take these commissions once the shop opens?"

It was a valid question that she'd asked herself before. It wasn't that the dessert shop was an afterthought. It was a place to test her creations and provide an exclusive Parisian Patisserie experience in Manhattan. But she loved being able to travel and prepare one-off creations. Have whisk will travel, she thought. It was certainly more challenging than doing the same thing day in day out, which is what she'd had at the restaurant.

"I still have to work out the logistics, but I think so."

She heard him answer a question someone posed in the background and then he was back. "So, Mimi's okay?"

"Yes." Alana placed the laptop on the coffee table and gave Matt her complete attention. "You're never going to believe what happened."

Alana spent the next ten minutes telling him about Tommy and Mimi, the whole situation including her impressions. Long used to having Mimi to herself, needless to say Alana was a bit anxious. Talking to Matt who knew exactly how close she and Mimi were, she could voice her concerns and not feel like she was being judgmental. Matt listened without interrupting and then made appropriate comments, playing devil's advocate to her logic, and helping her sort out her thoughts.

"I don't think it's my place to ask his intentions, you know," said Alana. "I mean it's not like those two crazy kids are getting any younger."

"Still, I can't quite picture Mimi with a man. I always saw her as the dragon at the gate, guarding her princess from teenage rebels. Do dragons have boyfriends?"

"Boyfriend?" she mused. "My grandmother has a boyfriend."

"Lover?" he said, trying out the word.

"Stop, I beg you. Now I have an image in my mind that I'd rather not have."

"Then I'll give you a better one," his voice dropped an octave, gruff like it got after they made love. "What're you wearing?"

Alana looked at the tee and boxers and replied, "A red silk slip. It skims down to rest an inch below my crotch. And Matt? There's nothing in the back worth mentioning."

"Are you trying to kill me?"

"That's just a side benefit. When I put it on tonight, I thought about you and how I couldn't wait for you to take it off, inch by inch."

"Now you're just being cruel."

She laughed and then proceeded to tell him just where he could touch her, if only he'd been there instead of flying to London. Given he was in a public place, he gave as good as he got. The sexual banter had the effect of driving him crazy, but now she was on edge and desperate for his touch. She felt flushed and fanned herself with a magazine, glad he couldn't see her. If he knew the effect he had on her, he would be even more impossible to live with.

They called his flight then and she was loathed to have him leave. She said, "Don't go," when she really wanted to say, "Hurry back."

"You might miss me in the meantime," he cut in before she could say anything else.

"I'll take that under advisement."

"You do that," before hanging up.

She didn't need to think about it. She already missed him.

-----

The flowers were delivered the next morning after breakfast. Alana wondered if Matt had gotten his EA out of bed in the middle of night to order them or if he'd waited until a decent hour. She signed the delivery slip and carried the box inside. She opened the white florist box to find two dozen red roses nestled on a bed of Baby's Breath. She took one rose and inhaled its fragrant scent. She wondered if the florist had been out of pink roses, which were her favorite, as opposed to red ones which she had never really liked. Matt knew she detested them so why did he send her these?

She found the card tucked away inside and felt like a fool when she realized that Matt hadn't sent the flowers, Gavin Landry had.

Hoping you'll join our food family soon. Gavin.

She bent the card in her hand as she thought about what this meant. Red roses were not traditional for business relationships. Gavin was sending her a message that he considered the 'If I'm ever in New York' invitation open. She frowned at the roses and the card.

This could be trouble.

-----

Chapter 17

Return to Masterlist

#romance #happy ever after #original work #childhood sweethearts #hamptons #jetsetter

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ittasteslikeiron · 5 years ago

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Part One: Hypermnestra

Chapter 1

“Still falling

Breathless and on again

Inside today

Beside me today”

-Mazzy Star, ‘Into Dust’

The sharp, salt-scented air bit at Will’s face and cut into his lungs with cold, serrated claws. The pain was the least of his worries, however. A heavy sigh snuck passed his lips in a combination of fatigue, contentment, and guilt. He had made up his mind the moment he leaned his head against the doctor’s chest, eyes fixed on the churning waves below the cliff, reflecting the darkness hidden beneath them. His heart twisted painfully in his chest when he felt Hannibal gently move his head closer to Will’s. Will curled his fingers around Hannibal’s shirt, ignoring the damp patches even as they clung to his touch. The blood of The Dragon still plastered their skin and clothes, clouding the air with the dense smell of metal.

The profiler’s mind was repeating back Dr. Du Maurier's words without mercy. “Can’t live with him, can’t live without him,” she had mused, her expression revealing how much she believed she understood. Just the thought of her vacantly smug expression filled his stomach with lead. She thought she knew everything; everything about Hannibal, about Will. Bedelia Du Maurier would never completely comprehend the deadly dance the two killers were trapped in, but she did manage to end up right when the dances concluded.

Hannibal was infatuated with Will in a way he hadn’t been with anyone before. His actions over the many years that he and Will had known each other were more than proof of that. So why had Will been so blind? He seemed to have been drawn to Hannibal despite never deliberately taking a step down the path he now stood at the end of. Maybe he had known, at least to a degree, that his friend’s feelings towards him had been more than conventional. The crooked scar across his abdomen could tell him that. It was as if every sign and hint had been completely obscured until then… or maybe Will had purposely obscured them.

He had let Hannibal go where no one else could step foot; Hannibal was allowed to look behind the curtain, to see Will’s mind without any barriers. Did Will know then?

He realized Hannibal’s true nature while behind bars and yet his only issue was that the killer used him as a scapegoat, not that the killer had killed. Did he know then?

He dined at Hannibal’s table under the guise of the person Hannibal clearly wanted him to be. Did he know then?

Of course, these instances don’t really clue to Hannibal being in love. Will had been the one making questionable decisions in those situations. Those decisions indicated a certain… fondness on his end. This realization made Will pause, swallowing thickly. Was Will- Did he… share Hannibal’s sentiment? Part of him was saying that was obvious. Trips to Europe and certain corpses lying mere feet from him just then gave that away completely.

But of course, that made this so much harder to do. A stab of guilt pierced his heart and he bit down on his tongue to quiet his discomfort. He relaxed in the psychiatrist's arms, fighting back a sob when he felt Hannibal do the same. He took a deep breath and tipped them both off of the cliff. All it took was a gentle redistribution of his weight and they were suspended over the sea, plummeting at a concerning speed. Hannibal didn’t say anything, nor did he fight back. His arms remained wrapped around Will, as if to say that he understood. The two men just held each other tighter and Will braced himself before they hit the water.

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The gravel of the driveway crunched beneath Jack’s feet as he approached the house. The sound of it seemed to be replaced by words that had been spoken to him many years ago. Waves of conversations with Alana, Katz, Hannibal, and even Will himself were filling the empty spaces of his skull. He knew, He knew that something was off with Will when he left. There was something in the man’s eyes that gave away his guilt, but Jack had said nothing. Jack had assumed he was overthinking. He pulled Will from a happy life with a happy family only to throw him back into the viper pit that was interacting with Hannibal Lecter. Whatever he was about to find would be his own fault, wouldn’t it?

His thoughts were interrupted by an officer from the local department stepping forward to show him to the front of the house. Once he had stepped inside, an unnamed forensic called for Jimmy Price and Brian Zeller to come back inside the house. They didn’t greet Jack with their usual mild and cheery demeanors. Jimmy’s eyes hadn’t left his feet and Zeller seemed to find a spot on the wall more captivating than the task at hand.

“So,” Jack prompted, his voice leaving his throat in a rougher state than he intended. He cleared his throat before he continued, “what’s the damage?”

Jimmy grimaced and looked away, leaving Zeller to do the introductions.

“Well… it might be easier to explain if we do a walk through,” Zeller offered reluctantly, knowing Jack would take the situation hard. He headed towards a bedroom to their right with Jack and Jimmy in tow. He gestured vaguely to the on suite bathroom and the folded jumpsuit on the bed as he repeated his and Jimmy’s findings. “We can assume that Hannibal showered and changed, Will did too if you look into the guest bedroom across the hall. Then they had dinner,” he headed out into the dining room and pointed towards the kitchen, “not sure what… or who… they had just yet.” There was an uncomfortable silence after Zeller stopped talking. It was quite obvious that everyone was desperately trying not to think of the man they considered a friend eating what used to be a person with the man that killed their coworker… the man that had murdered the ever-witty Beverly Katz.

Since Jimmy could handle awkward silence the worst out of the three of them, he decided to continue where Zeller left off. “They were about to have a glass of wine,” he nodded in the direction of the shattered glass that littered the floor, “but a surprise visitor interrupted them.” He stepped through one of the broken windows and stood next to Francis Dolarhyde’s body. “There was a fight, Dolarhyde dropped here, and we don’t know where they are now.”

“Well,” Zeller interjected, “we know where they went…” He pointed to the trail of blood that led to the cliff face. “We have no way of knowing if they’re alive or not.”

Jimmy shrugged and said, “we can only guess the extent of their injuries, but there’s a chance they would have survived the fall.”

“Not a big chance,” Zeller scoffed, crossing his arms.

“It’s a sizable chance!”

“Twenty percent is not ‘sizable’...”

“Twenty-eight percent, actually, and-”

“Enough!” Jack’s booming voice echoed off of the pavement and the side of the house. “If there’s a chance they lived, there’s a chance they’ll take more lives. Tell me something that’ll actually help me find them.”

Jimmy and Zeller fell silent, their expressions both exuding a sense of overall unease. They didn’t have anything that could help find Hannibal or Will, but they did have a video camera. Once they get whatever footage was left on there, maybe something will surface. This information didn’t make Jack any happier, but it sure didn’t fill him with more dread so he took it as a positive.

He excused himself from the group, instructing them to keep working, and headed back to the front of the house. The gravel was poking up against his soles enough that he could almost feel it through his shoes. Maybe he just needed new shoes… The pair he was wearing was from back before Bella-

He stopped that thought from getting any further. It still pained him to think of Bella, and he couldn’t handle any more guilt just then. Of course, knowing who he had to call, he was sure he wasn’t escaping any of the guilt he deserved. He took a moment to psyche himself up for what would most likely be the lecture of a lifetime.

Dr. Alana Bloom was the first person, other than Jack Crawford, to know about Hannibal’s initial escape from the transport vehicle. She promptly fled to an undisclosed location, her wife and son at her side. She had a strong proclivity to wariness, especially when it came to Hannibal Lecter… and Will Graham. Dr. Bloom knew she was living on borrowed time and she wasn’t interested in returning that time at any point in the near- or far- future.

Because of this, it was perfectly understandable for her outrage to be at such a velocity as it was when Jack Crawford called. Of course, she tried to be courteous and remain calm.

“Jack,” She said once she had answered his call. Her voice was dripping with faux politeness. “Please, tell me you’ve called to let me know that my family and I fled our home for no reason and that you have Hannibal Lecter in custody.”

Jack Crawford’s silence was the first of many things to set her rage in motion. From just a second of hesitation, she already knew what Jack was about to inform her of. The man cleared his throat before finally admitting to what Alana suspected.

“No, Alana, that’s not why I’ve called. We’ve recovered Dolarhyde’s body at a cliff-side house that Hannibal owned. We don’t know where Will and Han-”

“You know for sure that Will was with him?”

“... yes, we’re certain.”

“How do you know?”

“Clothes, a meal set for two, a body with evidence of at least two attackers… I could go on,” he sighed, listing off the things he learned mere minutes ago as if he was an expert on them.

“Clothes? What do you mean clothes?”

“I mean, both Hannibal and Will changed into clothing that was stored at the house and left their old clothes behind.”

Alana fell silent, biting her tongue to keep herself from falling back into ‘I-told-you-so’s. At that moment, Morgan ran into the room, shrieking excitedly. Margot wasn’t far behind him, a large grin on her face. She scooped up the small boy in her arms, teasing him with a cheerful, “I got you!”

Crawford fell silent as well, hearing the sounds of Alana’s family interrupting. He assumed Alana wasn’t interested in discussing these topics in front of her son. For once in his life, Jack was right. Alana’s expression softened and she smiled bittersweetly in the direction of Margot and Morgan. Margot paused to give her a concerned nod and carried their son back to wherever he had escaped from. Once the noises of childhood innocence had faded into the background, she returned her attention to Jack and his disappointing news.

“Alana, I understand that you’re upset and I-”

“Upset? Jack, upset doesn’t even begin to cover it,” She snapped harshly. “From the beginning of this whole ordeal, from the first time you looped Will into your world, I told you it was a bad idea. I told you!”

“You’re the one that suggested Dr. Lecter in the first place!”

“Right, it’s completely my fault he wasn’t keen on people knowing he was a goddamn cannibal…”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.”

“Then what do you mean, Jack? I’ll take the blame for not being a fucking psychic but you are the reason Will was able to get as close to Hannibal as he did. Hannibal wouldn’t have been given the opportunity to escape yesterday if you could have had the common sense to say no to Will’s plan, especially knowing the nature of his and Hannibal’s relationship!” Alana’s tone had fallen into a bitter exasperation. Jack didn’t see merit in replying in that moment; he didn’t know what to say. After a few moments of Alana seething silently, he finally spoke up.

“Alana, I’m sorry I-”

“Great, Jack, I’m glad you’re humble enough to apologize,” She mused sarcastically. “Call me back when you’ve actually caught them, alright?”

Before Crawford could even recollect himself, the monotonous sound of the dial tone was droning in his ear. He sighed, defeated and regretful, before pulling up the next contact on his phone. Unfortunately, his calls would never be answered and he wouldn’t see who he was trying to contact until their corpse was in front of him.

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Five hours earlier, Will’s eyelids snapped apart and he leaned over, his esophagus burning as salt water was harshly pushed out of his lungs. He coughed, gently holding his throat, and tried to get his bearings. Hannibal Lecter was kneeling at his side, having just resuscitated the previously-lifeless ex-criminal profiler. Once his coughing fit had passed, Will laid back down against the chilled sand. His gaze remained linked with Hannibal’s, only breaking once Will let his eyes fall closed as he took a deep breath.

“You tried to take my life,” Hannibal’s voice broke the silence, sounding rough and exhausted. “I believe that was… the fourth attempt?”

Will remained silent. He knew that, deep down, he hadn’t wanted Hannibal to die. The only life he meant to take was his own. But, clearly, that plan had failed.

“If I didn’t know any better,” the doctor continued, amused, “I’d suspect you don’t actually find me interesting”

A chuckle forced itself past Will’s lips, despite his best efforts, and he finally opened his eyes again. His gaze was met with the sight of Hannibal smiling gently and good-naturedly.

As he sat up he croaked a feeble assurance, “Believe me, doctor, I find nothing more interesting than I find you.”

“Not to be redundant, Will, but our soaked clothes suggest otherwise…”

“You being interesting does not mean you’re immune to attempts on your life, Hannibal,” Will replied in a lighthearted tone. “Besides, doesn’t it keep you entertained?”

Hannibal, his face reflecting Will’s sly demeanor, opened his mouth to reply but he was interrupted by approaching footsteps. His gaze snapped to the source of the noise, tensing as he did so. However, his shoulders quickly relaxed and his expression softened.

“Chiyoh,” He hummed, pleased. “I had expected you sooner.”

The woman glanced at Will, who had whipped around the second he had heard her approach as well, and coldly replied, “The car is ready.”

Will turned his attention back to Hannibal, confusion and suspicion creeping onto his features. He was looking for an explanation but his companion gave him none. Hannibal merely thanked Chiyoh and rose to his feet. She began to walk away, headed in the direction Will assumed ‘the car’ she had mentioned was in. When Will focused on Hannibal again, the doctor’s hand was extended towards Will. He took it without a second thought, groaning as Hannibal tugged him to his feet. Due to how injured the two of them were, they found it necessary to lean against one another as they followed after Chiyoh.

The gunman tugged the back door open and moved to the driver’s seat, her movements eerily fluid as usual. Will let his attention retreat into his mind and focus on his thoughts. Unfortunately, his thoughts were about as bleak as the tumbling sea Hannibal had dragged him from, only filled with a lot more regret and confusion. He regretted… well, that list was far too long to go over then. For the time being, he tried to focus on his most recent regrets. He glanced at the man sitting next to him. Hannibal seemed to be completely consumed by observing the passing pine trees outside his window.

Will turned to look outside his own window and fell back into his thoughts. He… had most definitely missed Hannibal. He missed the evening dinners preceded by pseudo-therapy sessions in the doctor’s home office. He missed the subtle jokes they had shared and the complete understanding of one another. But the realization of how much Will had missed Hannibal didn’t stop him from regretting going with him. After Europe and nearly losing his face, he had focused on healing himself; repairing his morality over the three years he hadn’t seen Hannibal. He had fallen back into old, malicious habits within just a day of being around the man again.

Will’s train of thought made its way to Molly and his jaw clenched. He loved Molly, he really did. But what he had become, especially now, wasn’t something that should be around Molly. He had a feeling she would get hurt if he continued living the way he had before the appearance of the red dragon. After all, she was currently lying in a hospital because of Will and the work he did. It would be painful to wake up every morning without her by his side. He wouldn’t be making breakfast with her in the morning or joking about their dogs’ anatomy. She wouldn’t be there to help him back into reality by drying his tears when he woke from the nightmares. His heart twinged at that realization and he closed his eyes, hoping to block out the pain.

Hannibal’s thoughts weren’t nearly as conflicted as Will’s. In fact, they were quite nearly the opposite. Hannibal had officially decided that the three years of incarceration he endured were completely worth it. He watched the elegant pine trees flicker by and he smiled to himself. Killing Francis Dolarhyde with Will was… ineffable. He started to understand why people were so entranced by religion; by their idea of God. If Will were a deity, Hannibal wouldn’t hesitate to worship him. The sight of Will, face painted in his own blood and the hands of death reflected in his eyes, was the most sacred image he had seen in his entire life. It had reminded him of the first time he had taken a life for a reason beyond vengeance; it reminded him of the power that had awakened in him. He saw that power in Will’s eyes on the day that Garrett Jacob Hobbs died in his own kitchen. He saw it when he came home to find a corpse on his table and a bloody-knuckled Will standing beside it. It was in Will at the Verger estate and it was in Will when he first visited Hannibal from behind the glass. Each time he was granted a glimpse of that look, that realization, in Will, it had grown stronger. Now it was ready to finally be set free.

Within thirty minutes, Chiyoh had pulled the car up to a secluded cabin and turned the engine off. Without a word, she stepped out of the car. Hannibal and Will moved to leave the vehicle as well, but they paused when they realized that their hands were still linked together from the moment Hannibal had helped Will to his feet on the beach. The two men stared down at their entwined fingers for a moment, Will with an expression of puzzled embarrassment and Hannibal appearing curious and pleased. Once Will and Hannibal brought their gazes up to one another, Will hastily let go of his companion’s hand and stepped out of the car. Hannibal remained inside the vehicle for a moment afterward, his gaze cast downwards and a flicker of disappointment crossing his features.

Once he had finally left the vehicle, he stood on the front deck of the cabin with Chiyoh while Will headed inside. Once he was certain Will was out of ear shot, he turned his head slowly to look at her. Her gaze remained focused on the horizon, scanning the trees with her usual melancholy expression. A songbird cried out from the treetops, catching Hannibal’s attention.

“I’ve done all I can for you, Hannibal,” Chiyoh murmured softly, still looking out at the forest around them. “This is the last time I will help you.” The gentleness of her voice held an obscure, sinister tone to it. Hannibal raised his brow and turned to her once more, a surprised smile on his face.

“Where will you go, now that you’re free?”

“I will never be free,” she sighed, shaking her head. “Memories and patterns will still dance in my head. But I can free myself in the ways Will Graham cannot.”

“You do not find solace in the power one has when they take a life. You only ever kill when you see it as absolutely necessary,” he hummed, his smile softening. “You never did change quite as much as any other, Chiyoh. You’ve stayed true to your nature; you didn’t adapt it despite your hardship.”

Chiyoh neglected to reply, choosing instead to stare at her feet. “By hardship, you mean yourself, don’t you?” She hummed, more of a correction than a question.

“I’d wish you luck on your path to freedom if I wasn’t confident you’ll be fine without it,” he chuckled. “Your resiliency is astonishingly strong.”

“Goodbye, Hannibal.” She looked at him, conflicting expressions twisting her features, for a moment longer. Hannibal nodded once and she stepped off of the porch and headed into the line of trees. Hannibal watched her silhouette disappear until she was completely obscured by the forest and it’s tangled arms. He took one last deep breath of the sharp, pine-filled air.

By the time Hannibal entered the cabin, Will had explored the first room quite thoroughly, taking note of every detail. To the left of the door was a comfortable living area, complete with a large and rustic stone fireplace nestled into the far corner. The furniture was either upholstered with a dark, nearly black, brown leather or it was composed of polished wood of the same hue. Will had walked over to the fireplace, sliding a finger across the mantle and smiling at the thin layer of dust resting there. He almost felt triumphant that for once Hannibal wasn’t perfectly maintaining something he owned.

The mantle had various framed pictures and wood carvings on it, each of which caught Will’s eye. They were pictures of lakes and carvings of wolves. His heart grew lighter when he realized why Hannibal had decorated so very out of character. Hannibal had tried to create some semblance of Will’s home within his extravagant aesthetics.

Above the fireplace, a watercolor painting of a human heart, submerged in water and suspended on a fish hook, was hung in a dark frame. It was beautiful, though morbidly so. Could Will have expected anything different from the Chesapeake Ripper? He smiled fondly, amused, and sat down on the sofa.

He turned his head to observe the right half of the room, which had been consumed by a kitchen and dining area. It was reminiscent of Hannibal’s home and for a moment it reminded Will of a time he’d prefer to forget. The scar across his stomach throbbed and he swallowed thickly. Luckily, that moment had been interrupted by Hannibal’s entrance.

The doctor stayed motionless at the door, just watching Will with seemingly no intention of moving. Will had stood up when he heard the door and was now practically a mirror image of Hannibal. They observed each other with a silent sense of contentment and awe. So much had changed in the past few hours, and the minds of the two men were still trying to catch up.

As Will’s exhaustion started to wear off, the dull throbbing of his wounds became more apparent. His discomfort must have shown because Hannibal’s brows drew together in concern. Will looked down at his bloodied hands and asked, “you don’t happen to have a first aid kit, do you?” An amused grin tugged at his lips despite the gaping wound in his cheek.

“There is a suture kit below the sink,” Hannibal replied, almost absentmindedly.

Will nodded sharply and headed to the kitchen. He opened the dark cabinet below the sink, ducking his head to look inside. He crouched down to retrieve the cabinet’s only contents, a tin box and a bottle of clear liquid that Will assumes was some form of rubbing alcohol. Hannibal had followed him into the kitchen area, washing his hands at the sink once Will had stepped away from it.

“Set those on the table, please,” he instructed with a steady and seemingly cheerful tone. Will obliged and took a seat, watching Hannibal finish washing his hands. The doctor had smiled more in the past two days than he had nearly the entire time Will had known him. It was… endearing? Will wasn’t sure why exactly, but it certainly made Will smile nearly just as often. Hannibal’s good mood seemed contagious.

The doctor walked over to the table and opened up the tin box, laying out suturing tools and supplies in an organized manner. He gestured vaguely towards the table and hummed, “if you wouldn’t mind, Will?”

“You want me to lay on the table?” Will almost laughed as a mocking expression of fake severity settled onto his face. “You aren’t going to try to eat me again, are you, because I thought we were passed that…”

Hannibal chuckled and shook his head. He grinned at the younger man and hummed, “No, it just would make tying sutures easier if you were laying on a table.”

Will nodded, a silent ‘I know, I know,’ being spoken through his expression. He sat on the edge of the table before turning and laying on his back, head just a few inches from the supplies Hannibal had set out. Hannibal gently tucked a rolled dish towel beneath Will’s skull to support it. He was closing his eyes, listening to the ambient sounds of the forest clouding the noise of Hannibal opening up the rubbing alcohol and starting to clean Will’s cheek.

The younger man sucked in a sharp breath between his now-clenched teeth. He opened his eyes again and looked up at Hannibal, watching his expressions change as his level of focus varied. The doctor then picked up a pair of tweezers and removed any foreign material from the wound, causing more irritation as the debris was pulled through damaged tissue.

He moved on, preparing the remaining tools in the kit to be able to sew up Will’s cheek. Hannibal paused before pushing the needle through Will’s flesh, first warning him of the amount of pain this would most likely cause. Of course, warning someone won’t make it hurt less so Will still flinched and hissed a few expletives.

“If you stay still, this will be much easier”

“Oh my god, you’re right,” Will said, sarcasm dripping from his tone. “Why didn’t I think of that!”

Hannibal’s movements stilled and he shot a displeased and unimpressed glare at Will before muttering, “well, there’s no need to be rude…”

“I thought you said you weren’t going to eat me,” Will joked. “Are you saying the whole laying-on-the-table thing really isn’t for making stitches easier?”

The struggle of suppressing his chuckle showed quite clearly on Hannibal’s face. He had to stop for a moment, his head turning to the side and his eyes closing, before his composure was completely regained. He finished tying Will’s sutures without another word, still trying to hide how amusing he had found his companion’s antics.

Will grinned up at Hannibal triumphantly and they remained frozen in the high of amusement and contentment for a moment longer. Will’s expression softened as he became distracted by the way the sunlight was illuminating Hannibal’s irises. His mind began to wander, studying the components of Hannibal’s eyes; from their biological makeup to why Hannibal learned to hide his emotions behind them. He didn’t realize he had spaced off until Hannibal had said his names a couple times, making him blink and shake his head back and forth.

“Sorry, I- what were you saying?”

“Your shoulder, Will,” Hannibal answered softly. “You’ll need to remove your shirt for me to be able to work freely.”

“Right, right,” Will hummed in reply and sat up, trying to remove his shirt without making the stab wound hurt too much. Why was he always getting hurt in the shoulder? A rotator cuff injury, Jack shooting him, then Chiyoh shooting him, and this time getting stabbed… at least it wasn’t just the one shoulder, though. He probably would have lost more mobility if some of the wounds hadn’t been received by his opposite shoulder.

As he pulled his shirt away from his wound, he noticed that it peeled away rather than simply sliding off of him. Will’s partially-dried blood had glued the shirt to his skin. It probably would have been more disgusting to him if his years assisting the FBI hadn’t utterly desensitized him. After seeing mushrooms growing from the skin of corpses, he wasn’t sure he’d ever find anything nearly as disgusting.

Hannibal worked considerably slower this time, his touch seemingly lingering more often than before. Will was unsure of whether it was because Hannibal’s own wounds were starting to exhaust him or if... Either way, it didn’t matter. He had never been uncomfortable with physical contact from Hannibal. Which, now that he was thinking about it, was almost odd.

Will had always felt an aversion to being touched since he was fairly young. It had always felt so overwhelming, especially when coupled with his tendency to get lost in the details of his surroundings and the intensity of his empathy.

The final suture being tied pulled him away from his train of thought and back to reality. Hannibal was sanitizing the supplies and laying them back out in the organized manner he had before.

“This will be,” Hannibal paused, trying to choose the right words to say, “challenging, but I have confidence in your abilities, Will.”

Will raised an eyebrow and an expression of confused intrigue settled onto his features. Hannibal gestured for Will to get off of the table, which Will did, before taking his place and rolling up the hem of his shirt to expose the gunshot on his stomach. Will’s face fell.

“Hannibal, I don’t think I can-“

“There’s no internal bleeding as I am still fully conscious,” Hannibal interrupted in a reassuring tone. “All that I need you to do is make sure the wound is sterilized and bandaged. It’s a relatively small wound, you will do fine.”

“But-”

Hannibal reached out and grabbed Will’s hand. He tugged him closer and rested his free hand on the uninjured side of Will’s face. Will’s words died in his throat and he merely stared at Hannibal, brows twisted into a concerned and anxious expression. Hannibal continued reassuring him, softly saying, “My dear boy, you’ve no reason to worry. If it helps, this isn’t going to be a permanent solution to our wounds.”

Will swallowed thickly and looked down at his feet, nodding slowly. Hannibal’s hands drew away after tentatively brushing a stray curl from Will’s forehead. Will rolled up his sleeves and made quick work of washing his hands. He returned to the table and gently picked up the rubbing alcohol, turning it in his hand. Will’s eyes lifted from the label to meet Hannibal’s.

“You sure you trust me to do this?”

“I trust you with my life, William.”

“Bad move on your part,” he mumbled.

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>> Chapter 2<<

#nbc hannibal #hannibal #hannibal lecter #hannigram #murder husbands #will graham #alana bloom #margot verger #jack crawford #jimmy price #brian zeller #francis dolarhyde #the red dragon #bryan fuller #fanfic

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aparticularbandit · 5 years ago

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okay - a couple of new polls (because it's been a few months and i like checking in on y'all every now and again)--

this poll wants to know which project you are most interested in - of the projects i've already started posting and of the ones i haven't posted but have started writing. it's more streamlined, so it doesn't include everything's coming up rose's - it mostly concerns itself with current started projects and projects i know y'all wanted. this gives me a slightly clearer direction of what projects to focus on in terms of backlog.

this poll asks which upcoming project you are most interested in - this is stuff i haven't started posting but (in most but not all cases) have started writing. this gives me a slightly clearer direction of what projects most interest you and what you would like to see in terms of new stuff.

under the cut, you'll find a more detailed description of the projects mentioned in the polls.

i would appreciate it if you vote in both polls, as they both do slightly different things. most of the time when i do general what do you want to see polls, they are open so that you can click on as many options as you want, but for these in particular, i do want it specified to the one you are most interested in seeing.

If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home Now is an AU inspired by Luisa’s time at the mental institution after having the Carla breakdown during her residency. Rose is very much also there, as are characters from WFRR and Hannibal, but it primarily focuses on Luisa and her mental health and how Rose, in this incarnation, affects that.

Luisa and the Fox is a fairy tale AU inspired by the idea of the kumiho. In it, Luisa finds herself being watched over by the titular fox while also trying to take her revenge on the fox who killed her mother and father.

A Christmas at Longbourne is a Hallmark Christmas movie AU. After her yodeling girlfriend breaks up with her, Rose finds herself without her room at her hotel and is sent up to the otherwise empty hotel in Longbourne, where she spends most of her time with Luisa, the hotel owner. There are also other complications, such as hotel repercussions and Luisa’s not girlfriend, Allison.

Emilia Antonia is a university prof/prof AU. Luisa, the titular Emilia Antonia, is hired by a university for the prestige that comes with hiring her. But Luisa keeps her anonymity and keeps encountering another new professor, Rose Ruvelle, who is determined to figure out just who Emilia Antonia is.

Sin Rostro is a 1920′s AU. Luisa Alver submits herself to the mob boss Sin Rostro to pay off her younger brother (Rafael Solano)’s debt and ends up working at The Marbella, an escort service / brothel run by Petra Andel, where she meets Rose Ruvelle, Sin Rostro’s personal favorite. Meanwhile, Rafael is still trying to work with the police to capture the mob boss who killed their father.

Soulmate Timer AU is what it says on the tin. It is a collection of one-shots, the first featuring Rose and Luisa and when their timers went off, the second of which focuses on Jane Villanueva and when her timer goes off quite unexpectedly.

Dreamers Often Lie is another soulmate AU that combines three soulmate tropes: body-swapping with your soulmate for a minute at midnight on New Year’s after your (redacted) birthday; being able to enter the dreams of your soulmate whenever you desire after that body-swap; and being able to see your roommate as through a mirror when looking into the reflections on bubbles.

Where The Lightning Strikes The Sea is an HP AU. Intended to stretch seven books during the same time period as the original series, Clara Ruvelle, Luisa Alver, and Janet Sparks deal with various events and characters both from the original series and unique to their story as they go through their seven years at Hogwarts. The first book focuses on their first year at Hogwarts (their sorting, how they meet, the interactions with their families, etc.) and sets up for future installments in the series.

Crossovers are exactly as mentioned in the poll. This includes the Pokemon AU, the ODAAT fic (Heart in Motion), the Tick fic(s) (Aftershocks), and other crossovers I may have mentioned (like the epic superhero crossover I detail more below).

Falling is a post-season 5, primarily canon compliant fic, which means, as far as I know at this point, Rose is dead. Luisa is asked by her old therapist, Alana Bloom, who is now retired, to come visit her and her significant other, Margot Verger, in a way that is mutually beneficial to both of them. This fic deals primarily with Luisa processing Rose’s death and what that means and who Rose is to her. The style can be jarring due to flashbacks that detail Luisa’s relationship with Rose, as well as the potential of hallucinations, and possibly trying to determine which is which.

Everything’s Coming Up Rose’s is a 90′s rom-com AU. Clara Ruvelle owns and runs the titular bakery, maintaining as much of her recently deceased mother’s character and charm as possible, including the weekly family baking evening. Luisa Alver and her daughter, Mia, under the names Emilia and Anya, are invited to the family baking by a friend of Clara’s, who happens to end up being their across the hall neighbor when they move into the city. Also includes subplot dealing with why Luisa and Mia are using different names.

Luisa and the Child is a sequel to Luisa and the Fox (see above). It focuses on the continuing adventures of Luisa and Rose, now human after the events of the first book, as well as detailing a little more about fox interactions with humans. The blonde detective seen in the first book is also a major player here.

Epic JTV/SG/Tick/Timeless/AC Crossover is basically what it says on the tin. Years after the death of Rose Ruvelle (still debating on her supervillain status, basically whether she is one), Luisa Alver, her ex girlfriend, and Miss Lint, her second in command, both believe that she is still alive. Their theories seem to be confirmed when Luisa receives a mysterious suit that seems to be connected to Rose. Meanwhile, Emma Whitmore and Whitney Frost, both previous members of Rose’s troupe, seem to have moved on and work at L-Corp under the steady watch of Rhea Morrigan, who oversees the company’s new projects, particularly those involving aliens and travel through time and space. Meanwhile, Supergirl, etc. find themselves at odd with a being known only as The Phantom, who gives them clues related to aliens they already were keen on capturing. It is unknown whether The Phantom is friend or foe, as she seems to operate under her own guidance. The Phantom is a particular rival of Miss Lint, a villain who might be super but seems to be nowhere near as dangerous as others they have been facing. This fic may also include crossover characters who are played by the same actor(ess) - Kelly Olson/Nadine, Petra/Anezka/Psi/Pyotr - as well as characters who may have died in one (or more) of the series not being dead - Astra In-Ze - but this is still being hammered out.

#musings #bandit polls #iylhybhn stuff #luisa and the fox #luisa and the child #roisa hallmark holiday special #roisa holiday special #emilia antonia #1920's au #soulmate timer au #roisa soulmate au #roisa hp au #post s5 fic #everything's coming up rose's #epic superhero crossover #and i like actually having these summaries because i don't think #i've given much detail on some of these before #and having those things hammered out is actually really nice #anyway

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a-secondhand-sorrow · 6 years ago

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there was comfort in her sighs

requested by @cuddlefishconcertos! this took forever it’s been like, nine months. whoops

5. Things you didn’t say at all

Evan didn’t think he’d ever tire of hearing Zoe talk.

There was something beautiful about the way she spoke—in the days when her energy was high, each word came off of her tongue shaped perfectly, carefully curated and selected for her to share. There was a lyrical quality to the words she chose and the way she said them, in how she smiled around each one. If it was possible, he loved her taking even more when she was tired. When she was distracted, she let the words come out organically, slipping over syllables as her lisp took over. There was something chaotic, almost, about the way she spoke then; her words were more random, harder to understand, but Evan loved it. It was so Zoe, and so beautiful.

There were some periods of time when Zoe would go quiet. She wasn’t silent, but she’d refrain from contributing to conversations and opt to lay her head on Evan’s shoulder more than she normally did, perhaps to get rid of the burden of speaking. Evan never questioned it, although he had his suspicions as to why she was quiet. When she came back to life, it was like the whole room lit up, filled with her energy and analysis and bright chatter.

Her words seemed to come in bursts when she was angry, full of instant venom which paralyzed her tormentor. She could go for the jugular, but immediately afterwards she’d quiet. Those were the times where she’d love to hear Evan’s nervous chatter, something he hated, especially in comparison to Zoe.

One night, she’d been quiet while they talking about the Connor Project. Alana was trying to get Zoe into it, but Evan tried best he could to keep them distracted. She lay her head on his shoulder, finding his hand to squeeze. Jared cracked some kind of unfunny joke. He squeezed her hand back.

No words Zoe chose that night crossed the boundaries into lyrical, and Evan’s nervous chatter sustained them for most of the time.

6. Things you said under the stars and in the grass (this is the most bandtrees sentence I’ve ever read)

There was something intoxicating about Zoe at all times. He’d glance at her as she squeezed his hand in the hall and feel all air leave his lungs. She’d whisper song lyrics in his ear and all thoughts in his head would still. She’d press a soft kiss to his lips and he’d freeze and smile, feeling that warmth spread through his chest.

He never thought he’d come back up for air, but each time he did, only to plunge back down.

There was something indescribable in how Zoe looked in the moonlight. The soft light caught the curve of her cheekbones, the tips of her hair, the edge of her fingers in a hazy silver light. As she stared up at the sky, admiring as always, he’d see the stars above them reflected in her face, dancing in her eyes, splashed across her face with her freckles. He’d trace each one, whispering constellations he barely knew the shapes of just to hear her laugh.

One night, he’d pulled her to the side of the road where the pavement turned to grass. The night was clear, each light shining down on them. He was utterly lost in her, every little touch between them, every subtle and perfect smile she sent him, every time she’d point out another star she knew, the word rolling off her tongue like anything. The grass around them was soft, comforting, familiar. Nature he knew.

Zoe he knew, he realized with a little jolt.

He rolled onto his side so he was facing her where she propped herself up on her arms. Her eyes were half closed, a content smile warming her face. Evan leaned in closer to her, thumb reaching up to brush over her cheek. He whispered something, something he barely even registered as he was so caught in how she was. Hand still resting in the side of her face, he leaned to kiss her cheek.

I love you, he said, and there was no hesitation or anxiousness. It was a fact, plain as night.

She smiled again, breaking her gaze away from the stars to look at him. Slowly, she lifted her hand to clasp his wrist, maneuvering his palm to press a kiss to it. He still saw the stars reflecting in her eyes and splashed across her cheeks in that intoxicating moments breath.

I love you, too, she said, and they both believed it. It’s fact. It’s plain as the stars above them and grass beneath them.

13. Things you said at the kitchen table

Zoe wondered if there would ever be another place for her like the kitchen table.

Oh, she’d hated that table. As a child it was nothing more than a nuisance, but as she grew it became the only semblance of a family life she could remember. That is, until the fights encroached upon it, and she found even her family sanctuary was under besiege. She’d hated it for ever memory it held, every memory of a late-night confrontation, of a mid meal screaming match, of every time her brother decided he hated her too much to even try being sober before school started.

(Because he’d blamed her at the time, hadn’t he? For driving him to drugs. No matter how much Evan said, she’d always remember the fiery look that blazed in his eyes during that rare moment of real interaction.)

She’d hated the kitchen table.

But slowly, as it became Evan sitting across from her instead of Connor, something changed. He was over almost every night for dinner, and even started staying over a few nights. She looked forward to those evening meals more than she could remember looking forward to anything.

She started to love the kitchen table again.

One night, after dinner, she and Evan had jumped to help her parents clear the dishes, but they’d been refused. So they’d sat back down at the table, Evan fiddling with the edge of his napkin, Zoe looking right at him. She hadn’t even realized she’d been doing it. It felt so natural.

Slowly, Evan realized Zoe was looking at him. He looked back at her and smiled again, every part of his face lighting up. His smiles were infectious.

You’re beautiful, do you know that? he said, letting the words slide out without any precourser.

She tilted her head slightly, letting a hand rest on the table. You’re beautiful, too.

Evan laughed, the sound filling up the room with warmth.

19. Thing you said when we were the happiest we were

She was...frazzled. School was still hard, where sympathetic glances were all too present and there was always at least one person who was a little too overbearing. She just wanted peace.

She skipped jazz band, decided that she needed something to calm down. Once she was in her car, she called him.

Hello? he said, voice still a little jittery over the phone, and instantly every part of her relaxed.

Hey, she said, trying to make her voice sound as even as possible. Could you meet me at my car? I just...need to get away right now.

He was at the car in five minutes.

***

He suggested they go to his house.

Zoe has been prodding gently about it before, but stopped fairly quickly as soon as she knew it made him uncomfortable. But Evan, being the sweetheart he was, insisted as soon as Zoe said she couldn’t handle her house.

Evan was more anxious then normal. He was borderline panicked, an expression on his face that Zoe knew meant he wanted everything to go alright.

He was chattering again. Zoe loved the way he talked, especially compared to when they started dating. Then he’d be almost silent at all times, jittery and stuttering if he ever had something he wanted to add. She was thrilled he’d reached the point where he’d talk freely in front of her.

Except he was talking about the Connor Project. Which she couldn’t handle, not after her day.

She cut him off gently, trying to ease his worries.

Look, she said. I just need something...for me.

A smile started to take over his face, and she knew that he believed her. For once, she knew he believed every word she said, took everything to heart. She couldn’t describe how desperately she needed him to know that he was enough, more than enough.

He took her hands, whispered the same things to her, how could you know, how could you possibly know, I love you, I love you, and it was real. It was real.

When she kissed him, it’s like the world fell apart and restructured, where when she came up for air everything would be different and better. She couldn’t care at the moment, though.

22. Things you said after it was over

When her phone started ringing, she was surprised. Her friends were studying for finals, her parents were in the next room over, and there was no one else who would be calling her.

Her heart stopped as soon as she read the name.

Zoe’s not quite sure why she never deleted his contact. It’s not like there was any hope for reconciliation, not after what he did. Even after a year, it was nearly impossible for her to think about it without an entire hurricane of emotions she couldn’t quite name spiraling up in her.

Maybe she never deleted Evan’s contact because she couldn’t get rid of those months, those few months, where for the first time in so long she’d felt happy. For the first time she could really remember she’d felt love and loved.

Everything in her screamed to let it go to voicemail. She needed to get back to her textbook. She needed to stop thinking about him.

She picked up anyway, almost forgetting the mandatory hello?

Hi, he said, and Zoe was taken aback by how good it felt to hear his voice on the other line. She remembered every phone call in great detail, the way she instantly stilled whenever he picked up. She still felt stiller, but there was also something in it that made her feel uneven.

He sounded a little steadier than she remembered, also. More confident. She couldn’t quite tell how that made her feel, when she was so thrown off.

But she listened to this new, slightly altered version of him. One that was different and new, but not for the worse.

How about you meet me at the orchard? she said. So we can talk?

***

She was already there when he arrived.

Everything about her still took his breath away. She was smiling, somehow, that same subtle smile he’d fallen in love with. Her hair was swept over one shoulder, eyes searching around and taking everything in. Her freckles were still splashed across her cheeks in their constellations.

She was still intoxicating, but he had to remind himself that he’d hurt her more than anyone should be hurt. He was lucky she’d talk to him at all.

He stood for a moment, letting the rustle of trees calm him.

Zoe heard the small sounds his approach had made and turned to him. She smiled a little, eyes softening.

He didn’t deserve any of it.

There was small talk. To be expected, when you haven’t seen someone for a year. It was almost painful, how much he wanted to turn back time and take away that sad, broken look deep in her eyes. But that wasn’t his job. He knew it wasn’t, not anymore.

You never told anyone, he said. Thank you.

He tried to say a million things in the space of a moment, there, things he’ll never say out loud. Things they used to say but things they’d grown away from. Things he wanted to say but couldn’t find the words to. Things he knew she knew but that he wanted to say anyway.

I’m sorry.

The sun blazed just over the horizon, catching the light of Zoe’s hair. She smiled at him once more, something dull and somber in it, as she stood with her backpack sling over one shoulder.

I know. I’m sorry, too. She stood still for a moment, as though collecting her thoughts. I’m glad you called.

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imogenwescott · 6 years ago

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Ethan was never meant to be my love interest on Open Heart. In fact, I’d never even considered him as an option. I was already sure since my diamonds would be spent on Bryce. But after their kiss in Chapter 10 and replaying the whole book to buy his diamond scenes and romance him, my opinions have completely changed, and now I consider Ethan my main love interest while Bryce is my secondary one.

This is going to be just me analyzing him as a love interest, talking about how well written his relationship with the main character while also talking about how he should not be compared to other love interests that were broody at first.

@elliotlangdon I would like to hear what you think of this

This isn’t Choices’ first slowburn romance, but it is the first one I’m actually invested in. Why haven’t the other love interests with this same route captivated my attention? I either found them too unlikeable or found their relationship with the respective main character badly written (such as with Drake and with Thomas Hunt) or the characters did not appear enough in the story to have a well-written slowburn romance (Victoria, Alana and Sonia come to mind).

Having prominence in the story is a very important trait for the character to be developed correctly. If there is no way they can appear regularly in the story, they should at least have a high quantity of diamond scenes. Ethan not only is very important in the story (he is the main character’s boss) but in total he had ten diamond scenes. The only chapter in which you can’t spend extra time with him is in chapter 3. If you can afford in some way or another to purchase these scenes you will see that there is little to no flirting in them, besides the kiss in Chapter 10 and going to the lab in Chapter 11, in which you can discuss your relationship. Instead, you talk to him or just spend time with him. The first time you can touch him in an affectionate manner is in Chapter 4, and even then you can only hold his hand, which considering Dolores had just died, it can barely be considered a romantic gesture. There is no need to have them flirt because it is important for us to see how two characters who spend a lot of time together bonding can develop feelings for each other.

His relationship with the main character steadily shifts from Ethan seeing them as another intern, to trusting them (both when he was suffering due to Dolores’ death and with his secret about Dr. Banerji’s), thinking of them as a friend, something more than that and even caring for each other in such a way that they call themselves by their names instead of their surnames (the ‘Rookie’ nickname is still there but now it is used more in an affectionate way rather than anything else). Even if you would prefer to not buy his scenes, you still see their development, though in a platonic way. I feel that these did not happen with the other love interests meant for a slowburn, even with Drake, whose relationship with the main character could have changed during the first two books of The Royal Romance but instead it didn’t (note: I’ve never paid for or never seen any of Drake’s diamond scenes, I’m mostly talking from a diamond-less point of view).

Because he was first presented as being pushy and demanding, I feel like many brushed him off as another “broody snarky white male LI”. While he at first showed these qualities, out of all the love interests with these traits, he is the one that is more justified for being the way he is. He is in charge of a very prestigious hospital, so of course he is going to be demanding and push the interns to be the best doctor they can be. Also he stops being really strict to the main character around Chapter 4, when the two of them begin to become close, so don’t compare him to the likes of Drake, Jake or Thomas because of the way he seemed at first.

I’ve also heard that some people compare him to Thomas Hunt and I must disagree. Ethan, compared to Thomas never flirts with you unless you want him to and the Hunt romance with the main character in Red Carpet Diaries was badly written and should not have been included when the main point of the storyline was to talk about how men of power can take advantage of women under their command. Instead, Ethan cannot be considered creepy when talking with Casey and does not have those “longing looks” that were indeed present with Hunt.

Now let’s talk about the kiss. Up to this moment I was neutral on him as a love interest but after I saw the scene my mind completely changed. A similar thing happened to me with Maxwell: the rooftop scene in which you confess your love to him completely changed my idea of him as a love interest. After many chapters of seeing them interact, trust each other and connect, that scene did not look like to me as a simple kiss: it was them finally giving in to their desires, to their feelings.

It is only when they move to the bedroom, when they are about to have sex, that Ethan changes his mind. He is still in love with Casey, but he knows they cannot be together, especially if he is their superior and the main character is competing for a job in his team. Their scene in the lab in Chapter 11 confirmed all of this: he has romantic feelings for them, but knows he cannot act on them since it would be unethical to date someone below him. No matter how much Casey tell him they want to be with him, he won’t give in to his feelings, not yet.

This is an excerpt of his diamond scene in Chapter 11 that shows us their relationship quite perfectly (sorry I could not include screenshots):

[Ethan] turns away from you. You walk up close behind him and rest a hand on his shoulder.

Ethan: Please, Casey. This is hard enough already

Casey: Then why keep fighting it? We both want this. We both feel this. It almost seems… inevitable…

He turns to you, his eyes filled with longing… and pain…

He reaches up and gently strokes your cheek…

Ethan: We’re doctor, Casey. Fighting the inevitable is our job description.

With that, he walks past you, out into the hall. You hang your head as his footsteps recede.

With all of this said, I believe Ethan is one of the best written love interests in Choices. His relationship with Casey was slowly developed throughout the chapters in a way that it would be found believable the two of them fell in love with each other. I hope Pixelberry continues developing him as well as they have done it before in what is left of the book.

#playchoices #open heart #feel free to write your opinions as long as it is in the tags #my post

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