#and also Bear and Breakfast Hank | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

boldlyvoid · 3 years ago

Text

Cowboy Like Me | Chapter One: Tennis Court

Summary: Aaron Hotchner ends up in Georgia when he goes into witness protection with his son. Staying in the guest house behind a bed and breakfast in a town no one has ever heard of, run by the most beautiful woman he's ever seen.

Chapter Warnings: character backstories, narrative pov, weddings, town gossip, canon hotch trauma + mentions of past parental abuse

Word count: 4.1k

Masterlist

Our story starts in the middle, not only does it save me time as the narrator, but it also helps you guys avoid 2 months of eye-rolling-ly obvious idiots in love. But to catch you up, she ignored him, he was overly sweet, her father meddled and Jack, Aaron's son, loved to help.

With his rubber boots on, he followed Edison through the mud towards the broken gate at the back of the field, they had planned on fixing it that afternoon when he got off the school bus, but then Jack didn’t end up going.

You see, Jack hasn’t had the easiest time adjusting to the new life they were living. The kids at school didn’t like his new name, he felt like an outsider showing up 2 months into the school year, not knowing what was going on in his classes by day and at night he kept having recovered memories about the last time he was in witsec.

It was breaking Aaron's heart to watch, but the Y/L/Ns knew how to fix any and all forms of sad people.

Be it Grandpa Ed’s big bear hugs and long understanding chats, or the late-night painting sessions with Y/N when he couldn’t sleep (or woke up crying like he did last night), they both helped him tremendously. So that morning, Aaron watched Jack get all ready to follow Ed out to the farm and have a day with someone with who he connected to truly make himself feel better.

Aaron, on the other hand, got ready for the Ladies Luncheon that day. Wearing his best jeans and nicest plaid shirt, he smiled as soon as he walked into the kitchen. The smell of fresh croissants wafted his way before the chaotic sounds of dishes being done directed his attention to where he was needed.

“I got it,” he took over from Anne, her official title was Sous Chef but that translated to everything the Head Chef couldn’t do right that second.

“Thanks, Daren,” she used his new fake name, the only one she’s ever known for him.

“Oh thank God,” Y/N came bursting through the saloon doors, “I can’t deal with the Mayor and her friends alone today, the wedding is this weekend.”

“Oh shit,” Aaron remembers as well. “Let me finish set of dishes and I’ll be right out.”

“Thank you,” she sighs, rushing back out the door and into the main room.

“Oooo,” Gus, the head chef teases with his southern, “she’s bein’ nice to you today?”

“She is,” he can’t wipe the smile off his face. “We’ve come to an agreement, I just have to figure out how to tell my son…”

“About?” Gus pesters.

“We planned to only stay here till I got back on my feet,” he sticks to their cover. “But I think it’ll be better for all of us if we stayed here, and that’s all she wanted.”

“I knew it,” Anne points at Gus, “you owe me today's tips.”

“Not fair!” He chimes back. “Today's the Luncheon, they’re all loaded you can’t have them all today!”

“You were betting on us?” Aaron can’t believe it. This is something Emily and Derek would do back home, making him miss them more than he usually does.

He kinda just melts away into his thoughts after that, wondering how they’re all doing and wishing he could check-in. They just missed Hank’s first birthday, Henry turned 10, Emily turned 50 and Spencer 38… he missed Penelope’s antics and Luke trying to always make her smile. Tara’s comeback and Daves sarcasm. It wasn’t fair, but his life never was.

He goes from sombre to autopilot as the ladies arrive. Taking each of their coats and helping them to their seats. Y/N takes their orders and leaves Aaron to talk with them all.

Three ladies in total.

Rebekah is the Mayor, in her early 60’s still living on her first dead husband's money and letting her daughter burn through everything else. Loretta is another wealthy lady in town, she joins each week for the gossip but claims she's representing the HOA. While Henrietta is very open about the fact she’s just there to bitch about the week with the two ladies who can do something about it for her.

“From Farm to table, and the farms only about 10 feet from the table so you know it’s good,” Aaron teases as he places another two plates down at the table, making the ladies laugh like he did every Thursday.

“Thank you, hon,” Henrietta places her hand on his arm, looking up at him sweetly, “could you do me a favour?”

“Anything.”

“Would you mind askin’ Y/N if she needs any extra help for the weddin' this weekend? Elizabeth is my granddaughter, and ya see she didn’t want me helpin’ with the plannin’ cause she thinks I’m too pushy, well, I still want to help set up if I can, and I’d take any job you have as long as I can help for my little girls big day,” she lays on the sweetness to get her way.

“I can ask, I’m sure if you just show up around back any time I can find something for you to do?” Aaron offers, “I’m setting up the tent with the boys later tonight, if you’d like to help set out chairs and tables, you’re more than welcome to join.”

“Oh bless you,” she takes his hand with both of hers, shaking it with gratitude as she smiles up at him. “I’ll see you later then.”

“Is there anything else you ladies need before I head back to the kitchen?” He’s as kind as possible, knowing they tip Y/N extra well when he’s there.

“No, we’re okay,” they all manage to say at the same time, laughing right after and carrying on with the conversation, giving him a chance to slip away without anyone else asking him for things.

He slips into the kitchen to find Gus and Anne working away for the dinner shift, but Y/N’s nowhere to be seen. So he keeps walking, he heads out the back door and looks out at the fields where he knows he’ll find her. With a cup of tea in hand, she stands there in her big sweater and watches the world go by from her spot on the hill. Peaceful, content, beautiful.

“Hey,” he walks up to her cautiously, “Henrietta wants to come help set up for the wedding this weekend.”

“Of course she does,” she sighs. “Betty called me and said she’d probably ask.”

“Apparently Betty told her she’s pushy and wouldn’t let her help with the planning,” Aaron gossips, it was astounding how being in a small town brought that out of him.

She nods, “yep. But it’s also because Henrietta doesn’t like James, ever since he disappeared that one summer with Augusta�� she doesn’t trust him. I wouldn’t either, but betty’s a strong woman, I know she wouldn’t let him get away with that again.”

“Oh shit,” Aaron didn’t know all that. “When did that happen?”

“When they were in high school, they had a very dramatic graduating class,” she laughs. “My group of friends didn’t go crazy till later on after we graduated.”

“Why do I feel like you know every secret in this town?”

“Well, when you own the only place in town that offers alcohol all day long, people tell you things,” she laughs it off, “but yeah, I know some things that could ruin this town.”

“How do you manage to keep all these secrets?” He whispers. “Like me… how are you able to call me Aaron in private and keep up the lie when I’m at work?”

“Daren isn’t that far off,” she smiles up at him. “And secret-keeping is easy if you have nothing to get out of them. They’re like ammunition in this town and I have no one to take out.”

“You’d be good in politics,” he teases.

She lays her hand on his arm as she laughs, leaning into his space and lightening right up to him. She used to be so closed off he never imagined they’d get here, it only took 2 months, but the wait was worth it.

From the moment he met her, he knew she was special. He showed up at her house at 4 in the morning with a scared 11-year-old and she knew exactly what to do. She had Jack's room all ready the next day with everything he needed for the school year, colouring supplied because Aaron said he loves to draw and open arms when he wanted support from someone other than his father.

For the first few days Jack barely looked at him, he was completely silent and it worried Aaron, but not Y/N.

He was in the barn, preparing the bottles for the goats when she walked up and startled him. “Sorry- I just need to ask something?”

He had a hand on his chest, heart beating hard inside as he caught his breath, “the barns so quiet, it’s not your fault. What’s up?”

“I’m hosting a painting party later tonight for the ladies, I was wondering if it’s okay if Jack joins? We’re following a Bob Ross episode, I think he’ll like it,” she adds with a smile.

“Sure,” Aaron smiles, “as long as you can get him out of his room, I’m fine with it.”

She lightly laughs, “he’ll be okay, you know that, right?”

He sighs, “I’m really hoping so.”

“I was his age when my mom died, my whole world changed at 11 too, it sucked for a while but as soon as I found my thing, everything got better,” she tries to cheer him up.

“You’re too nice,” he smiles at her.

She backs up then, smiling awkwardly back at him, “uh, yeah, that’s all wanted to ask. Thank you, I’ll bring him home around 9.”

“okay—“

That was just the beginning of her running away from him.

Like a mouse in the barn hiding from one of the cats, he knew that eventually one of them would give in to the other, it just took forever. He laid on the sweetness from there, complimenting her in the mornings, staying late to help her with the deliveries, organizing the shop for her so she could see the floor for the first time in years… he did everything in his power just to get her to talk to him, to possibly crack the shell she grew around her heart to keep it safe.

It finally worked.

“Are you excited for this weekend?” He asks, “I haven’t seen you put on a wedding here yet.”

“Excited, no,” she laughs, hand sliding down his arm and taking his hand in hers instead as she leads them back to the Inn. “Stressed out is better, these things can go wrong so quickly.”

“You’re holding my hand,” he bumps her shoulder as he tries to hold in a smile.

“It’s slippery out here,” she lies, nudging him back. “Wouldn’t want you to fall and break a hip, old fart.”

“You’re too darn cute,” he says just quiet enough for her to scoff at him.

“Your crush on me is what’s cute, I could hit you with a car and you’d be like wow she’s hot,” she teases him again.

The more she tried to bug him, the harder he fell for her. It’s been the case all along, when she couldn’t avoid him, she took the 8-year-old boy tactic of bullying him slightly. It was amusing to him, which just made her angrier.

“Stop being cute and I won’t act like this,” he combats as they approach the kitchen once more. “After you, boss lady.”

“Thank you, Daren,” she uses his fake name when they’re around people, it’s just close enough to his own name that his ears could get used to the change and it didn’t stand out. And he liked it.

Being Daren Colt the farmhand was like being back in high school, acting in the play and trying to get the pretty girl to talk to him. Sometimes life came full circle, sometimes old lessons have a way of becoming relevant in life again, and this time he decided he was going to do it right.

He was done being the adventurous hotshot FBI agent, willing to do whatever it took to help people… he’s helped so many people to try and make himself feel better but in the end, he's ended up hurting those closest to him.

Like Jess, she’s not in Georgia but she’s also in witsec, he can’t talk to her but he doesn’t imagine she wants to talk to him ever again. Not after being uprooted and sent away with her sick elderly father, sure it would save her life, but it would so fucking inconvenient that he’d hate himself for it too.

Jack, on the other hand, was coming around to it. He found a group of friends at his new school that he fits in with, he paints with Y/N on Sunday mornings and helps her with the breakfast shift after, he has responsibilities and he likes being with his dad almost all day every day. In a strange way, they both see this turn of events as a blessing.

Aarons falling in love with the woman Jack’s starting to love like a mother, he depends on Y/N in ways Aaron can’t compare with. She’s soft, she understands the pain of losing a mother and in turn losing a part of herself, she knows how it feels to hold in the emotions and what it does to someone who holds it for too long. Through art, they’ve processed their feelings, and from what Jack’s allowed Aaron to see, he’s doing just fine.

They both were.

—

She takes a deep breath when she hears Betty finally say “I do,” leaning in to kiss her new husband as the room erupts in cheers and the earth trembles as they jump to their feet.

It’s finally over.

She didn’t need to worry about anything else, the dinner was a potluck, the alcohol was on standby, the dance floor was waiting and she couldn’t wait to just sit down.

3 days of hard work paid off when she saw the girl she used to babysit walk down the aisle with the love of her life. She made it through the family drama, the guest issues, her grandmother… but it all worked out. James was a good man, he’s grown a lot, no matter what the gossip currently was.

Everyone complimented her on a lovely venue, asking how she managed to make every wedding so spectacular and personal at the same time, and it was simple. She listened. She took into account the people and their essence and made the day reflect the love they share. Today represented the start of forever, with one simple kiss they sparked the beginning of a new story that was to be passed along through generations as long as her lineage stayed in Evermory.

She sat down with a glass of wine and watched the toasts, the drunken stories about how their love came to be from everyone that witnessed it. The will they won’t they story that rocked the whole town that fateful summer. The funniest part was seeing August and Betty laughing it off together, with August even being one of her bridesmaids.

Everyone in town was there, in person and in spirit.

She knows her mom would have loved this, after all, this was always her dream. She knew the property had promise, she had drawings and concepts of a bed and breakfast all throughout Y/N’s childhood, if she focused hard enough she could even still hear her mother's sweet voice explaining it all to her.

Knowing she’d love the life Y/N lived made her more content than anything else could. Which was something she also had to remind herself of every time an old lady asked her when she’d be the one walking down the aisle.

“That Daren who works for you is mighty handsome,” Henrietta nudges her with her elbow, looking at her like she knows things Y/N hasn’t even admitted aloud yet.

“That he is,” she doesn’t disagree. “But I’m happy single, you should know that by now, I’m not the marrying type.”

“Oh come on,” she’s not having it at all. “I remember when you were little, your mama brought you to the luncheon and you somehow got into the linen closet and came out in a homemade weddin’ dress claiming you’d be gettin’ married as soon as you could. Where’s that little girl?”

“The love of her life died,” she snaps back, tired of being nice. “It’s not something I can just bounce back from, no matter how much time passes, you should know what that feels like.”

“I’m sorry,” she takes her hand and softly rubs it. Her wrinkled hand is velvety smooth as she stares up at her knowingly. “You’re so young sometimes I forget you’ve experienced so much heartbreak.”

“I’ll tell you this,” she smiles instead of dwelling on the past, “I think Daren is trying to court me, he’s just as cautious as I am he’s just a little more open with his attraction.”

“I knew it!” She squeezes her hand, “oh you two are so cute together.”

“Thanks,” she can’t help but get bashful. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go find him, he shouldn’t be working when we have a party to put on.”

“Yes, go on,” Henrietta cheers her on as she watches her leave.

She leaves the tent, past the garden and towards the barn. She holds her dress up from the mud, letting her cowboy boots take the mess they were made for. “Daren?” She calls, “are you out here?”

No response. She continues on past the gates, hearing the jingle of a cowbell as her main milking cow trots around to see her. She comes right up to her, getting a nice scratch on the head before nuzzling her arm. “Hey there miss marble, have you seen Daren?”

“Who’s askin’?” He teases as he follows around the same corner, “oh, it’s my favourite person.”

“Hi,” she lights right up. “Why aren’t you at the party?”

“Do you want me there?”

She nods, “of course.”

“Give me 10 minutes to get ready and I’ll join you,” he wipes his hands n his overalls. “Here, let me help you get out of here,” he reaches for the hem of her dress and holds it up from the mud, “after you.”

“Why thank you,” she begins to walk out, it felt nice to let him be so generous. Instead of pushing him away, she welcomed his kindness, it was a nice change.

“You look beautiful by the way, I’m not sure if I’ve told you yet today,” he adds, following her with a big smile on his face.

“You have, but thank you,” she feels the heat rising in her cheeks as she tries to hold in a smile. “I’ve never really seen you all dressed up before, you know.”

“You’ll see it again on Monday night,” he teases as he drops the train of her dress now that they’re out of the mudded area.

“I’m actually pretty excited,” she turns to him with a smile, “I’m still sorry it took so long for me to just talk to you and get over myself.”

“It’s more than okay,” brushes it off. “You had every right to be skeptical.”

They stopped at the guest house, “well, I guess I’ll see you out there?”

“You will,” he nods, gently laying his hand on her shoulder as he passes her and heads into the house.

He didn’t linger, she wished he did because the next time she saw him was hours later.

—

He’s sat at the bar, beer in hand as he watches the bride and groom dance around the empty dance floor. He doesn’t know them well, he only knows them through Y/N’s stories from high school. Her graduating class was a wild one, with cheating and parties, rich people, murders and a now-famous actress.

Jack's dancing with the kids around his age, the older crowd has gone home and it’s just a few stragglers left on the old tennis court turned wedding venue. It was astounding how 1 white tent was able to change the whole scenery that he’s come to know and love so much.

From the corner of his eye, he catches Y/N in the yard waving off the mayor and her daughter as they head out for the night. It’s his chance to steal her away next and so he takes it.

Walking right out to her, “come dance with me?”

She laughs, “oh I don’t know about that, it seems pretty dangerous for me to dance with you.”

“Why’s that?” He takes her hand in his, leading her to the side gate where the music still reaches but they can be alone.

“We still haven’t had a date,” she reminds him as she follows. “I thought you’d be more old-time-y and romantic than this.”

“Dancing in the dark surrounded by roses, that’s pretty romantic,” he laughs as he pulls her in close, hand on her waist and the other lifted in position.

She follows her lead automatically, with a wild smile and glossy eyes. “You are something else, Aaron.”

She scoffed but he knows it’s from a place of love. It’s one he’s heard before, from 2 different voices that loved him before her. It was something he used to identify when he had his hooks in someone. When they rolled their eyes, looked away real quick and cleared their throat before turning back to him, that’s when he knew he had them.

“Can I ask you something?” He swiftly changes the topic, lost in her eyes and the thought of her liking him, he knew almost nothing about her.

She nods, “shoot.”

“Why did you decide to turn your childhood home into a bed and breakfast?”

She sighed, “well, my mom had some money and when she got sick she put it all in my name and told me when I turned 18 I could access it and live my life to the fullest and make her proud… I remember how much she loved having the ladies over for lunch on Thursday, all the moms in town took me in after she passed and made sure I was taken care of from a feminine side of things,” she got into the nitty-gritty details with him like it was nothing new.

Only Aaron has no idea she’s never told anyone this.

“So I went to school to study hospitality for a few years, I asked the mayor for a personal loan that would in return boost the local economy and I created a space where I can take care of the town that raised me,” she lets go of his hand to wipe a tear.

Instead of taking his hand again, she pulls him in tighter, with her arms around him in a tight bear hug she rests her cheek on his chest, “that’s a fact just for you, don’t tell anyone I said that.”

“Keeping a secret for you is the least I can do—

“You’re a poet,” she manages to laugh with a sniffle.

He laughs too, “what was her name?”

“My mom?” She clarifies, waiting for his hum to know she’s on the right track. “Marjorie… what’s yours?”

“Her name was Candace,” he’s solemn. “she was an interesting woman.”

“Your dad?”

He shakes his head, “rather not.”

“sorry…”

“Don’t, it’s okay, really. I just don’t want to taint these memories,” he presses his lips together awkwardly. “My father was a terrible man, nothing like your father, it’s no wonder Jack’s so drawn to him.”

“He’s the best,” she agrees. “I’m glad he got your case.”

“Me too,” he can’t believe his ears.

“Also,” she hesitates, “I never really thanked you when I did all my apologizing.”

“For what?”

“Making me laugh so much,” she’s brutally honest. “I don’t have many good friends, I may know everyone in town but I’ve never had someone like you in my life.”

“That’s a damn shame,” he lowers his voice as he looks deep into her eyes. Hands trail from her hips, over her arms as they erupt in goosebumps and finally, one hand cups her cheek. His thumb caresses her cheek as she leans into it, “but then again, I’m glad that you’re all mine now.”

“Nuh-uh,” she shakes her head playfully, “not so fast. You still have more wooing to do.”

“I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve,” he teases her back.

“We’ll see about that, cowboy.”

Permanent tag list

@goldensonlyangel @doctorspenceryeet @samuel-de-champagne-problems @reiding-recs @shemarmooresfedora @reidsfish @manuosorioh @mochionly @jswessie187 @k-k0129 @blanchardsbk @measure-in-pain @dreams-in-blxck @doc-padfoot @nomajdetective @xoxospencerreid @mggswhorificlover @dinonuggets1967 @meganskane @kya-li @reidsbookclub @muffin-cup @sassymoon @shirleyrose @reidsacademia @this-is-doctor-and-its-calm @spooky-goob @strawberryspence @thatsonezesty13 @lonewolf471 @a-mended-pact @ssa-uglywhore27 @hotchandspencearedilfs @venomsvl

@fightingdragonswithreid @mortallythoughtfulgurl @bohemianrhapsody86 @allybatch @crypticcorvidinacottage @reidslibrarybook @mrsobrien888 @malindacath @simplyparker @gspenc @spenciesprincess @mrskatpotter @starrylang

@hotched @mrs-dr-reid

#criminal minds smut #criminal minds imagine #aaron hotch hotchner #aaron hotch x reader #aaron hotch fanfiction #aaron hotchner #aaron hotch imagine #aaron hotch fluff #aaron hotch fic

178 notes · View notes

acepalindrome · 2 years ago

Text

Y’all need to check out Bear & Breakfast, it’s so ridiculously charming and fun. You play a bear named Hank who, after getting distracted on a little adventure with his friends, ends up agreeing to work with a highly suspicious guy in a shark costume to renovate abandoned buildings and turn them into hotels to lure humans back into the valley. There used to be more humans around, but everyone left after a huge destructive fire years ago. Why do they want humans back? Because they leave behind all kinds of cool trash that the animals like. We want their stuff. And money.

The game is so wildly charming and packed with cute little details. For example, you can buy a bunch of furniture items to decorate from a raccoon, but he doesn’t want your stupid money. No, he wants valuables. There’s a separate currency called valuables and it’s literally garbage. Pick up trash your humans left behind and give it to the raccoon for goodies he dug out of the dumpster. It’s a beautiful arrangement we have here.

Also at the beginning of the game, humans will run away from you, because you’re a bear. But later you will acquire a hat and a pair of pants, and the humans start just assuming you’re a very hairy man and are totally fine with you.

The art style is delightfully cartoony, the music is super chill, the characters are all entertaining and fun, and there’s so much to do in the game, but you unlock new features at a good pace so it doesn’t feel overwhelming.

You start just building bedrooms, but the more people start coming to your hotels, the pickier they get. Just bedrooms aren’t enough, they want bathrooms and entertainment and food! But don’t put the bedrooms too close to the kitchen or they’ll complain about the noise. And they want their rooms nicely furnished and decorated, but if you pack in too much furniture to try to up the room’s rating, they’ll complain about it being too cluttered. But, the more demanding they get, the better they pay!

There are lots of features around the valley to renovate, from an outhouse to bus stops, all with various perks. You collect materials around the valley to build things, do quests for the various characters, unlock collectibles…the game keeps you busy but still feels laid back and relaxing. I highly recommend it, go check it out.

#bear & breakfast

36 notes · View notes

stupid-lemon-eater · 2 years ago

Text

10 characters 10 fandoms 10 tags

tagged by the lovely @forerussake 💖💖💖 (if you see any commonalities in any of these characters no you don’t and also shush)

1. Zhao Yunlan, Guardian

2. Wei Wuxian, The Untamed

3. Dorian Pavus, Dragon Age: Inquisition

4. Hank, Bear and Breakfast

5. Wu Xie, DMBJ

6. Stiles Stilinski, Teen Wolf

7. Kurosawa Yuichi, Cherry Magic

8. Desmond Miles, Assassin’s Creed

9. Anakin Skywalker, Star Wars

10. Jonathan Harker, Dracula

tagging: @moi-ennepe @roombagreyjoy @poorpoorpitifulme @mejomonster @athenadark @vidronoliquidificador @hiboudeluxe @fan-man-huaisang @frikinik @nutty-acorn and anyone else who wants to do it! :)

#about me #my life #long post #tag game

9 notes · View notes

thera-daydreams · 4 years ago

Text

INDAY

± A Trese Fic ±

[Crispin/Basilio/Maliksi/Dominic x Skymaiden!Reader]

01: Noon at Ngayon (✓)

02: Ang Kambal na Anak ni Datu Talagbusao, Diyos ng Digmaan (Link)

03: Ang Prinsipe ng Mga Tikbalang (Link)

04: Ang Pinuno ng Mga Aswang (Link)

05: (Link) 06: (Link) 07: (Link)

01: Noon at Ngayon

Back then, long before you were born, your mother used to work as a katulong of the Trese Family and was very close to its matriarch, Miranda Trese. Coming from the province, she was no stranger to superstitions—even more so after knowing the work of Miranda's husband Anton Trese, who was actually the Babaylan-Mandirigma of Manila.

Years later, after giving birth to you around the same time Miranda gave birth to her twins (one a stillborn, unfortunately), it was you and Alexandra who became best buddies instead, as different your personalities were. You two had practically grown up together and you yourself heard countless stories of the supernatural from your Tito Anton. It wasn't that hard to believe when he and his sigbin companions would sometimes come home tracking blood prints on the floors (which you'd helped your mother clean up). Heck, you'd even met Señor Armanaz, the Great Stallion himself and the ruling tikbalang of the Armanaz herd. That pretty, white-haired diwata seemed extremely fond of you, too, which was evident when you'd sneak in with Alexandra to Tito Anton's meetings and she would smile (even wave) at you happily.

You had absolutely no idea why the fae-like lady was so nice to you, but you weren't complaining at all!

However, in spite of your experiences with the supernatural, you and your mother always believed that you were normal humans. In actuality, that was who you were for the majority of your childhood. It was only until Miranda herself saw a vision of you—a much older you—fighting the monsters of the Underworld alongside her own daughter. During dinnertime, Miranda told your mother that she saw you blessed by the heavens with powers that would aid in the battle against evil.

It sounded absolutely ridiculous, right? Yeah, your mom thought so, too.

Your mother only laughed it off as she placed a steaming bowl of tinola in front of Alexandra's brothers, who instantly dug in like they haven't been fed in years.

"Boys! Dahan-dahan lang," Anton reprimanded his sons. "Or else you'll choke and the soup will come out of your noses!"

"Okay, Papa."

"Grabe ka naman, Miranda. I doubt that anything like that's going to happen to my daughter," your mom chuckled, watching your little hands try to feed Alexandra with a piece of chicken. "Unlike you guys, our lineage isn't anything special. Ordinaryo lang ang lahi namin."

Miranda sighed, looking at you and her only living daughter enjoying your time being kids, "I guess you're right. Baka panaginip lang talaga 'yun."

Anton glanced at her knowingly. Although he was aware that you and your mom didn't dabble in magic or anything like they did, he knew that whenever Miranda—one of the Seven Seers—had such vivid dreams, it was something of great importance. But he decided to say nothing, understanding how much your mother wanted to let you live as normal of a life possible in this household.

That was when you were seven years old. One year later, Miranda died fighting against a group of aswang who decided to betray Anton. Said man found the eight-year-old Alexandra hiding in a corner behind the waterfalls, scared and holding Sinag close to her heaving chest as she tried to hold her tearful sobs in.

Of course, a few days later, you and your mother attended the funeral with the mourning Trese family. All the brothers had done their best to stay strong, especially for their little sister who didn't fully understand yet what just happened. Little you ran towards Alexandra, holding her hand tightly as her mother's casket was lowered. Around you were various comrades, both human and non-human, paying their respects to their bereaved allies.

That day, as you turned your back to return to your mother's arms, you knew you would never forget the feeling of numerous unearthly eyes following your every movement.

Even they could sense that there was something about you, a so-called regular human child. You smelled human and had the aura of one, but there was something they couldn't place. It was like a tiny rock getting into your shoe, not coming out at all.

Much changed after that, but you and Alexandra remained close together. To your dismay, just after you graduated elementary, you and your mother had to move back to the province to stay with your sick grandparents. The last thing you could remember was kneeling in the back of the car, looking sadly through the rear windscreen as Alexandra and her brothers waved goodbye to you.

More than a decade had passed since then. You used to write letters to Alexandra, but after Hank told you she had to undergo the trials of the Puno ng Balete, you haven't heard from her (although Hank did disclose that she'd managed to come home safely, which was a great relief to you). You didn't blame her; you knew Tito Anton had passed away in the five years she was gone and that she had to take over the title of Lakan, as well as the Babaylan-Mandirigma of Manila. It was a demanding job! You remembered Tito Anton sometimes staying up all night—breakfast would be served and he would still be in his study, going over paperwork. On other days, he would be gone for consecutive nights handling cases all around Manila. You could only pray Alexandra was fine.

Your life had continued on, as well—you took care of your ill grandparents until they died, helped your mother in the province, went to a good highschool, then earned your degree in another prominent city that wasn't Manila.

Your mom actually recommended that you go to school somewhere else, given the constantly rising number of attacks in the capital of the country. And so you did. Life was hard, but normal until then.

The funny thing was that, when you reached the age of twenty-one, you finally understood why those supernatural creatures kept looking at you weirdly as a kid (and why Lady Diwata liked you so much).

What was even funnier was that the dramatic revelation came to you when you weren't in the Philippines. It was after you freshly graduated college, when you were traveling all over Asia to volunteer in charity projects. It was always your dream to one day expand your horizons not only beyond your province, but the Philippines itself, while also doing good in the world.

And here you were, walking that path you dreamt of.

The organization you luckily managed to become a member of provided everything you needed, and every few months, you would move from country to country. Because of that, you'd already been able to travel to so many places. First it was Thailand, then Indonesia, China, South Korea, India, Japan, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, and currently, you were in Vietnam. Visiting those places was fun and gave you a whole new perspective of the world you lived in; it was a... learning experience, too.

Still, that incident happened when you were in Thailand, when you were the last one in the rented apartment balcony taping up the boxes for the donation drive tomorrow. Yawning, you cut more duct tape and stuck them to the open boxes tightly.

"Inday," someone said from behind you. You didn't bother turning around, thinking it was one of your fellow volunteers looking for you this late at night. Probably your roommate. She was the only one who usually called you by your nickname instead of your real name.

"Hmm?" you hummed, taping up more boxes. "Papasok na ako sa kwarto, Lyn. I just have a few more boxes to close. Alam mong mapapagalitan ako kung may hindi madidistribute bukas."

"Hindi ako si Lyn."

You paused, then slowly turned around, flinching at the sudden bright light that shone right against your eyes. For a moment, akala mo namatay ka na at hinaharap mo si San Pedro.

It was a glowing figure in white whose face you couldn't clearly see, which frightened you even more.

"Ay, mama!" you exclaimed, shielding your eyes and falling to your knees. Then, you gasped loudly, patting your body and panicking with closed lids. "Oh my God, am I dead? Nasa heaven na po ba ako?" Your lips wobbled. "Ngayon pa nga lang ako nakaalis ng Pilipinas... I haven't even done all the things I've wanted to do! Hindi pa ako nakapagpaalam sa nanay ko—aray!"

You'd felt something hit the back of your head. Hard. It was the glowing figure in white, but now you could see their unimpressed face scowling at you.

"Kalma lang, Inday. Hindi ka pa patay, pero makinig ka nang mabuti," they shushed you urgently (you weren't sure if they were male or female). "Do not be afraid. I am a messenger from the heavens, and I bear great news!"

"Great news...?" you trailed off, then your eyes widened excitedly. "Like, nanalo ba ako ng lotto? Isang milyon? Bilyon? Hala! Wait, is this a Mama Mary moment? I'm not ready to be the next immaculate conception!"

They glared at you, making you shut up instantly. "Sorry, I'll shut up now," you apologized with a mumble. This person (thing?) was kind of... strict. Whatever did you do wrong? You were just sleep-deprived and running on energy drinks (as well as kape).

"I have come to tell you that you are the vessel of the last skymaiden," they revealed, arms wide open. The light around them seemed to grow even brighter, making you squint. You felt like you were about the go blind! "Ikaw ang huling biraddali, Y/N L/N."

At ayun, zero brain cells remaining. Tunay na nagloading screen ang brain mo. Nag-error at nagcrash pa nga siguro, eh.

"... Ha? Ano?"

You blinked, completely speechless—as seen by how wide your jaw had dropped open. It wasn't that you were unfamiliar with the biraddali, it was just that you'd only heard of them once when you were just a young child. Your Tita Miranda had mentioned they were long gone from the world of the supernatural.

"Oh no, me? A biraddali? You're joking," you stuttered out, pointing at yourself. "Aren't they extinct or something? And, uh... not human?"

They nodded, "Yes. It is correct that everyone in the mystical world thought that the biraddali were long gone, even before the colonizers came to conquer the native lands. However, before the skymaidens all disappeared, the youngest and most powerful one among the seven sisters sealed her soul away to the rivers of time until the strength of a heavenly being was needed to help purify the evils of the world." The figure floated closer to you. "That last biraddali's soul, along with its corresponding power, traits, and knowledge, had chosen to reside deep within you the moment you were conceived."

Honestly, how were you even supposed to react? Your life was nowhere near ready for something like this. Was this a prank by your friends? Your colleagues? The light around this person seemed too authentic to be fake, though.

You stayed in shock for an entire minute, silent. The being in front of you only waited for a response.

"Ano 'to, Sailor Moon? Winx Club?" you whispered to yourself, before slapping your own cheek and scolding yourself. A stinging red mark was left on your face. "Inday, kakamanhwa mo 'yan! Nasosobraan ka na ata, matulog ka na!"

Sighing heavily, you rubbed your face tiredly, still in disbelief that you—according to this stranger—were apparently some old soul from a species of ethereal beings that were long gone. It sounded like something out of those reincarnation webnovels you got addicted to. What now, you were the MC? Wattpad ka, girl?

"Look, this is a mistake. I still have to wake up early tomorrow to give out the donations," you spoke to the glowing being (or whatever it was), laughing nervously. "I'm sorry, but I think you have the wrong person. Either that or I must be hallucinating from sleep deprivation, because I'm definitely not a divine creature. You're probably just a product of my imagination. Sorry, I'm going to bed."

Bang!

At that moment, the power in the building went out. The only thing you could see was the thing who assumed you were a biraddali (they were so bright they were like a flashlight in the dark for you).

"Brownout?" you blinked. It felt wrong, though. It was eerily silent. "Did a fuse blow up?"

"Nagsimula na ang iyong unang pagsubok, Y/N," they announced seriously. "Creatures of the dark have already begun to take over this building. You may not have noticed, but all throughout your life, you have always been helping and giving. It is your nature as a being descended from the heavens themselves, and now, it is time for you to accept your destiny."

"Hoy, sandali lang! Sandali, sandali!" You were absolutely wide awake now as you heard the sounds of strange whispers around you. It was terrifyingly creepy, much creepier than whatever you'd seen back in the Trese Residence (and you'd seen a lot in that house). You did not want to be a part of a horror movie-like lifestyle. "Don't I have a choice in this?! I—I don't have any training or fighting skills! Hindi ako Alexandra Trese o Babaylan-Mandirigma! I'm not ready for this, holy sh—"

The candescent creature raised a brow at you, "Inday, I just told you that you have the power of a lost mystical being. And tell me, if you had the power to save your companions in this building from the forces of evil, would you save them?"

You were silent, knowing the answer.

"Well?" they prodded.

You bit your lip, "Oo naman. I'm not heartless!" But you were a little impulsive. And apparently, insane.

"That's what I thought. I just need you to believe in yourself," the being encouraged, gentler this time. It transformed into something smaller and rounder—like a ball of light. "Ikaw ang huling biraddali, Y/N, at marami kang kapangyarihan. Isa dito ay ang pagtulong sa mga nangangailangan, lalo na laban sa masasamang nilalang."

Bestie, what had you just gotten into?

You swallowed apprehensively, then nodded in determination, "Sige. So, how do I save the people in the building? Biraddali were said to be able to shapeshift, right? If I remember the tale correctly. Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening to me right now."

"That's just one of your abilities, but I'll teach you. I'm actually your guide," they replied confidently. "With me, you'll be able to master your powers and exceed your capabilities in no time!"

"Wait! Anong pangalan mo?" you asked breathlessly, following them as they speedily flew out of the room. "Grabe, slow down! I'm not athletic! I haven't even exercised this week, goodness."

"... Gabay. Ako si Gabay."

Despite the adrenaline and fear running in your veins, you still grinned up at the ball of light, "Okay. Nice to meet you, Gabay."

This was just the beginning of your supernatural combat training abroad. When you returned to the Philippines three years later, you were stronger, faster, and more powerful than you'd ever felt before. It was crazy.

Oh, that guy who tried to rob you when you came back to Manila was crazy, too. The two identical-looking men in dark suits and white ties—you wondered how they were surviving the heat in that attire—could only watch in awe as you chased down that man who stole your bag while doing acrobatics and parkour.

"Uy, Kuya Crispin, sino kaya 'yun?"

"Ewan ko, Basilio."

"... She's kind of pretty. Type ko. Type mo rin ata."

"The more important question is, paano niya na nahuli ang magnanakaw?"

"Oo nga, no? One in a million chance 'yan dito sa Maynila, haha! Ang astig ni ate!"

(Next Chapter.)

± Author's Notes ±

Ayieee, type daw tayo ng kambal! 😌

How the hell did I write this entirely random thing in one day? 2k+ words? Ano daw? 😃⁉️

You know, this was supposed to just be a Trese one-shot or a bunch of drabbles for the characters I'm currently simping for... but it turned into a full-blown, shameless self-insert slash crackfic. Kakacellphone ko 'yan. 🤦‍♀️

Nagresearch pa ako ng articles about Filipino skymaidens because I wanted something similiar to the Japanese celestial maidens (tennyo). Very random idea but why not? Gusto ko ng badass Y/N na hindi takot lumaban sa mga mumu! 👻

Also, pagbigyan niyo nalang ang matandang 'to kasi ilang taon na akong hindi nagpopost ng mga writings ko. May track record pa naman ako bilang author na hindi nagtatapos ng mga fanfic, hehe. I also haven't read the comics so please forgive me for any inaccuracies and of course, misspellings/errors. Gusto ko lang matapos 'to para makakabalik na ako sa Jujutsu Kaisen. 🥲😗

Anyways, comments and constructive criticism are welcome! Hit those heart, reblog, and follow buttons for updates! Just comment if you want to be tagged in the next chapters. ❤

#trese #trese netflix #trese 2021 #crispin #basilio #maliksi #dominic #x reader #kambal x reader #crispin x reader #basilio x reader #maliksi x reader #dominic x reader #trese x reader #thera.writes

305 notes · View notes

pterodactylterrace · 4 years ago

Text

Title: Go To Bed

Chapter: 1/1 (can be considered a follow up to Goodest Boy or a standalone. You don’t need to read Goodest Boy to understand what’s going on.)

Summary: He’s just one giant toddler when he’s been drinking

Rating: T

Warnings: Alcohol consumption. Drunk Henry. My botched attempt at a drunken British accent.

In retrospect, staying with Henry at the same time that a 'very important rugby match' was on TV, may have been a bad idea. Don't get me wrong, everyone was super polite. They were also super loud. And as the night wore on, they became super drunk. Add to that the fact that I know nothing about rugby and I wasn't having the best of times. I definitely should have tried to reschedule my visit for the next time I would be back in London. It was only a few weeks away, rugby season would be over by then, right? Did rugby have a season, or was it an all the time thing?

I could probably ask him that when he was sober. As for right now, he was several rounds deep, and probably wouldn't understand the question if I did ask. If he could even hear me. How are they all so loud? Which team was I supposed to be rooting for again? They are all probably drunk enough to not notice me leave right now. I could just walk right out of this madness and curl up all cozy with a book.

My plan went off without a hitch, easily detangling myself from the pile of dudes drunkenly fixated on the TV and walking straight out and up to the guest room. I should probably lock the door in case Henry forgets I'm here and offers the room to one of his pals. The last thing I want to deal with is a drunken stranger in my room in the middle of the night.

The door muffled their boisterous laughter and cheering well enough. I could still hear them, but I was able to concentrate on my book. I fully drowned out the noise as I immersed myself into my favorite fantasy realm for what had to be the tenth time. Once my eyes grew too heavy to force open anymore, I marked my page and clicked off the bedside lamp, snuggling down into the bed for a good night's sleep. I had the suspicion I was going to be the one making breakfast tomorrow.

What was that sound? It sounds like scratching. Is Henry's house haunted? I really needed to check if people's homes were haunted before staying with them for any length of time. When I heard it again, it was accompanied by a whimpering sound, followed by a booming bark. Good news, it was just a bear scratching at my door, not a demon! Henry probably forgot to let him out again before he went to bed.

"Shh, buddy, Henry's probably getting some much needed sleep right now." I soothed as I opened the door. Kal hopped down the hallway, whimpering and tapping his feet when I didn't follow right away. Poor boy must really have to go. "Alright, come on. Let's get you settled for the night." I sighed, following after him.

I was more than a little confused when Kal led me to the kitchen instead of the backdoor. Did Henry not give him dinner? No, he fed him before everyone came over. Was that little piggy trying for another dinner?

"Kaaaaal!" I heard a familiar voice drag out, followed by what could only be described as giggling. "Kal, ca' you ope' the pea'butter?" I cautiously peered around the island, groaning when I saw Henry sprawled out on his back, attempting to open the bottom of a jar of peanut butter. He must really be out of it.

"Henry." I called, slowly stepping closer to him.

"Abi!" He cheered, lifting his head to look at me, a goofy smile plastered on his face.

"Is there a reason you're laying on the kitchen floor?"

"I... I drop it." Henry explained, holding the jar up, only for it to tumble out of his hands once more, bouncing off his stomach. "Ouch. Not nice."

"Can you stand up? You'd sleep a lot better if you went to bed." I explained, offering him my hand to help him up.

"M' fine." Henry scoffed, abruptly popping himself up into a sitting position. He blinked rapidly a few times, trying to regain his equilibrium before turning his head to look at me. "Abi!" He cheered again, throwing his arms around me locking me in a bear hug, his face buried in my stomach. "You' so nice." He mumbled, his voice muffled by my shirt.

"Ok, save the snuggles for when you're in bed." I sighed, wiggling my way out of his grasp.

"You stay wit' me?" He gasped excitedly, scrambling to his feet and accidentally tackling me when he tried to me hug again, somehow managing to twist us so he took the brunt of the fall. "I... 'm sorry." He mumbled after a second, popping his head up to look at me, still clutched to his chest like a child with a teddy bear.

"Come on, you need to get to bed. No more tackling." I attempted again, slipping free again and stepping back as my gigantic host rose to his feet. It was times like this, when he was unsteady and unaware of his sheer mass, that I am reminded of exactly large he is. He typically carries himself very well, he is gentle in spite of his strength. When he's drunk, he's a bull in a china shop.

"m snack." He whined, looking dejectedly at the still un opened jar of peanut butter on the floor.

"Sorry buddy, I talked with sober Henry and he told me he has a strict rule about peanut butter in the bed."

"He sound' like a... stupid." Henry mumbled, leaning against the island and rubbing at his eyes.

"Now come on, big guy. Bed time." I repeated, gently turning his shoulders toward the hall and giving him a small push in the correct direction.

"'s your bed time." He grumbled, taking unsteady steps to the hallway, pausing when he reached the archway, leaning on it and looking back at me again. "You' go ta bed."

"After I make sure you're safe for the night." I compromised, shooing him down the hall again.

"I can... I can take care 'o m'self." He scoffed, pinballing his way down the hall to the stairs. "See? You' bein' dramatic." He yawned, plopping down on the third stair and leaning back against the rest them.

"And you are trying to take a nap on a staircase."

"No 'm not."

"Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill, get your ass up those stairs and go to bed, right now!"

"Tha'... tha's kinda hot." Henry chuckled, his eyes popping open to look at me again. "You bein' bossy. So lil' and bein' bossy." He continued rambling as he crawled his way up the stairs, giggling to himself the entire time. "Call' m' by m' full name an' ever'thin'."

"Keep it moving." I sighed, grabbing onto his hips to steady him when he stood himself back up to weave his way down the hall, finally shoving the giant onto his bed, relief washing over me when he landed face down, bouncing safely on the mattress. "I'll get you some water and a painkiller. Don't move." Henry groaned and shot me a thumbs up from his face down position, finally turning his head so he could breathe.

I was halfway back up the steps, Kal dutifully following me when I heard a loud thud from upstairs. Of course that stubborn man wouldn't listen when I told him to stay put. I rushed the rest of the way back to his room, rolling my eyes when I found him sitting on the floor, trying to wrestle his shirt over his head.

"Help." He whined, pausing in his struggle when he took notice of me and his canine companion standing in the doorway. Kal only huffed at his human, trotting over to his bed and curling up for the night, content his job was done.

"I thought I told you to stay still." I chastised, setting the glass of water and pill bottle down before helping him out of his shirt.

"I gotta take a piss." He grouched, pushing himself up on unsteady legs and stumbling off to the bathroom.

"I am not cleaning your bathroom if you pee on everything!" I called after him, my shoulders slumping when I heard him start swearing from the bathroom. "You just peed on everything, didn't you?"

"No! Fuckin' zipper!" He yelled back. "AH HA! I got it! Hey... Hey, Abi, I got it." He called triumphantly.

"Thank God." I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. I was getting a headache of my own from dealing with this over grown toddler. "And make sure you leave your underwear on!"

"'S on!" He grouched, shuffling back in just his underwear, sending me a dopey grin. "Abi!"

"Yes, Henry. I'm still here."

"Oh 'm glad 's you." He laughed, wrapping me in his arms and leaning his weight on me. "You... you're th' bes'."

"And you are drunk." I reminded him, shuffling us around to sit him on the edge of the bed.

"So pretty." He sighed, snatching me up again and burying his face in my chest. "Mrr mmeee."

"I'm sorry, Henry, I can't hear you."

"I said marry me!" Henry repeated, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he looked up at me. "It'll be great!"

"Now I know you're trashed." I laughed, pushing his forehead until he fell back on the mattress.

"Noooo." He whined reaching for me again, though I was sure to stay out of his reach this time.

"You don't know what you're saying, Henry." I soothed, grabbing his long, muscular legs and heaving them up onto the bed.

"Yeah I do." He pouted, his hazy eyes locking on me again. "You're th' bes'. You... You're always there 'f me. Gon' marry you."

"Ok, big guy." I sighed, throwing the blankets over him.

"Stay." His voice was so quiet I wasn't sure I heard him at first, but then I heard him wiggling around in the bed before speaking again. "Plea' stay?"

"Henry, you're drunk. I don't think that's a good idea."

"Pleeeeease?" He whined, pouting back at me. "I wan' make sure you don' run 'way 'morrow."

"I won't go anywhere, Hank. Get some sleep, I'll check on you in the morning."

To say I was surprised to find Henry not only walking around the next day, but bringing me a cup of coffee before I even woke up, would be an understatement. He looked freshly showered, he had dressed himself and judging from the smell wafting through the house, he even cooked something. He really was Superman.

"Morning, Abi." He greeted, shooting me that obnoxiously handsome grin.

"Morning, Henry." I yawned, sitting up and rubbing at my eyes. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, I'm doing much better now. Thank you for helping me last night."

"I'm shocked you're doing so good."

"Well, it is almost three in the afternoon." Henry chuckled, shaking his head at my panicked look.

"Why did you let me sleep so long?!" I gasped, scrambling out of the bed like it burned me.

"I'm pretty sure I kept you up a fair bit last night. It's all a bit fuzzy, honestly, but I thought you earned a bit of a lay in."

"How much do you remember about last night?"

"Not much. I remember wanting peanut butter and you yelling at me, but not much else."

"So you don't remember asking me to marry you?" I teased, laughing when all the color drained from his face. "You know, if you wanted to be more than friends, all you had to do was ask."

Taglist: @Xxxkatxo @Weallhaveadestiny @lunedelorient

#henry cavill #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill fanfiction #drunk!Henry #henry cavill rpf

182 notes · View notes

1234-angelika · 3 years ago

Text

The Morgans

an: Hey y'all! Back with a regularily scheduled update. This is the seventh installment for Derek in my Happily Ever After series. As always, hope y'all enjoy!

words: 1.1k

warnings: food mentions

summary:"Families are the compass that guides us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter." -Brad Henry

masterpost|taglist|have an idea

Family was something that was important to Derek—you knew he would do anything for them. Which only made meeting them so much more daunting. And though you had talked about it in passing, you and Derek hadn’t made plans.

You woke up urgently needing to use the bathroom. When you went to move, though, something heavy was draped over top of you. You carefully lifted Derek’s arm before hurrying to the bathroom. The cold air of the apartment woke your body up, even though you so desperately didn’t want to. As soon as you stepped into the bathroom, there was no going back to sleep; the cold tiles shocked your system.

Finishing up, you wandered out into the living room to grab your overnight bag and get ready for the day ahead. You and Derek had been dating a year now, and the two of you agreed, instead of moving your things twice—once into his apartment and then again into the new house— it would be better to just move in once, in the new house. You guys would spend the night at the other place, every so often. Last night, you stayed over at Derek’s after dinner and a few too many drinks. And since you had work in a couple of hours, you decided to just get ready for the day instead of going back to bed.

You walked out of the bathroom and straight into the kitchen to get a jumpstart on breakfast. Cooking was something you were fond of, but since taking the job at the FBI as a trainer, you hadn’t had much time for it. Sure, you would cook dinner when you and Derek were together once in a while but not nearly often enough. Then, just as you were finishing up breakfast, three wraps echoed through the mostly quiet apartment. You shuffled through the hall to open the door since Derek wasn’t awake yet.

You opened the door, ready to berate the neighbour who constantly bothered you and Derek about absolutely nothing. But instead, six women stood in the hall. Some of them bearing a striking resemblance to Derek. You only recognized one, Derek’s ex-wife Savannah.

“Hi, we’re looking for Derek Morgan.” One of the women said, looking at you with confusion and then giving the same look back to Savannah.

You had met Savannah a few times. The first was when you and Derek started to get serious—which was your idea since they had a son together. Since then, you had only been around each other a few times when Derek spent time with Hank.

“Of course. Come in, I’ll go get him.” You said as you opened the door wider.

You moved to the side so they could easily get into the apartment. Once they were all settled in the living room and after offering them refreshments, you excused yourself and went to wake up Derek. You hurriedly crossed the apartment and snuck back into the bedroom. You walked around to Derek’s side of the bed and began to shake him awake.

Sleepily he mumbled, “baby girl, you need to get you cute butt back into bed. We still had time before we need to get ready.”

While suppressing a laugh, you answered him. “As much as I would love that—and I really would—Savannah is here with some women. They’re sitting in the living room.”

He just groaned as a response but made no move to get up.

“You asked for this Derek…” you said with a sigh, and then you pulled the covers off of him. “Derek Morgan.Get your handsome ass out of bed.”

He gave you a sleepy grin and then slowly got out of bed. After placing a quick kiss on your lips, he began to get dressed. You walked back into the living room, catching the attention of the women.

“He’s just going to be a minute or two.” You said with a smile.

They thanked you, and then you went back into the kitchen to finish up Derek’s breakfast. You plated his food—already having eaten yours—and got the coffee ready just as he finished getting ready. You stood in the kitchen, just observing, as Derek walked into the living room. You just couldn’t fathom how someone could look so hot, having just woken up. Unfortunately, you didn’t have that same luck. He greeted the women with hugs and kisses on the cheeks, Savannah included, which you were used to.

They all sat back down and got comfortable. As soon as Derek looked like he was comfy, you took that as your cue to bring him his food and coffee. He gave you a kiss on the cheek, and you sat on the arm of the recliner.

“Mama, Auntie, Cindi, Desiree, Sarah, this is my girlfriend Y/N Y/L/N.” Derek introduced you, making sure to look at each woman as he said their names so you could connect names and faces. They all offered greetings in response.

“You’re giving him the wife experience honey, not the girlfriend experience,” joked Desiree, who you learned was Derek’s sister.

“Well he deserves it. And it is pretty rare since he’s away a lot,”

You answered with a smile.

“Aw. The two of you are so sweet. How long have you been together?”

Derek answered before you even began to think of a response.

“We’ve been together for a year ma’”

Sarah, Derek’s other sister, turned to Savannah;

“What do you think of Y/N?”

“I really like her, and I’m glad Derek is happy. It’s disappointing that we didn’t work out, especially since we have Hank but, I’m glad we’re in a place where we can be friends. She’s also extremely nice and amazing with Hank so that’s also really great.”

When she finished her spiel, she looked at you and offered a smile. You returned said smile with a matching one, hoping it conveyed that what she said warmed your heart. You had spent an abundance of time trying to connect with Savannah and Hank since they were an essential part of Derek’s life.

Sarah seemed to be thinking while exchanging signals with the other females in the room. Then, finally, she turned to you and had a small smile on her face.

“Y/N, what do you say to lunch with us?” Sarah asked, gesturing to the other females.

“I think I would really like that.

taglist: @multixfandomwriter @gspenc

@ssa-morgan @myescapefromthislife @1-800-brain-and-heart

@j-cat

#criminal minds #criminal minds x reader #derek morgan #derek x reader #derek morgan x reader #happilyeverafter #hea

48 notes · View notes

bowieandqueen11 · 4 years ago

Text

Fluffy Quicksilver Headcanons

Request: Hi! Could you write some fluffy/goofy headcanons for Pietro Maximoff? Either from MCU or X-men, either is great! Thank you and I looove you blog! I'm trying to model mine up after yours!

Thank you so so much @justinminstan that’s honestly so sweet I’m crying! <3 Also, I’m sorry, but Legion has put me in such an XMen mood!

You spend a lot of time down in his basement, mostly playing video games on one of the many arcade games he’s stolen and dragged down there. He likes it when you sit on his lap whilst playing Pacman, so he can wrap his arms around your waist and place his head on the crook of your shoulder.

After seeing you ace the game, he proceeds to place a kiss against your cheek and then annoy you by letting you fall onto the chair and zoom around the room, beating all of your high scores. When you finally start laughing, telling him to stop, he zips back over to you and knocks you onto the floor.

With his weight comfortably on top of you, his thighs holding your waist in place, he pins your wrists above your head. Trying not to laugh, he leans down slowly, before pressing a thousand kisses quickly against your face.

You try to push him off when it starts to tickle, but his grip is too good, and so the two of you just lie there laughing.

His mom loves you for keeping him good and out of trouble, for the most part, anyway.

If you ever need snacks during a date night, you bet he runs to the store in a flash and picks up all your favourite popcorn and soft drinks before collapsing down onto the sofa again. He’s gone and back so quickly, you nearly don’t feel his arms leave your waist, or his chin leave your back, until the opening credits of whatever cheesy 80s action movie he stuck on starts rolling and you can feel his breath against your ear.

This boy absolutely loves it when you run your fingers through his hair. He’ll just groan, leaning into your touch with a satisfied grin. Be ready for the weight of his head thumping down into the curve of your neck, his nose squishing like a hedgehog’s against your skin as he cuddles in close.

Being the first one he takes out when the house goes on fire, but leaving you with a silly expression on your face.

Constantly wearing his leather jacket when you get up in the morning, and his jaw just dropping to the floor because of how incredible you look in it.

When he annoys you, you just reach up and snap his goggles down onto his head again.

He always tries to get your attention by either hanging onto your arms like a koala bear, or by flicking your ear and running off with a giggle when he gets caught.

The kids at the Xavier Institute like to follow you around a lot, asking you questions about mutants, and Charles, and even Erik - they’re constantly grabbing onto your elbows, hugging onto your legs, so Peter always ends up stomping behind you, trailing to the back with a huff and big frown on his face.

When he’s had enough, he finally just picks you up bridal style, and just runs off to your bedroom.

Speaking of, he loves to run past and peck your lips at random moments of the day. When you wake up, when you’re having breakfast, dinner, during lessons, during training, he’ll brush past like a feather floating against your lips.

Hank has to tell him to stop, in the end up, but we both know he never does (he just goes faster).

You have to pull him outside sometimes, just to get some sunshine. You always try to plan little picnic dates by the lake on quieter days, pulling him down to lie by your hip and just enjoy the peace and quiet. He’ll lean over and start kissing your jaw, but always ends up ruining the romantic moment by cracking a really, and I mean really really awful joke.

You surprise him with new band t-shirts for his birthday, and he can just feel his heart explode with the amount of love he has for you.

Charles often has to shout at the two of you, in exasperation. You constantly steal his walkman in the corridor between lessons, running off through the building as he chases you, the two of you giggling like, well, I suppose, naughty school children. You knock a few kids flying as you race past them, thinking you can somehow outrun Peter, before the two of you go flying into Charles.

#xmen #evan peters #quicksilver #peter maximoff #pietro maximoff #xmen imagine #days of future past #evan peters imagine #peter maximoff x reader #peter maximoff imagine #pietro maximoff imagine #pietro maximoff x reader #quicksilver imagine #quicksilver x reader #charles xavier #professor x #dofp #xmen dofp

268 notes · View notes

wild-aloof-rebel · 4 years ago

Link

In a candid conversation with the Star, Manji said “Schitt’s Creek” producers did not instruct him as to how Ray should sound.

“It is a very slight Indian accent — somebody who was probably raised in Canada, but probably was born in India or Pakistan,” he said from his home in Los Angeles.

“I don’t regret that because I think it actually works for Ray. He wasn’t like everybody else in that town. He was from somewhere else.”

Manji said he’s OK with viewers questioning his choices, but rather than focus on accents, he said, critics could ask why his character didn’t have a more fully developed story, like a relationship or a family.

“If you want to criticize something, do that,” he said. “We need to have three-dimensional characters.”

[full article text below the cut]

At the start of Rizwan Manji’s acting career in the 1990s, the only roles available to him were those playing convenience store clerks and cab drivers. The parts usually required him to fake an Indian accent — just for laughs.

“We would joke about it. ‘This is so offensive, this is so offensive,’” recalls the Toronto native. “It’s not like we didn’t know.”

More than two decades later, Manji’s grin-and-bear-it perseverance has paid off. At 46, Manji now boasts a long — and diverse — list of TV and film credits. In September, he joined castmates from the hit CBC comedy series “Schitt’s Creek” in celebration as the show nabbed a record-breaking nine Emmy Awards.

That doesn’t mean, however, he still doesn’t grapple with questions about his acting choices.

While “Schitt’s Creek,” about a wealthy family that loses its fortune and is forced to move to a backwater town, won raves for its messages of inclusivity and positive queer representation, a segment of viewers took to social media to criticize Manji’s character, Ray Butani, the town’s bumbling jack of all trades — who speaks with an accent.

What irked them was that Ray, one of the few recurring people of colour on the show, seemed like a caricature — a rehash of the stereotypical, emasculated South Asian male. They also complained that Manji’s accent came across as “cringey.”

“Why go to the effort of writing in a character with an Indian name, played by an Indian actor, whose main personality trait is that he is stupid and has an accent?” Rishi Maharaj, a Port Hardy, B.C., engineer and avid TV viewer, wrote on Twitter days after the show’s Emmy sweep.

Across North America’s TV and film industry, there is broad consensus about the need to fight stereotypes and offensive tropes in casting. But the debate among actors of colour over whether they should fake accents remains fraught.

Some Hollywood actors, such as Aziz Ansari and John Cho, have reportedly turned down roles, citing the history of Hollywood playing up accents for laughs. (Think Mickey Rooney’s portrayal of Mr. Yunioshi in the 1961 romantic comedy “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” complete with taped eyelids, buck teeth and cartoonish accent).

They worry that parts requiring them to speak with accents do nothing to help the cause of minority actors who are often typecast in secondary roles or as sidekicks, and who continue to be under-represented on TV and film.

Others say it’s important to represent linguistic diversity and see no harm portraying characters who speak in broken English, as long as their accent is not the butt of a joke and in keeping with a character’s backstory.

In a candid conversation with the Star, Manji said “Schitt’s Creek” producers did not instruct him as to how Ray should sound.

“It is a very slight Indian accent — somebody who was probably raised in Canada, but probably was born in India or Pakistan,” he said from his home in Los Angeles.

“I don’t regret that because I think it actually works for Ray. He wasn’t like everybody else in that town. He was from somewhere else.”

“If you want to criticize something, do that,” he said. “We need to have three-dimensional characters.”

The character that has generated one of the most heated debates in recent years when it comes to accents is Apu, the Indian-American shopkeeper on the long-running animated series “The Simpsons.” Until recently, the thick-accented character was voiced by actor Hank Azaria, who is white.

In 2017, American comedian Hari Kondabolu came out with a documentary, “The Problem With Apu,” in which he pressed the case that the show fomented racial stereotypes about Indian people.

In interviews at the time, Kondabolu shared that, as a kid, Apu was “the only Indian we had on TV” and that he was happy for “any representation.” But then on the playground, he had to deal with kids mimicking Apu’s accent.

In the documentary, he gets Dana Gould, a former writer on the show, to admit, “There are accents, that by their nature, to white Americans, sound funny. Period.”

With criticism mounting, Azaria, who had voiced Apu for three decades, announced he was stepping away from the role, telling the New York Times earlier this year: “Once I realized that that was the way this character was thought of, I just didn’t want to participate in it anymore.”

There is growing sensitivity among artists, writers, directors and producers to avoid stereotypes and invest in “fully humanized, realized characters,” Steven Eng, an actor and voice and speech instructor at New York University, told the Star.

“There’s certainly been a whole history — that I don’t think any of us can deny — in film and television and the theatre where characters were stereotyped,” he said. “I think there’s so much more awareness, so much more determination to not go that route.”

But even “groundbreaking” shows, such as “Kim’s Convenience” and the recently cancelled “Fresh Off the Boat,” which were heralded for elevating Asian-Canadian and Asian-American visibility and immigrant experiences, have not escaped criticism, accused by some viewers of employing storylines and accents that do not ring true.

Cast members, in turn, leapt to the defence of their shows — and their accents.

“Some people are like, ‘Oh, stereotypical accent!’” Constance Wu, lead actress on “Fresh Off the Boat,” told Time magazine regarding her character’s Taiwanese accent. “An accent is an accent. If there were jokes written about the accent, then that would certainly be harmful. But there aren’t jokes written about it. It’s not even talked about. It’s just a fact of life: immigrants have accents.”

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, the lead actor in “Kim’s Convenience” told Maclean’s his character’s Korean accent is “part of who he is, but it isn’t the joke.”

“Yes, we’re in the entertainment field, and we will mine some of that because it is situational humour. You will get a point where we’ll say, ‘Here’s where some fun can be made, playing with the accent, and his inability and people mishearing what he says.’ But at the same time, that’s not all it is,” he said.

Jimmy O. Yang, who starred in the HBO series “Silicon Valley” and whose character spoke with a heavy Chinese accent, told Huffington Post the key is to portray immigrants with humanity.

“It’s maybe a better thought to change the perception of an accent than to avoid it all together,” he said. “I take offence (when people don’t go for parts with accents) ― it’s like saying, ‘I’m better than my immigrant brother with an accent.’”

Yang added he drew inspiration from his mom and relatives in Shanghai to develop his accent for the show. “It’s not just a (lousy) impression of a Cantonese Bruce Lee accent.”

Still, some actors have declared outright they will not do it.

“For me, personally, any time I’ve been asked to do that, I feel like — it feels like it’s making fun of people that have that accent if I do it and don’t have that voice,” comedian Aziz Ansari told NPR in 2015, years before he faced a public allegation of sexual misconduct.

“It feels like you’re doing it so white people can laugh at Indian people,” he said at the time.

That’s kind of how Maharaj felt watching Ray on “Schitt’s Creek.”

“I did find it cringey. The first thought that came to mind was it reminded me of Apu in ‘The Simpsons,’” he told the Star.

In The Problem With Apu, South Asian-American comedian Hari Kondabolu confronts his long-standing “nemesis” Apu Nahasapeemapetilon – better known as the Indian convenience store owner on The Simpsons. Creator and star Kondabolu discusses how this controversial caricature was created, burrowed its way into the hearts and minds of Americans, and continues to exist – intact – nearly three decades later. Featuring interviews with Aziz Ansari, Kal Penn, Whoopi Goldberg, W. Kamau Bell, Aasif Mandvi, Hasan Minhaj, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Aparna Nancherla

“To me what it sounds like is what a person from Saskatoon thinks a person from India sounds like. ... I’m sure he could’ve been a funny part of that show without an accent.”

Maharaj wasn’t alone. Arif Silverman, an actor and playwright in New York, posted a lengthy Facebook post in October sharing his conflicted feelings about the show.

“Schitt’s Creek has become one of my all-time favourite shows. But they did their South Asian characters dirty,” he wrote.

“Especially Ray, who plays directly into the racist South Asian trope of being an emasculated, goofy buffoon who no one takes seriously, not least in part because of his accent.”

Silverman told the Star Ray’s accent seemed “part of the joke” and struck him as a “betrayal” from a show that preached inclusivity and whose main romance was a gay love story.

“I’m half South Asian — my mother is from Bangladesh. … And so I think a lot about representation of South Asians in the media,” he said. “If you’re really going to talk about inclusivity it can’t be at anyone’s expense.”

Manji says he faced a lot of struggles as a brown actor at the start of his career.

Back then, he was often pigeonholed into narrow roles, such as the cabbie or 7-Eleven store clerk. One hundred per cent of his roles required him to fake a South Asian accent.

“It was very strictly, like, the joke was on the accent,” he said.

But he accepted the parts because he needed the work.

He did draw a line with one type of role.

“I’m Muslim, so I was more the guy who was like, ‘I’m not being the terrorist.’”

There was one time, however, when he auditioned to play an Islamic Studies professor on the show “24.” He was given limited information about the character. It turned out he was a bomb maker.

But the money was too good to pass up. He took the part.

“I rationalized it in my head, ‘Oh, it’s season 8, and they have good Muslim characters. … I don’t know if I made the right decision,” he said.

“To be clear, I’m OK with being the bad guy. I’d love to play the bad guy. It’s just when it’s this kind of thing where you’re screaming ‘Allahu akbar’ and bombing people.”

In 2010, Manji was cast in the short-lived NBC sitcom “Outsourced” set in an Indian call centre. He and his castmates employed accents, which some critics derided for lack of authenticity.

It’s fine if people want to criticize the quality of the accents, he said, but it wouldn’t have made sense for these characters not to have accents.

“The show was shooting in America about living in India. I don’t know what the other option was,” he said, adding that he channelled his father in developing the accent for that show.

Another thing to keep in mind is that accents have to be understandable to North American audiences, Manji said. For instance, during the filming of the movie “Charlie Wilson’s War,” Manji, who played a Pakistani colonel, said he settled on a “sweet spot” where his accent “sounds foreign” but is “not so thick that it becomes comedic or unintelligible.”

Manji said he did not have to audition for “Schitt’s Creek” but was offered the role of Ray, the town’s real estate agent, travel agent, photographer and Christmas tree salesman.

When he went for his first table read in Toronto, he’d had no prior discussion with the show’s writers or producers about what Ray would sound like.

Because most of his demo tape consisted of his work on “Outsourced,” Manji assumed that was the kind of voice producers were looking for. He went with a slightly toned-down version.

“Afterwards, I went up to Dan (Levy, the show’s co-creator) and said, ‘Hey just want to check in.’ He said, ‘I love what you did. It was funny.’ That ended up being the character for six years.”

Maharaj says he can’t help but feel Manji was selling himself short — playing to what he thought “a white audience might expect or respond more favourably to” to get the job. He likens it to job applicants of Asian descent who anglicize their names on resumes.

“I’m encouraged to hear he had agency, that they weren’t like, ‘We need you to do the accent,’” he said.

“I’d feel better if they were asking him to do a British accent or Brooklyn accent because if you’re doing this Indian accent and the character is comedic, it is nonetheless playing into that trope.”

Levy, who is also from Toronto, declined an interview request. Instead, he released a statement through his publicist.

“Ray was conceived as a character of Indian decent which we cast with Canadian-born actor Rizwan Manji, who is of Indian decent. No accent was called for in the casting or specified in the scripts,” it said.

“The thoughtful choices that Rizwan made in his portrayal in the audition room perfectly encapsulated the warmth and the energy of Ray. All characters on our show were created with love, respect and humanity. It has been gratifying to have these intentions reflected through the overwhelming audience support for these characters. That said, I welcome any perspectives that encourage conversations about diversity, especially in entertainment.”

Despite what critics might think, Manji said he has felt more empowered in recent years to make creative decisions about his characters.

Manji, who had a role in NBC’s musical comedy “Perfect Harmony,” which was cancelled this year, said when he was approached about playing the part of a pastor, he was the one who initiated the idea of giving the character a foreign accent.

Because the character was raised by missionaries, it wouldn’t have made sense for him to not have one.

Conversely, when he was asked a couple years ago to read for a pilot for a dramatic series in which his character was a Muslim father he told the casting director he didn’t want to do an accent.

“I said, ‘You know what? I’d rather not. That’s not going to excite me about this part,’” he said.

“I ended up getting the job. I found my voice.” (The pilot never made it to series).

Manji, who guesses about 60 per cent of his roles in more recent years have involved accent work, says remarks by actors who refuse to do accents are “dangerous” because they could end up limiting the types of roles available to minority actors.

His worry is casting directors will go to India in search of authentic accents, overlooking North American-born actors, like him.

“I’m already marginalized.”

Nobody fusses when Meryl Streep performs with an accent, he adds.

Ishani Nath, a freelance entertainment and lifestyle journalist in Toronto, says anytime she sees an accented character who also provides comedic relief, it raises a bit of a red flag.

But she’s hesitant to criticize actors for taking those roles, knowing that opportunities are not easy to come by.

“I’m way more interested in criticizing writers, producers, (and asking): Why are you asking for these roles to be accented? … Is there an actual reason and backstory?”

Nath says she is starting to notice deeper conversations about how different cultures are represented on screen and what nuances can be added to make characters more complex.

She says a good example of this is the hit movie “Crazy Rich Asians,” whose actors exhibited a range of regional Asian accents.

“It’s important to note that the problem with accent roles isn’t the accents themselves — plenty of characters in ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ have accents, but no one has the exaggerated or generic ‘Asian’ accent that has historically been played for laughs in Hollywood,” she wrote in a 2018 article in Flare.

Jhanik Bullard, a writer and member of BIPOC TV & Film, a collective of Black, Indigenous and people of colour working in Canada’s entertainment industry, says it is no longer acceptable for characters to have accents “just because.”

“It should actually have an authentic origin as to why this character sounds the way they sound,” he said.

Audiences are also not as forgiving as they may have been in the 1990s if the accent sounds botched or inauthentic.

What is encouraging, he says, is that more doors are being opened for people of colour to tell their stories and there are more platforms for those stories to be to told.

To that end, Manji says he and his partners have initiated a handful of projects that are in various stages of development. One is a show about a Muslim guy who becomes mayor of a major city. Another is a sitcom about a “normal Muslim family” — something that “resembles me more.”

Does the character he envision for himself speak with an accent?

“Since I want it to be closer to me, then I would say not.”

#definitely a good discussion about ray and about riz's other roles and about south asian rep in general #schitt's creek #schitts creek #rizwan manji #ray butani #press #toronto star #long post

86 notes · View notes

thorne93 · 4 years ago

Text

The Stars Made Us (Part 27)

Prompt: In this world, you’re one of the “lucky” ones who got a soulmate, but what if the universe gives you more than you bargained for?

(Prompt challenge – You live in a world where your soulmate can write on their skin and you will get the writing on your own and vice versa. Where they can wash away the ink on their own skin, however, the writing is forever scarred onto your skin until you meet face to face)

Word Count: 1722

Warnings: angst and language throughout, seizure/medical complications

Notes: This was supposed to be for @sorryimacrapwriter and their challenge like a year ago, I think? I still loved the prompt though and have been working on this story for quite some time. This aesthetic was made by @dontshootmespence thank you so much! Beta’d by @like-a-bag-of-potatoes, couldn’t have done it without you, as well as @carryonmyswansong and @arrow-guy and @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo

Also, I’ve never really liked the whole soulmate AU thing idea, but this felt so right and it was amazing to write. I hope y’all love it too!!

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

Charles got you up to your shared bedroom, getting you laid down on the bed as he laid down behind you, wrapping his arm around your waist and kissing your shoulder.

You weren't sure if he'd read your mind yet, but it didn't matter seeing as you couldn't speak anyway.

The sobbing continued for another few hours before you fell asleep from exhaustion. You didn't have anything that replenished your loss of blood. You were still wearing the outfit that had been torn up. When you finally woke up, it was late night, after midnight.

Charles was still awake, waiting to see if you were alright.

"Darling?" he softly addressed. "My love? Are you okay? What happened?"

"Doctor Stephen Strange happened," you informed angrily. "Have you already read my mind?"

"You know I never do that purposefully," he reminded gently as he delicately put your hair behind your ear. You were on your side, facing the large windows of the bedroom, with him behind you, propped up on one elbow.

You rolled over to see him. You wanted to see his fantastic face.

"It's so good to see you," you breathed, reaching up to stroke his face with your hand. He peered down at you lovingly, but with concern.

"What happened to your leg?" he wondered.

"I was stabbed. Some form of mystical, evil, magic. Stephen and I accidentally got caught in a mystical war..."

"That... I'm sorry, what?" he asked, alarm in his voice.

You waved him off. "It's fine. He killed one guy, we stranded the other woman. But the other guy, he did this to me." You rotated your leg and he looked at it.

"My god. You nearly lost your leg."

You nodded.

"That's not the pain that hurts though," you informed.

He lied down next to you, still in his suit.

"You didn't change," you noted.

"Of course not. I couldn't bear to leave you in this state." He gave you a soft smile. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I don't want to push you."

You shook your head. "That's not it."

"What is it, then?"

You looked at him and sighed before going into the whole story. You explained everything in detail from the day you arrived to getting on the plane. Charles listened intently, trying to keep everything straight.

"So he just... he sent you back to the temple after telling you to get out of his life?"

You nodded.

"Charles... it hurts so bad. It's almost as bad as when I thought you were dead. How could he do that to me?"

He shook his head. "I don't know, my love. I've loved you for a very, very long time, and we didn't even meet. He had almost a year with you. He's your other mate. I honestly don't know how he could turn you away."

You nodded.

"But hey," he tried, his finger trailing your cheek as tears quietly poured from your eyes. Your eyes shifted to look at him. "I love you, you know that right? And while I wish he didn't break your heart, I am so happy to have you home."

"I know," you said with a smile. "I'm so happy to be home, to see you again. I've missed you so much." You pulled him down to you, to give him a firm kiss. "Also, I have a concussion," you informed.

"Never a dull moment, hmm?" he teased before booping your nose ever so gently with his index finger before laughing. "I suggest we get rest, and then in the morning, we get you a proper shower, hmm?"

"What about work?"

"You come before everything else, always. You know this. I'm clearing my day. It's the least I can do for you, after everything you do for everyone else."

"Thank you, Charles. I have no idea what I'd do without you."

"Perish the thought, love, perish the thought." He smiled at you before the two of you got ready for bed and slipped into a deep sleep.

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

The next morning, Hank and Charles treated you to breakfast.

Charles kept it to himself that at this point, he hated Stephen. It had nothing to do with the fact that you lived with him for several months. Or how hard you had to work to get in his life.

No, he resented him because Charles knew how much you loved him, and he threw it away. He broke your heart. He could forgive everything. Even if Stephen ultimately stole you away from Charles -- at least you were happy.

But this? Treating you so horribly after everything you'd done? No. That was absolutely unacceptable in his eyes.

"Do you need anything, love?" Charles asked as he eyed you sipping your coffee, barely touching the food on your plate. Hank looked at you then at Charles, his face concerned.

"No, I'm fine." You took a deep breath before looking at the two men. "Really. I'll be okay. There is no point in moping about this. I need to get back to work anyway. I'll be in your office if that's alright, darling?" you asked, getting up from the table.

"Of course, whatever you need."

He grabbed your hand as you walked by and gently squeezed. You squeezed it back and went on your way. You got your suitcase full of work related items into the office, closed the door, and started to set your things up. But then the darkness closed in. The sorrow wrapped you in a tight cocoon. And you couldn't for the life of you, get out of it.

How could he throw eight months away? As if it were nothing? He opened up to you. He was starting to really believe in you two. And now... you were nothing to him.

Tears wracked your body as you held your face, trying to keep your sobbing volume low so you wouldn't alert the others. But it was hard.

Meanwhile, Charles looked defeated in the kitchen as he rested his elbow on the table and put his hand to his mouth.

"I don't know what to do, Hank," he confessed. "She's so broken-hearted."

"Why did he do that to her?" Hank asked. "From what I'd heard from you two, things were fine."

"They were. She explained it all to me, and I can't quite put it together either."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I have no idea. Support her I suppose, and never mention his name again. That will be easy. I just have to try not to mention how much I loathe the man."

Hank nodded. He knew his friend well enough to understand what he meant. Even Hank was feeling a bit of animosity towards Strange for breaking you like this.

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

After Stephen had defeated Dormammu, he worked with Wong to get him set up properly at the New York sanctum. He had realized that he could save lives doing what he did there, being a Master of the Mystic Arts. He was surprisingly okay with this and accepted his new form of work.

"Where is Y/N?" Wong asked as he got to work, helping Stephen clean up the sanctum.

"Gone," he replied casually.

"Odd. She isn't the type to leave. Especially you. What happened?"

Stephen looked to Wong. "You're never a talker, and now suddenly you won't shut up about Y/N?"

"What can I say? I liked her. She made you bearable."

"Thanks," he muttered.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Wong pressed.

"Nothing to tell. She was here. Now she's not. She was in the way."

"Yes, because she seemed like a true inconvenience when she was helping you train and learn."

"Sarcasm now? Fantastic. Look, she has her life to lead. I have mine. She has Charles, her other mate. She's fine and I'm better off without her."

Wong stared at him, eyeing him while he cleaned. He knew he wasn't telling the whole truth but getting emotions out of Stephen Strange was like pulling teeth.

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

"Care for a game?" Charles asked as he walked up to you in the library. A fire was going, as fall was in full swing. He gestured to the chess board next to you. He thought he'd find you reading and was a bit surprised that you were just staring into the fire.

"What? Hmm, oh, sure," you said, adjusting your seat to the chess table between the two seats. He sat opposite of you, eyeing you.

How he desperately wanted to break his vow to you and get inside your head, but he couldn't. He shouldn't. He cared about you too much to violate your privacy, but he also cared about you too much not to.

Ultimately, he remained steadfast and decided to not breach your mind. He didn't ever want to disrespect you like that.

He watched you play the game, feeling so powerless. It'd been two weeks since you'd arrived back at the mansion and you were clearly putting up a front. Sure you smiled, laughed, and got back into the swing of things quickly, but when the others weren't looking, your face would fall, you'd get a far off look in your eyes. Charles heard you crying in the shower on more than one occasion.

He hated that he couldn't do anything for you. But what could you do for someone with a broken heart? Nothing. The pain would have to ride itself out. Much like grief, there was no getting around it.

But this wasn't some summer fling.

This was a soulmate you'd lost, one you weren't sure you'd ever get back.

But you remembered how incredibly blessed and lucky you were to have two mates. Never before seen in the history of the world.

So you tried your best to push Stephen Strange from your mind, and focus on the epitome of perfection that sat across from you, playing chess. And you knew him, and you knew he was fighting his powers to read your mind. You knew he wanted to help. You could see him mentally scrambling to find ways to cheer you up and distract you, and you loved him all the more for it.

Both of you were painfully aware that this was something not even a soulmate could fix.

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

Forever Tag:

@essie1876

@magpiegirl80

@letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked

@iamwarrenspeace

@marvel-imagines-yes-please

@superwholocked527

@missinstantgratification

@thejemersoninferno

@rda1989

@munlis

@thefridgeismybestie

@bubblyanarocks3

@igiveupicantthinkofausername

@kaliforniacoastalteens

@feelmyroarrrr

@kaeling

@friendlyneighbourhoodweirdo

@damalseer

@heyitscam99

@yknott81

@sorryimacrapwriter

@glitterquadricorn

@xxqueenofisolationxx

@little-dis-kaalista-pythonissama

@bittersweetunicorm

@alyssaj23

@sea040561

@princess76179

@thisismysecrethappyplace

@sarahp879

@malfoysqueen14

@ellallheart

@breezy1415

@marvelmayo

@lyniboy

@paintballkid711

Charles Xavier

@bohemianrhapsody86

@lenawiinchester

TSMU

@tilltheendwilliwrite

@allinhishands

@solaramoonset

@halfofwhatisayismeaningless

#the stars made us #charles xavier x reader #charles xavier fic #charles xavier #stephen strange x reader #stephen strange fic #stephen strange

42 notes · View notes