#and I say this as someone who originally married Drake and had him as one of my favorite LIs but that was Drake being Drake honestly

[the-unconquered-queen]

Because I'm seeing cakegate on my dash again, let's stir up some old drama

[spideycatt]

Cat and Mouse || 42!M.M x BlackFem!R

some teacher x teacher luvvvv

Synopsis:

In which your students try to figure out if their favorite teachers have something going on

Word count: 1.1k

Part 2!!

Now playing: Cat and Mouse // Black Swan, Melt // Kehlani, Childs play // Drake

Warnings: Some cursing, BLACK reader, Miles and R are married and have a child!!!, nun else this is nice n soft

Not rlly warnings: Reader is called Moss by miles, use of “Ms. Y/n” by students, Reader and Miles are young teachers at Visions (Miles teaches physics/ general science, Reader teaches art), kind of 3+1 things

I.

The school bell rang loudly, signaling lunch time was over.

“Alright, Moss. I’m out,” He spoke making his way to the door and pausing to turn to you. “You still down for Chinese for dinner?”

You look up, giving him a small smile. “Yea, I’ll see you later?”

Miles nodded with a smile of his own, walking out the door and immediately scolding some students.

“Aye! Stop eating each others faces and let’s go.”

You shake your head chuckling, bringing your own class into your room.

“Alright guys who should we listen to now.. I’m feeling some SZA, what y’all think?” You asked your class, opening the windows to let some natural light in.

Everyone settled back into their work pretty quickly, enjoying the calming melody of the music moving around the room. You were about to get back into grading before spotting one of your students looking at you like they had a burning question to ask.

“Wassup?” You snap them out of their daze, making them laugh nervously.

“O-oh! Its nothing Ms. y/n…” They rush out, looking down at their canvas.

“Nuh-uh c’mon say whats on your mind.”

They swallowed thickly.

“I… I was just wondering if you and Mr.Morales hung out often, uhm.. for some reason.”

“And what makes you think that?” You asked surprised, this was truly out of nowhere.

Another student spoke up, not as shy as the first. “Well I did hear him ask if you guys were eating together for dinner, are you guys dating?”

“Yea! And you guys eat lunch together all the time!” Someone else shouted, more kids joining in on this mini-interrogation.

You laugh at that, huffing out as your sat down at your desk.

“Man y’all some nosy ass kids…”

“Is that a yes, Ms. y/n?” They retorted, making everyones eyes light up in anticipation.

“No. It’s not,” You gave them a pointed look.

Groans filled the class as everyone got back to their projects with no more questions.

II.

Couple weeks later, your students start to get skeptical again.

It was winter now, snowfall heavy and merciless, making everyone miserably cold. And man did you hate the cold. You seemed to have lost your sweater somewhere, walking around to surveillance your class while hugging yourself. You were going to thug it out, but decided freezing to death right before winter break wasn’t worth it.

“Guys I’ll be right back.” You spoke to your class, stepping out and going next door, Miles’ classroom. You open the door shivering, catching the attention of everyone in the room.

“Sorry to interrupt!! Really I am,” you ramble, walking to Miles’ desk, ignoring all the kids staring at you. “Bab- erm, Miles- ugh-“ you stumble over your words, why was it so much colder in here than in your room?

“Wassup, Moss?” He looked up at your shaking form, before telling the kids to get back to work. Of course, they didn’t listen.

“C-cold…”

He tsked at you. “Why are you always so forgetful,” He muttered, stripping himself of his jacket to place it on your shaking frame. “I’ll get you new one later ok?” He placed his hand on your waist, guiding you out the door.

You step back into your class, already starting to feel warmer.

—

“Aye, Mr. Morales?” Someone called out.

“Hm?”

“Why do you call Ms. y/n, Moss?”

He froze at that, not knowing how to answer at first, since the origin of the nickname wasn’t exactly school-appropriate. He just decided to go with the simple version.

“Nickname from when we went to college.”

But he didn’t expect the class to go crazy. They bombarded him with questions, one after the next about his college life.

“How long have you guys known each other?”

“What was Ms. y/n like in college?”

“Was college fun?”

“Wait that was only a couple years ago right?”

“Why does she get to wear your jacket?”

“Girl that man don’t want your childish ass…”

“Are y’all datingg?~”

He sighed and smiled at his class’ antics, letting them get their questions out. They quiet down as quickly as they started getting loud, looking at their teacher expectantly.

“Why y’all thought I was gonna answer any of those, I don’t know.” He shrugged, ignoring the class’ second uproar.

“Aht aht, none of that. I want those work sheets in my hand by the end of class c’mon.”

III.

“If you don’t get your big headed as- self out my classroom..” You rubbed a hand over your face, trying to hide your smile.

It was now spring, humidity through the roof as the leaves start growing on trees again.

“Nah, I don’t think I will. The kids love me. Right?”

He smirks as the kids agree with him.

Of course he wants to bother you during his free period.

“Anyone wanna hear some embarrassing college stories about Mrs. y/n?” He asked the class, earning more cheers.

He spent the class conversing with the kids and pestering you, but not to the point where you were actually mad at him.

“Mr. Morales, it’s almost time to go, get ya butt out my class.” You try again, earning fake cries from the class.

“Mhmm you lucky someone calling me right now. Bye yall!” He chuckled, taking his leave.

A student notice something falling out his pocket as he took his phone out, standing up to get it. Huh, a polaroid.

“Uh, Miss? Mr. Morales dropped this,” She said, inspecting it before handing it to you. “Who’s that?” She continued, pointed at the lady next to Miles with her face covered.

You raise your eyebrow at her, smiling. “Why, got a crush on ‘im?”

A ring of ‘oooo’s erupt from the rest of the class.

“W-what?! No! She just, actually…” The girl pauses, looking at the picture even closer. “She kind of looks like you…”

A second round of ‘oooo’s.

“You’re severely mistaken, everyone start packing up. I’m ready to go.”

+ I.

It was a little later in the school-year, today being take your child to work day.

You leave the teacher’s lounge with your daughter Meadow in hand. The kids’ lunchtime ended a few minutes prior, so they should be outside the classroom by now.

You make your way to your class, letting everyone coo over Meadow before Miles’ door opens up. He walks out, dapping up some of his students who are passing by, looking over the crowd of students surrounding you.

You smooth out Meadow’s dress, answering a student’s question before your daughter screeches out a cute ���Papà!”

The students surrounding you gasp, looking to where she was reaching out to.

Meadow climbed down your arms and scurried through the legs of all the teenagers as they watched her. Jaws dropping as she clings to Miles’ legs excitedly. He smiled at Meadow, picking her up and kissing her forehead.

“Hey my lil’ princess, get tired of Mommy yet?”

“WHAT?!?”

kkuet.

[Lowkey wanna do a p2. backstory typa thing. Idk how i feel about this one tho so lmk!!!]

[brucewaynehater101]

One idea I've been tinkering around for a few years. I'd love your thoughts. It's very similar to your Tim Rules the Universe idea....

It's a 'royalty au' where Tim was born the prince but had to leave the planet due to an evil uncle (who wants to be king) at three.

Evil uncle killed Tim's original parents, and the Drakes had the unfortunate task of raising a child. They were special operatives for royalty. They had never considered having children, but now it was their job.

(They weren't very good at it. After all, they had no concept of how much attention/care children needed).

Flash forword a few years, and Tim is exhausted and working his butt off for Bruce. He's proven the man is alive, saved him from time... all the good stuff.

Someone knocks at the Wayne Manor door.

It's the previous kings butler (servant, whatever). The people are asking for Tim back. The uncle sucks and Tim is eighteen. He can rule.

Tim is annoyed that his family now knows. He didn't want them to treat him differently.

(But he says yes and comes to the planet. He hadn't been there since he was three after all.)

The planet has had civil wars after civil war over the rightful king. It's in ruins (except the royal castles and a few spots)

Tim has his work cut out for him to get these people to like each other and him. The batfamily is WORRIED about him.

Jason insists on being Tim’s bodyguard. Tim shrugs. Why not? He wears his red helmet and loves it when the lesser royals (dukes, duchesses) make a fuss about not seeing his face. The previous leader of the royal guard doesn't understand why his king replaced him before even meeting him, but tries to accept Jason as his boss. Eventually, the other royal guards assume red is their kings favorite color and add red bits to their uniforms where they can. (Jason loves it!)

Anyway, the concept is Tim in this new world with alien politics (but I'm not sure what all they should be... Maybe he doesn't want to marry his betrothed. Stuff like that.) But I want it to be funny.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

This is a fantastic AU idea ^^

One thing to note that would be absolutely hilarious to go into: Tim's "fake" uncle.

Tim, because he thinks it's funny, put the evil uncle's name as his "fake" uncle. He then hired an actor to play a waaaay better version of him. That way, he would be lying about who his uncle is, not that he has one. The funny conundrum about this is, when Bruce discovers that the uncle is an actor, there are no records of Tim's actual uncle. This leads Bruce to the conclusion that Tim made up the entire uncle.

Fast forward several years later when the Bats find out. I bet Bruce is bashing his head in at the fact that the uncle WAS real. Tim didn't lie about that.

That's the tricky part about Tim. You don't know when he's telling the truth or not because he hides it under several layers and within itself.

The way you talked about the Drakes and Tim leads me to believe that all of them are an alien species. If you'd like to get more into that (what makes them different from humans, what is their culture like, do they speak a different language, etc.), I would be thrilled to learn more.

If the Drakes are human, them having an alien baby thrown at them as they are kicked off planet excuses why they maybe didn't know how to raise Tim.

If they are aliens, did they know English before they got to earth? The culture shock (and maybe different requirements/guidelines for human parenting) could have just confused the hell out of them.

I hope Tim, even from the distant Drakes, was raised in his native culture (or at least got some connections to it throughout his childhood). There's definitely some angst that can be explored there (including references to the stars).

If Jason went with Tim, I bet some of the Outlaws did as well. Kori would probably give Tim great advice on being alien royalty (and all that mess).

Hmm... perhaps the Drakes became rich and integrated into Gotham high society to do a weird form of prince training? They obviously didn't have the resources available that they should have had, so they made do.

Perhaps part of the reason the Drakes were archeologists was to grab the things previous alien ancestors left behind when they visited Earth. It's a way they can bring Tim a piece of his home world.

Questions: If Tim left at three, he might not remember that he's a prince. Do the Drakes keep reminding him (maybe some angst about the emotional separation due to them technically serving him [which can be a Bruce and Tim parallel])? Does Tim remember his bio parents? Does he consider Jack/Janet to be his parents, or does he consider himself an orphan until Bruce adopts him?

Now, for court humor: Customs, traditions, rituals, and customer service.

Tim is trying to put a planet back together and his advisors/council spring random ass rules on him.

A/C: "Overlord, sir!"

Tim: *sighs and puts his head in his hands* "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?"

A/C: "My apologies, overlord, sir."

Tim: *deeper sigh* "Just continue."

A/C: "You can't send those supplies out."

Tim: "... The supplies that will save people from starving to death?"

A/C: "Yes, overlord, sir."

Tim: "And why not?"

A/C: "Grain and seeds must be sent separately and three weeks apart! You must also dance before their departure!"

Tim: "... what the fuck?"

Stuff like that where Tim or Jason (or other Bats if they are there) get informed about strange restrictions. Tim can't change too many rules (no matter how weird they are) cause he wasn't even raised on planet. This is a reason some folks don't want him to rule them (and thus his position is unstable).

More humor could come from Tim listening to his subjects and their problems. The more ridiculous it is, the better.

Little hc you may or may not want to add: I think Damian would spend the most time going over different customs/rules/histories of the planet out of the other Bats.

[cryptidcanid19]

ok i'll bite. what is the hi fi normal au

So glad you asked (deranged)! To make a very long story short - paraphrased from @artdragon122 , the basic gist of it is that it follows a timeline where Kale survives and the "bad guys" play nice with the "good guys". A redemption arc if you will, and that was what the original plan was.

Full rundown under cut; General TWs for child abuse and neglect (Kale is not a happy camper).

Dragon and I came up with the AU following just that - everyone is happy and coexists with one another, and it gave us a chance to insert our OCs as well. No one died (well. kind of) and there was really nothing wrong. But I think the general trend with anything I, and by extension Dragon, touch never ends up being pure and happy and blissful.

We mostly use this AU for roleplay scenarios, so the both of us have different characters assigned to one another. The most important thing you should know about this is that Dragon had the ability to handle Kale, and miraculously, turned him into the saddest most tragic wet cat of a man ever. And by that I mean we both noticed that his poor relationship with the rest of his family is. Not that great. We took the fact that neither Peppermint nor Roxanne even batted an eye at his death in the game and ran with it.

Without going too deep into it just yet, Kale was heavily neglected and abused by his mother for not being the favorite child. Peppermint was raised to think he was the scum of the earth and thus treated him as such. Spectra ended up being the result of that, and was originally filled with the intent to brainwash his mother into giving him the love and care he was never able to have. Over time it evolved into something more sinister, thus bringing the events of the game to fruition.

While the other bosses survived Chai's escapades, Kale was not so lucky. He, quite literally, exploded to bits and was very lucky to even be able to be repaired. Chai had to and continues to live with the guilt that he did wind up killing someone. As Kale recovers, Chai and his gang handle the events at the secret Spectra lab below the island. Dragon had the brilliant idea of changing the memos you usually find down there to be a log of Kale's descent into insanity. It's very eye-opening for them and changes their entire perspective on why Kale did anything at all (except for Peppermint, we'll get to that later).

A few months later, a groupchat is made (where we stsrted this whole thing) in order to help everyone get along with each other better. It does go well save for a few incidents, one involving Chai stupidly throwing himself into a "rematch" with Roquefort and barely surviving, and some unlikely friendships are made. It slowly becomes obvious that Kale has a lot more going on than originally thought, even after everything, and surprisingly Chai is able to help him and Peppermint restore their relationship as siblings who deserve to care for one another.

Although, there is a more fucked up timeline to all this where Peppermint practically undergoes a villain arc which Dragon and I have dubbed the "Cocomelon AU". That's not important right now though.

That's basically all we have in terms of canon events for now, but here's some extra info that is just a bunch of things we decided to say "fuck it" and make canon:

• Roquefort and Drake (Dragon's OC) are married but like to pretend that they aren't. They're the pinnacle of ""toxic"" yaoi (they care about each other a lot).

• Chai is hopelessly head over heels for Kale. Kale is in that mixed stage of "why do I care about him so much" and no further moves have been made despite Chai's desperate attempts to get together. They'll figure it out eventually.

• Zanzo and Mimosa kiss each other apparently and they make it everyone's problem once people find out. It's horrid (awesome).

• We can make any franchise we want canon. This includes Monster Hunter and Ultrakill. Chai and Peppermint, who are completely "normal" about UK, were able to convince Zanzo to design IRL replicas of V1 and V2.

• Chai is a streamer and a very surprisingly wealthy furry artist. His top paying commissioner is Roquefort. It makes for very funny blackmail material.

• CNMN apparently works retail.

• Chai, Kale, and Peppermint are trans.

• Kale suffers from chronic migraines and is unfortunately subjected to the effects of getting high off of high doses of ibuprofen (may or may not have caused some emotional phone calls with his sister).

Holy fucking shit this is long. We will end up making this a sideblog at some point so if any of you are interested in this AU there will be that! If Dragon sees this feel free to add on LMAO

[sharkpupsblog]

❤️ Holding out for a hero 🎠 PART 4. The plan.

Hi!!! Here’s another silly part!! This one is before the games take place! I am evil 😈 I love leaving y’all on a silly little cliffhanger and then posting a part that doesn’t pick up from the cliffhanger 😈🤭😏 but it looks like it does bcs I am silly and I am full of tricks 🐎🐎🐎 anyways tomorrow’s part will not pick up from the cliffhanger right away but it will be there! :D this part is kinda filler tbh just to explain what’s going on in the story ! ty for reading and ty all for your patience I think there are only 3 more parts left to this fic and then it’s done! Anyways enjoy this silly part! ❤️🐴

“Sabine?!” the woman looked to the person who said her name and Jay who stood behind them gave her a ‘I hope you know what you’re doing’ look. Katja yawned too tired to say anything she stood next to Jay watching Sabine get yelled at. “Katja has told me you want to compete in the games? Why?” Sabine had gathered Jay and Katja telling them of her plan she managed to get them on board. Jay joined in because she owed Sabine a favor and Katja joined because she knew how good this would be regarding the houses and Sands army. Chiyo joined in just because she wanted to help Sabine but so far she didn’t have anything interesting to do in the plan. now all Sabine needed was Sands and here he was. While the knight got her things and her drake ready for tomorrow’s game Katja and Jay went to tell Sands and the king did not like the idea, so he walked all the way to the stables to find his knight. Sabine felt nervous judging by Sands reaction she knew he was most likely going to say no to allowing her in the games. She looked down at the stable floor it was now or never “I want to compete for the hand of Avalon’s heir.” Sands blinked confused and then he shook his head “are you mad? What for?” Sabine was in Khaan’s stall she walked out of it, and she walked to Sands. “A lord has asked for their hand, and they do not want to marry him I have to help them I’m their knight it’s my duty to protect them” Sabine watched as Sands expression went from confused to knowing “seems to me it’s more than just helping.” Sands knew of Sabine’s little crush on the heir she was protecting, and he knew the feeling was mutual the man had a good eye, he noticed everything. The king watched as Sabine’s face went red the woman groaned “yes damn you old man you caught me it is more than just helping.” Sabine was embarrassed she hated how good Sands was at catching shit “I want to compete in the games for their hand, but the list is full I need someone to shove me in someone of high power.” No one was going to say no to Sands adding a late competitor he knew this of course but what he did not know is why he should allow this. “Sabine this is something beyond you” the man huffed he was tired from walking all the way here he was old he should not be dealing with this. “You cannot help the heir each time they are in trouble that is something you have to understand” the king turned to leave “my answer is n-“ the king was cut short by Katja. “Sorry for interrupting but a lot of good can come from Sabine winning” the woman smiled when Sands looked to her and he made a ‘go on gesture.’ “Our houses will have a stronger alliance since Sabine is originally from your home” the advisor walked to the knight, and she stood in front of Sabine. “I’m sure Avalon would start looking more to our home and who knows…maybe he will finally agree to send some drakes our way” Katja had Sands hooked now it was time to reel him in. “imagine our armies with the power of dragons and drakes we would be unstoppable” Katja waited for Sands to fully turn and face her and when he did she looked to Khaan. “You have seen what the mount they gave Sabine as a gift can do it would be unwise to pass up on letting Sabine compete” all the girls watched as Sands looked to the floor of the stables…he was thinking. After what felt like a really long minute he looked up at Sabine “I’ll see you in the morning come with your drake and your armor” he turned to walk away but he stopped at the door to yell “and don’t be late!” Sabine sighed thankful Sands changed his mind.

Katja looked up at Sabine “you owe me” the advisor shook her head “without me your little dream wouldn’t be possible so make whatever you’re going to repay me good.” Katja nudged Sabine earning a “thank you Katja” from the knight. The advisor smiled and let out a pleased hum before she walked out of the stables following Sands. Jay looked to Sabine “I’ll use my magic to create a clone for you, but my magic isn’t as powerful as Katja’s it has limits” the general’s brows furrowed in thought “we need someone to distract Avalon’s family just in case my magic starts to drain.” Sabine looked at the stall beside Khaan’s it was full of hay for the horses who were also in the stable and on a bale of hay slept Chiyo. The knight smiled at the sight of the squire, and she gestured to her making Jay look at her the general smiled “perfect.”

TY FOR READING! :D ❤️❤️❤️❤️🐎🐎🐎🐎🎠🎠🎠🎠

[harusaki-hugo]

Hiii! I would like to request a Emma sano x female or gender neutral reader where the reader is 16 and Emma went all out with the help of Hina and her brother Mikey and some other people, like rose petals, flowers and stuff like that and confessed to the reader and the reader feels the same way but turns down her because she’s too old for her since Emma is 13 in the past and it gets all angsty in the beginning but when they get older they meet and and date then get married and the ending gets really fluffy maybe they can have children as well. I hope you understand and take as much time as you need there’s no rush!

Warning: Grammatical error

Character: Sano Emma

Anime: Tokyo revengers

AU/Original: Au

Genre: Angst to fluff

Extra: Female x female

Note: My first Tokyo revengers request. I still catching up with the manga so sorry if I didn't get Emma's personality correctly. I might have overdone this...

Waiting.

Sano Emma x Female! Reader.

" Don't you think this too much?" Takemichi sweat drop, early this morning he got a message from his girlfriend that she want to meet him at a park when he arrives he sees something unexpected.

Rose flower petals covered the ground, a balloon with the word "I love you" and even an unlit candle being placed in half circle. He then sees his girlfriend Hina along with his other friends.

Mikey is trying to wolf down a box of chocolate while Draken tries to stop him. Mitsuya is smiling happily, in front of the silver-lilac boy is Emma, she is wearing a beautiful dress, blushing slightly at what Hina said.

" What do you mean too much? Confession to [ name ] must be perfect!!" Emma glared at the boy making him raise his hands in defensive. " [ Name ] - senpai?" Takemichi remembers who that is, the first-year student of Shinjuku Academy. A gentle girl who has always been seen together with Emma and Hina.

He will not judge someone but on his mind, he did think that ' Aren't she too old for Emma ?' Yet the look on the younger girl makes him zip his mouth shut.

Night coming fast, you who just got a message from Draken ask you to come to the park quickly rush there. The boy did say it is important for you to come there fast. Panting slightly, you enter the park, looking around for the tall male.

Your eyes widen a bit when you see not Drake but Emma wearing a dress with your favorite color, hairstyle neatly, and on her hands are a bouquet of rose flowers. " Emma?" You are a bit confused by this, walking towards the girl you see her smile widen.

She then gives you the bouquet which you take with a bit of hesitance, "What the meaning of all this?" You ask awkwardly, Emma's face turning pink, she plays with a strand of her hair, gathering the courage.

Emma takes your free hand startling you a bit, looking at her you see she is serious, " [ Name ], I know this is weird for a girl to like a girl but I don't care. You are a beautiful, kind, gentle, and the most amazing girl I ever know. I don't want anyone to take you away from me that why, will you be my girlfriend?" She confessed.

You lick your dry lips, looking anywhere except for the girl, " E-Emma..that speech is beautiful.." Your word makes her beam at you but soon it falls when she sees your apologetic face.

"But I can't... I'm sixteen..you thirteen... You are too young for me. I don't think this relationship will work." With a heavy heart, you let her hand go, " I only see you as my...." You bit your lips, swallowing down the regret, "My sister... I'm sorry.." You smile bitterly at her before you walk away.

Emma stares at your fading figure disappear completely, one by one her tears slide down her cheeks. "Emma.." Mikey approaches his sister, he gently places his hand on the girl's shoulder and that is the last straw, Emma falls on her knee crying out her pain.

Hina quickly wraps the girl in her embrace, comforting the girl. Takemichi knows this will happen but he knows something else, looking towards the way you disappear he knows you feel the same pain.

You too like the younger Sano but it is the age that prevents you guy's love. Emma is still young and you are too old for her, if you two get together what will society say? What will the other say? It's okay if they talk about you buy you don't want anyone to talk bad about Emma.

Love is beautiful yet it is cruel .

Twelve years have passed, you now are [ dream job ]. It's been a long time since you see any of your friends especially the Sano family. There is no way you can meet any of them after rejecting Emma. To this day, you regret your decision but that is what for the best. " [ Name ]- senpai?!" You hear a familiar voice turning around you see a beautiful blond woman looking at you with wide eyes.

You stare at her trying to remember who she is, your eyes widen when you recognize the female, "Emma?!" She smiles happily when you remember her, approaches you, she gives you a smile that you miss. " How are you? Isn't been twelve years." You nod your head rubbing the back of your neck.

"Yes, I'm doing great." Looking away, you try to hide the heat rising to your cheeks, " You grown-up beautiful..." Emma blink a few times before her face turn red, " Y-you too! You look really beautiful.." This is getting awkward, bitting your lips, you let out a heavy sigh.

"Emma ... About what happens that day.." She stops you before you can continue smiling a bit forcefully, "No, it's okay!! I understand, I understand why you reject me." She tries to put on a cheerful face, looking around, " Are you with your partner?"

You shake your head frowning, " No...I don't have a partner..how bout you?" She too shake her head, you let out a small 'ooh'. Seeing Emma for the first time in twelve years, she has grown into a beautiful woman, this makes your heart beating faster. If she still hasn't had any boyfriend or girlfriend, maybe just maybe, you can finally make a move? After all, you two have already grown into adults, if you two get into a relationship, no one will judge you two, except for homophobic but screw them.

Gathering your courage, you take Emma's hands, she looks shocked by this, shyly looking at your eyes, " Emma, d-do you want to go on a date with me?" You shut your eyes tightly, waiting for any rejection but you feel her squeezing your hands.

"I-i love too.." You two smile brightly, face turning pink .

One date turning to a hundred. All of your friends supporting your relationship, though Mikey kinda threatening you earning a slap of the head by his sister. Two years you guys having a relationship, you two decide to take a further step.

Wearing a dress wedding make by Mitsuya, both of you hold back the tear threatening to fall. You smile at the woman of your life, she looks absolutely beautiful, Emma stares at you in the eyes, she too thinks you look beautiful in that dress.

"Welcome! We are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the marriage of [ last name] [ name ] and Sano Emma. This is not the beginning, but a celebration of the next chapter in their lives together. Today, they will affirm this bond formally and publicly. This affirmation is made even more meaningful because it’s shared with all of you, their most cherished friends and family.[ Name ] and Emma, today you not only marry the right person, but you also commit to being the right partner—the one with whom the other can stand and face the world. It’s time to joyfully seal this chapter with the declarations that will unite you in marriage."

"Do you [ last name ] [ name ] take Sano Emma to be your lawfully wedded partner, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and not-so-good times, for richer or poorer, committing yourself unto them for as long as you both shall live?"

You nod your head, " I do." You say with a voice full of love, eyes not taking off from Emma, the priest then looks at Emma.

"Do you Sano Emma take [ last name ] [ name ] to be your lawfully wedded partner, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and not so good times, for richer or poorer, committing yourself unto them for as long as you both shall live?"

She nods her head, " I do." She answers confidently.

" You may now kiss the bride." You softly kiss the female, pouring all of your love into the kiss as you hear all of the former tomans and your friends cheer for you two.

That what happens three years ago, you look at the pictures of your guy's wedding with loving eyes, "Mama looks so beautiful, right?" You look at your adopted son, to see him already sleeping. You giggle and kiss the top of his head, "Sleep well shin.." You muttered.

Emma wraps her arms around you looking at the boy "Oh, he already asleep?" She then presses a kiss on your cheek. " Hey there darling, how's dinner with Hina?" You ask her, she nuzzles against your neck sighing tiredly, "Eh, it's was great until Takemichi decide to crash our dinner with Chifuyu." You laugh, caressing her cheek, you softly say, " I love you.." Emma's face turns red, hiding her face at the crock of your neck she too with a loving voice says, " I love you too.."

[justcourttee]

New idea!!! Could you write a story where Mari and Tim are full-blooded siblings except Mari was taken away from the Drakes. Mari would be Dick's age in this. The Drake's finally pass away so Bruce goes to adopt Tim but he's having trouble because Marinette is doing the same. It's a custody battle. Tim is confused because he doesn't know Mari (she was taken away before she was born and CPS wasn't dealing with that family again) but Mari knows about him. Maybe Dick/Mari?

I have a feeling I took this in a different direction than you meant for it to be, but I hope you still like it :) @elements1999

Tim’s Decision

There were two things that Timothy Jackson Drake was sure of.

One, that he had never seen Dick so flustered before in his life. The poor guy was tripping over his own feet, stumbling into the court hallway as if he had been drinking all morning, his face resembling something close to the apple Bruce forced him to eat for breakfast.

And the second, well, he was sure he had never met someone as persistently, annoyingly, upbeat as Dick Grayson until seconds ago when she reached out her hand to introduce herself.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I’m sorry we have to meet under these circumstances, Timothy. This isn’t my first time reaching out, but it certainly is my first time getting through. Maybe after this, we can grab a bite to eat, get to know each other?”

Tim slightly withdrew his hand, reaching out to steady a swaying Dick. He wanted to ask him what could’ve warranted this behavior from him, but he wasn’t sure he was prepared to hear the answer.

“Miss Dupain-Cheng-”

“Please, call me Marinette! I’m not married, nor am I a middle-aged woman. I’m only 21 after all. You’re 14, right Timothy?”

“If I call you by your name, call me Tim. Timothy sounds like a rich brat.”

Marinette’s giggle earned a small smile from the boy. He had no idea who she was, but her presence was soothing and he didn’t feel any immediate danger. Besides, she wasn’t the first person to approach him in the past week. News of his parent’s death traveled very quickly and many people attempted to adopt him in hopes that his fortune would be theirs.

Bruce was quick to wave them off, offering to adopt Tim himself, but before Tim could even think about accepting, CPS contacted Bruce with the proposal from one Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

“I hadn’t realized that Bruce Wayne had caught your attention. I really want to make sure that you are able to have a regular childhood or at least some resemblance of a few normal years. If you think Bruce is a better option for you, I promise I’ll pull out right now, but if you have any doubts at all, I want to let you know that I want to fight for you, Tim.”

“I haven’t made any decisions yet and considering Bruce let me meet with you, I have to assume you’re not after my parent’s fortune.”

Marinette’s smile tightened at the mention of the fortune or was it his parents? He couldn’t tell. She was definitely holding something back, but they had just met and he wasn’t in any position to be pressuring her for some answers. What he was in the position to do was knock some sense into a now drooling Dick Grayson.

“Knock it off will you, you’re heavy and gross. You’re making a fool of the Wayne name and aren’t you supposed to be my guardian today?”

Dick muttered out something that sounded like an okay, but if Tim was honest, he wasn’t sure it was anything more than a few syllables to lower his guard.

“This is what Bruce considers a capable guardian? I’m not sure I trust him as far as I could throw him. What can it do?”

Marinette reached forward, poking Dick’s cheek, enough force to snap him out of whatever daze he had been in the past hour.

“Dick Grayson-Wayne ma’am, a pleasure to meet you.” Instantly he bowed, his hand extended as if he were waiting for something that wouldn’t come.

“Mhmm, so you are Bruce’s ward? You look like you could be his blood child. Does he have a thing for dark hair and light eyes? Creepy.”

Dick’s hand clutched his chest as if he had been struck directly in his core. Marinette turned her attention from him and back to where Tim stood.

“Anyways, I believe we mentioned lunch earlier. I’ve already submitted my application to CPS and after this formal meeting, you’re free to meet up with me whenever you would like as long as a third party comes with us. Can you think of anyone you want to come with us?”

Tim glanced to the side where he could feel Dick’s puppy eyes boring into him. He wouldn’t be his first choice but if it came down to him of Jaime, he was pretty sure he had a better chance of reigning in Dick.

“Do you mind if Dick comes with us?”

Marinette’s smile was shaken with uncertainty as if she was thinking of protesting but didn’t want to overstep any boundaries. Tim felt terrible putting her in the position but he was sure that Dick was her best chance given his options. “Of course not, where would you like to go?”

The lunch moved smoothly with Tim learning so much about her. She was originally from the Gotham foster system herself, but a young couple who couldn’t have kids adopted her at a younger age, moving her to Paris with them. She attended the equivalent of middle and high school over there where she met many lifelong friends. Starting late in her middle school years, she upstarted a fashion business where she had several big-name clients months into her start-up. Now she made personal designs, but many were taken care of by her team. She only stitched a very few commissions for close personal friends.

She was remarkable, someone who truly started from nothing. His parents did something similar as did Bruce’s. It was something he wanted for himself, something he wasn’t sure he could ever achieve with either his or Bruce’s fortune.

The custody battle was put on hold at Tim’s request. He was really intrigued by Marinette and Bruce pressuring him to take his time and really think over his choices finally led him to that decision. However, no matter how much Bruce tried to be a neutral party in the matter, Tim could feel the strain it put on their work relationship.

The more he saw Marinette, the more mess-ups occurred on patrol. Bruce would constantly tread into Tim’s area, always dropping in on his battles. It was as if he lost all trust in Tim as if he was trying to rely less on him, trying to go back to doing things on his own.

It was so frustrating. No matter how many times he told Bruce that he could still be Robin no matter who he chose, it seemed to mean nothing to him. He continually waved him off, claiming to have no idea what he was talking about.

A month after he met Marinette, Tim snuck out for the first time, begging her to meet him at a coffee shop near her hotel.

“Tim, this is dangerous. If CPS finds out we meet behind Bruce’s back, it could nullify my application.”

“I know, I know.” His head dropped to the table, buried in his arms trying to suffocate his frustration. “I just needed to get away from all of them. I think the fact that I consider you a serious option really upsets Bruce. It’s not that I don’t consider him a serious option as well, it’s just-he’s just-”

Tim let out a sigh, slowly sitting back up unsure where his thoughts were taking him.

“Tim,” Marinette reached across the table, laying her hand on his arm. “if this is too stressful for you, I can pull out of this.”

Her touch was so gentle, so soothing. It felt like the mother he never had, the kind of mother he yearned for but never realized. He really didn’t want her to leave his life just because he couldn’t give up being Robin.

“I just feel so selfish,” his vision started to blur, Marinette’s figure coming in and out of focus. “I want to keep the life I’ve made for myself here, but I also don’t feel like I can grow the way I want to under Bruce’s supervision.”

Marinette didn’t say anything for a moment, she just allowed him to cry, her thumb moving in small circles on his arm. Tim reveled in the feeling, reveled in the silence. He hadn’t had this in a while, he hadn’t had comfort for as long as he could remember. Even at his parent’s funeral, people just commented on how strong he was and how smart he was and told him he would be just fine. Not once did anyone try to hug him or ask if he was okay. They just assumed.

Everyone always just assumed.

“Tim, I haven’t been 100% honest with you since I met you. I didn’t want it to mess with your decision, but I think it’s time you knew.”

“I already know.” Tim moved his arms from her touch, his heart throbbing from the loss of touch. “I did my research on you, especially considering how Bruce let me meet you so quickly. You’ve done a lot of work to bury it, but the Will mentioned you, or at least your old name.”

Marinette’s smile was tight, her eyes as watery as his.

“Is that what’s holding you back from making the decision you want to make?”

Tim wanted to deny that he had no clear choice, but that was a lie he had been feeding himself. He wanted to stay with Bruce, in Gotham. His life was here, his friends were here, his passions were here. The only thing that wasn’t, was her.

“I want Bruce to be my official guardian. I want to be Tim Drake-Wayne.” Marinette nodded, understanding pouring from her and crashing into him. He felt like all the stress from the past month had been pushed out and replaced with relief. “But I really did want to get to know you, I didn’t want to make a decision because you would be out of my life for good. I’ve already lost you once, CPS took you didn’t they?”

“Right before mom became pregnant with you. I’m sure it happened to you too, but I was only six. They left me alone, not even a butler or maid to watch after me. They tried to argue with CPS that I was a competent child who could handle groceries and looking after myself but they didn’t buy it. My existence hadn’t even been released to the public so they didn’t take it too hard, losing me that is. But you, they immediately brought you into the limelight, almost like a challenge to CPS, I’m assuming that’s why they didn’t get involved for you no matter how many times my parent’s called and reported them.”

Tim couldn’t help the chuckle that bubbled out. It seemed to have shocked Marinette too as she gave way to her own giggle threatening to spill.

“Marinette, can I ask you something selfish?”

“Of course, mon frère.” Her hand reached back across the table, gripping his tightly as if pressing him to ask the question he dreaded most.

“Will you still be apart of my life? I’m not asking you to move to Gotham, but maybe a monthly trip? A weekly dinner? Something? I just don’t want to lose you again.”

The tears that had been pooling in her eyes finally slipped free, her smile blinding.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Bruce, Marinette is coming over for game night tonight!”

“Marinette?” Dick’s head popped around the corner, the red plastered by the mere mention of her name. It sickened Tim. “But I have patrol tonight! Bruce can’t the police do their jobs for one night!”

Bruce chuckled as he set up the table, a stack of every board game imaginable piled in the middle.

“I suppose you can push it back from 11 to 5 to 2 to 5. After all, I’m not heartless.”

Tim let out an involuntary groan as he slipped into the couch, wishing it would swallow him whole.

“Whose side are you on here Bruce? She’s already your honorable daughter. Do you really need her to be part of your legal family that bad?”

“I haven’t the slightest clue what you mean.” His smirk only made Tim want to fold in on himself even more.

“Bruce, if you’re gonna set me up, can it at least be with Tim’s more attractive siblings? Like what about that Jason guy? Or Barbara Gordan?” Tim popped up in his seat, a smile beaming from ear to ear.

“Marinette’s here!” He waved her over to the seat beside him before a certain older lovebird could intervene.

“I am attractive! Why won’t you accept me Marinette?” Dick wiped away fake tears as he fell dramatically to the floor by her feet.

Tim could feel his heart overflowing for the first time in years. His life felt so fulfilled, like all of the missing pieces finally found a place. As the night continued on, only one thought stayed prominent in his mind.

He couldn’t be happier with his decision.

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[fishfingersandjellybabies]

The Crown Found in Rose Thorns (Part 2) - fic

Characters: Damian Wayne, Jon Kent, Timothy Drake, bits of Steph, Jason and Dick Summary: Jonathan and Damian go on their first date. A/N: I just think about royal princes jon and damian a lot, mmkay. also, those flowers don’t ever wilt, Damian will find out. maybe it’ll be important later, if I remember that detail.

Ao3

~~

There was a giddy energy around the castle this morning. He felt it as he walked through the halls. The servants were all chattering amongst themselves, smiling in his direction whenever he passed by.

The prince has a date! They were all saying. The prince has chosen a suitor!

Damian could only roll his eyes. Hardly.

He found his hand had drifted to the hilt of the sword on his hip as he entered the courtyard. Perhaps he could challenge that infuriating Jonathan to a duel? It was only appropriate – he tried to mock Damian in front of his court.

But he ended up shaking his head. Knowing what little he did of this prince of Krypton, the simpleton might enjoy that.

As he neared the gates, he felt himself give an involuntary sigh. It must have been loud, as the one waiting there turned and grinned.

Almost as annoying as Jonathan of Krypton – his brother, Timothy.

“Don’t tell me you’re my chaperone for this…event.” Damian called.

Timothy kept his smirk. “Well, since you sound so enthused by the prospect, I can ask to be.”

“Don’t.” Damian scolded as he reached him. “I don’t need protection. Especially against the knight.”

“While I don’t doubt your skills, we don’t know that.” Timothy reminded. “He could be working for Ra’s.”

“He claimed to be the child of Father’s ally. Or did Richard not tell you that?” Damian hummed, staring out into the bustling streets. A small child waved towards them. He smiled and waved back. “Or do you just not believe him?”

“You do?” Timothy raised an eyebrow. “Prince Damian of Gotham, believing people at their word? Surely Father has taught you better than that.”

Damian felt heat in his face. “Of course I don’t. But I also know he doesn’t fit Grandfather’s brand of agent. He’d use someone we wouldn’t expect. A fortune teller or shop keep. An old cook or cleaning woman. A young, strong-looking knight who draws so much attention? Seems…implausible.”

“Strong-looking, hm? And here, Richard told me you only agreed to meet with him today as a barbaric game.” Timothy questioned mischievously. Damian pursed his lips and punched Timothy’s arm. “Ow! Hey!”

“Frankly I trust Sir Jonathan to not be an agent more than I trust the likes of…of Cassandra’s suitor.” Damian mumbled. “Why don’t you spend more time investigating that bard woman? How can you be so sure she’s not an agent? That’s exactly the type of person Grandfather would use. No direct ties to me, and could harm someone else in our family in the process. Exactly what Ra’s al Ghul would want.”

“Stephanie has been vetted. She was vetted long before she and Cassandra were romantically involved.” Timothy explained. He laughed then. “Speaking of her – back to your original question. No, I am not your chaperone today. I’m here waiting for Stephanie.”

“Why?” Damian demanded. “Does Cassandra know?”

“Yes, she does. She’ll be joining us.” Timothy nodded. “Stephanie is a bard, like you said. So she hears the stories. She knows things.” He looked towards Damian. “We’re hoping she knows things about the Kingdom of Krypton and a certain prince.”

Damian crossed his arms. “So…who is my chaperone, then? Surely there is one.”

“Not directly. You and Jonathan will still be alone in general. He’ll just follow in the distance.” Timothy shrugged. “And it’s Jason, I believe.”

Jason, the raunchy brother. He had almost as little manners as Jonathan himself. Always yelling and cussing. No filter, no politeness. A rough man who drank too much.

He’d almost prefer Timothy.

“And I believe Richard will be joining him later in the day, or switching. But I cannot remember.” Timothy suddenly stepped forward. Damian looked into the crowd and saw a blonde woman in a purple travelling cloak gliding towards them. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

The woman came forward, and bowed when she was close enough. Damian gave her a head nod in return as Timothy turned to guide her into the courtyard. They were halfway to the castle when Timothy turned back.

“And Damian, don’t forget!” He called. “If Sir Jonathan does anything untoward,” He pulled his own blade out of its sheath halfway. “You stab to kill.”

Stephanie laughed. Damian grinned in response, and turned towards the town, making his way towards the forest.

~~

He caught sight of Jason a few times on his walk. Riding his gray horse lazily fifty or so yards away. The one time, Jason saw him watching, and gave him a cheeky wink.

Damian had scowled and tried to walk faster, almost hoping to get lost in the crowd. Just because he had to have a chaperone, didn’t mean he couldn’t make the job worth their while.

As he entered the clearing on the edge of the forest – the agreed meeting place – he slowed. Jonathan was already there.

He wasn’t in his armor today, but rather a simple tunic and pants, similar to Damian’s own outfit, just minus the tied vest. He was sitting on a fallen log, fiddling with the flowers popping up around his boots.

Damian did not see a weapon on him.

Along with the change of outfit, his demeanor seemed different from the day before as well. His face was no longer sharp confidence and sunny mischievousness. Now, his eyes were half-lidded as he relaxed, face thoughtful as his head tilted and he examined the flowers.

Damian ignored the sudden feeling in his chest. Because it wasn’t annoyance or haughtiness or even suspiciousness like he expected.

Without warning, a bird swooped down from overhead, cawing as it brushed along Damian’s hair. The noise made Jonathan look up, and once he recognized Damian, he smiled.

“…She sure seems to like you.” Jonathan laughed as he stood. “Hello, Your Highness.”

“Hello.” Damian mumbled, holding his arm out. The bird fluttered down to land on his elbow. “Waiting long?”

“No, not long.” Jonathan scratched awkwardly at his hair. “…I tend to arrive places early when I’m nervous.”

Damian snorted. “You? Nervous? Your showing yesterday implied you didn’t know the meaning of the word.”

Jonathan let out a gentle laugh. “Well…I had to get your attention somehow.” When Damian glanced up at him, he found himself unable to hold the gaze, so looked to the bird. “Is she yours?”

“No, she’s wild.” Damian assured, even as he pet gently at the bird’s head. “I…spend a lot of time out here. Feed them on occasion.” He looked towards the bird and smiled. “She must remember me.”

“Well, you are hard to forget.” Jonathan mumbled. Damian had a feeling he wasn’t supposed to hear it, so didn’t push the issue…yet. Instead, he let Jonathan admire the bird for a moment, then shook his elbow and pushed the bird back into the sky. She flew off with another caw. “…Lead the way?”

Damian nodded and moved down the path. Jonathan stayed behind him for a few moments, before jogging to catch up.

“I…um.” He let out a small cough. “I don’t mean to alarm you.”

Damian glanced at him.

“There’s a man on a horse following us.” Jonathan whispered. “…Would you like me to deal with him?”

Damian stopped walking and turned. In the expanse of trees, he could see the shadow of Jason, chaperoning as promised.

Damian smirked.

“I should.” He called loudly. “I should absolutely let you dispatch of our stalker.” He heard Jason’s horse snort as Jason turned her away.

Jonathan glanced between him and the trees. “I…think I am missing something.”

Damian laughed. “My family is overprotective.” He explained. “With this…situation with my grandfather, they are chaperoning my every movement, including with potential suitors. That’s merely my brother, Jason.”

Jonathan hummed. “I’d heard about that.” He sighed. “I’m…sorry.”

Damian shrugged. “My grandfather has always been ruthless. Apparently tried to kill my father when he and mother agreed to marry. Why anyone is surprised he’s come after me is beyond me.”

Jonathan didn’t respond. They walked in silence for a few moments. Damian’s bird friend let out another cry as she flew above them once more.

“That was why you came, though, isn’t it? For all that glory?” Damian asked. “You know, to be the one to succeed in protecting the youngest prince of Gotham?”

“No.” Jonathan said simply. “I came for you.” When Damian looked at him, he was uncupping his hands, revealing a small flower. He twisted the stem into his fingers and held it out. “Just for you.”

Damian stared between the flower and Jon’s face, then back again.

“…You weren’t holding that before.” Damian whispered. He looked up again. “I know you weren’t.”

“No, I wasn’t.” Jonathan smiled and held the flower out. Damian took it without thinking, cataloguing that the mischievousness was back in Jonathan’s brilliant purple eyes.

Curious.

“I will admit, though, that hearing about your mother’s call for a suitor did spur my action.” Jonathan admitted wistfully. “Gave me a reason to return to Gotham and try my luck.”

“You’ve been here before?”

“Many times. My family travelled often when I was younger. We were in and out of kingdoms all the time.” Jonathan chuckled. “How my father met and befriended your father, I still don’t know. It’s a story he won’t tell.”

“Old men love their secrets.” Damian agreed. He stared down at the flower as they walked, stroked at its pink petals.

Those feelings Damian expected, the pride and suspicion, they weren’t manifesting. In fact, he was finding that it was…surprisingly nice, walking with Sir Jonathan. It didn’t feel awkward or forced. Their conversation was flowing naturally. There was no hint of the bordering animosity from yesterday, or the challenge. And, loathe as he was to admit it, even just to himself, he was easy on the eyes.

He still couldn’t trust him, though. Couldn’t stop assuming there was going to be another shoe to drop. A catch to this seemingly simple situation.

“So…” Damian sighed after a few minutes of silence. “I am to believe you are sincere, then?”

“Hm?”

“You aren’t here for the glory of protecting the prince?” Damian repeated, putting the flower behind his ear so he could clasp his hands behind his back. Jonathan shook his head. “Or for the riches that come with joining a highly respected royal family?” Jonathan smirked and shook his head. “You are here for love and all it entails, truly?”

“Yes.” Jonathan said easily. “At least I hope so.” He looked up into the sky, watching the clouds between the reaching tree branches. “I believe love could happen, but I also know that’s no guarantee. I mean,” Another laugh, this one nervous. “I know you’re not happy with me so far, but I will admit I am fond of you already. But I know that could change.”

He gave out a dreamy sigh.

“I could end up hating you.” He mumbled. “Or I could end up so deeply in love with you I don’t know what I’d do.”

Damian stared at him, specifically at his sparkling purple eyes. “…The former is more likely.”

Jonathan blinked and the sparkle disappeared from his eye as he looked back at Damian. He gave another smile, but it was sadder. “Surely you think better of yourself than that, Your Highness.”

Damian shrugged. “It…has happened before. An occurrence I’m used to. Friends, family…look at my grandfather, after all. Why do you think my mother feels the need to beg for someone to love me?”

“Well then, I will just have to hope to fall even deeper in love with you myself, then. Show them all what they are missing.” Jonathan decided.

But the answer made Damian stop. Jonathan took a few steps further before stopping and turning back himself. Damian watched as he glanced over Damian’s shoulder, no doubt at Jason’s lurking form. “Why?”

Jonathan looked back. “Why what?”

“Why are you so keen?” Damian demanded. “You know nothing about me.”

Jonathan blinked, and that shine in his eye was back. “Of course I do.” Jonathan said simply. “I know a lot about you.”

“How?” Damian asked. “Your father?”

“No. By our own interactions.” Jonathan shook his head. “You don’t remember, and that’s fine. It’s not important, really. Maybe one day you will.”

“When did we interact?” Damian snapped. “When did we meet?”

“As children.” Now Jonathan frowned, glanced at the ground. “But if you don’t mind, I don’t wish to talk about that now. That’s not what today is about.”

Damian crossed his arms. “What is today about then, if not to get to know each other?”

“Get to know each other, yes!” Jonathan agreed. “But as we are now, not as we were.” He took a step towards Damian. “Maybe another day, when you trust me more?”

He almost sounded like he was pleading, and Damian couldn’t help but narrow his eyes. “Who says I ever will?”

Jonathan laughed again, bowing his head in admittance.

“Like I said, who knows how this will turn out. I’m hopeful, but have been wrong before.” He smiled. “But that is neither here nor there, and I won’t bring it up again. The future doesn’t matter, only today does. So let’s get back to it, shall we?”

Damian pursed his lips in thought, vaguely sensed the flower tucked behind his ear.

“Fine. Let’s.” Damian nodded, stepping off. Jonathan’s face lit up as Damian returned to his side and they continued their quiet stroll through the woods.

Jonathan kept his promise, he kept his romantics to himself the rest of the day. Instead, they talked about typical things. Not love and coups and kingdoms, but food, books, battles. Jonathan, it turned out, enjoyed cooking. He spent much of his time in Krypton attempting to recreate the recipes he was taught when they travelled to share with his court. He also loved competing, and learning a skill when it bested him.

Damian asked about the bloody armor he had from the day before. Jonathan admitted is was from an attack on Krypton right after his father had retaken the throne. He didn’t like war, or the constant fighting around the lands, but recognized the need to take part when he had to, especially when it came to protecting the innocent.

Jonathan asked about his own skills, especially by being the son of the notorious Talia al Ghul. Damian explained that was what was so silly about this suitor business – he could protect himself. Always has been able to. Just like his siblings.

He then talked about his family. How his siblings were all adopted, but it’s not like you could tell, since they all looked so alike anyway. Richard was adopted by his father, Jason by his mother, and Timothy and Cassandra after the two were married. Damian had been an accident.

Their rendezvous was supposed to finish by midday, but they were so distracted by their winding conversation that they did another two laps around the forest path, before making their way back into town in the late afternoon. Absently, Damian noticed when Richard joined Jason, but otherwise continued to ignore them.

He could also see the townsfolk all whispering already. Gleefully talking about how handsome Jonathan was, how close the two were walking. He even heard a few talk about how warm his own smile was, and how relaxed he looked.

He ignored them too.

As the sun went down over the hills in the west, he found them nearing one of the castle’s gates and decided to end their meet for the day.

“Shall we see each other again?” Jonathan asked after Damian said so. “Have I proven myself to be worth even a second of your time?”

Damian let himself have a small smile as he crossed the gate threshold and turned back. “I suppose we can. How long are you staying in town?”

Jonathan shrugged. “As long as I need. Unless I get a letter from Krypton or something, I have nothing urgent to return to presently.”

“Alright. Where are you staying, then?”

“The tavern a few streets away.”

“Okay.” Damian smirked. While the day had been pleasant, and Jonathan an interesting companion, that didn’t mean he wasn’t still going to have his fun. “I’ll come find you when I wish to see you again.”

Jonathan gaped for a moment. “And when might that be?!”

Damian just kept his grin. “Whenever I feel like it. So, if you’re actually serious about this. I suppose…well, don’t leave town.”

Jonathan stared for a moment more, then let out a bark of a laugh. “You’re cruel, Your Highness.”

“So I’ve been told.” Damian agreed cheekily. He turned to walk away, but:

“Damian.”

He hesitated and glanced over his shoulder. Jonathan was still there, looking down at his hands as he clasped them together.

“I…would like to apologize, for yesterday.” Jonathan muttered. “I didn’t mean to potentially embarrass you in front of your court. I only wanted to get your attention, by any means necessary, which was selfish of me.” He bowed his head. “That…is not me. Not really. Today, though, that was me. I promise.”

“No, it wasn’t.” Damian countered. Jonathan looked up, confused. “You never explained how you made the flower, how you know me, or why your eyes sparkle – and yes, I noticed that. You’re still hiding something of yourself.”

Jonathan lowered his head once more.

“But we all have secrets, I suppose. Masks we wear on occasion.” Damian relaxed his shoulders, and touched at the flower still behind his ear, still as fresh as the moment Jonathan gave it to him that morning. “So…all is forgiven, Sir Jonathan.”

Jonathan perked at his words. After a moment of silence, he stepped forward again.

“Damian?” He asked softly. Damian hummed in response. Without warning, Jonathan took hold of Damian’s hand and leaned forward, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. He lingered there for a moment, breath brushing Damian’s skin as he whispered, “Thank you for a lovely day.”

As quickly as he approached, he retreated, backing up until he was almost in the street.

“Until next time, Your Highness!” He called as he raised his hand. And in a flash, he was instantly lost to the evening crowd.

Damian was left blinking owlishly at the gate threshold. As he heard Richard and Jason approach on their horses behind him, obviously coming into the courtyard from another entrance, he looked down at his hand, the one Jonathan had held.

A purple rose sat against his fingers.

He looked back into the crowd, looking for even a glimpse of that black hair and violet eyes. There was nothing.

He swallowed thickly. This was supposed to be a game. Damian wanted it to be a game. He wanted to break Jonathan down and send him back to Krypton weeping.

He’d wanted that.

Now…so quickly…he wasn’t so sure. He wasn’t so sure what he wanted. Wasn’t so sure if it was a game. And if it still was, who was winning.

“…Until next time.”

[bebepac]

Pop’s 🌎 World

This is a very special Mia’s 🌎 World. It’s kind of a stand alone, as you could have not read the previous series and know what’s going on here.  It’s about a father’s love for his daughter.  But if you are curious to go on a binge read:

Book One:  Pop’s Place

Book Two: Mia’s World

I’m also participating in @wackydrabbles​ prompt # 91 picked by  @ofpixelsandscribbles​ “I’m worried about you.” which will appear in bold. 

Original Post Date: 04/20/21 at 7:03PM EST.

The Book:  TRR (this is typically a crossover, but none of the crossover characters appear in this chapter) 

Pairing:  Mia x Jaiden  (TRR MC x M!OC)

Word Count: 1976

Warnings: Pops laying on all kinds of Daddy Fluff.  Brief mention of pregnancy complications, with no specific or graphic detail. 

Summary:  A glimpse into the past, present and future of Pops. We will be getting to know, the softer side of Pops Jones.

A/N: Writing is truly one of the ways that I have dealt with a lot of unsettling feelings I’ve had over the years, and this one is very cathartic for me.  I never had the best home life growing up.  Pops is the personification of the father figure I wish that I had growing up in those more formative years.  He does remind me a bit of my Grandfather, but he passed away when I was young.  So I write my Mia having the strong base that I wish I had.  And maybe some things would have turned out differently.  

A/N2:  I don’t own the rights to the poem “I Trust You’ll Treat Her Well”  by Dan Valentine which the words will be bold and italic throughout this episode.  I did modify a few words to make it representative to Mia and her family, as Mia does not have blue eyes and light brown hair.   

Song Inspiration for this Episode:  I Loved Her First by Heartland

I don’t own the rights to the music.  

Jaiden and Mia were staring at each other in awe as if they were in their own little private universe.

Tears welled in Pop's eyes as he watched Mia.

Pops never thought he was super sensitive until that moment. But seeing Mia, his baby girl, slow dance with Jaiden in her wedding dress, tore his heart to pieces, in a good way. Together Gloria and Pops had raised a beautiful, intelligent, strong young woman, who had found the love of her life.

Their very first dance together as husband and wife was breathtaking, and the newly married couple had nothing but smiles and a few tears for each other, and whispered sweet nothings in each other's ears.

Maybe not so sweet.... as whatever Mia had whispered caused Jaiden's cheeks and ears to flush a rosy pink, as he gently tugged at his collar a bit. 🍋🍋

"She picked a good one, Pops. He'll take care of her. He always has." Gloria whispered in Pops ear.

"I know. It doesn't make it easier. I loved her first."

Pops stood before them with a smile. Since they were done with the formal pictures, Pop's tie was completely gone, and the first few buttons of his dress shirt were unbuttoned. Pops was a simple man. But his feelings about that day were anything but simplistic. Pop's soul was a storm of emotions inside his heart: happy, melancholic, and bittersweet, because not only had he given his daughter away to be married, but he was also gaining a son, whom he loved dearly.

His eyes met with Mia's from across the room. She smiled at him, but as he refocused on her, he saw the little girl that loved to play dress up in Mommy's clothes and makeup.

Clearing his throat, Pops began to recite the poem that he picked for today. His confident voice was already shaking as he gazed across the room at his little MJ, his eyes already beginning to tear up.

"Dear World,

I bequeath to you today one little girl… in a crispy dress...with two brown eyes… and a happy  laugh that ripples all day long...and a flash of black hair that bounces in the sun  when she runs. I trust you'll treat her well."

He never knew the person who would completely change his whole entire world, his heart  was a little bouncing baby girl that weighed seven pounds and twelve ounces when she was born.

When he found out Gloria was pregnant, Kelvin wanted a boy. That's all he thought about. Someone to play ball with, and fish with. He got the shock of his life when he heard those three words. It's a girl.

Mia was born a week before Christmas.  Gloria went into labor while they were at a Christmas party neither one wanted to attend. Labor was a fitting excuse for the pair to leave early. The one time in Mia’s life she showed up early to benefit her parents. 

Gloria’s due date was Christmas Day.

When he first saw Mia's big brown inquisitive eyes, he knew she would be special. And Mia was, and she was the light of his world.

Mia’s first word was Pop.  The reason everyone called Kelvin “Pops”  was because of Mia.  When Mia started talking she said it repeatedly.  And it stuck with EVERYONE!

Mia was definitely a Daddy’s girl. 

Mia took her very first steps following behind Pops. He had walked into the kitchen to make Mia a snack, when he glanced up from the counter seeing her toddling towards him.

"Pops!" Mia exclaimed enthusiastically as she took her slow and deliberate steps towards him.

Pops immediately knelt, opening his arms smiling brightly at her.

"Come to Pop Pops."

Mia made it to his arms. He picked her up and spun her around planting kisses, and raspberries on her cheeks and tummy.

He wanted his little MJ to stop growing.  

Even though he loved Mia dearly, Pops thought about the possibility of them having another child.  He thought then having one of each would be perfect.

But sadly the lightning never struck again for them.  

Gloria sat on the side of the bed in tears.  

“We weren’t even trying when we got Mia, and now that we are…. Why isn’t it happening?”

“I don’t know.  Maybe we just got it perfect on the first try, my beautiful Morning Glory.”

“I know you want a boy Pops.”  

“I wanted our child Gloria.  Mia is our baby.   I wouldn’t trade a thousand little boys for our Mia.”

He wiped Gloria’s tears.

“I’m worried about you.”  

“I feel like I'm failing you.”

“You’re not, you gave me Mia.  She’s more than we could have ever asked for.”  

Mia had asked several times for a baby brother or sister.  Until a sweet family with a little dark haired boy moved next door.  

Daniel and Mia were inseparable.  

“Prim and proud she’ll wave her young and independent hand this morning and say “Good bye” and walk with little lady steps into the school house.”

It was  Pops that cried the first day of school when he waited with her at the bus stop.  They had always had a very special close relationship.

“For five full years now I’ve been her sage and Santa Claus and pal and playmate and father and friend...”

Mia had her “Mommy time” with Gloria but as Mia aged, she liked to fish with Pops.  She enjoyed being in the kitchen with him.   At age ten Mia called out her first order to Pops that day taking the first step of creating ‘their special language' they talked to each other to this very day in the kitchen. Mia sat at the table with her book watching the waitress in front of her, listening closely to the order.

She called out the order to Pops loud and proud.

Pops glanced down at the order that Ginny handed him, as Mia recited in her own language what the customers wanted.  He smiled at her, it made sense to her, and to him.  

“I’m on it, MJ!” His voice boisterous.  Little Mia learned the menu and started calling out all the orders to Pops. 

His mind drifted to Kyle.  Mia’s first serious boyfriend.  The one he had basically thought he was so proud of Mia for finding.  Kyle appeared to have it all.  He came from a good family, and he appeared like he loved Mia.  

Pops mentally took off his rose colored glasses and looked at his daughter’s relationship with him.  

Pops saw all the warning signs he had been oblivious to the first time around.  The sadness in his daughter’s eyes, she was trying to hide.  The crash dieting.  Mia wasn’t insecure before, but he now saw all the hints of it.  And he had been afraid to ask. Why did he not ask her what was wrong? When he had such a good relationship with his MJ.

“Today she’ll learn for the first time not all who smile at her are her friends….”

Mia found the courage in herself to end that relationship.

And with the ending of that relationship ended another one.  Daniel’s father was transferred to North Carolina.   Mia was devastated with her friend moving away.  But, it was very short lived, as Daniel’s father Jonathan let Pops know of a restaurant that was for sale in their area, that would give Pops the chance to branch out completely on his own and have his very own place.  

Pops took a chance and packed up his family and moved to North Carolina and bought that little restaurant that the community now fondly known as Pop’s Place. 

He remembered the first time he saw Mia interact with Jaiden.  The two were very friendly with each other talking and laughing.   Jason Brooks elbowed him.  

“There is something special blooming between those two.”

Pops laughed looking at the two of them again.

“I doubt it seriously.”  

Mia’s dance card was full, between Drake Walker, but Pops had his money on Liam Rys walking away with Mia’s heart.

“Twenty bucks says they’ll be dating before the end of summer.”  

“You’re on Brooks.”  

Pops lost that bet.  

Watching the love blossom between his daughter and Jaiden made him feel young again.  The love and the heartache.  

The sweet little gestures of love and understanding.

*^*^*^*^*^*^* Fast Forward a year after the wedding *^*^*^*^*^*

"I think I finally got it right now. Hi MJ, hey Jaiden. Can you all hear me now?”

"We can hear you now fine Hey Pops, where's Mom?"

"I'm here, I had to take dinner out of the oven."

They talked for a few minutes.

"MJ you look like the cat that ate the canary. What's going on?"

"So we didn't agree on how to do this.  We both wanted to tell you face to face but we didn't want to wait until Thanksgiving."

She looked at Jaiden.  He smiled nodding.

"Mom, Pops…..”

Pops saw the tears in Mia's eyes.

"What's wrong?"

She held up a single picture.

Both her parents screamed in joy.  

“It’s a boy!!!”  

“We wanted to tell you sooner.”  

Jaiden’s eyes filled with tears, as Mia leaned into him.  His grip tightened around her.

“We had to wait a little bit, because we had some complications. I had to take some time off work. But we’re okay now.  All three of us.”  

“This is the best news I’ve ever heard!!!!” Pops was laughing and crying at the same time. 

“You can't tell anyone yet. We’re telling Jaiden’s parents a little later on this evening.”

"We understand."

“So that means Pops, when we have the baby you’re getting on a plane and flying out here.  Mom’s not going to let you drive cross country.”

“It will be fun, we could rent an RV like we did that summer.”

“NO Pops. NO!!!”  Gloria and Mia exclaimed in unison.

“That summer was a nightmare, Jaiden.”

For MJ, when it was time, he got on that plane.  The simple man who lived between North and South Carolina his whole life, had raised a girl that loved adventure, and was living her life now in California as a fashion designer  with her successful architect husband, and about to give birth to their first child.  

Jaiden walked out of the delivery room with a proud smile on his face.  

“He’s here.  Six pounds and two ounces and twenty one inches long.  He’s perfect in every way.”

Jason went to hug his son.    

Later that evening, Pops and Gloria went in to see the baby.  

Mia had been in labor for over twelve hours, but you couldn’t tell it from the serene smile that was on her face, as she held their first child in her arms.  

Jaiden took the baby from her arms.

“Pops, meet your grandson.  His name is Kaiden…. Kaiden Riley Brooks.”

(Author’s Note: yeah…. I know, I said Riley Brooks would never exist in a place where my MC is not named Riley…. But you know…. I had to mix things up. Technically this is NOT your Riley Brooks.)

Pops held Kaiden in his arms.  The little baby opened his eyes to look at him. And in that moment Pop’s life was changed again by another little baby, this time, weighing six pounds  and two ounces.  

He kissed the top of his head gently rubbing Kaiden’s head full of dark brown curls.

“We finally got our boy Pops.”  Gloria whispered as Pops rocked Kaiden in his arms.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* Fast Forward  *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Time flies as time always does.  Pops and Gloria were visiting during the first week of school.

Pops grip on Mia’s hand tightened as she held her youngest child Luna on her hip, watching little Kaiden walk down the driveway to the bus.

Mia softly gasped as Kaiden stopped, turning around to her, and  waved goodbye to her, and his little sister, and his Poppy; Mia was holding back tears.

“I know how you feel.”  

“Does it get easier Pops?”

“You’ll always see him….them the way you do now.  They will always be your babies. It’s how I see you. I’m so proud of the woman you’ve become Mia.”

“Thank you Pops.”

“So, world, I bequeath to you today, one little boy… in a little blue and gold uniform…. With two hazel eyes and a flash of curly brown hair that bounces in the sunlight when he runs.

I trust you’ll treat him well.”

Tags in the comments!!!!

[writingblock101]

Waffles or Pancakes? (Tim Drake x Reader)

Miss me? More explanation at the bottom. Enjoy this vent fic! 

Warnings: None

Word Count: 2,600

Tags: @idkmanicantenglish @mayahoelland2013

You pick up a stone, fiddling with it in your hand. You don’t have daddy issues. The complicated relationship with your father doesn’t run that deep, and it definitely isn’t some kink… but there are a lot of unresolved problems threatening to boil over the surface. 

Complicated relationship...More like lack thereof. You suppose that’s what happens when you have divorced parents, and you only see your dad every other weekend. Then other shit happens, he marries the wrong woman, you get older and more involved in your own life, and there’s not much effort on either side. You suppose that’s the origin of most of these problems, but you’re not the adult in this situation, dammit! 

You throw the rock in frustration, watching it disappear off the side of the building, then a puddle of dread pools in your stomach. You’re on top of a building, and pedestrians are walking below, minding their own business. Sure, it may be close to 3 a.m. in Gotham, but still! Your actions have consequences. 

You rush to the side of the building to make sure you didn’t bodily injure some random person, only to look down and see empty streets. Your pebble most likely joined another heap of loose asphalt. Plopping down heavily onto the ledge of the apartment building, you stare into the streets below and idly wonder if Batman and Robin are patrolling. When do they ever sleep? Do they sleep? 

You should be asleep, and you know it. You said good night to the friend you were messaging over an hour ago, but instead of rolling over and passing out, your mind wandered to your family, specifically your father. Probably because you’re going to be seeing him in a few days for the holidays. It’s not exactly dread. Your father is a very loving man who loves you very much, but it never felt like he put effort into your relationship. Of course, it wasn’t until you were older that you realized how little effort he genuinely put in. As a child, you strived for his love, his approval, his interest. That’s what you really wanted. You knew he loved you and was so proud of you, but you also knew he was never truly interested in you or your life. And that stung. 

So now, instead of ever bringing up your dad during therapy, you’re sitting on a roof, throwing rocks into the abyss, and getting teary-eyed over arguments that will never happen. 

“Care for some company?” A voice startles you. 

You turn to see Red Robin of all people, standing a few feet away and looking as non-threatening as possible. You shrug and gesture to the ledge. 

“Plenty of ledge here for the both of us. Besides, I’m sure you could teach me a few things about perching on tall buildings.” 

Red Robin chuckles and moves to the edge of the building. He tosses his legs over the side, sitting a foot away from you, and stares out on the city. You wonder what he sees when he looks on the city. He, Batman, Robin, and Red Hood protect Gotham for whatever reason. You’re not sure this cesspool deserves it, but apparently, they see something in it. 

“I wasn’t going to jump,” You tell him. 

“I didn’t think you were,” He responds simply. 

“I’m not suicidal,” You plow ahead. “I don’t want to die, but I kept spiraling the longer I laid in bed.” 

Red Robin nods along, like he gets it, like he understands. And maybe he does. You suppose despite all the rumors about the Bats, they probably are normal humans under those cowls and masks. Humans with a deathwish, but at this point, who isn’t? 

“Do you want to talk about it?” He offers quietly. 

“With you?” You raise an eyebrow. 

Red Robin pretends to look around the empty rooftop. 

“Well, unless you’re seeing someone that I’m not, then yeah, with me.” 

He chuckles at his own joke, and silence falls between you two again. 

“I know it’s weird,” Red Robin admits. “To talk about something that’s probably really personal with a total stranger, but I’d figure I’d offer. Talking… It helps. So if you don’t talk to me, you should think about talking to someone.” 

You pause, mulling over his words. You don’t know Red Robin. You’re pretty sure Red Robin doesn’t know you. But why would he want to listen to some pity party at 3 am on some random apartment rooftop? Surely, he has better things to do. 

But he sat down. He offered. He’s making an effort. 

That’s more than some people can say. 

You sigh heavily, your shoulders slumping. 

“It’s my dad,” You finally admit. “We’ve always had a… complicated relationship. It’s not that he doesn’t love me-- he very clearly does. He’s always been a very affectionate man, but… it feels like he was never really interested in my life. Not in a malicious way, but in an oblivious way. And when it was happening before my eyes, I was a kid, so I didn’t see it, but now being older… It’s more obvious. It’s so clear that he doesn’t know me… And it stings.” 

Red Robin listens patiently, nodding along with your words. He says nothing, letting you speak. 

“And in my head, I keep bringing up things that happened years ago that still bother me so much, but it was so many years ago. He probably doesn’t remember because he doesn’t think they’re significant moments, you know? It’s things he said in passing that he doesn’t think of as hurtful that left… Much deeper marks than I’m willing to admit.”

You sigh, scrubbing your face in frustration at the burning in your eyes. You don’t want to cry. You don’t like crying. You don’t care if you need to cry-- you cried earlier, and now, you’re not going to cry in front of Red Robin about your damn daddy issues (okay, maybe they are daddy issues, but you’re sure as hell not going to be calling anyone “daddy” in the bedroom). 

“I just… I’m tired. I’m tired of trying to put effort into a relationship that he doesn’t seem to want to put effort into. And the thing is, I doubt he even realizes that he’s doing it! If I talked to him, I’m sure we could figure something out, but… I’m not sure I want to… I love my dad very much, and I know he loves me… But I don’t think I like him.” 

Right as the words pass your lips, you feel instant regret seize your chest. 

“Oh, God, does that make me a bad person?” You bury your face in your hands, fighting back the watering in your eyes. “He’s such a loving man. He’s a damn bleeding heart, and I know if he heard me say that, it would break his heart!” 

The thought alone sends tears spilling over onto your cheeks. You love your dad, you don’t want to see him heartbroken, but it’s getting harder to ignore your own bruises. 

Red Robin scoots closer to you, rubbing your back soothingly. 

“No, it doesn’t make you a bad person,” He tells you softly. “It sounds like you’re really hurt. While we can love our family, it’s hard to like someone who’s brought you so much pain.” 

“But he… He’s so sweet,” You sob, taking a stuttering breath. “He’s one of the most loving people I’ve ever met.” 

“But that doesn’t mean he can’t hurt you,” Red Robin tells you gently. 

The tears well up in your eyes again, and you give up trying to make any sense of your thoughts. Instead, you let the tears fall. Red Robin pulls in arm around your shoulders, rubbing your arm as you lean against him and silently cry. 

You two sit there in silence for what must be an hour before you finally sit up and rub your face. 

“Well, that’s certainly not how I expected this to go,” You admit sheepishly, wiping your face. “Sorry for making you listen to my dumb sob story.” 

“I’ve been there,” Red Robin offers a tissue that he produced from somewhere on his suit. “It’s not dumb. Having someone who will listen makes all the difference.” 

“Thanks,” You say softly, offering a watery smile as you blow your nose and finish wiping your face off. 

“Are you hungry?” He offers. 

“Hungry?” 

Red Robin shrugs. 

“Crying takes it out of you. And it sounds like you’ve had a long night. How about some 4 am breakfast?” 

“But I don’t have my wallet,” You dumbly state as if not having a wallet is the only issue with his proposal. 

Red Robin waves you off. 

“It’s my treat.” 

You look down at your clothes: sneakers, mismatching socks, stained sweatpants, an old sleep shirt, and the first jacket you could find in your room, which was a jean jacket. 

“You look fine,” He assures you. “Besides, it’s 4 am. If anything, you fit the vibe more than I do.” 

You giggle at that, grimacing at how tight your face feels from the crying and the snot dripping from your nose. Wiping your nose with your sleeve, you glance around the rooftop. 

“How are we going to get there? I don’t have a car.” 

Red Robin pulls what looks to be a grappling hook from his side. 

“I have an idea. But I have one important question before we proceed.” 

You look at him warily. 

“Do you trust me?” He asks. 

And considering you just cried on his shoulder for the past hour and info dumped a small piece of your tragic backstory, you suppose you kind of do.

“Yeah,” You tell him. 

“Great,” He smiles. “That wasn’t the important question, but that was needed information. Get on my back.” 

You blink at him. 

“Um. What?” 

“Get on my back,” Red Robin repeats like it’s the most simple thing in the world. “I’m going to swing us to a breakfast place,” He waves his grappling hook.

“Um.” 

“You said you trust me,” Red Robin reminds you. 

And you suppose you did say that, didn’t you? He does this just about every night, he can keep you safe… Hopefully. 

Red Robin bends down so you can hop onto his back. Once he’s sure you’re securely situated with your arms around his neck and your legs around his waist, Red Robin climbs up on the ledge of the apartment. Your grip tightens as he stands dangerously close to the edge. 

“Wait,” You say before he jumps. 

Red Robin turns his head in acknowledgment. 

“What was the important question?” 

He grins at you. 

“Waffles or pancakes?” 

“What?” 

“Waffles or pancakes?” Red Robin repeats like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

“That was your important question?” You shake your head in disbelief. 

“It is an important question,” He insists. 

You pause for a moment, pondering your answer. 

“Pancakes,” You say decisively. 

“Good answer,” Red Robin grins, then steps off the building. 

For a moment, your breath is stuck in your throat as everything tenses, bracing for impact. Then, there’s a tugging—something dragging you away from the ground in a long arch. You tear your eyes away from the ground to see Red Robin almost effortlessly swinging with his grappling hook. Every shot is perfectly timed and calculated. It looks like second nature at this point, and it makes you wonder how long Red Robin has been doing this. Who is Red Robin under the cowl?

Eventually, you land in front of a mom and pop dinner which advertises 24/7 breakfast. 

“It doesn’t look like much, but this place has the best pancakes,” Red Robin promises as you slide off his back. 

You shrug, looking up at the old sign and well-loved booths inside. 

“Like you said, it fits the vibe.” 

Red Robin grins and opens the door for you. He directs you to a booth in the back. An older waitress comes by your table holding two mugs and a pot of coffee.

“Hey, Red,” She greets, looking tired but friendly. “Who’s your friend?” 

Red Robin glances over at you with a small smile. 

“A fellow pancake lover.” 

The waitress chuckles as she pours him a cup of coffee. 

“Coffee?” She offers you. 

“Uh, sure,” You’re doubtful that you’ll drink it since pulling an all-nighter sounds less than ideal but holding something warm sounds nice. 

“So, a stack of pancakes for both of you then?” The waitress asks, not bothering to write down the simple order. 

“That sounds great, Brooke,” Red Robin smiles. 

“Sure thing,” Brooke heads back to the kitchen to place the order, leaving you at the table with Red Robin. 

You blow on your hot coffee and wrap your fingers around the mug, enjoying the heat. 

“Alright, another important question for you,” Red Robin begins as he adds sugar and cream to his coffee. 

You smile, ready for this all-important question with rapt attention. 

“Acceptable toppings on pancakes?” 

Midway through your heated debate about which fruits are acceptable to top pancakes with (“Oh, so pineapple can go on pizza, but it can’t go on pancakes?!”), Brooke drops off two stacks of fluffy, golden brown pancakes. While Red Robin is wrong about pancake toppings, he wasn’t lying about these pancakes being delicious.

“Okay,” You say through a mouthful of heavenly pancake. “These pancakes are delicious, but I cannot fathom the thought of you ruining them with Miracle Whip.” 

“It sounds weird, I know,” Red Robin admits, opting to dunk his pancakes in syrup only, thank God. “But trust me.” 

“Miracle Whip,” You repeat. “Like the substitute for mayonnaise.” 

“It’s sweeter than mayo!” Red Robin argues. “It’s like a sweet cream on pancakes.” 

“I think you’ve had one too many concussions.” 

“Oh, really?” You’re sure that Red Robin is raising his eyebrows at you under his cowl, judging by the look on his face. “So, what’s your excuse for orange juice and chocolate chip cookies?” 

“Okay listen,” You point your fork at him. “I never said it was my idea. A friend made me try it, and it wasn’t the worst thing in the world!” 

“How can you question my judgment about Miracle Whip on pancakes when you eat orange juice with your cookies?!” 

“It’s not that different from drinking a glass of orange juice while eating a chocolate chip pancake!” 

“Yes, it absolutely is!” 

By the time you two have your fill of pancakes, coffee, and arguing, it’s close to five am. Red Robin drops you off on your apartment rooftop. 

“Thanks for the pancakes,” You smile, sliding off his back. “You’re right. I did need that.” 

“Helping is what we do,” He shrugs with a small smile. 

“If only someone could help your taste buds.” 

Red Robin laughs then shakes his head. 

“If you think mine are bad, you should see some of the things my siblings eat.” 

“There’s more of you?” You toss your head back dramatically. “What kind of cursed bloodline do you come from?!” 

Red Robin grins. 

“A diverse one,” He answers vaguely. 

“Seriously,” You tell him, sobering up. “Thank you.” 

“Anytime. If you ever need someone to talk to, go to the roof. I’ll be there,” Red Robin promises. 

“Thanks,” You say softly, then you kiss his cheek. “I’ll see you around, Red.” 

He’s frozen for a moment, then a smile stretches across his face. 

“See you around,” He solutes, then disappears into the night like the bat he is. 

You smile to yourself and walk back to your apartment. Some sleep sounds pretty good now…

So, hey guys! It’s been a minute... 4 months to be exact... Sorry about that. I’m not dead! Just in college. I just finished an 18 credit semester so I’ve been busy and tired. Next semester will not be better. It’s suppose to be my hardest semester of nursing school, so that’s great. I am hoping over break to work through some of my requests. I think to help I’m going to try to make them shorter. I also might delete some, so if yours gets deleted, I’m sorry. Eventually request will open again and you’ll be able to request, but as of now, I’m just trying to get content out and some of the things on the upcoming don’t really do it for me. Anyways, I’ve missed y’all and I’m sorry for the wait. Thank you for being patient, you guys are the best and I hope you enjoyed this vent fic! 

[bbrandy2002]

Fearless

Chapter 2: Take My Hand And Drag Me Headfirst

Book: The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir

Pairing: Prince/King Liam x MC (Riley Brooks), Drake Walker x OC (Alyssa Devereaux)

Series Premise: Riley Brooks and Alyssa Devereaux became best friends as freshmen at Syracuse University, a borderline-sisterhood that lasts forever after. When Riley meets a handsome prince and is asked to compete for his hand in a mysterious faraway kingdom, she invites Alyssa along for moral support.

What the girls think will be a crazy temporary adventure becomes two sets of happily ever afters … with twice the shenanigans to show for it.

A/N: This series is written in loving collaboration between @bbrandy2002 and @burnsoslow​.

Series Warnings: Smut 🍋🍋, language, canon violence (gun violence, bombing, terrorism), drug use, probably more stuff as we think of it. By reading this series, you agree that you are at least 18 years old and are prepared to deal with adult themes.

Thank you @burnsoslow​ for the beta and putting some of your magical finishing touches where needed.

Chapter 3 will be written by @burnsoslow​ ,  I’m so excited for that!!

___________________________

Propped against the railing of the rear deck of a small tugboat in the middle of the Hudson River, the warmth of Liam’s arms wrapped around her from behind, Riley thought back to the words Daniel spoke to her earlier about fairytales and happy endings. Maybe it was the hope in his voice she needed to hear during a vulnerable moment to lift her spirits, but she was really starting to believe them herself.

The newly fired, down-on-her-luck Riley Brooks had left the Tapped Out Bar with a mysterious man that she plowed over during an escape from rats while taking out the garbage. A little while later, she accidentally attacked him again in the alleyway of her former employment with her sad little stick. They struck up a conversation, and through some awkward stalling on his part, he finally worked up the nerve to ask her out for a drink. 

Riley wasn’t someone who normally took off with random guys she just met to flit about the city, but there was just something about Liam that was different -- that was special. 

Call it intuition. An inclination. Instinct or inkling. Whatever it was, was a possibility. Of what? That remained to be seen. 

After talking to his friends about his plans, and at her behest, the pair headed west on foot until they reached a busy late-night cafe that overlooked the choppy waters of the New York harbor. Sitting on the open deck, moonlight cascading off the ripples of the sea, a light jazz tune playing through the outdoor speakers, they talked for over an hour about everything and nothing, while sipping coffee and plucking at a large cinnamon roll they shared. It was the most Riley had spoken in a long time. When you live with and are friends with the more outgoing Alyssa, you learn to appreciate the fine art of listening. She spoke about her dads, her friends, places she traveled to and what not. All very light, casual conversation. Liam mentioned he had family, his country of origin, how much he was enjoying New York, but never revealed too much.

Not wanting to sound too whiny and pathetic, she stuck with the positive things in her life; she surprised even herself that there were a lot more than she realized. But he captivated her in a real way that made it so easy. Liam laughed with her and made her feel interesting and personable; maybe even desired.

And as the night carried on and the patrons of the cafe dwindled down, a Miles Davis tune began to play: “Blue and Green.” A bright smile tugged on the corner of Liam’s lips as he pushed his chair back and rose from the table to offer his hand. “My lady.”

Riley looked around the deck to see if anyone else was dancing -- they weren’t -- but how could she say no? 

She didn’t want to say no.

Beside their little round table and under a string of hanging white pearly lights and garland, they slowly swayed together like it was the most natural thing in the world. It was chemistry in motion with every soft blare of the trumpet, rhythmic taps on the snare drum, and light pitter pats on a piano played in G major. The tempo was leisurely and elegant, creating the perfect ambience for the feelings that were stirring within them.

With her head resting snugly against his firm chest, the thrumming of his steadily-beating heart reverberating in her ear, Liam revealed, “I’m the Crown Prince of Cordonia, Riley.”

Never breaking their stride, Liam lifted one of her tiny arms in the air and twirled her around gracefully. Riley smiled up at him as they returned to formation; their hands intertwined between them. “And I’m one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.”

Liam laughed as they continued their gentle side-to-side movements. “I know it sounds crazy, but I’m not lying to you. Perhaps I should have been a little more upfront with you from the beginning, but I’m normally not allowed to go out without the Royal Guard.” He paused for a moment to lower her into a deep dip, sensually inhaling the perfumed scent around her decolletage, before pulling her back into his arms. “And I was only allowed out on the condition that I kept my identity a secret. But, just for one day … I wanted to be free.”

It was one of the most romantic nights Riley had ever experienced in her life, but as the music continued to play, their steps gliding in sync, she nuzzled her cheek against his firm body and responded, “You’re so full of shit.”

Liam pulled away, amused by her choice of words and disbelief. “After I told you all of that, you still think I’m lying?”

Riley shrugged. “I dunno.” She casually pulled out her chair under his watchful eye and sat down, crossing her legs. Lifting a coffee mug to her lips, she winced at its cold temperature, and the fact that she hated coffee. “So, I’m not really into the whole role-playing thing, but if you’re gonna be this ... Prince of Condomania, how about if I play the sultry villainess spy who comes to steal the treasures from your castle and you catch me in the act?” She batted her eyelashes and splayed her hands across her chest. “I will neva surrenda, Prince Liam. If you wont me, you’ll haf to take me right heya.” Riley animatedly flung her arms out and arched back over her chair.

Liam knit his brow. “What the hell kind of accent is that?”

Riley sat up and smiled proudly. “It’s Cajun. I have this friend and I really like how he talks; it’s so sexy. Do you think it sounded convincing at all? Maybe a little too nasally? You want me to try to do your accent next?”

With a grin, Liam shook his head and took the seat across from her. “You’re something else, you know that?”

She sighed. “That’s what they tell me.”

Reaching into his jacket pocket, Riley watched curiously as Liam pulled out his phone and began typing something on it. He held it out to her. “I want you to look at this, Cajun Villainess Spy. Tell me what you think?”

“Oh God, you’re gonna show me a dick pic, aren’t you?” Riley slammed her eyes shut as she reluctantly reached for his cell, but sort of peeked out one eye.  

“Eh, no. That’s never really been my style.” He gestured insistently for her to look at the screen as he sat back and crossed his arms. “I think you’ll find everything you want to know about me right there.”

It only took her a second to study the images and gloss over the text he pulled up, but a satisfied smirk formed on Liam’s charmed features while watching her eyes grow larger. Riley jumped up from her chair, the momentum causing it to tip over. “Why didn’t you tell me you were a real prince?” 

Liam guffawed, “I did!”

“No, you didn’t! You had I’m joking written all over your face. How was I supposed to know your serious face and your joke face look the same?” She tossed the phone back to him like it was molten iron scorching her palm. “I’d rather have the dick pic.” 

After picking up her tipped-over chair and getting settled again, she took a moment to just process the identity of the man she had spent the last couple of hours talking and dancing with. Her real-life Prince Charming. This incredibly sweet, hot guy sipping coffee in front of her was part of a royal family, and she was an unemployed everything. What on earth possessed him to want to spend time with the likes of her?  

She looked up from her fidgeting fingers that were picking at the green fabric covering her thighs and smiled softly at him. “I’m sorry I overreacted. It’s just …”

“A lot to learn about someone? No, no, I get it. I probably would have had the same reaction if I were you.”

“So ... what happens now?”

What happened next was what led them to the boat they were on for an impromptu midnight ride to see the Statue of Liberty.

Liam laid out the details of his situation: He was a prince visiting New York City with his friends who were throwing him a last-minute bachelor party. Riley listened attentively while he explained his upcoming social season: not knowing yet who he was going to marry, but that duty required him to take a wife by the end of the year. He had hoped while he was in the city to visit its most famous statue; however, his friends hadn’t planned for it. Riley heard the disappointment in his voice and it tugged at her heart.

It was definitely too late to catch one of the many tours that traveled to Ellis Island during the day, but Riley was determined to do what she could to make it happen for him. Part of her was motivated by the fact that she liked him a lot and enjoyed his company; he was charming and refined, different from anyone she’d ever met. The longer she got to spend with Liam and got to know him, the better. But there was also this other part that felt sorry for him. Riley could see the struggle in his eyes and the weight on his shoulders between what he wanted to do, and what his position forced his hand to do. In her mind it was clear that Liam was the kind of guy who got everything -- except what he wanted.

In some ways, she knew the feeling.

To Liam’s surprise, Riley assured him she would find a way for him to see that statue. So, while he paid the tab, her mind raced with how the hell she was going to pull this off. And just before the actual possibility of having to hijack a vessel began to fully take shape in her mind, she pulled out her phone in one last-ditch effort to not break the law. Riley knew no one who owned a boat, but there was one person in her life that seemingly had a connection to everyone in the damn city.

Riley bit at her fingernails as the phone rang, glancing over her shoulder once to watch Liam paying the cashier. “Come on, come on. Pick up. Pick up.”

“Heyyyy!”

“Alyssa,” Riley whispered in an urgent tone into the phone, unclear whether her friend would even hear her over the party music and raucous chatter that was blaring in the background. “I need your help with something.”

“Riiiiley!” she slurred. “My bestie. My sister from another parents. I love you soooo much. More than everyone in the whole wide ... something. Hey, guys! Riley’s on the phone; say hi to her!” 

“Wait, Lyss! No.”

A loud chorus of drunken greetings could be heard through the receiver as Alyssa held it up in the air.

“Alyssa!” Riley repeated in frustration while listening to her best friend start another conversation with a partygoer about the perfect symmetrical shape of the cheese cube she just ate. Apparently, it looked like a “tiny little house, for teeny, tiny little cheese people.”

Riley smacked her forehead. “Alyssa!” 

Liam returned from paying the bill, his hands stuffed in his pockets and bouncing on his heels. He raised his eyebrows at Riley as if asking eagerly whether she was ready to head out on this adventure she told him she would make possible. Riley smiled back and raised a finger, indicating she’d be ready in a moment. Panic started to set in as she cursed under her breath and continued to try to get her friend back on the call. “Lyss.”

“Riley,” Alyssa laughed. “You’re still on the phone? No way! Hey, guys! Riley’s still on the phone. Say ‘hey’ to her!”

“NOO! Please, Alyssa, I need your help.”

“Whatcha need, Ri? You know I’ll do aaaanything for you.”

“Ok, do you remember when you caught our dorm room on fire senior year cooking ramen noodles in the microwave, and all my stuff burned up?”

“That checks. Sure.”

“Well, it’s time to pay up on that favor you said you’d owe me.”

Somehow, the planets must have been aligned just right, because a very inebriated Alyssa comprehended Riley’s request enough to talk to Damien about it and have it actually make sense. Luckily, the private detective knew a guy who drove a tugboat for the Port Authority working the night shift and was more than willing to see what he could do for Alyssa’s best friend.

-----------

Riley felt Liam’s arms tighten around her waist as the Statue of Liberty came into view. She had seen the landmark more times than she could remember in her life; perhaps she had become so accustomed to it being there that she took for granted how it would affect someone seeing it for the first time. It wasn’t until she twisted around in his arms to view his reaction, to see this beacon of freedom reflecting in his mesmerized eyes, that it all made sense. Liam was a beautiful man with a beautiful soul; if anyone deserved this moment to reflect on what it truly meant to embrace the freedom he longed for, it was him.

“What are you thinking, Liam?” She broke the silence.

He shook his head in wonderment. “It’s magnificent, Riley. I’ve heard art has meaning because of what it makes the viewer feel. Whether it’s ink splatters on a canvas or on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, it only matters if it moves you.”

“And?” 

Liam let out a sigh of contentment and lowered his gaze to her. “And right now, looking at this view with you … I feel like … anything is possible.”

“I feel that way too.” She slowly nodded, finding herself lost in his eyes, his voice, his embrace. Nothing in this moment mattered to her anymore: the long stream of bad luck, the crappy job she just lost, her epic failures at relationships. They all seemed to just wistfully fly out into the ocean and bury themselves below its sandy bottom. 

Wrapped in each other's arms, surrounded by the salty sea air and a skyline full of hopes and dreams, Liam pulled her as close to himself as she would go, his other hand moving up to caress the side of her face. Both searched longingly into each other's eyes, waiting for the other to make that next big move. 

Feeling an awakening of courage and fire in the depths of her fluttering stomach, she threw all fears and caution to the wind. Riley grasped on to the lapels of Liam’s jacket and gently lowered him to her eagerly awaiting lips.

The kiss was tender and brief, but magical; it left her spellbound. Riley could swear she floated out of her body and traveled into the clouds that blanketed above them and enveloped her wholly.

Liam rested his forehead on Riley’s; his hands reached down to grasp hers and swing freely alongside them. “You’re full of surprises tonight, Riley.”

“Is that before or after I knocked you out earlier?”

He chucked, rubbing the bump on the back of his head. “Both times. I’m certainly not sorry about either, though. I’ll never forget this night … or you.”

If you have a concussion, you might. She smiled up at him, “Me either.”

As their boat rounded the island, Riley took one last glance back at the statue that now represented so much more in her mind. Her gaze traveled across the expanse of the gleaming torch, down the long arm of the statue, over to the dim lights shining through the glass within the crown. Something caught her attention -- an odd movement -- and she couldn’t help but squint real hard to make out the image that was quite small from her vantage point. She tilted her head, trying to figure out what the hell she was seeing before it finally became clearer to her. She let out a loud gasp. “Oh my God!”

From behind, Liam leaned down next to her face. “What’s wrong?” he asked curiously, trying to match his view with her line of sight. “What are you seeing?”

Riley pointed up. “I see ass cheeks!” she replied in disgust. “And not just any ass cheeks … big, gigantic ones smooshed right up against the window. There’s two people up there just going at it and … oh, no wait, she just got turned around. Yep, yep, those look like boobies now. Who does that kind of thing, having sex where anyone could just see? And in the Statue of Liberty, of all places?”

Letting out a forced cough then clearing his throat, Liam squeezed Riley’s shoulders several times and laughed awkwardly. “Yeah, I know. Sick freaks, huh?”

The pair watched the display for a second longer than they should have before turning to look at one another, blushing and smiling sheepishly. Riley only hoped she played off her disgust well enough that he didn’t realize she was a sick freak too.

Liam looked away, hoping the same.

---------

It was well past midnight.The Brooklyn streets were mostly bare, with only the occasional late-night dweller cruising the sidewalks or a yellow cab making its weekend rounds. Just a stone's throw across the bridge, the city that never slept, with its flashing lights and bustling tourist, lay in deep contrast to this quiet residential district that was only lit up at that hour by street lamps and halogen headlights.

Riley considered where she lived to be a fairly safe neighborhood. Crime and lawlessness weren’t unheard of, but it was rare for that area. Like many women of her young age, walking alone in the dark wasn’t something she usually set out to do unless she had no other choice. That’s why when Liam insisted he accompany her the few blocks from where they finished their excursion to see her home safely, she was more than willing to oblige him.

“This is my stop. Home sweet home.” Riley stopped at the bottom of the stairs that led to the entrance of her building and turned to Liam. She looked more gleeful than she actually was.

He glanced up at the plain red brick building. It was nothing special, but he made a mental note of the address numbers over its clear glass entryway. He knew it was unlikely he’d ever see her again, but on the off-chance, maybe someday if he was ever in the neighborhood … no, he thought … there’s no point in going there. “I see that ...it’s nice.”

Riley looked at him with a hopeful expression. “I know you said you had an early flight in the morning, but … if you’d like to come up …”

“I wish I could, Riley. Trust me, I want to more than you know; however, the limo will be here soon with my friends, and ...” he swept a strand of blowing hair from her face, memorizing her every feature. “... I don’t want to make this harder on either one of us.”

Nodding, Riley gave a half-smile. “I understand.”

They stared at one another for a moment, hoping to prolong the inevitable. “Come here, you.” Liam pulled her into him and wrapped his arms around her. ”I can never thank you enough for everything tonight, Riley. I’m so glad I ran into you. Well ... actually you ran into me.” Riley let out a soft laugh that made his heart skip a beat. “You were the best part of my trip, Riley. I mean it.”

Before they knew it, the limo pulled up alongside the sidewalk in front of Riley’s apartment. Both felt a sinking feeling, knowing this was the end, and embraced a little tighter as the squeak of the limo’s brakes dulled and the awaiting engine ran in the silent backdrop.

Riley drew in a breath, the heels of her shoes tapping one another. “I guess this is goodbye?”

Frowning, Liam’s palms moved up to her face and rested along her jawline. “I’m afraid it looks that way.” He leaned down and kissed her gently, her arms winding around the back of his neck to hold him there for as long as she possibly could.

Knowing if he didn’t end it there, it never would, Liam broke their kiss, stroking his hand through her hair and said, “Take care, Riley.”

She smiled back. “You too, Liam.”

Not wanting to leave until he was sure she made it inside safely, Liam watched from the sidewalk while Riley slowly made her way up the concrete steps, scouring through her bag as she did so. When she reached the top, she stepped in front of the locked door, frantically digging and shaking her bag in search of the keys to get in. 

“Everything okay up there?” Liam called up to her as she knelt down and started frantically tossing items from her purse, slamming them down next to her feet: wallet, cell phone, lip gloss, ink pens, breath mints, hand sanitizer, a half-eaten bag of skittles, a box cutter she didn’t know she had, a marshmallow bunny from Easter, Midol, tampons …

“Mother fuck,” she grumbled in frustration to herself before yelling back cheerfully, “Yes, just looking for my keys. They’re always at the bottom,” she laughed, trying to make light of it. 

“They’re in your hand, Riley,” she heard him point out when she finally gazed down into her hand and slowly opened her palm. Liam let out a laugh when he saw her face twist up, realizing she had them the entire time. 

“Get out of here. You said you didn’t want to make this harder.” Riley began stuffing everything back into her bag.

He continued to laugh as he threw his hands up and stepped away. “I’m going.”

As soon as she unlocked the door and walked inside to the lit-up entryway, she heard the limo pull away. Everything in her wanted to look back in hopes he’d stayed behind by some chance and was walking up those steps, approaching the door, wanting her to let him in. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath; the greatest guy she’d ever met was gone, and the only way to see him again would require a Google search. 

In her mind, though, she had made a prince’s dream come true. Maybe she wasn’t half bad after all.

In a huge way, Liam did the same for her. Too bad he would never know it.

___________

Riley opened the door and stepped inside her dark apartment, closing it behind her. After such a long day, feeling a little disheartened, all she wanted to do was slip into some comfy night clothes, wash her face, brush her teeth and crash until next week. Taking two steps away from the door, her foot caught on something and she went flying forward, landing with a hard thud to the floor. 

It felt like the wind had been knocked right out of her chest when she hit the ground. “Son-of-a--?” She pushed herself up on her knees, shook out her sore hands, then reached over to flip the light switch on.

“Alyssa?” Riley whispered.

Lying on the ground, curled into a peaceful little ball, was her roommate, still in the same clothes she last saw her in, hands pressed together and tucked under her cheek like a sleeping cherub. Riley crawled over to Alyssa, swept her hair out of her face, and checked for breathing. The strong smell of alcohol emanated from her tiny sighs -- Alyssa wasn’t a heavy drinker. 

Concerned, Riley jiggled her arm. “Sweetie, are you okay?”

An angelic murmur was the only answer to her question.

Not wanting to leave her on the floor, Riley stood up and bent down, her hands grasping both of Alyssa’s wrists before she pulled her down their hallway as gently as she could and stepped into her best friend's bedroom. 

Huffing out of breath, she made it next to Alyssa’s bed. Riley crouched down and tried to lift her onto the mattress, but Alyssa was dead weight. Maybe she had no other choice but to leave her there. 

Riley pulled a blanket and pillow from the bed, rolled Alyssa to her side, and got her as comfortable as she could. After placing a wastebasket next to her friend and leaving a bottled water on the night table, she patted her back. “I have so many things to tell you in the morning, Lyss. You’d be so proud of me.” Riley swallowed down the emotions that had threatened to escape since she realized Liam had left for good. Her voice broken and feeble, she continued, “I took that risk. I was fearless, just like you told me to be. It didn’t work out the way I had hoped, but …” she sniffled through a small smile, blinking back tears. “... I have no regrets.”

Riley rose to her feet and headed for the door when she heard a faint voice call out from behind that stopped her in her tracks. “Ri?”

She turned her head. “Hmm?”

“I’m always proud of you.”

Switching the light off, Riley smiled back at her friend, who still appeared to be resting in a calm slumber. “I know. Good night, bestie.”

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

The next morning, just as the sun had peeked from behind the clouds and the air was fresh with newness and warmth, Riley woke. Today would differ from every day before. She didn’t want to lie in bed all day and dwell on what-might-have-beens or how her life was a dead end to nowhere. She was determined she wanted something more out of it -- whatever that may be.

Slipping on a pair of trainers, running tights and a long sleeve shirt, she pulled her hair up in a high ponytail and headed out.

She made it two blocks before collapsing on a bench, gasping for air, and flipping off a kid on a bike who was laughing and taunting her.

After five more blocks of running and taking a break at nearly every bench or stoop along the way -- that same jerky kid still deriding her as he circled around each block -- Riley made her way back to her building, hunched over and sweaty. She didn’t jog as far as she’d liked to, but she made the effort, for which she was pleased with herself. 

It also didn’t hurt that there was a mouthy kid out there somewhere with two flat bicycle tires, crying to his mom, that was giving her a new boost of life. 

Reaching for the door of her building, she chuckled to herself thinking about his pouty little face -- haha, sucks to be you, kid -- when someone yelled out her name.

“Shit,” she panicked, thinking the boy’s parents had found her and had come to beat her ass. Riley fumbled with her keys, trying to make a quick getaway inside.

“Hey, Riley! Stop.” The voice sounded oddly familiar, and curiosity couldn’t stop her from whipping her head around to take a quick peek. She instantly recognized the man who was racing up the stairs towards her, from the bar. He was one of the guys from Liam’s party last night who helped after the collision. 

Pulling the keys from the lock and gripping the pepper spray attached to them, she jumped back when he suddenly hopped up next to her like a fireball of energy.

“Riley. I’m so glad I caught up with you. I’m Maxwell -- we met last night -- and this is Rashad.” He pointed over his shoulder. The man gave a simple nod in return. “He was there, too.”

Her brows knit in confusion. “Oookay. You both aren’t here by chance upset over a couple of slashed bike tires, are you? Because that wasn’t me. I saw who did it, though, if you need a witness statement.” Riley’s eyes shifted around, looking for a person to match her fake would-be description.

Maxwell shook his head with a chuckle and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, her gaze falling to it. “Nah, I came to talk to you about Liam. You’re all he could talk about when he got back to the hotel last night. He went on and on about the cafe, and the trip to the Statue of Liberty, and how beautiful you are ...”

“He -- he did?” She was pleasantly surprised, her heart bursting at his words.

“Yeah. We’re heading back to Cordonia so Liam can find someone to marry and all that jazz. But before I go, I wanted to officially extend to you an invitation to join us for the festivities in Cordonia. Sooo … is there somewhere we can talk?”

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

“You want me to do what?” Riley jumped up from the sofa, her eyes wide and mouth gaping as she gawked back at Maxwell, who was sitting at the far end. Her trembling hand shot to her forehead before she paced back and forth. “Let me get this straight. You want to sponsor me to compete to marry a man I just met last night? And not just any man, a prince. You’re going to fly me halfway across the world -- You could be the Official Royal Serial Killer, for all I know -- then prance me around like some beauty pageant contestant?  And all I have to do is say ‘yes to the dress’ that you can’t afford? Just hop right on a plane with two strange men, huh? How naïve do I look to you?” Riley paused for a second. “Don’t answer that.”

“I’m not doing it for you. I saw how Liam looked at you last night at the bar, and later when he returned from your date. I’ve never seen him that happy before. Honestly, I don’t want him to lose that. We’re kinda crunched for time, though. I’ve got a plane leaving in an hour.”

“An hour?” Riley questioned as she plopped down on the coffee table, her back to Maxwell and the guy in the chair across the room who hadn’t said a word the whole time. It was a once-in-a-lifetime offer to travel somewhere new and exciting and literally rub elbows with royalty. To live out that fairytale that most girls could only dream of. But more importantly, it was a way to see Liam again, and she wanted to so badly … if Maxwell was indeed telling the truth. 

Even if nothing came of it, there was no job tying her down anymore. Her dad had just gotten married to her stepfather and stayed busy as a chef for Beyonce and Jay-Z, so he would be fine, and she had enough money in savings to pay her portion of the rent while she was gone and expenses for her travels. There was just one thing she would insist on.

Riley spun around on the table, her eyes flashing between the two men. “I will do this -- on one condition.”

Maxwell clapped his hands excitedly. “Yes! Just name it and it’s yours.”

“Max.” Rashad leaned forward in his chair, his elbows pressed into his knees. “You don’t even know what she wants yet.”

“I’m getting to that.” Maxwell turned to her with an arched brow. “Okay, Riley. What is your condition?”

She hadn’t even asked Alyssa yet, but Riley steepled her fingers and volunteered her, anyway. “My roommate has to go with me.”

“No problemo.”

“What -- Really?”

“Sure. She can ride the jet back with us and I’ll even help her find a good hotel room nearby so you two can visit … if you’re able to find time in between all the competitions, balls, traveling, lessons, and what not. It’ll be great!”

Riley shook her head adamantly, not willing to budge on the issue. “No! I want Alyssa there for all of those things. If I even have the slightest chance of being a serious contender and a fully functioning human being, I need someone there to make sure I don’t do anything stupid … and I will … a lot.  Plus, she’s my best friend, and I’m not doing this without her.”

Feeling the pressure to relent and the seconds ticking away until takeoff, Maxwell’s shoulders slumped, taking in Riley’s pleading expression. “I -- I don’t know what to do. Your friend would have to be sponsored also in order to stay with you. She would have to be a suitor and compete for Liam’s hand just like you and all the other ladies, and there can only be one sponsee for each noble house. If you’re our pick, then she would need to have someone of nobility who doesn’t have a suitor yet and knows it’s all a ... ruse …” he trailed off, grinning impishly, as an idea suddenly popped into his head. Maxwell’s gaze swept across the room and landed on his friend, Rashad, who had a deer-in-the-headlights look, knowing exactly what he was getting at.

“Oh no. Leave me out of this,” he insisted while waving his hands back and forth. “This is all on you, Maxwell.”

“No, don’t say that yet.” Riley sprang to her feet and grabbed a picture frame from a nearby table, falling to her knees in front of Rashad to beg. “This is Alyssa.” She cheerfully pointed her friend out in the picture, delighted when the Lord of Domvallier’s eyes grew and seemed more than intrigued. “She’s not only beautiful, charming, and supportive, but she’s the smartest person I know. Everyone just loves her. And even though she won’t want to win because of me, she’ll represent your house with the greatest of integrity and propriety. I swear it.” 

“It’s for Liam,” Maxwell interjected, wagging his brows. “Imagine how grateful he’ll be when he finds out your part in making this happen for him.”`

Rashad let out a heavy groan. “Max, you know I would do anything for a friend -- especially Liam -- but it’s not that simple. There’s a reason why Domvallier opted not to have a suitor join this season: I have business dealings in California that coincide with some of the competitions. And with Mother’s and Father’s health in decline, I couldn’t possibly burden them with traveling and overseeing a suitor. It just wouldn’t work.”

Riley turned to Maxwell. “Well … couldn’t she just hang out with us most of the time? It’s not like she’d be in it to win it, anyway.”

“I don’t see why not.” Maxwell shrugged. “We all travel and stay together for the most part anyway.” He glanced over at Rashad, who could do nothing but stare at the two of them bouncing like eager children with big cheshire grins, while he literally decided the fate of a woman who had no idea she had just been volunteered to “pretend” compete for the hand of a prince the entire summer, in another country, and had to board a plane in just under an hour.

Rashad sighed and took the photo from Riley’s hand, giving it a quick glance. He was definitely smitten by the bright, blue-eyed woman with the big dimpled smile and wouldn’t mind getting to know her better, particularly if she was everything described to him. “I should have gone with Drake back to the plane.” He shook his head and handed the photo back to Riley. “Can’t believe I’m doing this, but --” 

Before he even finished his thought, Maxwell and Riley leaped to their feet to celebrate, whooping and howling around him, ruffling his jet black hair, hugging, and clapping him several times on the chest.

“What’s going on?”

The three of them whipped their heads around at the raspy-sounding voice that caught their attentions.

“Lyss!” Riley’s eyes lit up at the sight of her best friend standing there; she couldn’t wait to share all the good news with her. Maxwell, and particularly Rashad’s, jaws dropped at the sight before them. They both did a double take of the picture in the frame and then back to the petite brunette who wore a rumpled party dress, was missing one flat shoe, and sported smudged mascara under her sunken eyes and hair flying in every direction.

Riley moved over to Alyssa, placing a gentle hand on her arm with a smile. “Alyssa. These gentlemen are from Cordonia -- It’s somewhere you need a plane ride for. This is Lord Maxwell Beaumont.” She gestured and received a wave back. “And this is Lord Rashad of Doberman Pinscher,” she stated in a posh accent.

“Domvallier,” he corrected, stunned and still unable to take his eyes off his new suitor.

“Lords?” she questioned in a feeble tone; Riley nodded back at her.

Alyssa smiled at the two strangers, then lowered her head and curtsied like she was wearing a ball gown before them. “How do you do? Welcome to House Devereaux-Brooks. It’s so kind of you to stop by and make our acquaintances. Please do make yourselves at home.” She straightened back up and immediately turned to Riley. “I’m dying. Where’s the Advil?”

Riley insisted Alyssa have a seat while she retrieved the Advil and a glass of water for her. Feeling that was a fair deal, Alyssa stumbled over to the couch, accidentally stepping on Maxwell, who held onto her arms and helped her the rest of the way. When she was seated, she leaned forward, rubbing soothing circles around her temples, willing the room to stop spinning. Riley shuffled back with two pills and a cool bottle of water, and handed them to Alyssa, who hastily threw back and chugged nearly the entire thing. She couldn’t remember a time when she felt so thirsty.

No one knew really how to respond just yet. Rashad conferred in hushed tones with Maxwell, as Alyssa kept her eyes closed for a moment, taking in slow, deep breaths. Everything from head to toe ached and throbbed. 

Finally, she smacked her still-dry mouth and announced, “Okay, I’m going back to bed. Goodnight, everyone. It was so nice to meet you all.” She moved to the edge of the sofa when Riley pressed lightly on her shoulders, holding her back.

“Wait a minute, Lyss. I have something I want to talk to you about.”

Lowering the shades in the living room to block the sun from Alyssa’s sensitive eyes, Riley began to explain how she met Liam at the bar last night and was asked to go out for a drink with him. Alyssa nodded her head slowly as she followed along, somewhat remembering their phone conversation about the date, how he was a prince, and the Statue of Liberty -- Lyss was proud of herself for being a part of making that happen. The next of their conversation continued on to Liam returning to his country for the social season in which he was expected to find someone to marry by the end of the summer. “I’m so sorry he had to leave, but what does any of this have to do with you, Ri?” 

Riley glanced over her shoulder. “That’s where these two guys come in.”

Alyssa followed her friend’s gaze then shook her head. “I’m not following.”

“Maxwell wants to sponsor me to travel to Cordonia to compete for Liam. And we leave in an hour. Yay!” She raised her arms in a V, trying to garner excitement from her roommate, knowing she’d probably freak out.

And she did. “YOU CAN’T GO TO A FOREIGN COUNTRY! FOR ALL YOU KNOW THESE GUYS ARE SERIAL KILLERS OR SEX TRAFFICKERS!” Alyssa looked at Rashad and smiled shyly. “Not you, of course.” She then eyed Maxwell. “Probably him.”

“I know, I know. But that’s kinda, sorta where you come in.” Riley’s eyes danced around the room while tugging on the hem of her shirt.

“What do you mean?”

Maxwell checked the time on his phone as Riley laid out the details, point by point, to her friend, who guzzled the last bit of her water as she found out she had basically been enlisted into becoming a suitor as well. Alyssa spit out her water. “WHAT?”

Rashad sighed and looked for paper towels to dry off his lap.

Taking in Alyssa’s bug-eyed stare, Riley scrambled to make the whole situation sound more appealing to her.

“There’s skiing --”

“You know I can’t ski.”

“There’s ice skating --”

“Are you trying to break both of my ankles at the same time?”

“There’s horseback riding --”

“Oh, God, horses?”

“And beaches.”

Alyssa started to complain before stopping herself. “Okay, that doesn’t sound so bad. But still, Ri --”

“Please, Alyssa,” Riley pleaded, her still-small voice just above a whisper. She sat down on the coffee table again, across from her friend, eyes glassy. “I would never ask you to do something so big for me. But, I want you there … I need you there. This … this is the guy, Lyss. He’s the one.”

Seeing the hopeful expression staring back at her, Alyssa’s heart sank. She set aside the empty bottle and leaned forward, placing a compassionate hand on Riley’s. “First of all, you don’t need me. You’re more than capable of doing this on your own. I mean, give yourself a little credit … you landed a prince.” They both let out soft laughs before she continued. “But, secondly, you know I’m a hopeless romantic. So if this is the only way you’ll go … count me in.”

As the two of them hugged and Riley expressed her fervent thanks, Maxwell cleared his throat and interrupted their happy moment. The girls turned to him as he stated, “I hate to break all of this up -- I really do. This is like the totally awesome stuff I live for -- but we’re pressed for time now. Our friend Drake is already on the plane waiting and isn’t above leaving without us.”

“Oh good. Doesn’t he sound like a little ray of sunshine?” Alyssa scoffed, causing Riley to snicker and drawing half a smirk from Rashad.

The guys headed down to the limo while the girls rummaged through their rooms, stuffing as many of their things as they could possibly fit into suitcases and bags. After taking turns getting quick showers, being vigilant of the time, they double checked to make sure they had what they needed for an extended trip, planning to  call friends and family on the drive to the airport to let them know where they would be.

Alyssa slipped on a pair of sunglasses as she stepped into the hallway, while Riley locked the door to their apartment behind them. “And you’re sure this Liam is worth all this?”

Riley regarded her thoughtfully before letting out a contented sigh, “Yeah. He’s worth it.”

Alyssa shrugged and pushed the sunglasses higher on her nose. “Well, if we don’t die, we’ll have a hell of a story to tell.”

-----------

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[schnitzelbutterfingers]

Baklava

Book/Pairing(s): The Royal Romance || Liam Rhys x F!MC (Jasmine Wilson) LAW STUDENT AU

Category/Warning(s): Teen || none

Word count: 2.7K

Premise: A different take on how Liam and Jasmine could have met. Liam and the gang search for baklava, and Jasmine is a law student and a talented baker, working in her mother’s bakery.

Author’s note: This is for the 200 FOLLOWER GIVEAWAY WINNER #2: @texaskitten30 . Congratulations! Hope you enjoy :)

New York City is known for its culture, fashion, Broadway musicals. Its approximately 8 million people.

Maxwell sighs. “C’mon, Liam. There are so many other desserts. Pie, cake, cupcakes, those drizzled thingies...”

He is right. The deserts here are magnificent. Every one of them is fireworks on someone’s tongue, the rich flavor evading the mouth.

Drake surprises him. “For once in my life, I’m going with Beaumont.”

But there is one thing New York City seems to not have.

“No,” Liam responds.

Baklava.

Maxwell open his mouth, but then closes it, flabbergasted. 

“Who are you, and what have you done to Prince Liam?”

The prince chuckles wryly, a sarcastic leer taking place. In a few months, he won’t be able to do this again. In a few months, he will marry a noble with no love in between. 

In a few months, his freedom will be over.

He has to make those few months worth it.

And he will.

By finding baklava.

However, Liam almost gives up. Every bakery they went to in New York City had everything, including Indian sweets, such as laddu, gulab jamun, jalebi.

But they weren’t selling anything from the Ottoman Empire. They weren’t selling baklava.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees a small building. A bakery. It has a small cupcake on the top of the name. 

The prince clears his throat.

“We’ll stop in this bakery. If they don’t have baklava either, then we can go buy cupcakes and go to a bar.”

Maxwell fist bumping the air and Drake sighing of relief, tells him they are both comfortable with his plan.

One more bakery.

That’s it.

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

Slow Dough.

That’s the name of the bakery. Immensely creative.

The three men step out of their rented car, the sun’s rays showing off its magnificent light, creating shadows as they take each step towards the bakery.

They open the door, the jingling bells on it acknowledging their presence.

It looks beautiful. The inside of the store takes on a more pastel theme, the baby pink with white stripes adorning the walls. There are sky blue tables and chairs, adorned with a vase of pink roses on each table.

The front of the bakery has a glass counter-shelf, filled with delicacies. Cupcakes, cookies, chocolate, ice cream. You name it.

Maxwell seems to have that same idea because he says, “Maybe we can steal some cronuts and-”

“Maxwell!” Drake admonishes.

“Hello? What is the commotion here?”

A woman, probably in her fifties, with natural tanned skin, paces into the room from the silver doors ahead of the counter, which Liam assumes is the kitchen. Rather than taking a chiding tone, her voice is laced with concern.

Liam glares at his two friends, Maxwell sporting a nervous smile. Drake shakes his head at Maxwell’s antics.

What good friends he has.

“Apologies for the loud... conversation ma’am. We were searching for a dessert named baklava in New York City. We searched almost every bakery we could find, but left empty-handed. We were hoping we would find some here?”

The woman grimaces. “I’m so sorry, son, but we don’t sell baklava here.”

The prince sighs. 

He knew it. Of course he did.

After mentally calming himself, he sports a tender smile.

“No worries, ma’am. In that case, would you mind giving us three cupcakes? One vanilla and the other two chocolate, please?”

“Now that, I can give you.”

She smiles as she opens the counter, probably finding the best cupcakes she could find.

The woman is probably the most solicitous person she ever met during his bachelor party.

The men sit down on of the chairs, surprisingly more comfortable than Liam imagined. They fall into an agreeable silence, with Maxwell playing with one of the pink rose petals, and Drake glued to his phone.

And they are interrupted. By a soft voice.

A beautiful voice.

“Excuse me, sir, but... did you say baklava?”

He stands up immediately to turn towards the voice, addicted to the melody.

And hazel eyes meets blue.

The lady looks like an exact copy of the older woman, only more younger. More irresistible.

Striking.

Even with glasses on.

For some reason, his heart starts beating faster.

Silently scolding himself, he straightens up and nods his head affirmative.

“Yes, is there a reason why you ask?”

“I happen to know how to make baklava. Do you want me to make some for you?”

Shock rolls over him as he mulls over her words. An American tries to help him?

He glances back at Drake and Maxwell. In return, they give him an exact sense of a whammy blown on them. They are probably thinking the same thing, too.

Liam discerns the older woman slapping her hand on her forehead in an almost idiotic sense, walking to stand next to the younger woman.

Twins.

They are practically twins, if people count out the wrinkles.

“Apologies, son. She is my daughter. She knows how to make almost everything.”

Liam softly grins at the mother and turns to look at her daughter. 

A beauty.

As if she came from a painting.

Majestic.

As if reading his thoughts, she takes a glimpse of his face and smiles. He catches a glimpse of a faint blush creeping on her neck, even with the tanned skin.

Liam allows himself a quick smirk and hurriedly straightens his face to a more gentle expression.

“What’s your name?”

She clears her throat and looks at him straight in the eye. “Jasmine.”

Maxwell gives her a wide smile. “Nice name!”

Liam and Drake nod their heads in agreement, looking back at Jasmine. She grins from ear to ear.

Her smile is infectious.

And Liam just met this girl.

“I’ll get started. I can set up a mini cooking show for you guys. This might take over an hour though. So, are you sure?”

Before Liam can respond, Drake interrupts.

“We can wait. This dude, here, was acting like he was waiting for baklava his whole life. If he doesn’t get his hands on one, he’ll probably punch something.”

“Drake!”

Before he can give him a new one, he hears Jasmine’s laughter, music to his ears. He only knew her for about 10 minutes, and something makes him want to get closer to her.

He can see scars sprinkled on her chest.

She’s an air of mystery.

Mystery.

“I can most definitely understand that feeling. I’ll go gather the ingredients!”

She flees like a small human Sonic, and he infers for a second that she did track in school. 

Maybe she did.

Jasmine comes back with nuts, cinnamon, dough, butter, sugar, water, honey, vanilla extract, and a lemon. After buttering up a thick pan, she sprinkles in a bunch of nuts and cinnamon.

Just like those chefs gave him a show and made baklava for him back in Greece.

Maxwell starts speaking, most likely attempting to make small talk during the awkward silence.

“So... where are you originally from?”

She softly smiles.

“Queens, New York. We moved to the city when I was 10.”

“What made you move to the city?”

“Oh, well...”

Jasmine slightly hesitates.

“My father had passed away, and we had to do something for a living. So we started this bakery...”

A tense silence invades the bakery, Jasmine quickly swiping her eyes. Maxwell grimaces, and Drake takes over.

“We’re so sorry. We didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable...”

She shoots him a weak grin. “It’s okay. It still hurts, but we’re trying our best to move on.”

At this point, she places two sheets of dough into the pan, and butters it up. She then layers it with nuts and repeats the process. The prince makes a mental note to remember these steps the next time he attempts in making baklava.

He tried to make baklava once, but failed, even after searching the internet to find the recipe.

It had been proved to his friends how much of a bad cook he is.

Liam attempts successfully in changing the topic, in a way to console her.

“Are you a student or...”

“I am! Final year law student at Yale.”

His eyes widen. “Yale? That’s impressive.”

Her mother comes back from the kitchen. “Wait till you hear how she skipped five grades and will be graduating as a lawyer at the age of 21.”

The gang’s eyes widen.

Wow. 

They’re speaking to mini Albert Einstein.

“Mom!”  The law student covers her cheeks in an attempt to stop the light rose pink that’s flooding her face.

Maxwell smiles wickedly. “That's so COOL! Liam, here, is the same! He managed to even excel better than his tutors. One time, he was making fun of them because they got a calculus problem wrong, and he managed to solve it in less than five minutes! He skipped three grades, but always managed to make tutors mad and made them speak to his parents because of his smart mouth-”

“Maxwell!”

Drake chuckles.

“What? It’s the truth!”

She chortles again. That melodic laugh.

“It’s alright. I did that every time, too.”

Jasmine cuts the baklava into diamond shapes and puts them into the oven. She stretches her arms out, unsubtly displaying off her muscles.

Damn.

“Alright. This’ll take about 50 minutes.”

Comfortable silence flows through all of them, Liam enjoying the clock ticking surrounding the small building.

Drake cuts it off. “We forgot to tell you where we’re from. We live in-”

“Cordonia, I know.”

Liam's breath catches.

A part of him wants to berate himself for being so idiotic. For believing that maybe one person won’t know who he is. But he should have known.

He should have known.

Drake closes his mouth and opens it again, unable to say anything.

“Wait, so you know Liam is a prince?”

“Crown Prince, yeah.”

“Then, why didn’t you let us know and treat us like normal people?”

“Because I know.”

Turning to him, she says, “Liam, all you’ve ever wanted was freedom.”

His eyes widen. He feels like he’s being mind-read by a fortune teller. At that moment he should’ve felt uneasy, but all he wants to do is open more of himself to her.

And that petrifies him.

“How... how do you know?”

Jasmine’s expression turns stoic, indecipherable.

“Your eyes. They express everything. You feel like you’re being locked in a jail cell. I was once like you, you know so I know that look anywhere...”

Her eyes turn misty, but she quickly shakes her head.

“You do want to lead your people, but you want to be free in choosing someone at the same time. You want someone you’ll fall in love with.”

Her educated guess is mind-boggling. Straying his eyes back to his friends, they appear as if they’re seeing Liam in a new light. Shocked.

That they didn’t know anything about this, and they’ve known him for years.

Maxwell shakes his head. “Wait, but... if you knew who we were, why didn’t you address Liam as ‘your highness’? Don’t get me wrong, we liked how you didn’t...”

Jasmine snorts. “Because even through he has royalty flowing through his blood, he is a human, just like us. I don’t mean it to be offensive, I swear. While titles also show respect, they put more benefit for someone than for another ‘commoner’. And I don’t like that.”

Liam becomes curious. Jasmine is not one of those average girls who shrieks over a celebrity. She is one of a kind.

And that makes him want to know everything about her.

“Say if... you became a queen one day. How will you rule?”

The law student takes a deep breath before responding. She unconsciously touches her dark brown hair, and twirls a curl over her finger.

“I... I would never go by the rule book. While rules are good and all, sometimes... it would lead to injustice. As Princess Diana said in her interview with Martin Bashir, I would  want to become a queen of people’s hearts, not just for a country. I would be there to do good, not cause harm or difficulty over another citizen’s life. I’m not a violent person. Quite the opposite, actually. I would want to be treated as a typical person with a typical life. I would want to be treated as an everyday person. And... I would want everyone to reminisce me as a woman who did good works, not as a woman with a prestigious title.”

Everything is confirmed. Drake’s mouth opens and closes as he tries to respond to what Jasmine just said. Maxwell has a goofy grin on his face.

Liam, however, has a cheeky smile that one would actually say is of respect and admiration. He admires her.

Even as she now bites her lip, he wants nothing more press his lips to hers. 

And they’ve only known each other for about an hour.

The oven alarm lowers the mounting tension in the bakery. Jasmine jogs over to the oven and takes it. The delicious smell of baklava invades Liam’s nostrils, and he immediately wants to taste it. Looking at the pastry, the gorgeous crispy brown of the dough stands out, with green nuts garnished.

“Take caution! It’s really hot.”

Maxwell smirks slightly, already reaching for a baklava. “Oh, I don’t think it’s that- HOLY SQUIDS!”

The once smirking Maxwell now has a face of pain etched on his face, holding his right hand after it burned a little. Jasmine, seeing this, snorts.

“Told you so.”

Shaking his head, Liam -carefully- takes  a piece of baklava, blowing it slightly to soothe the heat. Once it is lowered to a considerable heat, he takes a bite out of it and-

My.

God.

It is scrumptious.

And it appears that Drake and Maxwell are thinking the same thing, their friends’ eyes filled with astonishment.

Jasmine bites her lip, most likely unaware of the action. God, if he could just-

“So, did you like it?”

Shaking off his dirty thoughts, he responds, “Like it? This is the best baklava I’ve ever tasted.”

Her wide eyes contain jouissance, Liam can tell.

“Thank you! Glad I didn’t mess it up!”

Jasmine blushes again, something Liam just knows is a rare sight for anyone.

Just then, her mother comes in, sauntering hurriedly up to them. Her eyes are tense and full of worry.

“So... how is the baklava?”

Liam smiles, hopefully soothing her mother with the action.

“I can reassure you, even the most famous chefs in Greece hadn’t made me this tasty baklava before in my life. It tastes like heaven, ma’am. Your daughter has talent.”

She sighs in relief. “Thank you, sons!”

Without hesitance, the mother kisses Jasmine on her cheek, and in return the daughter kisses her on her forehead. The act reminds him of his own mother, before she died.

“How much does this cost?” Drake interrupts.

“This? This is free.”

What?

Liam refuses. “Oh, that’s not possible, we have to give you something-”

Jasmine laughs. “I insist. First of all, this wasn’t even part of the menu, although we do need to add it to ours. Second, you deserve this. For the first time, other than my mother, I felt like someone else got me.”

The words make the prince look at her deeply into her eyes. Jasmine stares back, not one of them blinking. Finally, the law student breaks the contact.

Just then, Drake clears his throat. “I hate to interrupt but we have to leave. Is it alright if we take more of these?”

The mother smiles. “Sure, sweetie! Take as much as you need.”

As Maxwell and Drake grab more of the baklava, Liam goes up to Jasmine.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye,” he says, his tone with a hint of heartache.

She smiles wistfully. “Yeah.”

And they hesitate before hugging one another tightly. Liam closes his eyes, in what could be his last moments of freedom. He makes this time worth it. Jasmine reluctantly pulls back and clears her throat.

“But hey, something tells me we’ll see each other again soon,” she adds, with a hint of a smirk.

And just like that, Liam starts to have second thoughts.

Maybe New York City is not that awful.

Narrator: Jasmine was right in what she said. They will see each other again. And they marry, and they make babies-

Author’s note: First Liam x MC fic lol. I hope I did this some justice HAHA. Anyways, if you’ve made it this far, thank you! ♥️

Lmk if you want to be added or removed from the taglist! 🥰

Perma: @potionsprefect @gryffindordaughterofathena @maurine07 @missmiimiie @mom2000aggie @nezuzoned

Liam x MC: @kingliam2019 @jared2612

@choicesficwriterscreations

[sincerelyella]

RAMifications Chapter 4 -  Who Do You Tell?

Book: The Royal Romance (AU)

Pairings: Liam x MC (Ella); Drake x Alyssa Devereaux

Song Inspiration: Who Do You Tell by Tamia

Characters belong to Pixelberry; MC Ella Brooks belongs to me; Alyssa Devereaux was created by the brilliant mind of @burnsoslow

A/N: This entire idea came from Burnsy and her unBEARable series featuring her OTP Drake and Alyssa. This is Ella’s backstory and how she met the love of her life King Liam of Cordonia and became his Queen. This doesn’t follow much of TRR books, there is still a social season but not all of the players are present. Throw canon out the window!

Catch up here

Thank you to @burnsoslow​ for pre reading/commenting/calming my crazy self down. You know I freaking love you!

Warnings: Maybe adult language and some kissing

Words: 1826

It was the next morning, Ella made herself a cup of coffee, looked through some notes for school and hummed along with Tamia playing over her speakers. I hope I see him today. She bit her lip and thought back to when he kissed her. It was entirely too quick, but she loved how soft his lips were, how his fingers curled into her hips. She wished he didn’t let go of her, his hands gave her a jolt in her heart and her loins. Everything came alive when their lips touched … and then he ruined it by pulling away and saying it was a mistake. Ugh! What the fuck! She finished her coffee with a shake of her head and attempted to push back any thoughts of Liam and his lips. She put away all her notes and got ready to head to work. As she did so, she mentally prepared herself to possibly see him at the palace.

5 hours later

Ella saved her last delivery for the palace until the end of the day. I probably should have just gotten this over with. She sighed and pushed the cart into the large foyer where she met with the same staff member that always greeted her, Thomas.

“Hello Miss Ella.”

“Hi Thomas, where do you want these today?”

“You can leave the cart here, although one bouquet is for a specific person.”

“Oh?” Ella arched her brow. “Do you want me to deliver it?”

Thomas nodded. “Yes ma’am, that was the order I received this morning. I’ll show you to the room.”

Ella just followed Thomas quietly and she suddenly recognized the hallway they were walking down. The pair stopped in front of the person’s door and he knocked.

The door opened a couple seconds later and there stood Alyssa with a wide grin on her face. “Hi Ella! Thomas, thank you for bringing her over.”

“Of course, Lady Alyssa.” Thomas bowed and gave Ella a small smirk as he walked away.

“Come in Ella!” Alyssa grabbed her hand and pulled her inside, shutting the door behind her.

“Hey! These flowers are for you. From Liam? I mean … His Highness?”

Alyssa waved dismissively. “No, not from Liam. I ordered flowers for myself.”

Ella’s head tilted slightly and her brow wrinkled in confusion. “Wait, why?”

“I wanted to talk with you about something.” She sat on her bed and motioned for Ella to sit with her. “Come on!”

Ella obeyed and sat with Alyssa on the bed. “Okay, so you know Liam is a prince.” Ella nodded. “Alright, so he is the Crown Prince of Cordonia. This means that he will be crowned the King of Cordonia in about a month or so.” Ella’s eyes could have popped out of her head. Alyssa lifted her hand when Ella opened her mouth to speak. “Wait for it … okay, so being that he will be crowned the King of Cordonia in a matter of weeks, he is having a social season that’s happening right now. He needs to choose a bride and needs to be engaged in order to rise to succession. Now,” Alyssa took in a breath, “He has five suitors and … I am one of them.”

Ella’s mouth was open, eyes widened in shock for seconds. When she shut her eyes, they were dry from staring at Alyssa without blinking. She finally found her voice, eyes still closed and whispered, “So you” - she opened her eyes and looked at Alyssa - “you are a suitor for Liam?” Her eyes widened again and her voice got louder as she pointed toward Alyssa. “You are trying to … marry Liam?” The more she said it out loud, the more crazy she sounded. Am I fucking dreaming?

Alyssa put both her hands up, palms facing Ella. “I came here for Liam as a suitor originally, yes,” she explained calmly. “I fell in love with Drake in the process. We told Liam about our feelings and our relationship and he was fine with it. But,” Alyssa put her hands down and sighed. “I still had to stay on as his suitor until the coronation. Drake and I have to carry on our relationship in secret. Liam isn’t going to choose me, but I saw how he looks at you, Ella.” She waited until Ella lifted her face to meet her gaze. “I saw the way your eyes welled up the other day when you told me he kissed you and said it was a mistake.”

“Yes, I felt something when he kissed me …” she trailed off and willed those tears that collected in her eyes not to fall.

“He feels something too,” Alyssa said softly. “I brought you here to talk with you, to see if … if you’d like to take my place as a suitor.”

Again, Ella’s eyes widened and she stood up abruptly. “ME? A … suitor for a … prince?!” She started to hyperventilate. “I … I … “ she gasped for air in between trying to speak.

Alyssa stood from the bed and grabbed Ella’s wrists gently. “It’s okay, calm down, just breathe.” The two women’s eyes locked. Ella took a deep breath in through her nose, and let it out slowly through her mouth. “Better?” Ella nodded. “Okay,” Alyssa continued calmly. “Yes. That means you will be competing as a suitor to be with Liam. You want to be with him, don’t you?”

“I’m just a girl from California. I don’t know about” - she waved her hand around the room - “all of this. If I even belong here.”

“Hey, I’m just a girl from New York,” Alyssa smirked. “I flew here on a whim, I wanted adventure, and I’m still alive!” She paused and studied Ella’s facial expression. “You didn’t answer my question, Ella.”

Ella quirked her brow in question.

“Do you want to be with Liam?”

Ella’s mouth opened, shut quickly, then opened again. Do I? She thought back to Liam’s lips on hers, how he held her in his arms, even if it was for a few seconds, she felt … safe. She looked at Alyssa and nodded.

Alyssa suddenly let go of her wrists, wrapped her in a hug and squealed in excitement. “YEAAAAAAAHH!!!!”

Ella laughed and hugged her back. “Okay! Well, now what?”

Alyssa stepped back and grinned. “Now, we go tell Liam.”

Ella’s smile faded. “I have to return the truck to the capitol but, I can come back later?”

Alyssa nodded quickly. “Yes! Come back in a bit and we’ll both talk to Liam! Here,” she took her phone out and handed it to Ella. “Put your number in here and I’ll text you so you have mine. Just let me know when you’re on the way over okay?”

Ella nodded. She handed Alyssa her phone back and headed off to return the work truck.

**

2 hours later

Ella headed back to the palace, texting Alyssa that she was on her way. Is this really happening? She was meeting Alyssa and Drake in the foyer and they’d walk with her to Liam’s room. The car arrived at the palace, she paid the driver and nervously pulled her hooded knit cardigan tighter around herself as she walked up the palace stairs.

She spotted Alyssa and Drake a split second before she had time to react. “Eeeeeeeeeeeee!” Alyssa squealed and ran to envelope Ella in a bone crushing hug. Ella laughed loudly and hugged her back.

“Wow, for a small person, you’re strong,” Ella teased as she rubbed her side.

Alyssa scoffed and pointed her finger at Ella. “I’m the same height as you, woman,” she retorted with an arched brow.

Ella rolled her eyes and smirked. “Alright touché. Hey Drake!”.

“Nice to see you again, Ella. Let’s go see Liam, shall we?”

The women nodded and all three walked down the hallway to Liam’s quarters. They approached his door and the very large guard posted right in front of it stiffened and eyed them suspiciously.

“Come on, Sam, you know me and Alyssa.” Drake waved his hand in Ella’s direction. “This is Ella. The prince is expecting us.”

Sam relaxed a little bit and knocked on the door. Liam opened it a moment later, saw the trio standing there and nodded his head. “I knew they were coming, Sam. Thank you.” The guard bowed and stepped aside for them to enter the room.

Ella followed Drake and Alyssa, she walked by Liam and brushed past his chest, making eye contact with him and flashing a small smile. Liam closed the door and turned to face everyone, but his gaze never left Ella’s. He was getting lost in those eyes again.

“Good evening.”

She peered up at him. Shit, how tall is he? “Hello, Your Highness.”

He smiled softly and took her hands in his. “Just Liam is fine right now,” he whispered and lifted one of her hands to his lips, never breaking eye contact. “I’m glad you’re here, Ella.”

Someone cleared their throat loudly behind them. “Hi Liam! We’re here too!”

Liam chuckled and they both turned to face Drake and Alyssa. “Hello you two. You wanted to speak with me?”

“Yes!” Alyssa exclaimed. “Ella has graciously agreed to take my place in the social season.”

Liam snaps his head to Ella and, again, he’s caught up in her light brown eyes. “Is that true?” He finally whispered.

She couldn’t speak. The way he was looking at her made her heart start to race and she couldn’t swallow the lump in her throat. She just nodded meekly.

He smiled so big and wide that she thought she’d go blind from all the white teeth he flashed at her.

She cleared her throat. “So, what do I do now?”

“Well,” he took a step towards her. “You would need to move into the palace … all the suitors stay here until the end of the season,” he paused, waiting for her to process what he just said. “Then you would meet your sponsors. The Duke of Ramsford and Lord Maxwell Beaumont.”

“Maxwell is so cool, you’ll love him. Bertrand, he grows on you ...” Alyssa trailed off, shrugging.

Ella nodded slowly. “Oh … kay,” she mumbled.

She looks nervous. Liam took another step towards her, kindness in his eyes. “If you would like, I can go over some things with you about the social season. I’m sure Duke Ramsford has more lessons for you, but if I could answer any questions now, I can.”

Liam turned his head towards Drake and they shared a look.

Drake cleared his throat. “Okay, well we’ll leave you to it, goodnight guys.” He grabbed Alyssa’s hand and started tugging her towards the door.

Once they were alone, the pair looked at each other and an awkward silence filled the room.

“You’re … sure this is something you want to do, Ella?”

She met his gaze and remembered what he said to her the other night. “Why was kissing me a mistake, Liam?”

[flowerpowell]

The Royal Holiday Romance

PART TWO

A/N: I think I forgot how to write lol. This is my attempt at fluff. I’m not sure if I’ll fit the story I planned in two more chapters, but it’ll definitely be mini series. Still fluffy, still Christmassy and still veryyy Hallmarky. I hope you’ll like it! Characters belong to Pixelberry.

Rating: G

Tagging: @twinkleallnight @kingliam-rys @sfb123 @gkittylove99 @texaskitten30 @iaminlovewithtrr @gardeningourmet @delightfullypinkglitter @lodberg @kingliam2019 @queen-arabella-of-cordonia​ 

Victoria looked at the scenery in front of her. She tried to focus on the beauty of nature but she was distracted by something. 

Someone. 

She felt Liam’s eyes on her as if awaiting her reaction. After talking for a little bit more, Liam insisted on taking her to his favorite spot in the forest. It was a little cave, completely covered by mud, now though, completely covered with snow. The cave was surrounded by trees and Liam told her that not many people knew about the cave since it wasn’t visible thanks to the trees around.

“It’s like a fairytale,” she finally said, still aware of Liam’s presence. “Like a forest straight from the Grimms’ fairytales.”

Liam chuckled. “As far as I’m concerned, forests in their stories weren’t exactly safe or beautiful.”

Victoria turned to face him, the corners of her lips slightly raised. “True, but I’ve always found them magical. Just like the fairytales themselves.”

“Ah, yes. The fairy godmother and everything.”

“Actually, no.” Victoria shook her head. “There was no fairy godmother in the original. It’s Hollywood’s creation. In the original, there’s mother cutting their daughters’ feet so the shoe would fit instead.”

Liam’s eyes widened.

“I suppose that’s one less fairytale I’d read to my children,” he chuckled. “I had no idea.”

“Yeah, I read the original fairytales and wasn’t impressed with how Hollywood adapted them. Did you know that in the original Little Mermaid by Andersen, Little Mermaid doesn’t marry the prince? He marries another princess and the Little Mermaid has to kill the prince on his wedding night to be a mermaid again.”

“I… certainly have to read some of these again. I didn’t even realize how brutal these fairytales can be.” Liam admitted. “I assume you weren’t happy with this adaptation either?”

“No,” she shook her head. “I mean, I like how sweet and romantic those Disney versions are but adapting a story and then not sticking to it is kind of a pet peeve of mine.”

“I see.”

“Sorry, it’s silly and I’m talking too much,” Victoria said quickly and turned her attention to the trees. Why couldn’t she stop talking? She just met Liam and started telling him about how bloody original fairytales can be. Great job, Tori. This is how you scare people, not make them interested in you.

“I would say it’s rather fascinating.” Victoria turned to him, surprised as he went on. “As I said, I had no idea about the originals but you made me want to read them.” He smiled at her and she felt her cheeks were blushing. “You must be a pretty harsh critic, huh?”

She let out a hearty laugh but quickly covered her mouth with her hands. “Mhm. Sometimes.” If I were a critic I would be harsh. Probably. Can’t say since I’m not one.

“What’s your favorite movie then? The one you just can’t criticize.”

“Gold Rush. I love the humor and I love how Chaplin showed real issues through comedy. No special effects, no computers, and these black and white, no sound movies are often better than what Hollywood offers us now.”

“Classics. Interesting.” Liam nodded. Victoria opened her mouth to apologize again for talking too much about cinema but Liam was first. “I actually preferred Modern Times. Chaplin showed a true genius there and I loved how he mixed the sound into this silent movie. Although, I must admit, Buster Keaton was master of comedy for me.”

Victoria looked at him, her eyes slightly widened. No one, maybe except for some of her professors and fellow students, heard of Keaton. She believed he was one of the most underrated comedians but anytime she’d talk about him, no one would know who was she referring to.

Liam kept on talking about his favorite movies as they were walking but all Victoria could think of was how oddly comfortable she felt being with him.

~~~~

After, what felt like a minute but was actually two hours, Victoria said goodbye to Liam and raced back to the set. She hoped Hana didn’t wait too long for; she had promised her to eat dinner together. Liam told her he had to join his friends somewhere and the two separated, though a little reluctantly. Victoria was still in awe of Liam but tried not to read too much into it. It was only a nice encounter with a stranger in the Cordonian forest.

“Hana!” Victoria called out as she spotted her friend. Hana was standing with a man that Victoria had never seen before and waved at her when she saw her.

“I was getting worried,” Hana confessed and Victoria felt guilty.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t stop admiring the beauty of Cordonian landscape.”

“Ah, yes, Cordonia is beautiful,” the man standing next to Hana said and both women turned to him.

“Uhh, I almost forgot. Maxwell, this is my friend and co-star, Tori. And this is Maxwell. He’s the friend of the King and also my future biographer.”

“Oh, it’s so nice to—”

“O M G! I am so happy to meet Hana Lee’s friends! How long have you known Hana? What is she like as a friend? I bet she’s the best. Is Tori your full name?”

“Umm…” Victoria looked at Hana confused but her friend only shrugged.

“Maxwell wants to write a book about me and I couldn’t say no. Literally,” Hana added for only Victoria to hear.

“Nice to meet you, Maxwell. Tori is a nickname only for my friends and my full name is—”

“Brooks!”

“Sorry, I’ll be right back!” Victoria apologized and ran to a crew member that just called her name. Hana nodded in response and Maxwell noted something in his notebook.

“Maxwell! There you are!”

“Liam! I thought you forgot about me. Where have you been?” Maxwell asked as Liam walked up to him and Hana.

“I had… some thing to do. It’s a pleasure to see you again, lady Hana. I hope you’re enjoying your stay in Cordonia.” Liam turned to Hana.

“It’s even more beautiful here than I remembered. I hope I’ll have some time to visit Applewood  again, it must be so pretty this time of the year.”

“Applewood is always pretty.” Liam smiled and Hana laughed. “I’m afraid we should get going. Duty calls.”

“But do we have to?” Maxwell pouted.

“Maxwell, you’ve talked to lady Hana for two hours, let’s give her a break,” Liam said and Hana sent him a grateful smile.

“Fine, fine. It was a pleasure, Hana! I hope to see you again, soon.”

“Likewise.” Hana waved Maxwell goodbye as he and Liam started to walk away.

“Sorry, there was a problem with one of my scenes.” Victoria appeared next to Hana causing the actress to jump. “Where’s Maxwell?”

“He had to go. The King was here.”

“Wait, what? The King of Cordonia was here? While I was sorting out my scenes?” Victoria asked and Hana nodded. “Oh man. Just my luck. I wish I could meet him, too.”

“His friend is writing my biography, I’m sure you’ll have a chance,” Hana chuckled.

“Yeah, about that… How… did that happen?” Hana laughed as she took her friend’s arm to go for a dinner.

~~

“Chapter one would be called The Star in the Womb. I think I could get some ultrasound pictures of Hana because I’m sure she was very photogenic back then as well.”

“What on Earth are you talking about?” Drake put his book down as Maxwell read his notes out loud.

“What? If this is going to be Hana Lee’s first biography, I have to make sure it is perfect. What so you think, Liam?”

“Hmm? Yes, wonderful idea.” Liam didn’t even look at Maxwell, his eyes were glued to his phone, which was a rather rare occurrence. Maxwell looked at Drake triumphantly.

“What?! Did you even hear what Maxwell came up with? He wants to describe Hana Lee’s time in the womb.”

“That’s a good move, indeed.”

“Seriously, what is going on Liam? What are you doing?” Drake tried to take Liam’s phone but he didn’t let him.

“Nothing.”

“Liam. What happened? You’ve been acting weird since yesterday. You’re never that absent-minded.”

“Nothing happened!”

“Uh uh,” Maxwell cut in. “You’re different. Even Drake noticed.

“Hey!”

“Nothing happened,” Liam tried to reassure his friend but they still were looking at him as if he lost his mind. Liam shook his head, resigned, and Drake quickly snatched his phone. His eyes went wide as he saw what Liam was doing.

“Little mermaid? You’re reading little mermaid?”

“What?” Maxwell asked, glancing at Liam’s phone.

“Did you know that Little Mermaid tried to kill the prince when he didn’t marry her?” 

“What?” Drake was confused.

“I need to go for a walk,” Liam said taking his phone from Drake’s hand.

“Wait! Liam, wait! Can we invite Hana to the palace for dinner tonight? I want to talk to her and I’m sure she’d like to talk to you as well.”

“Mhm, sure. You can invite her.”

“Ohh, and let’s invite Tori, she seemed nice!”

“Who’s Tori?” Liam asked as he was putting on his coat.

“Hana’s friend and co-star. We met yesterday, just before you came. I felt good energy from her,” Maxwell explained.

“Hmm, sure, let’s invite them both.” Liam finished putting on his coat and shoes. “Tell the kitchen staff to prepare the dinner and tell Antonio to invite Hana and her friends. Just please, be civil. And no asking for ultrasound!” Liam warned before heading out, completely oblivious to the happy break-dance Maxwell just performed.

~~~~

“Aaaand CUT!” The director’s voice startled Victoria as she was dozing off on a chair, waiting for Hana to finish her scene. “That’s it everybody, we’re done for the day.”

“Finally,” Victoria thought as she yawned. She glanced at her phone and quickly did the math in her head. They were on set for ten hours with only one thirty-minute break.

“Hungry?” Hana appeared next to her, smiling and full of energy as if she wasn’t working for almost a full day.

“You have no idea. Pizza?” Victoria suggested and Hana nodded.

“That sounds—Excuse me for a second.” Hana looked at her friend apologetically as she took out her ringing phone. “Hello?”

Victoria walked away a little to give Hana some privacy. She wondered if Liam went to the forest today as well. Or if he watched any of the films she recommended. To be fair, Liam was all she could think of. She sighed looking at the set in front of her. Even though, she didn’t want to complain about her job, she wanted nothing more than to go to the forest to relax. And maybe meet Liam again. Maybe.

“I have the greatest news and you’ll love it!” Hana was giddy with excitement and Victoria wondered how she was still so alive after such a long day at work.

“The pizza place decided to give us our pizzas for free? Johnny Depp finally got his Oscar?”

Hana shook her head laughing. “No, but close. Prepare your best outfit, we’ve been invited for a dinner with the King.”

-------

[khoicesbyk]

The Royal Romance.

A/N: I’ve decided to go into my own little TRR world and create an AU. This will be fun! So; Talley Ho! *in my Sherlock Holmes voice*

Rated: Explicit. | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual from me. 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: King Marquise Rys (LI) and Queen Shanelle Dawkins (MC) | All Characters and names: (except MC and certain original characters, created by me) are property of Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: 1,980 words.

I made a Drabble! Woooooohoooooo! Go me!

Prompt Time! Today I’m using @wackydrabbles Prompt #73 “Why Did You Do It?” It’ll be in bold in black.

Tag List: @lifeaskim @choiceslady @texaskitten30 @bebepac @glaimtruelovealways @kingliam2019 @txemrn @pixie88 @lucy-268 @hopelessromanticmonie @secretaryunpaid @shanzay44 @choicesfannatalie @wackydrabbles @choicesficwriterscreations

I AM UNAPOLOGETICALLY NSFW! READER DISCRETION IS STRONGLY ADVISED!

As always if you’d like to be added to my tag list. Just reblog or DM me and I will gladly add you! 😁😘

Chapter 18.) The Declaration.

(Italicized words are King Marquise’s POV)

I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. Tariq SaVion, someone I once considered a good friend, had just announced his intention to take the crown. On the day of my father’s funeral, no less.

“Now I’m sure many of you think that I’m being insensitive to his majesty and The Royal Family. I assure you that is not the case. I too mourn the death of King Father. He was a great man. An impeccable leader. Someone who gave his all for and to Cordonia and her people. May he rest in eternal peace. And I do sincerely extend my heartfelt condolences to them in their time of grief.”

“Unbelievable.” I heard my brother say. I stayed silent, holding Shanelle close to me as I listened.

“I’m not saying that his majesty is or has been a terrible person or monarch. But what I am saying is that his choice in queen has left much to be desired. The court doesn’t approve of nor do they trust her. And with good reason. And if they can’t, then my fellow Cordonians neither can you.”

“Excuse me?! Who the fuck does he is?!” I hear my love say out loud. I love her passion and especially her anger.

“I understand that many of you must be saying the same of me as I am of her. Duchess Shanelle wasn’t the only one involved with the scandal. I was as well. It ruined me. And you have every right to question me. But I can at least say this for myself. I’m a fellow Cordonian. She’s not.”

My grip on Shanelle’s hip tightens ever so slightly. No one talks about my future queen like that.

“Duchess Shanelle is not only not a noble but she’s an American. An absolute outsider! One who thinks that, she can just waltz in and take the monarchy for herself! She knows nothing about Cordonia, her customs or her people. For all we know, she’s a devil in a ball gown.”

“Nuh uh! Compared to him, Shanelle’s an absolute angel!” Maxwell quips. He’s right. My love is an angel.

“We as Cordonians can’t trust her. She’ll lead us to ruin! We must stand up! We must revolt! We must throw her out! Because I can guarantee you that his majesty won’t. He’s too blinded by love to get rid of her. Which is why I am challenging for the throne. Per Legitima successione nobilium, I challenge for the crown. Again, I have no ill will towards King Marquise. This has to do with what is in the best interest of the crown, the people and the country.”

“He can’t do that!” I hear Hana blurt out. She’s standing next to my brother who has a weary look on his face.

“As many of you know I am not a noble. But my future queen is.”

“Future queen?! Who’d be dumb enough to marry him?” Drake asks.

He’s a good man that one. Always loyal. Even to a fault. But Drake was right about one thing. No woman would be stupid enough to marry Tariq. Even if it was for political reasons. Or so I thought. Because a woman did take his side.

“Ladies and gentlemen, my future queen: Duchess Kaitlyn Winslow of House Fierro. Because of her noble house being one of the Great Houses, we will be your next king and queen.”

To say I was shocked is an understatement. I’ve always known that Duchess Kaitlyn was always ambitious but, never in a million years did I think she’d align herself with someone the likes of him. He was always someone I figured that she’d consider beneath her. Joke was clearly on me.

We watched as he turned to her and asked, “my dear would you like to say a few words?”

My jaw clenched as I watched her take to the podium.

“Thank you, my future king. As Tariq mentioned we are challenging for the throne and the crown. And I would like to reiterate that this is not a personal attack on his majesty or The Royal Family. This is a battle for you Cordonia. We can’t have some common foreigner ruling our country. It would put us at great risk as a nation. Our enemies will continue to consider us weak! We can’t have that! So when Tariq reached out to me about a mutually beneficial relationship between us, I instantly agreed. I love our country and her people and I, like my future king would do anything to protect it. Which is why we are calling on all of the great houses to hold a parliamentary election, as they did when King Fabian was crowned.”

“Ohhh you gotta be fucking kidding me! That law hasn’t been used or thought of in 500 years!” Leo said with clear anger and aggravation in his voice.

Although my brother was right, the law no matter how outdated, is still on the books and sadly is still valid. And as king there was nothing I could do to stop them from using it.

“My future king and I will be hosting our own debut at my family’s estate. And we cordially invite all nobles, including his majesty and friends to attend. I can promise that it will be a night that no one will forget.”

I felt Shanelle nuzzling my neck. I could tell that she was extremely upset.

“My future queen and I want to thank each of you in the press for attending our joint press conference and we’d especially like to thank our fellow Cordonians for watching. And to his majesty, may the best man win! Even though I already know that the best man is me.”

After turning off the TV and throwing the remote down, it was over. I couldn’t believe it. I just couldn’t believe it. How dare they challenge me? What’s more, how dare they speak that way about Shanelle?! My angel?! My Goddess?! My Queen?! To say that I’m angry is an understatement. My love still hadn’t said anything about what we just saw and I was beginning to feel concerned.

“Will you all give us a moment?” I ask my friends. With nods they walk out of my study, leaving just me and my queen.

“You’re quiet, my queen.” I say to her.

I could feel her trembling body against my chest. I knew then that she was beyond upset.

“Talk to me, Shanelle.”

She shook her head no.

“Please say something, my love. Don’t let what they said about you, get to you.”

That’s when I felt tears on my left shoulder.

“My queen please don’t cry!” I say as I try to soothe her.

“But they’re right about me.” She says as her voice breaks.

When I tilt her chin up to look into her eyes, I see those beautiful brown eyes filled with tears. I’m both hurt and enraged at that point.

“No they aren’t! They don’t know you like I do. They don’t know your passion, your fire, your drive, your willingness to do and be better than before. They certainly don’t know your incredibly large heart. They don’t know your intelligence. They don’t know your adaptability to changing situations. They don’t know your determination. They don’t know your compassion. My love, there’s more to bring a queen than just ruling.”

“But Marquise the court…the court hates me! They don’t want me here! Your mother said it herself, if they can’t and don’t trust or like me, they won’t be compelled to get their people to like me!” She says as she cries in my arms.

“The court is a fickle thing. One minute they love and embrace you and the next, they hate you with the fury and power of 1,000 suns. That shouldn’t stop you my love.”

I rub her back in an attempt to soothe her cries.

“I don't want to be the reason why you lose everything you have worked for!” She cries to me.

“Shanelle look at me! I want you to know and hear me when I say this, you are not the reason why I could or would possibly lose everything! They are! This is solely on them! Not you! Do you understand?” I ask her.

Irrational as her fears may be to me, they were real to her. And that’s all that matters.

“Yes I understand.” She whispered to me.

“Good. Now we have to go on the offensive. Because unfortunately I can’t stop them from calling on that law.”

“Even though you’re the king?” She asks.

“It may be an ancient and decrepit bylaw but it’s a law. And I as king am forbidden to use my power to go against it.” I reply to her.

I see her cries start to dissipate then eventually they stop. I kiss the remaining tears that fall away.

“Why did you do it?” She asks me. I’m a little confused.

“Do what, my queen?” I ask her.

“Stand here and comfort me, knowing that someone wants to take your crown.”

Damn she’s good.

“Because that’s what a king does. He gives comfort and protection even in his own pain, anger and misery. My father taught me that.”

She smiled at me. God that damn smile. I would do anything just to see it.

“Do you feel better, mon amour?” I ask her.

“Yes or at least I’m trying to be.” She replies.

“That’s all I ask. Listen to me. We will fight this. I promise you that. I will not just lay down and let someone take everything I have earned. This is nothing more than a power grab. They don’t care about the country or its people. The crown and the throne are more than just a birthright to me. They are my responsibility to my family, to my people, to my country, to my own honor and duty and especially to you, my love.”

“I don’t understand. What do you mean to me?” She asks.

“As a king, I have a responsibility to my queen. I am your servant before I am a servant of the people. It is up to me to make sure that you are always fulfilled in every way.” I tell her.

She smiled softly at me. Saints give me the strength to not take her on this desk right here right now.

“I’d say that you’re off to a good start, my king.”

There she is. There’s my queen.

“Good. I’d hate to think I’ve been failing in my duties to you, my queen.”

She had this thoughtful look on her face.

“I wouldn't say that you’ve been failing in your duties. Buuuuuuut you have been slacking.”

“Who?! Me?! What?! How?! When?! Where?!” I ask her.

There it is again. That smile that makes me want to scale an erupting volcano. Okay that’s it, dear God if you’re listening: Help! Me! Before! She! Winds! Up! Being! The! Reason! That! I! Don’t! Make! It! Into! Heaven!

“You never finished kissing me.” She replied.

Phew! Crisis of biblical proportions averted.

“Ohhh my! You’re right my queen! Allow me to rectify this egregious oversight on my part at once!”

God I love the taste of her lips! They much like the rest of her, are always soft, supple and decadent. And that kiss…God forgive my sinful thoughts!

“Much better, my king.”

“Good. Now I have to ask you my queen: are you ready to go to war?” I ask her.

“For you? For us? For our people? For our kingdom and country? Hell yeah!” She replied.

“Excellent! Now I believe we’ve been invited to a farce of a debut. And you know how I just love a good party.”

“Well then it’s settled my king. We have a debut to crash.” She said to me with a sly wink.

God I love this woman!

[afni-fics]

In Hindsight: Chapter 4: Fifteen Years Earlier... Chained

In Hindsight: Chapter 4: Fifteen Years Earlier... Chained by C_R_Scott Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Tim Drake/Tam Fox, Jack Drake/Janet Drake, Janet Drake & Tim Drake, Jack Drake & Tim Drake, Lucius Fox/Tanya Fox, Tim Drake & Tam Fox Characters: Tim Drake, Tam Fox, Janet Drake, Jack Drake, Lucius Fox, Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Tim Drake-centric, Family Drama, Family Secrets, Family Feels, Childhood Friends, Childhood Trauma, Childhood Memories, Childhood Sweethearts, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Good Parent Janet Drake, Bad Parent Jack Drake, no beta we die like robins, Bruce Wayne Tries to Be a Good Parent

Previous Chapter | Masterlist | Next Chapter

Story Summary:

What if bleeding out in a Middle Eastern hotel room was not the first time Timothy Drake-Wayne and Tamara Fox met? What if they were actually childhood best friends, but life and circumstance forced them apart for years to the point of forgetting each other?

Concept/Prompt: What if Tim Drake was originally raised by his maternal grandmother for the first eight years of his life due to "circumstances" involving his biological parents? What if Tim's grandmother was also the next door neighbor and occasional sitter for Lucius Fox's family?

Chapter Summary: Susan Klein and her daughter have just returned home after spending the last five hours at Gotham Children's Hospital with her barely two-year old grandson. A breaking point is about to be reached.

"Why don't you leave him?"

"I still love him."

"He threw a glass at you while you were holding your son!"

"It was an... accident."

"Timber has six stitches and a bottle of prescription pain meds that don't care if it was an 'accident' or not, which we both know it wasn't!"

Though Susan and Janet were trying very hard to stay quiet as they whispered to each other outside the closed door to Timothy's bedroom in Susan's home, the Klein matriarch struggled to control her volume as the conversation persisted. Recognizing this, she took a step away from her daughter to recompose herself.

Then she motioned for the stairs with a sharp snap of her hand.

As she led her only daughter into the kitchen, they both heard the old grandfather clock chime the midnight hour. They had only just gotten home from Gotham Children's Hospital thirty minutes prior.

"Janie," Susan started as she started filling a teapot with water. "This can't keep happening." After setting the pot on the stove, she leaned against it heavily as she before finally turning on the heat. Then she finally looked at her daughter. "This is the third visit to the ER for him in six months."

Janet Drake nee Klein sat at the breakfast table with her face buried in her hands. "I know."

"Someone's going to report this to CPS soon, if they haven't already tonight."

"I know!" Janet snapped, though the sob in her tone cut any heat that might have initially been behind the words. She bowed her head. "I know," she murmured sadly.

Susan studied her daughter with a critical eye. "You say you can't leave him because you 'love' him, but I know you Janie. What's the real reason you won't leave him?"

Janet shook her head before burying her face in her hands. "He won't give me a get. He won't let me divorce him, and he threatened to fight for full custody of Tim if I force a hearing before the rabbinical court."

As the tea kettle started whistling, Susan venomously cursed the name of her monstrous son-in-law. How DARE he use her daughter's beloved faith as a weapon to against her!

As she turned off the stove and pulled the tea kettle up so she could pour the hot water into her teacups, Susan's mind was working. A solution formed as she watched the fragrant bloom of auburn seep from the teabags into the clear water. It was not an ideal solution. However, while she couldn't do anything her agunah daughter, at least not in this moment, perhaps...

"Janie. I know you're chained to Jack, but would he care if you left Timothy for me to raise?" Susan looked at Janet with grim resolve as her daughter raised her head.

Though her initial expression was stricken, slowly it smoothed over into a stoic resignation. She wiped the tears from her eyes. "I can convince him. It wouldn't be hard." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Timber deserves to grow up safe and free and-" Tears welled up in Janet's eyes again. "-and in a house full of love without fear."

Susan set a teacup in from of her daughter, then bent close to hug her tightly. 

Author's Notes:

The Klein household is one of Jewish faith. Janet's religion was always very important to her growing up and into her adulthood. So when she married Jack, it was a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony.

Unfortunately, because it was a traditional Jewish ceremony, seeking a divorce is not a simple matter for her as the wife. In order for her to get a divorce, in keeping with her religion, she needs her husband (Jack) to "grant" her the divorce with a document called a "get" of his own free will. Without the "get", Janet would be unable to remarry, and any children born afterwards with a different man would be considered illegitimate in the eyes of her faith.

In this AU, Jack is an abusive controlling husband, and he refuses to allow his wife to leave him. This has made her an "agunah" or "chained woman" who is now trapped in her religious marriage to Jack.

However, while Jack refuses to allow Janet to leave him, he doesn't really care for his son. Since Tim is so young, Jack actually resents how much time Janet has to spend focused on the boy rather than him. So when Janet offers the option of sending their son to be raised by her mother, so they can have the "freedom" to spend more time together just the two of them on archaeological digs and other work projects, Jack is open to the idea because Janet is voluntarily offering to put focusing on him above caring for Tim.

This, of course, isn't really the case. Janet's primary concern is Tim's safety and wellbeing. She doesn't want to risk her son getting abused (or worse) by Jack, and she is willing to sacrifice her own safety and happiness to make sure he grows up safe and loved, even if she can't be there for him.

#tim drake#tam fox#tim/tam#red robin#fanfiction#wip#rr: in hindsight#batfam#batfamily#lucius fox#bruce wayne