#and also happy belated birthday to lucas

[apiscircensis]

salud y vida por nuestros muertos calaveritas mi negro, fúnebre cielo

feliz dia de muertos

🌼🕯️🌻💀🌻🕯️🌼

[paradiseismine]

Hi!!

Today was my birthday and I don’t know if you have requests open, but if you do, could you please write a Mike Wheeler x Munson!Reader? In which Y/N is Eddie Munson’s younger sister and secretly dating Mike and, well, getting into spicy things in his basement?

I would thank you a lot ✨

Hands off - Mike Wheeler x reader

Pairing: Mike Wheeler (Stranger Things) x Munson!f!reader

Warnings: smut, secret affair, blowjob, face sitting, slightly inexperienced Mike

Love note from Nina: first of all, happy belated birthday, darling! 🎂 I hope you had a great day. Second of all: HELL YES, and here you go.

“Hands off, Wheeler boy” Eddie had warned (partly jokingly, but not entirely) when he caught Mike staring at you once. “That��s my little sister, don’t forget that”

But it’s not like he could forget that, really. You’d hang out with Eddie and tag along for D&D campaigns pretty frequently - the gang’s new Druid. You didn’t attend Hawkins High, though, but went to some fancier school in the neighboring town instead. You had gotten the book smarts whilst Eddie had gotten the street smarts, as he’d always say.

Tonight, you had joined the gang for another D&D campaign, on Mike’s basement, as usual. Y’all had been playing for a good five hours or so (with an strategic stop to order a pizza), and besides the fact that the campaign pretty much always took place on a Saturday, it was getting late.

You had caught Mike staring at you a couple times - he was also sitting right next to you, knees “accidentally” touching yours from time to time as the game progressed. There was something about him that made you feel so pretty, so desired, you could barely resist the temptation to touch his thigh under the table. Ugh, you had to come up with a plan, what could you possibly do t-

“Should we wrap and get going, guys?” Dustin suddenly asked, interrupting your thoughts while checking his watch. He didn’t say it, but he clearly wanted to call Suzie before going to bed. Lucas and Will agreed, and so did you and Eddie.

After another round or two, the gang decided to stop the game on a cliffhanger, just to keep things exciting and pick up from where you left off in the following week. Bidding each other goodbye, the rest of the party walked up to the front door and left on their bikes.

“Fuck, you go ahead, I think I forgot something in the basement” you scratched the back of your head, trying to seem nonchalant. “See you at home?”

“Sure, munchkin” Eddie agreed, not seeming suspicious at all. “Just take care on the way home later”.

Going back to the basement meant getting Mike alone - everyone else had gone home and he had to clean up the mess. You walked down the stairs normally, making sure he’d hear your footsteps, just so he wouldn’t be caught off guard.

“Nance?” he asked, sounding puzzled, before seeing you at the base of the staircase, his beautiful hands closing the box in which he’d put all the D&D stuff. “Oh, it’s you” he smiled. “Are you okay? Did you forget anything?”

“Well, actually, i didn’t really forget it, it’s something I’ve been thinking about all day…” you said, mischievous.

Mike looked at you quizzically, wanting your tone to be as naughty as he believed he’d heard.

“Can I-can I help you with that?” He stuttered, head lowered to look into your eyes as you approached him, your chest now nearly glued to his.

Michael Wheeler had fantasized about you pretty much since the first time he saw you - waiting for Eddie next to your scooter in the Hawkins High parking lot, looking like a model in your leather jacket, long hair and red lipstick. He’d get lost in his words when you two spoke, his palms sweating and his heart pounding.

“I’m pretty sure you know you can” you looked up at him maliciously. “Or did you think you were being discreet back there” you pointed towards the D&D table with your head, “Touching your knee to mine every five minutes?”

Mike audibly swallowed. He had been caught red handed.

“Y/n, I-“ he started, nervously. “It’s just… You’re so pretty, and I know you’re Eddie’s sister, so I could never…” he bit his lip, embarrassed. “You know, no matter how much I wanted to… And believe me, I really do…”

You pushed him lightly towards the basement’s couch, and he fell back seating on it. His eyes went wide as you sat on his lap, one leg to each side of his waist.

“Eddie told you to keep your hands off of me, didn’t he?” Mike gulped, nodding with eyes still wide open as you slowly unzipped and took off your leather jacket, setting it aside. The white top you were wearing underneath was tight fitting and had a very low cut - besides, you were visibly not wearing a bra. “Well, he didn’t say anything about me touching you, so…”

You put your arms around Mike’s neck, gently running your fingers through the hair on his nape, your naughty eyes staring at his plump reddish lips. He could barely breathe, but his throbbing erection involuntarily pressing up against your core spoke for him.

“Tell me to stop” you whispered before your lips lightly touched his - and needless to say, Mike never told you to stop. You kissed him chastely at first, but as he seemed to gain confidence, you soon asked for entrance in his mouth with your tongue, and that innocent kissing soon turned into a full make out.

Mike’s hands went straight to your breasts, fondling them hungrily as he moaned into the kiss. You felt an instant rush in between your thighs, your arousal nearly painful; but you still wanted to play the game on the hard level.

“No, no, no” you broke the kiss to whisper to him, as you gently held his wrists and put his hands back on his lap. “Hands off, lover boy, only I get to touch you.”

Mike sighed, feeling dizzy with lust. He had never gotten drunk, but that’s what he imagined being drunk would feel like.

You kissed him once again, softly biting his lower lip, your hands pulling him closer by the collar of his Hellfire t-shirt. Mike timidly moaned as you touched him, his body quivering, aching for more. Soon, your lips found their way to his neck, kissing it, biting it, driving him crazy.

“Could I give you a little love mark, baby?”

“S-sure, I’m yours, whatever you want” he moaned, enchanted by you.

You bit and sucked lightly on his neck, leaving a small purple bruise behind, gently kissing it to relieve the pain afterwards. Mike’s hands grabbed your ass harshly, squeezing it. You couldn’t help but moan at the touch, right on his ear, nibbling on his earlobe.

“Again with the hands, mister? That’s not very Prince Charming of you, I’m afraid. Do I have to tie up those hands to make you behave?” you had grabbed his neck lightly, eyes studying his expression.

“Do you… do you want to tie me up?” he asked, trying to conceal the excitement in his voice.

“I’d love to, can I?” as he nodded, you took off your belt and tied up his hands with it, making a firm knot to secure it.

“Will you… will you still let me please you, y/n?” he nearly begged, his body squirming for relief in those tight jeans. “I always dreamed of making you cum”, he confessed.

You chuckled. He was so adorable, ugh.

“Have you ever had a girl sit on your face before?” you asked softly.

“No, I-“ he said, feeling a bit shy. Mike wasn’t very experienced at all, but it’s not like he was going to admit that to you. “I don’t think so”

“Can I?” you gave him your naughtiest look.

“Sure, beautiful” he agreed, eyes hypnotized by the sight of your perky nipples nearly ripping through the thin fabric of your shirt.

You stood up and stripped for him, garment after garment falling on the floor as he watched, tied up hands trying to palm his own erection for relief. You were so beautiful, and somehow, even more beautiful naked. He sighed, lustful, his face flushed as you approached him again.

You positioned him on the couch and slowly lowered your hips to Mike’s face, carefully adjusting your clit to where his lips were. You held yourself on the couch, not putting your weight entirely on him.

He licked your entrance delightedly, your smell and your taste making his head spin. He flicked his tongue to your clit and earned himself a moan, only to repeat the movement and keep hearing your moans. Your pussy was soaking wet for him, and you couldn’t bring yourself to reprimand Mike when his hands, even tied as they were, reached up to finger you as his tongue kept working on your clit.

“I’m so wet for you, Mikey” you moaned, your hips swaying onto his face. “You drive me wild, I want to cum for you so bad”

Mike whimpered as he kept eating you out like you’d be his last meal, and if Eddie found out about what happened tonight, it would be.

As his fingers curled inside you and his tongue relentlessly massaged your sensitive clit, getting you to moan more and more, legs shaking uncontrollably, you came on his mouth. Mike licked you through your high, still in disbelief that such a pretty girl was wet for him, moaning at his touch, desiring him.

You got off of him and lowered your body once again, kissing him and tasting yourself on his drenched lips.

“You taste so good, princess” he praised, still out of breath.

“I bet you do too, love” you pulled him up so he’d be seating on the couch again. Your legs were still shaky from such an intense orgasm, your head feeling light and dizzy, but you couldn’t wait another moment to have him.

You bent at your waist, hands on his knees, giving Mike your most devilish kiss. He lowered his head, and you immediately knew what he wanted. Putting your naked breasts to his face, he took one of your nipples in between his lips and suckled on it hungrily. His dark eyes were low and seemed in ecstasy.

“Can I give you a-a love mark as well? I mean, here?” he bit the side of your breast gently.

“Sure you can, love” you replied, nearly moaning.

Mikey sucked and sucked onto your skin, leaving a purple bruise behind, before repeating the same step at a slightly different angle. When you looked down, he had left a heart shaped bruise on your chest.

“I swear you don’t even exist, baby boy, I made you up” you chuckled and nuzzled your face onto his neck before pulling up his T-shirt to remove it.

You could hear Mike pulling air in between his teeth as you kissed his chest and his belly, working your way towards the hem of his pants. You looked at him in an inquiring way, hands on the button and zipper of his dark jeans.

He nodded rapidly, and you lowered his pants and underwear to his ankles, eager to take him in your mouth.

“Hold my hair back, will you?” You asked, and even with his hands tied, Mike managed to do it.

Soon enough, you had taken most of his length in your mouth, bobbing your head up and down, your hands on his balls and perineum, gently massaging him. Mike’s eyes would squeeze shut and roll back in pleasure, his lips red from so much biting and kissing, faint moans escaping them.

“Princess” he said, his voice barely audible. “You’re so good… Can I cum in your mouth?”

You simply opened your mouth and kept jerking him off as a response. Mike’s knees were shaking (and would’ve buckled if he wasn’t sitting down) as he let out a louder, satisfied moan and released his warm seed into your mouth. You swallowed it immediately, in slight disbelief that even his cum tasted good.

“Did… did you swallow it?” He asked, amazed.

“Of course, silly” you stood back up and kissed his nose playfully. “You taste so good, how could I not?”

“Thank you” He smiled, embarrassed.

“How long have you felt like that?” You sat beside him on the couch, grabbing your clothes back from the floor. “You know, being attracted to me and stuff?”

“I, uhm…” his cheeks had turned pink. “Ever since I saw you that day on the parking lot, waiting for Eddie” he confessed. “Yelling at him for not doing the laundry” you both laughed.

“You caught my eye that day too” you admitted, head tilted to the side. “I just thought I wasn’t your type, you know? I’m quite different from the girls at Hawkins High.”

“You’re way prettier than all of them” he shrugged honestly. “And a lot funnier, more interesting, more intelligent…”

“Do you want to… Keep seeing each other like this?” You suggested, hand lightly caressing his after you untied him.

“Kinda like… dating in secret?” He inferred.

“Eddie would kill you if he found out, wouldn’t he?” You laughed, understanding his point.

“Absolutely”

[oonajaeadira]

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY MY LOVE!!!! It sounds like you had an awesome day which is absolutely no less than you deserve ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Can I also take this opportunity to ask about the Javi G a/b/o WIP??? Because you know if I’m gonna ask about a WIP, it’s gonna be that one. 😘

MY LES

Oh, that cursed WIP.

Okay. So I've got 3K of the story written so far and I'm hardly even into the Javi part of it already. Most of it is exposition...and I think that's what's holding me up. I like my worldbuilding to weave into the story, but right now it's all sitting at the beginning and maybe that's what's bugging me. It feels boring and clunky and I wanted it to be better...

But I have the power to make it better. I just have to pull up my britches and start again.

You want the boring details? Lemme hide them under the cut.... If you have any feedback, I'd love to have it...

In this modern verse, alphas aren't necessarily the ruling class, but they have total immunity. Biologically speaking, they get free rein. Alphas can mate with whomever they want, but if they mark someone, they are claimed for life by that alpha and nobody else will touch them (omega or not). Alphas and omegas are recessive traits, so while they can pop up anywhere, they mostly show up in families and are pretty much guaranteed between an alpha and omega pair. However, omegas are rare.

Mallorca is run by two alpha families--the reader's and the Gutierrezes. As in the movie, Javi's family has crime dealings, but does a lot of business in olive groves. Reader's family lords over the eastern ports which are vital for trade but also good for smuggling. So the families have an easy understanding.

Reader is the only omega born into a family of alphas. And Javi's family is full of alphas...including Javi. From a young age, she just figured she'd be fated to be handed over to one of them, but her father actually took an interest in raising her to be independent and encourages her to get off the island and go to school elsewhere and have a life she wants.

But...she has a past with Javi. They were childhood friends. And there was an incident in their youth when Lucas--who has marked and claimed MANY women just for fun and then left them solitary--attacked her and nearly marked her. It caused a rift between the families for years that only started to heal once she left the country.

But now she's back.

And as for Javi...he grew up watching the toxic masculinity of his alpha family and wants none of it; even if it means forcibly denying his own natural instincts. So while these two care deeply for each other, he knows that choosing her means choosing his alpha side and he's deeply committed to not becoming like his father or cousin....

[fanficsfromyesteryear]

happy very belated birthday, enna!! i’m so so so behind on this, and i’m sorry for that! i’ve had quite the case of writer’s block lately, but i wanted to come out of my unofficial and definitely unannounced hiatus to whip something up for you! hope your day was extra special and sending lots of love to you 💕 also, this has a super cheesy ending, but i thought it was cute and i hope you like it too @druiigg​​

“What are those for?” María asked as she tied a knot into the neck of yet another balloon, her eyes trained on the container of Quaker Oats in Billy’s hand.

“It’s bad luck to have a party without them,” Billy answered, giving the carton a shake before setting it on the corner of your desk. He paused, ducking his head in embarrassment upon meeting María’s incredulous gaze, and shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “I know it’ll just be the three of us, but I’m not taking any chances. All the worst parties I’ve ever been to have been seriously lacking in the Quaker man department, and if he’s not here to watch over us tonight, there’s no telling what’ll happen.”

María shook her head, a smile gracing her red lips. “You’re so weird,” she playfully scolded, batting the balloon in her hands over to the Rat, who reacted just late enough that it bounced off the side of his head.

Weird superstitions aside, Billy was right about one thing—the party was to be a small affair. It had been an especially hard week of classes—with the arrival of Madam Gao at Kings, the teachers had been cracking down on homework and dishing out harsher punishments. Even now, on a Saturday, you were holed up in the library, working on an assignment. After such a grueling week, all you could hope for was a peaceful night in with your closest friends, and while Billy and María knew that schoolwork was the last thing you wanted to be doing on your birthday, your absence opened up the window of opportunity for them to set their plans into motion.

Initially, María, in true María fashion, had wanted to do something elaborate for your special day—throw a big party on the rooftop, complete with plenty of cake and some of Lex’s homemade fireworks—but Billy had been quick to rein her in. Not only would such a thing be nearly impossible under Gao’s suspiciously watchful eyes, but it didn’t sound like something you’d enjoy. You took pleasure in the smaller things in life—secret smiles passed between friends over inside jokes, sharing your favorite snacks on the rooftop to stargaze after a long day, or piling together on a twin-sized bed to watch old VHS tapes. A large celebration would’ve been overwhelming on a good day, much less with how drained you’d be when you eventually called it quits on your studies.

So, María relented, opting instead to focus her party-planning energy on decorating your dorm room. After an awry training exercise in Miss De Luca’s class late yesterday afternoon, your roommate had been sent to the infirmary and had been there ever since, meaning there was no one to complain about the streamers hanging from your ceiling fan and the top of your dresser and the balloons scattered across the floor save for Billy, who knew better.

The sound of a key entering the lock drew the duo’s attention to the door, and they were quick to spring into action. Billy grabbed the cupcake from your nightstand—a little gift he’d gotten Marcus to snag for him on his way back from his job at the comic book store—and shuffled through the pile of balloons to stand at the entrance to your room, María following suit. She gripped onto Billy’s upper arm, bouncing on the balls of her feet in anticipation, but Billy was feeling a different kind of anxious.

Now that the time had finally come for you to arrive, Billy was second-guessing himself. Staring at the cupcake in his hands, he wondered if they should’ve done more—should they have taken you out somewhere?—but as the door swung open and his gaze trailed up to see your tired face break out into a smile, his shoulders relaxed, expression mirroring yours.

Suddenly, María surged forward, wrapping you in a hug. “Happy birthday, amiga!” She took a step back, opening her arms for Billy to join, which he did, winding one arm around your back and holding the other up so as not to smush the dessert.

When the three of you at last broke apart, Billy pulled his cigarette lighter out of his jean pocket, igniting the single candle that stood proudly atop the cupcake before extending it to you. “Make a wish,” he said.

“What more could I wish for?” you asked, eyes darting between the two of them. “I’ve got everything I want right here.”

[ultramarine-spirit]

Do you guys know what spoon was based on to decide the birthdays of the characters? or was it just random?

Some have a reason behind them, some apparently don't.

Jennette and Athy's have to be almost 12 months apart from each other because that's a plot point needed for the timeline to make sense (Penelope dies/Jennette is born -> Claude meets Diana -> Diana dies/Athy is born. Pregnancies are usually 9 months long and Athy is around one year younger than Jennette, so Jennette had to have been born early in the year and Athy by the end of it). This is supported by the novel, because there it was stated that Athy's birthday was late in the year.

In this video, Spoon goes over her reasons for some of the character's birthdays. She said that Athy's might be on early summer, like June or July, and Jennette's around early autumn, like September. That was most likely from a "character point of view" (Athy having more summer vibes and Jennette more autumn vibes? I can see it), but I think Spoon then remembered that they needed to have a year-ish of age difference lmao, so she changed them to the canon ones (January 6th and December 3rd). In the end, both have winter birthdays (but Obelia barely has any cold weather, so does it really matter?)

Claude's stayed on February (though fun fact: his birthday was on the 29th at first. That would have made him have his birthday on leap years, and we would joke about Claude being 10 lmao. Spoon quickly changed it to February 28th).

Original version from a screenshot I took on October 2021 vs Current version

Spoon also said in the video that Ijekiel's should be in spring (around March), Anastasius' in winter (on January), Roger on October (whoops, happy belated birthday, Roger), Felix in summer (on July), and Lily on August since her name is "lily", a summer flower.

And I'm convinced Spoon chose December 25th for Lucas' birthday because all special anime boys were born on christmas (oh, and Jesus too). He's also the only character who had the date 100% decided, with the others Spoon was like "Hmmm around this time of the year" and chose the exact days much later lmao, so it must have been on purpose.

[plutoswrath]

Hi Luca,

I’m wondering if you could tell me about Lilith conjunct Moon in the natal and then having this conjunct another’s ascendant in synastry?

Thank you so much, and happy belated bday!

💛

Hello! x I'm very very late to this but thank you so much for the belated birthday wishes dear! <3 Regarding the ask, please send in two seperate asks for the different aspects! I will focus on the natal aspect only now.

Lilith conjunct Moon Natal:

✯ When Lilith and the Moon touch, they can create an absorband, dark hole in someones heart: here someone is painfully aware of all the aspects of the self that are 'unpleasant' in the eyes of others, usually stemming from some sort of denial in emotional needs ✯ Can increase any sort of shame or discomfort regarding ones emotions, due to possible shaming of those, feeling alienated and left alone with ones problems and emotional needs ✯ can create a profound and complex connection with the mother figure, the mother figure could have been the person showing the inappropriateness of the their emotions in the first place/the most, they could have been the one creating the idea of shame regarding the individuals feelings and emotional needs ✯ there's also the chance that the mother figure was of Lilithian nature: more independent in nature, extreme/radical, alternative/independent ways of providing for themself and their child, the mother figure most likely challenged the individuals (and possibly other peoples) idea of (emotional) autonomy ✯ But the mother figure can also embody very negative traits of Lilith. To go more in depth here one has to consider the Lilith/Moon sign, but generally speaking it could be that the mother was either too reckless in her way of gaining autonomy (so that it was at the expense of the child) or was having troubles with being autonomous and being honest about her needs ✯ The native could have possibly grew up with an antagonist figure in their life, they might have a problem with denying their own nature a lot ✯ Has a great emotional spectrum, might have lots of sympathy with those who are feeling helpless/left alone/mistreated, can have a strong helper syndrom for a specific group of people, possibly due to projection, can potentially develop strong healing abilities because they usually are able to emotionally deal with difficult topics/situations/people ✯ Could easily fall into heavy compensation, should find a healthy way to accept and release whatever is hurting them ✯ Can also become very detached emotionally, finds it hard to find people who understand them and to become fully vulnerable ✯ Should focus on empowering themself through radical acceptance of the self

[biffhofosho]

Succumbing to Sybaris | Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Word Count: 7.2k

A/N: Dark themes in this chapter, kids. Our poor girl has a lot to come to terms with. A belated happy birthday to my mans, Hyungwon. In celebration, we’ll be enjoying two chapters of CHW content. 

Cvr | Tr | Pr | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | Ep

It was raining, not in the satisfying, spa music kind of way, but a fuzzy mist that clung to every hair like dewdrops and made Amber crave a hot shower. The swollen bellies of leaden clouds squashed the heads of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood as if daring them to pierce a hole and unload their misery.

Amber and Shownu stood on the front porch of his place, staring toward the city with the pervasive awkwardness of a morning after relationship-altering sex. All she wanted to do was crawl back into bed and let the covers swallow her up, but there was no time for it.

Finally, Shownu broke the silence with a grunt as he nudged his chin toward his car. He was halfway down the front steps when he noticed his partner wasn’t following him. “Coming?”

“We shouldn’t ride in together,” Amber reminded him, and Shownu nodded slowly.

“Of course. I’ll see you at the precinct?”

“I’ll be a few minutes behind.”

Even though she had meant it, it felt like a goodbye. The pair exchanged a long glance before Shownu drove off with a short wave. The domesticity in it buoyed her heart as much as it weighed it down.  

The moment he was out of sight, Amber felt strangely numb. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the resonance of Kai’s promise, or maybe it was something bigger than all of it. Whatever the reason, when her body moved, it didn’t feel like her own. She drove to the end of the block to a hole-in-the-wall coffee joint in the hopes of feeling something. A jolt of espresso didn’t rouse her, but the chocolate-frosted chocolate chunk brownie sure did.

“Perks of being a grownup, huh?” the cashier said as she bagged the treat. “Cake for breakfast.”

Amber mustered an uncomfortable smile and headed back to her car to eat in the welcome silence. She closed her eyes and listened to the morning traffic over the pathetic hiss of rain. If she weren’t so afraid of falling asleep and right back into Kai’s grip, she might have. The world was simple in here, and the urge to drive away from it all overwhelmed her for a moment.

Maybe Hyungwon and his brothers were right: maybe she should just disappear. If Kai didn’t know where to find her, maybe he couldn’t find her in her dreams either. He’d stop taking women, she had no doubt of that, but she also knew if she actually fled, the Portland PB would find a stack of severed bodies, Daisy on top, just like a cherry. No, Kai knew what he was doing. He was leveraging his offer, and he knew full-well that offer was too steep to decline.

Instead, Amber radioed the station before heading downtown. Her deadline was fast approaching, and she had loose ends to tie up.

By the time she got to Pioneer Square, the mist had stopped though the clouds were still as somber as ever. She found Lucas exactly where she had months ago, seated on the bottom step, staring just as blankly at the fountain as he had that fateful day. He looked ragged. His eyes were sunken and his shoulders were hunched and his usually warm skin looked bleached. Amber’s heart ached.

She joined him on the bottom step, but he didn’t lift his head as he said, “Good morning, Spiros.”

“Good morning, sir.”

His ears perked at the ‘sir’. Amber wasn’t often formal, so the mood deepened. Keeping her stilted formality, he said, “How’s Detective Nam?”

“Recovering.”

“You know,” the captain said, “he wouldn’t talk to anyone about what happened. Wouldn’t even give me a statement. Outright told me to leave.”

“Huh,” she said noncommittally.

“I heard he let you in though.” At least Lucas didn’t sound hurt, more expectant.

“Yeah.”

A long pause filled the space before he said, “Well?”

“He didn’t see who attacked him,” Amber answered quickly.

“Why the hell wouldn’t he give a statement then?”

“I’m sure he will as soon as he feels up to it. Eric went through a lot.”

“Which is why he should tell us as much as he can as soon as he can so we can catch the son-of-a-bitch.”

“And I’m sure he will,” she interrupted.

Lucas studied her for a long moment, and she could see his inner debate in those clear brown eyes. Eventually, his more patient side won out, and he returned his gaze to the fountain. “How are you handling everything?”

“Don’t think I am,” she admitted. “Haven’t had a chance.”

“Where have you been staying?” he asked. With his distracted gaze, Lucas had covered his fishing expedition well, but Amber had spent too many years at his side to miss his true question. But it didn’t upset her; in fact, it made her feel safe again. He had promised he would always care about her, and he still did.

But he wouldn’t if he knew what she’d done. He wouldn’t if he knew how much she wished she could keep doing it. Which was why she’d called him here. She had to save Lucas from her once and for all, and this was the place she could cut most cleanly.

“Captain Wong,” she said slowly, and his brow slackened immediately.

He hunched over, elbows on his knees and eyes blank as new slates. “Why are we here, Amber?”

His voice was so hollow, the question seemed to echo inside itself.

The detective took a deep breath, willing her brain to overrule her heart as her hand slipped to her waistband.

“It seemed fitting,” she said as she stared at the fountain now, too. It looked exactly as it did the day she’d called off their engagement. “Another end, I guess.”

She unclipped her badge, the clamp thundering like a grenade in the basin of the amphitheater. She rested it on the step beside his hip. Her gun followed a moment later, along with the unloaded magazine, but Lucas made no move toward either. He seemed frozen.

“Captain Wong,” Amber said as firmly as she could, “I’m tendering my resignation effective immediately. Thank you for your leadership and friendship all these years. It has been my greatest pleasure working for you and the Portland Police Bureau. I will always treasure the time—”

In the softest of voices, Lucas said, “Don’t.”

Amber looked at the man now ramrod straight on the step. The captain still stared off into the distance, but she knew he was aware of every breath she took and every flinch she made.

“What?”

“Don’t,” he insisted. “If you need time off, just take it. I know you’re going through a lot right now—”

She sighed. “I don’t need time off. That’s not what this is about.”

“Don't do this, don't quit. I'll put in for a transfer. If this is because of what I said at your house, I'll—”

“It's not because of you, Luke. It's because of me. I don't deserve that badge or your love anymore. I wish I did—god, do I wish I did—but that’s not what this is about.” Everything she’d rehearsed on her drive here evaporated, and Amber was left to fumble with the uncomfortable, inelegant truth. “At some point, fuck, I don’t know when, I lost my way, and I can’t find it back. Too much has happened. Too much has changed—especially me. I’m not the same girl you met on the street all those years ago, and I can’t go back to being her.”

“Amber—” Lucas reached for her, but she jerked her hand back.

“Please accept my resignation, Captain. Please,” she begged, her eyes wet and her chin heavy as she nudged it at the tarnished badge.

Lucas looked from his detective’s white flag to her resolute face. He’d look less bewildered the day she’d called off their engagement, but she should have expected that. Since the day they’d found Delphine’s body, Amber’s life had only pointed in one direction—toward the police force. It was the one thing that had never changed. It was the one thing they’d all assumed would never change. Until today.

“Can’t we talk about this first?” the captain whispered.

“I’ve already made up my mind. This is what’s best for the Bureau, sir. Trust me.”

“What about Daisy and the other missing?” he pressed. “You’re just abandoning them?”

Amber frowned. “That’s not what this is. I can’t explain it to you, but this is how I save them. You have to trust that.”

This time, Lucas managed to grab her wrist, and he tugged her back down a step. “Why? Why can’t you explain it to me?”

“Because it’s better for you if you don’t know.”

“Amber,” he continued in a grave voice. “Amber, what are you going to do?”

Her heart thrashed against her ribs until her whole chest ached.

“Nothing that can come back on the Bureau.” She put a few more steps between her badge and herself in case she caved to her knee-jerk reaction to take it back. “I’ve got some loose ends to tie up, and then I’m going to figure out my purpose in life.”

Lucas shook his head firmly. “No, I don’t like that. You’re going after this new guy Kai, aren’t you?”

So the news had made its way back to the captain’s office... Amber shouldn’t have been surprised—it was the highest profile case in Portland’s recent memory—but now that she truly understood the breadth of Kai’s dark deeds, she needed to keep Lucas as far away as possible.

“I’m really not, sir,” she insisted.

“Stop calling me sir!” he shouted, garnering a few looks from other parkgoers. The detective cringed, but the captain didn’t seem to notice. “If you’re going to quit on me, Amber, at least give me the dignity of my name.”

Her teeth set on edge as her body responded automatically to his familiar spark, but she pushed it down as best she could. She needed a clean exit, one that didn’t betray the truth.

“Lucas, please don’t make this any harder than it is. I’m doing the right thing here, and there’s nothing you can say that will change my mind.”

His brows sharpened into a V. “What about Delphine, huh? You’re just going to let her case go unsolved?”

“There are other ways I can honor my sister’s life,” Amber replied darkly, and Lucas narrowed his eyes.

“Tell me what you’re about to do!”

“I don’t know!” she shouted, and then softer: “I don’t know. All I know is that I won’t burden the Bureau anymore. It’s not the right thing to do.”

“The right thing would be to stick it out and face whatever consequences you’re expecting.”

“That’s not fair to you or anyone else.”

“Oh, fuck this martyr shit, Amber,” Lucas snapped. “What’s not fair is you leaving your team—your family—to clean up your messes.”

“Maybe, but there’s a difference between cleaning up a desk and a whole goddamn dump. You can’t change my mind on this, Lucas. It’s the right thing to do.”

“So that’s it?” he hissed. “You’ve used this place and everyone in it all you’ve needed to, so now you’re throwing it away?”

As cold as she could muster, Amber answered, “Yes.”

The captain let out a bitter snort. Only the slosh of the fountain and the shuffle of businesspeople on their way to work filled the space between them.

Finally, Lucas picked up the gun and badge, twisting them this way and that. When he spoke again, it was flat and sharper than a blade. “It was always going to end like this, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t know,” she replied honestly.

“Fine. If that’s the way you want to play this, I’ll have Linda process your exit paperwork, but you need to handle the transition for any open cases. And you need to be the one to break the news to Detective Nam. Clean up one of your own messes for a change.”

“Understood, Captain.”

Amber took a few more steps up before Lucas’s voice caught her one last time. It was harder than granite and equally as alive. “And do us all one favor, Spiros.”

“Sir?”

“Don’t ever come back.”

Wind funneled through the square, and despite the oppressive humidity, a chill settled into Amber’s bones.

This was how it had to be. Burning bridges were necessary, yet she had never heard anything crueler in her life. In the span of four words, she realized she’d done exactly what Hyungwon and all his brothers had been doing for her: she’d locked out people she claimed to care about in the foolhardy hope that she could keep them safe.

“Thank you, Luke. For everything,” Amber managed before she left the park and the rest of her life in her rearview mirror.

By the time Amber pulled over her little Caprice, ancient mountains shrouded the valley except for a few wily bends in the quiet two-lane highway. Walls of birch and spruce trees crowded asphalt lips while ferns tufted the forest floor, and their shadows stretched long and spindly like prison bars around her.

At some point in the afternoon, the Pacific winds had ushered out the clouds to make way for the tangerine sunset. Under a shawl of sunshine, for the first time all day, Amber felt warm.

She hadn’t been out of the car except to refuel, but she could no longer resist. She got out with a cat stretch and sat on the hood, eyes closed, head-on to the west. Golden light kissed her cheeks, and even the inside of her eyelids were soft peach.

Amber had been driving in circles all day through lavender farms and winery country until she’d felt she’d put enough miles between her and the city. It wasn’t that she was running away—there was no point—but driving helped clear her mind until eventually the only thing she wanted was to chase the elusive yellow sun. She’d followed its descent, and the next thing she knew, she was back in the woods.

The air was freer here than in Forest Park. The humidity had cleared out, leaving the scent of pine and earth in its wake. Amber considered strolling into the untouched wilderness, but her legs vetoed the idea. They were itchy to move again but not for a hike.

Reluctantly, she climbed back into the driver’s seat and abandoned the evening sun for the call of the road again. There was more traffic now, but it was nothing compared to the city—commuters heading home one direction and daytrippers returning from the coast the other. The rhythm was soothing and familiar, and it meshed perfectly with Dolores O'Riordan’s keening yodel on the stereo.

Amber ran out of road just as the sun kissed the lip of the sea. She pulled into an empty parking lot at the edge of the little resort town of Seaside and walked out to greet the oncoming night. She tossed her shoes into the passenger seat and headed out toward the dunes. Far down the beach, a few couples walked along the water line hand-in-hand or sat out on hotel balconies to watch the sun set, but this far down the promenade, she had the world to herself.

The sand was cold beneath her toes, and Amber wiggled them in deeper to find the dampness left after the day’s rain. Above her, wispy bronze clouds striped a marigold sky, and beneath it, the tides were ebbing, leaving a shimmering ribbon of sand creased only by the lap of the gentle waves. The little black speck of a tanker tugged along the horizon while the rounded cliff-face of Tillamook Head bookended the beach like the bow of a ship forever anchored into the volatile face of the sea. But for tonight, at least, the Pacific was as smooth as glass, the light breeze was soft and warm, and the world was simple again.

Amber waited at the top of the beach until orange liquefied into gold and finally flared pink on rose petal clouds.

“I ran out of real estate,” she said to the ocean as well as the man now at the crest of the dune behind her.

She knew who it was without a sound between them.

Like a dream or a long-forgotten memory, Hyungwon materialized beside her.

Together, they looked out at the indigo sea. Lazy swells melted into the heaving horizon, the dying breaths of daylight terminating in midnight foam.

“Here I am at the end of the world, and there’s no escape,” Amber continued, but Hyungwon remained silent. She sighed. “I know everything.”

“I heard,” he replied. “Hyunwoo also told me you didn’t go to work today, that you’d quit.”

“News travels fast. So what other secrets do you and your brothers have for me? You put a tracker on my car?”

“Why would I? I knew you’d be here.”

Amber let out a light laugh. “Sure you did.”

“It’s your perfect day,” he reminded.

Just like that, Amber remembered the chat that had started everything. It hadn’t even occurred to her that she had actually followed through with what she’d thought at the time had been a nonsense answer. With a frown, she replied, “Today’s been anything but perfect.”

“Maybe. You weren’t thinking of it like that though, were you? You were thinking of it as your last day.”

Amber glanced at Hyungwon from the safety of her periphery. Fingers of salt and sand feathered his wispy bangs and wrinkled the fabric of his dress shirt. He might have stood on this beach for centuries, always looking this handsome no matter what forces the world could batter against him.

There was no way he could know about her dream, but it felt like he did. It never failed to unsettle her the way Hyungwon seemed to live inside her head.

“You don’t know what I was thinking,” she asserted.

He looked at her at last, and even though she refused to face him head-on, she felt his full power. “Tell me what happened.”

“You have your secrets,” she said, “I have mine.”

Amber caught the twitch of a scowl flutter across his face, but it faded as quickly as the next wave.

“You don’t sound like yourself,” Hyungwon said softly.

“Turns out maybe I never even knew myself, so how am I supposed to sound? Like the stubborn, pushy detective who refuses to give up?”

“That’s who you are.”

“That’s who I was,” she snapped. “Everything changes. Besides, I’m not supposed to fight it, am I? I never was.”

“Can anyone fight destiny?” Hyungwon echoed.

“You tried.”

“Kai is not your destiny.”

Amber shook her head in disbelief. “So you all keep saying. I guess that just leaves you and your brothers, huh?”

He looked at her with eyes of golden silk and a mouth of clear purpose but said nothing. The sea gobbled up the last of the sun’s rays and, with it, the full breadth of Hyungwon’s beauty.

“What am I supposed to do now?” she whispered, and it was nearly spirited away on the wind, but the man beside her still caught it.

“Stay with us.”

“You know that won’t make a difference.”

He turned to face her, every ounce of his power funneling onto her. “It makes a difference to us.”

“Well, it doesn’t make a difference to him,” Amber spat and wished it was right into Kai’s face. “You know, Hyunwoo told me that a vampire can’t enter your dreams unless he’s invited in, so tell me why Kai is in mine then? What does that say about me?”

Hyungwon’s brow furrowed, but his voice was as confident as ever. “It says you want answers, and you’re willing to do anything for them.”

Suddenly, Amber burst into laughter, and when she finally caught her breath, she managed, “It’s a nice thought.”

“I’m serious.”

“When are you not?” she added, sober again.

“We’re in your dreams, too.”

She laughed again, this time bitterly. “Yeah, so maybe I’m looking for the same thing from him I’ve already gotten from your brothers. I’m a taker, remember?”

Hyungwon shook his head adamantly. “Amber—”

“That girl from the club,” the detective interjected, “did you sleep with her?”

A stiff breeze whistled across the water as it flung grains of sand around her ankles. Hyungwon didn’t answer at first, but at last he said, “Why do you ask?”

Amber wished he hadn’t taken so long to answer. Her throat felt scratchy, and now her jaw twitched. “You said blood was a trade. I just figured that was part of the exchange.”

She could feel his eyes burrowing into the side of her face, but she didn’t look at him or maybe she simply couldn’t.

“No,” he said as he watched the detective, “I didn’t.”

“What did she ask for then?”

“Nothing she could have.”

The detective chewed her lip for a moment before she asked, “Then what did you give her?”

“I took her worst memory and made her forget it.”

Hyungwon’s answer churned in Amber’s chest.

“I wish you could do the same for me,” she said.

“So do I.”

“Chae?”

“Yes?”

She swallowed hard. Questions had always come so easily to her, but now that she’d met Hyungwon and his brothers, for the first time, there were things she was afraid to know. Maybe if she didn’t ask, it would change reality, but then ignorance seemed equally as terrifying.

In spite of the ice crystallizing in her stomach, Amber asked, “Why were you online that night?”

With one question, they were back in front of the cool glow of their monitors, lines of flirtatious dialogue ticking back and forth despite all the backspacing they had done to craft the most tempting lures. Amber could never have imagined that she would be the one forever hooked.

As Amber waited for his answer, she mustered every ounce of indifference she could to keep from looking at him with begging eyes. Somehow she knew that whatever he said next would change everything; it was just a matter of direction.

Hyungwon turned to her, eyes wide and bright in the darkness. “I was looking for the one. I was looking for you.”

The smell of the sand and the sea wafted between them and, underneath, a hint of his burnt caramel drizzling over her honey—a little bitterness between all that sweetness.

“Now you sound like Kai and his stupid riddle,” Amber chided. “The one with a capital O.”

In a flash, Hyungwon was in front of her, his hands clasping her shoulders. “I will never, ever let him have you.”

“You and your pretty words, Chae.”

“The only thing I want—”  he started.

“Well, all I want is a swim. It’s why I came here, isn’t it, you know me so well…” she said bitterly.

“I do, Amber.”

Something inside her shifted like the sands under her feet. She felt like she was sinking, but she wasn’t scared. She dug her toes in deeper.

Amber pulled out her ponytail holder and let her hair crash like the waves against her shoulders. She stared up at Hyungwon’s dark eyes, that golden predatory flash glinting in their depths, and felt the urge to offer her neck to him.

He stepped closer until his lips were a breath away from her forehead. If his lungs were anything other than ornament, she would have welcomed the warmth of his breath on her brow. He looked down at her mouth and then to her throat before he settled on her denim jacket. He pushed it back one shoulder at a time until it fell onto the sand. Amber felt his cool fingers at the hem of her tank before he inched it up her waist. The pads of his fingers glossed over each rib until finally her shirt was gone, too. Hyungwon held her gaze as he waited, but her hands had made a decision for her. She undid her bra and held it against her chest before it, too, fell away.

Warm, damp air tickled her bare skin, but it was the gathering anticipation that had her every atom straining toward the man in front of her. Tentatively, one of his fingers reached for her, stopping just above the hill of her breast. Amber studied his fascinated gaze as he took in the breadth of her exposed skin. His eyes flicked up to hers, and whatever Hyungwon found in their depths gave him the courage to gloss his fingertip along her skin. He followed the curve of her breast to its soft underside, and she shivered. His touch was a slow brand that left a sting of emptiness in its wake.

Amber wanted to cry or maybe cry out, but she swallowed both urges as she waited to see what Hyungwon would do next. That searing finger scudded across her nipple, which sent a urgent yearning between her legs. Her flesh perked sharply, and he circled the aching hill before he pulled back to her whimper.

Her heart was racing and her chest hurt, but whatever bridge Hyungwon had built between them wobbled and collapsed with each passing second that he didn’t come back. Instead, he slipped off his own shirt and then his pants and turned toward the sea as he waited for her.

With shaking hands, Amber undid her jeans and emerged into the night her truest self. Out of the corner of her eye, she made out Hyungwon’s slim, naked form, but for some reason, she was too afraid to stare. The ghosts of his words from the day they’d met resurrected in her mind.

We’re pulled to each other, and that pull’s inescapable. We’ll always come back to each other because it’s the only thing that feels right.

With every fiber of her being, Amber had fought the intensity that bound the two of them. She’d cursed, she’d clawed, she’d run. No matter what she’d done to put distance between them, she’d always ended up by Hyungwon’s side.

Now, his open hand glowed in the moonlight.

“Shall we?” he asked.

Trembling, her fingers ventured forward and closed the circuit to unite them again. Little sparks kicked up in her chest, igniting brushfires in every corner of her body. Together, they walked down the long expanse of low tide.

The ocean greeted them with a burst of ice in their toes, but Amber was the only one to gasp. The further they walked, the colder it got, but she steeled herself against each gentle onslaught. When the water was at her knees, she closed her eyes and pitched forward.

The cold knocked the breath from her lungs, and everything inside her retreated into a ball until it felt like all her warmth was huddled in her chest. Amber pushed her limbs forward into a freestyle swim, and gradually, the ice in the water tempered and her shivers subsided to the rhythm of her stroke.

Hyungwon paddled beside her with all the patience of a father tolerating a child’s whims. The cold didn’t affect him and neither did the exercise, but he matched his companion stroke for stroke until at last the lights of the town dwindled to pinpricks behind them.

Amber rolled onto her back, her lungs heaving and her limbs leaden, and floated on the undulating belly of the sea. She wasn’t afraid of what was below her, only who was beside her. Hyungwon followed suit and faced the sky, his hand stirring the surface beside her as a clear reminder of how the current was gently nudging them together.

Blackness of every depth and shade engulfed them. The blunt face of Tillamook Head boxed them in from the right while the full breadth of the Pacific unfurled to the left. Above them, the bruised tentacle of the Milky Way stretched from horizon to horizon.

“Is it like you imagined?” Hyungwon asked at last.

“Yeah,” she said, but it was a lie.

A brilliant banner of white festooned the sky for a split second, and Amber’s heart leapt.

“Make a wish,” she shouted as she closed her eyes and made hers.

“What?”

She lifted her head from the water long enough to gape at the man floating beside her. “Four hundred years old, and you’ve never made a wish on a shooting star before?”

“Not that I remember,” Hyungwon said with the vaguest hint of embarrassment.

“Wow, you’re really something, aren’t you, Chae? You make a wish, and then you keep it a secret or it won’t come true. Got it?”

“Okay.”

He sounded so uncomfortable that Amber had to smile. If nothing else, today would have one good memory sandwiched in it.

And all at once, Kai’s dark promise loomed larger than the Milky Way. The cold inside her intensified, but it had nothing to do with the bracing currents.

Amber wiped the saltwater from her lips and whispered, “What was she like?”

“The girl at the club?” Hyungwon asked. “I don’t remember.”

“No, not her. My sister. What was she like when you met her?”

Even through the slosh of the swells, Amber felt him tense.

“You know I didn’t really have a chance to know her…”

“Please, Chae? I need to know.”

“Bold,” he answered immediately. “Fearless. She walked right out of that pharmacy and asked to bum a cigarette. She said she’d left her ID at home.”

Amber smiled. That was her sister no doubt, a rule-breaker and a playgirl. Of the two of them, Delphine had always been the daring one, the one who attracted adventure almost as easily as the boys. She knew how to push every boundary and could get away with it with one sunshine-bright laugh.

“I liked her immediately,” Hyungwon continued. “She reminds me of you.”

“No,” Amber corrected. “I remind you of her. Once Delphine was gone, I had no choice but to pick up where she left off. I couldn’t let her legacy die with her. I wouldn’t be the person I am if it hadn’t been for her.”

Amber could feel Hyungwon’s apology before it left his lips, but she waved it off. She knew he meant it; it just didn’t matter right now. For once, other things weighed heavier on her mind.

She stared up at the purple-white tapestry of one of the few things older than the man who floated beside her.

“What if I get hypothermia and drown?” Amber asked, her voice almost lost in the water. “I can already feel it settling in my muscles and slowing down my heart. Can you hear that over the waves?”

“Yes,” Hyungwon confessed. “I can always hear your heart.”

She hummed. “I could die out here and you'll go on forever.”

“That assumes I would let you die.”

“You wouldn’t have a choice,” she argued. “You have no warmth or breath to bring me back to life.”

“I don’t like this, Amber. Stop talking like that.”

She let out a long, slow breath before a lap of seawater puddled in her mouth and she spat it out. “Maybe this is what it means to give in.”

“No,” Hyungwon replied, his voice as distant as the stars, “that’s giving up. I won’t let you.”

A tear slipped from her eye and joined the ocean. Amber wasn’t even sure why she was crying, but she felt more tears pool as the stars blurred. “Maybe it’s better than admitting that I can’t live my life without you.”

Hyungwon rolled his head toward her, and despite the blackness of his gaze, his eyes reflected the starlight. “Then live it with us. Be ours. Be mine.”

His fingers glossed over hers just under the surface. He was as cold as the water, as lifeless as the waves. Still, Amber opened her hand to him, and he slid in and held her tight.

Above her, the Milky Way stretched like taffy beyond the mountains. They floated under its majesty until her skin pruned and her limbs grew heavy, until the last of her warmth clustered lonely in her heart.

“It’s time to go back,” Hyungwon said as he tugged Amber upright. They bobbed in the swells, treading water and staring at each other.

“Not yet,” she insisted.

He pulled her close, their legs falling into a rhythm between each other’s as they floated. His other hand reached for her cheek and thumbed a wet arc across its plane. “Your teeth are chattering and your heart is whispering. We’re going in.”

Amber didn’t respond, but the moment he started swimming for shore, she followed. He could have lapped her twenty times before she would ever reach the beach, but instead, he kept pace beside her, watching her face and the way the starlight dappled it.

At last, her feet grazed the shallows, but Amber swam as far as she could before her belly scraped the sand bed. She rose on jelly legs like a newborn foal and stumbled immediately into Hyungwon’s arms.

“I’ve got you,” he said, slipping his arm under hers until her thighs stopped trembling and her knees straightened. He could have carried her much more easily, but Amber was glad he let her find her own strength.

Together, they walked up to the edge of the breakers and let the foam surge around their ankles.

“I’ll get your clothes,” Hyungwon offered, but Amber refused.

“Not yet. Not yet.”

Though every muscle in her body complained, she forced herself tall and full into the sea breeze. Against her sodden limbs, it cut and froze, but Amber closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

The sky was vast and the mountains unmoving and the sea fathomless, and she was small and unimportant, but there was peace in that. She’d struggled so hard for so long, but it was just like fighting the ocean—in the end, there was no winning against such insurmountable obstacles. There was only succumbing.

“Is this what it’s like to be you?” she wondered, studying the ice blue cast to her fingers. “I’m so cold, so dead inside.”

“Stop this,” Hyungwon ordered and forced a towel around her shoulders, but Amber shoved back and stared angrily at him.

“You stop this. You started it—all of it, Hyungwon. I can’t get you out of my head,” she wailed, clutching her temples. Softer now, she cried, “I can’t get you out of my heart. And I hate it, I hate it so much. What have you done to me?”

With his free hand, he caressed her cheek, wet both from salt and tears. He pushed a sodden tendril behind her ear before his hand drifted to her neck, his thumb stroking her languid pulse. Their eyes locked and their connection sparked anew. A little gasp slipped through Amber’s lips, and it was all the distraction Hyungwon needed to wrap her in the towel.

He guided her back toward the foot of the dunes and said, “Let’s get you warm.”

“And how are you going to warm me up, huh? You’re undead,” she grumbled.

“Don’t be a jerk, Amber,” Hyungwon reprimanded before he vanished.

She had only a moment to regret her words before he was back like a fresh peal of thunder. He laid a blanket down on the dune, and in a dimple in the sand, he piled firewood and kindling into a neat tower.

“I should haul you in for theft,” she chided through a rattle of her teeth as she studied the stolen towel and blanket, but Hyungwon ignored her.

He knelt in the sand, still naked but unfazed by it, and lit a fire with the skill of a man who must have done it for centuries. In the low glow of the newborn flames, he shimmered. After only a few moments, the fire kicked up into a gentle crackle with the occasional hiss and pop.

Slowly but surely, warmth pervaded her extremities and the prune lines in her fingers and toes softened. Amber squeezed the towel tighter around her and wished she’d had someone warm to lean into. Beside her, Hyungwon’s hands hovered over the flames, and she wondered if he felt the heat the same way she did.

She stole several glances at him, getting bolder each time, but he refused to look back at her, and somehow, it grated on the last of her nerves.

“What?” Amber said with a frown.

“I didn’t say anything,” Hyungwon answered.

“You’re clearly angry about something.”

“So what if I am? You don’t listen to me anyway.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Why should I? Because you’re a 400-year-old vampire?”

“No, because I care about you. Because I care what happens to you.”

Of all the things he could have said, Amber never expected that. Her lips felt numb, either from the cold or his confession, she couldn’t tell.

This time, Hyungwon filled the silence. “You’re too reckless with your life.”

“I’m a police officer,” she whispered. “It’s what we do.”

At last, he turned to her, eyes narrow and cheeks tight. “Really? You all risk drowning in the ocean?”

“That’s not—that wasn’t what I was trying to do.”

“What were you trying to do then?”

“I don’t know!” she shouted. “I don’t know…”

Together, they looked out at the open water, and it was like they were right back in it. Amber felt its chill deep in her bones and heavy in her legs. She felt like she could sink at any moment all over again.

Hyungwon let out a slow breath. “You were testing me… Whether I could really save you or not.”

Amber didn’t reply, but she didn’t need to. Even if she hadn’t realized it before, she realized now the vampire was right. It was another thing she’d picked up from Delphine—pushing boundaries way too far.

His fists clenched as the flames danced across the plains of his skin. Eventually, they loosened, and Hyungwon seemed to crumple with them. “You were right, you know. If you had drowned, I couldn’t have brought you back, at least not as you are now—perfect and warm and human.”

Amber hunkered down, too, head on her knees and eyes on the fire. When she’d asked it, her heart had been begging for him to prove her wrong, and when he had, hope had blazed within her. But he’d lied—or maybe it wasn’t a lie so much as wishful thinking, but did that distinction matter? Now, they both knew the truth.

“If you can’t save me from drowning, how could you possibly save me from Kai?” she asked. The flames batted around her words like a cat idling with a yarn ball, and the harder Amber stared into them, the keener they burned.

“All we need is a little more time,” Hyungwon insisted.

“Well, you don’t have it!”

He stared at her, sumptuous lips parted and dark eyes alight. “What does that mean?”

“Exactly what you think it means,” Amber replied obstinately.

“How do you know that? Has Kai come after you? Has he threatened you?” Hyungwon punched the sand, sending grit flying into the fire to a messy hiss.

“It doesn’t matter, Hyungwon. You just told me you can’t save me.”

“That’s not what I meant!” he protested. “It’s not the same thing, and you know it. You don’t know what I can do—what I will do for you. If you can just find a way to trust me, my brothers and I will find a way to get rid of Kai. I promise you that.”

“Trust. Promise. More pretty words. You remember how we met, right? You remember my sister? How am I supposed to do any of those things?”

There was a deep wound in his baritone as Hyungwon said, “You could if you wanted to, which I guess is my answer.”

Their hands were inches apart and yet there was a whole ocean between them again.

Amber looked up at the sky and asked, “What was your wish?”

“I thought you said not to tell?” he grumbled.

“Yeah, I did, but fuck the rules. You know I’m not good at following them.”

Amber had hoped the self-flagellation would have softened the mood, but the ice in Hyungwon’s eyes didn’t thaw.

“I wished that I had never asked to meet you,” said the vampire. Beside him, the detective stared at the dark heart of the sea, her chest feeling like an open wound as he continued, “You wouldn’t be here, bad things wouldn’t have happened to the people you care about, and I wouldn’t have to worry about losing the one thing I’ve searched for since the day I became this.”

Amber studied his profile galvanized by fire, but Hyungwon may as well have been on the other side of the Pacific.

“Why did you ask to meet me?” she wondered.

“Because you were trying so hard to be someone I knew you were not. I know what that’s like.”

“You don’t know me, Hyungwon.”

“As you insist,” he sighed. “What did you wish for?”

With a light laugh, she said, “That I’d never agreed to meet you.”

His eyes drifted back to the fire. A log popped, sending crimson fireworks into the sky.

Amber let out a shaky breath and faced the man so close and yet so far from her. “I could hate you if I’d never met you.”

At once, his eyes lashed to hers as he leaned forward, almost as though he were listening to her heart and looking for the lie within it.

“But I'm changing my wish,” she continued. “I wish you would just let me go.”

“Forget it because I won't.”

“I'm scared,” Amber blurted and immediately regretted it. She felt more naked now than she did under the towel.

“Of Kai?”

“Of Kai and you.”

“Amber, I would never hurt you,” Hyungwon reassured. He reached for her, but she jerked back.

“You already have, don't you get it? You’re responsible for taking one of the most important people in my life from me, and I don't hate you. I don’t hate you. That's what I'm scared of.”

The towel fell from her shoulders, and her skin warmed in the firelight. His gaze skimmed over her huddled frame for just a second before it was snared once again by the net of her eyes.

“You don’t know…” Hyungwon said as his hand caressed her cheek at last. His touch was warm from the fire, and it jumpstarted Amber’s heart.

“What?” she breathed.

“How precious you are to me,” he finished as he leaned forward and kissed the corner of her kaleidoscope eye. “You’ll never know.”

With trembling hands, Amber held his face and stroked his bottom lip with her thumb. Water dripped down his chin, and sand peppered his cheeks. Her heart ached under the weight of his beauty.

“You’re tearing me apart, Hyungwon,” she whispered, a tear pricking her eye. “What am I supposed to do?”

He kissed her thumb, and Amber shivered. His brown eyes pleaded with her as his hands traced her naked waist, feather-light and innocent even if those lips were anything but.

“Love me, too,” he begged. “Please.”

[justslowdown]

Happy belated 2nd birthday to the Pride Month litter!!!!! They've all matured into such beautiful dogs, and it sounds like they have personalities to match ♥️ I feel lucky to have been able to place these dogs in homes that are such good fits.

Luca (Mint), top left:

"He's a complete meatball. He is an aggressive cuddler that HAS to be on top of you in one way or another all the time lol. He loves to roll and stalk in the grass. He LOVES the kiddy pool. He's a little shy with new dogs but plays well once he warms up. He's really just very sweet and goofy"

Juno (Onyx), top right:

"Juno is so gentle and sweet! She loves looking out the window but never makes a peep! She’s also a great running buddy and has done 9 miles before"

Kestrel (Scarlet), my girl! In the middle:

"Lately she's been showing more and more of her mom's teddy bear sweetness. She's funny and WAY too smart. Swear Kestrel has thumbs and a college degree. One thing that's surprised me is that she's safe with the goats, sheep, and even lambs."

Chai (Saffron), bottom left:

"Chai is a real cuddle bunny too, loves people and does great at daycare" and "She's a ray of sunshine, everyone who meets her can't help but smile. I get so many compliments on her behavior but I've barely had to train her at all"

And Luna (Cyan), bottom right:

"Luna is very loving, talkative and headstrong. She pats my arm and yodels if I'm late taking her to the dog park. She loves to snuggle up and get attention"

[key201303]

I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T GET BACK TO YOU FOR SO LONG😭💔 I've missed you too!!😭♥️♥️♥️♥️

I haven't been doing so well... there's honestly no careful/gentle way to put it so I'm just gonna say it; my dad unexpectedly passed away on March 16th and since then, it's been really difficult for me and that's why you haven't heard from me in so long💔😭

BUT GOD I MISSED YOUR BIRTHDAY I'M SO SORRY- I hope you're doing well and that you were able to enjoy your special day and I want to wish you a happy belated birthday!!🥺♥️ I read your birthday special with 50 things about you and it actually spooked me out a little because we seem to have a lot in common😳😱🥺🥺🥺

I can only second all of your feelings towards WayV because they've really been helping me stay strong these days😭♥️ And omg if you get the chance, you gotta watch wayvision, it's such a beautiful mess!!😭🥺 And honestly, I also love every song on the album so much😭 Horizon is damn beautiful😭 I really love Action Figure!! (Yangyang's "honey honey honey" almost makes me fall off my chair every time-) but I'm really simping for All For Love as well....if I really had to choose one, I think I'd go with Action Figure🥺😭♥️ (Kick Back and Good Time are both amazing as well of course🥺✨) I had actually preordered the albums and guess what? I got a yangyang photocard and it's now on the back of my phone🥺 I usually never get my bias so this was a big cheer up for me🥺 I was thinking "maybe this is the universe's way of comforting me" or something🤭😭

Omg heyyyy!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I feel really really sorry for hearing that🙏🏻💓 stay strong and know my inbox is always open if you ever need to talk with someone ❤️❤️

I want to cheer you up even if it's through little drabbles, so if you want I'm doing a serie called Let me love you (linked the Masterlist there) with all the wayv members, feel free to read them and I hope I can make you feel a bit better❤️❤️❤️❤️

And don't be sorry for loosing my birthday!! It's okay❤️ And yes!! We do have a lot of things in common!! I read your about me post and I was actually scared of how alike we both are (guess we might be soul mates and finally found each other ✨❤️ LMAO)

I started watching wayvision last week and oh my God what a chaotic yet amazing serie🤩 YouTube should base its economy on that serie 🙂 And that clip from last video when they try cooking sausages? An absolute masterpiece. I CAN'T WITH XIAOJUN STANDING THERE DOING NOTHING AND ASKING WHAT TO DO OJDWFVKJSQVXIDHQVXIHQD BOI IT'S BURNING GO GRAB A GLASS OF WATER OR SOMETHING 😂😂😂😂😂😂 They're so chaotic and I love it🤧 And then Lucas panicking and commenting the state of the sausage 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂 I literally can't bear with them 😂😂

AND OMG ACTION FIGURE🤩🤩🤩 Have you seen the performance video?????? Why are they so disrespectful and talented😭😭 I can't 😭 I wish I could have bought it but somehow Amazon is not shipping the album to Spain yet so I guess I'll have to wait🙃 But I'm so glad you got YangYang!! I feel you, I hardly ever get my bias either and the happiness that gives me whenever I pull my bias is indescribable 😍😍

I hope you are doing okay and that you are eating lots of delicious food and drinking lots of water❤️❤️ remember to message me whenever you want to ramble about anything, I'm always here to cheer you up!! ❤️ ILY❤️❤️

[cbspams]

Just reading on TOO (now TO1) profiles and like. Please stay in school? I'm sort of shook because all the members are younger than me (99's and up) but like, at least two of them have dropped out of high school which I know is not as important necessarily, especially as an idol (glances at NCT Lucas who said he became an idol to avoid school--) but hmmmm...?

Also Minsu has the same birthday as Hyunjin (SKZ)! :0 Happy (really) belated birthday Minsu! I'll remember that next year.

[searchingwardrobes]

Happy belated birthday, @courtorderedcake​ ! I am so sorry this gift is late! It’s been a week, we’ll just say that, and I wanted your gift to be good. I know you have been through SO much difficulty, my dear, and I wanted to write a fic focusing on Emma’s tough past and her strength because I know you identify with her so deeply. This turned out going in a much different direction than I anticipated, especially with the Daddy!Charming at the end. Nevertheless, I hope you like it! I based this on the song of the same name by Pearl Jam, and the two lines I used at the end made me think of you, Court, as well as Emma: “She holds the hand that holds her down/ She will rise above.”

This fic doesn’t follow the season seven timeline simply because it makes my head hurt and it was just easier to ignore it. I also needed Emma’s past in the Land Without Magic to touch her in the present, and the whole “all the realms are in Maine” wouldn’t really work here. Therefore, this is three years after the season six finale. Henry is sixteen Neal Nolan is three, and baby Hope is two months old.

Summary: The past collides with the present when Emma gets an upsetting phone call. But she isn’t a lost girl anymore.

Rating: T for brief discussions of child neglect, emotional abuse, and alcoholism

Words: 3,500 and some change

Also on Ao3 and part of my Fandom Birthday Playlist

Tagging the usuals: @snowbellewells @kmomof4 @xhookswenchx @welllpthisishappening @let-it-raines @teamhook @bethacaciakay @whimsicallyenchantedrose​ @jennjenn615​ @distant-rose​ @delirious-latenight-laughs​ @optomisticgirl​ @spartanguard​ @profdanglaisstuff​ @tiganasummertree​ @resident-of-storybrooke​ @snidgetsafan​ @thislassishooked​ @branlovestowrite​ @scientificapricot​ @stahlop​ @hollyethecurious​ @shireness-says​ @winterbaby89​ @wellhellotragic​

Neither Emma nor Killian would say that their pasts were a faded, distant memory. Trauma just wasn’t that easy to get over. They would say, however, that this life they’d built in Storybrooke made the memories easier to handle. They had legit, “I’d go to hell and back for you”, family and friends. They had the home of their dreams where they could give Henry and Hope all the things they never had. They no longer felt the pang of hunger or the bite of cold.

Most of all, they had each other. Having each other meant sharing the burden of those memories for the first time. It was like peeling an onion, and Emma didn’t mean that metaphor in the usual sense. She meant the layers stung like hell, so they could only handle tiny bits at a time. It was okay, though, Killian told her. They had a lifetime together.

Taking the pain a tiny piece at a time was why the phone call came as such a shock for both of them. It wasn’t that Emma forgot about Hank, it’s just she’d never heard anyone speak of him aloud in almost thirty years.

Killian watched her face go pale, saw her arm go limp even though he could still hear a tiny voice coming through the speaker of her phone.

“Emma? Is everything okay?”

She dropped the phone without ending the call, and it hit one of the throw pillows and slid to the edge of the couch. Without saying a word, she headed upstairs, and Killian snatched the phone up and pressed it to his ear. The person on the other end was saying “hello? Ms. Swan, are you there?”

“This is Mr. - this is her husband,” Killian said. Though Storybrooke was no longer isolated from the outside world, Killian still essentially didn’t exist outside of its borders. Their marriage, though real in every way that mattered, wasn’t legally official outside of their little hamlet of fairy tale characters.

“Oh,” the woman on the line said, “well, could you just let her know that visiting hours end at nine pm?”

Killian’s brow furrowed. “Visiting hours?”

“Yes, if she’d like to come visit Hank Gregory. Her foster father?”

Killian sank to the edge of the couch. “Could you fill me in, please? My wife was a little - overwhelmed by your call.”

“Well, Mr. Gregory was admitted to Maine Medical Center here in Portland about two days ago with complications from both liver disease and diabetes. We’ve done all we can for him, but he’s been admitted into the ICU.” The woman took a deep breath, as if gathering her strength to get the next words out.

“I told your wife this already, but he doesn’t have a lot of time. We asked if he had any next of kin he’d like us to contact, and your wife’s name and number was all he gave us. He said she was his foster daughter?”

Killian rubbed the curve of his hook against his chin. No wonder the nurse phrased it as a question - this call likely wasn’t going the way she had envisioned. Across the room, Henry had discarded his video game controller and was watching Killian with a question furrowing his brow. Killian wished he weren’t so worried himself because it’s one thing for the man to have Emma’s name. It was quite another for him to have her cell phone number.

“Let me jot down those visitation hours,” he finally told the nurse, motioning to Henry to get a pad of paper and a pen. The lad dashed to the kitchen and fished them out of the junk drawer. Killian repeated the information from the nurse as Henry scribbled it down. After ending the call, Henry regarded him intensely.

“What was that all about? Mom seemed really upset.”

Killian sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not one hundred percent sure yet, Henry.”

***************************************************************

“Are you’re absolutely positive that you want to do this, love?”

Emma was clutching the steering wheel with a white-knuckled grip, but she nodded at Killian anyway. They were twenty minutes outside of Storybrooke, and she’d been completely silent the entire time.

“I need answers. The man treated me like shit for two years, and now, 24 years later, he calls out of the blue?”

Killian really wasn’t sure what to say, so he merely rubbed Emma’s arm with the curve of his hook. She smiled at the gesture, and her body relaxed. One of her hands released the steering wheel, and she reached over to grasp his. He lifted it to his lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles.

“The bastard isn’t going to die without me getting a thing or two off my chest, either,” she added with a bitter chuckle.

There was a time a few years ago that the anger radiating from her and the harshness of her words would have him worried. His mind would have gone immediately to his own bitterness towards his father and the darkness that kind of path leads to. But now he knew better. Emma had faced the darkness and risen above it. He also knew she had to face her demons on her own terms.

“I’m right beside you, Swan, you know that.”

Her face relaxed and she turned her palm to lace their fingers together. She lifted their hands and pressed her lips to the back of his before letting go so she could put two hands back on the wheel. She bore right and soon the Bug was heading down 295 to Portland.

**********************************************************

Maine Medical Center was enormous, comprised of several different buildings. To make matters worse, parts of it were being renovated and construction zones were everywhere. They finally found the correct building, finally found a parking deck, and then walked what felt like a million miles to the ICU. Killian had never been anywhere but Storybrooke General, but this massive place had the same sterile smell and chilly air. He noticed Emma shivering and put his arm around her as they walked. She leaned into him, clasping his prosthetic hand in hers, his hook not exactly appropriate for the setting.

“Thank you for coming here with me,” she whispered.

“It’s what a husband does,” he replied, pressing a kiss to her temple.

His quip at least elicited a tiny chuckle from her. They approached the nurses station for the ICU, and Emma told them who she was and that she was here to see Hank Gregory. A smiling woman in her sixties whose spectacles reminded him of Granny Lucas led them to the correct room, which looked more to Killian like a glass prison. She eased the door open and called to the patient in the bed with a voice only slightly above a whisper.

“Mr. Gregory, you have visitors.”

The man’s eyes blinked open, and he turned his head towards the open door. He was covered in wires and tubes, and things blinked and beeped all around him. The nurse pressed a gentle hand to Emma’s arm.

“I’ll let you visit.”

Emma simply nodded, and Killian could tell she would rather flee. But she let out a long, slow breath and then took a step closer towards the man in the bed. His skin was pale and looked as thin as paper, littered in bruises. His eyes were sunken, his cheeks sallow, and there was a yellowish pallor to his face. He was mostly bald with only a few wisps of dingy gray hair. Killian glanced at Emma. She dropped her arms to her sides, and her hands were balled into tight fists.

“Emma,” the man said on a struggled breath, “you came.”

“How the hell did you find me?” she bit back.

The man’s eyes blinked, moist with tears. He looked sad, resigned, but not angry or defensive. “I’ve been keeping an eye on you over the years. Trying to, anyway. You can be a hard girl to find.”

“Yeah, I kinda pride myself on it.”

He ignored her jab, and smiled at Killian. “And who is your young man here?”

“I’m not ten anymore, Hank. This isn’t my young man, he’s my husband.”

“Killian Jones.” Killian gave the man a slight nod, unsure if he should attempt to shake his hand or not. He glanced nervously at Emma, wondering if she was offended by his polite greeting, but her gaze hadn’t left the man in the hospital bed.

“Nice to meet you, son.”

“He’s not your anything.” Emma propped her hands on her hips. “How. Did. You. Find me?”

He sighed, his head sinking even farther into his pillow. “I saw you in the papers a few years back. Emma Swan Always Gets Her Man, that was the headline. I’ve done some, well . . . work with computers, so I -”

“You obtained my personal information illegally, right? Did you know I’m a sheriff now?”

Hank tilted his head. “No, actually, I didn’t. Funny thing, I was following your career in New York, even found out about your son -”

“You stay the hell away from Henry!”

Hank ignored her “-but then the two of you just . . . disappeared. I held onto your number, though. When I gave it to the nurse, I wasn’t sure if it would even work. I was even less sure that you would come.”

Emma’s chin was tilted, and Killian knew what that meant. “Why me?”

“You’re all I’ve got left, Emma. You were my daughter, for God’s sake!”

“Don’t call me that. I’m not your daughter. I never was.”

“Maybe not by blood, but I loved you like my own -”

“You don’t know what love even is!” Emma was shouting now, and Killian glanced nervously at the door. He wasn’t going to stop her, though. Obviously, whatever was pouring out of her had been bottled up for years. Hank was obviously not long for this world, and he knew better than anyone that his wife needed to say everything that had been left unsaid.

Hank was crying now, tears catching in the wrinkles that marred his face. “I didn’t treat you right, I know that, but I did love you, Emma. I did.”

Emma shook her head. “Really? You loved me so much you spent all of the money on liquor while I starved? Loved me so much you spent every waking moment in that damn recliner with the tv on? Do you know how many times I had to clean you up after you’d puked all over yourself? How many times I had to haul trash bags full of empty bottles out to the curb?”

“I know, I know!” Hank was sobbing now, his voice breaking as he struggled to speak. “When Denine and I took you in, we were gonna do it together. We were so excited to give you a home. But then she died, and I . . . she was my life, Emma. I was grieving so badly that I lost myself in the drinking, and -”

“I was grieving too!” Emma shouted. “And I was only ten!”

An awkward silence fell then, the sounds of the hospital machines louder within it. Hank’s gaze trailed to the ceiling, and his hands picked nervously at the thin hospital blanket. He let out a shaky sigh before finally speaking again.

“I’m dying, Emma. My liver’s useless, my kidneys are failing.” Groaning, he struggled to sit up in the bed, his right hand shaking violently as he reached for the blanket across his lap. When he yanked it aside, Killian’s eyes widened in surprise to see legs that ended in blunted stumps where feet should have been. Emma, however, didn’t react at all.

“Look at me,” Hank choked out. “I hated myself so much, I literally killed myself. Didn’t give a shit about my diabetes, so I lost my feet.”

“Serves you right,” Emma replied coldly.

“You’re right, it does,” Hank agreed, awkwardly covering himself back up and collapsing against his pillows. “Denine would be devastated if she saw me now.”

“She was good to me,” Emma whispered, hugging her arms around herself.

Hank nodded, tears gathering in his eyes once again. “I just wanted to tell you how sorry I was before it’s too late. I hoped that maybe we could -”

“Fine,” Emma interrupted him, “you got to apologize, but if you think that means I’ll forgive you, then I guess you’re gonna die disappointed.”

Emma completely ignored the broken man as he sobbed in the hospital bed, turning instead for the door and striding from the room. Killian followed her, but he couldn’t help glancing back at Hank Gregory with sympathy.

****************************************************************

Emma felt physically drained, yet a buzz of righteous anger still tingled along her skin. Killian, however, had fallen into a melancholy she couldn’t understand. They had decided to get lunch in the hospital cafeteria rather than drive around trying to find a place to eat. They had found a spot to sit next to a window looking out at a courtyard, and Killian seemed far more interested in watching the people walking past than the food in front of him.

“Hey,” Emma said softly, reaching out to grasp his hand, “what’s wrong?”

He gave her that smile that never fooled her because it didn’t reach his eyes. “Nothing, love, really.”

As if to try and prove it to her, he picked up his fork and speared a piece of broccoli. Not very convincing, however, when it never reached his mouth. Emma sighed and put down her grilled cheese.

“Yeah right, nothing.” She regarded his brooding nervously, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. “Do you think I’m an awful person? To yell at a dying man like that?”

He shook his head. “Not at all. As difficult as it was, it had to be said.”

If anything, Killian’s words only made him look more depressed. Emma frowned. “But you think I should go back and forgive him?”

Killian shrugged. “I can’t tell you what to do in a situation like this. I confess, I wish you would, but . . . “

“But what?”

He finally met her eyes, dropping the fork with the uneaten broccoli. “Can’t you see it, Swan?”

Her brow furrowed. “See what?”

“Is there really that much difference between me and Hank Gregory?”

Emma couldn’t help it, a short laugh escaped her lips. “You can’t be serious.”

“A one-handed pirate with a drinking problem,” he grumbled.

“What?”

Killian rubbed his forehead, unable to look at her. “It’s what Pan said in Neverland when I told him you were finally seeing me for who I really am.”

Emma rolled her eyes, though she knew Killian was serious. “And you’re going to believe that psychopath?”

“Well, he wasn’t wrong. And here you are, refusing to forgive . . . an alcoholic with no feet.”

Emma’s eyes widened as his words sank in, then her face softened and tears moistened her eyes. “Oh babe,” she told him softly, grasping his hand again and rubbing his knuckles with her thumb, “you’re nothing like him. I’ve seen you drink too much, sure, but you’re not an alcoholic. You’ve never neglected me or Henry or Hope. You’ve done nothing but put us first.” She let out a long, slow breath, relieved when she saw a tiny glimmer spark in her husband’s eyes. “Hank ignored me, neglected me, yelled at me and called me names for two long, excruciating years.”

“Oh Swan,” he told her in a choked voice, “I’m not sure I was much better after losing Milah.”

“No, stop it,” she said firmly, grasping his prosthetic and his hand firmly in both of hers. “That may be true, but I know you, better than anyone. I have no doubt in my mind that if a child needed you, you would have been there. As a matter of fact, you did just that, for Neal - I mean Bae.”

“And then I mucked it all up like I always -”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence, Jones.”

He gave a small laugh, and ducked his head. Since she didn’t seem to be getting through to him, she got up, plopped right down in his lap and cupped his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her.

“Forget the past, remember? Isn’t that what we said on our wedding day?”

“Yes, but -”

“No buts. Hank Gregory was never a father to me. He sucked, okay? You, however, are the best father I could ever dream of for Henry and Hope.” She punctuated her words with a searing kiss, not giving a damn that they were in the middle of crowded, bustling Maine Medical Center.

****************************************************

Emma rubbed her palms on her jeans nervously as she watched the dying man through the glass of his room in the ICU. Killian put his arm around her and pulled her close.

“You sure about this?” he asked.

Emma nodded. “Yes. You were right, I did need to say those harsh words.” She turned to him and shrugged. “But they weren’t the only words. I guess I have too much of my parents in me.”

He smiled and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “I’ll be waiting right here for you.”

With a steadying breath, she stepped away from her husband and opened the door. She had thought Hank was sleeping, but she had been wrong. He turned towards the door and smiled when he saw her.

“I didn’t think I would see you again.”

“Yeah, well . . . “ Emma shrugged as she approached his bed. She stepped to the foot of it and grasped the edge with both hands. “I was talking to my husband, and he reminded me that people can change.”

Hank’s eyes brightened with hopefulness. “I have changed, Emma, and I was hoping maybe I could get to know my daughter again.”

Emma lifted her hand. “Please don’t call me that, Hank. I found my real parents, and they’re wonderful people. My dad and I especially are close. He and I -” she chuckled, surprised when tears rose up in her eyes thinking of David. “Well, we’re a lot alike. My mom definitely says so about a hundred times a day.”

Tears rolled freely down Hank’s cheeks. “Oh, Emma, I’m so happy to hear that. Knowing that, I really think I can leave this world in peace.”

Emma blinked, startled. “What?”

“I was such a horrible parent to you, Emma, and you were so innocent. I never forgave myself, and I tortured myself after children’s services took you away wondering what happened to you. Wondering if you ever found a family to love you the way you always deserved.”

Emma nodded, the tears flowing freely on her own face. “I have. I really have.”

“Anyone else besides Henry, your parents, and that handsome husband of yours?”

“Yes,” Emma said, pulling her cell phone out of her jacket pocket as she came around to the side of the bed, “my baby girl Hope. Here she is on the day she was born.”

Hank’s trembling hand came out to bring the screen closer. “She’s beautiful.”

“She is, isn’t she?”

An awkward silence fell as Emma pocketed her phone. She shifted her feet awkwardly, wondering if she could really spit the words out she had come here to say.

“You don’t have to forgive me,” Hank finally said.

Emma’s face softened as she held his gaze. “Yes, I do. Not for you, but for me.” She took another deep breath and reached out to grasp Hank’s hand. “Hank, I forgive you.”

The man let out a long, shuddering breath, his eyes closing as he whispered, “thank you.” He must have been saving that breath for Emma’s words because as soon as it fell from his lips, every machine in the room started beeping. Emma was shoved out of the way as doctors and nurses rushed in to attend to the dying man. She found herself back in Killian’s arms, weeping against his shoulder.

**********************************************************

The drive home was a bit surreal with nothing but silence their companion back to Storybrooke. Emma didn’t think the feeling was grief - she’d known that, and God, she’d never forget it. Yet she did feel emotionally spent, and wrung out of all coherent thought. Killian didn’t seem concerned by her silence, content to watch the scenery go by and hum along with the radio. Occasionally, he would take her hand in his and give her a reassuring smile.

Emma was surprised when she saw the Welcome to Storybrooke sign - it was like she had driven home on autopilot. When they parked outside of their house, her heart flipped to see her dad’s truck. David came out on the porch before they had even exited the vehicle, Hope cradled in his arms.

“Snow needed to take Neal to t-ball practice so I -” David’s words were cut off when Emma launched herself into his arms. His free arm came up to cup his daughter’s head, and he was shocked to hear her crying against him. He looked to Killian with a startled expression and was relieved when his son-in-law gave him a small smile and a tiny nod that Emma was fine. Killian gently took Hope from him, grinning as the two month old squealed in delight. His arms free, David held Emma tighter.

“Sweetheart, are you okay?” he finally asked her.

Emma pulled back, a smile lighting her face despite the tears. “Yeah, I am. Better than okay. I just . . . I love you, Dad.”

David swallowed back the lump in his throat. “I love you, too.”

She holds the hand that holds her down / She will rise above.

[bellakitse]

I enjoyed each a and every one of your 3 sentence fics. I had been busy the past week finishing up work before I start uni next week. So here's wishing you a belated birthday as well. Also thank you for writing Storytime with Luca. I'm so happy you were inspired by that prompt. Lots of love

thank you love!! so glad you liked it!💖💖

Good luck at uni! Be safe and learn a lot!

[jancys-blue-bayou]

Opals and mixtapes (Jancy fic)

This is a belated birthday gift to @iamthethumperanon​ my partner in fluffy Jancy crime. Have 6500+ words of fluff inspired by a certain s3 still showing a certain someone wearing a new necklace.

Also on Ao3 and FFNet!

”So, what do you and Nancy have planned for Valentine’s Day?” His mom raises an eyebrow at him and smiles over the breakfast table as she asks the innocuous question that sends him into a slight panic.

What do you and Nancy have planned for Valentine’s Day. What do you and Nancy have planned for Valentine’s Day. What do you and Nancy have planned for Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day. Shit. What day is it today? The 7th. So it’s in one week. Shit. He didn’t even realize.

”Oh no…” his mom continues as she sees the look on his face. His panic must be etched across it.

”You forgot it?” Will asks from his seat.

”I didn’t forget it! I just… never thought of it…”

”That is forgetting it,” Will points out.

That’s true. It’s just… he’s never had to think about it before. In kindergarten he, like the other kids in the class, made a card for his mother to give her on February 14th. But as he’s gotten older he’s not payed Valentine’s Day any mind, he’s never had cause too. It’s just been a dumb commercial holiday. The only effect it’s had on his life is that it’s been one day of the year where the high school halls has been a veritable gauntlet of loveydovey teens exchanging gifts like the world and their relationship depended on it.

Now he is one of those teens, he realizes (perhaps too late). Honestly he still thinks it’s a dumb commercial holiday. But he has no idea what Nancy thinks of it. Maybe she rolls her eyes at it. Or maybe she expects… something, from him. He does not know what. Oh god. He has no clue about this sort of stuff. Really has no clue about how to be… a boyfriend. Even if Nancy told him he’s doing great when he voiced that sentiment before. But of course she says that, she is so kind and nice and sweet. He loves her, so much more than he can really wrap his head around even. She loves him too, she told him. Tells him, every day.

If she expects something of him for this day… he wants to give it to her, whatever it will be. Who cares if it’s just a dumb commercial holiday, it can still be about them and… be romantic.

”I have to get her something,” he says, making his mind up.

”Yes you do,” his mom agrees.

”Do you know what you’ll get her?” Will asks.

”No…” he answers, dejected, before getting up to put his dishes in the sink.

He does not know. What can he possibly get her that she’ll like… no not just like, love? That she couldn’t get for herself? That she hasn’t already received in gifts… shit, she was with Steve last Valentine’s Day… Steve is loaded with cash, he wonders what he got her, could’ve gotten her anything… he can… not. Shit. For Christmas, which he was deathly nervous about, he went for very personal gifts. Got her gun ammunition and a photo of Barb he’d taken in the beginning of the previous school year for the yearbook (from which he scrapped it of course) and held onto because he didn’t know how she’d take seeing a photo of Barb before, but with Nancy getting some closure in getting justice for Barb he took a chance on that it would be appreciated now, which it was. But that was then, and he can’t well get her anything like that now… not that Christmas screams ”revolver ammo!” but somehow he feels Valentine’s Day says it even less.

”Don’t worry honey, we’ll think of something. I’ll help you look!” His mom clasps her hands together and looks at him excited and with hope in her eyes like she believes he actually won’t screw this up.

”Thanks… ready bud?” He answers and looks at his little brother who nods and gets up so they can drive to school, stopping for Nancy (and Mike) on the way.

XXX

A knock on the door makes Will put down his crayon and get up from his desk. Mike’s sick, Eleven’s with Hopper, Lucas and Max are doing something that apparently is just for the two of them, and Dustin is weirdly enough still hanging after Steve for some reason, so he’s a bit at a loss on who’s come over but still he’s in a hurry to open, it got a bit lonely with his friends all preoccupied and Jonathan and mom out looking for a Valentine’s gift for Nancy. He would’ve came with them if he had known none of his friends could hang out, though having time to draw is nice too.

”Hey Will!”

”Hi Nancy!” He looks at his brother’s girlfriend, surprised. She beams at him. ”Jonathan isn’t here he-” he goes to explain, trying to think of a good lie to tell concerning his brother’s whereabouts.

”Covering a shift I know, he told me,” Nancy cuts in.

Oh, good that Jonathan had already covered that. And lucky for him Nancy cut him off, he was going to go with ”has a dentist appointment”. Which he now realizes would’ve been stupid, since it’s Saturday. He’s not good with lies.

”I lucked out he did actually… I needed him to be out for this…” Nancy continues.

”For what?” He asks.

”For me to be able to make my Valentine’s Day gift for him! Can I come in?”

”Oh, of course,” he hurries to step aside and let Nancy in while processing her words. ”Make your Valentine’s Day gift to him? Here?” He wonders.

”Yes! I’ve been stressed out, wracking my brain on what to get him, he’s really hard to shop for you know, and this week I got an idea but then didn’t know how I could execute it, until now. Look at this!”

Nancy has taken her coat off and opens a backpack she had slung over her shoulder earlier and shows him its contents. There’s a couple of records in there and a whole heap of mixtapes.

”What are those?”

”All the mixtapes he’s made me.”

Wow. Jonathan’s made him a lot of mixtapes through the years, but he seems to have made double the amount for Nancy just in a few months (at least he assumes he didn’t make her mixtapes before November when the Gate closed and his brother got a girlfriend). Not that he’s jealous, he’s just happy his brother has Nancy now. He’s never seen his brother happier than he’s been these last few months.

”Music means so much to him and I love how he always shares it with me, what he likes, what’s important to him and close to him so I thought… I should make him one! With songs that makes me think of him. What do you think?” Nancy explains her idea to him.

”That’s a really good idea,” he nods.

”Right? I think it can be good… only problem is I can’t record off my stereo and my dad’s record player doesn’t have a cassette deck and it’s broken anyway, and so I’ve come to take advantage of Jonathan’s.”

”Oh, okay. Do you know how to make mixtapes?” He asks.

”Technically no, but I’ve observed him doing it. Do you?”

”I think so?”

”Cool, can you help me out? Together we should manage it right?”

”Sure!”

XXX

”But mom, jewelry is expensive…” he quietly protests as his mom steers him to the store he’s walked past many times without ever entering.

”Oh come on sweetie, I’m not saying buy her a big ol’ diamond, but there are more affordable things. I think, haven’t been in here for… well a long time. Anyway. Besides this is Hawkins, not exactly Tiffany’s on Fifth Avenue. You said you wanted to get her something pretty and nice.”

He did say that, so he follows his mom into the store. Inside there’s display cases filled with all sorts of jewelry and he feels out of place in the fancy store with impeccably clean aisles and nice furnishings. He knows this isn’t exactly his mom’s scene either, but she seems much more confident than him, maybe it’s her determination and attitude of not taking any crap no matter what people think of them. He doesn’t know where to even start, he’s a lousy shopper. He thinks, at least. It’s kind of hard to tell because it’s not like he’s had much experience shopping for stuff other than groceries, and clothes when he’s outgrown everything and definitely needs something new. Other than that it’s pretty much just the record store that he’s frequented. A lot of times just browsing without buying anything. He’s felt at home there. Not like here, he doesn’t know where to look or what to look for. A necklace? A bracelet? A ring? What do you give Nancy Wheeler?

His mom seems to have an idea though, or at least takes initiative by striding right up to the nearest display case and starting to look. He quickly follows her.

”See, not everything is super pricey just because it’s jewelry, there’s some stuff you can afford,” she says as he joins her in looking at the display showcasing a bunch of different rings that does fall within his budget. He has some money saved up and when he told his mom how much she insisted on slipping another five dollar bill into his hand which he’s planning to give her back or at least put away and use for groceries instead. He appreciates the gesture but she shouldn’t put money on this it’s for him to get Nancy a gift, his mom’s hard-earned money should go to other things.

”Yeah… I’m not sure about a ring though like doesn’t a ring seem a bit… um… well I don’t know how she’d take it…”

”Sweetie there’s more rings than just for engagements and marriage,” his mom chuckles. ”I’m not suggesting that. I definitely think you should wait until after high school before you ask her to marry you,” she continues with a smile.

”Mom…” he groans. ”We’ve only been-” he starts but she cuts him off.

”Yeah yeah I know I know you’ve only been dating for a couple of months, just like you’ve only saved each others lives and the whole world a couple of times,” she grins. ”And you only spend just about every day and night together-”

”Night?! You know about-” he cuts her off, horrified.

”Yes Jonathan, you two are not as sneaky as you think,” his mom smirks at him.

”Oh God…”

”I haven’t said anything because I really don’t mind, you know. I had been thinking about this stuff before, of what I would do when you got a girlfriend. I thought of all the rules my mother had for me when I was your age and how I hated it and how stupid it was because it wasn’t like I couldn’t just go out and see-”

”Mom…”

”Right, not important, anyway point is you are responsible and I trust you, and Nancy. So I don’t see any harm in you two spending the nights together. Like everything you can do at night you can just as well do during the day so-”

”Mom!”

”Right, right. I’m just saying, you don’t have to have Nancy sneak out in the morning or get in at 6 AM and pretend you just got up early. However much I do enjoy your performances at those occasions.”

”Okay I… Okay. Thanks. Can we please talk about something else?” He tries, desperate to change the topic of the conversation.

”Sure, so if not a ring then what do you have in mind for Nancy?

”I don’t know um… what girls want um… a necklace maybe?”

”Well, I’m sure she’d love anything from you but yes a necklace is a good idea! Let’s see…”

His mom looks up and around the store to see where they can find necklaces. Just then someone comes up from behind and gets their attention.

”Well hello there!” A cheery voice calls out.

”Oh, hello Claudia! I didn’t know you worked here,” his mom greets Dustin’s mother.

”Hello Mrs. Henderson,” he greets.

”How lovely to see you two! And yes oh it’s been awhile since we talked hasn’t it? It’s been a few months, I was laid off at the old place but my sister’s husband owns this place and had an opening,” Mrs. Henderson explains.

”Oh well that’s great, that it worked out like that,” his mom smiles and he nods.

”It really is, I’m very happy. Well, so what brings you in today? Oh, is it something for a certain someone for the special day coming up?” Mrs. Henderson is practically beaming at him as she says that last part and he blushes.

”Yes Jonathan’s in the market for a nice necklace to give to Nancy, maybe you can help?” His mom butts in.

”Oh how exciting! Oh yes follow me right this way, we have a lot of really lovely ones. Do you have an idea of what exactly?”

”Er… no I…um…” He fumbles.

”Well no worries, you can just have a look here for a start you see, I think some of these may be of interest, they’re classic and stylish you see, elegant and not so tawdry,” Mrs. Henderson continues without missing a beat and shows them a display with simple but elegant necklaces, most of them in his price range.

”Oh these are nice,” his mom coos.

”Yes they are,” he mumbles in agreement, looking over the selection, trying to find anything that could be worthy of Nancy. The cheapest ones are simple heart-shaped designs in gold and silver which feels too simple, or ordinary. The most expensive ones here have diamonds. Those look great but is way above what he can afford.

”See anything you like?” Mrs. Henderson asks.

He may have. There’s several ones of similar designs with different gems attached. His eyes have been drawn to one with a light blueish greenish, almost turquoise, gem.

”How about that one?” He asks unsure, pointing it out to his mom and Mrs. Henderson.

”Oh that’s lovely,” his mom says.

Mrs. Henderson gets it out of the display case and holds it up for them to take a closer look.

”It really is,” she chimes in. ”Is she an October birthday?”

”Huh? Yes she is how’d you- but this is for Valentine’s Day not-” He’s very confused.

”Oh I just meant, it’s an opal. It’s her birthstone then.”

”What’s a birthstone?” He asks, more confused.

”Oh,” Mrs. Henderson looks surprised for a second, like she wasn’t ready for someone to have that gap in their knowledge. ”Well for every month of the year there’s a different gemstone symbolizing that month, and it’s a person’s birthstone if they’re born then. So people often give necklaces like these as a gift to someone for that.”

”Oh. I just thought, it’d go with her eyes so…”

”Oh! Well it would, she has gorgeous eyes doesn’t she? And how lucky are you then, the birthstone is just an added bonus!”

”Right…”

”It really looks great honey. You’re right, it goes with her eyes. She’d look lovely wearing it. I’m sure she’d love it,” his mom says.

XXX

”Well I want to set the tone right away, so we’ll start with this,” she tells Will and puts on Time After Time which will be the first song on the mixtape.

”What’s this?” He asks and she realizes that having Jonathan Byers as his chief influence regarding music probably means Will doesn’t have great knowledge of pop hits. She might have to remedy that.

”Cyndi Lauper,” she tells him.

”I like it. What do you mean with setting the tone?”

”Well it makes me think of him. Us,” she explains, timely enough just before they reach the chorus.

If you're lost, you can look and you will find me

Time after time

If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting

Time after time

If you're lost, you can look and you will find me

Time after time

If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting

Time after time

Will nods. She explains further.

”It’s one of my favorite songs. I first heard it when- well have you heard Girls Just Want to Have Fun?”

”I think I heard it at the Snow Ball. All the girls were dancing to it.”

”Oh that’s right! That was cute. Well, that was her first single and I heard it on the radio last fall. I mean not this fall but the one before that. Um, like two months before everything happened uh… it must have been September. Me and Barb played it all the time… then the album came out in October right in time for my birthday and um, Barb got it for me. We listened to it all the time until…” she trails off. It’s still so weird and hard to talk about. With Will no less, with everything he’s gone through, she’s not sure how comfortable he is talking about any of that time at all.

”Sorry,” he offers and looks fine though. ”It’s a great song,” he adds.

”Thanks. I listened to it a lot, over and over last year before we were even um… I had to stop because it just made me think of him when we weren’t… but then now since I’ve… listened to it a lot again and yeah it just… makes me think of him. I think it’s about us. Sorry that’s so cheesy and sappy but-”

”It’s not cheesy it’s romantic,” Will shrugs, slight blush on his cheeks.

”Right, anyway… well you’ve at least heard of Madonna right?” She continues and picks up the next record.

”Yes,” Will smiles and rolls his eyes to signal that he’s not completely clueless regarding pop music.

XXX

”So, what else do you have planned?” His mom asks as they make their way out of the store after saying goodbye to Mrs. Henderson who couldn’t stop talking about what a cute couple he and Nancy apparently makes.

”I don’t know I… I should take her out for dinner right? Somewhere uh, nice… but I don’t know any nice places um… and you know, money…”

”Well, may I come with a suggestion?”

”Yes?”

”You are a catch Jonathan-”

”Mom…”

”- you are handsome and charming and nice-”

”Mom… where’s the suggestion?”

”I’m getting to it! And funny and smart and brave. These are all great qualities that makes you the most special amazing guy in the world, and I’m sure Nancy agrees with me.”

”Mom…”

”But you have another very special quality that makes you stand out even more from all the other hapless guys around: you’re a great cook, Jonathan.”

”I’m okay, mom.”

”No, you’re great. You’re really great in the kitchen. I think so and Will thinks so and I know Nancy thinks so too. She’s not faking all those yummy noises and ’oh my god Jonathan this is great’ every time she’s over for dinner. And she’s a girl who was raised by Karen Wheeler who feeds her family good, just like you by the way. So, going out to dinner is nice and all but do you know what’s even more romantic for a girl? When a guy cooks you a great dinner himself. I think you should cook for Nancy yourself. Make it romantic, with candles and stuff you know. I guarantee you she’ll be like putty in your hands.”

”Putty in my hands?”

”I mean, you know… I’m just saying, she’ll love it and it will be very sweet and romantic!”

”Right… I mean…”

”Will and I will be out of the house so you’ll have the place for yourselves.”

”… okay… um… yeah that sounds… like a plan. But oh god what should I cook her?”

”Well, her favorite, obviously. Come on son.”

XXX

After having explained to Will that Like a Virgin isn’t literal but more… metaphorical, Follow Me by Blondie has also been added to the tape. Will really digs Blondie and says he’s sure Jonathan will like them too. Which makes her weirdly happy, Blondie is her favorite band. It’s not like it’s the end of the world if Jonathan doesn’t like them but… it sure would be nice if he did. And she thinks Will is probably right, he knows his brother’s tastes very good of course and even she knows that though he’s generally more inclined to punk he’s not averse to new wave so.

”Hey there’s a New Order song that he’s played for me that needs to be on the tape, help me dig through his records,” she requests and starts to look through all the records and tapes Jonathan’s got by his record player.

”Sure, what song?” Will asks.

”I forget the name of it… it goes like…” she starts to hum the tune but Will looks on confused. ”And then it goes like ’Up down turn around please don’t let me hit the ground’ and then later like ’I’ve never met anyone quite like you before’ um…”

”Uh… um… wait, Temptation?” Will suggests.

”Oh, maybe I’m not sure about the title really…”

”I think he has the single wait… here it is,” Will digs out a record and soon well-familiar tones fill the room.

”Yeah that’s it, awesome! Thanks.”

”No, problem. I love them. New Order, and Joy Division before that. He has a lot of their stuff. He really likes them.”

”Yeah I like them too.”

”So what’s special about this song?”

”Oh it was playing in the car after our first like, real date, when we found a place to stop and be together like that for the first time since- uh I mean…” she drastically cuts herself off as Will’s eyes bulges out and she realizes she almost started to tell Jonathan’s little brother about the second time she and Jonathan had sex. ”Er, I mean it just reminds me of our first official date and it’s a nice song for a nice time um.”

”It is a nice song,” Will nods, trying to move past the awkwardness. In an effort to do the same she drastically changes the topic.

”So uh, Mike’s freaking out about what to do for El and his first Valentine’s Day. I’ve had to help him all week because he’s clueless about what to do.”

”Tell me about it, it’s all he talks about now. It’s kind of annoying,” Will rolls his eyes but smirks. ”Lucas too, about Max. And Dustin is desperate to impress some girl in time for it.”

”Oh, who?”

”Just any girl I think, no one in particular. Suddenly everyone is girl crazy. I don’t get it.”

”Oh, huh. I tried to talk to him at the Snow Ball hmpf… he should just relax a little. But yeah I can see how that’s annoying. But oh speaking of the Snow Ball, how about you? What ever happened with that cute girl you were dancing with?”

”Oh uh… we’re just friends. We sit next to each other in Math. To be honest I think she just wanted to dance with anyone and thought I was as good as any…”

”Aw, don’t say that maybe she likes you for real.”

”I don’t know. I don’t mind, I don’t really like her all that much… I mean she’s alright, but it’s not like… that. I don’t know. I don’t really care about girls all that much… I mean uh, yet or like… I don’t know,” Will stumbles over his words and she gathers it’s not something he really wants to talk about so she decides to back off. To be honest his reaction kind of reminds her of how Barb used to react to talk about boys at that age. Barb was never interested in boys… She decides to just leave it.

”Oh well that’s no big deal. I mean you guys are just in eighth grade not like you should be in a hurry, you’re not even out of middle school yet. It’s just funny to me how Mike acts now, I never thought he of all people would get a girlfriend already in middle school. Biggest dork in the world,” she smiles.

”Sure that’s not me?” Will rolls his eyes and grins.

”No way, you’ve always added the cool factor to your little group,” she insists.

”What cool factor?” Will questions.

”The cool artist one!” She grins.

Will laughs and shakes his head.

”Anyway, speaking of cool artists, this may also be cheesy but I’m going to put ”Heroes” on the tape just because,” she continues and reaches out to flip through Jonathan’s David Bowie records.

”Because you two are…” she can just hear Will mumble under his breath and it makes her grin but when she looks at him he looks down and pretends to be reading the liner notes of the New Order record so she turns back to the Bowie pile with a smile.

XXX

Well, Jonathan’s definitely got something planned. When he picked her up for school he mumbled a ”Happy Valentine’s Day” and nervously asked her if she is free tonight. Normally he’s not nervous to ask her that. She’s very intrigued by this. Especially when he asks if she can borrow her mom’s car and come over at 7 because ”I mean I’d love to pick you up but I have to um… uh… prepare…something.”

She could, so here she is now, pulling up in the Byers driveway a little before 7. Joyce’s Pinto is gone, she notices. Jonathan was very tightlipped about tonight, not letting any information slip no matter what she tried. Not even when she started making out with him in the darkroom while asking him about it did he lose enough focus to spill the beans. She’s glad he didn’t though, if antsy to see what he’s got planned. Whatever it is she’s sure it will be amazing. It’s not like Valentine’s Day is a huge deal to her. She had to kind of roll her eyes at some of the stuff she witnessed at school today. She overheard Josie raving to Vicky and Leslie about how Greg apparently is the perfect boyfriend and so romantic because he surprised her with roses and chocolates in a grand gesture by her locker in front of everyone. When just last week in the same spot Josie very publicly dumped Greg because he had kissed Kayla at Drew’s house party over the weekend.

She’s all for romance, but some guys, like Greg, seems to take Valentine’s Day as the one day a year they have to be romantic and then the other 364 days they can do whatever as long as they “make up” for it on February 14th. She’s been with Jonathan for three and a half months now and he’s been romantic… every day, with her. Just all the time, in the little things. It’s in the little things for her, everything doesn’t have to be a grand gesture to be romantic. Though something grand today she wouldn’t be averse too… just not in public, she’s thankful he’s like her in that he’s more private than public about that stuff. Last year for Valentine’s Day Steve had been waiting for her by her locker with a huge bouquet of roses and a huge heart-shaped box of chocolates and while she appreciates the gesture, having the whole hallway full of people staring at her waiting for her move was mortifying. Ever since that November her and Steve’s relationship had been the talk of the hallways. Until they got back together everyone stared at her and whispered as she walked down the hallways alone, then when she went back to Steve she could feel everyone staring at them like they were expecting more drama any second. It died down over the months but at that point in February her and Steve’s relationship… drama, was still the juiciest gossip at Hawkins High.

Plus that morning hadn’t been her best. She had seen Barb’s parents the night before which had brought up all the feelings she was trying to bury right up to the forefront from where they were bubbling just under the surface, and she cried all night and didn’t get any sleep and felt like a wreck as she fixed herself up and dragged herself to school only to be greeted with that. With a boyfriend waiting for her looking expectantly at her and a hallway full of people all also looking at her expecting something. She really could’ve done without that. Her first instinct had been to turn around and bolt, get away from all the people and expectations and facades she had built up, but of course she didn’t. She did what everyone expected of her, she walked up to Steve and called him an idiot in a sweet voice and kissed him and accepted the flowers and chocolates.

It took until Halloween until her facades crumbled and she defied everyone’s — most of all her own — expectations and did what she truly sought after. Getting justice and getting Jonathan. He’s many things, brave and strong and sweet and funny and kind and nice and smart, and he’s also not showy but private and genuine with his emotions. No grand public gestures today, just as always sweet Jonathan by her side the whole day, with the mysterious promise of something more tonight, privately. She can’t wait, so she hurries her step as she makes her way up to the porch with the mixtape in her coat pocket.

XXX

He realizes he must have checked the oven nine times in the last thirty seconds but he checks it again. Almost ready. Almost. It has to be perfect. He glances at the clock on the wall. Still 6:53 like the last seventeen times he looked. He walks over to the dining room table. It all looks nice right? It’s nice but not too over the top, he hopes. Like he’s trying but not like… trying too hard. Can he try too hard with Nancy? Should he light the candles now? No, after she’s here, right? Yeah, definitely. Crap, a lighter. Or matches. He forgot. He rushes back into the kitchen and rummages through a drawer and finds a lighter. Same one they used to set fire to a monster once, he realizes as he puts it in his pocket. Should he rethink the shirt?

The sound of a car coming into the driveway jolts him out of his thoughts. Crap, he hopes he went with the right shirt, after changing four times. Too late to change again now. He stands ready by the door as he hears her closing a car door outside. Should he open it already? Or let her knock? Should he maybe wait a second before opening it so to not give away that he’s standing here waiting? Crap! The food! He runs back into the kitchen Instead and looks in the oven again. Yep, ready now. Where’s the damn oven mitts? There. He hurries to carry the dish out to the dining room. Just as he sets it down on the table, near the bottle of wine he got Eric to go in and buy for him, there’s the knock on the door. He hurries towards it, halfway there realizing he should probably lose the oven mitts, throwing them into the kitchen.

XXX

”Hey…”

”Hi!”

Wow he looks so dreamy. He’s wearing his best shirt (at least the one that’s her favorite on him. It really brings out his eyes) and smiling at her in that way that makes her heart skip beats.

”You look great,” he tells her, taking her in. It makes her blush, what he says and how he looks at her.

”Thanks. You too. My favorite on you,” she tells him and reaches out to place her fingers to the collar of his shirt as she steps forward to kiss him. His lips are soft and nice. They always are. Even when they’re a bit chapped from her kissing him throughout a whole night they somehow remain soft even after that.

”Come in,” he smiles at her when they break apart and he steps aside to let her in.

He takes her coat and she takes in the- oh, is it…?

”It smells wonderful Jonathan, it smells like-” she starts.

”Yeah,” he blushes and nods and smiles. ”I know it’s your favorite so… I wanted to do something nice, tonight um… so I thought we could uh, have dinner… here. Just the two of us, I mean. My mom and Will aren’t home. So it’ll be just us…”

”That sounds lovely,” she beams at him.

She takes his hand and he leads her to the dining room. There he hurries up to the table to light two candles while she’s left standing looking in awe at him and his efforts.

”You did all this for me?”

”I… yeah… I hope you like it I just wanted to make-”

He probably had many more sweet things to say but she can’t contain herself she just has to kiss him because he’s so sweet and cute and dreamy. Has to kiss him a lot actually, so much so she presses him up against the wall and suddenly they find themselves in a little make out session.

”I love it,” she halts to tell him.

”We haven’t gotten to the food yet,” he points out with a shy smile after he’s caught his breath.

”Your point being?” She grins. ”This is so sweet Jonathan. I love it already.”

XXX

Well, so far this has gone better than he could have hoped for. She made out with him before dinner even. And again after. And has told him over and over how he’s apparently the sweetest and cutest in the world (which he definitely disagrees with, because clearly that’s her just look at her) and that the evening’s been perfect. But now the moment of truth is here. This part he’s more nervous about than anything.

”I got something for you,” he tells her.

”Wait, there’s more?” She looks surprised.

”Yeah this was just… um, well I want to give you something also.”

”You’re unbelievable,” she grins and shakes her head. Then looks at him. ”I have something for you too. Wait here.”

She gets up, goes over to him and kisses him and then hurries out of the room to get it, whatever it is. He never thought about her getting him something. Now he’s very excited about that.

Nancy quickly returns, hiding her hands behind her back. Looking like she’s about to burst from excitement.

”Can I go first?” She asks.

”Sure,” he says while getting up from his chair.

”So… I made you this,” she says and reveals a mixtape. He feels his jaw drop a little and hopes he doesn’t look like a total dork as he continues to listen to her. ”I’ve played you some of my stuff before but you share so much of the music you love with me, and I know how important it is to you… it’s part of you, so it means a lot that you do, like all the tapes you make me, I love them and I wanted to make you one with music that’s important to me because it… well, this is all made up of songs that makes me think of you… us… in different ways… which makes them very special to me… um… I hope you like it,” she finishes and hands him the tape.

”This is amazing… thank you,” he tells her as he stares transfixed at the tape in his hands, scanning the track list written in Nancy’s beautiful handwriting. This is his favorite mixtape ever, he knows already. ”Thank you so much… I love it…”

”You haven’t listened to it yet,” she notes.

”Your point being?” He mirrors her from earlier and it makes her laugh. ”I love it already. And I can’t wait to listen to it. Thank you.”

”You’re welcome,” she blushes before kissing him.

”So… I got you this. I hope you like it. If not that’s okay um,” he tells her and fishes the box with the necklace in it out of his shirt pocket.

”I will don’t sell yourself short,” she starts. When she sees the jewelry box she quiets. He hands it to her and she takes it in her nimble hands. She flips the lid open and gasps. ”Oh my god Jonathan…” she takes the necklace out and holds it in her hands, admiring it as she drops the box on the floor. ”This is beautiful oh my god… I love it thank you so much oh my… oh my god you got me this and did all this tonight and I just made you a mixtape? Oh god I feel so-”

”Just a mixtape? This is amazing Nancy, it means so much to me that you made this for me, that you want to share this with me… and I… wait you really love it?”

”Yes oh my god Jonathan, it’s beautiful! Oh my god it’s an opal, isn’t it? That’s my birthstone this is so sweet…”

”I know… okay, I didn’t know that at first, I found that out… I just thought, well it matches your eyes and so I thought it was really pretty because… well, your eyes… are… um…”

”God that’s even sweeter… I… wait hold on…”

Nancy quickly takes off the necklace she’s wearing, the nice ballet slippers one she always wears. Which she told him her parents got her for Christmas when she was 11 and still doing ballet, and which she kept wearing as a kind of memento of that time even after her ballerina days were over. She obviously loves that necklace, which gave him second thoughts about the necklace he got her after he bought it but since he’d paid for it and all he felt he should just go with it even with the doubts. Her reaction has erased those now.

”Help me put it on,” she asks and hands the necklace to him and turns around with her back toward him and sweeps her hair out of the way.

”S-sure…”

He undoes the clasp and gently puts the necklace on her. When he’s clasped it again she quickly turns around and looks right at him, beaming with her whole face.

”So how do I look?”

”Beautiful…” he manages to get out. She’s breathtaking.

She kisses him again and takes his breath away.

”I love you so much, you know,” she tells him.

”I love you too.”

”I still feel bad you did all this and got me this and I just made you a mixtape…” she tells him, hands locked behind his neck.

”It means the world to me though. And this is just… I just wanted to give you something nice… and have a nice night with you…”

”It’s been the best night. Still I should have gotten you more…”

”Well, I don’t really want much more than what I’ve got right now,” he tell her and pointedly holds her closer.

”Aw… well still, your birthday’s coming up soon…ish. And I’m going all out. Think I’ll throw you a parade. Buy you your own island or something. Get the President to make it a national holiday,” she smiles.

”Hey hey hey. Our own island I could get behind,” he smirks. She giggles.

”Right? Well for now I think… a house to ourselves does just fine…” she says and gives him a look.

”Happy Valentine’s Day,” he tells her and picks her up. She reciprocates the sentiment and giggles as she locks her arms and legs around him while he heads straight to his room.

[ladyrpattz]

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO LUCAS. Thank you for always being a sun for those around you including your fans. Thank you for being a light and always making us laugh. You never fail to make a situation better. Your voice is so unique and is rough yet toned, making me feel at home. Also, your visuals are out of this world but I talk about that in nearly every post about you so. please stay healthy- mentally and physically- and stay safe always. Luv ya Yukhei. - #lucasnct #yukhei #wongyukhei #lucassuperm #supermlucas #wayv #nct #nctu #lucaswayv #wayvlucas #kpop #cpop #lucaswong https://www.instagram.com/p/B77a9_vBpzA/?igshid=p64l5e6czbmb

[inaheartbeat-phff]

Chapter 14

8:45am Nottingham Cottage, Kensington Palace, London

Arabella squinted her eyes as she came to that morning. Yesterday they didn't really rest much after their flight as they had dinner with Harry's immediate family. Arabella stretched her body and rolled to her side to see Harry peacefully sleeping beside her. No matter how many times she's seen this view, she couldn't help but smile to herself. He looks so peaceful while he was sleeping. There was no lines on his forehead and his body is relaxed.

Sighing she looked to a clock by her side table and checked the time. She groaned when she realised that she overslept by 45 minutes and rolled to her side to get out of bed. She sat down for a while before stretching and standing up. Walking towards the en-suite bathroom where she will do her morning routine. Once she was done, she got out of the bathroom to see that Harry was awake.

"Morning," he said in his morning voice. Harry rubbed his eyes and stretched before getting himself up to a sitting position.

"Hi. Did you have a good sleep?" Arabella asked Harry as she walked towards the bed and kiss him good morning.

"Yeah, I did. What’s your plan today?" Harry asked her as he reach towards his phone on the night stand.

"I'm heading off to St. James Palace for a meeting at ten, and then I have lunch with Bea, Genie and Zara. After lunch I think we're going shopping, but it's up to the girls really." Arabella laid back down on the bed next to Harry so she could have some morning cuddles.

"I'm so happy you get along well with my family. Really." Harry said as he put his head on top of Arabella's head. "Skippy invited us to a club opening tonight."

"What club?" Arabella looked up at Harry.

"Not sure. I think it's one of Sam's private clubs." Harry shrugged. "There's an actress coming tonight that Skip wants to introduce to you. She's a big fan of yours apparently. Maia something."

"You sure she's a fan of mine and not yours. I think you've got that mixed up babe. Besides Maia something?" Arabella giggled. "I don’t recognise an actress with the name of Maia something."

"Maia, Meghan, Molly. I don’t know. I know it begins with an M though." Harry shrugged, not really caring. "Do you want to go? I have to tell Skippy so he can call Sam and get everything sorted.

"Sure. I need a night out anyways. I think it will be nice to have a night to let loose. It has been a crazy week." Arabella nodded her head to Harry. Harry then typed something in his phone, probably replying to Skippy.

Skippy, or also known as Tom Inskip, is Harry's best friend. They've known each other since their time in Eton. Skippy is usually the reason why Harry got into so much trouble when he was younger. Though most of his partying days were over since Harry and Arabella became official publically in 2013, the pair do enjoy some odd night outs with friends. Arabella got along well Harry's friends. They have been very welcoming and friendly to her.

Arabella was introduced to Harry's friends back in 2012 when they first began dating. Since Arabella has met most, if not all of Harry's family members, she was a bit nervous during her introductions with his friends. She even met Harry's ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy early 2013. They were friendly with each other and know their places. They're not exactly the best of friends but if they see each other in public, they wouldn’t tear each other's hairs out.

Harry has 7 close friends and some of them has gotten married so his circle consist of 12 people. Him being a prince and all made that circle very very tight. There's Skippy and his girlfriend Lara Hughes-Young, Sam Branson and his wife Isabella Calthorpe, Hugh Grosvenor, Jake Warren and his wife Zoe Stewart, Thomas van Straubenzee and his wife Melissa Percy, Arthur Landon and Guy Pelly.

Arabella went to Sam and Isabella's wedding back in 2013 as well as Jake and Zoe's wedding in 2013 as well. It was in Jake and Zoe's wedding that she met one of Harry's previous flings Cressida Bonas. They were on friendly terms and it seems that Cressida and Arabella remain a good friend to each other. Cressida happened before Arabella and Arabella is not the type of person to get jealous at all. She knows what she's worth and feels very comfortable in her own skin. Besides, she is the crown princess for god sakes. If Harry would leave her for someone else, it would be a step down, unless of course, that someone is a Queen of her own right, but then again, there is no Queen who is single and even close to their age.

Harry finally got up from the bed and head into the bathroom to get ready for the day. While Harry was in the bathroom, Arabella finished getting ready before going to the dining room for some breakfast.

The tables were set differently here. There is no place mats on the head of the table and instead they are on the seats next to the head. So Arabella and Harry would be facing each other.

Arabella sat down and started eating her breakfast. Fifteen minutes later, Harry came out of the bathroom and sat opposite to her and start loading his plate up.

"So what's your plan today babe?" Arabella asked Harry. She realised that she didn’t know what he's doing today.

"I don’t think I have anything going on today. I think I'm going to visit Will and Kate at 1A, and I think I'm meeting Granny for lunch at Buckingham." Harry thought. "I think I have the afternoon free before the club tonight. We're having dinner with everyone before the club and I think Chelsy and Cressida will be there as well."

"Is the actress friend of Skippy going to be at dinner as well?" "I think so yeah." Harry said.

As Harry has finished his breakfast, he stood up from his seat and went across the table to kiss Arabella goodbye and head off to Apartment 1A. Arabella sighed. She isn’t normally a jealous person but she feels as if something is going to happen tonight and she doesn’t know whether she likes it or not.

Sighing, she called Anna, one of her ladies in waiting to the room.

"Your Royal Highness." She curtsied as she entered the room.

"Get Markus to ready the car, I'll be heading off to St. James in fifteen minutes."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The meeting at St. James Palace went as much as a meeting would go. They discussed their schedule for Arabella in London for the next month. Not much is planned, mostly meetings with charities that Arabella is patron of as well as some wedding planning. That and an engagement with Prince Philip at the end of the month. Arabella knew that it’s going to be a stressful thing planning the wedding as they have to incorporate both Dutch and British traditions. That and under which church do they get married in. Do they get married under the Church of the Netherlands or under the Church of England. Arabella thought that maybe they can have two weddings, one under the Netherlands and another under England, but that requires even more planning.

Jane and Eva have compiled a list of designers that would love to design Arabella's wedding gown so there's a pile that needs to be sorted. There's also the matters of cake, reception, music, decorations, guest list, and many more.

Now that she's done with her meeting, Arabella is off to lunch with Bea, Genie and Zara, some of Harry's female cousins that Arabella is close with. Arabella met Zara when she was visiting her Aunt Lilibet back in 2010 just after her wedding with Mike Tindall. They hit it off right away and remained close ever since. Arabella met Eugenie and Beatrice during Will and Kate's wedding and they kept in touch. Whenever Arabella was in London, Bea and Genie has taken her under their wing and show her around places that isn't that well known.

Travelling to lunch, Arabella slumped inside the car. The car they have used is her official car in London, a black Range Rover Sport that is actually armoured. In front of the car is a flag of the Netherlands. That is to say that it is her that's traveling in the car. If it was her father, there will be two flags in front of the car as well as a flag of his house.

Accompanying her to lunch today is Max, Lucas and Liam since Finn has to take care of head of security things. Markus is  driving her car with Max in the passenger seat, while Lucas and Liam are in the car behind. At all times, there has to be two cars with me. One of them are my emergency car, or as I like to call it, the backup car.

Arriving at the restaurant Bea has chosen for lunch, Markus opened Arabella’s door and help her step out of the car. 

Entering the restaurant, Liam was walking in front of her surveying the scene with Max behind her. They walked to the reception table at the front.

"Good Afternoon ma'am. Do you have a reservation?" The woman behind the counter asked looking at the boys who are now standing behind.

"Er, I'm actually meeting someone here, I think it should be either under Beatrice or Eugenie. Or maybe Zara actually I'm not too sure." Arabella reached up a hand to tuck in a piece of stray hair behind her ears.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Ma'am. Right this way." She then started walking to the back and opened another door for her. This led into a private room which currently hold Zara, Bea and Genie.

Liam walked in first to check the room before allowing Arabella to enter. He checked every nook and cranny of the room, even under the table to check if there is any other entry door. When he's satisfied that there's none, he bowed to her before leaving the room.

In front of Arabella, stood three beautiful English women she’s going to call family soon.

They greeted each other with hugs and kisses before settling down in their seats around the round table.

"Happy belated birthday Bella." Genie started off once they’ve settled in their seats.

"Thank you. How are you girls?" Arabella asked them looking around the table.

"We've been good. Had a good New Year, it’s been pretty relaxed here this time of year." Bea shrugged.

“Tell me, how did our dearest cousin proposed? I know you guys had interviews and all that regarding this but you never tell in detail.” Zara asked leaning forwards a little.

“Well it was very romantic. We were at the Alps for my birthday and he took me outside to go for a walk underneath the stars. He got down on one knee in the snow and asked me there and then with the stars as witnesses. It was freezing as well.” Arabella told the girls before moving to a different subject.

They spent the next hour or so catching up with each other. Out of all of Harry's cousins, Arabella is closest to Zara, Eugenie and Beatrice, not only are they closer in age but they are the people that Arabella can turn to without being judged. Arabella doesn’t have many friends that is non-royal. Her best friends are members of a royal family and even then, sometimes they don’t have a title, but they understand how it feels like under pressure. Over the years, she had friends who tend to take advantage of her status and fame.

The four of them talked about their life, their other halves and what they've been up to. They called the waitress to come in and give them the cheque before moving outside and onto the next part of their outing which is a shopping spree. They went to oxford street to do some window shopping. When Arabella is given the chance to shop, she usually shops at high street shops instead of high ended ones. These are the clothes she'll wear every day. Clothes she'll wear during engagements and other things are usually picked out by Eva and she knows Arabella's type of style.

They went to Primark first, looking at pyjamas and night clothes. Arabella got some Harry Potter pyjamas as well as some really soft robes. Then they went to ZARA, which they promptly made fun of Zara for.

"Come on Zara, let's go to your shop next!" Bea exclaimed as they walk out of Primark.

"Do you think you'll get a discount for having the same name?" Genie thought out loud.

"I don’t think it works like that Genie," Zara then said shaking her head.

"Well let's go anyway. Kate likes to shop here, I haven't seen any of their winter line yet." Arabella said.

When they went inside ZARA, Liam stayed outside the doors, with Lucas and Max following behind them. Due to Zara not having a title, she did not get protection officers, however, Bea and Genie did have them before but in 2011, they were pulled away and are only used during engagements. So the only protection officers there are Arabella's and she has 3 with them at all times with an extra one, the driver Since she is the crown princess. It's a good thing that while she's out and about, she doesn’t need to bring any police escorts with her.

They walked around ZARA for a while and got some clothes. Arabella got a few dresses as well as jeans and t-shirts while Zara, Bea and Genie got a few dresses as well. As they were queuing to pay, a few girls behind them noticed them and was whispering with each other. They didn’t really recognise Arabella at first which was a relief but they noticed Bea, Genie and Zara. The girls didn’t bother them much and after they paid, they went to the next shop which is Marks & Spencer.

They walked along Oxford Street, getting noticed here and there, and at the end of their trip, Arabella's second car was filled with shopping bags and they went to Selfridges, Mulberry UK, Adidas store, Forever 21, Lush, Disney Store, Next, Urban Outfitters, Mango, Nike town, H&M, JD Sports and a lot more shops along the way.

"I'll say that was a very successful shopping trip." Arabella said to the girls before laughing and going back home.

~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry's day have been very relaxing so far, he spent the morning with his brother and his first born son who's 6 months old. They talked all morning about this new role that Harry is going to take.

"So how are you doing?" Will asked Harry as he play with little George. "How are you coping with everything?"

"I'm doing okay, I think. Bella is there to explain how things are going and what to expect. It's been a roller coaster ride to be honest." Harry confessed.

"I'm sure you'll be fine Harry. If you need anything I'm sure Pa will help you. I don’t know how most things run there but I'm sure its similar to how Pa is here. "

"I think it's going to be a bit different Will. Pa is what Bella is. They're the heir apparent. I'm what mum was, what Camilla is." Harry said. "Though I will get the title Prince of Orange, and I will get the title King, but I don’t do the work that Bella will do, with the parliament, the government and all that."

"You'll learn along the way Harry. Just asking, what is your title after you marry Bella?"

"I asked Alexander about it while we were still at The Hague." Harry started. "I'll be HRH The Prince of Orange, Prince Henry of Wales, Duke of whatever gran gives and so on."

"Wow. You'll be known as the Prince of Orange then."

"Yeah. You'll have to bow to me then Wills." Harry jokes.

With that, Kate went down to where they were sitting.

"Hey Kate, you didn’t go have lunch with Bella, Genie, Bea and Zara?" Harry asked his sister in law.

"No, wasn't invited." Kate shrugged her shoulders before laughing at the uncomfortable look on Harry's face. "Relax, I'm joking. No, I have a meeting in a few with Rebecca about some of my charities. I'm also limiting my appearance in public if I have to, hiding the little one you see." Kate then rubbed her small bump.

Harry nodded before standing up and excusing himself as his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Harry my boy." His father's voice rang through the phone.

"Hi Pa, what can I help you with?"

"Do you have any current lunch plans?"

"No, not at the moment."

"Great. Come have lunch at Clarence with me. I have a few things I would like to discuss with you."

"I'll be over in a few. Bye Pa." With that, Harry hang up the phone and went back to the sitting room where Will is left with George.

"Where did Kate go?" Harry asked.

"She left for her meeting." Will answered.

"Sorry to cut this meeting short, but Pa has summoned me to Clarence." Harry gathered up his things before going over to his brother who stood up.

"Take care alright. I know this is new territory for you but take these next few months for you to learn the ropes. You are going to be a King Harry, a King. You won't bow down to Arabella once she's Queen, not like grandfather. You'll be her equal. Observe how they do things, learn their culture and language. Prepare yourself. You will still be King if Arabella dies before you. You won't be a prince or prince consort, you'll be King. I know you'll do well. Just take care alright." Will said hugging Harry tightly.

"I will." Harry hugged back. "Thank you."

With that, they pulled away from the hug and Harry said goodbye to his nephew before going to his father's place.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~

"So tell me, how are the wedding preparations? Have you started yet?" Charles asked as they eat their lunch.

"We’re having our first meeting with the wedding coordinators tomorrow. We plan to incorporate as much as we can from both countries in the wedding. It’s not going to be easy but we’ll try our best.” Harry answered his father’s question.

“That’s good to hear. It’s going to be a bit difficult since you are under the Church of England and she’s under the Protestant Church in the Netherlands. What’s your plans for this?”

“We might do the same thing as what Alexander and Maxima did for their wedding. Neither of us will be losing our place in the line of succession if we marry someone of a different religion but to appease both countries, we will have two ceremonies on that day or a separate day. It’s still uncertain.”

“My boy, going to be king some day. Never thought I’d see that day ever happening.” Charles shakes his head. “You were such a care free child. You didn’t have the pressure of being the heirs heir like your brother and you were so naughty growing up as well. Always getting into trouble.”

"Pa," Harry started.

"Let me just say this Harry." Charles interrupted Harry. "Before you met Bella, you were a mess. You've been with Chelsy for seven years, you were known as the 'party prince' to the press, hell you made a lot of mistakes and caused this family through bad press, but I feel like, if it wasn’t for that, you wouldn’t learn and grow to the man you are today. Ever since you met Bella, you've become such a good role model for the people, more responsible. I'm sure Afghanistan also contributed to this factor, but I am so proud of you Harry. I'm sure your mother would be proud to. Just remember, it's just not this country that you need to worry about now, you need to start thinking about the Netherlands and how you want to be as a King."

"Did you give Will this speech too?" Harry asked. "When he was about to marry Kate?"

"Yeah. Just not the King part, I gave him that speech when he was fifteen." Charles shook his head. "Your brother was under a very tight leash. We wanted him to have a normal childhood, but after your mother passed away, I had to talk to him and get him to understand the world we lived in. I told him, you are going to be King one day, don’t do anything that would jeopardise that."

They finished their lunch with small chats about their plans for the next few weeks, how long is Harry and Arabella going to be in London, and what about their royal engagements. Once they were done with dinner, they moved to Charles study to have a drink.

"Harry, your grandmother has spoken to me earlier," Charles began. "She asked me to give you and your future wife something."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, the reason why I've invited you over for lunch is to discuss your titles and some estates she would like to give to you. Normally, she would tell you herself, but she wish for me to tell you tonight so she can make preparations and join efforts with King Willem-Alexander." Charles then passed Harry his drink. "She has decided to give you a Dukedom. The Duke of Sussex actually, as well as the Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel. Your official title, from England once you've married would be His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel. You will be primarily known as the Prince of Orange however once you've married Arabella."

"So how what's my full title? If I'm a prince and a Duke as well."

"Well your official title would be HRH Prince of Orange Prince Henry of Wales, Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel. Your titles from the Netherlands with come first since it’s a higher rank. Just like how I'm Prince of Wales and then comes my dukedom and so on."

Harry nodded understanding what his father was trying to say.

"Your grandmother, as an engagement present, would like to give you both York Cottage at Sandringham and as a wedding gift, she would like to give you Craigowan Lodge at Balmoral. She knows that Balmoral is Arabella's favourite place as a child and you love going to Sandringham during Christmas. You may start repairs anytime you want. The family lawyer will draw everything up and will present it to you once it's done."

"Wow. She's giving us two?" Harry asked slightly in shock. She knew his grandmother has given his brother Anmer Hall but other than that, they have been living at Apartment 1A at Kensington.

"Yes. She decided to give you a summer home as well as a winter home. Let's not forget Nottingham Cottage at Kensington. All three will be under both of your names, once everything is signed, you'll have to release a press release. Have you both talked about a pre-nup?"

"Yeah, we're meeting our lawyers and advisors tomorrow at St. James. Parliament on Arabella's side won't let her marry without one and we know that they have the power of removing her as the heir if they don’t approve of our marriage. They only agreed because I'm granny's grandson and fourth in line to the throne. There is also a probability that Will might abdicate or George but I don’t see that happening, or at least I hope not." Harry shrugged.

"Well, whatever their reason is, they allow you to marry and let her keep her place."

They talked some more before Harry have to excuse himself to go home and get ready for dinner and a night out with his friends. He did call Arabella on his way home to check in and see whether she's home or not.

"Hey." Arabella's voice called out on the other side of the phone.

"Hey, I'm on my way back from Clarence."

"Clarence?"

"Yeah. Pa wanted to talk about some things."

"What about?"

"Granny is giving us York Cottage at Sandringham and Craigowan Lodge at Balmoral. Both needs a lot of repairs but as soon as they're signed, we can start."

"Did she really?"

"Yeah. Are you home?”

“Just arrived. What time are we meeting everybody?”

“Meeting them at 8:30. I’ll see you at home, I’m 5 minutes away.”

“Love you.”

“I love you too.”

With that Harry hanged up the phone and sighed. He has a feeling that tonight will be a long night.

*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*

Arabella walked out of the bedroom wearing a sequined maroon sleeveless mini dress. Her hair was up in a ponytail with a few pieces loose in the front. She did her make up a little bit smoky with some liner and nude lips.

Arabella felt very comfortable in her skin and love dressing up to look good. She went downstairs and greeted Harry by the door, ready to go.

"Are you ready?" She asked him while putting on her shoes.

"Yeah. Barend is on shift tonight so he's driving us using my car, Samuel will be in the car with us while Arthur, Lucas, Max and Finn will be in the car behind." Harry informed her.

"Are all your friends going to be there tonight?"

"Yeah pretty much. Skippy, Lara, Sam, Isabella, Hugh, Jake, Zoe, Tom, Melissa and Guy will be the only ones for dinner. After that other friends of friends will join us."

"Great! I haven’t seen them in so long."

With that, they climbed into their car and left Kensington grounds.

The couple arrived at the restaurant at eight thirty sharp and was shown their tables as soon as they went inside. It was an Italian restaurant and they were seated in a private room. When the pair entered the room, all of Harry's friends stood up and started clapping their hands, shouting words of congratulations and praise. Once they were all seated, they began looking through the menu and ordering their food.

It was a rectangular table with six seats on each side. Arabella was seated in the middle with Harry seated across of her. On her immediate right was Lara and next to her was Isabella and Sam at the end. On her left side was Zoe and Jake. Next to Harry was Skippy, Tom and Melissa at the end while on his other side was Guy and Hugh.

"Well, let me see the ring!" Lara said to Isabella once they've finished ordering their meal. Out of all of Harry's friends, Arabella was closer to Lara and Melissa.

Arabella just smiled before showing Lara her left hand. There in her ring finger was her beautiful engagement ring.

"My goodness, what a beautiful ring. We saw your engagement interview and everything, but those don’t do these any justice." Lara said smiling before turning to Arabella. "Have you started the planning yet?"

"We've got a general idea of what we want but we're having our first meeting with the wedding planner tomorrow." Arabella started off. “We know we would like to incorporate both countries in the wedding, we just don’t know how."

"That idea will make both countries very happy I hope." Lara said.

"Do you know which designer doing your dress?" Zoe asked from Arabella's other side.

"Definitely not McQueen or David and Elizabeth Emanuel. The comparisons will be horrific. I know that I'm going to have more than one designer that's for sure." Arabella said. "I have a huge pile of resume's in my office with designers that wants to design my dress already. God knows it will only continue to grow until the actual wedding."

"Do you have a date already in mind?" Zoe asked.

"Well, we know it's going to be in October, I like the autumnal colours, like oranges and burnt red, it's absolutely beautiful. Perhaps early to mid-October, I don’t want the weather to be too cold or too hot." Arabella explained.

"Have you thought about your bachelorette party yet?" Lara asked. "Are you going to be the one planning it, or will someone else plan it."

"Madeleine will plan it I'm sure. I bet she's already started planning it." Arabella laughed.

"That's cute of her." Isabella said from next to Sam.

"So what's the plan tonight?" Arabella asked.

"Well, when we're finished here, we're off to this new club Sam is overseeing." Skippy started off, after hearing Arabella's question.

"There's this new American actress that wants to meet the both of you, said to be a huge fan." Guy said. "I thought I could introduce her to you and in return have a very fun night from a very thankful actress."

The whole table burst out laughing at what Guy said. It was typical for Guy to introduce someone to them to get lucky, so Arabella and Harry did not feel offended of being used like that. And that’s only because Harry has known Guy since he was little and Arabella knows for a fact that Harry's close circle of friends are very loyal. Sure they joked around and often use them to gain a benefit here and there, but at the end of the day, they are fiercely loyal and extremely protective of their friends.

"What's her name? I tried asking Harry this morning but all he said was someone starting with an M, which wasn’t very helpful." Arabella started pointedly at Harry across the table.

"Meghan Markle, small TV show actress. I know you have ties with the Hollywood scene Bella." Guy told Arabella.

"The one from Suits?" Arabella recalled. "Harry we watched an episode of that series. Remember? I said if you weren't with me, you would go for her."

"Babe, we weren't doing much watching at that time." Harry laughed.

At Harry's reply, the whole table burst into laughter leaving Arabella red in the face and stuttering for an answer. Shaking her head, she opened her mouth to retort a comeback but the food has arrived and they ate their meal. Once they're all done, food and drinks has been paid, courtesy of Skippy who said that it was a night of celebration, they left the restaurant and went to the club to let loose.

The club they were going to is a very high class club, which means bouncers, and high security, but that didn’t mean that Arabella's protection officers would wait outside. Nope. Barend will standby at the car, Lucas will stand guard at the back door while Max stands by the front door. Finn however will be within 5 feet away from Arabella inside the club. Arabella won't see Finn, but rest assure, if anyone touches Arabella who is not authorized, they will be on the ground. Harry's PO's however is a different story. Samuel will wait in the car (there's two cars on standby) while Arthur will be somewhere inside the club. Not as close as Finn to Arabella but he can see everything.

All of Arabella's RPO's carry a weapon, maybe even more. Even Barend and Markus is trained in martial arts and carry a weapon. They take their jobs very seriously since if anything were to happen to Arabella, they have to answer to the King and make sure that they have done everything in their power to protect Arabella. Not only do they have to answer to the King but also to the people as well. Princess Diana might have been known as the People's princess of but Arabella is known as the Kingdom's Princess.

They went inside the club towards the VIP section on the second floor which oversees the dance floor below and has its own bar and bartender. When the group arrived, Chelsy Davy was there as well as a few other acquaintances. Arabella and Harry greeted everyone they knew with a kiss on the cheeks and everyone else with a polite handshake and smiles. There was a few people who they did not know that was there and when it was Arabella who was greeting them, they y did a small curtsy when they shook hands which Arabella just ignored.

"Harry! Bella! Come here for a sec, I want to introduce you to someone." Guy called from somewhere near the bar. Harry excused himself from the person he was talking to and reached Guy before Arabella. Arabella was sitting at the couches when Guy called so she took a bit longer to get to Guy.

"Harry, I would like to introduce you to Meghan Markle. Meghan, Prince Harry." Guy introduced them.

"Nice to meet you." Meghan gave a small shy smile.

"You too." Harry replied giving her a smile before turning around to look for his fiance.

"Babe," Harry called out to Arabella as she came closer to the trio.

"Bella, this is Meghan Markle, the girl I was telling you about." Guy introduced her again. "Meghan, this is Princess Arabella."

"Hello," Arabella said politely which Meghan returned with a smile. She didn’t really want to meet the Princess, she just wanted to meet Prince Harry. When Guy invited her to go out tonight, he said that the Prince might come so she dressed to impress. She wasn’t happy that his fiance was there as well.

"Shall we go sit? I'll grab us some drinks." Guy said as he gestured them towards the sitting area as he went to grab drinks. "Your usual I assume Harry? Bella? And what would you like Meghan?"

"Yes please." Both Harry and Arabella replied Guy.

"I'll have a Margarita please Guy." Meghan replied. With that Guy left to go to the Bar and order their drinks. Making sure to have Arabella's drink checked and made under direct supervision so that nothing is added or anything.

Meanwhile, Harry, Arabella and Meghan went to the couches and sat down. Harry sat first, pulling Arabella onto his lap and pulled her even closer, and Meghan sat opposite of the pair.

"So, Meghan, what do you do for a living?" Harry started off.

"I'm an actress and an activist." She replied.

"Oh, big screen or small screen?" Arabella asked. She knew a lot of actors and actresses and none of them have heard of Meghan Markle before.

"Small screen now, I'm currently doing this TV show called Suits. Have you seen it before?" She turned to Harry when she asked this question.

"I think we watched an episode, but I don’t think we were paying that much attention, did we babe?" Harry smirked at Arabella before pressing kisses on her neck.

Laughing, Arabella kissed Harry's cheeks before asking the next question. "How long are you here for?"

"Only for a few days." Meghan replied shortly. Feeling as if she didn’t want to talk to Arabella,  Arabella just looked away and surveyed the area. It was then that Guy came back with their drinks.

"Martini for the Princess, Whiskey for the Prince and a Margarita for the actress. Enjoy." Guy handed each of them with their drinks and started a conversation with Harry and Meghan. Arabella whispered to Harry that she's going to go over to Skippy and Lara before getting up from Harry's lap and heading over there.

They stayed there for a while, many drinks between them. Arabella stayed with Lara and Zoe, often going to the railing to watch people dance before heading to the mini dance floor and dance themselves while Harry chatted with Guy and Skippy who joined them not long after Arabella left. Meghan stayed there as well with Chelsy joining them after Skippy. Chelsy and Harry remained friends after the break up and Arabella and Chelsy are friendly with each other. Chelsy has her own boyfriend and are very happy right now.

Throughout the whole night, Chelsy watched how Meghan interacted with Harry, feeling slightly suspicious of the new girl in their circle. She liked how happy Harry is with Arabella and she doesn’t want anyone jeopardising that. The whole night, Chelsy could see that this Meghan was full on flirting with Harry, touching his arms, laughing at every single thing that Harry says and even doing the tucking of the hair behind the ears move. Chelsy then glanced at Arabella to see if she noticed that Meghan was making a move on Harry and it looks like she was having a blast with Lara and Zoe. She was laughing and dancing and drinking like there was no tomorrow.

Feeling annoyed, Chelsey excused herself to go to the bathroom and went to go do her business. Once she was done, she left the cubicle to see that Meghan had went to the bathroom as well and is re-applying her lipstick. Chelsy ignored her as she went to wash her hands.

"Do you think if I pull down my top more, Harry will notice me?" Meghan spoke up beside Chelsy.

"I'm sorry, what?" Chelsy furrowed her eyebrows.

"What do you think I should do to get Harry’s attention?” Meghan asks again. “Do I need to show more skin to get him to leave his fiancé? Or do I need to play nice girl?”

Chelsy just looked at her flabbergastedly.

“Is that your plan tonight? To get Harry interested in you that he will leave his fiancé? A crown princess for some low small screen nobody? Please, have some respect for yourself.” Chelsy scoffed before leaving the bathroom.

Meanwhile at the table, when Chelsy left, not long after Meghan left to the bathroom as well and Arabella approached Harry, Guy and Skippy.

“Having fun?” Arabella asked Harry kissing his cheeks.

“Not without you baby.” Harry replied.

“Please stop guys or I’ll barf.” Guy said mockingly barfing.

“Why didn’t you stay here with us?” Harry asked Arabella.

“Yeah, you missed Meghan throwing herself at Harry while Guy just moped.” Skippy laughed.

“Well I didn’t want to see someone throwing themselves at my fiancé, so I decided to just let loose myself.” Arabella replied to Harry’s question. “Besides, absence makes your heart grow fonder, is it not?”

Shaking his head, Harry just pulled Arabella closer to him and swayed to the music.

It was then Chelsy came back from the bathroom with a slightly pissed off look in her face.

“What’s wrong Chels?” Harry asks still hugging Arabella close to him.

“I just want to rip out Meghan’s head off.” Chelsy said angrily.

“What? Why?” Guy asks.

“She literally asks me in the bathroom what to do to make Harry notice her, show off more skin or pretend to be a good girl.” Chelsy shakes her head.

“And? What did you say to her?” Curious, Arabella prodded some answers from Chelsy.

“Well, I said, word for word, if that’s her plan tonight. If she’s trying to get Harry to leave his fiancé, a crown princess, I might add, for a low small screen nobody. And that for her to have a little respect for herself.” Chelsy shrugged.

With that, the whole table burst out laughing.

“Oh Chelsy honey.” Arabella pulled away from Harry to hug Chelsy. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I had to, Bella. I know we’re not exactly the best of friends, but you are one of my friends and I have grown to respect you a lot. I’ve been through where you were, only I was more insecure and in the end, that and how his life is like, that we didn’t end up working. I don’t want some bimbo nobody get in between Harry and his happiness. After all that he’s been through, he deserves it. And you, not only embrace this life of his, but your life is even more demanding than his. So, yeah. I have to do this. I will do this again.” Chelsy said to Arabella.

“Thank you.” Arabella smiled at her. “It means a lot to me. For you to do this.”

When they pulled away from each other, they faced the smiling group and shook their heads. At that, Meghan came back from the bathroom and the group could clearly tell that she chose to show more skin. It was indicated by the lower neckline of her shirt and even shorter skirt and ruffled hair.

Arabella just stared at Harry before laughing and shaking her head. She then kissed Harry on the lips, just to mark her territory before going to the bar to get some more Martini, maybe even some tequila, she definitely needs something stronger.

"Tequila shot please." She gestured to the bartender before turning around and lean against the bar to survey the VIP area. What she didn’t realise, is that Meghan followed her and stood next to her against the bar.

"I see I pushed you to drinking shots now? Are you that insecure that I'll steal your man?" Meghan spoke up.

Turning around, she looked Meghan up and down, before laughing again. "Honey, what makes you so sure that you can steal my man?"

"He's been into me the whole night. I bet you if I would walk past him and give him a signal, he'll come following shortly. Because let's face it, who would want a stick thin dumb blonde as a fiancé?"

"Let's get one thing straight here Meg, can I call you meg?" Arabella asked before smirking. "That guy behind you there, with the leather jacket? He's my protection officer, well one of them anyways. I don’t usually pull this card but, compared to me, you're nothing. I'm the crown princess, my godparents are kings and queens, if anyone were to threaten me, well let's just say that you won't be allowed back in many countries. You want to try and get Harry's attention go for it. I just want to see your face when he doesn’t give you the time or day." With that, Arabella gestured for Meghan to go walk past Harry and come back.

"Fine. You'll see how he'll drool over me when I come back here." With that, she flicked her hair and walked towards Harry in what Arabella assumed to be a supposed sexy walk. She walked really slowly in front of Harry, trying, and failing to show some legs. When Harry didn’t even glance her way, she just huffed and stalked back to where Arabella was standing.

"Now watch how it's done." Arabella threw back her shot of tequila before slamming it back down on the bar top and make her way to Harry. She swayed her hips a little as she got closer to Harry. It was at that moment when Harry felt the need to look up and there it was, right in front of him, his fiancé walking towards him sexily. He bit his lips before excusing himself from his friends and meet her half way.

"You want to get out of here?" Arabella looked into his eyes and bite her lips.

"Let's go." Harry just signalled Finn that they were leaving before taking her hand and dragging her towards the exit and their cars.

Arabella turned her head to look behind her, her eyes stared into those of Meghan's and Arabella gave her a wink before turning back to the front and giggled softly.

"I know what you did," Harry said as the car doors close.

"I have no idea what you’re saying." Arabella smiled coyly.

"I saw you talking to her by the bar, I saw the way you laugh and how you challenged her."

"Fine, she told me that you were into her and how if she would walk past you, you would look at her and follow her into oblivion. I obviously challenged her to actually do it and when she failed to catch your attention, I told her to watch and learn how it's done, and well, you're here now aren't you?"

Let's just say, when they returned back to the cottage, their night was spent with laughter and a lot of love making.

Next Chapter 

[writers-leir]

birthday special

here’s a belated birthday gift to lee jeno aka the most beautiful eye smile ever!!!! i hope you keep smiling forever <333

ps. lowkey also my birthday present to myself woops i’m not self-indulging hahahahah what

happy birthday jeno!!!!

birthdayboy!jeno

ok so obviously april 23 is a super important date because!!!!!!!it was the day that the one and only lee jeno eye smile extraordinaire was born!!!!!!!

and you as the s/o had something planned for him (specifically ordering pizza and chicken and cake and watching disney movies at the dorm with him and the rest of his members because how else are you supposed to spend your birthday right?)

and you have it all planned out okay cause according to your sources (aka dream team) they’re busy with practice all day

so you and the other nct boys have the entire day to decorate the dorms

you arrive at the dorms super early with bags full of decorations (carried with the help of jaehyun because uhm you weren’t gonna walk all the way to their dorms with four bags of balloons and streamers and confetti bombs and presents hidden at your apartment)

and the plan is super detailed and organized (with a cooking team & a decorating team set up in each room) but once you and the other boys start it turns,,,,,,,,,Messy

yuta keeps leaving his post to go watch winwin help taeyong bake (leaving taeil on the stepladder alone until someone-specifically jungwoo-notices and runs to go help him)

you started to keep a tally of how many times lucas accidentally sets off a confetti bomb but you stopped after you realized there were only three left and you had to make an emergency run to the toy shop to try and snatch up some more

you were halfway back to the dorms when doyoung called you and said that they needed more strawberries and also four pizzas cause they got hungry

and you’re standing in line for pizza when you get a text from jeno and you’re like !!!!!!!he’s so cute,,,,,,,,,,,,, cause he’s sending you stickers and messages asking you if you were awake yet and if you wanted to hang out w/ him at the dorms that night

and being the sneaky person you are you hadn’t said happy birthday to him yet so when you message him back you purposefully leave out the greeting

and at practice jeno’s like )))))): cause he’s thinking you forgot his birthday (and cause the first thing he was told when he woke up was ‘you have practice all day today you should get ready to go’)

jaemin notices him and goes like ?????what’s wrong why are you ))):-ing??? which attracts the attention of donghyuck who comes over too

jeno asks them if they know what day it is and jaemin’s like ….jaemin.jpeg,,,,,,while donghyuck internally is like HE KNOWS WE’VE BEEN FOUND ABORT but externally he’s a little piece of sdkghaksjdf so he’s like,,,,,,,,,it’s monday???

and jeno FALLS FOR IT so he’s like oh,,,,,,,,,,,,))))))))): i’m fine don’t worry about me ))))));

jaemin and donghyuck at first are like,,he fell for it,,,,,,,,,,we’re saved

BUT THEN jeno turns to mark and goes ‘i’m not feeling well can i go back to the dorms?’

and then the rest of the members start screaming internally because,,,,,,,,,,,,they had one (1) job and they somehow failed

mark’s like ok,,,,,we’ll all send you back and jeno’s like ???i can just get the manager to send me back you can keep practicing but mark’s like noooo we’ll all go we’re worried

and while they’re getting ready to go back chenle’s sending you messages like ABORT MISSION and WE’RE GOINGBACK WE FAILED

and you receive those messages right after you’ve gotten the pizza and you’re like i gave those kids??????one job??????????they had O N E JOB????????????AKSDGHAKJLDSF???????// so you’re calling taeyong like hi the kids failed i’m RUNNING right now to get back pls be ready fast

back at the dorms they’re all sort of screaming now because what the h e c k you’d think that for people who have really good breath control it’d be easy to blow up the balloons but apparently not

once you get back you throw the pizza boxes onto the counter and scramble to hide behind the couches after turning off the lights because mark texted you saying they were almost there and were 90% sure they saw you ignoring a streetlight and sprinting for it when there were basically no cars on the road

the doors open and as soon as the lights are turned on you and the other nct boys jump out and break open the confetti bombs screaming ‘happy birthday!!!’,,,,,,,,only to hear mark let out a tiny shriek

jeno walks in after him super confused until he sees the banners and streamers and he’s like,,,,,,,,,,,,did you plan all this,,,,,,for my birthday????

and you’re standing behind johnny so you kind of have to hop onto the couch to stand above him to see jeno

and jeno’s basically the blowing nose emoji ( ➝ 🤧🤧) because wtf he wasn’t expecting this

once everyone’s wished him happy birthday and are happily munching on pizza while they wait for the cake to finish baking jeno’s eye smile is back and you’re now the 🤧 emoji because seeing him happy just makes you so happy

he’s smiling at you really wide too and you’re like did you think i forgot your birthday??? the birthday of the most beautiful person in the world??? and he’s like,,,,,,,,,,honestly maybe )):

and you wish him happy birthday and manage to kiss his cheek really quickly before taeyong calls you two over, saying that if you didn’t hurry, they’d eat the rest of the pizza (bless his precious soul for saving you and jeno a piece each)

and for the rest of the night, all of you watch old disney movies and playing mario kart

and while you’re sitting on the couch, wrapped up in one blanket together jeno’s like thank you,,,,,,,for spending the day with me i really like you

and you’re like ajhgdskjfadsf i really like you too jeno stop being so soft you’re making my heart burst ))))))):

and before you two fall asleep you tell him

‘i hope you don’t stop liking me because i don’t plan on ever stopping celebrating your birthdays with you’

jeno falls asleep with a smile that night ((((: