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sunlightmurdock · 2 years ago

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The Parent Trap | Prologue | Bradley Bradshaw x Ex-Wife!Reader

♡ Next Chapter | Masterlist

♡ In which, after a couple of years of listening to Peyton and Parker Bradshaw complain about their parents’ custody agreement, Grandpa Mav’s meddling goes a little bit too far.

♡ warnings: mentions of divorce throughout the fic, flashbacks to arguments and unhappily married people. Idiots who still love each other and don’t know it. (warnings will be added as story progresses).

…

“God dammit.” You sigh, leaning down into the passenger side footwell to grab your phone. After your hasty parking job, it’s wedged pretty securely under the metal bottom of the seat, impossible to reach from the angle you’re sitting in. You move up onto your knees and lean over, rummaging around for the lost device. This is the last thing you need.

It’s the third week of the semester and the second time so far that you’ve been called into the principal’s office.

The faint sound of seventies music coming from somewhere behind your shoulder alerts you to your ex-husband’s presence before you can see him. Shit, it must be bad if Rooster left work for it.

He turns his engine off and glances to his left. His lips quirk softly at the sight before him. You, in a pair of tight denim shorts, bent over the centre console and leaning down into the passenger side, searching for something. His smirk only grows as he steps down from his truck and swings the door shut behind him, tapping on the window of your 2018 Toyota corolla.

You flinch at the sound and turn your head to look back at him over your shoulder. He smiles, lifting his hand and waving his fingers at you. No matter how long passes between you seeing him, he always looks the same — and he’s usually got that smug look on his face. You roll your eyes and turn back towards your mission.

It’s been two years since the divorce became official. Still, Bradley glances down at those form fitting shorts and reminisces. It’s an outfit like that that got you into this mess in the first place. Fingers curling around your phone, you huff and catch ahold of your bag, then sit upright again. Rooster grabs the door and pulls it open, stepping out of your way.

“How’s it going, Mama?”

You scoff, shaking your head as you drape the tote over your shoulder and slip your phone into your back pocket. “I’d be better if your kids stopped being such miscreants.”

He chuckles, flightsuit tied around his waist and gold rimmed sunglasses covering his eyes. The teachers around here always go wild when he shows up like this. “My kids, huh?”

You step around him and nod your head, wishing that you were less familiar with the path to the principal’s office than you currently are. Rooster trails behind you, taking another quick glance down at those shorts he’s so fond of, “Did they tell you what we’re here for?”

“No, the lady on the phone just said that Principal James needed to speak to the both of us.” Rooster confirms your suspicions. This must be pretty bad. You groan in frustration, pushing through the front door.

“That’s what they told me too — I wonder what they did now.” You can only shake your head at the thought as the two of you sign in and are led to the principal’s office. Rooster takes his time, looking around at the colourful artwork on the walls, seemingly unfazed by whatever havoc your children have caused this time. He’s always so calm when it comes to them. He had been so different in the beginning. Terrified when those two blue lines showed up. Nauseous when the doctor confirmed that there were two heartbeats. He had almost blacked out during your labour. You can still remember the way he had periodically baby proofed not only the place that you shared, but also his Uncle Maverick’s house and your parents’ place. Anywhere his kids were going needed to be up to his standard.

Somewhere after the year mark, they had become significantly less fragile in his eyes. When they’re jumping off of high surfaces or climbing trees, dangling off of the slide at the park, he’s usually nearby with a smile on his face. He likes seeing his kids be more carefree than he ever was in childhood.

Rounding the corner, the girls’ reactions to the two of you are exceptionally polarized. When you had been told that you were expecting identical twin girls, you had expected the polar opposite trope — a mischievous daredevil tomboy and a goodie-two shoes who loved to dress up. Instead, you had received two partners in crime who were somehow all of those things at once. Freckled skin, rounded, rosy cheeks and long curls, it’s hard to tell them apart sometimes, but they still have their differences.

Peyton, Twin A — as determined by your first ultrasound, your firstborn, sits upright and beams at the two of you. It’s a rare occasion that she sees both of her parents in the same place these days. “Daddy!”

At her side, Parker, Twin B, your youngest, shrinks down in her chair in immediate realization. If you’re both here, then they’re in big trouble. For a seven year old, she’s getting good at reading the room. She turns those big brown eyes towards the ground and purses her lips.

Peyton leaps up and rushes forwards, wrapping her arms around Rooster’s waist, pressing her freckled cheek into her stomach. He grunts softly as she hits into him, then breaks out grinning as he hugs her against his middle, “Hey, Honeybee.”

He looks towards his remaining daughter. Parker glances up sheepishly, hands folded into her lap. Bradley smiles softly, “How about you, Peanut? — You got a hug for Daddy?”

You fold your arms over your chest as he pushes herself up from the chair. Bradley settles down onto his knees, opening up his arms and taking one of them in each. He hums as he hugs them tightly against him, then pulls back and scrunches his nose just slightly. “So, what’d you guys do?”

The twins stop and then share and equally worrisome glance. You squint at the two of them. “Girls.” You prompt.

“It was an accident!”

“Yeah, we didn’t mean to!”

Rooster lifts his head and this time it’s your turn to share equally worried looks. The door clicks open ahead of you.

Principal James steps out and rests her wrinkled hands on her hips. Rooster stands upright at your side. Under that cold, weathered gaze, it suddenly feels like the two of you are the ones in trouble. You swallow softly as she lifts a hand and beckons you into her office without a word.

“Sit down, girls, we’ll be right back.” You say softly, tapping their shoulders and nudging them back towards their seats. Rooster tucks his sunglasses into the collar of his black t-shirt and closes the oak office door behind him. You sit down in one of the chairs opposite her impressive, heavy mahogany desk.

She has been teaching for twenty years, and your twins have still managed to surprise her on this occasion.

“Mr. and Mrs. Bradshaw, I wish I could say that it’s a pleasure to be speaking with you today,” Her tone is sharp. Rooster presses his tongue to the inside of his cheek, whilst you count the tiles on the ceiling. “Unfortunately, today’s meeting has a rather unpleasant subject matter. Are you at all aware of the twins’ mission to… impersonate each other?”

Rooster’s lips quirk. They’ve been trying to swap places since they were two. They usually get caught pretty quickly. They’ve done it at school before, but they always mess up quickly. Their longest record for being undetected was three days at your parents’ house. “Yeah, they do that as a joke sometimes.”

“Well, today they switched outfits in the bathroom and went into each other’s classes.”

Your brows scrunch slightly. Sure, it’s a dumb thing to do, but it can’t be a punishable offense to swap outfits with your sister. Principal James looks between the two of you and finds no remorse on either of your faces so far. Clearly you aren’t following.

“Has Parker ever mentioned a boy named William Prescott?”

“Oh my god.” You sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose. Bradley frowns at your side, looking between you and the principal, lost. You turn your head. “He’s been picking on her. He pushed her down in the playground last week.”

“That’s what that cut on her knee was? — She said she tripped.” Bradley frowns, immediately engaging in that protective parent mode that’s neither helpful or impressive.

“She didn’t want to tell you because she knew you’d freak out.” You explain sitting back in the chair and rubbing at your temples. Her judgemental stare is just about enough to bring you out in a stress rash.

“So, why didn’t you tell me?” Bradley’s tone is accusatory, his expression even more so. He’s always been protective when it comes to his girls, including you not too long ago. It’s a sweet sentiment, but sometimes it’s too much and the girls are quickly picking up on that.

“Because I knew you’d freak out, and I already spoke to Billy’s mom about it.” You speak gently, acutely aware of the way that the principal’s crows feet deepen when she squints dubiously at you like she’s doing now. Rooster remains completely unaware of her judging your parenting at your side.

“Clearly that worked because —“

“The twins switched classrooms so that Peyton could, in their words, ‘take care of’ the issue.” Principal James interrupts. Both you and your ex-husband are silenced as you stare ahead at her. “Peyton proceeded to walk over to William’s desk and hit him in the face.”

You press a hand over your mouth and close your eyes, exhaling softly. Bradley sits back in the chair, leaning his head back and groaning quietly.

“At this moment in time, we have no choice but to place the twins on a short suspension.”

You purse your lips and wince. Seven years old and suspended for plotting out, and executing assault. This isn’t your proudest parenting moment.

“Suspension? — They’re in the second grade, it was just—“

“We won’t be reconsidering our decision, Mr. Bradshaw,” The principal interrupts, holding out a hand to silence him. He glances across at you. “There is some paperwork for you at the front desk, we look forward to having the girls back in a week’s time. Maybe the two of you could have a word with them about their behavior during their time off.”

Scolded, the two of you step out into the hallway, each of you silently blaming the other. The twins look at the two of you expectantly.

“Give us a second to talk, okay? — Don’t move, you’re both in big trouble.” Rooster warns them, his face stern. They frown at him in unison, then look towards each other. He reaches out, tapping his fingers against your forearm to nudge you away from the two of them. Once you’re out of earshot, he folds his arms over his chest.

“Alright, we should probably talk to them about this together, so I can swing by your place tonight after work. Like six?” He checks his watch and looks back up at you.

“Wait, wait — I can’t take them right now, I have meetings with clients all afternoon. Today’s your day to pick them up.” You frown at him. The custody agreement was fifty-fifty, two days with you, two days with him. It’s inconvenient for both of your schedules and the twins hate moving around as much as they do, but neither one of you has had the time recently to call up the lawyers and fix a new schedule.

“No, I have a debrief today that I’m already going to be late for. It’s your day.” Bradley shakes his head quickly and crosses his arms over his chest. Sometimes you think that he just does that to show off his arms. His biceps strain against the fabric of that fitted black shirt.

He’s bigger now than when you met him, filled out more into his adulthood. Years of lifting two growing girls up whenever they ask him to. Heading to the gym often so that they won’t outgrow being held by him.

Still, there’s a reason that it’s over and tanned skin and arm veins won’t change that.

“No, it’s Tuesday. The seventh.” You argue.

“Actually, it’s Wednesday. The seventh.” He mocks you back. Real mature. But, unfortunately— your phone confirms that he’s correct. You sigh and throw your head back. You’ve been so out of sorts all week, turned around with work and the kids.

Two kids running wild around a boutique that’s smaller than some of your clients’ closets. You can just see it now, them breaking into the expensive fabric whilst you’re distracted with clients. You shake your head quickly. “Shit. I can’t take them to work with me.”

Bradley purses his lips. Two kids on a naval base while he’s in a confidential meeting that they can’t sit in on sounds like an even worse idea.

When you found out you were expecting, the two of you had made an agreement that your career wouldn’t suffer as a result of parenthood. Given that Rooster is practically government owned, it’s hard for him to be as flexible as he would like. But, he has always made sure you had the support you needed. “Hold on, I’ll call Mav.”

It seems like a bad idea to send the twins to practically their favourite place on earth when they’re supposed to be being punished, but you’re out of other options.

“Idiot, I told you to wait until recess to—“ Parker’s voice trails as she spots her parents headed back in her direction. Peyton squints at the frown on her father’s face. The two of them learned early on that their Dad was wrapped around their fingers, he could barely stand to punish them and so he let them get away with more. The look on his face now tells them that he’s serious.

“I was doing you a favour.” Peyton whispers back angrily.

One look at their guilty little faces and they’re already tugging at your heartstrings. Still, you need to be strong.

“Your father and I have to get back to work, but we want you to know that we are taking this very seriously — we’re going to have a long talk about this later tonight, okay? — What you did was so wrong!”

Rooster glances across at you. Watching the same girl that he was doing body shots off of ten years ago turn out to be such a good mother is an interesting turn of events. He bites his cheek to contain his smile. If you told him back then that things would have turned out like this, with two incredible children, he wouldn’t have believed a word of it.

“We’re sorry.” They say at the same time, looking up at the two of you with those brown doe-eyes. It’s the winning combo, they inherited that puppy-dog look from their dad and mastered it years ago, and they are expressly aware of how funny Rooster finds it when they say the same thing at the same time.

As Rooster stands firm, both of you unwavering before them, your twins give in to their fate and sit back, groaning in complaint.

After his retirement last year, which he was practically forced into, kicking and screaming, Maverick was practically itching to babysit the girls every chance he gets. With Amelia off at college now, and Penny banning him from around the house DIY, he likes the chaos that they bring. For similar reasons, they adore Maverick.

“I’m serious, Mav,” Rooster frowns, his face stern as he holds the twins still. They’re practically buzzing with excitement at his sides as they wait to be allowed inside. “They’re in big trouble. No TV, no games. Have them sit there and finish the worksheets their teacher gave them, or have them clean the floors or something, I don’t care. No fun.”

Maverick takes a quick glance downwards at his freckle-faced granddaughters, both of them staring up at him in worry, hoping that he’ll disagree with their dad.

“Sure thing. I’ll keep ‘em busy.” Maverick agrees seriously, giving a quick, orderly nod of his head. The girls both frown, dejected as they pout at the wooden slats of the porch.

“Alright. If their Mom gets here before I do,” Bradley lowers his voice and squints at his uncle. “Do me a favour and please don’t be weird.”

“Weird? — I’m never weird.” Maverick answers defensively. Bradley squints at him. That’s far from true and they both know it. Maverick was always a big fan of you — you remind him of himself in some ways, and he’s always thought you were good for Bradley. Rooster still jokes that Maverick was more upset about the divorce than anyone else.

“Uh… alright. Be good for Mav, I’ll see you guys later. I love you.”

Maverick ushers the girls inside at once and waits until Bradley’s truck disappears down the road before he turns to address them. With it pouring rain outside, and the trouble they’re in, there’s limited fun that they can have. Something with no evidence. Before that, he needs a chore that they can complete that will satisfy Rooster but not take all afternoon and kill Mav’s fun.

“Alright, we’re clearing out the hallway closet, kids. Move it.”

An hour later, Maverick’s brows are furrowed as he’s thirty pieces into a two hundred piece puddle, sitting in the middle of the hallway floor. His navy expertise means that the twins have a good system, Peyton pulling down items, Parker sorting them into keep or toss.

Only, given the difficulty of piecing together the dozen shades of blue that make up the sailboat puzzle, Maverick hasn’t noticed that they stopped sorting through items five minutes ago. Now, they’re both leaning over a photo album, flicking through pictures.

“Is this Mommy?”

Maverick looks up, brows furrowed. He spins the album towards him without question and smiles at the picture. This was when he was teaching Top Gun that one time, it’s a picture of you at the beach, holding a football and posing with your arm flexed into a muscle.

“Yeah, look at this one.” Maverick flicks to the next page and spins it back towards the two of them. Their faces twist up in a mixture of excitement and amusement. It’s a picture of Rooster draped around you, squeezing you in his arms, his head resting against yours, the two of you beaming. Behind the two of you, the twins’ Uncle Jake is flexing both of his biceps, sticking his tongue out to bomb the picture.

“Daddy’s tummy doesn’t look like that anymore.” Parker snorts, shaking her head, cheeks dimpling as she looks up with a grin on her face. Maverick smiles. He sees so much of the both of you in the both of them.

“They look really really happy.” Peyton adds on.

Maverick nods. “They were. Here, you want to see some more?”

Chores quickly abandoned, daytime movie channel playing on the TV, cutting out every now and again as the weather screws with the signal, the living room floor is littered with old albums.

“Mommy’s wedding dress was so pretty.” Peyton traces her fingertips over the picture, examining the intricacies of the dress. Maverick smooth his hands over her curls and nods his head.

“That day was so special. Your Daddy was so nervous all day.” He chuckles fondly at the memory. Standing at the end of the aisle with Rooster and periodically reminding him to breathe. After so much missed time with Bradley, all of those years of not speaking, sitting here and listening to these delighted little giggles makes his heart warm.

He hadn’t ever been ready for children, but it turns out that being a grandfather was his calling. Passing on his stories, explaining funny faces and little anecdotes about each picture that they come across, seeing their little faces just light up.

They work through the wedding pictures, the work events, the beach days. The pregnancy, the birth, the newborn pictures.

“Is that me or her?” Parker asks as she squints at a picture of you holding a chubby-cheeked newborn on Mav’s porch, smiling tiredly. Maverick remembers that first year of parenthood, you and Bradley stumbling around half-awake that entire time.

“Honey, I’m not even sure who’s who right now.” Maverick admits with a smile. They roll their eyes fondly and continue to flip through memories they’re too small to remember.

They move onto pictures of their toddler years. Lots of pigtails and matching dresses back then, muddy knees and toothy grins. Peyton lingers on one page, lips falling down into a soft frown as she slips the picture from its place on the page.

It’s a picture of them in the backyard at their house, sitting in the sandpit that Rooster had built one summer after reading that it’s good for safety and motor skills all at once. Him, sitting in a pair of shorts and those gold rimmed sunglasses, shoulder reddened under the sun, dog tags hanging around his neck, grinning. Peyton, on his lap, eyes squeezed shut as she squeals excitedly, sand balled in her chubby fists. You, at his side, wearing a pretty sundress and grinning against his cheek, right about to kiss him once you can stop laughing. Parker standing between your legs, lips parted, staring towards the camera like she just heard something shocking.

Mav, behind the camera, his heart so full.

“I wish they were still together.” Peyton mumbles dejectedly. Her sister looks over and examines the picture, then gives a small nod. They hate being without one of you all of the time.

Maverick looks up and looks between the two of them. Those pouted lips, that sad look in those eyes. He looks back down at the happy couple in that picture. The two of you were so in love back then.

It should take him longer to think about than it does. He probably shouldn’t include them in the decision making, but it’s not the worst idea he has had in the past couple of years.

“Have you guys ever seen the Parent Trap?”

…

@thedroneranger @xoxabs88xox @khaylin27 @unordinare @shanimallina87 @sufferingophelia

#bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw #miles teller #bradley bradshaw smut #rooster x you #rooster bradshaw imagine #top gun smut #bradley bradshaw au #bradley bradsaw x reader #bradley bradshaw x reader

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always5hineee · 5 years ago

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The Final Bell - Chapter 3: Baby Doll

Chapter warnings: none

Word count: 1840

Story is also available under Taffysamg on Quotev and Wattpad.

To see the full chapter list, go to the “Final Bell” Tab on my page.

-----

Y/N stared out the window, unsettled by what she saw. Everything was dry and windy, and the air was heavy. While she knew pollution must be down, everything had that solid tension about it. Taeyong and Taeil were making small talk, but she wasn't particularly listening. Every now and then, they'd pass an abandoned vehicle or a pile of trash, but aside from that she noticed no signs of life. While she was lost in thought, she was brought to attention by a voice.

"...Y/N!" She sat up quickly, looking around. Taeyong was staring at her intently.

"Sorry, I was... thinking."

"It's fine- I was just trying to let you know that we're here." He said, pointing towards the windshield. Sure enough, there was a small campsite in front of them as they slowed to a stop. There were two tents, a few boxes, a small grill, and a black Toyota Tundra. She was nervous to meet this character, but didn't want to show it in front of her two associates. Stepping out of the van, they walked into the center of the space.

"Hold on." Taeil said to her, moving to the tent on the right. Stomping in the dirt next to the structure, he said, "Johnny! We're here." After a bit of rustling, the front unzipped, and a man stepped out.

He was certainly taller than anyone she had met so far- six feet if she had to guess. He had defined features and faded red hair, although- like Taeil- it was evidently not his real hair color. He was definitely thin, but stronger than Taeyong and Taeil. He wore a pair of old jeans, a green shirt, and a leather vest, with combat boots to match. Out of all of this, though, one thing in particular caught her off guard.

His left arm- or rather, where his left arm should have been- there was a purple, twitching appendage, sewed on with black surgical stitches. While it's nails were clean and the flesh seemed to be staying on fairly well, it was unmistakable: a zombie arm.

She involuntarily stepped back, but before she could move away, he grabbed her wrists, holding her arms above her head and turning her in various directions.

"Hmm, interesting." He eyed her up and down, mentally measuring her. "I'm sure I can find something that fits you." Uncomfortable, she jerked her arms, ripping them away from his grip. He looked surprised for a moment, before his face settled into a questioning grin.

"What's the matter? Can't you talk?" She tried to say something in return, but only managed to open her mouth slightly. Staring at her for another moment, his expression shifted to understanding.

"Ah, I see. You think I'm turning." He waved his purple arm. "I assure you, sweetheart, you have nothing to worry about." Pointing to the stitching with his good hand, he said, "This isn't my real arm. I made her myself. The wound is closed underneath, so quit your shaking." Well if that wasn't the riskiest thing she'd ever seen, she didn't know what was.

"What happened to your real arm?" She managed to mutter. He laughed, reaching up to touch her face with his left hand. The skin was disgustingly cold, leaving a tingling feeling wherever it touched. She knew it was probably in her head, but she already felt infected as he felt her face.

"I cut it off." He whispered playfully. Backing up and spinning on his heel, he pretended as if he had not just been incredibly creepy. "Keeps you on your toes, you know? Reminds you how fleeting this all is. It does have a mind of its own, though." He admitted, evidenced by its twitching. She was more than uncomfortable at this point, staring at the seam between his human and undead bodies. So he had... cut off his own arm, and sewed on this zombie one, for fun? Or as he called it, a 'reminder'. This dude was unhinged.

"Quit messing around, Johnny." Taeyong said, stepping in and pulling her back. Thankfully, his hands were warm, and undoubtedly human. "We just need new clothes for her, all our stuff at camp doesn't fit well."

"Yes, yes, I know. Like I said, I'm sure I have a few things her size. So demanding. You won't be leader for long if you act like that."

"I'm not the leader." Taeyong muttered under his breath, crossing his arms and shifting his glare."

"Sure. Anyway, I'll return momentarily. Feel free to look around." He offered, turning to Y/N. "You can go wherever, but just be prepared for what you find." With a wink that sent a shiver up her spine, he moved towards the back of the setup to open a box.

"Don't mind him." Taeil said, sensing her discomfort. "He's just strange like that. Plus, he's probably upset that we didn't bring Mark." She had practically forgotten about Mark at this point- she hadn't seen him since they exited the van the first time. Assumedly, he had gone to his own tent.

"Why would he care?" She asked. "Are they related, or friends, or something?" Taeil shook his head.

"Not exactly. Mark's just his favorite for some reason. He's never explained it to us. Still, Taeyong doesn't like them to be together for too long. I think he's worried that Johnny will make too much of an impression." That made sense. Mark seemed like a nice dude, and she couldn't imagine what Johnny could do if he got a complete hold on him. Before Taeyong could cut in to explain further, Johnny returned.

"Here, I found four complete outfits of your size. It's not exactly ideal, but it's all that'll fit. I guess you guys will just start doing laundry more often, or suffer with ill-fitting attire. There are also two pairs of shoes, some makeup if you're into that, and some sanitary stuff." Holding out a bag, she reluctantly took it. As much as she hated it, it was all stuff she needed. "I also threw a few sets of earrings in there. Wouldn't want your piercings to close up."

She breathed in sharply. In the few seconds that he had looked at her, he not only assessed her exact sizes, but the fact that she had piercings as well? Not only that, but she didn't actually have jewelry in at the moment, meaning that he had noticed the tiny holes. He was unnervingly observant, to say the least.

"Do you need any earrings, boys? You've both had those studs in for quite a while."

"We're fine." Taeil said shortly. Johnny sighed, almost like an annoyed child.

"Shame. You two are so boring. Still, that reminds me-" He addressed Y/N directly again. "I can do pretty much any tattoo or piercing you might want, just let me know." Scrunching her gaze, she questioned,

"Can you do a clean tattoo without proper equipment?" Johnny feigned offense.

"My, do you have no faith? I happen to have done plenty of tattoos post-disaster. In fact, I've done more than a few for your friends over there. Speaking of which-" he walked over to drape his arms across the boys' shoulders. "Is she planning on matching you all?"

"Matching?" She asked. Clearly without asking them first, Johnny grabbed both their shirts. Pulling up Taeyong's sleeve and the bottom hem of Taeil's shirt, he revealed very similar tattoos. Each was in a delicate script, a list of some kind. Looking closer, she read them.

Taeyong

Jaehyun

Yuta

WinWin

Haechan

Mark

Doyoung

Taeil

Jungwoo

Johnny

The final two names were slightly brighter, alluding to the fact that they had been added later. The line through WinWin's name was also a bright shade.

"Do all of you have these?" She asked, eliciting a nod from both of them.

"We debated on the line, but decided that it would be appropriate. We'll be using it if, god forbid, anything happens to anyone else. Johnny added himself when we went to get Jungwoo added." Taeyong shot an annoyed look at him. "Still, he helps us out, so I have no right to complain."

"So, will you be adding this lovely lady to your ranks?" Johnny asked, dropping their clothing from his fists.

"I'd have to talk to everyone, but maybe if she sticks around." He glanced over. "Have you gotten a tattoo since all this started?" He asked. She shook her head. She was already dreading the idea of having Johnny's dead hand anywhere near her, not to mention a discomfort around needles. She would definitely have to think about it.

"Well, I'm always ready to ink someone up." He concluded, gesturing to Taeil again. "I've done more than a few of his little art pieces." She had to admit, the tattoos covering his body were very skillful. Everything fell silent for a moment, but she was brought to attention by the clap of a hand.

"So! To discuss my payment." Johnny smiled, causing her stomach to drop.

"Payment?" Of course. No one gives anyone anything for free. What kind of payment did a psycho like this take?

"Yes, honey, payment. I have to survive out here! Generally one earns something through the exchange of goods-" He snaked a hand around her waist, causing her to shiver again. "And/or services."

"You owe us, Johnny." Taeyong said matter-of-factly, gently brushing him off and dragging Y/N back to where he was standing. "We saved your ass when you were clean out of food and three seconds off from getting eaten alive." He put a hand to his chin thoughtfully.

"Oh, so you're cashing in for the little lady? He must really like you." He said with a shrug. "That's a shame, baby doll, but you'll be back. I look forward to it- you're intriguing." Leading her away from Johnny's camp, Taeil and Taeyong brought her to the van, facing away from the man. Still, he called,

"Nice meeting you, sweetheart!"

"Her name is Y/N." Taeyong shot back. "Have some decency." And with that, they got in and began their drive back home. She watched out the back window as Johnny simply stood, staring as they drove into the distance. He stood stone still until Y/N could no longer make out his figure.

"I'm sorry if that was strange." Taeyong murmured apologetically. "I know he's not... ideal. Still, he generally has anything we might need, and honestly I don't know if we'd have made it without him. I would have talked to him myself, but he needed your size." She shook her head, trying to seem unfazed.

"It's fine."

"You'll only have to go again if you need a tattoo or something, other than that you can stay behind if you'd like." She nodded. She didn't really feel like talking anymore, and both the boys respected that. They had maybe an hour left on their three hour prognosis, so things would be busy when they returned. She wondered if she could find some monotonous task to help with to take her mind off the afternoon's events.

Go to Chapter 4

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growingstronglikeahighgardenrose · 5 years ago

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Hang a shining light upon the highest place

Pairings: Esther/Babington, mentions of Sidney/Charlotte (they’ll soon be reunited) Characters: Sidney, Esther, Babington, Crowe, Georgiana, James Stringer, Lady Susan and even the Prince Regent Prompt: Hang a shining light upon the highest place/ games for the @sanditoncreative 12 Days of Sanditon

Available on AO3

Synopsis: The friendgroup of Sidney and Charlotte come together for the Christmas Holiday at Babington's house in Scotland. Includes many of Hallmark's most beloved tropes like mistletoes, christmas tree decorating, drinking games, pining underneath a starry sky and friendship shenanigans.

‘What on earth have you all been up to?’ Esther asked. Babington halted on the stairs leading towards the living room, a second smaller pine tree in his arms.

‘What does it look like?’ Georgiana asked.

On December twenty-second a very crammed car containing George – Princey – Regis, William Babington, Matthew Crowe, James Stringer and Sidney Parker took off ten minutes before the car containing Susan Worcester, Esther Denham and Georgiana Lambe left. The sun shone brightly, after days of snowflake producing clouds. The roads were cleared with salt, so the drive would be a safe one.

Charlotte had decided to celebrate Christmas with her family first, before coming to Scotland to celebrate the New Year with them.

Their bags and food supplies were divided equally between the two cars, but a horrible mistake was made when the beer crate was placed in the men’s car. By the time they arrived to the house, the crate was empty and they all reeked of the cigarettes smoked by Princey, Crowe and Sidney. But in their defence, the ride had taken a long time, the home was located above Inverness on Black Isle.

The place was stunning. James Stringer was the only one who hadn’t seen it yet, so he remained outside, gawking at the lakeside house with its fine woodwork and snow covered roof. The snow around the house shimmered untouched, and the edges of the loch were frozen. There wasn’t even another house to be seen near the lakefront. The men merrily climbed the stairs to the deck, laughing about frozen pipes and praying for the heating to work as they pushed open the door. Taking a deep breath, prepared to feel incredibly poor and insignificant, he followed the others.

The house was indeed cold, and as Babington went downstairs to turn on the heating and the boiler and electricity, Sidney made a real fire in the fireplace of the living room, before going upstairs to put some logs in the other fireplaces. Crowe and Princey were packing the fridge with the supplies they’d brought. James had just started helping them, when the gravel crunched again. The three men could make out Susan’s red Toyota through the kitchen windows.

The girls were simply baffled. Georgiana, who’d spent most of her life in Antigua, was amazed by the snow-covered hills and high trees, while Esther was completely blown out of the field by the oak-framed nineteenth century building.

‘Yo, Babs, you said you had a house in Scotland, not a mansion’, Georgiana laughed as she plopped down in the leather couch.

‘It is a house. It’s called the Boat House, there used to be a great house on the estate as well, but that was destroyed before we bought the property’, Babington laughed as he walked through the living room, heading in no particular direction at all.

‘How old is this place?’ Esther asked, trailing a finger over the stone mantle of the roaring fireplace. She’d looked stunning in the aerobics outfit, amazing in the professional outfit during the elections, magnificent in the green and gold dress, but the black suede boots and pastel pink glittering sweater were the first outfit which made her look anywhere near approachable.

She didn’t flinch or look up when he halted next to her. ‘It’s only from the nineteenth century, but it tries to mimic the Tudor style. I don’t need to explain the Victorians their fascination with the Middle Ages to you, do I?’

She looked away from the mantel, her eyes taking him prisoner once again. Her eyelids were dusted with different shades of pink, topped by black eyeliner and pink glitter. He was amazed by how at ease she looked, and he immediately decided to store the memory of her tranquil face as it was something he didn’t want to forget.

‘No. I had enough classes on architecture.’

‘Did you?’

‘I liked them, but the topic didn’t agree with me.’

‘Meaning Esther flunked them and had to take most architecture exams three times’, James laughed.

The moment was broken, her chest puffing up as a sour smile appeared on her face. She threw James an annoyed look.

‘History can’t be reduced to stupid shit like exact dates and exact locations. I don’t give a crap about in which exact city a building was drawn, nor do I consider it important to study fifteen architects creating identical looking buildings in classicism style when none of them was inventive in any way. And so what I can’t remember floorplans of buildings, I made it, didn’t I?’

‘Barely.’

‘If memory serves me right,’ she said while smiling sweetly at her friend, ‘you were there right with me most of the exams, Mr. Engineer. So. Shut. Up.’

She strode away from the fireplace.

‘I’ll be unpacking, come Georgie.’

The kitchen was stocked, beds were made, and everything was unpacked.

Esther, James and Susan chased everyone away from the kitchen to start on dinner. Esther was glad to get to know Susan in a more intimate way. After the Friendmas dinner, Sidney’s friends had started hanging out more with Charlotte’s friends, and to Charlotte and Esther’s delight that had meant rekindling their relationship with Susan who was well acquainted with Sidney and Babington. Susan had finished her History studies and now the young woman was working for a certain diplomat. Esther had relied on her council the previous year when she’d suddenly become president of the student council. Susan had held the position a year prior to it and had always encouraged and helped her and Charlotte during their careers as student representatives.

As James recounted the adventures of the Man Car, the trio was oblivious to Georgiana spurring the other men on in the living room.

‘This is truly a gorgeous place, Babbers. And I really love the woodwork and the roaring fireplace and all. It feels really Christmas-y’, Georgiana said appreciatively. She’d quickly taken to using everyone’s nickname. ‘Yet… I believe it misses a tree. And perhaps a mistletoe and some other decorations.’

‘What are you suggesting?’ Babington laughed.

‘You know exactly what she’s saying, and I think she’s right’, Crowe laughed, jumping upright and walking over to Georgiana, leaning conspiratorially towards her as he stage whispered his next words: ‘I don’t think they get that you want us to go into the woods and chop a tree.’

‘They don’t?’ Georgiana asked with mock disappointment.

‘Ah yes, I feel called upon’, Princey said. ‘Have an axe, Babbers? It’s up to us men – and you of course, Georgie – to get ourselves a tree, the old fashioned way.’

‘There must be one, we sometimes chop a tree when we’re low on logs for the fireplace.’

‘I’m flattered by your inclusivity. Let’s get our coats, then we can surprise the others by the time the food’s done.’

And so, four men lead by one woman walked into the woods, their path illuminated by the faint last light of day.

Tree after tree was disapproved of by Georgiana. Too tall, too broad, too tiny, too ugly, one by one they were found lacking, until, when it was so dark they could barely see each other anymore, Georgiana cried out. Birds went flying, and Crowe did not jump a foot into the air by surprise, as the girl ran towards a tree, throwing her arms around it.

‘Is that the superior one, or has it become so dark you can’t distinguish any flaws on it anymore?’ Crowe asked, leaning on top of the axe in an attempt to appear unfazed after his scare.

‘Screw you. This one will do. Someone chop that tree. Matthew Crowe, you break off a couple of branches of holly, Princey you break some branches off from this tree. Pick some full ones.’

‘Hey, why do I get to snap some branches and someone else gets to fell the tree?’

‘I have to break off branches too, what’s wrong with breaking off branches?’ Princey asked in defence as he walked towards a pine tree with thicker needles.

‘Not trying to be rude, but Sid and William look like the ones most likely to be able to chop it.’

Crowe wished to protest, but looking at Sidney who stood comfortably in the snow dressed in only his plaid shirt, and Babington, who also looked a great deal tougher, he could only huff and set about his task.

In the end, Babington allowed Sidney to do it, and though hours spent in the gym and in boxing class had obviously paid off, even he tired so that Babington had to take over and finish the job.

Georgiana did not yelp when the tree finally lost its battle with gravity and fell down, forcing Georgiana to jump out of its path towards the forest ground.

‘Alright well, now we need only one more thing. Boys, you need to help me look.’

And so, by the time Susan, Esther and James exited the kitchen, they found the living room in a flurry. Georgiana was wrapping a rope around branches of holly she’d entwined in a circle shape. Crowe was laying tied together boughs of pine on top of the limestone fireplace mantel. Sidney held up a large pine tree as Princey was putting dug up dirt in a large plant pot which had stood empty in Babington’s cellar ever since the previous occupant of the knee high pot had wilted years ago.

‘What on earth have you all been up to?’ Esther asked.

Babington halted on the stairs leading towards the living room, a second smaller pine tree in his arms.

‘Decorating’, Georgiana explained with a smile as she put the wreath on the table top.

‘What does it look like?’

‘Stunning’, Susan quickly agreed.

‘William, what are you doing with that tree?’ James asked as the two women excitedly examined the decorations in the living room.

‘I already nailed it to some planks, thought to put one in the kitchen as well, since we’re having all our meals there.’

‘I’ll hold open the door for you’, James offered, quickly pushing the door open further, allowing Babington to pass, though the tree lost some needles when it was forced through the door opening. The magnificent green was lovely in the corner of the kitchen against the night sky outside and the white woodwork which divided the windows into tiny squares.

The two men decked the table after the tree was installed.

‘How long were you gone?’

‘A little under an hour or so,’ Babington admitted, ‘you hadn’t noticed at all?’

‘No, I’m amazed honestly. Wait, I’m fetching the others.’

James walked over to the door, calling the others so the food wouldn’t get cold.

And so, on the fourth Sunday of advent, the now combined friend groups ate lasagne, drinking wine and listening to a Christmas Classics playlist.

The dishes were done by the men, save for James, as the women went to the living room.

The music in the kitchen was changed to rock, while the ladies kept on playing Christmas tunes via the stereo in the living room. Susan and Esther unpacked all the Christmas decorations they’d brought, as Georgiana took polaroid’s. Susan wrapped red tinsel around the bundled pine branches laying on top of the oak cabinet filled with boardgames while Esther put red tinsel in the tree. Meanwhile, James occupied himself with making another wreath to hang on an empty hook in the room.

‘Shouldn’t we wait with decorating the tree until the other boys are back?’ Esther wondered as she jumped to hide the end of the tinsel between some branches near the top.

‘Naah’, James decided.

‘Perhaps’, Georgiana admitted. ‘She’s got a point, nothing’s as much fun as decorating. It’s a big tree, we can all decorate it together.’ She walked over to the shiny wooden living room table, picking up her glass of wine.

‘William has some boardgames around here. Or perhaps a game of cards?’ Susan offered while pulling open the cupboard.

‘Hm, I know some card games’, laughed Georgiana before running to the kitchen to fetch another bottle of wine. The men threw her a curious look, but thought little of it and continued with their task.

When the other men returned, they found the women and James sitting around the living room table, on the table lay a circle of cards.

‘Nice!’ Crowe shouted before hurrying to sit down at the short side of the table.

‘Still the first game?’ Sidney asked before sitting down beside Susan to join the Circle of Death.

‘Yes, but we already had to push the cards closer together since Georgiana made an awfully challenging circle’, Susan confessed with a smile. Georgiana’s grin showed her lack of remorse.

Babington looked at the players sitting around the table. Crowe sat next to Georgiana, Georgiana sat next to James, and Susan sat next to James. Esther was still alone on her side of the table. Princey was already walking towards the table. But if Babington went between the couches, he could still make it to the table first and sit beside Esther, which was exactly what he did.

The living room had become quite hot with the fire merrily crackling and the central heating doing its job. Georgiana was only wearing her long sleeved shirt, Susan and Crowe had already put the sleeves of their shirts up, and Esther, who sat closest to the fire, had put her hair in a bun with a scrunchie and dressed down to her black top. He was glad he sat next to her, that way he couldn’t easily look at her slender neck, or the lacework on the front of her top. However, he did notice the lacework of her bra clinging to her skin from the nape of her skin to an undetermined point beneath her top. He wished he was a better man, who didn’t instantly tried to imagine her bra, but he did.

He tried to focus on the game instead, but was constantly confronted with his lack of attention when he kept falling for Georgiana’s questions, who was the Question Bitch.

The bottle of wine disappeared quickly, and another two were uncorked, before the game ended and everyone got up to decorate the two trees.

Glühwein was heated, orange slices were thrown in, and everyone who was still wearing a sweater threw it to the sides as they prepared for their task.

Sidney, Susan, Princey, Georgiana and Crowe went to the kitchen armed with tinsel and boxes of baubles.

The string of lights was already laid out by Esther before they’d started the drinking game, so she picked it up and immediately set about twisting it around the tree, starting from the bottom.

James unpacked the statues of the nativity scene.

William Babington, a fool who couldn’t decide on where to go so instead stood in the middle of the room aimlessly until someone gave him a task, was snapped out of his uselessness by Esther who sat on her knees in front of the tree.

‘William? William? B- Babbers? You take the string when I pass it along? She asked, trying out his nickname hesistantly.

‘Oh, yes of course.’ He sat down on the other side of the tree, sheepishly smiling at her as he took the string around the other side of the tree, before giving it back to her.

‘So, is uhm… Your chamber to your liking?’

‘Yes, it’s lovely. It’s all quite lovely. It was still quite cold when I unpacked though. I brought flannel blankets and warm pyjama’s though, I hope that’ll be sufficient.’

‘The heating hadn’t been on for long. It’ll probably be warm now. Maybe now it’ll be too hot for those flannels.’

‘Or the pyjama’, Esther muttered. James hands froze as he took hold of the string of lights.

Esther, realizing her mistake instinctively turning her gaze towards the floor as an uncomfortable high pitched giggle left her mouth.

He didn’t know whether it were the five glasses of wine or butterflies causing his body to tingle and his stomach to heat up as he looked at her.

He bit his cheek in an attempt not to laugh as the woman who’d seemed so confident throughout the years, who had literally attacked Edward Denham’s balls and slapped a girl in the middle of a bar, could be so shy and awkward as well.

He couldn’t guess, since the large fireplace already coated her in a warm light, but he was fairly certain she was blushing.

The awkward moment was broken by Georgiana and James loudly skipping through the room, her hands on his shoulders as they sang.

I'm the happiest Christmas tree Ho ho ho, hee hee hee Someone came and they found me And took me home with them

Oh, I'm the happiest Christmas tree Ho ho ho, hee hee hee Look how pretty they dressed me Oh, lucky, lucky me

I got shiny bells that jingle And tiny little lights that tingle Whenever anyone passes by I blink my lights and I wink my eye.

They skipped through the door into the kitchen as they continued their song.

Esther slowly shook her head as her eyes connected with Babington’s again.

He winked at her, mimicking the Christmas tree and passing the string of lights back to her.

They got to a standing position now, as they started nearing the top. Another minute passed and as Esther accepted the string, she realized that she couldn’t get the string any higher even if she stood on her tippy toes.

‘Esther?’ Babington asked as he waited on the other side of the tree for her to pass the string to him again.

‘You’ll have to hang the lights on the highest part. I can’t reach it anymore.’

He came over to her side, hanging the string on a couple of branches and walking to his side again, finishing the lights in thirty seconds.

‘Well’, he said as he took a step back from the tree. ‘Now it’s time for le moment suprême.’

‘You did the last part, you can plug it in.’

‘Oh no, you can have the honours, milady.’

Esther rolled her eyes, and quickly turned towards the plug before he could see her smile. The lights were plugged in, and warm lights radiated through the tree branches.

‘Now we can really call it a Christmas tree’, Babington decided.

‘I agree’, Esther said as she came to stand next to him to appreciate the tree.

‘Hey mom and dad, turn around.’

Esther and Babington turned around, one over the left shoulder, one over the right shoulder, their bodies turning towards each other. They both just managed to put a smile on their face before they were blinded by an incredible flash.

Georgiana held still as she waited for the picture to come out.

As she waited, her gaze slid towards the kitchen door where Crowe and Princey just came through.

‘Mistletoe!’ Georgiana shouted. Princey looked up, rolling his eyes.

‘When and where did you get that? And when did you put it up?’ asked Esther, ice coursing through her veins.

‘Outside, where we got all the other greenery, and I put it up when no one was looking. Part of the fun is catching people by surprise’, Georgiana smiled.

‘Since I was the one who found it, I claim it cannot be used against me’, declared Crowe.

‘Come now, you mind kissing me so much?’ asked Princey.

‘No.’

Princey grabbed his friend and pressed a very quick kiss to Crowe’s lips, which was immediately captured by Georgiana’s camera and Sidney’s phone.

Esther looked away from the scene, realizing how close she stood to Babington. She looked at the man, becoming very aware of the width of his biceps, the posture of his shoulders and his height. She rarely stood this close to someone unless it was for dancing or a one night stand. Her eyes travelled upwards, towards his cheek on which the shadow of a beard was forming.

Something in her belly made a flip.

Esther downed her cup of glühwein.

‘Wicked child’, she chided before picking up a box of baubles and starting to hang them in the tree.

‘I’m not the child, Crowe is!’ cried Georgiana with a smile.

‘Alright, so what is all this family stuff’, exclaimed Susan when she came from the kitchen with a fresh cup of glühwein.

‘We decided that we all clicked together with a certain family dynamic’, Georgiana explained.

‘Crowe is the child, I and James are the crazy aunt and uncle, Charlotte and Sidney are that sickeningly cute couple… Hm, perhaps we should give each of you a title too.’

‘And what does that make them?’

Babington and Esther took a step apart as they felt everyone’s eyes drifting over to them as they had just been standing close together to each pick a bauble.

‘Mom and dad. Mom’s a snarky but caring figure’, James explained.

Esther hung her bauble and walked over to the table, pouring herself some more wine.

It was getting embarrassing, and the jokes about her and William being together made it hard for her to act normal around him. Especially since her belly decided to make loopings every time she looked at him. She liked him, as much as it was possible to like someone after having only met them a handful of times. She hoped the jokes wouldn’t put a strain on their friendship, their conversations already felt awkward enough from time to time..

‘And Babington is obviously used to taking care of us, but he’s a bit more rough on us, though he would definitely be the bottom in their relationship.’

Esther choked on her wine.

‘Excuse me?’ Babington asked of Crowe.

‘It’s true. We’ve all known you long enough to know you to be the gentle one, and she’s got a bite to it.’

‘I’ll never forget how you manage to get rid of pushy guys’, James admitted while looking at Esther.

‘Or how you hit Clara in the face that one time. My biggest regret the past four years has been not being able to see how you put Edward in his place’, Georgiana admitted.

Esther’s gaze fluttered towards Babington. He knew it would’ve been the better thing to just ignore it, but he couldn’t help but feel the need to put on end to it.

‘Come now, you’re making mother uncomfortable. Stop it before her knee goes up your groins.’

James flinched and everyone laughed.

‘I think I would make a lovely granny’, Susan decided.

‘Can there be another drunk uncle?’ asked Princey.

‘Sure’, Georgiana decided. ‘I don’t think any other role would fit you.’

Princey high-fived Crowe and the group dispersed. It was nearing two after midnight, and they wanted to explore the surroundings the next day.

First to go was Georgiana, whose energy had gone from very high to very low quite suddenly. She was quickly followed by Crowe. Next were Sidney and James. Princey and Babington played cards for a bit, as Esther and Susan finished up the big tree while talking about a very complicated sounding book they’d both read about a female dragon rider, orange trees and stupid men.

Princey decided to go to bed, and Babington went to the kitchen for a glass of water. As he was there, he appreciated the surprisingly well decorated Christmas tree – no doubt it had been decorated under Susan’s directions – before deciding to quickly wash the cups and glasses.

Less work tomorrow.

When he finished he noticed the slightest of movements on the deck against, he could only distinguish it thanks to the kitchen light and the moonlight.

He gently opened the kitchen door leading to the deck. There was no one on this side of the deck. He was only wearing his t-shirt, so the freezing temperatures shocked his body. His curiosity won out from his discomfort though as he rounded the corner. Esther was sitting on the bench on the deck overlooking the loch. She’d wrapped her arms around her legs, and had wrapped a blanket around her form.

Her gaze was aimed skyward until she heard the creaking planks.

‘Hi.’

‘Aren’t you cold?’

‘Yes. Uhm, I just thought I saw something on the deck and didn’t really think to put on my sweater.’

‘It was me. Sorry. I just wanted to check out the stars. Been a long time since I left the city, and the sky is nowhere near as pretty there.’

‘Yeah, it isn’t. I could stare at it all night. I try to spend at least one night a year in a sleeping bag looking at the stars. I like being away from the city, even the air feels different’, he said, growing increasingly awkward and cold.

She threw him an awkward smile, extending her arm and a part of the blanket to him.

Since he was a fool, not an idiot, he took the invitation and went to sit beside her with the blanket wrapped around both of them.

‘Then you must know a lot of constellations.’

‘You don’t?’

‘I like looking at them, but I just know Cassiopeia, Big Bear, Small Bear and the Archer’, she admitted with a smile. ‘I always tell myself I’m going to learn more, but I never do.’

And so he gladly pointed out other constellations to her, helping her find them in the night sky. She was softly shivering from the cold, but they both ignored it, not wanting to mention it since it would probably lead to one of them suggesting to go back inside.

She sighed after she found the fifth constellation he’d found.

‘Not tired yet, Miss Denham?’

‘I’m used to staying up late. I try to go to bed at a reasonable hour, but I always blink and it’s three after midnight. But no, I just really wanted to look at the stars right now. I like being outside.’

She took a deep breath, inhaling the forest air. She could never dare to describe the taste of winter air, but the night air in winter just had a distinctive delightful taste to it.

Babington could only gaze at her in wonder.

‘Me too. I’m not made for mornings or entire days being cooped up inside. And if I have to be inside, I want to be located near a window offering a view of at least a tree or something.’

Esther nodded, her gaze once again lifting up towards the sky.

Babington took a deep breath, gathering courage for what he desperately wished to ask next.

‘Are you fine, with all the teasing? I can ask them to stop if it’s annoying you.’

‘I’m just worried it’ll make things weird, you know. All the mom-and-dad-tee-hi-hi stuff, when we’re not… it’ll be like back in high school, when you were teased when you had a friend of the other sex and then the friendship stopped because you’re afraid that anything you do will be interpreted as flirting or being in love.’

She wasn’t looking at him, she rarely ever did. He wondered if he was bad that bad to look at, or whether she was just not the eye-contact type. Then he realized she definitely had no trouble holding people’s gaze. It was just him.

‘I felt the same way. But I know what I feel. I assume you to know what you feel. We’re not high schoolers anymore. They’re our friends and they mean nothing with their comments. I promise I won’t interpret your behaviour as anything specific just because they call us mom and dad. Let’s show them we’re real parents and adults who won’t let others influence their behaviour or thinking. We form our own opinions and decide for ourselves when the other is flirting… or not… Instead of letting them call it flirting like those high school kids would.’

The air between them was definitely charged with something as she nodded.

‘Yes. It’s only flirting when we intentionally do it. And we’re not. And we’re just being thrown together because you’re the dad friend and I’m the mom friend. It doesn’t even have to do with how we treat each other.’

William nodded. Not knowing what to take from this conversation. They’d agreed on not being awkward and not changing their behaviour just because of the mom and dad jokes, but the talk about flirting had made him a bit disappointed and unsure.

Despite how they had met, since meeting at the Friendmas dinner, she had apparently never – according to herself – tried to flirt with him. He had carefully omitted any statement about whether he’d been flirting or whether he was in love.

Did this mean she was uninterested? She probably was. But then he couldn’t shake the feeling that there had been more than a handful of times when the air between them had seemed charged with something. But maybe that was just him being in love and feeling said love.

‘Shall we retire to bed, dad?’ she asked with newfound confidence that she could accept the role without it having to mean anything.

But the comment did sound so flirtatious and Babington couldn’t stop his heart from skipping a beat.

‘Let’s, mom.’

They walked towards the door, still sharing the blanket, and as they opened it, Esther halted abruptly, her eyes focussed on something above them.

A second mistletoe had been hidden above the door.

Her eyes drifted downward again connecting with his.

To not kiss her would be to curse her with a year of being single.

‘Are you particularly superstitious?’

‘No, but I have been single for four years.’

She bit her lip. She shouldn’t be telling him that. Now she appeared desperate and lonely while it had been her choice to remain single. Okay, well, not completely. Men had thrown themselves at her, but she’d never allowed anyone to get further than a one night stand. All men who tried were men she met while out clubbing, they didn’t know anything about her and were only after her for her looks and for a quick shag. And the first two years after Edward, she couldn’t even imagine trusting a man so much he had the possibility to break her heart ever again. After four years though, loneliness won out from the fear of being hurt, but she just didn’t know how or when to find someone, or how to have a normal relationship. Hers and Edwards had always been weird, and in hindsight, toxic.

‘Don’t curse me for another year’, she decided.

There wasn’t a cell in his body which wasn’t panicking and rejoicing simultaneously at the thought of kissing her.

She said she hadn’t been flirting though, so he wouldn’t push her by stealing a kiss.

She lifted her face as he bent down, pressing his lips against her cheek.

‘Good night, Esther.’

And if her knees shook when he walked past her, that was entirely due to the cold.

Babington, once his head hit the pillow, realized that Esther had entered the porch through that exact same door the mistletoe had hung above, and tried not to overthink that fact. Perhaps she hadn’t noticed before.

Notes:

- Written for the 12 days of Sanditon challenge but I'm awfully late - Building mentioned is this one https://www.countrycottageholiday.com/our-cottages/the-boathouse# - Song sung by Georgiana and James is this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64xKIGA7_P4

#12 days of sanditon #esther x babington #esther/babington

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picturestees · 7 years ago

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spoiledsplendid · 8 years ago

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Rating: 85%

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I've been fortunate enough to see Lady Gaga perform in 3 of her other world tours (Monster Ball 2010, Born This Way Ball 2012 & ArtRave 2014). I have appreciated watching Gaga grow as an artist and performer. There were parts of the Monster Ball tour that were riddled with amateur mistakes from blocking to song choices and pacing. Monster Ball was a huge improvement where I believe she really hit her stride. The ArtRave tour made me fall in love with songs from the ArtPop album that I otherwise felt had fizzled. The show gave her music life and her performances were electric. Gaga's latest album, Joanne, had a few stand out songs but overall lacked the edginess that has defined her career. So it was with great anticipation I waited to see what her most recent tour would bring to her fans and tonight I found out.

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Gaga took the stage and started her 22 song-set with gusto. Instantly digging into new material—and be prepared, she sings 9 of the 11 tracks from her Joanne album. Diamond Heart was an interesting choice to start the show. However, the little monsters ate it up as Gaga had finally arrived. She rocked Precious Illusion which is the best breakup song of the past few years. Come to Mama was a poignant and sweet moment where Mother Monster embraced the diversity of the crowd and preached the need for love and acceptance. Her vocals hit all the right notes even if she occasionally missed one or two on the piano.

A few highlights of the show came when Lady Gaga played crowd favorites such as Bad Romance, The Edge of Glory and Just Dance. While Scheiße has never been a personal fave, it was a great vehicle to showcase the energetic dancing of Gaga and her team of dancers. Sadly, a few songs fell flat. Telephone seemed empty without having Beyonce's role (prerecorded or otherwise) filled. While Alejandro was well performed with a multitude of sexy male dancers, the lighting was too dark for both Gaga and the dancers, and the performance essentially became a silhouette to the LED screens on stage. Bloody Mary and Dancing in Circles were both forgettable. But Mother Monster finishes strong with The Cure and a show-stopping encore of a Million Reasons.

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Gaga's stage was an innovative network of bridges that get lowered down from 'pods' suspended from the ceilings. Sometimes the bridges were rotated and doubled as screens. On another occasion, they were used for a quick change. They allowed Gaga to move from one end of the arena to the next. It was well used and interesting to experience. The mainstage had moving risers that contorted the stage into different angles. This also added to the overall visual effects of the evening.

I think the biggest flaw of the evening was the disjointed and lengthy transitions between segments. Artists like Cher and Britney Spears change costumes within 30-45 seconds. Gaga's transitions were closer to 3 minutes with the band playing and the odd video segment. It killed the dance vibe the crowd had going. When Lady Gaga reappeared, she had no issue getting the crowd back again, but it felt like a bumpy ride. It should also be said that the costumes were mostly interesting and unique except for the repeated country themed outfits. I can only handle so many cowboy hats in one show.

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One final critique is on the organization of the event. Originally when I bought the tickets, the event was scheduled for 7:30 pm. It got changed to 8:30 pm with no notice to concert goers. We had purchased the VIP Come to Mama package, which included floor seats, some swag, and priority entrance. 2 days before the show, the email from organizers informed us that the priority entrance was from 3:30-5:30 pm. Many people arrived around 3:30 pm. Organizers herded us from one line to the next for over 4 hours. Gaga didn't take the stage until almost 9 pm. So by the time the concert had started, many of the VIPs had already been standing for over 5.5 hours and then stood another 2 hours for the show. If you ask me...that's not very VIP at all.

Overall, Gaga did what she does best, she connected with her crowd and sang her heart out. There were places she could have improved but there was also some standout moments that I'll likely never forget. Advice: See the show, Skip the VIP packages and avoid floor tickets.

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Remaining Shows are listed below:

AUG 5, 2017 SATURDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Tacoma Dome Tacoma, Washington AUG 8, 2017 TUESDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour The Forum Inglewood, California AUG 9, 2017 WEDNESDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour The Forum Inglewood, California AUG 11, 2017 FRIDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour T -Mobile Arena Las Vegas, Nevada AUG 13, 2017 SUNDAY @ 7PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour AT&T Park San Francisco, California AUG 15, 2017 TUESDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Golden 1 Center Sacramento, California AUG 19, 2017 SATURDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour CenturyLink Center Omaha Omaha, Nebraska AUG 21, 2017 MONDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Xcel Energy Center Saint Paul, Minnesota AUG 23, 2017 WEDNESDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Quicken Loans Arena Cleveland, Ohio AUG 25, 2017 FRIDAY @ 7PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Wrigley Field Chicago, Illinois AUG 28, 2017 MONDAY @ 8:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Citi Field Corona, New York AUG 29, 2017 TUESDAY @ 8:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Citi Field Corona, New York SEP 2, 2017 SATURDAY @ 6:30PM Lady Gaga Fenway Park Boston, Massachusetts SEP 4, 2017 MONDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Centre Bell Montréal, Quebec SEP 6, 2017 WEDNESDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario SEP 7, 2017 THURSDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario SEP 10, 2017 SUNDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania SEP 11, 2017 MONDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOV 5, 2017 SUNDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana NOV 7, 2017 TUESDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Little Caesars Arena Detroit, Michigan NOV 10, 2017 FRIDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, Connecticut NOV 11, 2017 SATURDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, Connecticut NOV 13, 2017 MONDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour KFC Yum! Center Louisville, Kentucky NOV 15, 2017 WEDNESDAY @ 7PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Sprint Center Kansas City, Missouri NOV 16, 2017 THURSDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Scottrade Center Saint Louis, Missouri NOV 19, 2017 SUNDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Verizon Center Washington, District of Columbia NOV 20, 2017 MONDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour PPG Paints Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania NOV 28, 2017 TUESDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Philips Arena Atlanta, Georgia NOV 30, 2017 THURSDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour American Airlines Arena Miami, Florida DEC 1, 2017 FRIDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Amalie Arena Tampa, Florida DEC 3, 2017 SUNDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Toyota Center Houston, Texas DEC 5, 2017 TUESDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas DEC 8, 2017 FRIDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour American Airlines Center Dallas, Texas DEC 9, 2017 SATURDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Chesapeake Energy Arena Oklahoma City, Oklahoma DEC 16, 2017 SATURDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga T-Mobile Arena Las Vegas, Nevada DEC 18, 2017 MONDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour The Forum Inglewood, California

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